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If we know which side he was looking at, we can get a rough line of direction on the Zzumer sun, of
course. If I haven t screwed up and Sar-Say s memory is still good, we should find them more or less in
the direction directly opposite the Galactic Center.
How far in that direction?
Lisa frowned and bit her lip, a mannerism of which he doubted that she was aware. In any event, he
found it fetching.
Not sure. We can guess, of course. Considering all of the constraints on the problem, I would suspect
that they are somewhere between one and two hundred light-years from here.
Why those limits?
She shrugged. Logic. If they had been closer to the supernova than 100 light-years, their world would
have been sterilized as thoroughly as Brinks&
Mark nodded. Just to satisfy monkey curiosity -- their own and Sar-Say s -- Captain Landon had sent
an expedition down to the planet to check it out. Sure enough, it had once had life on it. The surface was
covered with the toppled remains of continent-wide forests and the seas still harbored a few small
swimming things. These latter lived in the narrow layer between where the radiation was filtered out by
the sea and the depth to which Hideout s rays penetrated. One ofMagellan s biologists had captured a
few specimens and had been happily researching them in his spare time.
& And if they were much farther than 200 light-years distant, then the nebula wouldn t be so prominent
in their night sky.
Seems reasonable, he agreed. Can t you pin it down more closely using Sar-Say s recollection of the
Sky Flower Nebula?
Wish we could. Unfortunately, the size of objects in the sky is highly subjective. The problem is that
there is nothing with which to compare their scale. Didn t you ever do that silly experiment with Luna in
high school?
What silly experiment?
You know how large the full moon looks when the moon is just rising, right?
He nodded.
Next time we are home and the full moon is rising, face away from it, bend over, and look at it between
your legs.
You mean upside down?
Exactly.
Other than getting me into an undignified position, what would that prove?
She laughed. Try it! You will be surprised. That giant ball rising from out of the sea looks the same size
between your legs as when it is high in the sky. The harvest moon is an optical illusion caused when your
brain has the horizon to use as a reference. The brain perceives the moon larger than it really is.
The same thing is true of the Sky Flower Nebula. Sar-Say saw it high in the sky. He had nothing to
relate its size. As a result, he really can t give us a quantitative idea of its true size.
That true, Sar-Say?
The Taff made the gesture that Mark had learned was his equivalent of a shrug. I am afraid that it is,
Mark. Lisa and I have discussed this point extensively, and unfortunately, my brain plays the same tricks
of sight as your own.
How about just telling us how far it is from the Zzumer world to the Sky Flower Nebula? Surely your
guides told you that.
Some alien emotion crossed Sar-Say s features. When he spoke, it was with great seriousness. I am
afraid that no one told me, nor would it have done much good if they had. The Zzumer, like you humans,
measure distances in light-years -- Zzumer years, of course. Since I do not know the orbital period of
their planet around its star, I cannot convert Zzumer light-years into human light-years.
That would have made it too easy, I guess, Mark muttered. So we look for the Zzumer star
somewhere between 100 and 200 light-years from here in the direction opposite Galactic Center.
Perhaps I can talk the boss into running a survey of that region of space.
Would you? Lisa asked. We know the Zzumer sun is a K-spectral class. There cannot be that many
off in that direction. Maybe we ll get lucky.
More than you might think, Mark replied. Do you have any idea how many K-Class stars are within
200 light-years of Sol?
No.
Thousands. Still, having a vector to scan will cut down the work. Perhaps we will get lucky.
Just then, the bulkhead annunciator squawked and the voice of the duty officer issued forth. Attention.
Ladies and Gentlemen, attention! Dr. Thompson reports that the gravity observatory trapped a
verified gravity wave about twenty minutes ago. Triangulation is beginning now. We should know
where it came from within the hour.
Then again, maybe we just got lucky without the search&
CHAPTER 33
The main auditorium in Brinks Base was a gallery hacked from the solid rock of the moon. The walls still
bore the scars of the digging machines circular teeth and the overhead lights were a series of naked glow
tubes bolted to the rock ceiling. Each bank of lights was connected to its fellows by long, looping strands
of black electrical cable. The seats were actually packing crates -- the same crates that cluttered the
corridors of the base -- and the tables had been constructed by spreading flat panels across upended
foodstuff containers. These latter gave the auditorium an interesting smell since some of the cases
hermetic seals had been broken during handling. The aroma of coffee beans and various spices mixed
with the smell of machine oil and humanity. Anyone back on Earth shown a picture of the place would
have been more likely to guess that it was a junkyard than the main conference center of humanity s
farthest outpost among the stars.
Mark Rykand hurried among the ramshackle tables, distributing briefing books as the first conference
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