Upton glanced up at the huge twelve-sided restaurant clock and checked the placement of the multiple shiny red hands, working out which set was for Panschin, which was for Barsoom, which was for Easternmost, and which was for Westernmost. As he did, he wondered again why the hotel refused to install separate clocks for important time zones like every other place he had ever been did. It was maddening. He tried again.
"Sir, we've got to get to our next meeting with Jandinaire. We'll be touring their lead and radium refining facility in Dome Four. They have the latest safety equipment installed and agreed to let you see it."
Airik put the newspaper down and gave Upton a long, cool look.
"They can wait a few minutes. I need to go back to the suite and speak with Elliot."
"Uh, we'll be late."
Airik, Upton knew, hated being late. He didn't like his own time being wasted by having to wait and so he made a point of not wasting other people's time by making them wait on him.
"Upton. It will not kill them to wait."
Airik carefully folded the newspaper and laid it on the table besides his twelve-sided plate emblazoned with the hotel's logo. A waitress swooped in to snatch it for replacement with a fresh one and he put his hand over top of the newspaper to protect it from her taloned hands. Each terrifyingly long, scarlet fingernail was adorned with a glowing decal of the Twelve Happiness logo.
"Besides," Airik added, "this will give Jandinaire more time to get their own business requests prepped and ready. You know they'll ask for a joint deal and insist that I meet every member of the family who is even remotely eligible along with those who are not."
"Yes, sir." 'Good heavens,' Upton thought. This place was really getting to Airik.
Back upstairs in the suite, Airik spoke to Elliot and Nunzio behind closed doors. Gaston, along with the other members of the Shelleen delegation, noticed and commented freely on the fact that Upton was not included, whereas a valet and a bodyguard were. It was embarrassing that he could not answer any of their pointed questions, almost as embarrassing as not being included. Airik had always kept Upton involved in his business dealings in the past.
After what seemed to Upton like an eternity but was in reality only about half an hour, Airik emerged.
"Upton," Airik said. "Cancel all my appearances this afternoon. Gaston?"
Gaston tried to school the surprise from his face. Airik never deviated from a schedule unless it was an emergency. He couldn't think what had happened that he didn't already know about. "Yes sir?"
"You'll take those meetings over. I'll brief you on what I expect from and for Shelleen on our way to the Jandinaire facility."
"Cancel everything?" Upton asked. He had managed to stop gawping at Airik. "The main panel discussion that you specifically requested to attend is…" His voice trailed off on seeing Airik's icy expression.
"Yes. Cancel everything. You'll be accompanying me this afternoon along with Elliot and Nunzio. No one else. Why are we standing around? Jandinaire is waiting for us. Gaston, lead the way."
Airik strode over to the double doorways, trailed by the other Shelleen delegates. He ignored the whispers and waited impatiently while Gaston remembered what he was supposed to do.
The trip from the Twelve Happiness Luxury Hotel in Dome Six to the Jandinaire facility in Dome Four, at Airik's insistence, took place on the Panschin metro. He flatly refused to use any of the Twelve Happiness vehicles, preferring, as he told the concierge in the middle of the lobby in a clear carrying voice to be better heard by the other guests, to mingle with the commoners of Panschin rather than be harassed continually by overeager, grasping toadies. The concierge, desperate to regain control of a valued and very lucrative guest, begged, pleaded, and wept on his knees, but Airik remained firm. He unbent only enough to get directions to the nearest transtube station as Gaston, along with the rest of the Shelleen delegation, did not know how to get there despite the time they had spent in Panschin. That lapse earned them a long, icy glare of disapproval.
The metro station was, like the train station at the entrance to Panschin, caked with terraformers wherever indifferent housekeeping and foot traffic permitted them to grow. It was also, other than the noise and odors of the mob of people present, anonymous. No one paid any attention to Airik or the Shelleen delegation, other than grumbling about how many seats they took up on the metro car. The journey to Dome Four was far swifter than the original trip from the train station to Dome Six, making Airik wonder again about the route the electric vehicle had taken. It also made him wonder how much the hotel was charging his delegation for transportation which they could have arranged themselves for far less money.
