<h2 id="c4"><br/><i>ALL ABOARD FOR SPACE</i></h2>
<p>It had already been a wonderful
birthday for the twins, Sue and Steve Shannon,
when their father asked, “How about it, kids—are
you ready for that space ride I promised?”</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_56">56</div>
<p>Sue’s big hazel eyes looked like walnuts as
she stared in surprise. Steve’s blue eyes were
more like plums. Could they really believe
what they were hearing?</p>
<p>“I said I’d take you on the ride when you
two reached 12, didn’t I?” Mr. Shannon went
on.</p>
<p>They hadn’t forgotten and were suddenly
as excited as two young ducks who have just
discovered water. Mr. Shannon looked at his
watch. “We’d better get ready. The next flight
is at four o’clock.”</p>
<p>Less than a half hour later, Mrs. Shannon
was bidding goodbye to the three as they
climbed into the family helicopter on the roof
of their home. In this year of 2004 nearly
everybody owned a ’copter. Mrs. Shannon had
been invited to go along but she said no coaxing
in the world could get her up in one of
those “rocket things.”</p>
<p>The overhead doors of the garage swung
open as Mrs. Shannon pushed the button on
the wall. As soon as the three riders were comfortably
seated, Mr. Shannon started up the
engine and the overhead blade began churning.
Gently the ’copter lifted into the blue
sky and headed out over the city.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_57">57</div>
<p>“I can’t really believe we’re going to take
a trip into space!” Sue said happily.</p>
<p>“Some day I’m going to be a spaceman and
travel to <i>all</i> the planets!” Steve declared.</p>
<p>The plane passed over beautiful triple-decked
highways, over green farms loaded
with scientific equipment and solar mirrors,
over plastic-domed skyscrapers. Presently a
large oval appeared just ahead. “There’s the
space port!” Sue exclaimed.</p>
<p>When Mr. Shannon got the signal to land,
he brought the helicopter down into the parking
lot at the edge of the port. Then the three
jumped out onto the ground. As they walked
toward the main building, the twins excitedly
noticed the busy activity of the field. What impressed
them most were the massive torpedo-shaped
rockets which were half-buried in their
concrete launching pits.</p>
<p>“Where is that biggest rocket going, Dad?”
Steve asked.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_58">58</div>
<p>When his father said it was going to the
moon, a tingle raced up the boy’s spine and
all at once he wished he could be on the ship
himself.</p>
<p>“There’s our rocket over there,” Mr. Shannon
said, pointing to a smaller craft of light-weight
beryllium metal just across the way.
Near the pit was a sign that read:</p>
<p class="center">SPACE RIDES DAILY.
<br/>ENJOY THE THRILL OF A LIFETIME A THOUSAND MILES ABOVE EARTH.</p>
<p>Mr. Shannon got their tickets. Then after
a heart check-up they waited in line with the
other eager sight-seers. Finally the space port
officer took down the chain that held back the
crowd and permitted them to approach the
rocket. They had to cross a bridge to get from
the pit edge into the ship. As they crossed,
Steve looked down into the hot pit and saw
clouds of flame and smoke pouring from the
great jet tubes.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_59">59</div>
<p>In the ship, the Shannons were given couch
numbers in a large room with the rest of their
companions. Then a steward came around
with a special candy which he told the passengers
to eat to prevent their getting sick. Next
everyone was issued queer-looking shoes with
metal soles.</p>
<p>“What’re these for, Dad?” Sue wanted to
know.</p>
<p>She saw her father and brother exchange
winks. “She’ll find out, won’t she?” Mr. Shannon
teased.</p>
<p>As Steve and Sue lay on their soft couches
and fastened plastic belts across their bodies,
their father explained the purpose of this.
