Antagonist - Childe Cycle 11 (133 page)

Two
figures
stepped
out
of
one
of
the
rear
vehicles,
one
small, moving
haltingly,
and
the
other—
Hal Mayne!

As
if
paralyzed,
Bleys
watched
the
smaller
figure
as
it
seemed
to bless
the
crowd.
It
all
happened
in
virtual
silence,
the
noise
of
the crowd
having
died
away
when
they
saw
her.
The
reporter
kept
her own
silence.

After
the
moment
of
blessing,
the
crowd
noise
began
again,
while the
figure
that
was
Hal
Mayne
gathered
his
smaller
companion
into the
vehicle
once
more,
and
they
drove
off.
The
reporter
began
to speak,
but
Bleys
punched
the
control
that
shut
off
the
screen
once more.

"I
have
to
talk
to
Hal
Mayne,"
he
told
Toni.
"I
have
to
tell him—"
He
stopped.

"Would
you
please
try
to
set
up
a
meeting?"
he
said.

Before
she
could
reply,
the
communicator's
EMERGENCY
tone sounded.

"Great
Teacher."
The
captain's
voice
carried
a
note
that
made Bleys
sit
up
straighter. "What
is
it,
Captain?"

"A
broadcast
message
from
Space
Authority,"
the
captain
said. "We're
being
warned
away."

"Warned
away?
Do
you
mean
they
don't
want
us
to
approach
the planet?"

"Not
just
us,
Great
Teacher—all
ships
are
being
warned
off.
They say
the
Final
Encyclopedia
has
activated
some
kind
of
shield
that will
circle
the
whole
planet,
and
that
it
would
be
fatal
to
touch
it."

"The
whole—"
Bleys
began;
but
then
caught
himself.
"Did
they say
how
far
away
we
should
be?"

"We're
fine,"
the
captain
said.
"But
this
space
is
going
to
get crowded
with
other
vessels
being
kept
away.
I
recommend
we
move away."

"I'd
like
to
stay
in
the
vicinity,
though,"
Bleys
said.

"I
could
land
on
Luna,"
the
captain
said.
"I
suspect
other
vessels will
do
so,
too,
and
it
may
become
crowded
down
there;
but
we're closer
than
most."

"Do
so,
Captain,"
Bleys
said.

"You
probably
won't
be
able
to
get
through
to
Hal
Mayne
for
a while,"
Bleys
said
to
Toni,
quietly.
"Please
keep
trying.
When
you get
someone
in
the
Final
Encyclopedia,
put
me
on
to
talk
to
them."

When
Toni
came
back
to
tell
Bleys
that
she
had
the
Final
Encyclopedia's
Chief
Engineer
on
the
line,
Bleys
was
busily
sampling intercepted
communications.
The
Final
Encyclopedia
was
being swamped
with
hundreds
of
calls
protesting
the
great
shield
that now
walled
the
planet
off
from
the
rest
of
the
Universe—and
walled
approaching
ships
off
from
the
planet.
It
was
clear,
though,
that
the Final
Encyclopedia
was
not
about
to
take
the
shield
down.

The
Engineer—his
name
was
Jeamus
Walters—was
a
mousy-looking
little
man,
and
he
looked
exasperated;
he
did
not
seem
startled
at
Bleys'
explanation
of
the
reason
for
his
call.

"I'll
try
to
find
Hal,"
the
Engineer
said.
"But
I
can't
promise
you he'll
see
you—he's
just
been
made
Director
of
the
Final
Encyclopedia,
and
he's
going
to
be
pretty
busy."

"I
understand
that,"
Bleys
said.
"Tell
him,
please,
that
I
called— but
say
that
I
can
wait.
I'll
call
back
in
a
few
days,
after
things
have quieted
down
for
you
all."

"Captain,"
Bleys
said.
"Take
us
back
to
Mars,
would
you?
And
tell the
courier
to
accompany
us,
and
to
be
ready
to
take
a
message
in
a few
hours."

"What
are
we
doing?"
Toni
asked.

"I
need
to
try
to
learn
more
about
what's
going
on
with
Old
Earth and
that
shield
of
theirs,"
Bleys
said.
"I
was
hoping
the
planetary authorities
would
become
angry
enough
to
make
them
take
it down,
but
I'm
sensing
a
change
in
tone."

"I
think
you're
right,"
Toni
said.
"The
assassination
attempt seems
to
have
altered
the
way
a
lot
of
Earthmen
are
feeling."

"That's
what
I'm
seeing,
too,"
Bleys
said.
He
sighed.
"Dahno did
us
a
lot
of
damage."

"What
are
you
going
to
do
with
him?"

"That's
one
of
the
reasons
I
want
to
send
out
some
messages right
away,"
he
replied.
"I'm
working
on
a
plan
for
him,
but
I
need a
couple
of
extra
ships
on
hand."

"Is
there
something
I
can
do?"
she
asked.

"Keep
monitoring
the
situation,"
he
said.
"Keep
me
on
top
of
major
developments.
But
I
need
time
to
think."