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happen to have the exact force of gravity, the exact force of the strong nuclear force so that things cohere rather than not. That’s a lot of fine-tuning for our convenience. Religion says that God arranged it that way. Nice answer, except it kind of stops further discussion.”
    Stefan unfolded from the bent-over position and leaned against a railing. She had his attention.
    “So you could say, of course the universe is finely tuned for us. If it weren’t, we wouldn’t be here to wonder about it. But then it leads to the idea that there must be other space-times where things aren’t perfect for life. Where the fundamental particles have different values, and some universes—maybe the majority—will be cold and dark. And some, like ours, won’t.”
    “Right. The multiverse has some scientific logic behind it, if not scientific evidence.”
    “No evidence. Until now.”
    Stefan smiled. On his thin face, it looked more like a crack than a grin. “Wait until you see what we’ve got at the meeting.”
    Frowning, Helice realized he’d kept something from her. “Tell me now, Stefan.” She hated secrets. All her life she’d had a horror of people whispering, knowing things she didn’t, talking behind her back. Being smart could be a curse in a world where intelligence measured your worth. Being smarter than her parents had been the worst, when they couldn’t follow where she went, when she outgrew them before she’d even grown up.
    Stefan started the next flight, a little slower now.
    Helice didn’t move from the landing. “Stefan.”
    He turned, waiting. This was her last chance to get him on her side.
    “I’m your best thinker. Your best strategist. I’m young, in great shape. I don’t have a family to hold me back. I’m new, and willing to put myself on the line to prove my worth.” She wouldn’t beg. But she could argue.
    He let the words settle. “And if true?”
    She didn’t like the hostile tone, but she pressed on. “I want to go. With Titus. As his handler.” She walked up to join him, standing finally on the same step, but he still towered over her. If he sided with her, she would be the first—along with Titus—to know what the new universe held. How could knowing mean so much? And yet it did.
    “It’ll be dangerous, Helice. Titus might not come back.”
    “I’ve said I’m willing to risk a lot.”
    “Maybe I need you here.”
    She forestalled a harangue by a declaration: “I won’t be content to stay behind.”
    He watched her with narrowed eyes, appraising her. “I’ll consider it.” He turned and, breath returned, ran up the steps, leaving her to follow. Leaving her with hope, though not much.
    She and Stefan arrived at the boardroom, and all faces, real and virtual, turned to them.
    Around a smart table sat the other partners: Dane Wellinger, Suzene Gninenko, Peter DeFanti, Sherman Pitts, Lizza Molina, and special projects manager Booth Waller. Twelve others shunted in virtually, and their chairs silvered with their images. Looking at Booth Waller, Helice stopped and touched Stefan’s arm. “I thought it was just the partners.”
    “Booth is on track for partnership. You knew that.”
    She hadn’t known. Booth was an easy man to underestimate, a mistake she wouldn’t make again.
    The board members welcomed Helice with nods. She thought that one or two might even be sincere. She brought prestige to Minerva at a time when they needed it. And she’d brought them the Appian II. That was the contribution that really earned her the expedition. It was, after all, her region. She’d salvaged it from the Appian, ensuring its discovery wasn’t lost to an obsessed mSap.
    Stefan said, “We’ve made a little progress while you were in transit.” He nodded, a motion that made his face look even more like a hatchet than it normally did. He voiced the table display, and in front of each board member appeared a V-sim projection of a small circle.
    “It doesn’t look like much