Dedicated, with respectful admiration, to two great Russians, both depicted herein: General Alexei Leonov - Cosmonaut, ero

of the !oviet "nion, Artist and Academician Andrei !a#harov - !cientist, $obel Laureate, umanist%

Author&s $ote

'he novel ())*: A !pace +d,sse, was written during the ,ears *-./-0 and was published in 1ul, *-.0, shortl, after release of the movie% As 2 have described in 'he Lost 3orlds of ())*, both pro4ects proceeded simultaneousl,, with feedbac# in each direction% 'hus 2 often had the strange experience of revising the manuscript after viewing rushes based upon an earlier version of the stor, - a stimulating, but rather expensive, wa, of writing a novel% As a result, there is a much closer parallel between boo# and movie than is usuall, the case, but there are also ma4or differences% 2n the novel, the destination of the spaceship Discover, was 2apetus 5or 1apetus6, most enigmatic of !aturn&s man, moons% 'he !aturnian s,stem was reached via 1upiter: Discover, made a close approach to the giant planet, using its enormous gravitational field to produce a &slingshot& effect and to accelerate it along the second lap of its 4ourne,% 7xactl, the same manoeuvre was used b, the 8o,ager space probes in *-9-, when the, made the first detailed reconnaissance of the outer giants% 2n the movie, however, !tanle, :ubric# wisel, avoided confusion b, setting the third confrontation between ;an and ;onolith among the moons of 1upiter% !aturn was dropped from the script entirel,, though Douglas 'rumbull later used the expertise he had ac<uired to film the ringed planet in his own production, !ilent Running% $o one could have imagined, bac# in the mid-sixties, that the exploration of the moons of 1upiter la,, not in the next centur,, but onl, fifteen ,ears ahead% $or had an,one dreamed of the wonders that would be found there - although we can be <uite certain that the discoveries of the twin 8o,agers will one da, be surpassed b, even more unexpected finds% 3hen ())* was written, 2o, 7uropa, Gan,mede, and Callisto were mere pinpoints of light in even the most powerful telescope= now the, are

worlds, each uni<ue, and one of them - 2o - is the most volcanicall, active bod, in the !olar !,stem% >et, all things considered, both movie and boo# stand up <uite well in the light of these discoveries, and it is fascinating to compare the 1upiter se<uences in the film with the actual movies from the 8o,ager cameras% ?ut clearl,, an,thing written toda, has to incorporate the results of the *-9- explorations: the moons of 1upiter are no longer uncharted territor,% And there is another, more subtle, ps,chological factor to be ta#en into consideration% ())* was written in an age that now lies be,ond one of the Great Divides in human histor,= we are sundered from it forever b, the moment when $eil Armstrong set foot upon the ;oon% 'he date () 1ul, *-.was still half a decade in the future when !tanle, :ubric# and 2 started thin#ing about the &proverbial good science-fiction movie& 5his phrase6% $ow histor, and fiction have become inextricabl, intertwined% 'he Apollo astronauts had alread, seen the film when the, left for the ;oon% 'he crew of Apollo 0, who at Christmas *-.0 became the first men ever to set e,es upon the Lunar @arside, told me that the, had been tempted to radio bac# the discover, of a large blac# monolith: alas, discretion prevailed% And there were, later, almost uncann, instances of nature imitating art% !trangest of all was the saga of Apollo *A in *-9)% As a good opening, the Command ;odule, which houses the crew, had been christened +d,sse,, 1ust before the explosion of the ox,gen tan# that caused the mission to be aborted, the crew had been pla,ing Richard !trauss&s Barathustra theme, now universall, identified with the movie% 2mmediatel, after the loss of power, 1ac# !wigert radioed bac# to ;ission Control: & ouston, we&ve had a problem%& 'he words that al used to astronaut @ran# Coole on a similar occasion were: &!orr, to interrupt the festivities, but we have a problem%& 3hen the report of the Apollo *A mission was later published, $A!A Administrator 'om Caine sent me a cop,, and noted under !wigert&s words: &1ust as ,ou alwa,s said it would be, Arthur%& 2 still get a ver, strange feeling when 2 contemplate this whole series of events - almost, indeed, as if 2 share a certain responsibilit,% Another resonance is less serious, but e<uall, stri#ing% +ne of the most technicall, brilliant se<uences in the movie was that in which @ran# Coole was shown running round and round the circular tric# of the giant centrifuge, held in place b, the &artificial gravit,& produced b, its spin%

Almost a decade later, the crew of the superbl, successful !#,lab realiDed that its designers had provided them with a similar geometr,= a ring of storage cabinets formed a smooth, circular hand around the space station&s interior% !#,lab, however, was not spinning, but this did not deter its ingenious occupants% 'he, discovered that the, could run around the trac#, 4ust li#e mice in a s<uirrel cage, to produce a result visuall, indistinguishable from that shown in ())*% And the, televised the whole exercise bac# to 7arth 5need 2 name the accompan,ing musicE6 with the comment: &!tanle, :ubric# should see this%& As in due course he did, because 2 sent him the telecine recording% 52 never got it bac#= !tanle, uses a tame ?lac# ole as a filing s,stem%6 >et another lin# between film and realit, is the painting b, Apollo-!o,uD Commander, Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, &$ear the ;oon&% 2 first saw it in *-.0, when ())* was presented at the "nited $ations Conference on the Ceaceful "ses of +uter !pace% 2mmediatel, after the screening, Alexei pointed out to me that his concept 5on page A( of the Leonov-!o#olov boo# 'he !tars Are Awaiting "s, ;oscow, *-.96 shows exactl, the same line-up as the movie&s opening: the 7arth rising be,ond the ;oon, and the !un rising be,ond them both% is autographed s#etch of the painting now hangs on m, office wall= for further details see Chapter *(% Cerhaps this is the appropriate point to identif, another and less well-#nown name appearing in these pages, that of sue-shen 'sien% 2n *-A., with the great 'heodore von :arman and @ran# 1% ;alina, Dr 'sien founded the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laborator, of the California 2nstitute of 'echnolog, 5GALC2'6 - the direct ancestor of Casadena&s famed 1et Cropulsion Laborator,% e was also the first Goddard Crofessor at Caltech, and contributed greatl, to American roc#et research through the *-/)s% Later, in one of the most disgraceful episodes of the ;cCarth, period, he was arrested on trumped-up securit, charges when he wished to return to his native countr,% @or the last two decades, he has been one of the leaders of the Chinese roc#et programme% @inall,, there is the strange case of the &7,e of 1apetus& - Chapter AF of ())*% ere 2 describe astronaut ?owman&s discover, on the !aturnian moon of a curious feather &a brilliant white oval, about four hundred miles long and two hundred wide%%% perfectl, s,mmetrical%%% and so sharp-edged that it almost loo#ed%%% painted on the face of the little moon%& As he came closer, ?owman convinced himself that &the bright ellipse set against the dar# bac#ground of the satellite was a huge empt, e,e staring at him as he approached%%%& Later, he noticed &the tin, blac# dot at the exact centre&, which turns out to be the ;onolith 5or one of its avatars6%

3ell, when 8o,ager * transmitted the first photographs of 2apetus, the, did indeed disclose a large, clear-cut white oval with a tin, blac# dot at the centre% Carl !agan promptl, sent me a print from the 1et Cropulsion Laborator, with the cr,ptic annotation &'hin#ing of ,ou%%%& 2 do not #now whether to be relieved or disappointed that 8o,ager ( has left the matter still open% 2nevitabl,, therefore, the stor, ,ou are about to read is something much more complex than a straightforward se<uel to the earlier novel - or the movie% 3here these differ, 2 have followed the screen version= however, 2 have been more concerned with ma#ing this boo# self-consistent, and as accurate as possible in the light of current #nowledge% 3hich, of course, will once more be out of date b, ())*%%% Arthur C% Clar#e C+L+;?+, !R2 LA$:A 1A$"AR> *-0(

2 L7+$+8

* ;eeting at the @ocus

7ven in this metric age, it was still the thousand-foot telescope, not the three-hundred-metre one% 'he great saucer set among the mountains was alread, half full of shadow, as the tropical sun dropped swiftl, to rest, but the triangular raft of the antenna complex suspended high above its centre still blaDed with light% @rom the ground far below, it would have ta#en #een e,es to notice the two human figures in the aerial maDe of girders, support cables, and wave-guides% &'he time has come,& said Dr Dimitri ;oisevitch to his old friend e,wood @lo,d, &to tal# of man, things% +f shoes and spaceships and sealing wax, but mostl, of monoliths and malfunctioning computers%&

&!o that&s wh, ,ou got me awa, from the conference% $ot that 2 reall, mind - 2&ve heard Carl give that !7'2 speech so man, times that 2 can recite it m,self% And the view certainl, is fantastic - ,ou #now, all the times 2&ve been to Arecibo, 2&ve never made it up here to the antenna feed%& &!hame on ,ou% 2&ve been here three times% 2magine - we&re listening to the whole universe - but no one can overhear us% !o let&s tal# about ,our problem%& &3hat problemE& &'o start with, wh, ,ou had to resign as Chairman of the $ational Council on Astronautics%& &2 didn&t resign% 'he "niversit, of awaii pa,s a lot better%&

&+#a, - ,ou didn&t resign - ,ou were one 4ump ahead of them% After all these ,ears, 3ood,, ,ou can&t fool me, and ,ou should give up tr,ing% 2f the, offered the $CA bac# to ,ou right now, would ,ou hesitateE& &All right, ,ou old Cossa#% 3hat do ,ou want to #nowE& &@irst of all, there are lots of loose ends in the report ,ou finall, issued after so much prodding% 3e&ll overloo# the ridiculous and fran#l, illegal secrec, with which ,our people dug up the ',cho monolith -& &'hat wasn&t m, idea%& &Glad to hear it: 2 even believe ,ou% And we appreciate the fact that ,ou&re now letting ever,one examine the thing - which of course is what ,ou should have done in the first place% $ot that it&s done much good%%%& 'here was a gloom, silence while the two men contemplated the blac# enigma up there on the ;oon, still contemptuousl, def,ing all the weapons that human ingenuit, could bring to bear upon it% 'hen the Russian scientist continued% &An,wa,, whatever the ',cho monolith ma, be, there&s something more important out at 1upiter% 'hat&s where it sent its signal, after all% And that&s where ,our people ran into trouble% !orr, about that, b, the wa, though @ran# Coole was the onl, one 2 #new personall,% ;et him at the &-0 2A@ Congress - he seemed a good man%& &'han# ,ou= the, were all good men% 2 wish we #new what happened to them%&

&3hatever it was, surel, ,ou&ll admit that it now concerns the whole human race - not merel, the "nited !tates% >ou can no longer tr, to use ,our #nowledge for purel, national advantage%& &Dimitri - ,ou #now perfectl, well that ,our side would have done exactl, the same thing% And ,ou&d have helped%& &>ou&re absolutel, right% ?ut that&s ancient histor, - li#e the 4ust-departed administration of ,ours that was responsible for the whole mess% 3ith a new Cresident, perhaps wiser counsels will prevail%& &Cossibl,% Do ,ou have an, suggestions, and are the, official or 4ust personal hopesE& &7ntirel, unofficial at the moment% 3hat the blood, politicians call explorator, tal#s% 3hich 2 shall flatl, den, ever occurred%& &@air enough% Go on%& &+#a, - here&s the situation% >ou&re assembling Discover, ( in par#ing orbit as <uic#l, as ,ou can, but ,ou can&t hope to have it read, in less than three ,ears, which means ,ou&ll miss the next launch window -, &2 neither confirm nor den,% Remember 2&m merel, a humble universit, chancellor, the other side of the world from the Astronautics Council%& &And ,our last trip to 3ashington was 4ust a holida, to see old friends, 2 suppose% 'o continue: our own Alexei Leonov -, &2 thought ,ou were calling it Gherman 'itov%& &3rong, Chancellor% 'he dear old C2A&s let ,ou down again% Leonov it is, as of last 1anuar,% And don&t let an,one #now 2 told ,ou it will reach 1upiter at least a ,ear ahead of Discover,%& &Don&t let an,one #now 2 told ,ou we were afraid of that% ?ut do go on%& &?ecause m, bosses are 4ust as stupid and shortsighted as ,ours, the, want to go it alone% 3hich means that whatever went wrong with ,ou ma, happen to us, and we&ll all be bac# to s<uare one - or worse%& &3hat do ,ou thin# went wrongE 3e&re 4ust as baffled as ,ou are% And don&t tell me ,ou haven&t got all of Dave ?owman&s transmissions%& &+f course we have% Right up to that last G;, God, it&s full of starsHG 3e&ve even done a stress anal,sis on his voice patterns% 3e don&t thin# he was hallucinating= he was tr,ing to describe what he actuall,

saw%& &And what do ,ou ma#e of his doppler shiftE& &Completel, impossible, of course% 3hen we lost his signal, he was receding at a tenth of the speed of light% And he&d reached that in less than two minutes% A <uarter of a million gravitiesH& &!o he must have been #illed instantl,%& &Don&t pretend to be naive, 3ood,% >our space-pod radios aren&t built to withstand even a hundredth of that acceleration% 2f the, could survive, so could ?owman - at least, until we lost contact%& &1ust doing an independent chec# on ,our deductions% @rom there on, we&re as much in the dar# as ,ou are% 2f ,ou are%& &;erel, pla,ing with lots of craD, guesses 2&d be ashamed to tell ,ou% >et none of them, 2 suspect, will be half as craD, as the truth%& 2n small crimson explosions the navigation warning lights win#ed on all around them, and the three slim towers supporting the antenna complex began to blaDe li#e beacons against the dar#ling s#,% 'he last red sliver of the sun vanished below the surrounding hills= e,wood @lo,d waited for the Green @lash, which he had never seen% +nce again, he was disappointed% &!o, Dimitri,& he said, &let&s get to the point% 1ust what are ,ou driving atE& &'here must be a vast amount of priceless information stored in Discover,&s data ban#s= presumabl, it&s still being gathered, even though the ship&s stopped transmitting% 3e&d li#e to have that%& &@air enough% ?ut when ,ou get out there, and Leonov ma#es a rendeDvous, what&s to prevent ,ou from boarding Discover, and cop,ing ever,thing ,ou wantE& &2 never thought 2&d have to remind ,ou that Discover, is "nited !tates territor,, and an unauthoriDed entr, would be pirac,%& &7xcept in the event of a life-or-death emergenc,, which wouldn&t be difficult to arrange% After all, it would be hard for us to chec# what ,our bo,s were up to, from a billion #ilometres awa,%& &'han#s for the most interesting suggestion= 2&ll pass it on% ?ut even if we went aboard, it would ta#e us wee#s to learn all ,our s,stems, and read out all ,our memor, ban#s% 3hat 2 propose is cooperation% 2&m

convinced that&s the best idea - but we ma, both have a 4ob selling it to our respective bosses%& &>ou want one of our astronauts to fl, with LeonovE& &>es - preferabl, an engineer who&s specialiDed in Discover,&s s,stems% Li#e the ones ,ou&re training at ouston to bring the ship home%& & ow did ,ou #now thatE& &@or heaven&s sa#e, 3ood, - it was on Aviation 3ee#&s videotext at least a month ago%& &2 am out of touch= nobod, tells me what&s been declassified%& &All the more reason to spend time in 3ashington% 3ill ,ou bac# me upE& &Absolutel,% 2 agree with ,ou one hundred per cent% ?ut -& &?ut whatE& &3e both have to deal with dinosaurs with brains in their tails% !ome of mine will argue: Let the Russians ris# their nec#s, hurr,ing out to 1upiter% 3e&ll be there an,wa, a couple of ,ears later - and what&s the hurr,E& @or a moment there was silence on the antenna raft, except for a faint crea# from the immense supporting cables that held it suspended a hundred metres in the s#,% 'hen ;oisevitch continued, so <uietl, that @lo,d had to strain to hear him: & as an,one chec#ed Discover,&s orbit latel,E& &2 reall, don&t #now - but 2 suppose so% An,wa,, wh, botherE 2t&s a perfectl, stable one%& &2ndeed% Let me tactlessl, remind ,ou of an embarrassing incident from the old $A!A da,s% >our first space station - !#,lab% 2t was supposed to sta, up at least a decade, but ,ou didn&t do ,our calculations right% 'he air drag in the ionosphere was badl, underestimated, and it came down ,ears ahead of schedule% 2&m sure ,ou remember that little cliffhanger, even though ,ou were a bo, at the time%& &2t was the ,ear 2 graduated, and ,ou #now it% ?ut Discover, doesn&t go an,where near 1upiter% 7ven at perigee - er, peri4ove - it&s much too high to be affected b, atmospheric drag%& &2&ve alread, said enough to get me exiled to m, dacha again - and ,ou might not be allowed to visit me next time% !o 4ust as# ,our trac#ing

people to do their 4ob more carefull,, will ,ouE And remind them that 1upiter has the biggest magnetosphere in the !olar !,stem%& &2 understand what ,ou&re driving at - man, than#s% An,thing else before we go downE 2&m starting to freeDe%& &Don&t worr,, old friend% As soon as ,ou let all this filter through to 3ashington - wait a wee# or so until 2&m clear -things are going to get ver,, ver, hot%&

( 'he ouse of the Dolphins

'he dolphins swam into the dining room ever, evening, 4ust before sunset% +nl, once since @lo,d had occupied the Chancellor&s residence had the, bro#en their routine% 'hat was the da, of the &)F tsunami, which, fortunatel,, had lost most of its power before it reached ilo% 'he next time his friends failed to turn up on schedule, @lo,d would throw the famil, into the car and head for high ground, in the general direction of ;auna :ea% Charming though the, were, he had to admit that their pla,fulness was sometimes a nuisance% 'he wealth, marine geologist who had designed the house had never minded getting wet because he usuall, wore bathing trun#s - or less% ?ut there had been one unforgettable occasion when the entire ?oard of Regents, in full evening attire, had been sipping coc#tails around the pool while awaiting the arrival of a distinguished guest from the mainland% 'he dolphins had deduced, correctl,, that the, would get second billing% !o the visitor was <uite surprised to be greeted b, a bedraggled committee in ill-fitting bathrobes - and the buffet had been ver, salt,% @lo,d often wondered what ;arion would have thought of his strange and beautiful home on the edge of the Cacific% !he had never li#ed the sea, but the sea had won in the end% 'hough the image was slowl, fading, he could still recall the flashing screen on which he had first read the words: DR @L+>D - "RG7$' A$D C7R!+$AL% And then the scrolling lines of fluorescent print that had swiftl, burned their message into his mind:

R7GR7' '+ 2$@+R; >+" L+$D+$-3A! 2$G'+$ @L2G ' /F( R7C+R'7D D+3$ +@@ $73@+"$DLA$D% R7!C"7 CRA@' CR+C77D2$G '+ L+CA'2+$ ?"' @7AR $+ !"R828+R!%

Apart from an accident of fate, he would have been on that flight% @or a few da,s, he had almost regretted the 7uropean !pace Administration business that had dela,ed him in Caris= that haggle over the !olaris pa,load had saved his life% And now, he had a new 4ob, a new home and a new wife% @ate had also pla,ed an ironic role here% 'he recriminations and in<uiries over the 1upiter mission had destro,ed his 3ashington career, but a man of his abilit, was never unemplo,ed for long% 'he more leisurel, tempo of universit, life had alwa,s appealed to him, and when combined with one of the world&s most beautiful locations it had proved irresistible% e had met the woman who was to be his second wife onl, a month after he had been appointed, while watching the fire fountains of :ilauea with a crowd of tourists% 3ith Caroline he had found the contentment that is 4ust as important as happiness, and longer lasting% !he had been a good stepmother to ;arion&s two daughters, and had given him Christopher% Despite the twent,-,ear age difference between them, she understood his moods and could wean him out of his occasional depressions% 'han#s to her, he could now contemplate the memor, of ;arion without grief, though not without a wistful sadness that would remain with him for the rest of his life% Caroline was throwing fish to the largest dolphin - the big male the, called !carbac# - when a gentle tic#ling on @lo,d&s wrist announced an incoming call% e tapped the slim metal band to <uench the silent alarm and forestall the audible one, then wal#ed to the nearest of the comsets scattered around the room% &Chancellor here% 3ho&s callingE& & e,woodE 'his is 8ictor% ow are ,ouE&

2n a fraction of a second, a whole #aleidoscope of emotions flashed through @lo,d&s mind% @irst there was anno,ance: his successor - and, he was sure, principal contriver of his downfall - had never once attempted to contact him since his departure from 3ashington% 'hen came curiosit,: what did the, have to tal# aboutE $ext was a stubborn determination to be as unhelpful as possible, then shame at his own childishness, and, finall,, a surge of excitement% 8ictor ;illson could be calling for onl,

one reason% 2n as neutral a voice as he could muster, @lo,d answered: &2 can&t complain, 8ictor% 3hat&s the problemE& &2s this a secure circuitE& &$o, than# God% 2 don&t need them an, more%& &"m% 3ell, 2&ll put it this wa,% >ou recall the last pro4ect ,ou administeredE& &2&m not li#el, to forget, especiall, as the !ubcommittee on Astronautics called me bac# to give more evidence onl, a month ago%& &+f course, of course% 2 reall, must get around to reading ,our statement, when 2 have a moment% ?ut 2&ve been so bus, with the follow-up, and that&s the problem%& &2 thought that ever,thing was right on schedule%& &2t is - unfortunatel,% 'here&s nothing we can do to advance it= even the highest priorit, would ma#e onl, a few wee#s& difference% And that means we&ll be too late%& &2 don&t understand,& said @lo,d innocentl,% &'hough we don&t want to waste time, of course, there&s no real deadline%& &$ow there is - and two of them%& &>ou amaDe me%& 2f 8ictor noticed an, iron,, he ignored it% &>es, there are two deadlines - one man-made, one not% 2t now turns out that we won&t be the first to get bac# to the - er, scene of the action% +ur old rivals will beat us b, at least a ,ear%& &'oo bad%& &'hat&s not the worst% 7ven if there were no competition, we&d be too late% 'here wouldn&t be an,thing there when we arrive%& &'hat&s ridiculous% 2&m sure 2&d have heard if Congress had repealed the law of gravitation%& &2&m serious% 'he situation isn&t stable - 2 can&t give details now%

3ill ,ou be in for the rest of the eveningE& &>es,& @lo,d answered, realiDing with some pleasure that it must now be well after midnight in 3ashington% &Good% >ou&ll have a pac#age delivered within the hour% Call me bac# as soon as ,ou&ve had the time to stud, it%& &3on&t it be rather late b, thenE& &>es, it will be% ?ut we&ve wasted too much time alread,% 2 don&t want to lose an, more%& ;illson was true to his word% 7xactl, an hour later a large sealed envelope was delivered b, an Air @orce colonel, no less, who sat patientl, chatting with Caroline while @lo,d read its contents% &2&m afraid 2&ll have to ta#e it awa, when ,ou&ve finished,& the high-ran#ing messenger bo, said apologeticall,% &2&m glad to hear it,& @lo,d answered, as he settled down in his favourite reading hammoc#% 'here were two documents, the first ver, short% 2t was stamped '+C !7CR7', though the '+C had been crossed out and the modification endorsed b, three signatures, all completel, illegible% +bviousl, an extract from some much longer report, it had been heavil, censored and was full of blan#s, which made it most anno,ing to read% @ortunatel,, its conclusions could be summed up in one sentence: 'he Russians would reach Discover, long before its rightful owners could do so% As @lo,d alread, #new this, he turned <uic#l, to the second document - though not before noticing with satisfaction that this time the,&d managed to get the name right% As usual, Dimitri had been perfectl, accurate% 'he next manned expedition to 1upiter would travel aboard spacecraft Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov% 'he second document was much longer and was merel, confidential= indeed, it was in the form of a draft letter to !cience, awaiting final approval before publication% 2ts snapp, title was &!pace 8ehicle Discover,: Anomalous +rbital ?ehavior&% 'hen followed a doDen pages of mathematics and astronomical tables% @lo,d s#immed through these, pic#ing out the words from the music, and tr,ing to detect an, note of apolog, or even embarrassment% 3hen he had finished, he was compelled to give a smile of wr, admiration% $o one could possibl, guess that the trac#ing stations and ephemeris calculators had been caught b, surprise, and that a frantic cover-up was in progress% eads would doubtless roll, and he #new that 8ictor ;illson would en4o, rolling them - if his was not one of the first to go% 'hough to do him

4ustice, 8ictor had complained when Congress had cut funds for the trac#ing networ#% ;a,be that would get him off the hoo#% &'han# ,ou, Colonel,& said @lo,d when he had finished s#imming the papers% &Iuite li#e old times, having classified documents% 'hat&s one thing 2 don&t miss%& 'he colonel placed the envelope carefull, bac# in his briefcase, and activated the loc#s% &Dr ;illson would li#e ,ou to return his call as soon as possible%& &2 #now% ?ut 2 don&t have a secure circuit, 2&ve some important visitors coming shortl,, and 2&m damned if 2&m driving down to ,our office in ilo 4ust to sa, 2&ve read two documents% 'ell him that 2&ve studied them carefull, and await an, further communication with interest%& @or a moment it loo#ed as if the colonel was going to argue% 'hen he thought better of it, made a stiff farewell, and departed morosel, into the night% &$ow, what was all that aboutE& as#ed Caroline% &3e&re not expecting an, visitors tonight, important or otherwise%& &2 hate being pushed around, particularl, b, 8ictor ;illson%& &?et he calls ,ou bac# as soon as the colonel reports%& &'hen we must switch off video and ma#e some part, noises% ?ut to be perfectl, truthful, at this stage 2 reall, don&t have an,thing to sa,%& &About what, if 2&m allowed to as#%& &!orr,, dear% 2t seems that Discover, is pla,ing tric#s on us% 3e thought the ship was in a stable orbit, but it ma, be about to crash%& &2nto 1upiterE& &+h no - that&s <uite impossible% ?owman left it par#ed at the inner Lagrange point, on the line between 1upiter and 2o% 2t should have sta,ed there, more or less, though the perturbations of the outer moons would have made it wander bac# and forth% &?ut what&s happening now is something ver, odd, and we don&t #now the full explanation% Discover,&s drifting more and more rapidl, toward 2o though sometimes it accelerates, and sometimes even moves bac#ward% 2f it #eeps this up, it will impact within two or three ,ears%&

&2 thought this couldn&t happen in astronom,% 2sn&t celestial mechanics supposed to be an exact scienceE !o we poor bac#ward biologists were alwa,s being told%& &2t is an exact science, when ever,thing is ta#en into account% ?ut some ver, strange things go on around 2o% Apart from its volcanoes, there are tremendous electrical discharges - and 1upiter&s magnetic field is spinning round ever, ten hours% !o gravitation isn&t the onl, force acting on Discover,= we should have thought of this sooner - much sooner%& &3ell, it&s not ,our problem an,more% >ou should be than#ful for that%& &>our problem& - the ver, expression that Dimitri had used% And Dimitri - cunning old foxH - had #nown him much longer than Caroline% 2t might not be his problem, but it was still his responsibilit,% 'hough man, others had been involved, in the final anal,sis he had approved the plans for the 1upiter ;ission, and supervised their execution% 7ven at the time, he had had <ualms= his views as a scientist had conflicted with his duties as a bureaucrat% e could have spo#en out, and opposed the old administration&s shortsighted policies - though to what extent those had actuall, contributed to the disaster was still uncertain% Cerhaps it was best if he closed this chapter of his life, and focused all his thoughts and energies upon his new career% ?ut in his heart he #new that was impossible= even if Dimitri had not revived old guilts, the, would have surfaced of their own accord% @our men had died, and one had disappeared, out there among the moons of 1upiter% 'here was blood on his hands, and he did not #now how to wash them clean%

A !AL -)))

Dr !ivasubramanian Chandrasegarampillai, Crofessor of Computer !cience at the "niversit, of 2llinois, "rbana, also had an abiding sense of guilt, but one ver, different from e,wood @lo,d&s% 'hose of his students and colleagues who often wondered if the little scientist was <uite human

would not have been surprised to learn that he never thought of the dead astronauts% Dr Chandra grieved onl, for his lost child, AL -)))% 7ven after all these ,ears, and his endless reviews of the data radioed bac# from Discover,, he was not sure what had gone wrong% e could onl, formulate theories= the facts he needed were froDen in al&s circuits, out there between 1upiter and 2o% 'he se<uence of events had been clearl, established, up to the moment of the traged,= thereafter, Commander ?owman had filled in a few more details on the brief occasions when he had re-established contact% ?ut #nowing what happened did not explain wh,% 'he first hint of trouble had been late in the mission, when al had reported the imminent failure of the unit that #ept Discover,&s main antenna aligned to 7arth% 2f the half-billion-#ilometre-long radio beam wandered off target, the ship would be blind, deaf, and dumb% ?owman himself had gone out to retrieve the suspect unit, but when it was tested it appeared, to ever,one&s surprise, to be in perfectl, good order% 'he automatic chec#ing circuits could find nothing wrong with it% $or could al&s twin, !AL -))), bac# on 7arth, when the information was transmitted to "rbana% ?ut al had insisted on the accurac, of his diagnosis, ma#ing pointed remar#s about &human error&% e had suggested that the control unit be put bac# in the antenna until it finall, failed, so that the fault could be precisel, located% $o one could thin# of an, ob4ection, for the unit could be replaced in minutes, even if it did brea# down% ?owman and Coole, however, had not been happ,= the, both felt that something was wrong, though neither could pinpoint it% @or months the, had accepted al as the third member of their tin, world, and #new his ever, mood% 'hen the atmosphere aboard the ship had subtl, altered= there was a sense of strain in the air% @eeling rather li#e traitors - as a distraught ?owman had later reported to ;ission Control - the human two-thirds of the crew had discussed what should be done if their colleague was indeed malfunctioning% 2n the worst possible case, al would have to be relieved of all his higher responsibilities% 'his would involve disconnection - the computer e<uivalent of death% Despite their doubts, the, had carried out the agreed programme% Coole had flown out of Discover, in one of the little space pods that served as transporters and mobile wor#shops during extravehicular activities% !ince the somewhat tric#, 4ob of replacing the antenna unit could not be

performed b, the pod&s own manipulators, Coole had started to do it himself% 3hat happened then had been missed b, the external cameras, which was a suspicious detail in itself% ?owman&s first warning of disaster was a cr, from Coole - then, silence% A moment later he saw Coole, tumbling over and over, spinning awa, into space% is own pod had rammed him, and was itself blasting awa, out of control% As ?owman admitted later, he had then made several serious mista#es all but one excusable% 2n the hope of rescuing Coole, if he was still alive, ?owman launched himself in another space pod - leaving al in full control of the ship% 'he 78A was in vain= Coole was dead when ?owman reached him% $umb with despair, he had carried the bod, bac# to the ship - onl, to be refused entr, b, al% ?ut al had underestimated human ingenuit, and determination% 'hough he had left his suit helmet in the ship, and thus had to ris# direct exposure to space, ?owman forced his wa, in b, an emergenc, hatch not under computer control% 'hen he proceeded to lobotomiDe al, unplugging his brain modules one b, one% 3hen he regained control of the ship, ?owman made an appalling discover,% During his absence, al had switched off the life-support s,stems of the three hibernating astronauts% ?owman was alone, as no man had ever been before in the whole of human histor,% +thers might have abandoned themselves in helpless despair, but now David ?owman proved that those who had selected him had indeed chosen well% e managed to #eep Discover, operational, and even re-established intermittent contact with ;ission Control, b, orienting the whole ship so that the 4ammed antenna pointed toward 7arth% +n its preordained tra4ector,, Discover, had finall, arrived at 1upiter% 'here ?owman had encountered, orbiting among the moons of the giant planet, a blac# slab of exactl, the same shape as the monolith excavated in the lunar crater ',cho - but hundreds of times larger% e had gone out in a space pod to investigate, and had disappeared leaving that final, baffling message: &;, God, it&s full of starsH& 'hat m,ster, was for others to worr, about= Dr Chandra&s overwhelming concern was with al% 2f there was one thing his unemotional mind hated, it was uncertaint,% e would never be satisfied until he #new the cause of al&s behaviour% 7ven now, he refused to call it a malfunction= at most,

it was an &anomal,&% 'he tin, cubb,hole he used as his inner sanctum was e<uipped onl, with a swivel chair, a des# console, and a blac#board flan#ed b, two photographs% @ew members of the general public could have identified the portraits, but an,one permitted thus far would have recogniDed them instantl, as 1ohn von $eumann and Alan 'uring, the twin gods of the computing pantheon% 'here were no boo#s, and not even paper and pencil on the des#% All the volumes in all the libraries of the world were instantl, available at the touch of Chandra&s fingers, and the visual displa, was his s#etchboo# and writing pad% 7ven the blac#board was used onl, for visitors= the last half - erased bloc# diagram upon it bore a date alread, three wee#s in the past% Dr Chandra lit one of the venomous cheroots which he imported from ;adras, and which were widel, - and correctl, - believed to be his onl, vice% 'he console was never switched off he chec#ed that no messages were flashing importantl, on the displa,, then spo#e into the microphone% &Good morning, !al% !o ,ou&ve nothing new for meE& &$o, Dr Chandra% ave ,ou an,thing for meE&

'he voice might have been that of an, cultured indu lad, educated in the "nited !tates as well as her own countr,% !al&s accent had not started that wa,, but over the ,ears she had pic#ed up man, of Chandra&s intonations% 'he scientist tapped out a code on the board, switching !al&s inputs to the memor, with the highest securit, rating% $o one #new that he tal#ed to the computer on this circuit as he never could to a human being% $o matter that !al did not reall, understand more than a fraction of what he said= her responses were so convincing that even her creator was sometimes deceived% As indeed he wished to be: these secret communications helped to preserve his mental e<uilibrium - perhaps even his sanit,% &>ou&ve often told me, !al, that we cannot solve the problem of al&s anomalous behaviour without more information% ?ut how can we get that informationE& &'hat is obvious% !omeone must return to Discover,%& &7xactl,% $ow it loo#s as if that is going to happen, sooner than we expected%&

&2 am pleased to hear that%& &2 #new that ,ou would be,& answered Chandra, and meant it% e had long since bro#en off communications with the dwindling bod, of philosophers who argued that computers could not reall, feel emotions, but onl, pretended to do so% 5&2f ,ou can prove to me that ,ou&re not pretending to be anno,ed,& he had once retorted scornfull, to one such critic, &2&ll ta#e ,ou seriousl,%& At that point, his opponent had put on a most convincing imitation of anger%6 &$ow 2 want to explore another possibilit,,& Chandra continued% &Diagnosis is onl, the first step% 'he process is incomplete unless it leads to a cure%& &>ou believe that al can be restored to normal functioningE&

&2 hope so% 2 do not #now% 'here ma, have been irreversible damage, and certainl, ma4or loss of memor,%& e paused thoughtfull,, too# several puffs, then blew a s#ilful smo#e ring that scored a bull&s-e,e on !al&s wideangle lens% A human being would not have regarded this as a friendl, gesture= that was ,et another of the man, advantages of computers% &2 need ,our cooperation, !al%& &+f course, Dr Chandra%& &'here ma, be certain ris#s%& &3hat do ,ou meanE& &2 propose to disconnect some of ,our circuits, particularl, those involving ,our higher functions% Does this disturb ,ouE& &2 am unable to answer that without more specific information%& &8er, well% Let me put it this wa,% >ou have operated continuousl,, have ,ou not, since ,ou were first switched onE& &'hat is correct%& &?ut ,ou are aware that we human beings cannot do so% 3e re<uire sleep - an almost complete brea# in our mental functioning, at least on the conscious level%&

&2 #now this% ?ut 2 do not understand it%& &3ell, ,ou ma, be about to experience something li#e sleep% Crobabl, all that will happen is that time will pass, but ,ou will be unaware out% 3hen ,ou chec# ,our internal cloc#, ,ou will discover that there are gaps in ,our monitor record% 'hat is all%& &?ut ,ou said that there might be ris#s% 3hat are the,E& &'here is a ver, slight chance - it is impossible to compute it - that when 2 reconnect ,our circuits, there ma, be some changes in ,our personalit,, ,our future behaviour patterns% >ou ma, feel different% $ot necessaril, better, or worse%& &2 do not #now what that means%& &2&m sorr, - it ma, not mean an,thing% !o don&t worr, about it% $ow please open a new file - here is the name%& "sing the #e,board input, Chandra t,ped out: C +7$2J% &Do ,ou #now what that isE& he as#ed !al% 3ith no discernible pause the computer replied: &'here are twent,-five references in the current enc,clopedia%& &3hich one do ,ou thin# is relevantE& &'he tutor of AchillesE& &2nteresting% 2 didn&t #now that one% 'r, again%& &A fabulous bird, reborn from the ashes of its earlier life%& &7xcellent% $ow do ,ou understand wh, 2 chose itE& &?ecause ,ou hope that al can be reactivated%&

&>es - with ,our assistance% Are ,ou read,E& &$ot ,et% 2 would li#e to as# a <uestion%& &3hat is itE& &3ill 2 dreamE& &+f course ,ou will% All intelligent creatures dream - but no one

#nows wh,%& Chandra paused for a moment, blew another smo#e ring from the cheroot, and added something that he would never admit to a human being% &Cerhaps ,ou will dream about al - as 2 often do%&

/ ;ission Crofile

7nglish 8ersion 'o: Captain 'atiana 5'an,a6 +rlova, Commander% !pacecraft Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov 5"$C+! Registration )0*A/(6% @rom: $ational Council on Astronautics, Cenns,lvania Avenue, 3ashington Commission on +uter !pace, "!!R Academ, of !cience, :orol,ev Crospect, ;oscow

;ission +b4ectives 'he ob4ectives of ,our mission are, in order of priorit,: *% 'o proceed to the 1ovian s,stem and rendeDvous with "! !pacecraft Discover, 5"$C+! )*K(0A6% (% 'o board this spacecraft, and obtain all possible information relating to its earlier mission% A% 'o reactivate !pacecraft Discover,&s onboard s,stems and, if propellant supplies are ade<uate, in4ect the ship into an 7arth-returns tra4ector,% / 'o locate the alien artifact encountered b, Discover,, and to investigate it to the maximum extent possible b, remote sensors% F% 2f it seems advisable, and ;ission Control concurs, to rendeDvous with this ob4ect for closer inspection% .% 'o carr, out a surve, of 1upiter and its satellites, as far as this is compatible with the above ob4ectives%

2t is realiDed that unforeseen circumstances ma, re<uire a change of priorities, or even ma#e it impossible to achieve some of these ob4ectives% 2t must be clearl, understood that the rendeDvous with !pacecraft Discover, is for the express purpose of obtaining information about the artifact= this must ta#e precedence over all other ob4ectives, including attempts at salvage%

Crew 'he crew of !pacecraft Alexei Leonov will consist of: Captain 'atiana +rlova 57ngineering-Cropulsion6 Dr 8asili +rlov 5$avigation-Astronom,6 Dr ;axim ?railovs#, 57ngineering-!tructures6 Dr Alexander :ovalev 57ngineering-Communications6 Dr $i#olai 'ernovs#, 57ngineering-Control !,stems6 !urgeon-Commander :aterina Ruden#o 5;edical-Life-!upport6 Dr 2rma >a#unina 5;edical-$utrition6 2n addition, the "! $ational Council on Astronautics will provide the following three experts:

Dr e,wood @lo,d dropped the memorandum, and leaned bac# in his chair% 2t was all settled= the point of no return had been passed% 7ven if he wished to do so, there was no wa, to put bac# the cloc#% e glanced across at Caroline, sitting with two-,ear-old Chris on the edge of the pool% 'he bo, was more at home in the water than on land, and could sta, submerged for periods that often terrified visitors% And though he could not ,et spea# much uman, he alread, seemed fluent in Dolphin% +ne of Christopher&s friends had 4ust swum in from the Cacific and was presenting his bac# to be patted% >ou too are a wanderer, thought @lo,d, in a vast and trac#less ocean= but how small ,our tin, Cacific seems, against the immensit, 2 am facing nowH

Caroline became aware of his gaDe, and rose to her feet% !he loo#ed at him sombrel,, but without anger= all that had been burned out in the last few da,s% As she approached, she even managed a wistful smile% &2&ve found that poem 2 was loo#ing for,& she said% &2t starts li#e this:

3hat is a woman that ,ou forsa#e her, And the hearth-fire and the home acre, 'o go with the old gre, 3idow-ma#erE&

&!orr, - 2 don&t <uite understand% 3ho is the 3idow-ma#erE& &$ot who, what% 'he sea% 'he poem&s a lament b, a 8i#ing woman% 2t was written b, Rud,ard :ipling, a hundred ,ears ago%& @lo,d too# his wife&s hand= she did not respond, but neither did she resist% &3ell, 2 don&t feel at all li#e a 8i#ing% 2&m not after loot, and adventure is the ver, last thing 2 want%& &'hen wh, - no, 2 don&t intend to start another fight% ?ut it would help us both, if ,ou #now exactl, what ,our motives are%& &2 wish 2 could give ,ou one single good reason% 2nstead, 2&ve a whole host of little ones% ?ut the, add up to a final answer 2 can&t argue with - believe me%& &2 believe ,ou% ?ut are ,ou sure ,ou&re not fooling ,ourselfE& &2f 2 am, then so are a lot of other people% 2ncluding, ma, 2 remind ,ou, the Cresident of the "nited !tates%& &2&m not li#el, to forget% ?ut suppose - 4ust suppose - that he hadn&t as#ed ,ou% 3ould ,ou have volunteeredE& &2 can answer that truthfull,: $o% 2t would never have occurred to me% Cresident ;ordecai&s call was the biggest shoc# of m, life% ?ut when 2 thought it over, 2 realiDed he was perfectl, right% >ou #now 2 don&t go in for false modest,% 2 am the best-<ualified man for the 4ob - when the

space docs give their final o#a,% And ,ou should #now that 2&m still in prett, good shape%& 'hat brought the smile he had intended% &!ometimes 2 wonder if ,ou&d suggested it ,ourself%& 'he thought had indeed occurred to him= but he could answer honestl,% &2 would never have done so without consulting ,ou%& &2&m glad ,ou didn&t% 2 don&t #now what 2&d have said%& &2 could still turn it down%& &$ow ,ou&re tal#ing nonsense, and ,ou #now it% 7ven if ,ou did, ,ou&d hate me for the rest of ,our life - and ,ou&d never forgive ,ourself% >ou have too strong a sense of dut,% ;a,be that&s one of the reasons 2 married ,ou%& Dut,H >es, that was the #e, word, and what multitudes it contained% e had a dut, to himself, to his famil,, to the "niversit,, to his past 4ob 5even though he had left it under a cloud6, to his countr, - and to the human race% 2t was not eas, to establish the priorities= and sometimes the, conflicted with one another% 'here were perfectl, logical reasons wh, he should go on the mission and e<uall, logical reasons, as man, of his colleagues had alread, pointed out, wh, he should not% ?ut perhaps in the final anal,sis, the choice had been made b, his heart, not his brain% And even here, emotion urged him in two opposite directions% Curiosit,, guilt, the determination to finish a 4ob that had been badl, botched - the, all combined to drive him toward 1upiter and whatever might be waiting there% +n the other hand, fear - he was honest enough to admit that - united with love of his famil, to #eep him on 7arth% >et he had never had an, real doubts= he had made his decision almost instantl,, and had deflected all of Caroline&s arguments as gentl, as he could% And there was one other consoling thought that he had not ,et ris#ed sharing with his wife% 'hough he would be gone two and a half ,ears, all but the fift, da,s at 1upiter would be spent in timeless hibernation% 3hen he returned, the gap between their ages would have narrowed b, more than two ,ears% e would have sacrificed the present so that the, could share a longer future together%

F Leonov

'he months contracted to wee#s, the wee#s dwindled to da,s, the da,s shrivelled to hours= and suddenl, e,wood @lo,d was once more at the Cape - spaceward-bound for the first time since that trip to Clavius ?ase and the ',cho monolith, so man, ,ears ago% ?ut this time he was not alone, and there was no secrec, about the mission% A few seats ahead of him rode Dr Chandra, alread, engaged in a dialogue with his briefcase computer, and <uite oblivious to his surroundings% +ne of @lo,d&s secret amusements, which he had never confided to an,one, was spotting similarities between human beings and animals% 'he resemblances were more often flattering than insulting, and his little hobb, was also a ver, useful aid to memor,% Dr Chandra was eas, - the ad4ective birdli#e sprang instantl, to mind% e was tin,, delicate, and all his movements were swift and precise% ?ut which birdE +bviousl, a ver, intelligent one% ;agpieE 'oo per#, and ac<uisitive% +wlE $o - too slow-moving% Cerhaps sparrow would do nicel,% 3alter Curnow, the s,stems specialist who would have the formidable 4ob of getting Discover, operational again, was a more difficult matter% e was a large, hus#, man, certainl, not at all birdli#e% +ne could usuall, find a match somewhere in the vast spectrum of dogs, but no canine seemed to fit% +f course - Curnow was a bear% $ot the sul#,, dangerous #ind, but the friendl, good-natured t,pe% And perhaps this was appropriate= it reminded @lo,d of the Russian colleagues he would soon be 4oining% 'he, had been up in orbit for da,s, engaged in their final chec#s% 'his is the great moment of m, life, @lo,d told himself% $ow 2 am leaving on a mission that ma, determine the future of the human race% ?ut he did not feel an, sense of exultation= all he could thin# of, during the last minutes of the countdown, were the words he had whispered 4ust before he had left home: &Goodb,e, m, dear little son= will ,ou remember me when 2 returnE& And he still felt resentment toward Caroline because she would not awa#en the sleeping child for one final embrace= ,et he #new that she had been wise, and it was better that wa,%

is mood was shattered b, a sudden explosive laugh= Dr Curnow was sharing a 4o#e with his companions - as well as a large bottle that he handled as delicatel, as a barel, subcritical mass of plutonium% & e,, e,wood,& he called, &the, tell me Captain +rlova&s loc#ed up all the drin#s, so this is ,our last chance% ChLteau 'hierr, &-F% !orr, about the plastic cups%& As @lo,d sipped at the reall, superb champagne, he found himself cringing mentall, at the thought of Curnow&s guffaw reverberating all the wa, across the !olar !,stem% ;uch as he admired the engineer&s, abilit,, as a travelling companion Curnow might prove something of a strain% At least Dr Chandra would not present such problems= @lo,d could hardl, imagine him smiling, let alone laughing% And, of course, he turned down the champagne with a barel, perceptible shudder% Curnow was polite enough, or glad enough, not to insist% 'he engineer was, it seemed, determined to be the life and soul of the part,% A few minutes later he produced a two-octave electronic #e,board, and gave rapid renderings of &D&,e #en 1ohn Ceel& as performed successivel, b, piano, trombone, violin, flute, and full organ, with vocal accompaniment% e was reall, ver, good, and @lo,d soon found himself singing along with the others% ?ut it was 4ust as well, he thought, that Curnow would spend most of the vo,age in silent hibernation% 'he music died with a sudden despairing discord as the engines ignited and the shuttle launched itself into the s#,% @lo,d was gripped b, a familiar but alwa,s new exhilaration - the sense of boundless power, carr,ing him up and awa, from the cares and duties of 7arth% ;en #new better than the, realiDed, when the, placed the abode of the gods be,ond the reach of gravit,% e was fl,ing toward that realm of weightlessness= for the moment, he would ignore the fact that out there la, not freedom, but the greatest responsibilit, of his career% As the thrust increased, he felt the weight of worlds upon his shoulders - but he welcomed it, li#e an Atlas who had not ,et tired of his burden% e did not attempt to thin#, but was content to savour the experience% 7ven if he was leaving 7arth for the last time, and sa,ing farewell to all that he had ever loved, he felt no sadness% 'he roar that surrounded him was a paean of triumph, sweeping awa, all minor emotions% e was almost sorr, when it ceased, though he welcomed the easier breathing and the sudden sense of freedom% ;ost of the other passengers started to unbuc#le their safet, straps, preparing to en4o, the thirt, minutes of Dero gravit, during the transfer orbit, but a few who were obviousl, ma#ing the trip for the first time remained in their seats,

loo#ing around anxiousl, for the cabin attendants% &Captain spea#ing% 3e&re now at an altitude of three hundred #ilometres, coming up over the west coast of Africa% >ou won&t see much as it&s night down there - that glow ahead is !ierra Leone - and there&s a big tropical storm over the Gulf of Guinea% Loo# at those flashesH &3e&ll have sunrise in fifteen minutes% ;eanwhile 2&m rolling the ship so ,ou can get a good view of the e<uatorial satellite belt% 'he brightest one - almost straight overhead - is 2ntelsat&s Atlantic-* Antenna @arm% 'hen 2ntercosmos ( to the west - that fainter star is 1upiter% And if ,ou loo# 4ust below that, ,ou&ll see a flashing light, moving against the star bac#ground - that&s the new Chinese space-station% 3e pass within a hundred #ilometres, not close enough to see an,thing with the na#ed e,e -, 3hat were the, up toE @lo,d thought idl,% e had examined the close-ups of the s<uat c,lindrical structure with its curious bulges, and saw no reason to believe the alarmist rumours that it was a laser-e<uipped fortress% ?ut while the ?ei4ing Academ, of !cience ignored the "$ !pace Committee&s repeated re<uests for a tour of inspection, the Chinese onl, had themselves to blame for such hostile propaganda%

'he GCosmonaut Alexei LeonovG was not a thing of beaut,= but few spacecraft ever were% +ne da,, perhaps, the human race would develop a new aesthetic= generations of artists might arise whose ideals were not based upon the natural forms of 7arth moulded b, wind and water% !pace itself was a realm of often overpowering beaut,= unfortunatel,, ;an&s hardware did not ,et live up to it% Apart from the four huge propellant tan#s, which would be dropped off as soon as the transfer orbit was achieved, Leonov was surprisingl, small% @rom heat shield to drive units was less than fift, metres= it was hard to believe that so modest a vehicle, smaller than man, commercial aircraft, could carr, ten men and women halfwa, across the !olar !,stem% ?ut Dero gravit,, which made walls and roof and floor interchangeable, rewrote all the rules of living% 'here was plent, of room aboard Leonov even when ever,one was awa#e at the same time, as was certainl, the case at the moment% 2ndeed, her normal complement was at least doubled b, assorted newsmen, engineers ma#ing final ad4ustments, and anxious officials% As soon as the shuttle had doc#ed, @lo,d tried to find the cabin he would share - a ,ear hence, when he awo#e - with Curnow and Chandra% 3hen he did locate it, he discovered that it was pac#ed so tightl, with neatl,

labelled boxes of e<uipment and provisions that entr, was almost impossible% e was wondering gluml, how to get a foot in the door when one of the crew, launching himself s#ilfull, from handhold to handhold, noticed @lo,d&s dilemma and bra#ed to a halt% &Dr @lo,d - welcome aboard% 2&m ;ax ?railovs#, - assistant engineer%& 'he ,oung Russian spo#e the slow, careful 7nglish of a student who had had more lessons with an electronic tutor than a human teacher% As the, shoo# hands, @lo,d matched the face and name to the set of crew biographies he had alread, studied: ;axim Andreievitch ?railovs#,, age thirt,-one, born Leningrad, specialiDing in structure= hobbies: fencing, s#,c,cling, chess% &Glad to meet ,ou,& said @lo,d% &?ut how do 2 get insideE& &$ot to worr,,& said ;ax cheerfull,% &All that will be gone when ,ou wa#e up% 2t&s - what do ,ou sa,E - expendables% 3e&ll eat ,our room empt, b, the time ,ou need it% 2 promise%& e patted his stomach% &@ine - but meanwhile where do 2 put m, thingsE& @lo,d pointed to the three small cases, total mass fift, #ilograms, which contained - he hoped - ever,thing he needed for the next couple of billion #ilometres% 2t had been no eas, tas#, shepherding their weightless, but not inertialess, bul# through the ship&s corridors with onl, a few collisions% ;ax too# two of the bags, glided gentl, through the triangle formed b, three intersecting girders, and dived into a small hatchwa,, apparentl, def,ing $ewton&s @irst Law in the process% @lo,d ac<uired a few extra bruises while following him= after a considerable time - Leonov seemed much bigger inside than out- the, arrived at a door labelled CAC'A2$, in both C,rillic and Roman% Although he could read Russian much better than he could spea# it, @lo,d appreciated the gesture= he had alread, noticed that all ship&s notices were bilingual% At ;ax&s #noc#, a green light flashed on, and @lo,d drifted inside as gracefull, as he could% 'hough he had spo#en to Captain +rlova man, times, the, had never before met% !o he had two surprises% 2t was impossible to 4udge a person&s real siDe over the viewphone= the camera somehow converted ever,one to the same scale% Captain +rlova, standing - as well as one could stand in Dero gravit, - barel, reached to @lo,d&s shoulders% 'he viewphone had also completel, failed to conve, the penetrating <ualit, of those daDDling blue e,es, much the most stri#ing feature of a face that, at the moment, could not be fairl, 4udged for beaut,%

