Yes, there are occasional human monsters who show up and create havoc, but the real day-to-day damage is usually done by people who mean well.
- Midnight and Roses
Kilgore was right. The story had leaked during the night, and in the morning the news spread around the world. By the time the media were announcing an address by the Administrator, it had already become a matter of containing a growing panic. Before Kilgore got anywhere close to his audience, there were announcements that every seat on every flight to Rimway and Toxicon had been sold out for the next year, which was as far ahead as they took reservations. Prices on the carriers spiked, allegedly because nobody would be coming to Salud Afar, and, therefore, the carriers had to cover their costs. In addition, a new interstellar transport company was reported to be forming. It didn't yet have a name, but it would, according to the experts, begin carrying people off-world within the next few months. The four manufacturers of interstellars were already swamped with orders. Buyers were reporting that prices had skyrocketed with the start of business. Meantime, the real-estate market crashed. The online networks overflowed with terror. Was it really true the world would be destroyed? Why had we not been keeping watch on something so dangerous? Rumors were everywhere that the Cleevs had known for centuries that Callistra had gone nova. True believers announced that the end times had arrived. We heard stories that stars had exploded in the Confederacy as well, that the Mute worlds, filled as they were with infidels, were also going down. Experts were everywhere, illustrating the dire effects of a gamma-ray burst with holos showing the burst itself striking Salud Afar, bathing it in radiation, soaking it, submerging it. They depicted people trying to shelter themselves, hiding in caves and basements, often escaping the radiation only to die of starvation. Or freezing to death, as weather cycles became disrupted. Ivan got interviewed and used the term Thunderbolt . It immediately became official terminology. Some experts actually seemed to be enjoying themselves. If there were skeptics anywhere, they must have bought in when Number 17 Parkway announced that the Administrator would be making an address later that morning. And as the various time zones woke up to the story, they got on board, too. Ailos Johansen, who hosted the interview show Imkah with Johansen, was already calling for a vote of no confidence against the Administrator. The vote, if there were to be one, would have to be approved by the Legislature. If they agreed, the voting public would make the decision.
When Kilgore appeared, the casual, relaxed demeanor I'd seen during his other addresses was gone. He was seated in his office, clothed in the ceremonial robe of office. He looked up from a notebook. 'My friends around the world,' he said, 'I have spent the last twelve hours in discussion with the chief executives of each of the Coalition states, and with other principals. You have probably already heard the news reports, so let me tell you what we know, and what action we plan to take. 'We are faced today with a somber reality. Let me begin by putting to rest the rumors that have been circulating in recent weeks of an imminent war with the Ashiyyur. We do not wish that to happen, and we have no reason to believe it will. 'But we are facing an emergency of dire proportions. I learned yesterday that Callistra, the single star that has shone so brightly in our heavens for centuries, that will still be visible tonight, has nevertheless exploded in what scientists call a hypernova.' He paused. Got up. Came closer to the viewer. Managed to look like a guy who had answers. 'Callistra is a great distance from Salud Afar. But the explosion occurred during the time of the Third Union. The star that we still see each night in the sky has not existed for twelve centuries. 'The explosion released bursts of gamma rays. These have been sprayed in all directions, and, unfortunately, we now know that one of them is headed our way. 'What does this mean for Salud Afar? The situation is not good, but we can take action to protect ourselves. For one thing, it is still three years away. For another, our atmosphere will act as a shield to ward off the worst of the effects. Nevertheless, there will be some penetration. 'We are working to secure assistance from the Confederacy. We've been constructing shelters against the possibility of a war with the Ashiyyur. These shelters will be used to protect us when the gamma rays arrive. But in fact a simple basement will suffice. The burst will require slightly more than three days to pass. We have already begun storing supplies against that time.
