Expedition
The following is a transcript of the recorded two-way messages between Mars and the field expedition to the satellite of the third planet.
First Interplanetary Exploratory Expedition to Central Receiving Station:
What has the Great One achieved?
Murvin, Central Receiving Station, to First Interplanetary Exploratory Expedition:
All right, boys. I’ll play games. What has the Great One achieved? And when are we going to get a report on it?
Falzik, First Interplanetary Exploratory Expedition, to Murvin, Central Receiving Station:
Haven’t you any sense of historical moments? That was the first interplanetary message ever sent. It had to be worthy of the occasion. Trubz spent a long time working on the psychology of it while I prepared the report. Those words are going to live down through the ages of our planet.
Murvin to Falzik:
All right. Swell. You’ll be just as extinct while they live on. Now, how’s about that report?
Report of First Interplanetary Exploratory Expedition, presented by Falzik, specialist in reporting:
The First Interplanetary Exploratory Expedition has landed successfully upon the satellite of the third planet. The personnel of this expedition consists of Kar-nim, specialist in astrogation; Halov, specialist in life sciences; Trubz, specialist in psychology; Lilil, specialist in the art; and Falzik, specialist in reporting.
The trip itself proved unimportant for general reporting. Special aspects of difficulties encountered and overcome will appear on the detailed individual report of Karnim after the return of the expedition. The others, in particular Trubz and Lilil, were largely unaware of these difficulties. To anyone save the specialist in astrogation, the trip seemed nowise different, except in length, from a vacation excursion to one of our own satellites.
The majority theory is apparently vindicated here on this satellite of the third planet. It does not sustain life. According to Halov, specialist in life sciences, it is not a question of cannot, since life of some strange sort might conceivably exist under any conditions save those of a perfect vacuum. But so far as can be ascertained there is no life of any remotely recognizable form upon this satellite.
This globe is dead. It is so dead that one may say the word without fear. The euphemism extinct would be too mild for the absolute and utter deadness here. It is so dead that the thought of death is not terrifying.
Trubz is now working on the psychology of that.
Observation checks the previous calculations that one face of this satellite is always turned toward its world and one always away from it, the period of rotation coinciding exactly with the orbital period. There seems to be no difference in nature between the two sides; but obviously the far side is the proper site for the erection of our temporary dome. If the hypothetical inhabitants of the third planet have progressed to the use of astronomical instruments, we do not wish to give them warning of our approach by establishing ourselves in the full sight of those instruments.
The absence of life on this satellite naturally proved a serious disappointment to Halov, but even more so to Lilil, who felt inspired to improvise a particularly ingenious specimen of his art. Fortunately, the stores of the ship had provided for such an emergency, and the resultant improvisation was one of the greatest triumphs of Lilil’s great career. We are now about to take our first rest after the trip, and our minds are aglow with the charm and beauty of this exquisite work.
Murvin to Falzik:
All right. Report received and very welcome. But can’t you give us more color? Physical description of the satellite—minerals present—exploitation possibilities—anything like that? Some of us are more interested in those than in Trubz’s psychology or even Lilil’s practice of the art.
Falzik to Murvin:
What are you asking for? You know as well as I do the purpose of this expedition: to discover other intelligent forms of life. And you know the double purpose behind that purpose: to verify by comparison the psychological explanation of our race-dominant fear of death (if this were a formal dispatch I’d censor that to “extinction”), and to open up new avenues of creation in the art.
That’s why the personnel of this expedition, save for the astrogator, was chosen for its usefulness if we discover life. Until we do, our talents as specialists are wasted. We don’t know about minerals and topography. Wait for the next expedition’s report on them.
If you want color, our next report should have it. It will come from the third planet itself. We’ve established our temporary base here easily and are blasting off very soon for what our scientists have always maintained is the most probable source of life in this system.
Murvin to Falzik:
All right. And if you find life, I owe you a sarbel dinner at Noku’s.
Falzik to Murvin:
Sarbel for two, please! Though what we’ve found, the Great One only—but go on to the report.
Report of First Interplanetary Exploratory Expedition, presented by Falzik, specialist in reporting:
The site of the Expedition’s landing on the third planet was chosen more or less at random. It is situated on the third in size of the five continents, not far from the shore of the largest ocean. It is approximately indicated by the coordinates — and —[8] in Kubril’s chart of the planet.
In the relatively slow final period of our approach, we were able to observe that the oceans of the third planet are indeed true liquids and not merely beds of molten metal, as has been conjectured by some of our scientists. We were more elated to observe definite signs of intelligent life. We glimpsed many structures which only the most unimaginative materialist could attribute to natural accident, and the fact that these structures tend to cluster together in great numbers indicates an organized and communal civilization.
That at least was our first uplifting
