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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..33a2266 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #63613 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/63613) diff --git a/old/63613-0.txt b/old/63613-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 34744da..0000000 --- a/old/63613-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,913 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Space Between, by Robert E. Gilbert - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this ebook. - -Title: The Space Between - -Author: Robert E. Gilbert - -Release Date: December 05, 2020 [EBook #63613] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SPACE BETWEEN *** - - - - - THE SPACE BETWEEN - - By ROBERT ERNEST GILBERT - - _Somewhat like Nathan Hale of old, Jak SP - regretted having but one vitality to give for - his Planet ... and the starry-eyed Drusilla._ - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Planet Stories Spring 1955. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -One hour and forty-one minutes before deceleration, the spacecopter -materialized off to right, matching precisely the 3360 kilometers per -second speed of the Box. Jak SP34509260 jerked erect in answer to -blinking red lights and screeching collision whistles. The dark glass -and liquid ozone of the control cabin windows gave but a distorted view -of space, although enough to show the sleek shape outside. - -Drusilla GW414249834, asymmetric in a flowing, floreated, red robe, -clamped slender hands over her ears and squawled, "What now, Jak? You -know I have a headache! Can't you be considerate?" - -Jak pressed a switch, to stop the whistles, and hoped she would not -faint again. His wide mouth drooping with concern, he said, "It's -O.K., sweetjet. That spacecopter did it. See?" - -He activated all viewers. - -With rotorwings and fins retracted, the spacecopter resembled a thick, -but sharply pointed, needle. Jak increased the magnification of Number -3 viewer until he could read the license, SE-YNWGR. "From Enceladus!" -he said. "Saturn's second moon. If I'd known she had a station, we -could have looked there for a doc. Did you take that tomato juice off -my uniform?" - -Drusilla's gray eyes squinted. She stood with such rigidity that her -feet floated clear of the deck. She said, "I informed you I'll accept -no substitute for the Wollongong Obstetric Hospital on Earth, and I -didn't clean your uniform. That cleanser makes me vomit." - -"Sorry, sweetjet," Jak mumbled. He wished he could say something just -once without upsetting her. He magnetized his shoes and pulled Drusilla -down from the ceiling. "I was thinking of you," he pleaded, "but don't -you worry. We'll be on Luna in a bit over four earth-days. From there -to--" - -Drusilla pulled loose and flitted to Number 3 viewer. "Why couldn't -you have a plane like that?" she demanded with a dramatic gesture at -the needle shape. "The Box! That's what this wreck looks like, a -prehistoric boxcar!" - -"But, sweetjet, I've told you. Streamlining is useless except in -atmosphere. The Box is the most economical construction for--" - -"What's that insignia?" Drusilla interrupted. "Like a skull and two -bones. What is it?" - -Jak turned the knob to maximum magnification. "Umm. I believe that's -an old pictograph for poison. Perhaps they're carrying some poisonous -cargo, and--" - -"In a yatch?" Drusilla sneered. "Why can't you have a yatch?" - -"My salary. I hoped to pick up enough ore in the Rings, this trip, but -we had to bring you back, and--" - -"You act as if it were my fault!" Drusilla squeaked. - -The plates of the Box vibrated slightly as the spacecopter threw out -magnetic grapplers and reeled in until the fuselages touched. The -airlock of the slender plane opened to release three spacesuited -figures. "Men!" Drusilla gasped. Her hands flew in instinctive twitches -to red tattooed lips, blue tattooed eyelids, and green dyed hair. - -Jak's pointed chin seemed to grow longer. He sighed. He shook his head -and muttered, "Probably want to borrow a welding rod. I remember once -in the Albert Group, a miner boarded me looking almost devitalized, -and all he wanted was a can opener to--" - -"Spare me the anecdotes," said Drusilla, surveying her surgically -tilted nose in a small mirror. "That's all I've heard for three months." - - * * * * * - -Jak's shoulders heaved in a greater sigh. He hoped for no more trips -like this one. During endless earth-days he had cruised the Cassini -Division of the Rings of Saturn, picking up a little yttrium, antimony -and platinum, with Drusilla sunk in depths of boredom and rarely -leaving the plane. The arrival of the viewnote informing her that -her Self Portrait had won first prize in the Interearth Photographic -Salon had elated her for several days; but then she had announced, one -earth-morning, the development of an acute case of pregnancy. Since the -much published history of Lar BW16177 on Hungaria throbbed vivid in his -mind, Jak could do nothing except set a course for Luna, carrying half -empty ore bins and four months of unexpired leave. - -A bulb on the instrument panel blinked to signal the opening of the -outer airlock door. Jak said, "If I can't greet them in uniform, I'll -have to go like this." He adjusted his trunks and stood by the airlock, -which placed him head down in relation to Drusilla posing by the -strangely silent radio. - -Lar BW16177, stranded on the asteroid, had been devitalized horribly -when, under low gravity, the fetus had developed with unprecedented -rapidity. Jak had set the fastest course he thought safe for Drusilla, -6,240,000,000 kilometers at 1 G acceleration, 208,000,000 kilometers -in free fall, and 6,240,000,000 kilometers at 1 G deceleration. He -had tried to keep Drusilla occupied with her photographic hobby and -its current triumph, although he could not understand why her picture -had won first prize. It had no color, being done in blacks, grays, -and whites, and showed every detail of her face. It looked about -like something Daguerre would have done in 1839. Jak much preferred -modern photography with its soft colors, pleasing blurs, and striking -abstractions. His own hobby was woodcarving, because so few things were -made of wood. - -The inner door of the airlock opened. The three men in space-suits -walked across the ceiling and down the bulkhead