"I know," said Doug, "but you do know space. Look, Channing, the Solar Queen has been missing since yesterday morning!"
Don whistled.
"See what I mean? What I want to know is this: What is your opinion on the matter? You've lived in space for years, on the Relay Station, and you've had experience beyond anybody I can reach."
"Missing since yesterday morning," mused Channing. "That means trouble."
"That's what I thought. Now if you were running the spaceport at Canalopsis, what would your own private opinion be?"
"I don't know whether I should speak for publication," said Don.
"It won't be official. I'll corroborate anything you say before it is printed, and so on. But I want an unofficial opinion, too. If you want this withheld, say so, but I still want a technical deduction to base my investigation on. I don't understand the ramifications and the implications of a missing ship. It is enough to make Keg Johnson's hair turn gray overnight, though, and I'd like to know what is so bad before I start to turn stones."
"Well, keep it off the record until Canalopsis gives you the go-ahead. I can give you an opinion, but I don't want to sound official."
"O.K. Do you suppose she was hit by a meteor shower?"
"Doubt it like the devil. Meteor detectors are many and interconnected on a spaceship, as well as being alarmed and fused to the nth degree. Any trouble with them will bring a horde of ringing bells all through the ship which would bring the personnel a-running. They just don't go wrong for no reason at all."