Unwillingly to Earth (v1.0), page 13
I say My father has Cr. 500,000 in the Bank, of Terra and I am empowered to draw up to Half of it.
Junior gives a sort of whistling gasp: Captain Franklin allows his Jaw to drop slowly until it touches his collar bone, then snaps it shut and reaches for the communicator.
“Well, it’s a nice dream, let’s stay with it for a little … Annie? Get me whoever is Consul for Excenus 23.”
I doubt whether there is such a person, but Captain Franklin says Every planet with Pop. more than 2 has a Consul on the Moon, turns out he is right.
What is more the Consul is an Acquaintance, the fluffy lady from the Royal Cynthia Hotel.
She is surprised I am surprised and says Travel Agents always send Excenan citizens to her for that reason, she is Consul for half a dozen other Planets too; she then listens to a Summary of the situation, writes down the Relevant details including the number of Dad’s bank account, and rings off after telling me to get a good night’s rest.
There is a good deal to arrange first, but in the end I do.
Next morning is distinguished by an air of Total Unreality: Quarantine does not end till after Lunch and the morning is spent in elaborate personal Decontamination: Hair, Skin, Clothes, also Baggage which was collected from our respective Hotels and delivered here the day after the Emergency started. I don’t believe any of it really happened nor do I believe it is ever going to Stop.
However I do eventually find myself on the Train. Junior is sitting two rows forward with his Uncle and Tolly four rows behind me but I have no urge to speak to either; or to read, watch stereo listen to music or even Think; but at very long last the journey wends to a conclusion, the train stops and we all pile Out of it.
Reality now appears in the shape of three men in crimson long-johns with a gold stripe down the sides, and flat circular black hats; the Leader who is carrying a clipboard makes straight for me and I sign a post-dated escrow check for Cr. 10,000. He turns and signals and one of the others approaches Tolly and hands him a summons to appear in the Piepowder Court, the third Bailiff is busy subpoenaing Witnesses.
Proceedings are interrupted by a Scream I have heard before: the Minister for ExtraSolar Affairs has come to greet the returning Delegates and one of the Bailiffs takes the opportunity to Subpoena him.
Tolly has his back to me and I do not get to hear or see his reaction because the Minister’s is to charge straight across at me with the Subpoena in his hand.
“You. Young woman. Miss Lee. You can’t do this. It’s a misuse of the Court. Plain malice. I won’t permit it. Intolerable! You must withdraw it at once. Do you hear me? At once!”
A very small very dry very ancient voice makes itself heard through the Uproar.
“I must ask that all communications to my Client be made through me.”
The Lawyer whom the Excenus Consul found for me retired from active practice about 40 years ago and the Piepowder Court has been in existence for 2, but he proceeds to quote verbatim from the Act establishing it until the Minister exclaims “Not here! Let’s go somewhere private, for heaven’s sake!”
Where we end is some sort of Office not far away. The Minister has given up Blustering and demands to see my Passport.
Having got it he says in disbelieving accents “You are nineteen standard years old?”
The Lawyer says “Legally adult. Old enough to bring the action in her own name.”
“But legally in tutelage as a Student.” The Minister picks up the communicator and demands to be connected with Professor M’Clare.
I don’t know where on Earth they eventually find him except in a Time Zone where it is evidently Night. M’Clare is in a dressing gown and his hair is ruffled.
The Minister apologizes for disturbing him at this hour, but a young woman who is apparently his Ward is insisting on a Course of Conduct which will embarrass a Distinguished Guest of the Lunar Gov, will he please tell me to Stop.
M’Clare says “May I speak to her, please?”
The Minister says he would just like a minute to Explain—I stick my head under his arm close to the visual pickup and say Hello.
There is that three seconds of No reaction you are warned about but it is still Disconcerting; then he says “Hallo, Lizzie. Who are you persecuting, and why?”
I tell him … At the end is the Three seconds silence, then M’Clare’s expression changes from Listening to Thought.
