Do unto the other feller the way hed like to do unto you an do it fust.
EDWARD NOTES WESTCOTT, David Ilarum (1898)
COUNTDOWN: H MINUS SIX WEEKS
The Areo Plaza Mall was deep underground, with four-story shafts reaching high to street level. Around the corner from the government bookstore was a B. Daltons, and near that was a radio station with its control room in showcase windows. A few people with nothing better to do sat on benches watching the radio interviewer. His guest was a science-fiction author whod come to plug his latest book but couldnt resist talking about the alien ship.
The government bookstore had been crowded all day. Ken Dutton noticed Harry shuffling in, but was too busy to hail him.
Harry Reddington was still using a cane. Ken remembered him as a biker. He still had the massive frame, but it had turned soft years ago. Hed trimmed his beard and cut his hair short even before the two successive whiplash accidents. He might have lost some weight latelyhed claimed to when Ken saw him lastbut the belly was still his most prominent feature. He stopped just past the doorway and looked around at shelves upon shelves of books and pamphlets before he sought out Ken Dutton behind the counter. "Hi, Ken."
"Hello, Harry. Whats up?"
Harry ran his hand back through graying scarlet hair. "I was listening to the news. Not much on the intruder. Its still coming . . . and I got to thinking how most of these books will be obsolete an hour after that thing sets down."
"Some will." Dutton waved toward a shelf of military books. "Others, maybe not. History still means something. Some will go obsolete, but which books? Maybe medicine. Maybe theyve got something thatll cure any disease and theyre just dying to give it away."
"Yeah." Harry didnt smile. "I remember theres one on how to take care of a car"
"More than one."
"Cars and bikes and . . . and bicycles, for that matter. Okay, maybe theyve got matter transmitters. Talked to George today?"
"No. I guess I should have," Dutton said. Hells bells. I should have joined that survivalist outfit when I had a chance. Now. "Ill call after we close."
"Good luck," Harry said.
"You talked to them?"
"Yeah. Theyre not recruiting. But theyre running scared. Scared of the aliens a little, and of the Russians a lot." Harry looked thoughtful. "George mentioned a book on cannibal cookery. Supposed to be funny, but it was well-researched, he said"
"We dont carry it. And, Harry, Im not sure I want to think youve got a copy."
"Well, you never know Harry couldnt keep it up, and laughed. All right, but maybe what well need is survival manuals. I thought Id come in and look around."
The shelves had been seriously depleted. Harry chose a few and came to the counter. "There was a new book from the Public Health Service, on stretching exercises. Got it in yet?"
"Sure, but were out. Others had the same thought you did." "Ken, youre actually one of the Enclave group, arent you?"
Ken hesitated. "They invited me in. I havent moved yet." And maybe its too late, maybe not. Jesus.
"Are you hooked for dinner?"
"I dont know. Need to make a phone call." He went to the back room and dialed Georges number. Vicki answered.
"Hi," Ken said. "Uhthis is Ken Dutton."
"I know who you are."
"YesuhVicki, is there a meeting tonight?"
"Not tonight. Call tomorrow."
"Vicki, I know damned well theres a meeting!"
"Call tomorrow. Anything else? Bye, then. The phone went dead.
Ken Dutton went back out to the customer area and found Harry. "No. I dont have anything on tonight. Lets eat here in the plaza. Saves us worrying about rush hour."
Jeri Wilson kissed her daughter, and was surprised at how easy it was to hold her smile until Melissa went up to her room. Shes a good-looking ten-year-old, Jeri thought. Going to be pretty when she grows up.
Melissa had Jeris long bones and slender frame. Her hair was a bit darker than Jeris, and not quite so fine, but her face was well shaped, pretty rather than beautiful.
Jeri waited until she heard the toilet flush, then waited again until the light under Melissas door vanished.
Shed sleep now. Shed be exhausted.
So am I. Jeris smile faded. It had been such a wonderful day, the nicest for weeks, until she came home to find the mail.
She went to the living room. An expensive breakfront stood there, and she took out a red crystal decanter and a matching crystal glass. We bought this in Venice. We couldnt really afford the trip, and the glassware was much too expensive. God, that was a beautiful summer.