“We’ll blast-off at a pretty fast speed and if we
weren’t buckled down we’d be thrown about
and hurt.”</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_60">60</div>
<p>When the moment of blast-off came, Steve
and Sue went through the most exciting experience
of their lives. A loud roar filled their
ears and it felt suddenly as if the bottom of
their stomachs had dropped out. They were
pressed deeply into their couches and they had
the feeling of being flattened out as though
under the foot of an elephant. Then slowly
Steve and Sue felt the awful weight lifting
from them and finally it was gone altogether.</p>
<p>“Ugh!” Sue groaned dizzily, unstrapping
herself as the others were doing. “What happened?”</p>
<p>When she tried to walk, she understood the
purpose of the metal-soled shoes. “We scarcely
weigh anything now,” their father explained.
“The magnetism of our soles is the only thing
that keeps us from floating about like a
feather.”</p>
<p>The guide, who said his name was Mr.
Quinlan, led the sight-seers to a huge window.
The young Shannons gasped in wonder at
what they saw. The sky was nearly pitch black
and filled with more burning lights than they
even guessed could exist.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_61">61</div>
<p>“We’re about a thousand miles above the
earth,” Mr. Quinlan said. “We’re out of the
earth’s atmosphere and that’s why the sky is
dark and the stars so brilliant. Our rear jets
are thrusting just barely enough to keep us
from being pulled back down to earth.”</p>
<p>The guide next said that they would go outside
the ship in space suits. Sue and Steve
whooped in joy for they had not expected this.
Mr. Quinlan distributed space gear from a
cabinet. Then he explained how they were
put on. After the flexible suits and plastic helmets
were donned, everyone turned on his
oxygen, which came from shoulder tanks. The
others looked to Steve like balloon toys inflated
with air and he had to laugh as they
waddled about.</p>
<p>The tourists were led out of a side door onto
a balcony which resembled a large fire escape.
Everyone was told to buckle himself to the rail
by a short length of cord in front of him.</p>
<p>“If one of us were to lose contact with the
ship,” Mr. Shannon warned his son and daughter,
“he’d go drifting off into space.” Sue and
Steve shuddered at the thought of this.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_62">62</div>
<div class="fig"> id="pic2"> <ANTIMG src="images/i03.jpg" alt="Everyone was told to buckle himself to the rail by a short length of cord" width-obs="500" height-obs="680" /> <p class="caption"><i>Everyone was told to buckle himself to the rail by a short length of cord</i></p> </div>
<div class="pb" id="Page_63">63</div>
<p>Mr. Quinlan pointed out whirls of misty
clouds that were called nebulas. He also
showed them star clusters and the brighter
planets. The sight-seers had a closeup view of
the earth that looked like a shimmering green
ball. The guide did his speaking through a
small radio attached to his suit. Each tourist
had a receiver in his helmet through which he
could listen.</p>
<p>For almost a full hour Sue and Steve, together
with the other spell-bound passengers,
took in the splendor of this strange silent place,
the vastness of which staggered the imagination.</p>
<p>“Isn’t this a wonderful tribute to the greatness
of God’s creation?” Mr. Shannon said to
his children. Steve and Sue had to agree with
him wholeheartedly.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_64">64</div>
<p>When Mr. Quinlan was ready to go back
into the ship, he tried the outside door switch,
but the door failed to open. Over his two-way
radio circuit, the passengers could hear a worried
discussion between him and the pilot
inside. They learned that a tube of compressed
air which operated the outer door was
jammed. There was nothing that could be
done about it from the inside. Some of the
women began sobbing, believing they would
never return to earth again.</p>
<p>Mr. Shannon looked at his son and daughter
anxiously. “Keep your chins up, kids,” he
said. “Nothing was ever gained by people losing
their heads. I’m sure they’ll figure out
some way to save us.”</p>
<p>“I—I’m not afraid, Dad,” Steve said bravely.</p>
<p>There were tears of fright in Sue’s brown
eyes but her small chin was courageously set
and she would not permit herself to give in to
the terror she really felt.</p>
<p>“You’re brave ones,” their father said, putting
his big arms around their shoulders.</p>
<p>Mr. Quinlan approached the Shannons.
