Boyd Ellanby

“ White-faced men stepped back and made themselves inconspicuous in the shadows, watching their wives and children file through the port, and looking after them hungrily. Once, a man screamed and tried to crash through the cordon. Thayer shot him, and he fell moaning to the floor. Dr. Willoughby moved through the crowd, soothing the hysterical, jollying the frightened, until he spied Alan Chase standing at the edge of the group. ”

“ In the corridor leading to F station their way was blocked by the crowd, many of them still wearing the grotesque costumes of the masquerade dance, now pale and tawdry in the bright lights. Stunned with horror, they stared through the transparent wall at the gaping socket where the lifeboat had been. Crewmen formed a tight circle around the truck and the man who lay moaning on the floor. Pistols ready, they held back the crowd while Dr. Willoughby administered an intravenous shot of panedol, and Captain Evans, kneeling beside the dying man, tried to catch his whispers. ”

“ Breathing noisily, his plump face flushed, Jasperson smashed his fist into his pile of chips and scattered them to the floor.
"A pure bluff! I hate bluffing!"
"Then you miss a great deal of fun in life," said Larrabee calmly. "I find it dull just to analyze data and then bet on a sure thing. I like a little excitement." ”

“ Do you play poker? Why don't you get up a little game among your friends? That ought to provide you with excitement for one evening at least."
"Would you join the game?"
"No, no, my dear Mr. Jasperson! You and I do not move in the same circles. I confess, I enjoy the delightful uncertainties of poker, but I could never afford to play for your stakes."
"Then we'll make the stakes what you can afford. Each raise limited to five credits?"
"In that case, I might consider it."
"You, Dr. Chase?"
"Too exciting for an invalid, I'm afraid."
"You, Mr. Hall?"
Tom squeezed Dorothy's hand under the table. ”

“ President Laurier had frowned at her, but the Secretary of Interstellar Commerce had laughed.
"Don't be alarmed, Mrs. Laurier. There is no such thing as luck. Even without a bath of champagne, this magnificent vessel will prove that man is certainly master of the universe. She begins her life well and truly named."
The Star Line ought to abandon that silly custom of christening a new ship, thought Captain Evans. ”

“ Tanya slashed a heavy black line across her drawing, bearing down so hard that she broke the chalk, and threw the pieces to the floor.
"He's a coward! Haven't you ever noticed the way he bullies the waiters? How he patronizes Professor Larrabee, and ignores the young Halls? And to hear him tell it, you'd think only his advice makes it possible for Captain Evans to run the ship! I'm afraid of men like that. They're cowardly and boastful, and in a crisis they are dangerous!" ”

“ As Jasperson looked around at the watchful faces of the Engineer, the Pilot, and the Navigator, some of the belligerence left his voice.
"Certainly not, Josiah! And anyway, it's not your knowledge I'm quarreling with. If you run the ship according to the facts, you'll do all right. It's when you let your judgment be influenced by your imagination that I object. But by all means, do as you think best. When the Star Line loses confidence in its Captains, they replace them. ”

“ Alan Chase followed his own routine. Each morning and each evening he geigered his cabin and found the radiation still below the earth normal. He was surprised to find that he was holding his own, physically, instead of becoming progressively weaker, as he had expected, and he began to feel hopeful that he might quickly regain his health on the inert atmosphere of Almazin III. He was not strong enough, however, to take part in the active games of the passengers, and had not enough energy to try to make friends, except for the people at his dining table—particularly Tanya. ”

“ Now it was Thakura's theory that the Ripples are an analogous band of mysterious forces existing in hyperspace. They may be tangible barriers, they may be force barriers, we do not know. But a ship entering this lane may go through it without damage, and by pure chance take a course which misses all these bumps in space. Or, by going slowly and using his instruments to feel his way, a navigator can often sense them ahead, and if he is skillful he may be able to dodge them. ”

