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Except perhaps to offer an alternative to his grand immigration scheme. So far, Hafner had heard nothing that corresponded to his Marshall Plan idea being tossed around during mealtime discussions; and if it truly hadn't occurred to anyone, he really ought to point it out to Colonel Meredith. Despite Carmen's skepticism, it seemed to him the plan had potential merit.

Changing his direction, Hafner headed toward the tu

The same three-squiggle pattern showed up over eighty times in the main control room alone … and the pattern of lights and switches associated with it was more than a little suggestive. All right, Loretta thought, tapping at the fist-sized walkabout terminal of the Ctencri translator humming quietly off to one side. Call this "on" or "active" or "functioning." Correlate … ?

She pushed the proper button and watched the translator screen list eight more combinations involving the three-letter pattern and their possible meanings.

Activate, standby—off? Ah—then that tilde would indicate inversion of meaning.

Let's see where else the tilde shows up … Punching in the order, she was rewarded a moment later with an overhead schematic of the semicircular control panel, the tilded labels flashing in red. Referring occasionally to the picture, she walked slowly around the room, looking closely at each of the switches and indicators so identified. The next step would be to choose one or two of them and play through the data file of the last cable production again, watching for anything that might give a clue as to their function. Loretta hadn't done too well so far with that particular method; all the obvious correlations had long since been tabulated, and she lacked the engineers' knack of pulling seemingly unrelated sounds and activities into a coherent whole.

From underneath the control panel came a dribble of muttered Russian. A moment later, Victor Ermakov crawled stiffly out and unfolded into a standing position. "It is thoroughly ridiculous," he grumbled, waving a multimeter for emphasis. "Half the circuits are inert, with no current flow and infinite resistance—and the other half show an absolutely steady current, with no discernible modulation. How do you control something with unchanging current?" He turned to Meredith, sitting quietly next to one of the Gorgon's Heads. "Colonel, the digger is still at work, isn't it?"

"It was as of five minutes ago," the other said. "That's when it dumped its last load into the hopper." He pointed to the blue section of the control panel beneath which Ermakov had been working. "I saw the pattern change."

The Russian scowled at the board. "I'm begi

Loretta shrugged. Francisco Arias had tried to explain his theory to her, but his mastery of the more arcane branches of physics didn't include the ability to translate them into laymen's terms. All she'd taken away from the session had been a headache and the fact that too much of the Spi

He'd then launched into something about subatomic forces and field waveguides that had lost her completely. "He did seem very sure of himself," she commented.

"He always does." Ermakov shook his head and turned again to Meredith.

"Colonel, it's becoming clear that I'm going to have to literally invent the tools I need to study this equipment. Have you any data at all on the subatomic structure of the cable material, or on any general nuclear theory about the forces that may be involved?"

A thoughtful frown creased Meredith's forehead. "Possibly," he said slowly. "But I'm not sure what kind of access I can let you have to it."

For a scientist, Ermakov was an uncommonly good spy; Loretta had to give him that. His ears seemed to prick up at the mention of classified information, but his next comment was as casual and ingenuous as could be. "Well, it's your decision, of course," he shrugged. "But the more insight I can get into the Spi

"I'm aware of that." From the ceiling came the hum of the elevator motor. Loretta glanced at her watch, noted that it was still an hour before the next supervisor was due to relieve Meredith. She looked back up to see the colonel get to his feet and walk around the elevator cylinder to where die door would appear. Unconsciously, her muscles tensed … but it was only the geologist/supervisor Dr. Hafner.

"Colonel," Hafner greeted the other, nodding in turn to Loretta and Ermakov. "I wonder if I could talk to you for a moment? It's about a possible alternative to mass immigration."

Meredith shrugged. "Sure."

Hafner launched into a description of something he was calling the new Marshall Plan; tuning him out, Loretta turned back to the control board. All right: tilde means negation. Then on the digger board this might mean "empty hopper"; then—let's see: does this sequence show up anywhere else—?

"I trust you're doing better than I am," Ermakov murmured from beside her. He had his multimeter on the edge of the control panel and was busily switching around the probe leads. "Incidentally, I wonder if I could borrow your tape player and some of your tapes this evening."

Loretta's throat tightened, and she had to consciously force the muscles to relax.

The tape player was her clandestine radio link to the UN ship overhead, the necessary electronics for transmission and scrambling concealed inside the plastic covers of two of the cassettes. "I suppose so," she said, trying to match his casual tone and wondering what had happened to his own radio.

"Thank you. I've been talking about music lately with Major Dunlop and he expressed a wish to listen to some Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff. I'll come by your apartment when we're through here and pick it up for delivery to him."

"Fine," she said through stiff lips. Dunlop. The officer the UN people said had fired stu

And Ermakov was about to lend him her radio.

The Russian completed his adjustments and disappeared again beneath the control panel. Loretta moved away, staring at the gaudy Spi

But the colonel was still talking with Hafner, apparently oblivious to both Ermakov's scheming and her own associated guilt. Weak-kneed with relief, she turned back and resumed punching in computer commands with shaky fingers.

Ermakov didn't bring up the subject again, and as they were leaving the cavern four hours later, she permitted herself to hope that he'd either forgotten his request or changed his plans. But as she walked past the tu

Loretta watched him go, then closed and locked her door behind him. She considered di