Eden Read Free

hell of a trench, and I'm not even sure the outer hatch is above ground."
    "We have tools. We can dig a tunnel."
    "And the loading bay?" asked the Cyberneticist.
    "Submerged," the Engineer said. "I looked into the shaft. One of the main tanks must have burst. There's at least six feet of water there. And probably radioactive."
    "How do you know?"
    "The reactor cooling system always gives out first—you didn't know that? Forget the loading bay. We'll have to get out this way, unless—"
    "Unless we dig a tunnel," the Captain said softly.
    "Yes, that is possible," the Engineer agreed, and fell silent. There was the sound of footsteps; sudden light in the corridor beneath them made them blink.
    "Ham, crackers, tongue, whatever you like. Everything in cans! There's chocolate, too, and we have thermoses," the Doctor shouted, clambering up first. He shined the flashlight for the others as they entered the chamber and passed out cans and aluminum plates.
    "The thermoses are intact," the Cyberneticist observed, pouring coffee into his mug.
    "Yes, and the cans held up well, too. But the refrigeration units, the ovens, the small molecular synthesizer, the water filters—they're all smashed."
    "And the purifier?"
    "That, too. We could repair it if we had the tools. But it's a vicious circle—to get a repair robot going you need current, but you can't get current unless you fix the generator, and to fix the generator you need a repair robot."
    "So you've been deliberating, my scientific colleagues? What ray of hope have you to offer us?" asked the Doctor, spreading crackers with butter and laying slices of ham on top. Not waiting for a reply, he continued:
    "The science-fiction books I read as a kid must outweigh this poor wreck of ours, yet not once did I come across a story anything like what has happened to us."
    "Because it's so prosaic," the Cyberneticist said, grimacing.
    "Yes, this is something original—a kind of interplanetary Robinson Crusoe," said the Doctor. He sealed the thermos. "When I get back, I must try to write it, to the best of my ability."
    They began gathering the cans. The Physicist suggested throwing them into the lockers with the suits. The men had to press against the wall so the doors—on the floor—could be shut.
    "You know, we heard a strange noise while we were rummaging in the storeroom," said the Chemist.
    "What kind of noise?"
    "As though something were crushing the ship."
    "A rock?" asked the Cyberneticist.
    "It's something quite different," the Engineer said. "When we hit the atmosphere, the external shield reached a very high temperature. The prow may have begun to melt. And now parts of the frame are cooling and shifting, and internal pressures will develop. Hence the noise. You can hear it even now. Listen…"
    They heard a groan in the interior of the craft—then a series of short, diminishing cracks—then silence.
    "One of the robots, do you think?" said the Cyberneticist, hope in his voice.
    "You saw how it was with the robots."
    "But we didn't look into the reserve hold." The Cyberneticist leaned out over the edge of the platform and shouted into the dark corridor, "Reserve robots!"
    His voice echoed. Silence was the only reply.
    "Come, let's take a good look at this hatch," said the Engineer. He knelt at the slightly concave plate, shone the light along its rim, inch by inch. In the same way he checked the seals, which were covered with a network of tiny cracks.
    "Nothing melted from the inside, which isn't surprising, since ceramite conducts heat poorly."
    "Maybe we should try once more?" suggested the Doctor, touching the wheel of the outer hatch.
    "There's no point," said the Chemist.
    The Engineer placed his hand on the hatch, then jumped to his feet.
    "We need water! Lots of cold water!"
    "Why?"
    "Touch the hatch!"
    Several outstretched hands felt it simultaneously.
    "Very hot," said someone.
    "Fortunately for us!"
    "How's that?"
    "The hull, heated, has expanded, and the hatch, too.