either.’
Thalia experienced a premonitory chill. ‘Tell me about the manufactory complex, Citizen Caillebot.’
‘It’s practically dead, like I already told you. Hasn’t run at normal capacity for years. Decades. Longer than I can remember.’
Thalia nodded patiently. ‘But it’s still there. It hasn’t been removed, gutted, replaced or whatever?’
‘You think they’re going to crank it up again. Start making stuff on a big scale, feeding it with the junk the machines are collecting.’
‘It’s just an idea, Citizen Caillebot.’
‘Ships?’ he asked.
‘Not necessarily. If you can make single-molecule hulls, there’s nothing you can’t make.’ As an afterthought, she added: ‘Provided you have the construction blueprint, of course. The manufactory won’t be able to make anything unless it’s given the right instructions.’
‘You sound relieved.’
‘I probably shouldn’t be. It’s just that I was thinking of all the unpleasant things you
‘You sound pretty sure of that.’
‘Try locating the construction blueprint for a space-to-space weapon, Citizen Caillebot, or an attack ship, or a military servitor. See how far you get before a prefect comes knocking.’
‘Panoply keeps tabs on that kind of thing?’
‘We don’t just keep tabs. We make sure that data isn’t out there. On the rare occasions when someone needs to make something nasty, they come to us for permission. We retrieve and unlock the files from our archives. We issue them and make damned sure they’re deleted afterwards.’
‘Then you’re certain nothing nasty can come out of that manufactory?’
‘Not without Panoply’s help,’ Thalia said bluntly.
Caillebot responded with a knowing nod. ‘A day ago, Prefect, I’d have found that statement almost entirely reassuring.’
Thalia turned back to the window, ruminating on what the gardener had just said. The machines were working with the manic industry of insects. They had chewed deep into the lowest part of the stalk, exposing the geodesic struts that formed the structure’s scaffolding. Judging by the rubble and remains being shovelled into a waiting hopper, the cutting tools were making short work of that as well.
‘It’s not going to last long,’ Thalia said. Then she turned around and looked at the polling core, hoping that she was right about the machines needing to keep it intact, and therefore being unable to launch an all-out attack on the stalk supporting the sphere in which they were sheltering.
She’d been wrong about several things already today.
She hoped this wasn’t another.
Dreyfus knew something was amiss as soon as he approached the passwall into Jane Aumonier’s sphere and saw the two internal prefects waiting on either side of it, whiphounds drawn, tethered by quick-release lines that ran from their belts to eyelets in the doorframe. The passwall itself was set to obstruct.
‘Is there a problem?’ Dreyfus asked mildly. He’d occasionally been barred from talking to Aumonier when she was engaged in some activity that exceeded his Pangolin clearance. But it had never required the presence of security guards, and Aumonier had generally given him fair warning.
‘Sorry, sir,’ said the younger of the two guards, ‘but no one’s allowed to speak to Prefect Aumonier at the moment.’
‘Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?’
‘Not without authorisation from the supreme prefect, sir.’
Dreyfus looked at the kid as if he was being asked to answer a deceptively simple riddle. ‘She
The young guard looked embarrassed. ‘Not presently, sir. Prefect Baudry is now acting supreme.’
‘On what grounds was Prefect Aumonier removed from her position?’ Dreyfus asked disbelievingly.
‘I’m authorised to tell you that the decision was taken on the basis of medical fitness, sir. I thought you’d been informed, but—’
‘I hadn’t.’ He was trying to keep his fury in check, not wanting to take out his anger on this kid the way he had abused Thyssen earlier. ‘But I still want to talk to Prefect Aumonier.’
‘Prefect Aumonier is in no fit state to talk to anyone,’ said a gruff male voice behind Dreyfus. He pushed himself around to see Gaffney floating towards him along the same corridor he’d just traversed. ‘I’m sorry, Field, but that’s just the way it is.’
‘Let me talk to Jane.’
Gaffney shook his head, looking genuinely regretful. ‘I hardly need impress on you how precarious her situation is. The last thing she needs right now is someone upsetting her unnecessarily.’
‘Jane isn’t going to be the one who’s upset if I don’t get to see her.’
‘Easy, Field. I know you’ve had a tough time today. But don’t use it as an excuse to lash out at your superiors.’
‘Did you have any part in removing Jane?’
‘She wasn’t “removed”. She was relieved of the burden of command at a time when it would have been an intolerable imposition for her to have continued.’
In his peripheral vision, Dreyfus saw that the two guards were looking straight ahead with resolutely neutral expressions, pretending that they were not party to this high-level scuffle. Neither man had summoned the senior prefect. Gaffney must have been lurking nearby, Dreyfus thought: waiting until he tried to visit Aumonier.
‘What’s your angle here?’ Dreyfus asked. ‘Lillian Baudry’s a good prefect when it comes to the details, but she doesn’t have Jane’s grasp of the big picture. You’re counting on her making a mistake, aren’t you?’
‘Why on Earth would I want Lillian to fail?’
‘Because with Jane out of the picture, you’re one step closer to becoming supreme prefect.’
‘I think you’ve said more than enough. If you had the slightest idea how ludicrous you sound, you’d stop now.’
‘Where’s Baudry?’
‘In the tactical room, no doubt. In case it’s escaped your attention, a crisis has been brewing while you’ve been pursuing your own interests.’
Dreyfus spoke into his bracelet. ‘Get me Baudry.’
She answered immediately. ‘Prefect Dreyfus. I was hoping to hear from you before too long.’
‘Let me talk to Jane.’
‘I’m afraid that wouldn’t be wise. But would you mind coming up to tactical immediately? There’s something we need to discuss.’
Gaffney looked on with a faint smile. ‘I was on my way there before I ran into you. Why don’t we go there together?’
Baudry, Crissel and Clearmountain were in attendance when Dreyfus and Gaffney arrived in the tactical room. The seniors were peering at the Solid Orrery from different angles. Dreyfus noticed that four habitats had been pulled out of the swirl of the ten thousand and enlarged until their structures were visible.
Crissel indicated a vacant position. ‘Take a seat, Field Prefect Dreyfus. We were hoping you could explain something to us.’
Dreyfus remained standing. ‘I understand you were part of the lynch mob that removed Jane from power while I was outside.’
‘If you insist on characterising events in those terms, then yes, I was party to that decision. Do you have a problem with it?’
‘Have a guess.’
Crissel stared at him equably, refusing to take the bait. ‘Perhaps you haven’t been paying attention, but there have been worrying changes in the state of the scarab, likely harbingers of something medically catastrophic.’
