Echo

TWENTY-FIVE

I’m not sure when I made the decision. But a few hours after talking with Suze, I found myself on the shuttle, riding down to the terminal. I was barely in the door of my condo when Mr. Coppel, the complex owner, informed me that he had people coming over that afternoon to look at the place. “I don’t expect there’ll be any problem with a quick sale,” he said. “How soon can you be out?”

I needed to talk to Cavallero again. But I didn’t have time to take the train to Carnaiva, and I didn’t want to do this over the circuit. So I rented a skimmer and flew out. On the way, I called Robin and left a message that I wasn’t going to make our date that evening. I apologized and promised I’d make it up to him.

I turned the thing over to the AI and slept much of the way, waking as we passed Indira. Cremation Station. The last segment of the ride is probably the dullest two hundred kilometers on the planet. It’s pure prairie, unbroken by anything. The most exciting feature of the landscape is that there are occasional slight rises. And a few wild grazing herds of bofins.

In the late afternoon, local time, I settled to the ground just outside the Space Base.

Cavallero was not in his office when I arrived. But the AI let him know I was there and asked me to wait. A few minutes later, he walked in, obviously on guard, not happy to see me again. But he gave me a forced smile and said he hadn’t expected to have the pleasure of my presence again so soon.

“Hal,” I said as jauntily as I could manage, “how are you doing?” I’m not a very good actor, and I did not succeed in putting him at ease.

“I’m good. What brings you back to Carnaiva? Still working on that book?” His voice carried an implied sneer. He hadn’t liked being lied to.

He didn’t offer a chair. “Do you have a minute to talk with me?”

“I’m kind of busy.” He showed me a pair of shears. Then realized how silly it looked. “What do you need, Chase?”

“I won’t take much of your time.”

“Okay.”

Outside, kids were playing, yelling, throwing a ball around. “You and Rachel Bannister worked together for several years. Do I have that right?”

“Umm. Yes, more or less. I told you before, Chase, it’s been an awfully long time.”

“I understand there was some tension between you.”

“Well, that’s not true. Where’d you hear that?”

“There are a lot of people who know about it. Apparently there was an incident at the Skydeck Club.”

He went pale. “I’m sorry. Chase, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Some of the people who were there still remember it. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”

He looked at me a long time. Then he lowered himself into a chair. “Please.” His voice shook. “Chase, you look like a decent woman. I’m begging you: Walk away from this. Drop it. You can’t do any good for anyone. Let it go.” He wiped the back of his hand against his mouth. “Please. Leave it alone.”

“Hal—” He shook his head. Clamped his lips together. Tears rolled down his cheeks. “You can trust me,” I said. “If it’s as you say, it’ll go no further.”

He shook his head violently and turned away from me.

I went back to the skimmer and called Alex. “Is my job still open?”

Eliot Statkins was less happy when I told him I would make the final scheduled flight for Rigel, but that it would be my last.

“Why, Chase?” He tried to speak like a father, but he couldn’t bring it off. “We can always find another pilot, but you’re throwing away a golden opportunity. Why don’t you take some time and think about it? There’s no big hurry. When you get to Arkon, on the outbound leg, send me a message. To me, personally. Let me know what you want to do. Meanwhile, I’ll take no action.”

“Eliot, I’m just not comfortable on these flights.”

“Why not?” He looked shocked by the proposition. Surely I recognized how unreasonable it was.

“It has nothing to do with the flights themselves. It’s just that—”

“Yes?”

“My future’s with Alex.”

“With the antique dealer?”

“Yes.”

“I can’t believe you really think that. An antique dealer? Well, it’s your call. But think about it. That’s all I’m asking. I know we don’t pay as much as he does, but we’ll still be here in thirty years. Hell, he could shut down tomorrow. With us, you get a lot of benefits, not to mention housing. A fat retirement. Security. And where else would you find a career this interesting? Most pilots would kill for your job.”

I thanked him, and told him I’d send a message from Arkon. An hour later, I boarded the Gonzalez and started getting ready for departure.

I called Robin from the bridge.

“Marvelous,” he said. “When you get back, we’ll do a celebration.”

“Sounds good.”

“Chase?”

“Yes?”

“I think I’m in love with you.”

I won’t say it was an uneventful flight. Before we got to Arkon, I had to deal with an orgy that spilled out into the main cabin, a passenger who was unhappy with the food and insisted on holding me personally responsible, and a gambling dispute that ended in a broken jaw. Oh, and I also got to deliver a baby.

At Arkon, a veteran pilot said it all sounded pretty routine. “Don’t worry,” he told me, “after a while you’ll be able to deal with this stuff standing on your head.”

I sent Eliot a message confirming my resignation.

During my last night on the ship, I didn’t sleep much. I was on the bridge after midnight, dozing, but not anxious to go back to my quarters. We were three hours from making our jump, and the ship was silent, save for the barely audible sound of the engines and the air vents. Jack had congratulated me when I told him. But he’d shown no other reaction, and my conversations with him had been routine. But as the clock ticked down, he delivered a brief piece of static, his equivalent of clearing his throat. “Chase?”

“Yes, Jack?”

“I’m glad that you are so happy. But I will miss you.”

“Thanks, Jack. “I’ll miss you, too.”

“Are you sure you’re doing the right thing?”

“Yes. I am sure.”

“Good. I think you are, too. Good luck.”

“Thank you.”

“May I say something else?”

“Of course.”

“Knowing you these few weeks—”

“Yes—?”

“Makes me, for the first time, wonder whether I would not be better off being human.”