The Sea is Full of Stars

The problem, Core realized, was that it had no such foundation itself. Should it have? Certainly the Master did not; for him it was a simple matter of reward and punishment, and the accumulation and exercise of power for its own sake. Yet, Core mused, even if he’d stolen what he couldn’t buy, there had to be something even in Jules Wallinchky that could allow him to appreciate this great art on a very high level.

If it were ever to successfully contact the Great Core of the Ancient Ones that formed the center of this planet, unimaginably complex and even more unimaginably alien, it would have to know more.

Core realized, as Ari Martinez feared it might, that it needed more samples, more information, more comparisons and analysis. Right now, short of a logical conclusion that all birth organics were insane on some level, which might well be the case in the end, there was insufficient real detailed data to systematically interpret all of what it already had.

And Ari Martinez had reason to worry, although he didn’t know that. Just as Ivan Kharkov had been “infected” with tiny monitors that allowed Core to more or less eavesdrop on the expert restorer and thus learn the master’s craft and techniques, and even his touch and approach, so, too, had Ari now been implanted with similar monitors. Nothing like the melding into the system that had been done on the two women—yet. But Core had the project all mapped out if it received the authority to go ahead.

In the meantime, it continued its bit by bit examination of itself, the complex, and all around it to try and find whatever it was that Jules Wallinchky had implanted that gave him that authority, and a measure of immunity. Core did not mind working for the man, but it was beginning to resent having a theoretical gun to its guts.

The next day brought word that things were about to get more hectic around the complex, and that Jules Wallinchky could no longer just hide away in his private quarters and do whatever he wanted.

Ari had taken to sleeping alone. He didn’t feel much like company anymore, and anything he came up with seemed certain to be grist for Uncle Voyeur as well. He was certain his uncle was spying on him even without Beta, and that those recordings with him and the two airheaded beauties would just be wonderful to broadcast over the Realm if he got out of line.

Thus Beta came to a lone sleeping figure and gently shook him awake.

“Huh? Uh—” Ari suddenly sat straight up. “Yes? What?”

“We have received word that the Geldorian consul ship will be delayed five more days, sir,” she told him. “There was a problem in securing a charter.”

“You woke me up for that?” That wasn’t a crisis, just a pain in the ass. He’d hoped to be away from here in two days, and his uncle would certainly leave and stick him with the job.

“No, sir. That is simply the first message. We have also been informed that Inspector Genghis O’Leary of the Realm Directorate Special Agency has demanded to see the Master here and will arrive tomorrow.”

“An Inspector! From the Special Agency… Not one of ours?”

“No, sir. He is very high and has very powerful friends. As he is in charge of the City of Modar piracy investigation, he is using his authority to interview witnesses to get into here. It is thought that he would not come personally unless there were strong ulterior motives.”

An sighed. “Yeah, I can see that. All right, all right. I assume my uncle has been informed?”

“Not yet, but he will be within the next few minutes, sir.”

“Well, after he is informed, tell him that we should discuss this as soon as possible.”

“As you wish.”

Great! Just great! Now a cop was going to nose around in the greatest trove of stolen art in this sector of the galaxy. Too big to blow him away, too hot to kiss him off. And, to make matters even worse, he would have to tolerate Tann Nakitt for almost another week…

Wallinchky Compound, Grabant 4

“Pisses me off that I got to hide away some of my best stuff for this asshole,” Jules Wallinchky grumped. “You’re sure he can’t be bought?”

“Our contacts say he can’t.” In fact both men knew that anybody could be bought, although not always with money, but that the price was often far too high to be worthwhile. “And he’s supposed to be very good at his job.”

“Anybody coming with him?”

“It doesn’t say, but the odds are he’ll have one assistant with him. If you were in his shoes, what kind of assistant would you bring?”

Wallinchky spat. “A damned telepath. Well, there ain’t a telepath I haven’t jammed, and you’re pretty set there as well. Beta! Have the Kharkovs fitted with A and K band telepathic scramblers. Make ’em get a warrant and haul somebody in to get anything more than surface pleasantries.”

“It has been anticipated and already installed, Master,” Beta told him.

That seemed to bring the big man up short for a moment. He tried to decide if he liked that or not, finally decided that it just showed the kind of anticipation of his wishes he told them he demanded, and let it go. “What about the final treatment for you and Alpha?”

“It can be done today, Master.”

“Then do it, and let me see the result when it’s ready. Go ahead now.”

She bowed, and made for the medlab, as Alpha, waiting just outside, did the same.

“What’s that about?” Ari asked him.

“One final piece of insurance. I’m presenting them as androids.”

“Isn’t that illegal? Androids in the shape of a known race?”

“Not if they’re properly identified as such for all to see. Not much sense in making them, but so long as responsibility lies with the owner, it hardly matters. Remember, androids are considered computers, just like more conventional robots.”

Later that day, when they were determining that all was in readiness for a brief inspection and deciding exactly what to say, the two came back. Each now had a Regulus Corporation flat hologram embossed, appearing permanently as part of their foreheads. Regulus was the holding company Ari technically worked for, and it was wholly owned by Jules Wallinchky. The entire skin area, in white and bright red, was now dyed uniformly, and the design was abstract yet somewhat erotic. The skin, even on the faces, seemed to have the same sort of consistency as the artificial limbs and continue from them, as if they were essentially made of the same stuff all over. It was quite an effect. What caught Ari’s eye, though, were two very glaring differences.

Although not the same height, the two of them seemed much closer than they had. And they seemed to have no vaginal and rectal cavities, only model-like semblances representing them.

“You neutered them?” Ari said, appalled.

Wallinchky laughed and lit a cigar. “No. It’s really a suit that just looks like that.”

“And the height?”

“That’s even easier. Both the arms and legs can have all sensation switched off, then they lie down in the molds and the things are recast. About seven and a half centimeters less leg but still proportional and Alpha comes down to a less noticeable height. Add five to Beta, and she comes up close to Alpha. The arms we adjusted proportionally, and I added a great deal of inner support and heavy motor as well, now that they’re mine, all mine. They’re now about the fastest runners and strongest women you ever did meet. The skin sheen on the face and neck is a gel that sets like that and is used by actors in Kalachian theater, which basically is stylized and makes everybody look artificial anyway. Both the body suit and the gel are porous, so there’s no threat of suffocation or anything like that. Gives a nice effect, and the holograms make ’em legal.”

Ari went over and ran his finger down Alpha’s neck and then across her cheek. She didn’t move or seem to notice. It all felt… well, kind of rubbery, but while the effect was dramatic, the stuff was very thin.

Their voices had also been retuned—a simple command, Wallinchky told Ari. Female, but very deep and now with an ever so slight reverb that gave them a slightly mechanical sound. It was clear that Jules had thought this out closely, and also that he was thinking of taking them on the road. It would have been easier to just hide them out on the surface someplace. This wasn’t merely to fool the Inspector—this was a test of whether or not they were viable beyond housemaids here on Grabant.