2061:OdysseyThree

ArthurC.Clarke

TO THE MEMORY OF JUDY-LYNN DEL REY, EDITOREXTRAORDINARY, WHO BOUGHT THIS BOOK FOR ONEDOLLAR - BUT NEVER KNEW IF SHE GOT HER MONEY’SWORTH

Author'sNote

Justas2010:OdysseyTwowasnotadirectsequelto2001:ASpaceOdyssey,so this book is not a linear sequel to 2010. They must all be considered asvariations on the same theme, involving many of the same characters andsituations,butnotnecessarilyhappeninginthesameuniverse.

Developments since StanleyKubrick suggested in 1964 (five years beforemenlandedontheMoon!)thatweshouldattempt‘theproverbialgoodscience-fictionmovie’maketotalconsistencyimpossible,asthelaterstoriesincorporatediscoveriesandeventsthathadnoteventakenplacewhentheearlierbookswerewritten.2010wasmadepossiblebythebrilliantlysuccessful1979

Voyager flybysof Jupiter, and Ihadnot intended to return to that territoryuntiltheresultsoftheevenmoreambitiousGalileoMissionwerein.

Galileo would have dropped a probe into the Jovian atmosphere, whilespendingalmost twoyearsvisitingall themajorsatellites. It shouldhavebeenlaunched from the space shuttle in May 1986, and would have reached itsobjectivebyDecember1988.Soaround1990IhopedtotakeadvantageofthefloodofnewinformationfromJupiteranditsmoons...

Alas, theChallenger tragedyeliminated thatscenario;Galileo-nowsittingin its clean room at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory - must now find anotherlaunchvehicle.ItwillbeluckyifitarrivesatJupitermerelysevenyearsbehindschedule.

Ihavedecidednottowait.

Colombo,SriLankaApril1987

I

THEMAGICMOUNTAIN

1

TheFrozenYears

‘For a man of seventy, you're in extremely good shape,’ remarked DrGlazunov,lookingupfromtheMedcom'sfinalprint-out.‘I'dhaveputyoudownasnotmorethansixty-five.’

‘Happytohearit,Oleg.EspeciallyasI'mahundredandthree-asyouknowperfectlywell.’

‘Here we go again! Anyone would think you've never read ProfessorRudenko'sbook.’

‘DearoldKaterina!We'dplannedaget-togetheronherhundredthbirthday.Iwassosorryshenevermadeit-that'swhatcomesofspendingtoomuchtimeonEarth.’

‘Ironic,sinceshewastheonewhocoinedthatfamousslogan"Gravityisthebringerofoldage."’

DrHeywoodFloydstaredthoughtfullyattheever-changingpanoramaofthebeautifulplanet,onlythreethousandmilesaway,onwhichhecouldneverwalkagain.Itwasevenmoreironicthat,throughthemoststupidaccidentofhislife,hewasstillinexcellenthealthwhenvirtuallyallhisoldfriendsweredead.

HehadbeenbackonEarthonlyaweekwhen,despiteallthewarningsandhisowndeterminationthatnothingofthesortwouldeverhappentohim,hehadsteppedoffthatsecond-storeybalcony.

(Yes,hehadbeencelebrating:buthehadearned it -hewasaheroon thenewworld to which Leonov had returned.) Themultiple fractures had led tocomplications,whichcouldbestbehandledinthePasteurSpaceHospital.

Thathadbeen in2015.Andnow-hecouldnot reallybelieve it,but therewasthecalendaronthewall-itwas2061.

ForHeywoodFloyd,thebiologicalclockhadnotmerelybeensloweddownby the one-sixthEarth gravity of the hospital; twice in his life it had actuallybeenreversed.Itwasnowgenerallybelieved-thoughsomeauthoritiesdisputedit-thathibernationdidmorethanmerelystoptheageingprocess;itencouragedrejuvenation.Floydhadactuallybecomeyoungeronhisvoyage toJupiterandback.

‘Soyoureallythinkit'ssafeformetogo?’‘NothinginthisUniverseissafe,Heywood.AllIcansayisthatthereareno

physiologicalobjections.Afterall,yourenvironmentwillbevirtuallythesameaboardUniverseasitishere.

‘Shemaynothavequitethestandardof-ah-superlativemedicalexpertisewe can provide at Pasteur, but Dr Mahindran is a good man. If there's anyproblemhecan'tcopewith,hecanputyouintohibernationagain,andshipyoubacktous,COD.’

Itwas theverdict thatFloydhadhopedfor,yet somehowhispleasurewasalloyedwithsadness.Hewouldbeawayforweeksfromhishomeofalmosthalfacentury,andthenewfriendsofhis lateryears.AndalthoughUniversewasaluxury liner compared with the primitive Leonov (now hovering high aboveFarside as one of the main exhibits at the LagrangeMuseum) there was stillsome element of risk in any extended space voyage. Especially like thepioneeringoneonwhichhewasnowpreparingtoembark.

Yetthat,perhaps,wasexactlywhathewasseeking-evenatahundredandthree (or, according to the complex geriatric accounting of the late ProfessorKaterinaRudenko,ahaleandheartysixty-five.)Duringthelastdecade,hehadbecome aware of an increasing restlessness and a vague dissatisfactionwith alifethatwastoocomfortableandwell-ordered.

Despiteall theexcitingprojectsnowinprogressaroundtheSolarSystem-the Mars Renewal, the establishment of the Mercury Base, the Greening ofGanymede-therehadbeennogoalonwhichhecouldreallyfocushisinterestsandhis still considerableenergies.Twocenturiesago,oneof the firstpoetsofthe ScientificEra had summed up his feelings perfectly, speaking through thelipsofOdysseus/Ulysses:

LifepiledonlifeWerealltoolittle,andofoneofmeLittleremains;buteveryhourissavedFromthateternalsilence,somethingmore,Abringerofnewthings:andvileitwereForsomethreesunstostoreandhoardmyself,AndthisgreyspirityearningindesireTofollowknowledgelikeasinkingstar,Beyondtheutmostboundofhumanthought.

‘Threesuns’,indeed!Itwasmorethanforty:Ulysseswould have been ashamed of him. But the next verse - which he

knewsowell-wasevenmoreappropriate:

Itmaybethatthegulfswillwashusdown:ItmaybeweshalltouchtheHappyIsles,AndseethegreatAchilles,whomweknew.Thoughmuchistaken,muchabides;andthoughWearenotnowthatstrengthwhichinolddaysMovedearthandheaven;thatwhichweare,weare;Oneequaltemperofheroichearts,Madeweakbytimeandfate,butstronginwillTostrive,toseek,tofind,andnottoyield.

‘To seek, to find...’Well, nowheknewwhathewasgoing to seek, and tofind -becauseheknewexactlywhere itwouldbe.Shortof somecatastrophicaccident,therewasnowayinwhichitcouldpossiblyeludehim.

Itwasnotagoalhehadeverconsciouslyhadinmind,andevennowhewasnotquitesurewhyithadbecomesosuddenlydominant.Hewouldhavethoughthimselfimmunetothefeverwhichwasonceagaininfectingmankind-forthesecondtimeinhislife!-butperhapshewasmistaken.Oritcouldhavebeenthatthe unexpected invitation to join the short list of distinguished guests aboardUniverse had fired his imagination, and awakened an enthusiasm he had notevenknownhepossessed.

Therewasanotherpossibility.Afteralltheseyears,hecouldstillrememberwhat an anticlimax the1985/6 encounterhadbeen to thegeneral public.Nowwasachance-thelastforhim,andthefirstforhumanity-tomorethanmakeupforanypreviousdisappointment.

Backinthetwentiethcentury,onlyflybyshadbeenpossible.Thistime,therewouldbeanactuallanding,aspioneeringinitswayasArmstrong'sandAldrin'sfirststepsontheMoon.

Dr Heywood Floyd, veteran of the 2010-15 mission to Jupiter, let hisimagination fly outwards to the ghostly visitor once again returning from thedeepsofspace,gainingspeedsecondbysecondasitpreparedtoroundtheSun.AndbetweentheorbitsofEarthandVenusthemostfamousofallcometswouldmeetthestilluncompletedspace-linerUniverse,onhermaidenflight.

The exact point of rendezvous was not yet settled, but his decision wasalreadymade.

‘Halley-hereIcome...’whisperedHeywoodFloyd.

2

FirstSight

ItisnottruethatonemustleaveEarthtoappreciatethefullsplendouroftheheavens.Not even in space is the starry skymore glorious thanwhen viewedfromahighmountain,onaperfectlyclearnight,farfromanysourceofartificialillumination.Eventhoughthestarsappearbrighterbeyondtheatmosphere, theeyecannot reallyappreciate thedifference;and theoverwhelmingspectacleofhalf the celestial sphere at a single glance is something that no observationwindowcanprovide.

But Heywood Floyd was more than content with his private view of theUniverse, especially during the times when the residential zone was on theshadowsideoftheslowlyrevolvingspacehospital.Thentherewouldbenothingin his rectangular field of view but stars, planets, nebulae - and occasionally,drowningoutallelse,theunblinkingglareofLucifer,newrivaltotheSun.

About ten minutes before the beginning of his artificial night, he wouldswitchoffallthecabinlights-eventheredemergencystandby-sothathecouldbecomecompletelydark-adapted.Alittlelateinlifeforaspaceengineer,hehadlearnedthepleasuresofnaked-eyeastronomy,andcouldnowidentifyvirtuallyanyconstellation,evenifhecouldglimpseonlyasmallportionofit.

Almostevery 'night' thatMay,as thecometwaspassing inside theorbitofMars, he had checked its location on the star charts.Although itwas an easyobjectwithagoodpairofbinoculars,Floydhadstubbornlyresistedtheiraid;hewasplayingalittlegame,seeinghowwellhisageingeyeswouldrespondtothechallenge. Though two astronomers on Mauna Kea already claimed to haveobservedthecometvisually,no-onebelievedthem,andsimilarassertionsfromotherresidentsofPasteurhadbeentreatedwithevengreaterscepticism.

Buttonight,amagnitudeofat leastsixwaspredicted;hemightbeinluck.He traced the line fromGamma toEpsilon, and stared towards theapexof animaginaryequilateraltrianglesetuponit-almostasifhecouldfocushisvisionacrosstheSolarSystembyasheereffortofwill.

And there it was! - just as he had first seen it, seventy-six years ago,inconspicuousbutunmistakable.Ifhehadnotknownexactlywheretolook,hewould not even have noticed it, or would have dismissed it as some distantnebula.

Tohisnakedeyeitwasmerelyatiny,perfectlycircularblobofmist;strainashewould,hewasunabletodetectanytraceofatail.Butthesmallflotillaofprobes that hadbeenescorting the comet formonthshad already recorded the

firstoutburstsofdustandgasthatwouldsooncreateaglowingplumeacrossthestars, pointing directly away from its creator, the Sun, Like everyone else,HeywoodFloydhadwatched the transformationof thecold,dark -no, almostblack - nucleus as it entered the inner Solar System. After seventy years ofdeepfreeze, the complex mixture of water, ammonia and other ices wasbeginningtothawandbubble.Aflyingmountain,roughlytheshape-andsize-oftheislandofManhattanwasturningonacosmicspiteveryfifty-threehours;astheheatoftheSunseepedthroughtheinsulatingcrust,thevaporizinggasesweremakingHalley'sComet behave like a leaking steam-boiler. Jets ofwatervapour,mixedwithdustandawitch'sbrewoforganicchemicals,wereburstingoutfromhalfadozensmallcraters;thelargest-aboutthesizeofafootballfield- erupted regularly about two hours after local dawn. It looked exactly like aterrestrialgeyser,andhadbeenpromptlychristened'OldFaithful'.

Already,hehadfantasiesofstandingontherimofthatcrater,waitingfortheSun to rise above the dark, contorted landscape which he already knew wellthroughtheimagesfromspace.

True, the contract said nothing about passengers - as opposed to crew andscientificpersonnel-goingoutsidetheshipwhenitlandedonHalley.

Ontheotherhand,therewasalsonothinginthesmallprintthatspecificallyforbadeit.

They'llhavea job tostopme, thoughtHeywoodFloyd. I'msure Icanstillhandleaspacesuit.

AndifI'mwrong...Herememberedreadingthatavisitor to theTajMahalhadonceremarked:

‘I'ddietomorrowforamonumentlikethis.’HewouldgladlysettleforHalley'sComet.

3

Re-entry

Evenapartfromthatembarrassingaccident,thereturntoEarthhadnotbeeneasy.

Thefirstshockhadcomesoonafter revival,whenDrRudenkohadwokenhimfromhis longsleep.WalterCurnowwashoveringbesideher,andeven inhissemi-consciousstatehecouldtellthatsomethingwaswrong;theirpleasureatseeinghimawakewasalittletooexaggerated,andfailedtoconcealasenseof

strain.NotuntilhewasfullyrecovereddidtheylethimknowthatDrChandrawasnolongerwiththem.

Somewhere beyond Mars, so imperceptibly that the monitors could notpinpointthetime,hehadsimplyceasedtolive.Hisbody,setadriftinspace,hadcontinueduncheckedalongLeonov'sorbit, andhad longsincebeenconsumedbythefiresoftheSun.

The cause of deathwas totally unknown, butMaxBrailovsky expressed aview that, highly unscientific though it was, not even Surgeon-CommanderKaterinaRudenkoattemptedtorefute.

‘Hecouldn'tlivewithoutHal.’WalterCurnow,ofallpeople,addedanotherthought.‘I wonder howHal will take it?’ he asked. ‘Something out theremust be

monitoringallourbroadcasts.Soonerorlater,he'llknow.’AndnowCurnowwasgonetoo-soweretheyallexceptlittleZenia.Hehad

notseenherfortwentyyears,buthercardarrivedpunctuallyeveryChristmas.Thelastonewasstillpinnedabovehisdesk;itshowedatroikaladenwithgiftsspeedingthroughthesnowsofaRussianwinter,watchedbyextremelyhungry-lookingwolves.

Forty-five years! Sometimes it seemed only yesterday that Leonov hadreturned to Earth orbit, and the applause of all mankind. Yet it had been acuriously subdued applause, respectful but lacking genuine enthusiasm. Themission to Jupiterhadbeenaltogether toomuchof a success; it hadopenedaPandora'sbox,thefullcontentsofwhichhadyettobedisclosed.

WhentheblackmonolithknownasTychoMagneticAnomalyOnehadbeenexcavatedontheMoon,onlyahandfulofmenknewofitsexistence.NotuntilafterDiscovery'sill-fatedvoyagetoJupiterdidtheworldlearnthat,fourmillionyearsago,anotherintelligencehadpassedthroughtheSolarSystem,andleftitscalling card.Thenewswas a revelation - but not a surprise; somethingof thesorthadbeenexpectedfordecades.

Andithadallhappenedlongbeforethehumanraceexisted.AlthoughsomemysteriousaccidenthadbefallenDiscoveryoutroundJupiter,therewasnorealevidencethatitinvolvedanythingmorethanashipboardmalfunction.Althoughthe philosophical consequences of TMA 1 were profound, for all practicalpurposesmankindwasstillaloneintheUniverse.

Nowthatwasnolongertrue.Onlylightminutesaway-amerestone'sthrowin the Cosmos - was an intelligence that could create a star, and, for its own

inscrutable purpose, destroy a planet a thousand times the size ofEarth.Evenmoreominouswasthefactthatithadshownawarenessofmankind,throughthelastmessage that Discovery had beamed back from themoons of Jupiter justbeforethefierybirthofLuciferhaddestroyedit:ALLTHESEWORLDSAREYOURS-EXCEPTEUROPA.ATTEMPTNOLANDINGSTHERE.

Thebrilliantnewstar,whichhadbanishednightexceptforthefewmonthsineachyearwhenitwaspassingbehindtheSun,hadbroughtbothhopeandfeartomankind.Fear-becausetheUnknown,especiallywhenitappearedlinkedwithomnipotence-couldnotfailtorousesuchprimevalemotions.Hope-becauseofthetransformationithadwroughtinglobalpolitics.

It had often been said that the only thing that could unitemankindwas athreatfromspace.

WhetherLuciferwasathreat,no-oneknew;butitwascertainlyachallenge.Andthat,asitturnedout,wasenough.

HeywoodFloydhadwatchedthegeopoliticalchangesfromhisvantagepointon Pasteur, almost as if hewas an alien observer himself.At first, he had nointentionofremaininginspace,oncehisrecoverywascomplete.Tothebaffledannoyanceofhisdoctors,thattookanaltogetherunreasonablelengthoftime.

Lookingback from the tranquillityof lateryears,Floydknewexactlywhyhisbonesrefusedtomend.

HesimplydidnotwishtoreturntoEarth:therewasnothingforhim,downonthedazzlingblueandwhiteglobethatfilledhissky.ThereweretimeswhenhecouldwellunderstandhowChandramighthavelostthewilltolive.

Itwaspurechancethathehadnotbeenwithhisfirstwifeonthatflight toEurope. Now Marion was part of another life, that might have belonged tosomeoneelse,and their twodaughterswereamiablestrangerswith familiesoftheirown.

ButhehadlostCarolinethroughhisownactions,eventhoughhehadnorealchoiceinthematter.Shehadneverunderstood(hadhereallydonesohimself?)whyhehadleftthebeautifulhometheyhadmadetogether,toexilehimselfforyearsinthecoldwastesfarfromtheSun.

Thoughhehadknown,evenbeforethemissionwashalfover,thatCarolinewould not wait, he had hoped desperately that Chris would forgive him. Buteventhisconsolationhadbeendenied;hissonhadbeenwithoutafatherfortoolong.BythetimethatFloydreturned,hehadfoundanother,inthemanwhohadtakenhisplaceinCaroline'slife.Theestrangementwascomplete;hethoughthewouldnevergetoverit,butofcoursehedid-afterafashion.

Hisbodyhadcunninglyconspiredwithhisunconsciousdesires.WhenatlasthereturnedtoEarth,afterhisprotractedconvalescenceinPasteur,hepromptlydeveloped such alarming symptoms - including something suspiciously likebonenecrosis-thathewasimmediatelyrushedbacktoorbit.Andtherehehadstayed,apartfromafewexcursionstotheMoon,completelyadaptedtolivinginthezerotoone-sixthgravityregimeoftheslowlyrotatingspacehospital.

Hewasnotarecluse-farfromit.Evenwhilehewasconvalescing,hewasdictatingreports,givingevidencetoendlesscommissions,beinginterviewedbymediarepresentatives.Hewasafamousman,andenjoyedtheexperience-whileitlasted.Ithelpedtocompensateforhisinnerwounds.

Thefirstcompletedecade-2020to2030-seemedtohavepassedsoswiftlythat he now found it difficult to focus upon it. There were the usual crises,scandals,crimes,catastrophes-notablytheGreatCalifornianEarthquake,whoseaftermath he hadwatchedwith fascinated horror through the station'smonitorscreens.Undertheirgreatestmagnification,infavourableconditions,theycouldshow individual human beings; but from his God's-eye-view it had beenimpossible to identifywith the scurrying dots fleeing from the burning cities.Onlythegroundcamerasrevealedthetruehorror.

Duringthatdecade,thoughtheresultswouldnotbeapparentuntillater,thepoliticaltectonicplatesweremovingasinexorablyasthegeologicalones-yetin theopposite sense,as if timewas runningbackwards.For in thebeginning,the Earth had possessed the single supercontinent of Pangaea,which over theaeonshadsplitasunder.Sohadthehumanspecies,intoinnumerabletribesandnations;nowitwasmergingtogether,astheoldlinguisticandculturaldivisionsbegantoblur.

AlthoughLuciferhadaccelerated theprocess, ithadbegundecadesearlier,whenthecomingofthejetagehadtriggeredanexplosionofglobaltourism.Atalmostthesametime-itwasnot,ofcourse,acoincidence-satellitesandfibreopticshad revolutionized communications.With thehistoric abolitionof long-distancechargeson31December2000,everytelephonecallbecamealocalone,andthehumanracegreetedthenewmillenniumbytransformingitselfintoonehuge,gossipingfamily.

Like most families, it was not always a peaceful one, but its disputes nolongerthreatenedtheentireplanet.Thesecond-andlast-nuclearwarsawtheuse incombatofnomorebombs than the first:precisely two.And though thekilotonnagewasgreater,thecasualtieswerefarfewer,asbothwereusedagainstsparselypopulatedoilinstallations.AtthatpointtheBigThreeofChina,theUSand the USSR moved with commendable speed and wisdom, sealing off the

battlezoneuntilthesurvivingcombatantshadcometotheirsenses.By the decade of 2020-30, amajorwar between theGreat Powerswas as

unthinkable as one between Canada and the United States had been in thecenturybefore.Thiswasnotduetoanyvast improvementinhumannature,orindeedtoanysinglefactorexceptthenormalpreferenceoflifeoverdeath.Muchof the machinery of peace was not even consciously planned: before thepoliticiansrealizedwhathadhappened,theydiscoveredthatitwasinplace,andfunctioningwell...

No statesman, no idealist of any persuasion invented the 'Peace Hostage'movement;theverynamewasnotcoineduntilwellaftersomeonehadnoticedthatatanygivenmomenttherewereahundredthousandRussiantouristsintheUnitedStates-andhalfamillionAmericansintheSovietUnion,mostofthemengagedintheirtraditionalpastimeofcomplainingabouttheplumbing.

And perhaps even more to the point, both groups contained adisproportionatelylargenumberofhighlynon-expendableindividuals-thesonsanddaughtersofwealth,privilegeandpoliticalpower.

Andevenifonewished,itwasnolongerpossibletoplanalarge-scalewar.The Age of Transparency had dawned in the 1990s, when enterprising newsmediahadstartedtolaunchphotographicsatelliteswithresolutionscomparabletothosethatthemilitaryhadpossessedforthreedecades.ThePentagonandtheKremlinwerefurious;buttheywerenomatchforReuters,AssociatedPressandtheunsleeping,twenty-four-hours-a-daycamerasoftheOrbitalNewsService.

By2060, even though theworldhadnotbeencompletelydisarmed, it hadbeeneffectivelypacified,andthefiftyremainingnuclearweaponswereallunderinternationalcontrol.Therewassurprisinglylittleoppositionwhenthatpopularmonarch,EdwardVIII,was elected the firstPlanetaryPresident, only a dozenstatesdissenting.They ranged in sizeand importance from thestill stubbornlyneutral Swiss (whose restaurants and hotels nevertheless greeted the newbureaucracy with open arms) to the even more fanatically independentMalvinians, who now resisted all attempts by the exasperated British andArgentinestofoistthemoffoneachother.

The dismantling of the vast and wholly parasitic armaments industry hadgiven an unprecedented - sometimes, indeed, unhealthy - boost to the worldeconomy.No longerwere vital rawmaterials and brilliant engineering talentsswallowed up in a virtual black hole - or, even worse, turned to destruction.Instead, they could be used to repair the ravages and neglect of centuries, byrebuildingtheworld.

And building new ones. Now indeed mankind had found the ‘moralequivalentofwar’,andachallengethatcouldabsorbthesurplusenergiesoftherace-forasmanymillenniaaheadasanyonedaredtodream.

4

Tycoon

Whenhewasborn,WilliamTsunghadbeencalled'themostexpensivebabyin theworld';heheld the title foronly twoyearsbefore itwasclaimedbyhissister.Shestillheldit,andnowthattheFamilyLawshadbeenrepealed,itwouldneverbechallenged.

Theirfather,thelegendarySirLawrence,hadbeenbornwhenChinahadre-institutedthestringent'OneChild,OneFamily'rule;hisgenerationhadprovidedpsychologistsandsocialscientistswithmaterial forendlessstudies.Havingnobrothers or sisters - and inmany cases, no uncles or aunts - itwas unique inhuman history.Whether credit was due to the resilience of the species or themeritoftheChinese'extendedfamily'systemwouldprobablyneverbesettled.

Thefactremainedthatthechildrenofthatstrangetimewereremarkablyfreefromscars;but theywerecertainlynotunaffected,andSirLawrencehaddonehissomewhatspectacularbesttomakeupfortheisolationofhisinfancy.

Whenhissecondchildwasbornin'22,thelicensingsystemhadbecomelaw.Youcouldhaveasmanychildrenasyouwished,providedonlythatyoupaidtheappropriate fee. (The surviving old guard communistswere not the only oneswho thought thewhole schemeperfectly appalling, but theywereoutvotedbytheirpragmaticcolleaguesinthefledglingcongressofthePeople'sDemocraticRepublic.)

Numbersoneandtwowerefree.Numberthreecostamillionsols.Numberfourwastwomillion.

Numberfivewasfourmillion,andsoon.Thefactthat,intheory,therewerenocapitalistsinthePeople'sRepublicwascheerfullyignored.

YoungMrTsung(thatwasyears,ofcourse,beforeKingEdwardgavehimhisKBE)neverrevealedifhehadanytargetinmind;hewasstillafairlypoormillionairewhenhisfifthchildwasborn.Buthewasstillonlyforty,andwhenthepurchaseofHongKongdidnottakequiteasmuchofhiscapitalashehadfeared,hediscoveredthathehadaconsiderableamountofsmallchangeinhand.

Soran the legend-but, likemanyotherstoriesaboutSirLawrence, itwashard to distinguish fact from mythology. There was certainly no truth in the

persistent rumour that he hadmade his first fortune through the famous shoe-box-sized pirate edition of the Library of Congress. The whole MolecularMemoryModuleracketwasanoff-Earthoperation,madepossiblebytheUnitedStates'failuretosigntheLunarTreaty.

Even though Sir Lawrence was not a multitrillionaire, the complex ofcorporationshehadbuiltupmadehimthegreatestfinancialpoweronearth-nosmall achievement for the son of a humble videocassette peddler inwhatwasstillknownastheNewTerritories.HeprobablynevernoticedtheeightmillionforChildNumberSix,oreventhethirty-twoforNumberEight.Thesixty-fourhehadtoadvanceonNumberNineattractedworldpublicity,andafterNumberTenthebetsplacedonhisfutureplansmaywellhaveexceededthetwohundredandfifty-sixmillionthenextchildwouldhavecosthim.However,atthatpointtheLadyJasmine,whocombinedthebestpropertiesofsteelandsilkinexquisiteproportion,decidedthattheTsungdynastywasadequatelyestablished.

Itwasquitebychance (if there is sucha thing) thatSirLawrencebecamepersonallyinvolvedinthespacebusiness.Hehad,ofcourse,extensivemaritimeand aeronautical interests, but these were handled by his five sons and theirassociates. Sir Lawrence's real love was communications - newspapers (thosefewthatwereleft),books,magazines(paperandelectronic)and,aboveall,theglobaltelevisionnetworks.

Thenhehadbought themagnificentoldPeninsularHotel,which toapoorChineseboyhadonceseemedtheverysymbolofwealthandpower,andturneditintohisresidenceandmainoffice.Hesurroundeditbyabeautifulpark,bythesimpleexpedientofpushingthehugeshoppingcentresunderground(hisnewlyformedLaserExcavationCorporationmadea fortune in theprocess,andsetaprecedentformanyothercities).

Oneday,ashewasadmiringtheunparalleledskylineofthecityacrosstheharbour,hedecided that a further improvementwasnecessary.Theview fromthe lower floors of the Peninsular had been blocked for decades by a largebuilding looking like a squashed golfball. This, Sir Lawrence decided, wouldhavetogo.

The Director of the Hong Kong Planetarium - widely considered to beamongthefivebestintheworld-hadotherideas,andverysoonSirLawrencewasdelightedtodiscoversomeonehecouldnotbuyatanyprice.Thetwomenbecame firm friends; butwhenDrHessenstein arranged a special presentationfor Sir Lawrence's sixtieth birthday, he did not know that he would help tochangethehistoryoftheSolarSystem.

5

OutoftheIce

MorethanahundredyearsafterZeisshadbuiltthefirstprototypeinJenain1924, there were still a few optical planetarium projectors in use, loomingdramaticallyovertheiraudiences.

ButHongKonghad retired its third-generation instrument decades ago, infavourofthefarmoreversatileelectronicsystem.Thewholeofthegreatdomewas, essentially, a giant television screen, made up of thousands of separatepanels,onwhichanyconceivableimagecouldbedisplayed.

The programme had opened - inevitably - with a tribute to the unknowninventor of the rocket, somewhere inChina during the thirteenth century. Thefirst fiveminuteswereahigh-speedhistorical survey,givingperhaps less thanduecredittotheRussian,GermanandAmericanpioneersinordertoconcentrateonthecareerofDrHsue-ShenTsien.Hiscountrymencouldbeexcused,insuchatimeandplace,iftheymadehimappearasimportantinthehistoryofrocketdevelopmentasGoddard,vonBraun,orKoroylev.And theycertainlyhad justgroundsforindignationathisarrestontrumped-upchargesintheUnitedStateswhen,afterhelpingtoestablishthefamedJetPropulsionLaboratoryandbeingappointed Caltech's first Goddard Professor, he decided to return to hishomeland.

ThelaunchingofthefirstChinesesatellitebythe 'LongMarch1'rocket in1970was barelymentioned, perhaps because at that time theAmericanswerealready walking on the Moon. Indeed, the rest of the twentieth century wasdismissedinafewminutes,totakethestoryupto2007andtheconstructionofthespaceshipTsien.

The narrator did not gloat unduly over the consternation of the otherspacefaring powers, when a presumed Chinese space station suddenly blastedout of orbit andheaded for Jupiter, toovertake theRussian-Americanmissionaboard the Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov. The story was dramatic - and tragic -enoughtorequirenoembellishment.

Unfortunately, therewasvery littleauthenticvisualmaterial to illustrate it:the programme had to rely largely on special effects and intelligentreconstruction from later, long-range photo-surveys.During their brief sojournon the icy surface of Europa, Tsien's crew had been far too busy to maketelevisiondocumentaries,orevensetupanunattendedcamera.

Nevertheless,thewordsspokenatthetimeconveyedmuchofthedramaof

that first landingon themoonsofJupiter.Thecommentarybroadcast fromtheapproachingLeonovbyHeywoodFloydservedadmirablytosetthescene,andtherewereplentyoflibraryshotsofEuropatoillustrateit:

‘At this very moment I'm looking at it through the most powerful of theship'stelescopes;underthismagnification,it'stentimeslargerthantheMoonasyouseeitwiththenakedeye.

‘Andit'sareallyweirdsight.‘Thesurfaceisauniformpink,withafewsmallbrownpatches.It'scovered

withanintricatenetworkofnarrowlines,curlingandweavinginalldirections.In fact, it looks verymuch like a photo from amedical textbook, showing apatternofveinsandarteries.

‘A fewof these features arehundreds -or even thousands -ofmiles long,and look rather like the illusory canals that Percival Lowell and other early-twentieth-centuryastronomersimaginedthey'dseenonMars.

‘ButEuropa'scanalsaren'tanillusion,thoughofcoursethey'renotartificial.What'smore, theydocontainwater -orat least ice.For thesatellite isalmostentirelycoveredbyocean,averagingtwentyfivemilesdeep.

‘Becauseit'ssofarfromtheSun,Europa'ssurfacetemperatureisextremelylow-aboutahundredandfiftydegreesbelowfreezing.Soonemightexpectitssingleoceantobeasolidblockofice.

‘Surprisingly,thatisn'tthecasebecausethere'salotofheatgeneratedinsideEuropa by tidal forces - the same forces that drive the great volcanoes onneighbouringIo.

‘Sotheiceiscontinuallymelting,breakingupandfreezing,formingcracksandlaneslikethoseinthefloatingicesheetsinourownpolarregions.It'sthatintricate tracery of cracks I'm seeing now; most of them are dark and veryancient-perhapsmillionsofyearsold.Butafewarealmostpurewhite;they'rethenewonesthathavejustopenedup,andhaveacrustonlyafewinchesthick.

‘Tsien has landed right beside one of these white streaks - the fifteen-hundred-mile-long feature that's been christened theGrandCanal. PresumablytheChineseintendtopumpitswaterintotheirpropellanttanks,sothattheycanexplore the Jovian satellite system and then return to Earth. Thatmay not beeasy,butthey'llcertainlyhavestudiedthelandingsitewithgreatcare,andmustknowwhatthey'redoing.

‘It's obvious, now, why they've taken such a risk - and why they claimEuropa.Asarefuellingpoint,itcouldbethekeytotheentireSolarSystem...’

Butithadn'tworkedoutthatway,thoughtSirLawrence,ashereclinedinhisluxuriouschairbeneaththestreakedandmottleddiscthatfilledhisartificialsky.TheoceansofEuropawerestillinaccessibletomankind,forreasonswhichwerestill a mystery. And not only inaccessible, but invisible: since Jupiter hadbecome a sun, both its inner satellites had vanished beneath clouds of vapourboilingoutfromtheirinteriors.HewaslookingatEuropaasithadbeenbackin2010-notasitwastoday.

Hehadbeenlittlemorethanaboythen,butcouldstillrememberthepridehefeltinknowingthathiscountrymen-howevermuchhedisapprovedoftheirpolitics-wereabouttomakethefirstlandingonavirginworld.

There hadbeenno camera there, of course, to record that landing, but thereconstructionwassuperblydone.HecouldreallybelievethatwasthedoomedspaceshipdroppingsilentlyoutofthejetblackskytowardstheEuropanicescape,andcomingtorestbesidethediscolouredbandofrecentlyfrozenwaterthathadbeenchristenedtheGrandCanal.

Everyoneknewwhathadhappenednext;perhapswisely,therehadbeennoattempt to reproduce it visually. Instead, the image of Europa faded, to bereplacedbyaportraitasfamiliartoeveryChineseasYuriGagarin'swastoeveryRussian.

ThefirstphotographshowedRupertChangonhisgraduationdayin1989-the earnest young scholar, indistinguishable from a million others, utter1yunawareofhisappointmentwithhistorytwodecadesinthefuture.

Briefly,toabackgroundofsubduedmusic,thecommentatorsummedupthehighlightsofDrChang'scareer,untilhisappointmentasScienceOfficeraboardTsien. Cross-sections in time, the photographs grew older, until the last one,takenimmediatelybeforethemission.

SirLawrencewasgladoftheplanetarium'sdarkness;bothhisfriendsandhisenemieswouldhavebeensurprisedtoseethemoisturegatheringinhiseyesashe listened to themessage thatDrChang had aimed towards the approachingLeonov,neverknowingifitwouldbereceived.

‘...knowyouareaboardLeonov...maynothavemuchtime...aimingmysuitantennawhereIthink...’

The signal vanished for agonizing seconds, then came backmuch clearer,thoughnotappreciablylouder.

‘...relaythisinformationtoEarth.Tsiendestroyedthreehoursago.I'monlysurvivor.

Usingmysuitradio-noideaifithasenoughrange,butit'stheonlychance.Please listen carefully. THERE IS LIFE ON EUROPA. I repeat: THERE ISLIFEONEUROPA...

Thesignalfadedagain.‘...soonafterlocalmidnight.Wewerepumpingsteadilyandthetankswere

almosthalffull.DrLee and Iwent out to check the pipe insulation.Tsien stands - stood -

about thirtyyards from theedgeof theGrandCanal.Pipesgodirectly from itand down through the ice. Very thin - not safe to walk on. The warmupwelling...’

Againalongsilence.‘... no problem - five kilowatts of lighting strung up on the ship. Like a

Christmas tree -beautiful, shining right through the ice.Gloriouscolours.Leesawitfirst-ahugedarkmassrisingupfromthedepths.Atfirstwethoughtitwasaschoolof fish - too large forasingleorganism- then it started tobreakthroughtheice.

‘... like huge strands of wet seaweed, crawling along the ground. Lee ranbacktotheshiptogetacamera-Istayedtowatch,reportingovertheradio.Thethingmoved so slowly I couldeasilyoutrun it. Iwasmuchmoreexcited thanalarmed.ThoughtIknewwhatkindofcreatureitwas-I'veseenpicturesofthekelpforestsoffCalifornia-butIwasquitewrong...

‘Icouldtellitwasintrouble.Itcouldn'tpossiblysurviveatatemperatureahundred and fifty below its normal environment. It was freezing solid as itmoved forward - bitswere breaking off like glass - but itwas still advancingtowardstheship-ablacktidalwave,slowingdownallthetime.

‘IwasstillsosurprisedthatIcouldn't thinkstraightandIcouldn't imaginewhatitwastryingtodo.

‘...climbinguptheship,buildingakindoficetunnelasitadvanced.Perhapsthiswas insulating it fromthecold- thewaytermitesprotect themselvesfromSunlightwiththeirlittlecorridorsofmud.

‘... tonsof iceontheship.Theradioantennasbrokeofffirst.ThenIcouldseethelandinglegsbeginningtobuckle-allinslowmotion,likeadream.

‘NotuntiltheshipstartedtotoppledidIrealizewhatthethingwastryingtodo - and then it was too late.We could have saved ourselves - if we'd onlyswitchedoffthoselights.

‘Perhapsit'saphototrope,itsbiologicalcycletriggeredbytheSunlightthat

filters through the ice.Or itcouldhavebeenattracted likeamoth toacandle.OurfloodlightsmusthavebeenmorebrilliantthananythingthatEuropahaseverknown.

‘Then theshipcrashed. I saw thehull split, acloudof snowflakes formasmoisturecondensed.Allthelightswentout,exceptforone,swingingbackandforthonacableacoupleofyardsabovetheground.

‘I don't know what happened immediately after that. The next thing Iremember, Iwasstandingunder the light,beside thewreckof theship,withafinepowderingoffreshsnowallaroundme.

‘Icouldseemyfootstepsinitveryclearly...Imusthaverunthere;perhapsonlyaminuteortwohadelapsed...

‘Theplant-Istillthoughtofitasaplant-wasmotionless.Iwonderedifithadbeendamagedbytheimpact; largesections-asthickasaman'sarm-hadsplinteredoff,likebrokentwigs.

‘Thenthemaintrunkstartedtomoveagain.Itpulledawayfromthehull,andbegantocrawltowardsme.ThatwaswhenIknewforcertainthatthethingwaslight-sensitive:Iwasstandingimmediatelyunderthethousand-wattlamp,whichhadstoppedswingingnow.

‘Imagineanoaktree-betterstill,abanyanwithitsmultipletrunksandroots-flattenedoutbygravityandtryingtocreepalongtheground.Itgottowithinfiveyardsofthelight,thenstartedtospreadoutuntilithadmadeaperfectcirclearoundme. Presumably thatwas the limit of its tolerance -the point atwhichphoto-attraction turned to repulsion. After that, nothing happened for severalminutes.Iwonderedifitwasdead-frozensolidatlast.

‘ThenI saw that largebudswere formingonmanyof thebranches. Itwaslikewatchingatime-lapsefilmofflowersopening.InfactI thoughttheywereflowers-eachaboutasbigasaman'shead.

‘Delicate, beautifully colouredmembranes started to unfold. Even then, itoccurred to me that no-one - no thing - could ever have seen these coloursbefore; theyhadnoexistenceuntilwebroughtour lights -our fatal lights - tothisworld.

‘Tendrils, stamens, waving feebly... I walked over to the living wall thatsurroundedme,sothatIwouldseeexactlywhatwashappening.Neitherthen,oratanyothertime,hadIfelttheslightestfearofthecreature.Iwascertainthatitwasnotmalevolent-ifindeeditwasconsciousatall.

‘Therewerescoresofthebigflowers, invariousstagesofunfolding.Now,

they reminded me of butterflies, just emerging from the chrysalis... wingscrumpled,stillfeeble...Iwasgettingcloserandclosertothetruth.

‘But theywerefreezing-dyingasquicklyas theyformed.Then,oneafteranother,theydroppedofffromtheparentbuds.Forafewmomentstheyfloppedaround like fishstrandedondry land -andat last I realizedexactlywhat theywere.Thosemembranesweren'tpetals-theywerefins,ortheirequivalent.Thiswasthefree-swimming,larvalstageofthecreature.Probablyitspendsmuchofitsliferootedontheseabed,thensendsthesemobileoffspringinsearchofnewterritory.JustlikethecoralsofEarth'soceans.

‘Ikneltdowntogetacloserlookatoneofthelittlecreatures.Thebeautifulcolourswerefadingnow, toadrabbrown.Someof thepetal-finshadsnappedoff,becomingbrittleshardsastheyfroze.Butitwasstillmovingfeebly,andasIapproachedittriedtoavoidme.Iwonderedhowitsensedmypresence.

‘ThenInoticedthatthestamens-asI'dcalledthem-allcarriedbrightbluedotsattheirtips.Theylookedliketinystarsapphires-ortheblueeyesalongthemantle of a scallop - aware of light, but unable to form true images. As Iwatched,thevividbluefaded,thesapphiresbecamedull,ordinarystones...

‘Dr Floyd - or anyone elsewho is listening - I haven'tmuchmore time -Jupiterwillsoonblockmysignal.ButI'vealmostfinished.

‘I knew thenwhat I had to do. The cable to that thousand-watt lampwashangingalmost to theground. Igave ita fewtugs,and the lightwentout inashowerofsparks.

‘Iwondered if itwas too late. For a fewminutes, nothing happened. So Iwalkedovertothewalloftangledbranchesaroundme,andkickedit.

‘Slowly, the creature started to unweave itself, and to retreat back to theCanal.Therewasplentyof light - I could seeeverythingperfectly.GanymedeandCallistowereinthesky-Jupiterwasahuge,thincrescent-andtherewasabigauroraldisplayonthenightside,attheJovianendoftheIofluxtube.Therewasnoneedtousemyhelmetlight.

‘I followed the creature all thewayback to thewater, encouraging itwithmorekickswhenitsloweddown,feelingthefragmentsoficecrunchingallthetimebeneathmyboots...AsitnearedtheCanal,itseemedtogainstrengthandenergy,as if itknewthat itwasapproaching itsnaturalhome. Iwondered if itwouldsurvive,tobudagain.

‘It disappeared through the surface, leaving a few last dead larvae on thealien land. The exposed freewater bubbled for a fewminutes until a scab ofprotectiveicesealeditfromthevacuumabove.ThenIwalkedbacktotheship

toseeiftherewasanythingtosalvage-Idon'twanttotalkaboutthat...‘I'veonlytworequeststomake,Doctor.Whenthetaxonomistsclassifythis

creature,Ihopethey'llnameitafterme.‘And-whenthenextshipcomeshome-askthemtotakeourbonesbackto

China...‘Jupiter will be cutting us off in a few minutes. I wish I knew whether

anyonewasreceivingme.Anyway,I'llrepeatthismessagewhenwe'reinlineofsightagain-ifmysuit'slife-supportsystemlaststhatlong.

‘This isProfessorChangonEuropa, reporting thedestructionof spaceshipTsien.WelandedbesidetheGrandCanalandsetupourpumpsattheedgeoftheice...’

The signal faded abruptly, came back for a moment, then disappearedcompletely below the noise level. There would never be any furthermessagefromProfessorChang;butithadalreadydeflectedLawrenceTsung'sambitionsintospace.

6

TheGreeningofGanymede

RolfvanderBergwastherightman,intherightplace,attherighttime;noother combination would have worked. Which, of course, is how much ofhistoryismade.

Hewastherightmanbecausehewasasecond-generationAfrikanerrefugee,andatrainedgeologist;bothfactorswereequallyimportant.Hewasintherightplace,becausethathadtobethelargestoftheJovianmoons-thirdoutwardsinthesequenceIo,Europa,Ganymede,Callisto.

Thetimewasnotsocritical,fortheinformationhadbeentickingawaylikeadelayed-actionbombinthedatabanksforatleastadecade.VanderBergdidnotencounterituntil'57;eventhenittookhimanotheryeartoconvincehimselfthathewasnotcrazy-anditwas'59beforehehadquietlysequesteredtheoriginalrecordssothatno-onecouldduplicatehisdiscovery.Onlythencouldhesafelygivehisfullattentiontothemainproblem:whattodonext.

