Power Play by Ben Bova Page B

that kind of fooling around. Besides, he’s a married man. She doesn’t need that kind of trouble. Then he added, And she certainly doesn’t need an assistant professor of astronomy.
    *   *   *
    The lecture hall was half filled with listless, bored students, most of them tapping away at their cell phones. Only a handful showed any real interest in astronomy. Those few, those precious few, sat in the auditorium’s front row as Jake climbed up onto the stage and set up his laptop’s PowerPoint slide presentation.
    A couple of the front-row female students were quite good-looking, and they knew it. Trouble on the hoof, Jake thought. Lay a finger on them and they’ll scream sexual harassment. But in the meantime they wear low-cut sweaters and lean forward a lot.
    “All right,” he said into the lectern’s built-in microphone. “Let’s settle down, shall we? Cell phones off, please.”
    A palpable wave of discontent spread through the half-empty auditorium.
    “Okay,” Jake said, forcing a smile. “Today we’re going to look at the king of the planets, Jupiter, and its major moons. If there’s any place in our solar system that harbors life, it’s most likely here…”

POLITICS 101
    Jake’s telephone message light was blinking when he returned to his cramped little office. He punched the button and heard Glynis’s voice:
    “Jake, I’ve talked with Professor Sinclair about his avoiding you. He seemed surprised. He said he’s tied up for the rest of today, but he’s attending a social function this evening and he could talk to you there, if you want to come.”
    Jake phoned her back immediately. “What’s this social function that Sinclair’s going to? Where is it? What time?”
    She hesitated for a moment. Then he heard, “It’s a cocktail party. For Senator Leeds.”
    “Leeds? He’s going to a cocktail party for Leeds?”
    “Don’t get upset, Jake,” said Glynis. “It’s a university thing. The senator is dedicating a new wing to the library this afternoon, and the university is giving him a cocktail reception afterward.”
    “And Sinclair’s going to be there.”
    “It’s just a formality. After all, he is the dean of electrical engineering this year. It doesn’t mean he’s in Leeds’s camp.”
    Jake sucked in a deep breath to calm himself. “When and where?” he asked again.
    *   *   *
    The cocktail reception was in the library’s new wing, of course. Jake rushed home to change into a presentable pair of slacks, a fresh shirt, one of his three ties, and his best suede jacket. No time for a shower, still, he was nearly fifteen minutes late; the room where the reception was being held was already filled to overflowing. People were milling around in the hallway, others were strolling through the new wing, admiring the empty bookshelves.
    Jake shook his head at the way the university did business. They raised all this money to build a new wing on the library but they hadn’t bought the books to fill it. Different budget. Construction money comes out of one pocket, book purchases another—much smaller—pocket. It’s stupid, he thought. Anyway, printed books are an anachronism, almost. The students use the Internet to research their assignments.
    “There you are!”
    Jake turned at the sound of her voice and saw Glynis Colwyn squeezing through the crowd toward him. With Tim Younger a half step behind her, a plastic wineglass in one hand and a relaxed smile on his face.
    “Hi,” he said to her. Then he added, “I didn’t expect to see you here, Tim.”
    “Glyn invited me,” Younger said, looking pleased about it.
    Jake blinked with surprise.
    Glynis said, “Professor Sinclair is in there,” she pointed back into the jam-packed room, “talking with Senator Leeds.”
    Frowning, Jake said, “I guess this won’t be a good time to talk to him about meeting Tomlinson.”
    “I’m afraid not,” she agreed. “I think I’ve brought you out here for nothing,