He says, “Lizzie, are you enjoying this?”
I say it is very nearly the nastiest job I ever undertook in my entire Life.
He says, “As your guardian I can legally forbid you to continue.”
I say “Damn it, I am not looking for an Out! It is something that must be done.”
He says, “Well, your methods seem ingenious. I’m not sure how foolproof they are. I’ll give it some thought. When does this case come on?”
I say Next morning at 09:00: Tolly is not planning to leave till the following day so there is no point in having a session tonight.
He says “Yes. Right. Try to get back before the Semester starts, won’t you? I’ll see you then.”
At this point the Minister seizes the communicator, demanding that M’Clare act like a Responsible Guardian and make me Stop, but he is too late: M’Clare has switched off.
It has been arranged I am to sleep at the Lawyer’s Hotel for convenience in conferring with him. We confer. The Lawyer is not happy about such an important part of the Material evidence having been entrusted to so young a person.
I say Junior is very Reliable for his age.
“Yes. Quite. But he will have to be very careful with his words in order to convey the right impression without committing perjury, or involving this policeman whom you say you have undertaken to protect.”
What Junior has charge of is a Camera, fifth-hand, purchased by me from Captain Franklin’s son and sold to Junior for Cr. 0.1 so that he can truthfully say he Owns the thing. He can also truthfully say he took the Tape contained; it was his finger on the button. The lens was aimed at a screen showing the session in the Immunization Bay, including closeups of the screen with Tolly’s performance as a Self-Strangler and his arrival between two Policemen; the tape has been intercut with scenes Recorded but not transmitted to Lunarburg, such as the row of pressure-suited Policemen round the walls, so as to look as though he took it while the Session was on.
Tolly may Suspect its origin but it will do him no good to say This is not an amateur stereo but an illicit copy of the official Police tape; Captain Franklin seems fairly sure he can get away with it.
I also have a tape of Clarence’s Remarks played onto the Notes section of my Reading Machine.
Finally the Lawyer is satisfied that he has covered all the arrangements and allows me to go to Bed.
The Piepowder Court is held in an ordinary Lunar room, cut square not tubular, with benches for Spectators and the Press. There are chairs at the far end for the Principals and the Lawyer and I make our way to them. I see Junior on the front bench looking Tense but Determined and the Senator next to him.
Court should open in five minutes but does Not.
Presently the Lawyer whispers to me “The Minister should be here. He can’t afford to be seen neglecting his obligations as a citizen. I don’t like this.”
However after about ten minutes a door slides open behind the Judge’s chair and In comes a man in gray with purple braid, followed by the Minister and Tolly and a fat man with Lawyer written all over him, the last three go to the chairs opposite ours and sit down.
A red-and-gold Bailiff steps up and announces The court is now in session to hear and judge the complaint of Miss L. Lee, Excenus 23, against Randolph Tollinder, Discus, both being Transients.
Tolly’s lawyer immediately stands up.
“Your Honor, this case arises out of the recent Emergency at Labsville, in which the plaintiff and my Client were both involved. Innocently involved. The plaintiff claims that she suffered inconvenience and unpleasantness, and my client concedes this. She has made the further claim that this was caused by the action of my client, and this he emphatically denies. However in view of the weighty and urgent affairs that have brought him to Luna he does not wish to expend his own time, or take up the time of this Court, by arguing the matter. He has therefore paid into Court the very considerable sum of Cr. 20,000 to cover all possible claims on Miss Lee’s behalf. May I say, Your Honor, that the time involved was only three days and the inconveniences suffered by the young lady were not of a nature to cause lasting harm. Therefore this is a generous settlement. In return, we ask that the young lady be enjoined against making public statements which might be injurious to my client’s reputation.”
My Lawyer says softly “Damn. I was afraid of this.”
I whisper “I don’t have to accept.”
“Oh, yes, you do,” he whispers back. “This court was designed for the financial settlement of personal grievances, not for the exposure of political corruption. If you try to pursue this further the Judge will rule you out of order and have you restrained. I hoped Tollinder would not be able to get hold of a sufficient sum in the time available, but—” He shrugs.
