CHRISTINA ON TRIAL

  I never realized how beautiful Eris can look at night. The harbor lights reflecting in the ocean, the lights in the streets, the illuminated store windows, the aircars. You can see the hills rising and falling, facing the sea. The lights are fast disappearing, growing dim, hidden by the clouds. I better let my people know exactly what our plan will be. Joan and Jacqueline have to know exactly what to look for. The warrant is broad, gives us the authority to search everywhere on the premises, both in the house and on the grounds. The Chief really knows how to get that kind of thing from the Judge. And I never thought he'd let us use this RTC. What a way to fly!
  "OK, everyone, now it's time to get down to work. Here's the plan. We show them the warrant, we get in, we begin to look in every room. Ground floor first, then their shop, then the basement, then upstairs. Keep the Stisregs in one room, the living room or the kitchen. Don't hurt them unless they threaten you. We have to make it clear that suspicion has fallen on Narb, not them.
  "As soon as we find their technological gear, JD and JC will get to work on it. One of the guards should be with them, maybe Torrent. We'll have to keep someone at the door, too, let's say Tanya, and someone in the shop, Marisa. Remember, we're after information we suspect Narb has hidden, perhaps in a computer. He might have an illegal lab set-up, too. But in any case, we're not after the Stisregs, got it?
  "OK, time to get to the teleport."

  "What's Caesar acting up about, Det?"
  "I don't know. All of a sudden he's begun to growl and gnash his teeth. Look: he's gone towards the door."
  "Maybe it's a patient. Or a burglar. Or maybe even some kind of Militia sympathizer, although I thought they were all rounded up. Word from Ares has it that Christina got the last ones on Mesnos, and even found a small cell of three or four of them on Aphrodite. I'm worried."
  "Steady, Caesar. Stay. Good fellow. I'll take a look outside."
  "Careful, Det. Check it out on the scanner."
  "OK. Nothing there. Hmm. Wait! Look at this!"
  "What is it, Det?"
  "Numamba, Those ten people have teleported down from that craft overhead. That seems to be all. They're coming up the hill!"
  Caesar's growling began again. On the scanner, three people were soon at the door; the others stayed behind in the shadows, but could be seen in the infrared. The big knocker was swung three times. Det opened the door a crack.
  "Hello! We're looking for the Canaan Pharmacy."
  "You're in the right place. Do you need an herbal remedy for airsickness?" asked Det.
  "No, but we need information. I'm Lieutenant Mot Onapac from the Investigative Division of Mars Police. We have a warrant to search the premises."
  Numamba, with a vicious-looking Caesar at her side, said, "Let me see your IDs and the warrant." After checking them, she added, "It all looks in order, Det. Come in, Lieutenant, you and your team are welcome here. I'd ask you only to have that craft hover higher, out of sight and hearing of the people in town. They find this kind of thing very disturbing. They're not used to the noise, the vibrations, the way all this looks. Remember, this is a reservation of the Ancient-Day Primitivists."
  "We're aware of that, Dr. Stisreg. JD, have the craft return to base, but keep it on radio alert."
  "Yes, sir."
  "Would you like some camomile tea or some lemonade?"
  "Actually, if you don't mind, I want my people to search your house and the premises. And I'd like both of you to stay in one place. I'll be recording this conversation for possible future use. We're here to investigate some leads we have that seem to implicate the late Dr. Narb in some illegal activity involving Captain Christina Vasa of Space Fleet. I believe you know her?"
  "Why, yes, she was one of Stanley's–Dr. Narb's–old friends. She's become one of our friends, too. We expect to see her when she returns from her current mission."
  "Her current mission? Where is she?"
  "We're not sure. She set off on the trail of the last members of the Militia in the space stations and the colony planets, Venus, Mesnos, Paracelsus 2, maybe even Mars; but that's public knowledge. She doesn't reveal secret information of that sort."
  "When did you meet her? I know she met Dr. Narb way back around 2530 or so, when she became a longie, excuse me, a member of ELB. When you say 'old friend' you really mean it."
