Upon a Sea of Stars Read Online Free Page A
Author: A. Bertram Chandler
installed?”
He grinned at her. “Your intelligence service isn’t quite as good as you’d have us believe, Sonya. The Quest has no anti-matter incorporated in her structure yet—as you know, it’s not allowed within a hundred miles of any populated area. But there’s a suitably sized sphere of the stuff hanging in orbit, and there it stays until Faraway Quest goes upstairs to collect it. You know the drill, of course—the antimatter, then an insulation of neutronium, than a steel shell with powerful permanent magnets built into it to keep the anti-matter from making contact with normal matter. A neutrino bombardment and, presto!—anti-gravity. As a matter of fact the reason for the Quest’s refitting was so that she could be used for research into the problems arising from incorporating anti-gravity into a ship with normal interstellar drive.”
“Good. Your technicians had better see to the installing of the anti-matter, and then ours—there’s a bunch of them due in from Elsinore in Rim Bison —will be making a few modifications to the Carlotti gear. Meanwhile, have you considered manning?”
“I have. But, before we go any further, just what modifications do you have in mind? I may as well make it clear now that the Carlotti gear will have to be restored to an as-was condition before the ship comes off hire.”
“Don’t worry, it will be. Or brand new equipment will be installed.” She paused and glanced meaningfully at the coffee dispenser. Grimes drew her a cup, then one for himself. “Well, John, I suppose you’re all agog to learn what’s going to happen to your beloved Faraway Quest , to say nothing of you and me and the mugs who sail with us. Get this straight, I’m no boffin. I can handle a ship and navigate well enough to justify my Executive Branch commission, but that’s all.
“Anyhow, this is the way of it, errors and omissions expected. As soon as the necessary modifications have been made to the ship, we blast off, and then cruise along the lanes on which Rim Ghost sightings have been most frequent. It will help, of course, if all members of the crew are people who’ve made a habit of seeing Rim Ghosts . . .”
“That’s been attended to,” said Grimes.
“Good. So we cruise along quietly and peacefully—but keeping our eyes peeled. And as soon as Ghost is sighted—Action Stations!”
“You aren’t going to open fire on it?” demanded Grimes.
“Of course not. But there will be things to be done, and done in a ruddy blush. The officer of the watch will push a button that will convert the ship into an enormously powerful electro-magnet, and the same switch will actuate the alarm bells. Automatically the projector of the modified Carlotti beacon will swing to bring the Ghost into its field. The boffins tell me that what should happen is that a bridge, a temporary bridge, will be thrown across the gulf between the Parallel Universes.”
“I see. And as Faraway Quest is an enormously powerful magnet, the other ship, the Ghost, will be drawn into our Universe.”
“No,” she said impatiently. “Have you forgotten the anti-matter, the anti-gravity? The Quest will have one helluva magnetic field, but no mass to speak of. She’ll be the one that gets pulled across the gap, or through the curtain, or however else you care to put it.”
“And how do we get back?” asked Grimes.
“I’m not very clear on that point myself,” she admitted.
The Commodore laughed. “So when I man the Quest it will have to be with people with no ties.” He said softly, “I have none.”
“And neither have I, John,” she told him. “Not any longer.”
Chapter 5
CAPTAIN FARLEY was somewhat disgruntled at being called back from leave, but was mollified slightly when Grimes told him that he would be amply compensated. As soon as was decently possible the Commodore left Farley to cope with whatever problems relative to the efficient running of Rim Runners arose—after all, it was
He grinned at her. “Your intelligence service isn’t quite as good as you’d have us believe, Sonya. The Quest has no anti-matter incorporated in her structure yet—as you know, it’s not allowed within a hundred miles of any populated area. But there’s a suitably sized sphere of the stuff hanging in orbit, and there it stays until Faraway Quest goes upstairs to collect it. You know the drill, of course—the antimatter, then an insulation of neutronium, than a steel shell with powerful permanent magnets built into it to keep the anti-matter from making contact with normal matter. A neutrino bombardment and, presto!—anti-gravity. As a matter of fact the reason for the Quest’s refitting was so that she could be used for research into the problems arising from incorporating anti-gravity into a ship with normal interstellar drive.”
“Good. Your technicians had better see to the installing of the anti-matter, and then ours—there’s a bunch of them due in from Elsinore in Rim Bison —will be making a few modifications to the Carlotti gear. Meanwhile, have you considered manning?”
“I have. But, before we go any further, just what modifications do you have in mind? I may as well make it clear now that the Carlotti gear will have to be restored to an as-was condition before the ship comes off hire.”
“Don’t worry, it will be. Or brand new equipment will be installed.” She paused and glanced meaningfully at the coffee dispenser. Grimes drew her a cup, then one for himself. “Well, John, I suppose you’re all agog to learn what’s going to happen to your beloved Faraway Quest , to say nothing of you and me and the mugs who sail with us. Get this straight, I’m no boffin. I can handle a ship and navigate well enough to justify my Executive Branch commission, but that’s all.
“Anyhow, this is the way of it, errors and omissions expected. As soon as the necessary modifications have been made to the ship, we blast off, and then cruise along the lanes on which Rim Ghost sightings have been most frequent. It will help, of course, if all members of the crew are people who’ve made a habit of seeing Rim Ghosts . . .”
“That’s been attended to,” said Grimes.
“Good. So we cruise along quietly and peacefully—but keeping our eyes peeled. And as soon as Ghost is sighted—Action Stations!”
“You aren’t going to open fire on it?” demanded Grimes.
“Of course not. But there will be things to be done, and done in a ruddy blush. The officer of the watch will push a button that will convert the ship into an enormously powerful electro-magnet, and the same switch will actuate the alarm bells. Automatically the projector of the modified Carlotti beacon will swing to bring the Ghost into its field. The boffins tell me that what should happen is that a bridge, a temporary bridge, will be thrown across the gulf between the Parallel Universes.”
“I see. And as Faraway Quest is an enormously powerful magnet, the other ship, the Ghost, will be drawn into our Universe.”
“No,” she said impatiently. “Have you forgotten the anti-matter, the anti-gravity? The Quest will have one helluva magnetic field, but no mass to speak of. She’ll be the one that gets pulled across the gap, or through the curtain, or however else you care to put it.”
“And how do we get back?” asked Grimes.
“I’m not very clear on that point myself,” she admitted.
The Commodore laughed. “So when I man the Quest it will have to be with people with no ties.” He said softly, “I have none.”
“And neither have I, John,” she told him. “Not any longer.”
Chapter 5
CAPTAIN FARLEY was somewhat disgruntled at being called back from leave, but was mollified slightly when Grimes told him that he would be amply compensated. As soon as was decently possible the Commodore left Farley to cope with whatever problems relative to the efficient running of Rim Runners arose—after all, it was
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