Odyssey

“Okay, Lin-Kao,” he said, feeling very professional. “We’ll be waiting.” He felt as if he should say something more. “You may have heard that moonriders were reported locally. You’ll be glad to know they are gone. As far as we know.”

There was a delay of about three minutes while the signal traveled out, and the response came back. “Good,” the captain said. “I am indeed glad.” His tone suggested he was not much impressed by wild stories. “We’re in good shape here, Surveyor. Other than ru

He’d just settled into his blankets when Meredith was back. “Another call,” she said, keeping her voice low. “Salvator.”

“Okay.” Eric trooped back to the souvenir room. “Let’s hear it.”

Valya appeared, seated in the command chair. “I’ll be at the Galactic in a few hours,” she said. “I’ll pick these folks up and be on my way back as quickly as I can.”

The green lamp came on, inviting him to answer. “We’ll be waiting.” He should have stopped there, perhaps. “Valya, Amy thinks she saw something in the museum last night. She thinks it might have been one of the moonriders. She claims it looked like Hutchins. And that it told her they, whoever they are, are going to destroy Origins. She insists it wasn’t a dream. Anyhow I thought you should know.”

He signed off, unsure whether it had been a good idea to pass the story along.

HARRIET HEADS FOR GULF COAST

Monster Hurricane to Make Landfall Tomorrow Evacuations Ordered

ASTEROID CLOSES IN ON ORBITING HOTEL

Galactic Would Have Been First of Its Kind

Has Been Under Construction Six Months

Rescue Effort Under Way

MOONRIDERS SEEN IN NEBRASKA

Hundreds Near Omaha Watch Lights in Sky

GROUP GATHERS ON MOUNTAINTOP TO AWAIT

SALVATION

“Salvation City” Adherents: The Lord Is Coming Tonight

Seventeen Hundred Packed and Ready to Go

Camped atop Mt. Camelback in Poconos

MOONRIDERS MAY BE GROUP HYSTERIA

Study: Sightings Are Delusional

Rock Clusters, Reflections, Imagination Account

for Phenomena

“People See What They Want to See”

MOONRIDER COMMITTEE: THEY EXIST

“Too Many Sightings to Dismiss”

MOONRIDER ACTION TOYS GETTING HOT

Aliens Jumping off Shelves

CHURCH GROUP RECOMMENDS REVIEW OF CURRICULA

NAC: Overemphasis on Damnation?

chapter 30

For males, sex is like baseball. Hit-and-run. Or put one out of the park, circle the bases and score, head for the showers, and clear out. That kind of behavior necessarily upsets the ladies. But it’s not anyone’s fault. It’s the way people are wired, and nothing’s ever going to change it.

— Gregory MacAllister, “Love and Marriage”

Amy watched on one of the welcome center screens as the Lin-Kao docked, and she was at the foot of the exit ramp when the hatches opened, and the workers from the Galactic trooped in. They were a noisy bunch, six women and five men, carrying their belongings. Plus the captain, whose name was Hugo Something. They dropped their bags, Hugo exchanged a few words with his passengers, glad he was able to help, see you at home sometime, took a moment to wave at Amy, and shook hands with Mac and Eric. “Got to get moving,” he said. “There’s a bunch more to pick up.” And that quickly he was gone.

The new arrivals were happy to be off the ship. “It was a bit crowded in there,” one of the women told Amy. “The air was getting stale.”

They were all hauling supplies. They’d arrived with the impression that food would be scarce at the museum, and had consequently brought a substantial amount from the Galactic. They also had blankets and pillows. A few took up residence in the welcome center; others moved into outlying locations.

The shadow that had hung over Amy dissipated, and the image of Hutch on the bridge suddenly felt far away. It couldn’t have happened. Maybe Eric and Mac were right.

Valya called to say she had picked up her contingent and was on the way back. A few minutes later a transmission arrived from the Cavalier. Its captain, a young man who looked barely older than Amy, told them he was on his way from Union to provide transportation home. “We’ll be there in four days.” The a

Amy struck up a friendship with one of the women, Va

“It really happened?” Va

“Yes.”

