Extreme Vacuum by Andrew Tichbon

Author:Andrew Tichbon [Tichbon, Andrew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Vanguard Press
Published: 2017-06-12T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

5th April, 2092 (a week later)

Joshua Yu took his green tea while gazing at the vast white expanse of the Swiss Alps. Those peaks were an inspiration to him, and the reason why this was his favourite home. He was frequently contemptuous of the great works of Man. But the great works of Nature were ancient, majestic, and bold in a way that beggared the efforts of mere mortals.

His phone rang. It was Brandon Dee, Yu Corp mining manager at the Pole. For the fourth time in as many minutes. “Brandon, what could be so important?”

Brandon looked shaken. “Bidding is underway for site 23. It has a published yield of 1.87%, so you will appreciate that it is a site of special significance. There has been unusually high interest in the site. Each bid I place is beaten immediately by a bid from de Villiers Corp. Before today, they have never placed a bid at an auction with such a low published yield. Now they seem determined to win it.

“There has been a fundamental change in de Villiers’s strategy. Obviously, we have to win. If de Villiers starts mining this site, it would be, aahh, embarrassing for us. Do I have your permission to continue bidding, indefinitely?”

“Yes, of course.” Yu’s mind was racing. “So why is de Villiers doing this?”

Brandon shrugged. “Maybe he has nailed some of those efficiency improvements he has been working on, so he can make a little money out of a poorer site? Maybe he suspects that the published yields are sometimes not what they appear to be? Whatever the reason, his enthusiasm for bidding knows no bounds.”

“Brandon, call me back in two hours with a progress report.”

Joshua resumed drinking tea. All he could hope now was that de Villiers would find the bidding too rich, and he would fold. The clouds were lifting, and the sun was illuminating those impossibly steep peaks.

His phone rang again. It was his dear older sister, Lilly. She was clever, faithful, manageable, and irretrievably plain. Joshua often congratulated himself on his inspired decision to make her his Chief of Legal Services.

“Joshua, can we talk? Are you sitting down? We have a problem. We are being sued by the Canadian government. The Department of Mines, to be specific. We have been served with pages of charges. Conspiracy to defraud! Altering a document for pecuniary advantage! Bribing a servant of the government! It all revolves around ice sampling on the Moon, and us fudging the results. Does any of this make sense to you?”

Joshua’s dainty porcelain cup and saucer were in free fall. The granite terrace he was standing on arrested their descent. “Do we know what amount they are wanting to squeeze out of us?”

“They are seeking to impose a fine of seventy million dollars!” Lilly braced herself to receive her famous brother’s famous anger.

Joshua gasped with pleasure. “That is a pitiful amount!”

“But that is just the start of it!” Lilly seemed to shrink into her chair. “De Villiers Corp is bringing a related action.

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