to the deck. Jak -saluted the faces almost invisible behind colored glass and made -gestures asking the visitors to remove their helmets. One of the men -turned and clanked off along the narrow passage. Another unsealed and -removed the helmet of the tall man who seemed to be the leader. - -Drusilla actually blushed and giggled. Jak, who considered himself -above petty embarrassment, felt rather ashamed himself, for the -visitor had never had his facial hair removed. It grew profusely in a -disgusting fringe between nose and upper lip and formed a horrid black -triangle on the point of his chin. Jak rubbed a shaking hand over his -own smooth cheeks and shaven head and stammered, "Welcome to the--the -Box. How's your hobby? I--I am Jak SP345O926O, and this is Drusilla -GW414249834. How may we help?" - -The man with the hairy lip paid little attention to the traditional -greeting, nor did he reply. His black eyes smoldered at Drusilla. In a -vibrant voice, he purred, "Drusilla, Latin, meaning 'with dewy eyes.' -How appropriate! What a rare and sweet old name! I detest these ugly -modern names." - -The eyes flashed to Jak. "I presume your name is a horrid modern one?" - -Jak, maddened with indignation, snapped, "I told you I'm Jak -SP345O926O. Who are you, and how may we help? In about an hour and a -half--" - -"Silence!" shouted the visitor. - -This brutal direction shocked Jak into acquiescence. An even greater -shock stunned him when the other man who had remained in the cabin -removed his helmet. This one, Jak decided, must be mentally deficient, -or else he would have had a plastidoc treat the red scar tissue -covering the left side of his face. Jak could not understand the -semicircle of black cloth over the man's left eye. - -The leader bent his torso toward Drusilla as much as the spacesuit -allowed, and said, "My true name and serial number, you shall never -know, fair lady; but for practical purposes, I have adopted the name of -the most famous pirate of the early Twentieth Century, Earl Flim. You -may call me Captain Flim." - -The third man came back through the passage. He looked ordinary enough, -although he had let his hair grow. He reported, "No one else aboard, -captain." - -Flim said, "Excellent, Ger. Destroy all communication apparatus." - -Ger pulled a wrench from his tool kit and took a preliminary slash at -the radio. Completely puzzled, Jak protested, "Wait! What do you mean -'pirate?' Pirate? What--" - -"Silence!" Flim roared. - -Only then did Jak notice the pistol. Since the successful conclusion -of the Crime War, when Organized Crime, the greatest blight that ever -sapped a planet, was eradicated, guns could be found only in museums. -Even before the War, guns had become a rarity among the law abiding -citizenry; since the slaughter of fifteen thousand people a year in -hunting and home accidents in the State of America alone had brought -about anti-firearm laws and sent the gun the way of the private -automobile. - - * * * * * - -Of course, the small criminal divisions of the Earth Patrol and the -Space Patrol still carried pistols, although more as ornaments than -weapons. The pistol in the clip holster on Flim's right leg seemed to -be the standard Patrol arm--not a "needle gun," or a "disintegrater," -or a "heat ray," or any other impractical dream weapon, but a Morgia, -30-shot, 6 mm, semi-automatic pistol with adjustable optical sight. The -Morgia alarmed Jak sufficiently to prevent him from interfering as Ger -tore into the radio with wrench and pliers. - -Drusilla squeaked and drifted aside. "There, there, fair lady," Flim -crooned. "No harm shall come to you." - -"Watch what you call her!" Jak rasped. "I demand to know what you're -doing! There's no time for your hobby. Drusilla needs obstetric -attention, and I'm--" - -"Silence!" Flim turned to Drusilla. "Ah, fair one, you shall have every -attention, obstetric and otherwise. Fear not. Such gorgeous green hair! -Those lips! Do I detect the master touch of Per BT1414?" - -Drusilla managed to subdue her blushing and said, "Yes. He did my -eyelids too. Do you like them?" - -"Blue as the skies of Earth!" Flim's gaze dropped. "However, in that -robe, I cannot tell--" - -"What--" Jak tried to shout in mounting disgust at this performance. - -"Stupid!" Drusilla spat. "Can't you see what Captain Flim is? Don't you -remember that tridie we saw on Mars about Jean Lafitte? Daun TA1924 was -Jean, and he rode his Model T-Ford into New Orleans to help Olehickory -Jackson. He was a pirate, and that's what Captain Flim is." - -Flim murmured, "True, fair lady. I follow a great tradition! Jean -Lafitte, Robert Kidd, Mary Ree, Henry Morgan, and Long John Ag! The -old Brotherhood of the Coast shall become the brotherhood of the space -between worlds ripe for plunder. Among the cosmic motes--" - -"You need a psycodoc," Jak said, proud to create an interruption -himself for once. "How can you be a pirate? No one is. The Space Patrol -would put you in Corrective School for twenty semesters if you were. -That's a worse negative action than falsehood in advertising!" - -"I am a pirate," Flim said in defiance of Jak's logic. "The Space -Patrol! Avast! The Space Patrol is fit for nothing but rescue and -exploration. No pirates? What of the Crime War? The noble cause of -Organized Crime put planes into the void. They sent one of the first to -Luna in the old days." - -Jak could see no other course but to believe the man, whose brain had -obviously deteriorated. He said, "Check. You're a pirate. Why? Why is -he wrecking my equipment, and why are you armed?" - -"Because there is nothing exciting!" Flim declaimed. "The whole Solar -System is humble drum. I would have ridden the star-plane to new -adventure, but they refused me. On Earth, they made me a microcataloger -maintainer. Me! Its sole benefit was to acquaint me with the great -piratical traditions of the past by revealing records available only to -qualified scholars. No, there is nothing both legitimate and exciting -to do any more." - -Jak said, "Why don't you find a quick cure for dementia praecox? That -hasn't been done." - -"I dislike your tone," Flim rasped. "Looge! Silence him!" - -The scarred man, who had stood without moving, blinked his visible eye -and grunted, "Yer, uh, what?" - -"Silence him!" - -"Oh. Er, how?" - -"Knock him down!" Flim cried. "Beat him! Use your fists!" - -Drusilla giggled. "Now we'll see if you're brave as