Zurich Meet Tomorrow by Alastair Reynolds - Book - Page 9
some fabulous orchid.
Mister Zhang, chair of the Anchorpoint construction
consortium, meets Amaka. They stroll a short distance around
the shore, to a pleasant outdoor dining area set under calico
awnings.
Mister Zhang bids Amaka to sit. He thanks her for finding
time, introducing his associates. He pours chai for them all. He
asks how Amaka’s new eye is settling in.
‘I didn’t know you knew about my eye, Mister Zhang,’ she
says, unnerved.
He fixes her with an agreeable but steely smile. ‘It pays to
know as much as we can.’
She informs him the eye installation has gone well, and that
she has recovered nearly all her colour discrimination.
‘That is as well, since we shall be relying on someone with
the utmost eye for detail.’
They get down to business. Virtual blueprints and
renderings float above the table. The space elevator, in its
general form, but most particularly the climber capsule.
‘Make no bones,’ Mister Zhang says. ‘We are several years
from completion. Whoever we partner with, we are looking at
a long and prosperous marriage.’ He examines her shrewdly.
‘You are fifty years old, now, Amaka?’
‘I am. As old as the century.’
He beams. ‘A mere child, then, with many wonderful things
ahead!’
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