Into the Sea of Stars (23 page)

"If your society reaches its goal, then it will change
forever—and in a direction you might not have anticipated or be able to control. The very factors that bind it
together, that give it strength and vitality, will be lost.
Your own America was built on a goal of expansion and
limitless opportunity. When you started to listen to the drivel of idiots who said there must be limits to growth and that expansion into space is wrong, you fell behind.
It was nearly fatal, for the Japanese and Chinese never
had such doubts.

"Go ahead and make your goal. They'll throw you
aside then, Smith. You've already started toward another
goal; if you point that way, you can't lose."

"Go ahead," Smith replied sarcastically, "enlighten me, Professor."

"The complete settling of space is the only goal that
can be sought and yet, ultimately, never obtained. With the hibernation drug you could take your people in that direction for ten thousand more years. At your rate of
growth you could be tens of trillions, reaching out across
the entire galaxy. That's a hell of an alternative. Don't go
back to Earth, Smith. Go ahead and kill us if need be,
but don't go back to Earth. Revenge isn't worth the cost. You shaped a destiny for your people, continue to do it.
In five or six generations your people could forget that
the hatred of Earth ever existed—and the dream could
be redirected elsewhere."

"But you Earthmen could one day be a threat."

"That's like- saying a Carthaginian army could have
threatened the America of your twenty-first-century. Damn
it, Smith, you've got such an exponential jump on Earth, it'll never catch up. Besides, our society is still primarily
planetbound
. We've learned; our society's ethic limits population growth. Less than one-tenth of one percent of us
are
space dwellers, and the vast majority of those out
there still look back down to Earth. We're a people who've
learned to live within our ecosystem, as those aboard any
space colony must do. It's pretty boring in a way, but
that's the way I guess we'll always be. We cast off our
seed, and some of us will still go out, but the grim ne
cessities of it have already been done by our ancestors.

"But
your
people,
your
vibrant society is not looking
inward, dependent on a single planet. Your people are already looking out toward the rest of the universe. The hell with Earth, Franklin Smith, you've got an entire uni
verse to populate with your descendents."

Ian fell silent. And for several
minutes
nothing more was said.

"You know something,
Ian,
you are neither as dumb
nor as
wimpish
as I first thought. Your argument is sound
and bears thinking. After all, the distant future is only a matter of months for me, but generations for my people.
We have a significant lead on you already, and now, with this light drive, there is nothing to fear from your people."

Smith stretched and walked over to rest his hand on
the hilt of the sword. "However, Ian
Lacklin
, though it saddens me to say this, I think you should pray to what
ever god it is that you worship, for it is time that you
meet him."

"Wait a minute, Doc," Ian said hurriedly, coming to his feet, "I thought that you'd see we weren't a threat, I
mean, you know..."

Smith drew the blade out of the floor and advanced on Ian.

"Look at it from my perspective, Ian, and try to be
reasonable. I still have a touch of the paranoid in me. If
I let you go there is the slim chance that you could create
quite a problem for me some day. Besides, I have the
designs for your ship, so there's no need to let others
know that I have it. Therefore..." He shrugged his shoul
ders and grimaced as if he were being forced into an
unpleasant act.

"You ask me to be reasonable?" Ian shouted. "Damn
it, you're going to cut my head off and you want me to
be reasonable!"

"I'm sorry, Ian, I do like you. I promise your passing
will be quick and painless. Now just kneel down so I won't
miss my aim and cause you undue suffering."

"Bullshit! I've tried to be reasonable, but you wouldn't
listen. So you've forced me into it." Ian reached into his
pocket.

"Come along now, Ian, we searched you for weapons,
and I was good enough to allow you to keep your personal
effects. Now don't try to threaten me."

"I'm not threatening you," Ian said coldly. "There's a
thermonuclear mine aboard our ship; your sensing devices should have picked up the radiation signature."

"So what?"

Ian pulled the alien cylinder out of his pocket. "This
is the trigger."

"Come on, Ian
Lacklin
, you're bluffing. That's a use
less piece of junk."

"I thought so, too. But it's a small, alien transmitting
device. Just before we jumped to this region I rigged it up to trigger the mine."

Smith was silent, watching
Lacklin's
eyes for some
telltale clue.

Ian was actually shaking. "I'm not joking this time, Smith. I didn't want this situation, I had hoped we could
get along without threats, but you forced me into this."

Ian held the cylinder over his head and touched the
end of it with his thumb.

"Take another step and you'll get to see firsthand what
real eternity is all about. All I need to do is push down
on the end of this cylinder and puff, you and I will be
gamma rays."

Ian was staring straight into Smith's eyes and a taunting
smile crossed his face. He was in control!

"I'll tell you something, Smith," Ian said, his voice
reflecting his sense of assurance. "I've listened to you for
some time now, in fact, I've even grown to like you, but
the game is over. So here's what you're going to do for
me. First off, you're going to call the guards off my friends,
and then we'll take a nice leisurely stroll down to the
docking ports."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then we'll see right now if I'm bluffing or not."

Smith still held him with his gaze, but Ian knew he had
the upper hand.

