As the slidewalk whisked them silently past the few remaining buildings
and credit exchanges that nestled around the monorail station, Tom gave
thought to his new life.
Ever since Jon Builker, the space explorer, returning from the first
successful flight to a distant galaxy, came through his home town near
New Chicago twelve years before, Tom had wanted to be a spaceman.
Through high school and the New Chicago Primary Space School where he
had taken his first flight above Earth's atmosphere, he had waited for
the day when he would pass his entrance exams and be accepted as a cadet
candidate in Space Academy. For no reason at all, a lump rose in his
throat, as the slidewalk rounded a curve and he saw for the first time,
the gleaming white magnificence of the Tower of Galileo. He recognized
it immediately from the hundreds of books he had read about the Academy
and stared wordlessly.
"Sure is pretty, isn't it?" asked Astro, his voice strangely husky.
"Yeah," breathed Tom in reply. "It sure is." He could only stare at the
shimmering tower ahead.
"It's all I've ever wanted to do," said Tom at length. "Just get out
there and--be _free_!"
"I know what you mean. It's the greatest feeling in the world."
"You say that as if you've already been up there."
Astro grinned. "Yup. Used to be an enlisted space sailor. Bucked rockets
in an old freighter on the Luna City--Venusport run.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25