Odyssey

“I honestly don’t know what to think, Charlie. I don’t know what they are, and I can’t imagine what they’re trying to do. It doesn’t look as if the world is prepared to deal with them.”

“We became complacent.”

“I guess we did.” Certainly, she had. A widespread assumption had developed that everything we could see in the surrounding cosmos belonged to us. And there was nobody out there to dispute any of it.

“I think we need a navy,” he said.

“A battle fleet?”

“Yes.”

“It would cost a fortune.”

A flock of ducks or geese, something, fluttered down onto the water. “Hutch, it’s the price of security. In uncertain times.”

TWENTY MINUTES LATER, one of her staff sent over a segment of the Blanche Hardaway Hour that she thought might be of interest.

Blanche was a tall, fragile-looking but utterly ruthless blonde. She did a daily tabloid show, lots of scandal, lots of moralizing, lots of the cheapest sort of politics, regular attacks on the Academy as a waste of money.

She had a guest, but he was just sitting there while she went on a tirade. “ — To wait around any longer and take chances with lunatic aliens,” she was saying. “Congress should get on the stick and take action. We don’t want to wait for the World Council to get in gear. This is not one of those things they can talk to death and pass a bill on sometime in the next century. I’ve been saying for years now that we ca

Frederick was oversized. About seventy, he had dark hair and the look of a guy who’d wandered into the wrong studio. He shifted his position and assumed what he must have thought a professorial attitude. “No question,” he said. “As I see it, what we need to do…”

She killed the volume. Watched the big man waggling his finger and lecturing the audience. There’d been a lot of that lately. “Marla,” she said, “do a sweep for me, please. Last six hours. I’d like to see any commentaries taking the same position: The moonriders are a threat, and we need to build a fleet to deal with them.”

“Very good,” said Marla. “It’ll take a minute.”

“Meanwhile, you can shut down Blanche and Frederick.”

The picture went off.

She got two calls on administrative issues, then Marla was back. “Ready to go.”

First up was Red Dowding warning the viewers in his flat, matter-of-fact style that time might be ru

There were plenty of pictures. The asteroid sweeping the hotel aside, the Salvator collecting survivors from the shuttle, preparations going forward to send a pair of cargo ships to turn aside the Terranova Rock. Several commentators thought the mission shouldn’t be launched until an armed escort could be provided.

ASQUITH WAS BACK that afternoon, looking flustered. “Don’t have time to talk,” he told her.

“What’s going on, Michael?”

“Another hearing.”

“The appropriations committee again?”

“No.”

“Who?”

He was dragging a change of clothes out of his closet. “Defense. They’re trying to decide whether the moonriders are a threat. The truth is it’s probably politics. People are excited, so they have to do something. They called a committee meeting with no advance warning.” He disappeared into his i

“The media have gone berserk.”

“The media always go berserk. A kid falls off a bike in Montana, they’re all over it. Until something else happens. This time, though, the fears may be real.”

“Michael,” she said, “don’t you think this is all a bit over the top?”

“Who knows?” His expression seemed frozen. “Whatever the moonriders are, they’re obviously not friendly. If we get attacked, what do we fight with? We’d be helpless.”

“If they have the capability to divert anything as massive as the Galactic asteroid, and aim it dead on at the hotel, we’re going to be helpless no matter what.”

Asquith smiled. “I can just see the Congress saying something like that to the voters.”

“I’m not concerned about the voters. I’m not a politician.”

“You better be concerned, Hutch. The voters pay your salary.”

“That’s not significant at the moment. I was trying to make a point.”

“As was I. If it gets around that we can’t compete with these lunatics after all the money that’s been put into the program over more than sixty years, longer than that really, then when this is over, you and I will be out on the street. And deservedly so.”

It was a beautiful spring day. A bit on the warm side, maybe. Bright sun in a cloudless sky. “What are you going to tell the committee, Michael?”

“I’ll ask that they increase our funding so we can beef up the surveillance program we’ve just initiated. Track these things down. Find out what they are. What they want.”

“We’ll need ships. New ones.”

“Right. That’s what I’m going to request. And I’m going to ask for some armament. We have to confront the problem head-on.” He actually looked pained. “We need to get the Council on board. If they’re not willing, then the NAU should go it alone with our allies. Whatever it takes. It’s what they want to hear. So they’ll buy into it.”