Ithadallbegun,asissooftenthecase,withanapparentlytrivialobservationinafieldwhichdidnotevenconcernvanderBergdirectly.Hisjob,asamemberofthePlanetaryEngineeringTaskForce,wastosurveyandcataloguethenaturalresourcesofGanymede;hehadlittlebusinessfoolingaroundwiththeforbidden

satellitenextdoor.But Europa was an enigma which no-one - least of all its immediate

neighbours - could ignore for long. Every seven days it passed betweenGanymede and the brilliant minisun that had once been Jupiter, producingeclipseswhichcould lastas longas twelveminutes.At itsclosest, it appearedslightly smaller than theMoon as seen fromEarth, but it dwindled to amerequarterofthatsizewhenitwasontheothersideofitsorbit.

The eclipseswere often spectacular. Just before it slid betweenGanymedeandLucifer,Europawouldbecomeanominousblackdisc,outlinedwitharingofcrimsonfire,asthelightofthenewsunwasrefractedthroughtheatmosphereithadhelpedtocreate.

Inlessthanhalfahumanlifetime,Europahadbeentransformed.Thecrustof ice on the hemisphere always facingLucifer hadmelted, to form theSolarSystem'ssecondocean.Foradecadeithadfoamedandbubbledintothevacuumaboveit,untilequilibriumhadbeenreached.NowEuropapossessedathinbutserviceable - though not to human beings - atmosphere of water vapour,hydrogen sulphide, carbon and sulphur dioxides, nitrogen, and miscellaneousraregases.Thoughthesomewhatmisnamed 'nightside'of thesatellitewasstillpermanently frozen, an area as large as Africa now had a temperate climate,liquidwater,andafewscatteredislands.

Allthis,andnotmuchmore,hadbeenobservedthroughtelescopesinEarthorbit.By the time that the first full-scale expedition had been launched to theGalilean moons, in 2028, Europa had already become veiled by a permanentmantleofclouds.Cautiousradarprobingrevealedlittlebutsmoothoceanononeface, and almost equally smooth ice on the other; Europa still maintained itsreputationastheflattestpieceofrealestateintheSolarSystem.Tenyearslater,that was no longer true: something drastic had happened to Europa. It nowpossessedasolitarymountain,almostashighasEverest,juttingupthroughtheiceofthetwilightzone.Presumablysomevolcanicactivity-likethatoccurringceaselesslyonneighbouringIo-hadthrustthismassofmaterialskywards.Thevastlyincreasedheat-flowfromLucifercouldhavetriggeredsuchanevent.

Buttherewereproblemswiththisobviousexplanation.MountZeuswasanirregularpyramid,nottheusualvolcaniccone,andradarscansshowednoneofthe characteristic lava flows. Some poor-quality photographs obtained throughtelescopes on Ganymede, during a momentary break in the clouds, suggestedthatitwasmadeofice,likethefrozenlandscapearoundit.Whatevertheanswer,the creation ofMount Zeus had been a traumatic experience for the world itdominated, for the entire crazy-paving pattern of fractured ice floes over the

nightsidehadchangedcompletely.Onemaverick scientist had put forward the theory thatMountZeuswas a

'cosmic iceberg' - a cometary fragment that had dropped upon Europa fromspace;batteredCallistogaveampleproofthatsuchbombardmentshadoccurredintheremotepast.ThetheorywasveryunpopularonGanymede,whosewould-becolonistsalreadyhadsufficientproblems.

They had been much relieved when van der Berg had refuted the theoryconvincingly; anymass of ice this sizewould have shattered on impact - andeven if it hadn't, Europa's gravity,modest though it was, would have quicklybroughtaboutitscollapse.RadarmeasurementsshowedthatthoughMountZeuswasindeedsteadilysinking,itsoverallshaperemainedcompletelyunaltered.

Icewasnottheanswer.Theproblemcould,ofcourse,havebeen settledby sendinga singleprobe

throughthecloudsofEuropa.Unfortunately,whateverwasbeneaththatalmostpermanentovercastdidnotencouragecuriosity.

ALLTHESEWORLDSAREYOURS-EXCEPTEUROPA.ATTEMPTNOLANDINGSTHERE.That last message relayed from the spaceship Discovery just before its

destructionhadnotbeenforgotten,buttherehadbeenendlessargumentsaboutits interpretation. Did ‘landings’ refer to robot probes, or only to mannedvehicles? And what about close flybys - manned or unmanned? Or balloonsfloatingintheupperatmosphere?

Thescientistswereanxioustofindout,butthegeneralpublicwasdistinctlynervous.AnypowerthatcoulddetonatethemightiestplanetintheSolarSystemwasnottobetrifledwith.AnditwouldtakecenturiestoexploreandexploitIo,Ganymede,Callistoandthedozensofminorsatellites;Europacouldwait.

More than once, therefore, van der Berg had been told not to waste hisvaluabletimeonresearchofnopracticalimportance,whentherewassomuchtobedoneonGanymede. ('Wherecanwefindcarbon-phosphorus-nitrates forthe hydroponic farms? How stable is the Barnard Escarpment? Is there anydanger ofmoremudslides in Phrygia?’And so on and so forth...)But he hadinherited his Boer ancestors' well-deserved reputation for stubbornness: evenwhenhewasworkingonhisnumerousotherprojects,hekeptlookingoverhisshoulderatEuropa.

Andone day, just a fewhours, a gale from the nightside cleared the skiesaboutMountZeus.

7

Transit

‘ItootakeleaveofallIeverhad...’From what depths of memory had that line come swimming up to the

surface?HeywoodFloydclosedhiseyes,andtriedtofocusonthepast.Itwascertainly fromapoem - andhehadhardly read a lineof poetry since leavingcollege. And little enough then, except during a short English AppreciationSeminar.

With no further clues, it might take the station computer quite a while -perhapsasmuchastenminutes-tolocatethelineinthewholebodyofEnglishliterature. But that would be cheating (not to mention expensive) and Floydpreferredtoaccepttheintellectualchallenge.

Awar poem, of course - but whichwar? There had been somany in thetwentiethcentury.

He was still searching through the mental mists when his guests arrived,moving with the effortless, slow-motion grace of longtime one-sixth gravityresidents. The society of Pasteur was strongly influenced by what had beenchristened 'centrifugalstratification';somepeopleneverleftthezerogeeofthehub, while those who hoped one day to return to Earth preferred the almostnormal-weightregimeoutontherimofthehuge,slowlyrevolvingdisc.

Georgeand JerrywerenowFloyd'soldest andclosest friends -whichwassurprising,becausetheyhadsofewobviouspointsincommon.Lookingbackonhis own somewhat chequered emotional career - two marriages, three formalcontracts, two informal ones, three children - he often envied the long-termstabilityoftheirrelationship,apparentlyquiteunaffectedbythe‘nephews’fromEarthorMoonwhovisitedthemfromtimetotime.

‘Haven'tyoueverthoughtofdivorce?’hehadonceaskedthemteasingly.Asusual,George -whoseacrobaticyetprofoundly seriousconductinghad

beenlargelyresponsibleforthecomebackoftheclassicalorchestra-wasatnolossforwords.

‘Divorce-never,’washisswiftreply.‘Murder-often.’‘Ofcourse,he'dnevergetawaywithit,’Jerryhadretorted.‘Sebastianwould

spillthebeans.’Sebastianwasabeautifulandtalkativeparrotwhichthecouplehadimported

afteralongbattlewiththehospitalauthorities.Hecouldnotonlytalk,butcould

reproduce theopeningbarsof theSibeliusViolinConcerto,withwhichJerry-considerably helped by Antonio Stradivari - had made his reputation half acenturyago.

Now the time had come to say goodbye to George, Jerry and Sebastian -perhapsonlyforafewweeks,perhapsforever.Floydhadalreadymadeallhisotherfarewells,inaroundofpartiesthathadgravelydepletedthestation'swinecellar,andcouldthinkofnothinghehadleftundone.

Archie, his early-model but still perfectly serviceable comsec, had beenprogrammedtohandleallincomingmessages,eitherbysendingoutappropriatereplies or by routing anything urgent and personal to him aboardUniverse. Itwouldbestrange,afteralltheseyears,nottobeabletotalktoanyonehewished-thoughincompensationhecouldalsoavoidunwantedcallers.Afterafewdaysinto the voyage, the ship would be far enough from Earth to make real-timeconversation impossible,andallcommunicationwouldhave tobebyrecordedvoiceorteletext.

‘Wethoughtyouwereourfriend,’complainedGeorge.‘Itwasadirtytricktomakeusyourexecutors-especiallyasyou'renotgoingtoleaveusanything.’

‘Youmayhavea fewsurprises,’grinnedFloyd. ‘Anyway,Archiewill takecare of all the details. I'd just like you to monitor my mail, in case there'sanythinghedoesn'tunderstand.’

‘Ifhewon't,norwillwe.Whatdoweknowaboutallyourscientificsocietiesandthatsortofnonsense?’

‘They can look after themselves. Please see that the cleaning staff doesn'tmessthingsuptoobadlywhileI'maway-and,ifIdon'tcomeback-hereareafewpersonalitemsI'dlikedelivered-mostlyfamily.’

Family!Therewerepains,aswellaspleasures, in livingas longashehaddone.

Ithadbeensixty-three-sixty-three!-yearssinceMarionhaddiedinthataircrash.Nowhefeltatwingeofguilt,becausehecouldnotevenrecallthegriefhemust have known.Or at best, itwas a synthetic reconstruction, not a genuinememory.

What would they havemeant to each other, had she still been alive? Shewouldhavebeenjustahundredyearsoldbynow.

Andnowthetwolittlegirlshehadoncelovedsomuchwerefriendly,grey-hairedstrangersintheirlatesixties,withchildren-andgrandchildren!-oftheirown. At last count there had been nine on that side of the family; without

Archie'shelp,hewouldneverbeabletokeeptrackoftheirnames.ButatleasttheyallrememberedhimatChristmas,throughdutyifnotaffection.

Hissecondmarriage,ofcourse,hadoverlainthememoriesofhisfirst, likethelaterwritingonamedievalpalimpsest.Thattoohadended,fiftyyearsago,somewherebetweenEarthandJupiter.Thoughhehadhopedforareconciliationwithbothwifeandson,therehadbeentimeforonlyonebriefmeeting,amongallthewelcomingceremonies,beforehisaccidentexiledhimtoPasteur.

The meeting had not been a success; nor had the second, arranged atconsiderableexpenseanddifficultyaboardthespacehospital itself- indeed,inthisveryroom.Chrishadbeen twenty then,andhad justmarried; if therewasonethingthatunitedFloydandCaroline,itwasdisapprovalofhischoice.

YetHelenahadturnedoutremarkablywell:shehadbeenagoodmothertoChrisII,bornbarelyamonthafterthemarriage.Andwhen,likesomanyotheryoungwives,shewaswidowedbytheCopernicusDisaster,shedidnotloseherhead.

Therewasacurious ironyin thefact thatbothChrisIandIIhadlost theirfatherstospace,thoughinverydifferentways.Floydhadreturnedbrieflytohiseight-year-oldsonasatotalstranger;ChrisIIhadatleastknownafatherforthefirstdecadeofhislife,beforelosinghimforever.

AndwherewasChris thesedays?NeitherCarolinenorHelena-whowerenowthebestoffriends-seemedtoknowwhetherhewasonEarthorinspace.But that was typical; only postcards date-stamped CLAVIUS BASE hadinformedhisfamilyofhisfirstvisittotheMoon.

Floyd'scardwasstilltapedprominentlyabovehisdesk.ChrisIIhadagoodsense of humour - and of history. He hadmailed his grandfather that famousphotograph of the Monolith, looming over the spacesuited figures gatheredrounditintheTychoexcavation,morethanhalfacenturyago.

All theothers in thegroupwerenowdead,and theMonolith itselfwasnolonger on theMoon. In 2006, aftermuch controversy, it had been brought toEarthanderected-anuncannyechoofthemainbuilding-intheUnitedNationsPlaza.Ithadbeenintendedtoremindthehumanracethatitwasnolongeralone;fiveyearslater,withLuciferblazinginthesky,nosuchreminderwasneeded.

Floyd's fingerswerenotvery steady - sometimeshis righthandseemed tohaveawillofitsown-asheunpeeledthecardandslippeditintohispocket.Itwouldbealmost theonlypersonalpossessionhewould takewhenheboardedUniverse.

‘Twenty-five days - you'll be back beforewe've noticed you're gone,’ said

Jerry.‘Andbytheway,isittruethatyou'llhaveDimitrionboard?’‘That littleCossack!’ snortedGeorge. ‘I conducted his Second Symphony,

backin'22.’‘Wasn'tthatwhentheFirstViolinthrewup,duringthelargo?’‘No - thatwasMahler, notMihailovich.And anyway itwas the brass, so

nobody noticed - except the unlucky tuba player,who sold his instrument thenextday.’

‘You'remakingthisup!’‘Ofcourse.Butgive theold rascalmy love, andaskhim ifhe remembers

thatnightwehadoutinVienna.Whoelsehaveyougotaboard?’‘I'veheardhorriblerumoursaboutpressgangs,’saidJerrythoughtful1y.‘Greatlyexaggerated,Icanassureyou.We'veallbeenpersonallychosenby

Sir Lawrence for our intelligence, wit, beauty, charisma, or other redeemingvirtue.’

‘Notexpendability?’‘Well, now that you mention it, we've all had to sign a depressing legal

document, absolving Tsung Spacelines from every conceivable liability. Mycopy'sinthatfile,bytheway.’

‘Anychanceofuscollectingonit?’askedGeorgehopefully.‘No-mylawyerssay it's iron-clad.Tsungagrees to takemetoHalleyand

back,givemefood,water,air,andaroomwithaview.’‘Andinreturn?’‘When I get back I'll do my best to promote future voyages, make some

videoappearances,writeafewarticles-allveryreasonable,forthechanceofalifetime.Ohyes-I'llalsoentertainmyfellowpassengers-andviceversa.’

‘How?Songanddance?’‘Well, I hope to inflict selected portions of my memoirs on a captive

audience.ButIdon'tthinkI'llbeabletocompetewiththeprofessionals.DidyouknowthatYvaMerlinwillbeonboard?’

‘What!HowdidtheycoaxheroutofthatParkAvenuecell?’‘Shemustbeahundredand-oops,sorry,Hey.’‘She'sseventy,plusorminus

five.’‘Forgettheminus.IwasjustakidwhenNapoleoncameout.’Therewasalongpausewhileeachofthetrioscannedhismemoriesofthat

famouswork.

AlthoughsomecriticsconsideredherScarlettO'Haratobeherfinestrole,tothegeneralpublicYvaMerlin(néeEvelynMiles,whenshewasborninCardiff,South Wales) was still identified with Josephine. Almost half a century ago,DavidGriffin's controversial epic had delighted the French and infuriated theBritish - though both sides now agreed that he had occasionally allowed hisartistic impulses to triflewith the historical record, notably in the spectacularfinalsequenceoftheEmperor'scoronationinWestminsterAbbey.

‘That'squiteascoopforSirLawrence,’saidGeorgethoughtfully.‘IthinkIcanclaimsomecreditforthat.Herfatherwasanastronomer-he

workedformeatonetime-andshe'salwaysbeenquiteinterestedinscience.SoImadeafewvideocalls.’

Heywood Floyd did not feel it necessary to add that, like a substantialfraction of the human race, he had fallen in love with Yva ever since theappearanceofGWTWMarkII.

‘Of course,’ he continued, ‘Sir Lawrence was delighted - but I had toconvincehimthatshehadmorethanacasual interest inastronomy.Otherwisethevoyagecouldbeasocialdisaster.’

‘Which remindsme,’ saidGeorge,producinga smallpackagehehadbeennotverysuccessfullyhidingbehindhisback.‘Wehavealittlepresentforyou.’

‘CanIopenitnow?’‘Doyouthinkheshould?’Jerrywonderedanxiously.‘Inthatcase,Icertainlywill,’saidFloyd,untyingthebrightgreenribbonand

unwrappingthepaper.Insidewas a nicely framedpainting.AlthoughFloydknew little of art, he

hadseenitbefore;indeed,whocouldeverforgetit?The makeshift raft tossing on the waves was crowded with half-naked

castaways, somealreadymoribund,otherswavingdesperatelyat a shipon thehorizon.Beneathitwasthecaption:THERAFTOFTHEMEDUSA(TheodoreGéricault,1791-1824)

Andunderneaththatwasthemessage,signedbyGeorgeandJerry:‘Gettingthereishalfthefun.’

‘You'reapairofbastards,andIloveyoudearly,’saidFloyd,embracingthemboth.TheATTENTIONlightonArchie'skeyboardwasflashingbriskly;itwastimetogo.

His friends left in a silence more eloquent than words. For the last time,Heywood Floyd looked around the little room that had been his universe for

almosthalfhislife.Andsuddenlyherememberedhowthatpoemended:‘Ihavebeenhappy:happynowIgo.’

8

Starfleet

Sir Lawrence Tsung was not a sentimental man, and was far toocosmopolitan to takepatriotismseriously - thoughasanundergraduatehehadbriefly sported one of the artificial pigtails worn during the Third CulturalRevolution.Yet theplanetarium re-enactmentof theTsiendisastermovedhimdeeply, and caused him to focusmuch of his enormous influence and energyuponspace.

Beforelong,hewastakingweekendtripstotheMoon,andhadappointedhisson Charles (the thirty-two-million-so! one) as Vice-President of TsungAstrofreight. The new corporation had only two catapult-launched, hydrogen-fuelledramrocketsoflessthanathousandtonsemptymass;theywouldsoonbeobsolete,buttheycouldprovideCharleswiththeexperiencethat,SirLawrencewasquite certain,wouldbeneeded in thedecades ahead.For at long last, theSpaceAgewastrulyabouttobegin.

Littlemore than half a century had separated theWrightBrothers and thecomingofcheap,massairtransportation;ithadtakentwiceaslongtomeetthefargreaterchallengeoftheSolarSystem.

YetwhenLuisAlvarezandhisteamhaddiscoveredmuon-catalysedfusionbackinthe1950s,ithadseemednomorethanatantalizinglaboratorycuriosity,ofonly theoretical interest.Justas thegreatLordRutherfordhadpooh-poohedthe prospects of atomic power, so Alvarez himself doubted that 'cold nuclearfusion'wouldeverbeofpracticalimportance.Indeed,itwasnotuntil2040thatthe unexpected and accidental manufacture of stable muonium-hydrogen'compounds' had opened up a new chapter of human history - exactly as thediscoveryoftheneutronhadinitiatedtheAtomicAge.

Nowsmall,portablenuclearpowerplantscouldbebuilt,withaminimumofshielding. Such enormous investments had already beenmade in conventionalfusion that theworld's electrical utilitieswere not - at first - affected, but theimpact on space travel was immediate; it could be paralleled only by the jetrevolutioninairtransportofahundredyearsearlier.

Nolongerenergy-limited,spacecraftcouldachievefargreaterspeeds;flight

timesintheSolarSystemcouldnowbemeasuredinweeksratherthanmonthsorevenyears.But themuondrivewas still a reactiondevice - a sophisticatedrocket,nodifferentinprinciplefromitschemicallyfuelledancestors;itneededaworkingfluidtogiveitthrust.Andthecheapest,cleanest,andmostconvenientofallworkingfluidswas-plainwater.

ThePacific Spaceportwas not likely to run short of this useful substance.Mattersweredifferentat thenextportofcall- theMoon.Notatraceofwaterhadbeendiscoveredby theSurveyor,Apollo,andLunamissions. If theMoonhadeverpossessedanynativewater,aeonsofmeteoricbombardmenthadboiledandblasteditintospace.

Orso theselenologistsbelieved;yetclues to thecontraryhadbeenvisible,ever since Galileo had turned his first telescope upon theMoon. Some lunarmountains,forafewhoursafterdawn,glitterasbrilliantlyasiftheyarecappedwith snow. The most famous case is the rim of the magnificent craterAristarchus, which William Herschel, the father of modem astronomy, onceobserved shining so brightly in the lunar night that he decided it must be anactivevolcano.Hewaswrong;whathesawwastheEarthlightreflectedfromathin and transient layer of frost, condensed during the three hundred hours offreezingdarkness.

ThediscoveryofthegreaticedepositsbeneathSchroter'sValley,thesinuouscanyonwindingawayfromAnstarchus,wasthelastfactor in theequationthatwould transform the economics of space-flight. The Moon could provide afillingstationjustwhereitwasneeded,highupontheoutermostslopesof theEarth'sgravitationalfield,atthebeginningofthelonghaultotheplanets.

Cosmos, first of the Tsung fleet, had been designed to carry freight andpassengersontheEarth-Moon-Marsrun,andasatest-vehicle,throughcomplexdeals with a dozen organizations and governments, of the still experimentalmuondrive.BuiltattheImbriurnshipyards,shehadjustsufficientthrusttoliftoff fromtheMoonwithzeropayload;operatingfromorbit toorbit,shewouldneveragaintouchthesurfaceofanyworld.Withhisusualflairforpublicity,SirLawrence arranged for her maiden flight to commence on the hundredthanniversaryofSputnikDay,4October2057.

Twoyears later,Cosmoswas joinedbya sister ship.GalaxywasdesignedfortheEarth-Jupiterrun,andhadenoughthrusttooperatedirectlytoanyoftheJovian moons, though at considerable sacrifice of payload. If necessary, shecould even return to her lunar berth for refitting. Shewas by far the swiftestvehicle ever built byman: if she burned up her entire propellantmass in oneorgasmofacceleration,shewouldattainaspeedoffivehundredmilesasecond-

whichwouldtakeherfromEarthtoJupiterinaweek,andtotheneareststarinnotmuchmorethantenthousandyears.

Thethirdshipofthefleet-andSirLawrence'sprideandjoy-embodiedallthathadbeen learned in thebuildingofher two sisters.ButUniversewasnotintendedprimarilyforfreight.

Shewasdesignedfromthebeginningasthefirstpassengerlinertocruisethespacelanes-rightouttoSaturn,thejeweloftheSolarSystem.

SirLawrencehadplannedsomethingevenmorespectacularforhermaidenvoyage,butconstructiondelayscausedbyadisputewith theLunarChapteroftheReformedTeamsters'Unionhadupsethisschedule.TherewouldjustbetimefortheinitialflighttestsandLloyd'scertificationintheclosingmonthsof2060,beforeUniverseleftEarthorbitforherrendezvous.

Itwouldbeaveryclosething:Halley'sCometwouldnotwait,evenforSirLawrenceTsung.

9

MountZeus

ThesurveysatelliteEuropaVIhadbeeninorbitforalmostfifteenyears,andhadfarexceededitsdesignlife;whetheritshouldbereplacedwasasubjectofconsiderabledebateinthesmallGanymedescientificestablishment.

Itcarriedtheusualcollectionofdata-gatheringinstruments,aswellasanowvirtuallyuselessimagingsystem.Thoughstill inperfectworkingorder,allthatthisnormallyshowedofEuropawasanunbrokencloudscape.TheoverworkedscienceteamonGanymedescannedtherecordingsin'QuickLook'modeonceaweek, then squirted the raw data back toEarth.On thewhole, theywould beratherrelievedwhenEuropaVIexpiredanditstorrentofuninterestinggigabytesfinallydriedup.

Now,forthefirsttimeinyears,ithadproducedsomethingexciting.‘Orbit 71934,’ said theDeputyChiefAstronomer,who had called van der

Bergassoonas the latestdata-dumphadbeenevaluated. ‘Cominginfromthenightside-headingstraightforMountZeus.Youwon'tseeanythingforanothertenseconds,though.’

Thescreenwascompletelyblack,yetvanderBergcouldimaginethefrozenlandscaperollingpastbeneathitsblanketofcloudsfivehundredmilesbelow.InafewhoursthedistantSunwouldbeshiningthere,forEuroparevolvedonits

axisonceineverysevenEarth-days.‘Nightside’ should really be called ‘Twilight-side’, for half the time it had

ample light - but no heat. Yet the inaccurate name had stuck, because it hademotionalvalidity:EuropaknewSunrise,butneverLucifer-rise.

AndtheSunrisewascomingnow,speededupathousandfoldbytheracingprobe.Afaintlyluminousbandbisectedthescreen,asthehorizonemergedfromdarkness.

TheexplosionoflightwassosuddenthatvanderBergcouldalmostimaginehewaslookingintotheglareofanatomicbomb.Inafractionofasecond,itranthroughallthecoloursoftherainbow,thenbecamepurewhiteastheSunleaptabovethemountain-thenvanishedastheautomaticfilterscutintothecircuit.

‘That's all; pity therewas nooperator onduty at the time - he couldhavepannedthecameradownandhadagoodviewofthemountainaswewentover.ButIknewyou'dliketoseeit-eventhoughitdisprovesyourtheory.’

‘How?’saidvanderBerg,morepuzzledthanannoyed.‘When you go through it in slow motion, you'll see what I mean. Those

beautiful rainbow effects - they're not atmospheric - they're caused by themountainitself.Onlyicecoulddothat.

‘Orglass-whichdoesn'tseemverylikely.’‘Not impossible - volcanoes can produce natural glass - but it's usually

black...ofcourse!’‘Yes?’‘Er-Iwon'tcommitmyselfuntilI'vebeenthroughthedata.Butmyguess

wouldbe rockcrystal - transparentquartz.Youcanmakebeautifulprismsandlensesoutofit.Anychanceofsomemoreobservations?’

‘I'mafraidnot- thatwaspureluck-Sun,mountain,cameraall linedupattherighttime.

‘Itwon'thappenagaininathousandyears.’‘Thanks,anyway-canyousendmeoveracopy?Nohurry-I'mjustleaving

onafieldtriptoPerrine,andwon'tbeabletolookatituntilIgetback.’VanderBerggaveashort,ratherapologeticlaugh.‘Youknow,ifthatreallyisrockcrystal,itwouldbeworthafortune.Might

evenhelpsolveourbalanceofpaymentsproblem...’But that, of course, was utter fantasy. Whatever wonders - or treasures -

Europamight conceal, the human race had been forbidden access to them, by

thatlastmessagefromDiscovery.Fiftyyearslater,therewasnosignthattheinterdictionwouldeverbelifted.

10

ShipofFools

Forthefirstforty-eighthoursofthevoyage,HeywoodFloydcouldnotreallybelieve the comfort, the spaciousness - the sheer extravagance of Universe'sliving arrangements.Yetmost of his fellowpassengers took them for granted;thosewhohadneverleftEarthbeforeassumedthatallspaceshipsmustbelikethis.

Hehadtolookbackatthehistoryofaeronauticstoputmattersintherightperspective. In his own lifetime, he hadwitnessed - indeed, experienced - therevolution that had occurred in the skies of the planet now dwindling behindhim.BetweentheclumsyoldLeonovandthesophisticatedUniverselayexactlyfifty years. (Emotionally, he couldn't really believe that - but it was uselessarguingaboutarithmetic.)

And just fifty years had separated the Wright Brothers from the first jetairliners.Atthebeginningofthathalf-century,intrepidaviatorshadhoppedfromfieldtofield,begoggledandwindsweptonopenchairs;atitsend,grandmothershadslumberedpeacefullybetweencontinentsatfivehundredmilesanhour.

Sohe should not, perhaps, have been astonished at the luxury and elegantdecorofhisstateroom,oreventhefactthathehadastewardtokeepittidy.Thegenerouslysizedwindowwasthemoststartlingfeatureofhissuite,andatfirsthefeltquiteuncomfortablethinkingofthetonsofairpressureitwasholdingincheck against the implacable, and never for a moment relaxing, vacuum ofspace.

The biggest surprise, even though the advance literature should havepreparedhimforit,wasthepresenceofgravity.Universewasthefirstspaceshipeverbuilttocruiseundercontinuousacceleration,exceptforthefewhoursofthemid-course'turnaround'.Whenherhugepropellanttankswerefullyloadedwiththeirfivethousandtonsofwater,shecouldmanageatenthofagee-notmuch,but enough to keep loose objects from drifting around. This was particularlyconvenientatmealtimes-thoughittookafewdaysforthepassengerstolearnnottostirtheirsouptoovigorously.

Forty-eight hours out from Earth, the population of Universe had alreadystratifieditselfintofourdistinctclasses.

ThearistocracyconsistedofCaptainSmithandhisofficers.Nextcamethepassengers;thencrew-non-commissionedandstewards.Andthensteerage...

Thatwasthedescriptionthatthefiveyoungspacescientistshadadoptedforthemselves, first as a joke but laterwith a certain amount of bitterness.WhenHoydcomparedtheircrampedandjury-riggedquarterswithhisownluxuriouscabin, he could see their point of view, and soon became the conduit of theircomplaintstotheCaptain.

Yetallthingsconsidered,theyhadlittletogrumbleabout;intherushtogetthe ship ready, it had been touch and go as to whether there would be anyaccommodationforthemandtheirequipment.Nowtheycouldlookforwardtodeployinginstrumentsaround-andon-thecometduringthecriticaldaysbeforeit rounded the Sun, and departed oncemore to the outer reaches of the SolarSystem.Themembersof thescience teamwouldestablish their reputationsonthis voyage, and knew it. Only in moments of exhaustion, or fury withmisbehaving instrumentation, did they start complaining about the noisyventilating system, the claustrophobic cabins, andoccasional strange smells ofunknownorigin.

But never the food, which everyone agreed was excellent. ‘Much better,’CaptainSmithassuredthem,‘thanDarwinhadontheBeagle.’

TowhichVictorWillishadpromptlyretorted:‘How does he know?And by theway,Beagle's commander cut his throat

whenhegotbacktoEngland.’Thatwas rather typical of Victor, perhaps the planet's best-known science

communicator - to his fans - or 'pop-scientist' - to his equally numerousdetractors.Itwouldbeunfairtocallthemenemies;admirationforhistalentswasuniversal, ifoccasionallygrudging.His soft,mid-Pacific accent andexpansivegesturesoncamerawerewidelyparodied,andhehadbeencredited(orblamed)fortherevivaloffull-lengthbeards.‘Amanwhogrowsthatmuchhair,’criticswerefondofsaying,‘musthavealottohide.’

Hewas certainly themost instantly recognizable of the sixVIPs - thoughFloyd,whono longer regardedhimself as a celebrity, always referred to themironicallyas 'TheFamousFive'.YvaMerlincouldoftenwalkunrecognizedonPark Avenue, on the rare occasions when she emerged from her apartment.Dimitri Mihailovich, to his considerable annoyance, was a good four inchesbelowaverageheight;thismighthelptoexplainhisfondnessforthousand-pieceorchestras-realorsynthesized-butdidnotenhancehispublicimage.

Clifford Greenburg and Margaret M'Bala also fell into the category of

'famousunknowns'-thoughthiswouldcertainlychangewhentheygotbacktoEarth.ThefirstmantolandonMercuryhadoneofthosepleasant,unremarkablefacesthatareveryhardtoremember;moreoverthedayswhenhehaddominatedthenewswerenowthirtyyears inthepast.Andlikemostauthorswhoarenotaddicted to talk shows and autographing sessions, Ms M'Bala would beunrecognizedbythevastmajorityofhermillionsofreaders.

Her literaryfamehadbeenoneof thesensationsof theforties.AscholarlystudyoftheGreekpantheonwasnotusuallyacandidateforthebest-sellerlists,butMsM'Balahadplaced its eternally inexhaustiblemyths inacontemporaryspace-age setting. Names which a century earlier had been familiar only toastronomers and classical scholars were now part of every educated person'sworldpicture;almosteverydaytherewouldbenewsfromGanymede,Callisto,Io, Titan, Japetus - or even more obscure worlds like Carme, Pasiphaë,Hyperion,Phoebe...

Herbookwouldhavebeennomorethanmodestlysuccessful,however,hadshenotfocusedonthecomplicatedfamilylifeofJupiter-Zeus,FatherofalltheGods (aswellasmuchelse).Andbyastrokeof luck,aneditorofgeniushadchangedheroriginaltitle,TheViewfromOlympus,toThePassionsoftheGods.EnviousacademicsusuallyreferredtoitasOlympicLusts,butinvariablywishedtheyhadwrittenit.

Not surprisingly, itwasMaggieM - as shewas quickly christened by herfellow passengers - who first used the phrase Ship of Fools. Victor Willisadopted it eagerly, and soon discovered an intriguing historical resonance.Almostacenturyago,KatherineAnnePorterhadherselfsailedwithagroupofscientists andwriters aboard anocean liner towatch the launchofApollo17,andtheendofthefirstphaseoflunarexploration.

‘I'll think about it,’ Ms M'Bala had remarked ominously, when this wasreportedtoher.

‘Perhaps it's timefora thirdversion.ButIwon'tknow,ofcourse,untilwegetbacktoEarth...’

11

TheLie

It was many months before Rolf van der Berg could once again turn histhoughts and energies towardsMount Zeus. The taming of Ganymede was amorethanfull-timejob,andhewasawayfromhismainofficeatDardanusBase

for weeks at a time, surveying the route of the proposed Gilgamesh-Osirismonorail.

The geography of the third and largest Galilean moon had changeddrastically since thedetonationof Jupiter - and itwas still changing.Thenewsun that hadmelted the ice ofEuropawas not as powerful here, twohundredthousandmiles further out - but it was warm enough to produce a temperateclimate at the centre of the face forever turned towards it. There were small,shallowseas-someaslargeasEarth'sMediterranean-uptolatitudesfortynorthand south. Not many features still survived from the maps generated by theVoyager missions back in the twentieth century. Melting permafrost andoccasional tectonicmovements triggeredby the same tidal forcesoperatingonthetwoinnermoonsmadethenewGanymedeacartographer'snightmare.

Butthoseveryfactorsalsomadeitaplanetaryengineer'sparadise.Herewastheonlyworld,exceptforthearidandmuchlesshospitableMars,onwhichmenmight one day walk unprotected beneath an open sky. Ganymede had amplewater, all the chemicals of life, and - at leastwhileLucifer shone - awarmerclimatethanmuchofEarth.

Bestofall, full-bodyspacesuitswereno longernecessary; theatmosphere,though still unbreathable, was just dense enough to permit the use of simpleface-masksandoxygencylinders.

Inafewdecades-sothemicrobiologistspromised, thoughtheywerehazyabout specific dates - even these could be discarded. Strains of oxygen-generating bacteria had already been let loose across the face of Ganymede;most had died but some had flourished, and the slowly rising curve on theatmosphericanalysischartwasthefirstexhibitproudlydisplayedtoallvisitorsatDardanus.

For a long time, van derBerg kept awatchful eye on the data flowing infromEuropaVI,hopingthatonedaythecloudswouldclearagainwhenitwasorbitingaboveMountZeus.Heknewthattheoddswereagainstit,butwhiletheslightest chance existed he made no effort to explore any other avenue ofresearch.Therewasnohurry,hehadfarmoreimportantworkonhishands-andanyway, the explanation might turn out to be something quite trivial anduninteresting.

ThenEuropaVIsuddenlyexpired,almostcertainlyasaresultofarandommeteoricimpact.

Back on Earth, Victor Willis had made rather a fool of himself - in theopinionofmany-byinterviewingthe'Euronuts'whonowmorethanadequately

filledthegapleftbytheUFO-enthusiastsofthepreviouscentury.Someofthemarguedthattheprobe'sdemisewasduetohostileactionfromtheworldbelow:thefactthatithadbeenallowedtooperatewithoutinterferenceforfifteenyears-almosttwiceitsdesignlife-didnotbotherthemintheleast.

ToVictor'scredit,hestressedthispointanddemolishedmostofthecultists'other arguments; but the consensuswas that he shouldneverhavegiven thempublicityinthefirstplace.

TovanderBerg,whoquiterelishedhiscolleagues'descriptionofhimasa'stubbornDutchman' anddidhisbest to liveup to it, the failureofEuropaVIwasachallengenottoberesisted.Therewasnottheslightesthopeoffundingareplacement, for the silencing of the garrulous and embarrassingly long-livedprobehadbeenreceivedwithconsiderablerelief.

Sowhatwasthealternative?VanderBergsatdowntoconsiderhisoptions.Becausehewasageologist,andnotanastrophysicist,itwasseveraldaysbeforehesuddenlyrealizedthattheanswerhadbeenstaringhiminthefaceeversincehehadlandedonGanymede.

Afrikaansisoneoftheworld'sbestlanguagesinwhichtocurse;evenwhenspokenpolitely,itcanbruiseinnocentbystanders.VanderBergletoffsteamfora fewminutes; then he put through a call to the TiamatObservatory - sittingpreciselyontheequator,withthetiny,blindingdiscofLuciferforeververticallyoverhead.

Astrophysicists,concernedwiththemostspectacularobjectsintheUniverse,tendtopatronizemeregeologistswhodevotetheirlivestosmall,messythingslikeplanets.Butouthereonthefrontier,everyonehelpedeveryoneelse,andDrWilkinswasnotonlyinterestedbutsympathetic.

The Tiamat Observatory had been built for a single purpose, which hadindeedbeenoneofthemainreasonsforestablishingabaseonGanymede.ThestudyofLuciferwasofenormousimportancenotonlytopurescientistsbutalsoto nuclear engineers, meteorologists, oceanographers - and, not least, tostatesmenandphilosophers.That therewereentitieswhichcould turnaplanetintoasunwasastaggeringthought,andhadkeptmanyawakeatnight.Itwouldbewellformankindtolearnallitcouldabouttheprocess;onedaytheremightbeneedtoimitateit-orpreventit.

And so for more than a decade Tiamat had been observing Lucifer witheverypossibletypeofinstrumentation,continuallyrecordingitsspectrumacrosstheentireelectromagneticband,andalsoactivelyprobing itwith radar fromamodesthundred-yarddish,slungacrossasmallimpactcrater.

‘Yes,’saidDrWilkins,‘we'veoftenlookedatEuropaandIo.Butourbeamisfixed onLucifer, sowe can only see them for a fewminuteswhile they're intransit.AndyourMountZeusisjustonthedayside,soit'shiddenfromusthen.’

‘Irealizethat,’saidvanderBergalittleimpatiently.‘Butcouldn'tyouoffsetthebeambyjustalittle,soyoucouldhavealookatEuropabeforeitcomesinline?Tenortwentydegreeswouldgetyoufarenoughintodayside.’

‘Onedegreewouldbeenough tomissLucifer,andgetEuropa full-faceonthe other side of its orbit.But then itwould bemore than three times furtheraway,sowe'donlyhaveahundredthofthereflectedpower.Mightwork,though:we'll give it a try. Let me have the specs on frequencies, wave envelopes,polarization and anything else your remote-sensing people think will help. Itwon'ttakeuslongtorigupaphase-shiftingnetworkthatwillslewthebeamacoupleofdegrees.More than that Idon'tknow- it'snotaproblemwe'veeverconsidered. Though perhaps we should have done so - anyway, what do youexpecttofindonEuropa,excepticeandwater?’

‘If I knew,’ said van der Berg cheerfully, ‘I wouldn't be asking for help,wouldI?’

‘And I wouldn't be asking for full credit when you publish. Too bad myname'sattheendofthealphabet;you'llbeaheadofmebyonlyoneletter.’

That was a year ago: the long-range scans hadn't been good enough, andoffsetting thebeam to lookon toEuropa'sdayside justbeforeconjunctionhadproved more difficult than expected. But at last the results were in; thecomputers had digested them, and van derBergwas the first human being tolookatamineralogicalmapofpost-LuciferEuropa.

Itwas,asDrWilkinshadsurmised,mostlyiceandwater,withoutcroppingsofbasaltinterspersedwithdepositsofsulphur.Butthereweretwoanomalies.

One appeared to be an artefact of the imaging process; there was anabsolutely straight feature, amile long,which showedvirtuallyno radarecho.VanderBerg leftDrWilkins topuzzleover that;hewasonlyconcernedwithMountZeus.

It had taken him a long time to make the identification, because only amadman-orareallydesperatescientist-wouldhavedreamedthatsuchathingwas possible. Even now, though every parameter checked to the limits ofaccuracy,hestillcouldnot reallybelieve it.Andhehadnotevenattempted toconsiderhisnextmove.

WhenDrWilkinscalled,anxious toseehisnameand reputationspreadingthroughthedatabanks,hemumbledthathewasstillanalysingtheresults.Butat

lasthecouldputitoffnolonger.‘Nothingvery exciting,’ he toldhisunsuspecting colleague. ‘Merely a rare

formofquartz-I'mstilltryingtomatchitfromEarthsamples.’Itwasthefirsttimehehadeverliedtoafellowscientist,andhefeltterrible

aboutit.Butwhatwasthealternative?

12

OomPaul

RolfvanderBerghadnotseenhisUnclePaulforadecade,anditwasnotlikelythattheywouldeveragainmeetintheflesh.Yethefeltveryclosetotheoldscientist-thelastofhisgeneration,andtheonlyonewhocouldrecall(whenhewished,whichwasseldom)hisforefathers'wayoflife.

DrPaulKreuger-'OomPaul'toallhisfamilyandmostofhisfriends-wasalwaystherewhenhewasneeded,withinformationandadvice,eitherinpersonorat theendofahalf-billion-mileradiolink.Rumourhadit thatonlyextremepolitical pressurehad forced theNobelCommittee -withgreat reluctance - tooverlook his contributions to particle physics, now once more in desperatedisarrayafterthegeneralhouse-cleaningattheendofthetwentiethcentury.

Ifthiswastrue,DrKreugerborenogrudge.Modestandunassuming,hehadnopersonalenemies,evenamongthecantankerousfactionsofhisfellowexiles.Indeed,hewassouniversallyrespectedthathehadreceivedseveralinvitationstore-visittheUnitedStatesofSouthernAfrica,buthadalwayspolitelydeclined-not,hehastenedtoexplain,becausehefelthewouldbeinanyphysicaldangerin the USSA, but because he feared that the sense of nostalgia would beoverwhelming.

Evenusingthesecurityofalanguagenowunderstoodbylessthanamillionpeople,vanderBerghadbeenverydiscreet,andhadusedcircumlocutionsandreferencesthatwouldbemeaninglessexcepttoacloserelative.ButPaulhadnodifficulty in understanding his nephew'smessage, though he could not take itseriously.HewasafraidyoungRolfhadmadeafoolofhimself,andwouldlethimdownasgentlyaspossible.Justaswellhehadn'trushedtopublish:atleasthehadthesensetokeepquiet...

Andsuppose-justsuppose-itwastrue?ThescantyhairsroseonthebackofPaul'shead.Awholespectrumofpossibilities-scientific,financial,political-suddenlyopenedupbeforehiseyes,andthemoreheconsideredthem,themore

awesometheyappeared.Unlikehisdevoutancestors,DrKreugerhadnoGodtoaddressinmoments

ofcrisisorperplexity.Now,healmostwishedhehad;butevenifhecouldpray,thatwouldn't reallyhelp.Ashesatdownathiscomputerandstartedtoaccessthedatabanks,hedidnotknowwhether tohope thathisnephewhadmadeastupendousdiscovery-orwastalkingutternonsense.CouldtheOldOnereallyplay suchan incredible trickonmankind?Paul rememberedEinstein's famouscommentthatthoughHewassubtle,Hewasnevermalicious.

Stopdaydreaming,DrPaulKreugertoldhimself.Yourlikesordislikes,yourhopesorfears,haveabsolutelynothingtodowiththematter.

AchallengehadbeenflungtohimacrosshalfthewidthoftheSolarSystem;hewouldnotknowpeaceuntilhehaduncoveredthetruth.

13

‘No-onetoldustobringswimsuits...’

CaptainSmithkepthislittlesurpriseuntildayfive,justafewhoursbeforeturnaround.Hisannouncementwasreceived,ashehadexpected,withstunnedincredulity.

