Page 31 - Unlikely Stories 2

VERONICA

Delamort shook his shaggy head. “Those computer boffins are
incomprehensible to me. But you say this system works, eh?”
“Yes. The value, therefore, to an institution like ours, of paintings
like yours, is as a disposable image, sold in untold numbers in
unpredictable formats across global communications networks. We
cannot support our administrative staff otherwise, given the
conditions I have already outlined to you. We are particularly
interested in acquiring four of your paintings for VERONICA.
Perhaps after you hear the offer we are prepared to make for the first
one you will appreciate the possibilities of this new technology.”
“I’m listening,” said Sir Payne, leaning even closer.
“In your collection is a minor masterpiece of the American
mythological naturalist school of the nineteenth century, Levi
Tate’s ‘Gator and Nymphs.’ You are familiar with it?”
Delamort’s fading memory pieced together a vague image of a
thrashing reptile snapping at the ample flanks of three nudes bathing
in a swamp. “Oh, certainly. One of my favorite pieces. Hate to part
with it, but of course the public deserves to see it, too.”
“I am authorized to give you three hundred thousand pounds
for the painting, subject to your signing a terminal deaccession
release form.”
The peer blinked. This was an offer he could not refuse.
“What do I have to sign? Some kind of formality?”
“Yes, indeed. There is no point in going through the expense of
employing VERONICA if the possibility exists of another true copy
being made; that would negate the entire procedure. Once the true
copy has been made, and digitized backups have been deposited in
the salt mines below Utah, then the original must be destroyed. I’m
sure you will grasp the necessity of this, to protect the museum’s
investment.”
Sir Payne Delamort slowly nodded, comprehending little beyond
the cash involved in the transaction. “Yes, I think we can arrive at a
mutually satisfactory price for my painting. As for what happens to it
in your care, Mr. d’Istaille, well, after all, it’s only a Yankee canvas;
not one of the Old Masters.”

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