Jupiter's Reef (34 page)

“I didn’t get that,” said Matt. “If Alex didn’t say anything, how do you know what he thought?”

Mary realized she’d put her foot in it and now had to cover her tracks. But she was good at it. She laughed. “Oh, I don’t, of course, but I know him pretty well, you know what I mean.”

“Oh, I see what you mean,” said Matt.

Connie Tsu cut in. “Jeez, Matt, what kind of question was that? Do you think Mary’s a mind reader?”

“Of course not,” he said. “I just didn’t know what she meant.”

“It’s not important,” said Mary. “Anyway, Alex managed to figure out how to get to Tony and the rest was luck, I guess.”

“What are those shapes out in the darkness?” asked Jeanne Warren.

“Are they the clicker men? I think I can hear them on the speakers,” said Tsu.

“They’re all around us. Watching all the time. There were four of them outside when Tony fell.”

“Do you think they were somehow responsible for the springing of the hatch?” asked Matt.

“That’s ridiculous,” interrupted Tsu. “First, how could they do anything without hands? And, second, how could they know how the hatch worked if they never saw it used?”

“Well, there
was
a clicker man just outside the hatch when it blew,” offered Warren.

“Mary, did you understand the question?” said Matt.

“Yes, Matt,” said Mary. “Warren’s right. There were clicker men outside at the time. But I doubt if there was any connection. No one checked the seal when the Gannys left the ship.”

“The Gannys left it open?”

“No. I didn’t mean that. We didn’t check the seal. There’s no way to tell whose fault it was. The point is moot, anyway. It’s over now and Tony is safely in his cubby, asleep.”

“What did the clicker men do when Tony fell?” asked Warren.

“They disappeared. And they haven’t come near the ship since.”

“I’ve been studying your trace on our radar,” said Matt. “There are shadows some distance from your ship and they’re keeping their distance. Looks like a ring of them.”

“A ring?”

“In a circle, maybe a hundred meters from you,” said Matt. “It’s hard to tell since the return is pretty fuzzy.”

The conversation continued until the signal from the
Cornwall
started to degrade. “I’ll review the downloads of the incident and get back to you. Glad everybody’s in good shape.”

When the Gannys’ transmission ended Mary toyed with the radar to see if she could tell what the clicker men were doing. But she had no experience with it and eventually gave up trying. She felt tired and Tony and Johnny’s snoring didn’t help. So she got herself a coffee and fed her kitten.

Part 9

1
“Why didn’t you wake us up?” said Johnny, sounding annoyed.

“You needed sleep. They downloaded the incident from our log and they’re watching it now. Next pass you can discuss it wall you want but I figured all you’d do would be to rehash what they’ll be seeing. A body needs sustained sleep to be rested. You know that.”

“Well,” said Johnny rubbing his eyes, “I had some data to discuss with Matt.”

Mary looked at the Professor and folded her arms across her chest. “Okay. Well, a thank you would have been nice, Professor, but failing that I’ll take the same consideration during my nap. Which I intend to take right now.”

Johnny sat sideways in his chair with his elbows on his knees. “Christ,” he said, burying his head in his hands.

Alex was still asleep. Mary looked at him and frowned.

“I’m sorry, Professor. I’ve just been listening to all of you snore for the last two hours. It wasn’t pleasant. I should tell you, though, that Matt detected a ring of clicker men about a hundred meters from the ship. The same ones our radar shows, I guess.” She added: “They’re still there.”

“I’m sure of that,” said Johnny. He looked at her and smiled. “You are an exceptional person. Mary Seventeen. Thanks for being considerate and sensible at the same time.”

“You’re welcome, Professor. In case you’re wondering, though, other sensors ... other Marys ... wouldn’t have necessarily done the same thing. We aren’t programmed no matter what the Corpies think. We have a unique will, shaped by experience. No two people, even clones, are totally alike.”

“Did I ask?”

“Probably,” said Mary, with a perfect smile.

“What do you think we should do next, Mary?” asked Johnny.

“That’s up to you.”

Johnny got up and went to the food panel for a squeezer of green tea.. Tony snored and coughed, then rolled over in his seat. Johnny looked back at him and smiled. “Amazing what that boy’s just gone through. Now look at him. Sleeping like a child.”

“I’d have lost it totally,” said Mary. “No doubt about it.”