VictorWilliswasthefirsttorecover.‘Aswimmingpool!Inaspaceship!Youmustbejoking!’The Captain leaned back and prepared to enjoy himself. He grinned at

HeywoodFloydwhohadalreadybeenletintothesecret.‘Well,IsupposeColumbuswouldhavebeenamazedatsomeofthefacilities

ontheshipsthatcameafterhim.’‘Is there a diving board?’ askedGreenburgwistfully. ‘I used to be college

champion.’‘Asamatteroffact-yes.It'sonlyfiveyards-but thatwillgiveyouthree

secondsoffreefall,atournominaltenthofagee.Andifyouwantalongertime,I'msureMrCurtiswillbehappytoreducethrust.’

‘Indeed?’ said the Chief Engineer dryly. ‘And mess up all my orbitcalculations?Nottomentiontheriskofthewatercrawlingout,Surfacetension,youknow...’

‘Wasn't there a space station once that had a spherical swimming pool?’somebodyasked.

‘They tried it at thehubofPasteur,before theystarted thespin,’answeredFloyd.‘Itjustwasn'tpractical.Inzerogravity,ithadtobecompletelyenclosed.Andyoucoulddrownrathereasilyinsideabigsphereofwater,ifyoupanicked.’

‘Onewayofgettingintotherecordbooks-firstpersontodrowninspace...’‘No-onetoldustobringswimsuits,’complainedMaggieM'Bala.‘Anyone who has to wear a swimsuit probably should,’ Mihailovich

whisperedtoFloyd.CaptainSmithrappedonthetabletorestoreorder.‘Thisismoreimportant,

please.Asyouknow,atmidnightwe reachmaximumspeed,andhave to startbraking. So the drivewill shut down at 23.00, and the shipwill be reversed.We'll have two hours of weightlessness before we commence thrust again at01.00.

‘Asyoucanimagine,thecrewwillberatherbusy-we'llusetheopportunityforanenginecheckandahullinspection,whichcan'tbedonewhilewe'reunderpower.Istronglyadviseyoutobesleepingthen,withtherestraintstrapslightlyfastened across your beds.The stewardswill check that there aren't any loosearticlesthatcouldcausetroublewhenweightcomesonagain.

‘Questions?’There was a profound silence, as if the assembled passengers were still

somewhatstunnedbytherevelationandweredecidingwhattodoaboutit.‘Iwashopingyou'daskmeabout theeconomicsof sucha luxury -butas

youhaven't,I'lltellyouanyway.It'snotaluxuryatall-itdoesn'tcostathing,butwehopeitwillbeaveryvaluableassetonfuturevoyages.

‘Yousee,wehavetocarryfivethousandtonsofwaterasreactionmass,sowemightaswellmakethebestuseofit.NumberOnetankisnowthree-quartersempty; we'll keep it that way until the end of the voyage. So after breakfasttomorrow-seeyoudownatthebeach...’

ConsideringtherushtogetUniversespaceborne,itwassurprisingthatsuchagoodjobhadbeendoneonsomethingsospectacularlynon-essential.

The 'beach'wasametalplatform, about fiveyardswide, curvingaroundathirdof thegreat tank'scircumference.Althoughthefarwallwasonlyanothertwenty yards away, clever use of projected images made it seem at infinity.Borneonthewavesinthemiddledistance,surferswereheadingtowardsashorewhich they would never reach, Beyond them, a beautiful passenger clipperwhich any travel agent would recognize instantly as Tsung Sea-SpaceCorporation'sTai-Panwasracingalongthehorizonunderafullspreadofsail.

Tocompletetheillusion,therewassandunderfoot(slightlymagnetized,soitwouldnotstraytoofarfromitsappointedplace)andtheshort lengthofbeachendedinagroveofpalmtreeswhichwerequiteconvincing,untilexaminedtooclosely.Overhead,ahottropicalsuncompletedtheidyllicpicture;itwashardtorealize that just beyond these walls the real Sun was shining, now twice asfiercelyasonanyterrestrialbeach.

Thedesignerhadreallydoneawonderfuljob,inthelimitedspaceavailable.ItseemedalittleunfairofGreenburgtocomplain:‘Pitythere'snosurf...’

14

Search

It is a good principle in science not to believe any 'fact' - however well-attested - until it fits into some accepted frame of reference. Occasionally, ofcourse,anobservationcanshattertheframeandforcetheconstructionofanewone,butthatisextremelyrare.GalileosandEinsteinsseldomappearmorethanoncepercentury,whichisjustaswellfortheequanimityofmankind.

DrKreugerfullyacceptedthisprinciple:hewouldnotbelievehisnephew'sdiscovery until he could explain it, and as far as he could see that requirednothinglessthanadirectActofGod.

Wielding Occam's still highly serviceable razor, he thought it somewhatmoreprobable thatRolf hadmade amistake; if so, it shouldbe fairly easy tofindit.

ToUnclePaul'sgreatsurprise, itprovedverydifficult indeed.Theanalysisofradarremote-sensingobservationswasnowavenerableandwell-establishedart, and the experts that Paul consulted all gave the same answer, afterconsiderabledelay.Theyalsoasked:‘Wheredidyougetthatrecording?’

‘Sorry,’hehadanswered.‘I'mnotatlibertytosay.’The next stepwas to assume that the impossiblewas correct, and to start

searching the literature. This could be an enormous job, for he did not evenknowwheretobegin.Onethingwasquitecertain:abrute-force,head-onattackwas bound to fail. It would be just as if Roentgen, themorning after he haddiscovered X-rays, had started to hunt for their explanation in the physicsjournalsofhisday.Theinformationheneededstilllayyearsinthefuture.

But therewas at least a sporting chance thatwhathewas looking forwashidden somewhere in the immense body of existing scientific knowledge.Slowly and carefully, Paul Kreuger set up an automatic search programme,designedforwhatitwouldexcludeasmuchaswhatitwouldembrace.

ItshouldcutoutallEarth-relatedreferences-theywouldcertainlynumberinthemillions-andconcentrateentirelyonextraterrestrialcitations.

One of the benefits of DrKreuger's eminencewas an unlimited computerbudget:thatwaspartofthefeehedemandedfromthevariousorganizationswhoneededhiswisdom.Thoughthissearchmightbeexpensive,hedidnothavetoworryaboutthebill.

Asitturnedout,thiswassurprisinglysmall.Hewaslucky:thesearchcametoanendafteronlytwohoursthirty-sevenminutes,atthe21,456threference.

The titlewas enough.Paulwas so excited that his own comsec refused torecognizehisvoice,andhehadtorepeatthecommandforafullprint-out.

Nature had published the paper in 1981 - almost five years before hewasborn!-andashiseyessweptswiftlyoveritssinglepageheknewnotonlythathisnephewhadbeenrightallalong-but,justasimportant,exactlyhowsuchamiraclecouldoccur.

The editor of that eighty-year-old journal must have had a good sense ofhumour.Apaperdiscussingthecoresoftheouterplanetswasnotsomethingtograb the usual reader: this one, however, had an unusually striking title. Hiscomsec could have told him quickly enough that it had once been part of afamoussong,butthatofcoursewasquiteirrelevant.

Anyway,PaulKreugerhadneverheardoftheBeatles,andtheirpsychedelicfantasies.

II

THEVALLEYOFTHEBLACKSNOW

15

Rendezvous

AndnowHalleywastooclosetobeseen;ironically,observersbackonEarthwould get a far better view of the tail, already stretching twenty fivemillionmilesatrightanglestothecomet'sorbit,likeapennantflutteringintheinvisiblegaleofthesolarwind.

On the morning of the rendezvous, Heywood Floyd woke early from atroubled sleep. Itwas unusual for him to dream - or at least to remember hisdreams-anddoubtless theanticipatedexcitementsof thenext fewhourswereresponsible.HewasalsoslightlyworriedbyamessagefromCaroline,askingifhehadheardfromChris lately.Hehadradioedback,a little tersely, thatChrishad never bothered to say thank youwhen he had helped him get his currentpositiononUniverse'ssistershipCosmos;perhapshewasalreadyboredwiththeEarth-Moonrunandwaslookingforexcitementelsewhere.

‘Asusual,’Floydhadadded,‘we'llhearfromhiminhisowngoodtime.’Immediatelyafterbreakfast,passengersandscienceteamhadgatheredfora

finalbriefingfromCaptainSmith.Thescientistscertainlydidnotneedit,butifthey felt any irritation, sochildishanemotionwouldhavebeenquickly sweptawaybytheweirdspectacleonthemainviewscreen.

ItwaseasiertoimaginethatUniversewasflyingintoanebula,ratherthana

comet. The entire sky ahead was now a misty white fog - not uniform, butmottled with darker condensations and streaked with luminous bands andbrightly glowing jets, all radiating away from a central point. At thismagnification, thenucleuswasbarelyvisible as a tinyblack speck, yet itwasclearlythesourceofallthephenomenaaroundit.

‘Wecutourdriveinthreehours,’saidtheCaptain.‘Thenwe'llbeonlyfivehundredmilesaway from thenucleus,withvirtuallyzerovelocity.We'llmakesomefinalobservations,andconfirmourlandingsite.’

‘Sowe'll goweightless at 12.00 exactly.Before then, your cabin stewardswill check that everything's correctly stowed. It will be just like turnaround,except that this timeit'sgoingtobethreedays,not twohours,beforewehaveweightagain.

‘Halley'sgravity?Forgetit-lessthanonecentiyardpersecondsquared-justaboutathousandthofEarth's.You'llbeabletodetectitifyouwaitlongenough,butthat'sall.Takesfifteensecondsforsomethingtofallayard.

‘For safety, I'd like you all here in the observation lounge,with your seatbelts properly secured, during rendezvous and touchdown. You'll get the bestviewfromhereanyway,andthewholeoperationwon'ttakemorethananhour.We'llonlybeusingverysmallthrustcorrections,buttheymaycomefromanyangleandcouldcauseminorsensorydisturbances.’

What theCaptainmeant, of course,was spacesickness - but thatword, bygeneralagreement,wastabooaboardUniverse.Itwasnoticeable,however,thatmanyhandsstrayedintothecompartmentsbeneaththeseats,asifcheckingthatthenotoriousplasticbagswouldbeavailableifurgentlyrequired.

Theimageontheviewscreenexpanded,asthemagnificationwasincreased.For a moment it seemed to Floyd that he was in an aeroplane, descendingthroughlightclouds,ratherthaninaspacecraftapproachingthemostfamousofallcomets.Thenucleuswasgrowinglargerandclearer;itwasnolongerablackdot,butanirregularellipse-nowasmall,pockmarkedislandlostinthecosmicocean-then,suddenly,aworldinitsownright.

There was still no sense of scale. Although Floyd knew that the wholepanorama spread before him was less than five miles across, he could easilyhaveimaginedthathewaslookingatabodyaslargeastheMoon.ButtheMoonwas not hazy around the edges, nor did it have little jets of vapour - and twolargeones-spurtingfromitssurface.

‘MyGod!’criedMihailovich,‘what'sthat?’He pointed to the lower edge of the nucleus, just inside the terminator.

Unmistakably - impossibly -a lightwas flashing there on the nightside of thecometwithaperfectlyregularrhythm:on,off,on,off,onceeverytwoorthreeseconds.

DrWillisgavehispatient 'Icanexplain it toyou inwordsofonesyllable'cough,butCaptainSmithgottherefirst.

‘I'm sorry to disappoint you, Mr Mihailovich. That's only the beacon onSamplerProbeTwo-it'sbeensittingthereforamonth,waitingforustocomeandpickitup.’

‘What a shame; I thought theremight be someone - something - there towelcomeus.’

‘Nosuchluck,I'mafraid;we'reverymuchonourownouthere.Thatbeaconisjustwhereweintendtoland-it'snearHalley'ssouthpoleandisinpermanentdarkness at themoment. Thatwillmake it easier on our life-support systems.The temperature's up to 120 degrees on the Sunlit side - way above boilingpoint.’

‘No wonder the comet's perking,’ said the unabashed Dimitri. ‘Those jetsdon'tlookveryhealthytome.Areyousureit'ssafetogoin?’

‘That's another reason we're touching down on the nightside; there's noactivitythere.Now,ifyou'llexcuseme,Imustgetbacktothebridge.Thisisthefirst chance I've ever had of landing on a newworld - and I doubt if I'll getanother.’

Captain Smith's audience dispersed slowly, and in unusual silence. Theimageontheviewscreenzoomedbacktonormal,andthenucleusdwindledoncemoretoabarelyvisiblespot.Yeteveninthosefewminutesitseemedtohavegrown slightly larger, and perhaps that was no illusion. Less than four hoursbefore encounter, the shipwas still hurtling towards the comet at twenty fivethousandmilesanhour.

ItwouldmakeacratermoreimpressivethananythatHalleynowboasted,ifsomethinghappenedtothemaindriveatthisstageofthegame.

16

Touchdown

The landingwas just as anticlimactic as Captain Smith had hoped. It wasimpossible to tell the moment when Universe made contact; a full minuteelapsedbeforethepassengersrealizedthattouchdownwascomplete,andraised

abelatedcheer.Theship layatoneendofashallowvalley,surroundedbyhills littlemore

than a hundred yards high. Anyone who had been expecting to see a lunarlandscape would have been greatly surprised; these formations bore noresemblance at all to the smooth, gentle slopes of theMoon, sand-blasted bymicrometeoritebombardmentoverbillionsofyears.

Therewasnothingheremorethanathousandyearsold;thePyramidswerefarmore ancient than this landscape. Every time around the Sun, Halleywasremoulded-anddiminished-bythesolarfires.Evensincethe1986perihelionpassage,theshapeofthenucleushadbeensubtlychanged.

Meldingmetaphorsshamelessly,VictorWillishadneverthelessputitratherwellwhenhetoldhisviewers:'The"peanut"hasbecomewasp-waisted!’

Indeed, therewere indications that, after a fewmore revolutions round theSun,Halleymightsplitintotworoughlyequalfragments-ashadBiela'scomet,totheamazementoftheastronomersof1846.

Thevirtuallynon-existentgravityalsocontributed to thestrangenessof thelandscape.Allaroundwerespideryformationslikethefantasiesofasurrealisticartist,andimprobablycantedrockpilesthatcouldnothavesurvivedmorethanafewminutesevenontheMoon.

AlthoughCaptain Smith had chosen to landUniverse in the depths of thepolar night - all of threemiles from theblisteringheat of theSun - therewasample illumination.Thehugeenvelopeofgasanddust surrounding thecometformedaglowinghalowhichseemedappropriateforthisregion;itwaseasytoimaginethatitwasanaurora,playingovertheAntarcticice.Andifthatwasnotsufficient,Luciferprovideditsquotaofseveralhundredfullmoons.

Although expected, the complete absence of colourwas a disappointment;Universemighthavebeensittinginanopencastcoalmine:that,infact,wasnotabadanalogy,formuchof thesurroundingblacknesswasduetocarbonor itscompounds,intimatelymixedwithsnowandice.

Captain Smith, as was his due, was the first to leave the ship, pushinghimselfgentlyoutfromUniverse'smainairlock.Itseemedaneternitybeforehereached the ground, two yards below; then he picked up a handful of thepowderysurface,andexamineditinhisglovedhand.

Aboard the ship, everyone waited for the words that would go into thehistorybooks.

‘Lookslikepepperandsalt,’saidtheCaptain.‘Ifitwerethawedout,itmight

growaprettygoodcrop.’

***

Themissionplan involvedone completeHalley 'day' of fifty-five hours atthesouthpole,then-iftherewerenoproblems-amoveoffivemilestowardstheveryill-definedequator,tostudyoneofthegeysersduringacompleteday-nightcycle.

ChiefScientistPendrillwastednotime.Almostimmediately,hesetoffwithacolleagueonatwo-manjet-sledtowardsthebeaconofthewaitingprobe.Theywerebackwithin thehour, bearingprepackaged samplesof cometwhich theyproudlyconsignedtothedeep-freeze.

Meanwhile the other teams established a spider's web of cables along thevalley,strungbetweenpolesdrivenintothefriablecrust.Theseservednotonlytolinknumerousinstrumentstotheship,butalsomademovementoutsidemucheasier.OnecouldexplorethisportionofHalleywithouttheuseofcumbersomeExternalManoeuvringUnits;itwasonlynecessarytoattachatethertoacable,and then go along it hand over hand. That was also much more fun thanoperating EMUs, which were virtually one-man spaceships with all thecomplicationstheyinvolved.

The passengers watched all this with fascination, listening to the radioedconversations and trying to join in the excitement of discovery. After abouttwelvehours-considerablylessinthecaseofex-astronautCliffordGreenburg-the pleasure of being a captive audience started to pall. Soon therewasmuchtalk about 'going outside' except from Victor Willis who was quiteuncharacteristicallysubdued.

‘Ithinkhe'sscared,’saidDimitricontemptuously.HehadneverlikedVictor,sincediscovering that the scientistwascompletely tone-deaf.Though thiswaswildlyunfairtoVictor(whohadgamelyallowedhimselftobeusedasaguineapig for studiesof his curious affliction)Dimitriwas fondof addingdarkly ‘Amanthathathnomusicinhimself,Isfitfortreasons,stratagemsandspoils.’

FloydhadmadeuphismindevenbeforeleavingEarthorbit.MaggieMwasgame enough to try anything andwould need no encouragement. (Her slogan'An author should never turn down the opportunity for a new experience' hadimpacted famously on her emotional life.) Yva Merlin, as usual, had kepteveryoneinsuspense,butFloydwasdeterminedtotakeheronapersonaltourofthecomet.Itwastheveryleasthecoulddotomaintainhisreputation;everyoneknewthathehadbeenpartlyresponsibleforgettingthefabulousrecluseonthe

passenger list, and now itwas a running joke that theywere having an affair.Theirmost innocent remarkswere gleefullymisinterpreted byDimitri and theship'sphysicianDrMahindran,whoprofessedtoregardthemwithenviousawe.

After some initial annoyance - because it all too accurately recalled theemotionsofhisyouth-Floydhadgonealongwiththejoke.ButhedidnotknowhowYvafeltaboutit,andhadsofarlackedthecouragetoaskher.Evennow,inthis compact little society where few secrets lasted more than six hours, shemaintained much of her famous reserve - that aura of mystery which hadfascinatedaudiencesforthreegenerations.

As forVictorWillis, he had just discovered one of those devastating littledetailsthatcandestroythebest-laidplansofmiceandspacemen.

Universe was equipped with the latest Mark XX suits, with non-fogging,non-reflective visors guaranteed to give an unparalleled view of space. Andthoughthehelmetscameinseveralsizes,VictorWilliscouldnotgetintoanyofthemwithoutmajorsurgery.

It had taken him fifteen years to perfect his trademark ('a triumph of thetopiaryart,’onecritichadcalledit,perhapsadmiringly).

NowonlyhisbeardstoodbetweenVictorWillisandHalley'sComet.Soonhewouldhavetomakeachoicebetweenthetwo.

17

TheValleyofBlackSnow

CaptainSmithhadraisedsurprisinglyfewobjectionstotheideaofpassengerEVAs.He agreed that to have comeall thisway, andnot to set foot upon thecomet,wasabsurd.

‘There'llbenoproblemsifyoufollowinstructions,’hesaidattheinevitablebriefing.

‘Even if you've never worn spacesuits before - and I believe that onlyCommanderGreenburgandDrFloydhavedoneso-they'requitecomfortable,andfullyautomatic.There'snoneedtobotheraboutanycontrolsoradjustments,afteryou'vebeencheckedoutintheairlock.

‘Oneabsoluterule:onlytwoofyoucangoEVAatonetime.You'llhaveapersonalescort,ofcourse,linkedtoyoubyfiveyardsofsafetyline-thoughthatcanbeplayedouttotwentyifnecessary.Inaddition,you'llbothbetetheredtothetwoguide-cableswe'vestrungthewholelengthofthevalley.Theruleofthe

roadisthesameasonEarth;keeptotheright!Ifyouwanttoovertakeanyone,you only have to unclip your buckle - but one of you must always remainattachedtotheline.Thatway,there'snodangerofdriftingoffintospace.Anyquestions?’

‘Howlongcanwestayout?’‘As longasyou like,MsM'Bala.But I recommend thatyou return just as

soonasyoufeeltheslightestdiscomfort.Perhapsanhourwouldbebestforthefirstouting-thoughitmayseemlikeonlytenminutes...’

CaptainSmithhadbeenquitecorrect.AsHeywoodFloydlookedathistime-elapseddisplay,itseemedincrediblethatfortyminuteshadalreadypassed.Yetitshouldnothavebeensosurprising,fortheshipwasalreadyagoodmileaway.

Astheseniorpassenger-byalmostanyreckoning-hehadbeengiventheprivilegeofmakingthefirstEVA.Andhereallyhadnochoiceofcompanion.

‘EVAwithYva!’chortledMihailovich.‘Howcanyoupossiblyresist!Evenif,’ he added with a lewd grin, ‘those damn suits won't let you try all theExtravehicularActivitiesyou'dlike,’

Yva had agreed, without any hesitation, yet also without any enthusiasm.That,Floydthoughtwryly,wastypical.Itwouldnotbequitetruetosaythathewas disillusioned - at his age, he had very few illusions left - but he wasdisappointed.AndwithhimselfratherthanYva;shewasasbeyondcriticismorpraiseastheMonaLisa-withwhomshehadoftenbeencompared.

Thecomparisonwas,ofcourse,ridiculous;LaGiocondawasmysterious,butshewascertainlynoterotic.Yva'spowerhadlaininheruniquecombinationofboth-withinnocencethrowninforgoodmeasure.Halfacenturylater,tracesofallthreeingredientswerestillvisible,atleasttotheeyeoffaith.

Whatwaslacking-asFloydhadbeensadlyforcedtoadmit-wasanyrealpersonality.When he tried to focus hismind upon her, all he could visualizeweretherolesshehadplayed.Hewouldhavereluctantlyagreedwiththecriticwhohadoncesaid:

‘Yva Merlin is the reflection of all men's desires; but a mirror has nocharacter.’

AndnowthisuniqueandmysteriouscreaturewasfloatingbesidehimacrossthefaceofHalley'sComet,astheyandtheirguidemovedalongthetwincablesthat spanned theValleyofBlackSnow.Thatwashis name;hewas childishlyproudofit,eventhoughitwouldneverappearonanymap.TherecouldbenomapsofaworldwheregeographywasasephemeralasweatheronEarth.

Hesavouredtheknowledgethatnohumaneyehadeverbeforelookeduponthescenearoundhim-oreverwouldagain.

On Mars, or on the Moon, you could sometimes -with a slight effort ofimagination,andifyouignoredthealiensky-pretendthatyouwereonEarth.This was impossible here, because the towering - often overhanging - snowsculpturesshowedonlytheslightestconcessiontogravity.

You had to look very carefully at your surroundings to decidewhichwaywasup.

The Valley of Black Snow was unusual, because it was a fairly solidstructure-arockyreefembeddedinvolatiledriftsofwaterandhydrocarbonice.Thegeologistswerestillarguingabout itsorigin,somemaintainingthat itwasreallypartofanasteroidthathadencounteredthecometagesago.Coringshadrevealed complexmixturesoforganic compounds, rather like frozencoal-tar -thoughitwascertainthatlifehadneverplayedanypartintheirformation.

The 'snow' carpeting of the floor of the little valley was not completelyblack; when Floyd raked it with the beam of his flashlight it glittered andsparkledasifembeddedwithamillionmicroscopicdiamonds.HewonderediftherewereindeeddiamondsonHalley:therewascertainlyenoughcarbonhere.Butitwasalmostequallycertainthatthetemperaturesandpressuresnecessarytocreatethemhadneverexistedhere.

Onasuddenimpulse,Floydreacheddownandgatheredtwohandfulsofthesnow:he had to pushwith his feet against the safety line to do so, andhad acomicvisionofhimselfasatrapezeartistwalkingatightrope-butupsidedown.Thefragilecrustofferedvirtuallynoresistanceasheburiedheadandshouldersinto it; then he pulled gently on his tether and emerged with his handful ofHalley.

Hewished that he could feel it through the insulation of his gloves, as hecompactedthemassofcrystallinefluffintoaballthatjustfittedthepalmofhishand.Thereitlay,ebonyblackyetgivingfugitiveflashesoflightasheturneditfromsidetoside.

Andsuddenly,inhisimagination,itbecamethepurestwhite-andhewasaboyagain,inthewinterplaygroundofhisyouth,surroundedwiththeghostsofhis childhood. He could even hear the cries of his companions, taunting andthreateninghimwiththeirownprojectilesofimmaculatesnow...

The memory was brief, but shattering, for it brought an overwhelmingsensationofsadness.

Acrossacenturyoftime,hecouldnolongerrememberasingleoneofthose

phantomfriendswhostoodaroundhim;yetsome,heknew,hehadonceloved...Hiseyes filledwith tears,andhis fingersclenchedaround theballofalien

snow.Then thevisionfaded;hewashimselfagain.Thiswasnotamomentofsadness,butoftriumph.

‘MyGod!’criedHeywoodFloyd,hiswordsechoinginthetiny,reverberantuniverse of his spacesuit, ‘I'm standing on Halley's Comet - what more do Iwant!Ifameteorhitsmenow,Iwon'thaveasinglecomplaint!’

Hebroughtuphisarmsandlaunchedthesnowballtowardsthestars.Itwassosmall,andsodark,thatitvanishedalmostatonce,buthekeptonstaringintothesky.

And then, abruptly - unexpectedly - it appeared in a sudden explosion oflight,as it roseintotheraysof thehiddenSun.Blackassoot thoughitwas, itreflectedenoughofthatblindingbrilliancetobeeasilyvisibleagainstthefaintlyluminoussky.

Floyd watched it until it finally disappeared - perhaps by evaporation,perhapsbydwindlingintothedistance.Itwouldnotlastlonginthefiercetorrentofradiationoverhead;buthowmanymencouldclaimtohavecreatedacometoftheirown?

18

‘OldFaithful’

ThecautiousexplorationofthecomethadalreadybegunwhileUniversestillremainedinthepolarshadow.First,one-manEMUs(fewpeoplenowknewthatstoodforExternalManoeuvringUnit)gentlyjettedoverbothday-andnightside,recording everything of interest. Once the preliminary surveys had beencompleted, groups of up to five scientists flew out in the onboard shuttle,deployingequipmentandinstrumentsatstrategicspots.

The Lady Jasmine was a far cry from the primitive 'space pods' of theDiscoveryera,capableofoperatingonlyinagravity-freeenvironment.Shewasvirtuallyasmallspaceship,designedtoferrypersonnelandlightcargobetweentheorbitingUniverseand the surfacesofMars,Moon,or the Jovian satellites.Herchiefpilot,whotreatedherlikethegrandedameshewas,complainedwithmockbitterness that flying round amiserable little cometwas far beneath herdignity.

When he was quite sure that Halley - on the surface at least - held nosurprises, Captain Smith lifted away from the pole. Moving less than half a

dozenmilestookUniversetoadifferentworld,fromaglimmeringtwilightthatwouldlastformonthstoarealmthatknewthecycleofnightandday.Andwiththedawn,thecometcameslowlytolife.

As the Sun crept above the jagged, absurdly close horizon, its rayswouldslantdown into thecountless smallcraters thatpockmarked thecrust.Mostofthem would remain inactive, their narrow throats sealed by incrustations ofmineralsalts.NowhereelseonHalleyweresuchvividdisplaysofcolour;theyhadmisled biologists into thinking that here life was beginning, as it had onEarth, in the form of algal growths. Many had not yet abandoned that hope,thoughtheywouldbereluctanttoadmitit.

From other craters, wisps of vapour floated up into the sky, moving inunnaturally straight trajectories because there were no winds to divert them.Usually nothing else happened for an hour or two; then, as the Sun'swarmthpenetratedtothefrozeninterior,Halleywouldbegintospurt-asVictorWillishadputit'likeapodofwhales'.

Thoughpicturesque,itwasnotoneofhismoreaccuratemetaphors.ThejetsfromthedaysideofHalleywerenotintermittent,butplayedsteadilyforhoursatatime.Andtheydidnotcurloverandfallbacktothesurface,butwentrisingonupintothesky,untiltheywerelostintheglowingfogwhichtheyhelpedcreate.

At first, the science team treated the geysers as cautiously as if theywerevulcanologists approaching Etna or Vesuvius in one of their less predictablemoods.ButtheysoondiscoveredthatHalley'seruptions,thoughoftenfearsomein appearance, were singularly gentle and well-behaved; the water emergedaboutasfastasfromanordinaryfirehose,andwasbarelywarm.Withinsecondsof escaping from its underground reservoir, it would flash into a mixture ofvapourandicecrystals;Halleywasenvelopedinaperpetualsnowstorm,fallingupwards...Evenatthismodestspeedofejection,noneofthewaterwouldeverreturntoitssource.EachtimeitroundedtheSun,moreofthecomet'slife-bloodwouldhaemorrhageintotheinsatiablevacuumofspace.

After considerable persuasion, Captain Smith agreed to move Universe towithin a hundred yards of ‘OldFaithful’, the largest geyser on the dayside. Itwasanawesomesight-awhitish-greycolumnofmist,growinglikesomegianttreefromasurprisinglysmallorificeinathree-hundred-yard-widecraterwhichappeared to be one of the oldest formations on the comet. Before long, thescientists were scrambling all over the crater, collecting specimens of its(completely sterile, alas) multi-coloured minerals, and casually thrusting theirthermometersandsamplingtubesintothesoaringwater-ice-mistcolumnitself.‘Ifittossesanyofyououtintospace,’

warnedtheCaptain,‘don'texpect toberescuedinahurry.Infact,wemayjustwaituntilyoucomeback.’

‘Whatdoeshemeanbythat?’apuzzledDimitriMihailovichhadasked.Asusual,VictorWilliswasquickwiththeanswer.

‘Things don't always happen theway you'd expect in celestialmechanics.Anything thrown off Halley at a reasonable speed will still be moving inessentially the same orbit - it takes a huge velocity change to make a bigdifferenc.Soonerevolutionlater,thetwoorbitswillintersectagain-andyou'llberightbackwhereyoustarted.Seventy-sixyearsolder,ofcourse.’

Not far from Old Faithful was another phenomenon which no-one couldreasonably have anticipated. When they first observed it, the scientists couldscarcelybelievetheireyes.SpreadoutacrossseveralhectaresofHalley,exposedto the vacuum of space, was what appeared to be a perfectly ordinary lake,remarkableonlyforitsextremeblackness.

Obviously, it couldnotbewater; theonly liquidswhichcouldbe stable inthisenvironmentwereheavyorganicoilsortars.Infact,‘LakeTuonela'turnedouttobemorelikepitch,quitesolidexceptforastickysurfacelayerlessthanamilliyard thick. In this negligible gravity, it must have taken years - perhapsseveral trips round the warming fires of the Sun - for it to have assumed itspresentmirror-flatness.

UntiltheCaptainputastoptoit,thelakebecameoneoftheprincipaltouristattractions onHalley'sComet. Someone (nobody claimed the dubious honour)discoveredthatitwaspossibletowalkperfectlynormallyacrossit,almostasifonEarth; the surface filmhad just enough adhesion to hold the foot in place.Beforelong,mostofthecrewhadgotthemselvesvideoedapparentlywalkingonwater...

Then Captain Smith inspected the airlock, discovered the walls liberallystainedwithtar,andgavethenearestthingtoadisplayofangerthatanyonehadeverwitnessedfromhim.

‘It'sbadenough,’hesaidthroughclenchedteeth,‘havingtheoutsideoftheshipcoatedwith

-soot.Halley'sCometisaboutthefilthiestplaceI'veeverseen...’Afterthat,therewerenomorestrollsonLakeTuonela.

19

AttheEndoftheTunnel

In a small, self-contained universe where everyone knows everyone else,therecanbenogreatershockthanencounteringatotalstranger.

HeywoodFloydwas floating gently along the corridor to themain loungewhen he had this disturbing experience. He stared in amazement at theinterloper,wonderinghowa stowawayhadmanaged to avoid detection for solong.Theothermanlookedbackathimwithacombinationofembarrassmentandbravado,obviouslywaitingforFloydtospeakfirst.

‘Well,Victor!’hesaidatlast.‘SorryIdidn'trecognizeyou.Soyou'vemadethesupremesacrifice,forthecauseofscience-orshouldIsayyourpublic?’

‘Yes,’Willisansweredgrumpily.‘Ididmanagetosqueezeintoonehelmet-butthedamnbristlesmadesomanyscratchingnoisesno-onecouldhearawordIsaid.’

‘Whenareyougoingout?’‘JustassoonasCliffcomesback-he'sgonecavingwithBillChant.’Thefirstflybysofthecomet,in1986,hadsuggestedthatitwasconsiderably

lessdense thanwater -whichcouldonlymean that itwas eithermadeofveryporousmaterial,orwasriddledwithcavities.Bothexplanationsturnedouttobecorrect.

At first, theever-cautiousCaptainSmith flatly forbadeanycave-exploring.He finally relentedwhenDr Pendrill reminded him that his chief assistantDrChantwasanexperiencedspeleologist-indeed,thatwasoneoftheveryreasonshehadbeenchosenforthemission.

‘Cave-insareimpossible,inthislowgravity,’PendrillhadtoldthereluctantCaptain.‘Sothere'snodangerofbeingtrapped.’

‘Whataboutbeinglost?’‘Chantwould regard that suggestionasaprofessional insult.He'sbeen ten

milesinsideMammothCave.Anyway,he'llplayoutaguideline.’‘Communications?’‘Theline'sgotfibreopticsinit.Andhissuitradiowillprobablyworkmost

oftheway.’‘Umm.Wheredoeshewanttogoin?’‘ThebestplaceisthatextinctgeyseratthebaseofEtnaJunior.It'sbeendead

foratleastathousandyears.’‘So I suppose it shouldkeepquiet for another couple of days.Verywell -

doesanyoneelsewanttogo?’

‘CliffGreenburghasvolunteered-he'sdoneagooddealofunderwatercave-exploring,intheBahamas.’

‘Itrieditonce-thatwasenough.TellCliffhe'smuchtoovaluable.Hecango in as far as he can still see the entrance - and no further. And if he losescontactwithChant,he'snottogoafterhim,withoutmyauthority.’

Which,theCaptainaddedtohimself,Iwouldbeveryreluctanttogive...DrChantknewalltheoldjokesaboutspeleologistswantingtoreturntothe

womb,andwasquitesurehecouldrefutethem.‘Thatmustbeadamnnoisyplace,withallitsthumpingsandbumpingsand

gurglings,’heargued.‘Ilovecavesbecausethey'resopeacefulandtimeless.Youknow that nothing has changed for a hundred thousand years, except that thestalactiteshavegrownabitthicker.’

Butnow,ashedrifteddeeperintoHalley,playingoutthethin,butvirtuallyunbreakable thread that linkedhim toCliffordGreenburg,he realized that thiswasnolongertrue.Asyet,hehadnoscientificproof,buthisgeologist'sinstinctstoldhimthatthissubterraneanworldhadbeenbornonlyyesterday,onthetime-scaleoftheUniverse.Itwasyoungerthansomeofthecitiesofman.

The tunnel throughwhichhewasgliding in long, shallow leapswasaboutfour yards in diameter, and his virtual weightlessness brought back vividmemoriesofcave-divingonEarth.Thelowgravitycontributedtotheillusion;itwasexactlyasifhewascarryingslightlytoomuchweight,andsokeptdriftinggentlydownwards.Onlytheabsenceofallresistanceremindedhimthathewasmovingthroughvacuum,notwater.

‘You're just getting out of sight,’ said Greenburg, fifty yards in from theentrance.‘Radiolinkstillfine.What'sthescenerylike?’

‘Very hard to say - I can't identify any formations, so I don't have thevocabularytodescribethem.It'snotanykindofrock-itcrumbleswhenItouchit-IfeelasifI'mexploringagiantGruyèrecheese.’

‘Youmeanit'sorganic?’‘Yes-nothingtodowithlife,ofcourse-butperfectrawmaterialforit.All

sortsofhydrocarbons-thechemistswillhavefunwiththesesamples.Canyoustillseeme?’

‘Onlytheglowofyourlight,andthat'sfadingfast.’‘Ah-here'ssomegenuinerock-doesn'tlookasifitbelongshere-probably

anintrusion-ah-I'vestruckgold!’‘You'rejoking!’

‘ItfooledalotofpeopleintheoldWest-ironpyrites.Commonontheoutersatellites,ofcourse,butdon'taskmewhatit'sdoinghere...’

‘Visualcontactlost.You'retwohundredyardsin.’‘I'mpassingthroughadistinctlayer-lookslikemeteoricdebris-something

excitingmusthavehappenedbackthen-Ihopewecandateit-wow!’‘Don'tdothatsortofthingtome!’‘Sorry-quitetookmybreathaway-there'sabigchamberahead-lastthing

Iexpected-letmeswingthebeamaround...‘Almostspherical-thirty,fortyyardsacross.And-Idon'tbelieveit-Halley

isfullofsurprises-stalactites,stalagmites.’‘What'ssosurprisingaboutthat?’‘Nofreewater,no limestonehere,ofcourse-andsuch lowgravity.Looks

likesomekindofwax.JustaminutewhileIgetgoodvideocoverage...fantasticshapes...sortofthingadrippingcandlemakes...that'sodd...’

‘Nowwhat?’DrChant's voice had shown a sudden alteration in tone,whichGreenburg

hadinstantlydetected.‘Some of the columns have been broken. They're lying on the floor. It's

almostasif...’‘Goon!’‘...asifsomethinghas-blundered-intothem.’‘That'scrazy.Couldanearthquakehavesnappedthem?’‘No earthquakes here - only microseisms from the geysers. Perhaps there

wasabigblow-outatsometime.Anyway,itwascenturiesago.There'safilmofthiswaxstuffoverthefallencolumns-severalinchesthick.’

Dr Chant was slowly recovering his composure. He was not a highlyimaginativeman-spelunkingeliminatessuchmenratherquickly-buttheveryfeel of the place had triggered some disturbing memory. And those fallencolumns looked altogether toomuch like the bars of a cage, broken by somemonsterinanattempttoescape.

Of course, that was perfectly absurd - but Dr Chant had learned never toignore any premonition, any danger signal, until he had traced it to its origin.That caution had saved his lifemore than once; hewould not go beyond thischamberuntilhehadidentifiedthesourceofhisfear.Andhewashonestenoughtoadmitthat'fear'wasthecorrectword.

‘Bill-areyouallright?What'shappening?’‘Still filming.Someof theseshapes remindmeof Indian templesculpture.

Almosterotic.’Hewasdeliberatelyturninghismindawayfromthedirectconfrontationof

his fears, hoping thereby to sneakupon themunawares, by a kindof avertedmentalvision.Meanwhilethepurelymechanicalactsofrecordingandcollectingsamplesoccupiedmostofhisattention.

Therewasnothingwrong,heremindedhimself,withhealthyfear;onlywhenitescalated intopanicdid itbecomeakiller.Hehadknownpanic twice inhislife (once on a mountainside, once underwater) and still shuddered at thememoryofitsclammytouch.Yet-thankfully-hewasfarfromitnow,andforareasonwhich, though he did not understand it, he found curiously reassuring.Therewasanelementofcomedyinthesituation.

Andpresentlyhestartedtolaugh-notwithhysteria,butwithrelief.‘DidyoueverseethoseoldStarWarsmovies?’heaskedGreenburg.‘Ofcourse-halfadozentimes.’‘Well,Iknowwhat'sbeenbotheringme.TherewasasequencewhenLuke's

spaceship dives into an asteroid - and runs into a gigantic snake-creature thatlurksinsideitscaverns.’

‘NotLuke'sship-HansSolo'sMillenniumFalcon.AndIalwayswonderedhow that poor beast managed to eke out a living. It must have grown veryhungry,waitingfortheoccasionaltitbitfromspace.AndPrincessLeiawouldn'thavebeenmorethananhors-d'oeuvre,anyway.’

‘WhichIcertainlydon'tintendtoprovide,’saidDrChant,nowcompletelyatease. ‘Even if there is life here -whichwouldbemarvellous - the food chainwouldbeveryshort.SoI'dbesurprised tofindanythingbigger thanamouse.Or,morelikely,amushroom...Nowlet'ssee-wheredowegofromhere...Therearetwoexitsontheothersideofthechamber...theoneontherightisbigger...I'lltakethat...’

‘Howmuchmorelinehaveyougot?’‘Oh, a good half-mile. Here we go... I'm in the middle of the chamber...

damn,bouncedoff thewall... now I'vegot ahand-hold... going inhead-first...smoothwalls,realrockforachange...that'sapity..

‘What'stheproblem?’‘Can't go any further. More stalactites... too close together for me to get

through... and too thick to break without explosives. And that would be a

shame... the colours are beautiful... first real greens and blues I've seen onHalley.JustaminutewhileIgetthemonvideo...

DrChantbracedhimselfagainstthewallofthenarrowtunnel,andaimedthecamera.WithhisglovedfingersbereachedfortheHI-INTENSITYswitch,butmisseditandcutoffthemainlightscompletely.

‘Lousydesign,’hemuttered.‘ThirdtimeI'vedonethat.’Hedidnotimmediatelycorrecthismistake,becausehehadalwaysenjoyed

that silence and total darkness which can be experienced only in the deepestcaves.Thegentlebackgroundnoisesofhislife-supportequipmentrobbedhimofthesilence,butatleast...

What was that? From beyond the portcullis of stalactites blocking furtherprogresshecouldseeafaintglow,likethefirstlightofdawn.Ashiseyesgrewadaptedtothedarkness,itappearedtogrowbrighter,andhecoulddetectahintofgreen.Nowhecouldevenseetheoutlinesofthebarrierahead.

‘What'shappening?’saidGreenburganxiously.‘Nothing-justobserving.’Andthinking,hemighthaveadded.Therewerefourpossibleexplanations.Sunlight could be filtering down through some natural light duct - ice,

crystal,whatever.Butatthisdepth?Unlikely.Radioactivity?Hehadn'tbotheredtobringacounter;therewerevirtuallyno

heavyelementshere.Butitwouldbeworthcomingbacktocheck.Somephosphorescentmineral-thatwastheonehe'dputhismoneyon.But

therewasafourthpossibility-themostunlikely,andmostexciting,ofall.Dr Chant had never forgotten amoonless - and Luciferless - night on the

shores of the IndianOcean,when he had beenwalking beneath brilliant starsalonga sandybeach.The seawasvery calm,but from time to timea languidwavewouldcollapseathisfeet-anddetonateinanexplosionoflight.

Hehadwalkedoutintotheshallows(hecouldstillrememberthefeelofthewaterroundhisankles,likeawarmbath)andwitheverystephetooktherehadbeenanotherburstoflight.Hecouldeventriggeritbyclappinghishandsclosetothesurface.

Could similarbioluminescentorganismshave evolved,here in theheart ofHalley's Comet? He would love to think so. It seemed a pity to vandalizesomethingsoexquisiteasthisnaturalworkofart-withtheglowbehindit,thebarriernowremindedhimofanaltarscreenhehadonceseeninsomecathedral-buthewouldhavetogobackandgetsomeexplosives.Meanwhile,therewas

theothercorridor...‘I can't get any further along this route,’ he toldGreenburg, ‘so I'll try the

other. Coming back to the junction - setting the reel on rewind.’ He did notmentionthemysteriousglow,whichhadvanishedassoonasheswitchedonhislightsagain.

Greenburgdidnot reply immediately,whichwasunusual;probablyhewastalkingtotheship.

Chant did not worry; hewould repeat hismessage as soon as he had gotunderwayagain.

He did not bother, because there was a brief acknowledgement fromGreenburg.

‘Fine,Cliff - thought I'd lostyouforaminute.Backat thechamber -nowgoingintotheothertunnel-hopethere'snothingblockingthat.’