“ She can ditch the dangerous Piles and still always have power enough left to make port. One thing is certain, this ship will never be wrecked on the Ripples of a mad scientist's imagination! A phenomenon like the Ripples, is impossible. If it existed, we'd have had some proof of it many years ago."
"But surely you don't mean to imply that if we don't know a fact, it is therefore impossible?"
"Not at all. But you know yourself, Professor Larrabee—you're an educated man—that by this time our physicists understand the universe completely, from A to Z. There are no unexplained phenomena. ”

“ Sickening with the inexorable rise of her fevered power units, the Star Lord trembled with the clangor of bells ringing in library and nursery, in lounges and dance hall, in bar and cabins, in dining rooms and theaters. The orchestra crashed to a stop, the dancers halted, startled and vaguely frightened, half laughing at themselves as they listened to the bells.
Then silence, and the voice of Captain Evans.
"Ladies and gentlemen. Do not be alarmed. Because of certain mechanical difficulties the Star Lord has shifted to normal space. ”

“ Captain Evans appeared, flanked by Thayer and Stacey, each with drawn pistol. He faced the silent crowd and spoke with terrifying calm.
"I will take charge here," he said. "I cannot ask Thayer to take on such a responsibility. I am sure it is not necessary to tell you that there is not room enough in this boat for all of you. If rescue ships arrive in time, those who must remain behind will be taken off. If not—I realize that no human being has the right arbitrarily to send some men to life and keep others for possible death. ”

“ Delicious meals were served three times a day in the several dining rooms, the softly lighted Bar was never closed, and every day three theaters offered a varied program of stereo-dramas. There was even—the most marvelous, daring, expensive luxury of all—a swimming pool. The pool was small, and was open only to the first cabin passengers, but the fact that a ship travelling to a distant solar system could afford room enough for a pool, and extra weight for the water needed to fill it, seemed evidence that man had achieved a complete conquest of the inconveniences of space travel. ”

“ Back in her corner, she picked up her chalk, shuffled her drawings into an orderly heap, paused, and with a wry smile dropped them all to the floor and hurried away.
A sound of crying wailed from the open door of the playroom, and she looked in to see a group of children, none of them more than six, huddled together and sobbing. She walked up to them and smiled, hands on her hips.
"Well, small fry! What are you doing up so late? Why the big howls?" ”

“ We understand all the physical phenomena of the universe."
"Except the Thakura Ripples?"
Jasperson slammed down his glass and stood up, his face red and puffy. "Steward! More ice water! I'm getting tired of those words, professor. Do you think for one minute I'd have risked my life to come on this trip if I'd thought there was the slightest danger?"
Alan looked up languidly. "You mean you wouldn't mind sending a crew and passengers into danger—as long as you could take care to be safe yourself?"
"Surely you're not afraid, Mr. Jasperson?" said Larrabee.
"No. What is there to be afraid of?" ”

“ Most of the ideas do more harm than good, scaring people to death, hurting business. You'd think they ought to have more sense of responsibility!"
He tasted his drink, then nodded knowingly at the bartender. "This is something like! Real absinthe."
Professor Larrabee studied his companion. "I can hardly suppose, Mr. Jasperson, that you hold professors responsible for all the ills of the world. And yet you seem disturbed. Did you have something in particular in mind?"
"Yes. The Thakura Ripples!"
Amusement vanished from the professor's eyes. "What about them?"
"Why are people so afraid of them? ”

“ Jasperson adjusted the set of his jacket over his plump stomach while he waited for an answer, and Captain Evans stared at him.
"Is that why you're wearing a pistol?" he said dryly. "To help the ship fight her battles?"
"This?" His face reddened as he patted his bulging pockets. "Oh, it's just a habit. I don't like being without protection; I always wear a gun in one pocket and my recorder in the other."
"You'll scarcely be in any danger on the ship, Burl. Better leave it in your cabin."
"All right. But about the Ripples—you aren't going to take them seriously, are you?" ”

“ For the passengers, the black menace outside the ship did not exist. Because change of speed cannot be felt in hyperspace, they had no way of realizing that the Star Lord had slackened her pace and was feeling her way cautiously as a blind man to avoid the ominous barriers of the Thakura Ripples. ”

