Polaris by Jack McDevitt Page B

we get an invitation to dinner.”
    She actually managed to look hurt. “It’s not just a dinner. Some of our most important supporters will be there. It’ll be very exclusive. It’s going to get coverage.”
    â€œWindy,” I said, “I tell you what I’ll do. We’ll let you have selected artifacts on loan for a month. In return, we get the dinner invitations—”
    â€œâ€”And?”
    â€œâ€”We get fifteen of the Polaris artifacts at no cost prior to the auction. We’ll take a look and let you know what we want.”
    â€œYou know damned well I can’t do that, Chase. I don’t have that kind of authority.”
    â€œTalk to Ponzio.”
    â€œHe won’t agree. He’d think I’ve lost my mind. So would I.”
    â€œWindy, do I need to remind you that Survey is getting an outstation from us?”
    â€œThat was a gift. No strings, remember? You can’t start trying to deal for it now.”
    â€œOkay. That’s fair enough. Not very appreciative, but fair.”
    â€œLook, Chase, I tell you what I’ll do. I’ll give you first crack at the artifacts. A preauction sale. You can take a look at the stuff, and if we can agree on a price, you’re in business.”
    â€œA reasonable price,” I said.
    â€œYes. Of course. We wouldn’t try to take advantage of Rainbow.”
    â€œWindy, you know as well as I do there’ll be an initial explosion in prices, then they’ll settle down.”
    â€œI’m sure we’ll have no problem on that score. But I won’t be able to see my way clear to make fifteen available.”
    â€œHow many did you have in mind?”
    â€œTwo.”
    Bargaining room. I looked appropriately shocked. “I beg your pardon?”
    â€œTwo. Two artifacts. That’s the absolute best I can do.”
    We went back and forth and finally settled on six.
    After she was off the circuit, I brought up the Memorial Wall in the Rock Garden, which is located behind Survey’s administrative center. It’s a tranquil place, a glade, with a loud brook, a few stones left over from the last ice age, a wide range of flowering plants, and the wall itself. It’s separated from the rest of the grounds by a line of galopé bushes, so that you get a sense of being in a forest. This is the memorial set aside for those working under Survey’s auspices who have given their lives “in the service of science and humanity.” There are more than a hundred names, covering almost two centuries, carved into the wall, which is really a series of shaped rocks.
    The Polaris passengers and their captain are there, of course. Whenever more than one person is lost in a single incident, the names aregrouped and placed alphabetically, with the date. That put Chek Boland at the head. Maddy was listed third. There’d been a twelve-year delay before they were officially added to the roll call of lost heroes. The ceremony had been, at long last, an official recognition of their deaths. A concession.
    Windy had called me on my day off. Afterward, I arranged to meet Alex for lunch. I wanted to tell him that we had an inside track for some of the Polaris artifacts, but I saw right away that he was distracted. “You okay?” I asked.
    â€œFine,” he said. “I’m fine.”
    He listened while I explained what the deal was, and he nodded and looked pleased. “When do we get to see them?”
    â€œShe’s making an inventory available. Visuals. So we can look at them at our leisure.”
    â€œGood,” he said. “I have something else.”
    â€œI thought you might.”
    We were in Babco’s, on the Mall. Out back, in the courtyard, overlooking the Crystal Fountain. It was supposed to be a mystical place. If you’d lost your one true love, you tossed in a few coins, concentrated, and he would come back into your life. Assuming you wanted