_Harvey was a most unusual little man. A Cosmos-minded
man with great singleness of purpose. He could discover
asteroid-juncture faults with the greatest of ease, and
"perp" planets, too.... But could he find Anna from
Oregon who doubted his greatest discovery of all?_
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Planet Stories March 1953.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Just in from a long haul searching for asteroid juncture points,
Harvey entered the lobby of the Hotel de Mars and went straight to the
registration desk. The woman at the desk, who was blond, and blue-eyed,
and inclining to chubbiness, looked at him, smiled. The smile was of
such quality that Harvey's singed brown face set into a mold of utter
attention.
Finally he let out his breath.
"I want a room," said he, "on the Deimos side."
He attentively studied the cheerful face while she made out slips,
accepted his signature, accepted his money. After he had the key, after
he had his change, after everything was taken care of, he still stood
there. The woman smiled into his seamed eyes.
"Was there something else?"
Harvey said, noting the emptiness of her chubby ring-finger, "Ma'am,
I'm an abrupt, outspoken man. I have no sense of humor. Some people
like me; some people don't. I make my living moving around the solar
system. I've never been rich, but I never have any trouble making
money, as much as I want. Now what was your question again?"
Her fingers slowly caressed a yellow pencil.
Her smile was a little strained. She said cautiously, "I thought you
wanted something else. What you want to do is talk, isn't it? You're in
from a long space-haul, it's lonely out there, men get so they have to
talk to a woman, don't they? So you'd like to take me out to dinner?
And take me to a show? And take me up to your room to watch Deimos,
which happens to shine only into the windows of your room?"
He looked at her.
"I have no sense of humor," he repeated with great patience. "As you
grow to know me, you will understand that. It will be no deterrent to
our romance, however; I have other qualities."
"Romance?"
"Yes. What I want is you. I'm an abrupt man. My mind makes itself up
quickly. In space, one must learn to make quick decisions. That's what
I want. You. We'll discuss this at dinner. Please be ready."
He went up to his room, refusing to let the bell hop touch his scarred
suitcase. A little man. A man with great singleness of purpose. The
blond woman, who was nice, and blue-eyed, and inclining to chubbiness,
looked after him blinking. She took care of the next guest. She thought
deeply. She decided to go to dinner with the lost, lonely man from
outer space.
They ate in the main dining room of the Hotel de Mars (the 'de' being
rather a fancy touch.) He did not talk. He ate. Great quantities of
Martian food with strange, exotic names. He ordered straight shots of
whiskey afterward. Then he talked.
"Now, we were discussing something of importance at the registration
desk, ma'am. What was it?"
"Me."
"Fine. I'm glad you remember."
She burst into laughter, then stifled the laugh in horror.
He shook his brown, leathery head. "Laugh, please. Laugh as much as
you please. I have no sense of humor, but I think other people should
have the opportunity of exercising theirs. I often say things which
are funny to others. As for myself, I never laugh. This you will
become accustomed to. I'll order you some champagne. Do you enjoy
Terra-Frenault '97?"
"Love it," she said, having never had any. She leaned forward, her eyes
sparkling. "I'm enjoying myself so much. Everything is so unorthodox. I
was brought up in Oregon, on my father's chicken ranch. The town people
were so orthodox. I came to Mars all alone just to get away from people
orthodox. Now that I've become unorthodox myself, one of these days I'm
going back to Oregon and teach them to be unorthodox. And of course
I'll own a chicken ranch."
He gulped whiskey. He looked at her searchingly from steel-colored eyes
that had leather seams around them. "You like chickens?"
"Plymouth Rocks," she said. "They're the most beautiful bird alive.
I'll raise Plymouth Rocks."
"Fine," he said. "I'm glad to know this. However, drop the idea of
going back to Oregon. We'll be heading for the outer spaces, ma'am."
"Is this why I'm having dinner with you?"
* * * * *
"Yes. To let you know my intentions." He called for the check. "I'm
forty years old, ma'am. The time has come to make a permanent home for
myself, with a wife and children. For several days I've toyed with the
idea of falling in love with someone. What's your astrological sign?"
"Taurus." She looked at him over the champagne, her face wide with a
smile that had an almost irrepressible giggle behind it.
"Fine, fine." He threw money on the table and got up. "I'm Pisces.
Pisces and Taurus get along very well. This is the reason I fell in
love with you, ma'am. What was your name?"
"I want to finish my champagne," she protested, not getting up. "My
name is Anna Christina Morley."
He sat down. "Forgive me. I'm an abrupt man. I do things and then
they're over. I never linger. As you grow to know me, this will become
apparent. But finish your champagne. My kind of woman always speaks
her mind. So your name is Anna Christina Morley. A very unusual name.
A numerological breakdown would no doubt show you to be a strong, a
firm, an idealistic woman. I am a fortunate man. Have you finished your
champagne?"
"I guess so," she sighed. She got up and took her cape that had the
twinkling little bells on it, and that changed color every five minutes
on the second, and that told time. "Where are we going?"
"I'll take you back to your room," he said, "and say good night."
