"Yeah," said Tom Barden dryly. "A success. But who did what to whom and
why?"
Edith Ward nodded in puzzlement. "You don't suppose it was just some
nearby star wanting to observe a nova at close proximity?"
"Seems to me that wouldn't tell 'em anything," said Barden. "That would
be a completely artificial nova and lacking of true data. Of course,
I'm no astronomer and don't know beans about the subject at all. I
admit it. I'd be lost trying to find my way home from out there if I
couldn't retrace my steps. I wouldn't recognize Sol from Sirius if I
were on Arcturus, and I'd not know how to go about it."
"Spectral lines, and stellar data--" said Edith.
"I have a hunch that whoever--in fact I'm certain--gave me this
information was uncertain as to whether I was in the next stellar
system or halfway across the universe."
"That would depend upon the range of whatever gadget they used to
implant the information--and whether it were beamed. Also, Tom, there's
another interesting item. You say there was a mental conversation in
your case. That means that the velocity of propagation of that medium
is instantaneous! Either that or he was right here on Terra."
"Got me. But if he were right here, why didn't he meet me in person, or
make a future date?"
"I pass," said Edith. "I have a fair working knowledge of astrogation.
I wonder if it is complete enough for my fellow to have positioned us.
On the other hand, mine came strictly as information without chitchat.
Like someone handing me a telegram full of data."
Barden considered the problem a moment as the girl went on.
"But my knowledge of astrogation is merely the angular constants
of the Marker-Stars and how to recognize them from their
constellation-positions. He might be able to set up a model of
this hunk of sky and reach the right answer--only if he sought the
information, however. I did not give it, and he seemed uninterested--as
I say, it was like getting a phonograph record or a radiogram."
They entered Barden's office and as they did, Tim Evans came running
in. Barden nodded and said: "Miss Ward, this is Tim Evans, my head
mathematical physicist. Tim, this is Dr. Ward."
They acknowledged the introduction, but Tim was excited. "Look, Tom,
did it work?"
"We had trouble on Ship One but we fudged Two up and made it sing like
an angel." Barden explained sketchily.
"Oh," said Evans, his face falling slightly.
"Why?"
"Because I've been thinking along another line and I've come up with
another kind of superdrive. If yours didn't work, this one is certain."
"Yes? Go on."
"No need to," said Evans. "Yours is far more efficient and less
bulky. Mine would get you there but it would take up a lot of extra
space. Besides, it doesn't offer the chance to see where you're going
directly, but only through a new type of celestial globe. Furthermore,
it wouldn't move as fast. So, forget it."
"New type of celestial globe?" asked Barden. "We could use it, maybe.
We can see out all right, but that's due to the intermittence. The
present celestial globe system is an adaptation of the pulse-ranging
transmission-time presentation, you know. When you're running above
light the globe is useless."
"But look, Tom," objected Edith. "You won't need one at superspeed.
You'll not be maneuvering, and if you hit something a few million
miles ahead in the globe, you're past it before anything could work
anyway."
"Admitted," he said. "But I'd like to have one, anyway. Look, Evans,
how does this thing work?"
"On a magneto-gravitic principle. Gravity, I am beginning to
understand, is not a matter of wave propagation at all. It is a factor
of matter--and it is either there or it isn't."
"I wouldn't know."
"Well, that's the theory. So we utilize an artificial manifestation of
gravity, beamed. It also seems that gravitational effects are mutual.
In other words, the attraction between Terra and Sol is the combination
of mutual attractions. So our beam, increasing the attraction between
the object and the beam also causes the increase of the attraction
between the beam and the object. For beam read transmitter; I always
think of the radiating element as being the beam instead of what I
should. Anyway, when the attraction is increased, it affects a detector
in the radiating elements. That gives you your indication."
"How about ranging."
"Still a matter of the inverse-square of the distance. We know
accurately the attraction-factor of our beam. Whatever reflects will
have distance-diminishment which we can measure and use."
"But it is also proportional to the mass, isn't it?" asked Barden.
"It'll take a nice bunch of circuits," grinned Evans, "but we can check
the mass with another beam's attraction to it and differentiate.
An integrating system will solve for range on the basis of mass and
distance. The celestial search and presentation systems will be the
same."
