Search & Recovery: A Retrieval Artist Universe Novel Read Online Free PDF Page A

design.
    Many who lived in Yutu City thought this area a disaster waiting to happen, because some of the building codes were lax to accommodate the covenants. Most people thought the Moon-based materials were weak, especially when it came to beams and struts.
    But Deshin had legally invested in many of the building companies that focused on Moon-only products, and he believed in them so strongly that he had built his own home in Armstrong from the materials.
    Still, the conference room’s small dome arching above him, its supports hidden in the gold and green design, made him uncomfortable. He felt like he was sitting in the middle of some kind of target—both outside and in.
    Normally, he didn’t think about dome structure—he lived and traveled inside domes all the time—but he was aware that the huge domes protecting the Moon’s cities had an intricate structure—and parts that sectioned (and supported) each dome whenever there was a problem.
    He doubted there were any sectioning parts in this conference center’s small dome. It was a marvel of engineering, but not one he was comfortable sitting under.
    He was careful not to look up. He was trying to pay attention to Kerman’s welcoming speech, but Deshin’s fascination with the dome clearly showed him how hard paying attention was.
    It didn’t help that Kerman had gone on for fifteen minutes now. Generally, the welcoming speeches at the Gatherings weren’t speeches at all. They were simple greetings, followed by all of the instructions that the participants needed to make it through the three-day conference.
    Deshin’s back ached. He wasn’t used to sitting like this, and he had to figure out how to get off the floor without looking like a weak old man. He wasn’t weak in any way; he was in the prime of his life. But he wasn’t limber anymore, particularly when sitting cross-legged.
    He looked around the room. His security team ringed him. For every single person in this room, there were five members of their personal security, not to mention the crowd outside. It looked like some army had bivouacked here.
    Back in the days when he had organized the Gathering, he had wanted the participants to leave their security at the hotels, but no one had. He hadn’t either. You didn’t invite criminals and shady business people to meetings and expect them to behave well.
    Now, as he looked past his team, he saw dozens of people he recognized. While Kerman droned on, Deshin made a list of the appointments he already had scheduled, the short contacts he would try to make, and the handful of rivals he needed to warn off.
    He would have a busy conference—and he had no idea what the others who were here would ask of him. He expected to have very little free time after this opening session ended.
    He picked his hands off the carpet and rested his wrists on his knees. Sometimes—like this morning—the Gathering felt like a waste of his time, and sometimes it was the most valuable thing he did.
    He had started it for everyone he knew whose businesses had both legal and illegal components. If the police ever asked what the group was doing here, they would say they were networking, and they wouldn’t be lying. They were networking. In the early days, everyone had been trying to figure out how to make illegal businesses look like legal ones.
    Now, everyone was trying to figure out how to marginalize the profitable illegal businesses so that they didn’t threaten the profitable legal ones.
    He almost smiled. He loved the problems that came from success.
    Kerman said something about lunch and Deshin looked up, finally focusing on the man who had organized this quarter’s meeting.
    Kerman stood in the middle of the group. His turban seemed unusually elaborate, and it matched his gold trousers. In fact, everything had gold trim, including the edges of Kerman’s kaftan. He wore rings on each finger, and they caught the light as he gestured.
    He was barefoot and he even had