Metafire

"How long do you think we have to make a decision?" Jane asked.

"Not long," said Angela. "First, once we accelerate past the moon, no one from New Boston can catch us. Second, once the killer satellite is cut from the hull, George can explode the bomb on New Boston with impunity. What would we do then?"

"All right. I'll do it. But can we involve others here?"

Frank then said, "Perhaps at the last minute, Jane, but not before. We don't know who would share George's sentiment, really. It would only take one person, one accidental disclosure, to cause chaos."

Angela, Frank, and Jane then composed email to Ferguson and encrypted it using Jane's signature. The email went as follows:

To: JohnF@FBI.gov

From: Jane

Re: stuff

I have talked this over with my parents, Frank and Angela. We believe you about George. You could not have made this up, and we believe Erisa. We have a means of guaranteeing that the bomb is disabled, but we require a deal. My parents demand that you send out a ship to get me back to Earth and that you free Dr. O'Leary and the others of the Metafire group. You have enough information now to know that we did not intend for the bombs to explode. The fault does seem to clearly fall on George and possibly Sporkin. We cannot rule out one or two others here.