Keene didn't want to wake up the entire Kronian mission at this hour by calling the general number. So, reversing his earlier decision of keeping to a more formal level of dealings, he called the direct personal code that Sariena had given him. She answered sleepily in voice-only mode, obviously having already retired. Her first reaction was surprise. She clearly hadn't been expecting to hear from Keene againat least, not for a while.
"I'll be honest," Keene told her. He was in his office in the darkened Protonix building. Vicki sat listening in a chair pulled up to one end of the desk, which was littered with scrawled diagrams and calculations. "I left because I didn't know what to believe. I had doubts; I admit it. It's embarrassing to look back at, but it's the way it was. What else can I say?"
"Well . . . I'm glad that you seem to be having second thoughts about us," Sariena said. "And I don't want to sound ungrateful that you called, or disinterested. But couldn't it have waited until morning?"
"That could," Keene agreed. "But there's more that couldn't. I'm with Vicki in the office in Corpus Christi."
"In the office! At this time? . . ."
"I think she might have hit on something that clinches your case. It's something she and I have talked about before, but there was never any reason to connect it with Saturn. The whole age of gigantism with the dinosaurs and everythingI don't know if you've ever gone into the scaling implications, but nothing of those sizes could function in the conditions that exist on Earth today. The gravity is too strong. But suppose those conditions didn't always exist. Suppose Earth were a phase-locked satellite, close-in to a giant primary. The primary's attraction would reduce the value on the facing side. Combine that with what you've told us about Rhea. . . . It all fits."
There was a long silence. Finally, Sariena said, "Let me put something on and get to a real phone. Stay on the line. I'll be about a minute."
"Seems like it got her attention," Vicki murmured.
Keene looked across at her. "Boy, isn't Robin going to be pleased."
They waited. Then the screen of the desk unit brightened, and Sariena appeared against a hotel-room background, wearing a dark wraparound robe. She had evidently been doing some hurried thinking. "It appears to make so much sense," she said, then mustered an awkward smile. "It's I who ought to be apologizing, Lan. You can think like Kronians."
"Thank Vicki," Keene grunted. "Or, maybe we should all thank Robin."
"Who's Robin?"
"Vicki's son. He's fourteen. He's the one who's been telling us that dinosaurs couldn't have existed."
"Are you there, Vicki? Robin sounds like quite a person. Life must be interesting at your house."
"Tell me about it," Vicki called from where she was sitting. "I'm sorry things in Washington went the way they did."
"Well, no doubt we shall survive it. What it tells us is that Kronian and Terran science can't work together. And maybe that was something that needed to be seen and understood plainly. So perhaps, if for no other reason than that, the mission served its purpose. In the long run, it might be for the better in any case. These things that we're still only touching on will lead to a whole rewriting of just about everything we thought we knew. We're probably better off being free to pursue it in our own way."
"You sound as if you could buy this idea of Vicki's, then," Keene said.
"I could in principle," Sariena replied. "It would be nice to see something quantitative that at least fits the picture."
"I did some rough calculations here before we called," Keene said. "To be frank, they don't look too promising. Even with the most extreme assumptions that I can justify, the answers I get aren't anywhere near big enough. . . . But I could be missing something. You're the planetary scientist. I'll leave it with you."
"Well, all we can do is pass all of this new material back to the scientists in Kronia," Sariena said. "They know more about the dynamics of the Saturnian system than anyone. I don't know where it will go from here. We might have to wait years before anything can be answered with confidence."
Even after dealing with Kronians for a year, Keene was astonished at the ease with which Sariena was able to adjust her horizons to accommodate these new possibilities. Already he could sense an entire new program of research about to take shape out at Saturn after the Osiris returned. Now that his fears were allayed, all doubts had fled that he should have been going too. But the moment was gone. He had wavered at the crucial juncture, and the effect couldn't be undone. Doubtless, there would be another ship, another timebut not this time. All the same, it was nice to think that until that time, whatever transpired out there now, in a way he would still be part of it.
"Well, I guess that for a while we'll have to leave it with you people," he said. "Do I take it you'll continue staying in touch and keep us posted on developments?"
"But of course." Sariena sounded surprised that he should have thought it necessary to ask.
Keene was relieved. "Do you know when you'll be leaving yet?" he asked.
"No. There's some kind of administrative complication. The arrangements are on hold right now. I'm not sure of the details."
"Maybe if it's going to be a day or two, we could come back up and say so long to all of you properly," Keene offered.
Sariena smiled. "I appreciate the thought, but it isn't really necessary. I'll convey it to Gallian."
"I guess you've got something more to throw at him when you see him in the morning," Keene said. "How's he bearing up under all this?"
"Oh, he's not asleep. He and Vashen are away at some meeting somewhere. They've been gone for several hours."
"At this time? What kind of a meeting, for heaven's sake? Who with?"
"I really don't know. Some people came here earlier this evening and talked to him in private, and then he and Vashen left with them. I don't know what it's about. Whatever it was, Gallian was looking very serious."
Mystified, Keene looked across at Vicki as if for suggestions. "Maybe they're billing him for the rooms and just wanted to make sure nobody got away first," she suggested dryly. Sariena didn't quite seem to follow the remark.
"It doesn't look as if you'll be leaving anytime soon, then," Keene said, looking back at the screen showing Sariena. "We thought it might be tomorrow morning. That was why I didn't want to put off calling you."
"Well, I don't think you need worry about that," Sariena answered. "As I said, I really don't know what's going on. But if it's something important, I'll let you know. I'm sure Gallian would want to talk to you again before we leave, anyway."
"Yes, do. I'd like that. Well . . ." Keene made a casting away gesture. "There we are. In case we don't get another chance to say so before you go back, it was an experience meeting you and the others face-to-face finally. Working with you even for this short time has been a revelation. I'm only sorry that your mission here didn't produce a more positive result. But maybe we all realize now that perhaps that could never have been. I get the feeling there's going to be lots going on that we'll be talking about. It's just a pity that it'll be from so far away again."
"And it has been an experience for us," Sariena replied. "This is truly an amazing world. Our whole race is amazing. And it will continue to expand and grow despite these setbacks. That's what we should all remember, and work toward making happen. . . ." She hesitated for a moment. "I'm glad that we didn't part on a note of misunderstanding and bitterness, Lan. Take good care of him, Vicki."
"I just run a business with him." Vicki smiled, got up and moved around the desk so that she was in the viewing angle with Keene. "But I like the things you say, Sariena. And I'm sure you'll be proved right one day. Have a safe voyage."
"Make sure you take care of Robin, then. Perhaps we'll even see him at Saturn one dayat least for a visit. It sounds as if he has the makings of a Kronian already." There was a drawn-out moment of silence. Then Sariena raised a hand. "Good-bye, Lan . . . Vicki, for the time being, anyway. And thanks for all you've done. It won't be in vain. You'll see."
The screen blanked out.
Title: | Cradle of Saturn |
Author: | James P. Hogan |
ISBN: | 0-671-57813-8 0-671-57866-9 |
Copyright: | © 1999 by James P. Hogan |
Publisher: | Baen Books |