door. I arrived as her shift finished, and said hello. She, too, knew me immediately as the woman who was getting all the attention in the media. But she didn't connect me with the runaway cab. When I told her, her face darkened. 'You could have gotten us both killed.' 'I had to keep going,' I said. I told her about the asteroid. 'Why didn't you just explain?' 'Because the CSS was after me. I couldn't afford to-' 'Look'-she wanted no nonsense from me-'I haven't been following the story that close. But I don't appreciate what you did. Next time, you might try trusting us.' And she turned away.
Reporters found the young Ashiyyurean male who'd followed me out to the raft. The interview that followed was translated into standard and made available all over the Confederacy. He gallantly denied any special claim of heroism, but admitted he'd thought twice about going into the water with both me and the
Rob Peifer wrote Callistra: The Hunt for the Devil's Eye , recounting the entire story. It's won awards and has made Peifer one of the most visible journalists on Salud Afar. At least that's what he says. He is currently working on a biography of Vicki Greene. The book made celebrities of Orman and Shiala, who'd rescued us from the crash after our escape from the plateau. They were recognized by a local civic group as the Citizens of the Year. Alex and I attended the ceremony. We took Ivan and his wife to dinner the night before we left for home. We owed them a major vote of thanks. Alex has since sent him a comm link that was once owned by Karis Timm, the legendary physician.
When I finally got back to Rimway, Ben told me there was no point going any further, and we became an ex- couple. It was a pity. I liked Ben.
Alex brought the Churchill book home with us. He admits that yes, it was a theft of sorts, but Kilgore didn't know what he had, had no appreciation for it, and, anyhow, he would never have made sense of what Churchill stood for. And technically, we'd found it lying loose. It sold recently for an amount that would have covered double our expenses for the entire Salud Afar mission.
A new recreation center was recently erected in Moreska, and named for Edward Demery, who lost his life trying to warn the world. His partner in that effort, Jennifer Kelton, is also remembered. Travis University, where she once taught math and physics, has named its science lab for her.
Years after the publication of her last novel, Vicki Greene remains a major figure in the literary world. The people who decide such things maintain that it is too early to know for certain, but most seem to be betting that she will reign with Teslov, Bikai, and Gordon as the giants of the age. And, of course, on Salud Afar, she will always be remembered as the woman who put things together, who figured out why someone thought it didn't matter whether an obscure wedding ceremony had a religious dimension, and how it connected with a forgotten asteroid.
EPILOGUE
The skimmer began its descent through the late-autumn sky. Below, the town was indistinguishable from a thousand others on the vast prairie that separates the western mountain chains from the eastern forests. It was located on a river, a tributary of the Myakonda, in an area of moderate temperatures. The climate was pleasant. Snowstorms were rare, tornadoes nonexistent. Cory Greene looked down from the skimmer. He saw the school, two churches, and several hundred houses set along quiet streets, surrounding parks, and ball fields. Several ball games were in progress. 'Nice area,' he said. Obermaier was still sitting with his eyes closed. He wasn't happy. 'You understand, Mr. Greene, I do not approve of this.' 'I understand, Doctor.' 'Ordinarily, I would not even have considered your request. To my knowledge, this has never been done before.' 'I understand.' 'It's a clear ethical violation.' 'I know.' 'I'd much prefer we simply leave things as they are.' 'That would be unfair to her.' 'So is disrupting her life.' Greene was weary of the conversation. How many times were they going to go over it? 'Doctor, I've signed the protocol. I won't identify myself to her. After today, I will never return to this town. I will tell no one about what we are doing here. And I will, under the most severe torture, not reveal the location.' Children were jumping rope in the streets. Kids were playing on swings and chasing one another through backyards. Several people glanced up from a bench as they passed overhead. They started down. Greene's heartbeat picked up. 'We've informed her we're coming,' said Obermaier. 'She knows we have news, but she has no idea what that might be.' 'Okay.' 'She'll recognize me. She thinks I'm an uncle. So please let me do the talking. If questioned, you should inform her you're here strictly as an observer. They were descending toward a modest single-story home at the end of a tree-lined drive. It had a lawn, a picket fence, and a large flowering bush in front. 'Is that where she lives?' he asked. 'Yes. She's a music teacher now.' 'That's hard to believe.' 'I suppose so.'
They drifted down and landed on a pad shared with the house next door. Cory opened the hatch just as church bells began to ring. Obermaier looked at him. 'You're sure now you want to do this? There'll be no going back.' 'I'm sure.'
'She's quite happy with her present existence. She has a family, which we've gone to quite a lot of trouble and expense to put together. You're going to disrupt all that.' 'I know.' 'Okay.' Obermaier took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The church bells stopped and the town seemed very quiet. 'You understand this won't restore her mind. It won't set everything back as it was.' 'I understand.' He opened the door and admitted a cool breeze. There was a light on in the living room. He gripped the rim of the hatchway, slipped out of his seat, and stood on the pad. 'Even if she can't remember, she deserves to know who she was. Who she