  "We met her five years ago when she came here on vacation. She'd somehow been able to trace Dr. Narb here, despite his alias as Dr. Lebenstein, and his change of profession from genetic surgeon to herbal pharmacologist."
  "Vacation? She didn't come here for, uh, shall we say, uh, something else?"
  "Something else?" asked Numamba. "Yes, she came here to study the ADP lifestyle, which seems to intrigue her. You know, living as she does, totally surrounded by modern technologies, she's very curious about these people. Their belief system, their way of life, how they cope with conditions here, how they organize their society, their slow and relaxed pace. She's in a unique position to compare lots of cultures. Sandstone and the rebuilt New Terra, on Mesnos, are so different, she says. Sandstone must be a bustling capital, something like Quito, while New Terra is a slower-paced provincial city. And they're just a few kilometers apart! But she claims that she can't find anything like the ADP anywhere she's been, not even on Earth."
  "You're no stranger to Earth, are you, Dr. Stisreg?"
  "Det and I were both born there. But it's a big place, and we've been here for a while."
  "A while, indeed. We know that your husband was tricked into undergoing Dr. Narb's procedure, some 150 or 160 years ago, so that he's an extended lifer. But our records indicate that you've been here for some 125 years at least, and you don't look a day over 30."
  "Some people age more gracefully than others, Lieutenant."
  "Don't play games with me, Dr. Stisreg. I'm not asking for that kind of information, I'm just stating a fact."
  "I'll take it as a compliment, then. But what kind of information are you looking for?"
  "Let me put it to you this way. Dr. Narb is known to have traveled wearing a sophisticated and extremely powerful wrist computer of a type we don't have. Where did he get it? Either he has a supplier who has been able to hide a potentially hot seller from the entire solar system and beyond. Or he manufactured it here. Maybe you know something about that."
  Sy-Kyum Dhen burst in excitedy shouting, "Lieutenant Onapac! Excuse me for this intrusion. I have to speak to you right away!"
  "Excuse me, Doctors," said Onapac, drawing Su-Kyum to a corner of the room.
  "What is it? I'm about to get important information from them. I don't want to let them think."
  "This is big stuff, believe me; it's really important information. We've found what looks like a small operating room hidden in the infirmary, and a pretty large laboratory. There's a huge computer there that seems to have a permanent link to Ares. JD and JC are beginning to study the programs and try to find out their functions."
  Numamba looked at the men speaking, then turned towards her husband and whispered, "Det, they'll eventually stumble on everything we have. They must have found the laboratory and the computer. They'll soon come across the Earth-gravity Center."
  Onapac rejoined them at just this moment. "Earth-gravity Center?"
  "Yes, that's what she said. But first, Lieutenant, I'd like to know what kind of information you have that made you think that Dr. Narb and Captain Vasa were engaged somehow in illegal activity? This is a pharmacy, and we do sell drugs, all legal drugs, mostly herbs that we grow ourselves."
  "You know that's not what we're after. Dr. Narb had on him certain documents that point to an illegal life-extending procedure that took place during the time that Captain Vasa was here, and she was the subject of the procedure. That is very clear, and it's clearly incriminating."
  "But Christina is already an extended lifer. What could he possibly do? He did it all, as you say, in 2530."
  "He could add years to her life. Let's say, 500 years."
  "And if he could, what makes you think he did that here? In Canaan?"
  "That's what we want to find out. Dhen, dig for whatever you can!"
  "Lieutenant," said Det, "have your computer experts stop where they are. They're dealing with state secrets. We'll fill you in on the details."
  "You heard him, Su-Kyum, have them stop. And close the door when you go out. Send in Guy. Torrent will stay here with us."

  "Except for Mars, Lieutenant Wan, we've now cleared the human-inhabited portion of the galaxy of the Militia. Do you think we should celebrate when we get to Eris?"
