er against which they were children.

Kramer got out of bed. He put on his bathrobe and began to search for
a cigarette. While he was searching, the vidphone rang.

He snapped the vidphone on.

"Yes?"

The face of the immediate monitor appeared. "A call from Terra, Mr.
Kramer. An emergency call."

"Emergency call? For me? Put it through." Kramer came awake, brushing
his hair back out of his eyes. Alarm plucked at him.

From the speaker a strange voice came. "Philip Kramer? Is this
Kramer?"

"Yes. Go on."

"This is General Hospital, New York City, Terra. Mr. Kramer, your wife
is here. She has been critically injured in an accident. Your name was
given to us to call. Is it possible for you to--"

"How badly?" Kramer gripped the vidphone stand. "Is it serious?"

"Yes, it's serious, Mr. Kramer. Are you able to come here? The quicker
you can come the better."

"Yes." Kramer nodded. "I'll come. Thanks."

* * * * *

The screen died as the connection was broken. Kramer waited a moment.
Then he tapped the button. The screen relit again. "Yes, sir," the
monitor said.

"Can I get a ship to Terra at once? It's an emergency. My wife--"

"There's no ship leaving the moon for eight hours. You'll have to wait
until the next period."

"Isn't there anything I can do?"

"We can broadcast a general request to all ships passing through this
area. Sometimes cruisers pass by here returning to Terra for repairs."

"Will you broadcast that for me? I'll come down to the field."

"Yes sir. But there may be no ship in the area for awhile. It's a
gamble." The screen died.

Kramer dressed quickly. He put on his coat and hurried to the lift. A
moment later he was running across the general receiving lobby, past
the rows of vacant desks and conference tables. At the door the
sentries stepped aside and he went outside, onto the great concrete
steps.

The face of the moon was in shadow. Below him the field stretched out
in total darkness, a black void, endless, without form. He made his
way carefully down the steps and along the ramp along the side of the
field, to the control tower. A faint row of red lights showed him the
way.

Two soldiers challenged him at the foot of the tower, standing in the
shadows, their guns ready.

"Kramer?"

"Yes." A light was flashed in his face.

"Your call has been sent out already."

"Any luck?" Kramer asked.

"There's a cruiser nearby that has made con