A Voice in the Night

by Jack McDevitt

  “A year.” He stared at the blinker. “I hate to leave, but it’ll be good to get some fresh air again.”

  “I guess so.” Another long pause. “Well, I’m looking forward to seeing you again, Matt.”

  “You, too,” he said. “Still playing ball?”

  “When I get the chance. But I’m not hitting much. I think the coach is hoping I’ll run into another fence.”

  Matt felt as if his mind had emptied. “Well,” he said, “I better get back to work.”

  “Okay. Cernan out.”

  He took a deep breath. When he was in contact with her, it was as if he was back in high school.

  When the Earth moved out from behind the Moon, allowing direct transmissions to the L2 platform, Houston routinely beamed a bundled TV signal. It tended to be a collection of films, current news shows, and whatever else might be of interest. Judy and Matt hadn’t seen anything for several weeks, so they scanned the latest package with interest. It included several late night comedians. AMC was running an old John Wayne marathon. Sports Center was talking about the new fan movement which had resulted from continuing escalation of ticket prices. Millions of the baseball faithful had signed a pledge to boycott games and cancel TV service during the coming major league season. Nobody, though, believed they would actually abide by it.

  California was considering a law that would legalize group marriage. Chester Winslow was throwing his hat in the ring for the GOP nomination. Another candidate, William Forrest, was attacking the current administration for defunding NASA. And CNN announced breaking news: Margo Everett, the enormously popular singing sensation, had been arrested on a DUI.

  While the onscreen experts were discussing the impact of the Everett arrest, the crawler reported that an asteroid had been sighted, and that it would pass close to Earth.

  They went to financial news. Then, when they came back to the newsroom, the story had been elevated: The host, Clive Thomas, introduced Professor Edward Albright, from the American Museum of Natural History. “What can you tell us about this asteroid, Professor?” said Thomas. “Is it a threat?”

  Albright was young, probably still in his twenties. He looked worried. “We know,” he said, “the asteroid’s present course will bring it very close to us. It’ll pass through the southern sky Friday at about 5:00 a.m. In fact, we should be able to see it. But, to get to the important part, it will miss us. If it stays on its present course.”

  “Good.” Thomas smiled, but then his face clouded. “I think. What do you mean ‘if it stays on its present course’?”

  Albright tried a lighthearted laugh, but he wasn’t good at it. “It’s simple enough, Clive. The asteroid will also pass very close to the Moon. That’s going to have an effect. And we’re not sure yet how that might change things.”

  “An effect on the direction it goes, you mean?”

  “Yes. The Moon’s gravity will bend its vector somewhat. In our direction.”

  “So you’re saying it might hit us?”

  “I’m saying probably not. But at this point we can’t be sure.”

  “Okay, Professor. If it does come in on us, how much damage will it do?”

  “Clive, it’s two hundred meters long. Judging by its reflection, it looks like nickel-iron. Unfortunately.”

  “Why unfortunately?”

  “Nickel-iron is heavier, more massive, than rock.”

  “Okay. It keeps getting worse, doesn’t it?”

  “We’ll probably be okay. I really wouldn’t begin to worry yet.”

  “So how big an impact would it have, Professor? I mean, how big is two hundred meters?”

  “About two football fields.”

  “That doesn’t sound good. how big an impact would that be?”

  Albright took a deep breath. “Clive, have you ever been out to the Barringer Crater in Arizona?”

  “You mean Meteor Crater?”

  “Yes.”

  “Yes. I’ve been there.” An image of the crater appeared onscreen.

  “The object that hit out there would have been about the same size and density as this thing that’s coming in now.”

  “My God, Professor. Do you have any idea where it would hit? If it does hit?”

  “We don’t, Clive. And look, I don’t want to start a panic. The thing will probably just pass across the sky. Let’s hope so.”

  “When will we know for certain?”

  “After it gets past the Moon.”

  They went to commercial. A smarmy lawyer came on, and started explaining how he would stand up for any viewer who got injured in an accident. In the middle of it, the radio beeped. It was Laura. “Matt,” she said, “I’m being diverted.”

  “To the Moon?” It wasn’t really a question.

  “Yes. They’re timing it so I can get a good look at this thing during its passage. They’re calling it 2024-MY. Anyhow, I wanted to let you know I’ll be a little bit late picking you guys up.”

  “I guess so. So you’re going to get a close-up? What’s the point of that?”

  “You haven’t heard from them yet?”

  “Not since the first time.”

  “Okay. They’re trying to figure out whether there’s a problem. Whether this thing is going to get pulled off course enough to cause a collision. To do that—”

  The radio beeped again. Another call. “Hang on, Laura. I think we’re about to hear from them. I’ll get back to you.” He switched over.

  “This is Houston.” The lawyer went away and was replaced by pictures of asteroids. “We’re trying to get a handle on where the asteroid will go after it interacts with the Moon. We’re sending Laura to track the passage. We want you to coordinate with her so we can watch this thing from both angles. That should provide us with enough data to figure out where it’s going.”

  Matt looked over at Judy. “You know how to do that?”

  “Sure,” she said.

  “Okay, Houston. When’s all this going to start?”