The sherry came from Fedco, but no one ever noticed the sherry. They were too enchanted with the decanter. She poured herself a glass and sat on the couch. It was impossible to stop the tears now.
Damn you, David Wilson! She took the letter from her apron pocket. It was handwritten, postmarked Cheyenne Wells, Colorado, and it wasnt signed. She thought the handwriting looked masculine, hut she couldnt be sure.
"Dear Mrs. Wilson," it said. "If youre really serious about keeping your husband, youd better get out here and do something right away, cause hes got himself a New Cookie."
Of course he has a New Cookie, Jeri thought. Hes been gone almost two years, and he filed for divorce six months ago. It was inevitable. . .
Inevitable or not, she didnt like to think about it. Pictures came to mind: David, nude, stepping out of the shower. Lying with David on the beach at Malibu, late at night long after the beach had closed, both of them buzzed with champagne. Theyd been celebrating Davids Ph.D., and they made love three times, and even if the third time had been more effort than consummation it was a wonderful night. After the first time shed turned to him and said, "I havent been taking my pills"
"I know," he said.
She liked to think Melissa was conceived that night. Certainly it happened during that wonderful week. Five months later, Jeri quit her job as general science editor for UCLAs alumni magazine. Davids education was finished, hed found a great job with Litton Industries, and they could enjoy themselves. . .
She sipped her sherry, then, convulsively, drained the glass. It was an effort to keep from throwing it on the floor. Who am I so damned mad at?
At myself. Im a damned fool. She crumpled the letter, then smoothed it out again. Then poured more sherry. No matter how often she wiped her eyes, they filled again.
Shed had three glasses when the phone rang. At first she thought shed ignore it, but it might be about Melissa. Or it might even be David; he still called sometimes. What if its him, and he says he needs me?
"Hello."
"Jen, this is Vicki."
"Oh
"Youve heard the news?" Vicki asked.
How the devil would you know about David "What news?"
"The alien spaceship." What?"
"Jeri, where have you been all day? Hibernating?"
"No, Melissa and I drove up to the Angeles Crest. We had a picnic."
"Then you havent seen the news. Jen, the astronomers have discovered an alien spaceship in the solar system. Its coming to Earth."
Aliens. Coming to Earth. She heard the words, but they didnt make any sense. "Youre not putting me on?"
"Jeri, go turn on Channel Four. Ill call back in half an hour. We have to talk."
Saturn. They were coming from Saturn, and no one knew how long theyd been there. Jeri remembered a TV monitor at JPL. Three lines twisted into a braid, and Davids grip on her arm was hard enough to hurt.
That was a lot mote than ten years ago! I was about twenty. I had David, and everything was wonderful.
The phone rang just as the news program was ending. Jen lifted the receiver. "Hello, Vicki."
"Hi. Okay, you watched the news?"
"Yes." Jeri giggled.
"What?"
"Aliens from Saturn, thats what! Vicki, Ill bet they were there when the Voyager probe went past. I remember all the bull sessions after that probe. John Deming and Gregory and and David and I, trying to think how an orbiting band of particles could be twisted like that. David even said aliens, once. But he wasnt serious."
"Yes, well, thats what we need to talk about," Vicki said. "Weve decidedthe Enclave is going north. To Bellingham. You and Melissa are invited."
"Oh. Why?"
"Well, for one thing, you and David were part of the group for a long time."
"Thats one reason," Jeri said. "What are some others?"
Vicki Taje-Evans sighed. "Because you know science-and all right, because youre pretty and unattached, and we may need to attract a single guy."
An interesting compliment. Im glad they think Im pretty, at my age . . . "I see. So I can be a playmate for Ken Dutton."
"Jeri, he wasnt invited."
"Good."
"I thought you liked Ken. In fact, I thought"
You can keep that thought to yourself, Vicki Tate-Evans.
Of course it was true. Ken Dutton had invited himself to dinner with Jeri and David after his wife left him, and when David moved to Colorado, Ken continued to come over. She wasnt interested in an affair, although it was pretty difficult sleeping alone. She missed David a lot, and in every way, and Ken wasnt unattractive, and he was very attentive. The night she learned that David had filed for divorce, Ken had been there, and held her, and listened to her, and in a blind rage she seduced him. For a few days hed shared her bed. Then she found out what he was thinking.
