“Only the life on Earth, yes. I was made in case you survived that. As I believe you know, the one who made me lives slower and longer than humans or Martians, but is still a mayfly compared to the Others.”

“It left Triton, though,” Paul said, “just before the explosion.”

“Yes. It is here now, in a small habitat near your air lock. Fastened to the iceberg by now. We’ve been nearby for some time, within a few million miles, but of course did not physically connect until your engine stopped.”

“Why are you here?” I asked. “To keep an eye on us?”

“That, yes. And to help decide whether you should be allowed near the Others’ home planet.”

“Then you’re set up to destroy us, as Red was?”

“Not at all. It’s not necessary.” His expression revealed nothing. It was not neutral, exactly, but more controlled than the serving robots at McDonald’s.

“Because the Others themselves won’t let us get close enough to hurt them,” Namir said.

“That’s correct. We have already begun sending them information. I think the more you let me know, the better your chances will be.”

“Do you have a name?” I asked.

“No. You may call me whatever you please.”

“Spy,” Namir said.

“Considering the source,” it said, “I am honored.”

“You know a lot about us?” I said.

“Only what has been public knowledge on Earth. Namir, Elza, Paul, Carmen, Dustin, Meryl, Snowbird, Fly- in-Amber.” It pointed. “That would be Moonboy.”

He was facing away from us, floating halfway to the kitchen, listening to music. “Yes,” Meryl said. “He’s not feeling well.”

“Perhaps none of you are.” It looked around. “I will be as small a burden as possible. I will spend most of my time in my quarters, with the Other. Conversation necessarily takes a long time. Once we have deceleration, I can walk back and forth at will. The external air-lock control is simple; I didn’t use it this time because I didn’t want to frighten you with an alarm.”

“That was neighborly,” I said. “Can I offer you something to eat or drink?”

“Oh, no. I don’t want to burden your life support; I can take care of that in my own ship. Like the Martians, I consume very little.”

“We were made by intelligent design,” Snowbird said, “not haphazard evolution.” She had been studying the history of human science. But it was correct; Martians needed only a third of the life-support mass humans required. (Being indifferent to what you eat or drink is a factor, too—if we were willing to live on hardtack biscuits and water, we could save a lot of reaction mass.)

“You took a chance coming over here,” Paul said. “One course correction, and you’d be adrift.”

“I’m replaceable. How often do you do that?”

“Every few days.” Enough to keep us from going outside.