All
heads turned toward the screen.
"This is a map of the expanse of the site of the deployment. This is
not the actual scene, of course; it is a computer enhancement,
programmed to show us what is actually happening."
From twelve sites at once, scattered about evenly throughout the area,
small points began to glow. The points marked the locations of the SE
freighters that had carried the real probes. Simultaneously from every
point emerged a starburst of lines, each one a fine, golden strand of
light.
"Dr. Hoshino's design propels each probe at about one-twentieth the
speed of light. Complete deployment should take about an hour and a
half."
The men waited nervously. Some browsed Richard's books and others
peered through his small telescope at the moonscape. Occasionally two
or three would come together for quiet discussion.
On the screen, the golden lines gradually lengthened. From time to time
one would burst into a flower of lines like summer fireworks, and then
later each of those lines extended and burst again.
When deployment was complete, the entire screen was filled with a
complex pattern of golden points, like dawn-illuminated mist hanging in
a huge spider's web.
"Success!" said Richard quietly, but his voice trembled with
excitement. "Captain Marks-Owens will now initiate the program that
will unify the probes into a single system.
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