Distantly, I saw Eric floating through the hatch to join us. He piled into the hug, and I was grateful for the weightlessness, as we all held on tight, three bodies with our own special gravity, pulling us into one great mass.
“You’re here. You’re both here? And you’re all right?”
“We’re great, Dad,” said Eric, his voice muffled from being pressed up against us. “We’re great.”
“We found you.”
“What happened here, Eric?” Dad touched the cut on his eyebrow.
“What do you think?” I asked. “Wild times in zero g.”
Dad chuckled, stroked my brother’s hair, squeezed me tighter, rubbed my back, and squeezed us all again. Then he held us both at arm’s length, bobbing before him like a pair of twin satellites, and studied us. “I can’t believe you came to outer space for me.”
I came in again for another hug. “Believe it, Dad. I love you. To the moon and back.”
It was the back part I was worried about.
But there was plenty of time for that. After all, Anton was right; there was no rush. I’d come half a million miles for this moment, and even if we were caught in another trap, this time we were here together.
Dad and Eric and I just sat there for a several minutes, holding each other and looking out over the cosmos. I wondered if these windows were bad for those cosmic rays Anton and Savannah had been talking about.
I turned my head to see if Anton was watching us from the door, but he seemed to have gone. Probably back to the others, to continue with his recruitment efforts. Or maybe to figure out how to get to Dr. Underberg.
I sat up. “Dad, what are we going to do?”
Dad sighed and stared beyond me into the blackness. “I’m not sure yet. Anton—well, you know what Anton thinks, right? He’s determined to give us another chance.” Dad’s mouth twisted on the words, as if they were sour.
I could only imagine what my father thought about joining a massive conspiracy. They clearly didn’t know him at all, if they thought he might.
“Can he hear us?” I asked.
Dad kept his voice low. “I don’t know. His equipment would have to be very good, with all the sounds of the machinery and life-support systems. But I think if he wanted to listen, he could have just stayed here. It’s not like we could have kicked him out.”
No. We didn’t have a choice about anything on Infinity Base, and Anton knew it.
“And I’ve advised Nate to play along.” At the look on my face, he added, “We have to learn more about what we’re up against, and what the Shepherds really want. From us, from Underberg, all of it.”
“Nate’s been doing a great job,” Eric said. “He really scared me for a while.”
I nodded. “I thought he’d been brainwashed at first.”
Dad shook his head. “You shouldn’t have come, Gillian. This isn’t like Omega City—”
“But Dad—” I broke in. “We couldn’t leave you here.”
“And it wasn’t like we were safe back on Earth,” Eric pointed out under his breath. “The Shepherds would have found us. They already had Mom and Dani.”
“Right,” Dad said slowly. “Where is your mother?”
I looked down at my knees, folded up under the stretchy straps holding us to the platform.
“She was taken,” Eric said. “When we were trying to launch the rocket ship. We hid, like she asked us to.”
I toyed with the flaps on my utility suit. Yeah, and then, instead of going after her, we’d blasted off to save Dad and Nate. “But Dani said they’d be okay . . . sort of. When they were captured.”
“So the Shepherds took both your mom and Dani Alcestis?” Dad asked. “Explain to me about Dani? Anton says she thinks she’s Dr. Underberg’s daughter, and has turned against the Shepherds to align herself with Underberg.”
“He told you all that?”
“He doesn’t have much of a filter. He’s a purist. A bit like Howard, actually.”
I wrinkled my nose. “He’s nothing like Howard.”
“I meant that he thinks what he thinks and is baffled by the idea that anyone could hear his arguments and not agree. He’s not afraid to lay all his cards on the table. What he wants from us, what he wants for the world, even how he disagrees with his boss, Elana. If both he and Dani are having doubts about the Shepherds’ goals, that might work in our favor.”
“I don’t know if Dani really has turned against the Shepherds,” I said. “She seems to agree with everything they do, except she doesn’t want them to kill her father. Or us. She was the one who helped us escape.”
