Serpent's Gift Read online

  Before the coffee could arrive, the door slid open and Morrow entered.

  Despite the smile he flashed, he looked haggard, as though he hadn't been sleeping well.

  "Hello, Jeff," Rob said, noting the dark shadows beneath the engineer's eyes. "How are you?"

  Morrow shrugged, giving his friend a "don't ask" look, then turned his attention to the Chhhh-kk-tu and the elderly Mizari. "Greetings, Administrator," he said, then bowed formally to Kkintha. Then, raising his hands over his head, Morrow addressed Ssoriszs in halting Mizari. "The stars shine upon you, Esteemed One." He bowed deeply.

  "We are glad to see you again, Jeffrey," Kkintha said formally, "and we thank you for coming so quickly."

  "You have been often in our hearts," Ssoriszs said, inclining his head in the Mizari greeting bow. "Greetings, Jeff.. . and to your colleague, greetings."

  "I'm forgetting my manners," Jeff said, turning to present the tall, angular black woman who waited a step behind him. "I'd like all of you to meet Andrea Lynch, my assistant and crew boss. Andrea, this is Rob Gable, Esteemed Ssoriszs, and StarBridge's Administrator, Kkintha ch'aait. And, of course, you've already met Janet Rodriguez."

  "Hi," Lynch murmured. No smile brightened her narrow, dark features. The woman wore a baggy tan coverall with the sleeves rolled up above her elbows. Her hair was cropped close to her skull, and that, coupled with her height and wiry thinness, might almost have caused her to be mistaken for a man . .. except for her eyes, which were large, the color of onyx and fringed with beautifully curled (and completely natural) lashes. Rob could tell from her body language that Andrea Lynch was tense, though she

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  was trying to convey a bored aloofness.

  She's wound like a spring, he thought. Why? There were a number of possibilities, but he decided to reserve judgment for the moment. All question of blame or culpability over the radonium-2 monitoring aside, Lynch might simply be one of those humans who was uneasy around aliens. Or telepaths. The woman sported a teledistort cuff on her ear, one of the expensive Mizari models like Rob's own.

  "Coffee?" the psychologist asked, taking the pot out of the servo. "Forgive me for saying so, but you look like you could use some, Jeff."

  " 'No rest for the wicked,' " Morrow quoted with a wry grin, accepting a mug.

  Lynch merely shook her head impatiently as the group gathered around the table. "First of all," Morrow began, "let me assure you that we're going to clear up this problem: as quickly as possible. We've just been out to take a fast look at the site. The bad news is that our preliminary analysis indicates that there is some radonium-2 activity in that smaller cavern. But the good news is that there are ways to contain and] control radonium breakdown, and we have the people and the equipment to handle that. It shouldn't take more than a few days."

  Rob sighed with relief. "That's good to hear."

  "Will the artifacts be contaminated by radiation?" Ssoris asked suddenly. His question, harmless enough in itself, was so abrupt that it sounded accusing.

  Rob, accustomed to the Mizari Liaison's unfailing politeness, regarded his scaled friend with consternation. He's really obsessed with this Lost Colony quest.. .|

  "Yes," said Lynch firmly, in reply to the Liaison's query.

  "No," Jeff Morrow declared simultaneously, speaking with equal certainty.

  A brief, awkward silence ensued. Rob broke it. "Well, which is it?" he asked curiously, glancing from Jeff's handsome features to Lynch's rather predatory ones. "Are the artifacts contaminated or aren't they?"

  "Well, actually we're both right," said Morrow with a deprecatory smile. "I was referring to the artifacts that are resting in the stasis fields in the main cavern. Nothing in the main cavern shows any sign of contamination, as of this morning. But I believe that Andrea was thinking of the object in the smaller cavern." He glanced at his assistant for confirmation and she nodded, "The religious object... what's it called?"

  "Star-shrine," Ssoriszs supplied.

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  "Right. That item, I'm afraid, is contaminated, and will need to be neutralized before it can be removed."

  "Is that difficult?" Ssoriszs asked.

  "Not really. It will just take us a little time, since we'd have to order in a neutralizer to generate the necessary field. That would take several days to a week, probably. We'll let you know when your star-shrine is accessible again."

