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Shaun went with his father and Zeth Tristotha to help supervise the loading of the cargo. The coach had made good his promise of a profitable trade transaction for the elder Sili in return for his permission to let Shaun go to the Olympiad. And the boy's mother, after listening to Tris's persuasive tale and seeing the hope in her son's eyes, had added her consent.
Normally, a trip to Daydream Port would've been excitement enough, but this time he was going to blast off when the ship departed! He could barely believe it, and found it hard to stay focused on the details of loading and the checking of the bales against bills of lading. At last it was all done, and the shipment of embryos brought by the lab people were stowed in their cryogenic locker. Shaun had a moment then to relax and take stock of his new friends.
"You kids better get out there and put in your day's track work," Tris told the two young crewmen who were also members of the team. "This is your final chance on this planet, and remember that 1 hour planetary is worth 2 in the ship."
The scout turned back towards the port buildings for a final chat over refreshments with his trading associates, and Shaun followed the two crewmen towards a level spot at the field's edge. They'd been introduced to him as Jan Strike and Merl Valarian, both from the planet Torsol, in the Korg Major system. Jan-o, as the first was called, was a tall boy with blond hair that in spite of a close cut still insisted on curling above his forehead. He was a jumper.
"But I can hardly get off the ground on this planet," he told Shaun. "Lucky I wasn't born here, or I'd never have guessed I could jump!"
"You get used to it," Shaun assured him. "Especially if you are born here."
The other boy was shorter, with a lean, tanned, compact body. He seldom complained about the high gravity, but Shaun couldn't help but notice that he seemed tired at the end of each day's practice run. Still, he kept at more doggedly than Jan-o.
"After all, running's your business," Jan-o would say, flopping down for a rest.
"Running builds strength no matter what your sport is," Merl Valarian replied. "A little extra gravity's a good handicap to overcome."
So now the three of them began their running exercises along the track they had marked out for themselves. Shaun trotted along easily, relishing the thought that this was the final time. When next he worked out on solid ground it'd be a different planet, maybe one with a lower gravity. What would it be like to exercise on such a planet, one classed as Terran Normal? Would he be inclined to sail through the air and trip himself up? Tris had assured him there was not that much difference.
"It's the long haul---the everyday drag of extra grav that gets us down. You'll just feel exhilarated and ready to go."
Still he wondered as he trotted around the field beside his two new friends, and when they sat down to rest, he drew up beside them. It was true, he wasn't panting and sweating like they were.
"Dreadful planet!" Jan-o grumbled. "I don't see how you can stand it."
"Don't let him kid you, it's not that bad." Merl was trying to hide his weariness. "And a lot of it's the difference from ship's grav. We only carry just enough to be healthy, y'know. It takes a long time to readjust to any planet."
"Yeah," Jan-o agreed. "And with that slavemaster always after us to 'take advantage of the opportunity for planetary training'!" Jan-o's voice took on the slightly odd accent of the space trader.
"Well, we didn't come on this junket just for the ride. There'll be little practice time when we hit Pevoria. Come on, just three more laps."
"Oh, no!" cried Jan-o. "I'm still bushed and look at him! Fresh as a comet!"
"Well, then, let's have a workout with the discus. Did you bring it out with you, Shaun?"
Shaun produced the thin, flat disc his coach had given him. His fingers curled around it. Already he had begun breaking the records he'd set for himself. Merl drew a circle on the field and Shaun stepped into it and waited as his friend paced off the approximate distances that he expected to cover.
"Watch your form!" Jan-o shouted from the sidelines.
Shaun made several swings, being careful about the placement of his feet and the movement of his arms, as Tris had shown him when demonstrating the special technique of throwing a discus. Then he paused and whistled for Worf. The dog left off his exploration of the field and came trotting up, happy as always do his chore of retrieving. As soon as Shaun saw him, he whirled about and let fly his projectile. It soared through the air in a far more satisfying manner than his stones had done, and Worf ran furiously after it. Shaun whistled a sharp command for the animal to leave the discus alone until Merl had noted the distance. Only then did Worf pick it up and trot back with it to his master.
