Nemesis

Her promotion, Insigna noted with a little shame, cooled her objections.

On another occasion, Pitt said to her, ‘What about your husband?’

‘What about my husband?’ Insigna was immediately on the defensive.

‘He is an Earthman, I understand.’

Insigna's lips pressed together. ‘He is of Earth origin, but he is a Rotorian citizen.’

‘I understand. I assume you have told him nothing of Nemesis.’

‘Absolutely nothing.’

‘Has this husband of yours ever told you why he left Earth and worked so hard to become a Rotorian citizen?’

‘No, he hasn't. And I haven't asked him.’

‘But don't you ever wonder?’

Insigna hesitated and then told the truth. ‘Yes, I have, sometimes.’

Pitt smiled. ‘I should tell you, perhaps.’

And he did, little by little. Never in any overly obtrusive ma

But thanks to Pitt, to what he told her, to the films he suggested she view, she became aware of Earth and its billions, of its endemic starvation and violence, its drugs and alienation. She began to understand it as an abysmal pit of misery, something to flee from. She did not wonder any longer why Crile Fisher had left. She wondered why so few Earthmen followed his example.

Nor were the Settlements so much better off. She became aware of how they closed in on themselves, how people were prevented from moving freely from one to another. No Settlement wanted the microscopic flora and fauna of any other. Trade dwindled slowly, and was increasingly carried on by automated vessels with carefully sterilized loads.

The Settlements quarreled and found each other hateful. The circum-Martian Settlements were almost as bad. Only in the asteroid zone were the Settlements multiplying freely, and even those were growing suspicious of all the i

Insigna could feel herself begin to agree with Pitt, even to grow enthusiastic over a flight from intolerable misery and the begi

And then she found that a baby was on the way and her enthusiasm began to wither. To risk herself and Crile on the long journey seemed worthwhile. To risk an infant, a child-

Pitt was unperturbed. He congratulated her. ‘It will be born here and you will have a little time to accustom yourself to the situation. It will be at least a year and a half before we're ready to go. And by then you will realize how fortunate you will be not to have to wait any longer. The child will have no memory of the misery of a ruined planet and a desperately divided humanity. It will know only a new world with a cultural understanding among its members. Lucky child. Fortunate child. My son and daughter are already grown, already marked.’

And again Insigna began to think in that fashion, and by the time Marlene was born, she had indeed begun to dread delay, to fear that before they left, the child would be imprinted with the crowded failure that was the Solar System.

She was entirely on Pitt's side by this time.

Fisher seemed fascinated by Marlene, to Insigna's great relief. She had not thought that he would make much of a father. Yet he hovered over Marlene and took on his share of the duties involved in bringing her up. He seemed actually to grow cheerful as a result.

During the time Marlene was approaching her first birthday, rumors grew throughout the Solar System that Rotor intended to leave. It produced what was almost a system-wide crisis, and Pitt, who was now clearly in line for Commissionerhood, was grimly amused.

‘Well, what can they do?’ he said. ‘There's no way they can stop us, and all the outcries of disloyalty, together with their own display of Solar System chauvinism, will only serve to inhibit their investigations into hyper-assistance, which will serve us well.’

Insigna said, ‘But how did it get out, I wonder, Janus?’

‘I saw to it that it did.’ He smiled. ‘At this point, I don't any longer object to their learning the fact of our leaving, as long as they don't know our destination. It would, after all, be impossible to hide our leaving for much longer. We must take a vote on the matter, you know, and once all Rotorians know of our leaving, all the rest of the system will know, in any case.’

‘A vote?’

‘Why, of course. Think it through. We can't take off with a Settlement-load of people who are too fearful or too homesick for their own Sun. We'd never make it. We want only those with us who are willing, even eager.’

He was completely right. The campaign to win approval for leaving the Solar System began almost at once and the fact that the news had already leaked out served as a cushion to ease the reaction outside Rotor - and within it as well.

Some Rotorians were excited at the prospect; some were afraid.

Fisher reacted with thunderous brow, and one day he said, ‘This is crazy.’

‘It's inevitable,’ said Insigna with careful neutrality.

‘Why? There's no reason to start wandering among the stars. Where would we go? There's nothing out there.’

‘There are billions of stars out there.’

‘How many planets? We don't know of any habitable planets anywhere, and very few of any other kind. Our Solar System is the only home we know.’

