Season of Passage, The (30 page)

'But one good thing has come from this,' Bil said. 'While I was lost, I stumbled upon a volcanic cavern. It's beneath a hil close to the center of the

island. A narrow cave leads down into a huge room fil ed with bubbling lava pits. There's a dig in there - it's obvious the Russians were working on

it. You must visit this place, Professor. Al of you must go there. It's a fascinating place.'

'Shouldn't we just return home?' Jim asked. 'Our water supply is almost gone.'

'Not yet,' Bil said. 'We have a job to do. Bil ions have been spent on this mission. We can survive another day or two. For now we wil return to the

Hawk, and Lauren wil

examine Jessica more careful y. We wil rest. But tomorrow I want to explore further.' Bil paused. 'We stil have to find out what happened to the

Russians.'

TWENTY-TWO

Professor James Ranoth awoke from an uneasy doze, feeling dry and troubled. He checked his watch and sighed. It was late afternoon on the day

after the day they had set out to examine the Karamazov. He had been in bed for three hours, but he couldn't have slept more than twenty minutes.

Insomnia had been his lifelong companion, but unlike most people, he always enjoyed the hour or two before sleep came; he used the time to think

long and deep, or just to daydream. But what plagued his mind now, and refused to let him rest, was far from pleasant. He felt dread, pure and

simple. He had felt it since the first night they spent on Mars. Only now it was much worse.

Jim sat up. Gary slept peaceful y in bed on the other side of the room, but Bil was missing. Lauren had ordered the entire crew to rest for a

minimum of six hours, when they had final y returned from their adventures beneath the surface. To simply ignore Lauren's order, Bil couldn't have

been that tired, or else he had felt there was something that needed his immediate attention.

Jim stood and went into the empty living area. It was then he noticed the odd odor. It smel ed unlike anything he had encountered before, sort of a

cross between spoiled eggs and drying blood. He reminded himself that their

recycling systems were damaged, but the reminder did nothing to soothe his nerves. At the same time he wondered whether he was real y smel ing

anything at al , whether it wasn't just in his mind. In either case whether inside his nostrils or inside his head, the smel was repulsive.

Jim decided to check on the women. He opened their door quietly. Jessica lay on her side without a cover, her mouth wide open and snoring.

Lauren was flat on her back, her pretty features at peace. She, also, was uncovered, and Jim had a fatherly urge to tuck the sheet around her. He

had never understood why he loved her so much, but he knew that his love was the one thing he didn't need to understand. She was special to him,

it was that simple. What was more complex was how he was going to keep her safe. The possibility that she might not return home was unbearable

to him.

Jim was on the verge of leaving when Lauren's forehead suddenly creased. She was having a nightmare, he thought, and he considered waking

her. But if she regained consciousness now, he knew she would probably remember the nightmare, and for no reason that fact disturbed him. He

continued to watch her. She raised and moved her arms above her chest as if she were trying to push something away. Her breathing became

rough, and her exposed flesh was suddenly covered with gooseflesh. Final y, however, she relaxed, and her arms dropped to her sides. Jim closed

the door.

He was climbing the ladder that led to the control room when the pain started in his chest. It was like a heavy weight on top of his ribcage. The pain

spread quickly across his shoulders and down into his arms. He closed his eyes and took slow deep breaths. He didn't need Lauren to tel him it

was his heart. The long sleep had been unkind to him. Since awakening from hibernation, he'd had trouble catching his breath. He knew Lauren

suspected he had a problem, but he had fooled her the last time she had examined him aboard the Nova, just prior to the Gorbachev rendezvous.

He had tampered with her medical computer, and made it register the same EKG tracing as the person who had been examined before him, which

just happened to be Gary. He'd done this so he wouldn't be disqualified from the second landing. He wanted to be with his friends when they

learned the fate of the Russians. He believed then, as he did now, that they would need his help.

The pain eased. Feeling smal and inadequate, Jim climbed the remainder of the ladder into the control room. Bil sat before Friend's main

program console. The sky outside the windows was a dul pink and fil ed with clouds.

