,the ,deep ,space ,scrolls ,by ,,robert ,f4 ,,young ,illustrated by ,,schelling ,robert ,f4 ,young1 who has so felicitously mined the fields of mythology for sf themes1 poses a question about one of our most basic racial memories--and about the nature of our concept of ,god4 ,transcriber's ,note3 ,this etext was produced from ,amazing ,stories ,may #aifc ,extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the ,u4,s4 copyright on this publication was renewed4 ,following is a transcript of the closed hearing conducted ,june #ah1 #aifi by the ,special ,senate ,committee to ,survey ,space ,progress4 ,committee chairman3 ,senator ,larch4 ,committee members in attendance3 ,senators ,kuell1 ,nicholson1 and ,hewlett4 ,witness3 ,lieutenant ,colonel ,willard ,s4 ,greaves1 companion-pilot of the ,camaraderie #ag4 ,,transcripts3 ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,before getting down to the business on hand1 ,colonel ,greaves1 ,i would like to congratulate you on behalf of my colleagues and myself on your participation in last week's successful orbital flight of the ,camaraderie #ag4 ,yours and ,commander ,perkins' achievement stands out as a glowing landmark on the perilous path which this country is blazing into space4 ,also1 ,i would like to point out to you that the governing principle behind this committee since its inception one year and three months ago has not been to bury astronauts but to praise them1 and that the present investigation is not intended to cast umbrage upon your integrity but to clarify certain aspects of your experience that both we and the public-at-large have found confusing4 ,now1 to proceed3 ,you and ,commander ,perkins lifted out of ,new ,canaveral in the supercapsule ,camaraderie #ag at #jfei hours on the tenth of ,june1 #aifi1 and began a three-orbit flight the apogee of which was approximately #a1djj miles1 the perigee of which was approximately #a1bij miles1 and the purpose of which was to test your reactions to deep space--that is1 space beyond the perimeter of the orbital flights thus far undertaken--preparatory to the launching of the first manned moon-vehicle4 ,is that correct1 ,colonel ,greaves8 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,that is correct4 ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,exactly when and where during this three-orbit flight did you and ,commander ,perkins first sight the ghost ship1 colonel8 ,,sen4 ,,hewlett3 ,may ,i interpose a word at this point1 ,senator ,larch8 ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,please do so1 ,senator ,hewlett4 ,,sen4 ,,hewlett3 ,thank you4 ,it is my opinion1 senator1 that in referring to the ship boarded by ,colonel ,greaves as a 'ghost ship' we are lending too large an ear to the somewhat sensational nomenclature with which the press has discolored the incident1 and are peradventure implying official sanction to irresponsible reporting4 ,therefore1 ,i recommend that in the future1 or until such time as evidence justifies a more specific appellation1 we allude to the object in question by the designation first accorded it by the officials at ,new ,canaveral3 ',spaceship ,x'4 ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,very well1 senator4 ,i will repeat the question3 ,exactly when and where during this three-orbit flight1 ,colonel ,greaves1 did you and ,commander ,perkins first sight ,spaceship ,x8 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,on the first pass1 just after we reported in to central control via the ,australian relay station4 ,in accordance with instructions1 ,perk--,commander ,perkins1 that is--had taken the capsule off automatic attitude control and begun an experimental series of rolls1 pitches1 and yaws on manual control4 ,we had no idea of the--of ,spaceship ,x's presence till it appeared suddenly upon the periscope screen4 ,instantly ,perk stabilized the capsule in its present attitude and began making the minute attitudinal adjustments necessary to keep the image on the screen4 ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,what was the position of the ship with relation to the ,camaraderie #ag8 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,it was about half a mile 'above' and behind us1 and slightly to the north of our trajectory4 ,we saw at once that it was gradually overtaking us and that we were gradually rising to meet it4 ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,and the implications of these factors were8-- ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,that ,spaceship ,x was traveling at a greater velocity than the ,camaraderie #ag1 and that its orbit considerably exceeded our own4 ,however1 owing to the eccentricity of our orbit1 the two trajectories were approaching1 and would parallel each other before1 during1 and slightly after apogee1 during which time the two spacecraft would be close enough to each other to permit a boarding attempt4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,will you describe ,spaceship ,x for us1 ,colonel ,greaves8 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,yes4 ,it was roughly cylindrical in shape1 and constructed of a dead-black1 nonreflective metal4 ,only one viewport was visible to us--a small one just aft of