Taking off on a routine flight from Alpha 12 to Kappa 4, Captain Guy Enders checks with his crewman to ensure there were no errors “this time” aboard their X-71 spacecraft. The crewman assures Enders, though wonders to himself if he forgot something. About 24 hours into the flight, Enders notices his oxygen falling rapidly. He barely has time to engage the “auto-alarm emergency transmitter” before losing consciousness. He has what he thinks is a nightmare, seeing creatures dressed in spacesuits and sitting on floating discs of dirt and rock. Enders knows that he is experiencing “hypoxia,” a condition causing hallucinations due to lack of oxygen in the blood. One of the creatures uses a device akin to a fishing rod to hook Enders. When Enders awakens, he finds creatures watching him. Enders recalls a report from one space explorer in another universe of similar beings. Communicating telepathically, the beings inform Enders that he is far from his own universe, yet they will assist him in repairing his craft and returning home. Soon, Enders takes off again. He falls unconscious during the takeoff, and sees one of the creatures floating on a disc. The creature describes its race as a type of “spacerat”, found everywhere. On Kappa 4, Enders reports the incident, but his experiences are dismissed as hallucinations. One of the “spacerats” tells him later that humanity is not yet prepared to accept their existence.
Description Taking off on a routine flight from Alpha 12 to Kappa 4, Captain Guy Enders checks with his crewman to ensure there were no errors “this time” aboard their X-71 spacecraft. The crewman assures Enders, though wonders to himself if he forgot something. About 24 hours into the flight, Enders notices his oxygen falling rapidly. He barely has time to engage the “auto-alarm emergency transmitter” before losing consciousness. He has what he thinks is a nightmare, seeing creatures dressed in spacesuits and sitting on floating discs of dirt and rock. Enders knows that he is experiencing “hypoxia,” a condition causing hallucinations due to lack of oxygen in the blood. One of the creatures uses a device akin to a fishing rod to hook Enders. When Enders awakens, he finds creatures watching him. Enders recalls a report from one space explorer in another universe of similar beings. Communicating telepathically, the beings inform Enders that he is far from his own universe, yet they will assist him in repairing his craft and returning home. Soon, Enders takes off again. He falls unconscious during the takeoff, and sees one of the creatures floating on a disc. The creature describes its race as a type of “spacerat”, found everywhere. On Kappa 4, Enders reports the incident, but his experiences are dismissed as hallucinations. One of the “spacerats” tells him later that humanity is not yet prepared to accept their existence.