  "Captain, how many do you think would be on Mars? Of all the places to live, Mars seems to be the least popular. There are even more people lined up to go to Paracelsus 2 than anywhere else, and a lot of them are Martians. Mars is such an unlikely place for terrorists. Maybe what we should celebrate is being in a place where you don't have to worry about those people."
  "It is true that Mars has a climate problem, as the Admiral might say. But I think the real reason so many people don't want to come or to stay on Mars is the gravity problem. Mars has somewhat less attraction for people after a while."
  "Pun duly recorded. Still, it's kind of fun being able to jump so far and run so fast you almost fly, don't you think?"
  "It's fun for the first few weeks or months, but after a bit your body adapts to the relative lack of gravity, and then the realization hits you that if you went back on Earth, or traveled to Ares or any other place with Earth-like gravity, you'd feel as though a 25-kilo weight were on your back all the time. Your muscles just wouldn't be up to it. Everywhere else we've established colonies, we're pretty close to Earth gravity. But you're right: you've never been here, and it will be great fun when we materialize. Ready to teleport?"
  "Transmat's all set."
  "Let's go, then!"
  As usual, the space travelers checked in at the reception area of the spaceport. Wan Xi-wun and Christina saw the pictures showing the Eris Six being marched onto the ramp prior to teleporting to a craft taking them to Paracelsus 2, and the huge headlines that seemed to scream at them: "THE END OF THE MILITIA!" Was it true? A moment of jubilation! But then, another headline shocked them both: "BODY OF STANLEY NARB SENT BACK TO CANAAN." Was Stanley dead? What happened?
  Christina saw several members of the Mars Police approach her. She was about to ask for some  information on Stanley's death, some details at least, when Lieutenant Onapac said to her, "Captain Vasa, I regret to inform you that you are under arrest for having secretly undergone an illegal life-extending procedure. I must warn you that anything you say will be used against you; our conversation is being recorded. If you have no statement to make at this time, you may contact your lawyer or agent."
  How could they have learned about that? If I'm found guilty, it will mean exile and maybe solitary confinement on Mesnos or Paracelsus 2.
  "Xi-wun, please get in touch with Judith Dreyfus. She's a lawyer I met last year. Here's her card. Will we be at Headquarters, Lieutenant Onapac?"
  "Yes, Captain Vasa. We'll be there in a few minutes. Inspector Ongg is waiting for you."

  "Inspector Ongg, I know that you understand the gravity of the situation. Otherwise, you would have opened up the publicity channels on this case. I tried to explain to Lieutenant Onapac that the materials his computer people came upon are in fact highly classified state secrets. Virtually no one on Mars knows about the existence of that computer and the hook-up to Ares. Virtually no one realizes how fragile the conditions of life are on this planet, and how crucial it is to maintain the two links, and their back-ups, to the anti-matter capacity of Ares. We've artificially rectified the orbit, making it almost a perfect circle, which has helped make the seasons more uniform. We've increased the gravitational pull slightly, but more importantly, we're trying to assure that the atmosphere is held in place."
  Det was getting agitated. Numamba gave him one of those calm-down-you'll-have-a-fit looks that never failed to have its desired effect.
  "Our operation in Canaan has made this possible," Det continued, controlling his anger a bit better. "I don't think it would be a good idea to get people worried about the future here. Imagine what would happen if all this got out. Panic, pandemonium. People would all want to flee."
  "Dr. Stisreg, I understand what you're saying. But I also understand that we have uncovered a crime here. Our organization exists to uncover crimes and bring criminals to justice. More than once a case has caused a stir. Everything always gets back to normal after a short outburst. Your scenario is sheer nonsense; nobody's going to flee from Mars in fear of losing the atmosphere. In any case, letting it be known that Captain Vasa came here for an illegal procedure will not reveal any state secrets. What it will do is allow people to see that Dr. Narb's original conviction was probably justified, and that he even managed to corrupt a model Space Fleet officer."
  "There is another dimension," added Numamba. "This activity allegedly took place in Canaan. It's quite probable, no, it's inevitable, that if this matter becomes public knowledge, the people there will eventually find out about the existence of the computer on their island, and sooner or later they will destroy it. What then?"
