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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..44d6af5 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #68230 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/68230) diff --git a/old/68230-0.txt b/old/68230-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 541513c..0000000 --- a/old/68230-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1087 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Impossible Pirate, by George O. -Smith - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The Impossible Pirate - -Author: George O. Smith - -Release Date: June 4, 2022 [eBook #68230] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net. - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE IMPOSSIBLE PIRATE *** - - - - - - THE IMPOSSIBLE PIRATE - - BY GEORGE O. SMITH - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Astounding Science-Fiction, December 1946. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -Lieutenant Jeffries blinked at his superior. "I appreciate the -compliment," he said dryly. "For which thanks. But what happens if I -don't produce?" - -His superior, Captain Edwards of the Solar Police, smiled vaguely. -"I have a dual purpose," he said. "First-off, you need a vacation of -sorts. Knowing you as I do, I know that sheer vacation would bring -about seventeen kinds of psychoneuroses, some mental aberrations, and -possible revolt. However, this job is unattached." - -"Unattached?" gasped Jeffries. - -"Uh-huh. You have six months in which to track down, and/or procure -evidence which will result in the identification, arrest, and -conviction of the man known as Black Morgan, the Pirate." - -"I ... ah--?" - -"This is your only order. You will not be called upon to do anything -else for six months. If at the end of that time you bring about such -evidence, et cetera, you will be promptly promoted. If you do not, we -will not hold it against you, for all of us have tried and all of us -have failed. I'll not punish a man for failing to do that which I have -been unable to do. You're an excellent officer, Jeffries, and you've -earned a rest. You are now on unattached duty, and can command anything -that your job requires, providing your weekly report to this office -justifies the expense." - -Jeffries smiled weakly. "Frankly, you expect me to fail?" - -Captain Edwards nodded. "I do. But the junketing around will give you -a bit of a rest and the seeking for this character will keep your mind -alert. So, Lieutenant Jeffries, go out and catch me Black Morgan, the -Pirate!" - -Jeffries grinned. "And meanwhile I shall also make a landing on the -mythical planet Vulcan, locate the Gegenschein, and bring back a covey -of Voimaids with their equally mythical pet, the Hydrae." - -Edwards laughed. "Yup," he said, still chuckling. "Now scat, because I -have work to do." - -Jeffries nodded and saluted genially. "I'm it," he said. Then he turned -and left the office. - -Captain Edwards looked after the leaving officer and nodded paternally. -Jeffries was an excellent officer. He was loyal, ambitious, and -zealous. Cases assigned to him came in after a reasonable length of -time, and they were sealed shut and glued down with all the necessary -evidence. Those cases that were not to go to court, complete, were -those in which the criminal preferred to shoot it out, and Lieutenant -Jeffries was both brave and an excellent shot--as well as being a good -strategist. He'd been working too hard, and as Edwards said, a real -vacation would have been boring. - -The will-o'-the-wisp known as Black Morgan, the Pirate, would give him -a rest. - -Jeffries went home to pack. Black Morgan was a space pirate and the -place to look for him was in space. That space piracy was impossible -for divers reasons seemed to make little difference to Black Morgan. He -did it. - -Lieutenant Jeffries made his plans, knowing the facts. First was to -encounter Black Morgan. Theorizing how it would be possible to commit -piracy on a ship traveling at twenty-five hundred miles per second, -running at 3-Gs constant acceleration would do no good. It had been -agreed impossible. Yet Black Morgan did it. - -So Jeffries must first encounter the villain and then take after him. -With but six months, Jeffries could not even begin to inspect the -corners of the solar system that _hadn't_ been covered before. - -But unlike straight hunting, in which the hunter must locate his -quarry, when hunting rats, you bait rattraps and let the rat come to -you. - -Accordingly, Lieutenant Jeffries made a personal call to the Office -of Shipping and requested confidential data on all shipments of high -value, and then picked out the first. To add to the certainty, Jeffries -called upon the editor of a sensation-seeking news agent and disclosed -the fact that he, Lieutenant Jeffries, was being sent on the _Martian -Queen_ to protect a shipment of radiosodium. - -Then, when the time came, Lieutenant Jeffries went boldly to the space -line terminal and embarked. - -The first part of the trip was uneventful. At 3-Gs, the ship's velocity -mounted swiftly as the hours passed under the constant acceleration. -Jeffries watched the crew and the passengers idly, because all of them -had been thoroughly investigated before the ship's take-off. They were -citizens about which there could be no doubt, and therefore anything -but a cursory watch was unnecessary. Jeffries divided his time between -the passengers and the Chief Signal Officer, Jones, who willingly gave -him whatever information he needed. - -At one time, Lieutenant Jeffries asked Jones why space piracy was -considered so impossible. - -"You mean Black Morgan," smiled Jones. "Well, space piracy isn't -impossible excepting the way he is supposed to do it. Piracy near -either terminal might go off. But when we're rattling through space -near mid-course at about two thousand miles per second, how could it be -done?" - -"Don't follow," objected Jeffries. - -"First, 3-Gs is about all that people can stand over any long period. -You can take five sitting down, and about eight lying on a pressure -mattress, and I've heard of men taking fifteen while immersed in a -pressure-pack that equals the specific gravity of the human body. But -taking even 5-Gs for any length of time will kill. Even three is a -strain for men who have been raised under one." - -"Yes?" prompted Jeffries. - -"It's the timing that would stop him," said Jones. "You can't possibly -lie await in space until we come into detector range because detector -range is about a million miles. At one thousand miles per second, -that's offering you one thousand seconds from extreme range to zero -range and another thousand from zero range to extreme range on the -other side--on the way out. Two thousand seconds is about thirty-three -minutes. To match our speed in that time would require an acceleration -of about twenty-five hundred feet per second, which is approximately -75-Gs. Impossible! Plus the fact that he would have to lie in space -within a million mile radius of our course." - -"Supposing he picked up your trail close to Terra?" - -Jones smiled. "If he could detect us, we'd detect him," laughed Jones. - -"Supposing he had a better detector." - -"We're at the theoretical limit of sensitivity now," said Jones. "And -we've been there for years. The noise level, thermal agitation in the -set itself, and a horde of other things limit the ultimate sensitivity -of any detector. And don't mention noise-eliminators. They aren't. You -can't stop electrons from rubbing one another and that's that!" - -"But--?" - -"We--as he may--also use both pulse-type detectors and aperiodic -receivers. People would have known that he was following them." - -"Are you certain?" - -Jones laughed. "Look, Lieutenant Jeffries, we're convoyed. There were -two Solar Guard spacecraft that took off as we did, for convoy duty. -Their job was to stick close by us all the way to Jupiter, right down -to the landing on Callisto. Now, they'd follow anything that they saw -suspicious. That's first. Secondly, we're at about three-quarters of -the way to turnover now--and neither of the convoys are visible on -the detector nor audible in the aperiodic receiver. If, Lieutenant -Jeffries, two Guard ships, bearing the best in instrument and -personnel, cannot stay within a million miles of us when they know our -predicted course, how can you expect a pirate to barge in upon us when -we're ramming space above two thousand miles per second? Detecting -at these distances and at these velocities brings