you always tell me, -Jak." - - * * * * * - -Jak gaped at her in amazement. "Drusilla," he wheezed. "Are you turning -against me completely? After all--our child! I know you're attracted to -this man. All women are attracted by anything vulgar, but--" - -Drusilla placed one hand on her hip and fluffed her hair with the -other. "All you've ever done for me is give me three boring months in -the Rings," she said. - -Jak stood with open mouth, and Looge squeezed past Flim. Grasping his -right wrist with his left hand, Looge drew back his arm. "No, no," Flim -said. "Use one hand at a time!" - -Looge mumbled and cocked his right arm. With no gravity, the force of -this movement yanked his magnetized boots from the deck and sent him -sprawling across the astrogator's couch. - -Flim stroked the loathsome triangle of hair on his chin and sighed, -"How decadent we are these days! He does not even understand brutality." - -"Bring over the rest of your crew," Jak said. "They may." - -With nauseous pride, Flim bellowed, "This is my crew! We three against -the void! Ger, find a plank!" - -Ger turned holding a mess of loosened wiring in his hand and asked, "A -what?" - -"A plank." - -Drusilla said, "I know what you mean. Jak has one in quarters. He does -woodcarving. Of all the silly hobbies--" - -"Don't be so helpful," Jak told Drusilla. "Leave that plank alone. It's -the only piece of red cedar this side of Oak Ridge." - -"You shall walk it," Flim predicted. "It is one of the most famous -piratical traditions. In shark infested waters, a plank was extended -over the side of the ship and all male prisoners were required to walk -out it until they fell to their--death." - -Jak shuddered at the pirate's calm use of the ugly archaic word. Flim -inclined his head to Drusilla. "You, of course, fair lady, will be -spared so awful a fate. When this creature, who, I perceive, has used -you most cruelly, is no more, we shall see the stars together." - -Drusilla simpered and tittered. Jak belched (the ultimate expression -of disgust) for he had never seen a woman behave in such an abnormal -manner. He resolved to discuss the matter with the Eugenics Counselor -as soon as he reached Earth, if he did. Flim's intention to devitalize -him seemed but an impossible threat since Jak had never seen anyone -go through the strange process nor reviewed any remains afterward. He -said, "I can't walk a plank in space. I would just drift back to the -plane, unless you made a sudden change in velocity. Besides, I can last -for weeks with the purifier in my suit." - -"Who mentioned a spacesuit?" Flim sneered. - -"Without it I couldn't walk at all." - -Flim frowned ferociously. "True. Too true. Avast, how I wanted to see -you walk the plank. We could take you to Earth and land on a Pacific -island." - -"That would take too long," Jak objected. "Let me speak for a minute." -Jak placed a hand over his heart. "Captain Flim, my indoctrination -makes your methods repellant, but, in my unconscious, I've a certain -admiration for you. There may be some of the old romance in me. I know -a way of--uh--of devitalization that you may not. I've always wished -that when my time came to--uh--go, this way would be used. It's even -more romantic than Walk the Plank. It's called the Firing Squad." - -"The Firing Squad," Flim mused. "Never mind, Ger. Return the plank." -Ger, carrying a one meter length of red cedar, shrugged and drifted -back to the passage. Flim stroked the mess on his upper lip and said, -"Interesting. How does the Firing Squad operate? Do I soak you in -alcohol and ignite it?" - -"No!" Jak gasped quickly. "The Firing Squad was men with weapons. -Rifles, I think. The person to be treated stood before a wall and -performed a rite called Smoking the Cigarette, whatever that was. Then -an officer gave commands, and the person was perforated by the riffles -or rifles." - -"What a manner to death!" exclaimed Flim. - -Exhibiting great self-control, Jak did not wince at the word, although -Drusilla giggled. Flim inexpertly dragged the 6 mm Morgia from the clip -holster and smirked at it. He said, "We have but the single weapon, -although I will have Ger and Looge stand by to simulate a complete -group. I have wanted to test this pistol ever since Ger pockpicked a -Patrolman in Mars Base. It is but an advanced model of the flintlock -used by noble pirates of old." - -"Let me show you," Jak said. His fingers barely touched the knob of the -optical sight before Flim slapped them away. - -"I am expert in these matters," the pirate affirmed. His gauntleted -hands fumbled until he succeeded in pulling back the slide and letting -it snap forward. "A wonderful modern improvement!" he exclaimed. "Henry -Morgan loaded his from the other end of the barrel." - -Drusilla made an unseemly noise with her mouth. "I never thought you -were brave, Jak," she jeered. "Why didn't the big hero take that away -from the Captain?" - -"How did I know he didn't have a shell in the chamber? I didn't want -you to be hurt--" - -"Silence!" commanded the pirate. "Male prisoner, prepare to be -perforated. Which wall shall we use?" - -"Outside. I wouldn't want Drusilla to see--" - -"Yes, outside. We shall spare the fair lady any unpleasantness. Don -your armor, male prisoner." - -"What?" - -Flim said, "Your spacesuit." He bowed to Drusilla. "Soon, I shall -return to claim you, fair lady. Together, we shall approach the speed -of light." - -Drusilla began to pant. Jak pulled his spacesuit from the rack and -squirmed into it. "Aren't you going to tell me seelata?" he asked. - -"Seelata, Jak," Drusilla said absently, her eyes on Flim. - -Several words, the meaning of which Jak did not know, seeped from his -unconscious mind. As they became vocal, Flim glanced at him with an -expression--indicative of faint admiration. The pirate said, "Avast, it -is the custom. All male prisoners must be deathed unless they join the -jolly crew. You wish to join?" - -Clutching his helmet to his aluminum breast, Jak thrust out his wedge -of chin and cried, "Never! I regret having one vitality to give for my -planet!" - -"I salute you," said Flim, and clamped on his helmet. Ger and Looge did -likewise; and Jak, with a despairing glance at the entranced Drusilla, -sealed his own. Flim adjusted Jak's tuning dial and said, "Hear me?" - -"Yes." - -"Men! Follow the prisoner. Forward!" - -They stepped out on the dark side of the Box, a right quadrangular -prism