Eventually, Linda decided the avatar was not contributing a positive note and shut it down. But the damage was done, and the party never recovered. Instead of raising drinks to the fact that everything was under control and a celebration with George actually present was now within range, people took to wandering outside and looking up at the night sky through the plastene dome that shielded the house and commenting on how far away everything looked and that they would never want to live in a place like this. They were, of course, careful who was present when they made the observation.
Nevertheless, some of it got back to Linda, who became visibly annoyed. “We don’t live here,” she said. “This is where George writes. But unless he’s working on a major project, he stays groundside. With me.” Linda was fond of saying that she “hung out” at Momma. I actually couldn’t imagine her spending any length of time in the solitude that enwrapped that place. She’s too much of a social critter for that. And I suspect that, if George comes home and continues to settle in there while he writes his novels, the marriage will not get past the first renewal date.
The invitation included overnight accommodations for anyone who wished to stay. But by 0100 hours, Andiquar time, I was played out, and I rode back to Skydeck with one of our clients.
I didn’t get in to the country house until midafternoon the following day. By then we’d gotten access to nine more books. And Alex was right: During the Golden Age, they did assign names to asteroids. At least to some of them. We found Ceres and Victoria, Flora and Prosperpina, Bellona, Irene, and Pallas. But there was no mention of a Larissa.
Later that afternoon, a bouquet of golden roses arrived. They were from Khaled and were accompanied by a note. “I’d hoped to see you in the reports somewhere,” it read, “but there were so many people involved, and so many ships. Anyhow, congratulations. Do you plan on being there when the Capella returns?”
He signed it with love.
I sent off a thank-you, and told him that being able to help had been an exhilarating experience. Then I made a mistake. Alex was on the hunt again, and I knew where that was eventually going to lead. “Can’t say for sure,” I added, “but I suspect we’ll be heading back in your direction before long.”
Lawrence Southwick showed up at the country house that same afternoon to offer his congratulations. “It’s a pity we couldn’t have gotten more out,” he said, “but at least the end’s in sight. Did you guys get close enough to see them? The ship, I mean?”
“I wasn’t there,” Alex said. “Chase went.”
“Why not?”
“I take up too much space.”
We were in my office. It was a beautiful day, unseasonably warm, and both windows were open, so we were getting a fresh breeze. Birds sang, and a gomper was tapping on a tree. “So what’s your next project, Alex?” he asked.
“Don’t know, Lawrence. We’ve been involved in a fair amount of trading recently, and I’m thinking about taking a vacation.”
“That sounds good. Any idea where?”
“Out to the islands, probably.”
“Sounds perfect. You deserve one.”
“I think it’s Chase who deserves one. But how about you? What are you up to these days?”
“Not much. Retirement does that to you.” He turned to me. “Chase, will you really be taking some time off, too?”
“No,” I said. “Somebody has to hold the fort.”
“Of course. I understand how that is.” He smiled at Alex. “I wish, during my working years, I’d had an associate like her.”
We did some more small talk, then he said good-bye. “If I can ever be of help, Alex, don’t hesitate to let me know.” We watched him lift off in his skimmer and head out over the river.
Alex sat quietly for a few moments. “Chase,” he said finally, “did you notice anything odd?”
“No,” I said, “nothing I can think of. Why?”
“The question about whether we’d given up on the Golden Age artifacts.”
“Alex, he never asked anything like that.”
“Precisely. Doesn’t that strike you as curious?”
Responses about Madeleine O’Rourke came in from Lucianna and Les. Neither was aware of anyone with that name. But both knew Heli Tokata. “Tall young woman,” said Lucianna. “Green eyes, odd accent. She’s from Cormoral. A history buff. And a pilot. Came to Earth for her education, got her Ph.D. from Hemmings University in Kobula and never went home. The interesting thing is that she hooked up with Baylee for a couple of years. She might still live in Kobula.”
“She was just someone I knew to say hello to,” said Les. “She lives in the British Isles, or did last time I’d heard. Place called Sudenton. She was a member of Garnett’s crowd. I think she went out on a few expeditions with him.”
Alex was at lunch when another of our clients, Jorge Brenner, called. “I have a novel, Flex, by Cal Eliot. He was a twenty-first-century science-fiction writer, and it’s about a couple of guys who chase a shape-changing monster through the solar system. It attacks research stations, colonies, and orbital bases. I don’t know why it survived. The book, I mean. It’s not very good, but it’s kind of a ride through the planetary system. Earth’s planetary system. I don’t know if it could be any help to you. But these guys go everywhere. It has pretty good descriptions of the gas giants and Mercury and Mars, and at one point they land on the Venusian surface. It’s a bound book. But I can ship it over if you like.”
I couldn’t imagine it would provide what we were looking for. But what was the harm? “Sure, Jorge,” I said. “Send it when you can. We’ll take a look and get it right back to you.”
Meantime, more books arrived, and we discovered still more asteroids. Spock, Hrazany, Nanking, and Arabia. The latter two were obviously named for places. And Transylvania for, I guess, the famous physician. Nobody’s sure whether there actually was a place with that name. The significance of the first two names is unknown.
Other asteroids were named Anderson, McCool, Saga, Shoemaker, Arago, Einstein, and more than a hundred others. But there was still no sign of Larissa. Until Flex arrived.
The book had been published eleven years ago by Babcock, which specializes in reproducing books from other eras. It was a translation, of course. The cover showed two astronauts in clunky Third-Millennium gear confronting a bulbous monster while in the background an asteroid seemed to be bearing down on a vulnerable Earth. A note on the credits page claimed that the publishing house routinely did everything it could to re-create the original packaging. And that Flex was no exception. The present cover was the same as the one that had originally been used.
I turned it over to Jacob, who produced an electronic version, and a search for Larissa gave us a positive result. In one sequence, Mark Andrews and his partner Delia Tabor are barely able to intercept an asteroid that has been flung in the direction of the home world by the invading monster of the title. The asteroid is Larissa. And the name appears only once.