about a situation -somewhat similar to Heisenberg's Uncertainty." - -"Which is far above my policeman's mind," said Jeffries. - -"You can detect where the spacecraft _was_ when the transmitted pulse -reached it and was echoed at X seconds ago. In order to know where it -is, in truth, you must assume a velocity which you must get from the -same gear. To assume the velocity, you must know exactly how far the -ship traveled between pulses, which because of the fact that the pulses -are transmitted different distances, is slightly difficult, especially -when the doppler is changing." - -"O.K.," smiled Jeffries. "So piracy is impossible. Then how does -Black Morgan do it?" - -"You know what I think?" said Jones. - -"I'm a mind reader, of course," grinned Jeffries. - -"Well, I wouldn't put it above certain blackguard spacecraft operators -to pirate their own ships and then put up a large tale about Black -Morgan. Does anybody ever really know--?" - -"There have been authentic reports, made by reliable witnesses." - -"O.K.," grunted Jones. "Then you tell me how it is done!" - -"Me?" laughed Jeffries. "I'm hoping that Black Morgan will tell me in -person." - - * * * * * - -Lieutenant Jeffries, although his very appearance was "policeman," did -not act the part on this trip. He was the vacationer, the tourist. He -danced well, considering his bulk, drank moderately, spoke quietly -and intelligently, and made friends readily. He was always handy with -his camera when something interesting went on, and he borrowed the -spacecraft's darkroom to prepare the little tri-dimensional images of -his fellow passengers. - -In the latter, Jeffries was well-liked because he managed to flub all -shots that were unflattering. Either he overexposed the block, or he -miscalculated the development time, or he was forced to apologize for -his clumsy fingers in the dark. At any rate, no pictures emerged from -any shot that might be viewed with the owner's distaste. - -He discussed his project openly, and there was many an argument over -dinner. He thought, correctly, that people of honest lives would be -interested in the thoughts and methods of a policeman and he talked -openly. He had been a zealous policeman, and his store of incidents -seemed unlimited, and unlike many, these tales were not all told with -Lieutenant Jeffries as hero. In order to avoid the personal pronoun, he -often told stories about himself in the third person, giving credit to -some unknown member of the force. - -And so by the time that the _Martian Queen_ reached turnover, -Lieutenant Jeffries was well-liked. He enjoyed this thoroughly, though -in his spare moments he hoped avidly for Black Morgan. - -And, of course, Black Morgan was inevitable. The ship and its cargo had -been well publicized, as had been his intent. It was a set-up generated -for Black Morgan, and any pirate who thought enough of himself to take -on that name would never deny the challenge. - -Black Morgan came a few hours after turnover. The ship's personnel and -passengers had--ritualistically--watched the heavens revolve about -their ship and had enjoyed the captain's dinner immediately afterwards. -The skipper had treated them with stories of his own and had explained -that it had been the original intention to serve the dinner during the -turnover, but all pilots were not as capable as the one they had now, -and the turnover had been known to be rough at times--and no space -line liked to have the job of removing spilled soup from fifty evening -gowns, let alone the bad publicity. - -The dinner was finished, and the dancing was in full swing when the -alarm bells rang loud and clear above the pleasant strains of the music. - -The acceleration dropped immediately to 1-G which gave several people -an internal stomach-wrangle similar to that not enjoyed by the stopping -of a high-speed elevator. - -And there, a half mile from the _Martian Queen_, ran another ship. It -was black and chromium and deadly looking because of a triple-turret of -heavy rifles that led the _Martian Queen_ by exactly enough to make a -perfect hit. Marksman Jeffries knew it, and so did everybody who looked. - -Signal Officer Jones nudged Jeffries. "There he is," he said bitterly. - -"No myth, anyway," grunted Jeffries. - -"Nope." - -"How'd he come up?" - -Jones growled in his throat. "I'll never know," he said sadly. "One -moment, the area was clean. Next moment, the celestial globe displayed -a large ship, the detectors went crazy, and here he was!" - -"Here he _is_, you mean," came a heavy reply, and everybody turned -to see the menacing figure standing in the room, heavy automatics -in either hand. "I thank you for lining up, ladies and gentlemen. It -makes things so much easier. As you see, I've your captain under one -of these. I'll not bother shooting the first one that makes an offside -move. My first shot will kill the captain. My second will kill the -first officer. I'll have whatever valuables are handy, and then I'll -have that shipment of radiosodium." - -"You'll ..." started Captain Phillips. - -"I'll kill you if you don't," gritted the pirate. - -And that was that. Black Morgan knew what he was about, and he did it -neatly and quickly. The valuables went into a sack and then they were -all herded into a cargo hold and locked in. - -Gravity went off completely, leaving them floundering in the room. -The heavy shipment of radiosodium went out with only inertia to offer -resistance. - -An hour later, they forced the door of the cargo hold and the ship -took up operations again. But Black Morgan was no longer in sight. The -detector recorder indicated a receding target that must have been the -leaving pirate craft, but that was all. Despite all arguments, Black -Morgan had come up, pirated the craft at two-thousand, three hundred -miles per second, under 3-Gs' deceleration from turnover, one hour and -twelve minutes previous. - -Yes, it was impossible and everybody knew that matching such constants -in space could not be done, but Black Morgan had done it. - -There was no merriment for the rest of the trip. - - * * * * * - -Back on Terra again, Lieutenant Jeffries found that he was in disgrace. -His landing was followed almost immediately by an official order, and -with sheer discouragement, Jeffries went to see Captain Edwards. - -"That was a fine display," snapped his superior. - -"But--" - -"Look, Jeffries. You were sent forth to do a job. Anything you wanted -we'd furnish. But you went out with a brass band and a challenge, -and you were taken up and beaten. Not only that, but we lost a small -fortune in radiosodium." - -"I'd hoped to--" - -"Look, Jeffries, a mistake is a mistake. You laid a trap, and you also -got some sort of evidence, I presume. That's fine. But you also laid -yourself wide open to criticism. It's the people who are howling--the -people and the officials of the space lines." - -"But I--" - -"You didn't catch Black Morgan," grunted Edwards sourly. "And what do -you know about him?" - -"He came up behind us at a velocity that apparently exceeded the speed -of light, caught us, robbed us, and then left quietly." - -"Exceeded the speed of light?" scoffed Captain Edwards. - -"According to the recorder, he did." - -"Yeah, that we know," grunted Edwards. "He is always _supposed_ to. The -detector's repetition-rate is about one every ten seconds, permitting -ranges up to a million miles. The close-in detector runs one per -second, and Black Morgan comes in from maximum range to close-in range -between pulses. He hits once or twice on the close-in range--all of -which gives definite evidence that he exceeds the speed of light. And -he is instantly maneuverable! So he comes up behind you at a thousand -times your velocity and slows down to match you in microseconds. This -ain't possible--and everybody knows it!" - -"Maybe he knows the answer," said Jeffries doggedly. - -"Black Morgan has been doing that trick for eight years," snapped -Captain Edwards. "During which time every scientist in the system has -been seeking a means of copying it in some manner. Now don't tell me -that one man can think up a method of space drive that the rest of -the scientific world cannot even conceive as possible? Method--hell. -They won't even permit its being possible, let alone finding a method. -Now--you're it." - -"I'm--it?" - -Captain Edwards nodded solemnly. "I gave you this jaunt as a vacation. -You boggled it. I'd not have minded failure. But the service can't -stand having one of its men making monkeys out of everybody. Mere -failure was to be expected. But you advertised for it, wanted