She was glad to have him back, especially that he wasn’t half as upset as he sounded on the phone for the entire time he was back in Scotland. They hardly brought up Susan since he got back; Amari sensed that Daniel was implementing his family’s coping technique, ‘keep busy and your worry will be easier to bear.’ He also seemed to be enjoying her company as much as he did before.
She didn’t tell him about her attempts to get Susan immortal treatment. There was no point putting his hopes up, she reasoned, since every one of her plans so far ended in a failure.
They sat down at a table in an outdoor restaurant and ordered local seafood specials. Sipping their coffees, they watched sun rays dance on the surface of the lapping water.
‘I’ll be right back,’ Daniel stood up and kissed her. She loved that he kissed her goodbye every time, even when he was off to the restroom. She closed her eyes, thinking how good it was to have him back.
I have an incoming call from Mr. Tsuneo Walker, Eiko’s mental signal echoed in her head.
Mr. Walker? Amaranthine sat upright, her senses immediately springing up to full attention. Dr. Life’s assistant?
The very one. Should I connect?
Of course, Amaranthine reached for her idatron and placed it in front of her. Go ahead.
‘Miss Quinn? This is Tsuneo Walker.’
‘Mr. Walker,’ she replied. ‘What a pleasure. What can I do for you?’
‘It’s a small favor. I’m hoping it won’t be too much of an inconvenience for you.’
‘I’m sure it won’t, sir.’
‘A good old friend of mine,’ he started slowly, ‘asked me to purchase a few tickets for him and his friends for the Carpe Diem concert in Sydney,’ he explained. ‘And I wondered if you would happen to have a discreet section available for this Saturday. I am aware it is a lot to ask for at such a short notice.’
‘I am certain that can be arranged, Mr. Walker,’ Amaranthine said, immediately knowing who he meant by ‘a good old friend.’ ‘Let me ring you back with the confirmation in a few minutes.’
‘I will be in your debt if you manage to do this, Miss Quinn,’ he said. ‘The outstanding popularity of the band is not a secret.’
‘It will be my pleasure to assist you, sir.’
‘You are a very kind woman, Miss Quinn. ‘I shall await your call.’
Give me Penny, Amaranthine ordered Eiko when he hang up. No matter what she’s doing. It’s an emergency.
‘Amari?’ despite the insane hour in New York, Perenelle wasn’t sleeping. ‘Is everything all right?’
‘Yes, all’s good. Look, who have we got in the VIP section for this Saturday in Sydney?’
‘Let me see… Australian prime minister, together with half of his cabinet. Why?’
‘We need to move them.’
‘Move them where?’
‘The second best section,’ Amari said. ‘Doesn’t matter if the view isn’t as perfect, as long as they are safe. Have an emergency construction team do some temporary adjustments if needed. The VIP section has to be freed, it’s your priority now until it’s sorted.’
‘Sure, don’t worry, I’m on it. Must be someone super important.’
‘Just someone more important than the Australian government.’
‘I can think of quite a few people that are more important than them,’ Daniel, who came back from the bathroom in the meantime and had overheard her last words, joked. ‘So who is it this time? The president of India?’
‘Someone a little more important,’ she smiled. ‘Let me just call them back and confirm they’re in.’
Mr. Walker picked up immediately.
‘It’s all arranged, sir,’ Amari said. ‘I’ll send you the layout of the venue, and the entrance route personally. I hope your friend and his party enjoy the concert.’
‘It’s a pleasure doing business with you, Miss Quinn. Please attach the invoice to your message.’
‘I wouldn’t dream of it, sir.’
‘My good old friend likes to pay for his entertainment. It’s a matter of honor to him.’
‘In that case, I will attach the invoice as requested, sir.’
‘Wonderful. As I said earlier, I’m in your debt, Miss Quinn.’
‘Not at all, sir. I do hope to see you on Saturday.’
‘I look forward to thanking you in person.’
‘Sole fillet on a bed of spinach,’ the waiter, who turned up with their order, looked at them inquisitively. Amaranthine raised her hand. ‘Here, please.’
The waiter put the plates down and disappeared.
