^ “It’s fine,” Janos replied. “Don’t worry about it.” He smiled. “Come on, I’ll walk with you as far as my suite.”

Nicole could hear the loud conversation inside before she knocked on the door to the hut. David Brown, Otto Heilmann, and Francesca Sabatini were arguing about how to reply to the latest directions from Earth.

“They’re overreacting,” Francesca was saying. “And they’ll realize it as soon as they have some time to reflect. This is not the first mission to suffer a loss of human life. They didn’t cancel the American space shuttle when that schoolteacher and her crew were killed.”

“But they have ordered us to return to the Newton as soon as possible!” Admiral Heilmann protested.

“So tomorrow we’ll talk to them again and explain why we want to survey New York first. Takagishi says the sea will start to melt in another day or two and we’ll have to leave anyway. Besides, Wakefield and Takagishi and I did hear something that night, even if David doesn’t believe us.”

“I don’t know, Francesca,” Dr. Brown was starting to respond when he finally heard Nicole’s knock. “Who’s there?” he asked crossly.

“Cosmonaut des Jardins, I have some important medical information—”

“Look, des Jardins,” Brown interrupted quickly, “we’re very busy. Can’t it wait until morning?”

All right, Nicole said to herself. I can wait until morning. She wasn’t anxious to answer Dr. Brown’s questions about Takagishi’s heart condition anyway. “Roger,” she said out loud, laughing at herself for using the expres­sion.

Within seconds Nicole could hear the discussion start again behind her. She walked slowly back to her hut. Tomorrow has to be a better day, she said as she crawled onto her cot.

31

ORVIETO PRODIGY

Good night, Otto,” David Brown said as the German admiral left his hut. “See you in the morning.” Dr. Brown yawned and stretched. He looked at his watch. It was a little more than eight hours until the lights should come on again.

He pulled off his flight suit and had a drink of water. He had just laid down on his cot when Francesca entered his hut. “David,” she said, “we have more problems.” She walked over and gave him a short kiss. “I’ve been talking to Janos. Nicole suspects that Valeriy was drugged.”

“Whaaat?” he replied. He sat up on his cot. “How could she? There was no way—”

“Apparently there was some evidence in his biometry data and she clev­erly found it. She mentioned it to Janos tonight.”

“You didn’t react when he told you, did you? I mean, we must be abso­lutely—”

“Of course not,” Francesca answered. “Anyway, Janos would never sus­pect anything in a thousand years. He is a total innocent. At least where things like this are concerned.”

“Damn that woman,” David Brown said. “And damn her biometry.” He rubbed his face with his hands. “What a day. First that stupid Wilson tries to be a hero. Now this… I told you we should have destroyed all the data from the operation. It would have been an easy matter to wipe out the central files. Then things would never—”

“She would still have his biometry records,” Francesca countered. “That’s where the prime evidence is. You would have to be an absolute genius to take the data from the operation itself and deduce anything.” She sat down and cradled Dr. Brown’s head against her chest. “Our big mistake was not when we failed to destroy the files. That would have aroused suspicion at the ISA. Our error was in underestimating Nicole des Jardins.”

Dr. Brown shook free from the embrace and stood up. “Dammit, Fran­cesca, it’s your fault. I never should have let you talk me into it. I knew at the time—”

“You knew at the time,” Francesca sharply interrupted, “that you, Dr. David Brown, were not going on the first sortie into Rama. You knew at the time that your future millions as the hero and perceived leader of this expedi­tion would be seriously compromised if you stayed onboard the Newton.” Brown stopped pacing and faced Francesca. “You knew at the time,” she continued more softly, “that I too had a vested interest in your going on the sortie. And that I could be counted on to provide you with support.”

She took his hands and pulled him back toward the cot. “Sit down, David,” Francesca said. “We’ve been over and over this. We did not kill General Borzov. We simply gave him a drug that created the symptoms of an appendicitis. We made the decision together, If Rama had not maneu­vered and the robot surgeon had not malfunctioned, then our plan would have worked perfectly. Borzov would be on the Newton today, recovering from his appendectomy, and you and I would be here leading the exploration of Rama.”

David Brown removed his hands from hers and started to wring them. “I feel so… so unclean,” he said. “I’ve never done anything like this before. I mean, whether we like it or not, we are partially responsible for Borzov’s death. Maybe even for Wilson’s as well. We could be indicted.” He was shaking his head again. There was a forlorn expression on his face. “I’m supposed to be a scientist,” he said. “What has happened to me? How did I get mixed up in these things?”

“Spare me your righteousness,” Francesca said harshly. “And don’t try to kid yourself. Aren’t you the man who stole the decade’s most important astronomical discovery from a woman graduate student? And then married her to keep her quiet forever? Your integrity was compromised a long long time ago.”

“That’s unfair,” Dr. Brown said petulantly. “I have mostly been honest. Except—”

“Except when it was important and worth a lot to you, What a pile of shit!” Francesca now stood up and paced around the hut herself. “You men are so damn hypocritical. You preserve your lofty self-images with amazing rationalizations. You never admit to yourselves who you really are and what you really want. Most women are more honest. We acknowledge our ambi­tions, our desires, even our basest wants. We admit our weaknesses. We face ourselves as we are, not as we would like to be.”

She returned to the cot and took David’s hands in hers again. “Don’t you see, darling?” she said earnestly. “You and I are soulmates. Our alliance is based on the strongest bond of all — mutual self-interest. We are both moti­vated by the same goals of power and fame.”

“That sounds awful,” he said.

“But it’s true. Even if you don’t want to admit it to yourself. David, darling, can’t you see that your indecisiveness comes from your failure to acknowledge your true nature? Look at me. I know exactly what I want and am never confused about what to do. My behavior is automatic.”

The American physicist sat quietly beside Francesca for a long time. At length he turned and put his head on her shoulder. “First Borzov, now Wilson,” he said with a sigh. “I feel whipped. I wish none of this had happened.”

“You can’t give up, David,” she said, stroking his head– “We’ve come too far. And the big prize is now within our reach.”

Francesca reached across him and started to remove his shirt. “It’s been a long and trying day!” she said soothingly. “Let’s try to forget it.” David Brown closed his eyes as she caressed his face and chest.

Francesca bent over and kissed him slowly on the lips. A few moments later she abruptly stopped. “You see,” she said, slowly removing her own clothes, “as long as we are in this together, we can derive strength from each other.” She stood up in front of David, forcing him to open his eyes.

“Hurry,” he said impatiently, “I was already—”

“Don’t worry so much about it,” Francesca replied, lazily pulling down her pants, “you’ve never had a problem with me.” Francesca smiled again as she pushed his knees apart and pressed his face against her breasts. “Remember,” she said, tugging easily at his shorts with her free hand, “I’m not Elaine.”