Now Keene realized why Sariena had spoken the way she had. She had been trying to put visions in his mind of what could be. It had been her way of asking him to come back with them. And while every facet of reason and rationality within him said yes, take it, nothing else made sense, something underneath it all held him back. Gallian either saw it or sensed it before Keene made any response, and released his hold.
“Sariena said she felt as if she were running out,” Keene said. “Yet this isn’t even her world or your world. How do you think I’d feel?” He forced a tired smile and shook his head. “Of course I appreciate the thought. But I belong here, to do what I can. Don’t ask me to explain it or make sense of it.”
Gallian sighed heavily, nodded, and didn’t argue. “I’d kind of guessed, but I promised Sariena I would try. It’s a part of your culture that I don’t pretend to understand. And yet . . .” he stepped back, shaking his head, “I have to admit there is something strangely magnificent about it. Is it the same quality that makes those like Mondel—a refusal to see the obvious odds? But without it our world wouldn’t exist at all. You’re wrong about where you belong, though, Landen. You belong out there. But, of course, you’d have to experience it before you could know that.”
Keene held his eye for a moment, then checked his watch. “Maybe one day,” he said. “But not in the next couple of days. A safe voyage. And thanks for trying.” A tap sounded on the door. They shook hands firmly. Gallian opened the door to reveal Keene’s driver with Cavan standing behind.
“I’m sorry, Dr. Keene, but we really have to—”
“It’s okay. I’m done. Let’s go.” As he came out of the room, he turned Cavan around to stay with him as they walked toward the elevators. “Leo, I need a word with you and there isn’t time here. Ride with me to Andrews and we can talk on the way. The driver will bring you back afterward.”
The elevator arrived, and they stepped in. Keene saw Sariena watching from the entrance to the suite as the doors closed in front of him. He still wasn’t sure what had held him back.
* * *
The staff car moved briskly through the night streets of the capital, preceded by a police escort flashing red and blue lights. On the way out of the Engleton and for the first couple of miles in the car, Keene summarized the events of the past two days. Cavan, alongside him in the backseat, listened grimly but without interrupting.
“Something strange is going on in the reporting setup, and I’m pretty sure Voler’s at the center of it,” Keene concluded. “I want you to put these espionage skills that you’ve been developing to work, and see if you can follow up on a few things.”
“My word, you are moving up in the world, Landen,” Cavan said. “At this rate I’ll be working for you officially before much longer. Very well, what do you need?”
“The Cambridge IAU Center, Interplanetary Physics at Goddard, and a couple of other places on the East Coast are the ones causing the confusion,” Keene replied. “And they’re all places that Voler has connections with. I don’t think it’s a coincidence. It’s as if they’re trying to delay a clear picture coming out of it all for a few days. Now why would they want to do something like that? Or more specifically, why would Voler?”
“I don’t know. You’ve obviously done a lot more thinking about this than I have, Landen. So for once, why don’t you tell me?”
“All right, how does this grab you? If JPL is right and it’s going to be bad, Voler already knows. The moment it becomes official, all kinds of controls are going to be slapped on everyone’s freedom of action. The longer he can stall that, the more time he’ll have to move on whatever he’s cooking up. Because that’s what I think it is, Leo. A day like today, and he’s not around? He’s up to something.”