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'Twelve, each about twenty feet in length, spaced around the liner like the divisions of a clock. To
clockwise are passenger areas; to anticlockwise the way that navvy set off is the Bridge, and other
crew areas. If you'll follow me, sir '
I entered the next chamber to find it full of enclosed bunk-beds set out rather like a railway sleeper
carriage. This Dormitory was warm and comfortable and included a small bathing area. The carpet was a
rich crimson and soft as down, and there was a smell of freshly polished wood.
'Dart, I'm impressed.'
He flashed me a smile whose pride was reminiscent of that of the Captain. 'Well, if you'll follow me into
the Library '
'A Library?'
And so the next chamber turned out to be. Oaken-panelled walls were lined with books in uniform
bindings, all stamped with the Cunard crest. The outer wall once more tilted inwards, so that a picture of
an English hunting scene hung away from the wall. The floor also seemed to slope slightly. Electric globes
fixed to the walls provided ample reading light. A leather-coated divan was placed between two desks,
and seated at one of the desks, poring over a book of lithographs of outer-space scenes, was a small,
bald man in morning dress. I judged him to be about fifty-five years old. He squinted up at me through
thick spectacles and nodded, smiling.
'I'm sorry to have disturbed your reading,' I said.
'Not at all.'
'Let me introduce myself. My name is Conseille, of the University of Paris.'
'Ah! I noted your name on the manifest.' His smile broadened to reveal yellowed teeth. 'I've read of your
work. I look forward to stimulating conversations during the fifty hours of our voyage to Mars.'
'You're also a passenger, sir?'
'Indeed.' He stood and offered me his hand; it was plump and warm. 'My name's Holden. No university,
I'm afraid; I hail from London, where I scrape a living writing popular science articles for the
newspapers.'
'Then you have a commission from some editor for this trip?'
He nodded, eyes swimming behind his glasses. 'At least for some of the fare. I'm afraid I've rather
overstretched my finances in paying for the rest of it. But, you see ' He waved a hand at the open book
on his desk. 'This voyage to another world will be my life's fulfilment.'
I nodded, warming to the odd little man.
'As you can see it's quite comfortable here,' Holden said. 'But there's no crew yet; I go dashed long
intervals between cups of tea...'
'Allow me, gentlemen,' Dart said smoothly. 'I'll see if the Dining Room is open and '
The ship shuddered. There was a sound of doors slamming.
Dart, halfway to the Library's far doors, gasped and turned. Holden took off his glasses and stood
carefully.
'What the devil Dart, is it an earthquake?'
The steward backed towards a wall, clutching at the spines of books. 'It sounded like launch procedures
to me, sir. That slamming must have been the safety equipment closing external hatchways.'
'But that's impossible! Launch is five days away '
Now a distant thunder rose from the heart of the ship. The carpet lurched upwards; the pictures rattled
softly against the walls.
Holden stood before me, stolid, round and grim-faced. 'Impossible or not, Professor, I suggest we
determine what is happening. Steward! Take us to the Bridge.'
Poor Dart's mouth gaped like a fish's. 'I yes, sir. This way.'
We returned to the Observatory. Panes set low in the wall gave a panoramic view of the ground. A bank
of vapour surged from the base of the ship, evoking steam from the polar earth and forcing men to
flee but to no avail.
They went down writhing.
I thought I saw the tall figure of Captain Roberts battle valiantly towards his ship; but soon he, too, was
lost, wrapped in live steam.
'Dear God,' I breathed. 'They're utterly unprepared. It's a slaughter.'
The deck slammed upwards once more. The ship sloughed away its scaffolding surround. I saw
workmen, shipwrights and navvies all tumbling in the air, hurled loose as a dog shakes off fleas. The
ground fell away, sliding sideways. The land turned to a cap of ice, human suffering lost in the scale of it
all, and for the first time in my life I saw the curvature of the Earth.
'We've launched,' Dart sobbed, his face pressed to the windows. 'Holy Mother of God.'
A breeze whistled through the Observatory. 'But how can it be, Holden? There are no crew, no
engineers ' I recalled Roberts' statement that the crew of the liner were engaged in briefings away from
the ship.
Holden spoke bleakly, clinging to the frame of the glass wall. 'There are no engineers during the flight.
The anti-ice chamber is inimical to life. The engines are worked from the Bridge by an arrangement of
current-bearing wires. Professor, one man could fly this ship.'
And yet, despite this ease of theft, the craft had been left unguarded. Not for the first time in my life I
reflected sourly on the overweening confidence of these English that surely no-one would dare impede
their designs.
Well, if the scene beyond the windows was unreal, more immediate concerns soon crowded in on me,
hard and sharp. I was shivering. My chest ached; suddenly I seemed to be sucking at drained air. I
gasped to Holden, 'My God, the hull must be breached!'
'The cause is not hard to find.' Holden pointed to a quartet of smashed panes. 'This has been done
deliberately no doubt to seal us off from the Bridge, which lies beyond that far door.'
A wrench with jaws the size of my fist lay on the floor beside the damage, the obvious instrument of this
violence. I remembered the shifting-eyed crewman who had accompanied myself and Dart into the ship.
Was he the sole pirate? 'Then we must break down the door and apprehend the villain ' I stopped,
coughing. My limbs felt heavy as lead; black spots crossed my vision.
Dart was tugging at my sleeve. 'There's no time, Professor! Within minutes the air will be gone and the
acceleration of the engines will crush us. We have to return to the Dormitory.'
'But the Bridge '
'The steward's right, man,' Holden panted. Leaning heavily against the wall he made his way back
towards the sleeping chamber. 'Let's make sure we survive this launch. Then we can think about wresting
back control of the ship.'
So we returned to the Dormitory; Dart pulled closed the heavy door and air sighed into my lungs. I
climbed cautiously into a bunk and was soon pressed into the mattress by the joint action of Earth's
gravity and the locomotive power of the anti-ice rocket.
The whistle of atmosphere faded. The fatigue of my astonishing day crept over me, and after a few
minutes I was surprised to find my eyes sliding closed.
There was a discreet cough. I opened my eyes. Dart stood beside my bed. His stance was composed
but the hands clutched before him showed white at the knuckles.
The noise of the launch was gone now. I heard and felt only a distant, solemn vibration; it was like being
aboard a large ocean-going liner, and the soft scents of furniture polish and bed linen added to the
impression of normality.
I sat up, rubbing my eyes. 'How long did I sleep?'
'About two and a half hours, sir. Mr Holden asked me to wake you; he says you might be interested in
the view.'
I swung my legs from the bunk and stood cautiously. I might have been standing in my own study. 'Dart,'
I asked, in sudden, confused hope, 'surely we haven't landed?'
Dart raised an eyebrow. 'I fear not, sir. The weight you feel is caused by the Australia's steady
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