Gerhardt smiled. "Yes. A President—off the record, Garry?—a President who's living in some antebellum dream of democracy, can't even talk about space much less think about it; a Senate composed of his stooges and ass-backwards Republicans grinding out bills on southern reapportionment. . .” He glanced at Kirchner, who shook his head, smiling slightly and looked off at the asteroid rock wall. "Nobody's giving half the attention to the Stone they should—or am I wrong?"

"You're right and wrong. At this moment, I don't think there's any more important topic to the governments of the world than the Stone. Everybody's speculating. The Russians are scared shitless we'll have a technological drop on them. We already do, but the Stone cinches it, doesn't it?"

"What are Kirchner and I doing up here, Garry? Why aren't we kept informed, like you? The Stone's security relies on the Captain and me, but those bastards have pulled curtains around us. We can't get into the libraries, can't see documents. . . . I don't understand. . . some of the weirdest things I've been hearing. It's going to drive me nuts. Isn't it time we cooperate with each other?"

"They have their reasons," Lanier said.

"I've watched you, Garry. You've gone downhill the past year. I don't want to know your secrets for my health's sake. What in hell have we got here?"

Lanier pulled himself into a second harness and gripped the straps. "What are your orders from Earth, Oliver?"

"I am to prepare for imminent assault on the Stone and for the possibility of nuclear confrontation on Earth."

"Can the Russians take the Stone?"

"If they put everything they have in space against us, yes," Kirchner said.

"Do you think they will?"

"Yes," Kirchner said. "How, I don't know. But we're thinking day and night trying to second-guess. On our next close approach, they'll use little skirmishes on Earth—at sea and in Europe—to distract attention from the Stone. They'll come at us and try to take it from us. Or they'll try the Stone first. I don't know."

"Can they succeed?"

Gerhardt raised his hand to interrupt. "Will you level with me on what we're facing, Garry? And let me lock the bastard away?"

Takahashi had probably served his usefulness.

"Yes," Lanier said. "Get him off the Stone as soon as you can. Let the State Department take care of him once he reaches Florida."

"You'll let us into the libraries?" Gerhardt asked.

"No. They're closed. I'll tell you what you need to know."

"Then I'll answer your question," Kirchner said. "The Russians can succeed. They can take us over. If they put everything they have into it, we can't really stop them short of sealing off the bore hole, and we can't do that without sealing ourselves in. We've been ordered not to do that."

"Of course," Lanier said. That would have ended all doubts for the Russians.