Part 3 (1/2)
”So we've no idea where this thing might have come from.”
”None. I'd say it's either a hoax, or you have something quite valuable on your hands. What does Alex think?”
”I don't know. I'd guess he's on the fence.”
”Well, let me know if I can do anything else.”
That evening, I finally got through to Greengra.s.s. ”Madeleine,” I said, ”the tablet was gone when I got there.”
”I know. Stafford told me.”
Stafford? That would be the AI. ”We think it may have some intrinsic value.” ”We think it may have some intrinsic value.”
”Too late now. It's gone, Chase.” She had a laid-back manner, probably a result of doing presentations for the visitors at Silesia Park. She had a laid-back manner, probably a result of doing presentations for the visitors at Silesia Park.
”Can you tell me who took it?”
”No idea.”
”You don't know?”
”I think that's what I said.”
”They didn't give you their names?”
”I didn't give my approval for anyone to take it. A couple more people called after you did. I thought I told them it was no longer available, but there might have been a communication breakdown. I don't know. I just wanted to get rid of it, okay? I've no idea where it is now, and I don't particularly care. I apologize, though, that you made the trip for nothing.”
”I was hoping you could help us retrieve it.”
”How valuable do you think it is?”
”We don't know yet. Maybe a lot.”
”Well,” she said, she said, ”it's only money.” ”it's only money.”
”Ms. Greengra.s.s, I'm not promising anything, but it might have bought you another house.”
”You're not serious.”
”As I say, we don't know yet. Is there anything you can think of that might help us locate it?”
”Well, I wish I could. But I just don't see anything. I don't even know who those people were.”
”How about if we take a look at what your AI has. We might be able to identify whoever took it.”
”Hold on a second,” she said. she said.
I waited. After a minute or so she relayed some images to me, and we watched two men and a woman walk up onto her porch. The tablet was sitting there, between two chairs. ”Madeleine,” I said, ”don't you log skimmers?”
”Yes, we do. Stafford?”
”They came in a Sentinel, Madeleine.” Late model. White, split-wing. The woman had dark hair. She was wearing athletic gear, but she looked like money. She knelt to examine the tablet. After a minute or two, she looked up at the others and nodded. The two men, dressed in the same sporting style, moved the chairs out of the way. Late model. White, split-wing. The woman had dark hair. She was wearing athletic gear, but she looked like money. She knelt to examine the tablet. After a minute or two, she looked up at the others and nodded. The two men, dressed in the same sporting style, moved the chairs out of the way.
One was big. Broad shoulders, lots of muscle, built close to the ground. He had a black beard and a bald skull. The other male looked a bit thin to be moving rocks. But they took their positions on either side of the tablet and, on a count of three, lifted. The big guy gave directions; they got the tablet off the porch, carried it down to the skimmer, and loaded it into the backseat. The woman joined them, and all three climbed in. We watched the vehicle lift off. They'd been careful about the landing, turning the vehicle so that its designator was never visible.
”I've no idea who they are,” said Greengra.s.s. said Greengra.s.s.
Alex handed me a note. ”Try this.”
A stone tablet was removed yesterday from a front deck in Rindenwood. The tablet, pictured herein, has great sentimental value. Reward. Call Sabol 2113-477.
We ran it that evening. When I came back into the office next morning, there'd been two responses. ”Neither was actually involved with the tablet,” Alex said. ”But they did did have engravings they wanted to sell us.” have engravings they wanted to sell us.”
Alex asked me to call Greengra.s.s again. This time I got her on the first try. ”Yes, Ms. Kolpath?” ”Yes, Ms. Kolpath?” Her eyes slid momentarily shut. Her eyes slid momentarily shut. ”What can I do for you this time?” ”What can I do for you this time?”
”I'm sorry to bother you-”
”It's all right.”
”We think the tablet was originally left in the house by Sunset Tuttle.”
”Who?”
”He was an anthropologist.”
”Okay.”
”Do you know if there's anything else you have that might have belonged originally to him?”
”I don't know. There are some tennis rackets out back that came with the house. And a swing on a tree. I never met the guy.”
She was too young to have made the purchase. ”If I may ask, how long have you been in the house?”
”About six years.”
”Okay. Is there anything around that might have archeological significance? Anything else like the tablet?”
”No. I don't think so.”
”All right. If you find anything, it might be worth money. Please let us know.”
”I'll keep that in mind. And I hope you find the tablet.”
THREE.
If we know anything for certain, it is that the universe is virtually empty. Nine thousand years of exploration have revealed the presence of only one technological race, other than ourselves. And while we have always been inclined to mourn something we've never had-communion with other ent.i.ties-you must forgive me if I point out that the cosmos is consequently a far safer place than it might have been. We have seen intelligence in action. The first thing it does is learn how to make axes. And spears. Say what you like about missing the opportunity to enjoy the company of somebody else, I prefer the echoes. And I hope very much that it stays that way.
-Maria Webber, The Long Voyage.