Part 24 (1/2)
The padre's eyes had grown larger and larger as Ray summed up their problem so tersely.
”Matt, I have just dumped in your lap the hottest potato in human history. Next time you're in system, I may be saying all's well and come on down. Those words may be true or false. You will have to decide for yourself and all of humanity whether this planet can be trusted with s.p.a.ce flight, or even to continue existence. I'm sending you as much data as I can now. I know it's not enough. Good luck, and G.o.d help us all.”
The little priest was shaking. Mary, Kat, and Lek stared straight ahead. ”You know how hard we fought to keep from rocking Wardhaven in the war,” Mary finally said.
”I know,” Ray nodded, ”and now I'm asking Matt to do just that for me. Do you think he will?”
”You can't,” the priest whispered.
”If I'm reduced to a mindless zombie,” Kat said slowly, ”I don't care if I'm jumping for joy, I'd rather be dead.”
”Couldn't he just allow no one to land?” the priest pleaded.
Mary shook her head. ”We're a s.p.a.cefaring race, Padre. Give us twenty years and we'll be back in s.p.a.ce. Another twenty and we'll be leaping from star to star. We”-she pointed at her forehead-”know how to do it. If they want us to build it, we can and will. No, Father, it's best we pa.s.s sentence ourselves. If the Teacher wins, if it takes us over like we know it can, then we've got to die. And if it kills us in the process, then, d.a.m.n it, I want Matt to take this planet apart brick by brick.”
”There's got to be another way,” the priest whispered.
”That is what we're looking for,” Ray said. ”Hang around. Father. Maybe you can help us find it.”
Dumbly, the poor priest nodded. ”I thought you were opening doors. Now, I see, you are-”
”Father, you yourself said the north side got worse when the Teacher arrived,” Mary cut in hard. The padre nodded. ”And now it's down here, and people are rioting.”
”I know. But death for an entire planet?”
The others had no answer for that. Lunch that noon was a quiet affair until Lek interrupted. ”Colonel, somebody's taking your name in vain, and that somebody is Miss Vicky Sterling. Putting her through.”
”d.a.m.n it, I know you can hear me. Probably hear every word I say near any computer. You better talk to me, you robbing, thieving sc.u.m.”
”Yes, Miss Sterling,” Ray cut into the diatribe.
”What do you mean, pa.s.sing off that gutless wreck as worth ten thousand pounds. No factory delivered something in that condition and called it done!”
”It does if that is what we ordered,” Ray answered. ”We did, and that is what you ordered. We add our own equipment to meet our special requirements. You wanted it that way. You got it.”
”You cheated me!” she shrieked.
”Can't cheat an honest woman. You didn't come by your ten thousand pounds of copper very honestly.”
”You stole from me, and you're going to pay. I know about the thing that makes mountains vanish. I've got my people looking for it. We'll find it. Then we'll see what your precious camp is worth vanished into thin air. And if you think you can watch me all the time like some Peeping Tom, see what I can do,” she said, slamming her hand against the side of her screen. The picture went blank.
”That's one way to turn off your vidphone,” Ray observed.
”We can't let her get her hands on the vanis.h.i.+ng box.” Mary's words were flat, absolute.
Ray tapped his commlink. ”Doc, do you have an electrocardiograph signature for Jeff Sterling?”
”Yes. Why?”
”I need to talk to him, and his phone's off. Pa.s.s it to Mary. Lek, get me Ms. San Paulo. It's time her people know what's at risk, and start pulling together.”
It started to rain about midafternoon. Annie held Nikki close, trying to protect her from the ram, trying to keep her warm. Trying to lose the sick feeling growing in her stomach.
The search had gone sour somehow, and Annie didn't know why.
They had pa.s.sed through seven villages now, but not changed rides since getting in the rickety wagon, At the last village, Annie's ma knew a woman. Annie had wanted to stop by, share a word with her. Instead, the old man had headed for the other side of the village and parked beside a broken-down barn. A young woman met him there. Now she was traveling with them.
Annie didn't like this at all. It was as if they were being taken somewhere rather than searching for someone. But how could that be? Annie held Nikki close, huddled against the rain, and wished Jeff were here. He'd know what to do. He'd lived in the big, complicated city where everyone you met wasn't a friend. He'd know when she should think about using the gun that weighed so heavily in the wallet at her waist. Annie let the rain fall on her, protected Nikki, and suffered as the cart jolted on its way.
Jeff waited with the horses while Old Ned talked to the couple. It was raining; he was cold and tired. He waited patiently. Ned's words from the last village shook him. ”They didn't stop in with Grandma Moynihan. She's the one all Greens hereabouts look to. They talked to some new folks in town.”
Old Ned returned, threw himself on his horse, and kicked it to a trot. Jeff waited until they had left the town far behind before calling to Ned. ”What's happened to Annie?”
”She's in trouble, Jeff. Big trouble.”
”Ms. San Paulo, don't you trust your people?”
”Trust has nothing to do with this. What would make you say that? It's just that we people in the circles are expected to handle problems. The people call us out to solve their problems, not dump them back in their lap. How can they live their lives in peace if we tell them about every little problem?”
Ray bit his lip; telling her his opinion of how well the circles had handled this problem so far would not help anything. ”This is hardly a little problem. Entire cities could vanish.”
”Yes, but you couldn't talk about this without bringing in your Teacher thing. Why, I hardly understand what you said. How can I expect other people to? No, Mr. Amba.s.sador, I will alert our security people to watch for six people carrying a large box. If they see it, I will know about it immediately.”
”I could go to the media,” Ray said softly.
Hen snorted. ”They will not pay a bit of attention to you. They know what their viewers.h.i.+p wants. No. They will hang up on you as fast as I'm going to. I must, you see. I have a meeting to call and contacts to make. Good day, Mr. Amba.s.sador.”
Ray swung around in his chair. Stomping around awhile would be a distinctive pleasure. Instead, he turned to the priest. ”Is she right? Will the media ignore me?”
The padre nodded. ”We may not be Covenanters, but we have a low threshold for gossip. Well, many of us do.”
Mary did stomp halfway across the room. ”I can't believe this. I've cussed out news shows and magazines for the stories they carried. But to ignore the news. This news!”
”It might disturb people,” the priest said softly. ”Especially those who rioted, did things they are ashamed of. How would they react to being told there is this ma.s.sive thing called a Teacher lurking over them?”
”If I understand Ray,” Dr. Isaacs put in, ”the Teacher doesn't control anyone yet, even Ray, and he's plugged into it better than most. I suspect the Teacher's efforts to communicate are what's causing this ma.s.sive mental illness. The mentally ill do not choose to act the way they do; they are driven.”
”That your professional opinion, Doc?”
”Call it a professional guess. Not enough data to go on.”
Ray smiled. ”The Dean doesn't understand how we humans can make decisions without total information.”
”If that thing ever thought it knew it all, it was wrong to start with,” Kat cut in.
”So, what do we do?” the priest asked.