  Janet Rodriguez leaned forward, brushing a lock of bronze hair back off her forehead. "I have a portable neutralizer here at the school, if you want to use that. However, even more important than those artifacts--if you'll excuse me for saying so, Ssoriszs--is the school itself. Can you tell how much of the radonium beneath the Lamont Cliffs is now changing into radonium-2? How quickly is the reaction spreading?"

  "And, most importantly, could the school be in any danger from this radonium-2?" Kkintha ch'aait's whiskers twitched with concern. She was stil absently grooming herself, Rob noted, and small tufts of pale fur clung to her clawed fingers.

  Jeff raised a hand, his fingers tucked into a fist. "One," he said, counting off his forefinger, "no, we don't know the percentage of radonium that is breaking down into radonium-2. We'll know that in a day or two . .. certainly by the end of the week. Two"-- he counted off his middle finger--"the radonium into radonium-2 reaction appears at the moment to be spreading slowly--which is lucky for us."

  Morrow gave the Administrator a reassuring smile as he ticked off his ring finger. "And, finally, three: no, at the moment, and unless the situation were to change dramatically, the school is in no danger whatsoever. We should be able to contain this problem before there's even a hint of a threat to the Academy."

  "Threat?" Kkintha was determined to hear the worst. "Then there is some danger, is there not?"

  "Hell yes, it's dangerous," Andrea Lynch said bluntly. Her manner was patronizing as she spoke slowly, as though to a child. "Radonium-2 is nothing to, uh .. . mess around with. It's very nasty stuff, Administrator ch'aait."

  "Before we continue, Jeff," Rob broke in hastily as he saw the Chhhh-kk-tu's small round ears flatten in anger. "Forgive me for making you go back to basics, but could you or Ms. Lynch possibly brief us nontechnical types on just how this radonium into radonium-2 reaction works? Ssoriszs and I were trying to remember our elementary physics courses, but we're still foggy on just what's going on out at the Cliffs."

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  "Sure, Rob," Morrow said. He keyed his terminal link for a moment in silence, then waved at it. "If you'll all glance at your holotanks..."

  Rob did so, seeing an atomic representation of a three- dimensional molecular structure, showing individual atoms in a rainbow of hues, with the whole molecule outlined in glowing green. "This is stable radonium," Jeff said. "It's a compound, not an element. Normal radonium is a crystalline lattice made up of the indicated elements, which includes one transuranic"--

  a vivid blue atomic structure brightened--"and a couple of superheavies that are--potentially--extremely unstable." The two atoms that glowed different shades of red brightened to highlight them. "You can see how, in this configuration, the lattice structure is delicately poised. The transuranic atom keeps those two superheavies balanced. Under normal circumstances, radonium is safe and stable. You could pick it up with your hand if you wanted to."

  He keyed another command into the terminal, and Rob saw several small particles dive-bomb the lattice. One particle struck one of the delicate linkages near the superheavy atoms, knocking it away, and suddenly the entire structure lurched, slipped, then altered into something that was no longer symmetrical. A violet glow began emanating from the lopsided representation, pulsing brightly. "But. .." Jeff continued his explanation, "if you bombard basic radonium with neutrons, it becomes unstable, and that's what we call radonium-2."

  The image of the radonium-2 mutated back into the stable molecule, then it shrank and was joined by others, until its distinctive crystalline shape appeared solid. A gentle, golden glow sur
rounded the radonium. "Normal radonium is the good guy of modern technology," the engineer continued.

  "We power starships with it. Without radonium we'd never have the properties or the power to generate the field that allows us to make the transition to metaspace. A little radonium goes a very long way."

  "I was told that the veins of radonium running through this asteroid could power the school for ten thousand years--at a minimum," Rob said. 'That's why the Mizari gift of this asteroid< for the site of StarBridge Academy was so incredibly generous,'" he said, smiling and nodding at Ssoriszs.

  "This school is vital to the preservation of interstellar peace," the Mizari said slowly, his appendages trembling with deep emotion, "therefore our gift was not generous, it was necessary."

  "StarBridge means a great deal to all of us, Esteemed One," Jeff said, and for a moment Rob glimpsed something haunted

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  behind his eyes. Without being told, he knew his friend was remembering how hard he'd tried to become part of StarBridge and its mission--and how devastating his failure had been.