The group emerged from the transtube station into the thick, dusty air inside Dome Four. A smiling delegation of the Jandinaire family waited for them and led them down the crowded sidewalks that snaked between buildings, warehouses, processing plants, and holding tanks. The sidewalks were regularly interrupted by pipes leading from one tank to another, with more pipes overhead. Terraformers carpeted every surface that received any sunlight at all, other than the walkways where foot traffic wore it away. No effort had been made to remove any of them. The dome overhead was low and mottled with shades of yellow and tan, obscuring the location of the sun. It made sure no one forgot they were under an immense, overturned bowl.
When Airik asked about the ubiquitous mats of algae and lichens, Nathan Jandinaire said "We need them here in Dome Four. They clean the air, oxygenate it, and make it possible to breathe. Terraformers are a lot cheaper than installing scrubbing equipment. Better at it too." He happily patted the tank wall they were standing beside. His fingers sank into the thick, spongy layer. When he removed his hand, it came away dripping little chunks while an imprint of his hand remained.
Airik peered closely at the thick mat of dull green algae, interwoven with fibrous red threads. They were speckled liberally with spores ready to burst open and spread themselves out still further, colonizing every surface they touched. He thought about the air he was breathing. He thought about observing every member of the Shelleen delegation never going anywhere without a stash of handkerchiefs at the ready. As he did, Upton sneezed again, along with Gaston and two other staffers, one of them from Jandinaire.
"This is healthier for your workers and yourselves?"
"It works quite well," the Jandinaire representative answered cheerfully. "No one lives in Dome Four, not above ground anyway. It might be different if there was housing here."
"But don't you lose various chemicals to the terraformers that scrubbers would catch?"
"We scrape everything down on a regular basis and process the muck to salvage those raw materials," Nathan answered. "The terraformers grow back fast, which is a good thing. A freshly scraped area in Dome Four forces our crews to wear respirators."
"I see."
The Jandinaire facility was, for Airik, fascinating. The meeting afterwards in the paneled conference room was much less so. He was introduced to every single unmarried woman in the family over the age of sixteen. The married female family members also attended and they discreetly made their interest clear in affairs to be conducted at his leisure.
Airik demurred as civilly as he could manage and insisted on returning to the refining facility for further demonstrations until the meeting was over. The Jandinaire family indulged him with only some pouting on the part of some relatives, since doing so paved the way for potentially lucrative business deals. Besides, there would be plenty of time for flirting over the catered lunch that Jandinaire provided at their headquarters.
*****
Safely back at the hotel, Airik checked with Elliot and everything was ready. He then called together all the Shelleen delegates.
"Gaston, everyone," Airik said. "I believe I have found another place to stay. If I am successful, I will be back tomorrow morning for the conference discussion on deep shaft ventilation procedures. I will no longer stay at the hotel, returning only for meetings and discussions. Otherwise, I will return within the hour. Elliot, Nunzio, and Upton will accompany me. Gaston?"
"Yes, Airik?" Gaston said cautiously. This was not like Airik, normally conscientious to a fault and expecting everyone else to hold to the same lofty standards.
"You will remain in charge of the Shelleen delegation here at the hotel. Act in my place this afternoon and potentially, this evening. When I return, I expect a full report of each conference and any promises made to us or by you."
"Yes, sir," Gaston said. This had to be a trap to punish him for his extracurricular activities at the hotel. Airik must have already discovered how he had been spending his time and Shelleen's money. Either that or the ever-present fug of terraformers had eaten into Airik's brain. They were making him blow his own nose constantly and he wasn't the only one.
"But Airik," Upton protested. "Everyone expects to work with you personally. You are the daimyo."
Airik wiped his hand back over his thick, sensibly short hair, an uncharacteristic gesture for him. He snapped, "I cannot function here at the hotel. I need a quiet place to think and to process what I'm learning. Since no one has provided this for me, I am providing it."
"Sir," Gaston, wishing he had never come to Panschin and that Upton had chosen a different, less enticing hotel, said "I have to agree with Upton."
Airik gave Gaston, Upton, and the rest of the Shelleen contingent a long, slow, cold stare until they wilted. More than one of them thought of an exiled Howard Shelleen who had, according to family gossip, never fully recovered.
"Did you listen to what I said? I cannot function here. I have to do what is best for Shelleen, not what is best for others. You may, Gaston, if you like, ask for a vote of no-confidence when we return to Shelleen. It is your right. I am sure the senior family will be happy to know how you and the rest of the department have ensured my ability to keep the demesne safe and prosperous."
