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.And in other ways the Order had done humanity some favors.The grapes pressed to yield the wine distilled to make this drink had doubtless been grown at Templar vineyards, maybe in some cavern on this wanderworld, or on another, most likely beneath a finely tuned spectrum of artificial light.As Harry recalled, it had not been alcohol that was Emil's weakness in his unhallowed secular civilian days.It was probably a good thing for the abbot's career that he had never met Dorijen.Harry stared into his glass, swirling the contents around.He was thinking that this was the first real drink he could remember having since he had sampled WinstonCheng's scotch during their first never-to-be-forgotten meeting.Thinking that Page 51ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlBecky had never been much of a drinker, though she would have one now and then.Abbot Darchan had put his sandaled feet up on an antique hassock, and was letting out a sigh of contentment."By Karlsen's mustache, Harry, it must be—what? Eight standard years? Ten?—since we've had a chance to talk.""Yeah.It's been way too long.""It has indeed." Here the abbot began to reminisce about some battle in which both of them had taken part.Presently he was making an effort to date events by that standard."I seem to make it seven years," Harry announced.He had been computing silently, by the use of other landmarks in his life, that the battle must have taken place a year before he and Becky had finally tied the knot, almost two years before Ethan was born.Even the calendar now seemed to revolve around the key dates of his demolished life.".probably you are correct," the abbot was saying."But good to see you, in any case, however long it may have been.By the way, that's a classy little ship you're driving.Yours?""No, just borrowed for the trip.""You have no other crew, no passengers?"Harry grunted something.The courier he had just docked was no more than a fairly representative sample of Cheng's extensive fleet, and probably not recognizable as belonging to the tycoon."If all goes according to plan, I'll be sending that one back where it belongs on autopilot, and driving a different one away from here." He pushed aside his empty glass, and with a shake of his head declined a refill."Oh?""You sound surprised.I came here with the idea that my employer was buying a ship from Professor Gianopolous, and the professor was here already, more or less expecting me.""Oh, the great man, the famous inventor.Aristotle." The abbot's tone gave the name more than a touch of irony."Yes, he's here, all right.He's been waiting, though Iwasn't sure just who or what he was expecting.As you probably know, we've been holding talks regarding this ship he boasts of as his invention.But you, Harry? You're going to work for him?" The abbot seemed to think that a dubious, unlikely proposition."Not for him, exactly.There's a kind of joint project being planned.I know, it looks like one of us is scraping the bottom of the barrel."The abbot took a moment to consider."Well, he's certainly not scraping the bottom of anything, not if he came up with you.I suppose your joint project is somehow going to employ his experimental ship.he brought the vessel here to offer us a demonstration, wanting us either to buy it, or invest in his ongoing work.Or both."Harry sipped brandy."You've tested the ship?""Yes.""That was a nice short answer.Fairly extensive testing?""Yes, over a period of several days.But under a pledge of confidentiality.I'm afraid Ican't discuss any of the results with you.""All right.But you decided not to buy it.""That is correct.The professor failed to be entirely convincing in his presentation.but I suppose I shouldn't discuss that either." Darchan waved a hand in a vague gesture."Well, I won't pry into the nature of what seems a rather confidential project.Whatever the reason you're here, I'm glad to see you."Page 52ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html"Same here."The abbot had paused as a new thought struck him."And not just for old times'sake." He slapped his forehead theatrically with an open hand."Great spirits of space, how could such a thing have slipped my mind? We had a bulletin come in—it wasn't that many days ago—from the Superior General's office.Your name was on a list and it caught my eye.""Oh?" Harry was thinking that it was probably some old criminal charge.Right now he simply didn't care, except to be wary of the possibility that legal entanglement could loom up interfering with the way he planned to spend the next few days.He fully expected them to be the last days of his life.The abbot had swiveled his comfortable chair to face the workstation in the corner of the room, and was rummaging optelectronically through reams of data, ghostly images of things and people flickering on a battery of small screens and stages, most of them evaporating again as fast as they appeared.Harry got up and moved to stand looking over one robed shoulder."Hah! Here we are."Now Emil was getting a printout, while he went on talking.What he was saying and what Harry saw on the printout had nothing to do with criminal charges after all.Abbot Darchan leaned back in his chair, and spoke in a voice that might have put across a sermon."The Lifeless Ones, the servants of death, have thought up a new trick.They're custom-building assassin machines, each one dedicated to seeking out and killing a particular human being.The focus is on people they describe in a code that translates out as 'superbadlife.' There are about a hundred names on the list that someone in our order managed to intercept.Yours is prominent among them.""I'm impressed," said Harry slowly."I'm honored." He really was.In fact the news brought him about as close to enthusiasm as anything could have done these days.No human authority had ever awarded him a medal, and he doubted that any ever would, but this was better—insofar as anything, these days, could be truly better than anything else.In the next moment, bleak realization was setting in.Of course this listing might easily have been the worst thing that had ever happened to him.It might have been the fact that killed his family, providing the enemy with a special reason to target them.That could mean that looking for any human goodlife traitors in the game was only wasted effort.There was no need for any malign intelligence, human or artificial, to be discovered lurking in the systems of Cheng Enterprises.Harry had to force his attention back to the abbot, who was still nodding.".yes, you should be impressed.Unfortunately, the machine we've got strung out on the trophy rack now has nothing directly to do with your designated assassin.We've dissected out the brain of a courier, as I said before, along with a few attached support devices.One that happened to be carrying a few scraps of useful information.""Mind if I take a more thorough look at the list?""Of course not! I'm sorry, here."Harry sat down with the printout in hand—suddenly his hand was slightly unsteady—and scanned it slowly, taking time to focus briefly on each name.He recognized one or two.The name of Winston Cheng was indeed there, and so was that of Del Satranji, who wanted so badly to find a berserker that could offer him a real challenge.That he would succeed in that quest now seemed a good bet.Missing, however, were all the other members of the rescue expedition.Nor was Abbot Darchan himself among those who had been granted special status by the enemy; in fact Harry could not be sure that any of the people here marked for destruction were Templars.He thought in passing that that must irritate the Order.Of course there was no way to be sure that this list was comprehensive.It Page 53ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm
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