Astounding Science Fiction (UK Edition) — page 50: what you’re looking at

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

48 ASTOUNDING SCIENCE-FICTION half-light of the immense dome. “I’d about given you up, boy, and started out. But I happened to look back and see you. Thought you might be interested in some information I just came onto today.” “Information about the ship?” “What else? Here, come on inside her and into the lounge—I have a few privileges here, and we might as well be comfortable. You know, as I grow older, I find myself appreciating your ancestors’ ideas of com- fort, Danny. Sort of a pity our own culture is too new for much luxuriousness yet.” Of all the new race, he seemed the most com- pletely at ease before Danny, partly because of his age, and partly because they had shared the same enthusiasm for the great ship when it had first arrived. Now he settled back into one of the old divans, using his immunity to ordinary rules to light a cigarette and pass one to the younger man. “You know all the supplies and things in the ship have puzzled us both, and we couldn’t find any record of them? The log ends when they put the old ship up for junking, you remember, and we couldn’t figure out why it had been restored and restocked, all ready for some long voyage to somewhere. Well, it came to light in some further excavations they’ve completed. Danny, your people did that, during the War; or really, after they’d lost the War!” Danny straightened. The War was a period of history he’d avoided, mostly, though he knew the outlines of it. With homo intelligens increasing and pressing the older race aside by the laws of survival value, his people had made a final desperate bid for supremacy. And while the new race had not wanted the War, they had been forced finally to fight back with as little mercy as had been shown them: and since they had the tremendous advantage of the new intuitive thinking, there had been only thousands left of the original millions of the old race when its brief course was finished. It had been inevitable, probably from the first mutation, but it was not something Danny cared to dwell on. Now he nodded, and let the other continue. “Your ancestors were beaten, then, Danny, but they weren’t completely crushed, and they put about the last bit of energy they had into rebuilding this ship—the only navigable one left them—and restocking it. They were going to go out somewhere, they didn’t know quite where, even to another solar system, and take some of the old race for a new start, away from us. It was their last bid for survival, and it failed when my people learned of it and blasted the docks down over the ship, but it was a glorious failure, boy! I thought you’d want to know.” Danny’s thoughts centered slowly. “You mean everything on the ship is from my people? But surely the provisions wouldn’t have remained usable after all this time!” “They did, though; the tests we made proved that conclusively. Your people knew how to preserve things as well as we do, and they expected to be drifting in her for _half a century, maybe. They'll be usable a thousand years from now.” He chucked his Cigarette across the room and chuckled in pleased surprise when it fell accurately into a snuffer. “1 stuck around, really, to tell you and I’ve kept the papers over at the school for you to see. Why not come over with me now?” “Not now, sir. Pd rather stay here a little longer.” Professor Kirk nodded, pulling himself up reluctantly. “As you wish. ... 1 know how you feel, and I’m sorry about their moving the ship myself. We'll miss her, Danny.” | “Moving the ship?” Hadn’t you heard? I thought that’s why you came around at this hour. They want her over in London, and they’re bringing one of the old Lunar ships here to replace her. Too bad!” He touched the walls thoughtfully, drawing his hands down and across the rich nap on the seat. “Well, don’t stay too long, and turn her lights out before. you leave. Place’ll be closed in half an hour. ’Night, Danny!” ***Night, professor.” Danny sat frozen on the soft seat, listening to the slow tread of. the old man and the beating of his own heart. They were moving the ship, ripping his plans to shreds, leaving him stranded in the world of a new race, where even the children were sorry for him. - It had meant so much, even to feel that somehow he would escape, some day! Im- patiently, he snapped off the lights, . feeling closer to the ship in the privacy of the dark, where no watchman could see his emotion. For a year now he had built his life around the idea of taking this ship out and away, to leave the new race far behind. Long, carefully casual months of work had been spent in learning her structure, finding all her stores, assuring himself bit by bit from a hundred old books that he could operate her. She had seemed designed for the job, CcomiclbooksS.c©