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He got stopped three times as he made his way across the ballroom, people he now knew as well as his own family, all saying their goodbyes. He disengaged as quickly from each teary farewell as politely as he could. Anjula was putting on her coat when he reached her.

 

"Hey there, former wife," he said, the way he often did. "Hey there, former husband."

"Taking off?"

"Yeah. Traveling early tomorrow."

"Let me walk you out."

They passed into the hotel lobby, a fantasy of black tile and fluted columns with a wide fountain along one wall. Megan Lee from the engineering team waved from across the room, looking wistful. Gabriel Hu, head of their data operations team, was sprawled on one of the couches, grinning drunkenly at everyone who passed but not making a scene. Anjula paused and bowed to him. Gabriel, unspeaking, inclined his head and waved his hand like an emperor accepting the obeisance of his subjects. They both chuckled, and Anjula moved on, Roy at her side. He didn't touch her arm, and she didn't lean against him. They knew each other too well for that.

"We pulled it off," he said.

"We did. I should thank you."

"For what?"

"Not making them choose between us. I know admin was concerned those first couple years."

"I can see why. People get divorced, they don't always play well together after. But I can bounce that right back at you. If you'd pushed the point, there's no reason to think I'm the one they'd have kept."

They reached the main doors and stepped out into the night. A warm breeze was blowing from the east, carrying the smell of the ocean. The transports waited in a sedate line, ready to whisk hotel guests anywhere in the city. The stars shone above them, billions of points of light pressing down through the backsplash of the city. They stood together for a moment, looking up, each with their own thoughts.

"I'm glad I got to know you again," Roy said. "It feels like a blessing after...you know."

"We were too young. Everyone gets to be an idiot at nineteen."

"Here's to getting old, right? But we've got a few good years left in us."

"I hope so," she said.

When she turned to look at him, he had the box out and open. The old ring glimmered in the new light. She looked from it to him. Her expression was surprise. Then horror.

"Oh God, Roy," she said. "No."

 

INTERVIEWER: It's odd that this is the application we're making of the Hamze-Grau slow light, isn't it? If we can make copies of things from...what? Enriched light? Shouldn't we be using this to make habitats for people here on Earth? Medical supplies for war zones? Food?

ANJULA FARAH: Not really. It's an economics question. The energy it would take to manufacture something using slow light is just an order of magnitude more than it would take using traditional means. Slow light can build you a house; it'll just cost a hundred times the energy a hammer and nails would. What makes this interesting isn't the duplication possibilities, though that is fascinating in its own right. It's the distribution.

INTERVIEWER: Distribution?

ANJULA: Moving matter across interstellar space has never made sense from an energy expenditure standpoint. And in that use case, suddenly duplication using slow light begins to make economic sense. There are other ways to manufacture things. But delivering and unfolding a package on an alien world light-years away in the galaxy? This is the only way to do it.

INTERVIEWER: Going back to economics, what's the return on this investment?

ANJULA: Lots of people will give you the "all your eggs in one basket" argument for spreading out to multiple solar systems. But that's not the reason for me. For me, some chances you take just because the possibilities are beautiful.

"Okay. Just count backward for me from ten to one." "Ten, nine, eight, seven—"

Roy opened his eyes. He was alone in the landing couch, just the way he was supposed to be. He lay for a little while, getting used to the feeling of his body. His arms and legs felt heavy, like he'd just had ten hours of hard sleep. The knot that always seemed to rest in his belly had untied itself. He felt great.

"What's the word, folks?"

 

The silence that followed seemed to last an eternity. The voice that answered him wasn't Sandor. It was Gabriel Hu.

"Well. Holy shit."