Analog Science Fiction and Fact - June 2013
Author: nextek
Date: 2012-07-06 08:12:23+00:00

Vol. CXXXIII No. 6

Next Issue on Sale

June 2013

May 7, 2013

6

45

SERIAL

DARK SECRET, part III of IV, Edward M. Lerner __________________________ 67

NOVELETTES

A CUP OF DIRT, Mark Niemann-Ross ___________________________________ 6

SHORT STORIES

IN THE GREEN, K. S. Patterson _______________________________________ 26

WAVEFRONTS OF HISTORY AND MEMORY, David D. Levine ______________ 31

HYDROPONICS 101, Maggie Clark ____________________________________ 45

OUT IN THE DARK, Linda Nagata _____________________________________ 58

PROBABILITY ZERO

GLITCH, Jack McDevitt ______________________________________________ 39

SCIENCE FACT

WAVES OF THE FUTURE: WHERE WILL THE NEXT

TSUNAMI STRIKE? Richard A. Lovett _______________________________ 18

SPECIAL FEATURE

WORKING ON THE SPACE SHUTTLE, Jeff Mitchell_______________________ 52

READER’S DEPARTMENTS

GUEST EDITORIAL: GEM HUNTING, Jamie Todd Rubin ____________________ 2

IN TIMES TO COME ________________________________________________41

THE ALTERNATE VIEW, Jeffery D. Kooistra _____________________________ 42

THE REFERENCE LIBRARY, Don Sakers______________________________ 100

BRASS TACKS ___________________________________________________ 104

UPCOMING EVENTS, Anthony Lewis _________________________________106

Trevor Quachri Editor

Emily Hockaday Editorial Assistant

Cover design by Victoria Green

Cover Art by diversepixel/shutterstock

Indicia on Page 3

GUEST EDITORIAL Jamie Todd Rubin GEM HUNTING
f you have ever read Jack McDevitt’s won-
reading every word of every issue, cover-to-
derful Alex Benedict series, then you
cover, on a hunt for these lost stories. It takes
know that Alex is a treasure-hunter. Along
me about two weeks to get through an issue,

Iwith his companion,Chase Kolpath,he after which I write a blog post about it.I call seeks relics of the distant past (sometimes
this my “Vacation in the Golden Age.” What
thousands of years in the past) for his clients.

has been truly remarkable about this experi-

His clients pay for these relics, of course, but
ence, much to my surprise, is the number of

I get the idea that Alex is not in it for the
gems that I’ve uncovered in the first forty is-
money. He loves unraveling the mysteries
sues alone.

and holding these treasures in his hand, even

Analog/ Astounding (I’ll refer to the maga-if only for a short time, admiring them for
zine as ASF going forward) has, in its 82 year what they represent.

history, published thousands of stories. The

While I am no Alex Benedict, I feel the
magazine, under John W. Campbell, was ut-
same way about science fiction stories that
terly dominant in the 1940s. Many of the sto-

Alex feels about the relics he seeks out. Each
ries from that decade and since are now clas-
time I begin reading a story I’ve never read
sics in the genre, and it would undoubtedly
before, I get a little bit of a rush. It is similar surprise younger fans to learn that these sto-to the feeling I get just before the first pitch
ries were first published in ASF. For instance, of a baseball game, wondering whether or
there have been two movies called T he
not I will witness history: a perfect game,

Thing, both of which were based on the
perhaps, or maybe a no-hitter? I do believe

1938 ASF story “Who Goes There?” by Don
there are “perfect” stories, but unlike the

A. Stuart. Stuart was a pseudonym for Camp-
baseball game, “perfect” in this sense is rela-
bell. Dune was made into a movie and a
tive to the reader’s tastes. Ray Bradbury’s
miniseries and was based upon Frank Her-

“The Rocket Man” is one example. Harlan El-
bert’s novel, which was originally a series
lison’s “The Man Who Rowed Christopher
that appeared in ASF in the 1960s. There are Columbus Ashore” is another. The newest
many other examples of these ASF classics, member of this short list is Ken Liu’s “The Pa-from Isaac Asimov’s Robot and Foundation
per Menagerie.”

stories in the 1940s to Anne McCaffrey’s

Perfect stories are extremely rare, whatev-

Hugo Award-winning. “Weyr Search” in
er your definition of perfection. I don’t ex-

1967.

pect to find perfect stories, just like I don’t

The gems that I’ve been seeking don’t of-
expect to see a pitcher throw a perfect game.

ten coincide with the classics we know to-

Lately, I’ve been actively looking for what I
day. A Venn diagram would certainly show
call “gems.” Gems are those great stories that
some small overlap, but it is the gems that
aren’t talked about much. If they are older
don’t overlap with the classics that I find
stories, perhaps they have been forgotten or
most interesting. These stories, one and all,
overlooked. For the last two years I have
have been remarkable not just because they
been seeking gems in this magazine, albeit
are outstanding stories, but because they are seventy years in the past. Beginning with the
seemingly forgotten. I hear almost no one

May 1939 issue of Astounding, I have been
talking about them at conventions. I read lit-

2

JUNE 2013
tle about them in online discussions. It seems

C. L. Moore wasn’t even the only woman in
to me the proper thing to do, therefore, is to
that issue. There was a story by Amelia R.

call your attention to a handful of these pre-

Long. Moore’s “Greater Than Gods” was not
cious stones, if for no other reason than to
only the best story in the issue, it was the
ensure they are better remembered.

best story ASF produced in the second half of I uncovered the first of these stories in the

1939. The story was philosophical, ponder-
middle of the May 1939 ASF. The story, “The ing the multiverse before the term even ex-Day Is Done” was written by Lester del Rey.

isted. It explored the theme with characters

It caught my attention because I recalled
that seemed real, people with whom we

Isaac Asimov mentioning the story in his au-
could empathize. The story was reprinted in
tobiography. When I sat down to read the

The Best of C. L. Moore as well as in Great Sci-story, I noticed something immediately dif-
ence Fiction Stories of 1939, edited by Mar-ferent about it from the other stories I’d been
tin H. Greenberg.

reading in the early ASF: the story contains The second gem of 1939 was a robot story.

no spaceships, no aliens, no time machines,

Robot stories are a staple of science fiction
no scientists of any kind. Instead, we follow
made most famous, perhaps, by Isaac Asimov
the last days of Hwoogh, the last of the Nean-
who, with Campbell’s help, developed the
derthals, struggling to live in a world of
now-famous “Three Laws of Robotics.” There

Homo sapiens amongst whom he simply
were earlier robot stories, including Eando
cannot compete.

Binder’s “I, Robot” and Lester del Rey’s “He-

In the Brass Tacks columns that followed
len O’Loy.” In my opinion, none of these
that issue, fans of the day complained that
reached the emotional level and compact-
the story wasn’t really science fiction. I dis-
ness of a little story called “Rust” (October
agree with them. Del Rey does a masterful

1939) by Joseph E. Kelleam. This is the tale
job of putting us inside the head of a charac-
of the last three robots on earth, long after
ter who is not on the “fittest” side of the “sur-
humanity has vanished. The three robots can
vival of the fittest” equation. Hwoogh and all
repair one another, but one of them has be-
of his kind have been outcompeted. Their
gun falling apart and can no longer repair his
day is done. “The Day Is Done” is on my
counterparts. This leads them, each in turn,
short list of the best stories I’ve read. Fortu-
to mechanical failure and demise, with the
nately, this story is still available in the NESFA
last one witnessing the end of his kind with

Press collection Robots and Magic, edited by the same quiet sadness experienced by del

Steven H Silver.

Rey’s character, Hwoogh, in “The Day Is

I discovered two more gems in 1939. The

Done.” After I read “Rust” I began to sing its
first, “Greater Than Gods” by C. L. Moore,
praises as perhaps the finest robot story I’ve
appeared in the July 1939 ASF. That issue inever read. The story was reprinted several
cluded what would much later be considered
times, most notably in The Great Science Fic-
a star-studded lineup: Isaac Asimov’s first sto-
tion Stories, Volume 1, 1939 edited by Isaac ry in ASF; A. E. van Vogt’s first story. Also sto-Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg.

ries by Nat Schachner and Ross Rocklynne.

In 1940, the Golden Age as we know it to-

Analog Science Fiction and Fact (Astounding), Vol. CXXXIII, No. 6, June 2013. ISSN 1059-2113, USPS 488-910, GST#123054108. Published monthly except for combined January/February and July/August double issues by Dell Magazines, a division of Crosstown Publications. One-year subscription $55.90
in the United States and possessions, in all other countries $65.90 (GST included in Canada), payable in advance in U.S. funds. First copy of new subscription will be mailed within eight weeks of receipt of order. When reporting change of address allow 6 to 8 weeks and give new address as well as the old address as it appears on the last label. Periodical postage paid at Norwalk, CT and additional mailing offices. Canadian postage paid at Montreal, Quebec, Canada Post International Publications Mail, Product Sales Agreement No. 40012460. (c) 2012 by Dell Magazines, a division of Crosstown Publications, all rights reserved. Dell is a trademark registered in the U.S. Patent Office. Protection secured under the Universal Copyright Convention. Reproduction or use of editorial or pictorial content in any manner without express permission is prohibited. All stories in this magazine are fiction. No actual persons are designated by name or character. Any similarity is coincidental. All submissions must be accompanied by a stamped self-addressed envelope, the publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or artwork.

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Printed by Quad/Graphics, Taunton, MA U.S.A. (3/11/13) GEM HUNTING

3

ANALOG
day really began to take off. The year opened
issue, “Magic City” by Nelson S. Bond. The
with my favorite Robert Heinlein story, “Re-
story, which I later learned was the second in
quiem.” There was Nat Schachner’s “Cold”

a loosely-connected series, was a kind of

(March 1940), Theodore Sturgeon’s “Butyl
post-apocalyptic travelogue of a band of men
and the Breather” (October 1940) and Willy
and women making their way to a city once

Ley’s “Fog” (December 1940, written under
known as New York. In some ways it fore-
the pseudonym Robert Willey). But the un-
shadowed a new kind of story; the kind that
expected gem that year was the L. Ron Hub-
would lead to “A Canticle For Leibowitz” by
bard serial, “Final Blackout” (April, May, June

Walter M. Miller, Jr. and “They Don’t Make

1940). “Final Blackout” follows a nameless

Life Like They Used To” by Alfred Bester.

Lieutenant leading his band of men through a

“Magic City” was reprinted in 2002 in the
war-devasted Europe. In many respects the
collection T he Far Side of Nowhere by
story was a contemporaneous alternate his-

Arkham House.

tory. Rather than follow the broad historical

As regular readers know, ASF publishes not strokes, Hubbard chose to focus on this
only stories but science articles as well. This
small, tight-knit group (as was the case in
is true today and it was true seventy years

Saving Private Ryan) in a technologically ru-ago. When I began my search for these gems,
ined European landscape. It made for a pow-

I had stories in mind. But I found myself im-
erful story, in my opinion the finest thing
pressed with a number of the science articles
that Hubbard ever wrote. “Final Blackout”

that appeared. One in particular has stood
was put out as a novel first in 1948 and more
out among all of the others that appeared in
recently in 1998.

the first 40 issues of my Vacation. “The Oth-

In 1941, one of my favorite Heinlein novels
er Side of Astronomy” (September 1939) by
was serialized. “Methuselah’s Children” ap-

R. S. Richardson was a remarkable article that
peared across the July, August and Septem-
talked about the trials and tribulations of the
ber issues of ASF. Isaac Asimov’s “Nightfall”

day in the life of an astronomer. Richardson’s
appeared in the September 1941 issue and
colloquial style, self-deprecation, and obvi-

Theodore Sturgeon’s “Microcosmic God” ap-
ous dedication to his career made this article
peared in the April 1941 ASF. All of these sto-the finest that I’ve read in the early years of
ries are fantastic, but the real gem that I

ASF. Even so, Willy Ley has been close on his found buried in the yellowed pages of 1941
heels once or twice.

was the lead novelette for the February 1941

Seeking out these gems—and for the

TREVOR QUACHRI ........................................ Editor EMILY HOCKADAY.........................

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4

JAMIE TODD RUBIN

JUNE 2013
record, I have yet to find one in 1942, de-

The world is at war and at times, things look
spite having read 11 of the 12 issues that
bleak. But there, within the pages of ASF,
year—has given me a new appreciation for
bright people are imaging moon landings and
slush piles. Writers often look upon the no-
cities on Mars. They are exploring different
tion of a slush pile with suspicion. “Why,”

models of society. They envision robots and
they might think, “would an editor bother to
automation and video phones and f lying
look at stories in the slush pile, when they
cars. And, much like discussion boards on
are certain to get a usable story from one of
the Internet today, they are duking it out in
their reliables?”

the Brass Tacks column, holding the 1940s

I am no editor, but I have to suspect part of
equivalent of a modern-day flame war.

the answer lies in the gems. An editor takes

And occasionally, they produce a gem. ■
the same pleasure in seeking out gems in the
slush pile that I find digging them out of the
old pages of ASF. The exper ience has

About the Author:

changed the way I read science fiction maga-

Jamie Todd Rubin is a science fiction writer
zines. I used to read the stories by friends
and blogger with stories appearing in Ana-
first. Next, I’d tackle stories by writers I’ve al-
log, InterGalactic Medicine Show, Apex
ways admired. It used to be that if I didn’t

Magazine, Daily Science Fiction and 40K
recognize someone’s name, I would skip the

Books. He wrote the Wayward Time Travel-
story. Not anymore. The reason is because
er column on science fiction for SF Signal,
you never know if that story with an unfamil-
and occasionally appears on the SF Signal
iar name is going to be the next gem. I imag-
podcast. Jamie also writes book review and
ine the same is true of an editor and their
interview columns for InterGalactic Medi-
slush pile.

cine Show.

There is also a pleasure in time-traveling

Jamie lives in Falls Church, Virginia with
into science fiction’s past. Each lunch hour, I
his wife and two children. He can be found
am transported back into the early 1940s.

online at jamietoddrubin.com.

GEM HUNTING

5

Illustrated by Vincent DiFate

A Cup
of Dirt

Mark Niemann-Ross

Dirt is what you track into the space station.

Soil is what you grow things in.

nzo and Dmitry sat in the galley of the
between interruptions from the kitchen.

space station unencumbered by EVA

Three plates held construction-worker sized
suits, eating dinner and appreciating be-
quantities of spaghetti with tomatoes from

Eing able to scratch their faces.Olya the hydroponic gardens.

Sidorova, the older, taller, and blonder of the

The galley was small, so it was logical for
much-lusted-after Sidorova sisters tried to eat

Olya to be sitting close to Dmitr y. Close

6

JUNE 2013
enough that her blonde hair stuck to the static
women’s locker room. And to launch laser-
electricity of his sweater.

guided water balloons during freshman visita-

“Izvinite,” Olya said. She reached across
tion. Solving offbeat problems was Enzo’s

Dmitry’s plate for a napkin.

drug of choice.

She could have retrieved a napkin from the

A buzzer sounded in the kitchen, calling
dispenser behind her, but instead invaded his

Olya to action and bringing Enzo back to the
personal space, flashing a smile. Olya’s smile
galley.

had caused several rocket scientists to lose

“Bus dishes!” she shouted as she left, swear-
concentration. Dmitry blushed and focused
ing in Russian when a second stove alarm
on his spaghetti.

joined the chorus. Dmitry turned to appreci-

“Olya, dinner is delizioso,” Enzo said. He ate the backside of the departing cook, but
waved a chunk of tomato with his fork.

the entrance of Captain Theresa Jerwin broke

“These remind me of tomatoes from my
his moment of concentration. Sharing a room
home.”

with the Station Captain had a highly clarify-

“Comrade Enzo, you never could grow
ing effect. Some described it as terrifying.

tomato like my Nana.” Dmitry swallowed,

“Gentlemen,” she said. Captain Jerwin gave
then spun the fork to point at his fellow sta-
them a dismissive nod and strode to the cof-
tion worker. “Hydroponic dermo tomato lack fee machine.

soul of real tomato when plant seed in fertile

She f illed her sippy-cup and turned to re-
earth. This tomato—processed urine in red
gard the engineers. One of the older members
skin—Bah.” Dmitry forked, shoveled, looked
of the station, her efforts to retain bone mass
up and chewed with Russian enthusiasm.

had kept her looking like the sprinter she had

Enzo’s English vocabulary was ten times
been at the University of Oregon. She excelled
that of Dmitry’s, but he had nothing to say. He
in the nascent sport of orbital Judo and several
pictured his family’s fattoria in the Tuscan visiting athletes were surprised to find them-Valley of Italy. There, gardens are a status sym-
selves on the receiving end of her chokehold.

bol and the absence of a flock of sheep is an

“How’s the food?” she asked.

eyesore. Enzo remembered one uncle who

“Good. Fine,” said Enzo.

gained a black eye by carelessly disparaging a

“Tomatoes are dermo,” said Dmitry. “My
neighbor’s produce. Dmitry’s complaints

Nana grow better at home.”

about hydroponic tomatoes hadn’t been ad-

“Perhaps we need to assign you to the hy-
dressed directly at him—Enzo wasn’t much of
droponics bay,” Captain Jerwin pasted a terri-
a gardener—but his ancestral conditioning
fying grin on her face. “I’m sure they would
viewed it as a challenge. Soil-grown tomatoes
appreciate the talents and opinions of some-
on a space station. Irrational, impossible—ex-
one with discerning tastes such as yourself.”

actly the kind of problem Enzo couldn’t ig-

Enzo wasn’t sure Dmitry could read the im-
nore.

plied threat and kicked him under the table.

Enzo twirled spaghetti and daydreamed

Captain Jerwin was likable, but had a limited
about the home he hadn’t seen for the better
sense of humor.

part of a year. The installation of the Italian

She had learned self-defense on Earth as a
science module proceeded along a pre-

Director at NASA, although her opponents
dictable and boring timeline. A good thing,
were bean counters and the contest had been
considering the alternative to boredom often
funding space exploration, not Judo. Captain
involved sudden and cold death. But Enzo

Jerwin’s passion had been sharpened by the
thrived on challenges, and anyone who knew
aftermath of an unexpected bolt failure on a
him, knew trouble could soon follow.

previous station, tragically resulting in the or-

Enzo’s job as the module manager required
biting object known as “CPTN_ABDUL_RAH-
an engineer’s knowledge and a commander’s

MAN.” Her presentation at a Congressional
self-conf idence. Unfortunately, these rare
hearing showed the failure was a result of ill-
combinations of personalities were Il Demo-
advised budget cutbacks by a red-faced Repre-
nio’s playground. Enzo encouraged and en-
sentative. She exhibited an “I would kill you if
abled his college engineering class to re-

I could reach you” stare which had been
assemble a professor’s skimmer in the
recorded and reached most-popular status on

A CUP OF DIRT

7

ANALOG
the Internet.

Eleven hours later, Dmitry and R-Eva (the

A death on this station wouldn’t improve

Robotic Extravehicular Automaton) f loated
shareholder value and the Corporation gave
outside the station. The robot was remotely
her god-like powers to prevent it. Captain Jer-
operated, saving an operator from the ordeal
win kept the crew happy and safe. The crew
of suiting up. Above the waist R-Eva was hu-
kept Captain Jerwin on a pedestal. Dmitry and
manoid, complete with arms, hands, and a

Enzo didn’t relax until she departed from the
protective helmet around stereo video cam-
galley.

eras. But instead of legs, R-Eva had a tail end-
ing in an EVA clamp.

Enzo thought about soil when he took a

R-Eva was controlled by Antoniy, a baby-
bath. Water from his sponge disappeared
faced Ukrainian with a master’s in orbital en-
through vacuum ports, taking dirt with it.

gineering. He was one of the few qualif ied

Enzo thought about soil as he passed through

(and well-paid) R-Eva operators. Corporate
airlocks. A quick shake and a blast of air sent
headhunters had tried to recruit him for other
dirt through the f loor vents. Growing toma-
projects, but he always turned down their of-
toes in soil would be hampered by the station-
fers. Experience on the station put him closer
wide absence of dirt. Dirt was nasty stuff with
to the stars and—hopefully—a career among
no purpose; its presence led to component
them.

failures. Soil had no ‘return on investment’

Antoniy wore VR glasses showing the view
and the shuttle schedule wouldn’t prioritize a
from R-Eva’s perspective and gave the sensa-
bag of mulch over a piece of necessary lab
tion of being outside, wearing only a jump-
equipment.

suit. R-Eva mimicked everything Antoniy did,

Tomato seeds would be easy enough. His fi-
so training had included learning not to
danzata, Amata, would gladly send some in
scratch one’s anatomical parts. Woe to the op-
the next personal package, included with
erator who forgot and found video evidence
chocolate chip cookies deemed essential for
of their embarrassing moment broadcast to
crew morale. Water wasn’t an endless re-
the world.

source, but he would be able to satisfy a plant.

R-Eva might be convenient, but trickier pro-

Abundant sunlight waited just outside the
cedures required a hands-on spacewalk. Dmit-
hull.

ry was fastening connectors on the outside of

But—soil. How do you make soil in a sterile
the hull with Enzo providing guidance from
environment?

inside, standing next to Antoniy.

It was no problem on Earth. Take a shovel,

“I’ve been asked to conf irm the arrange-
get as much as you want. If needed, amend it
ments for air recirculation,” Enzo said to An-
with minerals, mulch, or worms and com-
toniy. “Will there be enough f low to make it
post. On Earth, soil inevitably happened. “Ash-
through both filtration and sterilization?”

es to ashes, dust to dust.” On a space station,

“Da, plenty airflow,” Antoniy affirmed. He
soil was an anomaly, a pest. Station procedure
looked down at a virtual bolt in his virtual
manuals were clear; “All personnel will com-
hand. “Sterilizer close to module joint. Air
plete pre-orbital sanitation procedures to
come in, get cleaned, right back out.”

prevent contamination of the facility by for-

“But only if Antoniy install correctly,” Katya
eign bodies.”

Sidorova’s voice laughed over the intercom.

Enzo researched the Internet. Googling

Katya was Olya’s younger sister and had red

“make dirt” produced some unexpectedly
hair, blue eyes, and a degree in electrical en-
racy results. Googling “create dirt” produced
gineering. The medical staff asserted they
no useful results; Earth had no need to make
could determine Katya’s location just by ob-
more. Googling “manufacturing soil” resulted
serving heart rate telemetry of the station per-
in pages of information on removing it from
sonnel. Currently she was checking diagnos-
clean environments such as manufacturing fa-
tics inside the Italian module. She had also
cilities or space stations. Enzo chased the idea
been checking out Antoniy, who was too shy
until falling asleep; he dreamt of his beloved
to respond, but this hadn’t stopped her from

Amata digging in the garden.

being persistent. Katya may have been the
reason Antoniy turned down offers to move

8

MARK NIEMANN-ROSS

JUNE 2013
to other projects.

tors weren’t prohibited, but protocol suggest-

“If Antoniy distracted, air systems do not
ed an announcement when crossing bound-
work and moosor f loat free,” Katya continaries—shower stalls were a shared facility.

ued, slipping into Russian for “garbage.”

Katya had decided it was more convenient to

That’s the answer, realized Enzo.

walk through the men’s area—and past At-

The human body pollutes. It emits noxious
noniy’s room—when she needed access to
gasses. It sheds dead tissue. It excretes waste.

the science labs.

Large parts of the station were dedicated to

“I don’t think Antoniy is here,” said Enzo.

cleaning air and water after use by various or-

He called through his door as he put on his
gans. Most interesting to Enzo, f iltration sys-
shoes. “I’m going to meet him at the mainte-
tems removed floating bits of filth.

nance lab. Would you like to come along?”

“Is f iltration located near the sterilizer?”

“Da!” Katya enthusiastically responded.

asked Enzo.

Enzo walked out of his room and stopped.

“Same thing,” said Antoniy. He handed a

Katya Sidorova wore makeup.

virtual bolt to Dmitry. “Sterilize. Filter. One

Makeup on a girl is pleasant. Makeup on a
unit. Cheaper to maintain. Air f low in, steril-
girl on a space station is wildly extravagant. At
ize, f ilter, air go back. New f ilter ever y
an orbiting cost of roughly one dollar per
month.”

gram, a small tube of eyeliner cost two dollars

“What happens to the used filters?”

to ship into space. Lipstick cost f ive dollars.

Antoniy paused for a minute. He gently

Shampoo cost $340. Katya had invested a
reached into the air, grasped a non-existent
small, but signif icant, portion of her discre-
connector, then replied. “Filters sampled and
tionary payload into the pursuit of Antoniy.

sealed. Test moosor for pathogens, send to in-Enzo tried not to stare.

cinerator.” Incineration meant a fiery re-entry

Ten meters around the ring and a progres-
into atmosphere.

sively easier climb of fifty meters up a spoke;

“How much f iltrate do you test—and is it
they reached the nearly weightless mainte-
returned to the rest of the collection bag?”

nance room. Just enough gravity to keep pro-

“One cc, eight f ilters. Keep samples for
jects in place, but not enough to prevent
month, then throw down with next bag.” An-
climbing the walls. Antoniy stood in front of a
toniy absently responded while he handed an-
beheaded R-Eva, cleaning lenses and cameras.

other bolt to Dmitry.

Adrienne, an attractive French girl, sat at the

“I’d like to use some for testing. Instead of
station next to him. She smiled at Antoniy, lis-
throwing them away, could I have them?”

tening to a story he was telling.

“If you want moosor, take. I show to you

“Antoniy, I’m here to pick up some f il-
where samples are stored. Take last day of
trate,” said Enzo. Adrienne abruptly turned
month or I throw out.” Antoniy picked up an-
back to her project area.

other imaginary bolt and handed it to Dmitry,

Katya entered the room behind Enzo. “And
leaving Enzo to contemplate his potential sup-

I here to pick up Antoniy,” she said. Katya had
ply of raw material.

not missed Adrienne’s furtive move.

* * *

At Katya’s voice, Antoniy turned and

With the station under construction, the
blushed.

outer ring contained pressurized but unas-

“Da. Moosor there. Behind door.” Antoniy
signed rooms. Later, these would become of-
spoke to Enzo, but stared at Katya. Enzo
f icer’s quarters, labs and storage areas—but
moved across the room to inspect the filtrate,
for now, the crew occupied them and Enzo
opening a clear path for Katya to assess the sit-
enjoyed a bit of privacy. The door didn’t lock
uation.

but he had a hidden place to store his

“Antoniy, dorogoy,” Using the low gees to
moosor.

exaggerate her swinging hips, Katya moved to

“Antoniy,” yelled Katya. She walked past
stand between Antoniy and Adrienne. The re-

Enzo’s room, deep into male territory. “You
duced gravity allowed her to accidentally
are wearing clothes?”

bump up next to him, and with deliberation,

The station ring had been divided into
she flipped her long braid over her shoulder.

three areas: men, women, and couples. Visi-

It floated into Adrienne’s project area, leaving

A CUP OF DIRT

9

ANALOG

Adrienne to bat at the semi-floating intruder.

mentioned but continued to focus on his

“Tell me what is this?” Katya asked. She
plate of food.

glanced at R-Eva’s head, then looked up to An-
toniy.

Later, Enzo found an opportunity to wander

Antoniy stammered and tried not to direct
past the kitchen. “Chort voz’mi!” Olya’s voice his gaze where he most wanted to look.

rose amidst a chorus of buzzers and the clat-

Katya’s degree in electrical engineering had
ter of a dropped bowl. She bent to scoop up
not stunted her femininity, nor her ability to
the spilled pan of re-hydrating textured veg-
monopolize the thoughts of a man. Enzo felt
etable protein.

bad for Adrienne’s discomfort and wondered

“Can I help?” Enzo asked.

what might happen to a more serious com-

Olya jumped and spun to face Enzo, sud-
petitor for Antoniy’s attention. He took his fil-
denly aware of his presence. “Nyet. This is trate and left, wisely deciding there was no
fine. You are back, would you like coffee?”

further need of his presence.

“Um . . . I hoped to f ind out more about
food wastes,” Enzo asked. “I’m doing some re-

Enzo looked at the eight CC of filtrate. Col-
search and hoped to get some samples.”

lecting enough to plant a tomato would take

“Antoniy says you collect moosor,” Olya
time, but as long as the crew continued to
leaned back on the counter, holding the pan
shed their skin he’d eventually have a bowl of
of scooped-up TVP. “You need more? You like
nutritionally deficient organic dust.

messy room, garbage lying around?”

Enzo knew the creation of soil would be

“Uh, I’m . . . doing some research on . . .”

classif ied as an unsanctioned biological ex-

“You are not good liar, Enzo,” Olya put
periment. Any number of PhDs would active-
down the pan and wiped her hands. “You
ly object to the skunk-works project when
have dust, now you need old food. Tell me
their research was being delayed. Station op-
what you research.” Olya flashed a smile, melt-erations didn’t care about PhD empire-build-
ing Enzo’s self-reserve.

ing concerns, but they sure as hell would

“Er. Okay . . . I’m going to grow tomatoes,”

strongly discourage anything with a potential
admitted Enzo. “The dust and food waste are
to cause a clean-room failure. He thought it
for making soil. When I have enough, I’ll plant
best to keep things quiet.

seeds, and then surprise Dmitry with a real

But f iltrate wasn’t fertile soil. As a boy, he
soil-grown tomato.”

carried compost to all corners of the fattoria.

Enzo stopped, knowing the space station

He blamed the unending job for his mental
owners wouldn’t want to hear about soil be-
block of agriculture and resulting civil engi-
ing created on-board. Perpetrators would like-
neering degree, but fully understood the ne-
ly be sent Earthside and Olya was now in the
cessity. Tomatoes would need minerals and
uncomfortable position of either informant or
organics. He pondered stealing chemicals
collaborator.

from the hydroponics lab, but that would be

“Soil tomato for Dmitry?” Olya crossed her
difficult and somewhat contrary to his self-im-
arms and smirked at Enzo. Her lips worked
posed rules of the game—an unfair shortcut.

side to side, mirroring the thoughts behind

He needed rotting vegetables.

her eyes.

“Olya, what do you do with the food wastes?

“I like,” Olya said. “I supply ground up veg-

How do you break it down for the plants in hy-
etable scrap, rescued from trash of sloppy
droponics?” Enzo queried the cook over din-
eaters. No meat. How much you need?”

ner. Dmitry quietly shoveled in his food.

Enzo needed far less than Olya supplied.

Olya reached across Dmitry’s plate for the

Perhaps Olya was interested in gaining Dmit-
saltshaker, shook it and wetted a f inger to
ry’s attention. Like Antoniy, Dmitry was shy,
pick up the small amount. Licking it from her
but the sisters appeared to like the hard-to-get
finger, she pointed her blue eyes at Enzo.

Russian boys.

“Incinerator. Too much spices and meat.

“How is research?” Olya often whispered to

Wrecks hydroponics then no dermo tomato

Enzo, but only when Dmitr y was out of
for Dmitry.”

earshot.

She looked at Dmitry, who smiled at being

10

MARK NIEMANN-ROSS

JUNE 2013

Unfortunately, “research” was not going
docked. Shuttle Tiberius clear. Enjoy the
well. Enzo mixed the compost puree with fil-
toys.” The departing shuttle extinguished its
trate but only created a dry salsa. The combi-
f loodlights and drifted to the next docking
nation quickly went rancid, growing mold. He
station.

needed a processing facility to convert the

Inside the station, Dmitry equalized pres-
powdered human cast-offs into component
sure with the cargo container, opened the air-
minerals and organics. It was so easy to com-
lock and f loated through. Enzo could hear
post on Earth with its teeming mass of bugs
him unsnapping clamps; he quickly reap-
and critters—but impossible here. Absently,
peared, pushing the perishables container.

he poked the moldy salsa, wiped off his f in-

Too many flash-frozen bottles of good Russian
ger, slung back into his hammock and dialed
vodka had resulted in grumblings from the
up his fidanzata.

crew, so the captain arranged a compromise.

“Enzo, amore mio! How are you?” Amata

Each cargo container included a limited vol-
appeared on the screen, Tuscan f ields in the
ume of warm, pressurized storage. In ex-
background. “I wondered when you were go-
change, construction would get back on
ing to call.”

schedule.

Amata had studied biochemical engineering

Captain Jerwin knew to play the politics
at the same university as Enzo, with a minor
and insisted on personally distributing the
in botany. Engineering was her career; plants
contents. She refused to wear the Station’s
were her passion. Enzo admired the land-

Santa Claus suit while she performed this task,
scape with a new appreciation for all the free
but the event was clearly festive.

soil lying around.

“Enzo, you have a package from Amata,”

“Things are good, Amata. Working on a few

Captain Jerwin announced. “Is this from your
minor problems, but the module install is go-
farm?”

ing perfettamente.”

“Sì,” Enzo said. “Something special from my

“So you will be coming home early?” Amata
fidanzata.”

laughed. She placed the phone on a shelf, giv-

“I’m not going to have to conf iscate this,
ing Enzo a view of her in the garden shed. She
am I?” asked the Captain. “We can’t be intro-
was always willing to talk but her hands were
ducing contaminates. . . .”

constantly in motion. She scooped the con-

Enzo froze. Had the Captain somehow
tents of the kitchen compost bucket into a
learned the contents of the package? He
bin.

quickly examined the seal—still intact. He

“Sorry, no changes to the schedule.” Enzo
started to formulate a response.

watched Amata work, watched her dark hair.

“. . . After all, chocolate-chip cookies are a

Enzo refocused and recited the station gossip,
special kind of contraband,” continued Cap-
but his attention drifted to the background—
tain Jerwin. “I’d hate to have to eat them all
the potting soil, the green plants, the fertilizer.

myself in the name of station cleanliness.”

“What are you doing?” Enzo asked.

Captain Jerwin was smiling. Enzo realized

“Just feeding the worms.”

she was joking. He resumed breathing.

With a f lock of chickens arguing off-cam-

“Amata sends you cookies?” Dmitry whis-
era, she described the healthy state of the
pered. “Drinking vodka later, you bring!”

worm farm, the egg bundles she had recently

“Gotta go, Dmitry,” mumbled Enzo as he
found, and the amount of castings.

hand-climbed out of the zero-gee dock in the

Enzo slapped his head. “Amata, would you
hub of the station. “I’ll stop by this evening.”

send me a care package? I have a special re-

Enzo rushed to his room and snapped the
quest. . . .”

seal on the package. Inside were cookies—

He explained his needs and Amata shook
but more importantly, a bag containing tiny
her head, placing her hand on her hip. “I can
yellow pouches, each smaller than a grain of
do this. But if you get into trouble, make sure
rice. He carefully opened the bag and mixed
they return you directly to me for disciplin-
the contents with a fresh sample of f iltrate
ing.”

and a bit of water.

Every preschool student plants a seed in a

“Cargo container ATE 23.55 successfully
cup of soil, unleashing an ancient force of bio-

A CUP OF DIRT

11

ANALOG
chemical mysticism. They watch in awe as the
magnif ier to examine the bowl of f iltrate for
emerging life waves a green banner of hope
signs of activity. As had been true for the pre-
and fulf illment. Enzo was no less hopeful as
vious week, nothing could be seen.

he planted the packets of worm eggs in skin

“I’m worried about this,” said Enzo. “This
flakes. A batch of mature worms from Amata
station is too small to keep secrets. What hap-
would have been easier, but rail-gun accelera-
pens when people find out?”

tion turned complex organisms into mush.

“Nobody to find out from me,” Olya said. “I

Eggs were much more robust and if they
want surprise for Dmitry.”

weren’t frozen, would make orbit in f ine

“Chyort voz’mi!” exclaimed Antoniy, look-
shape.

ing at the clock and bolting out the door.

Enzo watched the mix for weeks, but noth-

“Late for shift!”

ing moved. No worms, no soil, just powdered

Which resulted in the opening scene of a
dead skin. Olya frequently stopped by to
major station-side love scandal, complete with
check up on the research—which accidental-
associated gossip.

ly led to the next conspirator in the tomato

In the hallway, Antoniy received a refresher
drama.

course on the effects of rapid acceleration,

Enzo had borrowed a magnifying glass to
precession and movement against direction of
inspect for weld undercuts and had “forgot-
spin in the tight conf ines of a space station.

ten” to return it. Olya sat at the desk and held

These forces normally resulted in a collision—
it above the dormant worm farm, searching
in this case with Katya Sidorova.

for life.

Russian cursing and apologies echoed back

“Is this worm egg?” she asked. Enzo stood
into the room as Katya and Antoniy tried to re-
and took the magnif ier, looking over her
gain their proper orientation. Olya mistakenly
shoulder at the contents of the desk. The aeri-
peeked out the door. Katya looked up from
al view of Sidorova cleavage caught his atten-
her position on the floor.

tion, if only for the slightest of moments.

Speakers of any language could understand

“You don’t need magnifier to see that,” An-
the ensuing Russian invectives between the
toniy laughed. His unexpected appearance in
sisters. Katya had not expected to meet An-
the small room startled and embarrassed
toniy in such a forceful way and was especial-

Enzo. He straightened quickly and his collar
ly not pleased to find Olya peeking out of the
zipper snagged several blonde hairs from
door he had just exited. Thinking with her red

Olya’s head, yanking her back and exposing
hair, Katya jumped to the worst of conclu-
the worm farm to Antoniy’s full view.

sions and berated her sister for romancing An-

“Moosor?” Antoniy immediately recognized
toniy. The volume quickly rose to uncomfort-
the powder. “You are hoarding moosor? This able levels and echoed through the station,
is strange.”

with Antoniy unhappily stuck in the middle.

Enzo and Olya babbled with competing ex-

“Blyad!” screamed Olya as she jetted off to-planations, protesting entirely too much to as-
ward the kitchen.

sert any innocence. He watched them quietly,

“Blyadishcha!” answered Katya, running in
then walked to the desk, f ingered the small
the opposite direction.

pile and turned to regard his shipmates with a

Silence from the hall leaked into Enzo’s
puzzled expression.

quarters. Antoniy had slipped back into the

“Tomatoes!” Enzo exclaimed. “Soil grown
room in an attempt to hide from the sisters.

tomatoes for Dmitry.” He came clean about

The explosive situation in the hallway had dis-
the entire plan. Olya held her breath.

sipated before Antoniy turned to Enzo. “I go

Antoniy, revealing a hidden sense of humor,
to work now. Perhaps EVA might be safer.” He
thought the idea of presenting Dmitry with a
slunk out the door.

tomato taste-test was “Vot eto da!” Enzo’s pri-Enzo’s clubhouse became a therapy room.

vate quarters become a clubhouse for the

Olya frequently replayed the event and shared
three while they fretted over the dormant
stories of Katya’s irrational behavior. Antoniy
worm farm.

focused on the worm farm. Enzo was an engi-
neer, not a therapist, so he wisely spent much

Olya and Antoniy sat at the desk, using the
of the time nodding his head in vague agree-

12

MARK NIEMANN-ROSS

JUNE 2013
ment.

the last week. “Little worms!”

Station retellings of the Shakespearean dra-

Enzo shifted his gaze to the desk. Antoniy
ma were proliferate and inaccurate. Dmitry re-
turned the bowl of filtrate with one hand, the
acted with Slavic silence, which annoyed Olya
other holding the magnif ier to his eye. Turn
who found reasons to blame Katya. Dmitry
the bowl, stop, turn back, fiddle with the fo-
seemed unsure of the relationship between
cus dial, turn the bowl.

Antoniy and Olya—they had been spending a

“Gospodi!” Antoniy again exclaimed.

lot of time together. Time spent farming

Antoniy’s false alarms were usually momen-
worms, but he was unaware of this detail. Per-
tary, followed by “Nyet” and a sniff. This time, haps Dmitry was just frightened of Olya, ei-Antoniy did see something. Enzo rolled off the
ther her explosive temper or possibly her
hammock and stood, looking through the
smoldering good looks.

magnifier.

Katya aggressively didn’t speak to Antoniy,

“Oh my God!” agreed Enzo.

but found opportunities to make him feel

The white filtrate contrasted with the small
sheepish. As they were still working on the
red lines crawling across the surface. No mis-

Italian installation, those moments were fre-
take—worms. Worms, searching for food.

quent. Enzo replayed one awkward session on

Enzo hadn’t kept any kitchen scraps around
video for Amata.

for weeks, but now he suddenly needed nutri-

On the recording, Dmitry f loated on EVA,
ents. He turned for the door.

accompanied by R-Eva, operated by Antoniy.

“Stay here!” shouted Enzo. “Don’t let them

Enzo could be seen consulting blueprints next
get away!”

to Antoniy. Katya appeared in an inset win-

Workers from the third shift f illed the gal-
dow of the monitor, confirming connections
ley, but seeing Enzo breathlessly appear in the
at the module joint.

kitchen doorway gave Olya every reason to ig-

“Dmitry, connection not functional,” Katya
nore the crowd.

said. “Please tell R-Eva move it to socket B13.”

“Research!” whispered Enzo.

Dmitry shifted his position to look up at An-

Dumping the contents of the mixer, Olya
toniy/R-Eva, and then looked back at the pan-
grabbed a handful of mixed food trimmings
el he held. Normally, Katya would have made
and minced them to soup. Like a bartender in
an impish remark directly to Antoniy. Now
a high-class restaurant, she deftly tossed the
she directed her conversation to Dmitry, who
puree into a clean glass and handed it to
had to relay it to R-Eva and finally to Antoniy.

Enzo.

Antoniy could hear everything, but anger or

“Research!” agreed Olya. “Go!”

shyness prevented his direct reply.

Enzo proceeded down the corridor at a

The video lasted for one minute, thirty-two
faster pace than advised in the station manu-
seconds, but recorded an eternity. On an or-
als, bouncing off walls when his enthusiasm
biting station, awkward moments have a lot of
exceeded available gees. He directed his at-
space to fill.

tention entirely at the small glass of vegetable

* * *
puree, resulting in his vector abruptly inter-

“. . . she always took last of ice cream and
secting with the Captain’s. He tumbled, but

Mama let her,” Olya said. She had been vent-
managed to keep the contents of the glass
ing to Enzo and Antoniy about her younger
contained. Containing the angry Captain
sister for the last hour.

proved to be more difficult.

Enzo tried to read in his hammock. Antoniy

“Where’s the fire, Enzo?” queried the Cap-
avoided eye contact.

tain. Her eyebrows furrowed in annoyance.

“I need return to kitchen. Dinner waits.”

“Do we need to post speed limits?”

Olya stood and departed from Enzo’s Therapy

Enzo used his f inger to wipe up the small

Room and Dormant Worm Farm. The cabin
bits of vegetable from the floor, walls, and her
was blissfully quiet for forty-two minutes be-
uniform. “Sorry,” he said, hoping to truncate
fore the excitement started.

the conversation and return to his starving

“Gospodi!” Antoniy quietly whispered from
worm farm.

the desk. Enzo didn’t look up from his read-

“What’s in the glass?” she enquired. “Does
er—Antoniy had been calling false alarms for

Olya have a new milkshake flavor?”

A CUP OF DIRT

13

ANALOG

Enzo realized he should panic. Transporting
was due to his lack of gardening skills. After
unlicensed vegetable puree wasn’t prohibit-
the conversation with the Penzan, he realized
ed—but could lead to questions he didn’t
the need for more agricultural know-how.

want to answer.

With hopes of gaining further insights, Enzo

“Um . . . it’s something she’s trying out. A
supplied the staggering Russian with a starter
bit bland, but lots of vitamins.” He desperately
kit of filtrate, worms and puree.

spun the story, focusing his adrenaline with

Olya now included “Research” in her daily
hopes of preserving his career and the secre-
food preparation schedule and “For Research”

cy of the impending soil. Captain Jerwin re-
became a regular, although clandestine, re-
garded him with a questioning look.

quest at the galley.

Enzo hesitated, raised the glass of puree to
his lips, took a tentative sip and swirled the

The success of soil creation offset the cor-
woody pulp. The overwhelming taste of garlic
responding social failures of Katya, Antoniy
and strawberr y surprised him, but he
and Olya. With hopes of patching up friend-
smacked his lips in theatrical approval, held
ships, Enzo carefully hid any evidence of
up the glass and nodded.

worms and threw a small party in his quar-

“Delicious!” he lied. “Gotta go.”

ters.

Enzo resumed his dash down the hallway

“Antoniy tells me this vodka is from Penza,”

before the Captain could respond. Cornering

Enzo chattered to Dmitry, pouring him an
into his cabin, he handed the puree to An-
oversized glass. He poured an equal amount
toniy, who carefully placed small amounts
for Antoniy, hoping the myth of Russians
near the infant worms. Antoniy and Enzo al-
holding their booze was inaccurate. For him-
most cheered out loud when their babies
self he poured only a little, trying to maintain
found the vegetable mix.

his wits should things go out of control.

The worms thrived on Olya’s compost

“Penza near my home town,” Dmitry cheer-
puree and the filtrate slowly turned from sal-
fully agreed. “Make good vodka. Za druzhbu
sa to soil. A diet of straight vegetable sauce
myezhdu narodami!” Dmitry and Antoniy
failed—the worms needed the filtrate for rest
emptied their glasses in a toss, and then
and breeding. Antoniy decided the station air
looked expectantly at Enzo. Enzo, being a
f ilters needed more frequent cleaning and
good host, followed their example.

now supplied twenty or thirty CCs of moosor

Two more shots and the singing started.

per month.

Loud Russian vocalizations did not need the

Distressingly, an increasing number of sta-
intercom to echo through the station. The out
tion personnel were becoming aware of the
of control portion of the party began with
project and becoming willing co-conspirators.

Katya entering the room.

