Prodigal
***
1 ***
DrewMcDermott
November3,2016
1This is a draft, obviously. Please send comments to
§c 2016DrewMcDermott
Contents
iii
Chapter2
Ambassadors
HowmanyP-dayshere? Two? Three?
“Sangh?”
He jumped, startled. In his small cell, jumping meant bouncing, from hatchtowallstobulge.
“Sangh?” ItwasS`heessayDezeenawvee,hefinallyrealized.
“Whereinhellareyou?” saidSangh.
“Nevermindthat. Wehavetogetyououtofthisfix.”
“Didyousendlittlerobotstoinfiltratemyearssoyoucouldperformthis voicetrick?”
“No,ofcoursenot. Ijustmadeafewlittlemodificationstoyourairlock.” “DoIneedthis? Haveyounotgottenmeintoenoughtroublealready?”
“I never dreamt that anything I did could get you arrested. If only I’d thoughttokeepuptheillusionthatIwasaMolhe,abiological.”
“Explainthatagain.”
“Mostpeopleon‹Tayha›arebiologicalhumans,descendedfromanimals in awayI’m sureyou know allabout. But some of usareartificial. We’re called‘Seques,’whichmeans‘blocks.’ Thebiologicalonesarecalled‘Molhes,’ whichmeans‘sauces.’”
“Soyouare arobot! JustthewayVhattaLimhoon...”
“No! Robotsdon’thavewhatittakestobearealperson. Nothingwrong
withthat,but....”
“Real? Person? Descendedfromanimals?” Shesaidnothing,sohewent on: “We’ve been training for this — ever since Little Angels, really. And I missedit. Ifeellikeafool.”
Heprayedoutloud: “Oh,Allahˆ,forgivemeandgrantmestrength. Banish thisdemon, andallthedemonsthatthreatenus, indreamsandinlife. In Chˆrist’sname,amen.”
Therewassilenceforafewseconds,andSanghfeltasurgeofgratitude to God. But when the voice returned, he realized he was not disappointed tohearit:
“Sorry,I’mnotgoingtobanishmyself. Ijustcan’tstandseeingVhatta
Limhoongetawaywithhisinsaneplan. Don’tworry,I’llbediscreet.” “Oh,good,let’saddmutinytothelistofchargesagainstme.”
“Wemighthaveto. He’sconvincedeveryonethathehassecret‘sealedor- ders’tobeginconductingmissionaryoperationsonourplanet—missionary, ha! —whenhehasnothingofthekind.”
Sanghwasbrieflyconfusedbythisclaim,thenangry. “Ifyou’regoingto makethatkindofaccusationagainstanofficerofthePrezghodNavy,you’re goingtohavetohaveawfullygoodevidence.”
“WhatifIdid?”
“How could you? Were you there when the orders were issued or un- sealed?”
“How about this?” said S`heessay. There was a brief silence, and then
SanghheardVhattaLimhoon’svoice,soundingalmostlive. Itskippedfora secondandthencameonstrong.
“I’vesaiditbefore,I’llsayitagain: We’rejustaratinareactor.” “Ayesir,whentheratdies,thereactorfries.”
ThissecondvoicewasLhithˆyDhluzio’sgravellybass.
“Whendidyourecordthis?” Sanghdemanded.
“Sssh. Itwas2000minutesbeforeyouheardaboutthesecretordersfrom yourAdmiralOhMahan.”
Limhoon’srecordedvoicecontinued: “It’llbeamiracleifweevensurvive thisfilibuster. There’snowaywe’regoingtogetanygloryoutofit.”
“Glorywouldbenice,sir. Ifwe’redeadanyway.”
“Look, the only thing Fleet cares about is our life expectancy. If we’re still free when they show up, they’ll assume the Erthˆlings are defenseless andmakeplansaccordingly. Inthatlastscenario,ifwe’reluckywegetabig ThankYoucertificatetoputonthewall,” saidLimhoon.
There was a pause in the recording, if that’s what it was. Sangh mur- mured,“OhAllahˆ,fortheloveof BeJesus!”