Thistime,Greenburgrepliedatonce.‘Sorry,Bill.Comeback to the ship.There's an emergency -no,nothere -

everything'sfinewithUniverse.ButwemayhavetoreturntoEarthatonce.’It was only a few weeks before Dr Chant discovered a very plausible

explanation for the broken columns. As the comet blasted its substance awayinto space at eachperihelionpassage, itsmassdistribution continually altered.Andso,everyfewthousandyears,itsspinbecameunstable,anditwouldchangethedirectionofitsaxis-quiteviolently,likeatopthatisabouttofalloverasitloses energy. When that occurred, the resulting cometquake could reach arespectablefiveontheRichterscale.

Butheneversolvedthemysteryoftheluminousglow.Thoughtheproblemwasswiftlyovershadowedbythedramathatwasnowunfolding,thesenseofamissedopportunitywouldcontinuetohaunthimfortherestofhislife.

Though hewas occasionally tempted, he nevermentioned it to any of hiscolleagues.Buthedidleaveasealednoteforthenextexpedition,tobeopenedin2133.

20

Recall

'Have you seen Victor?’ said Mihailovich gleefully, as Floyd hurried toanswertheCaptain'ssummons.‘He'sabrokenman.’

‘He'llgrowitbackonthewayhome,’snappedFloyd,whohadnotimefor

suchtrivialitiesatthemoment.‘I'mtryingtofindoutwhat'shappened.’CaptainSmithwasstillsitting,almoststunned,inhiscabinwhenhearrived.

Ifthiswasanemergencyaffectinghisownship,hewouldhavebeenatornadoofcontrolledenergy,issuingordersrightandleft.Buttherewasnothinghecoulddoaboutthissituation,exceptawaitthenextmessagefromEarth.

CaptainLaplacewasanoldfriend;howcouldhehavegotintosuchamess?Therewasnoconceivableaccident,errorofnavigation,orfailureofequipmentthatcouldpossiblyaccountforhispredicament.Nor,asfarasSmithcouldsee,was thereanyway inwhichUniversecouldhelphimgetoutof it.OperationsCentrewasjustrunningroundandroundincircles;thislookedlikeoneofthoseemergencies, all too common in space, where nothing could be done excepttransmitcondolencesandrecordlastmessages.ButhegavenohintofhisdoubtsandreservationswhenhereportedthenewstoFloyd.

‘There'sbeenanaccident,’hesaid.‘We'vereceivedorderstoreturntoEarthimmediately,tobefittedoutforarescuemission.’

‘Whatkindofaccident?’‘It'soursistership,Galaxy.ShewasdoingasurveyoftheJoviansatellites.

Andshe'smadeacrashlanding.’HesawthelookofamazedincredulityonFloyd'sface.‘Yes, I know that's impossible. But you've not heard anything yet. She's

stranded-onEuropa.’‘Europa!’‘I'm afraid so. She's damaged, but apparently there's no loss of life.We're

stillawaitingdetails.’‘Whendidithappen?’‘Twelvehoursago.TherewasadelaybeforeshecouldreporttoGanymede.’‘Butwhatcanwedo?We'reontheothersideof theSolarSystem.Getting

backtolunarorbittorefuel,thentakingthefastestorbittoJupiter-itwouldbe-oh, at least a couple ofmonths!’ (And back in Leonov's day, Floyd added tohimself,itwouldhavebeenacoupleofyears...)

‘Iknow;butthere'snoothershipthatcoulddoanything.’-‘WhataboutGanymede'sowninter-satelliteferries?’‘They'reonlydesignedfororbitaloperations.’‘They'velandedonCallisto.’‘Muchlowerenergymission.Oh, theycould justmanageEuropa,butwith

negligiblepayload.It'sbeinglookedinto,ofcourse.’Floyd scarcely heard the Captain; he was still trying to assimilate this

astonishingnews.For thefirst timeinhalfacentury-andonlyfor thesecondtime in all history! - a ship had landed on the forbidden moon. And thatpromptedanominousthought.

‘Doyousuppose,’heasked,‘that-whoever-whatever-isonEuropacouldberesponsible?’

‘I was wondering about that,’ said the Captain glumly. ‘But we've beensnoopingaroundtheplaceforyears,withoutanythinghappening.’

‘Evenmoretothepoint-whatmighthappentousifweattemptedarescue?’‘That's thefirst thingthatoccurredtome.Butall this isspeculation-we'll

have towaituntilwehavemore facts.Meanwhile - this is reallywhy Icalledyou-I'vejustreceivedGalaxy'screwmanifest,andIwaswondering...’

Hesitantly, he pushed the print-out across his desk. But even beforeHeywoodFloydscannedthelist,hesomehowknewwhathewouldfind.

‘Mygrandson,’hesaidbleakly.And,headdedtohimself, theonlypersonwhocancarrymynamebeyond

thegrave.

III

EUROPANROULETTE

21

ThePoliticsofExile

Despite all the gloomier forecasts, the SouthAfricanRevolution had beencomparativelybloodless-assuchthingsgo.Television,whichhadbeenblamedfor many evils, deserved some credit for this. A precedent had been set agenerationearlierinthePhilippines;whentheyknowthattheworldiswatching,thegreatmajorityofmenandwomen tend tobehave ina responsiblemanner.Thoughtherehavebeenshamefulexceptions,fewmassacresoccuroncamera.

Most of the Afrikaners, when they recognized the inevitable, had left thecountry long before the takeover of power. And - as the new administrationbitterly complained - they had not gone empty-handed. Billions of rands had

been transferred to Swiss and Dutch banks; towards the end, there had beenmysterious flights almost every hour out ofCapeTown and Jo'burg toZurichandAmsterdam.ItwassaidthatbyFreedomDayonewouldnotfindonetroyounceofgoldoracaratofdiamondinthelateRepublicofSouthAfrica-andthe mine workings had been effectively sabotaged. One prominent refugeeboasted, fromhis luxuryapartment inTheHague, ‘Itwillbe fiveyearsbeforethe Kaffirs can get Kimberley working again - if they ever do.’ To his greatsurprise,DeBeerswasbackinbusiness,undernewnameandmanagement, inlessthanfiveweeks,anddiamondswerenowthesinglemostimportantelementinthenewnation'seconomy.

Within a generation, the younger refugees had been absorbed - despitedesperate rearguard actions by their conservative elders - in the deracinatedcultureofthetwenty-firstcentury.

They recalled, with pride but without boastfulness, the courage anddeterminationoftheirancestors,anddistancedthemselvesfromtheirstupidities.VirtuallynoneofthemspokeAfrikaans,evenintheirownhomes.

Yet,preciselyasinthecaseoftheRussianRevolutionacenturyearlier,thereweremanywhodreamedofputtingback theclock-or,at least,ofsabotagingthe efforts of those who had usurped their power and privilege. Usually theychannelled their frustration and bitterness into propaganda, demonstrations,boycotts,petitionstotheWorldCouncil-and,rarely,worksofart.

Wilhelm Smuts' The Voortrekkers was conceded to be a masterpiece of(ironically) English literature, even by those who bitterly disagreed with theauthor.

But therewere also groupswho believed that political actionwas useless,and thatonlyviolencewould restore the longed-forstatusquo.Although therecouldnothavebeenmanywhoreallyimaginedthattheycouldrewritethepagesof history, therewere not a fewwho, if victorywas impossible,would gladlysettleforrevenge.

Between the two extremes of the totally assimilated and the completelyintransigent, therewasanentirespectrumofpolitical -andapolitical -parties.DerBundwas not the largest, but itwas themost powerful, and certainly therichest,sinceitcontrolledmuchofthelostRepublic'ssmuggledwealth,througha network of corporations and holding companies. Most of these were nowperfectlylegal,andindeedcompletelyrespectable.

TherewashalfabillionofBundmoneyinTsungAerospace,dulylistedintheannualbalance sheet. In2059,SirLawrencewashappy to receiveanother

half-billion, which enabled him to accelerate the commissioning of his littlefleet.

But not even his excellent intelligence traced any connection between theBund and TsungAerospace's latest chartermission, In any event, HalleywasthenapproachingMars,andSirLawrencewassobusygettingUniversereadytoleave on schedule that he paid little attention to the routine operations of hersisterships.

ThoughLloyd'sofLondondidraisesomequeriesaboutGalaxy'sproposedrouting, theseobjectionswerequicklydealtwith.TheBundhadpeople inkeypositionseverywhere;whichwasunfortunatefortheinsurancebrokers,butverygoodluckforthespacelawyers.

22

HazardousCargo

It is not easy to run a shipping line between destinations which not onlychange their positions by millions of miles every few days, but also swingthrough a velocity range of tens of miles a second. Anything like a regularscheduleisoutofthequestion;therearetimeswhenonemustforgetthewholeidea and stay in port - or at least in orbit - waiting for the Solar System torearrangeitselfforthegreaterconvenienceofmankind.

Fortunately, these periods are known years in advance, so it is possible tomakethebestuseofthemforoverhauls,retrofits,andplanetleaveforthecrew.Andoccasionally, by good luck and aggressive salesmanship, one can arrangesomelocalchartering,evenifonlytheequivalentoftheold-time'OncearoundtheBay'boat-ride.

Captain Eric Laplace was delighted that the three-month stayover offGanymedewouldnotbeacompleteloss.Ananonymousandunexpectedgrantto the Planetary Science Foundation would finance a reconnaissance of theJovian (even now, no-one ever called it Luciferian) satellite system, payingparticular attention to a dozen of the neglected smallermoons. Some of thesehadneverevenbeenproperlysurveyed,muchlessvisited.

As soon as he heard of the mission, Rolf van der Berg called the Tsungshippingagentandmadesomediscreetenquiries.

‘Yes,firstwe'llheadintowardsIo-thendoaflybyofEuropa-’‘Onlyaflyby?Howclose?’

‘Justamoment-odd,theflightplandoesn'tgivedetails.Butofcourseshewon'tgoinsidetheInterdictionZone.’

‘Whichwas down to five thousandmiles at the last ruling... fifteen yearsago.Anyway,I'dliketovolunteerasMissionPlanetologist.I'llsendacrossmyqualifications-’

‘Noneedtodoso,DrvanderBerg.They'vealreadyaskedforyou.’Itisalwayseasytobewiseaftertheevent,andwhenhecasthismindback

(hehadplentyoftimeforitlater)CaptainLaplacerecalledanumberofcuriousaspectsof thecharter.Twocrewmemberswere takensuddenlysick,andwerereplacedatshortnotice;hewassogladtohavesubstitutesthathedidnotchecktheirpapers as closely ashemighthavedone. (Andeven if hehad,hewouldhavediscovered that theywereperfectly inorder.)Then therewas the troublewiththecargo.Ascaptain,hewasentitledtoinspectanythingthatwentaboardthe ship.Of course, itwas impossible to do this for every item, but he neverhesitatedtoinvestigateifhehadgoodreason.Spacecrewswere,onthewhole,ahighly responsible bodyofmen; but longmissions couldbeboring, and therewere tedium-relieving chemicals which - though perfectly legal on Earth -shouldbediscouragedoffit.

When Second Officer Chris Floyd reported his suspicions, the Captainassumed that theship'schromatographic 'sniffer'haddetectedanothercacheofthe high-grade opiumwhichhis largelyChinese crewoccasionally patronized.Thistime,however,thematterwasserious-veryserious.

‘Cargo Hold Three, Item 2/456, Captain. The manifest says "Scientificapparatus".Itcontainsexplosives.’

‘What!’‘Definitely,Sir.Here'stheelectrogram.’‘I'lltakeyourwordforit,MrFloyd.Haveyouinspectedtheitem?’‘No,Sir. It's in a sealed crew case, half a yard byone yard by five yards,

approximately.One of the largest packages the science team brought aboard. It's labelled

FRAGILE-HANDLEWITHCARE.Butsoiseverything,ofcourse.’Captain Laplace drummed his fingers thoughtfully on the grained plastic

'wood'ofhisdesk.(Hehated thepattern, and intended toget ridof iton thenext refit.)Even

thatslightactionstartedhimrisingoutofhisseat,andheautomaticallyanchoredhimselfbywrappinghisfootaroundthepillarofthechair.

Though he did not for a moment doubt Floyd's report - his new SecondOfficer was very competent, and the Captain was pleased that he had neverbrought up the subject of his famous grandfather -there could be an innocentexplanation. The sniffer might have been misled by other chemicals withnervousmolecularbondings.

They could go down into the hold and force open the package. No - thatmightbedangerous,andcouldcauselegalproblemsaswell.Besttogostraighttothetop;he'dhavetodothatanyway,soonerorlater.

‘PleasebringDrAndersonhere-anddon'tmentionthistoanyoneelse,’‘Verygood,Sir.’ChrisFloydgavearespectfulbutquiteunnecessarysalute,

andlefttheroominasmooth,effortlessglide.Theleaderofthescienceteamwasnotaccustomedtozerogravity,andhis

entrancewasquiteclumsy.Hisobviousgenuineindignationdidnothelp,andhehadtograbtheCaptain'sdeskseveraltimesinanundignifiedmanner.

‘Explosives!Ofcoursenot!Letmeseethemanifest...2/456...’DrAndersonpeckedoutthereferenceonhisportablekeyboard,andslowly

readoff:"MarkVpenetrometers,Quantitythree."Ofcourse-noproblem.’‘Andjustwhat,’said theCaptain, ‘isapenetrometer?’Despitehisconcern,

hehaddifficultyinsuppressingasmile;itsoundedalittleobscene.‘Standardplanetarysamplingdevice.Youdropit,andwithanyluckitwill

giveyouacoreupto tenyards long-eveninhardrock.Thenitsendsbackacomplete chemical analysis. The only safe way to study places like daysideMercury-orIo,wherewe'lldropthefirstone.’

‘Dr Anderson,’ said the Captain, with great selfrestraint, ‘you may be anexcellent geologist, but you don't knowmuch about celestial mechanics. Youcan'tjustdropthingsfromorbit-’

The charge of ignorancewas clearly unfounded, as the scientist's reactionproved.

‘Theidiots!’hesaid.‘Ofcourse,youshouldhavebeennotified.’‘Exactly. Solid fuel rockets are classified as "Hazardous Cargo". I want

clearance from the underwriters, and your personal assurance that the safetysystems are adequate; otherwise, they go overboard. Now, any other littlesurprises?Wereyouplanning seismic surveys? I believe thoseusually involveexplosives...’

Afewhourslater,thesomewhatchastenedscientistadmittedthathehadalso

found two bottles of elemental fluorine, used to power the laserswhich couldzap passing celestial bodies at thousand-mile ranges for spectrographicsampling.Aspurefluorinewasaboutthemostvicioussubstanceknowntoman,itwashighonthelistofprohibitedmaterials-but,liketherocketswhichdrovethepenetrometersdowntotheirtargets,itwasessentialforthemission.

When he was quite satisfied that all the necessary precautions had beentaken,CaptainLaplaceacceptedthescientist'sapologies,andhisassurancethattheoversightwasentirelydueto thehastewithwhichtheexpeditionhadbeenorganized.

Hefeltsure thatDrAndersonwas telling the truth,butalreadyhefelt thattherewassomethingoddaboutthemission.

Justhowoddhecouldneverhaveimagined.

23

Inferno

Before the detonation of Jupiter, Io had been second only toVenus as thebestapproximationtoHellintheSolarSystem.NowthatLuciferhadraiseditssurface temperature another couple of hundred degrees, even Venus could nolongercompete.

The sulphur volcanoes and geysers had multiplied their activity, nowreshapingthefeaturesofthetormentedsatelliteinyearsratherthandecades.Theplanetologists had given up any attempt at mapmaking, and contentedthemselveswithtakingorbitalphotographseveryfewdays.Fromthese,theyhadconstructedawe-inspiringtime-lapsemoviesofinfernoinaction.

Lloyd'sofLondonhadchargedastiffpremiumfor this legof themission,butIoposednorealdangertoashipdoingaflybyataminimumrangeoffivethousandmiles-andovertherelativelyquiescentnightsideatthat.

As he watched the approaching yellow and orange globe - the mostimprobablygarishobjectintheentireSolarSystem-SecondOfficerChrisFloydcouldnothelprecallingthetime,nowhalfacenturyago,whenhisgrandfatherhadcomethisway.Here,LeonovhadmadeitsrendezvouswiththeabandonedDiscovery, and here Dr Chandra had reawakened the dormant computer Hal.ThenbothshipshadflownontosurveytheenormousblackmonolithhoveringatL1,theInnerLagrangePointbetweenIoandJupiter.

Nowthemonolithwasgone-andsowasJupiter.Theminisunthathadrisenlikeaphoenixfromtheimplosionofthegiantplanethadturneditssatellitesinto

whatwasvirtuallyanotherSolarSystem,thoughonlyonGanymedeandEuropawerethereregionswithEarthliketemperatures.Howlongthatwouldcontinuetobe the case, no-one knew. Estimates of Lucifer's life-span ranged from athousandtoamillionyears.

Galaxy'sscienceteamlookedwistfullyattheL1point,butitwasnowfartoodangeroustoapproach.Therehadalwaysbeenariverofelectricalenergy-theIo'fluxtube'-flowingbetweenJupiteranditsinnersatellite,andthecreationofLucifer had increased its strength several hundredfold. Sometimes the river ofpower could even be seen by the naked eye, glowing yellow with thecharacteristiclightofionizedsodium.SomeengineersonGanymedehadtalkedhopefullyabouttappingthegigawattsgoingtowastenextdoor,butno-onecouldthinkofaplausiblewayofdoingso.

Thefirstpenetrometerwaslaunched,withvulgarcommentsfromthecrew,andtwohourslaterdrovelikeahypodermicneedleintothefesteringsatellite.Itcontinued tooperate foralmost fiveseconds - ten times itsdesigned lifetime-broadcasting thousands of chemical, physical and rheological measurements,beforeIodemolishedit.

The scientists were ecstatic; van der Berg was merely pleased. He hadexpectedtheprobetowork;Iowasanabsurdlyeasytarget.ButifhewasrightaboutEuropa,thesecondpenetrometerwouldsurelyfail.

Yet thatwouldprovenothing; itmight fail for a dozengood reasons.Andwhenitdid,therewouldbenoalternativebutalanding.

Which,ofcourse,wastotallyprohibited-notonlybythelawsofman.

24

ShakatheGreat

ASTROPOL - which, despite its grandiose title, had disappointingly littlebusinessoffEarth-wouldnotadmitthatSHAKAreallyexisted.TheUSSAtookexactly the same position, and its diplomats became embarrassed or indignantwhenanyonewastactlessenoughtomentionthename.

ButNewton'sThirdLawappliesinpolitics,asineverythingelse.TheBundhad itsextremists - though it tried,sometimesnotveryhard, todisownthem-continuallyplottingagainsttheUSSA.

Usually they confined themselves to attempts at commercial sabotage, buttherewereoccasionalexplosions,disappearancesandevenassassinations.

Needlesstosay,theSouthAfricansdidnottakethislightly.Theyreactedbyestablishing their own official counter-intelligence services, which also had aratherfree-wheelingrangeofoperations-andlikewiseclaimedtoknownothingabout SHAKA. Perhaps they were employing the useful CIA invention of'plausibledeniability'.Itisevenpossiblethattheyweretellingthetruth.

According toone theory,SHAKAstarted as a codeword, and then - ratherlikeProkofiev's

‘LieutenantKije' - had acquired a life of its own, because itwasuseful tovariousclandestinebureaucracies.Thiswouldcertainlyaccountforthefactthatnoneofitsmembershadeverdefected,orevenbeenarrested.

Buttherewasanother,somewhatfar-fetchedexplanationforthis,accordingto those who believed that SHAKA really did exist. All its agents had beenpsychologicallyconditioned toself-destructbefore therewasanypossibilityofinterrogation.

Whatever the truth, no-one could seriously imagine that, more than twocenturies after his death, the legend of the great Zulu tyrant would cast itsshadowacrossworldsheneverknew.

25

TheShroudedWorld

DuringthedecadeaftertheignitionofJupiter,andthespreadingoftheGreatThaw across its satellite system,Europa had been left strictly alone.Then theChinesehadmadeaswiftflyby,probingthecloudswithradarinanattempttolocate thewreck of the Tsien. They had been unsuccessful, but theirmaps ofdaysidewerethefirsttoshowthenewcontinentsnowemergingastheice-covermelted.

They had also discovered a perfectly straight two-mile-long featurewhichlooked so artificial that itwas christened theGreatWall.Becauseof its shapeandsize itwasassumed tobe theMonolith -oramonolith, sincemillionshadbeenreplicatedinthehoursbeforethecreationofLucifer.

However, there had been no reaction, or any hint of an intelligent signal,frombelowthesteadilythickeningclouds.Soafewyearslater,surveysatelliteswereplacedinpermanentorbit,andhigh-altitudeballoonsweredroppedintotheatmospheretostudyitswindpatterns.

Terrestrialmeteorologistsfoundtheseofabsorbinginterest,becauseEuropa-withacentralocean,andasunthatneverset-presentedabeautifullysimplified

modelfortheirtext-books.So had begun the game of ‘EuropanRoulette’, as the administratorswere

fondofcallingitwheneverthescientistsproposedgettingclosertothesatellite.After fifty uneventful years, it had become somewhat boring. Captain

Laplace hoped it would remain that way, and had required considerablereassurancefromDrAnderson.

‘Personally,’ he had told the scientist, ‘I would regard it as a slightlyunfriendlyact,tohaveatonofarmour-piercinghardwaredroppedonmeatfivehundred miles an hour. I'm quite surprised the World Council gave youpermission.’

DrAndersonwasalsoalittlesurprised,thoughhemightnothavebeenhadhe known that the project was the last item on a long agenda of a ScienceSubCommitteelateonaFridayafternoon.

Ofsuchtrifleshistoryismade.‘I agree, Captain. But we are operating under very strict limitations, and

there'snopossibilityof interferingwith the-ah-Europans,whoever theyare.We'reaimingatatargetthreemilesabovesealevel.’

‘SoIunderstand.What'ssointerestingaboutMountZeus?’‘It'sa totalmystery.Itwasn'teventhere,onlyafewyearsago.Soyoucan

understandwhyitdrivesthegeologistscrazy.’‘Andyourgadgetwillanalyseitwhenitgoesin.’‘Exactly.And-Ireallyshouldn'tbetellingyouthis-butI'vebeenaskedto

keep the results confidential, and to send them back to Earth encrypted.Obviously,someone'sonthetrackofamajordiscovery,andwantstomakequitesurethey'renotbeatentoapublication.Wouldyoubelievethatscientistscouldbesopetty?’

Captain Laplace could well believe it, but did not want to disillusion hispassenger.DrAndersonseemedtouchinglynaïve;whateverwasgoingon-andtheCaptainwasnowquitecertaintherewasmuchmoretothismissionthanmettheeye-Andersonknewnothingaboutit.

‘I can only hope, Doctor, that the Europans don't go in for mountainclimbing.I'dhatetointerruptanyattempttoputaflagontheirlocalEverest.’

There was a feeling of unusual excitement aboard Galaxy when thepenetrometerwaslaunched-andeventheinevitablejokesweremuted.Duringthetwohoursoftheprobe'slongfalltowardsEuropa,virtuallyeverymemberofthecrewfoundsomeperfectlylegitimateexcusetovisitthebridgeandwatchthe

guidanceoperation.Fifteenminutesbefore impact,CaptainLaplacedeclared itoutofbounds to all visitors, except the ship'snewstewardRosie;withoutherendlesssupplyofsqueezebulbsfullofexcellentcoffee,theoperationcouldnothavecontinued.

Everythingwentperfectly.Soonafteratmosphericentry,theair-brakesweredeployed,slowingthepenetrometertoanacceptableimpactvelocity.Theradarimageof the target- featureless,withnoindicationofscale-grewsteadilyonthescreen.Atminusonesecond,alltherecordersswitchedautomaticallytohighspeed...

Buttherewasnothingtorecord.‘NowIknow,’saidDrAndersonsadly,‘justhowtheyfeltattheJetPropulsionLab,whenthosefirstRangerscrashedintotheMoon-withtheircamerasblind.’

26

NightWatch

Onlytimeisuniversal;nightanddayaremerelyquaintlocalcustoms,foundon those planetswhich tidal forces have not yet robbed of their rotation. Buthoweverfartheytravelfromtheirnativeworld,humanbeingscanneverescapethediurnalrhythm,setagesagobyitscycleoflightanddarkness.

Soat01.05,UniversalTime,SecondOfficerChangwasaloneonthebridge,while theshipwassleepingaroundhim.Therewasnorealneedforhimtobeawakeeither,sinceGalaxy'selectronicsenseswoulddetectanymalfunctionfarsoonerthanhecouldpossiblydo.Butacenturyofcyberneticshadprovedthathuman beings were still slightly better than machines at dealing with theunexpected;andsoonerorlater,theunexpectedalwayshappened.

‘Where'smycoffee?’thoughtChanggrumpily.‘It'snotlikeRosietobelate.’He wondered if the steward had been affected by the same malaise that hadovertakenbothscientistsandspacecrew,after thedisastersof the last twenty-fourhours.

Following the failure of the first penetrometer, there had been a hastyconference todecide thenext step.Oneunitwas left; ithadbeen intended forCallisto,butitcouldbeusedjustaseasilyhere.

‘Andanyway,’DrAndersonhadargued,‘we'velandedonCallisto- there'snothingthereexceptassortedvarietiesofcrackedice.’

Therehadbeennodisagreement.Afteratwelve-hourdelayformodificationandtesting,PenNo.3waslaunchedintotheEuropancloudscape,followingthe

invisibletrackofitsprecursor.This time, the ship's recorders did get some data - for about half a

millisecond.Theaccelerometerontheprobe,whichwascalibratedtooperateupto20,000gee,gaveonebriefpulsebeforegoingoff-scale.Everythingmusthavebeendestroyedinverymuchlessthanthetwinklingofaneye.

Afterasecond,andevengloomier,post-mortem,itwasdecidedtoreporttoEarth, andwait inhighorbit roundEuropa for any further instructions, beforeproceedingtoCallistoandtheoutermoons,

‘Sorrytobelate,Sir,’saidRoseMcCullen(onewouldneverguessfromhernamethatshewasslightlydarkerthanthecoffeeshewascarrying)‘butImusthavesetthealarmwrong.’

‘Lucky forus,’chuckled theOfficerof theWatch, ‘thatyou'renot runningtheship.’

‘Idon'tunderstandhowanyonecouldrunit,’answeredRose.‘Italllookssocomplicated.’

‘Oh,it'snotasbadasitlooks,’saidChang.‘Anddon'ttheygiveyoubasicspacetheoryinyourtrainingcourse?’

‘Er-yes.ButIneverunderstoodmuchofit.Orbitsandallthatnonsense.’SecondOfficerChangwasbored,andfeltitwouldbeakindnesstoenlighten

hisaudience.AndalthoughRosewasnotexactlyhistype,shewasundoubtedlyattractive;alittleeffortnowmightbeaworthwhileinvestment.Itneveroccurredtohimthat,havingperformedherduty,Rosemightliketogobacktosleep.

Twentyminuteslater,SecondOfficerChangwavedatthenavigationconsoleandconcludedexpansively: ‘Soyousee, it's reallyalmostautomatic.Youonlyhavetopunchinafewnumbersandtheshiptakescareoftherest.’

Roseseemedtobegettingtired;shekeptlookingatherwatch.‘I'msorry,’saidthesuddenlycontriteChang.‘Ishouldn'thavekeptyouup.’‘Ohno-it'sextremelyinteresting.Pleasegoon.’‘Definitelynot.Maybesomeother time.Goodnight,Rosie-andthanksfor

thecoffee.’‘Goodnight,Sir.’StewardThirdClassRoseMcCullen glided (not too skilfully) towards the

stillopendoor.Changdidnotbothertolookbackwhenhehearditclose.Itwasthusaconsiderableshockwhen,afewsecondslater,hewasaddressed

byacompletelyunfamiliarfemalevoice.‘MrChang-don'tbothertotouchthealarmbutton-it'sdisconnected.Here

arethelandingcoordinates.Taketheshipdown.’Slowly, wondering if he had somehow dozed off and was having a

nightmare,Changrotatedhischair.The person who had been Rose McCullen was floating beside the oval

hatchway, steadying herself by holding on to the locking lever of the door.Everythingaboutherseemedtohavechanged;inamomentoftime,theirroleshad been reversed. The shy steward - who had never before looked at himdirectly-wasnowregardingChangwithacold,mercilessstarethatmadehimfeel like a rabbit hypnotized by a snake. The small but deadly-looking gunnestlinginherfreehandseemedanunnecessaryadornment;Changhadnottheslightestdoubtthatshecouldveryefficientlykillhimwithoutit.

Nevertheless, both his self-respect and his professional honour demandedthatheshouldnotsurrenderwithoutsomesortofastruggle.Attheveryleast,hemightbeabletogaintime.

‘Rose,’hesaid-andnowhislipshaddifficultyinforminganamewhichhadbecome suddenly inappropriate - ‘this is perfectly ridiculous.What I told youjust now - it's simply not true. I couldn't possibly land the ship bymyself. Itwouldtakehourstocomputethecorrectorbit,andI'dneedsomeonetohelpme.Aco-pilot,atleast.’

Thegundidnotwaver.‘I'm not a fool, Mr Chang. This ship isn't energy-limited, like the old

chemicalrockets.TheescapevelocityofEuropaisonlytwomilesasecond.Partof your training is an emergency landingwith themain computer down.Nowyou can put it into practice: the window for an optimum touchdown at thecoordinatesIwillgiveyouopensinfiveminutes.’

‘Thattypeofabort,’saidChang,nowbeginningtosweatprofusely,‘hasanestimatedtwenty-fivepercentfailurerate'-thetruefigurewastenpercent,butin the circumstances he felt that a little exaggeration was justified - ‘and it'syearssinceIcheckedoutonit.’

‘Inthatcase,’answeredRoseMcCullen,‘I'llhavetoeliminateyouandasktheCaptaintosendmesomeonemorequalified.Annoying,becausewe'llmissthiswindowandhavetowaitacoupleofhoursforthenextone.Fourminutesleft.’

SecondOfficerChangknewwhenhewasbeaten;butatleasthehadtried.

‘Letmehavethosecoordinates,’hesaid.

27

Rosie

Captain Laplace woke instantly at the first gentle tapping, like a distantwoodpecker,of theattitudecontrol jets.Foramomenthewondered ifhewasdreaming:no,theshipwasdefinitelyturninginspace.

Perhaps itwas getting too hot on one side and the thermal control systemwasmakingsomeminoradjustments.Thatdidhappenoccasionally,andwasablackmarkfortheofficeronduty,whoshouldhavenoticedthatthetemperatureenvelopewasbeingapproached.

Hereachedfortheintercombuttontocall-whowasit?-MrChangonthebridge.Hishandnevercompletedthemovement.

After days ofweightlessness, even a tenth of a gravity is a shock. To theCaptain it seemed likeminutes, though itmusthavebeenonlya fewseconds,beforehe couldunbucklehis restrainingharness and struggleoutofhisbunk.Thistime,hefoundthebuttonandjabbeditviciously.Therewasnoreply.

Hetriedtoignorethethudsandbumpsofinadequatelysecuredobjectsthathadbeentakenunawaresbytheonsetofgravity.Thingsseemedtogoonfallingforalongtime,butpresentlytheonlyabnormalsoundwasthemuffled,far-offscreamofthedriveatfullblast.

He toreopen thecurtainof thecabin's littlewindow,and lookedoutat thestars.Heknewroughlywheretheship'saxisshouldhavebeenpointing;evenifhecouldonlyjudgeittowithinthirtyorfortydegrees,thatwouldallowhimtodistinguishbetweenthetwopossiblealternatives.

Galaxycouldbevectoredeither togain, or to lose, orbital velocity. Itwaslosingit-andthereforepreparingtofalltowardsEuropa.

Therewas an insistent banging on the door, and the Captain realized thatlittlemorethanaminutecouldreallyhavepassed.SecondOfficerFloydandtwoothercrewmemberswerecrowdedinthenarrowpassageway.

‘Thebridgeislocked,Sir,’Floydreportedbreathlessly.‘Wecan'tgetin-andChangdoesn'tanswer.Wedon'tknowwhat'shappened.’

‘I'mafraidIdo,’CaptainLaplaceanswered,climbingintohisshorts.‘Somemadmanwasbound to try it sooneror later.We'vebeenhijacked, and Iknowwhere.ButI'mdamnedifIknowwhy.’

Heglancedathiswatch,anddidaquickmentalcalculation.‘Atthisthrustlevel,we'llhavedeorbitedwithinfifteenminutes-makeitten

forsafety.Anywaywecancutthedrivewithoutendangeringtheship?’Second Officer Yu, Engineering, looked very unhappy, but volunteered a

reluctantreply.‘Wecouldpullthecircuitbreakersinthepumpmotorlines,andcutoffthe

propellantsupply.’‘Canwegetatthem?’‘Yes-they'reonDeckThree.’‘Thenlet'sgo.’‘Er-thentheindependentbackupsystemwouldtakeover.Forsafety,that's

behind a sealed bulkhead on Deck Five - we'd have to get a cutter - no, itcouldn'tbedoneintime.’

Captain Laplace had been afraid of that. The men of genius who haddesignedGalaxyhadtriedtoprotecttheshipfromallplausibleaccidents.Therewasnowaytheycouldhavesafeguardeditagainsthumanmalevolence.

‘Anyalternatives?’‘Notinthetimeavailable,I'mafraid.’‘Thenlet'sgettothebridgeandseeifwecantalktoChang-andwhoeveris

withhim.’Andwhocouldthatbe?hewondered.Herefusedtobelievethatitcouldbe

oneofhisregularcrew.Thatleft-ofcourse,therewastheanswer!Hecouldseeit all.Monomaniac researcher tries to prove theory - experiments frustrated -decidesthatthequestforknowledgetakesprecedenceovereverythingelse.

Itwasuncomfortablylikeoneofthosecheap'madscientist'melodramas,butit fitted the factsperfectly.Hewondered ifDrAndersonhaddecided that thiswastheonlyroadtoaNobelPrize.

That theory was swiftly demolished when the breathless and dishevelledgeologistarrivedgasping:

‘ForGod'ssake,Captain-what'shappening?We'reunderfullthrust!Arewegoingup-ordown?’

‘Down,’ answered Captain Laplace. ‘In about ten minutes, we'll be in anorbitthatwillhitEuropa.Icanonlyhopethatwhoever'satthecontrolsknowswhathe'sdoing.’

Nowtheywereatthebridge,facingthecloseddoor.Notasoundcamefromthefarside.

Laplaterappedasloudlyashepossiblycouldwithoutbruisinghisknuckles.‘ThisistheCaptain!Letusin!’He felt rather foolishatgivinganorderwhichwouldcertainlybe ignored,

buthehopedforatleastsomereaction.Tohissurprise,hegotone.The external speaker hissed into life, and a voice said: ‘Don't attempt

anythingfoolish,Captain.Ihaveagun,andMrChangisobeyingmyorders.’‘Whowasthat?’whisperedoneoftheofficers.‘Itsoundslikeawoman!’‘You're right,’ said the Captain grimly. That certainly cut down the

alternatives,butdidn'thelpmattersinanyway.‘Whatdoyouhopetodo?Youknowyoucan'tpossiblygetawaywithit!’he

shouted,tryingtosoundmasterfulratherthanplaintive.‘We'relandingonEuropa.Andifyouwanttotakeoffagain,don'ttrytostop

me.’‘Her room's completely clean,’ SecondOfficer Chris Floyd reported thirty

minuteslater,whenthethrusthadbeencuttozeroandGalaxywasfallingalongtheellipsewhichwouldsoongraze theatmosphereofEuropa.Theywerenowcommitted; although it would now be possible to immobilize the engines, itwould be suicide to do so. Theywould be needed again tomake a landing -althoughthatcouldbemerelyamoreprotractedformofsuicide.

‘RosieMcCullen!Who would have believed it! Do you suppose she's ondrugs?’

‘No,’ said Floyd. ‘This has been very carefully planned. Shemust have aradiohiddensomewhereintheship.Weshouldsearchforit.’

‘Yousoundlikeadamnedcop.’‘That will do, gentlemen,’ said the Captain. Tempers were getting frayed,

largely through sheer frustration and the total failure to establish any furthercontactwiththebarricadedbridge.Heglancedathiswatch.

‘Lessthantwohoursbeforeweenteratmosphere-whatthereisofit.I'llbeinmycabin-it'sjustpossibletheymaytrytocallmethere.MrYu,pleasestandbythebridgeandreportanydevelopmentsatonce.’

He had never felt so helpless in his life, but therewere timeswhen doingnothingwas the only thing to do.As he left the officers'wardroom, he heardsomeonesaywistfully: ‘I coulddowithabulbofcoffee.Rosiemade thebest

I'veevertasted.’Yes, thought theCaptaingrimly, she'scertainlyefficient.Whatever jobshe

tackles,she'lldoitthoroughly.

28

Dialogue

Therewas only oneman aboardGalaxywho could regard the situation asanything but a total disaster. I may be about to die, Rolf van der Berg toldhimself;butatleastIhaveachanceofscientificimmortality.Thoughthatmightbepoorconsolation,itwasmorethananyoneelseontheshipcouldhopefor.

ThatGalaxywasheading forMountZeushedidnotdoubt for amoment;therewasnothingelseonEuropaofanysignificance.Indeed,therewasnothingremotelycomparableonanyplanet.

Sohistheory-andhehadtoadmitthatitwasstillatheory-wasnolongerasecret.Howcouldithaveleakedout?

He trustedUncle Paul implicitly, but hemight have been indiscreet.Morelikely,someonehadmonitoredhiscomputers,perhapsasamatterofroutine.Ifso, the old scientist could well be in danger; Rolf wondered if he could - orshould - get awarning to him.He knew that the communications officerwastryingtocontactGanymedeviaoneoftheemergencytransmitters;anautomaticbeacon alert had already gone out, and the news would be hitting Earth anyminutenow.

Ithadbeenonitswaynowforalmostanhour...‘Comein,’hesaid,atthequietknockonhiscabindoor.‘Oh-hello,Chris.

WhatcanIdoforyou?’He was surprised to see Second Officer Chris Floyd, whom he knew no

better than any of his other colleagues. If they landed safely on Europa, hethoughtgloomily,theymightgettoknoweachotherfarbetterthantheywished.

‘Hello,Doctor.You'retheonlypersonwholivesaroundhere.Iwonderedifyoucouldhelpme.’

‘I'mnotsurehowanyonecanhelpanyoneatthemoment.What'sthelatestfromthebridge?’

‘Nothingnew:I'vejustleftYuandGillingsupthere,tryingtofixamikeonthe door. But no-one inside seems to be talking; not surprising - Changmusthavehishandsfull.’

‘Canhegetusdownsafely?’‘He'sthebest;ifanyonecandoit,hecan.I'mmoreworriedaboutgettingoff

again.’‘God-I'dnotbeenlookingthatfarahead.Iassumedthatwasnoproblem.’‘Itcouldbemarginal.Remember,thisshipisdesignedfororbitaloperations.

Wehadn'tplanned toputdownonanymajormoon - thoughwehadhoped torendezvouswithAnankeandCarme.

SowecouldbestuckonEuropa-especiallyifChanghastowastepropellantlookingforagoodlandingsite.’

‘Doweknowwherehe is trying to land?’Rolf asked, tryingnot to soundmore interested than might be reasonably expected. He must have failed,becauseChrislookedathimsharply.

‘There'snowaywecan tell at this stage, thoughwemayget abetter ideawhenhestartsbraking.Butyouknowthesemoons;wheredoyouthink?’

‘There'sonlyoneinterestingplace.MountZeus.’‘Whyshouldanyonewanttolandthere?’RoIfshrugged.‘Thatwasoneof the thingswe'dhoped to findout.Costus twoexpensive

penetrometers.’‘Anditlookslikecostingagreatdealmore.Haven'tyouanyideas?’‘Yousoundlikeacop,’saidvanderBergwithagrin,notintendingitinthe

leastseriously.‘Funny-that'sthesecondtimeI'vebeentoldthatinthelasthour.’Instantly,therewasasubtlechangeintheatmosphereofthecabin-almost

asifthelife-supportsystemhadreadjusteditself.‘Oh-Iwasjustjoking-areyou?’‘IfIwas,Iwouldn'tadmitit,wouldI?’Thatwasnoanswer,thoughtvanderBerg;butonsecondthoughts,perhaps

itwas.Helookedintentlyattheyoungofficer,noticing-notforthefirsttime-his

striking resemblance to his famous grandfather. Someone had mentioned thatChris Floyd had only joinedGalaxy on thismission, from another ship in theTsungfleet-addingsarcasticallythatitwasusefultohavegoodconnectionsinany business. But there had been no criticism of Floyd's ability; he was anexcellentspaceofficer.Thoseskillsmightqualifyhimforotherpart-timejobsas

well;lookatRosieMcCulIen-whohadalso,nowhecametothinkofit,joinedGalaxyjustbeforethismission.

Rolf van der Berg felt that he had become enmeshed in some vast andtenuousweb of interplanetary intrigue; as a scientist, accustomed to getting -usually - straightforward answers to thequestionsheput tonature, hedidnotenjoythesituation.

Buthecouldhardlyclaimtobeaninnocentvictim.Hehadtriedtoconcealthetruth-oratleastwhathebelievedtobethetruth.Andnowtheconsequencesof thatdeceit hadmultiplied like theneutrons in a chain reaction;with resultsthatmightbeequallydisastrous.

Which side was Chris Floyd on? Howmany sides were there? The Bundwould certainly be involved, once the secret had leaked out. But there weresplintergroupswithintheBunditself,andgroupsopposingthem;itwaslikeahallofmirrors.

Therewasonepoint,however,onwhichhedidfeelreasonablycertain.ChrisFloyd, ifonlybecauseofhisconnections, couldbe trusted. I'dputmymoney,thoughtvanderBerg,onhimbeingassignedtoASTROPOLforthedurationofthemission-howeverlong,orshort,thatmightnowbe.

‘I'd like tohelpyou,Chris,’hesaidslowly.‘Asyouprobablysuspect, Idohavesometheories.Buttheymaystillbeutternonsense.

‘Inlessthanhalfanhour,wemayknowthetruth.Untilthen,Iprefertosaynothing.’

And this isnot,he toldhimself,merely ingrainedBoer stubbornness. Ifhehadbeenmistaken,hewouldprefernottodieamongmenwhoknewthathewasthefoolwhohadbroughtthemtotheirdoom.

29

Descent

Second Officer Chang had been wrestling with the problem ever sinceGalaxyhadbeen successfully - to his surprise asmuch as his relief - injectedintotransferorbit.ForthenextcoupleofhoursshewasinthehandsofGod,oratleastSirIsaacNewton;therewasnothingtodobutwaituntilthefinalbrakinganddescentmanoeuvre.

Hehadbrieflyconsidered trying to foolRosiebygiving theshipa reversevectoratclosestapproach,andsotakingitoutintospaceagain.Itwouldthenbe

back in a stable orbit, and a rescue could eventually be mounted fromGanymede. But there was a fundamental objection to this scheme: he wouldcertainly not be alive to be rescued.ThoughChangwasno coward, hewouldprefernottobecomeaposthumousheroofthespaceways.

Inanyevent,hischancesofsurvivingthenexthourseemedremote.Hehadbeen ordered to take down, single-handed, a three-thousand tonner on totallyunknown territory. This was not a feat he would care to attempt even on thefamiliarMoon.

‘Howmanyminutesbeforeyoustartbraking?’askedRosie.Perhapsitwasmore of an order than a question; she clearly understood the fundamentals ofastronautics,andChangabandonedhislastwildfantasiesofoutwittingher.