“What makes her think she’s Underberg’s daughter?” Dad asked. “I never ran across any mention of a family in all my Underberg research.”
“But you didn’t ask the Shepherds,” I said. “To be fair.” Dad hadn’t even figured out that Underberg had been a Shepherd.
Dad chuckled at that. “You’re going to end up a better researcher than I am.”
“Believe it, Dad,” said Eric. “They’ve been communicating through radio codes for months. We saw all these old photo albums in her house with pictures of Underberg and her mother. Dr. Underberg even made the key to his spaceship based on a geometrical puzzle he and her mom used to write love letters to each other.”
“Now that I have to see.” His eyes shone as he looked down at me. I could almost picture a follow-up to his infamous biography. Underberg: The Shepherd Years.
That was, if we ever saw home again.
“Anton scares me,” I said.
“Me too, kiddo. He’s a true believer in the Shepherd cause. But we can use that to our benefit.”
“How?”
“True believers want nothing more than for other people to believe what they do.”
“Sound familiar, Gills?” Eric drawled.
“Shut up,” I said. “This is different. This isn’t about helping people see hidden facts. It’s about the way he wants the world to be.” It was what the Shepherds had been raised to believe—there was no right except what got them what they wanted, no wrong but what wrecked their plans. It was hard to fight against something like that, or trust that even the seemingly good things they wanted—like this beautiful space station—were for the right reasons.
After all, hadn’t Elana said she’d destroy Infinity Base if it would protect her interests at Guidant?
“Gillian’s right.” Dad nodded solemnly. “And we’re lucky that Anton not only believes what he does, but that he also thinks we’re valuable to that system. In his opinion, he’s giving us one last chance to make the right choice. To become Shepherds.”
I looked through the glass. There, at the very edges, I could see a sliver of Earth.
Back on the surface, I’d aligned myself with Dani, because as weird and prickly as she was, she was also better than being captured by the Shepherds. Here, Dad wanted me to play along with Anton Everett, who might be verifiably insane, because the alternative was . . . what? Getting frozen? Getting killed? Getting shot out of an air lock into the vacuum of space?
“But where does it end?” Eric asked. “If we say we’re on his side, if we make him believe it, will he take us back to Earth? Will they let Mom go?”
“I don’t know the answer to that,” Dad said. “But I’ve been racking my brain ever since I woke up here, and I can’t think of any other option. Up here, we’re at his mercy. If we can get back to Earth, we might stand a better chance.”
Eric made a face. “Join us or die,” he said in a scary movie voice.
Except this wasn’t a movie. We weren’t Luke Skywalker facing off against Darth Vader. We didn’t have glowing laser swords or magical powers. I wasn’t even a particularly good liar.
“Do you think you can do it, Gillian?” Dad asked. “Play along? At least until we get home?”
Where did that leave Dr. Underberg? “I don’t know. The Shepherds have hurt us so much, for so long . . . are we supposed to say we’ve forgotten all of that?�
�
“If our lives depend on it?” Eric asked. “Yes. Look at it this way, Gills. You always want to know the truth about everything. Well, the Shepherds are the ones who have it.”
He had a point there. “So we’d say we want to join the Shepherds . . . to finally have all the secrets?”
“Something like that,” Dad said. “It’s not like I’m a scientist.”
“But what about the others?” I asked. “Sav can probably figure out how to lie, but what about Howard?”
“I thought of that,” Dad admitted. “But Nate has a plan there. He believes focusing on the benefits of this space station will be enough to make Howard seem enthusiastic.”
That was for sure.
“And this space station is quite incredible. That’s an objective fact. Anton is dying to show it off to you.”
I could believe that. “You should have seen all his crazy experiments back at Eureka Cove, Dad.”
Eric nodded. “Chimps and bugs and bees . . . I fell into a tank full of flesh-eating beetles!”
“Dead flesh,” I clarified. “He didn’t even get bit.”
“That doesn’t make it okay!” he shot back.
