It was a painful reminder of his previous life, when Shelleen was just another agricultural backwater to be ignored and he was a minor member of its minor family and thus equally unworthy of notice. He used to travel as he needed to, on his own schedule, with free time to pursue his own hobby of rock-hunting. No one cared about Airik and he remained in happy anonymity.
The discovery of the Red Mercury lode catapulted Shelleen to wealthy prominence. No member of the family escaped notice anymore. And for him, being named daimyo, necessary though it was, ensured that he wore a target on his back. He was Airik Shelleen, daimyo of a demesne that was wealthy beyond the dreams of avarice, controlled resources vital for the terraforming of Mars and thus made life itself possible, young, and unmarried. Everyone cared and it was only getting worse.
All this made Airik wonder uneasily what was waiting for him at the Twelve Happiness Luxury Hotel and the mining conference. He pushed the thought away, since there was nothing he could do about it yet and focused on the walls of the tunnels visible through the windows of the electric car and tried to see if they revealed anything of their geologic nature. The indifferent lighting defeated him. He found himself patting at his jacket pocket where his trusty rock-hammer and chisel waited patiently in their leather sheath for an interesting rock formation. The head of the hammer made thoughts of smacking it into the head of the driver rise up as he was now engaged in shouting out the open window at a group of young men in shabby coveralls who were refusing to get out of the way. Together, driver and surly, dirty men made the air turn blue. Airik regretfully but firmly squashed that vision.
Finally, the driver took a turn, accompanied by a louder fanfare than usual and a spray of lights like fireworks, into a new, wider, tunnel. This tunnel was maintained far better, its skylights clear of terraformers and its walls (where there were no billboards to conceal them) were painted white to maximize the ambient light. Any hint of the rock beneath had been banished. There were far more pedestrians of every variety, and if Airik was any judge of rude hand gestures and annoyed faces, all of them openly resented being pushed out of the roadway and off to the shoulders by the Twelve Happiness Luxury Hotel electric car. Fortunately, any curses were muffled by the car's own sound system, now turned up since it had to be louder in this bigger space in order to be heard clearly. Or so the driver insisted.
The tunnel gradually leveled itself up to a still wider opening and the car emerged at last into the watery, early morning sunshine of Dome Six. The car's fanfare and lights, still on to warn off foot traffic, were mercifully lost within the dome's space. Airik had never been claustrophobic, he couldn't be and go underground, but it was still a relief to get out of Panschin's tunnels.
The journey was not over. The driver insisted on taking a long, circuitous trip through Dome Six as 'he was allowed to drive only on certain roadways that were wide enough and did my lord Shelleen wish to stop at any point and see the sights recommended by the Twelve Happiness Luxury Hotel?'
Airik was desperate to get out of the hotel's vehicle but not desperate enough to prolong the agony of remaining trapped in the driver's clutches in a city that, despite prior study, he was quickly realizing he knew nothing about.
"The hotel. Now."
The driver looked disappointed for a moment, as did his assistant, and then the maniacal grins reasserted themselves. "Yes sir, my lord Shelleen! The Twelve Happiness Luxury Hotel awaits you!"
Another long, slow drive down a wide street crowded with resentful, early morning traffic that did not want to make way led at last to the Twelve Happiness Luxury Hotel. Like the other buildings they had driven past, it rose five stories into the air and was crowned by a rooftop terrace. The walls of the hotel were more open windows than walls but walls did exist. They were luridly painted in lime green and scarlet, trimmed out in shiny silver that reflected every bit of the light back like sunlit water. Airik gratefully climbed out of the car and stared for a moment, wondering how the hotel kept the terraformers from caking every part of the building. The glassteel dome rose high above the hotel, slightly yellowed and mottled. The morning sun was somewhere on the other side of the dome but it was hard to tell exactly where and how high it had risen. The sun's light was scattered and diffused by the dome.
More surprisingly, now that he had a chance to look around without being harassed about sightseeing, the hotel was hemmed in by other, equally lacy over-painted buildings separated by wide, paved paths.
"The Twelve Happiness Luxury Hotel has a lawn, my lord Shelleen!" the driver shouted into his ear, making him start.
The driver pointed towards a patch of grass spread out besides the paved walkway leading to the elaborate decorated, huge front doors. It was brilliant green, the first plant green other than algae Airik had noticed since arriving in Panschin, and the size of a large conference table. "Because you are our honored guest, you will be allowed to step on the Twelve Happiness Luxury Hotel's lawn! Not every guest is allowed this signal privilege!"