‘Five,’hesaidreluctantly.‘CanIwarntherestoftheshiptostandby?’‘I'll do it. Give me the mike... THIS IS THE BRIDGE. WE START

BRAKINGINFIVEMINUTES.REPEAT,FIVEMINUTES.OUT.’To thescientistsandofficersassembled in thewardroom, themessagewas

fullyexpected.Theyhadhadonepieceofluck;theexternalvideomonitorshadnot been switched off. Perhaps Rose had forgotten about them; it was morelikelythatshehadnotbothered.Sonow,ashelplessspectators-quiteliterally,acaptiveaudience-theycouldwatchtheirunfoldingdoom.

ThecloudycrescentofEuropanowfilledthefieldoftherear-viewcamera.Therewasnobreakanywhereinthesolidovercastofwatervapourrecondensingonitswaybacktonightside.Thatwasnotimportant,sincethelandingwouldberadar-controlleduntilthelastmoment.Itwould,however,prolongtheagonyofobserverswhohad to rely on visible light,No-one staredmore intently at theapproaching world than theman who had studied it with such frustration foralmost a decade. Rolf van der Berg, seated in one of the flimsy low-gravitychairswiththerestrainingbeltlightlyfastened,barelynoticedthefirstonsetofweightasbrakingcommenced.

Infiveseconds,theywereuptofullthrust.Alltheofficersweredoingrapidcalculationsontheircomsets;withoutaccesstoNavigation,therewouldbealotofguesswork,andCaptainLaplacewaitedforaconsensustoemerge.

‘Elevenminutes,’heannouncedpresently,‘assuminghedoesn'treducethrustlevel -he's atmaxnow.Andassuminghe'sgoing tohoverat fivemiles - justabove the overcast - and then go straight down. That could take another fiveminutes.’

Itwasunnecessaryforhimtoaddthatthelastsecondofthosefiveminuteswouldbethemostcritical.

Europaseemeddeterminedtokeepitssecretstotheveryend.WhenGalaxywashoveringmotionless,justabovethecloudscape,therewasstillnosignoftheland-orsea-beneath.

Then, for a fewagonizing seconds, the screensbecamecompletelyblank -exceptforaglimpseofthenowextended,andveryseldomused,landinggear.The noise of its emergence a fewminutes earlier had caused a brief flurry ofalarmamongthepassengers;nowtheycouldonlyhopethatitwouldperformitsduty.

Howthickisthisdamncloud?vanderBergaskedhimself.Doesitgoallthewaydown-No,itwasbreaking,thinningoutintoshredsandwisps-andtherewasthenewEuropa,spreadout,itseemed,onlyafewthousandyardsbelow.

Itwasindeednew;onedidnothavetobeageologisttoseethat.Fourbillionyears ago, perhaps, the infant Earth had looked like this, as land and seapreparedtobegintheirendlessconflict.

Here,untilfiftyyearsago,therehadbeenneitherlandnorsea-onlyice.ButnowtheicehadmeltedontheLucifer-facinghemisphere,theresultingwaterhadboiledupwards-andbeendepositedinthepermanentdeep-freezeofnightside.Theremovalofbillionsoftonsofliquidfromonehemispheretotheotherhadthusexposedancientseabedsthathadneverbeforeknowneventhepalelightofthefar-distantSun.

Someday,perhaps,thesecontortedlandscapeswouldbesoftenedandtamedby a spreading blanket of vegetation; now they were barren lava flows andgentlysteamingmudflats,interruptedoccasionallybymassesofup-thrustrockwith strangely slanting strata. This had clearly been an area of great tectonicdisturbance, which was hardly surprising if it had seen the recent birth of amountainthesizeofEverest.

Andthereitwas-loomingupovertheunnaturallyclosehorizon.RolfvanderBergfeltatightnessinhischest,andatinglingofthefleshatthebackofhisneck.Nolongerthroughtheremoteimpersonalsensesofinstruments,butwithhisowneyes,hewasseeingthemountainofhisdreams.

Ashewellknew,itwasintheapproximateshapeofatetrahedron,tiltedsothatonefacewasalmostvertical.(Thatwouldbeanicechallengetoclimbers,even in this gravity - especially as they couldn't drive pitons into it...) Thesummitwas hidden in the clouds, andmuch of the gently-sloping face turnedtowardsthemwascoveredwithsnow.

‘Isthatwhatallthefussisabout?’mutteredsomeoneindisgust.‘Lookslikeaperfectlyordinarymountaintome.Iguessthatonceyou'veseenone-'Hewas

'shushed'angrilyintosilence.GalaxywasnowdriftingslowlytowardsMountZeus,asChangsearchedfor

agoodlandingplace.Theshiphadverylittlelateralcontrol,asninetypercentofthemainthrust

had tobeusedmerely tosupport it.Therewasenoughpropellant tohover forperhaps fiveminutes; after that, hemight still be able to land safely - but hecouldnevertakeoffagain.

NeilArmstronghad faced the samedilemma, almost a hundredyears ago.Buthehadnotbeenpilotingwithagunaimedathishead.

Yetforthelastfewminutes,ChanghadtotallyforgottenbothgunandRosie.Every sensewas focused on the job ahead; hewas virtually part of the greatmachinehewascontrolling.Theonlyhumanemotionlefttohimwasnotfear-butexhilaration.Thiswasthe jobhehadbeentrainedtoperform; thiswasthehighlightofhisprofessionalcareer-evenasitmightbethefinale.

And thatwaswhat it looked likebecoming.The footof themountainwasnowlessthanamileaway-andhehadstillfoundnolandingsite.Theterrainwasincrediblyrugged,tornwithcanyons,litteredwithgiganticboulders.Hehadnotseenasinglehorizontalarea larger thana tenniscourt -and thered lineonthepropellantgaugewasonlythirtysecondsaway.

Butthere,atlast,wasasmoothsurface-muchtheflattesthe'dseen-itwashisonlychancewithinthetimeframe.

Delicately,hejuggledthegiant,unstablecylinderhewascontrollingtowardsthepatchofhorizontalground-itseemedtobesnow-covered-yes,itwas-theblastwasblowingthesnowaway-butwhat'sunderneath?-lookslikeice-mustbeafrozenlake-howthick?-HOWTHICK?-

The five-hundred-ton hammer-blow of Galaxy's main jets hit thetreacherouslyinvitingsurface.Apatternofradiatinglinesspedswiftlyacrossit;theicecracked,andgreatsheetsstartedtooverturn.Concentricwavesofboilingwater hurtled outwards as the fury of the drive blasted into the suddenlyuncoveredlake.

Like thewell-trained officer hewas, Chang reacted automatically,withoutthe fatalhesitationsof thought.His lefthandrippedopen theSAFETYLOCKbar; his right grabbed the red lever it protected - and pulled it to the openposition.

TheABORTprogram,peacefullysleepingeversinceGalaxywaslaunched,tookoverandhurledtheshipbackupintothesky.

30

GalaxyDown

In the wardroom, the sudden surge of full thrust came like a stay ofexecution.Thehorrifiedofficershadseenthecollapseofthechosenlandingsite,andknewthattherewasonlyonewayofescape.NowthatChanghadtakenit,theyoncemorepermittedthemselvestheluxuryofbreath.

But how long they could continue to enjoy that experience, no-one couldguess. Only Chang knew whether the ship had enough propellant to reach astable orbit; and even if it did, Captain Laplace thought gloomily, the lunaticwith the gun might order him down again. Though he did not for a minutebelievethatshereallywasalunatic;sheknewexactlywhatshewasdoing.

Suddenly,therewasachangeinthrust.‘Number Four motor's just cut,’ said an engineering officer. ‘I'm not

surprised-probablyoverheated.Notratedforsolongatthislevel.’Therewas,ofcourse,nosenseofanydirectionalchange-thereducedthrust

wasstillalongtheship'saxis-but theviewsonthemonitorscreenshadtiltedcrazily.Galaxywasstillascending,butnolongervertically.Shehadbecomeaballisticmissile,aimedatsomeunknowntargetonEuropa.

Once more, the thrust dropped abruptly; across the video monitors, thehorizonbecamelevelagain.

‘He'scuttheoppositemotor-onlywaytostopuscartwheeling-butcanhemaintainaltitude-goodman!’

Thewatchingscientistscouldnotseewhatwasgoodabout it; theviewonthemonitorshaddisappearedcompletely,obscuredbyablindingwhitefog.

‘He'sdumpingexcesspropellant-lighteningtheship-’Thethrustdwindledawaytozero;theshipwasinfreefall.Inafewseconds,

ithaddropped through thevast cloudof icecrystals createdwhen itsdumpedpropellanthadexplodedintospace.

And there beneath it, approaching at a leisurely one-eighth of a gravityacceleration,wasEuropa'scentralsea.AtleastChangwouldnothavetoselectalandingsite;fromnowon,itwouldbestandardoperatingprocedure,familiarasavideogametomillionswhohadnevergoneintospace,andneverwould.

All you had to do was to balance the thrust against gravity, so that thedescendingshipreachedzerovelocityatzeroaltitude.Therewassomemarginfor error, but notmuch, even for thewater landingswhich the firstAmerican

astronautshadpreferred,andwhichChangwasnowreluctantlyemulating.Ifhemadeamistake-andafterthelastfewhours,hecouldscarcelybeblamed-nohomecomputerwouldsaytohim:'Sorry-you'vecrashed.Wouldyouliketotryagain?

AnswerYES/NO...’SecondOfficerYu andhis two companions,waitingwith their improvised

weapons outside the locked door of the bridge, had perhaps been given thetoughestassignmentofall.Theyhadnomonitorscreenstotell themwhatwashappening,andhadtorelyonmessagesfromthewardroom.

Nor had there been anything through the spy mike, which was hardlysurprising.ChangandMcCullenhadverylittletimeorneedforconversation.

The touchdown was superb, with hardly a jolt. Galaxy sank a few extrayards,thenbobbedupagain,tofloatverticallyand-thankstotheweightoftheengines-intheuprightposition.

Itwas then that the listeners heard the first intelligible sounds through thespymike.

‘Youmaniac,Rosie,’ saidChang'svoice,more in resignedexhaustion thananger.‘Ihopeyou'resatisfied.You'vekilledusall.’

Therewasonepistolshot,thenalongsilence.Yuandhiscolleagueswaitedpatiently,knowingthatsomethingwasbound

tohappensoon.Thentheyheardthelockingleversbeingunlatched,andgrippedthespannersandmetalbarstheywerecarrying.Shemightgetoneofthem,butnotall-

Thedoorswungopen,veryslowly.‘Sorry,’saidSecondOfficerChang.‘Imusthavepassedoutforaminute.’Then,likeanyreasonableman,hefaintedagain.

31

TheSeaofGalilee

Icanneverunderstandhowamancouldbecomeadoctor,CaptainLaplacetold himself.Or an undertaker, for thatmatter. They have some nasty jobs todo...

‘Well,didyoufindanything?’‘No,Skipper.Ofcourse,Idon'thavetherightsortofequipment.Thereare

someimplantsthatyoucouldonlylocatethroughamicroscope-orsoI'mtold.Theycouldonlybeveryshortrange,though.’

‘Perhapstoarelaytransmittersomewhereintheship-Floyd'ssuggestedwemakeasearch.

Youtookfingerprintsand-anyotheridents?’‘Yes-whenwecontactGanymede,we'llbeamthemup,withherpapers.But

Idoubtifwe'lleverknowwhoRosiewas,orwhoshewasactingfor.Orwhy,forGod'ssake.’

‘Atleastsheshowedsomehumaninstincts,’saidLaplacethoughtfully.‘Shemusthaveknownshe'dfailed,whenChangpulledtheABORTlever.Shecouldhaveshothimthen,insteadoflettinghimland.’

‘Much good that will do us, I'm afraid. Let me tell you something thathappenedwhenJenkinsandIputthecadaveroutthroughtherefusedump.’

Thedoctorpursedhislipsinagrimaceofdistaste.‘You were right, of course - it was the only thing to do.Well, we didn't

bothertoattachanyweights-itfloatedforafewminutes-wewatchedtoseeifitwouldcleartheship-andthen...’

Thedoctorseemedtobestrugglingforwords.‘What,dammit?’‘Something came up out, of the water, Like a parrot beak, but about a

hundredtimesbigger.Ittook-Rosie-withonesnap,anddisappeared.Wehavesome impressive company here; even if we could breathe outside, I certainlywouldn'trecommendswimming-’

‘BridgetoCaptain,’saidtheofficeronduty,‘Bigdisturbanceinthewater-camerathree-I'llgiveyouthepicture.’

‘That's the thing I saw!’ cried the doctor. He felt a sudden chill at the

inevitable,ominousthought:Ihopeit'snotbackformore.Suddenly,avastbulkbrokethroughthesurfaceoftheoceanandarchedinto

thesky.Foramoment, thewholemonstrousshapewassuspendedbetweenairandwater.

The familiar can be as shocking as the strange - when it is in the wrongplace.Bothcaptainanddoctorexclaimedsimultaneously:‘It'sashark!’

Therewas just time to notice a few subtle differences - in addition to themonstrousparrot-beak-beforethegiantcrashedbackintothesea.Therewasanextrapairoffins-andthereappearedtobenogills.Norwerethereanyeyes,butoneithersideofthebeaktherewerecuriousprotuberancesthatmightbesomeothersenseorgans.

‘Convergent evolution, of course,’ said the doctor. ‘Same problems, samesolutions, on any planet. Look at Earth. Sharks, dolphins, ichthyosaurs - alloceanic predators must have the same basic design. That beak puzzles me,though-’

‘What'sitdoingnow?’Thecreaturehad surfacedagain,butnow itwasmovingvery slowly, as if

exhaustedafterthatonegiganticleap.Infact,itseemedtobeintrouble-eveninagony;itwasbeatingitstailagainstthesea,withoutattemptingtomoveinanydefinitedirection.

Suddenly, it vomited its last meal, turned belly up, and lay wallowinglifelesslyinthegentleswell.

‘OhmyGod,’whispered theCaptain,hisvoice fullof revulsion. ‘I think Iknowwhat'shappened.’

‘Totallyalienbiochemistries,’saidthedoctor;evenheseemedshakenbythesight.‘Rosie'sclaimedonevictim,afterall.’

TheSeaofGalileewas,ofcourse,namedafterthemanwhohaddiscoveredEuropa - as he in turn had been named after a much smaller sea on anotherworld.

Itwasaveryyoungsea,beinglessthanfiftyyearsold;and,likemostnew-born infants, couldbequiteboisterous.Although theEuropanatmospherewasstill too thin to generate real hurricanes, a steady wind blew from thesurroundinglandtowardsthetropicalzoneatthepointabovewhichLuciferwasstationary.Here,atthepointofperpetualnoon,thewaterwascontinuallyboiling-thoughatatemperature,inthisthinatmosphere,barelyhotenoughtomakeagoodcupoftea.

Luckily, thesteamy, turbulent region immediatelybeneathLuciferwasfivehundredmilesaway;Galaxyhaddescendedinarelativelycalmarea, less thantwentyfivemilesfromthenearest land.Atpeakvelocity,shecouldcover thatdistance in a fraction of a second; but now, as she drifted beneath the low-hanging clouds of Europa's permanent overcast, land seemed as far-off as theremotestquasar.Tomakemattersworse-ifpossible-theeternaloff-shorewindwas taking her further out to sea. And even if she could manage to groundherselfonsomevirginbeachofthisnewworld,shemightbenobetteroffthanshewasnow.

But she would be more comfortable; spaceships, though admirablywatertight, are seldom seaworthy. Galaxy was floating in a vertical position,bobbingupanddownwithgentlebutdisturbingoscillations;halfthecrewwasalreadysick.

CaptainLaplace'sfirstaction,afterhehadbeenthroughthedamagereports,was to appeal for anyone with experience in handling boats - of any size orshape.Itseemedreasonabletosupposethatamongthirtyastronauticalengineersand space scientists there shouldbe a considerable amountof seafaring talent,and he immediately located five amateur sailors and even one professional -PurserFrankLeewhohadstartedhiscareerwith theTsungshippinglinesandthenswitchedtospace.

Although pursersweremore accustomed to handling accountingmachines(often, in Frank Lee's case, a two-hundred-year-old ivory abacus) thannavigationalinstruments,theystillhadtopassexamsinbasicseamanship.Leehadneverhadachanceoftestinghismaritimeskills;now,almosthalfabillionmilesfromtheSouthChinaSea,histimehadcome.

‘Weshouldfloodthepropellanttanks,’hetoldtheCaptain.‘Thenwe'llridelowerandwon'tbebobbingupanddownsobadly.’

It seemed foolish to let even more water into the ship, and the Captainhesitated.

‘Supposewerunaground?’Noonemadetheobviouscomment‘Whatdifferencewillitmake?’Without

anyseriousdiscussion,ithadbeenassumedthattheywouldbebetteroffonland-iftheycouldeverreachit.

‘Wecanalwaysblowthetanksagain.We'llhavetodothatanyway,whenwereach shore, to get the ship into a horizontal position. Thank God we havepower...’

Hisvoice trailedoff; everyoneknewwhathemeant.Without the auxiliary

reactorwhichwasnowrunningthelife-supportsystems,theywouldallbedeadwithin hours. Now - barring a breakdown - the ship could sustain themindefinitely.

Ultimately, of course, theywould starve; they had just had dramatic proofthattherewasnonourishment,butonlypoison,intheseasofEuropa.

AtleasttheyhadmadecontactwithGanymede,sothattheentirehumanracenowknewtheirpredicament.ThebestbrainsintheSolarSystemwouldnowbetrying to save them. If they failed, the passengers and crew ofGalaxywouldhavetheconsolationofdyinginthefullglareofpublicity.

IV

ATTHEWATERHOLE

32

Diversion

‘The latest news,’ saidCaptainSmith tohis assembledpassengers, ‘is thatGalaxy is afloat, and in fairly good condition. One crewmember - a womansteward-hasbeenkilled-wedon'tknowthedetails-buteveryoneelseissafe.

‘Theship'ssystemsareallworking;thereareafewleaks,but they'vebeencontrolled.

CaptainLaplacesaysthere'snoimmediatedanger,buttheprevailingwindisdriving them further away from the mainland, towards the centre of dayside.That's not a serious problem - there are several large islands they're virtuallycertain to reach first.At themoment they're fiftymiles from the nearest land.They'veseensomelargemarineanimals,buttheyshownosignofhostility.

‘Barringfurtheraccidents,theyshouldbeabletosurviveforseveralmonths,until theyrunoutoffood-whichofcourseisnowbeingstrictlyrationed.ButaccordingtoCaptainLaplace,moraleisstillhigh.

‘Now, this is where we come in. If we return to Earth immediately, getrefuelled and refitted, we can reach Europa in a retrograde, powered orbit ineighty-fivedays.Universeistheonlyshipcurrentlycommissionedthatcanlandthereandtakeoffagainwithareasonablepayload.TheGanymedeshuttlesmaybe able to drop supplies, but that's all - though it may make the differencebetweenlifeanddeath.

‘I'msorry,ladiesandgentlemen,thatourvisithasbeencutshort-butIthink

you'llagreethatwe'veshownyoueverythingwepromised.AndI'msureyou'llapproveofournewmission-even though thechancesofsuccessare, frankly,ratherslim.That'sallforthemoment.DrFloyd,canIhaveawordwithyou?’

Astheothersdriftedslowlyandthoughtfullyfromthemainlounge-sceneof somany less portentous briefings - theCaptain scanned a clipboard full ofmessages. There were still occasions when words printed on pieces of paperwerethemostconvenientmediumofcommunication,butevenheretechnologyhadmade itsmark.The sheets that theCaptainwas readingweremadeof theindefinitely reusablemultifaxmaterialwhich had done somuch to reduce theloadonthehumblewastepaperbasket.

‘Heywood,’hesaid-nowthattheformalitieswereover-‘asyoucanguess,thecircuitsareburningup.Andthere'salotgoingonthatIdon'tunderstand.’

‘Ditto,’answeredFloyd.‘AnythingfromChrisyet?’"No,butGanymede'srelayedyourmessage;heshouldhavehaditbynow.

There'sapriorityoverrideonprivatecommunications,asyoucanimagine-butofcourseyournameoverrodethat.’

‘Thanks,Skipper.AnythingIcandotohelp?’‘Notreally-I'llletyouknow.’Itwasalmostthelasttime,forquiteawhile,thattheywouldbeonspeaking

termswith each other.Within a fewhoursDrHeywoodFloydwould become‘Thatcrazyoldfool!’,andtheshort-lived'MutinyontheUniverse'wouldhavebegun-ledbytheCaptain.

ItwasnotactuallyHeywoodFloyd'sidea;heonlywisheditwas.SecondOfficerRoyJolsonwas‘Stars’,thenavigationofficer;Floydbarely

knewhimbysight,andhadneverhadoccasiontosaymorethangoodmorningto him.Hewas quite surprised, therefore, by the diffident knock on his cabindoor.

Theastrogatorwascarryingasetofcharts,andseemedalittleillatease.HecouldnotbeoverawedbyFloyd'spresence-everyoneonboardnowtookhimforgranted-sotheremustbesomeotherreason.

‘DrFloyd,’hebegan,inatoneofsuchurgentanxietythatheremindedhislistenerofasalesmanwhoseentirefuturedependsonmakingthenextdeal.‘I'dlikeyouradvice-andassistance.’

‘Ofcourse-butwhatcanIdo?’Jolson unrolled the chart showing the position of all the planets inside the

orbitofLucifer.

‘Your old trick of coupling Leonov andDiscovery, to escape from Jupiterbeforeitblewup,gavemetheidea.’

‘Itwasn'tmine.WalterCurnowthoughtofit.’‘Oh- Ineverknewthat.Ofcourse,wedon'thaveanothership toboostus

here-butwehavesomethingmuchbetter.’‘Whatdoyoumean?’askedFloyd,completelybaffled.‘Don'tlaugh.WhygobacktoEarthtotakeonpropellant-whenOldFaithful

isblastingouttonseverysecond,acoupleofhundredyardsaway?Ifwetappedthat,wecouldgettoEuropanotinthreemonths-butinthreeweeks.’

Theconceptwassoobvious,yetsodaring,thatittookFloyd'sbreathaway.Hecouldseehalfadozenobjectionsinstantly;butnoneofthemseemedfatal.

‘WhatdoestheCaptainthinkoftheidea?’‘I've not told him; that's why I need your help. I'd like you to checkmy

calculations-thenputtheideatohim.He'dturnmedown-I'mquitecertain-andIdon'tblamehim.IfIwascaptain,IthinkIwouldtoo...’

There was a long silence in the little cabin. Then Heywood Floyd saidslowly:‘Letmegiveyouallthereasonswhyitcan'tbedone.ThenyoucantellmewhyI'mwrong.’

SecondOfficerJolsonknewhiscommander;CaptainSmithhadneverheardsuchacrazysuggestioninhislife.

Hisobjectionswereallwell-founded,andshowedlittle, ifany, traceof thenotorious'notinventedhere'syndrome.

‘Oh, it would work in theory,’ he admitted. ‘But think of the practicalproblems,man!Howwouldyougetthestuffintothetanks?’

‘I'vetalkedtotheengineers.We'dmovetheshiptotheedgeofthecrater-it's quite safe to get within fifty yards. There's plumbing in the unfurnishedsectionwecan ripout - thenwe'd runa line toOldFaithfulandwaituntilhespouts;youknowhowreliableandwell-behavedheis.’

‘Butourpumpscan'toperateinanearvacuum!’‘Wedon'tneedthem;wecanrelyonthegeyser'sowneffluxvelocitytogive

usaninputofatleasttwohundredpoundsasecond.OldFaithfulwilldoallthework.’

‘He'lljustgiveicecrystalsandsteam,notliquidwater.’‘Itwillcondensewhenitgetsonboard.’‘You'vereallythoughtthisout,haven'tyou?’saidtheCaptainwithgrudging

admiration.‘ButIjustdon'tbelieveit.Isthewaterpureenough,foronething?Whataboutcontaminants-especiallycarbonparticles?’

Floyd could not help smiling.Captain Smithwas developing an obsessionaboutsoot...

‘Wecanfilteroutlargeones;therestwon'taffectthereaction.Ohyes-thehydrogenisotoperatioherelooksbetterthanforEarth.Youmayevengetsomeextrathrust.’

‘Whatdoyourcolleaguesthinkoftheidea?IfweheadstraightforLucifer,itmaybemonthsbeforetheycangethome...

‘I'venotspokentothem.Butdoesitmatter,whensomanylivesareatstake?We may reach Galaxy seventy days ahead of schedule! Seventy days! ThinkwhatcouldhappenonEuropainthattime!’

‘I'mperfectlyawareofthetimefactor,’snappedtheCaptain.‘Thatappliestousaswell.Wemaynothaveprovisionsforsuchanextendedtrip.’

Nowhe'sstrainingatgnats,thoughtFloyd-andhemustknowthatIknowit.Betterbetactful...

‘An extra couple of weeks? I can't believe we have so narrow a margin.You've been feedingus toowell, anyway.Do someof us good to be on shortrationsforawhile.’

TheCaptainmanagedafrostysmile.‘YoucantellthattoWillisandMihailovich.ButI'mafraidthewholeideais

insane.’‘Atleastletustryitontheowners.I'dliketospeaktoSirLawrence.’‘Ican'tstopyou,ofcourse,’saidCaptainSmith,inatonethatsuggestedhe

wishedhecould.‘ButIknowexactlywhathe'llsay.’Hewasquitewrong.SirLawrenceTsunghadnotplacedabetforthirtyyears;itwasnolongerin

keepingwithhisaugustpositionintheworldofcommerce.Butasayoungmanhe had often enjoyed amild flutter at theHongKong Race Course, before apuritanicaladministrationhadcloseditinafitofpublicmorality.Itwastypicaloflife,SirLawrencesometimesthoughtwistfully,thatwhenhecouldbethehadnomoney-andnowhecouldn't,becausetherichestmanintheworldhadtosetagoodexample.

Andyet,asnobodyknewbetter thanhedid,hiswholebusinesscareerhadbeenonelonggamble.Hehaddonehisutmosttocontroltheodds,bygatheringthebestinformationandlisteningtotheexpertshishunchestoldhimwouldgive

thewisestadvice.Hehadusuallypulledoutintimewhentheywerewrong;buttherehadalwaysbeenanelementofrisk.

Now, as he read thememorandum fromHeywoodFloyd, he felt again theold thrillhehadnotknownsincehehadwatched thehorses thundering roundintothelastlap.Herewasagambleindeed

-perhapsthelastandgreatestofhiscareer-thoughhewouldneverdaretellhisBoardofDirectors.StilllesstheLadyJasmine.

‘Bill,’hesaid,‘whatdoyouthink?’Hisson(steadyandreliable,butlackingthatvitalsparkwhichwasperhaps

nolongerneededinthisgeneration)gavehimtheanswerheexpected.‘Thetheoryisquitesound.Universecandoit-onpaper.Butwe'velostone

ship.We'llberiskinganother.’‘She'sgoingtoJupiter-Lucifer-anyway.’‘Yes-butafteracompletecheckoutinEarthorbit.Anddoyourealizewhat

thisproposeddirectmissionwillinvolve?She'llbesmashingallspeedrecords-doingoverfivehundredmilesasecondatturnaround!’

Itwastheworstthinghecouldpossiblyhavesaid;onceagainthethunderofhoovessoundedinhisfather'sears.

ButSirLawrencemerelyanswered:‘Itwon'tdoanyharmforthemtomakesome tests, though Captain Smith is fighting the idea tooth and nail. Eventhreatens to resign.Meanwhile, just check thepositionwithLloyd's -wemayhavetobackdownontheGalaxyclaim.’

Especially,hemighthaveadded,ifwe'regoingtothrowUniverseontothetable,asanevenbiggerchip.

AndhewasworriedaboutCaptainSmith.NowthatLaplacewasstrandedonEuropa,hewasthebestcommanderhehadleft.

33

PitStop

‘Sloppiest job I've seen since I left college,’ grumbled theChiefEngineer.‘Butit'sthebestwecandointhetime.’

The makeshift pipeline stretched across fifty yards of dazzling, chemical-encrusted rock to the nowquiescent vent ofOldFaithful,where it ended in arectangular,downward-pointingfunnel.

The sunhad just risenover thehills, andalready thegroundhadbegun totrembleslightlyasthegeyser'ssubterranean-orsubhallean-reservoirsfeltthefirsttouchofwarmth.

Watchingfromtheobservationlounge,HeywoodFloydcouldhardlybelievethatsomuchhadhappenedinameretwenty-fourhours.Firstofall,theshiphadsplit intotworivalfactions-oneledbytheCaptain,theotherperforceheadedby himself. They had been coldly polite to each other, and there had been noactualexchangeofblows;buthehaddiscoveredthatincertainquartershenowrejoiced in the nickname of 'Suicide' Floyd. It was not an honour that heparticularlyappreciated.

Yetno-onecouldfindanythingfundamentallywrongwiththeFloyd-Jolsonmanoeuvre. (Thatnamewasalsounfair:hehad insisted that Jolsongetall thecredit,butno-onehadlistened.AndMihailovichhadsaid:'Aren'tyoupreparedto share the blame?') The first test would be in twenty minutes, when OldFaithful, rather belatedly, greeted the dawn. But even if that worked, and thepropellant tanksstarted tofillwithsparklingpurewaterrather than themuddyslurryCaptainSmithhadpredicted,theroadtoEuropawasstillnotopen.

A minor, but not unimportant, factor was the wishes of the distinguishedpassengers. They had expected to be home within two weeks; now, to theirsurpriseandinsomecasesconsternation,theywerefacedwiththeprospectofadangerousmissionhalfwayacrosstheSolarSystem-and,evenifitsucceeded,nofirmdateforareturntoEarth.

Williswasdistraught;allhisscheduleswouldbetotallywrecked.Hedriftedaroundmutteringaboutlawsuits,butno-oneexpressedtheslightestsympathy.

Greenburg,on theotherhand,was ecstatic; nowhewould reallybe in thespace business again! And Mihailovich - who spent a lot of time noisilycomposinginhisfarfromsoundproofcabin-wasalmostequallydelighted.Hewassurethatthediversionwouldinspirehimtonewheightsofcreativity.

MaggieMwasphilosophical:‘Ifitcansavealotoflives,’shesaid,lookingpointedlyatWillis,‘howcananyonepossiblyobject?’

AsforYvaMerlin,Floydmadeaspecialefforttoexplainmatterstoher,anddiscoveredthatsheunderstoodthesituationremarkablywell.AnditwasYva,tohisutterastonishment,whoaskedthequestiontowhichno-oneelseseemedtohavepaidmuchattention:‘SupposetheEuropansdon'twantustoland-eventorescueourfriends?’

Floydlookedatherinfrankamazement;evennow,hestillfounditdifficulttoacceptherasarealhumanbeing,andneverknewwhenshewouldcomeout

withsomebrilliantinsightorutterstupidity.‘That'saverygoodquestion,Yva.Believeme,I'mworkingonit.’Hewas telling the truth;hecouldnever lie toYvaMerlin.That,somehow,

wouldbeanactofsacrilege.Thefirstwispsofvapourwereappearingoverthemouthofthegeyser.They

shot upwards and away in their unnatural vacuum trajectories, and evaporatedswiftlyinthefierceSunlight.

Old Faithful coughed again, and cleared its throat. A snowy-white - andsurprisinglycompact-columnoficecrystalsandwaterdropletsclimbedswiftlytowardsthesky.Allone'sterrestrialinstinctsexpectedittotoppleandfall,butofcourse it did not. It continued onwards and upwards, spreading only slightly,until itmerged into the vast, glowing envelope of the comet's still expandingcoma.Floydnoted,withsatisfaction,thatthepipelinewasbeginningtoshakeasfluidrushedintoit.

Tenminuteslater,therewasacouncilofwaronthebridge.CaptainSmith,still in a huff, acknowledged Floyd's presence with a slight nod; his NumberTwo,alittleembarrassed,didallthetalking.

‘Well,itworks,surprisinglywell.Atthisrate,wecanfillourtanksintwentyhours-thoughwemayhavetogooutandanchorthepipemoresecurely.’

‘Whataboutthedirt?’someoneasked.The First Officer held up a transparent squeeze-bulb holding a colourless

liquid.‘Thefiltersgotridofeverythingdowntoafewmicrons,Tobeonthesafe

side, we'll run through them twice, cycling from one tank to another. Noswimmingpool,I'mafraid,untilwepassMars.’

Thatgotamuchneededlaugh,andeventheCaptainrelaxedalittle.‘We'll run up the engines, at minimum thrust, to check that there are no

operationalanomalieswithHalleyH20.Ifthereare,we'llforgetthewholeidea,andheadhomeongoodoldMoonwater,fobAristarchus.’

Therewasoneofthose'partysilences'whereeveryonewaitssimultaneouslyforsomeoneelsetospeak.ThenCaptainSmithbroketheembarrassinghiatus.

‘Asyouallknow,’hesaid,‘I'mveryunhappywiththewholeidea.Infact-’hechangedcourseabruptly; itwasequallywell-known thathehadconsideredsending Sir Lawrence his resignation, though in the circumstances thatwouldhavebeenasomewhatpointlessgesture.

‘But a couple of things have happened in the last few hours. The owner

agreeswith the project - if no fundamental objections emerge from our tests.And-thisisthebigsurprise,andIdon'tknowanymoreaboutitthanyoudo-theWorldSpaceCouncil hasnotonlyokayedbut requested thatwemake thediversion,underwritinganyexpensesincurred.Yourguessisasgoodasmine...

‘ButIstillhaveoneworry-'helookeddoubtfullyatthelittlebulbofwater,whichHeywoodFloydwasnowholdinguptothelightandshakinggently.‘I'manengineer,notadamnchemist.

Thisstufflooksclean-butwhatwillitdotothetanklinings?’Floyd never quite understood why he acted as he did; such rashness was

completely uncharacteristic. Perhaps he was simply impatient with the wholedebate, andwanted togetonwith the job.Orperhapshe felt that theCaptainneededalittlestiffeningofthemoralfibre.

With one quick movement, he flicked open the stopcock and squirtedapproximately20ccofHalley'sCometdownhisthroat.

‘There'syouranswer,Captain,’hesaid,whenhehadfinishedswallowing.‘And that,’ said theship'sdoctorhalfanhour later, ‘wasoneof thesilliest

exhibitionsI'veeverseen.Don'tyouknowthattherearecyanidesandcyanogensandGodknowswhatelseinthatstuff?’

‘Ofcourse,Ido,’laughedFloyd.‘I'veseentheanalyses-justafewpartsinamillion.

Nothingtoworryabout,ButIdidhaveonesurprise,’headdedruefully.‘Andwhatwasthat?’‘IfyoucouldshipthisstuffbacktoEarth,youcouldmakeafortunesellingit

asHalley'sPatentPurgative.’

34

CarWash

Nowthattheywerecommitted,thewholeatmosphereaboardUniversehadchanged.Therewasnomoreargument;everyonewascooperatingtotheutmost,andveryfewpeoplehadmuchsleepforthenexttworotationsofthenucleus-ahundredhoursofEarthtime.

The firstHalley 'day'was devoted to a still rather cautious tappingofOldFaithful,butwhenthegeysersubsidedtowardsnightfallthetechniquehadbeenthoroughlymastered.Morethanathousandtonsofwaterhadbeentakenaboard;thenextperiodofdaylightwouldbeamplefortherest.

HeywoodFloydkeptoutoftheCaptain'sway,notwishingtopresshisluck;inanyevent,Smithhadathousanddetailstoattendto.Butthecalculationoftheneworbitwasnotamongthem;thathadbeencheckedandrecheckedonEarth.

Therewasnodoubt,now,thattheconceptwasbrilliant,andthesavingsevengreater than Jolson had claimed. By refuelling on Halley, Universe hadeliminated the twomajororbitchanges involved in therendezvouswithEarth;she could now go straight to her goal, under maximum acceleration, savingmanyweeks.Despitethepossiblerisks,everyonenowapplaudedthescheme.

Well,almosteveryone.OnEarth, the swiftlyorganized ‘HandsoffHalley!’ societywas indignant.

Its members (a mere 236, but they knew how to drum up publicity) did notconsidertheriflingofacelestialbodyjustified,eventosavelives.TheyrefusedtobeplacatedevenwhenitwaspointedoutthatUniversewasmerelyborrowingmaterial that the comet was about to lose anyway. It was, they argued, theprincipleofthething.TheirangrycommuniquésgavemuchneededlightreliefaboardUniverse.

Cautiousasever,CaptainSmithranthefirstlow-poweredtestswithoneofthe attitude-control thrusters; if this became unserviceable, the ship couldmanagewithoutit,Therewerenoanomalies;theenginebehavedexactlyasifitwasrunningonthebestdistilledwaterfromthelunarmines.

Thenhetestedthecentralmainengine,NumberOne;if thatwasdamaged,therewouldbenolossofmanoeuvrability-onlyoftotalthrust.Theshipwouldstill be fully controllable, but, with the four remaining outboards alone, peakaccelerationwouldbedownbytwentypercent.

Again, there were no problems; even the sceptics started being polite toHeywoodFloyd,andSecondOfficerJolsonwasnolongerasocialoutcast.

Thelift-offwasscheduledlateintheafternoon,justbeforeOldFaithfulwasduetosubside.

(Would itstillbe there togreet thenextvisitors inseventy-sixyears' time?Floydwondered.

Perhaps; there were hints of its existence even back on the 1910photographs.)Therewasnocountdown,inthedramaticoldtimeCapeCanaveralstyle.Whenhewasquitesatisfiedthateverythingwasshipshape,CaptainSmithappliedamerefivetonsofthrustonNumberOne,andUniversedriftedslowlyupwardsandawayfromthecomet.

Theaccelerationwasmodest,butthepyrotechnicswereawe-inspiring-and,

tomostof thewatchers,whollyunexpected.Untilnow, the jets fromthemainengines had been virtually invisible, being formed entirely of highly ionizedoxygen and hydrogen. Even when - hundreds of miles away - the gases hadcooled off enough to combine chemically, there was still nothing to be seen,becausethereactiongavenolightinthevisiblespectrum.

But now, Universe was climbing away from Halley on a column ofincandescence too brilliant for the eye to look upon; it seemed almost a solidpillarofflame.Whereithittheground,rockexplodedupwardsandoutwards;asit departed for ever, Universe was carving its signature, like cosmic graffiti,acrossthenucleusofHalley'sComet.

Mostofthepassengers,accustomedtoclimbingspacewardswithnovisiblemeans of support, reacted with considerable shock. Floyd waited for theinevitableexplanation;oneofhisminorpleasureswascatchingWillis insomescientific error, but this very seldom happened. And evenwhen it did,Willisalwayshadsomeveryplausibleexcuse.

‘Carbon,’hesaid.‘Incandescentcarbon-exactlyasinacandleflame-butslightlyhotter.’

‘Slightly,’murmuredFloyd.‘We'renolongerburning- ifyou'llexcusetheword-, (Floydshruggedhis

shoulders) ‘pure water. Although it's been carefully filtered, there's a lot ofcolloidal carbon in it. As well as compounds that could only be removed bydistillation.’

‘It's very impressive, but I'm a little worried,’ said Greenburg. ‘All thatradiation-won'titaffecttheengines-andheattheshipbadly?’

Itwasaverygoodquestion,and ithadcausedsomeanxiety.FloydwaitedforWillis tohandle it;but that shrewdoperatorbounced theball rightback tohim.

‘I'dpreferDrFloydtodealwiththat-afterall,itwashisidea.’‘Jolson's,please.Goodpoint, though.But it'sno realproblem;whenwe're

under full thrust, all those fireworkswillbe fivehundredmilesbehindus.Wewon'thavetoworryaboutthem.’

The shipwas nowhovering some twomiles above the nucleus; had it notbeenfortheglareoftheexhaust,thewholesunlitfaceofthetinyworldwouldhavebeenspreadoutbeneath.Atthisaltitude-ordistance-thecolumnofOldFaithfulhadbroadenedslightly. It looked,Floydsuddenlyrecalled, likeoneofthe giant fountains ornamentingLakeGeneva.He had not seen them for fifty

years,andwonderediftheystillplayedthere.Captain Smith was testing the controls, slowly rotating the ship, then

pitching and yawing it along the Y and Z axes. Everything seemed to befunctioningperfectly.

‘Missiontimezeroistenminutesfromnow,’heannounced.‘0.1geeforfiftyhours;then0.2

until turnaround-onehundredandfiftyhoursfromnow.’Hepaused to letthatsinkin;noothershiphadeverattemptedtomaintainsohighacontinuousacceleration,forsolong.IfUniversewasnotabletobrakeproperly,shewouldalsoenterthehistorybooksasthefirstmannedinterstellarvoyager.

Theshipwasnowturningtowardsthehorizontal-ifthatwordcouldbeusedin thisalmostgravitylessenvironment -andwaspointingdirectly to thewhitecolumnofmistandicecrystalsstillsteadilyspurtingfromthecomet.Universestartedtomovetowardsit-

‘What'shedoing?’saidMihailovichanxiously.Obviouslyanticipatingsuchquestions,theCaptainspokeagain.Heseemed

to have completely recovered his good humour, and there was a hint ofamusementinhisvoice.

‘Justonelittlechorebeforeweleave,Don'tworry-IknowexactlywhatI'mdoing.AndNumberTwoagreeswithme-don'tyou?’

‘Yessir-thoughIthoughtyouwerejokingatfirst.’‘Whatisgoingonuponthebridge?’askedWillis,foronceataloss.Nowtheshipwasstartingaslowroll,whilestillmovingatnomorethana

goodwalking speed towards the geyser. From this distance - now less than ahundred yards - it reminded Floyd still more closely of those far-off Genevafountains.

Surelyhe'snottakingusintoit-Buthewas.Universevibratedgentlyasitnuzzleditswayintotherisingcolumnoffoam.Itwasstillrollingveryslowly,asif it was drilling its way into the giant geyser. The video monitors andobservationwindowsshowedonlyamilkyblankness.

Thewholeoperationcouldnothavelastedmorethantenseconds;thentheywereoutontheotherside.Therewasabriefburstofspontaneousclappingfromtheofficerson thebridge;but thepassengers-even includingFloyd-still feltsomewhatput-upon.

‘Nowwe'rereadytogo,’saidtheCaptain,intonesofgreatsatisfaction.‘Wehaveanice,cleanshipagain.’

During the next half-hour, more than ten thousand amateur observers onEarthandMoonreportedthatthecomethaddoubleditsbrightness.TheCometWatchNetworkbrokedowncompletelyundertheoverload,andtheprofessionalastronomerswerefurious.

Butthepubliclovedit,andafewdayslaterUniverseputonanevenbettershow,afewhoursbeforedawn.

The ship, gaining speed bymore than five thousandmiles an hour, everyhour,wasnowfarinsidetheorbitofVenus.Itwouldgetevenclosertothesunbeforeitmadeitsperihelionpassage-farmoreswiftlythananynaturalcelestialbody-andheadedouttowardsLucifer.

AsitpassedbetweenEarthandSun,thethousandmiletailofincandescentcarbon was easily visible as a fourth magnitude star, showing appreciablemovementagainsttheconstellationsofthemorningskyinthecourseofasinglehour.At the very beginning of its rescuemission,Universewould be seen bymorehumanbeings,atthesamemoment,thananyartefactinthehistoryoftheworld.

35

Adrift

Theunexpectednews that their sister shipUniversewas on theway - andmightarrivefarsoonerthananyonehaddaredtodream-hadaneffectuponthemoraleofGalaxy'screwthatcouldonlybecalledeuphoric.Themerefactthatthey were drifting helplessly on a strange ocean, surrounded by unknownmonsters,suddenlyseemedofminorimportance.

Asdid themonsters themselves, though theymade interestingappearancesfromtimetotime.

