Part 17 (2/2)

”Yes,” Holloway said. ”Oh, wow.”

Soltan looked over to Meyer. ”Any other questions for Dr. Chen?”

Meyer shook her head. She could see where this was going. Soltan excused Chen; Holloway just about had to tear the infopanel from his grip.

”Based on the information provided today, I've decided there is not sufficient cause to order the Zarathustra Corporation to file a Suspected Sapience Report,” Soltan said, after Holloway and Chen had sat down. ”However, these creatures are from all evidence clearly something more than just animals. Whether they rise to the level of true sapient beings is a determination that no one here, with all due respect to Drs. w.a.n.gai and Chen, is able to state definitively. If there was ever a case in need of additional study, this would be it.

”I will be filing a request with the Colonial Environmental Protection Agency, under whose auspices sentience determination is administered, to dispatch the appropriate experts here for additional study and to make a decision regarding the sentience of the 'fuzzys.' Until that time, the Zarathustra Corporation will continue its normal operations, with the understanding that it will now conform to CEPA guidelines regarding exploitation of disputed worlds. I'll be posting the inquiry ruling later today. Any objections, Ms. Meyer?”

”None, Your Honor,” Meyer said.

”Then this inquiry is adjourned,” Soltan said. She rose and disappeared into her chambers.

Chapter Nineteen.

Holloway was walking Carl, finding a good place for the dog to take care of his business, when Wheaton Aubrey VII appeared in front of him as if by magic.

Holloway peered around Aubrey. ”Where's your shadow?” he asked. ”I wasn't aware you were allowed to go anywhere but the bathroom without your body man.”

Aubrey ignored this. ”I want to know why you pulled that stunt in the courtroom,” he said.

”I'm wondering what part of it const.i.tutes the stunt for you,” Holloway said. ”The 'telling the truth' part, or the 'not telling you I was going to tell the truth' part.”

”Cut the s.h.i.+t, Holloway,” Aubrey said. ”We had a deal.”

”No, we didn't,” Holloway said. ”You said we had a deal. I don't recall agreeing that we did. You a.s.sumed we did and I didn't bother to correct your misapprehension.” said we had a deal. I don't recall agreeing that we did. You a.s.sumed we did and I didn't bother to correct your misapprehension.”

”Jesus,” Aubrey said. ”You can't be serious.”

”Jesus I am,” Holloway said. ”And if you want to take it to court, you'll find there's quite a lot of case law that supports my point of view. Oral contracts are shaky enough as it is, but oral contracts in which one of the parties does not audibly and explicitly give consent to the agreement are not worth the sound waves they are spoken through. Not that you'll be wanting to take this to court, of course. Encouraging perjury is not looked upon very kindly by any court I can think of. And while I don't know if encouraging someone to perjure themselves at one of these quasi-legal inquiries const.i.tutes a prison worthy offense, at the very least I would guess that it's a slam-dunk that the supposed deal wouldn't have legal standing in the first place.”

”Let's a.s.sume for a moment that you and I both know that none of anything you just driveled on about matters one bit,” Aubrey said. ”And let's also pretend that both of us know what's actually true here, which is that the last time you and I spoke, you had every intention of doing exactly what we had planned. All right?”

”If you say so,” Holloway said.

”Well, then,” Aubrey said. ”I repeat: I want to know why you pulled that stunt in the courtroom.”

”Because they're people, people, Aubrey,” Holloway said. Aubrey,” Holloway said.

”Oh, bulls.h.i.+t, Holloway,” Aubrey spat. ”We both know you don't give a d.a.m.n about whether they're people people or not, especially when you're looking at billions of credits. You're not built that way.” or not, especially when you're looking at billions of credits. You're not built that way.”

”You haven't the slightest idea how I'm built,” Holloway said.

”Apparently not,” Aubrey agreed, ”because I a.s.sumed that despite all evidence to the contrary, you were capable of logical thought, and of working for your own advantage when necessary. Doing this doesn't help you at all. The only thing it does is let you make nice with that biologist. I hope the pity s.e.x you get out of that is worth the billions you just p.i.s.sed away, Holloway.”

Holloway counted to five before replying. ”Aubrey, you talk like someone who's never gotten the s.h.i.+t beat out of him for being an a.s.shole,” he said.

Aubrey opened his arms, wide. ”Take your shot, Holloway,” he said. ”I'd really like to see you try.”

