angle. They entered the clouds and spent some time in silence. A few loud thumps on the hull reminded them of the floating balloon creatures hovering so many kilometers above.
“I think I’m seeing the reef!” Tony sounded relieved. “At least it looks like I remember it on the LF radar.”
Almost reflexively Alex looked at Mary. She caught his eye and smiled. “Yes, I can hear them.”
“When we hit the clear space above the reef … if there is one as before … we’ll start the hunt,” announced Professor Baltadonis. “Unless you can give us a target, Tony, we’ll just have to wing it.”
“Okay,” said Tony. “I’m seeing something.”
“I see it, too,” said Johnny.
Before Alex could ask, Johnny had switched the radar image to the screen above the cockpit windows. The computer had blended the data with a night-vision image from cameras on Diver’s nose. At the moment there was nothing but cloud in front of them but farther away, like a dimly glowing web, was the reef.
“That’s more like it, Professor,” said Alex. He could feel Tsu relax. “What do you think, Connie? You like flyin’ in this soup?”
“Like the simulator, so far.” Tsu punctuated her words with a slight yawn. She seemed the portrait of calm, but Alex noticed that she still held the stick in an unflinching death grip.
“Minus forty-seven point six kilometers,” said Johnny.
Alex knew from the two previous dives that the reef depth was about fifty kilometers. There the air pressure, the humidity, and the warm gases rising from below had sustained the reef for millennia. Alex had just begun to wonder how long the reef had existed when Mary spoke.
“Have you any idea how old the reef is, Professor?” she asked.
The Professor was quiet for a moment before he answered. “Computer and physical models of Jupiter indicate that the Great Red Spot formed millions, maybe billions of years ago. That doesn’t mean the reef is that old. Jupiter isn’t as hospitable as Earth, after all. It probably took a while for life to start here. And, since there’s no rock strata down there to contain a fossil record, we’ll probably always be guessing about its age. On the other hand, we might get some idea of the reef’s age from samples. Needless to say, your question’s one we scientists would love to answer.”
“If you had to make a guess, then, would you say life’s been on Jupiter a billion years?” asked Alex.
“Possibly.”
“Then life from Earth has had time to migrate here on meteorites knocked off the Earth?”
Johnny was quiet for a moment inside his bubble. “Well, I’ll admit it’s easier to knock material off a rocky world than off a gas giant,” he said finally. “Our current theory is that life here was seeded by comets raining into Jupiter’s atmosphere over the millennia, same as Earth, but …”
There was a brief pause in the Professor’s dissertation, then he spoke again, this time with some urgency. “Time to attend to business, people. According to our radar, we’re closing on the reef. Right, Tony? I’m switching the outside cameras to normal starlight mode.”
“Leave the radar imaging on screen, Professor,” said Sciarra. “Tsu will need it for guidance.”
Connie gave Tony an appreciative smile.
“Okay, Tony,” said Johnny. “I’ll just layer the new data on top of it.”
During the two previous missions into the reef, Alex had been pilot. Now, he felt superfluous – a mere observer on the mission. Of course it was his own fault for giving the job to Connie. He looked over at Mary, who was staring at the viewscreen with Inky sleeping peacefully in her lap. She smiled when their eyes met. “Are you bored, my love?” she asked.
“Well, I’ve never been a passenger on Diver before.”
“Don’t worry,” said Tsu. “I’ll need a break soon.”
Alex’s attention was suddenly drawn to the viewscreen. The air in front of them had cleared and the reef came into view.
“I think I’m seeing the reef!” Tony sounded relieved. “At least it looks like I remember it on the LF radar.”
Almost reflexively Alex looked at Mary. She caught his eye and smiled. “Yes, I can hear them.”
“When we hit the clear space above the reef … if there is one as before … we’ll start the hunt,” announced Professor Baltadonis. “Unless you can give us a target, Tony, we’ll just have to wing it.”
“Okay,” said Tony. “I’m seeing something.”
“I see it, too,” said Johnny.
Before Alex could ask, Johnny had switched the radar image to the screen above the cockpit windows. The computer had blended the data with a night-vision image from cameras on Diver’s nose. At the moment there was nothing but cloud in front of them but farther away, like a dimly glowing web, was the reef.
“That’s more like it, Professor,” said Alex. He could feel Tsu relax. “What do you think, Connie? You like flyin’ in this soup?”
“Like the simulator, so far.” Tsu punctuated her words with a slight yawn. She seemed the portrait of calm, but Alex noticed that she still held the stick in an unflinching death grip.
“Minus forty-seven point six kilometers,” said Johnny.
Alex knew from the two previous dives that the reef depth was about fifty kilometers. There the air pressure, the humidity, and the warm gases rising from below had sustained the reef for millennia. Alex had just begun to wonder how long the reef had existed when Mary spoke.
“Have you any idea how old the reef is, Professor?” she asked.
The Professor was quiet for a moment before he answered. “Computer and physical models of Jupiter indicate that the Great Red Spot formed millions, maybe billions of years ago. That doesn’t mean the reef is that old. Jupiter isn’t as hospitable as Earth, after all. It probably took a while for life to start here. And, since there’s no rock strata down there to contain a fossil record, we’ll probably always be guessing about its age. On the other hand, we might get some idea of the reef’s age from samples. Needless to say, your question’s one we scientists would love to answer.”
“If you had to make a guess, then, would you say life’s been on Jupiter a billion years?” asked Alex.
“Possibly.”
“Then life from Earth has had time to migrate here on meteorites knocked off the Earth?”
Johnny was quiet for a moment inside his bubble. “Well, I’ll admit it’s easier to knock material off a rocky world than off a gas giant,” he said finally. “Our current theory is that life here was seeded by comets raining into Jupiter’s atmosphere over the millennia, same as Earth, but …”
There was a brief pause in the Professor’s dissertation, then he spoke again, this time with some urgency. “Time to attend to business, people. According to our radar, we’re closing on the reef. Right, Tony? I’m switching the outside cameras to normal starlight mode.”
“Leave the radar imaging on screen, Professor,” said Sciarra. “Tsu will need it for guidance.”
Connie gave Tony an appreciative smile.
“Okay, Tony,” said Johnny. “I’ll just layer the new data on top of it.”
During the two previous missions into the reef, Alex had been pilot. Now, he felt superfluous – a mere observer on the mission. Of course it was his own fault for giving the job to Connie. He looked over at Mary, who was staring at the viewscreen with Inky sleeping peacefully in her lap. She smiled when their eyes met. “Are you bored, my love?” she asked.
“Well, I’ve never been a passenger on Diver before.”
“Don’t worry,” said Tsu. “I’ll need a break soon.”
Alex’s attention was suddenly drawn to the viewscreen. The air in front of them had cleared and the reef came into view.
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