Chapter 12

  The Man leaned back in his chair. "Your decision to use Genoa for that particular assignment was regarded in many circles as foolhardy, NG. Why is that?"

  He'd been dreading the topic of Genoa, inevitable as it was.

  "You have to understand the delicate relationships that can develop between our people and the AIs they work with," he said. "Hil especially is close to his ship. Skye is his partner. They've worked together for over ten years. It's hard to recruit AIs and we don't have many. They demand high pay and deservedly so. Not all our operatives team up with an AI. Anderton never has. And we have some AIs, like Genoa, that prefer to work freelance wherever they're needed." He paused and considered his next statement carefully. "The issue of AI personality and allegiance is tricky. You talk of man but we mustn't underestimate the AIs. They have a place in society now that is still becoming established, even as a minority. They have rights and they have emotions that can be as raw as any human."

  The Man sat quietly and NG stopped abruptly and emptied his mind of any thoughts except this room, right there and then. A whisper of a breeze set the candle flames dancing and a hint of sweet incense swirled across the desk.

  "What happened?" the Man said softly, well aware that this was an area NG didn't want to address.

  "I can't read the mind of an AI," he said, uncomfortable in having to admit it. "I had no idea."

  -

  It just took one jump to get to Abacus A. That was unsettling in itself. The Alsatia spent time on both sides of the line and wandered, a self-sufficient colony, that had been deep in Earth controlled space last he knew. The massive cruiser must have shifted some to get them that close to the Between. And the fact that it had positioned itself firmly in the Between, rather than letting them jump there themselves, mad