Read In the Ocean of Night for Free Online Page B

top of the atmosphere—one of the astrophysicists mentioned it in a briefing, but he said for a mass as large as Icarus it couldn’t happen.”
    “What about for a tenth of that mass?”
    “I don’t know. And—damn it!—it’s crucial.”
    “An ocean strike…If that happens, billions of people…”
    “Right.”
    “You know…I don’t think I want to…”
    “I don’t either.” Nigel paused. And something flitted across his mind.
    “Wait a second,” he said. “Something odd here. This rock is hollow, that makes it lighter.”
    “Sure. Less mass.”
    “But that will make it easier to fragment, too. The chances of having a big chunk of rock left around after we set off the Egg is less, too.”
    “I guess so.”
    “But why didn’t Dave mention that? It makes the odds
better.
”
    A silence.
    “He’s lying.”
    “Damn right he is.” Saying the words made Nigel sure of it.
    “So our chances are good.”
    “Better than Dave says, anyway. They must be.”
    “
If
the Egg goes off at all. We’ve hauled it all this way, maybe it’s crapped out by now. They told us there would be a seven percent probability of that even before we left, remember? The thing might not work at all, Nigel.”
    “I’ll bet it’s going to, though.”
    “How much?”
    “What?”
    “How much will you bet? The lives of the rest of the human race?”
    “If I have to.”
    “You’re crazy.”
    “No. The odds are good. Dave is lying to us.”
    “Why would he do that?”
    Nigel frowned. Len’s doubts were beginning to reinforce his own. How sure
was
he? But he shook off the mood and said, “They don’t want any
risk,
Len. They want two heroes and a lot of lives saved and no worries. They want to just keep it simple.”
    “And you’re after—”
    “I want to know what this thing is. Who built it. How they propelled it, where they came from—”
    “That’s a lot to expect of a bunch of artifacts.” “Maybe not. I saw some panels and consoles in there, I think. Could be the computerized records they used are still around.”
    “If they used computers at all.”
    “They must’ve. If we could get to some of the storage units—”
    “You really think we could?”
    Nigel shrugged. “Yes, I think so. I don’t
know
—nobody does. But if we can find out something new here, Len, it could pay off. New technology could get us out of the mess the world is in.”
    “Like what?”
    “A new power source. Maybe something with higher efficiency. That would be worth the chance.”
    “Maybe.”
    “Well …” Nigel felt his energy begin to drain away. “If you’re not with me, Len…”
    There came a silence.
    Ping
went the capsule, stretching with the sun’s uneven heating. A metallic voice, asking
tick ping
its own questions. Could he really do it? No, absurd. Pointless. For what, after all? Why this comical risk? (Why leave England? Why go into space?
Ping.
) His parents had wondered that, he knew, though they’d never said it. Worried, even as they nudged him onward, where it would lead. And what
was
he going to look for in there? New wine, in this rocky old bottle? Or had humanity had enough wine already, thanks, hand held flat over the mouth of the glass, no. No, absurd. He was being impolite. All this stuff he’d done, all the work, really, you see, what was the point? Very well to search, but who pays the bill? Did he know—here his hands clenched, whitening—did he know what he was looking for? Step aside for a moment. Look at this matter. Was it rational? No. Absurd. No. He couldn’t. He spun from
tick
the voice but could not escape it. No.
Ping.
He spun… spun…
    Nigel wet his lips and waited. The sun lay hot on the rock rim above. Its light reflected in the cabin and deepened the lines of strain in his face. He found he was holding his breath.
    Then: “Nigel… look… don’t put me on the spot like this.”
    Nigel sealed his suit again, automatically. He reached up and popped the hatch