The Diamond Deep (49 page)

So that was how he wanted to play it. She smiled as sweetly as she could. “Enlighten me?”

“Success in this system comes from hard work. Like you are doing touring.” He smiled, his teeth even and white except for one that had a small gem on it. “I'm sure it's exhausting.”

She nodded, without telling him exactly how exhausted she did feel, or that this conversation was already making it worse. “I'm pleased to be able to see so much of the
Deep
.”

“I happen to know you have seen some of the finest places we have to offer. There is much beauty. But it takes great wealth to create great beauty. At least the type of remarkable place that my friend Gunnar created.”

She lowered her eyes and sipped at her water. It had a tang to it, as if a bit of fruit had been infused into the water. “I like Gunnar. I was grateful that he showed me what he created. It may be the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.” Except Joel, and the look in his eyes when he was full of passion and lust and love for her. She had to hang on to that, which had seemed so huge once and yet paled compared to the
Diamond Deep
. It still mattered, because if love didn't matter than nothing did. “Surely, a mere tenth of the credit spent to build that paradise could support a hundred people for all of their lives?”

The Headman smiled. “But if we did so, and that hundred people didn't need to work, then they would not do so. Then more would not.
That
experiment has been tried.”

“We all worked on
The Creative Fire
. Everyone who could. And we took care of the ones who couldn't.”

Koren didn't seem to feel as great a need as Headman Stevenson did to remain polite. In fact, her smile might as well as have been full of knives instead of teeth. “You were no better, nor your lover. If I remember right,
The Creative Fire
hosted a rather large peacekeeping force to assure that you didn't rebel. People died. People were raped. People were locked up. You still have people contained in your home community, and more every day.”

A stinging truth. Ruby struggled not to wince out loud. “Many of the people in the Brawl are there simply because they could not compete. The only people we lock up are those who have committed crimes against others of us.”

“And what about that woman who didn't like you? What was her name? Sylva? How did she die?”

It felt like being taunted by a schoolyard bully. Ruby kept her lips sealed. Naveen, beside her, had stiffened. But he had not said a word since they came in here, and had not so much as looked at Koren.

KJ spoke up. “Ruby was not responsible for those choices. Any of them. As a people, we have no more evil in our past than you perpetrate with the Brawl. Less. I have been there, and it is as anathema to a free humanity as anything I have ever seen. And as to our past—or Ruby's—not being perfect, you might recall that you know ours, but we do not know yours.” Bless him, his voice was calm and controlled, like cool water thrown onto the fire that Ruby felt inside her. “You must play fair.”

Headman Stevenson laughed. He addressed Koren. “Point, to our beautiful Ruby the Red's bodyguard.”

Koren sat back in her chair, looking satisfied.

The Headman turned back to Ruby. His dark eyes seemed full of mischief, which puzzled her. But his words were clear and serious. “It is through competition and enforcement of the need to make enough to pay for air and food that we are able to make sure people do succeed. Fewer than five percent end up in the Brawl. In all of the Brawls, everywhere. They are reminders as much as prisons. They spur our society to its greatest efforts.” He paused, and raised an eyebrow. “After all, another choice would be to kill them.”

The idea was so repugnant Ruby couldn't even speak.

“But we do not do that. Remember that there are billions—billions—of souls in the whole fabric of humanity that surrounds Adiamo. You have been here less than half a year. Surely you can allow a little more time before you try to change our ways?”

She felt like a ten-year-old, and she knew that was how he meant her to feel. She took a deep breath and another sip of water, waiting until she could keep her voice steady. “Perhaps those of you who have been here all of your lives have learned to accept the grossly unfair. My song is merely art, but I'm pleased it touched a nerve.”

Headman Stevenson smiled, the mischief back in his eyes. “I see you plan to be a worthy opponent. I would advise against it. I find you very intriguing, and I would love to keep you for a pet.”

It was all Ruby could do not to leap up out of her chair. A look from KJ helped her keep her control.

“But pets are generally not allowed on space stations. Especially pets that might bite. If you are not careful, I will have options to exercise. And I have many, many more options than you do.” The Headman's voice was calm, like KJ's calm voice, except that it felt like frost. “I will not allow my people to be riled up against me. Not by you. Not by anyone. If you want to keep singing, if you want to keep breathing, you will not sing that song.”

He stood up. “Go enjoy the party. And make sure it is not the last one I want to throw for you.” Then he came around to her side of the table, leaned down, and planted a kiss on the top of her forehead, his lips lingering. When he left, the startling noise of the party spilled in through the open door and then cut off completely.

Koren looked quite triumphant. She said nothing, but simply watched Ruby.

Ruby said nothing in return. Instinct told her that whoever spoke first lost.

The four of them stayed that way for quite a long time, the only sound in the room their breathing and the occasional screech of a chair leg.

She glanced at KJ and Naveen. KJ's calm demeanor reminded Ruby to breath deep in her belly. Naveen had an odd look on his face, and he wouldn't look directly at Ruby or Koren. Maybe because of their history on the
Fire
? But mostly Ruby kept her attention on Koren, her face as relaxed as she could force it to be. Twice she felt pains in her stomach so hard that she almost lost the serene expression, but she swallowed hard and stayed still.

