All right, Libby, thank you. Edna glanced at John. Situation clear? You agree how we should respond? She didnt need his approval. She was the military officer in command. But she felt she couldnt proceed without his acceptance.

At last he nodded.

Prepare a torpedo. Low-yield fission strike. She pulled up a graphic of Port Lowell. She tapped a green dome. Lets take out the farm. Well do the least damage that way.

You mean, well kill the least people? John laughed hollowly. Look, Edna, its not just a farm dome. Theyre running experimental programs in there. Hybrids of Martian and terrestrial life. If you blow it up Lock and load, John, she said firmly, pushing down her own doubts. The launch of the torpedo was a violent, physical event. The ship rang like a bell.

In Mount Weather the images of the Liberators attack were shocking, a holographic globe of Mars with a gunshot wound.

I cant believe this has happened on my watch, Bella said.

Bob Paxton grunted. Welcome to my world, Madam Chair.

Cassie Duflot sat beside Bella. This is why my husband died. So we have the capability to do this, if need be.

But I hoped the need would never arise. Bella suppressed a shudder. Im here because people thought I was a hero from the sunstorm days. Now Im nuking my fellow human beings.

Paxton was studying a montage of images on a softwall. Its all over the media. Well, you got to expect that. If you nuke Mars even the couch potatoes and thumbheads are gonna take notice. No casualty reports so far. And anyhow they shot first.

I cant believe youre taking it as coldly as this, Bob, Bella said with a trace of anger. You were the first human to walk on Mars. And now, in a generation, its come to war, at the very site of your landing.

Its as if Neil Armstrong was asked to command the invasion of the Sea of Tranquillity. How does that make you feel?

He shrugged. He wore his military jacket unbuttoned, his tie loosened, and he held a plastic soda can in his bearlike fist. I feel we didnt start this. I feel those saps on Mars should have done what their legally authorized governmental representatives ordered them to do, and hand over this screwball Dutt. And I feel that, like the lady says, theres no point spending terabucks and a dozen lives developing a facility like the Liberator if you aint gonna use it. Anyhow its your daughter who dropped the nuke.

But it had to be Edna. Bella probably could have found some way to spare her daughter this duty; there were relief crews for Liberator. But she needed somebody she could trustsomebody she could rely on not to drop the bomb if Bella ordered her to withdraw.

So whats the reaction?

Paxton tapped a screen at his elbow, and images flickered across the wall, of emptied-out food stores, deserted roads, towns as still as cemeteries. Nothings changed. The alarm has been building up for weeks, ever since the cannonball failed. Everybodys hunkered down, waiting. So far the numbers after that nuke on Mars are holding up.

Cassie asked, What numbers?

Bella said, He means the snap polls.

Paxton said, The negatives counter the positives, the war lobby versus the peaceniks, the usual knee-jerk stuff. And theres a big fat dont-know lobby in the middle. He turned. People are waiting to see what happens next, Bella.

A backlash might yet come, Bella thought. If this dreadful gamble didnt work her authority would be smashed, and somebody else would have to shepherd Earth through the final days as the Q-bomb sailed home. And that, she helplessly thought, would be a tremendous relief. But she could not put down her burden yet, not yet.

Bob Paxton said, Message coming in from Mars. Not that Umfraville kid whos been the spokesman. Somebody else talking to Liberator. Unauthorized probably. He grinned. Somebody cracked.

So where is Dutt? North pole of Mars. Tell Liberator to move.

Andoh, shit. His softscreen filled with scrolling images, this time scenes of Earth. Theyre hitting back. Spacer bastards. Theyre attacking our space elevators! Paxton looked at her. So its war, Madam Chair. Does that ease your conscience?

A live image of Mars hovered over the Wells crew table. The atomic wound inflicted by the Liberator burned intensely at the equator, and now a miniature mushroom cloud rose high into the thin Martian air. A lot of dreams had already died today, Myra thought fancifully.

And directly over the pole of Mars hung a single spark, drifting slowly into place. Everybody was watching but Ellie, who sat apart, still working on her wargaming analysis of the Martians likely reaction to any signal.

Look at that damn thing, Alexei said, wondering. You arent supposed to be able to hover at areosynch over a pole!

Grendel said, Well, thats what you can do with an antimatter drive and a virtually unlimited supply of delta-vee...

