The hideaway degravity cot in the main compartment had already been pulled down out of the wall by a steward, but its front clamps were not yet snapped to the floor. Jim closed the light beryllium door of the compartment and tried out the cot. He sank down into its cloudlike softness. As he lay there dreaming of worlds beyond Earth, suddenly the front end of the cot swung upward. In trying to scramble out before he was closed up in the wall, he was sent spinning into the air by the powerful spring action of the cot. His head cracked solidly against the metal wall, and he saw more stars than there were in the night.
He lay in a daze for some time, stupefied, not realizing the passing of time. What finally roused him was the sensation of vibrating like a milk shake in a mixer. The floor beneath him throbbed like the surface of the Atlantic Ocean just beyond. Jim didn’t have to be a spaceman to know that the Hercules was about to blast off.
Cold sweat flowed over him as he realized he could not leave the ship in time. The only thing he could do was prepare himself for the shock of the blast-off. He yanked down the degravity cot again, making certain this time that it was clamped to the floor. He guessed that all he had to do was recline on the cot as he had before and strap himself down with the black leather bands and plastic buckles.
He had scarcely done this before the pit of his stomach seemed to dive into his shoes, and he felt that exhilarating “first minute of acceleration” he had read so much about. When this was over, he knew the Hercules had climbed above the bulk of Earth’s atmosphere and was leveling off on a horizontal curve from the planet’s surface. The rotation of the Earth would give the spaceship a final boost into the deeps.
When Jim’s stomach quieted, he unbuckled and attempted to get to his feet. The motion sent him flying up into the air! It then struck him that he had forgotten about the weightlessness of space. Some ships had artificial gravity in them; but because the Hercules was chiefly a pleasure ship, the tourists preferred to “rough it.”
Jim became almost panicky in his efforts to right himself. His forehead grew hot although the cool atmosphere of the compartment was comfortable. He guessed that it wasn’t entirely the shock of no gravity that was making him sweat. He was thinking about his unpaid passage on the Hercules.
“I’m a stowaway,” he thought. “I’ll be sent to jail for this.” He had read about the severe penalty for trying to hitch a ride on a space vessel. This was because weight was critical, and the addition of just a few extra pounds could prevent the rocket fuel from pushing the ship to its distant port, could even cause disaster.
Jim felt his head where he had taken the near knockout blow. There was only a small bump. Who would ever believe his story of what had really happened? Besides, he’d had no business trying out the degravity cot.
While he was pondering what he should do, there was a rap on the door of the suite. Jim slunk against the far wall, dreading to be found out.
“Are you all right, Mr. Bowers?” came a deep voice.