"Only 175 feet?" said Merl. "You're not gonna break any records today."
"Let him warm up," said Jan-o. "He's just getting the range."
Shaun threw again and increased his distance a little bit, and Worf retrieved the missile in good order.
"You know, I thought Tris was crazy , taking a dog along," Jan-o commented. "But now I can see why."
"You can not see why!" boomed an irate voice behind them, and they turned to see Zeth Tristotha glowering at them.
"You think I'm taking the dog so you can sit on your butt end and let him work? Nothing of the kind. I took the dog because it was the only way to get the boy. Right, Shaun? You two should be out there running after those discs! If you're too tired to run, get up and throw! We've only another hour before we have to seal ship. Here!" He tossed two more discuses out on the field for the boys to practice with.
Worf nearly went wild, trying to decide which disc to run after. But soon the boys were taking turns with their throws, while Tris stood at the far end and announced the results and Worf ran to and fro, returning each discus to his proper hurler.
Shaun learned once again that the trader was a harsh taskmaster. Time and time again he interrupted the boy's throw until his stance and swing were right, and then when the throw fell short after so much criticism, he'd only grunt.
"What's the matter? Gravity got to you, too?"
Finally, he called a halt. "All right. That's all for that. We'll have one final race before we button our ship up. Line up, all three of you. We'll do 800 meters and I expect you all to try to win."
The coach paced off the distance and then held up his hand. "We'll have to do it without the gun this time," he shouted. "Ready! Set! Go!"
Shaun knew nothing about the tricks of running, and he was behind the 2 crewmen at the start. But he found little difficulty in catching up and soon was ripping down the course abreast of Merl. Jan-o, he noted, was satisfied to run a few paces behind. But as they reached the final quarter, Shaun was taken by surprise as Merl turned on the runner's sprint. He seemed to rush effortlessly ahead, and by the time Shaun waked up and put on speed, it was all over. He finished a few seconds behind his friend, who now seemed to collapse and to stand panting for breath, his head hanging, his breath coming in fast gasps.
Jan-o came in a poor 3rd. Tris scowled at him and then gave a sustaining arm to the victor.
"Good boy, Merl!" he said. "You've got what it takes. You'll wallop 'em on Pevoria. But as for Jan-o, I know now. I really don't know."
"Aw, Tris, wait till we reach a normal planet. I can't work against this grav. Anyhow, running isn't my line. I'll make it up to you next place we touch down."
"I hope so," said the coach. "But just in case, we'll improve your between-planets regimen. Now come along, kids. There's no more time for this. You'll want to say goodbye to your folks, Shaun, and get that dog properly settled before blastoff. There's not much time."
He was quite right. The next 2 hours seemed to flash past like light-seconds. Shaun took Worf into the ship and fitted him into his acceleration harness. On Tris's recommendation, he gave the animal a shot of tranquilizer, and after ordering him to stay and wait quietly, he went back to the head of the ramp.
He had dreaded the final farewells, but now he found there was practically no time for leave-taking. The story of the Olympiad had leaked out, and the citizens of Sobillon were elated to hear that they were sending a young man to compete. More than the usual number of spectators had assembled to see the ship take off, and they swarmed all over the field, bringing garlands of flowers which they insisted on personally delivering to Shaun Sili. For the first time, Shaun heard his name chanted by a multitude.
"Shaun Sili! Shaun Sili! Shaun Sili!"
At last Zeth Tristotha stepped up to the ship's hooter and commanded silence.
"What are you folks shouting about down there?" he demanded. "There's nothing to shout about yet. Wait till we come back. Maybe with a few starbucks to our credit. That'll be the time to shout. But we'll do our best for Pevoria---won't we, Saul? Here, take this thing and tell your folks what you're going to do and then let's get off this planet!"
Shaun clutched the hooter as he stood at the top of the ramp, and suddenly the cat got his tongue. All words deserted him. After a few crackling coughs on the instrument, he finally managed to get out a brief sentence or two.
"Thanks a lot. Thank you all. I'll do my best, of course. I don't know much about it, but I'll do my best."