‘So, who was it? Anyone we’ve met before?’ Daniel asked.
Amaranthine looked around to make sure no one was listening.
‘I know I don’t have to ask you for discretion,’ she said in a low voice, ‘but this time I’ll feel better if I stress how important it is that no one finds out the identity of our Saturday VIPs.’
Daniel raised his eyebrows. ‘Wow, it must be a real big fish, I gather.’
‘You must not tell even our team,’ Amari said. ‘Promise me.’
‘Of course.’
‘It’s Dr. Life with a party.’
‘You’re kidding.’
‘Nope.’
‘Have you met him before?’
‘Twice. First time it was a benefit I organized in honor of one of his friends. Then he came to the opening night of The Universe nightclub. We even had dinner with him and his right hand, Tsuneo Walker, that night.’
‘And now they contacted you asking for seats?’
‘Yes. It’s the first time they ever came to me.’
‘Impressive.’
‘What’s impressive is how good Carpe Diem are,’ Amari said. ‘He only ever attends the best events. I’m sure they’ll let us use it for our publicity purposes, but only after. He would never come to us again if the fact that he was coming to a concert got out to the media before the event. He wants to enjoy his evening, he clearly must genuinely like Carpe Diem’s music if he wants to see them live.’
‘I’m kinda starting to like him,’ Daniel said. ‘Your doc has good taste in music. And he won’t be disappointed, that’s for sure.’
‘Only if no one finds out he’s there,’ Amari said. ‘Also, I’m going to have to abandon you for most of that night to attend to him and his party.’
‘Sure, that won’t be a problem.’
She just smiled in response. The ease with which she could rely on Daniel, the ability to trust him completely and knowing that he would take care of things just as well as she would herself, made her think of the old days, when she worked alone and had to see to everything personally. If someone had told her then that working with a mortal partner was easier, just as efficient, not to mention far more enjoyable, she would have laughed in their face. And yet here she was, having lunch with the man who made those old days feel like they belonged to somebody else.
‘What’s the drummer’s name again, Miss Quinn?’ Dr. Life asked, pointing at the back of the stage, where John was performing one of his famous solos.
‘John Moore, sir,’ Amari replied. ‘What do you make of him?’
‘Absolutely incredible,’ he answered slowly, squinting his eyes with delight. ‘Pure talent that could only be compared with the likes of John Bonham or Keith Moon. It may seem strange to you, Miss Quinn, that a man of my age finds such enormous pleasure in listening to hard rock, but the way this band performs brings back the best memories of my youth. The 60s, 70s and 80s of the twentieth century bore the brightest stars of the music industry, in fact, we had so many outstanding performers then that I don’t think we appreciated them enough. Had we known that their genius wouldn’t be matched for the whole of the twenty-first century, we would have made sure we didn’t miss a single concert.’
‘I have heard those comparisons before,’ Amaranthine said. ‘But never from someone who actually attended the concerts of those famous bands.’
‘Oh, they are absolute
ly accurate. And the way this boy handles his guitar,’ he pointed at Patrick, ‘I’d swear I’m seeing Jimi Hendrix again. Absolutely outstanding.’
‘I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself, sir.’
‘Oh, that is pretty much guaranteed at an event that you are organizing,’ he smiled. ‘I think I may have said this to you before, Miss Quinn, but I’ll say it again – we may make people immortal, but it’s you who entertains them. You have a rare talent of recognizing potential in people and ideas, and making their success happen.’
‘That’s not exactly true, sir,’ Amari replied, ‘representing Carpe Diem was the idea of my boss, Nectar Foster, and Daniel Collins, a Mortal who first spotted them. We’ve worked together to launch them into both the mortal and immortal markets.’
‘That is very admirable,’ he said, looking into her eyes with interest. ‘And if I’m to be perfectly honest, one of the reasons I’m here tonight. You are a rare example that cooperation and harmony between the Mortals and Immortals are possible. There is far too much segregation and animosity between people of these two worlds these days. I must confess it’s not what I had envisioned when I created the Cure.’
