by Paul Carlson
your team's rover in that specific area?"
Leo could've sworn he saw a flash of hand-in-cookie-jar guilt in Palomino's eyes. It passed, replaced by a look of sheer relief.
"We ran everything past a ton of criteria, held meetings galore, got recommendations from specialists." Palomino sighed. "But yeah, those specific coordinates were my own suggestion."
Leo began to wonder how many other aspects this fascinating tale remained unspoken. Certainly a fitting case for ASK.
Rosenblum refreshed the image on her laptop screen. "Where is the rover at this moment?"
"Parked inside the cave mouth," said Palomino. "Where it's within wireless range of the base station, and can still see back inside the chamber."
"Can we get a live view?" The rabbi's voice bore a challenge of its own, and a renewed curiosity.
"Sure, if I boost the signal power." Palomino sent a request to her control console at mission control. "It'll take a minute, with the distance and our encryption. Here we go."
Leo asked, "Can you zoom the camera?"
"Done," said Palomino. Without asking, she aimed the rover's stereo cameras at one of the ancient tripods, with their mysterious boxes on top. "Look!"
One of the devices had moved, so slightly that Leo couldn't be certain, but it seemed to aim directly at the rover. If its round opening really was a camera aperture, then humanity's mechanical emissary sat in plain sight.
Leo raised a hesitant hand, and waved at his laptop screen. "Um, hello?"
"Are you certain?" interjected Ben. "Look at the angle of the spotlights. There's some reflection off the lefthand wall."
"Oh." Leo felt deflated. "It's just shadows." He indicated the strange device. "Vibration from the rover's drill must've loosened some dust."
"Yeah, I see that." Palomino sounded very disappointed.
"So," Leo pressed, "you had an idea of what might be found in this specific locale? Based upon what, a Zuni legend?" He allowed some incredulity to show.
Palomino hesitated. "Sort of. You guys would not believe me, and even if you did, I've another reason to be careful."
"A much more personal reason?" asked Kung. "As Naomi says, you can trust us." She nodded to the rabbi. "This is all going to come out sooner or later, and we could help you through the process."
Their guest shrugged, a gesture fraught with meaning. "You can tell them."
"All right. Remember when I took a leave of absence, a couple of months ago?" Kung asked her friends. "Did some public service work in rural Alaska?"
Palomino took a laminated photo from her purse, and handed it around. It showed a young Native American woman with a newborn baby.
"Is this you?" Leo asked Palomino.
"It's her twin sister Jennet," Kung supplied. "The clinic I worked at mostly serves Yupik and Aleut natives, so imagine my surprise when a Zuni woman showed up. A Coast Guard air crew member, no less, with husband in tow. Nine months pregnant, and rather skittish about medical tests and records."
"For a reason!" Jessica Palomino declared. "Jennet doesn't want herself, and the baby, to become medical curiosities."
Kung nodded. "I understand, and no doubt you have a similar dilemma. Unknown blood type? Empathic connection to the unborn child? More, no doubt, if I'd been able to do additional tests."
With an effort Palomino unwound. "Thanks for doing only the necessary tests, and for making me the aunt of a healthy girl." This memory restored their guest's smile.
"Fascinating," said Ben, "and much closer to home. The words ‘paradigm shift' pale in comparison."
Leo's laptop chirped, indicating a completed data search. What he saw no longer surprised him. A similar 'bing' sounded from Rosenblum's computer.
"Ms. Palomino," asked Leo, "how readily did your sponsor allow your choice of a landing site?"
Rosenblum nodded. "Mr. Auslander, sole owner of Galaxcorp, makes Howard Hughes look like a social butterfly. He's not known as charitable, yet he took great interest in your lunar project." She displayed a copy of the team's original sponsorship contract. "He lays claim to any unusual discoveries, natural or artificial."
Palomino checked the text. "He did?" Her eyes widened. "I hate legal gibberish."
"Have you ever met him?" Leo was almost certain of the answer.
"Once." Palomino thought back. "Just the two of us, at his mansion in Santa Fe. It was awful dark in his library room. I mean, I expected eccentric, but this was really something." Her voice trailed off, then resumed, very faint. "He had regional lunar maps already prepared, and on top of the stack was my . . . "
Atop the next table over, Schrödinger the cat awoke, alert to some unseen presence. With a hiss, the cuddly feline's fur expanded to remarkable size.
At the bistro's entrance a coyote appeared, and slowly crossed the room. Schrödinger jumped down, and met the strange creature nose-to-nose.
Doubting his own sight, if not his sanity, Leo glanced at the others. Everyone was watching the unexpected tableau. When he turned back, a man stood there. A tall man with bushy gray hair, and in the dim light his irises looked yellow. The cat rubbed against his legs, purring.
"Leo, Naomi, Ben, Nancy, meet my grandfather," said Jessica Palomino. "Assumed by many to be only a fable." She stood, and gave the old man a hug. "He likes to keep an eye on us rambunctious kids."
How old is he? wondered Leo. How many worlds has this being seen? Tales about Coyote dated back thousands of years.
Coyote pulled up a chair, and spoke without preamble. "I am not a newcomer like Auslander. Nor am I of the people who built the lunar memorial. They are far away, making a documentary on a strange race that lives beyond the Coal Sack nebula."
The legendary being grinned, feral. "Auslander's interest is primarily mercantile, but he's not the big shot he thinks he is." He set a paternal hand on Jessica's shoulder. "Your discovery will indeed draw attention. Be cautious." His attention shifted to Rosenblum. "I expect ASK to help look out for my human family. Please use good judgment."
With no further words, Coyote walked to the exit. At the last instant, though Leo was never certain, he vanished from sight.
With a contented sigh, Leo closed his laptop, pushed back his chair, and set both feet on the table.
"Now what?" said Palomino.
"A typical ASK meeting, after all."
- end -