The garlands began slipping down from around his neck and he felt like a fool. He could feel himself getting red in the face and gratefully relinquished the speaker to his coach.
"All right! All right!" Tris yelled. "Now you've seen and heard him. He'll have more to tell you when he comes back. But if we don't get off now, we'll miss our orbit and the office will be forced to recalculate. You know how much they'll like that! Now make way down there for the athlete's parents. They don't want to go along on this junket, you know."
Shaun's mother threw her arms and whispered a few last-minute admonitions. His dad gave his hand a quick, firm shake. And then they were both descending the ramp, to the renewed shouting and applause of the crowd.
When the airlock was sealed, Shaun went to check on Worf's harness and say a final word of encouragement to the animal. Then he strapped himself down and the Vulcan Adventurer blasted off for the spaceways.
As soon was the course was set and acceleration reduced, ship's gravity took over, and Shaun suddenly found his position with the crew reversed. Now they were at home in a gravity to which they quickly adjusted. Free from the abnormally heavy pull of the planet Sobillon, they went about their work with ease and minimum of grumbling. But Shaun was (literally!) up in the air. He had never experienced a change of gravity---not since his parents had brought him here as a small child. When he took a normal step, it turned into a leap. He found himself grabbing hold of things and sitting down suddenly to get his bearings. His new friends laughed, maybe remembering the ease with which he had performed in his native gravity, while they were panting and sweating.
"Just take it easy," Merl cautioned. "You'll get your space legs before you know it."
"And watch it when you pass the salt," Jan-o teased. "We're not yet at the Olympiad and that's not your discus."
Saul was inclined to blush over his awkwardness, but Tris came to his defense. "You'd do well to help the boy rather than criticize him. Remember there's a greater difference for him between ship's grav and native than for either of you young rascals. I never saw him be anything but helpful to you on his planet."
Saul wanted to say that he didn't mind the kidding and that he needed no defense. But each time he tried to explain this, he only made some new blunder which landed him in deeper embarrassment. In a few days he did find his space legs and ceased to be the object of ridicule. Before long it seemed hard to remember a time when he wasn't on an equal and friendly footing wiht the two young men from Torsol.
This 1st leg of their voyage---their new destination was the star Bonzai and its satellite, a planet called Droth---was not long as such voyages went. There was little real work to do, once the course had been set, and as the little ship boasted none of the entertainments of a commercial starliner, life would quickly have become tedious if their coach had not insisted upon a routine. Shaun found that the mornings were given over to study and the afternoon's according to ship's time, to exercise. This was in addition to their assigned watches for ship's safety.
The 1st day, the coach showed Shaun the cubicle that was the ship's library and selected a number of study reels for him.
"Jan-o's going in for nuclears," he said, "and Merl's picked communications, so I might as well start you on galactic navigation. I don't care if you never use it afterward. No boy's going to leave my ship as ignorant as he came onto it. And I don't have enough books for two to study the same thing at the same time."
Saul took the spools and a small viewer and retired to his bunk. His schooling on Sobillon had been pretty sketchy and his dad had permitted him to stay home the past year to held with the flock. Now he found it hard at first to concentrate on his studies.
Exercise, he thought. How can anyone exercise aboard ship? Especially himself, with this silly artificial gravity. He would've liked to ask, but Merl was in the Com-Pit, pursuing his studies there. Jan-o was on watch in the Control Room, and Tris was prowling about to be sure everything was shipshape.
Saul snapped his fingers, and Worf, who'd taken up residence next to his bunk, crept out and jumped up onto the foot of the bed. Shaun ruffled the fur behind his ears, and the dog sighed happily and put his nose down between his paws and sighed again out of boredom. Shaun reluctantly went back to the viewer. Tris was going to get a shock when he learned how little his protege had absorbed in the assigned time.
But it was the young athlete who was shocked when, after a pause for refreshment, they all gathered in the space that Tris had set aside for his shipboard gym. It was a little cabin and the room was almost entirely filled by a remarkable piece of apparatus.
"I designed it personally for the special problems of my team." Tris proudly exhibited his handiwork. "Of course, most of the big starliners offer equipment of this kind, so that the passengers won't be totally paralyzed when they land and have to readapt to planetary grav. It's all yours, Merl. Show our new recruit how it works."