'Can't sleep, either?' Bil asked, without looking up.

'I never sleep that much as it is,' Jim said. 'Have you been talking with Mark, or is this his rest period, too? The last couple of days have got me

confused.'

'I can't raise him,' Bil said.

Jim's heart skipped. 'Are the communications out again?'

'Yes'

Jim crossed to the computer board. 'When did this happen?' he asked. He checked the Hawk's electrical power supply.

'An hour ago.'

'Why didn't you wake me?' Jim asked.

'You looked exhausted. I wanted you to rest.'

'It must be the generators again. Have you cross-checked the A and C coils?'

'Yes,' Bil said. "They appear in good shape.'

'What does Friend say?' Jim asked.

'Ask him.'

'Friend, we have a malfunction in our communication systems. What is the cause?'

[I am unable to diagnose the difficulty.]

'Why not?' Jim asked.

[Because of damage to my own systems that I sustained during the landing.]

It struck Jim as odd Friend hadn't mentioned such specific damage before. He spoke to Bil . 'I want to check the generators directly. They're

powered by our rocket fuel. We could have a serious pump malfunction.'

Bil looked at him for the first time. 'Why don't you have a seat, Jim, and relax.'

'OK.' Jim sat in a swivel chair opposite his commander. 'It has to be the generators. They caused the interruption the first time.'

'I've inspected the generators. I told you they're fine.'

'You may have missed something,' Jim said.

'I doubt it.'

Jim leaned back in his chair, feeling strangely trapped. 'What is your opinion then, sir, as to the source of our problem?'

Bil was unconcerned. 'It could be a mil ion things. We can always get home without communications.'

'Are you suggesting we leave now?'

'No,' Bil said.

'But you don't want to explore that island tomorrow, do you? In light of this problem?'

'But I do. With the limited time available to us, exploration must be our first priority.'

'What did you see down there, Bil , that was so fascinating?'

His commander brightened. 'Inside the hil I spoke of is a cavern with strangely symmetrical dimensions. The place is lit by glowing pools of lava.'

His tone became confidential. 'I'm not an archaeologist or a geologist like you, Professor, but I think there's evidence of an incredibly ancient

civilization in that place.'

Jim tried to check his rising excitement, for he sensed danger. 'What evidence did you see?' he asked.

'Nothing specific. But the Russians were digging in a particular area. I feel certain you'l discover something there.'

The answer was ridiculously vague. Jim's feelings of trouble deepened. 'You want us al to go to this place?' he asked.

Bil rotated his chair until he was facing the ever-present mass of Olympus Mons. The caldera was lost in pink clouds. The cave into the depths was

a faint black mark on the mountain's rock wal s.

'Even though we're in a hurry, we have to be careful,' Bil said. 'For that reason, I wil explore the volcanic room, and wil take only one companion

with me per visit. Because of your expertise, you wil be the first to come with me. But if time permits, everyone wil be given an opportunity.'

'That sounds reasonable,' Jim said, barely hiding the sarcasm in his voice. He had final y realized what had been tugging at the back of his mind

since he asked Friend about their failed communications. The computer had answered him, but had not addressed him by his first name, which it

invariably did when responding to a person's initial question. Was the change in protocol another by product of Friend's internal damage? Or was

sabotage the answer? -

Jim came to a decision. He would tel Lauren and Gary

of his fears in the event he died tomorrow in Bil 's fascinating cavern.

'Bil ,' he said, 'I've been thinking of taking Hummingbird to where the other Russian lander once stood, and examining the area.'

'Not tomorrow. We'l be busy tomorrow.'

'I was thinking of going now,' Jim said.

'That should be OK. If you feel up to it.'

'I would like to take Lauren and Gary with me,' Jim added.

'Fine.'

'Do you have any idea what we wil find there?'

Bil shrugged. 'A hole in the ground.'

'Yes. And we know what caused that hole.'

Bil nodded. 'I'm sure we're entertaining the same theory.'

'Dmitri Maximov was responsible.' Jim let the sentence trail, hoping Bil would pick it up, and tel him something new. But it was a futile attempt.