Dad squeezed us both. “I believe it.”
It was so nice to have Dad back. Real Dad, who believed the wild stories and understood when we did the right thing, even if it wasn’t the safest thing in the world. “You don’t know what we’ve been through. What the Shepherds are doing.”
“I’m beginning to get a sense,” he replied. “I just . . . I don’t think I’ve ever dealt with a conspiracy quite this large before. A whole secret space station?” He shook his head. “I can’t imagine the lengths one has to go to, to hide a creation of this magnitude from every government on Earth.”
“From every astronomer, too,” I said. “Dani told us that any time someone uses a Guidant program for their data or their photos—”
“Did you have a nice reunion?” said a voice at our back. We turned to watch Anton floating toward us, his calm smile making me want to adjust the settings on my utility suit to control my chills.
“Very nice,” my father said. “I appreciate the chance to show my children this extraordinary sight.”
Anton’s gaze rose to the stars surrounding us. “It is quite beautiful. I never spend much time here myself. I’m much more interested in the technical side of the base. I can’t wait to show you my experiments up here. I gather from the others you got quite an in-depth view of my work back in Eureka Cove?”
I looked at Eric. He looked at me. Neither of us said anything. We were never going to be able to pull this off.
“Don’t worry, you won’t offend me,” Anton added jovially. “Your friend Savannah has already shared her . . . intense criticism regarding the unfortunate incident with the bees.”
“She—she has?” Oh, no. Were we sunk before we even got started?
“Yes. And she’s not the first. I made a terrible error in judgment there. I’m not afraid to admit when I’m wrong. I just wish I’d realized it sooner.”
“Before you killed all those bees?”
“Before we devoted so many resources to a futile effort,” he said. “It turns out people don’t really care about honeybees. It’s too small. Too subtle. Like global warming. I promise, the next time we make people think the world is ending, it’ll be something big and fiery. Something they can’t possibly ignore.”
Yeah, I definitely needed to turn up the heat on my suit.
17
HIDDEN FIGURES
ANTON REALLY WAS QUITE THE SHEPHERD. WITHIN MOMENTS, HE’D gathered us all up and herded us out of the observatory and back into the long train of chambers that made up the main stem of the station.
“I think it’s probably time to go check on Dr. Underberg, don’t you think, Gillian?”
“Um . . .” I was still dumbfounded, fighting to regain the power of speech after Anton’s shocking announcement. I shuddered to think of what kind of big, fiery thing the Shepherds would use to try to convince the people of Earth that the world was ending. If they really did have the power to alter astronomical data, they could simply invent an asteroid coming to hit the Earth. That would scare millions. Terrify the entire population of the Earth enough to listen to anything—absolutely anything—that the Shepherds wanted them to.
And we would be a part of it.
We all floated effortlessly through the cabins, but not Dad. He lurched, awkward, from handhold to handhold, looking green the whole time. “Go slower,” he begged. “This microgravity doesn’t suit me.”
“Take your time, Sam,” Anton said. “It’s not like we’ll be far away. You can’t get too far away from anyone on Infinity Base.” His tone was pleasant, but there was no mistaking his words. It was a threat.
I cast a look behind me at my father, who was clenching his jaw as the space grew between us. He met my eyes, and nodded slightly.
Play the game. Lie like a Shepherd.
I wasn’t certain that I could, but I knew one thing for sure—if I pulled this off, then the second I got back to Earth, I wouldn’t stop until everyone in the world knew what kind of liars they were.
“I’ve been trying to open a channel of communication to Underberg,” Anton was explaining to us. “But he refuses to respond. Still, I know he is receiving my messages, even if he won’t talk to me.” He ushered us through the door back into the entrance chamber. “Or undo the latch.”
“Gillian!” Savannah called. She was gripping a handle near the air lock. “Did you see your father? Is he all right?”
“He’s fine,” I said. “It’s like Nate told us. He’s just a little . . . spacesick. How are you guys?” Savannah was probably wishing she’d stayed back on Earth like she’d wanted to.
