Infinite Reef (13 page)

“Maybe they learn to talk from each other,” suggested Mary. “Without an established society to teach them, they can’t learn.”

“Interesting observation,” admitted Matt morosely. “A month ago I bet Jeanne that the clicks would develop a language on their own.” He shook his head. “Warren won the bet, so far.”

Jeanne smiled. “I won the last pecan sticky bun. It nearly killed him to see me eat it.”

Mary and Alex were sitting across from Jeanne and Matt. “What closed the bet, Jeanne?” she asked. “Did you establish some time limit?”

“Yesterday, actually,” said Matt, “We figured that if they hadn’t said something by then, they never would.”

Alex nodded thoughtfully and glanced at Mary. “Well, what have you guys learned about them?” Alex had been hoping for revelations that might help explain the bizarre behavior he’d observed in Jupiter’s Reef. There, the clicker men seemed to be equivalent to men on Earth. They had constructed vast roadways that connected cities and towns. They even seemed to have learned to shape the reef itself and control the flow of air through it, much as humans have learned to deal with water.

But the specimens in the enclosure seemed no more than dumb animals.

“We have taken bodies out of the enclosure. Dead ones,” replied Matt. “They’re stored in stasis blocks because they dissolve in alcohol and water. Their bodies are as fragile as soap bubbles. But, pound per pound, they have tremendous structural strength.”

Matt looked at Jeanne for confirmation and she nodded. “We think we know what killed them during the trip,” she offered.

Alex raised an eyebrow. “Really? Was it maybe the gee-forces we took getting to Howarth’s egg and back?”

Jeanne’s face fell. “Matt told you?”

“I guessed. Do you agree?”

Jeanne crossed her arms. “Basically.”

Matt nodded. “They’re not built to take hard changes in gravity. Definitely not built for space travel.”

The car jumped slightly as it transferred to another tubeway. There was a bright light at the end of a tunnel. Alex frowned. “Was there any value to kidnapping them and dragging them along with us?”

“Research,” said Matt, reflexively. “Hell, I’d have expected them all to be dead by now.”

Alex glared at him angrily, but Matt held up his hand. “Listen, Alex, bringing them along wasn’t my idea. Don’t blame me.”

“Did you argue against bringing them? I sure did.”

“Research is always valuable, Alex. To tell the truth, I have no love for the clicks. They’ve creeped me out from day one, but not as much as your strange love affair with them. But that’s your problem. To me they’re just a job.”

They came into to the station at high speed, but the braking mechanism slowed the car quickly and smoothly. It opened and Matt stepped out first with Alex right behind him. “Hold it a second, Matt,” said Alex. “First off, I blame myself and no one else for what happened to the clicks. Second, I don’t love ’em. But I do think we should leave the reef alone. No research expeditions until we figure how to explore it without screwing it up, if we haven’t already done so.”

They exited the tubeway near the Master Control building. The cylinder’s main lights had dimmed to sunset level and the air was damp and still. Everything seemed peaceful.

As they approached the circular building, guards standing at either side of the sliding doors saluted briskly.

Mary tapped Matt on the shoulder. “Matt. You seem to have forgotten that unanswered questions stick in people’s minds,” she said quietly. “You must have unanswered questions stored away, questions that eat at you. Alex explored the reef.

He always knew it was there. He just had to prove it.”

“And prove it he did,” said Matt. “He got the credit.”

“That’s not the point. Credit or no, Alex discovered the Jovians. He cares what happens to them. The questions nag at him, and they probably always will.”

Matt stared straight ahead as Mary continued. “We’ve visited the reef three times. It’s a haunting place, to say the least. It still haunts us.”

“They played Beethoven to us,” added Alex. “
Ode to Joy
, for God’s sake.”

“I know. I studied your missions, Alex,” Matt answered politely. “I have no idea how to explain what you heard. But I have to wonder if it came from the reef at all. Whatever the source, I have to doubt it was the clicks that played that music.”

Matt held up a hand before Alex could protest. “Sorry if I sound insensitive. I want answers, too. That’s why I’m aboard. But certainly not to play nursemaid to a bunch of clicks. I took the job just to be among the first to study at extrasolar life, even though I knew we probably wouldn’t find it. But, surprise, surprise, my gamble paid off. There’s alien life to study.” Matt gave a sardonic laugh. “Worry about the clicks? All in due time, Alex. There’s bigger fish to fry.”

