Morrow looked relaxed, but Russell had told her the general was deeply concerned about what was going on with the transporter.
“We have several specialists for missions with the transporter, but following the loss of two men, the remaining soldiers are refusing to go on further missions. Together with my superiors on Earth, we have decided to proceed in this way. I have been authorized to make you this offer.”
Chris Holbrook snorted. “Why would we want to take up your offer? We could simply wait until the connection between Venus and New California is broken. Then we would have our independence back, which is what we’ve wanted all along.”
Morrow shook his head. “I’m afraid it’s not that simple. We don’t know what happens to the transporters that disengage from the network. At least you would be stuck on this planet forever. In case of another disaster, you would have no means of escape.”
Marlene thought about what he was saying.
We didn’t have those means during the last crisis, either, because we were too stupid to even consider fleeing. And then you simply disconnected our transporter!
“I think we’ll manage on New California!” she said.
The general ignored her interruption. “But there are other theories, too. For example, that a kind of self-destruction mechanism is being triggered. And it is unclear what the consequences might be for the environment around the transporter. We basically don’t know anything, except that the transporters were completely untouched for millions of years and now something very strange is happening. In the best-case scenario the transporters simply deactivate when they enter the death zone.”
“And in the worst-case scenario?” Dr. Dressel asked.
“Use your imagination! You’ll be entering the death zone long before Venus. You’ll be the first to find out.”
Marlene turned to Russell. Up to now he had followed the discussion without talking. “What do you think?”
Russell looked at her earnestly. “As the general said, the transporters were lying around peacefully on their planets for millions of years. Some kind of mechanism has been triggered, the consequences of which are impossible for us to predict. It frightens me and it’s in our interest to find out what the hell is going on.”
Marlene looked down and didn’t reply for a long time. For years they had more-or-less forgotten about the transporter. The crisis with the flood had proven how vulnerable their little colony on New California was. And were the transporters really just being deactivated? They were facing a risk that nobody could calculate. Simply riding it out seemed too dangerous to her, too.
She turned back to the general. “If we help you, what’s in it for us?”
“To start with, if you accept my offer I will pardon the prisoners. And I also have this here for you.” Morrow reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper, which he pushed across the table. “An offer, rubber-stamped by General Rhodes, who is in charge of this mission on Earth. If the mission is a success, you will gain sovereignty of your colony. We will continue to be dependent on food supplies, but we’ll pay for the goods as part of a trade agreement——which we are still working out. As you have no need for money here, we will offer medication and supplies from Earth.”
Marlene took the paper, unfolded it and scanned the main points. It was exactly what they had hoped for since this renewed contact with Earth. And yet ... “How do I know I can trust you? You invaded our colony like an occupying force. Palmer looted our depot and mistreated our people.”
Morrow nodded and pursed his lips before speaking. “I am sorry about the problems of the past weeks. I had to take care of matters on Venus, and had little time for visits to New California. Major Palmer overstepped the mark. If you join this mission, I promise you will regain your autonomy in the future.”
But Marlene guessed the general was secretly pleased that Palmer had taken prisoners, because he could now use them as additional leverage.
“What kind of shady outfit are you working for, anyway?” Holbrook asked.
“Blackroad is a security company, a kind of recruitment agency for the Pentagon.”
“Mercenaries!” Holbrook hissed.
“They did an excellent job during the crisis in Saudi Arabia a few years ago.”
“And why don’t you use normal soldiers?” Marlene asked.
“Because there is currently no way of returning from Venus; the mission was privately advertised.”
“Aha ... And if we decide to take up your offer, what do you expect from us?”
“We will set up a joint task force to investigate the situation. For this I would like seven volunteers who are on stand-by for missions with the transporter.”
“Who decides which missions the volunteers go on?” Russell asked.
“Our scientists in the transporter lab, including Dr. Hope. The final decision lies with me.”
“And what kind of missions will they be?” Holbrook probed. The former astronaut had been one of the “volunteers” in Nevada, and Marlene had often heard about the gruesome way in which some of his comrades had met their deaths.
“First of all, we need more information. We are planning on sending teams to the planets which, according to our calculations, will soon be hit by the death zone. We want to take measurements there. The missions will only go to planets whose environmental conditions have been classified as safe by our scientists. I can assure you that we will minimize the level of risk as far as possible. How we proceed after that depends on the data we collect.”
Marlene glanced over at Dr. Dressel. He just shrugged.
“OK. We’ll need some time to confer.”
General Morrow stood up. “Time is of the essence. New California only has two weeks left. I need your answer by sundown.” He looked at his watch. “That’s in six hours. I am returning to Venus but will come back then.”
Marlene nodded. “You’ll have your answer.”
“I didn’t think I would ever see you again,” Ellen whispered. Russell kissed her softly. They were sitting in the high grass close to the escarpment overlooking the lowlands. The sun was high in the blue sky. A few wispy clouds drifted across the peaks of the nearby mountains, but quickly dissolved as the wind dropped.
