Colin Kapp - The Unorthodox Engineers

‘Mythology—rather symbolic as it turns out,’ said Jacko mournfully. ‘Ixion was a character who killed his father-in-law and then tried to make love to Jupiter’s wife. As punishment, Jupiter ordered him to be tied to a fiery wheel and rolled for ever throughout Hades. Right now I know exactly how Ixion felt.’

Van Noon was suddenly alert. ‘Say that again, Jacko.’

‘Right now I know exactly how Ixion felt…’

‘Not that! About the wheel?’

‘Tied to a fiery wheel and rolled for ever throughout Hades…’

‘That could be it!’

‘What’s on your mind, Fritz?’

‘I’ve just realized how it’s done. Why didn’t I think of it before?’

‘You’re way ahead of me. How what is done?’

‘The gravity, of course. And the burning mountains, the radio output, and the self-consuming spaceship—they’re all part of the same scheme.’

‘Can we just go back to the start?’

Van Noon was jubilant. ‘That has to be the answer! Wheels within wheels… the fiery wheel of Ixion… rolling forever throughout Hades… suddenly the pieces all fit together. All we have to do is prove it.’

‘I’ll get them to spacedrop a good psychiatrist.’

‘Not for me, Jacko. I never use ‘em. But get me a good computer and a hyper-radio link with Terra, I think I’ve just made the Ixion project obsolete.’

‘Radio Officer presents his compliments, sir. Requests yourself and Commander Brumas to come to the radio room immediately.’

Nash returned the salute and shot a quizzical look at Brumas, who was sitting near him at the conference table. Then he looked back to the courier.

‘Is it important?’

‘Radio messages loud and clear from Lieutenant Van Noon on Getawehi, sir.’

‘Radio messages? I thought radio was impossible under these conditions? Dammit!’ He looked round at the expectant faces of the officers present at the conference. ‘In the circumstances, gentlemen, I’m afraid I must call this meeting to a close. It would seem Van Noon has already achieved something of the impossible. There’ll be a progress report at twenty-hundred hours ship’s standard time. Until then, all sections are to stand in readiness. This may be the break we’re looking for.’

With Brumas at his heels, Nash reached the radio room in record time. The Radio Officer was supervising a narrow-band lock on the big receiver, which appeared to be tuned to a slowly drifting signal.

‘Van Noon to Tycho Brahe. Are you receiving me? I say again…’

‘Can we answer?’ asked Nash.

‘Not by radio. We haven’t anything available with the sort of power that Van Noon’s using. All our transmissions would get lost in the mush. We’re just linking a relay so that we can answer via the laser circuit on the pinnace. It’s easier for us to get messages in that way than it is for Van Noon to get messages out.’

‘Fine, do it!’ Nash waited impatiently for the hookup to be completed.

‘Hullo, Fritz! We are receiving you perfectly. How the Devil did you come by a high-power transmitter like that?’

Van Noon’s voice came over the noise with rare fidelity. ‘If I told you, Colonel, you wouldn’t believe me. Anyway, thank heavens I’ve managed to raise you. I’ve been calling for nearly two hours.’

‘We weren’t watching for you on the radio bands because we didn’t think it possible for you to use them.’

‘Anything’s possible once you know how.’

‘I’m glad to hear you say it. How’re you making out with the Ixion project?’

‘I agree with Wooley that we might as well sell the existing parts for scrap. No one could ever assemble them on Getawehi.’

‘That wasn’t the answer I wanted to hear.’ Nash was disappointed. ‘Is there no hope at all?’

‘Not for the Ixion structure. But the Ixion principle might be a different matter. Unless I miss my guess, we can duplicate the function of the Ixion project without actually building it. But I’m going to need help.’

‘You name it, and you’ve got it, Fritz. By the way, Commander Brumas is anxious to speak to you, so I’m handing over for a moment.’

‘Hullo, Commander! You’ll be pleased to know the whole team down here is fit and well.’

‘I suppose that’s some consolation.’ Brumas was grave. ‘Did you get around to having any ideas as to how we can get them off Getawehi?’

‘Get them off?’ Van Noon sounded surprised, then the humour came through in his voice. ‘I don’t think that’ll be much of a problem. When the Tycho Brahe makes planetfall they can wander aboard just like anybody else.’

There was silence for a long moment, broken only by the hiss of white noise on the radio link and the muted hum of the radio room equipment.

Finally Brumas spoke. ‘I don’t think I quite understood you there, Fritz. For a moment I thought you were suggesting that the Tycho Brahe make planetfall on Getawehi!’

‘That’s exactly what I did say, Commander, I need the Tycho Brahe down here. I need the hyper-radio link, I need the ship’s computers, and I need a mass of manpower.’

‘But you can’t jeopardize the Tycho Brahe. For pity’s sake, Fritz! You know what happens to a ship attempting to land on that damned planet!’

‘I know what used to happen, but we’ve got ourselves a few answers since then.’

‘You can’t be serious, Fritz?’ Colonel Nash was back on the circuit. ‘There’s no point in writing off the Labship as well.’

‘I don’t intend to write it off. All I need is a direct two-way speech link with the senior pilot during the talk-down. Given that, I’ll guarantee a safe touch down and that the ship will remain intact after landing.’

‘I can’t permit it,’ said Brumas. ‘The risk is far too great.’

‘Are your recorders on, Commander?’ asked Van Noon.

‘Certainly. Standard procedure—why do you ask?’

‘Because I want this firmly placed on record. I was appointed Senior Adviser for the whole exploit. My considered senior advice is that you should bring the Tycho Brahe down to Getawehi. If you should ignore this advice, I demand that this recording be placed in evidence at any court martial which may subsequently transpire. If you don’t do as I ask you have no chance at all of recovering the team on Getawehi.’

’Damn you, Fritz!’ said Brumas. ‘Let me speak to Wooley. I want evidence as to the unsoundness of your state of mind.’

‘You already have evidence. Look through your telescopes. Wooley’s out in the valley with his crew, laying out landing markers to guide your descent.’

‘Very well, Fritz… you win!’ Nash’s voice carried begrudged acquiescence. ‘It’ll take about an hour to put the ship in a state of readiness. After that you can begin talk-down. But I hope you know how much responsibility you’re taking on yourself. There’s two hundred men aboard the Tycho Brahe.’

‘I know it, Colonel. But I wouldn’t put a mouse down on Getawehi unless I was absolutely sure.’

‘I still don’t see how the hell you can be so certain. Every other ship that has touched the planet has come to a sticky end.’

‘It’s just that I’m beginning to gain an understanding of Getawehi. It seems that she and I both have the same sort of outwards-facing-interior approach.’

High above them in the uncertain heavens a tiny fire-point denoted the position of the descending Tycho Brahe. Its visual distance belied the muted thunder of its thrusters. Even from the extreme altitude the sound carpeted the land with a pattern of sound which were reflected and amplified by the valley’s throat. With sweat on his brow, and a shielded microphone pressed at his throat, Van Noon was making the critical talkdown. At his side, Jacko, operating both rangefinder and telescope, recited a constant steam of information which served as an informative background to Fritz’s constant monologue.