Murray Leinster (Duke Classic SiFi) (24 page)

Major Holt spoke suddenly. The austerity had gone out of his manner with
his energy. He said quietly: "You four—you gave me the worst scare I've
ever had in my life. But do you realize that that sabotage attempt with
the two truck-loads of explosive—do you realize that they'd have gotten
the Platform if it hadn't been for that crazy trick you four planned,
and the precautions we took because of it?"

Joe said depreciatingly: "It was just luck that they happened to pick
the same time, and that Haney was up there with those machine-gunners at
the right moment. It was good luck, but it was luck."

The Major said effortfully: "There are people called accident prones.
Accidents happen all around them, and nobody knows why. You
four—perhaps Joe especially—are not accident prones. You seem to be
something antithetic to accidents. I would hesitate to credit your
usefulness to your brains. Especially Joe's brains. I have known him too
long. But—ah—Washington does not look at it in exactly the same way."

Sally touched Joe warningly. But her face was very bright and proud. Joe
felt queer.

"Joe," said the Major tiredly, "was an alternate for membership in the
Platform's crew. But for penicillin, or something of the sort that made
a sick man get well quickly, Joe would be up there in the Platform's
orbit now. His—ah—record in the instruction he did take was
satisfactory. And—ah—all four of you were very useful in the last
stages of the building of the Platform. Again Joe especially.
His—ah—co-operation with higher authorities has produced—ah—very
favorable comments. So it is felt that he should have some recognition.
All of you, of course, but Joe especially. So—"

Joe felt himself going white.

"Joe," said the Major, "is to be offered an appointment as skipper of
a ferry rocket, carrying supplies and crew reliefs to the Platform.
His rocket will carry a crew of four, including himself.
His—ah—recommendations for membership in his crew will have
considerable weight."

There was a buzzing in Joe's ears. He wanted to cry and to dance, and
especially right then he would have liked very much to kiss Sally. It
would have been the only really appropriate way to express his emotions.

Mike said in a fierce, strained voice: "Joe! I can do anything a big
elephant of a guy can do, and I only use a quarter of the grub and air!
You've got to take me, Joe! You've got to!"

The Chief said benignly: "H'm.... I'm gonna be in charge of the engine
room, an' Haney'll be bos'n—let Joe try to take off without us!—an'
that don't leave you a rating, Mike, unless you're willin' to be just
plain crew!"

Slowly Sally turned her face away from Joe and looked up.

Then they all saw it. A telescope, maybe, would have shown it as the
thing they'd worked on and fought for. But it didn't look like that to
the naked eye. It was just a tiny speck of incandescence gliding with
grave deliberation across the sky. It was a sliver of sunlight, moving
as they watched.

There were a good many millions of people watching it, just then, as it
floated aloft in emptiness. To some it meant peace and hope and
confidence of a serene old age and a life worth living for their
children and their children's children. To some it was a fascinating
technical achievement. To a few it meant that if wars had ended, and
turmoil was no longer the norm of life on earth, this thing would be
their destruction. But it meant something to everybody in the world. To
the people who had been unable to do anything to help it except to pray
for it, perhaps it meant most of all.

Joe said quietly: "We'll be going up there to visit it. All of us."

He realized that Sally's hand was tightly clasped in his. She said: "Me
too, Joe?"

"Some day," said Joe, "you too."

He stood up to watch more closely. Sally stood beside him. The others
came to look. They made a group on the lawn, as people were grouped
everywhere in all the world to gaze up at it.

The Space Platform, a tiny sliver of sunshine, an infinitesimal speck of
golden light, moved sedately across the deepening blue toward the east.
Toward the night.