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diff --git a/59842-0.txt b/59842-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2fc0f1d --- /dev/null +++ b/59842-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,837 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 59842 *** + + + + + + + + + + + + + OPERATION BOOMERANG + + BY GEORGE REVELLE + + _There are all kinds of heroes. And the + irony of it all lies in the fact that the + bravest are those who are unknown and unsung._ + + [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from + Worlds of If Science Fiction, April 1957. + Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that + the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] + + +Wade Boeman let his eyes wander up the hull of the huge silver ship. He +thought; _if only Tomer were here now!_ He caught himself and quickly +erased the thought before he remembered more ... things that were better +left alone, hidden behind the thin veil he had created in his mind. + +The quick blink of a signal light from the tower caught the corner of +his eye. H-hour minus fifteen minutes. The ground crews had cleared +the area. He hadn't noticed. He turned to the huge, blond man standing +beside him. + +"Well, Allen. This is it. I've checked everything myself. You should +have no trouble. Be sure and strap yourself in tightly and don't forget +to check the gyro. Its the only thing we can't double check from the +tower." + +"You're all through instructing now, _teacher_," the blond man said. +"I can take it from here. And I can't say I'm sorry." + +Wade wanted to say then all the little things that had been building up +within him during the past long months. He bit back the words. It took +much effort. + +He said: "Good luck, Captain. I really mean it." + +Allen gave him a tight smile. "Drop dead, Colonel." + +Wade dropped his outstretched hand as the big man ignored him. Ackerson +turned his back and began to climb the metal rungs leading up the hull +of the ship. + +Tomer, Wade thought. If only it could be Tomer instead of Ackerson. + +He waited until the blond man entered the hatch before he climbed into +the jeep. He glanced once more at the silver hull of the _Starfrost_, +then he jammed down on the accelerator. Hate was a word Wade seldom +used. There was too much of it in the world already. But he was +beginning to hate Ackerson. + +He parked the jeep beside the concrete and steel structure housing +Operations. The instant his hand touched the door handle he tried to +cease being Wade Boeman the man. He tried to become Colonel Wadon G. +Boeman, senior officer in charge of 'Operation Boomerang,' with no +personal feelings. It didn't come off fully. + +The four walls were lined with banks of instruments. Small lights +flickered and died, only to come alive again the next instant. A man +coughed. + +He nodded at a communications man, a civilian, as he hurried to the +small table where the television set was resting. The closed circuit +showed the _Starfrost_ resting alone on the sand with her nose pointed +toward the sky. + +He took off his cap, then lighted a cigarette. He checked his wrist +watch with the large clock on the wall. He set the sweep second hand to +coincide with the larger one. + +"Twelve minutes, Colonel," someone behind Wade said. + +He wiped his dry lips as he flicked his eyes in the direction of the +Major in charge of the control panel. The Major gave him a tight smile. +Wade nodded. Major Gormely was a good man ... they were all good men. +Wade felt proud to be part of the team. + +He took in the radar man checking the never-ending sweep of the beam. +Frank Piluis, a tall, lanky man of twenty-three. He was checking the +screen, adjusting, as if his own life depended on its operation instead +of a man he hardly knew. + +Wade checked his own screen again. + +The _Starfrost_ was so silent ... so latent ... so important. Wade +found Tomer creeping into his thoughts again. He shut the thought out +quickly. Wade was a military man. He had orders to forget Tomer. He +gave orders. He also had to take them. + +Wade became mindful of someone standing behind him. He turned. The man +was tall, wearing the cloak of authority in the very way he smiled. +Distinguished looking streaks of gray ran over his once brown hair. +Tiny wrinkles at the eyes told that he was a man with a sense of humor +even though pressed with responsibility. + +"A penny for your thoughts, Wade." The Secretary of Defense said as +Boeman got up. Wade wondered if the man had been in the control room +all the time. He hadn't seen him. + +"They aren't worth it, Harry," he answered, offering his hand. + +"As bad as that," the Secretary laughed. "Here we are on the edge of +a History making moment and you're wasting your time with worthless +thoughts." + +Worthless thoughts. Wade wondered if they were, really. + +Wade first met Harry Lowe a long