"They didn't talk it out when I met them," Elijah said.
Ian looked around at the rest of the crew.
"Look, I know you're not too thrilled about this. I'm just going in to confirm what's in there. If it really is Archival 2, I think that information takes higher prece dence over anything else. We'll see what we can take back with us, then we get the hell out of here. Does that satisfy everybody?"
The rest were silent.
"Give me the damn guns and let's get going."
And then he thought again of Smith. "I'll be with you in a moment, I forgot something."
"Come on, Ian," Shelley called, "this isn't the time to go to the bathroom."
But he was already out of the chamber. Several minutes later he reappeared, and without another word he mo tioned them into the airlock.
If Smith did board them, Ian hoped he had now pro vided the insurance policy. He had pushed five of the six activation switches on the thermomine. If they were threatened with boarding, simply pushing down on the sixth and pulling it back up would finish the job.
The inner airlock to the unit opened effortlessly, and Ian, followed by Ellen, Shelley, and Richard, floated into an open expanse of corridor.
"Oxygen check looks good, Ian," Shelley reported. "No toxicity readings."
With a sigh of relief he pulled off his helmet. He had always hated the claustrophobic things anyhow.
"Look, Ian, that plaque."
He pushed off gently and came up against a plaque of gold set into the far wall; reaching out with his suction holders, he clamped onto the wall like a spider.
He started to tremble as he read the first line in Old English.
Automated Archival Unit 2
Launch Date 2087
"So that only the best of our world
May be remem bered."
The same phrase was repeated in half a dozen other languages, beneath that was a small directory and map giving directions to the vast interior storage areas.
"This is it, Shelley, this is it!"
"It looks like the catalog directory is over this way," Ellen called, her apprehensions momentarily forgotten in the enthusiasm for what they had found.
The other three followed her as she floated along the docking corridor and stepped into a slowly rotating stair well that led down to the rotating mass of the cylinder.
At first they simply let themselves drop down the shaft, but with the gradual increase in acceleration, they soon grabbed hold of the handrailings to break what could have developed into a disastrous fall.
Another gold plaque pointed them into a dimly lit cor ridor that was lined with racks of filing cards.
"Now that's curious," Ellen whispered. "It's the pre- computer method of filing data. I remember reading about it. Seems awfully cumbersome."
"Logical though," Ian replied. "They must have a com puter master, but this was included in case of a total power failure. Look over there."
He pointed to a brightly painted circle where several dozen large books were laid out side by side.
Ian approached the books and stared at them with eager anticipation, the way some people approach a gourmet meal or the first night with a new lover.
"Ian, come over here and look at this," Shelley cried. "Good Lord, just look at what they have!"
Shelley was waving a small filing card over her head, which she had, in her enthusiasm, plucked out of one of the filing cabinets.
Ian came over to her side and examined her find. "I remember you talking about the old Apollo missions," she shouted, "so I saw this cabinet with Ap — As listed on it. Here's a card that lists an Apollo 8. Level Three, Room 224, File 203-090-112-130. Ian, they don't have one Apollo card in there, they have half a hundred!"
The four of them looked at each other and within sec onds they were all busy digging into the files, each one looking for his or her favorite topic, exploring the answer to a question from the world of the past that had forever puzzled them.
Ian was overwhelmed. He thought the discovery of the library aboard the longevity unit had been the find of lifetime, but this was simply beyond his comprehension. In simple awe of it all, he started to weep. He had found the Valhalla of historians at last!
Hours later he staggered back to the filing area, leaving the others to the enthusiastic examination of the finds. There was enough sense still about him to realize that this unit had not been vacant for the last millennium. First off, something had altered its course from the original route into the galactic core. Second, something had provided the data to this vessel and had guided it into orbit. Finally, there was significant evidence of repair and main tenance.
He was drawn back at last to the books set off in the white circle. They were obviously set there to draw a visitor's attention. Not sure what to anticipate, Ian reached over and opened the first book.
He suddenly realized that Shelley had come up to his side.
"What is it?"
"I think it's a translator. Look, the pictographs for a man and a woman. Here's a diagram of our solar system and a map giving our location in relationship to the rest of the galaxy. That's it-these books are a translator for anyone, or anything, for that matter, who might find this ship."
"Ian? Stasz here."
There was a note of anxiety in his voice.
"Go on."
"Ian, I've just picked up a high-energy burst from the forward antenna of Archival 2. Damn near blew me out of my couch."
"I think we just hit the doorbell," Ian said softly. "Rich ard, Ellen, did you hear that? Meet me back in the catalog area before we head out."
Within the minute Stasz was back with more news.
"I've just locked on to several incoming energy sources, I can't tell what they are yet, but they were in high orbit around this planet. They're accelerating like mad. Damn it, you people better hurry!"
A doorway at the far end of the corridor slid open and Ellen burst through it panting for breath. "Where's Rich ard, I want to get moving!"
"Richard, how long before you get back here?" Ian tried to sound calm, but he knew his nervousness was showing.
"Another five minutes, at least, Ian. I'm way the hell at the other end of this ship."
Damn it! Ian silently cursed himself. He had screwed up. He should have had everybody stay together. He got so carried away by the honey pot that he had not thought of the consequences.
"Ian. Look, why don't you people head on out without me? Ahh, I mean you'll stand a better chance that way."
"What is this, Richard, a god-damn video drama? Cut the garbage and move your fat butt up here."
He could hear the audible sigh of relief.
"I hoped you'd say that, but at least my offer sounded good."
"You'd never have made it if I was in command," Ellen muttered.
"Ian, you have two minutes. They've already started to decelerate. For God's sake, get moving!"
Richard finally burst through the far door, gasping for breath and looking as if he was on the verge of an apo plectic fit.
"Let's go!"
Ellen took off at a run, while Shelley and Ian fell in on either side of the exhausted physician.
Reaching the stairway, they pushed Richard ahead of them while he cursed them and begged pitifully for a mo ment to regain his breath.
"Ian, I've got them on visual, there's three of them. They're about our size but look like they're armed, a couple of old-style missiles slung under each of them."
" Stasz, can we punch through to translight from a standing start?"
"Increases the breakup possibilities by a factor of ten. I must remind you that you never liked the odds to start with."
"Screw the odds; power the damn thing up."
"One of them is swinging into the opposite docking port, Ian. This doesn't look good at all…" There was a high-pitched shriek of static and then nothing.