To Ruby's surprise, Koren broke the silence first. “I only have one thing to add,” she said. “There is a dangerous thing inside your community. Something
edgy
. I don't mind that, much. It's interesting to watch you all learn; you're faster than I thought you would be. Nevertheless, you remain almost as naïve as I expected. The problem here is that you don't know how little you know.”

Naveen spoke up this time. “They're doing quite well, no thanks to you.”

“Well, that's part of the problem,” she said, smooth and even, smiling in spite of her words. “You seem to be getting help from the dangerous thing. Remember, I know your history. Tell your lover that he should stop looking for cargo or the dangerous thing will be revealed. And then, after you've been here a few years and learned a few things, invite me to lunch again.”

Ruby had enough of being silent. “Perhaps someday you will earn an invitation.”

Koren smiled, her strange golden eyes wide and almost kind looking. “That's your choice to make. Just make sure the nearer-term choices in your life are the right ones for your people.”

“My choices are good.”

Koren's laugh was soft, as if Ruby had just complimented her on a pretty shirt. She left, and when she left she didn't bother to close the door behind her. The noise of the party spilled into the small room, reminding Ruby that she was on display. It didn't matter how she felt. What mattered was how she looked and what she did and whether or not she could change hearts with those things.

Onor was beginning to feel as much like an advisor as a guard in the morning meetings. He knew that was probably an illusion, but he sat at the table with Joel and SueAnne and sometimes they asked him a question. At the moment, it was SueAnne's turn to talk. “I've done the numbers. We're moving ahead because of Ruby's singing. If she does a concert a week for two years we'll be set for ten years, but she can't maintain that.”

Joel hated dealing with numbers, and made it clear by the slightly exaggerated boredom that showed on his face. But he was too good a leader to ignore them. “Other income? Are we sending more people out to work?”

“Slowly. Without Ruby, we'd be losing ground. For each of the last four days, we made just over a quarter of what we need for a whole day's basic costs. At least according to what gets reported to us. I suspect we make more, and that there's a black market in credit.”

Joel waved a hand at the air. “There has always been a black market. That's what the cargo bays were for. Allen's bar is the same thing.”

“The black market is only part of it,” SueAnne said. “Workers appear to be under-reporting. They're spending on their way back, tucking credit into pockets, hiding it in their socks.” She looked disgusted. “I heard a rumor some buy women, or other pleasures. There's reported to be a lot of strange pleasures on this station. Things I don't want to know.” She glanced meaningfully at Onor.

He answered, “Bartenders don't repeat their stories. But yes, there's some of that. And I've counted at least four or five of our young women who have gone off with Deepers, and I've only seen one of them come back.”

“I heard some are saving in hopes they can get young like these people.”

Marcelle was after Onor to start a savings for the treatment, at least for the baby.

Aleesi spoke up, startling Onor. “They are. But they cannot do that. They stay as young as they are, but only if they aren't already truly old.”

SueAnne laughed. “So I'm too far gone.”

Aleesi ignored the interruption. “Most of you are already slowing the aging process. Some of what you need is in the food here. But some of the medicine has to be given to children. So Onor could give it to his child, but he is too old to take it now.”

And Marcelle was due soon. “What will I need to do?” He still couldn't even imagine holding a baby that was his. One minute it made him feel like running away and the next he was picking through piles of baby clothes. The baby did something else; it made it ever so more important that they catch Koren.

“There is a medical treatment that starts at birth and happens once a year until a body reaches about twenty years old.”

Sue Anne interrupted. “Tell Onor about that later. It's losing the young that worries me. We need fewer people to feed. But that's not the fewer we need. I have another thought. We can send our prisoners into the Brawl. They'll be fed as well as we feed them, maybe better. They'll be housed. They'll learn about this culture, and we won't have to pay for them.”

Onor had to bite his tongue to keep from reacting. Ruby would hate that. Hate wasn't a strong enough word. There wasn't a strong enough word.

Joel sat back in his chair, quiet. “How many prisoners are there now?”

“Two hundred and seventy-three.”

“So many?” Joel shook his head. “Keep that as a last resort.”

“We could also send the old if we have to,” SueAnne added. “I'm running numbers. That will be even more.”

“You can't!” Onor said.

SueAnne gave him a level look. “I will go myself if need be. The survival of the community is more important than I am.”

“No it's not,” Onor blurted out. “Who would do the books without you?”

Joel looked tired at the idea, worn down. “Go ahead and run all of those numbers. But don't do anything about it.”

“Ix has helped me,” she said.

“Was it Ix's idea?” Onor asked.

“No.” SueAnne stood up out of her wheelchair and took a few wobbly steps to the sink, where she poured a glass of water and drank it all down at once. “No. It was my idea. But Ix is still tracking all of the people coming and going, and it's helping me track the credits. It may not be able to talk in most places, but it can listen everywhere still. This is very useful.”

Ix almost never talked in these meetings. Aleesi was the one who usually offered them the most. “Hey, SueAnne?”

“Yes?”

“Keep your ear to the ground. I want a second place to put an AI. I know they're expensive. But I want to separate Aleesi and Ix. Or at least have a mobile copy of Aleesi.”

“Why?” Joel asked.

“Because we need more access to Aleesi. More mobile access. All we can do now is talk to her in this little room.”

Joel raised an eyebrow. “I thought you hated the spider.”

Onor ignored him. “And we need to keep Ix safe in case we need it in court.”

SueAnne shook her head at him. “Use your black market credit. We need income, not expenses.”