A Simple Truth (10 page)

Fortunately the contact turned out to be straightforward.  Ruala was at work in his office so there was no need to leave a message or a callback code.  Ruala took the news very well.  He considered that the effects were certainly accidental and probably less severe than Geoff had feared, but promised to take the necessary action.  He explained that three telescopes were receiving the transmissions for twenty
-
four hour coverage and then relaying them to all parts of the w
orld; t
he Helsinki University telescope, Parkes Radio Observatory in New South Wales, and the Texas State Observatory near San Antonio.  He was sure that a discreet call to the directors would set the wheels in motion to filter out the harmful pulses and leave the rest so that the world in general would not notice the difference.

Geoff was surprised at how easy it had been to tal
k to Ruala.  He knew about real
time transcription systems of course but had not experienced their use before.  If he hadn't known otherwise he would have thought that Ruala could hear perfectly well.
  He
was
also
very reassured by
Ruala's
reaction.  Who knew what sort of panic could have been triggered if he had obeyed his first impulse to broadcast the news as far and as wide as possible?  This way if all worked out as planned there would be no chance of any unnecessary alarm.  Then when people were back to normal Dent could be told and the Procyon Group
decide
on further action if any.

Things were not to work out quite as planned however.  In only ten day's time he would bitterly regret not having obeyed that very first impulse.

7
   
A
nomalies

Geoff stood up and walked over to Jean at the control console.  "Did you hear all that
?"
he asked breezily.

"Oh, what... no not all
,
"
s
he replied, preoccupied with her calculation.

"I don't
know
,
a major event like this and you would rather crunch numbers."  He was quite relaxed now.  He let Sergio take over the
communication
console and began to leave, intending to buy Dag a drink as compensation for having put him through his ordeal.  Just as he got to the door Jean stopped him.

"Geoff, check these figures will you?"

"Not more checks surely?"  He was not in the mood for more puzzles right now.

"I've recalculated the signal source during that last transmission and the figures don't make any sense at all."

"Did headquarters give permission
?"
asked Geoff in surprise

Jean looked sheepish.  "Well no, but the
y haven't slapped my wrists yet.  A
nyway something must be wrong with these results."

Geoff punched in the co-ordinates of source and star and proceeded to calculate the
separation
.

"This shows a separation of seventeen seconds of arc so at
eleven light years that's
...
ah
...
over
eight billion kilometres out from the star laterally; and that's nonsense, only two weeks ago it was
way
out
on the other side, there's no way it could move so much, there has to be an error somewhere."

"But it is consistent with the transmission being received
so much later than expected
,
" Jean pointed out.

"Oh
?"
murmured Geoff, beginning to take a bit more interest.  He recalled the countdown and remembered smiling to himself when the predicted start had been too early.  It was certainly not like Jean to miscalculat
e the time for signal reception; t
wo errors, each consistent with the other, s
ignalled
a very significant development.

He looked again at the co-ordinates.

"Yes
,
I see what you mean, the source as indicated here would lag behind Procyon over the horizon, and seventeen seconds of arc
is certainly enough to be
measurable
in
time
."  He considered this for a moment.

"Dag wondered if it could be some sort of moving transmitter.  It's not moving naturally that's certain, but then again why is it so far out?
  Perhaps there's more than one source.
"

"I shall have to request confirmation of thes
e figures from one of the earth-
based stations
,"
said Jean with determination.

"Call Don Higham will you Sergio?"

Sergio did as requested without comment.  Don Higham, director of the observatory was not a man likely to take such a direct contact lightly.  He was a stickler for protocol and the proper procedure was a request with full explanation to Data Branch at the WSA where it would be considered and answered in due course.  Still Sergio knew better than to question Jean's judgement in a matter like this.  But he felt sure that Don Higham would not see the same intrigue in the odd source observations or the need for urgency in confirming the results.  A very puzzled Sergio vacated his seat a few minutes later when Don Higham
answered
.

"Don's on the line now Jean," he said, and holding the 'mute' key added
,
"
y
ou
seem to have caught him in a good mood."

"Hello Don, Jean Forsyth Here, over
"

"Hello Jean, nice to hear from you again, everything OK I hope?"  Higham's voice was uncharacteristically hearty.

Jean too was unprepared for this
reception;
she gave Sergio a quick look of amazement and then resumed her conversation.

It seemed that Don would be delighted to make the necessary
arrangements;
he was only too pleased to be able to help.  Of course Jean was concerned about such
results;
she had every reason to be and was right to request confirmation.  Jean had to be sure to let him know if there was anything else he could do to help.  He wished all the team well, chatted for a while about this and that and then signed off with an assurance that he would let her know as soon as he had any news.

"Well, what do you make of that
?"
a
sked
Jean.

"I thought you'd get your head bitten off
,"
grinned Sergio.

"It just shows how this music has affected everyone
,"
added Geoff gravely.