“Enzo, please meet friend of mine,” An-

Dmitry noticed Katya f irst. Antoniy faced
toniy introduced a newcomer to Enzo’s re-
away from the door, teaching Enzo the cor-
search room and private quarters. “He comes
rect pronunciation of a Russian folksong.

from Penza, much farming. He misses smell of

Dmitry removed the foolish grin from his face,
soil. I tell him I know of something he will
replacing it with a sober frown.

like, he bring vodka from Penza. Top quality.

“Enzo, you not say Antoniy here!” Katya

We drink!”

said, expecting a pleasant evening with Dmit-

Enzo had learned to appreciate fine vodka,
ry and Enzo, rather than a weak attempt at re-
but this was some of the best he had appreci-
unions.

ated. Likewise, Antoniy’s friend agreed the

Antoniy stopped and turned. Not prepared
soil was the best he had smelled in months.

for an encounter with a redheaded Russian

“Too bad about plants,” the Penzan farmer
she-badger, he tossed back the rest of his glass
said. “Space seeds are genetically modified for
and exited the room, managing to avoid any
hydroponics—lots of fruit, not much root. In
contact with Katya through a door not de-
dirt, they sprout then die. Not enough nutri-
signed for two occupants.

ents. Normal seeds also fail. Light is all

“Antoniy is Yeban’ko maloletnee,”

wrong.”

screamed Katya. “I make clear I don’t want

Enzo had had assumed the failure to sprout
see him again!”

14

MARK NIEMANN-ROSS

JUNE 2013

And on cue, Olya entered the room at high
quest had been quickly granted. Antoniy had
velocity. She had been just down the hallway
left without telling Katya, leaving her to find
when she saw Antoniy exit and heard her sis-
out from the station project manager. For a
ter swearing at Enzo.

woman who had been inflicting Russian silent

“Enzo, you are glupetz, why is she here?”

torture on Antoniy for several weeks, Katya

Olya blasted him before she even passed the
now reacted as if Antoniy was the only boy in
doorway. She didn’t expect Katya would be
space.

blocking the door and unexpectedly bounced

“I angry, but not want him to leave,” sniffed
off her—directly into Dmitry’s half-f inished

Katya. “Just want him to be strong, notice
glass of vodka, spilling the drink into his lap
me.” Another sob and a drink of tea.

and landing there herself.

“Stupid men,” agreed Olya.

The silence was as brief as the explosion of

Katya wasn’t the only one missing Antoniy.

cursing and accusations was loud. Katya

The engineer newly tasked with cleaning f il-
swearing at Enzo. Olya swearing at Katya and
tration wanted nothing to do with saving f il-

Enzo. Dmitry trying to move between the
trate for worms and soil. Filters were cleaned,
atoms of the wall behind him and away from
moosor incinerated and the monthly eight
the struggling blonde in his lap. Enzo trying to

CCs of archived filtrate sent Earthward. Enzo
explain. Katya and Olya challenging each oth-
couldn’t blame him for sticking to document-
er’s parenthood and virtue. Abruptly, the sis-
ed procedures, but it created a barrier to
ters exited into the hallway, departing in
building enough soil for serious agriculture.

equal but opposite directions. Dmitry listened

Or even one good tomato.

to the firestorm recede, glanced at Enzo and

Further and unfortunately, the module in-
quietly left him alone.

stallation continued to proceed on schedule.

With only a few short weeks before the last

Two days later, Enzo and Dmitry climbed to
connectors were placed, Enzo realized he

EVA prep for the next scheduled install.

would be sent back to Amata before the toma-

“Antoniy and Katya? Same room, same
toes were sprouting.

time?” queried Dmitry of Enzo. “Did Katya

“Ciao amore mio!” Enzo said to the video
and Antoniy know same room, same time?”

link image of Amata, who smiled back at him.

Enzo admitted he had been a neglectful

“Three weeks and I will be home. Is the house
host.

still standing?”

“Why not sponsor Judo match instead?”

“There have been no fires to speak of,” Am-
snarked Dmitry.

ata laughed. “The chickens are happy and the

Sobs greeted them as they entered the
garden is ripe. Fresh marinara for you when
wing. “That Yeban’ko maloletnee LEFT!”

you return.” Amata held up a Roma tomato,

Katya choked. “Antoniy transferred to other
ripe and out of reach. Her botany degree had
station yesterday. Did not say goodbye, just
served her well.

gone with glupetz robot.” Another sobbing

“Amata, you cannot imagine how much I
cry f illed the station. Katya was a hysterical
wish to be holding that tomato.”

wreck.

“Tell me more when you come home,” Am-

Enzo paged Olya to collect her sister. With-
ata breathed. “I miss you.”

out a qualif ied tech helping them inside the
station, they were done for the day. It would

Three days later, the f inal scene of the sta-
be best if they were gone when Olya arrived,
tion celebrity scandal took place. It began as
so they went to find other projects.

Enzo, Dmitry and Katya reported to EVA prep

Enzo later found Olya and Katya in the gal-
for external inspection spacewalks.

ley with strong black tea and tissues. The mag-

“Don’t bother suiting up,” said Roger, the
netic force of boyfriends had repelled, and

EVA tech. “Captain just left. She said to tell
then attracted the sister s. While Katya
you two things. First—you’re late. Second—
sobbed, Olya explained to Enzo how Antoniy
you’re to report to her conference room. And
had transferred to the sister space station, also

I’m pretty sure she meant immediately.”

under construction. The other station had a

The three moved down the station corri-
greater need for R-Eva operators, so his re-
dors feeling the dark, gravitational pull of the

A CUP OF DIRT

15

ANALOG

Captain’s summons. They passed the galley
tion last night. For those of you in the room,
when Olya emerged with a glass of what ap-

Antoniy explained where these worms and
peared to be vegetable puree.

soil have come from and how they traveled to

“Move, ” Olya shouted. “Captain want
our sister station amongst his personal be-
pureed vegetables in conference room.”

longings.”

Enzo imagined bad things coming his way.

The Captain picked up the bowl and exam-

They entered the room to f ind Antoniy’s
ined it closely. “News travels quickly in the vac-
image displayed on a teleconference link, the
uum of space. This morning, I had the unex-

Captain looking out of the view port and a
pected pleasure of conversing with an
bowl of soil and worms at the head of the
extremely enthusiastic representative of the
table. Enzo smelled impending doom.

Corporation that owns this station. He told me

“Sit,” stated Captain Jerwin.

they were thrilled we had instituted a program

They sat.

to improve station morale by reproducing a lit-

“The five of you are an unbelievable pain in
tle piece of Earth. He was briefly curious about
the ass.” The Captain turned, staring at each
how we contained this —dirt— so as to not
of them, finishing with a glare at the worms.

contaminate the station, but didn’t pause long

“I assume you have forgotten the commer-
enough for me to dream up a lie. He rushed on
cial nature of this station. I assume you have
to tell me Earthside engineers were highly sup-
forgotten the importance of maintaining a
portive about the improvements in quality of
clean-room environment. I assume you have
life on our station. He wanted to know when
forgotten the consequences, both to your
we’d be prepared for a press conference to
safety and careers, of willfully creating quanti-
show off these tomatoes.”

ties of contaminant.”

Turning back to the monitor, the Captain

“I can explain—” Enzo attempted to do the
continued. “Antoniy. I managed to rescind
noble thing and own up.

your transfer, much to the dismay of my com-

“I’m talking. You’re listening.” The Captain
petitor in this wager. You are returning to this
glared at him in a fashion reminiscent of her
station on the next transport. I believe it will
famous video. “When I’m ready to hear from
be departing your current location in approx-
you, I will have told you what you are going to
imately f ifty minutes. When you set foot on
say. Until then, nothing. Understood?”

this station, you will report to engineering

Enzo gulped and nodded. He hoped he’d be
headquarters. You will accept your previous
sent home in the pressurized transport, rather
assignment. They are expecting you to com-
than the incinerator run.

plete cleaning the f iltration systems before

“Last night, I had a Captain’s dinner at our
dinner. You will continue to use your modi-
sister space station. A wonderful meal, until
f ied disposal routine for the f iltrate. Dis-
we discussed shipboard morale. At this point,
missed.” The connection ended and a drop-
my peer challenged me with a wager. He be-
jawed Antoniy disappeared from the monitor.

lieves his station will produce soil-grown

“Katya,” The Captain turned from the blank
tomatoes faster and of better quality than
monitor and stared down the Russian girl.

ours.”

“You are remaining as Support Engineer on

Enzo shot a quick glance at a puzzled Dmit-
the same team. This time you will not turn my
ry.

station into a soap opera. I will not hear re-

The Captain continued, “‘What are soil-
ports of missed assignments. You and Antoniy
grown tomatoes?’ I thought to myself. But I will attend an upcoming series of Effective
don’t like to appear ignorant of activities

Communication classes. I expect to hear
around my station. So I, of course, accepted
glowing reports from the instructor regarding
his wager. And by the way, it is a substantial
your respective performances. This is not a
wager.”

speculative statement. Is this clear?”

Enzo mentally inventoried his possessions

Katya’s face was as red as her hair. She un-
on the station and decided to whom they’d be
derstood. The Captain turned to Olya.

given.

“This vegetable puree seems to be exceed-

“Antoniy.” The Captain faced the monitor.

ingly popular and until last night, it didn’t oc-

“Thank you for indulging me in our conversa-
cur to me it was anything other than a health

16

MARK NIEMANN-ROSS

JUNE 2013
drink. Apparently it’s a health drink, but not

“Captain.” Enzo stopped to clear his throat
for my human crew. In support of the tomato
and started again. “Captain, I’m not sure it can
project, you are now going to produce
be done. I’m not good with plants. I’m sure
enough of your health mix to keep our worm

Dmitry and Olya can handle it.”

population happy and producing soil.”

“They will be busy enough. This is for you

“And you,” The Captain turned her gaze on
to do.” The Captain voiced the statement
a suddenly f idgeting Dmitry. “It’s unclear
slowly, enunciating every syllable. “Your
how, but you are somehow the cause of this
tomatoes are now tied to shareholder value.

situation. You are now accepting the job of

You will grow them successfully, if you have

Soil Production Manager. I expect you will
to spend evenings taking a community college
work closely with Olya and Antoniy to moni-
class in botany. I don’t care what it takes. It
tor, contain, and maximize system through-
apparently doesn’t matter to the corporation
put. Emphasis on contain. Please do not con-how much it costs. But I’d better see them on
sider this a promotion; it is simply a new part
my desk and soon.”

of your job. Understood?”

Enzo thought for a long moment. “Captain,

Dmitry replied with a vigorous affirmation.

I think I know how to do this.”

“Da, Captain!”

“Fine. Good. Do as you need. Red, round

“The three of you are dismissed,” The Cap-
vegetables on my desk. Dismissed.”

tain said in an efficient tone. “Enzo, you stay.”

Olya, Dmitry, and Katya cleared the room

Two weeks later, R-Eva worked near the
as if in an explosive decompression. In spite
docking port. Antoniy, wearing VR glasses
of the air-conditioning, Enzo began to sweat.

and controlling R-Eva, stood inside next to

“Enzo, you and I have a problem,” started

Katya.

the Captain. “First, an aff irmation. You’re a

“Can you see them?” Katya scanned the
good engineer. Your module install will finish
videos, showing the view from outside via R-
on time. Good work.”

Eva’s cameras. Katya put her arm around An-

Enzo swallowed. Nodded. Stared.

toniy.

“If you were a screw-up, I could just wait

R-Eva reached down to pat a phantom
for your contract to end and you’d be off my

Katya’s butt—an oversight by Antoniy, with
station. However, you are clever and you
video evidence shared widely among station
know the routines. And there’s this wager and
crew.

press conference. All of this soil. But no toma-

“There is shuttle,” said Antoniy. “Coming
toes.” The Captain held up the bowl. “Is that
from behind spoke three.”

correct? There are no tomatoes?”

R-Eva’s head swiveled to follow the Italian

Enzo admitted that yes, there were no
personnel shuttle. Inside the station, Antoniy
tomatoes.

took off the VR glasses and joined Katya in

“I’ve put in a recommendation you remain
watching the video of the dock interior. They
on the ship for further work on the Italian
could see Enzo, Dmitry, and Olya waiting by
module. I have expressed concerns about its
the entry port for f inal pressurization. Lights
operation, concerns that will require a quali-
flashed, the seal opened, and several new sta-
f ied engineer to address. In addition to your
tion personnel emerged. Among them was a
duties with the module, you are also going to
dark-haired woman with a botany major and a
produce tomatoes.”

sack of seeds, who launched herself into

Enzo felt his heart drop to Earth, to his Am-

Enzo’s arms. ■
ata.

A CUP OF DIRT

17

Science Fact

Waves of the

Future: Where

Will the Next

Tsunami Strike?

Richard A. Lovett
few years ago, I joined some friends
who’ve read my prior articles know I’ve often
for an event called the Hood to Coast
written about seismology, earthquakes, and

Relay—which, as the name implies, is
tectonics.1 Not far offshore from the Oregon

Aa relayrace running all the wayfrom Coast is one of the world’s largest subduction Oregon’s Mount Hood to the sea (about two
zones—a place where tectonic plates crush
hundred miles). That year I didn’t run, but in-
together, with one diving beneath another,
stead served as a volunteer, directing traff ic
sometimes in giant lurches. These can pro-
somewhere in the recesses of the Oregon
duce earthquakes of magnitude 9.0 or greater

Coast Ranges. Afterward, I joined my friends

. . . and undersea earthquakes of that size
at the beach for sunset, celebration, and a
mean tsunamis.

weekend on the coast.

What, I wondered, would I do, if the

Since I’d not run the race, I went for a jog.

ground heaved?

About two miles into it, I got to thinking

I knew a tsunami wouldn’t strike until
about tsunamis.

twenty or thirty minutes after a quake ended.

That might sound strange, but those

That was enough time for me to run three or

1

In fact, my guest Alternate View column in November 2012, “Traditional Mousetraps” was about a different aspect of the global tsunami problem.

18

JUNE 2013
four miles . . . assuming bridges were intact

Every few hundred years, geologists believe,
and I didn’t have to swim sloughs. Assuming
this fault unleashes a mega-quake comparable
there weren’t power lines down all over the
to the one that devastated Japan. The most re-
place. Assuming the hill I ran for didn’t turn
cent was in 1700 (dated by tree-ring studies of
out to be an impenetrable blackberry thicket.

trees it killed).5 Nobody knows whether that

The beach I was running along was three
means the fault is about ready to slip again, or
miles long, which meant the middle of it was
if it will be quiescent for several more cen-
a mile and a half from high ground. Suddenly,
turies.

I felt dangerously exposed.

Unfortunately, if it happens now, American
coastal residents won’t react as well as the

The last decade has done much to bring the

Japanese. “The Japanese are culturally attuned
threat of tsunamis to worldwide attention.

to be aware of earthquakes and tsunamis,”

The best-known disasters were the ones in
says Patrick Corcoran, a disaster specialist at

Sumatra (230,000 dead on December 26,

Oregon State University. “We are not.”

2004) and Japan (20,000 dead on March 11,

How many people are in the danger zone is

2011). But those aren’t the only killer waves.

difficult to estimate. Corcoran puts the figure

The 2010 Chilean earthquake generated eight-
at roughly a hundred thousand, but some of
foot waves that killed two hundred people.2
the coastal towns, he notes, can see their pop-

And an earthquake near Samoa on September
ulations swell by a factor of ten during peak

29, 2009 washed the islands with 15-foot
tourist weekends. “It’s musical chairs,” he
waves, killing at least 129.3 Even the Haiti
said. “When the earthquake happens, whoev-
earthquake of 2010 generated a small but
er is going to be there is going to be there.”

deadly tsunami.4 All of which leads to a simple

In Japan, 90% of the people in the areas hit
question: where will the next deadly wave hit?

by the tsunami escaped. In Oregon, Corcoran

The short answer is that until earthquake
fears, it might be the reverse: the 90% might
prediction becomes a true science, nobody
well be the victims.6
knows. But some regions are at greater risk

(and more poorly prepared) than others.

Ring of Fire . . . and Water

Cascadia is part of the Pacific “Ring of Fire,”

The Oregon Coast where I was jogging is
where volcanoes (and subduction zones) rim
one of these. The fault that threatens it is the
the planet’s most tectonically active zone. Sev-

Cascadia Subduction Zone, which stretches
en of the ten largest earthquakes in recorded
offshore from Northern California to Canada.

history7 have occurred here—sixteen of the

2

“When Will We Learn,” Newsweek, March 13, 2011, http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/

2011/03/13/when-will-we-learn.html.

3

Ibid.

4 Of the 200,000 who died in that earthquake, only three are known to have been killed by the wave, but there might have been others who survived the collapse of their houses only to drown. See Richard A. Lovett, “Haiti Earthquake Produced Deadly Tsunami,” Nature News (online) 25 February 2010.

5

It also spawned legends among coastal tribes, and produced a tsunami described by Japanese historians. See Richard A. Lovett, “From Atlantis to Canoe-Eating Trees: Geomythology Comes of Age,”

Analog, September 2009.

6

Northern California might fare slightly better if people remember 2011, when four people (three of whom survived) were washed out to sea by 8-foot waves from the Japan earthquake. See “Tsunami: Much of Crescent City harbor destroyed; 4 people swept into sea, 1 feared dead,” Los Angeles Times, March 11, 2011, http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/03/crescent-city-harbor-destroyed-peo-
ple-swept-into-sea.html. But history isn’t on the side of memory. The person who died was reportedly photographing the waves — despite the fact that well within living memory, Crescent City had seen 11
fatalities from a tsunami generated by Alaska’s 1964 “Good Friday” earthquake (magnitude 9.2).

7

“Largest Earthquakes in the World since 1900,” U.S. Geological Survey, http://earthquake.usgs.gov/
earthquakes/world/10_largest_world.php.

WAVES OF THE FUTURE

19

ANALOG
top seventeen, in fact, if you include the Indi-
ico, could be at risk, though probably not of a
an Ocean side of Indonesia, which may not
mega-quake (magnitude 9). Similarly, south-
border the Pacific but is part of the same tec-
ern California doesn’t seem likely to have a gi-
tonic region.

ant subduction-zone earthquake, though, of

Another high-danger part of that region lies
course, it’s always vulnerable to waves com-
offshore from Lima, Peru. “[Since] the Spanish
ing from far afield. And, as we’ll discuss later,
conquest in 1543, Lima has been destroyed
subduction zone temblors aren’t the only
three times by a major earthquake with
source of tsunamis.

tsunamis,” says Emile Okal, a geophysicist

Continuing to move north, we hit Cascadia,
from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illi-
then Alaska, where the giant “Good Friday”

nois. “How large, we are not sure, but enough
earthquake of 1964 (magnitude 9.2) un-
to completely wreck the city as it was built [at
leashed a tsunami that killed people as far
the time]. Now construction would be a bit
away as Crescent City, California. But that was
better, but the population has increased ten-
less than f ifty years ago and it’s unlikely that
fold or something, so I would put Lima as a
enough stress for a repeat will reaccumulate
city very much at risk.”

anytime soon.

Also at risk is Indonesia (and the same far-

Better primed for big earthquakes are the
f lung regions of the Indian Ocean that were

Aleutian Islands, parts of which, Okal says,
hard hit in 2004). At one level, that’s surpris-
haven’t seen large earthquakes since 1788.

ing, because classic tectonic theory says that

“But they are very lightly populated.” Still, he
earthquakes release long-accumulating strain.

notes, a big earthquake here could beam

This means that a fault should not rupture
tsunami waves toward Los Angeles and other
again in the same place until enough time has
parts of California. “This is a scenario which is
passed for strain to re-accumulate.

considered by some people [to be] a major

But faults appear to come in segments, and
priority in terms of hazard assessment on the
an earthquake in one segment can transfer

U.S. West Coast,” he says.

stress to adjacent ones. And, while Indonesia

Other parts of the Aleutians, he adds, could
has seen more than its share of giant earth-
produce a tsunami that “would strike Hawaii
quakes, one segment of the Sunda Subduction
pretty badly.”

Zone—the fault that generated both the 2004

Continuing around the Ring of Fire, Kam-

Indian Ocean tsunami and a subsequent mag-
chatka, Russia, had a huge earthquake in 1952
nitude 8.6 earthquake nearby—hasn’t seen a

(variously reported as magnitude 8.2 to 9.0)

major earthquake since 1833 . . . and even that
that produced a tsunami whose effects the So-
earthquake may have released only a portion
viet Union long kept secret. “It killed upward
of the accumulating strain.

of seventeen thousand people,” Okal says. But

That segment lies offshore of the densely
here, too, the strain has probably been fully
populated city of Padang, which is several
released, making a near-future repeat unlikely.

times larger than Banda Aceh, the largest In-

Moving to Japan, the best thing that can be
donesian city hit by the 2004 tsunami. “There
said is that the fault zone that produced the
are places where we know of very large his-

2011 earthquake is probably safe for hundreds
torical earthquakes that are more or less ripe
of years. But there’s always the threat of a big
for [another],” says Okal. “I would put Padang
tsunami from other areas hitting Tokyo, as
as [such] a bad place.”

happened in 1923, when one hundred thou-

Other “bad” places circle much of the Ring
sand died, with another forty thousand miss-
of Fire. For example, Okal says, there may still
ing.8 Farther south, Okal adds, the big
be strain to be released in northern Chile. “We
question is a fault zone known as the Nankai
know there was one earthquake [there] in

Trough. “Some parts are ripe for rupture,” he

1877, and a smaller one in 1922,” he says.

says.

“But there is the possibility [of another].”

Continuing south, the Ryukyu Islands

Moving north, he notes that Mazatlán, Mex-

(which run from Japan to Taiwan) appear to

8 Not all, or even most, of these people died from the tsunami. The earthquake produced fires, which swept through the city, killing tens of thousands. A subsequent typhoon added to the misery, and the death toll.

20

RICHARD A. LOVETT

JUNE 2013
have had some history of seismicity in the

* * *

1700s, but have been quiescent since. In

earthquake risk, that’s not a good thing.

Sloshing the Middle East

“There is a possibility to fit a very large earth-

The Ring of Fire is well known. But other
quake in there—up to magnitude 9—which
than the South China Sea, some of the globe’s
would be bad for the Philippines in addition
most dangerous tsunami zones may be else-
to the local islands,” Okal says.

where.

The Philippines themselves, he adds, are a

One such potential disaster area is the

“tectonic mess.” Mega earthquakes have nev-

Makran Subduction Zone, which lies in the
er occurred there in recorded history, he says,

Arabian Sea, paralleling the coasts of Pakistan
but it’s possible that a region known as the Lu-
and Iran. Virtually unknown to Americans,
zon Trench might produce such an earth-
this region’s most recent large event was a
quake. “If all of this were to rupture at
magnitude 8.5 quake in November, 1945,
once—and there is no reason to think it could
which produced waves reported to be as high
not—you could have a major event,” he says.

as forty-five feet and killed four thousand peo-

The resulting wave, he adds, would be a disas-
ple in southern Pakistan.

ter in the South China Sea, which borders not

One might think that this released all of the
just Manila but much of Southeast Asia. “It
accumulating strain, but only about one-third
could be one of the very few scenarios in
of the “available” fault ruptured, Okal says. Is
which the coastlines of Vietnam, western
the rest primed to go any day? Who knows.

Malaya, and perhaps Singapore, could be

But, Okal says, “There is a concern. We are
threatened,” he says, adding that Hong Kong
talking about a major impact on places like
might also be hit by the resulting wave.

Karachi and Mumbai.”

It’s a very poorly understood area, tectoni-

Another place that’s ripe for a major tsuna-
cally, but—for those worried about mega-dis-
mi might be Istanbul, Turkey.

asters—probably the scariest setting we’ve yet

It’s another place most of us wouldn’t asso-
discussed, simply because of the enormous
ciate with tsunamis. After all, it’s inland, miles
number of people living along the coast and
from either the Black Sea or the Aegean. But it
their lack of tsunami preparedness.9
happens to lie on a body of water known as

Continuing south, Okal says an earthquake
the Sea of Marmara, which is the lake-like
on the southern coast of the Indonesian island
zone between the Black and Aegean Sea. And
of Java would not only be disastrous for local

Turkey’s most dangerous fault, the North Ana-
communities, but is one of the few that could
tolian Fault, runs right along the northern
produce a wave that would hit Western Aus-
edge of Turkey, directly toward that sea, says
tralia, including the harbor city of Perth. “Eco-

Costas Synolakis, a tsunami expert at the Uni-
nomically, that is of great concern to our
versity of Southern California and president of
friends Down Under,” he says.

the Hellenic Center for Marine Research in

The f inal big risk in the Pacif ic is Tonga,

Greece.

which lies near a subduction zone that shares

Since 1939, that fault has been rupturing,
some characteristics with Indonesia’s Sunda
piecemeal, starting at the eastern end, and
zone. But, Okal says, it’s another “big question
heading toward Istanbul. The most recent
mark” because we don’t know much about its
earthquake, in 1999, was a magnitude 7.4 in
seismic history.

Izmit (only sixty miles east of Istanbul) that

Luckily, it’s not a densely populated area.

left seventeen thousand dead and produced a

Other than Tahiti, Okal notes, an earthquake
small tsunami in the Sea of Marmara.

there would beam its tsunami energy mainly

The 1999 tsunami wasn’t a major source of
at uninhabited areas—though, he says, an
destruction, but the next segment of the fault

1865 event in the region did produce a tsuna-
lies directly beneath the sea and is likely to
mi that hit the Marquesas Islands.

produce a more substantial tsunami, Okal

9 It is only very recently that the Vietnamese appear to have become aware of the risk. See, “Tsunami in Vietnam is the Real Risk,” VietnamNet English, April 2012, http://en.baomoi.com/ Info/Tsunami-
in-Vietnam-is-the-real-risk/6/256298.epi.

WAVES OF THE FUTURE

21

ANALOG

Megatsunamis

Not all tsunamis originate from beneath the ocean’s surface. Giant landslides falling into the waters from above can also set off big waves, at least locally.1

The biggest tsunami ever known happened exactly this way, in a place called Lituya Bay, Alaska, on July 9, 1958. The earthquake that triggered it, magnitude 7.9 to 8.3 (depending on which estimate you believe), wasn’t undersea, but on a fault about thirteen miles inland. But there were steep mountains near the sea, and one of them gave way, dropping forty million cubic yards of rock into the head of a fjord. Some of the rock plunged as far as three thousand feet.

The resulting splash sent water surging across the narrow fjord and 1,720 feet up the opposite wall—a height that could be precisely measured simply by looking at areas denuded of vegetation. It then sped out of the fjord, still reaching as high as eighty to one hundred feet as it approached the mouth of the fjord, seven or so miles away, killing five people on its way.

Once out of the fjord, it quickly dissipated in the Gulf of Alaska.2

Such events aren’t all that uncommon. In Lituya Bay alone, geologists have found signs of at least three other one-hundred- to five-hundred-foot tsunamis in the past 160 years—not the type of place in which I’d like to live.

Volcanic islands are another possible source of megatsunamis. In the Atlantic, geologists have long had their eyes on the Canary Islands, where a somewhat controversial theory holds that an eruption might trigger an above-water flank collapse that might unleash a rather nasty tsunami on the U.S. East Coast, Brazil, and the Western Caribbean.3

The mother of all such megatsunamis, however, would be from a mega-landslide flank collapse on Hawaii’s 13,100-foot Mauna Loa. If that occurred in the right (or wrong) place, Hon-olulu could be wiped out before most people could evacuate, a National Geographic TV
segment called “Ultimate Tsunami” claimed a few years ago.4

1 An asteroid impact can do the same, but that’s beyond the scope of this article.

2 There is a good map here: http://geology.com/records/biggest-tsunami.shtml

3 For opposing views on this, see: Ian Gurney, “A Wave of Destruction Will Destroy America’s East Coast,”

The Daily Express (UK), 8 October 2004 (I think; the date reads “8-10-4”), www.rense.com/general56/tsu.htm,
and “Canary Islands Landslides and Mega-Tsunamis: Should We Really Be Frightened?,” Science Daily (Aug.

15, 2004). www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/08/040815234801.htm.

4 http://natgeotv.com/uk/ultimate_disaster/about
says, “right in front of Istanbul.” And, he adds,
dria, Egypt. The other occurred in Crete in

Turkey’s seismic-based building codes aren’t

1303, also hitting Alexandria. On average, Syn-
the world’s best enforced. “The next earth-
olakis says, the Mediterranean appears to have
quake along the North Anatolian Fault is going
seen one or two tsunamis per century (al-
to be a humanitarian disaster,” he says. “We
though he notes that not all of the historic re-
can bet on this.”

ports are equally reliable). “The exposure is
huge,” he says. “The Mediterranean is heavily

“Misery Beyond the Intolerable”

populated along its shores, with millions of

Turkey isn’t the only part of the Eastern
tourists in the summer. The awareness is

Mediterranean that might be at risk. One of
abysmal, and there is no tsunami warning cen-
the least studied and least understood subduc-
ter.”

tion zones in the world is the Hellenic Arc,

What this means is that in addition to the
which runs south of Greece and Turkey, says
ongoing risks of well-known fault zones in the

Synolakis.

Pacif ic Ring of Fire (Chile, Alaska, Cascadia,

In the last two thousand years, Synolakis

Japan), there are three areas of dense popula-
says, that region has produced two giant
tion and low preparedness where a tsunami, if
earthquakes, with magnitudes estimated to
it occurs, could be horrif ic. Thirteen million
have exceeded 8.5 and “tsunamis to match.”

people live in Istanbul. Another thirteen mil-

One, in 365 AD, devastated ancient Alexan-
lion live in Karachi. Hong Kong, Macau, Mani-

22

RICHARD A. LOVETT

JUNE 2013
la, and a host of other cities are within striking
bon tsunami, other than the obvious fact that
range of a tsunami in the South China Sea. “I
it was produced by the earthquake. The prob-
refuse the temptation to compare the expo-
lem is that the fault, the Azores-Gibraltar
sures,” Synolakis says. “It is like choosing your

Transform Fault, isn’t a subduction zone fault,
poison or imagining degrees of misery beyond
which is the type normally associated with
the intolerable.”

mega-earthquakes.

The Atlantic isn’t immune to tsunamis, ei-

Subduction zones are “thrust” faults in
ther. One of the worst such disasters in histo-
which one plate is shoved beneath another.

ry occurred in 1755 when Lisbon, Portugal,

Transform faults are more like the San Andreas
was rattled by an earthquake now estimated

Fault, in which blocks of crust scrape hori-
to have been magnitude 8.5 to 9.0, centered
zontally past each other, a motion that geolo-
about 120 miles offshore. Frightened sur-
gists describe as strike/slip. “When an
vivors ran to the docks, only to watch the wa-
earthquake generates a tsunami, it’s because
ter recede so far they could see shipwrecks on
the sea f loor went up and down,” says Seth
the harbor f loor. Unfortunately they didn’t

Stein, a colleague of Okal’s at Northwestern
know what the receding water meant, and

University. “An earthquake which is pure
when it came back, it rushed in so quickly
strike-slip doesn’t do that.”

that by some accounts the only way to escape

Since we don’t know how the Azores-
was on a galloping horse. All told, some thirty

Gibraltar Transform Fault produced a big
to forty thousand people died, nearly 20% of
tsunami in the f irst place, it’s impossible to
the city’s populace.

f igure out whether it’s going to be safe for

More recently, a smaller earthquake struck
hundreds of years or on the verge of doing it
offshore from Newfoundland in 1929. Even
again. “I have colleagues in France, Portugal,
though it was only magnitude 7.2, the earth-
and Spain who have done excellent work try-
quake produced a tsunami that killed 28 and
ing to figure out what happened,” Okal says.

left ten thousand homeless on the south coast

“[But] it is very difficult.”

of Newfoundland. Unlike Japan, which has a
long history of dealing with tsunamis, the

Turbidity Flows and Cruise Ships

Newfoundlanders had no idea what was hap-

In the case of Newfoundland, however, sci-
pening. “We thought the place was sinking or
entists mapping the seabed and taking core
something,” one survivor said later.

samples have found debris f ields indicating

This comment and many others were col-
that the tsunami was caused by a giant under-
lected years later in a St. John’s, Newfound-
water landslide. Running for hundreds of
land, retirement center.10 The stories make
miles, that landslide raced down a series of
fascinating reading. One of the most amazing
submarine canyons fanning from the Gulf of
came from Pearl Brushett, who at the time

St. Lawrence into the deep-water abyss, mix-
was five years old, snug in bed when the first
ing mud with water to form what is known as
wave hit. The water lifted her house off its
a turbidity flow. Reconstructions of the event
foundations and carried it out to sea, where it
indicate that the f low may have carried as
grounded in shallow water, next to an island.

much as 75 cubic miles of mud at speeds of

Before the frightened family could figure out
up to 60 miles per hour, sloshing huge vol-
what to do about this odd predicament, an-
umes of water in the process.11
other wave struck, refloating the house. This

It’s only recently that scientists have come
time, it wound up back on the beach not far
to realize that turbidity f lows may be quite
from its original location—at which time
common. In 2001, researchers at the Mon-
everyone escaped with only minor injuries.

terey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, in San-

Nobody is sure exactly what caused the Lis-
ta Cruz, California, planted equipment in

10

Not Too Long Ago . . . Seniors Tell their Stories, The Seniors Resource Centre, St. John’s, Newfoundland (1999), available free online at: http://www.nald.ca/library/learning/ntla/ntla.pdf.

11

I.V. Fine et al, “The Grand Banks landslide-generated tsunami of November 18, 1929: preliminary analysis and numerical modeling,” Marine Geology 215 (2005) 45–57, http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/
science/oceans/tsunamis/documents/1929.pdf.

WAVES OF THE FUTURE

23

ANALOG

Monterey Canyon, a deep submarine canyon

Okal agrees. It doesn’t take a magnitude 9
running offshore from Central California.

earthquake to trigger such an undersea

Three months later, their equipment had van-
avalanche. In 1918, an earthquake of magni-
ished. Eventually, the scientists found it 550
tude 7.5 occurred in the strait between Puer-
meters further down the canyon, partially
to Rico and the Dominican Republic, hitting
buried in mud. They installed a new experi-

Puerto Rico with twenty-foot waves that killed
ment, only to have it mangled by at least two
forty people.14 “All indicators point to a land-
turbidity flows in the space of five months.12
slide,” Okal says.

These were small turbidity f lows, but if

Another danger zone, Okal says, is the U.S.

small ones are common, it’s unlikely that

Virgin Islands, which had a magnitude 7.5

Newfoundland’s tsunami-triggering giant is
earthquake and associated tsunami as recently
unique. If you’re looking for a recipe for disas-
as 1867.15 The big risk there, he says, is to
ter, all you need are three factors: a sloping
cruise ships, of which f ive or six can be in
seabed, a triggering earthquake, and the pres-
port at once, each with several thousand pas-
ence of a lot of loosely consolidated sediment,
sengers and crew.

either deposited by a river or washed down at

Cruise-ship captains have said they could be
the end of the last ice age. “These features
under way within f ive minutes of an earth-
aren’t remarkable,” says David Mosher of the
quake, Okal says, but he doesn’t believe it.

Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dart-

“You’re going to have a traff ic jam trying to
mouth, Nova Scotia. “We see similar features
move these enormous things,” he says. And
all along the Canadian east coast.”

he notes, “If you do get your ship out in five

The same features also occur in Alaska,
minutes, you’re going to leave people on the
where glacial river s have brought huge
shoreline to be washed away by the waves. It’s
amounts of mud down into the ocean, only to
a tsunami trap.”

deposit it in large banks of sediment, perched
at the heads of deep fjords. In the 1964 earth-

Chaotic Effects
quake, in fact, only a fraction of Alaska’s 106

There have, of course, been movies and
tsunami deaths were from the main tsunami.

novels about tsunamis. But the real story for

The rest were from local tsunamis produced
science fiction probably wouldn’t be the race-
by landslides.13 And Alaska isn’t the only place
against-time disaster story. The real story
facing such threats. “In Los Angeles, the
might take a longer view.

biggest tsunami risk would probably be from

One obvious aspect of this is the degree to
a landslide somewhere in the Channel Is-
which such a disaster would shake up the
lands,” Okal says.

global economy. If the eruption of a single Ice-

Another region where submarine landslides
landic volcano in 2010 could shut down air
pose a tsunami risk is the Caribbean.

traffic in Europe for days, what would be the

“The Caribbean is an important place that is
effect of a harbor-wrecking wave in the poorly
often overlooked,” says Matthew Hornbach, a
prepared Mediterranean?

geophysicist from Southern Methodist Univer-

But the effects can be far more subtle than
sity, Dallas, Texas, who spent part of 2012 in
that.

the region helping to take submarine core

Jelle Zeilinga de Boer of Wesleyan Universi-
samples in an effort to assess the region’s land-
ty in Middletown, Connecticut, has proposed
slide history.

what he calls the “vibrating string” theory, in

Here, the risk isn’t so much from perched
which he argues that natural cataclysms can
sediments as from undersea “flank collapses”

have impacts that ripple through history for
of the submarine slopes of volcanic islands
years, decades, and centuries. It’s a bit like
such as Montserrat.

chaos theory’s famous “butterf ly effect” or

12

Richard A. Lovett, “The Wave from Nowhere,” New Scientist, 24 February 2007, pp. 52-53.

13

Ibid .

14 University of Southern California Tsunami Research Group, www.usc.edu/dept/tsunamis/caribbean/
webpages/1918prindex.html.

15
www.usc.edu/dept/tsunamis/caribbean/webpages/1867viindex.html.

24

RICHARD A. LOVETT

JUNE 2013

Ray Bradbury’s classic short story, “A Sound of

And when each of them does, something will

Thunder,” and he’s argued it at length in two
change.

books: Volcanoes in Human History:The Far-

And if you’re looking for the possibility of

Reaching Effects of Major Eruptions (2001)

long-term ripples from the Japan tsunami, all
and Earthquakes in Human History:The Far-
you have to say is “nuclear power.” Most likely

Reaching Effects of Seismic Disruptions
these won’t amount to much, although, as of

(2004). The Lisbon earthquake and tsunami,
this writing, the Japanese have announced
for example, sent shock waves through both
plans to cut in half their reliance on nuclear
the Catholic Church (Portugal was a Catholic
power, which, one day before the tsunami
country) and the European intelligentsia, both
sent the Fukushima nuclear plant into melt-
of which tried to make sense of what had hap-
down, amounted to thirty percent of their
pened and what it said about the world in
electrical generating capacity.16 Had the nu-
which we live.

clear disaster been a little worse, however,

The Newfoundland tsunami was smaller,
there might have been major effects, with the
but its effects might have been even more
entire globe shifting course . . . toward what?

sweeping because it snapped more than a

Coal? Smog and global warming? Conserva-
dozen transatlantic cables.

tion? A Manhattan-Project—style crash solar-

Scientifically, those cables were one of the
power program?

clues that helped geophysicists piece togeth-

Those are exactly the type of questions sci-
er the cause of the tsunami, because they
ence f iction excels at addressing. Are such
broke one at a time, in sequence as the flow
changes the result of broad sociocultural ef-
moved down-canyon. Since the earthquake
fects, as envisioned by Isaac Asimov’s Foun-
was long over by the time the last one broke,
dation-novel psychohistorian Hari Seldon? Or it was a strong sign that something other than
are they driven by powerful individuals, such
ground shaking was happening beneath the
as Asimov’s character The Mule, whose
waves.

unique talents upset Seldon’s plans? Or are

The loss of the cables, however, was more
they actually based on chaos theory, in which
than just a scientific curiosity. Expensive and
pretty much anything can happen because
not easy to replace, they were the era’s equiv-
small, unexpected factors can count as much
alent of today’s communication satellites. Los-
as supposedly “big” ones? A Google search re-
ing that many of them put a serious pinch on
veals that there is at least one novel called
transatlantic communications.

Tsunami! I know nothing about it, but the

“This was shortly after the Wall Street
one I’d like to read would use the wave to ex-
crash, ” Mosher’s Bedford Institute of
plore at least some of these questions. ■

Oceanography colleague, David Piper, told
me a few years ago. The breaks, he specu-

About the author:

lates, may have contributed to the Great De-

Richard A. Lovett has been a full-time writer
pression by impeding communication
since 1989. In addition to being a regular con-
between American and European banks at a
tributor to Analog, he has written more than critical time.

3,000 articles for such publications as Nature,

Speculative? Absolutely. But that’s what sci-

Scientif ic American, New Scientist, Science,
ence fiction is about, as well. So if we’re going

Cosmos, National Geographic News, Travel &
to write about disasters, let’s think about

Leisure, Running Times, and Psychology To-
them in greater depth than simply the classic
day. His short-story collection, Phantom
plots of who will survive. And if you’re look-

Sense & Other Stories (all collaborations with ing for background for future histories, any
fellow Analog writer Mark Niemann-Ross)

one of the tsunamis described in this article
was released in 2012 by Strange Wolf Press.

not only might occur, but not far in the future

Follow his professional page on Facebook, or
at least one of them is likely to have occurred.

find him on the web at www.richardalovett.com.

16 Linda Sieg, “Japan Nuclear Energy: Japan Unlikely to Exit Nuclear Power,” Huffington Post (from Reuters), May 25, 2012, www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/25/japan-nuclear-energy_n_ 1544875.html.

WAVES OF THE FUTURE

25

In the

Green

K. S. Patterson

WANT BEANS.

note to make a “sungka” PCS for Ben’s travel

Luna took the sentence strip Ben of-
book.

fered her. She thought he was asking for

She paused for a moment, looking at Ben.

Isungka,but didn’t have the right icon— His eyes slid awayfrom hers,but she knew he he only had his small travel communication
was listening. She tapped her palm against her
book.

chest, “It’s my turn to go first.” She didn’t feel

“Oh, okay,” she said, pulling her sungka
the faint spike of anxiety that usually meant
board from its place under the coffee table.

Ben would protest. Smiling, she leaned for-

She held it up. “Sungka?”

ward to lightly squeeze his forearm in a cou-

Ben reached for the wooden board, so she
ple of places.

knew she had guessed correctly. He placed

“Thanks Ben.” She withdrew her hand and
the board on the couch between them. Luna
removed all of the beans from one of the
stuck her hand underneath the table, grabbed
bowls on the board. Moving counterclock-
a clear plastic box full of pinto beans, and be-
wise, she dropped one bean in each bowl un-
gan counting beans into each of the seven
til she ran out, then gathered all the beans
bowl-like holes in her side of the oblong
from the bowl her last bean had landed in and
board. She had three done when Ben finished
continued until her last bean landed in an
filling his side. He was good with numbers.

empty bowl.

“Man, you’re fast, Bennie-boy.”

“Your turn.”

Ben cleared his sentence strip and had a

Ben made his selection, rolling the beans in
comment ready by the time Luna had finished
his hand for a good minute before beginning
counting her beans.

to drop them in the bowls. Luna leaned back

I LIKE BEANS.

in her seat, knowing she was going to be wait-

Luna took the sentence he offered, reading
ing a while. Ben always seemed to be able to
it quickly before placing it back on the Velcro
think three or four moves ahead in sungka, so
strip at the bottom of Ben’s book. “You like
his turns usually lasted a lot longer than hers
sungka. I know. I do too.” She made a mental
did. She watched Ben’s hand as he played. He

26

JUNE 2013
used his thumb to slide a bean up to his f in-
low. Her arm began to ache from the effort of
gers and rubbed it before dropping it into the
keeping him by her side.

board.

When Petra II was colonized, it was de-

It was the same motion he had used when
signed to be as Earth-like as possible. Only
he was a kid and still playing with giant plastic

Earth-imported building materials had been
containers of beans and uncooked rice. He
used when creating structures, and imported
still needed lots of tactile sensory, but Luna
plants and wildlife had been integrated into
had noticed the weird looks and faint feelings
the local ecosystem. The native flora and fau-
of discomfort coming from Nanay’s friends
na tended to be larger than that of Earth, and,
when they saw a teenage boy sitting at the
in less than a century, the imported wildlife
table squeezing and dropping handfuls of un-
that survived had evolved into larger, more ag-
cooked beans. So she had replaced all the
gressive versions of their original Earth coun-
shells and tamarind seeds her family used as
terparts.

game pieces with beans, and taught Ben to

The Green Zone was constantly f looded
play sungka.

with sonic pulses and various inaudible fre-

When Ben finished his turn, he had a huge
quencies designed to keep the wildlife away.

mound of beans in his ‘mother house.’ Luna

Luna wouldn’t have noticed the dissonance if
glanced down at hers. Three. She managed to
it weren’t for her brother. A vague, but steadi-
get two more beans before her turn ended. “I
ly rising stream of unease trickled out of him
think you’re gonna win again, Bennie.”

whenever he was within the Green. He toler-

When they f inished (Ben won, of course),
ated the Yellow Zone—where the protections

Luna made a quick phone call to her mother
were muted—much better. The emotions she
while Ben cleaned up. “Na’ay, Ben and I are
picked up from Ben reminded her of the way
heading over to Lola’s now. I think I’m going
she had felt in dark spaces during childhood—
to keep him with me for another night, if
before the tolerance training and desensitiza-
that’s okay with you.” She cradled the phone
tion. She wished the therapy had worked for
to her ear, absently listening to her mother’s

Ben.

rote response and absorbing the bubbles of

They were on the receiving end of several
calm contentment coming from Ben.

odd looks from people walking in the center

He scooped up a small handful of beans,
of the Green. Walking on the edge, as Luna
and allowed them to flow off of his palm into
and Ben always did, was considered unwise—
their plastic case. Clink. Clink. Clink. Cling-
a slightly irresponsible action most often done

ClinkClink. Each muted sound elicited anoth-by groups of young teenage boys. People ob-
er bubble. Luna noticed that her lips had
viously in their twenties should have better
curved into a small, relaxed smile.

sense.

