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these friends are called-we can defend ourselves. "Without them we are doomed. "That is all I can say now. In twenty-four hours I will speak to you again, and then I will give you more details about the choices before us. Until then . . . please. Be warned." The picture went to black. The message was over. Thoughtfully Dannerman removed the helmet. "He spoke to me in English," he announced. "Rosie? Why don't you take a shot and see what he does for you?" "Thanks a lot, Dan," Pat said with annoyance. He shook his head. "You'll get your turn. Wait till we've all seen it." He settled himself on the floor and waited, staring into space. Then Patsy, last to have her turn, took the helmet off and shakily, "Wow. That was an ugly one, all right." Dannerman had been thinking. He said, "Something strikes me as peculiar. The astronaut spoke to me in English; was it the same for you Pats? Yes, I thought so. Rosaleen?" "Why, yes. He spoke in Ukrainian. With a few Russian words, actually, but his accent was good. Why do you say that's peculiar? Clearly this is an Page 94 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html announcement transmitted to everyone on Earth, like the others; naturally they would want it to be in languages everyone can understand." "That's not the peculiar part. Did you see duValier's lips move?" "His lips?" She looked puzzled, but Jimmy Lin was quicker. "You're thinking it was lip-synched for each of us?" he demanded. "No. Forget lip-synching. Maybe you could get away with that for European languages. Mandarin Chinese, no. DuValier was actually speaking those words, Dan." Dannerman nodded. "But that wasn't exactly what I was thinking. What I'm thinking is that it wasn't lip-synched, and that's the part that's hard to understand. Martin? Did this Colonel duValier know all those languages?" Delasquez looked indignant. "That ass? No! I was astonished to hear him even speak Spanish. I do not even know how he succeeded in getting a spacecraft on course to Starlab, he is such a notorious fool." Pat was looking at Dannerman expectantly. When he didn't speak she prodded. "What's your point, Dan?" "I wish I knew. The whole thing sounds funny." Patrice nodded. "I know what you mean. If I saw that on TV at home I'd turn it right off. 'Beloved Leaders,' for Christ's sake! Only-well, if what he says is the truth . . ." Jimmy Lin finished the sentence for her. "Then," he said, "the world is really in the deep shit." CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO Dan file:///F|/rah/Frederik%20Pohl/Pohl,%20Freder...n%201%20-%20The%20Other%20End% 20Of%20Time.txt (72 of 122) [1/15/03 6:25:15 PM] file:///F|/rah/Frederik%20Pohl/Pohl,%20Frederik%20-%20Eschaton%201%20-%20The%2 0Other%20End%20Of%20Time.txt Dannerman didn't have to be told that the world was in trouble. It always was. That was the reason it hired him and others like him, to do their best to protect it against itself. Now here was the biggest threat of all, and shouldn't-he asked himself-shouldn't he be doing something about it? There was only one answer to that for Jim Daniel Dannerman. The question wasn't whether. It was what. And to that he had no answer. Every other time he had found himself in harm's way he had known exactly what he wanted to accomplish. If he'd been in any doubt, Colonel Hilda Morrisey or someone like her would have spelled it out for him at the briefing. There was always a hierarchy of defined objectives. First, you stayed alive. Second, you got the evidence. Third, you called in the strike force and watched the malefactors being led away. Here there was no briefing to tell him what to do. There was also no evidence to get, no way to get out and no strike force waiting to be called. And here the stakes were higher than they had ever been before. It was the entire population of Earth who were at risk now-Hilda herself, and sweet Anita Berman from Theater Aristophanes Two, and his landlady Rita, as well as everyone at the Dannerman Observatory ... as well as everyone else he'd ever known in all his life, villains and colleagues and civilians alike. He wondered what they were doing now. He wondered how much comfort they could take in the promise of help from the "Beloved Leaders." And he wondered, too, just how much help those Beloved Leaders had any real intention of giving. There just wasn't enough data! He knew nothing useful of those shadowy figures, had no idea what sort of bizarre alien personality traits motivated them. And had little reason to believe that benevolence was among them. He opened his eyes when he heard Pat raising her voice. She was saying something harsh to Jimmy Lin, who was grinning as he held her by one arm. She wrenched herself free, saw Dannerman looking at her and came over to sit beside him. "Bastard," she said. Page 95 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html He didn't take it personally, but, "You mean Jimmy?" he asked, just to make sure. "Who else? You'd think he'd have enough decency to give it a rest, the way things are." "I take it he was hitting on you." "Me, and Patsy, and Patrice-he doesn't care. He just wants to get laid. He said-" She hesitated, then shook her head. "He said what he always says, so what's the use of talking about it? Forget him." Then she looked apologetic. "Did I interrupt something?" "Nothing that was going anywhere," he admitted. "Well, if you're sure . . . Listen, I've been wanting to ask you something, Dan. What did you mean about it's being funny?" "Funny? Oh, right. I almost forgot. Well, it is funny. Why would Dopey show us that message?" "Why? Hum." She thought for a moment, then said, "Yeah, I see what you mean. Dopey doesn't do anything that doesn't do him some good, so what good can that do him?" "That's the question, all right. I don't suppose you happen to have an answer?" "I wish I did. I wish I knew how much of it to believe, too." "So do I." Dannerman thought about telling her some of his own doubts, but there wasn't much point; they weren't clear in his own mind. Anyway, he saw that Pat was glaring again at Jimmy. Who was standing over the cooker, waiting for his next meal to heat, and leering at them. "Bastard," she said again. "Not that I don't understand how he feels. It's been a long time-but here? With everybody watching? Although I have to say he thought about that part, too." "Oh?" said Dannerman, surprised to find a sudden interest growing. She looked at him, her expression unreadable. "Well, yes. Like in an airplane, you know, when you get a couple of blankets from the stew. There are all those blankets from Starlab. Then- well, did Jimmy ever explain the Rabbit Nibbles the Hare to you?" [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |
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