HOME IS THE SPACEMAN
BY GEORGE O. SMITH
ILLUSTRATED BY FREAS
Enright was coming home, which should have been
good, since he was the first Earthman ever to go
faster than light. But when he'd been gone eighteen
months in a ship that was supplied for only ten days,
the authorities were just a trifle curious....
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Rocket Stories, July 1953.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Test Pilot Billy Enright looked down at the Earth so far below anddecided that home had never looked so good to any man. He and hisexperimental spacecraft had exceeded the speed of light, he had crossedthe monstrous gulf between stars, and for eighteen months Billy Enrighthad walked upon the earth-like planet of another star. He had drivenfaster, gone farther, and stayed away longer than any other human, andnow he was happy to be arrowing down towards Mother Earth and home.
Mingled excitement and joy tickled his stomach. There would be oneroyal explosion when he called in for landing instructions; he wasgoing to create as much fuss as Tom Sawyer had caused a couple ofhundred years ago when he and his boys turned up at their own funeralservices. For Billy Enright had been overdue for eighteen months on aflight-plan calling for a twelve-hour program. He had probably beenlisted as "Missing" for more than sixteen of the eighteen months.
It would be more dramatic if he just barrelled down unannounced andwalked in to the commandant's office with an air of unconcern. Buton the other hand, the story he had to tell about his flight and theexplanation of his overdue return wanted a large audience whose mindshad already recovered from the first shock. So instead of letting shockpile upon shock, Billy Enright flipped the radio on and called:
"Interstellar Spacecraft One calling Mojave Base, I.S.-1 callingMojave. Test Pilot Enright requesting landing instructions. I.S.-1over."
Forty seconds later—Enright was still so far from Earth that theradio waves took twenty seconds to travel in each direction—hisreceiver chattered into life and an excited voice spluttered,"Billy Enright—where the—er—Mojave Operations to I.S.-1. Look,Enright—we—My God!"
There was an abrupt click and another, calmer voice took over. "CaptainEnright from Mojave. Commodore Hogan here. Are you all right? Anydistress? Hogan over."
Enright snapped the "talk" button and said: "Enright to CommodoreHogan. Good morning, Commodore. I am not in distress. I am in morethan fine shape and glad to be coming in. Please slip me the landinginstructions so that I can kiss Mother Earth softly and gently and walkaway from my ship, will you? Also will you please notify my parentsthat I am all in one healthy piece and that I will be seeing them assoon as I can? Enright over."
Billy Enright spent the next forty seconds wondering what kind of astew was going on down at Base. He made a mental bet that there werewires burning and tables being pounded.
Commodore Hogan's voice came back. "Mojave to I.S.-1. You will land onRunway Nine. Ceiling and visibility unlimited. Wind Northeast at fourmiles. Barometer twenty-nine point seven. Traffic: Luna Three takingoff, one Orbital Station Shuttle in flight pattern. All other trafficbeing held. You will land, Captain Enright, and then you will seal yourspacecraft for investigation and inventory. You will not log in atOperations, but present yourself to the Officer of the Day to deliver