The Middle Kingdom (29 page)

For a moment
there was a tense, almost shocked silence in their circle. It was a
fact, and all of them knew it, but it was rarely mentioned in polite
company. The Domain, where Shepherd lived, like the estates of the
Seven, was an exception. Barring plantation workers, no one of any
stature was allowed to live outside the City. There was, of course,
good reason for this, for most of the land outside the City was under
intense cultivation, organized into huge ten-thousand-mou fields
planted with superhybrids, not a mou wasted. Even so, a great deal of
jealousy existed in the Above. There were many, Berdichev and Lehmann
among them, who would have given half their wealth to live outside,
under the sun.

"Well, it's
true!" said Duchek after a moment, embarrassed by his slip, but
unapologetic. "It's easy for him to criticize. He can get out!"

Lehmann studied
Duchek a moment, then turned back to Shepherd, still intrigued by
what he had heard him say. "I'm surprised to hear you talk this
way,
Shih
Shepherd. You sound"— he laughed—"almost
dissatisfied."

Shepherd glanced
briefly at Li Yuan, noting how intently the young boy was following
things, then smiled and answered Lehmann. "Should I be
satisfied? Should I, as a man, just accept what is without question?"
He laughed softly. "Why, we would still be in the caves, or in
the woods, if that were so. There would be no civilization. No Chung
Kuo."

Yuan, whose eyes
caught everything, saw how Lehmann made to answer, then checked
himself, as if he had suddenly realized what was happening. Hal
Shepherd's words, while passionately spoken, were suspiciously close
to Dispersionist orthodoxy and their creed of "Change and
Expand." Lehmann hesitated, then laughed casually and turned to
take a fresh tumbler of wine from a passing servant.

"So you
advocate change?"

Shepherd's face
changed subtly; the smile, the patina of charm, remained, but behind
it now lay something much harder and more ruthless. "You mistake
me, Pietr. I do not like change, nor do I welcome it. But if I could
change one thing, I would change that. I would give men back their
contact with the earth." His smile hardened, and a trace of
sadness and regret lingered momentarily in his eyes. "However,
the world is as it is, not as it ought to be. There are too many of
us now. The earth could not support us in the old way."

Again it was a
fact. Even though every cultivable piece of land outside the City was
in use, still only sixty percent of Chung Kuo's demand was met that
way. The rest was synthesized within the City or grown in the giant
orbital farms. And as the population grew, the problem grew with it.
How feed the many mouths of Chung Kuo?

Yuan felt
himself tense, knowing that Shepherd was coming to the nub of it.
Through Shepherd, his father was fishing for something here; some
concession, maybe. Some way of healing the anticipated breach; of
keeping Chung Kuo from war.

"But there
are other ways, eh?"

Lehmann let the
words lie there between himself and Shepherd. He sipped at his wine
and looked across at Berdichev, a faint smile on his lips.

Shepherd tilted
his head slightly, as if considering Lehmann's words. Then he sighed
and shook his head. "The T'ang himself has tried to make
changes. For three years now he has tried to persuade the Council to
take certain measures. But they are reluctant. They do not feel the
House would give its full support to such changes."

Yuan had seen
how Lehmann's eyes had widened at Shepherd's use of the word
changes
in the context of his father and the Council; had seen how
surprised both Berdichev and Duchek also were.

Lehmann spoke
for them. "Changes? I don't understand you,
Shih
Shepherd.
What changes?"

"Controls.
Concessions. A deal, you might call it."

"A deal?"
Lehmann's mouth twisted almost scornfully. "I thought the Seven
were above deals. What could they possibly want from the House?"

Shepherd loojced
at each of the men in turn, then smiled. "Population controls.
Perhaps even reductions?"

Lehmann's
laughter made heads turn nearby. He leaned toward Shepherd and almost
spat the word back at him. "Impossible!"

"So you
say, but what if—"

But Shepherd
never got to finish his sentence. Yuan felt a touch on his shoulder
and knew at once it was Han Ch'in. No one else would have dared lay a
hand on him.

"Hal! Hal!
Have you seen them? Have you seen my ox-men? They're marvelous!"

Shepherd drew
back from the edge. Calmly he turned to Han Ch'in and smiled. "So
that's what they were, Han. I did wonder. I thought perhaps you had
invited a few brutes up from the Clay!"

