Derelict - Alan E Nourse

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Derelict by Alan E. Nors recording by Mark Nelson. John Sabo,
second in command, sat bolt upright in his bunk, blinking
wide eyed at the darkness. The alarm was screaming through
the satellite station, its harsh nerve jarring clang, echoing and
re echoing down the metal corridors, penetrating every nook and

(00:23):
crevice and cubicle of the lonely outpost, screaming incredibly through
the dark sleeping period. Sabo shook the sleep from his eyes,
and then a panic of fear burst into his mind,
the alarm tumbling out of his bunk in the darkness.
He crashed into the far bulkhead, staggering giddily in the
impossible gravity as he pawed about for his magna boots,

(00:47):
his heart pounding fiercely in his ears, the alarm impossible
after so long, after these long months of bitter waiting
in the corridor. He collided with Brownie, looking like a
frightened gnome, and he growled profanity as he raced down
the corridor for the central control. Frightened eyes turned to

(01:08):
him as he blinked at the bright lights of the room.
The voices rose in a confused anxious babble, and he
shook his head and swore, and plowed through them toward
the screen. Kill that damned alarm, he roared, blinking as
he counted faces. Somebody get the skipper out of his
sack pronto, and stop that clatter. What's the trouble, the

(01:31):
radio man waved feebly at the viewscreen shimmering on the
great side panel. We just picked it up. It was
a ship moving in from beyond Saturn's rings, a huge
gray black blob in the silvery screen, moving in toward
the station with ponderous clumsy grace, growing larger by the

(01:52):
second as it sped toward them. Sabo felt the fierce
spill over in his mind, driving out all thought, and
he sank into the control chair like a well trained automaton.
His gray eyes were wide trained for long military years
to miss nothing. His fingers moved over the panel with
deft skill. Get the men to stations, he growled, And

(02:16):
will somebody kindly get the skipper down here if he
can manage to take a minute, I'm right here. The
little gray man was at his elbow, staring at the
screen with angry red eyes. Who told you to shut
off the alarm. Nobody told me everybody was here, and
it was getting on my nerves. What a shame. Captain

(02:40):
Loomis's voice was icy. I gave orders on this station,
he said, smoothly, and you'll remember it. He scowled at
the great gray ship looming closer and closer. What's its
course going to miss us by several thousand kilos at least?

(03:01):
Look at that thing. It's traveling. Contact it. This is
what we've been waiting for. The Captain's voice was hoarse.
Sabos spun a dial and cursed, no, luck, can't get through.
It's passing us. Then grapple, Its stupid. You ought me
to wipe your nose too. Sabo's face darkened angrily. With

(03:25):
slow precision, he set the servo fixes on the huge
gray hulk looming up in the viewer, and then snapped
the switches sharply. Two small servos shoved their blunt noses
from the landing port of the station and slipped silently
into space alongside. Then, like a pair of trained dogs,
they sped on their beams straight out from the station

(03:47):
toward the approaching ship. The intruder was dark, moving at
tremendous velocity past the station, as though unaware of its existence.
The servos moved out and suddenly diverged and reversed, twisting
in long arcs to come alongside the strange ship, finally
moving in at the same velocity on either side. There

(04:10):
was a sharp flash of contact power. Then, like a
mammoth slow motion monster, the ship jerked in mid space
and turned a graceful in for end arc as the
servo grapplers gripped it like leeches, and wind glowing ruddy
with the jolting power flowing through them. Sabo watched, hardly breathing,

(04:32):
until the great ship spun and slowed and stopped. Then
it reversed direction and the servos led it triumphantly back
toward the landing port of the station. Sabo glanced at
the radioman, a frown creasing his forehead. Still nothing, not
a peep. He stared out at the great ship, feeling

(04:54):
a chill of wonder and fear crawl up his spine.
So this is the mist mysterious puzzle of Saturn, he muttered,
this is what we've been waiting for. There was a curious,
eager light in Captain Loomis's eyes as he looked up.
Oh no, not this, what not this? The ships we've

(05:18):
seen before were tiny, flat. His little eyes turned toward
the ship and back to Sabo's heavy face. This is
something else, something quite different. A smile curved his lips,
and he rubbed his hands together. We go out for
trout and come back with a whale. This ship's from space,

(05:40):
deep space, not from Saturn. This one's from the stars.
The strange ship hung at the side of the satellite station,
silent as a tomb, still gently rotating as the station
slowly spun in its orbit around Saturn. In the captain's cabin,
the men shifted restlessly, uneasily, facing the eager eyes of

(06:03):
their captain. The old man paced the floor of the cabin,
his white hair must his face red with excitement. Even
his carefully calm face couldn't conceal the eagerness burning in
his eyes as he faced the crew. Still no contact,
he asked, Sparks. The radio man shook his head anxiously,

(06:25):
not a sign. I've tried every signal I know at
every way frequency that could possibly reach them. I've even
tried a dozen frequencies that couldn't possibly reach them, and
I haven't stirred them up a bit. They just aren't answering.
Captain Loomis swung on the group of men. All right now,
I want you to get this straight. This is our catch.