“Sure you would,” said Johnny. He winked at her, then disappeared into the head.

Alex snorted and rolled over. Mary looked over at him and grinned, then she tucked the kitten into her lap. She stretched once, then fell asleep.

2
Tony continued to sleep after Alex awoke. He rubbed his eyes and looked over at Mary. She looked inviting, curled up with her kitten beside her. Alex wished he could slide the two seats together so he could at least put an arm around her. This time it wasn’t about sex. He missed her touch.

Johnny noticed Alex was awake and offered to get him a cup of coffee. “I was going to get some peppiza or a burgerwhopper.”

Alex brought his chair to an upright position and stared blankly at the holographic reef that surrounded him. Johnny had been playing with the radar so that the circling ring of clicker men could be seen quite clearly. They were no longer phantoms that moved just out of viewing range in the mist.

“They’re still at it,” Alex said.

Johnny saw Alex was watching the clicker men.

“Oh, them... yeah,” said Johnny. “Same old crap. Circling like Indians around a wagon train.”

Alex laughed. “When do you think they’ll attack, John Wayne?”

“At sundown,” said the Professor, barely cracking a smile.

Johnny looked over at Tony. “He’s still out and the
Cornwall
has been and gone.”

“Dingers,” said Alex. “We missed ’em?”

“Well, Mary didn’t. She downloaded Tony’s incident and our rescue. They’re probably watching us right now. She did a good job fielding the link so we could get some rest. When we get going again we might not get another chance to sleep until we get aboard
Cornwall
.”

Alex listened intently, sipping coffee, as Johnny filled him in. But his eyes kept being drawn back to the circling clicker men.

“We’ve got to sleep in shifts, like we planned,” he said. “Otherwise we’ll all start screwing up.”

“Yes, Alex, but you know things haven’t gone like we planned, in many ways.”

Alex sighed. “Yup,” he said. “But Mary and I have gotten it going here. Now that I’ve got someone to spell me it should be easy for you and Tony to do the same.”

“We’ll see.”

“So what’s the next step, Johnny?” asked Alex, getting out of his seat. He had to steady himself on the chair and test the gravity before he felt that it was safe to try and walk. Johnny had the null-gee generators running on high so the lifters could be shut down. They were almost weightless.

“We have to figure a way out of this cavern,” said Johnny. “According to my radar, the tunnel that brought us here is gone.”

“Just gone?” Alex scratched his head. “That’s spooky.”

Alex glanced at the system readouts that scrolled across a tiny blue screen on the dash and was pleased to see the null-gee generators were operating nominally. That meant
Diver
still had power to spare.

“Well, at least everything looks green,” said Alex, then he walked toward the head. “Time for my morning devotions.”

Johnny laughed. “How quaint. Well, while you’re in there, think about this. The radar mapper shows a large cavity, a tube, that runs near the opposite wall of this cavern.”

Alex noticed his image in the bathroom mirror and winced at his uncombed hair and the stubble on his face.

“Hold that thought, Johnny,” he said as he shut the door. “I need a shave. No need to look uncivilized.”

Fifteen minutes later the door opened and a cloud of steam preceded Alex into the cabin. Wearing a towel, he put his used jumpsuit in a wall-slot and pulled a new one from a hamper.

While Alex managed to get dressed in the low gravity, Johnny produced a holographic radar map of the reef. When Alex got back to his seat he was greeted by a different image than the one he’d been looking at since he’d told the computer to hold their position.

“What’s this, Johnny?” he asked.

“I thought it would help you pilot us out of here,” said the Professor. “It’s a three dimensional radar map of the reef, centered on our position. Look to your left, way out there, behind the other wall. You might make out the channel trace of the tunnel I spoke of.”

“I see it. Just barely,” said Alex. “Can you see where it leads or which way the air in it is moving?”

“No. Not really.”

“But it’s the only way out. Right?”

“Yup.”

Alex gripped the control stick and the engines came to life. “I assume you’re thinking we should punch through the wall?”

Johnny flipped a switch inside his bubble and the hologram that surrounded Alex changed to a combination of the radar and the optical image. “No time like the present. Ready when you are.”

“No need to wake up the crew, I guess?” asked Alex, looking at Mary who snoozed happily beside him in the copilot seat. Her kitten was curled up happily in her lap, snoring softly.