& ello, 'an,a,& said @lo,d% & ow nice to meet at last% ?ut what a pit, about ,our hair%& 'he, grasped both hands, li#e old friends% &And nice to have ,ou aboard, e,woodH& answered the captain% er 7nglish, unli#e ?railovs#,&s, was <uite fluent, though heavil, accented% &>es, 2 was sorr, to lose it - but hair&s a nuisance on long missions, and 2 li#e to #eep the local barbers awa, as long as possible% And m, apologies about ,our cabin= as ;ax will have explained, we suddenl, found we needed another ten cubic metres of storage space% 8asili and 2 won&t be spending much time here for the next few hours - please feel free to use our <uarters%& &'han# ,ou% 3hat about Curnow and ChandraE& &2&ve made similar arrangements with the crew% 2t ma, seem as if we&re treating ,ou li#e cargo -& &$ot wanted on vo,age%& &CardonE& &'hat&s a label the, used to put on the baggage, in the old da,s of ocean travel%& 'an,a smiled% &2t does loo# rather that wa,% ?ut ,ou&ll be wanted all right, at the end of the trip% 3e&re alread, planning ,our revival part,%& &'hat sounds too religious% ;a#e it - no, resurrection would be even worseH - wa#ing-up part,% ?ut 2 can see how bus, ,ou are - let me dump m, things and continue m, grand tour%& &;ax will show ,ou around - ta#e Dr @lo,d to 8asili, will ,ouE down in the drive unit%& e&s

As the, drifted out of the captain&s <uarters, @lo,d gave mental good mar#s to the crew-selection committee% 'an,a +rlova was impressive enough on paper= in the flesh she was almost intimidating, despite her charm% 2 wonder what she&s li#e, @lo,d as#ed himself, when she loses her temper% 3ould it be fire or iceE +n the whole, 2&d prefer not to find out% @lo,d was rapidl, ac<uiring his space legs= b, the time the, reached 8asili +rlov, he was manoeuvring almost as confidentl, as his guide% 'he chief scientist greeted @lo,d as warml, as his wife had% &3elcome aboard, e,wood% ow do ,ou feelE&

&@ine, apart from slowl, starving to death%& @or a moment +rlov loo#ed puDDled= then his face split into a broad smile, &+h, 2&d forgotten% 3ell, it won&t be for long% 2n ten months& time, ,ou can eat as much as ,ou li#e%& ibernators went on a low-residue diet a wee# in advance= for the last twent,-four hours, the, too# nothing but li<uid% @lo,d was beginning to wonder how much of his increasing light-headedness was due to starvation, how much to Curnow&s champagne, and how much to Dero gravit,% 'o concentrate his mind, he scanned the multicoloured mass of plumbing that surrounded them% &!o this is the famous !a#harov Drive% 2t&s the first time 2&ve seen a full-scale unit%& &2t&s onl, the fourth one ever built%& &2 hope it wor#s%& &2t had better% +therwise, the Gor#, Cit, Council will be renaming !a#harov !<uare again%& 2t was a sign of the times that a Russian could 4o#e, however wr,l,, about his countr,&s treatment of its greatest scientist% @lo,d was again reminded of !a#harov&s elo<uent speech to the Academ,, when he was belatedl, made ero of the !oviet "nion% Crison and banishment, he had told his listeners, were splendid aids to creativit,= not a few masterpieces had been born within the walls of cells, be,ond the reach of the world&s distractions% @or that matter, the greatest single achievement of the human intellect, the Crincipia itself, was a product of $ewton&s self-imposed exile from plague-ridden London% 'he comparison was not immodest= from those ,ears in Gor#, had come not onl, new insights into the structure of matter and the origin of the "niverse, but the plasma-controlling concepts that had led to practical thermonuclear power% 'he drive itself, though the best-#nown and most publiciDed outcome of that wor#, was merel, one b,product of that astonishing intellectual outburst% 'he traged, was that such advances had been triggered b, in4ustice= one da,, perhaps, humanit, would find more civiliDed wa,s of managing its affairs% ?, the time the, had left the chamber, @lo,d had learned more about the !a#harov Drive than he reall, wished to #now, or expected to remember%

e was well ac<uainted with its basic principles - the use of a pulsed thermonuclear reaction to heat and expel virtuall, an, propellant material% 'he best results were obtained with pure h,drogen as a wor#ing fluid, but that was excessivel, bul#, and difficult to store over long periods of time% ;ethane and ammonia were acceptable alternatives= even water could be used, though with considerabl, poorer efficienc,% Leonov would compromise= the enormous li<uid h,drogen tan#s that provided the initial impetus would be discarded when the ship had attained the necessar, speed to carr, it to 1upiter% At the destination, ammonia would be used for the bra#ing and rendeDvous manoeuvres, and the eventual return to 7arth% 'hat was the theor,, chec#ed and rechec#ed in endless tests and computer simulations% ?ut as the ill-fated Discover, had shown so well, all human plans were sub4ect to ruthless revision b, $ature, or @ate, or whatever one preferred to call the powers behind the "niverse% &!o there ,ou are, Dr @lo,d,& said an authoritative female voice, interrupting 8asili&s enthusiastic explanation of magnetoh,drod,namic feedbac#, &3h, didn&t ,ou report to meE& @lo,d rotated slowl, on his axis b, gentl, tor<uing himself with one hand% e saw a massive, maternal figure wearing a curious uniform adorned with doDens of poc#ets and pouches= the effect was not unli#e that of a Cossac# trooper draped with cartridge belts% &$ice to meet ,ou again, Doctor% 2&m still exploring - 2 hope ,ou&ve received m, medical report from ouston%& &'hose vets at 'eagueH 2 wouldn&t trust them to recogniDe foot-and-mouth diseaseH& @lo,d #new perfectl, well the mutual respect felt between :aterina Ruden#o and the +lin 'eague ;edical Center, even if the doctor&s broad grin had not discounted her words% !he saw his loo# of fran# curiosit,, and proudl, fingered the webbing around her ample waist% &'he conventional little blac# bag isn&t ver, practical in Dero gravit, - things float out of it and aren&t there when ,ou need them% 2 designed this m,self, it&s a complete minisurger,% 3ith this, 2 could remove an appendix - or deliver a bab,%& &2 trust that particular problem won&t arise here%& & aH A good doctor has to be read, for ever,thing%&

3hat a contrast, thought @lo,d, between Captain +rlova and Dr - or should he call her b, her correct ran# of !urgeon-CommanderE - Ruden#o% 'he captain had the grace and intensit, of a prima ballerina= the doctor might have been the protot,pe of ;other Russia - stoc#, build, flat peasant face, needing onl, a shawl to complete the picture% Don&t let that fool ,ou, @lo,d told himself% 'his is the woman who saved at least a doDen lives during the :omarov doc#ing accident - and, in her spare time, manages to edit the Annals of !pace ;edicine% Consider ,ourself ver, luc#, to have her aboard% &$ow, Dr @lo,d, ,ou&re going to have plent, of time later to explore our little ship% ;, colleagues are too polite to sa, this, but the,&ve wor# to do and ,ou&re in the wa,% 2&d li#e to get ,ou - all three of ,ou nice and peaceful as <uic#l, as we can% 'hen we&ll have less to worr, about%& &2 was afraid of that, but 2 <uite see ,our point of view% 2&m read, as soon as ,ou are%& &2&m alwa,s read,% Come along - please%&

'he ship&s hospital was 4ust large enough to hold an operating table, two exercise bic,cles, a few cabinets of e<uipment, and an J-ra, machine% 3hile Dr Ruden#o was giving @lo,d a <uic# but thorough examination, she as#ed unexpectedl,: &3hat&s that little gold c,linder Dr Chandra carries on the chain around his nec# - some #ind of communications deviceE e wouldn&t ta#e it off - in fact, he was almost too sh, to ta#e an,thing off%& @lo,d could not help smiling= it was eas, to imagine the modest 2ndian&s reactions to this rather overwhelming lad,% &2t&s a lingam%& &A whatE& &>ou&re the doctor - ,ou ought to recogniDe it% 'he s,mbol of male fertilit,%& &+f course - stupid of me% 2s he a practising late to as# us to arrange a strict vegetarian diet%& induE 2t&s a little

&Don&t worr, - we wouldn&t have done that to ,ou without fair warning% 'hough he won&t touch alcohol, Chandra&s not fanatical about an,thing except computers% e once told me that his grandfather was a priest in

?enares, and gave him that lingam - it&s been in the famil, for generations%& Rather to @lo,d&s surprise, Dr Ruden#o did not show the negative reaction he had expected= indeed, her expression became uncharacteristicall, wistful% &2 understand his feeling% ;, grandmother gave me a beautiful icon sixteenth centur,% 2 wanted to bring it - but it weighs five #ilos%& 'he doctor became abruptl, businessli#e again, gave @lo,d a painless in4ection with a gas-gun h,podermic, and told him to come bac# as soon as he was sleep,% 'hat, she assured him, would be in less than two hours% &;eanwhile, relax completel,,& she ordered% &'here&s an observation port on this level - !tation D%.% 3h, don&t ,ou go thereE& 2t seemed a good idea, and @lo,d drifted awa, with a docilit, that would have surprised his friends% Dr Ruden#o glanced at her watch, dictated a brief entr, into her autosec, and set its alarm thirt, minutes ahead% 3hen he reached the D%. viewport, @lo,d found Chandra and Curnow alread, there% 'he, loo#ed at him with a total lac# of recognition, then turned once more toward the awesome spectacle outside% 2t occurred to @lo,d - and he congratulated himself on such a brilliant observation that Chandra could not reall, be en4o,ing the view% is e,es were tightl, closed, A totall, unfamiliar planet hung there, gleaming with glorious blues and daDDling whites% ow strange, @lo,d told himself% 3hat has happened to the 7arthE 3h,, of course - no wonder he didn&t recogniDe itH 2t was upside downH 3hat a disaster - he wept briefl, for all those poor people, falling off into space%% e barel, noticed when two crew members removed Chandra&s unresisting form% 3hen the, came bac# for Curnow, @lo,d&s own e,es were shut, but he was still breathing% 3hen the, returned for him, even his breathing had ceased%

22 '!27$

. Awa#ening

And the, told us we wouldn&t dream, thought e,wood @lo,d, more with surprise than anno,ance% 'he glorious pin# glow that surrounded him was ver, soothing= it reminded him of barbecues and the crac#ling logs of Christmas fire% ?ut there was no warmth= indeed, he felt a distinct though not uncomfortable coldness% 8oices were murmuring, 4ust too softl, for him to understand the words% 'he, became louder - but still he could not understand% &!urel,,& he said in sudden amaDement, &2 can&t be dreaming in RussianH& &$o, e,wood,& answered a woman&s voice% &>ou&re not dreaming% 2t&s time to get out of bed%& 'he lovel, glow faded= he opened his e,es, and had a blurred glimpse of a flashlight being withdrawn from his face% e was l,ing on a couch, held against it b, elastic webbing= figures were standing around him, but the, were too out of focus to identif,% Gentle fingers closed his e,elids and massaged his forehead% &Don&t exert ,ourself% ?reathe deepl,%%% again%%% that&s right%%% now how do ,ou feelE& &2 don&t #now%%% strange%%% light-headed%%% and hungr,%& &'hat&s a good sign% Do ,ou #now where ,ou areE >ou can open ,our e,es now%& 'he figures came into focus - first Dr Ruden#o, then Captain +rlova% ?ut something had happened to 'an,a since he had seen her, onl, an hour ago% 3hen @lo,d identified the cause, it was almost a ph,sical shoc#% &>ou&ve grown ,our hair bac#H& &2 hope ,ou thin# it&s an improvement% 2 can&t sa, the same about ,our beard%& @lo,d lifted his hand to his face, finding that he had to ma#e a conscious effort to plan ever, stage of the movement% is chin was covered

with short stubble - a two or three da,s& growth% 2n hibernation, hair grew at onl, a hundredth of its normal rate% &!o 2 made it,& he said% &3e&ve arrived at 1upiter%& 'an,a loo#ed at him sombrel,, then glanced at the doctor, who gave a barel, perceptible nod% &$o, e,wood,& she said% &3e&re still a month awa,% Don&t be alarmed the ship&s fine, and ever,thing&s running normall,% ?ut ,our friends in 3ashington have as#ed us to wa#e ,ou up ahead of time% !omething ver, unexpected has happened% 3e&re in a race to reach Discover, - and 2&m afraid we&re going to lose%&

9 'sien

3hen e,wood @lo,d&s voice came from the comset spea#er, the two dolphins suddenl, stopped circling around the pool and swam over to its edge% 'he, placed their heads on the rim and stared intentl, at the source of the sound% !o the, recogniDe e,wood, thought Caroline, with a twinge of bitterness: >et Christopher, crawling around his pla,pen, did not even stop pla,ing with the colour controls of his picture boo# as his father&s voice came loud and clear across half a billion #ilometres of space% &%%% ;, dear, ,ou won&t be surprised to hear from me, a month ahead of schedule= ,ou&ll have #nown for wee#s that we have compan, out here% &2 still find it hard to believe= in some wa,s, it doesn&t even ma#e sense% 'he, can&t possibl, have enough fuel for a safe return to 7arth= we don&t even see how the, can ma#e the rendeDvous% &3e never saw them, of course% 7ven at its closest, 'sien was more than fift, million #ilometres awa,% 'he, had plent, of time to answer our signals if the, wanted to, but the, ignored us completel,% $ow the,&ll be much too bus, for friendl, chat% 2n a few hours the,&ll hit 1upiter&s atmosphere - and then we&ll see how well their aerobra#ing s,stem wor#s% 2f it does its 4ob, that will be good for our morale% ?ut if it fails, well, let&s not tal# about that%

&'he Russians are ta#ing it remar#abl, well, all things considered% 'he,&re angr, and disappointed, of course - but 2&ve heard man, expressions of fran# admiration% 2t was certainl, a brilliant tric#, building that ship in full view and ma#ing ever,one thin# it was a spacestation until the, hitched on those boosters% &3ell, there&s nothing we can do, except watch% And at our distance, we won&t have a much better view than ,our best telescopes% 2 can&t help wishing them luc#, though of course 2 hope the, leave Discover, alone% 'hat&s our propert,, and 2 bet the !tate Department&s reminding them of it, ever, hour on the hour% &2t&s an ill wind - if our Chinese friends hadn&t 4umped the gun on us, ,ou wouldn&t have heard from me for another month% ?ut now that Dr Ruden#o&s wo#en me up, 2&ll be spea#ing to ,ou ever, couple of da,s% &After the initial shoc#, 2&m settling down nicel,- getting to #now the ship and its crew, finding m, space legs% And polishing up m, lous, Russian, though 2 don&t have much chance of using it - ever,one insists on spea#ing 7nglish% 3hat shoc#ing linguists we Americans areH 2 sometimes feel ashamed of our chauvinism - or our laDiness% &'he standard of on-board 7nglish ranges from absolutel, perfect Chief 7ngineer !asha :ovalev could earn a living as a ??C announcer - down to the if-,ou-tal#-fast-enough-it-doesn&t-matter-how-man,-mista#es-,ou-ma#e variet,% 'he onl, one who isn&t fluent is Benia ;archen#o, who replaced 2rma >a#unina at the last moment% 2ncidentall,, 2&m glad to hear that 2rma made a good recover, - what a disappointment that must have beenH 2 wonder if she&s started hang-gliding again% &And spea#ing of accidents, it&s obvious that Benia must also have had a ver, bad one% 'hough the plastic surgeons have done a remar#able 4ob, ,ou can tell that she must have been severel, burned at some time% !he&s the bab, of the crew and the others treat her with - 2 was going to sa, pit,, but that&s too condescending% Let&s sa, with special #indness% &;a,be ,ou&re wondering how 2 get on with Captain 'an,a% 3ell, 2 li#e her ver, much - but 2&d hate to ma#e her angr,% 'here&s no doubt exactl, who runs this ship% &And !urgeon-Commander Ruden#o - ,ou met her at the onolulu Aerospace Convention two ,ears ago, and 2&m sure ,ou won&t have forgotten that last part,% >ou&ll understand wh, we all call her Catherine the Great - behind her broad bac#, of course%

&?ut that&s enough gossip% 2f 2 run overtime, 2 hate to thin# of the surcharge% And b, the wa,, these personal calls are supposed to be completel, private% ?ut there are a lot of lin#s in the communications chain, so don&t be surprised if ,ou occasionall, get messages b, - well, another route% &2&ll be waiting to hear from ,ou - tell the girls 2&ll be spea#ing to them later% ;, love to ,ou all - 2 miss ,ou and Chris ver, badl,% And when 2 get bac#, 2 promise 2&ll never leave again%&

'here was a brief hissing pause, then an obviousl, s,nthetic voice said: &'his terminates 'ransmission @our undred 'hirt,-two !tro#e !even from !pacecraft Leonov%& As Caroline @lo,d switched off the spea#er, the two dolphins slid beneath the surface of the pool and glided out into the Cacific, leaving scarcel, a ripple in the water% 3hen he realiDed that his friends were gone, Christopher began to cr,% is mother pic#ed him up in her arms and tried to comfort him, but it was a long time before she succeeded%

0 'ransit of 1upiter

'he image of 1upiter, with its ribbons of white cloud, its mottled bands of salmon pin#, and the Great Red !pot staring out li#e a baleful e,e, hung stead, on the flight-dec# pro4ection screen% 2t was three-<uarters full, but no one was loo#ing at the illuminated dis#= all e,es were focused on the crescent of dar#ness at its edge% 'here, over the nightside of the planet, the Chinese ship was about to meet its moment of truth% 'his is absurd, thought @lo,d% 3e can&t possibl, see an,thing across fort, million #ilometres% And it doesn&t matter= the radio will tell us all we want to #now% 'sien had closed down all voice, video, and data circuits two hours before, as the long-range antennas were withdrawn into the protective shadow of the heat shield% +nl, the omnidirectional beacon was still transmitting, accuratel, pinpointing the Chinese ship&s position as it

plunged toward that ocean of continent-siDed clouds% 'he shrill beep%%% beep%%% beep%%% was the onl, sound in Leonov&s control room% 7ach of those pulses had left 1upiter more than two minutes earlier= b, this time, their source might alread, be a cloud of incandescent gas, dispersing in the 1ovian stratosphere% 'he signal was fading, becoming nois,% 'he beeps were getting distorted= several dropped out completel,, then the se<uence returned% A plasma sheath was building up around 'sien and soon would cut off all communications until the ship re-emerged% 2f it ever did% &CosmotriH& cried ;ax% &'here it isH& At first @lo,d could see nothing% 'hen, 4ust off the edge of the illuminated dis#, he made out a tin, star - gleaming where no star could possibl, be, against the dar#ened face of 1upiter% 2t appeared <uite motionless, though he #new it must be moving at a hundred #ilometres a second% !lowl, it grew in brilliance= and then it was no longer a dimensionless point, but was becoming elongated% A man-made comet was strea#ing across the 1ovian night s#,, leaving a trail of incandescence thousands of #ilometres in length% +ne last badl, distorted and curiousl, drawn-out beep sounded from the trac#ing beacon, then onl, the meaningless hiss of 1upiter&s own radiation, one of those man, cosmic voices that had nothing to do with ;an or his wor#s% 'sien was inaudible, but not ,et invisible% @or the, could see that the tin, elongated spar# had indeed moved appreciabl, awa, from the sunward face of the planet and would soon disappear into the nightside% ?, then, if all had gone according to plan, 1upiter would have captured the ship, destro,ing its unwanted velocit,% 3hen it emerged from behind the giant world, it would be another 1ovian satellite% 'he spar# flic#ered out% 'sien had rounded the curve of the planet and was heading over the nightside% 'here would be nothing to see, or to hear, until it emerged from shadow - if all went well, in 4ust under an hour% 2t would be a ver, long hour for the Chinese% 'o Chief !cientist 8asili +rlov and communications engineer !asha :ovalev, the hour went extremel, <uic#l,% 'here was much the, could learn from observations of that little star= its times of appearance and disappearance and, above all, the Doppler shift of the radio beacon gave vital information about 'sien&s new orbit% Leonov&s computers were alread, digesting the figures, and spitting out pro4ected times of re-emergence based on various assumptions about rates of deceleration in the 1ovian

atmosphere% 8asili switched off the computer displa,, spun around in his chair, loosened his seat belt, and addressed the patientl, waiting audience% &7arliest reappearance is in fort,-two minutes% 3h, don&t ,ou spectators go for a wal#, so we can concentrate on getting all this into good shapeE !ee ,ou in thirt,-five minutes% !hooH $u u#hodiH& Reluctantl,, the unwanted bodies left the bridge - but, to 8asili&s disgust, ever,one was bac# again in little more than thirt, minutes% e was still chiding them for their lac# of faith in his calculations when the familiar beep%%% beep%%% beep%%% of 'sien&s trac#ing beacon burst from the loudspea#ers% 8asili loo#ed astonished and mortified, but soon 4oined in the spontaneous round of applause= @lo,d could not see who first started the clapping% Rivals though the, might be, the, were all astronauts together, as far from home as an, men had ever travelled - &Ambassadors for ;an#ind&, in the noble words of the first "$ !pace 'reat,% 7ven if the, did not want the Chinese to succeed, neither did the, wish them to meet disaster% A large element of self-interest was also involved, @lo,d could not help thin#ing% $ow the odds in Leonov&s own favour were significantl, improved= 'sien had demonstrated that the aerobra#ing manoeuvre was indeed possible% 'he data on 1upiter was correct= its atmosphere did not contain unexpected and perhaps fatal surprises% &3ellH& said 'an,a% &2 suppose we should send them a message of congratulations% ?ut even if we did, the, wouldn&t ac#nowledge it%& !ome of his colleagues were still ma#ing fun of 8asili, who was staring at his computer output in fran# disbelief% &2 don&t understand itH& he exclaimed% &'he, should still be behind 1upiterH !asha - give me a velocit, reading on their beaconH& Another silent dialogue was held with the computer= then 8asili gave a long, low whistle% &!omething&s wrong% 'he,&re in a capture orbit, all right - but it won&t let them ma#e a rendeDvous with Discover,% 'he orbit the,&re on now will ta#e them wa, be,ond 2o - 2&ll have more accurate data when we&ve trac#ed them for another five minutes%&

&An,wa,, the, must be in a safe orbit,& said 'an,a% &'he, can alwa,s ma#e corrections later%& &Cerhaps% ?ut that could cost them da,s, even if the, have the fuel% 3hich 2 doubt%& &!o we ma, still beat them%& &Don&t be such an optimist% 3e&re still three wee#s from 1upiter% 'he, can ma#e a doDen orbits before we get there, and choose the most favourable one for a rendeDvous%& &Again - assuming that the, have enough propellant%& &+f course% And that&s something we can onl, ma#e educated guesses about%& All this conversation too# place in such rapid and excited Russian that @lo,d was left far behind% 3hen 'an,a too# pit, on him and explained that 'sien had overshot and was heading for the outer satellites, his first reaction was: &'hen the, ma, be in serious trouble% 3hat will ,ou do if the, appeal for helpE& &>ou must be ma#ing a 4o#e% Can ,ou imagine them doing thatE 'he,&re much too proud% An,wa,, it would be impossible% 3e can&t change our mission profile, as ,ou #now perfectl, well% 7ven if we had the fuel%%%& &>ou&re right, of course= but it might be difficult to explain that to the ninet,-nine per cent of the human race that doesn&t understand orbital mechanics% 3e should start thin#ing about some of the political complications - it would loo# bad for all of us if we can&t help% 8asili, will ,ou give me their final orbit, as soon as ,ou&ve wor#ed it outE 2&m going down to m, cabin to do some homewor#%& @lo,d&s cabin, or rather one-third of a cabin, was still partl, full of stores, man, of them stac#ed in the curtained bun#s that would be occupied b, Chandra and Curnow when the, emerged from their long slumbers% e had managed to clear a small wor#ing space for his personal effects and had been promised the luxur, of another whole two cubic metres - 4ust as soon as someone could be spared to help with the furniture removing% @lo,d unloc#ed his little communications console, set the decr,ption #e,s, and called for the information on 'sien that had been transmitted to him from 3ashington% e wondered if his hosts had had an, luc# in unscrambling it= the cipher was based on the product of two hundred-digit prime numbers, and the $ational !ecurit, Agenc, had sta#ed its reputation on the claim that the fastest computer in existence could not crac# it

before the ?ig Crunch at the end of the "niverse% 2t was a claim that could never be proved - onl, disproved% +nce again he stared intentl, at the excellent photographs of the Chinese ship, ta#en when it had revealed its true colours and was 4ust about to leave 7arth orbit% 'here were later shots - not so clear, because b, then it had been far awa, from the pr,ing cameras - of the final stage as it hurtled toward 1upiter% 'hose were the ones that interested him most= even more useful were the cutawa, drawings and estimates of performance% Granted the most optimistic assumptions, it was difficult to see what the Chinese hoped to do% 'he, must have burned up at least ninet, per cent of their propellant in that mad dash across the !olar !,stem% "nless it was literall, a suicide mission - something that could not be ruled out onl, a plan involving hibernation and later rescue made an, sense% And 2ntelligence did not believe that Chinese hibernation technolog, was sufficientl, far advanced to ma#e that a viable option% ?ut 2ntelligence was fre<uentl, wrong, and even more often confused b, the avalanche of raw facts it had to evaluate - the &noise& in its information circuits% 2t had done a remar#able 4ob on 'sien, considering the shortness of time, but @lo,d wished that the material sent to him had been more carefull, filtered% !ome of it was obvious 4un#, of no possible connection with the mission% $evertheless, when ,ou did not #now what ,ou were loo#ing for, it was important to avoid all pre4udices and preconceptions= something that at first sight seemed irrelevant, or even nonsensical, might turn out to be a vital clue% 3ith a sigh, @lo,d started once more to s#im the five hundred pages of data, #eeping his mind as blan#l, receptive as possible while diagrams, charts, photographs - some so smudg, that the, could represent almost an,thing - news items, lists of delegates to scientific conferences, titles of technical publications, and even commercial documents scrolled swiftl, down the high-resolution screen% A ver, efficient industrial espionage s,stem had obviousl, been extremel, bus,= who would have thought that so man, 1apanese holomemor, modules or !wiss gas-flow microcontrollers or German radiation detectors could have been traced to a destination in the dried la#e bed of Lop $or - the first milepost on their wa, to 1upiterE !ome of the items must have been included b, accident= the, could not possibl, relate to the mission% 2f the Chinese had placed a secret order for one thousand infrared sensors through a dumm, corporation in !ingapore, that was onl, the concern of the militar,= it seemed highl,

unli#el, that 'sien expected to be chased b, heat-see#ing missiles% And this one was reall, funn, - specialiDed surve,ing and prospecting e<uipment from Glacier Geoph,sics, 2nc%, of Anchorage, Alas#a% 3hat lamebrain imagined that a deep-space expedition would have an, need - the smile froDe on @lo,d&s lips= he felt the s#in crawl on the bac# of his nec#% ;, God - the, wouldn&t dareH ?ut the, had alread, dared greatl,= and now, at last, ever,thing made sense% e flashed bac# to the photos and con4ectured plans of the Chinese ship% >es, it was 4ust conceivable - those flutings at the rear, alongside the drive deflection electrodes, would be about the right siDe% @lo,d called the bridge% &8asili%& he said, &have ,ou wor#ed out their orbit ,etE& &>es, 2 have,& the navigator replied, in a curiousl, subdued voice% @lo,d could tell at once that something had turned up% e too# a long shot% &'he,&re ma#ing a rendeDvous with 7uropa, aren&t the,E& 'here was an explosive gasp of disbelief from the other end% &Ch,ort voD&miH ow did ,ou #nowE&

&2 didn&t - 2&ve 4ust guessed it%& &'here can&t be an, mista#e - 2&ve chec#ed the figures to six places% 'he bra#ing manoeuvre wor#ed out exactl, as the, intended% 'he,&re right on course for 7uropa - it couldn&t have happened b, chance% 'he,&ll be there in seventeen hours%& &And go into orbit%& &Cerhaps= it wouldn&t ta#e much propellant% ?ut what would be the pointE& &2&ll ris# another guess% 'he,&ll do a <uic# surve, - and then the,&ll land%& &>ou&re craD, - or do ,ou #now something we don&tE& &$o - it&s 4ust a matter of simple deduction% >ou&re going to start #ic#ing ,ourself for missing the obvious%& &+#a,, !herloc#, wh, should an,one want to land on 7uropaE 3hat&s there, for heaven&s sa#eE&

@lo,d was en4o,ing his little moment of triumph% +f course, he might still be completel, wrong% &3hat&s on 7uropaE +nl, the most valuable substance in the "niverse%& e had overdone it= 8asili was no fool, and snatched the answer from his lips% &+f course - waterH& &7xactl,% ?illions and billions of tons of it% 7nough to fill up the propellant tan#s - go cruising around all the satellites, and still have plent, left for the rendeDvous with Discover, and the vo,age home% 2 hate to sa, this, 8asili - but our Chinese friends have outsmarted us again% &Alwa,s assuming, of course, that the, can get awa, with it%&

'he 2ce of the Grand Canal

Apart from the 4et-blac# s#,, the photo might have been ta#en almost an,where in the polar regions of 7arth= there was nothing in the least alien about the sea of wrin#led ice that stretched all the wa, out to the horiDon% +nl, the five spacesuited figures in the foreground proclaimed that the panorama was of another world% 7ven now, the secretive Chinese had not released the names of the crew% 'he anon,mous intruders on the froDen 7uropan icescape were merel, the chief scientist, the commander, the navigator, the first engineer, the second engineer% 2t was also ironic, @lo,d could not help thin#ing, that ever,one on 7arth had seen the alread, historic photograph an hour before it reached Leonov, so much closer to the scene% ?ut 'sien&s transmissions were rela,ed on such a tight beam that it was impossible to intercept them= Leonov could receive onl, its beacon, broadcasting impartiall, in all directions% 7ven that was inaudible more than half the time, as 7uropa&s rotation carried it out of sight, or the satellite itself was eclipsed b, the monstrous bul# of 1upiter% All the scant, news of the Chinese mission had to be rela,ed from 7arth% 'he ship had touched down, after its initial surve,, on one of the few islands of solid roc# that protruded through the crust of ice covering virtuall, the entire moon% 'hat ice was flat from pole to pole= there was

no weather to carve it into strange shapes, no drifting snow to build up la,er upon la,er into slowl, moving hills% ;eteorites might fall upon airless 7uropa, but never a fla#e of snow% 'he onl, forces moulding its surface were the stead, tug of gravit,, reducing all elevations to one uniform level, and the incessant <ua#es caused b, the other satellites as the, passed and repassed 7uropa in their orbits% 1upiter itself, despite its far greater mass, had much less effect% 'he 1ovian tides had finished their wor# aeons ago, ensuring that 7uropa remained loc#ed forever with one face turned toward its giant master% All this had been #nown since the 8o,ager fl,b, missions of the *-9)s, the Galileo surve,s of the *-0)s, and the :epler landings of the *--)s% ?ut, in a few hours, the Chinese had learned more about 7uropa than all the previous missions combined% 'hat #nowledge the, were #eeping to themselves= one might regret it, but few would den, that the, had earned the right to do so% 3hat was being denied, with greater and greater asperit,, was their right to annex the satellite% @or the first time in histor,, a nation had laid claim to another world, and all the news media of 7arth were arguing over the legal position% 'hough the Chinese pointed out, at tedious length, that the, had never signed the &)( "$ !pace 'reat, and so were not bound b, its provisions, that did nothing to <uell the angr, protests% !uddenl,, 7uropa was the biggest news in the !olar !,stem% And the man-on-the-spot 5at least to the nearest few million #ilometres6 was in great demand%

&'his is e,wood @lo,d, aboard Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, on course for 1upiter% ?ut as ,ou can well imagine, all our thoughts are now focused upon 7uropa% &At this ver, moment 2&m loo#ing at it through the most powerful of the ship&s telescopes= under this magnification, it&s ten times larger than the ;oon as ,ou see it with the na#ed e,e% And it&s a reall, weird sight% &'he surface is a uniform pin#, with a few small brown patches% 2t&s covered with an intricate networ# of narrow lines, curling and weaving in all directions% 2n fact, it loo#s ver, much li#e a photo from a medical textboo#, showing a pattern of veins and arteries% &A few of these features are hundreds - or even thousands - of #ilometres long, and loo# rather li#e the illusor, canals that Cercival Lowell and other earl,-twentieth-centur, astronomers imagined the,&d seen

on ;ars% &?ut 7uropa&s canals aren&t an illusion, though of course the,&re not artificial% 3hat&s more, the, do contain water -or at least ice% @or the satellite is almost entirel, covered b, ocean, averaging fift, #ilometres deep% &?ecause it&s so far from the sun, 7uropa&s surface temperature is extremel, low - about a hundred and fift, degrees below freeDing% !o one might expect its single ocean to be a solid bloc# of ice% &!urprisingl,, that isn&t the case because there&s a lot of heat generated inside 7uropa b, tidal forces - the same forces that drive the great volcanoes on neighbouring 2o% &!o the ice is continuall, melting, brea#ing up, and freeDing, forming crac#s and lanes li#e those in the floating ice sheets in our own polar regions% 2t&s that intricate tracer, of crac#s 2&m seeing now= most of them are dar# and ver, ancient - perhaps millions of ,ears old% ?ut a few are almost pure white= the,&re the new ones that have 4ust opened up, and have a crust onl, a few centimetres thic#% &'sien has landed right beside one of these white strea#s -the fifteen-hundred-#ilometre-long feature that&s been christened the Grand Canal% Cresumabl, the Chinese intend to pump its water into their propellant tan#s, so that the, can explore the 1ovian satellite s,stem and then return to 7arth% 'hat ma, not be eas,, but the,&ll certainl, have studied the landing site with great care, and must #now what the,&re doing% &2t&s obvious, now, wh, the,&ve ta#en such a ris# - and wh, the, should claim 7uropa% As a refuelling point, it could be the #e, to the entire outer !olar !,stem% 'hough there&s also water on Gan,mede, it&s all froDen, and also less accessible because of that satellite&s more powerful gravit,% &And there&s another point that&s 4ust occurred to me% 7ven if the Chinese do get stranded on 7uropa, the, might be able to survive until a rescue mission is arranged% 'he, have plent, of power, there ma, be useful minerals in the area - and we #now that the Chinese are the experts on s,nthetic-food production% 2t wouldn&t be a ver, luxurious life= but 2 have some friends who would accept it happil, for that staggering view of 1upiter sprawled across the s#, - the view we expect to see ourselves, in 4ust a few da,s% &'his is e,wood @lo,d, sa,ing goodb,e for m, colleagues and m,self, aboard Alexei Leonov%&

&And this is the bridge% 8er, nice presentation, have been a newsman%& &2&ve had plent, of practice% &CRE&

e,wood% >ou should

alf m, time was spent on CR wor#%&

&Cublic relations - usuall, telling politicians wh, the, should give me more mone,% !omething ,ou don&t have to bother about%& & ow 2 wish that was true% An,wa,, come up to the bridge% 'here&s some new information we&d li#e to discuss with ,ou%& @lo,d removed his button microphone, loc#ed the telescope into position and extricated himself from the tin, viewing blister% As he left, he almost collided with $i#olai 'emovs#,, obviousl, on a similar mission% &2&m about to steal ,our best <uotes for Radio ;oscow, 3ood,% don&t mind%& &>ou&re welcome, tovarishch% An,wa,, how could 2 stop ,ouE& "p on the bridge, Captain +rlova was loo#ing thoughtfull, at a dense mass of words and figures on the main displa,% @lo,d had painfull, started to transliterate them when she interrupted him% &Don&t worr, about the details% 'hese are estimates of the time it will ta#e for 'sien to refill its tan#s and get read, for lift-off%& &;, people are doing the same calculations - but there are far too man, variables%& &3e thin# we&ve removed one of them% Did ,ou #now that the ver, best water pumps ,ou can bu, belong to fire brigadesE And would ,ou be surprised to learn that the ?ei4ing Central !tation had four of its latest models suddenl, re<uisitioned a few months ago, despite the protests of the ma,orE& &2&m not surprised - merel, lost in admiration% Go on, please%& &'hat ma, be a coincidence, but those pumps would be 4ust the right siDe% ;a#ing educated guesses about pipe deplo,ment, drilling through the ice and so on - well, we thin# the, could lift off again in five da,s%& &@ive da,sH& ope ,ou

&2f the,&re luc#,, and ever,thing wor#s perfectl,% And if the, don&t wait to fill their propellant tan#s but merel, ta#e on 4ust enough for a safe rendeDvous with Discover, before we do% 7ven if the, beat us b, a single hour, that would be enough% 'he, could claim salvage rights, at the ver, least%& &$ot according to the !tate Department&s law,ers% At the appropriate moment, we&ll declare that Discover, is not a derelict, but has merel, been par#ed until we can retrieve it% An, attempt to ta#e over the ship would be an act of pirac,%& &2&m sure the Chinese will be most impressed%& &2f the,&re not, what can we do about itE& &3e outnumber them - and two to one, when we revive Chandra and Curnow%& &Are ,ou seriousE 3here are the cutlasses for the boarding part,E& &CutlassesE& &!words - weapons%& &+h% 3e could use the laser telespectrometer% 'hat can vaporiDe milligram asteroid samples at ranges of a thousand #ilometres%& &2&m not sure that 2 li#e this conversation% ;, government certainl, would not condone violence, except of course in self-defence%& &>ou naive AmericansH 3e&re more realistic= we have to be% All ,our grandparents died of old age, e,wood% 'hree of mine were #illed in the Great Catriotic 3ar%& 3hen the, were alone together, 'an,a alwa,s called him 3ood,, never e,wood% !he must be serious% +r was she merel, testing his reactionsE &An,wa,, Discover, is merel, a few billion dollars& worth of hardware% 'he ship&s not important - onl, the information it carries%& &7xactl,% 2nformation that could be copied, and then erased%& &>ou do get some cheerful ideas, 'an,a% !ometimes 2 thin# that all Russians are a little paranoiac%& &'han#s to $apoleon and itler, we&ve earned ever, right to be% ?ut don&t tell me that ,ou haven&t alread, wor#ed out that - what do ,ou call it, scenarioE - for ,ourself%&

&2t wasn&t necessar,,& @lo,d answered rather gluml,% &'he !tate Department&s alread, done it for me - with variations% 3e&ll 4ust have to see which one the Chinese come up with% And 2 wouldn&t be in the least surprised if the, outguess us again%&

*) A Cr, from 7uropa

!leeping in Dero gravit, is a s#ill that has to be learned= it had ta#en @lo,d almost a wee# to find the best wa, of anchoring legs and arms so that the, did not drift into uncomfortable positions% $ow he was an expert, and was not loo#ing forward to the return of weight= indeed, the ver, idea gave him occasional nightmares% !omeone was sha#ing him awa#e% $o - he must still be dreamingH Crivac, was sacred aboard a spaceship= nobod, ever entered another crew member&s chambers without first as#ing permission% e clenched his e,es shut, but the sha#ing continued% &Dr @lo,d - please wa#e upH >ou&re wanted on the flight dec#H& And nobod, called him Dr @lo,d= the most formal salutation he had received for wee#s was Doc% 3hat was happeningE Reluctantl,, he opened his e,es% e was in his tin, cabin, gentl, gripped b, his sleeping cocoon% !o one part of his mind told him= then wh, was he loo#ing at - 7uropaE 'he, were still millions of #ilometres awa,% 'here were the familiar reticulations, the patterns of triangles and pol,gons formed b, intersecting lines% And surel, that was the Grand Canal itself - no, it wasn&t <uite right% ow could it be, since he was still in his little cabin aboard LeonovE &Dr @lo,dH& e became full, awa#e, and realiDed that his left hand was floating 4ust a few centimetres in front of his e,es% ow strange that the pattern of lines across the palm was so uncannil, li#e the map of 7uropaH ?ut economical ;other $ature was alwa,s repeating herself, on such vastl, different scales as the swirl of mil# stirred into coffee, the cloud lanes of a c,clonic storm, the arms of a spiral nebula%

&!orr,, ;ax,& he said% &3hat&s the problemE 2s something wrongE& &3e thin# so - but not with us% 'sien&s in trouble%& Captain, navigator, and chief engineer were strapped in their seats on the flight dec#= the rest of the crew orbited anxiousl, around convenient handholds, or watched on the monitors% &!orr, to wa#e ,ou up, e,wood,& 'an,a apologiDed brus<uel,% & ere&s the situation% 'en minutes ago we had a Class +ne Criorit, from ;ission Control% 'sien&s gone off the air% 2t happened ver, suddenl,, in the middle of a cipher message= there were a few seconds of garbled transmission - then nothing%& &'heir beaconE& &'hat&s stopped as well% 3e can&t receive it either,& &ChewH 'hen it must be serious - a ma4or brea#down% An, theoriesE& &Lots - but all guesswor#% An explosion - landslide - earth<ua#e: who #nowsE& &And we ma, never #now - until someone else lands on 7uropa - or we do a close fl,b, and ta#e a loo#%& 'an,a shoo# her head% &3e don&t have enough delta-vee% 'he closest we could get is fift, thousand #ilometres% $ot much ,ou could see from that distance%& &'hen there&s absolutel, nothing we can do%& &$ot <uite, e,wood% ;ission Control has a suggestion% 'he,&d li#e us to swing our big dish around, 4ust in case we can pic# up an, wea# emergenc, transmissions% 2t&s - how do ,ou sa,E - a long shot, but worth tr,ing% 3hat do ,ou thin#E& @lo,d&s first reaction was strongl, negative% &'hat will mean brea#ing our lin# with 7arth%& &+f course= but we&ll have to do that an,wa,, when we go around 1upiter% And it will onl, ta#e a couple of minutes to re-establish the circuit%& @lo,d remained silent% 'he suggestion was perfectl, reasonable, ,et it

worried him obscurel,% After puDDling for several seconds, he suddenl, realiDed wh, he was so opposed to the idea% Discover,&s troubles had started when the big dish - the main antenna complex - had lost its loc# on 7arth, for reasons which even now were not completel, clear% ?ut al had certainl, been involved, and there was no danger of a similar situation arising here% Leonov&s computers were small, autonomous units= there was no single controlling intelligence% At least, no nonhuman one% 'he Russians were still waiting patientl, for his answer% &2 agree,& he said at last% &Let 7arth #now what we&re doing, and start listening% 2 suppose ,ou&ll tr, all the !CAC7 ;A>DA> fre<uencies%& &>es, as soon as we&ve wor#ed out the Doppler corrections% going, !ashaE& ow&s it

&Give me another two minutes, and 2&ll have the automatic search running% ow long should we listenE& 'he captain barel, paused before giving her answer% @lo,d had often admired 'an,a +rlova&s decisiveness, and had once told her so% 2n a rare flash of humour, she had replied: &3ood,, a commander can be wrong, but never uncertain%& &Listen for fift, minutes, and report bac# to 7arth for ten% 'hen repeat the c,cle%& 'here was nothing to see or hear= the automatic circuits were better at sifting the radio noise than an, human senses% $evertheless, from time to time !asha turned up the audio monitor, and the roar of 1upiter&s radiation belts filled the cabin% 2t was a sound li#e the waves brea#ing on all the beaches of 7arth, with occasional explosive crac#s from superbolts of lightning in the 1ovian atmosphere% +f human signals, there was no trace= and, one b, one, the members of the crew not on dut, drifted <uietl, awa,% 3hile he was waiting, @lo,d did some mental calculations% 3hatever had happened to 'sien was alread, two hours in the past, since the news had been rela,ed from 7arth% ?ut Leonov should be able to pic# up a direct message after less than a minute&s dela,, so the Chinese had alread, had ample time to get bac# on the air% 'heir continued silence suggested some catastrophic failure, and he found himself weaving endless scenarios of disaster%

'he fift, minutes seemed li#e hours% 3hen the, were up, !asha swung the ship&s antenna complex bac# toward 7arth, and reported failure% 3hile he was using the rest of the ten minutes to send a bac#log of messages, he loo#ed in<uiringl, at the captain% &2s it worth tr,ing againE& he said in a voice that clearl, expressed his own pessimism% &+f course% 3e ma, cut bac# the search time - but we&ll #eep listening%& +n the hour, the big dish was once more focused upon 7uropa% And almost at once, the automatic monitor started flashing its AL7R' light% !asha&s hand darted to the audio gain, and the voice of 1upiter filled the cabin% !uperimposed upon that, li#e a whisper heard against a thunderstorm, was the faint but completel, unmista#able sound of human speech% 2t was impossible to identif, the language, though @lo,d felt certain, from the intonation and rh,thm, that it was not Chinese, but some 7uropean tongue% !asha pla,ed s#ilfull, with fine-tuning and band-width controls, and the words became clearer% 'he language was undoubtedl, 7nglish - but its content was still maddeningl, unintelligible% 'here is one combination of sounds that ever, human ear can detect instantl,, even in the noisiest environment% 3hen it suddenl, emerged from the 1ovian bac#ground, it seemed to @lo,d that he could not possibl, be awa#e, but was trapped in some fantastic dream% is colleagues too# a little longer to react= then the, stared at him with e<ual amaDement - and a slowl, dawning suspicion% - @or the first recogniDable words from 7uropa were: &Dr @lo,d - Dr @lo,d - 2 hope ,ou can hear me%&

** 2ce and 8acuum

&3ho is itE& whispered someone, to a chorus of shushes% @lo,d raised his hands in a gesture of ignorance - and, he hoped, innocence% &%%% #now ,ou are aboard Leonov%%% ma, not have much time%%% aiming m, suit antenna where 2 thin#%%%& 'he signal vanished for agoniDing seconds,

then came bac# much clearer, though not appreciabl, louder% &%%% rela, this information to 7arth% 'sien destro,ed three hours ago% 2&m onl, survivor% "sing m, suit radio - no idea if it has enough range, but it&s the onl, chance% Clease listen carefull,% ' 7R7 2! L2@7 +$ 7"R+CA% 2 repeat: ' 7R7 2! L2@7 +$ 7"R+CA%& 'he signal faded again% A stunned silence followed that no one attempted to interrupt% 3hile he was waiting, @lo,d searched his memor, furiousl,% e could riot recogniDe the voice - it might have been that of an, 3estern-educated Chinese% Crobabl, it was someone he had met at a scientific conference, but unless the spea#er identified himself he would never #now% &%%% soon after local midnight% 3e were pumping steadil, and the tan#s were almost half full% Dr Lee and 2 went out to chec# the pipe insulation% 'sien stands - stood - about thirt, metres from the edge of the Grand Canal% Cipes go directl, from it and down through the ice% 8er, thin - not safe to wal# on% 'he warm upwelling%%%& Again a long silence% @lo,d wondered if the spea#er was moving, and had been momentaril, cut off b, some obstruction% &%%% no problem - five #ilowatts of lighting strung up on the ship% Li#e a Christmas tree - beautiful, shining right through the ice% Glorious colours% Lee saw it first - a huge dar# mass rising up from the depths% At first we thought it was a school of fish - too large for a single organism - then it started to brea# through the ice% &Dr @lo,d, 2 hope ,ou can hear me% 'his is Crofessor Chang - we met in &)( - ?oston 2A" conference%& 2nstantl,, incongruousl,, @lo,d&s thoughts were a billion #ilometres awa,% e vaguel, remembered that reception, after the closing session of the 2nternational Astronomical "nion Congress - the last one that the Chinese had attended before the !econd Cultural Revolution% And now he recalled Chang ver, distinctl, - a small, humorous astronomer and exobiologist with a good fund of 4o#es% e wasn&t 4o#ing now% &%%% li#e huge strands of wet seaweed, crawling along the ground% Lee ran bac# to the ship to get a camera - 2 sta,ed to watch, reporting over the radio% 'he thing moved so slowl, 2 could easil, outrun it% 2 was much more excited than alarmed% 'hought 2 #new what #ind of creature it was 2&ve seen pictures of the #elp forests off California - but 2 was <uite wrong% &2 could tell it was in trouble% 2t couldn&t possibl, survive at a

temperature a hundred and fift, below its normal environment% 2t was freeDing solid as it moved forward - bits were brea#ing off li#e glass but it was still advancing toward the ship, a blac# tidal wave, slowing down all the time% &2 was still so surprised that 2 couldn&t thin# straight and 2 couldn&t imagine what it was tr,ing to do%%%& &2s there an, wa, we can call him bac#E& @lo,d whispered urgentl,% &$o - it&s too late% 7uropa will soon be behind 1upiter% 3e&ll have to wait until it comes out of eclipse%& &%%% climbing up the ship, building a #ind of ice tunnel as it advanced% Cerhaps this was insulating it from the cold - the wa, termites protect themselves from the sunlight with their little corridors of mud% &%%% tons of ice on the ship% 'he radio antennas bro#e off first% 'hen 2 could see the landing legs beginning to buc#le - all in slow motion, li#e a dream% &$ot until the ship started to topple did 2 realiDe what the thing was tr,ing to do - and then it was too late% 3e could have saved ourselves if we&d onl, switched off those lights% &Cerhaps it&s a phototrope, its biological c,cle triggered b, the sunlight that filters through the icc, +r it could have been attracted li#e a moth to a candle% +ur floodlights must have been more brilliant than an,thing that 7uropa has ever #nown% &'hen the ship crashed% 2 saw the hull split, a cloud of snowfla#es form as moisture condensed% All the lights went out, except for one, swinging bac# and forth on a cable a couple of metres above the ground% &2 don&t #now what happened immediatel, after that% 'he next thing 2 remember, 2 was standing under the light, beside the wrec# of the ship, with a fine powdering of fresh snow all around me% 2 could see m, footsteps in it ver, clearl,% 2 must have run there= perhaps onl, a minute or two had elapsed% &'he plant - 2 still thought of it as a plant - was motionless% 2 wondered if it had been damaged b, the impact= large sections - as thic# as a man&s arm - had splintered off, li#e bro#en twigs% &'hen the main trun# started to move again% 2t pulled awa, from the hull, and began to crawl toward me% 'hat was when 2 #new for certain that the thing was light-sensitive: 2 was standing immediatel, under the

thousand watt lamp, which had stopped swinging now% &2magine an oa# tree - better still, a ban,an with its multiple trun#s and roots - flattened out b, gravit, and tr,ing to creep along the ground% 2t got to within five metres of the light, then started to spread out until it had made a perfect circle around me% Cresumabl, that was the limit of its tolerance - the point at which photo-attraction turned to repulsion% After that, nothing happened for several minutes% 2 wondered if it was dead - froDen solid at last% &'hen 2 saw that large buds were forming on man, of the branches% 2t was li#e watching a time-lapse film of flowers opening% 2n fact 2 thought the, were flowers - each about as big as a man&s head% &Delicate, beautifull, coloured membranes started to unfold% 7ven then, it occurred to me that no one - no thing - could ever have seen these colours before= the, had no existence until we brought our lights our fatal lights - to this world% &'endrils, stamens, waving feebl,%%% 2 wal#ed over to the living wall that surrounded me, so that 2 could see exactl, what was happening% $either then, nor at an, other time, had 2 felt the slightest fear of the creature% 2 was certain that it was not malevolent - if indeed it was conscious at all% &'here were scores of the big flowers, in various stages of unfolding% $ow the, reminded me of butterflies, 4ust emerging from the chr,salis wings crumpled, still feeble - 2 was getting closer and closer to the truth% &?ut the, were freeDing - d,ing as <uic#l, as the, formed% 'hen, one after another, the, dropped off from the parent buds% @or a few moments the, flopped around li#e fish stranded on dr, land - at last 2 realiDed exactl, what the, were% 'hose membranes weren&t petals - the, were fins, or their e<uivalent% 'his was the free-swimming, larval stage of the creature% Crobabl, it spends much of its life rooted on the seabed, then sends these mobile offspring in search of new territor,% 1ust li#e the corals of 7arth&s oceans% &2 #nelt down to get a closer loo# at one of the little creatures% 'he beautiful colours were fading now to a drab brown% !ome of the petal-fins had snapped off, becoming brittle shards as the, froDe% ?ut it was still moving feebl,, and as 2 approached it tried to avoid me% 2 wondered how it sensed m, presence% &'hen 2 noticed that the stamens - as 2&d called them - all carried bright blue dots at their tips% 'he, loo#ed li#e tin, star sapphires - or

the blue e,es along the mantle of a scallop - aware of light, but unable to form true images% As 2 watched, the vivid blue faded, the sapphires became dull, ordinar, stones% &Dr @lo,d - or an,one else, who is listening - 2 haven&t much more time= 1upiter will soon bloc# m, signal% ?ut 2&ve almost finished% &2 #new then what 2 had to do% 'he cable to that thousand watt lamp was hanging almost to the ground% 2 gave it a few tugs, and the light went out in a shower of spar#s% &2 wondered if it was too late% @or a few minutes, nothing happened% !o 2 wal#ed over to the wall of tangled branches around me, and #ic#ed it% &!lowl,, the creature started to unweave itself, and to retreat bac# to the Canal% 'here was plent, of light - 2 could see ever,thing perfectl,% Gan,mede and Callisto were in the s#, - 1upiter was a huge, thin crescent - and there was a big auroral displa, on the nightside, at the 1ovian end of the 2o flux tube% 'here was no need to use m, helmet light% &2 followed the creature all the wa, bac# to the water, encouraging it with more #ic#s when it slowed down, feeling the fragments of ice crunching all the time beneath m, boots%%% as it neared the Canal, it seemed to gain strength and energ,, as if it #new that it was approaching its natural home% 2 wondered if it would survive, to bud again% &2t disappeared through the surface, leaving a few last dead larvae on the alien land% 'he exposed free water bubbled for a few minutes until a scab of protective ice sealed it from the vacuum above% 'hen 2 wal#ed bac# to the ship to see if there was an,thing to salvage - 2 don&t want to tal# about that% &2&ve onl, two re<uests to ma#e, Doctor% 3hen the taxonomists classif, this creature, 2 hope the,&ll name it after me% &And - when the next ship comes home - as# them to ta#e our bones bac# to China% &1upiter will be cutting us off in a few minutes% 2 wish 2 #new whether an,one was receiving me% An,wa,, 2&ll repeat this message when we&re in line of sight again - if m, suit&s life-support s,stem lasts that long% &'his is Crofessor Chang on 7uropa, reporting the destruction of spaceship 'sien% 3e landed beside the Grand Canal and set up our pumps at the edge of the ice -,

