Moving Mars (23 page)

The day was beautiful. I felt beautiful. Allen and I flirted, but not seriously. We drank coffee in a sidewalk cafe, ate an early lunch, walked to the Washington Monument and climbed the long stairs (I ignored shooting pains in my legs), descended, walked more. Strolling the length of the reflecting pool, we paused to look at transform joggers whizzing past like greyhounds.

We studied projected history lessons and climbed the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, then stood before the giant statue of Abraham Lincoln. I studied his sad, weary face and gnarled hands, and unexpectedly I felt my eyes moisten, reading the words which flanked him, inspired by the civil war over which he presided and which ultimately killed him. People eat their leaders, I thought. The king must die.

Allen had a different perspective. He was forcing allegiance on the American South, he said. Hes politically more Terrie than I care for.

Mars doesnt keep slaves, I reminded him.

Dont mind me, he said. Ive always rooted for the underdogs.

We then retreated along the reflecting pool and watched the sun go down.

What would Lincoln think of red rabbits? Allen asked.

What would Lincoln think of the union now? I countered.

Despite some maladjustments in my bichemistrywe were definitely overdoing itI was giddy with the weather, the architecture all out in the open, the history.

We returned to the comb to have dinner with Bithras in the hotels main restaurant. The food was even better than it had been aboard Tuamotu. Much of it was fresh, not nano, and I searched for, and thought I found, the difference in flavor. It tastes like dirt, I think, I told Bithras and Allen over the white linen tablecloth and silver candlesticks.

Musty, Allen agreed. Not too long since it was alive.

Bithras coughed. Enough, he said.

Allen and I smiled at each other conspiratorially. We shouldnt act provincial, Allen said.

Ill act the way I feel, Bithras said, but he was not angry; simply stating a fact. The wine is good, though. He lifted his glass. To red rabbits out of their element.

We toasted ourselves.

On the way back to the suite, outside the lift, Bithras looped his arm through mine and pressed me close. Allen saw this and quickly did the same with my other arm. I felt for a moment as if I were being pressed between two overanxious dogs at stud; then I saw what Allen was up to.

Bithras drew his lips into a firm line and let go of my arm. Allen let go immediately after and I gave him a grateful glance.

Bithras behaved as if nothing had happened. And, indeed, nothing had happened. The evening had been too pleasant to believe otherwise.

Ive been here for twenty-seven years, Miriam Jaffrey told us as she invited us into her apartment. My husband went Eloi ten years ago, and I think, though I do not know for sure, that he is on Mars So here I am, a Martian on Earth, and hes a Terrie up there. Bithras and Allen took seats at her invitation in the broad living room. The windows looked across the sprawl of old Virginia combs and even older skyscrapers. We were on the south side of the Capital Tower Comb, opposite from our hotel.

Im always snooping out red rabbits, she said, sitting beside Bithras. They appeared to be about the same age. Its lovely to hear whats changed and whats the same. Not that I plan on going back Im too used to Earth now. Im a Terrie, Im afraid.

Were enjoying ourselves immensely, Allen said.

Miriam beamed. Her long black hair hung over square thin shoulders revealed by a flowing green cotton dress. Im most pleased you could take time out from your busy schedule.

Our pleasure, Bithras said. He squirmed his butt into the couch, fighting the self-adjusting cushions. Now, are we secure?

Very, Miriam said, drawing herself up and suddenly quite serious.

Good. We need to talk freely. Casseia, Allen: Miriam is not just a social gadfly, she is the best-informed Martian on Earth about things Washingtonian.

Miriam batted her eyelashes modestly.

She follows the tradition of a long line of hostesses in this capital, who meet and greet, and know all, and she has been invaluable to Majumdar BM in the past.

Thank you, Bithras, she said.

Bithras produced his slate from a shirt pouch and placed it before her. We brought a copy of Alice with us. Shes resting in our hotel room now.

Shes proof against the latest? Miriam asked.

We think she is. We refused an opportunity to let customs sweep her.

Good. Shes Terrie-made, of course, so shes always a little suspect.

I trust Alice. She was examined by our finest and found true to her design.

