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"Yes, I know," Sherrine said. "But- but Phoenix was real!
They spent tens of millions of dollars on it. And Voyager was real, it
flew around the world!"
Steve got up from the floor. As usual he seemed to float up,
as if-he could turn off the gravity. "Phoenix is real, all right," he
said. "I've seen it. It's in a museum in Mojave."
"Another museum," Gordon said. "I think perhaps this time we
do not bother?"
"Suit yourself," Steve said. "But Phoenix flew once. I saw it."
"Flew!" Alex tried to stand. Fang noticed and helped him.
"Flew?"
"Not to orbit," Steve said. "The Phoenix was just too heavy.
Hudson had to make too many compromises. But it could have
gone around the world, like Voyager, if NASA hadn't stopped him."
Thor said, "Like the Spruce Goose? There's always a reason
why it didn't work."
Steve's muscles were bunching. Thor was getting to him,
though he may not have been aware of it. "NASA said it had to do
with flight safety. Gary Hudson got to take the Phoenix straight up
fifty miles and dump most of his fuel and come straight back down.
Then the budget cuts came, and the Green Initiatives passed, and
the Greens got in control."
"So where is this Phoenix now?" Alex demanded.
"In a hangar on what used to be Edwards Air Force Base in
California. It's been preserved as a reminder of Big Bad Science,
just like the Space Center here. Actually, I think the military may
have had ideas they could use it. They didn't have the money to fix
it, but they never throw anything away either. It's out there `as a
monument.' People are supposed to go out and be scandalized; but
. . . When I was there, a lot of the tourists had tears in their eyes."
"Probably for all the money that was wasted," said Fang
sarcastically.
Steve nodded. "Truer than you think. I shed a few myself at
the waste. That's where I met Hudson. They've got him conducting
the tour."
Bruce jumped. "Himself? Why- "
"I thought the Single Stage Experimental Lifter was never
finished," Thor said belligerently. "They proxmired the whole space
program. They even outlawed private ventures, like Hudson's."
"That's what Gary said when I took the tour," Steve agreed.
"SSX Phoenix was never finished. Just flew the once. Never fly
again, he said. Over and over. One thing, though."
"What's that?" asked Bob.
Steve sighed and smiled dreamily. "It seats ten."
Sherrine felt her heart begin to pound. Seats ten, she
thought. Seats ten. "Never finished," she said. "Phoenix is too big
to hide. Hah!"
"Hah?" Mike said.
"Bottle shop," she said. " `Explorers in the high desert keep
bottle shops.' "
Smiles began to form. Bruce said, "Ah. A bottle shop sells
miracles, and is not what it seems . . ."
"And the proprietor of a bottle shop usually lies. So what do
we have? A rocket ship, in plain sight, and Gary Hudson who helped
design the bird makes sure he tells everyone that it can never fly
again." And it seats ten! It seats ten!
"I do not believe it," Gordon said. "It is one more goose to chase. A
chimera."
"Me, either," Thor said. "People, it's been fun, but I am not
chasing off to California after another rocket ship."
"So what do we do with the Angels?" Bruce asked.
Thor shrugged. "Not my problem. The Con's over. You're
Chairman. You take care of the pass-on. You don't need Fang and
me for that. Time for us to move on- "
Fang said, "Guests are my responsibility."
Thor shrugged. "Suit yourself."
"We all have places to be," Bruce said. "Except you and Fang.
Steve, how are you getting back to California?"
"Amtrack. I have a ticket. Don't think I can get anymore.
Maybe they'll be watching the stations anyway."
Harry had been uncharacteristically quiet. "Jenny and me, were
headed that way. Maybe we could steal another bike- "
"We have a little money," Bruce said.
"Yeah, but- " Harry shook his head. "It's a rough trip, riding
double. Don't think the Angels would make it."
Gordon laughed. "Nor do I, Harry!"
"It's all crazy anyway," Alex said. "You know where there is a
ship. Single stage to orbit, seats ten. Assume it works, that unlike
that ancient Titan, it has been well maintained. I don't believe it, but
assume that. It will need-I'm guessing-half a million pounds of fuel?
Liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. They don't leave that stuff lying
around."
There was no answer.
"Fine. You don't have the foggiest notion of how to get the
fuel, or how to move it if you did- "
"Details," Mike said.
"Dreams," Gordon said.
"I'm with Gordon," Alex said. "Look, we are very grateful, but
it is time to give up the dreams. We have to look for ways we can
hide. Forever, I guess."
Silence descended within the Brown household. Presently Mike
Glider said, "We can get you ID, I think. Permanent convention
guests. God knows fans will help."
"Given ID," Bruce said. "Sherrine?"
"If I lose my job- and I will if I'm not back tomorrow morning-
there won't be anything I can do." It's just a dream. A dream
that seats ten. Oh, damn-
"Then we have to get you back to Minneapolis. Fast," Bruce
said. "That needs working on. Meanwhile, can they hide here?
Oliver?"
Brown nodded eagerly. "I would be honored. I suppose you
won't mind telling me about life in space?"
"OK," Bruce said.
But what if I don't want to go back? Oh, that's crazy. Let
them find a way. I go home, I go back to my job. I get Ted on-line
and we work out the ID. And I go back to work, doing what I
always did, my neat career and I have some memories.
"Sherrine's not the only hacker in fandom," Steve said
conversationally.
They all looked at her. "Yes, of course," she said. "There's Ted
Marshall. And- "
"And?" Mike demanded.
"RMS himself," Sherrine said. "Nobody knows anything but his
initials. Ever hear of emacs?"
"The programmer's editor? Sure, I use it," Bob said.
"He wrote it."
"Could he arrange fake ID for the Angels?" Bruce asked.
Sherrine nodded. "If it can be hacked, he can hack it."
"Would he?"
"For space pilots? Oh, yes."
"Why don't we know him?" Mike asked.
"Oh, RMS has been wanted forever," Sherrine said. "Since
before the Greens took over! He used to come to Worldcons, but-
well, he doesn't stand out in a crowd. Doesn't want to."
"So how do you contact this RMS?" Bruce asked.
Sherrine shrugged. "A million ways. It's just a question of
getting the word out on the net. The Legion of Doom will see it
and- "
"I used to think I understood you people," Alex said. "Legion
of Doom- "
"Super hackers. They- well, they're pretty good, and not
always responsible. Some are fans, some aren't. But they listen to
RMS, and he's a fan- they'll let him know we want him. The
question is, will he believe us? Everyone's after RMS. Pick his brains,
jail him, reeducate him, study him in psych labs, he's an odd fish
and- "
"Easy," Bob said.
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