Niven, Larry & Steve Barnes - The Descent of Anansi

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2024-12-22 0 0 376.85KB 189 页 5.9玖币

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1: HIGH FINANCE

2: GRAND THEFT

3: THE AUCTION

4: THE MAN WITH NO FRIENDS

5: THE PRESSURE COOKER

6: EARTHBOUND

7: COURSE CHANGE

8: DAMAGE REPORT

9: THE GOOD NEIGHBOR POLICY

10: DRAWING THE LINE

11: IN PLAIN VIEW

12: LOOSE ENDS

13: DOVE OF PREY

14: THE KILLING PLACE

15: PENDULUM

16: MANEUVERING

17: THIN EDGE

18: THE DESCENT OF ANANSI

19: TRANSITIONS

Castellon (President)

Eric Burgess (Captain, Brasilia)

Ricardo Diaz (Copilot, Brasilia)

Correro (Psychologist & Missions Specialist, Brasilia)

UMAF personnel:

Resa Mansur

Hassan Ali Hoveida

Falling Angels Enterprises personnel:

Fleming (President)

Miss Ellinshaw (Air Quality Control)

Janet De Camp (Pilot, Anansi)

Thomas De Camp (Ion drive technician, Gabriel)

Mrs. Kelly (Fleming's personal secretary)

Marion Guiness (Copilot, Anansi)

Dr. Dexter Stonecypher (Metallurgist)

Tim Connors (Ion drive technician and pilot, Michael)

Oyama Construction personnel:

Takayuki Yamada

Retsudo Oyama

The Brazil Techimetal-Electromotores building was the second tallest in

all of Sao Paulo, a glistening golden spire that sprouted from a cluster of

drab five-story structures, an egotistical giant among dwarves.

Xavier parked his Mercedes in the underground parking structure, and

took Yamada up to the thirty-first floor in a public elevator. There they

changed to a security elevator.

Jorge Xavier stood perfectly erect, and nearly a foot taller than his

companion. His face was dark, his hair thick and fluffy and prematurely

white; he was altogether a tailor's dream. Now his generous mouth was

drawn into a slender line, his brows wrinkled in concentration. He asked-in

English; he had learned that Yamada's Portuguese was poor - "You are

sure of the amount?"

"Absolutely. Oyama Construction wants the cable at all costs. The

Trans-Korea bridge will make their reputation."

Xavier slammed the edge of his palm into the elevator wall, swearing in

Portuguese. "I know, I know. It is why we must have it. With the

Stonecypher Cable in our hands, we can force Oyama construction into a

merger. Such a merger would combine the raw materials and manpower

available to BTE with the technical resources and world respectability of

Oyama Construction. With terms favorable to beth sides, such a merger

them to the fifty-fourth floor. Yamada stepped out and smiled reflexively at

the pleasant softness of the carpet. He said, "And you do?"

"I would not have brought you here otherwise. I, and a few others in my

company, we have the heart. We are young, and strong. We will gamble."

Yamada wondered, too late, if it had been wise to betray Oyama

Construction to this man. He was suddenly very aware of what he himself

was gambling. Income, reputation, honor, freedom...if he lost.

The BTE executive suite was as luxurious as practicality would allow.

Muted music flowed from the inner walls, and many of the outer walls were

gold-tinted plastic. The tinting reduced the glare without obstructing the

view of the city. It was a view worthy of appreciation, a vista of silver and

red buildings sparkling in the sun almost as far as the eye could see.

The receptionist was alert and smiling a greeting as the elevator door

slid open. "Boa tarde, Senhor Xavier."

"Boa tarde, Luisa. Apresento-lhe o Senhor..." he turned to Yamada

apologetically.

"Excuse me. Luisa, this is Mr. Yamada. We will be in conference. Call

Mr. da Silva, Mr. Costa, and Mr. Giorgi. Have them come to my office.

Obrigado. Mr. Yamada? This way, please."

Xavier led the slender Oriental down the hallway and steered him

around a right corner. This corridor ended in a huge oak-panelled door with

short glass of ice and clear liquid garnished with a twisted slice of lime.

He sat across from Yamada, sipped his drink and gazed at him

speculatively. Yamada felt naked, stripped to the skin and then flensed to

the bone. Xavier probed and examined and weighed, finally laying the meat

and organs back in place, slipping the skin back onto the body.

No Japanese would have stared so. The room's silence was oppressive,

and Yamada fought to escape that gaze, to break contact with those

bottomless black eyes. He found a painting to look at, a garish thing of

oranges and blacks. Concentric rings of color surrounded plastic bubbles

that rose inches out from the canvas, sprays of yellow arcing through the

black background like comets through space.

A name clicked in his mind. "This is your Mr. Castellar's work, is it not?"

Xavier smiled, some of the coolness leaving his face. "Yes. You know

our painters? He was one of the finest. Emilio Castellar dreamed of space

when much of our country was trying merely to enter the industrial age. A

man of vision."

The office door opened, and two men entered, followed a moment later

by a third. One of them was Xavier's height, a fraction over six feet, but

heavy in the stomach and thighs. He nodded without speaking. Xavier filled

the silence. "This is Mr. da Silva. Edson da Silva."

