Chapter Four
Timeweb ensnares the past, the present, and the future. As each moment becomes the past, it folds into the web and seems to disappear without actually doing so. Simultaneously, in a great cosmic balance, the future opens up for us … little by little.
—Tulyan Imprint
Seated in the back of a maglev limousine, the man gazed out a tinted window as the car hummed along a mountain track, snaking downhill. Through morning vistas that opened between sun-dappled trees, Noah Watanabe saw immense factories and office complexes below in the Valley of the Princes, facilities that were operated by the titans of industry who controlled the multi-planet Human Empire. For a few seconds, he barely made out the high-walled perimeter of his father’s CorpOne compound, with its radically-shaped structures, an imaginative variety of geometric and artistic combinations.
On the opposite side of the valley, Rainbow City—the largest industrial metropolis on Canopa—clung to a shimmering, iridescent cliff. Workers occupied homes on the lower levels of the community, while the villas of wealthy noblemen studded the top like a crown of jewels. For decades Prince Saito had owned one of those palatial residences, and Noah recalled some happy times growing up there … but only a few. There had been too many family problems.
It was early summer now, with the canopa pines and exotic grasses of the valley still bright green, having gorged themselves with moisture in anticipation of the coming dry months. Noah viewed it as a survival mechanism, and thought that plants were just as intelligent as other life forms, but in different ways. This and other controversial beliefs frequently put him at odds with the wealthy industrialists of the Merchant Prince Alliance, including his own father.
Noah wore a velvis surcoat and a high-collar shirt with a gold chain around the neck. His muscles bulged under the fabric. He was accompanied by six men dressed in the green-and-brown uniforms of the Guardians, his force of environmental activists who were known as “eco-warriors.” The men were armed with high-caliber puissant rifles, as well as sidearms and an arsenal of stun-weapons, poisons, and plax-explosives. They sat silently, staring outside in all directions, ever on the alert for danger. Ahead of the black car and behind it on the maglev track—as arranged by Prince Saito—were nine other identical vehicles, thus preventing potential aggressors from targeting Noah too easily. An air escort of CorpOne attack hellees flew overhead, and the entire area around him had been scanned by infrared and other devices.
Enemies could still defeat any of these systems. Technology was that way; you could never be certain what your adversary knew, or what he had developed to use against you in the eternal dance of offensive and defensive advancements. People wishing to do Noah harm might still be lurking in the woods or in the air, but he believed in fate; if something was meant to get him, it would.
This was how he felt about the upcoming meeting with his father, which he had not expected to occur. Upon receiving the message from the old man, Noah had experienced a visceral sensation that a greater power was at work, drawing them together. Perhaps the two of them, who had disagreed so vehemently about industrial and environmental issues in the past, might find some common ground after all. Noah had always held onto a thread of hope that this might happen, but had taken no steps in that direction, until he replied to his father’s recent message.
Noah’s strong belief in fate did not mean that he just sat around and waited for things to occur. Far from it. The penultimate activist among activists, he was an assertive leader who constantly pushed events, implementing large-scale transformations on the worlds of the Human-controlled Merchant Prince Alliance.
In the process, Noah had become fabulously wealthy in his own right, so he cared nothing of rumors reaching him that he had been disowned by his father; he really only cared about the loss of a relationship with Prince Saito … the riches of emotion, knowledge, and experience that they were not sharing with each other. Maybe that was about to change.
The procession of maglev vehicles reached the valley floor, where the single track widened into ten, with a variety of conveyances whirring along on them … luxury cars, truck-trailer rigs, and buses filled with workers. Presently Noah and his entourage passed through a security beam at an ornate gate, and entered the CorpOne compound. A pair of diamonix elephants with red-jeweled eyes stood on either side of a grassy planting area just inside the entry. Ahead, Noah could see the main building. He knew it well, from having worked there with his father at one time, before their blowup.
A marvel of engineering and aesthetic design, Prince Saito Watanabe’s office headquarters was an inverted pyramid, with the point down. As if by magic, the large structure balanced perfectly in that precarious position, while the foundation—a broad platform that included gardens, flagstones, and ornamental fountains—spun slowly beneath it. But Noah Watanabe (with his scientific knowledge and curiosity) knew how it worked; the structure was held in place by a slender core-pillar of pharium, the strongest metal in the galaxy. Elaborate geomagnetics were involved as well, and as a last recourse, a backup system would shoot stabilizing outriggers into receptacles if the tilt meters indicated trouble.
Noah’s car hummed up to the edge of the slowly revolving platform and locked into position at the edge of an exotic rose garden. He gazed up at the improbable building above him as it rotated with the platform, and considered the practical benefits of such a design. As the headquarters spun, it gave off electronic pulses that absorbed and processed important data. The system could identify known agitators from all galactic races, profile criminal types, and make highly sophisticated statistical predictions.
