II
"When we start this work," Arcot began next morning, "we obviously wantto design the ship for the conditions we expect to meet, and for maximumconvenience and safety. I believe I've thought about this trip longerthan the rest of you, so I'll present my ideas first.
"We don't actually _know_ anything about conditions on Venus, since noone has actually been there. Venus is probably a younger planet thanEarth. It's far nearer the sun than we are, and it gets twice the heatwe do. In the long-gone time when the planets were cooling I believeVenus required far longer than Earth, for the inpouring heat wouldretard its cooling. The surface temperature is probably about 150degrees Fahrenheit.
"There is little land, probably, for with the cloud-mass covering Venusas it does, it's logical to visualize tremendous seas. What life hasdeveloped must be largely aquatic, and the land is probably far behindus in evolution. Of course, Venus is the planet of mystery--we don'tknow; we can only guess. But we do know what things we are going to needto cross space.
"Obviously, the main driving force will be the power units. These willget their energy from the rays of the sun by absorbing them in copperdiscs about twelve feet in diameter--the ship will have to be more of adisc than a cylinder. I think a ship a hundred and eighty feet long,fifty feet wide, and twenty feet deep will be about the best dimensions.The power units will be strung along the top of the ship in doublerows--one down each side of the hull. In the middle will be a series offused quartz windows, opening into a large room just under the outershell. We'll obviously need some source of power to activate the powertubes that run the molecular motion power units. We'll have a generatorrun by molecular motion power units in here, absorbing its heat from theatmosphere in this room. The air will be heated by the rays of the sun,of course, and in this way we'll get all our power from the sun itself.
"Since this absorption of energy might result in making the ship toocool, due to the radiation of the side away from the sun, we'll polishit, and thus reduce the unlighted side's radiation.
"The power units will not be able to steer us in space, due to theirposition, and those on the sides, which will steer us in the atmosphereby the usual method, will be unable to get the sun's power; they'll beshaded. For steering in space, we'll use atomic hydrogen rockets,storing the atomic gas by the Wade method in tanks in the hold. We'llalso have a battery down there for starting the generator and foremergencies.
"For protection against meteors, we'll use radar. If anything comeswithin a dozen miles of us, the radar unit covering that sector will atonce set automatic machinery in operation, and the rockets will shootthe ship out of the path of the meteor."
All that day Arcot and the others discussed the various pieces ofapparatus they would need, and toward evening Fuller began to draw roughsketches of the different mechanisms that had been agreed upon.
The next day, by late afternoon, they had planned the rough details ofthe ship and had begun the greater task of calculating the stresses andthe power factors.
"We won't need any tremendous strength for the ship while it is inspace," Arcot commented, "for then there will be little strain on it.It will be weightless from the start, and the gentle acceleration willnot strain it in the least, but we must have strength, so that it canmaneuver in the atmosphere.
"We'll leave Earth by centrifugal force, for I can make much betterspeed in the atmosphere where there is plenty of power to draw on;outside I must depend solely on sunlight. We'll circle the Earth,forming an orbit just within the atmosphere, at five miles a second.We'll gradually increase the speed to about ten miles a second, at whichpoint the ship would normally fly off into space under its owncentrifugal force. With the power units we'll prevent its release untilthe proper moment. When we release it, it will be entirely free ofEarth, and no more work will be needed to overcome Earth's pull."
The planning continued with exasperating slowness. The details of thework were complex, for all the machines were totally new. Several weekspassed before even the power units could be ordered and the first workon the ship started. After that orders for materials left the officedaily. Still, it was late in November before the last order was sentout.
Now they must begin work on other phases of the expedition--foodsupplies and the standard parts of the equipment.
In the interval Arcot had decided to make a special ventilated suit foruse on Venus. This was to make use of a small molecular motion directorapparatus to cool the air, and blow it through the suit. The apparatusconsisted of a small compressed air-driven generator and a power tubebank that could be carried on the back.