“Okay.”

“We need to think about what kind of armament should be placed on Academy ships. I’ll want a proposal on my desk in the morning.”

“Michael, I don’t know anything about weaponry.”

“Ask somebody. Particle beams, lasers, and nukes. That’s what we’ll want. And anything else you can think of.”

ATTACK IMMINENT FROM OUTER SPACE?

Amid Laughter, World Council to Debate Options

LANBERG TAKES AMERICUS

Black Hole Physics Wins for Wi

CHILD ABDUCTIONS UP ACROSS COUNTRY

Experts Advocate Tracking Devices

CAVALIER NEARS SURVEYOR MUSEUM

Galactic Engineers to Start Home Tomorrow

Orion Will Rebuild “Won’t Be Scared

Off by Crazies,” Says CEO

SUPERLUMINALS TO DIVERT TERRANOVA ROCK

Corporate Giants Cooperate to Save First Living World

Kosmik, MicroTech, Orion, Monogram Combine Resources

HURRICANE SEASON: MORE STORMS, MORE INTENSE

Population Decline in Hurricane Alley Continues

Dakotas, Saskatchewan, Manitoba Booming

CONGRESS: TERM LIMITS WILL NOT GET OUT OF

COMMITTEE

PROPOSAL TO BAN SMOKING IN HOMES WHEN

CHILDREN PRESENT

Iowa Bill Promises Major Clash

What Are the Limits of Government?

TREATMENT OF LIVESTOCK BECOMES ISSUE IN

WYOMING

Do Steers Have Rights?

Energy Relay Collapses

City in Dark for Six Hours

LOOKING BACK: LAST NUCLEAR PLANT CLOSED 100

YEARS AGO TODAY

HELLFIRE TRIAL TO GET NATIONAL COVERAGE

Starts Thursday

chapter 33

Truth, beaten down, may well rise again. But there’s a reason it gets beaten down. Usually, we don’t like it very much.

— Gregory MacAllister, “Why We All Love Sweden”

When the Salvator docked at Union, officials, journalists, and well-wishers were waiting. Valya and her passengers strode out of the exit tube and were greeted by shouts and applause. Amy spotted her father in the crowd. With Hutch beside him. He waved and pushed through. “Good to see you, Hon,” he said, wrapping his arms around her. Everybody was taking pictures. “Glad you’re home. I was worried.”

“I’m fine, Dad,” she said. “It was a good flight.” That sounded dumb, but she didn’t know what else to say.

People began tossing questions at her. There was confusion; some of them thought she’d been with Valya during the rescue at the Galactic. When they discovered she’d stayed behind in the museum, they went elsewhere.

Eventually Hutch worked her way to her side. “Hey, Champ,” she said, “welcome home. You guys had quite a time out there.”

She moved to embrace the girl, but Amy stiffened. Allowed it to happen but didn’t respond. Hutch was too much like the woman on the bridge.

Hutch got the message and let go. “Anything wrong, Amy?”

Amy needed to talk to her alone, but that would be difficult to manage. She wondered whether the others had told her what had happened. Kid’s gone fu

“I’m fine.” She knew. Amy could tell.

The event morphed into a press conference. How had MacAllister felt when he saw the asteroid hit the hotel? Had he been worried the moonriders might go after him? Would he be likely to support —?

MacAllister cut the last question short. He’d grown quickly impatient with the questions, and pointed everybody at Valya. “Here’s the young lady who did the rescue,” he said. “She’s the one you want to talk to.” And Amy caught his whispered aside to the pilot: “Good luck.”

Valya answered a few questions and quickly turned the proceedings over to Eric, who was experienced at these things. Who was nearly delirious at being the center of attention.

Was it true moonriders were detected near the museum? Had they seen them? (Disappointment that no one had.) “Did you at any time feel your life was in danger?”

“No,” Eric said. “We kept the doors locked.” He expected the comment to get a laugh. But none came. “I don’t think any of us ever felt directly threatened.” He looked around for confirmation, and got it from MacAllister and Valya. It wasn’t what the media wanted to hear.

A short, bearded man, dressed as if he represented the underground press, asked whether they thought we should arm the ships.