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For Joyce Barrett

and the Freedom Riders

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Les Johnson of NASA, to Rania Habib at Syracuse University, to David DeGraff of Alfred University, and to Walter Cuirle. Also my special appreciation to Frank Manning, formerly of NASA, and my son Christopher McDevitt for advice and technical assistance. Any blunders are on my plate. I’m also indebted to Ginjer Buchanan, my editor, and to Sara and Bob Schwager for their contributions. To my agent, Chris Lotts. And as always to my wife, Maureen, who continues to serve as in-house editor and general inspiration.

Prologue

Union Space Station (“The Wheel”)

Wednesday, June 17, 2195

PRISCILLA WAS SITTING in the Skyview, enjoying a grilled cheese, her notebook propped up on the table. But she wasn’t reading. The room-length portal had, as usual, stolen her attention. She was looking down at the Asian coast. Clusters of lights, like distant stars, sparkled in the night. Shanghai was down there somewhere, and Singapore and Calcutta.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” said a familiar voice. She looked up. Leon Carlson, one of the engineers, was smiling at her. “Mind if I join you?”

“Sure. ” She glanced at the chair on the opposite side of the table, moved her notebook out of his way, and he sat down. “It’s good to see you again, Leon. ”

The smile widened. “And you, Priscilla. How’s the training going? You do your qualification flight yet?”

“No, I’m still a few months away. ”

“You must be looking forward to it. ”

“More or less. Actually, it’s a little unnerving. ”

“You’ll do fine. ” He glanced out at the lights. “I’ve never been able to get used to it. ”

“Me neither. ” He was tall and blond with blue eyes. And he looked pretty good. She took another bite out of her sandwich while he ordered.

“Two years. I’m getting near the end of my assignment. They’ll be sending me back down to Toronto in a few weeks. ”

She was sorry to hear it. “That’s home?”

“Yes. I—” His eyes locked on something behind her. He frowned, and a shadow crossed his face.

“Anything wrong?”

He shook his head. “No. ”

She looked around. Three people were being seated at a table. A trim, formal-looking woman, and two guys, one middle-aged and overweight, the other tall, gray, and bent, with a neatly trimmed beard.

“Who are they?” she asked, keeping her voice down.

He hesitated. “The guy with the beard is one of those Kosmik yo-yos. He’s going out to Selika to help with killing everything off. ”

“Oh. ” She turned back to him. “You mean the terraforming operation. ”

“That’s what I’m talking about. I was working on the Sydney Thompson yesterday. Getting it ready for the flight. There are seven of them going. I assume the other two are also part of the operation. ”

“I get the impression you don’t approve of what they’re doing. ”

“Priscilla, when they’re finished turning the atmosphere over, they’ll have killed everything on the planet. ” His voice was getting loud. “They talk about creating a special place for us, but they’re taking down an entire world to do it. ”