Part 51 (1/2)

Cadillac saw Steve's reaction and smiled. 'Amazing, isn't it? All three of us together again. So close - and yet so far.” He topped up his bowl of sake, but this time he spilt some on the table. 'One might almost think it was meant to be.”

'Yeah,' said Steve. 'Amazing...” He got up and wandered over to the drafting board and took a closer look at what Cadillac was working on.

Everything had been painstakingly drawn out by hand with the aid of straight-sided wooden shapes.

In the Federation, drawings like this were stored in COLUMBUS. The central computer that served the Federation had a vast library of drawings for every part of every machine that had ever been built.

People with access to the right level could call up stored images and incorporate them in new designs right there on the screen, then transfer the information into fully automated machine tools that would make all the bits and pieces.

The sheets of paper Steve was looking at contained several rough sketches showing proposed modifications to a design for a small,.lightweight steam engine. This had been drawn life-size on a larger sheet beneath, in three elevations, plus a cutaway showing internal detail. It was an ingenious design, but required a great deal of precision engineering, and it would take forever to get into even limited production.

That was the real problem. Time was the critical factor.

They couldn't afford to wait around while the Iron Masters upped the level of their machine-tool technology.

There were too many hands stirring the conspiratorial pot. The longer they were here, the more chance there was of something going wrong.

With Jodi's help, and maybe Kelso's, he had to get Cadillac and Clearwater on that boat to Bu-faro. And to reach the Hudson in one swift bound, the propulsion problem had to be solved quickly and simply using existing techniques. Steve, basking in the glow of the sake, felt he knew the answer.

'This is a nice idea, but it's going to take too long to put together.”

'I know. I've got to come up with something soon, otherwise the j.a.ps may start to lose interest.”

'Mind if I make a suggestion?”

'I doubt if I'm going to be able to stop you.”

'Y'know what you needT'

'Yes, another bottle of sake.” Cadillac hurled the empty one through the open screens into the garden.

Steve took another bottle from the wall cupboard and brought it over to the table. He refilled Cadillac's bowl, then sat down and topped up his own. 'What you need is an a.s.sistant. Someone to toss ideas around with.

Someone reliable who can also take care of the nitty-gritty while you work on the big concepts.”

'Just who do you have in mind?”

Steve responded with a modest shrug. 'Why look any further? I know as much as you do. We managed to build Bluebird using little more than hope and fresh air. With a set-up like this, if we put our heads together we could really go places.” He raised his bowl. 'You'd get all the credit, of course. What d'you say?”

'I'll think about it,' said Cadillac. He managed to pour half of his fifth helping of sake into his gullet, then spilled the rest down his s.h.i.+rt front as his coordination went. An instant later, his forehead hit the edge of the table with a dull thud.

It was evidently a sound that his female staff knew well - and had been waiting for. A wall screen slid open and four small d.i.n.ks, dressed in colourful ankle-length wraps, padded in on white-stockinged feet. They bowed respectfully to Steve, then took hold of Cadillac's arms and legs and hauled his senseless body out of the room.

Some warrior...

Steve poured the contents of his bowl back into the bottle, shouldered his sack of mail, and hit the road. It had been a strange encounter, like talking to a slightly warped mirror-image of himself. But provided Cadillac hadn't forgotten everything when he woke up,

Brickman, S.R. might be in with a chance. With plenty of soft-soap and hard work he would soon make himself a key member of the team.

As he pa.s.sed the gates of the compound he wondered what was going through Jodi Kazan's mind. She had promised to say nothing to Kelso about the real reason why he was here, and Steve was 99 per cent sure he could rely on her. He felt he'd touched a responsive chord when he'd told her that deep down she was still a True Blue. Kelso remained to be won over, but that was not impossible. He just had to be fed the right story. All Steve needed now was the blessing of the Man in Black and the precious bundle of pink leaves.