The Spheres of Heaven

smoky room at the bottom, Tully O’Toole lay like a dead man on his mattress.

“Tully?” Chan spoke softly. “I’m back. Can we talk now?”

“Sure, sure.” The answer was a weak whisper.

“Do you think you’ll be able to understand me?”

“Sure I can, Chan the man. This time of night I’m sharp and bright.” Tully struggled to sit up, and Chan bent and placed his arm around the other man’s back. As he lifted he could feel the separate vertebrae in the spine.

“I’ll get right to the point. Tully, we have a chance to lift the quarantine. Did you hear me? We can lift the quarantine. We can go to the stars . And I don’t just mean that humans can do it. We can do it, you and me and the old team.”

“Wha-what?” Tully’s pale blue eyes clouded and his thin features took on a puzzled frown. “I think maybe I’m not hearing right.”

“You’re hearing right. You’re not imagining. I know, it sounds too good to be true. But listen.”

Chan spoke slowly and carefully, giving details of his meeting with the Stellar Group, watching Tully’s face. Occasionally the thin man frowned or seemed to drift away, but after a few moments he would nod for Chan to go on. The final proof that he was following everything came when Chan said, “We need you, Tully. None of the translation machines can talk to aliens, they’re programmed for human languages. But you can do it.”

“I can’t do anything.”

“You’ll learn. It takes a genuine madman like Tully the Rhymer to talk to aliens. The rest of us wouldn’t know where to start, but we’ll be there to back you up. Me and Tarbush, and Deb and Chrissie, and Dapper Dan and the Bun. Together again.”

“Together again. The old team, it’s like a dream.” Tully’s blue eyes filled with tears. “Oh, God, Chan. If I could I would. But I’m no use any more. I can’t go.”

“You can go, Tully. But first you have to break the Paradox habit.”

“Do you think I don’t know that? I can’t do it. I’ve tried and tried. I close the door and fix the locks, and even throw the key away. But still I get out every day — and drink the milk of Paradox.”

He was bent over, weeping hopelessly. Chan patted the thin shoulder. “It will be different this time, Tully. You won’t be alone. You’ll have me to help you, and Deb and Danny Casement. And in a few more days, as soon as I can reach them, Chrissie and the Tarbush will be along, too.”

“Dapper Dan. Oh, how I’d love to see him again.” Tully was laughing and crying at the same time. “Him and his lady friends. Do you remember how he used to sell them pieces of the Yang diamond?”

“Tully, he’s still at it. When you see him, he’ll tell you about it. Come on now.” Chan had his arm around O’Toole, lifting him. “We have to do this in stages. First, we go to Deb Bisson’s place. Then you two go on to Ceres.”

“What about you?” Tully stood up, swaying for balance. “Where will you be?”

“I told you, I have to find Tarbush and Chrissie Winger. Then we’ll have the old team together, and be all set to go. We’ll be on our way to the stars, Tully. Come on. Deb Bisson’s waiting for us.”

He led the way to the steep stair and the two of them slowly climbed together, Chan providing extra lift when it was needed. He was afraid that Deb had left, until she stepped forward out of the shadows.

Tully O’Toole stumbled over to her and draped his tall, gaunt form around her.

“Deb, I don’t know how to thank you and Chan. When I came here tonight I felt sure I was done, a little while longer and I would be gone. But now there’s hope. We’ll get away from here, and head for the stars. We said we would, we said we could — and now we’ll do it.”

Deb patted him on the shoulder. “We will, Tully. We will. We have to go to your place first, to get your things, before we go to mine. You lead the way.”

As Tully started back along the corridor, feeling his way along the dark walls, she held Chan back for a moment and whispered, “While you’re gloating, just remember one thing. I’m not going to Ceres or anywhere else for you. I’m doing it for him .”

“I know that.” Chan tried to pull free. “You hate my guts. You don’t need to tell me again. As soon as I can make arrangements for you and Tully to go to Ceres, I’ll leave you and head for the Oort Cloud. I have to find Chrissie and the Tarbush.”

Deb still held him by the arm. “Good luck, then — for Tully’s sake. What do you think your chances are?”

“With you?” Chan pulled himself away. “Zero. With Chrissie and the Tarbush, excellent. I’ll find them, and I’ll bring them to Ceres.”

“Cocksure as ever.”

“It’s all relative, Deb. Compared with the past few hours, anything in the Oort Cloud has to be easy.”

13: LEARNING FROM THE BUBBLE PEOPLE

Bony was fascinated by the array of waving bubble arms on the seabed outside. He was also frightened of them, as any rational person was afraid of the totally unknown. How long he might have stood staring was anyone’s guess, but a sudden clatter and a shout of “Rombelle! Rombelle!” brought his attention back to the inside of the ship.

It was Friday Indigo, dropping from the upper level without using the ladder. He shouted, “Look outside!” and then, when it became obvious that’s exactly what Bony and Liddy were doing, “Why didn’t you dummies wake me up?”

“We only just noticed them. We were asleep.”

It was a measure of Indigo’s excitement that he didn’t blister Bony for a failure to keep watch. Instead he crowded with them to the port.

“I woke up,” he said, “and I noticed it was light, and I went to look outside. And there they were, standing on the sea floor! Waving! Rombelle, they want us to meet with them.”

That was not news to Bony. He said carefully, “Do you think that would be a good idea, sir? We know nothing about these creatures.”

“Well, of course we don’t. How could we, this is first contact. You hear me? First contact . No human or alien in the Stellar Group ever encountered these beings before. Of course we have to go out and meet them.”

Bony should have expected that answer. He sighed, and reluctantly started toward the airlock.

Friday Indigo said, “And just where the hell do you think you’re going?”

“I was going for a suit — to wear outside.”

“And who told you to do that?” Indigo moved to Bony’s side. “You don’t seem to understand, Rombelle. This is first contact . A historic event. Naturally, the leader of the party conducts the initial meeting. You can come with me — provided that you stay a few steps behind and don’t open your mouth. All right?”

Without waiting for an answer Indigo took a suit and allowed it to enclose his body. Bony did not move. At last Indigo said impatiently, “Come on, man. First you’re trying to get out of the ship ahead of me, then you’ve turned into a statue. Get that suit on.”

“Yes, sir.” Bony knew what he needed to say, but he was afraid that it would offend Liddy. “I was just thinking, if we have people outside the ship, wouldn’t it be really important to have somebody back on board in case there’s an emergency? Someone who knows all the ship’s rescue systems inside and out.”

He had tried to phrase it tactfully, but tact was an unknown quantity to Friday Indigo. The captain looked at him, then at Liddy.

“Hm. You think she’s a dumb female who doesn’t know what she’s doing?”

“Well, I didn’t say—”

“I agree with you. Liddy has her uses, but handling emergencies isn’t one of them. All right. Change of plan. Rombelle, you stay here. Liddy, you put a suit on and come with me.”

“Does she need to go outside at all, sir? I mean, what would she do there?”

“She’ll carry the translation equipment. You don’t think I’m going to lug it around myself, do you, when I’m trying to establish contact with the bubble people? Remember, we’ll be recording this for posterity.”