Seeker by Jack McDevitt

glasses. “And nobody ever
did
,” I said.
    “No. Not as far as I can tell.”
     
     
    Alex was not very demonstrative. If the building were burning, he’d suggest it might be prudent to make for the door. So the news that the cup was associated with both a famous ship and a celebrated mystery did not send him reeling with joy around the office. But I saw a glint of satisfaction in those brown eyes. “Jacob,” he said.
    Jacob responded with a few bars of Perrigrin’s
Eighth
. The kind of majestic chords with which heroic figures in the sims customarily make their entrances. Alex told him to knock it off.
    “How may I be of assistance?” Jacob asked, in the deepest baritone he could muster.
    Alex rolled his eyes. “Jacob,” he said, “we’d like to know whether any artifacts from the two ships associated with the Margolians, the
Seeker
and the
Bremerhaven
, are currently available, or have been on the market at any time.”
    “They’d be quite old,”
said Jacob.
“I’ll need a few moments.”
    We made small talk for about a minute, then he was back. “
I see nothing of that nature. Nothing associated with either vessel. There are six verified items connected with the Margolians themselves. And numerous suspect objects
.”
    “Name them, please. The ones that are verified.”
    “A communications link of some sort. A pen with Jase Tao-Ki’s name engraved on it. Tao-Ki was a prominent member of the group, and a substantial contributor. There is also a wall plaque on which is inscribed a commendation to the Margolians from a social welfare group. A lapel pin bearing their symbol and name. The symbol is a torch. A portrait of Harry Williams himself. And a copy of
Glory Run,
signed by its author, Kay Wallis. It’s an account of how they put the mission together. The signature is faded but can be seen in ultraviolet light. All six were left behind. There is nothing from them after their departure.”
    “Who was Kay Wallis?” asked Alex.
    “One of the founders of the organization. One of its prime defenders when people began to laugh at them. The record’s unclear, but it looks as if she died just before the final round of flights. She never left Earth.”
He paused, perhaps expecting a comment. But none came.
“Wallis laid out their objections to various governmental policies in
Glory Run.
Basically they were concerned that each generation was subjected to a series of ideologies which, once imposed, were hard to get rid of, hampered independent thought, and led to various hostilities. She spells everything out. Get the religious groups under control. Reign in the corporate types. Recognize that dissent is healthy. Provide a level playing field so no one is disadvantaged.”
    “If American society — that was America, right? — Yes, if American society was so oppressive, how’d she get it published?”
    “It was published in China,”
said Jacob,
“one of the last strongholds of democracy on the planet.”
    “The Margolians,” I said, “weren’t really disadvantaged.”
    Alex’s eyes narrowed. “They had resources. But if you don’t have freedom of action,
disadvantaged
is the right word.” He scribbled something on a pad. “Let’s talk about the artifacts.” He requested a list of the amounts paid the last time the six Margolian objects had changed hands. Jacob reported two had been secret transactions. The other four printed out. Alex sighed. “Not bad,” he said.
    Indeed. Tao-Ki’s pen went for several years’ worth of my income. And I was well paid. The others were higher.
    Alex rubbed his hands together. “Okay. She’ll have to produce ownership documentation before any of this goes public.” He was, of course, speaking of Amy.
    “You’ll take care of that?” I said. There would also be some negotiation involved, and that line of work was his specialty.
    “Get through to her when you can. Find out if she’d be willing to meet us at the Hillside for a drink.”
    I called