Yana thought Marmion and Whittaker Fiske might find support in the man’s suggestion, but instead, Whittaker visibly scooted his chair farther from the table and the comm screen, and Marmion let the tip of her tongue show against her upper lip before answering carefully. “An excellent suggestion, Vice-Chair Luzon. I shall go personally.”
“And I, as well, will go, Madame Marmion,” Luzon said. “I am most interested in the belief patterns and customs of colonial peoples, especially those who have been without the benefit of extensive company contact over the years.”
“I’m sure you’ll find Petaybee a fountain of information, Matthew,” Whittaker Fiske said with a somewhat strained attempt at his customary amiability.
Matthew Luzon. Yana had heard the name often before, she realized suddenlyand not in a positive light.
“Your investigations and attempts to correct the thinking of colonists are well known, if not widely appreciated,” Whittaker said. “But I think an actual fact-finding expedition, led by Marmion here, is in order now. Her delegation could take advantage of the warm weather to use audiovisual recording equipment generally too sensitive for the climate on this planet. I think the more subjective material could wait until later.”
Luzon allowed the corners of his mouth to curl in his version of a smile. “Oh, no. I think my presence will be of great assistance. Come, come, Dr. Fiske. I do not take up so much room. I will accompany Madame Marmion.”
The floor trembled beneath their feet and the screen wobbled on its brackets for a few moments. Yana glanced at Clodagh and saw that the big woman was watching the image of Matthew Luzon with a certain studied wariness that Yana had never seen on her face before. It wasn’t fear exactly; dread, perhaps. That was when it hit Yana who Luzon was. And she was instantly appalled to learn that he had risen to such prominence in the company.
Luzon was trained in cultural anthropology, a discipline that should have made him more broad-minded and accepting of others. Instead he had the reputation of using his eminence to condemn the ‘less civilized” or “unenlightened” peoples, using their cultural differences as cause to withdraw or withhold company support or cooperation. Saved the company a lot of money, she supposed. His name had been bandied about when the inhabitants of the central continent of a world called Mandella had been herded into tenements so the jungles and bogs they had formerly inhabited could be tapped for fossil fuels. The tenements had not been well built, and the reeducation program had not included instruction in the use of the modern implements in the new homes, including the sanitation devices. Those Mandellans not killed in the great fire that raged through the tenements died of the communicable diseases that swept through later. Luzon’s reports had been what allowed the company to sidestep its responsibility when dealing with the Universal Court. In fact, Yana thought she recalled hearing something once about Luzon being; under consideration as a judge for the court.
And now the man was proposing to come looking down his nose at Petaybee!
“Well, I’m not coming down there,” Farringer Ball was saying. “Lot of damned nonsense. I have a company to run here. Can’t go traipsing around to every backwater bush planet whose colonists get a little peculiar. Hell, if they weren’t peculiar, they’d be in the corps or out in space.”
Marmion raised an eyebrow and he desisted. “Anyway, I can’t and won’t interrupt my work to go. But Matthew’s done some crack investigating before, and Marmie will bring back the goods. I’ll be guided by their evidence.”
“That’s a relief,” Whit snapped. “You sure as hell haven’t shown any inclination to be guided by mine, or that of Metaxos and Margolies.”
“Of course I have. I read the reports and I haven’t evacuated the place and stripped it back to rock yet, have I?”
“Sir,” Torkel Fiske said. “What about the additional troops? And I insist that Major Maddock face an official inquiry and possible court-martial for her actions.”
“We’re already talking about an official inquiry, Captain, or hadn’t you been paying attention? If the inquiry determines that there’s been subversion or sabotage, I doubt Maddock will have gone far, and she may he able to assist the investigators. Now then. There’ll be an escort with Madame Marmion and Dr. Luzon, of course, and additional technical personnel. If we decide to evacuate, we’ll call in more then. Meanwhile, you’ve got enough manpower on hand already, I should think. It’s not like an army’s going to be any help stopping earthquakes and volcanoes. This meeting is concluded.”