There was pride, self-aggrandizement in such a vision, Hork knew. So what? If he could repel the Xeelee, mankind would rightfully acclaim him.

But how to go about it?

He certainly couldn't devote armies of scholars to piecing together the fragmentary legends of man's origin. And he didn't have the years to wait while some such discipline as Muub's "analogous anatomy" cogitated over its subject matter. He had to prioritize, to go for the most direct benefit.

He looked at Adda sharply. "You say these beings — the Colonists — took the Interfaces, and the other magical machines, back into the Quantum Sea with them. Beyond the reach of our Fishermen. So we've no reason to believe the devices were destroyed?"

Adda looked up; the leech nibbling at his eye, disturbed, slid across his cheek. "Nor any evidence that they survived."

Muub snorted. "Now the old fool has the effrontery to talk of evidence!"

What if this legend of Colonists and ancient technologies held some grain of truth? Then perhaps, Hork speculated, some of these devices could still exist, deep in the Quantum Sea. An Interface would be worth having...

"Muub," he asked thoughtfully. "How could we penetrate the Quantum Sea?"

Muub looked at him, as if shocked by the suggestion. "We cannot, of course, sir. It is impossible." His eyes narrowed. "You are not thinking of chasing after these absurd legends, of wasting resources on a..."

"You will not lecture me, Physician," Hork snapped. "Think of it as a — a scientific experiment. If nothing else we would learn much about the Star, and about our own capabilities... and, perhaps, disprove once and for all these fanciful legends of Colonists and antique wonders." Or, he allowed himself to imagine, perhaps I will uncover a treasure lost to mankind for generations.

"Sir, I must protest. People continue to die, all over the hinterland. Parz itself may be overwhelmed by the flood of refugees approaching. We must abandon these fantasies of the impossible, and return our attention to the immediate, the practical."

Hork studied the Physician — Muub was stiff, trembling in his cocoon of rope. His irritation with Muub's stiff anger was eclipsed, suddenly, by respect for this decent man. It must have taken a lot of courage for the Physician to speak out like that. "Muub — my dear Muub — as soon as I close this meeting I will be immersed in the immediate, the practical... in the pain of ten thousand human beings." He smiled. "I want you to take charge of this project. Reach the Quantum Sea."

Muub ground out, "The task — is — impossible."

Hork nodded. "Of course. Bring me options, within two days."

He turned from them then, and, straightening his back, thrust through the Air to the door and his duties.

17