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<v Speaker 1>Test rocket. This is a librevox recording. All livervox recordings

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<v Speaker 1>are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer,

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<v Speaker 1>please visit librevox dot org. Recording by Todd Ritchie. Test

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<v Speaker 1>rocket by Jack Douglas. Captain Baird stood at the window

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>over the dismantled parts. The Captain want to ask, but

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

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<v Speaker 1>his narroled old hand tied 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 for when ye was alone and waited

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<v Speaker 1>for Captain Bair to ask his question. Captain Baird turned

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<v Speaker 1>at last. They are our markings, Captain Baird asked, It

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<v Speaker 1>was not the question. Captain Baird knew the markings of

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>our paint. Captain Baird turned back to the window. Six

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<v Speaker 1>months ago, it had happened ten minutes after launching a

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

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<v Speaker 1>observation screen. Captain Baird turned away in discussed a mouse.

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<v Speaker 1>The captain had said, unfortunate a mouse can't observe build report.

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<v Speaker 1>My men are getting restless, Johansson. When we are ready, Captain,

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<v Speaker 1>the doctor had said. It was twelve hours before the

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<v Speaker 1>urchin call from central control brought the captain running back

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<v Speaker 1>to the laboratory. The doctor was there before him. Professor

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<v Speaker 1>Schultz wasted no time. He pointed to the instrument panel,

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<v Speaker 1>a sudden shift. See for yourself. We'll miss Mars by

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<v Speaker 1>a million quarter. At least two hours later, the shift

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<v Speaker 1>and course of the test rocket was apparent to all

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<v Speaker 1>of them, and so was their disappointment. According to the instruments,

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<v Speaker 1>the steering shifted a quarter of an inch. No reason

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<v Speaker 1>shows up, Professor Schultz said, flaw in the metal. Doctor

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<v Speaker 1>Johanson asked, how far can it go? Captain Baird asked.

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<v Speaker 1>Professor Schultz shrugged. Until the fuel runs out, which is

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<v Speaker 1>probably as good as never, or until the landing mechanism

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<v Speaker 1>is acted activated by a planet sized body. Course, did

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<v Speaker 1>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 its

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<v Speaker 1>headed to Alpha Centauri. Captain Baird turned away. The doctor

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<v Speaker 1>watched him. Perhaps you will not be so hasty with

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<v Speaker 1>your men's lives in the future, Captain, the doctor said.

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<v Speaker 1>Professor Schultz was spinning dials. No contact, The professor said,

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<v Speaker 1>no contact at all. That had been six months ago.

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<v Speaker 1>Three more test rockets has been fired successfully before the

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<v Speaker 1>urgent report came through from Alaskan Observation Post number four.

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<v Speaker 1>A rocket was coming across the pool. The strange rocket

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<v Speaker 1>was tracked and escorted by an atomic armed fighters all

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

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<v Speaker 1>own motors and gently landed in the center of a

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>You 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, the strange rocket was

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

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<v Speaker 1>The rocket was dismantled in the station begun to talk

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>the dismantled rocket. He looked, but his mind was not

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<v Speaker 1>on the parts of the rocket. He could see from

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<v Speaker 1>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 had the whiskey bottle

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<v Speaker 1>and his tight gripped. They sent them back, the captain said.

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>direct It was a man, a full grown man. The

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<v Speaker 1>doctor's sighed, as if letting the pent up steam of

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<v Speaker 1>his heart escape. Yes, it is a man. It breathes,

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<v Speaker 1>it eats, It has all the attributes of a man,

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<v Speaker 1>but is none of our planet. It's speech, the captain began.

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<v Speaker 1>That isn't speech, Captain. The doctor broke in, breaking in sharply,

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<v Speaker 1>it's only sound. The doctor stopped. He examined the label

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<v Speaker 1>of his bottle of whiskey, very carefully, A good brand

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<v Speaker 1>of whiskey. He seems quite happy in the storeroom. You know, captain,

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<v Speaker 1>what puzzled me at first. He can't read. He can't

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

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<v Speaker 1>he shows no interest in his rocket at all. Now

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<v Speaker 1>the captain sat down. Now he's had at his desk

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<v Speaker 1>and faced the doctor. At least they had the courage

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

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<v Speaker 1>The doctor stared at. The captain has hands squeezing and

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

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<v Speaker 1>own instruments, The doctor laughed. Perhaps you too have failed

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<v Speaker 1>to see the point, like that stupid general who sits

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<v Speaker 1>at there waiting for his men to find somewhere to

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<v Speaker 1>an Don't you think it's a possibility, the doctor nodded.

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<v Speaker 1>A very good possibility, captain, But they will not be men.

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<v Speaker 1>The doctor seemed to pause and lean form. That rocket, captain,

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<v Speaker 1>is a test rocket, a test rocket just like ours.

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<v Speaker 1>Then the doctor picked up the whiskey bottle and last

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<v Speaker 1>and poured two glasses, perhaps a drink captain. The captain

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<v Speaker 1>was watching the sky outside the window. End of test

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<v Speaker 1>rocket by Jack Douglas