“And you say the thing looked like you?”
“Yes.”
His eyes widened perceptibly. It was a reaction everybody in the country was familiar with. “Well,” he said, “they certainly have exquisite taste.”
She smiled at the compliment. “I don’t know where it came from.”
“We’ll give it some thought. Hutch, thank you for your efforts. And we’re grateful you didn’t wait to send out those ships.”
SHE SENT A warning to Valya to let her know her messages were being relayed directly to the White House. It would be two hours before she received it, probably too late to be of any practical value, but it was all she could do.
She’d just finished when another transmission came in from the Salvator. “We’ve checked with both shuttles. They’re okay for now. I’m going to leave them to get over to the West Tower on their own. There are sixteen souls on board. No sign anybody else made it.”
Hutch forwarded the message to the New White House and her other consumers. Then she called Amy.
“I’ve been watching it on the news,” Amy said, looking stricken. “How many dead?”
“Looks like upward of fifty.”
“I told you. Nobody would listen.”
“I’m sorry, Amy. You were right, and the rest of us were wrong. We should have trusted you from the first moment. But in the end we did listen. Because of you there’s a rescue fleet moving in. At the other terminal. A lot of lives will be saved.”
She shook her head. “Fifty dead. How could you let it happen?”
ORIGINS ATTACKED
Fifty-Six Feared Dead at Science Outpost
WORLD COUNCIL IN EMERGENCY SESSION
Pasturi to Issue Statement
DID ALIENS DO IT?
Random Attacks Baffle Experts
HAND OF GOD SERVES WARNING, SAYS TRAPLEY
“Some Things We Are Not Meant to Know”
Project Was Examining Creation
CRANDALL WILL ASSURE NATION
President to Speak Tonight
DEFENSE COMMITTEE CALLS FOR MORE SPENDING
HURRICANE HARRY TO MAKE LANDFALL TOMORROW
Evacuation in Carolinas, Georgia
During the late twenty-first century, when the Lysistrata movement was at the height of its power, and the world’s major powers were being forced to disband their militaries, there were those who warned that we would eventually regret the action. The assumption was that a rogue state would surreptitiously arm itself and create havoc in its region and possibly around the world. Eldrige Westin led the assault on Lysistrata. “Those who seek peace, but who are not willing to fight for it, will have no peace, and will quickly lose the ability to seek anything.” American women thanked him by voting him out of office.
It looks now as if the hour of retribution may be upon us. We have been attacked, not by our own kind but by something outside our experience. The politicians will not admit it but, whatever this force may be, we stand naked before it. If it comes here, we will have no defense other than to throw ripe fruit in its direction.
God help us.
— Marianthy Golazko, Parthenon, Sunday, May 10
chapter 41
The creative act requires both will and intelligence. Breaking things is easy. You only need a hammer.
— Gregory MacAllister, “On the Road”
Where the East Tower had been, there were only a few scorched struts and beams, somehow still connected to the collider tube. Black smoke and debris drifted away in all directions.
“Incoming transmission,” said Bill. “From one of the shuttles.”
It was audio only, three or four panicked voices. “Who the hell are they?”
“Salvator, is anybody coming?”
“They killed them all…”
And Bill again: “The other shuttle wants to talk to you, too. As does West.”
Ahead, something lit up the sky. And subsided.
“What was that?” asked Eric.
“I’ve no idea.” She told both shuttles she’d be with them in a minute and directed Bill to link with West. It was Estevan. If she’d been tense before, she looked on the verge of a breakdown now. “What’s happening out there?” she demanded. “We’ve been cut off from the Tower.”
“It’s been destroyed, Doctor. By alien hostiles. It looks as if they’re on their way over to see you.”
“My God. What do they want?”
“I think they disapprove of something you’re doing.”
“What are you talking about, Valya?”
“Let’s discuss it later. Stein managed to evacuate a few of his people. They weren’t attacked. So whatever’s driving these things, they want the structure gone. Not you. I suggest you get as many people off the platform as you can.”
“How am I supposed to do that? We have two shuttles and that’s it.” She paused, trying to collect herself. “When will they get here?”
“They’re just past the second ring.” She did the math. The rings were 150 kilometers apart. The globes had needed about ten minutes to get from the first ring to the second one. “If they maintain current velocity, you’ve got about five and a half hours.”
Why were they moving so slowly?
“Maybe that’s their top speed,” said Eric.
“I doubt it,” she said. “Bill, let’s go back to the shuttles.”
“Very good,” said Bill. “They’re panicked.”
He switched over. Screams and yells erupted from the speaker. “You’re safe,” said Valya. “They’re gone.”
A woman’s voice spilled out. Margo Somebody. “I’m the pilot. Salvator, do you see the bastards?”
“They’re well up the line. Headed away from you.”
“Toward West?”
“Looks like. Listen, stay put. Help’s coming. I’ll make sure somebody gets over here to pick you up. They’re still probably six or seven hours away. But just sit tight.”
She did a final search of the area, on the off chance she might have missed something. But there was no one on the commlink, and the scanners revealed no intact bodies anywhere. “Okay,” she told Eric, finally. “Let’s get out of here.” She swung back alongside the tube and began to accelerate.
Minutes later, they passed the first of the rings that supported the collider. It was charred. Now they knew what had flared up. A second ring was in the same condition.
Dead ahead, she made out the globes. They were dark, proceeding at a leisurely pace. On impulse, she slowed and blinked her navigation lights. The globes blinked back.
She tried a second time, but the phenomenon did not repeat.
“They’re taking the entire thing down,” said Eric.
“Apparently.” She brought Bill back up. “What’s the latest on the rescue fleet?”
“Valya, everything is currently on the way, but they’re all still in hyper. The Rehling is supposed to make its jump into local space in about an hour.” After which they’d need some time to get to the Tower. “The Rehling can carry nine passengers. The Granville should be running a couple hours behind that. But if they get a good jump, they’ll still beat the moonriders to the Tower. The Granville can carry twenty-two. The others have next to no chance to get here before that happens.”
She reconnected with Estevan and gave her an update.
Estevan listened, rage and frustration barely controlled. “All these years of work,” she said. Her voice trembled.
AN HOUR LATER, as they approached the West Tower, Bill announced a message from the Rehling.
“Valya.” The voice belonged to Mark Stevens, a veteran pilot with whom she’d worked on several occasions. “We’ve just completed our jump. Got a good one. We’ll be at the West Tower in about three hours.”