"We assume that's what the conspiracy theories have been based on. Someone took the time to look through all the millions of documents, so you know they had to be nuts." Christophe was almost smiling.
Ralph shook his head. "Well son of a..."
"Brilliant, isn't it?" Reginald grinned at us. "They had the proof all along. It was just too boring to bother with. So that's our in. We leaked that. And then, we leaked a few other details, just to offer a little credibility, and a few names."
"Who?" Ralph suddenly sounded worried.
"Relax, Ralph," Reginald said. "If there's trouble for anyone directly, it will be me."
"I just don't want any of the team that stayed here to..." His words trailed off. Christophe looked away. Reginald cleared his throat. And Ralph quietly drank his drink. To Ralph, he had been gone sixteen years. In his mind, he should still have friends on Earth. Family. In reality, anyone he knew before he left was probably dead. I never thought of his life before the stars. It just never occurred to me. I wanted to say something to him, to comfort him or at least sympathize, but what could I say?
"As I said," Reginald continued carefully. "The names will only lend credibility, not cause any trouble."
"Where do we go from here?" Ralph recovered quickly. He always did. Maybe it was his military training.
"Now, we wait. We wait until it's picked up by the mainstream news, and then we leak a little more. We make it look like the pressure is building on us. And then we wait for the right news source to ask the right question, and we stage a press conference from Utopia."
"And then we go to Earth," I said, feeling the weight of the impending journey suddenly fill me.
Reginald laughed. "It's not a death sentence, Jake!"
"Besides," said Christophe. "We don't know how the governments will react. We'll need to wait until the press conference and see what happens from there."
I sighed. "Why? Why all this sneaking around? Just tell them 'hey, here's a space kid' and let them deal with it."
Christophe actually smiled at me. "Ah, so simple is the mind of a scientist." I didn't think it was a compliment. "We can't. People do not work that way."
"Lena accepted me just fine. So did Lynette and Jillian. Heck, even Marlon."
"Yes, they did. They are individuals. Jake, you have not had much call to deal with societies. I have. A person is easy to reason with. People are not. A group is not. A population is not. Fears of one intensify the fears of another. It's called 'mob mentality' and I shall have your HuTA run a program for you." I must have made a face. "Believe it or not, Jake, there are times when I myself need a HuTA lesson. The more you know, the better. It's not something I am doing to you, it is something I am doing for you."
Reginald sighed. "Cut the kid some slack, Chris. He's had a rough day with Marlon."
"And you said he did well. I don't see how it's that difficult."
"Must you always be business? Let's have a nice relaxing dinner. I promise it won't kill you."
Christophe and Reginald sat staring at each other for a moment. If I didn't know better, I would have said the were inspeaking. Ralph once told me that he spent so many years working in tight quarters with Dad that they could do an entire job without speaking once, they just knew how the other would think and act. Maybe that's the same thing between Christophe and Reginald.
"You're right, Reginald. I'm exhausted anyway. That day jump is rough."
"I still can't believe you can get from Mars to Earth in a day."
Reginald laughed. "Said the man who travels to other galaxies on a whim!"
Ralph laughed with him. "Fair enough. But I had wormholes."
Reginald sighed with a smile. "I can't wait to jump, to really jump."
"Reginald," Christophe said in a warning tone. I even noticed Ralph's eyebrow twitch at that one.
Reginald rolled his eyes. "We've had this discussion. As soon as it's safe..."
"And what is 'safe'?" Christophe leaned forward and put his glass down harder than necessary. He was angry. His face held the same calm look, but his eyes were very, very angry. "Ralph. How many years passed for you on the Condor?"
"About sixteen, give or take."
"Are you sure?"
Ralph gave a little chuckle that died. "Well, that's what we figure. Look at the kid. He's a pretty good calendar." For some reason, I began to feel uncomfortable. "Or is he?"
Reginald put his hand on Chrisophe's arm and gave a little shake of his head as soon as Christophe glanced over.
"What's do you mean by that?" I asked.
"Let's just have a nice evening tonight. Mea culpa, I should have stayed clear of shop talk."
"What does he mean by that, Ralph?" I felt an unreasonable panic set in.
"I mean," said Christophe, ignoring Reginald, "that the doctor's reports indicate...anomalies."
Anomalies. I knew the term. Mother used it on a daily basis to explain away anything her science didn't already know. Anomalies were for misshapen life forms. Anomalies were for a hidden star we hadn't charted. Anomalies were for algae that did not develop along classic evolutionary paths. Anomalies were not people.
Ralph tensed, too. He sat forward and a little closer to me on the couch. Protective. That should have made me feel better. Instead, it made me sure there was something to worry about. "We never detected any anomalies."
"And you wouldn't, would you? Ralph, I have devoted extensive hours to the study of wormholes, and I believe you two are living proof of a theory I've always held."
"Oh here we go now," Reginald said with a sigh. "Get comfy, gentlemen. Once he gears up, there's no stopping him." He drained his glass and motioned to Ralph. Ralph didn't notice, and Reginald grabbed his empty glass and went to refill them while Christophe launched into his theory.
It was boring science. It all was blah blah in my head. Get to the anomaly part, my mind screamed! I don't care about relativity. I don't care about prolonged effects of theoretical so and such on experimental hogwash. What did the find about me?!
But I couldn't cut in. I didn't want to. Ralph was deep in the conversation, asking questions, nodding to the answers, joining in. I should have listened. Ralph told me as much later when we talked it all over.
"You should have been listening. You're not a kid anymore. You've got to learn this stuff, too."
I looked to Reginald. He calmly picked something off his suit coat and sipped his drink. He wasn't worried. Whatever anomaly it was, Reginald didn't think he needed to worry about it. That was something. That made me feel a little better. I looked around the fancy office and let my mind wander. They babbled on and on through another drink, and when Reginald got up to refill his glass yet again, he grabbed mine as well and gave me more of whatever it was I was drinking.
"The point is," Christophe said loudly, drawing my attention. It was the first time I almost heard him yell. "The point is," he said more calmly. "The potential long term side effects cannot be ignored. You've gone through wormhole after wormhole. You must at least concede the possibility that nature is waiting for you."
Ralph sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He took a long swig of his drink then whistled. "Fine. I mean, since we don't know, I suppose I have to concede the possibility. If that's true, I'm pretty much screwed."
"And Christophe here is just exercising his science a little too freely these days," said Reginald in an almost warning tone, the same tone Dad used with me when I was getting close to stepping out of line. Not yelling, not exactly a reprimand, but a soft threat nonetheless. "Ralph. You have my word of honor that if I saw any indication that your medicals were anomalous, you'd be the first to know." Ralph looked as skeptical as I felt. "Honestly," Reginald repeated. "What would I have to gain by hiding it? The scientific data alone would have us all jumping like kangaroos with excitement!" He laughed.