Along the ocean. They saw the skimmer come down. When they described it, it sounded like Eliot's. But since Chris had never arrived, I thought it must have been just a coincidence that it looked like his. But the two witnesses, they swore it landed. And, of course, when it turned out that Eliot had gotten home and been killed in the quake—”
“It must have been a terrible shock,” said Alex.
“It was,” she said. “And it never went away.”
FIVE
Ghosts exist. The terrifying aspect of the phenomenon, however, is not that they haunt abandoned houses and dark forests and old cathedrals. No. It is nothing as simple as that. It is rather that they haunt the mind. And, unfortunately, it takes far more than a few prayers or a dash of holy water to get rid of them.
—Ferris Grammery, Famous Ghosts of Dellaconda , 1311
I brought up the images of the Robin collectibles. Again, it was the portrait of the starship that drew my attention. The bulky, retro interstellar that had hung on Robin's wall. “Jacob,” I said, “can we connect this vehicle with anything?”
He was briefly silent. Then: “Working.”
I studied the ship. The two odd symbols on the hull.
The ship's designator. But it was a language I'd never seen before. Mute, possibly?
“I have a match, Chase. It's the Sanusar contact. It passed by the station fifty-four years ago. It has never been identified.”
Bingo. And that probably explained why Alex thought he'd seen it before.
“It was visible for several hours.”
“Did they get any radio contact, Jacob?”
“Negative. They tried, but got no answer.”
When I reported what I'd learned to Alex, he let me see he already knew. “And I've a surprise for you,” he said.
“What's that?”
“Let me show you something. Found this last night.”
Suddenly, I was looking at a crowded concourse. Something was going on. Everybody was excited, and people were moving close to where a familiar figure was being interviewed by a virtual journalist.
Chris Robin.
“So,” said the reporter, “what do you make of it, Professor?”
“I'm not sure,” said Robin. “But it's not just a lost ship.”
“It's Sanusar,” I said. In 1380. A half century ago. “And Robin was there—?”
“Why do you say that, Professor? That it's not just a lost ship?”
“Because of the way it left,” he said. “If you look at the record, you'll note it didn't simply move into hyperspace. This was different.”
“You know,” I said, “maybe this is why he got interested in these sightings in the first place. He happened to be present when one of them occurred.”
“Maybe.” Alex looked puzzled. “But I think there's more to it than that.”
“How do you mean?”
“Let me show you the media reports for the second week of the new year, 1387. Jacob?”
The monitor lit up, and I sat down in front of it and scanned the headlines:
M EYER A RRESTED ON C ORRUPTION C HARGE
S CIENTISTS P REDICT H OT S UMMER
F REEDOM P ARTY U NDERWRITES S TRIP J OINT
S ARA G OLD S EPARATES FROM H ARRY
P OLICE O VERREACTED , S AYS A NGRY M OTHER
And, finally:
A LIEN S PACE V EHICLE AT S KYDECK ?
(WWP) An alien ship may have passed through the planetary system last night, the Deep Sky Operations Directorate reported this morning. It appeared without warning at the outer edge of the Rimway launch and recovery area, did not respond to calls from the operations center, and, approximately three hours later, passed out of range of the scanners. It was also sighted by a private yacht, which was able to get pictures of it.
Authorities believe the contact was not a standard Confederate vehicle because of its method of departure, which signified an unknown type of drive unit. The vessel did not appear to be Ashiyyurean.
The intruder never approached close to Rimway. According to authorities, it was at no time considered a threat. And they have stated they do not believe it to have been of alien origin.
“It must have been a terrible shock,” said Alex.
“It was,” she said. “And it never went away.”
FIVE
Ghosts exist. The terrifying aspect of the phenomenon, however, is not that they haunt abandoned houses and dark forests and old cathedrals. No. It is nothing as simple as that. It is rather that they haunt the mind. And, unfortunately, it takes far more than a few prayers or a dash of holy water to get rid of them.
—Ferris Grammery, Famous Ghosts of Dellaconda , 1311
I brought up the images of the Robin collectibles. Again, it was the portrait of the starship that drew my attention. The bulky, retro interstellar that had hung on Robin's wall. “Jacob,” I said, “can we connect this vehicle with anything?”
He was briefly silent. Then: “Working.”
I studied the ship. The two odd symbols on the hull.
The ship's designator. But it was a language I'd never seen before. Mute, possibly?
“I have a match, Chase. It's the Sanusar contact. It passed by the station fifty-four years ago. It has never been identified.”
Bingo. And that probably explained why Alex thought he'd seen it before.
“It was visible for several hours.”
“Did they get any radio contact, Jacob?”
“Negative. They tried, but got no answer.”
When I reported what I'd learned to Alex, he let me see he already knew. “And I've a surprise for you,” he said.
“What's that?”
“Let me show you something. Found this last night.”
Suddenly, I was looking at a crowded concourse. Something was going on. Everybody was excited, and people were moving close to where a familiar figure was being interviewed by a virtual journalist.
Chris Robin.
“So,” said the reporter, “what do you make of it, Professor?”
“I'm not sure,” said Robin. “But it's not just a lost ship.”
“It's Sanusar,” I said. In 1380. A half century ago. “And Robin was there—?”
“Why do you say that, Professor? That it's not just a lost ship?”
“Because of the way it left,” he said. “If you look at the record, you'll note it didn't simply move into hyperspace. This was different.”
“You know,” I said, “maybe this is why he got interested in these sightings in the first place. He happened to be present when one of them occurred.”
“Maybe.” Alex looked puzzled. “But I think there's more to it than that.”
“How do you mean?”
“Let me show you the media reports for the second week of the new year, 1387. Jacob?”
The monitor lit up, and I sat down in front of it and scanned the headlines:
M EYER A RRESTED ON C ORRUPTION C HARGE
S CIENTISTS P REDICT H OT S UMMER
F REEDOM P ARTY U NDERWRITES S TRIP J OINT
S ARA G OLD S EPARATES FROM H ARRY
P OLICE O VERREACTED , S AYS A NGRY M OTHER
And, finally:
A LIEN S PACE V EHICLE AT S KYDECK ?
(WWP) An alien ship may have passed through the planetary system last night, the Deep Sky Operations Directorate reported this morning. It appeared without warning at the outer edge of the Rimway launch and recovery area, did not respond to calls from the operations center, and, approximately three hours later, passed out of range of the scanners. It was also sighted by a private yacht, which was able to get pictures of it.
Authorities believe the contact was not a standard Confederate vehicle because of its method of departure, which signified an unknown type of drive unit. The vessel did not appear to be Ashiyyurean.
The intruder never approached close to Rimway. According to authorities, it was at no time considered a threat. And they have stated they do not believe it to have been of alien origin.
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