'That worries you, I know. It worries me, too.' Bil turned his attention back to Friend's console. 'Tel me what you find. Don't be gone too long.'

Jim stood. 'I'm taking one of the lasers. I might stop at the Karamazov on the way back.'

'Fine. We can't be too careful.'

Jim started down the ladder. When his head was at floor level he stopped and said, 'I was relieved to hear Lauren say that Jessie's blow to the

head wasn't serious.'

'So was I.'

Jim had to ask. 'Wil she be accompanying us to the underground cavern?'

Bil was taken by surprise. 'What did you say?'

'Jessie. I was wondering if you wanted her to go back down there?'

'Jessie,' Bil whispered. His shoulders sagged, and as they did so, his aura of confidence and strength faltered. The transformation was as startling

as it was sudden. Jim took a step back up the ladder.

'Bil ?' he asked.

'She's been a great woman,' he said softly. 'I remember the day I met her. It seems like only yesterday. I was at the campus library, studying for a

test. She sat across from me at the table and smiled. She said, "Hey, don't I know you?"' Bil stopped and massaged his temples, as if he were

getting a headache. He shuddered.' "Don't I know you."'

Jim began to relax. 'We'l keep her away from that place.'

But Jim's relaxation did not last. The mirrors in the carnival funhouse always had two sides. Bil abruptly turned his back on Jim and repeated stiffly,

'If time permits, everyone wil be given an opportunity to go down there.'

It seems like only yesterday.

Jim knew the feeling. 'We'l be back before it gets dark,' he said. He left the control room.

They floated in Hummingbird above a huge snow-veiled crater.

'Looks like a meteor hit here,' Lauren said. 'Are you sure this is the place?'

'There's no doubt in my mind, Doc,' Gary said. 'The lander was sitting at the edge of this cliff. Right, Jim?'

'Yes, this is the spot,' Jim said. 'But take us down, Gary. It's making me dizzy floating above this crater. Land on the east side. We can enjoy the

scenery, and watch the sun go down. There are a few things I want to discuss.'

'Out here?' Gary asked. 'Don't you just want to photograph the area and head back? We could talk more

comfortably in the Hawk. I'm stil exhausted.'

Lauren yawned. 'Me, too. I've got a splitting headache. I keep wanting to melt some of this snow and have a nice long drink. I wish it wasn't just

frozen carbon dioxide.'

'We have to talk,' Jim said. 'About this hole, and other things. Please?'

'Wel , sure, Jim,' Gary said. 'You know what made this crater?'

'I think so,' Jim said. 'But take us down first. There's a story I want to tel you both.'

A few minutes later, they sat on three separate red boulders, their backs to Olympus Mons, the evening sun shining pleasantly in their faces. Harsh

beauty spread out beneath their feet. A mile-deep chasm sliced the side of the mountain, interrupting an otherwise smooth fifty-mile plunge to the

Martian plains. It revealed a geologist's treasure map of changing ages, and had Jim been relaxed, he would have spent hours studying it. But he

worried that another age might come to an end if they returned home to Earth the way things were. The age of Man.

'I wish Jenny was here,' Lauren said. 'She always loved beautiful landscapes. Whenever we drove somewhere new and pretty, she would sit by the

window, entranced.'

'You miss her a lot?' Jim asked.

'Yeah, I sure do,' Lauren said. 'I miss her more than the Earth itself. But I also feel she's always with me. Terry told me she wanted to stay at the

forest by his cabin, because that's the place I love best. Jenny said that I would think of there when I got homesick, and that's been happening. I see

her in the woods in my mind, walking in the trees with the sun shining in her long hair.' Lauren paused and frowned. 'But that can't be. It's snowing in

Wyoming right now. I'm glad she's there, though. But I would like to hear her voice. Even if only on a tape.'

Jim thought of their severed communications. 'Has Jenny ever spoken to Terry about the ring I gave her?' he asked.

'Yes,' Lauren said. 'She told him to tel you she wears it always.'

Anything else?' Jim asked.

'Not that I know of,' Lauren said. 'Why? I always meant to ask you about that ring.'