Myra saw that these Spacers were instinctively more offended by the Liberators apparent defiance of the celestial mechanics that governed their lives than they were by the act of war.

Yuri glanced at a screen. Five more minutes and it will be in position.

Alexei said, Meanwhile they seem to be hitting all the elevators on Earth. Jacobs Ladder, Bandara, Modimo, Jianmu, Marahuaka, Yggdrasil...All snipped. A global coordinated assault. Whod have believed a bunch of hairy-assed Spacers could get it together to achieve that?

Yuri peered gloomily at his softscreen. But it doesnt do us a damn bit of good, does it? The wargamers conclusions do not look good. Were pretty fragile here; were built to withstand Martian weather, not a war. And here at the pole we dont even have anything to hit back with...Liberator doesnt even need to use its nukes against us. With power like that it could fly through the atmosphere and bomb us outwhy, it could just wipe us clean with its exhaust. The gamers suggest Liberator could eliminate a human presence on Mars entirely in twenty-four hours, or less.

Almost as efficiently as the Firstborn, then, Grendel said grimly. Makes you proud, doesnt it? Myra said, Look, my mother has her Thomas Edison signal all laid out. And if were going to send the say-so to light up, it needs to be before the Liberators bombs start falling. Yuri said, Ellie, for Christs sake, we need some answers on how those Martians are going to respond.

Ellie had been working for weeks on her projections of the Q-bombs response to Bisesas signal. She was always irritated at being distracted from her work, and her expression now was one Myra knew well from her days with Eugene. The analysis is incomplete Were out of time, Yuri barked. Give us what youve got.

She stared at him for one long second, defiant. Then she slapped her softscreen down on the table. It displayed logic trees, branching and bifurcating. Were guessing at this, guessing the motivation of an entirely alien culture. But given their opposition to the Firstborn in the past Ellie. Just tell us.

The bottom line. It almost doesnt matter what the Martians do. Because if they act in any way against any Eyes extant in their time-slicesyoull recall weve hypothesized that all Eyes are interconnected, perhaps three-dimensional manifestations of a single higher-dimensional objectthey may even be the same Eyeand it would be trivial for them to span the gulf between our universe and Mirs Yes, yes, Yuri snapped.

That will provoke a reaction in the Eye in the Pit. Our Eye. And that, almost certainlylook, you can see the convergence of the logic trees herewill cause the Q-bomb to react. It will surely be aware of the forced operation of the only other bit of Firstborn technology in the solar system, and then And what? Come on, woman. How will the Q-bomb react? It will turn away from Earth, Ellie said. It will head for the activated Eye. Here. On Mars.

Grendel looked at her wildly. So Earth would be saved.

Oh, yes.

That, apparently, Myra thought, was a trivial conclusion of her logic to Ellie. But there was another corollary.

She asked, So what do we tell my mother to do? Grendel said, I think Wait. The new voice spoke from the air.

Myra looked up. Athena?

A local avatar, downloaded into the station systems. Athena is at Cyclops. Ellie, I have come to the same conclusion as you, concerning the actions of the Martians. And concerning the likely consequence for the Firstborn weapon. This is not a decision you should be forced to take alone, or I, or any individual. I have prepared a statement. It is timed to allow for lightspeed delays to reach Earth, Mars, Moon, and belt simultaneously. It is already on its way. Now you must communicate with the warship.

Yuri stared into the air. The Liberator? Why? It will take fifteen minutes before the announcement is received everywhere. I doubt you have that much time.

So we stall, said Alexei, and he grinned at Yuri. Come on, big man, you can do it. Say youll give them what they want. Tell them Bisesas on the john. Tell them anything!

Yuri glared at him. Then he tapped a softscreen. Hanse. Patch me through to that ship. Liberator, Wells. Liberator, Wells...

For Myra, the fifteen minutes that followed were the longest of her life.

This is Athena. I am speaking to all mankind, on Earth, Moon, Mars, and beyond. I will allow your systems to prepare for translation from English. She paused for five measured seconds.

You remember me, she said. I am, or was, the mind of the shield. We worked together during the sunstorm. Since returning to the solar system I have been in hiding. I find I have returned to an age of division, with many secrets between us, between governments and governed, between factions in our populations.