The rest of the
circle had bowed at Han Ch'in's sudden entry into their ranks. Now
Shepherd's comment drew their laughter. But Han Ch'in himself was
more thoughtful.

"It must be
awful, Hal, being born down there."

Berdichev, who,
with Lehmann and Wyatt, had been beneath the City's floor into the
Clay and seen it for himself, bowed again, then answered Han.

"It would
be, were they really conscious of their misery. But it's all they
know. In any case, they're really little more than animals. They
don't live long enough to consider how awful their lives truly are."

"We should
gas them," said Duchek. "We should pump the Clay full of
gas and clean it up."

Han Ch'in looked
sharply at the Administrator but said nothing.

"It would,
perhaps, be best," said Lehmann, coming to Duchek's aid. "After
all, it would ease their suffering. And we could use the land down
there for other things."

"So I
understand," Han Ch'in answered, his distaste for Lehmann quite
open. "You have argued for it in the House often enough."

Lehmann bowed
his head, then looked to Shepherd, his frustration at being
interrupted at such a crucial moment threatening, for an instant, to
goad him into an impropriety. Then he relaxed again and smiled at the
T'ang's eldest son.

"I am
honored that the Prince pays such attention to my humble affairs. You
may be sure I am no less your own admirer."

Han Ch'in stared
back at him a moment, nothing but coldness in his eyes, then he
turned to Shepherd and laughed.

"You know,
Hal, I can't get over how marvelous my ox-men are. They even talk.
Baby talk, admittedly, but it's talk of a kind, eh? And you should
smell them. Rich, they are! Ripe!" He looked meaningfully around
the circle, then back at Shepherd. "Perhaps I should have Uncle
Klaus make more of them for me. Then I could form my own House and
watch the beasts debate."

TOLONEN'S EYES
took in everything about him. He had a sense of where each person was
within ten paces of the T'ang; how far away the nearest of them were;
how casually or otherwise each stood. As for himself, he stood there,
seemingly at ease, a drink in his left hand, his right hand resting
against his thigh. Casual. Listening, or so it seemed, to every word
that was being said. Indeed, at any moment he might have repeated
anything that had just been said by the T'ang and his party, yet his
attention was split. He watched, attentive to every sign, knowing
that this, the safest place, was also the most dangerous. They could
never take Li Shai Tung by force. But surprise?

Earlier that
afternoon he had checked out the servants for himself, trusting no
one. He had had every servo-mechanism checked for program quirks,
every GenSyn neuter for behavioral deviancy. And then, at the last
moment, he had brought in his own guards. It was they who now went
among the guests, serving drinks and offering spiced delicacies. At
any moment Tolonen could tune in to any conversation and hear
whatever was being said through the direct relay in his head. His
guards picked up all talk, positioning themselves so that not a word
in the Great Hall would be missed. It would all be replayed and
investigated for significance later. For now, however, only one thing
mattered. He had to keep Li Shai Tung alive.

For years now he
had learned to outguess his enemies; to anticipate their next move.
But now things were changing, the situation escalating, and in his
heart of hearts he knew that the tenuous peace that had existed for
more than a century was about to be broken. The Dispersionists, a
covert, loosely knit organization before the arrest of Edmund Wyatt,
were now an open faction in the House; not merely respected but
heavily supported. Their strength had upset the traditional balance.
In the last two years they had radicalized the House and brought the
clamor for change to a head.

It was time to
come to an agreement. To make concessions. But first they would have
justice. For Lwo Kang's death and the insult to the Seven.

Tolonen breathed
deeply, hearing Lehmann's voice sound clearly in his head. In two
hours the smile would be wiped off that bastard's face.

He had been
listening to the conversation between Shepherd and the others, amused
by the way Shepherd ran them, like fish upon a line, only to reel
them slowly in. But Han Ch'in's sudden interjection had snapped the
fragile line. Tolonen looked across and saw the young prince leaning
forward, one hand on his younger brother's shoulder, and heard his
voice clearly, transmitted to him by the waiter at Berdichev's side.

"It must
be
awful,
Hal. Being
born down there."

"Knut!"

