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."It's here and it's everywhere else at the same time.It would, of course, bedistorted by other bodies, but it reaches the far end of the universe, eventhough its strength diminishes with distance.""It's quite a jump from here to the home planets," Iain said."If somethingdown there did influence you two over that distance, was it using thegravitational waves of the planet as a carrier band, for lack of a betterdescription?"Vinn shrugged."Could be, but that doesn't explain how it could pinpoint oneindividual out of billions.""Why don't we leave the answers to that to the boffins?" Pete asked."Are we agreed that there's something alive down there?""That depends on your definition of life," Vinn said.He didn't elaborate, buthe had begun to form a definite idea about the nature of the intelligence thatinhabited the ice planet.The others were silent, waiting."My bet is that it can't touch us up here," Pete said."I think Mom andPop Webster got excited when they recorded all of the metallic readings andlanded on the surface where they could be affected.""I can buy that," Vinn said."I can also accept the premise that David andRuth Webster were lured down to the surface by the discovery of their parents'ship, but Joshua Webster was Service, making it difficult to explain why hewas down there where it or they could get at him."Page 84 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html"It reaches into the mind," Sarah said."If it can reach into the mind," Pete said, "it can communicate with us." Hewinked at Iain."I'd like to talk with it about the manipulation of gravity.Why don't we try to open a dialogue?""What do you suggest?" Iain asked."So far it's been ignoring us.Let's see if we can't force some kind of areaction," Pete said."Iain, fire up the laser and cut the communication linesbetween a couple of those icing units.""You're forgetting theErin Kenner," Vinn said."Apparently she used force, blasting a few of the units.Did heruse of force provoke greater force in return?""I am in agreement with the idea that if it could kill us while we're in spaceit would have done so already," Pete said."Let's give my suggestion a try."Vinn remembered Sheba's smile, the smell of her, the soft and warm feel of herin his arms.He nodded.A laser beam lashed down and, like a surgical scalpel, slashed a narrow, deepcut into the ice directly over one of the connecting lines of force.Iain, atweapons control, monitored his sensors alertly."Ah, ha," Pete said, for instantly the intensity of the lines of forceconnecting the two separated units to others were reinforced as power wasincreased to bypass the severed line."Isolate that one unit," Pete said.The beam flashed down, one, two, three times.One unit was completely cut offfrom all others.Within minutes a film of melt water appeared in the affectedarea as the sun's energy was absorbed by the ice."Kara," Iain said, his voice tense, "stand by for maneuver.Program a blinkand stand by.""Got it," Kara said, obeying without question."You wanted a response, boss," Iain said."Take a look at screen two."No less than half a dozen ships were lifting from the surface of the planetfrom different locations."Life search, Kara," Iain ordered."Negative, negative," Kara said, a few seconds later."You're not going tobelieve this.Those ships have hydrogen fusion engines.""Damned small plants, then," Vinn said."They must take up most of the roomaboard.""Room for a few of those," Iain said, as a shower of missiles were launchedfrom the climbing ships."Can you handle all of those?" Vinn asked nervously."Sure.It's just a matter of whether we want to blast them or evade them,"Iain said."If that's all our friend down there has, its weaponry doesn'tmatch the feat of deep freezing a whole world.I can take the missiles out orblink away and let them blast on into empty space.""And the ships?" Pete asked."I think that we can safely assume that they're hostile," Iain said."I think so," Pete said."I'm going to take one out," Iain said.The long-range saffer beam exploded into brilliance as it entered the planet'sthin atmosphere, but the flare of destruction as it contacted the leadingattacker was brighter."I think that it's time you gave your attention to the missiles," Kara said."If they carry nuclear warheads and that seems logical since they're using afusion power plant we don't need to have them being detonated anywherenearby.""Got you," Iain said, and for the next forty seconds the ship shivered andPage 85 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlrocked with the launching of counter missiles.Below, in the thin atmosphere,flowers of destruction blossomed."Shields up," Kara said, as a glow of light came from a ship that was stillclimbing out of the planet's gravity well."Laser?" Vinn asked."Limited range," Iain said."I'm going to have to take out the other shipsbefore they get closer
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