"He thought Id be convenient," Jeri said. "He wouldnt have to drive far. Somehow that didnt seem a good foundation for a relationship."
"Oh." Vicki laughed awkwardly. "Anyway, hes not invited.
In fact I was supposed to tell you not to invite him. Well. Thats good. Jeri, well be going up to Bellingham this week. Isadore and Clara will stay down here until a few days before the aliens come. Wed like you to come up with us, but you could wait and go up with Isadore if you want."
"I see. Thanks, Vicki. UhIll get back to you, shall I?"
"Youll have to. We need to go over your gear, find out what David left you, and what you have to take. Ill help with that."
"Thanks. Theres a lot of it here. Ill get it out. Thanks for inviting me."
"Sure. Bye."
Jeri put the phone down and thoughtfully pulled at her lower lip.
Aliens. Coming here, soon.
And they hid at Saturn. No sign of them, nothing that made sense, anyway. They stayed hidden for more than a dozen years. Is that a sign of friendship?
Dont be paranoid, she told herself. But it might be a good idea not to be in a big city when they came. Just in case.
She and David and Melissa had visited George and Vicki at the Enclave house in Bellingham. That had been nice, a good vacation
It had been their last vacation together. A month later, David was transferred to Colorado.
"Its a big raise," hed told her. He sounded excited.
"But what about my job?"
"What about it, Jeri? You dont have to work,"
"David, I dont have to, but I want to." When Melissa started school, Jeri needed something to do, and became an editorial assistant with the West Coast branch of a big publishing house. Shed been good at the job. Her experience with the alumni paper had helped. Within a year shed become an associate editor, and then thered been a lucky break: shed discovered a woman who needed a lot of help, hand-holding and reassurances, and lots of editing, but whose first book became an instant best-seller.
After that, Jeri became a senior editor. "Im important at Harris Wickes."
"Youre important to me. And to Melissa."
"David"
"Jeri. Its a big promotion."
I was a damn fool. So was he. Why didnt he tell me theyd fire him if he didnt transfer? That a lot of eager young petroleum geologists were graduating from the schools, and the big firms would rather hire a recent graduate than a man so long out of school . . .
He didnt tell me because he was ashamed. They didnt really want him anymore, but he couldnt tell me that. And he wouldnt beg me.
Damn it, I begged him! But its not really the same, and David, David, why cant I just call you and say Im coming to you . . .
Why cant I?
It was a beautiful spring day in Washington. The city was surprisingly calm, despite the headlines. It took a lot to shake up Washington people.
Roger Brooks walked from NASA headquarters back toward the White House. Thered been nothing for him at the NASA press conference. It was great for Congressman Wes Dawson that he was going to go up to the Soviet Kosmograd space station to watch the aliens arrive. It might even make a story, but Mavis would take care of the news part, and there was plenty of time to collect background.
For a minute hed thought he had something. Jeanette Crichton discovers the satellite and Wes Dawson goes to the President.. Not too many would know about the connection between Linda Crichton Gillespie and Carlotta Dawson. He was still thinking about that when the NASA press people explained it all in loving detail. Captain Crichton calls her brother-in-law, who calls Congressman Dawson, who goes to see the President. All out in the open for everyone to see. Nothing hidden at all. Damn.
It was a good twenty-minute walk to the Mayflower. Even so, Roger got there before his lunch appointment. The grill at the Mayflower was convenient, even if the food wasnt distinguished. Roger would have preferred one of the French cuisine places off K Street, but today he was meeting John Fox. Fox wasnt someone you ate an expensive lunch with, no matter who was paying. Brooks ordered a glass of white wine and leaned back to relax until Fox showed up.
You cant get anywhere in Washington, D.C., without a coat and tie. Sure enough, Fox was in disguise, in a gray business suit and a tie that didnt glare. It wouldnt have fooled anybody. His shirt cuffs gave him away: they were much larger than his wrists. Lean as a ferret, with bony shoulders and fat-free muscle showing even in the hands and face, John Fox looked like hed just walked out of a desert.
Roger worked his way out of the booth to shake his hand. "How are you, John? Have you heard the news?"
"Yeah." They slid into the booth. "Im surprised youre here."
