Merchant's Instinct

The D.V.S. Stellar Charlemagne entered Tau Ceti orbit ten days after we had defeated the Gambit Enterprises attempt at the takeover of our shipping rights on board the Charlemagne. And since I had no more wartime duties, I made a point of being in a position to see the target planet when we arrived. Call it a merchant’s instinct passed down from out corporate ancestors millennia ago: the urge to size up the customer, especially a customer so rich as Tau Ceti.
Even from thousands of miles away, it was clear that the Cetians had kept their planet pristine, for the clouds drifting through the atmosphere were crystal white without a hint of the black smog that hung like funeral wreaths around the industrial giant of Alpha C, the Charlemagne’s last stop.
Slowly, the planet grew in the massive windows as I watched and sipped a bulb of the finest Martian wine, savoring the profits flowing into my account generated by the defeating the Gambits in that bloody little tête-à-tête almost as much as the fine Elysium Merlot. I closed my eyes, savoring the wonderful, rich, dry flavor wash down my throat, reminiscent of the Red Planet itself. When I opened my eyes, there was a woman sitting in front of me dressed in a severe dark blue suit with a tiny silver “T” at her throat. She looked hurried and harried.
It was my boss. Her name was Li Ijiniss and she had risen quickly through the ranks of the Terranis Guild with a quick wit and a ruthless razor mind. It had been her brilliant leadership that had led to the downfall of the Gambits.
“Alright, Sen, listen up. I’ve gotten your client list already via the Tau Ceti DowjonesNet and its been forwarded to you secretary, so check it out before you head down. I also arranged for you to be met by Alex and he’ll show you around since he’s from Tau Ceti originally. Now, if there’s nothing else,” she made to leave, obviously wanting to get on to meetings with more important Terranis personnel than a lowly merchant.
“Wait a minute, Li,” I drawled carefully pausing to slow her down, “Why don’t you stay and have a drink. Celebrate,” I grinned winningly, mostly from the fact that I knew I was annoying the hell out of her. She had always pissed me off, moving so fast and trying so hard, never really slowing down, even when she could. I didn’t like people who couldn’t be lazy sometimes.
He eyes show venom for a moment before she controlled herself and gritted out, smiling, “No thank you, Sen, but I really have to finish my assignments. Good luck,” she finished and glided off, the perfect example of executive material.
God I hate bosses, I thought as I downed the rest of my wine, paid and began to move towards the planet-side shuttles.
<You know, you really shouldn’t antagonize her like that, Sen, she is you superior,> the voice echoed in my head, rolling around before settling heavily on my brain. That damned secretary could be ham fisted when she wanted too.
<I know, I know, Tess, but I really can’t help it. She’s so aggravating, always…>
<Yes, ‘moving so fast and trying so hard.’ I heard you the first time, I’m here, too, remember?>
<Sure, Tess, how could I forget? Now give me that client list.>
I had reached the airlocks, passed through customs easily with my Terranis ID and had proceeded on to the next departing soljammer, ignoring the faster, more efficient shuttles.. I took a window seat and paused Tess as she reeled off names and their attached data to watch the sails.
Ever since I had been a kid on Europa, I had always been obsessed with the sleek, mysterious soljammers. My dad had kept a model of one on his desk and took our family on annual trips on the famous Jovian Queen around Jupiter for a vacation. On those trips I loved to watch the sails slowly and majestically unfold and now, centuries later, nothing was different.
First the orbs connected by mono-filament gracefully floated out in from of the ship, then, slowly, like a giant silver flower blooming into the sunlight, the carefully packed sail expanded out of the orbs in a nova of reflection. The ultra-thin sheets continued to spread and join into one single sail that was immensely huge, considering the size of the ship and blocked out all other views, dipping into the rivers of light gushing out of Tau Ceti’s star. Slowly, like the great men o’ war of old, the soljammer began to move.
I sighed, ordered an Elysium Merlot, told Tess to resume reading the list and leaned back in my seat, eyes closed.