“Sssh!” saidS`heessay.
“Ifthisnavyhadanyballs,theywouldhavegivenusafreehand,” con- tinued Limhoon’s voice. “Suppose we find a planet whose civilization has rotted like an apple. Savages living among the ruins. Why should we wait to seize the initiative? That’ll just give them time to prepare. If Norkell hadn’tshottheEmperorofMinhbo, theDhempirianConquestmighthave takendecadeslonger.”
“Sir,it’swithinyourdiscretionasCaptain....”
“Yes,Iknow,Iknow. Butcrewmoralewouldsuffer. Halfofthemthink I’mcrazyalready. YouknowwhatrumorshavebeenspreadaboutMattho. When I give the order to advance against some civilization with unknown
powers,howdoIknowtheirbowelswillhold?” “Thesemarinesareprettytough,sir.”
“Yes,ofcourse,ofcourse. We’vedonethebestwecoulddointhistincan. Butdamn,ifFleethadanyconfidenceinme,orhadanyoneelsewhocould prythemselvesawayfromgroupthinkwithoutwettingtheirpants,....”
Silence.
“Lhithˆy,myoldfriend,Ihaveanidea,butI’mnotgoingtodoitunless you think it’s a good one. Suppose we just made up some orders, orders toseizetheinitiativeif,er,Erthˆ hassurrenderedtoSathanworsomeother suchbullshit?”
Silence. Then: “Ohshit,sir,yousureit’sworththerisk?”
“Wedon’thavetoleaveapapertrail. Whathavewegottolose? Ifwe’re attacked before we reach Erthˆ orbit, in this tin can? We’re dead. If not, maybewecan...”
HowtheconversationproceededSanghwouldnotfindout,becausethe recording was interrupted by the sound of the hatch opening. Limhoon’s recordedvoicewasdrownedoutbytherealLimhoon’svoice,comingthrough theopenhatchway. “Fharha,Goddamnit,stopthat!”
Therecordingfadedaway. “Captain,sir,Ihadnothingtodowithit.”
“Butyoudidhearit?”
“Aye,sir.”
“Whoelse? Marine!”
Downinthepassagewaytheguardcametoattention,butSanghcouldn’t hearhimverywell.
“Didyoujustreceivesomethingonyourmobilcom? Itwould’vesounded likemeandCommanderDhluziotalking. No?Allright, bringtheprisoner tomyoffice.” Andheleft.
TheguardorderedSanghdownintothepassageway. Hekepthissquisher trainedonSanghasheinvitedhimtoheadforVhattaLimhoon’sofficespace. Limhoon was alone. He ordered the marine to station himself outside the hatchtotheoffice,andcloseittight.
“Okay,Lt.Fharha,Iacceptyourclaimthatyouhadnothingtodowith this. Whoever did it has been bugging my office for quite a while, and I doubtyoucoulddothat.”
“Sir,doesthatmeantherecordingisreal?”
“Iadmitnothing! Buttheperpetratorwouldhavetotakealargenumber ofsamplesofmyvoicetofakethatrecording,andIdoubtyoucoulddothat either. Permissiontospeakdenied,” hesaid, anticipating Sangh’sdesireto speak. “Ohallright,goahead.”
“Sir, your guess about who engineered this recording thing is probably
thesameasmine. It’sthatrobotwoman.”
Therewasapause. “‘Guess,’huh? Whatdoesshewant?” saidLimhoon.
At this point Dhluzio knocked and entered the office, closing the hatch behindhim.
“Sorrytointerrupt,Captain. Idon’tthinkanyoneelseheardthe,er,sim- ulationofyourvoice. Shepipedhervoiceintothisspaceandthequarantine brig,nowhereelse.”
“That’sonerayofsunshine. OnlyFharhaherehearditbesidesus,asif thereweren’tenoughevidenceagainsthim. Wehavetogetsomeoneinhere tofindthemikesandspeakers,unnlessyoujusttellus,Lieutenant. Andtell uswhattherobotwomanwants.”
