Thunderbird (2015) by Jack McDevitt

Author:Jack McDevitt [McDevitt, Jack]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction
ISBN: 9780425279199
Google: uMuLCgAAQBAJ
Amazon: 0425279197
Goodreads: 25183180
Publisher: Ace
Published: 2015-11-30T11:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-TWO

I go into my library, and all history unrolls before me. I breathe the morning air of the world while the scent of Eden’s roses yet lingered in it, while it vibrated only to the world’s first brood of nightingales, and to the laugh of Eve. I see the pyramids building; I hear the shoutings of the armies of Alexander.

—Alexander Smith, Dreamthorp, xi, 1863

THE SPIRIT LAKE Tribal Council wasn’t scheduled for its regular meeting until the end of the month, but Chairman Walker wanted to get things moving. So he called a special conference at their Fort Totten headquarters. The council consisted of the chairman; Jane Martin, the treasurer; and representatives from the tribe’s four districts. “You’ve all been invited to the celebration tomorrow,” he said. “We’re looking forward to seeing you there.

“We’ve been aware from the beginning of the possibility of finding another civilization out there. And it’s happened. In fact, we’ve found two. One appears to be in an early stage of development. The other, Riverwalk, is highly advanced. At least technologically. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any photos of Riverwalk. And we won’t be going back anytime soon. Nonetheless, we know it’s there now, and we, the Spirit Lake Sioux, made the discovery.”

“James,” said Dorothy Kalen, who represented the Woodlake district, “some people in my area are interested in moving to Eden.” She laughed. “Not that we don’t love the weather in North Dakota, but life over there looks pretty inviting. When can we expect a green light?”

“It’ll take some time, Dorothy. For one thing, we need to be certain it’s safe. Tell your people that all options are open, but I don’t want to rush into anything.”

Bobby Reynolds, who hailed from Crow Hill, raised his hand. “Who could ever have believed this would happen?”

“I don’t think we can talk about two civilizations,” said Rack Colby, from Mission. “Eden has a cabin with a gorilla. That’s all we know.” Colby glanced at the chairman. “Or at least all we’ve been told.”

Bobby rolled his eyes. “Let’s not get into that again, Rack.”

Jane usually maintained a discreet silence when they weren’t discussing monetary matters. But not this time: “They have somebody out there producing books,” she said. “That would seem sufficient to establish that there’s something more than just a gorilla in a cabin.”

Walker tried not to let his annoyance show. “I don’t think Solya qualifies as a gorilla. Just for the record, I’d agree that the weather on Eden is pretty nice. But even if no one were there, it would not be a good place for us. I’m not sure how well we’d do without highways, TV, and an electric company. Let’s not try to go back to the eighteenth century, okay?”

Dorothy had a weight problem. Somehow, when she was digging in, as she was now, it made her look a bit more intimidating. “I don’t think that was anybody’s intent, James. But let’s try not to be so negative. We’d have a land of our own again. Imagine what we could do with it.

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