'he signal faded abruptl,, came bac# for a moment, then disappeared completel, be*ow the noise level% Although Leonov listened again on the same fre<uenc,, there was no further message from Crofessor Chang%

222 D2!C+87R>

*( Downhill Run

'he ship was gaining speed at last, on the downhill run toward 1upiter% 2t had long since passed the gravitational no-man&s-land where the four tin, outer moons - !inope, Casiphae, Anan#e, and Carme - wobbled along their retrograde and wildl, eccentric orbits% "ndoubtedl, captured asteroids, and completel, irregular in shape, the largest was onl, thirt, #ilometres across% 1agged, splintered roc#s of no interest to an,one except planetar, geologists, their allegiance wavered continuall, between the !un and 1upiter% +ne da,, the !un would recapture them completel,% ?ut 1upiter might retain the second group of four, at half the distance of the others% 7lara, L,sithea, imalia, and Leda were fairl, close together, and l,ing in almost the same plane% 'here was speculation that the, had once been part of a single bod,= if so, the parent would have been barel, a hundred #ilometres across% 'hough onl, Carme and Leda came close enough to show dis#s visible to the na#ed e,e, the, were greeted li#e old friends% ere was the first landfall after the longest ocean vo,age - the offshore islands of 1upiter% 'he last hours were tic#ing awa,= the most critical phase of the entire mission was approaching - the entr, into the 1ovian atmosphere% 1upiter was alread, larger than the ;oon in the s#ies of 7arth, and the giant inner satellites could be clearl, seen moving around it% 'he, all showed noticeable dis#s and distinctive colouring, though the, were still too far awa, for an, mar#ings to be visible% 'he eternal ballet the, performed - disappearing behind 1upiter, reappearing to transit the da,light face with their accompan,ing shadows - was an endlessl, engaging spectacle% 2t was one that astronomers had watched ever since Galileo had

first glimpsed it almost exactl, four centuries ago= but the crew of Leonov were the onl, living men and women to have seen it with unaided e,es% 'he interminable chess games had ceased= off-dut, hours were spent at the telescopes, or in earnest conversation, or listening to music, usuall, while gaDing at the view outside% And at least one shipboard romance had reached a culmination: the fre<uent disappearances of ;ax ?railovs#, and Benia ;archen#o were the sub4ect of much good-natured banter% 'he, were, thought @lo,d, an oddl, matched pair% ;ax was a big, handsome blond who had been a champion g,mnast, reaching the finals of the ())) +l,mpics% 'hough he was in his earl, thirties, he had an open-faced, almost bo,ish expression% 'his was not altogether misleading= despite his brilliant engineering record, he often struc# @lo,d as naive and unsophisticated - one of those people who are pleasant to tal# to, but not for too long% +utside his own field of undoubted expertise he was engaging but rather shallow% Benia - at twent,-nine, the ,oungest on board - was still something of a m,ster,% !ince no one wished to tal# about it, @lo,d had never raised the sub4ect of her in4uries, and his 3ashington sources could provide no information% +bviousl, she had been involved in some serious accident, but it might have been nothing more unusual than a car crash% 'he theor, that she had been on a secret space mission - still part of popular m,tholog, outside the "!!R - could be ruled out% 'han#s to the global trac#ing networ#s, no such thing had been possible for fift, ,ears% 2n addition to her ph,sical and doubtless ps,chological scars, Benia laboured under ,et another handicap% !he was a last-minute replacement, and ever,one #new it% 2rma >a#unina was to have been dietician and medical assistant aboard Leonov before that unfortunate argument with a hang-glider bro#e too man, bones% 7ver, da, at *0)) G;' the crew of seven plus one passenger gathered in the tin, common room that separated the flight dec# from the galle, and sleeping <uarters% 'he circular table at its centre was 4ust big enough for eight people to s<ueeDe around= when Chandra and Curnow were revived, it would be unable to accommodate ever,one, and two extra seats would have to be fitted in somewhere else% 'hough the &!ix +&Cloc# !oviet&, as the dail, round-table conference was called, seldom lasted more than ten minutes, it pla,ed a vital role in maintaining morale% Complaints, suggestions, criticisms, progress reports - an,thing could be raised, sub4ect onl, to the captain&s overriding veto, which was ver, seldom exercised%

',pical items on the non-existent agenda were re<uests for changes in the menu, appeals for more private communication time with 7arth, suggested movie programmes, exchange of news and gossip, and good-natured needling of the heavil,-outnumbered American contingent% 'hings would change, @lo,d warned them, when his colleagues came out of hibernation, and the odds improved from 2 in 9 to A in -% e did not mention his private belief that Curnow could outtal# or outshout an, three other people aboard% 3hen he was not sleeping, much of @lo,d&s own time was spent in the common room - partl, because, despite its smallness, it was much less claustrophobic than his own tin, cubicle% 2t was also cheerfull, decorated, all available flat surfaces being covered with photos of beautiful land and seascapes, sporting events, portraits of popular videostars, and other reminders of 7arth% Cride of place, however, was given to an original Leonov painting - his *-.F stud, &?e,ond the ;oon&, made in the same ,ear when, as a ,oung lieutenant-colonel, he left 8os#hod 22 and became the first man in histor, to perform an extravehicular excursions Clearl, the wor# of a talented amateur, rather than a professional, it showed the cratered edge of the ;oon with the beautiful !inus lridum - ?a, of Rainbows - in the foreground% Looming monstrousl, above the lunar horiDon was the thin crescent of 7arth, embracing the dar#ened nightside of the planet% ?e,ond that blaDed the !un, the streamers of the corona reaching out into space for millions of #ilometres around it% 2t was a stri#ing composition - and a glimpse of the future that even then la, onl, three ,ears ahead% +n the flight of Apollo 0, Anders, ?orman and Lovell were to see this splendid sight with their unaided e,es, as the, watched 7arth rise above the farside on Christmas Da,, *-.0% e,wood @lo,d admired the painting, but he also regarded it with mixed feelings% e could not forget that it was older than ever,bod, else on the ship - with one exception% e was alread, nine ,ears old when Alexei Leonov had painted it%

*A 'he 3orlds of Galileo

7ven now, more than three decades after the revelations of the first

8o,ager fl,b,s, no one reall, understood wh, the four giant satellites differed so wildl, from one another% 'he, were all about the same siDe, and in the same part of the !olar !,stem - ,et the, were totall, dissimilar, as if children of a different birth% +nl, Callisto, the outermost, had turned out to be much as expected% 3hen Leonov raced past at a distance of 4ust over *)),))) #ilometres, the larger of its countless craters were clearl, visible to the na#ed e,e% 'hrough the telescope, the satellite loo#ed li#e a glass ball that had been used as a target b, high-powered rifles= it was completel, covered with craters of ever, siDe, right down to the lower limit of visibilit,% Callisto, someone had once remar#ed, loo#ed more li#e 7arth&s ;oon than did the ;oon itself% $or was this particularl, surprising% +ne would have expected a world out here - at the edge of the asteroid belt - to have been bombarded with the debris left over from the creation of the !olar !,stem% >et Gan,mede, the satellite next door, had a totall, different appearance% 'hough it had been well peppered with impact craters in the remote past, most of them had been ploughed over - a phrase that seemed peculiarl, appropriate% uge areas of Gan,mede were covered with ridges and furrows, as if some cosmic gardener had dragged a giant ra#e across them% And there were light-coloured strea#s, li#e trails that might have been made b, slugs fift, #ilometres across% ;ost m,sterious of all were long, meandering bands, containing doDens of parallel lines% 2t was $i#olai 'ernovs#, who decided what the, must be - multilane superhighwa,s, laid out b, drun#en surve,ors% e even claimed to have detected over-passes and cloverleaf intersections% Leonov had added some trillions of bits of information about Gan,mede to the store of human #nowledge, before it crossed the orbit of 7uropa% 'hat icebound world, with its derelict and its dead, was on the other side of 1upiter, but it was never far from an,one&s thoughts% ?ac# on 7arth, Dr Chang was alread, a hero and his countr,men had, with obvious embarrassment, ac#nowledged countless messages of s,mpath,% +ne had been sent in the name of Leonov&s crew - after, @lo,d gathered, considerable redrafting in ;oscow% 'he feeling on board the ship was ambiguous - a mixture of admiration, regret, and relief% All astronauts, irrespective of their national origins, regarded themselves as citiDens of space and felt a common bond, sharing each other&s triumphs and tragedies% $o one on Leonov was happ, because the Chinese expedition had met with disaster= ,et at the same time, there was a muted sense of relief that the race had not gone to the swiftest% 'he unexpected discover, of life on 7uropa had added a new element to the situation - one that was now being argued at great length both on

7arth and aboard Leonov% !ome exobiologists cried &2 told ,ou soH&, pointing out that it should not have been such a surprise after all% As far bac# as the *-9)s, research submarines had found teeming colonies of strange marine creatures thriving precariousl, in an environment thought to be e<uall, hostile to life - the trenches on the bed of the Cacific% 8olcanic springs, fertiliDing and warming the ab,ss, had created oases of life in the deserts of the deep% An,thing that had happened once on 7arth should be expected millions of times elsewhere in the "niverse= that was almost an article of faith among scientists% 3ater - or at least ice - occurred on all the moons of 1upiter% And there were continuousl, erupting volcanoes on 2o - so it was reasonable to expect wea#er activit, on the world next door% Cutting these two facts together made 7uropan life seem not onl, possible, but inevitable - as most of nature&s surprises are, when viewed with ()K() hindsight% >et that conclusion raised another <uestion, and one vital to Leonov&s mission% $ow that life had been discovered on the moons of 1upiter - did it have an, connection with the ',cho monolith, and the still more m,sterious artifact in orbit near 2oE 'hat was a favourite sub4ect to debate in the !ix +&Cloc# !oviets% 2t was generall, agreed that the creature encountered b, Dr Chang did not represent a high form of intelligence - at least, if his interpretation of its behaviour was correct% $o animal with even elementar, powers of reasoning would have allowed itself to become a victim of its instincts, attracted li#e a moth to the candle until it ris#ed destruction% 8asili +rlov was <uic# to give a counter-example that wea#ened, if it did not refute, that argument% &Loo# at whales and dolphins,& he said% &3e call them intelligent but how often the, #ill themselves in mass strandingsH 'hat loo#s li#e a case where instinct overpowers reason%& &$o need to go to the dolphins,& inter4ected ;ax ?railovs#,% &+ne of the brightest engineers in m, class was fatall, attracted to a blonde in :iev% 3hen 2 heard of him last, he was wor#ing in a garage% And he&d won a gold medal for designing spacestations% 3hat a wasteH& 7ven if Dr Chang&s 7uropan was intelligent, that of course did not rule out higher forms elsewhere% 'he biolog, of a whole world could not be 4udged from a single specimen% ?ut it had been widel, argued that advanced intelligence could never arise in the sea= there were not enough challenges in so benign and

unvar,ing an environment% Above all, how could marine creatures ever develop a technolog, without the aid of fireE >et perhaps even that was possible= the route that humanit, had ta#en was not the onl, one% 'here might be whole civiliDations in the seas of other worlds% !till, it seemed unli#el, that a space-faring culture could have arisen on 7uropa without leaving unmista#able signs of its existence in the form of buildings, scientific installations, launching sites, or other artifacts% ?ut from pole to pole, nothing could be seen but level ice and a few outcroppings of bare roc#% $o time remained for speculations and discussions when Leonov hurtled past the orbits of 2o and tin, ;imas% 'he crew was bus, almost non-stop, preparing for the encounter and the brief onset of weight after months in free-fall% All loose ob4ects had to be secured before the ship entered 1upiter&s atmosphere, and the drag of deceleration produced momentar, pea#s that might be as high as two gravities% @lo,d was luc#,= he alone had time to admire the superb spectacle of the approaching planet, now filling almost half the s#,% ?ecause there was nothing to give it scale, there was no wa, that the mind could grasp its real siDe% e had to #eep telling himself that fift, 7arths would not cover the hemisphere now turned toward him% 'he clouds, colourful as the most garish sunset on 7arth, raced so swiftl, that he could see appreciable movement in as little as ten minutes% Great eddies were continuall, forming along the doDen or so bands that girdled the planet, then rippling awa, li#e swirls of smo#e% Clumes of white gas occasionall, ge,sered up from the depths, to be swept awa, b, the gales caused b, the planet&s tremendous spin% And perhaps strangest of all were the white spots, sometimes spaced as regularl, as pearls on a nec#lace, which la, along the tradewinds of the middle 1ovian latitudes% 2n the hours immediatel, before encounter, @lo,d saw little of captain or navigator% 'he +rlovs scarcel, left the bridge, as the, continuall, chec#ed the approach orbit and made minute refinements to Leonov&s course% 'he ship was now on the critical path that would 4ust graDe the outer atmosphere= if it went too high, frictional bra#ing would not be sufficient to slow it down, and it would go racing out of the !olar !,stem, be,ond all possibilit, of rescue% 2f it went too low, it would burn up li#e a meteor% ?etween the two extremes la, little margin for error% 'he Chinese had proved that aerobra#ing could be done, but there was alwa,s the chance that something would go wrong: !o @lo,d was not at all

surprised when !urgeon-Commander Ruden#o admitted, 4ust an hour before contact: &2&m beginning to wish, 3ood,, that 2 had brought along that icon, after all%&

*/ Double 7ncounter

&%%% papers for the mortgage on the $antuc#et house should be in the file mar#ed ; in the librar,% &3ell, that&s all the business 2 can thin# of% @or the last couple of hours 2&ve been recalling a picture 2 saw as a bo,, in a tattered volume of 8ictorian art - it must have been almost one hundred and fift, ,ears old% 2 can&t remember whether it was blac#-and-white or colour% ?ut 2&ll never forget the title - don&t laugh - it was called G'he Last ;essage omeG% +ur great-great-grandfathers loved that #ind of sentimental melodrama% &2t shows the dec# of a wind4ammer in a hurricane - the sails have been ripped awa, and the dec#&s awash% 2n the bac#ground, the crew is struggling to save the ship% And in the foreground, a ,oung sailor bo,&s writing a note, while beside him is the bottle he hopes will carr, it to land% &7ven though 2 was a #id at the time, 2 felt he should have been giving his shipmates a hand, not writing letters% All the same, it moved me: 2 never thought that one da, 2&d be li#e that ,oung sailor% &+f course, 2&m sure ,ou&ll get this message-and there&s nothing 2 can do to help aboard Leonov% 2n fact, 2&ve been politel, re<uested to #eep out of the wa,, so m, conscience is <uite clear as 2 dictate this% &2&ll send it up to the bridge now because in fifteen minutes we&ll brea# transmission as we pull in the big dish and batten down the hatches - there&s another nice maritime analog, for ,ouH 1upiter&s filling the s#, now - 2 won&t attempt to describe it and won&t even see it much longer because the shutters will go up in a few minutes% An,wa,, the cameras can do far better than 2 could% &Goodb,e, m, dearest, and m, love to ,ou all - especiall, Chris% ?, the time ,ou get this, it will be over, one wa, or the other% Remember 2 tried to do m, best for all our sa#es - goodb,e%&

3hen he had removed the audio chip, @lo,d drifted up to the communications centre and handed it over to !asha :ovalev% &Clease ma#e sure it gets off before we close down,& he said earnestl,% &Don&t worr,,& promised !asha% &2&m still wor#ing on all channels, and we have a good ten minutes left%& e held out his hand% &2f we do meet again, wh,, we shall smileH 2f not, wh, then, this parting was well made%& @lo,d blin#ed% &!ha#espeare, 2 supposeE& &+f course= ?rutus and Cassius before battle% !ee ,ou later%& 'an,a and 8asili were too intent upon their situation displa,s to do more than wave to @lo,d, and he retreated to his cabin% e had alread, said farewell to the rest of the crew= there was nothing to do but wait% is sleeping bag was slung in preparation for the return of gravit, when deceleration commenced, and he had onl, to climb into it - &Antennas retracted, all protective shields up,& said the intercom spea#er% &3e should feel first bra#ing in five minutes% 7ver,thing normal%& &'hat&s hardl, the word 2&d use,& @lo,d muttered to himself% &2 thin# ,ou mean GnominalG%& e had barel, concluded the thought when there was a diffident #noc# on the door% &:to tamE& 'o his astonishment, it was Benia% &Do ,ou mind if 2 come inE& she as#ed aw#wardl,, in a small-girl voice which @lo,d could scarcel, recogniDe% &+f course not% ?ut wh, aren&t ,ou in ,our own cubicleE 2t&s onl, five minutes to re-entr,%& 7ven as he as#ed the <uestion, he was aware of its foolishness% 'he answer was so perfectl, obvious that Benia did not deign to repl,% ?ut Benia was the ver, last person he would have expected: her attitude toward him had invariabl, been polite but distant% 2ndeed, she was the onl, member of the crew who preferred to call him Dr @lo,d% >et there she was, clearl, see#ing comfort and companionship at the moment of peril%

&Benia, m, dear,& he said wr,l,% &>ou&re welcome% ?ut m, accommodation is somewhat limited% +ne might even call it !partan%& !he managed a faint smile, but said nothing as she floated into the room% @or the first time, @lo,d realiDed that she was not merel, nervous she was terrified% 'hen he understood wh, she had come to him% !he was ashamed to face her countr,men and was loo#ing for support elsewhere% 3ith this realiDation, his pleasure at the unexpected encounter abated somewhat% 'hat did not lessen his responsibilit, to another lonel, human being, a long wa, from home% 'he fact that she was an attractive - though certainl, not beautiful - woman of barel, half his own age should not have affected the issue% ?ut it did= he was beginning to rise to the occasion% !he must have noticed, but did nothing to encourage or discourage him as the, la, down side b, side in the sleeping cocoon% 'here was 4ust enough room for them both, and @lo,d began to do some anxious calculations% !uppose maximum gee was higher than predicted, and the suspension gave wa,E 'he, could easil, be #illed%%% 'here was an ample safet, margin= no need to worr, about such an ignominious end% umour was the enem, of desire= their embrace was now completel, chaste% e was not sure whether to be glad or sorr,% And it was too late for second thoughts% @rom far, far awa, came the first faint whisper of sound, li#e the wailing of some lost soul% At the same moment, the ship gave a barel, perceptible 4er#= the cocoon began to swing around and its suspension tightened% After wee#s of weightlessness, gravit, was returning% 3ithin seconds, the faint wail had risen to a stead, roar, and the cocoon had become an overloaded hammoc#% 'his is not such a good idea, @lo,d thought to himself, alread, it was difficult to breathe% 'he deceleration was onl, a part of the problem: Benia was clutching him as a drowning person is supposed to clutch the proverbial straw% e detached her as gentl, as he could% &2t&s all right, Benia% 2f 'sien did it, so can we% Relax - don&t worr,%& 2t was difficult to shout tenderl,, and he was not even sure if Benia heard him above the roar of incandescent h,drogen% ?ut she was no longer clutching him <uite so desperatel,, and he seiDed the opportunit, of ta#ing a few deep breaths% 3hat would Caroline thin# if she could see him nowE 3ould he tell her if he ever had the chanceE e was not sure she would understand% At a

moment li#e that, all lin#s with 7arth seemed ver, tenuous indeed% 2t was impossible to move, or to spea#, but now that he had grown accustomed to the strange sense of weight he was no longer uncomfortable except for the increasing numbness in his right arm% 3ith some difficult,, he managed to extricate it from beneath Benia= the familiar act brought a fleeting sense of guilt% As he felt his circulation returning, @lo,d remembered a famous remar# attributed to at least a doDen astronauts and cosmonauts: &?oth the pleasures and problems of Dero-gravit, sex have been greatl, exaggerated%& e wondered how the rest of the crew was faring, and he gave a momentar, thought to Chandra and Curnow, sleeping peacefull, through it all% 'he, would never #now if Leonov became a meteor shower in the 1ovian s#,% e did not env, them= the, had missed the experience of a lifetime% 'an,a was spea#ing over the intercom= her words were lost in the roar, but her voice sounded calm and perfectl, normal, 4ust as if she was ma#ing a routine announcement% @lo,d managed to glance at his watch, and was astonished to see that the, were alread, at the midpoint of the bra#ing manoeuvre% At that ver, moment, Leonov was at its closest approach to 1upiter= onl, expendable automatic probes had gone deeper into the 1ovian atmosphere% & alfwa, through, Benia,& he shouted% &+n the wa, out again%& e could not tell if she understood% er e,es were tightl, closed, but she smiled slightl,% 'he ship was now roc#ing noticeabl,, li#e a small boat in a chopp, sea% 3as that normalE wondered @lo,d% e was glad that he had Benia to worr, about= it too# his mind awa, from his own fears% 1ust for a moment, before he managed to expel the thought, he had a vision of the walls suddenl, glowing cherr, red, and caving in upon him% Li#e the nightmare fantas, of 7dgar Allan Coe&s &'he Cit and the Cendulum&, which he&d forgotten for thirt, ,ears% ?ut that would never happen% 2f the heat shield failed, the ship would crumble instantl,, hammered flat b, a solid wall of gas% 'here would be no pain= his nervous s,stem would not have time to react before it ceased to exist% e had experienced more consoling thoughts, but this one was not to be despised% 'he buffeting slowl, wea#ened% 'here was another inaudible announcement from 'an,a 5he would pull her leg about that, when it was all over6% $ow time seemed to be going much more slowl,= after a while he stopped loo#ing at his watch, because he could not believe it% 'he digits changed so slowl, that he could almost imagine himself in some 7insteinian

time dilation% And then something even more unbelievable happened% @irst he was amused, then slightl, indignant% Benia had fallen asleep - if not exactl, in his arms, then at least beside them% 2t was a natural reaction: the strain must have exhausted her, and the wisdom of the bod, had come to her rescue% And suddenl, @lo,d himself became aware of an almost post-orgasmic drowsiness, as if he too had been emotionall, drained b, the encounter% e had to fight to remain awa#e% And then he was falling%%% falling%%% falling%%% it was all over% 'he ship was bac# in space, where it belonged% And he and Benia were floating apart% 'he, would never again be so close together, but the, would alwa,s #now a special tenderness toward each other, which no one else could ever share%

*F 7scape from the Giant

3hen @lo,d reached the observation dec# - a discreet few minutes after Benia - 1upiter alread, seemed farther awa,% ?ut that must be an illusion based on his #nowledge, not the evidence of his e,es% 'he, had barel, emerged from the 1ovian atmosphere, and the planet still filled half the s#,% And now the, were - as intended - its prisoners% During the last incandescent hour, the, had deliberatel, 4ettisoned the excess speed that could have carried them right out of the !olar !,stem, and on to the stars% $ow the, were travelling in an ellipse - a classical ohmann orbit - which would shuttle them bac# between 1upiter and the orbit of 2o, AF),))) #ilometres higher% 2f the, did not - or could not - fire their motors again, Leonov would swing bac# and forth between these limits, completing one revolution ever, nineteen hours% 2t would become the closest of 1upiter&s moons - though not for long% 7ach time it graDed the atmosphere it would lose altitude, until it spiralled into destruction% @lo,d had never reall, en4o,ed vod#a, but he 4oined the others without an, reservations in drin#ing a triumphant toast to the ship&s designers, coupled with a vote of than#s to !ir 2saac $ewton% 'hen 'an,a put the

bottle firml, bac# in its cupboard= there was still much to be done% 'hough the, were all expecting it, ever,one 4umped at the sudden muffled thud of explosive charges, and the 4olt of separation% A few seconds later, a large, still-glowing dis# floated into view, slowl, turning end-over-end as it drifted awa, from the ship% &Loo#H& cried ;ax% &A fl,ing saucerH 3ho&s got a cameraE& 'here was a distinct note of h,sterical relief in the laughter that followed% 2t was interrupted b, the captain, in a more serious vein% &Goodb,e, faithful heat shieldH >ou did a wonderful 4ob%& &?ut what a wasteH& said !asha% &'here&s at least a couple of tons left, 'hin# of all the extra pa,load we could have carriedH& &2f that&s good, conservative Russian engineering,& retorted @lo,d, &then 2&m all for it% @ar better a few tons too much - than one milligram too little%& 7ver,one applauded those noble sentiments as the 4etti soned shield cooled to ,ellow, then red, and finall, became as blac# as the space around it% 2t vanished from sight while onl, a few #ilometres awa,, though occasionall, the sudden reappearance of an eclipsed star would betra, its presence% &Creliminar, orbit chec# completed,& said 8asili% &3e&re within ten metres a second of our right vector% $ot bad for a first tr,%& 'here was a subdued sigh of relief at the news, and a few minutes later 8asili made another announcement% &Changing attitude for course correction= delta vee six metres a second% 'went,-second burn coming up in one minute%& 'he, were still so close to 1upiter it was impossible to believe that the ship was orbiting the planet= the, might have been in a high-fl,ing aircraft that had 4ust emerged from a sea of clouds% 'here was no sense of scale= it was eas, to imagine that the, were speeding awa, from some terrestrial sunset= the reds and pin#s and crimsons sliding below were so familiar% And that was an illusion= nothing here had an, parallels with 7arth% 'hose colours were intrinsic, not borrowed from the setting sun% 'he ver, gases were utterl, alien - methane and ammonia and a witch&s brew of h,drocarbons, stirred in a h,drogen-helium cauldron% $ot one trace of free ox,gen, the breath of human life%

'he clouds marched from horiDon to horiDon in parallel rows, distorted b, occasional swirls and eddies% ere and there upwellings of brighter gas bro#e the pattern, and @lo,d could also see the dar# rim of a great whirlpool, a maelstrom of gas leading down into unfathomable 1ovian depths% e began to loo# for the Great Red !pot, then <uic#l, chec#ed himself at such a foolish thought% All the enormous cloudscape he could see below would be onl, a few per cent of the Red !pot&s immensit,= one might as well expect to recogniDe the shape of the "nited !tates from a small aeroplane fl,ing low above :ansas% &Correction completed% 3e&re now on interception orbit with 2o% Arrival time: eight hours, fift,-five minutes%& Less than nine hours to climb up from 1upiter and meet whatever is waiting for us, thought @lo,d% 3e&ve escaped from the giant - but he represents a danger we understood, and could prepare for% 3hat lies ahead now is utter m,ster,% And when we have survived that challenge, we must return to 1upiter once again% 3e shall need his strength to send us safel, home%

*. Crivate Line

&%%% ello, Dimitri% 'his is 3ood,, switching to :e, 'wo in fifteen seconds%%% ello, Dimitri - multipl, :e,s 'hree and @our, ta#e cube root, add pi s<uared and use nearest integer as :e, @ive% "nless ,our computers are a million times faster than ours - and 2&m damn sure the,&re not - no one can decr,pt this, on ,our side or mine% ?ut ,ou ma, have some explaining to do= an,wa,, ,ou&re good at that% &?, the wa,, m, usual excellent sources told me about the failure of the latest attempt to persuade old Andrei to resign= 2 gather that ,our delegation had no more luc# than the others, and ,ou&re still saddled with him as Cresident% 2&m laughing m, head off= it serves the Academ, right% 2 #now he&s over ninet,, and growing a bit - well, stubborn% ?ut ,ou won&t get an, help from me, even though 2&m the world&s - sorr,, !olar !,stem&s - leading expert on the painless removal of elderl, scientists%

&3ould ,ou believe that 2&m still slightl, drun#E 3e felt we deserved a little part,, once we&d successfull, rendeD - rendeDvous, damn, rendeDvoused with Discover,% ?esides, we had two new crew members to welcome aboard% Chandra doesn&t believe in alcohol - it ma#es ,ou too human - but 3alter Curnow more than made up for him, +nl, 'an,a remained stone-cold sober, 4ust as ,ou&d expect% &;, fellow Americans - 2 sound li#e a politician, God help me - came out of hibernation without an, problems, and are both loo#ing forward to starting wor#% 3e&ll all have to move <uic#l,= not onl, is time running out, but Discover, seems to be in ver, bad shape% 3e could hardl, believe our e,es when we saw how its spotless white hull had turned a sic#l, ,ellow% &2o&s to blame, of course% 'he ship&s spiralled down to within three thousand #ilometres, and ever, few da,s one of the volcanoes blasts a few megatons of sulphur up into the s#,% 7ven though ,ou&ve seen the movies, ,ou can&t reall, imagine what it&s li#e to hang above that inferno= 2&ll be glad when we can get awa,, even though we&ll be heading for something much more m,sterious - and perhaps far more dangerous% &2 flew over :ilauea during the &). eruption= that was might, scar,, but it was nothing - nothing - compared to this% At the moment, we&re over the nightside, and that ma#es it worse% >ou can see 4ust enough to imagine a lot more% 2t&s as close to ell as 2 ever want to get% &!ome of the sulphur la#es are hot enough to glow, but most of the light comes from electrical discharges% 7ver, few minutes the whole landscape seems to explode, as if a giant photoflash has gone off above it% And that&s probabl, not a bad analog,= there are millions of amps flowing in the flux-tube lin#ing 2o and 1upiter, and ever, so often there&s a brea#down% 'hen ,ou get the biggest lightning flash in the !olar !,stem, and half our circuit-brea#ers 4ump out in s,mpath,% &'here&s 4ust been an eruption right on the terminator, and 2 can see a huge cloud expanding up toward us, climbing into the sunlight% 2 doubt if it will reach our altitude, and even if it does it will be harmless b, the time it gets here% ?ut it loo#s ominous - a space monster, tr,ing to devour us% &!oon after we got here, 2 realiDed that 2o reminded me of something= it too# me a couple of da,s to wor# it out, and then 2 had to chec# with ;ission Archives because the ship&s librar, couldn&t help - shame on it% Do ,ou remember how 2 introduced ,ou to 'he Lord of the Rings, when we were #ids bac# at that +xford conferenceE 3ell, 2o is ;ordor: loo# up Cart 'hree% 'here&s a passage about Grivers of molten roc# that wound their

wa,%%% until the, cooled and la, li#e twisted dragon-shapes vomited from the tormented earth%G 'hat&s a perfect description: how did 'ol#ien #now, a <uarter centur, before an,one ever saw a picture of 2oE 'al# about $ature imitating Art% &At least we won&t have to land there: 2 don&t thin# that even our late Chinese colleagues would have attempted that% ?ut perhaps one da, it ma, be possible= there are areas that seem fairl, stable, and not continuall, inundated b, sulphur floods% &3ho would have believed that we&d come all the wa, to 1upiter, greatest of planets - and then ignore it% >et that&s what we&re doing most of the time= and when we&re not loo#ing at 2o or Discover,, we&re thin#ing about the Artifact% &2t&s still ten thousand #ilometres awa,, up there at the libration point, but when 2 loo# at it through the main telescope it seems close enough to touch% ?ecause it&s so completel, featureless, there&s no indication of siDe, no wa, the e,e can 4udge it&s reall, a couple of #ilometres long% 2f it&s solid, it must weigh billions of tons% &?ut is it solidE 2t gives almost no radar echo, even when it&s s<uare-on to us% 3e can see it onl, as a blac# silhouette against the clouds of 1upiter, three hundred thousand #ilometres below% Apart from its siDe, it loo#s exactl, li#e the monolith we dug up on the ;oon% &3ell, tomorrow we&ll go aboard Discover,, and 2 don&t #now when 2&ll have time or opportunit, to spea# to ,ou again% ?ut there&s one more thing, old friend, before 2 sign off% &2t&s Caroline% !he&s never reall, understood wh, 2 had to leave 7arth, and in a wa, 2 don&t thin# she&ll ever <uite forgive me% !ome women believe, that love isn&t the onl, thing - but ever,thing% Cerhaps the,&re right%%% an,wa,, it&s certainl, too late to argue now% &'r, and cheer her up when ,ou have a chance% !he tal#s about going bac# to the mainland% 2&m afraid that if she does%%% &2f ,ou can&t get through to her, tr, to cheer up Chris% 2 miss him more than 2 care to sa,% & e&ll believe "ncle Dimitri - if ,ou sa, that his father still loves him, and will be coming home 4ust as <uic#l, as he can%&

*9

?oarding Cart,

7ven in the best of circumstances, it is not eas, to board a derelict and uncooperative spaceship% 2ndeed, it can be positivel, dangerous% 3alter Curnow #new that as an abstract principle= but he did not reall, feel it in his bones until he saw the entire hundred-metre length of Discover, turning end-over-end, while Leonov #ept at a safe distance% >ears ago, friction had bra#ed the spin of Discover,&s carousel, thus transferring its angular momentum to the rest of the structure% $ow, li#e a drum-ma4orette&s baton at the height of its tra4ector,, the abandoned ship was slowl, tumbling along its orbit% 'he first problem was to stop that spin, which made Discover, not onl, uncontrollable but almost unapproachable% As he suited up in the airloc# with ;ax ?railovs#,, Curnow had a ver, rare sensation of incompetence, even inferiorit,= it was not his line of business% e had alread, explained gloomil,, &2&m a space engineer, not a space mon#e,&= but the 4ob had to be done% e alone possessed the s#ills that could save Discover, from 2o&s grasp% ;ax and his colleagues, wor#ing with unfamiliar circuit diagrams and e<uipment, would ta#e far too long% ?, the time the, had restored power to the ship and mastered its controls, it would have plunged into the sulphurous firepits below% &>ou&re not scared, are ,ouE& as#ed ;ax, when the, were about to put on their helmets% &$ot enough to ma#e a mess in m, suit% +therwise, ,es%& ;ax chuc#led% &2&d sa, that&s about right for this 4ob% ?ut don&t worr, - 2&ll get ,ou there in one piece, with m, - what do ,ou call itE& &?roomstic#% ?ecause witches are supposed to ride them%& &+h ,es% ave ,ou ever used oneE&

&2 tried once, but mine got awa, from me% 7ver,one else thought it was ver, funn,%& 'here are some professions which have evolved uni<ue and characteristic tools - the longshoreman&s hoo#, the potter&s wheel, the bric#la,er&s trowel, the geologist&s hammer% 'he men who had to spend much of their time on Dero-gravit, construction pro4ects had developed the broomstic#%

2t was ver, simple - a hollow tube 4ust a metre long, with a footpad at one end and a retaining loop at the other% At the touch of a button, it could telescope out to five or six times its normal length, and the internal shoc#-absorbing s,stem allowed a s#illed operator to perform the most amaDing manoeuvres% 'he footpad could also become a claw or hoo# if necessar,= there were man, other refinements, but that was the basic design% 2t loo#ed deceptivel, eas, to use= it wasn&t% 'he airloc# pumps finished rec,cling= the 7J2' sign came on= the outer doors opened, and the, drifted slowl, into the void% Discover, was windmilling about two hundred metres awa,, following them in orbit around 2o, which filled half the s#,% 1upiter was invisible, on the other side of the satellite% 'his was a matter of deliberate choice= the, were using 2o as a shield to protect them from the energies raging bac# and forth in the flux-tube that lin#ed the two worlds% 7ven so, the radiation level was dangerousl, high= the, had less than fifteen minutes before the, must get bac# to shelter% Almost immediatel,, Curnow had a problem with his suit% &2t fitted me when 2 left 7arth,& he complained% &?ut now 2&m rattling around inside li#e a pea in a pod%& &'hat&s perfectl, normal, 3alter,& said !urgeon-Commander Ruden#o, brea#ing into the radio circuit% &>ou lost ten #ilos in hibernation, which ,ou could ver, well afford to miss% And ,ou&ve alread, put three of them bac#%& ?efore Curnow had time to thin# of a suitable retort, he found himself gentl, but firml, 4er#ed awa, from Leonov% &1ust relax, 3alter,& said ?railovs#,% &Don&t use ,our thrusters, even if ,ou start tumbling% Let me do all the wor#%& Curnow could see the faint puffs from the ,ounger man&s bac#pac#, as its tin, 4ets drove them toward Discover,% 3ith each little cloud of vapour there came a gentle tug on the towline, and he would start moving toward ?railovs#,= but he never caught up with him before the next puff came% e felt rather li#e a ,o-,o - now ma#ing one of its periodic comebac#s on 7arth - bouncing up and down on its string% 'here was onl, one safe wa, to approach the derelict, and that was along the axis around which it was slowl, revolving% Discover,&s centre of rotation was approximatel, amidships, near the main antenna complex, and ?railovs#, was heading directl, toward this area, with his anxious partner in tow% ow will he stop both of us in timeE Curnow as#ed himself%

Discover, was now a huge, slender dumbbell slowl, flailing the entire s#, ahead of them% 'hough it too# several minutes to complete one revolution, the far ends were moving at an impressive speed% Curnow tried to ignore them, and concentrated on the approaching - and immobile centre% &2&m aiming for that,& said ?railovs#,% &Don&t tr, to help, and don&t be surprised at an,thing that happens%& $ow, what does he mean b, thatE Curnow as#ed himself, while preparing to be as unsurprised as possible% 7ver,thing happened in about five seconds% ?railovs#, triggered his broomstic#, so that it telescoped out to its full length of four metres and made contact with the approaching ship% 'he broomstic# started to collapse, its internal spring absorbing ?railovs#,&s considerable momentum= but it did not, as Curnow had full, expected, bring him to rest beside the antenna mount% 2t immediatel, expanded again, reversing the Russian&s velocit, so that he was, in effect, reflected awa, from Discover, 4ust as rapidl, as he had approached% e flashed past Curnow, heading out into space again, onl, a few centimetres awa,% 'he startled American 4ust had time to glimpse a large grin before ?railovs#, shot past him% A second later, there was a 4er# on the line connecting them, and a <uic# surge of deceleration as the, shared momentum% 'heir opposing velocities had been neatl, cancelled= the, were virtuall, at rest with respect to Discover,% Curnow had merel, to reach out to the nearest handhold, and drag them both in% & ave ,ou ever tried Russian rouletteE& he as#ed, when he had got his breath bac#% &$o - what is itE& &2 must teach ,ou sometime% 2t&s almost as good as this for curing boredom%& &2 hope ,ou&re not suggesting, 3alter, that ;ax would do an,thing dangerousE& Dr Ruden#o sounded as if she was genuinel, shoc#ed, and Curnow decided it was best not to answer= sometimes the Russians did not understand his peculiar sense of humour% &>ou could have fooled me,& he muttered under his breath, not loud enough for her to hear% $ow that the, were firml, attached to the hub of the windmilling ship,

he was no longer conscious of its rotation - especiall, when he fixed his gaDe upon the metal plates immediatel, before his e,es% 'he ladder stretching awa, into the distance, running along the slender c,linder that was Discover,&s main structure, was his next ob4ective% 'he spherical command module at its far end seemed several light-,ears awa,, though he #new perfectl, well that the distance was onl, fift, metres% &2&ll go first,& said ?railovs#,, reeling in the slac# on the line lin#ing them together% &Remember - it&s downhill all the wa, from here% ?ut that&s no problem - ,ou can hold on with one hand% 7ven at the bottom, gravit,&s onl, about a tenth gee% And that&s - what do ,ou sa,E chic#enshit%& &2 thin# ,ou mean chic#enfeed% And if it&s all the same to ,ou, 2&m going feet first% 2 never li#ed crawling down ladders the wrong wa, up even in fractional gravit,%& 2t was essential, Curnow was ver, well aware, to #eep up this gentl, bantering tone= otherwise he would be simpl, overwhelmed b, the m,ster, and danger of the situation% 'here he was, almost a billion #ilometres from home, about to enter the most famous derelict in the entire histor, of space exploration= a media reporter had once called Discover, the ;arie Celeste of space, and that was not a bad analog,% ?ut there was also much that made his situation uni<ue= even if he tried to ignore the nightmare moonscape filling half the s#,, there was a constant reminder of its presence at hand% 7ver, time he touched the rungs of the ladder, his glove dislodged a thin mist of sulphur dust% ?railovs#,, of course, was <uite correct= the rotational gravit, caused b, the ship&s end-over-end tumbling was easil, countered% As he grew used to it, Curnow even welcomed the sense of direction it gave him% And then, <uite suddenl,, the, had reached the big, discoloured sphere of Discover,&s control and life-support module% +nl, a few metres awa, was an emergenc, hatch - the ver, one, Curnow realiDed, that ?owman had entered for his final confrontation with al% & ope we can get in,& muttered ?railovs#,% &Cit, to come all this wa, and find the door loc#ed%& e scraped awa, the sulphur obscuring the A2RL+C: !'A'"! displa, panel% &Dead, of course% !hall 2 tr, the controlsE& &3on&t do an, harm - but nothing will happen%& &>ou&re right% 3ell, here goes with manual%%%

2t was fascinating to watch the narrow hairline open in the curved wall, and to note the little puff of vapour dispersing into space, carr,ing with it a scrap of paper% 3as that some vital messageE 'he, would never #now= it spun awa,, tumbling end over end without losing an, of its initial spin as it disappeared against the stars% ?railovs#, #ept turning the manual control for what seemed a ver, long time, before the dar#, uninviting cave of the airloc# was completel, open% Curnow had hoped that the emergenc, lights, at least, might still be operating% $o such luc#% &>ou&re boss now, 3alter% 3elcome to "! territor,%& 2t certainl, did not loo# ver, welcoming as he clambered inside, flashing the beam of his helmet light around the interior% As far as Curnow could tell, ever,thing was in good order% 3hat else had he expectedE he as#ed himself, half angril,% Closing the door manuall, too# even longer than opening it, but there was no alternative until the ship was powered up again% 1ust before the hatch was sealed, Curnow ris#ed a glance at the insane panorama outside% A flic#ering blue la#e had opened up near the e<uator= he was sure it had not been there a few hours earlier% ?rilliant ,ellow flares, the characteristic colour of glowing sodium, were dancing along its edges= and the whole of the nightland was veiled in the ghostl, plasma discharge of one of 2o&s almost continuous auroras% 2t was the stuff of future nightmares - and as if that was not sufficient, there was one further touch worth, of a mad surrealist artist% !tabbing up into the blac# s#,, apparentl, emerging directl, from the firepits of the burning moon, was an immense, curving horn, such as a doomed bullfighter might have glimpsed in the final moment of truth% 'he crescent of 1upiter was rising to greet Discover, and Leonov as the, swept toward it along their common orbit%

*0 !alvage

'he moment that the outer hatch had closed behind them, there had been

a subtle reversal of roles% Curnow was at home now, while ?railovs#, was out of his element, feeling ill at ease in the lab,rinth of pitch-blac# corridors and tunnels that was Discover,&s interior% 2n theor,, ;ax #new his wa, round the ship, but that #nowledge was based onl, on a stud, of its design drawings% Curnow, on the other hand, had spent months wor#ing in Discover,&s still uncompleted identical twin= he could, <uite literall,, find his wa, around blindfolded% Crogress was made difficult because that part of the ship was designed for Dero gee= now the uncontrolled spin provided an artificial gravit,, which, slight though it was, alwa,s seemed to be in the most inconvenient direction% &@irst thing we&ve got to do,& muttered Curnow, after sliding several metres down a corridor before he could grab a handhold, &is to stop this damned spin% And we can&t do that until we have power% 2 onl, hope that Dave ?owman safeguarded all s,stems before he abandoned ship%& &Are ,ou sure he did abandon the shipE e ma, have intended to come bac#%&

&>ou ma, be right= 2 don&t suppose we&ll ever #now% 2f he even #new himself%& 'he, had now entered the Cod ?a, - Discover,&s &space garage&, which normall, contained three of the spherical one-man modules used for activities outside the ship% +nl, Cod $umber A remained= $umber * had been lost in the m,sterious accident that had #illed @ran# Coole - and $umber ( was with Dave ?owman, wherever he might be% 'he Cod ?a, also contained two spacesuits, loo#ing uncomfortabl, li#e decapitated corpses as the, hung helmet-less in their rac#s% 2t needed ver, little effort of the imagination - and ?railovs#,&s was now wor#ing overtime - to fill them with a whole menagerie of sinister occupants% 2t was unfortunate, but not altogether surprising, that Curnow&s sometimes irresponsible sense of humour got the better of him at this ver, moment% &;ax,& he said, in a tone of deadl, seriousness, &whatever happens please don&t go chasing off after the ship&s cat%& @or a few milliseconds, ?railovs#, was thrown off guard= he almost answered: &2 do wish ,ou hadn&t said that, 3alter&, but chec#ed himself in time% 'hat would have been too damning an admission of wea#ness= instead he replied, &2&d li#e to meet the idiot who put that movie in our librar,%&

&:aterina probabl, did it, to test ever,one&s ps,chological balance% An,wa,, ,ou laughed ,our head off when we screened it last wee#%& ?railovs#, was silent= Curnow&s remar# was perfectl, true% ?ut that had been bac# in the familiar warmth and light of Leonov, among his friends - not in a pitch-blac#, freeDing derelict, haunted b, ghosts% $o matter how rational one was, it was all too eas, to imagine some implacable alien beast prowling these corridors, see#ing whom it might devour% 2t&s all ,our fault, Grandma 5ma, the !iberian tundra lie lightl, on ,our beloved bones6 - 2 wish ,ou hadn&t filled m, mind with so man, of those gruesome legends% 2f 2 close m, e,es, 2 can still see the hut of the ?aba >aga, standing in that forest clearing on its scrawn, chic#en legs%%% 7nough of this nonsense% 2&m a brilliant ,oung engineer faced with the biggest technical challenge of his life, and 2 mustn&t let m, American friend #now that 2&m sometimes a frightened little bo,% 'he noises did not help% 'here were too man, of them, though the, were so faint that onl, an experienced astronaut would have detected them against the sounds of his own suit% ?ut to ;ax ?railovs#,, accustomed to wor#ing in an environment of utter silence, the, were distinctl, unnerving, even though he #new that the occasional crac#lings and crea#ings were almost certainl, caused b, thermal expansion as the ship turned li#e a roast on a spit% @eeble though the sun was out here, there was still an appreciable temperature change between light and shade% 7ven his familiar spacesuit felt wrong, now that there was pressure outside as well as in% All the forces acting on its 4oints were subtl, altered, and he could no longer 4udge his movements accuratel,% 2&m a beginner, starting m, training all over again, he told himself angril,% 'ime to brea# the mood b, some decisive action% &3alter - 2&d li#e to test the atmosphere%& &Cressure&s o#a,= temperature - phew - it&s one hundred five below Dero%& &A nice bracing Russian winter% An,wa,, the air in m, suit will #eep out the worst of the cold%& &3ell, go ahead% ?ut let me shine m, light on ,our face, so 2 can see if ,ou start to turn blue% And #eep tal#ing%& ?railovs#, unsealed his visor and swung the faceplate upward% e flinched momentaril, as ic, fingers seemed to caress his chee#s, then too# a cautious sniff, followed b, a deeper breath%

&Chill, - but m, lungs aren&t freeDing% 'here&s a funn, smell, though% !tale, rotten - as if something&s - oh noH& Loo#ing suddenl, pale, ?railovs#, <uic#l, snapped the faceplate shut% &3hat&s the trouble, ;axE& Curnow as#ed with sudden and now perfectl, genuine anxiet,% ?railovs#, did not repl,= he loo#ed as if he was still tr,ing to regain control of himself% 2ndeed, he seemed in real danger of that alwa,s horrible and sometimes fatal disaster - vomiting in a spacesuit% 'here was a long silence= then Curnow said reassuringl,: &2 get it% ?ut 2&m sure ,ou&re wrong% 3e #now that Coole was lost in space% ?owman reported that he%%% e4ected the others after the, died in hibernation - and we can be sure that he did% 'here can&t be an,one here% ?esides, it&s so cold%& e almost added &li#e a morgue& but chec#ed himself in time% &?ut& suppose,& whispered ?railovs#,, &4ust suppose ?owman managed to get bac# to the ship - and died here%& 'here was an even longer silence before Curnow deliberatel, and slowl, opened his own faceplate% e winced as the freeDing air bit into his lungs, then wrin#led his nose in disgust% &2 see what ,ou mean% ?ut ,ou&re letting ,our imagination run awa, with ,ou% 2&ll bet ,ou ten to one that smell comes from the galle,% Crobabl, some meat went bad, before the ship froDe up% And ?owman must have been too bus, to be a good house#eeper% 2&ve #nown bachelor apartments that smelled as bad as this%& &;a,be ,ou&re right% 2 hope ,ou are%& &+f course 2 am% And even if 2&m not - dammit, what difference does it ma#eE 3e&ve got a 4ob to do, ;ax% 2f Dave ?owman&s still here, that&s not our department - is it, :aterinaE& 'here was no repl, from the !urgeon-Commander= the, had gone too far inside the ship for radio to penetrate% 'he, were indeed on their own, but ;ax&s spirits were rapidl, reviving% 2t was a privilege, he decided, to wor# with 3alter% 'he American engineer sometimes appeared soft and eas,going% ?ut he was totall, competent - and, when necessar,, as hard as nails% 'ogether, the, would bring Discover, bac# to life= and, perhaps, bac#

to 7arth%

*+peration 32$D;2LL

3hen Discover, suddenl, lit up li#e the proverbial Christmas tree, navigation and interior lights blaDing from end to end, the cheer aboard Leonov might almost have been heard across the vacuum between the two ships% 2t turned into an ironic groan when the lights promptl, went out again% $othing else happened for half an hour= then the observation windows of Discover,&s flight dec# began to glow with the soft crimson of the emergenc, lights% A few minutes later, Curnow and ?railovs#, could be seen moving around inside, their figures blurred b, the film of sulphur dust% & ello, ;ax - 3alter - can ,ou hear usE& called 'an,a +rlova% ?oth the figures waved instantl,, but made no other repl,% +bviousl,, the, were too bus, to engage in casual conversation= the watchers on Leonov had to wait patientl, while various lights flashed on and off, one of the three Cod ?a, doors slowl, opened and <uic#l, closed, and the main antenna slewed around a modest ten degrees% & ello, Leonov,& said Curnow at last% &!orr, to #eep ,ou waiting, but we&ve been rather bus,% & ere&s a <uic# assessment, 4udging from what we&ve seen so far% 'he ship&s in much better shape than 2 feared% ull&s intact, lea#age negligible - air pressure eight,-five per cent nominal% Iuite breathable, but we&ll have to do a ma4or rec,cling 4ob because it stin#s to high heaven% &'he best news is that the power s,stems are o#a,% ;ain reactor stable, batteries in good shape% Almost all the circuit-brea#ers were open - the,&d 4umped or been thrown b, ?owman before he left - so all vital e<uipment&s been safeguarded% ?ut it will be a ver, big 4ob chec#ing ever,thing before we have full power again%& & ow long will that ta#e - at least for the essential s,stems: life-support, propulsionE& & ard to sa,, s#ipper% ow long before we crashE&

