Tiger apparently noticed it, too, for he said sharply: 'What's wrong?'
Rex's stomach seemed to drop inside him when the Professor answered: I don't know, but the jets are not working as they should. The ship is behaving as if the power was failing.'
What could cause it to fail?'
The Professor shrugged. It might be that some water from that downpour has seeped into the working parts. Electrical discharges of the storm, which were noticeable, may be causing the trouble. What I really suspect, however, is that the cosmic rays on which we rely, and which I had always supposed would pierce anything, are unable to penetrate to the base of this tremendous cloud layer. I estimate that it is at least five hundred miles thick. Again, the lightning may have disturbed or dissipated the rays. We shall soon know.'
'How will you know?' asked Tiger.
Because as soon as we have exhausted the rays contained within the structural components of the ship she will stop, and at once begin to fall. That is bound to happen if for any reason we are not getting enough power to give us escape velocity.'
'You mean, we shall fall back on Venus?' asked Rex, in a thin voice.
'As we are well within her field of gravity we could fall nowhere else.
But don't let that disturb you. If it should happen you'll know nothing about it, for the simple reason that we should strike the planet at a speed of several miles a second.' The Professor spoke so calmly that Rex could only. stare at him.
There was a short silence.
Then the Professor went on. 'It's a curious thing, but I've never been able to discover a way of storing cosmic rays for such an emergency as this — not that I ever imagined it would arise. You can't imprison the little rascals. They will pass through anything, including metal, so I failed to visualize conditions such as these within the solar system.
Which shows how fatal it can be to take anything for granted.'
Feeling suddenly weak Rex sank a little deeper into his chair, straining his ears to the murmur of the jets for any increase or decrease of power.
They seemed to be getting weaker.
We are still rising, but not as fast as I would wish,' said the Professor quietly.
It seemed to Rex that the situation had become a sort of race, on the result of which their fate depended. If their energy diminished below a certain point before they reached the Sun, they would lose. If it could be maintained until they reached the upper layers of the cloud, where some cosmic rays might be expected, they would win. He found small comfort in the Professor's casual remark that if they fell they would know nothing about it.
'It's getting lighter,' said Tiger suddenly.
'You're right,' confirmed the Professor. 'That means we are nearly clear.'
Rex began to breathe again as proof was provided by the jets, which began to drone with a rising tempo.
Àh! That sounds healthier,' said the Professor cheerfully.
A minute later, when the Spacemaster shot out into clear space, with a dark, star-spangled sky above, and the Sun turning the surface of the cloud to streaming silver, Rex could have shouted with relief.
Well, there's no tutor like experience,' announced the Professor tritely.
I shall have to make provision to ensure that such anxiety as we have just survived does not occur again.'
The clouds of Venus began to fall away below like solid matter as the Spacemaster picked up her maximum velocity. Smiling, the Professor sank back in his seat. 'Now we can all have a nice long sleep,' he announced.
'At this velocity we shall shoot right through the neutral zone back into the gravitational field of our own good Earth. You will agree, my friends, that this has been another wonderful day to remember. Would anyone care for a caramel?'
Five days later, standing on the concrete landing-ground outside the hangar, holding the steps of the Spacemaster to preserve his balance —
for the long flight home had left him unsteady on his feet — Rex gazed at the blue-white star, low in the sky, which he knew was Venus. No, I haven't really been there, he told himself. I must be dreaming.
Presently I shall wake up.
Slowly, and very deep in thought, he followed the others into the house.
12 What happened
on .Phobos
As soon as he had had a night's rest in his own bed and written up his notes the Professor was making preparations for a journey to Mars, the only remaining planet within reasonable distance of Earth, and the most likely one, in the solar system, he thought, from which the flying saucers might be coming. If they were not coming from Mars, or the groups of planetoids beyond, then they would almost certainly be visitors from the outer cosmos.
The visit to Mars, he averred, would see the conclusion of his immediate programme, and, if successful, the fulfilment of his life's ambition. It would take him a long time to put on paper a full record of his discoveries and their implications. He might make further flights at a later date, but only after he had set down the fruits of his discoveries for the benefit of future interplanetary navigators.
He had, he told them one night after the evening meal, already given them an outline of what was known about Mars, and certain conclusions that had been drawn from telescopic observation. It had long been thought that the planet was the one most likely to support life — that is, intelligent life, as it was understood on Earth. Beyond Mars was the realm of the asteroids, many bodies of all sizes, thought to be the remains of a planet that had broken up. Beyond, again, was Jupiter, largest planet of all. But with these, for the time being at any rate, they need not concern themselves. The objective was Mars, which, being in an orbit outside the Earth and consequently farther from the Sun, was unlikely to be as warm as either Earth or Venus. Long before they reached the planet, the Professor thought, they should know more about it, for the atmosphere that enveloped it was likely to be thin, and there were few clouds to hinder visibility.