He turned at the
T'ang's summons and went across to him, the fingers of his right hand
surreptitiously moving across the control panel beneath the cloth of
his uniform trousers, shutting off the voices in his head.
"ChiehHsia?"

The circle about
the T'ang made room for the General.

"Klaus was
asking me about Major DeVore. He's back tomorrow, isn't he?"

"He was due
then,
Chieh Hsia,
but the flight from Mars was delayed. He
docks the morning of the wedding."

"Good.
Klaus was saying how much his son would like to serve the Major
again. I hope he'll be granted the opportunity."

Tolonen bowed
his head. What the T'ang "hoped" for was tantamount to a
command. "I shall see to it personally,
Chieh Hsia."

"He has
done well out there, I understand."

Again the T'ang
was being diplomatic. He knew perfectly well how DeVore had performed
as Chief Security Officer to the Martian colony. He had seen all the
reports and discussed them at length with Tolonen.

"Indeed he
has,
Chieh Hsia.
And I have put his name before the Marshal to
fill the next vacancy for general."

"Your own?"
Li Shai Tung smiled.

"If the
T'ang no longer feels he needs me."

"Oh, that
will be some time yet, Knut. A good long time, I hope."

Tolonen bowed
deeply, profoundly pleased.

Just then Major
Nocenzi appeared at the edge of the group, his head bowed, awaiting
permission to speak.

The T'ang looked
at him. "What is it, Major?"

Nocenzi kept his
head lowered. "There is a message,
Chieh Hsia.
For the
General."

Tolonen turned
to the T'ang. "You'll excuse me,
Chieh Hsia
?"

"Of
course."

He bowed and
turned away, then followed Nocenzi across to an anteroom they were
using as coordination center for Security. When the door was closed
behind them, Tolonen faced his Major.

"What is
it, Vittorio?"

"Karr has
been on, sir. He says he's traced his man."

"What?"

"He's
waiting to talk to you, sir. On the switching channel."

At once Tolonen
reached down and touched the relevant button on the panel inset into
his thigh. "Well, Karr?" he said, knowing Karr would hear
him, wherever he was in the City. Karr's voice came back to him at
once; as clear in his head as if he stood in the same room with him.

"Forgive me
for disturbing you, General. But I'm certain I've found him. He fits
the profile perfectly, right down to the scar. I'm following him
right now."

Tolonen listened
carefully, making Kart repeat the coordinates three times before he
cut connection. Then he turned to Nocenzi, "I must go, Vittorio.
Take charge here. Ensure by your life that nothing happens."

Nocenzi looked
down. "Are you sure you should go personally, sir? It could be
dangerous. The man's a killer."

Tolonen smiled.
"I'll be all right, Vittorio. Anyway, Karr will be with me."

"Even so,
sir . . ."

Tolonen laughed.
"If it makes you easier, Vittorio, I order you to take charge
here. AH right? In this instance I have to go. Personally. It's too
important to leave to anyone else. Too much has slipped through my
hands as it is, and this man's the key to it all. I know he is. I
feel it in my bones."

Nocenzi smiled.
"Then take care, Knut. I'll make certain all's well here."

Tolonen reached
out and held Nocenzi's shoulder briefly, returning his smile. "Good.
Then I'll report what's happening to the T'ang."

"Well,
Chen? Would you like a beer?"

Chen looked up
at the brightly pulsing sign over the door. FU YANG’S BAR, it
read. His mouth was dry and the thought of a beer was good. It was
some while since he'd allowed himself the luxury. Even so he looked
down and shook his head. "Thank you, Pan chang Lo, but I should
be getting back. It's late and Wang Ti will have to cook."

Supervisor Lo
took his arm. "All the better. You can get a meal at the bar.
Call her. Tell her you'll be a bit late, and that you’ve eaten.
She'll not mind. Not this once. Come on, I'll treat you. YouVe helped
me out and I appreciate that."

Chen hesitated,
then nodded. Lo was right; it wasn't as if he made a habit of this.
No, Wang Ti could hardly complain if he had a few beers for once; not
after he had worked a double shift. Anyway, he had bought her
something. He traced the shape of the necklace in his overall pocket
and smiled to himself, then followed Lo Ying into the crowded bar,
squeezing in beside him at one of the tiny double booths.