Lord_ hastwenty-four Piles. No matter what happens it's impossible that _all_ ofthem should go bad at once. She can ditch the dangerous Piles and stillalways have power enough left to make port. One thing is certain, thisship will never be wrecked on the Ripples of a mad scientist'simagination! A phenomenon like the Ripples, is impossible. If itexisted, we'd have had some proof of it many years ago."
"But surely you don't mean to imply that if we don't know a fact, it istherefore impossible?"
"Not at all. But you know yourself, Professor Larrabee--you're aneducated man--that by this time our physicists understand the universecompletely, from A to Z. There are no unexplained phenomena. Thakura isshut up in a madhouse now. In my opinion, he was already insane when hepublished his theory."
Larrabee was nodding, thoughtfully. "I wonder what makes you so certainof your theory?"
"What theory? I never deal in theories. I'm talking fact."
"Your theory that we have unveiled all the mystery of the universe; howdo you know? Every now and then, of course, man lives through a centuryof such amazing progress that he concludes that nothing remains to belearned. But how can he ever be certain?"
"But we are certain! Most physicists are in agreement now that therehasn't been one single unexplained physical aberration in the pastcentury!"
"Most physicists except Thakura, you mean?"
"But Thakura is insane! We understand all the physical phenomena of theuniverse."
"Except the Thakura Ripples?"
Jasperson slammed down his glass and stood up, his face red and puffy."Steward! More ice water! I'm getting tired of those words, professor.Do you think for one minute I'd have risked my life to come on this tripif I'd thought there was the slightest danger?"
Alan looked up languidly. "You mean you wouldn't mind sending a crew andpassengers into danger--as long as you could take care to be safeyourself?"
"Surely you're not afraid, Mr. Jasperson?" said Larrabee.
"No. What is there to be afraid of?" He gulped down his drink. "Nothingcan wreck the _Star Lord_!"
* * * * *
When Dr. Alan Chase woke up next morning and glanced at his wrist watch,he realized that the breakfast hour was nearly over. Professor Larrabeehad already left the cabin.
Alan was not hungry. It had been many months since he had really enjoyedan appetite for food, but he got up and began to dress, so that he couldperform the duty of eating. But his clothes, he noticed, were beginningto fit a little more snugly. He fastened his belt at a new andpreviously unused notch, buttoned his jacket, and then performed theritual he carried out every morning and every evening.
Touching a facet in the ornamentation of his wrist watch, he walkedabout, geigering the room. Radiation normal, somewhat less than earth'snormal, in fact. The twenty-four Piles were well shielded, and if thiscontinued, he should survive the journey in fair shape.
At the door of the dining room he paused, for the entrance was blockedby Steward Davis and the young couple he had noticed the day they leftY-port.
The tall young man with rumpled black hair was arguing, while the prettygirl clung to his arm and watched his face admiringly, as though he werethe only man in the world.
"But Steward," said the young man, "Dorothy and I--that is, Mrs. Halland I--we felt sure we'd be able to have a table by ourselves. We don'twant to be unreasonable, it's only that this is our honeymoon, maybe theonly time we'll ever get to spend together, really, and we like to eatalone, together, I mean. That's the reason we chose the _Star Lord_,because the advertisements all talked about how big and roomy it was,and how it didn't have to be so miserly with its space as they did inearlier ships. They said you could have privacy, and not have to crowdall together in one stuffy little cabin, the way they used to."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Hall," said the Steward crisply. "We are all proud ofthe spaciousness of our ship, but not even the _Star Lord_ can provideseparate tables for everybody who--Oh, _good_ morning, Mr. Jasperson!Glad to see you, sir." Turning his back on Tom, he smiled and bowed tothe new arrival "Everything all right, sir?"
"Good morning, Dr. Chase. No nightmares last night? 'Morning Davis. Tellthat waiter of mine to be more particular about giving me plenty of icewater. I like plenty of water, and I like it cold."
"Sorry, sir. I'll speak to him at once." He bowed again as Jaspersonstrode on.
"Then could we--" Tom began.
Davis whirled with an impatient frown. "What? Are you still here?Surely I made it clear that there's nothing I can do, Mr. Hall?"
"But couldn't you at least move us to another table?"
"I regret that you are dissatisfied with our arrangements. All tablespace was allocated before we took off from Y-port."
"But you've put us with such noisy people!" said Tom stubbornly. "Theykeep talking about how much money they made in deutonium, and they referto us, right in front of us, as the babes in the woods. They may berich, but they haven't the manners of a six-year old. We _can't_ stay atthat table."
"Mr. Hall, I can't waste any more time with you. If all our passengerswere to demand special privileges--" He shrugged his shoulders.
* * * * *
Dorothy Hall whispered shyly, "Ask him, then, what about that man?" andshe nodded her head slightly to the right.
"Yes," said Tom. "You say there isn't enough room, but what about thattable over there? It's made to seat two, and there's just that one manwho eats alone."
Davis glanced over. "Oh, yes. But that's Mr. Jasperson! He likes to beby himself."
"Who's Mr. Jasperson?"
"A very important man."
"And I'm not?"
Alan broke in. "Excuse me, Mr. Hall. I am Dr. Chase. Won't you join mytable? Three of the people assigned places there are Almazanians, adiplomatic mission, I think, and they naturally prefer to have their owncuisine in their own cabins, so we have room for three more."
"How about it, Steward," said Tom. "Any objections?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Davis strolled away.
Tom glared at the retreating back. "That guy has the face of a murderer.He can't be decent to anybody with less than a million credits."
Dorothy laughed. "Never mind, Tom. Someday you'll be the most famouslawyer in the Interstellar courts, and maybe you'll get a chance toprosecute him for arson or treason."
Alan led them to the rear of the dining room, where his two tablecompanions were finishing the last sips of their coffee, and lightingthe first cigarette of the morning.
"Miss Taganova, may I present Tom and Dorothy Hall, who would like toshare our table."
Tanya lifted her beautiful auburn head and smiled a welcome. ProfessorLarrabee stood up, his pink cheeks crinkling with pleasure as he shookhands with Tom.
"Young people make the best companions," he said, "especially on longjourneys."
Alan sat down and reached for the vitamin dispenser. "These particularyoung people want privacy. They're on their honeymoon, and would hardlyshed a tear if all the rest of the world suddenly ceased to exist."
"It's not quite like that, Dr. Chase," said Tom, his face reddening,"but those people at our other table were just out of our class, one wayor another. The men talked all the time about their bank accounts, andthe women clawed at each other about which one had the biggest house,and the biggest pearls and diamonds and emeralds, until we began to feelsmothered in a blanket of credits and diamonds."
"Credits and diamonds must be very nice things to have," said Tanya."I've never managed to collect many of either."
"I've nothing against them in themselves," said Tom, "but right now theydon't seem to matter very much. We had to wait five long years to bemarried, five years for me to finish my law training, and for Dorothy towear out her family's opposition. They didn't want her to throw herselfaway on a penniless lawyer."
"As if I were a child who didn't know her own mind," said Dorothy."Well, I wanted Tom, penniless or not; and anyway, in a few years he'sgoing to
be the finest lawyer in the Interstellar Courts."
"I hope you'll always be as happy as you are now, children." Theprofessor's eyes were misty as he stood up. "Come, Miss Tanya. Take astroll with me, and bring back to an old man a brief illusion of youth."
"But you'll never be old!" she said affectionately. "You're still themost fascinating man on the ship."
Like every other man in the room, Alan watched with envious eyes asTanya