Interstellar travel -- Fiction; Science fiction; Television programs -- Fiction
Cochrane was no mathematician, but he could see that there was no data
for computation on hand. After one found out how fast an acceleration of
one Earth-gravity in a Dabney field of such-and-such strength speeded up
a ship, something like dead reckoning could be managed. But all that
could be known right now was that they had come a long way.
He remembered a television show he'd produced, laid in space on an
imaginary voyage. The script-writer had had one of the characters say
that no constellation would be visible at a hundred light-years from the
solar system. It would be rather like a canary trying to locate the
window he'd escaped from, from a block away, with no memories of the
flight from it.
Cochrane said suddenly, in a pleased tone:
"This is a pretty good break--if we can keep them from finding out about
it back home! We'll have an entirely new program, good for a
thirteen-week sequence, on just this!"
Babs stared at him.
"Main set, this control-room," said Cochrane enthusiastically. "We'll
get a long-beard scientist back home with a panel of experts. We'll
discuss our problems here! We'll navigate from home, with the whole
business on the air! We'll have audience-identification up to a record!
Everybody on Earth will feel like he's here with us, sharing our
problems!"
Jones said irritably:
"You don't get it! We're lost! We can't check our speed without knowing
where we are and how far we've come! We can't find out what the ship
will do when we can't find out what it's done! Don't you see?"
Cochrane said patiently:
"I know! But we're in touch with Luna through the Dabney field that got
us here! It transmitted radiation before, faster than light. It's
transmitting voice and pictures now. Now we set up a television show
which pays for our astrogation and lets the world sit in on the prettier
aspects of our travels. Hm.... How long before you can sit down on a
planet, after you have all the navigational aids of--say--the four best
observatories on Earth to help you? I'll arrange for a sponsor--."
He went happily down the stairs again. This was a spiral stair, and he
zestfully spun around it as he went to the next deck below. At the
bottom he called up to Babs:
"Babs! Get Bell and Alicia Keith and come along to take dictation! I'm
going to need some legal witnesses for the biggest deal in the history
of advertising, made at several times the speed of light!"
And he went zestfully to the communicator to set it up.
And time passed. Data arrived, which at once solved Jones' and the
pilot's problem of where they were and how far they had come--it was,
actually, 178.3 light-years--and they spent an hour making further tests
and getting further determinations, and then they got a destination.
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account