(06:47):
We don't know what's aboard it, and we don't know
where it came from, but it's our prize. That means
not a word goes back home about it until we've
learned all there is to learn. We're gonna get the
honors on this one, not some eager admiral back home.
The men stirred uneasily, worried eyes seeking Sabo's face in alarm.

(07:11):
What about the law, growled Sabo. The law says everything
must be reported within two hours. Then we'll break the law.
The captain snapped, I'm captain of this station and those
are your orders. You don't need to worry about the law.
I'll see that you're protected. But this is too big
to fumble. This ship is from the stars. That means

(07:35):
it must have an interstellar drive. You know what that means.
The government will fall all over itself to reward us.
Sabo scowled, and the worry deepened in the men's faces.
It was hard to imagine the government falling all over
itself for anybody. They knew too well how the government worked.

(07:56):
They had heard of the swift trials, the harsh imprisonments
that awaited even the petty infringers. The military government had
no time to waste on those who stepped out of line.
They had no mercy to spare. And the men knew
that their captain was not in favor in top government circles.
Crack patrol commanders were not shunted into remote, lifeless satellite

(08:18):
stations if their stand in the government was high and
deep in their minds. Somehow, the men knew they couldn't
trust this little, sharp eyed, white haired man. The credit
for such a discovery as this might go to him, yes,
but there would be little left for them the law,

(08:40):
Sabo repeated, stubbornly, Damn the law. We're stationed out here
in this limbo to watch Saturn and report any activity
we see coming from there. There's nothing in our orders
about anything else. There have been ships from there, they think,
but not this ship. The government has spent billions trying

(09:00):
to find an interstellar and never got into first base.
The captain paused his eyes narrowing. We'll go aboard this ship,
he said softly. We'll find out what's aboard it and
where it's from, and we'll take its drive. There's been
no resistance yet, but it could be dangerous. We can't

(09:22):
assume anything. The boarding party will report everything they find
to me. One of them will have to be a
drive man. That's you, Brownie. The little man with the
sharp black eyes looked up eagerly. I don't know if
I could tell anything. You can tell more than anyone
else here. Nobody else knows space drive. I'll count on you.

(09:45):
If you bring back a good report, perhaps we can
cancel out certain unfortunate items in your record. But one
other should board with you. His eyes turned toward John Sabo,
not me. This is your goat. The mate's eyes were sullen.
This is gross breech, and you know it. They'll have

(10:06):
you in irons when we get back. I don't want
anything to do with it. You're under order, Sabo. You'll
keep forgetting their illegal orders. Sir, I'll take responsibility for that.
Sabo looked the old man straight in the eye. You
mean you'd sell us down a rat hole to save

(10:27):
your skin, That's what you mean. Captain Loomis's eyes widened incredulously.
Then his face darkened, and he stepped very close to
the big man. You'll watch your tongue, I think, he gritted.
Be careful what you say to me, Sabo. Be very careful,
because if you don't, you'll be in irons and we'll

(10:50):
see just how long you last when you get back home.
Now you've got your orders, you'll board the ship with Brownie.
The big Man's fists were clenched until the knuckles were white.
You don't know what's over there, he burst out. We
could be slaughtered. The Captain's smile was unpleasant. That would

(11:13):
be such a pity, he murmured. I'd really hate to
see it happen. The ship hung dark and silent, like
a shadowy ghost. No flicker of light could be seen
aboard it. No sound nor faintest sign of life came
from the tall, dark hull plates. It hung there, huge

(11:35):
and imponderable, and swung around with the station in its
silent orbit. The men huddled about Sato and Brownie, helping
them into their pressure suits, checking their equipment. They had
watched the little scanning beetles crawl over the surface of
the great ship, examining, probing every nook and crevice, reporting
crystals and metals and irons, while the boarding party prepared,

