Transcript of last entry
in ship's log by crew of
A.N.S.A. Spacecraft Icarus
Recorded 7/14/72 (ship's time)
by Commander George Taylor
"...and that completes my final report until
we reach touchdown. We're now on full automatic in the hands
of the computers. I've tucked my crew in for the long sleep,
and I'll be joining them... soon. In less than an hour, we'll
finish our sixth month out of Cape Kennedy...six months in deep
space...by our time, that is. According to Dr. Hasslein's theory
of time in a vehicle traveling nearly the speed of light, the
earth has aged nearly 700 years since we left it...while we've
aged hardly at all. Maybe so. This much is probably true: the
men who sent us on this journey are long since dead and gone.
You who are reading me now are a different breed... I hope a
better one. I leave the 20th century with no regrets, but one
more thing... if anybody's listening, that is...nothing scientific,
it's purely personal...the scene from out here...everything seems
different. Time bends, space is boundless. It squashes a man's
ego. I feel lonely."
(Long pause)
"That's about it. Tell me, though...does
Man, that marvel of the universe, that glorious paradox who sent
me to the stars, still make war against his brother?...keep his
neighbor's children starving?..."
"That reminds me... where are those snack
crackers...?"
End of transcript.
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