Aurora and Norman felt conspicuous in their flight; almost all of the trains were nearly empty, most of the nation staying home glued to the cube. There were plenty on the Miami-to-Key West "Havana Special," though; people hoping to lose themselves in that island's peculiar attractions.
Of all possible points of exit from the United States, Key West was probably the best one for people who didn't want to be identified. The same fine old Italian families who controlled gambling and prostitution in Havana owned the boats that made the ninety-mile trip, as well as the dock where people stepped aboard the boats, in total anonymity, safe even from overhead orbital surveillance. Some patrons bragged about their "Havana weekends"; others claimed to have had a great time at Disney World.
Aurora and Norman bypassed the fleshpots of the capital city and found a modest apartment in the nearby fishing village Cojimar. Norman rented a keyboard and MIDI recorder and continued to refine his composition. Aurora had her own research project, which took her all over the island. Fortunately, travel was dirt cheap compared to America.
By December 21, orbital telescopes were able to form an image of the approaching spacecraft. It looked like a cross with a gamma-ray star in the center, which made some people rejoice, but their joy was premature. The next day it was obvious that the image was of four tail fins surrounding the exhaust of a very hot engine. The aliens were coming in tail first, braking, the way a human spaceship would.
The gamma-ray beacon disappeared on the twenty-fourth, as the ship abruptly changed course, detouring toward Mars with a profligate waste of fuel. It swung around the red planet, as promised, and cracked Phobos in two. Hubble III gave a tiny image of the ship passing close, and a bright flare. Then the two halves of the small moon tumbled apart.
No word of warning or welcome. They just kept coming, decelerating.
On the morning of the thirty-first, when they were about a half-million miles away—twice the distance to the Moon—four large satellites were disintegrated in the course of one second. One of them was Davis's weapon. The aliens broke silence long enough to apologize, saying they couldn't tell which one it was, hoping none of them were inhabited.
Rory saw the news when she got off the Mafia boat in Key West. She was about to retrace their circuitous route. Norm had obeyed her request that he stay in Cuba for the time being.
There were things she had to know.
January 1
Pepe
He had slept through the early evening, and dropped by Lisa Marie's party long enough to have one glass of champagne and watch the ball drop over Times Square. He had kissed her good-bye and gone to the office.
He snapped on the lights and was going through his top drawer, looking for the stimulants that would keep him sharp for the next couple of days, when there was a light knock on the open door.
He looked up. "Aurora?"
She nodded and sat down in a chair by the door.
"Where have you been? We've—"
"Cabo de Cristobal. Cojimar, Holguin, Havana."
"¿ Y?"
"I want to know who you are."
He didn't blink. "I am who I am."
"Who you are, who you work for, and how you managed to wind up in charge of this enterprise, whatever it actually is. You might explain the spaceship part, too."
"Or what? What will you do?"
"What we used to say was 'I'll blow the whistle on you.' Expose you."
"But you say you don't know what I am."
"What you aren'tis Pepe Parker. There is no such animal. Birth records stolen from Cabo de Cristobal. Grade school burned to the ground. High school records destroyed in the Outage of thirty-nine—"
"Everybody's were."
"Most of them were restored. There's no actual record of your existence until you began graduate work at the University of Havana. After your doctorate, you got a blue card and came here."
Pepe realized he was sweating. He wiped his face with a handkerchief. This couldn't be happening.
"So tell me what's going on. Or I'll blow the whole thing up."
"You can't do that."
"I can indeed. And if something happens to me, Norman—"
"No, no. I wasn't threatening you. What I mean is you mustn't."
"I'm willing to be convinced. You could start by telling me who you work for."
"Humanity. I work for all humanity."
"That's no answer."
The phone buzzed and he pushed the button. A dim gray picture of a man in NASA fatigues who spoke over the low thrum of a helicopter. "Dr. Parker? We're closing on Gainesville. Be on your roof in four or five minutes?"
"Gracias. I'll be waiting."
They signed off. "So you're going to the Cape," Rory said.
"As you would have. I'm sorry I can't invite you along."
"I'm still a wanted woman?"
"They call about once a week, the FBI. They've never explained anything." He found the pills and popped one, crunching down on its bitterness. "All-nighter, I'm afraid."
"I guess I could go to the FBI. Tell them what I know, what I don't know."
"No! Please!" He snapped open his attaché case and checked its contents. "Let's make a deal."
"I'm listening."
"Just watch what happens today. Afterward, we can talk forever about it. If you want to blow your whistle then, I won't stop you." He closed the case. "Right now I have to catch that helicopter and go join the festivities." He reached in his pocket and pulled out a key ring. "Here—stay at my place. You know where it is?"
"Still over at Creekside?"
"Yes, 203. Your place might not be safe."
"Okay. You've got a deal. But tell me this ... do you know who they are? The aliens?"
"I ... I really can't say."
"But they aren't actually aliens, are they?"
He looked at her silently for a second. "As alien as me."
They both heard the whisper of the helicopter approaching, the pitch of the blades deepening as it landed. He kissed her on the cheek and ran out the door.
Aurora
As the helicopter faded, she crossed the hall to her old office. It was locked, but her old key worked. She said, "Lights."
Nothing had changed. Neater than possible, but she had straightened up for the expected interview. A layer of dust.
Would she ever work here again? She'd know in a few days.
Her shelves of old books seemed untouched. On impulse, she took the latest acquisition, the volume of century-old photographs from Lifemagazine, turned off the lights, and locked the door behind her.
It was about a mile down to Creekside. She was tired, but didn't dare use a cab; most of them weren't set up to take cash, and the ones that did took pictures of their suspicious customers. But at least the sidewalks wouldn't be deserted, not with revelers rolling from party to party.
How many people, though, were sitting at home, terrified, waiting to die? On her way downhill, she passed two churches and a mosque, and they were all doing a brisk business.
A block from Creekside, she stopped at a convenience store and bought an overpriced bottle of domestic champagne.
It came out of a barrel of ice water. The clerk dried it off for her and put it in a bag. "I hope we have something to celebrate tomorrow," he said. "I hope we're heretomorrow."