“ Slowly Professor Larrabee raked in the chips, as Jasperson went on complacently.
"That's the only principle a practical man can work on. Know when you're licked. Get all the facts, analyze all the data, and then act on the logical conclusion, no matter how much you may hate to. ”

“ You great, blundering, condemned fool! A man can live for fifteen days without water, but he can't live ten minutes without air. We're done for!"
Jasperson giggled.
Davis collapsed, and he, too, began to laugh, a helpless, gasping laugh. They had entirely forgotten the self-effacing secretary, but the noise of their dying laughter did not disturb him. He had already fallen sideways in his chair, and would never wake again.
On the Star Lord, Tom and Dorothy sat in the empty lounge, looking through the observation port at the real stars that studded the void. They were holding hands. ”

“ Wait, Thayer. We've one more woman here. Which one of you men in Boat A will volunteer to give up his place to young Mrs. Hall?"
An elderly man walked serenely back into the ship, and joined the others.
Dorothy looked bewildered. "But what's happened? We kept hearing so much noise we decided to get up. Is something wrong?"
"We're abandoning ship. This gentleman is giving up his place to you. Get in."
She clung to Tom's arm. "Not without my husband!"
"Mrs. Hall! We can't waste time on hysterics. This ship might be vaporized while we're talking. A man has given up his chance at life for you. ”

“ This trip is a matter of prime importance to the Star Line, and a delay of even three days would keep us from breaking the record. I thought you understood all that?"
Sighing, the Captain shook his head. "I know all that. But we are in dangerous regions, and I can't risk my ship just for a piece of silk! Last night Pile Ten started heating. It's still hot, and we may have to expel it. I hadn't expected to reach the Ripples so soon, and had even hoped we could avoid them entirely, but evidently the limits of the band haven't been charted very accurately. The only safe thing is to go slow." ”

“ They begin to heat, perhaps to heat irreversibly, and if they get out of control, they may vaporize. In the last fifty years at least five ships have vanished in this region, and it was Thakura's belief that they were disintegrated on the Ripples."
"But there isn't any evidence!" Jasperson exploded.
"Isn't a demolished space ship evidence?"
"No! It's evidence that something went wrong, certainly, but it doesn't tell us what went wrong. I'm not an unreasonable man, professor, I'm a hardheaded business man, and I like to deal with facts." ”

“ In the walls, the sun set, twilight crept in, and the stars came out. After the stars had been advancing for several hours, people finished their dancing and card games, walked out of the theaters, had a final drink at the Bar, paused at the bulletin board which detailed the ship's daily progress, and went to bed. ”

“ Tanya lifted her beautiful auburn head and smiled a welcome. Professor Larrabee stood up, his pink cheeks crinkling with pleasure as he shook hands with Tom. [Pg 25]
"Young people make the best companions," he said, "especially on long journeys."
Alan sat down and reached for the vitamin dispenser. "These particular young people want privacy. They're on their honeymoon, and would hardly shed a tear if all the rest of the world suddenly ceased to exist." ”

“ Shrugging his shoulders, Davis strolled away.
Tom glared at the retreating back. "That guy has the face of a murderer. He can't be decent to anybody with less than a million credits."
Dorothy laughed. "Never mind, Tom. Someday you'll be the most famous lawyer in the Interstellar courts, and maybe you'll get a chance to prosecute him for arson or treason."
Alan led them to the rear of the dining room, where his two table companions were finishing the last sips of their coffee, and lighting the first cigarette of the morning. ”

“ If all our passengers were to demand special privileges—" He shrugged his shoulders.
Dorothy Hall whispered shyly, "Ask him, then, what about that man?" and she nodded her head slightly to the right.
"Yes," said Tom. "You say there isn't enough room, but what about that table over there? It's made to seat two, and there's just that one man who eats alone."
Davis glanced over. "Oh, yes. But that's Mr. Jasperson! He likes to be by himself."
"Who's Mr. Jasperson?"
"A very important man."
"And I'm not?"
Alan broke in. "Excuse me, Mr. Hall. I am Dr. Chase. Won't you join my table? ”