The Rings of Tantalus Read Online Free PDF Page A

ready as it ever will be to go and kick that sleeping elephant in the balls. It is my decision—which I have entered in the log—that the Santa Maria will match orbit and velocity with our enigmatic elephant. We will come up slowly and close, trying hard not to look aggressive in our intentions. While this is being done, we will continue trying to establish radio contact: If that does not succeed, at a range of twenty thousand metres we will try to make contact by visual signals. I have already instructed Matthew on the signalling procedure. And if that does not bring a response, we will nose in until we are close enough for me to jet across. I’ll take a look around and maybe give the hull a few good kicks. And if that doesn’t bring any reaction, I’ll believe your theory, Kurt, that we have found a derelict.”
    “You think that is the wisest course, Commander?” Indira’s voice indicated quite definitely that she thought his decision was stupid.
    “You can suggest a better plan of action?” he countered.
    “Why don’t we ignore the bloody thing, touch down on Tantalus and carry out our proving programme?”
    “Because, Lieutenant,” he explained patiently, “we cannot afford to touch down without attempting to resolve this mystery. The moment we hit dirtside, the Santa Maria becomes a sitting duck. If that thing is occupied—and, for all I know, it may contain a thousand very aggressive little green men in S.A. all waiting for the alarm clock to say: Wake up, we’re there—then we could have a nasty situation. Particularly if they think they have more right to colonise Tantalus than we have. Does that answer your question?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “I have a question, Boss,” said Kwango.
    “Go ahead. Spit it out.”
    “What happens if one of those little green men wakes up in time to notice your big hello. Suppose he is very irritable and goes: Bang, bang, you are dead.”
    “In that case you do not retaliate—I repeat, you do not retaliate. You get the hell out of it as fast as you can, if you can. If you can evade their detection equipment, you take the Santa Maria Clean out of the Regulus system, put yourselves back in S.A. and report to Terra. Matthew is fully programmed for F.T.L. procedure. You would need something like six hours to get under way. If, on the other hand, the Santa Maria is attacked, you throw everything we have—such as it is—and still get out. O.K.?”
    Kwango nodded. “It isn’t going to come to that.”
    Conrad smiled. “Let us hope so. But if it does, you, Lieutenant Smith, will assume full command. It will be your responsibility to carry out these instructions as efficiently as possible. Understood?”
    “Understood, Commander,” Her voice had softened a little. “Don’t make yourself a dead hero, that’s all.”
    “I’ll try not to… Now, let us all have a decent meal before we blast out of orbit.”
    Conrad waited until the alien vessel had passed over the night side of Tantalus and was approaching sunside before he made the rendezvous manoeuvres. The star-ship’s computer would have carried out the operations perfectly; but Conrad preferred to control the Santa Maria himself. He prided himself on his skill as a space captain, and hated to think that a programmed machine could match his years of experience. One thing he knew intuitively—and derived some satisfaction from the knowledge—was that in an unanticipated crisis the man would make a sounder and faster decision than the machine.
    The first power manoeuvre was carried out at one G acceleration, the second at two thirds G and the third at one third G. The Santa Maria edged cautiously towards the huge object.
    Meanwhile, Luke contin ued to search the radio fre quencies and Matthew worked patiently through his sequence of variable pitch signals.
    At a range of twenty thousand metres, the egg-shaped object, brilliantly white in sunlight, looked awesome.
    “Change now to visual signals, Matthew,” said