The Last Master by Gordon R. Dickson

Author:Gordon R. Dickson [Dickson, Gordon R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Unknown
Published: 2011-12-18T02:34:22+00:00

* * *

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The director of the home in which Wallace Gunthe/ Ho had spent his last days led Ett, with Rico and Morgan Carwell, down to a shiny subcellar in which were what looked like eight metal tanks about a meter and a half thick and two and a half meters in length.“This is essentially a temporary holding room for cryogenic patients,” said the director. He was a slim, quick-moving man in his mid-fifties with sparse, straight gray hair. “Anyone who reaches a terminal point in our institution is kept encapsulated in this room until he or she can be moved to more permanent storage quarters or otherwise taken care of. In the case of Wallace, we’ve delayed beyond the usual time because of Master Ho’s new situation, and the fact that he might have special directions for us.”

“Glad you did,” said Ett. Irrationally, he was relieved that the metal enclosure had no window, so that he did not have to look at Wally’s face. Even though Wally was dead, Ett felt the cold finger of an illogical guilt under his breastbone, at the thought of what had happened to him.

“Mr. Ho,” said Rico, “feels his brother would approve the use of his brother’s body in a medical experiment which may be of benefit to all the race.”

“I’m sure,” said the director. “That is, during the short period Wallace was here, he wasn’t in a position to discuss such matters with me, but I’m sure Master Ho, knowing his brother, would know what Wallace would want.”

He turned to Carwell.

“Doctor?” he said. “I suppose you’d like to check over the unit and the terminal patient?”

“Yes, I’d better,” said Carwell.

The director reached for a door which opened in the side of the metal capsule by which they were all standing. Ett turned away, pretending to examine the room at large and the other capsules, as Carwell, and the director, put their heads together over the opening.

Rico followed at Ett’s elbow.

“Trouble,” he murmured beside Ett’s right ear.

“Trouble?” muttered Ett, without turning his head. “What trouble?”

“I don’t know any details yet,” Rico said. “But I have a few illicit and privately-built warning systems of my own. One just went off, the one that’s concerned with EC authority.”

“Wilson, maybe?” said Ett.

“No,” answered Rico. “Or rather, not necessarily. Wilson is only one man. The warning I get comes whenever there is some EC Central Computer action concerning either yourself or myself. Somewhere in the bureaucracy, in other words, someone has filed a report or asked a permission concerning one or both of us—a report or permission labeled Classified, Secret, Top Secret, or something higher.“

“What’s above Top Secret?”

“That,” said Rico, “I’ve never been able to learn. But there’s at least one higher classification. I’ve gained access myself to all Classified and Secret data, and a good part of the Top Secret materials; but I found evidence in the Central Computer of other data I could not tap into. Probably the information we’re after about RIV would be among that other data.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.