“Sir,Idon’tknowwhatshe,orit,wants. AllI wantisforthisnightmare toendsoIcanresumemynormalduties. Iaminnocentofanywrongdoing,
sir,andI’msorrythatIletS`heessayDezeenawveetrickme.”
“Isuppose‘normalduties’includeslandingonErthˆasourambassador?” “Ohno,sir,Iknowthat’soutofthequestion.”
“Youarecertainlycorrectthere,Mr.Fharha,” snarledVhattaLimhoon. “Butwe’vegottosendsomebody down.”
“Why, sir?” asked Sangh, forgetting his situation for a second. “Has
CommandarKolfhaj’slandingpartyfailedtogettraction?”
“Watch yourself, Mister Fharha, we can have ‘impertinence’ added to yourindictment,” saidCdr.Dhluzio.
“Thanks,CommanderDhluzio,buthe’sright;ithas,” saidLimhoon. “Sir,” Sangh started to say. He paused, and when no one objected he
continued, as if thinking out loud, “You’d like to get back on track diplo-
matically,asifthelandingneverhappened,or... itwasn’tthemainidea. Like,youneedanambassadortomakecontactwiththenationalcommand structureof‹Tayha›. Beasfriendlyaspossible,andtrytopenetratethegov- ernment. You’regoingtogathermoreintelthatwaythansittingwherever FirebaseLimhoonis.”
“We have made contact,” said Cdr. Dhluzio. “The President of Erthˆ
actuallycametomeetourlandingparty. CommanderKolfhajexplainedto himthatweweretemporarilyinfringingontheirsovereignty.”
“Commander Kolfhaj is a brave man — he was with me at Mattho,” said Limhoon. “If the President had ordered the Erthˆling army to disarm our people, I think Kolfhaj would have fought back with great valor and imagination. Buthewasn’tsurehowtoproceedwhenthePresidentjust... shrugged.”
“Andtheretheophasstalled,” saidDhluzio.
“Forthetimebeing,Commander,” saidLimhoon.
“Sir, with all due respect, Commander Kolfhaj is not a diplomat. Of course,nobodyontheshipis.”
“Somebody isgoingtobe,” saidVhattaLimhoon. Hekickedslowlyand rhythmicallyagainstthewallbehindhim,pulsinghimagainsthis“desk,” an animalcagedtootighttopacebackandforth. “CommanderDhluzioandI willappointsomeone. Fornow,you areconfinedtoquarters. Ifthatrobot woman-thingshowsupagain,oryougetanymorethreatsfromher,Iwant
tohearaboutit.” HespokeasifS`heessay’simplicitthreatweretotheentire
expedition and not just to him. But perhaps this was a distinction he did notmake.
“Open the door and let the marine in,” he said. The guard glided in, using the webbing expertly to control his speed and keep the drop on the prisoner. “Corporal,returntheprisonertohisquarters.”
Theguardhesitated. Noonehadany“quarters” onCrossexceptVhatta Limhoonhimself. Limhoonsaid,“YouknowwhatImean,soldier,he’scon- fined to the male officers’ berths, to be kept under guard. Lieutenant, one morething: Nocommunicationwithanyone,fromoursideortheotherside, untilyouhearfromme.”
“Ayeaye,sir,” saidSanghandthemarinesimultaneously.
Escapingfromthejury-rigged“quarantinebrig” wasarelief;atleasthe
waswarmer. Butsomeonewasalwaysgoingonoroffshift,glancingathim hanging idle in his webbing, an armed guard still stationed nearby. Those glances felt like laser burns. He averted his eyes, but he could still feel his shipmates’ stares. What if I were really guilty of something? How much
worsecouldIfeel? Butmaybehewasguilty,ofconspiringwithS`heessayto
blackmailhisvhatta.
S`heessay had fallen silent after proving she had the goods on Vhatta Limhoon. Sanghhadtostiflehiswishtothankher,likeagoodlittlePaphal- Youthscout,forhelpinghim. ThankademonfromHell! Shehadherown nefariousmotivesforhelpinghim. Heprayedhewasridofher.