"Yes sir," Gaston said, echoed by the rest of the staff. He stared down at the plush carpet, patterned with multiple repetitions of the Twelve Happiness logo in clashing colors. That was a vote he would lose, ensuring his loss of status within the family. Airik was the reason Shelleen had kept control of the Red Mercury lode, Airik had fought the multiple lawsuits against the Martian government and won, Airik had gotten the conclave on his side, Airik was the only member of the Shelleen family that those damned horse lords would work with and the city management of Purnell wasn't much more cooperative. And underpinning it all was the fact that the peasants of Shelleen were completely loyal to him, personally. If the family replaced Airik as the daimyo without a compelling and acceptable reason, the peasants were likely to revolt. Everyone in Shelleen from highest to lowest knew what had happened in Dairapaska.
Airik waited to see if anyone had anything to say in response. When he felt he had given the Shelleen delegates enough time, he broke the silence.
"Good. I, along with Elliot, Upton, and Nunzio will be coming and going as needed. We'll be dressed like common laborers and use the servants' staircases and passageways. Nunzio has already found a discreet route for us to use. Elliot has procured coveralls. Upton?"
"Yes sir?"
"We will change, get our bags, Elliot has packed what we need, and find the White Elephant. Gaston?"
"Yes sir?"
"You are in charge. I expect the very best from you and I will get it or I and the family will know the reason why."
"Yes sir."
**********
Airik was relieved to see how smoothly it all went.
Elliot had procured drab coveralls that let them blend right in. He had packed the minimum needed to sleep elsewhere, concentrating his efforts on the paperwork and Upton's precious typewriter. The route Nunzio had scouted out took them down a series of hidden, narrow stairwells within the bowels of the hotel where they were ignored by the few hotel staff who saw them. Those people were all running from task to task and had little time to spend asking questions. Nunzio said that the hotel was so large that between staff turnover, shift changes, and everyone having to be in two places at once, anyone not causing trouble who looked like they belonged and had work to do tended to be ignored.
The little group slipped out via a tertiary back door that opened onto a quiet alley. From there, they made their way to the same metro station, and disappeared into the crowd. The transtube journey was easy and they arrived at the metro station in Dome Two.
Above ground, Dome Two proved itself to have an immense dome, higher and bigger than that of Dome Six. It was more yellowed and mottled, obscuring the sky but being so much wider across and loftier, there was less of a feeling of being trapped under a dirty garden cloche. The air wasn't any fresher than Dome Six's but it, perhaps because of the size of the dome, didn't feel as stale. Elliot had also procured a map so they set out down the winding lanes in Dome Two. It was much quieter than Dome Six had been, yet there were plenty of people on the paved roadways. Many of the buildings here in the small business district were covered with terraformers, their presence freshening the air. More surprising were the regularly placed large planters, spilling over with marigolds and pansies. There were even, tucked in here and there, larger planters containing very small, lacy leafed trees. It was greener than Airik had expected after his experiences in Dome Six and brought a pang of homesickness for the green, green lands of Shelleen.
It didn't take long to leave the small, rundown business district. The area was surrounded by something very different from what Airik had observed in Dome Six or Dome Four for that matter. Dome Six had been filled with towers, all four, five, even six stories high, packed together. It made the dome feel cramped. Dome Two's housing, at least in this area, was at once more modest and more grand. It was strangely familiar in a warped way and then Airik realized what he was seeing. The houses were miniature manor houses, far larger than what an individual family would need, and each one was surrounded by a tiny walled garden as though the house ruled its own demesne. The grand mansions of Barsoom and other free-cities, many of which were as large as Shelleen's own manor house, had land in plenty around them unlike these tiny plots. The peasant cottages in the villages in Shelleen, although tiny compared to these buildings, had just as much land around each cottage, perhaps more.
As they walked down the wide, paved pathways, weaving their way through the other passersby, Airik worked out the reason. It had to be the dome. Dome Two had the largest dome in Panschin -- the largest dome on Mars -- but it was still limited in how much room it had. The builders couldn't provide a large house and then add a large garden for every house; there wasn't enough space. Dome Six actually used its space more effectively since towers allowed a higher population density. Then why, he wondered, weren't the major hotels and convention center located in Dome Two? It had a seedy, seen better days air about it but it was spacious compared to Dome Six. It made no practical sense.