Astounding Science Fiction, British Edition — page 6: what you’re looking at

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

10 ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION Attempts to correct same now being made. Position—’’ He swore at his forgetfulness and went back to the pilot room to take readings on the stars. Blaustein’s long thin form jack-knifed through the air as he finished; the gaunt sharp face was smeared with oil, and the hair more unkempt even than usual. “‘Can’t find a thing,” he reported. ““We tested with everything from Wheatstone bridges to computer problems, opened the gyromagnetic cell, nothing looks wrong. Want we should tear down the whole beast?” Langley considered. “‘No,”’ he said at last. “Let’s try it once more first.” Matsumoto’s compact, stocky frame entered ; he grinned around his eternal - chewing gum and let out some competent profanity, “Could be she just got the collywobbles,”’ he said. ‘““The more complicated a hookup gets, the more it acts like it had a mind of its own.” “Yeah,” said Langley. “‘A brilliant mind devoted entirely to frustrating its builders.’’ He had his coordinates now; the ephemeris gave him the position of Earth, and he set up the superdrive controls to bring him there just outside the remaining margin of error. “Strap in and hang on to your hats, gents.” There was no sensation as he pulled the main switch. How could there be, with no time involved? But suddenly the spark of Sol was a dull-purple disk as the screen polarized against its glare. “Whoops!” said Matsumoto. “Honolulu, here I come!”’ There was a coldness along Langley’s spine. “No,” he said. *“Huh?”’ “Look at the solar disk. It’s not big enough. We should be just about one A.U. from it; actually we’re something like one and a third.” “Well, Ill be” said Matsumoto. Blaustein’s lips twitched nervously. ““That’s not too bad,” he said. “We could get back on rockets from here.” “It’s not good enough,” said Langley. ““We had . . . we thought we had the control down to a point where the error of arrival was less than one per cent. We tested that inside the system of Holat’s sun. Why can’t we do as well in our own system?” “I wonder—’’ Matsumoto’s cocky face turned thoughtful. “Are we approaching asymptotically?” The idea of creeping through eternity, always getting nearer to Earth and never quite reaching it, was chilling. Langley thrust it off and took up his instruments, trying to locate himself. They were in the ecliptic plane, and a telescopic sweep along the zodiac quickly identified Jupiter. Then the tables said Mars should be over there and Venus that way—Neither of them were. After a while, Langley racked his things and looked around with a strained expression. “The planetary positions aren’t right,” he said. “I think I’ve spotted Mars . . . but it’s green.’ | “Are you drunk?” asked Blaustein. *““No such luck,” said Langley. “See for yourself in the ’scope; that’s a planetary disk, and from our distance from the sun and its direction, it can only be in Mars’ orbit. But it’s not red, it’s green.” They sat very still. THE LONG WAY HOME 11 “Any ideas, Saris?’’ asked Blaustein in a small voice. *‘T iss rather not say,” The deep voice was carefully expressionless, but the eyes had a glaze which meant thought. “To hell with it!” Recklessly, Langley sent the ship quartering across her orbit. The sun-disk jumped in the screens. “arth!” whispered Blaustein. “‘I’d know her anywhere.” The planet hung blue and shining against night, her moon like a drop of cool gold. Tears stung Langley’s eyes. He bent over his instruments again, getting positions. They were still about half an Astronomical Unit from their goal. It was tempting to forget the engines and blast home on rockets—but that would take a long while, and Peggy was waiting. He set the controls for emergence at five thousand miles distance. Jump! ‘“‘We’re a lot closer,” said Matsumoto, “‘but we haven’t made it yet.” For a moment rage at the machine seethed in Langley. He bit it back and took up his instruments. Distance about forty-five thousand miles this time. Another calculation, this one quite finicking to allow for the planet’s orbital motion. As the clock reached the moment he had selected, he threw the switch. “We did it!” There she hung, a gigantic shield, belted with clouds, blazoned with continents, a single radiant star where the curving oceans focused sunlight. Langley’s fingers shook as he got a radar reading. The error this time was negligible. Rockets spumed fire, pressing them back into their seats, as he drove the vessel forward. Peggy, Peggy, Peggy, it was a song within him. Was it a boy or a girl? He remembered as if it were an hour ago, how they had tried to find a name, they weren’t going to be caught flat-footed when the man brought the birth certificate around. O Peggy! I miss you so much. They entered the atmosphere, too eager to care about saving fuel with a braking ellipse, backing down on a jet of flame. The ship roared and thundered around them. Presently they were gliding, on a long spiral which would take them half- way round the world before they landed. There was a dark whistle of cloven air outside. Langley was too busy piloting to watch the view, but Blaustein, Matsumoto, and even Saris Hronna strained their eyes at the screens. It was the Holatan who spoke first: “Iss that the much by you talked of city New York?” “No... we’re over the Near East, I think.” Blaustein looked down to the night-wrapped cluster of light. ““Which is it, anyway?” . ““Never saw any city in this area big enough to show this high up without a telescope,” said Matsumoto. “Ankara? There must be unusually clear seeing tonight.”’ The minutes ticked by. ““That’s the Alps,” said Blaustein. “See the moon- light on them? Bob, I know damn “CO! LLC I00 <S..GOm