the lock--and this viewport proved to be the only one the ship possessed4 ,perk and ,i estimated the vessel's length at about five hundred feet1 its breadth at about eighty-five feet1 and its depth--as ,i said1 it was only roughly cylindrical--at about fifty feet4 ,in view of later developments1 ,i think it safe to say that these estimates were close to being one-hundred percent correct4 ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,are you positive that they are your original estimates1 colonel8 ,are you certain that you did not revise them in order to substantiate the conclusion you arrived at after boarding the vessel8 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,those are our original estimates4 ,,sen4 ,,kuell3 ,senator1 may ,i have a word8 ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,please proceed1 ,senator ,kuell4 ,,sen4 ,,kuell3 ,colonel ,greaves1 ,i'm sure you realize what a grave bearing yours and ,commander ,perkins' discovery can have upon religious beliefs throughout the world should the conclusion you arrived at prove to be correct4 ,therefore1 ,i'm sure that you won't take it amiss if ,i press this matter of dimensions a bit further4 ,now a cubit1 as all of us present are well aware of1 represents the length of the human arm from the end of the middle finger to the elbow--a matter of from eighteen to twenty-two inches4 ,we have1 in other words1 a variation of five inches4 ,hence three hundred cubits1 broken down into feet1 varies from four hundred and fifty feet to five hundred and fifty feet2 fifty cubits1 broken down into feet1 varies from seventy-five feet to ninety-one and one half feet2 and thirty cubits1 broken down into feet1 varies from forty-five feet to fifty-five feet4 ,now1 if we calculate the average of each of these sets of figures1 we arrive at the following dimensions3 length--five hundred feet2 breadth--eighty-three and one fourth feet2 and depth or height--fifty feet4 ,does it not strike you as being highly significant1 ,colonel ,greaves1 that yours and ,commander ,perkins' estimates should have thus fortuitously approximated--and two cases actually have coincided with--these figures1 and isn't it reasonable to assume that you revised your true original estimates so that they would accord with your subsequent theory as to the nature of ,spaceship ,x1 and that the actual dimensions of ,spaceship ,x may be altogether different from those which you ascribe to it8 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,again1 ,i can only say that the estimates ,i gave you were our original estimates4 ,we had no need to revise them and we would not have revised them even if the need had arisen4 ,,sen4 ,,kuell3 ,then why weren't they radioed back to central control coincidentally with your announcement that you had sighted--and ,i use your own words--'what appears to be a spaceship of stupendous proportions'8 ,why were they withheld until after you had re-boarded the ,camaraderie #ag8 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,they were not withheld in the sense that you imply4 ,perk and ,i simply decided that it would be better to wait until we approached ,spaceship ,x more closely before radioing in a detailed description1 but when the time came1 we were so busy making preparations for boarding that we forgot the matter completely4 ,,sen4 ,,kuell3 ,thank you1 colonel4 ,please proceed with your questioning1 ,senator ,larch4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,tell me1 ,colonel ,greaves--why were you and ,commander ,perkins so determined to board ,spaceship ,x8 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,because we knew that this would be our only chance4 ,the difference in the two orbits was such that the forthcoming juxtaposition of the two craft could not occur again for weeks and possibly months and consequently could not occur again at all since our flight was limited to three orbits4 ,in addition1 there was the strong possibility that ,spaceship ,x1 owing to the nonreflective nature of the metal of which it was constructed1 might never be relocated4 ,it had1 after all1 gone undetected up till now4 ,we felt that the situation had all of the earmarks of a heaven-sent opportunity1 and that it would be a shame not to take advantage of it4 ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,did it not occur to you that the vessel might be an advanced ,vostok model of some kind1 and that it might be manned8 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,we knew without even having to discuss the matter that while the ,russians would have been capable of building such a ship1 launching it with their present boosters would have been out of the question4 ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,but it did occur to you that the vessel might be manned by1 shall we say1 extra-terrestrial intelligences8 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,yes it did4 ,as a matter of fact1 we were convinced that it must be manned by beings of some sort--until we got close enough to see the meteor holes in the hull4 ,we knew then that while it might once have been manned1 it was manned no more--save1 perhaps1 by dead men4 ,we also knew that in order for it to have suffered that