The Devil's Eye

unique among worlds with large land animals,' said Belle. 'It's the only such world known that has no moon. It's believed to have had one originally, but it was probably lost during the Transit.' The Transit referred to the passage of an object, probably a black hole or a dwarf star, that had scrambled the system. 'Theory has always held that a large moon is necessary to prevent a terrestrial-sized world from developing a distinct wobble. Which would, of course, play havoc with climatic conditions.'

'Of course,' I said.

'Here, for whatever reason, the wobble has not happened.'

'How far are we?' I asked.

'Three days out.'

One of the two stars, the dim one, was actually the planet Sophora. The other, a dazzling sapphire in the sky, was Callistra, twelve hundred light-years away. 'It's a supergiant,' said Belle. And that was it. Otherwise, the sky was jet-black. 'Okay. Belle, let's open a channel to their operations center.' She complied. 'Samuels Ops,' I said, 'this is the Belle-Marie . Approaching from Rimway. Range 4.1 million klicks. Request log-in and instructions.' A female voice replied: 'Instructions are being forwarded to your AI in separate package, Belle-Marie. Welcome to Salud Afar.' 'Thank you, Ops. Estimate arrival three standard days.' 'You are clear. Continue on course. By the way, Belle-Marie , we have some mail for you.' 'Would you forward it, please?'

'Doing it now.'

They were responses to our inquiries about Vicki. Most were negative. Didn't know her. Knew she was here but didn't get a chance to meet her. Got her to sign a crystal but they were moving us right along. Johansen, the guy who'd enjoyed several cups of imkah with Vicki, told us he hadn't actually been with her. 'She was at her hotel during the interview. I never left the studio. Didn't actually see her in person.'

Of the rest, five claimed to have spent time with her. Among them was Austin Gollancz, who represented the local firm that published her on Salud Afar. 'I hope,' he added, 'she's okay.' He lived in Marinopolis. It was the original name, now restored, for the capital of Komalia, which was the principal state on the world. During the height of the Directorate, it had been Cleev City , named for the family that had for so long held global sway. We set up a conference with Gollancz. There was a time delay, but it wasn't a problem. 'She came here the day after she arrived,' he said. He was a small, round, prosperous-looking guy. It was obvious he'd liked Vicki. 'We talked business.' 'Anything else?' Alex asked.

'Well, she was excited to be here. Talked about visiting some of our spookier places. She expected to have a great time.'

'Did she have an itinerary of any kind, Austin?'

'Not that I know of.'

'Anybody she planned to travel with?'

'If so, she didn't mention it to me. And look, Alex, I know I'm not being much help. But this is such a shock. I want you to know if I can do anything, anything at all, just ask. Okay?'

'Sure.'

'Thanks, Alex.'

SIX

Over the ages, it is a world whose name has become synonymous with great art. Nowhere else can we find music and sculpture and literature on their level. Whether one thinks of drama or symphonies or architecture or even botanical displays, one always has to confront their contribution. It may be related to their separation from the rest of us, or it may simply be something in the water, but we always have to make room for them. The power of their contributions, of luminous towers, concerts by the sea, brilliant comedy, tragedy on the summer stage, enriches us all. - Dr. Blanchard, in Midnight and Roses, speaking of the mythical world Marityne

Salud Afar orbits Moria, a quiet, stable class-G sun. The planetary system at one time is believed to have possessed eight worlds, but the passage of an unknown dense object eleven thousand years ago scattered them. Two worlds, Varesnikov and Naramitsu, were stripped of rings and moons, but left otherwise in place. Sophora had been thrown into a wildly irregular orbit, which brought it careening in and out of the inner system at centuries-long intervals. Fortunately, it made for occasional spectacular views, but posed no threat to the human establishment on Salud Afar. Miranda, a frozen terrestrial far from the sun, had, like Salud Afar, been unaffected by the event. The remaining three had been ejected and were adrift in the void. Early accounts suggest it was this wildness in the system that had inspired the first settlement, which had apparently been a scientific colony. (Most historians are more inclined to attribute settlement to the years-long journey back to the Confederacy. Why go through that when you had a virtual paradise at hand?) In any case, by modern times, it was a thriving world not entirely disconnected from the Confederacy but with a history all its own. We came in over the nightside, riding above a dark ocean. Illuminated patches were visible on the ground. Cities, glowing along a distant coastline. 'There are,' said Belle, 'eleven substantial landmasses, ranging from continents to islands with a minimum area of ninety thousand square kilometers.' She went on in that vein, citing temperature gradients and average rainfall and dozens of other details. Meanwhile, the E. Clifford Samuels Space Station turned on its lights and took control of the Belle-Marie . It's a modest operation by almost anybody's standards. Only six docking areas. 'Apparently they don't have much traffic,' I said. Alex was gazing quietly at the empty sky. 'Look around,' he said. 'Where would you go?'

Samuels was more like a government station than a commercial operation. Customs and immigration had of course scanned and interviewed us on our approach. We submitted medical histories, completed forms, and answered questions about why we were visiting Salud Afar, how long we intended to stay, and whether we'd be working. We were issued visitors' visas and warned against performing any kind of

remunerative work without getting permission. Later, we heard that they were procedures left over from the days of the Bandahr. When we'd finished, we checked in by link with Central Reserve. Because of the time required to communicate between Salud Afar and Rimway, Alex had established a local corporate account for us. We activated it and wandered out into the concourse looking for a place to eat. They had one restaurant, Sandstone's, a few offices, a lounge, a gift shop, and not much else. We got sandwiches at Sandstone's. We knew Vicki had landed in Marinopolis, but we'd just missed a shuttle into the capital. So we rode down instead to Karmanda, a major commercial city not far away. The weather was rough, so it was a bumpy ride. Some of the passengers, including Alex, didn't look too good by the time we reached the spaceport. The captain apologized, hoped we were all feeling okay, and came out of the cockpit to smile at his passengers as they stumbled down the ramp. A middle-aged overweight bearded guy stood off to one side, checking faces against a reader. I knew immediately what that was about. He spotted Alex and was waiting for us in the terminal. 'Mr. Benedict?' He waved a hand as if he were an old friend. 'Mr. Benedict? May I have a moment of your time?' He wore a drab gray jacket with a lapel button featuring a star and a sphere. He had a wide-brimmed hat, pushed jauntily back on his head. 'My name's Rob Peifer. I'm with Global.' He smiled at me, signaling he had no clue who I was but was glad to see me anyhow. 'Welcome to Salud Afar.' 'Thank you,' said Alex. He looked my way. 'Global's one of the major news agencies.' 'We're the best there is, Mr. Benedict. But'-he waved it away as a matter of relative inconsequence-'I was wondering if you could take a moment to tell me what brings you all the way out here? Is there a mysterious artifact involved, maybe? Or a lost world?' He leaned forward, inviting a provocative reply. Alex smiled politely. 'We're just here on vacation, Mr. Peifer. Just want to see the sights.' 'You're not on the track of anything?' 'No. We're just hoping to enjoy ourselves.' 'Would you tell me if you were ? On the track of something?' Alex thought about it. 'Sure.' 'Okay.' 'We're just here on vacation.' 'You sent some inquiries out about Vicki Greene-?' 'We're fans.' 'She just underwent a personality transplant.' 'That's correct.' 'It wouldn't have anything to do with your visit?' 'No. Not really.' 'All right. I'll just say you had no comment.' 'Mr. Peifer, do