Read The Human Division #9: The Observers for Free Online

need one now . And you need to get it for me.”
    “You think this will work?” Abumwe asked.
    Wilson held his hands out in a maybe? motion. “I know if we don’t try this, then we’re screwed. If this is a shot in the dark, it’s still a shot.”
    Abumwe took out her PDA and opened a line to Hillary Drolet, her assistant. “Tell Doodoodo I need to see him in the hall. Now.” She cut the connection and looked back to Wilson. “Anything else you want? As long as I am taking requests.”
    “I need to borrow the shuttle to go back to the Clarke, ” Wilson said. “I want both Lowen and Stone to watch me so there’s no doubt what I find.”
    “Fine,” Abumwe said.
    “I’d also like for you to drag on negotiations today as long as you can,” Wilson said.
    “I don’t think that will be a problem,” Abumwe said.
    Doodoodo appeared in the hallway, eyestalks waggling apologetically.
    “And if at all possible, you might want to get that deal done today,” Wilson said, looking at Doodoodo. “Just in case.”
    “Lieutenant Wilson, I am already far ahead of you on this one,” Abumwe said.

    “Someone in this room is a killer!” Wilson said.
    “Please don’t say that when they actually show up,” Lowen said.
    “That’s why I’m saying it now,” Wilson said.
    Wilson, Lowen and Stone were in the medical bay, awaiting Abumwe, Meyer, Bourkou and Coloma. Coloma was on her way from the bridge; the others were coming from the shuttle that had just docked.
    “They’re on their way,” Lowen said, glancing at her PDA. “Franz tells me they wrapped up the negotiations today, too. Abumwe apparently got an excellent deal for the scanners.”
    “Good,” Wilson said, and patted the scanner he had been using. “Maybe that will mean I can keep mine. This thing is sweet.”
    Coloma arrived; Abumwe, Meyer and Bourkou followed a minute after.
    “Now that we’re all here, let’s get started,” Wilson said. “If you’ll check your PDAs, you’ll see some images I sent to you.” Everyone in the room aside from Wilson, Stone and Lowen reached for their PDAs. “What you’re seeing there is a sample of Liu Cong’s blood. In it you’ll see red and white blood cells, platelets and also something else. That something else looks like SmartBlood nanobots. For those of you from Earth, SmartBlood is the non-organic substance that replaces blood in Colonial Defense Forces soldiers. It has superior oxygen-handling properties and other benefits.”
    “How did that get into his blood?” Meyer asked.
    “That’s an interesting question,” Wilson said. “Almost as interesting as the other question I have, which is when did it get into his blood.”
    “If this is a Colonial Union product, then it would seem that it would have gotten into his system out here,” Bourkou said.
    “I would have thought so, too,” Wilson said. “But then I got a closer look at the nanobots. Go ahead and look at the second image I sent you.”
    They turned to look at the second picture, which showed two similar-looking objects, one next to the other.
    “The first object is a close-up of what we found in Liu’s blood,” Wilson said. “The second is a close-up of an actual SmartBlood nanobot, which was taken from me, a couple of hours ago.” He held up his thumb to show the pinprick there.
    “They look the same to me,” Meyer said.
    “Yes, and I suspect they’re supposed to,” Wilson said. “It’s not until you look inside of them, in substantial detail, that you notice particular differences. If all we had was the Clarke ’s equipment, we wouldn’t have been able to see the differences. Even with the Colonial Union’s top-of-the-line equipment, it would have taken some time. Fortunately, we have some new toys. So go ahead and flip to the next image.”
    Everyone forwarded to the third image.
    “I don’t expect any of you to know what you’re looking at here, but those with some technical experience with SmartBlood will note