“I understand, Matt,” said Alex dismissively. “Forget I asked.”

Jeanne Warren had been listening to the conversation as they walked toward the administration building. She smiled at Alex’s reply. “I’ll keep you posted if there’s any change in the status of the clicks.”

Alex smiled gratefully but didn’t reply. When they reached the doors of the command center, they were quickly ushered inside by security officers. Commander Stubbs and Captain Wysor were waiting for them at the doors. “We may need you to take your shuttle out again, I’m afraid, Alex,” said Stubbs. The Commander stood stiffly with both hands clasped tightly behind his back, eyes fixed on the holo-display that loomed over the center of the com, a representation of the Lalande system with the
Goddard
in miniature at its center. The fattened white needle was oriented slightly askew with glowing dark blue dots trailing from it at regular intervals, forming a dotted line that disappeared at the edge of the hologram. Alex knew they were markers, each dot representing a hundred kilometers.

The Commander’s words rung like a bell. “What’s the trouble?” he asked Stubbs.

Stubbs looked tired as he surveyed the newcomers in his control room. “Blips,” he said. “Moving on our heading.”

“You mean other ships? How many?” asked Alex.

“Can’t say what or how many,” mumbled Wysor. “May be a false readin’. Staff thinks so.” He pointed his chin toward a group of officers standing at his station, watching the display nervously.

Alex examined the display. All he saw was the
Goddard
, hanging in space, but as he studied the display he saw a tiny red dot flicker into being behind the ship. “Is that it?” he asked, pointing at the display.

The Commander nodded. “Notice it’s matching our speed and heading.”

“Is it accelerating, too, like us?” asked Matt.

The Commander nodded again. “It would seem so.”

“I guess you want us to hang out in the lounge for a while?” Alex eyed the distant food panel, remembering that his own coffee rations had almost run out. “Is the coffee still ...?”

Stubbs took his eyes off the display and looked bemusedly at Alex. “Tried the new x-cafe yet, Alex? Our chem staff whipped it up. I can’t believe how close it is to the real stuff.”

“Close is close,” said Alex. “Is that what’s loaded in your machine?”

The Commander nodded. “Take it or leave it. The tea’s still good and a new hydro crop is being dried. At least we can promise fresh tea. The coffee crop was a letdown, I’m afraid.”

“Dingers,” Alex growled, staring sadly at the distant drink dispenser. “We ARE in trouble.”

“There it goes again,” said Matt, pointing at the display. “Vanished.”

Alex looked at the display and shrugged. “Playing cat and mouse, Mary. Time to try that coffee.”

The coffee turned out to be everything Alex hoped it wouldn’t, a poor facsimile of the brew he loved so much.

Disappointed, he sat on the sofa and stared listlessly at the display that hovered over the center of the control room. The blip had returned, in exactly the same position it had previously occupied.

Mary had fixed her tea and taken a seat beside Alex. Her eyes were also on the display. “What do you think it is, Alex?”

Alex shrugged and took another sip, making a face as he swallowed. “A ghost, like Wysor said. Why else would it be tracking so precisely and fading in and out?”

“But what’s causing the signal? If it’s coming from us, something has to be there to bounce it.”

“That’s the question.” Alex put his coffee on the table and stared at the cup disappointedly. “Tastes like crap,” he said. “I can’t believe that’s the best they could do.”

“One more thing to look forward to when we get home,” Mary murmured sympathetically, patting Alex’s leg.

“IF we get home.”

Mary put an arm around him. “What’s the matter, love? Coffee that bad?”

Alex gave Mary an angry look. “Coffee? You heard Stubbs. Can’t you see what’s coming?
Diver
is
Goddard’s
gunship. If that ghost turns out to be real ...”

“You don’t want to do the shooting? Let Connie do it,” said Mary. “Tell the Commander how you feel.”

“I’m not giving Tsu my ship,” Alex said with conviction. “And it’s not the shooting. This may mean we’ll never get home.”

Mary blinked and sat back in the sofa. She took a deep breath, but didn’t reply. Matt, Jeanne, and Johnny joined them with refreshments in hand. Each took a seat, watching the holographic display. “Did we miss anything?” asked Johnny.

Alex shook his head.

For over an hour, as the
Goddard
continued accelerating toward Lalande c, the mysterious blip disappeared and reappeared, sometimes behind and sometimes in front of the
Goddard
.