“I’m . . . adjusting,” Savannah said, her expression sour. “Anton really wants Dr. Underberg to open the door.”
“But he won’t,” Howard announced.
“Indeed,” Anton broke in. “I was hoping your presence might make a difference, Miss Seagret. Would you care to enter the air lock and give it your best shot?”
“Um . . .” I looked at Eric. “Alone?”
What if this was some kind of trick, and Anton wanted me in the air lock so he could manipulate Dr. Underberg? Eric’s join us or die joke didn’t seem very funny. Anton could easily threaten to make Dr. Underberg open the door or unseal the locks, pushing me out into space.
“Of course not,” Anton said, looking confused. “I’ll be going in, too.”
“Why?” I asked, my voice shaky.
“So I can meet Dr.—” Realization dawned on his features. “Gillian, do you think I want to hurt you?”
“No,” I said. Yes. Absolutely.
“If I wanted to hurt you, to hurt any of you, I’d have done it already. I know where everything is on this station, I knew you were coming, I even had two of you unconscious, in my care. Hurt you? Don’t be silly! I want to help you. All of you, including the stubborn old man in there.” He pointed out the air lock. “And it would be a big help to me right now if you went with me and helped convince him of that fact. I’ve read your father’s book. Dr. Underberg trusts you. He trusts you enough to bring you here. And now you are going to get him to trust me.”
Again, I was herded by the Shepherd, this time right into the tiny air lock. Anton was massive next to me in the crowded space. Nervously, I maneuvered over to the door to Wisdom, careful not to touch him. He hooked the upturned toe of his slipper around a handle set in the floor and appeared to be standing, casually, arms crossed, like he was lining up at the post office.
I stared down at his feet. “So that’s what the elf toes are for.”
Anton glanced down. “Oh, yeah. Do you want a pair?”
“No. I’ll stick to my utility suit.” At least I could trust it, unlike anything having to do with Anton. I looked at the closed hatch on Wisdom. “Do you want me to knock or something?”
“I’ve no doubt he’s wat
ching us. Just explain the situation.”
That’s what I was afraid of. Explain the situation. We’re the hostages of a lunatic, and we’re all pretending everything is fine so he’ll let us go back to Earth. Oh, and he’s standing right behind me, so why don’t you go ahead and give him complete access to your ship?
“Hey, Dr. Underberg,” I said, wondering if I sounded as dumb as I felt. “Gillian here.”
I waved, just in case maybe he was only getting a visual and not sound.
“We’ve got my dad and Nate.” I counted them off on my fingers. “And they are totally okay.” I made the scuba-diving symbol, with my index finger and thumb forming an O with the other three fingers straight up. “We’re all fine here. Anton”—I pointed back at him—“has been very . . . welcoming.”
I checked with Anton. He gave me a thumbs-up.
“And he wants you to open the door. So. You know. Could you?”
And then I stepped back. I hoped I’d sounded sincere enough for Anton. And I hoped Dr. Underberg was as suspicious as ever and didn’t let us in.
A minute passed, and nothing happened. “Maybe he’s asleep,” I suggested to Anton. “He . . . falls asleep a lot.”
“He’s not asleep.” Anton’s tone had turned dark, and he pushed me aside. “He’s impossible. Maybe Dani really is his daughter. It certainly would explain where she got her stubborn streak from.”
I shrank back, scared both by the growl in his voice and by how much space he took up in front of the little hatch. Anton may not want to hurt us, but he totally could.
Anton raised his fist and banged on the hatch. “Open up in there!”
I pushed myself backward as his shouts echoed around the tiny hatch. The air lock was as small as the inside of a car, and Anton took up most of the space.
“Um . . . ,” I said softly, but he wasn’t even listening.
“Don’t you get it?” Anton screamed at the thick door. “I don’t care about Elana’s plan. I think whatever they did to you when I was a kid was an absolute waste! You had a lot to offer us. You still do, but you can’t do it from in there!”
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