Resurgence

“I don’t understand it, an’ I sure as hell don’t like it. But I’m forced to believe it. Tally, we need to dump out all the items on your list, fast as we can do it. Everybody helps. If you’re in doubt, don’t come back an’ ask. Chuck it.” He waved his arm. “Go on, go on. Get outa here.”

It was Nenda’s ship, and his control cabin. Everyone moved out—reluctantly—except Hans Rebka and Atvar H’sial. The two men stared at each other.

“You realize it won’t be enough, no matter what you tell people to throw out. We still can’t reach orbit.”

“ ’Course I do. I’m not a dummy. I just didn’t see any point advertisin’ disaster. Suppose you were me, and had to act. What would you do?”

“Clean off the engines, reduce mass as far as I could—exactly the same as you are doing. Then I’d cross my fingers and fly. Don’t worry, I’m not trying to second-guess you. I just want to be sure we’re on the same wavelength.”

“I think we are. Let’s go and dump somethin’ expendable—or maybe not so expendable. When in doubt, throw it out.”

Hans Rebka left, leaving only Louis and Atvar H’sial in the room.

“How about you, At? What’s the problem, too proud to work?”

“When my personal existence is at stake? Not at all. I wish to draw to your attention a factor which seems to have been overlooked. But first, a question. In terms of the rotational axis of Marglot, what is the Have-It-All

’s current location?”

“We’re almost at what used to be the Hot Pole, which puts us just about smack on the rotational equator. What’s your point, At? It’s a bit late for a geography lesson.”

“But not, perhaps, for one in elementary mechanics. The acceleration due to gravity on the rotational equator of Marglot is 8.411 meters per second per second. With a rotational period of 39.36 hours, as it was when we first arrived here, and a radius of 5,286 kilometers, the centripetal acceleration on the equator was 0.01 meters per second per second. That is negligible when compared with the acceleration of gravity, little more than a thousandth of it. With a shorter period of rotation, equal to its present value of about 14.4 hours, the centripetal acceleration has increased to 0.08 meters per second squared. This is still a small value, an outward force equal to only about one percent of the gravitational force. It is insignificant when compared to the large reduction of mass needed by the Have-It-All in order to achieve orbit. However, the rotation rate is still increasing. Let us suppose, as a theoretical exercise, that it continues to increase at its current rate. This will have three effects, two of them undesirable and one desirable. The first undesirable effect will result from atmospheric inertia. The air of Marglot will resist being dragged around with the body of the planet. We must anticipate huge winds from the east, which I note are already arising. Second, the balance of forces on the planet will force it to assume a different shape. Marglot will become increasingly oblate, bulging more at the equator. That will undoubtedly induce major structural changes. We must expect great earthquakes, of unknown magnitude.”

“Wonderful. Just one more reason to get the hell out of here—if only we could.”

“We already had reasons enough to leave. But the undesirable consequences are perhaps outweighed by the desirable effect of more rapid rotation. As the planet continues to spin faster and faster, the centripetal acceleration at the equator will increase. Furthermore, that acceleration increases quadratically, proportional to the square of the angular rate. Eighteen hours from now, the outward centripetal force at the equator will equal 12.3 percent of the inward gravitational force. The total downward force on an object on the surface at that time will equal the difference of those gravitational and centripetal forces. If the Have-It-All still exists then, and if there is a surface that permits a take-off, and if the thrustors perform at their estimated levels when we are in the air, we should be able to leave the surface and ascend to orbit.”

“That’s a whole lot of ifs you got there.”

“True. But which would you prefer, Louis Nenda?” Atvar H’sial rose from her crouched position. “A substantial set of contingent possibilities, or a single unpleasant certainty?”

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

The end of Marglot

Darya Lang normally worked alone. She did not like to be in charge of others, even when her own safety was involved. Today she was particularly happy to let someone else make the decisions.

On the other hand, those decisions had so far practically made themselves. In order to take maximum advantage of Marglot’s rotation, the Have-It-All had to be launched to the east, and from as close to the equator as possible. It also had to be launched soon. The speeded-up planetary rotation was producing ground tremors that shook the ship, and bigger earthquakes were clearly on the way.