Part VI – The first in Gaul
10 August 2020
“Just imagine, Kups, everything is to happen today,” a fat man was staggering with agitation in red arm-chairs of his limousine-flyer. The high quality seat’s leather was creaking from being touched by his flabby body wrapped in expensive suit with nacred luster and thus enhancing the atmosphere of utter agitation in the elite flyer tearing along the federal gravihighway.
“How long have I been waiting for this moment,” he continued to boast before the bracelet’s screen. “The last twenty years my only dream has been about this moment. Every concluded contract, every bargain made me dream of the moment when I, being the richest and the most powerful person in the Gual sector of nine planets, will be the first among the first at the annual charity exhibition of little fractions. I see himself walking along the red runner and hearing behind boasting whisper,” Look, that is Mr. Po himself – the most powerful person at the today’s event. I wonder how much he will subscribe for charity.“
“By the way about the money, Krups, I understand very well that you can not keep secrets,” switched to whisper the only passenger of the limousine, glancing back at the approaching lights of another flyer, “but I hope that you will conduct meekly because you are the first to know about my intention to hand about the tenth part of my bits savings.”
“But Mr. Po, it is fabulous sum, nearly 20 million bits,” thin face of a certain Krups broke into an insincere amazement.
“Not nearly but a little more than 20 million,” double chin of the most respected person in the Gaul sector broke into a satisfied smile. “Just because I can afford –”
The bang from forced stop of the flyer, which had caught up the limousine, didn’t let him finish the talk. The roof flung open in emergency mode and two capsules were loaded into the salon automatically to let out two girls, pulled themselves back and the roof of the limousine shut quickly together with the sound of the undocking flyer. The whole procedure took several second and Mr. Po didn’t manage to change the countenance and kept sitting with open mouth and activated bracelet’s screen, staring at two girls – blonde one in evening dress and another one with brown hair in uniform of the Empire guard landing force, who appeared abruptly in his elite vehicle.
“Her boy-friend left her,” the blonde tried guiltily to soften the atmosphere.
“Attention Mr. Po, your vehicle is being freighted once and for all for a private mission. The material and moral compensation you will get within one minute. Please get ready for the prompt evacuation,” indifferent voice of the global artificial intelligence sounded up in the cabin
“I don’t agree, it’s my day! Do hear it’s mine!” kept crying Mr. Po, drumming with his little plump fists at the transparent glass inside of the emergency capsule where he had been packed already by the automatics.
“Countdown: three, two, one.”
The last picture seen by Mr. Po in his loved limousine, was Katrin shrugging her shoulders and cold shining of the Katrin’s eyes. Then his capsule was launched in emergency mode on the circumplanetary orbit.
“Get ready to the impulse jump,” the system of the global artificial intelligence instructed the girls routinely.
“Now it’s clear how we will get around the traffic jams,” Katrin tried to stabilize herself. “The machines of this rank in emergency can jump, having spent at once up to 90 % of its charge, and reach the destination along the reactive parabola. I read about that in an advertisement booklet and it comes to a pretty big sum. But it hardly comes to 1.8 billion bits. To my mind our intelligence has learnt to take bribes. But in any case we will not get in time because there are fifty underground levels.”
“Countback: three, two, one, launch –”
Again the girls were pressed into the arm-chairs. Now because of reactive–impulse jump of the limousine that had jumped along the parabola towards the destination – the Institute for Research of Unknown.
Flying in the upper layers of the atmosphere, Katrin managed to notice the immense size of the planet paralyzed by civilization, stars, Moon and Mr. Po going down slowly in emergency capsule and yelling heavily, judging by gesticulation, because of the spoiled day. Katrin, having caught his indignant eye, had to shrug her shoulders again showing that she could not influence on the situation and tapped at her bracelet to calm down the important guest from Gaul, hinting at good compensation for the inconveniences.
