Part 1 (1/2)
The Cosmic Computer
by Henry Beam Piper
I
Thirty lass front of the observation deck, watched the landscape rush out of the horizon and vanish beneath the shi+p, ten thousand feet down He thought he kne an hourglassout
It had been six months to Litchfield when the _Mizar_ lifted out of La Plata spaceport and he watched Terra dwindle away It had been two ard_ at the port of the same name on Odin It had been two hours to Litchfield when the _Countess Dorothy_ rose from the airshi+p dock at Storisende He had had all that tione, and he was still unprepared for what he must face at home
Thirty minutes to Litchfield
The words echoed in histhat he never addressed himself as sir, he turned It was the firsta Terran Federation space Navy uniforo Once Conn had taken that sort of thing for granted Noas obtruding upon him everywhere
”Thirty ave hie list Valises, two; trunks, two; microbook case, one The last iteer, not at any person, not even at himself, but at the whole infernal situation He nodded
”That's everything Not ers left aboard, are there?”
”You're the only one, first class, sir About forty faro ”Litchfield's the end of the run”
”I knoas born there”
The rinned
”Sure; you're Rodney Maxwell's son Your father's been giving us a lot of freight lately I guess I don't have to tell you about Litchfield”
”Maybe you do I've been away for six years Telllabor trouble now?”
”Labor trouble?” The mate was surprised ”You mean with the farm-tramps? Ten of them for every job, if you call that trouble”
”Well, I noticed you have steel gratings over the gangway heads to the lower deck, and all your crewmen are armed Not just pistols, either”
”Oh That's on account of pirates”
”Pirates?” Conn echoed
”Well, I guess you'd call the'll couns and sawed-off shotguns in their bindles When the shi+p's airborne and out of reach of help, they'll break out their guns and take her Usually kill all the crew and passengers They don't like to leave live witnesses,” the mate said ”You heard about the _Harriet Barne_, didn't you?”
She was Transcontinent & Overseas, the biggest contragravity shi+p on the planet
”They didn't pirate her, did they?”