(12:00):
and still the radio man waited alertly for a flicker
of life from the solemn giant. Frightened as they were
of their part in the illegal secrecy. The arrival of
the ship had brought a change in the crew, lighting
fires of excitement in their eyes. They moved faster, their
voices were lighter, more cheerful. Long months on the station

(12:22):
had worn on their nerves, out of contact with their homes,
on a mission that was secretly jeered as utter government folly.
Ships had been seen years before, disappearing into the sullen
bright atmospheric crust of Saturn, but there had been no
sign of anything since, and out there on the lonely

(12:44):
guard station, nerves had run ragged, always waiting, always watching,
Wearing away even the iron discipline of their military background,
they grew bitterly weary of the same faces, the same routine,
the constant repetition of inactivity, and through the months they
had watched with increasing anxiety, the conflict growing between the

(13:08):
captain and his bitter, sullen eyed second in command John Sabo,
and then the ship had come incredibly from the depths
of space, and the tensions of loneliness were forgotten in
the flurry of activity. The locks whined and opened as
the two men moved out of the station on the
little propulsion sleds linked to the station with light silk

(13:32):
guide ropes. Sabo settled himself on the sled, cursing himself
or falling so foolishly into the captain's scheme, cursing his
tongue for wandering, and deep within him he felt a
new sensation, a vague uneasiness and insecurity that he had
not felt in all his years of military life. The

(13:55):
strange ship was of variant, an imponderable factor, thrown suddenly
into his small world of hatred and bitterness, forcing him
into unknown territory, throwing his mind into a welter of
doubts and fears. He glanced uneasily across at Brownie, vaguely
wishing that some one else were with him. Brownie was

(14:16):
a trouble maker, Brownie talked too much. Brownie philosophized in
a world that ridiculed philosophy. He'd known men like Brownie before,
and he knew that they couldn't be trusted. The gray
hull gleamed at them as they moved toward it, a
monstrous wall of polished metal. There were no dense, no

(14:38):
surface scars from its passage through space. They found the
entrance lock without difficulty, near the top of the ship's
great hull, and Brownie probed the rim of the lock
with a dozen instruments, his dark eyes burning eagerly, and then,
with a squeal that grated in Sabot's ears, the oval
port of the ship quivered and slowly opened Silently. The

(15:02):
sleds moved into the opening. They were in a small vault,
quite dark, and the sleds settled slowly onto a metal deck.
Sabo eased himself from the seat, tuning up his audios
to their highest sensitivity, moving over to Brownie momentarily. They
touched helmets, and Brownie's excited voice came to him, muted

(15:23):
but breathless. No trouble getting it opened. It worked, and
the same principle as ours. Better get to work on
the inner lock. Brownie shot him a sharp glance. But
what about inside, I mean, we can't just walk in
on them? Why not? We've tried to contact them. Reluctantly,

(15:46):
the little engineer began probing the inner lock with trembling fingers.
Minutes later they were easing themselves through, moving slowly down
the dark corridor, waiting with pounding hearts for a sound.
The corridor joined another, and then still another, until they
reached a great oval door, and then they were inside,

(16:09):
in the heart of the ship, and their eyes widened
as they stared at the thing in the center of
the great vaulted chamber. My God, Brownie's voice was a
hoarse whisper in the stillness. Look at them. Johnny Sabum
moved slowly across the room toward the frail crushed form

(16:30):
lying against the great gleaming panel. Thin almost boneless arms
were paceded against the hard metal. An oval humanoid skull
was crushed like an eggshell into the knobs and levers
of the control panel. Sudden horror shot through the big
Man as he looked around. At the far side of

(16:51):
the room was another of the things, and still another
mashed like lifeless jelly into the floors and panels. Gently,
he peeled a bit of jelly away from the metal,
then turned, with a mixture of wonder and disgust. All dead,
he muttered. Brownie looked up at him, his hands trembling.

(17:15):
No wonder, there was no sign. He looked about helplessly.
It's a derelict, Johnny, a wanderer. How could it have happened?
How long ago? Sabo shook his head, bewildered. Then it
was just chance that it came to us that we
saw it. No pilots, no charts. It might have wandered

(17:41):
for centuries. Brownie stared about the room, a frightened look
on his face, and then he was leaning over the
control panel, probing at the array of levers, his fingers
working eagerly at the wiring. Sabo nodded approvingly. We'll have
to go over it with a comb, he said, I'll

(18:03):
see what I can find in the rest of the ship.
You go ahead on the controls and drive. Without waiting
for an answer, he moved swiftly from the round chamber
out into the corridor again, his stomach almost sick. It
took them many hours. They moved silently, as if even
a slight sound might disturb the sleeping alien forms smashed

