“Lovers may keep secrets, but you’ll learn there are no secrets among Oceanus’s crew.”

“Warning: Six minutes until descent.”

We glanced up at the neon-blue sensory orb poised overhead.

“Six minutes, Eisenbraun. Six minutes, six weeks … six years. Six men and six women onboard … and you. GOLEM selected us as much for how our personalities mesh as for our skills. Which begs the question—where does that leave you? Assuming one of our crew really needs to be replaced, are you sure you’re the one who is best fit to replace them? Better think it through, you only have five and a half minutes before we submerge.”

For the first time, the magnitude of my decision to be here weighed seriously on my mind. “GOLEM, locate Andria Saxon.”

“Andria Saxon is in Stateroom One, located on Deck Two.”

I looked around, lost.

Monique pointed to a vertical ladder harbored inside one of the six bulkheads. “When you speak with Andria, be sure to ask her if she minds sharing her suite with you. Twelve suites, thirteen crew.”

I hurriedly descended the steel ladder to Deck Two, only to find myself standing in a circular corridor, the crew’s suites located along the outside, the entrances to far larger compartments on the inside. Heading counterclockwise, I passed Stateroom Eight on my right, the galley on my left. In full sprint I ran past a science lab that spanned Staterooms Seven through Three as if I were running to catch a plane. A home theater, an exercise room, and ahead was Stateroom One, its door open.

Hearing Andria’s voice, I stopped short of entering.

“… how was I supposed to know, Kevin? It’s not like I invited him on board.”

“What if he ends up replacing a crewman on the Europa mission?”

“He won’t.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I know him, Kevin. This whole thing was probably his uncle’s doing. Trust me, Ike’s not a risk-taker like you and me; he needs to stay inside his comfort zone, and he’s not very good with people. Spending the better part of six years living in a confined habitat with eleven other crewmen would drive him insane.”

“You never told me he was such a recluse.”

“Most brainiacs are. I suspect his father was the same way. Guys like Ike spend most of their time inside their own head, always analyzing life, never living it. Why do you think he invented ABE? That little microchip in his brain allows him to be as self-contained as GOLEM. Of course, the problem with living inside your own head all the time is that you isolate yourself from the real world.”

“Einstein was like this. I think it’s a Jew thing.”

“You mean a Jewish thing? Don’t tell me you’re anti-Semitic?”

“Of course not. What I meant … I just never understood the attraction. The guy’s a geek.”