THE STAR RANGER sped through space toward its rendezvous point with the
racing asteroid. Given the urgency of the situation, Zip had ordered the
maximum acceleration that their bodies could tolerate. Mark had
programmed their course to bring them as quickly as possible up to
boarding speed with the asteroid. Having done that, he pored through the
printed material he had taken from the asteroid’s power plant. He felt
hopelessness creeping over him since he didn’t know what Zimbardo had
done to burn it out.
Zip came over and stood near where Mark was seated with a dim lamp
illuminating the papers in front of him. The lamp was designed to burn
with a soft light tinged with the faintest trace of light green, to be
easiest on the eyes. It was devised for periods of long study.
“Anything yet, Mark?” Zip asked, knowing that the question was
pointless. If Mark had found even a tiny piece of information which
could be remotely connected to the situation on the asteroid, he would
have spoken up.
“No, Zip,” replied Mark. “I can follow the diagrams pretty well now, and
I think I understand how one part connects to another, but I can’t
envision how any part of it could have burned out. I’ve tried to
calculate how much power Zimbardo would have needed to generate the EMP
of the size he did, but I can only guess at it. Even at my highest
estimates, I can’t see how it would burn out the power supplies of a
huge iron asteroid that can be used as a spacecraft. All I can imagine
is that much of the power supply of the asteroid had been shut down
before.”
“You mean that its reserves were not in place?”
“Something like that. We have guessed that the asteroid was a huge
spacecraft. We also know that it had been stationary and abandoned--or
at least unused--for eons. I suspect that the asteroid’s full power had
never been accessible to Zimbardo. He was able to operate life-support
systems, lights, airlocks, and so forth in his own section without
drawing much power. When he tried to ‘power up’ the asteroid and move it
out of orbit, he reached the limit of its available power. Then he
suddenly initiated the electromagnetic pulse to fry the microwave
probes, but he also fried his own system. But the asteroid _must_ have
more power than that to be able to do what it must have done in the
past. You saw the power plant as well as I did! Did it look to you as if
Zimbardo could have burned that whole thing out with one EMP, no matter
how intense?”
“Makes sense, Mark. Where, then, is the rest of the power?”
Mark looked up at Zip with a wan smile. “If you want to find it, you can
help me look through these papers, if you want.”
“All right, I will,” said Zip, and sat down. Mark handed him a stack of
paper, showed Zip what to look for, and went back to his own study.
Joe remained on the flight deck, keeping careful watch on the
instruments. He preserved the _Star Ranger_’s course precisely so that
there would be no unnecessary delay in meeting the runaway asteroid.
Before him was a scattering of white stars in the blackness. A few large
ones stood out.
“Mark would love this,” Joe thought, but he didn’t bother his friend.
* * * * *
The best minds of Starlight Enterprise and Space Command had been
working for more than twenty-four hours on the problem of diverting the
runaway asteroid, and had not even been able to restore power.
Twenty-five ships had docked inside the landing area, and more than 300
men were inside the facility. Some had been detailed to explore and take
an inventory of what was found, others had been ordered to provide
temporary light and power using portable equipment from the ships, and
still others worked under Jesus Madera-Cruz in the desperate attempt to
restore power to the asteroid.
From the communications center aboard the _Tempest_, Mr. Madera had been
in contact with SE’s best engineers and the Starmen. SE’s best hope was
in the Starmen since they had been aboard the asteroid and had walked
through its power plant. By electronic communication, Mark had been able
to provide some of the plans for the power plant to Mr. Madera, but the
plant was simply too large and too complex for the plans to be of much
use.
George St. George had given Madera the proper combination of buttons in
the elevators to give him access to the warehouse, but even after the
portable units had restored power to the elevators they could not
deliver men to the warehouse. The elevators would not descend beyond a
certain level since Zip had previously destroyed all the panels when the
pirates were pursuing them. Consequently, Madera had had to detail men
to descend manually through the shaft to the warehouse floor and repair
the controls at the warehouse level for one elevator. That had taken
nearly eleven hours.