Noah wondered what his father wanted; their emotion-charged enmity had lasted for a decade and a half. In memory, he went over the conciliatory message he had received from the old patriarch, reviewing every detail that had been in the telebeam. His father was a precise man, who said exactly what he intended every time he communicated in any form, but Noah suspected hidden meanings:
In the past we have not understood one another as a father and son should. I blame myself almost entirely, and you not at all. It is my duty to bridge our differences.
The electronic transmittal had gone on to suggest a time and a place for a meeting. Now, as Noah watched a white-uniformed escort secretary march primly toward the hover-limousine, he recollected his own written response:
Father: I appreciate your sentiments, and look forward to meeting with you as you have specified
* * * * *
From her office inside the inverted pyramid, Francella Watanabe stared in rage and disbelief at a closed-circuit screen that showed the escort secretary leading Noah and his entourage through a wide corridor. At various points along the route, Francella—as Corporate Security Chief—could activate detonations by remote control and kill the entire party. The thought was tempting, but she had something even more devastating in mind.
With a heavy sigh, she activated a copy of the telebeam messages her father and Noah had exchanged, and continued to seethe over them, as she had done since seeing them for the first time three days before. To the very depths of her soul she loathed her twin brother, resenting the preferential treatment he had always received at her expense. Before the big disagreement between Noah and his father over environmental issues, the young man had been the heir apparent, the favored one. In those days Noah had even dressed like his father, in a cloak, brocaded surcoat and liripipe hat, while she was expected to remain in the shadows and say very little. She was, after all, only a female in an interplanetary society run by men, for the benefit of men.
Now her bête noire had entered the building only a few floors down. She wished their father had consulted her about such an important matter, for she might have used her considerable wiles to steer him away from making the invitation. Recently, though, the old man had seemed distant and had been making excuses to avoid or delay the appointments she had requested with him.
He would regret that soon, because Francella had set in motion a new and climactic plan … one that would take both her father and brother out of the picture, while allowing her to obtain everything she so richly deserved.
A two-pronged attack.
She wished it didn’t have to be this way, and her conscience had been giving her some trouble over it. But she had been driven to do this, with no other choice. Events … and people … were conspiring against her, and she needed to strike fast, in order to protect her position.
Hearing familiar noises behind her, she felt her pulse quicken. Francella flipped off the telebeam and turned to see her aged father opening the door and lurching into the room in his stiff-jointed way, tapping the hardwood floor with one of his ornate walking sticks. He had arrived only the day before from Timian One, where he had been attending to his duties on the Council of Forty, a powerful clique of noblemen who ruled with the Doge.
Prince Saito Watanabe had a large collection of fancy canes, many of them carved in the images of animals. This one, of canopa white teak, had a bull elephant head carved on top of the handle and the end of an elephant snout at the bottom.
All around the CorpOne complex, as well as in his lavish homes and vehicles, the obese old man had representations of the grand, extinct beasts. Images of the pachyderms were on wall hangings, pillow cases, and statuary; even articles of furniture were carved in their likeness. In addition, Prince Watanabe had commissioned paleontology expeditions to Earth and other far planets where the creatures used to roam … scientific ventures that brought back remains of elephants for genetic testing.
“You requested an urgent conference with me,” the industrialist said to her, in a coarse tone. “I grant you five minutes, before my appointment with Noah.”
“Five minutes?” She felt her face flush, and noticed her father looking at her closely with his intense, dark eyes.
“My schedule is very tight,” he said.
“Too tight for your own daughter?”
“I’m sorry if it appears that way, but I have been planning for this important rendezvous with Noah, going over what I will say to him.”
“Are you certain it is wise to do this now?” she asked, already knowing his answer.
Saito Watanabe studied his statuesque, redheaded daughter, who wore a white lace dress with gold brocade, and a high, star-shaped headdress. For an additional fashion statement, she had shaved off her eyebrows and hair at the front of her head, creating a high forehead.
He heard the displeasure in her voice, saw it etched on her face … and wondered what had gone wrong with the relationship between her and Noah. For years Saito had not failed to notice the raw hatred between them, the destructive sparks and flames that flared whenever they were together.
“I will see your brother alone,” he said to her. “It is best for the two of you to remain apart.”
“Daddy, Noah hates us. Don’t you realize that?”
With deep sadness, the heavyset man looked away. He felt his eyes misting over, and didn’t say what had been in his heart for a long time, a primogenitary hope that Noah would take over for him.
A son should follow in his father’s footsteps, the Prince thought. It is the natural order of things.
But Noah had been defiant and headstrong. So much so that the Prince had not expected him to accept the invitation. But he had.