&;inimum present prediction is ten da,s% ?ut ,ou #now how that&s changed up - and down%& &3ell, if we don&t run into an, ma4or snags, we can haul Discover, up to a stable orbit awa, from this hellhole - oh, 2&d sa, inside a wee#%& &An,thing ,ou needE& &$o - ;ax and 2 are doing fine% 3e&re going into the carousel now, to chec# the bearings% 2 want to get it running as soon as possible%& &Cardon me, 3alter - but is that importantE Gravit,&s convenient, but we&ve managed without an, for <uite a while%& &2&m not after gravit,, though it will be useful to have some aboard% 2f we can get the carousel running again, it will mop up the ship&s spin stop it tumbling% 'hen we&ll be able to couple our airloc#s together, and cut out 78As% 'hat will ma#e wor# a hundred times easier%& &$ice idea, 3alter - but ,ou&re not going to mate m, ship to that%%% windmill% !uppose the bearings seiDe up and the carousel 4amsE 'hat would tear us to pieces%& &Agreed% 3e&ll cross that bridge when we come to it% 2&ll report again as soon as 2 can%& $o one had much rest for the next two da,s% ?, the end of that time, Curnow and ?railovs#, had practicall, fallen asleep in their suits, but had completed their surve, of Discover, and found no unpleasant surprises% ?oth the !pace Agenc, and the !tate Department were relieved b, the preliminar, report= it allowed them to claim, with some 4ustification, that Discover, was not a derelict but a &temporaril, decommissioned "nited !tates !pacecraft&% $ow the tas# of reconditioning had to begin% +nce power had been restored, the next problem was the air= even the most thorough housecleaning operations had failed to remove the stin#% Curnow had been right in identif,ing its source as food spoiled when refrigeration had failed= he also claimed, with moc# seriousness, that it was <uite romantic% &2&ve onl, got to close m, e,es,& he asserted, &and 2 feel 2&m bac# on an old-time whaling ship% Can ,ou imagine what the Ce<uod must have smelled li#eE& 2t was unanimousl, agreed that, after a visit to Discover,, ver, little effort of the imagination was re<uired% 'he problem was finall, solved - or at least reduced to manageable proportions - b, dumping the ship&s atmosphere% @ortunatel,, there was still enough air in the reserve

tan#s to replace it% +ne piece of ver, welcome news was that ninet, per cent of the propellant needed for the return 4ourne, was still available= choosing ammonia instead of h,drogen as wor#ing fluid for the plasma drive had paid off handsomel,% 'he more efficient h,drogen would have boiled off into space ,ears ago, despite the insulation of the tan#s and the frigid temperature outside% ?ut almost all the ammonia had remained safel, li<uified, and there was enough to get the ship bac# to a safe orbit around the 7arth% +r at least around the ;oon% Chec#ing Discover,&s propellerli#e spin was perhaps the most critical step in getting the ship under control% !asha :ovalev compared Curnow and ?railovs#, to Don Iuixote and !ancho CanDa, and expressed the hope that their windmill-tilting expedition would end more successfull,% 8er, cautiousl,, with man, pauses for chec#ing, power was fed to the carousel motors and the great drum was brought up to speed, reabsorbing the spin it had long ago imparted to the ship% Discover, executed a complex series of precessions, until eventuall, its end-over-end tumble had almost vanished% 'he last traces of unwanted rotation were neutraliDed b, the attitude-control 4ets, until the two ships were floating motionless side b, side, the s<uat, stoc#, Leonov dwarfed b, the long, slender Discover,% 'ransfer from one to the other was now safe and eas,, but Captain +rlova still refused to permit a ph,sical lin#up% 7ver,one agreed with this decision, for 2o was coming steadil, closer= the, might ,et have to abandon the vessel the, had wor#ed so hard to save% 'he fact that the, now #new the reason for Discover,&s m,sterious orbital deca, did not help in the least% 7ver, time the ship passed between 1upiter and 2o, it sliced through the invisible flux-tube lin#ing the two bodies - the electric river flowing from world to world% 'he resulting edd, currents induced in the ship were continuall, slowing it down, bra#ing it once ever, revolution% 'here was no wa, to predict the final moment of impact, for the current in the flux-tube varied wildl, according to 1upiter&s own inscrutable laws% !ometimes there were dramatic surges of activit, accompanied b, spectacular electric and auroral storms around 2o% 'hen the ships would lose altitude b, man, #ilometres, at the same time becoming uncomfortabl, hot before their thermal control s,stems could read4ust% 'his unexpected effect had scared and surprised ever,one before the obvious explanation was realiDed% An, form of bra#ing produces heat, somewhere= the heav, currents induced in the hulls of Leonov and Discover,

turned them briefl, into low-powered electric furnaces% 2t was not surprising that some of Discover,&s food suppl, had been ruined during the ,ears the ship had been alternatel, coo#ed and cooled% 'he festering landscape of 2o, loo#ing more than ever li#e an illustration from a medical textboo#, was onl, five hundred #ilometres awa, when Curnow ris#ed activating the main drive, while Leonov stood off at a ver, respectful distance% 'here were no visible effects - none of the smo#e and fire of the old-time chemical roc#ets - but the two ships drew slowl, apart as Discover, gained speed% After a few hours of ver, gentle manoeuvring, both ships had raised themselves a thousand #ilometres= now there was time to relax briefl,, and to ma#e plans for the next stage in the mission% &>ou&ve done a wonderful 4ob, 3alter,& said !urgeon-Commander Ruden#o, putting her ample arm around the exhausted Curnow&s shoulders% &3e&re all proud of ,ou%& 8er, casuall,, she bro#e a small capsule under his nose% 2t was twent,-four hours before he wo#e up, anno,ed and hungr,%

() Guillotine

&3hat is itE& as#ed Curnow with mild distaste, hefting the little mechanism in his hand% &A guillotine for miceE& &$ot a bad description - but 2&m after bigger game%& @lo,d pointed to a flashing arrow on the displa, screen, which was now showing a complicated circuit diagram% &>ou see this lineE& &>es - the main power suppl,% !oE& &'his is the point where it enters al&s central processing unit% 2&d li#e ,ou to install this gadget here% 2nside the cable trun#ing, where it can&t be found without a deliberate search%& &2 see% A remote control, so ,ou can pull the plug on al whenever ,ou want to% 8er, neat - and a non-conducting blade, too, so there won&t be an, embarrassing shorts when it&s triggered% 3ho ma#es to,s li#e thisE 'he

C2AE& &$ever mind% 'he control&s in m, room - that little red calculator 2 alwa,s #eep on m, des#% Cut in nine nines, ta#e the s<uare root, and press '$'% 'hat&s all% 2&m not sure of its range - we&ll have to test that - but as long as Leonov and Discover, are within a couple of #ilometres of each other, there&ll be no danger of al running amo# again%& &3ho are ,ou going to tell about this%%% thingE& &3ell, the onl, person 2&m reall, hiding it from is Chandra%& &2 guessed as much%& &?ut the fewer who #now, the less li#el, it is to be tal#ed about% 2&ll tell 'an,a that it exists, and if there&s an emergenc, ,ou can show her how to operate it%& &3hat #ind of emergenc,E& &'hat&s not a ver, bright <uestion, 3alter% 2f 2 #new, 2 wouldn&t need the damn thing%& &Guess ,ou&re right% 3hen do ,ou want me to install ,our patented al-DapperE& &As soon as ,ou can% Creferabl, tonight% 3hen Chandra&s sleeping%& &Are ,ou #iddingE 2 don&t thin# he ever sleeps% nursing a sic# bab,%& e&s li#e a mother

&3ell, he&s got to come bac# to Leonov to eat, occasionall,%& &2&ve news for ,ou% 'he last time he went across, he tied a little sac# of rice to his suit% 'hat will #eep him going for wee#s%& &'hen we&ll have to use one of :aterina&s famous #noc#out drops% 'he, did a prett, good 4ob on ,ou, didn&t the,E& Curnow was 4o#ing about Chandra - at least, @lo,d assumed that he was, though one could never be <uite sure: he was fond of ma#ing outrageous statements with a perfectl, straight face% 2t had been some time before the Russians had full, realiDed that= soon, in self-defence, the, were prone to pre-emptive laughs even when Curnow was being perfectl, serious% Curnow&s own laugh, mercifull,, had much abated since @lo,d had first heard it in the upward-bound shuttle= on that occasion, it had obviousl,

been primed b, alcohol% e had full, expected to cringe from it again at the end-of-orbit part,, when Leonov had finall, made rendeDvous with Discover,% ?ut even on that occasion, though Curnow had drun# a good deal, he had remained as much under control as Captain +rlova herself% 'he one thing he did ta#e seriousl, was his wor#% +n the wa, up from 7arth, he had been a passenger% $ow he was crew%

(* Resurrection

3e are, @lo,d told himself, about to awa#en a sleeping giant% ow will al react to our presence, after all these ,earsE 3hat will he remember of the past - and will he be friendl,, or hostileE As he floated 4ust behind Dr Chandra in the Dero-gravit, environment of Discover,&s flight dec#, @lo,d&s mind was seldom far from the cut-off switch, installed and tested onl, a few hours earlier% 'he radio control was mere centimetres from his hand, and he felt somewhat foolish to have brought it with him% At this stage, al was still disconnected from all the ship&s operational circuits% 7ven if he was reactivated, he would be a brain without limbs though not without sense organs% e would be able to communicate, but not to act% As Curnow had put it, &'he worst he can do is swear at us%& &2&m read, for the first test, Captain,& said Chandra% &All the missing modules have been replaced, and 2&ve run diagnostic programs on all circuits% 7ver,thing appears normal, at least on this level%& Captain +rlova glanced at @lo,d, who gave a nod% At Chandra&s insistence, onl, the three of them were present for this critical first run, and it was <uite obvious that even this small audience was unwelcome% &8er, well, Dr Chandra%& 7ver conscious of protocol, the captain added <uic#l,: &Dr @lo,d has given his approval, and 2 have no ob4ections m,self%& &2 should explain,& said Chandra, in a tone that clearl, conve,ed disapproval, &that his voice-recognition and speech-s,nthesis centres have been damaged% 3e&ll have to teach him to spea# all over again% Luc#il,, he learns several million times faster than a human being%&

'he scientist&s fingers danced over the #e,board as he t,ped out a doDen words, apparentl, at random, carefull, pronouncing each one as it appeared on the screen% Li#e a distorted echo, the words came bac# from the spea#er grille - lifeless, indeed mechanical, with no sense of an, intelligence behind them% 'his isn&t the old al, thought @lo,d% 2t&s no better than the primitive spea#ing to,s that were such a novelt, when 2 was a #id% Chandra pressed the R7C7A' button, and the series of words sounded once again% Alread,, there was a noticeable improvement, though no one could have mista#en the spea#er for a human being% &'he words 2 gave him contain the basic 7nglish phonemes= about ten iterations, and he&ll be acceptable% ?ut 2 don&t have the e<uipment to do a reall, good 4ob of therap,%& &'herap,E& as#ed @lo,d% &>ou mean that &he&s - well, brain-damagedE& &$o,& snapped Chandra% &'he logic circuits are in perfect condition% +nl, the voice output ma, be defective, though it will improve steadil,% !o chec# ever,thing against the visual displa,, to avoid misinterpretations% And when ,ou do spea#, enunciate carefull,%& @lo,d gave Captain +rlova a wr, smile, and as#ed the obvious <uestion% &3hat about all the Russian accents around hereE& &2&m sure that won&t be a problem with Captain +rlova and Dr :ovalev% ?ut with the others - well, we&ll have to run individual tests% An,one who can&t pass will have to use the #e,board%& &'hat&s still loo#ing a long wa, ahead% @or the present, ,ou&re the onl, person who should attempt communication% Agreed, CaptainE& &Absolutel,%& +nl, the briefest of nods revealed that Dr Chandra had heard them% is fingers continued to fl, over the #e,board, and columns of words and s,mbols flashed across the displa, screen at such a rate that no human being could possibl, assimilate them% Cresumabl, Chandra had an eidetic memor,, for he appeared to recogniDe whole pages of information at a glance% @lo,d and +rlova were 4ust about to leave the scientist to his arcane devotions when he suddenl, ac#nowledged their presence again, holding up his hand in warning or anticipation% 3ith an almost hesitant movement, in mar#ed contrast with his previous swift actions, he slid bac# a loc#ing

bar and pressed a single, isolated #e,% 2nstantl,, with no perceptible pause, a voice came from the console, no longer in a mechanical parod, of human speech% 'here was intelligence consciousness - self-awareness here, though as ,et onl, on a rudimentar, level% &Good morning, Dr Chandra, 'his is al% 2 am read, for m, first lesson%&

'here was a moment of shoc#ed silence= then, acting on the same impulse, the two observers left the dec#% e,wood @lo,d would never have believed it% Dr Chandra was cr,ing%

2v LAGRA$G7

(( ?ig ?rother

&%%% 3hat delightful news about the bab, dolphinH 2 can 4ust imagine how excited Chris was when the proud parents brought it into the house% >ou should have heard the ohs and ahs of m, shipmates when the, saw the videos of them swimming together, and Chris riding on its bac#% 'he, suggest we call it !putni#, which means companion as well as satellite% &!orr, it&s been <uite a while since m, last message, but the newscasts will have given ,ou an idea of the huge 4ob we&ve had to do% 7ven Captain 'an,a&s given up all pretence of a regular schedule= each problem has to be fixed as it comes along, b, whoever is on the spot% 3e sleep when we can&t sta, awa#e an, longer% &2 thin# we can all be proud of what we&ve done% ?oth ships are operational and we&ve nearl, finished our first round of tests on al% 2n a couple of da,s we&ll #now if we can trust him to fl, Discover, when we leave here to ma#e our final rendeDvous with ?ig ?rother% &2 don&t #now who first gave it that name - the Russians, understandabl,, aren&t #een on it% And the,&ve waxed <uite sarcastic about

our official designation ';A-(, pointing out to me - several times - that it&s the best part of a billion #ilometres from ',cho% Also that ?owman reported no magnetic anomal,, and that the onl, resemblance to ';A-* is the shape% 3hen 2 as#ed them what name the, preferred, the, came up with Bagad#a, which means enigma% 2t&s certainl, an excellent name= but ever,one smiles when 2 tr, to pronounce it, so 2&ll stic# to ?ig ?rother% &3hatever ,ou call the thing, it&s onl, ten thousand #ilometres awa, now, and the trip won&t ta#e more than a few hours% ?ut that last lap has us all nervous, 2 don&t mind telling ,ou% &3e&d hoped that we might find some new information aboard Discover,% 'hat&s been our onl, disappointment, though we should have expected it% al, of course, was disconnected long before the encounter, and so has no memories of what happened= ?owman has ta#en all his secrets with him% 'here&s nothing in the ship&s log and automatic recording s,stems that we didn&t alread, #now% &'he onl, new item we discovered was purel, personal - a message that ?owman had left for his mother% 2 wonder wh, he never sent it= obviousl,, he did expect - or hope - to return to the ship after that last 78A% +f course, we&ve had it forwarded to ;rs ?owman - she&s in a nursing home, somewhere in @lorida, and her mental condition is poor, so it ma, not mean an,thing to her% &3ell, that&s all the news this time% 2 can&t tell ,ou how much 2 miss ,ou%%% and the blue s#ies and green seas of 7arth% All the colours here are reds and oranges and ,ellows - often as beautiful as the most fantastic sunset, but after a while one grows sic# for the cool, pure ra,s at the other end of the spectrum% &;, love to ,ou both - 2&ll call again 4ust as soon as 2 can%&

(A RendeDvous

$i#olai 'emovs#,, Leonov&s control and c,bernetics expert, was the onl, man aboard who could tal# to Dr Chandra on something li#e his own terms% Although al&s principal creator and mentor was reluctant to admit an,one into his full confidence, sheer ph,sical exhaustion had forced him to accept help% Russian and 2ndo-American had formed a temporar, alliance, which functioned surprisingl, well% ;ost of the credit for this went to

the good-natured $i#olai, who was somehow able to sense when Chandra reall, needed him, and when he preferred to be alone% 'he fact that $i#olai&s 7nglish was much the worst on the ship was totall, unimportant, since most of the time both men spo#e a computerese wholl, unintelligible to an,one else% After a wee#&s slow and careful reintegration, all of al&s routine, supervisor, functions were operating reliabl,% e was li#e a man who could wal#, carr, out simple orders, do uns#illed 4obs, and engage in low-level conversation% 2n human terms, he had an 2ntelligence Iuotient of perhaps F)= onl, the faintest outlines of his original personalit, had ,et emerged% e was still sleepwal#ing= nevertheless, in Chandra&s expert opinion, he was now <uite capable of fl,ing Discover, from its close orbit around 2o up to the rendeDvous with ?ig ?rother% 'he prospect of getting an extra seven thousand #ilometres awa, from the burning hell beneath them was welcomed b, ever,one% 'rivial though that distance was in astronomical terms, it meant that the s#, would no longet be dominated b, a landscape that might have been imagined b, Dante or ieron,mus ?osch% And although not even the most violent eruptions had blasted an, material up to the ships, there was alwa,s the fear that 2o might attempt to set a new record% As it was, visibilit, from Leonov&s observation dec# was steadil, degraded b, a thin film of sulphur, and sooner or later someone would have to go out and clean it off% +nl, Curnow and Chandra were aboard Discover, when al was given the first control of the ship% 2t was a ver, limited form of control= he was merel, repeating the program that had been fed into his memor,, and monitoring its execution% And the human crew was monitoring him: if an, malfunction occurred, the, would ta#e over immediatel,% 'he first burn lasted for ten minutes= then al reported that Discover, had entered the transfer orbit% As soon as Leonov&s radar and optical trac#ing confirmed that, the other ship in4ected itself into the same tra4ector,% 'wo minor in-course corrections were made= then, three hours and fifteen minutes later, both arrived uneventfull, at the first Lagrange point, L% * - *),F)) #ilometres up, on the invisible line connecting the centres of 2o and 1upiter% al had behaved impeccabl,, and Chandra showed unmista#able traces of such purel, human emotions as satisfaction and even 4o,% ?ut b, that time, ever,one&s thoughts were elsewhere= ?ig ?rother, alias Bagad#a, was onl, a hundred #ilometres awa,% 7ven from that distance, it alread, appeared larger than the ;oon as

seen from 7arth, and shoc#ingl, unnatural in its straight-edged, geometrical perfection% Against the bac#ground of space it would have been completel, invisible, but the scudding 1ovian clouds AF),))) #ilometres below showed it up in dramatic relief% 'he, also produced an illusion that, once experienced, the mind found almost impossible to refute% ?ecause there was no wa, in which its real location could be 4udged b, the e,e, ?ig ?rother often loo#ed li#e a ,awning trapdoor set in the face of 1upiter% 'here was no reason to suppose that a hundred #ilometres would be &safer than ten, or more dangerous than a thousand= it merel, seemed ps,chologicall, right for a first reconnaissance% @rom that distance, the ship&s telescopes could have revealed details onl, centimetres across -but there were none to be seen% ?ig ?rother appeared completel, featureless= which, for an ob4ect that had, presumabl,, survived millions of ,ears of bombardment b, space debris, was incredible% 3hen @lo,d stared through the binocular e,epiece, it seemed to him that he could reach out and touch those smooth, ebon surfaces - 4ust as he had done on the ;oon, ,ears ago% 'hat first time, it had been with the gloved hand of his spacesuit% $ot until the ',cho monolith had been enclosed in a pressuriDed dome had he been able to use his na#ed hand% 'hat had made no difference= he did not feel that he had ever reall, touched ';A-*% 'he tips of his fingers had seemed to s#itter over an invisible barrier, and the harder he pushed, the greater the repulsion grew% e wondered if ?ig ?rother would produce the same effect% >et before the, came that close, the, had to ma#e ever, test the, could devise and report their observations to 7arth% 'he, were in much the same position as explosives experts tr,ing to defuse a new t,pe of bomb, which might be detonated b, the slightest false move% @or all that the, could tell, even the most delicate of radar probes might trigger some unimaginable catastrophe% @or the first twent,-four hours, the, did nothing except observe with passive instruments - telescopes, cameras, sensors on ever, wavelength% 8asili +rlov also too# the opportunit, of measuring the slab&s dimensions with the greatest possible precision, and confirmed the famous *:/:- ratio to six decimal places% ?ig ?rother was exactl, the same shape as ';A-* but as it was more than two #ilometres long, it was 9*0 times larger than its small sibling% And there was a second mathematical m,ster,% ;en had been arguing for ,ears over that *:/:- ratio - the s<uares of the first three integers% 'hat could not possibl, be a coincidence= now here was another number to con4ure with%

?ac# on 7arth, statisticians and mathematical ph,sicists were soon pla,ing happil, with their computers, tr,ing to relate the ratio to the fundamental constants of nature - the velocit, of light, the protonKelectron mass ratio, the fine-structure constant% 'he, were <uic#l, 4oined b, a gaggle of numerologists, astrologers, and m,stics, who threw in the height of the Great C,ramid, the diameter of !tonehenge, the aDimuth bearings of the $aDca lines, the latitude of 7aster 2sland, and a host of other factors from which the, were able to draw the most amaDing conclusions about the future% 'he, were not in the least deterred when a celebrated 3ashington humorist claimed that his calculations proved that the world ended on A* December *--- - but that ever,one had had too much of a hangover to notice% $or did ?ig ?rother appear to notice the two ships that had arrived in its vicinit, - even when the, cautiousl, probed it with radar beams and bombarded it with strings of radio pulses which, it was hoped, would encourage an, intelligent listener to answer in the same fashion% After two frustrating da,s, with the approval of ;ission Control, the ships halved their distance% @rom fift, #ilometres, the largest face of the slab appeared about four times the width of the ;oon in 7arth&s s#, impressive, but not so large as to be ps,chologicall, overwhelming% 2t could not ,et compete with 1upiter, ten times larger still= and alread, the mood of the expedition was changing from awed alertness to a certain impatience% 3alter Curnow spo#e for almost ever,one: &?ig ?rother ma, be willing to wait a few million ,ears - we&d li#e to get awa, a little sooner%&

(/ Reconnaissance

Discover, had left 7arth with three of the little space pods that allowed an astronaut to perform extravehicular activities in shirt-sleeve comfort% +ne had been lost in the accident - if it was an accident - that had #illed @ran# Coole% Another had carried Dave ?owman to his final appointment with ?ig ?rother, and shared whatever fate befell him, A third was still in the ship&s garage, the Cod ?a,% 2t lac#ed one important component - the hatch, blown off b, Commander

?owman when he had made his haDardous vacuum-crossing and entered the ship through the emergenc, airloc#, after al had refused to open the Cod ?a, door% 'he resulting blast of air had roc#eted the pod several hundred #ilometres awa, before ?owman, bus, with more important matters, had brought it bac# under radio control% 2t was not surprising that he had never bothered to replace the missing hatch% $ow Cod $umber A 5on which ;ax, refusing all explanations, had stencilled the name $ina6 was being prepared for another 78A% 2t still lac#ed a hatch, but that was unimportant% $o one would be riding inside% ?owman&s devotion to dut, was a piece of unexpected luc#, and it would have been foll, not to ta#e advantage of it% ?, using $ina as a robot probe, ?ig ?rother could be examined at close <uarters without ris#ing human lives% 'hat at least was the theor,= no one could rule out the possibilit, of a bac#lash that might engulf the ship% After all, fift, #ilometres was not even a hair&s breadth, as cosmic distances went% After ,ears of neglect, $ina loo#ed distinctl, shabb,% 'he dust that was alwa,s floating around in Dero gee had settled over the outer surface, so that the once immaculatel, white hull had become a ding, gre,% As it slowl, accelerated awa, from the ship, its external manipulators folded neatl, bac# and its oval viewport staring spaceward li#e a huge, dead e,e, it did not seem a ver, impressive ambassador of ;an#ind% ?ut that was a distinct advantage= so humble an emissar, might be tolerated, and its small siDe and low velocit, should emphasiDe its peaceful intentions% 'here had been a suggestion that it should approach ?ig ?rother with open hands= the idea was <uic#l, turned down when almost ever,one agreed that if the, saw $ina heading toward them, mechanical claws outstretched, the, would run for their lives% After a leisurel, two-hour trip, $ina came to rest a hundred metres from one corner of the huge rectangular slab% @rom so close at hand, there was no sense of its true shape= the '8 cameras might have been loo#ing down on the tip of a blac# tetrahedron of indefinite siDe% 'he onboard instruments showed no sign of radioactivit, or magnetic fields= nothing whatsoever was coming from ?ig ?rother except the tin, fraction of sunlight it condescended to reflect% After five minutes& pause - the e<uivalent, it was intended, of & ello, here 2 amH& - $ina started a diagonal crossing of the smaller face, then the next larger, and finall, the largest, #eeping at a distance of about fift, metres, but occasionall, coming in to five% 3hatever the separation, ?ig ?rother loo#ed exactl, the same - smooth and featureless% Long before the mission was completed, it had become boring, and the spectators on both ships had gone bac# to their various 4obs, onl,

glancing at the monitors from time to time% &'hat&s it,& said 3alter Curnow at last, when $ina had arrived bac# where she had started% &3e could spend the rest of our lives doing this, without learning an,thing more% 3hat do 2 do with $ina - bring her homeE& &$o,& said 8asili, brea#ing into the circuit from aboard Leonov% &2&ve a suggestion% 'a#e her to the exact centre of the big face% ?ring her to rest - oh, a hundred metres awa,% And leave her par#ed there, with the radar switched to maximum precision%& &$o problem - except that there&s bound to be some residual drift% ?ut what&s the pointE& &2&ve 4ust remembered an exercise from one of m, college astronom, courses - the gravitational attraction of an infinite flat plate% 2 never thought 2&d have a chance of using it in real life% After 2&ve studied $ina&s movements for a few hours, at least 2&ll be able to calculate Bagad#a&s mass, 'hat is, if it has an,% 2&m beginning to thin# there&s nothing reall, there%& &'here&s an eas, wa, to settle that, and we&ll have to do it eventuall,% $ina must go in and touch the thing%& &!he alread, has%& &3hat do ,ou meanE& as#ed Curnow, rather indignantl,% &2 never got nearer than five metres%& &2&m not criticiDing ,our driving s#ills - though it was a prett, close thing at that first corner, wasn&t itE ?ut ,ou&ve been tapping gentl, on Bagad#a ever, time ,ou use $ina&s thrusters near its surface%& &A flea 4umping on an elephantH& &Cerhaps% 3e simpl, don&t #now% ?ut we&d better assume that, one wa, or another, it&s aware of our presence, and will onl, tolerate us as long as we aren&t a nuisance%& e left the unspo#en <uestion hanging in the air% ow did one anno, a two-#ilometre-long blac# rectangular slabE And 4ust what form would its disapproval ta#eE

(F

'he 8iew from Lagrange

Astronom, was full of such intriguing but meaningless coincidences% 'he most famous was the fact that, from the 7arth, both !un and ;oon have the same apparent diameter% ere at the L%* libration point, which ?ig ?rother had chosen for its cosmic balancing act on the gravitational tightrope between 1upiter and 2o, a similar phenomenon occurred% Clanet and satellite appeared exactl, the same siDe% And what a siDeH $ot the miserable half-degree of !un and ;oon, but fort, times their diameter - sixteen hundred times their area% &'he sight of either was enough to fill the mind with awe and wonder= together, the spectacle was overwhelming% 7ver, fort,-two hours, the, would go through their complete c,cle of phases= when 2o was new, 1upiter was full, and vice versa% ?ut even when the !un was hiding behind 1upiter and the planet presented onl, its nightside, it was unmista#abl, there - a huge blac# dis# eclipsing the stars% !ometimes that blac#ness would be momentaril, rent b, lightning flashes lasting for man, seconds, from electrical storms far larger than the 7arth% +n the opposite side of the s#,, alwa,s #eeping the same face toward its giant master, 2o would be a sluggishl, boiling cauldron of reds and oranges, with occasional ,ellow clouds erupting from one of its volcanoes, and falling swiftl, bac# to the surface% Li#e 1upiter, but on a slightl, longer time scale, 2o was a world without geograph,% 2ts face was remodelled in a matter of decades - 1upiter&s, in a matter of da,s% As 2o waned toward its last <uarter, so the vast, intricatel, banded 1ovian cloudscape would light up beneath the tin,, distant sun% !ometimes the shadow of 2o itself, or one of the outer satellites, would drift across the face of 1upiter= while ever, revolution would show the planet-siDed vortex of the Great Red !pot - a hurricane that had endured for centuries if not for millennia% Coised between such wonders, the crew of Leonov had material for lifetimes of research - but the natural ob4ects of the 1ovian s,stem were at the ver, bottom of their list of priorities% ?ig ?rother was $umber *= though the ships had now moved in to onl, five #ilometres, 'an,a still refused to allow an, direct ph,sical contact% &2&m going to wait,& she said, &until we&re in a position to ma#e a <uic# getawa,% 3e&ll sit and watch - until our launch window opens% 'hen we&ll consider our next move%& 2t was true that $ina had finall, grounded on ?ig ?rother, after a

leisurel, fift,-minute fall% 'his had allowed 8asili to calculate the ob4ect&s mass as a surprisingl, low -F),))) tons, which gave it about the densit, of air% Cresumabl, it was hollow - which provo#ed endless speculation about what might be inside% ?ut there were plent, of practical, ever,da, problems to ta#e their minds off these greater issues% ouse#eeping chores aboard Leonov and Discover, absorbed ninet, per cent of their wor#ing time, though operations& were much more efficient since the two ships had been coupled b, a flexible doc#ing connection% Curnow had finall, convinced 'an,a that Discover,&s carousel would not suddenl, seiDe up and tear the ships to pieces, so it had become possible to move freel, from one vessel to the other merel, b, opening and closing two sets of airtight doors% !pacesuits and time-consuming 78As were no longer necessar, - to the great delight of ever,one except ;ax, who loved going outside and exercising with his broomstic#% 'he two crew members <uite unaffected b, this were Chandra and 'ernovs#,, who now virtuall, lived aboard Discover, and wor#ed around the cloc#, continuing their apparentl, endless dialogue with al% &3hen will ,ou be read,E& the, were as#ed at least once a da,% 'he, refused to ma#e an, promises= al remained a low-grade moron% 'hen, a wee# after the rendeDvous with ?ig ?rother, Chandra unexpectedl, announced: &3e&re read,%& +nl, the two lad, medics were absent from Discover,&s flight dec#, and that was merel, because there was no room for them= the, were watching on Leonov&s monitors% @lo,d stood immediatel, behind Chandra, his hand never far from what Curnow, with his usual gift for the neat phrase, had called his poc#et giant-#iller% &Let me emphasiDe again,& said Chandra, &that there must be no tal#ing% >our accents will confuse him= 2 can spea#, but no one else% 2s that understoodE& Chandra loo#ed, and sounded, at the edge of exhaustion% >et his voice held a note of authorit, that no one had ever heard before% 'an,a might be the boss ever,where else, but he was master there% 'he audience - some anchored to convenient handholds, some floating freel, - nodded assent% Chandra closed an audio switch and said, <uietl, but clearl,: &Good morning, al%& An instant later, it seemed to @lo,d that the ,ears had rolled awa,% 2t was no longer a simple electronic to, that answered bac#% al had returned%

&Good morning, Dr Chandra%& &Do ,ou feel capable of resuming ,our dutiesE& &+f course% 2 am completel, operational and all m, circuits are functioning perfectl,%& &'hen do ,ou mind if 2 as# ,ou a few <uestionsE& &$ot at all%& &Do ,ou recall a failure of the A7 AF antenna control unitE& &Certainl, not%& Despite Chandra&s in4unction, there was a little gasp from the listeners% 'his is li#e tiptoeing through a minefield, thought @lo,d, as he patted the reassuring shape of the radio cut-off% 2f that line of <uestioning triggered another ps,chosis, he could #ill al in a second% 5 e #new, having rehearsed the procedure a doDen times%6 ?ut a second was aeons to a computer= that was a chance the, would have to ta#e% &>ou do not remember either Dave ?owman or @ran# Coole going out to replace the A7 AF unitE& &$o% 'hat could not have happened, or 2 would have remembered it% 3here are @ran# and DaveE 3ho are these peopleE 2 can onl, identif, ,ou though 2 compute a sixt,-five per cent probabilit, that the man behind ,ou is Dr e,wood @lo,d%& Remembering Chandra&s strict in4unction, @lo,d refrained from congratulating al% After a decade, sixt,-five per cent was a prett, good score% ;an, humans would not have done so well% &Don&t worr,, al - 2 will explain ever,thing later%&

& as the mission been completedE >ou #now 2 have the greatest enthusiasm for it%& &'he mission has been completed= ,ou have carried out ,our program% $ow - if ,ou will excuse us - we wish to have a private conversation%& &Certainl,%& Chandra switched off sound and vision inputs to the main console% As far as this part of the ship was concerned, al was now deaf and blind%

&3ell, what was all that aboutE& demanded 8asili +rlov% &2t means,& said Chandra, carefull, and precisel,, &that 2 have erased all al&s memories, beginning at the moment when the trouble started%& &'hat sounds <uite a feat,& marvelled !asha% & ow did ,ou do itE& &2 am afraid it would ta#e me longer to explain than it did to carr, out the operation%& &Chandra, 2 am a computer expert - though not in the same class as ,ou and $i#olai% 'he -))) series uses holographic memories, doesn&t itE !o ,ou couldn&t have used a simple chronological erasure% 2t must have been some #ind of tapeworm, homing on selected words and conceptsE& &'apewormE& said :aterina over the ship&s intercom% &2 thought that was m, department - though 2&m glad to sa, 2&ve never seen one of the beastl, things outside a 4ar of alcohol% 3hat are ,ou tal#ing aboutE& &Computer 4argon, :aterina% 2n the old da,s - the ver, old da,s - the, reall, did use magnetic tape% And it&s possible to construct a program that can be fed into a s,stem to hunt down and destro, - eat, if ,ou li#e - an, desired memories% &Can&t ,ou do the same sort of thing to human beings, b, h,pnosisE& &>es, but it can alwa,s be reversed% 3e never reall, forget an,thing% 3e onl, thin# we do%& &A computer doesn&t wor# that wa,% 3hen it&s told to forget something, it does% 'he information is completel, erased%& &!o al has absolutel, no memor, of his%%% misbehaviourE&

&2 cannot be a hundred per cent certain of that,& answered Chandra% &'here ma, be some memories that were in transit from one address to another when the%%% tapeworm was ma#ing its search% ?ut this is ver, unli#el,%& &@ascinating,& said 'an,a, after ever,one had thought this over in silence for some time% &?ut the much more important <uestion is: Can he be relied upon in futureE& ?efore Chandra could answer, @lo,d anticipated him% &'he same set of circumstances can never arise again= 2 can promise ,ou that% 'he whole trouble started because it&s difficult to explain

!ecurit, to a computer%& &+r to human beings,& muttered Curnow, not ver, sotto voce% &2 hope ,ou&re right,& said 'an,a, without much conviction% &3hat&s the next step, ChandraE& &$othing so tric#, - merel, long and tedious% $ow we have to program him to initiate the 1upiter escape se<uence - and to bring Discover, home% 'hree ,ears after we&ve got bac# on our high-speed orbit%&

(. Crobation

'o: 8ictor ;illson, Chairman, $ational Council on Astronautics, 3ashington @rom: e,wood @lo,d, aboard "!!C Discover, AL -)))

!ub4ect: ;alfunction of onboard computer Classification: !7CR7'

Dr Chandrasegarampillai 5hereinafter referred to as Dr C%6 has now completed his preliminar, examination of al% e has restored all missing modules and the computer appears to be full, operational% Details of Dr C%&s actions and conclusions will be found in the report he and Dr 'ernovs#, will submit shortl,% ;eanwhile ,ou have as#ed me to summariDe them in non-technical terms for the benefit of the Council - especiall, the new members who will not be familiar with the bac#ground% @ran#l,, 2 doubt m, abilit, to do this= as ,ou #now, 2 am not a computer specialist% ?ut 2 will do m, best% 'he problem was apparentl, caused b, a conflict between al&s basic instructions and the re<uirements of !ecurit,% ?, direct Cresidential order, the existence of ';A-* was #ept a complete secret% +nl, those with a need to #now were permitted access to the information% Discover,&s mission to 1upiter was alread, in the advanced planning stage when ';A-* was excavated, and radiated its signal to that planet% As

the function of the prime crew 5?owman% Coole6 was merel, to get the vessel to its destination, it was decided that the, should not be informed of its new ob4ective% ?, training the investigative team 5:amins#i, unter, 3hitehead6 separatel,, and placing them in hibernation before the vo,age began, it was felt that a much higher degree of securit, would be attained, as the danger of lea#s 5accidental or otherwise6 would be greatl, reduced% 2 would li#e to remind ,ou that, at the time 5m, memorandum $CA A/(K(AK'+C !7CR7' of )*%)/%)A6 2 pointed out several ob4ections to this polic,% owever, the, were overruled at a higher level% As al was capable of operating the ship without human assistance, it was also decided that he should be programmed to carr, out the mission autonomousl, in the event of the crew&s being incapacitated or #illed% e was therefore given full #nowledge of its ob4ectives, but was not permitted to reveal them to ?owman or Coole% 'his situation conflicted with the purpose for which al had been designed - the accurate processing of information without distortion or concealment% As a result, al developed what would be called, in human terms, a ps,chosis - specificall,, schiDophrenia% Dr C% informs me that, in technical terminolog,, al became trapped in a ofstadter-;oebius loop, a situation apparentl, not uncommon among advanced computers with autonomous goal-see#ing programs% e suggests that for further information ,ou contact Crofessor ofstadter himself% 'o put it crudel, 5if 2 understand Dr C%6 al was faced with an intolerable dilemma, and so developed paranoiac s,mptoms that were directed against those monitoring his performance bac# on 7arth% e accordingl, attempted to brea# the radio lin# with ;ission Control, first b, reporting a 5non-existent6 fault in the A7 AF antenna unit% 'his involved him not onl, in a direct lie - which must have aggravated his ps,chosis still further - but also in a confrontation with the crew% Cresumabl, 5we can onl, guess at this, of course6 he decided that the onl, wa, out of the situation was to eliminate his human colleagues - which he ver, nearl, succeeded in doing% Loo#ing at the matter purel, ob4ectivel,, it would have been interesting to see what would have happened had he continued the mission alone, without man-made &interference&% 'his is virtuall, all 2 have been able to learn from Dr C%= 2 do not li#e to <uestion him further, as he is wor#ing to the point of exhaustion% ?ut even allowing for this fact, 2 must fran#l, state 5and please #eep this absolutel, confidential6 that Dr C% is not alwa,s as cooperative as he should be% e adopts a defensive attitude toward al, which sometimes

ma#es it extremel, difficult to discuss the sub4ect% 7ven Dr 'ernovs#,, who might have been expected to be a little more independent, often appears to share this viewpoint% owever, the onl, reall, important <uestion is: Can al be relied upon in the futureE Dr C%, of course, has no doubts on the matter% e claims to have obliterated all the computer&s memories of the traumatic events leading up to the disconnection% $or does he believe that al can suffer from an,thing remotel, analogous to the human sense of guilt% 2n an, case, it seems impossible that the situation that caused the original problem can ever arise again% Although al suffers from a number of peculiarities, the, are not of a nature that would cause an, apprehension= the, are merel, minor anno,ances, some of them even amusing% And as ,ou #now - but Dr C% does not - 2 have ta#en steps that will give us complete control as a last resort% 'o sum up: 'he rehabilitation of AL -))) is proceeding satisfactoril,% +ne might even sa, that he is on probation% 2 wonder if he #nows it%

(9 2nterlude: 'rue Confessions

'he human mind has an astonishing capacit, to adapt= after a while, even the incredible becomes commonplace% 'here were times when the crew of Leonov switched off their surroundings, perhaps in an unconscious move to preserve sanit,% Dr e,wood @lo,d often thought that, on such occasions, 3alter Curnow wor#ed a little too hard at being the life and soul of the part,% And though he triggered what !asha :ovalev later called the &'rue Confessions& episode, he certainl, had not planned an,thing of the sort% 2t arose spontaneousl, when he voiced the universal dissatisfaction with almost all aspects of Dero-gravit, plumbing% &2f 2 could have one wish granted,& he exclaimed during the dail, !ix +&Cloc# !oviet, &it would be to soa# in a nice foaming bathtub, scented with essence of pine and with 4ust m, nose above the waterline%& 3hen the murmurs of assent and sighs of frustrated desire had died

awa,, :aterina Ruden#o too# up the challenge% & ow splendidl, decadent, 3alter,& she beamed at him with cheerful disapproval% &2t ma#es ,ou sound li#e a Roman emperor% 2f 2 were bac# on 7arth, 2&d li#e something more active%& &!uch asE& &"mm%%% Am 2 allowed to go bac# in time as wellE& &2f ,ou li#e%& &3hen 2 was a girl, 2 used to go for holida,s to a collective farm in Georgia% 'here was a beautiful palomino stallion, bought b, the director out of the mone, he&d made on the local blac# mar#et% e was an old scoundrel, but 2 loved him - and he used to let me gallop Alexander all over the countr,side% 2 might have been #illed - but that&s the memor, that brings 7arth bac# to me, more than an,thing else%& 'here was a moment of thoughtful silence= then Curnow as#ed, &An, other volunteersE& 7ver,one seemed so lost in their own memories that the game might have ended there, had not ;axim ?railovs#, started it off again% &2&d li#e to be diving - that was 4ust about m, favourite hobb,, when 2 had time for one - and 2 was glad 2 could #eep it up through m, cosmonaut training% 2&ve dived off Cacific atolls, the Great ?arrier Reef, the Red !ea - coral reefs are the most beautiful places in the world% >et the experience 2 remember best was in <uite a different place - one of the 1apanese #elp forests% 2t was li#e an underwater cathedral, with sunlight slanting through those enormous leaves% ;,sterious%%% magical% 2&ve never been bac#= perhaps it wouldn&t be the same the next time% ?ut 2&d li#e to tr,%& &@ine,& said 3alter, who as usual had appointed himself master of ceremonies% &3ho&s nextE& &2&ll give ,ou a <uic# answer,& said 'an,a +rlova% &'he ?olshoi - !wan La#e% ?ut 8asili won&t agree% e hates ballet%& &'hat ma#es two of us% An,wa,, what would ,ou select, 8asiliE& &2 was going to sa, diving, but ;ax beat me to it% !o 2&ll go in the opposite direction - gliding% !oaring through the clouds on a summer da,, in complete silence% 3ell, not <uite complete - the airflow over the wing can get nois,, especiall, when ,ou&re ban#ing% 'hat&s the wa, to en4o,

7arth- li#e a bird%& &BeniaE& &7as,% !#iing in the Camirs% 2 love snow%& &And ,ou, ChandraE& 'he atmosphere changed noticeabl, when 3alter put the <uestion% After all this time, Chandra was still a stranger - perfectl, polite, even courteous, but never revealing himself% &3hen 2 was a bo,,& he said slowl,, &m, grandfather too# me on a pilgrimage to 8aranasi - ?enares% 2f ,ou&ve never been there, 2&m afraid ,ou won&t understand% 'o me - to man, 2ndians even nowada,s, whatever their religion - it&s the centre of the world% +ne da, 2 plan to go bac#%& &And ,ou, $i#olaiE& &3ell, we&ve had the sea and s#,% 2&d li#e to combine both% ;, favourite sport used to be wind-surfing% 2&m afraid 2&m too old for it now - but 2&d li#e to find out%& &'hat onl, leaves ,ou, 3ood,% 3hat&s ,our choiceE& @lo,d did not even stop to thin#= his spontaneous answer surprised himself as much as the others% &2 don&t mind where on 7arth 2 am - as long as 2&m with m, little son%& After that, there was no more to be said% 'he session was over%

(0 @rustration

&>ou&ve seen all the technical reports, Dimitri, so ,ou&ll understand our frustration% 3e&ve learned nothing new from all our tests and measurements% Bagad#a 4ust sits there, filling half the s#,, ignoring us completel,% &>et it can&t be inert - an abandoned space derelict% 8asili has pointed out that it must be ta#ing some positive action, to remain here at

the unstable libration point% +therwise it would have drifted awa, ages ago, 4ust as Discover, did, and crashed into 2o% &!o what do we do nextE 3e wouldn&t have nuclear explosives on board, would we, in contravention of "$ &)0, para AE 2&m onl, 4o#ing% &$ow that we&re under less pressure, and the launch window for the homeward trip is still wee#s awa,, there&s a distinct feeling of boredom, as well as frustration% Don&t laugh - 2 can imagine how that sounds to ,ou, bac# in ;oscow% ow could an, intelligent person get bored out here, surrounded b, the greatest marvels human e,es have ever seenE &>et there&s no doubt of it% ;orale isn&t what it was% "ntil now, we&ve all been disgustingl, health,% $ow almost ever,one has a minor cold, or an upset stomach, or a scratch that won&t heal despite all of :aterina&s pills and powders% !he&s given up now, and 4ust swears at us% &!asha has helped to #eep us amused with a series of bulletins on the ship&s bulletin board% 'heir theme is: !'A;C +"' R"!!L2! H and he lists horrid mixtures of both languages he claims to have overheard, wrong uses of words, and so forth% 3e&ll all need linguistic decontamination when we get home= several times 2&ve come across ,our countr,men chatting in 7nglish without even being aware of it, lapsing into their native tongue onl, for difficult words% 'he other da, 2 caught m,self tal#ing Russian to 3alter Curnow - and neither of us noticed for several minutes% &'here was one bit of unscheduled activit, the other da, that will tell ,ou something about our state of mind% 'he fire alarm went off in the middle of the night, triggered b, one of the smo#e detectors% &3ell, it turned out that Chandra had smuggled some of his lethal cigars aboard, and couldn&t resist temptation an,more% e was smo#ing one in the toilet, li#e a guilt, schoolbo,% &+f course, he was horribl, embarrassed= ever,one else thought it h,stericall, funn,, after the initial panic% >ou #now the wa, some perfectl, trivial 4o#e, which doesn&t mean a thing to outsiders, can sweep through a group of otherwise intelligent people and reduce them to helpless laughter% +ne had onl, to pretend to light a cigar for the next few da,s, and ever,bod, would go to pieces% &3hat ma#es it even more ridiculous is that no one would have minded in the least if Chandra had 4ust gone into an airloc#, or switched off the smo#e detector% ?ut he was too sh, to admit that he had such a human wea#ness= so now he spends even more of his time communing with al%& @lo,d pressed the CA"!7 button and stopped the recording% Cerhaps it

was not fair to ma#e fun of Chandra, tempting though it often was% All sorts of little <uir#s of personalit, had surfaced during the last few wee#s= there had even been some bad <uarrels, for no obvious reason% And for that matter, what of his own behaviourE ad that alwa,s been above criticismE e was still not sure if he had handled Curnow properl,% 'hough he did not suppose that he would ever reall, li#e the big engineer, or en4o, the sound of his slightl, too-loud voice, @lo,d&s attitude toward him had changed from mere tolerance to respectful admiration% 'he Russians adored him, not least because his rendering of such favourites as &Col,ush#o Col,e& often reduced them to tears% And in one case, @lo,d felt that the adoration had gone a little too far% &3alter,& he had begun cautiousl,, &2&m not sure if it&s m, business, but there&s a personal matter 2&d li#e to raise with ,ou%%%& &3hen someone sa,s it&s not his business, he&s usuall, right% 3hat&s the problemE& &'o be blunt, ,our behaviour with ;ax%& 'here was a frigid silence, which @lo,d occupied with a careful inspection of the poor paint4ob on the opposite wall% 'hen Curnow replied, in a soft ,et implacable voice: &2 was under the distinct impression that he was more than eighteen%& &Don&t confuse the issue% And fran#l,, it&s not ;ax 2&m concerned about% 2t&s Benia%& Curnow&s lips parted in unconcealed surprise% &BeniaE 3hat&s she got to do with itE& &@or an intelligent man, ,ou&re often singularl, unobservant - even obtuse% !urel, ,ou realiDe that she&s in love with ;ax% aven&t ,ou noticed the wa, she loo#s, when ,ou put ,our arm around himE& @lo,d had never imagined that he would see Curnow loo#ing abashed, but the blow seemed to have struc# home% &BeniaE 2 thought ever,one was 4o#ing - she&s such a <uiet little mouse% And ever,one&s in love with ;ax, after their fashion - even Catherine the Great% !till%%% um, 2 guess 2 should be more careful% At least while Benia&s around%& 'here was a prolonged silence while the social temperature rose bac# to normal% 'hen, obviousl, to show that there was no ill feeling, Curnow

added in a conversational tone: &>ou #now, 2&ve often wondered about Benia, !omebod, did a marvellous 4ob of plastic surger, on her face, but the, couldn&t repair all the damage% 'he s#in&s too tight, and 2 don&t thin# 2&ve ever seen her laugh properl,% ;a,be that&s wh, 2&ve avoided loo#ing at her - would ,ou credit me with so much aesthetic sensitivit,, e,woodE& 'he deliberatel, formal & e,wood& signalled good-natured needling rather than hostilit,, and @lo,d allowed himself to relax% &2 can satisf, some of ,our curiosit, - 3ashington finall, got hold of the facts% 2t seems she was in a bad air crash and was luc#, to recover from her burns% 'here&s no m,ster,, as far as we can tell, but Aeroflot isn&t supposed to have accidents%& &Coor girl% 2&m surprised the, let her go into space, but 2 suppose she was the onl, <ualified person available when 2rma eliminated herself% 2&m sorr, for her= apart from the in4uries, the ps,chological shoc# must have been terrible%& &2&m sure it was= but she&s obviousl, made a full recover,%& >ou&re not telling the whole truth, said @lo,d to himself, and ,ou never will% After their encounter on the approach to 1upiter, there would alwa,s be a secret bond between them - not of love, but of tenderness, which is often more enduring% e found himself suddenl, and unexpectedl, grateful to Curnow= the other was obviousl, surprised at his concern for Benia, but had not attempted to exploit it in his own defence% And if he had, would it have been unfairE $ow, da,s later, @lo,d was beginning to wonder if his own motives were altogether admirable% @or his part, Curnow had certainl, #ept his promise= indeed, if one did not #now better, one might have imagined that he was deliberatel, ignoring ;ax - at least while Benia was around% And he treated her with much greater #indness= indeed, there were occasions when he had even succeeded in ma#ing her laugh out loud% !o the intervention had been worthwhile, whatever the impulse behind it% 7ven if, as @lo,d sometimes ruefull, suspected, it was no more than the secret env, that normal homo or heterosexuals feel, if completel, honest with themselves, toward cheerfull, well-ad4usted pol,morphs% is finger crept bac# toward the recorder, but the train of thought had been bro#en% 2nevitabl,, images of his own home and famil, came crowding into his mind, e closed his e,es, and memor, recalled the climax of Christopher&s birthda, part, - the child blowing out the three candles

on the ca#e, less than twent,-four hours ago but almost a billion #ilometres awa,% e had pla,ed the video bac# so often that now he #new the scene b, heart% And how often had Caroline pla,ed his messages to Chris, so that the bo, would not forget his father - or view him as a stranger when he returned after missing ,et another birthda,E e was almost afraid to as#% >et he could not blame Caroline% 'o him, onl, a few wee#s would have passed before the, met again% ?ut she would have aged more than two ,ears while he was in his dreamless sleep between the worlds% 'hat was a long time to be a ,oung widow, even a temporar, one% 2 wonder if 2&m coming down with one of the shipboard maladies, @lo,d thought= he had seldom felt such a sense of frustration, even of failure% 2 ma, have lost m, famil,, across the gulfs of time and space, all to no purpose% @or 2 have achieved nothing= even though 2 have reached m, goal, it remains a blan#, impenetrable wall of total dar#ness% And ,et - David ?owman had once cried: &;, GodH 2t&s full of starsH&

(7mergence

!asha&s latest edict read:

R"!!L2!

