"Well, sir, I did have a hope that I'd become a real spaceman."
"And you're disappointed?"
Howard Reed's face was wistful, torn between a desire to confide in his
commanding officer and the fear of saying what he knew to be a sharp
criticism of the Space Service.
Then Reed realized that he was in a bad pinch anyway, and so he said,
"Sir, I'm commissioned as a junior spaceman, but in three years I've
only made one short test flight--and only to Luna! I am competent to
pilot--or at least that's what the flight simulators say in my checkout
tests. I'm a junior spaceman--yet every time I apply for active space
duty, I'm refused! Three years I've spent in the Service, sir, solving
theoretical and hypothetical problems in space operations. But aside
from one test flight to the Moon, I have yet to set a foot inside of a
spacecraft, let alone stand on the soil of another world!"
"You must learn patience, Mr. Reed."
"_Patience_, sir? Look, sir, I took this sedentary duty until I'd had
it up to here, and then I began to pry into the question of why we have
a Space Force, complete with spacecraft, and still do so little space
traveling. I found out. We're limited to a maximum range of seventeen
light-years to the point of no return. Even a trip to Eden, Tau Ceti,
our nearest colony, is eleven-point-eight light-years, and that takes
prodigious power."
"Granted," said the commander.
"But now, sir, if we could increase our range by one hundred times,
this does not necessarily mean that we must actually power the
spacecraft for that point of no return. It also means that we could
charge the ship with one one-hundredth of its former banks for the
short trip to Eden, Tau Ceti--which would leave a _fantastic_ amount
of storage and cargo and passenger space. Sir, we could start real
commerce!"
* * * * *
Commander Breckenridge gave no reaction.
"And you hoped to be among them."
"Yes, sir! As a kid, I read about mankind's first exploration of space
two hundred years ago, sir. Of course, I couldn't hope to set foot on a
new planet, since every possible planet within the seventeen-light-year
range has been looked over. But I wanted to see space myself, sir--and
I did hope that I might extend Man's frontier beyond our rather small
limit."
"Yes, I can understand the impatience of youth," said Commander
Breckenridge. "For that, I can forgive you. But for trying to do the
other man's job, I cannot."
"Sir, you're as much as saying that no one can have a good technical
idea but the technical people at the Bureau of Research."
In answer, the commander flipped over several pages of the file. He
said: "Mister Reed, this is what resulted in your abortive attempt to
gain a scientific ear instead of forwarding your suggestion through the
standard channels. I'm going to quote some pertinent parts of a letter
from Commander Briggs, head of the Bureau of Research. Listen:
"--young genius has rediscovered the line of mathematical argument
known here at Research as 'Hansen's Folly' because it was first
exploited by young Spaceman Hansen about a hundred and fifty years
ago. Hansen's Folly is probably to be expected of a young, ambitious
young officer with stars in his eyes. I'd be inclined to congratulate
him--if it weren't for the fact that Hansen's Folly turns up with such
regularity that we here at Research hold a regular pool against its
next rediscovery. You'll be happy to know that you, your young genius,
and your department have 'won' for me the great honor (?) of buying
dinner for the crew at the Officers Club on Saturday next.
"Don't be too hard on young Reed; the rediscovery of Hansen's Folly
takes a rather bright mind. However, Breck, I _will_ congratulate your
bright young man if he can--without any further clue--go back over his
own mathematics and locate the flaw. I'll--"
"There's more of this, but it isn't germane," said Breckenridge
quietly. "This is enough."
"Enough, sir?" repeated Reed blankly.
"Enough to let you know what goes on. Now, Mr. Reed, you've committed
nothing but a brash act of bad taste in bypassing the standard
channels. Such an indiscretion demands some form of punishment, but
if I were to attempt to outline punishment officially, it would be
unfortunately easy for some legal eagle to point out that your behavior
was, to the best of your knowledge, intended for the betterment of
the Service. And furthermore that I was wreaking vengeance upon your
hapless soul for having made my name the brunt of jokes at the Officers
Club."
"I'm sorry, sir."
"Being sorry is not enough, Mr. Reed. But I have a plan that will
gratify everybody concerned. You want to become an active spaceman?
Very well, your next tour of duty will be at the Space Force Station
on the planet Eden, Tau Ceti. It will terminate when you have finally
succeeded in locating the flaw in Hansen's Folly and can show the error
to the satisfaction of Commander Briggs. Have I made myself clear, Mr.
Reed?"
"Yes, sir, and thank you, sir. You're really doing me a favor, sir."
"Mr. Reed, despite the age-old platitude, it is wise to look the gift
horse in the mouth, at least before saying thanks."