“The answer is zero. Nobody. So we probably don’t have a problem unless we invite one.”
“You’re simply going to ignore the fact there’s another civilization in the region? This whole thing is just going to disappear!”
“Kim, I’m surprised at your change of heart. A few days ago you would have been happy to send the fleet after them.”
“You know why I changed my mind.”
“The Kane statement.”
“It tells me we can deal with these creatures, Canon.”
“Oh, I’m sure we can. After an initial period of instability. Risk. Uncertainty. Who knows what sort of effect interaction with a strange culture might bring? We live quite well; there are no problems. The status quo is rather nice, don’t you think? Everybody lives a good life. It seems to me we’ve nothing to gain and perhaps everything to lose by pursuing this.”
“I don’t think that’s exactly the spirit that brought us out from Earth.”
“Kim, be realistic. Have you given any thought to what contact might mean? Even assuming these creatures are not malevolent, although I’d have to say that remains open to question, think about the potential for mischief. It’s quite likely your celestials are far ahead of us technologically. What happens when cultures of unequal capabilities encounter each other? What happened to the South Sea Islanders? The Aztecs? Or, if you prefer, reverse the coin. If we have superiority, they will be damaged. And that principle seems to be operative regardless of the intentions of the superior society.”
“We can take precautions against that.”
“Can we? I doubt it.”
“Canon, this is a chance to get a whole new perspective from an intelligent species. The potential for new knowledge is unlimited. But even that’s not the point. They’re like us in some very significant ways. We know that now—”
“We don’t really know anything, Kim. Look, I’m not saying you’re not right. I’m saying, we don’t know. Why take the risk?”
“We’ve an obligation,” she said, “at the very least, to say hello. We’re the part of the universe that thinks. How can we fail to act simply because we want to eliminate risk? You’re talking about the status quo. Is that really what we’re about?”
“That’s all a trifle abstract for me.” Woodbridge sighed. “This would be so much easier if you were a bit more practical, Kim. Nevertheless, maybe history, in its very long view, will demonstrate that you’re right and I’m wrong. Or maybe not. For the moment at least, life is quite pleasant in the Nine Worlds, and this thing in Orion is a very large unknown. We are therefore going to try to keep it at a safe distance.”
“You understand,” she said, “this breaks our agreement. I no longer feel bound to remain silent.”
He shrugged. “This,” the microship, “changes the equation. I’m sure the government will be making an announcement within the next few days.”
The train slowed to navigate a long curving defile.
“You’re going to make it public?” she asked. “Why?”
“Oh, there’s no way to keep this sort of thing quiet. Once we begin bringing people in to look at it, the story will get out quickly. We’re not nearly as good at keeping secrets as people like to think.”
“So missions will be going out to Alnitak after all—”
“They’ll be going to Zeta Tauri. That’s where the celestial incident will have occurred. It’ll be leaked, and we’ll deny it, of course. So everyone will believe it. And the missions should be quite safe there.”
“Unless I tell them differently.”
“This is what I referred to when I suggested we would want your cooperation. If you persist in going your own way, Kim, we’ll simply write you out of the scenario altogether. We have an alternate narrative set up. It does not include you, so there is no reason anyone would believe you.” He pressed his palms together. “I don’t want you to think I’m threatening you. I’m simply trying to spell out the realities. Please understand that I take no pleasure in any of this, but it’s essential that we avoid future contact with these things. You, of all people, should be able to see the wisdom of that position.”
He rapped on the door. Two women came in, carrying a container. They bundled the Valiant into it and asked Woodbridge whether he needed anything. He did not, and they left, taking the microship with them.
“If you can see your way to cooperate, Kim, I’ll try to arrange to have you present when we dissect it.”
Her time was up. He rose and opened the door for her. “You’re a talented woman,” he said. “If you’re interested, I think the conciliar staff would have a place for you.”
Kim went back to her seat, collapsed into it, and stared desultorily out at the passing countryside. Gradually the forest changed to marsh. They slowed to negotiate a curve back toward the west and Kim saw the skyhook.
The train leaped ahead again, passed beneath a series of ridges, and raced out across a lake. The shock wave struck the water like a ship’s prow. At the water’s edge, a crocodile watched them pass.
They slowed again, settled to earth, and emerged through a patch of cypress into a wide stretch of parkland. A few kids turned away from a ball game to wave. People on benches looked up and then went back to reading or talking.
The train joined the main east-west line at Morgantown Bay and ran the short gauntlet of cliffs, sea, and islands into Terminal City. It passed slowly through the downtown area, glided into the terminal building, and settled to a stop. The doors opened.
Kim walked dejectedly out onto the platform. There was no sign of Woodbridge or his people. She picked up her bags, held out the one with the wet suit and the metal sensor, and tagged the rest for Sky Harbor. To be held till called for.
No one seemed to be watching her. She checked the timetables, noted that she had fifty-five minutes before the next departure for Eagle Point.
The train she’d just left was filling up. A bell sounded, doors closed, and it rose on its magnetics and pulled slowly out of the station. It would be heading back east.
She went to the terminal roof, hailed a cab, and told it to take her to the Beachfront Hotel. It rose into clear air, swung onto a southeastern tangent, and moved swiftly across the city.
At the Beachfront, she took an elevator down to the lobby. A cluster of shops ringed the area. She wandered into one, bought a comb, went out to the registration desk and reserved a room. Then she got back on the elevator, rode up past her floor, and went instead to the roof. Two cabs were just landing. She took one and instructed it to proceed to the train terminal.
There was still no indication of surveillance. Good. They had what they wanted, she hoped, and would not further concern themselves with her. She arrived at her destination, strolled over to an ADP, inserted her ID, and got a ticket to Eagle Point. Then she found a bench and watched a holocast talk show.
Ten minutes later her train arrived. She boarded, sat down, and lazily started browsing through the library. The doors closed and they left the station on schedule. The train cruised above the parks and residences on Terminal City’s north side. It crossed the VanderMeer Bridge to the mainland, and began to accelerate. The trees thinned out and they moved over rolling fields.
The quiet motion rocked her to sleep. She dreamed of the shroud but somehow knew it was a dream and forced herself awake. The car was full of sunlight and skis and the laughter of children. Everybody seemed to be on vacation.
A drink table approached, and Kim helped herself to a frozen pineapple.
It was late afternoon when they glided into Eagle Point. She got off, walked over to the tourist information booth, and consulted the commercial registry. Finding what she wanted, she went up onto the skywalk and minutes later entered The Home Shop. She bought some white ribbon, and had it cut into six strips, each about twenty centimeters long.