Two minutes later he has accepted a draft from Tolly’s lawyer on my behalf.
Tolly has bounded back on top of the World and is looking More than Life Size: his voice rings out from the far side of the Court: “M’dear fella, I don’t grudge it to her, she really did have a nasty time and no doubt she needs the Money—”
He and the Minister and his Lawyer are processing towards the door: it opens just ahead of them and a Bailiff in gold and scarlet and black is standing just beyond.
He hands Tolly a paper and begins “Randolph Tollinder, you are summoned to appear at the Piepowder Court today at the hour of 15:00 to answer the complaint of the New League of Delos, to wit, that you did unlawfully cause one Derek Fitzroy to be procured and suborned to damage and destroy an Antibody Production Unit at Labs-ville, said Unit being the lawful property of the New League of Delos. Plaintiffs ask for Actual Punitive and Exemplary Damages in the sum of Cr. 500,000.”
The Judge has leaped to his feet as suddenly as a Tourist just off the Lift and is hanging on to the edge of the Table to anchor himself while crying “What? What? What?” One of the Bailiffs is approaching me, my Lawyer is murmuring “Beautiful. Beautiful!” Junior has been stopped by another Bailiff and looks totally Bewildered. What the hell is the New League of Delos anyway?
Then I remember.
When all the Planets got together to fund Reserve Antibody Production they did not want to call themselves Association of 423 Planets or whatever; about 4000 years ago Delos was a Sacred Place where sickness and death were Not Allowed and there was a League of it then, so this was the name they picked.
A tall dark distinguished man who is Lawyer for the New League of Delos steps forward and tells the Judge that the Local Police Chief at Labsville has been Subpoenaed and should be here by 15:00; it is understood that he has handed certain records to the Minister for Extra-Solar Affairs (here the Bailiff hands a subpoena to the Minister who looks fit to combust) so as the Defendant has presumably got his case together already there seems no reason for Delay after the Policeman arrives.
The Senator does not object when it is suggested that Junior, who is now looking Totally Confused, should wait with me at the Lawyer’s Hotel till the next hearing starts. On the way the Lawyer explains matters to Junior in a long dry quiet soothing statement that reduces it all to something that happened a long Historical time ago, maybe History has its uses after all.
He says The New League of Delos has been inactive for many years since there was nothing much for it to do, but it still has Representatives and all the Political Pull it could possibly require. Junior then asks a question I have been Pondering: “How did they know what Tolly did at Labsville? Who tipped them off?
The Lawyer coughs. “I have no information on that score.”
Nor have I but I can guess: M’Clare.
This Hotel is the sort that gets the Lunar Times in Printout as well as Spool; Junior and I are given a stack of them and left in the Lounge. Presently I mutter to Junior that I was not just trying to get Tolly’s money, anybody can have that money, I will give it Back: the point was—
Junior says “Yes, I know. You were using the Legal Machinery available and so was he. I quite understand.”
Later I ask if his Uncle is very angry at having his deal with Tolly upset. I suppose now it has fallen through?
Junior puts down his paper and says earnestly “Lizzie, my Uncle hates corruption. But one of his constituents who’s in interstellar trade has got into trouble on Discus over Import rules and Mr. Tollinder could have been a big help. Uncle says he has a Duty to help his own people any way he can and the Linder Valley is none of his business—”
I say Okay, okay, I quite Understand too.
Nothing else happens till Lunch; after that we go back to the Lounge and wait some more. I wonder what Tolly is doing now.
Then somebody comes in and walks straight towards us, a stocky man with nothing in particular in the way of Face but vaguely familiar; then I realize that when I saw him before it was under Glass.
Captain Franklin in fact.
Not in uniform, he traveled in tunic and trousers like anyone else but will change before the Hearing I suppose—
He stops in front of us and says “Well, it’s all over. You can go home.”
