First Man Read online

mittens were too clumsy. He couldn't pull himself back in. Helowered himself farther and stood. He shuffled among the loose, rollingstones and reached down and picked one of them up. Harold was right:they weighed a lot less than the rocks on Earth. He cradled the thing inone arm and stood there.

  Here he was, standing on the Moon! The very first man! He hugged thesouvenir to his body. They'd keep it on the coffee table, between thosetwo awful ashtrays Polly had brought back from Niagara Falls, and whenanyone asked him what was that funny rock lying there, he'd say--

  Orville had been reaching, trying to touch the ship. His hand metnothing....

  Now keep calm, he thought. Don't get turned around. And don't panic. Itcan't be far away. He reached out in another direction and took a step,but still his waving hand met nothing. Try this way then....

  As he turned, his elbow struck the edge of the opening. Maybe he'd beenwaving his arm through the opening all the time!

  He tossed in the souvenir. He wriggled in after it. Careful! What didHarold say about tearing the suit?

  He closed the outer door. As he returned the pressure to thecompartment, the suit became limp against him, and Orville was so weakthat he sank to the floor. He was still lying there when Harold took offthe headpiece.

  "It's a total flop," Orville told him. "It's been a waste of time. Nouse going out."

  * * * * *

  He told Harold about the narrow escape he'd had in the fog. _Fog_ on theMoon? This didn't sound right to Harold. He was fooling with the helmet,scratching frost from the inside of the visor. "Couldn't you get thedefroster working? This little button right here. I showed you."

  Orville knew, to his shame and disgust, that he had been looking at hisown breath all of that time.

  Harold now insisted on going out. Orville shined the flashlight around.He was looking for the souvenir, and he found it, near their feet.

  It was a package carefully wrapped in paper, some of the refuse which hehad thrown outside.

  That figures, he thought bitterly. Well, anyway, I was _first man_. Theycan't take that away from me!

  Harold was gone a long time. The nose of the ship was becoming very coldand the only light came from the luminous dial of Orville's watch. Whatwas Harold doing out there? Maybe he'd snagged his suit and blown uplike a soap bubble. How long should Orville wait before giving up? Heshould have learned how to run the ship, in case of an emergency likethis.

  A distant clank startled him. The ship rolled slightly. Orville reachedout a hand in the dark to steady himself and chilled when he realizedwhat he'd put his hand on. It was the starting switch.

  What was that idiot doing out there?

  Then Harold was back, breathing hard, squinting through his one goodlens. "Boy, what a sight! I'd give anything for a camera!"

  "Never mind that! Let's go! I'm freezing!"

  They were off without any trouble and the dim violet light returned andthe ice on the compartment walls began to melt. When the ship wassettled on course, Harold took off the rest of the spacesuit, pulledsome paper from the glove compartment of the dashboard and beganwriting.

  "It's the official report," Harold said presently. "Getting it all downwhile it's fresh in my mind."

  "Let's see that!" Orville couldn't read Harold's handwriting. "What's itsay?"

  "You really want to hear it? Well...." Harold cleared his throatmodestly and began to read. "'The _Discovery_'--decided to call her the_Discovery_ on account of--'the _Discovery_ was lying on her side in theshade, but a blinding light was coming down from some peaks. It nearlyblinded me! Boy, what a--'" Harold squinted over a word--"'sight!'"

  "Wait a minute! You giving me credit?"

  "What for?"

  "For being the first man."

  "Oh, sure. I mention that in here some place."

  "Just so there's no mistake!" Orville suddenly felt very drowsy. Hecurled up facing the wall and went to sleep.

  When he awoke, he saw Harold leaning against the wall, his glassessliding down, his head nodding. Orville reached over and jerked hisfoot.

  "There now," he said. "Old neighbor. You go to sleep. I'll watch her fora while."

  * * * * *

  Orville felt fine now. While Harold slept, he opened a jar of Rosie'speaches, drank off the juice and dug in with the spoon. It wasn't reallyso bad, not shaving or taking a bath, roughing it out here in space!

  He dug into his coat pocket, found a cigar, but it was crushed. Oh,well. He flung it into the trash. He folded his arms, leaned back hishead.

  They sat at the head of a banquet table, he and Harold. The mayor wasthere, and the college president, and way down the table was the boss,old Haverstrom, real proud to be in such important company. And thegovernor was there and--by gosh! Sitting right next to Orville was thePresident of the United States!

  Someone was making a speech--they were awarding some kind of prize for_first man_ and there was applause and they were waiting for Orville toget up. He stood, waited for applause to die down.

  "Thank you, friends ... all of you ... being no speechmaker ... but I dowant to say right here and now ... no more idea of receiving this greathonor tonight than of--flying to the Moon!"

  That would get a laugh. Then he'd go on and give due credit to Harold,poor old Harold sleeping there, innocent as a baby about such things.

  Why, the publicity angle alone could take up a man's full time. Guestappearances on TV. Getting signed up as technical adviser in Hollywood.But that was just the beginning.

  Take the metal in this ship. Harold had made it out of junk from thecity dump, melting it in a forge he'd fashioned out of an old oil drum.It had to be cheap and easy to make--but you could probably use it foralmost anything. There was your whole metal industry shot to pieces!

  This thing he called a scope now. With a big corporation behind it, Lordonly knew what it would do to the communications setup.

  But the big thing was this counter-grav business! _There_ was where yougot into the big leagues. If Harold could do this with it, think whatGeneral Motors could do! Orville could see TWA, B&O and steamshipcompanies bidding against each other for it. And car manufacturers andfreight handlers--and tugboat owners--and taxi fleets-and the armedforces--

  Harold was waking up. He rubbed his skimpy whiskers, put on his brokenglasses, creaked over to the scope and turned it on. Harold, old boy,Orville thought tenderly, you don't know it yet, but your troubles areall over!

  "What do you see, Harold?"

  "The Earth."

  Orville went over. There was a dark green spot on the scope, brightagainst deep black. "You sure?"

  "Almost positive. That's the only thing that size there is right aroundhere."

  "Well, fine! That calls for a celebration, doesn't it?"

  "Oh, yes. Forgot that. We can open the tuna."

  IV

  "It's about time," Orville said, "that we started figuring out a plan."He scraped the bottom of the can. The tuna tasted fine. He took a swigof pineapple juice and passed the can back to Harold.

  "Yeah, I been thinking about that," said Harold.

  "I've had more experience in that line than you, so maybe--"

  "Do you think mankind is ready for my secret?"

  "There, you see?" Orville laughed heartily. "Now don't you worry aboutsuch things."

  "But look what they did with the atomic bomb. And if this ever gotloose--"

  "Harold!" Orville's laugh was less hearty. "Do you think you could keepthis a secret? The minute we land, they'll be all over us. Thegovernment can impound this ship, you know."

  "Won't do them any good. They can tear it all apart and never find out athing."

  Hours later, they were still arguing.

  "If the government had it, they'd build a war machine and then theRussians would steal it--"

  "Harold! That's Communist talk!"

  "Shoot! I'm no Communist!"

  "You're playing right into their hands...." />
  It went on and on. Then: "Harold--as your neighbor--won't you tell _me_what it is?"

  "I'll try...."

  Orville sat up, tingling. You take gravity, Harold said. What do we knowabout it? Was it like a lot of rubber bands, stretching back and forthbetween everything, or was it a flow, like water? Now if it was a flow,it would have to flow back some way, or else you'd run out, wouldn'tyou? Then if you hooked onto this counter-flow--

  Orville nodded. This wasn't so hard to understand. He felt a littlenervous. "Go on, Harold."

  "I guess it's none of those