by Jeff Carlson
"It's dishonest," Vonnie said. There are too many officials in Berlin who've never seen us as real people, she thought. We're just pawns on a board.
She was running out of people she liked, much less anyone with principles and integrity.
Harmeet, Ash, Jan and most of the Americans, Claudia, even Ribeiro, they're my family now, she thought. They'll stay with me. We'll heal the sunfish. I'm willing to parrot Earth's lies if that's their price for keeping me on Europa.
Ben would want me to take them for everything I can. I'll be their heroine, but my compliance won't come cheap. We've paid dearly. That's Shakespeare, isn't it? Yeah. I'll extract my pound of flesh. 'Tis mine, and I will have it.
"Let me talk to Cornet," she said.
EDITOR'S COMMENT
As explained more completely in the Editor's Introduction at the beginning of the book, the final four chapters are short expansions of the author's outline as found in his uncompleted manuscript.
25.
Vonnie's talk with Admiral Cornet confirms that the Lewis mission was military, not scientific. The mysterious ELF broadcast was never believed by Cornet to be native, and the similarly coded pulses now from the PSSC grid of mecha and probes proves that beyond any doubt. Vonnie: "So why did you send us down there?" Cornet: "Because human presence is more valuable in establishing territorial rights in world courts than just mecha and AIs. We had to engage the PSSC in the Ocean, and our science mission pretense gave us the temporary advantage we needed." Vonnie threatens to expose Cornet's costly deception, but offers to remain silent if she is allowed to remain on Europa and is appointed as the principle spokesman for a truly scientific mission. Cornet agrees.
26.
The Lewis reaches the base of the entrance chimney through the ice, but its partial collapse makes entry for the sub impossible. The crew must abandon ship. The Lewis is left in the Great Ocean, lurking on autopilot with AI programming for PSSC avoidance and periodic recording and coded transmittal of its surroundings. The seven astronauts and four sunfish clamber up through the ice, six of the astronauts in scout suits and one in an ESU. A second ESU is loaded with equipment. The suits climb mostly on auto programs and the ESUs are pushed upward by the Lewis' three remaining mecha.
27.
The Lewis’ surviving crew emerges from the ice and re-enters the uneasy relationship between the various organizations occupying Europa – ESA, FNEE, NASA, and PSSC. But the mixed crew of the Lewis has cemented a strong bond within the first three, and negotiations and compromises with the PSSC will allow all to participate in the continuing exploration of Europa and development of its resources.
The inclusion of the four sunfish in the Lewis’ voyage into the Great Ocean proves to be instrumental in assuring future cooperation and assistance from Top Clan Thirty.
Escaping the ice with sims of the ancient undersea cities is a marvelous achievement, but nothing is over. Now it is simply time for the next step.
28.
Vonnie had come to Europa as a technical expert,but had been reborn as a statesman, tempered by experience, even-keeled, even willing to work with Peter and Jan as necessary although she would never trust them again.
A month after the end of the Lewis expedition Vonnie, in her new role as Europa's Principle Science Spokesman, broadcasts her first extensive interview to Earth. With Harmeet smiling behind her and the four sunfish from the Lewis also in the camera's view, Vonnie summarized: "We dove into the Great Ocean to find out where they came from," she said, gesturing at the sunfish. "Instead, we found out where we came from."
THE END
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
If you're reading this, thank you. Standard joke.
Also congratulations for investing your reading time in the Europa Series. It seems to me that many of today's science fiction novels are devoid of real science. They're fluff. There's nothing wrong with fluff. I like some fluff myself now and then. Reading should be fun. But "hard sf" should also contribute to science education, and that's what I've attempted to write. I hope you've learned from the science I've presented, even if some of it hasn't happened yet!
My mother Patti is a strong, educated woman. It's not a coincidence that my wife Diana is a strong, educated woman. Diana has many unique qualities like her athleticism and her mischievous streak of humor. She is intelligent and kind. She is independent and brave and a hard worker. Diana was my best friend before she let me marry her. I couldn't have done better in finding a partner and a wife, and I wish more people were like her. My writing could never have become a career without her support.
My mother and Diana are the real Vonnies.
The usual suspects have kept me honest while I delved into the bizarre and fascinating truths of our DNA, our environment, and possible futures in the Jupiter system. I tip my hat again to Ben Bowen, Ph.D., computational biologist with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Charles H. Hanson, M.D.; my father, Gus Carlson, Ph.D., mechanical engineer and former division leader with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Matthew J. Harrington, evil genius, author of many of the stories in the Man-Kzin War collections and co-author of The Goliath Stone; and the keen-eyed Lee Ashford.
The Sierzenga family has gone wildly above and beyond the call of duty. East Coast Jeff, as he is known since I am West Coast Jeff, has again provided the illustrations found throughout the novel.
You guys are awesome.
Jeff