"Arcot," Wade said when he saw the apparatus completed and the testingmachine ready, "I've just noticed how similar this is to the portableinvisibility apparatus I developed as the Pirate. I wonder if it mightnot be handy at times to be invisible--we could incorporate that with aslight change. It wouldn't add more than five pounds, and those tubesyou are using I'm sure are easily strong enough to carry the extraload."
"Great idea, Wade," said Arcot. "It might be very useful if we methostile natives. The disappearance stunt might make us gods or somethingto primitive beings. And now that you mention it, I think we can installthe apparatus in the ship. It will require almost no power, and mightsave our lives some time."
The work went forward steadily at the great Transcontinental Shops wherethe space ship was being built. Its construction was being kept as muchof a secret as possible, for Arcot feared the interference of the crowdsthat would be sure to collect if the facts were known, and since theshops directly joined the airfield, it meant that there would behelicopters buzzing about the Transatlantic and Transcontinental planes.
The work to be done required the most careful manipulation andworkmanship, for one defect could mean death. They calculated six weeksfor the trip, and in the time before they could reach either planet,much might happen to a crippled ship.
To the men who were making the trip, the waiting seemed mostexasperating, and they spent the days before they could begin theinstallation of the electrical apparatus in purchasing the necessarystandard equipment; the standard coils, tubes, condensers, the cannedfood supplies, clothes, everything that they could imagine as ofpossible utility. They were making the ship with a great deal of emptystorage space, for Arcot hoped the trip would be a financial success,particularly supplying much-needed metals. Many vital elements werealready excessively scarce, and no satisfactory substitutes had beenfound.
On the outward trip some of this space would be filled with the manythings they would consume en route. In addition they were carrying agreat many spare parts, spare tubes, spare power units, sparecondensers--a thousand and one odd parts. Arcot intended that theyshould be able to make an entire new power switchboard and motiondirector unit if anything should go wrong, and he certainly had all theapparatus.
At last came the day when the final connection had been soldered, andthe last joint welded. The atomic hydrogen tanks were full, and underthe ship's own power the oxygen tanks were filled and the batteriescharged. They were ready for a test flight!
The great ship rested on the floor of the shed now, awaiting the start.
"Oh fellows--come here a minute!" Arcot called to the other members ofthe party. "I want to show you something."
The three walked quickly to the bow where Arcot stood, and following theline of his vision, looked in wonder to see that everything was right.They watched curiously as he drew from his coat a large glass bottle,tightly sealed.
"What's that for?" asked Wade curiously.
"We're about to start on the first cruise, and I've been wondering if itisn't time we gave the ship a name."
"Great--I'd been thinking of that too--what are we going to name her?"
"Well," said Arcot, "I had been thinking of Alexander--he longed forother worlds to conquer!"
"Not bad," Morey commented. "I have been thinking of naming it too--Iguess we all have--but I was thinking of Santa Maria--the first ship todiscover the New World."
"I was thinking more of its home," said Wade. "How about calling itTerrestrian?"
"Well--it's your turn, Fuller--you designed it. What do you suggest foryour masterpiece?" asked Arcot.
"I was thinking also of its home--the home it will never leave. I liketo think that we might find people on Venus, and I would like to have aname on it that might be translatable into more friendly and lessforeign terms--why not call it Solarite?"
"Solarite--a member of the solar system--it will be that, always. Itwill be a world unto itself when it makes its trips--it will take up anorbit about the sun--a true member of the solar system. I like it!"Arcot turned to the others. "How about it?" It was agreed uponunanimously.
"But I'm still curious about that glass bottle, so carefully sealed."Morey commented with a puzzled smile. "What's in it? Some kind of gas?"
"Wrong--no gas--practically nothing at all, in fact. What moreappropriate for christening a space ship than a bottle of hard vacuum?
"We can't have a pretty girl christen this ship, that's sure. A flyingbachelor's apartment christened by a mere woman? Never! We will have theforeman of the works here do that. Since we can't have the ship slidedown the ways or anything, we will get inside and move it when hesmashes the bottle. But in the meantime, let's have a symbol set incontrasting metal on the bow. We can have a blazing sun, with nineplanets circling it, the Earth indicated conspicuously; and below it theword SOLARITE."
The Black Star Passes Page 10
