Quiet Invasion(20)

“Routine complete,” said the station.

Vee studied herself in the mirror for a minute. It was a good face, with high cheekbones, strong nose, soft chin. Her brows were so pale as to be almost nonexistent. The rest of her was what she called “Nordic swizzle-stick fashion,” very long, very white, and very thin. “Handy for hiding behind flagpoles,” she liked to joke.

Vee wound her mane of silver-blond hair into a tidy coil and pinned it in place. She selected a scarf that matched her blouse and fastened it so it covered her head but fluttered freely down over her shoulders. She nodded at her reflection, pleased. The effect was businesslike but not stuffy. It said that here was a person to be taken seriously.

Vee had been stunned when she saw the v-mail message from the Colonial Affairs Committee. She had sat in front of her living room view screen for ten full minutes, playing and replaying the recording.

“Hello, Dr. Hatch. I’m Edmund Waicek of the United Nations Colonial Affairs Committee Special Work Group on Venus.”

Good breath-control exercise there, Vee remembered thinking, facetiously. Edmund Waicek was a tall man with red-brown skin and black eyes. A round, beaded cap covered his thick copper hair. His age was indeterminate and his clothing immaculate.

“As I am sure you are aware, there has been a remarkable discovery made on the world of Venus. We have found what appears to be the remains of an alien base or facility of some kind. Because of the vastly important nature of this development, the C.A.C. has decided to assemble a team of specialists to examine and evaluate the discovery.” He leaned forward and flashed a smile full of carefully calculated sincerity. “We have reviewed your academic record and subsequent accomplishments, and we would like to invite you to participate in the interview process to see if you can take your place on this historic mission.” His expression grew solemn. “We will need your answer by Tuesday the eighteenth at 9 A.M., your local time. Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to meeting you.”

The Discovery on Venus. Of course Vee had heard of it. It was a solid indication that there had once been alien life inside the solar system, an idea that had been given up on years before Vee had even been born. When she was feeling cynical, she would tell herself it was nothing more than three holes in the ground. Except it was. It was three holes in the ground dug by nothing human, and they had left behind what everyone was certain was a laser, or maybe it was a laser component of a larger machine.

It was that laser they wanted her to go up and take a look at. Well, they wanted someone to go up and take a look at it, and her name, somehow, had made the short list

Veronica Hatch, science popularizer, temperamental artiste, and noted personality. The U.N. was setting all that aside and going back to the part of her that was Dr. Hatch, the part that had patents and papers and could do actual work.

“Vee?” came Rosa’s voice.

Vee realized she hadn’t moved. She was just standing there, staring at the reflection of a serious, competent stranger, and clenching her fists.

“Coming.” Vee smoothed out her veil and turned away from the mirror.

Rosa was in the sitting room, drinking what was probably her second cup of coffee. How she could suck that stuff down on an empty stomach Vee had never known. Rosa had selected a tunic and skirt suit in shades of forest green with emerald trim and a pale, silver scarf to cover her black hair. She looked Vee up and down and gave a small nod of approval as Vee twirled on her toes to show herself off.

“Very nice.” Rosa drained her mug. “Do you want to order in, or go out for breakfast?”

“Would you mind if we dropped by the Coral Sea? I promised Nikki.”

Rosa made a face. “That place is overdone.”

“Hey.” Vee drew herself up indignantly. “I helped design the effects on that place, thank you very much.”

“And you overdid it.” Rosa stood up. “In your usual stylish, trend-setting way.” She grabbed her briefcase off the couch. “Let’s hit the deck, shall we?”

Vee and Rosa took a glide-walk up through the layers of the Ashecroft Hotel to the main pedestrian deck and the clean, clear, Pacific day. U.N. City had been built during the first decade of what some people still called the Takeover. The Takeover happened halfway through the 2100s, when the United Nations went from being a pack of squabbling diplomats to a genuine world-governing body. Because national feeling still ran very high back then, it was decided that the seat of world government would not be given to any one country. It would float around the world on the oceans. The mobility created some trouble with time zones, but that was deemed a minor problem compared to the endless bickering caused by the debate over where to put the capital of the world.