(18:26):
against the dark metal panels. In another room were the charts.
Great beautiful charts, totally unfamiliar, studded with star formations he
had never seen, noted with curious, meaningless symbols. As Sabo worked,
he heard Brownie moving down into the depths of the ship,

(18:46):
toward the giant engine rooms. And then some silent alarm
clicked into place in Sabo's mind, tightening his stomach, screaming
to be heard, hart pounding, he dashed down the corridor
like a cat, seeing again in his mind the bright,
eager eyes of the engineer. Suddenly the meaning of that

(19:08):
eagerness dawned on him. He scampered down a ladder along
a corridor and down another ladder down to the engine room,
almost colliding with Brownie as he crossed from one of
the engines to a battery of generators on the far
side of the room. Brownie, what's the trouble, Sabo trembled,
then turned away. Nothing, he muttered, just a thought. But

(19:33):
he watched as the little man snaked into the labyrinth
of dynamos and coils and wires, peering, eagerly, probing, searching,
making notes in the little pad in his hand. Finally,
hours later, they moved again toward the lock where they
had left their sleds. Not a word passed between them.

(19:54):
The uneasiness was strong in Sabo's mind, now growing deeper,
mingling with fear and a premonition of impending evil. A
dead ship, a derelict come to them by merest chance
from some unthinkably remote star. He cursed, without knowing why,
and suddenly he felt he hated Brownie as much as

(20:18):
he hated the captain waiting for them in the station.
But as he stepped into the station's lock, a new
thought crossed his mind, almost dazzling him with its unexpectedness.
He looked at the engineer's thin face, and his hands
were trembling as he opened the pressure suit. He deliberately

(20:38):
took longer than was necessary to give his report to
the captain, dwelling on unimportant details, watching with malicious amusement
the Captain's growing annoyance. Captain Loomis's eyes kept sliding to Brownie,
as though trying to read the information he wanted from
the engineer's face. Sabo rolled up the chart, slowly, swing

(21:00):
them in a pile on the desk. That's the picture, sir,
Perhaps a qualified astronomer could make something of it. I
haven't the knowledge or the instruments. The ship came from
outside the system, beyond doubt, probably from a planet with
lighter gravity than our own, judging from the frailty of
the creatures oxygen breathers, from the looks of their gas storage.

(21:24):
If you ask me, i'd say, I'll write all right,
The captain breathed impatiently. You can write it up and
hand it to me. It isn't really important where they
came from or whether they breathe oxygen or fluorine. He
turned his eyes to the engineer and lit a cigar
with trembling fingers. The important thing is how they got here.

(21:47):
The drive, Brownie, you went over the engines carefully. What
did you find? Brownie twitched uneasily and looked at the floor.
Oh yes, I examined them carefully. Wasn't too hard. I
examined every piece of drive machinery on the ship, from
stem to stern. Sabo nodded slowly, watching the little man

(22:11):
with a carefully blank face. That's right, you gave it
a good going over, Brownie licked his lips. It's a derelict.
Like Johnny told you, they were dead. All of them
probably have been dead for a long time. I couldn't tell,
of course, probably nobody could tell. But they must have

(22:33):
been dead for centuries. The captain's eyes blinked as the
implication sank in. Wait a minute, he said, what do
you mean centuries? Brownie stared at his shoes. The atomic
piles were almost dead. He muttered in an apologetic whine.

(22:54):
The ship wasn't going any place, Captain, it was just wandering.
Maybe it's wandered for thousands of years. He took a
deep breath, and his eyes met the captains for a brief,
agonized moment. They don't have interstellar sir, just plain simple
slow atomics, nothing different. They've been traveling for centuries, and

(23:17):
it would have taken them just as long to get back.
The Captain's voice was thin, choked. Are you trying to
tell me that their drive is no different from our own?
That a ship has actually wandered into interstellar space without
a space drive? Brownie spread his hands helplessly. Something must

(23:40):
have gone wrong. They must have started off for another
planet in their own system, and something went wrong. They
broke into space and they all died, and the ship
just went on moving. They never intended an interstellar hop
They couldn't have. They didn't have the drive for it.

