Chapter 19

Over the next few days, Teel busied herself with preparing batches of seeds to deliver to each of the outlying farms that the community controlled, selecting the type and quantity to match Grant's description of their location. I found myself at a loose end and decided to take Sarek's advice and examine the contents of the disk he'd given me.

Grant looked at the disk and shook his head. "We've nothing here that will read it. You'll need to take it to Matthias."

"Matthias?"

"Up until a couple of years ago, he was a senior scientist at the citadel. He even had a seat on the High Council."

"What happened to him?"

"He had a sudden attack of conscience. He started talking about improving conditions in the villages, and even opening dialogue with us, reasoning it was time to abandon their ivory tower and expand into the world once more."

"Sounds like a great idea."

"His fellow councillors didn't think so. They saw this as an erosion of their power base, leading to the eventual decline in the citadel's influence."

"The citadels have had their day. They're just holding everybody back."

"Before he had time to move his policies forward, the High Council tried to undermine his position, revoking many of his privileges. He quickly realised that not only were his ideas not finding favour, but that he was in serious danger of being banished. One night, he gathered together a number of useful items and fled, turning up on our doorstep several days later.

"How he found us, I have no idea, but he is an extremely resourceful fellow. Without his assistance, I doubt we'd have been able to successfully integrate the stasis generator into Vanessa's armour.

"He also brought with him a portable data terminal, and a complete copy of the citadel archive. It made very interesting reading. It confirmed our suspicions about the mass sterilisation of the male population, a practice that has been in place almost since the beginning. It catalogued details of the acrimonious split that occurred when the city dwellers and the citadel disagreed about how the society should be structured. We were all set to let people continue as before, whilst the citadel wanted to change everything, destroying the concept of families and producing future generations through artificial methods."

"Where is this reader now?"

"It's with Matthias. He wanted to continue with his research, but found the accommodation here less than conducive to productivity. We found him an isolated location outside the city, where he could work without interruption. A few others left to assist him."

"I see. Would it be possible to pay him a visit?"

"We don't contact him that often these days, but I can think of no reason why you shouldn't. I would be interested to hear what you make of his research."

"Today?"

"If that's what you want to do. I'll get Peter to go with you, as he knows the location. It shouldn't take you more than a couple of hours to get there."

"Fantastic."

Peter was apprehensive when initially asked to escort me on another expedition, then relieved when he learned that our destination was 'The Manor', the name given to Matthias's research facility.

The Manor was located on the banks of Grafham Water, a reservoir and nature reserve that I'd walked around on several occasions with Julia. What was once a luxury health spa had fallen into slight disrepair, but still looked incredibly salubrious compared with the dismal conditions that many lived in. Several small boats were tethered to a landing stage. In a fenced enclosure, a flock of scrawny chickens and a couple of pigs made themselves at home.

"What do you want?" a voice demanded from an open doorway.

I turned towards the sound of the man's voice, instantly spotting the heat gun pointed in my direction.

"Oh, it's you, Peter," he stated, spotting my travelling companion, and thankfully lowering his weapon.

"This is Mark," Peter replied. "He wants to have a look around, and maybe use the data terminal."

"Hmm," he grumbled, obviously reluctant to admit visitors. "I suppose so. Come in."

We followed the man into a luxuriously furnished lounge. Two young women reclined on a sofa wearing little more than those that lived in the citadel. I admired their prominently displayed breasts and feverously imagined what lay beneath the short skirts that wrapped around their slender waists.

"This is Helen and Sandra," he introduced. "Carrie is still upstairs, asleep."

Feeling a little envious of his little harem, I accepted a glass of water that he provided from a nearby tap.

"Sparkling clear, straight from the lake," he boasted as he poured drinks for everyone else. "I'd offer you something stronger, but it's still a little early, even for me."

I drank half the water, and agreed that it tasted exceedingly refreshing, every bit as good as that from the citadel. The women giggled and flashed their thighs, affording me more than a casual glance of their lush charms. Unlike all the women I'd encountered so far, there was a sparse covering of hair between their thighs, but other than that, they were completely unashamed of their near nudity.

Cooking smells wafted in from an adjoining room. The girls rose to tend to it, leaving Matthias to speak with us alone. "Were you planning to stay for dinner?"

"I have a data disk that I want to view. Also, I thought I'd see exactly what research you're engaged in."

"It's very involved," he replied dismissively. "I don't really have the time to explain, and I doubt you'd have the scientific knowledge to fully understand it."