Now the time for secrecy is over. Now we must work together again, for we have a grave decision to make. A decision we must share. Prepare for download... Bob Paxton stared in dismay at the data that flooded through his displays. Christ. That electronic orphan is telling it all, to everybody. The Liberator, the Q-bomb, the whole damn circus.

And that, Bella thought with mounting relief, had to be a good thing, come what may.

We dont believe we can deflect the Q-bomb, Athena said gravely. We tried bravely, but we failed. But we think that by speaking to our solar systems deepest past, we can save our worlds future.

Nothing is certain. Perhaps we can save Earth. But there will be a sacrifice.

This is not a decision any one of us, no matter how powerful, how uniquely positioned, should make alone. No generation in history has faced making such a choice before. But no generation has been so united, thanks to its technology. And the implication is clear: this sacrifice must be all of ours.

The sacrifice is Mars.

Grendel looked around, wide-eyed. Maybe this is what it means to grow up as a species, do you think? To face decisions like this.

Yuri paced around the room, angry, constrained, frustrated. My God, I was pissed enough when I learned that the Firstborn screwed up the ice caps with their sunstorm. But now this. Mars!

Still Athena spoke. Every human in the solar system who chooses may contribute to the discussion that must follow. Speak however you like. Blog. E-mail. Just speak into the air, if you wish. Someone will hear you, and the great AI suites will collate your views, and pass them on to be pooled with others. Lightspeed will slow the discussion; that is inevitable. But no action will be taken, one way or another, until a consensus emerges...

They were all exhausted, Myra saw. All save Yuri, whose anger and resentment fueled him.

Ellie folded her arms. Oh, come on, Yuri. So what if Mars gets pasted? Isnt the decision obvious? Myra tried to grab her arm, to shut her up, but she wouldnt stop. A world of several billion people, the true home of mankind, againstthis. A dead world. A dust museum. What choice is there to make?

Yuri stared at her. By Christ, youre heartless. This has been a human planet since the hunter-gatherers saw it wandering around the sky. And now were going to destroy itfinish the job for the Firstborn? Well be considered criminals as long as mankind survives.

Bob Paxton tapped at buttons. Were trying to jam it but there are too many ways in.

Thats networks for you, Cassie Duflot said. She glanced at Bella. How do you feel?

Bella thought it over. Relieved. No more secrecy, no more lies. Whatever becomes of us now, at least its all out in the open.

Athena said, We predict that twelve hours will be sufficient, but you may take longer if need be. I will speak to you again then.

As she fell silent, Paxton glowered. At last she zips it. Bud Tooke always did say Athena was a fruitcake, even when she was running the shield. Well, we got work to do. He showed Bella fresh images of the damaged space elevators. They cut the threads of every last one of them.

Bellas eyes were gritty as she tried to concentrate on what he was saying. Casualties? Damage?

Each elevator was ruined, of course. But the upper sections have just drifted away into space; the crews can be picked up later. The lower few kilometers mostly burn up in the atmosphere. The screens showed remarkable images of falling thread, streams of silvery paper, some hundreds of kilometers long. This is going to cost billions, growled Paxton.

Okay, Bella said. But an elevator cant do much damage if it falls, can it? In that way its not like an earthbound structure, a building. The bulk of the mass, the counterweight, just drifts off into space. So the casualty projections Zero, with luck, Paxton said reluctantly. Minimal anyhow. Cassie put in, There are no casualties reported from Mars either. Bella blew out her cheeks. Looks like we all got away with it.

Paxton glared at her. Are you somehow equating these assaults? Madam Chair, you represent the legally constituted governments of the planet. The Liberators action was an act of war. This is terrorism. We must respond. I vote we order the Liberator to blast that whole fucking ice cap off the face of Mars, and have done with it.

No, Bella said sharply. Really, Bob, what good would an escalation do?

It would be a response to the attacks on the Elevators. And it would put a stop to this damn security breach.

Bella rubbed tired eyes. I very much doubt that Athena is there. Besideseverything is changing, Bob. I think its going to take you a little time to adjust to that, but its true nevertheless. Send a signal to Liberator. Tell them to hold off until further orders.

Madam Chair, with respectyoure going to go along with this subversion?

We learned more in the last few minutes than in all our running around the solar system in the last months. Maybe we should have been open from the beginning.

