The Hole by Morris Brandon Q

Author:Morris, Brandon Q. [Morris, Brandon Q.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction
ISBN: 9783963570001
Google: 6c4uuQEACAAJ
Goodreads: 43566986
Publisher: Belle Epoque Verlag
Published: 2018-08-14T22:00:00+00:00

“Millikan called,” Chen announced when Maribel came out of the bathroom.

“And?”

“He apologizes for not being able to come today. Yesterday must have been very stressful for him. And he has bad news. No answer has arrived from Enceladus.”

“Oh,” she said with a measured disappointment. She felt like going back to bed. She had obviously expected more from this attempt than she had admitted to herself. If a being millions of years old had no answers for them, then the end of mankind was truly near.

“And what are we going to do now?” Maribel asked.

“You have to make a decision,” Chen replied.

“Me? I can’t do that.”

“People need a ray of hope, Maribel, something like the Ark.”

“And what does this have to do with me? Let them build their ship. I can’t help them with it. I am an astrophysicist.”

“It has to do with the image of the Ark, its effect on the public,” Chen explained. “If four super-rich people build an escape ship, that would not give people hope. Quite the opposite. It has to be a project for all of humanity.”

“But they only want me as a token,” Maribel said. “They are only concerned with what things look like. I am supposed to create an illusion for the people.”

“That’s no excuse, Maribel. Make your demands. If they agree to them, you can really achieve something. If not, you can decide against it. But don’t refuse the offer outright. You have a unique chance to have some real influence on the future of humankind.”

Chen pulled Maribel onto his lap. She leaned against him and did not reply. Maybe what he said was correct. But when was the ship supposed to start? In two months? At that point she would have had to say goodbye to Chen, and four months later she would have to watch him being killed by a gigantic eruption of radiation.

The communication orb’s monitor screen indicated that someone was trying to reach her. Maribel quickly stood up to get a bathrobe from the bedroom. Chen accepted the connection.

“It’s Zetschewitz,” he called to her from the living room. Maribel hurried to get back to the living room.

“I am sorry to disturb you this early,” her boss said. “I’ve got an exhausting day of negotiations behind me. My Russian was rustier than I thought. No answer from Enceladus, I assume?”

“Unfortunately not,” she said.

“That’s what I expected, but it was worth a try. But I am bothering you for a different reason—something very interesting!”

“Did the Russians find out something we don’t know?”

“Not yet, Maribel. Not yet,” Zetschewitz replied. “My old friend Nikolai Shostakovich, the man behind the RB Group in case you don’t know, seems to have another ace up his sleeve. He is a really sly guy.”

“Don’t keep us in suspense,” Maribel said.

Her boss continued, “He makes tons of money from asteroid mining and uses it to finance his private research. I was allowed into his labs once. That was about five years ago, and he wanted to buy me. But his private researchers are forbidden to publish anything.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.