Junior says “What?” and I say The Hearing is not due to start for an hour yet.
The Captain says “No Hearing. Tollinder’s dead.”
There is a sort of wordless noise from Junior at the same moment I say “How?”
“Cyanide. Pinched it from one of our labs, I suppose; just in case.”
I can feel the Shock right down in my guts but somehow I am not surprised. I could not imagine Tolly going back to Discus in disgrace and I suppose neither could he.
Captain Franklin sits down opposite Junior and me and says “There’s a proverb in one of the old languages— Spanish, I think—that says ‘Take what you want and pay for it, says God.’ Tollinder took, all right—according to his secretary, Lamartine Minerals paid off debts of nearly Cr. 1,000,000 for him—and then tried to get out of paying. You could say he’s bilked his creditors one last time, or you could say he’s finally met the bill: either way, it was his choice. Don’t let it ride you … Miss Lee, you’re booked on the Lift at 18:00. Your Lawyer felt you wouldn’t want to hang around. Mr. Gassett-Low, I believe you’re going home tomorrow. You’ll both be back, I expect. Everybody but a born ground-hugger goes through the Moon once in a while … If you ever need anything, get in touch.”
I have some Tidying-up to do and make the Lift with only fifteen minutes to spare and find a Surprising number of people seeing me off. The Lawyer shakes hands—he is going to take his fee out of the Cr. 20,000 and split the rest between Clarence and Fitzroy when they are ready to leave—but the Consul for Excenus 23 kisses me and so to my surprise does Captain Franklin. (I asked the Lawyer if he was liable to lose his job for disobeying the orders of the Minister of ExtraSolar Affairs and was told that the Minister was more liable to lose his, as things turned out.) For a moment I think Junior is going to kiss me too but he loses his Nerve and just asks for my address. There are also several people from the Five Planets Conference but I am not sure whether they are Seeing me Off or just making certain I actually Go.
In the Lift I don’t feel good.
It is not that I think I have done the Wrong thing, but I wish Tolly had been a Repulsive character with eyes too close together and a Reptilian coldness of disposition, instead of somebody who took the trouble to be Nice to me when he didn’t have to. Of course if Politicians do not want to be held Accountable they should stay out of the Kitchen and of course if you find one has done something—not necessarily Absolutely Evil but Wicked or just very Bad—you should Take Steps about it if it so happens you can, but it must be a lot easier afterwards if you could count them Inhuman instead of All too much so.
This reminds me of my Essay which in a way was the Start of the whole thing. I get it out and read it through and conclude whether Right or not it will just have to do. I cobble an Ending onto it.
Meanwhile Weight has been going up in graduated stages, am I really as heavy as this? however I am more or less used to it by the time we land.
There is Nowhere else I want to go so I return to Russett a day early.
Hardly anyone seems to be around. B has not arrived of course and neither have the rest of my class. M’Clare is still wherever he went and so are most of the other Instructors, however I learn Priority Catford is on campus so I stick my Essay in her pigeonhole. At least I did one thing I intended to do.
All the same I don’t know why people go on Vacations, I wish I’d stayed home.
Since I have nothing else to do I decide to make a start on the Reading Lists for the next semester. They are on my desk and I take one over to the Library console.
There is a spool in the receiver already. Can B be here after all—? No, the label is coded to me.
My portable Reading Machine was waiting for me at the Lift Terminal and I picked it up (I gave my Lunar one to the fluffy lady to be given to a Deserving Cause) so I drop the spool in.
Title: Mask and Truth: an Examination of Fictional Themes of the Twentieth Century in Relation to Contemporary Thought and Experience by Cecil Cudfield.
I switch to the Index and see it includes the Topics of at least eight people’s Vacation Projects: one chapter is called “Evil, Horror and Alienation” and when I skim through there is the Argument of my essay with lots of Historical tie-ups I never thought of and plenty of examples, some of them better than mine.
But if it has all been written already Why tell me to do it again? it does not make Sense.
