"You wanted to see stars, so you went into space to fight a war!" Rimskaya said. "We don't know what we'll see. More of this godforsaken corridor." He wrapped his face in his hands. "All my life, I've been a hard-liner. Everyone thought I was a passionless old. . . asshole. Math and sociology and university. My life, held within four walls. When I was sent to the Stone—God, what an experience! And then this opportunity. . .”

"We know it will be interesting, far beyond what we could find on Earth."

"The others are going back to save Earth," Rimskaya said, fists curled tight against his sides.

"That makes us irresponsible? Perhaps. But no more so than all the people in this half of the city."

Rimskaya shrugged. "Look, I've made my decision, and I'm sticking with it. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

"That's all I wanted to hear," Mirsky said.

"Are you wearing the implant they gave you?" Rimskaya asked.

Mirsky pulled his right ear forward and turned his head to show he was.

"I still have mine," Rimskaya said. He opened one fist to reveal the peanut-sized device.

"You'll need it," Mirsky said. He lingered a moment longer, and the American slowly raised the implant to his head and positioned it behind his ear.

Chapter Sixty-Four

Chapter Sixty-Four

"We leave each other now," Ry Oyu told his daughter and Yates. He held out his hand, and the Senator grasped it between hers. Olmy, Patricia, Lanier and Korzenowski waited for them beside the disk.

"What's he planning?" Patricia asked.

"He's going through the gate," Olmy said. "The Talsit will accompany him; one of the Frants, as well. All the rest are coming with us."

"He can't survive," Lanier said. "They can't possibly take enough food, oxygen—there isn't time to prepare—"

"He's not going incarnate," Olmy explained. "None of them are. They'll transfer personality to a long-term gate worker. They can research as much as they wish—open other gates, wait for the Axis City if it reaches that distance. They have millions of years of energy."

Prescient Oyu shook her head slowly, watching her father's face. "You've done well with me," she said. "It won't be easy, not being able to speak with you. . . ever."

"Come with the Geshel precincts," Ry Oyu said. "We might meet again, far down the Way. Who knows what their plans will be, if they succeed? And besides, somebody can always reopen this gate, find us again. . . .”

"No one will ever find this gate again," she countered. "Only you could find it and open it."

"She's right," Yates said. "It was your skill."

Ry Oyu nodded in Patricia's direction. "Korzenowski, or the Earth woman. They could. . . but then, Korzenoswki's returning to Earth, and she goes hunting for something even more elusive. Well, at any rate, nothing is final."

"This is," Prescient Oyu said. "I'm going back to Earth. It's what we've been working for." She let go of his hand.