“What’s that?”
Glancing out at that bubble of darkness, I saw another dull spark creeping out across it, the way the mutineers had gone.
We soared across to the electron telescope, and I got its image on the screen—a jagged irregular mass, its projecting points and edges glowing faintly though most of it was dark.
I recognized its angular coffin-shape.
“It’s one of those queer iron asteroids,” I said.
“The last one to appear.
The electronic chart had showed it between us and the bubble. I suppose it has been sucked in ahead of us.”
Clinging to the chrome rail, Ken Star spoke urgently to Lilith. “It’s giving light we need,” he said.
“We can see four of those righting machines, spaced at the points of a tetrahedron around the bubble—which I think is the gate through which they came.
I suggest you pick ‘em off.”
“Not yet.”
Moving with a confident skill in that null-G space, she turned to measure that dark blot through the dome again, with her own unfrightened eyes.
“I’m not yet certain.
The station is an obvious artifact.
The fate of the mutineers shows that we are within range of their weapons.
Yet they have not attacked us.”
“Life’s sake, Lil!” old Habibula gasped.
“They’re dragging us into that tunnel of wicked night—perhaps into another universe!
They’ve left us just a few precious hours.
Isn’t that attack enough?
Can’t you see that we’re all in fearful danger?”
“You knew this job was risky, Giles.”
Her smile was a flash of kindly malice.
“Yet you accepted it.”
“To save my mortal life!” he wheezed.
“Old age was killing me.”
She turned to me.
“Captain, we’ll try one more signal.”
Her ah“ of absolute command made her again the goddess judging worlds. ”Train the strongest laser beam you can on one of those machines.
Transmit the simplest signals possible.
Begin with the series of squares.
One flash.
Four.
Nine.
And so on.
“Monitor everything you can, for their reply.”
“Lil, don’t!” old Habibula gasped.
“You’re asking for a dreadful death!”
But her air of power left me no choice.
In the increasing light of that asteroid falling into the bubble, I chose the machine that hung northward from it. I set all our search and reception gear to tracking, and trained the main laser beam.
Using the computer for a manual key, I tapped one flash.
Watching the angular shadow of that invader, I saw a pale, greenish flicker.
Then the screen went blank.
The red instrument lights went out.
That chrome rail shuddered under my hand.
A dull reverberation boomed through Nowhere Near.
“Well, Lil?” old Habibula croaked faintly.
“That’s your answer!”
“Answer enough.” Her voice was calm in the dark.
“We have no choice.”