Resurgence

“Master Nenda, if I may with respect add to this discussion.” Kallik, crouched at Nenda’s side, had access to the same displays and was following Nenda’s spoken version of the conversation with Atvar H’sial. “The main body that you see on the screen cannot be a black hole. Our mass detectors indicate that it contains as much matter as a large star, and this is confirmed by the periods of revolution of the planets. However, a black hole of such a mass would have a diameter of only a few kilometers. What we observe is a dense object several tens of thousands of kilometers in diameter, at just a couple of hundred degrees above absolute zero.”

“The size of a large planet, but as heavy as a star. A white dwarf?”

“Except that it gives off no energy. I wonder.” The Hymenopt hesitated.

“Spit it out, Kallik. No time to get coy with me.”

“The body that we see does not lie at the end of any natural stellar evolutionary sequence known in our own spiral arm. It appears to be solid matter in a cold, crystallized form. Could it be that the laws of physics are different in the Sag Arm?”

“That is at best a remote possibility.” Atvar H’sial had been receiving pheromonal translation through Nenda, and her response revealed her chemical scorn at such an idea. “The laws of physics are the same throughout the universe.”

“Maybe. But either way we got us a mystery.”

“I think not. Louis, there is one other possible answer. Ask Kallik if she believes that the star arrived in its present state through natural processes.”

As soon as she received the question, Kallik shook her round head. “I can see no way for natural processes to achieve such a result.”

“Very good.” Atvar H’sial nodded as Nenda gave her that reply, and went on, “Tell Kallik, then it must have reached its present state through unnatural processes. The star has been drained of its energy, by some external agent.”

“I concur. And the same is true for the big planet.” Kallik gestured to the bank of monitors. “Observe. It is supernaturally cold. Nothing in this whole system is warm enough to radiate significant amounts of energy.”

“Not quite nothing. Not any more.” Nenda pointed to one of the monitors, where the signal beacon of another ship suddenly flashed bright against the dark span of the Gulf. “Look at those dummies. They’re certainly radiating energy. They come through the Bose node into possible danger, an’ they’re all lit up for the holidays. I’ll bet you Hans Rebka is foaming at the mouth, but he don’t have final say on the Pride of Orion. Lucky for them there’s nothing sittin’ here waitin’ to wipe ’em out.”

“Nothing now.” The chill in Atvar H’sial’s words was that of the frozen stellar system to which they had come. “But at some time, Louis, the fusion processes of that star were halted and it was depleted of its energy. Something has been at work here on a scale that I find hard to imagine.”

“The Builders?”

“They are certainly capable of it. Yet this does not fit with my perceptions of Builder activities.”

“Kallik? Do you think the Builders might have done this? Atvar H’sial says no.”

“With respect, Master Nenda, I must agree with Atvar H’sial. This does not have the feel of a Builder artifact.”

“So where do we go from here? At, do you think we’re safe in this system?”

“I believe that we are safe for the moment. The continued existence of the Pride of Orion supports that idea. Its crew must be as puzzled as we are, since this is clearly not the system of the Marglotta.”

“We should have known that all along. We told ’em that no Polypheme ever tells the truth unless it has to.”

“Congratulations to us on our own perspicacity. However, self-praise does us little good. This is not the place where we thought to arrive. I repeat, it is not the system of the Marglotta.”

“Damn right. It’s colder than a witch’s cul-de-sac.”

“And I am at a loss to suggest what we should do next.”

“Ten heads might be better than five. Let’s go an’ see if Graves and his bunch have any bright ideas.”

“In order to do that, Louis, we must either travel or send signals to them.”

“Then that’s what I guess we gotta do.”

“Either signals or motion will reveal our existence and our position.”

“But according to you, At, for the moment we don’t need to worry too much about that.” Nenda turned on the Have-It-All’s signal beacon. “There. Now everybody knows we’re here.” He activated the intercom to the pilot’s cabin. “Hit them buttons, J’merlia, an’ take us to rendezvous. It’s time to compare notes. Let’s give the others a chance to show off how smart they are.”

* * *

The Have-It-All was Louis Nenda’s pride and joy and his most treasured possession. Allowing J’merlia to serve as its pilot represented a triumph of reason over emotion.