"Make it fifteen hours," I said.

"Does this concern the rock your a.s.sistant has been spouting off about?"

"I can't imagine what Tom's been saying, but I'd ignore him. He can't tell the difference between rhyolite and granite."

There was a slight pause before the officer responded. "Navigation says we might as well wait a full day."

"I hate to lose that day, but it's necessary to compile this data."

"How do you want these placed again?" Matt asked. He floated before the control panel of the cargo bay's lift and worked the sensors that maneuvered the storage containers.

I pointed to each box in succession. "First, second, and third." Matt was smart, but when it came to mov ing equipment in zero g, n.o.body could beat Tom. The man was truly skilled in operating a null-g forklift. But I couldn't risk Tom being here.

"We've got company," Man said softly, not looking up from his work.

Moments later Dr. Greely pulled himself over to us. He carried a small box and next to it he carried a small electronic device mostly concealed by his large hand. He flipped a switch, activating it, and then concealed the device in his overall pocket. I merely exchanged glanceswith Matt. I wanted to ask where the h.e.l.l he had gotten a scrambler, but it was best not to know.

Only a few public places were openly monitored and this was one of them. How long would it take anyone who might be listening to realize we hadn't stopped talking, that something was wrong with their equipment, and they came looking?

"I've found those meteoroids from the Eta Ca.s.siopeia system," Greely said. "I had accidentally mislabeled the sample drawer, plus I have a sample from Sol's system."

"Excellent! Your two plus mine means we have samples from fifteen systems." I took the box.

"I stopped by XO," Greely said. 'They have an answer."

"And?" I suppressed my excitement.

"That fossil is definitely an Ogygopsis trilobite. They're ninety-nine percent certain."

I kept my voice low. "I knew that rock came from Earth! I bet I could even take you to the outcrop. It's one of Earth's most distinctive formations."

"I wonder what they thought of our home?" Greely mused.

Matt looked at me, clearly not liking the bent of this discussion, scrambler or no.

I shrugged. "Not much, if they left without leaving any traces behind."

"What if this monolith was not left deliberately? Eight thousand years is a very long time.

They may not be able to return."

"I honestly don't think it was planned," I began. "Not as we've planned our leavings.

Some survey team, like ours, needed to conserve weight. Perhaps they landed their whole ship and then unexpectedly needed to dump weight to achieve escape velocity. Maybe their ship is at the bottom of the ocean. Or is just another asteroid in this system. Or they made it home and forgot this little world."

"But if anyone else comes back this way," Matt added, "they'll know they're not alone."

'That's my hope. Nichols thinks- No, what he thinks doesn't matter. I'm conserving weight and making an exchange-one collection for another."

"And what if they like their isolation?" Greely asked.

"Like humans," I said.

"Us?" Matt asked.

I nodded and went on. "We're terrified we might not be alone. That we might not be G.o.d's only children. This monolith was left by s.p.a.cefaring people who have been to some of thesame worlds as us. That likely means they're neighbors of ours, but since this is the first evidence we've found, it also means they've been very cautious.~~ "It's been 8,000 years," Greely said. "Not much from any of our survey outings would survive that long! Before today, we deliberately tried to leave each world untouched."

"What will the theologians say?" Matt asked. "How will you tell. . .

"Nothing," I answered. "They'll say nothing because I'll say nothing. This find will never be made public. I've a child and a promise to protect."

Greely touched my arm, stopping me from moving away. "You're not writing a paper?

This is proof! They have to consider evolution a viable theory. That intelligence isn't only a gift from our G.o.d. We've proof!"

"Proof doesn't change anything. The Theory of Evolution and the Theory of G.o.d's Work are not mutually exclusive. One or the other. They never have been. Besides proof is not important. It never has been. No, I'll not say one word. No one will!"

"But?" both men said in umson.

"The life-forms on Luyten 97-12 were advanced beings. In a few thousands years maybe they would have reached for the stars. An intelligent species wiped out by our purest, holiest citizens. G.o.d's chosen children are murderers, pure and simple. And what about the fossils on Ophiuchi BD-12? Stop staring at me as if I've lost my mind, Greely. I was only wrong in saying what they were. The purpose of the Explorer and Survey Programs isn't to find other life-forms.

It isn't to prove the theologians wrong."

"What is it for?" Matt asked. I waited for him to answer himself. He soon nodded slowly.

Even the young learn. "It's to prove how wonderfully advanced man is as a species, isn't it?"

