The Genie and the Engineer 3: Ravages of War Read Free Page B

tectonic activity, will have some
too. That’s another reason for sending both of you. With the two of you looking,
it will double the chances of finding one. There are lots of extinct volcanoes
on Mars. You might find one like Devil’s Tower, with the core vent filled with
a solid piece of igneous rock.”
    But Daneel 1 was shaking his head on his monitor screen. “Dad,
the timing is not in our favor for a long search. It will take us time to
portal to Mars, and in the process we will still have to decelerate down to
Mar’s orbital speed. Then we will have to search the planet and find a ‘big
rock’, as you say. And then , we will have to reach out through a portal,
latch onto the ship and decelerate it. And that will take the greatest amount
of time, because of the limited gee forces we can use, without killing you or
Mom.”
    “Ugh. You’re right, bro.” Daneel 2 looked pained. “I hadn’t
thought about the deceleration factor.”
    But Paul raised a hand to interrupt them. “I’m not
suggesting we funnel energy from Mars and use that as a force to slow the ship
down.”
    “No?” Capie asked, puzzled. “Then what is your idea?”
    “It will be more efficient if we take the ship’s kinetic energy
and funnel it to Mars instead,” Paul pointed out.
    “Dah!” exclaimed the two Daneels in unison.
    “That’s brilliant, Dad! If it will work,” pointed out Daneel
1.
    “I’m missing something here,” admitted Capie, frowning. “Why
is that different?”
    “Braking the ship would exert gee forces on you and Dad,
Mom,” Daneel 1 explained. “And to slow the ship fast enough, that might require
a LOT of gee force. Like what the astronauts experience on a shuttle launch.
But for hours, instead of just minutes.”
    “Oh.”
    “But a transfer of kinetic energy from the ship to Mars, we
routinely do that sort of energy transfer when we cast a spell using part of
the Earth’s energy to make the spell happen,” Daneel 2 added. “A transference
from the ship to the planet should pretty much be the same thing, except for
the huge amounts of energy involved. But, in theory, there shouldn’t be any gee
forces. The ship will just simply slow down due to the loss of energy. And
Mars—well, Mars is so big in comparison, it won’t notice the extra energy at
all.”
    Capie nodded thoughtfully and looked over at her husband. “I
like the part about no high gees.”
    “So, Dad, is that the plan?” Daneel 1 asked, studying Paul’s
expression intently. “Because if it is, then Daneel 2 and I need to depart post
haste. The further out from the planet the ship is when we try to slow it down,
the less energy we can transfer. If it takes us too long to find a monolith,
then the ship might get too far out of range on the other side of Mars, beyond
our reach, before we can stop her.”
    “Sending them out into space…that just seems so…well,
dangerous,” Capie grumbled, her eyes downcast.
    “Mom, it’ll be okay,” Daneel 1 reassured her, smiling
confidently.
    “‘Piece of pie!’” Daneel 2 said, quoting Maxim Brajlovky in
the movie 2010: The Year We Make Contact .
    Capie flinched. “One of the few sci-fi flicks I didn’t like.
And don’t forget, Maxim was killed when he went EVA.”
    “Way to go, bro,” Daneel 1 said scornfully.
    “I don’t care very much for this plan,” Capie told Paul
point blank, a puzzled expression on her face. “Isn’t this pretty risky?”
    “Don’t like it much, I don’t either,” muttered Ariel-Leira
quietly.
    Paul’s smile faded away. “Don’t worry, CB. Yes, there is
risk. I can’t deny that. But if you can suggest another, better and safer plan,
I’m all ears.”
    Capie seemed to consider it for several seconds. “Couldn’t
we go with them? I think I’d much rather take my chances on Mars than on a
spaceship careening out of control through the Solar System.”
    “Ooh, ouch!” Daneel 2 griped.
    Paul gloomily waved a hand. “Sorry, but that is not