“We’d lose the ship, of course, if we didn’t have a time clock on the drive. If all goes well, the first drive will run for exactly ten seconds. Then we’ll have about a ten-day flight to find it again because it will be a long way from here—straight out!” He smiled. “Of course, if we want to take a small chance, we could turn it on its own primary drive and superspeed it back if all goes well. But the radio controls will be as sluggish as the devil because there should be about a three or four hour transmission delay.”
Along the wall was the bank upon bank of synchrometers, reading every possible factor in the controlled ship. Before the panel were trained technicians, each with a desk full of controls. Behind them were the directors with the master controls, and behind them stood Barden
