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in debate over the aesthetics of pre-Columbian art.”
    “I never should have encouraged her to take that U of Carleton course. I think I’ve spent over a hundred big ones on ugly statues of pregnant goddesses in the last six months.” He laughed, and the other three men joined in obligingly.
    Michael could tell that Ian Pocatello was starting to feel more than a little cornered himself, with three pro-mining lobbyists surrounding him. The Minister was tense, as if waiting for the concerted attack.
    The whole charade reminded Michael of tigers stalking a polar bear.
    They would have to be careful, or enrage the bear.
    Turning to Ian, Michael smiled. “I understand congratulations are in order over your last budget?”
    “Yes. It was simple, really…”
    If there was one thing Ian Pocatello liked, it was listening to the sound of his own voice.
    The others settled in to listen, luring the Minister into a false sense of security. They smelled victory.
     

__________
     
    USA, Inc. Exploration Site :
    Mission Orcus 1 :
    Pluto :
     
    Twelve kilometers from the landing site, Justine, driving the ATV, pulled short.
    In front of her was an alien artifact.
    Ekwan Nipiwin took a step toward it.
    “Stop!” Justine roared.
    As one, they turned toward her.
    She got off the ATV and picked her way down to them. It was a difficult task, considering the treacherous path, and her inability to take her eyes off the artifact for more than a couple of moments at a time.
    As she came closer to it, she realized she could see through the semi-transparent surface of the monument. A hectare large at its base, and easily sixteen floors high, it was a massive structure of alien construction.
    Justine stared at the behemothic artifact, her imagination running away with her. Thoughts of other life in the galaxy filled her mind. She had no doubt about it. They were not alone in the universe.
    What were they like? Where did they come from? How long ago did they visit Sol?
    Was this monument a calling card?
    Here is where we are…come visit us.
    Or a flag?
    We were here.
    Or some kind of warning?
    Go no further puny humans!
    She was sure the thinkers back on Earth would be up twenty-four hours a day trying to answer those same questions, once she transmitted her report. As mission exec., Justine had little in the way of scientific background, compared to the others in the science crew, each of whom had no less than two Ph.D.’s. Her training was more technologically based, but even that education did nothing to help her solve the puzzle in front of her.
    “It ain’t doing nothing, Captain.” Helen broke off from the group to join Justine. “Just sitting there. Could have been here for a hundred million years, doing nothing.”
    “I want to know for certain. If there is even the remotest possibility of danger to the crew, then I’m going to declare this area off limits until we get instructions from Earth.”
    “Don’t be so dense!” Ekwan’s lips twisted. “I’ll show you.” He reached down and grabbed a sizeable chunk of ice and hurled it at the artifact before Justine realized what he was doing.
    “Stop!” she commanded, but the ice ball, hurled with a human’s strength on a planet with a gravity base a fraction of Earth’s, shot like a rocket into the artifact.
    —And shattered into a million tiny fragments.
    The artifact remained a noble, immovable object.
    “See, Captain! I already tried that before. It’s just there, like Helen said, doing nothing. If you are going to report this to Earth, the least we can do is take some surface measurements, spectrometer reading; the usual stuff.”
    The pain-in-the-ass geologist was right, as usual. The immensity of the artifact itself, and the deep-seated awareness that there were others out there, numbed Justine, slowed her reactions. This discovery shook her to her core.
    “What do we call it?”
    “ Dis Pater , of course.” This from George Eastmain.
    The name was apropos. A