“Me neither. I was sitting in my cell on Venus waiting for my execution. When they came to get me this morning, to take me to General Morrow, I thought it was all over.”
Ellen stroked his hair. “And they really cured you?”
Russell thought about Dr. Payne. With a single infusion, she had cured a disease which twenty years ago had been incurable. He still found it hard to believe but he felt better than he had in weeks.
“Yes, completely. Although they only wanted to keep me alive until my trial was over.”
“What happens if we refuse the offer? Will they take you back to Venus?”
Russell had thought about this. The general seemed to assume they would accept his offer. They hadn’t talked about what would happen to him if they declined. Russell guessed the general and his superiors had other things on their mind since the problems with the transporters had arisen. If the transporter on Venus was deactivated, nobody would have a chance of leaving the planet. “I don’t think so. The question is if we want to take him up on the offer. I’m definitely in favor. We need to know what’s happening to the transporters in the galaxy, and whether we’re facing some sort of danger.”
“To go on more death missions, like in Nevada?”
“I don’t think it’ll be as dangerous as back then,” Russell reassured her.
“If Marlene decides to go ahead, you’ll have to return to Venus,” Ellen realized.
“Yes, the missions will set off from there. They have all the equipment.”
Ellen didn’t respond for a moment, then nodded. “I’d like to come too. I’ll join the group of volunteers.”
Russell shook his head firmly. “No. One of us should stay here with the kids. Who knows what will happen
if the mission fails.”
“Then let someone else go instead of you.” There was desperation in her voice. “I can’t cope with not knowing if you’re alive or dead——not again.”
Russell was silent for a moment. In principle, she was right. He had done so much in the fight against the monsters. In the end, together with Ben, he had saved the entire colony. Marlene had said he’d paid his debt toward the involuntary colonists, and that even those who had resented him most had come to forgive him.
But he couldn’t square it with himself if somebody went instead of him. And what’s more, he had a very peculiar feeling about it——as if his fate had been linked to that of the transporter that dark day in Nevada over twenty years ago. No——he had to go!
Russell cuddled up to Ellen and held her tight. “I’ll be back,” he whispered in her ear.
“Are you sure you want to be a part of this?” Marlene asked the engineer.
“Yes,” Lee replied firmly. “I felt totally helpless when Palmer dragged my son away. I don’t want to sit around at home doing nothing again, while our future is being decided elsewhere.”
Marlene looked at him searchingly. She had the impression he was only telling half the truth. “But you’re not planning to take your revenge on Palmer or doing something stupid?”
Lee pulled a face. “No,” he said brusquely.
Marlene left it at that, but made a mental note to keep an eye on him.
At the meeting that afternoon, they had all quickly agreed the disappearance of the transporters needed to be investigated——not least in the interest of New California. And in any case, if they wanted to prevent Morrow from taking more prisoners, they had no choice. They had spent the rest of the day looking for volunteers. Russell had volunteered right away, as had Christian Holbrook and Albert Bridgeman, which Marlene wasn’t too pleased about. But she also knew she wouldn’t be able to stop him going to Venus. He was too independent for that, and too stubborn!
Ernie Lawrence also hadn’t hesitated to volunteer. Marlene hoped that Ernie wouldn’t develop some kind of death wish.
The next person to volunteer had been Travis Richards, whom Marlene hadn’t reckoned with at all. He had seemed so pleased when the mercenaries had withdrawn from New California. Marlene had assumed he’d want to get back to working in the fields, which he loved.
“If the transporters pose some kind of threat to our planet, then we need to get to the bottom of it. Helping in this mission is the best thing I can do for my family,” he’d told Marlene. With Travis, too, Marlene only half believed him. But what could she do? She was glad to have found any volunteers at all.
“But we still need one more,” Christian Holbrook said. “Morrow told us he needed seven volunteers.”
“I am the seventh,” she said somberly.
Albert opened his mouth but shut it again immediately. He knew damn well that she could be just as stubborn as he was when she got an idea in her head. Marlene had to suppress a grin.
“Do you think that’s wise? Who’s going to run the colony?” Russell asked.
“I’ve asked Sammy Yang to take over provisionally. Judging by word of mouth, I think he’s going be voted administrator at the next election anyway.”
“Administrator?” Travis asked. “You mean president?”
Marlene shrugged. “I’ve never liked that word.”
General Morrow, who had followed the conversation from a chair at the back of the room without saying a word, got up. “OK. Time is of the essence. I suggest you get packed and say goodbye to your families. I’ll wait outside for you. We’ll leave in an hour.”
Chapter 11
“Welcome to Venus,” Morrow said, as they stepped out of the transporter onto the dark stone floor of the laboratory.
Marlene had felt sick to her stomach as they waited in the inner sphere for the transport to begin. It had been twenty years since she had last set foot in the alien machine to get from Russell’s Planet to New California. She found this object——created by a highly advanced alien civilization——uncanny, particularly since nobody could explain how it even worked. It felt like being a Neanderthal in a space rocket. She felt a tightness in her chest as the reality dawned on her that tomorrow she and her friends would be sent off on the first of several missions to unknown planets. She wished she could return to New California and snuggle down in her cozy hut, or go and work in the fields. But she also knew nobody would take her seriously if, as commander-in-chief, she dodged this mission.