* * *
Hours later, Tess was done and we had landed in Tau Ceti’s main port city of Far Jakarta. I made sure that I had my disks, then followed the flow of people out of the ship, seeing that the shuttles had been there for hours and were currently sitting empty and grey on their scorched landing pads. I stood for a moment in the main concourse of the terminal, letting my gaze drift over the other people there with the practiced ease of a salesman.
My reverie was broken by Tess’ voice, <Look over there, about two o’ clock.>
I looked and there, pushing through the crowds of tourists and merchants from the Charlemagne was Alexei Elstayev. He was in his early thirties, still young, but he was learning and while I never had predicted anything great for him, I knew that he would do well with his solid business sense.
He arrived panting and stopped short standing tall and trying to look important, “Sir, it’s good to see you again, sir,” he said holding out his hand.
I took his hand with a smile, “Hello, Alex, it’s good to see you again, too, and call me Sen, for God’s sake.”
“Alright, Sen,” he seemed to relax warming into his liaison routine, “I was told to show you around and then take you to through your contact list, helping to find your buyers.”
“Sounds good, Alex, lead the way.”
“Yes, sir. Now, the top man on your client list is scheduled to meet you at the Landfall Monument on Hemmingway Boulevard. We have a car waiting for you if you’ll come this way…” he led me out of the throngs of people into the Tau Ceti sun, its rays reflecting madly off of the glittering synth-diamond statues and sculptures that dotted Far Jakarta’s Royal park whose grounds abutted the port.
When Alex had said that he had a car waiting, it was an understatement. The thing was gorgeous; a brand new Jovian Stellar with premium hybrid engine, jet black tinted windows and shining titanium everywhere. Apparently, the Terranis Guild had run into some money in the few years I had been away, for the last car they had sent for me had been as old as I was, and that wasn’t a good thing for a car.
Anyway, Alex opened the door for me and I got in, sliding easily across the real leather seats. He slid in across from me and punched in a destination for the autopilot. I sat back in the seat and lit a Europan SmoothSea cigarette, savoring the flavor as the scenery of Far Jakarta began to flash by. Alexei and I talked, about business on the Charlemagne and on Tau Ceti and about the Terranis Guild trade in general. Anyway, soon the blurs outside the windows began to coalesce into the solid shapes of buildings as the car reached the programmed destination and hissed to a stop.
I began to open the door and thank Alex when I saw he was following and stopped him, “Hey, Alex, I want you to sat in the car while I do this. Nothing personal, but it’s the way I’ve always worked,” I explained as I stabbed out my cigarette in the ashtray, “I’ve found that it keeps the customers more at ease with no one else around, considering what they’re buying. You understand, right?”
“Oh, sure, Sen, I get it, good luck,” he said sounding a little hurt that I had snubbed him, “But what the hell are you selling that’s so sensitive, you’ve never told me,” he said the offending word with a sneer.
“Alex, what do you think is the most underground product that the Terranis Guild peddles that’s still legal?”
He thought for a moment, then a look of comprehension dawned on his features, “You’re selling shoulder-sitters?”
I nodded, “And while they are legal pretty much everywhere,” I continued, “Most governments still have enough anti-slavery lobbies to make them leery about openly supporting the trade.”
He looked at me strangely for a second, then said in a quiet voice, “You’re a shoulder-sitter dealer…”
“Yeah,” I said quickly, knowing that I needed to get out of there, “Pick me up[ here in an hour and a half.”
I slid out of the car and slammed the door, leaving Alex in the dark, and watched as the car hissed into the Far Jakarta traffic and disappeared. I was left alone in the famous Hemmingway Park, in the shadow of the looming Landfall Monument, a huge piece of stone, scorched, supposedly, by the fusion thrusters of the first seed ships arriving on the then dead Tau Ceti. Looking around, I saw many people strolling on this beautiful summer afternoon, with just as many sitting under the Monument, in pairs or groups, or just alone.
<Tess?> I thought.
<Hold on> she replied <Walk around some more, let me see the faces.>
I followed orders, doing a 360° promenade around the Monument admiring the bas-relief carvings depicting the heroic landing of the Jakarta. Then, as I was finishing the perambulation, Tess thought, <There, on you right. Yeah, him, the blonde.>
The man she had mentally pointed out was standing just under the monolith, reading his new-pad intently. I judged him to be about thirty or thirty-five, having a smooth face and blonde hair brushed back conservatively, in keeping with the light blue suit that said upper management, at the least.