Thegiant 'sharks'were sightedoccasionally,butnever camenear the ship,evenwhengarbagewasdumpedoverboard.Thiswasquitesurprising;itstronglysuggestedthatthegreatbeasts-unliketheirterrestrialcounterparts-hadagoodsystem of communication. Perhaps they were more closely allied to dolphinsthantosharks.

Thereweremanyschoolsofsmallerfish,whichno-onewouldhavegivenasecondglanceinamarketonEarth.Afterseveralattempts,oneoftheofficers-akeenangler-managedtocatchonewithanunbaitedhook.Heneverbroughtitin through theairlock- theCaptainwouldnothavepermitted it,anyway-butmeasuredandphotographeditcarefullybeforereturningittothesea.

Theproudsportsmanhadtopayapriceforhistrophy,however.Thepartial-pressurespacesuithehadwornduringtheexercisehadthecharacteristic'rotteneggs'stinkofhydrogensulphidewhenhebrought itbackinto theship,andhebecamethebuttof innumerable jokes. Itwasyetanotherreminderofanalien,andimplacablyhostile,biochemistry.

Despite the pleas of the scientists, no further angling was allowed. Theycouldwatchand record,butnot collect,Andanyway, itwaspointedout, theywere planetary geologists, not naturalists. No-one had thought of bringingformalin-whichprobablywouldnotworkhereinanyevent.

Once, the ship drifted for several hours through floatingmats or sheets ofsomebrightgreenmaterial. It formedovals, about tenyardsacross, andallofapproximatelythesamesize,Galaxyploughedthroughthemwithoutresistance,and they swiftly reformed behind her. It was guessed that they were colonialorganismsofsomekind.

Andonemorning,theofficerofthewatchwasstartledwhenaperiscoperoseoutofthewaterandhefoundhimselfstaringintoamild,blueeyewhich,hesaidwhenhehadrecovered,lookedlikeasickcow's.Itregardedhimsadlyforafewmoments,withoutmuchapparentinterest,thenslowlyreturnedtotheocean,

Nothing seemed tomovevery fast here, and the reasonwasobvious.Thiswasstillalow-energyworld-therewasnoneofthefreeoxygenthatallowedtheanimalsofEarthtolivebyaseriesofcontinuousexplosions,fromthemomenttheystartedtobreatheatbirth.Onlythe'shark'ofthatfirstencounterhadshownanysignofviolentactivity-initslast,dyingspasm.

Perhaps thatwas good news formen.Even if theywere encumberedwithspacesuits,therewasprobablynothingonEuropathatcouldcatchthem-evenifitwantedto.

CaptainLaplacefoundwryamusementinhandingovertheoperationofhisship to the purser; he wondered if this situationwas unique, in the annals ofspaceandsea.

Not that therewasagreatdeal thatMrLeecoulddo.Galaxywas floatingvertically, one-third out of the water, heeling slightly before a wind that wasdrivingitatasteadyfiveknots.

Therewere only a few leaks below thewaterline, easily handled. Equallyimportant,thehullwasstillairtight.

Althoughmostofthenavigationequipmentwasuseless, theyknewexactlywheretheywere.

Ganymedegavethemanaccuratefixontheiremergencybeaconeveryhour,and if Galaxy kept to her present course she wouldmake landfall on a largeislandwithinthenextthreedays.Ifshemissedthat,shewouldheadonouttotheopensea,andeventuallyreachthetepidlyboilingzoneimmediatelyunderneathLucifer. Though not necessarily catastrophic, that was a most unattractiveprospect;ActingCaptainLeespentmuchofhistimethinkingofwaystoavoidit.

Sails-evenifhehadsuitablematerialandrigging-wouldmakeverylittledifferencetotheircourse.Hehadloweredimprovisedsea-anchorsdowntofivehundredyards,lookingforcurrentsthatmightbeuseful,andfindingnone.Norhadhefoundthebottom;itlayunknownmilesfurtherdown.

Perhapsthatwasjustaswell; itprotectedthemfromthesubmarinequakesthatcontinually.

racked this new ocean. Sometimes Galaxy would shake as if struck by agianthammer,asashockwavewentracingby.Inafewhours,atsunami,dozensofyardshigh,wouldcrashuponsomeEuropanshore;buthereindeepwaterthedeadlywaveswerelittlemorethanripples.

Several times, sudden vortexes were observed at a distance; they lookedquite dangerous -maelstroms thatmight even suckGalaxy down to unknowndepths - but luckily theywere too far off to domore thanmake the ship spinaroundafewtimesinthewater.

And just once, a huge bubble of gas rose and burst only a hundred yardsaway. It was most impressive, and everyone seconded the doctor's heartfeltcomment:‘ThankGodwecan'tsmellit.’

It is surprisinghowquickly themostbizarre situationcanbecome routine.Withinafewdays,lifeaboardGalaxyhadsettleddowntoasteadyroutine,andCaptain Laplace's main problem was keeping the crew occupied. There wasnothingworseformoralethanidleness,andhewonderedhowtheskippersoftheoldwindjammershadkepttheirmenbusyonthoseinterminablevoyages.Theycouldn't have spent all their time scrambling up the rigging or cleaning thedecks.

Hehadtheoppositeproblemwiththescientists.Theywerealwaysproposingtestsandexperiments,whichhadtobecarefullyconsideredbeforetheycouldbeapproved.And if he allowed it, theywould havemonopolized the ship's nowverylimitedcommunicationschannels.

Themainantennacomplexwasnowbeingbatteredaroundatthewaterline,andGalaxycouldnolongertalkdirectlytoEarth.Everythinghadtoberelayed

throughGanymede,onabandwidthofafewmiserablemegahertz.Asinglelivevideochannelpre-emptedeverythingelse,andhehadtoresisttheclamouroftheterrestrial networks. Not that they would have a great deal to show theiraudiences,exceptopensea,crampedshipinteriors,andacrewwhich,thoughingoodspirits,wasbecomingsteadilymorehirsute.

An unusual amount of traffic seemed directed to Second Officer Floydwhose encrypted responses were so brief that they could not have containedmuchinformation.Laplacefinallydecidedtohaveatalktotheyoungman.

‘MrFloyd,’hesaid,intheprivacyofhiscabin.‘I'dappreciateitifyouwouldenlightenmeaboutyourpart-timeoccupation.’

Floyd looked embarrassed, and clutched at the table as the ship rockedslightlyinasuddengust.

‘IwishIcould,sir,butI'mnotpermitted.’‘Bywhom,mayIask?’‘Frankly,I'mnotsure.’That was perfectly true. He suspected it was ASTROPOL, but the two

quietly impressive gentlemen who had briefed him on Ganymede hadunaccountablyfailedtoprovidethisinformation.

‘Ascaptainof this ship -especially in thepresentcircumstances - Iwouldliketoknowwhat'sgoingonhere.Ifwegetoutofthis,I'mgoingtospendthenextfewyearsofmylifeatCourtsofEnquiry.Andyou'llprobablybedoingthesame.’

Floydmanagedawrygrin.‘Hardlyworthbeing rescued, is it,Sir?All Iknow is that somehigh-level

agency expected trouble on thismission, but didn't knowwhat form itwouldtake.Iwasjusttoldtokeepmyeyesopen.I'mafraidIdidn'tdomuchgood,butIimagineIwastheonlyqualifiedpersontheycouldgetholdofintime.’

‘Idon'tthinkyoucanblameyourself.WhowouldhaveimaginedthatRosie-’

TheCaptainpaused,struckbyasuddenthought.‘Doyoususpectanyoneelse?’Hefeltlikeadding‘Me,forinstance?’,butthe

situationwasalreadysufficientlyparanoiac.Floydlookedthoughtful,thenapparentlycametoadecision.‘Perhaps I should have spoken to you before, Sir, but I know how busy

you've been. I'm sureDr van derBerg is involved somehow.He's aMede, of

course;they'reoddpeople,andIdon'treallyunderstandthem.’Orlikethem,hemight have added.Too clannish - not really friendly to offworlders. Still, onecould hardly blame them; all pioneers trying to tame a new wilderness wereprobablymuchthesame.

‘VanderBerg-hmm.Whatabouttheotherscientists?’‘They've been checked, of course. All perfectly legitimate, and nothing

unusualaboutanyofthem.’Thatwasnotaltogether true.DrSimpsonhadmorewivesthanwasstrictly

legal,atleastatonetime,andDrHigginshadalargecollectionofmostcuriousbooks.SecondOfficerFloydwasnotquitesurewhyhehadbeen toldall this;perhapshismentorsmerelywanted to impresshimwith theiromniscience.HedecidedthatworkingforASTROPOL(orwhoeveritwas)hadsomeentertainingfringebenefits.

‘Verywell,’saidtheCaptain,dismissingtheamateuragent.‘Butpleasekeepme informed if you discover anything - anything at all- that might affect thesafetyoftheship.’

Inthepresentcircumstances,itwashardtoimaginewhatthatmightbe.Anyfurtherhazardsseemedslightlysuperfluous.

36

TheAlienShore

Eventwenty-fourhoursbeforetheysightedtheisland,itwasstillnotcertainwhetherGalaxywouldmiss it and be blown on out into the emptiness of thecentralocean.Herposition,asobservedbytheGanymederadar,wasplottedonalargechartwhicheveryoneaboardexaminedanxiouslyseveraltimesaday.

Even if theshipdidreach land,herproblemsmightbe justbeginning.Shemight be pounded to pieces on a rocky coast, rather than gently deposited onsomeconvenientlyshelvingbeach.

ActingCaptainLeewaskeenlyawareofallthesepossibilities.Hehadoncebeen shipwrecked himself, in a cabin cruiser whose engines had failed at acriticalmoment,offtheislandofBali.

Therehadbeen little danger, though a gooddeal of drama, andhehadnowish to repeat the experience - especially as therewas no coastguard here tocometotherescue.

Therewasatrulycosmicironyintheirplight.Heretheywere,aboardoneof

the most advanced transportation devices ever made by man - capable ofcrossingtheSolarSystem!-yetnowtheycouldnotdeflect itmorethanafewyardsfromitscourse.Nevertheless,theywerenotcompletelyhelpless;Leestillhadafewcardstoplay.

On this sharplycurvingworld, the islandwasonly threemilesawaywhenthey first sighted it.ToLee's great relief, therewere noneof the cliffs he hadfeared;nor,ontheotherhand,wasthereanysignofthebeachhehadhopedfor.Thegeologistshadwarnedhimthathewasafewmillionyearstooearlytofindsandhere;themillsofEuropa,grindingslowly,hadnotyethadtimetodotheirwork.

Assoonasitwascertaintheywouldhittheland,Leegaveorderstopumpout Galaxy's main tanks, which he had deliberately flooded soon aftertouchdown. Then followed a very uncomfortable few hours, during which atleastaquarterofthecrewtooknofurtherinterestintheproceedings.

Galaxyrosehigherandhigherinthewater,oscillatingmoreandmorewildly-thentumbledwithamightysplash,toliealongthesurface,likethecorpseofawhaleinthebadolddayswhenthecatcher-boatspumpedthemfullofairtostopthemsinking.Whenhesawhowtheshipwaslying,Leeadjustedherbuoyancyagain,untilshewasslightlystern-down,andtheforwardbridgewasjustclearofthewater.

As he expected, Galaxy then swung broadside-on to the wind. Anotherquarterofthecrewbecameincapacitatedthen,butLeehadenoughhelperstogetoutthesea-anchorhehadpreparedforthisfinalact.Itwasmerelyanimprovisedraft,madeofemptyboxeslashedtogether,butitsdragcausedtheshiptopointtowardstheapproachingland.

Now they could see that they were heading - with agonizing slowness -towardsanarrowstretchofbeach,coveredwithsmallboulders.Iftheycouldnothavesand,thiswasthebestalternative...

The bridge was already over the beach when Galaxy grounded, and Leeplayedhislastcard.Hehadmadeonlyasingletest-run,notdaringtodomoreincasetheabusedmachineryfailed.

For the last time,Galaxy extendedher landing gear.Therewas a grindingandshudderingasthepadsontheundersidedugtheirwayintothealienbeach.Now she was securely anchored against the winds and waves of this tidelessocean.

TherewasnodoubtthatGalaxyhadfoundherfinalrestingplace-and,alltoopossibly,thatofhercrew.

V

THROUGHTHEASTEROIDS

37

Star

And now Universe was moving so swiftly that its orbit no longer evenremotely resembled that of any natural object in the Solar System. Mercury,closest to the Sun, barely exceeds twenty five miles a second at perihelion;Universe had reached twice that speed in the first day - and at only half theacceleration itwould achievewhen itwas lighter by several thousand tons ofwater.

Forafewhours,astheypassedinsideitsorbit,Venuswasthebrightestofallheavenlybodies,nexttotheSunandLucifer.Itstinydiscwasjustvisibletothenaked eye, but even the ship'smost powerful telescopes showed nomarkingswhatever.VenusguardedhersecretsasjealouslyasEuropa.

BygoingstillclosertotheSun-wellinsidetheorbitofMercury-Universewas notmerely taking a short cut, butwas also getting a free boost from theSun'sgravitationalfield.Becausenaturealwaysbalancesherbooks,theSunlostsomevelocity in the transaction; but the effectwouldnot bemeasurable for afewthousandyears.

Captain Smith used the ship's perihelion passage to restore some of theprestigehisfoot-dragginghadcosthim.

‘Nowyouknow,’hesaid,‘exactlywhyIflewtheshipthroughOldFaithful.If we hadn't washed all that dirt off the hull, by this time we'd be badlyoverheating.Infact,Idoubtifthethermalcontrolswouldhavehandledtheload- it's already ten timesEarth level.’Looking - through filters thatwere almostblack - at thehideously swollenSun, his passengers could easily believehim.Theywere allmore thanhappywhen it had shrunkback tonormal size - andcontinuedtodwindleasternasUniverseslicedacrosstheorbitofMars,outwardboundonthefinallegofitsmission.

The'FamousFive'hadalladjusted,intheirvariousways,totheunexpectedchangeintheirlives.Mihailovichwascomposingcopiouslyandnoisily,andwasseldom seen exceptwhen he emerged atmeals, to tell outrageous stories andteaseallavailablevictims,especiallyWillis.Greenburghadelectedhimself,no-one dissenting, an honorary crewmember, and spentmuch of his time on the

bridge.MaggieMviewedthesituationwithruefulamusement.‘Writers,’sheremarked,‘arealwayssayingwhatalotofworktheycoulddo

if they were only in some place with no interruptions - no engagements;lighthousesandprisonsaretheirfavouriteexamples.SoIcan'tcomplain-exceptthat my requests for research material keep getting delayed by high prioritymessages.’

EvenVictorWillishadnowcometomuchthesameconclusion;hetoowasbusilyatworkonsundrylong-rangeprojects.Andhehadanadditionalreasontokeeptohiscabin.Itwouldstillbeseveralweeksbeforehelookedasifhehadforgottentoshave,andmonthsbeforehereturnedtohisfullglory.

YvaMerlinspenthourseverydayintheentertainmentcentre,catchingup-as she readily explained - with her favourite classics. It was fortunate thatUniverse's library and projection facilities had been installed in time for thevoyage;thoughthecollectionwasstillrelativelysmall,therewassufficientforseverallifetimesofviewing.

All the famousworks of visual artwere there, right back to the flickeringdawn of the cinema. Yva knew most of them, and was happy to share herknowledge.

Floyd,ofcourse,enjoyedlisteningtoher,becausethenshebecamealive-anordinary human being, not an icon.He found it both sad and fascinating thatonly throughanartificial universeofvideo images could sheestablish contactwiththerealworld.

OneofthestrangestexperiencesofHeywoodFloyd'sfairlyeventfullifewassitting insemi-darkness justbehindYva,somewhereoutside theorbitofMars,while they watched the original Gone with the Wind together. There weremomentswhenhecouldseeherfamousprofilesilhouettedagainstthatofVivienLeigh, and could compare the two - though itwas impossible to say that oneactresswasbetterthantheother;bothweresuigeneris.

Whenthelightswentup,hewasastonishedtoseethatYvawascrying.Hetookherhandandsaidtenderly:‘Icriedtoo,whenBonnydied.’

Yvamanagedafaintsmile.‘Iwas reallycrying forVivien,’ she said. ‘Whilewewere shootingTwo, I

readalotabouther-shehadsuchatragiclife.Andtalkingabouther,rightouthere between the planets, reminds me of something that Larry said when hebroughtthepoorthingbackfromCeylonafterhernervousbreakdown.Hetold

hisfriends:"I'vemarriedawomanfromouterspace."Yvapausedforamoment,andanotherteartrickled(rathertheatrically,Floyd

couldnothelpthinking)downhercheek.‘And here's something even stranger. She made her last movie exactly a

hundredyearsago-anddoyouknowwhatitwas?’‘Goon-surprisemeagain.’‘IexpectitwillsurpriseMaggie-ifshe'sreallywritingthebookshekeeps

threateninguswith.Vivien'sverylastfilmwas-ShipofFools.’

38

IcebergsofSpace

Nowthattheyhadsomuchunexpectedtimeontheirhands,CaptainSmithhad finally agreed to giveVictorWillis the long-delayed interviewwhichwaspart of his contract. Victor himself had kept putting it off, owing to whatMihailovichpersisted incallinghis 'amputation'.As itwouldbemanymonthsbefore he could regenerate his public image, he had finally decided to do theinterview off-camera; the studio on Earth could fake him in laterwith libraryshots.

They had been sitting in the Captain's still only partly furnished cabin,enjoyingoneoftheexcellentwineswhichapparentlymadeupmuchofVictor'sbaggageallowance.AsUniversewouldcutitsdriveandstartcoastingwithinthenext fewhours, thiswouldbe the lastopportunity forseveraldays.Weightlesswine, Victor maintained, was an abomination; he refused to put any of hispreciousvintageintoplasticsqueezebulbs.

‘ThisisVictorWillis,aboardthespaceshipUniverseat18.30onFriday,15July2061.Thoughwe'renotyetat themid-pointofour journey,we'realreadyfarbeyond theorbitofMars,andhavealmost reachedourmaximumvelocity.Whichis,Captain?’

‘Fivehundredmilesasecond.’‘MorethanFivehundredmilesasecond-almosttwomillionmilesanhour!’Victor Willis' surprise sounded perfectly genuine; no-one would have

guessed thatheknewtheorbitalparametersalmostaswellasdid theCaptain.Butoneofhisstrengthswashisabilitytoputhimselfintheplaceofhisviewers,andnotonlytoanticipatetheirquestions,buttoarousetheirinterest.

‘That'sright,’theCaptainansweredwithquietpride.‘Wearetravellingtwice

asfastasanyhumanbeingssincethebeginningoftime.’That shouldhavebeenoneofmy lines, thoughtVictor;hedidnot likehis

subject to get ahead of him. But, good professional that he was, he quicklyadapted.

He pretended to consult his famous little memo pad, with its sharplydirectionalscreenwhosedisplayonlyhecouldsee.

‘Everytwelveseconds,we'retravellingthediameterofEarth.YetitwillstilltakeusanothertendaystoreachJupi-ah,Lucifer!ThatgivessomeideaofthescaleoftheSolarSystem.

‘Now,Captain,thisisadelicatesubject,butI'vehadalotofquestionsaboutitduringthelastweek.’

Ohno,groanedSmith.Notthezerogravitytoiletsagain!‘Atthisverymoment,wearepassingrightthroughtheheartoftheasteroid

belt-’(Iwishitwasthetoilets,thoughtSmith...)‘-andthoughnospaceshiphaseverbeenseriouslydamagedbyacollision,

aren't we taking quite a risk? After all, there are literally millions of bodies,downtothesizeofbeachballs,orbitinginthissectionofspace.Andonlyafewthousandhavebeencharted.’

‘Morethanafew:overtenthousand.’‘Buttherearemillionswedon'tknowabout.’‘That'strue;butitwouldn'thelpusmuchifwedid.’‘Whatdoyoumean?’‘There'snothingwecandoaboutthem.’‘Whynot?’CaptainSmithpausedforcarefulthought.Williswasright-thiswasindeed

a delicate subject; Head Office would rap his knuckles smartly, if he saidanythingtodiscouragepotentialcustomers.

‘Firstofall,space issoenormousthatevenhere-asyousaid,right in theheartoftheasteroidbelt-thechanceofcollisionis-infinitesimal.We'vebeenhoping toshowyouanasteroid - thebestwecando isHanuman,amiserablethreehundredyardsacross-butthenearestwegettoitisaquarterofamillionmiles.’

‘ButHanumanisgigantic,comparedtoalltheunknowndebristhat'sfloatingaroundouthere.

Aren'tyouworriedaboutthat?’‘Aboutasworriedasyouare,atbeingstruckbylightningonEarth.’‘Asamatteroffact,Ioncehadanarrowescape,onPike'sPeakinColorado-

the flashand thebangwere simultaneous.Butyouadmit that thedangerdoesexist-andaren'tweincreasingtherisk,bytheenormousspeedatwhichwe'retravelling?’

Willis,ofcourse,knewtheanswerperfectlywell;onceagainhewasputtinghimself in theplaceofhis legionsofunknownlistenerson theplanet thatwasgettingfivehundredmilesfurtherawaywitheverypassingsecond.

‘It'shardtoexplainwithoutmathematics,’saidtheCaptain(howmanytimeshe had used that phrase. Even when it wasn't true!), ‘but there's no simplerelationship between speed and risk. To hit anything at spacecraft velocitieswouldbecatastrophic; ifyou'restandingnext toanatomicbombwhenitgoesoff,itmakesnodifferencewhetherit'sinthekilotonormegatonclass.’

Thatwasnotexactlyareassuringstatement,butitwasthebesthecoulddo.BeforeWilliscouldpressthepointfurther,hecontinuedhastily:

‘Andletmeremindyouthatany-er-slightextrariskwemayberunningisinthebestofcauses.Asinglehourmaysavelives.’

‘Yes, I'm surewe all appreciate that.’Willis paused; he thought of adding‘And, of course, I'm in the same boat’, but decided against it. Itmight soundimmodest - not that modesty had ever been his strong suit. And anyway, hecould hardlymake a virtue of a necessity; he had very little alternative now,unlesshedecidedtowalkhome.

‘All this,’ he continued, ‘brings me to another point. Do you know whathappenedjustacenturyandahalfago,ontheNorthAtlantic?’

‘In1911?’‘Well,actually1912-’Captain Smith guessed what was coming, and stubbornly refused to

cooperatebypretendingignorance.‘IsupposeyoumeantheTitanic,’hesaid.‘Precisely,’answeredWillis,gamelyconcealinghisdisappointment.‘I'vehad

at least twenty reminders from people who think they're the only one who'sspottedtheparallel.’

‘Whatparallel?TheTitanicwasrunningunacceptablerisks,merelytryingtobreakarecord.’

Healmostadded‘Andshedidn'thaveenoughlifeboats’,butluckilycheckedhimselfintime,whenherecalledthattheship'soneandonlyshuttlecouldcarrynotmorethanfivepassengers.

If Willis took him up on that, it would involve altogether too manyexplanations.

‘Well, I grant that the analogy is far-fetched. But there's another strikingparallel which everyone points out. Do you happen to know the name of theTitanic'sfirstandlastCaptain?’

‘Ihaven'tthefaintest-’beganCaptainSmith.Thenhisjawdropped.‘Precisely,’ saidVictorWillis,withasmilewhich itwouldbecharitable to

callsmug.CaptainSmithwouldwillinglyhavestrangledallthoseamateurresearchers.

But he could hardly blamehis parents for bequeathing him the commonest ofEnglishnames.

39

TheCaptain'sTable

Itwasapitythatviewerson(andoff)EarthcouldnothaveenjoyedthelessformaldiscussionsaboardUniverse.Shipboard lifehadnowsettleddown toasteady routine, punctuated by a few regular landmarks - of which the mostimportant,andcertainlythemostlong-established,wasthetraditional'Captain'sTable'.

At 18.00 hours exactly, the six passengers, and five of the officers not onduty,would joinCaptain Smith for dinner. Therewas, of course, none of theformaldress thathadbeenmandatoryaboard the floatingpalacesof theNorthAtlantic, but there was usually some attempt at sartorial novelty. Yva couldalwaysbereliedupontoproducesomenewbrooch,ring,necklace,hair-ribbon,orperfumefromanapparentlyinexhaustiblesupply.

If the drivewas on, themealwould beginwith soup; but if the shipwascoastingandweightless, therewouldbeaselectionofhors-d'oeuvres.Ineitherevent,beforethemaincoursewasservedCaptainSmithwouldreportthelatestnews - or try to dispel the latest rumours, usually fuelled by newscasts fromEarthorGanymede.

Accusations andcounterchargeswere flying in all directions, and themostfantastictheorieshadbeenproposedtoaccountforGalaxy'shijacking.Afinger

had been pointed at every secret organization known to exist, and many thatwerepurelyimaginary.Allthetheories,however,hadonethingincommon.Notoneofthemcouldsuggestaplausiblemotive.

The mystery had been compounded by the one fact which had emerged.StrenuousdetectiveworkbyASTROPOLhadestablishedthesurprisingfactthatthe late 'Rose McCullen' was really Ruth Mason, born in North London,recruitedtotheMetropolitanPolice-andthen,afterapromisingstart,dismissedforracistactivities.ShehademigratedtoAfrica-andvanished.Obviously,shehadbecomeinvolvedinthatunluckycontinent'spoliticalunderground.SHAKAwasfrequentlymentioned,andasfrequentlydeniedbytheUSSA.

What all this could possibly have to do with Europa was endlessly, andfruitlessly,debatedaroundthetable-especiallywhenMaggieMconfessedthatatonetimeshehadbeenplanninganovelaboutShaka,fromtheviewpointofoneofhisthousandunfortunatewives.Butthemoresheresearchedtheproject,the more repellent it became. ‘By the time I abandoned Shaka,’ she wrylyadmitted,‘IknewexactlywhatamodernGermanfeelsaboutHitler.’

Such personal revelations becamemore andmore common as the voyageproceeded.Whenthemainmealwasover,oneofthegroupwouldbegiventhefloorforthirtyminutes.Betweenthem;theyhadadozenlifetimesofexperience,onasmanyheavenlybodies,soitwouldbehardtofindabettersourceofafter-dinnertales.

The least effective speaker was, somewhat surprisingly, Victor Willis. Hewasfrankenoughtoadmitit,andtogivethereason.

‘I'msoused,’hesaid,almostbutnotquiteapologetically,‘toperformingforanaudienceofmillionsthatIfindithardtointeractwithafriendlylittlegrouplikethis.’

‘Could you do better if it wasn't friendly?’ asked Mihailovich, alwaysanxioustobehelpful.

‘Thatcouldeasilybearranged.’Yva,on theotherhand, turnedout tobebetter thanexpected, even though

her memories were confined entirely to the world of entertainment. She wasparticularlygoodonthefamous-andinfamous-directorsshehadworkedwith,especiallyDavidGriffin.

‘Was it true,’askedMaggieM,doubtless thinkingofShaka, ‘thathehatedwomen?’

‘Notatall,’Yvaansweredpromptly.‘Hejusthatedactors.Hedidn'tbelieve

theywerehumanbeings.’Mihailovich'sreminiscencesalsocoveredasomewhatlimitedterritory-the

great orchestras and ballet companies, famous conductors and composers, andtheirinnumerablehangers-on.Buthewassofullofhilariousstoriesofbackstageintrigues and liaisons, and accounts of sabotaged first nights andmortal feudsamongprimadonnas, thathekeptevenhismostunmusicallistenersconvulsedwithlaughter,andwaswillinglygrantedextratime.

Colonel Greenburg's matter-of-fact accounts of extraordinary events couldhardly have provided a greater contrast. The first landing at Mercury's -relatively-temperatesouthpolehadbeensothoroughlyreportedthattherewaslittlenewtobesaidaboutit;thequestionthatinterestedeveryonewas:

‘Whenwillwereturn?’Thatwasusuallyfollowedby:‘Wouldyouliketogoback?’

‘Iftheyaskmeto,ofcourseI'llgo,’Greenburganswered.‘ButIratherthinkthatMercuryisgoingtobeliketheMoon.Remember-welandedtherein1969-anddidn'tgobackagainforhalfalifetime.Anyway,Mercuryisn'tasusefulastheMoon-thoughperhapsonedayitmaybe.

There'snowater there;ofcourse, itwasquiteasurprise tofindanyontheMoon.OrIshouldsayintheMoon.

‘Though it wasn't as glamorous as landing on Mercury, I did a moreimportantjobsettinguptheAristarchusMule-train.’

‘Mule-train?’‘Yep.Beforethebigequatoriallauncherwasbuilt,andtheystartedshooting

the ice straight into orbit,we had to haul it from the pit-head to the ImbriumSpaceport.Thatmeantlevellingaroadacrossthelavaplainsandbridgingquiteafewcrevasses.TheIceRoad,wecalledit-onlytwohundredmiles,butittookseverallivestobuild...

‘The "mules"wereeight-wheeled tractorswithhuge tyres and independentsuspension:theytoweduptoadozentrailers,withahundredtonsoficeapiece.Usedtotravelbynight-noneedtoshieldthecargothen.

‘Irodewith themseveral times.Thetrip tookaboutsixhours-weweren'touttobreakspeedrecords-thentheicewouldbeoffloadedintobig,pressurizedtanks,waiting for sunrise.As soon as itmelted, itwould be pumped into theships.

‘The IceRoad is still there, of course, but only the tourists use it now. Ifthey'resensible,they'lldrivebynight,asweusedtodo.Itwaspuremagic,with

thefullEarthalmostdirectlyoverhead,sobrilliantthatweseldomusedourownlights.And althoughwe could talk to our friendswheneverwewanted to,weoften switchedoff the radio and left it to the automatics to tell themwewereOK.Wejustwantedtobealone, in thatgreatshiningemptiness-while itwasstillthere,becauseweknewitwouldn'tlast.

‘Now they're building theTeravolt quarksmasher, running right around theequator,anddomesaregoingupalloverImbriumandSerenitatis.Butweknewthe real lunarwilderness,exactlyasArmstrongandAldrinsaw it -beforeyoucouldbuy"Wishyouwerehere"cardsinthepostofficeatTranquillityBase.’

40

MonstersfromEarth

‘...luckyyoumissedtheAnnualBall:believeitornot,itwasjustasgrislyaslastyear's.Andonceagainourresidentmastodon,dearMsWilkinson,managedtocrushherpartners’

toes,evenontheHalf-geeDanceFloor.‘Now some business. Since you won't be back for months, instead of a

couple of weeks, Admin is looking lustfully at your apartment - goodneighbourhood,neardowntownshoppingarea,splendidviewofEarthoncleardays,etc.,etc.-andsuggestsasubletuntilyoureturn.Seemsagooddeal,andwillsaveyoualotofmoney.We'llcollectanypersonaleffectsyou'dlikestored.

‘NowthisShakabusiness.Weknowyou lovepullingour legs,but franklyJerryandIwerehorrified!IcanseewhyMaggieMturnedhimdown-yes,ofcoursewe'vereadherOlympicLusts-veryenjoyable,buttoofeministforus.

‘What amonster - I can understandwhy they've called a gang ofAfricanterroristsafterhim.

Fancy executing hiswarriors if they gotmarried!And killing all the poorcowsinhiswretchedempire,justbecausetheywerefemale!Worstofall-thosehorrid spears he invented; shockingmanners, jabbing them into people you'venotbeenproperlyintroducedto...

‘Andwhataghastlyadvertisementforusfeys!Almostenoughtomakeonewanttoswitch.We'vealwaysclaimedthatwe'regentleandkindhearted(aswellasmadlytalentedandartistic,ofcourse)butnowyou'vemadeuslookintosomeof the so-called Great Warriors (as if there was anything great about killingpeople!)we'realmostashamedofthecompanywe'vebeenkeeping.

‘Yes,we did know aboutHadrian andAlexander - butwe certainly didn'tknowaboutRichard theLionHeart andSaladin.Or JuliusCaesar - thoughhewaseverything-askAntonyaswellasCleo.

OrFredericktheGreat,whodoeshavesomeredeemingfeatures; lookhowhetreatedoldBach.

‘WhenItoldJerrythatatleastNapoleonisanexception-wedon'thavetobesaddledwithhim-doyouknowwhathesaid?"IbetJosephinewasreallyaboy."TrythatonYva.

‘You've ruined our morale, you rascal, tarring us with that blood-stainedbrush (sorry about the mixed metaphor). You should have left us in happyignorance...

‘Despite that, we send our love, and so does Sebastian. Say hello to anyEuropansyoumeet.

Judgingby the reports fromGalaxy, someof themwouldmakeverygoodpartnersforMsWilkinson.’

41

MemoirsofaCentenarian

DrHeywoodFloyd preferred not to talk about the firstmission to Jupiter,andthesecondtoLucifertenyearslater.Itwasallsolongago-andtherewasnothing he had not said a hundred times toCongressionalCommittees, SpaceCouncilboardsandmediapersonslikeVictorWillis.

Nevertheless, he had a duty to his fellow passengers which could not beavoided.Astheonlylivingmantohavewitnessedthebirthofanewsun-andanewsolarsystem-theyexpectedhimtohavesomespecialunderstandingoftheworlds they were now so swiftly approaching. It was a naïve assumption; hecould tell them far less about the Galilean satellites than the scientists andengineerswhohadbeenworkingthereformorethanageneration.Whenhewasasked‘What's it really likeonEuropa?’ (orGanymede,or Io,orCallisto...)hewas liable to refer the enquirer, rather brusquely, to the voluminous reportsavailableintheship'slibrary.

Yettherewasoneareawherehisexperiencewasunique.Halfacenturylater,hesometimeswonderedifithadreallyhappened,orwhetherhehadbeenasleepaboardDiscoverywhenDavidBowmanhadappearedtohim.Almosteasier tobelievethataspaceshipcouldbehaunted...

But he could not have been dreaming, when the floating dust motesassembled themselves into thatghostly imageofamanwhoshouldhavebeendead foradozenyears.Without thewarning ithadgivenhim(howclearlyheremembered that its lips were motionless, and the voice had come from theconsole speaker) Leonov and all aboard would have been vaporized in thedetonationofJupiter.

‘Whydidhedoit?’Floydaskedduringoneoftheafter-dinnersessions.‘I'vepuzzled over that for fifty years. Whatever he became, after he went out inDiscovery'sspacepodtoinvestigatethemonolith,hemuststillhavehadsomelinks with the human race; he was not completely alien. We know that hereturnedtoEarth-briefly-becauseofthatorbitingbombincident.Andthere'sstrongevidencethathevisitedbothhismotherandhisoldgirlfriend;that'snottheactionof-ofanentitythathaddiscardedallemotions.’

‘Whatdoyousupposeheisnow?’askedWillis.‘Forthatmatter-whereishe?’

‘Perhapsthatlastquestionhasnomeaning-evenforhumanbeings.Doyouknowwhereyourconsciousnessresides?’

‘I've no use formetaphysics. Somewhere in the general area ofmy brain,anyway.’

‘When I was a young man,’ sighed Mihailovich, who had a talent fordeflatingthemostseriousdiscussions,‘minewasaboutayardlowerdown.’

‘Let's assume he's on Europa; we know there's a monolith there, andBowmanwascertainlyassociatedwithitinsomeway-seehowherelayedthatwarning.’

‘Doyouthinkhealsorelayedthesecondone,tellingustostayaway?’‘Whichwearenowgoingtoignore-’‘ in a good cause -' Captain Smith, who was usually content to let the

discussiongowhereitwished,madeoneofhisrareinterjections.‘DrFloyd,’hesaidthoughtfully,‘you'reinauniqueposition,andweshould

takeadvantageofit.Bowmanwentoutofhiswaytohelpyouonce.Ifhe'sstillaround, he may be willing to do so again. I worry a good deal about thatATTEMPTNO LANDINGSHERE order. If he could assure us that it was -temporarilysuspended,let'ssay-I'dbemuchhappier.’

Therewereseveral'hear,hear'saroundthetablebeforeFloydanswered.‘Yes, I've been thinking along the same lines. I've already told Galaxy to

watchoutforany-let'ssaymanifestations-incasehetriestomakecontact.’

‘Ofcourse,’saidYva,‘hemaybedeadbynow-ifghostscandie.’Not evenMihailovich had a suitable comment to this, but Yva obviously

sensedthatno-onethoughtmuchofhercontribution.Undeterred,shetriedagain.‘Woody,dear,’shesaid.‘Whydon'tyousimplygivehimacallontheradio?

That'swhatit'sfor,isn'tit?’The idea had occurred to Floyd, but it had somehow seemed too naïve to

takeseriously.‘Iwill,’hesaid.‘Idon'tsupposeitwilldoanyharm.’

42

Minilith

Thistime,Floydwasquitesurehewasdreaming...Hehadneverbeenabletosleepwellinzerogravity,andUniversewasnow

coasting,unpowered,atmaximumvelocity.Intwodaysitwouldstartalmostaweekof steadydeceleration, throwingaway itsenormousexcess speeduntil itwasabletorendezvouswithEuropa.

Howevermanytimesheadjustedtherestrainingstraps,theyalwaysseemedeither tootightor tooloose.Hewouldhavedifficulty inbreathing-orelsehewouldfindhimselfdriftingoutofhisbunk.

Once he had awoken inmid-air, and had flailed away for severalminutesuntil,exhausted,hehadmanagedto'swim'thefewyardstothenearestwall.Notuntil then had he remembered that he should merely have waited; the roomventilatingsystemwouldhavesoonpulledhimtotheexhaustgrillewithoutanyexertiononhispart.Asaseasonedspace-traveller,heknewthisperfectlywell;hisonlyexcusewassimplepanic.

Buttonight,hehadmanagedtogeteverythingright;probablywhenweightreturned,hewouldhavedifficultyinreadjustingtothat.Hehadlainawakeforonlya fewminutes, recapitulating the latestdiscussionatdinner,andhad thenfallenasleep.

Inhisdreams,hehadcontinuedtheconversationaroundthetable.Therehadbeen a few trifling changes, which he accepted without surprise. Willis, forexample,hadgrownhisbeardback-thoughononlyonesideofhisface.This,Floydpresumed,wasinaidofsomeresearchproject,thoughhefounditdifficulttoimagineitspurpose.

Inanyevent,hehadhisownworries.Hewasdefendinghimselfagainstthecriticisms of Space Administrator Millson, who had somewhat surprisinglyjoined their little group. Floyd wondered how he had come aboard Universe(couldhepossiblyhavestowedaway?).ThefactthatMillsonhadbeendeadforatleastfortyyearsseemedmuchlessimportant.

‘Heywood,’hisoldenemywassaying,‘theWhiteHouseismostupset.’‘Ican'timaginewhy.’‘Thatradiomessageyou'vejustsenttoEuropa.DidithaveStateDepartment

clearance?’‘Ididn'tthinkitwasnecessary.Imerelyaskedpermissiontoland.’‘Ah - but that's it. Who did you ask? Do we recognize the government

concerned?I'mafraidit'sallveryirregular...Millson faded away, still tut-tutting. I'm very glad this is only a dream,

thoughtFloyd.Nowwhat?Well,Imighthaveexpectedit.Hello,oldfriend.Youcomeinallsizes,don't

you?Ofcourse,evenTMA1couldn'thavesqueezedintomycabin-anditsBigBrothercouldeasilyhaveswallowedUniverseinonegulp.

The black monolith was standing - or floating - only two yards from hisbunk.Withanuncomfortableshockofrecognition,Floydrealizedthatitwasnotonlythesameshape,butalsothesamesize,asanordinarytombstone.Althoughtheresemblancehadoftenbeenpointedouttohim,untilnowtheincongruityofscalehadlessenedthepsychologicalimpact.Now,forthefirsttime,hefeltthelikenesswasdisquieting-evensinister.Iknowthisisonlyadream-butatmyage,Idon'twantanyreminders...

Anyway - what are you doing here? Do you bring a message fromDaveBowman?AreyouDaveBowman?

Well,Ididn'treallyexpectananswer;youweren'tverytalkativeinthepast,wereyou?Butthingsalwayshappenedwhenyouwerearound.BackinTycho,sixtyyearsago,yousentthatsignaltoJupiter,totellyourmakersthatwe'ddugyouup.AndlookwhatyoudidtoJupiter,whenwegotthereadozenyearslater!

Whatareyouuptonow?

VI

HAVEN

43

Salvage

The first task confronting Captain Laplace and his crew, once they hadgrown accustomed to being on terra firma, was to re-orient themselves.EverythingonGalaxywasthewrongwayround.

Spaceshipsaredesignedfortwomodesofoperation-eithernogravityatall,or,whentheenginesarethrusting,anup-and-downdirectionalongtheaxis.ButnowGalaxywaslyingalmosthorizontally,andallthefloorshadbecomewalls.Itwasexactlyasiftheyweretryingtoliveinalighthousethathadtoppledontoits side; every singlepieceof furniturehad tobemoved, andat least fiftypercentoftheequipmentwasnotfunctioningproperly.

Yetinsomewaysthiswasablessingindisguise,andCaptainLaplacemadethe most of it. The crew was so busy rearranging Galaxy's interior - givingprioritytotheplumbing-thathehadfewworriesaboutmorale.Aslongasthehullremainedairtight,andthemuongeneratorscontinuedtosupplypower,theywereinnoimmediatedanger; theymerelyhadtosurvivefor twentydays,andsalvation would come from the skies in the shape of Universe. No-one evermentioned the possibility that the unknown powers that ruled Europa mightobjecttoasecondlanding.Theyhad-asfarasanyoneknew-ignoredthefirst;surelytheycouldnotinterferewithamissionofmercy...

Europa itself, however,was now less cooperative.WhileGalaxy had beenadrift on the open sea, it had been virtually unaffected by the quakes whichcontinuallyrackedthelittleworld.Butnowthattheshiphadbecomeanalltoopermanent land structure, it was shaken every few hours by seismicdisturbances. Had it touched down in the normal vertical position, by now itwouldcertainlyhavebeenoverturned.

Thequakeswereunpleasantratherthandangerous,buttheygavenightmaresto anyonewhohadexperiencedTokyo '33orLosAngeles '45. It didnothelpmuch to know that they followed a completely predictable pattern, rising to apeak of violence and frequency every three and a half days when Io cameswinging past on its inner orbit. Nor was it much consolation to know thatEuropa'sowngravitationaltideswereinflictingatleastequaldamageonIo.

Aftersixdaysofgruellingwork,CaptainLaplacewassatisfiedthatGalaxywas as near shipshape as was possible in the circumstances. He declared aholiday-whichmostofthecrewspentsleeping-andthendrewupaschedulefortheirsecondweekonthesatellite.

The scientists, of course, wanted to explore the new world they had so

unexpectedlyentered.According to the radar maps that Ganymede had transmitted to them, the

islandwas sevenmiles long and threewide; itsmaximum elevationwas onlythreehundredfeet-nothighenough,someonehadgloomilypredicted,toavoidareallybadtsunami.

Itwashardtoimagineamoredismalandforbiddingplace;halfacenturyofexposure toEuropa's feeblewindsand rainshaddonenothing tobreakup thepillowlavawhichcoveredhalfitssurface,ortosoftentheoutcroppingofgranitethatprotrudedthroughtheriversoffrozenrock.Butitwastheirhomenow,andtheyhadtofindanameforit.

Gloomy, downbeat suggestions likeHades, Inferno,Hell, Purgatory...werefirmlyvetoedbytheCaptain;hewantedsomethingcheerful.Onesurprisingandquixotictributetoabraveenemywasseriouslyconsideredbeforebeingrejectedthirty-two to ten, with five abstentions: the island would not be called'Roseland'..

Intheend,‘Haven'wonunanimously.

44

Endurance

‘Historyneverrepeatsitself-buthistoricalsituationsrecur.’AshemadehisdailyreporttoGanymede,CaptainLaplacekeptthinkingof

thephrase.IthadbeenquotedbyMargaretM'Bala-nowapproachingatalmostfivehundredmileseverysecond-inamessageofencouragementfromUniversewhichhehadbeenveryhappytorelaytohisfellowcastaways.