I nodded. "We've never expected s.p.a.ce to be so full of life, yet so lonely at the same time.

And many people pray and pay to see that it stays that way. And it will."

Man looked around the pod bay. "If the Council finds out what we're about to do, they'll pull our contracts, if we're lucky."

'They're not going to find out. Only the three of us know. I can't afford another blemish on my tarnished record. I was kicked out of the Explorer program. If I get kicked out of the Survey program, they won't even let me teach college, and high school will be out of the question. They won't let me near my own child, let alone anyone else's. Out here I'm isolated.

They can't stop my work, not if it stays in my head.""In the meantime we just twiddle our thumbs?" Man asked.

"No, we work, and we keep our mouths shut. Years ago I had a theory," I told both men.

"Because of our son, my husband took the blame and was first branded an outcast, then a criminal. Now he doesn't even exist." I pushed all the feelings back as far as I could. No matter how much experience I had, it still hurt. Suddenly I realized Greely's hand was on my arm. I had stopped talking and was staring into the past.

"He doesn't exist," I repeated. "No amount of supporting evidence will change that. Ever.

Nothing will release him from prison and bring him back to me. But Angshu does matter."

"If we change our tactics?" Greely interrupted soffly. "Low-key, cleverly worded news reports. Some people will come to the proper conclusion without you saying a word."

I smiled again. "You're a bigger fool, or should I say dreamer, than me. You want change? So do I, but until we meet a race with bigger guns to force us to play nice in the universe, nothing will change." I took a deep breath. "Planets are fragile. I think someone should explore the asteroid belt of Ophiuchi 36 much more carefully. Maybe we are alone, now."

"Don't hold your breath. Look how long it took us to learn that many dinosaurs were warm-blooded and that some made tools. And that was on our own planet!"

"But dinosaurs died out sixty-five million years ago. We're only talking about eight thousand years here."

"Governments do change," Greely said.

"Not enough. I'm out of this game. End of discussion!"

lie paused. 'Think about it. If we can unquestionably identify each solar system where those rocks in the monolith came from, we might be able to trace their journey back to their home world. One ship alone can't do that. I know others who would help sift and winnow for the truth.

We wouldn't be alone in this."

I smiled, recognizing his quote. I couldn't bear to sift anymore; it cost too much. "I don't have the stainless background you have. My G.o.d, you taught theology for years. I wish I had known you sooner, and taken your lead. Maybe I wouldn't have gotten into so much trouble."

"You like trouble, Somita." His gaze went past me for a moment, and then his shoulders stiffened. "Argue with me!" he ordered softly.

I squashed the desire to turn around and instead complied. "You're a fool." My voice rose in volume, but not too much. 'That's the silliest theory I've heard in years. I've got better thingsto do with my time than listen to this prattle."

Out of the corner of my vision I saw several service-crew members enter the bay.

"Prattle? I was serving in the Explorer program while you were still in diapers. Prattle!

Just because you became the youngest member ever named to the Science Council doesn't mean you're as smart as you think. I've a few brilliant moments left!"

"I've got work to do. Don't bother me until you've gotten a grip on your mind, old man."

With that, Greely pushed away and pulled himself over to the hangar door. Part of me was worried why Greely wanted it believed we were not on good terms anymore.

I waited next to the ten-pod as Matt worked the lift again. The magnetic soles of my boots kept me securely in place. Still, I held onto one of the many hand supports fastened to the ceiling, floor, and walls around the bay.

Matt had the three storage containers stacked and secured together. The finished product looked much like the original monolith still in my lab in pieces and in hiding.

'These containers," Matt said, "are very heat resistant."

"Place them directly in the flowing lava."

"What if the lava isn't hot enough to affect the rocks inside? How would anyone date this event?"

"Good point. Take some of the molten lava from closer to the source and drape it inside the upper container. Encase a piece of granite with the lava."

"Clever."

"It's a shot in the dark," I answered.

"Most of these samples are your personal property. How long did it take you to a.s.semble this collection?"

"A career, such as it is at the moment," I shrugged and met Matt's green-gray gaze. "It'll give me an excuse to find others. The ancients tried to turn lead into gold. Little did they know that lead was more precious.,, Matt's smile widened. "Only if you're a scientist and you want to know how old things are."

Carefully Matt moved the replacement monolith into the ten-pod's cargo hold. I walked slowly inside, each step carefully placed. The monolith was just about stowed away whenNichols and another serviceman entered the cargo bay and propelled themselves over to us. My wish that Nichols would hit his head on the ten-pod's side went unfulfilled. I hastily threw webbing over the monolith and Matt helped me secure it.

