LT. COL. GREAVES: Because we knew that this would be our only chance. The difference in the two orbits was such that the forthcoming juxtaposition of the two craft could not occur again for weeks and possibly months and consequently could not occur again at all since our flight was limited to three orbits. In addition, there was the strong possibility that Spaceship X, owing to the nonreflective nature of the metal of which it was constructed, might never be relocated. It had, after all, gone undetected up till now. We felt that the situation had all of the earmarks of a heaven-sent opportunity, and that it would be a shame not to take advantage of it. SEN. LARCH: Did it not occur to you that the vessel might be an advanced Vostok model of some kind, and that it might be manned? LT. COL. GREAVES: We knew without even having to discuss the matter that while the Russians would have been capable of building such a ship, launching it with their present boosters would have been out of the question. SEN. LARCH: But it did occur to you that the vessel might be manned by, shall we say, extra-terrestrial intelligences? LT. COL. GREAVES: Yes it did. As a matter of fact, we were convinced that it must be manned by beings of some sort--until we got close enough to see the meteor holes in the hull. We knew then that while it might once have been manned, it was manned no more--save, perhaps, by dead men. We also knew that in order for it to have suffered that many meteor penetrations, it must have been in space for millennia. SEN. LARCH: You assumed this latter contingency--isn't that what you mean, colonel? You couldn't possibly have known it for a certainty. LT. COL. GREAVES: Granted. But later developments bore us out. SEN. LARCH: Let's get down to those later developments, shall we? Suppose we start from the moment you radioed the news of your discovery back to central control. What did you do then? LT. COL. GREAVES: We estimated when juxtaposition would occur and how long it would endure, then radioed the information back to central control together with the information that this was the only time during our flight that it could occur. Finally we requested permission for one of us to board the other craft. SEN. LARCH: I understand that you stated that in view of the fact that the ship was unmanned and that its attitude was relatively stable, the danger involved would be negligible. Was this entirely true, colonel? LT. COL. GREAVES: Entirely. As you know, senator, orbital rendezvous have been achieved many times, both by this country and by the Soviet Union, and in several instances actual transference has taken place. The instance in question seems dangerous merely because the rendezvous was fortuitous rather than planned. Fortuitous or not, however, it posed no unusual problems, and there were two possible means of entry virtually staring us in the face. * * * * *