“But Max,” Richard countered, “your plan is not logical. Think about it. Even assuming that you are not run over by the subway while you’re in the tunnel, how are you gojng to explain what you want to the octospiders?”
“I was hoping for some help from you, Richard,” Max
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said. “I remember how you and Nicole communicated with the avians. Maybe you could use your computer skills to make a graphics picture of Eponine for me. Then I could show it to the octospiders, using my monitor.”
Nicole sensed the entreaty in Max’s voice. She touched Richard’s hand. “Why not?” she said. “Someone could explore where the staircase leads while you create computer pictures of Eponine and Ellie for Max.”
“I would like to go with Max,” Robert Turner said suddenly. “If there’s any chance at all of finding Ellie, then I want to take it. Nikki will be all right as long as she is here with her grandparents.”
Although Richard and Nicole were both concerned about what they were hearing, they chose not to express their anxieties in front of everyone else. Patrick was asked to climb the staircase and do some minimal exploring while Richard was performing his computer graphics wizardry. Max and Robert went to their bedrooms to prepare for their trek. Meanwhile, Nicole and Nai were left alone with Benjy and the children in the main chamber.
“You think it’s a mistake for Max and Robert to go back, don’t you, Nicole?” Nai’s question was asked, as always, in the gentle tone that characterized her personality.
“Yes,” said Nicole. “But I’m not certain that my thoughts are relevant in this situation. Both men feel bereft and frustrated. It is important to mem that some action be taken that is aimed at reuniting them with their partners. . . . Even if the action doesn’t make a lot of logical sense.”
“What do you think will happen to them?” Nai asked.
“I don’t know,” Nicole replied. “But I don’t think Max and Robert will find Eponine and Ellie. In my opinion, each woman was kidnapped for a specific reason. Although I have no idea what those reasons were, I believe the octospiders will not harm Eponine and Ellie and will eventually return them both to us.”
“You are very trusting,” Nai said.
“Not really,” said Nicole. “My experiences with the octospiders lead me to believe that we are dealing with a species with a highly developed sense of morality. I admit
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that the kidnappings do not seem to be in concert with that picture—and I don’t fault either Max or Robert for coming to their own, very different conclusions about the octo-spiders—but I would bet that we will, in die long run, understand even the purpose of the kidnappings.”
“In die meantime,” Nai said, “we face a difficult situation. If Max and Robert both leave and never return . . .”
“I know,” said Nicole, “but there’s nothing we can really do about it. They have decided, Max especially, that they must make some kind of statement now. It’s a little old-fashioned—macho, even—but understandable. The rest of us must accommodate tfreir needs, even if in our opinion their actions seem capricious.”
Patrick returned in less than an hour. He reported that the staircase ended on a landing that narrowed into a hallway behind the dome. That hallway eventually led to another, smaller staircase which climbed another ten meters and came out inside an igloo-shaped hut about fifty meters south of the cliff overlooking the Cylindrical Sea.
“And what was it like, outside in Rama?” Richard asked.
“The same as in the north,” Patrick answered. “Cold— about five degrees Celsius, I would estimate—and dark, with only traces of background light. The igloo hut is warm and well lighted. There are beds and a single badiroom, certainly designed for us, but altogether not much living space.”
“Are there no other corridors or passages?” Max asked.
“No,” said Patrick, shaking his head.
“Uncle Richard has made great pictures of Ellie and Eponine,” Benjy said to his brother at this juncture. “You should see them.”
Max pushed two buttons on his portable computer and an excellent rendition of Eponine’s face appeared. “Richard didn’t have her eyes right the first time,” Max said, “but I straightened him out. Ellie was a much easier pictujp for him.”
“So are you all ready to go, then?” Patrick asked Max.
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“Just about. We’re going to wait until morning so that the light from this room will illuminate more of the tunnel.”
“How long do you think it will take to reach the other side?”
“An hour or so at a brisk pace,” Max said. “I hope Robert can push himself that hard.”
“And what will you do if you hear a subway coming?” Patrick said.
“There’s not much we can do,” Max replied with a shrug. “We’ve already surveyed the tunnel and there’s very little clearance. Your Uncle Richard says we must rely on the subway’s ‘fault protection system.'”
There was an argument at dinner about the rifle. Both Richard and Nicole were strongly opposed to Max’s taking the rifle, not because they particularly wanted the weapon to stay with the rest of the family, but rarner because they feared an “incident” that might ultimately affect everyone. Richard was not very tactful with his remarks and angered Max.
“So, Mr. Expert,” Max replied at one point, “would you mind telling me just how you know that my rifle will be ‘useless’ in finding Eponine.”
“Max,” Richard said stridently, “the octospiders must—”
“Let me, please, dear,” Nicole interceded. “Max,” she said in a softer tone, “I cannot imagine a scenario in which the rifle is a valuable asset for you on this trip. If you need it in any way to deal with the octospiders, then they must be hostile, and the fates of both Eponine and Ellie would have been decided long ago. We just don’t want—”
“What if we encounter some other hostile creatures, nonoctospiders,” Max said stubbornly, “and we must protect ourselves? Or what if I need to use the rifle to signal Robert in some way? I can think of many situations. . . .”
The group was unable to resolve the issue. Richard was still frustrated when Nicole and he were undressing for bed. “Can’t Max understand,” Richard said, “that the real reason he wants to have a gun is to give himself a feeling of security? And a false feeling at that? What if he does
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something hotheaded and the octospiders withdraw our food and water?”
“We can’t worry about that now, Richard,” Nicole said. “At this stage I don’t think there’s anything we can do except ask Max to be careful and remind him that he is our representative. No amount of talking is going to change his mind.”
“Then maybe we should call for a vote about whether or not he should take the rifle,” Richard said. “And show Max that everyone is opposed to what he is doing.”
“My instinct tells me,” Nicole replied quickly, “that any kind of vote would be absolutely the wrong way to handle Max. He already senses what everyone is feeling. A coordinated censure would alienate Max and could make an ‘incident’ more likely to occur. No, darling, in this case we must just hope that nothing untoward happens.”
Richard was quiet for almost a minute. “I guess you’re right,” he said finally.
“We will wait here together for forty-eight hours,” Richard was saying to Max and Robert. “After that time some of us may begin moving our things up to the igloo.”
“All right,” said Max, tightening the straps on his backpack. He grinned. “And don’t worry. I won’t shoot one of your octospider friends unless it’s absolutely necessary.” He turned to Robert. “Well, mi amigo, are you ready for an adventure?”
Robert did not look comfortable wearing his backpack. He bent down awkwardly and picked up his daughter. “Daddy will only be gone a short while, Nikki,” he said. “Nonni and Boobah will both be staying here with you.”
Just before the two men departed, Galileo came running across the chamber with a small pack on his back. “I’m going too,” he shouted. “I want to fight the octospiders.”
Everyone laughed while Nai explained to Galileo why he couldn’t go with Max and Robert. Patrick softened the little boy’s disappointment by telling him that he co,uld be the first one up the staircase when the family moved to the igloo.
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The two men marched quickly into the tunnel. For the first few hundred meters they walked in silence, entertained by the fascinating sea creatures on the other side of the transparent plastic or glass. Twice Max had to slow down to wait for Robert, who was in poor physical shape. The two men did not encounter any subways. After slightly more than an hour, their flashlight beams illuminated the first station on the other side of the Cylindrical Sea. When Max and Robert were within fifty meters of the station platform, all the lights switched on and they could see where they were going.