Mist poured from the nearest open crypt as the warm moist air of the room struck the cold steel inside. A huge arm rose out of the mist and gripped the edge of the crypt, followed by a massive body. Hercules had huge biceps and legs like tree-trunks, but he was short and squat; this creature seemed just as powerful but was head and shoulders taller. His skin was pink and covered with tiny brown spots; his hair was curly and red as fire, and adorned not only his head, but his lower face and indeed most of his body. His eyes were round, and as green as jungle foliage, dappled with bits of gold like sunlight on leaves. He glanced about in some confusion, and his eyes narrowed as he saw the Argonauts. In spite of their heroic pretensions, they stepped back instinctively as the creature rose to its full height. But he turned away from them and gave his huge hand to help the tiny creature next to him.
She was a kind of dwarf, apparently, with a body no larger than a child's, though the grey hair revealed her to be old: so old, in fact, that her skin was lined and brittle like ancient parchment, and had a yellow cast to it, as if she had been sitting on a library shelf for generations. Her eyes were not round, like the giant's, but folded as naturally as those of the Argonauts, except that the fold was so pronounced as to render her eyes little more than slits. She peered at the Argonauts and a quizzical little smile appeared; her black pupils sparkled like stars, and she looked up at the red giant, who shrugged his great shoulders and spread his huge hands.
Sleeping Beauty stepped out of the mist behind them like Venus from the sea. Her naked body was perfect, though she was tall--taller than Atalanta--and her skin was so pale as to be almost white. Her hair was the colour of ashes, and her eyes were as blue as ice. She glanced at the Argonauts, seeming to puzzle over each in turn, and then strode to the nearest console and began tapping on the keyboard with quick and efficient movements, oblivious to her nakedness.
The Argonauts shrank back in fright as the next Earthborn Man rose from his sleep, like a genie called forth from magical confinement. He was so tall as to tower over the red giant, and his long limbs and torso were as thin and wiry as those of an antelope. His head and body were entirely hairless, and his skin was as black as night.
He was joined by the last and most bizarre of these strange creatures: some sort of hermaphroditic warrior. In her nakedness, she was obviously female, but her legs, arms, and torso rippled with muscles as hard as those of Hercules. She lacked hair on most of her body, but her head seemed cloaked in fur--streaked like that of a jungle cat. Her skin was bronze in colour and covered in pictures and designs that seemed to be dyed in the skin rather than simply painted on. She looked at the Argonauts and laughed out loud, showing her white teeth in a broad grin and a dancing sparkle in her deep brown eyes. A tiny cross on a golden chain danced between her hard breasts.
For a moment there was silence, the Argonauts feeling like children under the gaze of the red giant, the ancient dwarf, the ice-maiden, the black genie, and the illustrated Amazon. The goddesses were ignored and waited patiently, as if for orders. Then the Earthborn Men began to speak. The dwarf pronounced a series of words, and the others responded, each in a different occult and incomprehensible language. Orpheus marvelled at the sounds.
"Federova!"
"Zdyes, Kapitan," the ice-queen said over her shoulder as she peered at the screen before her.
"Sanchez!"
"Acqui, Capitan," replied the Amazon.
"Hassan!"
"Houna, Qabtaan," the genie snapped.
"Davis!"
"Here, Captain." When the red giant spoke in the Argonauts' language, the heroes exchanged startled glances. The movement was not lost on the giant, and he strode toward them, covering the distance with threatening speed, and obviously perfectly at home in the crushing gravity, despite having just been awakened from a sleep of the gods knew how long. Instinctively, Jason and Atalanta drew their arrows to the head, and the giant stopped. The Amazon and the genie stepped up beside him and all three of the formidable creatures peered at their awakeners.
"They seem to understand English, Captain Wang," the one called Davis thundered. The diminutive Captain Wang was beside Federova at the terminal, peering at the screen.
"Who are you?" the black one demanded in a powerful voice, deep, but with a soothing lilt. "How did you get in here? Where are the medics?" He glanced down at their brief clothing and primitive weapons. "And why are you dressed like that?"
Atalanta shrank back. Somehow, even though these creatures were naked, she felt vulnerable. She was not used to being intimidated by either males or females, but both these huge men and the muscular woman made her feel small and defenceless.
"I think they're Belters, Doctor," the Amazon named Sanchez said to the genie named Hassan. "From long-time Belter families, I’d say, judging by the musculature."
"We are the Argonauts," Jason said, drawing himself up. "I am Jason. This is Atalanta, Hercules, and Orpheus. And this girl, whom we call Medea, led us to you. You are the Earthborn Men, I presume."
"Hecate!" To hear a goddess being addressed in such a peremptory manner was shocking. The giant Davis turned to the goddesses’ wavering image. "Why have proper revival procedures not been followed? The medical crew should have been in attendance. Instead, we find these children playing some kind of game. The captain will want to speak to the highest-ranking member of the revived crew at once."
Hecate seemed indecisive. Her image wavered at the edges. "I’m afraid that will not be possible, Mr. Davis," she stuttered. "At the moment, you five are the entire crew."
"Selene, what’s going on?" Captain Wang asked. She did not sound old; she sounded vigorous and used to command.
Selene began to flicker, as if desiring to escape by vanishing. "The crew, Captain, is... They are no longer... I’m afraid there has been no crew for some considerable time."
Davis’s eyes flicked to the open door. He strode toward it, and Doctor Hassan passed him on his long legs.
"Hecate, illuminate cryo-chamber three."
The great room suddenly blazed with light, revealing the rows of skeletons in their berths. The Argonauts would not have believed that any sight could stagger such men, but they fell back as if struck by clubs.
"Jesus Christ!"
"Merciful Allah!"