  “In about eighteen hours. We want you to lock onto the asteroid and follow it all the way in until it passes the Moon.”

  Scopes were mounted fore and aft on the Cernan. Matt watched the Moon slide slowly into the center of his auxiliary screen as Laura turned and headed directly toward it. “I’m going into orbit,” she said. “If we have it right, the asteroid will come directly over the top of the Moon. Around the side from your perspective. I’ll get close to it on the back side my second time around. The plan is that as it makes its closest approach to the Moon, I’ll leave orbit and assume a parallel course. I’ll be in front of it when we start, but it’ll catch up and pass me pretty quickly. I should be able to get a good read on it, though.”

  He was uncomfortable. “I wish I was there with you.”

  “I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

  Judy opened her mike. “There’s a lesson to be learned from this, Laura,” she said. “I hope the PR guys at NASA take advantage of it. There’s no reason we should have to be concerned about incoming rocks.” She took a deep breath. “Idiot politicians.”

  Laura laughed. He remembered the last time he’d seen her, at an award ceremony for the people who’d designed the L2 platform. She’d been seated toward the front, caught up in the celebration, lovelier than ever, pretending not to see him. And then she’d surprised him by tracking him down outside to congratulate him on getting assigned to the station. Then she’d been gone again.

  “You know,” she said, “it almost makes me wish the thing would hit. A desert somewhere, maybe, where it wouldn’t do any harm.”

  “I’m not sure there’s any place on the planet where it wouldn’t do some serious damage,” Matt said.

  And Judy picked it up: “Six to ten megatons. If nothing else, Matt, that would throw a lot of dust into the atmosphere.”

  “We’d be in for a cold summer.”

  “I know. That’s why I said almost.”

  “I’ll be glad,” he said, “when this is over.”
r />   “Me, too.” Laura’s voice was soft. But very far away. “You guys were right about the laser cannons.”

  “I know,” said Matt.

  “Maybe I could throw something at it.”

  Matt tried to think of a witty response. What could she throw at the rock that would get a laugh? A shoe, maybe?

  “The only reason I joined NASA,” said Laura, “was that I hoped one day I’d get a chance to go to Mars. My folks always thought I was deranged.”

  “We all are, Laura. You have to be to come out here. But hell, we haven’t even made it to the Moon.”

  “Matt, you’re well out past the Moon.”

  “But I’ve never set foot on it. Despite all the talk the last few years we’ve done almost nothing.”

  “We built Earthport.”

  “It’s not the same thing. Earthport is supposed to be a gateway, a first step to serious space exploration. But what happened? We changed administrations and a new president comes in, looks at the budget and shakes his head. Cost-cutting always starts with us.”

  When Matt arrived back in the operations area next morning, Judy was talking with Laura. “Just don’t get too close,” she said.

  Laura’s voice was electric: “Don’t worry, babe. That is a very big rock.”

  “Maybe you’ll get a promotion out of this, Laura.”

  “Maybe I’ll get invited to the Jerry McComber Show.”

  “Why on earth would you want to do that?”

  “Are you serious? That guy’s really a hunk.”

  Judy’s lips tightened slightly. Then: “Oh, hi, Matt.”

  “Good morning, Matt,” Laura said. “Finally got up, I see.”

  “Hi, ladies. How’s the flight coming?”

  “Laura’s getting close to the Moon.”

  The lunar surface, still on view through the Cernan’s scopes, had been relatively smooth last night. Now it was all craters and ridges and broken rock. “You still on schedule, Laura?” he asked.

  “As far as I can tell.”

  “Can you see the asteroid?”

  “Not right now. The Moon’s in the way. Houston tells me it’s beginning to accelerate.”

  “Lunar gravity.”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay. If you need anything, let us know. And—”

  “Yes, Matt?”

  “I still think we’ll get to Mars.”

  “It would be nice.”

  “When we do, could I persuade you to have dinner with me?”

  “You think we could find a good pizza place there?”

  “If that’s what it takes, sure.”

  “Maybe,” he said, “we’ll get a break. If the asteroid were to go close enough to scare the devil out of everybody, maybe they’d realize they need us.”

  “Maybe,” said Judy. “I think they’d be rattled for two days, and then they’d forget. By the way, can I offer an observation?”

  “Sure.”

  “I can’t imagine you’re ever going to be able to get Laura into that Martian pizza place. But, from the way she sounds, I’d say you have a pretty good shot at Rusty’s.” Rusty’s Seafood was a popular spot down at the harbor.

  The radio beeped. “This is Houston. Laura won’t have enough fuel left to pick you guys up when this is over, so we’re going to bring her home after she completes the asteroid survey. We’ll be sending somebody else out for you. They haven’t told me yet who it’ll be. But the pickup will be a couple of days late. Sorry.”

  Damn. “Roger that, Houston.”

  “By the way, we’ve gotten a better read on the asteroid. If the Moon weren’t in the way, it would pass well outside the upper atmosphere over the Atlantic, and keep going. The experts think now that the lunar passage won’t affect it much. The consensus is that we’ll probably be okay. Maybe get a light show, but nothing more.”

