Chapter 40 Chapter 38 Preemptive Strike

It was a strange feeling to be back at the Three after so many years—stranger than ever, because despite all that had happened, nothing seemed to have changed here.When Poole entered the suite named after Bowman, he was greeted by the familiar image of Bowman; and, as he expected, Bowman/Harman was waiting for him, which seemed more important than the classical holographic image of Bowman himself. unreal. Before they could exchange pleasantries, there appeared an unexpected visitor that Poole would have welcomed—anytime, if not now.The video phone in the room blares an urgent triplet (which has not changed), and an old friend appears on the screen.

"Frank!" Ted Khan yelled, "why didn't you tell me you were coming! When will we meet? Why no footage? Is anyone with you? Who is the guy—" "Please, Ted! Yes, I'm sorry. Believe me, I have a good reason, and I'll explain it to you later. I do have a friend with me, and I will call you back as soon as possible, bye!" Poole said apologetically, "I'm sorry! Of course you know who he is, right?" "Yes, Dr. Khan, he often tries to contact me." "But you never paid him any attention. May I ask you why?" Poole couldn't help asking the question, though he had more important things to worry about.

"Between you and me is the only channel I am willing to keep open. And I often travel far, sometimes for years." That was surprising, but not entirely.Poole was well aware that there had been sightings of Bowman in many places and at many ages, but—"for a long time"?He may have been to many galaxies, maybe that's why he knew about the Scorpio Nova, which is only forty light-years away.But it is impossible for him to go all the way to the "node", and it would take nine hundred years to go back and forth. "How lucky you were to be there when we needed you!"

Harman hesitated before answering, which was rather unusual, well beyond the unavoidable three-second delay.He replied, "Are you sure you are lucky?" "What do you mean?" "I don't want to talk about it. But on two occasions I have glimpsed - forces...entities - far superior to the slabs, perhaps superior to their maker. The freedom you and I have, I'm afraid Less than imagined." That's a really creepy thought.Poole had to hold his breath to put it aside in order to focus on the problem at hand. "Let's just hope we have enough free will to do what needs to be done. It might be a stupid question: Does the Slate know we're meeting? Does it—suspicious?"

"It doesn't have that emotion. It has a lot of error guards, some of which I understand, but that's about it." "Will it eavesdrop?" "I believe not." Wish I could be sure it was just such a naive super-genius, Poole thought, opening his briefcase and pulling out the sealed case containing the light sheet.In such a low gravity, the weight of the sheet of light is almost imperceptible, and it is even more unbelievable that this little thing may hold the future of mankind. "We are not sure that we can find an absolutely safe circuit to contact you, so we cannot discuss the details. We hope that the program in this optical film can prevent the slate from executing any instructions that threaten human beings. It contains the most lethal virus in history. Some have found no antidote, and some have admitted that there is no antidote at all. There are five copies of each, and I hope you can release them should you feel the need, or the time is right. David—Hal— No one has ever taken on such a great responsibility, but we have no other choice."

Again, the answer seemed to take longer than the three seconds it took for the signal to travel to and from Europa. "If you do that, all function of the slate will cease. We're not sure what will happen to us." "Of course we take that into consideration. But at this moment, there must be many devices at your command - some of which we may not be able to understand. I have attached another disc of gigabit memory: 10 out of 15 The second dimension is more than enough to record the memories and experiences of several lifetimes. This will give you a way out, and I think you should have other ways out."

"That's right, we'll decide which one to take then." Poole breathed a sigh of relief—he couldn't quite relax under the circumstances.Harman's willingness to cooperate shows that he still has enough connection to his roots. "Now, we have to hand over the light sheet to you - to you personally. Its contents are too dangerous to risk transmission on any radio or light channel. I know you have the ability to control matter over long distances, not once, Did you detonate an intercontinental ballistic missile? Can you transfer the light sheet to Europa? Or, we can send an automated courier to where you specify."

"That's the best. I'll wait in Qian's Village. The coordinates are as follows..." The monitors in Bowman's suite showed the leader of the delegation who had accompanied Poole from Earth, but Poole was still slumped in his chair.Whether Colonel Jones was a real Colonel or not, or really called Jones, was a trifle that Poole had no interest in.He is a very good organizer, silently and efficiently mastering every link in the "Gatta Project", and that is enough. "Okay, Frank, the light sheets are on their way and will land in an hour and ten minutes. I suppose Harman can take over from there, but I don't see how he's going to do the two light sheets. Say 'hands on' right ?"

"I was wondering too, but fortunately one of the Europa committee members explained it to me later. There is a theorem that everyone knows but I am an exception for: Every computer can emulate any other computer. So I am sure Harman knew exactly what he was doing, otherwise he would never have agreed." "I hope you're right," replied the colonel, "if not—well, I don't know what options we have." A sombre silence ensued, and Poole tried to ease the tension. "By the way, there are local rumors about our visit, have you heard?" "Which one are you referring to?"

"Said we were a special mission sent to investigate crime and corruption in this new frontier town. The mayor and sheriff are probably on the run now." "I envy them," said Colonel Jones. "Sometimes it's a blessing to have to worry about little things."