Alex and Mary stayed in the lounge watching the radar. The Commander, who’d been pacing nervously back and forth at his station, finally took off his headset and threw it on the console. “Dammit!” he bellowed. “Doesn’t anyone have a theory?”

Johnny Baltadonis had left the lounge and was now at his workstation near the Commander. He walked over to Stubbs and said something, and the Commander looked at him with an expression of alarm. A moment later he put on his headset again, touched his console, and spoke into the microphone. “Well,” said the Commander’s booming voice. “Professor Baltadonis is convinced that our blip is real.” He looked around the control room. “Who agrees? A show of hands, please.”

The control center was staffed with about fifty personnel. Of them, a small number raised their hands. Stubbs surveyed the room. “Not exactly a quorum, is it, Johnny?”

Johnny nodded and spoke to Stubbs again. Alex couldn’t hear him because his voice wasn’t amplified like Stubbs’. But the Commander acted democratically, conveying Johnny’s comment to the room. “Professor Baltadonis suggests we might be seeing advanced technology at work. He reminds us of the sphere’s unique mobility.” He surveyed the room again, smiling oddly. “Any other theories?” The Commander sounded skeptical.

Alex felt compelled to speak in the Professor’s defense. “I think the Professor has a point,” he said, standing up. “I wouldn’t dismiss it so quickly.”

“I agree,” Mary said, leaning forward and set her cup on the table. Suddenly she put a hand on her belly and sat back.

Alex saw her wince as if in pain.

The Commander also noticed Mary’s discomfort. “Are you okay, my dear?” His voice boomed on the intercom.

Mary straightened up and smiled bravely. “I hardly think a stomach cramp is necessary control room chatter while there’s aliens chasing us.”

The entire control room was now staring at Mary. Stubbs laughed. “Thank you, Mary, for that bit of orientation.” The Commander shifted his stance and looked around. No one in the control room moved.

“We’ve barely started home ’an y’ve already begun t’ squabs,” offered Captain Wysor, stroking his short gray beard.

“This thing, what e’er it be, is so far jus’ a ghost. Ye’ve seen it before and behin’ us, all’s the same distance.” He looked sternly at Stubbs and his blue eyes seemed to flash with intent. “What’s that tell ya’?”

“That it could be a ghost. That’s all we know,” volunteered Alex.

“So the
Goddard
is a haunted ship, is it?” Clearly annoyed, the Commander glanced around, his eyes coming to rest on Alex. “Well, if it’s ghosts, they can’t hurt us.” His stern gaze shifted back to Captain Wysor. “Are we on course, Captain?”

Wysor nodded. “We are, sir.”

“Johnny,” said Stubbs. “It’s time for some speculation. We have the time. Our course is set. Engines firing perfectly. In my view, assuming those ghosts are watching our actions, we’ve done the right thing by leaving for Earth.”

Mary hung her head. “I hope they see it that way.”

Johnny had a ready answer. “Commander, with all due respect, they broadsided us with a cannonball made of alien ice. I have just come from the imaging center.
Goddard’s
WF and NF sensors have imaged the targets. There’s nothing to be seen ...”

“But ...?” answered the Commander, folding his arms. “You think there’s something there?”

“We can’t tell. Like the sphere, it seems to jump back and forth or disappear and…” Johnny scratched his head in frustration.

Commander Stubbs frowned. “More ghosts, Johnny?”

“You’ve seen it for yourself,” offered Alex, standing up. “Sometimes it traverses space and other times it jumps.”

All eyes in the control room were on Alex, including the Commander’s.

Stubbs smiled and eyed Alex’s coffee. “Is the coffee any good?”

Alex looked into the cup he was holding. “Does the job,” he said, forcing a smile.

“Then I’ll get one for myself,” replied Stubbs. A crewman near the Commander rose reflexively and began walking toward the refreshment area, but the Commander grabbed his arm. “I’ll do it myself, thanks.” he said. “I’ll be taking a break while Alex, our esteemed pilot, takes the helm and explains his theories to all of us.” The Commander walked confidently to the lounge. “I see there’s a seat available next to Mary.” Stubbs glanced over his shoulder and smiled. “Carry on, Alex.”

To everyone’s surprise, Alex walked to the Commander’s station and sat down in the large padded chair. “Yes, sir,” he said, ignoring all the eyes on him. “Should I use the public address, sir? I’d like to turn it up. You’re sometimes hard to hear.”