”I already took my shot at you, Aubrey,” Holloway said. ”You might recall. It's why we're having this little conversation right now.”

Aubrey put his arms back down. ”This wasn't about me,” he said.

”No,” Holloway agreed. ”That was just one of the side benefits.”

”You know those fuzzy creatures of yours are never going to be found sentient,” Aubrey said.

”I'm well aware you're going to throw a lot of resources into making the case against them,” Holloway said. ”Which is not the same thing.”

”We're going to make that case,” Aubrey said.

”Then you're out the relatively minimal cost of the legal proceedings and your paid experts and what have you,” Holloway said. ”For ZaraCorp, that's next to nothing. You, Aubrey, probably make more in interest off your share of the company each day. So what. But if you don't don't make the case, then the fuzzys have the right to their own planet, in which case all of this is immaterial, and you should consider what you have stripped off the planet a gift, rather than your right. You really can't complain.” make the case, then the fuzzys have the right to their own planet, in which case all of this is immaterial, and you should consider what you have stripped off the planet a gift, rather than your right. You really can't complain.”

”I still don't understand why you did it,” Aubrey said.

”I already told you why,” Holloway said.

”I don't believe you,” Aubrey said.

”As if I care care about that,” Holloway said. ”Look, Aubrey. It could take the experts years to make a determination. If you have your way with your own lawyers and experts, that will certainly be true. In which case you still have years to exploit the planet. More than enough time to prepare your company and your stockholders.” about that,” Holloway said. ”Look, Aubrey. It could take the experts years to make a determination. If you have your way with your own lawyers and experts, that will certainly be true. In which case you still have years to exploit the planet. More than enough time to prepare your company and your stockholders.”

”Or they might make a determination within months,” Aubrey said. ”In which case the company is screwed.”

Holloway nodded. ”Then I suggest you prioritize your efforts,” he said. ”You've said yourself that sunstone seam I found is worth decades of revenues for ZaraCorp. If I were you, I'd be putting just about everything I could into it.”

”It's already our top priority,” Aubrey said.

”Now it'll be your top priority with a special sense of urgency, won't it,” Holloway said.

Aubrey suddenly grinned, grimly. ”Now I understand why you did it, Holloway,” he said. ”Having us exploit the sunstone seam in our usual way wouldn't get you rich enough fast enough. You wanted as much as you could get as quickly as you could get it. So you show Judge Soltan just enough of your little talking monkeys to force her to rule for more study-but not enough so that she requires us to file an SSR. Zarathustra Corporation is put into the position of having to focus on the single most profitable project on the planet, which you just I understand why you did it, Holloway,” he said. ”Having us exploit the sunstone seam in our usual way wouldn't get you rich enough fast enough. You wanted as much as you could get as quickly as you could get it. So you show Judge Soltan just enough of your little talking monkeys to force her to rule for more study-but not enough so that she requires us to file an SSR. Zarathustra Corporation is put into the position of having to focus on the single most profitable project on the planet, which you just happen happen to have discovered.” to have discovered.”

Holloway said nothing to this.

”This proves you don't actually give a s.h.i.+t about those little fuzzys of yours,” Aubrey said. ”You'll still get your percentage of the sunstone seam whether the experts decide the fuzzys are sentient or not. You've played your biologist friend, and you played ZaraCorp at the same time. Very nicely done. I can almost admire it. Almost.”

”It's not as if ZaraCorp won't see the benefit of it,” Holloway said. ”If you exploit that seam quickly, you're creating an endowment for your company. You hold the monopoly on sunstones. You can store those sunstones and dribble them out over decades, whenever you need an extra boost to the bottom line. That I get my bit up front is neither here nor there.”

”We have a monopoly only if the fuzzys are found not to be sentient,” Aubrey said.

”You have a monopoly either way,” Holloway said. ”As I mentioned to someone else recently, the fuzzys only recently discovered sandwiches. Sentient or not, there's no way they're going to be ready to handle the world of interplanetary business. It's unlikely the Colonial Authority will allow them to for decades. It was only a decade ago the CA decided the Negad were competent enough to enter into resource deals on their own planet. The fuzzys are far behind where the Negad were when they were declared sentient. ZaraCorp's monopoly isn't going anywhere anytime soon.”

”It will still cost us hundreds of millions of credits to refocus all our planetary resources on that seam,” Aubrey said.

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