Cracks in the Spires

2: Balancing the Equations

Asken Verde dropped his tablet on the black glass desk and subsided into the deep and comfortable chair. He was about to ring for his personal intern when the man glided into the room with a tray containing a beaker of mountain tea, a selection of fresh fruit and a dish of the hartigers that were Asken's favourites. He nodded and the man glided out as silently as he had entered. Sipping the tea and nibbling on the savoury pastries Asken reflected that running Esperance was becoming a nightmare. Still one did not become Head of Administration and a member of the City Governance Council without having a finely honed ability to sense trouble and avoid it. Ruthless cunning would probably head the list of requirements for the position and Asken prided himself on his ability not only to avoid trouble but make sure any rival was the person on whom it descended. 

He reflected that his life was always easier in the summer when the Elite departed to their holiday villas in Greenland and he was free to turn his mind to some of the real and pressing problems that plagued Esperance. This year he was more than usually impatient for them to leave. Foran Tesh Vik was impulsive, unreasonable and worst of all unpredictable. Ever since the business two years ago with the Estas; Asken's balancing act had become ever more difficult. Malf might still be nominally in control but the last time Asken had had direct contact with him was when he ordered the clean up and retrieval of the corpses. Shortly after that it appeared the lone surviving Esta had managed to penetrate the security of the most well guarded man in Esperance, inflict serious injuries and escape unscathed. Asken had his own views on the likelihood of those events but they stayed firmly locked in his head. Whatever had really occurred the result was that since that time all communication with Malf Tesh Vik was through Foran.

Now there was the request for a meeting from Essandra Tesh Vik. The women of the elite did not normally concern themselves with the running of the city and he wondered what was behind her sudden interest in administration. The message might have been phrased as a request but one did not refuse requests from a Tesh Vik. He wondered what she might want and hoped it was nothing too unreasonable. The administration was already struggling to cope with the order that infertile men be registered with a view to having their free status removed. Screening was absorbing too many resources. The initiative might provide a temporary solution to the problem of workers for the agristates but since infertility rates were high among the lower orders the problem could only get worse. The City's population had dwindled from over seven to under four million. That was if anything an advantage in terms of supplying them with food and water. 

He considered not for the first time that it might have been better if the city's architects had designed the place to be run by robots who did not require extensive and costly life support systems to keep them functioning. But then there was the question of the diminishing supply of rare earths from the mines in Greenland. They still hadn't replenished stocks used in repairing the damage from the horrendous dust tornado that had struck the City. Luckily there hadn't been another one since. Futura shared the mining rights and any increase in production would need negotiations but the truth was the reserves were down to a fraction of what they had been. The City needed these elements to repair and replace power storage, solar generators and other essential equipment. Maybe the original designers had been right and people were the cheaper option. He glanced out of the window at the view over the botanical gardens and allowed himself the luxury of a very small sigh.

He was about to press a number on his Pcom when it flashed. A rare smile twitched his lips

"Pico. I was about to call you."

"I thought my ears felt hot. What did you want?"

"It can wait until you report. I assume you have some interesting  titbit of news for me?"

"Yes boss but it's better said in person."

"Very well how soon can you get here?"

"I'm outside if you let me in."

"Two minutes." Asken ended the call. He left his office not by the main entrance but by a door concealed from the view of casual visitors by a bookcase. He descended the stairs to a much smaller and shabbier but still comfortable room where Pico ws waiting for him. He was a nondescript individual whose face it was hard to remember  two minutes after seeing him which meant he was a perfect intelligence gatherer. Over the years he'd proved himself invaluable. He took double jobs and sold information on the side but nothing that affected Asken's interests so Asken had come to trust him more than he would someone who professed absolute loyalty. Pico folded himself into one of the two armchairs.

"Drink?" Pico nodded and Asken poured two small tumblers of whisky flavoured alcohol. "So what titbit have you collected?" Pico never initiated personal contact unless it was important.

"Well Boss, I heard a very interesting bit of information a couple of days ago but it was from a source that normally only collects gossip about elite social life so I wanted to check it out before coming to you." He twirled the liquid in his glass and took a sip" The source is in Essandra Tesh Vik's house."

"How interesting. Unusually I've just received a request for a meeting from that particular person."

Pico's face registered momentary surprise before resuming its normally impassive expression. "Well that verifies my diggings I think. It appears that our current lord and master is about to cede control of the rare earth mines in Greenland to Futura."

"Spire shite! Why didn't we know about this?" Asken almost spilt his drink. The news shocked him to the core. If true it spelt disaster for Esperance.

Pico made a deprecating gesture "Sorry Boss it took me by surprise as well. None of my sources had come up with anything about it. It seems the first person he shared the information with was his granddaughter since she's a necessary part of his mad scheme." By the time Pico had finished recounting the conversation overheard by the maid and his further efforts to verify it Asken was in no doubt of it's truth.

"So Essandra is opposed to the scheme?"

Pico nodded "Utterly and not just because it upsets her rather unorthodox domestic life."

"Well it seems that at least one Tesh Vik has some sanity left. What exactly do we know about her?"

"Not as much as we should Boss. She's been rather low on the scale of importance up to now."

"She's coming to see me tomorrow. Dig Pico and keep digging. I need everything about her and her comfort man or whatever he is now."

"According to my source they may have signed a secret couple contract a few years back which is probably why his life is in danger."

"Ah, yes. Otherwise they could just ship him off to the mines or algae farms and let nature take its course."

"What time are you seeing her?"

"Midday. Come back here with everything you've got at eleven tomorrow."

"That may not be much, it's less than twenty-four hours. Still I'll do my best. So what were you going to contact me about?"

"The same matter. I was curious about why a woman of the elite might suddenly take an interest in the city's administration but I think I've just had my answer."