All right, said Miriam, but in a tone that betrayed she still had doubts. Still, you should know that all thinkers are a little too sweet and innocent to understand Earth, at least those thinkers allowed to be exportedto emigrate.

Yes, that is so, Bithras agreed. She will only advise, however, not rule.

I listened to all this in a state of shock. Youre a spy? I asked innocently.

Stars, no! Miriam laughed and slapped her thigh. She struck a pose, hand on knee, shoulder thrown back, tossing her hair. Though I could be, dont you think?

Well meet later today with representatives from Cailetet and Sandoval, Bithras said.

Cailetets been very skittish lately, Miriam said. Buying up notes and extensions from other BMs, minimizing their exposure in the open Triple Market.

I dont expect to get any answers from them, Bithras said, but I show the flag, so to speak. We are willing to keep talking.

Miriam said she thought that would be useful. Though I warn you, Ive never seen Cailetet so spooked.

Id like to know more about these members of the space affairs committee. Bithras handed her the slate. Names danced before her eyes, along with political icons and identifiers for family and social groups.

Miriam scrolled the list thoughtfully. Good people. Sharp, above the bang.

I surreptitiously looked up above the bang on my slate. It read: 1: CALM, UNFLAPPABLE; 2: UNIMPRESSED BY HIGH OFFICE.

Theyre dedicated and havent missed a trick since Ive been here, Miriam said. Elected officials on Earth are a breed apart, as Bithras is doubtless aware.

Yes, we have been dealing with a few of our own. District governors

The difference is that Earths elected officials are therapied, Miriam said. All except for John Mendoza, here. Senate minority leader. Mendoza is a Mormon. Terries didnt put up a warm reception for Dauble, but Mendozas party co-hosted a reception for her with Deseret Space. Deseret Space gave her shelter for a few weeks. Debriefed her about Mars, I imagine.

At least they have no designs on Mars, Bithras said.

No, but Mendoza will ask you why you arent willing to allocate more Martian-controlled Belt resource shares to Earth, and why you refuse to join the Sol Resource Management group. Deseret Space has formed some bridges with Green Idaho. Green Idaho is finally casting its eyes on space-related business. Theyre both firming up state ties with GEWA, circumventing the U.S.

Bithras annotated the transcript of Miriams remarks, then looked up and said, We need to know about Cuba, Hispaniola, New Mexico, and California.

All on your list, Miriam said, brow creased, tapping the slate with a long fingernail. I noticed a vid playing on the fingernail and wondered what it was. Let me tell you what I know. My library will feed you

We listened and shared slate data for the next two hours. When we finished, Bithras switched on his charm, and Miriam seemed receptive. I was relieved.

The meetings with Cailetet and Sandoval, held in our suite, were cordial and totally unproductive. The associate syndic for Cailetet Earth hinted they might not support our unification proposals, that Cailetet Mars might have agreed to the proposals without Triple-wide authority.

After, Bithras was agitated. Almost unconsciously, he stayed close to me, kept gently jostling me. Allen watched with some concern. I ignored it.

Apparently, Miriam was not enough for him. And the pressure was building.

I suffered a small lapse of bichemistry the next morning, alone in my room: nausea, chills, my body breaking through the brace of controls to adjust itself in the way it deemed best. That lasted only an hour, and I felt much better after. The gravity seemed less imposed, more natural.

I looked down on the Potomac and the mall beyond. A crystalline day with high puffy clouds. Washington DC a tiny village, its monuments and ancient domed Capitol visible only as grains of rice in the general green and brown.

Intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic

A fatuous grin spread across my face. I was a Martian, come to invade Earth.

Alice presented her report. We sat in the living room of our suite and scanned the highlights. Bithras dug deeper on several key points. Its not encouraging, he said.

The need for central control of all solar resources may be acute within fifteen Earth years, Alice said. It is generally recognized that Earth needs a major endeavor to keep up its overall psychological and economic vigor, and that endeavorthat social focusmust be interstellar exploration on a grand scale.

Allen found that puzzling. The whole Earth recognizes this? Everybody agrees?

Agreement is strong among those groups who make the crucial decisions about the Triple, Alice said. Especially the executives of the major alliances.

Well be pressured to join in the endeavor, whether or not it directly benefits Mars, Bithras said.

