by Ben Bova
“I want to discuss the possibility of having the Interplanetary Council rent your Haven II habitat.”
“Rent it? The entire habitat?”
With a single nod, Millard explained, “I’ve discussed this with my colleagues back on Earth. They agree that we should set up a research station here at Uranus. Your habitat, Haven II, is a godsend for us.”
“The entire habitat?” Umber asked again.
“Yes, all of it,” said Millard. “It will be the base from which we direct the dredging of the buried Uranian civilization. We will also establish an astronomical station here to study the stars for possible evidence of an extraterrestrial civilization.”
“Really?”
“Really. Your Haven II is going to become a first-rate research center, my friend.”
Umber blinked with confusion. “But Haven II is being built to house refugees, Earth’s poorest peoples.”
“You can build other habitats,” said Millard. “Our rental fees will help finance them. We can even bring construction teams out here to teach your people how to build them. You’ll be able to expand much more quickly than the pace you’ve reached so far.”
“Do you mean that the Interplanetary Council will join us in our effort to create new abodes for Earth’s downtrodden people?”
Millard hesitated only a moment before answering, “Yes. I believe we can get the IC to help finance your noble work.”
“That … that would be … wonderful.”
A big smile broke out on Millard’s thin face as he extended his hand across Umber’s desk. “We can accomplish a lot together.”
“Together,” Umber agreed, clasping Millard’s hand warmly.
CEREBRATIONS
Hardly a dozen people sat in the church. The décor was nondenominational, the walls bare, the altar equally lacking any paintings or statues.
The tiny group of people waiting for the wedding ceremony to begin sat in hushed silence as simulated sunshine poured through the arched windows of the nave.
Harvey Millard felt well satisfied as he sat staring at the undecorated altar. We’ve got the foundation of a research station, he told himself. Haven II has to be renamed, something more appropriate to a scientific facility, but it’s there for our taking. Reverend Umber seems more than pleased with the rental fee we’ll be paying for the habitat. It’s a win-win situation.
Looking into the future, Millard saw a thriving research establishment orbiting Uranus, probing the remains of the planet’s destroyed civilization, searching the stars for evidence of an intelligent race of extraterrestrials.
A shiver of apprehension gnawed at his self-satisfied mood. Can it be true? he asked himself. Did an alien race sterilize Uranus and cause the ice age on Earth? Might they return someday? Is the human race in danger?
We’ll have to handle the information we release to the general public very carefully. Very carefully. We don’t want to start a panic.
Lord, he thought, if we’re not careful we could have the old UFO scare on our hands again.
Sitting several persons away from Millard, Evan Waxman was going through the motions of praying. Kyle will be watching me, he reasoned. Not right at this moment, most likely, but he’ll have videos of this entire ceremony at his desk tomorrow morning. I’ve got to show him that I’m penitent, that I’m going to be well behaved.
Briefly he thought of Raven Marchesi. The little tramp has come a long way in a short time. From a whore to the assistant to the habitat’s executive director. Umber’s snoop, planted in my office to make sure I stay on the straight and narrow.
Well, Waxman said to himself, when handed a lemon, make lemonade. I’ll stay on the straight and narrow. I’ll help Umber to make his retreat for the poor into a huge success. We’ll fill up Haven with Earth’s castoffs and build more habitats for more of them.
I’ll become Kyle’s shining star. His right-hand man. Hell, I might even enjoy it.
Suddenly organ music filled the church. In the tiny vestibule to one side of the altar, the Reverend Kyle Umber turned to Tómas Gomez with a soft smile and said, “It’s time.”
Gomez nodded and fell in step behind the minister, with Vincente Zworkyn behind him.
As they walked out to the altar, Tómas thought, This is a big step. Marriage. A big commitment. Will I be a good husband to Raven? Can I make her happy?
And what of my work? Am I right? Did a race of aliens actually sterilize Uranus, totally extinguish its civilization? Did they cause the ice age on Earth? Try to prevent the human race from coming into being?
Then he saw Raven stepping down the aisle in a measured pace, with Cathy Fremont—the woman she had picked to run the boutique—behind her. Raven was wearing a white sleeveless mid-calf dress and clutched a bouquet of flowers in both hands. She looked solemn, unsmiling.
Raven marched slowly up the aisle, trying to keep in time with the organ music. The meager audience rose from their pews as she approached them.
As Raven strode along the aisle, she wondered, Can I really take on the responsibility that Reverend Umber has placed on my shoulders? Do I have the strength, the intelligence to do it?
Then she looked up and saw Tómas standing there, waiting for her, smiling at her. And she knew she would do anything in the world for him.
As Reverend Umber stood at the altar with Tómas and his best man to one side of him, he tried to clear his mind of the thoughts swirling through his consciousness.
