Jupiter's Reef (3 page)

Alex stared at Mary for a moment, wondering if she was serious. His expression forced a laugh from her.

“Very funny,” he said. “So do we go to Isidis or not?”

“We hit the ice dune pretty hard,” she said. “I think we need to check her out if we’re headed to Earth.”

From below them two hyperscooters, little scout ships favored by MarsCorp Patrol, came up on either side of
Diver
. Matching her speed and heading, they flanked the ship, dipping up and down like dragonflies watching prey. Alex could see the pilots examining
Diver
for signs of damage. Finally they broke an apparent radio silence with a terse report.

“MarsCorp Patrol Isidis Sector ... You look okay ...
Diver
. You’re cleared ... to land at Isidis. Follow current heading.”

“Nice of you guys to come and check us over,” radioed Alex.

“Nothing nice about it,” whispered Mary. “If we weren’t fit to land and tried it, they’d shoot us down. Remember, Alex, this is Mars and any ship is a potential threat to the Project.”

“You’re kidding,” said Alex, making sure his radio was off. “What could WE do? Nick a hole in a terraforming steam tower?”

“There’s big resistance to the Project,” said Mary. “MarsCorp has a policy and that’s it. All threats are dealt with equally.”

“Harsh,” said Alex, shaking his head. “Very harsh!”

He looked at the little ships that were tracking
Diver
. He could easily see that their underbellies were bristling with weapons pods.

“They do this often?” he asked.

“It’s standard response for anything out of the norm. And our little emergency might just as easily be a ruse. They weren’t so much checking us for damage as looking for weapons.”

Alex shook his head. “I feel like a convict already,” he grumbled.

He thought for a minute and raised a finger. “Well okay, then, What about our friends out there? They’re bristling with weapons and some of them are pretty powerful, I’ll bet.”

“Right,” she said. “The terraformers don’t trust anyone. Those are special clones running the scouts. They’ve been ... altered.”

3
Isidis beacons nabbed
Diver
’s circuitry and guided her to a landing, so once more Alex and Mary found themselves sequestered at a spaceport on Mars.

The base, like Cydonia, was largely underground. Near it two kilometer tall Terraform towers loomed on the horizon. Each was sending up a huge plume of white cloud that dissipated in the thin Martian air.

Alex and Mary, dressed in quarantine suits, sat in an observation deck and looked out at the landscape. In the distance Alex thought he saw a patch of greenery. He pointed to it but Mary’s sharper eyes saw that it was a greenhouse covered with a barely visible aerogel canopy. She told him it was just one of thousands of surface nurseries that held Mars’ future forests waiting in the wings. The flat water-rich plains of the northern 40th parallel had proven more bounteous than the terraformers expected, but they were still far from releasing the forests.

“Oh,” said Alex. “Greenhouses. Well, nice to see some green out there anyway.”

A Com-Bot flew up to Alex and hovered an arm’s length away from him.

“MESSAGE FOR ... ALEX ROSE.”

Alex examined the tiny machine. Its spherical shell gave no clue to its workings. For all he could see it was just a wire mesh ball. But Alex knew them from Io. They were personal pagers owned and operated by MarsCorp.

“Sent to do a man’s job, eh, bud?” said Alex with a slight sneer. “Okay, I’m Alex Rose. What’s the message?”

There was a soft whirring sound as the globe slowly rolled over. Then it froze in the air and said: “PROFESSOR JOHN BALTADONIS SENDS HIS REGARDS AND CONGRATS ON YOUR SAFE LANDING. HE’S ON HIS WAY FROM THARSIS BIO CENTER AND WILL ARRIVE WITHIN THE HOUR.”

“Good news travels fast. But bad news ... that moves at the speed of light.” said Alex.

“WILL THERE BE A RETURN MESSAGE? IF SO A ... FOUR CREDIT POINT ... CHARGE WILL BE ADDED TO YOUR SPACEPORT BILL ... ALEX ROSE.”

“No ... well, okay ...” Alex stammered. His mind raced as he searched for the words.

“Tell Professor Baltadonis thanks ... and that we’d be glad to meet him,” said Mary.

The metal ball moved to in front of Mary. It seemed to be scanning her in some fashion.

“Tell the Professor what she said,” quipped Alex.

“WILL YOU BE ADDING MORE TO THE MESSAGE ... ALEX ROSE?”

“What she said is fine,” said Alex.

