The Quantum Jump - Robert Wicks, ebook, Temp
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//-->The Quantum JumpWicks, RobertPublished:1958Type(s):Short Fiction, Science FictionSource:1Copyright:Please read the legal notice included in this e-book and/orcheck the copyright status in your country.Note:This book is brought to you by Feedbooks.Strictly for personal use, do not use this file for commercial purposes.2Captain Brandon was a pioneer. He explored the far reaches of space and repor-ted back on how things were out there. So it was pretty disquieting to find outthat the "far reaches of space" knew more about what went on at home than hedid.Brandon was looking at the Milky Way. Through his perma-glas can-opy, he could see it trailing across the black velvet of space like a whitebridal veil. Below his SC9B scout-ship stretched the red dust deserts ofSirius Three illuminated by the thin light of two ice moons. He looked atthe Milky Way.He looked at it as a man looks at a flickering fireplace and thinks ofother things. He thought of the sun, 52 trillion miles away, a pinpoint oflight lost in the dazzle of the Milky Way—the Earth a speck of dust in or-bit just as this planet was to its master, Sirius.Nine light years away. Of course, thirteen years had passed on Earthsince they had left, because the trip took four years by RT—relative time.But even four years is a long time to be shut up in Astro One with fiveother men, especially when one of them was the imperious ColonelTowers."A quantum jump—that's the way to beat the Reds," the colonel hadsaid a thousand times. His well-worn expression had nothing to do withquantum mechanics—the actual change in atomic configuration due tothe application of sufficient energy. Rather, it was a slang expression re-ferring to a major advance in inter-planetary travel due to a maximumscientific and technological effort."Let 'em have Mars and Venus," the colonel would say—"Let 'em havethe whole damn Solar System! We'll make a quantum jump—leap-frogahead of 'em. We'll be the first men to set foot on a planet of another sol-ar system."Four years had gone by in the ship; thirteen years on Earth. Four yearsof Colonel Towers. Military discipline grew more strict each day. Spacedoes funny things to some men. The "we'll be the first men" had turnedinto, "I'll be the firstman."But it was Captain Brandon who drew the assignment of scouting Siri-us Three for a suitable landing place for Astro, of sampling its atmo-sphere and observing meteorological conditions. Even as Brandonclimbed into the scout-ship, Towers had cautioned him.3"Remember, your assignment is to locate a firm landing site withample protection from the elements. Under no circumstances are you toland yourself. Is that clearly understood?"Brandon nodded, was launched and now was cruising one hundredthousand feet above the alien planet.Brandon tilted the ship up on one wing and glanced down at thebrick-red expanse of desert. Tiny red mists marked dust storms. Cer-tainly this was no place to set down the full weight of Astro nor to pro-tect the crew and equipment from abrasive dust.He righted the ship. Far on the horizon was a bank of atmosphericclouds. Perhaps conditions were more promising there. He shoved thepower setting to 90 per cent.A fire warning indicator light blinked on. Instantly Brandon's eyeswere on the instrument panel. The tailpipe temperature seemed all right.It could be a false indication. He eased back on the power setting. Maybethe light would go out. But it didn't. Instead he felt a surging rumbledeep in the bowels of the ship. Luminous needles danced and a secondred light flashed on.He snapped the vidio switch and depressed the mike button."Astro One, this is Brandon. Over."A steady crackling sound filled his earphones; a grid of light and shad-ow fluttered on the screen. A thought entered his mind. Maybe he hadput too much planet curvature between Astro and himself."Astro One, this is Brandon. Come in, please."A series of muffled explosions rocked the ship. He chopped the powerback all the way and listened intently."May Day! May Day! Astro, this is Brandon. May Day!"A faint voice sputtered in his ear, the face of Reinhardt, the radiomanappeared before him. "Brandon, this is Astro One. What is your position?Over."Brandon's voice sounded strange and distant as he talked to his oxy-gen mask. "Heading—one-eight-zero. Approximately six hundred milesfrom you. Altitude one hundred thousand feet.""What is the nature of your trouble, Brandon?"Before Brandon could answer, the face of Colonel Towers appearedbeside the radioman's."Brandon, what're you trying to pull?"4"Engine trouble, sir. Losing altitude fast.""Do you know the nature of the trouble?""Negative. Might have thrown a compressor blade. Got a fire indica-tion, then a compressor surge. Chopped off the power."Towers frowned. "Why didn't you use straight rocket power?""Well, sir—""Never mind now. You may have encountered oxygen or hydrogen-rich atmosphere—melted your compressor blades. Try an air start onstraight rocket. I want that ship back, Brandon. Repeat, I want that shipback!""I may be able to ride it down. Get it on the deck intact.""Try an air start, Brandon." Towers leaned forward, his eyes fixed onBrandon. "I don't want you to set foot on that planet, get me?"But there wasn't time to try anything. The cabin was filling withfumes. Brandon looked down. A fringe of blue flame crept alongbetween the floor and the bottom of the pilot's capsule. A cold ache filledthe cavity of his stomach."Too late. I'm on fire! Capsuling out. Repeat, capsuling out.""Brandon—!"The colonel's glaring face flicked off as Brandon pushed the pre-ejec-tion lever into the lock position severing all connections between the shipand the pilot's capsule. Brandon had a strange, detached feeling as hepushed the ejection button.There was an explosion and the pilot's capsule shot up like a wet barof soap squeezed out of a giant's hand.The ship turned into a torch and sank beneath him. Brandon closed hiseyes for a moment.When he opened them he was staring at the Milky Way, then thedesert as he tumbled over and over. He talked to the Milky Way."Ten seconds. Should wait at least ten seconds before releasing thedrogue chute so I'll clear the ship." Then he spoke to the desert. "Andmaybe another ten to give the capsule time to slow down."He counted then pulled the chute release. Nylon streamed out behindhim and snapped open with a tremendous jar. A moment later, bundlesof metal ribbons floated out and billowed into a giant umbrella. The lastthing he remembered was the taste of blood on his lips.5
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