The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Quantum Jump, by Robert Wicks

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Title: The Quantum Jump

Author: Robert Wicks

Release Date: January 24, 2008 [EBook #24418]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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| Transcriber's note: |
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| This story was published in _Amazing Science Fiction Stories_, |
| October 1958. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence |
| that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed. |
| |
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THE QUANTUM JUMP

By ROBERT WICKS

Illustrator Llewellyn

_Captain Brandon was a pioneer. He explored the far reaches
of space and reported back on how things were out there. So
it was pretty disquieting to find out that the "far reaches
of space" knew more about what went on at home than he did._

Brandon was looking at the Milky Way. Through his perma-glas canopy, he
could see it trailing across the black velvet of space like a white
bridal veil. Below his SC9B scout-ship stretched the red dust deserts of
Sirius Three illuminated by the thin light of two ice moons. He looked
at the Milky Way.

He looked at it as a man looks at a flickering fireplace and thinks of
other things. He thought of the sun, 52 trillion miles away, a pinpoint
of light lost in the dazzle of the Milky Way--the Earth a speck of dust
in orbit just as this planet was to its master, Sirius.

Nine light years away. Of course, thirteen years had passed on Earth
since they had left, because the trip took four years by RT--relative
time. But even four years is a long time to be shut up in Astro One with
five other men, especially when one