Part 4 (1/2)

_Blasting pit_: Place from which a s.p.a.ce s.h.i.+p blasts off.

Guarded area where the intense heat from the jets melts the ground. Also used for c.o.c.k-fights.

_s.p.a.cemen_: Those who man the s.p.a.ce s.h.i.+ps. See any comic strip.

_Hairoscope_: A very sensitive instrument for s.p.a.ce navigation. The sighting plate thereon is centered around two crossed hairs. Because of the vastness of s.p.a.ce, very fine hairs are used. These hairs are obtained from the Glomph-Frog, found only in the heart of the dense Venusian swamps. The hairoscope is a must in s.p.a.ce navigation. Then how did they get to Venus to get the hair from the Glomph-Frog? Read Venus Confidential.

_Multiplanetary agitation_: The inter-s.p.a.cial methods by which the Russians compete for the minds of the Neptunians and the Plutonians and the Gowaniuns.

_s.p.a.ce suit_: The clothing worn by those who go into s.p.a.ce.

The men are put into modernistic diving suits. The dames wear bras and panties.

_Grav-plates_: A form of magnetic shoe worn by s.p.a.cemen while standing on the outer hull of a s.p.a.ce s.h.i.+p halfway to Mars. Why a s.p.a.ceman wants to stand on the outer hull of a s.h.i.+p halfway to Mars is not clear. Possibly to win a bet.

_s.p.a.ce platform_: A man-made satellite rotating around Earth between here and the Moon. Scientists say this is a necessary first step to interplanetary travel. Mars Confidential proves the fallacy of this theory.

_s.p.a.ce Academy_: A college where young men are trained to be s.p.a.cemen. The student body consists mainly of cadets who served apprentices.h.i.+ps as elevator jockeys.

_Asteroids_: Tiny worlds floating around in s.p.a.ce, put there no doubt to annoy unwary s.p.a.ce s.h.i.+ps.

_Extrapolation_: The process by which a science-fiction writer takes an established scientific fact and builds thereon a story that couldn't happen in a million years, but maybe 2,000,000.

_Science fiction_: A genre of escape literature which takes the reader to far-away planets--and usually neglects to bring him back.

_S.F._: An abbreviation for science fiction.

_Bem_: A word derived by using the first letters of the three words: Bug Eyed Monster. Bems are ghastly looking creatures in general. In science-fiction yarns written by Terrans, bems are natives of Mars. In science-fiction yarns written by Martians, bems are natives of Terra.

_The pile_: The source from which power is derived to carry men to the stars. Optional on the more expensive s.p.a.ce s.h.i.+ps, at extra cost.

_Atom blaster_: A gun carried by s.p.a.cemen which will melt people down to a cinder. A .45 would do just as well, but then there's the Sullivan Act.

_Orbit_: The path of any heavenly body. The bodies are held in these orbits by natural laws the Republicans are thinking of repealing.

_Nova_: The explosive stage into which planets may pa.s.s.