When they got back to thinking about such things, Solar System scientists could barely contain their excitement about the new phenomenon. The most amazing thing was that this HX had simply blipped in from out of nowhere—no alien around the Altair Sphere or the Tea Garden had ever done that, and despite the overwhelming evidence of its simply being there when it wasn't before, some very respectable physicists for a while were still denying what we had seen was possible.
Radio telescopes heard a lot of chatter from it, and the chatter was complex and alien, and obviously very different from the chatter around either known sphere, although it was too weak to decipher fully. Nevertheless, the linguists and communication analysts concluded the new HX either carried an ecosystem inside or was accompanied by one.
Even our best visible light telescopes using the latest HX-derived technology couldn't see more than a point of light. But spectral analysis showed that its surface was not a rocky silicate skeleton; it had a covering. Doppler analysis found motion, possibly that of ships flying around the HX, or its surface moving, or both. Over many months, observations made clear that this might be Old Bomorov’s dream come fully true! What had previously been considered a pretty wild theory now looked a lot more sane: This HX could very well be a live one—a real live one!
The burning question for the Solar System then became whether humans would become part of this new ecosystem.
As the debate heated up, our two families split—ideologically, socially, and physically. Earth was once again the home base for xenophobes and HX technophobes while the colonies, and Titan Colony especially, responded by becoming more HX technophile. The main problem for us with this was: Sherry and I still loved each other, and Yanci and I were still good buddies!
Despite our somewhat different ages, we had all tested into senior year at Palau High, and graduated. So we were ready for college.
We were still very much in contact, and decided to get physically close by going to a medium-sized neutral-ground school, Hubble University on Mars. Martians weren’t Earthers, but Earth had always considered them different from the rest of the colonies, and their aid during the Recovery reinforced that attitude. All the other Colonials considered Mars a fellow colony, even though it was huge compared to theirs. On the HX issue, the Martians played it smart. For the last century and more Mars had respectfully observed the varying Earth embargos on HX technology, but was also quite willing to move HX technology windfalls to the other colonies.
So while Hubble wasn’t first on either family’s list, both families gave their blessings when we applied and got accepted.
We were the Gang of Three at Hubble U, and we planned to share our future lives as scientists. But the world of 2538 had a different idea, even in our first year there, as I thought of it. (Of course Mars academic periods, called “seasons”, run half a Mars year, about 343 Earth days or 334 Mars days, with a few weeks off between and within seasons. We could expect our bachelor’s degrees four seasons later if all went well.)
* * *
The crisis started when Titan Colony announced it was building a starship to go visit the new HX. Titan Colony’s CEO, Pauline Hountondji, issued a statement. The summary read:
“We have studied the HX near Sirius intensively for a few years now.” As usual with Titaners, she meant Earth-years, though she would have called them System-standard years. “It seems clear that the amazing treasures we’ve been pulling from the Altair Sphere and the Tea Garden are only the dregs of their riches and technology. There must be treasure at this live HX that is beyond our reckoning.
“If we, the human race, are to grow and thrive in this galaxy, if we are to survive at all in the face of future cosmic catastrophes such as the HX Blip, we need more. We need to visit this live HX, and Titan Colony will begin building a starship to do so. We invite help from the rest of the Solar System, and we specifically invite our fellow humans on Earth to join with us to share this new great adventure and its rewards.”
The average person on Earth was flabbergasted. A starship! Until then, virtually all interstellar ships had been financed by Earth or Mars. (Only history wonks like me remembered that one of the first ships to reach the Altair Sphere had been Mercury-flagged. But then, we wonks all knew that it had been Earth-financed. And that its sister Belter ship had been very much a one-time thing.)
So the idea that Titan Colony had that kind of resources—ignoring that their invitation to the rest of the System was really in the nature of a plea—was a boon to the HX technophobes. “If Titanians have that kind of wealth, why aren’t they using it to help the poor on Earth? What those greedy bastards saved by letting Mars help handle our Recovery is going to this boondoggle? Titan Colony wouldn’t even be there if it weren’t for a century of Earth investment! That’s gratitude for you!”
The technophobes didn’t bother to listen when Hountondji retorted, “We helped the Belt and all the Outer Colonies during the Recovery when Earth couldn’t. Those people would have starved or frozen if they’d had to rely on Earth support.
“And our ‘great wealth’, as you call it, comes from adapting HX technology, which we have always been willing to share with you.”
The xenophobes had a different argument against the project. “We’ve already had one alien invasion, obviously connected with human presence at the Altair Sphere,” they said, although the xenologists insisted there was no clear evidence for that last point. “What if some alien race ten times as bad as the R-10s follows the starship home?”
Between them, the two arguments had enough force with many Earthers to precipitate the Second Siege of Titan.