The Wishing Stone by Christopher Pike

Author:Christopher Pike
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin

8

They were in deep space, a few hours off Globar 92, with so many stars that Adam felt as if he had fallen into an alien’s dream. The Fruitfly was not a large ship—the control room was no bigger than Adam’s bedroom. The ceiling of the control room was clear as was the large viewing screen that Fur sat before. When Fur dimmed the lights it was easy to believe they were floating free without walls to protect them from endless space. Adam found the sensation exhilarating, as he did Fur’s explanation of how they would get to Tallas 4.

“We have to move there through a series of hyperjumps,” Fur said as Watch and Adam listened closely. “Hyperspace is a region where the three dimensions of normal space can be folded into virtually no space. It makes interstellar travel possible. Without hyperjumps it would take centuries to journey between stars.”

“Why do we have to make a series of jumps?” Watch asked. “Why not just one huge leap?”

“That is theoretically possible,” Fur said, “but in practice it is dangerous. Gravity affects each hyperjump. That’s why we had to plow away from Globar Ninety-two for as long as we have before attempting our first jump. We needed to get away from the sun and the asteroids. If we had tried to make a jump as soon as we left the asteroid, there would be no predicting where we would end up.”

“Could we have materialized inside a star?” Adam asked.

Fur smiled. “It’s possible but unlikely. Most of space is extremely empty. Probably we would have just ended up lost.”

“So each time you make a jump,” Watch said, “you recalculate what your next jump will be based on the gravitational influences in the immediate area?”

“Exactly,” Fur said, reaching for his controls. “Now get ready, we are about to make the first jump. You might feel momentarily disoriented.”

“I feel that way most of the time,” Watch muttered.

Fur pushed a button and the stars outside suddenly rushed toward them at a dizzying speed. Then magically they vanished, and there was a moment of utter blackness, so deep Adam wasn’t even sure if he was still alive. Just as quickly, the stars returned, but now they were not nearly so bright. Fur explained that they were now closer to the edge of the galaxy, where the stars were not so dense.

“Tallas Four is not far from here,” Fur said. “The Kasters like to hide in places far from everyone else. We still have to make another two jumps to reach the moon.”

“Are they ugly creatures?” Adam asked seriously.

“Not as ugly as human beings, if that’s what you mean.” Fur laughed. “Ugly is a relative term. Why, when you first met me I bet you thought I was ugly.”

“No offense, but I still do,” Watch said.

Fur stopped laughing. “I’ll have you know I have had many dates with women from your planet and most of them were happy to get to know me.”

“Where did you meet these women?” Adam asked.

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