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  Ell felt somewhat apprehensive about having the sigma examine Sigwald, but after Querlak had stood patiently for her own examination, it only seemed fair. Querlak carefully studied the bottom of Sigwald’s feet and the underside of the arms where the compressed air jets were.

  Having named nearly everything nearby, they moved on to verbs starting with walk, then fly and eventually everything else that they could demonstrate to one another.

  Interrogatives were more difficult. With some hand waving Querlak made it evident that it wanted to see Sigwald travel on the road and to understand how he did it. This allowed them to settle on a word for “how” before Ell lifted Sigwald’s foot and turned on its air jet ports. Ell lowered the foot to the roadway and generated a near frictionless state. She turned on the jets under the other foot then a jet on Sigwald’s back to send him sliding down the road in a demonstration of that hovercraft mode of travel.

  Querlak’s TS reached out for even more members, further boosting its intelligence. This… intelligent animal or machine—there could no longer be doubt about its intelligence—named Sigwald must have come from elsewhere. It couldn’t be from Querlak’s own Sigma Draconis system because it was simply too bizarre to have come from the minds of any sigman TS. Even if someone wanted to create it as a joke, Querlak couldn’t believe that this would be the creation. For one thing it wasn’t funny. The sigmas had thoroughly explored their own solar system in the process of creating the ringworld and Querlak could say with confidence that there were no other intelligent beings in the system. In fact, there was no longer any non-sigma animal life at all. At least, nothing larger than a centimeter. When the sigmas had gained intelligence they had rapidly eliminated other animals because those animals consumed resources needed to feed the sigmas’ ever burgeoning population. Thus this bizarre and essentially unimaginable… machine… or being… that confronted Querlak must have come from another solar system. From somewhere across the uncrossable gulf between the stars.

  If Querlak’s clade could discover the secret of travel between the stars… they would immeasurably boost their wealth and status. With that secret, the sigmas could build ringworlds in other systems. The sigmas couldn’t build another ringworld in their own system for lack of raw materials. However, the population of their homeworld had by now increased to the point that they were using all the food that even the enormous ring could produce.

  The sigmas had once again been forced to severely limit reproduction to prevent starvation. The resulting inability to increase the size of their clades led to worldwide dissatisfaction and depression.

  During the massive world-girdling undertaking necessary to build the ringworld, the sigmas had banded together and made tremendous sacrifices toward their mutually desired goal of unlimited reproduction. They built huge ports to harvest hydrogen from one of the gas giant worlds in their system. Using catalysts in 350o C tubes near the sun they mixed that Jovian hydrogen with carbon dioxide from the atmosphere of the small rocky world closest to their sun. There the Sabatier reaction gave them methane and water. The methane was used to spin much of the graphene that comprised the ringworld. They froze the water in the outer system until the ringworld had been constructed. Then they moved the water back to the ringworld to water the crops and broke it down electrolytically to provide oxygen for the ringworld’s atmosphere. Nitrogen came from the ammonia atmosphere of a large Jovian moon. The sigmas had needed more hydrocarbons to make the ring than they could generate from the CO2 of the first world, but another of the Jovian moons had supplied enough additional hydrocarbons from its enormous methane lakes.

  Initial plans to move the sigma’s excess population to the ring had foundered on two issues. First, traveling to the ring via ports proved to be excruciatingly painful and significantly lowered the intelligence of the transportees for several years. Despite multiple attempts, they were never able to resolve that issue. Second, living on the ring with its abnormal day-night cycle rendered sigmas infertile.

  This infertility might seem desirable for an overpopulated species, but because of their tremendous innate drive to reproduce and thus link to others, living barren on the ringworld was abhorrent. Eventually the ring became a punishment world for criminals. The pain of transport served as a deterrent against crime and the lowering of their intelligence rendered them more manageable, especially since clades rarely included their criminals in transcendental states more than once a day… enough to prevent insanity but not enough to provide the intelligence for misdeeds.

