He couldn't understand his own compulsion and tried to make believe that it was a simple intellectual exercise. Even as he pondered this fact, Ian reached the front cabin and swung into the seat alongside of Stasz.
"Proper trajectory set and locked in," Stasz said.
"We're ready."
"Remember those odds, Ian my friend. This jump could be the disintegration act."
Ian didn't reply. Logically they should head back to Earth, report their findings, and let someone else go out and look. But the way the bureaucracy ran, that could take years. And besides, he was starting to find the whole adventure compelling. Challenge was here. And mystery. His mind wandered around that thought even as Stasz pushed them through jump and the wave of distortion washed over him, plunging him into darkness.
Chapter 7
Colonial Unit 287
First Completion Date: 2052
Primary Function: Experimental Longevity Unit. Com bined Russo/American effort with cybernetic implants designed to continue life beyond the then 130-year maximum. Such research had been banned on Earth in 2041 by the United Nations as a response to Third World pressures concerning the question of population control. Anyone already using artificial organ implants was exiled to space in 2050, with most moving to the 280-model units.
Evacuation Date: December 2085.
Overall Design: Bernal Sphere. Lower rotation rate with. 3 G standard gravity. Extensive living area in the zero- G regions.
Propulsion: Matter/Antimatter mix.
Course: Galactic Core.
Political/Social Orientation: Corporate model managed by ruling board. This unit was a nonpolitical interface be tween the Americans and the Soviets, and yet another example of their expanding cooperation in the middle twenty-first century.
" Discovery, you are cleared for final approach and docking."
Stasz had them lined up on the long axis of the slowly rotating sphere, and with gentle nudges of the thruster controls he guided Discovery toward the main external docking bay. They had been invited to enter via the main interior bay, but Ian insisted on an outside dock so they could leave whenever they desired and, if need be, with out hindrance or permission.
As the massive bulk of the two-kilometer-diameter sphere filled their forward viewscreen, Ian was finally torn from his observations by Shelley's insistent nudge.
"Here's a brief review of the records in your file, I thought you'd like to take them with us. I've provided copies to Richard and Ellen, as well."
"Thanks, shall we join them?"
Shelley nodded her agreement and together they floated down the corridor to the docking bay.
Damn, she's simply too efficient at times, Ian thought. He always felt uncomfortable around efficient people, they made him feel foolish and somewhat guilty. He knew his dallying with Ileia bothered her, but Shelley was only his graduate assistant. Richard had commented time and again over the last ten days 'Remember that virginal graduate assistant of yours is only three years older than your redheaded Amazon.'
Naw, there can't be anything in it. Shelley's a gawky grad-ass with a mild dose of hero worship for her brilliant professor… He pushed the thought aside; they came through the airlock and joined the other two.
"You've had a chance to scan my notes?" Ian asked.
"Looks fascinating," Ellen replied. "What've they dis covered if their experiments have been continued since their departure?"
"We'll soon know," Richard murmured expectantly as a faint jolt ran through the ship. The docking adapter hooked on to the colony's exterior airlock and quickly formed a pressurized seal.
"All clear," Stasz called from the control room.
Ian reached out and pushed the door release. It slid back noiselessly. Even as their hatch opened, the colony's hatch parted, as well, to reveal the usual double-entry system
Ian and the others pushed off, and as the last of them cleared the second doorway, it slid shut behind them.
"Dr. Lacklin," said the voice of the colony's approach control, "as I mentioned earlier, we do request disinfec tion."
"I doubt if that is necessary," Richard replied.
"Use our disinfection facilities or leave us, Dr. Lack lin."
Ian looked at the others, shrugged. They put on safety glasses as requested and were dosed with an ultraviolet bath, followed by a disinfectant spray. Finally they were required to don robes, surgical masks, and gloves.
Richard looked professional in the robes, but Ellen snickered at the sight of the old M.D. as he flapped around in zero G wrapped in a green hospital gown.
"We're ready," Ian called. The second doorway opened. The slight inrush of air carried the scent of disinfectant and alcohol, mixed with a slightly unpleasant something that made all of them feel uneasy.
They exited into the main corridor, where a slender man floated in free-fall. Ian had wondered what he would look like. He had expected a bent form, aged beyond imagining, dried out, his desiccated flesh fit only for the grave. But this one was different. He was old, extremely old. If anything gave the age away, it was the eyes that betrayed a soul that had seen too much. The man was totally bald; the skin of his head wrinkled and yellow like old parchment. But he moved with an easy grace as he floated closer, his robes rustling lightly and giving off a scent of cleanness and starch.
"I am Joshua Morisson," the man said with a crisp voice that was almost too precise and clear, "and you must be Drs. Lacklin, Croce, and Redding." He nodded to each in turn.
He stared at Shelley for a moment and smiled softly. "And you are their young assistant Shelley."
His smile flickered and then died. "You have much to tell me, all of you. I want to hear again of Earth."
Ian looked at him closely, almost afraid to ask.
"I want to hear again of my home," Joshua whispered, "for you see, Dr. Lacklin, I am over sixty-score years of age. And I wish again to hear of the world where I was young."
The others were gone, off on a tour of the colony, led by an assistant who looked even older than Joshua. But Ian had not wanted to leave the man. Here was the dream of a lifetime fulfilled at last. He stood face to face with a life that had spanned a millennium, a life that had seen that distant time of so long ago when the world was young-and the greatest of adventures was just begin ning.
So he had answered with patience the old man's ques tions and watched with fascination as his host explored the corridors of long-forgotten memories. Occasionally the old man softly cried, as if each of the memories was a sharpened point driven into his psyche, reopening long- forgotten wounds.
"So, it is all gone-Washington, London, Moscow, the great museums, the lovely churches, the soaring monu ments-all gone, as lost now as Troy and Carthage."
"Not really," Ian replied. "There is a New Mosca and Nova Washington. I participated at a dig for the old Cap itol building when I was a graduate student."
Joshua nodded sadly. "You see, young Ian. You see. You participated in a 'dig,' as you call it, for something that is still alive in my mind. You were digging for relics where I walked when I was a boy. I remember"-and his voice grew softer-"I remember seeing a President buried out of that Capitol when I was seven."
"Who?" lan's curiosity was screaming at him. Here was the link. The living memory that could touch back into a long-lost world. It was the ultimate dream come true. This man had been there, had seen, had experienced it all-ten thousand questions begged to be answered.
"Who? Who? Why I'm not sure," Joshua said softly. "I can see him, I can remember his voice carrying clear and high on a cold January day, and then he was dead. But who was he, you ask." His voice drifted away.