The change in Fairchild's face did not escape the notice of Wexler, who exchanged a nod and a knowing glance with NASA Administrator Tom Ryan. Both men locked their eyes on the senator's.
Oh, my God, Fairchild thought, they know. They know everything.
In the back of the hall, Reverend Stone made a discreet exit, with Gary Stetson anxiously following him. "Where are you going?" Stetson called in a hoarse whisper. "We can still stop them."
Stone turned and put his arm around Stetson's shoulder in a fatherly way. "Son, there's been a little change of plan."
"Oh?" Stetson glowered, trying to cling to his position.
"Yes, I have had a revelation. Starting tomorrow, my focus will shift to ensuring the health and safe return of America's heroes, who are doing God's work by staking the claim of this great nation to our neighbor planet."
"What?" Stetson was floored by this betrayal. "What about the enthalpic impact? You can't just change our line like that."
"Son, my only line has always been the bottom line, and I think it's time for you to move on."
"But what about money for my legal defense for the damage to JSC?" Stetson whined as the implications began to sink in. He was out on a limb. Without the support and popular base of this powerful, charismatic ally, he would be lost.
A well-practiced smile crossed the evangelist's face. "Try some management seminars," he advised helpfully. "Think like a tree."
CHAPTER 26
OPHIR PLANUM
NOV. 14, 2012 17:12 MLT
THE MEETING IN the Beagle had dragged on for several hours, toward evening. The discussion had not gone well for Gwen, who stood with her back to the door, tearful but defiant.
Townsend, his arm in a sling, continued to press the issue. "You know the medical necessity, Major. You know the consequences. And you still won't agree to an abortion?"
Gwen backed up tighter against the door. "Never! How many times do I need to say it? Never, never, never, never, NEVER!"
Rebecca tried to reason with the flight mechanic. "But you don't understand, Gwen. Your baby won't have the bone and muscle structure it needs to live on Earth. It'll be a helpless cripple its entire life. It probably won't even be able to survive on Earth, since its whole body will be adapted for the one-third gravity environment of Mars."
"Then it won't go to Earth," Gwen said hotly. "It'll grow up here on Mars. I'll stay here and bring it up myself."
Townsend was shocked by his subordinate's irrationality. "What are you saying? Major, you're sentencing yourself to lifelong exile."
Luke said, "I'm the father, you know—don't I have a say in this? You can't expect me to go along with a crazy idea like that."
Gwen sneered at him. "I don't expect you to." Then she looked around the room and continued in a somewhat more civil tone, "I don't expect anyone to. I'm the one who sinned, and I'm willing to pay the price. But abortion, never. That's murder, and eternal damnation. You'll have to kill me first."
Rebecca turned to Townsend. "Colonel, you're going to have to deal with this."
Townsend shook his head. "I can't order an involuntary abortion."
"You've got to!" Rebecca slapped her hand on the table. "You know there's no way NASA will agree to our leaving a member of the crew behind. We fought our way out of this mess. We found the water, we got the computer card. That news just saved the Administration in the election, so now the President owes us big time. But if we disgrace ourselves by abandoning a member of the crew, it... it will destroy the entire space program, forever."
Still the colonel remained indecisive. "Yes, I know that. But there is no legal basis for—"
"Yes there is!" The tone of authority in Rebecca's voice was absolute. "I've looked up the mission regulations. Volume 43, section 12, paragraphs 881 through 912. They're very clear. In case of an inadvertent pregnancy, the fetus is to be aborted."
"NASA foresaw such a contingency?" Townsend asked.
"Yes, and their reasoning is crystal-clear too. It's obvious that no member of the crew can perform her duties to the best of her ability if she's pregnant, and the presence of a baby would disrupt the entire mission, impair the performance of every crew member, thus enhancing the probability of mission failure."
Townsend began to relax. He wasn't sure whether it was right, but at least the regs gave a solid basis for a decision. "I guess when you step back from the problem like that, the decision becomes pretty clear."
Rebecca pushed her point. "Yes, it does. I suppose that's why it's best that regulations are written away from the heat of battle, so that cool heads can prevail. Colonel, you know what you have to do. The mission is at stake."
Rebecca could see the man was still reluctant, but almost convinced. She had to give him the strength to act. She fastened on Townsend with her beautiful, morally certain eyes. When he sheepishly nodded, Rebecca rewarded him with a hint of a smile. Good. We'll save this mission yet, she thought.
Suddenly there was an interruption. "Rebecca, turn it off!" McGee snapped at her.
She was stunned. "What?"
"I said, ‘turn it off,' the eyes, the charm, the sweet reasoning—all of it."
Rebecca hadn't expected opposition from this quarter. "Kevin, please!" she begged. Surely McGee must know what is at stake.
Townsend was irritated. "I don't know what you're getting at, Professor. Dr. Sherman and I were debating the logical options available in the situation, and while I didn't agree with her at first, it now seems pretty clear that..."
"Colonel," McGee smiled sardonically, "with all due respect, you are no more capable of debating with Rebecca than a mouse is with a cat."
Townsend blanched. "Professor, that remark is an intolerable insult."
"Call it what you like, it's the truth." McGee looked the commander in the eye. "Colonel, she's much smarter than you are, she understands completely how you think, and she has an enormous emotional edge over you."
Townsend was puzzled. "What do you mean, emotional edge?"
"I mean that you are a lonely man, in command of a difficult situation that's way above your head, and you desperately need the approval of her wise eyes and lovely smile. She knows that, and can use it to yank you around any way she wants. Haven't you noticed how she always gets her way about anything that really matters to her? Remember how easily she convinced you to break the rules and give her the rover for that Maja Vallis sortie?"
Now it was Rebecca's turn to be offended. "But I was right!"
"True," McGee acknowledged, "you were right—incredibly, totally right when nearly everybody else was wrong. In fact, you're almost always right, and this mission would have failed to achieve its primary science objective if you hadn't used your magic to get your way. But you can't use it now, because this time you're not right."
This is unbelievable, Rebecca thought. "Kevin!" she pleaded, "surely you can't agree with this primitive religious nonsense."
"No, of course I don't agree with Gwen for those reasons," McGee said, "but I think I understand her. You don't. With that brilliant mind of yours, you can see right through me, or Townsend, or Luke—but to you, Gwen Llewellyn is a complete blank. In fact, you think she's insane. Gwen's not insane, she just thinks differently than you do."