Project Gutenberg's The Impossible Voyage Home, by Floyd L. Wallace

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Title: The Impossible Voyage Home

Author: Floyd L. Wallace

Illustrator: Dick Francis

Release Date: June 13, 2010 [EBook #32805]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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The Impossible Voyage Home

By F. L. WALLACE

Illustrated by DICK FRANCIS

[Transcriber Note: This etext was produced from Galaxy Science Fiction
August 1954. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the
U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]

[Illustration]

[Sidenote: _The right question kept getting the wrong answer--but old
Ethan and Amantha got the right answer by asking the wrong question!_]

"Space life expectancy has been increased to twenty-five months and six
days," said Marlowe, the training director. "That's a gain of a full
month."

_Millions of miles from Earth, Ethan also looked discontentedly proud.
"A mighty healthy-looking boy," he declared._

Demarest bent a paperweight ship until it snapped. "It's something.
You're gaining on the heredity block. What's the chief factor?"

"Anti-radiation clothing. We just can't make them effective enough."

_Across space, on distant Mars, Amantha reached for the picture. "How
can you tell he ain't sickly? You can't see without glasses."_

_Ethan reared up. "Jimmy's boy, ain't he? Our kids were always healthy,
'specially the youngest. Stands to reason their kids will be better."_

_"Now you're thinking with your forgettery. They were all sick, one time
or another. It was me who took care of them, though. You always could
find ways of getting out of it." Amantha touched the chair switch._

The planets whirled around the Sun. Earth crept ahead of Mars, Venus
gained on Earth. The flow of ships slackened or spurted forth anew,
according to what destination could be reached at the moment:

"A month helps," said Demarest. "But where does it end? You