A Treasury of Great Science Fiction Vol 2 Part 34

Eighteen pyrotechnics rockets shoot out in eighteen directions, like the spokes of a wheel, but to carefully calculated distances. They hit and the bombs they carry go off, spreading finely divided carbon black for calculated distances. There's no air on the Moon, you know, Pat-a fine powder will throw just as easily as a javelin. Here's your result." He turned the paper over; on the back there was a picture of the Moon, printed lightly. Overlaying it, in black, heavy print was 6+ encircled.

"So it is that outfit-those poisoners!"

"No, no, I didn't say so! But it ill.u.s.trates the point; six-plus is only two symbols; it can be spread large enough to be read on the face of the Moon."

Griggs stared at the horrid advertis.e.m.e.nt. "I don't believe it will work!"

"A reliable pyrotechnics firm has guaranteed that it will-provided I can deliver their equipment to the spot. After all, Pat, it doesn't take much of a pyrotechnics rocket to go a long distance on the Moon.

Why, you could throw a baseball a couple of miles yourself-low gravity, you know."

"People would never stand for it. It's sacrilege!"

Harriman looked sad. "I wish you were right. But they stand for skywriting-and video commercials."

Griggs chewed his lip. "Well, I don't see why you come to me with it," he exploded. "You know d.a.m.n well the name of my product won't go on the face of the Moon. The letters would be too small to read."

Harriman nodded. "That's exactly why I came to you. Pat, this isn't just a business venture to me; it's my heart and soul. It just made me sick to think of somebody actually wanting to use the face of the Moonfor advertising. As you say, it's sacrilege. But somehow, these jackals found out I was pressed for cash.

They came to me when they knew I would have to listen.

"I put them off. I promised them an answer on Thursday. Then I went home and lay awake about it.

After a while I thought of you."

"Me?"

"You. You and your company. After all, you've got a good product and you need legitimate advertising for it. It occurred to me that there are more ways to use the Moon in advertising than by defacing it. Now just suppose that your company bought the same concession, but with the public-spirited promise of never letting it be used. Suppose you featured that fact in your ads? Suppose you ran pictures of a boy and girl, sitting out under the Moon, sharing a bottle of Moke? Suppose Moke was the only soft drink carried on the first trip to the Moon? But I don't have to tell you how to do it." He glanced at his watch finger. "I've got to run and I don't want to rush you. If you want to do business just leave word at my office by noon tomorrow and I'll have our man Montgomery get in touch with your advertising chief."

The head of the big newspaper chain kept him waiting the minimum time reserved for tyc.o.o.ns and cabinet members. Again Harriman stopped at the threshold of a large office and fixed a disc to his lapel.

"Howdy, Delos," the publisher said, "how's the traffic in green cheese today?" He then caught sight of the b.u.t.ton and frowned. "If that is a joke, it is in poor taste."

Harriman pocketed the disc; it displayed not 6+ encircled but the hammcr-and-sickle.

"No," he said, "it's not a joke; it's a nightmare. Colonel, you and I are among the few people in this country who realize that communism is still a menace."

Sometime later they were talking as chummily as if the Colonel's chain had not obstructed the Moon venture since its inception. The publisher waved a cigar at his desk. "How did you come by those plans?

Steal them?"

"They were copied," Harriman answered with narrow truth. "But they aren't important. The important thing is to get there first; we can't risk having an enemy rocket base on the Moon. For years I've had a recurrent nightmare of waking up and seeing headlines that the Russians had landed on the Moon and declared the Lunar Soviet-say thirteen men and two female scientists-and had pet.i.tioned for entrance into the U.S.S.R.-and the pet.i.tion had, of course, been graciously granted by the Supreme Soviet. I used to wake up and tremble. I don't know that they would actually go through with painting a hammer and sickle on the face of the Moon, but it's consistent with their psychology. Look at those enormous posters they are always hanging up."

The publisher bit down hard on his cigar. "We'll see what we can work out. Is there any way you can speed up your take-off?"

CHAPTER SIX.

"MR. HARRIMAN?".

"Yes?"

"That Mr. LeCroix is here again."

"Tell him I can't see him.""Yes, sir-uh, Mr. Harriman, he did not mention it the other day but he says he is a rocket pilot."

"Send him around to Skyways. I don't hire pilots."

A man's face crowded into the screen, displacing Harriman's reception secretary. "Mr. Harriman-I'm Leslie LeCroix, relief pilot of the Charon."

