"What're you talking about?" Jon demanded.
"The stuff to make us unconscious so we can stand five G's of acceleration." Jak looked up in hurt surprise. "What we were talking about the other...."
"I thought we were going to forget that nonsense," his mother said sharply.
"Wait, now, Marci, let's hear what the boy has," her husband said gently. Then, "Go ahead, Jak, tell us more about this."
"This medicine, injected into our blood streams, puts us into suspended animation for several days, depending on how much of the fluid we use. We first take an injection of glucose and other nutrients, of course, then this stuff puts us into deep sleep—slows our metabolism. You said in such a state we could stand much heavier acceleration, Father. Then with this we can beat Bogin."
"What sort of shape will it leave us in?" his father almost raised up in interest, and held up his hand when his wife would have broken in. "Are there any after-effects?"
"The book says the doctor never discovered any, especially after he started giving people the nutrient injections first. He has had people under for as much as two weeks. Four cc's will act for about five days, so I thought we could use that much the first time, at least."
"Five G's would certainly put us 'way ahead of Bogin's ship." Jon had jumped up from the table and had been working swiftly with the computer. "Two such five-day periods—three more days on positive acceleration, then seven on negative—ought to give us a controllable velocity somewhere near Sol. We'd have to compute it more exactly, of course, before we take each shot."
Mr. Carver thought slowly and intently, then spoke decisively. "I believe that this is our best bet, if it's sure. We certainly want to get back first, if possible, and according to our present routine, which is all we can stand as we are, Bogin can beat us in. Besides, he will undoubtedly shoot down the Star Rover if he catches up with it—and you know what would happen to us!"
"Yes, when I checked today he was only about two hundred million behind."