climate, as after the sunstorm. Orbital stations to restring any downed elevators. Space-based energy systems and comms links. You could store medical facilities up there. Maybe you could even feed the world, from orbiting farms, or lunar agriculture, say. The children of the Earth turning back to help their wounded mother. He grimaced. If the fucking Spacers cooperate.
However we have to go beyond all this, and consider the worst case. He said sternly, looking them all in the eye one by one, We must plan against extermination.
Of course we have populations off-Earth now. But Im told theres still some doubt that the off-world colonies could survive if Earth were lost altogether. So we have further backups.
He spoke of vaults, on Earth and off it; there was one dug into a lunar mountain called Pico, for instance, in the Mare Imbrium. Copies of the wisdom of mankind, on gold leaf and stored electronically. DNA stores. Frozen zygotes. Caches to be retrieved by whoever might come this way, if mankind were exterminated. The Earthmail, a desperate firing-off of a fragment of human culture to the stars on the eve of the sunstorm, was another sort of cache.
All right, Bill. Do you think this is going to be enough?
Paxton said with a hard face, Do any of you know what space opera was? Fiction of the far future, of wars fought across galaxies, of spaceships the size of worlds. Were only a century on from World War Twoonly a hundred and fifty years since the main transport mechanism for warfare was the horse. And yet were faced with a space opera threat. In another thousand years, say, well be scattered so far that nothing short of a Galaxy core explosion could kill us all. But for now, were still vulnerable.
Bill Carel dared to raise a hand. Which is actually a logic that suggests a second strike is more likely now, than later.
Yeah, Paxton growled.
And, despite your fine presentation, Admiral, there are obvious flaws in these strategies. There was an intake of breath, but Carel seemed oblivious. May I?
Go on, Bella said quickly.
First there is the sparseness of your resources, Admiral. Just because you have a station in the orbit of Jupiter doesnt mean you can counter a threat coming at the same radius but from the far side of the sun.
Were aware of that
And you seem to be thinking in two dimensions, as if this was a land war of the old sort. What if an attack were to come at us out of the eclipticI mean, away from the plane of the sun and planets?
I walked on Mars, Paxton said dangerously. I know what the ecliptic is. As it happens the present
bogey has come sailing in along the plane of the ecliptic. For the future were considering out-of-plane options. But you know as well as I do that the energy costs of getting up there are prohibitive. Yes, Professor Carel, the solar system is a mighty big place. Yes, we cant cover it all. What else can we do but try?
Carel almost laughed. But these efforts are so thinly based its virtually futile
Paxton glowered, and Bella held her hand up. Please, Bill.
Im sorry, said Carel. And then there is the question of the efficacy of all these preparations against the threat we actually face
Fine. Angrily Paxton cleared down his displays. So lets talk about the anomaly. Bella longed for fresh coffee.
After his long and detailed discussion of Fortress Sol, Paxtons presentation on the anomaly was brief.
He briskly reviewed the principal evidence for the bogeys existence. Right now this thing is passing through the J-line, the orbit of Jupiter. In fact we have a window to intercept it, because its fortuitously passing close to the Trojan base, and were working on mission options. And then it will sail on through the asteroids, past the orbit of Mars, to Earth, where it seems to be precisely targeted. But we still have no idea what it is, or what it might do if and when it gets here.
When he sat down there was a brief silence.
Bill Carel looked at Paxton, and around the room, as if expecting another contribution. Is that all?
Thats all we got, Paxton said.
Carel said softly, I did not dream you would have so littleit is as well that I came. If I may, Admiral?
Bob Paxton glared at Bella, but she gave him a discreet nod, and he gave the floor to Carel.
In a way, Carel said, my involvement with this bogey