1 Year Ago

"I made it!"

Arjun Wagner grinned through the T-phone's flawless video window at his parents, who beamed back at him.

"You made it!" exclaimed his mother. It was half a question.

"I'm in!" Wagner confirmed "I've been accepted into the Huxley Foundation. Top marks. Qualified in both Science and Engineering."

"That's amazing," said his mother "I'm shaking. I have to sit down.

"Not even one percent of one percent of candidates are accepted," said Wagner "I wanted it so bad but I didn't dare hope."

"I never doubted it for a minute," said his mother "Not for one standard minute. You were always a smart baby."

"We both couldn't be prouder," added his father.

"Do you know what division you're going to be in?" his mother asked.

"They let me choose!" enthused Wagner "I'm going into exploration division. On a starship, an Armstrong-class Cruiser. Just like from the old days of the Foundation. You should hear the people in exploration division talk, it's magnificent. It's going to be a new era, they say. We're going to reunite humanity in the spirit of peace and cooperation. It's really overwhelming."

"I'm so proud of you," said Wagner's mother.

Both his parents were tearing up.

"You're going to be a great success over there, I just know it," said his father.

"As long as your superior officer has half an eye for talent you'll be running your own department in a few years."

* * *

"Here I am, for this command performance. What is so pressing that it must be discussed in a pocket dimension during the time I have carefully rationed for my beauty sleep?" asked Dr. Kang.

"Heliodore," Dr. Dresden greeted him "I see you brought your concubine."

"Dr. Dresden," said McAfree "Charming as ever."

"She is perfectly entitled to be here," said Dr. Kang "I am hoping that point of order marks the end of this tedious social exchange."

"This is not a meeting of the Council," said Dr. Dresden "I decide who is invited to my private little conspiracy. But she's here now and I'm too busy to kill her so I guess she's in."

"Now that is interesting," said Dr. Kang.

"Let's hear it then, Dr. Dresden," said Dr. Sheikh "What did you want to discuss?"

"Hear hear!" added Dr. Egorov.

"Dr. Po and Dr. Mujuru," said Dr. Dresden "They have become an unacceptable impediment to Project Apotheosis. Their minds are strangled by sentimentality and this cannot be indulged forever. This is the most important project in the history of our species. We cannot let them delay us in it any longer. It is time to take matters into our own hands."

"You propose we kill them, then," said Dr. Sheikh.

"I was hoping to express the thought more tactfully, but yes," said Dr. Dresden.

"We're going to kill two of the greatest minds in the history of human civilization over a political dispute?" asked Dr. Kang, incredulous.

"Yes," replied Dr. Dresden.

"Just checking," said Dr. Kang.

* * *

"You can believe whatever you like," Dr. Kang told Dr. Po, through a T-phone window "The fact remains that I am telling you the truth. You need to go underground and you need to do so now. We both know what Dr. Dresden is capable of."

"Hmph," said Dr. Po "If this proves to be something other than an ungentlemanly prank I owe you my thanks."

"Goodbye," said Dr. Kang.

He closed the window with a wave of his hand and slumped down into the chair beside McAfree's. 

"There," said Dr. Kang "It's done."

"Well this is a fine mess you've gotten us into," said McAfree, leaning over the back of her chair towards her mentor.

"If you want to join up with the murder everyone faction I'm sure they'll still have you," replied Dr. Kang.

"Fine," said McAfree "So you've called my bluff. What do we do now?"

"We get as far away from Mars as humanly possible, that's what we do," said Dr. Kang "And we make sure we keep moving so it is as inconvenient as possible to pin us down. We are now the enemy of the second most powerful group in the galaxy."

"The second?" asked McAfree

"Our group has me," said Dr Kang.

McAfree put her face into the palms of both hands. One hand just didn't seem sufficient.

"There happens to be a faction of naivety extremists within the middle management of the Foundation that is assembling a fleet of exploratory vessels to go bring potpourri and starlight to the barbarians on the periphery," said Dr. Kang "This is our most viable option. We'll sign onto an exploration ship. Something captained by somesuch idealist fool of the kind the hoi polloi worship, like Zarathustra Crumb or even better Alexandria Littlecrow. Someone who they couldn't just vaporize without a public inquiry."

"A starship? In the periphery? I can't imagine anything more dreadful."

"It is going to be an unimaginable sacrifice," agreed Dr. Kang.

* * *

Captain Littlecrow silently observed Dr. Kang for several minutes before she spoke.

"This is all very hard to believe."

"I can only cite my 100% track record of always being right about everything," said Dr. Kang.

"So if this is all true why are they coming for you now, and not a year ago?" asked the Captain.

"The stars aligned and an opportunity presented itself?" Dr. Kang said, giving a rare shrug "It's impossible to say without information it would be far too dangerous to obtain.

Littlecrow rose from her seat.

"I need to speak to the rest of the command crew," she said "I'll get back to you."