Page 23 - Astounding Pulp V2

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\ NEUTRAL VESSEL 23

22 ASTOUNDING SCIENCE-FICTION
buses when the Martians did that. And, they'd be helpless. Going out with the
'''Vonder if we couldn't make a cut- opened dO\rn through the six-inch thick. besides, the circuits were closed when same residual velocity as ours, they'd
ting torch out of one of these," said ness of copper-and the 13.800-volt arc they operated. There wasn't any open- never be able to decelerate with their
Brand, handing it to the maintenance let loose with a roar and a blast of flame ing of a 185,000-horsepower blast of weak jets and small supply of atomic
man. ":--Tozzle it down." that e1w ~loped the entire apparatus and energy to consider. They had casually fuel. O therwise I'd have · had them
~'The nozzle·s tungstoloy," muttered drove everyone far back into the corri- brazed the switches tight with torches loaded an hour ag·o. Now it's way too
Brmkerhof. "Another four- or five-hour- ·dor. By a miracle, all of the1J1 men whose flames couldn't ground them. late, even if it hadn't been then."
machining job. And no assurance it'd escaped death. The heat, even here; Then they' cl gone in the cells and The audio frame blared in R osso's
work." was brutal. loaded the jet breakers with fusible ma- voice. ,"J ust caught a couple more at
The men were bringing in the new The high-tension arc continued, melt- terial that would lock them closed at thirty-six lifeboat," was his amazing
transformer and swiftly com1ectj11g it in ing down the heavy bar as if it were tal- the next automatic momentary closing news. "T rying to get away. And a
the arc circuit. Mopping his brow, low. In this narrow space the sixty- for routine test. They were well out of girl with them."
Brand turned away. cycle note of released power was ear- the danger zone when that happened. "A girl!" roared Brand. "Redhead?"
"Wait, sir," suggested the mainte- shattering. Meta! dripped over the ap- And the switches were all closed to stay ! "Yes, and she won't talk. W hat'll we
nance man. "They'll be ready to cut in paratus and- the transfon ner burned "Couldn't we slow down the main do with her? We blasted the two men."
a moment." He · handed Brand dark out with a deep groan and a billow of generators gradually ?" asked Carlin. "Do with her? Send her back to my
goggles. lounge with three- no, five stewards to
thick oil smoke ! "So the effect of changing gravity would
The captain waited. · H e needn't have The shield above the disconnect was not be severe ?" , guard her. She got away from two and
been s? conc~rned, he thought. Cutting dripping molten. metal. There was an " Carlin, if it were the passengers alone I 'm going to find out how." Brand
out this one Jet would hurl them out of abrupt cessation of sound and the huge now, I'd say yes. Mars isn't trying to turned a foolishly beaten gaze on the
th e Venusward course. Then cutting off arc whipped out of existence. A glow- get Earth in on this war; she's trying to mate. "WJ1at do you know about that?"
number four steering jet would set their ing, white-hot blob of metal had bridged end the whole thing. The Spirit of · he demanded.
course straight in space again and oive the gap and reclosed the circuit to the Terra's the heaviest thing in the sky-- Then he lurched toward the lounge,
th em plenty of time to get the drive ~10- jet cell. N othing had been. accom- ways-heavier than any warship. Mov- '·the mate following.
tors. out ~nd start permanent repairs. plished. ing at the speed she'll have when she ·
T heir terrific velocity could then be <le- And the cutting apparatus was reaches Venus, if we can't stop her- TOMMY BLAKE sat white-faced at his
cel: rated with the forward braking jets wrecked again. All to do over. Carlin, there won't be any Venus city ! calculating board on the observation
which you di"d 't d . ' sphere above the clouds of Venus. H e
. n are use now tor fear Brand cursed luridly, mopping per- A meteor mo_ves only · about 100 miles
of buckling the hull plates. Brand spiration and looking at his watch. a second ; we have, ton for ton, sixty- had finally caught the mysterious speed-
cheered up. four times as much energy of impact.· ing object in the spectroscope. . The
Ti1en he took his headache away from
"l\ilove barJ• · " B · l there and went bridgeward. And we're the largest meteor ever re-· ' shiftino- of the lines had checked its ve-
r m ,erhof warned
" ' · sir,
as tl:e men swung the hinged rod of the corded! locity ~£ approach with the calculating
cutt111g arc . board. Its speed now was over 600
.., , up toward the disconnect. " T his ship has to be stopped- and
f here 11 be fi reworks." IV . not for the sake of the passengers alone !" miles a second. It would be here in
Controlled from thirty feet away by Carlin shuddered. He simply could little more than an hour. And would
1 1andwheels b I · J Fou R uou ns-466 miles a second. not visualize the terrific eventuality ·of meet up with the planet at 780 n1.iles per
1
·
e m < an asbestos shield
I
t 1e contact poi t . . ' Five hours-575. And only a little more smashing into Venus at close to 800 secoi1d, he figured.
n s snapped v1c10usly and
l t 1ere was a 1 ·ct , than four and a half million miles to
un green flare of a copper Venus ! T hey'd be there in an hour and miles a second. With the Spi,rit of "The thing's in the Venus-Terra mag-
al re. The quartz tube that sheathed the three quarters. And they'd hit with- T erra's 80,000 tons a tllolten mass from· netic Jane,". he told Masters. "I t's bound
1 eavy conduct - I · atmospheric friction and the energy of ' to hit us."
1
1 I
wor <men fro 111 or arn. msulated careless Brand stared solemnly at the mate as "Doesn't seen-i like the right direction
.
1
. t e ow- m the neces- they stood by the indicating panel. impact proportioned to that mass multi-
~an 1 Y cra1111)ed power room of the space- plied by the square of the velocity ! It at all," the other objected.
-
1 Brinkerhof would be ready with a new
,
s_ ip--lJ ,S00-volt bus bar shattered and cutting apparatus in half: an hour. 1-Je.. would damn well destroy the planet, and "I've tried to tell you," Blake ex-
tmkled on tl A plained patiently, " that the beam is con-
,e oor. T he contacts moved
f orwan] aga· thought it was all perfectly constructed that was just what the - Martian con-
· m, one pa spirators had figured on. They hadn't . stantly shifting its curvature in space, 1
1 nted firmly on the
1 1eavy co . b · and shielded now. But Brand had his
. pper ns. Then the other doubts. It ·was all right to say the con- been worrjecl about T erra going in on due to the motions of the two planets
touched 1 t d
1
• • move s owly away d raw- spirators had been able to braze those the side of Venus. There wouldn't be· •"in their·orbits. This thing's in the lane,
mg out tl I · · '
11
1
e ssmg, luridly green flare of
1 switches shut and we ought to he able any Venus. N ot any more. alt right"."
t ,e ~O-voh arc. The metal sputtered a to cut them open. That was all right
da22hng sho ., f but there hadn't been 10,000 amperes of "The lifeboats are worthless, too," "But what is it ? Accelerating like
.
we, o sparks and started
1 Brand told Carlin. "At this speed this.''
usmg away. In two- minutes a slash 13.800-volt juice flowing through the