it, took -it, and then added the ignominy of having the space line lose a half a -million dollars worth of radiosodium." - -"So what am I going to get now?" - -"Look," grunted Edwards, "I'm forced into this. I'm going to issue an -official report that you are on the trail of Black Morgan and that the -loss of the radiosodium is only temporary. You'll be placed officially -on the case and this time, Jeffries, you'll either collect Black Morgan -or you'll find yourself in disgrace. Now go out and get him or you'll -lose your shirt!" - - * * * * * - -It was bad, admitted Jeffries. But it got worse as the weeks wore on. -To avoid making futile reports, Jeffries kept on the move, and every -time that he took to space, Black Morgan hounded him. - -The pirate held up the _Callisto Clipper_ and took only personal -valuables. He pirated a million dollars worth of borts--black -tool-diamonds--from the _Venus Girl_ that Jeffries knew nothing -about until he read it in the paper in connection with his own -name--mentioned as protector! Black Morgan breached the _Brunnhilde -of Mars_ for the sole purpose of pirating all the liquor and stores -aboard. He stopped the _Lunar Lady_ to get a replacement for his own -celestial globe, leaving the ship without a detector for the rest of -the ship, for Black Morgan took not only the spares, but the operating -equipment as well. - -And each time he appeared, Lieutenant Jeffries was the brunt of Black -Morgan's perverted sense of humor. He stole Jeffries' shoes once and -mailed them back to Terran Headquarters. He took the policeman's -cigarette lighter and returned it--engraved with a taunting message -from himself to the "Pride of the Solar Police." And Jeffries rode the -space lines to get away from himself but found Black Morgan hounding -him. - -The lieutenant ignored repeated demands for action, dropping official -letters in the wastebasket because he knew what they contained. He -avoided his favorite haunts. He sought out of the way places, hoping -to learn something about that huge black spacecraft that came up from -behind at the speed of light and matched velocity in microseconds. He -sought the counsel of scientists who claimed it impossible. He read the -rosters of the ships of all ports, and he sought the manufacturers of -spacecraft, hoping to discover one that might have made the pirate's -ship. None had--or anything resembling that description. - -For Jeffries took pictures for some time before he abandoned his camera -in dismay. The fun he'd had with it now seemed flat and odious. He -sold it in disgust in a small secondhand store on Mars. He sold his -personal belongings to get money, for his requests for funds were being -viewed with scorn, and a personal appearance with a request meant more -scathing remarks on his inefficiency. To avoid facing his failure, -Jeffries spent his own money. He changed his appearance because the -papers printed his picture as a failure every time there was piracy. - - * * * * * - -Black Morgan, on the other hand, was having the time of his life. He -said so. Holding the entire ship's body at the point of his guns, Black -Morgan taunted Lieutenant Jeffries: "I congratulate you, lieutenant," -he said. - -"You--!" - -"Careful. I dislike profanity. I prefer this chase, Lieutenant -Jeffries. I'd have taken only what I needed, but you gave me new life. -Now I'm stealing for the fun of it--and to watch you combing space -for a ship that--impossibly--can not be! Would you like to join me, -lieutenant?" - -Jeffries snarled, and the ship rang with the sound of Black Morgan's -raucous laughter. - -That, of course, hit the headlines. And the next time Black Morgan -came, he said: "Ex-Lieutenant Jeffries! Pleased to meet you! Ensign -Jeffries, I'd promote you, not reduce you in rank. Join me?" - -And again that laughter. - -It haunted the policeman's sleep. Jeffries set up trap after trap to -locate the source of the pirate's information. For it was obvious -that Black Morgan was following him around from planet to planet for -the sole purpose of taunting him. When Jeffries sat in a restaurant, -he wondered whether the man at the next table was Black Morgan in -plain clothing, for the pirate wore fancy dress and a mask for his -depredations. He watched men with him in hotel and on the street; in -streetcar and drugstore. And when he took to space again, Black Morgan -would be there to taunt him. - -Using his own spacecraft, Jeffries paced the space lines ships, and -found that keeping track of one was impossible. Even taking off at the -same instant and following their course, known to him, he lost them -after a few hours. He tried to put himself in the pirate's shoes, but -lacked the ability to contact any spacecraft in the depths of space. - -Here the taunts were not direct. After landing, he was informed again -and again that Black Morgan had done this or had said that for his -benefit. - -He became known as a curse. No ship would take off with him even -near--and often they took him to Venus when a ship was running to Mars -with a valuable cargo. Black Morgan, he discovered, was not multiple. -The pirate either hit his ship or the moneyed one, but never both. - -But he was a marked man, hounded by the pirate. Eventually he became -known regardless of his appearance, and he was denied passage, or -even the knowledge of course, since his presence was asking for -piracy--unless there was value going elsewhere. But aside from twice -when they actually did send Jeffries with the valuables, thus fooling -Black Morgan, the space lines decided that not having him at all was -safer and cheaper in the long run. - -Jeffries was--piracy-prone! - -Ultimately he was asked for his resignation, and he gave it. He was -through! - - * * * * * - -He sat in his apartment for days after that. Just sat there, thinking. -He had been set to catch a pirate, and the pirate had been uncatchable. -Jeffries had even tried the trick of putting himself in the pirate's -place, hoping to follow a ship as Black Morgan had, and thus gain some -idea of how it could be done. That, too, had failed. - -Everywhere was negative evidence. Rated "Inconclusive" by all men who -studied evidence as a means of extracting fact. Ex-Lieutenant Jeffries -was no scientist: he was a policeman. He worked with hard facts always, -and every case had its hidden clues of concrete fact. They all pointed -out who the criminal was; seldom did they point conclusively to all -possible suspects and point out who the criminal was not, save one. -Therefore Jeffries was not experienced in coping with reams of negative -evidence. - -But he knew that he had nothing but negative evidence upon which to -work. So, blunderingly, he went to work on the long, arduous process of -elimination. - -He wrote down his facts: - -Black Morgan's ship was capable of exceeding the speed of light -according to data. This was claimed impossible by all who knew about -it and studied it. - -Black Morgan, unerringly, was able to intercept a spacecraft traveling -at twenty-five hundred miles per second. - -Black Morgan was capable of coming up at a speed exceeding light, -and decelerating to match the velocity of the ship in a matter of -milliseconds. This would produce untold decelerative gravities in the -ship--no man could hope to live and it was doubtful that any machine -could withstand that treatment. At least, any machine of the size of a -spaceship. - -Black Morgan owned a large spacecraft of marked design. No -spacecraft construction company had made it, and the construction of -spacecraft is not a small project. This eliminates the possibility -of small-yard construction and definitely removes the possibility -of self-construction. Men have made boats in their basements, and -automobiles in their attics, but no man has ever built a battleship or -a spacecraft without owning a huge construction company. - -The construction companies had all been investigated thoroughly. Black -Morgan was not operating one on the side. He had no connection large -enough to get a craft built and forgotten about. Besides, there was -a fantastic reward for information of that nature, enough that any -workman would be a fool to ignore it, and deliberately forget that he -had once driven a rivet into the spacecraft now known as the _Black -Morgan_. - -Then Jeffries reread his statements. They added up to one thing: Black -Morgan did not exist! Black Morgan was the Impossible Pirate. - -_So_, he thought, _if Morgan does not exist, then he is a fantasy, a -myth. The only evidence that is not strictly negative is the fact that -an armed man enters the spacecraft in a standard spacesuit and holds up -the passengers._ - -_Instruments do not lie, but it is possible to fudge up a detector. -Either from the inside or externally. As for items A, B, C, and the -rest, well--_ - -_Maybe Black Morgan didn't exist!