They removed their suits in the staging areas, placed them in their lockers. Denison said, “Would you join me for lunch, Selene?”
Selene said uneasily, “You seem upset. Is something wrong?”
“Reaction, I think. Lunch?”
“Yes, of course.”
They ate in Selene’s quarters. She insisted, saying, “I want to talk to you and I can’t do it properly in the cafeteria.”
And when Denison was chewing slowly at something that had a faint resemblance to peanut-flavored veal, she said, “Ben, you haven’t said a word, and you’ve been like this for a week.”
“No, I haven’t,” said Denison, frowning.
“Yes, you have.” She looked into his eyes with concern. “I’m not sure how good my intuition is outside physics, but I suppose there’s something you don’t want to tell me.”
Denison shrugged. “They’re making a fuss about all this back on Earth. Gottstein has been pulling at strings as tough as cables in advance of his trip back. Dr. Lament is being lionized, and they want me to come back once the paper is written.”
“Back to Earth?”
“Yes. It seems I’m a hero, too.”
“You should be.”
“Complete rehabilitation,” said Denison, thoughtfully, “is what they offer. It’s clear I can get a position in any suitable university or government agency on Earth.”
“Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“It’s what I imagine Lament wants, and would enjoy, and will certainly get. But I don’t want it.”
Selene said, “What do you want then?”
“I want to stay on the Moon.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s the cutting edge of humanity and I want to be part of that cutting edge. I want to work at the establishment of cosmeg pumps and that will be only here on the Moon. I want to work on para-theory with the kind of instruments you can dream up and handle, Selene. ... I want to be with you, Selene. But will you stay with me?”
“I am as interested in para-theory as you are.” Denison said, “But won’t Neville pull you off the job now?”
“Barren pull me off?” She said, tightly, “Are you trying to insult me, Ben?”
“Not at all.”
“Well, then, do I misunderstand you? Are you suggesting that I’m working with you because Barron ordered me to?”
“Didn’t he?”
“Yes, he did. But that’s not why I’m here. I choose to be here. He may think he can order me about but he can only do so when his orders coincide with my will, as in your case they did. I resent his thinking he can order me otherwise, and I resent your thinking it, too.”
“You two are sex-partners.”
“We have been, yes, but what has that to do with it? By that argument, I can order him about as easily as he me.”
“Then you can work with me, Selene?”
“Certainly,” she said, coldly. “If I choose to.”
“But do you choose to?”
“As of now, yes.”
And Denison smiled. “The chance that you might not choose to, or even might not be able to, is, I think, what has really been worrying me this past week. I dreaded the end of the project if it meant the end of you. I’m sorry, Selene, I don’t mean to plague you with a sentimental attachment of an old Earthie—”
“Well, there’s nothing old Earthie about your mind, Ben. There are other attachments than sexual. I like being with you.”
There was a pause and Denison’s smile faded, then returned, perhaps a thought more mechanically. “I’m glad for my mind.”
Denison looked away, shook his head slightly, then turned back. She watched him carefully, almost anxiously.
Denison said, “Selene, there’s more than energy involved in the cross-Universe leaks. I suspect you’ve been thinking about that.”
The silence stretched out now, painfully, and finally Selene said, “Oh, that—”
For a while the two stared at each other—Denison embarrassed, Selene almost furtive.
18
Gottstein said, “I haven’t got my Moon-legs quite yet, but this isn’t anything compared to what it cost me to get my Earth-legs. Denison, you had better not dream of returning. You’ll never make it.”
“I have no intention of returning, Commissioner,” said Denison.
“In a way, it’s too bad. You could be emperor by acclamation. As for Hallam—”
Denison said, wistfully, “I would have liked to see his face, but that’s a small ambition.”
“Lamont, of course, is receiving the lion’s share. He’s on the spot.”
“I don’t mind that. He deserves a good deal.... Do you think Neville will really join us?”
“No question. He’s on his way at this moment. ... Listen,” Gottstein’s voice dropped one conspiratorial note in pitch. “Before he comes, would you like a bar of chocolate?”
“What?”
“A bar of chocolate. With almonds. One. I have some.”
Denison’s face, from initial confusion, suddenly lit with comprehension. “Real chocolate?”
“Yes.”
“Certain—” His face hardened. “No, Commissioner.”
“No?”
“No! If I taste real chocolate then, for the few minutes it’s in my mouth, I’m going to miss Earth; I’m going to miss everything about it. I can’t afford that. I don’t want it. ... Don’t even show it to me. Don’t let me smell it or see it.”
The Commissioner looked discomfited. “You’re right.” He made an obvious attempt to change the subject. “The excitement on Earth is overwhelming. Of course, we made a considerable effort to save Hallam’s face. He’ll continue to hold some position of importance, but he’ll have little real say.”
“He’s getting more consideration than he gave others,” said Denison, resignedly.
“It’s not for his sake. You can’t smash a personal image that has been built to a level of such importance; it would reflect on science itself. The good name of science is more important than Hallam either way.”
“I disapprove of that in principle,” said Denison, warmly. “Science must take what blows it deserves.”
“A time and place for— There’s Dr. Neville.”
Gottstein composed his face. Denison shifted his chair to face the entrance.
Barron Neville entered solemnly. Somehow there was less than ever of the Lunar delicacy about his figure. He greeted the two curtly, sat down, and crossed his legs. He was clearly waiting for Gottstein to speak first.
The Commissioner said, “I am glad to see you, Dr. Neville, Dr. Denison tells me that you refused to append your name to what I am sure will be a classic paper on the cosmeg pump.”
“No need to do so,” said Neville. “What happens on Earth is of no interest to me.”
“You are aware of the cosmeg pump experiments? Of its implications?”
“All of them. I know the situation as well as you two do.”
“Then I will proceed without preliminaries. I have returned from Earth, Dr. Neville, and it is quite settled as to what will be the course of future procedure. Large cosmeg pump stations will be set up on three different places on the Lunar surface in such a way that one will always be in the night-shadow. Half the time, two will be. Those in the night-shadow will be constantly generating energy, most of which will simply radiate into space. The purpose will be not so much to use the energy for practical purposes, as to counteract the changes in field intensities introduced by the Electron Pump.”