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diff --git a/24927.txt b/24927.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a0d4783 --- /dev/null +++ b/24927.txt @@ -0,0 +1,704 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Matter of Magnitude, by Al Sevcik + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Matter of Magnitude + +Author: Al Sevcik + +Release Date: March 27, 2008 [EBook #24927] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A MATTER OF MAGNITUDE *** + + + + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + + A + MATTER + OF + MAGNITUDE + + By AL SEVCIK + + + _When you're commanding a spaceship over a mile + long, and armed to the teeth, you don't exactly + expect to be told to get the hell out ..._ + + +The ship, for reasons that had to do with the politics of +appropriations, was named Senator Joseph L. Holloway, but the press and +the public called her Big Joe. Her captain, six-star Admiral Heselton, +thought of her as Great Big Joe, and never fully got over being +awestruck at the size of his command. + +"She's a mighty big ship, Rogers," he said proudly to the navigator, +ignoring the latter's rather vacant stare and fixed smile. "More than a +mile long, and wider than hell." He waved his hands expansively. "She's +never touched down on Earth, you know. Never will. Too big for that. +They built her on the moon. The cost? Well ..." + +Swiveling his chair around, Heselton slowly surveyed the ship's control +room with a small, satisfied smile. The two pilots sitting far forward, +almost hidden by their banks of instruments, the radar operators idly +watching their scopes, the three flight engineers sitting intently at +their enormous control consoles, and, just behind, the radio shack--its +closed door undoubtedly hiding a game of cards. For weeks now, as Big +Joe moved across the galaxy's uncharted fringe, the radio bands had been +completely dead, except, of course, for the usual star static hissing +and burbling in the background. + +Turning back again to his navigator, Heselton smiled modestly and noted +that Big Joe was undisputedly the largest, most powerful, most feared, +and most effective spaceship in the known universe. + +As always, Rogers nodded agreement. The fact that he'd heard it a +hundred times didn't make it any less true. Big Joe, armed with every +weapon known to Terran technology, was literally the battleship to end +all battleships. Ending battleships--and battles--was, in fact, her job. +And she did it well. For the first time, the galaxy was at peace. + + * * * * * + +With a relaxed sigh, Heselton leaned back to gaze at the stars and +contemplate the vastness of the universe, compared to which even Big Joe +was an insignificant dot. + +"Well," said Rogers, "time for another course check. I'll ..." He jumped +back, barely avoiding the worried lieutenant who exploded upon them from +the radio shack. + +"A signal, sir! Damn close, on the VHF band, their transmission is +completely overriding the background noise." He waved excitedly to +someone in the radio shack and an overhead speaker came to life emitting +a distinct clacking-grunting sound. "It's audio of some sort, sir, but +there's lots more to the signal than that." + +In one motion Heselton's chair snapped forward, his right fist hit the +red emergency alert button on his desk, and his left snapped on the +ship's intercom. Lights dimmed momentarily as powerful emergency drive +units snapped into action, and the ship echoed with the sound of two +thousand men running to battle stations. + +"Bridge to radar! Report." + +"Radar to bridge. All clear." + +Heselton stared incredulously at the intercom. "What?" + +"Radar to bridge, repeating. All clear. Admiral, we've got two men on +every scope, there's nothing anywhere." + +A new voice cut in on the speaker. "Radio track to bridge." + +Frowning, Heselton answered. "Bridge. Come in radio track. We're +listening." + +"Sir," the crisp voice of the radio track section's commander had an +excited tinge. "Sir, Doppler calculations show that the source of those +signals is slowing down somewhere to our right. It's acting like a +spaceship, sir, that's coming to a halt." + +The admiral locked eyes with Rogers for a second, then shrugged. "Slow +the ship, and circle right. Radio track, can you keep me posted on the +object's position?" + +"No can do, sir. Doppler effect can't be used on a slow moving source. +It's still off to our right, but that's the best I can say." + +"Sir," another voice chimed in, "this is fire control. We've got our +directional antennas on the thing. It's either directly right or +directly left of the ship, matching speed with us exactly." + +"_Either_ to our right or left?" + +"That's the best we can do, sir, without radar help." + +"Admiral, sir," the lieutenant who had first reported the signal came +running back. "Judging from the frequency and strength, we think it's +probably less than a hundred miles away." + +"_Less_ than a hundr ..." + +"Of course, we can't be positive, sir." + +Heselton whirled back to the intercom. "Radar! That thing is practically +on our necks. What the hell's the matter with that equipment...?" + +The radar commander's voice showed distinct signs of strain. "Can't help +it, Admiral. The equipment is working perfectly. We've tried the +complete range of frequencies, twenty-five different sets are in +operation, we're going blind looking. There is absolutely nothing, +nothing at all." + +For a moment the bridge was silent, except for the clacking-grunting +from the overhead speaker which, if anything, sounded louder than +before. + +"It's tv, sir!" The radio lieutenant came running in again. "We've +unscrambled the image. Here!" The communications screen on Heselton's +desk glowed for a moment, then flashed into life. + + * * * * * + +The figure was clearly alien, though startlingly humanoid--at least from +the waist up, which was all that showed in the screen. A large mouth and +slightly bulging eyes gave it a somewhat jovial, frog-like demeanor. +Seated at a desk similar to Heselton's, wearing a gaudy uniform +profusely strewn with a variety of insignia, it was obviously Heselton's +counterpart, the commander of an alien vessel. + +"Hmmm, looks like we've contacted a new race. Let's return the call, +Lieutenant." A tiny red light glowed beneath a miniature camera on +Heselton's desk and almost at once the alien's face registered obvious +satisfaction. It waved a six-fingered hand in an unorthodox, but +friendly, greeting. + +Heselton waved back. + +The alien then pointed to his mouth, made several clacking-grunting +sounds, and moved a hand on his desk. The scene switched to