_ - -_And if Black Morgan did not exist, ex-Lieutenant Jeffries knew how to -catch him!_ - - * * * * * - -Black Morgan felt good. He permitted a single pang of sorrow for the -hapless Lieutenant Jeffries, and then discarded the unlucky man. He -looked to his gear, checked his instruments, and then inspected the -big ship on the spaceport outside. Take-off was about ready, he knew, -and they were carrying plenty. Life was less easy since Jeffries had -gone; while the lieutenant was there, he was a fair weathervane, save -for twice. But Jeffries as an indirect source of information was not -destined to last forever, and now Black Morgan was reduced to bribing -lower employees, watching the markets, and tapping the communications' -beams. - -He watched, making certain of his plans, until the ship's ports closed. -Then he poised and made ready himself. Then from the ship's drivers -came that giveaway glare of violet-actinic light that seared the -eyeballs of he who looked. The ship trembled slightly, and lifted at -3-Gs--its acceleration with respect to Mars was three Terran G minus -the surface gravity of the Red Planet. It went up, gaining speed. The -actinic glow increased as the distance from ground increased, and it -cast its glare over the entire spaceport. - -Then, unseen against the glare--he was but a small mote against a sea -of blinding violet--Black Morgan took off. - -A-space, the glare died out. It was an atmosphere-ionization, and by -the time there was no atmosphere, Black Morgan was safe. - -At turnover, the ship was hailed, as before. Black Morgan entered the -ship as he had done many times, looted the passengers and the vault, -made mocking jokes, and left. The ship went on, its passengers and crew -cowed and beaten. - -Black Morgan laughed uproariously. - -Again! - -He exulted, and feeling certain of his future, Black Morgan waited -patiently. An hour--two--and then he was off toward Terra, laughing and -plotting more piracy. - -Then his alarm rang. Morgan blinked. A meteor--but no meteor ever rang -the drive detector. That took energy output! - -Morgan snarled and looked out of his port. - -And there he saw a sight that terrified him. Through his mind passed -the recollection of all the thousands that had seen a similar sight, -though the markings were different. Instead of the chromium and black -pirate craft, there rode a quiet Guardship, big and potent. Morgan was -outgunned, for three solid turrets of three rifles each covered his -smaller ship in an inevadable bracket of heavy fire. Resistance was -impossible; he could not even fight like a cornered rat. He was forced, -if anything, to suicide. Ignominious suicide, for there would not even -be the chance to go out fighting. - -The space door opened to admit a single man, clad in the uniform of the -Solar Guard. - -Morgan gulped and swore. "Jeffries!" - -"Right," snapped the Guardsman. - -Morgan grabbed for his guns and the cabin of the small craft was filled -with the _crack-crack_ of swift gun fire. Morgan fired once; Jeffries -twice. Black Morgan missed, but Jeffries' first shot shattered the -pirate's right wrist. The other gun dropped out of his hand from shock, -and Jeffries strode up and covered the beaten pirate. - -Jeffries did not return to his ship, but he took over the pirate's -small craft and drove it to Terra. He handed the pirate over to Captain -Edwards with a smile. - -"This is he," he grunted. "And now what?" - -"You've won," smiled Edwards. His pleasure was honest. "If he's Black -Morgan, you've won, and we can easily hush up any trouble. But can you -prove it?" - -"Sure," grinned Jeffries. "Cell him, and then come up to training -school on the roof. This takes demonstration." - -"O.K.," smiled Edwards. "It's your show." - - * * * * * - -Jeffries faced the group of experts, scientists, and police officials. -At one side of him was the mock-up of the celestial globe used in -training rookie spacemen. On the table beside him was a pile of -equipment. - -"This," he said, holding up the equipment, "is familiar. It is a small -detector-pulse receiver. It is coupled with an attenuator and a -variable delay line, and a minute re-transmitter. The celestial globe -will show a target approaching the ship at a velocity exceeding the -speed of light, and will match the ship's acceleration, velocity, and -course in microseconds." - -He started his equipment, and across the celestial globe in three -distant flashes came a flitting target, to stop short of the ship's -spotter in the center of the globe. From the other detecting equipment -came indications and presentations as to type of drive, size of ship, -and wave bands of the other ship's radiation. - -Jeffries laughed, turning off his equipment. "When equipment is very -sensitive, in order to collect information from great distances, a -rather minute transmitter can produce a heavy target," he said. "Now, -above the dome of the building--watch!" - -He turned a square box at the sky and set it going. Black Morgan's -ship came swooping down, to stand above the observation dome of the -building, its rifles trained on the men inside. Jeffries turned dials -and the turret turned slowly. He manipulated another dial and the big -ship turned to face away. Then it receded and was gone in a twinkling -of an eye. - -"Three-dimensional projector," he growled. "Just what they were using -for moving pictures for a hundred years. And there's your answer!" - -Captain Edwards stood up and nodded. "But look," he said. "How did the -contact come?" - -"Contact?" gritted Jeffries angrily. "The louse! He took off in a suit -as the ship lifted from the port, and clung to it with his magnetics -like a flea on a dog until he had a chance to do his job at high -velocity. Then he would drop off and radio-control his own ship which -was running free a few million miles behind, and destined to come -within a few million miles of his position. It was set to about match -his speed, and then at that velocity, to circle and spiral until it was -within his range. There was no one aboard it, and so he could cram on -gravities until it creaked. I swear it had on sixty gravities." - -"But you--?" - -"Remember, my hobby is photography. Photography itself is a matter -of fantastic illusion. Your eyes, fallible as any sense, view a -collection of light rays in a certain pattern and your brain says it is -Uncle Julius. Iconography, when enlarged to life-size, can produce a -solid image that from a distance can be mistaken. Iconocinematography -does not produce a solid image but establishes a radiating point for -heterodyned light, producing an apparent image that the real thing can -go up and shake hands with--providing his timing is good, for the image -is unreal. - -"So there's Black Morgan. Since he could not exist in fact, he did -exist in the interpretation of incomplete data. Any man can fudge a -detector by supplying false echoes from a delayed transponder. Anybody -can project a super image of a spacecraft by iconocinematography. And -a spacesuit is capable of considerable motion of its own, plus the -ability to cling like a leech to the hull of a ship under acceleration. - -"At first I was a bit concerned about the effect of attacking an armed -ship with an icono image--but I discovered that Black Morgan's real -ship was as unarmed as any commerce vessel. He was the real fantasy!" - -Captain Edwards smiled. "A good man, Jeffries," he said to his -superiors. "And a good big man can still take a good little man's -tricks and turn them against him!" - -And Lieutenant Jeffries took a deep breath. "Now, sir," he said. "About -that vacation--?" - - - THE END. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE IMPOSSIBLE PIRATE *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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Smith</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Impossible Pirate</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: George O. Smith</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: June 4, 2022 [eBook #68230]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net.</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE IMPOSSIBLE PIRATE ***</div> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>THE IMPOSSIBLE PIRATE</h1> - -<h2>BY GEORGE O. SMITH</h2> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Astounding Science-Fiction, December 1946.