  After a bare second, Jeff was all business again. "Now watch what happens when radonium-2 begins to spread," he said. He keyed in a command and the radonium on the screen abruptly lurched, tilted, altering into radonium-2.

  Then the individual molecule shrank until it was only one of many unbalanced molecules. A lurid violet light began pulsing hypnotically as it surrounded the unstable mass, which continued to grow like something living. "When radonium-2 forms, it sets up a domino effect, 'infecting' normal radonium, changing it... decrystallizing it. The instability grows quickly, almost geometrically. We call this 'breeding.' "

  Morrow licked his lips, staring down into his holo-tank as if mesmerized, then he shivered and looked back up at the others. "Radonium-2 is nasty stuff.

  Volatile, extremely radioactive, it requires special techniques to contain, seal off, then remove it. If I may borrow the medical analogy again, it's like an infected limb that must be amputated, and the stump cauterized."

  Now it was Rob's turn to shudder as he remembered a patient on Jolie that he'd once treated. The man had fallen while rock climbing, and by the time he'd been missed, located, and rescued, gangrene had been far advanced.

  Despite all the advances of modern medicine, his leg had been beyond saving. He'd nearly died.

  "How do you accomplish this . .. amputation and cauterization?" Kkintha ch'aait asked.

  "We generate very high heat, and use that to vaporize the radonium-2. Then we use vapor-collection tanks to remove the R-2. It's a delicate process, because if that transuranic element begins to fission, it will set up a chain reaction, and when that happens . . ." he trailed off, shaking his head silently.

  Andrea Lynch smiled, a faint, derisive smile. "Boom," she said flatly.

  "Boom," Rob repeated softly, his mouth dry. "As in mushroom- cloud 'boom.'

  "

  "It wouldn't make a mushroom shape in space, without gravity or air pressure," Lynch pointed out. "It would be a sphere."

  I'm so glad we have you here to tell us these things ... the quotation ran through Rob's mind, but he bit his tongue and remained silent. Sarcasm wouldn't help. Lynch was definitely lacking in the winning personality department, but they needed her on their side.

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  "But after you do all of this ... vaporizing and sealing and vapor collection"--

  Janet Rodriguez frowned worriedly--"will the radonium be safe again?"

  "Sure," Lynch replied offhandedly, stealing a not-so- surreptitious glance at her watch. "Just as long as you keep those archaeologists of yours from playing around with their toys."

  "Just a moment," Ssoriszs said slowly. "Are you saying that the archaeology dig must be closed after you finish your work?"

  Lynch shrugged. "Who do you think caused this mess? It certainly wasn't my people! When we checked that site six months ago, it was completely stable.

  Something started the decrystallization, and it had to be them. Reactions like that don't happen spontaneously."

  "No, they do not," Janet said, too evenly. "But I find it hard to believe that Serge and Professor Greyshine caused this. It seems far more likely to me that the radonium was affected by some other factor--the neutrons given off by ships entering or leaving metaspace, perhaps--and that your people missed the signs during your most recent check."

  "Impossible," Lynch snapped. "I went over their results myself, and so did Jeff. It had to be those archaeologists."

  "Andrea ..." Jeff Morrow said, then he hesitated. "I know we were careful," he continued finally, "but it is possible that one of the crew missed something.

  Nobody is perfect."

  "I didn't miss anything," Lynch said brusquely. "It was the archaeologists, and I can prove it. I took a look at those toys of theirs while we were checking out the site, and guess what I found? Something called a neutron emitter. I'm sure that was what triggered the reaction."

  Ssoriszs' tentacles stopped waving and his sleek body froze into stillness--a sure sign of great distress among his people, Rob knew. "Serge told me last night when I spoke with him that the Professor was using the neutron emitter when the alarm sounded," the alien said finally. "But the vein of radonium ...

  it lies five meters below the surface of the cavern."

  "Rock is no barrier to neutrons," Lynch cried triumphantly, swooping like a vulture to seize on the Mizari's words. She favored the group with another caustic smile. "Neutrons are stopped by light-hydrogenous materials--water, oil, plastics ... and flesh. Rock hardly fazes them."

