He held out his hand quickly as she slipped, once.
уBut theyтll beat it!ф said Riki in a sort of angry pride. уTheyтre starting to build more landing-grids, back home. Hundreds of them! Not for ships to land by, but to draw power from the ionosphere! They figure that one ship-size grid can keep nearly three square miles of ground warm enough to live on! Theyтll roof over the streets of cities. Then theyтll plant food-crops in the streets and gardens, and do what hydroponic growing they can. They are afraid they canтt do it fast enough to save everybody, but theyтll try!ф
Massy clenched his hands inside their bulky mittens.
уWell?ф demanded Riki. уWonтt that do the trick?ф
Massy said: уNo.ф
уWhy not?ф she demanded.
уI just took readings on the grid, here. The voltage and the conductivity, of the layer we draw power from, both depend on ionization. When the intensity of sunlight drops, the voltage drops and the conductivity drops, too. Itтs harder for less power to flow to the area the grid can tapўand the voltage-pressure is lower to drive it.ф
уDonтt say any more!ф cried Riki. уNot another word!"
Massy was silent. They went down the last small slope. They passed the opening of the mineўthe great drift which bored straight into the mountain. They could look into it. They saw the twin rows of brilliant roof-lights going toward the heart of the stony monster.
They had almost reached the village when Riki saidin a stifled voice:
уHow bad is it?ф
уVery,ф admitted Massy. уWe have here the conditions the home planet will have in two hundred days. Originally we could draw less than a fifth the power they count on from a grid on Lani II.ф
Riki ground her teeth.
уGo on!ф she said challengingly.
уIonization here,is down ten per cent,ф said Massy. уThat means the voltage is downўsomewhat more. A great deal more. And the resistance of the layer is greater. Very much greater. When they need power most, on the home planet, they wonтt draw more from a grid than we do now. It wonтt be enough.ф
They reached the village. There were steps to the cold-lock of Herndonтs office-hull. They were ice-free, because like the village walk-ways they were warmed to keep frost from depositing on them. Massy made a mental note.
In the cold-lock, the warm air pouring in wasт almost stifling. Riki said defiantly:
уYou might as well tell me now!ф
╬We could draw one-fifth as much power, here, as the same-size grid would yield on your home world,фhe said grimly. уWe are drawingўcall it sixty per cent of normal. A shade over one-tenth of what they must expect to draw when the real cold hits them. But their estimates are nine times too high.ф He said heavily, уOne grid wonтt warm three square miles of city. About a third of one is closer. Butўф
уThat wonтt be the worst!ф said Rild in a choked voice. уIs that right? How much good will a grid do?ф
Massy did not answer.
The inner cold-lock doOr opened. Herndon sat at his desk, even paler than before, listening to the hash of noises that came out of the speaker. He tapped on the desktop, quite unconscious of the action. He looked almost desperately at Massy.
уDid she . . . tell you?ф he asked in a numb voice.уThey hope to save maybe half the population. All the children, anyhowўф
уThey wonтt,ф said Rild bitterly.
уBetter go transcribe the new stuff thatтs come in,ф said her brother dully. уWe might as well know what it says.ф
Riki went out of the office. Massy laboriously shed his cold-garments. He said uncomfortably:
уThe rest of the colony doesnтt know whatтs up yet. The operator at the grid didnтt, certainly. But they have to know.ф
уWeтll post the message on the bulletin board,ф said Herndon apathetically. уI wish I could -keep it from them. Itтs not fun to live with. I . . . might as well not tell them just yet.т
уTo the contrary,ф insisted Massy. уTheyтve got to know right away! Youтre going to issue orders and theyтll need to understand how urgent they are!ф
Herndon looked absolutely hopeless.
уWhatтs the good of doing anything?ф When Massy frowned, he added as if exhausted: уSeriously, is there any use? Youтre all right. A Survey shipтs due to take you away. Itтs not coming because they know thereтs something wrong, but because your job should be finished about now. But it canтt do any good! It would be insane for it to land at home. It couldnтt carry away more than a few dozen refugees, and there are twenty million people whoтre going to die. It might offer to take some of us. But . . . I donтt think many of, us would go. I wouldnтt. I donтt think Riki would.ф
уI donтt seeўф
уWhat weтve got right here,ф said Herndon, уis what theyтre going to have back home. And worse. But thereтs no chance for us to keep alive here! You are the one who pointed it out! Iтve been figuring, and the way the solar-constant curve is going. I plotted it from the figures they gave usўit couldnтt possibly level out until the oxygen, anyhow, is frozen out of the atmosphere here. We arenтt equipped to stand anything like that, and we canтt get equipped. There couldnтt be equipment to let us stand it indefinitely! Anyhow, the maximum cold conditions will last two thousand days back homeўsix Earth-years. And thereтll be storage of cold in frozen oceans and piled-up glaciers. Itтll be twenty years before home will be back to normal in temperature, and the same here. Is there any point in trying to liveўjust barely to surviveўfor twenty years before thereтll be a habitable planet to go back to?ф
Massy said irritably:
уDonтt be a fool! Doesnтt it occur to you that this planet is a perfect experiment-station, two hundred days ahead of the home world, where ways to beat tbe whole business can be tried? If we can beat it here, they can beat it there!ф
Herndon said detachedly:
уCan you name one thing to try here?ф
уYes,ф snapped Massy. уI want the walk-heaters and the step-heaters outside turned off. They use power to keep walkways clear of frost and doorsteps not slippery. I want to save that heat!ф
Herndon said without interest:
уAnd when youтve saved it, what will you do with it?ф
уPut it underground to be used as needed!ф Massy said angrily. уStore it in the mine! I want to put every heating-device we can contrive to work in the mine! To heat the rock! I want to draw every watt the grid will yield and warm up the inside of the mountain while we can draw power to do it with! I-want the deepest part of the mine too hot to enter! Weтll lose a lot of heat, of course. Itтs not like storing electric power! But we can store heat now, and the more we store the more will be left when we need it!ф
Herndon thought heavily. Presently he stirred slightly.
уDo you know, that is an ideaўф He looked up. уBack home there was a shale-oil deposit up near the icecaps. It wasnтt economical to mine it. So they put beaters down in bore-holes and heated up the wholeshale deposit! Drill-holes let out the hot oil vapors to be condensed. They got out every bit of oil without disturbing the shale! And then . . . why . . . the shale stayed warm for years. Farmers bulldozed soil over it and raised crops with glaciers all around them! That could be done again. They could be storing up heat back home!ф
Thea be drooped.
уBut they canтt spare power to warm up the ground under cities. They need all the power theyтve got to build roofs. And it takes time to build grids.ф
Massy snapped:
уYes, if theyтre building regulation ones! ╬By the time they were finished theyтd be useless! The ionization here is dropping already. But they donтt need to build grids that will be useless later! They can -weave cables together on the ground and hang them in the air by helicopters! They wouldnтt hold up a landing ship for an instant, but theyтll draw power right away! Theyтll even power the helis that hold them up! Of course theyтve defects! Theyтll have to come down in high winds. They wonтt be dependable. But,they can put heat inthe ground to come out under roofs, to grow food by, to save lives by. Whatтs the matter with them?ф
Herndon stirred again. His eyes ceased to be dull and lifeless.
уIтll give the orders for turning off the sidewalks. And Iтll send what you just said back home. They should like it.ф
He looked very respectfully at Massy.
