Galactic Dreams

Einstein shook his head. “No, you must remember that you both lived in the world as you knew it. The dynamics of the relationship are far from clear, though I do not doubt that there is some relevancy involved. But that is not important. What is important is that I think I have developed a way to mechanically bring about the translation from one reality aspect to another. It will take years to develop it to translate matter from one reality to a different order, but it is perfected enough now, I am sure, to return matter that has already been removed from another order.”

Gino’s chair scraped back as he jumped to his feet. “Professor — am I right in saying, and I may have got you wrong, that you can take us and pop us back to where we came from?”

Einstein smiled. “Putting it as simply as you have, Major … the answer is yes. Arrangements are being made now to return both of you and your capsule as soon as possible. In return for which we ask you a favor.”

“Anything, of course,” Dan said, leaning forward.

“You will have the reality-translator machine with you, and microcopies of all our notes, theories and practical conclusions. In the world that you come from all the massive forces of technology and engineering can be summoned to solve the problem of mechanically accomplishing what you both did once by accident. You might be able to do this within months, and that is all the time that there is left.”

“Exactly what do you mean?”

“We are losing the war. In spite of all the warnings that we had we were just not prepared. We thought, perhaps we just hoped, that it would never come to us. Now the Nazis are advancing on all fronts. It is only a matter of time until they win. We can still win, but only with your atom bombs.”

“You don’t have atomic bombs now?” Gino asked.

Einstein sat silent for a moment before he answered. “No, there was no opportunity. I have always been sure that they could be constructed, but have never put it to the test. The Germans felt the same, though at one time they even had a heavy-water project that was aimed towards controlled nuclear fission. But their military successes were so great that they abandoned it along with all other far-fetched and expensive schemes like their hollow world theory. I myself have never wanted to see this hellish thing built, and from what you have told about it, it is worse than my most terrible dream. But I must admit that I did approach the president about it, when the Nazi threat was closing in, but nothing was done. It was too expensive then. Now it is too late. But perhaps it isn’t. If your America will help us, the enemy will be defeated. And after that, what a wealth of knowledge we shall have once our worlds are in contact. Will you do it?”

“Of course,” Dan Coye said.

“But the brass at home will take a lot of convincing. I suggest some films be made of you and others explaining some of this. And enclose some documents, anything that will help convince them what has happened.”

“I can do something better,” Einstein said, taking a small bottle from a drawer of the table. “Here is a recently developed drug, and the formula, that has proved effective in arresting certain of the more violent forms of cancer. This is an example of what I mean by the profit that can accrue when our two worlds can exchange information.”

Dan pocketed the precious bottle as they turned to leave. With a sense of awe they gently shook hands with the frail old man who had been dead many years in the world they knew, to which they would hopefully be soon returning.

The military moved fast. A large jet bomber was quickly converted to carry one of the American solid-fuel rocket missiles. Not yet operational, it was doubtful if they ever would be at the rate of the Nazi advance. But given an aerial boost by the bomber it could reach up out of the ionosphere carrying the payload of the Moon capsule with its two pilots. Clearing the fringes of the atmosphere was essential to the operation of the instrument that was to return them to what they could only think of as their own world. The device seemed preposterously tiny to be able to change worlds.

“Is that all there is to it?” Gino asked when they settled themselves back into the capsule.

A square case, containing records and reels of film, had been strapped between their seats. On top of it rested a small, grey metal box.

“What do you expectan atom smasher?”

Dan asked, checking out the circuits. After being stripped for examination the capsule had been restored as closely as was possible to the condition it had been in the day it had landed. They were wearing their pressure suits.

“We came here originally by accident,” Dan said. “By just thinking wrong or something like that, if everything that we were told is correct.”

“Don’t let it bug you-I don’t understand the theory any better. Forget about it for now.”