The president blinked on. She was standing beside a window, with rain beating down on the glass. Emma Proctor was tall and vibrant, with dark brown eyes that cast a look of frustration across features that usually reflected a sense that all was well in the world.

Hutch got to her feet and moved away from the table. “Ms. Hutchins, I’ve been an admirer of yours for a long time. You’ve rendered major services to the country and to the world. You’re in a position again, as much as ever before, to help.

“What you’ve signed on for is a serious mistake. The Calliope mission, if it’s allowed to take place, has the potential to cause immense damage. We have no idea who or what is out there. Even if we do not encounter a threat, it may set a precedent that will encourage more missions that will continue until the inevitable occurs. This may be our only opportunity to stop it. Please, back off. And do what you can to dissuade the people planning this operation to do the same.”

She had to catch her breath. “Madam President—do you know something I don’t?”

“Only that it’s just a matter of time before one of these missions goes seriously wrong. We are playing with a wildcat here.”

Hutch was having trouble with her voice. “I understand,” she said. It wasn’t what she’d wanted to say. It sounded too much like caving in. But she couldn’t stop struggling.

The president came away from the window and walked slowly toward her. “So, what are you going to do?”

“We’ve been traveling to other stars for a long time. It’s never caused a problem. In fact, we’ve gotten some serious benefits from it.”

“Priscilla, we’ve barely touched reality. The handful of stars we’ve visited is infinitesimal.” She was towering over Hutch now. Her eyes had taken on a look of urgency. “High-tech life is obviously rare. I grant you that. We have not yet encountered much of anything that operates at an advanced level. But the waterfall signal certifies that a high-tech civilization was out there seven thousand years ago. They’ve had seven thousand years to continue evolving. We cannot conceive what they might be capable of today.”

“They may not even be there anymore, Madam President. If things go the way they generally have in the past, they’ve been dead a long time.”

“We don’t yet know enough to have a grasp of the probabilities. This flight puts us all at risk. I understand you’re at your mother’s house?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have any children?”

“Two.”

“You understand you’re putting them all at risk.”

“I have no influence over the WSA Authority,” said Hutch. “They’re not going to pay attention to anything I have to say.”

“I understand that. But you can refuse to pilot the mission.”