Except for one brief nap, Madera had not slept since the _Tempest_ had
landed. Once the elevator had been repaired, he went with about thirty
men through the same passages that the Starmen had traversed. Since the
temporary lighting and power had been set up only in the facility that
the pirates had been using, Madera and his companions walked in darkness
as deep as the inside of a cave.
Madera hefted a huge but lightweight lamp for use in the power plant. To
illumine their way through the warehouse and corridors, others carried
personal flashlights. As they made their way through the facility, the
lights they carried cleaved the darkness. But behind them, the absolute
darkness closed up again.
After leaving the warehouse, Madera had to use the codes the Starmen had
provided to come to the immense power plant. Although the men had been
told in advance what to expect, when the doors of the elevator opened,
they were just as awed as the Starmen and miners had been when they
first beheld the scene.
Though the power plant was completely dark and silent, there was a
feeling among the men at the elevator door that they were at the edge of
vastness. Madera activated his lamp and shone it into the iron cavern.
Its light penetrated about half a mile; in its cone the latticework,
panels, and tubing were revealed. When Madera saw the extent of the
plant, he smiled with deep appreciation, then encouraged the men to get
to work.
He assigned them to three groups. They were to spread throughout the
plant and search for evidence of any burnout or other damage. The men
went forth with lights, tools, and electronic equipment. Madera himself
set out to study one of the power stations and try to learn its secrets
by personal examination.
* * * * *
At one end of the asteroid was the huge landing facility that Troy
Putnam had taken over. About two-thirds of the length of the asteroid
away was the port through which the Starmen and miners had escaped.
Between was an enormous complex of habitable space. At the lowest level
was the power plant. Above the power plant was an immense compound,
secure from any chance encounter by Earthmen. Access could be given only
from inside, and no Earthman would be able to enter by force, short of
taking the entire asteroid apart. Indeed, no Earthman even suspected it
existed.
Inside this compound, several tall, slender, humanoid figures were
working frantically at a panel. Endless banks of dials, screens,
switches, and other electronic paraphernalia were set out in the huge
room where they worked. The room was dark. Several portable lights had
been set in a semi-circle around the panel where the figures were
working.
Conversation was minimal and quiet, barely above a murmur. Tools were
requested and exchanged. A light was brought over and placed so as to
reveal the inner workings of a cabinet filled with circuits and
connections.
One figure walked slowly to the far end of the room, carrying a small
light. He passed through a doorway, traversed a short corridor, and
entered an enormous chamber. He paced along a catwalk. The power in this
room was operative. Far above him was an indigo sky with silver stars. A
pale blue dawn was showing at the horizon. To his left was an extensive
mirror-smooth lake in which the sky and stars were reflected in
unutterable beauty. In the lake, trees grew in profusion. It appeared to
be an orchard in flood time, but it was apparent that the trees grew
best in a watery environment. Heavy, thick, almost circular leaves
covered the trees. Fragrant white blossoms promised fruit in the next
season. On the shore were numerous small boats for skimming and a few
large ones for working in the orchard.
The catwalk led for about a mile across one end of the lake and had
several side passages, all on the right. At the fourth side passage, the
walker turned and passed through an airlock. After he had come through
the second door, he entered a lightless room that gave an impression of
immense spaciousness. Revealed in the shadow of his light were many
horizontal gold and clear quartz capsules about eight feet long and two
feet in diameter, stacked in rows. Each capsule was connected to cables
that led into a large box. Boxes were spaced about twenty feet apart and
each was connected to about forty capsules.
The walker opened the top of the box and peered inside. He raised a
small communicator to his lips and spoke into it. After receiving a
reply, he reached into the box with a long tool. A moment later, dim
lights went on in the room and a very low hum started up. The walker
smiled broadly and closed the box. Then he retraced his steps.
* * * * *
Captain Mary Marks-Owens woke Jesus Madera out of a deep sleep.
“Mr. Madera,” she said, approaching him gently where he had fallen
asleep in his chair. He had returned to his office and workshop aboard
the _Tempest_ to study some diagrams he had made in the power plant.
“The _Star Ranger_ has arrived. The Starmen are waiting for you.”