Marlene looked around the lab. It was bigger than she had expected. Thick cables ran from devices next to the transporter to the wall of the control room.
“How big is the base, General?” Chris Holbrook asked in a small voice. The former astronaut was visibly overwhelmed.
“Around four-thousand square feet. On Earth that would be equivalent to a small warehouse, but to set it up here on Venus was more expensive than all previous space projects combined. I can imagine how curious you must be. I’ll take you on a tour, give you an impression.” He snapped his fingers at two soldiers to accompany them. The general seemed to trust the colonists as little as Marlene trusted him.
“You can put your bags down on the ground here. I’ll make sure they are taken to your rooms,” said Morrow.
“Our rooms?” asked Lee. “I presume you mean cells.”
The general shook his head. “No. You can move around freely for the most part. However, the lab and workshop are high-security areas. You can only come here with armed escorts.” He looked pointedly at Russell. “You already abused my trust once. Never again! I will take all necessary precautions to prevent any chance of sabotage.”
Russell forced a tired smile, but did not reply.
They climbed up some steps to the control room. Several scientists sitting in front of computer screens looked up briefly as they entered.
“From here we control the transporter, transfer the data to our computer, and transmit it back to Earth via high-performance antenna.”
“Have you been able to find out anything about the technology used by the creators of the transporters?” Marlene asked.
“We’ve learned a lot and we’ve even been able to put some of our new-found knowledge to use. But we are still only at the beginning. Our physicist will tell you what we have been able to find out so far, although some details have been classified as secret.”
“Who could we tell them to?” Lee murmured to Marlene.
“Do you think you will be able to reconstruct a transporter on Earth?” Marlene probed.
“I can’t give you any more information about that. You will find out what you need to know to solve our problem. Later I will introduce you to Dr. Hope. I’m sure you will get along well.”
Morrow strode quickly through the room and led the group into a corridor. He opened one of the doors. “We have two workshops on Venus. This is one of them.”
Marlene glanced around the room. A man and a woman stood at a table with their backs to them, engrossed in some kind of apparatus which lay in pieces in front of them. “What are they doing?”
“This is where we assemble the devices for analyzing the sphere. Yesterday a new set of components was delivered in a capsule from Earth.”
The man noticed the group on the other side of the door. He looked up at the general and made a questioning gesture with his hands. Morrow responded with a gesture to show they were moving on and set off again with the group. After a few feet the corridor split. “On the left are the utility rooms. Two small nuclear reactors provide energy. One of them is needed just to keep the base cool.”
They continued to walk straight ahead until they reached a heavy steel door. Morrow continued: “We’ve now left the high-security area. Straight ahead is the staff accommodation, the infirmary, and the canteen with adjoining kitchen. The corridor on your right leads to the meeting rooms and some offices, beyond it are the storage depots, which are full again thanks to the food from New Californ
ia.
Lee snorted.
The general ignored him. “That way also leads to the main airlock, where the capsules from Earth dock.”
Marlene shook her head. “How were you able to achieve all this? I mean, twenty years ago, a second trip to the moon was unimaginable. And now there’s this giant base on Venus. How is that possible?
“It must have cost a crazy amount of money,” Holbrook said.
“Indeed,” the general confirmed. “Although transport costs have gone down considerably since the development of reusable carrier rockets. Thanks to new plasma rocket engines, we were able to transport the loads through interplanetary space with relatively little fuel. Two ships, the USS Obama and the USS Independence, commute between the orbits of Earth and Venus and provide us with fresh supplies.”
“But you’re still stranded here?” Albert asked, speaking up for the first time.
Morrow nodded. “Of course we can’t return into orbit with the capsules that are parachuted down here. However, a few days ago I discovered that Congress approved a design for a ferry that could enable our return to Earth. I haven’t read through the plan yet, but it appears to be a cross between an airship and a spaceship. But it will be many months before we can return home.
“So I guess you don’t expect to be able to reconstruct the transporter on Earth within a matter of weeks or months,” Marlene said.
The general shrugged. “Of course, none of this would have been necessary, if Mr. Harris hadn’t destroyed the transporter on Earth.”
Russell looked up and opened his mouth to speak, but decided it was better to say nothing.
“But there is also a good side to all this,” Morrow continued.
Russell raised his eyebrows.
The general chuckled softly. “The interplanetary spaceflight technology we have since developed enables us to mine raw materials from the solar system. Initial expeditions to asteroids are being prepared. It will take some time, but perhaps one day in the not too distant future we’ll be able to free ourselves from our dependence on raw materials from Earth, especially since they’re usually found in countries with which the USA doesn’t have the best relations.” He stepped up to Russell and looked him straight in the eye. “That’s the only reason why my anger towards you has subsided in recent months and why we are agreeing to cooperate with you.”
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