Infinity Beach - Jack McDevitt [59]
“There are none in the region,” she said. “We did an extensive survey to assure ourselves—”
“—How many star systems are in the affected area?”
“Several hundred,” she said.
“Several hundred.” He made the number sound as if it bordered on sacrilege. “And we examined the worlds in all these systems?”
“Not in all,” she admitted. “Most of the systems have multiple stars and can’t maintain planetary bodies in stable orbits. Others don’t have worlds in the biozone—”
“Dr. Brandywine.” He drew himself up until he seemed all beard, eyes, and backbone. “The truth is we still don’t know very much about the origin of life, so it would seem to me somewhat presumptuous to pretend we can state with any degree of certainty what the required conditions are. The only thing we can be sure of is that several hundred systems will receive an extensive radiation bath over the next century or so. We might destroy the very thing we say we’re looking for.”
The waiter appeared. Kim settled for a salad. She had little appetite for these confrontations. Her companion ordered a dish of steamed rice and cabaña eel.
“Brother Kendrick,” she said, “we were aware of the danger from the beginning, and we worked extensively over fourteen years to assure ourselves that nothing would be harmed.”
His voice softened. “I know you would like to do the right thing, Dr. Brandywine. But it seems to us that we’re far too cavalier with these efforts.” The waiter brought calder wine and Kim offered, as a toast, the Theosophical Society. Brother Kendrick hesitated. “Under these circumstances, I think that might be inappropriate. Let us drink instead to your health, Dr. Brandywine.”
The wine tasted flat. “I can assure you we did everything within reason,” she insisted.
“Except stop the event.” Kendrick wore a white shirt with a gray ribbon tie and a gray jacket. His eyes were of the same hue, and there was in fact a general grayness about the man that suggested he’d given up on human nature and was now beyond being shocked. Kim felt the full weight of his moral judgment. “When they tested the first hydrogen bomb,” he said, “there was some concern that the explosion would set off a chain reaction. Blow up the entire planet. Scientists felt the chance of such an occurrence was slight, so they took it. Risked everything we ever were, everything we might ever become.” He examined his drink, and then downed it in a swallow. “Dr. Brandywine,” he said, “how is that action different from what the Institute has done?”
“There’s no one in the area,” she said again. “No one we could possibly harm.”
Bars of sunlight fell across his stern features. “Let us hope you are right.”
She was glad to get back to her office. When Matt asked her how the luncheon had gone, she complained that Brother Kendrick had been immovable. No amount of argument about the conditions that had to exist before organic molecules could appear had any effect on him. “He said that anything short of a physical search, everywhere, was inadequate.”
“I’m sorry,” said Matt. “But we had to make the effort.”
“You can have him next time.”
“I had him last time.” He tapped his desktop. “I thought maybe he’d be receptive to feminine charm.”
“You owe me,” said Kim.
He nodded. “I’ll treat for lunch tomorrow. By the way, Solly was trying to get hold of you.”
Solly was in a seminar at the moment, and she had to wait till the end of the afternoon to speak with him. His image appeared in her office as she was getting ready to go home. “No luck,” he said.
“With the Archives? I thought you knew somebody.”
“They’ve got a big integrity push now. Apparently caught one of their people diverting the Archives’s funds into her own account.” He shrugged. “I’m sorry.”
She had dinner that evening on Calico Island with a young man she’d met through the Sea Knights. He was