James White - The Escape Orbit

Hutton had had a lot to do with the designing of the latest gliders. It had been he who had insisted that, for ease of operation and subsequent rapid concealment, they should be built to take off sloping ramps and land on water. He had designed the stepped hull and, when the first three test models had cartwheeled all over the bay because one wingtip float had dug itself into the water while the other was in the air, he had suggested the sponsons—short, stub wings projecting from the fuselage just above the water line, which removed the landing hazard and in the air added to the lift. It had also been Hutton’s idea to use rockets for gain-height when the necessary updraughts were absent or for extending the glider’s range, and he had designed solid-fuel rockets. Hutton was something of an all-around genius, and he was one of the reasons why Warren’s plans had gone so smoothly up to now.

Starting today, however, the snags, hitches and deliberate foul-ups would come thick and fast. Peters would see to that.

Warren had not spoken to the Fleet Commander since the day of his arrival. At first he had avoided meeting the other by always keeping on the move. Then gradually it became apparent that Peters no longer sought contact with him, and Warren thought he knew why. Peters probably believed that his arguments for the Civilian viewpoint that first day had, when the Marshal had had a chance to think them over, converted Warren to Peters’ way of thinking, and during the past two years Warren had managed to proceed with the Escape plan without disabusing the other of this notion.

Fleet Commander Peters, Warren had long ago decided, was intelligent enough to realize the danger the long-term danger, of the two factions which had grown up among the prison population. He had not been able to accomplish much against the Committee himself except to pare down their numbers and make them an even tighter and more fanatical group, but he must have hoped that someone with Warren’s authority could succeed where he had failed. And one of the ways this could be done, again given the rank which was Warren’s, was ostensibly to take over leadership of the Committee and wreck it from within.

The steady increase of cordial relations between Committee and non-Committee members, the intermarrying and the free passage into hitherto secret Committee projects would appear to Peters as a definite galvanizing process. As also would the boatbuilding programme, the gliders and the opening up of Battler-free land on the other continent—not to mention the definite Civilian applications of the re-education program. True, there were good Committee reasons for doing all these things, too, but a tired and ageing Fleet Commander might think that these reasons had been provided by Warren to keep the Committeemen happy while he dispersed them and dissipated their energies in what was obviously Civilian work. And Warren’s recent suggestion of lighting the streets of Andersonstown at night with oil lamps—a measure aimed at showing the orbiting guardship that they had nothing to hide—could also be taken as a first indication that the prisoners were beginning to accept their lot and settle down.

It had been an elaborate double-bluff aimed at lulling Peters and the opposition which he represented into a false sense of security. But when Hutton’s spacesuit went into production the Fleet Commander would not be so old and tired that he would not realize what had been going on, and Peters would react.

With the Fleet Commander alive at last to what was happening, the obvious course would be to hit him as hard and as often and from as many different directions as possible. But Warren had somehow to do these things without losing the respect he had built up among Committee and non-Committee alike. If any particular order seemed too harsh he would have to issue another which took the sting out of it, or at least forced attention elsewhere…

The glider was skimming the surface of the bay, the first step slapping rhythmically along the tops of the waves until water drag abruptly checked its forward speed and it came foaming to a halt. A long, low boat with twelve oarsmen and a towing rope was already shooting toward it to haul it into the cover of its hangar.

It had become almost a reflex these days to cover or otherwise conceal any object likely to arouse the suspicions of the watchers in space. So much so that the action was performed with the same speed and enthusiasm even, as now, when the guardship was below the horizon.

But sight of the glider had given him an idea. It was in connection with one of the points raised by Ruth Fielding at the last Staff meeting about the steadily increasing birthrate…

Warren said, “The evacuation must be speeded up, Lieutenant. All personnel not actively engaged in Escape work must be cleared from this area six months before E-Day. You can use the line that I am becoming increasingly concerned over the possibility of Bug reprisals in the event of an unsuccessful attempt. Stress the fact that I’m thinking of their safety, and the safety of these children we’re continuously acquiring who aren’t, after all, combatants. You know the story; lay it on thick. Hynds will give you a list of Peters’ supporters and I want you to make a special effort with them. All potential troublemakers must be moved to the other continent and dispersed before they can organize serious opposition.”

Kelso nodded briskly and bent to make notes. Warren turned to Hutton and said, “You have a progress report, Major?”

Progress in the Research subcommittee was satisfactory, Major Hutton reported, which from a person as cautious as he was meant that it was going very well indeed. The necessary quantity of assault suits would be ready and tested by the required date, as would the sections of the dummy. Improvements in glass-making had given them a lens which was much more capable of resolving activity around the guardship. Gunpowder, flares and an incendiary material analogous to napalm could be produced in any desired quantity within reason. Hutton concluded by saying that in his opinion no further progress was possible until the position of the Escape site had been fixed.

Warren nodded, then said, “Hynds.”

“I’m having trouble with the re-education project,” Hynds said. “The preparation and distribution of material is going fine, but the only texts being studied are those associated with farming. This is understandable considering the numbers of inexperienced people being shipped to the other continent, but I’ve suggested pretty strongly that more of the time they save in not having to build stockades should be used boning up on hyperjump theory, nucleonic and such instead of … of…”

“Acting like rabbits,” Sloan finished for him.

“Not in those exact words,” Hynds said, smiling but with an uncomfortable glance at Ruth Fielding, who was beside him. He went on, “Apart from this we are up to schedule. The weather posts and communications relays are, or will be, set up and operating on time. Hutton has given us an improved signaling device…”

The device, Warren knew from his examination of the drawings, consisted of the light from a bright-burning, shielded fire being focused into a tight beam and directed toward the next leg of the relay. The beam had just enough spread to compensate for the fact that the stations were usually mounted in trees and subject to wind movement, so there was no possibility of it being seen from above. It was used in conjunction with a telescope to increase the range and accuracy, at the same time cutting down on the number of relay stations needed.

“… But the final alignment and full-scale testing of the system, sir,”Hynds concluded, “must wait until the Escape site has been chosen.”