of dull metal. A tube ran through the long axis of the craft with -a swivel-mounted Carver Atomicket located at the center of gravity and -steering jets slightly forward. By turning the Atomicket, acceleration -or deceleration could result without the necessity for rotating the -entire plane. - -Their suits glowing with luminous paint, the four men stood for a -moment beneath the starry spectacle. Jupiter, the largest celestial -object in sight, appeared as a small belted moon to left. Flim placed -the muzzle of the Morgia against the face of Jak's helmet. - -"That's not correct!" Jak protested. - -Flim lowered the pistol slightly. He said, "Are you certain all this is -not a trick? I suspected something below." - -Jak's heart shuddered. He wondered what would happen to Drusilla. This -mental case would never take her to Earth, the only place she would -have a chance. She should have realized her own peril instead of ogling -the pirate. He pleaded, "No. No trick." - -Flim stated, "I am prepared to death you at any instant. Be careful. -How do you wish it arranged?" - -"Stand at the tail, side by side, and I'll stand at the nose. That's -forty meters apart. A good distance for the Firing Squad." - -Jak took two jerky steps which brought him into position over the -control cabin. - -Jak said, "One last request. Shoot me through the faceplate. I'll -devitalize instantly whether you hit the brain or not." - -Flim's voice crackled through the radio. "Out of respect for the fair -lady below, I shall avoid brutality and accommodate you. However, I am -placing Ger and Looge behind me. I still feel this may be a trick." - -"That's not right. All three--" - -"Behind me," Flim insisted. "What were the commands?" - -Jak croaked, "Load, aim, fire." - -"I'm already loaded. Aim!" - -Flim extended his right arm at full length. Jak licked the dry inner -surfaces of his mouth with a drier tongue. - -"Fire!" - - * * * * * - -Sparks spurted from the muzzle of the Morgia. Flim, his magnetic boots -ripped from the plates by the recoil, crashed into Ger and Looge. A -tangle of spacesuited legs and arms accelerated back along the course -of the Box to become a luminous spot in the blackness. - -Yanking a pair of snippers from his tool kit, Jak trudged along the -edge of the Box and cut the cables of the grapplers. He clutched the -low hand rail and shoved the curvilinear side of the spacecopter. For a -moment, he watched as the space between the weightless vessels widened. -He dropped into the airlock. - -Drusilla reclined on the astrogator's couch. She had exchanged her -concealing red robe for a suit of skintight translucent cover-alls. -"Back so soon, captain?" she mewed. "Did he put up a last heroic -struggle, or did he devitalize like the coward he was?" - -Jak said, "He didn't have to be heroic. He used his brains." - -Drusilla looked up. Her face blanched even under the Deepurple she had -sprayed on. "Jak!" she squeaked. - -Jak hung his helmet on the rack, swept some of the broken tubes and -severed wires from the control board, placed them in a jagged ball -in midair, and savagely canceled the flight plan. He activated the -calculator. In a voice like nothing he had heard issue from his own -throat, he said, "Your Captain Flim didn't know any more about a -pistol than the average citizen. At sea level on Earth, the 6 mm Morgia -bullet has a muzzle velocity of 1253 meters per second; and, at a range -of, say, 300 meters, the bullet rises 10.5 centimeters above the line -of sight at the top of the curve it traces. Out here, with no gravity -or air pressure, the bullet travels in a perfectly straight line. I -ran Flim's sight all the way up, and when he tried to hit my head as I -asked him, he missed me a mile--whatever that means. On Earth, he would -have hit regardless of the sights. He had only one shot, because the -cold of the dark side contracted the slide; and the recoil, terrific -without gravity, sent him and his crew flying." - -Jak left the clicking calculator and stared at the motionless Drusilla. -"Don't worry about your sweetjet," he rasped. "He'll drift back to -his copter. We're changing course for the Patrol station on Callisto -to report and have them picked up. I hope the centrifugal force and -deceleration is enough to smear you!" - -"But, Jak," Drusilla moaned, "you know--" - -"Don't start that again!" Jak roared. "You told me a--a dis-truth! -What an act! You ought to be in tridies. At two months, Lar BW16177 on -Hungaria looked like--You wanted to go to Earth because of that prize -in the Photographic Salon! You wanted to taste your fame. What are you -trying to do, ruin me? You don't need the Wollongong Obstetric Hospital -any more than I do! I'm going back to the Rings, and you can sit on -Callisto till you--yes, till you death yourself!" - -"Jak," Drusilla murmured. "I never knew you could be so domineering, -so," she giggled the naughty word, "masculine." - -"Silence!" Jak bellowed. He darted down the passage to quarters and -spurted back carrying a gray uniform soaked with tomato juice. He -snarled, "I told you to clean this! Now do it!" - -The silver crescent and rocket emblem of the Space Patrol still -glittered through the stain. Beneath that crest appeared Jak's serial -number, SP34509260. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SPACE BETWEEN *** - -***** This file should be named 63613-0.txt or 63613-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/6/1/63613/ - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - diff --git a/old/63613-0.zip b/old/63613-0.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 940d309..0000000 --- a/old/63613-0.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63613-h.zip b/old/63613-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index a767bf0..0000000 --- a/old/63613-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63613-h/63613-h.htm b/old/63613-h/63613-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 2146f79..0000000 --- a/old/63613-h/63613-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,996 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=us-ascii" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Space Between, by Robert Ernest Gilbert. - </title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -div.titlepage { - text-align: center; - page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; -} - -div.titlepage p { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; - font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; - margin-top: 3em; -} - - </style> - </head> -<body> -<pre style='margin-bottom:6em;'>The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Space Between, by Robert E. Gilbert - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this ebook. - -Title: The Space Between - -Author: Robert E. Gilbert - -Release Date: December 05, 2020 [EBook #63613] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SPACE BETWEEN *** -</pre> -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>THE SPACE BETWEEN</h1> - -<h2>By ROBERT ERNEST GILBERT</h2> - -<p><i>Somewhat like Nathan Hale of old, Jak SP<br /> -regretted having but one vitality to give for<br /> -his Planet ... and the starry-eyed Drusilla.