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Tesseract, v. 2, issue 4, April 1937
Page 9
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tesseract 9 COSMOS REVEALED by Lawrence Miller It was in the dead hours of the nite that the [[underline]]Progress[[end underline]] began her first, and only, flight. About midnight I stole cautiously to the hanger that protected the space ship [[underline]]Progress[[end underline]]. I Chose this time to forestall the curious. I knew that crowds, given the opportunity, would flock around the ship, fill the air with noisy observations, and complicate the take-off. There would be reporters and cameramen. There would be a representative of the goldenrod Tobacco Co., wanting me to say I would smoke nothing but Goldenrods on my trip. All in all, I preferred secrecy. At the touch of a button the large, unwieldy doors swung back smoothly. I looked about to make sure no one had been lurking nearby. Particularly, I remember the stars as they appeared that night -- lustrous, winking, inviting. They sprinkled the black dome above me in a bewildering, patternless arrangement. Those tiny points seemed supernally[?] wise. I wondered if they were trying to convey a message to me. Were they inviting me to try to fathom their secrets? Or warning me that the riddle of the cosmos was eternal, and man must not meddle? The sight of the [[underline]]Progress[[end underline]] affected me as it always does, with a sense of awe. It is incredible that I, alone, fashioned that glistening hull of aluminite -- that I gave it that clean-cut beauty of line and appearance of speed and power -- made and installed a new form of energy. The engine was truly a mighty force. Within its intricate depths it could wrench an atom into component parts, and throw those parts to the ether, using the mighty force of the disruption as its power. I felt small. Could it be that I hadn't discovered this power, that I was just a pawn in some incomprehensible cosmic game? I had never made any trial flights. If the ship succeeded, I figured, it could not be improved. And if it failed, it would be a flop. I eased myself rather gingerly into the well-cushioned seat. Many a time I had sat in it, but this was the real thing. This time I meant business. The view, even thru the transparent, curved nose[[?]], remained unchanged. i might have been going on a horse and buggy ride; it would have been more in keeping with the scenery. This set me to wondering what, exactly, I was going to do. If my journey was successful I would prove -- or disprove -- current theories as to the nature of the universe. Was space curved, expanding, or infinite? Does the velocity of light set a limit upon speed? If so, my trip was doomed to failure, for, to realize the dreams I had sent before me into the far reaches of the cosmos, i required a speed many times that of light. My hands fondled the controls. There was at my fingertips power undreamed of. But it was so terrific, so destructive, that I feared to place its secret in the hands of man. I would realize my ambitions and then destroy it. Utterly. I moved the levers as gingerly as I could. As the combination was completed, the [[underline]]Progress[[end underline]], with a mighty surge of power, leapt forward, out of the hanger and up into the star-flecked sky. The nose was pointed directly at the imperturbable moon. Oddly enough, I was regretting that there was no one to close the doors after me. Upward thru the atmosphere the staunch shop bored. While the air thinned, the stars became plainer. They no longer twinkled, they were tiny, clearly-etched pin-points, each one distinct and aloof. No longer were they friendly, they were cold and supercilious. The moon, tho, was warm and friendly. It seemed to grow as I left Earth behind. There were configurations upon its surface, mighty mysteries that beckoned me to turn aside and investigate. Some day, I vowed, I would see for myself the eternal surface of Earth's satellite. But there was something more important for the present. The Earth, the Moon, the Sun, all were tiny specks of matter in a gigantic universe. And I intended to make that universe my oyster! The [[underline]]Progress[[end underline]] fled faster and faster. Off to one side,a thin crescent of vivid yellow came into being. Swiftly, it expanded until it became an eye-searing disk. The giant sun of space emerging from behind the drop of matter i knew as home! Velocity pyramided. I flew like a
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tesseract 9 COSMOS REVEALED by Lawrence Miller It was in the dead hours of the nite that the [[underline]]Progress[[end underline]] began her first, and only, flight. About midnight I stole cautiously to the hanger that protected the space ship [[underline]]Progress[[end underline]]. I Chose this time to forestall the curious. I knew that crowds, given the opportunity, would flock around the ship, fill the air with noisy observations, and complicate the take-off. There would be reporters and cameramen. There would be a representative of the goldenrod Tobacco Co., wanting me to say I would smoke nothing but Goldenrods on my trip. All in all, I preferred secrecy. At the touch of a button the large, unwieldy doors swung back smoothly. I looked about to make sure no one had been lurking nearby. Particularly, I remember the stars as they appeared that night -- lustrous, winking, inviting. They sprinkled the black dome above me in a bewildering, patternless arrangement. Those tiny points seemed supernally[?] wise. I wondered if they were trying to convey a message to me. Were they inviting me to try to fathom their secrets? Or warning me that the riddle of the cosmos was eternal, and man must not meddle? The sight of the [[underline]]Progress[[end underline]] affected me as it always does, with a sense of awe. It is incredible that I, alone, fashioned that glistening hull of aluminite -- that I gave it that clean-cut beauty of line and appearance of speed and power -- made and installed a new form of energy. The engine was truly a mighty force. Within its intricate depths it could wrench an atom into component parts, and throw those parts to the ether, using the mighty force of the disruption as its power. I felt small. Could it be that I hadn't discovered this power, that I was just a pawn in some incomprehensible cosmic game? I had never made any trial flights. If the ship succeeded, I figured, it could not be improved. And if it failed, it would be a flop. I eased myself rather gingerly into the well-cushioned seat. Many a time I had sat in it, but this was the real thing. This time I meant business. The view, even thru the transparent, curved nose[[?]], remained unchanged. i might have been going on a horse and buggy ride; it would have been more in keeping with the scenery. This set me to wondering what, exactly, I was going to do. If my journey was successful I would prove -- or disprove -- current theories as to the nature of the universe. Was space curved, expanding, or infinite? Does the velocity of light set a limit upon speed? If so, my trip was doomed to failure, for, to realize the dreams I had sent before me into the far reaches of the cosmos, i required a speed many times that of light. My hands fondled the controls. There was at my fingertips power undreamed of. But it was so terrific, so destructive, that I feared to place its secret in the hands of man. I would realize my ambitions and then destroy it. Utterly. I moved the levers as gingerly as I could. As the combination was completed, the [[underline]]Progress[[end underline]], with a mighty surge of power, leapt forward, out of the hanger and up into the star-flecked sky. The nose was pointed directly at the imperturbable moon. Oddly enough, I was regretting that there was no one to close the doors after me. Upward thru the atmosphere the staunch shop bored. While the air thinned, the stars became plainer. They no longer twinkled, they were tiny, clearly-etched pin-points, each one distinct and aloof. No longer were they friendly, they were cold and supercilious. The moon, tho, was warm and friendly. It seemed to grow as I left Earth behind. There were configurations upon its surface, mighty mysteries that beckoned me to turn aside and investigate. Some day, I vowed, I would see for myself the eternal surface of Earth's satellite. But there was something more important for the present. The Earth, the Moon, the Sun, all were tiny specks of matter in a gigantic universe. And I intended to make that universe my oyster! The [[underline]]Progress[[end underline]] fled faster and faster. Off to one side,a thin crescent of vivid yellow came into being. Swiftly, it expanded until it became an eye-searing disk. The giant sun of space emerging from behind the drop of matter i knew as home! Velocity pyramided. I flew like a
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