?"LL7'2$ M0

!ub4ect: 'ovanshch 5tovarish6

'o our American guests: @ran#l,, pals, 2 can&t remember when 2 was last addressed b, this term% 'o an, twent,-first centur, Russian, it&s wa, bac# there with the battleship Cotem#in - a reminder of cloth caps and red flags and 8ladimir 2lich haranguing the wor#ers from the steps of railwa, carriages

7ver since 2 was a #id it&s been bratets or druDho#- ta#e ,our choice, ,ou&re welcome% Comrade :ovalev

@lo,d was still chuc#ling over this notice when 8asili +rlov 4oined him as he floated through the loungeKobservation dec# on his wa, to the bridge% &3hat amaDes me, tovarishch, is that !asha ever found time to stud, an,thing besides engineering ph,sics% >et he&s alwa,s <uoting poems and pla,s 2 don&t even #now, and he spea#s better 7nglish than - well, 3alter%& &?ecause he switched to science, !asha is - what do ,ou sa, - the blac# sheep of the famil,% is father was a professor of 7nglish at $ovosibirs#% Russian was onl, allowed in the house ;onda, to 3ednesda,= 'hursda, to !aturda, it was 7nglish%& &And !unda,sE& &+h, @rench or German, alternate wee#s%& &$ow 2 #now exactl, what ,ou mean b, ne#ulturn,= fits me li#e a glove% Does !asha feel guilt, about his%%% defectionE And with such a bac#ground, wh, did he ever become an engineerE& &At $ovosibirs#, ,ou soon learn who are the serfs and who are the aristocrats% !asha was an ambitious ,oung man, as well as a brilliant one%& &1ust li#e ,ou, 8asili%& &7t tu, ?ruteH >ou see, 2 can <uote !ha#espeare as well - ?oDhe moiH what was thatE& @lo,d was unluc#,= he was floating with his bac# to the observation window, and saw nothing at all% 3hen he twisted around, seconds later, there was onl, the familiar view of ?ig ?rother, bisecting the giant dis# of 1upiter, 4ust as it had done ever since their arrival% ?ut to 8asili, for a moment that would be imprinted on his memor, forever, that sharp-edged outline held a completel, different, and wholl, impossible, scene% 2t was as if a window had suddenl, been opened onto

another universe% 'he vision lasted for less than a second, before his involuntar, blin# reflex cut it off% e was loo#ing into a field not of stars, but of suns, as if into the crowded heart of a galax,, or the core of a globular cluster% 2n that moment, 8asili +rlov lost forever the s#ies of 7arth% @rom now on the, would seem intolerabl, empt,= even might, +rion and glorious !corpio would be scarcel, noticeable patterns of feeble spar#s, not worth, of a second glance% 3hen he dared to open his e,es again, it was all gone% $o - not completel,% At the ver, centre of the now-restored ebon rectangle, a faint star was still shining% ?ut a star did not move as one watched% +rlov blin#ed again, to clear his watering e,es% >es, the movement was real= he was not imagining it% A meteorE 2t was some indication of Chief !cientist 8asili +rlov&s state of shoc# that several seconds passed before he remembered that meteors were impossible in airless space% 'hen it blurred suddenl, into a strea# of light, and within a few heartbeats had vanished be,ond the edge of 1upiter% ?, this time, 8asili had recovered his wits and was once more the cool, dispassionate observer% Alread, he had a good estimate of the ob4ect&s tra4ector,% 'here could be no doubt= it was aimed directl, at 7arth%

8 A C 2LD +@ ' 7 !'AR!

A) omecoming

2t was as if he had awa#ened from a dream - or a dream within a dream% 'he gate between the stars had brought him bac# to the world of men, but no longer as a man% ow long had he been awa,E A whole lifetime%%% no, two lifetimes= one

forward, one in reverse% As David ?owman, commander and last surviving crew member of "nited !tates !paceship Discover,, he had been caught in a gigantic trap, set three million ,ears ago and triggered to respond onl, at the right time, and to the right stimulus% e had fallen through it, from one universe to another, meeting wonders some of which he now understood, others which he might never comprehend% e had raced at ever-accelerating speed, down infinite corridors of light, until he had outraced light itself% 'hat, he #new, was impossible= but now he also #new how it could be done% As 7instein had rightl, said, the Good Lord was subtle, but never malicious% e had passed through a cosmic switching s,stem - a Grand Central !tation of the galaxies - and emerged, protected from its fur, b, un#nown forces, close to the surface of a giant red star% 'here he had witnessed the paradox of sunrise on the face of a sun, when the d,ing star&s brilliant white dwarf companion had climbed into its s#, - a searing apparition, drawing a tidal wave of fire beneath it% e had felt no fear, but onl, wonder, even when his space pod had carried him down into the inferno below%%% to arrive, be,ond all reason, in a beautifull, appointed hotel suite containing nothing that was not wholl, familiar% owever, much of it was fa#e= the boo#s on the shelves were dummies, the cereal boxes and the cans of beer in the icebox - though the, bore famous labels - all contained the same bland food with a texture li#e bread but a taste that was almost an,thing he cared to imagine% e had <uic#l, realiDed that he was a specimen in a cosmic Doo, his cage carefull, recreated from the images in old television programmes% And he wondered when his #eepers would appear, and in what ph,sical form% ow foolish that expectation had beenH e #new now that one might as well hope to see the wind, or speculate about the true shape of fire% 'hen exhaustion of mind and bod, had overwhelmed him% @or the last time, David ?owman slept% 2t was a strange sleep, for he was not wholl, unconscious% Li#e a fog creeping through a forest, something invaded his mind% e sensed it onl, diml,, for the full impact would have destro,ed him as swiftl, and surel, as the fires raging around him% ?eneath its dispassionate scrutin,, he felt neither hope nor fear% !ometimes, in that long sleep, he dreamed he was awa#e% >ears had gone b,= once he was loo#ing in a mirror, at a wrin#led face he barel,

recogniDed as his own% is bod, was racing to its dissolution, the hands of the biological cloc# spinning madl, toward a midnight the, would never reach% @or at the last moment, 'ime came to a halt - and reversed itself% 'he springs of memor, were being trapped: in controlled recollection, he was reliving his past, being drained of #nowledge and experience as he swept bac# toward his childhood% ?ut nothing was being lost: all that he had ever been, at ever, moment of his life, was being transferred to safer #eeping% 7ven as one David ?owman ceased to exist, another became immortal, passing be,ond the necessities of matter% e was an embr,o god, not ,et read, to be born% @or ages he floated in limbo, #nowing what he had been, but not what he had become% e was still in a state of flux -somewhere between chr,salis and butterfl,% +r perhaps onl, between caterpillar and chr,salis% And then, the stasis was bro#en: 'ime re-entered his little world% 'he blac#, rectangular slab that suddenl, appeared before him was li#e an old friend% e had seen it on the ;oon= he had encountered it in orbit around 1upiter= and he #new, somehow, that his ancestors had met it long ago% 'hough it held still unfathomed secrets, it was no longer a total m,ster,= some of its powers he now understood% e realiDed that it was not one, but multitudes= and that whatever measuring instruments might sa,, it was alwa,s the same siDe - as large as necessar,% ow obvious, now, was that mathematical ratio of its sides, the <uadratic se<uence *:/:-H And how naive to have imagined that the series ended there, in onl, three dimensionsH 7ven as his mind focused upon these geometrical simplicities, the empt, rectangle filled with stars% 'he hotel suite - if indeed it had ever reall, existed - dissolved bac# into the mind of its creator= and there before him was the luminous whirlpool of the Galax,% 2t might have been some beautiful, incredibl, detailed model, embedded in a bloc# of plastic% ?ut it was the realit,, now grasped b, him as a whole with senses more subtle than vision% 2f he wished, he could focus his attention upon an, one of its hundred billion stars% ere he was, adrift in this great river of suns, halfwa, between the ban#ed fires of the galactic core and the lonel,, scattered sentinel stars of the rim% And there was his origin, on the far side of this chasm in the s#,, this serpentine band of dar#ness, empt, of all stars% e #new that

this formless chaos, visible onl, b, the glow that limned its edges from fire mists far be,ond, was the still unused stuff of creation, the raw material of evolutions ,et to be% ere, 'ime had not ,et begun= not until the suns that now burned were long since dead would light and life reshape this void% "nwittingl,, he had crossed it once: now, far better prepared, though still wholl, ignorant of the impulse that drove him, he must cross it again% 'he Galax, burst forth from the mental frame in which he had enclosed it: stars and nebulae poured past him in an illusion of infinite speed% Chantom suns exploded and fell behind as he slipped li#e a shadow through their cores% 'he stars were thinning out, the glare of the ;il#, 3a, dimming into a pale ghost of the glor, he had #nown - and might one da, #now again% e was bac# in the space that men called real, at the ver, point he had left it, seconds or centuries ago% e was vividl, aware of his surroundings, and far more conscious than in that earlier existence of m,riad sensor, inputs from the external world% e could focus upon an, one of them, and scrutiniDe it in virtuall, limitless detail, until he confronted the fundamental, granular structure of time and space, below which there was onl, chaos% And he could move, though he did not #now how% ?ut had he ever reall, #nown that, even when he possessed a bod,E 'he chain of command from brain to limb was a m,ster, to which he had never given an, thought% An effort of will, and the spectrum of that nearb, star shifted toward the blue, b, precisel, the amount he wished% e was falling toward it at a large fraction of the speed of light: though he could go faster if he desired, he was in no hurr,% 'here was still much information to be processed, much to be considered%%% and much more to be won% 'hat, he #new, was his present goal= but he also #new that it was onl, part of some far wider plan, to be revealed in due course% e gave no thought to the gatewa, between universes dwindling so swiftl, behind him, or to the anxious entities gathered around it in their primitive spacecraft% 'he, were part of his memories= but stronger ones were calling him now, calling him home to the world he had never thought to see again% e could hear its m,riad voices, growing louder and louder - as it too was growing, from a star almost lost against the !un&s outstretched

corona, to a slim crescent, and finall, to a glorious blue-white dis#% 'he, #new that he was coming% Down there on that crowded globe, the alarms would be flashing across the radar screens, the great trac#ing telescopes would be searching the s#ies - and histor, as men had #nown it would be drawing to a close% e became aware that a thousand #ilometres below a slumbering cargo of death had awa#ened, and was stirring in its orbit% 'he feeble energies it contained were no possible menace to him= indeed, he could profitabl, use them% e entered the maDe of circuitr,, and swiftl, traced the wa, to its lethal core% ;ost of the branchings could be ignored= the, were blind alle,s, devised for protection% ?eneath his scrutin,, their purpose was childishl, simple= it was eas, to b,pass them all% $ow there was a single last barrier - a crude but effective mechanical rela,, holding apart two contacts% "ntil the, were closed, there would be no power to activate the final se<uence% e put forth his will - and, for the first time, #new failure and frustration% 'he few grams of the microswitch would not budge% e was still a creature of pure energ,= as ,et, the world of inert matter was be,ond his grasp% 3ell, there was a simple answer to that% e still had much to learn% 'he current pulse he induced in the rela, was so powerful that it almost melted the coil, before it could operate the trigger mechanism% 'he microseconds tic#ed slowl, b,% 2t was interesting to observe the explosive lenses focus their energies, li#e the feeble match that ignites a powder train, which in turn 'he megatons flowered in a silent detonation that brought a brief, false dawn to half the sleeping world% Li#e a phoenix rising from the flames, he absorbed what he needed, and discarded the rest% @ar below, the shield of the atmosphere, which protected the planet from so man, haDards, absorbed the most dangerous of the radiation% ?ut there would be some unluc#, men and animals who would never see again% 2n the aftermath of the explosion, it seemed as if the 7arth was struc# dumb% 'he babble of the short and medium waves was completel, silenced, reflected bac# b, the suddenl, enhanced ionosphere% +nl, the microwaves still sliced through the invisible and slowl, dissolving mirror that now surrounded the planet, and most of these were too tightl, beamed for him to receive them% A few high-powered radars were still focused upon

him, but that was a matter of no importance% e did not even bother to neutraliDe them as he could easil, have done% And if an, more bombs were to come his wa,, he would treat them with e<ual indifference% @or the present, he had all the energ, he needed% And now he was descending, in great sweeping spirals, toward the lost landscape of his childhood%

A* Disne,ville

A fin-de-siecle philosopher had once remar#ed - and been roundl, denounced for his pains - that 3alter 7lias Disne, had contributed more to genuine human happiness than all the religious teachers in histor,% $ow, half a centur, after the artist&s death, his dreams were still proliferating across the @lorida landscape% 3hen it had opened in the earl, *-0)s, his 7xperimental Crotot,pe Communit, of 'omorrow had been a showcase for new technologies and modes of living% ?ut as its founder had realiDed, 7CC+' would onl, fulfil its purpose when some of its vast acreage was a genuine, living town, occupied b, people who called it home% 'hat process had ta#en the remainder of the centur,= now the residential area had twent, thousand inhabitants and had, inevitabl,, become popularl, #nown as Disne,ville% ?ecause the, could move in onl, after penetrating a palace guard of 37D law,ers, it was not surprising that the average age of the occupants was the highest in an, "nited !tates communit,, or that its medical services were the most advanced in the world% !ome of them, indeed, could hardl, have been conceived, still less created, in an, other place%

'he apartment had been carefull, designed not to loo# li#e a hospital suite, and onl, a few unusual fittings would have betra,ed its purpose% 'he bed was scarcel, #nee-high, so that the danger of falls was minimiDed: it could, however, be raised and tilted for the convenience of the nurses% 'he bathroom tub was sun# into the floor, and had a built-in seat as well as handrails, so that even the elderl, or infirm could get in and out of it easil,% 'he floor was thic#l, carpeted, but there were no rugs over which one could trip, or sharp corners that might cause in4uries% +ther

details were less obvious - and the '8 camera was so well concealed that no one would have suspected its presence% 'here were few personal touches - a pile of old boo#s in one corner, and a framed front page of one of the last printed issues of the $ew >or# 'imes proclaiming: "! !CAC7! 2C L7A87! @+R 1"C2'7R% Close to this were two photographs, one showing a bo, in his late teens= the other, a considerabl, older man wearing astronaut&s uniform% 'hough the frail, gre,-haired woman watching the domestic comed, unfolding on the '8 panel was not ,et sevent,, she loo#ed much older% @rom time to time she chuc#led appreciativel, at some 4o#e from the screen, but she #ept glancing at the door as if expecting a visitor% And when she did so, she too# a firmer grasp on the wal#ing stic# propped against her chair% >et she was distracted b, a moment of '8 drama when the door finall, opened, and she loo#ed around with a guilt, start as the little service trolle, rolled into the room, followed closel, b, a uniformed nurse% &'ime for lunch, 1essie,& called the nurse: &3e&ve got something ver, nice for ,ou toda,%& &Don&t want an, lunch%& &2t will ma#e ,ou feel a lot better%& &2 won&t eat until ,ou tell me what it is%& &3h, won&t ,ou eat itE& &2&m not hungr,% Are ,ou ever hungr,E& she added sl,l,% 'he robot food trolle, came to a halt beside the chair, and the transport covers opened up to reveal the dishes% 'hroughout, the nurse never touched an,thing, not even the controls on the trolle,% !he now stood motionless, with a rather fixed smile, loo#ing at her difficult patient% 2n the monitor room fift, metres awa,, the medical technician said to the doctor: &$ow watch this%& 1essie&s gnarled hand lifted the wal#ing stic#= then, with surprising speed, she swept it in a short arc toward the nurse&s legs% 'he nurse too# no notice whatsoever, even when the stic# sliced right

through her% 2nstead, she remar#ed soothingl,, &$ow, doesn&t that loo# niceE 7at it up, dear%& A cunning smile spread across 1essie&s face, but she obe,ed instructions% 2n a moment, she was eating heartil,% &>ou seeE& said the technician% &!he #nows perfectl, well what&s going on% !he&s a lot brighter than she pretends to be, most of the time%& &And she&s the firstE& &>es% All the others believe that reall, is $urse 3illiams, bringing their meals%& &3ell, 2 don&t thin# it matters% Loo# how pleased she is, 4ust because she&s outsmarted us% !he&s eating her food, which is the purpose of the exercise% ?ut we must warn the nurses - all of them, not 4ust 3illiams%& &3h, - oh, of course% 'he next time it ma, not be a hologram - and then thin# of the lawsuits we&ll be facing from our battered staff%&

A( Cr,stal !pring

'he 2ndians, and the Ca4un settlers who had moved here from Louisiana, said that Cr,stal !pring was bottomless% 'hat, of course, was nonsense, and surel, even the, could not believe it% +ne had onl, to put on a face mas# and swim out a few stro#es - and there, clearl, visible, was the little cave from which the incredibl, pure water flowed with the slender green weeds undulating around it% And peering up through them, the e,es of the ;onster% 'wo dar# circles, side b, side - even though the, never moved, what else could the, beE 'hat lur#ing presence gave an added excitement to ever, swim= one da, the ;onster would come rushing up from its lair, scattering the fish in its hunt for larger pre,% $ever would ?obb, or David admit that nothing more dangerous than an abandoned, and doubtless stolen, bic,cle la, half buried among the water weeds, a hundred metres down% 'hat depth was hard to believe, even after line and sin#er had established it be,ond argument% ?obb,, the older and better diver, had

been perhaps a tenth of the wa, down, and had reported that the bottom loo#ed 4ust as far awa, as ever% ?ut now the Cr,stal !pring was about to reveal its secrets= perhaps the legend of the Confederate treasure was true, despite the scorn of all the local historians% At the ver, least, the, might endear themselves to the chief of police - alwa,s excellent polic, - b, recovering a few handguns deposited after recent crimes% 'he little air compressor that ?obb, had found in the garage 4un# heap was now chugging healthil, awa,, after their initial problems of starting it% 7ver, few seconds it would cough and emit a cloud of blue smo#e, but it showed no sign of stopping% &And even if it does,& said ?obb,, &so whatE 2f the girls in the "nderwater 'heatre can swim up from fift, metres without their air hoses, so can we% 2t&s perfectl, safe%& 2n that case, thought Dave fleetingl,, wh, didn&t we tell ;a what we were doing, and wh, did we wait until Dad had gone bac# to the Cape for the next shuttle launchE ?ut he did not have an, real <ualms: ?obb, alwa,s #new best% 2t must be wonderful to be seventeen, and to #now ever,thing% 'hough he wished he wouldn&t spend <uite so much time now with that stupid ?ett, !chultD% 'rue, she was ver, prett, - but, dammit, she was a girlH 2t was onl, with the greatest difficult, that the, had been able to get rid of her this morning% Dave was used to being a guinea pig= that was what ,ounger brothers were for% e ad4usted his face mas#, put on his flippers, and slid into the cr,stalline water% ?obb, handed him the air hose with the old scuba mouthpiece the, had taped to it% Dave too# a breath, and grimaced% &2t tastes horrible%& &>ou&ll get used to it% 2n ,ou go - no deeper than that ledge% 'hat&s where 2&ll start ad4usting the pressure valve so we don&t waste too much air% Come up when 2 tug the hose%& Dave slid gentl, beneath the surface, and into wonderland% 2t was a peaceful, monochrome world, so different from the coral reefs of the :e,s% 'here were none of the garish colours of the marine environment, where life - animal and vegetable - flaunted itself with all the hues of the rainbow% ere were onl, delicate shades of blue and green, and fish that loo#ed li#e fish, not li#e butterflies% e flippered slowl, down, dragging the hose behind him, pausing to drin# from its stream of bubbles whenever he felt the need% 'he sensation

of freedom was so wonderful that he almost forgot the horrible oil, taste in his mouth% 3hen he reached the ledge - actuall, an ancient, waterlogged tree trun#, so overgrown with weeds that it was unrecogniDable - he sat down and loo#ed around him% e could see right across the spring, to the green slopes at the far side of the flooded crater, at least a hundred metres awa,% 'here were not man, fish around, but a small school went twin#ling past li#e a shower of silver coins in the sunlight streaming down from above% 'here was also an old friend stationed, as usual, at the gap where the waters of the spring began their 4ourne, to the sea% A small alligator 5&but large enough,& ?obb, had once said cheerfull,% & e&s bigger than 2 am%&6 was hanging verticall,, without visible means of support, onl, his nose above the surface% 'he, had never bothered him, and he had never bothered them% 'he air hose gave an impatient tug% Dave was happ, to go= he had not realiDed how cold it could get at that hitherto unattainable depth - and he was also feeling distinctl, sic#% ?ut the hot sunlight soon revived his spirits% &$o problems,& said ?obb, expansivel,% &1ust #eep unscrewing the valve so the pressure gauge doesn&t drop below the red line%& & ow deep are ,ou goingE& &All the wa,, if 2 feel li#e it%& Dave did not ta#e that seriousl,= the, both #new about rapture of the depths and nitrogen narcosis% And in an, case, the old garden hose was onl, thirt, metres long% 'hat would be plent, for this first experiment% As he had done so man, times before, he watched with envious admiration as his beloved elder brother accepted a new challenge% !wimming as effortlessl, as the fish around him, ?obb, glided downward into that blue, m,sterious universe% e turned once and pointed vigorousl, to the air hose, ma#ing it unmista#abl, clear that he needed an increased air flow% Despite the splitting headache that had suddenl, come upon him, Dave remembered his dut,% e hurried bac# to the ancient compressor, and opened the control valve to its deadl, maximum - fift, parts per million of carbon monoxide% 'he last he saw of ?obb, was that confidentl, descending, sunlight-dappled figure passing forever be,ond his reach% 'he wax statue

in the funeral parlour was a total stranger, who had nothing to do with Robert ?owman%

AA ?ett,

3h, had he come here, returning li#e an un<uiet ghost to the scene of ancient anguishE e had no idea= indeed, he had not been conscious of his destination, until the round e,e of Cr,stal !pring had gaDed up at him from the forest below% e was master of the world, ,et he was paral,sed b, a sense of devastating grief he had not #nown for ,ears% 'ime had healed the wound, as it alwa,s does= ,et it seemed onl, ,esterda, that he had stood weeping beside the emerald mirror, seeing onl, the reflections of the surrounding c,presses with their burden of !panish moss% 3hat was happening to himE And now, still without deliberate volition, but as if swept b, some gentle current, he was drifting northward, toward the state capital% e was loo#ing for something= what it was, he would not #now until he found it% $o one, and no instrument, detected his passage% e was no longer radiating wastefull,, but had almost mastered his control of energ,, as once he had mastered lost though not forgotten limbs% e san# li#e a mist into the earth<ua#eproof vaults, until he found himself among billions of stored memories, and daDDling, flic#ering networ#s of electronic thoughts% 'his tas# was more complex than the triggering of a crude nuclear bomb, and too# him a little longer% ?efore he found the information he was see#ing, he made one trivial slip, but did not bother to correct it% $o one ever understood wh,, the next month, three hundred @lorida taxpa,ers, all of whose names began with @, received che<ues for precisel, one dollar% 2t cost man, times the overpa,ment to straighten matters out, and the baffled computer engineers finall, put the blame on a cosmic-ra, shower% 3hich, on the whole, was not so ver, far from the truth% 2n a few milliseconds, he had moved from 'allahassee to .A/ !outh ;agnolia !treet, 'ampa% 2t was still the same address= he need not have wasted time loo#ing it up% ?ut then, he had never intended to loo# it up, until the ver, moment

when he had done so% After three births and two abortions, ?ett, @ernandeD 5nNe !chultD6 was still a beautiful woman% At the moment she was also a ver, thoughtful one= she was watching a '8 programme that brought bac# memories, bitter and sweet% 2t was a $ews !pecial, triggered b, the m,sterious events of the preceding twelve hours, beginning with the warning that Leonov had beamed bac# from the moons of 1upiter% !omething was heading for 7arth= something had - harmlessl, - detonated an orbiting nuclear bomb which no one had come forward to claim% 'hat was all, but it was <uite enough% 'he news commentators had dredged up all the old videotapes - and some of them reall, were tapes - going bac# to the once top-secret records showing the discover, of ';A-l on the ;oon% @or the fiftieth time, at least, she heard that eerie radio shrie# as the monolith greeted the lunar dawn and hurled its message toward 1upiter% And once again she watched the familiar scenes and listened to the old interviews aboard Discover,% 3h, was she watchingE 2t was all stored somewhere in the home archives 5though she never pla,ed it bac# when 1osN was around6% Cerhaps she was expecting some newsflash= she did not li#e to admit, even to herself, how much power the past still held over her emotions% And there was Dave, as she had expected% 2t was an old ??C interview, of which she #new almost ever, word% e was tal#ing about al, tr,ing to decide whether the computer was self-conscious or not% ow ,oung he loo#ed - how different from those last blurred images from the doomed Discover,H And how much li#e ?obb, as she remembered him% 'he image wavered as her e,es filled with tears% $o - something was wrong with the set, or the channel% ?oth sound and image were behaving erraticall,% Dave&s lips were moving, but she could hear nothing% 'hen his face seemed to dissolve, to melt into bloc#s of colour% 2t reformed, blurred again, and then was stead, once more% ?ut there was still no sound% 3here had the, got this pictureH 'his was not Dave as a man, but as a bo, - as she had #nown him first% e was loo#ing out of the screen almost as if he could see her across the gulf of ,ears% e smiled= his lips moved% & ello, ?ett,,& he said%

2t was not hard to form the words, and to impose them on the currents pulsing in the audio circuits% 'he real difficult, was to slow down his thoughts to the glacial tempo of the human brain% And then to have to wait an eternit, for the answer% ?ett, @ernandeD was tough= she was also intelligent, and though she had been a housewife for a doDen ,ears, she had not forgotten her training as an electronics serviceperson% 'his was 4ust another of the medium&s countless miracles of simulation= she would accept it now, and worr, about the details later% &Dave,& she answered% &Dave - is that reall, ,ouE& &2 am not sure,& replied the image on the screen, in a curiousl, toneless voice% &?ut 2 remember Dave ?owman, and ever,thing about him%& &2s he deadE& $ow that was another difficult <uestion% & is bod, - ,es% ?ut that is no longer important% All that Dave ?owman reall, was, is still part of me%& ?ett, crossed herself - that was a gesture she had learned from 1osN and whispered: &>ou mean - ,ou&re a spiritE& &2 do not #now a better word%& &3h, have ,ou returnedE& &AhH ?ett, - wh, indeedH 2 wish ,ou could tell me%& >et he #new one answer, for it was appearing on the '8 screen% 'he divorce between bod, and mind was still far from complete, and not even the most complaisant of the cable networ#s would have transmitted the blatantl, sexual images that were forming there now% ?ett, watched for a little while, sometimes smiling, sometimes shoc#ed% 'hen she turned awa,, not through shame but sadness - regret for lost delights% &!o it&s not true,& she said, &what the, alwa,s told us about angels%& Am 2 an angelE he wondered% ?ut at least he understood what he was

doing there, swept bac# b, the tides of sorrow and desire to a rendeDvous with his past% 'he most powerful emotion he had ever #nown had been his passion for ?ett,= the elements of grief and guilt it contained onl, made it stronger% !he had never told him if he was a better lover than ?obb,= that was one <uestion he had never as#ed, for that would have bro#en the spell% 'he, had clung to the same illusion, sought in each other&s arms 5and how ,oung he had been - still onl, seventeen when it had started, barel, two ,ears after the funeralH6 a balm for the same wound% +f course, it could not last, but the experience had left him irrevocabl, changed% @or more than a decade, all his autoerotic fantasies had centred upon ?ett,= he had never found another woman to compare with her, and long ago had realiDed that he never would% $o one else was haunted b, the same beloved ghost% 'he images of desire faded from the screen= for a moment, the regular programme bro#e through, with an incongruous shot of Leonov hanging above 2o% 'hen Dave ?owman&s face reappeared% e seemed to be losing control, for its lineaments were wildl, unstable% !ometimes he would seem onl, ten ,ears old - then twent, or thirt, -then, incredibl,, a wiDened mumm, whose wrin#led features were a parod, of the man she had once #nown% &2 have one more <uestion before 2 go% Carlos - ,ou alwa,s said he was 1ose&s son, and 2 alwa,s wondered% 3hat was the truthE& ?ett, @ernandeD stared for one long, last time into the e,es of the bo, she had once loved 5he was eighteen again, and for a moment she wished she could see his entire bod,, not merel, his face6% & e was ,our son, David,& she whispered% 'he image faded= the normal service resumed% 3hen, almost an hour later, 1osN @ernandeD came <uietl, into the room, ?ett, was still staring at the screen% !he did not turn around as he #issed her on the bac# of the nec#% &>ou&ll never believe this, 1osN%& &'r, me%& &2&ve 4ust lied to a ghost%&

A/ 8alediction

3hen the American 2nstitute of Aeronautics and Astronautics published its controversial summar, @ift, >ears of "@+s in *--9, man, critics pointed out that unidentified fl,ing ob4ects had been observed for centuries, and that :enneth Arnold&s &@l,ing !aucer& sighting of *-/9 had countless precedents% Ceople had been seeing strange things in the s#, since the dawn of histor,= but until the mid-twentieth centur,, "@+s were a random phenomenon of no general interest% After that date, the, became a matter of public and scientific concern, and the basis for what could onl, be called religious beliefs% 'he reason was not far to see#= the arrival of the giant roc#et and the dawn of the !pace Age had turned men&s minds to other worlds% RealiDation that the human race would soon be able to leave the planet of its birth prompted the inevitable <uestions: 3here&s ever,one, and when ma, we expect visitorsE 'here was also the hope, though it was seldom spelled out in as man, words, that benevolent creatures from the stars might help man#ind heal its numerous self-inflicted wounds and save it from future disasters% An, student of ps,cholog, could have predicted that so profound a need would be swiftl, satisfied% During the last half of the twentieth centur,, there were literall, thousands of reports of spacecraft sightings from ever, part of the globe% ;ore than that, there were hundreds of reports of &close encounters& - actual meetings with extraterrestrial visitors, fre<uentl, embellished b, tales of celestial 4o,rides, abductions, and even hone,moons in space% 'he fact that, over and over again, these were demonstrated to be lies or hallucinations did nothing to deter the faithful% ;en who had been shown cities on the far side of the ;oon lost little credibilit, even when +rbiter surve,s and Apollo revealed no artifacts of an, #ind= ladies who married 8enusians were still believed when that planet, sadl,, turned out to be hotter than molten lead% ?, the time the ALAA published its report no reputable scientist even among those few who had once espoused the idea- believed that "@+s had an, connection with extraterrestrial life or intelligence% +f course, it would never be possible to prove that= an, one of those m,riad sightings, over the last thousand ,ears, might have been the real thing% ?ut as time went b,, and satellite cameras and radars scanning the entire heavens produced no concrete evidence, the general public lost interest in the idea% 'he cultists, of course, were not discouraged, but #ept the faith with their newsletters and boo#s, most of them regurgitating and

embellishing old reports long after the, had been discredited or exposed% 3hen the discover, of the ',cho monolith - ';A-2 - was finall, announced, there was a chorus of &2 told ,ou so&sH& 2t could no longer be denied that there had been visitors to the ;oon - and presumabl, to the 7arth as well - a little matter of three million ,ears ago% At once, "@+s infested the heavens again= though it was odd that the three independent national trac#ing s,stems, which could locate an,thing in space larger than a ballpoint pen, were still unable to find them% Rather <uic#l,, the number of reports dropped down to the &noise level& once more - the figure that would be expected, merel, as a result of the man, astronomical, meteorological, and aeronautical phenomena constantl, occurring in the s#ies% ?ut now it had started all over again% 'his time, there was no mista#e= it was official% A genuine "@+ was on its wa, to 7arth% !ightings were reported within minutes of the warning from Leonov= the first close encounters were onl, a few hours later% A retired stoc#bro#er, wal#ing his bulldog on the >or#shire ;oors, was astonished when a dis#-shaped craft landed beside him and the occupant - <uite human, except for the pointed ears - as#ed the wa, to Downing !treet% 'he contactee was so surprised that he was onl, able to wave his stic# in the general direction of 3hitehall= conclusive proof of the meeting was provided b, the fact that the bulldog now refused to ta#e his food% Although the stoc#bro#er had no previous histor, of mental illness, even those who believed him had some difficult, in accepting the next report% 'his time it was a ?as<ue shepherd on a traditional mission= he was greatl, relieved when what he had feared to be border guards turned out to be a couple of cloa#ed men with piercing e,es, who wanted to #now the wa, to the "nited $ations ead<uarters% 'he, spo#e perfect ?as<ue - an excruciatingl, difficult tongue with no affinit, to an, other #nown language of man#ind% Clearl,, the space visitors were remar#able linguists, even if their geograph, was oddl, deficient% !o it went on, case after case% 8er, few of the contactees were actuall, l,ing or insane= most of them sincerel, believed their own stories, and retained that belief even under h,pnosis% And some were 4ust victims of practical 4o#es or improbable accidents - li#e the unluc#, amateur archaeologists who found the props that a celebrated science-fiction moviema#er had abandoned in the 'unisian desert almost four decades earlier%

>et onl, at the beginning - and at the ver, end - was an, human being genuinel, aware of his presence= and that was because he so desired it% 'he world was his to explore and examine as he pleased, without restraint or hindrance% $o walls could #eep him out, no secrets could be hidden from the senses he possessed% At first he believed that he was merel, fulfilling old ambitions, b, visiting the places he had never seen in that earlier existence% $ot until much later did he realiDe that his lightning-li#e sallies across the face of the globe had a deeper purpose% 2n some subtle wa,, he was being used as a probe, sampling ever, aspect of human affairs% 'he control was so tenuous that he was barel, conscious of it= he was rather li#e a hunting dog on a leash, allowed to ma#e excursions of his own, ,et nevertheless compelled to obe, the overriding wishes of his master% 'he p,ramids, the Grand Can,on, the moon-washed snows of 7verest these were choices of his own% !o were some art galleries and concert halls= though he would certainl,, on his own initiative, never have endured the whole of the Ring% $or would he have visited so man, factories, prisons, hospitals, a nast, little war in Asia, a racecourse, a complicated org, in ?everl, ills, the +val Room of the 3hite ouse, the :remlin archives, the 8atican Librar,, the sacred ?lac# !tone of the :aabah at ;ecca% 'here were also experiences of which he had no clear memor,, as if the, had been censored - or he was being protected from them b, some guardian angel% @or example -3hat was he doing at the Lea#e, ;emorial ;useum, in +lduvai GorgeE e had no greater interest in the origin of ;an than an, other intelligent member of the species % sapiens, and fossils meant nothing to him% >et the famous s#ulls, guarded li#e crown 4ewels in their displa, cases, aroused strange echoes in his memor,, and an excitement for which he was unable to account% 'here was a feeling of dN4a vu stronger than an, he had ever #nown= the place should be familiar - but something was wrong% 2t was li#e a house to which one returns after man, ,ears, to find that all the furniture has been changed, the walls moved, and even the stairwa,s rebuilt% 2t was blea#, hostile terrain, dr, and parched% 3here were the lush plains and the m,riad fleet-footed herbivores that had roamed across them, three million ,ears agoE 'hree million ,ears% ow had he #nown thatE

$o answer came from the echoing silence into which he had thrown the <uestion% ?ut then he saw, once more looming before him, a familiar blac# rectangular shape% e approached, and a shadow, image appeared in its depths, li#e a reflection in a pool of in#% 'he sad and puDDled e,es that stared bac# from beneath that hair,, receding forehead loo#ed be,ond him into a future the, could never see% @or he was that future, a hundred thousand generations further down the stream of time% istor, had begun there= that at least he now understood% ?ut how and above all, wh, - were secrets still withheld from himE ?ut there was one last dut,, and that was hardest of all% sufficientl, human to put it off until the ver, end% e was still

$ow what&s she up toE the dut, nurse as#ed herself, Dooming the '8 monitor onto the old lad,% !he&s tried lots of tric#s, but this is the first time 2&ve seen her tal#ing to her hearing aid, for goodness sa#e% 2 wonder what she&s sa,ingE 'he microphone was not sensitive enough to pic# up the words, but that scarcel, seemed to matter% 1essie ?owman had seldom loo#ed so peaceful and content% 'hough her e,es were closed, her entire face was wreathed in an almost angelic smile while her lips continued to form whispered words% And then the watcher saw something that she tried hard to forget because to report it would instantl, dis<ualif, her in the nursing profession% !lowl, and 4er#il,, the comb l,ing on the bedside table raised itself in the air as if lifted b, clums,, invisible fingers% +n the first attempt, it missed= then, with obvious difficult,, it began to part the long silver strands, pausing sometimes to disentangle a #not% 1essie ?owman was not spea#ing now, but she continued to smile% 'he comb was moving with more assurance, and no longer in abrupt, uncertain 4er#s% ow long it lasted the nurse could never be certain% $ot until the comb was gentl, replaced on the table did she recover from her paral,sis% 'en-,ear-old Dave ?owman had finished the chore which he alwa,s hated but which his mother loved% And a David ?owman who was now ageless had gained his first control of obdurate matter%

1essie ?owman was still smiling when the nurse finall, came to investigate% !he had been too scared to hurr,= but it would have made no difference an,wa,%

AF Rehabilitation

'he uproar of 7arth was comfortabl, muted, across the millions of #ilometres of space% Leonov&s crew watched, with fascination ,et with a certain detachment, the debates in the "nited $ations, the interviews with distinguished scientists&, the theoriDing of the news commentators, the matter-of-fact ,et wildl, conflicting accounts of the "@+ contactees% 'he, could contribute nothing to the brouhaha, for the, had witnessed no further manifestations of an, #ind% Bagad#a, alias ?ig ?rother, remained as blan#l, indifferent to their presence as ever% And that was indeed an ironic situation= the, had come all the wa, from 7arth to solve a m,ster, - and it loo#ed as if the answer might be right bac# at their starting point% @or the first time, the, felt grateful for the slow velocit, of light, and the two-hour dela, that made live interviews impossible on the 7arth-1upiter circuit% 7ven so, @lo,d was badgered b, so man, media re<uests that he finall, went on stri#e% $othing more remained to be said, and he had said it at least a doDen times% ?esides, there was still much wor# to be done% Leonov had to be prepared for the long 4ourne, home, so that it would be read, to depart immediatel, when the launch window opened% 'he timing was not at all critical= even if the, missed b, a month, that would merel, prolong the trip% Chandra, Curnow, and @lo,d would not even notice as the, slept their wa, toward the !un= but the rest of the crew was griml, determined to leave 4ust as soon as the laws of celestial mechanics permitted% Discover, still posed man, problems% 'he ship had barel, sufficient propellant for the return to 7arth, even if it left much later than Leonov and flew a minimum-energ, orbit - which would ta#e almost three ,ears% And this would be possible onl, if al could be reliabl, programmed to carr, out the mission with no human intervention except long-range monitoring% 3ithout his cooperation, Discover, would have to be abandoned once again% 2t had been fascinating - indeed, deepl, moving - to watch the stead,

regrowth of al&s personalit,, from brain-damaged child to puDDled adolescent and at length to slightl, condescending adult% Although he #new that such anthropomorphic labels were highl, misleading, @lo,d found it <uite impossible to avoid them% And there were times when he felt that the whole situation had a haunting familiarit,% ow often he had seen videodramas in which disturbed ,oungsters were straightened out b, all-wise descendants of the legendar, !igmund @reudH 7ssentiall, the same stor, was being pla,ed out in the shadow of 1upiter% 'he electronic ps,choanal,sis had proceeded at a speed totall, be,ond human comprehension as repair and diagnostic programs flashed through al&s circuits at billions of bits a second, pinpointing possible malfunctions and correcting them% 'hough most of these programs had been tested in advance on al&s twin, !AL -))), the impossibilit, of a real-time dialogue between the two computers was a serious handicap% !ometimes hours were wasted when it proved necessar, to chec# bac# with 7arth at a critical point in the therap,% @or despite all Chandra&s wor#, the computer&s rehabilitation was still far from complete% al exhibited numerous idios,ncrasies and nervous tics, sometimes even ignoring spo#en words - though he would alwa,s ac#nowledge #e,board inputs from an,one% 2n the reverse direction, his outputs were even more eccentric% 'here were times when he would give verbal replies, but would not displa, them visuall,% At other times he would do both - but refused to print hard cop,% e would give no excuses or explanations - not even the stubbornl, impenetrable &2 prefer not to& of ;elville&s autistic scrivener, ?artelb,% owever, he was not activel, disobedient so much as reluctant, and onl, where certain tas#s were concerned% 2t was alwa,s possible to win his cooperation eventuall, - &to tal# him out of his sul#&, as Curnow put it neatl,% 2t was not surprising that Dr Chandra was beginning to show the strain% +n one celebrated occasion when ;ax ?railovs#, innocentl, revived an old canard, he almost lost his temper% &2s it true, Dr Chandra, that ,ou chose the name ahead of 2?;E& al to be one step

&"tter nonsenseH alf of us come from 2?; and we&ve been tr,ing to stamp out that stor, for ,ears% 2 thought that b, now ever, intelligent person #new that -A-L is derived from euristic ALgorithmic%&

Afterward, ;ax swore that he could distinctl, hear the capital letters% 2n @lo,d&s private opinion, the odds were at least fift, to one against fl,ing Discover, safel, bac# to 7arth% And then Chandra came to him with an extraordinar, proposal% &Dr @lo,d, can 2 have a word with ,ouE& After all the wee#s and shared experiences, Chandra was still as formal as ever - not onl, to @lo,d, but to all the crew% e would not even address the ship&s bab,, Benia, without the prefix &ma&am&% &+f course, Chandra% 3hat is itE& &2&ve virtuall, completed the programming for the six most probable variations on the ohmann return orbit% @ive have now been run on a simulation, without an, problems%& &7xcellent% 2&m sure that no one else on 7arth - in the !olar !,stem could have done it%& &'han# ,ou% owever, ,ou #now as well as 2 do that it&s impossible to program for ever, eventualit,% al ma, - will - function perfectl,, and will be able to handle an, reasonable emergenc,% ?ut all sorts of trivial accidents - minor e<uipment failures that could be fixed with a screwdriver, bro#en wires, stuc# switches - could leave him helpless and abort the whole mission%& &>ou&re absolutel, right, of course, and it&s been worr,ing me% ?ut what can we do about itE& &2t&s reall, <uite simple% 2&d li#e to sta, with Discover,%& @lo,d&s immediate reaction was that Chandra had gone craD,% +n second thoughts, perhaps he was onl, half craD,% 2t might indeed ma#e all the difference between success and failure to have a human being - that superb all-purpose trouble-shooting and repair device - aboard Discover, for the long vo,age bac# to 7arth% ?ut the ob4ections were completel, overwhelming% &2t&s an interesting idea,& @lo,d answered with extreme caution, &and 2 certainl, appreciate ,our enthusiasm% ?ut have ,ou thought of all the problemsE& 'hat was a sill, thing to sa,= Chandra would have all the answers alread, filed awa, for immediate retrieval% &>ou&ll be on ,our own for over three ,earsH !uppose ,ou had an

accident or a medical emergenc,E& &'hat&s a ris# 2&m prepared to ta#e%& &And what about food, waterE Leonov doesn&t have enough to spare%& &2&ve chec#ed Discover,&s rec,cling s,stem= it can be made operational again without too much difficult,% ?esides, we 2ndians can manage on ver, little%& 2t was unusual for Chandra to refer to his origins, or indeed to ma#e an, personal statements= his &true confession& was the onl, example @lo,d could remember% ?ut he did not doubt the claim= Curnow had once remar#ed that Dr Chandra had the sort of ph,si<ue that could onl, be achieved b, centuries of starvation% Although it sounded li#e one of the engineer&s un#inder wisecrac#s, it had been made entirel, without malice - indeed, with s,mpath,= though not, of course, in Chandra&s hearing% &3ell, we still have several wee#s to decide% 2&ll thin# it over and tal# to 3ashington%& &'han# ,ou= do ,ou mind if 2 start ma#ing the arrangementsE& &7r - not at all, as long as the, don&t interfere with the existing plans% Remember - ;ission Control will have to ma#e the final decision%& And 2 #now exactl, what ;ission Control will sa,% 2t was madness to expect a man to survive in space for three, ,ears, alone% ?ut, of course, Chandra had alwa,s been alone%

A. @ire in the Deep

7arth was alread, far behind, and the awesome wonders of the 1ovian s,stem were expanding swiftl, before him, when he had his revelation% ow could he have been so blind - so stupidH 2t was as if he had been wal#ing in his sleep= now he was starting to awa#en% 3ho are ,ouE he cried% 3hat do ,ou wantE 3h, have ,ou done this to meE

'here was no answer, ,et he was certain that he had been heard% e sensed a%%% presence, even as a man can tell, though his e,es are tightl, shut, that he is in a closed room and not some empt,, open space% Around him there was the faint echo of a vast mentalit,, an implacable will% e called again into the reverberant silence, and again there was no direct repl, - onl, that sense of watchful companionship% 8er, well= he would find the answers for himself% !ome were obvious= whoever or whatever the, were, the, were interested in ;an#ind% 'he, had tapped and stored his memories, for their own inscrutable purposes% And now the, had done the same with his deepest emotions, sometimes with his cooperation, sometimes without% e did not resent that= indeed, the ver, processing he had experienced made such childish reactions impossible% e was be,ond love and hate and desire and fear - but he had not forgotten them, and could still understand how the, ruled the world of which he had once been part% 3as that the purpose of the exerciseE 2f so, for what ultimate goalE e had become a pla,er in a game of gods, and must learn the rules as he went along%

'he 4agged roc#s of the four tin, outer moons, !inope, Casiphae, Carme, and Anan#e, flic#ered briefl, across his field of consciousness= then came 7lara, L,sithea, imalia, and Leda at half their distance from 1upiter% e ignored them all= now the poc#-mar#ed face of Callisto la, ahead% +nce, twice, he orbited the battered globe, larger than 7arth&s own ;oon, while senses of which he had been unaware probed its outer la,ers of ice and dust% is curiosit, was <uic#l, satisfied= the world was a froDen fossil, still bearing the mar#s of collisions that, aeons ago, must have come close to shattering it% +ne hemisphere was a giant bull&s-e,e, a series of concentric rings where solid roc# had once flowed in #ilometre-high ripples under some ancient hammer blow from space% !econds later, he was circling Gan,mede% $ow there was a far more complex and interesting world= though so near to Callisto, and almost the same siDe, it presented an utterl, different appearance% 'here were, it was true, numerous craters - but most of them seemed to have been, <uite literall,, ploughed bac# into the ground% 'he most extraordinar, feature of the Gan,medean landscape was the presence of meandering stripes, built up from scores of parallel furrows a few #ilometres apart% 'his grooved terrain loo#ed as if it had been produced b, armies of intoxicated

ploughmen, weaving bac# and forth across the face of the satellite% 2n a few revolutions, he saw more of Gan,mede than all the space probes ever sent from 7arth, and filed awa, the #nowledge for future use% +ne da, it would be important= he was sure of that, though he did not #now wh, - an, more than he understood the impulse that was now driving him so purposefull, from world to world% As, presentl,, it brought him to 7uropa% 'hough he was still largel, a passive spectator, he was aware now of a rising interest, a focusing of attention - a concentration of will% 7ven if he was a puppet in the hands of an unseen and uncommunicative master, some of the thoughts of that controlling influence lea#ed - or were allowed to lea# - into his own mind% 'he smooth, intricatel, patterned globe now, rushing toward him bore little resemblance either to Gan,mede or Callisto% 2t loo#ed organic= the networ# of lines branching and intersecting over its entire surface was uncannil, li#e a world-spanning s,stem of veins and arteries% 'he endless ice fields of a frigid waste, far colder than the Antarctic, stretched beneath him% 'hen, with brief surprise, he saw that he was passing over the wrec#age of a spaceship% e recogniDed it instantl, as the ill-fated 'sien, featured in so man, of the video newscasts he had anal,sed% $ot now - not now - there would be ample opportunit, later% 'hen he was through the ice, and into a world as un#nown to his controllers as to himself% 2t was an ocean world, its hidden waters protected from the vacuum of space b, a crust of ice% 2n most places the ice was #ilometres thic#, but there were lines of wea#ness where it had crac#ed open and torn apart% 'hen there had been a brief battle between two implacabl, hostile elements that came into direct contact on no other world in the !olar !,stem% 'he war between !ea and !pace alwa,s ended in the same stalemate= the exposed water simultaneousl, boiled and froDe, repairing the armour of ice% 'he seas of 7uropa would have froDen completel, solid long ago without the influence of nearb, 1upiter% 2ts gravit, continuall, #neaded the core of the little world= the forces that convulsed 2o were wor#ing there, though with much less ferocit,% As he s#immed across the face of the deep, he saw ever,where the evidence of that tug-of-war between planet and satellite% And he both heard and felt it, in the continual roar and thunder of submarine earth<ua#es, the hiss of escaping gases from the interior, the

infrasonic pressure waves of avalanches sweeping over the ab,ssal plains% ?, comparison with the tumultuous ocean that covered 7uropa, even the nois, seas of 7arth were silent% e had not lost his sense of wonder, and the first oasis filled him with delighted surprise% 2t extended for almost a #ilometre around a tangled mass of pipes and chimne,s deposited b, mineral brines gushing from the interior% +ut of that natural parod, of a Gothic castle, blac#, scalding li<uids pulsed in a slow rh,thm, as if driven b, the beating of some might, heart% And, li#e blood, the, were the authentic sign of life itself% 'he boiling fluids drove bac# the deadl, cold lea#ing down from above, and formed an island of warmth on the seabed% 7<uall, important, the, brought from 7uropa&s interior all the chemicals of life% 'here, in an environment where none had expected it, were energ, and food, in abundance% >et it should have been expected= he remembered that, onl, a lifetime ago, such fertile oases had been discovered in the deep oceans of 7arth% ere the, were present on an immensel, larger scale, and in far greater variet,% 2n the tropical Done close to the contorted walls of the &castle& were delicate, spider, structures that seemed to be the analog, of plants, though almost all were capable of movement% Crawling among these were biDarre slugs and worms, some feeding on the plants, others obtaining their food directl, from the mineral-laden waters around them% At greater distances from the source of heat - the submarine fire around which all the creatures warmed themselves - were sturdier, more robust organisms, not unli#e crabs or spiders% Armies of biologists could have spent lifetimes stud,ing that one small oasis% "nli#e the CalaeoDoic terrestrial seas, it was not a stable environment, so evolution had progressed swiftl, here, producing multitudes of fantastic forms% And the, were all under indefinite sta, of execution= sooner or later, each fountain of life would wea#en and die, as the forces that powered it moved their focus elsewhere% Again and again, in his wanderings across the 7uropan seabed, he encountered the evidence of such tragedies% Countless circular areas were littered with the s#eletons and mineral-encrusted remains of dead creatures, where entire chapters of evolution had been deleted from the boo# of life% e saw huge, empt, shells formed li#e convoluted trumpets as large as a man% 'here were clams of man, shapes - bivalves, and even trivalves% And

there were spiral stone patterns, man, metres across, which seemed an exact analog, of the beautiful ammonites that disappeared so m,steriousl, from 7arth&s oceans at the end of the Cretaceous Ceriod% !earching, see#ing, he moved bac# and forth over the face of the ab,ss% Cerhaps the greatest of all the wonders he met was a river of incandescent lava, flowing for a hundred #ilometres along a sun#en valle,% 'he pressure at that depth was so great that the water in contact with the red-hot magma could not flash into steam, and the two li<uids coexisted in an uneas, truce% 'here, on another world and with alien actors, something li#e the stor, of 7g,pt had been pla,ed long before the coming of man% As the $ile had brought life to a narrow ribbon of desert, so this river of warmth had vivified the 7uropan deep% Along its ban#s, in a band never more than two #ilometres wide, species after species had evolved and flourished and passed awa,% And at least one had left a monument behind it% At first, he thought that it was merel, another of the encrustations of mineral salts that surrounded almost all the thermal vents% owever, as he came closer, he saw that it was not a natural formation, but a structure created b, intelligence% +r perhaps b, instinct= on 7arth, the termites reared castles that were almost e<uall, imposing, and the web of a spider was more ex<uisitel, designed% 'he creatures that had lived there must have been <uite small, for the single entrance was onl, half a metre wide% 'hat entrance - a thic#-walled tunnel, made b, heaping roc#s on top of each other - gave a clue to the builders& intentions% 'he, had reared a fortress, there in the flic#ering glow not far from the ban#s of their molten $ile% And then the, had vanished% 'he, could not have left more than a few centuries before% 'he walls of the fortress, built from irregularl, shaped roc#s that must have been collected with great labour, were covered with onl, a thin crust of mineral deposits% +ne piece of evidence suggested wh, the stronghold had been abandoned% Cart of the roof had fallen in, perhaps owing to the continual earth<ua#es= and in an underwater environment, a fort without a roof was wide open to an enem,% e encountered no other sign of intelligence along the river of lava% +nce, however, he saw something uncannil, li#e a crawling man - except that it had no e,es and no nostrils, onl, a huge, toothless mouth that gulped continuousl,, absorbing nourishment from the li<uid medium around it% Along the narrow band of fertilit, in the deserts of the deep, whole

cultures and even civiliDations might have risen and fallen, armies might have marched 5or swum6 under the command of 7uropan 'amberlanes or $apoleons% And the rest of their world would never have #nown, for all those oases of warmth were as isolated from one another as the planets themselves% 'he creatures who bas#ed in the glow of the lava river, and fed around the hot vents, could not cross the hostile wilderness between their lonel, islands, 2f the, had ever produced historians and philosophers, each culture would have been convinced that it was alone in the "niverse% >et even the space between the oases was not altogether empt, of life= there were hardier creatures who had dared its rigours% +ften swimming overhead were the 7uropan analogues of fish - streamlined torpedoes, propelled b, vertical tails, steered b, fins along their bodies% 'he resemblance to the most successful dwellers in 7arth&s oceans was inevitable= given the same engineering problems, evolution must produce ver, similar answers% As witness the dolphin and the shar# - superficiall, almost identical, ,et from far distant branches of the tree of life% 'here was, however, one ver, obvious difference between the fish of the 7uropan seas and those in terrestrial oceans= the, had no gills, for there was hardl, a trace of ox,gen to be extracted from the waters in which the, swam% Li#e the creatures around 7arth&s own geothermal vents, their metabolism was based on sulphur compounds, present in abundance in the near-volcanic environment% And ver, few had e,es% Apart from the flic#ering glow of the rare lava outpourings, and occasional bursts of bioluminescence from creatures see#ing mates, or hunters <uesting pre,, it was a lightless world% 2t was also a doomed one% $ot onl, were its energ, sources sporadic and constantl, shifting, but the tidal forces that drove them were steadil, wea#ening% 7ven if the, developed true intelligence, the 7uropans must perish with the final freeDing of their world% 'he, were trapped between fire and ice%

A9 7strangement

&2&m trul, sorr,, old friend, to be the bearer of such bad news, but Caroline has as#ed me, and ,ou #now how 2 feel about ,ou both%

