Read Online John Maddox Roberts - Space Angel by John Maddox Roberts - Free Book Online
Authors: John Maddox Roberts
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man of little scope, Torwald. What is money, after all, except a poor substitute for immortality?" Bert winked at Kelly.
"And you're a sententious old coot!" The quartermaster laughed. "What about you, Achmed?"
"I won't offer any opinions until we have better data. But, I haven't felt so uneasy about a situation since Uncle Abdul let the genie out of the bottle."
Three
HE sensed a pursuing malevolence, and a goal'., and eons of time so vast that they had no meaning, there was a task of creation and a long, long wait and then there would be a meeting with the Enemy and then—
Kelly woke sweating. The dream had been so alien, yet so real! Kelly wondered if he dared repeat his dream to the others, for fear of being suspected of some psych problem. He decided to try to go back to sleep, but it was no use, so he dressed and set out for the galley. He could at least start breakfast. Anything to keep busy and avoid thought.
He found most of the crew already assembled at the mess table, and they all looked as bad as he felt. Torwald arrived on Kelly's heels.
"Good Lord!" he said, "I've seen brighter faces going into a battle."
"Shut up, Tor," the skipper said. "Now, let's compare notes. Starting with you, Lafayette. What did you see?"
"Damn, Skipper, I don't know, but it sure scared me. There was something chasing me—" he stopped and frowned, searching for words "—no, it wasn't me, exactly. It was all happening to something else. Something that wasn't human. And I think it made a planet. I think it made that planet back there." He was becoming more frightened just talking about it.
"Was that all?"
"No, Skipper, there was more, lots more, but that was about all I could begin to understand. Oh, yes, there was something about thinking stars . . ." his voice trailed off in fearful puzzlement.
The skipper looked at Nancy. "How about you?" Nancy related much the same story, cracks beginning to show in her habitual icy poise. It was soon established that the entire crew had seen the same vision. The skipper looked around the table. "Well? Theories? Opinions? Comments?"
"I have a question," Michelle said.
"Let's hear it," the skipper urged.
"How come we're all avoiding looking at that thing?" she pointed at the sphere in the middle of the table. As she said it, everybody turned and looked toward it with a wary horror.
"All right," said the skipper, "this thing is somehow the culprit. Are we all agreed on that?" There were no denials.
"Now comes the big one," said Ham. "Just what is it?"
"May I venture an opinion, Skipper?"
"That's all that any of us can venture just now, Bert. What's yours?"
"If this thing caused that vision, and it can really do what the vision seemed to indicate, then we may be dealing with some kind of god."
"There is only one," said Achmed, quietly.
"I agree," the skipper said. "Although I'll admit that the point is a little academic when dealing with a being that can create a planet out of raw material and wrap it around itself like a blanket. In any case, it's intelligent and extremely powerful."
"Skipper, your mastery of understatement is truly staggering," Torwald commented wryly.
"All right, then, let's hear your thoughts on the matter."
"First off, this may be the first living, intelligent alien humanity has ran across. Aside from a few scattered artifacts, we've found no life more intelligent than the average gibbon. So, this is an historic occasion, even if it is kind of spooky."
"Let's not celebrate just yet," the skipper warned. "And second?"
"Second, however powerful this thing is, it was being chased by something even more powerful." This observation caused them to look even more glum for a few minutes.
"That was a long time ago, right, Ham?" Kelly chimed in.
"Time doesn't seem to mean much to these things. Sergei, how old would you estimate Alpha Tau to be?" The Russian shrugged and spread his hands, palms up.
"Two billion years? Three, maybe? Who can tell when the
"And you're a sententious old coot!" The quartermaster laughed. "What about you, Achmed?"
"I won't offer any opinions until we have better data. But, I haven't felt so uneasy about a situation since Uncle Abdul let the genie out of the bottle."
Three
HE sensed a pursuing malevolence, and a goal'., and eons of time so vast that they had no meaning, there was a task of creation and a long, long wait and then there would be a meeting with the Enemy and then—
Kelly woke sweating. The dream had been so alien, yet so real! Kelly wondered if he dared repeat his dream to the others, for fear of being suspected of some psych problem. He decided to try to go back to sleep, but it was no use, so he dressed and set out for the galley. He could at least start breakfast. Anything to keep busy and avoid thought.
He found most of the crew already assembled at the mess table, and they all looked as bad as he felt. Torwald arrived on Kelly's heels.
"Good Lord!" he said, "I've seen brighter faces going into a battle."
"Shut up, Tor," the skipper said. "Now, let's compare notes. Starting with you, Lafayette. What did you see?"
"Damn, Skipper, I don't know, but it sure scared me. There was something chasing me—" he stopped and frowned, searching for words "—no, it wasn't me, exactly. It was all happening to something else. Something that wasn't human. And I think it made a planet. I think it made that planet back there." He was becoming more frightened just talking about it.
"Was that all?"
"No, Skipper, there was more, lots more, but that was about all I could begin to understand. Oh, yes, there was something about thinking stars . . ." his voice trailed off in fearful puzzlement.
The skipper looked at Nancy. "How about you?" Nancy related much the same story, cracks beginning to show in her habitual icy poise. It was soon established that the entire crew had seen the same vision. The skipper looked around the table. "Well? Theories? Opinions? Comments?"
"I have a question," Michelle said.
"Let's hear it," the skipper urged.
"How come we're all avoiding looking at that thing?" she pointed at the sphere in the middle of the table. As she said it, everybody turned and looked toward it with a wary horror.
"All right," said the skipper, "this thing is somehow the culprit. Are we all agreed on that?" There were no denials.
"Now comes the big one," said Ham. "Just what is it?"
"May I venture an opinion, Skipper?"
"That's all that any of us can venture just now, Bert. What's yours?"
"If this thing caused that vision, and it can really do what the vision seemed to indicate, then we may be dealing with some kind of god."
"There is only one," said Achmed, quietly.
"I agree," the skipper said. "Although I'll admit that the point is a little academic when dealing with a being that can create a planet out of raw material and wrap it around itself like a blanket. In any case, it's intelligent and extremely powerful."
"Skipper, your mastery of understatement is truly staggering," Torwald commented wryly.
"All right, then, let's hear your thoughts on the matter."
"First off, this may be the first living, intelligent alien humanity has ran across. Aside from a few scattered artifacts, we've found no life more intelligent than the average gibbon. So, this is an historic occasion, even if it is kind of spooky."
"Let's not celebrate just yet," the skipper warned. "And second?"
"Second, however powerful this thing is, it was being chased by something even more powerful." This observation caused them to look even more glum for a few minutes.
"That was a long time ago, right, Ham?" Kelly chimed in.
"Time doesn't seem to mean much to these things. Sergei, how old would you estimate Alpha Tau to be?" The Russian shrugged and spread his hands, palms up.
"Two billion years? Three, maybe? Who can tell when the
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