6 First Contact

Now step into the incredible, amazing future. As we go exploring tomorrow. And now here is your guide to these adventures of the mind, John Campbell, Jr. For many years, a lot of us have been interested in considering the possibilities of meeting other life forms, other intelligent beings from other stars.

Now if there is life out there, some form of life, And remember, it may be beyond our most far-fetched imaginations. If there is life, and we have our own Earth's ships going out, in constant, regular, deep space exploration, someday, somewhere, maybe even out in the gas cloud of the Crab Nebula.

Sometimes, we will meet. Step it up, step it up, the scanner. Maximum. Maximum magnification. Maximum mag. More! More! Sorry, sir. Max is Max. You see? And you see?

Well, visibly. Water it! Water it! Water it! Water it, sir. Step up the scanner. Step it up! Don't you understand? I've got to see! No. According to the reading, Captain, nothing, sir. Sir, Captain, hold it. On the bar, Porter.

Huh? Saller, don't you. 80,000 miles, sir. One o'clock. I know an object changing. Changing 12 o'clock sound collision make ready, mr. Dort nothing sir now I see nothing on the busy place but radio locator here look at it sir up and down

up and down something monstrous monster in size sir making lunatic dashes tortoise at collision speeds then skipping away at the same fantastic speed there I'm not of worship. Here it comes. It goes away again. All on radio locate. Unvisiplateed by eye.

Nothing. Can't detect a thing. How many solar systems in our galaxy? How many? How many planets fit for life? And how many kinds of life could there be? This ship isn't from Earth and it isn't. It has a crew that isn't human. And things that aren't human but are up to the level of deep space travel and their civilization could mean anything. Yes sir.