time ago when the project was just a +dream on the drawing boards. Since that time he had come to know the +Secretary intimately. Now, suddenly, he felt awkward before the man. +Perhaps it was because Lowe seemed to have a special talent for reading +peoples' expressions, converting them into sentences. Like now, Wade +felt the man was reading his face like a book. + +"That's right, Harry. History is being made isn't it?" + +The Secretary's face became very serious. "More than that, Wade. +Perhaps salvation depends on it." + +"Ten minutes," a voice said. + +Wade nodded at the technician. Tiny lights came into play on +the control panel as Major Gormely began closing circuits. The +communications man made a final type check on the huge P.C.R. set. + +"_Starfrost._ This is Mother. How do you read me? Over." + +"Mother. This is _Starfrost_. Loud and clear. Five by five." Ackerson's +strong voice came from the loud-speaker located in the center of the +equipment. "Oxygen checks. I've bedded down. Give the Colonel my love." + +The radio man looked at Wade. There had been no mistaking the sarcasm +in Ackerson's voice. Wade felt his face grow red. + +"He hasn't changed," he heard the Secretary say. + +"No. He hasn't changed." Wade said softly. + +"Don't let it throw you, Wade. You've done a good job. We both know +that nothing counts but the Project." + +_Nothing counts but the project._ Personal feelings, ideals, not even +human lives. _Nothing counts but the project._ How many times had he +said that to himself, trying to be convincing. + +"It's Tomer. Isn't it?" the Secretary said. + +Wade's eyes locked with those of the older man. There was no sense +going over that now. They had had it out a dozen times already. + +"That and other things," he said. + +"Like Ackerson's attitude, I suppose." + +"Like Ackerson's attitude." + +The Secretary gave a tight smile. "We all have reasons for doing +things, Wade. To you this is a military feat that could spell security +for years to come. To me it does that and more. It could be the opening +of a new frontier, something that will provide a new outlet for +humanity instead of war." + +Wade said: "And to Ackerson it will mean fame and fortune. Nothing +more. His name will go in the history books. There will be personal +appearances, contracts, money. He has no feelings at all about what +this will mean to his country." + +The Secretary nodded. "You're a professional military man, Wade. You're +making it your life. I understand how you feel." + +Wade laughed bitterly, inside. _Did_ Harry know how he felt? Did he +think that military men were just brass and polish with no feelings, no +friends to worry about, no cares outside of regulations and orders! + +"Eight minutes." The voice came again. + +Wade left the Secretary, went to the mike resting on the communications +desk. + +"_Starfrost._ This is Mother," he said. + +"Go ahead, Mother." Ackerson recognized his voice. + +"Double check everything. Repeat. Double check everything, oxygen, +hammock straps, loose objects, everything." + +"Relax, Mother! You sound like you're going to have another baby." +Ackerson laughed over the loud-speaker. + +Wade gave the mike back to the radio man carefully. He walked back to +the small television screen and sat down. The _Starfrost_ looked like a +silver monument standing alone out there on the sand. Soon there would +be nothing there but sand. Wade felt like a mother hen waiting for her +first egg. + +He adjusted the contrast, brightened the picture. Perhaps the Secretary +was right. Everyone had their reasons for doing things. He wondered +what Tomer's were? + +"Do you think he will make it, Wade?" + +The Secretary sat down on the edge of the desk. He looked out of place. +He should have been behind one, a large mahogany one. + +"I think he will," Wade said softly. "The test ship we sent made it. +There is no reason to believe a ship with a man in it should fail." + +"Do you want him to make it?" + +The words jarred Boeman. He searched the Secretary's face. "Of course I +do. What makes you say a thing like that?" + +The Secretary toyed with his tie. He said nothing. + +Wade got up. He could feel the anger begin to seep through his body. +"You know what this trip means to me--to the country." He faced the +gray-haired man squarely. "If you're insinuating that I want him to +fail because I disagree with his reasons for volunteering, you're +wrong. Dead wrong." + +Wade found himself lighting a cigarette. "Sure. I dislike Ackerson. +Dislike him violently. I've taken more lip from him in the past months +than I've taken during my entire life. And when he returns that will be +finished or I'll finish him. One way or another." Wade inhaled deeply. +"It's the project that counts. Only the project. It's bigger than one +man ... it's bigger than all of us put together." + +Lowe smiled. His face seemed younger. "I knew you felt that