Nichols held onto a suspended hand support and stared into the ten-pod's hatch. "You're wasting our time with this trip back to the planet's surface."

I sighed as I snapped the last webbing anchor into place. Matt went over to his EVA suit and started shrugging it on. The serviceman who would pilot Matt to the surface sailed past me and to the pilot's chair. His movements were sure and exact. I left the ten-pod.

"The Captain wants-"

"You spend a lot of time speaking for the Captain, Mr. Nichols. Does he know this about you?" I brushed away his retort. "I answered his objections at the Science Council meeting last night. The mission stands."

The pilot signaled ready, so I propelled myself away from the ten-pod, caught a handrail-thank G.o.d-and pulled myself out of the cargo bay, impressed with my agility. It pays to get angiy, now and then. Nichols followed me to the hangar's observation booth. The ten-pod launched quickly. I wondered if Matt was rushing the pilot. Nichols was a tense presence beside me.

"What are you doing?"

I answered a safer question. "We are trying to maintain this planet's ecobalance and leave it as close to how we found it as possible. Or think of it as being nice to critters."

"Rubbish. How long was that rock in the lava flow before you found it? The critter is long dead."

"Probably. XO made this request to me, and the Science Council backed my decision to return the monolith to its natural state."

"How long did it take you to talk XO into making the request?"

"I've better things to do." I started to pull away and out of the observation booth, using the handrail.

He grabbed my left arm. "I'm going to report you to the full Theology Council when we return to port."

"Go ahead, make a bigger fool of yourself because there's nothing to report." I gripped the handrail even more tightly and pulled my arm free."What were you and Doctor Greely arguing about?"

"Don't you have something better to do than spy on me? If you think you'll make Theology Council by walking over me and my career, think again. It'll never happen." I then casually propelled away, but stayed within reach of a handrail.

"Heretic!" His accusation reached me, but he had no proof. Thank G.o.d.

After the Chamberlin left Delta Pavonis Two's...o...b..t, I fielded more questions about my celebrity rock. Tom kept talking it up until I pointed out how sinful arrogance was and how many sins he was committing. The visual portion of my report mentioned nothing of the monolith; my published report mentioned only a bit more, although I did help the Theology department and XO prepare their reports. Even I half believed the species we named was in fact the one responsible for creating the monolith. Once that report was published, Tom stopped his remarks. No one listened to him anymore.

We never did make up our lost flight time, nor did we skip any planets. The department heads, led by Greg Greely, screamed loudly to the onboard Science Council and louder at the Service crew. Someone on the Council found a loophole in the Service contract, forcing them to maintain the original course plan and not skip any planets. When we returned to port, lawyers would take up the battle. All in all, I thought things were going well when we finally returned to University Station-the multibillion-dollar s.p.a.ce habitat out near Ura.n.u.s' orbit.

The day we got back, I took Angshu to the park. Refitting the Chamberlin for the next voyage could wait a few days, though I would have liked it if Greely had answered his comm link that morning. It was almost as if he had been avoiding me lately, and then his cryptic message this morning was too odd to even begin to understand. Still, being off the ship was wonderful.

I stood under a white pine tree near the middle of Freedom Park. Angshu played on the park equipment. The air smelled delicious. Angshu had been born on the station and had never been closer to Earth than this park. We came here often when in port.

There had been some changes. A plaque had once been the focal point of the park. Greely and I had once discussed the words contained on the costly bronze. The words were worth far more. They were replaced by playground equipment, including a huge slide.The plaque had been a replica of one at the heart of my alma mater's campus. Both celebrated the trial and acquittal of a scholar over 230 years ago. I tried to remember the words.

..... Should ever encourage that continual and fearless shifting and winnowing by which alone truth can befouncL"

Had I come here looking for the plaque when I couldn't find Greely? Maybe. There had been comfort in its silent presence. Had the original been removed, too? Most likely. So now they could no longer even face their lies. It suddenly felt darker and colder in the universe.

Angshu never noticed as he climbed on every pole and crosspiece, swung on each swing, and insisted on going down the highest slide. The slide didn't look the safest for someone as young as Angshu, even at three-quarters G, so we went down together. Then we returned to sit under the pine tree again for some cookies and juice. The plaque, or rather its absence, shadowed me.

"Angshu, remember when we talked a few weeks ago about G.o.d and man's place in the universe?"

"Yes, I remember. There is only one G.o.d and one smart species."