<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Lieutenant Jeffries blinked at his superior. "I appreciate the -compliment," he said dryly. "For which thanks. But what happens if I -don't produce?"</p> - -<p>His superior, Captain Edwards of the Solar Police, smiled vaguely. -"I have a dual purpose," he said. "First-off, you need a vacation of -sorts. Knowing you as I do, I know that sheer vacation would bring -about seventeen kinds of psychoneuroses, some mental aberrations, and -possible revolt. However, this job is unattached."</p> - -<p>"Unattached?" gasped Jeffries.</p> - -<p>"Uh-huh. You have six months in which to track down, and/or procure -evidence which will result in the identification, arrest, and -conviction of the man known as Black Morgan, the Pirate."</p> - -<p>"I ... ah—?"</p> - -<p>"This is your only order. You will not be called upon to do anything -else for six months. If at the end of that time you bring about such -evidence, et cetera, you will be promptly promoted. If you do not, we -will not hold it against you, for all of us have tried and all of us -have failed. I'll not punish a man for failing to do that which I have -been unable to do. You're an excellent officer, Jeffries, and you've -earned a rest. You are now on unattached duty, and can command anything -that your job requires, providing your weekly report to this office -justifies the expense."</p> - -<p>Jeffries smiled weakly. "Frankly, you expect me to fail?"</p> - -<p>Captain Edwards nodded. "I do. But the junketing around will give you -a bit of a rest and the seeking for this character will keep your mind -alert. So, Lieutenant Jeffries, go out and catch me Black Morgan, the -Pirate!"</p> - -<p>Jeffries grinned. "And meanwhile I shall also make a landing on the -mythical planet Vulcan, locate the Gegenschein, and bring back a covey -of Voimaids with their equally mythical pet, the Hydrae."</p> - -<p>Edwards laughed. "Yup," he said, still chuckling. "Now scat, because I -have work to do."</p> - -<p>Jeffries nodded and saluted genially. "I'm it," he said. Then he turned -and left the office.</p> - -<p>Captain Edwards looked after the leaving officer and nodded paternally. -Jeffries was an excellent officer. He was loyal, ambitious, and -zealous. Cases assigned to him came in after a reasonable length of -time, and they were sealed shut and glued down with all the necessary -evidence. Those cases that were not to go to court, complete, were -those in which the criminal preferred to shoot it out, and Lieutenant -Jeffries was both brave and an excellent shot—as well as being a good -strategist. He'd been working too hard, and as Edwards said, a real -vacation would have been boring.</p> - -<p>The will-o'-the-wisp known as Black Morgan, the Pirate, would give him -a rest.</p> - -<p>Jeffries went home to pack. Black Morgan was a space pirate and the -place to look for him was in space. That space piracy was impossible -for divers reasons seemed to make little difference to Black Morgan. He -did it.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Jeffries made his plans, knowing the facts. First was to -encounter Black Morgan. Theorizing how it would be possible to commit -piracy on a ship traveling at twenty-five hundred miles per second, -running at 3-Gs constant acceleration would do no good. It had been -agreed impossible. Yet Black Morgan did it.</p> - -<p>So Jeffries must first encounter the villain and then take after him. -With but six months, Jeffries could not even begin to inspect the -corners of the solar system that <i>hadn't</i> been covered before.</p> - -<p>But unlike straight hunting, in which the hunter must locate his -quarry, when hunting rats, you bait rattraps and let the rat come to -you.</p> - -<p>Accordingly, Lieutenant Jeffries made a personal call to the Office -of Shipping and requested confidential data on all shipments of high -value, and then picked out the first. To add to the certainty, Jeffries -called upon the editor of a sensation-seeking news agent and disclosed -the fact that he, Lieutenant Jeffries, was being sent on the <i>Martian -Queen</i> to protect a shipment of radiosodium.</p> - -<p>Then, when the time came, Lieutenant Jeffries went boldly to the space -line terminal and embarked.</p> - -<p>The first part of the trip was uneventful. At 3-Gs, the ship's velocity -mounted swiftly as the hours passed under the constant acceleration. -Jeffries watched the crew and the passengers idly, because all of them -had been thoroughly investigated before the ship's take-off. They were -citizens about which there could be no doubt, and therefore anything -but a cursory watch was unnecessary. Jeffries divided his time between -the passengers and the Chief Signal Officer, Jones, who willingly gave -him whatever information he needed.</p> - -<p>At one time, Lieutenant Jeffries asked Jones why space piracy was -considered so impossible.</p> - -<p>"You mean Black Morgan," smiled Jones. "Well, space piracy isn't -impossible excepting the way he is supposed to do it. Piracy near -either terminal might go off. But when we're rattling through space -near mid-course at about two thousand miles per second, how could it be -done?"</p> - -<p>"Don't follow," objected Jeffries.</p> - -<p>"First, 3-Gs is about all that people can stand over any long period. -You can take five sitting down, and about eight lying on a pressure -mattress, and I've heard of men taking fifteen while immersed in a -pressure-pack that equals the specific gravity of the human body. But -taking even 5-Gs for any length of time will kill. Even three is a -strain for men who have been raised under one."</p> - -<p>"Yes?" prompted Jeffries.</p> - -<p>"It's the timing that would stop him," said Jones. "You can't possibly -lie await in space until we come into detector range because detector -range is about a million miles. At one thousand miles per second, -that's offering you one thousand seconds from extreme range to zero -range and another thousand from zero range to extreme range on the -other side—on the way out. Two thousand seconds is about thirty-three -minutes. To match our speed in that time would require an acceleration -of about twenty-five hundred feet per second, which is approximately -75-Gs. Impossible! Plus the fact that he would have to lie in space -within a million mile radius of our course."</p> - -<p>"Supposing he picked up your trail close to Terra?"</p> - -<p>Jones smiled. "If he could detect us, we'd detect him," laughed Jones.</p> - -<p>"Supposing he had a better detector."</p> - -<p>"We're at the theoretical limit of sensitivity now," said Jones. "And -we've been there for years. The noise level, thermal agitation in the -set itself, and a horde of other things limit the ultimate sensitivity -of any detector. And don't mention noise-eliminators. They aren't. You -can't stop electrons from rubbing one another and that's that!"</p> - -<p>"But—?"</p> - -<p>"We—as he may—also use both pulse-type detectors and aperiodic -receivers. People would have known that he was following them."</p> - -<p>"Are you certain?"</p> - -<p>Jones laughed. "Look, Lieutenant Jeffries, we're convoyed. There were -two Solar Guard spacecraft that took off as we did, for convoy duty. -Their job was to stick close by us all the way to Jupiter, right down -to the landing on Callisto. Now, they'd follow anything that they saw -suspicious. That's first. Secondly, we're at about three-quarters of -the way to turnover now—and neither of the convoys are visible on -the detector nor audible in the aperiodic receiver. If, Lieutenant -Jeffries, two Guard ships, bearing the best in instrument and -personnel, cannot stay within a million miles of us when they know our -predicted course, how can you expect a pirate to barge in upon us when -we're ramming space above two thousand miles per second? Detecting -at these distances and at these velocities brings about a situation -somewhat similar to Heisenberg's Uncertainty."</p> - -<p>"Which is far above my policeman's mind," said Jeffries.</p> - -<p>"You can detect where the spacecraft <i>was</i> when the transmitted pulse -reached it and was echoed at X seconds ago. In order to know where it -is, in truth, you must assume a velocity which you must get from the -same gear. To assume the velocity, you must know exactly how far the -ship traveled between pulses, which because of the fact that the pulses -are transmitted different distances, is slightly difficult, especially -when the doppler is changing."