This etext was produced from Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy, January 1953. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.
A human brain-controlled spacecraft wouldmean mechanical perfection. This was accomplished,and something unforeseen: a strange entity called—
Mr. Spaceship
Kramer leaned back. “Youcan see the situation. Howcan we deal with a factorlike this? The perfect variable.”
“Perfect? Prediction should stillbe possible. A living thing stillacts from necessity, the same as inanimatematerial. But the cause-effectchain is more subtle; thereare more factors to be considered.The difference is quantitative, Ithink. The reaction of the livingorganism parallels natural causation,but with greater complexity.”
Gross and Kramer looked up at theboard plates, suspended on the wall,still dripping, the images hardeninginto place. Kramer traced a linewith his pencil.
“See that? It’s a pseudopodium.They’re alive, and so far, a weaponwe can’t beat. No mechanical systemcan compete with that, simpleor intricate. We’ll have to scrapthe Johnson Control and find somethingelse.”
“Meanwhile the war continues asit is. Stalemate. Checkmate. Theycan’t get to us, and we can’t getthrough their living minefield.”
Kramer nodded. “It’s a perfectdefense, for them. But there stillmight be one answer.”
“What’s that?”
“Wait a minute.” Kramer turnedto his rocket expert, sitting with thecharts and files. “The heavy cruiserthat returned this week. It didn’tactually touch, did it? It cameclose but there was no contact.”
“Correct.” The expert nodded.“The mine was twenty miles off.The cruiser was in space-drive, movingdirectly toward Proxima, line-straight,using the Johnson Control,of course. It had deflected a quarterof an hour earlier for reasons unknown.Later it resumed its course. That was when they gotit.”
“It shifted,” Kramer said. “Butnot enough. The mine was comingalong after it, trailing it. It’s thesame old story, but I wonder aboutthe contact.”
“Here’s our theory,” the expertsaid. “We keep looking for contact,a trigger in the pseudopodium.But more likely we’re witnessing apsychological phenomena, a decisionwithout any physical correlative.We’re watching for something thatisn’t there. The mine decides toblow up. It sees our ship, approaches,and then decides.”
“Thanks.” Kramer turned to Gross.“Well, that confirms what I’m saying.How can a ship guided by automaticrelays escape a mine that decidesto explode? The whole theoryof mine penetration is that youmust avoid tripping the trigger. Buthere the trigger is a state of mindin a complicated, developed life-form.”
“The belt is fifty thousand milesdeep,” Gross added. “It solves anotherproblem for them, repair a