Ben put the lid on the beans and signed “All

Luna let out a deep breath when they ar-
done.”

rived at Lola’s house. It was a simple square

“Okay Ma, see you tomorrow.” She paused
building the same size and shape as every oth-
to give her mother a chance to ask to speak to
er home on America Street. But the bold sap-

Ben, but only silence came through the line.

phire blue color made it seem larger and more

She sighed, unsurprised. “Bye, Na’ay.”

imposing than its white and tan neighbors.

She hung up and looked out through the

Ben had verbally expressed a preference for
milky opaque glass of her reinforced window.

the color when Lola was having her home re-

The sky was still a soft green, so it was safe
tinted.

enough to walk. “Let’s go see Lola,” she said to

He placed his hand on the palmplate. The

Ben.

door recognized him as a familiar entity, and

He hung the lanyard attached to his book in
opened easily. Luna and Lola tried to keep Ben
the crook of his elbow and took her hand.

with them as much as possible, so he was a

They walked down the street together. Luna
frequent visitor at Lola’s house. Nanay didn’t
struggled to keep Ben in the Green Zone. It
seem to mind.

was the safest part of the walkway, but he hat-

“Lola! Are you home?” Luna called once
ed it. He walked as close to the edge as he
they were inside.

could, often attempting to slip into the Yel-

“Grandson! Granddaughter!” They walked

IN THE GREEN

27

ANALOG
through the hallway into the family room. Lola
tional way to cut that gave a nod to both style
was sitting in her usual chair, a black leather
and function. Her contentment mingled with
recliner only slightly younger than Luna and

Ben’s as she set water to boil on the stove and

Ben. Drops of moisture decorated her brow,
listened with half an ear to the verbal part of
and her black curls were a little wilted from
the conversation behind her.

the humidity. She didn’t like artif icial air or

“What do you see?”

heat, so Lola’s house relied on insulated cur-

“I like the ocean too, Grandson . . .”

tains to keep the heat out.

“You’re right. The sky is red in that picture.

Lola scooted out of her chair and squeezed

That’s Petra I . . .”

Ben in a powerful hug like he was still a little

Even though he didn’t speak, Ben was talk-
one, and didn’t tower over her slight five-foot
ing. The evidence of Ben’s communication
frame. She grabbed Luna’s hands in both of
still made her happy. When they were chil-
hers and kissed her cheek. “Sit down, Grand-
dren, Ben had rejected the small electronic
daughter.”

communication device Ben’s teachers had

I SEE LOLA.

tried to get him to use. Even as a child, Luna

He didn’t smile as he gave Luna his strip,
knew that being unable to communicate was
but her pleasure in seeing her grandmother
like a prison for Ben. She used the Net to re-
suddenly increased. Sometimes it was hard to
search and found out what they had used back
separate Ben’s happiness from hers, but it was
on old Earth, before palm-tablets had been de-
a positive emotion, so Luna couldn’t bring
veloped. The paper symbols served the same
herself to care.

function as a palm-tablet, but without the elec-

“You’re right, that is Lola,” she said. She
tronic sounds that Ben was unable to tolerate.

looked at Lola. “Ben’s loving you right now.”

The sky darkened to olive, then forest

Lola signed “I love you” to him, then point-
green. By the time they f inished eating and
ed to a large stack of magazines on the floor.

Luna had placed the leftovers in the refrigera-

“Pick up please, Ben.”

tion unit, the sky had deepened to a thick, vel-

He lifted the heavy stack, placing them on
vety green that was almost black. “You be
the table Lola patted. She immediately began
careful, granddaughter. It’s late already. Go
shuffling through the magazines.

straight home.” She wasn’t about to argue;

“I saved a good one for you, Grandson.” She
they had lingered over dinner longer than usu-
squinted, then looked up at Luna, “Please.

al, and night had crept in while they talked.

Open the light.”

The idea of walking home in the dark made

Luna f lipped the light switch, and Lola of-
her vaguely uncomfortable, but the path was
fered Ben a travel magazine, “I got this one
well lit, and she would have Ben with her. She
from that lady who always tries to get me to
was soothed by his company almost as much
go vacation off-world. It has lots of new places
as he was by hers.

in it.”

“We will, Lola. See you tomorrow.” Luna

Ben quickly grasped the magazine, but she
kissed her cheek, and opened the door while
held it fast, eyes on his face. After a moment,

Lola gave Ben another tight squeeze.

he f licked his eyes to hers, brief ly. “Thank

Ben stared at something above and to the
you.” His voice was barely audible.

left of Lola’s head, but his too-soft voice made

Lola smiled and relinquished her hold on
another appearance. “Bye.”

the magazine. She squeezed his shoulder as he

Lola patted his hand, “Bye, bye Grandson.”

began f lipping through the pages. Her wrin-

She signed a quick, “I love you,” before turn-
kled hands were still strong, her grip steady
ing to settle into her chair. She used her palms
and confident. After watching a few minutes,
to scoot herself all the way against the back-

Luna walked into the kitchen and looked in
rest, her feet dangling a good foot off the floor
the refrigeration unit. “I’ll make you some sini-
before she reached down to recline the chair.

gang tonight.”

The door closed behind them, shutting

“Okay, Granddaughter.”

away the soft light from Lola’s lamps. The lock

Luna lost herself in the ritual of cutting veg-
engaged with a soft electric buzz, followed by
etables for the soup. Her hands remembered
the hiss of escaping air. Ben pressed his hands

Lola’s lessons from her childhood—-a tradi-
over his ears. She pressed them down again.

28

K. S. PATTERSON

JUNE 2013

The walkway glowed in front of them. A five-
sight.

foot wide section in the middle of the path

Abruptly, hands grasped her arms and
was illuminated by eerie green light, and sand-
pulled her forcefully backwards. The high
wiched between two yellow-lit sections of the
pitched shrieking and struggling of the crea-
same width. The path home.

ture trapped in Luna’s hair increased. She felt

Luna took Ben’s hand. “Stay on the Green,”

a pulse of the familiar emotional scent that
she reminded him.

was Ben’s alone, and realized he followed her

The road was empty, and Luna’s occasional
into the dark. She reached up and gripped a
reminder, “Green. Stay in the Green please,”

furry body and what felt like a claw-tipped
sounded odd and echo-y over the loud chirp-
wing. She tucked her chin to her chest and
ing and chittering of the night creatures hid-

Ben released her arms. His hands moved to
den in the heavy dark looming outside the
her hair, gently pulling, that low noise coming
path.

from the back of his throat. Luna felt his anxi-

They were only a block from Luna’s home
ety rising and ebbing in waves, but he contin-
when Ben stopped, abruptly. A spike of in-
ued to work his hands in her hair. Luna tried
tense distress that made her instantly nau-
to keep the unknown animal as still as possi-
seous warned her the moment before Ben
ble.

twisted his hand out of her grasp. He pressed

Finally, Ben was able to pull the creature
his hands over his ears, his entire body vibrat-
from her hair. Her eyes had adjusted some-
ing, lips emitting a low, repetitive sound. He
what, so she was able to see him carry it a few
lunged into the Yellow Zone. Luna grabbed
steps away, and deposit it gently on the
his arm, and his body weight pulled her into
ground. She wiped the blood from her face
the Yellow after him. Ben’s footsteps stuttered
and hands on the hem of her shirt. He re-
at the outer edge of the Yellow, and he
turned to her side and took her hand.

stopped. Luna’s momentum carried her fur-

“We’ve got to find the Yellow.”

ther; she managed to release Ben’s arm before

Luna looked around her. She was complete-
she tripped out of the Yellow and into the
ly disoriented. Ben waited expectantly by her
darkness beyond.

side. She felt no anxiety form him, only calm

She was alone. Her breath hitched, and her
patience. She always took care of him, kept
hand landed on something small and sharp. It
him safe.

burst under the weight of her hand, coating

Several minutes ticked by. Ben’s confidence
the ground with warm slime, and her palm
pounded in her head, and she stood immobi-
slipped out from under her. Her chin hit the
lized because she knew, knew, that she
ground. Pain shot into her jaw, but was soon
couldn’t lead him home.

overwhelmed by deep fear. Luna couldn’t tell

“I’m sorry, Bennie. I don’t know the way.”

if it was her own. Alone, alone, alone. Her She spoke the words, even though she didn’t
thoughts and motions were sluggish and she
know if he understood.

struggled to push the feelings aside. She had

She was afraid to take a step in any direc-
to get back on the walkway.

tion. What if she only led them farther from

The night seemed to fold around her and
the path?

constrict. Anxiety coiled in her stomach. She

As more time passed by, and Luna re-
forced herself to stand, and move toward the
mained paralyzed, unable to choose, to move,
yellow light. Something hit her head hard,

Ben’s calm finally began to ebb away. His ris-
shrieking. She grabbed at it. Her f ingers slid
ing anxiety mingled with her own until her
over a mass of fur and scales. Its frantic mo-
whole body felt tight—like it was about to ex-
tions made it tangle itself in her long, straight
plode.

hair. Claws scraped across her hands, and she

“I’m sorr y, I’m sorr y, I’m sorr y. ” She
cried out in pain as a warm wet substance
couldn’t stop repeating the words. A sticky,
dripped from her scalp into her eyes. She
cottony feeling lodged in her throat. The pan-
stumbled. The ground sloped beneath her
ic wasn’t all her own.

feet, and she began to slide downward, barely

He took a step to the left. Then another,
keeping her footing. The yellow got further
pulling her along with him, his hand tighten-
and further away until it f inally faded from
ing on hers like he was afraid to lose her. His

IN THE GREEN

29

ANALOG
steps were hesitant at f irst, then his stride
against the air and shattered the sky with light-
lengthened and quickened until they were
ning as invisible as Ben’s voice. He wrapped
both running headlong through the dark. A
his arms around her and they rocked together
thin ribbon of yellow light appeared before
until the storm . . . suddenly . . . stopped.

them and they ran steadily forward, bursting

As one, they released each other. Luna took
onto the path, across the Yellow, and into the
a deep breath. The air flowed sweet and easy

Green.

in her lungs. She stood, silently watching as

Ben dropped her hand, frantically placing

Ben retrieved his book. The laminated icons
symbols, and ripping the Velcro-backed sen-
were a bit worse for the wear after lying face
tence strip from his book. He dropped to his
down in the dirt. Luna smoothed the crum-
knees on the pavement, and pushed his strip
pled sentence strip in her hand and returned
roughly into Luna’s hands. He touched each
it to its place.

icon heavily.

Ben quickly flipped through the pages; the

I WANT. BEANS.

soft sound of icons being pulled from their

“Bennie, Bennie. I don’t have it with me.”

Velcro was strangely soothing. He held out the

His hands were covered with bite marks and
strip and Luna took it automatically. She
scratches. His panic increased, seeming to fill
looked at Ben’s face, and for once he actually
her lungs and chest with thick paste. Each
met her eyes.

beat of her heart felt hard and intense, like

I SEE BEN.

punching through water. She sucked in air,

Luna stared into his brown eyes for a long
trying not to hyperventilate. “Ben, it’s okay.

moment. She tasted the complex mire of emo-

Calm down.”

tions blending inside her as she looked at her

Ben tapped the strip in Luna’s hand, over
reflection in Ben.

and over again, bobbing his head up and

“Yes,” she said. “Yes. We’re the same, Ben-
down rhythmically, the silent movement of his
nie. Exactly the same.”

lips echoing in the still air.

They walked home, side by side, and stum-

I WANT. BEANS.

bled tiredly into Luna’s house. She turned on

I WANT. BEANS.

the light and saw the sungka board sitting on

I WANT. BEANS.

the coffee table next to the neat little plastic

I WANT. BEANS.

box. She hadn’t put it away before they left.

I WANT. BEANS.

Luna flopped onto the couch, and pulled the

She grabbed him around the torso, pulling
board onto her lap.

him against her chest. She squeezed him as

“Hey, Bennie,” she said, as he sat down on
hard as she could, but their panic didn’t ebb,
the couch next to her, “I want beans!” Ben
the tightness in their chest didn’t ease, the
dropped his book on the carpet by his feet,
need to scream rose in a steady eruption up
wiped his bloody hands on his pants, and
their throat.

smiled.

Luna opened her mouth and let the sound

Then, he began counting out the beans. ■
explode, “eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” It cracked 30

K. S. PATTERSON

Wavefronts
of History
and

Memory

David D. Levine
here is a coldness at my heart, colder
stein space exactly where I meant to be.

even than the airless space around me:

Where I want to be?

a ball of laser-cooled cesium gas mere

Perhaps not. But here I am.

Tbillionths of a degree above absolute. I have not revisited this sector in eight Surrounded by layers and shells of vacuum
years, despite its rich promise, because of
and ceramic though it may be, still I feel the
memories of Aleá . . . the hope of what I might
tendrils of cold creeping like threads of ice
find here outweighed by the dread of what I
through my chest. I shudder at the necessity.

know I will recall. But when the Institute ex-

But the promise . . .

tended this cold bright promise to me, a sig-

In one facet of my mind, a jewel-toned
nal honor indeed, I knew immediately where
transparent sphere clicks open to reveal a pro-

I must put it to use.

fusion of layers: Paleoelectromagnetic Era,

Oh, sweet Aleá, my lost love, the source of

Broadcast Age, Late Encrypted Period. The
so much pain . . . will the treasure be worth
vertical scale absurdly exaggerated, of course.

the hazard?

The surface of the sphere divided into sectors

I extend my antennae, f ingers and toes
whose names predate even the Eoradio Age:

stretching outward—atom-thin wires shoot-

Centaurus, Pisces, Canopus. And here, in
ing from my ship-body—tiny impellers draw-

Aries sector at the lower edge of the Second
ing my substance out into a cobweb a

Global War period, where the earliest dawn-
quarter-year wide. I turn the great ear toward
ing fragments of the later technophilian em-
the rubble of Earth. I listen. I feel for the shred-pires can just barely be detected, a pulsing
ded, attenuated signal.

point of blue-white light. Me.

And yes. Yes, oh yes, oh there it is.

I have emerged from Keene space into Ein-

Crisper than I’d ever before felt; clearer

31

ANALOG
even than I’d dared to hope. Forms and shapes

To ground myself in my body I run f in-
and . . . yes, artifacts, emerging from the noise gers—my physical f ingers—along the com-and dust under my mental fingers’ touch.

mand couch’s seams, the nubbly lines of

My heart pounds with excitement. My f in-
warm buttery leather waking the connections
gers itch to probe and pry the treasures from
between skin and brain. I stroke the cold firm
this lode. But the demands of the Institute
metal of the couch’s frame, feel the play of
must first be met. I extract my attention from
joint and tendon in my hands, smell my own
my work and open a speaker within my cabin.

sweat. Not conventionally pleasant, but warm,

“We’ve reached the target coordinates,” I
human. Me.

say. “Signal’s clear.”

I squeeze my own breasts, bringing a brief

“No errors?” my passenger asks, his voice as
bright shock of arousal. Compensations, oh
hard-edged and inelegant as the awkward pro-
yes. I smile, enjoying the play of muscle and
totype in my guts. “No malfunctions?”

the slip of lips across teeth.

Evon is his name, a technofactor imposed

I rise from the couch, my small unsteadi-
on me by the Institute to install, monitor, and
ness the result of only mental disorientation;
tune the new cryomagnetic detector. I’ve
as always, my human body has been as well
worked alone these eight years; I tolerate his
maintained as any of my other systems by the
presence with ill grace. My internal cameras
ship’s faithful, silent mechanisms. A robe of
are off, but the sound of his voice brings to
maroon silkfish skin hangs by the door, and I
mind his rough unstyled hair and beard, his
glide its delicious texture over my nakedness.

coarse, merely practical clothes. He is a gray

Usually I maintain the ship at blood heat, but
man with a gray mind, but I need his skills.

Evon hails from snowy Svyataya Kirill and

In grudging response to his questions, I fo-
both heat and nudity make him uncomfort-
cus on my own systems. The chill of the new
able.

detector pierces my belly with icy talons but

He barely acknowledges my entrance, eyes
there are no other, unanticipated pains. “No.

and hands busy with the console of some de-

Everything seems to be in order.”

vice he’s brought with him. It’s hard and boxy,

“Good. I run diagnostic now.”

its slick gray f inish an intrusion on the lush

“Wait!” Even the thought of his hairy knuck-
curved surfaces and rich textures of my cabin.

les beneath my panels feels like a violation.

A thick cable runs to one of my ports, probing

Even worse, a diagnostic on the new detector,
and analyzing the new detector and its inter-
so intimately interwoven with my own sys-
faces with my systems. “Would you like some
tems, could damage my mind. “Let me disen-
tea?” I offer.

gage first.”

“Is enough,” he grunts, pointing to a glass

With one last covetous glance at the crys-
of water he’s poured himself. We’re speaking
talline beauty of the new data, I draw my

Languedoui, our best common language, but
awareness down and in, releasing the tug and
his thick Kirilian accent strips it of articles and whisper of the electromagnetic spectrum and
pronouns. A half-eaten food bar litters the
focusing on the command couch in my for-
table beside it; he eats nothing else. “Eff i-
ward cabin. A figure there sits up, reaches dis-
cient,” he’s explained. His screen jerks and
used fingers awkward to the fastenings at the
tics with graphs and numbers. I can’t wait un-
nape of the neck. A sucking sound, a harsh
til this desiccated man is f inished with his
moment of transition . . . and I am embodied.

work, off my ship, out of my life.

Heart pulses, ship gravity draws down on

I take snowberries and fresh mint from the
arms, legs, breasts. I pull the heavy helmet
larder, muddle them with sugar and cinna-
from my head and blink.

mon, add water and just a tinkle of ice. Ahh.

The action may look like waking, but to me

As I drink, I settle myself cross-legged on the
it feels like falling asleep. The ship has no
long padded bench that rings the main cabin,
awareness of itself, but when connected to it I
watching Evon work. There’s little else to do
am empowered; I feel correlations and make
and nowhere else to go; the ship has only one
intuitive leaps impossible to my human brain
sleeping cabin and I’ve ceded it to him for the
alone. Without the helmet I am half myself.

duration. Not that I use that berth much my-

But there are compensations.

self. Ever since Aleá left, eight years ago, I

32

DAVID D. LEVINE

JUNE 2013
sleep in the command couch. The ship’s sys-
vinced, can be found the seeds of the
tems tickle my mind as I dream, the weird dis-

Kikkasho Efflorescence that birthed our mod-
turbing visions the price I pay for the
ern world.

occasional astonishing insight.

But it’s a hard period to study, a deep deep

The ship and I are one, in this as in so many
layer of the fuzziest, most tenuous signals. The
things. The ship does not even have a name;
radioartifacts of the Late Telegraphic were in-
my own name, Kell, is what appears in dock
distinct, weak, and drowned in noise even
registries and bills of lading when I am in port.

when they originated; today they are smeared

“How’s it going?” I ask after a while.

across the outermost surface—the bottom, in

“Eh?” He does not look up.

radioarchaeologists’ upside-down traditional

“Your diagnostic. Will it be f inished soon?

terminology—of a sphere nine thousand years

I’d like to get back to work, if I may.”

in radius that expands further each day. Torn

Now he does look up, his gaze f licking
by dust clouds, punctured by stars, and dis-
across my hairless scalp, the glossy metal
persed by nebulae, most of this enormous
plates at crown and temples and nape, before
spherical surface is useless; the areas of good
settling on my eyes. I know the plates disquiet
seeing are rare and eagerly sought. We have
him; on Svyataya Kirill what I’ve done to my-
come to one such location because of its un-
self for my studies is illegal. Even in the wider
paralleled view of Nihon in years 16 through
human community, few are willing to under-

19 of the Showa period, or 1941 through
go the surgeries, the therapies, the learning to

1944 in the anno domini system also in use at walk all over again. Augments like me are a cu-the time.

riosity to many, monstrous to some. Defiant, I

“It was during that period,” I tell Evon, “that
go bare-headed in public. “Half hour,” he says.

the baryonic energy technologies that eventu-

“Have you found any problems so far?”

ally both powered humanity’s expansion into

“No, no, no. Is very good. See?” He turns his
space and demolished the Earth made their
screen to me, showing a twitching chart. It is
first crude weaponized appearances. It’s well
meaningless to me; how can I understand
known that Nihon was the first Earth culture
something I can’t touch? “Excellent sensitivi-
to feel the impact of these weapons, at the
ty,” he explains, pointing to a peak on the
end of the Second Global War, and that attack
graph. He smiles, the charts and numbers
had a profound impact on the culture’s devel-
bringing his face alive for the first time. “Bet-
opment and attitudes toward those technolo-
ter than expected.”

gies in the following centuries. But the

“I’m pleased,” I say, and I really am. The
reasons Nihon was attacked are unclear; even
frigid box of barely-tested hardware welded to
the identity of the attacker is disputed. I hope
my ship’s core makes me uneasy, but I salivate
to unearth radioartifacts of the Tojo Shogunate
at the promised results. “I can’t wait to try it.”

to definitively answer this question.”

“You will like.” Evon turns his shoulders to

“What kind signal strengths, these arti-
face me, politeness winning out over his ha-
facts?”

bitual reticence, though his eyes still dart to

“Four point three femtojanskys.” Numbers
the screen at intervals. “What do you hope to
are not my forte, but this cruel figure is etched
find,” he says, “with new detector?”

on my heart. “No more.”

My area of study, I explain, is the Showa pe-

Evon’s lips purse in concentration. His eyes
riod of the Nihon culture: a single century in a
had wandered during my discussion of history
single culture of the Late Telegraphic and Ear-
and culture, but this statistic is something he
ly Broadcast strata. Despite its obscurity, I be-
can get his hands around. “Is very weak, yes.

lieve this period is a key hinge-point between

But new detector can do, I think.” He nods, as
the pre-electromagnetic culture of ancient Ni-
though to reassure himself. “Yes. Can do.”

hon and the daikeiretsu governments that

I can’t help but recall my last dig at this site.

dominated the planet in the twenty-second

Aleá had squealed in delight as the first signals
century and pioneered the industrialization of
had come through. “My God!” she said. “Lis-
space. Somewhere in the vast middens of
ten to this!” She pulled the headphones from
noise and garble that form the electromagnet-
her ears and jammed them down on my head.

ic landscape of the Tojo Shogunate, I am con-

Through hiss and whine I heard a voice in

WAVEFRONTS OF HISTORY AND MEMORY

33

ANALOG
archaic Nihongo—syllables shaped by lips and
sands of years away from Earth to study its his-
tongue gone to dust nine thousand years ago.

tory. Archaeologists, she thinks, unearth phys-

It was nothing more than an advertisement for
ical artifacts. But those traditionalists in their cosmetics, but still . . . to hear that voice, that heavy shielded suits can do little more than
ancient breath, across so many years was like
scrape up shattered, melted fragments—ru-
a miracle. I gasped and hugged Aleá close, the
ined bits of jetsam they can never even touch
headphones making the gesture awkward.

with their own hands, nor display to the pub-

But the miracle had soured over the follow-
lic except behind thick glass stained yellow
ing weeks, as we realized what a f luke that
with lead. We radioarchaelologists, on the oth-
first clear signal had been, how filthy and at-
er hand, can reach across the years to grasp
tenuated most of the data was.

Earth as it was, alive and buzzing with activity.

Perhaps the stress of that failure was the rea-

With any point in Einstein space just a step
son Aleá had left. It is certainly the reason I
away in Keene space, all we need do is travel
haven’t returned before this. But in eight years
to a place with a clear view of our selected pe-

I haven’t found any other site nearly as promis-
riod of history and bring a good enough de-
ing; the new detector offers a chance to re-
tector. And now, I hope, I have both.

deem my reputation as a researcher, perhaps

Although the subjects of my work are only
even heal the still-raw hole in my self-esteem.

tenuous wisps of radio waves, with the ship’s

I’ve cashed in every favor I had at the Institute
help I perceive them as solid objects. Illusions
to get myself selected for this pilot project.

of weight, color, and texture help my ape-de-

Evon’s harsh voice breaks me out of my
scended brain distinguish signal from noise,
reverie. “Can inspect data?”

diamonds from dross. I use metaphors of ham-

I blink. “Excuse me?”

mers, chisels, brushes; I chip and scrape away

“The data, the artifacts, that you f ind with
at radio noise to reveal fragments of data like
new detector. May I inspect?”

jawbones and potsherds teased from the rock.

“Certainly not!” The very thought of this

Then I fit those fragments together into useful
bloodless technician pawing through my arti-
information.

facts is an affront. But his startled eyes remind

Most of the artifacts I f ind were never in-
me there isn’t any technical reason for me to
tended for public consumption: state secrets
refuse. “I, uh, it’s . . . it’s too preliminary,” I sent along telegraph lines, messages of love
prevaricate. “Raw research data is . . . it’s sub-
whispered over telephone, continent-wide
ject to misinterpretation. You understand.”

patterns of activity revealing hidden geopoliti-

“I understand.” His face shows that he un-
cal strategies. All preserved in time like rose
derstands all too well.

petals in amber, though fearfully attenuated

“So, uh . . . may I use the detector now?”

and torn by passing stars and veils of dust;

He gestures to the wall behind which the
now revealed in vivid detail by the new detec-
device is installed. It is only in my mind, I’m
tor. My ship-enhanced mind identif ies, sifts,
sure, that a wave of chill air f lows from it.

sorts, discards with thunderous speed.

“Certainly,” he says, then grins. “Good hunt-

I am entranced, overwhelmed. An unend-
ing!”

ing feast of data unveils itself: names, dates,

I manage, just, to remember to say “thank
motivations. Details long lost to history. As-
you” on my way out. So eager am I to get to
tonishing revelation after astonishing revela-
work that I tear the sleeve of my silkfish robe
tion.

as I shuck it off. My fingers tremble as I fit the

Within mere hours the answers to some of
heavy helmet to my head.

my field’s most vexing questions are laid plain

In the helmet’s close dark, I shut my eyes
beneath my f ingers. The baryonic bomb had
and hold my breath. I press the activation
not been launched by either Sina or the So-stud. After a moment of transition, the site
cialist Republic Union, but by the American
spreads itself out in my sensorium, so dense

States—a major power in later periods of his-
with possible artifacts I practically salivate. I
tory, but isolationist and barely industrialized
ready my tools.

during the First and Second Global Wars. Or

My mother has never understood why I
so we had thought. There are even tantalizing
travel to barren, desolate areas of space thou-
hints that the isolationism of the States had

34

DAVID D. LEVINE

JUNE 2013
been broken by an ill-timed surprise attack by
my earlier ship, though minuscule by compar-

Nihon itself.

ison with the sphere of history, is expanding

There is more. Much more. These finds will
at the same rate of one light-year per year;
do more than repair my reputation; they will
from now on, any attempt to study this point
make my name.

in Earth history from this area of clear seeing

But as exciting as the artifacts are, the ma-
will find the ancient signal entangled with this
trix in which they are embedded is equally re-
later, stronger one. And eight years of search-
calcitrant—a hard, fibrous mass that must be
ing have failed to find a better location.

painstakingly chipped and scraped from each

I have no alternative but to find a way to fil-
new find. This is the ship’s representation of a
ter it out.

powerful noise source that requires signif i-

From a little-used drawer in the ship’s mind
cant computation to separate from the desired

I pull other tools, hard and shiny, better suited
signal.

to the fine jittery signals of the modern world.

I’m spending far too much time removing

I step back to a higher level of abstraction and
the same encrusted junk from artifact after ar-
apply the tools to the direct feed from the new
tifact. I decide to take a moment to analyze it,
detector, seeking to identify and eliminate all
in hopes of determining its source and factor-
signs of my previous self.

ing it out of the data at a low level.

The low hum of the engines and the whirr

Usually this type of interference comes
of the navigational sensors are the first, most
from a nearby pulsar or black hole. But as I ex-
obvious targets, and I begin by adjusting the
amine the noise I find it is too hard-edged, too
antenna parameters to filter them out. These
gritty, for any natural source.

adjustments are as familiar as my own breath-

How can this be? I’m thousands of years
ing; I used to have to do this every time the en-
from the nearest inhabited world. I look more
gine was serviced.

closely, run a correlation with a database of ar-

As I work, I remember the self I was then.

tificial noise sources.

Excited, driven, full of ideas, yes. But also ar-

The result comes back quickly, but it takes
rogant, conceited, too convinced of my own
me a long moment to understand it. When I
genius. It was Aleá who kept me sane, helped
do, I feel a disorienting rush of vertigo—as
me focus my energies on the work and not on
though I’ve been staring out the window at a
self-aggrandizement.

craggy landscape and suddenly realize it’s a

Beautiful, compassionate, brilliant Aleá. It’s
micrograph of human skin.

true we spent nine hours in bed together on

My own skin.

the day we met. But it was always more than

For the source of the interfering signal is
just sex—she was the other half of my heart,
myself.

the completion of my mind. The papers we

I laugh out loud at the realization, the sound
wrote together were far more than the sum of
echoing harsh and moist within my helmet.

our skills; they were the product, the expo-

I have placed myself at the single point of
nent, of two f ine minds operating in perfect
intersection between the grand expanding
harmony. After she left I couldn’t work at all
sphere of human history and a tiny bubble a
for six months, then spent two years more in
mere eight years in radius: the wavefront of
an angry, wasteful thrash. It’s only in the past
the weeks I and my partner-lover Aleá studied,
year that I’ve been able to do productive work
coupled, and fought together while digging in
again.

this exact same electromagnetic midden eight

And now this. She—and the previous me—
years earlier. Although my earlier ship was
are getting in my way again.

well-shielded by the standards of the time,

Distracted, I manage to mess up the com-
even the tiny amount of electromagnetic radi-
pensator settings. I have to reset, start over.

ation that leaked out is inescapable to the new

Beneath the helmet I feel my teeth grind.

detector at this close remove.

Our work, like our loving, had always been

I consider moving the ship to avoid the in-
full of violent passion. Whenever we worked
terference from my earlier self, but a quick re-
a site together we would argue vehemently,
gional scan reveals the futility of such an
screaming and throwing things before reunit-
action. The spherical wavefront of noise from
ing in a mad rush of intellectual and sexual en-

WAVEFRONTS OF HISTORY AND MEMORY

35

ANALOG
ergy. But eight years ago—in this very spot—it

“It’s picking up new sources of noise as well
had been different. We’d f irst sniped at each
as the new signals.” I find myself reluctant to
other, then fought openly, then sullenly re-
explain exactly what those noise sources are.

treated to separate work spaces as the signals

I’ve always been a private person, and never
we’d worked so hard to locate fell apart under
shared the pain of my severed relationship
our hands. We used different tools, I merged
with anyone.

with the ship and she with goggles and gloves,

“I see on my readouts,” he replies. “Signal
but both of us were frustrated, angry, despair-
source is nearby. Probably ship.”

ing—lashing out at each other because the dis-

“I know what it is.” I won’t let this blood-
tant, roaring stars and nebulae that were our
less man tell me how to do my job.

real enemies were beyond our reach. When

“I can help filter it out.”

we gave up and transitioned back to the Insti-

I feel my teeth grind together. “I have the
tute, we hadn’t spoken in days. I awoke the
situation in hand.”

next morning to a cold void in my bed and a

“You be careful,” he says, waving the food
paper note: “Don’t try to follow me.”

bar. I wince as crumbs dirty the table. “Detec-

I tore the note to pieces with my teeth,
tor is verrry sensitive. Focus on strong signal
then set it on fire.

could damage. Or worse.”

But I’d never been able to burn away the

“I’ll be careful,” I snap, and take another sip
pain in my soul, the question that seared my
of soup to calm my nerves.

heart.

Damn it. I’ve burned my mouth.

Why?

Why did she leave me?

After finishing my soup, I retire to the com-

We’d fought many times before. Why had
mand couch for a few hours’ rest.

this fight been so different? So . . . terminal?

In my dreams I’m back in school, my hair

At last I am done f iltering out the engine
luxuriantly curly and my mind still entirely or-
and sensor noise. But pulling those away re-
ganic. I’m on a dig, a physical dig, in some
veals finer structures, fidgeting like a tangle of
hot, sandy place where an unremitting sun
f ine wires. I’ve never seen signals like these
hammers down from a pink sky. An infinity of
before; they were below the threshold of my
scraped earth, neat terraces of precise excava-
detectors at the time, even at a range of zero. I
tions divided into squares by glittering laser
look more closely.

beams, stretches away to the horizon.

These signals are the leakage from the ship’s

With brush and pick and trowel I work
internal electronics. In a way, I am looking at
down through layer after layer of char and ash,
the workings of my own earlier mind. It’s a fas-
the ruins of some ancient disaster. The dark,
cinating and slightly disturbing thought.

gritty stuff embeds itself beneath my f inger-

I wish I could ignore these vibrating wires,
nails and makes me sneeze black goo. And
but I can’t; faint though they may be, these sig-
then I find a pair of skulls.

nals are stronger than nine-thousand-year-old

One bears a diadem of fine wire. The other . . .

radioartifacts. I must strain them out of the

I pick it up. Embedded in the skull are metal
data stream now or I’ll have to chip them off
plates, scratched and pitted with age.

of every single item later. I pull the old ship’s

The skull’s eyes open, and they are my own.

documentation from storage and begin the

I thrash and gasp awake.

painstaking work of building a filter to remove
them.

It takes only a few more hours’ work before

I’ve pared away the last of the intruding signal.

Later. I find myself in the cabin, blowing the

Or so I think. But I find the artifacts still gritty steam off a bowl of miso soup. The hot bowl
with hard, encrusted noise. What have I
trembles in my hands and I realize I haven’t
missed?

eaten in over twenty hours.

I switch back to the data stream. Although

Evon is munching on one of his ubiquitous

I’ve f iltered out every trace of my old ship’s
food bars. “Is good, new detector?” he asks in
systems, and even my own augments, one
a conversational tone.

fine jittering wire of signal remains.

“Too good.” I sip cautiously. Still too hot.

A wire like the wire diadem on the f irst

36

DAVID D. LEVINE

JUNE 2013
skull.

hook I tease out the shining strand represent-

My pulse catches in my throat as I realize
ing the decrypted signal.

the message my subconscious and/or the

I pull out my loupe, a metaphor for a so-
ship’s autonomic systems were sending me in
phisticated pattern-matching algorithm, and
my dream.

focus it on the glittering strand of data. I seek

Aleá’s personal datappliance. The one elec-
my own name in a strong emotional context.

tronic system on board that was never, ever

Long moments pass while the loupe does
connected to the ship’s network. This is its
its work. And then I hear Aleá’s voice, for the
signal.

f irst time in eight years. A sweet acid music

I tease out the trembling wire with a f ine
that pierces my heart and closes my throat.

probe. It pulses between my fingertips like a

I do love Kell, it says, but—
tiny bird’s rapid heartbeat.

The buzzer interrupts again. “What!” I

I have spent my entire professional career
shout through the ship’s speakers.

extracting meaning from electromagnetic arti-

“Whatever you’re doing, stop it! Signal is
facts like this.

too strong! Detector is overh—”

Secrets. Ancient mysteries. Solutions to

I cut him off. I lock his door. I have to know.

questions long unanswered.

I peer through the loupe again.

Why did Aleá leave me?

I do love Kell. Aleá’s lips, her breath, flutter No. I set the wire down. I never, ever
in my ear. But I must resign myself to the fact probed or pried into Aleá’s personal data
that I can never be with her.

when we were together. To do so now would

What?

be immoral, illegal, wrong.

I’ve tried for years to reconcile the one I

What I should do is simply filter it out.

love with the body that shares my bed. But . . .

I sharpen a narrow chisel and apply it to the
but it’s finally gotten to the point that it’s too wire . . . and a buzzer breaks my concentra-painful. I can’t go on like this. She takes a tion. “What are you doing?” comes Evon’s
long, trembling breath. Lying with Kell is . . .

groggy voice from the intercom in the sleep-
it’s . . . it’s like screwing a brain-damaged
ing cabin. It’s three in the morning ship time,
child. And the worst thing is that she sounds not that I have been paying much attention to
like my beloved.While the real Kell, the Kell I that.

love, is just a voice on a speaker and an un-

“There’s one last bit of signal I’m remov-
moving mannequin with a hard metal hel-
ing.”

met for a head.

“Detector is on verge of heterodyning!”

The f loor drops away and I feel the thou-

“I told you, I’ll be careful.” I cut the connec-
sands of empty light-years beneath me, a gap
tion.

of cold vacuum so far beyond human scale we

I feel the wire’s pulse through the chisel
don’t even attempt to comprehend it. In
handle.

Keene space we can step across that gulf in

I swallow.

moments, but it is still vast beyond under-

I am an archaeologist. I study, I analyze, I de-
standing.

crypt. I can’t ignore this data . . . this chance to I cannot kiss my beloved’s lips, Aleá sobs.

unearth the truth about my own past.

She cannot feel my caresses.

In my place I’m sure Aleá would do the

A long pause filled with shuddering sighs. I
same.

feel a hot pain rising up from somewhere

I set the chisel aside, bring out probes and
deep within.

brushes. The wire magnifies itself at my atten-

It was never me that Aleá loved. It was the tion, revealing its details.

ship . . . or the union of the shipmind and my

This modern radioartifact is like a jeweled
organic brain . . . but my body, my warm sen-
bracelet beside the potsherds and spear points
sual body that has brought me so much plea-
of the Late Telegraphic, but the principles of
sure, by itself was not enough.

analysis are the same. The signal is crisp and

It was the tension between who I am and
clean; the storage is encrypted, but that pro-
what I am that tore Aleá and I apart. A tension
tection is a paper shield against the powerful
that I will never be able to resolve.

blades of the ship’s processors. With a delicate

Aleá’s voice returns: I cannot touch the one

WAVEFRONTS OF HISTORY AND MEMORY

37

ANALOG

I love; I cannot love the one I touch.

ups, but the coordinates of the last transition

And at that moment the detector overheats,
are still locked in. “Yes. I can get us back to
its cold ceramic casing shattering as the ce-
the Institute, anyway.”

sium gas within expands a millionfold. Pain

Evon blows out a sigh. “Is good.”

tears through my systems as searing-cold gas

I turn the cold helmet over in my hands.

pours into spaces it was never meant to

The shipmind is dead. A new one can be
touch.

grown from backups, of course, but it won’t

My heart bursts because it has taken in too
be exactly the same.

much.

I won’t be exactly the same.

Oblivion.

What do I want me to be?

I stare into the blind eye of the helmet’s

Light stabs my eyes. I wince and squirm
dead power indicator. It stares blankly back . . .

away from the pain, raising hands to defend
and suddenly I realize there’s a more immedi-
myself, but something restrains me.

ate problem. “My data!”

“Whoa, whoa, malyutka!” It’s Evon’s voice, Evon quirks an eyebrow at me.

Evon’s hands on my wrists. “Don’t f ight. Is

“All the data I’ve gathered here. Is it safe?”

only me. You okay?”

He shrugs, spreads his hands. “I would nev-

“Uh . . .” My voice is ashy. “I’m alive . . .”

er consider looking. Raw research data, after

“Here. Drink.” A cool glass is pressed into
all. Subject to misinterpretation.” Though his
my hands. Water. I realize I’m parched. “Not
words are light, his eyes are as hard and cold
so fast!”

as one of his technical readouts. “You under-

The glass is taken away. My thirst tells me
stand.”

I’ve been insensate and unserviced for some

I gather breath to snap a response . . . then
time. “How . . . how long?”

stop myself, letting it back out slowly. I begin

“Sixteen hours.” He hands me another glass
again. “Will you . . . would you, please, check
of water, and a food bar. It’s the most delicious
it for me? Make sure it’s properly stored and
thing I’ve ever tasted. “Was getting pretty cold
backed up before we f ire up the system for
before I managed to get door open. Lifesystem
the transition back to the Institute?”

working now, anyway.”

A small smile, and a nod. “Since you ask so

I shiver. It’s still pretty cold. “I’m sorry I
nicely.”

locked you in.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m sorry detector exploded. Next one will

There’s still a lot of noise crusted on my
have better compensators. Big question is, can
soul. It will take a while to scrape it all off.

you fly ship?”

“Okay,” he says. “Where are manual con-

The helmet’s indicators have all gone black,
trols?”

but the wall displays are operative. Drive sys-

Together, we set to work. ■
tems are good; navigation is running on back-

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38

DAVID D. LEVINE

Glitch

Jack McDevitt
eff Sanford and several colleagues had

Linda was listening to her cell phone. She
been sitting in the conference room
nodded. Told them to wait. “Mauna Kea says
when the news came. The door
visibility was normal three hours ago.”

Jopened and Linda Wilson stuck her “Not possible,”said Myra.

head in. “Hey, guys.” she said, “the Crab Pul-

Live and learn, thought Jeff. It was obvious-
sar has gone missing.”

ly possible. He checked his watch. There’d be

Myra snickered. “Maybe we need to wipe
an explanation in the morning, and Brian was
the lens.”

waiting for him. The surprise, he suspected,

“We got an alert from the Navy,” said Linda,
would be a young woman. And probably talk
referring to the U.S. Naval Observatory, also
of an impending marriage. Kids, like pulsars,
located in Flagstaff. “They can’t f ind it. Nei-
tended to spring surprises.

ther can I.”

Jeff checked his watch. His son Brian was a

But it was only an electronic gadget. A
sophomore at Northern Arizona. “He
game station of some kind, he guessed. “It’s a
promised a surprise this evening,” he said, get-

Y-Box,” said Brian. He was taller than his fa-
ting up, “but removing the Crab Pulsar’s a bit
ther, big, with wide shoulders and an easy-go-
much.”

ing personality that sometimes seemed too

It was well past visiting hours and the Low-
casual. Though when his mother ran off with
ell Observatory was quiet. One of the interns
a supermarket clerk three years ago, he’d
looked up from the Clark scope. “It’s still not
blamed Jeff.

visible,” she said, backing away as they ap-

“What’s a Y-Box?”

proached. “The pulsar’s not there. I can see

“Come on, Dad. They’ve been advertising
the nebula, but nothing’s happening.”

them for two months.”

The Crab Pulsar was seven thousand light-

Jeff shrugged. “So what is it?”

years away, in the constellation Taurus. It ro-

“It creates artificial realities.”

tated thirty times a second, providing a

Jeff smiled. “Okay.”

flashing light that was impossible to miss.

“Dad, you need to stop trying to hang onto

Jeff checked the control console. “Radio
the twentieth century.”

waves and x-rays are normal,” he said. “Must

“If you say so, Brian.”

be a dust cloud.”

“Good. Just give this a chance. You’ll like

Myra frowned. “A dust cloud couldn’t block
it.” He produced a pair of helmets and held
that thing off overnight.”

one out for his father. “Have a seat and put

39

ANALOG
this on.”

He touched his hat and was about to ride

It mattered to his son, so he settled into a
off when Brian jumped back in: “Mr. Presi-
chair and pulled the helmet on. Brian touched
dent, my father would like to ask a question.”

a computer key. “Pull the flap down over your

“Of course,” said the President. “I’ll be hap-
eyes,” he said. “Show starts in thirty seconds.”

py to answer if I can, sir. What is it you wish to

Jeff complied. Everything went dark.

know?”

“Adjust it, Dad, so you aren’t getting any

“Umm—” Jeff felt lost.

light.”

“Go ahead, Dad,” said Brian.

“Believe me, there’s no light in here.”

And he understood. The projection could

“Good. Ten seconds.”

have been programmed to respond to a spe-

Stars appeared. It was still night, and he was
cific question from his son. But that possibility
looking out across a bleak, dismal landscape.

was off the table if he was the source. “Mr.

Brian was beside him, still seated comfortably

President,” he said, “how high do you expect
on the sofa. But the living room, the coffee
the casualty list to be in this war?”

table, the TV, were gone. “We’re on Mars,

“What war is that, sir?”

Dad,” Brian said.

Oh. “They haven’t seceded yet?”

Jeff looked up at familiar constellations. “It’s

Lincoln managed a smile. “Seceded? No, I
a bit more realistic than any other virtual land-
doubt it will come to that. Now I really must
scape I’ve seen. But—”

go.”

“Until now,” Brian said, “every landscape
you’ve been to has been like this, right?”

Jeff shook his head. “You know, that’s a very

“More or less.”

slick creation.”

“But no people? Right?”

Brian smiled. “Artificial intelligence.”

“Sure there were.”

“I didn’t think it was possible. ” Jeff

“Projections, you mean.”

frowned. “Where is President Lincoln now?”

“Yes, of course. Lots of people on the

“I don’t understand the question.”

beach, whatever.”

“You want me to repeat it?”

“You ever try talking with any of them?”

“I guess the short answer, Dad, is that he’s

“Brian, they’re projections.”

dead.”

“Okay, Dad. Let’s try somewhere else.”

“You’re talking about the historical Lin-

Jeff laughed. “Okay. Go ahead.”

coln.”

Mars faded. The world became brighter.

“Of course.”

The sun came back. And some trees. A couple

“What about the one we just talked to?”

of houses. His chair changed shape and he

“I turned it off.”

was sitting on a horse. A warm breeze

“You turned him off.”

brushed his cheeks. “Careful,” said Brian, rid-

“I don’t quite follow.”

ing beside him. “Don’t fall off.”

“Was Lincoln aware that we were there?”

Jeff was about to ask where they were

“It doesn’t say anything about that in the de-
when he spotted the white obelisk rising into
scription.”

the distant sky. The Washington Monument.

“But it does say that the Y-Box generates ar-

“Where are we?”

tificial intelligences?”

“K Street.”

“I guess it does. Yes.”