‘I agree,’ she said. ‘And I do feel partly responsible for the state of things, I mean… Well, let’s just say I wasn’t particularly friendly towards the Mortals until I met Daniel Collins. Working with him has made me realize how wrong I was.’
He looked at her intently.
‘I’d love to hear more about your partnership,’ he said, ‘if you are available. Perhaps Mr. Collins and the rest of your team could join us for dinner tonight?’
‘That would be an honor for us, sir,’ she said, but immediately remembered that Daniel was going to fly to Scotland straight after the concert.
‘But?’ Dr. Life noticed her hesitation.
‘Oh, it’s nothing,’ she said, ‘I’ve just remembered that Daniel was going to fly right after the concert to see his family. They live in Scotland. I’ll just need to make sure I catch him before he leaves to let him know about your kind invitation. I am sure he’ll be happy to postpone his trip until tomorrow.’
‘I do hope he can do that,’ Dr. Life said, ‘you see, Miss Quinn, I have realized that my invention is a two-edged sword. It gives as much happiness as it causes pain. I guess it was naïve of me to think that it wouldn’t have any downsides. I now want to make some amends and I think I could learn a great deal from you and Mr. Collins about what can bring Mortals and Immortals together.’
‘Of course,’ she said, trying to hide her shock, ‘Mr. Collins and I will be happy to share our story with you.’
‘I’d be in your debt, Miss Quinn,’ he said. ‘We’ve made reservations at The Infinity for ten-thirty. I look forward to seeing you there. And the band, of course, are invited as well, if they have no other plans.’
‘I will let you know the exact number shortly after the concert is over, if that’s ok. Thank you.’
‘It’s my pleasure entirely. I should go back to my friends now, and I’m sure you have a thing or two to see to. I don’t want to keep you.’
‘Thank you, sir,’ she replied, sensing he didn’t want to be babysat anymore. ‘I’ll see you at The Infinity.’
She left the VIP section, instructing the security guards to get hold of her if Dr. Life or any of his guests needed so much as a toothpick. The guards were all humanoid mind-reading robots that she used to ensure the safety of her most important clients. They only responded to her personal orders and could easily communicate with Eiko. Amaranthine wouldn’t trust human guards to be discreet about the identity of her VIPs.
She really should check on the Australian government to make sure they were happy in their provisional, secondary VIP section that Penny had arranged for them, but she couldn’t bring herself to care about them at that moment. Something far more important was on her mind.
I’ll be in your debt, Miss Quinn. Tsuneo Walker said it to her twice a couple of days ago, but she didn’t take it literally; he was just being polite. But now Dr. Life said the same thing, and he actually needed another favor from her and Daniel. They could give him an insight into a matter that has suddenly become important to him. Amaranthine’s business mind immediately identified a window of opportunity. Or at least a chance of it.
If we play this right, we could get Susan a Cure-based treatment from the creator of immortality himself.
She rushed backstage to find Daniel.
‘My family are waiting for me, Amari,’ Daniel said, ‘They need me, I can’t just cancel on them because some VIP decided he wants to buy me dinner and have a chit-chat about my work.’
‘He’s not just some VIP, Daniel,’ she persisted. ‘It’s Dr. Life. It’s not wise to reject his invitation.’
‘It maybe isn’t from your perspective,’ he replied, ‘and I understand why you would perceive fulfilling his wishes as your top priority. But for me, my family are more important. I’m sorry, Amari, but you will have to entertain him alone.’
‘I can’t believe you,’ Amaranthine shook her head in disbelief. She didn’t expect him to oppose the idea so strongly. She was desperately trying to convince him to attend Dr. Life’s dinner, but he didn’t see the point of it and she didn’t want to reveal her plan to him as yet. It would be easier for Daniel, she decided, if he didn’t know about her hidden agenda for the time being. All she needed him to do was to impress Dr. Life, which she knew he would just by being himself. She would do the rest. The request for Susan’s treatment shouldn’t come from Daniel, in fact it was her goal to have Dr. Life find out about her condition in such a way that he would offer to help himself.
