Jupiter Project by Gregory Benford Read Free Book Online Page A

went out with the twentieth century and nobody misses it. I’ve heard they’re trying something like it again, though, back on Earth, because the taxpayers have started squawking about the costs of teaching programs. It’s just one more thing to make me glad I’m in the Jupiter Project.
    When Mr. Jablons was satisfied that I understood the new circuitry he’d explained, he left me alone. I built a simple black-box arrangement, incorporating the new circuit, as an exercise. It filtered radio signals and passed one narrow band of wavelengths. I tried it out by listening in to some of the routine signals coming from our observation satellites near Jupiter, and the darn thing actually worked. I congratulated myself and walked down to the Education Center.
    I was supposed to put in some time on a teaching machine, brushing up on differential equations. Instead I hung around outside, reading the bulletin board, until Jenny turned up.
    “Say, I thought you were logged for teaching machine time now,” she said.
    I made a face. “That’s just what I need, a girl who’ll nag me until I straighten up.”
    Jenny tossed her head, sending her brown braids tumbling in the low gravity. “I wasn’t aware that you needed any kind of girl at all.” She gave me a fierce snarl. I made a demon face back at her.
    “Attention!” the loudspeaker system said. Heads turned in the corridor.
    “I have an announcement,” a deep voice said. It was Commander Aarons’. “The Argosy has been delayed in its departure from Earth orbit. A series of holdups in fueling her and a few unexpected repairs will make it necessary to reschedule her usual cruise. ISA informs me that the Argosy will be delayed at least two weeks. This will result in the Argosy reaching us about two and a half weeks after her scheduled arrival. Section and Division leaders should alter their work programs accordingly.”
    The loudspeaker went dead with a click. I looked at Jenny. “What does that mean?” she said.
    I shrugged. “Not much. We’ll have a little longer to get our reports ready.”
    “Why bother to announce it? There’s a thirteen month wait between ships anyway. What difference does a few weeks make?”
    “Come on, dummy. There’s a favorable configuration between Earth and Jupiter that opens every thirteen months. If the Argosy misses it, the trip gets a hell of a lot more expensive.”
    “How much more? I mean, if ISA is worried about budget—”
    “Come on,” I gestured toward one of the study quads. “We can probably find out from computer retrieval. Argosy was slated for the minimum-energy orbit, so if it’s late…” I started figuring in my head.
    Zak came strolling over. “Hear the news?” he said.
    We nodded.
    “I took the trouble to run a calculation, since I was using a teaching machine at the time. If the Argosy is delayed more than four weeks she won’t make it within budget.”
    “Rather close,” another voice said. Yuri had moved in quietly to a position close beside Jenny.
    “I wonder if ISA has anything up their sleeves,” Zak mused.
    “Impossible to say. Anyway,” I said, glancing at Yuri, “it’s not our job to worry about ISA. Better we should find something new to dazzle the folks back home.”
    “Was that crack directed to me?” Yuri said sharply.
    Jenny said quickly, “I don’t think Matt—”
    “What if it was?” I said casually.
    “You ought to get your facts straight before you open your trap, Bohles,” Yuri said.
    “What facts?”
    “The fact that Atmospheric Studies works harder than anybody else in this Lab. The fact that we’ve run more probes into the upper atmosphere of Jupiter than the original plans called for. The—”
    “Spare me the advertisement,” I said.
    Yuri took a deep breath and was about to say something when Zak broke in. “Look, Yuri, we all know those things. ISA is starting to wonder why, with all this work, the Lab hasn’t turned up any evidence for life somewhere