Hoofbeats were approaching. And he saw

“So from his perspective, that virtual world,
movement through the trees. A horse with a
with its virtual history, is real. He’s real.”

tall, bearded rider came toward them. He

“I guess so.”

wore a jacket, a top hat, and hunting boots.

“So where is he now?”

“Who is he?” asked Jeff.

Brian shrugged.

Brian raised a hand to the rider. “Hello, Mr.

“Got one more question for you.”

President.”

“Fire away.”

The rider stopped. “Hello,” he said. “Glori-

“The Washington Monument.”

ous day, isn’t it?”

“What about it?”

He did look like Lincoln. “You are good.”

“It wasn’t completed until something like

“I’ll take that as a compliment, sir.”

twenty years after the Civil War ended. The

40

JACK MCDEVITT

JUNE 2013
one we just saw was perfect.”

“What?”

Brian rolled his eyes. “I guess it was a

“Pluto and Neptune have gone missing,
glitch,” he said.

too.”

“What?”

Jeff was getting ready for bed when his ring-

“According to Beijing.”

tone sounded. It was Myra. “The pulsar’s

“Well, that’s crazy.”

back,” she said.

“Hold on a second, Jeff.” Seconds later she
was back. “We just lost Uranus.”

He was on his way to the observatory next

Jeff felt his stomach tighten. “Can’t be,” he
morning when Myra called again. “Jeff ?” she
said.

said.

“It has to be an equipment failure.”

Her voice sounded strange. “Don’t tell me.”

“I hope.”

“Yep. Not a sign of it.”

“What else could it be, Jeff ?”

“That can’t be right.”

“A glitch.” ■

“There’s something else.”

IN TIMES TO COME

Our lead story for July/August is “Thaw,” by Arlan Andrews, Sr. It takes place in a setting that may not seem very science fictional at first, but a careful reading reveals quite a bit going on under the surface, and it’s all the more interesting for it.

Then we take advantage of the double-issue format to bring you a pair of novellas: Howard V. Hendrix’s “Other People’s Avatars”

and Brad Torgersen’s “The Chaplain’s Legacy,” a sequel to his popular short story, “The Chaplain’s Assistant.” Of course, we’ll also have the final installment of Edward M. Lerner’s Dark Secret.

We’ll have a pair of fact articles this time out—one for the astrophysicists: “Galactic Cannibalism: Who’s on the Menu,” by H.G.

Stratmann; and one for the biologists: “The Fabulous Fruits of Mendel’s Garden,” by Fran Van Cleave.

There’s also plenty of shorter fiction, such as Bud Sparhawk’s “CREM d’Etiole,” Rick Norwood’s “Love,” Marissa K.

Lingen and Alec Austin’s “Milk Run,” K.C. Ball’s “A Quiet Little Town in Northern Minnesota,” and a Probability Zero by Jamie Todd Rubin, as well as stories from newcomers Seth Dickinson, Rosemary Claire Smith, Haris A. Durrani, and Mary Lou Klecha.

GLITCH

41

THE ALTERNATE VIEW Jeffery D. Kooistra ON THE SUCKING OUT OF INERTIA
o I was minding my own business, get-

A few sentences later he says it’s a “giddy
ting ready to hang Christmas lights in
little cat’s-cradle of apparatus.”

early December, when I checked my

This is typical of Heinlein when describing

SFacebook account before going out- something entirelymade up—he makes the side and found an email from Rajnar Vajra. He
reader do the heavy lifting of envisioning it.

was writing a story for an anthology and

It is up to you to decide what an uncouth, pa-
wanted to ask me a physics question, or
thetic, cat’s-cradley thing looks like.

more precisely, a “super-science physics”

For the next several pages the starship is
question. Here’s how he put it: “So here’s my
taken on a trajectory very near the sun, the
question: assuming some miraculous device
idea being that Libby’s machine will be
that can temporarily remove a person’s iner-
turned on, the inertia in the ship will go
tial potential, and considering all net forces,
away, and the Sun’s light and wind will in-
if said person jumped off a building, how fast
stantly accelerate the ship to near light
would they fall?”

speed. Bear in mind that they don’t as yet

Actually, Rajnar had already thought this
even know for sure if the drive will work—
over, but wanted me to think it over as well
but then comes that inevitable moment
to see if I would independently come to the
when they’re going to find out that it does.

same conclusion he had, which he did not

Or die.

provide me with in the email.

The scene is as follows:

The most dramatic and vivid memory I

“(Lazarus) poked a thumb at Libby’s un-
have of a device that “sucks out inertia”

couth-looking ‘space drive.’ ‘You say that all
comes from Heinlein’s Methuselah’s Chil-
you have to do is to hook up that one con-
dren. Therein, Lazarus Long’s long-lived
nection?’

“families,” in an attempt to escape persecu-

‘That is what is intended. Attach that one
tion on Earth, steal an enormous generation-
lead to any portion of the mass that is to be
type, slower-than-light starship. Prior to this
affected.’

theft, Lazarus had discussed with his genius

Andy hooked it up.

friend Andy “Slipstick” Libby the possibility

‘Go ahead,’ urged Lazarus. ‘Push the but-
of developing a “space drive” to aid in their
ton, throw the switch, cut the beam. Make it
escape. This Libby accomplished. It fit inside
march.’

a satchel. Heinlein described how it looked

‘I have,’ Libby insisted. ‘Look at the Sun.’

thusly: “Assembled from odd bits of other

‘Huh? Oh!’

equipment, looking more like the product of

The great circle of blackness, which had
a boy’s workshop than the output of a scien-
marked the position of the Sun on the star-
tist’s laboratory, the gadget which Libby re-
speckled stellarium, was shrinking rapidly. In
fer red to as a ‘space dr ive’ underwent
a dozen heartbeats it lost half its diameter;

Lazarus’ critical examination. Against the pol-
twenty seconds later it had dwindled to a
ished sophisticated perfection of the control
quarter of its original width.”

room it looked uncouth, pathetic, ridiculous-
ly inadequate.”

No doubt about it, that’s exciting stuff! I

42

JUNE 2013
loved it when I read it the first time, and I
sentially, wind resistance). If the push is com-
still love it. But now I’m a bit more critical.

ing from some kind of rocket, the limiting

For instance, take this “attach that one lead
speed will depend not on the total thrust,
to any portion of the mass that is to be affect-
but on the exhaust velocity of the jet (I
ed” business. Why? Why can’t the lead just
think—I’m willing to be convinced other-
hang in the air? The air is part of the mass to
wise).

be affected, isn’t it? If the air doesn’t have the

And what happens when the laser or the
inertia sucked out of it along with everything
rocket is turned off ? I don’t know. It isn’t de-
else in the ship when the drive is turned on,
fined. Even if our ship was in perfectly empty
you’ll get one shredded ship in an instant.

space, with the push gone, there is no reason

A bit later, with the ship moving comfort-
for the ship to keep going at all, since the in-
ably close to the speed of light, but not yet
ertia is gone and that is the only thing that
even outside the orbit of Mercury, Libby
keeps something moving when the force
wants to turn off his space drive. Lazarus is
goes to zero. But there’s also no reason for it
concerned that the ship will slow down
to stop, and no reason for it not to just go any
again once it has its inertia back, but Libby
which way at any old speed.

tells him that their current velocity is as real

So we’d be better off living with some re-
as any other velocity. He points out that turn-
straints on our inertia sucker. Like with point
ing off the drive will not instantly transport
one. Why should the inertia go away instant-
them back to the spot where it was turned
ly? You don’t cool a beer instantly by putting
on, so why should turning it off return the
it in the fridge, nor can you suck all the air
ship to the velocity it had initially?

out of an airlock instantly. And let’s not have

It’s a fair point. Made up physics is fine in
all of it go away. As long as there is always SF as long as you keep it consistent, and
some inertia, we can continue to use New-

Heinlein’s version of inertia removal in
ton’s laws and treat removal of inertia exact-

Methuselah’s Children marks a sort of upper ly the same as a removal of mass.

limit for inertia-removal gizmos. That is, 1.)

Under these conditions, suppose we have
inertia is removed instantly, and 2.) it is re-
our spaceship out in deep space moving
duced to zero, and 3.) there are no “penal-
along at some velocity. It doesn’t even need
ties” involving either energy or momentum
to have the rockets firing. Now we turn on
conservation.

our gizmo, reduce the inertia (or mass) of

But I’m not convinced this particular ver-
our ship to a tenth of what it was, and as-
sion of the gizmo can ever actually be treated
suming momentum conservation is in effect,
in a consistent way. Consider point 2 and
what happens? Momentum is defined as the
look at the implications. Inertia is the ten-
mass times the velocity, so if we reduce the
dency of a mass to resist a change in its state
mass to one tenth of its initial value, to con-
of motion. It doesn’t like to be sped up, but
serve momentum our ship is going to have to
once it has been, it doesn’t want to be
move ten times faster. Keep sucking out iner-
slowed down, and it doesn’t want to change
tia this way and eventually we’re pushing
direction. Now suppose we have a spaceship
lightspeed, and to slow down, all we need to
under thrust, and we drop the inertia to zero.

do is put the inertia back in.

Regardless of the amount of push from the

Okay, before you rush off to write a letter
propulsion system, our ship will suddenly ac-
to Trevor, I am aware that even though I im-
celerate to—Well, to some very high speed.

posed momentum conservation, I ignored

The limiting speed will depend on the
energy conservation. As most of you know,
propulsion method and the environment the
though momentum is directly related to the
ship is in. In Heinlein’s tale, the push wasn’t
velocity, kinetic energy is related to the
from the engines, but from the sun. If we are
square of the velocity. So in general, most of
pushing our ship with a big laser from the
the time you are not going to be able to satis-

Moon, it will be near lightspeed in very short
fy the demands of both momentum and ener-
order, limited only by the build up of the re-
gy conservation with this particular ap-
sistant opposing force of the tiny amount of
proach. However, if you’re wr iting a
matter that exists even in “empty” space (es-
super-science SF story, what you can do is

ON THE SUCKING OUT OF INERTIA

43

ANALOG
bring in the designated distinguished baffle-

(we ain’t out in space here) will work on him
gab expositor to explain how the energy im-
much, much more effectively. So depending
balance is “borrowed from the fabric of
on how thick the air is (among other things,
spacetime itself!” and paid back in full when
including when during the fall he sucks out
the gizmo is turned off.

his inertia), the jumper might actually slow

It might also be fun to consider some other
down. And if there is any cross wind, he’ll be
options. Momentum is, after all, a vector
taken along with that at the speed of the
quantity. So maybe in addition to (or even
wind so God only knows where he’d actually
just instead of) varying inertia at will, per-
hit the ground.

haps we should think about varying it by di-

Come to think of it, since he’s in an atmo-
rection as well. You know, turn down the in-
sphere, there is another force we’ve ignored
ertia in the direction you want to go, and
completely that we really can’t ignore at all.

turn it up in the directions you don’t. This

It’s buoyancy!

would nullify the force of drag we’d get

A submarine at the bottom of the sea
when plowing through the interstellar medi-
blows out ballast that reduces its weight (and
um at high speed, and also make it harder to
thus, its density) and the force of buoyancy
be deflected off course.

f loats it up toward the surface. So if our

But exploring this could run into a lot of
jumper up on the roof just turns down his in-
words and I want to come back to Rajnar’s
ertia enough, without even jumping off at all
question. You guys run with it.

he’ll soon find himself floating up into the
sky like a helium balloon. If he did jump,

The thing with gravity is that it doesn’t
with a suitable dial and a bit of finesse, our
care what the mass of something is—on
jumper could adjust his inertia on the fly and

Earth it’s going to accelerate rocks, people,
come down to a nice soft landing.

spaceships, raindrops, at 32.2 f/s/s. Suppose

So my answer to Rajnar’s specific question

Rajnar’s jumper leaps off the building and
is this: If he jumps and the building is in an
starts falling, then turns his inertia way down
atmosphere, and he removes his inertia soon

(but not to zero) like we discussed above
enough, ultimately he’s going to rise, but ex-
with that spaceship. Once he’s falling he’s
actly how fast depends on too many things to
got velocity, so regardless of gravity he’s go-
provide a number.

ing to gain speed dramatically and hit the

And with that, and I know this is coming
ground far faster than gravity would get him
pretty late, Merry Christmas, Happy New
there.

Year, and congratulations Trevor on your rise

However, with less inertia, air resistance
up the masthead! ■

Know when to tune out. If you listen to too much advice, you may wind up making other people’s mistakes.

—Ann Landers

Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; truth isn’t.

—Mark Twain

44

JEFFERY D. KOOISTRA

Illustrated by Mark Evans

Hydroponics

101

Maggie Clark
armer slept in the crook of the Mud-
derTree, a chorus of bright, beady eyes twitch-
derTree’s limbs and dreamt of murder.

ing after him as he worked upon their kin.

This was the most dangerous dream to

Even near death, each pair of mandibles wend-

Fdream,and though he recalled none of ed a sticky,translucent substance between it by morning, he knew of his transgression
them, which stuck to the bark like last-ditched
from the wilding spiders bearing down from
anchors as he lifted them one by one and

MudderTree’s top branches when he awoke—
drank their bitter innards from a perforated
spiders to be dealt with before they ate all the
corner in each fuzzy husk. He could have
sweet green leaves and the golden meat-fruits
thrown them into the water and watched
that were his most cultivated fare.

them drown, but MudderTree was sometimes

Farmer shuddered as he snapped the legs
not abated by this gesture, and left their bod-
off each and piled their leathern bodies high
ies f loating in the pool where he daily swam
on a f lat of bark midway down the Mud-
and bathed and hoped to drink. Better not to

45

ANALOG
displease her any further, so Farmer swal-
the light as she. In a way, of course, he was.

lowed his deepest fears gulp by gulp until he

Farmer held up his hand against the maze of
choked on them and then, only then, did Mud-
roots sprawling beneath the surface of the wa-
derTree make swift work of all the rest.

ter, shifting his focus from one to the other un-
til he could humor, if only for a moment, that

Morning was a façade the lights outside his
the roots he saw were his.

sphere brought, and which illuminated the

For lunch, he climbed to the top of the
sliding metal rack along which his entire

MudderTree and ate of the sweet green leaves
world rolled in yearlong cycle, the glass of it
surviving there, their juices catching as much
clinking from time to time against other enclo-
in his grizzled beard as in his belly’s keep. Af-
sures down the line. Reverberations from adja-
ter, he swung down to the mid-range limbs he
cent cells were the only sounds that slipped
used for exercise—willing them with thought
with any surety into Farmer’s sphere; though
and physical demonstration to reshape them-
he could see the observation deck at the heart
selves more fully to his body’s needs. Beyond
of the facility, it might as well have been paint-
the glass of his enclosure, he watched his
ed to the ceiling of his heavens, for all he
neighbor shatter the f limsy stalk of his own
could choose his interactions with the distant

MudderTree for the second time that week,
f igures moving silently within. Farmer knew
and thrash about in murky water just to beat
no help would be forthcoming if he failed to
his head against the glass. Farmer focused on
slay his unwanted morning guests all on his
his breathing between reps, but the lonely
own, or if MudderTree withered further under
smear of blood soon splayed before him be-
his return to violent thoughts; or if ever he fell
came too much; his mind dipped into its own,
catatonic or worse within this seamless shell.

dark reser voir, and as if burned by his

What use were they who would never inter-
thoughts, MudderTree’s limbs suddenly re-
vene?

fused to hold him. Farmer fell hard and far

After Farmer had cultivated his MudderTree
enough to hear his leg snap on a root raised
to bioluminescence, he liked to watch the
high above the water before he, in turn,
blue glow of her skin turn the glass near per-
passed out.

fectly opaque—to pretend that there was
nothing of note beyond his sealed cocoon,

His family had been there to wheel him into
and never had been. But today he could not
the facility. It was this or the vacuum of space,
even bear to watch his own ref lection, his
the courts had said—but once Farmer was
face a shag of dark, matted hairs through
strapped down, sedated, gagged, and two
which the whites of his bloodshot eyes shone
doors deep within the prison compound, the
through. Not much difference from the spi-
law was lax enough to let his loved ones help
ders’ faces, when he came to think of it. He
him endure the f inal stage of his departure
wondered if that was why he loathed them,
from the outside world. The director, for his
too.

part, did not even evince surprise to see so
many at Farmer’s side, but then, Farmer’s case

The day’s good work lay in further cultiva-
file held none of the usual genetic, neurologi-
tion. Farmer soothed his MudderTree with
cal, or environmental markers for violence on
coarse hands upon her thrumming skin and
the level he had somehow managed when he
songs for the night’s other, unintended
broke. Nor was there a moment’s hesitation
wounds along her bark. When he swam in the
from his parents about the deservedness of
water that housed her roots, he scrubbed
drastic punishment for such drastic crimes—
fresh black slick from them and picked the
yet still his youngest sister, barely ten, would
smallest of her fallen twigs to clean his teeth,
not let go his unresponsive hand.

then chew. He could sit for hours half-sub-

“Most of the others you’ll see here are
merged in the near-pristine pool that made up
rather cut-and-dry cases—some with callous-
the bottom third of his sphere, and so he
indifferent behavior sets their whole lives
did—resting his head against her trunk and
through; others with perfectly compassionate,
thinking what a different course his life would
rational personalities right until their break-
run if he were as dependent on the water and
downs—though there are some indications,

46

MAGGIE CLARK

JUNE 2013
of course, if you look deeper in their family
seen any resident succeed just yet.”

trees.”

“But how could they?” Farmer heard his lit-

“And all of them . . . ah . . . they’ve all . . . ?”

tle sister’s voice ring out—tiny, but already

His mother’s voice—tired, disoriented. Farmer
hardened by circumstance. Had he really
remembered that there was a great deal of
come back and hugged her first, his jumpsuit
steel-gray about the walls, the ceilings. No ef-
still drenched in colonist blood? “Locked up in
fort even on the observation deck to make
glass like that for years at a time, with no one
more of the facility than it was.

to talk to, not ever?”

“Oh yes,” said the director, holding a useless

The director’s bland smile came too close to
clipboard in useless hands Farmer envisioned
her for Farmer’s liking; Farmer’s arms tensed
breaking all through the interview. Distantly he
against his restraints but his head was still
remembered someone sponging saliva from
swimming, his muscles weak.

the corner of his mouth when he tried to snarl.

“I promise you,” the director said, touching

“All of our residents have been involved in tru-
her shoulder ever so lightly. Farmer’s vision
ly brutal altercations, with many casualties—
went a blanket red, but he gnawed at his gag
not, of course, that even one casualty at such
to no avail. “Your brother will never be alone.

hands is permissible, but . . .” The director

Not here. Not with a MudderTree to call his
glanced at the sliding series of glossy spheres
own.”

behind them. “Make no mistake, in this whole
system you’ll find no greater density of violent

After his family had left, Farmer remained
persons than we keep here.”

on the observation deck, a violent heat still

“And the recidivity rate?” Farmer recog-
coursing through his arms, while the director
nized his father’s attempt at composure
pulled footage less than appropriate for a ten-
through the acquisition of statistics, and was
year-old’s purview—a triptych of Don’t Do
surprised to find he resented the old, dodder-

What Johnny Don’t Does selected from the
ing man for none of it. His little sister was now
worst of the enclosures in the facility. As the
stroking the whole of his hand, his wrist, his
director explained, step by step, the proce-
lower arm. It would be the last human contact
dure by which Farmer would soon be en-
he remembered.

tombed in his own glass sphere, and how to

The director pushed up his glasses and
interact with the latent MudderTree he found
smiled a most meaningless smile at Farmer’s
within, Farmer’s eyes f licked from panel to
father. “Zero, of course. You must understand:

disastrous panel with no shortage of amuse-
this is by all practical accounts a terminal
ment for the human suffering he found there.

move for our residents.”

In the first panel, a man stood neck-deep in

“But isn’t there any hope? Isn’t that the en-
blackened water, sticks of MudderTree strewn
tire point of—” His mother again, overexert-
hopelessly about him—each dissolving every
ing herself with concern. Farmer tried to com-
time he reached for one. In the second, the
prehend the essence of her existence with

MudderTree bore the crude, misshapen figure
one long, fixed stare, but the sedative would
of a woman, which its owner seemed reck-
not allow it; his eyes rolled of their own, lazy
lessly intent upon even as the long black net-
accord inside his head. He thought he could
tles along its limbs scored deep into pre-exist-
make out patterns after all along the walls.

ing wounds across his back. In the third there

Nasty ones, at that.

was no sign of life within the water; just a

“Please don’t get me wrong,” the director
man’s body in a state of extreme decomposi-
said. “MudderTree technology is remarkable—
tion—the MudderTree in turn wholly dis-
truly the wonder of our age. Used on terraform-
solved, presumably at work preparing the
ing runs, in medical rehab, for persons without
compartment for the next fool resident to land
full use of their limbs, the autistic—and all with
a berth. The director tapped the last panel
considerable success rates, too. In theory,
with his middle finger. Though he seemed to
therefore, we absolutely allow that some of our
be trying for sorrow, his lips were too much
residents might eventually graduate from the
upturned at the corners for Farmer to believe
program we have in place here . . . but in prac-
a word he said.

tice, you must understand, we simply haven’t

“A very sad case, that—but you must under-

HYDROPONICS 101

47

ANALOG
stand, we simply cannot interfere. If death is
been appraised of your progress over the
what you wish, that’s what the airlock option
years, and frankly, I’m very excited to f inally
at your trial was offered for. To be sure, this
meet you. Your work with the program has
needn’t be as hard a life as these three men
been quite exceptional—like nothing we’ve
have made it, but if you cannot muster
ever seen before.”

enough cooperative, compromising spirit

“I’ve noticed,” said Farmer, after a pause. He
even to feed yourself, eventually the added nu-
indicated the sphere to his left with a slight
trients in your water will not be enough. It
nod of his head. The smear on the neighbor-
took this man one hundred and eleven days to
ing glass was now a crusty dark brown.

die. One hundred and eleven days in which he

“Ah yes. About that.” Dr. Chang frowned
simply could not be bothered to exercise any
and adjusted her glasses. “There is some con-
goodwill toward his MudderTree at all. With
jecture among the staff here that your neigh-
some people, it’s just . . . incredible how much
bor played a contributing role in your fall
they’ll nurse a grudge. You know? But I trust
three weeks back. It was quite unexpected for
you’ll f ind another way. I certainly hope you
us—especially in the wake of so much peace
do.”

within your sphere for so very long. And yet,

Farmer glanced back at the first panel, then
you came back from that ordeal with no clear
at the director, grinning. As another doctor
resentment toward the MudderTree itself.

wheeled him out, his thoughts lay with how

Would you care to comment on that?”

many pieces he could tear a man into.

Farmer paused. “On my lack of resentment
toward my MudderTree, or the fall?”

Farmer’s leg was halfway healed when his

The older woman shrugged. “Whatever you
sphere slid before the observation deck, mark-
wish, Farmer. On what you attribute your ex-
ing its sixth tour around the whole facility
ceptional progress in the program to, if you
along rails that held what seemed like a thou-
can name it.”

sand such microcosms suspended. This time

Farmer smiled rather grimly through his
there was a woman behind the panel of f lat
beard: a mere year since his last encounter,
glass set just beyond his rounded own; Farmer
and already he had almost forgotten how
entertained himself with the thought that she
vague was human speech—nothing like his
was trapped in her own enclosure, too. The

MudderTree’s precision and clarity of re-
woman was not particularly young, but she
sponse; nor the simplicity of her demands of
smiled and waved at him in a kindly way while
him.

the mechanical arm swung about to aff ix a

“Zero tolerance,” he said at last, scratching
communications device to the outside of his
an ingrown hair along his shaggy neck. “I had
sphere, her voice thereafter reverberating in-
a moment of weakness when I saw my neigh-
wards: the device transmitting trace frequen-
bor through the glass, but a moment of weak-
cies of his own in turn.

ness is enough. MudderTree knows me well.

“Good morning,” she said. “Mr.—”

She is stern, but fair.”

“Just Farmer,” he said. His vocal cords sur-

“Indeed, she must be. And is it true—I hear
prised him with their reliability; he had been
you’ve got your MudderTree glowing on
at best crooning all love songs to his Mud-
comm—” Before she had f inished her ques-
derTree over the past three weeks.

tion, Farmer had his MudderTree f lood the

“A good name, Farmer. It says here you
sphere a radiant and calming blue; the inquiry
chose that one for yourself two years ago. I
had been voiced for three years running, and
feel like the name has done you well—quite
its presence as much amused as irritated him.

well, I dare say, since.”

His MudderTree was not for show.

Farmer studied the woman from his com-

“Remarkable,” said Dr. Chang—and indeed,
fortable roost midway up the MudderTree, his
there was something breathless about the
leg in a ropey sling MudderTree had woven af-
quality of her speech. “Hold, please.”

ter extricating him from the bottom of the

Farmer puzzled at the function of her last
pool. The woman hesitated and referred again
request, but not for long; MudderTree was
to her notes.

thrumming all the while at him—pleased, per-

“Yes, well—my name is Dr. Chang. I’ve
haps, by his protective streak—and at this

48

MAGGIE CLARK

JUNE 2013
much clearer entreaty, he rubbed her soft bark
gered all the more by its escape, Farmer dove
in turn. In reward, a sweet, f lowery warmth
after it—again and again in the darkening wa-
suffused him within minutes; ensconced in a
ter. But though the substance routinely re-
latticework of bracing limbs, Farmer nuzzled
formed into f loating solids, it never held
closer to his MudderTree and nodded off.

shape long enough for him in his mood to
latch on, and so Farmer stood a wretched,

There had been terror in Farmer when he
seething, starving resident inside his spheroid
was first dropped into the sphere—minutes,
home for days on end before it occurred to
then hours, when he struggled just to remem-
him to be sorry for his anger—and then, if
ber how to breathe as the water was dumped
possible, to try to make amends.

in after him and the enclosure fully sealed. It
would be months before Farmer began to re-

“—Sorry for the wait, Farmer. I needed to
late his feelings then to how the colonists
consult with the rest of the team before I
must have felt—the ones he’d frozen, the ones
could go any further. You are, you must un-
he’d suffocated, the ones he’d left swimming
derstand, a real rarity here. A light in the per-
in their own blood. In the meantime, Farmer
fect darkness of a difficult new field. There’s a
was neck-deep in warm water, surrounded by
case study of you on its way as we speak to
the facility’s lackluster version of a clear and

The Modern Review of—”

starry night; if he wanted to, Farmer could cer-

But Farmer did not catch all that the good
tainly have drowned himself then and there,
doctor had said or was saying—MudderTree
and one part of him was very much inclined
rousing him as much as he roused himself at
to—but the other part was just too scared. He
the return of such prattling reverberations
leaned instead against the glass and studied
from outside the sphere. He rubbed his eyes
the long, narrow pole of composite materials
and blinked vaguely through the glass. There
that protruded from the other side of the
were five men and women on the observation
pool —this was MudderTree? It seemed at
deck now—four with bright, keen expres-
once a monstrous cosmic joke.

sions; the f ifth, the director, with something

And sure enough, he knew someone, some-
still tempered by conscious affect in his smile.

where was laughing at him; even in near-total

“Farmer,” said Dr. Chang. “Do you under-
darkness, Farmer could make out f igures in
stand what we’re trying to tell you? You have
the spheres to either side—haggard, shaggy
exceeded all our expectations. There is noth-
men peering at him, leering, their teeth bared
ing left in the program for you. We’re ready to
in hungry grins. Farmer made a go at the glass
make you our first ever graduate—to transfer
with his f ist and found his f lesh and bones
you to medium security for the rest of your
wanting. He clapped his hands to his ears at
sentence, with a chance of parole if you reach
the heavy sound that followed, a resonance
your fifteenth year without incident.”

that struck him to the quick and seemed to

When Farmer did not reply, he caught the
make his whole sphere lurch. As it did, Farmer
tail end of another doctor murmuring “He’s
despaired to see the narrow pole of Mud-
still in shock—” before the comm system shut
derTree slip beneath the surface of the pool;
off, and he was left to observe the group con-
he did not yet comprehend its power, but he
ferring amongst themselves. Before long, one
knew that pole was all now that he had. He
of the other doctors was sent out and re-
lunged after it with sluggish, throbbing hands.

turned with her hand on the arm of a much

Still, his f irst contact with the substance
younger woman—a teen at best, with long
was all wrong—wrong enough to haunt him
sleek hair and eyes much older than the rest.

even months after he’d got the hang of it. As

“Farmer,” said Dr. Chang, switching the
he gripped the strange, rough pole that f irst
comm back on. “We’ve brought a visitor for
time, he recalled the first panel in the triptych
you. Do you remember your little sister?

and imagined snapping the length in two,

Well—not quite your little sister anymore.”

since the enclosure itself would not give way

The young woman exchanged a nervous
instead to excesses of his fear, and rage. But
smile with the doctor and stepped forward.

the MudderTree beat him to it—dissolved it-

Farmer needed no such prompting to recog-
self at the merest thought of violence. An-
nize his kin, strange and far-off as she now

HYDROPONICS 101

49

ANALOG
seemed to him—but the ache in his chest was
uncertainty. Could the watery film in Farmer’s
a different matter altogether. It clamored at
blood-shot eyes be viewed through so many
him in a way he had not felt in ages, and hard-
layers of thick lenses? Farmer got no clear an-
ly knew how to put to words.

swer, but the director did seem to hesitate; he

“Hello,” came the not-so-tiny voice, which
even dropped his own gaze and bowed his
paused for corroboration on what to say next.

head, hands clasped behind his back.

“. . . Farmer?”

“I imagine I’d be a fool to remind you that

Farmer took in every line of his sister’s face,
these are, after all, only nanites that we’re talk-
every feature he could bear to shore up in his
ing about. Nanites routinely performing brain
mind’s eye, every thought he still had of her
scans, then responding in accordance with
from when she was small and tender to him
your most up-to-date statistical profile logged
over those last steps within facility walls. And
here at the observatory. But still . . . nanites, in then he tipped back his scraggly head, clawed
the end. Machines. Although I suppose an ar-
at his chest, struck out at the MudderTree un-
gument could be made that little more is true
til she dropped him, howled and cursed when
of us.” When Farmer said nothing, the direc-
he hit water, and beat himself bloody against
tor shrugged and opened his hands before
the unrelenting glass.

him. “So tell me, Farmer—what would you
have me do? Do you want to stay in here for-

Farmer was almost caught by surprise when
ever? Is she so important that you’d choose
his next annual stop before the observation
these walls for life?”

deck rolled around; for many months after his

Farmer rested a hand on his MudderTree,
violent outbreak, his MudderTree had sat a
her soft bark warming to his touch. “No,” he
withered, reluctant companion in his sphere,
said at last. “I don’t want the facility. Not with
and all his attention had been f ixed upon
these neighbors. Not for life.”

mending their broken ties. It had taken many

“I can’t give her to you, though. I wish I
nights, many songs, many explanations, and
could, but I can’t. The front door out of this
above all many apologies to bring her back to
place is paved in property laws you can’t de-
whole. But eventually she understood. Even-
feat. Medium security simply isn’t equipped.”

tually all was forgiven. Eventually she

“And I can’t leave her,” said Farmer. “I won’t
thrummed at him anew.

even say I wish I could. I can’t.”

There was only one doctor behind both lay-

The director sighed, dropping heavily into a
ers of glass this time—the director himself,
lone black seat before the facility’s massive
wearing no trace of his usual false smile as the
monitors. Farmer wondered again whose en-
mechanical arm aff ixed the communications
closure was really the worse. “What, then?

device to Farmer’s self-contained sphere. A

What would you have me do?”

tremendous pause ensued—Farmer preoccu-

Farmer’s reply was as swift as it was tran-
pied midway up his MudderTree with some of
quil. “Let us go,” he said. “Just . . . let us go.”

the weaving arts; the director’s eyes f ixed

The director sniffed, and in the ensuing
firmly upon his resident.

look of resignation Farmer saw, at last, an hon-

“I know why you did it,” the director said at
est smile. “Yeah, right. Like I could just open
last.

the cargo bay doors and . . .” The director

Farmer neither looked up nor spoke.

paused. He looked at Farmer, but Farmer did

“You’re right, of course. Your MudderTree
not look back. They looked together at his
would have gone right back into regular circu-

MudderTree. The MudderTree began to sing.

lation with you gone. Hacked to bits, perhaps,
by the next occupant. And the next. Or maybe

From the great, uneven silence of outer
fashioned into a series of crude holes for the
space, the opening of the cargo bay doors
obvious. Or simply left a stringy, blackened
would seem a singular sensory affair—light
thing—but whatever its future, certainly as
from the nearby white dwarf illuminating the
nothing like your fortress of a home. Doubtful
station’s side panel as it rolls back, then catch-
ever to sing or gain bioluminescence to this
ing on the many glass enclosures strung like
magnificent extent again.”

polished gems on a necklace trailing deep

Farmer met the director’s gaze with great
within. The following maneuver would be a

50

MAGGIE CLARK

JUNE 2013
precarious one—each shining bead rolling
of distant starlight ref lecting off one half of
with unusual speed along the metal rails, and
the sphere then drifting gently out; the daz-
then the rails simply parting to let slip one er-
zling white light gleaming off the side set to-
rant pearl.

ward the ancient, black-bodied sun.

But forget, thereafter, all about the folding

It won’t take long.

of those same rails back into place, and the

Count to ten, perhaps, and think good
cargo bay doors gradually reclaiming the other
thoughts.

gems in turn, and the red and f lashing lights

Watch the little round of glass bloom a pale
signaling some form of serious alarm within.

but sturdy blue. ■

Observe, instead, the darkness and the points

HYDROPONICS 101

51

Special Feature

Working on
the Space

Shuttle

Jeff Mitchell
orking on the Space Program at the
cided to leave the Navy at age 27. Once you

Kennedy Space Center was a unique,
are Captain Kirk, what else do you do? Fortu-
rewarding, challenging, and a some-
nately my ship was stationed in Cape Canaver-

Wtimes frustrating and boring experi- al,so I applied for jobs at the KennedySpace ence. As a kid I watched the astronauts walk

Center and got a job very quickly.

on the moon, sometimes at the nineteenth

I started working in 1983 for McDonnell
hole at the golf course with my dad while we

Douglas. Other contractors processed the
drank a coke and watched it on a black and
shuttle for launch; McDonnell Douglas
white TV. It inspired me. I, like many others,
worked on the payloads that flew in the shut-
wanted to be an astronaut. I loved science
tle making all the new science discoveries. I
and math in high school. I applied to MIT and
was excited, I would have paid them to allow
was accepted. I got a degree in electrical en-
me to work on this stuff. The program I pri-
gineering, but my thesis (we all had to do a
marily worked on was called Spacelab; it was
thesis for our bachelor’s degree) was an astro-
built by the Europeans and run by McDonnell
physics topic. So I was always interested in

Douglas and NASA. My job was to test all the
space science. I had a Navy scholarship, and
systems on Spacelab—electrical, cooling,
was commissioned as an officer. I served for
computers—before the experiments were in-
six years. The first three years of my time I
stalled. Then we tested all the experiments,
was on an aircraft carrier. A message arrived
and when everything was ready, we loaded it
that said NASA was accepting applications for
into the shuttle’s payload bay and tested the
astronauts, and they wanted scientists. I ap-
interfaces of Spacelab and the experiments to
plied, and was rejected because of my eye-
the shuttle. (One note, the shuttle folks origi-
sight. This was the first of five rejection letters nally called it the cargo bay, but scientists

I would receive from NASA.

didn’t like the word cargo, made them think

After serving on the aircraft carrier, the
they were on a ship going from England to

Navy made me a Captain of a small ship. I de-

America. But all of us military guys used the

52

JUNE 2013
term payload for things you dropped on the
takes over, and if it sees anything out of
enemy that went bang. Absolutely the wrong
bounds, its software will shut down the
word for a scientific experiment.)

launch. That’s when I can breathe again. At T

My first launch was STS-9 in 1983; the last minus 3 seconds, the engines were shut
launch of the shuttle I worked on was the last
down. Damn—so close. Then the entire
launch of the shuttle STS-135 in 2011. Yes, launch crew had to safe the pad and get the

I’m ancient.

astronauts out of the shuttle. A very tense

Sounds pretty boring, doesn’t it? But it was
emergency.

exciting: imagine, the experiment I worked

On July 29, 1985, we tried again. My palms
on was going to look at areas of the Universe
were sweating all the way to T minus 31 sec-
and discover new things. PhDs were made on
onds as before, and I should mention that I
the data that came back from these Spacelab
had a team of 12 people sweating with me.

missions. And that was just Spacelab. I also

They were all highly trained, and under as
worked on the launch of Galileo, Ulysses, the
much stress. I was the only one that had to re-

Hubble Space Telescope, and other probes.

port to the Payload Test Conductor (PTC),

More knowledge gained for mankind. Very ex-
who reports to the NASA Test Director
citing to those of us working on the payload

(NTD), the person who makes the final deci-
side of the shuttle.

sion to launch. My people made the decisions
to tell me what to say to the PTC. At T-7 sec-

Launch
onds the engines fired successfully, and at T-

The first mission I sat on console in the
zero the boosters ignited and we had liftoff. A

Launch Control Center (the LCC) was nerve
few seconds later, the windows facing the
racking. It was the launch of STS-51F on July pad started to vibrate from the shear power of

12, 1985, which carried Spacelab-2. At T mi-
the engines and boosters. The noise was loud,
nus 7 seconds (roughly) the three main en-
even though the shuttle was a mile away. If
gines are started, one at a time.

you are there for a launch, and your heart isn’t

During that countdown we monitored the
racing, and your mouth doesn’t open, you
payload. If certain parameters went out of lim-
must be dead.

its, called Launch Commit Criteria, (LCC), the

At T plus 3 minutes and a half, one turbo
launch would scrub. Our LCC went down to
pump turbine discharge temperature sensor

T minus 31 seconds. Imagine, you are 28
failed. Two minutes later the second sensor
years old and you can stop the launch of the
failed, and that caused the engine software to
shuttle with a single word, “Cutoff.” We went
shut down. If another engine failed it would
through a lot of training for this moment: sim-
mean that the shuttle might have to land over-
ulations, practice countdowns. But now it
seas at a contingency landing site. Eventually
was real. I have been on an aircraft carrier
our payload would have to be removed which
landing planes in rough weather. I’ve had heli-
means I would have to fly to help them. We
copter flights to other ships in rough seas be-
sat on the console hoping and praying it
ing lowered by a “horse collar” on a pitching
would make orbit. I’m thinking: I don’t want
deck hoping I wouldn’t break a leg. All that
to process this payload all over again. Fortu-
was scary, but I was okay with it. Now, for the
nately, the shuttle made it to orbit.

first time in my life, my palms were sweating.

I worked on many other missions. I was the

I had a headset and microphone on with my
lead test conductor for the Ulysses mission.

left hand touching the transmit button, and I

That means that, again, we had Launch Com-
had to constantly wipe my right hand. LCC
mit Criteria for that mission. But I wasn’t mak-
started six hours prior to launch. At that
ing the technical evaluation, because I was
point, if a problem arose, you had time to do
now the PTC. I was just telling the NTD what
troubleshooting. You could issue commands,
my team told me. Much easier than Spacelab.

look at data, talk to people on the phone, and

Later I started being a part of the team that
figure out if it was a real problem. When it got
simulated the Launch Commit Criteria. I
down to T minus a minute or so, you had no
served on various boards to make sure the
time, you just had to scrub. At T minus 31 sec-
payloads were ready for launch. Mostly boring
onds the Ground Launch Sequencer (GLS)

stuff.

WORKING ON THE SPACE SHUTTLE

53

ANALOG

Then came the International Space Station.

simulator bounced you around to demon-

I was asked and so volunteered to test the first
strate launch and re-entry. We launch facing
piece of the ISS that the good old US of A
up, then after Main Engine Cutoff they rotat-
launched called Node 1. We were told that it ed the simulator to horizontal, and then reset
would be shipped to KSC with 90% of every-
it for landing. I watched my friend go from
thing installed. It came to KSC with about
high altitude to landing at KSC. He did a great

10% installed. Worse, the test cables that we
job, despite not being a pilot. Then we
needed to test what it was installed with were changed seats. I strapped in and grabbed the
being built in California and weren’t ready. It
stick, confident that I would do pretty well—
was a mess. I would go to a meeting at six AM
after all, I had landed a real plane. I only
and we would get a report about which ca-
crashed a little short of KSC. We might have
bles had arrived at KSC the day prior. Then I
survived . . . but I don’t think so. Later that day would look at my test procedures and figure
another friend turned off the heads up dis-
out what we could test, if anything. I had vol-
play, and all the other helpful things that the
unteered for this testing for six months. With
astronauts get to use, and landed the shuttle
all the cable delays, hardware delays, and
f lawlessly. He is really good, much to my
hardware failures, the job lasted 19 months.

envy.

Beware what you volunteer for.

After the launch of Node 1, I took a variety Landing
of jobs working for the Space Station. I was

The best thing about being an Astronaut
then hired by Spacehab, Inc. to be the Direc-

Representative was escorting the astronauts
tor of Operations. Spacehab was a little like
off the shuttle after it landed.

Spacelab—it flew in the shuttle, astronauts

My first landing was on STS-122 on Febru-
did science experiments in it, and it took a lot
ary 20, 2008. It was a beautiful Florida morn-
of material up to both the Russian Mir Space
ing. I was at the runway, but couldn’t actually

Station and the International Space Station.

see the landing. The shuttle came in from the

The difference was that Spacehab was a com-
north, and we were on the south part of the
mercial enterprise. In other words, NASA was
runway. The shuttle came in at a very steep
not involved. We processed our module, de-
angle and we watched it as it turned around
livered it to KSC, and loaded the material at
and lined up with the runway. It was a stun-
the pad. We made a profit without govern-
ning sight. It was a dead stick landing; the
ment involvement. This is what Elon Musk
shuttle had no engines for landing. We
and Space-X does as well.

couldn’t actually see it touch down on the

My final job was to be an Astronaut Repre-
runway because there are trees in the way.

sentative. That means I represented them at

You may not know this, but KSC is a wildlife
meetings, testings, and other events that they
refuge, so they don’t cut down trees. Before
couldn’t attend. I was trained in a lot of the
the shuttle lands on a day landing, they chase
same areas that they were. During my training
the alligators off the runway. No, really they

I had to use a Pistol Grip Tool (PGT), which is
do—the alligators like the warm concrete. As
basically an electric drill that sockets can be
the shuttle rolled down the runway, it cleared
attached to. It has knobs big enough for your
the trees and we saw it stop. Our vehicle, the
space suit glove to manipulate when setting

Crew Transport Vehicle (CTV), drove up to
torque values for the drill to stop at, or a finite forty meter s or so of where the shuttle
number of turns. I learned how to use this
stopped. People in fully encapsulated suits
and asked the instructor, “How much does
sniffed for hypergolic fuels and oxidizers (haz-
this cost?”

ardous stuff) and then gave us the go to pro-

“Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”

ceed. The CTV drives up to the “white

So I have held in my hand a quarter of a mil-
room,” which is a small room up against the
lion dollars.

shuttle. I’ve been in the shuttles many times,

I also went through the shuttle-landing sim-
but never on the runway. This was very excit-
ulator at JSC. It has a complete cockpit, with
ing.

everything from switches to the front seats to

Technicians opened the hatch. I went in
back seats. You had to strap in because the
with my boss, Jerry Ross, an astronaut who

54

JEFF MITCHELL

JUNE 2013
has flown seven times, and we installed a flat

I’m on the nightly Orlando news that evening.

platform that made entering and exiting the

We drove back to the Astronaut Crew Quar-
round hatch easier. Equipment started coming
ters and unloaded all the gear. Later on we
out—parachutes, helmets, gloves, you name
had lunch with the shuttle astronauts and all
it. I carried them back into the vehicle and
the support astronauts and medical people.

stowed them. Then the first astronaut exited.

One of the many astronauts I met saw my

They had been weightless for 13 days, and so
brass rat (MIT class ring) and said that he
were not used to gravity. My biggest job was
went to MIT too.

to make sure they didn’t fall or trip. (This is an

When I wasn’t helping the astronauts off of
inner ear problem when coming back to grav-
the shuttle, I was in the crew quarters taking
ity.) All of them walked out unassisted. In fact,
care of their families. After the family watched

Dan Tani (an MIT graduate like myself), who
the landing at the Shuttle Landing Facility,
had been on the International Space Station
they were put on busses and taken back to
for four months, had no problem walking. We
the crew quarters. It took an hour or so for
were all impressed.

the astronauts to get back to the quarters.

Suit technicians helped them out of their

One time I had to figure out how to use the
orange launch and landing suits. They got into
new big screen TV to make sure that the kids
their blue suits, had some water, maybe some
could watch Harry Potter while waiting for
food, and sat in chairs for a while. Doctors
their mother or father to come back to the
and nurses examined them brief ly. They
quarters. It took me, a coworker, and an as-
talked about the landing, how great it was to
tronaut to figure out all the remote controls.

be in space, whatever came to mind. They

We got it working, and the kids were happy.

were excited and you could feel it. Everyone

Life can be rough. I rewarded my hard work
in the CTV was excited. At their request, I had
by grabbing a couple of cookies that the
marked some stuff used on the space walks
cooks had made for the astronauts and took
with letters or numbers using a flight-quali-
them to my wife. Astronaut cookies!

fied Sharpie marker. I ask the three who did

That’s what a shuttle landing is like.

space walks if what I had marked helped

The workers at KSC were, in a word, dedi-
them. “It was great, I don’t know how I could
cated. Imagine all the different jobs. There are
have wrapped that around the quick discon-
the normal ones, like manager and secretary,
nect without the markings.” It is good to be
which are important. But there were jobs that
useful. And yes, my handwriting is on the
are not anywhere else. There are people who
space station.

applied the heat resistant tiles on the shuttle.