"I don't care if you are the Angel Gab- Did you say Charon?"

"I said Charon. And I've got to talk to you."

"Come in."

Harriman greeted his visitor, offered him tobacco, then looked him over with interest. The Charon, shuttle rocket to the lost power satellite, had been the nearest thing to a s.p.a.ce s.h.i.+p the world had yet seen. Its pilot, lost in the same explosion that had destroyed the satellite and the Charon had been the first, in a way, of the coming breed of s.p.a.cemen.

Harriman wondered how it had escaped his attention that the Charon had alternating pilots. He had known it, of course-but somehow he had forgotten to take the fact into account. He had written off the power satellite, its shuttle rocket and everything about it, ceased to think about them. He now looked at LeCroix with curiosity.

He saw a small, neat man with a thin, intelligent face, and the big, competent hands of a jockey. LeCroix returned his inspection without embarra.s.sment. He seemed calm and utterly sure of himself.

"Well, Captain LeCroix?"

"You are building a Moon s.h.i.+p."

"Who says so?"

"A Moon s.h.i.+p is being built. The boys all say you are behind it."

"Yes?"

"I want to pilot it."

"Why should you?"

"I'm the best man for it."

Harriman paused to let out a cloud of tobacco smoke. "If you can prove that, the billet is yours."

"It's a deal." LeCroix stood up. "I'll leave my name and address outside."

"Wait a minute. I said 'if.' Let's talk. I'm going along on this trip myself; I want to know more about you before I trust my neck to you."

They discussed Moon flight, interplanetary travel, rocketry, what they might find on the Moon. Gradually Harriman warmed up, as he found another spirit so like his own, so obsessed with the Wonderful Dream.

Subconsciously he had already accepted LeCroix; the conversation began to a.s.sume that it would be a joint venture.

After a long time Harriman said, "This is fun, Les, but I've got to do a few ch.o.r.es yet today, or none ofus will get to the Moon. You go on out to Peterson Field and get acquainted with Bob Coster-I'll call him. If the pair of you can manage to get along, we'll talk contract." He scribbled a chit and handed it to LeCroix. "Give this to Miss Perkins as you go out and she'll put you on the payroll."

"That can wait."

"Man's got to eat."

LeCroix accepted it but did not leave. "There's one thing I don't understand, Mr. Harriman."

"Huh?"

"Why are you planning on a chemically powered s.h.i.+p? Not that I object; I'll herd her. But why do it the hard way? I know you had the City of Brisbane refitted for X-fuel-"

Harriman stared at him. "Are you off your nut, Les? You're asking why pigs don't have wings-there isn't any X-fuel and there won't be any more until we make some ourselves-on the Moon."

"Who told you that?"

"What do you mean?"

"The way I heard it, the Atomic Energy Commission allocated X-fuel, under treaty, to several other countries-and some of them weren't prepared to make use of it. But they got it just the same. What happened to it?"

"Oh, that! Sure, Les, several of the little outfits in Central America and South America were cut in for a slice of pie for political reasons, even though they had no way to eat it. A good thing, too-we bought it back and used it to ease the immediate power shortage." Harriman frowned. "You're right, though. I should have grabbed some of the stuff then."

"Are you sure it's all gone?"

"Why, of course, I'm- No, I'm not. I'll look into it. G'bye, Les."

His contacts were able to account for every pound of X-fuel in short order -save for Costa Rica's allotment. That nation had declined to sell back its supply because its power plant, suitable for X-fuel, had been almost finished at the time of the disaster. Another inquiry disclosed that the power plant had never been finished.

Montgomery was even then in Managua; Nicaragua had had a change in administration and Montgomery was making certain that the special position of the local Moon corporation was protected. Harriman sent him a coded message to proceed to San Jos6, locate X-fuel, buy it and s.h.i.+p it back-at any cost. He then went to see the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission.

That official was apparently glad to see him and anxious to be affable. Harriman got around to explaining that he wanted a license to do experimental work in isotopes-X-fuel, to be precise.

"This should be brought up through the usual channels, Mr. Harriman."

"It will be. This is a preliminary inquiry. I want to know your reactions."

"After all, I am not the only commissioner... and we almost always follow the recommendations of our technical branch.""Don't fence with me, Carl. You know dern well you control a working majority. Off the record, what do you say?"

"Well, D.D.-off the record-you can't get any X-fuel, so why get a license?"

"Let me worry about that."