way, Wade. +I just wanted you to say it for your own benefit. Perhaps it will make +this entire thing easier for you." + +The Secretary moved then, over to the communication panel. + +"Three minutes," someone said. + +Wade looked at the narrow back of Harry Lowe. And he knew how the man +became Secretary of Defense. It was shrewd getting him to open up +like that. They both knew how lucky they were to have Allen Ackerson. +Finding men capable of making such a flight hadn't been easy. Of the +dozen volunteers only Ackerson remained. Mental and physical tests had +eliminated all but a few. Those remaining were unfit for space travel, +weeded out by the psychological teams, unable to cope with the morbid +phobia of being alone so long wrapped in a metal cocoon. Only Ackerson +and Tomer had succeeded. Now there was only Ackerson. + +"Colonel!" Wade turned and faced the rawboned sergeant standing beside +him. Meyers was a big man with a deep tan browning his face. + +"What is it, sergeant?" + +Meyers handed him a large white envelope. "Captain Ackerson said to +give this to you just before take-off." + +"Thanks, sergeant." + +"Two minutes," someone said. Wade stuffed the envelope inside his +jacket. Then he hurried over to the radar man. The envelope had to +wait, there was no time now. + +"Are we set?" he asked. The man nodded as he adjusted the dials. Wade +smiled. These men were experts in their fields. To double check them +would be to insult them. Besides, this wasn't the first time for them. +The same crew had been operating when they fired the test rocket. He +knew they wouldn't fail. + +"One minute ... 59 ... 58 ... 57...." Wade found himself counting under +his breath while he stared at the small screen on the table. Would +the reactors work? They would go on at 30. And the _Starfrost_! Would +it lift--or would it, like some others before it, slowly hesitate, +then begin a weird, frightening slide to the side to become a flaming +blowtorch of death. + +"30!" Major Gormely closed the switch. Wade became conscious of the +Secretary watching the screen with him. + +"... 5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2...." The counter continued. "FIRE!" + +The _Starfrost_ shivered. + +Wade felt his heart skip a beat. Slowly, ever so slowly, the huge ship +began to move. Dust, sand and smoke mingled with the sheets of flame +pouring from her stern. The platform disappeared in a puff of smoke. + +The _Starfrost_ lifted. + +"Thank God!" the Secretary sighed. + +"Amen." Wade muttered. He took out another cigarette. He was glad it +had begun; the project. Now there was only the long wait. + +"Ackerson's a brave man." The Secretary said. + +"Of course he is." Wade never had any doubts about Allen's intestinal +fortitude. The man had a good war record. Confidence seemed to ooze +out of the man. It was his attitude, damn it. + +Wade drew deeply on the cigarette. Tomer had been the same type in many +ways. Eager, filled with the enthusiasm, unafraid. A small man compared +to the blond Ackerson, he seemed to carry himself tall. And his +attitude. He felt the same intensity about National defense as Boeman +did himself. Perhaps that was another reason he had felt close to the +boy. Tomer would have made this trip with no thought whatsoever about +the financial rewards or what the history books would have to say about +him. + +"... Sixty thousand ..." someone said. + +"Start communication," Wade commanded automatically. + +"Romeo." The commo picked up the small hand mike. All eyes in the room +centered on the silent speaker on the wall. + +"_Starfrost._ This is Mother. How do you read me, over?" + +The speaker remained silent. + +"_Starfrost._ Can you read me. Over!" + + * * * * * + +The Secretary looked at Wade. His face was tight and drawn. "What do +you think, Wade. Are we getting through?" + +"It's hard to say. He's moving pretty fast. He could outrun the signal. +We've never had a practical voice test." + +Lowe's face had a worried expression covering it. "Didn't you have +communications with the test rocket?" + +"That was unmanned ... remember?" + +"This silence doesn't worry you?" the Secretary asked with amazement. + +"Ackerson was trained for this. He knows there is nothing we can do for +him. _He's on his own._ Communications would be to our advantage, to be +sure. But Ackerson knows that ship like you know the back of your hand. +Besides ... perhaps he is too busy to answer right now. He has to be +sure there is no wobble." + +"Wobble!" + +"Sure. The ship could begin to oscillate. If it does that he is done. +He has to keep his eye on the gyro." + +The Secretary's eyes penetrated. "I can't help but feel that you would +be more concerned if Tomer were in the _Starfrost_ instead of Ackerson. +Wade ... don't let the fact that you hate Ackerson cloud the issue. He +is doing us a great service." + +"Stop it, Harry!" + +"After all. The first man to