* * *
WHEN IT WAS over, they filled a table with sandwiches and strawberries and snacks. Jake looked for a chance to express condolences to Leon’s parents. They seemed surprised when he gave them his name, but they thanked him for coming and apologized for what he’d been through. “He was devastated,” his mother said, “by the damage he’d done.”
Jake wandered over to the table, not actually planning to eat so much as doing something other than leaving the building, which was what he wanted to do. He picked up a pretzel, gnawed on it, and began to edge his way toward the door. Then the young lady who’d been overseeing the register was at his side. “Captain Loomis?” she said.
“Yes. What can I do for you?”
She smiled. “My name’s Olivia Patterson. You probably don’t remember me. I’m Leon’s sister.”
He did vaguely remember a sister. “Of course,” he said. “I knew I’d seen you before.”
She had dark brown hair, blue eyes, and good features made doubly attractive by their vulnerability. “I was happy when you came in, that you were able to find time for us. I wish Leon could have known that, if something like this happened, you would still come.”
Jake looked into her eyes. She seemed nervous. “What do you mean, Olivia? I’m an old friend. Why—?”
“He thought, because of all this, that you—” She stopped, managed to look even more uncomfortable, and continued: “He thought you would hold it against him. The other captain’s death. He didn’t think you’d forgive him. Didn’t think anybody from the Wheel would ever forgive him. Wouldn’t hate him for what happened.”
“It wouldn’t really have been up to me to forgive him, Olivia.”
“I probably used the wrong word, Captain Loomis.”
“Jake will work fine.”
“Jake. I guess I should have said that he didn’t believe you could overlook it. That you could recognize he’d screwed up but let it go.”
“I’m sorry he felt that way.”
“I’m glad you came. He would have been relieved to know you would be here. He knew his reputation was ruined with the pilots, but he said you were the one who was always actually there. And he wanted you to tell him it was okay. If that makes any sense.”
“Sure it does. And I’m here. He was a good man. I know that. We all do.”
“I’m so glad to hear you say it, Jake. I tried to talk him into going to see you. To tell you how he felt. But he thought it would be useless. I wish with all my heart that he’d done it, that he’d talked with you. If he’d done that, he might be alive today.”
* * *
ON THE NET
You read all these idiot science-fiction novels about invading aliens, and it turns out we’re the ones showing up and killing everything. I can’t believe we’re doing this.
—Mickey R.
I’m not particularly religious, but I don’t think God would approve of what’s happening out there. And I know there are a lot of people who would say there is no God. But even if that were true, the decent thing to do is to live as if there were one. I can’t see how we’d go wrong if we did that.
—Louie-in-back
Maybe Carlson had it right. Maybe using a bomb was the only way to get their attention.
—JennOnTheLine
So, Jenn, what you’re saying is that it’s okay to blow up a bunch of schoolkids who have nothing whatever to do with what you’re unhappy about.
—OregonAnnie
I’m not saying that, and you can’t be that dumb as not to know it. What I was trying to say was that it’s a pity we’re so blind and deaf that we don’t pay any attention to what’s going on until a bomb goes off.
—JennOnTheLine
If you’re really worried about this stuff, stop talking about it and go to pdy776 and sign the petition. It’s the only way to get the attention of the pols.
—Joaquin12
So they get a few million names on a petition. It doesn’t do any good. The only thing the pols are scared of is that one of the corporations that keeps them in the Congress will pull its support. It’s all about money. Bombs may be the only alternative. I’m not saying we should go that route, but I think we either do something that focuses attention on this issue or forget it.
—HannahMoonlight
Mickey’s right: We’re the aliens.
—Mostafa22
Petitions work, damn it. It just means we have to get enough people behind them. If you idiots would stop complaining and sign the damned things maybe we’d get some action.
—YokaiTao
This is the silliest argument I’ve seen in a long time. Why do we care what happens 25 light-years away? Let’s concentrate on some of our more immediate problems. Like maybe the population problem? Or global warming? Or religious extremism?
—Big George
Chapter 19
ON THE EIGHTH day, the Venture surfaced, and thirty hours later Priscilla was approaching Selika. It was a gorgeous green-and-blue world, floating serenely in bright sunlight, accompanied by its three moons. Priscilla looked down at broad oceans, a continent stretching nearly from pole to pole, and a host of island chains. Ice caps were considerably larger than they were on Earth. The average temperatures, she knew, were three degrees lower than those at home. That, of course, would not be a problem for settlers.
Several groups were already vying to colonize the world when it became available. An organization calling itself the Nativists wanted to come out and live in the wild. To get back to nature and escape the dreary routines of modern, civilized life. Two religious congregations wanted also to free themselves from the temptations of the modern world. And there was a band of people who claimed the title Freedom Fighters who thought the NAU had been taken over by socialists, and a group of Chinese who wanted out of a country that they said had become a dictatorship.
All five claimed to have enough money to cover their transportation and get their colony launched. Priscilla suspected some of that might have been contributions from people who wanted to see them leave.
“Priscilla,” said Lily, “we have contact with Amity.”
* * *
“GOOD TO SEE you,” said a female voice from the space station. “Welcome to the cultural center of the universe.”
“We’re glad to be here, Amity.”
“You should be in time for the party tonight. Just ride the wave in.” She was referring to the directional signal Lily had already locked onto.
“Is there really a party?” Priscilla asked.
“It’s in your honor. We always party when somebody new shows up. Or when we have any other kind of excuse.”
“I’m for that,” Priscilla said. When she got closer, she turned control over to Amity Operations, and they brought the Venture in alongside the lone vehicle docked at the station. That was the Kandari, a ship with several external tanks. An access tube reached out from Amity and connected with Priscilla’s air lock. She opened up, and a pair of technicians—a tall, broad-shouldered man and a young Asian woman—waved hello and asked permission to come aboard.
“Absolutely,” Priscilla said. “Come on in.”
Both were probably in their midtwenties. “Captain,” said the male, “this is Tonya. And I’m Rick. We’re here to relieve you of your cargo.”