{"product_id":"2940014010092","title":"COMPETITION","description":"_They would learn what caused\u003cbr\u003e the murderous disease--if it\u003cbr\u003e was the last thing they did!_\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGRETA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e_January 18, Earth Time_\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI wish Max would treat me like a _woman_.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn hour ago, at dinner, John Armitage proposed a toast, especially for\u003cbr\u003emy benefit. He loves to play the gallant. Big man, silver mane, very\u003cbr\u003eblue eyes, a porcelain smile. The head of WSC, the perfect example of\u003cbr\u003ethe politician-scientist.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"To the colony,\" he announced, raising his glass. \"May Epsilon love them\u003cbr\u003eand keep them. May it only be transmittal trouble.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Amen,\" Max said.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWe drank. Taylor Bishop put down his glass precisely. Bishop is a gray\u003cbr\u003elittle man with a diffident voice that belies his reputation as the best\u003cbr\u003ebiochemist in the system. \"Has Farragut hinted otherwise?\" he asked\u003cbr\u003emildly.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eArmitage frowned. \"It would be scarcely prudent for Senator Farragut to\u003cbr\u003ealarm the populace with disaster rumors.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBishop looked at him out of his pale eyes. \"Besides, it's an election\u003cbr\u003eyear.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe silence was suddenly ugly.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThen Armitage chuckled. \"All right,\" he said. \"So the Senator wants to\u003cbr\u003ebe a national hero. The fact still remains that Epsilon had better be\u003cbr\u003ehabitable or Pan-Asia will scream we're hogging it. They want war\u003cbr\u003eanyway. Within a month--boom.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e       *       *       *       *       *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor a moment, I was afraid he was going to make a speech about Earth's\u003cbr\u003esuffocating billions, the screaming tension of the cold war, and the\u003cbr\u003esacred necessity of Our Mission. If he had, I'd have gotten the weeping\u003cbr\u003eshrieks. Some responsibilities are too great to think about. But instead\u003cbr\u003ehe winked at me. For the first time, I began to realize why Armitage was\u003cbr\u003ethe Director of the Scientists' World Council.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Hypothesis, Greta,\" he said. \"Epsilon is probably a paradise. Why\u003cbr\u003eshould the test colony let the rest of the world in on it? They're being\u003cbr\u003eselfish.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI giggled. We relaxed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfter supper, Armitage played chess with Bishop while I followed Max\u003cbr\u003einto the control room.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Soon?\" I said.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Planetfall in eighteen hours, Doctor.\" He said it stiffly, busying\u003cbr\u003ehimself at the controls. Max is a small dark man with angry eyes and the\u003cbr\u003esaddest mouth I've ever seen. He is also a fine pilot and magnificent\u003cbr\u003ebacteriologist. I wanted to slap him. I hate these professional British\u003cbr\u003etypes that think a female biochemist is some sort of freak.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Honestly,\" I said. \"What do you think?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Disease,\" he said bitterly. \"For the first six months they reported on\u003cbr\u003eschedule, remember? A fine clean planet, no dominant life-forms, perfect\u003cbr\u003efor immigration; unique, one world in a billion. Abruptly they stopped\u003cbr\u003esending. You figure it.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI thought about it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I read your thematic on Venusian viruses,\" he said abruptly. \"Good\u003cbr\u003eshow. You should be an asset to us, Doctor.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Thanks!\" I snapped. I was so furious that I inadvertently looked into\u003cbr\u003ethe cabin viewplate.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBishop had warned me. It takes years of deep-space time to enable a\u003cbr\u003eperson to stare at the naked Universe without screaming.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt got me. The crystal thunder of the stars, that horrible hungry\u003cbr\u003eblackness. I remember I was sort of crying and fighting, then Max had me\u003cbr\u003eby the shoulders, holding me gently. He was murmuring and stroking my\u003cbr\u003ehair. After a time, I stopped whimpering.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47157416263920,"sku":"2940014010092","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940014010092_p0.jpg?v=1763598989","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940014010092","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}