circle the Moon is entitled to a place in +the history books. I can share his feelings, in a way. It's a great +thing he's doing." + +"Others have done more," Wade said sharply. + +"Of course they have. But remember one thing. If Ackerson succeeds we +will get the appropriations we need to _build_ up there on that cold +chunk of rock. We need that ... need it badly." + +"I tell you we have nothing to worry about yet," Wade said quickly. + +"Have it your way, Wade. But remember, we can't land on the Moon until +we have appropriations for installations. It all takes money; landing +sites, protection against the elements, and most important, take-off +facilities. It's a big order. Ackerson can give us all of that if he is +successful. The public will back us to the limit if we prove we have +mastered space travel." The Secretary watched Wade carefully. "Ackerson +_is_ important!" + +"I never said he wasn't." + +"I know, Wade." The Secretary toyed with his tie. "But did you let your +feelings toward Tomer interfere with your attitude toward Ackerson? +He came to me you know, about halfway through the course. He said you +were babying Tomer to the point where it was interfering with _his_ +instruction." + +"He lied," Wade cut in. He threw down the cigarette he was holding and +ground his heel into it. "You know me better than that!" + +"Of course. But perhaps Ackerson did have _something_. Perhaps you +spent more time with Tomer than you intended. Unconsciously you may +have favored him to the point where Ackerson did suffer." + +Wade let his eyes wander over to the small television screen. It was +still operating. Flat, empty sand and a burned out area was all that +remained of the _Starfrost_. He wondered: Did I do that? Did I forget +to teach Ackerson something while I was working with Tomer? + +The loud-speaker crackled. + +"Mother. This is _Starfrost_. Over." + +The operations room came alive. Wade and Lowe hurried over to +stand beneath the speaker, as if that would put them closer to the +_Starfrost_. + +"Go ahead, _Starfrost_. This is Mother." The communications man held +the mike in a hand that wasn't quite as steady as it should be. + +"This is _Starfrost_. Everything in the green. Repeat, everything in +the green. Over." + +Wade took the mike. "How is the gyro, _Starfrost_!" + +The loud-speaker laughed. "Tsk, tsk, Colonel. Where is your radio +procedure? You forgot to say over." There was a pause and Boeman knew +why. "Don't tell me you're worrying about ole Ack. I've got this thing +sewed up. Why don't you take a walk around the park and see if you can +find that little guy? What was his name? You know the one I mean. The +one who got cold feet and dropped out before you finished feeding him. +Over." + +Wade handed the mike back to the commo man without a word. He looked +at the Secretary. Lowe's eyes cautioned him. Wade swallowed the things +he was going to say. Orders. Damn them. He wanted to stick a pin in +Ackerson's ego. And it would be so easy. So damn easy. Orders. He gave +them and he had taken them. + +Wade turned and got the mike again. "This is Mother. Keep an eye on the +hull temperature. Watch that gyro. If you feel the slightest vibration +be sure to start the auxiliary immediately. Over." + +"Romeo, Mother. Take care of my letter. I--" the speaker became silent. + +Major Gormely moved like a blur of light. Wade knew what was wrong +the instant he looked at the pip on the radar scope. Major Gormely +hurriedly began checking instruments. But he had seen too. The +equipment was in order. It was the _Starfrost_. It had all indications +of a "wobble". + +"This is serious, isn't it, Wade?" + +Boeman didn't look at the Secretary when he answered. His eyes were +glued to the radar scanner. "Pretty much. It could be the end if he +doesn't catch it in time." + +"What can we do?" + +"Nothing but wait. He isn't finished yet. He has the extra gyro. That +should do it. If not he can try the fuel as a last resort. It's only +theory plus but he might be able to blast something with substance +against the dorsel fin. If he plays it carefully he might be able to +give the gyro a hand. It will be tricky but we think it can be done." + +"What effect will that have on the mission? He has only so much fuel!" + +"He can waste thirty seconds. After that he is cutting himself short on +the leg home." + +"The wobble stopped," Major Gormely said quickly. + +It was true. The course was slightly erratic but Ackerson had the +_Starfrost_ back under control. Wade wiped the back of his hand over +his lips. Suddenly he felt tired and old. He wanted to sit down. "Keep +trying on the radio, Mike," he said. + +He walked over to the small table with the television set on it. He +switched it off. He didn't want to look at that empty sand. He lighted +another cigarette. Then he reached inside his blouse and withdrew the +letter Ackerson had left for him. He didn't