(24:01):
The captain sat back numbly, his face pasty gray. The
light had faded in his eyes. Now he sat as
though he had been struck. You you couldn't be wrong, You
couldn't have missed anything. Brownie's eyes shifted unhappily, and his
voice was very faint. No, sir. The captain stared at

(24:24):
them for a long moment, like a stricken child. Slowly
he picked up one of the charts, his mouth working,
then with a bitter roar, he threw it in Sabo's face.
Get out of here, take this garbage and get out
and get the men to their stations. We're here to
watch Saturn, and by god, we'll watch Saturn. He turned away,

(24:49):
a hand over his eyes, and they heard his choking
breath as they left the cabin. Slowly, Brownie walked out
into the corridor, started down toward his ca with Sabo
silent at his heels. He looked up once at the
mate's heavy face, a look of pleading in his dark
brown eyes, and then opened the door to his quarters

(25:12):
like a cat. Sabo was in the room before him,
dragging him in, slamming the door. He caught the little
man by the neck with one savage hand and shoving
him unceremoniously against the door, his voice a vicious whisper.
All right, talk, let's have it now. Brownie choked, his
eyes bulging, his face turning gray in the dim light

(25:34):
of the cabin. Johnny, let me Down's the matter you're
choking me? Johnny? The Mate's eyes were red, with heavy
lines of disgust and bitterness running from his eyes and
the corners of his mouth. You stinking little liar, talk, dammit.
You're not messing with the Captain now, you're messing with me.

(25:56):
And I'll have the truth if I have to cave
in your skull. I told you the truth. I don't
know what you mean. Sabo's palm smashed into his face,
jerking his head about like an apple on a string.
That's the wrong answer, he grated. I warn you, don't lie.

(26:17):
The Captain is an ambitious ass. He couldn't think his
way through a multiplication table. He's a little child, but
I'm not quite so dull. He threw the little man
down in a heap, his eyes blazing. You silly fool,
your story is so full of holes. You could drive
a tank through it. They just up and died, did they.

(26:41):
I'm supposed to believe that smashed up against the panels
the way they were, only one thing could crush them
like that. Any fool could see it. Acceleration, and I
don't mean atomic acceleration, something else. He glared down at
the man quivering on the floor. They had interstellar drive,

(27:03):
didn't they, Brownie. Brownie nodded his head weakly, almost sobbing,
trying to pull himself erect. Don't tell the captain, he sobbed. Oh, Johnny,
for God's sake, listen to me. Don't let him know
I lied. I was going to tell you anyway, Johnny,
Really I was. I've got a plan, A good plan,

(27:26):
can't you see it. The gleam of excitement came back
into the sharp little eyes. They had it all right.
Their trip probably took just a few months. They had
a drive I've never seen before, non atomic. I couldn't
tell the principle with the look I had, but I
think I could work it. He sat up, his whole

(27:49):
body trembling. Don't give me away, Johnny, Listen a minute.
Sabo sat back against the bunk, staring at the little man,
or out of your mind, he said, softly. You don't
know what you're doing. What are you going to do?
When his nibs goes over for a look himself. He's stupid,

(28:10):
but not that stupid. Brownie's voice choked, his words tumbling
over each other in his eagerness. He won't get a
chance to see it, Johnny. He's got to take our
word until he sees it and we can stall him.
Sable blinked. A day or so, maybe, But what then, Oh,
how could you be so stupid? He's on the skids,

(28:34):
he's out of favor and fighting for his life. That
drive is the break that could put him on top.
Can't you see? He's selfish. He has to be in
this world to get anything, anything, or anyone who blocks him.
He'll destroy if he can. Can't you see that when
he spots this, your life won't be worth spitting on.

(28:56):
Brownie was trembling as he sat down opposite the big Man.
His voice was harsh in the little cubicle, heavy with
pain and hopelessness. That's right, he said. My life isn't
worth a nickel, Neither is yours, Neither is anybody's here
or back home. Nobody's life is worth a nickel. Something's

(29:19):
happening to us in the past hundred years, Johnny, something horrible.
I've seen it creeping and growing up around us all
my life. People don't matter anymore. It's the government. What
the government thinks that matters. It's a web, a cancer
that grows in its own pattern until it goes so
far it can't be stopped. Men like Loomis could see

(29:43):
the pattern and adapt to it. Throw away all the
worthwhile things, the love and beauty and peace that we
once had in our lives. Those men can get somewhere.
They can turn this life into a climbing game, waiting
their chance to get a little farther toward the top,
a little closer to some semblance of security. Everybody adapts

(30:05):
to it, Sabo snapped. They have to. You don't see
me moving for anything else, do you. I'm for me,
and believe me, I know it. I don't give a
hang for you or Loomis or anyone else alive. Just me.
I want to stay alive, that's all. You're a dreamer, Brownie.

