conversation. ‘We report what we’ve found to the sentience oversight councils and elsewhere. It’s a major discovery. We’ll be rapped for making an unauthorised landing on Titan, but—’
‘Is that the sum of your ambition?’ I snapped. ‘To hope the authorities will be lenient if you reveal the discovery that is going to ruin you?’
She glared at me. ‘What’s the choice?’
‘Isn’t it obvious?’ I looked at her, and Poole, who I think was guessing what I was going to say, and Harry, who turned away as he usually did at moments of crisis. Suddenly, after days of existential terror and pointless wonders, I was in my own element, which is the murky world of human relationships, and I could see a way forward where they could not. ‘ Destroy this ,’ I said. I waved a hand. ‘All of it. You have your grenades, Miriam. You could bring this cavern down.’
‘Or,’ Harry said, ‘there is the GUTengine. If that were detonated, if unified-field energies were loosed in here, the wormhole interface too would surely be disrupted. I’d imagine that the connection between Titan and the pocket universe would be broken altogether.’
I nodded. ‘I hadn’t thought of that, but I like your style, Harry. Do it . Let this place be covered up by hundreds of kilometres of ice and water. Destroy your records. It will make no difference to the surface, what’s going on in the atmosphere, not immediately. Nobody will ever know all this was here.’
Harry Poole said, ‘That’s true. Even if methane generation stops immediately, the residual would persist in the atmosphere for maybe ten million years. I venture to suggest that if the various multi-domain critters haven’t learned to cooperate in that time, they never will. Ten megayears is surely enough.’
Miriam looked at the bizarrely drifting head, horrified by his words. ‘You’re suggesting a monstrous crime,’ she breathed. ‘To think of destroying such a wonder as this, a billion-year project – to destroy it for personal gain! Michael, Lethe, leave aside the morality, surely you’re too much of a scientist to countenance this.’
But Poole sounded anguished. ‘I’m not a scientist any more, Miriam. I’m an engineer. I build things. I think I sympathise with the goals of the spider makers. What I’m building is a better future for the whole of mankind – that’s what I believe. And if I have to make compromises to achieve that future . . . well. Maybe the spider makers had to make the same kind of choices. Who knows what they found here on Titan before the makers went to work on it – who knows what potential they destroyed?’
And in that little speech, I believe, you have encapsulated both the magnificence and the grandiose folly of Michael Poole. I wondered then how much damage this man might do to us all in the future, with his wormholes and his time-hopping starships – what horrors he, blinded by his ambition, might unleash.
Harry said unexpectedly, ‘Let’s vote on it. If you’re in favour of destroying the chamber, say yes.’
‘No!’ snapped Miriam.
‘Yes,’ said Harry and Poole together.
‘Yes,’ said I, but they all turned on me and told me I didn’t have a vote.
It made no difference. The vote was carried. They stood looking at each other, as if horrified by what they had done.
‘Welcome to my world,’ I said cynically.
Poole went off to prepare the GUTengine for its last task. Miriam, furious and upset, gathered together our equipment, such as it was, her pack with her science samples, our tangles of rope.
And Harry popped into the air in front of me. ‘Thanks,’ he said.
‘You wanted me to make that suggestion, didn’t you?’
‘Well, I hoped you would. If I’d made it they’d have refused, and Michael would never have forgiven me for suggesting it.’ He grinned. ‘I knew there was a reason I wanted to have you along, Jovik Emry. Well done. You’ve served your purpose.’
Virtual Poole,
‘Is that the sum of your ambition?’ I snapped. ‘To hope the authorities will be lenient if you reveal the discovery that is going to ruin you?’
She glared at me. ‘What’s the choice?’
‘Isn’t it obvious?’ I looked at her, and Poole, who I think was guessing what I was going to say, and Harry, who turned away as he usually did at moments of crisis. Suddenly, after days of existential terror and pointless wonders, I was in my own element, which is the murky world of human relationships, and I could see a way forward where they could not. ‘ Destroy this ,’ I said. I waved a hand. ‘All of it. You have your grenades, Miriam. You could bring this cavern down.’
‘Or,’ Harry said, ‘there is the GUTengine. If that were detonated, if unified-field energies were loosed in here, the wormhole interface too would surely be disrupted. I’d imagine that the connection between Titan and the pocket universe would be broken altogether.’
I nodded. ‘I hadn’t thought of that, but I like your style, Harry. Do it . Let this place be covered up by hundreds of kilometres of ice and water. Destroy your records. It will make no difference to the surface, what’s going on in the atmosphere, not immediately. Nobody will ever know all this was here.’
Harry Poole said, ‘That’s true. Even if methane generation stops immediately, the residual would persist in the atmosphere for maybe ten million years. I venture to suggest that if the various multi-domain critters haven’t learned to cooperate in that time, they never will. Ten megayears is surely enough.’
Miriam looked at the bizarrely drifting head, horrified by his words. ‘You’re suggesting a monstrous crime,’ she breathed. ‘To think of destroying such a wonder as this, a billion-year project – to destroy it for personal gain! Michael, Lethe, leave aside the morality, surely you’re too much of a scientist to countenance this.’
But Poole sounded anguished. ‘I’m not a scientist any more, Miriam. I’m an engineer. I build things. I think I sympathise with the goals of the spider makers. What I’m building is a better future for the whole of mankind – that’s what I believe. And if I have to make compromises to achieve that future . . . well. Maybe the spider makers had to make the same kind of choices. Who knows what they found here on Titan before the makers went to work on it – who knows what potential they destroyed?’
And in that little speech, I believe, you have encapsulated both the magnificence and the grandiose folly of Michael Poole. I wondered then how much damage this man might do to us all in the future, with his wormholes and his time-hopping starships – what horrors he, blinded by his ambition, might unleash.
Harry said unexpectedly, ‘Let’s vote on it. If you’re in favour of destroying the chamber, say yes.’
‘No!’ snapped Miriam.
‘Yes,’ said Harry and Poole together.
‘Yes,’ said I, but they all turned on me and told me I didn’t have a vote.
It made no difference. The vote was carried. They stood looking at each other, as if horrified by what they had done.
‘Welcome to my world,’ I said cynically.
Poole went off to prepare the GUTengine for its last task. Miriam, furious and upset, gathered together our equipment, such as it was, her pack with her science samples, our tangles of rope.
And Harry popped into the air in front of me. ‘Thanks,’ he said.
‘You wanted me to make that suggestion, didn’t you?’
‘Well, I hoped you would. If I’d made it they’d have refused, and Michael would never have forgiven me for suggesting it.’ He grinned. ‘I knew there was a reason I wanted to have you along, Jovik Emry. Well done. You’ve served your purpose.’
Virtual Poole,
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