The Experimental Craft

How is that possible, I wondered. Tam himself admitted that their space industry was only fifty years old.

My disbelief was obviously visible on my face, as Tam told me something that that seemed even more far-fetched.

"We have had a number of visitors with extremely advanced technology. For instance, several of them seem to have overcome the barriers set up by the strains of continuous travel at hyperlight speeds."

I definately could not believe this. I must admit that my knowledge of current propulsion technology was not complete, but I did know that ships including the Astra travelled by what were called hyperspace jumps. Generally speaking, the more advanced a vessel's engines were, the further the vessel could jump in one go. Obviously the amount of fuel that was available was a crucial factor as well as this determined the vessel's range. The Astra's engines allowed her to travel about 15 light- years in one jump, but could only carry enough fuel to travel 10. This means that her maximum range was ten light-years. "How does this relate these trials?" I asked, fearing that I probably already knew the answer.

"During my conversations with some of these advanced visitors, I came across members of a distant race - they called themselves the Haricons - that seemed extremely willing to share their technology with us, admittedly even more so after they had quite a bit to drink."

When I just stared to him after he made that comment, he said without a single bit of shame, "They appeared to be unused to alcohol, and it seemed to make them talk even more freely, once they had got used to it."

"So what did they get in exchange? Some of your homemade scotch?"

"They seemed to agree with that, and we had plenty to hand."

I leant forward and stared him squarely in the eyes. "So you've probably gone and introduced alcoholism to a race unused to drink?"

Tam shrugged and returned my gaze. "That's what they wanted, so that's what we gave them."

Now I honestly could say I didn't agree with that, but if the result of it meant me being able to get back to known space, my morals had to take a back seat for the time being. "Okay, I'm interested. It means I'll have to leave the Astra behind. You will leave her as she is? Do you want the Farscape whisky as payment?"

"Yes, the Astra will be left where she is. And no, we do not require the whisky. We're quite happy with what we've got here. Giving out news of our existence will be payment enough. We feel we've been in isolation for long enough. In case you are not believed, some relevant information will be copied over to our experimental craft's computer banks. I need a few days in order to set this up."

***

There had been a hotel nearby which had what they called a "Hospitality Suite" which I presumed was for visitors like me. I spent the days here until the morning Tam had specifed. The night before I couldn't sleep that well due to the anticipation.

In the morning I woke up and got dressed to find Tam waiting for me by the hotel and he took me via what he called an air car to their testing site which was situated around five miles outside of the city. Since he seemed to be a high ranking city official, he managed to get past security without much trouble.

Passing several imposing white stone buildings, we eventually arrived in front of what could only be called a large hanger. There was a whining sound, and the hanger doors slowly slid open. I could only gasp in surprise at the ship in front of me.

The ship herself wasn't that large, being around twice the size of a Space Authority two seater fighter. It didn't seem large enough to carry even the smallest available hyperlight engines. My attention was also drawn to a couple of strange portrubances underneath the ship. "What are those?" I asked.

"The Haricons called them ramscoops. Apparently they are able to scoop up stray hydrogen atoms and convert them into extra fuel as required."

"Talking of fuel, don't these newfangled engines need a different sort?"

Tam nodded. "That was not too much of a problem. We have the resources necessary to produce the fuel."

I also noticed that the ship didn't have landing legs as such, as it was "wheeled" out of the hanger.

Before long I dressed up in a special suit and in the ship's control centre being given brief explanations of how the controls worked. I was intrigued by the fact that this ship couldn't take off vertically and instead had to go along a runway before being able to take off. After a few minutes the techician as he called himself gave me the thumbs up and climbed out and down. A few more minutes later still, I was told to "taxi" out to the runway.

I fired up the engines as told and powered down the runway, before pulling what they called the control stick and eventually took off into the air.

1. Safely free of Russilinia's atmosphere, I activated the main engines and away I went!

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