"Well if that's the effect then I'm all for it
,"
replied Jean in defiance of Geoff's disapproval.  Geoff didn't reply, but looked thoughtful.  "Seriously Geoff, if everyone is easier to live with then is it such a bad thing?"

"I don't know
,"
said Geoff slowly.  "It's an abnormal state, the immediate effect might be good but who can say what the long term effects might be, or if there will be permanent damage to the brain from prolonged exposure."

"I suppose you're right
,"
she conceded.  "But I still think anything that can turn Don Higham into a pleasant man can't be all bad.  I was expecting to be torn off a strip for using the number three to check the position in the first place."

About half an hour later the console sprang into life again with Don's cheerful voice.

"Hi Sergio
,
Jean around?"  Jean went over to speak to him.  "Afraid it
'
s going to be over a week before Yakutsk can check your results.  It's the only place with control of a powerful enough interferometer that can do the job in less than a month.  It's manning that's the problem.  So many people are away on vacation.  Anyway I'll try to gee them up a bit for you, I'll let you know as soon as I have your data."

"OK thanks Don, I was hoping for something sooner but I suppose it can't be helped.  Thanks again for your trouble, out."

"Over a week!"
s
he exclaimed in disgust.  "That's just plain stupid, it only needs about ten minute's work to set up the co-ordinates, then about half a minute for the measurements and it's done.  Geoff's right, the music is making people neglect their duties."  Sergio just shrugged.  Frustration was becoming a way of life up here.

***************

Doctor Arnold Penrose was the youngest ever Director of the New South Wales Radio Observatory, and his looks made him appe
ar even younger than his thirty-
two years.  He had a fresh clear complexion, a rather thin wiry frame and a mop of obstinate ginger hair that grew its own way despite many attempts to force one or other style upon it.  Sometimes young children were heard to ask about the 'big boy' that was showing visitors around the place.

His youthful appearance masked a mature and capable personality.  He had the respect of most of his workforce young and old alike, and displayed an understanding of human nature unusual for his age.  He was taking supper when his
communicator
signalled that he was needed in his office.  He felt a little annoyed but complied resignedly.  He quickly grabbed a tray to carry his food and coffee, this might be a long job and he had no wish to leave a good meal uneaten.  He fully expected to find a pair of his colleagues at each other's throats.  Usually when a call of this kind occurred it was to settle some difference or resolve a conflict of interests.  Dedicated researchers knew of nothing more important than their immediate problems and if two equally determined investigators needed a piece of equipment at the same time then no matter what time of day or night it happened to be and no matter whether the experimental results were needed in an hour or in ten years the matter had to be settled immediately.

He was surprised therefore to find his room completely empty.  He set his tray down on the table, helped himself to a mouthful of coffee and waited, expecting someone else to appear very soon.  He was just about to leave when he noticed a vi
ewing screen
light flashing.  There should have been a buzzer but he had disabled that a month ago to prevent the interruption of a meeting.  It was some time since the facility had last been used and it had been pushed ignominiously into a corner.  In fact the
screen
was facing the wa
ll and he had to move some half-
built test equipment and various instruments before he could even reach the thing.  It was lucky he had seen the light at all with so much around to obscure it.  He made a mental note to tidy the place up a bit.  Eventually he reached the unit and orientated it correctly whereupon Jay Ruala's head and smiling face appeared in front of him.

"Hello Arnold, I was beginning to wonder where I was, I could only see
a wall and some junk on a bench,
" he
remarked with a laugh.

"Yes, sorry about that, things tend to become a little untidy round here sometimes." 

"Have you listened to much music recently?"
Ruala
asked, innocently enough.

"Very little Jay, we relay it all over the world of course and some never miss a session but I find it interferes with work too much."

"Good."  He then informed him of the subliminal pulses, the events at
Mendeleev
and the plan to inform as few people as possible but to arrange for the harmful pulses to be removed.  Penrose listened without comment until Ruala had finished.

"Well, what do you think
?"
he asked.

"Yes I agree there is a need
for as much secrecy as possible.  W
e don't want a panic but if I make arrangements for certain parts to be cut out a lot of the staff here are bound to know about it and there are sure to be information leaks.  Have you told the other stations yet?"

"No, you're the first. 
I wanted to explain to you then I was hoping you might pass on the word to the others." 

"Yes I s
ee, yes I can certainly do that;
leave it with me will you?  I'll have to think about how best to go about things."

Ruala was happy to leave everything in Penrose's hands.  He knew that he could be counted on to handle things tactfully and without fuss.  When Jay had gone Penrose called up his opposite numbers in Helsinki and Texas.  Carl Hoghton did not take at all kindly to being asked to attend an unscheduled teleconference at five in the morning and let Penrose know it.  He calmed down when he heard the reason though and was soon immersed in the discussion as to what to do about it.  Even though he was an ardent fan of the transmission the news sufficiently alarmed him to agree that immediate action was necessary.  Penrose was glad to find that Risto Louko was his normal agreeable
self;
his cheerful response was a welcome contrast to his prickly reception with Hoghton.