Proteus Unbound Read Free Page B

round and hollow in the absence of eyebrows, looked away. "If you are perhaps thinking of Robert Capman . . ."
    "I would, but he's on a long-term stellar mission. My suggestion is BEC themselves. Why not call them in? They'll be as keen to sort this out as you are." Bey tried for an innocent expression. It was as good a way as any of testing the honesty of the Cloudlander.
    Manx looked pained. "We already approached the Biological Equipment Corporation. They sent a team of experts, who reviewed everything we could show them and declared that they could find no evidence of any problem. Unfortunately, we are not convinced that they conducted as thorough a review as one might wish. There has been a long-term disagreement with BEC as to the proper amount of royalties the Outer System is accruing for the use of BEC's form-change hardware and software systems—"
    "They say you stole their ideas, ignored their patents, and infringed their copyrights."
    "Well, that is a little crudely put—but, yes, you have the gist of their argument." Manx smiled ruefully. "I see that our own security is less than we are inclined to believe."
    "In a case like that it is. BEC will tell anyone on Earth who'll listen that the Outer System is robbing them blind."
    "Which is certainly a—a—"
    "Lie?"
    "Exaggeration. A misrepresentation."
    "You don't need to persuade me. I don't like monopolies, either, and BEC has one for the Inner System. But you said they did a review of 'everything we could show them.' Like to be more explicit?"
    There was a raising of nonexistent eyebrows. "You are a very perceptive man. There were a number of units that we could not and did not show to the BEC team."
    "Pirated designs?"
    "The Outer System prefers to think of them as independent developments. However, I believe it would have made little difference. The anomalous behavior occurs with rather greater frequency in BEC's own equipment. Yet they insist that everything is working perfectly."
    "Did your own engineers watch the BEC tests?"
    "Yes. As BEC said, no anomalies were observed. As soon as they left, new peculiar forms were again produced." Manx began to push away the enfolding arms of the chair. "If you would be interested to see some of those forms, I have images here with me."
    "No. You'd be wasting your time."
    "These forms are extremely strange."
    "Dr. Manx, odd forms don't do anything for me. I've seen so many of those over the years, I doubt if you could surprise me." Bey stood up. "I accept that you have a nasty problem, but it's not one that would justify dragging me partway to Alpha Centauri. I lost my job, but I still like Earth. And I doubt if I could do anything to help you."
    "How do you know that without personal observation?"
    "I've been around form control for a long time. As I said at the beginning, you have a software problem. The fact that BEC's team couldn't find it—or chose not to—makes no difference. Call 'em again, ask for Maria Sun. If anyone can solve it for you, she can."
    Manx stood up, too. "Mr. Wolf, it is my opinion that you underestimate both yourself and the difficulty of this problem. But I cannot change your mind about that, here on Earth. Rather, allow me to introduce a new variable into the equation. While you were on the way here I asked for and read a copy of your dossier from the Office of Form Control. It is something that I ought to have done earlier. I learned more of your personal circumstances."
    "You found out I'm going crazy."
    "You are sick. If you know anything of the Outer System, you may know that we are advanced in the treatment of mental illness. That happens to be my own field. If you would agree to travel back with me—merely to observe the phenomena for yourself, for no more than a few days—I will devote my best efforts to your personal problem."
    "Sorry. It's still negative." Bey headed for the door, but Leo Manx made a great effort and was there first.
    "One more point, Mr. Wolf. And please excuse