</p> - -<p>"O.K.," smiled Jeffries. "So piracy is impossible. Then how does -Black Morgan do it?"</p> - -<p>"You know what I think?" said Jones.</p> - -<p>"I'm a mind reader, of course," grinned Jeffries.</p> - -<p>"Well, I wouldn't put it above certain blackguard spacecraft operators -to pirate their own ships and then put up a large tale about Black -Morgan. Does anybody ever really know—?"</p> - -<p>"There have been authentic reports, made by reliable witnesses."</p> - -<p>"O.K.," grunted Jones. "Then you tell me how it is done!"</p> - -<p>"Me?" laughed Jeffries. "I'm hoping that Black Morgan will tell me in -person."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Lieutenant Jeffries, although his very appearance was "policeman," did -not act the part on this trip. He was the vacationer, the tourist. He -danced well, considering his bulk, drank moderately, spoke quietly -and intelligently, and made friends readily. He was always handy with -his camera when something interesting went on, and he borrowed the -spacecraft's darkroom to prepare the little tri-dimensional images of -his fellow passengers.</p> - -<p>In the latter, Jeffries was well-liked because he managed to flub all -shots that were unflattering. Either he overexposed the block, or he -miscalculated the development time, or he was forced to apologize for -his clumsy fingers in the dark. At any rate, no pictures emerged from -any shot that might be viewed with the owner's distaste.</p> - -<p>He discussed his project openly, and there was many an argument over -dinner. He thought, correctly, that people of honest lives would be -interested in the thoughts and methods of a policeman and he talked -openly. He had been a zealous policeman, and his store of incidents -seemed unlimited, and unlike many, these tales were not all told with -Lieutenant Jeffries as hero. In order to avoid the personal pronoun, he -often told stories about himself in the third person, giving credit to -some unknown member of the force.</p> - -<p>And so by the time that the <i>Martian Queen</i> reached turnover, -Lieutenant Jeffries was well-liked. He enjoyed this thoroughly, though -in his spare moments he hoped avidly for Black Morgan.</p> - -<p>And, of course, Black Morgan was inevitable. The ship and its cargo had -been well publicized, as had been his intent. It was a set-up generated -for Black Morgan, and any pirate who thought enough of himself to take -on that name would never deny the challenge.</p> - -<p>Black Morgan came a few hours after turnover. The ship's personnel and -passengers had—ritualistically—watched the heavens revolve about -their ship and had enjoyed the captain's dinner immediately afterwards. -The skipper had treated them with stories of his own and had explained -that it had been the original intention to serve the dinner during the -turnover, but all pilots were not as capable as the one they had now, -and the turnover had been known to be rough at times—and no space -line liked to have the job of removing spilled soup from fifty evening -gowns, let alone the bad publicity.</p> - -<p>The dinner was finished, and the dancing was in full swing when the -alarm bells rang loud and clear above the pleasant strains of the music.</p> - -<p>The acceleration dropped immediately to 1-G which gave several people -an internal stomach-wrangle similar to that not enjoyed by the stopping -of a high-speed elevator.</p> - -<p>And there, a half mile from the <i>Martian Queen</i>, ran another ship. It -was black and chromium and deadly looking because of a triple-turret of -heavy rifles that led the <i>Martian Queen</i> by exactly enough to make a -perfect hit. Marksman Jeffries knew it, and so did everybody who looked.</p> - -<p>Signal Officer Jones nudged Jeffries. "There he is," he said bitterly.</p> - -<p>"No myth, anyway," grunted Jeffries.</p> - -<p>"Nope."</p> - -<p>"How'd he come up?"</p> - -<p>Jones growled in his throat. "I'll never know," he said sadly. "One -moment, the area was clean. Next moment, the celestial globe displayed -a large ship, the detectors went crazy, and here he was!"</p> - -<p>"Here he <i>is</i>, you mean," came a heavy reply, and everybody turned -to see the menacing figure standing in the room, heavy automatics -in either hand. "I thank you for lining up, ladies and gentlemen. It -makes things so much easier. As you see, I've your captain under one -of these. I'll not bother shooting the first one that makes an offside -move. My first shot will kill the captain. My second will kill the -first officer. I'll have whatever valuables are handy, and then I'll -have that shipment of radiosodium."</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus1.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>"You'll ..." started Captain Phillips.</p> - -<p>"I'll kill you if you don't," gritted the pirate.</p> - -<p>And that was that. Black Morgan knew what he was about, and he did it -neatly and quickly. The valuables went into a sack and then they were -all herded into a cargo hold and locked in.</p> - -<p>Gravity went off completely, leaving them floundering in the room. -The heavy shipment of radiosodium went out with only inertia to offer -resistance.</p> - -<p>An hour later, they forced the door of the cargo hold and the ship -took up operations again. But Black Morgan was no longer in sight. The -detector recorder indicated a receding target that must have been the -leaving pirate craft, but that was all. Despite all arguments, Black -Morgan had come up, pirated the craft at two-thousand, three hundred -miles per second, under 3-Gs' deceleration from turnover, one hour and -twelve minutes previous.</p> - -<p>Yes, it was impossible and everybody knew that matching such constants -in space could not be done, but Black Morgan had done it.</p> - -<p>There was no merriment for the rest of the trip.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Back on Terra again, Lieutenant Jeffries found that he was in disgrace. -His landing was followed almost immediately by an official order, and -with sheer discouragement, Jeffries went to see Captain Edwards.</p> - -<p>"That was a fine display," snapped his superior.</p> - -<p>"But—"</p> - -<p>"Look, Jeffries. You were sent forth to do a job. Anything you wanted -we'd furnish. But you went out with a brass band and a challenge, -and you were taken up and beaten. Not only that, but we lost a small -fortune in radiosodium."</p> - -<p>"I'd hoped to—"</p> - -<p>"Look, Jeffries, a mistake is a mistake. You laid a trap, and you also -got some sort of evidence, I presume. That's fine. But you also laid -yourself wide open to criticism. It's the people who are howling—the -people and the officials of the space lines."</p> - -<p>"But I—"</p> - -<p>"You didn't catch Black Morgan," grunted Edwards sourly. "And what do -you know about him?"</p> - -<p>"He came up behind us at a velocity that apparently exceeded the speed -of light, caught us, robbed us, and then left quietly."</p> - -<p>"Exceeded the speed of light?" scoffed Captain Edwards.</p> - -<p>"According to the recorder, he did."</p> - -<p>"Yeah, that we know," grunted Edwards. "He is always <i>supposed</i> to. The -detector's repetition-rate is about one every ten seconds, permitting -ranges up to a million miles. The close-in detector runs one per -second, and Black Morgan comes in from maximum range to close-in range -between pulses. He hits once or twice on the close-in range—all of -which gives definite evidence that he exceeds the speed of light. And -he is instantly maneuverable! So he comes up behind you at a thousand -times your velocity and slows down to match you in microseconds. This -ain't possible—and everybody knows it!"</p> - -<p>"Maybe he knows the answer," said Jeffries doggedly.</p> - -<p>"Black Morgan has been doing that trick for eight years," snapped -Captain Edwards. "During which time every scientist in the system has -been seeking a means of copying it in some manner. Now don't tell me -that one man can think up a method of space drive that the rest of -the scientific world cannot even conceive as possible? Method—hell. -They won't even permit its being possible, let alone finding a method. -Now—you're it."</p> - -<p>"I'm—it?"</p> - -<p>Captain Edwards nodded solemnly. "I gave you this jaunt as a vacation. -You boggled it. I'd not have minded failure. But the service can't -stand having one of its men making monkeys out of everybody. Mere -failure was to be expected. But you advertised for it, wanted it, took -it, and then added the ignominy of having the space line lose a half a -million dollars worth of radiosodium."