(30:26):
But until you pull something like this, you can learn
to stop dreaming if you want to. No No, you're wrong. Oh,
you're horribly wrong, Johnny. Some of us can't adapt. We
haven't got what it takes, or else we have something
else in us that won't let us go along. And
right there, we're beat before we start. There's no place

(30:49):
for us now, and there never will be. He looked
up at the mate's impassive face. We're in a life
where we don't belong, impounded into a senseless, never ending
series of fights and skirmishes and long, lonely weights feeding
this insane urge of the government to expand out to

(31:10):
the planets, to the stars, farther and farther, bigger and bigger.
We've got to go, seeking newer and greater worlds to conquer,
with nothing to conquer with them, and nothing to conquer them.
For there's life somewhere else in our solar system, so
it must be sought out and conquered, no matter what

(31:32):
or where it is. We live in a world of
iron and fear, and there was no place for me
and others like me until this ship came. Sable looked
at him strangely. So I was right, I read it
on your face. When we were searching the ship. I

(31:53):
knew what you were thinking? His face darkened angrily. You
couldn't get away with the Brownie. Where could you go?
What could you expect to find? You're talking death, Brownie,
nothing else, No, no, listen, Johnny. Brownie leaned closer, his
eyes bright and intent on the man's heavy face. The

(32:16):
captain has to take our word for it until he
sees the ship. Even then, he couldn't tell for sure.
I'm the only drive engineer on the station. We have
the charts. We could work with them, try to find
out where the ship came from. I already have an
idea of how the drive is operated. Another look and
I could make it work. Think of it, Johnny, What

(32:39):
difference does it make where we went or what we found?
You're a misfit too. You know that this coarseness and
bitterness is a shell, if you could only see it
a sham. You don't really believe in this world we're in?
Who cares? Where? If only we could go get away.

(33:01):
Oh it's a chance, the wildest freak chance. But we
could make it, if only to get away from him,
said Sabo in a muted voice. Lord, how I hate him.
I've seen smallness and ambition before. Pettiness and treachery, plenty
of it. But that man is our whole world knotted

(33:24):
up in one little ball. I don't think I get
home without killing him, just to stop that voice from talking,
just to see fear cross his face one time. But
if we took the ship, it would break him for good.
A new light appeared in the big man's eyes. He'd
be threw Brownie washed up, and we'd be free. Sa

(33:50):
Bo's eyes were sharp. What about the acceleration? It killed
those that came in the ship. But they were so frail,
so weak light, brittle bones and soft jelly. Our bodies
are stronger. We could stand it. Sabo sat for a
long time staring at Brownie. His mind was suddenly confused

(34:14):
by the scope of the idea racing in myriad twirling
fantasies parading before his eyes, the long, bitter, frustrating years,
the hopelessness of his own life, the dull, aching feeling
he felt deep in his stomach and bones. Each time
he set back down on earth to join the teeming

(34:34):
throngs of hungry people. He thought of the rows of
drab apartments, the thin faces, the hollow, hunted eyes of
the people. He had seen. He knew that that was
why he was a soldier, Because soldiers ate well, they
had time to sleep. They were never allowed long hours
to think and wonder and grow dull and empty. But

(34:56):
he knew his life had been barren, the life of
a mindless automaton, moving from place to place, never thinking,
never daring to think or speak, hoping only to work
without pain each day and sleep without nightmares. And then
he thought of the nights in his childhood when he

(35:17):
had lain awake, sweating with fear as the airship screamed
across the dark sky above bound he never knew where,
and then hearing in the far distance the booming explosion.
He had played that horrible little game with himself, seeing
how high he could count before he heard the weary,

(35:37):
plodding footsteps of the people on the road moving on
to another place. He had known even as a little
boy that the only safe place was in those bombers,
that the place for survival was in the striking armies.
That his life had followed the hard learned pattern, twisting

(35:58):
him into the cynical mold of the mercenary soldier, dulling
the quick and clever mind, driving into him the ways
and responses of order and obey, stripping him of his
heritage of love and humanity. Others less thoughtful had been happier.
They had succeeded in forgetting the life they had known before.