The next thing they did was the walk-

People who lifted a shuttle and attached it to
around. This is the tradition where the crew
the external tank, and this is after they lifted
walks around and under the shuttle to take a
pieces of the external boosters, loaded with
look at it. Afterward there are photo opportu-
highly explosive fuel, stacked these, and then
nities and speeches. The commander of the
lifted the tank between the two boosters.

shuttle told his crew that they shouldn’t look

Other people drove the shuttle out to the
up at the tiles on the bottom of the shuttle be-
launch pad at a staggering one mile per hour
cause when they tilted their heads back, they
on the same crawler that they used on the
might fall over. I now had a new job—to ac-

Apollo missions. People had to make sure pay-
company them and make sure they don’t fall
loads and the shuttle were very clean. People
over, or trip on the big cables and other
made sure that there were no sharp edges
things on the ground—and there were a lot of
that would cut the spacesuit during their Ex-
things on the ground. The tile was still hot,
tra Vehicular Activity (spacewalk). Then there
but there was no smell. We walked around
were software writers, software testers, and
the vehicle and there were cameras every-
numerous other jobs needed to propel X
where. We had a German astronaut, so the
pounds to 17,500 mph into orbit.

German press was there in droves. I was talk-

All the jobs were important. Everyone was
ing to one of the astronauts and there was this
concerned with the safety of the shuttle and
video operator filming us. We ignored him
the astronauts. They were dedicated. They
and continued our discussion. Sure enough,
worked long hours. Of course some were

WORKING ON THE SPACE SHUTTLE

55

ANALOG
paid overtime for working long hours, but

We questioned everything because we didn’t
many volunteered whether they got paid or
want another Challenger accident. Many
not. It was their life, it was their calling.

meetings, many questions, much paperwork.

So what was it really like to work there?

Then we flew again. During that return to

Like any place—many meetings. Some really
flight launch, the firing room folks were told
important, some boring. Take trying to con-
not to cheer at liftoff, which was the natural
vince NASA to change the software used dur-
thing we did before. We could only cheer or
ing testing. You had to convince multiple
applaud after the boosters separated. When

NASA people that changing the software
they did, there was clapping, cheering, and
would save testing time. If you only had to
crying. It was very emotional.

convince your boss, that would be one thing.

Then there was Columbia. On February 1,

But you convinced your boss, then a couple

2003 I was at home and saw the news when

NASA folks, then go to a NASA engineering
the Columbia accident happened. I never ex-board and convince a joint NASA and contrac-
pected the Challenger accident, I thought
tor board. A waste of time, too much bureau-
burning up on re-entry a much more likely
cracy. I hated it.

proposition. Even from the first mission, STS-

But, making things more efficient was

1, there was tile damage. On STS-1, sixteen worthwhile. Despite going through all the
tiles were missing, and 148 damaged and had
hoops, it was satisfying when you improved
to be replaced. So burning up was an option.

the testing, made it simpler, more efficient,

But I didn’t expect it after a hundred mis-
and reduced the costs. And there were many
sions. We knew what we were doing by then.

NASA people that helped you along the way.

Ha! We had fooled ourselves as an engineer-

They hated the inefficiency as well.

ing community.

It was not just the people at KSC, but also

I had other duties, too. One day I got a call
the people at Johnson Space Flight Center,
from a co-worker:

and the Marshall Space Flight Center, the

“Hey, you live near the Orlando airport,

Goddard Space Flight Center, all the space
don’t you?”

flight centers. All of them are just as dedicat-

“Yeah, why?”

ed to making space flight for people and ma-

“Well these two astronauts have a broken
chines safe and successful.

airplane, and need a lift.”

So I drove them to the airport, a 45-minute

Challenger and Columbia
trip, talking to them the entire time, waited to

On January 28, 1986, I walked outside my
make sure they got on the airplane, and then
building, got my binoculars from my car, and
went home. Work is tough sometimes.

watched the Challenger launch. We all know The International Space Station partners
that it blew up, but right then we at KSC
were a joy to work with, whether they were
didn’t know what happened to the shuttle. I
the Italians on Node 3, the Germans and Ital-went back into my office and talked to
ians on the Columbus module, or the Japan-
coworkers. Some people thought the astro-
ese on their modules. You would think we
nauts might have survived. Those of us who
would have trouble communicating, but even
were in the military just shook our heads.

the ones who didn’t speak any English still un-

We’d seen explosions before; we knew they
derstood gestures. For instance, I was able to
had been disintegrated instantly. Later we
tell the Japanese that the tape securing their
found out that we were wrong, the crew sur-
hardware needed to be able to be pulled off
vived the explosion and died on impact with
easily on orbit using only hand gestures.

the ocean. In fact, there was evidence that

The Japanese were very interesting. Nor-
one astronaut turned the oxygen on the Com-
mally when you go into a clean room, you
mander’s helmet after the explosion. I never
wear a smock or bunny suit and a hair cover
watched another launch through my binocu-
to keep your hair out of the hardware. Why
lars; it was too painful.

do we do this? Remember, all that stuff will

We spent two plus years updating the pro-
float and the crew could breathe it in, which
cedures to test everything. We looked at what
could be a big problem if it’s a small nut or
could go wrong, whether it was likely or not.

bolt. Dirt and hair will also clog up the air fil-

56

JEFF MITCHELL

JUNE 2013
ters, which will have to be cleaned in orbit,
out, that this was also International Women’s
using time that an astronaut could be using

Day, so after signing everything, we drank
for an experiment. If you have a beard, you
champagne, took many photos, shook hands,
would wear a beard cover, if you have hair, a
and celebrated. You had to celebrate with the
hair cover. But every company and nation has

Russians to be sociable. One of the female
different rules. The Japanese had everyone

U.S. engineers didn’t drink, so she pretended
wear beard covers, even if they didn’t have a
to sip the champagne. She admitted this to
beard, and even the women, who obviously
her co-worker, and he finished most of his
will never have beards. Hair covers for bald
drink, handed it to her and said, “Here, hold
guys as well.

this for the look,” and grabbed her glass. Then

The Russians were great. NASA launched a
the Russians broke out the hard liquor, there
piece of Russian hardware called MRM-1. As were more toasts, and by eleven thirty I was
an astronaut representative, I had to inspect
happy.

the interior for sharp edges and take photos. I

After the final landing, I, like thousands of
was one of only four Americans to go into
others at KSC, was out of a job I loved. I don’t

MRM-1 while it was being processed in Cape have a problem with this though, for at least

Canaveral. That’s the good news. The bad

28 years I was a member of a team trying to
news was that the Russians required certain
get us off the planet. We launched telescopes
medical tests before I could go in. I had to
that see the far reaches of the Universe. We
give a stool sample—and I don’t mean the
launched probes to the outer planets. We
stool at the bar in your house. On another day
even built the science fiction fan’s bread and

I had to inspect the exterior for sharp edges.

butter, a space station. Quite a series of ac-

We finished the inspections on a Saturday
complishments that all America should be
morning and signed the official paperwork. A
proud of.

big political and engineering step. It turns

I know I am. ■

WORKING ON THE SPACE SHUTTLE

57

Out in the

Dark

Linda Nagata
fter three years out in the dark among
never been used before. “Zeke Choy,” I an-
the rocks, Kiel Chaladur docked his
swered. And then, anticipating its next ques-
prospecting boat, the Gold Witch, at
tion, “Field officer, Commonwealth Police.”

ASato Station.It had been a successful I’d entered cold sleep in the inner system, voyage. He’d found, sold, and sent in-system a
ghosting to Sato Station as an electronic per-
comet remnant dense with volatiles. The
sona, completing in eleven minutes a journey
money he’d taken for it had made his fortune
that would have consumed years if I’d trav-
and that of his two-person crew—but wealth
eled in physical form. The arrival of my ghost
wasn’t the only prize Kiel Chaladur brought
had wakened a stored husk—a precisely
back with him. Against all odds, he’d found a
grown replica of the body I’d left behind. By
wife out there, born and grown among the

Commonwealth law, a citizen was limited to
rocks.

one physical incarnation at a time. It was part

Shay Antigo stepped through the port gate
of the definition of being human, and no ex-
at Sato Station as an unknown citizen. She
ceptions were allowed, not even for an on-
was met by the local watch off icer of the
duty cop. So that version of me that I’d left

Commonwealth Police, who conf irmed her
behind eleven minutes ago would remain
status and shepherded her through the
locked down in cold sleep until I’d f inished
process of establishing a legal existence. As I
my investigation at Sato Station.

read the brief, it struck me as an engaging sto-

When the DI was satisfied that I fully occu-
ry—and almost certainly untrue.

pied my new platform, it opened the cold-

Three days after the initial report was filed,
sleep pod. I got up, glancing at my projection

I was assigned to investigate.

in the image panel. I stood taller than most
men, strong and lean and with a stern gaze. It

“Name?” the brisk voice of a Dull Intelli-
was a physical appearance considered ideal
gence asked, prodding me into wakefulness
for instilling order and compelling respect. I’d
within the close embrace of a cold-sleep pod.

been less imposing when I’d entered the

I drew a deep breath into lungs that had
academy, but judicious engineering during

58

JUNE 2013
my months of training had given me the size
quirks—only natural, human physiology, ex-
and bearing of a cop.

cept that aging had been ruled a defect and

A locker linked to my identity popped
had been cured, and we were all allowed an
open. Inside was a uniform and a collection of
atrium.

glossy gel ribbons in different colors, each ten

In my primary duty I was the watch officer
centimeters long and containing a different
at Nahiku, a small celestial city in the inner
chemical armament. They were the standard
system, but every cop takes on special duties
weapons of a f ield off icer. I laid the ribbons
too. Mine was to investigate other off icers.

against the skin of my forearms and they ad-

Commonwealth law is strict, punishment is
hered immediately, syncing to my atrium—a
severe, and the unfortunate reality is that cops
neural organ used by all residents of the Com-
hold the power of life and death over the citi-
monwealth to link mind and machine. Of
zens of their watch. Some cops are judicious,
course, Daoud Pana, the watch off icer I’d
but others take advantage of their power. It
come to investigate, would be similarly
was far more likely that Daoud Pana was a cor-
armed, but if it came to an overt confronta-
rupt cop who’d fabricated this case for some
tion, I had an authorization level that would
kind of payoff, than that Shay Antigo was truly
shut down ever y one of his police-issue
unknown.

weapons.

Using my atrium, I linked into the station’s

A DI popped into my atrium with a map of
surveillance network to get a first look at my

Sato Station. Around the wheel, the location
quarry. Pana had set a f lock of inspection
of each one of 308 current residents was
bees buzzing through the levels of the newly
marked, some as stationary points, others on
arrived ship, each one of the tiny devices
the move, all of them tracked by their im-
sending back datastreams as they used their
planted ID chips, marking them as citizens of
camera eyes to search every visible space, and
the Commonwealth. Neither Shay Antigo nor
their molecular sensors to taste the air and as-

Kiel Chaladur was among them. The brief I’d
say the surfaces.

scanned when the case came in had told me

I commandeered an inspection bee that
they’d already left through the station’s data
was hovering close to Pana, turning it around
gate, their ghosts bound for Mars. Chaladur’s
so that its gaze fell on him: a man as tall as
other two crew had taken off to destinations
me—cop height, we called it—with a broad
of their own, all of them authorizing that the
face and wide nose. No smile at all as he ques-
husks they left behind be dissolved, indicat-
tioned the crew. Brusque and imposing in his
ing that none of them intended to return.

black uniform. I watched him for several min-

Officer Pana’s position was highlighted. He
utes, and found him neither overly friendly
was the only off icer-in-residence at Sato Sta-
nor overly strict. If he was looking for a bribe
tion, and presently he was outside the station
or a kickback, I couldn’t see it. Maybe he only
itself, doing a walk-through inspection of a re-
did favors for those who took care to make
cently arrived ship. He didn’t know yet that
arrangements in advance.

he was suspected of colluding to manufacture
a new identity for Shay Antigo, and that an in-

The mausoleum was in a warehouse dis-
vestigation had been launched against him.

trict, so at first I saw only small transport ro-

And he didn’t know I was here. The alert that
bots in the main corridor, but as I rounded
would normally have gone out when anyone
the wheel I encountered people. They looked
arrived in the cold-sleep mausoleum had been
at me in idle curiosity, until they realized I
suppressed.

was not the cop they’d grown used to seeing.

I pulled on the uniform: knee-length shorts

Then their expressions shifted—sometimes
and a black pullover with long sleeves de-
to curiosity, but often to shock, and even fear,
signed to hide the gel ribbons. I was not a po-
because the appearance of a strange cop at a
lice off icer by choice. I’d been drafted into
remote station like this one could only mean
the service, where it became my duty to en-
trouble.

force the Commonwealth’s conservative defi-

I was still watching Pana within my atrium,
nition of what it meant to be human: a
and I found it easy to mark the precise mo-
singular physical existence and no invented
ment someone pinged him with the news

OUT IN THE DARK

59

ANALOG
that I was there. His jaw tightened. His lips
granting her a Commonwealth ID chip, and a
drew back. He looked up, looked around, un-
new existence without the burden of a past.

til he spotted the surveillance bee that I con-
trolled.

Daoud Pana was scowling when he strode

“On my way,” he growled in an undertone.

into the interrogation room. He didn’t bother

Then he barked at the cargo ship’s three-per-
with introductions. “It’s the unknown, isn’t
son crew. “Do not attempt to disembark. You it?” he demanded. “I knew trouble was com-have not been cleared and you will not be al-
ing when I filed that report.”

lowed to pass through the station gate.”

“You filed it anyway.”

He waved off their objections, and, leaving

“It was my job to file it. I conducted the re-
his f lock of bees to continue the job, he left
quired investigation and I drew the only con-
through the ship’s lock. The station gate
clusion I could. She was legit. No record of
knew him, and he was allowed back into the
her in the system. I didn’t write her a free
wheel with only a cursory surface scan.

pass.”

Every celestial city operated under its own

Pana worked out of an off ice with a small
charter, but in matters of molecular science,
reception room in front, and interrogation
biology, and machine intelligence, Common-
and lab space in the back—a standard layout
wealth law applied, and it was merciless. For
for watch officers. I let myself in, did a quick
most violations, those found guilty-with-intent
walk-through of all the rooms, checked the
faced death as a penalty. Their only recourse
storage lockers, and then took a seat on a
was to disappear and become someone else.

couch in one of the interrogation rooms to

Cops had been bribed before.

wait for his arrival. A DI had put together a

I studied Pana. My DI had flagged no lie in
summary of the surveillance recorded on the
his words, but some people learned to fool
day the unknown citizen, Shay Antigo, had
the DIs.

come in. I used the time to review it.

Pana’s lip curled. “You’ve done this before?

After Kiel Chaladur’s prospecting boat had

Investigated another cop?”

docked at the station, Daoud Pana had gone

“I’ve been called out a couple of times.”

onboard to do a walk-through inspection just

“Yeah? And were they experienced cops
like he’d done today with the cargo ship. In-
that you investigated? Or were they new?” He
side the Gold Witch, he’d been met by Cha-
shook his head. “You don’t have to answer.

ladur, a small man with sharp features and not

Only the new-issues are dumb enough to
much flesh beneath his charcoal skin, whose
think they can pad their accounts and no one
thin shoulders were a little hunched even in
the wiser.”

Sato’s low-gee. The video identified Shay Anti-

It was true that most cops who leaned to-
go as the woman standing beside him. They
ward corruption were exposed in their f irst
both wore their hair close-shaven, but that
years, but I saw it as a Darwinian process.

was the limit of the resemblance. Shay stood

Those who didn’t get caught early were the
taller by a few centimeters, with a wide, pret-
smart ones, and the longer they survived, the
ty face, and demure features. My DI con-
smarter they got, and the smarter they got,
firmed the anxiety I sensed in her gaze as she
the more they tried to get away with. People
eyed Officer Pana.

believe all the time in the magic of their own

In the video, an alert spoke, notifying Pana
success.

that she lacked an ID chip. He drew back. His

I guess I believed in magic too. “Tell me
hand rose slightly, and I knew the gel ribbons
about her,” I said, conf ident that I could dis-
he carried under his sleeve were gliding
cern his thoughts and intentions by watching
down his forearm to his palm, where they
his face, hearing his voice, even though I
would be ready for use.

knew moods could be quirked, and voice

But no resistance was offered—not by Shay
rhythms could be steadied with tranks.

Antigo, or Kiel Chaladur, or his two-person

He scowled and shook his head again, mak-
crew. Shay submitted to every scan and test
ing it clear I was wasting his time. “It’s all in
that procedure required, and in the end Pana
the report. Everything. You’ve watched it,
certified her as a previously unknown citizen,
haven’t you? The detainment vid?”

60

LINDA NAGATA

JUNE 2013

“Tell me anyway.”

ever a matter of time.

Pana understood that the best way to get

“And Shay Antigo? She came from an indie
rid of me was to cooperate, so, sitting on the
holding?”

couch opposite mine, he started talking, his

Doubt shadowed his face. I caught it before
deep voice flat and fluid, as if he was reading
my DI did.

the words.

“That was her story. I couldn’t refute it. The

“I meet every ship that comes in. It’s not

DI picked up a low level of deception, noth-
strictly required—I could just send the bees
ing clear cut. I think she’d been in a station,
to inspect the cargo—but it’s my policy.

but not one with a police presence.”

We’re spread thin out here. Indies working

“So she wasn’t scanned.”

out in the rocks, they’ll try out illegal bio-

“That’s my guess. I couldn’t ask for a full
mods, f iguring it’s long odds on getting
history without cause.”

caught—but eventually everyone comes in. If

“Being an unknown citizen isn’t suff icient
they know I’m going to be down at the gates
cause?”

every time, they might think a little harder be-

“Didn’t seem like it at the time.” His eyes
fore they push the wall.”

narrowed, and he leaned forward. “You think

I hated to admit that this made sense to me.

she’s a fake because she doesn’t look like a

People get in trouble when they think no
freak, because she could hold a human con-
one’s looking. But did the threat of a cop wait-
versation, because she knew what a cop was,
ing at the station gate really balance out the
and what it meant to get through a station
temptation that grew in the dark, in those
gate.”

years when you were out in the rocks, alone

I nodded. “She grew up in the dark.”

with your thoughts, and free to run any ex-

He shrugged. “She has an atrium. You
periment your tools allowed? Pana must have
know how indies get by out there? They live
seen a lot of mods over the years, but his ar-
through their atriums. They spend all their
rest record was thin. Sometimes that’s a sign
downtime in virtual worlds, a lot of ’em based
of a good watch off icer— someone who
on real places. It’s the damnedest thing. They
knows how to make a mess quietly disappear
interact with machine personas, learn the ac-
before it’s ever official. I’d done it myself. Peo-
cent and habits of some city they’ve never
ple who understand their jeopardy willingly
seen, and you’d swear they were birthright
cooperate, and life goes on.

citizens. Indies can masquerade as anyone

Pana leaned back in his chair and scowled
they want to be.”

again. It seemed to be his default expression.

A DI brought a report into my atrium. I’d

“So, this prospecting boat came in. The Gold
sent it hunting through Pana’s background.

Witch. There’d been chatter about it. They hit He’d saved up a good-sized nest egg. He had
big. Found a snowball. Auctioned it for a nice
family, but none that were close. He’d been
gain. That was over a year ago.”

married twice, both had ended when the con-

“It took them that long to come in?”

tract expired. He held citizenship in two ce-

He nodded. “They were way out in the
lestial cities and one Earth nation. Nothing in
dark. God knows what goes on out there.”

his record was suspicious . . . but he would

“What did go on?”

have known to keep his record clean.

He shrugged. “No one patrols the Belt.

He was studying me, no doubt using the

There’s no way to really know, but everyone’s
same interpretive DI that I was using to assess
heard stories. Sometimes these prospectors
his mood. “You won’t find anything,” he told
let the dark inside their heads, and they de-
me in a satisfied tone. “Because there’s noth-
cide they don’t want to come back. They find
ing to find.”

a rock far away from everything, and they tun-
nel it, set up housekeeping, declare themselves

I took a walk around the ring of the station.

beyond the bounds of the Commonwealth.”

Eight ships were docked to the gates, one of

The legality of independent holdings was
them the Gold Witch. Kiel Chaladur had or-
heavily debated, but the cold fact was that the
dered it cleaned and refurbished immediately

Commonwealth police could establish juris-
on his return. It had been on the market a lit-
diction simply by force of arms. It was only
tle more than forty hours when it sold to an

OUT IN THE DARK

61

ANALOG
experienced prospector. I found her supervis-
crèche in which a fresh husk could be grown.

ing the loading of food and supplies for what

So Shay could not have been regenerated. She
looked to be a long expedition. Pana must
had come from somewhere: either an inde-
have warned her I was on my way, because
pendent holding as she’d claimed, or from an-
she didn’t look surprised when I came
other boat.

through the station gate—a small, gray-eyed

I sent a DI to look for any discrepancies in
woman, soft and plump, with a smile sincere
ship crews: a list of the dead and the missing,
enough to hide mass murder behind it.

all those who had never come back. I set an-

Most people don’t smile when a Common-
other DI to assembling a map of radio chatter
wealth cop comes to ask them questions.

recorded over the years, to see if a pattern

“Do you want to inspect us?” she asked me
could be recovered suggesting a habitation in
without preamble.

the sector where Kiel had found his strike.

The cleaning crew had been through. We

Then I went over the DNA evidence col-
both knew there would be nothing to f ind.

lected by Pana. He’d run a standard assess-

“Did you know Kiel Chaladur?” I asked her.

ment of Shay’s prof ile and had found no

Her eyes were f ixed on me with eerie in-
matches in the Commonwealth central li-
tensity. Despite her smile, my DI picked up
brary. I decided to look deeper.

hostility, but I didn’t think it was directed at

I ordered the sample pulled from storage
me. “I knew him. I crewed with him twice,
and subjected it to a more detailed profiling.

way back. He had no luck then, so I moved

The new report turned up a fair amount of ra-
on.”

diation damage—nothing that couldn’t be re-

“He had luck this last trip.”

paired, but highly indicative of time spent in

“You never know when it’ll hit.”

the rocks. More suspect were the splices:

“What do you know about Shay Antigo?”

well-known segments of artif icial DNA with

She crossed her arms and her smile disap-
no actual function. They’d been devised as
peared. “It’s hard to believe sometimes, what
copyright marks, but they’d been adapted for
goes on out there.”

use as placeholders that could throw off a ba-

“What do you mean?”

sic DNA match. It was possible Shay had in-

“Just what I said. Some stories are hard to
herited the splices, but a smart amateur with
believe.”

the proper molecular toolkit could easily

“You’ve been prospecting a long time,
achieve the result.

haven’t you?”

The two reports I’d requested earlier had

“Nineteen years. Six expeditions. Maybe
come back while I was working. The radio
this time I’ll finally hit gold.”

map failed to show any consistent point

“You must have seen a lot out there.”

source of chatter in the sector Chaladur had

Her smile f lashed, f ierce and bitter. “I
been prospecting, but the list of the dead was
wouldn’t say that. The Belt’s a big place. But
more interesting. It was longer than I expect-
it’s mostly empty space, and you know what?

ed: a hundred ninety-seven who’d had to be

There’s nothing much to see out there. There
restored from backups. Most had died of in-
aren’t any mysteries. Just a few rocks and a
juries or air loss, with a few suicides in the
whole lot of silence.”

mix. Nearly all the bodies had been recovered

“No mysteries? No unknowns?”

and the organics recycled.

“Not that I’ve ever seen.”

A single exception caught my eye. Thirty-
two years ago a prospecting boat had disap-

Pana’s report included a copy of the Gold
peared with its crew of three. No one had

Witch’s log file, which had a few entries from ever reported sighting the ghost ship. No
the start of the voyage, but nothing more. As
word had ever come of its crew.

an owner-operator, Chaladur wasn’t required

The radiation damage in Shay’s DNA sample
to keep a log and I guessed that if he’d kept a
had indicated a long time spent in the rocks.

record at all, it was locked up safe inside his

I sent a DI hunting information on the miss-
head. I knew that he’d set out with three souls
ing crew—and in seconds it returned an ini-
aboard and returned with four, and that there
tial report: only one of them had been female,
was no data gate on the Gold Witch, and no her name was Mika Brennan, and the last time

62

LINDA NAGATA

JUNE 2013
the local database had been synced with the

She nodded. “I don’t remember what hap-

Commonwealth central library, the version of
pened that first time, of course. That branch
her that had been restored from backup was
of my existence ended. I presume there was
living with her family in one of the oldest ce-
an accident. After a couple of years with no
lestial cities, Eden-2. I compared her video ID
word from me, no word of my ship, my par-
with that of Shay Antigo and found marked
ents sought permission to restore me from a
differences. Mika’s face was more slender, her
backup made before I left.” Her gaze followed
features sharper than Shay’s, her eyes green
the progress of the girls as they clambered
not gray . . . but people changed their features
around the jungle tree. “It shook me up,
all the time.

knowing I’d died out there. But that other me,

I wanted to hear what the surviving Mika
she’d sent a lot of video journals to my par-

Brennan knew about her long-ago disappear-
ents. I watched them, and I came to under-
ance. So I generated a ghost within my atrium
stand that I’d loved it out there in the raw,
and, leaving my physical presence behind to
cold dark. We went places where no one had
continue searching the historical records, I
ever been, where no one was ever meant to
passed through the station’s data gate.

be.” She grinned. “And anyway, she’d left me

There is no awareness during the journey
with a lot of debt. So I went out again, and
between data gates and none in the receiving
twelve years ago, I got lucky. We found a rock
platform. It’s like stepping through a door,
loaded with rare metals. Everything I owed to
from one world to another. In my next mo-
anybody was paid off, with wealth to spare,
ment of awareness I existed in a virtual reality
so I came home.” She nodded at the two kids.

within Mika Brennan’s atrium, one that per-

“And started the next phase of my life.”

fectly reflected the hard reality around her.

I asked her if she knew anything about in-
dies living in holdings out in the rocks, raising

Most people get ner vous when a cop
families there. She snorted. “Fables. People
comes to talk to them. Mika Brennan only
like to tell stories, but that’s all they are. I re-seemed perplexed. “Officer Zeke Choy?” she
member one time, a couple, a man and a
asked, her head cocked to one side. “The re-
woman, were marooned on a rock. They did
quest said you had questions? About my
some excavating. Lived there a few months,
death?”

while their ship self-repaired. And then they

We were in a park in Eden-2. Not far away,
got the fuck out of there as soon as they
two young girls were climbing boldly through
could.” She looked up at me, with an open,
a jungle tree. They shared Mika’s lean fea-
honest gaze that I admired. “No one lives out
tures, her thick, dark hair, and the deep,
there. Not that I ever saw, or heard, and I was
clove-brown color of her skin. “Mommy,
out there more than twenty years.”

watch!” one of them shouted.

I asked her if she’d ever go out again, and

My ghost existed within Mika’s atrium. I
she laughed, bright-eyed and buoyant.

was written onto her reality, so that from her

“Maybe. We have forever, don’t we? To do
perspective, I was as solid and real as the two
anything we want?” She turned again to the
kids—but from the kids’ perspective I did not
kids. “Not any time soon, though.”

exist. At best, I was a phantom that only

“So you didn’t leave a husk out there?”

Mommy could see.

“No. You understand . . . the years in micro-

“I’m talking,” she called back to them.

gee, the constant radiation. Even with ongo-

“We’ll play in a minute.” Then she cocked an
ing repair s, the integrity of the husk is
eyebrow at me. “At least I hope you don’t
doubtful. If I ever go back, I’ll start fresh. I can plan to detain me?”

afford a new husk. So I had my old one dis-

“I’d like to hear the story of what happened
solved and the matter sold off. There’s noth-
to you out there. It might have some bearing
ing of me out there anymore.”

on a current case.”

“I went out there more than once, you

Back at Sato Station, I started to pull Mika’s
know.”

DNA record from her latest scan, but I hesitat-

That surprised me, but then I hadn’t both-
ed. There were implications to what I might
ered to pull a complete dossier.

find. Mika could be drawn into this case, even

OUT IN THE DARK

63

ANALOG
if she had no immediate involvement . . . but I

In most parts of the Commonwealth, locat-
needed to know what had happened, before
ing a citizen is a simple matter of having a

I could know what to do—and I didn’t have
city’s network of listening posts search for the
to include everything I found in my f inal re-
ping of an ID chip, but the Martians of Con-
port. So I went ahead with it, comparing DNA
f luencia liked their privacy, and the only lis-
samples from Mika and Shay. And I found
tening posts were on the walls of government
what I expected: outside the spliced seg-
buildings. So I did the next best thing: I fol-
ments, and with some exceptions for radia-
lowed the money, requesting real time ac-
tion damage and repairs, they were a match.

count activity for both Shay Antigo and Kiel

Somehow, the Mika who’d disappeared thirty-

Chaladur.

two years ago had f inally made it back from

In a city as vast as Confluencia, it’s impossi-
the dark.

ble to go anywhere without constantly paying

How had it happened? And had Off icer
for transportation, and given that my quarry

Daoud Pana known the truth? Had Kiel Cha-
was newly f lush with money and fresh from
ladur given him a cut of the profits for certify-
the austerity of the Belt, I expected to see fre-
ing Shay as an unknown citizen? Or had Pana
quent transactions mapping a bright electron-
been played?

ic trail.

I’d been so sure of this case when I started,

To my surprise, it took more than an hour
but I wasn’t sure anymore.

for the f irst transaction to occur, but a loca-

I got up from the couch where I’d been
tion was attached to it, a mall, a few kilome-
working. Pana was in his off ice, talking to a
ters down the valley.

ghost I couldn’t see, but he turned his atten-

By the time I reached the mall, a second
tion to me when I looked in the doorway.

transaction put their location at a designer

“I’m leaving.”

clothing store —and minutes later, I saw

“Did you find anything?” he asked in a cold
them. Kiel Chaladur looked taller and more
voice. “Should I start preparing a defense?”

robust than he had stepping off the Gold

“I’ll let you know.”

Witch at Sato Station, while Shay Antigo

It was time for me to go to Mars.

looked much the same, her hair still close-
cropped and her soft features suggesting

On Sato Station I returned my husk to cold
nothing of Mika Brennan’s bold face.

storage, and a moment later in my perspec-

I didn’t need to talk to them right away. I
tive, I opened the eyes of another husk, this
was close enough to register the ping of their
one in the mausoleum in Conf luencia, the

ID chips, and that made them easy to follow.

largest city on Mars.

So I tracked them through two more stores,

Confluencia was a good place for someone
then waited while they had a drink. Anything
with a questionable identity to disappear. The
said or done in public was likely to be record-
city snaked for hundreds of miles through
ed, either by a security device or a passerby,

Mariner Valley and the Martians weren’t big
and then all chance of discretion was gone. So
on security, so no gates existed between the

I bided my time, and after an hour my pa-
city’s districts. A person could live a hundred
tience was rewarded when Shay and Kiel dis-
years in Confluencia and never be scanned.

appeared through the lobby doors of a luxury

I wondered about her, this unknown, Shay
hotel.

Antigo, who was once Mika Brennan. What

I gave them a minute to get onto the eleva-
had she done out in the dark? How had she
tor before I followed. The hotel yielded their
lost herself for so many years? And why had
room number, and before long a chime was
she finally chosen to come back . . . as some-
announcing my presence at their door.

one else?

No one answered, not for three minutes or
more. I imagined the frantic, whispered con-

The Martian husk was heavier than the one
versation that must be going on inside as they

I usually used, adapted to a higher gravity, but
considered why a Commonwealth police offi-
it didn’t take long to master my balance, and
cer stood on their threshold. The door finally
within minutes I was dressed and armed and
slid back to reveal Shay, gazing up at me with
heading out into the city.

a sorrowful look.

64

LINDA NAGATA

JUNE 2013

Asking no questions, she stepped aside—a

“A good life,” Shay added, tears glinting in
gesture I took as an invitation to enter. Kiel
her eyes. “A life I wish I’d had.”

stood on the balcony, a glass-encased ledge

“What happened out there?” I asked her.

that overlooked the canyon as it wended

She turned and, crossing the room, she
south. His arms were crossed over his chest
sank slowly onto a sofa.

and from the look on his face, I knew that if

“There was an accident.”

there was no glass barrier there, he would en-
joy throwing me over the precipice.

Mika Brennan had been one of a crew of

The door whispered in its tracks, and as it
three, on a prospecting boat running on mar-
closed my atrium informed me I was signal-
ginal resources. They’d found a comet rem-
dead, cut-off from the network. I froze in
nant and knew their fortunes were made.

shock—though I should have expected it.

Engines were fixed to the ice, but there were

This was a luxury hotel, offering the best, in-
fault lines that they didn’t detect, and when
cluding electronic privacy, and Shay and Kiel
the engines f ired, a massive chunk of ice
were fugitives.

sheared away and struck the ship.

I sent a gel ribbon gliding down my arm,

“We lost all power,” Shay said. “The reactor
wondering what else they were willing to do
was damaged. It was only a matter of time be-
to protect themselves.

fore the radiation killed us. But we f igured if

Shay circled around me, keeping her eyes
we could get back to the main ice fragment,
f ixed on me as she gave me a wide berth.

eventually another prospector would come

“What was I supposed to do?” she asked me
along and we’d be found.”

in a desperate voice.

So they wrestled cold sleep pods and a

“What did you do?” I wondered.

bivouac tent to the hopper bay. Mika jumped

“I came in from the dark. That’s all.”

f irst, taking her pod with her. And because

“So it is you? Mika Brennan. How much did
she was the lightest, she took the bivouac

Officer Pana make you pay for your new iden-
tent too. Her hopper was fully fueled, and she
tity?”

made it. Her companions didn’t. They over-

My DI conf irmed the confusion I saw on
shot the ice, and had no fuel left to turn
her face. “It wasn’t like that—”

around.

“And her name is Shay Antigo,” Kiel inter-

The three of them talked, until the distance
rupted, stepping in from the balcony.

was too great for the suit radios. Then Mika

“Kiel, please. You need to stay out of it.”

bolted her cold sleep pod to the ice. She set

He didn’t listen, no more than I would have
up the bivouac tent around it, inflating it with
in the same situation. “She is Shay Antigo. An the last of her air reserve. Then she stripped
unknown from the rocks. The cop at Sato
off her suit, and before the cold could kill her,
confirmed it and we didn’t pay him a damned
she climbed into the pod.

thing.”

“I thought it’d be a year or two before I was

“It’s true,” Shay said. “There was no record
picked up. But it was thirty-one years until
of me in the system, because I came to life

Kiel and his crew found me, and by then I
out there in the rocks.”

didn’t exist anymore. I mean, the Mika Bren-

The DI studied her, and to my surprise it
nan of thirty-two years ago, she no longer ex-did not suggest she was lying—but then, time
isted in the Commonwealth. It was too late
changes the way we def ine ourselves. “You
for me to go home.”

came to life after Mika Brennan died?” I asked

“Shay’s harmed no one,” Kiel said gruff ly.

her.

“She’s done no wrong.”

“The prospector? I heard that story. It was

I wished that was true. “She lied about her
a long time ago.”

name.”

“She never went home.”

Shay wasn’t going to give in easily. “It

“That’s not what I heard. I heard her family
wasn’t a lie! That name didn’t belong to me
restored her from backup. I heard she made it
anymore—and you know what would have
home.”

happened if I tried to take back my life.”

Kiel added, “I heard that too. I heard she

I didn’t answer right away. Instead, I
made a fortune, and set up a life for herself.”

walked out to the balcony, thinking about the

OUT IN THE DARK

65

ANALOG
choice she’d had to make. She could have
questions.

claimed her true name. It was her right. She

I’d been so determined to prove that Pana
could have seized back the life of Mika Bren-
had been paid off, I’d followed this case too
nan, but she’d chosen not to.

far. If I reported what I knew, the life of Mika

I felt a shy touch against my arm and looked

Brennan, resident of Eden-2, would be forfeit
down, surprised to see that Shay had followed
as an illegal copy of a living person. And
me. “She’s the version of me that my parents
when she was gone, Shay would be tried and
know. She’s the one my brothers and sisters
convicted of counterfeiting her identity, and
love. She’s the mother of my children. For
she would be executed for it. Hardly a just re-
thirty years we’ve grown apart, and it’s too
ward for what she’d been through, and what
late now to ever put us back together.”

she’d given up.

Shay was right, of course. A ghost can join

I drew a breath and let it out slowly. “The
its memories to its progenitor, but only for a
radiation out there in the dark,” I said. “It
while. As they grow apart, it becomes impos-
damages the DNA. The repair programs . . .

sible to meld one mind with another. But in
sometimes it seems like they’re copying pat-
the Commonwealth, individuals are allowed
terns from the wrong DNA source.”

only one physical copy of themselves.

“Like a cousin or something?” Kiel asked

“If I took back my name,” Shay said, “I’d
tentatively. “Even a sibling?”

take her life away. Do you think my family

“Like that,” I agreed.

would even want me if I could do a thing like

Daoud Pana had known the truth, I didn’t
that?”

doubt it, and he’d chosen to let Shay through

“You know it doesn’t work that way,” I told
the station gate because it was the right thing
her.

to do. Now I’d entered into his conspiracy.

We all want to see shades of meaning in

I turned and walked back across the hotel
what we do, but Commonwealth law is ab-
room. The door opened at my touch. I felt my
solute. It’s concerned with limits, not justice.

connection restored. Looking back at Shay

“You were f irst,” I said. “She was second.

and Kiel, I saw they were still standing to-

Under the law, that makes her an illegal
gether on the balcony. “Thank you for an-
copy.”

swering my questions,” I said. “Assessments

“No, she was approved. There was a legal
such as this one help us maintain the integri-
certification.”

ty of our off icers. My report will state that,

“Based on the assumption of your death,
based on the evidence, Daoud Pana followed
but you’re not dead. She’s the backup, so you
procedure and made the right call. This case
have precedence. You knew it. That’s why
is closed.”

you decided to disappear.”

I took a step into the hall before I thought

Shay stared out at the sprawl of gleaming
to turn back. “And welcome to the Common-
towers and the canyon’s seemingly inf inite
wealth, Shay Antigo. I think you’ll like it
walls. Kiel came to stand on her other side.

here.”

He took her hand.

“Better than the rocks,” she allowed, in

“What was I supposed to do?” she asked
whispery relief.

me—that same question she’d met me with

I nodded and went on my way.

when I first came in the door. Only this time,

In my mind I started composing my report.

there was steel in her voice, the stern convic-

I would have liked to open it with the truth:

tion of a woman who’d survived out in the
that strange things happen out in the dark.

dark, alone. “I gave Mika my life. I didn’t ask

But I don’t want anyone else to get curi-
for it back. I just wanted my own.”

ous and start digging into this story . . . not

“And Officer Pana gave it to you.”

until the law is changed—and that will hap-

“He’s a good cop,” Kiel said. “With a repu-
pen. It must. ■
tation for playing fair. Not like the jackboot
cops of the inner system.”

I wasn’t going to argue. Pana had done a

Editor’s Note: This story is a sequel to
better job than me. Sometimes, being a good

“Nahiku West.” (October, 2012)

cop means knowing when to stop asking

66

LINDA NAGATA

Dark

Secret

Part III of IV

Edward M. Lerner

“Those who do not learn from history . . .”

But there’s a lot of history to choose from

The story so far:

are at best a few years from spiraling into

The planet meets no one’s idea of paradise.

each other. Their cataclysmic collision will

Its gravity is oppressive and its climate cold.

produce a gamma-ray burst. Or, rather, this

Oxygen is thin and the carbon-dioxide level
has already happened, and lethal radiation
is almost toxic. The terrain is bleak beneath
will be following close behind the tell-tale
sunlight scarcely half as bright as on Earth,
gravitational waves.The GRB will obliterate
and the local biota have yet to make the
life across the solar system.

great leap to land. For several good reasons,

Working in secrecy lest the doomed popu-

Blake Westford has named this world
lations panic, colony ships will be built us-

Dark.

ing Jumoke’s Dark Energy Drive. But the

Blake and wife Rikki Westford fly a shutDED is experimental at best. Clermont , into tle from orbiting starship Endeavour to the which the prototype drive has been installed
first landing on Dark.Without experience
and integrated, needs lots more check-out.

how weather works here, they’re taken by

Only Dana and Blake are trained to fly the
surprise by a blizzard.And an avalanche . . .

ship and work out the DED’s bugs.As soon as

Fade to almost seventy years earlier . . .

the DED is made reliable, they’ll scout the

Blake, a ship’s engineer, and ship’s captain
path ahead to another star. They agree— if

Dana McElwain, on a test flight in the As-Blake’s wife can join them.

teroid Belt, are urgently summoned home to

As the distant neutron stars entered their

Mars. Police impound Clermont , the ship death spiral, the gravitational waves intensi-Blake and Dana operate for Bradbury Uni-
fied—ending all ambiguity. In months, not
versity. The police deliver Blake, Dana, and
years, the GRB will arrive.There’s no time to
their passenger, aerospace engineer Dr.

complete any colony ships. Humanity’s last

Jumoke Boro, to the planetary governor’s hope of avoiding extinction is Clermont . Neil
residence. Astrophysicist Dr. Antonio Valen-

Hawthorne, the governor’s aide, arrives at
ti explains that two co-orbiting neutron stars the spaceport where Blake and Dana oversee

67

ANALOG

Clermont ’s retrofit for the scouting trip.

habitable planets, Li plays mind games:

Hawthorne brings Rikki, Antonio, and two

—With Antonio (whose Asperger’s Syn-
kidnapped specialists: microbiology/nan-
drome makes any social interaction
otech expert Dr. Carlos Patel, and psychia-painful), Li uses the anticipation of responsi-
trist and family counselor Li Yeo, MD.

bility for thousands of children.

Hawthorne also brings commandeered criti-

—With Carlos (middle child; orphaned
cal supplies, including thousands of frozen
young; lost among his foster family; Peter Pan
embryos and a few artificial wombs taken

Syndrome with an adolescent fixation on
from an in-vitro fertilization clinic.

sex), Li dangles prospects of a sexual rela-

To spare billions across the solar system
tionship.

from spending their final months under a

—With Dana (retired Space Guard search-
cruel death sentence, the embryo theft must
and-rescue pilot; ever duty-bound), Li inti-
go unexplained. Hawthorne remains on
mates the many ways in which the captain

Mars to take the blame, under the cover sto-
is unfit to found and lead a civilization.

ry of a cult stealing Clermont and the em-

—With Rikki (insecure, painfully aware
bryos for a utopia to be built in the outer
that she wasn’t brought along for her skills, solar system. Clermont (carrying Blake, Rik-oppressed by survivor’s guilt), Li flirts with
ki, Dana, Antonio, Carlos, and Li) evades

Blake, Rikki’s lone anchor.

pursuit by Space Guard cutters determined

—With Blake (devoted to his wife), Li ex-
to recover the stolen embryos.

ploits his worries about Rikki’s frame of

At Li’s recommendation, as a morale
mind.

builder, the six refugees rename Clermont .

Li has her own unresolved issues. She

They choose Endeavour , emblematic of ambi-broods about: her relationship with her
tion and new beginnings. Studying their
mother; a messy romantic break-up; and the
route to Alpha Centauri, Antonio discovers a
scandal that almost ensued. As a California
relic of the Big Bang: a cosmic string. He con-
state legislator, Mother had the connections
fesses that escaping the GRB is the best-case
to suppress the scandal and save Li’s practice
scenario, scarcely possible within the error
and medical license. Intercession came at a
margins of his observations. But there’s new
price: Li’s emigration to Mars, so as never
hope, from an old astrophysical speculation
again to embarrass Mother. Li was ashamed
that along a cosmic string the speed of light
to learn that her famously liberal mother
might exceed normal. They alter course,
had, in fact, a Victorian streak.

headed for the string, and hand off naviga-

Carlos almost died during the long cold
tion to Marvin, the shipboard artificial intel-sleep and starts drinking. He needs liquid
ligence. The crew enters hibernation for the
courage to return to the cold-sleep pod when
long journey, wondering if the GRB will kill
the only candidate world is fourteen light-
them as they sleep.

years distant. After “only” twenty-four years

They awaken in galactica incognita, fortu-
this time, Endeavour reaches the new solar nate to be alive. The cosmic string had com-system.

plexities beyond the assumptions of Marvin’s

The crew discusses names for planets,
navigational programming, as a conse-
moons, and geographical features. Li had,
quence of which they’ve been traveling for
with her typical subtlety, maneuvered Dana
forty-five years! Their velocity along the
into proposing this conversation—and the
string topped out at thirty-nine times (nor-
debate is divisive. Names offer a way to ac-
mal) light speed.Sometimes, to prevent being
knowledge aspects of human heritage, and
drawn into the string, Marvin had needed
preferences reflect philosophical differences.

Endeavour’s back-up fusion drive as well as

From Li’s nominations, Antonio infers an
the DED. Their deuterium tanks are all but
authoritarian leaning.Does Li hope to install
drained. Bearings taken on distant pulsars
the crew as the new civilization’s aristocra-
locate them on the far side of the Coal Sack
cy? Herself as its philosopher queen?

Dark Nebula, more than 700 light-years

Li insists that they name their future
from home. Only home is gone forever . . .

home world. Goading the crew, pushing too

While Antonio searches nearby stars for
hard, she is conditioning them to believe she

68

EDWARD M. LERNER

JUNE 2013
isn’t subtle. There are six crew and six plan-

DYSTOPIA
ets; to end the arguments, they’ll each name

(Spring, Year Four)

one planet. Blake draws the lot to name the
world on which they will live. He chooses . . .

