ACCIDENTAL DEATH
BY PETER BAILY
The most dangerous of weapons
is the one you don't know is loaded.
Illustrated by Schoenherr
he wind howled out ofthe northwest, blindwith snow and barbedwith ice crystals. Allthe way up the half-mileprecipice it fingered and wrenchedaway at groaning ice-slabs. Itscreamed over the top, whirled snowin a dervish dance around the hollowthere, piled snow into the long furrowplowed ruler-straight throughstreamlined hummocks of snow.
The sun glinted on black rockglazed by ice, chasms and ridges andbridges of ice. It lit the snow slopeto a frozen glare, penciled blackshadow down the long furrow, andflashed at the furrow's end on athing of metal and plastics, an artifactthrown down in the dead wilderness.
Nothing grew, nothing flew, nothingwalked, nothing talked. But thething in the hollow was stirring instiff jerks like a snake with its backbroken or a clockwork toy runningdown. When the movements stopped,there was a click and a strangesound began. Thin, scratchy, inaudiblemore than a yard away, wearybut still cocky, there leaked from theshape in the hollow the sound of ahuman voice.
"I've tried my hands and armsand they seem to work," it began."I've wiggled my toes with entiresuccess. It's well on the cards thatI'm all in one piece and not brokenup at all, though I don't see how itcould happen. Right now I don'tfeel like struggling up and findingout. I'm fine where I am. I'll just liehere for a while and relax, and getsome of the story on tape. This suit'sgot a built-in recorder, I might aswell use it. That way even if I'm notas well as I feel, I'll leave a message.You probably know we're backand wonder what went wrong.
"I suppose I'm in a state of shock.That's why I can't seem to get up.Who wouldn't be shocked after lucklike that?
"I've always been lucky, I guess.Luck got me a place in the Whale.Sure I'm a good astronomer but soare lots of other guys. If I were tenyears older, it would have been anhonor, being picked for the first longjump in the first starship ever. At myage it was luck.
"You'll want to know if the shipworked. Well, she did. Went like abomb. We got lined up betweenEarth and Mars, you'll remember,and James pushed the button marked'Jump'. Took his finger off the buttonand there we were: Alpha Centauri.Two months later your time,one second later by us. We coveredour whole survey assignment likethat, smooth as a pint of old andmild which right now I could certainlyuse. Better yet would be a pintof hot black coffee with sugar in.Failing that, I could even go for along drink of cold water. There wasnever anything wrong with the Whaletill right at the end and even then Idoubt if it was the ship itself thatfouled things up.
"That was some survey assignment.We astronomers really lived.Wait till you see—but of course youwon't. I could weep when I think ofthose miles of lovely color film, allgone up in smoke.
"I'm shocked all right. I never saidwho I was. Matt Hennessy, from FarsideObservatory, back of the Moon,just back from a proving flight cumastronomical survey in the starshipWhale. Whoever you are who findsthis tape, you're made. Take it toany radio station or newsp