‘Tell me why it’s so hard to believe,’ Daniel said. ‘I am a Mortal, remember? I chose not to use Dr. Life’s invention. Therefore I don’t feel I owe him anything. To my family, on the other hand, I owe a pretty big deal.’
‘I know that,’ Amari said, racking her brain for more arguments. ‘But he’s not inviting you for the sake of showing off his power or feeding his vanity. He wants to learn from us.’
‘Learn from us?’ Daniel chuckled, ‘what could he possibly want to learn from us?’
‘How it’s possible that Mortals and Immortals can work together,’ she explained, ‘how we do it. He wants to understand it so that he can promote it amongst other people. He feels guilty for all the hostility that exists between the Mortals and the Immortals.’
‘That’s admirable,’ Daniel said. ‘But I can’t really see how we can help him. I’m sorry, Amari, but going to Scotland to see my folks still tops my list for tonight. If Dr. Life really cares about the Mortal-Immortal wars and thinks we can help him stop them, he will agree to meet us another time.’
She had no answer to that.
‘All right then, I won’t pressure you anymore,’ she said. ‘I’m sure he’ll want to meet us another time, it really is a big deal for him.’
‘Thanks,’ Daniel said, ‘I hope you understand why going home is so important to me at the moment.’
‘Of course.’
‘ONE MORE SONG! ONE MORE SONG!’ the demand of a hundred thousand voices echoed from the other side of the stage.
‘The concert is nearly over,’ Daniel said, ‘we’d better wrap things up.’
‘Alright,’ Amaranthine said. ‘I’ll see you in a couple of days, then.’
‘Yes,’ he said, taking her face into his hands and kissing her. ‘Call me anytime if you need me.’
‘Music,’ Dr. Life said, putting down his glass, ‘has always brought people together. That’s why Carpe Diem are so important. They can become a bridge between the Mortals and the Immortals. And people like you and Mr. Collins are crucial to the process of designing and building that bridge.’
‘I’m honored you should think so, sir,’ Amari replied, ‘but, with all due respect, I don’t think that is enough.’
‘How do you mean, Miss Quinn?’
‘Entertainment is just one area of life,’ Amari exp
lained. ‘And whilst it’s true what you said about music, when the lights go off and the sound stops, people go back to their everyday lives, where the inequality based on their biological status hits them in the face nearly every moment of their day. I think we need more than one bridge.’
‘You are referring to Mortals, I presume,’ Tsuneo Walker joined in the discussion. ‘Do you really believe they are treated unfairly in so many areas?’
‘It’s not a matter of belief, sir, it’s a fact of life,’ Amaranthine said. ‘Like any minority in the world’s history, they are discriminated against. Their contributions to the development of science go unrecognized. Their health care is far below the quality of immortal health care. They are ostracized and ridiculed by the immortal media, their life choices are deemed inferior. I’m afraid that in face of such unfairness, one rock band isn’t going to make much difference. Not in the long run, anyway.’
There was a moment of silence at the table. Amaranthine became aware that everyone was listening to her revelations. Facial expressions conveyed different degrees of shock. She wasn’t sure if the cause of it were the facts she was citing or the direct manner in which she addressed Dr. Life and his associate.
‘I must agree with you,’ Dr. Life said. He was the only one, except for Mr. Walker, who seemed to be aware of the things she spoke about. ‘I have heard these signals before and the variety of independent sources that they came from got me thinking and researching some facts. I’m afraid that us, the Immortals, have a lot to answer for.’
‘Is that why Mr. Collins refused to dine with us tonight? And the band?’ one of the guests asked. ‘Do they despise Immortals?’
‘No, ma’am, that couldn’t be further from the truth,’ Amari said. ‘Mr. Collins had to attend to an urgent family matter, and Carpe Diem simply retired to their rooms for a much needed rest. They’ve had a very tiring weekend rehearsing and playing and Mortals are not as physically strong as we are. Their bodies regenerate much slower than ours.’
The woman nodded, but her face didn’t indicate that she found the explanation acceptable. After all, it was Dr. Life’s invitation that those Mortals decided to reject. Amari didn’t expect them to understand. All that mattered was that Dr. Life seemed to understand and not be offended by their absence.