“No.” They turned a corner. Anira Chinelita was arguing with Froelich, kept up her muttering as they fell in step with the CPO and his companion.
“I can guess. It’s this endless ‘threat,’ isn’t it?”
He nodded. “Maybe there will be specifics we can deal with this time. Maybe that’s the reason for the meeting.”
“Don’t count on it.” Jordan wore a glum expression. It made her seem to be glowering, though this was more a result of her great height then her actual feelings. A former captain of the North American Olympic basketball team, she was the tallest member of the staff. “Do you still think there’s a real danger, Martin?”
“I assume so, since the machine’s said nothing to the contrary.”
“I didn’t ask you for the machine’s opinion, Martin. I asked what you think.”
“Izzy, I just don’t know. I do know there’s been no interference with our independent probe of the machine’s logic functions.”
“I’ve heard about the suspicions of cybernetic paranoia. Strikes me as silly.”
“Dhurapati doesn’t think so.”
“Dhura wouldn’t. Still, there’s something to be said for acting as if everything can go wrong. Here we are.”
They entered the conference room, nodding absently at the pair of armed guards who flanked the entrance. An opto eye noted their presence as they passed through the doorway.
Tea, coffee, and other beverages were available from individual dispensers located beneath each section of the oval table. A holo of the Alps in spring covered the far wall and gave the room some feeling of size. Opto screens filled two opposing walls. Each desk insert in the main table had its own communications equipment as well as access to computer terminals and small pop-up screens.
As soon as everyone had taken a seat and quieted, a familiar voice filled the room.
“I’m glad to see you were all able to attend.”
“It damn well better be important,” snapped Dr. Siakwan from his seat. Siakwan had never been famed for his sunny mood; only for his brilliance. He was fond of uttering outrageous obscenities in Mayan, confident that only four or five other people on the planet could understand him. It permitted him to insult friends and enemies alike with equal enjoyment.
“I’ve got half a dozen reports to sign out within the next—” he checked his watch with an Aristophanean flourish, “hour and a half. This isn’t helping any.”
“I assure you, Dr. Siakwan,” the Colligatarch declared placatingly, “we will be out of here very soon.
“I’ve called you all together because I have an important announcement to make that I did not wish to deliver via the usual channels. You are all aware that a serious danger threatens me, and that this has occupied me for some time now.”
No one said anything. There were a few impolitic, barely muffled groans. Isabel Jordan had activated her private console and was playing a complex mathematical game, listening with only half a mind.
“I can tell you that I now understand the nature of the threat and that I may have identified its source as well.” That made everyone take notice. Even Dr. Siakwan looked interested instead of combative, and Isabel Jordan wiped her game.
“Then tell us,” said Oristano.
“There are still many things I am not sure of, specifics that I lack, missing pieces of the puzzle. But I have a grasp of the general outline now. There is no need to trouble you until that outline has been solidified.”
“If there’s no need to trouble us,” said Jordan, “was it absolutely necessary to drag us all in here to inform us of that fact?”
“I thought it would raise your spirits. I am aware that this particular problem has placed something of a strain on all of you lately. The threat still exists, but I am in a position to begin to deal with it now.”
The earlier groans were matched now by tired sighs.
“I am continuing to monitor all relevant developments and will keep all of you posted as additional facts are learned. Meanwhile, you may return to your regular assignments, secure in the knowledge that events are at last coming under control.”
“This wouldn’t have anything to do,” said one of the other staff members, “with our recent external probe of your logic circuitry, would it?”
“Not at all,” said the Colligatarch. “You must, of course, proceed with that probe, Dr. Novotski, until you have obtained the results you require. I shall endeavor to assist you and your team in any way I can.”
“That’s good, because I still have a number of things I want to do.”
“I’m sure you do. Thank you all for your attention and consideration.” The voice went quiet as the single doorway slid aside.
There was no rush to the exit.
“Any questions?” Oristano asked as he stood.
“Not hardly, doh shieh,” grumbled Siakwan as he moved toward the door. “Damn waste of time.”
Dhurapati moved to stand next to Oristano. “You don’t think it’s been playing with us all along, Martin?
He shook his head. “The Colligatarch doesn’t play. It's too conscious of the value of its own time.”
Novotski joined them “Izvanit'yeh … excuse me, comrades, but it occurs to me this business may have been a test of our mental stability, not the machine’s.”
“I am discounting nothing,” Oristano responded flatly, “but I disagree with that assessment, Alex. I believe in the machine; therefore I must also believe in this threat. I also believe it when it says it is getting everything under control. I don’t know about the rest of you, but today’s news makes me feel a lot better.”
“I wish I could say the same.” Novotski turned to depart, deep in conversation with Dhurapati Ponnani. Oristano chatted with each member in turn as he or she left, like a pastor after Sunday morning services, before departing himself.
The door was locked and the lights turned off. The conference room was now empty … except for the lingering presence of the machine. It considered what it had seen and heard, appraising stares, expressions, commentary, even the posture of its human colleagues.
Despite their grumbling, all had departed more relaxed and reassured. And why shouldn’t they? There was no reason for the most skeptical of them, not even the extraordinarily perceptive Martin Oristano, to suspect that the Authority staff had been lied to for the first time in two hundred years.
