guess they’re gone around twelve hours.”
“May lead nowhere, but how about checking carefully? I’ve a hunch it will be exactly half the Martian day. If we can get some lead …”
Doubt showed in Forbin’s face.
“Don’t worry, I can’t - won’t - do anything without your nod. I’m in my very own private ivory tower; I may be able to help you, down there in the market place. I’m a lousy substitute for Colossus, but the best you’ve got.”
Forbin left, more heartened by the conversation than he had any right to expect. Blake had a point: he should study the Martians.
In his apartment, he instructed the domestic computer to report on Mars. Sitting back in a favorite chair with a large glass of brandy to still the nagging ache of loneliness, he gave the order. “This is Forbin. Go ahead.”
The presentation began with movies taken by space probes, shots at least eight years old, for all human astro effort ended with the accession of Colossus.
Thereafter probe-data and Luna-station intelligence was secret to Colossus.
Sipping his cognac, Forbin watched and listened intently, forgetting his worries, fascinated.
“Mars, because of its reddish tinge, named for the Roman god of war, also for the Greek equivalent Ares, hence the study of the planet is called Arenology. Known to the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Arabs. Mean distance from Sol 227.9 million kilometers, mass .11, albedo .16, surface escape velocity 3.2 mm/sec, circumference 6770 K/m. Angle of inclination to the solar plane 24 degrees, remarkably similar to Earth’s. The Martian year is 687 days, diurnal rotation period 24 hours 37 minutes 23 seconds. Has two moons, Phobos and Diemos, named for Mars/Ares attendants-see Homer. The planet, fourth from Sol, is notable for its polar caps which expand and recede seasonally; their composition is uncertain, but most probably they are frozen carbon dioxide. Correlated with these changes are color variations in the temperate zone, dark patches which may be due to seasonal fluctuations in the life cycle of primitive vegetation.”
Forbin recalled the Martian talk of “Plant.”
“Between 1877 and 1916 some observers reported ‘canals’ or ‘channels’ and regarded them as evidence of sentient life. The observations were not later confirmed, and the theory discredited - see Schiaparelli, Lowell.”
Forbin wondered what they had seen.
“Nevertheless, it has long been recognized that Martian conditions most nearly approximate to Earth; the idea of Earth-type life has never been wholly discarded, but a major objection has been the lack of oxygen in detectable quantity.”
Forbin sat bolt upright, slopping brandy.
“Close-range investigation began with the USA probe Mariner 9 in 1971 which produced some of the best results ever achieved. Later, more sophisticated vehicles have produced disappointing results, particularly in examining the temperate regions, encountering long-term dust storms, a recognized feature of the planet. Soft landings have been attempted, particularly the Pan-Earth program of 1992 through 1995, but only garbled transmissions have been received; more often nothing was heard. Since orbiting probe transmissions have always been clearly read, it is assumed there is some local surface-effect, cause unknown, which absorbs transmissions. The proposed collection of samples by robot, scheduled for 1985, was canceled due to the risk of cross-infection between the planets, for photographs plainly show dried-up riverbeds, clear evidence that water was once abundant; and therefore the possibility of latent organisms, dating from the time of high-probability of some life form when conditions were more akin to Earth, could not be ruled out.
Brought to Earth, they might have been reactivated-with unknowable consequences.”
Forbin thought of the black spheres, wondering uneasily, but remembering their intense heat on arrival, he decided that any organism distantly related to Earth-life
“May lead nowhere, but how about checking carefully? I’ve a hunch it will be exactly half the Martian day. If we can get some lead …”
Doubt showed in Forbin’s face.
“Don’t worry, I can’t - won’t - do anything without your nod. I’m in my very own private ivory tower; I may be able to help you, down there in the market place. I’m a lousy substitute for Colossus, but the best you’ve got.”
Forbin left, more heartened by the conversation than he had any right to expect. Blake had a point: he should study the Martians.
In his apartment, he instructed the domestic computer to report on Mars. Sitting back in a favorite chair with a large glass of brandy to still the nagging ache of loneliness, he gave the order. “This is Forbin. Go ahead.”
The presentation began with movies taken by space probes, shots at least eight years old, for all human astro effort ended with the accession of Colossus.
Thereafter probe-data and Luna-station intelligence was secret to Colossus.
Sipping his cognac, Forbin watched and listened intently, forgetting his worries, fascinated.
“Mars, because of its reddish tinge, named for the Roman god of war, also for the Greek equivalent Ares, hence the study of the planet is called Arenology. Known to the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Arabs. Mean distance from Sol 227.9 million kilometers, mass .11, albedo .16, surface escape velocity 3.2 mm/sec, circumference 6770 K/m. Angle of inclination to the solar plane 24 degrees, remarkably similar to Earth’s. The Martian year is 687 days, diurnal rotation period 24 hours 37 minutes 23 seconds. Has two moons, Phobos and Diemos, named for Mars/Ares attendants-see Homer. The planet, fourth from Sol, is notable for its polar caps which expand and recede seasonally; their composition is uncertain, but most probably they are frozen carbon dioxide. Correlated with these changes are color variations in the temperate zone, dark patches which may be due to seasonal fluctuations in the life cycle of primitive vegetation.”
Forbin recalled the Martian talk of “Plant.”
“Between 1877 and 1916 some observers reported ‘canals’ or ‘channels’ and regarded them as evidence of sentient life. The observations were not later confirmed, and the theory discredited - see Schiaparelli, Lowell.”
Forbin wondered what they had seen.
“Nevertheless, it has long been recognized that Martian conditions most nearly approximate to Earth; the idea of Earth-type life has never been wholly discarded, but a major objection has been the lack of oxygen in detectable quantity.”
Forbin sat bolt upright, slopping brandy.
“Close-range investigation began with the USA probe Mariner 9 in 1971 which produced some of the best results ever achieved. Later, more sophisticated vehicles have produced disappointing results, particularly in examining the temperate regions, encountering long-term dust storms, a recognized feature of the planet. Soft landings have been attempted, particularly the Pan-Earth program of 1992 through 1995, but only garbled transmissions have been received; more often nothing was heard. Since orbiting probe transmissions have always been clearly read, it is assumed there is some local surface-effect, cause unknown, which absorbs transmissions. The proposed collection of samples by robot, scheduled for 1985, was canceled due to the risk of cross-infection between the planets, for photographs plainly show dried-up riverbeds, clear evidence that water was once abundant; and therefore the possibility of latent organisms, dating from the time of high-probability of some life form when conditions were more akin to Earth, could not be ruled out.
Brought to Earth, they might have been reactivated-with unknowable consequences.”
Forbin thought of the black spheres, wondering uneasily, but remembering their intense heat on arrival, he decided that any organism distantly related to Earth-life
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