I went back to trough forty-one, decided to replace some of the rushes, just because I was restless, then changed my mind and went back to the readout station and checked the monitors. Everything was fine. So why wasn’t I happy about it? Think. Start at the beginning. The plant and equipment itself? Everything seemed in order. The influent? No. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with the bugs, either; they were standard tried-and-true van de Oest series. Guaranteed, as long as they were supplied with . . .
And then I remembered. The puddles, the truck, the driver calling, “Sorry about that!” The logo: BioSystems.
I swore, ran a sample on the bug food. Took down one of the slates and after a few minutes’ fiddling managed to access some old records. Compared the two. Just as I thought. I picked up the phone. “Magyar, I need to talk to you.”
“What’s happened?” Even over the line I could hear her tension. She was waiting for something, too.
“Just get here.”
I felt savage. If Hepple had appeared right then I think I would have kicked him until he bled. Four million gallons a day, straight into the city’s mains, and he was risking it all for the sake of shaving half a percent from the plant’s operating costs.
Magyar arrived, breathless. “Tell me.”
“Hepple. Stupid bastard.” I was so angry I could hardly speak. “The bug food. Hepple bought the cheap stuff. Generics.”
The folds around her eyes seemed to swell slightly, making her eyes look smaller. “How bad is that?”
“Right now, not very, but I don’t know how long it will stay that way. I can try adjust the nutrients by hand until we can replace it. The system should catch any big swings—ones that are within known parameters, anyway—but the van de Oest proprietary nutrients have got to be restored.”
“How much time do we have?”
“Hard to tell. These bugs are genetically designed to fail without exactly the right ingredients, but given the mixture of microbes and varying substrates available here, I couldn’t begin to predict when or what form that failure will take.”
“But you’re sure they’ll fail.”
“Yes.”
A beat of silence. “Give me your best estimate of how much time we’ve got.”
“A week? It depends on what we get down the line.” All it would take was one big spill . . . “I can’t believe Hepple’s done this.”
“Oh, he’s probably got some very plausible-sounding reasons.” She sounded vicious.
“Then you’ll need to go over his head.”
“I’ll try.”
“Try hard. Meanwhile. . .” I started pulling down all the slates, feeling about on the shelf. Empty.
“If it’s the manual you’re looking for, I’ve got it. Oh, don’t look so surprised. I knew Hepple was up to something. I just didn’t know what. I decided to prepare for disaster.”
I felt foolish for underestimating her.
She read my expression and gave me a tight, amused look. “What do you know about emergency and evacuation procedures here?”
“Not much.” Which is why I’d wanted to take another look at that manual.
“We’ve got just about enough sets of emergency escape breathing apparatus, if you include the SCBAs and the moon suits. But I haven’t had the chance to check them and find out if they’re properly maintained. And I don’t know how many of the shift know how to use them. Which is why I need you. I don’t know who you are, or why you’re here, but I’ll use you if I can.”
I took the manual home. There were two messages waiting. The first was from Ruth; she was smiling. “Hope you enjoyed the dinner the other day. Let us know when and we’ll come and help you redecorate.”
The second was Spanner: “It’s just before midnight. I’m on my way out. I should have the money we need by morning. I’ll call you.”
I ate, and opened the manual at random. I would not worry about Spanner and I would not feel guilty that it was her taking the risks. I would not.
After an hour or so, I pushed the manual aside. Rules and regulations were not enough to distract me from how Spanner might be earning the money for our scam. She chose to take the risks, I told myself. It was she who had suggested the scam in the first place. I was doing my part, too.
Maybe she was back already, safe. I called. No reply.
I turned on the edit box. Tom appeared on the screen. If I wasn’t going to