At 5:07 the decoded message was passed through the conning-tower hatch and into the captain’s hands. Gorov skipped the eight lines of introductory material and got straight to the body of the communiqué.
YOUR REQUEST GRANTED STOP MAKE ALL SPEED TO RESCUE MEMBERS EDGEWAY EXPEDITION STOP WHEN FOREIGN NATIONALS ABOARD TAK ALL PRECAUTIONS AGAINST COMPROMISE OF CLASSIFIED MATERIAL STOP SECURE ALL SENSITIVE AREAS OF YOUR COMMAND STOP EMBASSY OFFICIALS IN WASHINGTON HAVE INFORMED AMERICAN GOVERNMENT OF INTENT TO RESCUE EDGEWAY GROUP STOP
At the bottom of the decoding sheet, Timoshenko had written two words in pencil: RECEIPT ACKNOWLEDGED. There was nothing to do now but act upon their new orders—which they had been doing anyway for the past half an hour.
Although he was not at all sure that sufficient time remained in which to get those people off the iceberg, Gorov was happier than he had been in a long time. At least he was doing something. At least he had a chance, however slim, of reaching the Edgeway scientists before they were all dead.
He stuffed the decoded message into a coat pocket and sounded two brief blasts on the electric diving horns.
By 5:30 Brian had been in the snowmobile nearly an hour. He was suffering from claustrophobia. “I’d like to go out and walk.”
“Don’t rush yourself.” Rita switched on a flashlight, and the sudden brightness made her eyes water. She studied his hands. “Numb? Tingling?”
“No.”
“A burning sensation?”
“Not much any more. And my feet feel a lot better.” He saw that Rita still had her doubts. “My legs are cramped. I really need to exercise them. Besides, it’s too warm in here.”
She hesitated. “You face does have some color now. I mean, other than the attractive blue it was. And your hands don’t look translucent any more. Well… all right. But when you’ve stretched you muscles, if you still feel any tingling, any numbness, you’ve got to come back here right away.”
“Good enough.”
She pulled on her felt boots and then worked her feet into her outer boots. She picked up her coat from the bench between them. Afraid of working up a sweat in the warm air, she hadn’t been wearing all of her gear. If she perspired in her suit, the moisture against her skin would leach away her body heat, which would be an invitation to death.
For the same reason, Brian wasn’t wearing his coat, gloves, or either pair of boots. “I’m not as limber as you are. But if you’ll step outside and give me more room, I think I’ll manage.”
“You must be too stiff and sore to do it yourself. I’ll help.”
“You’re making me feel like a child.”
“Rubbish.” She patted her lap. “Put your feet up here, one at a time.”
He smiled. “You’d make a wonderful mother for someone.”
“I already am a wonderful mother for someone. Harry.”
She worked the outer boot onto his somewhat swollen feet. Brian grunted with pain when he straightened his leg; his joints felt as if they were popping apart like a string of decorative plastic beads.
While Rita threaded the laces through the eyelets and drew them tight, she said, “Well, if nothing else, you’ve a wealth of material for those magazine pieces.”
He was surprised to hear himself say, “I’ve decided not to write them. I’m going to do a book instead.” Until that moment his obsession had been a private matter. Now that he had revealed it to someone he respected, he had forced himself to regard it less as an obsession and more as a commitment.
“A book? You’d better think twice about that.”
“I’ve thought about it a thousand times the last few weeks.”
“Writing a book is an ordeal. I’ve done three, you know. You may have to write thirty magazine articles to get the same word count as a book, but if I were you, I’d write articles and forget about being an ‘author.’ There isn’t half as much agony in the shorter work as there is in the writing of a book.”
“But I’ve been swept along by the idea.”
“Oh, I know how it is. Writing the first third of the book, you’re almost having a sexual experience. But you lost that feeling. Believe me, you do. In the second third, you’re just trying to prove something to yourself. And when you get to the last third, it’s simply a matter of survival.”