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"Hey. You. Maybe-Hadrian's-friend. Come 'ere."
"Heard you talking with Lou. So you're going to help Doctor Walker?"
- Why? Do you know where I can find him? "Oh. No. I've got my suspicions, but, look, you are planning to help Percival, right?"
- Doesn't sound like I've really got another option for finding him. "Sure, sure."
- I'm going to try to. "Good, good. Percival's a good guy."
- "Listen, I know how you can do it without having to resort to any B and E. Aqueous Hematite. Mars is full of it. People think it's just garbage, but Percival and I, we'd been working on some... projects in the Deep Mines. At least, when he wasn't slaving away at his Trade Authority contract. But we stumbled on a way to make it useful. And profitable. You give our research over to Oktai, at the Trade Authority, it should more than cover Percival's debt. That guy's always looking for an angle."
- Projects? Were you guys making chems or something? "No. No, no no. Well, yes, but the medical kind. I'd help him make whatever the city was running low on that month, and we'd sell it to the miners for cheap... But the Trade Authority got wind and wanted their cut. And then some."
- Aqueous Hematite? What's that? "It's mostly iron and about three centuries of human water run-off, though only Percival would be able to tell you all the trace elements and what not. But it builds up around human settlements and something about the Martian soil changes it, makes it into something new. And we think we found a new use for it."
- I'm sorry. Who are you? "I'm Cambridge. I was Percival's assistant. Apprentice really. Couldn't work in the mines anymore, so he gave me a job helping with some of his side projects. Know his experiments inside and out. And I know that this one was going to be big."
- I presume there's a reason you haven't handed it over already. "Well, yeah."
- Sounds pleasantly easy. "Yeah... it does. It would be. There's just... one issue..."
- "We were never able to finish the research. Spacers moved in and ran us out, started setting up shop. But if you can clear them out, I can walk you through how to finish the research. Then, you can give it over to the Trade Authority. They'll get folks working in the Deep Mines again. Jobs come back. I become a modern-day folk hero. Then I don't have to sleep on an inflated space suit anymore."
- What're Spacers? "Bunch of parasites and cutthroats. They're folks from the fringes of space, willing to put down anyone who tries to move in on what they've decided is theirs... even when it ain't. Strange this group would pick Mars as a new home. Sure, we're not downtown New Atlantis, but there are places where they'd be bothered less than here. My guess is the Authority tipped them off when they heard we were working down there. Cut off what they thought was the competition, you know."
- What happened to the jobs on Mars? "Biggest employer on Mars has always been Deimos Staryards. After the Colony War, Armistice meant they needed a lot fewer warships. Fewer ships meant fewer minerals. And that meant a lot of folks scrounging for work around here."
- Not interested. "Up to you. If you want to avoid a bounty on your head, you let me know."
- Fine. Just tell me where this mine is. "Yeah, yeah."
- Awful lot of work to avoid buying a pillow, but, sure, I'll help. "Great, great."
- "So, access to the Deep Mines can be found outside the city. It's not far. Shouldn't even need to hop back in your ship. We'd set up right near the main drill. Taking out the Spacer leader should get the message across to the rest of them to buzz off. Once you've managed that, phone up here on the comms panel and I can walk you through finishing the research."
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Upon returning with the Aqueous Hematite Data:
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"You've got the slate? Let me see. Reduced joint wear. Increased lifting capacity. A dose of this stuff could make a miner waaay more efficient. This formula's got to be worth at least as much as whatever Percival owes. So here's what you do. Tell Oktai in the Trade Authority you found a "business proposal" that will make miners more efficient, higher yield, synergy, all that business crap. And that you'll trade it to him for clearing Percival's debt. You good at doing pitches and stuff like that?"
- You don't want me to ask for money? "You can try if you feel confident, but I didn't want to push our luck. Besides, if that drug gets big, I think everyone benefits. So you think you can sell him on it?"
- Why, I could sell ice to a cold... guy. Okay, it's not my forte. "Hmm. Well, just, try your best. Emphasize how much money there is to be made with that formula."
- I can give it a whirl, sure. "This is going to be great."
- "Oh, and here. A copy of the formula for yourself, in case you ever want to try maximizing your own industrial output. Oh! Use that if you can! Good luck!"
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