“What did the others say? The two guys who were here with you?”

“They think I was dreaming.”

“Were you?”

It seemed remote now. Something that couldn’t have happened. But she remembered how she’d felt when she saw the image, and how certain she’d been when she was pleading with Mac and Eric. “No,” she said.

Va

“You believe me, Va

“After what I’ve seen,” she said, “I’m ready to believe anything. Sure. Maybe they’d try to pass a message.”

“But why me?”

“Don’t know, Babe. Maybe you were the only one here with an open mind.”

“I don’t know what to do, Va

She nodded. “Who can you talk to that you can trust?”

She thought about it. “I have a few friends at school.”

“Any adults? How about your folks?”

“My father would never believe it.”

“Anybody else?”

“Maybe Hutch.”

“Hutch? Who’s he?”

“Hutch is a she. She’s the one who arranged for me to come out here.”

“Okay. Don’t worry about these guys anymore. They have their minds made up. When you get the chance, talk to this Hutch.”

“You really think she’ll believe me?”

“You persuaded me, Amy.”

THE MUSEUM WAS much easier to take since the additional people had arrived. That was an unusual reaction for MacAllister. He generally preferred to be left alone. But in that place noise and company were a distinct improvement. A supply of beer and liquor showed up from somewhere. Several played horns and stringed instruments. By midday Monday a serious party was under way.

Valya called late Tuesday evening to a

He was glad to be able to talk with her again. Even though it meant dealing with the delays caused by her distance from the museum. He got on the circuit and said hello. Commented that the people from the Galactic had made themselves at home. Told her that the Cavalier was on its way. Everything’s good here.

Her image froze while the signal traveled out, and, several minutes later, the response came back. “Mac, I’m glad everything’s well,” she said. “Sounds as if you’re having a good time.” He was in the souvenir shop with the door closed. The party had died down, and most of the people were off somewhere watching a horror sim. But there was still a fair amount of singing coming through the thin walls. “No problems of any kind?”

That was code for Amy. Valya had no way of knowing who’d be with him when the transmission came in.

“No,” he said. “She seems to have gotten past it.” He found a chair and sat down. “This is a hell of a way to hold a conversation. You say something, go get a coffee, do some reading.”

He sent the transmission and went outside, picked up his notebook, brought it in, called up the latest news reports, and looked through them.

Eventually, her image came back to life. “It’s because you don’t do it often enough, Mac,” she said. “You need to get out more.”

“I’m certainly out now,” he said. “Really out. Anyhow, we missed you.”

“I’m sure. Nobody to fight with. No sign of the moonriders?”

“No. They never showed up. How many people are still back at the hotel?”

“I don’t think Hugo’s gotten there yet. After he picks up his load, there’ll be four. The asteroid may show up before I can get back. So the plan is that when it gets close, they’ll use one of the shuttles and clear out. I’ll get them from the shuttle.”

“Have you seen the asteroid?”

“Yes. It’s pretty big.”

“Listen, Valya. You’re obviously going to be leaving here as soon as you drop off your passengers. We talked about my going back with you. I want to do that. I’ll be ready to go when you dock.”

She looked pleased. “Good. I could use the company.”

THE SALVATOR ARRIVED just before midnight. Several of the construction workers stayed up to greet their colleagues. Valya was last to come through the co

The conversation was short. It looked amicable enough, but it had no animation. Valya was asking questions, Amy shook her head yes and no, but the responses seemed abbreviated. Of course it was understandable. It was extremely late, but Amy had insisted on staying up to wait for the Salvator. Or maybe just on staying up.

Eventually Valya nodded, gave the girl’s shoulder a squeeze, and came away.

“I just don’t know what to think about it,” she told MacAllister. Then her eyes refocused, and she surprised him with an embrace. “It’s good to see you again, Mac.”

“You, too. Is she okay?”

“You tell me.” She took a deep breath and looked at the time. “Got your toothbrush?”

A few minutes later she hustled him through the airlock into the Salvator and onto the bridge. “The air’s bad,” he said. It didn’t so much smell bad, as that it felt oppressive. Stuffy.