The Entropy Effect

“Where he could put his prisoner, for one thing,” Hunter said. “I guess I should have claimed Aerfen would practically fall out of orbit without a complete overhaul, but the truth is I was too damned mad to do any tactful dissembling.”

“So was I.”

“I wondered if he might go after you, too—but, Jim, a ship of the line flying a milk run? Don’t keep me in suspense, what did you say to him?”

“I told him I’d take the job.”

Hunter started to laugh, then saw that he meant it.

“Okay,” she said. “That’s got to be a better story than any amount of imaginative profanity. Let’s hear it.”

Jim told her what had happened, including Spock’s analysis. He was glad to have someone more objective to talk to.

“Have you ever heard of Georges Mordreaux?”

“Sure—good gods, you don’t mean he’s been on Aleph all this time?He’s the one you’re supposed to take off to have his brain drained?”

Jim nodded. “What do you know about him?”

Hunter had always had a serious talent for physics, and had considered specializing in the field. But the academic life was far too quiet for her, and her taste for excitement and adventure won out early on. Still, she kept track of major advances in research in the branches that interested her.

“Well,” she said. “There are two schools of thought, and hardly anybody in the middle. The first camp thought he was the finest physicist since Vekesh, if not Einstein. Listen, Jim, do you want to have dinner on Aerfen , or shall we find a place around here? I don’t know what schedule you’re working on, but it’s late for me and I’m starved.”

“I was hoping you’d come up to the Enterprise and let me show you around. What about the other camp?”

She glanced away. “I might have known a diversionary tactic wouldn’t work with you.” She shrugged. “No offense to your Mr. Spock—but the other camp, which is most people, thought Georges Mordreaux was a loon.”

Jim was silent for a moment. “That bad?”

“Afraid so.”

“Spock didn’t mention it.”

“That’s fair. I expect he has his own opinion and considers the opposing one scurrilous gossip. Which it surely fell to.”

“Why do you keep talking about Mordreaux in the past tense?”

“Oh. I think of him that way. He put out some papers a few years back, and the reaction to them was ...hm... negative, to put it mildly. He still publishes once in a while, but nobody knew where he was. I had no idea he was here .”

“Do you think it’s possible somebody’s arranged some kind of vendetta against him?”

“I can’t imagine why anybody would, or who would do it. He just isn’t a factor in academic circles anymore. Besides, criminal prosecution isn’t the way physics professors discredit their rivals, it hasn’t got the proper civilized flavor to it.”

“What do you think about him?”

“I’ve never met him; I can’t give you a personal opinion.”

“What about his work? Do you think he’s crazy?”

She toyed with the corner of her vest. “Jim ... the last time I studied physics formally was fifteen years ago. I still subscribe to a couple ofjournals, but I keep up a superficial competence at best. I’m far too out of date to even guess at an answer to the question you’re asking. The man did good work once, a long time ago. What he’s like now—who knows?”

They walked for a while in silence. Hunter shoved her hands in her pockets.

“Sorry I’m not more help. But you can’t tell much about anybody’s personality from their work, anyway.”

“I know. I guess I’m just grabbing at anything to try to figure out why the Enterprise got chosen for this

duty.” He had already told her about Mr. Spock’s ruined observations. “Well, Captain, can I offer you a tour of my ship, and some dinner?”

“Well, Captain, that sounds great.”

From across the park, Jim heard a faint voice.

“Hey, Jim!”

Leonard McCoy waved happily from the other side of the park, and, with his companion, came tramping across the grass toward Jim and Hunter.

“Who’s that?”

“That’s my ship’s doctor, Leonard McCoy.”

She watched him approach. “He’s feeling no pain.”

Jim laughed, and he and Hunter walked together through the field to greet McCoy and his friend.

Spock returned to the Enterprise , paged Lieutenant Commander Flynn, and started working out a schedule to give the maximum amount of liberty to the maximum number of people, as Captain Kirk had requested. Before he finished, the lift doors slid open and Flynn stepped out onto the bridge.

“Yes, Mr. Spock?”

He turned toward her. “Commander Flynn, our mission here involves your section. Tomorrow morning Dr. Georges Mordreaux will board and we will convey him to Rehabilitation Colony Seven.”

She frowned very slightly. Rehab Seven was in this system; it was in opposition to Aleph Prime right now, but still that meant it was only about two astronomical units away: a trivial distance for a starship, almost an insult, and she must realize that.

“If he were a V.I.P. you wouldn’t have called me,” Flynn said. “I take it that means he’ll be in custody.”