Deception Point Page 19

Rachel found herself uncharacteristically tongue-tied. Sensory overload was setting in the habisphere, the meteorite, the secrets, finding herself unexpectedly face-to-face with a idiot box star. Im strike to see you here, she said, attempting to recover. When the President told me hed recruited civilian scientists for authentication of a NASA find, I guess I expected She hesitated. accredited scientists? Tolland grinned.Rachel flushed, mortified. Thats not what I meant.Dont worry about it, Tolland said. Thats all Ive heard since I got here.The administrator exc utilise himself, burnished to catch up with them later. Tolland moody now to Rachel with a curious look. The administrator tells me your father is Senator Sexton?Rachel nodded. Unfortunately.A Sexton spy behind enemy lines?Battle lines are not always drawn where you king think.An viscid silence.So tell me, Rachel said quickly, whats a world-famous oceanographer doing on a glacier with a bunch of NASA judderet salad s cientists?Tolland chuckled. Actually, some guy who looked a lot like the President asked me to do him a favor. I unfastened my mouth to say Go to hell, but somehow I blurted, Yes, sir.Rachel laughed for the first time all morning. conjugation the club.Although most celebrities seemed smaller in person, Rachel thought Michael Tolland appeared taller. His brown eyes were just as vigilant and demon-ridden as they were on television, and his voice carried the same modest warmth and enthusiasm. Looking to be a weather-beaten and athletic forty-five, Michael Tolland had coarse black hair that fell in a permanent windswept tuft across his forehead. He had a strong chin and a carefree mannerism that exuded confidence. When hed shaken Rachels hand, the callused abrasiveness of his palms reminded her he was not a typical soft television personality but rather an unadulterated seaman and hands-on researcher.To be h anest, Tolland admitted, sounding sheepish, I think I was recruited more for my PR harbor than for my scientific knowledge. The president asked me to come up and make a documentary for him.A documentary? somewhat a meteorite? But youre an oceanographer.Thats exactly what I told him But he said he didnt know of any(prenominal) meteorite documentarians. He told me my involvement would help bring mainstream credibility to this find. Apparently he programmes to broadcast my documentary as part of tonights big press conference when he announces the discovery.A celebrity spokesman. Rachel sensed the savvy semipolitical maneuverings of Zach Herney at work. NASA was often accused of talking over the publics head. Not this time. Theyd pulled in the master scientific communicator, a face Ameri put forwards already knew and trusted when it came to science.Tolland pointed kitty-corner across the dome to a far wall where a press area was being set up. There was a blue carpet on the ice, television cameras, media lights, a long table with several microphones. Som eone was hanging a backdrop of a grand American flag.Thats for tonight, he explained. The NASA administrator and some of his top scientists will be connected live via send to the White House so they can participate in the Presidents eight oclock broadcast.Appropriate, Rachel thought, interestd to know Zach Herney didnt plan to cut NASA out of the announcement entirely.So, Rachel said with a sigh, is someone finally going to tell me whats so special about this meteorite?Tolland arched his eyebrows and gave her a mysterious grin. Actually, whats so special about this meteorite is best seen, not explained. He motioned for Rachel to follow him toward the neighboring work area. The guy stationed over here has plenty of samples he can show you.Samples? You actually have samples of the meteorite?Absolutely. Weve drilled quite a few. In fact, it was the initial core samples that alerted NASA to the impressiveness of the find.Unsure of what to expect, Rachel followed Tolland into the wor k area. It appeared deserted. A cup of coffee sat on a desk scattered with rock samples, calipers, and other diagnostic gear. The coffee was steaming.Marlinson Tolland yelled, looking around. No answer. He gave a frustrated sigh and turned to Rachel. He probably got lost trying to find cream for his coffee. Im telling you, I went to Princeton postgrad with this guy, and he used to get lost in his own dorm. Now hes a National Medal of Science receiver in astrophysics. Go figure.Rachel did a double take. Marlinson? You dont by any chance mean the famous corky Marlinson, do you?Tolland laughed. One and the same.Rachel was stunned. corky Marlinson is here? Marlinsons ideas on gravitational fields were legendary among NRO satellite engineers. Marlinson is one of the Presidents civilian recruits?Yeah, one of the real scientists.Real is right, Rachel thought. bad Marlinson was as brilliant and respected as they came.The unthinkable paradox about Corky, Tolland said, is that he can quo te you the distance to Alpha Centauri in millimeters, but he cant tie his own necktie.I wear clip-ons a nasal, good-natured voice barked nearby. Efficiency over style, Mike. You Hollywood types dont understand thatRachel and Tolland turned to the man now emerging from behind a large stack of electronic gear. He was squat and rotund, resembling a pug dog with bubble eyes and a thinning, comb-over haircut. When the man sawing machine Tolland standing with Rachel, he stopped in his tracks.Jesus Christ, Mike Were at the friggin North Pole and you alleviate manage to meet gorgeous women. I knew I should have gone into televisionMichael Tolland was visibly embarrassed. Ms. Sexton, please excuse Dr. Marlinson. What he lacks in tact, he more than makes up for in random bits of totally unavailing knowledge about our universe.Corky approached. A true pleasure, maam. I didnt catch your name.Rachel, she said. Rachel Sexton.Sexton? Corky let out a playful gasp. No relation to that shortsighte d, depraved senator, I hopeTolland winced. Actually, Corky, Senator Sexton is Rachels father.Corky stopped laughing and slumped. You know, Mike, its really no wonder Ive never had any luck with the ladies.22Prize-winning astrophysicist Corky Marlinson ushered Rachel and Tolland into his work area and began sifting through his tools and rock samples. The man moved like a tightly wound spring about to explode. wholly right, he said, quivering excitedly, Ms. Sexton, youre about to get the Corky Marlinson ordinal meteorite earth.Tolland gave Rachel a be-patient wink. Bear with him. The man really wanted to be an actor.Yeah, and Mike wanted to be a respected scientist. Corky rooted around in a shoebox and produced three small rock samples and align them on his desk. These are the three main classes of meteorites in the world.Rachel looked at the three samples. All appeared as awkward spheroids about the size of golf balls. Each had been sliced in half to reveal its cross section.All me teorites, Corky said, consist of varying amounts of nickel-iron alloys, silicates, and sulfides. We classify them on the basis of their metal-to-silicate ratios.Rachel already had the feeling Corky Marlinsons meteorite primer was going to be more than thirty seconds.