The time has come to reveal why she is here. From a pocket in the data clerk's worksuit she has worn as a disguise, Min takes out the draft legislation she has prepared.
Grimly she tossed the hardcopy on the desk.
" I want you to introduce a Bill of Severance which will take the police away from the United Mining Companies. Decharter the UMCP completely. Reconstitute it as an arm of the Governing Council for Earth and Space."
Then she paused to wait for the captain's reaction.
He sat still as if he'd stopped breathing.
She faced him squarely. Because of the paleness of his eyes, she couldn't be sure that he was able to see her.
After a long moment he let out an unsteady sigh. "Director Donner, you think big."
That didn't require a response, so Min didn't offer one.
He glanced down at the hard copy she dropped on his desk; touch the pages gingerly with his fingertips, as if their edges might be sharp enough to cut. "And you want this done by when? Tomorrow morning?"
"If you can."
"Oh, naturally Of course. A bill of this magnitude, with these repercussions -- Is there anything else I can do for you in my spare time? Write a novel? Assassinate the Amnion trade legation? Really, Director Donner, I think I need a breathing mask. There isn't room in this office for your ideas and air at the same time."
"If you'll take a look," Min retorted with her own asperity, "You'll see that I've already done most of the work. Of course, I've had to make a number of assumptions which you might not consider appropriate -- considering how the new GCESP should be funded, for example, or how authority should be transferred. But you can change anything you want when you put what I've written into the proper form. I'm not particular about the details. Only the central issue matters to me."
Captain Vertigus made no pretense of examining her work. "I'll take your word for it," he murmured. "I said myself that Dios' people are well prepared. Now that I think about it, I'm sure most of your assumptions are acceptable. I can probably have a bill prepared -- I mean, prepare it myself -- to put in front of the Council tomorrow."
"But that's not the important question, is it?" His tone sharpened. "In any case, neither of us can afford the time to haggle over details. Let's go straight for the heart, shall we? Tell me why.
Why this?" He flicked the hard copy. "Why now? And why me?"
Good questions!
To explain, Min reminds him of a rumor some years ago that Intertech had been working toward an immunity drug to protect against Amnion mutagens. Supposedly the research for this had failed and been abandoned. She then tells him that the rumor was true, but that the research had succeeded, not failed_but had been suppressed.
At the time, Hashi had briefed the UMCP Directors on the state of the research. Protocol Director Godsen Frick had argued that the project should be stopped because it threatened the UMCP. His contention was that the existence of such a drug might nudge the Amnion toward actual war, since they would lose the ability to practice genetic imperialism through mutation. He also thought the drug would undermine the moral legitimacy of the police, making them less necessary, compromising their funding and political support.
Min had made the case that stopping the research would be a crime against humanity. Warden had listened to all of them, then decided to have Intertech continue their work.
Godsen had threatened to go over Warden's head on the matter. Apparently, he had; about a week later, Warden reversed his decision and had the immunity drug work stopped. While there was no proof, the clear implication that Frick had gone to Fasner and had him pressure Warden.
The Senior Member gaped as if he swallowed his larynx. "Are you saying," he gulped "Holt Fasner personally stopped that research? Can you prove it?"
Min scowled. "Of course not. It all happened behind my back. And Warden Dios' name was on the order."
"You didn't ask why I'm here," she rasped, "on my own, without approval or permission. Now you know. I'm a cop, Captain Vertigus. I believe in what cops are supposed to do. This isn't it. I want to stop this kind of thing, if I can."
Harshly she continued, "I think that video conference was another example. The director made himself look like a man with no ethics, no scruples. That isn't the case." Whatever her doubts, she acted on that conviction. "But as long as the UMC own the police -- as long as the Dragon has the power to determine and impose policy -- the real director of the UMCP is Holt Fasner, not Warden Dios."
"That's why this bill is necessary. It will free the police to defend something larger than Holt Fasner and the United Mining Companies."
Now Captain Vertigus nodded. He closed his mouth carefully.
After a moment, he said, "Go on."
Min then explains why this moment is the best chance of passing such a bill. Obviously, Fasner will oppose severance of the police from the UMC. In normal circumstances, he would be able to sway or buy enough Council votes to assure defeat of the measure. However, the videoconference with Warden and Hashi upset that dynamic and scared many Members.
As far as the Council is concerned, there's only one excuse for voting against a Bill of Severance -- for supporting Fasner on a subject that could determine the future of the human species. That excuse is honesty. As long as the cops are honest, severance isn't necessary. Therefore, voting against the best interests and possibly the survival of humankind is just pragmatism, not malfeasance.
After that conference, the members have to ask whether the UMCP really is honest, in which case of vote against a Bill of Severance becomes suddenly indefensible. Even members who've already sold themselves may think twice about supporting the Dragon when it looks like treason.
She also points out the importance of not having the bill originate from the UMCP, so as to avoid the impression that this is a political power play by Warden to get out from under the Dragon's thumb.
Finally, she covers why Vertigus is the ideal person to champion this legislation. Nobody else has his reputation, his credibility, his independence. Only he can get this to happen now, not a few years in the future.
Softly, almost whispering, Captain Vertigus announced, "It occurs to me, Director Donner, that it doesn't matter whether you're telling me the truth. It doesn't even matter whether you chose me because you think I might win or because you're sure I'll lose." As he spoke his thin voice took an excitement until it sounded almost resonant, almost young. "What you're asking me to do needs doing. it should have been done a long time ago, and the timing may never be more favorable than it is right now.
I like the idea of having something important to do -- for a change. If you're counting on me to lose, you'll have an anxious time during the next few days."
Min now has scant minutes to gather up her security devices and make her way covertly back to catch the shuttle back to UMCPHQ. As she collects her equipment, Vertigus peeks into the anteroom and is surprised to see that his secretary, Marthe, has returned earlier than expected. There is also someone else in that room, apparently a maintenance worker.
Min certainly doesn't want to be seen by either, but through Reception is the only way out. She joins Vertigus in looking out the barely-opened door.
She immediately recognizes that this is no maintenance person. The slow, careful, stiff movements give away to her that this is a person who has recently been operated on and is still barely healed. He was trying to convince Marthe to let him into Vertigus' office.
As Enforcement Director of the UMCP, Min knew a kaze, a suicide bomber, when she saw one. She directs the Captain to get behind his desk where he'll be safer. As soon as the kaze stepped past Marthe's desk, Min threw open the door, yells for Marthe to take cover, and shoots the kaze in the chest.
Too late. The kaze detonates while still in the lobby, killing both Marthe and himself. Min is thrown across the inner office and is temporarily deafened by the blast. Vertigus is only stunned, thanks to the distance and shelter of his desk.
Her own voice was nothing more than a vibration in the bones of her skull as she told him, "I wasn't here. No matter what happens, I wasn't here. Get that bill ready as fast as you can."
She stumbles off to follow the back stairways and reach her shuttle before it leaves.
Love prevails.
~ Tracie Mckinney-Hammon
Change is not a process for the impatient.
~ Barbara Reinhold
A government which robs Peter to pay Paul, can always count on the support of Paul.
~ George Bernard Shaw