into the chambers in pairs twice every second and imploded on the fly by focused
beams of accelerated ions to produce a succession of fusion
microexplosions—miniature H-bombs. The electrically charged, high-velocity
particles released in the process generated forward thrust by reacting on a
configuration of concave magnetic fields, while the uncharged neutrons and
x-rays, to which the magnetic mirrors were transparent, could escape harmlessly
into space. Magnetohydrodynamic windings at the stem converted part of the
outgoing exhaust energy into electrical power for driving the ion accelerators
and the superconducting field-generators. The remainder of the aft section,
forward of the radiation shield screening the drive chambers, contained the rest
of the propulsion system, berthing facilities for the Orion’s complement of
reconnaissance craft and surface landers, and storage compartments for ground
vehicles, construction materials, and heavy equipment.
The forward end of the connecting boom terminated in a large, vaguely spherical
housing, referred to in typically colorless NASO parlance as the Service Module,
which contained the main air-generating plant and other systems essential to
supporting life, plus an independent chemical motor and associated fuel tanks;
in the event of an emergency the ship’s entire tail could be ditched and the
backup propulsion system used to get the mission home again.
Accommodation for the vessel’s occupants was distributed among four smaller
spheres—Globes I through IV—located ahead of the Service Module and onset
symmetrically from the centerline to form a square lying in a plane
perpendicular to the main axis. Rotation of the entire ship about this axis,
coupled with an arrangement for pivoting the spheres, enabled centrifugal and
linear components of force to be combined into a resultant simulation of unit
gravity normal to the floors, irrespective of the ship’s acceleration. A fifth
sphere—the Command Globe, containing the control and communications center—
formed the Orion’s nose, and was interconnected with the others and with the
main structure by a web of supporting booms and communications tubes.
“The god-awful ugliest thing I’ve ever seen in my life!” Clarissa Eidstadt said
as the NASO European Division’s shuttle closed in upon the Orion ten thousand
miles above Earth. “What did they do—copy an eggbeater?” The team had been
scheduled to shuttle up from El Paso, Texas, but was flown to Kourou, Guiana, at
the last moment, because NASO officials had decided not to antagonize a protest
rally that was besieging the El Paso facility. A chemical present in rocket
exhaust had been found to cause cancer in mice when administered for six months
in ten thousand times the concentration measured at the pad immediately after a
launch.
“Oh, I’m not so sure, Clarissa,” Thelma said, leaning back in her seat and
tilting her head to one side as she contemplated the image being shown on the
cabin viewscreen. “In a way, I think it’s quite beautiful.”
“You do? Then I’ll know never to buy you an eggbeater as a present. You might
frame it and hang it on the wall.”
“I’m not talking about how it looks,” Thelma said. “I’m talking about what it
represents. . . . One day people will probably go to the stars in something
evolved from it.”
“How wonderful.” Clarissa stared fish-eyed again at the screen through her
butterfly spectacles. “Say, know what—my kitchen will never look the same again
now you’ve said that.”
Osmond Periera, who was sitting a row ahead of them, turned his head. “I wonder
if, when that happens, we’ll have learned how to imitate the alien star
travelers who visited Earth during the mid-Holocene period. It appears extremely
likely that they navigated by means of reactive, psychosympathetic beacons tuned
to their mental energy spectra. The geometric spacings of numerous ancient
monoliths can be interpreted as yielding a mathematical series that reflects the
corresponding psychic resonances.”
“Now I can sleep,” Clarissa murmured dryly in Thelma’s ear. “I’ve always
wondered about those geometric monolith spacings.”
“That’s really fascinating,” Thelma said to Periera in a louder voice. “Is that
why pyramids everywhere are the same shape?”
Before Periera could answer, Joe Fellburg sat forward in the row behind, where
he was sitting with Zambendorf and Otto Abaquaan, and frowned at the view of the
Orion as it continued to enlarge on the screen. “What is it, Joe?” Drew West