What is Noah thinking? What are his wishes, his dreams?
“It is time,” the Prince announced to his daughter. And he ordered her out of his office, hardly noticing the fiery glare she shot back at him.
* * * * *
The reception room where Noah had been told to wait was on the fourth level of the upside-down pyramid, with a wide picture window that looked out on the gardens and fountains below. Since each floor was larger than the one below it, he saw an overhang outside the window, and knew that each floor all the way to the top was like this as well, in a dizzying arrangement of inverted tiers.
He was pondering the upcoming session with his enigmatic father, and only half noticed a number of CorpOne security police in silver uniforms gathering on a flagstone area outside. Over their heads, blue-and-silver CorpOne banners fluttered, each bearing the stylized designs of elephants.
Suddenly he heard the violent pop-pop of gunfire. The private police took cover behind plants, benches, and fountains, and drew their weapons. But many of them were not quick enough, and they fell under the onslaught.
Stunned, Noah saw a squadron of green-and-brown uniformed soldiers running onto the flagstones, carrying shiny blue puissant rifles, setting up a ferocious volley of high-intensity fire that drove the defenders for cover. Many died in the onslaught.
The uniforms looked like those of Noah’s own Guardians! But they couldn’t possibly be his people. He had not ordered this! Oblivious to any danger, he pressed his face against the window glax. He didn’t recognize any of the individuals. Who were they and why were they doing this?
Noah’s thoughts went wild. He couldn’t imagine what was occurring. Now the attackers were hurling explosives that detonated and shook the building.
Furious and confused, Noah hurried into the corridor, where he met his entourage of six Guardians, all with their weapons drawn. “Follow me!” he shouted. And he led them back the way they had come in.
* * * * *
Only moments before, Saito Watanabe had been standing at a window of his large office, considering what he would say to his son. It had been a long time since the two of them had spoken at all, so it would be an extremely awkward situation. Lifting a tall glass to his lips the old man took a long drink of sakeli, a syrupy liqueur, and admitted to himself that he was afraid the meeting would not go well. A tiny remark could set off yet another argument, so he would be careful about what he said … and try not to take offense too easily.
We need to get to know one another again.
His dark gaze flickered around the room and settled on a scroll attached to the wall. It was his Document of Patronage from Doge Lorenzo, the legal instrument attesting to the fact that Saito had been elevated to the status of a nobleman, even though he had not been born to such a station. Saito’s entire corporate empire rested upon that piece of inscribed tigerhorse skin, and upon the ancient political system that supported it.
My son should receive this some day.
Like other merchant princes, Saito believed that a strong son could carry on the family traditions in ways that a daughter could never do. Francella had been trying to fill that role, but something had been missing. The Prince knew it, and she must as well.
Canopa, one of the wealthiest Human-ruled worlds, was dominated by CorpOne, the mega-company owned by Prince Saito Watanabe. Under grant from Doge del Velli, the Prince owned industrial facilities on more than a hundred moons and planets, including distant Polée, a mineral-rich but sparsely populated world that generated immense profits. With a wide range of operations, Watanabe was especially proud of his medical laboratories, which had developed remarkable products to extend and improve the quality of life through “cellteck”—advanced cellular technology.
In recent years, Noah had become wealthy in his own right as Master of the Guardians, demonstrating considerable business acumen. The young man’s operations were on nowhere near the scale of the Prince’s, but nonetheless they showed great ability. In sharp contrast, Francella had never done anything on her own. She just whiled away her time as an officer of the firm, without showing any creative spark of her own.
An eruption of gunfire brought the old man out of his thoughts. As if in a bad dream, he stared in shock at the outbreak of violence and pandemonium outside. Guardian forces were attacking CorpOne! He could not believe that his own son would commit such an atrocity against him, no matter the differences they’d had in the past. They were the same blood, the same heredity, and the Prince had sought a reconciliation with him. Was there no honor in Noah, no familial loyalty?
Dark fury infused Saito Watanabe, the raw, unforgiving rage brought on by deception and betrayal. Somehow his son’s Guardians had disabled the building’s electronic-pulse security system to gain entry!
Why would Noah do this?
All hope for rapprochement between the two of them exploded. A gloomy darkness settled around the Prince. Prior to this, he had been reconsidering his entire business philosophy, wondering if his son’s environmental activist position might have some merit after all. Saito had wanted to suggest to Noah that perhaps CorpOne’s polluting factories might be dismantled or redesigned after all, no matter the cost.
Now they would never have that conversation.
The door of Watanabe’s office burst open, and his silver-uniformed security police rushed in. Their faces were red, their eyes wild. “This way, My Prince!” one of them shouted, a corporal.
The police formed a protective cocoon around the big man, and rushed him out into the corridor.