The Quantum Jump Read online

solar system. Know what that means,Reinhardt?"

  "A quantum jump sir?"

  "Right. Leap-frogging ahead of the Reds. Wait till they read the nameColonel John Towers--maybe _General_ John Towers--_General_."

  Brandon opened his eyes. Sirius was turning the sky to gray, trimming afew scattered clouds with gold. As he stared at the sky, Sirius rosewith a brassy glare. Near it he could see its white hot dwarf starcompanion. It was going to be a real scorcher, he decided; worse thanany desert on Earth. He sat up stiffly.

  On the tele-talkie screen, Reinhardt, alone in the radio room, wascalling quietly for Brandon. The bulkhead door swung open and Towerspoked his head through.

  "Knock that off," said Towers sternly, "and take your landing station."As Reinhardt rose to his feet, Brandon reached over and turned off theset.

  Brandon took a deep breath. His head spun and for the first time herealized that he was still alive. He gazed across the shimmering desertto a ridge of scrubby hills. Blue mountains rose up beyond them. Greatfloes of black lava had rolled down onto the desert floor at somedistant time. They were spotted with clumps of gray grass even as wasthe desert. The hills were studded with weird trees standing stiff,branches outstretched, like an army of scarecrows.

  The air of Sirius Three was doing strange things to him. Two of thetrees seemed to be moving. He swayed and sat heavily.

  As he watched through a haze of red dust whipped up by the morningbreeze, the two trees came closer, turned into men wearing desertuniforms and leaned over him.

  "Are you okay?" one of them asked.

  Brandon said nothing.

  "We saw you from our observation station over on the hill," said theother pointing.

  They helped Brandon to his feet and gave him a swig of cool, sweet waterfrom a canteen.

  "I'm Captain Brandon, of the Astro One."

  "Astro One?" The man removed his pith helmet to wipe his brow andBrandon noticed the gleaming US insignia on the front of the helmet."The Astro One left Earth thirteen years ago," the man said.

  "Only four years by RT," Brandon said.

  The man smiled and put his helmet back on his head. "A lot of thingshave happened since you left. There was a war which we won, and I guessyou guys were almost forgotten. And there was a lot of technologicaldevelopment."

  "You mean you had a quantum jump?" asked Brandon parroting ColonelTowers' favorite expression.

  "Odd you would know that," replied the second man. "It was throughquantum mechanics that we learned to approximate the speed of light.While nine years pass on Earth when we make the trip, our RT is meremoments."

  "Good Lord!" Brandon said. "You must have passed us up."

  "Been on this planet for nearly a year," the first man said. "Got men ondozens of planetary systems throughout the Milky Way. One ship went athousand light years out. By the time they come back, civilization onEarth will be two thousand years older."

  "Have you got a tele-talkie?" Brandon asked.

  "Sure," said the first man, producing a set one-third the size ofBrandon's.

  "Could you tune it to 28.6 microcycles?"

  "Sure," the man said again. He turned a dial with his thumb and handedthe unit to Brandon. Brandon depressed the "talk" button. A crystalclear image of Colonel Towers, putting the finishing touches on his fulldress uniform, appeared on the screen.

  "This is an historic occasion," Colonel Towers was announcing to hiscrew. "Open the hatch--and, Reinhardt, be sure to stand by with themotion picture camera."

  "Excuse me, Colonel Towers," said Brandon quietly.

  Towers swung around and looked out at Brandon. The colonel's face paled.

  "I have something to tell you," said Brandon grinning, "about thequantum jump."

  THE END