Chapter 27

Dark.

eneath a sullen teal sky, under the piti-

Blake and Rikki take a shuttle to the first
less glare of an alien sun, Blake plodded
candidate settlement site (reference the open-
forward. No matter the ceaseless wind,

B
ing scene).

despite the remnants all around of the

Blake escapes the avalanche and rescues
spring’s latest unseasonable snowfall, he

Rikki. After treatment aboard Endeavour for dripped with sweat. He was as tanned as a wal-frostbite and exposure, they return to Dark.

nut, as filthy as mud, as exhausted as . . . as . . .

They find a location with caves for shelter,

Words failed him.

an inland sea for deuterium, and a broad

Somewhere beyond the too distant horizon
river delta whose sterile silt offers a head
his destination beckoned. If only he could
start toward developing soil.

reach it. If only he could see his goal. If only

With colonization imminent, Li recalls her
he could spare a moment to rest. If only he—
mother’s ineffectiveness in the California

To a f lourish of trumpets, he shuddered
state legislature—and Li’s own failed elec-
awake.

toral efforts. Li is determined to wield power .

Bach? McCartney? Copeland? Some cen-

She challenges Dana to ground the ship, to
turies-ago composer. A way to keep alive a bit
commit the ship as an electrical generator
of the culture they had left behind, that Li in-
and emergency shelter, knowing the request
sisted it was important for them to cherish.

will make Dana determined to keep Endeav-

Most mornings, the random selection was
our flying. Dana flitting about the solar sys-
okay.

tem is Dana removing herself as a rival for

This was just a discordant bleat.

authority.

“I’m up,” Blake croaked, so Marvin would

Among Dark’s many differences from ter-
kill the noise. “Lights on dim.”

restrial norms, its biology uses arsenic in-

At Blake’s side, Rikki tugged the blankets
stead of phosphorus.Dark’s algae mats won’t
over her head.

serve as feedstock for synthesizer vats with-

“Time to get up, hon,” he said softly, sitting
out new supplies of phosphorus. As a better
up.

feedstock, they start growing earthly bacte-

She burrowed deeper.

ria. Living in caves, living on slime, running

“We have things to do.”

out of phosphorus . . . they’re off to a discour-

“Yeah.” She threw aside her covers, but re-
aging start.

quired a minute to summon the energy to stir

By a month after Landing Day, Dana and
further.

Blake have found a phosphate-rich asteroid.

Blake understood. He hadn’t felt rested

Rikki, nonetheless, is deep in depression—
since . . .

pushed there by Li’s skilled and subtle inter-

Since Eve arrived.

ventions. Rikki, become Li’s puppet, is

After willing themselves from bed, he and
maneuvered into challenging Li to hurry up

Rikki quickly showered and dressed. Outside
and start bringing children into the colony.

their concrete cabin, the dawn air had a chill

Before Li “allows” herself to be convinced
to it. At the height of summer, mornings
they’re ready, she’s extracted everyone’s
would have a chill to them.

promise to serve at her beck and call.

The sun had yet to clear the horizon. Al-

Whether stockpiling diapers or at midnight
most as baleful as in his dream, the dawn light,
feedings, the rest will serve her.Whenever it
blood-red, blazed down the settlement’s lone
suited Li, she could send off Dana and Blake
street.

to gather some obscure trace element. Li

Red sky in the morning, sailor take warn-
thinks: This, Mother, is how one exercises ing, the ditty bubbled up from his subcon-power.

scious. What about a sun that ever verged on
red? What about a greenish sky?

* * *

Blake turned toward the dining hall. Rikki, a

DARK SECRET

69

ANALOG
wistful look in her eye, faced the other way,

And yet inescapable. He nudged her around
toward the much larger but no less utilitarian
another corner and they peeked in on the tod-
squat concrete box that was the childcare cen-
dlers. Marvin kept watch here, too.

ter.

Most here were awake, playing and bab-

What the hell, they could gobble breakfast.

bling in their cribs. By accident or with in-

It was only fuel, best not noticed.

sight, a few had opened the refrigerated

“We can spare a few minutes,” he told her,
compartments in their cribs and helped them-
offering his hand.

selves to formula bottles. Antonio would be

Rikki led them down Main Street, the rutted
along soon—roused by Marvin, if need be—to
path there was never the time or the re-
help those who hadn’t managed to feed them-
sources to pave, into the childcare center. A
selves.

broad corridor, its inner wall all one-way glass,

And to change diapers. Lots of diapers.

enclosed the facility on all four sides. They

Rikki reached for the knob of this door, too.

paused f irst outside the gestation room, its

Once inside, she wouldn’t leave without first
glow panels still night-dim. On forty-eight
rocking, cuddling, and cooing over each of
empty wombs, READY lights shone a steady
the twenty-six.

green. Carlos expected to have another ten or

If any child would let her. A haunted ex-
more units finished soon.

pression told Blake she, too, feared their re-

On a rear-wall display, above and behind
coiling.

the wombs, counters ticked down toward

“We need to get a move on,” he said, not

Family Day. Forty-five days . . .

meeting her eyes.

Around the corner, in the gallery outside

Around the f inal corner they looked in on
the nursery, he and Rikki tarried longer. In
the oldest children. This room had no cribs;
twenty-seven glass-enclosed cribs, eerily
mattresses resting directly on thickly padded
hushed, babies slept, or stirred, or fussed. The
carpet hid much of the floor.

little ones only seemed silent; so that they

Eleven of these children were just shy of
would not disturb each other, noise cancellers
three standard years. Some played, as often
in each enclosure masked most sounds.

side by side as with one another. A few

Though the babies varied in size, they were al-
rammed around, bouncing off padded walls
most identical in age: about four months.

and each other. Three sat in a corner staring at

Through sensors wired into the cribs, Mar-
an animation with images of colored toys.

vin watched, listened, and sniffed ceaselessly

When Blake pressed an intercom button, Mar-
for any hints of distress. From displays at the
vin was teaching numbers. From other wall
foot of each crib the AI’s smiling animation
displays, Marvin’s avatars praised, cajoled, and
would be beaming down, crooning or speak-
chided its charges.

ing soothingly to each infant as it (or rather,

Then there was the oldest cohort. The

Li’s verbal generalities turned by Carlos into
guinea-pig generation.

updated programming) deemed appropriate.

Blond, blue-eyed Eve, by almost a day the

Antonio, passed out on the room’s rumpled
grande dame of the Dark-born, was loading a
cot, an out-flung arm trailing on the floor, re-
tray with snacks. Castor, burly and intense,
mained on duty for whenever the AI needed
was piling plastic blocks. Pollux, his black hair
hands or suspected a problem. To judge by
a tousled mess, frowning, sat hunched on one
the line-up of empty formula bottles on the
of the room’s tiny toilets.

table along the wall, and the overflowing dia-

The trio struck Blake as wise—or was it
per pails, Antonio had had a long night.

wizened?—beyond their five standard years.

As Rikki reached for the doorknob, Blake

He tried to remember when he had seen
said, “Don’t. You’ll wake Antonio.” Who, like
any of them smile. And he pretended not to

Dana, was old enough to be a grandparent. In
notice Rikki brushing a tear from her cheek.

a fairer world, neither would be expected to

This . . . factory was no way to raise chil-pull all-nighters like this.

dren, but how else could six adults cope? And

Rikki jerked back her hand, looking sad and
duty demanded they bring yet more children
relieved. “It’s so . . . cold.”

into the world, while growing food for every-

Impersonal, she meant. “I know,” he told her.

one.

70

EDWARD M. LERNER

JUNE 2013

“Let’s get some breakfast,” he said gently.

clacking, clamoring occupants and their

Rikki nodded, too choked up to speak.

worse than noxious stench. Past the glass-

When they retraced their steps through the
walled hydroponics conservatory and its
gallery, Antonio was up, yawning, a red-faced,
touches of terrestrial greener y. Past the
bawling baby in his arms. From another room,
foundry in which he had fabricated, among
furtive scrabbling sounds announced that at
many things, parts for this tractor.

least some of the lab mice had awakened, too.

Past twelve headstones and twelve heart-

But not Li: they found her in the ICU, dozing
breakingly tiny graves.

in a chair, her mouth fallen open. Her patient,

Gravity’s effects on gestation? Local toxins?

asleep in the room’s single occupied isolette,

Radiation damage from the long voyage? Li
was sticklike, its joints misshapen. Li had not
couldn’t always tell, and that meant they
had any explanation beyond, “It happens.”

could expect to lose more children.

She works harder than all of us, Blake

They drove in silence down to the silt
thought. And she can’t leave the settlement, plains.

can’t ever stray more than a few steps from

To the roar of the tractor engine, Blake be-
the children.

gan tilling. The throbbing of the motor ran up

The moment of empathy almost kept Blake
the steering column, out the steering wheel,
from not dreading the remainder of his day.

into sore hands, aching arms, and tense shoul-
ders. Despite gloves and bandages, he kept

Breakfast was as best-ignored as usual. He
popping blisters faster than med nanites could
and Rikki scarcely overlapped with Carlos and
heal them. He felt about a hundred years old.

Dana, heading out that morning on a quick

The stiff morning breeze off the Darwin Sea
f light to gather more phosphates. Carlos
whipped across the Spencer River Delta, pelt-
swigged from a tall glass; Blake guessed that
ing him with grit and roiling the dust plume
the synthed orange juice was laced with vod-
that trailed behind the tractor for a good fifty
ka.

meters. Should he plow the lifeless silt with or

“We can’t have too much phosphate,” Li
across the prevailing wind? Follow the con-
had said again and again, when she wasn’t
tours of the landscape? He had no idea, and
pushing them to stockpile other minerals and

Marvin’s databases, though rife with esoteric
trace elements. “If Endeavour ever breaks
botanical theory, offered little practical how-to
down . . .”

to enlighten him. Last year’s trials with silt and

And she was right, although phosphates
fertilizer in a few pots and planters, as encour-
half-filled their largest storehouse.

aging as they had been, suggested nothing

Until recently it had been a full warehouse.

about plowing techniques. So Blake changed

The crush of snow from the winter’s f inal
course every few rows, putting in furrows
storm had buckled the roof; three days of tor-
every which way. When the crops came in— if
rential rain only the week before had washed
the crops came in—he would have a better
away half their reserves.

idea for next year.

Blake missed robins as the f irst sign of

Not that Marvin’s knowledge wasn’t useful:

spring.

it showed they had dodged a bullet. Their

He and Rikki packed lunches, grabbed a
seeds, all varieties gengineered for Mars, fixed
tractor from the garage, and trundled down
nitrogen directly from the atmosphere. Blake

Main Street. Past storehouses and workshops.

hadn’t taken biology since high school, so

Past a massive, deeply buried bunker, showing
maybe he’d forgotten that unmodded crops of-
only its roof and slanted double doors. It safe-
ten depended upon nitrogen-fixing bacteria in
guarded their most precious treasures: em-
the soil. More likely, he had never known it in
bryo banks, both human and animal, and seed
the f irst place. Inner-city curricula didn’t
bags, and Marvin’s servers. Past their other
dwell much on farming.

bunker, housing a fusion reactor. Past the

Rikki plodded along behind the tractor,
ethanol-fueled, steam-powered generator that
hand-planting the field row by row and label-
backstopped the reactor, and the ethanol re-
ing test plots. When she had tired of stooping
finery. Past the chemical fertilizer plant and its
and he of the shuddering of the tractor, they
noxious odor. Past the chicken coop, with its
swapped places. The windborne silt by then

DARK SECRET

71

ANALOG
had turned them both a dusky gray.

“I can’t. It would destroy her.”

Except by shouting, they couldn’t make

Li had stood there, head tipped, lost in
themselves understood over the roar of the
thought. “There is another possibility. We may
tractor. He resented the noise and fumes, but
need to go this way eventually, anyway.”

the ridiculous internal-combustion engine was

“Tell me,” he had demanded.

dependable and easy to maintain. There was

“IVF. In vitro fertilization. Afterward we
no use complaining about it.

transfer the embryo to one of the wombs for

As there was no use complaining that ba-
gestation.”

bies, like wheat and corn and even slime

“Then I’ll say that.”

ponds, must be scheduled just so, the winter,

“Okay.” It had come out skeptically.

labor-intensive crop of newborns timed to ar-

“Rikki wants a baby. We want a baby.”

rive after the harvest of the weather-depen-

“Uh-huh.”

dent crops. Or about the cookie-cutter

Only Li had been right. When Blake

“parenting” largely outsourced to Marvin.

broached the IVF option, Rikki had stormed

Only realism did nothing to ease the pain.

from their home, slamming the door behind

He had seen the hurt again that morning in
her.

Rikki’s eyes. The yearning, the ache, the need
to bear her own child. Their child.

Suddenly glad for the engine’s roar, Blake

Weeks earlier, he had sought out Li to ask
tried to lose himself in work.

about it. In private, because Li was the last

Every selection of grain type, every depth of
person with whom Rikki would share any-
planting, every concentration of chemical fer-
thing personal. . . .

tilizer or chicken feces, was another experi-
ment—performed with irreplaceable seeds.

“Bad idea,” Li had told Blake.

But trial and error was their only way to learn

“The gravity?” he had guessed.

if and how fertilized silt would grow crops.

“The gravity. It causes constant skeletal

He told himself that Dark had neither weeds
strain, wear and tear on the joints, and con-
nor plant parasites. And, having once men-
striction of the blood vessels.

tioned those advantages to Rikki, he brooded

“Forty percent excess weight is nothing to
about her rejoinder: for now.

sneeze it. That’s for you and me. For Rikki it’s

Evolution abhorred an ecological vacuum.

almost four times the weight her body devel-

Late that morning Antonio arrived on the
oped to handle. Even with nanites and meds,
opposite bank of the nearby river channel,
it’s a struggle to keep her blood pressure con-
driving the colony’s other tractor, to scatter di-
trolled. Pregnancy would only exacerbate the
aspores from Carlos’s latest batch of designer
problem.”

lichens. Even the most advanced terraforming

“It would be uncomfortable?”

lichen varieties Endeavour had brought,

Li had shaken her head. “Quite possibly fa-
gene-tweaked to tolerate the ubiquitous ar-
tal.”

senic, would not produce useful depths of

“Jesus! What about the girls who’ll be born
true soil sooner than in decades. A glacial
here? When they’re old enough?”

pace, for an all but glacial planet . . .

“I’m hopeful they’ll be able to carry babies

But Carlos and Antonio kept at it, as Blake
to term, but we’ll have to wait and see. By
and Rikki would on the silt plain, because the
then, maybe, I’ll have a better handle on the
only large-scale food-producing alternative
situation, and better meds.”

was the bacterial ponds. If nothing else, the

All the sacrif ice, everything that the six of
lichens brought welcome splashes of color to
them had endured . . . it might still be all for the dreary countryside.

naught? That was too horrifying to face, too

Blake hated farming, if he could so dignify
cosmic. The personal tragedy was heartbreak-
their as yet futile toiling in the dirt, but he
ing enough.

loathed working the slimy ponds. That fester-With a lump in his throat, he had asked,
ing blanket of scum. That fetid, pungent

“What do I tell Rikki?”

stench.

“What I would tell her, if she’d been the one

From the memory alone, he all but puked.

to consult me. The truth.”

The tractor sputtered and stopped. From its

72

EDWARD M. LERNER

JUNE 2013
seat, Rikki called, “I’m ready to switch places
shoulders slumped, expression sad, examin-
again.”

ing one of the babies.

“I’m ready for lunch,” he countered, abus-
ing the meanings of both ready and lunch.

Chapter 28

Antonio had abandoned his tractor to hand-

Rikki lie bonelessly, eyes closed, head
pick specimens from a nearby gravel deposit.

tipped back against the rim of the whirlpool

He had been gathering rocks, everywhere he
tub, as the hot pulsing jets massaged away
went, since the onset of spring.

knots in her back, arms, and legs. Water and

Blake had not asked why, lacking the ener-
electricity, if little else, they had in abundance.

gy for another of the esoteric circumlocutions

She let the f izzing water buoy her, let it per-
that with Antonio too often passed for an ex-
suade her, that for a few minutes, anyway,
planation. An answer might start with the Big
gravity’s cruel dominion had been over-

Bang.

thrown.

“Join us for lunch?” Blake shouted, gestur-

After hard labor from dawn to dusk, it
ing at the bobbing pontoon bridge that linked
wasn’t a bad way to end the day.

the delta to the shore.

Blake said, “You look like you’re only sleep-

Antonio looked up, not quite in Blake’s di-
ing.”

rection. “No thanks. I’ve got things to do.”

“Uh-huh.”

“What’s with the rocks?” Rikki called.

“I’m going to get out now.”

“You’ll be sorry you asked,” Blake said sotto

His voice rose in pitch, just a little, at the
voce.

end of the announcement. Asking, without

But all Antonio offered, with his attention
asking, “Unless you want to fool around?”

already returned to his collecting, was, “I

“I’ll be along in a while,” she said.

don’t have postage stamps. Or . . . blueber-

Eyes still closed, Rikki felt and heard the wa-
ries.”

ter slosh as he climbed from the sunken tub.

Faint but brisk, she heard the whisper of fab-

Through the colony’s array of safety cam-
ric against skin as he toweled off, and the slap-
eras, Li watched the peasants traipsing home
slap of bare feet on the concrete f loor as he
from their day’s toil. She never called them
padded from the bathroom.

peasants, not aloud, but how else did one de-

Then she opened her eyes.

scribe those bound to the land to feed and

Part of her even wanted sex: for the close-
serve their master?

ness to Blake. To know he still found her de-

She never called herself their master, either.

sirable, no matter that this godforsaken rock

It suff iced that at a subconscious level they
had turned her into a muscle-bound Amazon.

knew. And anyway, she preferred Dark Em-

To exorcise some of her pent-up anger.

press. It had a certain cachet.

And that anger was why most of her didn’t.

Above the two-tractor caravan, the sky had

Couldn’t. Because what she truly craved, the turned foreboding. Then the clouds opened
ache more insistent with each passing day,
up and rain spoiled her view. She had to imag-
was the feel of a child growing inside her.

ine them wet, muddy, and miserable.

A host of med nanites would not allow that

Well, the phosphate mines in the asteroid
to happen. And Li would not permit that to
belt were dry enough.

change. “For your own good,” Rikki mimicked.

She could almost envy Carlos and Dana. Li

“What’s that?” Blake called from the bed-
would kill for a change of scenery, not to men-
room.

tion a break from this oppressive gravity. Ap-

“Sorry. Talking to myself again.”

pearing indispensable had its price.

“It’s about time we head out for dinner,” he

The caravan neared the edge of the settle-
said.

ment proper, the garage’s overhead door

“Thanks.” She permitted herself several sec-
creeping upward at a radioed command. That
onds more buoyant relief. “Okay, I’m getting
was Li’s cue that someone, if not all three,
out.”

would swing by soon to visit the children.

He stuck his head through the doorway

Li closed her office door behind her. Who-
with a comically exaggerated leer.

ever came would f ind her, brow furrowed,

“Maybe later,” she said.

DARK SECRET

73

ANALOG

* * *

For those who stayed after dinner, the com-

Beneath diamond-bright stars, shivering in
munal movie was the cook’s choice.

the evening chill, Rikki and Blake scurried

Behind Rikki, a door opened with a squeak.

down Main Street to the communal dining

Li said, “I guess tonight’s treat won’t be a sur-
hall. Celestial sparkles and the nip in the air
prise. Wow, that smells good.”

shared a cause. Dark’s thin, dry air didn’t

“Roast chicken?” Blake asked in wonder.

block much inbound starlight; it didn’t stop

Because while they often had eggs, they
much of the day’s heat from reradiating back
had yet to eat meat. The priority remained ex-
into space, either.

pansion of the flock.

She searched overhead for any hint of

It pained Rikki to have learned the proper
home. As always, the sky had nothing to offer
name for a bunch of chickens. And that to-
her but alien constellations, many still un-
morrow she would be up before dawn to col-
named, too-large moons, and the soul-sucking,
lect eggs, scatter bucketsful of feed
inchoate darkness that was the Coalsack.

pellets—dried, chopped bacterial mat—and

“Make a wish,” Blake said.

muck out the coop.

Turning toward him, studying the western

Just as with cooking, they took turns caring
horizon where he appeared to be looking,
for the chickens. Except Li. She refused to do

Rikki saw the meteor. Or a different meteor,
anything so nonsterile lest one of the babies
because the sky was suddenly filled with faint
should need immediate care.

streaks.

Logical . . . and so convenient.

“Done,” she said, trying to make her tone

“Some chickens got into a f ight today,” Li
light. Alas, no mere wishing star would f ix
said. “Marvin alerted me. Before I could get to
what ailed her.

the coop, one chicken was severely pecked

The meteor shower ended in seconds, emi-
and clawed. I had to put the bird down, and
nently forgettable. Planets glimmered over-
saw no reason to let its meat go to waste.”

head, too, the brightest of them so close that

“Fair enough,” Blake said with enthusiasm.

with binoculars you could clearly see its Sat-

Rikki sat at the dining-room table and Blake
urn-like rings. Back home, Ayn Rand’s orbit
sat next to her. Li took the seat straight across
would not have encompassed the inner edge
from Blake.

of the Asteroid Belt; the local version of a Belt

Just to bug me, Rikki thought. And it works.

was shoehorned in between the gas giant and

Even after she had finally satisfied herself that

Dark. Nearby asteroids meant nearby re-
while Blake respected Li, he did not much like
sources.

her.

And though they had been fortunate so far,

The door opened again, admitting the strag-
logically that made Dark a shooting gallery.

glers. “Sorry we’re late,” Antonio said. “Dana

“I made a wish, too,” Blake said, waggling
asked to look in on the children.”

an eyebrow at her.

Did the little ones hate Dana, too? Did they

She laughed. “It must be your lucky day.”

avert their eyes, burst into tears, even back

“I’m not admitting anything, or it won’t
away, when Dana entered the nursery? Rikki
come true.”

was too ashamed of her failings ever to have

The dining hall smelled wonderful. Rikki
asked.

couldn’t place the aroma. Something different.

“Not a problem,” Li said. “But it’s good that

Something she had not encountered in a long
you’re here.”

time. Carlos’s muttering, from inside the

“Do I smell chicken?” Dana asked.

kitchen, revealed nothing. It was his turn to

Li beamed. “You do.”

prepare dinner, and that somehow always en-

So Queen Li means to take credit for a
tailed guzzling the synthed swill that served as
melee among the chickens? Despising the
cooking sherry.

woman, Rikki changed the subject. “How was

Wallpaper to her left and right showed an
everyone’s day?”

Earth forest; the wall straight ahead cycled

Antonio shrugged. “Another day. Another
through scenes of something from Marvin’s
few calluses.”

media library. She didn’t recognize the vid

“About that chicken?” Dana prompted.

from its previews, and that didn’t surprise her.

As Li started to explain, Carlos emerged

74

EDWARD M. LERNER

JUNE 2013
from the kitchen pushing a serving cart. With
them to speak.” And so much else.

the grand flourish of a magician, he raised the

“That’s seventy children.” Li answered in
domed cover.

the slow, calm, reasoned manner that drove

The roast chicken’s skin was a crackly, gold-

Rikki up the wall, in the affected tone of voice
en brown. Clear juices oozed from punctures
that reminded: I’m the professional here. That
where he must have tested the bird’s done-
reminded: they love me. “This year we’ll add ness with a fork.

another sixty, more or less.”

Rikki’s mouth started to water.

“And we want all of them to be civilized,”

Nor did the feast end with the chicken. The

Rikki said. “Or they’ll be f ighting like the greenhouse had contributed everything for a
chickens, too.”

tossed salad: lettuce, tomatoes, peppers,

“Because during a sixteen-hour work day,
onions, and cucumbers. There were baked
on a short day, I would never think to speak to
potatoes, too, with synthed butter and dollops
the children,” Li said.

of faux sour cream. There were bowls of what

Spoken calmly and reasonably, damn the
looked like chocolate pudding.

woman.

When Carlos began carving the chicken, his

“We control the rate of births,” Rikki said,
hands were steady. If nothing else, the man

“not the other way around. We shouldn’t”—
could hold his liquor.

we mustn’t!—“let an arbitrary decision shape

What were they celebrating, Rikki won-
how we bring up these kids.”

dered, beyond Li’s largesse with the bounty to

“It’s not arbitrary,” Antonio said. “If we
which everyone but she contributed?

don’t . . . raise the children while we’re still

“It’s a shame,” Rikki began, sadness and sud-
alive, with f irsthand knowledge of technolo-
den anger commingling.

gy, culture, and civilization, they’ll be savages.

Carlos stopped carving. Heads turned toward

If that should happen, they . . . won’t long out-

Rikki.

live us.”

“Tonight feels like a Sunday family dinner.

Carlos again stopped carving to offer, “And

Only there’s no family.”

we need genetic diversity.”

“We’re family,” Li said.

More variety within your future harem, Car-

“Of course,” Rikki said. “But I’m thinking
los? Rikki bit her tongue. The children having
bigger. I’m thinking of the children.”

children, no matter with whom, would not

I’m thinking of bonding with them, or,
become an issue for years. She said, “They’ll
rather, them bonding with us. Only Li doesn’t
be savages if we don’t slow down the pace, if
see it. Li spends her days with the children,
we don’t invest the effort to make them some-
and they love her just fine.

thing better.”

Silence. Beneath the table, Blake gave Rik-

If we don’t show them love.

ki’s knee a pat. Maybe he meant it as comfort.

“I agree with Rikki on this,” Blake said.

It felt patronizing.

On this? What hadn’t made the cut?

Forget your wish upon a star, fella.

“I’ve made a suggestion,” Rikki said. “Let’s

Rikki plunged ahead. “We don’t treat those
discuss it.”

kids—our kids—much different than the

“We have discussed it,” Carlos said. “You’ve
chickens in that egg factory down the street.

been told why it’s impractical to—”

We feed them and clean up after them like

Dana cleared her throat. “Let’s discuss op-
they’re on some sort of production line. Apart
tions f irst. We could bring a few kids every
from regular baths, they might as well be
evening. Rotate them through, making sure
chickens.”

each child sees something like a normal family

“Except that we don’t eat the children,”

setting at least once a month. See how they

Carlos said dryly, as he resumed carving.

fare in a social setting. Learn how we have to Dana asked, “What do you have in mind,
adapt.”

Rikki?”

Blake’s pocket trilled; tonight was his turn

“Dinner is the only time we’re together,”

on call. He took out the folded datasheet,
she answered. “We should eat with the kids.

glanced at it, and stood. “Sorry, people. Mar-

We should let them hear genuine conversation
vin needs hands in the nursery.” He gazed
among adults, not abdicate to Marvin teaching
with longing at the feast, not yet even on the

DARK SECRET

75

ANALOG
table. “So very sorry.”

Did Antonio ever feel insignificant, too? He

Faster than Rikki could offer, Li said, “We’ll
shouldn’t. But for him, they would never have
save some dinner for you.”

escaped the GRB. His rock collection might

Rikki’s thoughts—and her gut—churned.

serve no more purpose than his blueberry ob-

Hands. That’s all we are to these children.

session, but at least he had interests.

What will they be like when they grow up?

I don’t have laurels or interests to fall back Once again, Carlos returned his attention to
on. Just survivor’s guilt.

the chicken. Blake set off toward the kitchen,

The colony would have much brighter
perhaps for something he could eat while at
prospects if Hawthorne had sent a farmer or
the childcare center. Antonio, taking a serving
miner in her stead. Of what use to anyone was bowl from the cart, managed to knock the sala science historian? Of what earthly use . . .

ad tongs to the f loor. He headed to the

“Are you all right, dear?” Li asked.

kitchen for, presumably, another set. Dana

“We’re bringing up the next generation like
studied the forest scene.

strays and foundlings. I don’t like it.”

The sudden silence was deafening.

Li’s sad smile might have been intended to

It was as though Rikki had never spoken. As
convey no more than, “What choice do we
though she weren’t even here. “We’re running
have?” but Rikki read it as, “Queen Li knows
the universe’s biggest, most impersonal or-
best.”

phanage,” she said.

I need purpose, Rikki decided. Something I Leaning across the table, Li patted Rikki’s
can contribute. Something of my own. Some-
hand. “This isn’t about ‘the children,’ you
thing important.

know.”

In a f lash of insight, she knew what that

Rikki yanked away her hand. “Enlighten me.

something would be.

What is it about?”

“A particular child.”

Chapter 29

A nonexistent child. Though Rikki hated to

The six of them had not discussed ter-
admit it, even to herself, Li might be right.

raforming since before landing. Why would

There could be no denying the clanging of
they? Dark was a terrestrial world.

Rikki’s biological clock, but she refused to ac-

But, Rikki decided, maybe they should.

cept that she was a slave to it. She leaned back

Techniques that had been making Mars hab-
in her chair, trying to be objective, to separate
itable could also make a difference on Dark. It
motivations, to sort out her feelings. And end-
was more than a matter of personal comfort:

ed up worried: Do I crave pregnancy for a
the crops that struggled here might thrive in a
sense of worth?

warmer climate. And she could give them that Li was responsible for everyone’s health,
warmer climate: designer perf luorocarbons
from day-to-day bumps and bruises to revers-
were incredibly effective as climate agents,
ing the endless complications that cropped up
some thousands of times more potent as
in the wombs, from everyone’s psychological
greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide.

wellbeing to assuring that their agricultural

Nor would they need to pump much PFC
programs would satisfy the colony’s long-term
into the atmosphere to begin altering the cli-
nutritional needs.

mate. Twentieth-century industries had, in a

Dana had her ship to pilot, to keep them
few short decades, without meaning to, al-
supplied with phosphates and metals and
most destroyed Earth’s ozone layer with chem-
everything else not readily found or mined on
ically similar chlorofluorocarbons.

the ground. Blake had the ship to keep flying,

She began making order of magnitude esti-
and a thousand other gadgets from tractors to
mates in her head—
chicken-feed dryers to design, build, and

And stopped. She was getting ahead of her-
maintain. Carlos reprogrammed synth vats and
self. The first rule of terraforming was, don’t
nanites, built specialty medical gear for Li, and
meddle with what you don’t understand.

constructed and maintained the steadily grow-

She didn’t understand Dark. None of them
ing number of artificial wombs.

did. They had experienced their share of

Whereas Antonio and I are manual labor.

weather, but four local years was too brief a Diaper changers and field hands.

time to reveal anything reliable about climate.

76

EDWARD M. LERNER

JUNE 2013

Continuous measurements covered only a

* * *
few square klicks around the settlement. Their

Rikki threw off her side of the blankets. She
knowledge of anywhere else—spotty and hap-
got up and began dressing for outdoors.

hazard, anecdotes rather than systemic data—

“What?” Blake murmured sleepily.

was limited to whatever obser vations

“Insomnia,” she told him. “Again. I’m going

Endeavour had serendipitously made in the
for a walk.”

course of doing something else.

Blinking, he sat up. “Give me a minute. I’ll

A remote-sensing satellite in synchronous
walk with you.”

orbit for the past few years would have told

“Wrong,” she told him. “That I can’t sleep

Rikki a great deal—but Dark had no synchro-
doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.”

nous orbits. Its moons soon destabilized the

“But I—”

orbit of any artif icial satellite placed at the

“Gallantry noted. I’ll be fine.” This wasn’t a
proper distance.

campsite in some tropical jungle, surrounded

Then there was the matter of oceans . . .

by lions and hostile natives. The settlement’s

Oceans stored heat from sunlight, releasing
few buildings were surrounded by nothing
that heat to moderate temperature swings
and nobody. “Seriously, sleep.”

both diurnal and seasonal. An ocean current

“Stay close.”

like Earth’s Gulf Stream could alter the climate

“I will.” She gave him a quick kiss. “Sleep.”

of entire continents. Multiyear oceanic tem-

Antonio didn’t put all his free time into his perature cycles, like El Niño and La Niña, had
ever-expanding rock collection, at least not at
global impact. Knowing what happened in
night. She found him where she had expect-

Dark’s ocean depths mattered.

ed: using the ship’s telescope. The main

The data that had been collected on this
bridge display showed Ayn Rand, with two of
world’s oceans and seas? Precisely zero.

its inner moons in transit. He seemed not to

She’d had the sense (or the lack of courage
have noticed her arrival.

of her convictions?) to follow her instincts.

“Do you see something interesting?” she

She’d not spoken a word about any of this.

asked.

Luckily so, because had anyone known how

“I’m making a survey.”

she’d been spending her time, she would only

A nonanswer answer, she noted. Well, she
have looked useless. More useless. Marvin
had been on the taciturn side, too. He was in
knew—she needed the AI’s help with data re-
the pilot’s acceleration couch, and she
trieval, model building, and number crunch-
plopped into the copilot’s seat. “I wondered if
ing—but she had ordered it to keep her secret
you could help me with something. Discreet-
to itself.

ly.”

Toiling in secrecy didn’t help. For a miracle,

Because if she could harness his obsessive-
the little ones mostly slept the latest night she
compulsive focus, and his sometimes encyclo-
had spent at the childcare center. With a few
pedic knowledge, he might do much to
minutes here and a few there, she had shoe-
advance her research.

horned in a couple hours of work. (For them,

Finally, he turned away from the bridge con-
she told herself, guilt-ridden at not playing
sole, if not to look directly at her. “If I can.

with everyone not asleep—and more guilt-rid-

Help, I mean.”

den at the relief that came of sparing herself

“I’m trying to understand the climate here.

their rejection. For their future.) She got a bit Back home there were astronomical effects on
more research accomplished when Blake
climate.”

spent the night in the nursery. Desperate for

Without leaving his seat Antonio seemed to
progress, feigning insomnia, on consecutive
strike a pose. Something in his voice changed.

evenings she had squeezed in another few

“You are remembering Milankovitch cycles.”

hours of work. But she couldn’t keep up the

Professorial mode. She wondered if he
pace. Without a decent night’s sleep, and
missed the academic life.

soon, she would keel over or run someone

“The tilt of Earth’s axis varies over . . . mil-
over with a tractor.

lennia. And like a wobbling toy top the Earth

When the time came to commit serious as-
precesses about that axis, also over millennia.

tronomy, Rikki knew she had to enlist Antonio.

And because planetary orbits are ellipses, not

DARK SECRET

77

ANALOG
circles, the axis of the entire orbit slowly re-
judge by the steam that billowed around
volves around the sun. In the case of Earth,
them, blocking Rikki’s view from the cockpit.

that last cycle takes more than a hundred mil-

That fog would dissipate into the dry air long
lennia. All three processes affect what sunlight
before the ground cooled enough for them to
strikes the planet, where, and at what angle.

climb down.

All three affect seasons and . . . climate.”

“You do realize,” she said, “that I’ve never

As she had more or less remembered. “And
seen a football game.” Or cared to. Martians
those processes are independent, correct?

didn’t do football: the playing f ield would

Every so often, they peak together.”

have had to be ridiculously big.

“Cycles peaking together have been impli-

“I know many things.” He popped his hel-
cated in triggering ice ages.”

met, unbuckled his safety harness, and twist-

“And extrapolating to Dark? What does our
ed around to see her behind his headrest.

long-range forecast look like?”

“Such as that you’ve never asked to accompa-

He studied his feet. “I don’t know.”

ny me on a routine checkout flight. Not once.

“What would it take to find out?”

Today you announced you were coming and

“A lot of observing time. And modeling
proposed a destination. What gives?”

time, too.” He gestured at the image on the

“Nothing.” Almost nothing, anyway: the
big display. “Earth doesn’t have a big neighbor
vague memory of terrain glimpsed from a fast-
planet like that to tug at it. Or three moons.

moving shuttle, when the two of them had

The cyclic variations here are apt to be more
first over-flown this region.

complex.”

“Here in the canyon, we’re out of radio con-

Farming and childrearing didn’t leave much
tact. If you have secrets, this is the place to
time for, well, anything else. Maybe those
spill them.”

were the only tasks she was good for.

His unhappy expression added, “Unless

Something she knew about the history of
you’re keeping secrets from me.”

science had to be useful. Didn’t it?

“No secrets,” she dissembled. “I wanted to

Maybe this was it.

see these rock faces up close.”

“Be that way.” He turned forward.

From the deep shadow alongside the

“Really, that’s why I came.” And if she saw
reroofed phosphate storehouse, Carlos
what she expected to see, she would explain.

watched Rikki. Out in the middle of the night,

She just didn’t want to look stupid.

slinking home from Endeavour. Having a bit The awkward, silent wait till he popped the
of after-hours fun, are we?

canopy release seemed interminable.

But kudos for Antonio! Carlos would not

Rikki hung a ladder over the cockpit’s side,
have guessed the odd little guy had it in him.

swung herself up and over, and clambered

Or, more precisely, that he got it into Rikki.

down the rungs. “I remember when doing

After she slipped past, Carlos continued to
that was hard.”

his workshop. His extracurricular activities

“We’re getting used to the place. Home
also demanded discretion.

sweet home.”

Yawning, exhausted after a full day’s work,

Home, sweet or otherwise. That was why
he nonetheless toiled in high spirits. For
she had to get her head wrapped around the
months he had put his free nights into making
climate here. “I’m going to stroll along the riv-
things for Li. If what she wanted wasn’t candy
er for a ways. Join me?”

and f lowers, nonetheless each new batch of

“Sure.”

the gadgets made her very appreciative.

The river’s flow here was slow and placid.

He could appreciate that.

When she walked up to the shore and dipped
in a fingertip, the water was icy. “No skinny-

Discovery set down on a broad plain, be-
dipping,” she told him preemptively.

tween soaring rock canyon walls.

“So what is this about?”

“Touchdown,” Blake announced. “The

Slowly, she pivoted, taking in the panoram-
crowd goes wild.”

ic view. “Isn’t this enough?”

They had landed on a pebbly shore along

The f lat plain stretched for at least a hun-
the Spencer River. A very damp shore, to
dred meters behind them before rising to

78

EDWARD M. LERNER

JUNE 2013
meet rugged cliffs. The river, gray with silt,
rebel. Something other than the manner of
hugged the canyon’s other wall. Perhaps a half
childrearing.

klick downstream from where they stood, a

“It’s important,” Rikki insisted. She spoke small but spectacular cascade burst from the
too loud and stood too close. Her chin jutted
nearer rock face to crash into the waters far
out and she had crossed her arms across her
below. Rikki dubbed the torrent Beagle Falls.

chest.

How long ago had this valley silted up? Had

Classic belligerence, Li thought. Excellent.

the silt accumulated gradually, or had it settled

“Maybe someday.”

out in the aftermath of some terrible f lood?

“Respectfully,” Blake began, “I disagree. We

She didn’t know, but an answer to that mys-
shouldn’t wait.”

tery could wait.

“Of course you disagree,” Li said. Goading

Craning her neck, peering up and up and
him by criticizing his woman. Because, as Li
up, Rikki studied the nearer canyon wall. Two
made a point of reinforcing from time to time,
hundred or so meters high. Sedimentary rock.

she was never subtle.

Barren of life, of course, without even a hint

“Damn it, Li,” Rikki said, “be reasonable.

of greenery. Great crags and brooding hollows

We need to understand the climate. Climate
carved as water and wind had patiently erod-
affects our food supply. You must care about
ed the softest rock. Several dozen strata, of
that.”

varying depths, in countless shades of gray.

Li smiled condescendingly: another goad.

Subtle, subdued red tones here and there

“We settled almost inside the tropics. Can you
among the grays.

f ind us someplace suitable anywhere

She took out her camera. With its laser
warmer?”

rangef inder active to capture precise dis-

“That’s the point,” Antonio said. “If the cli-
tances and scales, she started panning.

mate fails us . . . here, the colony is in trouble.

“Magnificent,” Blake said. “It reminds me of

Let’s find out sooner rather than later. While the Grand Canyon.”

maybe there’s still the opportunity to change

“Then my suggestion was worthwhile?”

things.”

“You tell me.”

Blake’s turn. “Or we may find we’ve lucked

She couldn’t know without detailed analy-
out. This one set of observations, from this
sis, but yes, she was sure. “The layering of the
one canyon, suggests the trend might be to
rock embodies sedimentation rates over time.

warmer weather. It would be nice to have an

Those reflect the climate.” And cycles of the
idea when and how far we can expand into
climate, over perhaps millions of years.

higher latitudes.”

“And that’s important?”

Li said, “Planning for the long run.”

She couldn’t know that yet, either. “It might

“Exactly,” Dana said.

be.”

In the long run, we’re all dead. Li couldn’t
remember who, other than someone long

The inevitable confrontation began after
dead, had f irst said that. The provenance
dinner, in an impassioned and arcane out-
didn’t matter because she wasn’t going to
pouring of verbiage from Rikki. Blake, Dana,
quote it. She wanted the four of them to pre-and Antonio, looking on approvingly, were
vail.

clearly in on it. And the four had waited till

Convince me, people. Convince yourselves

Carlos, Li’s dependable ally (when sober, any-
you convinced me.

way), had left for his shift at the childcare cen-

“We need to eat,” Rikki said. “The children
ter. Climate. Growing season. Terraform. Blah,
need to eat.”

blah, blah.

They had an entire world to farm. How

Rikki finally wound down.

could they ever lack for food? But if she were

“I don’t know,” Li told the assembled peas-
wrong, if on occasion they wound up supple-
ants.

menting crops with a bit of bacterial sludge,

The more candid answer would have been I
so be it. What mattered was raising obedient,
don’t care. Candor did not suit her purpose.

subservient children to do the colony’s bid-

Nor did the topic matter. It mattered only
ding.

that they found something over which to

To do her bidding.

DARK SECRET

79

ANALOG

And to that end, she needed the others too

Before a single peasant ever suspected Li
busy to interfere with her affairs.

wanted them distracted by another project, it

Li permitted her shoulders to sag. She low-
would be too late.

ered her head, nibbled on her lower lip. Read:

By then, all the children will be mine.

doubt. Read: you’re winning me over. She
said, “Can you fit in these studies without im-

Chapter 30
pact to our other work?”

“Oh-two?” Dana asked.

“Well . . .” Dana conceded.

“Two fresh tanks,” Antonio answered.

“Because,” Li said, “I could take on longer

“Oh-two pressure?”

shifts in the childcare center. If that would

“Nominal.”

help.”

“Cee-oh-two?”

“It would help,” Antonio managed.

“Barely registering.”

“Tell me again,” Li said. “What will you do?”

“Suit heater?”

Blake and Dana swapped glances. They’d

Antonio had checked and rechecked every-
caught her verb choice: will, not would.

thing on the long list, but he wouldn’t dream

“We need a more global data set,” Rikki
of interrupting Dana’s methodical run-
said. “There are other ancient canyons to read.

through. Who better than he to respect obses-

Ice-core samples to collect from glaciers and
sive behavior?

the polar icecaps. Bore holes to drill in the

And she was being obsessive. Because she
sediments of lake and sea bottoms. All should
cared. She got him, not just better than any-
tell us useful things about climate patterns and
one else alive—not a high hurdle—but better,
trends.”

almost, than anyone who had ever lived. As

“It sounds major,” Li said.

well, almost, as had Tabitha.

“It is major,” Rikki said.

And knowing him, knowing how thorough-

Li resumed chewing on her lip: sincere, ac-
ly he would have checked everything, Dana
cessible leader here, open to everyone’s in-
still made it her job to watch out for him.

puts. “Okay,” she conceded. To grins all

After Tabitha died, he had never expected
around, she added, “We’ll have to figure out a
anyone again to care.

revised work schedule first. We still have chil-

At last they left Endeavour, stepping from dren to feed.”

the forward air lock onto the sun-baked sur-

“Of course,” Antonio said.

face of Aristophanes. The terrain, what little

“Thanks, Li,” Rikki said, at last letting her
could be seen before the freakishly close hori-
arms fall to her sides.

zon, was less cratered than he expected.

Li smiled. “You’re welcome, and I thank you

A world at half phase hung—loomed—
for bringing this matter to my attention.”

overhead. Enormous. Thirty-five times the size

Because while you’re gadding about, the
of the Moon seen from Earth. Icecaps and
children will continue in my sole care.When
cloud tops sparkled, but could not overcome
you’re here, you’ll be crunching the data or
an overall gloominess.

laboring in the fields or in bed, exhausted,

Dark was aptly named.

and the children will remain, under Mar-

“When you’re done gawking,” Dana said,
vin’s watchful and carefully programmed
with a hint of fond amusement in her voice.

eye.

They off loaded from cargo hold one the

Learning obedience. Discipline. Self-denial.

f irst of the remote-sensing stations. Though

Conformity. When (ever less frequently) the
massive and bulky, here the unit weighed al-
peasants questioned her methods, the analogy
most nothing. They set down the apparatus
with which they struggled was an orphanage.

on a f lat expanse and he stepped away. She

If any of her companions had read Dickens,
would unfold the stabilizing legs, deploy the
they would still be on the wrong track.

delicate solar panels, align the dish antennas,

Her true model—updated and improved, of
and run the final instrument calibrations. His
course—was a Spartan barracks. The children
job was to answer technical questions, should
would grow up to serve the State. The State
any arise, while keeping his ten left thumbs at
she would define.

a safe distance.

This, Mother, is how one wields power.