(36:18):
They had been able to learn easily and well the
lessons of the repudiation of the rights of men, which
had crept like a blight through the world. But say
Boat two was a misfit, wrenched into a mold he
could not fit. He had sensed it vaguely, never really
knowing when or how he had built the shell of
toughness and cynicism, but also sensing vaguely that it was built,

(36:43):
and that in it he could hide somehow and laugh
at himself and his leaders and the whole world through
which he plotted. He had laughed. But there had been
long nights in the narrow darkness of spaceship bunks when
his mind pounded at the shpell screaming out in nightmare,
and he had wondered if he had really lost his mind.

(37:07):
His gray eyes narrowed as he looked at Brownie, and
he felt his heart pounding in his chest, pounding with
a fury that he could no longer deny It would
have to be fast, he said, softly, like lightning tonight, tomorrow,
very soon. Oh yes, I know that. But we can

(37:29):
do it, Yes, said Sabo, with a hard, bitter glint
in his eyes. Maybe we can. The preparation was tense.
For the first time in his life, Sabo knew the
meaning of real fear, felt the clinging aura of sudden
death in every glance, every word of the men around him.

(37:51):
It seemed incredible that the captain didn't notice the brief
exchanges with the little engineer, or his own sudden appearances
and disappearances about the station. But the captain sat in
his cabin with angry eyes, snapping answers without even looking up. Still,
Sabu knew that the seeds of suspicion lay planted in

(38:12):
his mind, ready to burst forth with awful violence at
any slight provocation. As he worked, the escape assumed greater
and greater proportions in Sabo's mind. He knew, with increasing
urgency and daring that nothing must stop him. The ship
was there, the only bridge away from a life he

(38:33):
could no longer endure, and his determination blinded him to caution. Primarily,
he pondered over the charts, while Brownie, growing hourly more nervous,
poured his heart into a study of his notes and sketches.
A second look of the engines was essential. The excuse
he concocted for returning to the ship was recklessly slender,

(38:56):
and Sabo spent a grueling five minutes dissuading the captain
from accompanying him. But the Captain's eyes were dull, and
he walked his cabin sunk in a gloomy, remorseful trance.
The hours passed, and the men saw in despair that
more precious, dangerous hours would be necessary before the flight

(39:18):
could be attempted. And then abruptly, Sabo got the call
to the captain's cabin. He found the old man at
his desk, regarding him with cold eyes, and his heart sank.
The captain motioned him to a seat and then sat back,
lighting a cigar with painful slowness. I want you to

(39:39):
tell me, he said, in a lifeless voice, exactly what
Brownie thinks he's doing. Sabo went cold, carefully, he kept
his eyes on the Captain's face. I guess he's nervous,
he said. He doesn't belong on a satellite station. He
belongs at home. The place gets on his nerves. I

(40:03):
didn't like his report, I know, said Sabo. The captain's
eyes narrowed. It was hard to believe. Ships don't just
happen out of space. They don't wander out interstellar by
accident either. An unpleasant smile curled his lips. I'm not

(40:24):
telling you anything new. I wouldn't want to accuse Brownie
of lying, of course, or you either. But we'll know soon.
A patrol craft will be here from the Triton supply
base in an hour, I signaled, as soon as I
had your reports. The smile broadened maliciously. The patrol craft

(40:44):
will have experts aboard space drive experts. They'll review your
report an hour. The captain smiled. That's what I said.
In that hour, you could tell me the truth. I'm
not a drive man. I'm an administrator, an organizer and director.

(41:05):
You're the technicians. The truth now could save you much
unhappiness in the future. Sabo stood up heavily. You've got
your information, he said, with a bitter laugh. The patrol
craft can confirm it. The Captain's face went a shade grayer.
All right, he said, go ahead, laugh. I told you anyway.

(41:31):
Sabo didn't realize how his hands were trembling until he
reached the end of the corridor. In despair, he saw
the plan crumbling beneath his feet, and with the despair
came the cold undercurrent of fear the patrol would discover them,
disclose the hoax. There was no choice left, ready or not,
They'd have to leave quickly. He turned into the central

(41:55):
control room, where Brownie was working. He sat down, repeating
the case captain's news in a soft voice. An hour.
But how can we We've got to We can't quit now.
We're dead if we do. Brownie's eyes were wide with fear.
But can't we stall them somehow? Maybe if we turned

(42:18):
on the captain, the crew would back him. They wouldn't
dare go along with us. We've got to run nothing else.
He took a deep breath. Can you control the drive?
Brownie stared at his eyes. I I think so. I
can only try. You've got to it's now or never.