OmyGod,IamheartilysorryforhavingoffendedyouandI detestallmysins,becauseIdreadthelossofheavenandthedis- pleasureofyourservant,HerHolinessthePoph. Ifirmlyresolve withthehelpofyourgracetodopenanceandtoamendmylife. Amen.
Hetriedtoreadorwatchsomescreentomakethetimepassquicker,but itfeltlikeadefiantgesture,oragesturelikelytobeinterpretedasdefiant. Hewantedtoseemaspenitentashefelt.
Hehadoneortwofriendswhostuckbyhim,Tralf ofcourse,andMuuke
v’n Durhaa, the electronics engineer, whom he didn’t even know that well.
Buthesaw Tralf evenlessthanbefore. Heknewhowhardithadbeenfor Tralf to sneak minutes for him here and there. Tralf seemed to have less timeforsleepthanever. Hegotbacklaterandfellasleepimmediately. He saidhello,Sanghwishedhimpleasantdreams,andthatwasit.
OnlyatmealtimescouldhetalktoTralf,iftheywereassignedtoeatat the same time. Everyone else shunned him. In a high-school cafeteria his smallcoteriewouldhavehadatabletothemselves,buttherewasnoroom for that in the mess of a light destroyer, which was precisely calibrated to holdjustthenumberofcrewwhohadtoeatattimeT. Hekepthiseyeson his“harmonica,”therationsinparallelsqueezepacketsthatwerethequickest waytoeatinmicrogravity. Ifbyaccidenthemadeeyecontactwithoneof thepeopletalkingaroundhim,hecouldfeeltheirdiscomfortalongwithhis guilt. Only the marine guard responsible for him that shift seemed to be enjoying the rare chance to be a soldier off-planet, even a soldier blocking thecrewfromgettingtotheirfood.
When Muuke and Tralf were there, a meal was bearable. The three of themcouldsqueezetheirmealsoutandbitchaboutthefoodlikeoldtimes.
“But never mind the brosya,” said Muuke at one such luncheon, “let me tell you my theory about the ground filaments.” Sangh tried not to
be distracted by her natural-blond hair, which was almost nonexistent on
Prezghod.
“Ithoughttheyweresomekindofatmosphericphenomenon,” saidTralf. “No, they’re exactly what they appear to be, arches anchored to the
ground,” saidSangh.
“Right,arches100klickshigh.”
“But they’re anchored only at airports, or what sure look like airports.
There’sareason: they’reusedtolaunchspacecraft.”
“Ithinkthey’reKefauverloops,” saidMuuke. “There’snolibraryonthis rowboat,butDhluziohassomemicrofilmedissuesofPhysicsLetters,andit’s in a 30-year-old paper by Armand Kefauver. No one paid much attention, but he explained how you could in principle make these loops that held themselves up by .... The bell’s about to ring, so suffice it to say it could bedone.”
“Thatwasclose,” saidTralf,andshehithim.
“Sohowcomewedon’thaveKefauverloopsonPrezghod?” askedSangh. “Variouscomplications.” Shethoughtforasecond. “Expensivetobuild.
Veryhardtoaim,whatwiththewindswhippingthemaround. Inahurricane
theymightfalldown;verymessy.”
“Well,apparentlythe‹Tayhan›ssolvedthoseproblems,” saidSangh. “Really?”
“I’mforbiddentotalkaboutthedetails....” Hewasabruptlyawareof thehostileeyesturnedonhim. Hefellsilent.
Themessbellrang. Allconversationceased. Noonelingered,rounding offathoughtorprolongingaflirtation. Theoccupantsofthemessattime T hadtomakeroomfortheT+1crowd;exceptthatSangh’sguardmessed up the flow, as usual. He tried to act like someone with no connection to anymarine.
***
TwoP-dayslaterSanghwasagainsummonedtoVhattaLimhoon’squar- ters. During that time S`heessay had been silent, for which he was grateful toGod. Ontheotherhand,S`heessayhadsuppliedhimwithalltheammu- nitionhehadagainstVhattaLimhoon. Hesuppressedthethoughtthatshe mightbeGod’smeansofsavinganinnocentman.
