Free To Hold Infinity by John Meaney Page A
Authors: John Meaney
going?â
âThe Maximiliansâ, I think,â said Federico. âDo you know them?â
âNot really. I'll try and get myself invited, though.â
âThat would be splendid.â Federico raised a hand. âI'll see you there.â
Â
<<>>
Â
âBe seeing you,â said Rafael to his own reflection in the window.
Outside, golden light dripped from a steel sculpture's spars, as the sun peeked over the courtyard wall.
Â
The holo banner read HAKIM AL TEBITZ. Screaming kids ran around the play area, chased by a young man in clown gear and burnous, waving a holo scimitar.
âAnother cup of choco?â
Yoshiko blinked, and looked up at the Fulgida waitress. âSorry. Yes, please.â
As the waitress poured, she gestured beyond the balustrade. âThat there's a crèche, for staff membersâ children.â
âAnd the older ones? Do they have schools, or just, ah, Skein?â
âBoth,â said the waitress, her expression turning bitter. âAin't neither one a Luculentus academy.â
Yoshiko remembered how basic Skein's public access level had looked.
âDo theâ?â
âSorry, dear.â The expression sounded odd; the girl was a third of Yoshiko's age. âAnother customer. Be right back.â
Yoshiko watched her serving daistral from a jug, to a young offworld couple sitting at a corner table. Their faces were bright with the excitement of being on another planet.
âYoshiko!â
Vin was threading her way among the tables.
âHello, Vin.â
Yoshiko was surprised to find her vision blurring. It was so good to know that she had a friend here.
âAre you OK?â
âI'm fine. It's all catching up with me.â
âLook.â Vin sat down, and gestured to the waitress. âWe can call the proctors from here.â To the waitress, she said, âDo you have privacy screens?â
âI can bring a module.â The Fulgida was blank-faced, her earlier affability gone. âSomething to eat? Drink?â
âDaistral, please. Any flavour. And could you bring a terminal?â
The waitress glanced at Yoshiko, her expression unreadable, and left.
Vin lowered her voice. âI swung by your son's place, on the way.â
âWas he home?â
âNo way to tell.â Her eyes were troubled. âA security screen warned me off. Smartbats lifted from the house, when I tried to hover overhead.â
The waitress returned with a tray, which she placed on their table without a word. When she had gone, Vin picked up a small device from the tray and inserted it into a depression on the tabletop.
Kaleidoscopic light swirled all around them: a smartatom hemisphere which broke apart the outside world and turned it into abstract moving patterns. The air grew curiously dead, with spillover from the privacy barrier's anti-sound.
Vin ignored her daistral, and activated the small silver terminal.
âProctorNet.â An impossibly handsome square-jawed man appeared. His dark uniform stretched comfortably across strong, broad shoulders. âIs this an enquiry or an emergâ?â
âMissing person,â said Vin.
The image flickered. The proctor regained his original smile.
âPlease give the identity ofââ
âSunadomari Tetsuo,â said Vin. âIchiban Villa, Zone Thirteen, Clara Shire.â
âHow long hasââ
âUnknown. Request personal interview. My name is Luculenta Lavinia Maximilian.â
The image disappeared.
âDon't worry,â said Vin. âWe'll soonâOh, here we are.â
Another proctor, this time a rather ordinary-looking young woman.
âWhat seems to be the problem? A missing person?â
âGo ahead,â Vin said to Yoshiko.
Haltingly, Yoshiko summarized her situation, and Tetsuo's nonappearance.
The proctor shook her head. âYour son's just
âThe Maximiliansâ, I think,â said Federico. âDo you know them?â
âNot really. I'll try and get myself invited, though.â
âThat would be splendid.â Federico raised a hand. âI'll see you there.â
Â
<<
Â
âBe seeing you,â said Rafael to his own reflection in the window.
Outside, golden light dripped from a steel sculpture's spars, as the sun peeked over the courtyard wall.
Â
The holo banner read HAKIM AL TEBITZ. Screaming kids ran around the play area, chased by a young man in clown gear and burnous, waving a holo scimitar.
âAnother cup of choco?â
Yoshiko blinked, and looked up at the Fulgida waitress. âSorry. Yes, please.â
As the waitress poured, she gestured beyond the balustrade. âThat there's a crèche, for staff membersâ children.â
âAnd the older ones? Do they have schools, or just, ah, Skein?â
âBoth,â said the waitress, her expression turning bitter. âAin't neither one a Luculentus academy.â
Yoshiko remembered how basic Skein's public access level had looked.
âDo theâ?â
âSorry, dear.â The expression sounded odd; the girl was a third of Yoshiko's age. âAnother customer. Be right back.â
Yoshiko watched her serving daistral from a jug, to a young offworld couple sitting at a corner table. Their faces were bright with the excitement of being on another planet.
âYoshiko!â
Vin was threading her way among the tables.
âHello, Vin.â
Yoshiko was surprised to find her vision blurring. It was so good to know that she had a friend here.
âAre you OK?â
âI'm fine. It's all catching up with me.â
âLook.â Vin sat down, and gestured to the waitress. âWe can call the proctors from here.â To the waitress, she said, âDo you have privacy screens?â
âI can bring a module.â The Fulgida was blank-faced, her earlier affability gone. âSomething to eat? Drink?â
âDaistral, please. Any flavour. And could you bring a terminal?â
The waitress glanced at Yoshiko, her expression unreadable, and left.
Vin lowered her voice. âI swung by your son's place, on the way.â
âWas he home?â
âNo way to tell.â Her eyes were troubled. âA security screen warned me off. Smartbats lifted from the house, when I tried to hover overhead.â
The waitress returned with a tray, which she placed on their table without a word. When she had gone, Vin picked up a small device from the tray and inserted it into a depression on the tabletop.
Kaleidoscopic light swirled all around them: a smartatom hemisphere which broke apart the outside world and turned it into abstract moving patterns. The air grew curiously dead, with spillover from the privacy barrier's anti-sound.
Vin ignored her daistral, and activated the small silver terminal.
âProctorNet.â An impossibly handsome square-jawed man appeared. His dark uniform stretched comfortably across strong, broad shoulders. âIs this an enquiry or an emergâ?â
âMissing person,â said Vin.
The image flickered. The proctor regained his original smile.
âPlease give the identity ofââ
âSunadomari Tetsuo,â said Vin. âIchiban Villa, Zone Thirteen, Clara Shire.â
âHow long hasââ
âUnknown. Request personal interview. My name is Luculenta Lavinia Maximilian.â
The image disappeared.
âDon't worry,â said Vin. âWe'll soonâOh, here we are.â
Another proctor, this time a rather ordinary-looking young woman.
âWhat seems to be the problem? A missing person?â
âGo ahead,â Vin said to Yoshiko.
Haltingly, Yoshiko summarized her situation, and Tetsuo's nonappearance.
The proctor shook her head. âYour son's just
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