“You’ll certainly be much more comfortable than Jonah,” said Sullivan. “There is no evidence that he was provided with electric light or sanitation. But you’ll need a lot of provisions, and I see you’re taking oxygen. Can you take enough for a two months’ voyage in such a small space?”. He stubbed his finger on the careful sketches which Jan had laid on the table. The microscope acted as a paper weight at one end, the skull of some improbable fish held down the other.
“I hope the oxygen isn’t necessary,” said Jan. ’We know that they can breathe our atmosphere, but they don’t seem to like it very much and I might not be able to manage theirs at all. As for the supply situation, using narcosamine solves that. It’s perfectly safe. When we’re under way, I’ll take a shot that will knock me out for six weeks, plus or minus a few days. I’ll be nearly there by then. Actually, it wasn’t the food and oxygen that was worrying me, so much as the boredom.”
Professor Sullivan nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, narcosamine is safe enough, and can be calibrated fairly accurately. But mind you’ve got plenty of food handy — you’ll be ravening when you wake up, and as weak as a kitten. Suppose you starved to death because you hadn’t the strength to use a can-opener?”
“I’d thought of that,” said Jan, a little hurt. “I’ll work up through sugar and chocolate in the usual way.”
“Good: I’m glad to see that you’ve been into the problem thoroughly, and aren’t treating it like some stunt you can back out of if you don’t like the way it’s going. It’s your life you’re playing with, but I’d hate to feel I was helping you to commit suicide.”
He picked up the skull and lifted it absentmindedly in his bands. Jan grabbed the plan to prevent it rolling up.
“Luckily,” continued Professor Sullivan, “the equipment you need is all fairly standard, and our shop can put it together in a few weeks. And if you decide to change your mind—”
“I won’t,” said Jan.
“… I’ve considered all the risks I’m taking, and there seems to be no flaw in the plan. At the end of six weeks I’ll emerge like any other stowaway and give myself up. By then — in my time, remember — the journey will be nearly over. We will be about to land on the world of the Overlords.
“Of course, what happens then is up to them. Probably I’ll be sent home on the next ship — but at least I can expect to see something. I’ve got a four millimetre camera and thousands of metres of film: it won’t be my fault if I can’t use it. Even at the worst, I’ll have proved that man can’t be kept in quarantine forever. I’ll have created a precedent that will compel Karellen to take some action.