During the three-month tour on Station, Kolya himself had gotten on fairly well with Sable, perhaps because they were opposite types. Kolya was a serving Air Force officer, and he had a young family in Moscow. To him, spaceflight was an adventure, but what drove him were loyalty to his family and duty to his country, and he was content to let his career develop where it would. Kolya recognized a fierce, burning ambition in Sable, which would not be satisfied, surely, until she had reached the pinnacles of her profession: command of Clavius Base, or perhaps even a seat on a Mars flight. Perhaps Sable had seen Kolya as no threat to her own glittering progress.
But he had learned to be wary of her. And now, in this awkward, frightening situation, he waited for her to explode.
Musa clapped his gloved hands together, taking command. I think it is obvious we wont be proceeding to reentry just yet. We should not worry. In the olden days Soviet craft would only have contact with their ground controllers for twenty minutes of every ninety-minute orbit, and so the Soyuz was designed to function independently
Maybe the fault isnt with us, Sable said. What if its on the ground?
Musa scoffed. What fault could possibly take out a whole chain of ground stations?
A war, said Kolya.
Musa said firmly, Such speculation is useless. In time, whatever the fault, the ground will reestablish contact, and we will return to our flight plan. All we have to do is wait. But in the meantime we have work to do. He rummaged under his seat for a copy of the on-orbit checklist.
He was right, Kolya realized; the little ship wouldnt run itself, and if it was to be stuck up here in orbit for one more revolutionor two, or three?its crew would have to help it function. Was the compartments pressure appropriate, was the mixture of gases correct? Was the ship rotating properly as it followed the great curve of its orbit, so that its solar panels tracked the sun? All these things had to be ensured.
Soon the three of them had settled into a familiar, and somehow reassuring, routine of checksas if, after all, they were in control of their destiny, Kolya thought.
But the fact was that everything had changed, and it couldnt be ignored.
The Soyuz was floating into the shadow of the planet again. Kolya peered through his window, looking for the orange-yellow glow of cities, hoping for reassurance. But the land was dark.
9. Paradox
Josh was intrigued by this woman from the futureif that was what she was! Bisesas face was handsome and well proportioned, if not beautiful, her nose strong and her jaw square; but her eyes were clear, her cut-short hair lustrous. She had a strength about her, even physically, that he had seen in no woman before: faced with this unprecedented situation, she was confident, if edgy with fatigue.
As the evening wore on, he took to following her around, puppylike.
It had been a long daythe longest of Bisesas life, she said, even if she had lost a few hoursand Captain Groves advice that the newcomers should be allowed to eat and rest seemed wise. But they insisted they had work to do before resting. Abdikadir wanted to check on Casey, the other pilot. And he wanted to return to the machine they called their Little Bird. I have to erase the memory banks of the electronic gear, he said. Theres sensitive data in there, especially the avionics Josh was entranced by this talk of intelligent machines, and he imagined the air full of invisible telegraph wires, transmitting mysterious and important messages hither and yon.
Grove was inclined to allow the request. I cant see how we can be harmed by allowing the destruction of what I dont understand anyhow, he said dryly. And besidesyou say it is your duty, Warrant Officer. I respect that. Time and space may flow like toffee, but duty endures.
For her part Bisesa wanted to retrace the track her helicopter had taken, she said, before the crash. We were shot down. I think that was just after we noticed the sun dancing around the sky. Soyou see? If weve somehow come through some, some barrier in time, then whoever shot at us must be on this side too
Grove thought this jaunt would be better left until morning, for he could see Bisesas fatigue as well as Josh could. But Bisesa didnt want to stop movingnot yetas if to stop would be to accept the extraordinary reality of the situation. So Grove approved the mission. Joshs respect for the mans judgment and compassion grew; Grove understood what was going on here no better than anybody else, but he was clearly trying to deal with the simple human needs of the people who had, literally, fallen out of the sky into his domain.
A field party was drawn together: Bisesa, with Josh and Ruddy, both of whom insisted on accompanying her, and a small squad of privates under the nominal command of the Geordie private Batson, who, it seemed, might have impressed Grove enough that day to earn a promotion.
By the time they set out from the fort the dark was gathering. The soldiers carried oil lamps and burning torches. They walked directly east from the site of the choppers crash. Bisesa had estimated the distance at no more than a mile.
The lights of the fort receded, and the Frontier dusk opened up around them, huge and empty. But Josh could see thick black mounds of cloud on every horizon.
He hurried beside Bisesa. If it is true
What?
This business of slipping through timeyou, and the man-ape creatureshow do you think it can have happened?
Ive no idea. And Im not sure if Id rather be a castaway in time or a victim of a nuclear war. Anyhow, she said briskly, how do you know youre not the castaway?
Josh quailed. I never thought of that. You know, I can scarcely believe I am even holding this conversation! If you had told me this morning that before I slept this night I would see a flying machine powerful enough to carry people inside itand that those people would, and plausibly too, claim to be from a future a century and a half henceI would have thought you were insane!
But if its true, Ruddy said insistently, jogging alongside themnever very fit, he was panting a littleif its true, theres so much you know, so much you could tell us! For our future is your past.
She shook her head. Ive seen too many movies. Have you never heard of the chronology protection conjecture?
Josh was baffled, as was Ruddy.
Bisesa said, I guess you dont even know what a movie is, let alone know Terminator Looksome people think that if you go back in time and change something, so that the future you came from cant exist any more, you could cause a huge catastrophe.
I dont understand, Josh confessed.
Suppose I told you where my great-great-great-grandmother lives, right now, in 1885. Then you go out, find her, and shoot her.
Why would I do that?
Never mind! But if you did, I would never be bornand so I could never come back to tell you about my grandmotherand youd never shoot her. In which case
Its a paradox of logic, Ruddy breathed. How delightful! But if we promise not to molest your grandmother, can you tell us nothing of ourselves?
Josh scoffed. How would she ever have heard of us, Ruddy?
Ruddy looked thoughtful. I have the feeling that she has, you knowheard of me at any rate. A chap knows when hes been recognized!
But Bisesa would say no more.
As the last daylight seeped away, and the stars receded to infinity above them, the little party grew closer together, the soldiers bantering talk subdued, their lanterns held high. They were walking into strangeness, thought Josh. It wasnt just that they couldnt know who lay out there, or where they were going. They couldnt even be sure when they would find themselves He thought they all seemed relieved when they passed a low hill and the rising Moon, a quarter full, shed a cold light on the rocky plain. But the air was strange, turbulent, and the Moons face an odd yellow-orange.