"Well, it is amazing—if you believe it. But there's another way to look at things. The Dobelle system doesn't just
contain
an artifact, the Umbilical. The Dobelle system
is
an artifact! The whole thing." She grabbed at Rebka's arm again, caught up in her own vision. "Its whole orbit and geometry were created by the Builders, designed so that once every three hundred and fifty thousand years Mandel and Amaranth and Gargantua are so close to Quake that a special interaction can take place between them. Something inside Quake captures and uses those tidal energies.
"Before I came to Quake, I thought that the Builders themselves might be here—maybe even appear at this particular Summertide. But that's wrong. The Grand Conjunction serves as a
trigger
for the departure of those spheres—ships, or whatever they are—from Dobelle. I don't know where the first one went—out of the galaxy, from the look of it. But we have enough information to track the other one, the one that went toward Gargantua. And if we want to know more about the Builders, that's where we have to go.
"And soon! Before whatever it is that happens out near Gargantua is over and done with, and we have to wait
another
three hundred and fifty thousand years for a second chance."
Finally able to get a word in edgewise, Hans Rebka asked a question of his own. "Are you suggesting that Quake splits open, and something comes out of it at
every
Grand Conjunction?"
"I certainly am. That's the
purpose
of the Grand Conjunction—it provides the timing trigger and the tidal energy needed to open up the interior of Quake. So when Quake opened—"
But it was Rebka's turn to talk. "Darya, I'm no theorist. But you're wrong. If you want proof of that, go and talk to Max Perry."
"He wasn't watching what happened when we left Quake."
"Nor was I, particularly. Max and I had other things on our minds. But when I first arrived on Opal, I asked about the history of the doublet. The history of Opal was hard to determine, because it has no permanent land surface. But Perry showed me an analysis of the fossil record of Quake. People had studied it in the early years of colonizing Dobelle, because they needed to know if the surface of Quake was stable enough to live on through Summertide.
"It isn't, for humans—we proved that pretty well for ourselves. But there has been native life on Quake for hundreds of millions of years, since long before the planet went into its present orbit. And any recent opening of the deep interior of Quake—like the one that you saw—would show clearly as an anomaly in the fossil record."
He reached out for the display control and set it to show an image of the space above the capsule. Mandel and Amaranth were visible, still huge in the sky, but they were less bright. The knowledge that they were on the wane for another year was comforting. As the stellar partners dimmed, Gargantua shone brighter in the sky over to their right. But the giant planet was well past its own periastron, and the orange-brown disk was already smaller. No blinding beam of light shone forth from Gargantua, or from one of its satellites. Quake hung above the capsule, its surface dark and peaceful.
"You see, Darya, there's no evidence in the whole fossil record of a deep disturbance of Quake, comparable with what you saw. Not three years ago, or three hundred, or three hundred and fifty thousand. The deep interior of Quake has been hidden from view, as far back as people can trace the history of its surface. And that's at least five million years."
He expected Darya to be crushed by his comments. She came back stronger than ever. "So this Grand Conjunction was special. That makes it
more
important to find out why. Hans, let me give you the bottom line. You can go back to your work on the Phemus Circle tomorrow. But I can't go back to Sentinel Gate. Not yet. I
have
to go on and take a look at Gargantua. I didn't spend my whole adult life studying the Builders and then come all this way just to stop when the trail gets hot. Maybe the Builders aren't out near Gargantua—"
"I'm sure they're not. People would have found them when they first explored the Mandel system."
"But
something
is out there. The sphere that took Nenda's ship wasn't just leaving Quake. It was
going
somewhere. I have to find a ship of my own and hustle out there fast. Otherwise I may lose the trail completely."
She was still gripping his arm, hard enough to hurt.
"Darya, you can't dash off to Gargantua like that. Not on your own, or you'll kill yourself for sure. The outer part of the Mandel system is cold and hostile. It isn't an easy place, even for experienced explorers. As for you, coming from a nice, civilized world like Sentinel Gate . . ."
Hans Rebka paused. First she booby-trapped him and knocked him unconscious by accident. Then she took him to the waterfall cave, fussing over him and
caring
about him, in a way that no one had ever cared. And now she was booby-trapping him again. He had to be careful and not commit himself to anything.