</p> - -<p>"So what am I going to get now?"</p> - -<p>"Look," grunted Edwards, "I'm forced into this. I'm going to issue an -official report that you are on the trail of Black Morgan and that the -loss of the radiosodium is only temporary. You'll be placed officially -on the case and this time, Jeffries, you'll either collect Black Morgan -or you'll find yourself in disgrace. Now go out and get him or you'll -lose your shirt!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was bad, admitted Jeffries. But it got worse as the weeks wore on. -To avoid making futile reports, Jeffries kept on the move, and every -time that he took to space, Black Morgan hounded him.</p> - -<p>The pirate held up the <i>Callisto Clipper</i> and took only personal -valuables. He pirated a million dollars worth of borts—black -tool-diamonds—from the <i>Venus Girl</i> that Jeffries knew nothing -about until he read it in the paper in connection with his own -name—mentioned as protector! Black Morgan breached the <i>Brunnhilde -of Mars</i> for the sole purpose of pirating all the liquor and stores -aboard. He stopped the <i>Lunar Lady</i> to get a replacement for his own -celestial globe, leaving the ship without a detector for the rest of -the ship, for Black Morgan took not only the spares, but the operating -equipment as well.</p> - -<p>And each time he appeared, Lieutenant Jeffries was the brunt of Black -Morgan's perverted sense of humor. He stole Jeffries' shoes once and -mailed them back to Terran Headquarters. He took the policeman's -cigarette lighter and returned it—engraved with a taunting message -from himself to the "Pride of the Solar Police." And Jeffries rode the -space lines to get away from himself but found Black Morgan hounding -him.</p> - -<p>The lieutenant ignored repeated demands for action, dropping official -letters in the wastebasket because he knew what they contained. He -avoided his favorite haunts. He sought out of the way places, hoping -to learn something about that huge black spacecraft that came up from -behind at the speed of light and matched velocity in microseconds. He -sought the counsel of scientists who claimed it impossible. He read the -rosters of the ships of all ports, and he sought the manufacturers of -spacecraft, hoping to discover one that might have made the pirate's -ship. None had—or anything resembling that description.</p> - -<p>For Jeffries took pictures for some time before he abandoned his camera -in dismay. The fun he'd had with it now seemed flat and odious. He -sold it in disgust in a small secondhand store on Mars. He sold his -personal belongings to get money, for his requests for funds were being -viewed with scorn, and a personal appearance with a request meant more -scathing remarks on his inefficiency. To avoid facing his failure, -Jeffries spent his own money. He changed his appearance because the -papers printed his picture as a failure every time there was piracy.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Black Morgan, on the other hand, was having the time of his life. He -said so. Holding the entire ship's body at the point of his guns, Black -Morgan taunted Lieutenant Jeffries: "I congratulate you, lieutenant," -he said.</p> - -<p>"You—!"</p> - -<p>"Careful. I dislike profanity. I prefer this chase, Lieutenant -Jeffries. I'd have taken only what I needed, but you gave me new life. -Now I'm stealing for the fun of it—and to watch you combing space -for a ship that—impossibly—can not be! Would you like to join me, -lieutenant?"</p> - -<p>Jeffries snarled, and the ship rang with the sound of Black Morgan's -raucous laughter.</p> - -<p>That, of course, hit the headlines. And the next time Black Morgan -came, he said: "Ex-Lieutenant Jeffries! Pleased to meet you! Ensign -Jeffries, I'd promote you, not reduce you in rank. Join me?"</p> - -<p>And again that laughter.</p> - -<p>It haunted the policeman's sleep. Jeffries set up trap after trap to -locate the source of the pirate's information. For it was obvious -that Black Morgan was following him around from planet to planet for -the sole purpose of taunting him. When Jeffries sat in a restaurant, -he wondered whether the man at the next table was Black Morgan in -plain clothing, for the pirate wore fancy dress and a mask for his -depredations. He watched men with him in hotel and on the street; in -streetcar and drugstore. And when he took to space again, Black Morgan -would be there to taunt him.</p> - -<p>Using his own spacecraft, Jeffries paced the space lines ships, and -found that keeping track of one was impossible. Even taking off at the -same instant and following their course, known to him, he lost them -after a few hours. He tried to put himself in the pirate's shoes, but -lacked the ability to contact any spacecraft in the depths of space.</p> - -<p>Here the taunts were not direct. After landing, he was informed again -and again that Black Morgan had done this or had said that for his -benefit.</p> - -<p>He became known as a curse. No ship would take off with him even -near—and often they took him to Venus when a ship was running to Mars -with a valuable cargo. Black Morgan, he discovered, was not multiple. -The pirate either hit his ship or the moneyed one, but never both.</p> - -<p>But he was a marked man, hounded by the pirate. Eventually he became -known regardless of his appearance, and he was denied passage, or -even the knowledge of course, since his presence was asking for -piracy—unless there was value going elsewhere. But aside from twice -when they actually did send Jeffries with the valuables, thus fooling -Black Morgan, the space lines decided that not having him at all was -safer and cheaper in the long run.</p> - -<p>Jeffries was—piracy-prone!</p> - -<p>Ultimately he was asked for his resignation, and he gave it. He was -through!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He sat in his apartment for days after that. Just sat there, thinking. -He had been set to catch a pirate, and the pirate had been uncatchable. -Jeffries had even tried the trick of putting himself in the pirate's -place, hoping to follow a ship as Black Morgan had, and thus gain some -idea of how it could be done. That, too, had failed.</p> - -<p>Everywhere was negative evidence. Rated "Inconclusive" by all men who -studied evidence as a means of extracting fact. Ex-Lieutenant Jeffries -was no scientist: he was a policeman. He worked with hard facts always, -and every case had its hidden clues of concrete fact. They all pointed -out who the criminal was; seldom did they point conclusively to all -possible suspects and point out who the criminal was not, save one. -Therefore Jeffries was not experienced in coping with reams of negative -evidence.</p> - -<p>But he knew that he had nothing but negative evidence upon which to -work. So, blunderingly, he went to work on the long, arduous process of -elimination.</p> - -<p>He wrote down his facts:</p> - -<p>Black Morgan's ship was capable of exceeding the speed of light -according to data. This was claimed impossible by all who knew about -it and studied it.</p> - -<p>Black Morgan, unerringly, was able to intercept a spacecraft traveling -at twenty-five hundred miles per second.</p> - -<p>Black Morgan was capable of coming up at a speed exceeding light, -and decelerating to match the velocity of the ship in a matter of -milliseconds. This would produce untold decelerative gravities in the -ship—no man could hope to live and it was doubtful that any machine -could withstand that treatment. At least, any machine of the size of a -spaceship.</p> - -<p>Black Morgan owned a large spacecraft of marked design. No -spacecraft construction company had made it, and the construction of -spacecraft is not a small project. This eliminates the possibility -of small-yard construction and definitely removes the possibility -of self-construction. Men have made boats in their basements, and -automobiles in their attics, but no man has ever built a battleship or -a spacecraft without owning a huge construction company.</p> - -<p>The construction companies had all been investigated thoroughly. Black -Morgan was not operating one on the side. He had no connection large -enough to get a craft built and forgotten about. Besides, there was -a fantastic reward for information of that nature, enough that any -workman would be a fool to ignore it, and deliberately forget that he -had once driven a rivet into the spacecraft now known as the <i>Black -Morgan</i>.</p> - -<p>Then Jeffries reread his statements. They added up to one thing: Black -Morgan did not exist! Black Morgan was the Impossible Pirate.