Airik stared in disbelief at the grass patch and then at the driver. "That won't be necessary. Upton! Get us inside now."
As his party made their way inside, between two rows of bowing bellmen all of whom were wearing dazzling silver uniforms and had their hands out, Airik sorted through his muddled glimpses of Dome Six. He came to the conclusion that all the vegetation had been in planters. Large ones in some cases to be sure, but still just large pots. Bright flowers, lacy shrubs with multi-colored leaves, even a few very small trees but everything had been in a pot. Up until this moment, with the hotel's lawn, he had not seen a single plant growing in soil in the ground. Everything was paved in one form or another. How strange.
Inside, the lobby was a festival of bright colors and noise. A pianist played in the corner, the sounds of some atonal melody Airik had never heard before rising above the chatter of conversation and clashing with the sounds of splashing fountains. All the upholstery was in the hotel's signature colors of acidic greens and scarlet with silver trim. Every wall was finished with silver and white stripes to better show off the paintings, most of which looked like smears of mud as seen from a distance. Chandeliers sparkled and glittered, filling the space with eye-searing light compared to the much dimmer outside.
The concierge came bustling around the marble check-in desk and greeted Airik effusively. His uniform had more buttons than Airik had ever seen on a single garment, all scarlet. The buttons closest to the concierge's throat flashed on and off.
"My lord Shelleen!" the concierge proclaimed. "It is such an honor to have you stay with us at the Twelve Happiness Luxury Hotel! Your every wish is our command! We want you to be happy, happy, happy!"
"I will be happy to get into our suite," Airik replied. "I assume my staff from Shelleen is waiting for me?"
"Yes sir, my lord Shelleen! Your party has the finest suite the Twelve Happiness Luxury Hotel has to offer. We cater to every possible need."
"Then why am I still standing here?"
"My lord Shelleen!" The concierge looked hurt, his eyes welling with tears and his lip quivering. "The Twelve Happiness Luxury Hotel provides every possible amenity and I have to be sure you know about them! For starters, do you require intimate company? We have a staff of willing young ladies all of whom will be happy to make you happy. Just tell me what you prefer in a young lady and she – or they! -- will ensure your happiness and comfort in your suite here at the Twelve Happiness Luxury Hotel."
Airik gawked at the concierge for a moment before finding his voice. "No. Absolutely not."
"Sir! We can accommodate other preferences if our delightful young ladies are not to your personal taste." The concierge winked and smirked. "We are absolutely discreet at the Twelve Happiness Luxury Hotel no matter who or what you select!"
"No!"
"Yes sir, of course sir. And you, my lord Upton?"
Upton looked both bemused and offended. He said, "The day I can't get a girl on my own is the day I get buried. No."
"If either of you gentlemen change your mind? Let me know at once as I don't want to disappoint our staff young ladies. Here at the Twelve Happiness Luxury Hotel, your happiness is our happiness." The concierge smiled and smiled at this wonderful opportunity to provide happiness all around.
Airik said, very coldly, "Upton, why are we here? Who chose this place?"
Upton grimaced. "I did. It came highly recommended sir, and they had the space for us and rest of the Shelleen personnel."
"Find some other hotel. Now."
The concierge radiated even more joy than the driver had back at the train station when Airik asked about the lack of discreet transportation. "That won't be possible, my lord Shelleen! The mining conference has filled every hotel in Panschin. It's us or sleeping in the tunnels."
"Every hotel?" Airik demanded.
"Yes sir, my lord Shelleen! The Twelve Happiness Luxury Hotel was booked weeks ago along with every other hotel, all fourth-rate compared to us by the way, for the conference. There is no room at the inn anywhere in Panschin, not anymore. If you try to sleep in the tunnels or the park, you'll be arrested if you aren't mugged and murdered first! The jails of Panschin are renowned for their squalor and horribleness so I'm sure you would prefer to stay with us, here at the Twelve Happiness Luxury Hotel."
"Sir? Airik? Let's get up to our suite?" Upton said. "I'm sure things will improve."
"They had better," Airik replied. But observing the glinting sharp teeth and gleaming, avaricious eyes of the concierge, he doubted it.
