Jack McDevitt - POLARIS

The rest of the Polaris display was inconsequential, and was stored in two glass cases.

One held a shirt. “Urquhart’s,” Chalaba said. She consulted a notebook. “It was found in the foldaway bed.”

“The Survey people must have missed it,” said Alex.

“Apparently.”

There were also a pen, a remote, a book, and a makeup kit. “The makeup kit, of course, belonged to one of the women. We’re not sure which. The pen, we don’t know. It was found in its holder on the bridge.”

“You’ve done the archeologically correct thing,” Alex said. “Recording the locations of the finds.”

“As if it matters. But yes, our people did a decent job.” She went back to her notes. “The remote is an electronic key of some sort. It was found in the cargo locker of the lander. We don’t know who that belonged to, either.”

“An electronic key?” Alex peered down at it. It was about the size of a candy bar, with five buttons, one red, four blue, and a display. Each button was marked with a symbol: “What’s it operate?” asked Alex.

Back to the notes. “It doesn’t say. I doubt anybody knows.”

It was hard to imagine why anyone would need a key on the Polaris. Aboard a ship, everything operates off the AI. Or by simple voice command. Or by pushing a button.

“What do you think?” Alex asked me. “Would they need it maybe for the lander?”

“I can’t imagine why,” I said. “No, there’d be no point.”

A remote. In an age when most devices were voice-activated, there’s not much use for it. Kids use them for games. They operate flying models. They open hotel room doors. They can be used to adjust water temperature in pools.

What else?

Alex shook his head. “Anybody have any idea what the symbols mean?”

“The bottom one looks like a negative,” said Chalaba. “Maybe somebody just brought it from home,” she said. “Forgot they had it.”

It looked very much like a standard hotel key. Five buttons: up and down for the elevators, lock and unlock for the apartment, and a transaction button. That would be the red one. The rectangle represented a press pad.

The book was Wilderness of Stars, by Emanuel Placido. It had been a big hit with the environmental people in the last century. “It belonged to White,” Chalaba said.

“We have a virtual copy available if you’d like to see it.”

Alex caught my eyes. Maybe she wrote something in it. Maybe it’s what they’ve been looking for. “Cory,” he said, “since we’re in here, I assume the exhibit area is open to the general public.”

She nodded. “Yes. But we don’t advertise it, so I doubt many people know it’s here.”

He showed her the picture of Barber.

“No,” she said. “I’ve never seen her.”

He gave it to her, along with his code. “It will get you to our office,” he said.

“We’d be grateful if you’d keep an eye open. If she shows up, please give us a call.”

She looked at us suspiciously.

“It’s all right,” he said. “If you’re reluctant to call us, let the Andiquar police know. You’ll want to talk to Inspector Redfield.”

“All right. You mind telling me what it’s about?”

“One other thing,” he said, bypassing the question. “I’d like very much to buy a copy of the key.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Mr. Kimball, but that’s really not feasible.”

“It’s important,” he said. “And I’d be grateful.” He produced his link, typed in a figure, and showed it to her. “Would this cover it?”

Her eyebrows went up. “Yes,” she said, drawing the word out. “If it means that much, I suppose we can manage it.”

“Thank you,” said Alex. “Please be sure it’s a working duplicate.”

“What are you going to do with it?”

“I think it’s what Barber and Kiernan were looking for.”

“Really. Why?”

“Because it’s the one object that has no possible use on the Polaris. ”

“I’m not sure I follow.”

“Ask yourself what it was doing in the shuttle’s cargo compartment.” He looked around to be sure we were alone. “Chase, I know how it was done.”

We were walking across a white stone bridge that separated the Foundation grounds from the landing pad. He stopped and gripped the white handrail and leaned out over a brook as if he were really interested in seeing whether it contained fish. He could be infuriating sometimes. I waited for the explanation, which did not come.

“How?” I said at last.

“You suggested the ship went elsewhere in the system.”

“Yes.”

“Why not outside the system? They had six days before the Peronovski would arrive.”

“It’s possible. Sure.”

“Everybody assumed the ship went adrift right after the last message. But that’s not what happened. It jumped out of the system. Took the passengers somewhere. To a drop-off point. Then they unloaded everyone. The place, wherever it was, had living accommodations. That’s where the key came from.”

“There’s no place like that near Delta Kay.”

“You sure? We’re talking three days available for travel, one way. How far was that in 1365?”

“Sixty light-years.”

“That’s a pretty big area. Even out there.” He dropped a pebble into the water.

“The key, in effect, is a hotel key. Whoever had it unloaded his passengers, got a good night’s sleep, and in the morning he started back in the Polaris to Delta Kay.”

“-Where the ship was found by the Peronovski -”

“Yes.”

“And, with Walker’s help, he was able to slip aboard and hide below. Until they returned to port.”

“Very good, Chase.”

“You really think that’s what happened?”

“Except one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Change the pronoun. She slipped aboard.”

“Maddy?”

“I don’t think there’s any question. She’s the one in the ideal position to pull it off, provided she had help from other passengers. And she was a pilot. The conspirators had arranged in advance to make another ship available for her at Indigo.

When she got back, she collected it and went out to recover them.”

“I’ll be damned.”

“All the objects that were looked at by our burglars belonged to Maddy. Nobody else.”

“But Alvarez should have seen her when he searched the Polaris. ”

“She hid in the shuttle cargo compartment. That’s when she lost the key.”

“They had no reason to open the cargo compartment.”

“Right. And when the search was over, Alvarez and Walker went back to the Peronovski. That night, Alvarez goes to sleep-”

“-And Walker brings her aboard.”

“He stashed her in one of the compartments belowdecks. Voila, the alien wind has swept them all away.”

“Incredible,” I said. “That simple.”

Alex shrugged modestly.

“They did all this just to head off Dunninger’s research?”

“They saw it as life and death for millions of people. And they were all idealists.”

“Fanatics.”

“One man’s idealist is another’s lunatic.”

“But why is anyone worried about it now? Is someone still in power from those years?”

His eyes were troubled. “No. I’ve checked. Everyone who could have been involved, either at Survey, or in the political world, is dead or retired.”

“Then who’s behind the attacks on us?”

“I have an idea, but let’s put that aside for now.”

“Okay. So where’d the Polaris take them?”

“That’s what we have to find out.”

We stayed in Sabatini and returned to Limoges the next day by train. Alex liked trains, and he also thought it might be smart to change our travel plans. Just in case.

We rode a taxi to the station and arrived just as the Tragonia Flyer was pulling in. We got into our compartment, and Alex lapsed into silence. The train made a second stop in Sabatini, then began its long trek across the Koralis.