Josephs stood stock-still, blinking. Then he said, 'Oh!' And in a subdued tone, 'The sun is only moving away from us slowly. I would venture to say that that proves that what we are witnessing is not entirely a speed phenomenon.'
Hewitt said, startled, 'But that would mean a time expansion of absolutely incredible proportions. I can't even imagine it.'
Josephs said apologetically, 'Perhaps the sooner I begin my study -'
'But where are the planets?' Gourdy yelled. 'That's what we want to know. What's happened to Earth, Mars, Venus, Jupiter and – and – the others? They aren't there.'
He was more perturbed about that than about the speed. Earth was his ultimate goal. His special situation required that he go there more slowly than the others desired.
But he wanted Earth to be there when he finally arrived.
Once more Josephs was apologetic. 'They probably are there, sir, but orbiting around the sun at such a high velocity we can't see them. I imagine that if we could look closely enough we'd see rings of light. The superspeed cameras aboard will undoubtedly be able to obtain some kind of picture.'
Gourdy said from between clenched teeth, 'Take 'em. Take the pictures, damn it, and send them to me.'
The photographs – which were delivered to Gourdy's desk later that day – showed all the planets. Josephs had appended a note:
Gourdy riffled through the photographs with impatient fingers. He was about to put them down when an oddity about one of the pictures struck him. He drew it out of the pack and stared at it with a frown.
The camera had taken a picture angling across a part of the curved outer hull of the Hope of Man. In the distance, this starry scene was of a portion of the sky. It was bright and beautiful with points of lights – thousands of distant suns. On the back of the picture, Josephs had written in connection with this part of the scene: 'Looking toward Aries, toward which the solar system is moving.'
That part was understandable, obvious.
But there was a whitish blotch across the lower part of the photograph. At that point, the curving surface of the ship was already falling away. The blotch seemed to be an extension of a condition that came up from the ship, below the range of the camera.
About this phenomenon, Josephs had noted on the back, 'I have no idea what the semicircular shape is. It looks like too much light got onto the film. In view of our unusual matter-state, I decided not to make the automatic assumption that it was merely a defect.'
Gourdy couldn't make anything out of it either. So he shrugged presently and put it aside. He felt incompetent in the face of so many unusual conditions to make any kind of a scientific judgment. But he was as convinced as ever that he was the logical person to supervise the research that would have to be done. As he saw it, the scientists would have to report to him. He would decide what to do, and when.
He said to Harcourt, who had brought the photos, 'We got plenty of scientific brains to take care of our scientific problems.'
Thus, lightly, he dismissed a situation that had no parallel in human experience.
He saw now, clearly, that this condition was the opportunity he had been seeking.
'Call everybody up to the main assembly room,' he commanded. 'See that the boys are armed, and tell 'em to act and look as if they can take care of anything and anybody.'
'You want everybody?' Harcourt asked, incredulous. 'All those guys from downstairs, too!'
'Everybody. Meeting right after dinner.'
At the meeting, Gourdy had the projectionist show the photos, and he had Clyde Josephs explain what they meant.
When that was done, Gourdy stepped forward. 'Now, folks,' he said, 'what this really means is that we won't be landing till we solve the problem. I promise this. The best scientific and engineering brains aboard will be assigned to the task and' -he indicated Hewitt, who sat in the front row below him – 'I'm sure Mr. Hewitt will contribute what he can from his overall knowledge of the ship.'
He beckoned Hewitt. 'Will you come up here, sir?' he asked graciously.
Hewitt climbed onto the stage grimly. He was disturbed by the skill with which Gourdy was manipulating the meeting in his own favor. He glanced questioningly at Gourdy.
Gourdy said courteously, 'Mr. Hewitt, will you tell all of these people how and under what conditions you came aboard?'
When Hewitt had done so, Gourdy said, 'In your opinion, is there any chance of using your method in reverse to get these people to Earth?'
Even if there was, it was the last thing that Hewitt – with his purposes – would have admitted.
Aloud he said, 'Since we don't even know exactly what happened, the answer has to be that it's impossible. I've tried to imagine the time-space condition that existed when I came aboard the Hope of Man – what, for example, was the relationship in terms of physics and chemistry between me and the ship? I cannot get a satisfactory concept. My suggestion is the same as Mr. Josephs' – that we catch up with the solar system, and then make our next move on the basis of what we observe at that time.'
Gourdy stepped forward beside Hewitt. He was smiling, but alarm bells were ringing inside him. Although he could see no harm in the actual suggestion, he suddenly suspected a conspiracy. The fact that Josephs and Hewitt had made the same recommendation seemed significant and sinister. He had a feeling that the scientists understood something that he didn't.
At the moment, he saw that he had no alternative but to accept it. He said loudly, 'I hereby authorize Mr. Hewitt and Mr. Miller to accelerate this ship to match velocities with the solar system.'
He turned to Hewitt, and with apparent openness said, 'What about the repair Mr. Lesbee was doing on the engine?'
Hewitt had already examined the engines and recognized the repair for what it was. He said smoothly, 'Only the instrument panels have been removed so far, and we should be able to replace them by the time the sleep period begins.'
'Then act!' said Gourdy in the decisive tone that he considered necessary to reassure the people of the ship at this special meeting.
Thus the assembly came to its end.
Back in his cabin, Gourdy settled into his chair with savage satisfaction and gazed up at Harcourt. 'And now,' he said, 'we've got to get rid of Hewitt. What he did there did him no good, but it was a try.'
The quick, earlier suspicion had become a solid certainty in his mind.
He added, 'Hewitt is our only danger now, since Lesbee took off.'
Thought of Lesbee made him shake his head in wonderment. 'That guy Lesbee really had a head on his shoulders. He had me figured, all right. But I'm kinda glad he got away – if he did; maybe he's lost out there in that spinning universe.' He broke off: 'Here, have a sip of this!'