</i></p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Planet Stories Spring 1955.<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>One hour and forty-one minutes before deceleration, the spacecopter -materialized off to right, matching precisely the 3360 kilometers per -second speed of the Box. Jak SP34509260 jerked erect in answer to -blinking red lights and screeching collision whistles. The dark glass -and liquid ozone of the control cabin windows gave but a distorted view -of space, although enough to show the sleek shape outside.</p> - -<p>Drusilla GW414249834, asymmetric in a flowing, floreated, red robe, -clamped slender hands over her ears and squawled, "What now, Jak? You -know I have a headache! Can't you be considerate?"</p> - -<p>Jak pressed a switch, to stop the whistles, and hoped she would not -faint again. His wide mouth drooping with concern, he said, "It's -O.K., sweetjet. That spacecopter did it. See?"</p> - -<p>He activated all viewers.</p> - -<p>With rotorwings and fins retracted, the spacecopter resembled a thick, -but sharply pointed, needle. Jak increased the magnification of Number -3 viewer until he could read the license, SE-YNWGR. "From Enceladus!" -he said. "Saturn's second moon. If I'd known she had a station, we -could have looked there for a doc. Did you take that tomato juice off -my uniform?"</p> - -<p>Drusilla's gray eyes squinted. She stood with such rigidity that her -feet floated clear of the deck. She said, "I informed you I'll accept -no substitute for the Wollongong Obstetric Hospital on Earth, and I -didn't clean your uniform. That cleanser makes me vomit."</p> - -<p>"Sorry, sweetjet," Jak mumbled. He wished he could say something just -once without upsetting her. He magnetized his shoes and pulled Drusilla -down from the ceiling. "I was thinking of you," he pleaded, "but don't -you worry. We'll be on Luna in a bit over four earth-days. From there -to—"</p> - -<p>Drusilla pulled loose and flitted to Number 3 viewer. "Why couldn't -you have a plane like that?" she demanded with a dramatic gesture at -the needle shape. "The Box! That's what this wreck looks like, a -prehistoric boxcar!"</p> - -<p>"But, sweetjet, I've told you. Streamlining is useless except in -atmosphere. The Box is the most economical construction for—"</p> - -<p>"What's that insignia?" Drusilla interrupted. "Like a skull and two -bones. What is it?"</p> - -<p>Jak turned the knob to maximum magnification. "Umm. I believe that's -an old pictograph for poison. Perhaps they're carrying some poisonous -cargo, and—"</p> - -<p>"In a yatch?" Drusilla sneered. "Why can't you have a yatch?"</p> - -<p>"My salary. I hoped to pick up enough ore in the Rings, this trip, but -we had to bring you back, and—"</p> - -<p>"You act as if it were my fault!" Drusilla squeaked.</p> - -<p>The plates of the Box vibrated slightly as the spacecopter threw out -magnetic grapplers and reeled in until the fuselages touched. The -airlock of the slender plane opened to release three spacesuited -figures. "Men!" Drusilla gasped. Her hands flew in instinctive twitches -to red tattooed lips, blue tattooed eyelids, and green dyed hair.</p> - -<p>Jak's pointed chin seemed to grow longer. He sighed. He shook his head -and muttered, "Probably want to borrow a welding rod. I remember once -in the Albert Group, a miner boarded me looking almost devitalized, -and all he wanted was a can opener to—"</p> - -<p>"Spare me the anecdotes," said Drusilla, surveying her surgically -tilted nose in a small mirror. "That's all I've heard for three months."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Jak's shoulders heaved in a greater sigh. He hoped for no more trips -like this one. During endless earth-days he had cruised the Cassini -Division of the Rings of Saturn, picking up a little yttrium, antimony -and platinum, with Drusilla sunk in depths of boredom and rarely -leaving the plane. The arrival of the viewnote informing her that -her Self Portrait had won first prize in the Interearth Photographic -Salon had elated her for several days; but then she had announced, one -earth-morning, the development of an acute case of pregnancy. Since the -much published history of Lar BW16177 on Hungaria throbbed vivid in his -mind, Jak could do nothing except set a course for Luna, carrying half -empty ore bins and four months of unexpired leave.</p> - -<p>A bulb on the instrument panel blinked to signal the opening of the -outer airlock door. Jak said, "If I can't greet them in uniform, I'll -have to go like this." He adjusted his trunks and stood by the airlock, -which placed him head down in relation to Drusilla posing by the -strangely silent radio.</p> - -<p>Lar BW16177, stranded on the asteroid, had been devitalized horribly -when, under low gravity, the fetus had developed with unprecedented -rapidity. Jak had set the fastest course he thought safe for Drusilla, -6,240,000,000 kilometers at 1 G acceleration, 208,000,000 kilometers -in free fall, and 6,240,000,000 kilometers at 1 G deceleration. He -had tried to keep Drusilla occupied with her photographic hobby and -its current triumph, although he could not understand why her picture -had won first prize. It had no color, being done in blacks, grays, -and whites, and showed every detail of her face. It looked about -like something Daguerre would have done in 1839. Jak much preferred -modern photography with its soft colors, pleasing blurs, and striking -abstractions. His own hobby was woodcarving, because so few things were -made of wood.