Giorgi was as tall as da Silva, but much thinner. His eyes were hollow,

and the skin on his face was stretched taut over the bones, as if a long

illness had stripped away the fat. Giorgi nodded with satisfaction and spoke

with excellent, though accented, English. "I see that news of my accident

precedes me."

"We were interested in your work on the Parana Dam project. Of

course, when the scaffolding collapsed, we knew that the famous Giorgi

had been the only survivor."

"I am perhaps too old to continue on-site inspections."

"If this project is as successful as we hope, we will definitely desire your

expertise." They shook hands, and all five men were seated.

There was a moment of uncomfortable tension. Then Xavier cleared his

throat and slapped his palms on the table. "Well, Mr. Yamada. If you would

be so kind as to share your information with us."

"Certainly." All hesitation had left him now. He swung his briefcase up to

the table and dialed its five-digit combination. There was a sharp click, and

Yamada eased it open and removed a thin folder of papers. He locked the

case and set it on the floor.

Yamada thumbed through the folder, talking to himself in barely audible

Japanese. "Ah, yes. I trust that I do not have to fill you three gentlemen,"

that it is much stronger than Kevlar, at least ten or twenty times stronger."

His eyes slid over a page and a half of notes. "Suffice it to say that the

... ah ... delicate situation existing between America's National Aeronautics

and Space Administration and Falling Angel Enterprises has severely

limited buyers for the cable."

Da Silva nodded enthusiastically. "This is true. Pressure from the U. S.

of A. has caused four nations to drop out of the bidding, Great Britain just

this morning."

"Saving face," Costa laughed. "They knew they would be outbid.

Quitting now earns them a few points in the eyes of the Americans." There

was a twist on the word "American," as if he was sharing a private joke.

"No. We and the Japanese are the only ones remaining in the bidding."

"I think that I can guarantee, that Oyama Construction will win the bid.

The Bridge project is entirely too important."

Xavier caught his breath. "How high is Oyama going?"

"One hundred and eighty million dollars."

There was a hiss of exhaled breath, and * Costa cursed vividly. "He's

insane. . ."

"No," Xavier said, his voice a solid weight in the room. "It is one of a

kind. A thousand miles of the strongest cable even produced by man. An

option on the next five thousand to be produced. Oyama is taking the kind

The five men looked at each other, saying nothing. Costa watched

Xavier carefully, watched him turn to Giorgi and measure his words before

speaking. "Lucio. In your opinion, how important is that cable to the

construction of the Japan-South Korea bridge?"

Giorgi's hollow, pale face took on some colon as he sat forward, fingers

twining animatedly. "Mr. Da Silva will correct me if I am wrong, but Oyama

Construction is overextended financially. If the project is successful, Oyama

will be in an exceedingly advantageous position. If it fails, or if the Bridge

goes disastrously over budget, they will be in considerable difficulty.

Certainly the present administration of the company would undergo

considerable upheaval. Therefore, they need the cable. Even at the cost of

one hundred and eighty million dollars, it is cheap. They will save money,

time, and establish a permanent advertisement for their most advanced

engineering techniques. Oh, yes, they need it. Oh, yes."

Xavier's eyes were cold and calm. "Well, then. If it is certain that Oyama

needs the Cable, then we can proceed with Phase Two. Again, Mr.

Yamada?"

The Japanese swallowed, stepping over the edge of a mental cliff,

trusting that there was water at the base. "I can supply you with course

data for the Space Shuttle Anansi. With this information, you will know

where the vehicle is during every second of its descent to Kwanto

"Ready and eager. It has been a dry time for them, and a headline of

such magnitude will do much to revitalize the organization."

"I try never to denegrate our...allies... but one would think that these

people would forget the Zionites and find themselves another war. It has

been sixty years."

Costa laughed loudly, the laughter dimming to chuckles, then a private

smile as no one else joined in. Xavier drummed his fingers on the table. He

said, "It is a holy war. Soldiers in a holy war win or die. They do not seek

new wars. Mr. da Silva?"

"As of today, for a short operation, I believe that we can divert nearly

eight million dollars from the central computer without any danger until the

July audit." Da Silva twisted slightly in his chair and wiped a thin sheen of

perspiration from his forehead. Yamada noted that it wasn't warm in the

conference room.

"Today is November the Seventeenth. That gives us almost seven

months. By that time, it will all be over, one way on the other. Well,

gentlemen...there is the gamble: Disgrace and prosecution, or control of

Brasil Tecimetal-Electromotores."

Again, there was no sound in the room, except for the subdued hum of

the air conditioner. Then Giorgi cleared his throat and spoke. "I myself have

always been a gambling man."

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摘要：

1:HIGHFINANCE2:GRANDTHEFT3:THEAUCTION4:THEMANWITHNOFRIENDS5:THEPRESSURECOOKER6:EARTHBOUND7:COURSECHANGE8:DAMAGEREPORT9:THEGOODNEIGHBORPOLICY10:DRAWINGTHELINE11:INPLAINVIEW12:LOOSEENDS13:DOVEOFPREY14:THEKILLINGPLACE15:PENDULUM16:MANEUVERING17:THINEDGE18:THEDESCENTOFANANSI19:TRANSITIONSCastellon(Presi...

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Niven, Larry & Steve Barnes - The Descent of Anansi

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