Delta Pavonis by John Maddox Roberts, Eric Kotani
Authors: John Maddox Roberts, Eric Kotani
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burden. "Did you find ice in there?"
"Better than that!" She laughed, then shut herself off as she recognized a hysterical note. "Let's go." She picked up her bundle of laundry with her free hand and they hurried back.
Forrest looked up from his notes as they came back into camp. He was frowning, naturally enough. "It's about time. I told you . . ."
"Catch," she said, tossing the snowball. Instinctively, Forrest caught it. His face was puzzled at first, then blank. When the reality of the cold struck him he dropped it as if it had been red-hot.
"What the hell . . . what's this?" He picked it back up, brushing off the dirt and leaf-mold.
"It's a snowball. Never seen one before?"
"She went into a cave back there, Steve," Okamura said. "When she came out, she was carrying that."
Forrest stared at her, his face grim and pale. "You'd better do some fast talking."
"First call everybody together so they can all hear it and handle my snowball before it melts. I don't want anybody calling me a liar."
Forrest bellowed for everybody to gather around and then, in a lower voice: "You sure are sensitive. Well, since you can defy the laws of nature, I guess you ought to be." When all were gathered, the snowball was passed from hand to hand amid much exclamation of wonder and disbelief.
"I never thought I'd see dinosaurs," Lefevre said, "but a snowball in the tropics is about as good."
"Talk, Jamail," Forrest ordered.
She was surprised at how brief a time it took to tell what had happened. There really wasn't much, any more than there had been much to relate when Derek Kuroda had literally stubbed his toe on the first Rhea Object. It was just that the discovery itself was epoch-making.
"You found an alien machine," Forrest said, aghast, "and you operated it?"
"Well, yes. Just sort of an experiment."
"So you could be first," he said through gritted teeth. "So you could have all the glory."
"Sure. So it might've killed me. So what? I was willing to take the risk."
"It might have killed you? Did it occur to you that it might have been a weapon system? That it might have been the self-destruct control of this whole planet?"
"No," she confessed, "I never thought of that."
"Never thought of it!" He sputtered. "This is the most flagrant violation of regulation since . . . since . . . " Words failed him.
"Oh, can it, Steve," Govinda cut in. "What've we all been doing since we saw our first big lizard? If Dierdre wasn't an insubordinate troublemaker she wouldn't be here with the rest of us. I think she did just great!"
"Right!" said Hannie, enthusiastically. "I want to try her gadget next!" Everybody else clamored in protest, demanding to go next by right of age, seniority or other pretext.
"Shut up, everybody," said Forrest. "Nobody's leaving this camp until daylight, and that's it." He contemplated the now swiftly-melting remnant of a snowball. "We don't even know whether the transporter leads to another spot on this planet or to another solar system entirely. Jamail, did you see anything besides snow and furry animals?''
"It was cold. I couldn't hang around."
"Any idea what time of day it was?" he asked.
"There was a lot of red in the sky. I didn't check my compass to see what direction I was facing. It was either evening or morning. I guess the sun was about the same angle as from here now."
"It'll be easy enough to find out whether it's on this planet," Schubert said. "Just send somebody through with commo equipment. If we get signals from the orbitals, we're here."
"Has anybody considered," Fumiyo said, "that it could be this planet but at a different time?"
"No!" Forrest protested. "One impossibility at a time. I'm willing to consider instantaneous matter transmission. People have been working on that for most of my life. I don't even want to think about time travel!"
Tired though they were, nobody slept a great deal that night. Everybody wanted to talk about the new discovery. Most of them came by to
"Better than that!" She laughed, then shut herself off as she recognized a hysterical note. "Let's go." She picked up her bundle of laundry with her free hand and they hurried back.
Forrest looked up from his notes as they came back into camp. He was frowning, naturally enough. "It's about time. I told you . . ."
"Catch," she said, tossing the snowball. Instinctively, Forrest caught it. His face was puzzled at first, then blank. When the reality of the cold struck him he dropped it as if it had been red-hot.
"What the hell . . . what's this?" He picked it back up, brushing off the dirt and leaf-mold.
"It's a snowball. Never seen one before?"
"She went into a cave back there, Steve," Okamura said. "When she came out, she was carrying that."
Forrest stared at her, his face grim and pale. "You'd better do some fast talking."
"First call everybody together so they can all hear it and handle my snowball before it melts. I don't want anybody calling me a liar."
Forrest bellowed for everybody to gather around and then, in a lower voice: "You sure are sensitive. Well, since you can defy the laws of nature, I guess you ought to be." When all were gathered, the snowball was passed from hand to hand amid much exclamation of wonder and disbelief.
"I never thought I'd see dinosaurs," Lefevre said, "but a snowball in the tropics is about as good."
"Talk, Jamail," Forrest ordered.
She was surprised at how brief a time it took to tell what had happened. There really wasn't much, any more than there had been much to relate when Derek Kuroda had literally stubbed his toe on the first Rhea Object. It was just that the discovery itself was epoch-making.
"You found an alien machine," Forrest said, aghast, "and you operated it?"
"Well, yes. Just sort of an experiment."
"So you could be first," he said through gritted teeth. "So you could have all the glory."
"Sure. So it might've killed me. So what? I was willing to take the risk."
"It might have killed you? Did it occur to you that it might have been a weapon system? That it might have been the self-destruct control of this whole planet?"
"No," she confessed, "I never thought of that."
"Never thought of it!" He sputtered. "This is the most flagrant violation of regulation since . . . since . . . " Words failed him.
"Oh, can it, Steve," Govinda cut in. "What've we all been doing since we saw our first big lizard? If Dierdre wasn't an insubordinate troublemaker she wouldn't be here with the rest of us. I think she did just great!"
"Right!" said Hannie, enthusiastically. "I want to try her gadget next!" Everybody else clamored in protest, demanding to go next by right of age, seniority or other pretext.
"Shut up, everybody," said Forrest. "Nobody's leaving this camp until daylight, and that's it." He contemplated the now swiftly-melting remnant of a snowball. "We don't even know whether the transporter leads to another spot on this planet or to another solar system entirely. Jamail, did you see anything besides snow and furry animals?''
"It was cold. I couldn't hang around."
"Any idea what time of day it was?" he asked.
"There was a lot of red in the sky. I didn't check my compass to see what direction I was facing. It was either evening or morning. I guess the sun was about the same angle as from here now."
"It'll be easy enough to find out whether it's on this planet," Schubert said. "Just send somebody through with commo equipment. If we get signals from the orbitals, we're here."
"Has anybody considered," Fumiyo said, "that it could be this planet but at a different time?"
"No!" Forrest protested. "One impossibility at a time. I'm willing to consider instantaneous matter transmission. People have been working on that for most of my life. I don't even want to think about time travel!"
Tired though they were, nobody slept a great deal that night. Everybody wanted to talk about the new discovery. Most of them came by to
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