</p> - -<p><i>So</i>, he thought, <i>if Morgan does not exist, then he is a fantasy, a -myth. The only evidence that is not strictly negative is the fact that -an armed man enters the spacecraft in a standard spacesuit and holds up -the passengers.</i></p> - -<p><i>Instruments do not lie, but it is possible to fudge up a detector. -Either from the inside or externally. As for items A, B, C, and the -rest, well—</i></p> - -<p><i>Maybe Black Morgan didn't exist!</i></p> - -<p><i>And if Black Morgan did not exist, ex-Lieutenant Jeffries knew how to -catch him!</i></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Black Morgan felt good. He permitted a single pang of sorrow for the -hapless Lieutenant Jeffries, and then discarded the unlucky man. He -looked to his gear, checked his instruments, and then inspected the -big ship on the spaceport outside. Take-off was about ready, he knew, -and they were carrying plenty. Life was less easy since Jeffries had -gone; while the lieutenant was there, he was a fair weathervane, save -for twice. But Jeffries as an indirect source of information was not -destined to last forever, and now Black Morgan was reduced to bribing -lower employees, watching the markets, and tapping the communications' -beams.</p> - -<p>He watched, making certain of his plans, until the ship's ports closed. -Then he poised and made ready himself. Then from the ship's drivers -came that giveaway glare of violet-actinic light that seared the -eyeballs of he who looked. The ship trembled slightly, and lifted at -3-Gs—its acceleration with respect to Mars was three Terran G minus -the surface gravity of the Red Planet. It went up, gaining speed. The -actinic glow increased as the distance from ground increased, and it -cast its glare over the entire spaceport.</p> - -<p>Then, unseen against the glare—he was but a small mote against a sea -of blinding violet—Black Morgan took off.</p> - -<p>A-space, the glare died out. It was an atmosphere-ionization, and by -the time there was no atmosphere, Black Morgan was safe.</p> - -<p>At turnover, the ship was hailed, as before. Black Morgan entered the -ship as he had done many times, looted the passengers and the vault, -made mocking jokes, and left. The ship went on, its passengers and crew -cowed and beaten.</p> - -<p>Black Morgan laughed uproariously.</p> - -<p>Again!</p> - -<p>He exulted, and feeling certain of his future, Black Morgan waited -patiently. An hour—two—and then he was off toward Terra, laughing and -plotting more piracy.</p> - -<p>Then his alarm rang. Morgan blinked. A meteor—but no meteor ever rang -the drive detector. That took energy output!</p> - -<p>Morgan snarled and looked out of his port.</p> - -<p>And there he saw a sight that terrified him. Through his mind passed -the recollection of all the thousands that had seen a similar sight, -though the markings were different. Instead of the chromium and black -pirate craft, there rode a quiet Guardship, big and potent. Morgan was -outgunned, for three solid turrets of three rifles each covered his -smaller ship in an inevadable bracket of heavy fire. Resistance was -impossible; he could not even fight like a cornered rat. He was forced, -if anything, to suicide. Ignominious suicide, for there would not even -be the chance to go out fighting.</p> - -<p>The space door opened to admit a single man, clad in the uniform of the -Solar Guard.</p> - -<p>Morgan gulped and swore. "Jeffries!"</p> - -<p>"Right," snapped the Guardsman.</p> - -<p>Morgan grabbed for his guns and the cabin of the small craft was filled -with the <i>crack-crack</i> of swift gun fire. Morgan fired once; Jeffries -twice. Black Morgan missed, but Jeffries' first shot shattered the -pirate's right wrist. The other gun dropped out of his hand from shock, -and Jeffries strode up and covered the beaten pirate.</p> - -<p>Jeffries did not return to his ship, but he took over the pirate's -small craft and drove it to Terra. He handed the pirate over to Captain -Edwards with a smile.</p> - -<p>"This is he," he grunted. "And now what?"</p> - -<p>"You've won," smiled Edwards. His pleasure was honest. "If he's Black -Morgan, you've won, and we can easily hush up any trouble. But can you -prove it?"</p> - -<p>"Sure," grinned Jeffries. "Cell him, and then come up to training -school on the roof. This takes demonstration."</p> - -<p>"O.K.," smiled Edwards. "It's your show."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Jeffries faced the group of experts, scientists, and police officials. -At one side of him was the mock-up of the celestial globe used in -training rookie spacemen. On the table beside him was a pile of -equipment.</p> - -<p>"This," he said, holding up the equipment, "is familiar. It is a small -detector-pulse receiver. It is coupled with an attenuator and a -variable delay line, and a minute re-transmitter. The celestial globe -will show a target approaching the ship at a velocity exceeding the -speed of light, and will match the ship's acceleration, velocity, and -course in microseconds."</p> - -<p>He started his equipment, and across the celestial globe in three -distant flashes came a flitting target, to stop short of the ship's -spotter in the center of the globe. From the other detecting equipment -came indications and presentations as to type of drive, size of ship, -and wave bands of the other ship's radiation.</p> - -<p>Jeffries laughed, turning off his equipment. "When equipment is very -sensitive, in order to collect information from great distances, a -rather minute transmitter can produce a heavy target," he said. "Now, -above the dome of the building—watch!"</p> - -<p>He turned a square box at the sky and set it going. Black Morgan's -ship came swooping down, to stand above the observation dome of the -building, its rifles trained on the men inside. Jeffries turned dials -and the turret turned slowly. He manipulated another dial and the big -ship turned to face away. Then it receded and was gone in a twinkling -of an eye.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus2.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>"Three-dimensional projector," he growled. "Just what they were using -for moving pictures for a hundred years. And there's your answer!"</p> - -<p>Captain Edwards stood up and nodded. "But look," he said. "How did the -contact come?"</p> - -<p>"Contact?" gritted Jeffries angrily. "The louse! He took off in a suit -as the ship lifted from the port, and clung to it with his magnetics -like a flea on a dog until he had a chance to do his job at high -velocity. Then he would drop off and radio-control his own ship which -was running free a few million miles behind, and destined to come -within a few million miles of his position. It was set to about match -his speed, and then at that velocity, to circle and spiral until it was -within his range. There was no one aboard it, and so he could cram on -gravities until it creaked. I swear it had on sixty gravities."</p> - -<p>"But you—?"</p> - -<p>"Remember, my hobby is photography. Photography itself is a matter -of fantastic illusion. Your eyes, fallible as any sense, view a -collection of light rays in a certain pattern and your brain says it is -Uncle Julius. Iconography, when enlarged to life-size, can produce a -solid image that from a distance can be mistaken. Iconocinematography -does not produce a solid image but establishes a radiating point for -heterodyned light, producing an apparent image that the real thing can -go up and shake hands with—providing his timing is good, for the image -is unreal.</p> - -<p>"So there's Black Morgan. Since he could not exist in fact, he did -exist in the interpretation of incomplete data. Any man can fudge a -detector by supplying false echoes from a delayed transponder. Anybody -can project a super image of a spacecraft by iconocinematography. And -a spacesuit is capable of considerable motion of its own, plus the -ability to cling like a leech to the hull of a ship under acceleration.</p> - -<p>"At first I was a bit concerned about the effect of attacking an armed -ship with an icono image—but I discovered that Black Morgan's real -ship was as unarmed as any commerce vessel. He was the real fantasy!"</p> - -<p>Captain Edwards smiled. "A good man, Jeffries," he said to his -superiors. "And a good big man can still take a good little man's -tricks and turn them against him!"</p> - -<p>And Lieutenant Jeffries took a deep breath. "Now, sir," he said. 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