Page:Fantastic Universe (1956-10; vol. 8, no. 3).djvu/24

Rh the engines, it will still be necessary to provide a reaction passage along the entire axis of the ship, piercing the living quarters and cargo space. This will require enormous amounts of insulation, of course, and reduce the pay-space of the vessel accordingly.

"The only alternative would be to arrange a kind of Christmas-tree effect and hang the reaction chambers outside the vessel up near the nose, letting them thrust into free space outside the hull. Either way, however, is tremendously complicated and inefficient. You wouldn't be getting the kind of ship you're riding in now. I honestly don't think you'd be satisfied with it."

He couldn't tell what was going on inside the can. The Ragalian was hardly visible in the swirl of blue vapor that backed the face plate. But he knew the hidden recorders were getting the data and felt a compulsive desire to take a look at them right now. But that would have to wait.

He showed the way around the vast pile room, explaining in detail how the enormous nuclear energy was converted to thrust and expended in the drive chambers. The Kagalian seemed enthusiastic and spent endless hours asking questions about the details of this operation.

When they were through and ready to go back to his chamber he paused a moment and glanced upward. "Engines up there; perfect ship then. Men belong down here."

Mark Wilde came up behind George as the engineer took the charts out of the recorder and unrolled them on the long table in the work room.

"Your gizmos giving out with all the secret yearnings of our pear-shaped friend." he asked.

George shook his head. "I can't interpret everything that's on here. I expect to need Nat's help on that. But it's a cinch that he goes through a change every time he considers the ship. I expect to get him upstairs in a couple more days. I'll bet the bottom drops out of some of these lines."

"If you get him up," said Mark.

George took it easy. He spent another day in the lower parts of the ship and talked by radio to the company Director of Personnel Psychology, Dr. Nathanial Bergstrom. Nat was highly interested in the outcome of the experiment. He offered suggestions for prodding Sleth Forander, but he didn't see how the outcome of this investigation could posiblypossibly [sic] affect the company's relationship with the Ragalians in accepting or rejecting a contract to build ships for them.

George didn't argue. He wasn't too sure of his own ground. But he felt he was beginning to get a clue.

It was two days later that he proposed a tour of the upper regions and control room of the ship. Sleth Forander hesitated only an instant, then agreed.

There was no outward sign of disturbance as the elevator carried