AshewasescortedintoLimhoon’slair,hewassurprisedandrelievedto seeTralf there. Limhoonseemeddeflatedcomparedtohisusualbiliousself. Allhesaidwas,“Asacourtesy,Fharha,I’veinvitedyouheretotalkabout theambassadorialappointment.”
There was only one thing he could mean by that, Sangh realized with
dismay.
“I’m not going to leave you in suspense.I’m appointing Lieutenant Ghiller.”
“Aye,sir,” saidSangh.
“But,sir,” saidTralf,“Thisisabitofashock.”
“Mr.Ghiller,that’snotthewayyourespondtoanorder.”
“Iapologize,sir. It’sjustthat... whataremyqualifications?”
“What are any diplomat’s qualifications? Any sort of spinelessness will do.”
“Sir,beggingyourpardon,butLieutenantFharhaknowsthewilesofthe
‹Tayhan›smuchbetterthanme. I’lljustmakethesamemistakes—right?
—alloveragain.”
Lt.Cdr.Dhluziosaid,“That’sthereasonbothofyouarehere. You’reto coordinatecloselywithLieutenantFharhabymobilcom.”
“You mean, sir, that while I’m talking to the President of ‹Tayha› I’ve
gotmymobilcompressedtomyear? Withrespect,sir,that’snotgoingto work. The only person remotely qualified for this assignment is Sangh. If nothingelse,he’ssmarterthanIam.”
Sangh did not know what to say, and protocol required that he wait untilsomeoneaskedhimhisopinion. Protocolhadnotstoppedhimlately,
however.
“Mr.Ghiller,thisismydecisiontomake,andI’vemadeit,” saidVhatta Limhoon,beginningtosoundlikehisnormalself.
Sanghopenedhismouthandheardhimselfsay,“VhattaLimhoon,sir,I havetoagreewithLieutentantGhiller. I shouldbetheambassador,andhe cancomewithme. Sir.”
Limhoon’sfacebegantopurpleoverwithrage,thengotitundercontrol. LtCdr. Dhluziospoke. “You’reoutofline,Lieutenants. We’vegiventhis
...”
“No,” said Limhoon. “If Lieutenant Fharha wants to take the lead for once, we shouldn’t pass up the opportunity. I think we can dispense with LieutenantGhiller’stalentsforafewdays.”
Dhluziowassurprised, butrecovered. “Thisdoesn’tmeanyou’reoutof trouble,Mr.Fharha. VhattaLimhooncanthrowyourassbackintothebrig wheneverhewants.”
Maybeso, butaplanetisamuchbiggerplacethantheinsideofalight
destroyer. Sanghsuddenlyachedtoexploreatleastalittlepieceof‹Tayha›. HeforcedhimselftostaycalmandkeepDhluziofromtalkingLimhoonout of letting him do this. Perhaps if he raised a problem first they would by reflexfindreasonstomakelightofit.
“Sir, the ‹Tayhan›s know all about my legal troubles .... At least, I
wouldassumethat. Ms.Dezeenawvee... that’sherjob,” hesaid. “Perhaps thatwillmakethemreluctanttoacceptmycredentials.”
“Nonsense,” saidLimhoon,“That... demonwomancouldhaveleftyour sorry ass in jail. I doubt she or any other Erthˆling will refuse to go along withthischarade.”
Hekickedthewallsomemorewhileeveryonewaitedforhimtoproceed.
“Allright,I’msendingyoubothdowntothesurface. Twoambassadors. Thepointofthisexerciseistogatherintel. Thetwoofyoucangathertwice asmuch. Andyou’dbetter. Whenthemainfleetarrives,ifourinformation is so p`hooked-up that we fail to achieve our objectives, your heads will be in the noose. Especially yours, Fharha. But if you dig up one piece of actionableintelligence—thecoordinatesofakeydefensiveinstallation,for instance—I’llbethefirsttopinamedalonyou.”