(42:41):
Get down to the lock and I'll get the charts,
get the sleds ready. He scooped the charts from his bunk,
folded them carefully, and bound them swiftly with cord. Then
he ran silently down the corridor to the landing port lock.
Brownie was already there in the darkness, closing the last
clamps on his pressure suit. Sabo handed him the charts

(43:03):
and began the laborious task of climbing into his own suit,
panting in the darkness. And then the alarm was clanging
in his ear, and the lock was flooded with brilliant light.
Sabo stopped short, a cry on his lips, staring at
the entrance to the control room. The captain was grinning,
a nasty evil grin his eyes, hard and humorless, as

(43:28):
he stood there, flanked by three crewmen. His hand gripped
an ugly power gun tightly. He just stood there, grinning,
and his voice was like fire in Sabo's ears. Too bad,
he said, softly. You almost made it too trouble is
too can't keep a secret. Shame Johnny, a smart fellow

(43:51):
like you. I might have expected as much from Brownie,
but I thought you had more sense. Something snapped in
Sabo's mind. Then with a roar, he lunged at the
captain's feet, screaming his bitterness and rage and frustration, catching
the old man's calves with his powerful shoulders. The captain toppled,

(44:12):
and Saba was fighting for the power gun, straining with
all his might to twist the gun from the thin hand.
And he heard his voice shouting, run go, Brownie, make
it go. The lock was open and he saw Brownie
sled nose out into the blackness. The captain choked, his
face purple. Get him, don't let him get away. The

(44:34):
lock clanged and the screen showed the tiny, fragile sled
jed out from the side of the station, the small
huddled figure clinging to it, heading straight for the open
port of the gray ship. Stop him. The guns, you fools,
the guns. The alarm still clanged, and the control room
was a flurry of activity. Three men snapped down behind

(44:56):
the tracer guns, firing without aiming in a frenzy attempt
to catch the fleeing sled. The sled began zigzagging, twisting
wildly as the shells popped on either side of it.
The captain twisted away from Sabo's grip with a roar
and threw one of the crew into the deck, wrenching
the gun controls from his hands. Get the big ones
on the ship, blast it if it gets away, you'll

(45:19):
all pay. Suddenly, the sled popped into the ship's port,
and the hat slowly closed behind it, raving. The captain
turned the gun on the sleek, polished hull plates, pressed
the firing levers on the warhead servos. Three of them
shot out from the satellite like deadly bugs, careening through
the intervening space, until one of them struck the side

(45:42):
of the gray ship and exploded in a purple fury
against the impervious hull, and the others nosed into the
flame and passed on through, striking nothing like the blinking
of a light. The alien ship had throbbed and jerked,
and was gone with a roar. The captain brought his

(46:03):
fist down on the hard plastic and metal of the
control panel, kicked at the sheet of knobs and levers
with a heavy foot, his face purple with rage. His
whole body shook as he turned on Sabo, his eyes wild.
You'll let him get away. It was your fault, yours,
But you won't get away. I've got you, and you'll pay.

(46:24):
Do you hear that? He pulled himself up until his
face was bare inches from sabows, his teeth bared in
a frenzy of hatred. Now we'll see who'll laugh, my friend,
you'll laugh in the death chamber if you can still laugh.
By then he turned to the men around him. Take him,
he snarled, Lock him in his quarters, and guard him well.

(46:47):
And while you're doing it, take a good look at him.
See how he laughs. Now they marched him down to
his cabin, stunned, still wondering what had happened. Something had
gone in his mind in that second, something that told
him that the choice had to be made instantly, because
he knew, with dull wonder that in that instant when

(47:10):
the lights went on, he could have stopped Brownie. He
could have saved himself. He could have taken for himself
a piece of the glory and promotion due to the
discoverers of an interstellar drive. But he had also known,
somehow in that short instant, that the only hope in
the world lay in that one nervous, frightened man and

(47:32):
the ship which could take him away. And the ship
was gone. That meant that captain was through. He'd had
his chance. The ship's coming had given him his chance,
and he had muffed it. Now he too would pay
the government would not be pleased that such a ship

(47:52):
had leaked through his fingers. Captain Loomis was through and him.
Somehow it didn't seem to matter any more. He had
made a stab at it. He had tried, He just
hadn't had the luck. But he knew there was more
to that. Something in his mind was singing. Some deep

(48:14):
feeling of happiness and hope had crept into his mind,
and he couldn't worry about himself any more. There was
nothing more for him. They had him cold, but deep
in his mind he felt a curious satisfaction, transcending any
fear and bitterness. Deep in his heart he knew that

(48:34):
one man had escaped. And then he sat back and laughed.
The end of Derelict by Alan E. Norse