Solomons Orbit

Solomon's Orbit, by William
Carroll

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Title: Solomon's Orbit
Author: William Carroll
Illustrator: Schoenherr
Release Date: October 24, 2007 [EBook #23160]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
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SOLOMON'S ORBIT ***

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[Illustration]

Solomon's Orbit
There will, sooner or later, be problems of "space junk," and the right
to dump in space. But not like this...!
by William Carroll
Illustrated by Schoenherr
"Comrades," said the senior technician, "notice the clear view of North
America. From here we watch everything; rivers, towns, almost the
people. And see, our upper lens shows the dark spot of a meteor in
space. Comrades, the meteor gets larger. It is going to pass close to our
wondrous machine. Comrades ... Comrades ... turn to my channel. It is
no meteor--it is square. The accursed Americans have sent up a house.
Comrades ... an ancient automobile is flying toward our space machine.
Comrades ... it is going to--Ah ... the picture is gone."
Moscow reported the conversation, verbatim, to prove their space
vehicle was knocked from the sky by a capitalistic plot. Motion
pictures clearly showed an American automobile coming toward the
Russian satellite. Russian astronomers ordered to seek other strange
orbiting devices reported: "We've observed cars for weeks. Have been
exiling technicians and photographers to Siberia for making jokes of
Soviet science. If television proves ancient automobiles are orbiting the
world, Americans are caught in obvious attempt to ridicule our efforts
to probe mysteries of space."
* * *
Confusion was also undermining American scientific study of the
heavens. At Mount Palomar the busy 200-inch telescope was
photographing a strange new object, but plates returned from the
laboratory caused astronomers to explode angrily. In full glory, the
photograph showed a tiny image of an ancient car. This first
development only affected two photographers at Mount Palomar. They
were fired for playing practical jokes on the astronomers. Additional

exposures of other newfound objects were made. Again the plates were
returned; this time with three little old cars parading proudly across the
heavens as though they truly belonged among the stars.
The night the Russian protest crossed trails with the Palomar report,
Washington looked like a kid with chicken pox, as dozens of spotty
yellow windows marked midnight meetings of the nation's greatest
minds. The military denied responsibility for cars older than 1942.
Civil aviation proved they had no projects involving motor vehicles.
Central Intelligence swore on their classification manual they were not
dropping junk over Cuba in an attempt to hit Castro. Disgusted, the
President established a civilian commission which soon located three
more reports.
Two were from fliers. The pilot of Flight 26, New York to Los Angeles,
had two weeks before reported a strange object rising over Southern
California about ten the evening of April 3rd. A week after this report,
a private pilot on his way from Las Vegas claimed seeing an old car
flying over Los Angeles. His statement was ignored, as he was arrested
later while trying to drink himself silly because no one believed his
story.
Fortunately, at the approximate times both pilots claimed sighting
unknown objects, radar at Los Angeles International recorded
something rising from earth's surface into the stratosphere. Within
hours after the three reports met, in the President's commission's office,
mobile radar was spotted on Southern California hilltops in
twenty-four-hour watches for unscheduled flights not involving
aircraft.
Number Seven, stationed in the Mount Wilson television tower parking
lot, caught one first. "Hey fellows," came his excited voice, "check 124
degrees, vector 62 now ... rising ... 124 degrees ... vector 66 ... rising--"
Nine and Four caught it moments later. Then Three, Army long-range
radar, picked it up. "O.K., we're on. It's still rising ... leaving the
atmosphere ... gone. Anyone else catch it?" Negative responses came
from all but Seven, Nine and Four. So well spread were they, that

within minutes headquarters had laid four lines over Southern
California. They crossed where the unsuspecting community of
Fullerton was more or less sound asleep, totally unaware of the making
of history in its back yard.
* * * * *
The history of what astronomers call Solomon's Orbit had its beginning
about three months ago. Solomon, who couldn't remember his first
name, was warming tired bones in the sun, in front of his
auto-wrecking yard a mile south of Fullerton. Though sitting, he was
propped