another +alien standing in front of what looked like a blackboard, with a piece +of chalk in his hand. The meaning was clear. + +"Lieutenant, have this transmission switched to the linguistics section. +Maybe those guys can work some sort of language." The screen blanked +out. Heselton leaned back, tense, obviously worried. Hesitantly, he +reached out and touched a button on the intercom. + +"Astronomy." + +"Professor, there's a ship right next door somewhere that should stand +out like King Kong in a kindergarten." + +"I know, Admiral. I've been listening to the intercom. Our optical +equipment isn't designed for close range work, but we've been doing the +best we can, tried everything from infra-red through ultra-violet. If +there is a ship out there I'm afraid it's invisible." + +Beads of sweat sprinkled Heselton's forehead. "This is bad, Rogers. +Mighty bad." Nervously, he walked across to the right of the bridge and +stood, hands clasped behind his back, staring blankly out at blackness +and the scattered stars. "I know there is a ship out there, and I know +that a ship simply can't be invisible, not to radar _and_ optics." + +"What makes you sure there is only one, sir?" + +Heselton cracked his fists together. "My God, Rogers, you're right! +There might be ..." + +The intercom clacked. "This is fire control again, sir. I think we've +got something on the radiation detectors." + +"Good work, what did you find?" + +"Slight radioactivity, typical of interstellar drive mechanisms, +somewhere off to our right. Can't tell exactly where, though." + +"How far away is it?" + +"I don't know, sir." + +Heselton's hands dropped to his sides. "Thanks," he said, "for the +help." + +His desk tv flashed into life with a picture of the smiling alien +commander. "This is the linguistics section, Admiral. The aliens +understand a fairly common galactic symbology, I believe we can +translate simple messages for you now." + +"Ask him where the hell he is," Heselton snapped without thinking, then +instantly regretted it as the alien's face showed unmistakable surprise. + +The alien's smile grew into an almost unbelievable grin. He turned +sideways to speak to someone out of sight of the camera and suddenly +burst into a series of roaring cackles. "He's laughing, sir." The +translator commented unnecessarily. + +The joke was strictly with the aliens. Heselton's face whitened in quick +realization. "Rogers! They _didn't know_ that we can't see them!" + +"Look, sir." The navigator pointed to the tv screen and a brilliantly +clear image of Big Joe shimmering against the galaxy, lit by millions of +stars. Every missile port, even the military numerals along her nose +were clearly visible. + +"They're rubbing it in, Rogers. Showing us what we look like to them." +Heselton's face was chalk. "They could blast Big Joe apart, piece by +piece--the most powerful ship in the galaxy." + +"Maybe," said Rogers, "the second most powerful." + +Without answering, Heselton turned and looked out again at empty space +and millions of steady, unwinking stars. His mind formed an image of a +huge, ethereal spaceship, missile ports open, weapons aimed directly at +Big Joe. + +The speaker interrupted his nightmare. "This is fire control, Admiral. +With your permission I'll scatter a few C-bombs ..." + +Heselton leaped for the microphone. "Are you out of your mind? We +haven't the slightest idea of the forces that guy has. We might be in +the center of a whole blooming fleet. Ever think of that?" + +The alien's face, still smirking, appeared again on the screen. "He +says," said the interpreter, "that he finds the presence of our armed +ship very annoying." + +Heselton knew what he had to do. "Tell him," he said, swallowing hard, +"that we apologize. This part of the galaxy is strange to us." + +"He says he is contemplating blasting us out of the sky." + +Heselton said nothing, but he longed to reach out and throttle the +grinning, alien face. + +"However," the interpreter continued, "he will let us go safely if we +leave immediately. He says to send an unarmed, diplomatic vessel next +time and maybe his people will talk to us." + +"Thank him for his kindness." Heselton's jaws clenched so tightly they +ached. + +"He says," said the interpreter, "to get the hell out." + +The grinning face snapped off the screen, but the cackling laughter +continued to reverberate in the control room until the radio shack +finally turned off the receiver. + +"Reverse course," the admiral ordered quietly. "Maximum drive." + +A thousand missile launchers, designed to disintegrate solar systems, +were deactivated, hundreds of gyros swung the mile-long ship end for end +and stabilized her on a reverse course, drive units big enough to power +several major cities whined into operation, anti-grav generators with +the strength to shift small planets counterbalanced the external +acceleration, and the ship moved, away, with a speed approaching that of +light. + +"Well," muttered Heselton, "that's the very first time Big Joe has ever +had to retreat." As if it were his own personal failure, he walked +slowly across the control room and down the corridor towards his cabin. + +"Admiral!" Lost in thought, Heselton barely heard the call. + +"Admiral, look!" Pausing at the door to his cabin, Heselton turned to +face the ship's chief astronomer running up waving two large +photographs. + +"Look, sir," the professor gasped for breath. "We thought this was a +spot on the negative, but one of the men got curious and enlarged it +about a hundred times." He held up one of the photos. It showed a small, +fuzzy, but unmistakable spaceship. "No wonder we couldn't spot it with +our instruments." + +Heselton snatched it out of his hand. "I see what you mean. This ship +must have been thousands of miles ..." + +The professor shook his head. "No, sir. As a matter of fact, it was +quite close by." + +"But ..." + +"We figure that the total length of the alien ship was roughly an inch +and a half." + + +THE END + + + + +Transcriber's Note: + + This etext was produced from _Amazing Science Fiction Stories_ + January 1960. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that + the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling + and typographical errors have been corrected without note. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Matter of Magnitude, by Al Sevcik + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A MATTER OF MAGNITUDE *** + +***** This file should be named 24927.txt or 24927.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/9/2/24927/ + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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