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for significance; that was his talent. He liked to get close to the truth, whatever it might be, so that he
could shape it into his image. Indeed, in his hands the truth could assume an entirely new aspect. He also
knew well the value of publicity; his career could profit handsomely from this exploit.
And there was something else, deeper and more important than any other motivation, that would never
be mentioned, that did him credit of a sort. But I think it is not my business to pass judgment on that.
Thorley, like Megan, deserves the privacy of his deepest heart.
We ate and slept and ate again, and set the ship's time for Saturn time, which differed from Jupiter's by
several hours. The days passed. No Jupiter ship came after us, and Tocsin made no public statement
about my excursion. But he could not prevent the media from doing so, and they had a ball with it. An
open planetary raffle was set up, to guess the day that Thorley would be put out the lock without a suit;
naturally it was presumed that we were fighting tooth and nail. There were innovative and at times off-
color skits broadcast, in which the actors portrayed Critic and Governor and spewed out invective at
each other while the ship headed for collision with a planetoid.
But Thorley, as I had learned early, was in person a most engaging companion; he kept his politics out
of polite conversation. He joined us for meals and made a fourth for games of old-fashioned cards,
teaming with Spirit against Megan and me, and his smooth wit made him a delight. He also taught
Hopie to play chess, which he claimed was a game of royalty.
"You seem like such a nice man," Hopie told him. "Why are you always so mean to my father?"
Thorley laughed, as if this were rare wit. "It is my profession, child. I do to public figures
metaphorically what your father does to them politically."
Megan and Spirit and I, theoretically engaged in our separate pursuits at that moment, paused to listen
without interfering. There was more to this than was evident.
"Is it true you saved his life?" she asked with her typical directness.
Thorley smiled. "That might be an exaggeration. It is true there was an incident some time ago."
"And you got lasered instead of him?"
He shrugged. "It could be put that way. Actually I believe it was your mother the man was aiming at, as
a target of opportunity."
"Back before I was born?"
"Prehistoric," he agreed wryly. "So the matter need not concern you Hopie, if I may address you so
familiarly."
"So if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't exist."
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Thorley knew what she had for the moment forgotten: that Hopie was an adopted child. But he did not
remind her of that. "It is certainly possible."
"So I suppose I can't hate you, even if you deserve it."
"I would be distressed to have you hate me, Hopie, however deserving of the sentiment I may be."
"Then will you stop writing those mean things?"
Thorley spread his hands. "I can no more change my nature than your father can change his."
Surprisingly she smiled. "Well, at least you are honest."
He smiled back. "I fear I may not merit such an accolade. Let's just say I am consistent."
"Okay." She returned her attention to the chess game. She was doing well, there, for Thorley had spotted
her the queen, both castles, a bishop, and a knight. There seemed to be a savage battle among pawns in
progress.
I glanced about and caught Spirit and Megan exchanging a glance. It was as if a necessary hurdle had
been navigated.
In due course we approached Saturn. This planet has, of course, always been known for its phenomenal
ring system; indeed, there was a period in the history of man when it was believed that Saturn was the
only planet to possess rings. Now it is known that all planets and a number of moons possess rings,
albeit sometimes of insignificant scope. But those of Saturn are truly in a class by themselves, and all of
us were fascinated as the details became clearer. First the eye perceived the archaically named A, B, C,
and D rings, with the Encke, Cassini, and Guerin divisions. Then the rest of it came clear, for the total
ring system is enormous, extending out some eight times the radius of the planet, and fading only as a
matter of diminishing returns. We knew that the rings were inhabited by refugees from the former
government of South Saturn, who had had to exchange embassies when Jupiter did the same with
Ganymede. That gave me a certain feeling of identity, irrelevant as it was. We also knew that on one
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