He made a noise somewhere between a chuckle and a grunt. “Where do we go? Onward and outward. Enlarge Haven. Bring more of your downtrodden brethren here. Build additional habitats. Start a new nation—free, clean and safe for all.”
Raven shook her head. “There are some terrible people among Earth’s poor. Horrible people.”
“I know,” Waxman said, sighing. “I’ve been warning Umber about them. But he sees only the good in them.”
“You’ve got to protect him against them.”
“I try. We use computers to scan their records. We test them before we allow them to come to Haven.”
Raven remembered how she had maneuvered through the tests. She wondered how many others had done the same. How many murderers and thieves and hopeless scoundrels was Reverend Umber allowing into Haven?
“Umber thinks God will turn all the refugees into saints,” Waxman said.
“That won’t happen, will it?”
“Hardly.”
“How can we protect him from the predators?”
Waxman’s brows rose in surprise. “We?”
“I want the reverend’s plan to succeed,” Raven said. “I want Haven to be everything Reverend Umber hopes for it.”
“So do I.”
“How do we do that?” she asked.
Leaning closer to her, Waxman said, “Well, to begin with, you might consider working with me instead of that astronomer.”
Raven pretended surprise. “Oh, I couldn’t leave Dr. Gomez! He’s like a little boy. He’d be lost without someone to look after him.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Waxman studied her face for several silent moments. Raven tried to look sincere and a bit uneasy.
At last Waxman said, “Well, if that’s the way you feel…”
Raven got to her feet. Waxman looked up at her, then stood up too.
“I… I’m sorry,” Raven stammered. “I’d love to work with you, I really would. But I couldn’t leave Dr. Gomez, really, I couldn’t.”
“I see,” said Waxman, flatly, tonelessly.
She started toward the door. “I appreciate your offer. I really do.”
Almost wistfully, Waxman said, “I really need an assistant. Someone bright and… well, capable.”
Lowering her eyes, Raven said, “Not now. Not yet.”
“I understand,” said Waxman.
He walked her to the apartment’s front door. As it slid open, Raven said, “Thanks for understanding, Evan.”
He smiled ruefully.
“You’re a real gentleman.”
“Then why do I feel like a real idiot?”
Raven stood on tiptoes, gave him a peck on the lips, then swiftly stepped out into the passageway. As she strode hurriedly away from Waxman she smiled to herself.
Leave him hungry for more, she told herself. He’ll be back.
INTO THE OCEAN
Gomez had turned his living quarters into a command center. The living room was crammed with buzzing, humming, blinking pieces of equipment. The only place Raven could find to sit down was the sofa, next to Gomez himself.
The astronomer looked as tense as a live wire stretched almost to the breaking point. The wall screen across the living room showed the submersible, floating in space outside the Haven habitat. The screen’s audio system was counting down the seconds to the sub’s launch.
Gomez’s eyes flicked from one piece of droning, chattering equipment to another. Every light showed green as the audio’s countdown continued smoothly, but the astronomer looked as anxious as a man facing a firing squad.
Raven put out her hand and rested it on Gomez’s thigh. He took no notice of it. His head swiveled back and forth, peering at the various consoles as if he were keeping them functioning by his own willpower alone.
“T minus ten seconds,” the audio voice intoned.
Gomez’s already taut posture stiffened even more. Raven thought that if ever he devoted this much concentration to lovemaking he’d be a marvelous partner.
“…four… three… two… one… ignition,” said the monitor’s emotionless voice.
For an instant nothing seemed to happen. Then the globular submersible disappeared. It flashed out of sight faster than Raven could blink.
Gomez pointed a trembling finger at one of the consoles. “It’s on its way,” he croaked, his voice hoarse with tension.
The wall screen showed a telescope’s view of the submersible dwindling against the background of Uranus’s blue-gray clouds.
Raven sat wordlessly beside Gomez as the astronomer turned his head slowly to stare at each and every one of the consoles littering his living room. She didn’t know what to say, what to do.
The telescope still showed the submersible hurtling closer to Uranus’s unbroken expanse of clouds. Off in the upper right corner of the screen swirled the dark circle of a mammoth storm, the size of Asia.
“We won’t be able to see it once it enters the clouds,” Gomez muttered. It was the longest sentence he’d spoken to Raven in more than an hour.
“We won’t see it enter the sea?” she asked.
“No. But we’ll know when that happens. All the telemetry will cut off.”
“It will go silent.”
“Yes.” With a wry smile, Gomez added, “Then I’ll know how my father felt when I left our home and went to the university.”
“But you could write to him, talk to him by telephone,” said Raven.
“I could have.”
Raven reached for his hand. “It will be all right, Tómas. Everything’s going to be fine.”
He nodded, but answered bleakly, “There’s only a few thousand things that could go wrong.”
“It will all go right.”
“I wish.”
“You’ll see.” Raven pushed herself up from the couch and headed toward Gomez’s kitchen. “I’m starved,” she called over her shoulder. “Aren’t you hungry?”
Gomez shook his head silently.
The red phone signal began flashing at the bottom of the view screen. “Incoming call from Mr. Waxman,” said the screen’s voice.
“Take his message,” Gomez commanded.
Waxman’s handsome face filled the screen. “I’m sure you’re watching the sub’s entry into Uranus’s clouds, Tómas. But once your baby dives into the ocean and is cut off from communicating, why don’t you join us in the main lounge? Most of your crew is here, ready to celebrate. Quite a few others, as well. We’d all like to see you and congratulate you on a successful launch.”
The screen went blank, except for a REPLY? prompt.
Before Gomez could say anything, Raven called from the kitchen, “We’d be happy to join you. Thanks.”
Gomez stared at her with real hostility burning in his eyes. “I’m not going to any party!”
“Yes, you are,” said Raven firmly. Then she repeated to the screen, “We’d be happy to join you, Evan. Thank you.” She hesitated a moment, then commanded, “Transmit message.”
MESSAGE TRANSMITTED, appeared on the screen.
Rising to his feet, Gomez complained, “I’m not in the mood for a party.”
“You could use some relaxation,” said Raven. “Once the submersible is in the ocean you won’t be able to communicate with it. Why not unwind a little bit? We won’t have to stay very long. Just let people admire you, Tómas. Be a little bit human.”
Gomez shook his head and mumbled something too low for Raven to make out. But once the submersible splashed into the ocean and its link with him was cut off he trudged reluctantly alongside Raven to the main lounge.
Raven could hear the thumping music while they were still twenty meters from the lounge’s door. They’re having a party, she realized. Letting off steam. Celebrating a successful launch.