In particular, the famous so-called canals, which in order to be visible from Earth must be very wide, should stand revealed for what they really were. Mars, being farther away than Venus, would take longer to reach —
not fewer than eight days, he reckoned. His eyes twinkled. 'I must make a good supply of caramels.'
'Shall we need our suits ? ' asked Rex.
'Yes. I expect to find some atmosphere on Mars, perhaps quite a reasonable one, but there may not be enough for us without extra oxygen.
Apart from air to breathe there is the question of pressure. We are bound to feel anything in the way of an abrupt change.
As I have told you, the human body is surprisingly adaptable, and will stand up to the most extreme changes of temperature and pressure provided the initial shock is not too great. Given time to acclimatize itself, as we say, it will respond nobly. A man climbing a mountain makes the change gradually, and no ill effects are experienced. We, from the Spacemaster, step straight from one set of conditions to another. As you know, as we sit here every square inch of our bodies is subject to a pressure of fifteen pounds, but we are unaware of this because the pressure is equal and our bodies have adapted themselves to it through the ages. In exactly the same way any form of life on Mars will have adapted itself to its own particular pressure, oxygen supply, and any other unique conditions.
Mars being only half the size of Earth, gravity will be much less. If I take three pounds of caramels with me they will weigh only a fraction over a pound when I land on Mars.' The Professor's eyes twinkled. 'But I needn't worry about that because I shall have just as many caramels.
Again, our year of 365 days becomes 687 days on Mars. We shall have two moons to explore, Phobos and Deimos. They're both very small and close to their parent. Phobos is on the near side so we may call there on the way.
From there we should get a majestic view of Mars, less than 6,000 miles distant. Deimos is on the far side. By the way, if we should land on either of these small satellites be careful not to jump about, or with your muscles, adapte
d for Earth, you may jump clear into space. But the point is, if the conditions on Mars are much different from ours I shall not expect to find there men like ourselves -
even though they were like us at some distant period of their history.'
The Professor regarded them thoughtfully over his glasses. 'But this won't do,' he concluded. 'There is much to be done.'
Preparations for departure continued apace. There were no newspaper reports of the Spacemaster but flying saucers had been seen over America.
Judkins reported that the pony boy had spoken of seeing two strangers on the hill, who did not look like stalkers; but nobody paid much attention.
The Professor seemed more concerned with the saucers.
'If there are a lot of them about I wonder how they avoid collision,' he said. 'With so much space, the risk is, of course, very small. But it exists, and as I think I told you, at high speeds there can be no question of sharp turns. Not that the necessity would arise.
Two spaceships travelling head on at escape velocity would be in collision before they saw each other. So it is no use dwelling on a hazard that cannot be prevented.'
The days passed quickly until at last the Professor announced that all was ready, so as there was no reason for delay he proposed starting in the morning. He had finished his notes, packed them and addressed them to the Royal Society, and put them in his safe, where, if the Spacemaster did not return, they would be found and forwarded. Whatever happened to them, therefore, the information gathered on their survey flights into space would not be wasted. From the way he spoke he regarded the possibility of their non-return quite casually. Not so Rex, who was again conscious of that 'high dive' feeling when he remembered those awful lonely spaces beyond the atmosphere. He took comfort from the thought that not so long ago the unknown oceans must have seemed like that to mariners.
At least they were spared the discomforts and privations of the early sailors. And, after all, what were eight days to make a landfall, compared with sea voyages of months and years before the days of steam?
His fears faded as soon as they were off the ground, and having watched the Earth become a globe he settled down to the now familiar routine of space travel. He had taken the Professor's advice and brought some more books.
There were only two incidents to break the monotony of the voyage. The first was when a flying saucer came and had a look at them. The Professor, whose watch it happened to be, saw it first - or rather he saw the sunlight reflected on it. As he said afterwards, he took it to be an asteroid that had somehow got outside its orbit. When it turned edge-on and came nearer he recognized it for what it was. It came quite close and actually kept them company for a while, so that they all had a good look at it. But of occupants, supposing there were some, they saw nothing.
Before it left them it several times darted off at a tangent, as if inviting them to follow. Indeed, Tiger gave it as his opinion that this was the purpose of the manoeuvre. 'What else could it mean?' he inquired.
No one offered an alternative explanation. The Professor held on his course, saying that as they had a long way to go he did not feel inclined to dally on the way. The saucer watched them for a time, from a distance, and then flashed away like a shooting star.
Its behaviour was discussed again later, following an incident which, it was agreed, offered another possibility.
All was quiet in the cabin, with the crew reading or dozing, when the Professor let out a startled exclamation. A split second later there came such a noise that Rex was sure the end had come. It was as if the ship had struck a hailstorm, and lasted for perhaps three seconds. Then silence returned. Rex turned an ashen face to Tiger. Even the placid Judkins had turned pale.