Such a conclusion is overdetermined by the evidence, Alice said.

Bithras leaned back on the couch. Nothing we cant roll with. But he seemed troubled. Its a bit obvious, dont you think?

Evidence for other conclusions is not clear, Alice said.

Its what some of our fellow passengers were saying, I said.

Cut and dried, though, isnt it? Bithras said, biting his upper lip. He resembled a bulldog when he did that. Tomorrow Ill open the proposals and share them with you. I need you to fully understand what were allowed to say, and what were allowed to give, at each stage of negotiation. He sat up. From now, you are more than apprentices, he said. You represent a Mars yet to be born. You are diplomats.

And we acted the part. We attended receptions and parties, hosted two of our own, visited the offices of major corporations and temp agencies, attended dinners arranged by Mars appreciation societies

Miriam hosted our private reception in the hotel. I spent hours talking to explanetaries, listening to their stories of old Mars, answering their questions as best I could about the new Mars. Did Mackenzie Frazier ever unite the Canadian BMs in Syrtis? Whatever became of the Prescott and Ware families in Hellas? My sister still lives on Mars, Mariner Valley South, but she never answers my lettersdo you know why?

All too often, I could only smile and plead ignorance. There was no Pan-Martian family message center or database easily accessible from Earth. I took a note on my slate to have Majumdar set one up; good for PR. Ex-Martians on Earth could be valuable allies, I thought, and Miriam excepted, we didnt use them very often.

During a break at the reception, I asked Miriam how often Martian BMs approached her, directly from Mars. About once a year, she said, smiling. I said that was deplorable, and she patted my shoulder. We are such trusting and insular creatures, she said. By the time you leave here, youll know only too well what were up against, and how far we have to go to get in the spin

I made a note on my slate that we should sign Miriam to Majumdar exclusivelybut didnt that contradict the spirit of unity we were working so hard to demonstrate?

Visiting offices of members of Congress, I quickly noticed a remarkable lack of attention to Bithrass hints at what our proposals might be. Bithras fell into a dark and snappish mood at the end of a grueling day of office-hopping.

They dont much care, he said, accepting a glass of wine from Allen as we rested in our suite. That is very puzzling.

Mornings, ex net and LitVid interviews, conducted from a studio in the Capitol; afternoons, more interviews from a studio in the hotel; then lunches with major financiers who listened and smiled, but promised nothing; finally, dinners with congressional staffers, full of curiosity and enthusiasm, but who also revealed little and promised nothing.

Visits to schools in Washington and Virginia, usually over ed-nets from our hotel room A quick train journey to Pennsylvania to meet with Amish Friends of Sylvan Earth, who had finally accepted the use of computers, but not thinkers. Back to Washington A guided tour of the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

The original Library of Congress had been sealed in helium and was accessible now only in pressure suits. We were not offered the chance to go in. Arbeiters roamed its halls, guarding and tracking its countless billions of paper books and periodicals. It had stopped accepting paper copies in 2049; most research was now conducted out of the electronic archives, which filled a small chamber several hundred feet beneath the old library. Alice absorbed as much of the library as she needed, but even her immense reserves of memory would have been taxed by absorbing all.

At the Air and Space Museum, we stood for pictures at the foot of a full-size replica of the first Mars lander, the Captain James Cook. I had seen the original as a preform schoolgirl. To me, the replica seemed larger beneath its dome than the original, sitting in the open air of Elysium.

Earth had too much to show us. We were in danger of becoming exhausted before our most important day arrived

We entered the hearing chamber, stately stone and warm dark wood, seats upholstered in dark faux leather; Bithras, Allen, and myself, deliberately dressed in conservative Martian fashions, Alice on her freshly polished carriage.

With our synthetic clothing and unaltered physiques, we must have resembled hicks in a LitVid comedy. But we were greeted respectfully by five senators from the Standing Committee on Solar System and Near-Earth Space Affairs. For a few minutes, we gathered in light conversation with the senators and a few of their staff. The air was polite but formal. Again, I sensed something amiss, as did Bithras, whose nostrils flared as he took his seat behind a long maple table. Allen leaned over and asked me, Why arent we testifying before the whole committee? I did not know.