For a moment nothing came through the phones but astonished sputtering.
Finally Collier said thickly, "_Alan?_ What sort of gag is this? Where
are you?"
"Believe it or not, I'm hovering right above you in a small ship.
Suppose you get my father on the wire, and we can discuss how I'll go
about boarding you."
Fifteen minutes later the _Cavour_ was grappled securely to the skin of
the _Valhalla_ like a flea riding an elephant, and Alan was climbing in
through the main airlock. It felt good to be aboard the big ship once
again, after all these years.
He shucked his spacesuit and stepped into the corridor. His father was
standing there waiting for him.
"Hello, Dad."
Captain Donnell shook his head uncomprehendingly. "Alan--how did you--I
mean--and you're so much older, too! I----"
"The Cavour Drive, Dad. I've had plenty of time to develop it. Nine good
long years, back on Earth. And for you it's only a couple of months
since you blasted off!"
Another figure appeared in the corridor. Steve. He looked good; the last
few months aboard the _Valhalla_ had done their work. The unhealthy fat
he had been carrying was gone; his eyes were bright and clear, his
shoulders square. It was like looking into a mirror to see him, Alan
thought. It hadn't been this way for a long time.
"Alan? How did you----"
Quickly Alan explained. "So I couldn't reverse time," he finished. "I
couldn't make you as young as I was--so I took the opposite tack and
made myself as old as you were." He looked at his father. "The universe
is going to change, now. Earth won't be so overcrowded. And it means the
end of the Enclave system, and the Fitzgerald Contraction."
"We'll have to convert the _Valhalla_ to the new drive," Captain Donnell
said. He looked still stunned by Alan's sudden appearance. "Otherwise
we'll never be able to meet the competition of the new ships. There will
be new ships, won't there?"
"As soon as I return to Earth and tell them I've been successful. My men
are ready to go into immediate production of hyperspace vessels. The
universe is going to be full of them even before your ship reaches
Procyon!" He sensed now the full importance of what he had done. "Now
that there's practical transportation between stars, the Galaxy will
grow close together--as close as the Solar System is now!"
Captain Donnell nodded. "And what are you planning to do, now that
you've dug up the Cavour drive?"
"Me?" Alan took a deep breath. "I've got my own ship, Dad. And out there
are Rigel and Deneb and Fomalhaut and a lot of other places I want to
see." He was speaking quietly, calmly, but with an undercurrent of inner
excitement. He had dreamed of this day for nine years.
"I'm going to take a grand tour of the universe, Dad. Everywhere. The
hyperdrive can take me. But there's just one thing----"
"What's that?" Steve and the Captain said virtually in the same moment.
"I've been practically alone for the last nine years. I don't want to
make this trip by myself. I'm looking for a companion. A fellow
explorer."
He stared squarely at Steve.
A slow grin spread over his brother's face. "You devil," Steve said.
"You've planned this too well. How could I possibly turn you down?"
"Do you want to?" Alan asked.