To the sons of tomorrow

ILLUSTRATED BY BEECHAM
The Olympus could never return to her home planet; her crew was destined to live out their lives among the savages of this new planet. But savages could be weaned from their superstitions and set on the road to knowledge, Theusaman thought. Or could they?
Baiel had always shown me the degree of respect prescribed in the Space Code. Aboard the Olympus we clashed only once, and that was when I ordered the emergency landing.
You've no right to risk it, Captain Theusaman, he protested.
We can't do anything else, I answered. We're ninety-three million light years away from the Earth, and twenty-five outside the patrol area.
Sir, this star sector is totally new to us! Baiel was standing by the control panel, a tall, thin man in his early thirties. His face was hollowly angular, sun-bronzed and capped with a brush of thick, black hair. He looked away from the sight dome and I saw bitterness and anger blazing in his blue eyes. This is an exploratory expedition, Captain Theusaman. We were sent out to record the conditions beyond the periphery of the Earth charts, and it's vitally important for us to return with the data.
I'm aware of that, Baiel.
Then face the facts. We've blown our dorsal tubes and lost our emergency fuel. Unless we restock with fissionable material, we've no chance of getting back to Earth. You believe we can restock on that unknown planet out there, but—
I know we can. I've seen the spectroanalysis; it doesn't lie.
Not in the statement of data. But—with the best of intentions—a man can lie in the generalization he draws from the data. The spectroanalysis tells us that planet out there has an atmosphere like ours. It tells us there's an abundance of fissionable material in the mineral chemistry. But suppose it can't be recovered with any of the machines we have aboard? If we land, we'll have no chance of rising again.
It's a necessary risk.
No, Captain Theusaman! We have almost enough energy in our functioning tubes to reach the outer fringe of the patrol area. From there we'd be close enough to beam an emergency call back to Earth. One of the patrols might pick it up in time to—