that’s what I am—a hologram.”
“Swell,” Buck snapped. “And I’m a Methodist. But I ain’t never seen nothin’ like that.”
“Oh, I’ll come by later, Buck. The next time you see me I’ll be there . . . in the flesh.” The emphasis she placed on the final words sent a ripple of goosebumps running over Buck’s body.
Before he could say anything further, the PersonImage had faded into complete invisibility.
“Out-a-sight,” Buck exclaimed. Then he caught onto his own double entendre, laughed and repeated it. “Out-a-sight!”
There was a knock on Buck’s door, and the panel slid aside, admitting a distinguished-looking elderly man before Buck had time even to call a summons to him to enter. The man bowed slightly, stepped into the room, and said, “Good day, Captain Rogers. I hope you do not mind receiving visitors.”
“Why should I talk to you?” Buck snapped back. “You’re not really here. I’ve been through all of that with Ardala. I mean, with Ardala’s PersonImage.”
“Oh, I see. Well, I assure you, Captain, that I am really here.” The newcomer walked to Buck’s side and said, “Here, try me and see.” He held out his arm in front of Buck.
The earthman tested the other’s arm and chest with both hands, making good and certain that he was really present and not merely a holographic projection before he would accept that reality. “Okay,” Buck finally admitted. “So you’re really here and she really isn’t. I have all the luck.”
“Welcome to Villus Beta,” the older man smiled.
“Is that on Draconia?” For the first time, Buck’s interest was piqued, not merely in terms of his personal being but in terms of his surroundings.
The older man shook his head. “No, this is hardly Draconia. Although of course we are part of the Draconian Empire here. This is an asteroid, dubbed simply Beta, in the Villus solar system. I believe you are a native of the planet Earth. From your home world, you could locate Villus by sighting along the maximum axis of your own Milky Way galaxy. Villus is—oh, I see that you’re not yet familiar with extragalactic astrogation. Well, never mind, that will all come to you later. If you want it to.
“For the moment,” he strode a few paces away from Buck, turned and stood facing the earthman seriously, “a little information at a time should suffice.
“I am Professor Von Norbert. This”—he made a sweeping gesture with his hands, that might indicate anything from the room where he stood to the entire planetoid—“is where I conduct my experiments. Come along with me, Captain Rogers, and I shall give you a little tour of the facilities.”
Why not, Buck thought. He might learn something useful, pick up some clue to the whereabouts of Wilma Deering or Dr. Theopolis. At worst, it would kill a little time. He had nothing better to do around here, so he might as well spend his time learning whatever he could learn.
The entire city of Villus Beta—its name was an amalgam of the names of the star that gave it light and the planetoid it stood on—was constructed in the form of a gigantic inverted wedge. It stood with its narrow edge pointed skyward, its broad base resting on the surface of the planetoid to provide a stable grounding for its massive weight.
One wall of the city stood against an even more massive natural formation, a cliff of the native rock of the planetoid Beta.
Emerging from the side and base of the inverted wedge closest to the wall of rock were great tunnels. A second bank of these crossed the city at a level halfway from its base to its apex; a thick, level surface had been laid lengthwise along the tops of the later cross-members. The ends of the wedge were open, so that a person standing on the surface of the planetoid Beta would be confronted with a titanic, overwhelming capital letter A.
And the crossbar of the letter A—the level surface that traversed the city from one end to the other—was a single,
“Swell,” Buck snapped. “And I’m a Methodist. But I ain’t never seen nothin’ like that.”
“Oh, I’ll come by later, Buck. The next time you see me I’ll be there . . . in the flesh.” The emphasis she placed on the final words sent a ripple of goosebumps running over Buck’s body.
Before he could say anything further, the PersonImage had faded into complete invisibility.
“Out-a-sight,” Buck exclaimed. Then he caught onto his own double entendre, laughed and repeated it. “Out-a-sight!”
There was a knock on Buck’s door, and the panel slid aside, admitting a distinguished-looking elderly man before Buck had time even to call a summons to him to enter. The man bowed slightly, stepped into the room, and said, “Good day, Captain Rogers. I hope you do not mind receiving visitors.”
“Why should I talk to you?” Buck snapped back. “You’re not really here. I’ve been through all of that with Ardala. I mean, with Ardala’s PersonImage.”
“Oh, I see. Well, I assure you, Captain, that I am really here.” The newcomer walked to Buck’s side and said, “Here, try me and see.” He held out his arm in front of Buck.
The earthman tested the other’s arm and chest with both hands, making good and certain that he was really present and not merely a holographic projection before he would accept that reality. “Okay,” Buck finally admitted. “So you’re really here and she really isn’t. I have all the luck.”
“Welcome to Villus Beta,” the older man smiled.
“Is that on Draconia?” For the first time, Buck’s interest was piqued, not merely in terms of his personal being but in terms of his surroundings.
The older man shook his head. “No, this is hardly Draconia. Although of course we are part of the Draconian Empire here. This is an asteroid, dubbed simply Beta, in the Villus solar system. I believe you are a native of the planet Earth. From your home world, you could locate Villus by sighting along the maximum axis of your own Milky Way galaxy. Villus is—oh, I see that you’re not yet familiar with extragalactic astrogation. Well, never mind, that will all come to you later. If you want it to.
“For the moment,” he strode a few paces away from Buck, turned and stood facing the earthman seriously, “a little information at a time should suffice.
“I am Professor Von Norbert. This”—he made a sweeping gesture with his hands, that might indicate anything from the room where he stood to the entire planetoid—“is where I conduct my experiments. Come along with me, Captain Rogers, and I shall give you a little tour of the facilities.”
Why not, Buck thought. He might learn something useful, pick up some clue to the whereabouts of Wilma Deering or Dr. Theopolis. At worst, it would kill a little time. He had nothing better to do around here, so he might as well spend his time learning whatever he could learn.
The entire city of Villus Beta—its name was an amalgam of the names of the star that gave it light and the planetoid it stood on—was constructed in the form of a gigantic inverted wedge. It stood with its narrow edge pointed skyward, its broad base resting on the surface of the planetoid to provide a stable grounding for its massive weight.
One wall of the city stood against an even more massive natural formation, a cliff of the native rock of the planetoid Beta.
Emerging from the side and base of the inverted wedge closest to the wall of rock were great tunnels. A second bank of these crossed the city at a level halfway from its base to its apex; a thick, level surface had been laid lengthwise along the tops of the later cross-members. The ends of the wedge were open, so that a person standing on the surface of the planetoid Beta would be confronted with a titanic, overwhelming capital letter A.
And the crossbar of the letter A—the level surface that traversed the city from one end to the other—was a single,
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