All Shaun could think of as he looked at the contraption was a whirly-cage, a device used by people on Sobillon who made pets of some of the smaller local animals. The whirly-cage allowed the animal to exercise in a small cage. It ran and ran in a kind of wheel and the wheel turned, so that the animal always stayed in the same place. Shaun watched in fascination as Merl began to run and the floor of this mansized wheel slipped past beneath his feet.
"You'll do half your time now and half later," the coach told him. "Meanwhile, I'll get these two started on their exercises. Everybody puts in 5 miles per day," he explained to Saul. "There's a gadget there that tells how much distance you've covered. It takes the edge off the boredom. You'll get your turn when he's finished this lap."
Saul was wondering how he could begin his exercise while Merl was using the cage, but he followed Jan-O to the unoccupied fifty of the cabin and sat down on a bench.
"The cage is all very well," the trader explained, "but we can't depend just on that to keep up muscle tone. It wouldn't do for the team to arrive at the Olympiad and faint from muscle deterioration. Ever hear of isometrics?"
Shaun jumped upon realizing that it was question addressed to him. "I'm afraid not," he admitted.
"O.K> Show him." Tris pointed at Jan-o.
Jan-o sat down on the bench and clasped his hands with his arms resting on his knees. He acquired a look of intense concentration, but as far as Shaun could see, he was not doing anything at all.
"All right!" bellowed Tris suddenly, almost jarring Shaun out of his seat. "Don't overdo it!"
Jan-o relaxed visibly and his arms dropped to his sides. He looked up at Shaun and grinned. "We call that one the Newton," he said. "Opposite force creates opposite reaction, as Sir Isaac said long ago."
"You try it," directed Tris.
"But___ but ____what do I do?"
The coach assumed the same pose that Jan-o had used.
"It's like this," he explained. "We're exercising one set of muscles at a time. These are arm muscles. They're important for you. Follow me carefully and do what I do."
Shaun clasped his hands and tried to concentrate.
"Now push together with your hands. Hard. Push and count....1.....2.....3.....4....5......6. No more than 6 seconds. Now the other way. Hold tight and pull. Count. In your head. Up to 6. Relax. Can you feel your muscles, Shaun?"
Shaun had to admit that he did. He was introduced in rapid succession to isometrics designed to straighten each important muscle in his body. All while sitting still on the bench. When sometime later he was invited to take Merl's place in the running cage, he felt that he had already finished his exercises for the day. But he did not want to seem any less devoted than the other two athletes and he jogged doggedly along, watching the numbers move slowly on the indicator till they reached the two and 1/2 mile point.
By the time all three of them had run the needed five miles and gone through the assigned isometrics, it was time for the final meal of the day. When that had been eaten and cleared away, Tris called them into his private cabin and fired questions at them about their morning's studies. It was conducted in a spirit of fatherly goodwill, but while Merl and Jan-o managed to come up with the correct answers more often than not. Shaun found that he was dismally unable to answer any of them.
"Well, it looks like young Sili will just have to start it all over again," Tris declared finally, closing his notebook with a harsh snap. "Try a little harder tomorrow, boy, and if you have any questions, ask me. Now you've got a couple of hours before lights-out, and the program's all yours!"
The boys filed out of the captain's cabin and into the miniature lounge. Jan-o and Merl started pulling out the table and setting up a board. They asked Shaun politely if he played chess, but he could see that they were anxious to start a game of their own.
"I think I'll go and look in on Worf," he excused himself. "The poor beast must be bored to death."
But when he reached his cabin and invited Worf to come for a romp on the small square of floor, he found that he was too exhausted for more than just a few pats.
"I know what you need," he told the dog, who was reluctant to let go of his coat sleeve. "You need a session with that whirly-cage. I'm going to see if Tris will schedule an hour for you. We don't want you fainting from deteriorated muscles."
Quite literally then, Shaun fell into bed. This trip was going to be anything but boring. Whoever said there was nothing to do in space! Then before he could further consider the matter, the young athlete fell asleep.
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