ed out his
lower lip and said, "Gee, I didn't know they went in subspace." He
thought for a moment. "As a matter of fact, I don't think I know what
subspace is."

Barrent and the boy's father smiled understandingly.

"Well," Ronny said, "how fast do they go in real space?"

"A hundred thousand miles an hour," Barrent said, naming the first
figure that came into his head.

The boy nodded, and his father nodded. "Very fast," the father said.

"And much faster in subspace of course," Barrent said.

"Of course," the man said. "Starships are very fast indeed. They have to
be. Quite long distances involved. Isn't that right, sir?"

"Very long distances," Barrent said.

"How is the ship powered?" Ronny asked.

"In the usual way," Barrent told him. "We had triplex boosters installed
last year, but that comes more under the classification of auxiliary
power."

"I've heard about those triplex boosters," the man said. "Tremendous
things."

"They're adequate," Barrent said judiciously. He was certain now that
this man was just what he purported to be: a citizen with no particular
knowledge of spacecraft simply bringing his son to the starport.

"How do you get enough air?" Ronny asked.

"We generate our own," Barrent said. "But air isn't any trouble. Water's
the big problem. Water isn't compressible, you know. It's hard to store
in sufficient quantities. And then there's the navigation problem when
the ship emerges from subspace."

"What _is_ subspace?" Ronny asked.

"In effect," Barrent said, "it's simply a different level of real space.
But you can find all that in your encyclopedia."

"Of course you can, Ronny," the boy's father said. "We mustn't keep the
pilot standing here. I'm sure he has many important things to do."

"I _am_ rather rushed," Barrent said. "Look around all you want. Good
luck on your thesis, Ronny."

Barrent walked for fifty yards, his spine tingling, expecting
momentarily to feel the blow of a needlebeam or a shotgun. But when he
looked back, the father and son were turned away from him, earnestly
studying the great vessel. Barrent hesitated a moment, deeply bothered.
So far, the whole thing had been entirely too easy. Suspiciously easy.
But there was nothing he could do but go on.

The road from the starport led past a row of storage sheds to a section
of woods. Barrent walked until he was out of sight. Then he left the
road and went into the woods. He had had enough contact with peo