As I walked towards him, Tess reeled off the facts: <Alright, his name’s Eldon Jones, 33, works for a major Tau Ceti manufacturing company, high ranks. Put in a request to the Guild for a shoulder-sitter six months ago, and you’re the first dealer here since then, so here we are. Got it?>
<Perfectly, thanks, Tess.>
I reached him, and he looked up from his pad smiling, :Eldon Jones, I presume?” I said suavely, putting out my hand.
He grasped it firmly and smiled more broadly, his white teeth showing and his blue eyes flicking over me, taking in the details, I was sure, “Yes, that’s me. And you are…” there was a coolness in his tone that belied his smile, but I pressed on.
“My name is Shanjierre, but call me Sen. I am here about the order that you put in to the Terranis Guild a few months ago.”
“Ah yes, I was told you were coming,” he replied, “Can I see your…wares?”
“Right to the point, eh,?” Laughing more to comfort myself than him, I handed him the disk with the personalities, “Here they are, one thousand shoulder-sitters, harvested then groomed by the Terranis Guild’s best professionals. Each has a description and sound-byte next to it. Once you’ve made your decision, most qualified doctors will insert it, for a price, of course.”
“Of course,” he said, taking the disk from me with a gleam in his eyes and inserted it into his pad. I saw the list pop up and for the next forty-five minutes, we went through the list, narrowing it down for the style he wanted. Then finally, he heard and saw one that he liked, so after some haggling, he bought it and paid me, a done deal.
“Well, I don’t know how to thank you enough for coming so soon,” he said gratefully, putting out his hand.
“My pleasure,” I said shaking it, feeling as grateful as he was, “But now the caveat. Once it is implanted, it will being to record your own personality into a free chip that’s in there. Then, when you die, not for many years, hopefully, one of our agents will be alerted. They will remove both chips and your recorded personality will be used for another shoulder-sitter.”
He looked at me for a moment, then slowly smiled, “I understand, good business, I see. Double your merchandise with every sale. Anyway, I agree to your caveat, good bye,” he said turning and walking away into the crowd.
I sighed and wiped the sweat off of my forehead, <I didn’t like him,> I thought to Tess.
<Oh, I thought he was perfectly nice,> she replied, <Is your personality being recorded, Sen, or is that reserved only for your customers?>
<The extra chip’s right there, next to you, but I deactivated it before the doctor stuck it in. I may sell the things, but I would never want to be one of them.>
<I see,> she said coldly, then clammed up.
While I had been conversing with Tess, I had been slowly walking towards one of the bars that lined the edge of the park. I entered it, found its old-wood feel to be pleasing and ordered an Elysium Merlot, having another half an hour before Alex came back to pick me up for the next sale. I took my drink to one of the old fashioned booths and sat sipping and waiting.
Suddenly, there was a tap on my shoulder, jerking me out of some reverie. I looked up and saw a woman standing over me. She was tall and imposing, with a sharp nose and a gash of a mouth that looked perpetually turned down at the corners. Her hair was brown streaked grey and tied in a bun behind her head. She ware a black suit with… the seal of the Cetian government at her neck.
“Sentus Shanjierre?” she clipped out, her voice cold and proper.
“Uh, yes that’s me,” I managed beginning to sweat.
She slid into the seat across from me, waved away a helpful waiter and activated the booth’s privacy feature. Instantly, all sounds of the bar disappeared and the surrounding air was too blurred to see out of.
“Is there something I can do for you, Ms…”I asked, having regained some of my composure.
“Yes, there is Mr. Shanjierre. My name is Alya Bast and I work for the Tau Ceti government, as you might have guessed. It has come to the attention of our security bureau that you have a customer on you client list by the name of Eldon Jones,” It was not a question.
“Yes, I do. What about him? And where did you get his name, our client lists are supposed to be locked, even to you.”
