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<v Speaker 1>Test rocket by Jack Douglas. It's amazing how much you

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<v Speaker 1>can learn about absolute strangers if you just stopped to

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<v Speaker 1>think about the kind of an animal they'll put in

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<v Speaker 1>a test rocket. Captain Baird stood at the window of

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<v Speaker 1>the laboratory, where the thousand parts of the strange rocket

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<v Speaker 1>lay strewn in careful order. Small groups worked slowly over

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<v Speaker 1>the dismantled parts. The Captain wanted to ask, but something

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<v Speaker 1>stopped him. Behind him, Doctor Johansson sat at his desk,

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<v Speaker 1>his gnarled old hand tight about a whiskey bottle, the

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<v Speaker 1>bottle the doctor always had in his desk but never

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<v Speaker 1>brought out except when he was alone, and waited for

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<v Speaker 1>Captain Baird to ask his question. Captain Baird turned at last.

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<v Speaker 1>They are our markings, Captain Baird asked. It was not

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<v Speaker 1>the question. Captain Baird knew the markings of the rocket

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<v Speaker 1>testing station as well as the doctor did. Yes, the

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<v Speaker 1>doctor said, they are our markings, identical, but not our paint.

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<v Speaker 1>Captain Baird turned back to the window. Ten minutes after launching,

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<v Speaker 1>the giant test rocket had been only a speck on

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<v Speaker 1>the observation screen. Captain Baird had turned away in disgust.

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<v Speaker 1>A mouse, The captain had said, unfortunate a mouse can't

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<v Speaker 1>observe build report my manner getting restless, Johansson, When we

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<v Speaker 1>are ready, Captain, the doctor had said. It was twelve

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<v Speaker 1>hours before the urgent call from Central control brought the

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<v Speaker 1>captain running back to the laboratory. The doctor was there

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<v Speaker 1>before him. Professor Schultz wasted no time. He pointed to

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<v Speaker 1>the instrument panel. A sudden shift. See for yourself. We'll

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<v Speaker 1>miss Mars by a million and a quarter. At least

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<v Speaker 1>two hours later, the shifting course of the test rocket

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<v Speaker 1>was apparent to all of them, and so was their disappointment.

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<v Speaker 1>According to the instruments, the steering shifted a quarter of

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<v Speaker 1>an inch. No reason shows up, Professor Schultz said, fly

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<v Speaker 1>in the metal. Doctor Johnson said, how far can it go?

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<v Speaker 1>Captain Baird asked, Professor Schultz shrugged. Until the fuel runs out,

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<v Speaker 1>which is probably as good as never, or until the

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<v Speaker 1>landing mechanism is activated by a planet sized body. Course.

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<v Speaker 1>Did you plot it, the doctor asked, Of course I did.

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<v Speaker 1>Professor Schultz said, as close as I can calculate, it

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<v Speaker 1>is headed for Alpha Centauri. Captain Baird turned away. The

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<v Speaker 1>doctor watched him, perhaps you will not be quite so

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<v Speaker 1>hasty with your men's lives in the future, Captain, the

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<v Speaker 1>doctor said. Professor Schultz was spinning dials. No contact, the

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<v Speaker 1>professor said, no contact at all. That had been six

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<v Speaker 1>months ago. Three more test rockets have been fired successfully

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<v Speaker 1>before the urgent report came through from Alaskan Observation Post

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<v Speaker 1>number four. A rocket was coming across the pole. The

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<v Speaker 1>strange rocket was tracked and escorted by atomic armed fighters

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<v Speaker 1>all the way to the rocket testing station, where it

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<v Speaker 1>cut its own motors and gently landed in the center

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<v Speaker 1>of a division of atomic armed infantry. The Captain, the doctor,

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<v Speaker 1>and everyone else waited impatiently. There was an air of uneasiness.

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<v Speaker 1>You're sure it's not ours, Captain Baird asked. The doctor

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<v Speaker 1>laughed identical, Yes, but three times the size of ours,

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<v Speaker 1>Perhaps one of the Asian ones. No, it's our design,

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<v Speaker 1>but too large, much, too large. Professor Schultz put their

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<v Speaker 1>thoughts into words, looks like someone copied ours, someone somewhere.

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<v Speaker 1>It's hard to imagine, but true. Nevertheless, they waited two weeks,

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<v Speaker 1>nothing happened. Then a radiation shielded team went in to

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<v Speaker 1>examine the rocket. Two more weeks and the strange rocket

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<v Speaker 1>was dismantled and spread over the field of the testing station.

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<v Speaker 1>The rocket was dismantled, and the station had begun to

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<v Speaker 1>talk to itself in whispers and look at the sky.

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<v Speaker 1>Captain Baird stood now at the window and looked out

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<v Speaker 1>at the dismantled rocket. He looked, but his mind was

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<v Speaker 1>not on the parts of the rocket. He could see

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<v Speaker 1>from the window. The materials. They're not ours, the captain asked,

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<v Speaker 1>unknown here the doctor said. The captain nodded. Those were

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<v Speaker 1>our instruments. Yes. The doctor still held the whisky bottle

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<v Speaker 1>in a tight grip. They sent them back, the captain said.

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<v Speaker 1>The doctor crashed the bottle hard against the desktop. Ask it, captain,

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<v Speaker 1>for God's sake. The captain turned to face the doctor directly.

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<v Speaker 1>It was a man, a full grown man, the doctor sighed,

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<v Speaker 1>as if letting the pent up steam of his heart escape. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>it is a man. It breathes, it eats, it has

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<v Speaker 1>all the attributes of a man. But it is not

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<v Speaker 1>of our planet. It's speech. The captain began. That isn't speech, Captain,

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<v Speaker 1>The doctor broke in, breaking in sharply, it's only sound.

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<v Speaker 1>The doctor stopped. He examined the label of his bottle

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<v Speaker 1>of whiskey, Very carefully good brand of whiskey. He seems

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<v Speaker 1>quite happy in the storeroom. You know, captain, what puzzled

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<v Speaker 1>me at first. He can't read. He can't read anything,

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<v Speaker 1>not even the instruments in that ship. In fact, he

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<v Speaker 1>shows no interest in his rocket at all. The Captain's

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<v Speaker 1>sat down now, he sat at the desk and faced

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<v Speaker 1>the doctor. At least they had the courage to send

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<v Speaker 1>a man, not a mouse, doctor, a man. The doctor

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<v Speaker 1>stared at the captain, his hand squeezing and unsqueezing on

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<v Speaker 1>the whiskey bottle. A man who can't read his own instruments,

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<v Speaker 1>the doctor laughed, Perhaps you too have failed to see

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<v Speaker 1>the point, like that stupid general who sits out there

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<v Speaker 1>waiting for the men from somewhere to invade. Don't you

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<v Speaker 1>think it's a possibility, the doctor nodded. A very good possibility, captain.

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<v Speaker 1>But they will not be men. The doctor seemed to

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<v Speaker 1>pause and lean forward. That rocket, captain, is a test rocket,

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<v Speaker 1>a test rocket, just like ours. Then the Doctor picked

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<v Speaker 1>up his whiskey bottle at last, and poured two glasses,

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<v Speaker 1>perhaps a drink. Captain. The captain was watching the sky

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<v Speaker 1>outside the window, the end