The Invincible [antikvár]

The Black Rain; IThe Invincible moved across the outermost quadrant of the Lyre Constellation. The heavy cruiser was propelled through space by photon drive. It was the largest ship at the disposal of the space fleet based in this section of the universe.The ship's complement numbered eighty-three men, all of them presently asleep inside the hibernation tunnel. The flight distance was suiBciently short that it had not been necessary to resort to full hibernation; the men were simply kept in deep sleep, body temperature regulated so as never to fall below 50°F. Within the cruiser's control centre only the automats carried on their work.Dead centre in the direction finder hung the disc of a sun not much hotter than an ordinary red dwarf star. The moment the sun filled half the screen the space-drive automatically cut off. For a whDe dead silence reigned throughout the ship. The air conditioning system and computers functioned noiselessly. The slight vibration ceased when the photon stream no longer emerged from the spacecraft's stern. This stream had been like an infinitely long sword, sheathed in darkness, thrusting the cruiser ahead through the vastness of space. The Invincible still coasted along just under the speed of light; rigid, dead and seemingly without any life aboard.Tiny lights on the instrument panel reflected the reddish glow of the distant sun that loomed on the central videoscreen. Now the magnetic tapes began to move. Programmed coded strips crept slowly into the intake slots of a series of instruments. Sparks flew from the transformers; and the current flooded into the supply network, accompanied by a faint hum that was not heard by any living thing. Electromotors overcame the resistance of long dried-out lubricating oil and started humming. Their low