The Colors of Space

"Nevertheless, I want this official," Bart said. "I don't want to be

mobbed when they hear that I have the secret of the star-drive."

The effect was electric. The four Lhari sat up; their white crests

twitched. Vorongil stared, his gray eyes darkening with fear. One of the

Lhari leaned forward, shooting the question at him harshly.

"You did not discover the coordinates of the Council Planet of Ke

Lhiro! You did not discover--"

"I did not," Bart said quietly. "I don't know them and I have no

intention of trying to find them. We don't need to go to the Lhari

Galaxy to find the mineral that generates the warp-frequencies, that

they call 'Catalyst A' and that the Mentorians call the 'Eighth Color.'

There is a green star called Meristem, and a spectroscopic analysis of

that star, I'm sure, will reveal what unknown elements it contains, and

perhaps locate other stars with that element. There must be others in

our galaxy, but the coordinates of the star Meristem are known to me."

Vorongil was staring at him, his mouth open. He leaped up and cried out,

shaking, "But they assured us that among your memories--there was

nothing of danger to us--"

Compassionately, gently, Bart said, "There wasn't--not that they knew

about, Vorongil. I didn't realize it myself. I might never have

remembered seeing a mineral that was of a color not found in the

spectrum. Certainly, a memory like that meant nothing to the Lhari

medics who emptied out my mind and turned over all my thoughts. You

Lhari can't see color at all.

"So no one but I saw the color of the mineral in the cave; you Lhari

yourselves don't know that your fuel looks unlike anything else in the

universe. You never cared to find out how your world looked to your

Mentorians. So your medics never questioned my memories of an eighth

color. To you, it's just another shade of gray, but under a light strong

enough to blind any but Mentorian eyes, it takes on a special color--"

The conference broke up in disorder, the four Lhari clustering together

in a furious babble, then hastily leaving the room. Bart stood waiting,

feeling empty and cold. Vorongil's stare baffled him with unreadable

emotion.

"You fool, you unspeakable young idiot!" Raynor One groaned. "Why did

you blurt it out like that before every news media in the galaxy? Why,

we could have had a monopoly on the star-drive--Eight Colors and Vega

Interplanet!" As he saw the men of the press approaching with their

microphones, lights, cameras and TV equipment, he gripped Bart urgently

by the arm.