  "Oh, shit," Rob muttered under his breath, picturing Serge's face if the young man weren't permitted to continue with the

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  excavation. Serge would be devastated . . . Rob knew how much he'd invested in this dig. In the past six years the young man had lost his hands, his career as a pianist, his career as an interrelator, and, just months ago, the first woman he'd ever cared for deeply. How many such blows could anyone take without breaking down? "You mean they won't be able to finish excavating?"

  "I see no reason why they can't continue their work," Jeff said, giving Ssoriszs a reassuring glance. "But they probably wouldn't be able to use the neutron emitter again."

  'The neutron emitter is a fairly recent invention, and archaeologists managed without it before," Janet pointed out. "I suspect Serge and Greyshine can make do without it." Her expression grew thoughtful. "But, really, the more I think about it, the more I can't agree with your reasoning, Ms. Lynch.

  "You see, / helped Professor Greyshine assemble and calibrate that neutron emitter, and the intensity level simply wasn't set high enough to cause such a reaction. Believe me"--her eyes held the black woman's--"we aren't fools."

  Janet's unspoken "even though you obviously think we are" fairly echoed in the silence. "Both the Professor and I know what happens when radonium is bombarded with neutrons, and we checked the location of the radonium vein beneath the cavern floor. We were careful to set the emitter on the lowest intensity level."

  "Maybe it got turned up by accident," Jeff suggested.

  "Don't forget that crevasse," Lynch said. "My scanners showed that it was really deep. It's possible that one of your people scanned the walls of the crevasse and started the reaction breeding that way. Check with them."

  "We can't ask Professor Greyshine," Janet said. "They're keeping him in hiber-heal for a couple of days. But Serge might know."

  "I suspect that Dr. Andreiovitch will be able to tell us whether the neutron emitter initiated the reaction," Ssoriszs said thoughtfully.

  Jeff Morrow sat bolt upright, eyes widening. "Mikhail Andreiovitch? You know him? You've been in touch with him about this?"

  "Yes. I requested his help in this crisis. He and Esteemed Rizzshor embarked yesterday from Shassiszss. The Council arranged priority transport for them."

  Andrea Lynch gasped, and when she spoke her voice was shrill.

  "Andreiovitch
is coming here!" she blurted.

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  "Wonderful!" Jeff exclaimed. He turned to regard his assistant, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "That's the best news I've heard all week," he said, grinning. "Andreiovitch is one of the foremost authorities in the field.

  His advice will be invaluable.

  Tight-lipped, Lynch nodded silently.

  Something's going on here, Rob thought, eyeing the woman thoughtfully.

  For some reason Lynch doesn't want Andreiovitch to come here. Why?

  Could she have made some kind of mistake six months ago, and is trying to cover it up?

  "What ship did he take?" Jeff asked. "And when is it due?"

  "Andreiovitch and Rizzshor should be here in approximately ten Standard days," Ssoriszs said. "They are aboard the Night Storm-- one of the swiftest Mizari courier vessels."

  "By that time, we may have this whole thing cleared up," Lynch muttered.

  "It would be an honor just to meet him," Jeff said. He glanced around the table, then at his watch. "Our crew will be assembling up at the station by now, so unless there's something else, we'd better get up there to make sure everything is in order."

  "Jeffrey--" Ssoriszs extended one appendage with its tip turned up, almost like a pleading hand. "This crew of yours .. ." he hesitated, and Rob knew from long association that the Liaison was embarrassed by what he was thinking. "Are they ... have you known them long?"

  "Most of them," Jeff said, giving him a puzzled glance. "People in the mining and space construction business move around a lot, by necessity, but they're a good crew, I assure you. What's on your mind?"

  Lynch stood, her mouth tight with impatience. "He's worried about his precious artifacts, Jeff," she explained bluntly. "His star-whatchamacallit and such."

  "I assure you, Esteemed One"--Jeff made a placating gesture-- "that I'll caution everyone that the items are valuable and not to disturb them."

  "And if they should find anything new .. ." Ssoriszs still wasn't satisfied, but he was trying to get as much of a commitment out of the engineer as he could. "Please, could you notify us?"