Another army of bellmen appeared to carry the luggage up the four flights of stairs to the Shelleen suite, one bellman for each suitcase and each openly expecting to be tipped for doing his job. Airik was given the choice of walking up four flights of stairs, with eager Twelve Happiness Luxury Hotel employees surrounding him or being trapped in the gilded metal lace elevator – the only passenger elevator in Panschin the concierge breathlessly revealed – with the concierge and four of the willing young ladies on staff in case he changed his mind about their services. Their hotel uniforms matched in color scheme, but unlike those of the male staff, their uniforms were missing sleeves, pantlegs and had no working buttons available above the waist. Their smiles were as eager and their eyes as predatory as any Airik had ever seen so he insisted on the stairs. To his surprise, Upton chose the stairs as well.
"If you insist," the concierge replied, looking deeply disappointed as they stood in front of the spurned elevator. "Should you change your mind about any of our willing young ladies, we do have a second grass lawn on the rooftop terrace. Very private, very exclusive for only the most special guests, and they say you can feel every blade of grass tickle you." He waggled his eyebrows at Airik, grinning more lasciviously than ever. The four young ladies, all breathing deeply, fluttered their eyelashes at Airik and licked their lips.
Airik looked them all over coldly, channeling the hard, icy contempt of the born and bred aristocrat, until, one by one, the willing young ladies turned off their smiles and looked away, abashed. The concierge alone did not wilt, although his maniacal smile dimmed. Airik then turned to Upton. "As soon as we are upstairs, start checking other hotels for cancellations."
"Yes, sir."
Upton had never seen Airik behave this way before; he was civil even to the rudest fortune-hunter on the train. Then Upton flinched as he remembered how Airik had dealt with Howard Shelleen when he had discovered that Howard's theft had put the demesne in jeopardy. Airik Shelleen was not just a socially awkward, mild-mannered member of the family whose hobby was collecting rocks. He was chosen as the daimyo for reasons beyond coming up with the plan to manage the Red Mercury lode.
"You'll be disappointed!" the concierge recovered himself somewhat and sang out gleefully as Airik strode across the lobby towards the gleaming marble staircase. "Every room in Panschin was sold out weeks ago. You're part of our happy family here at the Twelve Happiness Luxury Hotel whether you like it or not. We'll make you happy!"
Airik did not deign to answer. 'We'll see about that,' he thought as he strode past the bellmen, ignoring them as though they didn't exist.
The four flights of marble stairs had been carefully designed so the risers and treads were ever so slightly out of sync, forcing a slow and stately pace upon the user. They were no challenge for Airik, fueled as he was by irritation and a deep desire to escape the hovering, huffing and puffing concierge behind a locked door. By the time they reached the huge, top-floor suite housing the Shelleen contingent, Upton was puffing too, as was Elliot. Nunzio was as unfazed as Airik. It was embarrassing when the bodyguard took a moment to whisper to Upton, "you need to exercise more, sir. How will you keep up with my lord Airik out in the field? Got a lot of tours of mining operations ahead of us."
It was with deep relief that Airik stepped into the top floor suite of the Twelve Happiness Luxury Hotel. The Shelleen staff, sent ahead a few weeks before had tables spread out with briefing papers, plans, programs, and extensive material on safety procedures for handling toxic ores. They had spent their time productively interviewing leading figures in the Panschin mining industry, setting up meetings, connecting with the Four Hundred families that ran the demesnes in the Northern Mining Tier, and in general, making sure that Airik could get to work right away.
He had been thinking on the way up the stairs about the Twelve Happiness staff and their overwhelming desire to accommodate every possible guest need and charging for the privilege.
By the time he strode through the double doors, Airik knew what he wanted to say.
"I expect to get right to work. However, let me say first," Airik coolly studied the waiting team. He met each person's eyes in turn. Some of them were family members or highly placed demesne citizens, while some were outside consultants, hired to augment Shelleen's tiny mining and geology department. He could fire those people if they did not meet his standards but he was stuck with his relatives.
"I will be auditing the bills very carefully from the Twelve Happiness Luxury Hotel." He winced inwardly. Now he was saying that damned name. "Shelleen does not have unlimited funds. If any of you have accrued expenses you do not wish to discuss publicly with me, our financial officers and the senior family, pay them in person before I get the bill. Get receipts to prove your case if questions arise."
Airik was disappointed, but not surprised, to see several staff members blanch. All of them, sadly, were family members too. Did none of his family understand their dire situation? Fortunately, the consultants didn't look concerned, nor did the few, high-caste Shelleen subjects. They may have actually been working rather than frittering away Shelleen's coin.