Procyon's Promise by Michael McCollum

Author:Michael McCollum [McCollum, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction
ISBN: 9780345302960
Google: nZTiAAAACAAJ
Goodreads: 1397302
Publisher: Del Rey
Published: 1985-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

My wife and I would consider it an honor if you and Citizen Haller will join us for dinner this evening. Afterwards, we can discuss matters of mutual interest.

Henri Duval.

#

Frau Duval greeted her guests at the front door of the Chief Executive’s residence. She took their coats and directed them to the living room where Duval and Sergei Vischenko were already seated before a flickering fire.

Duval stood to greet them. “Ah, Captain Braedon, Chryse, my dear. Welcome! May I get you a drink?”

“Yes, thank you,” Chryse said. “Scotch on the rocks for me.”

“Robert?”

“The same, Executive.”

Duval laughed. “I leave Executive Duval at the office. I am Henri at home. Two scotch/rocks coming up.” Duval disappeared into the apartment’s kitchen. The tinkle of ice cubes swiftly followed.

“Good evening, Robert,” Vischenko said, striding across the room to shake hands with Braedon.

“Good evening, uh, Sergei.”

Vischenko’s arm executed a sweeping gesture. “How do you like our Chief Executive’s domicile?”

“Not exactly what I had expected,” Braedon said, gazing about the room. “I envisioned something grander, less homey. I like the decor, though I can’t say that I recognize it.”

“No reason you should,” Duval replied. He had returned from the kitchen with the drinks in time to hear Braedon’s comment. “It’s called Renaissance Cubism, very popular in the late twenty-second century. The style enjoyed a brief resurgence about the time my wife and I were married, that accounts for our fondness for it.”

The next half hour was spent in small talk concerning the ways in which fashions differed between Earth and Alpha. At the end of that time, Frau Duval announced dinner. They followed her into a small, intimate dining room bathed in soft candlelight and even softer music.

Dinner was excellent; even though Braedon wasn’t sure what he was eating half the time. By the time desert and coffee had been served, he was feeling pleasantly stuffed. There followed another ten minutes of socializing, after which Duval quietly suggested that they adjourn to his study. Braedon nodded, thanked Frau Duval for the dinner, and followed his host to part of the residence he had not yet seen.

The study was a large room filled with books - not memory crystals, but real paper and leather volumes. Unlike the rest of the immaculate apartment, the study had a slightly disheveled look. Papers were stuffed haphazardly into the pigeonholes of an antique roll top desk in one corner, while the center of the room was dominated by four overstuffed easy chairs arrayed in a circle.

“Have a seat,” Duval said, following his own suggestion. He reached out and touched a control built into the arm of his chair and a quiet humming sound immediately began to emanate from the walls. He noted Braedon’s sudden start of surprise.

“Privacy field to thwart eavesdroppers.”

“A handy device to have,” Braedon replied.

“Essential for someone in my position,” Duval responded.

The Chief Executive leaned back in the easy chair and regarded Braedon with a steady gaze for long seconds before speaking. “It seems to me, Robert, that in

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