Elissa leaned forward across the table, her full attention on Judith Niles. “You want us to work on the central problem? I’d love to, there’s nothing in the universe that I’d like better. But in normal space. I know I may never see the solution if we do it this way. But I’ll take my chances, because I feel sure that my descendants will find the answer, maybe a thousand Earth-years after I’m dead. That’s enough to make it all worthwhile.”

She looked at Peron, and drew encouragement from his expression. He was nodding vigorously, his earlier uncertainty gone.

“I agree completely with Elissa,” he said. “Though I didn’t see it until she pointed it out. Let’s go ahead just as you suggest, and set up your second facility. But in normal space, not S-space. You’ll feed us the best information you can collect in Gulf City, as you get it. We’ll be turning that to new theories, two thousand times as fast as you could ever do it in S-space.” Judith Niles had listened closely. Now she was frowning and shaking her head. “It sounds good. But it would never work. Both of you, listen to what else your friend Kallen said. You lack experience. It will take many years to acquire it. You need interaction with us, here in Gulf City, but you could never gain the benefit of our experience if you were in normal space and we stayed in S-space. The information exchange problems are enormous. I said I would leave you free to undertake experiments in the second facility, but you would still have access to us, to talk to and exchange ideas.” Again she shook her head. “What you propose sounds good, but it wouldn’t work.”

“I agree with Elissa,” said Wolfgang Gibbs suddenly from the other side of the table. He stopped, as though amazed at his own outburst. When he continued he addressed his words to Judith Niles, but he kept his eyes on Elissa and Peron, as though drawing support from them. “She’s right. We’ll be able to progress thousands of times as fast in normal space as in S-space — not to mention T-state, and you know that’s my own special baby. I’ve worried the problem for months and years, wondering how to make better progress. But I never thought of two facilities, one in S-space and one in normal space. To us, used to the way things are here, normal space is almost unthinkable. Shorter life span, planet-grubbing, probably never seeing a solution. But I bet it will work.” He paused, hesitated, looked at Charlene and Elissa, then at Judith Niles. His face was pale, but there was only conviction in his voice. “Your point about experience is a valid one. There is no substitute for years of practical experience of our work here. But I have that. If you go ahead and set up a second facility, in normal space, then I volunteer to go to that facility.” “Wolfgang!” said Charlene Bloom. The word came from her unbidden. She bit her lip, and looked down. They were revealing too much — too much new hope in his voice, and too much raw pain in her own.

Judith Niles was sitting bolt upright in her chair. Elissa’s support had come from the place she least expected it. “And you, Charlene?” she said calmly. “Since we all appear to have formed our opinions by now.”

Peron looked at the Director and marvelled. Like Sy, she appeared able to move instantly from one position to another, and be ready at once for the next stage of discussion. It was as though her analysis of Elissa’s and Peron’s remarks had been performed automatically, subconsciously, needing no time for assimilation and full reflection.

“I’ll stay here,” Charlene said after a few seconds. She turned to look at Wolfgang, and her voice was despairing. “My work is here, in Gulf City. I couldn’t do it in another facility. But Wolfgang, if you go — who could do your work on T-state?”

Judith Niles looked at Sy, who gave a fractional nod of his head. “We have a volunteer for that,” she said. “Sy is keen to explore T-state — and beyond. So now…”

She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes again. “Now comes the difficult question. You are proposing a radically different approach. Am I persuaded that it will work?”

“Wrong question,” said Peron.

She opened her eyes and smiled at him. “True. I stand corrected. We cannot know in advance what will work, and what will fail. The right question, then: do I think a second facility in normal space has a better chance to succeed than one in S-space? The answer: maybe. Just maybe. I thought of many options, but I never seriously considered the Mayfly solution.”

“You can’t afford not to try it,” said Peron. “Even if you reject it, we’ll attempt it.”

“I know. Bad position for a boss, right?” She smiled, then turned to Wolfgang. “And do you know what you are volunteering for? We can give you an extended life span in normal space, but you will still be dead in less than one S-year.” “Give me credit for something, JN.” Wolfgang’s moment of defiance had brought him a new confidence. “I know exactly what I’m offering to do. I’ll go to normal space, and I expect that I’ll die there. So what? I saw that message from Paradise, too. And now I think about it, I never really wanted to live forever. I just want to live for something. Sy can do my work here at least as well as I can, probably a damned sight better. Let’s get on with it, I say.” He did not wait for an answer from Judith Niles. Instead he turned to Charlene and took her hand in his. The room went silent, with everyone watching closely. Charlene’s mind flashed across the centuries, to the time back on Earth when Wolfgang had horrified her by secretly stroking her thigh in JN’s presence. But this time she did not flinch when Wolfgang touched her gently on the shoulder. Her vision was clouded with tears. She moved to meet him when he leaned forward to kiss her, and put her arms around his neck. The final words had not been spoken, but she knew that the decision was already made.

The departure for a second facility could not happen immediately. She and Wolfgang would see each other many times before there was another parting, formal and final.

But this moment was unique. This was their first goodbye.

PART FOUR:

THE ROAD TO ETERNITY

CHAPTER THIRTY

Sunrise: a recurring miracle, something that no one would ever see in S-space. Peron rolled out of bed and tiptoed to the window. A small sliver of Jezel’s disk already showed above the horizon, its white brilliance muted by a morning haze. As morning advanced and the haze burned off, Jezel would turn to a golden glory in the sky, brighter than Sol or Cassay.

Wolfgang Gibbs, who seemed to have transferred his disdain for sleep from S-space to N-space, was already outside. He was surrounded by the dozen newcomers who had arrived on Kallen’s World four days ago. Peron, moving quietly so that he did not awaken Elissa, dressed and went to join the group. Wolfgang had his back to the house and did not notice Peron’s approach. “Ready to go at dawn,” he said, “and with a good breakfast already inside you. I hope you all remembered what I told you yesterday afternoon, because we won’t be stopping to rest or eat before midday. Any questions?”

A girl with an open, innocent face — to Peron she looked about twelve — raised a hand. “I thought we would be walking because of a shortage of aircars. But last night I learned there are scores of them available. Why are we doing this on foot?”

She was a recent Planetfest winner, which meant she must be at least sixteen. And she must also be in first-rate physical condition. Peron wondered why she was asking. A troublemaker, maybe — the way he and Elissa and their Planetfest group had been troublemakers?

The group was staring at Peron, which made Wolfgang turn his way. He said, “Good morning,” but his raised eyebrows, invisible to the group of trainees, added, “Here we go again! Same old dumb questions.”