She had no right to be happy merely because he was less brusque than
usual. On her way home a facsimile of sunshine began blazing down from
the dome. The grass was crisp and sere but it would revive.
The race didn't end because the ship and asteroid were no longer
constantly accelerating. Whatever the general thought of it and however
he modified his own plans, as far as the accidentals were concerned the
emphasis had merely shifted. Exploration. It didn't matter who got to
the system first--it was who found the inhabited or inhabitable planets.
The ship had slightly more speed even when, by mutual consent, both cut
the strength of the drive. Slowly it pulled level and then began to
creep ahead. But the scanner nullified the advantage. The astronomical
equipment of the ship, superior though it was, was not adequate to
observe the planets in detail from this distance. Before the ship could
locate planets and catalogue the characteristics it would ultimately
have to slow down and waste days or weeks searching the specks of light
to decide which were worth closer investigation.
With the mass sensitive scanner there was no such problem. Six planets
for Alpha and seven for Proxima with, for a while, the possibility that
one or two more might be on the far side of the respective suns. Within
weeks, relative to the asteroid, much longer for stationary objects,
that possibility was eliminated. Six and seven planets there were and
no more.
In one respect the scanner wasn't perfect. Nona was shown where it
failed to perform satisfactorily and, after looking it over with mild
curiosity, took it completely apart, altering a number of circuits.
When she reassembled it again it had exactly the same limitations.
Jordan switched it on and brought the planet in focus. He changed the
dial setting and the image blurred, scattering a coruscating rainbow of
brilliant light. Once again he patiently adjusted the dials and the
planet returned to normal. "That's as close as we can get," he said.
"I'd estimate about fifty thousand miles out."
"Try the fourth planet, the Saturn type," suggested Docchi.
Minus rings but with several satellites a large planet replaced the
smaller one they had been looking at. After vainly trying to get closer
Jordan gave his opinion. "A hundred and fifty thousand miles from the
surface. This thing's mass sensitive, that's all--proportional to the
mass. It won't resolve an image close to the surface of a planet.
Notice that we couldn't get nearer than a few million miles of the
sun--but we could slide right into a little thing like a ship."
Reluctantly Docchi nodded. "We'll have to be satisfied with it as it
is. Nevertheless I think it can be made to approach the surface of any
mass, even the sun."
"Nona couldn't do it," said Jordan.
Docchi smiled. "I think she's more interested in her husband at the
moment. Besides, what did she have to work with? Odds and ends of
parts that really aren't suited for what they have to do. It would be
different if she had an unlimited supply of gravity generating parts,
or could get what she needs made to order."
"What you want is a whole new science," said Jordan.
"Why not? We've got the beginning of it," said Docchi.
Meanwhile the search went on. Each planet was scrutinized as closely
as the scanner would allow. The images were photographed, enlarged
and studied, pored over by everyone who could show some experience in
topographical work. Two inhabitable planets were discovered, one in
each star system.
It was somewhat disappointing that there was no trace of an alien
civilization on either world or on any of the planets.
Jeriann looked up from the photograph. "I can't see anything. Clouds.
Nothing but clouds."
Jordan shrugged. "Methane probably. It was the best I could get. What
do you want to see?"
"I think we should get a good look at the surface before we rule out
aliens."
"Still after the aliens." Docchi smiled tolerantly. "You'll have to
wait till the next system, or the next."
"I think she wants to find them because it's one of the reasons normals
didn't want us to go."
"A little," confessed Jeriann. "They refused us because of what aliens
might think when they saw us."
"Ever reflect it's exactly what they might think?"
Jeriann was startled and before she could reply Jordan produced another
argument. "We're better off without them. Where would we be if those
two planets were settled, spilling over with strange creatures that
could outthink us without untwining their tails?"
Jeriann flushed. "You're teasing me because I don't know much about
astronomy. You're not very good inside a medical lab." She stared hard
at the photograph. "I still think you're wrong to conclude there aren't
any aliens just because they don't show up on planets we can live on."
Jordan rested his huge hand on the disc of the planet she was studying.
"Ever hear of Jupiter, Saturn, or Uranus?"
"I'm not that ignorant."
"I didn't mean you were," said Jordan. "But man's actually landed on
two of those planets and though we haven't got to Jupiter we have sent
down a little remote controlled ship. There's _nothing_ on all three
of the big planets, not even microscopic life. The latest theory is
that there's some kind of life over most of the universe but that
intelligence will have to show up under conditions similar to those
that evolved us. Of course we're willing to be convinced, but----"
He crumpled the photograph. "Nevertheless I'll try to get a better
picture of the Alpha Centauri version of Saturn."
"Stop quarreling," said Anti. "I think it's nice that there are two
planets, neither of which has anyone to lay prior claim to it. Which
one shall we take?"
"I'll take the Proxima planet," said Jordan as he went back to the
scanner.
"Do we have to choose now?" asked Jeriann.
"We should," said Docchi. "The advantage we have is very small; we have
to exploit it. Ideally we ought not to decelerate until the last minute
and at the end of that period we should find ourselves in a perfect
thousand mile orbit around the planet." He glanced at the model of the
system they'd constructed. "Myself, I'm for the second Alpha planet."