"It’s a possibility," I say, even though I’m convinced it’s more than that. "Let’s say Schrage wants to expand his repertoire with this retrovirus. Maybe some client’s asking for the capability, or maybe he’s going to use it as a big selling point in next year’s marketing campaign—it doesn’t really matter. He approaches Nova Vita Cybernetics, which just happens to have a jim-dandy little number for sale. On the Tir side of things, friend Timothy Telestrian’s got this big proxy fight thing going on, and cutting a major deal with the Star would earn him big credit and big face." I shrug. "Who knows, maybe he’s thinking of putting pressure on the Star after the fact, to help him out directly with daddy James ... .