He pressed his thumb down on the sheet, then the other thumb in its appropriate place, and letters began to appear. Genarr said, ‘I often thought that if a person lacked thumbs-’ And then he fell silent.
Still silent, he passed her the message.
‘Am I allowed to read this?’
Genarr shook his head, ‘Of course not, but who cares? Read it.’
She did so, almost at a glance, then looked up. ‘An alien ship? About to land here?’
Genarr nodded. ‘At least that's what it says.’
Insigna said wildly, ‘But what about Marlene? She's out there.’
‘Erythro will protect her.’
‘How do you know? This may be a ship of aliens. Real aliens. Nonhumans. The thing on Erythro may have no power over them.’
‘We're aliens to Erythro, yet it can easily control us.’
‘I must go out there.’
‘What good-’
‘I must be with her, Come with me. Help me. We'll bring her back into the Dome.’
‘If these are all-powerful and malevolent invaders, we won't be safe inside-’
‘Oh, Siever, is this a time for logic? Please. I must be with my daughter!’
87They had taken photographs and now they were studying them. Tessa Wendel shook her head. ‘Unbelievable. The whole world is absolutely desolate. Except this.’
‘Intelligence everywhere,’ said Merry Blankowitz, her brow furrowed. ‘No question about it now when we've been so close. Desolate or not, intelligence is there.’
‘But most intensely at that dome? Right?’
‘Most intensely, Captain. Most easily noticeable. And most familiar. Outside the dome, there are slight differences, and I'm not sure what it signifies.’
Wu said, ‘We've never tested any high intelligence other than human, so, of course-’
Wendel turned to him. ‘Is it your opinion the intelligence outside the dome isn't human?’
‘Since we agree that human beings couldn't have burrowed everywhere underground in thirteen years, what other conclusion is it possible to come to?’
‘And the dome? Is that human?’ Wu said, ‘That's a different thing entirely, and doesn't depend on Blankowitz's plexons. There are astronomical instruments to be seen. The dome - or part of it - is an astronomical observatory.’
‘Couldn't alien intelligences be astronomers as well?’ asked Jarlow, a bit sardonically.
‘Of course,’ said Wu, ‘but with instruments of their own. When I see what looks to me like an infrared computerized scanner of exactly the type I would see on Earth- Well, let's put it this way. Forget the nature of the intelligence. I see instruments that were either manufactured in the Solar System, or built from designs prepared in the Solar System. There is no question about that. I cannot conceive that alien intelligences, without contact with human beings, could have built such instruments.’
‘Very well,’ said Wendel. ‘I agree with you, Wu. Whatever there is on this world, there are, or were, human beings under that dome.’
Crile Fisher said sharply, ‘Don't just say “human beings”, Captain. There are Rotorians. There can be no other human beings on this world, excluding ourselves.’
Wu said, ‘And that's unanswerable, too.’
Blankowitz said, ‘It's such a small dome. Rotor must have had tens of thousands of people on it.’
‘Sixty thousand,’ murmured Fisher. ‘They can't all fit into that dome.’
‘For one thing,’ said Fisher, ‘there may be other domes. We could sweep around the world a thousand times and yet miss objects of all sorts.’
‘There's only this one place where there seemed to be a change in the plexon type. If there were other domes like that, I would have spotted a few more of them, I'm sure,’ Blankowitz said.
‘Or,’ said Fisher, ‘another possibility is that what we see is a tiny bit of an entire structure which, for all we know, may spread out for miles below the surface.’
Wu said, ‘The Rotorians came in a Settlement. The Settlement may still exist. There may be many. This dome may be a mere outpost.’
‘We haven't seen a Settlement,’ said Jarlow.
‘We haven't looked,’ said Wu. ‘We've concentrated entirely on this world.’
‘I haven't spotted intelligence anywhere but on this world,’ said Blankowitz.
‘You haven't looked, either,’ said Wu. ‘We'd really have to scan the heavens to spot a Settlement or two, but once you detected plexons from this world, you looked nowhere else.’
‘I will if you think it's necessary.’
Wendel held up her hand. ‘If there are Settlements, why haven't they spotted us? We've made no attempt to shield our energy emissions. After all, we were pretty confident that this star system was empty.’
Wu said, ‘They may have had the same overconfidence, Captain. They haven't been looking for us, either, and so we've slipped past them. Or, if they have detected us, they may be uncertain as to who - or what - we are, and they're hesitating as to what action to take, just as we are. What I say, though, is that we do know one spot on the surface of this large satellite where there must be human beings, and I think we must go down and make contact with them.’
‘Do you think it would be safe to do so?’ asked Blankowitz.
‘My guess,’ said Wu firmly, ‘is that it would be. They can't shoot us out of hand. After all, they'd want to know more about us before they do so. Besides, if all we dare do is stay here in uncertainty, then we will accomplish absolutely nothing and we ought to go back home and tell them what we have discovered. Earth will send out a whole fleet of superluminal vessels, but they won't be thankful to us if we come back with only minimal information. We'll go down in history as the expedition that flinched.’ He smiled blandly. ‘You see, Captain, I've learned a few lessons from Fisher.’
Wendel said, ‘Then you think we should now go down and make contact.’
‘Absolutely,’ said Wu.
‘And you, Blankowitz?’
‘I'm curious. Not about the dome, but about the possible alien life. I'd want to find out about them, too.’
‘Jarlow?’
‘I wish we had adequate weapons, or hypercommunication. If we're wiped out, Earth will have found out nothing - absolutely nothing - as the result of our trip. Then it might be that someone else will come here as unprepared as we and just as unsure. Still, if we survive the contact, we'll be going back with important knowledge. I suppose we should chance it.’
Fisher said quietly, ‘Are you going to ask me for my opinion, Captain?’
‘I assume that you wish to land to see the Rotorians.’
‘Exactly, so may I suggest- Let's land as quietly as we can, and as unobtrusively, and I'll leave the ship to reconnoiter. If anything goes wrong, then take off and return to Earth, leaving me behind. I am dispensable, but the ship must return.’
Wendel said at once, her face seeming to tighten, ‘Why you?’
Fisher said, ‘Because I know the Rotorians, at least, and because I - wish to go.’
‘I, too,’ said Wu. ‘I must be with you.’
‘Why risk two?’ asked Fisher.
‘Because two are safer than one. Because, in case of trouble, one might escape while the other holds off the threat. And most of all, because, as you say, you know the Rotorians. Your judgement may be warped.’
Wendel said, ‘We will land, then. Fisher and Wu will leave the ship. If, at any time, Fisher and Wu disagree on procedure, Wu will be the decision-maker.’
‘Why?’ demanded Fisher indignantly.
‘Wu has said you know the Rotorians and your decisions may be warped,’ said Wendel, looking at Fisher firmly, ‘and I agree with him.’
Marlene was happy. She felt as if she were wrapped in gentle arms, protected, shielded. She could see the reddish light of Nemesis and feel the wind against her cheeks. She could watch the clouds obscure part or all of Nemesis' large globe, now and then, so that the light would dim and turn grayish.
But she could see as easily in the gray as in the red, and she could see in shades and tints that made fascinating patterns. And though the wind grew cooler when Nemesis' light was hidden, it never chilled her. It was as though Erythro were somehow enhancing her sight, somehow warming the air around her body when necessary, somehow caring for her in every way.