want to read it. For the +first time he had felt close to the blond man ... felt sorry for him. +The letter could say something to change that. + +"Why don't you read it, Wade?" the Secretary said. + +Wade looked up quickly. The Secretary was smiling with that know-all +look of his. Wade reached in his pocket and brought out the pack of +cigarettes. Then he caught himself. But the older man hadn't missed the +one smoldering in the ashtray. + +A tight smile creased Wade's face. He felt like a small boy caught with +his hand in the cookie jar. "I know a nice quiet spot in upper New +York. Phonecia! There's a nice trout stream beside the only hotel. The +people are simple and tolerant. And there is a small, private bar where +a man can really relax. I think I'll go up there for a few years when +this is all over." + +"Now you're reading _my_ mind," the Secretary said. + +They both laughed. + +"Seriously, Wade. I think you should take a long rest when this is +over. A man with your knowledge of the human body should realize +that you're fighting fatigue. In fact I've already spoken to General +Dominick about it." + +Wade shook his head. "You know I can't do that. I've got another job I +have to take care of first." + +"Tomer?" + +"Of course." + +"I thought we settled on that. Someone else can take over in your place +and handle that. You can supervise if you wish. But not until after +you've had a rest." + +"You know better, Harry. This is my baby and I'll handle it. It isn't +that I haven't tried to keep him out of my mind. I have. Yet he always +comes back to haunt me. If not because of my own feelings, then it's +Ackerson reminding me. It's no use. I can't rest with him on my mind." + +"Not even when you've had orders?" + +Wade snuffed out the cigarette. "I'm finding out that feelings can +sometimes rebel against orders." + +"That isn't a good trait for an Army Officer to acquire." + +Wade's face took on a sardonic expression. "No. It isn't, is it?" he +said softly. + + * * * * * + +The time piece on the wall was broken. It had to be. Wade had been +watching it for hours and it hardly seemed to move. The _Starfrost_ had +disappeared behind the dark side of the Moon and a press release had +been duly passed on to the anxious public. The world was electrified. +Man had ventured into space. The public hadn't been told that there was +no communication with the _Starfrost_. It was better that way. + +Wade fished for another cigarette as he followed the sweep second +hand with his eyes. It was ironic, in a way. Man had ventured to the +Moon and could not land. He dared not. To set foot on the cold, dead +satellite when there was no possible way of return would be inviting +suicide. The test rocket fired at the silent world, and the _Starfrost_ +had eaten up the last of the appropriations and it would take a battery +of ships to carry the supplies necessary for the building of take-off +facilities. + +That was what Wade wanted, an installation on the Moon before another +nation could make it. It was no secret that the nation that controlled +the Moon in the next war would be in the driver's seat. It would be +a fortress in the sky. And it was no secret that another nation was +almost ready to launch a ship. Wade wanted to get there first. + +Wade could feel the sweat on his hands. They felt cold and clammy. +The _Starfrost_ should have reappeared on the radar set an hour ago. +He dared not think of what would happen to Ackerson if the big blond +man miscalculated while in orbit. To shoot off alone into black, empty +space, hurtling out into a void of nothing, where there was only a +cold, quiet death awaiting was no way for a man to die. + +Damn it. Where was that silver cocoon? Ackerson had to make it. +Everything depended on the success of the _Starfrost_. + +"I think I've got something," Major Gormely cried. + +Wade came out of his dream world with a rush. His swift steps covered +the distance to the radar set in a matter of seconds. + +Gormely was bending over working with Piluis. And it was there ... a +tiny speck that could only be one thing. + +Wade heard himself mutter: "Thank God!" + +The control room became a beehive of excitement. These men were +accustomed to success in the face of overwhelming pessimism. Yet this +was almost the ultimate. They were part of a team that had projected +an earthbound object into space. Now it was coming home. "Operation +Boomerang" was nearing fulfilment. The long hours of sweat and worry +were beginning to pay off. The cork was ready to burst out of their +bottled up emotions. + +Sergeant Meyers' face was beaming. He was exuberant with excitement. +"I guess that calls for a drink." He took Wade by the arm. "I've been +saving a quart of homemade corn for just this occasion." + +Suddenly Meyers stopped. His tan face became a gray mask. + +"... pardon me, Colonel ... sir!" He came to rigid attention. + +Wade laughed