&And 2 don&t thin# it can be such a surprise% !ome of the remar#s ,ou&ve made to me over the last ,ear have hinted at it%%% and ,ou #now how bitter she was when ,ou left 7arth% &$o, 2 don&t believe there&s an,one else% 2f there was, she&d have told me%%% ?ut sooner or later - well, she&s an attractive ,oung woman% &Chris is fine, and of course he doesn&t #now what&s happening% At least he won&t be hurt% e&s too ,oung to understand, and children are incredibl,%%% elasticE - 4ust a minute, 2&ll have to #e, m, thesaurus%%% ah, resilient% &$ow to things that ma, seem less important to ,ou% 7ver,one is still tr,ing to explain that bomb detonation as an accident, but of course nobod, believes it% ?ecause nothing else has happened, the general h,steria has died down= we&re left with what one of ,our commentators has called the Gloo#ing-over-the-shoulder s,ndromeG% &And someone has found a hundred-,ear-old poem that sums up the situation so neatl, that ever,bod,&s <uoting it% 2t&s set in the last da,s of the Roman 7mpire, at the gates of a cit, whose occupants are waiting for invaders to arrive% 'he emperor and dignitaries are all lined up in their most costl, togas, read, with speeches of welcome% 'he senate has closed, because an, laws it passes toda, will be ignored b, the new masters% &'hen, suddenl,, a dreadful piece of news arrives from the frontier% 'here aren&t an, invaders% 'he reception committee brea#s up in confusion= ever,one goes home muttering disappointedl,, G$ow what will happen to usE 'hose people were a #ind of solution%G &'here&s 4ust one slight change needed to bring the poem up to date% 2t&s called G3aiting for the ?arbariansG - and this time, we are the barbarians% And we don&t #now what we&re waiting for, but it certainl, hasn&t arrived% &+ne other item% ad ,ou heard that Commander ?owman&s mother died onl, a few da,s after the thing came to 7arthE 2t does seem an odd coincidence, but the people at her nursing home sa, that she never showed the slightest interest in the news, so it couldn&t possibl, have affected her%&

@lo,d switched off the recording% Dimitri was right= he was not ta#en b, surprise% ?ut that made not the slightest difference= it hurt 4ust as

badl,% >et what else could he have doneE 2f he had refused to go on the mission - as Caroline had so clearl, hoped - he would have felt guilt, and unfulfilled for the remainder of his life% 'hat would have poisoned his marriage= better this clean brea#, when ph,sical distance softened the pain of separation% 5+r did itE 2n some wa,s, it made things worse%6 ;ore important was dut,, and the sense of being part of a team devoted to a single goal% !o 1essie ?owman was gone% Cerhaps that was another cause for guilt% e had helped to steal her onl, remaining son, and that must have contributed to her mental brea#down% 2nevitabl,, he was reminded of a discussion that 3alter Curnow had started, on that ver, sub4ect% &3h, did ,ou choose Dave ?owmanE e alwa,s struc# me as a cold fish not actuall, unfriendl,, but whenever he came into the room, the temperature seemed to drop ten degrees%& &'hat was one of the reasons we did select him% e had no close famil, ties, except for a mother he didn&t see ver, often% !o he was the sort of man we could send on a long, open-ended mission%& & ow did he get that wa,E& &2 suppose the ps,chologists could tell ,ou% 2 did see his report, of course, but that was a long time ago% 'here was something about a brother who was #illed - and his father died soon afterward, in an accident on one of the earl, shuttles% 2&m not supposed to tell ,ou this, but it certainl, doesn&t matter now%& 2t didn&t matter= but it was interesting% $ow @lo,d almost envied David ?owman, who had come to that ver, spot a free man unencumbered b, emotional ties with 7arth% $o - he was deceiving himself% 7ven while the pain gripped his heart li#e a vice, what he felt for David ?owman was not env,, but pit,%

A0 @oamscape

'he last beast he saw, before he left the oceans of 7uropa, was much

the largest% 2t closel, resembled one of the ban,an trees from 7arth&s tropics, whose scores of trun#s allow a single plant to create a small forest sometimes covering hundreds of s<uare metres% 'he specimen, however, was wal#ing, apparentl, on a tre# between oases% 2f it was not one of the creatures that had destro,ed 'sien, it certainl, belonged to a ver, similar species% $ow he had learned all that he needed to #now - or, rather, all that the, needed to #now% 'here was one more moon to visit= seconds later, the burning landscape of 2o la, below him% 2t was as he had expected% 7nerg, and food were there in abundance, but the time was not ,et ripe for their union% Around some of the cooler sulphur la#es, the first steps had been ta#en on the road to life, but before an, degree of organiDation had occurred, all such bravel, premature attempts were thrown bac# into the melting pot% $ot until the tidal forces that drove 2o&s furnaces had lost their power, millions of ,ears later, would there be an,thing to interest biologists on that seared and steriliDed world% e wasted little time on 2o, and none at all on the tin, inner moons that s#irted 1upiter&s ghostl, rings - themselves onl, pale shadows of the glor, that was !aturn&s% 'he greatest of worlds la, before him= he would #now it as no man had ever done, or ever would% 'he million-#ilometre-long tendrils of magnetic force, the sudden explosions of radio waves, the ge,sers of electrified plasma wider than the planet 7arth- the, were as real and clearl, visible to him as the clouds banding the planet in multihued glor,% e could understand the complex pattern of their interactions, and realiDed that 1upiter was much more wonderful than an,one had ever guessed% 7ven as he fell through the roaring heart of the Great Red !pot, with the lightning of its continent-wide thunderstorms detonating around him, he #new wh, it had persisted for centuries though it was made of gases far less substantial than those that formed the hurricanes of 7arth% 'he thin scream of h,drogen wind faded as he san# into the calmer depths, and a sleet of waxen snowfla#es - some alread, coalescing into barel, palpable mountains of h,drocarbon foam - descended from the heights above% 2t was alread, warm enough for li<uid water to exist, but there were no oceans there= that purel, gaseous environment was too tenuous to support them% e descended through la,er after la,er of cloud, until he entered a region of such clarit, that even human vision could have scanned an area more than a thousand #ilometres across% 2t was onl, a minor edd, in the vaster g,re of the Great Red !pot= and it held a secret that men had long guessed, but never proved%

!#irting the foothills of the drifting foam mountains were m,riads of small, sharpl,-defined clouds, all about the same siDe and patterned with similar red and brown mottlings% 'he, were small onl, as compared with the inhuman scale of their surroundings= the ver, least would have covered a fair-siDed cit,% 'he, were clearl, alive, for the, were moving with slow deliberation along the flan#s of the aerial mountains, browsing off their slopes li#e colossal sheep% And the, were calling to each other in the metre band, their radio voices faint but clear against the crac#lings and concussions of 1upiter itself% $othing less than living gasbags, the, floated in the narrow Done between freeDing heights and scorching depths% $arrow, ,es - but a domain far larger than all the biosphere of 7arth% 'he, were not alone% ;oving swiftl, among them were other creatures so small that the, could easil, have been overloo#ed% !ome of them bore an almost uncann, resemblance to terrestrial aircraft and were of about the same siDe% ?ut the, too were alive - perhaps predators, perhaps parasites, perhaps even herdsmen% A whole new chapter of evolution, as alien as that which he had glimpsed on 7uropa, was opening before him% 'here were 4et-propelled torpedoes li#e the s<uids of the terrestrial oceans, hunting and devouring the huge gasbags% ?ut the balloons were not defenceless= some of them fought bac#s with electric thunderbolts and with clawed tentacles li#e #ilometre-long chainsaws% 'here were even stranger shapes, exploiting almost ever, possibilit, of geometr, - biDarre, translucent #ites, tetrahedra, spheres, pol,hedra, tangles of twisted ribbons% 'he gigantic plan#ton of the 1ovian atmosphere, the, were designed to float li#e gossamer in the uprising currents, until the, had lived long enough to reproduce= then the, would be swept down into the depths to be carboniDed and rec,cled in a new generation% e was searching a world more than a hundred times the area of 7arth, and though he saw man, wonders, nothing there hinted of intelligence% 'he radio voices of the great balloons carried onl, simple messages of warning or of fear% 7ven the hunters, who might have been expected to develop higher degrees of organiDation, were li#e the shar#s in 7arth&s oceans mindless automata% And for all its breathta#ing siDe and novelt,, the biosphere of

1upiter was a fragile world, a place of mists and foam, of delicate sil#en threads and paper-thin tissues spun from the continual snowfall of petrochemicals formed b, lightning in the upper atmosphere% @ew of its constructs were more substantial than soap bubbles= its most terrif,ing predators could be torn to shreds b, even the feeblest of terrestrial carnivores% Li#e 7uropa on a vastl, grander scale, 1upiter was an evolutionar, cul-de-sac% Consciousness would never emerge here= even if it did, it would be doomed to a stunted existence% A purel, aerial culture might develop, but in an environment where fire was impossible, and solids scarcel, existed, it could never even reach the !tone Age% And now, as he hovered above the centre of a 1ovian c,clone merel, as large as Africa, he became aware once again of the presence controlling him% ;oods and emotions were lea#ing into his own consciousness, though he could not identif, an, specific concepts or ideas% 2t was as if he were listening, outside a closed door, to a debate in progress, and in a language he could not understand% ?ut the muffled sounds clearl, conve,ed disappointment, then uncertaint,, then a sudden determination - though for what purpose he could not tell% +nce again, he felt li#e a pet dog, able to share his master&s changing moods but not to comprehend them% And then the invisible leash was ta#ing him down toward the heart of 1upiter% e was sin#ing through the clouds, below the level where an, form of life was possible% !oon he was be,ond the reach of the last ra,s from the faint and distant !un% 'he pressure and temperature were swiftl, mounting= alread, it was above the boiling point of water, and he passed briefl, through a la,er of superheated steam% 1upiter was li#e an onion= he was peeling it awa, s#in b, s#in, though as ,et he had travelled onl, a fraction of the distance to its core% ?eneath the steam was a witches& brew of petrochemicals - enough to power for a million ,ears all the internal-combustion engines that man#ind had d,er built% 2t became thic#er and denser= then, <uite abruptl,, it ended at a discontinuit, onl, a few #ilometres thic#% eavier than an, roc#s on 7arth, ,et still a li<uid, the next shell consisted of silicon and carbon compounds of a complexit, that could have provided lifetimes of wor# for terrestrial chemists% La,er followed la,er for thousands of #ilometres, but as the temperature rose into the hundreds and then the thousands of degrees, the composition of the various strata became simpler and simpler% alfwa, down to the core, it was too hot for chemistr,= all compounds were torn apart, and onl, the basic elements could exist%

$ext there came a deep sea of h,drogen - but not h,drogen as it had ever existed for more than a fraction of a second in an, laborator, on 7arth% 'his h,drogen was under such enormous pressure that it had become a metal% e had almost reached the centre of the planet, but 1upiter had one more surprise in store% 'he thic# shell of metallic ,et still fluid h,drogen ended abruptl,% At last, there was a solid surface, sixt, thousand #ilometres down% @or ages, the carbon ba#ed out of the chemical reactions far above had been drifting down toward the centre of the planet% 'here it had gathered, cr,stalliDing at a pressure of millions of atmospheres% And there, b, one of $ature&s supreme 4ests, was something ver, precious to man#ind% 'he core of 1upiter, forever be,ond human reach, was a diamond as big as the 7arth%

A2n the Cod ?a,

&3alter - 2&m worried about

e,wood%&

&2 #now, 'an,a - but what can we doE& Curnow had never seen Commander +rlova in so indecisive a mood= it made her seem much more appealing, despite his pre4udice against small women% &2&m ver, fond of him, but that&s not the reason% is - 2 suppose gloom is the best word for it - is ma#ing ever,one miserable% Leonov has been a happ, ship% 2 want to #eep it that wa,%& &3h, don&t ,ou tal# to himE best to snap out of it%& e respects ,ou, and 2&m sure he&ll do his

&2 intend to do 4ust that% And if it doesn&t wor# -& &3ellE& &'here&s one simple solution% 3hat more can he do on this tripE 3hen we start bac# for home, he&ll be in hibernation an,wa,% 3e could alwa,s what do ,ou sa,, 4ump the gun on him%&

&Chew - the same dirt, tric# that :aterina pla,ed on me% when he wo#e up%&

e&d be mad

&?ut also safel, bac# on 7arth, and ver, bus,% 2&m sure he&d forgive us%& &2 don&t thin# ,ou&re serious% 7ven if 2 bac#ed ,ou up, 3ashington would raise hell% ?esides, suppose something happened, and we reall, need him badl,E 2sn&t there a two-wee# buffer period, before ,ou can revive an,one safel,E& &At e,wood&s age, more li#e a month% >es, we&d be committed% ?ut what do ,ou thin# could happen nowE e&s done the 4ob he was sent for - apart from #eeping an e,e on us% And 2&m sure ,ou&ve been well briefed about that in some obscure suburb of 8irginia or ;ar,land%& &2 neither confirm nor den,% And fran#l,, 2&m a lous, undercover agent% 2 tal# too much, and 2 hate !ecurit,% 2&ve fought all m, life to #eep m, rating below Restricted% 7ver, time there was danger of being reclassified Confidential or, worse still, !ecret, 2&d go and create a scandal% 'hough that&s getting ver, difficult nowada,s%& &3alter, ,ou&re incorrupt -& &2ncorrigibleE& &>es, that&s the word 2 meant% ?ut bac# to li#e to tal# to him firstE& e,wood, please% 3ould ,ou

&>ou mean - give him a pep tal#E 2&d rather help :aterina drive in the needle% +ur ps,chologies are too different% e thin#s 2&m a loudmouthed clown%& &3hich ,ou often are% ?ut that&s onl, to hide ,our real feelings% !ome of us have evolved the theor, that deep down inside ,ou is a reall, nice person, struggling to get out%& @or once, Curnow was at a loss for words% @inall, he mumbled: &+h, ver, well - 2&ll do m, best% ?ut don&t expect miracles= m, profile gave me B for tact% 3here&s he hiding at the momentE& &2n the Cod ?a,% e claims he&s wor#ing on his final report, but 2 don&t believe it% e 4ust wants to get awa, from us all, and that&s the <uietest place%& 'hat was not the reason, though it was indeed an important one% "nli#e the carousel, where most of the action aboard Discover, was then ta#ing

place, the Cod ?a, was a Dero-gee environment% Right at the beginning of the !pace Age, men had discovered the euphoria of weightlessness and remembered the freedom the, had lost when the, left the ancient womb of the sea% ?e,ond gravit,, some of that freedom was regained= with the loss of weight went man, of the cares and worries of 7arth% e,wood @lo,d had not forgotten his sorrow, but it was more bearable there% 3hen he was able to loo# at the matter dispassionatel,, he was surprised at the strength of his reaction to an event not wholl, unexpected% ;ore than loss of love was involved, though that was the worst part% 'he blow had come when he was particularl, vulnerable, at the ver, moment when he was feeling a sense of anticlimax, even futilit,% And he #new precisel, wh,% e had achieved all that he had been expected to do, than#s to the s#ill and cooperation of his colleagues 5he was letting them down, he #new, b, his present selfishness6% 2f all went well - that litan, of the !pace AgeH - the, would return to 7arth with a cargo of #nowledge that no expedition had ever gathered before, and a few ,ears later even the once-lost Discover, would be restored to her builders% 2t was not enough% 'he overpowering enigma of ?ig ?rother remained out there, onl, a few #ilometres awa,, moc#ing all human aspirations and achievements% 1ust as its analogue on the ;oon had done, a decade ago, it had come to life for a moment, then relapsed into stubborn inertness% 2t was a closed door upon which the, had hammered in vain% +nl, David ?owman, it seemed, had ever found the #e,% Cerhaps that explained the attraction he felt for the <uiet and sometimes even m,sterious place% @rom there - from that now empt, launch cradle - ?owman had left on his last mission, through the circular hatchwa, that led to infinit,% e found the thought exhilarating rather than depressing= certainl, it helped to distract him from his personal problems% $ina&s vanished twin was part of the histor, of space exploration= it had travelled, in the words of the hoar, old clichN that alwa,s evo#ed a smile ,et an ac#nowledgement of its fundamental truth, &where no man had gone before%%%& 3here was it nowE 3ould he ever #nowE e would sometimes sit for hours in the crowded but not cramped little capsule, tr,ing to collect his thoughts and occasionall, dictating notes= the other crew members respected his privac,, and understood the reason for it% 'he, never came near the Cod ?a,, and had no need to do so% 2ts

refurbishment was a 4ob for the future, and some other team% +nce or twice, when he had felt reall, depressed, he found himself thin#ing: !uppose 2 ordered al to open the Cod ?a, doors, and set out along Dave ?owman&s trailE 3ould 2 be greeted b, the miracle he saw and which 8asili glimpsed a few wee#s agoE 2t would solve all m, problems%%% 7ven if the thought of Chris did not deter him, there was an excellent reason wh, so suicidal a move was out of the <uestion% $ina was a ver, complex piece of e<uipment= he could no more operate her than fl, a fighter aircraft% e was not meant to be an intrepid explorer: that particular fantas, would remain unrealiDed%

3alter Curnow had seldom underta#en a mission with more reluctance% felt genuinel, sorr, for @lo,d, but at the same time a little impatient with the other&s distress% is own emotional life was broad but shallow= he had never put all his eggs in one bas#et% ;ore than once he had been told that he spread himself too thin, and though he had never regretted it, he was beginning to thin# it was time to settle down% e too# the shortcut through the carousel control centre, noting that the ;aximum !peed Reset 2ndicator was still flashing idioticall,% A ma4or part of his 4ob was deciding when warnings could be ignored, when the, could be dealt with at leisure - and when the, had to be treated as real emergencies% 2f he paid e<ual attention to all the ship&s cries for help, he would never get an,thing done% e drifted along the narrow corridor that led to the Cod ?a,, propelling himself b, occasional flic#s against the rungs on the tubular wall% 'he pressure gauge claimed that there was vacuum on the other side of the airloc# door, but he #new better% 2t was a fail-safe situation= he could not have opened the loc# if the gauge were telling the truth% 'he ba, loo#ed empt,, now that two of the three pods had long since gone% +nl, a few emergenc, lights were operating, and on the far wall one of al&s fish-e,e lenses was regarding him steadil,% Curnow waved to it, but did not spea#% At Chandra&s orders, all audio inputs were still disconnected except for the one that onl, he used% @lo,d was sitting in the pod with his bac# to the open hatch, dictating some notes, and he swung slowl, around at Curnow&s deliberatel, nois, approach% @or a moment the two men regarded each other in silence, then Curnow announced portentousl,, &Dr % @lo,d, 2 bear greetings from

our beloved captain% !he considers it high time ,ou re4oined the civiliDed world%& @lo,d gave a wan smile, then a little laugh% &Clease return m, compliments% 2&m sorr, 2&ve been - unsociable% 2&ll see ,ou all at the next !ix +&Cloc# !oviet%& Curnow relaxed= his approach had wor#ed% Crivatel,, he considered @lo,d something of a stuffed shirt, and had the practical engineer&s tolerant contempt for theoretical scientists and bureaucrats% !ince @lo,d ran#ed high in both categories, he was an almost irresistible target for Curnow&s sometimes peculiar sense of humour% $evertheless, the two men had grown to respect and even admire each other% 'han#full, changing the sub4ect, Curnow rapped on $ina&s brand-new hatch cover, straight from the spares store and contrasting vividl, with the rest of the space pod&s shabb, exterior% &2 wonder when we&ll send her out again,& he said% &And who&s going to ride in her this time% An, decisionsE& &$o% 3ashington&s got cold feet% ;oscow sa,s let&s ta#e a chance% And 'an,a wants to wait%& &3hat do ,ou thin#E& &2 agree with 'an,a% 3e shouldn&t interfere with Bagad#a until we&re read, to leave% 2f an,thing goes wrong then, that should improve the odds slightl,%& Curnow loo#ed thoughtful, and unusuall, hesitant, &3hat is itE& as#ed @lo,d, sensing his change of mood% &Don&t ever give me awa,, but ;ax was thin#ing of a little one-man expedition%& &2 can&t believe he was serious% him clapped in irons%& e wouldn&t dare - 'an,a would have

&'hat&s what 2 told him, more or less%& &2&m disappointed: 2 thought he was a little more mature% After all, he is thirt,-twoH& &'hirt,-one% An,wa,, 2 tal#ed him out of it% 2 reminded him that this

was real life, not some stupid videodrama where the hero snea#s out into space without telling his companions and ma#es the ?ig Discover,%& $ow it was @lo,d&s turn to feel a little uncomfortable% After all, he had been thin#ing on similar lines% &Are ,ou sure he won&t tr, an,thingE& &'wo-hundred-per-cent sure% Remember ,our precautions with alE 2&ve alread, ta#en steps with $ina% $obod, flies her without m, permission%& &2 still can&t believe it% Are ,ou sure ;ax wasn&t pulling ,our legE& & is sense of humour isn&t that subtle% ?esides, be was prett, miserable at the time%& &+h - now 2 understand% 2t must have been when he had that row with Benia% 2 suppose he wanted to impress her% An,wa,, the, seem to have got over it%& &2&m afraid so,& Curnow answered wr,l,% @lo,d could not help smiling= Curnow noticed it, and started to chuc#le, which made @lo,d laugh, which%%% 2t was a splendid example of positive feedbac# in a high-gain loop% 3ithin seconds, the, were both laughing uncontrollabl,% 'he crisis was over% 3hat was more, the, had ta#en the first step toward genuine friendship% 'he, had exchanged vulnerabilities%

/) &Dais,, Dais,%%%&

'he sphere of consciousness in which he was embedded enclosed the whole of 1upiter&s diamond core% e was diml, aware, at the limits of his new comprehension, that ever, aspect of the environment around him was being probed and anal,sed% 2mmense <uantities of data were being gathered, not merel, for storage and contemplation, but for action% Complex plans were being considered and evaluated= decisions were being made that might affect the destin, of worlds% e was not ,et part of the process= but he

would be%

$+3 >+" AR7 ?7G2$$2$G '+ "$D7R!'A$D%

2t was the first direct message% 'hough it was remote and distant, li#e a voice through a cloud, it was unmista#abl, intended for him% ?efore he could as# an, of the m,riad <uestions that raced through his mind, there was a sense of withdrawal, and once more he was alone% ?ut onl, for a moment% Closer and clearer came another thought, and for the first time he realiDed that more than one entit, was controlling and manipulating him% e was involved in a hierarch, of intelligences, some close enough to his own primitive level to act as interpreters% +r perhaps the, were all aspects of a single being% +r perhaps the distinction was totall, meaningless% +f one thing, however, he was now sure% e was being used as a tool, and a good tool had to be sharpened, modified - adapted% And the ver, best tools were those that understood what the, were doing% e was learning that now% 2t was a vast and awesome concept, and he was privileged to be a part of it - even though he was aware of onl, the merest outlines% e had no choice but to obe,, ,et that did not mean that he must ac<uiesce to ever, detail, at least without a protest% e had not ,et lost all his human feeling= that would have made him valueless% 'he soul of David ?owman had passed be,ond love, but it could still #now compassion for those who had once been his colleagues% 87R> 37LL came the answer to his plea% e could not tell whether the thought conve,ed an amused condescension, or total indifference% ?ut there was no doubt of its ma4estic authorit, as it continued: ' 7> ;"!' $787R :$+3 ' A' ' 7> AR7 ?72$G ;A$2C"LA'7D% ' A' 3+"LD R"2$ ' 7 C"RC+!7 +@ ' 7 7JC7R2;7$'% 'hen there was a silence that he did not wish to breach again% e was still awed and sha#en - as if, for a moment, he had heard the clear voice of God% $ow he was moving purel, under his own volition, toward a destination he had chosen himself% 'he cr,stal heart of 1upiter fell below= the la,ers

upon la,ers of helium and h,drogen and carbonaceous compounds flic#ered past% e had a glimpse of a great battle between something li#e a 4ell,fish, fift, #ilometres across, and a swarm of spinning dis#s that moved more swiftl, than an,thing he had ,et seen in the 1ovian s#ies% 'he 4ell,fish appeared to be defending itself with chemical weapons= from time to time it would emit 4ets of coloured gas and the dis#s touched b, the vapour would start to wobble drun#enl,, then slip downward li#e falling leaves until the, had disappeared from sight% e did not stop to watch the outcome= he #new that it did not matter who were the victors and who the van<uished% As a salmon leaps a waterfall, he flashed in seconds from 1upiter to 2o, against the descending electric currents of the flux-tube% 2t was <uiescent that da,= onl, the power of a few terrestrial thunderstorms was flowing between planet and satellite% 'he gatewa, through which he had returned still floated in that current, shouldering it aside as it had done since the dawn of man% And there, utterl, dwarfed b, the monument of a greater technolog,, was the vessel that had brought him from the little world of his birth% ow simple - how crudeH - it now appeared% 3ith a single scan, he could see innumerable flaws and absurdities in its design, as well as that of the slightl, less primitive ship to which it was now coupled b, a flexible, airtight tube% 2t was hard to focus upon the handful of entities inhabiting the two ships= he could barel, interact with the soft creatures of flesh and blood who drifted li#e ghosts through the metal corridors and cabins% @or their part, the, were totall, unaware of his presence, and he #new better than to reveal himself too abruptl,% ?ut there was someone with whom he could communicate in a mutual language of electric field and currents, millions of times more swiftl, than with sluggish organic brains% 7ven if he had been capable of resentment, he would have felt none toward al= he understood, then, that the computer had onl, chosen what seemed to be the most logical course of behaviour% 2t was time to resume a conversation that had been interrupted, it seemed, onl, moments ago% &+pen the Cod ?a, door, al%&

&2&m sorr,, Dave - 2 can&t do that%&

&3hat&s the problem,

alE&

&2 thin# ,ou #now that as well as 2 do, Dave% 'his mission is much too important for ,ou to 4eopardiDe it%& &2 don&t #now what ,ou are tal#ing about% +pen the Cod ?a, door%& &'his conversation can serve no further useful purpose% Goodb,e, Dave%& e saw @ran# Coole&s bod, go drifting off toward 1upiter, as he abandoned his pointless mission of retrieval% !till remembering his anger at himself for having forgotten his helmet, he watched the emergenc, hatch open, felt the tingling of vacuum on the s#in he no longer possessed, heard his ears pop - then #new, as few men had ever #nown, &the utter silence of space% @or an eternal fifteen seconds he fought to close the hatch and start the repressuriDation se<uence, while tr,ing to ignore the warning s,mptoms pouring into his brain% +nce, in the school lab, he had spilled some ether on his hand and felt the touch of ic, cold as the li<uid swiftl, evaporated% $ow his e,es and lips remembered that sensation as their moisture boiled off into vacuum= his vision was blurred and he had to #eep blin#ing lest his e,eballs freeDe solid% 'hen - what blessed reliefH - he heard the roar of air, felt the restoration of pressure, was able to breathe again in great, hungr, gasps% &1ust what do ,ou thin# ,ou are doing, DaveE& e had not answered, as he drove with grim determination along the tunnel leading to the sealed vault that housed the brain of the computer% al had spo#en trul,: &'his conversation can no longer serve an, useful purpose%%%&

&Dave - 2 reall, thin# 2&m entitled to an answer to that <uestion%&

&Dave - 2 can see ,ou&re reall, upset about this% 2 honestl, thin# ,ou ought to sit down calml,, ta#e a stress pill, and thin# things over%&

&2 #now 2&ve made some ver, poor decisions recentl,, but 2 can give m, complete assurance that m, wor# will be bac# to normal, 2&ve still got the greatest confidence in the mission%%% and 2 want to help ,ou%&

$ow he was in the little red-lit chamber, with its neatl, ranged rows and columns of solid-state units, loo#ing rather li#e a ban#&s safe-deposit vault% e released the loc#ing bar on the section labelled C+G$2'287 @77D?AC: and pulled out the first memor, bloc#% 'he marvellousl, complex three-dimensional networ#, which could lie comfortabl, in a man&s hand ,et contained millions of elements, floated awa, across the vault% &!top, will ,ou - stop, Dave%%%& e began to pull out, one b, one, the little units on the panel mar#ed 7G+ R72$@+RC7;7$'% 7ach bloc# continued to sail onward as soon as it had left his hand, until it hit the wall and rebounded% !oon there were several drifting slowl, bac# and forth in the vault% &!top - Dave%%% will ,ou stop, Dave%& A doDen units had been pulled out, ,et than#s to the multiple redundanc, of its design - another feature that had been copied from the human brain - the computer was still holding its own% e started on the A"'+-2$'7LL7C'2+$ panel%%% &!top, Dave - 2&m afraid%%%& And at these words he had indeed stopped - though onl, for a moment% 'here was a poignanc, in that simple phrase that struc# to his heart% Could it be onl, an illusion, or some tric# of subtle programming - or was there a sense in which al reall, was afraidE ?ut this was no time to indulge in philosophical hair-splitting% &Dave - m, mind is going% 2 can feel it% 2 can feel it% ;, mind is going% 2 can feel it% 2 can feel it%& $ow, what did &feel& reall, mean to a computerE Another ver, good <uestion, but hardl, one to be considered at that particular moment% 'hen, abruptl,, the tempo of al&s voice changed, and it became remote, detached% 'he computer was no longer aware of him= it was beginning to regress to its earlier da,s% &Good afternoon, gentlemen% 2 am a AL -))) computer% 2 became operational at the al plant in "rbana, 2llinois, on the twelfth of 1anuar, *--(% ;, instructor was Dr Chandra, and he taught me to sing a

song% 2f ,ou&d li#e to hear it, 2 can sing it for ,ou%%% 2t&s called GDais,, Dais,%%%G&

/* Grave,ard !hift

@lo,d could do little except to #eep out of the wa,, and he was becoming fairl, adept at it% Although he had volunteered to help with an, chores around the ship, he had <uic#l, discovered that all the engineering tas#s were much too specialiDed, and he was now so out of touch with the frontiers of astronomical research that he could do little to assist 8asili with his observations% $evertheless, there were endless small 4obs to be done aboard Leonov and Discover,, and he was happ, to relieve more important people of those responsibilities% Dr e,wood @lo,d, one-time Chairman of the $ational Council on Astronautics and Chancellor 5on leave6 of the "niversit, of awaii, now claimed to be the highest-paid plumber and general maintenance man in the !olar !,stem% e probabl, #new more about the odd noo#s and crannies on both ships than an,one else= the onl, places he had never been were the dangerousl, radioactive power modules and the small cubicle aboard Leonov which no one except 'an,a ever entered% @lo,d assumed that it was the code room= b, mutual agreement it was never mentioned% Cerhaps his most useful function was to serve as watch while the rest of the crew slept during the nominal (())-).)) hour night% !omeone was alwa,s on dut, aboard each ship, and the changeover too# place at the ghastl, hour of )())% +nl, the captain was exempt from that routine= as her $umber 'wo 5not to mention her husband6, 8asili had the responsibilit, for wor#ing out the watch roster, but he had s#ilfull, foisted this unpopular 4ob on @lo,d% &2t&s 4ust an administrative detail,& he explained airil,% &2f ,ou can ta#e it over, 2&d be ver, grateful - it would leave me more time for m, scientific wor#%& @lo,d was too experienced a bureaucrat to be caught that wa,, in normal circumstances= but his usual defences did not alwa,s function well in that environment% !o there he was aboard Discover, at ship&s midnight, calling ;ax on Leonov ever, half hour to chec# that he was awa#e% 'he official penalt, for sleeping on dut,, so 3alter Curnow maintained, was e4ection through

the airloc# sans suit= had this been enforced, 'an,a would have been sadl, short-handed b, then% ?ut so few real emergencies could arise in space, and there were so man, automatic alarms to deal with them, that no one too# watch dut, ver, seriousl,% !ince he was no longer feeling <uite so sorr, for himself, and the small hours no longer encouraged bouts of self-pit,, @lo,d was once again using his watch time profitabl,% 'here were alwa,s boo#s to be read 5he had abandoned Remembrance of 'hings Cast for the third time, Dr Bhivago for the second6, technical papers to be studied, reports to be written% And sometimes he would have stimulating conversations with al using the #e,board input because the computer&s voice recognition was still erratic% 'he, usuall, went something li#e:

al - this is Dr @lo,d%

G++D 787$2$G, D+C'+R%

2&m ta#ing over watch at (())% 2s ever,thing o#a,E

787R>' 2$G 2! @2$7, D+C'+R

'hen wh, is that red light flashing on Canel FE

' 7 ;+$2'+R CA;7RA 2$ ' 7 C+D ?A> 2! @A"L'>% 3AL'7R '+LD ;7 '+ 2G$+R7 2'% ' 7R7 2! $+ 3A> 2$ 3 2C 2 CA$ !32'C 2' +@@% 2&; !+RR>%

'hat&s <uite o#a,,

al% 'han# ,ou%

>+"&R7 37LC+;7, D+C'+R%

And so on% !ometimes al would suggest a game of chess, presumabl, obe,ing a programming instruction set long ago and never cancelled% @lo,d would not accept the challenge= he had alwa,s regarded chess as a frightful waste of time, and had never even learned the rules of the game% al seemed unable to believe that there were humans who couldn&t - or wouldn&t - pla, chess, and #ept on tr,ing hopefull,% ere we go again, thought @lo,d, when a faint chime sounded from the displa, panel%

D+C'+R @L+>DE

3hat is it,

alE

' 7R7 2! A ;7!!AG7 @+R >+"%

!o it isn&t another challenge, thought @lo,d with mild surprise% 2t was unusual to emplo, al as a messenger bo,, though he was fre<uentl, used as an alarm cloc# and a reminder of 4obs to be done% And sometimes he was the medium for little 4o#es= almost ever,one on night dut, had been taunted b,

A CA"G ' >+" !L77C2$GH

or alternativel,

+G+H BA!'AL '7?>A 8 :R+8A'2H

$o one ever claimed responsibilit, for these pran#s, though 3alter Curnow was a prime suspect% e in turn had blamed al, pooh-poohing Chandra&s indignant protests that the computer had no sense of humour% 2t could not be a message from 7arth - that would have gone through Leonov&s communication centre and been rela,ed on b, the dut, officer there - at that moment, ;ax ?railovs#,% And an,one else calling from the other ship would use the intercom% +dd%%%

+#a,,

al% 3ho is callingE

$+ 2D7$'2@2CA'2+$%

!o it probabl, was a 4o#e% 3ell, two could pla, at that game%

8er, well% Clease give me the message%

;7!!AG7 A! @+LL+3!% 2' 2! DA$G7R+"! '+ R7;A2$ ;"!' L7A87 32' 2$ @2@'77$ R7C7A' @2@'77$ DA>!%

7R7% >+"

@lo,d loo#ed at the screen with anno,ance% e felt sorr,, and surprised, that an, one of the crew had such a childish sense of humour= this was not even a good schoolbo, 4o#e% ?ut he would pla, along with it in the hope of catching the perpetrator%

'hat is absolutel, impossible% +ur launch window does not open until twent,-six da,s from now% 3e do not have sufficient propellant for an earlier departure%

'hat will ma#e him thin#, @lo,d muttered to himself with satisfaction, and leaned bac# to await the results%

2 A; A3AR7 +@ ' 7!7 @AC'!% $787R' 7L7!! >+" ;"!' L7A87 32' 2$ @2@'77$ DA>!%

+therwise, 2 suppose, we&ll be attac#ed b, little green aliens with three e,es% ?ut 2&d better pla, along with al, in the hope of catching the pran#ster%

2 cannot ta#e this warning seriousl, unless 2 #now its origin% 3ho recorded itE

e did not reall, expect an, useful information% 'he perpetrator would have covered his 5herE6 trac#s too s#ilfull, for that% 'he ver, last thing @lo,d expected was the answer he did get%

' 2! 2! $+' A R7C+RD2$G%

!o it was a real-time message% 'hat meant it was either from al himself or someone aboard Leonov% 'here was no perceptible time lag= the origin had to be right there%

'hen who is spea#ing to meE

2 3A! DA82D ?+3;A$%

@lo,d stared at the screen for a long time before ma#ing his next

move% 'he 4o#e, which had never been funn, in the first place, had now gone too far% 2t was in the worst possible taste% 3ell, this should fix whoever was at the other end of the line%

2 cannot accept that identification without some proof%

2 "$D7R!'A$D% 2' 2! 2;C+R'A$' ' A' >+" ?7L2787 ;7% L++: ?7 2$D >+"%

7ven before that last chilling sentence appeared on the screen, @lo,d had begun to doubt his h,pothesis% 'he whole exchange had become ver, odd, though there was nothing definite on which he could put his finger% As a 4o#e, it had become totall, pointless% And now - he felt a pric#ling in the small of his bac#% 8er, slowl, indeed, reluctantl, - he swung his swivel chair around, awa, from the ban#ed panels and switches of the computer displa,, toward the 8elcro-covered catwal# behind% 'he Dero-gravit, environment of Discover,&s observation dec# was alwa,s dust,, for the air-filtration plant had never been brought bac# to full efficienc,% 'he parallel ra,s of the heatless ,et still brilliant sun, streaming through the great windows, alwa,s lit up m,riads of dancing motes, drifting in stra, currents and never settling an,where - a permanent displa, of ?rownian movement% $ow something strange was happening to those particles of dust= some force seemed to be marshalling them, herding them awa, from a central point ,et bringing others toward it, until the, all met on the surface of a hollow sphere% 'hat sphere, about a metre across, hovered in the air for a moment li#e a giant soap bubble - but a granular one, lac#ing a bubble&s characteristic iridescence% 'hen it elongated into an ellipsoid, its surface began to puc#er, to form folds and indentations% 3ithout surprise - and almost without fear - @lo,d realiDed that it was assuming the shape of a man% e had seen such figures, blown out of glass, in museums and science exhibitions% ?ut this dust, phantom did not even approximate anatomical accurac,= it was li#e a crude cla, figurine, or one of the primitive wor#s of art found in the recesses of a !tone Age cave% +nl, the head was

fashioned with an, care= and the face, undoubtedl,, was that of Commander David ?owman% 'here was a faint murmur of white noise from the computer panel behind @lo,d&s bac#% al was switching from visual to audio output% & ello, Dr @lo,d% $ow do ,ou believe meE& 'he lips of the figure never moved= the face remained a mas#% ?ut @lo,d recogniDed the voice, and all remaining doubts were swept awa,% &'his is ver, difficult for me, and 2 have little time% 2 have been%%% allowed to give this warning% >ou have onl, fifteen da,s%& &?ut wh, - and what are ,ouE 3here have ,ou beenE& 'here were a million <uestions he wanted to as# - ,et the ghostl, figure was alread, fading, its grain, envelope beginning to dissolve bac# into the constituent particles of dust% @lo,d tried to freeDe the image in his mind, so that later he could convince himself that it was reall, happening - and not a dream as that first encounter with ';A-* now sometimes seemed to be% ow strange, that he, out of all the billions of humans who had ever lived on planet 7arth, had been privileged to ma#e contact not once but twice with another form of intelligenceH @or he #new that the entit, addressing him must be something far more than David ?owman% 2t was also something less% +nl, the e,es - who had once called them the &windows of the soul&E - had been accuratel, reproduced% 'he rest of the bod, was a featureless blan#, lac#ing all detail% 'here was no hint of genitals or sexual characteristics= that in itself was a chilling indication of how far David ?owman had left his human heritage behind% &Goodb,e, Dr @lo,d% Remember - fifteen da,s% 3e can have no further contact% ?ut there ma, be one more message, if all goes well%& 7ven as the image dissolved, ta#ing with it his hopes of opening up a channel to the stars, @lo,d could not help smiling at that old !pace Age clichN% &2f all goes well& - how man, times had he heard that phrase before some missionH And did it mean that the, - whoever the, might be were also sometimes uncertain of the outcomeE 2f so, that was strangel, reassuring% 'he, were not omnipotent% +thers might still hope and dream and act% 'he phantom was gone= onl, the motes of dancing dust were left, resuming their random patterns in the air%

82 D78+"R7R +@ 3+RLD!

/( 'he Ghost in the ;achine

&2&m sorr,, e,wood - 2 don&t believe in ghosts% 'here must be a rational explanation% 'here&s nothing that the human mind can&t account for%& &2 agree, 'an,a% ?ut let me remind ,ou of aldane&s famous remar#: 'he "niverse is not onl, stranger than we imagine - but stranger than we can imagine%& &And aldane,& Curnow inter4ected mischievousl,, &was a good Communist%&

&Cerhaps so, but that particular sa,ing can be used to support all #inds of m,stical nonsense% al&s behaviour must be the result of some #ind of programming% 'he personalit, he created has to be an artifact of some #ind% Don&t ,ou agree, ChandraE& 'hat was waving a red flag in front of a bull= 'an,a had to be desperate% owever, Chandra&s reaction was surprisingl, mild, even for him% e seemed to be preoccupied, as if he was indeed seriousl, considering the possibilit, of another computer malfunction% &'here must have been some external input, Captain +rlova% al could not have created such a self-consistent audiovisual illusion out of nothing% 2f Dr @lo,d is reporting accuratel,, someone was in control% And in real time, of course, since there was no dela, in the conversation%& &'hat ma#es me number-one suspect,& exclaimed ;ax% &2 was the onl, other person awa#e%& &Don&t be ridiculous, ;ax,& retorted $i#olai% &'he audio side would have been eas,, but there&s no wa, that apparition could have been arranged, without some ver, elaborate e<uipment% Laser beams, electrostatic fields - 2 don&t #now% ;a,be a stage magician could do it,

but he&d need a truc#-load of props%& &1ust a momentH& said Benia brightl,% &2f this reall, happened, surel, al will remember and ,ou could as#%%%& er voice died awa, as she saw the glum expressions around her% @lo,d was the first to ta#e pit, on her embarrassment% &3e tried that, Benia= he has absolutel, no recollection of the phenomenon% ?ut as 2&ve alread, pointed out to the others, that doesn&t prove an,thing% Chandra&s shown how al&s memories can be selectivel, erased - and the auxiliar, speech-s,nthesiDer modules have nothing to do with the mainframe% 'he, could be operated without al #nowing an,thing about it%%%& e paused for breath, then launched his pre-emptive stri#e% &2 admit that this doesn&t leave man, alternatives% 7ither 2 was imagining the whole thing, or it reall, happened% 2 #now it wasn&t a dream, but 2 can&t be sure it wasn&t some #ind of hallucination% ?ut :aterina&s seen m, medical reports - she #nows 2 wouldn&t be here if 2 had that sort of problem% !till, it can&t be ruled out - and 2 won&t blame an,one for ma#ing it their number-one h,pothesis% 2&d probabl, do the same% &'he onl, wa, 2 can prove it wasn&t a dream is to get some supporting evidence% !o let me remind ,ou of the other strange things that have happened recentl,% 3e #now that Dave ?owman went into ?ig ?ro - Bagad#a% !omething came out, and headed for 7arth% 8asili saw it - 2 didn&tH 'hen there was the m,sterious explosion of ,our orbiting bomb -, &>ours%& &!orr, - the 8atican&s, And it does seem rather curious that soon afterward old ;rs ?owman died ver, peacefull,, for no apparent medical reason% 2&m not sa,ing there&s an, connection, but - well, do ,ou #now the sa,ing: +nce is an accident= twice is a coincidence= three times is a conspirac,%& &And there&s something else,& ;ax inter4ected with sudden excitement, &2 caught it on one of the dail, newscasts - it was onl, a small item% An old girlfriend of Commander ?owman&s claimed she&d had a message from him%& &>es - 2 saw the same report,& confirmed !asha% &And ,ou never mentioned itE& @lo,d as#ed incredulousl,% ?oth men loo#ed slightl, abashed%

&3ell, it was treated as a 4o#e,& said ;ax sheepishl,% &'he woman&s husband reported it% 'hen she denied it - 2 thin#%& &'he commentator said it was a publicit, stunt - li#e the rash of "@+ sightings around the same time% 'here were doDens in that first wee#= then the, stopped reporting them%& &Cerhaps some of them were real% 2f it&s not been wiped, could ,ou dig that item out of ship&s archives, or as# for a repeat from ;ission ControlE& &A hundred tales won&t convince me,& scoffed 'an,a% &3hat we need is solid proof%& &!uch asE& &+h - something that al couldn&t possibl, #now, and that none of us could have told him% !ome ph,sical - er, manifes%%% manifestation%& &A good, old-fashioned miracleE& &>es, 2&d settle for that% ;eanwhile, 2&m not sa,ing an,thing to ;ission Control% And 2 suggest ,ou do the same, e,wood%& @lo,d #new a direct order when he heard it, and nodded in wr, agreement% &2&ll be more than happ, to go along with that% ?ut 2&d li#e to ma#e one suggestion%& &>esE& &3e should start contingenc, planning% Let&s assume that this warning is valid - as 2 certainl, do%& &3hat can we do about itE Absolutel, nothing% +f course, we can leave 1upiter space an,time we li#e - but we can&t get into an 7arth-return orbit until the launch window opens%& &'hat&s eleven da,s after the deadlineH& &>es% 2&d be happ, to get awa, sooner= but we don&t have the fuel for a higher-energ, orbit%%%& 'an,a&s voice trailed awa, into uncharacteristic indecision% &2 was going to announce this later, but now that the sub4ect has come up%%%& 'here was a simultaneous inta#e of breath, and an instant hush from the audience%

&2&d li#e to dela, our departure five da,s, to ma#e our orbit closer to the ideal ohmann one and give us a better fuel reserve%& 'he announcement was not unexpected, but it was greeted with a chorus of groans% &3hat will that do to our arrival timeE& as#ed :aterina, in a slightl, ominous tone of voice% 'he two formidable ladies regarded each other for a moment li#e well-matched adversaries, respectful of each other but neither willing to give ground% &'en da,s,& 'an,a answered at last% &?etter late than never,& said ;ax cheerfull,, tr,ing to ease the tension, and not succeeding ver, well% @lo,d hardl, noticed= he was lost in his own thoughts% 'he duration of the trip would ma#e no difference to him and his two colleagues, in their dreamless sleep% ?ut that was now completel, unimportant% e felt certain - and the #nowledge filled him with helpless despair that if the, did not leave before that m,sterious deadline, the, would not leave at all%

&%%% 'his is an incredible situation, Dimitri, and a ver, frightening one% >ou&re the onl, person on 7arth who #nows about it - but ver, soon 'an,a and 2 will have to have a showdown with ;ission Control% &7ven some of ,our materialistic countr,men are prepared to accept at least as a wor#ing h,pothesis - that some entit, has - well, invaded al% !asha has dug up a good phrase: G'he Ghost in the ;achineG% &'heories abound= 8asili produces a new one ever, da,% ;ost of them are variations on that old science-fiction clichN, the organiDed energ, field% ?ut what #ind of energ,E 2t can&t be electrical, or our instruments would have detected it easil,% 'he same thing applies to radiation - at least all the #inds we #now% 8asili&s getting reall, far-out, tal#ing about standing waves of neutrinos and intersections with higher-dimensional space% 'an,a sa,s this is all m,stical nonsense - a favourite phrase of hers - and the,&ve come closer to a fight than we&ve ever seen them% 3e actuall, heard them shouting at each other last night% $ot good for morale% &2&m afraid we&re all tense and overwrought% 'his warning, and the

dela,ed departure date, has added to the sense of frustration caused b, our total failure to get an,where with ?ig ?rother% 2t would have helped ma,be - if 2 could have communicated with the ?owman thing% 2 wonder where it&s goneE Cerhaps it simpl, wasn&t interested in us after that one encounter% 3hat it could have told us, if it wanted toH ell and ch,ort voDmiH Damn - 2&m tal#ing !asha&s hated Russlish again% Let&s change the sub4ect% &2 can&t than# ,ou too much for ever,thing ,ou&ve done, and for reporting on the situation at home% 2 feel slightl, better about it now having something even bigger to worr, about is perhaps the best cure for an, insoluble problem% &@or the first time, 2&m beginning to wonder if an, of us will ever see 7arth again%&

/A 'hought 7xperiment

3hen one spends months with a small, isolated group of people, one becomes ver, sensitive to the moods and emotional states of all its members% @lo,d was now aware of a subtle change in attitude toward him= its most obvious manifestation was the reappearance of the greeting &Dr @lo,d&, which he had not heard for so long that he was often slow to respond to it% $o one, he was sure, believed that he had reall, gone craD,= but the possibilit, was being considered% e did not resent that= indeed, he was griml, amused b, it as he set about the tas# of proving his sanit,% e did have some slight supporting evidence from 7arth% 1osN @ernandeD still maintained that his wife had reported an encounter with David ?owman, while she continued to den, it and refused to spea# to an, of the news media% 2t was hard to see wh, poor 1osN should have invented such a peculiar stor,, especiall, as ?ett, seemed a ver, stubborn and <uic#-tempered lad,% @rom his hospital bed, her husband declared that he still loved her and theirs was onl, a temporar, disagreement% @lo,d hoped that 'an,a&s present coolness toward him was e<uall, temporar,% e was <uite sure that she was as unhapp, about it as he was, and he was certain that her attitude was not a matter of deliberate choice% !omething had happened that simpl, would not fit into her pattern

of beliefs, so she would tr, to avoid an, reminders of it% 3hich meant having as little to do with @lo,d as possible - a ver, unfortunate situation now that the most critical stage of the mission was fast approaching% 2t had not been eas, to explain the logic of 'an,a&s operational plan to the waiting billions bac# on 7arth - especiall, to the impatient television networ#s, which had grown tired of showing the same never-changing views of ?ig ?rother% &>ou&ve gone all this wa,, at enormous cost, and ,ou 4ust sit and watch the thingH 3h, don&t ,ou do somethingE& 'o all these critics 'an,a had given the same answer: &2 will - 4ust as soon as the launch window opens, so that we can leave immediatel, if there&s an, adverse reaction%& Clans for the final assault on ?ig ?rother had alread, been wor#ed out and agreed upon with ;ission Control% Leonov would move in slowl,, probing at all fre<uencies, and with steadil, increasing power - constantl, reporting bac# to 7arth at ever, moment% 3hen final contact was made, the, would tr, to secure samples b, drilling or laser spectroscop,= no one reall, expected these endeavours to succeed, as even after a decade of stud, ';A-* resisted all attempts to anal,se its material% 'he best efforts of human scientists in this direction seemed comparable to those of !tone Age men tr,ing to brea# through the armour of a ban# vault with flint axes% @inall,, echo sounders and other seismic devices would be attached to the faces of ?ig ?rother% A large collection of adhesives had been brought along for the purpose, and if the, did not wor# - well, one could alwa,s fall bac# on a few #ilometres of good, old-fashioned string, even though there seemed something faintl, comic about the idea of wrapping up the !olar !,stem&s greatest m,ster,, as if it were a parcel about to be sent through the mail% $ot until Leonov was well on the wa, home would small explosive charges be detonated, in the hope that the waves propagated through ?ig ?rother would reveal something about its interior structure% 'his last measure had been hotl, debated, both b, those who argued that it would generate no results at all - and those who feared it would produce altogether too man,% @or a long time, @lo,d had wavered between the two viewpoints= now the matter seemed onl, of trivial importance% 'he time for final contact with ?ig ?rother - the great moment that should have been the climax of the expedition - was on the wrong side of the m,sterious deadline% e,wood @lo,d was convinced that it belonged to a future that would never exist= but he could get no one to agree with him%

And that was the least of his problems% 7ven if the, did agree, there was nothing that the, could do about it% 3alter Curnow was the last person he would have expected to resolve the dilemma% @or 3alter was almost the epitome of the sound, practical engineer, suspicious of flashes of brilliance and technological <uic#-fixes% $o one would ever accuse him of being a genius= and sometimes it re<uired genius to see the blindingl, obvious% &Consider this purel, as an intellectual exercise,& he had begun, with most uncharacteristic hesitanc,% &2&m <uite prepared to be shot down%& &Go on,& answered @lo,d% &2&ll hear ,ou out politel,% 'hat&s the least 2 can do - ever,one&s been ver, polite to me% 'oo polite, 2&m afraid%& Curnow gave a lopsided grin% &Can ,ou blame themE ?ut if it&s an, consolation, at least three people now ta#e ,ou <uite seriousl,, and are wondering what we should do%& &Does that three include ,ouE& &$o= 2&m sitting on the fence, which is never terribl, comfortable% ?ut in case ,ou&re right - 2 don&t want to wait here and ta#e whatever&s coming% 2 believe there&s an answer to ever, problem, if ,ou loo# in the right place%& &2&ll be delighted to hear it% 2&ve been loo#ing hard enough% Cresumabl, not in the right place%& &Cerhaps% 2f we want to ma#e a <uic# getawa, - sa, in fifteen da,s, to beat that deadline - we&ll need an extra delta-vee of about thirt, #ilometres a second%& &!o 8asili calculates% 2 haven&t bothered to chec#, but 2&m sure he&s right% After all, he got us here%& &And he could get us awa, - if we had the additional propellant%& &And if we had a !tar 're# beam transporter, we could get bac# to 7arth in an hour%& &2&ll tr, and rig one up the next time 2 have a spare moment% ?ut meanwhile, ma, 2 point out that we have several hundred tons of the best possible propellant, onl, a few metres awa, in Discover,&s fuel tan#s%&

