The human fiddled with the telescreen. Three months ago the notion of calling over nearly half a billion miles with that undersized thing would have been merely ridiculous. But that was another byproduct of Urushkidan's theory. You used an electron wave with unlimited velocity as a carrier beam for your radio photons. It induced a similar effect in the other transmitter. No distance diminution. No time lag. Anyway, not within the limits of anything so small as the Solar System. Ray got the standard wavelength of the U.N. public relations office, the only one which he could call freely without going through a lot of red tape. A blurred face looked out at him. He hadn't refined his circuits to the point of eliminating distortion, and the U.N. official resembled something seen through ten feet of rippled water--at least, his image did. But the voice was clear enough. "Who is this, please?" "Ray Ballantyne, returning from Alpha Centauri on the first faster-than-light spaceship. Calling from the vicinity of Jupiter." "This is no time for joking. Who the devil are you and what do you want? Please report." "I want to give the U.N. Patrol the secret of faster-than-light travel. Stand by to record." "Hey!" screamed Urushkidan. "I neber said I'd gibe--" * * * * * Dyann put her foot on his head and pushed him against the floor. "Oh, well," he said. "Trough te incredible generosity of myself, ten, te secret is made freely abailable--" "Ready to record?" asked Ray tightly. "I said your humor is in very bad taste," said the official, and switched off with an ugly scowl. Ray blinked weakly at the set for a while. Then he tuned in on Earth broadcasts until he caught a news program. Jupiter had declared war a month ago, defeated the U.N. navy in a running battle off Mars, seized bases on Luna, and was threatening atomic bombardment of Earth unless terms were met. "Oh, gosh," said Ray. "Such an inbasion could only be launched, on a shoestring," said Urushkidan. "Te U.N. still has bases closer to home, it can cut Jobian supply lines--" "And meanwhile poor old Earth is reduced to radioactive rubbish," said Ray gloomily. "And those gruntbrains in charge won't believe I've got the decisive weapon to save them." "Would you beliebe such a claim?" "No, but this is different, damn it." "Ganymede dead ahead," shouted Dyann. "Stand by for action! Get ready to make a landing." VII The flagship-spaceboat slanted into the moon's atmosphere with a whoop and a holler, blazed across the ragged surface, and lowered outside the great dome of Ganymede City. The clumsy hulks behind her wallowed after at a more leisurely pace.