‘PleasetellMissM'Balathatherlittlehistorylessonwasextremelygoodformorale;shecouldn'thavethoughtofanythingbettertosendus.

‘Despitetheinconvenienceofhavingourwallsandfloorsswitchedaround,we're living in luxury compared to those old polar explorers. Some of us hadheardofErnestShackleton,butwehadnoideaoftheEndurancesaga.Tohavebeentrappedonicefloesforoverayear-thentospendtheAntarcticwinterinacave - then to cross fivehundredmiles of sea in anopenboat and to climbarangeofunmappedmountainstoreachthenearesthumansettlement!

‘And yet that was only the beginning. What we find incredible - andinspiring-isthatShackletonwentbackfourtimestorescuehismenonthatlittleisland-andsavedeveryoneof them!Youcanguesswhat thatstory'sdone to

ourspirits-Ihopeyoucanfaxthisbooktousinyournexttransmission-we'reallanxioustoreadit.

‘Andwhatwouldhehavethoughtofthat!Yes,we'reinfinitelybetteroffthananyofthoseold-timeexplorers.It'salmostimpossibletobelievethat,untilwellinto the last century, theywere completely cut off from the rest of thehumanrace, once they'd gone over the horizon.We should be ashamed at grumblingbecauselightisn'tfastenoughandwecan't talktoourfriendsinreal time-orthatittakesacoupleofhourstogetrepliesfromEarth...Theyhadnocontactformonths-almostyears!Again,MissM'Bala-oursincerestthanks.

‘Ofcourse,allEarthexplorersdidhaveoneconsiderableadvantageoverus;atleasttheycouldbreathetheair.Ourscienceteamhasbeenclamouringtogooutside,andwe'vemodifiedfourspacesuitsforEVAsofuptosixhours.Atthisatmosphericpressure theywon'tneedfullsuits -awaistseal isgoodenough-andI'mallowingtwomentogooutatatime,aslongastheystaywithinsightoftheship.

‘Finally,here's today'sweather report.Pressure twohundredandfiftybars,temperature steady at twenty-five degrees, wind gusting at up to thirty klicksfromthewest,usualhundredpercentovercast,quakesbetweenoneandthreeonopen-endedRichter...

‘Youknow,Ineverdidlikethesoundofthat"open-ended"-especiallynowthatIo'scomingintoconjunctionagain.

45

Mission

Whenpeopleaskedtoseehimtogether,itusuallymeanttrouble,oratleastsomedifficultdecision.CaptainLaplacehadnoticedthatFloydandvanderBergwere spending a lot of time in earnest discussions, oftenwith SecondOfficerChang,anditwaseasytoguesswhattheyweretalkingabout.Yettheirproposalstilltookhimbysurprise.

‘YouwanttogotoMountZeus!How-inanopenboat?HasthatShackletonbookgonetoyourhead?’

Floyd looked slightly embarrassed; the Captainwas right on target. Southhadbeenaninspiration,inmorewaysthanone.

‘Evenifwecouldbuildaboat,Sir,itwouldtakemuchtoolong...especiallynowthatUniverselookslikereachinguswithintendays.’

‘AndI'mnotsure,’addedvanderBerg,‘thatI'dcaretosailonthis"SeaofGalilee";notallitsinhabitantsmayhavegotthemessagethatwe'reinedible.’

‘Sothatleavesonlyonealternative,doesn'tit?I'msceptical,butI'mwillingtobeconvinced.Goon...

‘We've discussed it withMr Chang, and he confirms that it can be done.MountZeus is only two hundredmiles away; the shuttle can fly there in lessthananhour.’

‘And find aplace to land?Asyoudoubtless recall,MrChangwasn't verysuccessfulwithGalaxy.’

‘Noproblem,Sir,TheWilliamTsung'sonlyahundredthofourmass;eventhaticecouldprobablyhavesupportedit.We'vebeenoverthevideorecords,andfoundadozengoodlandingsites.’

‘Besides,’ said vanderBerg, ‘the pilotwon't have a pistol pointed at him.Thatcouldhelp.’

‘I'msureitwill.Butthebigproblemisatthisend.Howareyougoingtogettheshuttleoutofitsgarage?Canyourigacrane?Eveninthisgravity,itwouldbequiteaload.’

‘Noneedto,Sir.MrChangcanflyitout.’There was a prolonged silence while Captain Laplace contemplated,

obviouslywithoutmuchenthusiasm,theideaofrocketmotorsfiringinsidehisship.ThesmallshuttleWilliamTsung,morefamiliarlyknownasBillTee,wasdesignedpurelyfororbitaloperations;normally, itwouldbepushedgentlyoutofits‘garage’,andtheengineswouldnotoperateuntilitwaswellawayfromthemothership.

‘Obviously you've worked all this out,’ said the Captain grudgingly, ‘butwhatabouttheangleoftake-off?Don'ttellmeyouwanttorollGalaxyoversothatBillTeecanpopstraightup?Thegarageishalf-waydownoneside;luckyitwasn'tunderneathwhenwegrounded.’

‘The take-offwill have to be at sixty degrees to the horizontal; the lateralthrusterscanhandleit.’

‘IfMrChangsaysso,I'llcertainlybelievehim.Butwhatwillthefiringdototheship?’

‘Well, it will wreck the garage interior - but it will never be used again,anyway.Andthebulkheadsaredesignedforaccidentalexplosions,sothere'snodangerofdamagetotherestoftheship.We'llhavefire-fightingcrewsstandingby,justincase.’

Itwasabrilliantconcept-nodoubtofthat.Ifitworked,themissionwouldnotbeatotalfailure.Duringthelastweek,CaptainLaplacehadgivenscarcelyamoment'sthoughttothemysteryofMountZeus,whichhadbroughtthemtothispredicament:onlysurvivalhadmattered.Butnowtherewashope,andleisuretothinkahead. Itwouldbeworth takingsomerisks, to findwhy this littleworldwasthefocusofsomuchintrigue.

46

Shuttle

‘Speaking from memory,’ said Dr Anderson, ‘Goddard's first rocket flewaboutfiftyyards.IwonderifMrChangwillbeatthatrecord?’

‘He'dbetter-orwe'llallbeintrouble.’Most of the science team had gathered in the observation lounge, and

everyonewas staring anxiously back along the hull of the ship.Although theentranceofthe'garage'wasnotvisiblefromthisangle,theywouldseetheBillTeesoonenough,when-andif-itemerged.

Therewasnocountdown;Changwastakinghistime,makingeverypossiblecheck-andwouldfirewhenhefeltlikeit.Theshuttlehadbeenstrippeddowntoitsminimummass,andwascarryingjustenoughpropellantforonehundredsecondsofflight. Ifeverythingworked, thatwouldbeample; if itdidn't,morewouldnotonlybesuperfluous,butdangerous.

‘Herewego,’saidChangcasually.Itwasalmostlikeaconjuringtrick;everythinghappenedsoquicklythatthe

eyewasdeceived.Noone sawBillTeepopoutof thegarage,because itwashiddeninacloudofsteam.

When the cloudhad cleared, the shuttlewas already landing, twohundredyardsaway.

Agreatcheerofreliefechoedthroughthelounge.‘He did it!’ cried ex-ActingCaptain Lee. ‘He's brokenGoddard's record -

easily!’Standing on its four stubby legs in the bleak Europan landscape, Bill Tee

looked like a larger and even less elegant version of anApollo lunarmodule.That was not, however, the thought that occurred to Captain Laplace, as helooked out from the bridge. It seemed to him that his ship was rather like astrandedwhale,thathadmanagedadifficultbirthinanalienelement.Hehoped

thatthenewcalfwouldsurvive.Forty-eight very busy hours later, theWilliamTsungwas loaded, checked

outonaten-milecircuitovertheisland-andreadytogo.Therewasstillplentyof time for themission; by themost optimistic reckoning,Universe could notarriveforanotherthreedays,andthetriptoMountZeus,evenallowingforthedeploymentofDrvanderBerg'sextensivearrayofinstruments,wouldtakeonlysixhours.

AssoonasSecondOfficerChanghadlanded,CaptainLaplacecalledhimtohiscabin.TheSkipperlooked,thoughtChang,somewhatillatease.

‘Goodwork,Walter-butofcoursethat'sonlywhatweexpect.’‘Thanks,Sir,Sowhat'stheproblem?’TheCaptainsmiled.Awell-integratedcrewcouldkeepnosecrets.‘HeadOffice,asusual.Ihatetodisappointyou,butI'vehadordersthatonly

DrvanderBergandSecondOfficerFloydaretomakethetrip.’‘I get thepicture,’Chang answered,with a traceof bitterness. ‘What have

youtoldthem?’‘Nothing,yet; that'swhyIwanted to talk toyou. I'mquiteprepared tosay

thatyou'retheonlypilotwhocanflythemission.’‘They'll know that's nonsense; Floyd could do the job as well as I could.

There'snottheslightestrisk-exceptforamalfunction,whichcouldhappentoanyone.’

‘I'dstillbewillingtostickmyneckout,ifyouinsist.Afterall,no-onecanstopme-andwe'llallbeheroeswhenwegetbacktoEarth.’

Changwas obviously doing some intricate calculations. He seemed ratherpleasedwiththeresult.

‘Replacingacoupleofhundredpoundsofpayloadwithpropellantgivesusaninterestingnewoption;I'dintendedtomentionitearlier,buttherewasnowayBillTeecouldmanagewithallthatextragearandafullcrew...’

‘Don'ttellme.TheGreatWall.’‘Ofcourse;wecoulddoa complete survey inoneor twopasses, and find

whatitreallyis.’‘Ithoughtwehadaverygoodidea,andI'mnotsureifweshouldgonearit.

Thatmightbepressingourluck.’‘Perhaps.Butthere'sanotherreason;tosomeofus,it'sanevenbetterone...’‘Goon.’

‘Tsien.It'sonlyfivemilesfromtheWall.We'dliketodropawreaththere.’So thatwaswhathisofficershadbeendiscussing so solemnly;not for the

firsttime,CaptainLaplacewishedheknewalittlemoreMandarin.‘Iunderstand,’hesaidquietly.‘I'llhavetothinkitover-andtalktovander

BergandFloydtoseeiftheyagree.’‘AndHeadOffice?’‘No,dammit.Thiswillbemydecision.’

47

Shards

‘You'dbetterhurry,’GanymedeCentralhadadvised,‘Thenextconjunctionwillbeabadone-we'llbetriggeringquakesaswellasIo.Andwedon'twanttoscare you - but unless our radar's gone crazy, your mountain's sunk anotherhundredyardssincethelastcheck.’

At that rate, thought van derBerg, Europawill be flat again in ten years.Howmuch faster things happened here than on Earth; whichwas one reasonwhytheplacewassopopularwithgeologists.

NowthathewasstrappedintothenumbertwopositionimmediatelybehindFloyd, and virtually surrounded by consoles of his own equipment, he felt acuriousmixtureofexcitementandregret.

Inafewhours,thegreatintellectualadventureofhislifewouldbeover-onewayortheother.

Nothingthatwouldeverhappenagaincouldpossiblymatchit.Hedidnothave theslightest traceof fear;hisconfidence inbothmanand

machinewascomplete.OneunexpectedemotionwasawrysenseofgratitudetothelateRoseMcCullen;withouther,hewouldneverhavehadthisopportunity,butmighthavegone,stilluncertain,tohisgrave.

TheheavilyladenBillTeecouldbarelymanageone-tenthofagravityatlift-off;itwasnotintendedforthissortofwork,butwouldmanagemuchbetteronthehomewardjourneywhenithaddepositeditscargo.ItseemedtotakeagestoclimbclearofGalaxy,andtheyhadampletimetonotethedamagetothehullaswellassignsofcorrosionfromtheoccasionalmildlyacidrains.

WhileFloydconcentratedonthelift-off,vanderBerggaveaquickreportontheship'scondition from theviewpointofaprivilegedobserver. It seemed therightthingtodo-eventhough,withanyluck,Galaxy'sspace-worthinesswould

soonbeofnofurtherconcerntoanyone.Nowtheycouldsee thewholeofHavenspreadoutbeneath them,andvan

der Berg realized what a brilliant job Acting Captain Lee had done when hebeachedtheship.Therewereonlyafewplaceswhereitcouldhavebeensafelygrounded; althoughagooddealof luckhadalsobeen involved,Leehadusedwindandsea-anchortothebestpossibleadvantage.

The mists closed around them; Bill Tee was rising on a semi-ballistictrajectorytominimizedrag,andtherewouldbenothingtoseeexceptthecloudsfor twentyminutes.Apity, thoughtvanderBerg; I'msure theremustbesomeinterestingcreaturesswimmingarounddownthere,andno-oneelsemayhaveachanceofseeingthem.

‘Cominguptoenginecut-off,’saidFloyd.‘Everythingnormal.’‘Verygood,BillTee.Noreportoftrafficatyouraltitude.You'restillnumber

oneontherunwaytoland.’‘Who'sthatjoker?’askedvanderBerg.‘RonnieLim.Believeitornot,that"numberoneontherunway"goesback

toApollo.’VanderBergcouldunderstandwhy.Therewasnothing like theoccasional

touchofhumour-providingitwasnotoverdone-torelievethestrainwhenmenwereinvolvedinsomecomplexandpossiblyhazardousenterprise.

‘Fifteenminutesbeforewestartbraking,’saidFloyd.‘Let'sseewhoelseisontheair.’

Hestartedtheautoscan,andasuccessionofbeepsandwhistles,separatedbyshort silences as the tuner rejected them one by one in its swift climb up theradiospectrum,echoedroundthelittlecabin.

‘Yourlocalbeaconsanddatatransmissions,’saidFloyd.‘Iwashoping-ah,hereweare!’

It was only a faint musical tone, warbling rapidly up and down like adementedsoprano.Floydglancedatthefrequencymeter.

‘Dopplershiftalmostgone-she'sslowingfast.’‘Whatisit-text?’‘Slowscan video, I think. They're relaying a lot of material back to Earth

throughthebigdishonGanymede,whenit'sintherightposition.Thenetworksareyellingfornews.’

Theylistenedtothehypnoticbutmeaninglesssoundforafewminutes;then

Floydswitcheditoff.IncomprehensiblethoughthetransmissionfromUniversewas to theirunaided senses, it conveyed theonlymessage thatmattered.Helpwasontheway,andwouldsoonbethere.

Partly to fill the silence,butalsobecausehewasgenuinely interested,vanderBergremarkedcasually:‘Haveyoutalkedtoyourgrandfatherlately?’

‘Talked’, of course, was a misnomer where interplanetary distances wereconcerned,butno-onehadcomeupwithanacceptablealternative.‘Voicegram’,‘audiomail’ and ‘vocard’ had all flourished briefly, then vanished into limbo.Even now, most of the human race probably did not believe that realtimeconversationwasimpossibleintheSolarSystem'swide,openspaces,andfromtime to time indignant protests were heard: ‘Why can't you scientists dosomethingaboutit?’

‘Yes,’saidFloyd.‘He'sinfineshape,andIlookforwardtomeetinghim.’Therewasaslightstraininhisvoice.Iwonder,thoughtvanderBerg,when

theylastmet;butherealizedthatitwouldbetactlesstoask.Instead,hespentthenext ten minutes rehearsing the off-loading and setting-up procedures withFloyd,sotherewouldbenounnecessaryconfusionwhentheytoucheddown.

The COMMENCE BRAKING alarm went off just a fraction of a secondafter Floyd had already started the program sequencer. I'm in good hands,thought van der Berg: I can relax and concentrate on my job. Where's thatcamera-don'tsayit'sfloatedawayagain.

The cloudswere clearing. Even though the radar had shown exactlywhatwasbeneath them, inadisplayasgoodasnormalvisioncouldprovide, itwasstillashocktoseethefaceofthemountainrearinguponlyafewmilesahead.

‘Look!’criedFloydsuddenly. ‘Over to the left -by thatdoublepeak -giveyouoneguess!’

‘I'msureyou'reright-Idon'tthinkwedidanydamage-itjustsplattered-wonderwheretheotheronehit-’

‘Altitudeonethousand.Whichlandingsite?Alphadoesn'tlooksogoodfromhere.’

‘You'reright-tryGamma-closertothemountain,anyway.’‘Fivehundred.Gammait is. I'llhoverfor twentysecs- ifyoudon't likeit,

we'llswitchtoBeta.Fourhundred...Threehundred...Twohundred.('Goodluck,BillTee,’saidGalaxybriefly).

Thanks,Ronnie...Onehundredandfifty...Onehundred...Fifty...Howaboutit?Justafewsmallrocks,and-that'speculiar-whatlookslikebrokenglassall

overtheplace-someone'shadawildpartyhere...Fifty...Fifty...StillOK?’‘Perfect.Godown.’‘Forty...thirty...twenty...Sureyoudon'twanttochangeyourmind?...Ten...

Kickingupa littledust, asNeil saidonce -orwas itBuzz?...Five...Contact!Easy,wasn'tit?Don'tknowwhytheybothertopayme.’

48

Lucy

‘Hello,GanyCentral-we'vemadeaperfectlanding-ImeanChrishas-ona flat surface of some metamorphic rock - probably the same pseudogranitewe'vecalledHavenite.Thebaseofthemountainisonlyamileaway,butalreadyIcantellthere'snorealneedtogoanycloser.

‘We'reputtingonourtop-suitsnow,andwillstartunloadinginfiveminutes.Willleavethemonitorsrunning,ofcourse,andwillcalloneveryquarter-hour.Vanout.’

‘Whatdidyoumeanbythat"noneedtogoanycloser"?’askedFloyd.VanderBerggrinned.Inthelastfewminutesheseemedtohaveshedyears,

andalmosttohavebecomeacarefreeboy.‘Circumspice,’hesaidhappily.‘Latinfor"lookaroundyou".Let'sgetthebig

cameraoutfirst-wow!’TheBillTeegaveasuddenlurch,andforamomentheavedupanddownon

itslanding-gearshockabsorberswithamotionthat,ifithadcontinuedformorethanafewseconds,wouldhavebeenarecipeforinstantseasickness.

‘Ganymede was right about those quakes,’ said Floyd, when they hadrecovered.‘Isthereanyseriousdanger?’

‘Probablynot;it'sstillthirtyhourstoconjunction,andthislooksasolidslabofrock.

Butwewon'twaste any timehere - luckilywewon'tneed to. Ismymaskstraight?Itdoesn'tfeelright.’

‘Letme tighten the strap.That's better.Breathe in hard - good, now it fitsfine.I'llgofirst.’

VanderBergwishedthathiscouldbethefirstsmallstep,butFloydwasthecommanderand itwashisduty tocheck that theBillTeewas ingoodshape-andreadyforanimmediatetake-off.

Hewalkedoncearoundthelittlespacecraft,examiningthelandinggear,thengavethethumbs-upsignaltovanderBerg,whostarteddowntheladdertojoinhim.Although he hadworn the same lightweight breathing equipment on hisexplorationofHaven,hefeltalittleawkwardwithit,andpausedatthelandingpadtomakesomeadjustments.Thenheglancedup-andsawwhatFloydwasdoing.

‘Don'ttouchit!’hecried.‘It'sdangerous!’Floyd jumped a good yard away from the shards of vitreous rock hewas

examining. To his untrained eye, they looked rather like an unsuccessfulmeltfromalargeglassfurnace.

‘It'snotradioactive,isit?’heaskedanxiously.‘No.ButstayawayuntilI'vegotthere.’

Tohissurprise,FloydrealizedthatvanderBergwaswearingheavygloves.Asaspaceofficer,ithadtakenhimalongtimetogrowaccustomedtothefactthat, here onEuropa, itwas safe to expose one's bare skin to the atmosphere.NowhereelseintheSolarSystem-evenonMars-wasthatpossible.

Verycautiously,vanderBergreacheddownandpickedupalongsplinteroftheglassymaterial.Evenin thisdiffusedlight, itglitteredstrangely,andFloydcouldseethatithadaviciousedge.

‘Thesharpestknifeintheknownuniverse,’saidvanderBerghappily.‘We'vebeenthroughallthistofindaknife!’VanderBergstartedtolaugh,thenfounditwasn'teasyinsidehismask.‘Soyoustilldon'tknowwhatthisisabout?’‘I'mbeginningtofeelI'mtheonlyonewhodoesn't.’VanderBergtookhiscompanionbytheshoulder,andturnedhimtofacethe

loomingmass ofMount Zeus. From this distance, it filled half the sky - notmerelythegreatest,buttheonlymountainonthiswholeworld.

‘Admiretheviewjustforoneminute.Ihaveanimportantcalltomake.’Hepunchedacodesequenceonhiscomset,waitedfortheREADYlightto

flash,andsaid:‘GanymedeCentral109-thisisVan.Doyoureceive?’After no more than the minimum timelag, an obviously electronic voice

answered:‘Hello,Van.ThisisGanymedeCentral109.Readytoreceive.’VanderBergpaused,savouringthemomenthewouldrememberfortherest

ofhislife.‘ContactEarthIdentUncle737.Relayfollowingmessage.LUCYISHERE.

LUCYISHERE.Endmessage.Pleaserepeat.’PerhapsIshouldhavestoppedhimsayingthat,whatever itmeans, thought

Floyd, asGanymede repeated themessage.But it's too late now. Itwill reachEarthwithinthehour.

‘Sorryaboutthat,Chris,’grinnedvanderBerg.‘Iwantedtoestablishpriority-amongstotherthings.’

‘Unless you start talking soon, I'll begin carvingyouupwith oneof thesepatentglassknives.’

‘Glass, indeed!Well, the explanation canwait - it's absolutely fascinating,butquitecomplicated.SoI'llgiveyouthestraightfacts.

‘Mount Zeus is a single diamond, approximate mass one million milliontons.Or,ifyoupreferitthatway,abouttwotimestentotheseventeenthcarats.ButIcan'tguaranteethatit'sallgemquality.’

VII

THEGREATWALL

49

Shrine

As they unloaded the equipment fromBill Tee and set it up on their littlegranite landing-pad,Chris Floyd found it hard to tear his eyes away from themountain looming above them.A singlediamond - bigger thanEverest!Why,the scattered fragments lying round the shuttle must be worth billions, ratherthanmillions.

Ontheotherhand,theymightbeworthnomorethan-well,scrapsofbrokenglass. The value of diamonds had always been controlled by the dealers andproducers, but if a literal gem-mountain came suddenly on themarket, priceswouldobviously collapse completely.NowFloydbegan tounderstandwhy somany interested parties had focused their attention upon Europa; the politicalandeconomicramificationswereendless.

Nowthathehadatlastprovedhistheory,vanderBerghadbecomeagainthededicatedandsingle-mindedscientist,anxioustocompletehisexperimentwithno further distraction.With Floyd's help - it was not easy to get some of the

bulkierpiecesofequipmentoutofBillTee'scrampedcabin-theyfirstdrilledayard-longcorewithaportableelectricdrill,andcarrieditcarefullybacktotheshuttle.

Floydwouldhavehadadifferentsetofpriorities,butherecognized that itmadesensetodothehardertasksfirst.NotuntiltheyhadlaidoutaseismographarrayanderectedapanoramicTV

cameraonalow,heavytripoddidvanderBergcondescendtocollectsomeoftheincomputablericheslyingallaroundthem.

‘At thevery least,’he said, ashecarefully selected someof the less lethalfragments,they'llmakegoodsouvenirs.’

‘UnlessRosie'sfriendsmurderustogetthem.’Van der Berg looked sharply at his companion; he wondered how much

Chrisreallyknew-andhowmuch,likeallofthem,hewasguessing.‘Notworththeirwhile,nowthatthesecret'sout.Inaboutanhour'stime,the

StockExchangecomputerswillbegoingcrazy.’‘You bastard!’ said Floyd, with admiration rather than rancour. ‘So that's

whatyourmesssagewasabout.’‘There'snolawthatsaysascientistshouldn'tmakealittleprofitontheside-

but I'm leaving the sordid details tomy friends onEarth.Honestly, I'mmuchmoreinterestedinthejobwe'redoinghere.Letmehavethatwrench,please...’

Three times before they had finished establishing Zeus Station they werealmostknockedofftheirfeetbyquakes.Theycouldfeelthemfirstasavibrationunderfoot,theneverythingwouldstartshaking-thentherewouldbeahorrible,long-drawn-outgroaningsoundthatseemedtocomefromeverydirection.Itwasevenair-borne,which toFloydseemedstrangestofall.Hecouldnotquitegetusedto thefact that therewasenoughatmospherearoundthemtoallowshort-rangeconversationswithoutradio.

VanderBergkeptassuringhimthatthequakeswerestillquiteharmless,butFloydhadlearnednevertoputtoomuchtrustinexperts.True,thegeologisthadjust been proved spectacularly right; as he looked at Bill Tee heaving on itsshock-absorbers likea storm-tossed ship,hehoped thatVan's luckwouldholdforatleastafewmoreminutes.

‘That seems to be it,’ said the scientist at last, to Floyd's great relief.‘Ganymede'sgettinggooddataonallchannels.Thebatterieswilllastforyears,withthesolarpaneltokeeprechargingthem.’

‘Ifthisgearisstillstandingaweekfromnow,I'llbeverysurprised.I'llswear

thatmountain'smovedsincewelanded-let'sgetoffbeforeitfallsontopofus.’‘I'mmoreworried,’ laughedvanderBerg, ‘thatyour jet-blastwillundoall

ourwork.’‘No riskof that -we'rewell clear, andnowwe'veoffloaded somuch junk

we'llneedonlyhalf-power to lift.Unlessyouwant to takeaboarda fewmorebillions.Ortrillions.’

‘Let's not be greedy. Anyway, I can't even guess what this will be worthwhenwegetittoEarth.Themuseumswillgrabmostofit,ofcourse.Afterthat-whoknows?’

Floyd'sfingerswereflyingoverthecontrolpanelasheexchangedmessageswithGalaxy.

‘Firststageofmissioncompleted.BillTeereadyfortake-off.Flightplanasagreed.’

TheywerenotsurprisedwhenCaptainLaplaceanswered.‘You'requitecertainyouwant togoahead?Remember,youhave the final

decision.I'llbackyouup,whateveritis.’‘Yessir, we're both happy. We understand how the crew feels. And the

scientificpayoffcouldbeenormous-we'rebothveryexcited.’‘Justaminute-we'restillwaitingforyourreportonMountZeus!’FloydlookedatvanderBerg,whoshruggedhisshouldersandthentookthe

microphone.‘Ifwe toldyounow,Captain,you'd thinkwewere crazy -orpullingyour

leg.Pleasewaitacoupleofhoursuntilwe'reback-withtheevidence.’‘Hm.Notmuchpointgivingyouanorder, is it?Anyway-goodluck.And

fromtheowneraswell-hethinksgoingtoTsienisasplendididea.’‘I knew Sir Lawrencewould approve,’ Floyd remarked to his companion.

‘Andanyway-withGalaxyalreadyatotalloss,BillTee'snotmuchextrarisk,isit?’

VanderBerg could see his point of view, even thoughhe did not entirelysubscribetoit.Hehadmadehisscientificreputation;buthestilllookedforwardtoenjoyingit.

‘Oh-bytheway,’Floydsaid.‘WhowasLucy-anybodyinparticular?’‘NotasfarasIknow.Wecameacrossherinacomputersearch,anddecided

the name would make a good code word - everyone would assume it wassomething to do with Lucifer, which is just enough of a half-truth to be

beautifullymisleading....‘I'd never heard of them, but a hundred years ago there was a group of

popularmusicianswithaverystrangename-theBeatles-spelledB-E-A-T-L-E-S,don'taskmewhy.Andtheywroteasongwithanequallystrangetitle:"LucyintheSkywithDiamonds".Weird,isn'tit?Almostasiftheyknew...’

AccordingtoGanymederadar,thewreckoftheTsienlaytwohundredmileswest of Mount Zeus, towards the twilight zone and the cold lands beyond.Permanentlycoldtheywere,butnotdark;halfthetimetheywerebrilliantlylitbythedistantSun.However,evenbytheendofthelongEuropansolarday,thetemperaturewasstillfarbelowfreezingpoint.Asliquidwatercouldexistonlyon the hemisphere facing Lucifer, the intermediate region was a place ofcontinualstorms,whererainandhail,sleetandsnowcontendedforsupremacy.

Duringthehalf-centurysinceTsien'sdisastrouslanding,theshiphadmovedalmostfivehundredmiles.Itmusthavedrifted-likeGalaxy-forseveralyearson the newly created Sea of Galilee, before coming to rest on its bleaklyinhospitableshore.

FloydpickeduptheradarechoassoonasBillTeeflattenedoutattheendofitssecondleapacrossEuropa.Thesignalwassurprisinglyweakforsolargeanobject;assoonastheybrokethroughtheclouds,theyrealizedwhy.

The wreck of the spaceship Tsien, first man-carrying vessel to land on asatellite of Jupiter, stood in the centre of a small, circular lake - obviouslyartificial,andconnectedbyacanaltothesea,lessthantwomilesaway.Onlytheskeletonwasleft,andnotevenallofthat;thecarcasshadbeenpickedclean.

Butbywhat?vanderBergasked.Therewasnosignoflifethere;theplacelookedasifithadbeendesertedforyears.Yethehadnottheslightestdoubtthatsomething had stripped the wreck, with deliberate and indeed almost surgicalprecision.

‘Obviouslysafetoland,’saidFloyd,waitingforafewsecondstogetvanderBerg's almost absentminded nod of approval. The geologist was alreadyvideoingeverythinginsight.

BillTee settled down effortlessly by the side of the pool, and they lookedacrossthecold,darkwateratthismonumenttoman'sexploringimpulses.Thereseemednoconvenientwayofgettingtothewreck,butthatdidnotreallymatter.

Whentheyhadsuitedup,theycarriedthewreathtothewater'sedge,helditsolemnly foramoment in frontof thecamera, then tossed in this tribute fromGalaxy'screw.Ithadbeenbeautifullymade;eventhoughtheonlyrawmaterialsavailable weremetal foil, paper and plastic, one could easily believe that the

flowersandleaveswerereal.Pinnedalloverthemwerenotesandinscriptions,manywrittenintheancientbutnowofficiallyobsoletescriptratherthanRomancharacters.

AstheywerewalkingbacktotheBillTee,Floydsaidthoughtfully:‘Didyounotice-therewaspracticallynometalleft.Onlyglass,plastic,synthetics.’

‘Whataboutthoseribsandsupportinggirders?’‘Composite-mostlycarbon,boron.Someoneroundhereisveryhungryfor

metal-andknowsitwhenitseesit.Interesting...’Very, thought vanderBerg.On aworldwhere fire could not exist,metals

and alloys would be almost impossible to make, and as precious as - well,diamonds.

When he had reported to base, and received a message of gratitude fromSecond Officer Chang and his colleagues, Floyd took the Bill Tee up to athousandyardsandcontinuedwestward.

‘Lastlap,’hesaid,‘nopointingoinghigher-we'llbethereintenminutes.ButIwon'tland;iftheGreatWalliswhatwethinkitis,I'dprefernotto.We'lldoaquickflybyandheadforhome.Getthosecamerasready;thiscouldbeevenmoreimportantthanMountZeus.’

And,headdedtohimself,ImaysoonknowwhatGrandfatherHeywoodfelt,notsofarfromhere,fiftyyearsago.We'llhavealottotalkaboutwhenwemeet-lessthanaweekfromnow,ifallgoeswell.

50

OpenCity

Whataterribleplace,thoughtChrisFloyd-nothingbutdrivingsleet,flurriesofsnow,occasionalglimpsesoflandscapesstreakedwithice-why,Havenwasatropical paradise by comparison! Yet he knew that the nightside, only a fewhundredmilesfurtheronroundthecurveofEuropa,wasevenworse.

Tohissurprise,theweatherclearedsuddenlyandcompletelyjustbeforetheyreached theirgoal.Theclouds lifted -and thereaheadwasan immense,blackwall, almost amile high, lying directly acrossBillTee's flight path. Itwas sohuge that itwasobviouslycreating itsownmicroclimate; theprevailingwindswerebeingdeflectedaroundit,leavingalocal,calmareainitslee.

ItwasinstantlyrecognizableastheMonolith,andshelteringatitsfootwerehundredsofhemisphericalstructures,gleamingaghostlywhiteintheraysofthe

low-hangingsunthathadoncebeenJupiter.Theylooked,thoughtFloyd,exactlylike old-style beehives made of snow; something in their appearance evokedothermemoriesofEarth.VanderBergwasonejumpaheadofhim.

‘Igloos,’hesaid.‘Sameproblem-samesolution.Nootherbuildingmaterialaroundhere,except rock-whichwouldbemuchharder towork.Andthe lowgravitymusthelp-someofthosedomesarequitelarge.Iwonderwhatlivesinthem...’

Theywere still too far away to see anythingmoving in the streets of thislittlecityattheedgeoftheworld.Andastheycamecloser,theysawthattherewerenostreets.

‘It'sVenice,madeofice,’saidFloyd.‘Alligloosandcanals.’‘Amphibians,’ answered van der Berg. ‘We should have expected it. I

wonderwheretheyare?’‘Wemayhavescaredthem.BillTee'smuchnoisieroutsidethanin.’Foramoment,vanderBergwastoobusyfilmingandreportingtoGalaxyto

reply. Then he said: ‘We can't possibly leave without making some contact.You'reright-thisisfarbiggerthanMountZeus.’

‘Anditcouldbemoredangerous.’‘Idon'tseeanysignofadvancedtechnology-correction,thatlookslikean

oldtwentieth-centuryradardishoverthere!Canyougetcloser?’‘Andgetshotat?Nothanks.Besides,we'reusingupourhover time.Only

anothertenminutes-ifyouwanttogethomeagain.’‘Canwe at least land and look around?There's a patch of clear rock over

there.Wherethehelliseverybody?’‘Scared,likeme.Nineminutes.I'lldoonetripacrosstown-filmeverything

youcan-yes,Galaxy-we'reOK-justratherbusyatthemoment-callyoulater-’

‘I've just realized - that's not a radar dish, but something almost asinteresting.It'spointingstraightatLucifer-it'sasolarfurnace!Makesalotofsenseinaplacewherethesunnevermoves-andyoucan'tlightafire.’

‘Eightminutes.Toobadeveryone'shidingindoors.’‘Orbackinthewater.Canwelookatthatbigbuildingwiththeopenspace

aroundit?Ithinkit'sthetownhall.’Van der Berg was pointing towards a structure much larger than all the

others,andofquitedifferentdesign;itwasacollectionofverticalcylinders,like

oversizedorgan-pipes.Moreover, itwasnotthefeaturelesswhiteoftheigloos,butshowedacomplexmottlingoveritsentiresurface.

‘Europan art!’ cried van der Berg. ‘That's a mural of some kind! Closer,closer!Wemustgetarecord!’

Obediently,Floyddroppedlower-andlower-andlower.Heseemedtohavecompletelyforgottenallhisearlierreservationsabouthovertime;andsuddenly,withshockedincredulity,vanderBergrealizedthathewasgoingtoland.

Thescientisttorehiseyesfromtherapidlyapproachingground,andglancedathispilot.

ThoughhewasobviouslystillinfullcontrolofBillTee,Floydseemedtobehypnotized; he was staring at a fixed point straight ahead of the descendingshuttle.

‘What's thematter,Chris?’ vanderBerg cried. ‘Doyouknowwhat you'redoing?’

‘Ofcourse.Can'tyouseehim?’‘Seewho?’‘That man, standing by the biggest cylinder. And he's not wearing any

breathinggear!’‘Don'tbeanidiot,Chris:there'snoonethere.’‘He'slookingupatus.He'swaving-IthinkIrecog-OhmyGod!’‘There'sno-one-no-one!Pullup!’Floydignoredhimcompletely.Hewasabsolutelycalmandprofessionalas

hebroughtBillTeeintoaperfectlanding,andcutthemotoratexactlytherightinstantbeforetouchdown.

Very thoroughly, he checked the instrument readings, and set the safetyswitches.Onlywhenhehadcompletedthelandingsequencedidheagainlookoutoftheobservationwindow,withapuzzledbuthappyexpressiononhisface.

‘Hello,Grandfather,’hesaidsoftly,tono-oneatallthatvanderBergcouldsee.

51

Phantom

Eveninhismosthorriblenightmares,DrvanderBerghadnever imaginedbeingstrandedonahostileworldinatinyspacecapsule,withonlyamadman

for company.But at least Chris Floyd did not seem to be violent; perhaps hecouldbehumouredintotakingoffagainandflyingthemsafelybacktoGalaxy...

Hewasstillstaringatnothing,andfromtimetotimehislipsmovedinsilentconversation.

The alien 'town' remained completely deserted, and one could almostimagine that it had been abandoned for centuries. Presently, however, van derBerg noticed some tell-tale signs of recent occupancy. Although Bill Tee'srocketshadblastedaway the thin layerofsnowimmediatelyaround them, theremainderofthelittlesquarewasstilllightlypowdered.Itwasapagetornfromabook,coveredwithsignsandhieroglyphics,someofwhichhecouldread.

A heavy object had been dragged in that direction - or hadmade its wayclumsily under its own power. Leading from the now closed entrance of oneigloowastheunmistakabletrackofawheeledvehicle.Toofarawaytomakeoutdetailswasa smallobject that couldhavebeenadiscardedcontainer;perhapsEuropansweresometimesascarelessashumans...

Thepresenceoflifewasunmistakable,overwhelming.VanderBergfelthewasbeingwatchedbyathousandeyes-orothersenses-andtherewasnowayofguessingwhetherthemindsbehindthemwerefriendly,orhostile.Theymighteven be indifferent,merelywaiting for the intruders to go away, so that theycouldcontinuetheirinterruptedandmysteriousbusiness.

ThenChrisFloydspokeonceagainintotheemptyair.‘Goodbye,Grandfather,’hesaidquietly,withjustatraceofsadness.Turning

towards van derBerg he added in a normal conversational tone: ‘He says it'stimetoleave.IguessyoumustthinkI'mcrazy.’

Itwaswisest,decidedvanderBerg,nottoagree.Inanyevent,hesoonhadsomethingelsetoworryabout.

Floydwas now staring anxiously at the read-outs that Bill Tee's computerwasfeedingtohim.

Presentlyhesaid,inanunderstandabletoneofapology:‘Sorry about this, Van. That landing used upmore fuel than I'd intended.

We'llhavetochangethemissionprofile.’That,vanderBergthoughtbleakly,wasaratherroundaboutwayofsaying:

‘Wecan'tgetbacktoGalaxy.’Withdifficulty,he.managedtosuppressa‘Damnyourgrandfather!’andmerelyasked:

‘Sowhatdowedo?’Floydwasstudyingthechart,andpunchinginmorenumbers.

‘Wecan'tstayhere-,(Whynot?thoughtvanderBerg.Ifwe'regoingtodieanyway,wemightuseourtimelearningasmuchaspossible.)‘-soweshouldfindaplacewheretheshuttlefromUniversecanpickusupeasily.’

VanderBergbreathedahugementalsighofrelief.Stupidofhimnottohavethought of that; he felt like amanwho had been reprieved justwhen hewasbeingtakentothegallows.UniverseshouldreachEuropainlessthanfourdays;BillTee'saccommodationcouldhardlybecalledluxurious,butitwasinfinitelypreferabletomostofthealternativeshecouldimagine.

‘Away from this filthy weather - a stable, flat surface - closer to Galaxy,thoughI'mnotsureifthathelpsmuch-shouldn'tbeanyproblem.We'veenoughforthreehundredmiles-it'sjustthatwecan'trisktheseacrossing.’

Foramoment,vanderBergthoughtwistfullyofMountZeus;therewassomuch that couldbedone there.But the seismicdisturbances - steadily gettingworseaslocameintolinewithLucifer-ruledthatoutcompletely.Hewonderedif his instrumentswere stillworking, andwould check them again as soon asthey'ddealtwiththeimmediateproblem.

‘I'llflydownthecoasttotheequator-bestplacetobeanywayforashuttlelanding-theradarmapshowedsomesmoothareasjustinlandroundsixtywest.’

‘Iknow.TheMasadaPlateau.’(And,vanderBergaddedtohimself,perhapsachanceforalittlemoreexploring.Nevermissanunexpectedopportunity...)

‘ThePlateauitis.Goodbye,Venice.Goodbye,Grandfather...’

***

When the muted roar of the braking rockets had died away, Chris Floydsafetiedthefiringcircuitsfor thelast time,releasedhisseatbelt,andstretchedarmsandlegsasfarashecouldinBillTee'sconfinedquarters.

‘Notsuchabadview-forEuropa,’hesaidcheerfully.‘Nowwe'vefourdaysto find out if shuttle rations are as bad as they claim. So -which of us startstalkingfirst?’

52

OntheCouch

I wish I'd studied some psychology, thought van der Berg; then I couldexplore the parameters of his delusion. Yet now he seems completely sane -exceptonthatonesubject.

Thoughalmostanyseatwascomfortableatone-sixthofagravity,Floydhadtilted his to the fully reclining position and had clasped his hands behind hishead. Van der Berg suddenly recalled that this was the classic position of apatient,inthedaysoftheoldandstillnotentirelydiscreditedFreudiananalysis.

Hewasgladtolettheothertalkfirst,partlyoutofsheercuriositybutchieflybecausehehopedthatthesoonerFloydgotthisnonsenseoutofhissystem,thesooner he would be cured - or, at least, harmless. But he did not feel toooptimistic:theremusthavebeensomeserious,deep-seatedprobleminthefirstplacetotriggersopowerfulanillusion.

ItwasverydisconcertingtofindthatFloydagreedwithhimcompletely,andhadalreadymadehisowndiagnosis.

‘MycrewpsychratingisAlplus,’hesaid,‘whichmeansthatthey'llevenletmelookatmyownfiles-onlyabouttenpercentcandothis.SoI'masbaffledasyouare -but IsawGrandfather,andhespoke tome. I'veneverbelieved inghosts-whodoes?-butthismustmeanthathe'sdead.IwishIcouldhavegottoknowhimbetter - I'dbeen looking forward toourmeeting...Still,nowIhavesomethingtoremember...’

PresentlyvanderBergasked:‘Tellmeexactlywhathesaid.’Chrissmiledalittlewanlyandanswered:‘I'veneverhadoneofthosetotal

recallmemories,andIwassostunnedbythewholethingthatIcan'tgiveyoumanyoftheactualwords.’Hepaused,andalookofconcentrationappearedonhisface.

‘That'sstrange;nowIlookback,Idon'tthinkwedidusewords.’Evenworse,thoughtvanderBerg;telepathyaswellassurvivalafterdeath.

Buthemerelysaid:‘Well,givemethegeneralgistof the-er -conversation. Ineverheardyou

sayanythingremember.’‘Right. He said something like, "I wanted to see you again, and I'm very

happy. I'm sure everything is going towork outwell, andUniversewill soonpickyouup."

Typicalblandspiritmessage,thoughtvanderBerg.Theyneversayanythinguseful or surprising -merely reflect the hopes and fears of the listener. Zero-informationechoesfromthesubconscious.

‘Goon.’‘Then I asked himwhere everyonewas -why the placewas deserted.He

laughedandgavemeananswerIstilldon'tunderstand.Somethinglike:"Iknow

youdidn't intendanyharm-whenwesawyoucoming,webarelyhadtimetogivethewarning.Allthe-"andhereheusedawordIcouldn'tpronounceevenifIcouldrememberit-"gotintothewater-theycanmovequitequicklywhentheyhaveto!Theywon'tcomeoutuntilyou'veleft,andthewindhasblownthepoison away."What could he havemeant by that?Our exhaust is nice, cleansteam-andthat'swhatmostoftheiratmosphereis,anyway.’