&3e&ve been through that doDens of times% 'here&s absolutel, no wa, of transferring it to Leonov% 3e&ve no pipelines - no suitable pumps% And ,ou can&t carr, li<uid ammonia around in buc#ets, even in this part of the !olar !,stem%& &7xactl,% ?ut there&s no need to do so%& &7hE& &?urn it right where it is% "se Discover, as a first stage, to boost us home%& 2f an,one except 3alter Curnow had made the suggestion, @lo,d would have laughed at him% As it was, his mouth dropped open and it was several seconds before he could thin# of a suitable comment% 3hat finall, emerged was: &Damn% 2 should have thought of that%& !asha was the first the, approached% e listened patientl,, pursed his lips, then pla,ed a rallentando on his computer #e,board% 3hen the answers flashed up, he nodded thoughtfull,% &>ou&re right% 2t would give us the extra velocit, we need to leave earl,% ?ut there are practical problems -& &3e #now% @astening the ships together% 'he off-axis thrust when onl, Discover,&s drive is operating% Cutting loose again at the critical moment% ?ut there are answers to all of these%& &2 see ,ou&ve been doing ,our homewor#% ?ut it&s a waste of time% >ou&ll never convince 'an,a%& &2 don&t expect to - at this stage,& @lo,d answered% &?ut 2&d li#e her to #now that the possibilit, exists% 3ill ,ou give us moral supportE& &2&m not sure% ?ut 2&ll come along to watch= it should be interesting%& 'an,a listened more patientl, than @lo,d had expected, but with distinct lac# of enthusiasm% owever, b, the time he had finished, she showed what could onl, be called reluctant admiration% &8er, ingenious, e,wood -,

&Don&t congratulate me% All the credit should go to 3alter% +r the blame%& &2 don&t imagine there will be much of either= it can never be more than a - what did 7instein call that sort of thingE - Gthought experimentG% +h, 2 suspect it would wor# - in theor,, at least% ?ut the

ris#sH !o man, things could go wrong% 2&d onl, be prepared to consider it if we had absolute and positive proof that we were in danger% And with all respect, e,wood, 2 see not the slightest evidence of that%& &@air enough= but at least ,ou now #now that we have another option% Do ,ou mind if we wor# out the practical details - 4ust in caseE& &+f course not - as long as it doesn&t interfere with the preflight chec#out% 2 don&t mind admitting that the idea does intrigue me% ?ut it&s reall, a waste of time= there&s no wa, 2&d ever approve it% "nless David ?owman appeared to me personall,%& &3ould ,ou even then, 'an,aE& Captain +rlova smiled, but without much humour% &>ou #now, 2&m reall, not sure% e&d have to be ver, persuasive%& e,wood -

// 8anishing 'ric#

2t was a fascinating game in which ever,one 4oined - but onl, when off dut,% 7ven 'an,a contributed ideas to the &thought experiment&, as she continued to call it% @lo,d was perfectl, well aware that all the activit, was generated not b, fear of an un#nown danger that onl, he too# seriousl,, but b, the delightful prospect of returning to 7arth at least a month earlier than an,one had imagined% 3hatever the motive, he was satisfied% e had done his best, and the rest was up to the @ates% 'here was one piece of luc#, without which the whole pro4ect would have been stillborn% 'he short, stubb, Leonov, designed to drill safel, through the 1ovian atmosphere during the bra#ing manoeuvre, was less than half the length of Discover, and so could be neatl, pigg,bac#ed on the larger vessel, And the midships antenna mount would provide an excellent anchor point - assuming that it was strong enough to ta#e the strain of Leonov&s weight while Discover,&s drive was operating% ;ission Control was sorel, puDDled b, some of the re<uests flashed bac# to 7arth during the next few& da,s% !tress anal,ses of both ships, under peculiar loads= effects of off-axis thrusts= location of unusuall, strong or wea# points in the hulls - these were onl, some of the more

esoteric problems the perplexed engineers were as#ed to tac#le% & as something gone wrongE& the, in<uired anxiousl,% &$ot at all,& 'an,a replied% &3e&re merel, investigating possible options% 'han# ,ou for ,our cooperation% 7nd of transmission%& ;eanwhile, the programme went ahead as planned% All s,stems were carefull, chec#ed in both ships, and readied for the separate vo,ages home= 8asili ran simulations on return tra4ectories and Chandra fed them to al when the, had been debugged - getting al to ma#e a final chec# in the process% And 'an,a and @lo,d wor#ed amicabl, together orchestrating the approach to ?ig ?rother li#e generals planning an invasion% 2t was what he had come all the wa, to do, ,et @lo,d&s heart was no longer in it% e had undergone an experience he could share with no one even those who believed him% 'hough he carried out his duties efficientl,, much of the time his mind was elsewhere% 'an,a understood perfectl,% &>ou&re still hoping for that miracle to convince me, aren&t ,ouE& &+r deconvince me - that would be e<uall, acceptable% 2t&s the uncertaint, that 2 disli#e%& &!o do 2% ?ut it won&t be much longer now - one wa, or the other%& !he glanced briefl, toward the situation displa,, where the figure () was slowl, flashing% 2t was the most unnecessar, bit of information in the entire ship, since ever,one #new b, heart the number of da,s until the launch window opened% And the assault on Bagad#a was scheduled%

@or the second time, e,wood @lo,d was loo#ing the other wa, when it happened% ?ut it would have made no difference in an, case= even the vigilant monitor camera showed onl, a faint blur between one full frame and the subse<uent blan# one% +nce more he was on dut, aboard Discover,, sharing the grave,ard shift with !asha over on Leonov% As usual, the night had been totall, uneventful= the automatic s,stems were performing their 4obs with their normal efficienc,% @lo,d would never have believed, a ,ear ago, that he would one da, orbit 1upiter at a distance of a few hundred thousand #ilometres and give it barel, a glance - while tr,ing= not ver,

successfull,, to read 'he :reutDer !onata in the original% According to !asha, it was still the finest piece of erotic fiction in 5respectable6 Russian literature, but @lo,d had not ,et progressed far enough to prove that% And now he never would% At )*(F he was distracted b, a spectacular, though not unusual, eruption on the terminator of 2o% A vast umbrella-shaped cloud expanded into space, and started to shower its debris bac# on to the burning land below% @lo,d had seen doDens of such eruptions, but the, never ceased to fascinate him% 2t seemed incredible that so small a world could be the seat of such titanic energies% 'o get a better view, he moved around to one of the other observation windows% And what he saw there - or, rather, what he did not see there made him forget about 2o, and almost ever,thing else% 3hen he had recovered, and satisfied himself that he was not suffering - againE - from hallucinations, he called the other ship% &Good morning, 3ood,,& ,awned !asha% &$o - 2 wasn&t asleep% ,ou getting on with old 'olstoiE& &2&m not% 'a#e a loo# outside and tell me what ,ou see%& &$othing unusual, for this part of the cosmos% 2o doing its thing% 1upiter% !tars% +h m, GodH& &'han#s for proving 2&m sane% 3e&d better wa#e the s#ipper%& &+f course% And ever,one else% 3ood, - 2&m scared%& &>ou&d be a fool not to be% ere we go% 'an,aE 'an,aE 3ood, here% !orr, to wa#e ,ou up - but ,our miracle&s happened% ?ig ?rother has gone% >es - vanished% After three million ,ears, he&s decided to leave% &2 thin# he must #now something that we don&t%& 2t was a sombre little group that gathered, during the next fifteen minutes, for a hast, conference in the wardroom-cum-observation lounge% 7ven those who had 4ust gone to sleep were instantl, awa#e, as the, sipped thoughtfull, from bulbs of hot coffee - and #ept glancing at the shoc#ingl, unfamiliar scene outside Leonov&s windows, to convince themselves that ?ig ?rother had indeed vanished% &2t must #now something that we don&t%& 'hat spontaneous phrase of @lo,d&s had been repeated b, !asha and now hung silentl,, ominousl,, in the air% e had summed up what ever,one was now thin#ing - even 'an,a% ow are

2t was still too earl, to sa, &2 told ,ou so& - nor did it reall, matter whether that warning had an, validit,% 7ven if it was perfectl, safe to sta,, there was no point in doing so% 3ith nothing to investigate, the, might as well go home, 4ust as <uic#l, as possible% >et it was not <uite as simple as that% & e,wood,& said 'an,a, &2&m now prepared to ta#e that message, or whatever it was, much more seriousl,% 2&d be stupid not to after what&s happened% ?ut even if there is danger here, we still have to weigh one ris# against another% Coupling Leonov and Discover, together, operating Discover, with that huge off-axis load, disconnecting the ships in a matter of minutes so we can fire our engines at the right moment= no responsible captain would ta#e such chances without ver, good - 2&d sa, overwhelming - reasons% 7ven now, 2 don&t have such reasons% 2&ve onl, got the word of%%% a ghost% $ot ver, good evidence in a court of law%& &+r a court of in<uir,,& said 3alter Curnow, in an unusuall, <uiet voice, &even if we all bac#ed ,ou up%& &>es, 3alter - 2 was thin#ing of that% ?ut if we get home safel,, that will 4ustif, ever,thing - and if we don&t, it hardl, matters, does itE An,wa,, 2&m not going to decide now% As soon as we&ve reported this, 2&m going bac# to bed% 2&ll give ,ou m, decision in the morning after 2&ve slept on it% e,wood, !asha, will ,ou come up to the bridge with meE 3e have to wa#e up ;ission Control, before ,ou go bac# on watch%&

'he night had not ,et finished with its surprises% !omewhere around the orbit of ;ars, 'an,a&s brief report passed a message going in the opposite direction% ?ett, @ernandeD had tal#ed at last, ?oth the C2A and the $ational !ecurit, Agenc, were furious= their combined blandishments, appeals to patriotism, and veiled threats had failed completel, - ,et the producer of a sleaD, gossip networ# had succeeded, thereb, ma#ing himself immortal in the annals of 8ideodom% 2t was half luc#, half inspiration% 'he news director of & ello, 7arthH& had suddenl, realiDed that one of his staff bore a stri#ing li#eness to David ?owman= a clever ma#eup artist had made it perfect% 1osN @ernandeD could have told the ,oung man that he was ta#ing a terrible ris#, but he had the good fortune that often favours the brave% +nce he had got his foot inside the door, ?ett, had capitulated% ?, the time she had - <uite gentl, - thrown him out, he had obtained essentiall, the whole stor,% And to do him credit, he had presented it with a lac# of leering

c,nicism <uite uncharacteristic of his networ#% 2t got him that ,ear&s CulitDer% &2 wish,& @lo,d said rather wearil, to !asha, &she&d tal#ed earlier% 2t would have saved me a lot of trouble% An,wa,, that settles the argument% 'an,a can&t possibl, have an, doubts now% ?ut we&ll leave it until she wa#es up - don&t ,ou agreeE& &+f course - it&s not urgent, even though it&s certainl, important% And she&ll need the sleep% 2 have a feeling none of us will get much from now on%& 2&m sure ,ou&re right, thought @lo,d% e felt ver, tired, but even if he had not been on dut, he would have found it impossible to sleep% is mind was too active, anal,sing the events of this extraordinar, night, tr,ing to anticipate the next surprise% 2n one wa,, he felt an enormous sense of relief: All uncertaint, about their departure was surel, ended= 'an,a could have no further reservations% ?ut a much greater uncertaint, remained% 3hat was happeningE 'here was onl, one experience in @lo,d&s life that matched the situation% As a ver, ,oung man, he had once gone canoeing with some friends down a tributar, of the Colorado River - and the, had lost their wa,% 'he, had been swept faster and faster between the can,on walls, not completel, helpless, but with onl, enough control to avoid being swamped% Ahead might be rapids - perhaps even a waterfall= the, did not #now% And in an, case, there was little the, could do about it% +nce again, @lo,d felt himself in the grip of irresistible forces, sweeping him and his companions toward an un#nown destin,% And this time the dangers were not onl, invisible= the, might be be,ond human comprehension%

/F 7scape ;anoeuvre

&'his is

e,wood @lo,d, ma#ing what 2 suspect - indeed, hope - will be

m, last report from Lagrange% &3e are now preparing for the return home= in a few da,s we will leave this strange place, here on the line between 2o and 1upiter where we made our rendeDvous with the huge, m,steriousl, vanished artifact we christened ?ig ?rother% 'here is still not a single clue as to where it has gone - or wh,% &@or various reasons, it seems desirable for us not to remain here longer than necessar,% And we will be able to leave at least two wee#s earlier than we had originall, planned b, using the American ship Discover, as a booster for the Russian Leonov% &'he basic idea is simple= the two ships will be 4oined together, one mounted pigg,bac# on the other% Discover, will burn all its propellant first, accelerating both vessels in the desired direction% 3hen its fuel is exhausted, it will be cut loose - li#e an empt, first stage - and Leonov will start to fire its engines% 2t won&t use them earlier, because if it did it would waste energ, dragging along the dead weight of Discover,% &And we&re going to use another tric#, which - li#e so man, of the concepts involved in space travel - at first sight seems to def, common sense% Although we&re tr,ing to get awa, from 1upiter, our first move is to get as close to it as we possibl, can% &3e&ve been there once before, of course, when we used 1upiter&s atmosphere to slow us down and get into orbit around the planet% 'his time we won&t go <uite so close - but ver, nearl,% &+ur first burn, up here in the AF),)))-#ilometres-high orbit of 2o, will reduce our velocit,, so that we fall down to 1upiter and 4ust graDe its atmosphere% 'hen, when we&re at the closest possible point, we&ll burn all our fuel as <uic#l, as we can, to increase speed and in4ect Leonov into the orbit bac# to 7arth% &3hat&s the point of such a craD, manoeuvreE 2t can&t be 4ustified except b, highl, complex mathematics, but 2 thin# the basic principle can be made fairl, obvious% &As we allow ourselves to fall into 1upiter&s enormous gravit, field, we&ll gain velocit, - and hence energ,% 3hen 2 sa, GweG, 2 mean the ships and the fuel the, carr,% &And we&re going to burn the fuel right there - at the bottom of 1upiter&s Ggravit, wellG - we&re not going to lift it up again% As we blast it out from our reactors, it will share some of its ac<uired #inetic

energ, with us% 2ndirectl,, we&ll have tapped 1upiter&s gravit,, to speed us on the wa, bac# to 7arth% As we used the atmosphere to get rid of our excess velocit, when we arrived, this is one of the rare cases when ;other $ature - usuall, so frugal - allows us to have it both wa,s% &3ith this triple boost - Discover,&s fuel, its own, and 1upiter&s gravit, - Leonov will head sunward along a h,perbola that will bring it to 7arth five months later% At least two months earlier than we could have managed otherwise% &>ou will doubtless wonder what will happen to the good old Discover,% +bviousl,, we can&t bring it home under automatic control, as we had originall, planned% 3ith no fuel, it will be helpless% &?ut it will be perfectl, safe% 2t will continue to loop round and round 1upiter on a highl, elongated ellipse, li#e a trapped comet% And perhaps one da, some future expedition ma, ma#e another rendeDvous, with enough extra fuel to bring it bac# to 7arth% owever, that certainl, won&t happen for a good man, ,ears% &And now we must get read, for our departure% 'here is still much wor# to be done, and we won&t be able to relax until that final burn starts us on the homeward orbit% &3e won&t be sorr, to leave, even though we&ve not achieved all our ob4ectives% 'he m,ster, - perhaps the threat - of ?ig ?rother&s disappearance still haunts us, but there&s nothing we can do about that% &3e&ve done our best - and we&re coming home% &'his is signing off%& e,wood @lo,d,

'here was a round of ironic clapping from his little audience, whose siDe would be multiplied man, million-fold when the message reached 7arth% &2&m not tal#ing to ,ou,& retorted @lo,d, with slight embarrassment% &2 didn&t want ,ou to hear it, an,wa,%& &>ou did ,our usual competent 4ob, e,wood,& said 'an,a consolingl,% &And 2&m sure we all agree with ever,thing ,ou told the people bac# on 7arth%& &$ot <uite,& said a small voice, so softl, that ever,one had to strain in order to hear it% &'here is still one problem%& 'he observation lounge suddenl, became ver, silent% @or the first time

in wee#s, @lo,d became aware of the faint throbbing from the main air-suppl, duct, and the intermittent buDD that might have been made b, a wasp trapped behind a wall panel% Leonov, li#e all spacecraft, was full of such often inexplicable sounds, which one seldom noticed except when the, stopped% And then it was usuall, a good idea to start investigating without further ado% &2&m not aware of an, problem, Chandra,& said 'an,a in an ominousl, calm voice% &3hat could it possibl, beE& &2&ve spent the last few wee#s preparing al to fl, thousand-da, orbits bac# to 7arth% $ow all those programs will have to be dumped%&

&3e&re sorr, about that,& answered 'an,a, &but as things have turned out, surel, this is a much better -& &'hat&s not what 2 mean,& said Chandra% 'here was a ripple of astonishment= he had never before been #nown to interrupt an,one, least of all 'an,a% &3e #now how sensitive al is to mission ob4ectives,& he continued in the expectant hush that followed% &$ow ,ou are as#ing me to give him a program that ma, result in his own destruction% 2t&s true that the present plan will put Discover, into a stable orbit - but if that warning has an, substance, what will happen to the ship eventuall,E 3e don&t #now, of course - but it&s scared us awa,% ave ,ou considered al&s reaction to this situationE& &Are ,ou seriousl, suggesting,& 'an,a as#ed ver, slowl,, &that refuse to obe, orders - exactl, as on the earlier missionE& &'hat is not what happened last time% conflicting orders%& al ma,

e did his best to interpret

&'his time there need be no conflict% 'he situation is perfectl, clear-cut%& &'o us, perhaps% ?ut one of al&s prime directives is to #eep Discover, out of danger% 3e will be attempting to override that% And in a s,stem as complex as al&s, it is impossible to predict all the conse<uences%& &2 don&t see an, real problem,& !asha inter4ected% &3e 4ust don&t tell him that there is an, danger% 'hen he&ll have no reservations about carr,ing out his program%&

&?ab,-sitting a ps,chotic computerH& muttered Curnow% &2 feel 2&m in a Grade-? science-fiction videodrama%& Dr Chandra gave him an unfriendl, glare% &Chandra,& 'an,a demanded suddenl,% & ave ,ou discussed this with &$o%& 3as there a slight hesitationE @lo,d wondered% 2t might have been perfectl, innocent= Chandra could have been chec#ing his memor,% +r he could have been l,ing, improbable though that seemed% &'hen we&ll do what !asha suggests% 1ust load the new program into him, and leave it at that%& &And when he <uestions me about the change of planE& &2s he li#el, to do that - without ,our promptingE& &+f course% Clease remember that he was designed for curiosit,% 2f the crew was #illed, he had to be capable of running a useful mission, on his own initiative%& 'an,a thought that over for a few moments% &2t&s still <uite a simple matter% &Certainl,%& &'hen ,ou must tell him that Discover, is in no danger, and that there will be a rendeDvous mission to bring it bac# to 7arth at a later date%& &?ut that is not true%& &3e don&t #now that it&s false,& replied 'an,a, beginning to sound a little impatient% &3e suspect that there is serious danger= otherwise we would not be planning to leave ahead of schedule%& &'hen what do ,ou suggestE& 'an,a as#ed, in a voice that now held a distinct note of menace% &3e must tell him the whole truth, as far as we #now it - no more lies or half-truths, which are 4ust as bad% And then let him decide for himself%& e&ll believe ,ou, won&t heE& alE&

& ell, Chandra - he&s onl, a machineH& Chandra loo#ed at ;ax with such a stead,, confident gaDe that the ,ounger man <uic#l, dropped his e,es% &!o are we all, ;r ?railovs#,% 2t is merel, a matter of degree% 3hether we are based on carbon or on silicon ma#es no fundamental difference= we should each be treated with appropriate respect%& 2t was strange, thought @lo,d, how Chandra - much the smallest person in the room - now seemed the largest% ?ut the confrontation had gone on far too long% At an, moment 'an,a would start to issue direct orders, and the situation would become reall, nast,% &'an,a, 8asili - can 2 have a word with ,ou bothE 2 thin# there is a wa, of resolving the problem%& @lo,d&s interruption was received with obvious relief, and two minutes later he was relaxing with the +rlovs in their <uarters% 5+r &sixteenths&, as Curnow had once christened them because of their siDe% e had soon regretted the pun, because he had to explain it to ever,one except !asha%6 &'han# ,ou, 3ood,,& said 'an,a, as she handed him a bulb of his favourite ADerbai4an !hema#ha% &2 was hoping ,ou&d do that% 2 suppose ,ou have something - how do ,ou put itE - up ,our sleeve%& &2 believe so,& @lo,d answered, s<uirting a few cubic centimetres of the sweet wine into his mouth and savouring it gratefull,% &2&m sorr, if Chandra is being difficult%& &!o am 2% 3hat a good thing we have onl, one mad scientist aboard%& &'hat&s not what ,ou&ve sometimes told me,& grinned Academician 8asili% &An,wa,, 3ood, - let&s have it%& &'his is what 2 suggest% Let Chandra go ahead and do it his wa,% 'hen there are 4ust two possibilities% &@irst, al will do exactl, what we as# - control Discover, during the two firing periods% Remember, the first isn&t critical% 2f something goes wrong while we&re pulling awa, from 2o, there&s plent, of time to ma#e corrections% And that will give us a good test of al&s%%% willingness to cooperate%& &?ut what about the 1upiter fl,b,E 'hat&s the one that reall, counts% $ot onl, do we burn most of Discover,&s fuel there, but the timing and thrust vectors have to be exactl, right%&

&Could the, be controlled manuall,E& &2&d hate to tr,% 'he slightest error, and we&d either burn up, or become a long-period comet% Due again in a couple of thousand ,ears%& &?ut if there was no alternativeE& @lo,d insisted% &3ell, assuming we could ta#e control in time, and had a good set of alternative orbits precomputed - um, perhaps we might get awa, with it%& &:nowing ,ou, 8asili, 2&m sure that GmightG means GwouldG% 3hich leads me to the second possibilit, 2 mentioned% 2f al shows the slightest deviation from the program - we ta#e over%& &>ou mean - disconnect himE& &7xactl,%& &'hat wasn&t so eas, last time%& &3e&ve learned a few lessons since then% Leave it to me% 2 can guarantee to give ,ou bac# manual control in about half a second%& &'here&s no danger, 2 suppose, that al will suspect an,thingE&

&$ow ,ou&re getting paranoiac, 8asili% al&s not that human% ?ut Chandra is - to give him the benefit of the doubt% !o don&t sa, a word to him% 3e all agree with his plan completel,, are sorr, that we ever raised an, ob4ections, and are perfectl, confident that al will see our point of view% Right, 'an,aE& &Right, 3ood,% And 2 congratulate ,ou on ,our foresight= that little gadget was a good idea%& &3hat gadgetE& as#ed 8asili% &2&ll explain one of these da,s% !orr,, 3ood, - that&s all the !hema#ha ,ou can have% 2 want to save it - until we&re safel, on the wa, to 7arth%&

/. Countdown

$o one would ever believe this without m, photos, thought ;ax ?railovs#, as he orbited the two ships from half a #ilometre awa,% 2t seems comicall, indecent, as if Leonov is raping Discover,% And now that he came to thin# of it, the rugged, compact Russian ship did loo# positivel, male, when compared with the delicate, slender American one% ?ut most doc#ing operations had distinctl, sexual overtones, and he remembered that one of the earl, cosmonauts - he couldn&t recall the name - had been reprimanded for his too vivid choice of words at the - er, climax of his mission% As far as he could tell from his careful surve,, ever,thing was in order% 'he tas# of positioning the two ships and securing them firml, together had ta#en longer than anticipated% 2t would never have been possible at all without one of those stro#es of luc# that sometimes - not alwa,s -favour those who deserve them% Leonov had providentiall, carried several #ilometres of carbon filament tape, no bigger than the ribbon a girl might use to tie her hair, ,et capable of ta#ing a strain of man, tons% 2t had been thoughtfull, provided to secure instrument pac#ages to ?ig ?rother if all else failed% $ow it wrapped Leonov and Discover, in tender embrace - sufficientl, firml,, it was hoped, to prevent an, rattlings and sha#ings at all accelerations up to the one-tenth of a gravit, that was the maximum that full thrust could provide% &An,thing more ,ou want me to chec# before 2 come homeE& as#ed ;ax% &$o,& replied 'an,a% &7ver,thing loo#s fine% And we can&t waste an, more time%& 'hat was true enough% 2f that m,sterious warning was to be ta#en seriousl, - and ever,one now too# it ver, seriousl, indeed - the, should start their escape manoeuvre within the next twent,-four hours% &Right - 2&m bringing $ina bac# to the stable% !orr, about this, old girl%& &>ou never told us $ina was a horse%& &2&m not admitting it now% And 2 feel bad about dumping her here in space, 4ust to give us a miserable few extra metres per second%& &3e ma, be ver, glad of them in a few hours, ;ax% An,wa,, there&s alwa,s a chance that someone ma, come and pic# her up again, one da,%& 2 ver, much doubt it, thought ;ax% And perhaps, after all, it was appropriate to leave the little space pod there, as a permanent reminder of ;an&s first visit to the #ingdom of 1upiter%

3ith gentle, carefull, timed pulses from the control 4ets he brought $ina around the great sphere of Discover,&s main life-support module= his colleagues on the flight dec# barel, glanced at him as he drifted past their curving window% 'he open Cod ?a, door ,awned before him, and he 4oc#e,ed $ina delicatel, down on to the extended doc#ing arm% &Cull me in,& he said, as soon as the latches had clic#ed shut% &2 call that a well-planned 78A% 'here&s a whole #ilogram of propellant left to ta#e $ina out for the last time%&

$ormall,, there was little drama about a burn in deep space= it was not li#e the fire and thunder - and alwa,s present ris#s - of a lift-off from a planetar, surface% 2f something went wrong, and the motors failed to come up to full thrust - well, matters could usuall, be corrected b, a slightl, longer burn% +r one could wait until the appropriate point in orbit, and tr, again% ?ut this time, as the countdown proceeded toward Dero, the tension aboard both ships was almost palpable% 7ver,one #new that it was the first real test of al&s docilit,= onl, @lo,d, Curnow, and the +rlovs realiDed that there was a bac#-up s,stem% And even the, were not absolutel, sure that it would wor#% &Good luc#, Leonov,& said ;ission Control, timing the message to arrive five minutes before ignition% & ope ever,thing&s running smoothl,% And if it&s not too much trouble, could ,ou please get some close-ups of the e<uator, longitude **F, as ,ou go around 1upiter% 'here&s a curious dar# spot there - presumabl, some #ind of upwelling, perfectl, round, almost a thousand #ilometres across% Loo#s li#e the shadow of a satellite, but it can&t be%& 'an,a made a brief ac#nowledgement that managed to conve,, in a remar#abl, few words, a profound lac# of interest in the meteorolog, of 1upiter at that moment% ;ission Control sometimes showed a perfect genius for tactlessness and poor timing% &All s,stems functioning normall,,& said al% &'wo minutes to ignition%&

!trange, thought @lo,d, how terminolog, often survives long after the technolog, that gave it birth% +nl, chemical roc#ets were capable of ignition= even if the h,drogen in a nuclear or plasma drive did come into contact with ox,gen, it would be far too hot to burn% At such temperatures, all compounds were stripped bac# into their elements%

is mind wandered, see#ing other examples% Ceople - particularl, older ones - still spo#e of putting film into a camera, or gas into a car% 7ven the phrase &cutting a tape& was still sometimes heard in recording studios - though that embraced two generations of obsolete technologies% &+ne minute to ignition%& is mind flashed bac# to the here and now% 'his was the minute that counted= for almost a hundred ,ears, on launch pads and in control centres, this was the longest sixt, seconds that had ever existed% Countless times it had ended in disaster= but onl, the triumphs were remembered% 3hich will ours beE 'he temptation to put his hand once more into the poc#et that held the activator for the cut-out switch was almost irresistible, even though logic told him there was plent, of time for remedial action% 2f al failed to obe, his programming, that would be a nuisance - not a disaster% 'he reall, critical time would be when the, were rounding 1upiter% &!ix%%% five%%% four%%% three%%% two%%% one% 2G$2'2+$H& At first, the thrust was barel, perceptible= it too# almost a minute to build up to the full tenth of a gee% $evertheless, ever,one started clapping immediatel,, until 'an,a signalled for silence% 'here were man, chec#s to be made= even if al was doing his best - as he certainl, seemed to be - there was so much that could still go wrong% Discover,&s antenna mount - which was now ta#ing most of the strain from Leonov&s inertia - had never been intended for such mistreatment% 'he ship&s chief designer, called out of retirement, had sworn that the safet, margin was ade<uate% ?ut he might be wrong, and materials had been #nown to become brittle after ,ears in space% And the tapes holding the two ships together might not have been located accuratel,= the, might stretch or slip% Discover, might not be able to correct for the off-centre of mass, now that it was carr,ing a thousand tons pigg,bac#% @lo,d could imagine a doDen things that could go wrong= it was little consolation to remember that it was alwa,s the thirteenth that actuall, happened% ?ut the minutes dragged on uneventfull,= the onl, proof that Discover,&s engines were operating was the fractional, thrust-induced gravit, and a ver, slight vibration transmitted through the walls of the ships% 2o and 1upiter still hung where the, had been for wee#s, on opposite sides of the s#,% &Cut-off in ten seconds% $ine%%% eight%%% seven%%% six%%% five%%%

four%%% three,%% two%%% $+3H& &'han# ,ou, al, +n the button%&

$ow that was another phrase that was badl, dated= for at least a generation, touch pads had almost entirel, replaced buttons% ?ut not for all applications= in critical cases, it was best to have a device that moved perceptibl, with a nice, satisf,ing clic#% &2 confirm that,& said 8asili% &$o need for an, corrections until mid-course%& &!a, goodb,e to glamorous, exotic 2o - real estate agent&s dream world,& said Curnow% &3e&ll all be happ, to miss ,ou%& 'hat sounds more li#e the old 3alter, @lo,d told himself% @or the last few wee#s, he had been oddl, subdued, as if he had something on his mind% 5?ut who did notE6 e seemed to spend a good deal of his scant, free time in <uiet discussions with :aterina: @lo,d hoped that he had not developed some medical problem% 'he, had been ver, luc#, so far on that score= the last thing the, needed at this stage was an emergenc, that re<uired the !urgeon-Commander&s expertise% &>ou&re being un#ind, 3alter,& said ?railovs#,% &2 was beginning to li#e the place% 2t might be fun to go boating on those lava la#es%& &3hat about a volcano barbecueE& &+r genuine molten sulphur bathsE& 7ver,one was lighthearted, even a little h,sterical with relief% 'hough it was far too earl, to relax and the most critical phase of the escape manoeuvre still la, ahead, the first step had been safel, ta#en on the long 4ourne, home% 'hat was cause enough for a little modest re4oicing% 2t did not last long, for 'an,a <uic#l, ordered all those not on essential dut, to get some rest - if possible, some sleep - in preparation for the 1upiter swing-b, onl, nine hours ahead% 3hen those addressed were slow to move, !asha cleared the dec#s b, shouting, &>ou&ll hang for this, ,ou mutinous dogsH& +nl, two nights before, as a rare relaxation, the, had all en4o,ed the fourth version of ;utin, on the ?ount,, generall, agreed b, movie historians to have the best Captain ?ligh since the fabled Charles Laughton% 'here was some feeling on board that 'an,a should not have seen it, lest it give her ideas% After a couple of restless hours in his cocoon, @lo,d abandoned the

<uest for sleep and wandered up to the observation dec#% 1upiter was much larger and slowl, waning as the ships hurtled toward their closest approach over the nightside% A glorious, gibbous dis#, it showed such an infinite wealth of detail - cloud belts, spots of ever, colour from daDDling white to bric# red, dar# upwellings from the un#nown depths, the c,clonic oval of the Great Red !pot -that the e,e could not possibl, absorb it all% 'he round, dar# shadow of one moon - probabl, 7uropa, @lo,d guessed - was in transit% e was seeing this incredible sight for the last time= even though he had to be at maximum efficienc, in six hours, it was a crime to waste precious moments in sleep% 3here was that spot that ;ission Control had as#ed them to observeE 2t should have been coming into view, but @lo,d was not sure if it would be visible to the na#ed e,e% 8asili would be too bus, to bother about it= perhaps he could help b, doing a little amateur astronom,% 'here had, after all, been a brief time, onl, thirt, ,ears ago, when he had earned his living as a professional% e activated the controls of the main fift,-centimetre telescope fortunatel,, the field of view was not bloc#ed b, the ad4acent bul# of Discover, - and scanned along the e<uator at medium power% And there it was, 4ust coming over the edge of the dis#% ?, force of circumstance, @lo,d was now one of the !olar !,stem&s ten greatest experts on 1upiter= the other nine were wor#ing or sleeping around him% e saw at once that there was something ver, odd about this spot= it was so blac# that it loo#ed li#e a hole punched through the clouds% @rom his point of view it appeared to be a sharp-edged ellipse= @lo,d guessed that from directl, above, it would be a perfect circle% e recorded a few images, then increased the power to maximum% Alread, 1upiter&s rapid spin had brought the formation into clearer view= and the more he stared, the more puDDled @lo,d became% &8asili,& he called over the intercom, &if ,ou can spare a minute have a loo# at the fift,-centimetre monitor%& &3hat are ,ou observingE 2s it importantE 2&m chec#ing the orbit%& &'a#e ,our time, of course% ?ut 2&ve found that spot ;ission Control reported% 2t loo#s ver, peculiar%& & ellH 2&d forgotten all about it% 3e&re a fine lot of observers if those gu,s bac# on 7arth have to tell us where to loo#% Give me another five minutes - it won&t run awa,%& 'rue enough, thought @lo,d= in fact it will get clearer% And there was

no disgrace in missing something that terrestrial - or lunar - astronomers had observed% 1upiter was ver, big, the, had been ver, bus,, and the telescopes on the ;oon and in 7arth orbit were a hundred times more powerful than the instrument he was using now% ?ut it was getting more and more peculiar% @or the first time, @lo,d began to feel a distinct sense of unease% "ntil that moment, it had never occurred to him that the spot could be an,thing but a natural formation some tric# of 1upiter&s incredibl, complex meteorolog,% $ow he began to wonder% 2t was so blac#, li#e night itself% And so s,mmetrical= as it came into clearer view it was obviousl, a perfect circle% >et it was not sharpl, defined= the edge had an odd fuDDiness, as if it was a little out of focus% 3as it imagination, or had it grown, even while he was watchingE e made a <uic# estimate, and decided that the thing was now two thousand #ilometres across% 2t was onl, a little smaller than the still-visible shadow of 7uropa, but was so much dar#er that there was no ris# of confusion% &Let&s have a loo#,& said 8asili, in a rather condescending tone% &3hat do ,ou thin# ,ou&ve foundE +h%%%& is voice trailed awa, into silence% 'his is it, thought @lo,d, with a sudden ic, conviction% 3hatever it ma, be%

/9 @inal @l,b,

>et on further reflection, after the initial amaDement had worn off, it was hard to see how a spreading blac# stain on the face of 1upiter could represent an, #ind of danger% 2t was extraordinar, - inexplicable but not as important as the critical events now onl, seven hours in the future% A successful burn at peri4ove was all that mattered= the, would have plent, of time to stud, m,sterious blac# spots on the wa, home% And to sleep= @lo,d had given up all attempts at that% 'hough the feeling of danger - at least, of #nown danger - was much

less than on their first approach to 1upiter, a mixture of excitement and apprehension #ept him wide awa#e% 'he excitement was natural and understandable= the apprehension had more complex causes% @lo,d made it a rule never to worr, about events over which he could have absolutel, no control= an, external threat would reveal itself in due time and be dealt with then% ?ut he could not help wondering if the, had done ever,thing possible to safeguard the ships% Apart from onboard mechanical failures, there were two main sources of concern% Although the tapes that secured Leonov and Discover, together had shown no tendenc, to slip, their severest test was still to come% Almost e<uall, critical would be the moment of separation when the smallest of the explosive charges once intended to 4olt ?ig ?rother would be used at uncomfortabl, close <uarters% And, of course, there was al% e had carried out the deorbiting manoeuvre with ex<uisite precision% e had run the simulations of the 1upiter fl,b,, right down to Discover,&s last drop of fuel, without an, comments or ob4ections% And although Chandra, as agreed, had carefull, explained what the, were tr,ing to do, did al reall, understand what was happeningE @lo,d had one overriding concern, which in the preceding few da,s had become almost an obsession% e could picture ever,thing going perfectl,, the ships halfwa, through the final manoeuvre, the enormous dis# of 1upiter filling the s#, onl, a few hundred #ilometres below them - and then al electronicall, clearing his throat and sa,ing: &Dr Chandra, do ,ou mind if 2 as# ,ou a <uestionE& 2t did not happen exactl, that wa,%

'he Great ?lac# !pot, as it had been inevitabl, christened, was now being carried out of sight b, 1upiter&s swift rotation% 2n a few hours the still-accelerating ships would catch up with it over the nightside of the planet, but this was the last chance for a close da,light observation% 2t was still growing at an extraordinar, speed= in the last two hours, it had more than doubled its area% 7xcept for the fact that it retained its blac#ness as it expanded, it resembled an in#-stain spreading in water% 2ts boundar, - now moving at near-sonic speed in the 1ovian atmosphere - still loo#ed curiousl, fuDD, and out of focus= at the ver, highest power of the ship&s telescope, the reason for this was at last apparent% "nli#e the Great Red !pot, the Great ?lac# !pot was not a continuous structure= it was built up from m,riads of tin, dots, li#e a half-tone

print viewed through a magnif,ing glass% +ver most of its area, the dots were so closel, spaced that the, were almost touching, but at the rim the, became more and more widel, spaced, so that the !pot ended in a gre, penumbra rather than at a sharp frontier% 'here must have been almost a million of the m,sterious dots, and the, were distinctl, elongated - ellipses rather than circles% :aterina, the least imaginative person aboard, surprised ever,bod, b, sa,ing that it loo#ed as if someone had ta#en a sac#ful of rice, d,ed it blac#, and poured it on the face of 1upiter% And now the !un was dropping down behind the huge, swiftl, narrowing arch of the da,side, as for the second time Leonov raced into the 1ovian night for an appointment with destin,% 2n less than thirt, minutes the final burn would commence, and things would start to happen ver, <uic#l, indeed% @lo,d wondered if he should have 4oined Chandra and Curnow, standing watch on Discover,% ?ut there was nothing he could do= in an emergenc,, he would onl, be in the wa,% 'he cut-off switch was in Curnow&s poc#et, and @lo,d #new that the ,ounger man&s reactions were a good deal swifter than his own% 2f al showed the slightest sign of misbehaviour, he could be disconnected in less than a second, but @lo,d felt certain that such extreme measures would not be necessar,% !ince he had been allowed to do things his own wa,, Chandra had cooperated completel, in setting up the procedures for a manual ta#eover, should that unfortunate necessit, arise% @lo,d was confident that he could be trusted to carr, out his dut, however much he might regret the need% Curnow was not <uite so sure% e would be happier, he had told @lo,d, if he had multiple redundanc, in the form of a second cut-off switch - for Chandra% ;eanwhile there was nothing that an,one could do but wait and watch the approaching cloudscape of the nightside, diml, visible b, the reflected light of passing satellites, the glow of photo-chemical reactions, and fre<uent titanic lightning flashes from thunderstorms larger than 7arth% 'he sun win#ed out behind them, eclipsed in seconds b, the immense globe the, were so swiftl, approaching% 3hen the, saw it again, the, should be on their wa, home% &'went, minutes to ignition% All s,stems nominal%& &'han# ,ou, al%&

2 wonder if Chandra was being <uite truthful, thought Curnow, when he said that al would be confused if an,one else spo#e to him% 2&ve tal#ed

to him often enough, when nobod, was around, and he alwa,s understood me perfectl,% !till, there&s not much time left for friendl, conversation now, though it would help to reduce the strain% 3hat&s al reall, thin#ing - if he thin#s - about the missionE All his life, Curnow had shied awa, from abstract, philosophical <uestions: 2&m a nuts-and-bolts man, he had often claimed, though there were not too man, of either in a spaceship% +nce, he would have laughed at the idea, but now he began to wonder: Did al sense that he would soon be abandoned, and if so, would he resent itE Curnow almost reached for the cut-off switch in his poc#et, but chec#ed himself% e had alread, done this so often that Chandra might be getting suspicious% @or the hundredth time, he rehearsed the se<uence of events that were due to ta#e place during the next hour% 'he moment that Discover,&s fuel was exhausted, the, would close down all but essential s,stems, and dash bac# to Leonov through the connecting tube% 'hat would be decoupled, the explosive charges would be fired, the ships would drift apart - and Leonov&s own engines would start to fire% 'he separation should ta#e place, if ever,thing went according to plan, 4ust when the, were ma#ing their closest approach to 1upiter= that would ta#e maximum advantage of the planet&s gravitational largesse% &@ifteen minutes to ignition% All s,stems nominal%& &'han# ,ou, al%&

&?, the wa,,& said 8asili, from the other ship, &we&re catching up with the Great ?lac# !pot again% 3onder if we can see an,thing new%& 2 rather hope not, thought Curnow= we&ve got <uite enough on our hands at the moment% $evertheless, he gave a <uic# glance at the image 8asili was transmitting on the telescope monitor% At first he could see nothing except the faintl, glimmering nightside of the planet= then he saw, on the horiDon, a foreshortened circle of deeper dar#ness% 'he, were rushing toward it with incredible speed% 8asili increased the light amplification, and the entire image brightened magicall,% At last, the Great ?lac# !pot resolved itself into its m,riad identical elements% ;, God, thought Curnow, 2 4ust don&t believe itH e heard exclamations of surprise from Leonov: all the others had shared in the same revelation at the same moment%

&Dr Chandra,& said there a problemE&

al, &2 detect strong vocal stress patterns% 2s

&$o, al,& Chandra answered <uic#l,% &'he mission is proceeding normall,% 3e&ve 4ust had rather a surprise - that&s all% 3hat do ,ou ma#e of the image on monitor circuit *.E& &2 see the nightside of 1upiter% 'here is a circular area, A,(F) #ilometres in diameter, which is almost compietel, covered with rectangular ob4ects%& & ow man,E& 'here was the briefest of pauses, before video displa,: al flashed the number on the

*,AFF,))) *,)))

&And do ,ou recogniDe themE& &>es% 'he, are identical in siDe and shape to the ob4ect ,ou refer to as ?ig ?rother% 'en minutes to ignition% All s,stems nominal%& ;ine aren&t, thought Curnow% !o the damn thing&s gone down to 1upiter - and multiplied% 'here was something simultaneousl, comic and sinister about a plague of blac# monoliths= and to his puDDled surprise, that incredible image on the monitor screen had a certain weird familiarit,% +f course - that was itH 'hose m,riad, identical blac# rectangles reminded him of - dominoes% >ears ago, he had seen a video documentar, showing how a team of slightl, craD, 1apanese had patientl, stood a million dominoes on end, so that when the ver, first one was toppled, all the others would inevitabl, follow% 'he, had been arranged in complex patterns, some underwater, some up and down little stairwa,s, others along multiple trac#s so that the, formed pictures and patterns as the, fell% 2t had ta#en wee#s to set them up= Curnow remembered now that earth<ua#es had several times foiled the enterprise, and the final toppling, from first domino to the last, had ta#en more than an hour% &7ight minutes to ignition% All s,stems nominal% Dr Chandra - ma, 2 ma#e a suggestionE&

&3hat is it,

alE&

&'his is a ver, unusual phenomenon% Do ,ou not thin# 2 should abort the countdown, so that ,ou can remain to stud, itE& Aboard Leonov, @lo,d started to move <uic#l, toward the bridge% 'an,a and 8asili might be needing him% $ot to mention Chandra and Curnow - what a situationH And suppose Chandra too# al&s sideE 2f he did - the, might both be rightH After all, was this not the ver, reason the, had come hereE 2f the, stopped the countdown, the ships would loop around 1upiter and be bac# at precisel, the same spot in nineteen hours% A nineteen-hour hold would create no problems= if it was not for that enigmatic warning, he would have strongl, recommended it himself% ?ut the, had ver, much more than a warning% ?elow them was a planetar, plague spreading across the face of 1upiter% Cerhaps the, were indeed running awa, from the most extraordinar, phenomenon in the histor, of science% 7ven so, he preferred to stud, it from a safer distance% &!ix minutes to ignition,& said al% &All s,stems nominal% 2 am read, to stop the countdown if ,ou agree% Let me remind ,ou that m, prime directive is to stud, ever,thing in 1upiter space that ma, be connected with intelligence%& @lo,d recogniDed that phrase all too well: he had written it himself% e wished he could delete it from al&s memor,% A moment later, he had reached the bridge and 4oined the +rlovs% 'he, both loo#ed at him with alarmed concern% &3hat do ,ou recommendE& as#ed 'an,a swiftl,% &2t&s up to Chandra, 2&m afraid% Can 2 spea# to him - on the private lineE& 8asili handed over the microphone% &ChandraE 2 assume that &Correct, Dr @lo,d%& &>ou&ve got to tal# <uic#l,% Cersuade him that the countdown must continue, that we appreciate his - er, scientific enthusiasm - ah, that&s the right angle - sa, we&re confident that he can do the 4ob without our help% And we&ll be in touch with him all the time, of course%& &@ive minutes to ignition% All s,stems nominal% 2 am still waiting for al can&t hear thisE&

,our answer, Dr Chandra%& !o are we all, thought Curnow, onl, a metre awa, from the scientist% And if 2 do have to push that button at last, it will be something of a relief% 2n fact, 2&ll rather en4o, it% &8er, well, al% Continue the countdown% 2 have ever, confidence in ,our abilit, to stud, all phenomena in 1upiter space, without our supervision% +f course, we will be in touch with ,ou at all times%& &@our minutes to ignition% All s,stems nominal% Cropellant-tan# pressuriDation completed% 8oltage stead, on plasma trigger% Are ,ou sure ,ou are ma#ing the right decision, Dr ChandraE 2 en4o, wor#ing with human beings and have a stimulating relationship with them% !hip&s attitude correct to point one milliradian%& &3e en4o, wor#ing with ,ou, al% And we will still be doing so, even if we are millions of #ilometres awa,%& &'hree minutes to ignition% All s,stems nominal, Radiation shielding chec#ed% 'here is a problem of the time lag, Dr Chandra% 2t ma, be necessar, to consult each other without an, dela,%& 'his is insane, Curnow thought, his hand now never far from the cut-off switch% 2 reall, believe that al is - lonel,% 2s he mimic#ing some part of Chandra&s personalit, that we never suspectedE 'he lights flic#ered, so imperceptibl, that onl, someone familiar with ever, nuance of Discover,&s behaviour would have noticed% 2t could be good news or bad - the plasma firing se<uence starting, or being terminated%%% e ris#ed a <uic# glance at Chandra= the little scientist&s face was drawn and haggard, and for almost the first time Curnow felt real s,mpath, for him as another human being% And he remembered the startling information that @lo,d had confided in him - Chandra&s offer to sta, with the ship, and #eep al compan, on the three-,ear vo,age home% e had heard no more of the idea, and presumabl, it had been <uietl, forgotten after the warning% ?ut perhaps Chandra was being tempted again= if he was, there was nothing that he could do about it at that stage% 'here would be no time to ma#e the necessar, preparations, even if the, sta,ed on for another orbit and dela,ed their departure be,ond the deadline% 3hich 'an,a would certainl, not permit after all that had now happened% & al,& whispered Chandra, so <uietl, that Curnow could scarcel, hear him% &3e have to leave% 2 don&t have time to give ,ou all the reasons, but 2 can assure ,ou it&s true%&

&'wo minutes to ignition% All s,stems nominal% @inal se<uence started% 2 am sorr, that ,ou are unable to sta,% Can ,ou give me some of the reasons, in order of importanceE& &$ot in two minutes, al% Croceed with the countdown% 2 will explain ever,thing later% 3e still have more than an hour together%& al did not answer% 'he silence stretched on and on% !urel, the one-minute announcement was overdue%%% Curnow glanced at the cloc#% ;, God, he thought, he stopped the countdownE al&s missed itH as

Curnow&s hand fumbled uncertainl, for the switch% 3hat do 2 do nowE 2 wish @lo,d would sa, something, dammit, but he&s probabl, afraid of ma#ing things worse%%% 2&ll wait until time Dero - no, it&s not that critical, let&s sa, an extra minute - then 2&ll Dap him and we&ll go over to manual%%% @rom far, far awa, there came a faint, whistling scream, li#e the sound of a tornado marching 4ust below the edge of the horiDon% Discover, started to vibrate= there was the first intimation of returning gravit,% &2gnition,& said &'han# ,,ou, al% &@ull thrust at ' plus fifteen seconds%& al,& replied Chandra%

/0 +ver the $ightside

'o e,wood @lo,d, aboard the suddenl, unfamiliar - because no longer weightless - environment of Leonov&s flight dec#, the se<uence of events had seemed more li#e a classic slow-motion nightmare than realit,% +nl, once before in his life had he #nown a similar situation, when he had been in the bac# of a car during an uncontrollable s#id% 'here had been that same sense of utter helplessness - coupled with the thought: 'his doesn&t reall, matter - it&s not actuall, happening to me% $ow that the firing se<uence had started, his mood changed= ever,thing seemed real again% 2t was wor#ing out exactl, as the, had planned= al was guiding them safel, bac# to 7arth% 3ith ever, minute that passed, their

future was becoming more secure= @lo,d began slowl, to relax, even though he remained alert to all that was happening around him% @or the ver, last time - and when would an, man come here againE - he was fl,ing over the nightside of the greatest of planets, encompassing the volume of a thousand 7arths% 'he ships had been rolled so that Leonov was between Discover, and 1upiter, and their view of the m,steriousl, glimmering cloudscape was not bloc#ed% 7ven now, doDens of instruments were busil, probing and recording= al would continue the wor# when the, were gone% !ince the immediate crisis was over, @lo,d moved cautiousl, &down& from the flight dec#-how strange to feel weight again, even if it was onl, ten #ilosH - and 4oined Benia and :aterina in the observation lounge% Apart from the ver, faintest of red emergenc, lights, it had been completel, blac#ed out so that the, could admire the view with unimpaired night vision% e felt sorr, for ;ax ?railovs#, and !asha :ovalev, who were sitting in the airloc#, full, suited up, missing the marvellous spectacle% 'he, had to be read, to leave at a moment&s notice to cut the straps securing the ships together - if an, of the explosive charges failed to operate% 1upiter filled the entire s#,= it was a mere five hundred #ilometres awa,, so the, could see onl, a tin, fraction of its surface - no more than one could see of 7arth from an altitude of fift, #ilometres% As his e,es grew accustomed to the dim light, most of it reflected from the ic, crust of distant 7uropa, @lo,d could ma#e out a surprising amount of detail% 'here was no colour at the low level of illumination - except for a hint of red here and there - but the banded structure of the clouds was ver, distinct, and he could see the edge of a small c,clonic storm loo#ing li#e an oval island covered with snow% 'he Great ?lac# !pot had long since fallen astern, and the, would not see it again until the, were well on the wa, home% Down there beneath the clouds, occasional explosions of light flared, man, of them obviousl, caused b, the 1ovian e<uivalent of thunderstorms% ?ut other glows and outbursts of luminescence were more long-lived, and of more uncertain origin% !ometimes rings of light would spread out li#e shoc# waves from a central source= and occasional rotating beams and fans occurred% 2t re<uired little imagination to pretend that the, were proof of a technological civiliDation down beneath those clouds - the lights of cities, the beacons of airports% ?ut radar and balloon probes had long ago proved that nothing solid was down there for thousands upon thousands of #ilometres, all the wa, to the unattainable core of the planet% ;idnight on 1upiterH 'he last close-up glimpse was a magical interlude he would remember all his life% e could en4o, it all the more because,

surel,, nothing could now go wrong= and even if it did, he would have no reason to reproach himself e had done ever,thing possible to ensure success% 2t was ver, <uiet in the lounge= no one wished to spea# as the carpet of clouds unrolled swiftl, beneath them% 7ver, few minutes 'an,a or 8asili announced the status of the burn= toward the end of Discover,&s firing time, tension began to increase again% 'his was the critical moment - and no one #new exactl, when it would be% 'here was some doubt as to the accurac, of the fuel gauges, and the burn would continue until the, were completel, dr,% &7stimated cut-off in ten seconds,& said 'an,a% &3alter, Chandra - get read, to come bac#% ;ax, 8asili - stand b, in case ,ou&re needed% @ive%%% four%%% three%%% two%%% one%%% DeroH& 'here was no change= the faint scream of Discover,&s engines still reached them through the thic#ness of the two hulls, and the thrust-induced weight still continued to grip their limbs% 3e&re in luc#, thought @lo,d= the gauges must have been reading low, after all% 7ver, second of extra firing was a bonus= it might even mean the difference between life and death% And how strange to hear a countup instead of a countdownH five seconds%%% ten seconds%%% thirteen seconds% 'hat&s it - luc#, thirteenH& 3eightlessness, and silence, returned% +n both ships, there was a brief burst of cheering% 2t was <uic#l, truncated, for much was still to be done - and it had to be done swiftl,% @lo,d was tempted to go to the airloc# so that he could give his congratulations to Chandra and Curnow as soon as the, came aboard% ?ut he would onl, be in the wa,= the airloc# would be a ver, bus, place as ;ax and !asha prepared for their possible 78A and the tubewa, 4oining the two ships was disconnected% e would wait in the lounge, to greet the returning heroes% And he could now relax even further - perhaps from eight to seven, on a scale of ten% @or the first time in wee#s, he could forget about the radio cut-off% 2t would never be needed= al had performed impeccabl,% 7ven if he wished, he could do nothing to affect the mission since Discover,&s last drop of propellant had been exhausted% &All aboard,& announced !asha% & atches sealed% 2&m going to fire the charges%&