“They were given to us by your direct employer, Li Injiss, and were legitimately paid for. Now, Jones is going to want to buy a shoulder-sitter from you…”
“Wait a minute,” I interrupted, holding up a hand, “Sorry, but Jones has already made his purchase. I just finished with him about ten minutes ago.”
The color, what there was of it, drained from her face, “He must have changed the meeting time. Dammit!” She hit the table with her fist, “We’ve got retrieve the personality that you sold him.”
“Why?” I asked, wonderingly, “What’s so important about it?”
She sighed, looking older than she had moments before, and hesitated, “I’m not sure if I should tell you, but we did force open your client list and you deserve to know why. For two years, we’ve suspected that there has been a group using the shoulder sitter trade to smuggle highly sensitive military information. They would find an innocent person with a shoulder-sitter on one world, tell them some piece of information, getting it recorded into the personality, and then kill them, making it look like an accident. The raw personality data would be taken to a professional cleaner, of course, but that little piece of data would look harmless and be left alone. The last part was easy, because the “client” on the receiving world would just purchase the shoulder-sitter and the information was theirs to auction to the highest bidder.”
I was stunned, for a moment. It was brilliant, if vicious, “Isn’t that a bit extreme, even for a military secret?”
“Not really. You see, we have very good security here on Tau Ceti, some of the best, but it’s very hard to watch the Corporations. The smugglers used Gambit Enterprises before you Terranis Guild people took over. However, until now, the secrets stolen have not been of great importance, but we recently found out that Jones’ group was contracted by some terrorists to get a very sensitive piece of information that is of great importance. Getting that personality back could save thousands of lives.”
“I think I see your point,” I said nodding, “I’ll do it for two million.”
<WHAT?> a voice exploded in my head. I ignored it.
She looked surprised for a second, then, “Mr. Shanjierre, maybe you don’t understand; lives are at stake.”
I appreciate that fact, if its true. However, the data on the personality could also just be some presidential indiscretion, in which case, it is not worth my trouble without compensation.”
She hesitated.
“Come, Ms. Bast, it is a small price to pay if the personality is what you claim it is,” I continued, at my most unctuous, “And, I suspect that time is of the essence because Jones will sell that data as soon as he can. Furthermore, I am the only person that could reach Jones on such short notice,” I finished, gambling.
She hesitated again and said finally, “Done. Payment upon completion. You need to get us back that shoulder-sitter and, if necessary, kill Jones. Tell the barman here that you’re looking for me when you’re done. He’ll contact me.”
She stood, deactivated the privacy screen, said a perfunctory, “Good luck,” and disappeared into the now crowded bar.
<Well, Sen, good luck, indeed. You’re definitely going to need it for this one,> Tess thought.
<Thanks, Tess> I replied, <Now send a message to Jones. I’m guessing that since this racket’s been working for so long, he’s gotten soft and hasn’t checked the goods yet. Tell him a virus got into my pad and damaged the contents of the disk and the one I sold whim wasn’t the one that he wanted. Tell him to meet me here again in an hour. Then get Alex back here as fast as he can, and tell him to bring a tranq-gun. Got it?>
<Done, and done.>
<Good job, Tess, thanks again.>
I walked quickly out of the bar and waited for Alex’s car to show up. It didn’t take long for the long black vehicle to pull up in front of me and hiss to a stop. The door opened and I slid in.
“Hello, Sen!” H seemed to have gotten over my earlier rudeness pretty well, “How did the sale…”
“Sorry, Alex,” I interrupted, “No time to talk. Did you get the gun?”
He pulled out the small tranq-pistol from his pocket and handed it to me with a strange look on his face. I checked the ammunition and then slipped it into my own jacket pocket, satisfied.
“You want to know what’s going on, Alex?” I said noticing the hurt look on his face, “Alright,” I said proceeding to tell him the whole story fof my meetings with Jones and ms. Bast, interrupted only by Tess telling me that Jones had agreed to come back and meet me. When I finished, I looked at my watch, only ten minutes, I thought, I’d better get out there.
I gave Alex instructions for several contingencies that I hoped would not be needed, but had to be addressed in case they did, and hopped out of the car, hearing it drive off behind me. I walked over to the Landfall Monument and leaned against it, feeling the cold of the stone sinking into my back and waited. Less than ten minutes later, he arrived.
