Astounding Stories of Super-Science February 1930Various
Science
Astounding Stories of Super-Science February 1930
Various
Science fiction -- Periodicals; Science fiction, American -- Periodicals
For the rest of the afternoon and all of that night I received his
messages regularly, but with the coming of daylight they began to fade.
By nine o'clock I could get only a word here and there. By noon I could
hear nothing. I went to sleep hoping that the night would bring better
reception, nor was I disappointed. About eight o'clock I received a
message, rather faintly, but none the less distinctly.
"I regret more than ever that I did not install a transmitter so that I
could learn from you whether you are receiving my messages," his voice
said faintly. "I have no idea of whether you can hear me or not, but I
will keep on repeating this message every hour while my battery holds
out. It is now thirty hours since I left the earth and I should be on
the moon, according to my calculations. But I am not, and never will be.
I am caught at the neutral point where the gravity of the earth and the
moon are exactly equal.
"I had relied on my momentum to carry me over this point. Once over it,
I expected to reverse my polarity and fall on the moon. My momentum did
not do so. If I keep my polarity as it was when left the earth, both the
earth and the moon repel me. If I reverse it, they both attract me, and
again I cannot move. If I had equipped my space flier with a rocket so
that I could move a few miles, or even a few feet, from the dead line, I
could proceed, but I did not do so, and I cannot move forward or back.
Apparently I am doomed to stay here until my air gives out. Then my
body, entombed in my space ship, will endlessly circle the earth as a
satellite until the end of time. There is no hope for me, for long
before a duplicate of my device equipped with rockets could be
constructed and come to my rescue, my air would be exhausted. Good-by,
Tom. You may write your story as soon as you wish. I will repeat my
message in one hour. Good-by!"
At nine and at ten o'clock the message was repeated. At eleven it
started again but after a few sentences the sound suddenly ceased and
the receiver went dead. I thought that the fault was with the receiver
and I toiled feverishly the rest of the night, but without result. I
learned later that the messages heard all over the world ceased at the
same hour.
The next morning Professor Montescue announced his discovery of the
world's new satellite.
* * * * *
_Coming_--
MURDER MADNESS
_An Extraordinary Four-Part Novel_
_By_ MURRAY LEINSTER
* * * * *
The Beetle Horde
_By Victor Rousseau_
Bullets, shrapnel, shell--nothing can stop the trillions of
famished, man-sized beetles which, led by a madman, sweep down
over the human race.
[Illustration: _The hideous monsters leaped into the cockpits and began
their abominable meal._]
CONCLUSION
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account