She was beautiful in the overhead sparkling lights of the dining room.
Something caught her sharply in the solar plexus as he spoke.
"Why?" she said forlornly.
His singed eyebrows came up. "Why? My purpose is accomplished. You know
my intentions. Now I must go out and prepare. I'll be leaving for outer
space within the hour. I'll be back in ten months."
He took her to the door of her room. "Good night, Anna," he said.
She stopped him. Her heart was beating too hard. There was in her a
sharp emptiness, a terrific sense of frustration. "Kiss me," she said
wearily. "You said you were in love with me, so we might as well get
that much acquainted."
"I am in love with you," he said. He immediately took her into his
arms, kissing her long and hard. Then he released her, looking
strangely into her eyes. "Anna," he said, "I _shall_ be back in ten
months. I know you'll be here." He went down the stairs. She went into
her room. She sat on the edge of the bed. Then she threw herself on the
bed and cried, hard, angry sobs. Why had she allowed him to ruin what
could have been such a splendid evening? She kicked her shoes off. They
hit the wall with two walloping thumps. She lay on her back and laughed
at the ceiling with tears coming out of her eyes. What an evening. An
evening as strange, as abortive, as cruel as the man who had cut it off
so suddenly.
Her eyes snapped open then. She felt something happen inside her, a
longing as wide and deep as black space. "Oh no," she said in a tone
that was low and explosive. She slowly turned on her side, sniffling.
She couldn't help it. He was nothing, but he was incredible. Ten
months....
* * * * *
For years the Asteroid Association had offered a flat rate of one
thousand credits to anybody who gave them the location of genuine
asteroid-juncture faults. They were engaged in a strictly scientific
and commercially useless attempt to show that the asteroids once
comprised a large planet between Mars and Jupiter. They needed
evidences of lines of fracture showing where two separated asteroids
once had been joined; the complete picture would finally give them a
complete planet. Harvey had found fifteen such points. The money gave
him leeway to pursue other activities.
Forty million miles above the plane of the ecliptic moved his small
ship.
He was not looking for juncture points now. He was looking for a
particular kind of planet, one, moreover, which had never been
discovered before. Therefore he was hunting for a "perp" planet.
He searched two months. That most celestial bodies within the Solar
System already had been discovered did not deter him. He found his
planet and came to a landing. He got into his pressure suit, lugging
his gravitic equipment with him. He immediately started taking
readings.
The gravity was shallow, less than one-tenth of a gee. Far too little.
There was no atmosphere. The ground was frozen, but upon submitting it
to flame it gave off the lines characteristic of phosphorus, nitrogen,
hydrogen. That pleased him. He made other readings, then he went into
his ship and wrote in his diary:
There are many drawbacks. The planet is only 483 miles in diameter.
It, at present, has no atmosphere. Being frozen, it will have to
be thawed. Obviously, it cannot, at present, support Plymouth Rock
chickens, much less human beings. I must now determine velocity,
orbit, year, and day.
A month later he wrote in his diary:
Money will be needed. Much more than can be supplied by discovering
juncture faults. Plymouth Rock chickens need worms; worms perhaps
need Plymouth Rock chickens. One finds it necessary to grow corn
also. Gravity lugs must be installed deep in the ground. Gravity
lugs are expensive. An interesting fact is that in four weeks this
planet will intersect the plane of the ecliptic. Something can be
done with this information.
Harvey determined the major and minor apices of the "perp" planet. He
determined its point of intersection with the plane of the ecliptic.
Then he went to the planet Earth, and came into a sleek landing at the
New York spaceport. He went to the information window, asking for and
receiving the time-schedules of all lines sending freight or passenger
ships between the planets. He studied them for a week in his hotel
room. He went back to the information desk to confirm his findings.
The clerk was most helpful. Yes, the liner _Hermes_ of the firm of
Gramenger & Lewis would leave Venus at 7:17 Solar Standard time on a
Wednesday three weeks from now bound for Titan of Saturn. The space
coordinates Harvey had figured out were correct. Yes, the shipping
firm of Gramenger & Lewis would not dare change the trajectory or the
schedule on as little as three weeks notice. To do so would involve
loss of prestige as well as of millions of dollars in contracts and
passenger fees. Harvey thanked him and went to the Claims Registration
Office on Luna.
"I wish," he told the official, "to register prior discovery and
ownership of a planet whose orbit lies perpendicular to the plane of
the ecliptic."
The official doubted very much that any "perp" planets remained to be
discovered, telling Harvey they were useless anyway. Harvey did not
laugh.
* * * * *
The official spent an hour poring over catalogues, showing increasing
amazement. Finally he said, "You're in luck!"
At the end of an hour he had found Harvey's planet in numerous
photographs, and had taken readings on the orbit which exactly
coincided with Harvey's figures. He made out the necessary papers. Now
Harvey owned a planet.
Harvey said, "I'm an abrupt man, sir. I speak my mind. I have no sense
of humor, as you must realize by now. I want a tankful of fuel on
credit."
The official shook his head. "I can't do it. I have no authority to
give credit. This is the United States government you're talking to."
He laughed.