Dhluziosaid,“Thechancesofthesekhoboksfindingtheirownassesare higher.” Heessayedachuckle.
“We’reworkingagainsttheclockhere. TheFleet’slikeababy: it’sgoing toarriveatacertaintime,andwecan’tpostponeitverylong. Sowe’vegot tomovefasterthanwe’vebeenmoving. Thenextwindowforapodlaunch opens at 0450 hrs, now plus 200. Lhithˆy, redo the appointment papers for
twoambassadors.”
“Aye,sir.” Dhluziopulledouthismobilcomandpuncheddigits.
“Sir, do the charges against me, I mean, do they just get suspended, or
...?” saidSangh.
“We weren’t sure how to phrase them,” said Limhoon, “So technically therearen’tany. Butdon’tworry,we’vefiledthenecessaryFindingsofMili- taryNecessitywithFleetInquisition. TheNQpreferstokeepchargesvague anyway. Ifwefeelyou’resubvertingthemission,wewon’thesitatetoarrest youagain. You’renottoletthesemachinestalkcirclesaroundyou. You’re on a straightforward reconnaissance mission, and I expect straightforward intel on enemy capabilities and intentions. I want a report every night on thesecuremobilcomchannel.”
“But, sir,” Tralf said, “The only way I can see to make this work is to actually act like diplomats, you know, like ribbon-cutting ceremonies or something. Canwegainanyusefulinteldoingthat?”
“Halfofeverydiplomaticofficeisspies.”
“Cool, sir,” said Tralf, “But aren’t the spies low-level attachés or some- thing,withsomeexcusetogomaraudingaroundontheirown?”
“Youcanbetheattaché;letMr.Fharhacuttheribbons.”
“It would take a while for the Erthˆlings to let that person get moving,” saidDhluzio.
“Sir,” said Sangh slowly, thinking as he spoke, “We could explain our oddityupfront: We’rescholar-diplomats. There’shistoricalprecedents,like whenMorflininvadedDhitropa. Hebroughtalargecontingentofhistorians, antiquarians,biologists...”
“I’vealwayswantedtodeepenmyunderstandingofDhitropa, themost godforsakenbackwateronPrezghod.” Limhoonwasalmostshouting,buthis self-controlheld.
Sangh said, “Sir, what I mean is, we say we’re here to ... study and learnfromthecivilizationofourancestors,blah-blah,aswellastoestablish diplomaticties,andaskifwecantalktotheirscholars,anddootherscholarly activities,...”
“And those scholarly activities will involve collecting actionable intel,” saidDhluzio.
“Aye, sir. I’ll have to do some actual anthro and Tralf’ll have do some reallinguistics,like,everyday.”
“Sir,” saidTralf,“Itwillstilltakeacoupleofmonthstodigupanything useful.”
“Setyoursightshigher,Mr. Ghiller,youhavefivedays.” “But,sir,.... Aye,aye,sir.”
“Mr. Fharha?”
“Aye,aye,sir.”
“And for God’s sake, watch out for those robots, the ... Seckies — the nameisdeliberatelymisleading—itsoundslikeajoke. Theyarewilyand in close contact with Sathanw. You won’t realize you’re being tempted, it willseemsopleasant. Fharha! Youespecially,payattention. Iknowyou’ve been hearing this since first grade, but it’s true. The Father of Lies has many children, and on this planet they are literally everywhere. Are there anyquestions?”
Thereweren’t,sotheVhattasaid,“Dismissed.”
SanghandTralf reachedforwallgripstopushofftowardtheexithatch. “Oh,andbeblessedbyAllahˆ,” hemadethesignofthecrossoverthem,
“andthinkofyourcountryonceinawhile.”
“OnlyGodcomeshigher,Vhatta,sir,” saidSangh. “Gladtohearit. Go.”
“Ayeaye,sir.”
At0400theywerecheckingtheirlandingpacksatthepod-launchairlock. Dhluzioshowedup,pullingabulkypackageofclothing,labeledDiplomatic Supplement 121A.He unzipped it and pulled out a frilly shirt and a coat. “Putthisstuffon,” hesaid.
