Divergence

“Hold on,” said Saskia. “You haven’t told us what you are offering us yet.”

“I can’t,” said the Free Enterprise. “If I were to tell you, and you were to refuse the trade, you would have gained valuable information from me for nothing. You must be prepared to trust FE. Now, are we going to trade?”

Edward didn’t understand what all the fuss was about. They must have intended upon doing the deal, else why waste fuel flying out here to make contact? Certainly, Earth was dangerous, but they didn’t have to go that close, did they?

Saskia appeared to reach a decision.

“Okay,” she said, “we’ll put it to the vote. Maurice?”

“You’re the boss.” Maurice shrugged. He gave a thin smile. “I’m happy to go with you.”

“Fine. Edward?”

Edward nodded his head vigorously.

“Yes. I’d like to go to Earth. Are you going to ask Miss Rose?”

Miss Rose wasn’t there. She still spent most of the time shut up in her room, rearranging her things, only making occasional trips out to eat her meals and steal small items from around the ship.

“I would if she were here,” said Saskia briskly. “Okay then,” she raised her glass of apple juice, as if in a toast, “we trade. Are you ready to interface?”

“Yes,” replied Maurice and the Free Enterprise simultaneously.

“Then let’s go.”

“Uploading circumstances,” said Maurice. “What the hell?” He gazed at his console, mouth hanging open.

“What’s the matter?” asked Saskia, squinting to see what was scrolling across his screen.

“That’s never happened before,” said Maurice. “I’m going to run a check.”

“What?” asked Saskia. “Speak to me! What’s never happened before?”

“The trade—it’s completed already. I don’t understand it! Free Enterprise, are you getting the same?”

“I must admit, it does seem very unusual.” The other ship sounded genuinely puzzled. “Still, occasionally circumstances are such that two trading partners find themselves almost perfectly matched.” There was a fluttering noise. “Even so, I have never heard of an Exchange taking place quite so quickly.”

Saskia was visibly fretting. Edward took the glass of apple juice from her hand and placed it on the low coffee table nearby.

“I’ve run the check,” said Maurice. “It’s a Fair Exchange.”

“I concur,” said the Free Enterprise. “Very well, I am dispatching your passenger now. She should arrive with you in four minutes.”

A shuttle detached itself from the image of the spaceship that floated in the middle of the living area.

“It will have to go into the large hold,” said Maurice, gazing at a dimension reading. “There should be plenty of room, even with the venumbs in there. I’ll open the hatch now.”

“You may keep the shuttle,” said the Free Enterprise . “It is part of the Exchange. As to the rest, my price includes disclosure of the information that I have just downloaded to your ship. I will give you a quick summary as your passenger approaches. Have you heard of DIANA?”

Maurice shook his head.

“I have,” said Saskia. “They were one of the old commercial organizations. They controlled quite a bit of human- occupied space until the Watcher and the Environment Agency took over the running of human affairs.”

“A fair summary,” said the Free Enterprise . The pod in the viewing field was growing