Authors: Albert Ball
Three days and eight hours later most of Knight's brash confidence had evaporated. "Nervous
?"
asked Sharma as they waited for takeoff. "A little
,"
admitted Knight. The pre-flight checks and routine activities had helped to take his mind off the mission, but now there was nothing to do but wait.
And this was the worst part. He had not been this nervous since his very first expedition to Triton, but then there had been very little sense of mystery or unknown danger. This mission was totally different to anything that anyone had ever attempted before. The probes had reported all they could but their
main
purpose was defensive, their powers of investigation were limited. What they had shown did nothing to lessen Knight's fears. The sheer size of the vessel was enough to overwhelm anyone. But the mystery of the aliens themselves, their power, their intentions, their lack of response to any signals, and perhaps most disturbing of all their unknown reaction to the damage that humanity had done them and their craft, all conspired to create an acute desire to turn and run.
Now that takeoff was imminent Knight found Sharma's lack of emotion reassuring. A man who lacked excitement perhaps also lacked
fear;
perhaps he would not prove too bad a companion after all.
Sharma leaned over and put a hand on Knight's arm. "Just take it one step at a time
,"
he advised, "don't go crossing bridges before they appear. Force yourself to think about each task as it comes up, that way your imagination will be kept in check."
"Yes, thanks. Don't worry, I'll be all right
,"
he replied, his voice conveying less confidence than his words.
In less than forty minutes their little craft had reached the prescribed orbit and their target was straight ahead about eighty kilometres away. Even at that distance it presented a formidable sight. The spheres were separated enough to count easily, and the whole structure matched about the size of an orange at arm's length.
The vessel had been in stabl
e earth orbit for almost thirty-
six hours. It was about two thousand kilometres up and circling the earth every two hours or so. A new craze had rapidly swept across the world - 'Starship
G
azing'. Viewed from the ground when directly overhead it appeared about a quarter of the area of the full moon, and with good eyesight a person could just discern that it consisted of separate spheres. It presented a most compelling spectacle. Wherever and whenever it was visible people stood about in undisguised wonder. Knight had been no exception. He was now finding that the closer he approached the stronger grew the mysterious compulsion. He could not take his eyes from it.
Someone now forgotten had named
it Pleiades because of its star-cluster appearance and the name had quickly become universally accepted. As he watched Knight felt that Pleiades was much more than a machine, she was an awesome and commanding presence.
His trance was rudely interrupted by Sharma's down-to-earth voice. "Time to get busy."
He was right. There was a lot to do. It was Knight's job to gather as much information about the vessel as possible while Sharma made the carefully planned manual approach. Knight was soon back to normal again, busying himself at the instrument panel and setting up the recording equipment. The otherwise ordinary ferry had been fitted out with a great deal of special equipment and instrumentation for this survey flight, and both Knight and Sharma had spent a lot of time familiarising themselves with its use. High sensitivity radiation monitors were energised, electric, magnetic and gravitational field detectors were deployed, and wideband radar interrogators began their probe of the surface material.
A nagging worry was the drive system. There had been no course
alterations since the orbit had
stabilised so it was unlikely that further manoeuvres would be made now. Even so it would be a relief when they were past the region known as the jet screen. There was no way of knowing how extensive the screen was but for pessimism it was assumed to cover the entire vessel and to have jets capable of activation over any area. Detailed observation of the screen region was an important task but a thorough investigation revealed nothing at all. Either the screen materialised when and where needed or it was absent at their point of entry.
There appeared to be no obvious danger in a close approach so Knight began the preparations for Phase Two of the operation - the detailed physical examination of the superstructure.
Fifteen minutes later and his immediate tasks complete Knight pulled himself back along the guard-rail to the flight deck to rejoin Sharma. Before he could utter a word the appearance of the immense and beautiful vessel took his breath away. They were stationary about two hundred metres from one of the outer spheres, or so the deck radar told him, it was impossible to judge distance or size with the naked eye when confronted with such an unfamiliar object as this. Below the sphere was like a miniature
planet
. There was no break, crease, ripple, or any blemish to be seen in that perfectly reflecting surface.
The whole structure presented an eerie sight, it could not be seen at all but for the reflection of the earth, the ferry and the sun, it was giving nothing at all away of its true nature.
The links bridged the gaps to all the other spheres, vanishing into the distance in a seemingly infinite array, the whole forming a sculpture of geometric perfection. The pictures received from the probes could never have conveyed the impact of witnessing such majesty at first hand.
"Big, isn't she
?"
remarked Sharma with a smile.
"She's beautiful
,"
replied Knight, almost reverently.
"All right for Phase Two then?" asked Sharma, getting down to business.
"Ah
, oh yes
,"
answered Knight, forced back to reality, "there's no harmful radiation, the surface temperature isn't measurable by radiation
detection
, there's no
measurable
static charge and no vibration."
"Right
,"
said Sharma as he unclipped his seat harness and propelled himself towards the rear cabin. Knight admired his graceful movements, he was as at home in zero gee as on earth.
Knight had mastered the essential skills well enough but lacked the polish that only space veterans exhibited. Sharma stopped and looked back.
