“Now that you mention it,” Steve replied, “no. We all like to imagine we’re unique and irreplaceable. It’s an enjoyable fantasy. If you’ve got any sense, you know that’s all it is. Somebody else can always step into your shoes and do as well as you did, or close enough for government work.”

“Government work.” The phrase tasted raunchy in Jerry’s mouth, like lunch meat that had sat in the fridge three days too long. “Does it ever bother you that this is all government work?”

“This is the most exciting, important, worthwhile thing I’ve ever done in my life. If it weren’t government work, how would it get done? Who else would have found the K-129, and Humpty Dumpty next to it? Who else would have laid out as much as it costs for a Moon mission to build this ship and haul Humpty Dumpty off the bottom? Flying men to the Moon is government work, too, by the way.”

Jerry started to come back with something sharp, then realized he didn’t have anything sharp to come back with. “Well, hush my mouth,” he mumbled.

Steve didn’t rub it in. He wasn’t the type. He just said, “Think it through.” That was a good idea any old time.

Even so, talking about something, anything, else also seemed a good idea right now. “Does President Ford know we’ve been inside the spaceship?” Jerry asked. No matter what Steve thought about government work, Jerry was damn glad he didn’t need to ask about President Nixon anymore.

“I’m sure he does. I haven’t asked Dale, but we wouldn’t hold back on anything like that—especially when we got in and got out without losing anybody or doing any damage.” The man from the RAND Corporation might be quiet, but he was cynical enough for all ordinary use.

“Makes sense.” Jerry nodded, then chuckled. “I wonder if Dave wrote more innocent-text poetry to pass the word along.”

Steve laughed, too. “I hope so! You know the code message that announced Fermi had got a chain reaction going in the pile at the University of Chicago, don’t you?”

“Sorry, no.” Jerry shook his head in embarrassment. “What was it?”

“‘You’ll be interested to know that the Italian navigator has just landed in the New World,’” Steve quoted.

“I can dig it!” Jerry said. “Echoes back to Columbus—and man, whoever came up with it sure wasn’t wrong.” His head swung toward the moon pool. “Different now. The new world’s landed on us.”

“So it has. So it has.”