So who was calling?

Bat glanced at the ID, and closed his eyes in resignation. The caller was Magrit Knudsen, one of the few people outside the Puzzle Network with permission to contact Bat. And Ma-grit’s message was simple and information-free: “Bat, are you there? If you are, please come on-line.” Magrit never called with trivia. Either she was in trouble, or she had run across a mystery sufficiently odd to intrigue him.

He glanced around the Bat Cave. The level of messiness of the floor was tolerable — Magrit would nag him if it were not. He looked down at himself. He had washed and changed clothing in the not-too-distant past.

He triggered the video link.

Magrit Knudsen appeared at once, her expression anxious.

This was a bad sign. Bat, who abhorred all human confrontations, knew that Magrit thrived on conflict. If she was anxious, then he was worried.

Magrit had put this off for as long as she could. Conversations with Rustum Battachariya were never easy, and this one promised to be a stinker.

“Bat.” She didn’t try for her usual smile of greeting. “Are you alone? Of course you are, what a stupid question. Bat, we’ve got problems. And I don’t mean any of your puzzle stuff.”

The face that stared at her from the display remained expressionless. Bat, if Magrit were any judge, had added at least fifty pounds since she had last seen him. He sat like a giant Buddha on his special chair, arms folded across his chest. As usual, his black clothes were three sizes too small.

The round head nodded, and Bat finally spoke. “I hear you. However, unless the difficulty that you face is of a purely intellectual nature, it seems unlikely that I will be able to assist you.”

“You heard me, but you didn’t hear me right. When I said that we’ve got problems, actually I meant that you do. I had a call four hours ago. Somebody found out that I have access to you. They said they want a meeting.”

“Which you, I trust, told them was out of the question.”

“I said I would get back to them. Bat, it’s not that simple.”

“I do not see how it could be simpler. I have no need to meet with anyone. I have no desire to meet with anyone. And I most certainly have no desire to travel in order to meet with anyone.”

Magrit had been Bat’s immediate superior for more than a decade. Looking back, she sometimes wondered how she had stood it for so long.

“Bat, they don’t want a meeting just for the hell of it, or to admire your sunny smile. They want a meeting to persuade you to share your lease on Pandora.”

“Then they are certifiably insane. Four years ago I made a major investment in money and effort to conform elements of this planetoid to my needs.”

“I don’t think money is an issue. They can pay anything you ask.”

“You are correct. Money is not an issue, since no matter what they offer I will refuse. I also, as I am sure you recall, paid in full and in advance for a long-term lease on Pandora, approved by the Outer Planet Authority. That lease has ninety-six years to run.”

“I know that. It makes no difference.” Magrit stared at Bat’s black and impassive face. No one she knew was as smart and as stubborn — or in some ways as innocent. “Let me put it this way. When I became your supervisor, it took me a little while to realize how valuable and talented you were. But after that, I shielded you from all the crap that was thrown at you. And there was plenty.”

“This is well known to me. Your protection was, and is, much appreciated.”

“Then you understand that I wouldn’t bother to call you at all if it was something as simple as pointing out to a caller that you have a lease on Pandora. They checked that out long before they contacted me.”

“Then they must also have learned that it is a valid lease.”

“Bat, we aren’t playing in a league where ‘valid’ means much. The call to me came from Ligon Industries. They are one of the top five industrial powerhouses in the System.”

“Not so. They are currently number nine in total revenues.”

“You’re splitting hairs. Let’s just say they’re big. You know the saying, there’s no such thing as an unbreakable contract. Well, with the clout that they have, there’s no such thing as a guaranteed lease, either. You are an individual. They are a quarter of a million employees, a hundred lobbyists, and a thousand attorneys.”

Bat did not move, but Magrit knew from experience that he heard, understood, and evaluated every word spoken to him. At last he said, “Why Pandora?”

“I asked the Ligon representatives the same question. Sorting through the bullshit, it’s not hard to understand. Ligon won’t admit it, but they lost a fortune on the initial Starseed contract because the Jupiter gravity well was too much for the Von Neumanns. They’ve accepted the Phase Two option, but they intend to mine helium-three for Starseed-Two from Saturn. For that, they need a base of operations. You can imagine how their thinking went. The nine major moons all play roles in general Outer System development. Not even Ligon has the clout to over-rule that, and anyway all those moons are inconveniently far from Saturn. They need a base outside the rings, but not too far out.

“So they said to themselves, what about the lesser satellites? There are five attractive possibilities: Atlas, Prometheus, Pandora, Epimetheus, and Janus. The last two are already locked up by Ex-Im Mining, who have as much money and influence as Ligon. Ex-Im also has a lease on Prometheus and all the co-orbiters. That leaves just Atlas and Pandora. But Atlas serves as a government-controlled Saturn observation and weather station, and the red tape to do anything to change that would take years. So we are down to Pandora. All they need to do there is put enough pressure on one defenseless and small — I use the term figuratively — individual.”

Bat shrugged. “Assume that I stand firm. What can they do?”

“Let’s begin with the legal options. They can try to persuade Outer System authorities that Pandora access is essential to the success of Starseed-Two, and that Starseed-Two is at the highest priority level for the human expansion imperative.”

“Could they succeed?”

“They might. There’s centuries of legal precedent for that sort of thing. It’s called eminent domain. Using it, authorities back on Earth were permitted to make forced purchase of properties that happened to be in the way of a planned road or airport. But we’re just getting started. They could make personal attacks on your character and competence. They would argue that no one of sound mind would choose to live alone on Pandora, avoiding all human contact.”

“The attack ad hominem was tried against me many years ago. You will recall that the team of psychologists engaged to probe my rationality was utterly routed.”

“It doesn’t mean it can’t be tried again; and last time, no one was angling the case toward a judge who could be bribed.”

“This is intolerable.’’ Bat sat up and inflated his chest, so that the fabric of his too-small shirt stretched balloon-tight. “Are you telling me that such tactics might succeed?”

“Those tactics, or others.” Magrit knew her man. Bluster and threat would never work with Bat. Logic would never fail. “I said I would start with the legal methods they might use. But the Ligon people have a reputation for playing hardball. They’ll get impatient pretty quick if you won’t cooperate. Forget leases, here’s another fact of life: there’s no such thing as an unbreakable head. Maybe they’ll decide that it’s easier and cheaper to kill you. You know from past experience that paid assassins are not hard to find. And you are even easier to find, because you never go anywhere. You would only be safe if you went into hiding.”

Magrit watched the fat cheeks puff out. Finally Bat nodded. “Let me summarize what you have told me. Ligon Industries want access to Pandora, badly enough to do whatever they decide is necessary. In order for them to have my home, in any negotiation with them I must agree to leave Pandora. On the other hand, if I refuse to deal with them, my life will be in danger. In order to enjoy any measure of safety it would be necessary for me to hide away. Which means I would have to leave Pandora. Since either cooperation or defiance involves my leaving here, the former is clearly the preferred option. This, I assume, is the deduction toward which you have carefully been leading me.”