"Ah, but Mark's is a very special camera." Janus smiled maddeningly,
but in the next instant was clapping a friendly hand on Mark's
shoulder. "Don't worry, Travers, your secret's safe with us. We don't
ask questions. You've a right to know our destination, though; come on,
I'll show you."
They repaired to the chart room, where Janus indicated a moving red
line on a glass-encased chart of the solar system. Other lines were
being traced, too, at various angles to their trajectory.
"The red line is our present trajectory. The others are the orbits of
the planets. See, there's Jupiter behind us; notice how close we came."
Mark nodded. Already in his mind's eye he was extending their present
parabola. Distances between these outer planets were vast beyond
imagining! Saturn was just in sight, but at their present speed they
would probably cross its orbit far in advance of the planet. Then came
Uranus, and next Neptune. The space between Neptune and Pluto was
vaster than all.
Mark felt just a little staggered. There was no known record of men
having come this far! Not beyond Jupiter, in fact.