Mission of Gravity

„I see — I guess. We sort of took for granted that you’d have a reaction time commensurate with your gravity, but I can see that’s just man-centered thinking. I guess I get it.”

„What I could understand of your talk sounded reasonable. It is certainly evident that we are different; we will probably never fully realize just how different. At least we are enough alike to talk together — and make what I hope will be a mutually profitable agreement.”

„I am sure it will be. Incidentally, in furtherance of it you will have to give me an idea of the places you want to go, and I will have to point out on your maps the place where I want you to go. Could we look at that Bowl of yours now? There is light enough for this vision set.”

„Certainly. The Bowl is set in the deck and ca

Barle

Lackland had to admit that the map which the Bowl contained was logically constructed and, as far as it went, accurate. Its curvature matched that of the planet quite closely, as he had expected — the major error being that it was concave, in conformity with the natives’ ideas about the shape of their world. It was about six inches across and roughly one and a quarter deep-at the center. The whole map was protected by a transparent cover — probably of ice, Lackland guessed — set flush with the deck. This interfered somewhat with Barle

„I have tried to keep my charts up to date,” he said as he settled down opposite the Flyer’s proxy. „I haven’t attempted to make any changes in the Bowl, though, because the new regions we mapped on the way up were not extensive enough to show. There is actually little I can show you in detail, but you wanted a general idea of where I pla

„Well, actually I don’t care greatly. I can buy and sell anywhere, and at the moment I have little aboard but food. I won’t have much of that by the time winter is over, either; so I had pla

„Spices?”

„If that is the word for such products, yes. I have carried them before, and rather like them — you can get good profit from a single shipload, as with most commodities whose value depends less on their actual usefulness than on their rarity.”

„I take it, then, that once you have loaded here you don’t particularly care where you go?”

„That is right. I understand that your errand will carry us close to the Center, which is fine — the farther south we go, the higher the prices I can get; and the extra length of the journey should not be much more dangerous, since you will be helping us as you agreed.”

„Right. That is excellent — though I wish we had been able to find something we could give you in actual payment, so that you would not feel the need to take time in spice-gathering.”

„Well, we have to eat. You say your bodies, and hence your foods, are made of very different substances from ours, so we can’t use your foodstuffs. Frankly, I can’t think of any desirable raw metal or similar material that I couldn’t get far more easily in any quantity I wanted. My favorite idea is still that we get some of your machines, but you say that they would have to be built anew to function under our conditions. It seems that the agreement we reached is the best that is possible, under those circumstances.”

„True enough. Even this radio was built specifically for this job, and you could not repair it — your people, unless I am greatly mistaken, don’t have the tools. However, during the journey we can talk of this again; perhaps the things we learn of each other will open up other and better possibilities.”

„I am sure ‘they will,” Barle

He did not, of course, mention the possibility that his own plans might succeed. The Flyer would hardly have approved.

II: THE FLYER

The Flyer’s forecast was sound; some four hundred days passed before the storm let up noticeably. Five times during that period the Flyer spoke to Barle

Lackland’s fifth call was different from the others, and more welcome for several reasons. The difference was due partly to the fact that it was off schedule; its pleasant nature to the fact that at last there was a favorable weather forecast.

„Barl” The Flyer did not bother with preliminaries — he knew that the Mesklinite was always within sound of the radio. „The station on Toorey called a few minutes ago. There is a relatively clear area moving toward us. He was not sure just what the winds would be, but he can see the ground through it, so visibility ought to be fair. If your hunters want to go out I should say that they wouldn’t be blown away, provided they wait until the clouds have been gone for twenty or thirty days. For a hundred days or so after that we should have very good weather indeed. They’ll tell me in plenty of time to get your people back to the ship.”

„But how will they get your warning? If I send this radio with them I won’t be able to talk to you about our regular business, and if I don’t, I don’t see — ”

„I’ve been thinking of that,” interrupted Lackland. „I think you’d better come up here as soon as the wind drops sufficiently. I can give you another set — perhaps it would be better if you had several. I gather that the journey you will be taking for us will be dangerous, and I know for myself it will be long enough. Thirty-odd thousand miles as the crow flies, and I can’t yet guess how far by ship and overland.”