heavily. "I think one drink would be in perfect order, +sergeant. Where do you hide this liquid cob?" + +Meyers' face became bright again. He almost tripped as he tried to +salute, about-face, and run at the same time. He was going out the door +when he called back over his shoulder. "In the water closet on one of +the thrones in the latrine ... Sir." + + * * * * * + +It was Wade Boeman who ruined Allen Ackerson's exit. He had the staff +car pick up the pilot as soon as the hull of the _Starfrost_ cooled. +The official car had sped back over the barren sand, through the +waiting throng of newsmen, straight to the small office located in +the control building, without a stop. To say that it peeved Ackerson +would be putting it mildly. His face was still burning with anger after +twenty minutes of interrogation. Wade knew it was only the presence of +the Defense Secretary keeping him in line. For that reason he tried to +keep each question brief and simple. Ackerson was dying to get outside +that door and receive some of the acclaim that he was being denied. + +"You say you had a chance to look at the test rocket we fired?" Wade +asked. + +"Yes sir. It was resting in a red crater, fairly well beat up. It must +have come down hard. In fact it looked like it may have struck a wobble +at the last minute. Of course the terrain is pretty rough up there and +it could have toppled after it hit. I'm sure the camera shots I took +will tell us much more." + +Wade felt a sudden twitch in his shoulder. "You said the crater was +red." + +"Yes, sir. A bright red. I thought it was strange. It was as if +something spilled out of the ship when she hit." + +Wade and the Secretary exchanged glances. + +"It was a marking dye so you could pick up the location of the ship," +Wade said too quickly. + +Allen twisted his head as the sound of many voices pierced the quiet +room. Someone cheered loudly. Allen shifted his large frame. + +"How was she lying?" Wade asked. + +Allen brought his attention back to the two men. It was obvious, he was +becoming annoyed. "Down tail-first. The nose section looked intact. +That's what makes me believe she took on a wobble at the last second. +The nose should have been buried out of sight." + +Another cheer forced its way into the room. Suddenly Allen burst out. +"Tell me, Colonel. How's Tomer these days. You remember, that little +guy who quit on you just before the training ended." + +The words had the effect the big man had hoped for. Boeman came out of +the chair. His face was a vivid white. "You ..." he began. + +The Secretary moved quickly. He was between the two men before Wade +could continue. "That's all for now Captain Ackerson," he said, "or +should I say Mister Ackerson. Your papers have been processed as you +wished. You're a civilian, after sixty days terminal leave, of course." + +Ackerson watched the play of emotions on Wade's face. He was enjoying +every second of it. Wade wanted to smash that smug face all over the +floor. Yet he was powerless. Ackerson was still an officer and there +was too much left undone to risk everything now. He sat back down on +the chair. There would be time when the blond man was a civilian. + +"Thank you, sir." Allen grinned. + +The Secretary extended his hand. "Congratulations again for a job well +done." They shook hands. + +"Don't forget, Ackerson," Boeman said as Allen hurried to the door. +"The next week is mine. Solid interrogation. You're still in the +service." + +"_Yes, Sir._" + +"And one more thing, Ackerson. I know your communication was working. +Why didn't you answer our calls?" + +"I thought that would make you sweat a little. I can see that it did." + +The door slammed shut. + + * * * * * + +Neither man spoke when the door closed behind Ackerson. The silence was +long. Finally it was Boeman who moved. He opened the top left drawer of +the desk and withdrew a small glass and a bottle. He poured a drink and +offered it to the Secretary with a glance of his eyes. The Secretary +shook his head. + +Boeman lifted the tumbler to his lips and poured the liquid down with +a quick motion. He made a face as it burned. He poured another, toyed +with it before he tossed it down. + +"Well, he made it." Boeman said finally, placing the empty glass on the +desk. "To the Moon and back--non stop." + +"You knew he would, didn't you." + +Boeman nodded, staring at the glass. + +There was another awkward silence as both men were wrapped in thought. + +"Disappointed, Wade?" + +"Not disappointed. Disgusted." + +"He gave us what we wanted. The appropriations will be easy now." + +"I know." + +"Then what's wrong? Certainly you can't blame Ackerson fully. He +doesn't know the entire story." + +"Perhaps that's what's wrong. If I could just tell the full story I +might feel better." + +"Impossible. Can you imagine the entire nation carrying a load on its +back the way you are now?" + +Wade laughed bitterly. "It