Duties that left him free to look around: the

80

EDWARD M. LERNER

JUNE 2013
other, if unofficial, reason he was here. As of-
ing rocks? “Ready when you are.”

ten as he had championed exploration, the

They remained suited up for the jaunt to
pursuit of knowledge for its own sake, some-
their next landing site, sparing themselves an-
thing—typically farm chores and colicky ba-
other round of checkouts. Here they were on
bies—had come first.

the moon’s night side, with the planet half be-

How much harder would Dana have it on
low the horizon. Antonio could still see clearly
this excursion for having him along, not
by—the word tickled him—Darklight.

Blake?

He helped Dana carry their second station

Antonio loved her all the more for bringing
to an area clear of stony rubble. While she
him, regardless.

conf igured the unit, he resumed pebble col-

The remote-sensing station was a kludge,
lecting. Here, too, the ruts left by his plodding
the f irst among a whole constellation of
gait were paler than the undisturbed surface.

kludges. Once Dana had it checked out, they

When, with an abrupt sneeze, Dana let fly
would hop Endeavour a third of the way
the removable clasp of an access panel, he
around this little moon and deploy a second
helped her search for it. When they gave up
station. Then take another hop, to deliver a
the fastener for lost, swallowed by the thick
third.

dust, or hiding in the inky shadow of some

It wasn’t bad enough that Aristophanes, or-
boulder, he scavenged nuts and bolts for her
biting so near Dark, precluded siting their sen-
from ship’s stores. He found a spare thermo-
sor suites where above any rational planet
couple when an instrument failed diagnostics;
they belonged: aboard synchronous satellites.

without accurate temperature readings here,

Aristophanes also had an unhelpful rate of ro-
they could not calibrate long-range readings
tation; it didn’t present a constant face to the
they made of Dark. Then, having bagged and
world below, as the Moon presented to Earth.

labeled every interesting-looking pebble in the

Only with three well-separated stations would vicinity, he tried to entertain himself by trac-some one of them at all times have the planet ing geometric shapes in the dust with his boot
under observation. Each station had to store
tip.

its readings until Dark’s rotation, the moon’s

“Ready to move on?” Dana called.

rotation, and the moon’s orbit combined to

“Sure.”

provide a line-of-site downlink opportunity to

Their third landing returned them to sun-
the settlement.

light and gave them a line of sight to the set-

After finishing on Aristophanes they would
tlement. Dana called down.

get to reprise the triple deployment on

“How’s it going, Endeavour?” Blake an-

Aeschylus and again on Euripides. And on oc-
swered, yawning. He had gray bags beneath
casion, parts of Dark would still go unmoni-his bloodshot eyes, and his beard looked over-
tored.

due for a trim. Maybe a shearing.

Three fascinating little worlds, Antonio

“Everything seems fine on this end,” Dana
thought, sad that no one shared his fascina-
said.

tion.

“With you, too, Antonio?”

While Dana, with a multimeter in hand,

“Indeed. Apart from the inefficiency of it all.”

fussed over some calibration, Antonio wan-

“Don’t blame me. I didn’t put the moons
dered about gathering rocks for his collection.

there.” Arching an eyebrow, Blake leaned toward

As feeble as was Aristophanes’ gravity, not
the camera. “What do you two crazy kids
even a klutz like him could trip off or leap free
have planned, all unchaperoned?”

of it. He could, if he lost focus, bound high Dana and Antonio exchanged glances.

enough to spend a long while drifting back to

“Looking around a bit,” he said. That sound-
the surface. And so he shuff led, sweeping
ed frivolous, even to him. “Survey the . . . area
aside ancient regolith with his boots, leaving
for useful minerals.”

sloppy troughs in his wake. His tracks shone

“Getting finished,” Dana said firmly, “as fast
paler than the undisturbed surface.

as we can. Maybe a quick nap before the flight

“Almost done here,” Dana called. “How
to Aeschylus.”

about you?”

“What is this nap thing of which you

Done scuffing up the surface? Done collect-
speak?” Blake yawned again. “Before you de-

DARK SECRET

81

ANALOG
part lovely Aristophanes, let’s run an end-to-

He popped a breath mint into his mouth. The
end system test of at least one station.”

vodka was inferior, despite his best efforts.

“Copy that,” Dana said. “We’re at station

The mint tasted worse but smelled better.

three. From my end, everything is a go.”

He was in no mood to be lectured about his

“Power . . . check,” Blake said. “Comm . . .

drinking. If and when he chose to, he’d stop.

ditto. Primary control . . . check. Moving on to

Rikki loped through the lab door. Some-
the instruments. Radiometer . . . check. Scat-
thing about her (the berry-dark tan? the pouty
terometer . . . check. High-res multispectral im-
lips? the long, high ponytail? the long legs in
ager . . . looking good. Nice sharp image.

taut slacks?) reminded Carlos of a grad student

Doppler radar . . .”

he had had. And had and had and had. Very

As the recitation droned on, as motes glint-
lithe and bendy, Helena was—and the more
ed in the furrows of his aimless shuffling, An-
she fretted about her dissertation, the more
tonio’s thoughts wandered. Many instruments.

imaginatively she strove to keep him happy.

Much data to come. And one Big Question.

And so he, with a sigh or well-timed frown . . .

Rock strata and ice cores: each sample told

Blake followed his wife into the room, spoil-
a tale, and no two stories ever quite agreed.

ing Carlos’s fantasies. Then Antonio entered,

Dark was a living world, on which storms and
more grizzled than ever. He and Dana were
weathering, quakes and floods, volcanoes and
getting old.

even meteor strikes had all left their marks.

Face it, Carlos told himself. We all are.

Read enough stories, though, and for all

“Are you busy?” Blake asked.

their idiosyncratic plot twists they confirmed

Carlos sat in an arc of active displays, of
what astrophysics predicted: that Dark experi-
nanite memory readouts, program listings,
enced Milankovitch cycles. That the global cli-
electron-microscope scans, and design docu-
mate had warmed and cooled, warmed and
ments. Props, all of them. He said nothing.

cooled, warmed and cooled, like clockwork,

Blake grimaced. “Sorry, dumb question.

for as long—half a million years!—as the

Can you spare us a couple of minutes before
record could be reconstructed. That by its an-
we head to work?”

cient rhythm, Dark was due, indeed, well into,

Carlos gestured at nearby stools. “What’s
a new warming era.

up?”

How pronounced were the historical cli-

Rikki said, “I think Li is up to something.”

mate swings? Antonio refused to guess. To in-

To the best of Carlos’s knowledge, Li was al-
fer anything about past average global
ways up to something. The challenge was fer-temperatures from such paleogeological prox-
reting out what and why. If he could
ies as ice cores, he would f irst need to cali-
accomplish either with any regularity, she
brate modern ice cores against years, at the
would be in his power, not the other way
least, of direct temperature measurements.

around.

“Atmospheric sounder . . . check,” Blake

“Up to what?” Carlos asked.

continued. “Wideband, ground-penetrating

“I don’t know.” Rikki frowned. “She’s been
radar . . .”

too agreeable.”

Many, many instruments.

I wish, Carlos thought. The thrashing Li had

And yet Antonio had his doubts whether,
given him on the ship had been no fluke. He
even working together, the sensors they de-
had not required a third lesson.

ployed could resolve the anomaly in the geo-

He asked, “Agreeable about what?”

logical record of the past few centuries. That

“About support for possible terraforming.”

the sensors could explain why the climate had

Rikki finally dragged over a stool and sat. The
been steadily cooling. Or that sensors would other two stayed standing. “Yeah, I know how
answer the Big Question.

that sounds. The research program was my

Just how frigid would Dark get?

idea. But the weird thing, to me, anyway, is
that Li hasn’t tried to limit the effort.”

Chapter 31

“Here’s a thought,” Carlos said. “Ignore

At the soft scrape of approaching footsteps
whatever contributions, if any, the off-world

Carlos took a swig of vodka, then screwed
sensors make to our understanding of the cli-
shut the flask and stashed it inside a cabinet.

mate. They’ve already improved our weather

82

EDWARD M. LERNER

JUNE 2013
forecasting. That will help our crops, and
a civilization? Those call for a different sort of
that’s something I’m sure Li cares about.” And
expert. That’s Li.”

because she let you plead for the deployment,

“That’s Li,” Blake agreed. “However . . .”

you end up feeling indebted to her.

Antonio, who had been looking all around

And don’t suppose for an instant she won’t
the lab, finally spoke. “I’ve been studying.”

find a way to call in that debt.

With Antonio’s eclectic interests, those

“Could be.” Blake pulled a scrap of thin
studies might involve anything. Carlos ges-wire from the jumble on a workbench, and
tured to his workbench. “Guys, your couple
began tying knots. “Or she imagines we’ll rein
minutes are more than up.”

ourselves in. Fatigue has a wonderful ability to

“Aristophanes I had heard of,” Antonio said.

clarify priorities.”

“I didn’t know who Aeschylus and Euripides

Rikki gave her husband a dirty look.

were.”

Trouble in paradise? Carlos wondered. Hub-

“I don’t know if your interest is in moons or
by isn’t supportive enough of your science
ancient Greek theater,” Carlos said. “Either
project? “What does this have to do with me?”

way it can wait till tonight at dinner.” When I

“You know Li pretty well,” Rikki said deli-
also won’t pay attention. “Isn’t there a crop cately.

somewhere that needs your attention?”

You live together, she meant. You side with

“I became interested in ancient Greece,”

Li on the issues. You must understand her.

Antonio went on. “And branched out from

Carlos thought, if you only knew.

there. Are you familiar with . . .”

What he had with Li was a marriage of in-

“At dinner,” Carlos repeated.

convenience. Hers was a cold beauty: look but

“Speaking of crops, why are you settled, all
don’t touch. And yet he stayed. He was the
comfy, here in the lab?” Blake asked. “We
last available man in the universe—and the
could use a hand.”

last available woman couldn’t care less. What

At transplanting a couple hundred potted
did that say about him?

apple, cherry, and pear seedlings from the

She had him by the pride as much as by the
greenhouse to the river delta. No thanks. “I’m
balls. When he got into her pants, all too sel-
doing something more critical.”

dom, it was because she wanted his backing.

“Figuring out how to mass-produce PFCs?”

Get inside Li’s head? That had yet to hap-

Rikki asked.

pen.

Right. As if what the climate might be like a

“Do you plan on ever coming to the point?”

hundred years hence was time sensitive.

Carlos asked.

“Nutrition related.” Carlos pointed to a

Rikki grimaced. “We want to know what
nearby cage, in which mice sniffed curiously.

else Li isn’t telling us.”

“They don’t take up trace nutrients from diet

Carlos countered, “Is she under some obli-
as well as they should. I’m trying to tweak
gation to tell you what she’s thinking?”

their nanites to compensate.”

“No,” Blake said, still torturing his piece of

“Mouse nanites,” Rikki said. “That sounds
wire. “But also yes.”

urgent. I vote you save those for a rainy day.”

“Pretend you broke it already.” Carlos

Had the short-term forecast shown rain,
plucked the much-knotted wire from Blake’s

Carlos would have waited to tamper with the
hands. “Yes or no. Which is it?”

tissue samples he’d shown to Li that morning.

Rikki said, “As an individual, whatever Li

He half suspected from Li’s sly smile that
thinks is her business. But in practice, she’s
she knew. That by agreeing he should investi-
our leader. We all defer to her.”

gate his anomaly, she was doing him a favor.

I could be convinced to defer to you, Carlos Throwing him a bone.

thought. Motivate me. Let’s see how bendy

His other half guessed that she had planted
you can be.

the idea in the first place. That would explain

He said, “On our trek, to survive, we need-
the sly smile, too.

ed one sort of expertise. We deferred to Dana

Pissing him off yet further. It was Li he was
and properly so. I doubt Dana shared every-
angry at, but Li wasn’t here. And it was Li who
thing she was thinking, and I’ll bet we were
had what he wanted.

happier for that. Rearing children and building

“Look,” Carlos said. “What affects the mice DARK SECRET

83

ANALOG
might well affect us. Or the children, or their room gravy, or glanced sidelong at the straw-children, some years hence. I propose to see
berry shortcake that waited on the serving
what I can accomplish by tweaking nanites in
cart, she brought up childrearing. Indirectly, the mice. Unless you prefer to make the chil-to be sure. She had guessed Antonio’s digging
dren our guinea pigs.”

into ancient Greece would lead him to Sparta

Rikki flinched, as he had known she would.

and the education of its young, and Marvin

By the time they finally left, Carlos needed had confirmed it. Antonio never bothered to
another drink.

conceal what he did with the AI.

Whereas the more . . . informative of her in-

Li’s grandma used to claim that one caught
teractions with Marvin were as secure as pos-
more flies with honey than with vinegar.

sible. Not in any conventional sense, because

Li eased herself out from under Carlos’s out-
access controls and personal firewalls would
flung arm and leg, thinking he was more spi-have screamed of something to hide, but sub-
der than f ly, and more octopus than spider.

tly veiled. Too bad such computing legerde-

And she had no interest in catching any of
main far exceeded her skills.

them, far less this arrested-development ado-

But not Carlos’s. Li fought down a shudder.

lescent.

The important thing was, she was pre-

With a snort, Carlos flopped onto her side
pared, if necessary, to discuss childrearing,
of the bed. The thick, coarse hair on his back
and the relative virtues of Athens versus Spar-
disgusted her. He disgusted her.

ta. She knew Antonio well enough, if it came

She stood for a long time, her eyes closed,
to it, to sidetrack Antonio in a pointless mean-
beneath the hot, pulsating spray of the show-
der through Thucydides’ history of the Pelo-
er. The water carried away Carlos’s sweat and
ponnesian War.

stench, but it couldn’t touch her nausea. Sex

She saw no reason to let matters come to
with Carlos was for the greater good, and only
that.

for the greater good, because from time to

Li blotted her lips, folded and set down her
time he proved useful.

napkin, and began. “With this spring’s plant-

As he had been today, bringing her a pre-
ing almost complete, in the comparative lull
view of the likely ambush that night at dinner.

before we begin harvesting, I propose that we

You couldn’t dignify the society here as an
expand the childcare center.”

economy. They had no use for money. What-

“So that we can crank out more children?”

ever material goods they had were as readily

Rikki blurted out.

produced for six people as for one. Carlos was

“Interesting,” Li said. “I was going to say
too shallow and transparent to handle power,
that as the children get older we’ll want sepa-
not that she would ever consider sharing pow-
rate dormitories for the boys and the girls.

er. The lone currency that remained was . . . fa-

And I thought it would be nice to add an atri-
vors.

um, a little indoor park. But you’re quite right,

She didn’t feel dirty, exactly, nor degraded,

Rikki. The same expansion will allow us to
but something. At an intellectual level, she
raise more. Thank you.”

even felt a touch of nobility, of self-sacrif ice.

Rikki blinked. She had not foreseen her sar-

Carlos had her body—when she permitted
casm getting deflected into a proposal. “That’s
it—but never her. And he never would.

not what—”

So what was it she felt? Out of joint. Out of

“About that . . .” Antonio interrupted.

sorts. Decoupled from reality.

Antonio wasn’t the type to interrupt. Not

How old would the girls need to be before
unless he had something on his mind he was
they caught his eye?

bound and determined to get out.

It seemed Carlos had earned his pre-dinner

Long ago and far away, in a municipal cam-
favor.

paign that had been Li’s to lose—and she

“If we could f inish one topic before we
had—Li learned a hard lesson. Never let the
move on to the next?” Li chided.

other side choose the issue.

“Of course,” Antonio said.

So: while the peasants still dug into synthed

“Marvin, my sketch, please.” Li slid back her
meatloaf with real mashed potatoes and mush-
chair to stand alongside the wall become 3D

84

EDWARD M. LERNER

JUNE 2013
architectural rendering. “You see the enclosed

And Rikki relaxed.

area that I thought might serve as a garden or

Fool, Li thought.

park. But maybe it’s too large an expanse for
that.”

Chapter 32

She studied the wall display, pensive, giving

In swooping arcs and soaring leaps, up and
the peasants time to make the idea their own.

down through the clouds like a bucking bron-

And maybe to set aside their nitpicking, since
co, Endeavour gyrated its way around the
she had just proposed this touchy-feely expan-
globe. The meandering course on its intricate-
sion of the facility.

ly constructed timeline did more than chal-

“We could make a portion of that space an
lenge Dana’s ref lexes. By the time she
indoor playground,” Rikki offered.

returned home, the ship and the moons’ ob-

“Or maybe we should enclose only part of
servatories together would have compiled a
the area,” Dana said. “At some point the chil-
thorough and precise global atmospheric sur-
dren have to get used to the outdoors.”

vey, captured at more or less the same local

Li let them natter on, with each suggestion
time everywhere.

making the project more grandiose and labor-

Too bad the prescribed local time was mid-
intensive. A screened-in solarium into which
night, because she would have enjoyed the
even the youngest children could be brought
view. She wasn’t enjoying the company.

on nice days for fresh air. A rock garden. A

Blake had accomplished the impossible:

f lower garden. An ever more extensive play-
making Antonio look chatty. He was making
ground.

the rocks from Antonio’s collection look chat-

The evening was unfolding better than Li
ty.

had dared to hope.

Dana sighed. Antonio had asked to come

While the peasants bulldoze and landscape
along, looking so kicked-puppy disappointed and build with concrete, she thought, the chil-when she’d said no. And though she hadn’t
dren remained hers. As Rikki had observed—
lied about there being no time between col-
and as quickly let drop—the enlarged
lection points to gather southern-hemisphere
childcare center about which they now all
rocks, and that this was fancy enough f lying
waxed eloquent, would give Li the capacity to that she should have a prof icient copilot to
speed up decanting of the embryos. With,
spell her, neither had she been entirely honest
alas, some encouragement to Carlos to speed
with him.

up womb production.

On her console, a timer ticked down the

Li said, “Once the children have acclimated,
seconds to the next atmospheric sampling. A
they’ll be closer to ready to meet the real
real-time holo showed her displacement in
world. Suppose we put up a fence, enclosed
three dimensions from the target collection
the area around the center and its neighboring
point. As the high-altitude winds buffeted the
buildings. If we put locks on the doors, the
ship, her hands danced over the controls to
oldest children could roam around.” In answer
make endless course corrections.

to Rikki’s raised eyebrow, Li explained, “I

A single moon above the horizon—every-
don’t believe they’re old enough to play
where—could have captured the data they
among the explosives and chemical stocks.”

sought. The moons did not cooperate like

The eyebrow went back down.

that, and so here she was. As for precision,

But as Blake and Dana grew giddy about the
computer-controlled navigation, forget it.

prospect of passing along the fine art of snow-

Only all three moons in sight would have
man construction, and with Antonio side-
served to triangulate the ship’s position. And
tracked into planning for a rock garden,
so, as one moon or another sank below the

Rikki’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.

horizon, as clouds turned her course into a

Too much, too fast, Li thought. The woman
game of peek-a-boo with the stars, as the buf-
wasn’t entirely gullible.

feting of the jet stream befuddled the autopilot

Li said, “I’m gratif ied by such enthusiasm,
and played havoc with the short-range projec-
but we can’t do everything at once. We also tions from inertial navigation, she fell back,
have a PFC factory, or refinery, or whatever I
time and again, upon the most basic naviga-
should call it, to build.”

tional system of all: seat of the pants.

DARK SECRET

85

ANALOG

If the outing had been a summer evening’s
should aim to reach the next collection point.

stroll through Kensington Gardens, she still

She slowed the ship. “So, introverts and lon-
would have left Antonio back in the settle-
ers. What of it?”

ment. She needed some one-on-one time with

Blake busied himself checking something

Blake.

on his console. With not answering. “My mom

“Collection on my mark,” she announced.

and dad were like oil and water. My sister, the

“Three. Two. One. Mark.”

raging extrovert, and I were more like oil and

“Mark,” Blake repeated. As he had for the
matches. The neighbors didn’t offer many
past twenty or so collections.

shining examples of stability, either. As for the

“Throw me a bone,” Dana said. “Are you
broader community where I grew up, it was a
satisfied? Dissatisfied? How does the data look
mess. One-parent households were the norm.

so far?”

The schools sucked. To belong to something

“Fine,” Blake allowed.

the choices were high-school sports, if you

“And the data is telling us . . . what?”

had talent, which I didn’t, or the gangs.”

“Nighttime temperature and PFC trace con-

“So you stuck to yourself.”

centration profiles—”

“More like, I kept my head down. Then the

“By altitude on a grid of closely-spaced
oddest thing happened. I was either ten or
points surrounding the planet.” Dana sighed
eleven. Standard years, I mean. It was late
again. “I know what we’re collecting, and
summer, and I was getting the mandatory
why. Is the data revealing anything useful? Is it
preschool physical from the family doctor.

what you expect?”

Doc Sullivan was this upbeat guy with a

“I don’t know. Rikki doubted the raw meas-
friendly, booming voice. Jovial, yet managing
urements themselves would reveal much; es-
not to be obnoxious. He asked me some ques-
pecially not point by point. It’s all input to a
tions about school.

global circulation model. Ask me after Anto-

“Whatever he asked and I answered, he de-
nio and Marvin have taken a crack at the full
cided, and I couldn’t tell you why, that I had
dataset, when we know how well the PFCs
potential. Then and there, he zapped two old
have dispersed.”

college texts from his datasheet to my little-kid

The nav holo updated to show the way to
pocket comp. Both books were decades out
the next collection point; Dana put her ship
of date and of no use to him, but I didn’t
into another steep climb. “You’re not very
know that.”

talkative these days.”

“And that’s why you became an engineer,”

“Well, you know.”

Dana guessed. She had no idea what this had

“No!” Dana snapped, surprising herself. “I
to do with, well, anything. “Nice.”

don’t know, because you’ve locked me out. I Blake laughed. “Who gives a college text on
thought we were friends.”

biochemistry to a ten-year-old? It was Greek to

“We are.” After a long while, he said, “I’m me. No, less. At least I’d heard of Greece.

not a deep thinker, you know.”

“And yet that is how I ended up an engi-

Deeper than you credit yourself. “What’s
neer. You’d like to believe it was because this
your point?”

engaging, successful professional saw poten-

“Except for Rikki, we’re introverts, if not
tial in me. Did the gesture inspire me? Yeah,
loners and misfits. Have you noticed that?”

for the couple of weeks before the cops

“Uh-uh. ” Hawthorne had, though, in
hauled Doc Sullivan away. My last, best hope
dossiers the existence of which Dana still kept
of a role model had defrauded Federal Health
to herself. More than once she had almost

Service of millions.

deleted the files. Other than the occasional pi-

“So he set my career course, all right. He de-
loting gig, her job was farming. She had no
cided for me that, whatever I did when I grew
reason to keep the personnel data—and less
up, it would involve machines, not people.

inclination to share any of it with Li. “Not

Not that I understood engineering then, be-
deep, you say?”

yond that machines, maybe, could be fixed.”

“I couldn’t make a puddle jealous.”

“I’m not buying you as a loner,” Dana said,

On Dana’s console, a timer initialized and
still at a loss where this might be going. “You
began counting down, showing when she
can charm the pants off people.”

86

EDWARD M. LERNER

JUNE 2013

“Off young women, anyway. That doesn’t

“Worse.” Blake hesitated. “If Li gave her
make me a people person. It makes—made—
blessing today, I think Rikki would be afraid to
me a calculating, cynical, manipulative jerk. I
try. I think she’s lost faith in herself as a par-
want to believe I’ve grown since then.”

ent.”

The pieces fell into place. “So this is about

“That’s . . . ridiculous.” Only Dana felt that

Rikki.”

inadequacy, too. More and more, whenever

“Of course”— his voice cracked—“it’s about
she swung by the childcare center. With sixty-

Rikki. Pretty much the first thing I knew about
four more children almost to term.

her, back on the cruise where we met, was

She hadn’t admitted those feelings—fail-
how eager she was to get home. How much
ings—to anyone, either. She didn’t know that
she had missed her family while she’d been
she could.

away at grad school. It was real closeness, too,

For the remainder of the f light, she and
not part of some sitcom. And yet more amaz-

Blake were both quiet.

ing, soon enough they weren’t her family, but our family.

Wearing a big, welcoming smile, Dana

“So here you and I are: loners. Carlos, it em-
closed the distance to the children’s white
barrasses me to admit, is much as I once was,
picket fence. From afar you couldn’t tell that
if not as smooth. Antonio is, well, you know.”

the pickets were poured concrete, not fash-

“I know,” Dana said. And a dear, regardless,
ioned from wood. From afar, you didn’t see
in his own way.

that the pickets stood two meters tall.

“Li, though . . . I can’t read her.”

Drawing near, seeing the children through

“Me, either.” At the end, Hawthorne had
the pickets, the fence looked like a stockade.

had only hours to round out the crew for this

“Kids grow,” Li had said. “We don’t want to
mission. Li’s file, and Carlos’s for that matter,
rebuild the fence every couple years.” It
was a short dump from the public record, lit-
sounded reasonable. Most everything she said
tle more than a résumé. “I’d bet that shrinks
sounded reasonable.

learn to mask their feelings.” And politicians,

The day was sunny and crisp. Perfect foot-
too, only Li had never, to Dana’s knowledge,
ball weather Blake had declared it when they
volunteered to anyone here that facet of her
landed. But this being Dark, the few hints of
past.

fall colors came from inside the greenhouse

“Heads up.” Blake’s voice changed tone.

and on saplings in clay planters glimpsed

“Radar shows a high mountain range.”

through the fence.

“Yeah, I see it, but thanks. We’ll have almost

Dana f lashed a hand signal. On a pole just
a klick of clearance. You left out Rikki.”

inside the gate, a camera bobbed: Marvin ac-

“She’s not like you or me or any of the rest
knowledging that he had seen her. As she ap-
of us. She is a people person. I remember
proached the gate, at which the hand-
what happened back home. I do think occa-
print-reader lamp flashed READY, Li opened the
sionally about everyone we left behind. When
gate from inside.

it happens, I’m sad, but then I get over it.

“Hi,” Li said. “Did you have a good flight?”

“But Rikki? She grieves, still. For her family

“It had its ups and downs.”

most of all.

Dana slipped inside; the gate falling locked

“That she can’t continue her family? And
and shut behind her with a loud click. It must the rejection by the kids here? It’s killing her, have rained while she and Blake were off fly-Dana.”

ing, because the green carpet squished be-

At the catch in Blake’s voice, Dana glanced
neath her boots. Kids should play on grass,
away from the console. He was trembling.

she thought sadly, although no one could

In an anguished tone, not much above a
spare the time to keep such a large expanse
whisper, he said, “I don’t know how to f ix
mowed, or to haul and spread the truckloads
this.”

of river-delta silt a lawn would have required.

Dana didn’t know how to f ix him. “It’s

Had there been time, no one would have per-
been years since you learned Rikki can’t safely
mitted children around the quantities of fertil-
get pregnant. She still hasn’t come to terms
izer the lifeless silt would have needed applied
with it?”

several times each year.

DARK SECRET

87

ANALOG

Children clambered over the playground
it.”

equipment. Younger kids with shovels and

Dana looked. Her hand was wet and sticky.

pails dug in sandboxes. Dark lacked soil, but it

She had squeezed the tomato into goo; juice
had plenty of sand. As she had sensed from and pulp dribbled between her fingers.

the distance, several of the bigger kids were in

“I guess I’m tense,” she admitted. No,
the tiny garden plot. Picking tomatoes, appar-
scared shitless that Rikki was right. That apart
ently. All the boys and girls wore pants and
from Li, none of them knew what they were
sweaters, dressed alike except for color. Red
doing. “Maybe the kids picked up on that.”

for the oldest, blue for the cohort a year

“They did,” Li said flatly.

younger, green for those a year younger still.

“Sorry about that.” More sorry than you

Like uniforms. Why had she never noticed
can imagine.

that?

“Go home,” Li said. “Take the afternoon off.

The yard, for all the dozens of little ones,

There’s something important I’ll be bringing
was quiet and orderly; the expressions on so
up after dinner.”

many of the young faces seemed purposeful
rather than playful. But on what basis could

“We’ve reached a major milestone,” Li said.

she form expectations? Only ancient memo-

Around the dinner table, the peasants stud-
ries of her own childhood.

ied her with curiosity. Carlos wore a relaxed

Dana walked to the garden. She leaned for-
grin, from a beer or three too many rather
ward, hand outstretched to tousle Eve’s hair.

than from foreknowledge.

Eve scuttled away, circling behind a row of

“Every day is a new challenge,” Li contin-
potted tomato plants, to shelter behind Li.

ued. “Every day has its chores. But look what

“Excuse me, Eve,” Dana said. “I didn’t mean
we’ve accomplished. Wheat, corn, and barley
to startle you.”

crops ripening for the upcoming harvest, and

“Tell Ms. Dana you’re sorry,” Li directed.

enough freeze-dried bacterial mat to see us

“No need,” Dana said hastily. “Honey, how
through bad weather. Remote-sensing instru-
are you doing? Are you enjoying the nice
ments placed on the moons. Our very own cli-
weather?”

mate-improvement program.”

Eve buried her face in Li’s back. “I’m sorry,

“And ever more thriving children,” Carlos

Ms. Dana,” she mumbled.

added. Giving Li credit, predictably. With

Her brothers (for lack of a more f itting
hopes, no doubt, of . . . reward later.

term) had sidled close together.

“And thriving children,” Li repeated.

“How are you big boys today?” Dana asked.

She had set the dining-room walls to a

“Fine, Ms. Dana,” Castor said. Pollux, his
peaceful seascape, a gentle froth of combers
lower lip trembling, held out a tomato.

rushing up and swirling back down a

“Run along,” Li told them. “Take inside
sparkling white sand beach. In a cerulean sky,
what you’ve picked, and then see if Mr. Carlos
behind pink wisps of cloud, a tomato-red sun
could use your help.”

kissed the sea. Waves whispered, and tropical

Pails swinging at their sides, the three scam-
breezes sighed through palm trees, and sand-
pered toward the childcare center.

pipers piped. Restful. Hopefully lulling. Even

“What was that about?” Dana asked Li.

Carlos and Rikki, neither of whom had ever

“What do you mean?”

visited Earth or experienced such a sunset,

Around the sandboxes, most of the children
must feel it.

had stopped their play. Several stared, wide-

The common experiences of thousands of
eyed, at Dana. She said, “Look at them.”

generations embedded themselves in the ge-

“Kids watch adults. That’s part of how they
netic code. Not as simple as memory, genetic
learn. They don’t see you often, is all.”

programming recorded the common heritage

Only to Dana these children looked wary,
of the species. Genetic programming instilled
not curious. “And Eve? I would swear she was
fear of the dark, when predators hunted and
afraid of me. Pollux, too.”

proto-humans were wise to hide, and of

Li sighed exasperatedly. “Shy. Eve was shy,
predators yet unseen. Genetic programming

Dana. Pollux, too. Kids sometimes are. Now
suggested, too, what was not a threat and
look what he gave you, and what you did with
when—as in this case—it was safe to relax.

88

EDWARD M. LERNER

JUNE 2013

That basic neural hardwiring would not be
sister—never baby-sat you.”

denied. So be at peace, my peasants. Be at

Blake blinked. “Oh, Lynette did, and the ex-
peace.

perience does nothing to bolster your argu-

“Many accomplishments,” Dana agreed.

ment.”

“But Li, what is this milestone you men-

“Marvin,” Li called, “how many diapers has
tioned?”

Eve changed this evening since I left the cen-

“Specialization. I eat by the sweat of your
ter for dinner?”

brows. We stay healthy in large measure by

“Six, Li.”

Carlos’s steady tweaking of our nanites. And if

“How many babies have Castor and Pollux

I may say so, the children continue to benefit
fed?”

from my attention.”

“Eighteen, so far. They gave bottles to four-

“You may say so,” Antonio said.

teen and fed four directly.”

“The milestone,” Li continued, “is this. That

“While you supervised. Thank you.” To the
we’re ready to recognize and make formal the
peasants, Li added, “A dozen in the next co-
patterns that are already working so well for
hort are eager to do like the big kids.”

us.”

“And . . . us?” Antonio asked.

“What patterns?” Blake asked.

“You will contribute more in the ways you

“Job specialization.” Li counted silently to
already do, ” Li said. “How much more
three. “Including those of us who will interact
progress will you make studying local geolo-
with the children.”

gy”—you and your stupid rocks—“when

Raw emotions scrabbled and jostled behind
you’re not changing diapers every few nights?

Rikki’s eyes. For several long seconds Li

How much sooner, Rikki, will you understand
thought relief would win, but guilt chased it
the climate trends?”

away. Maternal instincts were hardwired, too.

How much more farming and chicken tend-

Rikki swallowed hard. “We all help with the ing will you four get done? How many more
children.”

cattle can you raise because you won’t be

“Perhaps that should change,” Li said. “Not
with the children, and how many more cows
everyone is as . . . well-suited.”

can you milk? How much more mining of

Not everyone is successful at it. The chil-
phosphates, and raising of barns, and a thou-
dren don’t recoil from everyone.You know
sand other menial chores? But chores weren’t
who you are.

selling points.

There was pain now in Rikki’s eyes. In

“And as . . . the colony . . . grows?”

Dana’s, too. Because Li was good at what she

Li said, “As children become old enough of
did. And when the two women conceded,
course you’ll teach them the many skills with
their men would go along.

which to maintain the colony.” After I’ve

“Is it even possible?” Rikki asked. (Hoping
made them dependably mine.

for which answer? Li couldn’t tell.) “Even with

She could feel the others wavering. “Then
six of us, sometimes watching the children is
we’re in agreement?”

draining. How could you alone handle it?”

Dana’s chair scraped back as she stood.

“Yes, it’s possible,” Li asserted. “But it won’t

“No.”

be just me. The children are comfortable

“Excuse me?” Li said.

around Carlos, too.” And, you are free to infer,

“No,” Dana repeated. “No way. Uh-uh. For-
with no one else. “And Marvin, of course,
get it. If I lack some skill, teach me. If I am a
who never sleeps. And Eve and the twins are
stranger to the children, I’ll spend more time old enough to help. They want to help.”

with them. The mission is to raise a family, a

“Children raising children,” Blake said dubi-
culture, a civilization—and I do not abandon
ously.

my mission.”

“You’re a youngest child, correct?” Li said. It

“No . . . nor I,” Rikki squeaked. “Nor I,” she
doesn’t matter that you’ve never told me
repeated, the second time firmly.

you’re the baby of the family, because you’re

Blake and Antonio nodded.

their freaking poster child: uncomplicated, at-

“We get more involved,” Rikki said. “Once
tention-seeking, and transparently manipula-
the harvest is in, we’ll have more time. And
tive. “I can’t believe your older—well, I’ll say,
any child old enough to baby-sit is old enough

DARK SECRET

89

ANALOG
to start school. I’ll help with that. I’d like that.”

Dark system. But in Sol system, vanadium was

“Me, too,” Antonio said.

common, comparatively speaking, in mete-

“This is how you want it?” Li asked.

oroids and asteroids.

“Yes!” they chorused.

Why else would they be out here, probing

“Remember that I offered,” Li said. Remem-
rock after rock?

ber who made me do things the hard way.

Blake studied his console. “Looks like an-
other two are coming into range.”

Chapter 33

“Yes. Do you want . . . to do the honors?”

“A needle in a haystack,” Blake grumbled.

“Sure.” Because it was something to do.

“I wish.” Antonio didn’t take his eyes off the

Blake tagged the closer of the radar blips and
sensor console. “Give me an electromagnet
dragged its trajectory data to the comm con-
and I’ll have your needle in no time.”

trols. (As he did, he checked for messages

“Heh,” Blake said. “I bow to your superior
pending. Rikki hadn’t answered his last few
physics.”

emails. He hoped that meant she was getting

“Don’t forget it.”

some sleep.) The long-range comm laser

Blake shut his eyes. “Wake me when you
reached out, invisible, for empty space pro-
find something.”

vided nothing to scatter the light. Within sec-

He lolled bonelessly in the loose grasp of a
onds, as the spectrometer examined the
seat harness. Deep inside the asteroid belt,
miniscule bit of glowing vapor boiled off the
sans Marvin, they wanted a human pilot on
rock’s surface, they would know a little about
the bridge at all times. Dana was bunking in,
the rock’s composition.

which left him. Antonio, no matter the superi-

“No vanadium,” Antonio said. And a minute
ority of his physics, had terrible reflexes and a
later, after the laser hit the second target, he
disturbing tendency to confuse left with right.

reported, “None there, either.”

At least the dumb-as-a-stump computer still

Logically speaking, they would end up sur-
aboard after moving Marvin to the bunker
veying hundreds, maybe thousands, of rocks
could spot incoming rocks on its own.

before encountering one with vanadium com-

Rikki could have handled a shift. Especially pounds on its surface. They would have flown
after the arduous harvest, she would have wel-
around much of the belt to f ind it. That Li
comed a change of scenery. Not to mention
hadn’t balked at four of them being gone, pos-
the spells in zero gee, while Antonio surveyed
sibly, for weeks spoke volumes. Though slow all the nearby rocks.

to develop, this dietary deficiency must be se-

But Rikki was suffering from, well, Li had
rious.

yet to f igure that out. Nothing serious, Li as-

Radar showed they had a while until more
sured them. Whatever it was, Rikki wasn’t
asteroids came within probing range. “Feel
keeping down much of what she ate. Might be
like a game of chess?” Blake asked.

some intestinal f lora gone bad in a way her

“No thanks.” Antonio waved vaguely at the
nanites had yet to learn to handle. Might be,
datasheet draped across his lap. “Aristophanes
though Li had insisted that the possibility was
data. This is fascinating. On the ground . . . I
remote, a Dark-native bacterium that had
never had the time to look at it. The surface
jumped to humans. Might be food poisoning.

temperature readings . . .”

Might be a nutritional deficiency. Ironic, that

Evidently, definitions of fascination varied.

last scenario: that a need for some trace ele-

“Do you see signs there of vanadium?”

ment might have kept Rikki from prospecting

“None. But—”

for a trace element.

“Enjoy,” Blake said. He began a new email

“And we’re back,” Blake declared, opening
to Rikki. WISH YOU WERE HERE.

his eyes. “Have you found any big nuggets?”

“Not yet.” Antonio squirmed in his couch,

“Another shift,” Blake announced, yawning.

readjusting the straps. “Vanadium isn’t com-

“Much nothing accomplished.”

mon, you know.”

“I recommend a snack and sleep,” Dana

He knew—or, rather, Marvin had told them.

said. “For you, too, Antonio. Whatever there is

A couple hundred parts per million in Earth’s
to be seen will be in the comp when you
crust. Undetected to date anywhere in the
come back.”

90

EDWARD M. LERNER

JUNE 2013

“In a while,” Antonio said absently. Scatter
reappearance eight hours later.

plots and bar charts cluttered his datasheet.

He saw she had the bridge to herself. On

Much ado about asteroids.

the radar display, the only nearby objects were

Rikki had yet to answer emails, which Blake
receding. An aux display cycled through an al-
took to mean she’d gotten a decent night’s
bum of kid holos.

sleep. Back at the settlement it was almost

“Freshly synthed.” He had three drink bulbs
time for breakfast. He would rest easier once
of coffee; he handed her one. “And I’m glad to
he heard how she was feeling.

hear it, because Rikki has yet to answer me.

Only, as he dawdled in the galley over a

What did Li say?”

sandwich and salad, no emails came to him.

“Not much. Rikki’s better, and keeping

He went back to the bridge. “Do we have
down light meals. She’s home, resting. Li and
contact with home?”

Carlos are busy with the kids, but one of them

“Euripides is in position to relay,” Antonio
checks on Rikki every few hours.”

mumbled. “Before it sets in an hour, Aeschylus

“Any diagnosis yet?”

will serve.”

“Li’s leaning toward a nutritional deficiency.

“You know moonrise and set times?” Blake

Vanadium, in fact.”

asked.

“Leaning.”

The corners of Antonio’s mouth, one at a

“Here.” Dana pulled up the message. “You
time, twitched upward. “You don’t?”

now know what I know.”

“More useful than old Paris subway sched-

It wasn’t much. Blake sent Li a reply asking
ules,” Dana said. “But as for contact with
her to have Rikki contact him.

home, here’s a simpler demonstration. An

Dana, reading over his shoulder, said, “You
email came in from Carlos a few minutes ago,
worry too much. And conf ident that you
inquiring about our progress.”

won’t listen, here’s my free advice. Let the

Blake asked, “Anything in the message
poor woman sleep. And leave Li and Carlos
about Rikki?”

alone.”

“No, sorry. But it was a short note. A one-

“We’ll see.” Which they both knew meant
liner.”

“No.”

No news means only no news, Blake told

“Between you and Antonio, I will go nuts.”

himself.

Blake dropped into the copilot’s seat, con-

“This is very . . . interesting.”

tent to change the subject. “Asteroid albedo?”

On Antonio’s lap, the datasheet’s graphics

“In part. They’re too splotchy for his taste,
were denser than Blake remembered. Orbital
and he wants to drop down and visit a few.

parameters. Sizes. Rotation rates. One scatter

Mostly he’s worked up that too few asteroids
plot bore the cryptic label Albedo Variability.

dip within Dark’s orbit.”

Blake asked, “What’s albedo?”

Blake stiffened. “This isn’t a science project.

“The fraction of the incident . . . light re-

I hope you told him he can collect rocks
flected.”

where we find vanadium.”

Antonio had collected plenty of rocks on

“I told him I loved him dearly, but that the

Dark. He’d collected rocks from Dark’s moons
absence of threatening asteroids is a good
when the opportunity had presented itself. It
thing. I said the fewer rocks we landed on, the
wasn’t a big surprise that he would collect
fewer we risked nudging the wrong way.”

stats about these rocks now.

“Good answer.”

“And Li?” Blake asked. “What does she have

“And after that rare vote of approval, I hand
to say?”

over the bridge to you. Vaporize wisely.”

“No word,” Dana said, “but that doesn’t sur-

“Will do,” Blake said. “Sleep tight. I’ll wake
prise me. We left them shorthanded.”

you if I find anything.”

“Especially if she’s got a sick patient to deal

She stopped in the hatchway. “Back home
with.”

they’re busier than we are. When they have

“Go,” Dana said. “Sleep. I’ll email Li and ask
news, they’ll let us know.”

what’s going on.”

“I’m sure you’re right,” Blake said.

That didn’t keep him, as soon as Dana had

“Rikki’s f ine,” Dana greeted Blake on his
vacated the bridge, from emailing Marvin for

DARK SECRET

91

ANALOG
an update.

did most of his thinking.

Blake was beginning to smell a rat.

Propping herself up on an elbow, resting
her hand lightly on his chest, Li said, “You

Chapter 34
awake?”

The measure of just how lousy Rikki felt

“Mmm?”

was that, lifting her head at the sudden tap-

“The sun’s still high and there’s just us. We
ping on her window, she felt relief at seeing
can’t sleep now.”

Li.

“Watch me.”

“Door’s open,” Rikki croaked. She let her

“I’m serious,” Li said. “And this is impor-
head flop back onto the sofa arm.

tant.”

“I see you’re better,” Li chirped, coming

“Marvin is watching the kids.”

into the house. “I expected to f ind you in

“Eyes-open important. And sit up.”

bed.”

Carlos sat. Li spoke. And he, once she had

“I was going for some dry crackers. Halfway
f inished, as she had known he must, had
to the kitchen I reconsidered.” When I re-
agreed to everything. She had Carlos well con-
membered they were made from sea slime.

ditioned. Like Pavlov’s salivating dog. If only

Li set down her med kit. “I’d like to take a
just saliva were involved . . .

scan.” Whatever Rikki’s nanites had to report

On the verge of triumph, she felt pangs of
or the scanner found on its own must not
disappointment. The grandeur of her vision
have merited specif ic comment. “You’ll live,
was wasted on Carlos. The meticulous beauty
though from the looks of you, at the moment
of her planning—as much of it as she had
that isn’t a selling point.”

shared—interested him only as it assured their

The woman had no bedside manner.

success. All that he responded to was the ex-

“When will I be over this? Whatever this is?”

pectation of future coupling.

Rikki hesitated—fearful, almost superstitious-

She could live with that. She needed his
ly so—of evoking a nightmare from an era be-
help, and what mattered to her was the out-fore med nanites. “Am I contagious?”

come.

“Don’t know, don’t know, and do you see

As for the other four, she had given them
me wearing a mask?”

their chance.

Then came the repeat lecture about keep-
ing hydrated and foods that might stay down,

Shuffling more often than walking, but feel-
followed by megadoses of vitamins and anti-
ing human for the f irst time in days, Rikki
nausea meds. It all wore Rikki out. “What have
made her way down Main Street. She tried to
you heard from Endeavour?” she asked as Li forget the uphill trip that she faced to return helped her back to bed.

home. As she passed the garage, its door be-

“Only that they’re still searching.”

gan to rise. Carlos had hitched a trailer to the

“And Blake?”

back of their dump truck; he sat on the back-

“He’s busy. Now get some rest.”

hoe-loader, revving the motor, evidently about

Fitfully, disappointed that Blake hadn’t writ-
to drive the contraption up the ramp onto the
ten, or even acknowledged any of her brief
trailer.

notes, Rikki drifted in and out of sleep.

Her voice was as feeble as a kitten’s; he
must not have heard her over the growl of the

A few more seconds, Li told herself. And,
engine, asking what he was doing. Whatever,
don’t look bored.

she could f ind out later. Or not—curiosity

Finally, it stopped.

seemed too much like work. She waved, he

Wearing his customary smug and oblivious
waved back, and she shuffled on.

smile, Carlos rolled off her onto his side of the

Between fence slats, Rikki watched children
bed. He pulled up the sheet. His breathing
ramming around, climbing, swinging. Marvin
slowed. In a minute or two, he would be snor-
had unlocked the gate at her approach, but
ing.

she could hardly make it budge. “Marvin,” she

They needed to talk, and the best time for
called. With a squeal of grit-clogged hinges,
that was after sex. When he was relaxed.

the gates swung inward.

