Adventures in the Far Future & Tales of Outer Space — page 204: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

the rocket.” He found the flight deck at the end of the cross passage, a circular compartment about ten feet across. There were recognizable seats surrounded by clusters of completely unfamiliar equipment, but no acceleration couches. He flashed the light around, studying the equipment. The same air of unused readiness characterized this place. A bank of Small, round, oblong, and tubular gray glass surfaces caught his eye. Above two of them, greenish-tinted cards were neatly pasted. Tangled purple symbols fluoresced softly on the cards as his flashlight caught them. Correction cards, Goodrich thought, for instrument calibration. He bent closer to study a row of tiny beads. There seemed to be an amber glint deep inside one of them. He turned the flashlight off. The light, just a bare glint, was still there. Why should an abandoned ship, have power? A sudden flash of reflected light off the panel startled him. He glanced back over his shoulder and saw the passage behind him outlined tn a glow of light and he had a sudden sick feeling that this was it, the trap had sprung. Then he Saw that the glow was the reflection of a light being carried along the corridor, and still hidden from him by the curve. A moment later McKay came into view. “Looks dead,” he said. “I followed that corridor all the way around.” “l want you to see something.” Goodrich moved back to where he had seen the panel light. It was now purple. He Shoved his helmet against McKay’s. “What color is that light?” he asked. “Looks purple to me,” McKay said. “What do you think it Is?” “| don’t know, but | don’t like it. It was amber a minute ago.” He pulled himself over to a wall and banged three CORniclooo SS CO