  "If you'll pardon my cynicism, Ma'am, that sounds like another improbable scenario, like your husband's. So what if they find out? Why would that make them react the way you claim?"
  "You've never lived among these people. Their leaders are bright, although innocent of industrial technologies, they're even urbane and well educated. But the people, for the most part, are very unsophisticated, and they believe that at least in their little reservation what they call the natural way of life exists in its purest form. I would be afraid to serve them if they suspected that we have such technological capabilities."
  "You could have the Bishop break the news to them, gently. They'd listen to him, and they'd get used to you guys having some modern equipment in the Mansion. After all, they do understand that you don't seem to age, and some of them must know how to count up the years you've been there."
  "We most certainly don't control the Bishop any more than we control the Mayor."
  "When are they coming here to Eris?"
  "They've already arrived. They've been conferring with our lawyers for the last several hours. They have an appointment with the Governor just about now. I understand the Chief Justice might be in the meeting, too."
  Inspector Ongg heaved a sigh of resignation. "Typical. Have the Police do all the work, then keep them in the dark, and don't invite them in to an important decision-making meeting."

  The Bishop was stunning in a bright green robe trimmed with gold, the crown-like white velvet hat on his head, and the staff of episcopal authority in his hand. At his side stood the Mayor, like the Bishop in early old age, white hair, scintillating eyes. He was dressed in a simple black velvet suit, or rather extremely dark green, wearing the gold chain and carrying the mace that symbolizes his civil authority. An earnest young woman, their attorney, stood to the right of the Mayor, dressed in ordinary business clothes.
  The Governor, in full ceremonial dress, accompanied by the Chief Justice, clad in the long black robe of his office, moved forward to greet them. This was a state visit, and official protocol required nothing less than this level of ritual. A nod from the Governor, and the guards withdrew, closing the doors, and providing these five people with absolute security.
  "Your Excellency, Mr. Mayor, Ms. Dreyfus, please be seated."
  "Thank you, Mr. Governor."
  They sat down in velvet chairs around a highly polished mahogany table.
  "We understand that you have come here to plead the case of Captain Vasa," said the Chief Justice, addressing the two elderly men. "You know that the crime she is alleged to have committed is a major felony that can be punished by life in prison on a far-distant exile planet."
  "It is not for Captain Vasa that we have come, Your Honor, although she has become a friend, a seeker after the truth, a person who wants to understand our way of life even if she cannot share it with us," replied the Mayor. "Of course, we are concerned about her. But we have come in the name of our people. We do not wish to cause panic and anger among them. Our intention is to protect them from the revelations that Lieutenant Onapac and the Inspector wish to make public in a Court of Justice."
  "To keep silent in these matters would perhaps be a mockery of that Justice which you honor. A trial would expose nothing but facts."
  "May I ask what the charges are, exactly, and what Captain Vasa and the Drs. Stisreg have admitted?"
  "The charges are that Dr. Narb performed an illegal life-extending procedure on Captain Vasa; we have clear evidence of that. We will also try to prove that he performed a similar operation on Dr. Numamba Stisreg: since she was born 150 to 200 years ago, but appears to be only 30 years of age, there is no other explanation possible. Captain Vasa has refused to cooperate: she has not answered any of our charges, and speaks only through Ms. Dreyfus."
  "Ms. Dreyfus has shown us a copy of the search warrant that the Mars Police used. Here it is. Is this a faithful and true copy? Is every word on it accurate? Are the signatures and the titles authentic?"
  What is this old Mayor up to? He's got to know that I signed that warrant at the Inspector's request. Better get on with the charade. The Chief Justice was puzzled by the simple question, and his confusion showed on his face.  "This is indeed the document that I signed, authorizing the search of the property called the Mansion, which is owned by the Stisregs and serves as their pharmacological laboratory and pharmacy."
  "Where," pursued the Mayor, "is the Mansion located?"
  "Why, Mr. Mayor, you know that better than I do. It is located about two and a half kilometers from your office."