When even more than usual, the little head

Activity in the yard all but ceased.

92

EDWARD M. LERNER

JUNE 2013

Children fell silent, some staring, others
panel of every crib, pastels morphed into the
sidling away. A few of the littlest took shelter
image of an old oak tree. From crib speakers
behind Eve and the twins. Despite assurances
came a soothing rustle of leaves. Let the vid
that she wasn’t contagious, Rikki was just as
play long enough, and it would cycle through
happy this one time that the kids were shy
clear skies, both sunny and starry, toddlers
around her.

gleefully splashing in a wading pool, a time-

“Hi!” she called. “Who can tell me where I
lapse view of roses f lowering, and other de-
can find Ms. Li?”

lights.

It fell to Marvin to answer. “At her office in

“I hadn’t realized the vid had a name,” Rikki
the childcare center.”

said. “It’s just what we play.”

Inside the center, Rikki paused at the glass

“It’s what you and your friends play. There
wall that opened into the toddlers’ room. All
are others, vids that Marvin hasn’t been at lib-
those little ones, unhugged. Untouched.

erty to divulge.”

Alone for most of the day, every day, apart

“I don’t understand,” Rikki said.

from the insubstantial company of an AI. It

“Perhaps a demonstration. Marvin, kid-vid
broke her heart. She reached for the door, and
one, please.” The oak tree vanished, replaced
hesitated.

by a close-up of Li’s smiling face. The aural ac-

“You’re not contagious, ” Li said. “Go
companiment was a deep rhythmic throb: the
ahead.”

same heartbeat recording that pulsed in the ar-

Rikki jumped. “I didn’t hear you coming.”

tif icial wombs. “Marvin is only permitted to

“I heard you. I’m glad you’re up and strong
play that at my direction, or when no adult is
enough for an outing. As it happens, there
present.”

was something I wanted to talk about with

Unctuous, smiling Li faces everywhere, and
you. We can talk inside.”

Rikki wanted to smash them—the f lesh-and-

“Is it Endeavour?”

blood face most of all. “You programmed the

“Nothing like that.” Li gestured at the door.

children to love you?”

“Inside.”

Li smirked. “The proper term is imprinting.

At Rikki’s entrance, several of the children

And yes, I did.”

froze. More shied away. Chubby-cheeked Car-

“No, the proper term is child abuse.”

la (with the mass of black curls that so re-

“You’re such a drama queen. Marvin, show
minded Rikki of her sister Janna at that age)

our guest kid-vid-two.”

began to whimper.

The crib-panel displays went dark. The low,

“It’s okay, sweetie,” Rikki said, reaching to
steady heartbeat became . . . something else.

brush a tear from Carla’s cheek.

Primitive. Dissonant. On the crib-panel dis-

Carla lurched, screaming, to cower behind
plays, lightning f lashed. Beneath the music,
a crib.

thunder rumbled.

“Why do they hate me?” Rikki whispered.

Rikki shivered. “What the hell is—”

And why do they adore you?

“Watch,” Li commanded. “Listen. Learn.”

“Let’s go next door,” Li said.

From the lightning-torn night sky slowly

Next door meant the newborn unit. Li ges-
emerged . . . a face. Rikki’s face. The music tured Rikki ahead through this door, too. Emp-swelled, grew more urgent and . . . scarier.

ty cribs waited, row upon row, facing the

“The Rite of Spring,” Li said. “The children
one-way glass wall. In a few weeks, all the
will never appreciate Stravinsky, I’m sad to
cribs would be occupied.

say, but that’s a sacrifice worth making.”

Li said, “You’re a beautiful woman.”

And Rikki’s face morphed into—

Well, I did wash my face and change into

A hooded . . . thing. Coiled. Scaly. Black clothes without puke spatters. “Is that your with, as it reared its head, a fish-white under-big problem with me? That Blake finds me at-
belly. Hissing, swaying. It studied her dispas-
tractive?”

sionately through little beady eyes. A forked

“Just an observation. You are more than
tongue f lickered in and out, in and out be-
welcome to Blake.” Li changed tone. “Marvin,
tween its jaws.

play kid-vid zero.”

Rikki’s skin crawled. She felt her eyes go On the display integral with the low-end
round. On the back of her neck, hairs prick-

DARK SECRET

93

ANALOG
led. Before she could find her voice, the thing

Chapter 35
lunged. In full 3-D.

“Something’s wrong,” Blake decided.

She yelped.

“Something often is,” Dana agreed, eyes

“The effect is even more impressive with
fixed on her nav console. “Might I trouble you
the room night-dim,” Li said. After a brief re-
to be more specific?”

turn to a stormy night sky, Blake’s face began

“In a sec.” The latest asteroid to be overtak-
to emerge. “Stop vid.”

en was almost within laser range. “Firing . . .

This was . . . hateful. Psychological torture.

now. Another dud. How many is that?”

Madness. Whether from shock or her linger-

“I leave the big numbers to Antonio. So tell
ing illness, Rikki’s knees threatened to buckle.

me, what’s wrong?”

Groping behind her, she edged backward to

“The latest one-line note from Rikki. They
lean against a wall.

all say she’s f ine, but if she were she’d have

“The vid goes on to Dana and Antonio, too,
more to say. Or she’d answer a question or
if you wondered.”

two of mine. Or she’d record a vid, or at least a

“Why?” Rikki managed to get out.

voice message.”

“You can figure out why,” Li said cheerily. “I

“Or she’s f ine and very busy. As we are.”

doubt you can f igure out how. Had you ever Dana coaxed Endeavour onto a new course.

seen a king cobra?”

“Call it f ifteen minutes till the next rock

“N-no.”

comes into range.”

“Nor have I. I’ve seen snakes, of course. On

“I’m not too busy to contact her.”

Earth. I don’t recall ever seeing a snake on

“Well good for you. You’re not the one deal-

Mars. A good choice on someone’s part, not
ing with more sick kids every day. I don’t
to import any.” Li laughed. “Or maybe Saint
know what to tell you other than do your job.

Patrick was involved.

We need vanadium. We’ll stay out here till we

“But I digress. King cobras are nasty things.

f ind it or Li says we’re needed more back

Very poisonous. And without ever having
home. And just so you know, it would be a bit
seen one, at some level you knew to fear it. As
less creepy if you didn’t spy on your wife
the children do, instinctively.

through Marvin.”

“Dread and loathing of reptiles lives deep in

Blake wasn’t proud of that, either. He had
our hindbrains. No one knows how early in
just wanted to see Rikki looking other than mammalian evolution that wiring emerged. It
green around the gills. And when he saw her
could date to the twilight of the dinosaurs,
in the yard, keeping an eye on the healthy kids
when the ref lex to f lee reptiles would have
at play, he’d told Marvin he had all he needed.

served our earliest progenitors well. I merely

Ignoring Dana’s disapproving glance, Blake
associated your faces with that ref lex. All in
replayed the short vid clip. When it stopped,
the children’s f irst months, before they even
he left the final image open on an aux display.

began to speak. They can’t conceptualize the

They handled the next asteroid encounter
fear, much less articulate it. They just have it.

with minimal words, and the all too familiar

And when a child is loud or disobedient, a
failure. And the asteroid after that. And the
f lashed image of a king cobra—or of you—
two co-orbiting rocks after that. Blake began
sobers him up quickly.”

counting the minutes until Antonio would re-

Rikki shuddered. “You’re a monster.”

lieve him.

“Name-calling, really? That’s the best you’ve

“Will you please take down that vid?” Dana
got?” Li smiled. “Take comfort in knowing the
asked. “Rikki is fine. You have a problem.”

children won’t miss you.”

“I can’t put my finger on it, but I know. I’m

“I don’t understand,” Rikki said.

certain. Something is wrong. We need to go

“Perhaps this will make it clearer. ” Li
back.”

reached behind her back, pulling something

“When we have what we came—”

from her waistband. Something Rikki had not

“An interesting thing,” Antonio said from
seen since helping to unload cargo from En-
the hatchway. Blake hadn’t heard him coming.

deavour soon after Landing Day.

“Did you—”

A handgun.

“Not now,” Blake and Dana snapped in uni-

* * *
son.

94

EDWARD M. LERNER

JUNE 2013

“Yes . . . now.”

“From station beta on Aristophanes.” Anto-

Something in Antonio’s voice made Blake
nio reached into the holo to indicate a faint
turn and look. Antonio was craning his neck,
oval smudge, darkest around the settlement.

staring past Blake at the playground scene.

“See that? It’s most visible in infrared wave-

“See the . . . two moons?”

lengths.”

Two moons, daylight pale, glimmered

Smoke? Precious little on Dark could burn,
above the childcare center. The larger body
apart from the ethanol they produced. Blake
was at half phase; the smaller was only a cres-
banished insane notions of medieval plagues,
cent. By their sizes, Aristophanes and Aeschy-
of criers calling to bring out the dead, of mass
lus.

funerary bonfires.

“Uh-huh,” Blake said. “What about them?”

Dana must have had the same thoughts. “A

Antonio reached over Blake’s shoulder, ex-
dietary deficiency can’t be contagious. What tending a f ingertip into the holo. “The time-are they burning?”

stamp shows today’s date. The positions and

Antonio shook his head. “That’s not smoke.

phases of the moons are from twelve days

Area temperature readings are normal. We
ago.”

must be seeing dust. From major construction

Before Rikki fell ill! Before they left! Blake
or . . . destruction.”

said, “We have to head back. ASAP. Li and Car-

“Amid a health crisis?” Blake said. “They are
los are lying.”

lying to us, and they’re not letting Rikki com-

“It could be an honest discrepancy,” Dana
municate. Dana, we have to go back.”

said hesitantly.

“You’re right,” she said. “Buckle up, guys.”

Blake shook his head. “AIs don’t make mis-

They were deep within the local asteroid
takes like that. Not on their own. Li or Carlos
belt and almost a quarter of the way around
is using Marvin to hide something.”

the sun from Dark. Over the course of their

“I see another possibility.” Dana took a deep
search, they had built up considerable speed.

breath. “Blake, you won’t like this. Maybe the

Blake reached for his datasheet to do the
medical situation is more serious than they’ve
math.

admitted to us.”

“Three and a half days,” Antonio said.

“And Rikki is . . .” Blake couldn’t finish the

“More or less. That’s with the DED running
thought aloud. “You think they’re keeping it
wide open.”

secret lest we come charging home without

Two gees all the way.

what they need.”

Blake said, “Let’s get going.”

“It’s possible. Sorry, Blake.”

“You think they’d lie, compel Marvin to lie,

Chapter 36
all because they don’t trust us to do the right

As jails went, Rikki’s accommodations
thing?”

weren’t bad. She had windows (too small and

Dana shrugged.

high to wriggle through, even if she had had

“They’d have told you, wouldn’t they? Made the strength), a padded bench on which to
sure you knew the urgency?” And to Antonio, rest, a toilet and sink, even a shower. The
who had jammed himself between pilot and
room was clean. At night, the ceiling glow
copilot seats to poke at a console, Blake
panel gave more than ample light. Prisoners in
snarled, “Can’t that wait?”

stories paced out the dimensions of their cells,

Dana said, “But they didn’t. I’d have told
so she had. Call it four meters by five.

you.”

When the nausea and vomiting returned

And she would have. Blake was certain. “Li
she saw the silver lining to being locked inside
and Carlos are hiding something.”

a bathroom.

“You don’t know that.”

After the nausea passed and she could stop

“I can’t prove it, but—”

hugging the toilet, she attacked the exterior

“But I can,” Antonio said. “Look.”

wall with a spoon, the only utensil provided

The playground was gone, vanquished by a
with her—untouched—food tray. She scraped
long-range surveillance image of Dark. On the
long enough to confirm she’d need geological
shore of the Darwin Sea, the settlement was
time to dig through the concrete. The shallow
little more than a dot.

scratch, if anyone asked, was to mark Day

DARK SECRET

95

ANALOG

One. In stories, prisoners also kept calendars.

The lock clicked.

From afar, every so often, she heard engine

“Stand back,” Li called. “I’m armed.”

roars, and rasping, and deep whooshing rum-

Rikki, who had been pacing, sat on the
bles. She remembered Carlos on the backhoe-
bench.

loader—could it have been only that

Li entered cautiously, looking around the
morning?—and wondered how it could have
room. With gun in hand, she indicated the
anything to do with Li’s . . . insurrection.

food tray. “You should eat.”

When Rikki called at a window (oddly

“You expect me to believe this meal isn’t
dusty) for help, the children ran.

poisoned?”

Damn that horrible video! Damn Li!

“That’s your theory?” Li laughed.

Do I instinctively fear snakes? Rikki won-

“You obviously poisoned me. To keep me
dered. Does everyone? Maybe I only learned
behind as your hostage?”

the fear growing up.

“Not exactly. In fact, at first I was annoyed

But none of that mattered. The morphing
at how the timing worked out, that you’d be
faces and jarring music were surely terrifying
staying behind. Tying up loose ends would
enough.

have been easier without you underfoot. But

Just as the children’s dread of her was
you know what? I’m glad you’re here. You’ll
enough.

be more convincing when the others return.”

Out of sight, around a corner of the child-

“What do you mean, ‘Not exactly?’”

care center, the sounds of play soon resumed.

“I did do something to you,” Li said. “Some-

Every happy shriek was like a knife twisting in
day, maybe you’ll thank me. Till then I trust it

Rikki’s gut.

will make you cautious.”

There was nothing left to do but remember,

“I’m your goddamned prisoner! I can’t do a
and that was the most painful of all.

thing. So stop being coy and tell me. What did Her datasheet! Straight from her pocket,
you do?”

still folded, she whispered into it, “Marvin, un-

“Carlos and me. Do you remember the im-
lock the bathroom door.”

mune-system booster shot at your last routine

Silence.

physical? That was actually software updates

She pushed on the door and it would not
for your nanites.” Li smiled. “All that’s wrong
budge. Maybe the lock’s wireless interface had
with you is a major case of morning sickness.”

been disabled. She tapped out an email warn-

“I’m . . . pregnant?”

ing to Blake. LI’S GONE NUTS. COME BACK AT ONCE!

Rather than an acknowledgment when she

Pacing, sleeping, and staring out the win-
tapped SEND the pop-up read, I’M SORRY, RIKKI.

dow. It passed the time but provided no an-

I’M AFRAID I CAN’T DO THAT.

swers.

Nor, she found, could she access the safety

Nothing Li had done made sense. Why re-
cameras to monitor what transpired outside. It
veal having warped the children? Just to brag?

dawned on her: Marvin had been blocking her

Why hold Rikki as a prisoner? Did Li think she
messages to Blake all along. Carlos’s doing,
and her gun could hold everyone at bay once
she supposed. The man knew computers.

Blake, Dana, and Antonio returned? She had

Weary, defeated, Rikki lay down and closed
to sleep sometime!

her eyes. And opened them almost at once, to

And above all: why had Li enabled her to get
banish the image of Li brandishing her gun.

pregnant?

If Rikki had even remembered Endeavour

Staring out the window, Rikki screamed, at
had weapons in its cargo, she’d have thought
everyone and no one, “Are you crazy?”

them packed away forever. Anachronisms.

Children scattered. In seconds they had

Useless. Not as much as a gnat existed on Dark
abandoned all of the play area visible from her
to harm them. To take up arms after billions—
window.

whole worlds—had perished? It was more

Not once in two days had Rikki seen an
than horrendous, beyond obscene.

adult in the yard to supervise the kids. Was

And she was hopelessly naïve. An end to vi-that the shape of things to come?

olence would only come when human nature
changed.

“Come,” Li ordered. “And bring your coat.

96

EDWARD M. LERNER

JUNE 2013

We’re going outside.”

Hugging the railing, Rikki started down the

Rikki didn’t budge from her seat. “Why? Do
concrete stairs. A tall stepladder she had last
you have more abuse to boast about?”

seen in the greenhouse, where she had used it

“I’m not the one yelling at the children.”

to replace a cracked roof panel, leaned against

Holding open the bathroom door, Li backed
the opposite wall. Everything else in the
into the corridor. Her other hand held a gun.

bunker was as Rikki remembered it—even the

“I assume you’d like to know what this is
sturdy steel hook of the chain hoist on which,
about. And before you try anything stupid, re-
as usual, she cracked her head.

member: you’re pregnant.”

She reached the bottom and had circled half

“As an elaborate, especially cruel, slow-mo-
the bunker floor before her captor descended
tion way to kill me?” Because you’re that sick.

the first few steps. Li said, “Look up. Higher.”

“Oh, never mind what I told your doting

Well beyond Rikki’s reach, strapped to the
husband. ‘Could be fatal’ leaves a great deal of
two steel beams that braced the concrete ceil-
wiggle room. I’d give you four-to-one odds
ing, packages . . . blinked.

you’ll be fine.” Li gestured. “Out. I have things

Li took something from her pocket. “The
to show you. Things that, once you’re free,
trigger.”

you’ll want to tell your friends.”

Rikki did not want to believe. “Those are ex-

Free? Without a hostage, how did Li ex-
plosives?”

pect—whatever she was up to—to outlast En-

“More than enough to bring the roof of the
deavour’s return? She had to sleep sometime.

bunker crashing down.”

“You’re adorable when you’re confused.

And thereby end . . . everything. As from a

Come. Your questions will all be answered.”

great distance, Rikki heard herself ask, “Why?”

Seething, Rikki followed.

“Here’s some old Earth history you might

Just inside the open gate at the north end of
never have learned. Two great-power archen-

Main Street, she saw Carlos. And a bulldozer,
emies. Each side had enough nukes to obliter-
parked. And a dozen or more of the older chil-
ate its rival many times over. And neither side
dren with rakes and shovels. Only you
ever launched its missiles. Neither side dared,
couldn’t dig in the rock-hard ground.

knowing the other would retaliate. Even an

“What are they doing?” Rikki asked.

overwhelming f irst strike without warning

“All in good time.”

might leave intact enough weapons for a dev-

Their first stop was the settlement’s prima-
astating counterstrike. Strategists called the
ry, deeply buried bunker. A tornado shelter, at
policy MAD. Mutual assured destruction.”

Antonio’s insistence, not that they had ever

It was mad, all right. “What can you possi-
had a tornado. Li motioned Rikki away from
bly hope to accomplish?”

the double steel doors to palm the handprint

“Our history lesson isn’t quite done.” Li
reader, then backed away.

poked at her remote. Overhead, alongside

“You first,” Li said.

both blinking lamps, bright red numerals ap-

Rikki raised one of the heavy doors. It fell to
peared. 25:14:06. A standard Dark day.

the side with a crash. The late afternoon sun

The counters began ticking down.

touched only the f irst few steps, and she

“I must reset the devices daily. That’s my
tapped the light-switch sensor. Her heart
failsafe. If anything were to prevent me . . .”

pounding, she scanned their most precious

Rikki shivered. “What if something comes
possessions: the embryo banks, still almost
up? What if you can’t do the daily reset?”

full. Bags of seed. Marvin’s servers. Everything

“Après moi, le déluge.”

appeared untouched—but she knew Marvin

“What?”

had been altered.

Li sneered. “Didn’t they teach history on

What else, unseen, had Li and Carlos taint-

Mars? You all deser ve to be extinct. It’s
ed?

French. Louis XV. ‘After me, the flood.’ And,

“We don’t have all day. Down.”

as prophecies go, close enough. His son lost

“So you can shut me inside?”

his head.”

Li sighed. “I could have locked you here in

“Meaning?” Rikki asked despairingly.

the first place, couldn’t I? Just go down. Trust

“Meaning you’d best see to it that nothing
me, it’ll be worth it.”

‘comes up’ before I’m prepared to disarm. As

DARK SECRET

97

ANALOG
to my purpose until then, you shouldn’t be

“Stop!” Li picked up one of the rocks that
surprised. A free hand with raising the chil-
little feet had kicked and dragged into the
dren. You and your friends wouldn’t allow
compound. “Do not approach the gate.”

that when I offered you all the choice.”

“Why not?”

“Poisoning the children’s minds against us

Li lobbed her pebble toward the middle of
didn’t give you enough leverage?”

the gravel strip, about ten meters to the left of

“Sadly, no.”

the gate. Nothing happened.

“Then why warp them?”

“That was anticlimactic.” Li took a rake

“I’m molding them,” Li said. “Dana’s job
from the tool pile. She tossed it after the peb-
was to find a refuge, a haven, like Dark. Now
ble.

it’s my turn. To mold the children. To mold a

Blam!

civilization. The rest of you don’t have what Rikki ducked, hands clapped to her ears, as
that takes.”

gravel rained down and something stung her

“Now that we know how important this is
cheek. Stones pinged off the fence and con-
to—”

crete chips f lew from it. Children screamed.

Li snickered. “Little Miss Sunday dinner? I’m

When the smoke and dust had cleared, a me-
supposed to believe you’ll change your mind?

ter-wide crater remained. Of the rake itself,

Come back up. I have more to show you.”

only scattered twisted shards could be seen.

The heavy bunker door slipped from Rikki’s

“Pressure activated. That’s why you should
grasp when she closed it, too. This time,
stay off the gravel.”

aware of the explosives, she cringed.

Rikki wiped grit and tears from her face.

Li gestured up Main Street with her hand-

“Why, Li?”

gun. “Good. They’ve finished.”

“The fence and gate suffice to keep the chil-

Carlos was ushering children—their
dren in. The land mines are to keep you and
clothes, faces, and hands inexplicably filthy—
your friends out. Except, of course, when I
away from the gate. One by one, they
have need of you inside. The mines are radio
dropped gardening tools on a pile. Once the
controlled. I can turn them on and off.”

last child started down the street, Carlos did

“Six minutes,” Marvin called.

something with a gadget from his pocket.

“You see,” Li went on, “we on the inside—

Most of the children gave Rikki a wide
and our numbers will grow—require food,
berth. Some stared as they passed.

water, and clothing. Every year or so we’ll

Rikki burst into tears. “I love you children.”

want a fresh bottle of deuterium. So rejoice.

If they heard her, if they cared, none

The four of you can still serve the new order.”

showed it.

“And if we aren’t able to produce enough?

Behind Rikki, from one of the playground

If, say, the weather doesn’t cooperate? You
speakers, Marvin announced, “Discovery’s
would blow the bunker?”

radar shows Endeavour is inbound. It will be

“You want to know, can you starve us out?

on the ground within ten minutes.”

You could try. But there is plenty of food and
water in the pantry for just Carlos and me.”

Li motioned Rikki forward. “I’m almost im-

“You would take food from the mouths of
pressed. They got suspicious faster than I ex-
babies?”

pected.”

Li shrugged. “If you withhold food, what

The barren rock near the fence was . . .

happens is on your heads. And when you
changed. Textured. Dug up, somehow, by the
come to your senses and resume deliveries,
bulldozer? By the children, too, Rikki guessed
we can replace any children you starved.”

from all those begrimed faces and hands.

Rikki just stared, dumbfounded.

Two paces closer and Rikki saw that some-

“For lesser infractions, if you should be so
thing covered that strip of ground. A wavy foolish, I’m sure I can f ind other ways to get
gravel bed, all tiny hummocks, hollows, and
your attention. I might cut off power to your
shoeprints, extended about five meters inside
homes for a while. Have any other bright
the fence. The broad gravel band paralleled
ideas?”

the fence until both, curving around build-

Did she?

ings, were lost to sight.

Rikki pointed at the fence. “That encloses

98

EDWARD M. LERNER

JUNE 2013
what, maybe a square klick? You can’t mean
the rest, very blond, was unmistakable—and
to stay inside for long. You can’t fit many more

Carlos’s hand rested on her shoulder.

children inside.”

Amid cosmic disaster: a tragedy of human

“The secure compound is just about half
scale.

that area, but you’re correct. We won’t stay

Rikki said, “To feed so many, we’ll need Car-
forever. A few years will suffice. By then, hun-
los’s help, too.” Whether or not that was true,
dreds of children, the cadre of a new civiliza-
she couldn’t bear the thought of leaving him
tion, will have been thoroughly shaped.”

inside the fence, with the little girls.

Bright, fanatical eyes proclaimed, “They’ll be

“Carlos outside?” Li hesitated. “No, I need
thoroughly mine.”

him.”

“How about this?” Rikki said desperately.

“Three minutes,” Marvin advised.

“We construct a second settlement elsewhere.

Li took the controller from her pocket. “You

Far down the coast of Darwin Sea. Or on the
have thirty seconds to cross the gravel.”

coast of a different sea, if you prefer. You live

“But I—”

there. You build your”—insane, twisted, trag-

“Twenty-five seconds. Twenty-four.”

ic—“society there.”

Rikki dashed, gravel scattering beneath her

“Or you could move. Except no one will be
shoes. She didn’t slow down until she was at
going anywhere, because I need workers here
least twenty meters outside the gate.

to farm. Or I may f ind I need resources only

Li called, “Your friends will be on the

Endeavour can fetch. And even if those
ground soon. Tell them what you’ve seen. Tell
weren’t possibilities, I would still refuse.

them what I expect.

Know this: restored humanity will be a single

“And tell them the consequences if any of
society. One perfect society.”

you fail to cooperate.” ■

With Mad Queen Li to rule it.

The children, terrif ied by the explosion,
had crowded around Carlos. Eve, taller than
to be concluded. . . .

DARK SECRET

99

THE REFERENCE LIBRARY Don Sakers uch of the excitement in today’s pub-fads. There would be a bestseller about, say,
lishing world is happening in the field
wilderness survival or death in the family, and
of young adult fiction, also known as
for a year or so every other book would be sim-

Mteen fiction or simplyYA.We have J. ilar ...until the readers lost interest and moved K. Rowling to thank for this; the enormous
on to the next fad.

success of the Harry Potter books showed

That changed in 1997 with the arrival of
publishers that YA represented a vast un-

Harry Potter. At first, Harry looked like just an-tapped market, especially for fantasy and sci-
other fad—the cry among booksellers and li-
ence fiction.

brarians alike was “more books like Harry Pot-

Of course, science fiction for younger read-
ter.” Yet soon, the realization dawned that what ers is nothing new. The Tom Swift series, pub-many teens really wanted was imaginative,
lished by the Stratemeyer Syndicate beginning
speculative novels: fantasy and science fiction.

in 1910, were arguably the first science fiction

So what makes a novel a YA book? As a pub-
books aimed at younger readers. (In those
lishing category, YA books are aimed at an au-
days, there was no real consciousness of
dience roughly 12-18 years old. However, re-

“teenager” as a separate developmental phase;
cent surveys estimate that more than half the
in general society, people were either children

YA books published are read by older (some-
or adults. According to most sources, it wasn’t
times much older) readers.

until after World War II that we began to think

It doesn’t have to do with sex or violence, ei-
of teens as different than children.)

ther. YA literature deals with all sorts of topics

In the prewar period, outside SF fandom, all
once considered taboo.

of science fiction was considered literature for

YA books most often have protagonists un-
the young. Fans and writers who were adults
der 21—but so do a lot of unquestionably adult
in that period often spoke of being belittled for
books. No one considers Alexei Panshin’s Rite
reading “that crazy Buck Rogers stuff.” The
of Passage to be a YA book, for example, even Campbell revolution was the real beginning of
though its protagonist is under 15.

science fiction for adults, and it was nearly an-

Putting on my librarian hat here, true YA lit-
other two decades before book publishers
erature embodies the concerns of teenagers.

took SF seriously as an adult market.

That covers everything from bedwetting and

Throughout the late 1940s and into the early
complexion problems to questions of life,

1960s, many well-known SF authors wrote
death, and the meaning of the Universe. Yet it
what we now recognize as young adult SF (al-
also leaves out a lot. You’re unlikely to see a YA
though at the time they were called “juve-
book focusing on career anxiety, for instance.

niles.”) The best known and most beloved are

In the typical YA novel, adult characters

Robert A. Heinlein and Andre Norton, but
tend to be ineffectual, villains, or missing alto-
there were numerous other examples. By then
gether. If there were competent adults around, the distinction between YA and adult SF was
how could the teenage protagonists have an
well-established, and longtime readers have
active role in solving major problems? If the
endless fun arguing whether Podkayne of
staff of Hogwarts were fully responsible adults,

Mars or Witch World fit into one category or Harry and his young friends would never be
the other. (Not to keep you in suspense, the
confronting the dangers they do—not without
answer is “both.”)

the adults going to trial for criminal negligence.

During the 1980s and most of the 1990s, YA

Nowadays, though, there are two categories
fiction was essentially undifferentiated by
of YA books being published. First are tradi-
genre; instead, it was dominated by temporary
tional YA books with all the characteristics list-

100

JUNE 2013
ed above. Second are books that would have

Seventeen-year-old Banyan is a tree builder:

been published as adult titles ten years ago, but
an artist who turns junk and scrap metal into
with a few tweaks can be marketed as YA. In
replica groves and forests. The rich pay hand-
the field of science fiction, where the adult
somely for his creations, for having one’s own
market is perceived to be in the doldrums,
trees is not only the ultimate status symbol, it’s
publishing as YA can make a significant differ-
a touch of beauty, a reminder of the mythical
ence in sales. In essence, these are adult books
past.

masquerading as YA.

When Banyan takes on the biggest job he’s

As with all classification schemes, these
ever had, he meets a woman with a beautiful
aren’t hard-and-fast categories but rather a con-
tattoo of a gorgeous living tree. And he learns
tinuum. My favorite example is the Hunger
that there just might be a place where real

Games books. These are sophisticated SF
trees still survive.

books; if the protagonists were in their twen-

Banyan’s subsequent quest, in search of a fa-
ties rather than their teens, the books would al-
bled orchard that may or may not exist, takes
most surely be considered adult fiction. (As it
us across a magnificently detailed world, a
is, parents of younger teens will want to think
world full of dangers and wonders, pirates and
seriously about how to expose their young
scavengers, friends and enemies, and always
readers to the books.)

the threat of the locusts. This is one of those

Sure, adults can read both types of YA. But if
books in which the landscape becomes as
a steady diet of books addressing the concerns
much a fascinating character as the people in
of teenagers makes you feel a bit limited, don’t
the story.

write off YA books altogether. Just look for the

Yes, Rootless is a post-apocalyptic novel, as adult books that are wearing disguises.

is the rage today; but the book transcends that

For example:

genre. Banyan is a compelling, fun character,
and the folks he meets on his journey are

Rootless
equally captivating. The language is fresh and

Chris Howard
sparkling.

Scholastic, 330 pages, $17.99 (hardcover)

Fair warning: Rootless is the first of a series.

Kindle: $9.99, Nook: $10.39 (e-book)

The immediate story comes to a satisfactory

ISBN: 978-0-545-38789-7
ending, but as with all great future worlds and

Series: Rootless 1
grand epics, there’s much more to come.

Genres: Ecological/Environmental SF, Post-
apocalyptic, Teen SF

The Best of All Possible Worlds

Karen Lord

A century ago, the Darkness came. In the

Del Rey, 320 pages, $25.00 (hardcover)

Darkness, people burned everything and any-
iBooks, Kindle, Nook: $12.99 (e-book)

thing: houses, furniture, books, trees . . . little ISBN: 978-0-345-53405-7
by little, the old civilization was reduced to

Genres: Psychological/Sociological SF, Roman-
ashes.

tic SF

With the Darkness came the locusts: fierce
swarms who fed equally on forests or flesh.

There’s a strain of science fiction that imag-

And then there were no more forests, no more
ines an interstellar society composed of many
trees at all.

varieties of humanoid races. Ursula K. LeGuin’s

In some places, new civilization rose from

Hainish Cycle books do this, as do Sharon Lee
the ashes, islands in a bleak worldwide waste-
and Steve Miller’s Liaden Universe stories. Now
land. The rich—those who work for corpora-
we can add Karen Lord to the list.

tions like GenTech, or who make fortunes by

In Lord’s future, humanoids exist on many
salvaging the ruins of the past—live good lives
worlds and take many forms. Among them are
in the cities. The poor eke out meager lives
the Sadiri, a telepathic people who pride them-
tending GenTech’s locust-proof crops, work-
selves on their self-discipline. Ascetic and un-
ing on salvage crews, or as nomads who wan-
emotional, the Sadiri hold themselves apart
der the wastes in search of work.

from other races.

THE REFERENCE LIBRARY

101

ANALOG

Perhaps inevitably, the Sadiri also have their

A new Robert J. Sawyer book is always
enemies. And one of those enemy races un-
cause for celebration. Even more so when the
leashes disaster, destroying the Sadiri home-

book is something completely different than
world and killing most of the Sadiri. The sur-
he’s been doing for the last few years.

vivors, mostly Sadiri who were offworld at the

Red Planet Blues is a tour de force: a hard-time, are left as homeless refugees.

boiled detective thriller set in a Martian settle-

Enter Cygnus Beta, a world built by
ment fifty to a hundred years from now. It all
refugees, a welcoming home to all of the
started with Sawyer’s 2004 Hugo—and Nebu-
galaxy’s displaced peoples. Successive waves
la-nominated novella “Identity Theft,” which
of exiles and survivors have settled on Cygnus
is included as part of the current book.

Beta; the resulting Cygnian race is as genetical-

Four decades before the time of the story,
ly and socially diverse as they come.

Martian explorers Simon Weingarten and Dan-

Linguist Delarua works for the Cygnian gov-
ny O’Reilly found fossil evidence of past life.

ernment department that settles disputes be-

This spawned the Great Martian Fossil Rush,
tween ethic groups. Clear-headed and practi-
as thousands moved to Mars in hopes of un-
cal, Delarua likes her job and is happy with her
earthing more fossils and striking it rich.

life. When the first Sadiri refugees arrive, she’s

That was the genesis of New Klondike, a
made chief liaison to their settlement.

domed city on the newest frontier. It’s a raw,

Chief among the Sadiri is Dllenankh, a diplo-
rough place where the burned-out hulks of
mat, who bears with dignity both his survivor’s
failed prospectors share the streets with the
guilt, and the responsibility for finding a way
glitterati and so-called transfers—androids ani-
for his people and their culture to survive. In
mated by the uploaded consciousnesses of
order to broaden the gene pool as much as

Earth’s wealthy and influential.

possible, the next generation of Sadiri will

In the chaos of New Klondike there’s sure
have to come from interbreeding with other
to be crime. Enter Alex Lomax, a private in-
races; Cygnus Beta offers the best hope, for
vestigator who makes his living tracking
some of the people who settled there in the
down thieves and murderers. Alex is the clas-
past spring from the same stock as the Sadiri.

sic rough detective with a soft heart, strug-

Dllenankh’s group is a test case to see if such
gling to pay his bills and keep his head above
interbreeding can be successful.

water while still bringing some justice to the

In brilliant harmony, the larger problem of
world.

the Sadiri is mirrored in the very personal rela-

Then Alex gets an unexpected case, one
tionship between Delarua and Dllenankh—for
that could make his reputation and ensure his
these two, thrown together in their work, be-
fortune. It’s the most famous unsolved case on
gin to fall in love.

the books: Decades ago, someone murdered

The Best of All Possible Worlds is a slow, Weingartner and O’Reilly. And it’s up to Alex
stately waltz in which personal and societal
to find out who . . . no matter where the in-
stories progress toward an ultimate and satisfy-
vestigation leads.

ing conclusion. Resonances with today’s world

Well, this is Robert J. Sawyer, so you know
are inevitable: Cygnus Beta is, in its own way,
it’s a well-written, intelligent story with some
as much a melting pot as the United States, and
unexpected twists. Alex Lomax is one of the
today’s world certainly has its share of dis-
good guys, easy to identify with—and Sawyer
placed peoples. All in all, this deliciously un-
makes New Klondike as real as the street in
derstated book is a delight.

front of your house. Red Planet Blues isn’t just a mystery story with science fiction trap-

Red Planet Blues
pings, it’s a fusion of the two genres in which

Robert J. Sawyer
the mystery depends on the SF elements.

Viking, 460 pages, $30.00 (hardcover)

To top it off, Sawyer obviously had fun writ-
iBooks, Kindle, Nook: $12.99 (e-book)

ing this book, and that sense of fun comes

ISBN: 978-0-670-06577-6
through on every page. Definitely worth read-

Genres: Mars, SF Mystery
ing.

* * *

102

DON SAKERS

JUNE 2013

Farside
everything covered in the irritating Lunar dust.

Ben Bova

Construction crews rely on robots and

Tor, 400 pages, $24.99 (hardcover)

nanomachines for much of the work. Acci-
iBooks, Kindle, Nook: $11.99 (e-book)

dents are frequent, some of them fatal.

ISBN: 978-0-7653-2387-3

And some of the fatal ones aren’t accidents

Series: Grand Tour
at all. Slowly, Trudy learns that there’s a sabo-

Genres: Hard SF, High Frontier
teur at work—one, perhaps, with a good rea-
son to want the project stopped.

The Robert A. Heinlein and Andre Norton

In the midst of all this, Uhlrich’s spectro-

“juveniles” of the 1950s and 1960s played a big
analysis of Sirius C finds traces of oxygen and
part in inspiring an entire generation of young
water vapor, sure signs of life. And suddenly,
people to enter the fields of science and engi-
the stakes are much higher . . . .

neering. You don’t have to ask very many as-

Bova is a master storyteller, and Farside is a trophysicists or astronauts to uncover some-delightful read.

one’s happy memories of Have Space Suit,Will

Travel or Starman’s Son.

A Legacy of Stars

Currently, the inspirational torch is carried

Danielle Ackley-McPhail
by Ben Bova. Most of Bova’s books aren’t actu-

DTF Publications, 230 pages, $14.95 (trade pa-
ally YA, either in intent or in marketing—but
perback)

they’re easily accessible to bright teenagers,

Kindle, Nook: $2.99 (e-book)

and they’ve opened the wonder of science and

ISBN: 978-1-937051-95-2
engineering to many a young mind.

Genre: Short Stories

A typical Bova book is set anywhere from
twenty to two hundred years from the present,

Danielle Ackley-McPhail is one of the up-
involves the exploration and industrialization
and-coming storytellers and editors in SF/fanta-
of some piece of real estate in the solar system,
sy. She’s best known for her series of humor-
has a varied multicultural cast, and is built
ous fantasy anthologies, the Bad-Ass Faeries.

around an exciting thriller plot. The book’s in-

Here she serves up a baker’s dozen science fic-
formed by accurate science and rigorous ex-
tion short stories, ranging from military SF to
trapolation, and imparts the joy of learning.

SF horror to one of the cleverest first contact

Scientists, technologists, and explorers are the
stories to come along in a long time. Each story
heroes of most Bova books, rational and intelli-
is introduced by an editor or SF writer, and
gent people all.

there are five of Ackley-McPhail’s poems as

Farside, Bova’s latest, is no exception. It’s set well.

against the background of constructing the

If you’re in the mood for a smorgasbord of
first large observatory on the Moon’s farside,
enjoyable tales from a fresh new voice, at an e-
where Luna’s bulk shields the instruments
book price that won’t break the bank, give A
from the electromagnetic and political interfer-

Legacy of Stars a try.

ence of Earth.

Trudy Yost, astronomer, travels to the Lunar

Finally, I call your attention to Unidentified
nation of Selene to become assistant to Profes-

Funny Objects, edited by Alex Shvartsman, a sor Jason Uhlrich. Uhlrich is the driving force
collection of funny SF stories. One of the sto-
behind Farside Observatory, and a leading ex-
ries is mine, so obviously I can’t give the book
pert in the observatory’s target: the Earth-size
a regular review, but it seems like something
planet Sirius C. The planet shows hopeful

Analog readers would want to know about.

signs, but critical data is tantalizingly out of

That’s it for this time around; see you next is-
reach until Farside’s delicate instruments are
sue!

online. But first, they have to build those in-
struments.

Don Sakers is the author of A Voice in Every

It’s an unforgiving environment for con-

Wind and A Rose From Old Terra. For more instruction work. Airless, bathed in hard radia-
formation, visit www.scatteredworlds.com. ■
tion, subject to micrometeorite bombardment,

THE REFERENCE LIBRARY

103

BRASS TACKS
r. Walsh,

Dear Analog,

On page 37 of the print edition of

I just finished reading the March 2013 edi-

Analog [March 2013, “Spoof Worlds”

torial and wanted to convey my heart-felt

MbyKevin Walsh] you state that “thank you”and best wishes for a long,hap-

“. . . small amounts of carbon dioxide are
py and prosperous retirement to Dr. Schmidt.

needed by human beings to maintain the res-

Dr. Schmidt, I think you have done an ab-
piration process.” This is true but might be
solutely spectacular job of making and keep-
construed to imply that atmospheric carbon ing Analog the excellent and entertaining
dioxide (CO ) is needed. As a matter of fact,
publication it is. I definitely look forward to

2
in closed environments (submarines, closed
reading/hearing your future work.

circuit diving, space craft, anesthesia cir-

I also welcome Mr. Quachri and Ms. Hock-
cuits) great efforts are expended to assure
aday and look forward to a continued long
that inspired CO levels are close to zero. Ele-
and happy relationship with you through

2
vated levels of CO can result in sedation,

Analog.

2
loss of consciousness and death. Atmospher-

Best regards to all,
ic carbon dioxide (while global levels are in-

John Harcinske
creasing) is essentially nil (hundreds of parts

Mitchell, SD
per million, I believe) with regard to breath-
ing. CO , as a product of metabolism, dis-

Dr. Schmidt,

2
solves in the blood and is carried to the

Thank you for all you have done during
brain’s respiratory center where it serves to
your years at Analog. And Mr. Quachri, con-
stimulate respiration. The normal partial
gratulations on your appointment.

pressure of arterial CO is approximately

I have been a regular reader for almost fifty

2

35–45 mmHg (this corresponds to approxi-
years, and a subscriber for over forty years. I
mately 5 volumes per cent at sea level). Elim-
am retired from the NYS Department of Envi-
ination of CO is in part diffusion dependent:

ronmental Conservation and the NY Army

2
it is driven by the concentration gradient be-

National Guard. Environmental and military
tween lung and atmospheric concentration
issues have long been my interest, and I have

(the other part is minute ventilation).

read many good stories on these subjects in

I apologize if you already possess this

Analog. Obviously, I would like to see more (simplified) information. I simply wished to
stories on these issues in the future, and am
point out this point of potential misunder-
surprised at how few I have seen that address
standing.

what we humans have been doing to this

Thank you for your contribution to Analog
planet.

and please accept my wishes for a happy and

I cheered when I read the editorials that
healthy New Year.

address population issues, Dr. Schmidt is a

Sincerely,
rare voice on the subject that does not focus

Shepard Stone
on the incredibly short sighted view that we
need more population growth so we have

The author responds . . .

enough young people to support us oldsters.

Good point. Thanks for clearing up a

More people, demanding a rising standard of
source of potential confusion.

living, will use more resources, and the plan-

104

JUNE 2013
et just cannot take too much more of this.

children will inherit). Anyway, I submit for

Habitat destruction, especially deforestation,
your consideration that the items I have men-
continues at an alarming rate. Commercial
tioned should get more ink, both science fic-
fishing is headed the way of whale hunting.

tion and science fact, than we have seen so

Biodiversity is shrinking, species are being
far.

driven to extinction by the actions of hu-

On another subject, I have a suggestion for
mans. Last but not least, we are performing
the Reference Library section. There are
an uncontrolled experiment on how much
many great SF authors that I was first intro-
coal and other fossil fuels we can burn for
duced to by Analog. I own a ton of David
short term gain with virtually no considera-

Drake, Bujold’s Vorkosigan stories, McCaf-
tion for the long term effects of these ac-
frey’s dragonriders, and other authors who I
tions.

first read in Analog. Many of the characters Many science fiction stories start from the
and story lines first published in Analog are premise of “if this trend continues, then . . .”

later published in books, so I would suggest

I would certainly like to see a lot more stories
that this Analog feature tell us specifically speculating what will happen if the trends
when this happens. It doesn’t have to be big,
mentioned above continue, as it seems they
just a statement such as author X, who wrote
will. It certainly appears that we will not get
about Y, in the Z issue of Analog, now has a to exploit the resources of the solar system
book published in this setting.

(such as mining the asteroids) before these

Keep up the good work.

trends cause some kind of collapse of our

Sincerely,
current society. Recovery from this could be

Paul W. McCarthy
very difficult, as many of the resources we
are currently exploiting are difficult to get at,

Thanks for your letter (and the kind

(the Deepwater Horizon well was over a mile
wishes). I think you make a good case for
below sea level, etc). So how about this for
the relevance and importance of environ-
the premise of a SF story—current trends
mental science fiction. I’ve always been a
continue, and climate change causes not only
bit surprised it’s not a larger part of the
ice melting which raises sea levels, but the
field, but perhaps that will change as
permafrost melts, and releases an unknown
awareness of the issues continues to grow.

but huge quantity of cur rently frozen

Your suggestion for “The Reference Li-
methane, which could lead to a runaway
brary” is also sound, but we actually al-
greenhouse effect? Is this science fiction or
ready do it—aside from Don regularly men-
future science fact?

tioning any Analog connection in the body I understand that not everyone thinks this
of a review, he sometimes calls out books by
is likely, the climate change deniers are well

Analog authors that he doesn’t have room
funded (Koch brothers, etc. seem to have no
to fully cover, purely because they might be
concern for what kind of planet their grand-
of interest to our readers. ■

You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.

—Mahatma Gandhi

BRASS TACKS

105

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106

ANTHONY LEWIS

Table of Contents

- Part III of IV
- Chapter 27
- Chapter 28
- Chapter 29
- Chapter 30
- Chapter 31
- Chapter 32
- Chapter 33
- Chapter 34
- Chapter 35
- Chapter 36
- book is something completely different than