“MINIMUM CHARGE ALLOWS THIRTY SECOND MESSAGE TIME ... YOU HAVE USED ... SEVEN SECONDS. IS THERE MORE YOU WISH TO ADD?”

“That’s it,” said Alex. “And reverse the charges!”

“THERE IS A FOUR CREDIT CHARGE TO YOUR ACCOUNT ... ALEX ROSE.”

A sudden wind gust from tiny unseen engines tossed Mary’s white hair as the ball accelerated and vanished around a corner.

“Dingers, I hate those things,” said Alex. “Why not just call us?”

“Radio is monitored,” answered Mary.

“And those things are secure? You must be kidding.”

Mary nodded. “They have no radio. Or so I’m told,” she added with a smile.

Alex put an arm around Mary, and they leaned back in the lounge chair together and stared out at the rusty landscape. The sun sank in a pale purple sky. A few kilometers away, the lights came on in Isidis Spaceport’s western launch complex. A moment later a brilliant ruby beam of light extended from it. The beam played back and forth at high speed.

“Cool,” said Alex. “We’ll get to see a launch.”

“They’re powering the mass driver. The light’s a warning.”

As they watched, the beam continued to project its narrow fan into the sky. A minute or so passed before they finally saw a blue-white dot of light move up from the ground and follow the red beam into space. Alex reckoned
Diver
looked very much like that when it lifted off from Cydonia a few hours before.

He sighed and tightened his grip on Mary’s shoulder. She leaned her silky hair against his ear. “Everything looks so ... safe,” she said. “I love the twilight. The blue at the end of the day.”

“No offense to your mother planet, my dear,” said Alex. “But wait ’til you see Earth.”

Alex had been handed a spaceport com card that identified him and Mary as temporary tenants of MarsCorp Isidis. He’d been told to keep the card on his person. Alex had forgotten it completely and was leaning over to kiss Mary when the thing buzzed him.

“Dingers,” Alex shouted as he pulled the card from his shirt pocket and jabbed it with an angry finger. “I hate these ...”

“SPACEPORT REPAIR ESTIMATES FIVE HOURS UNTIL YOUR SHIP IS READY FOR FLIGHT ... MISTER ROSE.” said the card.

The card was a one way system, except that it requested Alex’s acknowledgment. Alex looked at the card. A small blue outlined square on the card’s black side flashed with cool yellow light. On it were tiny letters that said ‘PRESS AFTER MESSAGE’. Alex jabbed a finger at it and put it back in his pocket. Then he hung his head.

“Mars is really putting a poker in my ass,” he said.

“And what a nice ass, it is,” said Mary. “Furry, I might add.”

Alex smiled, but begrudgingly. “You haven’t mentioned the Professor.”

“You first,” said Mary.

“I guess he’s got us ... in a way. And in a way I feel guilty about stiffing him. He got me the ship ... and we were even. He turned me in ... I blew him off. Fair’s fair.”

“Do men always keep score?” asked Mary.

“Always,” said Alex.

A familiar voice behind them roared.

“We meet again!” it said, loud enough to attract the attention of most of the people in the lounge. “Heard there was a bug in your ship.”

Professor John Baltadonis, the only scientist so far aware of Alex and Mary’s discovery, stood next to an artificial palm tree. Only Alex rose from his seat. “Actually a sulphur beetle.”

“Okay,” said the Professor. “And you were testing the ship ... right? I guess your reef monsters did more damage to your ship than you reckoned.”

Several people in nearby seats looked over at them.

“It was a sulphur beetle from Io. Let’s keep it down, shall we?” requested Alex. “Where’s your daughter?”

“Back at Cydonia. Somewhere. Don’t know.”

The graying Professor, dressed in lumberjack shirt and brown overalls, seemed freshly stained with greenhouse soil.

“Left the house in a hurry?” said Alex.

“Heard you landed here. I wasn’t too far away, fortunately, and ...”

Johnny let out a long sigh and looked into Alex’s eyes.

“That’s not really what brings me here. I had a meeting with a Polar study group. In the spaceport arboretum. We planted shrubs. Now I’ll be done with that and ready for the ... our trip.”

Alex looked at the Professor darkly.

“I don’t like being shaken down or manipulated, Professor,” said Alex. “But ... do we have a choice? You put your mind to it ... use some pull with the Project ... could screw us up good. Maybe take it all.”

The old man seemed surprised at Alex’s directness. His hands raised defensively.

“Whoa,” he said. “May I sit?”

Alex nodded, so the Professor chose a vacant seat next to Mary. Her eyes never left him.