  The ringworld was managed by sigmas like Querlak who traveled to it via rockets and desperately awaited a return to the homeworld where they could have the offspring promised to them for undertaking this onerous duty. Criminals whose intelligence had recovered and who evidenced rehabilitation also could work as managers and hope to eventually return to the homeworld.

  The managerial sigmas inhabiting the ringworld slept in darkened chambers so that the persistent light on the ringworld didn’t render them mentally unstable. Some of them had great difficulty anyway. Suicide rates were high, but tolerated in their overpopulated society as long as a sigma’s death didn’t leave other individuals isol. If a sigma was another sigma’s only link to their clade, that person could petition successfully to prevent the sigma’s assignment on the ringworld.

  Uncountable large ports linked ringworld to homeworld. Ports near the sea transported oxygen and food to the homeworld. Ports near the rimwall brought CO2 and sewage to the ringworld to support the endless farms.

  Despite the enormous cost, building another ringworld was a holy grail for the people of Sigma Draconis. They wanted to build a ring that rotated more slowly. If they built a ring 110,000 kilometers in diameter that rotated once every 17 hours like their homeworld, the gravity would be about 17% of normal for the sigmas. Tests had shown that sigmas remained healthy and fertile at that gravity, though they might not be able to return to the homeworld’s heavier gravity afterward. At that rotation rate, the hoop stresses in a ring that size would still be tolerable for their graphene and graphend construction materials. It would provide 1.73 billion square kilometers of living and farming area! That would be five and a half times as much area as the current ringworld and more than 15 times the area of their homeworld. The rimwalls would have to be higher to compensate for the lower compression of the atmosphere, but that would be a minor problem compared to the building of such an enormous ring.

  But, they had used up the methane lakes of the Jovian moon and almost all of the CO2 atmosphere of the first small rocky world building the first ring. The only other large sources of carbon in their system were relatively inaccessible contaminants in the other gas giants’ atmospheres. If they could travel to other stars, surely they would find worlds with CO2 atmospheres or other easy sources of hydrocarbons.

  This “Sigwald” had come from another star and surely could show the sigmas how to go back there, if not to other systems. All Querlak had to do was convince him to do it. First though, Querlak needed some rest. She lifted into the air and tried to indicate to Sigwald to follow. After a moment it began sliding down the road behind her. They rapidly traveled to one of the small roadside sleeping chambers. There Querlak took Sigwald inside and tried to communicate that Sigwald should wait while she slept.

  Chapter Two

  Denver—Former Track and Field Olympian Michael Fentis has been noted for downplaying the accomplishments of Ell Donsaii. He has frequently opined that her four gold medals were simple “luck” and that gymnastics isn’t really a sport. Though it is not certain why he expresses so much vitriol on this subject, many attribute it to the persistent discussion of the video showing Donsaii’s run up to the Olympic vault in Dallas. That vid has been said to demonstrate her running faster than his best speed …

  Going into this interview Frank Alston felt edgy like he’d never quite felt before. He’d laid minor traps for a few big names in the past, but never anything quite like this. Putting two majo
r sports personalities who’d had serious “beef” with one another onto the same show could be a stroke of genius. Or it could be a major faux pas.

  So far, Alston had asked Michael Fentis about who he thought would dominate in the sprints at this summer Olympics. Meanwhile, his assistant was supposed to be entertaining Ell Donsaii off stage and trying to keep Donsaii from checking the monitors. Frank didn’t want Donsaii to recognize who Alston’s other guest was.

  But he needed to spring his trap soon, or it might spring itself. Fentis had just finished his response so Frank led with, “Enough about who might win the coming Olympics. Who do you think is the greatest Olympian of games gone by?”

  “Carl Lewis,” Fentis said without hesitation.

  “Nine golds and a silver,” Frank said. “Now I won’t argue that that’s an amazing total. But quite a few athletes have more medals than Lewis.”