"O.K.--how about communications?"
"Sure," said Evans.
"You rig 'em up," said Barden. "And Tim, tell Eddie to refurbish the
ship. We're going out again. And I want three or four of the original
space drives put aboard as working spares."
"Working spares?" asked Evans.
"Yeah, mount 'em on girder-frameworks complete with atomic units. I'm
going to prove the next point."
"What next point?" asked Dr. Edith Ward.
"I want to find out if your informant was telling the truth," said Tom
Barden. "Interested?"
* * * * *
Edith shuddered a little. "That's a big responsibility," she said. "You
intend to destroy a whole stellar system?"
"I don't know. I'm going to see whether that stuff would actually start
an overall sustaining fission-reaction in a planet after the minor
fission got under way. If it does, then it is no worse for me to blow
up a dead system than it would be for my little informant getting us to
blow up ours."
"You sound rather positive about it."
"One or the other," said Barden. "I'm bothered. No matter how you look
at it, we ... or I, was like a small child given matches to play with
in a nitrocellulose storehouse. Unless you'd come up with yours, I'd
have most certainly blown us sky high."
"Right. I think we owe my friends a debt of gratitude."
"I'll agree to that. But for this test, we'll ramble until we find a
relatively unimportant star with only one or two planets, devoid of
life. Then we'll try it."
"But even with dead system, you're taking a lot upon yourself."
"How?"
"There will, from that time on, be a monument to the memory of Thomas
Barden. You'll be the object of argument and of both admiration
and hatred. Flag-wavers will either point with pride or view with
alarm, depending upon their politics. Why not wait until the thing is
discussed?"
"Forever? No, Edith. None of us can afford it. We must know. If
this works, Sol has a rather dangerous weapon against any possible
conquesting races in the galaxy. Regardless of what has gone before,
Sol is in a position to go out and make her mark upon the galaxy. It
is best to go prepared, and if we fear nothing, we neither need fear
subjugation."
"But destroying a stellar system--"
"Who'll miss it?" he asked.
She looked blank. "I don't know," she said. "It just seems so big. It
doesn't seem right that one man should be able to go out and destroy
a stellar system. One that has been stable for million upon million
of years. Superstition, perhaps," she said thoughtfully. "I'm not
a religious woman, Tom. I am not sacrilegious, either. Somehow,
somewhere, there must be a God--"
"Who made the universe. With a density of ten to the minus
twenty-eighth power and an average temperature of matter about twenty
million degrees? For the benefit of Terrans. Well if so, Edith, He is
willing to see one of His experiments used to further mankind in his
struggle. _Ad astra per aspera_, my dear!"
Edith agreed solemnly but was obviously unconvinced.
"Look," he hastened to add, "if all this was put here for the benefit
of Terrans, we're expected to use it. If we are incidental in some
grand plan encompassing a billion suns in a thousand galaxies, loss of
one sun won't matter."
"I suppose that's logic," she said. "I'd prefer not to talk about
it too much. I know it should be done, but it still seems all wrong
somehow."
"We've got to know. Remember there's a lot of truth in the whole
thing," he said thoughtfully. "And also a lot of untruth. They did tell
me the way to interstellar travel--in a slightly slaunchwise fashion.
They told you about the disintegration-process. Now, darn it, Edith,
did they scare us away from planetary tries because they knew it would
damage the system or for another reason? How do we know the thing would
ruin a planet and ultimately the system? Answer, we do not."
She nodded glumly. "I suppose that it is a step toward the final
solution."
"Right, and as soon as we can get a nice system, we'll try it!"
* * * * *
"This is Procyon," said Tom Barden. "Or so they tell me, I wouldn't
know."
The star was a small disk almost dead ahead; its light shone down
through the fore dome of the ship augmenting the lights in the
observation room.
"Sentiment again," she said. "I'd prefer a system more distant."
"If this has the right kind of planets, Procyon it is," said Barden
flatly. "If it has planets unsuited for life, what possible good can it
do Terra? Plus the fact that the instability that follows the nova for
a few years will act as a nice sign-post toward Terra from all parts
of the galaxy. Remember, men will really be spreading out with the new
drive."
"Again you're right. But have you no sentiment?"