“Thank you, Captain,” said Madera, lifting his head and rubbing his
brown eyes. He ran his hand through his hair quickly, left his room, put
on his helmet, and descended the outside ladder to the floor of the
launching pad. He turned toward the control center and saw the Starmen
on the other side of the wall. They all waved at him. Madera was one of
the Starmen’s favorite acquaintances from Starlight Enterprise. He
strode across the tarmac and passed through the airlock and hailed the
young men.
After he had removed his helmet and exchanged hasty preliminary
greetings, he led them across the quad in front of the manufacturing
center and through the great doors.
“What have you discovered?” asked Mark.
“I think I can power up the computer system, but it will take a lot of
energy to do so. I used submicroscopic robotic probes to provide
detailed maps of the computer in the power plant, and some of the
wiring, machines, and selected other equipment inside this amazing
facility. I’ve detailed men to take portable power packs down to the
power plant and arrange them in sequence to give us enough power to
jump-start the computer. When we do that, we ought to be able to get
into the files you found earlier, Mark. Getting the power packs down
there is not easy, but with dozens of men working, I estimated that we
could get it hooked up in a couple of hours. That was the time I was
taking to study some diagrams I’d made, but instead took an involuntary
catnap.”
“Why didn’t you enter the power plant through the hangar from which we
escaped?” asked Zip.
“We looked for the opening in the place you’d indicated, but found no
evidence of any kind that there was an airlock. We even tried locating
it with radar, but the entrance is concealed so effectively that we
could find no trace of it. We needed the personnel at this end, so we
abandoned the search. Getting to the power plant through the complex
here is the long way around, but we knew that we could do it and just
couldn’t take the time to look further on the surface for the shortest
means of ingress.”
“We’ll have to find some way to open the airlock from the outside when
we’re not so rushed,” responded Zip. “We haven’t kept up with the time
limit. What’ve we got?”
Madera sighed. “If we can’t move the asteroid, impact with Earth will
take place on Thursday, September 8, at 2:33 p.m. That’s about six days
from now. It will strike in the Atlantic Ocean just north of the West
Indies.”
“How much time have we got to turn it aside?”
“Just a coupla days. After that time, no matter what we do the asteroid
will still strike the Earth somewhere. But we’ll be able to move it.”
“You sound confident, Mr. Madera,” said Joe turning his head briefly as
the four of them approached the elevators.
“Don’t worry, Joe,” said Madera. “Earth is not ready yet for its
Judgment Day.”
Somehow the Starmen believed him. He was not a Starman nor a reputed
scientist, but he was a man of deep dignity who exuded confidence and
easily won the affections of the people around him.
Moments later, they were at the site of the activity. The last portable
power pack had been set up and connected to the closest console in the
power plant.
“Set?” asked Madera of the technician who had overseen the procedure.
“Yes sir, Mr. Madera.”
“Let’s go, Mark.” The big Starman stepped up next to the console with
Madera. Mark felt a bit of stage fright. Anxiety coursed through him as
he suddenly realized that there was so little time left and that the
ability to turn the asteroid aside depended on him. Having an audience
of more than thirty men daunted him.
“It doesn’t depend entirely on you, Mark,” said Madera, appearing to
read Mark’s mind. “Now let’s power up.”
Mark felt the anxiety drain away. He pressed the power button he had
discovered before, when the Starmen had been escaping from the pirates.
The computer screen surged into life. The men cheered, and Madera
smiled. Joe stretched exultantly and appeared to grow two inches taller.
Zip’s brow remained furrowed. He showed little emotion. For him the time
to exult would be when the asteroid had been diverted. This was only a
vital step in the process. There were others ahead.
Mark kept his eyes on the screen but spoke to Mr. Madera. “I have a
theory, Mr. Madera. There must be power enough in this system, and far
more than enough, to turn the asteroid aside. We don’t need to find out
what Zimbardo’s burned out. We should try to get access to the rest of
the system. The diagrams I sent you show that there _must_ be plenty of
power. We just have to find out how to turn it on!”
“That’s sound reasoning, Mark,” nodded Madera. “And probably easier than
trying to locate whatever damage Zimbardo did.”
For some time, Mark and Madera conversed quietly as Mark flipped through
file after file. Diagrams appeared and Mark’s fingers flew over the
screen as he pointed out what he had learned while journeying on the
_Star Ranger_. Madera nodded, and pointed out several connections Mark
had not seen.