  “Yeah, but they’re in sports like swimming and gymnastics where it’s relatively easy to get a lot of medals. Lewis’ ten Olympic medals were in individual events, not ‘team’ medals, or ‘relays.’”

  “Michael Phelps won eleven individual golds and thirteen individual medals out of his 22 total swimming medals.”

  “Yeah, but a lot of those are for races of the same distance, just using a different stroke. If I could get another medal for running the 100 meters sideways in addition to freestyling it straight down the track, I’d have a lot more than nine golds myself.”

  Frank felt no surprise that Fentis had brought up his own medal count. He’d actually been surprised that Fentis didn’t cite himself as the greatest Olympian. He laid it on thick, “And, of course, you’ve broken Lewis’ records and currently hold the world record in all four of Lewis’ events, correct?”

  Fentis nodded magnanimously, “That’s true.”

  “So maybe the ‘greatest athlete’ is the one with the most world records?”

  Fentis shrugged, “One could argue that.”

  “What about Latynina? She had the most Olympic medals until Phelps came along.”

  “In women’s gymnastics.” Fentis shrugged dismissively. “As I’ve said repeatedly, I’m not sure that prettily bouncing around should be considered a sport.”

  “You don’t think there’s athleticism involved in say, the uneven bars?”

  “Some, sure, some. But you can’t set a world record. You aren’t judged objectively. You’re only being judged on intangibles by a panel of judges. You can’t compete against previous athletes with those kinds of subjective scores. Even your wins over athletes right there in the same competition with you are often called into doubt.”

  “Even when someone like Donsaii performs athletic feats that no one else has ever performed before and that no one has been able to perform since?” Frank motioned surreptitiously to his assistant who walked around the corner with Donsaii.

  Alston saw Donsaii’s eyes widen momentarily, then she smiled. He glanced back at Fentis whose lip curled like he’d stepped in something disgusting.

  In a quiet but ugly tone Fentis said, “Oh… even for you Alston, this is low.”

  Donsaii cheerfully said, “Mr. Fentis! I’ve so admired your career! I tried to get you to sign an autograph for me at the opening ceremony of the Olympics seven years ago but you weren’t able to. Would you mind signing one for me today?”

  “I don’t sign autographs.” Fentis growled, “I certainly wouldn’t sign one for you with the things you’ve been saying.”

  Donsaii’s eyes rounded in concern, “What have I been saying? Nothing that should upset you, I wouldn’t think.”

  “You know! Those ridiculous claims that you run faster.”

  Donsaii put her hand to her chest, “Mr. Fentis, I’ve never said anything like that!” She twinkled, “I think some sportscasters may have said some things to that effect, but,” she grinned even more, “you know, they’re just looking to spark some controversy to boost their ratings.” She turned to Alston, “You might be trying to do just that by inviting Mr. Fentis and myself to the same interview, right Mr. Alston?”

  For a moment, being confronted this way left Alston speechless. Before he could say anything Fentis turned on him, “Look asshole, I don’t know what you thought you’d accomplish by inviting this stupid bitch to my interview, but I’ll guarantee this will be the last interview you ever get with Michael Fentis.” He stood and stalked off the little stage. Perhaps forgetting he still had on the microphone—or well aware and wanting to get in a parting shot—Fentis said, “Your being pretty enough to turn the judges heads does not make you worthy of a single gold medal in my book bitch.”

  Not knowing whether to swallow in dismay, or pump a fist in triumph, Alston turned to Donsaii who hadn’t even seated herself yet. She was frowning after Fentis. Donsaii did look stunningly attractive in a slender black pantsuit with her trademark pearls.

  Just like she always did.

  Putting on a smile, Alston waved to a seat and said, “Sorry about that, Ms. Donsaii. Won’t you sit down and give us your perspective?”