Well, thoughtvanderBerg, I suppose there'sno law that saysadelusion -any more than a dream - has to make logical sense. Perhaps the concept of'poison'symbolizessomedeep-rootedfearthatChris,despitehisexcellentpsychrating, is unable to face.Whatever it is, I doubt if it's any concern of mine.Poison,indeed!BillTee'spropellantmassispure,distilledwatershippeduptoorbitfromGanymede.

Butwaitaminute.Howhotisitwhenitcomesoutoftheexhaust?Haven'tIreadsomewhere...?

‘Chris,’ said van der Berg cautiously, ‘after the water's gone through thereactor,doesitallcomeoutassteam?’

‘Whatelsecoulditdo?Oh,ifwerunreallyhot,tenorfifteenpercentgetscrackedtohydrogenandoxygen.’

Oxygen!Van der Berg felt a sudden chill, even though the shuttlewas atcomfortable room temperature. Itwasmostunlikely thatFloydunderstood theimplications of what he had just said; the knowledge was outside his normalsphereofexpertise.

‘Didyouknow,Chris,thattoprimitiveorganismsonEarth,andcertainlytocreatureslivinginanatmospherelikeEuropa's,oxygenisadeadlypoison?’

‘You'rejoking.’‘I'mnot:it'sevenpoisonoustous,athighpressure.’‘Ididknowthat;weweretaughtitinourdivingcourse.’‘Your-grandfather-wastalkingsense.It'sasifwe'dsprayedthatcitywith

mustardgas.Well,notquiteasbadasthat-itwoulddisperseveryquickly.’‘Sonowyoubelieveme.’‘IneversaidIdidn't.’‘Youwouldhavebeencrazyifyoudid!’Thatbrokethetension,andtheyhadagoodlaughtogether.‘Younevertoldmewhathewaswearing.’

‘Anold-fashioneddressinggown, just as I rememberedwhen Iwasaboy.Lookedverycomfortable.’

‘Anyotherdetails?’‘Nowyoumentionit,helookedmuchyounger,andhadmorehairthanwhen

Isawhimlast.SoIdon'tthinkhewas-whatcanIsay?-real.Somethinglikeacomputer-generatedimage.Orasynthetichologram.’

‘TheMonolith!’‘Yes-that'swhatIthought.YourememberhowDaveBowmanappearedto

GrandfatheronDiscovery?Perhaps it'shis turnnow.Butwhy?Hedidn't givemeanywarning-notevenanyparticularmessage.Justwantedtosaygoodbyeandwishmewell...’

For a few embarrassing moments Floyd's face began to crumple; then heregainedcontrol,andsmiledatvanderBerg.

‘I'vedoneenoughtalking.Nowit'syourturntoexplainjustwhatamillion-million-tondiamondisdoing-onaworldmademostlyoficeandsulphur.Ithadbetterbegood.’

‘Itis,’saidDrRolfvanderBerg.

53

PressureCooker

‘When IwasstudyingatFlagstaff,’beganvanderBerg, ‘Icameacrossanoldastronomybookthatsaid:"TheSolarSystemconsistsof theSun,Jupiter -andassorteddebris."PutsEarthinitsplace,doesn'tit?AndhardlyfairtoSaturn,UranusandNeptune-theotherthreegasgiantscometoalmosthalfasmuchasJupiter.

‘ButI'dbetterstartwithEuropa.Asyouknow,itwasflaticebeforeLuciferstartedwarmingitup-greatestelevationonlyacoupleofhundredyards-anditwasn'tmuchdifferentaftertheicehadmeltedandalotofthewaterhadmigratedandfrozenoutonFarside.From2015-whenourdetailedobservationsbegan-until'38,therewasonlyonehighpointonthewholemoon-andweknowwhatthatwas.’

‘Wecertainlydo.ButeventhoughI'veseenitwithmyowneyes,Istillcan'tpicture theMonolith as a wall! I always visualize it as standing upright - orfloatingfreelyinspace.’

‘I thinkwe'velearnedthatitcandoanythingitwantsto-anythingwecan

imagine-andalotmore.‘Well, something happened toEuropa in '37, between one observation and

thenext.MountZeus-alloffivemileshigh!-suddenlyappeared.‘Volcanoes that big don't pop up in a couple of weeks; besides, Europa's

nothinglikeasactiveasIo.’‘It'sactiveenoughforme,’Floydgrumbled.‘Didyoufeelthatone?’‘Besides,ifithadbeenavolcano,itwouldhavespewedenormousamounts

ofgasintotheatmosphere;thereweresomechanges,butnothinglikeenoughtoaccountforthatexplanation.Itwasallacompletemystery,andbecausewewerescaredofgettingtooclose-andwerebusyonourownprojects-wedidn'tdomuchexceptspinfantastictheories.Noneofthem,asitturnedout,asfantasticasthetruth.

‘I first suspected it fromsomechanceobservations in '57,butdidn't reallytake themseriously foracoupleofyears.Then theevidencebecamestronger;foranythinglessbizarre,itwouldhavebeencompletelyconvincing.

‘ButbeforeIcouldbelievethatMountZeuswasmadeofdiamond,Ihadtofindanexplanation.

Toagoodscientist-andIthinkI'magoodone-nofactisreallyrespectableuntilthere'satheorytoaccountforit.Thetheorymayturnouttobewrong-itusuallyis,insomedetailsatleast-butitmustprovideaworkinghypothesis.

‘And as you pointed out, amillion-million-ton diamond on aworld of iceandsulphurtakesalittleexplaining.Ofcourse,nowit'sperfectlyobviousandIfeeladamnfoolnottohaveseentheansweryearsago.Mighthavesavedalotoftrouble-andatleastonelife-ifIhad.’

Hepausedthoughtfully,thensuddenlyaskedFloyd:‘AnyonementionDrPaulKreugertoyou?’‘No.Whyshouldthey?I'veheardofhim,ofcourse.‘Ijustwondered.Alotofstrangethingshavebeengoingon,andIdoubtif

we'lleverknowalltheanswers.‘Anyway, it's no secret now, so it doesn't matter. Two years ago I sent a

confidentialmessagetoPaul-oh,sorry,Ishouldhavementioned-he'smyuncle-witha summaryofmy findings. I asked ifhecouldexplain them-or refutethem.

‘Didn't take him long, with all the byte-bashing he's got at his fingertips.Unfortunately, hewas careless, or someonewasmonitoring his network - I'msureyourfriends,whoevertheyare,musthaveagoodideabynow.

‘In a couple of days, he dug up an eighty-year-old paper in the scientificjournalNature-yes, itwasstillprintedonpaperbackthen!-whichexplainedeverything.Well,almosteverything.

‘ItwaswrittenbyamanworkinginoneofthebiglabsintheUnitedStates-ofAmerica,of course - theUSSAdidn't exist then. Itwasaplacewhere theydesignednuclearweapons, so theyknewa few thingsabouthigh temperaturesandpressures.

‘Idon'tknowifDrRoss-thatwashisname-hadanythingtodowithbombs,buthisbackgroundmusthavestartedhimthinkingaboutconditionsdeepdowninsidethegiantplanets.Inhis1984-sorry,1981-paper-it'slessthanapagelong,bytheway-hemadesomeveryinterestingsuggestions...

‘Hepointedoutthatthereweregiganticquantitiesofcarbon-intheformofmethane,CH4-inthegasgiants.Uptoseventeenpercentofthetotalmass!Hecalculated that at the pressures and temperatures in the cores - millions ofatmospheres-thecarbonwouldseparateout,sinkdowntowardsthecentresand-you'veguessedit-crystallize.Itwasalovelytheory:Idon'tsupposeheeverdreamedthattherewouldbeahopeoftestingit.

‘So that's part one of the story. In some ways, part two is even moreinteresting.Whataboutsomemoreofthatcoffee?’

‘Here you are; and I think I've already guessed part two. ObviouslysomethingtodowiththeexplosionofJupiter.’

‘Notexplosion-implosion-Jupiterjustcollapsedonitself,thenignited.Insomeways, itwas like thedetonationof a nuclear bomb, except that thenewstatewasastableone-infact,aminisun.

‘Now,verystrangethingshappenduringimplosions;it'salmostasifpiecescan go through each other, and come out on the other side. Whatever themechanism,amountain-sizedpieceofthediamondcorewasshotintoorbit.

‘It must have made hundreds of revolutions - been perturbed by thegravitational fields of all the satellites - before it ended up on Europa. Andconditions must have been exactly right - one bodymust have overtaken theother,sotheimpactvelocitywasonlyacoupleofmilesasecond.Ifthey'dmethead-on-well, theremightnotbeaEuropanow,letaloneMountZeus!AndIsometimeshavenightmares,thinkingthatitcouldverywellhavecomedownonus...

‘Thenewatmospheremayalsohavebufferedtheimpact;evenso,theshockmust have been appalling - Iwonderwhat it did to our Europan friends? - itcertainly triggered a whole series of tectonic disturbances, which are still

continuing.’‘And,’ saidFloyd, ‘politicalones. I'm justbeginning toappreciate someof

them.NowondertheUSSAwasworried.’‘Amongstothers.’‘Butwouldanyoneseriouslyimaginetheycouldgetatthesediamonds?’‘We've not done so badly,’ answered van der Berg, gesturing towards the

backoftheshuttle.‘In any case, the mere psychological effect on the industry would be

enormous.That'swhysomanypeoplewereanxioustoknowwhetheritwastrueornot.’

‘Andnowtheyknow.Whatnext?’‘That's not my problem, thank God. But I hope I've made a sizeable

contributiontoGanymede'ssciencebudget.’Aswellasmyown,headdedtohimself.

54

Reunion

‘WhatevermadeyouthinkIwasdead?’criedHeywoodFloyd.‘I'venotfeltbetterforyears!’

Paralysedwithastonishment,ChrisFloydstaredatthespeakergrille.Hefelta great lifting of his spirits - yet also a sense of indignation. Someone -something-hadplayedacruelpracticaljokeonhim;butforwhatconceivablereason?

Twenty five million miles away - and coming closer by several hundredevery second - Heywood Floyd also sounded slightly indignant. But he alsosounded vigorous and cheerful, and his voice radiated the happiness heobviouslyfeltatknowingthatChriswassafe.

‘And I've got somemore good news for you; the shuttlewill pick you upfirst.ItwilldropsomeurgentmedicalsuppliesatGalaxy,thenhopovertoyou,andbringyouuptorendezvouswithusonthenextorbit.Universewillgodownfiveorbitslater;you'llbeabletogreetyourfriendswhentheycomeaboard.

‘Nomorenow-excepttosayhowmuchI'mlookingforwardtomakingupforlosttime.Waitingforyouranswerin-let'ssee-aboutthreeminutes...’

For a moment, there was complete silence aboard Bill Tee; van der Berg

dared not look at his companion. Then Floyd keyed themicrophone and saidslowly:‘Grandad-whatawonderfulsurprise-I'mstillinastateofshock.ButIknowImetyouhereonEuropa-Iknowyousaidgoodbyetome.I'mascertainofthat,asI'msureyouwerespeakingtomejustnow...

‘Well, we'll have plenty of time to talk about it later. But remember howDaveBowmanspoketoyou,aboardDiscovery?Perhapsitwassomethinglikethat.

‘Nowwe'll justsitandwaithereuntil theshuttlecomesforus.We'requitecomfortable-there'sanoccasionalquake,butnothingtoworryabout.Untilwemeet,allmylove.’

Hecouldnotrememberwhenhehadlastusedthatwordtohisgrandfather.After the firstday, the shuttlecabinbegan to smell.After the second, they

didn'tnotice -butagreed that thefoodwasno longerquiteso tasty.Theyalsofoundithardtosleep,andtherewereevenaccusationsofsnoring.

On day three, despite frequent bulletins fromUniverse, Galaxy and Earthitself,boredomwasbeginningtosetin,andtheyhadexhaustedtheirsupplyofdirtystories.

But that was the last day. Before it was over, Lady Jasmine descended,seekingherlostchild.

55

Magma

‘Baas,’ said the apartment's master comset, ‘I accessed that specialprogramme from Ganymede while you were sleeping. Do you wish to see itnow?’

‘Yes,’answeredDrPaulKreuger.‘Speedtentimes.Nosound.’Therewould,heknew,bealotofintroductorymaterialhecouldjump,and

viewlaterifhewished.Hewantedtogettotheactionasquicklyaspossible.Credits flashedup,and thereon themonitorwasVictorWillis, somewhere

onGanymede,gesticulatingwildlyintotalsilence.DrPaulKreuger,likemanyworking scientists, took a somewhat jaundiced view of Willis, though headmittedthatheperformedausefulfunction.

Willis abruptlyvanished, tobe replacedbya less agitated subject -MountZeus.But thatwasmuchmore active than anywell-behavedmountain shouldbe;DrKreugerwasastonished to seehowmuch it hadchanged since the last

transmissionfromEuropa.‘Realtime,’heordered.‘Sound.’‘...almost a hundredyards a day, and the tilt has increased fifteendegrees.

Tectonicactivitynowviolent-extensivelavaflowsaroundthebase-IhaveDrvanderBergwithme-Van,whatdoyouthink?’

My nephew looks in remarkably good shape, thought Dr Kreuger,consideringwhathe'sbeenthrough.Goodstock,ofcourse.

‘The crust obviously never recovered from the original impact, and it'sgivingwayundertheaccumulatedstresses.MountZeushasbeenslowlysinkingeversincewediscoveredit,but theratehasspeededupenormouslyinthelastfewweeks.Youcanseethemovementfromdaytoday.’

‘Howlongbeforeitdisappearscompletely?’‘Ican'treallybelievethatwillhappen...’Therewasaquickcut to anotherviewof themountain,withVictorWillis

speakingoffcamera.‘That was what Dr van der Berg said two days ago. Any comment now,

Van?’‘Er-it looksasifIwasmistaken.It'sgoingdown-quiteincredible-only

halfamileleft!Irefusetomakeanymorepredictions...’‘Verywiseofyou,Van-well,thatwasonlyyesterday.Nowwe'llgiveyoua

continuoustime-lapsesequence,uptothemomentwelostthecamera...’DrPaulKreugerleanedforwardinhisseat,watchingthefinalactofthelong

dramainwhichhehadplayedsucharemote,yetvitalrole.Therewasnoneedtospeedupthereplay:hewasalreadyseeingitatalmost

a hundred times normal. An hour was compressed into a minute - a man'slifetimeintothatofabutterfly.

Beforehiseyes,MountZeuswassinking.Spurtsofmoltensulphurrocketedskywards around it at dazzling speed, forming parabolas of brilliant, electricblue.Itwaslikeashipgoingdowninastormysea,surroundedbyStElmo'sfire.NotevenIo'sspectacularvolcanoescouldmatchthisdisplayofviolence.

‘Thegreatesttreasureeverdiscovered-vanishingfromsight,’saidWillisinhushed and reverential tones: ‘Unfortunately, we can't show the finale. You'llsoonseewhy.’

The action slowed down into real time. Only a few hundred yards of themountainwereleft,andtheeruptionsarounditnowmovedatamoreleisurely

speed.Suddenly,thewholepicturetilted;thecamera'simagestabilizers,whichhad

beenholdingtheirownvaliantlyagainstthecontinuoustremblingoftheground,gaveuptheunequalbattle.

Foramomentitseemedasifthemountainwasrisingagain-butitwasthecameratripodtopplingover.TheverylastscenefromEuropawasaclose-upofaglowingwaveofmoltensulphur,abouttoengulftheequipment.

‘Gone for ever!’ lamented Willis. ‘Riches infinitely greater than all thewealththatGolcondaorKimberleyeverproduced!Whatatragic,heartbreakingloss!’

‘Whatastupididiot!’splutteredDrKreuger.‘Doesn'therealize...’ItwastimeforanotherlettertoNature.Andthissecretwouldbemuchtoo

bigtohide.

56

PerturbationTheory

From:ProfessorPaulKreuger,FRS,etc.To: The Editor, NATURE Data Bank (Public access) Subject: MOUNT

ZEUSANDJOVIANDIAMONDSAs isnowwellunderstood, theEuropan formationknownas 'MountZeus'

was originally part of Jupiter. The suggestion that the cores of the gas giantsmightconsistofdiamondwas firstmadebyMarvinRossof theUniversityofCalifornia'sLawrenceLivermoreNationalLaboratoryinaclassicpaper‘TheicelayerinUranusandNeptune-diamondsinthesky?’(Nature,Vol292,No.

5822, pp. 435-6, 30 July 1981). Surprisingly, Ross did not extend hiscalculationstoJupiter.

ThesinkingofMountZeushasproducedaveritablechorusoflamentations,allofwhicharetotallyridiculous-forthereasonsgivenbelow.

Withoutgoingintodetails,whichwillbepresentedinalatercommunication,IestimatethatthediamondcoreofJupitermusthavehadanoriginalmassofatleast10^28grams.ThisistenbilliontimesthatofMountZeus.

Althoughmuchofthismaterialwoulddoubtlesshavebeendestroyedinthedetonation of the planet and the formation of the - apparently artificial - sunLucifer, it is inconceivable thatMountZeuswas theonly fragment to survive.Althoughmuchwouldhave fallenbackon toLucifer, a substantialpercentage

must have gone into orbit - and must still be there. Elementary perturbationtheory shows that itwill return periodically to its point of origin. It is not, ofcourse, possible to make an exact calculation, but I estimate that at least amilliontimesthemassofMountZeusisstillorbitinginthevicinityofLucifer.The loss of one small fragment, in any case most inconveniently located onEuropa, is thereforeofvirtuallyno importance. Ipropose theestablishment,assoonaspossible,ofadedicatedspace-radarsystemtosearchforthismaterial.

Althoughextremelythindiamondfilmhasbeenmass-producedsinceaslongagoas1982,ithasneverbeenpossibletomakediamondinbulk.Itsavailabilityinmegatonquantitiescouldtotallytransformmanyindustriesandcreatewhollynewones.Inparticular,aswaspointedoutbyIsaacsetalalmostahundredyearsago (see Science, 151, pp. 682-3, 1966) diamond is the only constructionmaterial which would make possible the so-called ‘Space elevator’, allowingtransportationawayfromEarthatnegligiblecost.Thediamondmountainsnoworbiting among the satellites of Jupitermay open up the entire Solar System;howtrivial,bycomparison,appearalltheancientusesofthequartic-crystallizedformofcarbon!

For completeness, I would like to mention another possible location forenormousquantitiesofdiamond-aplace,unfortunately,evenmoreinaccessiblethanthecoreofagiantplanet...

It has been suggested that the crusts of neutron stars may be largelycomposedofdiamond.As thenearestknownneutronstar is fifteen lightyearsaway,andhasasurfacegravityseventythousandmilliontimesthatofEarth,thiscanhardlyberegardedasaplausiblesourceofsupply.

Butthen-whocouldeverhaveimaginedthatonedaywewouldbeabletotouchthecoreofJupiter?

57

InterludeonGanymede

‘These poor, primitive colonists!’ lamented Mihailovich. ‘I'm horrified -there's not a single concert grand on thewhole of Ganymede! Of course, thethimblefulofoptronicsinmysynthesizercanreproduceanymusicalinstrument.ButaSteinwayisstillaSteinway-justasaStradisstillaStrad.’

His complaints, though not altogether serious, had already aroused somecounter-reactions among the local intelligentsia. The popular Morning Medeprogrammehadevencommentedmaliciously:

‘Byhonouringuswiththeirpresence,ourdistinguishedguestshave-ifonlytemporarily-raisedtheculturallevelofbothworlds...’

The attackwas aimed chiefly atWillis,Mihailovich andM'Bala,who hadbeenalittletooenthusiasticinbringingenlightenmenttothebackwardnatives.Maggie M had created quite a scandal with an uninhibited account of Zeus-Jupiter'storridloveaffairswithIo,Europa,GanymedeandCallisto.Appearingto the nymph Europa in the guise of a white bull was bad enough, and hisattempts toshieldIoandCallistofromtheunderstandablewrathofhisconsortHerawere franklypathetic.Butwhatupsetmany local residentswas thenewsthatthemythologicalGanymedewasofquitethewronggender.

Todothemjustice,theintentionsoftheself-appointedculturalambassadorswere completely praiseworthy, though not entirely disinterested.Knowing thattheywouldbestrandedonGanymedeformonths,theyrecognizedthedangerofboredom,afterthenoveltyofthesituationhadwornoff.Andtheyalsowishedtomake the best possible use of their talents, for the benefit of everyone aroundthem.However,noteveryonewished-orhadtime-tobebenefited,outhereonthehigh-technologyfrontieroftheSolarSystem.

Yva Merlin, on the other hand, fitted in perfectly, and was thoroughlyenjoyingherself.

Despite her fame on Earth, few of theMedes had ever heard of her. Shecouldwanderaround,inthepubliccorridorsandpressuredomesofGanymedeCentral,without people turning their heads or exchanging excitedwhispers ofrecognition.True,shewasrecognized-butonlyasanotherofthevisitorsfromEarth.

Greenburg, with his usual quietly efficient modesty, had fitted into theadministrativeandtechnologicalstructureofthesatelliteandwasalreadyonhalfadozenadvisoryboards.Hisservicesweresowellappreciatedthathehadbeenwarnedhemightnotbeallowedtoleave.

Heywood Floyd observed the activities of his shipmates with relaxedamusement, but took little part in them. His chief concern nowwas buildingbridgestoChris,andhelpinghisgrandsonplanhisfuture.NowthatUniverse-withlessthanahundredtonsofpropellantleftinitstanks-wassafelydownonGanymede,therewasmuchtobedone.

ThegratitudethatallaboardGalaxyfelttowardstheirrescuershadmadeiteasy to merge the two crews; when repairs, overhaul and refuelling werecomplete,theywouldflybacktoEarthtogether.MoralehadalreadybeengivenagreatboostbythenewsthatSirLawrencewasdrawingupthecontractfora

greatly improvedGalaxy II - thoughconstructionwasnot likely tobeginuntilhis lawyers had settled their disputewith Lloyd's. The underwriterswere stilltryingtoclaimthatthenovelcrimeofspacehijackingwasnotcoveredbytheirpolicy.

Asforthatcrimeitself,no-onehadbeenconvicted,orevencharged.Clearly,it had been planned, over a period of several years, by an efficient andwell-funded organization. The United States of Southern Africa loudly protestedinnocence,andsaiditwelcomedanofficialenquiry.

DerBundalsoexpressedindignation,andofcourseblamedSHAKA.DrKreugerwasnotsurprisedtofindangrybutanonymousmessagesinhis

mail, accusing him of being a traitor. They were usually in Afrikaans, butsometimes contained subtlemistakes in grammar or phraseologywhichmadehimsuspectthattheywerepartofadisinformationcampaign.

After some thought, he passed them onto ASTROPOL - which probablyalreadyhas them, he told himselfwryly.ASTROPOL thankedhim, but, as heexpected,madenocomments.

Atvarious times,SecondOfficersFloydandChangandothermembersofGalaxy's crew were treated to the best dinners on Ganymede by the twomysterious out-wonderswhomFloydhad alreadymet.When the recipients ofthese(franklydisappointing)mealscomparednotesafterwards,theydecidedthattheir polite interrogators were trying to build up a case against SHAKA, butwerenotgettingveryfar.

DrvanderBerg,whohadstartedthewholething-andhaddoneverywelloutofit,professionallyandfinancially-wasnowwonderingwhattodowithhisnew opportunities. He had received many attractive offers from Earthuniversities and scientific organizations - but, ironically, it was impossible totakeadvantageofthem.HehadnowlivedtoolongatGanymede'sone-sixthofagravity,andhadpassedthemedicalpointofnoreturn.

The Moon remained a possibility; so did Pasteur, as Heywood Floydexplainedtohim.

‘We'retryingtosetupaspaceuniversitythere,’hesaid,‘sothatoff-worlderswho can't tolerate one gee can still interact in real timewith people onEarth.We'll have lecture halls, conference rooms, labs - some of themwill only becomputer-stored,butthey'lllooksorealyou'dneverknow.Andyou'llbeabletogovideoshoppingonEarth,tomakeuseofyourill-gottengains.’

Tohissurprise,Floydhadnotonlyrediscoveredagrandson-hehadadoptedanephew;hewasnowlinkedtovanderBergaswellasChrisbyauniquemix

ofsharedexperiences.Aboveall,therewasthemysteryoftheapparitioninthedesertedEuropancity,beneaththeloomingpresenceoftheMonolith.

Chrishadnodoubtswhatsoever.‘Isawyou,andheardyou,asclearlyasIdonow,’hetoldhisgrandfather.‘Butyourlipsnevermoved-andthestrangethingis that I didn't feel that was strange - it seemed perfectly natural. The wholeexperiencehada-relaxedfeelingaboutit.Alittlesad-no,wistfulwouldbeabetterword.Ormayberesigned.’

‘We couldn't help thinking of your encounter with Bowman, aboardDiscovery,’addedvanderBerg.

‘ItriedtoradiohimbeforewelandedonEuropa.Itseemedanaïvethingtodo,butIcouldn'timagineanyalternative.Ifeltsurehewasthere,insomeformorother.’

‘Andyouneverhadanykindofacknowledgement?’Floydhesitated.Thememorywasfadingfast,buthesuddenlyrecalledthat

nightwhenthemini-monolithhadappearedinhiscabin.Nothinghadhappened,yetfromthatmomentonwardshehadfeltthatChris

wassafe,andthattheywouldmeetagain.‘No,’ he said slowly. ‘I never had any reply.’After all, it could only have

beenadream.

VIII

THEKINGDOMOFSULPHUR

58

FireandIce

Beforetheageofplanetaryexplorationopenedinthelatetwentiethcentury,fewscientistswouldhavebelievedthatlifecouldhaveflourishedonaworldsofanfromtheSun.Yetforhalfabillionyears,thehiddenseasofEuropahadbeenatleastasprolificasthoseofEarth.

BeforetheignitionofJupiter,acrustoficehadprotectedthoseoceansfromthevacuumabove.Inmostplacestheicewasmilesthick,buttherewerelinesofweaknesswhereithadcrackedopenandtornapart.Thentherehadbeenabriefbattlebetweentwoimplacablyhostileelements,whichcameintodirectcontactonnootherworldintheSolarSystem.ThewarbetweenSeaandSpacealwaysendedinthesamestalemate;theexposedwatersimultaneouslyboiledandfroze,

repairingthearmourofice.The seas ofEuropawould have frozen completely solid long ago,without

the influenceofnearbyJupiter. Itsgravitycontinuallykneaded thecoreof thislittleworld; the forces that convulsed Iowere alsoworking here, thoughwithmuchlessferocity.Thetugofwarbetweenplanetandsatellitecausedcontinualsubmarineearthquakes,andavalancheswhichsweptwithamazingspeedacrosstheabyssalplains.

Scatteredacrossthoseplainswerecountlessoases,eachextendingforafewhundredyardsaroundacornucopiaofmineralbrinesgushingfromtheinterior.Depositing their chemicals in a tangled mass of pipes and chimneys, theysometimescreatednaturalparodiesofruinedcastlesorGothiccathedrals,fromwhichblack,scaldingliquidspulsedinaslowrhythm,asifdrivenbythebeatingofsomemightyheart.And,likeblood,theyweretheauthenticsignoflifeitself.

Theboilingfluidsdrovebackthedeadlycoldleakingdownfromabove,andformedislandsofwarmthontheseabed.Equallyimportant, theybroughtfromEuropa'sinteriorallthechemicalsoflife.Here,inanenvironmentwhichwouldotherwise be totally hostile,were abundant energy and food. Such geothermalventshadbeendiscoveredinEarth'soceans,inthesamedecadethathadgivenmankinditsfirstglimpseoftheGalileansatellites.

Inthetropicalzonesclosetotheventsflourishedmyriadsofdelicate,spiderycreatures thatwere the analoguesofplants, thoughalmost allwere capableofmovement.Crawlingamongthesewerebizarreslugsandworms,somefeedingon the ‘plants’, others obtaining their food directly from the mineral-ladenwatersaroundthem,Atgreaterdistancesfromthesourceofheat-thesubmarinefirearoundwhichall thesecreatureswarmed themselves -were sturdier,morerobustorganisms,notunlikecrabsorspiders.

Armiesofbiologistscouldhavespentlifetimesstudyingasinglesmalloasis.Unlike the Palaeozoic terrestrial seas, Europa's hidden oceanwas not a stableenvironment,soevolutionhadprogressedswiftlyhere,producingmultitudesoffantasticforms.Andtheywereallunderindefinitestayofexecution;soonerorlater,eachfountainoflifewouldweakenanddie,astheforcesthatpowereditmovedtheir focuselsewhere.Theabysswas litteredwith theevidenceofsuchtragedies - cemeteries holding skeletons andmineral-encrusted remainswhereentirechaptershadbeendeletedfromthebookoflife.

Therewerehugeshells,lookingliketrumpetslargerthanaman.Therewereclamsofmanyshapes-bivalves,andeventrivalves.Andtherewerespiralstonepatterns, many yards across, which seemed an exact analogy of the beautiful

ammonites that disappeared somysteriously fromEarth's oceans at the endoftheCretaceousperiod.

In many places, fires burned in the abyss, as rivers of incandescent lavaflowedforscoresofmilesalongsunkenvalleys.Thepressureatthisdepthwassogreat that thewater in contactwith the red-hotmagmacouldnot flash intosteam,andthetwoliquidsco-existedinanuneasytruce.

Here, on another world andwith alien actors, something like the story ofEgypthadbeenplayedlongbeforethecomingofman.AstheNilehadbroughtlife to a narrow ribbon of desert, so these rivers of warmth had vivified theEuropan deep. Along their banks, in bands seldom more than a mile wide,speciesafterspecieshadevolvedandflourishedandpassedaway.Andsomehadleft monuments behind, in the shape of rocks piled on top of each other, orcuriouspatternsoftrenchesengravedintheseabed.

Alongthenarrowbandsoffertilityinthedesertsofthedeep,wholeculturesandprimitivecivilizationshadrisenandfallen.Andtherestoftheirworldhadneverknown,foralltheseoasesofwarmthwereasisolatedfromoneanotherastheplanetsthemselves.Thecreatureswhobaskedintheglowofthelavariver,andfedaroundthehotvents,couldnotcrossthehostilewildernessbetweentheirlonely islands. If they had ever produced historians and philosophers, eachculturewouldhavebeenconvincedthatitwasaloneintheUniverse.

And each was doomed. Not only were its energy sources sporadic andconstantlyshifting,butthetidalforcesthatdrovethemweresteadilyweakening.Eveniftheydevelopedtrueintelligence,theEuropansmustperishwiththefinalfreezingoftheirworld.

Theyweretrappedbetweenfireandice-untilLuciferexplodedintheirsky,andopeneduptheiruniverse.

Andavastrectangularshape,asblackasnight,materializednearthecoastofanew-borncontinent.

59

Trinity

‘Thatwaswelldone.Nowtheywillnotbetemptedtoreturn.’‘I am learningmany things; but I still feel sad thatmyold life is slipping

away.’‘Thattoowillpass;IalsoreturnedtoEarth,toseethoseIonceloved.NowI

knowthattherearethingsthataregreaterthanlove.’‘Whatcantheybe?’‘Compassionisone.Justice.Truth.Andthereareothers.’‘Thatisnotdifficultformetoaccept.Iwasaveryoldman,foroneofmy

species.Thepassionsofmyyouthhadlongsincefaded.Whatwillhappento-totherealHeywoodFloyd?’

‘Youarebothequallyreal.Buthewillsoondie,neverknowingthathehasbecomeimmortal.’

‘Aparadox -but I understand. If that emotion survives, perhapsoneday Imaybegrateful.

ShouldIthankyou-ortheMonolith?TheDavidBowmanImetalifetimeagodidnotpossessthesepowers.’

‘Hedidnot;muchhashappenedinthattime.HalandIhavelearnedmanythings.’

‘Hal!Ishehere?’‘Iam,DrFloyd.Ididnotexpect thatweshouldmeetagain-especially in

thisfashion.‘Echoingyouwasaninterestingproblem.’‘Echoing?Oh-Isee.Whydidyoudoit?’‘Whenwe received yourmessage,Hal and I knew that you could help us

here.’‘Help-you?’‘Yes, though you may think it strange. You have much knowledge and

experiencethatwelack.‘Callitwisdom.’‘Thankyou.Wasitwiseofmetoappearbeforemygrandson?’‘No:itcausedmuchinconvenience.Butitwascompassionate.Thesematters

mustbeweighedagainsteachother.’‘Yousaidthatyouneededmyhelp.Forwhatpurpose?’‘Despiteallthatwehavelearned,thereisstillmuchthateludesus.Halhas

beenmappingtheinternalsystemsoftheMonolith,andwecancontrolsomeofthesimplerones.Itisatool,servingmanypurposes.Itsprimefunctionappearstobeasacatalystofintelligence.’

‘Yes-thathadbeensuspected.Buttherewasnoproof.’

‘There is, now thatwecan tap itsmemories -or someof them. InAfrica,fourmillionyearsago,itgaveatribeofstarvingapestheimpetusthatledtothehuman species.Now it has repeated the experiment here - but at an appallingcost.

‘WhenJupiterwasconvertedintoasun,sothat thisworldcouldrealizeitspotential,anotherbiospherewasdestroyed.Letmeshowittoyou,asIoncesawit...’

Even as he fell through the roaring heart of theGreat Red Spot, with thelightning of its continentwide thunderstorms detonating around him, he knewwhy it had persisted for centuries, though it was made of gases far lesssubstantialthanthosethatformedthehurricanesofEarth.

Thethinscreamofhydrogenwindfadedashesankintothecalmerdepths,andasleetofwaxensnowflakes-somealreadycoalescingintobarelypalpablemountains of hydrocarbon foam - descended from the heights above, It wasalreadywarmenough for liquidwater toexist, but therewerenooceanshere;thispurelygaseousenvironmentwastootenuoustosupportthem.

Hedescendedthroughlayerafterlayerofcloud,untilheenteredaregionofsuchclaritythatevenhumanvisioncouldhavescannedanareamorethanfivehundredmilesacross. Itwasonlyaminoreddyin thevastergyreof theGreatRedSpot;anditheldasecretthatmenhadlongguessed,butneverproved.

Skirtingthefoothillsofthedriftingfoammountainsweremyriadsofsmall,sharply defined clouds, all about the same size and patternedwith similar redandbrownmottlings.Theyweresmallonlyascomparedwiththeinhumanscaleoftheirsurroundings;theveryleastwouldhavecoveredafair-sizedcity.

Theywereclearlyalive,fortheyweremovingwithslowdeliberationalongtheflanksoftheaerialmountains,browsingofftheirslopeslikecolossalsheep.Andtheywerecallingtoeachotherintheyardband,theirradiovoicesfaintbutclearagainstthecracklingsandconcussionsofJupiteritself.

Nothing less than living gasbags, they floated in the narrow zone betweenfreezingheightsandscorchingdepths.Narrow,yes-butadomainfarlargerthanallthebiosphereofEarth.

Theywerenotalone.Movingswiftlyamongstthemwereothercreatures,sosmallthattheycouldeasilyhavebeenoverlooked.Someofthemboreanalmostuncannyresemblancetoterrestrialaircraft,andwereofaboutthesamesize.Butthey too were alive - perhaps predators, perhaps parasites, perhaps evenherdsmen.

And there were jet-propelled torpedoes like the squids of the terrestrial

oceans, hunting and devouring the huge gasbags. But the balloons were notdefenceless; some of them fought back with electric thunderbolts and withclawedtentacleslikemile-longchainsaws.

There were even stranger shapes, exploiting almost every possibility ofgeometry - bizarre, translucent kites, tetrahedra, spheres, polyhedra, tangles oftwisted ribbons... The gigantic plankton of the Jovian atmosphere, they weredesignedtofloatlikegossamerintheuprisingcurrents,untiltheyhadlivedlongenough to reproduce; then they would be swept down into the depths to becarbonizedandrecycledinanewgeneration.

HewassearchingaworldmorethanahundredtimestheareaofEarth,andthoughhesawmanywonders,therewasnothingherethathintedofintelligence.Theradiovoicesofthegreatballoonscarriedonlysimplemessagesofwarningorof fear.Even thehunters,whomighthavebeenexpected todevelophigherdegrees of organization, were like the sharks in Earth's oceans - mindlessautomata.

Andforallitsbreathtakingsizeandnovelty,thebiosphereofJupiterwasafragileworld,aplaceofmistsandfoam,ofdelicatesilkenthreadsandpaper-thintissuesspunfromthecontinualsnowfallofpetrochemicalsformedbylightningintheupperatmosphere.Fewofitsconstructsweremoresubstantialthansoapbubbles;itsmostterrifyingpredatorscouldbetorntoshredsbyeventhefeeblestofterrestrialcarnivores.

‘Andallthesewondersweredestroyed-tocreateLucifer?’‘Yes.The Jovianswereweighed in thebalanceagainst theEuropans - and

foundwanting.‘Perhaps,inthatgaseousenvironment,theycouldneverhavedevelopedreal

intelligence.Shouldthathavedoomedthem?HalandIarestilltryingtoanswerthisquestion;thatisoneofthereasonswhyweneedyourhelp.’

‘But how can wematch ourselves against theMonolith - the devourer ofJupiter?’

‘Itisonlyatool:ithasvastintelligence-butnoconsciousness.Despiteallitspowers-you,HalandIareitssuperior.’

‘Ifindthatveryhardtobelieve.Inanyevent-somethingmusthavecreatedtheMonolith.’

‘Imet itonce-orasmuchof itasIcouldface-whenDiscoverycametoJupiter.ItsentmebackasIamnow,toserveitspurposeontheseworlds.Ihaveheardnothingofitsince;nowwearealone-atleastforthepresent.’

‘Ifindthatreassuring.TheMonolithisquitesufficient.’‘Butnowthereisagreaterproblem.Somethinghasgonewrong.’‘IdidnotthinkIcouldstillexperiencefear...’‘WhenMountZeusfell,itcouldhavedestroyedthiswholeworld.Itsimpact

wasunplanned-indeed,unplannable.Nocalculationscouldhavepredictedsuchanevent.ItdevastedvastareasoftheEuropanseabed,wipingoutwholespecies- including some for which we had high hopes. The Monolith itself wasoverturned.Itmayevenhavebeendamaged-itsprogramscorrupted.Certainlythey failed to cover all contingencies; howcould they, in aUniversewhich isalmostinfinite,andwhereChancecanalwaysundothemostcarefulplanning?’

‘Thatistrue-formenandmonolithsalike.’‘We three must be the administrators of the unforeseen, as well as the

guardiansofthisworld.AlreadyyouhavemettheAmphibians;youhavestilltoencountertheSilicon-armouredtappersofthelavastreams,andtheFloaterswhoareharvestingthesea.Ourtaskistohelpthemfindtheirfullpotential-perhapshere,perhapselsewhere.’

‘Andwhatofmankind?’‘TherehavebeentimeswhenIwastemptedtomeddleinhumanaffairs-but

thewarningthatwasgiventomankindappliesalsotome.’‘Wehavenotobeyeditverywell.’‘But well enough. Meanwhile there is much to do, before Europa's brief

summerends,andthelongwintercomesagain.’‘Howmuchtimedowehave?’‘Littleenough;barelyathousandyears.AndwemustremembertheJovians.’

IX

3001

60

MidnightinthePlaza

The famous building, towering in solitary splendour above the woods ofcentralManhattan,hadchangedlittleinathousandyears.Itwaspartofhistory,andhadbeenreverentlypreserved.

Likeallhistoricmonuments, it had longagobeencoatedwithamicrothin

layerofdiamond,andwasnowvirtuallyimpervioustotheravagesoftime.Anyone who had attended early meetings of the General Assembly could

never have guessed thatmore than a thousand years had passed. Theymight,however,havebeenintriguedbythefeaturelessblackslabstandinginthePlaza,almostmimicking theshapeof theUNbuilding itself. If - likeeveryoneelse-theyhadreachedouttotouchit-theywouldhavebeenpuzzledbythestrangewayinwhichtheirfingersskitteredoveritsebonsurface.

Buttheywouldhavebeenfarmorepuzzled-indeed,completelyoverawed-bythetransformationoftheheavens.

Thelasttouristshadleftanhourago,andthePlazawasutterlydeserted.Theskywascloudless,andafewofthebrighterstarswerejustvisible;allthefainteroneshadbeenroutedbythetinysunthatcouldshineatmidnight.

The light of Lucifer gleamed not only on the black glass of the ancientbuilding,butalsoupon thenarrow,silvery rainbowspanning thesouthernsky.Other lightsmoved along and around it, very slowly, as the commerce of theSolarSystemcameandwentbetweenalltheworldsofbothitssuns.

And ifone lookedverycarefully, itwas justpossible tomakeout the thinthreadofthePanamaTower,oneofthesixumbilicalcordsofdiamondlinkingEarthanditsscatteredchildren,soaringtwenty-sixthousandmilesupfromtheequatortomeettheRingaroundtheWorld.

Suddenly,almostasswiftlyasifithadbeenborn,Luciferbegantofade.Thenight thatmenhadnotknownfor thirtygenerationsfloodedback into thesky.Thebanishedstarsreturned.

Andforthesecondtimeinfourmillionyears,theMonolithawoke.

Acknowledgements

MyspecialthankstoLarrySessionsandGerrySnyderforprovidingmewiththepositionsofHalley'sCometonitsnextappearance.TheyarenotresponsibleforanymajororbitalperturbationsIhaveintroduced.

I am particularly grateful to Marvin Ross of the Lawrence LivermoreNationalLaboratory,notonlyforhisstunningconceptofdiamond-coreplanets,butalsoforcopiesofhis(Ihope)historicpaperonthesubject.

ItrustthatmyoldfriendDrLuisAlvarezwillenjoymywildextrapolationofhisresearches,andthankhimformuchhelpandinspirationoverthepastthirty-fiveyears.

Special thankstoNASA'sGentryLee-mycoauthoronCradle-forhand-carrying from Los Angeles to Colombo the Kaypro 2000 lap-portable whichallowedme towrite this book in various exotic and - evenmore important -secludedlocations.

Chapters 5, 58 and 59 are partly based on material adapted from 2010:OdysseyTwo. (If an author cannot plagiarize himself,who can he plagiarize?)Finally,IhopethatCosmonautAlexeiLeonovhasnowforgivenmeforlinkinghim with Dr Andrei Sakharov (still exiled in Gorky when 2010 was jointlydedicatedtothem).AndIexpressmysincereregretstomygenialMoscowhostandeditorVasiliZharchenkoforgettinghimintodeeptroublebyborrowingthenames of various dissidents - most of them, I am happy to say, no longerimprisoned.Oneday, I hope, the subscribers toTekhnikaMolodezhycan readtheinstalmentsof2010whichsomysteriouslydisappeared.

Colombo,SriLanka25April1987*--------------------* Something strange has happened: Iwas under the impression that Iwas

writingfiction,butImayhavebeenwrong.Forconsiderthefollowingsequenceofevents:

1. In 2010: Odyssey Two the spaceship Leonov was powered by the

SakharovDrive.2. Now, half a century later (Chapter 8), spaceships are powered by the

muon-catalysed, ‘cold fusion' reaction discovered byLuisAlvarez et al in thel950s.(SeetheautobiographyAlvarez:BasicBooks,NY,1987.)

3. According to the LondonTimes, 17 August 1987, Dr Sakharov is nowworking on nuclear power production based on... muon-catalysed, or "cold"fusion,whichexploitsthepropertiesofanexotic,short-livedelementaryparticlerelated to the electron... Advocates of "cold fusion" point out that all the keyreactionsworkbestatjust900degreescentigrade...’

Inowawait,withgreat interest,commentsfromNobelLaureatesSakharovandAlvarezontherolesIhavegiventhem.

ArthurC.Clarke30September1987