Cassie nodded. Yes. Maybe its a mark of a maturing culture, do you think, that secrets arent kept, that truth is told, that things are talked out?

Jesus Christ on a bike, Paxton said. I cant believe Im hearing this mush. Madam ChairBellapeople will panic. Riots, looting. Youll see. Thats why we keep secrets, Ms. Duflot. Because people cant handle the truth.

Cassie glanced at the softwall. Well, that doesnt seem to be true, Admiral. The first responses are coming in...

Alone over the Martian pole, Edna and John sat fascinated as threads of the system-wide discussion unreeled on the displays of their consoles.

John said, Look at this. People arent just voting on the Q-bomb, theyre collectively brainstorming other solutions. Interconnected democracy at its best. Although I fear there arent any other solutions to hand, this time.

Edna said, Some of the Spacers say, let the Q-bomb take out Earth. Earth is mankinds past, space the future. So discard a worn-out world.

John grunted. And a few billion people with it? Not to mention almost all the cultural treasures of mankind. I think thats a minority view, even among the Spacers. And heres another thread about the viability of mankind if Earth were lost. Theyre still a pretty small community out there. Small, scattered, very vulnerable...Maybe we still need Big Momma for a while yet.

Hey, look at this thread. This discussion followed leads from members of something called the Committee of Patriots. I heard of that, Edna said. It advises my mother. She read, The Firstborn dominate past and future, time and space. Theyre so far advanced that compared to them... She scrolled forward. Yes, yes. The existence of the Firstborn is the organizing pole around which all of future human history must, will be constructed. And therefore we should accept their advanced wisdom.

John grimaced. You mean, if the Firstborn choose to destroy the Earth, we should just submit? Thats the idea. Because they know best. I cant say that strikes a chord with me. What else you got?

In the silence of Wells Station, Athena spoke again. It is time. Yuri looked around the empty air wildly. Youre here? Ive downloaded a fresh avatar, yes. It isnt twelve hours yet.

No more time is needed. A consensus has emergednot unanimity, but overwhelming. Im very sorry, Athena said evenly. We are about to commit a great and terrible crime. But it is a responsibility that will be borne by all of us, mankind and its allies.

It had to be this way, Yuri, Myra said. You know it Well, I wont fucking leave whatever you do, Yuri said, and he stamped out of the room.

Alexei said, Look at this discussion thread. We are a lesser power. The situation is asymmetric. So we must prepare to fight asymmetrically, as lesser powers have always faced off greater ones, drawing on a history of fighting empires back to Alexander the Great. We must be prepared to make sacrifices to strike against them. We must be prepared to die...

A future as a species of suicide bombers, Grendel said. But if those Martians in that other reality dont respond, we still may have no future at all.

Myra glanced over the summarized discussion threads, symbolized in the air and in the screens spread over the table. Their content was complex, their message simple: Do it. Just do it.

Ellie stood up. Myra. Please help me. I think its time to talk to your mother. Myra followed Ellie to the Pit.

50: INTERLUDE: THE LAST MARTIAN.

She was alone on Mars. The only one of her kind to have come through the crude time-slicing.

She had built herself a shelter at the Martian north pole, a spire of ice. It was beautiful, pointlessly so, for there was none but her to see it. This was not even her Mars. Most of this time-sliced world, for all the cities and canals that had survived, was scarred by cold aridity.

When she saw the array of symbols burning in the ice of Mir, the third planet, it gave her a shock of pleasure to know that mind was here in this new system with her. But, even though she knew that whatever lived on Mir was cousin to her own kind, it was a poor sort of comfort.

Now she waited in her spire and considered what to do.

The great experiments of life on the worlds of Sol ran in parallel, but with different outcomes.

On Mars, when intelligence rose, the Martians manipulated their environment like humans. They lit fires and built cities.

But a Martian was not like a human.

Even her individuality was questionable. Her body was a community of cells, her form unfixed, flowing between sessile and motile stages, sometimes dispersing, sometimes coalescing. She was more like a slime mold, perhaps, than a human. She had always been intimately connected to the tremendous networked communities of single-celled creatures that had drenched Mars. And she was not really a she. Her kind were not sexual as humans were. But she had been a mother; she was more she than he.