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were only too willing to talk while her recorder captured
their answers on a memory card. She studied them carefully:
Alec, the quiet one - his hawk-like features watching her
with interest - the brains behind the remarkable Darwin.
And Christine - the driving force behind the brains, talking
enthusiastically about what the massive oil find would mean
for Indonesia's millions living in grinding poverty.
'We first singled out the Banda Trench because it seemed the
best place to start looking,' said Christine earnestly, leaning
across the table, her hands clasped tightly together as though
she were fighting a coiled-up tension. 'But there are other deep
trenches that have hardly been explored - mostly in the southern
hemisphere where most of the world's poor live.'
'Avanti's press office have issued a release saying that the
Banda field could supply the world's entire oil needs for the
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next fifty years,' Kristy commented cautiously. 'Would you
say that's an exaggeration?'
Alec smiled. 'Perhaps not accurate, Miss Wood. We've
now recovered over a hundred samples from this area and
they've all turned out positive. The field is much bigger than
we expected from our earlier surveys. I'd say it's big enough
to supply world needs for a century.'
Kristy turned her intense green eyes on Christine. 'If that's
right, Christine, in about five to ten years we'll see a
catastrophic collapse in the price of oil, and we'll be right back
where we started - with the world's poor countries being the
source of cheap raw materials for the world's rich countries.'
They won't be so poor by then,' Christine retorted.
'They'll be as rich as the West and bidding on equal terms.
It's already happening in Vietnam, Burma, Malaysia and
particularly China. Their increasing wealth will double the
world's oil needs.'
Kristy arched a disbelieving eyebrow.
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'I'm right!' Christine snapped. 'Alec and I have total
control over the Darwin's technology. We'll be granting free
licences for its use provided a percentage of the oil revenues
it helps earn goes to Third World countries.'
Christine went on to outline the details of her remarkable
scheme while Kristy listened in mounting amazement. She
played devil's advocate by offering objections but Christine
Rose had sound answers for them all.
'We've calculated that the life of patents is long enough to
bring about a revolution - a permanent change in the
economics of this planet,' was Christine's final comment.
There was much on Kristy's mind as she spent the rest of her
allotted time on a conducted tour of the ship; nevertheless, she
showed a keen interest in every aspect of the recovery and processing
of sediment samples. After her profuse thanks she was
about to board the helicopter when she turned to Alec and
Christine to congratulate them on their role in the arrest of the
Sabre 005 saboteurs. 'I met Paul Santos on a VIP Sabre flight.
He's quite a guy. Will you be going to the gala dinner he's laid
on at St Omer next month?'
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Christine nodded. 'We have to return to London anyway
for the trial.'
Kristy smiled and mounted the helicopter's boarding
steps. 'See you in St Omer,' she said.
43
June
The speeches dragged on but Kristy didn't mind.
She felt especially privileged because she was the only
journalist to be sitting with the guests at the gala dinner
being held at St Omer. The rows of linen-covered tables
were laid out in Shed B which was about to be opened to
handle the increased production of Sabres. The order book
now stood at fifty-three; the future of Sabre Industries and
their spaceplane was assured.
The speeches by various worthies from the civil aviation
world extolling the virtues of the Sabre eventually bored
Kristy; she passed the time making surreptitious notes on
her memopad with frequent references to her guest list and
seating plan.
Virtually everyone associated with the incredible rescue of
005's crew and passengers was present. All the passengers
and crew themselves, the NASA technicians and most
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employees of Sabre Industries. Even the waiters and waitresses
were members of the staff. Nikki Lithgow was there
with her husband. She was sedated but blissfully happy
because her daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren had
been flown to Europe by British Airways to be with her; Jim
Curtis and David Morgan - clapping dutifully as each
speaker finished their piece; Michelle Finch, the surgeon,
talking animatedly to Jacky Kerr. All the crew of 005 and
their 004 rescuers.
Kristy's cool gaze scrutinised everyone in turn. Before the
guests had sat down she had renewed her acquaintance with
Christine and Alec Rose - sitting opposite Paul Santos - and
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had been introduced to William Honicker - an Australian
civil servant who she had decided would be worth cultivating, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]