Download the Book - Islam and Science Fiction

would come around, and did not want to ruin things for him
unnecessarily.
Finally, one day Dr. Kammholtz emerged from his cloistered
office suite with a grin on his face so wide it must have hurt. He
gathered us together in the main auditorium and announced that he
had just confirmed the scheduling of a one-year starship expedition, to
occur in twenty-six months. We had barely enough time to prepare.
As soon as the announcement was made, I slipped away to inform
Jamil. He smiled quietly as I told him the news.
"Sir," I asked cautiously, "if some of us have an opportunity to
fly on the starship, would that interfere with our work for Shia Ali?"
His expression grew serious. "That will not interfere with our
plans. Now listen carefully ... it would not be wise to speculate about
your real mission for now. Don't do it, and don't encourage your
teammates to do it. For now, be satisfied that you are all doing
extremely well, and that everything is on track."
"So we continue as we have been?"
"Absolutely. Do your jobs the best way you know how, and
become invaluable to their efforts. The rest will come in time, God
willing."
I returned to the dormitory at the observatory brimming with
excitement, and found virtually everyone feeling the same, even Zeid.
He, Faysal, and I got together in my quarters that evening for dinner,
and there was no way I could keep the conversation from turning to
the topic on our minds.
"What did Al-Hariri have to say?" Faysal asked.
"That we are to carry on as we have been," I replied. "We're
doing good work, and our plans are on track."
"Nothing about our real mission?" Zeid asked.
"That will come in time."
"I'll tell you what our mission is," Faysal blurted. "We take the
starship."
That had occurred to me, but the likelihood of getting enough of
a team on board seemed remote.
Zeid's eyes grew wide. "Why?" he asked with alarm.
"Power," Faysal replied. "Power and prestige."
"Enough careless speculation," I cautioned. "The odds are too
long. What would we do with a starship, anyway?"
"What would we do with nukes?" Faysal replied, a gleam in his
eye.
"Good question," Zeid challenged, eyeing Faysal suspiciously.
"What would we do with nuclear weapons? What are you telling us?"
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