That's why he had taken over the ship and swung outside Uranus' orbit. Mostly to break up the monotonous routine. And then there was Neptune.... The planet had been out of bounds ever since those geodetic expeditions had set out for Neptune over two centuries ago—and never come back. Early space patrols and search parties had been sent into that part of the celestial sphere—only to disappear forever. The planet had become a symbol of the terrifying unknown. Eventually it was forbidden by interplanetary law to stray beyond the orbit of Uranus.
But why? There must be reasons for those disappearances. Who could resist an invitation like that?
"Some day," they said. "Some day. All in good time."
Now was as good a time as any.
But the radio was dead. It shouldn't be. It had a hell of a long range! And the gravity plates. Acting up. He should land somewhere and do a repair job.
Darrel looked at Neptune growing on the screen. He was getting close.
It stood to reason.
Neptune right handy ... and he needed seventy hours or so to repair the plates.
Simple.
Funny about that radio though. All of a sudden, without warning or reason, it had gone dead. And the gravity plates, too. Then that strange, rending sensation when he was approximately halfway of the mean distance between the orbits of Uranus and Neptune. A strong force had seemed to grip the ship and wrestle with it for a few frenzied seconds.