"I don't know how to find a ship," he said. "It's too much to ask the people on Opal—they have no resources to spare after Summertide. But I'll scratch around and see what I can do."
Darya Lang released his arm, but only because she had other things in mind. Her bear hug was interrupted by a cough from the stairway. Julius Graves had reappeared in the chamber. Close behind him came J'merlia and Kallik.
Graves gestured J'merlia forward. "Go on. Say it for yourself—it's your speech." He turned to Hans Rebka. "I told you they had trouble in mind. And I told
them
that this sort of thing was not my decision, though I do have an opinion."
J'merlia hesitated, until he was given a hard nudge from one of Kallik's spiky elbows, accompanied by a hiss that sounded like "S-s-s-spee-k."
"Indeed I will. Honored Captain." J'merlia was moving to debase himself before Rebka, until a warning growl from Graves stopped him. "Distinguished humans, the Hymenopt Kallik and I face a grave problem. We beg your help, even though we have done nothing to deserve it. We would not do so, if we could see any way to proceed without asking your assistance. Already we have been a burden to you. In fact, by our stupid actions on the planet Quake, we endangered the lives of every—"
This time both the growl and the nudge came from Julius Graves. "Get on with it!"
"Yes, indeed, honored Councilor." J'merlia shrugged at Rebka with a near-human gesture of apology. "The point, distinguished Captain, is that the Hymenopt Kallik and my humble self believed when we left Quake that Louis Nenda and Atvar H'sial had surely been killed, or had decided—as is their perfect right—that they did not choose to make use of our services anymore. Both possibilities were deeply disturbing to us, but we saw no alternative to accepting them. We would then be obliged to return to our homeworlds, and to seek new masters for our services. However, a few minutes ago, we heard that Masters Nenda and Atvar H'sial escaped from the surface of Quake."
"True enough." Rebka looked at Darya. "But Professor Lang saw what happened, and Nenda and Atvar H'sial were killed."
"I know you think that. But Kallik points out that this may not be the case. She notes that if the ship were
gravitationally
accelerated in its departure, the beings inside would feel no forces on them—it would be exactly as though they remained in free-fall. Then they would have been carried away
alive
toward Gargantua, against their wishes, and may now be in need of assistance. And if this is the case, it is the clear duty of the Hymenopt Kallik and my humble self to pursue them. They are our owners. At the very least, we cannot leave the Mandel system until we are assured that they either do not want, or cannot make use of, our services. We therefore ask you, bearing all these facts in mind, and with due consideration of the possibility that—oof!"
J'merlia had received another nudge from Kallik, and the yellow tip of the Hymenopt's poison sting appeared and touched one of J'merlia's hind limbs. He flinched and hopped forward a step.
"Did you know, J'merlia," Julius Graves said in a pleasant conversational tone, "that Professor Lang was for a time convinced that you were incapable of independent speech? Now she is probably regretting that she was wrong."
"I am sorry, Councilor. I am accustomed to the translation of thoughts, not their creation. But in summary, the Hymenopt Kallik and I request that we be allowed to borrow a ship; and we request that we be allowed to follow Masters Nenda and Atvar H'sial to Gargantua, or to wherever their trail may lead."
"No." Rebka answered at once. "Definitely not. I reject your request. Opal is too busy digging out from Summertide to waste time looking around for starships."
Kallik clucked and chirped urgently.
"But that will not be necessary," J'merlia said. "As the Hymenopt Kallik points out, we do not need to descend to Opal. A starship is available—the
Summer Dreamboat
. It is at Midway Station, and it will be easy to return there and restore it to full power. We will find ample provisions on the station, and Kallik and I are sure we can fly the ship."
"With one extra passenger," Darya Lang said. "I'm going along, too."
Rebka glared at her. "You're injured. You're too sick to travel."
"I'm well enough. I'll convalesce on the way to Gargantua. Are you telling me a burned foot would stop
you
from doing your job, if you were in my position?"
