“We think Indikar was made up. From the beginning.”
His eyes seemed to focus on something far away. “It's possible,” he said. “My mother didn't like the idea of his going to Indikar. She would never have allowed him to go to Villanueva-”
The puzzle was a forest scene. A large downed tree lay in the foreground, forming a bridge across a stream. No sky was visible anywhere. Just water and vegetation. Billy stared at it, tried a piece, shrugged. “My God.”
“Your mother didn't like the idea of his traveling off-world at all, did she?”
“No,” he said. “She didn't even like Skydeck.”
“Why not?”
“She just thought it was too dangerous.” He looked away from us. “I remember one time there was somebody coming in to the university, and some of the staff were going up to be there when she arrived. Dad wanted to go, too, but my mom wouldn't hear of it. She was half out of her mind about his going to Indikar, and there was a big fight the night before he left. It's the only time I can remember that there was anything like that in the house. But he insisted he had to go. And he left, and we never saw him again.”
“Thanks, Billy.”
“Yeah. Sure.”
“We told you we'd let you know if we ever found out what that mission was about.”
“Yes. So why did they do it?”
“We don't have all the details yet. But you'd be proud of your dad.”
“Why's that?”
“He and Robin were trying to get more information on ships that get lost. Like the Capella. That's what he risked his life for.”
“Can you explain that?”
“We don't have all the details yet, Billy. But that's why they were there. On Villanueva.”
I came to work a couple of mornings later and saw Alex outside on the deck, leaning against one of the support posts. “We might as well bring her back,” he said. “This thing's not going to happen.”
“Belle?”
“Yes. If we were going to find the Firebird, we'd have seen it early.”
“Okay,” I said. “I'll take care of it.”
I told her to come home. A few hours later she replied: 0744. We're giving up?
That was the entire message. I replied: “Yes. Come home.”
0752. I'm sorry to hear it. Are you sure?
“I'd think that sitting out there is pretty boring.”
0801. It beats just sitting.
“Belle, just come home. Okay?”
0811. I would really like to have found it.
“Tell Charlie we said hello.”
0820. Maybe it fell into a black hole.
TWENTY-EIGHT
Mathematics is the only valid portrait of reality. Everything else is delusional.
Maybe it fell into a black hole.
“The problem,” I said, “is that there's just too much space to cover. Too much guesswork involved.”
Alex was ready to throw up his hands. “Maybe she was right about the black hole.”
“Anything's possible, boss.”
“I'm serious.”
“I, um, don't think I understand.”
“I'm going to wander down to Survey this afternoon. You want to come along?”
“No, thank you. If you don't mind, Alex, I've had enough astrophysics for a while.”
He hadn't gotten back when I closed the office and headed home. I needed a break, though, so I went partying that night. When I got back, there was a message from Alex. “Got news. Call me.”
It was well into the morning, so I wasn't going to bother him. But it took me a while to get to sleep. The result was that I showed up at the country house next day bleary-eyed and probably not in a good mood. Jacob probably let him know I was there, and I was still getting out of my jacket when I heard Alex's voice: “When you've a moment, Chase, come up.”
Alex maintains a secondary office upstairs. That's where he retires when he wants to do research or simply get his mind away from the day's business. I don't bother him when he's there unless we've caught fire.
When I walked in, he was sipping orange juice and munching on a chocolate donut. He tapped a finger on the display, which was filled with arcing lines and numbers. “Chase,” he said, “I think we have it.” His eyes glowed. “Jacob, show her.”
The room darkened, and I found myself looking across a starscape. A terrestrial planet and its sun floated in the foreground. “Good morning to you, too, Alex,” I said.
“Oh, yes, sorry. Good morning.” He took a deep breath. “I've been locked up with this stuff all night.”
“So what have we got?”
“Did you get some breakfast?”
“Not yet.” The normal routine was to check in and then hit the dining room. But I wanted to know what he had to tell me.
“Do you want to eat first?”
He was being a tease. “Come on, Alex,” I said. “What do you have?”
He waited for me to sit. “Why were Robin and Winter both interested in black holes?” he said.
“We've been over that, Alex.”
“I don't mean the standard fascination by every physicist in the Confederacy. You remember telling me that Winter was tracking the trajectories of some black holes?”
“Yes, of course. You're not going to tell me one of them's coming this way, are you?”
“No, Chase.”
“Kidding.”
“Actually, that was my first thought. That a black hole was headed somewhere. But I checked them as soon as I was able. As far as Jacob can tell, no black hole anywhere is threatening anybody.”
“Well, that's good.”
“Jacob,” he said, “show Chase what we have.”
A planet appeared on the display, with a sun in the background. “The sun is Setara. Do you recognize the world?”
It was mostly ocean, but living worlds all tend to resemble one another. “No,” I said.
“It's Point Edward.” Named for Edward Trimble, and his extrapolation of the quantum point theory regarding why the universe existed. Nobody understood it sufficiently to challenge it until recently. “This is where it was six years ago.”
“Okay.”
A blue line moved out a few inches toward a corner of the room. “This is where it is today.” I heard his chair creak. “Point Edward maintains a Fleet base in orbit. Six years ago, the Abonai left there, made its jump, and, as you know, never arrived at its destination. Oh, by the way-” He offered me a donut. “Chocolate,” he said. “I'm sorry. I'm a bit distracted this morning. Try one. They're good.” He finished off the one he had in his hand.
I took one.
“The Abonai was 1.4 million klicks out from the base when it made the jump. Here.” A silver marker blinked into existence. A white line connected it with the Fleet base.