‘Exploration is in the blood of humanity.’ It was one of Pitt's phrases.

‘That's romantic nonsense. Does anyone think that people are actually going to vote to separate themselves from humanity and vanish into space?’

Insigna said, ‘My understanding, Crile, is that sentiment on Rotor is rather in favor of it.’

‘That's just Council propaganda. You think people will vote to leave the Earth? Leave the Sun? Never. If it comes to that, we'll be going to Earth.’

She felt something clutch at her heart. She said, ‘Oh no. Do you want one of those simoons, or blizzards, or mistrals, or whatever you call them? Do you want lumps of ice and falling water and blowing, whistling air?’

He lifted his eyebrows at her. ‘It's not that bad. There are storms occasionally, but they can be predicted. Actually, they're interesting - when they're not too bad. It's fascinating - a little cold, a little heat, a little precipitation. It makes for variation. It keeps you alive. And then, think of the variety of cuisines.’

‘Cuisines? How can you say that? Most people on Earth are starving. We're always collecting food shipments to send to Earth.’

‘Some people go hungry. It's not universal.’

‘Well, you certainly can't expect Marlene to live under such conditions.’

‘Billions of children do.’

‘And mine won't be one of them,’ said Insigna fiercely.

All her hopes lay in Marlene now. She was going on ten months of age, had two small teeth in the upper gum, two in the lower, could shamble about holding on to the rods of her playpen, and looked at the world with those wondering intelligent eyes.

Fisher was still clearly fond of his unpretty daughter; more fond than ever, in fact. When he wasn't dandling her, he was staring at her and remarking fondly on her beautiful eyes. He stressed her one lovely feature and it seemed to make up to him for everything else that was lacking.

Surely Fisher would not go back to Earth if it meant leaving Marlene for ever. Insigna, somehow, lacked any confidence that he would choose her, the woman he had loved and married, over Earth, but surely Marlene would be the sticking point.

Surely?

The day after the vote, Eugenia Insigna found Fisher white with rage. He said, or choked out, ‘It was a fixed vote.’

She said, ‘Sh! You'll wake the baby.’

And for a moment, he grimaced and visibly held his breath.

Insigna relaxed just a bit and said in a small voice, ‘There's no question that the people want to go.’

‘Did you vote to go?’

She considered. There was no use trying to placate him by lying. She had made her feelings obvious enough. She said, ‘I did.’

He said, ‘Pitt ordered you to, I suppose.’

That caught her by surprise. ‘No! I'm capable of making my own decisions.’

‘But you and he-’ He let it trail off.

She felt her blood pressure rise suddenly. ‘What do you mean?’ she said, angry now in her turn. Was he going to accuse her of infidelity?

‘That - that politician. He's heading for Commissioner at any price. Everyone knows that. And you're pla

‘Where will it get me? There's no place I want to get. I'm an astronomer, not a politician.’

‘You've been promoted, haven't you? You've been pushed over the head of older, more experienced people.’

‘Through hard work, I like to think.’ (How was she going to defend herself now, without being able to tell him the truth?)

‘I'm sure you do like to think that. But it was through Pitt.’

Insigna drew a deep breath. ‘Where is this leading us?’

‘Listen!’ His voice was low, as it had been since she had reminded him that Marlene was sleeping. ‘I ca

‘The Far Probe worked well.’

‘Were there living things on this Far Probe? If not, how do you know how living things will react to hyper-assistance? What do you know about hyper-assistance?’

‘Not a thing.’

‘Why not? You're working right there in the laboratory. You're not working on the farms, as I am.’

(He is jealous, thought Insigna.) Aloud, she said, ‘When you say the laboratory, you seem to imply we're all piled together in one room. I told you. I'm an astronomer and I know nothing about hyper-assistance.’

‘You mean that Pitt never tells you anything about it?’

‘About hyper-assistance? He doesn't know himself.’

‘Are you telling me no-one knows?’

‘Of course I'm not telling you that. The hyperspatialists know. Come on, Crile. Those who are supposed to know, know. Others don't.’

‘To all except the specialist few, it's a secret, then.’

‘Exactly.’

‘Then you don't really know that hyper-assistance is safe. Only the hyperspatialists know. How do you suppose they know?’

‘I assume they've experimented.’