  Nobody had ever affected him the way Laura had. Looking back now, he realized that she’d been sending signals all along, we do not have a future. And finally, after they’d come home from celebrating her birthday and were standing in front of her apartment, she’d pulled aside and told him. That had been two years ago and he still couldn’t get her out of his mind. Maybe there was a chance, but he didn’t want to get his hopes up. If he got another opportunity, he’d play it more cautiously. Not let himself look too eager. Maybe she’d see what she’d let get away.

  Laura had begun as someone to fill in during a slow period in his life, and had become, in just that handful of evenings, unforgettable. He didn’t understand how that could have happened. Maybe it was because he’d worked with her, knew her, had spent time with her, and all that had come into play. She was not simply a stranger he’d picked up in a bar, but a woman he’d thought of as a friend who’d turned out to be so much more.

  And she shared his passion for walking on another world. “My life won’t be complete,” she’d told him once, “if I don’t get to do that.” And she’d realized how that sounded and they’d both laughed.

  “As long,” he’d replied, “as you don’t leave a large hole in the ground.”

  The way he had—

  The news channels couldn’t let go of the story. Scientists and politicians were showing up and warning everyone to look out. The usual political experts were discussing the effect an impact might have on the presidential race. It would, according to the common wisdom, very likely hand the election to the challenger. They all admitted no one knew whether the asteroid, after its brush with the Moon, would simply continue on its way, or whether, as one commentator was saying, it would blast into the Atlantic and generate tidal waves that would spell disaster around the world. If it hit, the least we could expect, they were saying, was another round of climate change which would dwarf everything that had gone before. There’d be widespread famine, clouds of dust would block off sunlight possibly for years, forests would burst into flames.

  Churches had begun holding special services. Homeowners were storing supplies and filling containers with fresh water. FEMA announced it was going on standby. The White House issued a statement that there was no reason to worry, which probably scared the general public as much as anything. William Forrest, whom Matt thought of as generally deranged, told a town meeting in Oregon that, if he were elected, “this sort of thing won’t happen again. I guarantee it.” Will MacReady, on the 700 Club, announced that the asteroid was at the very least a warning that we all needed to pray harder.

  “We’re picking up the Cernan again,” said Judy.

  She need not have said anything. Matt had been watching the time, and the monitors, which would acquire any signal from Laura. And, virtually to the second that Laura had a clear line to the platform, she was back. “Hi, guys,” she said. And they were looking through the Cernan’s aft telescope at a slice of lunar landscape. “It’s getting close.”

  Judy nodded. “We’ve been watching it.”

  “Seventy-four minutes, looks like.”

  “That’s how we read it, Laura.”

  Judy looked over at him. Did he want to say something?

  While he tried to come up with something, Laura took it: “I’ve been listening to the reaction at home. They sound as if they’re all hiding under their beds.”

  Judy was still watching him. “Maybe a good scare is what they need,” she said.

  “I hope this doesn’t become a problem, Judy.”

  He thought he picked up a note of frustration. “Nothing’s changed, has it, Laura?” he asked.

  “No. Just one thing. I don’t know whether you’ve been informed or not. They’re calling me back home when this is over. I think they want me to go on TV. The official story will be,” she laughed, “that we scared the thing off.”

  “You’ll look great.”

  “I’ve always wanted to be a hero. Actually, I won’t have enough fuel to make it out to the platform.”

  “We know. They told us.”

  Her forward scope provided a view of the Earth rising over t
he lunar horizon. “I’d never seen that before,” said Laura.

  Matt smiled. Yeah. Wish we could watch it together. “Okay, Laura,” he said. “Be careful. Let us know if we can help.”

  “Roger that. See you back home.”

  Judy’s eyes glittered and she pretended to be concentrating on her notebook. But she was smiling. “Are you seeing her, Matt?” she asked, finally.

  “No.” He was about to say something more but he wasn’t sure what so he shut up.

  Judy let her disappointment show. “She’d be a good catch.”

  He shrugged: “The Cape’s loaded with attractive women.”

  Judy looked over at the control panel. “I think the mike’s still on.”

  The comment startled him. He glanced down at it, trying to look casual. “Best way to win a woman’s heart,” he said, “is to pretend to forget to turn off the mike and then let her know she has competition.”

  Laura got to the front side of the Moon, out of sight on her second orbit. The auxiliary display had gone blank.

  They were watching the Clive Thomas Show again. Another scientist was seated with the host. An elderly guy with a fringe of white hair lining his skull and thick bifocals. “We can’t really get a decent look at the asteroid now, Clive,” he was saying. “It’s behind the Moon, so the only place they can see it from is the L2 platform. And they don’t really have the kind of telescope we need for this.”

  “And we can’t use any ground-based telescopes?”

  “No, the key player in making the determination about this thing will be the Cernan. If it gets a good read as the asteroid passes the Moon, we’ll know very quickly exactly what we’re facing.”

  “But you’re optimistic, Dr. Capers?”

  “Let’s say I’m hopeful.”

  “When will we be able to see it? Earthbound telescopes?”

  “In another hour or so. It’ll come around the side of the Moon.”

  “If it’s bad news, will you be able to determine exactly where it’ll hit?”