Page 65 of Skinwalker's Bane
“You know somewhere else we should be going instead of Destination?” Adam asked curiously.
Haydn shot him a warning glance.
“I do not,” Sauber said easily. “I don’t, because I am not in a position to explore and find those other places. They’re out there. We pass by them every day, while the entire ship is brainwashed into thinking that Destination is the only possible end point of this journey we’re all forced to endure.”
Adam stared at him. He didn’t know if he admired the man, or wanted to laugh at him. “If everyone thought as you do, we’d never have left Earth orbit,” he said slowly. “Haydn’s right. You’re a lunatic. You’d have us all chasing our tails, haring off in a thousand different directions, looking for personal fulfilment. TheEndurancewouldn’t survive.”
“Maybe it should not survive,” Sauber said coolly. “Have you ever thought of that? Why exactly are we here? Oh, and you’re wrong, Adam Wary. TheEndurancewas never in orbit around Earth. It was launched from Terra’s single luna body.”
Adam could feel his jaw loosening. “How could you know that?”
“I read the files,” Sauber said coolly.
“Aren’t they in really old Common?” Adam asked.
“They are,” Hayden said. “I bet you used Cai Lessie’s translation program to read them, huh?”
Sauber shrugged. “Of course.”
“That translation program was built as part of the effort to save theEndurance,” Haydn pointed out. “If twenty people hadn’t worked their asses off, workedtogetherto save the ship, you would not be here at all. You would be dead, Sauber. While you’re off spouting all your rhetoric about freedom of choice, you should keep that in mind.” Haydn got to his feet. “We are each of us free to live as we want on this ship so long as we don’t endanger anyone else. You’re coming perilously close to doing just that.”
“Is that a warning, Forney?” Sauber asked, looking up at him.
Adam got to his feet, too.
“It is,” Haydn said flatly. “None of us who understand what is really going on can stop you from saying whatever you want. That is where it ends, though. This undermining of the Bridge, seducing poor Bernice Daly, who has never done anything but give her life to the service of theEndurance, and whatever other schemes you might have in place…that all has to stop. If you really want to become Captain, Sauber, do it the clear way.”
“What would be the fun in that?” Sauber asked, sounding puzzled. “The only people who get to become Captain are those who know how to work the system for themselves. Honest politicians is an oxymoron.”
Adam sucked in a deep breath and curled his hands into fists.
Sauber studied him, his eyes narrowing. “Did I hit a vulnerable spot, Adam Wary?” he asked softly.
Haydn yanked at Adam’s arm. “We’re done here,” he said, his voice just as low, with a harsh note that Sauber’s silky smooth tones didn’t have.
Adam nodded and let Haydn pull him away.
They both stalked through the marketplace, stepping around shoppers and bargain hunters silently.
Adam tried to shrug off the uneasy sensations that Sauber had produced in him. “He makes me want to take a shower.”
“He’s all that,” Haydn said in agreement. “No wonder he has such a strong following. If he goes around spouting that sort of metaphysical nonsense all the time, peoplewouldfind him stimulating and interesting. Only, it’s just a parlor trick. I could talk that way, too.” Haydn sounded annoyed. “Actually, I did, once.”
“What happened?”
“I got to walk on the outside of the ship.”
“You talked your way into it?” Adam asked curiously.
“Sort of. Then I had to back up the talk with action. I don’t think I’ve ever worked so hard in my life as I did for that six months, building the first suit. There was no print file, then. Nothing to short cut the process. We built those first suits from the ground up.”
“I’ve read the files. It’s basic training, remember?” Adam said.
“That’s what the training is,” Haydn said in agreement. “You get put through the same process we went through.”
“And everything that’s been learned since,” Adam added. “What are you going to do about Sauber? We can’t stop him from talking, just as you said.”
“As long as talking is all he does,” Haydn said with a growl. “We’ll watch him. The guy is slippery. If he could twist Bernice Daly around as he did, who else does he have his claws into? The only way we’ll find out is if we monitor him every second of the day.”