"But the
Summer Dreamboat
isn't the property of the Dobelle system." Hans Rebka avoided answering her question and tried another approach. "It's not in my authority, or Max Perry's, to grant you the use of that ship."
"We agree." J'merlia was nodding politely. "Permission would of course have to come from Geni Carmel, who is the owner."
"And what makes you think she would grant it?"
Julius Graves coughed softly. "Well, as a matter of fact, Captain Rebka, I have already discussed that matter with poor Geni. She says she never wants to see or hear about that ship again. It is yours, for as long as you like to use it."
Rebka stared at the other man. Why did everyone seem to assume that he would be going along?
"It's still no, Councilor. So we can get a ship. That makes no difference."
J'merlia bowed his head and groveled lower, while Kallik whistled in disappointment. It was Julius Graves who nodded and said quietly, "That is certainly your decision to make, Captain. But would you be willing to share with me the logic of your thinking?"
"Sure I will. Let me start with a question. You know Louis Nenda and Atvar H'sial. Would
you
go to Gargantua to look for their bodies?"
Rebka's own position was quite clear in his mind. The idea that you should try to find people who had tried to destroy you was all wrong—unless you were proposing to kill them yourself.
"Me, go to Gargantua?" Graves raised his eyebrows. "Certainly not. In the first place, it is imperative that I return to Miranda. My task here is complete. In addition, I regard Atvar H'sial and Louis Nenda as dangerous criminals. If I went to Gargantua—which I do not propose to do, since I believe that they are dead—it would be only to arrest them."
"Very good. I feel the same way. Now, Councilor." Rebka pointed at Kallik. "Do you know how Louis Nenda controlled her? I'll tell you. He used a whip and a leash. He said Kallik was his pet, but nobody should treat a pet like that. She wasn't an equal to him, and she wasn't a pet. She was a downtrodden and disposable slave. He was quite willing to leave her behind to die on Quake. Before Kallik came to Opal she understood very little of human speech, but only because he had deprived her of the opportunity to learn. And yet it was
Kallik
who performed all the calculations showing that something unique would occur at Summertide. She did that, you know, not Nenda. She's a whole lot smarter than he is. Isn't that true?"
"It is quite true." Julius Graves had a little smile on his face. "Please continue."
"And J'merlia was no better off. The way that he was treated when they arrived on Dobelle was an absolute disgrace. You're the specialist in ethics, and I'm surprised that you didn't notice it before anyone else. Atvar H'sial made J'merlia into a nonentity. Now he speaks freely—"
"That is one way to put it."
"But when the Cecropian was around, J'merlia was afraid to say one word. He was totally passive. All he did was interpret her thoughts to us. He has a mind, but he was never allowed to use it. Let me ask you, Councilor, do you think that Louis Nenda and Atvar H'sial did anything to
deserve
loyalty?"
"They did not."
"And isn't it totally wrong for rational, reasonable beings like J'merlia and Kallik to be treated in that way, with all their actions controlled by others?"
"It is more than wrong, Captain, it is intolerable. And I am delighted to see that you and I hold identical views." Julius Graves turned to the waiting aliens. "Captain Rebka agrees. You are mature, rational beings, and the captain says that it would be totally wrong for you to be controlled by other people. So we cannot dictate your actions. If you wish to take a ship, and seek Louis Nenda and Atvar H'sial, then that is your perfect right."
"Now wait a minute." Rebka saw the grin on the face of Julius Graves and heard a whistle of triumph from Kallik. "I didn't say that!"
"You did, Hans." Darya Lang was laughing at him, too. "I heard you, and so did Councilor Graves. He's right. If it was wrong for Nenda and Atvar H'sial to control Kallik and J'merlia, it would be just as wrong for us to do it. In fact, it would be worse, because we would be doing it more consciously."
Rebka looked around the group, from the mad and misty blue eyes of Julius Graves, to J'merlia and Kallik's inscrutable faces, and finally to the knowing smile of Darya Lang.
He had argued and lost, on all fronts. And curiously, he did not mind. He was beginning to tingle with the curiosity he had felt when they were planning a descent into Paradox. There were sure to be problems ahead; but they would call for action, not the psychological manipulations that Graves found so easy and natural.