Despite her cold stare, he seemed relatively at ease. He raised his arm and a service robot came over to him, floating above them much like the Com-Bot that delivered a message earlier. The old man ordered coffee and then asked Mary and Alex if they wanted anything.

“Two coffees, would be great,” said Alex.

Mary Seventeen nodded but remained silent, watching the Professor’s every move.

The robot flashed a green light and repeated the Professor’s order, then it floated away toward another group where a man was waving his arm.

“You seem at home, ordering robots around. Is that the usual way to send mail?”

“It’s the official way ... if you want security.”

Alex raised an eyebrow. “Security,” he said. “I see.”

Professor Baltadonis looked around the room. When his eyes returned to Alex his expression had changed. He looked almost desperate.

“You know, Alex. You taught me a lesson,” said the Professor. “A lesson in honesty. I never ... took anything before. I hope things can be straight between us. Because it’s the only way for real science to function. I want to share in it, Alex. I want to study the data and prepare the material for Professor Stubbs to see. I want to be part of the group that studies the reef.”

The stars outside the observation lounge were unusually bright. Whatever dust that may have been lingering from the storms of summer had blown away in the crisp Martian night. In the distance another laser beacon came on. Alex couldn’t tear his eyes away from the mouth of the mass driver. Finally he saw the blue flash of starship afterburner and he watched the light climb into the sky. As Johnny talked about his sincerity and purpose, Alex watched the tiny light fade into the starry background. The bright orange dot of a small Martian moon tracked brightly above the horizon.

Johnny was still talking. Alex held up his hand and cut him off.

“It won’t do you any good, Johnny,” said Alex. “And it’s not doing you any harm either. The truth is that we seem to need each other. I need my ship. You need some ... exciting science. Isn’t that right?”

Old Johnny nodded.

“But all we have is some data. That’s not much to hold up to MarsCorp ... or IoCorp ...”

“Or the Terraforming Project,” added Mary, looking at the iridescent ‘T’ on the Professor’s corporate ID badge. “I appreciate that you have no radio... at least one that’s operating. There’s one in your pocket that’s receiving line instructions from ... Cydonia, I think.”

The Professor gawked at Mary. “You can tell all that? I had no idea that sensors were so sensitive.”

“You have a recorder ... but it’s not on,” said Mary, grinning.

“I do not have one,” protested the old man. “How do you ...?”

Mary’s laughter told him she was joking.

John Baltadonis reached into his jacket and pulled out a black object and laid it on the table. “My noter. It’s not recording. You can see that.”

“Straight up?” Alex leaned back in his chair and glanced out the window. The mass driver in the distance was dark. Without the lasers Mars had reverted to its true desolate self. The starry night above enclosed the spaceport like a thick sparkling blanket.

A robotic service cart came toward them from an opening in the wall, not far away. The wall, fabricated to look like a forest of bamboo, hid the service opening perfectly as soon as the cart cleared it.

A few moments later it was dispensing three coffees with synthcreme and sweets, just the way Alex liked it. Alex picked up his cup and eyed the coffee, then he took a sip.

“Tell me, Professor,” said Alex. “How did it feel to learn we’d left for Earth?”

“You left for ... Earth?” The Professor nearly spilled his coffee.

Alex looked at Mary and she seemed just as puzzled by Johnny’s remark.

Alex withheld a smile and eyed Johnny, waiting for the hint that he was joking. But it never came. Silence hung over them like the night outside. Then Alex laughed, softly at first, then it overtook him. Mary had never seen him laugh so hard and for a moment she looked worried.

Finally he had to breathe. “You ... you’re serious, aren’t you?” he managed to say.

“What difference does it make?” answered Johnny. “Are you saying that you really DID leave ... take off ... for Earth?”

Alex stopped laughing and looked at Mary Seventeen. She wasn’t laughing either.

“Of course we were taking off for Earth,” admitted Alex, suddenly feeling strangely stupid. “Are you telling me you didn’t think that?”

“Well ... we agreed!” said the Professor, his voice tinged with anger. “Do I have to explain that I’m good to word?”

“Good to word? Meaning you never lie?” asked Alex, almost taunting the Professor.

Until now Mary had remained mute. But she’d heard enough. “Alex. This is Mars. He isn’t kidding.” She looked for a second at his startled reaction, then with a hint of sympathy and a slight smile she took his hand. “I have been away too long,” she said. “Terraformers live and breathe the project. Their life is for the betterment of Mars. They have to live with each other, generally for a lifetime ...”