“Sir, who authorized the space for this?” asked Tralf. “I could have
packedalotmoreRivalPeanuttapeswithatenthofthatspace.” “Controlyourmouth,Mr.Ghiller.”
Sanghchangedhisshirt,butalmostbalkedatthecoat,anold-fashioned thing looking like a vest with tails. But orders were orders, and he didn’t lookbadalldressedup.
“Youlooklikeabarrel-grinder’smonkey,” saidTralf,“Right? Iseeit!” “You’rejustjealous.”
Dhluzio said, “Get your vacuum suits on and get into the airlock. This launchwindowisclosing.”
They were landing at the airport of city one, the largest in the world, locatedincontinentE4. SanghhadbeentoldbyS`heessaythatthenameof
thiscitywaspronounced“Saonwpowlu,” butitwaseasiertokeepcallingit “cityone.”
Anescapepodcouldholduptosixpeople,sotherewasplentyofroom forSanghandTralf andtheirgear. Itwasessentiallyalife-supportsystem attached to a heat shield, good for one re-entry. The thrusters had to be preprogrammedpreciselysothat,oncethepodwaskickedoutofloworbit, it would hit the atmosphere at just the right angle to make it decelerate withoutskippingbackuporincineratingfromatmosphericfriction.
Apodpilot’sviewwastotherear. Soastheygentlypushedawayfrom
Cross,Sanghgotaviewofthewholeship. LikealltheshipsoftheContact Fleet, it was not pretty. More than half its length consisted of the fusion drive, separated from the bridge, crew quarters, kitchens, weapons-control stations, engineering rooms, plumbing, supply holds, and gun mounts by a wide barrier consisting of shock absorbers and radiation shielding. Cross wasalightdestroyer,thesmallestnuclear-driveshipinthefleet,about125m longand50mwide. Youcouldn’tmakeasmallershipbecausethesmallest drive for interstellar mission was 50m long, and it needed a big payload to absorb the sharp impulses it generated. However, a light destroyer had to benimble,quicktoturn,whichmeantaslittleoftheshipaspossiblecould be far from its center of mass. As a consequence, a light destroyer was as cramped as a submarine in the shallow seas of Prezghod. You had to be a claustrophile or frotteur to ask to be assigned to one. When navigating down the passageways, you rubbed up against whatever and whoever you encountered. Oneperson’sworkspacewasanother’scorridor.
They quickly dropped out of sight of their unlovely ship, toward the atmosphereof Erthˆ,whichwasverysimilar,theengineerssupposedlysaid, toPrezghod’s. TheheatshieldwasdesignedfortheatmosphereofPrezghod, so it would probably work just fine. Of course, the words “probably” and “similar” donotbringcheertosomeoneabouttotrusthislifetothem.
Tralf’svoicesoundedinhisear,“TellmeagainwhyIletyoutalkmeinto this.”
“I thought Vhatta Limhoon talked you into it. Besides, do you really wanttomissanopportunitytoseethisplanetcloseup?”
“No,butI’dalsolikeanopportunityto,like,seeitfromafaragain.” “Relax,youcanhitcharidehomewithKolfhaj.”
Apodwasaversatilelittlevehicleinmanyways,butonethingitcouldn’t do was float. ‹Tayha› had much less dry land than Prezghod, just one-
fourthofitssurfacearea. Whenthepodwasreleased,Crosswasfarwestof
continentE4,overthehugeoceantheyhadnumbered“ocean1,” butwhich Sangh now thought of as the Paseefeecu, since S`heessay had told him its name. Only after a long, almost ballistic fall toward the water would they hit serious air and begin to get some lift, just enough to get them over to Saonwpowlu.
