Citizen in Spase. Stories / Гражданин в Космосе. Рассказы. Книга для чтения на английском языке

“And then?”

The captain shrugged. “When we applied for extradition, the authorities told us you weren’t there. Not that they’d have given you up. They’re a proud, independent sort, you know. Anyhow, you’d vanished.”

“Vanished? To where?”

“I don’t know. You might have gone into the Uncivilized Sectors that lie beyond Sector Three.”

“What are the Uncivilized Sectors?” Eldridge asked.

“We were hoping you would tell us,” the captain said. “You’re the only man who’s explored beyond Sector Three.”

Damn it, Eldridge thought, he was supposed to be the authority on everything he wanted to know!

“This puts me in a pretty fix,” the captain remarked squinting at his paperweight.

“Why?”

“Well, you’re a thief. The law says I must arrest you. However, I am also aware that you got a very shoddy deal. And I happen to know that you stole only from Viglin and his afifliates in both Sectors. There’s a certain justice to it – unfortunately unrecognized by law.”

Eldridge nodded unhappily.

“It’s my clear duty to arrest you,” the captain said with a deep sigh. “There’s nothing I can do about it, even if I wanted to. You’ll have to stand trial and probably serve a sentence of twenty years or so.”

“What? For stealing rubbish like shark repellant and carrot seed? For stealing junk?”

“We’re pretty rough on time theft,” said the captain. “Temporal offense.”

“I see,” Eldridge said, slumping in his chair.

“Of course,” said the captain thoughtfully, “if you should suddenly turn vicious, knock me over the head with this heavy paperweight, grab my personal Time Traveler – which I keep in the second shelf of that cabinet – and return to your friends in Sector Three, there would really be nothing I could do about it.”

“Huh?”

The captain turned toward the window, leaving his paperweight within Eldridge’s easy reach.

“It’s really terrible,” he commented, “the things one will consider doing for a boyhood hero. But, of course, you’re a law-abiding man. You would never do such a thing and I have psychological reports to prove it.”

“Thanks,” Eldridge said. He lifted the paperweight and tapped the captain lightly over the head. Smiling, the captain slumped behind his desk. Eldridge found the Traveler in the cabinet, and set it for Sector Three. He sighed deeply and pushed the button.

Again he was overcome by darkness.

When he opened his eyes, he was standing on a plain of parched yellow ground. Around him stretched a treeless waste, and a dusty wind blew in his face. Ahead, he could see several brick buildings and a row of tents, built along the side of a dried-out gully. He walked toward them.