Jeffrey A. Carver Starstream 1 From A Changeling Star

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through security at this point, when he was totally a stranger to the station.
But time was fleeing! And he had no way of knowing what Ruskin
was doing, except from what little the Jeaves-copy was able to ascertain.
Your clearance has been approved, the security robot said.
What took so long? Ganz asked distantly. It took he a moment to
respond to the false-name Bremen. That was a bad sign.
Concentrate
!
I can only say that the clearance was made as quickly as possible,
answered the robot.
Apparently there was confusion because two representatives, not one,
were expected to replace the previous Tandesko observers.
I explained about that. My coworker was taken ill at the last
minute, and no other was available.
Yes. Well, if you will allow me to attach this bracelet to your wrist, you
will be permitted to move about at will through the observer areas of
the station. The robot was holding up a narrow brown band.
I see, Ganz said, extending his left arm. The robot deftly closed the
bracelet around his wrist, explaining that should he find it uncomfortable
or wish to remove it, he could report to any security station. However, he
must be wearing the bracelet when moving about the station.
And what, Ganz said, does this bracelet signify? He held he wrist up to
examine it. The bracelet appeared to be made of a brown metal mesh.
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Brown, said the robot, indicates foreign observer status. You are free to
move through
the unrestricted areas. However, you will be prevented from entering the
restricted zone. Only silver and gold wearers may enter the secure areas.
And how do I distinguish one from the other?
Observe the doorway signs. In any case, you will be physically unable to pass
through any doorway into a secure area. The robot added, as Ganz was
about to turn away, I will now take you on a brief tour, if you so
desire.
Ganz thought for a moment. There was probably no better way to get a feel of
the station s layout. And if the robot got to be a pain, well, there were ways
of getting rid of pains.
Jeaves knew that it had to decide soon what action to take with regard to
Ruskin. It had, fortunately, been able to get a signal through to its
counterpart, so at least it had some inkling of what to expect from Ganz.
But from Ruskin? It was as hard for Jeaves to evaluate Ruskin as
it was for Ruskin to evaluate himself. Clearly the man was still torn, as
his friend Ali Maksam had indicated, but he seemed much closer now to
achieving a condition of stability. The question was, which point of stability
would he settle on: the control of the
NAG
s of Broder and Gorminski, or of Jeaves s other employer, or of E rik
Daxter or his own thoughts and feelings? And at this point, what could Jeaves
do about it, even if it knew the answer? It could help Ganz kill Ruskin, or
try to prevent it. But that seemed about all.
And Jeaves remembered the violent transformation that had come over Ruskin
during his last emergence from K-space. That, more than anything, was
the danger signal that Jeaves feared.
It was a final irony, in view of the difference of Jeaves s goals from Ganz s:
that Jeaves might have to aid Ganz in destroying Ruskin, if that was
the only way to keep him from going violently out of control.
Tamika was depressed, but not surprised, to find Ruskin gone when she
awoke. She had little time to reflect on the fact, though; what had
awakened her was the door buzzer, and when she opened the door she
found herself facing a security robot, who informed her that she d
just been granted observer status. If she would please extend her left
arm, she would be fitted with a bracelet &
A little later, as she followed the robot-guide into the main
observers room, she found herself studying the bracelet on her
wrist. Brown. Restricted to unsecured areas. She wasn t surprised,
though she found it a bit irritating. In theory, she was supposed to
know nothing about the secret project in the guise of Project Starmuse. In
practice, she was going to have to smile and chat with the other
observers: Tandesko and Querayn (the thought stirred her to anger: [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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