“Not completely, but there is an idea worth checking further. As you know, the Kwembly’s observers had been reporting nearly constant temperature since the fog cleared; no radiational cooling; if anything, a very slight warming trend. Barometric readings have been rising very slowly at that place ever since the machine was stranded; readings before that time are meaningless because of the uncertain change in elevation. The temperatures have been well below the freezing points of either pure water or pure ammonia but rather above that of the ammonia monohydrate-water eutectic. We’re wondering whether the initial thaw might not have been caused by the ammonia fog’s reacting with the water snow on which the Kwembly was riding. Dondragmer was afraid of that possibility; and if so, the present freeze might be due to evaporation of ammonia from the eutectic. We’d need ammidity readings—”
“What?” Hoffman and Aucoin cut in almost together. “Sorry. Office slang. Partial pressure of ammonia relative to the saturation value — equivalent of relative humidity for water. We’d need readings on that to confirm or kill the notion, and of course the Mesklinites haven’t been taking them.”
“Could they?”
“I’m sure we could work out a technique with them. I don’t know how long it would take. Water vapor wouldn’t interfere; its equilibrium pressure is four or five powers of ten smaller than ammonia’s in that temperature range. The job shouldn’t be too hard.”
“I realize this is an hypothesis rather than a full-blown theory, but is it good enough to base action on?”
“That would depend on the action.” Aucoin made a gesture of impatience, and the atmospheric physicist continued hastily. “That is, I wouldn’t risk an all-or-nothing breakout effort on it alone, but I’d be willing to try anything which didn’t commit the Kwemb/y to exhausting some critical supply she carries, or put her in obvious danger.” The planner nodded. “All right,” he said. “Would you rather stay here and supply us with more ideas, or would it be more effective to talk this one over with the Mesklinites?” McDevitt pursed his lips and thought for a moment. “We’ve been talking with them pretty frequently, but I suppose there’s more good likely to come from that direction than—” he stopped, and Easy and her husband concealed smiles. Aucoin nodded, appearing not to notice the faux pas. “All right. Go on back to Communications, and good luck. Let us know if either you or they come up with anything else that seems worth trying.” The four scientists assented and left together. The ten remaining conference members were silent for some minutes before Aucoin voiced what all but one were thinking. “Let’s face it,” he said slowly. “The real argument is going to come when we relay this report to Barlennan.” Ib Hoffman jerked upright. “You haven’t yet?” he snapped. “Only the fact of the original stranding, which Easy told them, and occasional progress reports on the repair work. Nothing yet about the freeze-up.”
“Why not?” Easy could read danger signals in her husband’s voice, and wondered whether she wanted to smooth this one over or not. Aucoin looked surprised at the question. “You know why as well as I do. Whether he learned about it now or ten hours from now or from Dondragmer when he gets back to the Settlement a year from now would make little difference. There is nothing Barlennan could do immediately to help, and the only thing he could do at all is something we’d rather he didn’t.”
“And that is?” interjected Easy sweetly. She had about made up her mind which line to take. “That is, as you well know, sending one of the two land-cruisers still at the Settlement off to rescue the Kwembly, as he wanted to do for the Esket.”
“And you still object to that.”
“Certainly, for exactly the same reasons as before-which Barlennan, I admit, accepted that time. It’s not entirely that we have other specific plans for those two cruisers, but that’s part of it. Whatever you may think, Easy, I don’t dismiss life as unimportant merely because it isn’t human life. I do object, though, to wasting time and resources. Changing policy in the middle of an operation generally does both.”
“But if you claim that Mesklinite lives mean as much to you as human ones, how can you talk about waste?”
“You’re not thinking, Easy. I understand and don’t really blame you, but you’re ignoring the fact that the Kwembly is something like ten thousand miles airline from the Settlement, and more like thirteen thousand by the route they took. A rescue vehicle could not possibly cover that track in less than two hundred or two hundred and fifty hours. The last part of it, which the Kwembly traversed by being washed down a river, might not be findable and the last four thousand miles across the snow field may no longer be passable.”
“We could give them directions with satellite fixes.”
“We could, no doubt. The fact remains that unless Dondragmer can get himself, his crew, and his vehicle out of their present trouble, nothing Barlennan can send out for him is likely to be of the slightest help if the Kwembly is in real and immediate danger. If she is not, if it’s just a matter of being frozen in like a nineteenth-century whaler, they have indefinite supplies with their closed-cycle life system and fusion converters and we and Barlennan can plan a nice, leisurely rescue.”
“Like Destigmet’s Esket,” retorted the woman with some bitterness. “It’s been over seven months, and you squelched all rescue talk then and ever since!”
“That was a very different situation. The Esket is still standing there, unchanged as far as her vision sets can tell us, but her crew has dropped out of sight. We haven’t the faintest idea what has happened to them but since they’re not on board and haven’t been for all this time it’s impossible to believe they’re still alive. Even with all their abilities and physical toughness, Mesklinites couldn’t live on Dhrawn for seven months without a good deal more equipment than their air suits.” Easy had no answer. On pure logic, Aucoin was perfectly right; but she could not accept the idea that the situation was purely logical. Ib knew how she felt and decided that the time had come to change course again. He shared the planner’s opinion, up to a point, on basic policy; he also knew why his wife could not possibly accept it. “The real, immediate problem, as I see it,” Hoffman interjected, “is the one Don has with the men who are still outside. As I get it, two are under the ice, as far as anyone can tell; and no one seems to know whether that puddle is frozen to the bottom. In any case, judging by the work they were supposed to be doing, they’re in among the Kwembly’s trucks somewhere. I suppose that means a straight icepick-and-search job. I can’t guess what the chances are of an air suited Mesklinite’s living through that sort of thing. The temperature won’t bother them that far below melting water ice, but I don’t know what other physiological limitations they may have. “Don’s first officer is also missing, overdue from a helicopter flight. We can’t help directly, since he didn’t take a communicator with him, but there is another flier available. Has Dondragmer asked us to assist while a search is made with the other machine and a vision set?”
“He hadn’t up to half an hour ago,” replied Mersereau. “Then I strongly advise that we suggest it to him.” Aucoin nodded agreement, and glanced at the woman. “Your job, I’d say, Easy.”
“If someone hasn beaten me to it.” She rose, pinched Ib’s ear in passing, and left the room. “Next point,” Hoffman went on. “Granting that you may be right in opposing a rescue expedition from the Settlement, I think it’s time Barlennan was brought up to date about the Kwembly.”