Interstellar Projects

The atmosphere was tense in the space shuttle, and James Fitzpatrick was doing his best to keep the panic out of his voice as he talked. “OK, Houston, we can try that; but we only have eight hours of air left, even if it works.” “Roger that. We’ll wake you in a few hours.” James didn’t feel consoled much. Ever since they’d been hit by that fragment of a meteor, they’d been leaking air and fuel. The fragment couldn’t have been much bigger than a marble, but it must have hit just the right place, and it must have been really moving to penetrate so deeply into the shuttle. No one was sure where it entered, but Houston had thought it was in one of the wings, since it hit both the fuel and air lines. No one mentioned the fact that the compromised hull would probably prevent them from landing the shuttle. They could burn up while entering Earth’s atmosphere just like another shuttle a few years ago that had been damaged by styrofoam. The Russian space station was unavailable for use due to air purification problems. It looked like they would all die, either in space or trying to land—not an optimistic end for a day’s work. “OK, people, Houston says to go to sleep while they work on the problem; so strap yourselves in, and let’s get some shut-eye.” All eight of his crew went to their seats, strapped in, and pretended (he was sure) to sleep. He lay there with his mind racing, trying to find a solution for the problem, and finally he drifted off. An hour later, a blinking light shone in the distance and moved toward the shuttle. When it got close, its box-like appearance was noted along with the logo “Interplanetary Towing” that was written on the sides and under the front window. It had a set of flashing yellow lights across the top above the window. Joe maneuvered his shuttle so it was facing the space shuttle a few feet away, then picked up a piece of cardboard that he propped on one side in the window. He sat back and, putting his feet up, grinned to himself. He had penned the sign purposely just to see what kind of rise he could get from the space shuttle crew. Through slitted eyes, he watched the shuttle for activity. James was having a rough time with his plane, and it was shaking and making a loud noise. He gradually realized it wasn’t a plane, and he was being shaken by his copilot, who was saying, “James! James! Wake up! Come on, James, wake up!” “What’s the matter, Pierson?” “We’ve got company, James, and you won’t believe it!” “What do you mean?” James asked as he opened one eye slowly. He saw his female copilot beside him, but there was a flashing yellow light from somewhere reflecting off her. He moved his head and looked out the window, then sat up with a start. “What in the . . . !” “I told you you wouldn’t believe it!” “And that sign! ‘Broken Down? Full of Woe? For the right price, I’ll give you a tow. Burma Shave!’ And in English too, Captain!” said someone behind him. James realized everyone was floating around him looking out the window. “Get ahold of Houston, and find out what’s going on here.” James said. “Already working on it, Captain.” said the radio operator. “They don’t know anything about it; we’re the only thing they see up here.” “That figures.” muttered James. Joe thought it was time to get things moving; so he yawned and opened his eyes as though waking up, put his feet down, stood up, and looked over at the shuttle and its passengers. Waving, he pointed to the sign and mimicked a question. “Get me something to write on.” said James. He was handed a black felt pen and a piece of cardboard that looked suspiciously like the liner of a locker. He wrote, “Can you tow us back to Earth?” and put it in the window for the man in the other craft to see. Joe nodded his head. James wrote again, “How much will it cost?” Joe took his sign out of the window and wrote something on the back, then put it in the window. “Gold — 214 pounds per person; spacecraft for free.” One of the crew muttered in the background for a few seconds, then he said, “That works out to about a million dollars per person, James.” “OK.” said James. “Radio Houston, and see if they’re willing to pay for our safe transport back down to Earth? See if you can get them to understand we have an unusual situation here.” A few minutes later, and after some comments that turned the air blue in the area of the radio operator, he turned to the captain and said, “Houston doesn’t believe us, but if it’s true, then they’re willing to pay the price.” James turned back to the window and the waiting man. Writing again on the cardboard, he placed the acknowledgment in the window for Joe to see. Joe nodded and wrote again on his piece of cardboard. “Agreed. Please prepare to leave your vehicle. Towed vehicles cannot contain passengers.” “OK, into space suits, everyone.” James said. “Wait a minute, Captain.” said a crew member. “He’s signaling for us to wait.” James turned to the window again and saw the other craft moving out of the line of direct sight to the side where the door was located. Moving over to the porthole in the door, James watched as a door opened in the side of the other craft, and a young man of about eighteen stepped out without a space suit, pushed off, then floated to the space shuttle door. “Holy smokes!” said James, and then there was a knock on the door. James didn’t know what to do at this point. There was a vacuum on the other side of that door, so he couldn’t open it. The young man’s face was at the porthole now, signaling for him to open the door. James motioned for the cardboard and pen again, wrote a quick note in the corner, tore it off, and held it in the window. “No air in space; we need air, or we die.” James didn’t know what to think when the man just grinned. The young man manipulated something outside, and the lock clicked in the door, then it started to open. James’ heart went into his throat and then back again when he realized there was no change of pressure like there should be in space. Suddenly facing the man in the open doorway, he said, “Hi.” “Hi.” the young man said. “If you would, please bring a portable radio, and follow me.” “How are you able to do this, son?” The man grinned and said, “It’s a force field tunnel we hooked up between our crafts, so you could easily get across. Come on.” The young man turned, and pushing off from the frame of the space shuttle door with his feet, floated back to the door of his craft. James was taken aback by the ease with which the young man did things, and swallowing, said, “OK, everyone, you heard the man. Let’s go. Roger, grab a portable radio from one of the suits, and come on.” Cautiously, the first crewman went out the door and felt around until she touched a wall. It was solid, even though they couldn’t see it, so she cautiously pushed off in the direction of the other shuttle. When she reached the door of the other craft, she was met by the young man, who stopped her and helped her orient herself feet down. When she went through the door, she was surprised to suddenly feel gravity again. The rest of the crew came across in a similar manner, and James, being last, shut the shuttle door behind him. James wasn’t very excited yet, but being in the presence of these aliens was thrilling nonetheless. His crew was the first to make contact with another race