"The ship's on a
utostat
,"
he said, a piece of space jargon meaning that the short
-
range radar and propulsion system were working together to maintain a fixed position relative to the vessel below. "If anything crops up don't be a hero, just do as the plan tells you, OK?" Sharma was deadly serious.
"OK
,"
agreed Knight. He had been in the business long enough to know that hard logic ruled in space. There was no place for heroism, at least not unless the situation demanded it, and then there was no place for
anything else
. Knight made the formal request for permission to embark upon Phase Two of the plan. Earth was monitoring everything that happened on board of course, but these formal checks were part of a well
-
proven safety procedure. Permission was granted.
Sharma reappeared a few minutes later and Knight inspected his suit, helmet and equipment. When all was checked Sharma made his way to the lower deck to begin the departure routine.
Knight watched his colleague on the monitor as he carefully manoeuvred himself out of the airlock, secured an external long range cable to his suit and unclipped the internal safety cable. Checks were made at each stage until both men and the ship's computer were satisfied that nothing had been overlooked. Then Knight returned to his position at the controls and watched Sharma descend to the shining sphere below.
The restraining cable glinted now and then in the sunlight, an effect that was strongly reminiscent of a spider dropping slowly from a thin strand of web. Although it looked very fragile it could stand many times a man's weight. If any difficulty was encountered the ferry could leave at full thrust and snatch Sharma away like a fish on a line. In addition to the restraining function the cable also served as a multi
-
channel
communication
link. It was
connected
to the ship's computer and gave detailed information on Sharma's physiological state as well as providing the usual audio, visual and instrumentation signals.
Sharma became smaller and smaller, and as he did so Knight was fascinated to watch the sphere below as it seemed to grow and grow. Sharma was the only valid external reference point so the brain automatically adjusted its impression of sphere size as its reference shrank.
"Fifty metres
,"
called Knight as he checked the display.
"No change, proceeding normally
,"
replied Sharma calmly. He was quite
small
now and Knight had to
use an enlarged monitor image
to see him in any detail.
"Ten metres."
"No change, proceeding normally."
"Three metres, locking the cable." This was judged a safe enough distance to prevent Sharma inadvertently touching the surface. His expertise with the personal manoeuvring jets was admirable, but he could not rely on them as he performed the necessary delicate experiments. Knight marvelled at the workmanlike approach of his companion. He was supremely able to suppress his emotions, to the extent that he appeared to be completely oblivious to the danger all around him. He was evidently able to take his own advice and cross his bridges just one at a time.
"Cable locked
,"
confirmed Knight.
"Still no change, proceeding with observational test one." Then, after a pause, "No, nothing, even on five hundred times magnification the surface is still perfectly continuous.
Proceeding to observational test two."
The tests continued without any further information coming to light. The surface was perfectly smooth, continuous, and reflecting over all parts of the spectrum capable of checking.
There was no measurable charge and no detectable magnetic field.
About an hour had passed and only one event had broken the monotony. Knight had looked away from the telescope briefly to see something emerging from behind on of the more distant spheres. For a moment he froze and his heart almost stopped.
But before he regained sufficient composure to shout out he realised that it was only one of the probes. He felt quite foolish but was thankful that he hadn't raised the alarm. He would have been ribbed about it forever afterwards. Watching it manoeuvre round silently he found it strangely reassuring.
It was comforting to see something external that was man-made, like seeing an old friend in a strange country.
"Observational tests complete. Request permission to begin the physical test sequence
,"
said Sharma.
"Acknowledged
,"
replied Knight. "Permission granted, proceed when ready
,"
answered the mission director's voice from the WSA control centre.
Sharma extended a telescopic metal rod and plugged an extending connector into one end. This was able to detect extremely faint vibrations and give an indication of surface hardness.
Gingerly he poked it towards the sphere, then
,
involuntarily
,
let out a sharp "
Oh." At first Knight thought Sharma
had received an electric shock, but the instruments were easily sensitive enough to indicate any significant electric charge, so it must have been something else.
"It's soft
,"
exclaimed Sharma, his voice indicating the level of shock that he felt. "It's like a balloon skin
,"
and then "Oh God!" this time louder, "it's gone through, the rod has gone through."
Knight suddenly had a vision of an enormous balloon being popped, ripping from end to end as the gas escaped from inside.
"There's no leakage from the surface
,"
Sharma reported tensely.
"The skin seems to have closed around the rod." He had had the same thought.
"What do I do now
?"
he asked. "Withdraw it or leave it in? Perhaps it's helping to maintain the seal?" His earlier calmness had now deserted him. The anxiety in his voice betrayed how shaken he was by his discovery, but he was still a long way from panic.
Already the workplan's contingency arrangements had been exceeded. This was an eventuality that had not been foreseen.
The experts on earth considered the problem while Sharma waited, wondering if the occupants could see the other end of the rod, and whether any action was being taken.
"Disconnect the extensible lead
,"
said a voice from the control centre, "and gently release the rod. If it stays in, leave it.
If it moves out itself hold it and withdraw it very slowly. If it falls further then again, withdraw slowly."