X.
Die-straight, the Orionad flew. On a course tangent to the orbit of Pluto, on and on and on beyond the limits of the Solar System, out to a position almost twice the distance from Pluto to Sol; a distance of 7,180,000,000 miles. And there Maynard looked down upon the globe of another world.
"There it is," he said to Kane in what he hoped to sound like awe.
"I'd never have believed it," breathed Kane.
"The funny part," said Maynard in a surprised tone, "is that this planet is about the correct distance for agreement with Bode's Law for Pluto, which is not met. Wonder why it never occurred to the brass hats to look in the 'Bode Position' all the way around."
"Neptune sort of screwed Bode's Law up," smiled Kane. "It is the fly in the ointment. If you set up Bode's Law and check for Neptune, you find that Pluto occupies that position, while Neptune is in a supposedly unoccupied position. Neptune is an interloper."
"Wonder why he came," mused Maynard.
"Probably got here and couldn't leave," said Kane. "Well, Guy, if nothing else, you've re-established the value of Bode's Law. Proper continuity on either side of a discontinuous section—Neptune—indicates to me that the Law is correct. It is the presence of an alien planet that is the troublemaker."
"Is there anything on that planet?"
"I wouldn't know. Has three moons, though. Guy, how could anything live on this planet ... you're entitled to name it, you know, since you discovered it."