I bristled with his words, as I did whenever people spoke down to me. I decided to play dumb and see what gems of wisdom were forthcoming. Before joining Genotech, I'd worked as a senior lecturer at Imperial College. My duties often involved interviewing prospective recipients of research grants. If I had five pounds for every hopeless candidate with unworkable ideas, I'd have become quite wealthy.

Rather than a brilliant scientist, Matthias struck me as an opportunist who had decided to exploit the desperation of the city community, for reasons best known to himself. I wondered whether there was more to his fall from grace than he'd revealed.

Food turned out to be roasted chicken with boiled vegetables, similar to that which Julia would prepare for Sunday lunch. A couple of bottles of chilled wine washed it all down, and left us slightly tipsy. Carrie turned out to be cast from the same mould as the other two girls: young, pretty and voluptuous. Matthias soaked up their admiration, paying little attention to his guests.

As expected, his explanation of his research activities was little more than a jumbled mess of wishful thinking and technical psychobabble that was so pathetic, it was almost hilarious to listen to. I nodded enthusiastically, but my opinion of him was confirmed.

I enquired about use of the reader, but he declared that the device was in full time operation and doubted he could allow me the opportunity to use it anytime soon. Disappointed, I grudgingly agreed, whilst wondering what project of great import required tying up such a valuable resource.

After dinner, Matthias hinted that either of his women would be available, should I wish company. Peter naturally declined, and even I uncharacteristically passed up the opportunity.

"Are the two of you together?" Matthias asked, barely concealing his mirth.

"No. I just have no time for such dalliance when important matters are in dire need of resolution," I snapped.

I was slightly offended by his implications, just because I turned down his seedy offer. Several months ago, I would have leapt at the chance of sex without commitment but after recent experiences, I desperately longed for a more meaningful relationship. I held out hope that Vanessa would eventually agree to partner with me, or failing that, Teel would change her mind, once she realised that Nella was lost to her.

At the end of the evening, all three girls retired with Matthias. The sounds emerging from his private quarters left no doubt as to how he spent much of his time. Peter and I exchanged embarrassed glances, and then each found a room on the other side of the house in which to sleep, undisturbed by the raucous commotion of our hosts.

I awoke early and found everyone still soundly asleep. I made the most of the opportunity to explore the house, soon discovering a hastily improvised laboratory in one of the outbuildings. A thick layer of dust testified to its lack of frequent use, also confirming that Matthias probably spent more of his time indulging his more prurient urges than furthering the advancement of mankind.

The portable data terminal lay discarded on a workbench, together with a box of disks, evidence of the falseness of his earlier statement that it was in continuous use. From its appearance, I concluded it had not been activated for a considerable time.

Whilst tempted to make use of the machine there and then, I wanted the chance to properly study the material that Sarek had given me, and maybe even review some of the other disks. I decided to challenge Matthias's claim, and shame him into granting me access.

Sounds of movement greeted me as soon as I returned to the main house, confirming my decision not to go behind Matthias's back. I built my courage to tackle him after breakfast but missed the chance when he accompanied the girls to the dock in preparation to spend the morning boating upon the lake. Judging by his behaviour, it appeared that Matthias had employed all his skills to reinvent the condition of idle playboy. He loaded both food and wine into the twenty-foot electrically powered craft, and cast off without another word. I looked across at Peter, who clearly didn't know what to make of Matthias's debauchery.

As the boat diminished to become just a speck in the distance, I returned to the workshop and prepared to use the reader. Incensed by Matthias's arrogance, a better course of action occurred to me. I picked up the data terminal and disks, and then prepared to return to the city.

"Where are you going with those?" Peter asked quizzically.

"He's obviously not using them," I replied. "We'll take them back with us."

"Are you sure?"

"Matthias is a fraud. He'd probably fallen out of favour with the citadel due to sheer incompetence, and was looking for a way to regain his esteem. What better way than to turn to the city dwellers with the promise of technological help. He then persuades them to set him up here in the lap of luxury, with three beautiful women to tend to his every need, whilst you live in squalor, struggling to survive."

"He's still going to be hopping mad when he notices that you've taken the terminal."

"I'll deal with that when the time comes," I replied adamantly. With a last glance at the distant boat, we headed back towards the city.

I presented the terminal to Grant together with an explanation of how Matthias had deceived them. Grant was justifiably livid, and immediately suspended all future deliveries of food to the Manor.

"Let's see what his excuse is, when he turns up here asking for resupply, and demanding the return of the reader." Grant snarled.

"When I've finished with it, I thought we could put it somewhere that anybody could access. People should know the facts about their history."

I retired to my room, impatient to discover what information Sarek had provided. The screen flickered and my anticipation heightened when the words appeared upon the screen.