Playing God(130)

A rustle of cloth and voices drifted through the room. For the first time, Lynn felt something thaw slightly. Maybe people were thinking. Maybe.

“If we do this,” said Keale, “we have to move quickly. From what we've heard, a number of the Great Families are talking about teaching both the t'Therians and the Getesaph a lesson for their arrogance.”

Berkley held up one hand, making a “stop” gesture. “Assuming we could get the boards to listen to this, can you give me one reason why we should try to get it approved?”

Lynn met his gaze. “You heard Commander Keale. If we don't, the war becomes total. If we don't act, not only do we lose everything we've worked for, doing irreversible damage to Bioverse and all its contractors and subsidiaries, but we are going to leave millions of Dedelphi to die in a war and plague we could have prevented.” She straightened up. “On the other hand, if we do this, we still have a chance to win. We can still save this world if we try.”

Come on, all of you. You must see it. If we stop now, barbarity wins. We cannot let it win! “We are talking about hazard duty, there's no question. I've been kidnapped, I had my implant cut out. I've been shot at, beaten on, chased, and trapped in a bombed-out building. I've seen what the wars will do, to them and to us. I wouldn't be suggesting this if I didn't know it would work. We can still save Dedelph, and we can still save ourselves.”

Berkley wasn't finished, though. “Dr. Nussbaumer, with all due respect, we got into this mess because we didn't know what we were doing. Can you be sure that situation's changed?”

Nice touch. “We always knew what we were doing. What we didn't know was what they were doing. Now we do. Now we can readjust our strategies to compensate.”

The murmur grew stronger. Hope took shape in the back of Lynn's mind.

The burly man coughed once. “I'll have to take it to my people.”

“We all will,” said Berkley, keeping his steady gaze focused on Lynn. “As a strategy, it's fairly outrageous.”

“The situation is outrageous.” Lynn looked back without flinching. Ask your people if they want to try to find a new corporation to take them in after they've been part of the biggest business disaster on record. She did not say that. She was trading on every last drop of her reputation as a Dedelphi expert. She was milking the bandages for all they were worth. I've been battered, her appearance said, but I'm still here. I've triumphed, and I say we can all triumph.

She'd almost made it. Bitterness would not help now.

Brador was looking hard at her. Something between greed and desperate hope shone in his round eyes. “I am going to ask Dr. Nussbaumer to write up her suggestions as a formal proposal for distribution on the private web. We will take objections or commentary for twenty-four hours after the knot is tied.”

There were a number of thoughtful looks, and some rapid messages and signals to implants, but no objections.

“Then I officially close this meeting. Room voice, recording off.”

All at once, Lynn was besieged. A solid wall of bodies and voices surrounded her. “Dr. Nussbaumer, what are your plans for handling the sick?” “Dr. Nussbaumer, have you looked at the analysis of vulnerable mechanical points?” “Dr. Nussbaumer, have you contacted … ?” “Dr. Nussbaumer, have you consulted … ?” Lynn felt her head begin to swim, but she held her ground. From here on out she had to hold her ground. Whatever anybody else thought was happening, Lynn knew they had now entered a war with the Dedelphi. A war where they had to hold, had to advance, and had to keep their intentions a secret.

We can do this. I will do this. She looked at the faces crowded around her. And you're all going to help.

The cafeteria was not as full as Arron had expected. Most of the Bioverse personnel, he guessed, had chosen to watch the meeting in their apartments, rather than out here on the communal screens. He only had to peek into a half a dozen cubicles before he found the one in which Cabal sat nursing a beer. He watched the wall showing a news report about the new crater being opened up for Dedelphi use on Mars.

“Cabal?” Arron stood in the cube threshold.

“Hi.” Cabal lifted the beer and waved him inside. “Come to see me off?”

Arron sat down. “Come to ask you to stay.”

Cabal put his beer down and touched a key near the center of the table. The wall blanked. He focused completely on Arron. “Stay? Why?”

Because Lynn has been so scared by what happened to us, she's lost all perspective. Because I don't know what the corp's going to do next. “I need your help.”

Cabal gave a short, humorless laugh. “Again?” he shook his head. “Arron, the help you need has a tendency to outweigh what you can pay.”