kness. Vision toppled endlessly
outward, toward the far mysterious shimmer of the Andromeda Nebula;
silence was not a mere absence of noise, but a majestic presence, the
seething of suns.

"What about the observation terrace at Leyburg?" Gilbertson
challenged.

"That was different," Ellen Ziska said. "Everything was safe and
civilized. This is like being on the edge of creation."

Blades could see why Goddard House had so long resisted the inclusion of
female officers on ships of the line, despite political pressure at home
and the Russian example abroad. He was glad they'd finally given in. Now
if only he could build himself up as a dashing, romantic type ... But how
long would the _Altair_ stay? Her stopover seemed quite extended already,
for a casual visit in the course of a routine patrol cruise. He'd have to
work fast.

"Yes, we are pretty isolated," he said. "The Jupiter ships just unload
their balloons, pick up the empties, and head right back for another
cargo."

"I don't understand how you can found an industry here, when your raw
materials only arrive at conjunction," Ellen said.

"Things will be different once we're in full operation," Blades
assured her. "Then we'll be doing enough business to pay for a steady
input, transshipped from whatever depot is nearest Jupiter at any
given time."

"You've actually built this simply to process ... gas?" Gilbertson
interposed. Blades didn't know whether he was being sarcastic or
asking a genuine question. It was astonishing how ignorant
Earthsiders, even space-traveling Earthsiders, often were about such
matters.

"Jovian gas is rich stuff," he explained. "Chiefly hydrogen and
helium, of course; but the scoopships separate out most of that during
a pickup. The rest is ammonia, water, methane, a dozen important
organics, including some of the damn ... doggonedest metallic
complexes you ever heard of. We need them as the basis of a
chemosynthetic industry, which we need for survival, which we need if
we're to get the minerals that were the reason for colonizing the Belt
in the first place." He waved his hand at the sky. "When we really get
going, we'll attract settlement. This asteroid has companions, waiting
for people to come and mine them. Homeships and orbital stations will
be built. In ten years there'll be quite a little city clustered
around the Sword."

"It's happened before," nodded tight-faced Commander Warburton of
Gunnery Control.

"It's going