</p> - -<p>The inner door of the airlock opened. The three men in space-suits -walked across the ceiling and down the bulkhead to the deck. Jak -saluted the faces almost invisible behind colored glass and made -gestures asking the visitors to remove their helmets. One of the men -turned and clanked off along the narrow passage. Another unsealed and -removed the helmet of the tall man who seemed to be the leader.</p> - -<p>Drusilla actually blushed and giggled. Jak, who considered himself -above petty embarrassment, felt rather ashamed himself, for the -visitor had never had his facial hair removed. It grew profusely in a -disgusting fringe between nose and upper lip and formed a horrid black -triangle on the point of his chin. Jak rubbed a shaking hand over his -own smooth cheeks and shaven head and stammered, "Welcome to the—the -Box. How's your hobby? I—I am Jak SP345O926O, and this is Drusilla -GW414249834. How may we help?"</p> - -<p>The man with the hairy lip paid little attention to the traditional -greeting, nor did he reply. His black eyes smoldered at Drusilla. In a -vibrant voice, he purred, "Drusilla, Latin, meaning 'with dewy eyes.' -How appropriate! What a rare and sweet old name! I detest these ugly -modern names."</p> - -<p>The eyes flashed to Jak. "I presume your name is a horrid modern one?"</p> - -<p>Jak, maddened with indignation, snapped, "I told you I'm Jak -SP345O926O. Who are you, and how may we help? In about an hour and a -half—"</p> - -<p>"Silence!" shouted the visitor.</p> - -<p>This brutal direction shocked Jak into acquiescence. An even greater -shock stunned him when the other man who had remained in the cabin -removed his helmet. This one, Jak decided, must be mentally deficient, -or else he would have had a plastidoc treat the red scar tissue -covering the left side of his face. Jak could not understand the -semicircle of black cloth over the man's left eye.</p> - -<p>The leader bent his torso toward Drusilla as much as the spacesuit -allowed, and said, "My true name and serial number, you shall never -know, fair lady; but for practical purposes, I have adopted the name of -the most famous pirate of the early Twentieth Century, Earl Flim. You -may call me Captain Flim."</p> - -<p>The third man came back through the passage. He looked ordinary enough, -although he had let his hair grow. He reported, "No one else aboard, -captain."</p> - -<p>Flim said, "Excellent, Ger. Destroy all communication apparatus."</p> - -<p>Ger pulled a wrench from his tool kit and took a preliminary slash at -the radio. Completely puzzled, Jak protested, "Wait! What do you mean -'pirate?' Pirate? What—"</p> - -<p>"Silence!" Flim roared.</p> - -<p>Only then did Jak notice the pistol. Since the successful conclusion -of the Crime War, when Organized Crime, the greatest blight that ever -sapped a planet, was eradicated, guns could be found only in museums. -Even before the War, guns had become a rarity among the law abiding -citizenry; since the slaughter of fifteen thousand people a year in -hunting and home accidents in the State of America alone had brought -about anti-firearm laws and sent the gun the way of the private -automobile.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Of course, the small criminal divisions of the Earth Patrol and the -Space Patrol still carried pistols, although more as ornaments than -weapons. The pistol in the clip holster on Flim's right leg seemed to -be the standard Patrol arm—not a "needle gun," or a "disintegrater," -or a "heat ray," or any other impractical dream weapon, but a Morgia, -30-shot, 6 mm, semi-automatic pistol with adjustable optical sight. The -Morgia alarmed Jak sufficiently to prevent him from interfering as Ger -tore into the radio with wrench and pliers.</p> - -<p>Drusilla squeaked and drifted aside. "There, there, fair lady," Flim -crooned. "No harm shall come to you."</p> - -<p>"Watch what you call her!" Jak rasped. "I demand to know what you're -doing! There's no time for your hobby. Drusilla needs obstetric -attention, and I'm—"</p> - -<p>"Silence!" Flim turned to Drusilla. "Ah, fair one, you shall have every -attention, obstetric and otherwise. Fear not. Such gorgeous green hair! -Those lips! Do I detect the master touch of Per BT1414?"</p> - -<p>Drusilla managed to subdue her blushing and said, "Yes. He did my -eyelids too. Do you like them?"</p> - -<p>"Blue as the skies of Earth!" Flim's gaze dropped. "However, in that -robe, I cannot tell—"</p> - -<p>"What—" Jak tried to shout in mounting disgust at this performance.</p> - -<p>"Stupid!" Drusilla spat. "Can't you see what Captain Flim is? Don't you -remember that tridie we saw on Mars about Jean Lafitte? Daun TA1924 was -Jean, and he rode his Model T-Ford into New Orleans to help Olehickory -Jackson. He was a pirate, and that's what Captain Flim is."</p> - -<p>Flim murmured, "True, fair lady. I follow a great tradition! Jean -Lafitte, Robert Kidd, Mary Ree, Henry Morgan, and Long John Ag! The -old Brotherhood of the Coast shall become the brotherhood of the space -between worlds ripe for plunder. Among the cosmic motes—"</p> - -<p>"You need a psycodoc," Jak said, proud to create an interruption -himself for once. "How can you be a pirate? No one is. The Space Patrol -would put you in Corrective School for twenty semesters if you were. -That's a worse negative action than falsehood in advertising!"</p> - -<p>"I am a pirate," Flim said in defiance of Jak's logic. "The Space -Patrol! Avast! The Space Patrol is fit for nothing but rescue and -exploration. No pirates? What of the Crime War? The noble cause of -Organized Crime put planes into the void. They sent one of the first to -Luna in the old days."</p> - -<p>Jak could see no other course but to believe the man, whose brain had -obviously deteriorated. He said, "Check. You're a pirate. Why? Why is -he wrecking my equipment, and why are you armed?"</p> - -<p>"Because there is nothing exciting!" Flim declaimed. "The whole Solar -System is humble drum. I would have ridden the star-plane to new -adventure, but they refused me. On Earth, they made me a microcataloger -maintainer. Me! Its sole benefit was to acquaint me with the great -piratical traditions of the past by revealing records available only to -qualified scholars. No, there is nothing both legitimate and exciting -to do any more."</p> - -<p>Jak said, "Why don't you find a quick cure for dementia praecox? That -hasn't been done."</p> - -<p>"I dislike your tone," Flim rasped. "Looge! Silence him!"</p> - -<p>The scarred man, who had stood without moving, blinked his visible eye -and grunted, "Yer, uh, what?"