“Mr. Shannon,” he said, “I’ve got something
important to talk over with you and your son.”</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_65">65</div>
<p>The two listened closely as the guide outlined
a daring plan. He pointed to a small,
circular opening some ten feet above the platform.
He said that if a person could climb
into the opening he could turn an emergency
valve that would double the air pressure and
clear the jammed tube. Since Steve was the
only boy on the platform, and therefore the
smallest, Mr. Quinlan wanted to know if Steve
would try it. Steve felt his heart fluttering
crazily. He was both afraid and excited.</p>
<p>“There’s only one danger, son,” the guide
pointed out. “You’ll have to unfasten your
safety line. If you think you can keep calm,
though, there should be no real risk.”</p>
<p>“What will happen if the job isn’t done?”
Mr. Shannon asked grimly.</p>
<p>Mr. Quinlan shrugged. “There’s not much
that can be done. These suits will run out of
oxygen in twenty minutes and only your boy
is slim enough to get inside the opening.
Then, too, they can’t land the ship without the
risk of tossing us all out.”</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_66">66</div>
<p>Mr. Shannon said quietly to Steve, “It’s up
to you, son. If you believe you can go through
with it without losing your head and getting
thrown from the ship....”</p>
<p>Steve swallowed hard, thinking of the lives
of the others around him that depended upon
him. “I’ll try it,” he managed to say.</p>
<p>He felt his knees go weak when the safety
rope was unfastened from his waist and he
realized there was nothing now but his magnetic
shoes to hold him to the ship. Carefully
Mr. Quinlan boosted him up toward the opening
above. <i>Tick-tick-tick</i> went his metal soles
against the shiny skin of the craft as he made
his way upward by means of special climbing
handles on the rocket hull.</p>
<p>“Keep calm,” he told himself. “A spaceman
doesn’t lose his head.”</p>
<p>He was thankful for the firm grip of his
gloves as his fingers closed about the sides of
the chamber and he pulled himself up inside.
It was a close fit even for him. Mr. Quinlan
had told him that usually the emergency valve
was easily reached from the deck above but
that during this trip the deck was closed off
for repairs and couldn’t be entered.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_67">67</div>
<p>Steve found the valve handle and turned it
as he was instructed. Almost immediately he
heard the deafening blast of many voices in his
receiver. Among the words he heard were,
“The door’s opening!” Steve sighed deeply
and carefully started down again.</p>
<p>But the danger was not over yet. He still
had to be very cautious. This was brought to
him sickeningly when he drew his foot back
with greater force than usual and found himself
weaving backward into space. With a chill
of terror he grabbed a climbing handle and
pulled himself snug against the ship’s hull
again. Finally he felt the strong arms of his
father on the lower part of his legs. He relaxed
and was helped down onto the platform amid
the cheers of everyone around.</p>
<p>The sight-seers, sobered by their close call,
trooped silently back into the ship. A moment
later the craft began dropping earthward, its
jets acting as brakes to check the rapid descent.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_68">68</div>
<p>After landing, the Shannons were called
into the office of the Chief of Operations at
the space port.</p>
<p>“Young man,” the chief said to Steve, “let
me congratulate you for the brave thing you
did.” He offered his hand and Steve felt a
flush of pride as he took the big palm in his
own.</p>
<p>“Such an unselfish deed can never be fully
repaid,” the chief went on. “Tell me, Steve,
do you like space-going?”</p>
<p>Steve’s eyes glowed with stars. “Very much,
sir,” he said. “Some day I’m going to become
a spaceman myself.”</p>
<p>“Then this little reward we have for you
and your sister may help you reach your goal.”
He held out a plastic-sealed card. Steve took it
as his heart raced. It was a lifetime rocket pass!</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_69">69</div>
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