"Which just goes to prove," Crane laughed, "that you really can have your cake and eat it." Planning the flight was much simpler than it seemed to the non-specialist public. Very little of a new nature had to be added to the ship's design beyond what had been known for a long time. And there was no doubt that hyperdrive speeds far beyond those of light were possible if the proper carrier components were selected from those that averaged out to the normal 186,000-mile limit. That had been mastered a long time ago. The only doubt had been about the ability to return. Now that was dispelled and they could safely plan to reach a point close to the galactic center and return within seven weeks. No calculations had been left to chance; the survey of all known factors showed that it was no more dangerous than a journey within the solar system--and that certainly was routine by now. If anything, popular enthusiasm increased the longer the project lasted. Thousands of men threw themselves into the round-the-clock effort and nine months after construction had commenced the great sleek ship was ready. * * * * * The _New Cosmos_ took off on a morning of bright spring sunlight but, instead of immediately moving onto special carrier components, stuck to solar velocities so that they first could make a triumphal tour of the system. Approaching Mars, they were met by a great fleet of commuting liners, rising to greet them with an enormous display of atomic fireworks, and in their circuit of Saturn they were treated to a special auroral display. Then, two days later, the last planet behind them, they moved into hyperdrive, heading for the first node of continuous creation. Crane made his hundredth re-check and said, "We'll be there in forty minutes." Outside the nearer stars had become tiny beeps of light, visible only for miniseconds, and only those of the farther reaches accompanied them fixedly on their way. Lowen gave regular two-minute interval readings of structural fatigue. "The electron loss is within one part in a million of estimate--and the error is in our favor. We can proceed five hours without danger." Fitzhugh beamed his contentment. "So much margin of safety--it's a beautiful universe!" They established voice contact with Earth on the carrier components and spoke all at once into the receiver as the "Are you all right?" query came: "Never better!" they shouted. Lowen was the first to pull himself out of their attack of space ecstasy. "We will start sending data following the first node," he intoned. "Twenty minutes to first report."