Waxman is devilishly clever, he told himself. Throwing himself on my mercy like that. Depending on my being too softhearted to throw him to the wolves. I’ll have to be careful with him, watch him every step of the way. I hope I haven’t pushed Raven into a job that’s beyond her capabilities. Evan is very clever, he might run rings around her.
Standing there at the altar, he suppressed an urge to shake his head. This will be a test for Raven. She’s intelligent, sharp. But will she be able to keep Evan in line?
With an inner sigh, Umber said to himself, We’ll see. With the Lord’s help, perhaps she’ll prevail.
And these murdering aliens that Gomez believes swept through our solar system two million years ago. Is he right? Are they real? Abbott seems to think so.
Raven stepped up to the altar and Tómas took his place beside her.
Reverend Umber tried to push all other thoughts out of his mind as he smiled at them. This is what’s important, he told himself. The union of a man and woman. The procreation of the human race.
Despite everything else, Umber told himself, the human race will persevere, will expand out to the stars, will face our ancient enemies if we must. With God’s help, we will not only survive: we will grow and learn and prosper.
With a benign smile on his fleshy face, Reverend Kyle Umber raised his hand and intoned:
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here this day to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony.”
The habitat Haven continued in its circling orbit around the planet Uranus. The stars shone across the spangled sky as they had for billions of years.
Life went on.
TOR BOOKS BY Ben Bova
Able One
The Aftermath
Apes and Angels
As on a Darkling Plain
The Astral Mirror
Battle Station
The Best of the Nebulas (editor)
Carbide Tipped Pens (coeditor)
Challenges
Colony
Cyberbooks
Death Wave
Earth
Empire Builders
Escape Plus
Farside
Gremlins Go Home (with Gordon R. Dickson)
The Immortality Factor
Jupiter
The Kinsman Saga
Leviathans of Jupiter
Mars Life
Mercury
The Multiple Man
New Earth
New Frontiers
Orion
Orion Among the Stars
Or
ion and King Arthur
Orion and the Conqueror
Orion in the Dying Time
Out of the Sun
Peacekeepers
Power Failure
Power Play
Powersat
Power Surge
The Precipice
Privateers
Prometheans
The Return: Book IV of Voyagers
The Rock Rats
The Sam Gunn Omnibus
Saturn
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume II A and B (editor)
The Silent War
Star Peace: Assured Survival
The Starcrossed
Survival
Tales of the Grand Tour
Test of Fire
Titan
To Fear the Light (with A. J. Austin)
To Save the Sun (with A. J. Austin)
Transhuman
The Trikon Deception (with Bill Pogue)
Triumph
Vengeance of Orion
Venus
Voyagers
Voyagers II: The Alien Within
Voyagers III: Star Brothers
The Winds of Altair
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
BEN BOVA is a six-time winner of the Hugo Award, a former editor of Analog, former editorial director of Omni, and a past president of both the National Space Society and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Bova is the author of more than one hundred works of science fact and fiction. He lives in Florida. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Epigraph
Book One: The Whore
Orbital Station Haven
Data Bank
Kyle Umber
Evan Waxman
Raven Marchesi
A New Home
A New Life
Finding Talent
Tómas Gomez
Meeting
Body and Soul
Mind and Spirit
Waxman’s File
Waxman’s Story
Into the Ocean
The Morning After
Love
Education
Book Two: The Manager
Rust
The Prodigal Returns
Quincy O’Donnell
The Drug Trade
Plan of Action
Implementation
Eva
Communications Failure
Punishment
Confrontation
Awakening
Cost
Alliance
Planning
Playing with Fire
Countermeasures
Decisions
Actions
Book Three: The Astronomer
Living Room Laboratory
Steel
Main Cafeteria
Dogwork
Reception Center
Double Checking
Dinner For Seventeen
Maneuvering
The Miners
Patience … and Anticipation
Scanning
Celebration
The Acid Test
Book Four: The Investigators
Gordon Abbott
Opening Shop
Vincente Zworkyn
Dinner
Waxman and Dacco
Book Five: The Engineer
The Hospital
The Late Bombardment
Searching
Hoops of Steel
Evidence?
Truth
Trials (1)
Trial (2)
Waxman, Abbott, and Dacco
Needle in a Haystack
Revenge
Book Six: The Saint
Kyle Umber
Reactions
Frustrations
Searching
Dinner
Abbott
The Force of Righteousness
The First Step
Planning
Discussion
Suspicion
Confrontation
Action
Nightfall
Midnight
Aftermath
Consequences
Questions
Harvey Millard
Arrival
Dispositions
Decisions
Waxman and Umber
The Bargain
Cerebrations
Tor Books by Ben Bova
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
URANUS
Copyright © 2020 by Ben Bova
All rights reserved.
Cover art by John Harris
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates
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The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-29654-2 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-29655-9 (ebook)
eISBN 9781250296559
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First Edition: May 2020