TheywouldbepointingthewrongwaytoseetheErthˆ’sstarrise. Inthe oldestfolktalesonPrezghod,thisstarwascalled“Sunn”;itwasnowcalled
‹Sol›,S`heessayhadsaid. Butithadlongbeenconjecturedthatif Erthˆ was
realitwouldhaveasatellitevisibletothenakedeyeatnight. TheBookof Genesis1:16madeitclear:AndAllahˆmadethetwogreatlights,thegreater lighttoruletheday,andthelesserlighttorulethenight. Prezghodhada
few large rocks in orbit around it, some visible to the eye, but nothing as breathtakingasMuun,astheoldtaleshadit,orLua,asitwascallednow. Sangh twisted the forward camera around, but Lua could not be brought intoview.
In spite of their forced idleness, Sangh did not feel like chit-chat. The rumblingoftheretrorockets,thedeadsilenceafterward,thenthevibration androarofatmosphericentry,werealltoofraughtforhimtofeellikesaying anything. Eachphaserequiredagooddealoffaith,andSanghfeltasifhe shouldspendthetimeprayingforagooddeathifitwasAllahˆ’swill.
Histhoughtswereinterruptedbyavoiceovertheradio. ItwasSaonwpow- luairporttrafficcontrol. Itinformedthem—inGlish—thatthepodwas clearedtoland.Ifitcan,thoughtSangh.
***
“Greetings,Ambassadors,” saidKolfhajimpassively,“welcometoErthˆ.” “In Lieutenant Fharha’s case, ambassador and traitor,” said Bewinda
Wharbut. “A whole spectrum of talents! And what are your true colors, LieutenantGhiller?”
“Whoa,like,keepmeoutofthis!”
“Allowmetohandlethis,Ms.Wharbut,” orderedKolfhaj.
“Aye,sir,” saidBewindawithoutchangingherexpressionorthetargetof herscowl.
Sangh and Tralf had landed without incident, but were somewhat in shockfromhavingtodealwithgravityandwithrobots,whichbothseemed tobeeverywhere. Theycamedownafewklicksfromtheactualairport— the part with people — and every piece of equipment, from the fire trucks standing by to the vehicle that picked them up, was unmanned. Tralf in particularhadaproblem.
“Really,Sangh? Youexpectmetogetintoarobotvehicle? Doesn’tthe BiblesaythetraintoHellisdrivenbyaninvisibledemon?”
“That was a ferryboat to Hell, and it’s not in the Bible, it’s some old story.”
“Asifthatmakesitanylessnucky. Right?” “We’rejustgoingtohavetorelyonAllahˆ.” “Really? Already? Wejustgothere.”
ButTralf gotintothevehicle,seeingashowthealternativewastowalk quiteadistance.
“IwishIhadnotfudgedtheworkouts.”
“Everybody fudged the workouts. Try telling Dhluzio you can’t help cleanreactorsludge,you’vegottosqueezesomespring.”
“Iknow,right?”
They talked as they drove from Rocket Landing Area B of city one’s airporttoanactualpassengerterminal. ThefirsttogreetthemwasLtCdr. Kolfhajandaklaadofmarines,positionedtointerceptthembeforetheygot tothereviewingstandsetupbytheTayhans. SanghandTralf’svehicledid notunderstandwhotheywere,soitstopped.
“Excuseme,ladiesandgentlemen,” itsaid,“Weneedtogetthrough.”
TheonlyladyinviewwasDr.BewindaWharbut,ahistorian,whohad beenstrandedinFirebaseLimhoonwithLtCdr.Kolfhaj,andnowforsome reason stood with him at the head of Kolfhaj’s klaad. She was a slender woman with skin the grayish color of old soyba bark and a round, flat, normallyexpressionlessface.
“Stowit,axle-wipe,” Bewindasaidtothevehicle.
The door opened and the vehicle said, “Perhaps I should just drop you here? Isthatallright?”
Sangh said it was, and he and Tralf climbed out, somewhat unsteadily. Theyhadlefttheirvacuumsuitsbackatthepod. Theylookedprettyscruffy, butatleastSanghwaswearinghisfrillyshirtandtailcoat.
ThenKolfhajwelcomedthemtoErthˆ,butLt.Wharbut’saccusingSangh
oftreasonmadeabiggerimpression. BeforeSanghcouldreacttoit,aman