The surprise on Father's face was replaced with a forced smile of barely contained fury. "Lem. This is very unexpected."
Lem turned to the woman. She had a pin of the American flag on the lapel of her jacket. A politician most likely, though Lem had no idea who. A congresswoman, perhaps. Or someone from the current administration. Why was Father meeting with the Americans?
He extended a hand. "Lem Jukes."
She took his hand, showing no signs of irritation. "Margaret Hopkins. U.S. State Department. And you hardly need introduce yourself to me, Mr. Jukes. I've seen several of the interviews you've given on the nets. That must have been a harrowing experience to face the Formics in the Kuiper Belt."
"I don't recommend it," said Lem. "A summer cabin with a nice mountain breeze is more to my liking." He turned to Father, impatient. "A moment, Father?"
Ukko Jukes dabbed at the corner of his mouth with a napkin and leaned forward in his seat. "Ms. Hopkins and I were having a private conversation, Lem. Perhaps you and I can talk after."
"It can't wait. Would you excuse us, Ms. Hopkins?" Lem gestured to a door across the room that led into a parlor.
Father considered a moment, forced a polite smile, then stood and followed.
The parlor was four times the size of the dining room. Rustic leather furniture, Persian rugs, shelves filled with antique paper books. When the doors were closed behind them Father said, "You have ten seconds to explain yourself."
"You launched drones at the Formic mothership. You need to recall them. I have people there now."
Father showed no surprise. "I know about Victor and Imala, Lem. And I'm not recalling the drones."
It took a moment for Lem to find words. "You know about them? And you're going to let them die?"
"They died the moment they launched, son. They're taking on an alien ship with tech far greater than anything the human mind has ever conceived. Victor is eighteen years old, practically a child. Imala's an auditor. These aren't soldiers, Lem."
"Victor is intelligent, Father. He's resourceful."
"Simona is resourceful. A three-legged dog is resourceful. That doesn't mean we should launch them into space and expect them to defeat an army. Victor has a personal vendetta against us. Imala Bootstamp is no better. She threw away her career to go to war against me. And you want to protect these people?"
"Does it matter who they are if they defeat the Formics?"
Father laughed. "Do you honestly think that's even possible? They're fools if they think they can take out that ship, and you're a bigger fool for believing them."
"At least let them try. What have we got to lose?"
Father looked incredulous. "Do you watch the news, Lem? Are you even aware of what's going on in the world? People are dying by the millions. Old, young, women, children. They're hit with the Formic gases, and their flesh melts off their bones. Guangzhou, Foshan, all along southeast China. How long do you want me to wait exactly? Because every second I do, for every minute I keep those drones waiting, more people are going to die. Scientists, doctors, engineers, people a hell of a lot more resourceful than Victor Delgado. Is that what you're proposing to me? That I sit back and let that happen, let thousands and maybe tens of thousands of people on Earth die so I can give more time to two people who have no chance of getting out of that Formic ship alive anyway? Is that what you're suggesting? Am I reading your logic right? Because if so, than I wasted a hell of a lot of money on your education, because that's bad math. Two people are not greater than thousands."
Lem said nothing.
Ukko exhaled and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm proud of you for taking the initiative, son. You had good intentions. But this problem is bigger than you think."
"I know how big the problem is, Father. And saving Victor and Imala isn't the only reason why I'm here. The glaser is unstable. You can't fire it this close to Earth."
Father rolled his eyes. "This again."
"Benyawe has seen the schematics. The design is flawed. Blowing up Earth won't exactly save us from the Formics."
Father was suddenly angry. "Do you take me for a fool, Lem? Do you have such a low impression of my intelligence that you think I would not take precautions? If one of the glasers were to misfire, we would terminate the drone from our position here on Luna. They're not on preprogrammed flights. We control them here."
"The misfires aren't the real problem," said Lem. "It's the well-aimed firings I'm worried about. We have no idea what will happen if we hit the Formic ship. It has mass. The resultant gravity field will expand outward exponentially, consuming everything in its path. I saw it happen. We blasted an asteroid in the Kuiper Belt much smaller than the Formic ship, and the subsequent gravity field grew so fast and so large that it nearly consumed our ship and killed us all. The Formic ship will likely react the same way. If you hit it with fifty glasers, it could create a gravity field that reaches Earth and rips the planet apart."
"You're describing highly unlikely probabilities, Lem. You're pulling at straws."
"Talk to Dr. Benyawe if you don't believe me. Or to Dublin. Get their opinion, if you don't want mine."
Father was quiet a moment. "Are you finished? Because I have a meeting to return to."
He wasn't going to abort, Lem realized. He was going to do what he always did, ignore anyone who disagreed with him.