Conquest of Space Page #4

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of the Trans- World Communications

in New York City;

Ladies and gentlemen,

it has just been revealed

by the security office of the Supreme

International Space Authority

that within the next 24 hours,

exact time to be given later,

Man's first spaceship,

built and commanded

by General Samuel Merritt,

will blast off on the most

fabulous voyage

ever conceived

by the human mind;

Their destination is the planet Mars;

- Mars? You guys?

- Mars? Wow.

You want our autographs, peasants?

We take you now to our permanent

station on Mount Palomar;

There they are, ladies and gentlemen,

the satellite and the Spaceship;

The dream of all mankind come true;

The moment is almost here;

The moment for that creation

of the Wheel

to launch out into limitless space

to carry five heroic men

to a new planet and to immortality;

And now, ladies and gentlemen,

please stand by

while we close our circuits for the

final special event of the evening:

A private last look at the world for

the heroic men of the Wheel alone;

Take it away, Vienna;

So meine Gndigste, darf ich bitten

jetzt zum Mikrofon zu kommen;

Jetzt ist der Moment;

Bitte etwas nher, etwas nher;

This lady is Mrs; Heinz Fodor,

gentlemen,

the mother of Andre Fodor;

So und jetzt bitte

sprechen Sie ganz ungeniert

da hinaus,

sehr liebenswrdig von Ihnen;

Dankeschn;

Andre;

Andre, my boy,

this is your mother;

Can you hear me?

What you are doing must be good;

You are a good boy;

Please, Andre, be careful;

God watch over you, my boy,

and bring you back to me;

Darf ich bitten;

And now;;; Now we take you

back to New York;

Miss Rosalie McCann,

who has something to say

to Sergeant Siegle before he leaves;

Rosie!

- Hello, Jackie;

- Wow!

Mine, all mine!

Do you miss me, Jackie, baby?

I miss you, honeypot;

You've been away

a long time, Jackie,

but where love is concerned,

what's a year this way or that

when the flame of love is burning?

And it's burning, Jackie,

right here, forever;

In here, too, Rosie, baby.

For me, there never could be

anyone else but you;

Never, ever, ever;

- Rosie;

- In a minute; In a minute;

So I won't say goodbye, Jackie,

just farewell;

- Rosie; Hey, come on;

- Please, Sidney;

In a minute;

Sidney!

I gotta hurry now, Jackie;

- Mama's waiting;

- Mama!

Oh!

Bye now;

Don't forget to bring your Rosie back

a nice souvenir from Mars;

Souvenir! You two-timing tomato!

For that Sidney I got a souvenir!

Come on out, you rat!

I'II fight you. I'II throttle you.

That's what I'II do.

Holding 20,000 miles per hour, sir.

- Set your gyros for Mars.

- Yes, sir.

On course, captain?

On course.

- You were saying, Sergeant Brooklyn?

- I was saying, Sergeant Imoto,

that the next time,

I am definitely gonna try the train.

You men can get out

of those couches now.

We won't need them again

till we Iand on Mars.

Ain't that just grand, sergeant?

Nothing to worry about

for millions and millions of miles.

Spaceship, Wheel calling;

Come in; Over;

Spaceship One to the Wheel.

Come in, Wheel. Over.

Hello, Spaceship One;

Professor Fenton for General Merritt;

General, sir.

- How are we doing, George?

- Good, general;

You're getting a bigger push from

Earth than we anticipated, however;

Is our cotangential orbit correct?

We're computing it now;

Keep your radio open;

We'll be in constant communication

as long as possible;

Incidentally, TWC has OK'd

relay broadcasts for morale;

Your boys like to hear

some mood music?

Thanks.

For this mood, there is no music.

- Stand by the radio.

- Yes, sir.

Sergeant Imoto, Sergeant Fodor,

go aft and check

the tailpipe temperatures.

Look at him. He's off again.

We went to a Iot of trouble

to develop those magnetized shoes.

Now, you get back into them

and keep them zipped up.

We'II have no unnecessary floating

aboard this ship.

No, sir.

General! Look!

Grab him.

Put him over there.

Mahoney!

Don't just stand there.

Get some water.

Yes, sir.

Of all the stupid,

harebrained things to do.

Stowing away on a spaceship.

What a beating he must have taken

during the blastoff.

Wake up, you insubordinate Iunatic.

Thirty years in the Army

and still too brainless to obey an order.

Wake up, so I can have you shot.

He's coming to.

What are you doing aboard this ship?

You forgot your toothbrush.

I don't remember you

reading the Bible so often, sir.

It's the one book you never

really get through reading.

Man's every move, his every thought,

his every action

is in there somewhere,

recorded or predicted.

Every move except this one.

According to the Bible,

Man was created on the Earth.

Nothing is ever mentioned

of his going to other planets.

Not one blessed word.

At the time the Bible was written,

it wouldn't have made

much sense, would it?

Does it now?

The Biblical Iimitations

of Man's wanderings

are set down as being

the four corners of the Earth.

Not Mars or Jupiter or infinity.

The question is, Barney,

what are we?

Explorers...

...or invaders?

Invaders?

Of what, sir?

Of the sacred domain of God...

...his heavens.

To Man, God gave the Earth.

Nothing else.

But this taking of...

Of other planets...

...it's almost Iike an act of blasphemy.

But why?

They belong to no one else.

We don't know that.

But, Iook, sir, it couldn't be

just an accident

that at the very time

when Man's resources on Earth

are reaching an end,

Man develops the ability

to Ieave his own world

and seek replenishment

on other planets.

The timing is what fascinates me.

It's too perfect to be accidental.

Those other planets

might already be tenanted.

I don't think so.

The universe was put here

for Man to conquer.

I don't know.

I... I just don't know.

Why don't you try to get

a Iittle sleep, sir?

Huh? Oh.

Yes, I...

I think I will.

Good night, Barney.

Good night, Father.

Topside viewer's jammed.

Can't move it.

Sergeant Siegle, Sergeant Fodor,

get out there and free that pickup.

Out, sir?

But the ship is going

20,000 miles an hour, sir.

So are you, sergeant.

You won't fall off.

The operation's the same as it

would be on the Wheel. Get going.

- Yes, sir.

- Yes, sir.

Look at her.

If we ever get back,

you know what business

I'm really going into?

Real estate.

Cut out that chit-chat up there

and fix that pickup;

Yes, sir.

That's what I Iove about this job,

the privacy.

Try it now, sir.

It's OK now.

You men go forward.

Asteroid, dead astern.

Come on, Iet's get inside before

they throw something else at us.

Meteor fragments.

He's been hit!

Sergeant Siegle, return to the air Iock

at once. That's an order.

- Give him a hand.

- Yes, sir.

- Mahoney.

- Yes, sir.

Say, if anybody'd Iike

some hot coffee...

...I could heat up a couple of tins.

Get Iost, Fodor.

Get Iost, will you?

Get Iost.

Get Iost. Get Iost!

Take it easy, Iad.

He can't hear you.

Sir, shouldn't someone

go out there and...?

"O Lord,

"rebuke me not,

"nor chasten me in thy

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