  The Mayor looked at his lawyer, then at the Bishop, then back at the Governor and the Chief Justice.
  "Mr. Governor, where is my office located?"
  The Chief Justice suddenly frowned. Damn it, how could I have made such a mistake? I hope the Governor will be able to answer his questions, this one and the whole line of reasoning that this is based on.
  "Your office, the last time I saw it, is located in the Town Square in Canaan City."
  "And Canaan City? Where is it located?"
  "I don't see where you're headed. Canaan City is the capital and port of entry of Canaan."
  "Ms. Dreyfus has prepared some copies of a document that you perhaps have not had need to read; but we have a formal reading of the entire document on Founding Day every year at Summer Solstice. This is a solemn occasion. The Bishop conducts a special outdoor service in the Square, accompanied by a procession of ministers and choirs of children and adults. This religious ceremony is followed by a re-enactment of our Founding Families' disembarkation on the public beach. At that point, and in that place, the entire document is read. Would you be so kind as to listen to Ms. Dreyfus read a few relevant sentences of this document to you?"
  "This appears to be your Charter."
  "That is correct, Mr. Governor. Please read, Ms. Dreyfus."

The Government of Earth grants to the religious group known as the Ancient-Day Primitivists, exclusive rights to a certain island located on the equator of Mars, at a longitude of 102 degrees West of Eris, to be known hereafter as Canaan. This island shall be held by the Ancient-Day Primitivist religious group as a Reservation exempt from unwanted intrusion by any source, including the Earth Government and any Mars Government that might be in future duly established.

   In view of the gravity of the present situation, in light of the signal service that Captain Christina Vasa and the late Dr. Stanley Narb have given to the Earth Federation, bearing in mind the delicacy of the operation directed on Mars, in Canaan, and noting that the Reservation's civil and religious authorities granted on 5 September 2701 express authorization of the establishment in the reservation of a laboratory linked to Ares for the above-named purpose, the Chief Council of the Federation orders that this case be closed at once, with no publicity at all except to indicate that the charges have been dropped because of a defective warrant. The Chief Council further orders that all mention of these charges be forever removed from the records of the aforementioned Captain Vasa and Dr. Narb, along with those of the latter's associates, Dr. Det Stisreg and Dr. Numamba Stisreg.

  "Namumba and Det must have powerful friends on Ares," said an exultant Judith Dreyfus. "And Christina must have powerful protectors in Space Fleet. I had expected that we'd win the case because the warrant was illegal, but the Council made it very clear that this whole matter is to be kept top secret. That's how I interpret the explicit order to clear the records. Usually that requires another bit of legal maneuvering."
  Christina was glowing with relief and joy. "How did the proceedings go? I mean, what was the tone?"
  "The Mayor was magnificent in the way he took charge of the discussion. There was a moment when I knew we'd won, when the Chief Justice suddenly realized that he had made a major blunder. He tried to cover it up by accusing the Mayor and the Bishop of hypocrisy." The young lawyer then repeated almost word for word the scene in the Governor's office.
  "We owe a great deal to those two men. But we owe even more to you, Judith. And frankly, Det and Numamba and I are worried for your future career here. You've made powerful enemies."
  "Don't worry about me. There's a rumor that Space Fleet is looking for a high-level civilian lawyer on Earth. I suspect that you've pulled some strings for me, Christina, now that I think of it. Thank you very much."
  "Strings or no strings, you deserve a big promotion."
  "Det and I would like you to come visit us in Canaan, Judith. You'll be able to meet some of the people whose interests you defended so well, get to see our little operation, and most importantly, get yourself ready for that Earth gravity."
  "Earth gravity? What do you mean?"
  "When you visit our Earth-gravity Center, you'll understand."
  "I'll take you up on your offer, Numamba. But now it's time to celebrate! I brought along some of my staff, the Bishop and the Mayor will make an appearance, and a delegation from a certain space craft and a certain space station has come to join us. The party will be in the best hotel in Eris."