"Look, Smith, we pose no threat, we only stir a fear
that should have been buried a millennium ago. Now if I
push this button you die, and when you go the civilization
that is built around your
semigodhood
dies with you. Logic
therefore dictates that we take that little walk to the dock
ing bay. You can save face by making sure all your people
are ordered from the area. Later just tell them that you
decided to let us live. So you win. And even if I'm bluffing,
you'd still win anyhow; we and the Earth pose no threat
to you."

Smith started to smile but
lan's
gaze held steady as he
started to move his thumb.

"
Stasz
, is all secure in there?"

"Engines are powering up, Ian. All secured, just tell
me when to close the airlock and let's get the hell out of
here."

Ian switched off the
comlink
and looked at Smith, who
floated on the other side of the airlock.

"So, what are you waiting for, Ian? I've done as you
requested, I've let you and the others return to your ship.
So go on, get the hell out of here."

"Do you think I'm that dumb?" Ian said, edging his voice with contempt.

Smith's knuckles whitened as he clenched his hands. "Don't push it,
Lacklin
. You're aboard your
ship,
now
just get the hell out of here."

"Before we can jump to light you could vaporize us with your ship's defenses, or the defenses of any one of
a hundred of your other ships."

Smith smiled.

"Checkmate. I could force you to come with us," Ian
said.

"Then I'd call your bluff. You'll not take me off this ship to suffer the humiliation of being held hostage."

"Checkmate," Ian replied sadly. Ian drew a deep breath
and stepped out of the airlock. There was no other way
and he had assumed from the beginning that it would end
like this. He held Smith in control only as long as the
threat was in front of him.

"
Stasz
, listen to me."

"Go ahead, boss."

Boss,
Stasz
had just called him boss! "
Stasz
, I want
you to remove the
thermomine
from the aft storage area
and bring it to me in the airlock."

Smith's eyes grew wider and Ian held the cylinder up
as a warning not to try anything.

"Ian, what the hell are you doing?"
Stasz
replied.

"Don't argue with me on this. He'll vaporize us as
soon as we pull out. I'm staying behind with the mine as
a guarantee to make sure he doesn't. Now dump that mine
and just get the hell out of here."

Afraid that Smith might try a desperate move, Ian held him with his gaze.
"An even swap, Smith.
They get away and I'll surrender the mine and this trigger, then you can
do as you see fit."

A flicker of a smile crossed Smith's face.

"Most noble on your part, Doctor."

Ian felt the airlock open behind him.

"You sure you want to do this?"
Stasz
asked. Ian looked
at him from the corner of his eye.
Stasz
was floating in
the entry way, the ugly black mine tucked under his arm.

"Just toss it over here, get back on the controls and
punch it the hell out of here."

"Ian?"

"
Goddamm
it, do it!" Ian shouted.

"Thanks for saving my retirement,"
Stasz
said sadly, "I'll see they put your name on a gold plaque." And with
a reluctant gesture
Stasz
gave the bomb an underhand
toss.

"Ian, my love, you can't!"

With a wild shout Shelley barged past
Stasz
and ric
ocheted off a bulkhead, knocking the slowly tumbling
bomb off course. She came straight at Ian, her arms out
stretched like a distraught lover reaching for her mate.

She slammed into Ian even as the bomb drifted past him, just out of reach. He could see Smith leaping from the other side, grasping both for the bomb and the alien
swizzle stick which had been knocked out of his hand by
the impact of a sobbing Shelley.

"Shelley, let go!"

Floating in the zero gravity, the two men slammed into
each other—each grappling for a hold.

"Really, Smith," Ian shouted, "
two
Ph.D.'s should find
a better way to settle their disputes." He pulled back his
right hand for a roundhouse punch.

lan's
entire body was thrown into the blow, and Ian
was amazed to see blood spray even as he recoiled away.

He slammed up against the opposite wall to be met by
a solid blow to his lower back. He had hit the mine, driving
it into the wall and activating the last switch.

"Warning, warning, you have
preactivated
the Clearance Assured AB-23A
thermomine
. We are happy that
you have decided to go with the best bang in the universe.
And remember to contact our quality control people if
you have any problem.

"Warning, Warning..."

The high-pitched voice, sounding like a video adver
tiser, droned on as Ian finally managed to grab a handhold
and stopped his wild gyrations. Smith was dazed, and floated before him like a damaged ship that had lost all
power to move or react.

"Ian, let's go!" Shelley's hands were yanking on his
leg; a sudden tug pulled him back toward the airlock.

She pulled him through the airlock door and hit a button
on the control panel; the door slammed shut.

"
Stasz
, punch us the hell out of here," Shelley screamed.

"The artifact," Ian shouted. "Wait, it's the only thing
we have! I've got to go back."

Ian reached over to hit the airlock door release. There
was a faint shudder as
Stasz
cut free from the docking
port. Instantly the
prejump
acceleration kicked on, push
ing Ian and Shelley against the opposite wall.

Reaching out Smith snatched the slowly tumbling mine.
Pushing off from the wall, he floated down the corridor
and stopped at a viewing port.

They were already free and accelerating into their jump.

With his left hand Smith touched his nose and winced
with pain.

Damn it, that little guy broke his nose.