</p> - -<p>"Silence him!"</p> - -<p>"Oh. Er, how?"</p> - -<p>"Knock him down!" Flim cried. "Beat him! Use your fists!"</p> - -<p>Drusilla giggled. "Now we'll see if you're brave as you always tell me, -Jak."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Jak gaped at her in amazement. "Drusilla," he wheezed. "Are you turning -against me completely? After all—our child! I know you're attracted to -this man. All women are attracted by anything vulgar, but—"</p> - -<p>Drusilla placed one hand on her hip and fluffed her hair with the -other. "All you've ever done for me is give me three boring months in -the Rings," she said.</p> - -<p>Jak stood with open mouth, and Looge squeezed past Flim. Grasping his -right wrist with his left hand, Looge drew back his arm. "No, no," Flim -said. "Use one hand at a time!"</p> - -<p>Looge mumbled and cocked his right arm. With no gravity, the force of -this movement yanked his magnetized boots from the deck and sent him -sprawling across the astrogator's couch.</p> - -<p>Flim stroked the loathsome triangle of hair on his chin and sighed, -"How decadent we are these days! He does not even understand brutality."</p> - -<p>"Bring over the rest of your crew," Jak said. "They may."</p> - -<p>With nauseous pride, Flim bellowed, "This is my crew! We three against -the void! Ger, find a plank!"</p> - -<p>Ger turned holding a mess of loosened wiring in his hand and asked, "A -what?"</p> - -<p>"A plank."</p> - -<p>Drusilla said, "I know what you mean. Jak has one in quarters. He does -woodcarving. Of all the silly hobbies—"</p> - -<p>"Don't be so helpful," Jak told Drusilla. "Leave that plank alone. It's -the only piece of red cedar this side of Oak Ridge."</p> - -<p>"You shall walk it," Flim predicted. "It is one of the most famous -piratical traditions. In shark infested waters, a plank was extended -over the side of the ship and all male prisoners were required to walk -out it until they fell to their—death."</p> - -<p>Jak shuddered at the pirate's calm use of the ugly archaic word. Flim -inclined his head to Drusilla. "You, of course, fair lady, will be -spared so awful a fate. When this creature, who, I perceive, has used -you most cruelly, is no more, we shall see the stars together."</p> - -<p>Drusilla simpered and tittered. Jak belched (the ultimate expression -of disgust) for he had never seen a woman behave in such an abnormal -manner. He resolved to discuss the matter with the Eugenics Counselor -as soon as he reached Earth, if he did. Flim's intention to devitalize -him seemed but an impossible threat since Jak had never seen anyone -go through the strange process nor reviewed any remains afterward. He -said, "I can't walk a plank in space. I would just drift back to the -plane, unless you made a sudden change in velocity. Besides, I can last -for weeks with the purifier in my suit."</p> - -<p>"Who mentioned a spacesuit?" Flim sneered.</p> - -<p>"Without it I couldn't walk at all."</p> - -<p>Flim frowned ferociously. "True. Too true. Avast, how I wanted to see -you walk the plank. We could take you to Earth and land on a Pacific -island."</p> - -<p>"That would take too long," Jak objected. "Let me speak for a minute." -Jak placed a hand over his heart. "Captain Flim, my indoctrination -makes your methods repellant, but, in my unconscious, I've a certain -admiration for you. There may be some of the old romance in me. I know -a way of—uh—of devitalization that you may not. I've always wished -that when my time came to—uh—go, this way would be used. It's even -more romantic than Walk the Plank. It's called the Firing Squad."</p> - -<p>"The Firing Squad," Flim mused. "Never mind, Ger. Return the plank." -Ger, carrying a one meter length of red cedar, shrugged and drifted -back to the passage. Flim stroked the mess on his upper lip and said, -"Interesting. How does the Firing Squad operate? Do I soak you in -alcohol and ignite it?"</p> - -<p>"No!" Jak gasped quickly. "The Firing Squad was men with weapons. -Rifles, I think. The person to be treated stood before a wall and -performed a rite called Smoking the Cigarette, whatever that was. Then -an officer gave commands, and the person was perforated by the riffles -or rifles."</p> - -<p>"What a manner to death!" exclaimed Flim.</p> - -<p>Exhibiting great self-control, Jak did not wince at the word, although -Drusilla giggled. Flim inexpertly dragged the 6 mm Morgia from the clip -holster and smirked at it. He said, "We have but the single weapon, -although I will have Ger and Looge stand by to simulate a complete -group. I have wanted to test this pistol ever since Ger pockpicked a -Patrolman in Mars Base. It is but an advanced model of the flintlock -used by noble pirates of old."</p> - -<p>"Let me show you," Jak said. His fingers barely touched the knob of the -optical sight before Flim slapped them away.</p> - -<p>"I am expert in these matters," the pirate affirmed. His gauntleted -hands fumbled until he succeeded in pulling back the slide and letting -it snap forward. "A wonderful modern improvement!" he exclaimed. "Henry -Morgan loaded his from the other end of the barrel."</p> - -<p>Drusilla made an unseemly noise with her mouth. "I never thought you -were brave, Jak," she jeered. "Why didn't the big hero take that away -from the Captain?"</p> - -<p>"How did I know he didn't have a shell in the chamber? I didn't want -you to be hurt—"</p> - -<p>"Silence!" commanded the pirate. "Male prisoner, prepare to be -perforated. Which wall shall we use?"</p> - -<p>"Outside. I wouldn't want Drusilla to see—"</p> - -<p>"Yes, outside. We shall spare the fair lady any unpleasantness. Don -your armor, male prisoner."</p> - -<p>"What?"</p> - -<p>Flim said, "Your spacesuit." He bowed to Drusilla. "Soon, I shall -return to claim you, fair lady. Together, we shall approach the speed -of light."</p> - -<p>Drusilla began to pant. Jak pulled his spacesuit from the rack and -squirmed into it. "Aren't you going to tell me seelata?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"Seelata, Jak," Drusilla said absently, her eyes on Flim.</p> - -<p>Several words, the meaning of which Jak did not know, seeped from his -unconscious mind. As they became vocal, Flim glanced at him with an -expression—indicative of faint admiration. The pirate said, "Avast, it -is the custom. All male prisoners must be deathed unless they join the -jolly crew. You wish to join?"