The New Cosmos took off on a morning of bright spring sunlight but, instead of immediately moving onto special carrier components, stuck to solar velocities so that they first could make a triumphal tour of the system. Approaching Mars, they were met by a great fleet of commuting liners, rising to greet them with an enormous display of atomic fireworks, and in their circuit of Saturn they were treated to a special auroral display. Then, two days later, the last planet behind them, they moved into hyperdrive, heading for the first node of continuous creation.
Crane made his hundredth re-check and said, "We'll be there in forty minutes."
Outside the nearer stars had become tiny beeps of light, visible only for miniseconds, and only those of the farther reaches accompanied them fixedly on their way. Lowen gave regular two-minute interval readings of structural fatigue. "The electron loss is within one part in a million of estimate—and the error is in our favor. We can proceed five hours without danger."
Fitzhugh beamed his contentment. "So much margin of safety—it's a beautiful universe!"
They established voice contact with Earth on the carrier components and spoke all at once into the receiver as the "Are you all right?" query came: "Never better!" they shouted.
Lowen was the first to pull himself out of their attack of space ecstasy. "We will start sending data following the first node," he intoned. "Twenty minutes to first report."
Then, suddenly, they were entering the area of continuous creation and looked out with awe on the one mystery in the universe that was even greater than that of life itself. The electron loss started to ease off at an accelerating rate, reached balance and finally moved into active acquisition. All around them the latticework of matter that was the New Cosmos was filling up again. They hurried to their assigned stations and intently studied the readings until the ship, as good as new, had passed beyond the initial wellspring.
Crane was the first to notice. After staring, hypnotized, at the master dial before him he suddenly became aware of his hand resting on the console below it. "My God!" he croaked.
They turned to look at each other in horror. "Turn back!" Lowen shrieked.