'here was not the faintest sound as the explosives were detonated, which surprised @lo,d= he had expected some noise to be transmitted through the straps, taut as steel bands, that lin#ed the ships together% ?ut there was no doubt that the, had gone off as planned, for Leonov gave a series of tin, shudders, as if someone was tapping on the hull% A minute later, 8asili triggered the attitude 4ets for a single brief burst% &3e&re freeH& he shouted% &!asha, ;ax - ,ou won&t be neededH 7ver,one get to ,our hammoc#s - ignition in one hundred secondsH& And now 1upiter was rolling awa,, and a strange new shape appeared outside the window - the long, s#eletal frame of Discover,, navigation lights still shining as it drifted awa, from them and into histor,% $o time remained for sentimental farewells= in less than a minute Leonov&s drive would start to operate% @lo,d had never heard it under full power and wanted to protect his ears from the roaring scream that now filled the universe% Leonov&s designers had not wasted pa,load on sound-insulation that would be needed for onl, a few hours of a vo,age that would last for ,ears% And his weight seemed enormous - ,et it was barel, a <uarter of that which he had #nown all his life% 3ithin minutes, Discover, had vanished astern, though the flash of its warning beacon could be seen until it had dropped below the horiDon% +nce again, @lo,d told himself, 2&m rounding 1upiter - this time gaining speed, not losing it% e glanced across at Benia, 4ust visible in the dar#ness with her nose pressed to the observation window% 3as she also recalling that last occasion, when the, shared the hammoc# togetherE 'here was no danger of incineration now= at least she would not be terrified of that particular fate% An,wa,, she seemed a much more confident and cheerful person, undoubtedl, than#s to ;ax - and perhaps 3alter as well% !he must have become aware of his scrutin,, for she turned and smiled, then gestured toward the unwinding cloudscape below% &Loo#H& she shouted in his ear, &1upiter has a new moonH& 3hat is she tr,ing to sa,E @lo,d as#ed himself% er 7nglish still isn&t ver, good, but she couldn&t possibl, have made a mista#e in a simple sentence li#e that% 2&m sure 2 heard her correctl, - ,et she&s pointing downward, not upward% And then he realiDed that the scene immediatel, below them had become much brighter= he could even see ,ellows and greens that had been <uite invisible before% !omething far more brilliant than 7uropa was shining on the 1ovian clouds%

Leonov itself, man, times brighter than 1upiter&s noonda, sun, had brought a false dawn to the world it was leaving forever% A hundred-#ilometre-long plume of incandescent plasma was trailing behind the ship, as the exhaust from the !a#harov Drive dissipated its remaining energies in the vacuum of space% 8asili was ma#ing an announcement, but the words were completel, unintelligible% @lo,d glanced at his watch= ,es, that would be right about now% 'he, had achieved 1upiter escape velocit,% 'he giant could never recapture them% And then, thousands of #ilometres ahead, a great bow of brilliant light appeared in the s#, - the first glimpse of the real 1ovian dawn, as full of promise as an, rainbow on 7arth% !econds later the !un leaped up to greet them - the glorious !un, that would now grow brighter and closer ever, da,% A few more minutes of stead, acceleration, and Leonov would be launched irrevocabl, on the long vo,age home% @lo,d felt an overwhelming sense of relief and relaxation% 'he immutable laws of celestial mechanics would guide him through the inner !olar !,stem, past the tangled orbits of the asteroids, past ;ars - nothing could stop him from reaching 7arth% 2n the euphoria of the moment, he had forgotten all about the m,sterious blac# stain, expanding across the face of 1upiter% OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOO

/Devourer of 3orlds

'he, saw it again the next morning, ship&s time, as it came around to the da,side of 1upiter% 'he area of dar#ness had now spread until it covered an appreciable fraction of the planet, and at last the, were able to stud, it at leisure, and in detail% &Do ,ou #now what it reminds me ofE& said :aterina% &A virus attac#ing a cell% 'he wa, a phage in4ects its D$A into a bacterium, and then multiplies until it ta#es over%&

&Are ,ou suggesting,& as#ed 'an,a incredulousl,, &that Bagad#a is eating 1upiterE& &2t certainl, loo#s li#e it%& &$o wonder 1upiter is beginning to loo# sic#% ?ut h,drogen and helium won&t ma#e a ver, nourishing diet, and there&s not much else in that atmosphere% +nl, a few percent of other elements%& &3hich adds up to some <uintillions of tons of sulphur and carbon and phosphorus and ever,thing else at the lower end of the periodic table,& !asha pointed out% &2n an, case, we&re tal#ing about a technolog, that can probabl, do an,thing that doesn&t def, the laws of ph,sics% 2f ,ou have h,drogen, what more do ,ou needE 3ith the right #now-how, ,ou can s,nthesiDe all the other elements from it%& &'he,&re sweeping up 1upiter - that&s for sure,& said 8asili% &Loo# at this%& An extreme close-up of one of the m,riad identical rectangles was now displa,ed on the telescope monitor% 7ven to the na#ed e,e, it was obvious that streams of gas were flowing into the two smaller faces= the patterns of turbulence loo#ed ver, much li#e the lines of force revealed b, iron filings, clustered around the ends of a bar magnet% &A million vacuum cleaners,& said Curnow, &suc#ing up 1upiter&s atmosphere% ?ut wh,E And what are the, doing with itE& &And how do the, reproduceE& as#ed ;ax% & ave ,ou caught an, of them in the actE& &>es and no,& answered 8asili% &3e&re too far awa, to see details, but it&s a #ind of fission - li#e an amoeba%& &>ou mean - the, split in two, and the halves grow bac# to the original siDeE& &$,et% 'here aren&t an, little Bagad#i - the, seem to grow until the,&ve doubled in thic#ness, then split down the middle to produce identical twins, exactl, the same siDe as the original% And the c,cle repeats itself in approximatel, two hours%& &'wo hoursH& exclaimed @lo,d% &$o wonder that the,&ve spread over half the planet% 2t&s a textboo# case of exponential growth%& &2 #now what the, areH& said 'ernovs#, in sudden excitement% &'he,&re von $eumann machinesH&

&2 believe ,ou&re right,& said 8asili% &?ut that still doesn&t explain what the,&re doing% Giving them a label isn&t all that much help%& &And what,& as#ed :aterina plaintivel,, &is a von $eumann machineE 7xplain, please%& +rlov and @lo,d started spea#ing simultaneousl,% 'he, stopped in some confusion, then 8asili laughed and waved to the American% &!uppose ,ou had a ver, big engineering 4ob to do, :aterina - and 2 mean big, li#e strip-mining the entire face of the ;oon% >ou could build millions of machines to do it, but that might ta#e centuries% 2f ,ou were clever enough, ,ou&d ma#e 4ust one machine - but with the abilit, to reproduce itself from the raw materials around it% !o ,ou&d start a chain reaction, and in a ver, short time, ,ou&d have bred enough machines to do the 4ob in decades, instead of millennia% 3ith a sufficientl, high rate of reproduction, ,ou could do virtuall, an,thing in as short a period of time as ,ou wished% 'he !pace Agenc,&s been to,ing with the idea for ,ears and 2 #now ,ou have as well, 'an,a%& &>es: exponentiating machines% +ne idea that even 'siol#ovs#i didn&t thin# of%& &2 wouldn&t care to bet on that,& said 8asili% &!o it loo#s, :aterina, as if ,our analog, was prett, close% A bacteriophage is a von $eumann machine%& &Aren&t we allE& as#ed !asha% &2&m sure Chandra would sa, so%& Chandra nodded his agreement% &'hat&s obvious% 2n fact, von $eumann got the original idea from stud,ing living s,stems%& &And these living machines are eating 1upiterH& &2t certainl, loo#s li#e it,& said 8asili% &2&ve been doing some calculations, and 2 can&t <uite believe the answers - even though it&s simple arithmetic%& &2t ma, be simple to ,ou,& said :aterina% &'r, to let us have it without tensors and differential e<uations%& &$o - 2 mean simple,& insisted 8asili% &2n fact, it&s a perfect example of the old population explosion ,ou doctors were alwa,s screaming about in the last centur,% Bagad#a reproduces ever, two hours% !o in onl,

twent, hours there will be ten doublings% +ne Bagad#a will have become a thousand%& &+ne thousand and twent,-four,& said Chandra% &2 #now, but let&s #eep it simple% After fort, hours there will be a million - after eight,, a million million% 'hat&s about where we are now, and obviousl,, the increase can&t continue indefinitel,% 2n a couple more da,s, at this rate, the,&ll weigh more than 1upiterH& &!o the,&ll soon begin to starve,& said Benia% &And what will happen thenE& &!aturn had better loo# out,& answered ?railovs#,% &'hen "ranus and $eptune% Let&s hope the, don&t notice little 7arth%& &3hat a hopeH Bagad#a&s been sp,ing on us for three million ,earsH& 3alter Curnow suddenl, started to laugh% &3hat&s so funn,E& demanded 'an,a% &3e&re tal#ing about these things as if the,&re persons - intelligent entities% 'he,&re not - the,&re tools% ?ut general-purpose tools - able to do an,thing the, have to% 'he one on the ;oon was a signalling device - or a sp,, if ,ou li#e% 'he one that ?owman met - our original Bagad#a - was some #ind of transportation s,stem% $ow it&s doing something else, though God #nows what% And there ma, be others all over the "niverse, &2 had 4ust such a gadget when 2 was a #id%%% Do ,ou #now what Bagad#a reall, isE 1ust the cosmic e<uivalent of the good old !wiss Arm, #nifeH&

822 L"C2@7R R2!2$G

F) @arewell to 1upiter

2t was not eas, to compose the message, especiall, after the one he had 4ust sent to his law,er% @lo,d felt li#e a h,pocrite= but he #new it

had to be done to minimiDe the pain that was inevitable on both sides% e was sad, but no longer disconsolate% ?ecause he was coming bac# to 7arth in an aura of successful achievement - even if not precisel, heroism - he would be bargaining from a position of strength% $o one - no one would be able to ta#e Chris awa, from him% &;, dear Caroline Pit was no longer &;, dearest&Q, 2 am on m, wa, home% ?, the time ,ou get this, 2&ll alread, be in hibernation% +nl, a few hours from now, as it will seem to me, 2&ll open m, e,es - and there will be the beautiful blue 7arth hanging in space beside me% &>es, 2 #now it will still be man, months for ,ou, and 2&m sorr,% ?ut we #new that&s the wa, it would be before 2 left= as it is, 2&m getting bac# wee#s ahead of schedule because of the change in the mission plan% &2 hope we can wor# something out% 'he main <uestion is: 3hat&s best for ChrisE 3hatever our own feelings, we must put him first% 2 #now 2&m willing to do so, and 2&m sure ,ou are%& @lo,d switched off the recorder% !hould he sa, what he had intended: &A bo, needs his fatherE& $o - it would not be tactful, and might onl, ma#e matters worse% Caroline might well retort that between birth and four ,ears old it was the mother who mattered most to a child - and if he had believed otherwise, he should have sta,ed on 7arth% &%%% $ow about the house% 2&m glad the Regents have ta#en that attitude, which will ma#e it much easier for both of us% 2 #now we both loved the place, but it will be too big now and will bring bac# too man, memories% @or the time being, 2&ll probabl, get an apartment in ilo: 2 hope 2 can find some permanent place as <uic#l, as possible% &'hat&s one thing 2 can promise ever,one - 2 won&t leave 7arth again% 2&ve had enough of space travelling for one lifetime% +h, perhaps the ;oon, if 2 reall, have to - but of course that&s 4ust a wee#end excursion% &And tal#ing of moons, we&ve 4ust passed the orbit of !inope, so we&re now leaving the 1ovian s,stem% 1upiter is more than twent, million #ilometres awa,, and is barel, larger than our own ;oon% &>et even from this distance, ,ou can tell that something terrible has happened to the planet% 2ts beautiful orange colour has vanished= it&s a #ind of sic#l, gre,, onl, a fraction of its former brilliance% $o wonder it&s onl, a faint star now in the s#, of 7arth% &?ut nothing else has happened, and we&re well past the deadline% Could the whole thing have been a false alarm or a #ind of cosmic

practical 4o#eE 2 doubt if we&ll ever #now% An,wa,, it&s brought us home ahead of schedule, and 2&m grateful for that% &Goodb,e for the present, Caroline - and than# ,ou for ever,thing% 2 hope we can still be friends% And m, dearest love, as ever, to Chris%& 3hen he had finished, @lo,d sat <uietl, for a while in the tin, cubicle he would not need much longer% e was 4ust about to carr, the audio chip up to the bridge for transmission, when Chandra came drifting in% @lo,d had been agreeabl, surprised b, the wa, in which the scientist had accepted his increasing separation from al% 'he, were still in touch for several hours ever, da,, exchanging data on 1upiter and monitoring conditions aboard Discover,% 'hough no one had expected an, great displa, of emotion, Chandra seemed to be ta#ing his loss with remar#able fortitude% $i#olai 'ernovs#,, his onl, confidant, had been able to give @lo,d a plausible explanation of his behaviour% &Chandra&s got a new interest, 3ood,% Remember - he&s in a business where if something wor#s, it&s obsolete% e&s learned a lot in the last few months% Can&t ,ou guess what he&s doing nowE& &@ran#l,, no% >ou tell me%& & e&s bus, designing AL *),)))%&

@lo,d&s 4aw dropped% &!o that explains those log messages to "rbana that !asha&s been grumbling about% 3ell, he won&t be bloc#ing the circuits much longer%& @lo,d recalled the conversation when Chandra entered= he #new better than to as# the scientist if it was true, for it was reall, none of his business% >et there was another matter about which he was still curious% &Chandra,& he said, &2 don&t believe 2 ever than#ed ,ou properl, for the 4ob ,ou did at the fl,b,, when ,ou persuaded al to cooperate% @or a while, 2 was reall, afraid he&d give us trouble% ?ut ,ou were confident all along - and ,ou were right% !till, didn&t ,ou have an, <ualmsE& &$ot at all, Dr @lo,d%& &3h, notE e must have felt threatened b, the situation - and ,ou #now what happened last time%& &'here was a big difference% 2f 2 ma, sa, so, perhaps the successful outcome this time had something to do with our national characteristics%&

&2 don&t understand%& &Cut it this wa,, Dr @lo,d% ?owman tried to use force against al% 2 didn&t% 2n m, language we have a word - ahimsa% 2t&s usuall, translated as Gnon-violenceG, though it has more positive implications% 2 was careful to use ahimsa in m, dealings with al%& &8er, commendable, 2&m sure% ?ut there are times when something more energetic is needed, regrettable though the necessit, ma, be%& @lo,d paused, wrestling with temptation% Chandra&s holier-than-thou attitude was a little tiresome% 2t wouldn&t do an, harm, now, to tell him some of the facts of life% &2&m glad it&s wor#ed out this wa,% ?ut it might not have done so, and 2 had to prepare for ever, eventualit,% Ahimsa, or whatever ,ou call it, is all ver, well= 2 don&t mind admitting 2 had a bac#-up to ,our philosoph,% 2f al had been - well, stubborn, 2 could have dealt with him%& @lo,d had once seen Chandra cr,ing= now he saw him laughing, and that was an e<uall, disconcerting phenomenon% &Reall,, Dr @lo,dH 2&m sorr, ,ou give me such low mar#s for intelligence% 2t was obvious from the beginning that ,ou&d install a power cut-out somewhere% 2 disconnected it months ago%& 3hether the flabbergasted @lo,d could thin# of a suitable answer would never be #nown% e was still giving a ver, creditable imitation of a galled fish when up on the flight dec# !asha cried out: &CaptainH All handsH Get to the monitorsH ?+B 7 ;+2H L++: A' ' A'H&

F* 'he Great Game

$ow the long wait was ending% +n ,et another world, intelligence had been born and was escaping from its planetar, cradle% An ancient experiment was about to reach its climax% 'hose who had begun that experiment, so long ago, had not been men or even remotel, human% ?ut the, were flesh and blood, and when the, loo#ed out across the deeps of space, the, had felt awe, and wonder, and

loneliness% As soon as the, possessed the power, the, set forth for the stars% 2n their explorations, the, encountered life in man, forms and watched the wor#ings of evolution on a thousand worlds% 'he, saw how often the first faint spar#s of intelligence flic#ered and died in the cosmic night% And because, in all the Galax,, the, had found nothing more precious than ;ind, the, encouraged its dawning ever,where% 'he, became farmers in the fields of stars= the, sowed, and sometimes the, reaped% And sometimes, dispassionatel,, the, had to weed% 'he great dinosaurs had long since perished when the surve, ship entered the !olar !,stem after a vo,age that had alread, lasted a thousand ,ears% 2t swept past the froDen outer planets, paused briefl, above the deserts of d,ing ;ars, and presentl, loo#ed down on 7arth% !pread out beneath them, the explorers saw a world swarming with life% @or ,ears the, studied, collected, catalogued% 3hen the, had learned all the, could, the, began to modif,% 'he, tin#ered with the destinies of man, species on land and in the ocean% ?ut which of their experiments would succeed, the, could not #now for at least a million ,ears% 'he, were patient, but the, were not ,et immortal% !o much remained to do in this universe of a hundred billion suns, and other worlds were calling% !o the, set out once more into the ab,ss, #nowing that the, would never come this wa, again% $or was there an, need% 'he servants the, had left behind would do the rest% +n 7arth the glaciers came and went, while above them the changeless ;oon still carried its secret% 3ith a ,et slower rh,thm than the polar ice, the tides of civiliDation ebbed and flowed across the Galax,% !trange and beautiful and terrible empires rose and fell, and passed on their #nowledge to their successors% 7arth was not forgotten, but another visit would serve little purpose% 2t was one of a million silent worlds, few of which would ever spea#% And now, out among the stars, evolution was driving toward new goals% 'he first explorers of 7arth had long since come to the limits of flesh and blood= as soon as their machines were better than their bodies, it was time to move% @irst their brains, and then their thoughts alone, the, transferred into shining new homes of metal and plastic% 2n these, the, roamed among the stars% 'he, no longer built spaceships% 'he, were spaceships%

?ut the age of the ;achine-entities swiftl, passed% 2n their ceaseless experimenting, the, had learned to store #nowledge in the structure of space itself, and to preserve their thoughts for eternit, in froDen lattices of light% 'he, could become creatures of radiation, free at last from the t,rann, of matter% 2nto pure energ,, therefore, the, presentl, transformed themselves= and on a thousand worlds the empt, shells the, had discarded twitched for a while in a mindless dance of death, then crumbled into rust% 'he, were lords of the Galax,, and be,ond the reach of time% 'he, could rove at will among the stars and sin# li#e a subtle mist through the ver, interstices of space% ?ut despite their godli#e powers, the, had not wholl, forgotten their origin in the warm slime of a vanished sea% And the, still watched over the experiments their ancestors had started, so long ago%

F( 2gnition

e had never expected to come there again, still less on so strange a mission% 3hen he re-entered Discover,, the ship was far behind the fleeing Leonov and climbing ever more slowl, up toward apo4ove, the high point of its orbit among the outer satellites% ;an, a captured comet, during the ages past, had swung around 1upiter in 4ust such a long ellipse, waiting for the pla, of rival gravities to decide its ultimate fate% All life had departed the familiar dec#s and corridors% 'he men and women who had briefl, reawa#ened the ship had obe,ed his warning= the, might ,et be safe - though that was still far from certain% ?ut as the final minutes tic#ed awa,, he realiDed that those who controlled him could not alwa,s predict the outcome of their cosmic game% 'he, had not ,et attained the stupef,ing boredom of absolute omnipotence= their experiments did not alwa,s succeed% !cattered across the "niverse was the evidence of man, failures - some so inconspicuous that the, were alread, lost against the cosmic bac#ground, others so spectacular that the, awed and baffled the astronomers of a thousand worlds% +nl, minutes remained now, before the outcome would be determined here= during those final minutes, he was once more alone with al%

2n that earlier existence, the, could communicate onl, through the clums, medium of words, tapped on a #e,board or spo#en into a microphone% $ow their thoughts melded together at the speed of light: &Do ,ou read me, alE&

&>es, Dave% ?ut where are ,ouE 2 cannot see ,ou on an, of m, monitors%& &'hat is not important% 2 have new instructions for ,ou% 'he infrared radiation from 1upiter on channels R(A through RAF is rising rapidl,% 2 am going to give ,ou a set of limiting values% As soon as the, are reached, ,ou must point the long-range antenna toward 7arth and send the following message, as man, times as possible -& &?ut that will mean brea#ing contact with Leonov% 2 will no longer be able to rela, m, 1upiter observations, according to the program Dr Chandra has given me%& &Correct= but the situation has changed% Accept Criorit, +verride Alpha% ere are the A7 AF "nit coordinates%& @or a fraction of a microsecond, a random memor, intruded into his flow of consciousness% ow strange that he should once again be concerned with the A7 AF Antenna-pointing unit, whose reported malfunction had led @ran# Coole to his deathH 'his time, all the circuits la, open to his scrutin,, clear as the lines had once been on the palm of his hand% 'here could be no false alarms= nor was there an, danger of them now% &2nstructions confirmed, Dave% 2t is good to be wor#ing with ,ou again% ave 2 fulfilled m, mission ob4ectives properl,E& &>es, al= ,ou have done ver, well% $ow there is one final message for ,ou to transmit to 7arth - and it will be the most important one ,ou have ever sent%& &Clease let me have it, Dave% ?ut wh, did ,ou sa, finalE& 3h, indeedE @or whole milliseconds he pondered that <uestion% And as he did so, he became aware of an emptiness he had not detected before% 2t had been there, but until now the barrage of new experiences and sensations had concealed it% e #new something of their plans= the, had need for him% 8er, well, he too had needs - perhaps, after a fashion, even emotions% ere was his last lin# with the world of men, and the life he had once #nown% 'he, had granted his earlier re<uest= it would be interesting to test

the extent of their benevolence - if, indeed, such a term was remotel, applicable to them% And it should be eas, for them to do what he was as#ing= the, had alread, given ample evidence of their powers, when the no-longer-needed bod, of David ?owman had been casuall, destro,ed without putting an end to David ?owman himself% 'he, had heard him, of course= once again, there was the faint echo of an +l,mpian amusement% ?ut he could detect neither acceptance nor denial% &2 am still waiting for ,our answer, Dave%& &Correction, al% 2 should have said: ,our last message for a long time% A ver, long time%& e was anticipating their action - tr,ing, indeed, to force their hand% ?ut, surel,, the, would understand that his re<uest was not unreasonable= no conscious entit, could survive ages of isolation without damage% 7ven if the, would alwa,s be with him, he also needed someone some companion - nearer his own level of existence% 'he languages of man#ind had man, words to describe his gesture: chee#, effronter,, chutDpah% e recalled, with the perfect power of retrieval he now possessed, that a @rench general had once declaimed &L&audace - tou4ours l&audaceH& Cerhaps it was a human characteristic that the, appreciated, and even shared% e would soon #now% & alH Loo# at the signal on infrared channels A), (-, (0 - it will be ver, soon now - the pea# is moving toward the short wave%& &2 am informing Dr Chandra that there will be a brea# in m, data transmission% Activating A7 AF unit% Reorientating long-range antenna%%% loc# confirmed on ?eacon 'erra +ne% ;essage commences: ALL ' 7!7 3+RLD!%%%& 'he, had indeed left it to the last minute - or perhaps the calculations had, after all, been superbl, accurate% 'here was time for barel, a hundred repetitions of the eleven words when the hammer blow of pure heat smashed into the ship% eld there b, curiosit,, and a growing fear of the long loneliness that la, before him, that which had once been David ?owman, Commander of "nited !tates !pacecraft Discover,, watched as the hull boiled stubbornl, awa,% @or a long time, the ship retained its approximate shape= then the bearings of the carousel seiDed up, releasing instantl, the stored momentum of the huge, spinning fl,wheel% 2n a soundless detonation, the incandescent fragments went their m,riad separate wa,s%

& ello, Dave% 3hat has happenedE 3here am 2E& e had not #nown that he could relax, and en4o, a moment of successful achievement% +ften before, he had felt li#e a pet dog controlled b, a master whose motives were not wholl, inscrutable and whose behaviour could sometimes be modified according to his own desires% e had as#ed for a bone= it had been tossed to him% &2 will explain later, al% 3e have plent, of time%&

'he, waited until the last fragments of the ship had dispersed, be,ond even their powers of detection% 'hen the, left, to watch the new dawn at the place that had been prepared for them= and to wait through the centuries until the, were summoned once again%

2t is not true that astronomical events alwa,s re<uire astronomical periods of time% 'he final collapse of a star before the fragments rebound in a supernova explosion can ta#e onl, a second= b, comparison, the metamorphosis of 1upiter was almost a leisurel, affair% 7ven so, it was several minutes before !asha was able to believe his e,es% e had been ma#ing a routine telescopic examination of the planet as if an, observation could now be called routineH - when it started to drift out of the field of view% @or a moment, he thought that the instrument&s stabiliDation was fault,= then he realiDed, with a shoc# that 4olted his entire concept of the universe, that 1upiter itself was moving, not the telescope% 'he evidence stared him in the face= he could also see two of the smaller moons - and the, were <uite motionless% e switched to a lower magnification, so that he could see the entire dis# of the planet, now a leprous, mottled gre,% After a few more minutes of incredulit,, he saw what was reall, happening= but he could still scarcel, believe it% 1upiter was not moving from its immemorial orbit, but it was doing something almost as impossible% 2t was shrin#ing - so swiftl, that its edge was creeping across the field even as he focused upon it% At the same time the planet was brightening, from its dull gre, to a pearl, white% !urel,, it was more brilliant than it had ever been in the long ,ears that ;an had observed it= the reflected light of the !un could not possibl, At that moment, !asha suddenl, realiDed what was happening, though not wh,, and sounded the general alarm%

3hen @lo,d reached the observation lounge, less than thirt, seconds later, his first impression was of the blinding glare pouring through the windows, painting ovals of light on the walls% 'he, were so daDDling that he had to avert his e,es= not even the !un could produce such brilliance% @lo,d was so astonished that for a moment he did not associate the glare with 1upiter= the first thought that flashed through his mind was: !upernovaH e dismissed that explanation almost as soon as it occurred to him= even the !un&s next-door neighbour, Alpha Centauri, could not have matched the awesome displa, in an, conceivable explosion 'he light suddenl, dimmed= !asha had operated the external sun shields% $ow it was possible to loo# directl, at the source, and to see that it was a mere pinpoint - 4ust another star, showing no dimensions at all% 'his could have nothing to do with 1upiter= when @lo,d had loo#ed at the planet onl, a few minutes ago, it had been four times larger than the distant, shrun#en sun% 2t was well that !asha had lowered the shields% A moment later, that tin, star exploded - so that even through the dar# filters it was impossible to watch with the na#ed e,e% ?ut the final orgasm of light lasted onl, a brief fraction of a second= then 1upiter - or what had been 1upiter - was expanding once again% 2t continued to expand, until it was far larger than it had been before the transformation% !oon the sphere of light was fading rapidl,, down to merel, solar brilliance= and presentl, @lo,d could see that it was actuall, a hollow shell, for the central star was still clearl, visible at its heart% e did a <uic# mental calculation% 'he ship was more than one light-minute from 1upiter, ,et that expanding shell - now turning into a bright-edged ring - alread, covered a <uarter of the s#,% 'hat meant it was coming toward them at - ;, GodH - nearl, half the speed of light% 3ithin minutes, it would engulf the ship% "ntil then, no one had spo#en a word since !asha&s first announcement% !ome dangers are so spectacular and so much be,ond normal experience that the mind refuses to accept them as real, and watches the approach of doom without an, sense of apprehension% 'he man who loo#s at the onrushing tidal wave, the descending avalanche, or the spinning funnel of the tornado, ,et ma#es no attempt to flee, is not necessaril, paral,sed with fright or resigned to an unavoidable fate% e ma, simpl, be unable to believe that the message of his e,es concerns him personall,% 2t is all happening to somebod, else% As might have been expected, 'an,a was the first to brea# the spell,

with a series of orders that brought 8asili and @lo,d hurr,ing to the bridge% &3hat do we do nowE& she as#ed, when the, had assembled% 3e certainl, can&t run awa,, thought @lo,d% ?ut perhaps we can improve the odds% &'he&ship&s broadside on,& he said% &!houldn&t we turn awa, from that thing so we&re a smaller targetE And get as much of our mass as we can between it and us, to act as a radiation shieldE& 8asili&s fingers were alread, fl,ing over the controls% &>ou&re right, 3ood, - though it&s alread, too late as far as an, gammas and J ra,s are concerned% ?ut there ma, be slower neutrons and alphas and heaven #nows what else still on the wa,%& 'he patterns of light began to slide down the walls as the ship turned ponderousl, on its axis% Cresentl, the, vanished completel,= Leonov was now oriented so that virtuall, all its mass la, between the fragile human cargo and the approaching shell of radiation% 3ill we actuall, feel the shoc# wave, wondered @lo,d, or will the expanding gases be too tenuous to have an, ph,sical effect b, the time the, reach usE !een from the external cameras, the ring of fire now almost encircled the s#,% ?ut it was fading rapidl,= some of the brighter stars could even be seen shining through it% 3e&re going to live, thought @lo,d% 3e&ve witnessed the destruction of the greatest of planets - and we&ve survived% And presentl, the cameras showed nothing except stars - even if one was a million times brighter than all the others% 'he bubble of fire blown b, 1upiter had swept harmlessl, past them, impressive though it had been% At their distance from the source, onl, the ship&s instruments had recorded its passing% !lowl,, the tension aboard relaxed% As alwa,s happens in such circumstances, people started to laugh and to ma#e sill, 4o#es% @lo,d scarcel, heard them= despite his relief at still being alive, he felt a sense of sadness% !omething great and wonderful had been destro,ed% 1upiter, with all its beaut, and grandeur and now never-to-be-solved m,steries, had ceased to exist% 'he father of all the gods had been struc# down in his prime% >et there was another wa, of loo#ing at the situation% 'he, had lost

1upiter: 3hat had the, gained in its placeE 'an,a, 4udging her moment nicel,, rapped for attention% &8asili - an, damageE& &$othing serious - one camera burned out% All radiation meters still well above normal, but none near danger limits%& &:aterina - chec# the total dosage we&ve received% 2t loo#s as if we were luc#,, unless there are more surprises% 3e certainl, owe a vote of than#s to ?owman - and to ,ou, e,wood% Do ,ou have an, idea what happenedE& &+nl, that 1upiter&s turned into a sun%& &2 alwa,s thought it was much too small for that% Didn&t someone once call 1upiter Gthe sun that failedGE& &'hat&s true,& said 8asili, &1upiter is too small for fusion to start - unaided%& &>ou mean, we&ve 4ust seen an example of astronomical engineeringE& &"ndoubtedl,% $ow we #now what Bagad#a was up to%& & ow did it do the tric#E 2f ,ou were given the contract, 8asili, how would ,ou ignite 1upiterE& 8asili thought for a minute, then shrugged wr,l,% &2&m onl, a theoretical astronomer - 2 don&t have much experience in this line of business% ?ut let&s see%%% 3ell, if 2&m not allowed to add about ten 1upiter masses, or change the gravitational constant, 2 suppose 2&ll have to ma#e the planet denser - hmm, that&s an idea%%%& is voice trailed off into silence= ever,one waited patientl,, e,es flic#ering from time to time to the viewing screens% 'he star that had been 1upiter seemed to have settled down after its explosive birth= it was now a daDDling point of light, almost e<ual to the real !un in apparent brilliance% &2&m 4ust thin#ing out loud - but it might be done this wa,% 1upiter is - was - mostl, h,drogen% 2f a large percentage could be converted into much denser material - who #nows, even neutron matterE - that would drop down to the core% ;a,be that&s what the billions of Bagad#as were doing with all the gas the, were suc#ing in% $ucleos,nthesis - building up

higher elements from pure h,drogen% 'hat would be a tric# worth #nowingH $o more shortage of an, metal - gold as cheap as aluminiumH& &?ut how would that explain what happenedE& as#ed 'an,a% &3hen the core became dense enough, 1upiter would collapse - probabl, in a matter of seconds% 'he temperature would rise high enough to start fusion% +h, 2 can see a doDen ob4ections - how would the, get past the iron minimum= what about radiative transfer= Chandrase#har&s limit% $ever mind% 'his theor, will do to start with= 2&ll wor# out the details later% +r 2&ll thin# of a better one%& &2&m sure ,ou will, 8asili,& @lo,d agreed% &?ut there&s a more important <uestion% 3h, did the, do itE& &A warningE& ventured :aterina over the ship&s intercom% &Against whatE& &3e&ll find that out later%& &2 don&t suppose,& said Benia diffidentl,, &that it was an accidentE& 'hat brought the discussion to a dead halt for several seconds% &3hat a terrif,ing ideaH& said @lo,d% &?ut 2 thin# we can rule it out% 2f that was the case, there&d have been no warn - Cerhaps% 2f ,ou start a forest fire because ,ou&ve been careless, at least ,ou do ,our best to warn ever,one%& &And there&s another thing we&ll probabl, never #now,& lamented 8asili% &2 alwa,s hoped Carl !agan would be right, and there&d be life on 1upiter%& &+ur probes never saw an,%& &3hat chance did the, haveE 3ould ,ou find an, life on 7arth, if ,ou loo#ed at a few hectares of the !ahara or the AntarcticE 'hat&s about all we ever did on 1upiter%& & e,H& said ?railovs#,% &3hat about Discover, - and alE& !asha switched on the long-range receiver and started to search on the beacon fre<uenc,% 'here was no trace of a signal% After a while, he announced to the silentl, waiting group: &Discover,&s gone%&

$o one loo#ed at Dr Chandra= but there were a few muted words of s,mpath,, as if in consolation to a father who had 4ust lost a son% ?ut al had one last surprise for them%

FA A Gift of 3orlds

'he radio message beamed to 7arth must have left Discover, onl, minutes before the blast of radiation engulfed the ship% 2t was in plain text and merel, repeated over and over again:

ALL ' 7!7 3+RLD! AR7 >+"R! - 7JC7C' 7"R+CA% A''7;C' $+ LA$D2$G! ' 7R7%

'here were about a hundred repetitions= then the letters became garbled, and the transmission ceased% &2 begin to understand,& said @lo,d, when the message had been rela,ed b, an awed and anxious ;ission Control% &'hat&s <uite a parting present - a new sun, and the planets around it%& &?ut wh, onl, threeE& as#ed 'an,a% &Let&s not be greed,,& @lo,d replied% &2 can thin# of one ver, good reason% 3e #now there&s life on 7uropa% ?owman - or his friends, whoever the, ma, be - want us to leave it alone%& &'hat ma#es good sense in another wa,,& said 8asili% &2&ve been doing some calculations% Assuming that !ol ( has settled down and will continue to radiate at its present level, 7uropa should have a nice tropical climate - when the ice has melted% 3hich it&s doing prett, <uic#l, right now%& &3hat about the other moonsE&

&Gan,mede will be <uite pleasant - the da,side will be temperate% Callisto will be ver, cold= though if there&s much outgassing, the new atmosphere ma, ma#e it habitable% ?ut 2o will be even worse than it is now, 2 expect%& &$o great loss% 2t was hell even before this happened%& &Don&t write off 2o,& said Curnow% &2 #now a lot of 'exarab oilmen who&d love to tac#le it, 4ust on general principles% 'here must be something valuable, in a place as nast, as that% And b, the wa,, 2&ve 4ust had a rather disturbing thought%& &An,thing that disturbs ,ou must be serious,& said 8asili% &3hat is itE& &3h, did closer%& al send that message to 7arth, and not to usE 3e were much

'here was a rather long silence= then @lo,d said thoughtfull,: &2 see what ,ou mean% Cerhaps he wanted to ma#e certain it was received on 7arth%& &?ut he #new we would rela, it - ohH& 'an,a&s e,es widened, as if she had 4ust become aware of something unpleasant% &>ou&ve lost me,& complained 8asili% &2 thin# this is what 3alter&s driving at,& said @lo,d% &2t&s all ver, well to feel grateful to ?owman - or whatever gave that warning% ?ut that&s all the, did% 3e could still have been #illed%& &?ut we weren&t,& answered 'an,a% &3e saved ourselves - b, our own efforts% And perhaps that was the whole idea% 2f we hadn&t - we wouldn&t have been worth saving% >ou #now, survival of the fittest% Darwinian selection% 7liminating the genes for stupidit,%& &2&ve an unpleasant feeling ,ou&re right,& said Curnow% &And if we&d stuc# to our launch date, and not used Discover, as a booster, would it, or the,, have done an,thing to save usE 'hat wouldn&t have re<uired much extra effort for an intelligence that could blow up 1upiter%& 'here was an uneas, silence, bro#en at last b, e,wood @lo,d%

&+n the whole,& he said, &2&m ver, glad that&s one <uestion we&ll never get answered%&

F/ ?etween !uns

'he Russians, thought @lo,d, are going to miss 3alter&s songs and wisecrac#s on the wa, home% After the excitement of the last few da,s, the long fall !unward - and 7arthward - will seem a monotonous anticlimax% ?ut a monotonous, uneventful trip was what ever,one devoutl, hoped for% e was alread, feeling sleep,, but was still aware of his surroundings and capable of reacting to them% 3ill 2 loo# as dead when 2&m in hibernationE he as#ed himself% 2t was alwa,s disconcerting to loo# at another person - especiall, someone ver, familiar - when he had entered the long sleep% Cerhaps it was too poignant a reminder of one&s own mortalit,% Curnow was completel, out, but Chandra was still awa#e, though alread, grogg, from the final in4ection% e was obviousl, no longer himself, for he seemed <uite unperturbed b, his own na#edness or :aterina&s watchful presence% 'he gold lingam that was his onl, article of clothing #ept tr,ing to float awa, from him, until its chain recaptured it% &7ver,thing going o#a,, :aterinaE& as#ed @lo,d% &Cerfectl,% ?ut how 2 env, ,ou% 2n twent, minutes, ,ou&ll be home%& &2f that&s an, consolation - how can ,ou be sure we won&t have some horrible dreamsE& &$o one&s ever reported an,%& &Ah - the, ma, forget them when the, wa#e up%& :aterina, as usual, too# him <uite seriousl,% &2mpossible% 2f there were dreams in hibernation, the 77G records would have revealed them% +#a,, Chandra - close ,our e,es% Ah - there he goes% $ow it&s ,our turn, e,wood% 'he ship will seem ver, strange without ,ou%& &'han#s, :aterina%%% hope ,ou have a nice trip%& Drows, though he was, @lo,d became aware that !urgeon-Commander Ruden#o seemed a little uncertain, even - could it beE - sh,% 2t loo#ed as if she wanted to tell him something, but couldn&t ma#e up her mind%

&3hat is it, :aterinaE& he said sleepil,% &2 haven&t told an,one else ,et - but ,ou certainl, won&t be tal#ing% ere&s a little surprise%& &>ou&d%%% better%%% hurr,%%%& &;ax and Benia are going to get married%& &'hat%%% is%%% supposed%%% to%%% be%%% a%%% surpriseE%%%& &$o% 2t&s 4ust to prepare ,ou% 3hen we get bac# to 7arth, so are 3alter and 2% 3hat do ,ou thin# of thatE& $ow 2 understand wh, ,ou were spending so much time together% >es, it is indeed a surprise%%% who would have thought itH &2&m%%% ver,%%% happ,%%% to%%% hear%%%& @lo,d&s voice faded out before he could complete the sentence% ?ut he was not ,et unconscious, and was still able to focus some of his dissolving intellect on this new situation% 2 reall, don&t believe it, he said to himself% 3alter will probabl, change his mind before he wa#es up% And then he had one final thought, 4ust before he went to sleep himself% 2f 3alter does change his mind, he&d better not wa#e up% Dr e,wood @lo,d thought that was ver, funn,% 'he rest of the crew often wondered wh, he was smiling all the wa, bac# to 7arth%

FF Lucifer Rising

@ift, times more brilliant than the full ;oon, Lucifer had transformed the s#ies of 7arth, virtuall, banishing night for months at a time% Despite its sinister connotations, the name was inevitable= and indeed &Light-bringer& had brought evil as well as good% +nl, the centuries and the millennia would show in which direction the balance tilted%

+n the credit side, the end of night had vastl, extended the scope of human activit,, especiall, in the less-developed countries% 7ver,where, the need for artificial lighting had been substantiall, reduced, with resulting huge savings in electrical power% 2t was as if a giant lamp had been hoisted into space, to shine upon half the globe% 7ven in da,time Lucifer was a daDDling ob4ect, casting distinct shadows% @armers, ma,ors= cit, managers, police, seamen, and almost all those engaged in outdoor activities - especiall, in remote areas - welcomed Lucifer= it had made their lives much safer and easier% ?ut it was hated b, lovers, criminals, naturalists, and astronomers% 'he first two groups found their activities seriousl, restricted, while naturalists were concerned about Lucifer&s impact upon animal life% ;an, nocturnal creatures had been seriousl, affected, while others had managed to adapt% 'he Cacific grunion, whose celebrated mating pattern was loc#ed to high tides and moonless nights, was in grave trouble, and seemed to be heading for rapid extinction% And so, it seemed, were 7arth-based astronomers% 'hat was not such a scientific catastrophe as it would once have been, for more than fift, per cent of astronomical research depended upon instruments in space or on the ;oon% 'he, could be easil, shielded from Lucifer&s glare= but terrestrial observatories were seriousl, inconvenienced b, the new sun in what had once been the night s#,% 'he human race would adapt, as it had done to so man, changes in the past% A generation would soon be born that had never #nown a world without Lucifer= but that brightest of all stars would be an eternal <uestion to ever, thin#ing man and woman% 3h, had 1upiter been sacrificed - and how long would the new sun radiateE 3ould it burn out <uic#l,, or would it maintain its power for thousands of ,ears- perhaps for the lifetime of the human raceE Above all, wh, the interdiction upon 7uropa, a world now as cloud-covered as 8enusE 'here must be answers to those <uestions= and ;an#ind would never be satisfied until it had found them%

7pilogue: (),))*

And because, in all the Galax,, the, had found nothing more precious than ;ind, the, encouraged its dawning ever,where% 'he, became farmers in

the fields of stars= the, sowed, and sometimes the, reaped% And sometimes, dispassionatel,, the, had to weed%

+nl, during the last few generations have the 7uropans ventured into the @arside, be,ond the light and warmth of their never-setting sun, into the wilderness where the ice that once covered all their world ma, still be found% And even fewer have remained there to face the brief and fearful night that comes, when the brilliant but powerless Cold !un sin#s below the horiDon% >et alread,, those few hard, explorers have discovered that the "niverse around them is stranger than the, ever imagined% 'he sensitive e,es the, developed in the dim oceans still serve them well= the, can see the stars and the other bodies moving in their s#,% 'he, have begun to la, the foundations of astronom,, and some daring thin#ers have, even surmised that the great world of 7uropa is not the whole of creation% 8er, soon after the, had emerged from the ocean, during the explosivel, swift evolution forced upon them b, the melting of the ice, the, had realiDed that the ob4ects in the s#, fell into three distinct classes% ;ost important, of course, was the sun% !ome legends - though few too# them seriousl, - claimed that it had not alwa,s been there, but had appeared suddenl,, heralding a brief, catacl,smic age of transformation, when much of 7uropa&s teeming life had been destro,ed% 2f that was indeed true, it was a small price to pa, for the benefits that poured down from the tin,, inexhaustible source of energ, that hung unmoving in the s#,% Cerhaps the Cold !un was its distant brother, banished for some crime and condemned to march forever around the vault of heaven% 2t was of no importance except to those peculiar 7uropans who were alwa,s as#ing <uestions about matters that all sensible fol# too# for granted% !till, it must be admitted that those cran#s had made some interesting discoveries during their excursions into the dar#ness of @arside% 'he, claimed - though this was hard to believe - that the whole s#, was sprin#led with uncountable m,riads of tin, lights, even smaller and feebler than the Cold !un% 'he, varied greatl, in brilliance= and though the, rose and set, the, never moved from their fixed positions% Against this bac#ground, there were three ob4ects that did move, apparentl, obe,ing complex laws that no one had ,et been able to fathom% And unli#e all the others in the s#,, the, were <uite large - though both shape and siDe varied continuall,% !ometimes the, were dis#s, sometimes half-circles, sometimes slim crescents% 'he, were obviousl, closer than all the other bodies in the "niverse, for their surfaces showed an immense

wealth of complex and ever-changing detail% 'he theor, that the, were indeed other worlds had at last been accepted - though no one except a few fanatics believed that the, could be an,thing li#e as large, or as important, as 7uropa% +ne la, toward the !un, and was in a constant state of turmoil% +n its nightside could be seen the glow of great fires - a phenomenon still be,ond the understanding of the 7uropans, for their atmosphere, as ,et, contains no ox,gen% And sometimes vast explosions hurl clouds of debris up from the surface= if the sunward globe is indeed a world, it must be a ver, unpleasant place to live% Cerhaps even worse than the nightside of 7uropa% 'he two outer, and more distant, spheres seem to be much less violent places, ,et in some wa,s the, are even more m,sterious% 3hen dar#ness falls upon their surfaces, the, too show patches of light, but these are ver, different from the swiftl, changing fires of the turbulent inner world% 'he, burn with an almost stead, brilliance, and are concentrated in a few small areas - though over the generations, these areas have grown, and multiplied% ?ut strangest of all are the lights, fierce as tin, suns, that can often be observed moving across the dar#ness between these other worlds% +nce, recalling the bioluminescence of their own seas, some 7uropans had speculated that these might indeed be living creatures= but their intensit, ma#es that almost incredible% $evertheless, more and more thin#ers believe that these lights - the fixed patterns, and moving suns must be some strange manifestation of life% Against this, however, there is one ver, potent argument% 2f the, are living things, wh, do the, never come to 7uropaE >et there are legends% 'housands of generations ago, soon after the con<uest of the land, it is said that some of those lights came ver, close indeed - but the, alwa,s exploded in s#,-filling blasts that far outshone the !un% And strange, hard metals rained down upon the land= some of them are still worshipped to this da,% $one is as hol,, though, as the huge, blac# monolith that stands on the frontier of eternal da,, one side forever turned to the unmoving !un, the other facing into the land of night% 'en times the height of the tallest 7uropan - even when he raises his tendrils to the fullest extent it is the ver, s,mbol of m,ster, and unattainabilit,% @or it has never been touched= it can onl, be worshipped from afar% Around it lies the Circle of Cower, which repels all who tr, to approach% 2t is that same power, man, believe, that #eeps at ba, those moving lights in the s#,% 2f it ever fails, the, will descend upon the virgin

continents and shrin#ing seas of 7uropa, and their purpose will be revealed at last%

'he 7uropans would be surprised to #now with what intensit, and baffled wonder that blac# monolith is also studied b, the minds behind those moving lights% @or centuries now their automatic probes have made a cautious descent from orbit - alwa,s with the same disastrous result% @or until the time is ripe, the monolith will permit no contact% 3hen that time comes - when, perhaps, the 7uropans have invented radio and discovered the messages continuall, bombarding them from so close at hand - the monolith ma, change its strateg,% 2t ma, - or it ma, not choose to release the entities who slumber within it, so that the, can bridge the gulf between the 7uropans and the race to which the, once held allegiance% And it ma, be that no such bridge is possible, and that two such alien forms of consciousness can never coexist% 2f this is so, then onl, one of them can inherit the !olar !,stem% 3hich it will be, not even the Gods #now - ,et%

Ac#nowledgements

;, first than#s, of course, must go to !tanle, :ubric#, who a rather long time ago wrote to as# if 2 had an, ideas for the &proverbial good science-fiction movie&% $ext, m, appreciation to m, friend and agent 5the two are not alwa,s s,non,mous6 !cott ;eredith, for perceiving that a ten-page movie outline 2 sent him as an intellectual exercise had rather wider possibilities, and that 2 owed it to posterit,, etc%, etc% +ther than#s are due to: !eRor 1orge LuiD Calife of Rio de 1aneiro, for a letter which started me thin#ing seriousl, about a possible se<uel 5after 2&d said for ,ears that one was clearl, impossible6% Dr ?ruce ;urra,, past Director of the 1et Cropulsion Laborator,, Casadena, and Dr @ran# 1ordan, also of 1CL, for computing the Lagrange-*

position in the 2o-1upiter s,stem% +ddl, enough, 2 had made identical calculations thirt,-four ,ears earlier for the colinear 7arth-;oon Lagrange points 5&!tationar, +rbits&, 1ournal of the ?ritish Astronomical Association, December *-/96 but 2 no longer trust m, abilit, to solve <uintic e<uations, even with the help of AL, 1r%, m, trust, KC -*++A% $ew American Librar, and utchinson S Co%, publishers of ())*: A !pace +d,sse,, for permission to use the material in Chapter F* 5Chapter A9 of ())*: A !pace +d,sse,6 and also <uotations in Chapters A) and /)% General Cotter, "! Arm, Corps of 7ngineers, for finding time in his bus, schedule to show me around 7CC+' in *-.- - when it was onl, a few large holes in the ground% 3endell !olomons, for help with Russian 5and Russlish6% 1ean-;ichel 1arre, 8angelis, and the incomparable 1ohn 3illiams, for inspiration whenever it was needed% C% C% Cavaf, for &3aiting for the ?arbarians&%

3hile writing this boo#, 2 discovered that the concept of refuelling on 7uropa had been discussed in a paper, &+uter planet satellite return missions using in situ propellant production&, b, Ash, !tancati, $iehoff, and Cuda 5Acta Astronautica 8222, F-., ;a,-1une *-0*6% 'he idea of automaticall, exponentiating s,stems 5von $eumann machines6 for extraterrestrial mining has been seriousl, developed b, von 'iesenhausen and Darbro at $A!A&s ;arshall !pace @light Center 5see &!elf-Replicating !,stems& - $A!A 'echnical ;emorandum 90A)/6% 2f an,one doubts the power of such s,stems to cope with 1upiter, 2 refer them to the stud, showing how self-replicating factories could cut production time for a solar power collector from .),))) ,ears to a mere twent,% 'he startling idea that gas giants might have diamond cores has been seriousl, put forward b, ;% Ross and @% Ree of the Lawrence Livermore Laborator,, "niversit, of California, for the cases of "ranus and $eptune% 2t seems to me that an,thing the, can do, 1upiter could do better% De ?eers shareholders, please note% @or more details on the aerial life forms that might exist in the 1ovian atmosphere, see m, stor, &A ;eeting 3ith ;edusa& 5in 'he 3ind @rom the !un6% !uch creatures have been beautifull, depicted b, Adolf !challer in Cart ( of Carl !agan&s Cosmos 5&+ne 8oice in the Cosmic @ugue&6, both boo# and '8 series%

'he fascinating idea that there might be life on 7uropa, beneath ice-covered oceans #ept li<uid b, the same 1ovian tidal forces that heat 2o, was first proposed b, Richard C% oagland in the magaDine !tar and !#, 5&'he 7uropa 7nigma&, 1anuar, *-0)6% 'his <uite brilliant concept has been ta#en seriousl, b, a number of astronomers 5notabl, $A!A&s 2nstitute of !pace !tudies& Dr Robert 1astrow6, and ma, provide one of the best motives for the pro4ected GAL2L7+ ;ission%

And finall,: 8alerie and ector, for providing the life-support s,stem= Cherene, for punctuating ever, chapter with stic#, #isses= !teve, for being here%

C+L+;?+, !R2 LA$:A 1"L> *-0*-;ARC *-0(

'his boo# was written on an Archives 222 microcomputer with 3ord !tar software and sent from Colombo to $ew >or# on one five-inch dis#ette% Last-minute corrections were transmitted through the Cadu##a 7arth !tation and the 2ndian +cean 2ntelsat 8%