'And when I opened the airlock and went through, there it was, big as life.'
He continued: 'The scientific reason for such a dual space-time condition is not yet known. But there are several unique features in this situation.
For example, when I looked out from the bridge of the Hope of Man yesterday, the solar system was many, many quadrillions of miles away. Yet from a porthole of the Molly D, I saw that in some time fashion, it is well inside the solar system. In fact, I could see Earth, and it seemed to be going along normally.
'We may surmise that some of the beings you saw out in space have solved these space-time confusions, and obviously the Hope of Man must remain in space until the problem is solved for the human race also. To help us solve this problem, several leading scientists, have volunteered to come aboard. We shall also have a full complement of other scholars and experts and, of course, a Space-Patrol unit to keep order. Some of these men will bring their families. Others are single.
'As soon as they are aboard, the Molly D will cast off, and we shall be alone again. As for you men -'
He paused to make sure that he had their full attention, then continued:
'As far as I know, no one will be charged with unlawful acts. The history of the ship is regarded as a sociological and not a criminal phenomenon. But we don't want you on the ship.'
Hewitt turned to the patrol chief, said quietly, 'I think that about does it.'
When Gourdy and his cronies had been herded out of the apartment, Hewitt confronted the women who were now fully dressed.
'Be calm,' he said. 'Everything will be all right. Why don't you have breakfast? I have many things to do.'
He went out without explaining further. He anticipated that the women would have a problem adjusting. But, then, many others would have the same problem.
Law and order were about to come aboard the Hope of Man.
Hewitt remained away from the captain's cabin during the entire transformation period that followed... On the eighth day, a patrol craft arrived with the first of the new passengers.
Among the arrivals was the redoubtable Peter Linden. 'Young man,' he said to Hewitt, with eyes that twinkled, though his face was serious, 'the unsuspected existence of so many unusual space-time conditions finally made me take a look at the mathematics of John Lesbee I. I have accordingly advised the government of the Combined Western Powers that his theory and proof have shaken my confidence and that I believe that something will happen, that the sun may indeed take on – what is the famous phrase that was so often ridiculed? – "some of the aspects of a Cepheid Variable." We'd better figure out something to do about that.'
Hewitt, who had years of frustration behind him on this subject, was silent. He had no facile solution either.
37
Lesbee and Tellier arrived at the Hope of Man almost in no time. He had brought the entire craft up to 973-to-one time ratio, and so their coming was not visible to those aboard.
At the airlock, he reduced the ratio to ship time. His purpose was to enter quickly, which was done. But he was nervous now. As soon as the small craft was stowed away, he activated its airlock, emerged from it – and only he stepped up to the higher time ratio.
In this state he went directly to the bridge, and, with a small power tool that he had brought with him to fast time, released the relay that had snapped up when the lifeboat entered its compartment.
Next, he headed for Tellier's apartment and literally materialized before the eyes of Tellier's wife. It took a while then to give reassurances, to make clear what he wanted; the woman remained in a disturbed emotional condition longer than he had anticipated. She kept closing her gray eyes tight, then opening them and staring at him as if in disbelief. And she talked steadily about how she had missed her husband.
When she did grow calmer, it was only to break out on a new level of compulsive chatter. This time Lesbee learned about the coming of the strangers. He could have become interested at that point; could have questioned her closely. But even that, he decided, could wait.
At last, she subsided, smiled wanly, and said, 'What do you want me to do?'
He wanted her to get her clothes together and accompany him to the landing craft.
That also took time, but presently he had her in the lifeboat, and he left her there with her husband.
Lesbee returned to look over the ship. This time he saw the newcomers. He found vantage positions from which he could examine them; Lou Tellier had been singularly unclear as to who they were.
...Patrol officers and civilians.
He traced them to the Molly D, and examined the situation there with some interest, tried to analyze what was going on. Since a considerable amount of luggage had been moved into cabins, and several families were already aboard, he realized with amazement that the intention was to continue the voyage.
Lesbee hid in an empty case and accompanied one of the Molly D 's landing craft back to Earth.
And so he stood on a planet, stood with his two feet on soil, on pavement. For most of the first day he wandered in a normal state around the streets, watched the traffic, read the papers. Reverting briefly to high-time rate, he went into a bank vault where a responsible officer was getting money. Lesbee helped himself to a thousand dollars and departed. It would be months before anyone would discover that it was gone.
He came one to one, timewise, checked in at a magnificent hotel, and ate the finest meal he had ever had. Afterward, in the hotel bar, he picked up a good-looking young woman who was also staying at the hotel. Late in the evening, they retired to his apartment. For several hours he listened to her chatter, striving to orient himself to the world. In the morning they had breakfast together, he made her a suitable gift, and went his way; she hers.
The papers that morning reported that Gourdy had been re-arrested.
Lesbee read the charge with alarm. The Space Board had decided that it would extend its hold across a century of time, down five generations – claiming that only thus could space travel be kept orderly. No matter how long the voyage, people must learn that if they did not in the end accept the 'natural' -the word was actually used – development of authority aboard a space vessel, they would be punished to the full extent of the law.
What this reasoning told Lesbee was that his own rebellion might be illegal. The Browne take-over could easily be considered natural.
Suddenly, he had two choices only: Remain on Earth, live quietly, call no attention to himself... Go back to the ship, take it away from Hewitt, and resume the voyage...
Since a man with his special information should not remain silent, the first choice had no meaning.
But what really decided him was that several newspapers carried Peter Linden's reasoning on the possible validity of John Lesbee I's theory of change in the sun... It was carefully done by Linden. He predicted that there would be plenty of time to consider the matter and act on it.
Lesbee, who had read his ancestor's account in the ship's records, recalled that his great-great-grandfather had decided that the change would occur – as Lesbee remembered it – in from six to ten years.