“I can’t think of any reason to wake them up, Alex,” said Johnny. “As Mary pointed out to me while you were asleep, we need to get a sleep shift going.”

“She said that?”

“No. Not in those words. But she made damn sure that I’d regret it if I interrupted her beauty sleep.”

Alex laughed. “That’s why I love her, Johnny. Full speed ahead?”

“Gently, my boy,” said Johnny. “We don’t want to upset the locals, remember.”

The clicker men scattered the moment
Diver
began to move. Alex and the Professor both marveled at the speed of their departure. In a very few seconds the ghostly radar traces of the clicker men broke ranks and were lost in background of the reef.

“Like a flock of birds,” said Johnny.

“Or a frightened crowd of people,” said Alex.

He pushed the stick a bit further forward and the ship picked up speed. All around them, bits of reef debris dislodged from the hull and floated away. Johnny commented that from the clicker men’s viewpoint the ship must have looked like a dark comet.

“Maybe we should electrify the hull,” said Johnny.

“What for? Just to be nasty?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it’ll help keep reef stuff off us when we punch through.”

“That’s your scientific conclusion? We’ve already done damage to two sites in this cavern,” said Alex. “Now we’re about to punch another hole. If aliens came to Earth and did as much damage as we have, they’d be toast.”

“But we’re supermen here, Alex. It’s a big reef,” said Johnny. “Over seventy billion cubic kilometers of it, probably more, as a matter of fact. What’s the harm in moving a few meters of it here and there?”

Alex stared at the holographic image of the far wall as it approached. Their velocity was modest, only about walking speed. Alex stared at the wall coming toward them. Laced in among the holographic shadows and textures beyond it was a network of lines that revealed the hidden structure beyond. “That’s just it, Professor. We don’t know.”

“We can’t stay sealed in this cavern, can we? Or are you thinking of starting some real estate deal?”

Alex smiled. “We don’t know. That’s all I’m saying.”

The wall sagged and bowed away from
Diver
as the first wave of null-gee softened it and the pressure wave of air pushed into it. The effect was like the slow motion pricking of a balloon from the inside. The ship had barely penetrated the reef when it was ejected violently through thirty meters of reef into the tunnel beyond. A wind caught the ship’s balloons and the ship lurched to the right.

“Christ!” roared Johnny as he nearly fell out of his seat.

Mary and Tony awoke and sat up.

“Alex?” said Mary. Her cat protested loudly as Mary’s arm collapsed on its haunches.

Alex pulled
Diver
’s nose around and tried to stabilize the rocking motion of the ship. He switched on all of the ship’s external lights.

“Sorry about that,” he said. “You can go back to sleep.”

Tony rubbed his leg as though it ached.

“What’s happening?” he asked.

“You want to do the honors, Johnny? I’m a little busy.”

While Johnny explained why they had plowed through the cavern wall, Mary listened and stroked her kitten. She whispered soothing words to it as she listened to Johnny and the cat looked up at Mary and blinked meaningfully.

Mary’s eyes, however, weren’t on the cat. They were fixed on the tunnel ahead.

In the distance, so far ahead of the ship that only her keen vision could discern them, a large number of clicker men were pacing the ship. They were matching
Diver
’s speed.

When they had entered the tunnel it was no more than twenty meters wide but now it more than fifty meters wide and growing. Mary had the impression that they were rising and that they’d soon be out of the reef and in the clear.

She waited for Johnny to finish his explanation to ask her question.

“You never said, Professor,” said Mary. “Are we leaving the reef? Are we rising? I can’t tell.”

“No such luck, Mary, my love,” said Alex. “This is a downdraft.”

3
“In a few hours
Cornwall
will be overhead, asking questions, – giving observations about your fall into the reef,” said the Professor, looking out from under his dome at Tony.

“I’m way past that,” said Tony, looking at the holographic display that wrapped around the front of
Diver
’s cabin.

“Seems we’ve gotten out of sync with them, eh?” said Alex as he focused his eyes on the tunnel ahead. They were still moving swiftly along it, following a course that Johnny said resembled a wide arm of a spiral. The tunnel was taking them much farther into the bowels of the reef. The Professor added that the only thing that made him feel less nervous than before was the fact that they had chosen their course. He didn’t have to remind anyone that they had originally been sucked into the reef on just such a downdraft.