  She tilted her head and eyed him momentarily, then smiled sadly, “Oh Mr. Alston. I don’t think you’re sorry. I think you intended to get Mr. Fentis angry by pulling his chain in a fashion that you could predict would infuriate him. I think you went to great lengths to keep me from being aware that you had Mr. Fentis on the show. You knew that I wouldn’t want to appear on the same show because I wouldn’t want to get him upset. Personally, I think that was extremely rude on your part.” Donsaii also turned and left, but grinned back over her shoulder, “Now I’ll never get Mr. Fentis’ autograph.”

  Several hours later, Alston left the studio feeling dismayed. No matter what he’d tried, he couldn’t cut the video so that it didn’t leave him looking like a jerk. Not and have any substantial amount of the interview remaining anyway. He wanted to shitcan the entire interview but his producers insisted that, no matter how bad Alston looked, the vid would be ratings gold for the network. It would go out.

  Alston had finally put in a “talking head” segment. In this he juxtaposed Fentis calling Donsaii a “stupid bitch” with others who spoke about her genius in physics. Then he inserted a segment of himself talking about Donsaii’s Medal of Honor for stopping the terrorists and mentioning her Presidential Medal of Freedom for her role in deflecting the comet. To fill out the segment he put in clips of her from previous interviews which made it clear that, indeed, she had never said she was faster than Fentis, those words had all been said by others.

  ***

  Kristen Donsaii climbed the steps to Ell’s house at her little farm. Recognizing her, the door AI unlocked and said, “Hello, Ms. Donsaii. Come on in. I’ve notified Ell that you’re here.”

  Kristen opened the door and stepped inside. Ell came bouncing down the stairs to meet her. “Mom! Guess what!” Ell held out her left hand so her mother could look at her ring. “I’m engaged!”

  Kristen’s hands came up to her cheeks, “You are! Who?”

  “Shan Kinrais. You met him on the island.”

  “Oh!” Kristen took her hand to admire the ring, saying, “I liked him.” She raised an eyebrow, “and he’s sooo good looking!” She frowned and lowered an eyebrow, “You’re not just marrying him ‘cause he’s so pretty are you?”

  Ell wrinkled her nose and giggled, “No! He’s smart too. Just joining the faculty of the Math Department here at UNC. Wrote a science paper with that Donsaii girl.”

  Kristen frowned again, “You’re referring to yourself in the third person? Is my daughter takin’ on airs?”

  Ell looked wistful, “Mom, I’m marrying Shan as ‘Raquel,’ not as Ell.”

  “What!?” Kristen exploded, “Why on earth would you do that?”

  Ell dropped onto the couch with a sigh. As Kristen sat across from her Ell looked at her sadly, “My life as Ell is just crazy, Mom.” She rubbed a finger between her eyebrows, as if just thinking about it would give her a headache. “I hardly go anywhere
other than work as ‘Ell.’ When I do, people stop me to ask for autographs, to complain about what I have done, or tell me what they think I should do. I feel bad because Michael Fentis’ refusal to give me an autograph made me so mad, yet I find that I don’t want to spend all my time giving autographs either.”

  “Marrying a man as your ‘alter ego’ is even crazier!”

  “Mom, think about what my family’s life would be like. Say, someday with a child. First of all I’d have to hire a much bigger security team so they’d have the people to follow Shan and my child around wherever they go.”

  “You can afford that. Don’t try to tell me you can’t.”

  Ell grimaced, “Sure, but think about it some more. Right now, mostly what I and the security team have to worry about is kidnapping, because the people after me would want to keep me alive to have me do stuff for them. But, they might just threaten to kill members of my family if I don’t do things for them. Holding me hostage to a sniper’s bullet aimed at my child, so to speak. Even if I hired an enormous team like the President, a private citizen can’t go through neighboring buildings to clear every window of crazy people with rifles…” Ell sighed disconsolately, “It would be awful!”

  Kristen sank back into her chair, a horrified expression on her face. “You really think it could be that bad?”

  “Even if it isn’t,” Ell said, almost in a whisper. “Think about the child. Everyone, from the teachers to the kids, treating her differently. Expecting more because she’s my child. Or perhaps expecting worse because she’s the child of wealth and privilege.”