Empire Builders by Ben Bova

would do if he swam out to the plane and took off in it.
    “No,” Dan muttered to himself. “The son of a bitch would probably order the Peacekeepers to shoot me down. He’d tell ‘em I’m a terrorist on my way to nuke the Vatican .”
    So he walked slowly toward the patio dining area. Sure enough, Malik and Jane were sitting at a table shaded by a broad, gaily striped umbrella, their heads together like a pair of conspirators. “What a surprise? Dan shouted as he stepped onto the iron-wood-floored patio. “Vasily—you’ve flown all the way from Paris just to see me’. I’m honored.”
    Malik returned his smile. “I wouldn’t have missed this occasion for the world,” he said.
    Jane looked just as edgy as she had the night before. Maybe more so, thought Dan. She was wearing a dark blue pair of shorts and a sleeveless white blouse. Dark glasses were her only concession to the hot tropical sun overhead. She tans well, Dan remembered, hoping that she was smart enough to use sunblock anyway. Malik always seemed to have precisely the correct wardrobe for every occasion. He looked as if he had just stepped out of a video advertisement: casual whipcord slacks of light tan, an ivory-colored short-sleeved shirt with blue-tabbed epaulets, and a woven straw hat with a snap brim slanted at a rakish angle. No sunglasses, but his icy blue eyes looked darker than usual. Contact lenses, Dan concluded. He’s too damned conceited even to wear sunglasses.
    In nothing but his swim trunks and an unbuttoned open-weave shirt, Dan pulled up a chair and joined them in the shade of the umbrella.
    “So tell me,” he said cheerfully to Malik, “how busy you’re going to make my lawyers.”
    Malik gave him a smile full of teeth. “Your lawyers can become as busy as they like; there is no way for them to save you. You have clearly broken GEC regulations, which have the force of international law.”
    “And just which regulations have I broken?”
    Malik explained with great patience and obvious relish, citing specific clauses and dates. Dan listened, but his eyes strayed to Jane. She looked as tense as a prisoner facing a firing squad.
    “So you see,” Malik concluded, “that if any of your lawyers decide to try to help you, they will have to do it on a pro bono basis. As ofnoon tomorrow,Paris time, all of Astro Manufacturing will be closed down.”
    “Closed down?” Dan snapped. “You mean you’re throwing all my people out of work’?”
    Malik raised a placating hand. “An unfortunate choice of words, excuse me. Astro will continue to operate, but it will be managed by specialists from the GEC. Under my direction.”
    “Holy sheep dip,” Dan grumbled.
    “It’ll be like what happens when a corporation goes into bankruptcy,” Jane said, her first words since Dan had come to their table. “Yeah,” Dan replied. “The company staggers on, profits drop to zero, and before you know it the whole organization falls apart.” “Don’t be so gloomy,” Malik said. “Your employees will remain faithful to Astro Corporation. They will not be allowed to quit.” Dan fixed him with a sour look. “Another one of your double-damned regulations” “Yes. Of course.” Malik looked wonderfully happy.
    With a snort of disdain, Dan leaned both his elbows on the round table and said, “Okay. Now I’ve got something real important to tell you about.”
    Malik looked surprised. “More important than losing your company?”
    Nodding, Dan said, “I told Jane about it last night. This is global trouble: the greenhouse cliff.” “Cliff?”
    Dan explained Zach Freiberg’s hypothesis about the sudden warming of the Earth. After he finished, Malik remained silent for several moments.
    “We haven’t seen anything like this from our scientific staff,” Jane said at last. “Yes, we have,” said Malik.
    “We have?”
    “Your scientists have come to the same conclusion?” Dan asked, suddenly eager with hope. Malik nodded warily.