might wake them up." + +"I understand, Wade. My insides feel it too. But let him be the hero." + +"He will be," Wade said, reaching for the bottle again. "He will be." + +"Then let him. We have more important things to think about now." The +Secretary got up. Wade grasped the empty tumbler in the palm of his +hand, squeezing tightly. + +"Ackerson said red." + +"I know," replied the Secretary. + +"Red means danger. The crater should have been stained yellow." + +"Perhaps there was a mix-up in containers." + +"You don't believe that, Frank." + +"But the radio is still operating! A steady C.W. beam is coming in. If +there was any danger we would be getting code." + +Wade forced a smile. "You should have been a minister. There is always +hope ... is that it?" + +The Secretary placed his hat carefully on his head. "I'd better get +over to the lab and take a look at those movies he took." + +"It must be so lonely ..." Boeman said loosely. + +"Perhaps not. Tomer was a quiet man. Those kind don't seem to mind." + +A sudden, loud cheer broke the near silence in the room. Wade glanced +toward the window. Then he got up slowly with the action of an old man. +He went to the window and looked out. + +Ackerson was being carried through a path of humanity aloft on dozens +of shoulders. He was waving to the hundreds of well-wishers as he +was carried toward the battery of microphones waiting on the wooden +platform erected for the occasion. Wade couldn't help but think of a +hero of another age. Lindbergh. It must have been the same then. And +who remembered those that followed him? Or those that paved the way so +he could make it? Wade shook his head. + +He turned away from the window quickly, heading for the desk and the +bottle. The Secretary followed him with his eyes, undecided. + +Boeman lifted the bottle high above his head in a toasting gesture. "To +the hero." + +"Don't, Wade." + +The bottle paused there while the eyes of the two men met. Finally the +bottle returned to the desk as Wade surrendered. Then he slumped down +in the chair. + +The Secretary placed his hand on Wade's shoulder. Boeman shook it off, +and he was sorry instantly. "O.K. Frank. You win. Ackerson wins." + +"Good," the Secretary said softly. "That's the way we want it. We have +to prevent everyone from feeling the way you do now. It isn't that +you're jealous of Ackerson getting the glory. And you know that Tomer +doesn't mind. It's your worrying about him that's clouding your mind. +Everyone would be feeling the same way." + +The Secretary looked out the window. "We couldn't have that. It would +have set space travel back years. Ackerson is powerful evidence that +space flight is safe. Tomer is our insurance. We need that just as +badly. We had no choice. We had to stake a claim on the Moon." + +Wade poured another drink. "And that conceited ass is getting all the +credit while Tomer is sweating it out up there on that cold chunk of +rock--while everyone thinks he quit the project because he got cold +feet." + +"True." The Secretary shook his head. "But Tomer is our ace-in-the-hole +if the iron curtain announces their intentions to land up there. + +"Tomer can be contacted. He can set off the signal for the world to +see. In the meantime we will be working to make the next flight a +complete one. It won't take long. Tomer will manage." + +"But Ackerson said the crater was red!" + +"I know. And I'm wasting time talking with you. I should be looking at +those movies he took." + +Wade didn't watch the Secretary leave. He picked up the bottle and +glass and went to the window. + +Down on the ramp the P.A. began to crackle. Ackerson was beginning his +speech. + +Wade took out the letter that Ackerson had sent to him. He took out +a match and touched the flame to it. It was better that way. He was +finished with Ackerson. He had a job to do now, one that would consume +him. He had to get the _Starfrost II_ underway. He had to get there to +get Tomer. + +Suddenly he understood. There were all kinds of heroes. Men like +Ackerson were driven by the lure of fame and money. Tomer became one +because the job had to be done and there was no one else to do it. +Lowe was one, in a way, fighting for peace against a world that was +always in unrest. In a way Wade himself might fall in one category. The +thought made him smile. + +The Secretary was right, of course. The public would crucify them if +they knew Tomer had been in the supposedly unmanned test rocket fired +at the Moon with no way home. + +Wade lifted his drink high in the air as Ackerson's deep voice carried +into the room from the ramp below. "To a hero," he said. "A lonely +hero." Wade's eyes were on the sky when he said it, on a spot where the +Moon would be some hours later. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Operation Boomerang, by George Revelle + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 59842 *** |