same direction relative to the Sun. With such a slow motion and its light dimmed, it's no wonder it's never been noticed till now. However-' She paused.
Pitt, who made no effort to seem devouringly interested, sighed and said, 'Well? Can you get to the point?'
'Well, if it's not in orbit about the Sun, then it is in independent motion and it should be moving relative to the Sun at a hundred kilometers a second or so, a thousand times as fast as if it were in orbit. It just happens to be in our neighborhood now, but it is moving on, will pass the Sun, and will never return. But, just the same, it stays behind the cloud, scarcely budging from its position.'
'Why should that be?'
'There's one way it can be moving at a good clip, and yet not seem to be moving from its position in the sky.'
'Don't tell me it's vibrating back and forth.'
Insigna's lip curled. 'Please don't try to make jokes, Janus. This isn't funny. Nemesis might be moving more or less straight toward the Sun. It wouldn't be shifting either to the right or left, so that it would not seem to be changing position, but it would be coming right toward us; that is, right toward the Solar System.'
Pitt stared at her in surprise. 'Is there evidence for that?'
'Not yet. There was no reason to take the spectrum of Nemesis when it was first spotted. It was only after I had noticed the parallax that a spectral analysis would have made sense, and then I never got around to it. If you remember, you put me at the head of the Far Probe project, and told me to direct everyone's attention away from Nemesis. I couldn't have arranged a close spectral analysis at that time, and since the Leaving - well, I haven't. But I will investigate the matter now, you can be sure.'
'Let me ask you a question. Wouldn't it produce the same effect of motionlessness, if Nemesis were moving directly away from the Sun? It's a fifty-fifty chance whether it's moving toward the Sun or away from it, isn't it?'
'Spectral analysis will tell us. A red shift of the spectral lines will mean there's a recession; a violet shift, an approach.'
'But it's too late now. If you take its spectrum, it will tell you it's approaching us, because we're approaching it.'
'Right now, I wouldn't take the spectrum of Nemesis. I'd take it of the Sun. If Nemesis is approaching the Sun, then the Sun will be approaching Nemesis, and we can allow for our own motion. Besides, we're slowing and, in a month or so, we will be moving so slowly that our motion won't be affecting the spectroscopic results appreciably.'
For the space of half a minute, Pitt seemed lost in thought, staring at his uncluttered desk, his hand slowly stroking the computer terminal. Then he said, without bothering to look up, 'No. These are observations that need not be made. I don't want you worrying yourself about it any more, Eugenia. It's a nonproblem, so just forget it.'
The wave of his hand made it clear that she was to leave.
12
Insigna's breath made a whistling sound as it was forced out of angrily tightened nostrils. She said in a low husky voice, 'How dare you, Janus? How dare you?'
'How dare I what?' Pitt frowned.
'How dare you order me out of here as though I were a computer-puncher? If I hadn't found Nemesis, we wouldn't be here. You wouldn't be Commissioner-elect. Nemesis is mine. I have a say in it.'
'Nemesis isn't yours. It's Rotor's. So please leave now and let me get on with the business of the day.'
'Janus,' she said, raising her voice. 'I tell you again that, in all likelihood, Nemesis is moving toward our Solar System.'
'And I tell you again that it is only a fifty-fifty chance that it is. And even if it were heading toward the Solar System - not our Solar System any longer, by the way, but their Solar System - don't tell me it's going to hit the Sun. I won't believe you if you do. In its whole nearly five-billion-year history, the Sun has never been struck by a star, or even come close. The odds against stellar collisions even in relatively crowded parts of the Galaxy are enormous. I may not be an astronomer, but I know that much.'
'Odds are just odds, Janus, not certainties. It's conceivable, however unlikely, that Nemesis and the Sun