by the possibility of escaping total death,
Edwin Dollard fought his way back through the damaged compartments to
the tuberoom. Here were vats of liquid helium, used in Collins engines
to refrigerate the volatile rocket fuel. The helium, Dollard knew, was
in turn kept super-cool by contact with magnetic salts, mostly iron
ammonium sulphate, the magnetic field being generated by the ship's
auxiliary dynamos when in operation, the ship's batteries at other
times.

But if one were to open all ports or hatches, allowing the atmosphere
to escape, the absolute zero space would infiltrate the ship's
interior making it unnecessary for either the helium to cool the fuel,
or the salts to cool the helium. All would probably approach a state
of absolute heat death. And the body of a man, immersed in the helium
vat, would be preserved for eternity!

Dollard laughed. He would defy Garth yet!

He spent the following day in the most efficient of preparations.
Moving about the ship, he posted complete directions for his recovery
in as many languages as he knew. Then, he drew with painstaking care a
series of diagrams that repeated the information in pictograph form.
Finally he recorded directions on sound tape and hooked the reproducer
to an electron eye so it would commence to play the moment the vessel
was entered.

This task completed, he set about to prepare his own body. It was
imperative that the suspension take place so speedily that none of the
animal heat was retained. For this purpose, he imbibed a heavy amount
of alcohol which served to flush his capillaries and distribute
calories more equally through his system.

Next, he gathered wiring and rigged up a remote-control board that
would enable him to open the ship's hatches from sanctuary inside the
tuberoom. When finally ready, he stood by the helium vats, opened a
switch on the jerry-built board and listened to the vessel's
atmospheric envelope swoosh out in the passages just beyond the sealed
tuberoom hatch.

Now, the only air remaining inside the craft was that in the tuberoom
itself.

At that moment, the ship circling the mother planet entered the shadow
of Terra and chilled perceptibly in the absence of radiated sunlight.

Dollard stripped to his skin. His lips were blue and his limbs were
trembling, despite their cushion of fat. He pressed the last button
and the pressure inside the room commenced to drop. He stood by the
largest vat until all the oxygen was