For a fact, this wasnt the day a militant defender of deserts could get the publics attention! Roger had toyed with the idea of chasing after news of the "alien spacecraft." But those who knew anything would be telling anyone who would listen, and hed be fighting for scraps.
For a while Roger had wondered. Aliens, coming from Saturn. It didnt make sense, and Roger was sure it was some kind of trick, probably CIA. When he tried to check that out, though, he ran into a barrage of genuine bewilderment. If there were any secrets hidden inside the Presidents announcement, it was going to take a lot more than a few hours to find them. And John Fox had given Roger stories in the past.
So he said, "The day I skip an appointment with a known news source, you call the police, because Ive been kidnapped. Now tell me what youre doing in Washington. I know you dont like cities."
Fox nodded. "Have you heard what theyre doing to China Lake?" When Brooks looked blank, he amplified. "The High-Beam."
For a moment nothing clicked. Then: of course, he meant the microwave receiving station. An orbiting solar power plant had to have a receiver. "Its just a test facility. Its only going to cover about an acre."
"Oh. Sure. And the orbiting power plant only covers about a square mile of sky, and wont send down more than a thousand megawatts even if everything works. Roger, dont you understand about test cases? If it works, theyll do it bigger. Theyll cover the whole damn sky with silver rectangles. I like the sky! I like desert, too. This thing has to be stopped now."
"I wonder if the Soviets wont stop us before you do."
"They havent yet." Fox looked thoughtful. "All the science types say this thing isnt a weapon. I wonder if the Russians believe that?
Roger shrugged.
"Anyway, I thought Id better be here. Flew in on the red-eye last night. But nobodys keeping appointments. Nobody but you." He glanced up to see the waitress hovering. "Bacon burger. Tomato slices, no fries. Hot tea."
"Chefs salad. Heineken." Brooks made notes, but mostly out of habit. Of course no one was keeping appointments! Aliens were coming to Earth. "They tell me itll be Clean power," Roger said. "Help eliminate acid rain."
Fox shook his head. "Never works. They get more power, they use more power. Look. They tell you an electric razor doesnt use much power, right? And it doesnt. But what about the power it took to make the damn thing? You use it a few years, maybe not that long, and Out it goes.
"The more electric power we get, the more theyre tempted to keep up the throw away society. No real conservation. Nothing lasts. Doesnt have to last. Roger, no matter how clean they make it, it pollutes some. Theyll never learn to do without until they have to do without."
"Okay." Brooks jotted more notes. "So theyll clutter up the deserts and block the stars and give us bad habits. What else is wrong with them?"
Roger Brooks listened halfheartedly as Fox marshaled his arguments. There werent any new ones. They werent what Roger had come for, anyway. Fox could argue, but the real stories would come from learning what tactics Fox intended to use. He had loyal troops, loyal enough to chain themselves to the gates of nuclear power plants or clog the streets of Washington. Fox had led the fight against the Sun Desert nuclear power plant, and won, and his tips had put Roger in the right place at the right time for good stories.
Not today, though. No one was listening to Fox today. Not even his friends.
Not even me, Roger thought. This wasnt going to make any kind of news. Brooks was tempted to put away his notebook. Instead he said, "This could be just a puff of smoke tomorrow, or later today, for that matter. Have you thought about what an interstellar spacecraft might use for power? By the time the aliens stop talking, these orbiting solar plants could look like the first fire stick, even to us."
Fox shook his head. "Hell we may not even understand what these ETIs are using. Or maybe its worse than what weve got. Anyway, nothing changes that fast. Whatever that light in the sky does for us, the High-Beam is going ahead unless I stop it. And I intend to. I had an appointment with Senator Bryant. He canceled, for today, so Ill just wait him out."
Brooks jotted, "John Fox is the only man in the nations capital who doesnt care beans about an approaching interstellar spacecraft."
"Hell, I wish I had something more for you," Fox said. "Thought I did."
"Its all right."
"No, its not," Fox said. "Youre like me, Brooks. A nut. Monomaniac." He held up his hand when Roger started to protest. "Its true. I love my deserts, and you love snooping. Well, heft, Id help you get a Pulitzer if I could. Youve always played fair with me." He chuckled. "But not today. Nobodys paying attention to a damn thing but that ETI comin. Do you really believe in that thing?"