Once, Madera handed a small diagnostic pack to one of the technicians
and sent him to climb the iron latticework. The man returned in a few
moments and gave a report. Madera nodded again and turned to Mark.
Three hours went by. Joe’s eyes were drooping, but Zip was still intent,
his eyes on Mark.
Mark clapped his hands and turned to Madera. Madera smiled and raised
his eyebrows. With an open hand, he gestured to the control panel. Mark
nodded his thanks and pressed several buttons. The files changed rapidly
at each new command. Then Mark made fists and clenched a few times as if
massaging his fingers. Then he raised his hand and prepared to press a
button off to the side of the panel.
Suddenly he leaped back a foot, his hands lifted as if he had touched a
hot surface. His face was white, his eyes were wide open, and he was
breathing hard. His body was trembling as if he were deadly frightened.
Zip shot forward, pushing his way through the crowd to reach Mark.
“What is it, Mark? What’s wrong?” His voice was urgent.
“The power plant--it’s thousands of years old!” Mark wasn’t looking at
Zip--he was still looking forward, as if his eyes were being drawn to
the controls. “Pressing this button...” he stopped and swallowed hard,
and blinked twice. “Pressing this button is the last step in activating
the rest of the power plant. It should give us the power we need,
but--but it’s clear that it hasn’t been activated for thousands of
years. There’s no way to tell whether it’s safe. This is a complicated
system. If something is wrong,” Mark slowly turned to face Zip, “If
something is wrong, if a bolt has slipped into the wrong place, if
Zimbardo bypassed a vital circuit somewhere, or if a conduit is stopped
up anywhere, all the energy this plant can produce could blow back at
us. The entire works could explode into a million pieces.”
Zip looked at the floor for an instant, then looked up again and stared
directly into Mark’s eyes. “You’re right, Mark; but there’s no other
choice. You have to do it.”
Mark’s exhaled quickly. “Oh, I know, Zip--I know. But as I reached out
my hand, I had a sudden chill that our destruction was a second away. It
just didn’t _feel_ right. And if this asteroid blows into fragments,
then Earth will be peppered with _hundreds_ of devastating impacts!”
Zip slowly turned and faced the silent crowd. Every face was marked with
grave intensity. Joe stood at the back, his face drawn and tense.
“You all heard,” Zip said. “But you all know that we have no choice.” No
one said anything. A few men dropped their eyes and shuffled their feet.
Zip turned to Mr. Madera in silent appeal. Madera nodded very slowly.
Then Mark wiped both hands on his shirt and slowly reached out and
pressed the last button.
A distant grinding noise as of gears engaging sounded from far away.
There was a whooshing sound as of air filling a giant bag. The grinding
sound leveled off into a bare hum. The lights gradually came on.
The men cheered. Mark looked relieved. The tension under which he had
been operating quickly released. His face wrinkled up and tears began to
flow down his cheeks.
Then the bare hum began to build. It turned into a whine, and then into
a shriek. The floor began to shudder. Mark wiped his eyes and stared at
the screen.
“The reaction is starting, but the energy level is climbing much faster
than it should! Something’s wrong! _Something’s wrong!!_”
The men began to hear small explosions. There was a popping sound as a
flexible tube burst a few yards away. Tinkling glass rained down in
several places as light bulbs popped with the influx of too much energy.
Mark began to flip rapidly through files on the screen.
All at once a panel a hundred yards away blew out in a monstrous
explosion. A burst of brilliant white light blinded the men momentarily.
As their eyes returned to normal a loud hiss cut through the air and
continued to build. Yellow and orange sparks erupted in a spectacular
shower from the damaged panel. Mark turned toward the site with a look
of panic. Without warning a connector at the panel lit up with a
coruscating orange color. Unable to handle the power surge, it began to
melt and fragment. In less than a second, the damage shot through the
connector and came to where it entered the computer terminal. There was
a sickening, deep “brrzzz” sound, and the screen went dark.
Mark slumped toward the floor. Madera grabbed the Starman before he fell
and eased him to the iron deck. Joe ran forward.