The Flag on Gorbachev Crater

9. Az-Zahra Analyzes the Race

“I have studied once more the matter of the race to Jupiter,” az-Zahra announced to Beckwith a few days later.

He looked up from the library table. “Indeed?”

“Yes. I have been reading much, and I have found that the racing ships are driven by different djinns.”

“Well—”

“I will explain to you. The djinn of the German ship is the fleetest. He is called a hydrogen ram jet. Hydrogen, Sidi, is a very tiny speck of matter, and there’s not much out there in space.”

“I know. Very scarce.”

“At first the German djinn moves only slowly, so he is no able to eat much hydrogen. But as he gathers speed, he begins to gulp hydrogen like a wolf, and that makes him go faster and faster, until he is finally devouring hydrogen like a ravenous lion. Soon he is traveling at half the speed of light.”

“That’s pretty fast.”

“There is nothing faster than light, Sidi. But the German djinn, for all his speed, will not win the race.”

“No? Why not?”

“Two reasons. Long before he gets up to his greatest speed, he must start slowing down, or else he will go far far beyond Ganymede. Before he is really ready, he must start to de… de… Como?”

“Decelerate.”

“Decelerate. His great speed is good for journeys between the stars, but it does not help much between planets.”

“Good point. What’s the other reason he won’t win?”

“I cast his horoscope last night. It says he loses.”

“Interesting. Well, I guess that settles him. How about the French? Their ship uses a solar sail.”

“I know. A sail is of course the most reliable of all. On the other hand, a sail-djinn is also the slowest. No, he cannot win.”

“And then we have the Russians,” said Beckwith. “Their ship is very fast and is specially designed for travel between the planets.”

“Yes, and they’re ahead now. Their djinn eats a thing called antimatter. It gives him fantastic strength, so that he can move the Gagarin at one-fifth the speed of light.”

“Will they win?”

“I do not know. The horoscope is not clear.”

“Well, that leaves America’s ship, the John F. Kennedy. How do we look?”

“Again, Sidi, not clear. Our djinn makes a magic thing called lithium-five, and then he eats it, and it gives him great strength, so that he can move our ship at three-tenths the speed of light. But our ship left the base late, and I fear we cannot make up the lost time.” She studied his face. “This race is very important to you?”

He shrugged. There was no need to explain how important.

“Why were we so late, Sidi?”

He had got it in strict confidence from friends at the Agency. President Mugram was determined that his nephew Robin would plant the American flag. Unfortunately Robin had come down with mumps the day before the scheduled take-off. The flight was put on hold for two weeks.

Beckwith hated poor Robin with all his heart.

“There was… illness.”

She did not press him further.