"I think so. You know that army officer who was in Hawaii when they saw it coming? I know her. I just dont think shes part of anything funny. No, its real all right."
"Could be."
"There are a lot of scientists in the Sierra Club," Roger said. "Any of them have an opinion?"
"On High-Beam? Damn right"
"I meant on the ETIs, John."
Fox grinned. "I havent heard. I will, though, and Ill be sure to let you know."
Jenny surveyed her office with satisfaction. The furniture was battered. Fortunately, there wasnt much of it, because if thered been more, the office couldnt have held it all. She had a desk with nothing on it but a telephone. There were also a small typing table, three chairs, and a thick-walled filing cabinet with a heavy security lock. They said theyd get her a bookcase, but that hadnt come yet. Neither had the computer terminal.
The room was tiny and windowless, in a basementbut it was the White House basement, and that made up for everything.
The phone rang.
"Major Crichton," she said.
"Jack Clybourne."
"Oh. Hi." Hed come in for coffee after he drove her home. Theyd sat outside under Flintridges arbor, and when they noticed the time, two hours had passed. That hadnt happened to her in years.
"Hi, yourself. Ive only got a moment. Interested in dinner?"
Aunt Rhonda would expect her to eat at Flintridge. "What did you have in mind?"
"Afghan place. Stuffed grape leaves and broiled lamb."
"It sounds great. But"
"Let me call you after you get home. No big deal, if you cant make it, Ill go to McDonalds."
"Youre threatening suicide if I dont have dinner with you?"
"I have to run. Ill call you"
"I havent given you the number," she said. "How will you call?"
"We have our ways. Bye."
She put the phone carefully on its cradle. Holy catfish, Im actually light-headed. Stupid. I just need lunch. But I was thinking about him just before he called.
The private phone on Wes Dawsons desk was hidden inside a leather box. It rang softly.
"Yes?" Carlotta said.
"Me."
"Hows Houston?"
"Hot and wet and windy. Im in the Hilton Edgewater, room 2133."
She made a note of the room number. "I miss you already," he said, "Sure. You probably have a Texas girl already." "Two, actually."
"Just be careful. Ive seen the Speaker. Well arrange for you to be paired whenever we can, so itll go in the Congressional Quarterly."
It was standard practice: a congressman who couldnt be present for a vote found another who intended to vote the opposite way, and formed a pair. Neither attended, and both were recorded as "paired" so that the outcome of the vote wasnt affected, but neither congressman was blamed for missing a roll-call vote.
"Good. Can you ask Andy to look after my committee work?"
"Already did. What kind of administrative assistant do you think I am, anyway?"
"Fair to middling."
"Humph. Keep that up and Ill ask for a raise I suppose Houstons full of talk about the aliens?"
"Lord, yes," Wes said. "And the TV shows-did you watch the Tonight Show? Nothing but alien jokes, some pretty clever I think the countrys taking it all right."
"So do I, but Ive got Wilbur checking things out in the district," Carlotta said. "So far nothing, though. Not even phone calls, except Mrs. McNulty."
"Yeah, I expect shes in heaven." Mrs. McNulty called her congressman every week, usually to insist on protection against flying saucers. "Look, theyve got me on a pretty rigorous schedule. Up before the devils got his shoes on. Physical training, yet! Ugh."
"Youll be all right. Youre in good shape," Carlotta said.
"Ill be in better in a month. Youll love it"
"Good. Call me tomorrow."
"I will. Thanks, Carlotta."
She smiled as she put the phone down. Thanks, hed said. Thanks for looking after things, for letting me go to space. As long as shed known Wes, hed been a space nut. Hed even signed up to be a lunar colonist, and was shocked when she told him she wasnt really interested in living on the Moon. His look had frightened her: he would have gone without her if hed had the chance.
That chance never came. The U.S. Lunar Base was a tiny affair, never more than six astronauts and currently down to four. The Russians had fifteen people on the Moonand they made it clear that a larger U.S. effort wouldnt be welcome.
What would they do to the Americans sent more people to the Moon? President Coffey hadnt wanted to find out. Maybe it wouldnt matter now.
Carlotta went back to the papers on Wes Dawsons desk. Aliens might or might not be coming, but if Wes Dawson wanted to remain in Congress, there was a lot of work to finish here in Washington.