</p> - -<p>Clutching his helmet to his aluminum breast, Jak thrust out his wedge -of chin and cried, "Never! I regret having one vitality to give for my -planet!"</p> - -<p>"I salute you," said Flim, and clamped on his helmet. Ger and Looge did -likewise; and Jak, with a despairing glance at the entranced Drusilla, -sealed his own. Flim adjusted Jak's tuning dial and said, "Hear me?"</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"Men! Follow the prisoner. Forward!"</p> - -<p>They stepped out on the dark side of the Box, a right quadrangular -prism of dull metal. A tube ran through the long axis of the craft with -a swivel-mounted Carver Atomicket located at the center of gravity and -steering jets slightly forward. By turning the Atomicket, acceleration -or deceleration could result without the necessity for rotating the -entire plane.</p> - -<p>Their suits glowing with luminous paint, the four men stood for a -moment beneath the starry spectacle. Jupiter, the largest celestial -object in sight, appeared as a small belted moon to left. Flim placed -the muzzle of the Morgia against the face of Jak's helmet.</p> - -<p>"That's not correct!" Jak protested.</p> - -<p>Flim lowered the pistol slightly. He said, "Are you certain all this is -not a trick? I suspected something below."</p> - -<p>Jak's heart shuddered. He wondered what would happen to Drusilla. This -mental case would never take her to Earth, the only place she would -have a chance. She should have realized her own peril instead of ogling -the pirate. He pleaded, "No. No trick."</p> - -<p>Flim stated, "I am prepared to death you at any instant. Be careful. -How do you wish it arranged?"</p> - -<p>"Stand at the tail, side by side, and I'll stand at the nose. That's -forty meters apart. A good distance for the Firing Squad."</p> - -<p>Jak took two jerky steps which brought him into position over the -control cabin.</p> - -<p>Jak said, "One last request. Shoot me through the faceplate. I'll -devitalize instantly whether you hit the brain or not."</p> - -<p>Flim's voice crackled through the radio. "Out of respect for the fair -lady below, I shall avoid brutality and accommodate you. However, I am -placing Ger and Looge behind me. I still feel this may be a trick."</p> - -<p>"That's not right. All three—"</p> - -<p>"Behind me," Flim insisted. "What were the commands?"</p> - -<p>Jak croaked, "Load, aim, fire."</p> - -<p>"I'm already loaded. Aim!"</p> - -<p>Flim extended his right arm at full length. Jak licked the dry inner -surfaces of his mouth with a drier tongue.</p> - -<p>"Fire!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Sparks spurted from the muzzle of the Morgia. Flim, his magnetic boots -ripped from the plates by the recoil, crashed into Ger and Looge. A -tangle of spacesuited legs and arms accelerated back along the course -of the Box to become a luminous spot in the blackness.</p> - -<p>Yanking a pair of snippers from his tool kit, Jak trudged along the -edge of the Box and cut the cables of the grapplers. He clutched the -low hand rail and shoved the curvilinear side of the spacecopter. For a -moment, he watched as the space between the weightless vessels widened. -He dropped into the airlock.</p> - -<p>Drusilla reclined on the astrogator's couch. She had exchanged her -concealing red robe for a suit of skintight translucent cover-alls. -"Back so soon, captain?" she mewed. "Did he put up a last heroic -struggle, or did he devitalize like the coward he was?"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Jak said, "He didn't have to be heroic. He used his brains."</p> - -<p>Drusilla looked up. Her face blanched even under the Deepurple she had -sprayed on. "Jak!" she squeaked.</p> - -<p>Jak hung his helmet on the rack, swept some of the broken tubes and -severed wires from the control board, placed them in a jagged ball -in midair, and savagely canceled the flight plan. He activated the -calculator. In a voice like nothing he had heard issue from his own -throat, he said, "Your Captain Flim didn't know any more about a -pistol than the average citizen. At sea level on Earth, the 6 mm Morgia -bullet has a muzzle velocity of 1253 meters per second; and, at a range -of, say, 300 meters, the bullet rises 10.5 centimeters above the line -of sight at the top of the curve it traces. Out here, with no gravity -or air pressure, the bullet travels in a perfectly straight line. I -ran Flim's sight all the way up, and when he tried to hit my head as I -asked him, he missed me a mile—whatever that means. On Earth, he would -have hit regardless of the sights. He had only one shot, because the -cold of the dark side contracted the slide; and the recoil, terrific -without gravity, sent him and his crew flying."</p> - -<p>Jak left the clicking calculator and stared at the motionless Drusilla. -"Don't worry about your sweetjet," he rasped. "He'll drift back to -his copter. We're changing course for the Patrol station on Callisto -to report and have them picked up. I hope the centrifugal force and -deceleration is enough to smear you!"</p> - -<p>"But, Jak," Drusilla moaned, "you know—"</p> - -<p>"Don't start that again!" Jak roared. "You told me a—a dis-truth! -What an act! You ought to be in tridies. At two months, Lar BW16177 on -Hungaria looked like—You wanted to go to Earth because of that prize -in the Photographic Salon! You wanted to taste your fame. What are you -trying to do, ruin me? You don't need the Wollongong Obstetric Hospital -any more than I do! I'm going back to the Rings, and you can sit on -Callisto till you—yes, till you death yourself!"</p> - -<p>"Jak," Drusilla murmured. "I never knew you could be so domineering, -so," she giggled the naughty word, "masculine."</p> - -<p>"Silence!" Jak bellowed. He darted down the passage to quarters and -spurted back carrying a gray uniform soaked with tomato juice. He -snarled, "I told you to clean this! Now do it!"</p> - -<p>The silver crescent and rocket emblem of the Space Patrol still -glittered through the stain. Beneath that crest appeared Jak's serial -number, SP34509260.</p> - -<pre style='margin-top:6em'> -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SPACE BETWEEN *** - -This file should be named 63613-h.htm or 63613-h.zip - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/6/1/63613/ - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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