opened her arms, like a flower to the sun. One last breath before the storm. Never lose connection with the source of your passion.
Besides, if she had to deal with one more uncooperative staffer, she’d be calling Tengri’s hit man herself. She still wasn’t sure what Wong’s motives had been for cutting audits and offering to remove funding from the UNBio preserves. But it was clear he had a small cadre of loyalists. Something she’d have to deal with in the coming weeks.
She walked up the steep dirt path, letting her mind slip into nature’s peace. Charred stumps studded the grassy hill, remnants of the days before drought and fire had driven pine trees off the Rockies’ eastern slopes. In places, rows of dead seedlings still marked the last attempt to save the forest. But this was cactus and tamarisk country now. In two hundred years it might be dunes. Though not if I can help it. A jogger wheezed by, then a couple walking their dog. Tania found a rock, sat down, and savored the stillness.
The ring of her omni cut the quiet mountain air. Khan Tengri! At last! Tania answered the call. “Khan? Will that new material work? Please tell me that Molari came through with a viable plan B.”
“Hello to you too, Tania,” said Tengri. “I’m sending the details. But yes, a Nanoglass-based design could be complete in eighteen months. It’s a lot cheaper too, so even if we need to divert some of the UNBio preserve budget, the impact will be much reduced.” A ding from her omni marked the arrival of a document.
Tania leapt to her feet. “Eighteen months! That’s fantastic!” But Tengri wasn’t smiling. “So what’s the downside? How risky is this?”
“Insane was the word Molari used,” said Tengri. “I think he couldn’t find a stronger adjective. Nanoglass has never been tested outside the lab. They have no idea how to manufacture it yet. And,” he paused for effect, “they’re sending the Chinese engineer who invented it to the moon.”
“The moon?” Tania asked. “As in the big white thing that goes around the earth?” She reflexively scanned the sky, but saw only blue. “Why?”
“So they can make the Nanoglass there and slingshot it to L1 using a mass driver instead of carrying it from Earth on thousands of rockets.” Tengri shook his head. “There’s a risk distribution attached to the proposal.”
“If the budget is lower, can we hedge our bets by funding both designs for a while?”
“Not if you want to save the preserves,” said Tengri. “The original plan’s costs are mostly up front: building new space centers. So all the arguments for diverting preserve funding will remain. And once the UN starts tapping that money, I doubt they’re going to give it back even if the program is cancelled. Do you follow the stock markets?”
“No.” Tania smiled. “Perhaps if you gave me a raise.”
Tengri ignored her attempt at humor. “Shares in aerospace companies spiked in the weeks before the disk array announcement.”
Tania sat back on the rock. “Meaning…?”
“Who had deep pockets and knew about the disk array?” asked Tengri. “It was secret.”
Tania thought for a moment. “Only the members of the Climate Council knew… Are you saying they bought shares in aerospace companies, to profit when the disk array is built?”
“Probably nothing quite that overt,” said Tengri. “But yes, there’s a lot of insider money betting on the disk array. So if we push Nanoglass…”
“…then some powerful people will be very unhappy,” finished Tania.
Tengri nodded. “The Europeans jumped the gun this morning and announced a new space center in France,” he said. “They’re trying to force your hand.”
“Then they’re going to look like fools,” said Tania. “You can still orchestrate a move from the disk array to the Nanoglass shield, right? Assuming the simulations show it’s worth the risk.”
“It’s not quite that simple,” said Tengri.
Besides, if she had to deal with one more uncooperative staffer, she’d be calling Tengri’s hit man herself. She still wasn’t sure what Wong’s motives had been for cutting audits and offering to remove funding from the UNBio preserves. But it was clear he had a small cadre of loyalists. Something she’d have to deal with in the coming weeks.
She walked up the steep dirt path, letting her mind slip into nature’s peace. Charred stumps studded the grassy hill, remnants of the days before drought and fire had driven pine trees off the Rockies’ eastern slopes. In places, rows of dead seedlings still marked the last attempt to save the forest. But this was cactus and tamarisk country now. In two hundred years it might be dunes. Though not if I can help it. A jogger wheezed by, then a couple walking their dog. Tania found a rock, sat down, and savored the stillness.
The ring of her omni cut the quiet mountain air. Khan Tengri! At last! Tania answered the call. “Khan? Will that new material work? Please tell me that Molari came through with a viable plan B.”
“Hello to you too, Tania,” said Tengri. “I’m sending the details. But yes, a Nanoglass-based design could be complete in eighteen months. It’s a lot cheaper too, so even if we need to divert some of the UNBio preserve budget, the impact will be much reduced.” A ding from her omni marked the arrival of a document.
Tania leapt to her feet. “Eighteen months! That’s fantastic!” But Tengri wasn’t smiling. “So what’s the downside? How risky is this?”
“Insane was the word Molari used,” said Tengri. “I think he couldn’t find a stronger adjective. Nanoglass has never been tested outside the lab. They have no idea how to manufacture it yet. And,” he paused for effect, “they’re sending the Chinese engineer who invented it to the moon.”
“The moon?” Tania asked. “As in the big white thing that goes around the earth?” She reflexively scanned the sky, but saw only blue. “Why?”
“So they can make the Nanoglass there and slingshot it to L1 using a mass driver instead of carrying it from Earth on thousands of rockets.” Tengri shook his head. “There’s a risk distribution attached to the proposal.”
“If the budget is lower, can we hedge our bets by funding both designs for a while?”
“Not if you want to save the preserves,” said Tengri. “The original plan’s costs are mostly up front: building new space centers. So all the arguments for diverting preserve funding will remain. And once the UN starts tapping that money, I doubt they’re going to give it back even if the program is cancelled. Do you follow the stock markets?”
“No.” Tania smiled. “Perhaps if you gave me a raise.”
Tengri ignored her attempt at humor. “Shares in aerospace companies spiked in the weeks before the disk array announcement.”
Tania sat back on the rock. “Meaning…?”
“Who had deep pockets and knew about the disk array?” asked Tengri. “It was secret.”
Tania thought for a moment. “Only the members of the Climate Council knew… Are you saying they bought shares in aerospace companies, to profit when the disk array is built?”
“Probably nothing quite that overt,” said Tengri. “But yes, there’s a lot of insider money betting on the disk array. So if we push Nanoglass…”
“…then some powerful people will be very unhappy,” finished Tania.
Tengri nodded. “The Europeans jumped the gun this morning and announced a new space center in France,” he said. “They’re trying to force your hand.”
“Then they’re going to look like fools,” said Tania. “You can still orchestrate a move from the disk array to the Nanoglass shield, right? Assuming the simulations show it’s worth the risk.”
“It’s not quite that simple,” said Tengri.
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