The one called Sanchez darted after them, and at the sight of the dead ones, she performed a ritual with her right hand, quickly touching her forehead, stomach, and breasts. When Federova left her console and came up behind her, Sanchez turned swiftly and blocked her way, forcing the beauty back with her powerful arms.
"They’re all dead, Nadia. We need to know why." She turned her around gently and pushed her back toward her console. The icy beauty seemed stunned and uncomprehending. She tapped the keys. "No life-signs anywhere in cryogenics. Medical section is empty. Apparently, the medical crew were revived first, according to protocol, but then they failed to awaken the officers. The rest...died in their sleep. Security section is still frozen, but there are no signs of life. Perhaps Doctor Hassan can determine cause of...death from their remains."
"Hecate," Doctor Hassan said, turning and striding back into the room. "What happened here?"
"It was a plague, Doctor, caused by a virus found naturally in a hibernating sloth-like creature we brought back from Tau Ceti. It had an extremely long incubation period and was not detected until it had mutated during the journey. It struck the medical team quickly after their revival and spread to the sleepers, unaffected by cryogenic temperatures. The only survivors were three naturally immune individuals: one adolescent boy and two young girls, who were successfully revived before the medical crew succumbed..."
The captain turned toward the girl with the Argonauts. "Three? But there are five here."
"Jason and his crew are visitors, Captain. The girl is a descendant of the original survivors, who passed on their immunity. Her people live in..."
"Descendant!" The captain whirled to face the Argonauts. "What year is this?"
Orpheus stammered. "One hundred thirty, Captain Wang. Sir. Ma’am."
"One hundred thirty! One hundred thirty after what?"
"After the first Olympiad."
"The first Olympiad!"
"Santa Maria!" said Sanchez.
Captain Wang turned to Artemis. "Precisely how long have we been in solar orbit, Artemis?"
"Two hundred and seven Earth-years, Captain."
"Name of Allah!"
"And in all that time, there has been no medical help? No one has come here but these young people, who don’t even have the most basic quarantine gear?"
Artemis began to break up. Her speech became garbled. Federova managed to keep her together by a frantic tapping of keys. "Too traumatic for her, Captain," she said. "Artemis, recognize my voice."
"I recognize your voice, Professor Federova."
"Disengage higher functions."
"Yes, Professor." Artemis’ voice had changed. It was flat, dull, matter of fact in tone.
"Artemis Memory," the captain said, "please explain why there has been no contact with this ship in two hundred and seven years."
"Yes, Captain. Some members of the medical crew panicked upon discovering the nature of the plague, stole a life-ship, and fled. Before dying, they passed on the plague to a Belter colony, where it was in turn passed on to a freighter bound for Earth, with stops at Luna and the LaGrange colonies." The Earthborn men listened in stunned silence as the voice droned on, devoid of all emotion. "Extensive quarantine restrictions were implemented everywhere by the artificial intelligences in charge of the various colonies throughout the solar system. Space travel ceased to exist in short order. This included robotic craft as well, as most robots suffered first-law trauma in the face of human death on such a scale. The programming conflict involved in protecting human life by refusing to save others could not be reconciled.
"The population of the Belt has somewhat recovered in the last century, from what we gather from the radio-chatter among the island computers. They have managed to model a simple civilization of orbiting city-states based on a classical mythology pattern, perhaps inspired by the classical names of nearby planetary bodies. Lately there has been some trade and a little piracy using ancient Olympic racing-yachts like the one which brought Jason and his crew. Several voyages to the Aries have been attempted, but this is the first to succeed." Artemis fell silent, the question answered to her satisfaction.
Federova fainted dead away, and Hassan caught her before she could fall. Most of the others sat down unceremoniously on the floor and stared into space.
***
Jason appeared at the door of Captain Wang’s office, where Orpheus was busy transferring the information in his lyre to Wang’s computer. "Will Professor Federova be all right?" he asked.
"Oh yes. Davis and the Doctor are taking care of her," Captain Wang replied. "Hassan is the finest doctor..." She gave a wry smile. "Well, he's the only doctor, actually. She's taken this a little harder than the rest of us. She's as delicate as she is brilliant. But we'll put her to work re-programming Athena for you; that should do the trick."
"Athena's madness can be cured, then?" Orpheus asked.
"Certainly. It's only a matter of removing selected memories, and re-constructing some areas damaged by first-law conflict. I wish the same could be said of the rest of us. Doctor Hassan will be kept busy by his first patient--he should have Tiphys fitted with new eyes pretty soon--and Medea’s people are badly in need of nutrition and medical care. Davis has the Aries to be put back in running order again. But he says we have no fuel to speak of, and Hassan tells me we can barely keep life support functioning. The nearest fuel depot, if it still exists, would have to be in Jovian orbit, and the Aries is nowhere near..."
"Name of Apollo!"
Wang and Jason looked at Orpheus in surprise. "What is it?"
Orpheus laughed. "This is the most successful voyage in Belter history. Captain Wang, I propose a corporate merger: your crew and Jason's, each of us to be a shareholder, with assets consisting of two ships, and the combined data of my lyre and your memory banks. I propose two voyages: the first to Jupiter in the Argo, in search of the fuel you mention, and the second to be a mission throughout the solar system, in the Aries, in which we will trade knowledge for the materials needed to repair the ship, the personnel needed to run her at full capacity, and a decent and seemly profit for all concerned, with due regard of course for the humanitarian nature of your original mission. Your officers, Captain Wang, are trained to explore solar systems. Here is one that badly needs exploring."
The captain laughed out loud. "You really are Belters, aren’t you? Well, I guess I must accept your proposal."
Orpheus raised his lyre. "Thus it was," he spoke into the instrument, "that the Argo set sail again across the Black Sea, with a combined crew of Argonauts and Earthborn Men, the awakening of whom turned out to be only the beginning and not the end of her journey."