'It's all right,' explained the Professor quickly. 'We passed through a narrow belt of meteoric dust. I saw it, but could not avoid it. It appeared as a streak of pale haze such as might have been left by the tail of a comet. I would have warned you had I realized in time what it was. At first I thought it might have been the trail of our flying saucer friend; but now I believe it was either meteoric dust or frozen particles of gas of some sort, possibly helium cast off by the Sun. One can often see such phenomena through the telescope. I suspect there is more star dust about than is generally supposed, waiting for the gravity of some body to absorb it. No damage appears to have been done beyond a few scratches on the windows.'
Speaking of saucers, it occurs to me that the one we saw might have been trying to warn us to keep clear of the stuff, knowing it was there,'
opined Tiger.
'It could be so,' agreed the Professor. I hope you're right, for that would indicate a friendly disposition. What a pity we can't send a signal to thank him. But then, I would have been surprised had the saucer turned out to be hostile.'
'Why?'
Firstly, because creatures with sufficient intelligence to make a spaceship as efficient as the one we just saw, must, surely, by the same token, have more sense than to indulge in useless slaughter? Secondly, travellers on dangerous voyages always have been not only friendly towards each other, but willing to accept perils on their behalf.
Sailors, no matter what their nationality, still cling to that praiseworthy tradition. What a wonderful world Earth would be if all men behaved like that.'
They probably would if they were left alone and didn't have their minds poisoned by propaganda-mongers with bees in their bonnets,' returned Tiger bitterly.
'That would be dangerous talk in some parts of the world,' said the Professor soberly. He reached for his telescope. 'Observe how red Mars is getting now that we are drawing near. Mars was the ancient god of war.
Let us hope, if there are men on the planet, that they have never heard of war. You can see the dainty satellite, Phobos, distinctly. It appears as a small black dot, of course, since it is between us and the planet.
We can't see Deimos because it's round the other side.'
They took turns to look at the objective through the telescope.
Each day brought it into sharper focus. The dull yellowish-red colour became more conspicuous although it was confined to certain areas. The polar snowcaps glistened unmistakably. The long canals could be seen with the naked eye, looking as if a spider's web had been thrown over an orange.
The Professor pointed out their own home planet, also shining brightly; but Venus, dwarfed by distance, had lost its earthly sparkle.
The eighth day saw the objective as a globe, wonderfully clear as it hung in space, the canals looking like a net thrown over it. Little Phobos seemed almost to be touching. The Professor was pale with excitement and seldom put down the telescope.
'What was the use of trying to solve the canal problem from Earth when I still can't see the answer from here?' he said sadly. 'The weakness of the telescope is, while it may magnify, it doesn't give a clearer definition.'
'You'll know all the answers presently,' consoled Tiger.
I think we'll drop in on Phobos to see what we can make of Mars from there,' decided the Professor.
Tiger agreed. It's always a good thing to make a reconnaissance of unknown country before jumping straight into it,' he cautioned. 'I've seen places that were easier to get into than get out of.'
Quite so,' said the Professor. Isn't it wonderful to be up here?'
'We're certainly well away from the crowds,' replied Tiger smiling.
'What's the next body outside Mars?' asked Rex.
The next real planet is Jupiter, and he's the grandfather of all planets,' answered the Professor. 'We're not likely to trouble him, because apart from being a long way away we think he is still very warm with his own heat. But between Mars and Jupiter there's an interesting field for exploration, although not on this trip. That's the home of the planetoids I told you about. Some of them are quite large, with diameters of hundreds of miles. There was a scare some years ago when it was realized that some of these planetoids crossed the orbit of the Earth.
Nervous people started
talking about a collision.
It could happen, but I don't think we need worry. The chances of one of them hitting us are about the same as a rifle bullet hitting an anti-aircraft shell. But we'll talk about these things another day. At present we have something nearer to interest us.'
As Mars drew nearer Rex found himself marvelling that the celestial bodies, which from Earth look so much alike, could in reality be so different. The approach to Mars was very different from the approach to Venus. Venus was a land shrouded with mystery. Mars offered the whole of its face for inspection. Not that there was much to see. Apart from the canals there was not a single noteworthy feature. There were no mountains, cliffs or craters. In fact, it looked, thought Rex, as he stood regarding it, as if it had all been ironed flat, in a broad pattern of two colours. At least three-quarters of the side facing them was the yellowish-red tint, just as he had seen the desert areas of the Middle East look from high altitude. Indeed, he felt sure that it was desert.
The rest, the canals, was now definitely green, and obviously vegetation.
He looked in vain for anything like a sea, a river, or even a lake, which would now, judging from his ordinary flying experience, be reflecting the sunlight like pieces of mirror glass. As they drew still nearer it became possible to make out some wisps of tenuous mist, but of clouds such as those that cover the Earth there were none.
It all looks very dead to me,' was Tiger's opinion, after studying it through the telescope.
'I'm afraid you're right,' agreed the Professor despondently. It's too early to say definitely, but it begins to look as if those who predicted an uninhabited desert were correct. I confess I am disappointed.'
Hours passed. They all stood watching the planet, no longer a globe but a vast section of one, filling the portholes.
Of one thing we can now be pretty sure,' said the Professor. The flying saucers don't come from Mars. I was almost sure they did.'
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