presented—Bey had almost forgotten that he had asked for it. The day promised to be a long and confusing one.
Not surprisingly, BEC was getting into the act as well. An incoming news release set out their official position:
"Biological Equipment Corporation (BEC) today released a formal statement denying all knowledge of the human bodies discovered recently in the Pacific. A BEC representative informed us that the bodies had clearly been subjected to form-change, but that no BEC program developments, past or present, could lead to forms anything like those that have been found. In an unusual procedure, BEC has agreed to release records showing forms now under development in the company. They have also invited Government inspection of their facilities."
"That's a new one," said Bey. "They must really be running scared. I've been waiting for them to plead innocent or guilty. I've never known BEC to release their new form secrets before. They must be losing their old commercial instinct."
"Not quite." Larsen pointed at the final words of the message. "I wonder what it cost them to get that tagged onto the end of the news release."
"BEC," continued the display, "is the pioneer in and world's largest manufacturer of purposive form-change equipment utilizing biological feedback control methods. The release of BEC proprietary information to assist in this investigation is voluntary and purely in the public interest."
"There we go," said Bey. "That's more like the old BEC. Old Melford died a long time ago, but I'll bet his skeleton is grinning in the grave."
Chapter 11
Third generation USF men, like top kanu players, are usually on the small skinny side, built for mobility rather than strength. It was a surprise to greet a giant, more than two meters tall and muscled like a wrestler, and find that he was the USF man assigned to work with the Office of Form Control on the Guam form-change case. Bey Wolf looked up at the tall figure, and bit back the question on the tip of his tongue.
It made no difference. Park Green was regarding him knowingly, a sly smile on his big, baby face.
"Go on, Mr. Wolf," he said. "Ask me. You'll do it eventually anyway."
Bey smiled back. "All right. Do you use form-change equipment? I thought it was banned for everything but repair work in the USF."
"It is, and I don't. I came this way, and it's all natural. You can guess how hard it is, acting as a USF representative, and looking just as though you've been dabbling with the machines."
Wolf nodded appreciatively. "I'm not used to being read so easily."
"On that question, I've had lots of practice. I thought we ought to get rid of that distraction before we get down to work. What's new on the Guam case? I've had orders to send a report back to Tycho City tonight, and at the moment I have no idea what I'm going to say. Did you get a time and cause of death yet, from the path lab?"
"Three days ago, and they all died within a few hours of each other. They were asphyxiated, but here's the strange part. Their lungs were full of normal air—no gaseous poisons, no contaminants. They choked to death on the same stuff that you and I are breathing right now."
Park Green sniffed and looked perplexed. "They changed to something that found air poisonous. I don't like that one. How about the way they got to the sea-bed?"
"They were dropped off twenty-four hours or less after they died. It must have been done at night, or we'd have had reports of sightings. That part of the coast is full of fishing herdsmen during the day. My guess is that they died a long way from there."
"Excuse my ignorance, but I don't follow your logic."
"Well, I'm conjecturing, but I think they were intended for the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Five miles down, they'd never have been found. So they were accidentally dropped a few miles too far West, and that suggests it was done by somebody who didn't know the local geography too well. Whoever did it was in a hurry, too, or they
Not surprisingly, BEC was getting into the act as well. An incoming news release set out their official position:
"Biological Equipment Corporation (BEC) today released a formal statement denying all knowledge of the human bodies discovered recently in the Pacific. A BEC representative informed us that the bodies had clearly been subjected to form-change, but that no BEC program developments, past or present, could lead to forms anything like those that have been found. In an unusual procedure, BEC has agreed to release records showing forms now under development in the company. They have also invited Government inspection of their facilities."
"That's a new one," said Bey. "They must really be running scared. I've been waiting for them to plead innocent or guilty. I've never known BEC to release their new form secrets before. They must be losing their old commercial instinct."
"Not quite." Larsen pointed at the final words of the message. "I wonder what it cost them to get that tagged onto the end of the news release."
"BEC," continued the display, "is the pioneer in and world's largest manufacturer of purposive form-change equipment utilizing biological feedback control methods. The release of BEC proprietary information to assist in this investigation is voluntary and purely in the public interest."
"There we go," said Bey. "That's more like the old BEC. Old Melford died a long time ago, but I'll bet his skeleton is grinning in the grave."
Chapter 11
Third generation USF men, like top kanu players, are usually on the small skinny side, built for mobility rather than strength. It was a surprise to greet a giant, more than two meters tall and muscled like a wrestler, and find that he was the USF man assigned to work with the Office of Form Control on the Guam form-change case. Bey Wolf looked up at the tall figure, and bit back the question on the tip of his tongue.
It made no difference. Park Green was regarding him knowingly, a sly smile on his big, baby face.
"Go on, Mr. Wolf," he said. "Ask me. You'll do it eventually anyway."
Bey smiled back. "All right. Do you use form-change equipment? I thought it was banned for everything but repair work in the USF."
"It is, and I don't. I came this way, and it's all natural. You can guess how hard it is, acting as a USF representative, and looking just as though you've been dabbling with the machines."
Wolf nodded appreciatively. "I'm not used to being read so easily."
"On that question, I've had lots of practice. I thought we ought to get rid of that distraction before we get down to work. What's new on the Guam case? I've had orders to send a report back to Tycho City tonight, and at the moment I have no idea what I'm going to say. Did you get a time and cause of death yet, from the path lab?"
"Three days ago, and they all died within a few hours of each other. They were asphyxiated, but here's the strange part. Their lungs were full of normal air—no gaseous poisons, no contaminants. They choked to death on the same stuff that you and I are breathing right now."
Park Green sniffed and looked perplexed. "They changed to something that found air poisonous. I don't like that one. How about the way they got to the sea-bed?"
"They were dropped off twenty-four hours or less after they died. It must have been done at night, or we'd have had reports of sightings. That part of the coast is full of fishing herdsmen during the day. My guess is that they died a long way from there."
"Excuse my ignorance, but I don't follow your logic."
"Well, I'm conjecturing, but I think they were intended for the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Five miles down, they'd never have been found. So they were accidentally dropped a few miles too far West, and that suggests it was done by somebody who didn't know the local geography too well. Whoever did it was in a hurry, too, or they
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