But the doctor's crisp voice showed no fatigue; the endless procession of numbers marched out, sharp as print, each spoken so that there could be no mistake, no need to repeat, "nine" always sounded as one syllable, "five" always stretched into two. Max listened and learned and wondered.
He glanced up through the dome, out into space itself, space shown distorted by their unthinkable speed. The stars ahead, or above, had been moving closer together for the past several watches, the huge parallax effect displacing them to the eye so that they seemed to be retreating in the very sector of the sky they were approaching. They were seeing by infra-red waves now, ploughing into oncoming wave trains so fast that doppler effect reduced heat wave lengths to visible light.
The flood of figures stopped. Max looked down, then looked up hastily as he heard Dr. Hendrix say, "Stand by!"
The stars seemed to crawl together, then instantly they were gone to be replaced without any lapse of time whatever by another, new and totally different starry universe.
Hendrix straightened up and sighed, then looked up. "There's the Albert Memorial," he said quietly. "And there is the Hexagon. Well, Captain, it seems we made it again." He turned to Simes. "Take it, Mister." He let the Captain go first, then followed him down the hatch.
The control gang went back to easy watches; the next transition was many days away. Max continued as chartsman-of -the-watch in place of Kovak, who temporarily replaced Dr. Hendrix while the Astrogator got a week of rest: There was truly not much to do during the early part of a leg and the doctor's superb skill was not needed. But Max greatly enjoyed the new arrangements; it made him proud to sign the rough log "M. Jones, Chtsmn o/W." He felt that he had arrived--even though Simes found fault with him and Kelly continued to drill him unmercifully in control room arts.
He was surprised but not apprehensive when he was told, during an off-watch period, to report to the Astrogator. He put on a fresh uniform, slicked his hair clown, and went above "C" deck. "Apprentice Chartsman Jones reporting, sir."
Kelly was there, having coffee with the Astrogator. Hendrix acknowledged Max's salutation but left him standing. "Yes, Jones." He turned to Kelly. "Suppose you break the news."
"If you say so, sir." Kelly looked uncomfortable. "Well, Jones, it's like this--you don't really belong in my guild."
Max was so shocked that he could not answer. He was about to say that he had thought--he had understood--he hadn't known-- But he got nothing out; Kelly continued, "The fact is, you ought to buck for astrogator. The Doctor and I have been talking it over."
The buzzing in his head got worse. He became aware that Dr. Hendrix was repeating, "Well, Jones? Do you want to try it? Or don't you?"
Max managed to say, "Yes. Yes, sir."
"Good. Kelly and I have been watching you. He is of the opinion and so am I that you may, just possibly, have the latent ability to develop the skill and speed necessary. The question is: do _you_ think so?"
"Uh ... that is-- I hope so, sir!"
"So do I," Hendrix answered dryly. 'We shall see. If you haven't, you can revert to your own guild and no harm is done. The experience will make you a better chartsman." The Astrogator turned to Kelly. "I'll quiz Jones a bit, Kelly. Then we can make up our minds."
"Very good, sir." Kelly stood up.
When the Chief Computerman had gone Hendrix turned to his desk, hauled out a crewman's personal record. To Max he said harshly, "Is this yours?"
Max looked at it and gulped. "Yes, sir."
Dr. Hendrix held his eye. "Well? How good a picture is it of your career thus far? Any comment you want to make?"
The pause might have been a dozen heart beats, though to Max it was an endless ordeal. Then a catharsis came bursting up out of him and he heard himself answering, "It's not a good picture at all, sir. It's phony from one end to the other."
Even as he said it, he wondered why. He felt that he had kicked to pieces his one chance to achieve his ambition. Yet, instead of feeling tragic, he felt oddly relaxed.
Hendrix put the personal record back on his desk. "Good," he answered. "Very good. If you had given any other answer, I would have run you out of my control room. Now, do you want to tell me about it? Sit down."
So Max sat down and told him. All that he held back was Sam's name and such details as would have identified Sam. Naturally Dr Hendrix noticed the omission and asked him point blank.
"I won't tell you, sir."
Hendrix nodded. "Very well. Let me add that I shall make no attempt to identify this, ah, friend of yours-- if by chance he is in this ship."
"Thank you, sir."
There followed a considerable silence. At last Hendrix said, "Son, what led you to attempt this preposterous chicanery? Didn't you realize you would be caught?"
Max thought about it. "I guess I knew I would be, sir--eventually. But I wanted to space and there wasn't any other way to do it." When Hendrix did not answer Max went on. After the first relief of being able to tell the truth, he felt defensive, anxious to justify himself--and just a little bit irked that Dr. Hendrix did not see that he had simply done what he _had_ to do--so it seemed to Max. "What would you have done, sir?"
"Me? How can I answer that? What you're really asking is: do I consider your actions morally wrong, as well as illegal?"
"Uh, I suppose so, sir."
"Is it wrong to lie and fake and bribe to get what you want? It's worse than wrong, it's undignified!"
Dr. Hendrix chewed his lip and continued. "Perhaps that opinion is the sin of the Pharisees .... my own weakness. I don't suppose that a young, penniless tramp, such as you described yourself to be, can afford the luxury of dignity. As for the rest, human personality is a complex thing, nor am I a judge. Admiral Lord Nelson was a liar, a libertine, and outstandingly undisciplined. President Abraham Lincoln was a vulgarian and nervously unstable. The list is endless. No, Jones, I am not going to pass judgment; you must do that yourself. The authorities having jurisdiction will reckon your offenses; I am concerned only with whether or not you have the qualities I need."
Max's emotions received another shock. He had already resigned himself to the idea that he had lost his chance. "Sir?"
"Don't misunderstand me." Hendrix tapped the forged record. "I don't like this. I don't like it at all. But perhaps you can live down your mistake. In the meantime, I badly need another watch officer; if you measure up, I can use you. Part of it is personal, too; your uncle taught me, I shall try to teach you."
"Uh, I'll try, sir. Thank you."
"Don't thank me. I'm not even feeling particularly friendly to you, at the moment. Don't talk with anyone. I'll ask the Captain to call a guild meeting and he and Mr. Simes and I will vote on you. We'll make you a probationary apprentice which will permit the Captain to appoint you to the temporary rank of merchant cadet. The legalities are a bit different from those of the usual route as you no doubt know."
Max did not know, though he was aware that officers sometimes came up "through the cargo hatch"--but another point hit him. "Mr. Simes, sir?"
"Certainly. By this procedure, all the astrogators you serve with must pass on you."
"Uh, does it have to unanimous, sir?"
"Yes."
"Then-- Well, sir, you might as well forget it. I mean, I appreciate your willingness to, uh, but ..."His voice trailed off.
Dr. Hendrix smiled mirthlessly. "Hadn't you better let me worry about that?"
"Oh. Sorry, sir."
"When it has been logged, I'll notify you. Or 'when and if,' if you prefer."
"Yes, sir." Max stood up. "Sir? There were, uh, a couple of other things I wondered about."
Hendrix had turned back to his desk. He answered, "Well?" somewhat impatiently.