'In addition, we will evacuate many of our citizens, and we are working to find other solutions. 'Now, I must be honest with you. When the burst has passed, we will not be able simply to return to the land. It will probably not be possible, for many years, to do any farming. To compensate, we will be expanding our synthetic food capabilities. We are taking other steps as well to protect ourselves. But our greatest need at the moment is for everyone to remain calm. If we see this through together, if we unite in the cause of our common safety, we have nothing to fear.'
Kilgore continued another three or four minutes in that vein. He announced the formation of a global executive committee to oversee what he called global security strategy. (That sounded as if the Thunderbolt were merely something to be gotten through. A severe storm, perhaps, or an incursion by foreign spies.) He promised to report regularly on what the committee was doing, and told us that while it wasn't going to be easy, he knew that the people of the world would rise to the occasion. 'Let us then go forward together. Let our response in the trying days ahead become our legacy to our sons and daughters. And if Salud Afar endures for a million years, they will say this was her finest hour.'
Then he was gone. 'You know,' said Alex, 'the guy read the book after all.' 'Which book?' He looked at me and shook his head. 'Let it go, Chase.'
I was due at Global to do my interview with Peifer. When I went up to the roof to get a taxi, a small crowd had gathered, and they were talking in hushed voices about the end of the world. 'The Administrator said it's going to happen.' 'That can't be right. What the hell's he know?' '-Never got it straight before-' '-All going to die-' '- Crazy-' '-We're going to my cousin's. Voka's. He's in a safe place away from here-' Down in the street it sounded as if people were yelling at one another. Twenty minutes later I arrived at Global. It's a ground-level pad, and the same thing was happening. Everybody was scared, and nobody was talking about anything else. Peifer was waiting for me in the executive offices. Staff members were running around, peering into displays, talking into their links. 'Looks busy,' I said. 'You kidding? This is the biggest story ever. Why the hell didn't you and Alex tell me what you were onto?' 'We didn't know. I didn't know until I looked up and saw that empty sky.' 'Empty sky? What empty sky? 'From the asteroid.' He escorted me to his office. Somebody came in and took pictures. Lots of pictures. Most of them had me standing, looking up at the Lantner monument and the sky beyond. 'You know,' he said, 'when the critical information comes from looking up and seeing nothing , it really doesn't work well for pictures.' 'I'll try to do better next time, Rob.' 'You should have brought Alex along,' he said. 'You didn't ask.' 'I didn't know we were looking at anything like this. I thought it was about corruption. I thought the bastards knew a major downturn was coming, and they were in collusion with-' He stopped and stared at me. 'Never mind. I've got a few questions for you.' 'What kind of reaction is the Administrator getting?' 'Right now,' he said, 'they want to hang him.' 'I'm sorry to hear it.' 'He deserves what he gets. He stood by and let his friends run things. As long as you were loyal to the bastard, you couldn't do anything wrong. Anyhow, I wouldn't be surprised if he was privy to it from the
beginning.' Somebody knocked on the door. He said, 'Come in.' A middle-aged woman, looking frazzled. 'Rob,' she said, 'check the stream.' Peifer turned on the HV. It was tuned to Global. We got pictures of a riot in a time zone on the far side of the planet. '-And several hundred arrested.' The voice was a baritone. 'It started in midafternoon, more than an hour before the Administrator spoke. So far, there are seventeen known dead, and forty or fifty known injured, John.'
Peifer brought up the location. It was Baranda, a place I'd never heard of before. 'No big deal,' he said. 'People there are always rioting about something.' They went back and showed a recorded clip of a man throwing a child from a rooftop ten or eleven stories high. Then jumping himself. And there was a report that the Coalition Data Collection Agency was overwhelmed with protests. Around the world, action committees were already forming, prayer meetings were being scheduled, and politicians in the Administrator's opposition party began to argue that either Kilgore had been negligent or we were overreacting. 'Well,' Peifer said, 'it looks as if you and your partner have had an impact.'
When it was over, I headed for the spaceport, where Alex had said he would wait. I'd expected an angry crowd, but the place was, if anything, deserted. Alex was waiting in the departure area. The shuttle, though, was
