Lucifer's Hammer - Larry Niven [100]
He climbed in. "Get going," he said. While the truck rolled down the drive he started the CB. "Come in, Jackie. Come in, Jackie. Jackie, you motherfucker, answer me!"
"Who's that? Alim Nassor?"
"Yeah. Did you see it?"
"See what?"
"The comet, the Hammer of God! I saw it fall! I watched it burn its way down the sky till it hit! Jackie, listen good, 'cause these CB things ain't gonna be any good in a minute. We've been hit. It's all gonna come true, and we got to link up."
"Alim, you must've found something real special. Coke, maybe?"
"Jackie, it's real, the whole world been hit. There's gonna be earthquakes and tidal waves. You call everyone you can and tell them we meet at … the cabin up near Grapevine. We got to stick together. We won't drown because we're too high, but we got to meet."
"Alim, this is crazy. I got two houses to go, we got lots of stuff, and you come on like the end of the world?"
"Just call someone, Jackie! Someone's got to have seen it! Look, I got to call the others while we still got the CB." Alim switched off.
They were still in the driveway. Harold was the color of wet ashes. He said, "I saw it too. George … Alim, do you think we're too high to drown? I don't want to drown."
"We're about as high as we can get. We got to go down before we get to Grapevine. Get movin', Harold. We want to be across the low spots before it rains too much."
Harold took off, fast. Alim reached for the CB. Were they really too high to drown? Was anybody, anywhere?
Hot Fudge Tuesdae: One
I ran to the rock to hide my face,
but the rock cried out, NO HIDING PLACE!
No hiding place down here …
The crest of the Santa Monica Mountains was a thoroughly inconvenient place to live. Shopping centers were far away. Roads were an adventure. Driveways tended to be nearly vertical in spots. Yet there were many houses up here, and it was only indirectly due to population pressure.
Population pressure produced the cities.
The view from the crest on Monday night was incredible; unique. Downslope on one side was Los Angeles; downslope on the other, the San Fernando Valley. At night the cities became carpets of multicolored light stretching away forever. Freeways were rivers of light moving through seas of light. It looked like the whole world had turned to city, and loved it!
Yet there were vacant patches on the crest. Mark and Frank and Joanna left Mulholland Drive at sunset, took their motorcycles up the side of a hill. They camped in a rocky area out of sight of wandering fuzzmobiles, a couple of blocks distant from the houses on both sides.
Frank Stoner walked around the crest of the hill, looked at the slopes on both sides, then nodded to himself. Undevelopable. Too much danger of mudslides. Not that it mattered a damn why no one had built a house here, but Frank Stoner didn't like unanswered questions. He came back to where Joanna and Mark were setting up the Svea backpacker stove.
"We may have nervous neighbors," Frank said. "Let's get dinner over while there's light. After dark, no flashlights and no fires."
"I don't see—" Mark began.
Joanna broke in impatiently. "Look, these houses are a long way from the nearest police station. People wandering up here would tend to make them nervous. We do not need to spend the night before Hot Fudge Sundae at Malibu Sheriff Station." She went back to reading the directions on the freeze-dried dinner they'd brought. She was not a good cook; but if she left it to Mark, he'd do it however he felt, which might turn out well and might not. Following the directions was sure to produce something edible, and she was hungry.
She looked at the two men. Frank Stoner towered over Mark. A big man, strong, physically attractive. Joanna had felt that before. He'd be damned good in bed.
She'd felt that before, but she hadn't found herself thinking she was teamed up with the wrong man before. The thought puzzled her. Living with Mark was a lot of fun. She didn't know if she was in love with Mark, because she