Satellites -- Fiction; Science fiction; Short stories; Teleportation -- Fiction
"Guess I'd probably better let the CO talk to you about that. But first
tell me about the Series."
So we bat the breeze a while about what is going on back on Earth,
and I start to wonder how am I going to get back there. Yogi tells me
to let the CO worry about that, and in the meantime offers to show me
around the joint.
There's not much to see on Lunette--nothing but salt water lakes,
limestone cliffs, a few scrawny trees, and some weird bushes with round
things dangling from them that you'd think was grapefruit, or something
like that, until you found out they were hard as coconuts.
All of the plant life looked like the chlorophyll people had been there
already, and had taken a big haul back to their toothpaste factories.
The grass and leaves were either a kind of chartreuse or a pale color
like weak orangeade. Finally we take off for the CO.
* * * * *
The Captain turned out to be a right guy, but he sure was upset about
the security angle. He couldn't help grinning, though, when Yogi said,
"I still think it's damned funny that a civilian could stumble into a
top secret army base 100,000 miles from home!"
"Well, Peters," the Captain said, "we can't very well send you back
tonight anyway, because both the regular station and the test station
at your plant in Chicago are closed now. Under ordinary circumstances
I'd have to lock you up, but I don't see how you can escape from us! Go
bunk with Yogi and let me think it over."
He stopped us as we started out of the tent. "And men, keep your lips
buttoned."
We join the fellows and talked about baseball for a couple hours. We
organized a game for the next day, and I agreed to play shortstop,
even though I'm hoping I won't be around for it. The Captain's remarks
hadn't made me feel too easy on that score.
I ask Yogi how come all the bicycles over by the pueblo castle and he
explains that they can be broadcast, unassembled, where the parts to a
jeep or any other big vehicle would be too heavy for the Matter BARS
to handle. He says they're used by the crews assigned to surveying and
mapping Lunette, making geological and botanical surveys, and that sort
of thing.
Yogi gets me a sleeping bag and we stretch out under the stars in front
of the limestone castle. (Man, that thing is pretty in the moonlight,
Mr. President.) Lanterns hanging in some of the caves made it sparkle
here and there like a giant hunk of jewelry. And I never breathed such
fresh, sweet air as that, anyplace.
The next day the CO calls Yogi in for a conference that doesn't include
me, so I get in on the baseball game after all. It was a lot of fun,
too. Lunette's gravity is much less that of Earth so I made some pretty
wild throws until I got oriented.
At chow time I latched onto Yogi. "Hey, kid, when do I get out of here?
This is a fine adventure, but after all, I got obligations back on
Earth."
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