The Last Days of Krypton - Kevin J. Anderson [132]
“Those are impressive explosions,” Lara said.
“Yes…yes, they are.” Jor-El summoned up the data recorded by the rest of the telescope cluster. The distant early-warning system had not been designed to look for anything like this, but Jor-El could sift through the recordings to find what he needed to know.
Because Krypton’s swollen red sun was larger and more furious than at any other point in its history, the turbulent solar radiation had had a dramatic effect on the comet as it swung around Rao. The resulting explosions in the thawing iceball had shifted its rotation and changed its orbit.
Jor-El felt his heart sink as he went over his calculations again and again. “Just when I thought we were safe…”
“Jor-El, you’re scaring me.”
“You should be scared.” He stared back at the now-ominous image of the immense comet. “Loth-Ur’s Hammer has changed course. The comet is hurtling directly toward us, and if my estimates are correct, in four months it’s going to smash into Krypton.”
CHAPTER 61
Under a clear, star-filled night sky, Alura and Charys went out to install new light crystals on the Eloquin Bridge, the southernmost of the five graceful spans connecting Argo City to the mainland. The two women worked their way along the bridge, embedding clear white gems that glowed with inner fires. They had volunteered for the task because it was a way they could aid the new Society of Vigilance. The improved lighting would make it easier for volunteers to keep watch after dark.
Overhead, the intact moons had risen, and the remnants of Koron sparkled like frozen fireworks. The long arc of Loth-Ur’s Hammer had already dipped below the western horizon. Alura and Charys were alone on the bridge, since few travelers passed back and forth this late at night. The Society of Vigilance patrolled the city now at all hours to make certain Zod’s fanatics caused no trouble.
Over the past several days, anyone wearing a sapphire-blue armband emblazoned with Zod’s family crest had been evicted from the city. Protesting as they left, groups of the Commissioner’s adherents marched defiantly over the bridges out of Argo City, vowing that they would return once Zod had “consolidated” all of Krypton. Alura was certain that by now the Commissioner had received word of what Zor-El had done, and she was just as certain that many of his followers remained in the city, posing as normal citizens until they could find a way to wreak havoc.
The two women worked their way along the Eloquin Bridge in silence, weighed down by heavy thoughts as they checked and installed illumination crystals. Finally Charys said with forced cheer, “So I am finally going to be a grandmother. Jor-El and Lara didn’t waste any time. I can’t wait to spoil that little baby.”
Alura felt her mother-in-law’s implied question hanging in the air. The darkness covered her blush. “Zor-El and I have talked about having children, and we will someday. I’ve always wanted a little girl. We keep waiting for a better time.”
“There’ll never be a perfect time if you always look for excuses.”
Awkwardly Alura tried to change the subject. “Now that you’re settled here, have you considered continuing your psychological studies? Weren’t you writing a treatise on the anomalies in Krypton’s population?”
Charys seated a palm-sized crystal in a connecting socket, and it glowed around her hand. “I still make observations. Our entire society is a laboratory. My own Yar-El deviated from the norm, and both of my sons qualify as geniuses. I only hope you and Lara can anchor the two of them, because Krypton needs their brilliance. Especially now.” The older woman continued to muse. “Even Commissioner Zod is an example of political genius. He has both the foresight and the fortitude to be a great leader, but alas, like Yar-El, he has gone too far beyond the pale. A man like Zod is effective primarily in crisis situations. And so in order to hold on to his power, he has to create or maintain the state of emergency.”
“And that’s what he’s been doing,