With the same warm smile on his lips he walked towards me, but now there was something else in his eyes that I didn’t like at all; a nervous twitch that I knew I had to be careful of.
“Mr. Jones,” I called cheerfully, “Thank you for meeting with me.”
“What exactly is it that you wanted to see me about, Sen?” He asked coldly.
“Well, Mr. Jones, you see, just before I met with you, a virus tore up that disk and shuffled around all of my personalities. That means that the one I sold you is not the one you purchased. If you would like to exchange yours for the real one, I have it here,” I finished, patting my breast pocket, which also held the gun, heavy against my chest.
“Why, Sen, what do you mean. Of course, it’s the right personality, I tested it myself,” he said holding up his pad, “And I assure you that it is exactly what I wanted.”
A chill ran down the back of my spine at the tone of his voice; he wasn’t as soft as I’d hoped. Now I just wanted to get out of there alive, and from the look on Jones face, I knew it might prove to be difficult.
“And, now, Sen, if you’re sure there’s nothing else…” he turned and began walking away, melting into the shadows cast by the looming trees that dotted the park.
<He’s getting away!> Tess yelled in my head, obviously as tense as I was.
<Thanks, Tess, I noticed?> I shot back sourly and started to pursue my once-was client, reaching in my pocket for the gun.
Seconds later, the trees were flitting by silently as Jones and I ran headlong through Hemmingway Park. I was slowly gaining ground and suddenly, I saw that there was a clear shot so I took it without a second’s thought. There was the hiss of parting air as the dart flew from the gun straight into Jones’ back. He dropped like a stone.
I pulled up short of him, still gasping for breath in the thin atmosphere of Tau Ceti and looked down at his body, crumpled on the cold ground.
<Tess, contact the bartender and tell him that we’re looking for Ms. Bast and we need her fast. Also call Alex and…>I didn’t have time to finish, though, because there was an explosion of sound and a bullet slammed into a tree just behind me. Reflexively, I dove for cover behind the same tree that now had a large hole gouged out of the bark. I stayed down and silent, knowing my tranq-gun was no match for that piece of hardware.
The moments ticked by, measure by the hammering of my oxygen deprived heart, and, finally, I saw my assailant carefully emerge from his hiding place and approach his fallen partner. Then, there was another hiss of a tranquilizer gun from behind him and he, too, crumpled to the ground. I saw Alex running through the trees, followed by several Tau Ceti cops and I jumped out to meet them.
Everything after that seemed to happen all at once. For an instant, I saw Alex leveling his gun at a point above my right shoulder, and whipped around with my gun ready. It was too late, though, and the thug who had managed to sneak around behind me fired. It felt like I had been punched in the chest at the speed of sound. Falling to the ground, I touched the back of my head for an instant, then lay, dimly watching as Alex and the cops peered down at me and tried to help. I know it sounds clichéd, but everything went black.
* * *
The next thing that I remember, I was sitting in a bar, across the table from Ms. Bast. The privacy shield was up, and she was sliding the payment across the table, “Here you are, two million as was promised, plus a little extra for you loss.”
I nodded and she deactivated the shield, shook my hand and slid out of the seat, disappearing into the city crowd.
<Wait a minute,> I said to myself, <What’s going on?> Or at least, I tried to say it to myself, because it came out more as a thought than anything else.
<Sen!> A voice rang out happily next to me, <You’re awake!>
<Tess? Damn right I am. Where are we? What’s happening?>
<I’ll answer that,> Another voice said.
<Alex?>
<That’s right, Sen. What happened? Well, you’re dead. When you got shot, Tess told me to upload the contents of you shoulder-sitter into mine. I hadn’t gottn a personality yet, so I had the space. Thanks to you activating the personality recorder, here we are, three in one.>
<Fantastic,> I thought, <I guess I owe you one. Let’s use some of that reward to get a nice chilled Elysium Merlot.>
<I really don’t drink wines, Sen,> Alex said meekly.
<Sure you do,> I replied and promptly used his hand to call the waiter. I could sense a long and comfortable relationship in the making.