"Mmmm... we weren't required by law to follow every millicurie of X-fuel, since it isn't cla.s.sed as potentially suitable for ma.s.s weapons. Just the same, we knew what happened to it. There's none available."

Harriman kept quiet.

"In the second place, you can have an X-fuel license, if you wish-for any purpose but rocket fuel."

"Why the restriction?"

"You are building a Moon s.h.i.+p, aren't you?"

"Me?"

"Don't you fence with me, D.D. It's my business to know things. You can't use X-fuel for rockets, even if you can find it-which you can't." The chairman went to a vault back of his desk and returned with a quarto volume, which he laid in front of Harriman. It was t.i.tled: Theoretical Investigation into the Stability of Several Radioisotopic Fuels-With Notes on the Charon-Power-Satellite Disaster. The cover had a serial number and was stamped: SECRET.

Harriman pushed it away. "I've got no business looking at that-and I wouldn't understand it if I did."

The chairman grinned. "Very well, I'll tell you 'what's in it. I'm deliberately tying your hands, D.D., by trusting you with a defense secret-"

"I won't have it, I tell you!"

"Don't try to power a s.p.a.ce s.h.i.+p with X-fuel, D.D. It's a lovely fuel- but it may go off like a firecracker anywhere out in s.p.a.ce. That report tells why."

"Confound it, we ran the Charon for nearly three years!"

"You were lucky. It is the official-but utterly confidential-opinion of the government that the Charon set off the power satellite, rather than the satellite setting off the Charon. We had thought it was the other way around at first, and of course it could have been, but there was the disturbing matter of the radar records. It seemed as if the s.h.i.+p had gone up a split second before the satellite. So we made an intensive theoretical investigation. X-fuel is too dangerous for rockets."

"That's ridiculous! For every pound burned in the Charon there were at least a hundred pounds used in power plants on the surface. How come they didn't explode?"

"It's a matter of s.h.i.+elding. A rocket necessarily uses less s.h.i.+elding than a stationary plant, but the worst feature is that it operates out in s.p.a.ce. The disaster is presumed to have been triggered by primary cosmic radiation. If you like, I'll call in one of the mathematical physicists to elucidate."

Harriman shook his head. "You know I don't speak the language." He considered. "I suppose that's all there is to it?""I'm afraid so. I'm really sorry." Harriman got up to leave. "Uh, one more thing, D.D.-you weren't thinking of approaching any of my subordinate colleagues, were you?"

"Of course not. Why should I?"

"I'm glad to hear it. You know, Mr. Harriman, some of our staff may not be the most brilliant scientists in the world-it's very hard to keep a first-cla.s.s scientist happy in the conditions of government service.

But there is one thing I am sure of; all of them are utterly incorruptible. Knowing that, I would take it as a personal affront if anyone tried to influence one of my people-a very personal affront."

"So?"

"Yes. By the way, I used to box light-heavyweight in college. I've kept it up."

"Hmmm... well, I never went to college. But I play a fair game of poker." Harriman suddenly grinned. "I won't tamper with your boys, Carl. It would be too much like offering a bribe to a starving man. Well, so long."

When Harriman got back to his office he called in one of his confidential clerks. "Take another coded message to Mr. Montgomery. Tell him to s.h.i.+p the stuff to Panama City, rather than to the States." He started to dictate another message to Coster, intending to tell him to stop work on the Pioneer, whose skeleton was already reaching skyward on the Colorado prairie, and s.h.i.+ft to the Santa Maria, formerly the City of Brisbane.

He thought better of it. Take-off would have to be outside the United States; with the Atomic Energy Commission acting stuffy, it would not do to try to move the Santa Maria: it would give the show away.

Nor could she be moved without refitting her for chem-powered flight. No, he would have another s.h.i.+p of the Brisbane cla.s.s taken out of service and sent to Panama, and the power plant of the Santa Maria could be disa.s.sembled and s.h.i.+pped there, too. Coster could have the new s.h.i.+p ready in six weeks, maybe sooner... and he, Coster, and LeCroix would start for the Moon!

The devil with worries over primary cosmic rays! The Charon operated for three years, didn't she? They would make the trip, they would prove it could be done, then, if safer fuels were needed, there would be the incentive to dig them out. The important thing was to do it, make the trip. If Columbus had waited for decent s.h.i.+ps, we'd all still be in Europe. A man had to take some chances or he never got anywhere.

Contentedly he started drafting the messages that would get the new scheme underway.