(eng) Nancy Kress - Probability Trilogy 01 by Probability Moon
Author:Probability Moon [Moon, Probability]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00
FOURTEEN
GOFKIT JEMLOE
In the middle of the night, Bazargan's comlink gave the emergency signal for the second time since he'd come to World.
Immediately he jerked upright on his pallet and fumbled to light the oil lamp. Someone wanted his instant attention. That meant that at least the Zeus still existed. "Ahmed Bazargan here!"
Syree Johnson's calm, flat voice said, "Dr. Bazargan. Colonel Johnson here. I'm sorry to tell you that we have a further emergency on the Zeus which will also affect you. The Faller craft returned back through the space tunnel, but we expect a larger deployment to reappear eventually."
"I see. You want us aboard. But we already said--"
"No. The situation is more complex than that." Johnson's voice had not changed, but nonetheless Bazargan felt his body stiffening in the darkness.
"Dr. Bazargan, the Zeus has a military mission in this star system beyond merely escorting your scientific expedition. One of this planet's moons, 'Tas,' is not a natural body but an alien artifact, of the same origin as the space tunnels. It appears to be a powerful weapon. The Fallers want it, and so do we. In the time until their ships reappear, the Zeus will tow this artifact to the space tunnel and attempt to take it through."
"A moon? You're going to move a moon?"
"We are going to try. The only alternative is to blow it up, and if the Faller fleet appears before we reach the tunnel, we'll do that instead. The reason--"
"Why wasn't I told this at the start of the expedition?"
"Knowledge was on a military need-to-know basis," Johnson said coolly. "You had no need to know."
"But the--"
"I don't have much time for this call, Dr. Bazargan. Please listen. Whether we take the artifact through the space tunnel or must resort to blowing it up, there may be consequences to the planet.
That's the reason I'm telling you now. The artifact emits a spherical wave that temporarily destabilizes elements with an atomic number greater than seventy-five. Such elements will emit radiation for an unspecified period of time. We have already lost one person to the lowest possible setting of this wave effect. Future emissions may occur with much greater disruptive force. You are being told now so that you may remove your personnel to a relatively safe area.
Whether, and how, you also warn the natives is left to your discretion."
"What... when..." Bazargan scrambled for his meager knowledge of physics. Destabilizes elements with an atomic number greater than seventy-five... what did that include?
"We don't know when," Johnson cut in. "That's what I've been telling you. I'm assured that you have someone with you who can understand the implications -- Dr. Gruber. The rest is up to you.
Good luck."
The comlink went dead.
Bazargan reopened the link, his hand shaking. The Zeus didn't reply.
In the gloom Bazargan stood up and walked to the window. Only once before in his life had he been this angry, and then he had acted so rashly that years had been spent recouping his losses.
Right now he didn't have years.
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