many meteor penetrations1 it must have been in space for millennia4 ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,you assumed this latter contingency--isn't that what you mean1 colonel8 ,you couldn't possibly have known it for a certainty4 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,granted4 ,but later developments bore us out4 ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,let's get down to those later developments1 shall we8 ,suppose we start from the moment you radioed the news of your discovery back to central control4 ,what did you do then8 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,we estimated when juxtaposition would occur and how long it would endure1 then radioed the information back to central control together with the information that this was the only time during our flight that it could occur4 ,finally we requested permission for one of us to board the other craft4 ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,i understand that you stated that in view of the fact that the ship was unmanned and that its attitude was relatively stable1 the danger involved would be negligible4 ,was this entirely true1 colonel8 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,entirely4 ,as you know1 senator1 orbital rendezvous have been achieved many times1 both by this country and by the ,soviet ,union1 and in several instances actual transference has taken place4 ,the instance in question seems dangerous merely because the rendezvous was fortuitous rather than planned4 ,fortuitous or not1 however1 it posed no unusual problems1 and there were two possible means of entry virtually staring us in the face4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,during your press interview1 you referred to one of these entry points as a 'boat bay'4 ,will you elaborate further8 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,yes4 ,it was a large recessed area in the hull where the auxiliary craft used by the passengers and the crew when they disembarked had been moored4 ,a lock gave onto this area1 and ,i was reasonably certain that ,i could burn my way into the ship with the small acetylene torch that was part of the ,camaraderie #ag's hardware4 ,this seems a rather naive assumption on my part in the light of the analysis of the fragment of metal ,i brought back1 but ,i had no way of knowing at the time that the hull1 however susceptible it might be to meteors1 was utterly impervious in a number of other respects4 ,in any event1 as matters turned out ,i didn't have to use the torch1 for the boat-bay lock had been improperly sealed by the last person to disembark4 ,,sen4 ,,nicholson3 ,senator ,larch1 ,i would like to have the floor for a few moments4 ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,very well1 ,senator ,nicholson4 ,,sen4 ,,nicholson3 ,to return to this sample piece of metal you brought back with you1 ,colonel ,greaves3 ,during your press interview you described it as 'a fragment of gopherwood'4 ,in all honesty1 colonel1 don't you think that this was a rather flippant and ill-considered remark1 and that by making it1 you lent undue credence to what was--and is--at best1 an exceedingly tenuous theory8 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,i do not consider the remark to have been either flippant or ill-considered4 ,i was asked what ,i thought the metal was1 and ,i gave an honest answer4 ,furthermore1 my immediate superiors agree with me4 ,gopherwood has never been identified1 and the term could very well refer to the alloy that went into the construction of ,spaceship ,x4 ,,sen4 ,,nicholson3 ,i shudder to think of the blow our international prestige will receive should the scrolls you brought back with you fail to validate your conclusions4 ,our space program will become the laughingstock of the entire world4 ,i simply cannot understand why greater secrecy was not employed in this matter4 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,too much of the story had already been made public through radio and television coverage to make denying it practicable4 ,in any event1 ,i'm certain that the scrolls will provide the necessary proof4 ,according to ,dr4 ,noyes1 they contain similarities to one of the early ,mediterranean alphabets1 and this certainly suggests that the descendants of whoever wrote them must have had something to do with the development of that alphabet4 ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,do you have any further questions1 ,senator ,nicholson8 ,,sen4 ,,nicholson3 ,not for the moment--no4 ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,i will proceed then4 ,you and ,commander ,perkins are of equal rank1 ,colonel ,greaves4 ,may ,i ask how you ascertained which of you would do the boarding after authorization to do so came through8 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,flipping a coin was out of the question of course1 and we had no straws or matches4 ,finally we agreed that since our wives were of similar build and height1 each of us would write down his wife's weight on a slip of paper1 and that the one of us whose wife weighed the most would do the boarding4 ,we promised to be completely honest about this4 ,i won by a margin of three pounds4 ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,i see4 ,and have you apprised your wife of this 444 ah 444 modus operandi8 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,as a matter of fact1 ,i have not4 ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,a wise decision indeed4 ,and now1 colonel1 will you tell us what you did and what you found after boarding ,spaceship ,x8 99 99 99 99 99 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,as ,i mentioned earlier1 the boat-bay lock had been improperly sealed4 ,consequently ,i had no trouble opening it4 ,the inner boat-bay lock proved to have been improperly sealed also1 and ,i concluded from this that the action in both cases had been deliberate--that ,spaceship ,x had not only been abandoned1 but that it had been abandoned in such a way as to make future use of it impossible4 ,after entering the ship proper1 ,i found myself in a short passageway4 ,i floated along it1 pulling myself forward by means of this protuberance and that and propelling myself1 whenever possible1 by pushing against the bulkheads with my feet4 ,there was no light save for an occasional ray of starlight seeping through the meteor perforations1 and my only effective means of illumination was the electric torch ,i had brought with me from the ,camaraderie #ag4 ,it left much to be desired4 ,presently the passageway gave into a large chamber which1 judging from its rows of bolted-down benches and its centrally located dais1 was a meeting hall of some kind4 ,i did not linger there--,perk and ,i had estimated that at most ,i had only fifteen minutes to carry out my explorations--but turned1 and proceeded aft1 entering another passageway1 this one much higher and longer than the first4 ,on either side1 compartments were arranged in tiers1 and each of the tiers above deck-level was fronted by a catwalk4 ,i entered several of the compartments and looked around1 but ,i saw nothing in each case but a bunk-like bed and a small chest4 ,the beds were bare1 and the chests were empty4 ,continuing on down the passageway1 ,i came to another chamber1 this one1 judging from its bolted-down tables and benches1 and the utensils drifting about1 a combination dining room and galley4 ,again1 ,i did not linger4 ,my primary interest was the power source that had once propelled1 illuminated and heated the ship1 and had provided it with artificial gravity1 and ,i reasoned that ,i would find this source in the stern4 ,i was right1 but before ,i located it ,i came to still another chamber4 ,this one was huge1 and it was filled with cages4 ,all of them were empty1 but they set me to thinking4 ,for one thing1 there were hundreds of them4 ,for another1 they ranged in size from tiny to titanic4 ,for another1 each of them struck me as having been built to accommodate not one animal1 but two or more4 ,i remembered the innumerable meteor penetrations1 and the great age they implied4 ,i remembered that in the vacuum and in the absolute zero of space1 corrosion and decay are unknown and that under such conditions objects can be preserved for millennia4 ,i remembered the dimensions of the ship4 ,it couldn't be1 and yet-- ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,please confine your account to what you saw and what you did1 ,colonel ,greaves4 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,very well4 ,the chamber housing the power source1 when ,i finally located it1 proved to be quite small4 ,the source itself was an ion motor4 ,it had been thoroughly and deliberately smashed1 and both its condition and its advanced design prevented me from being able to tell very much about it1 but ,i could tell1 nevertheless1 that while it had been capable of powering the ship in space1 it could never have launched the ship from a planet1 assuming that said planet's gravity approximated ,earth's4 ,launching a ship the size of that one took some doing1 and ,i take off my hat to the technicians who accomplished it4 ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,they just might have built the ship in space1 you know4 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,i have reason to believe otherwise1 but if they had1 ,i'd still take my hat off to them4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,all of which indicates1 does it not1 that we are dealing with a race of people scientifically superior to our own4 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,it does4 ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,then1 assuming for the moment that your theory is valid1 doesn't it strike you as highly improbable that the sole survivors of so scientifically advanced a race would1 immediately after landing on ,earth1 take up primitive husbandry8 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,no1 it does not4 ,i think that in undertaking the voyage to ,earth1 the passengers and the crew of ,spaceship ,x meant to leave far more behind them than the natural catastrophe--probably a tectonic revolution--that had occasioned their exodus4 ,i think that they meant to leave behind them a way of life which they had come to loathe because it had supplied them with false gods1 and ,i think that once they landed on ,earth and dispersed1 they threw this way of life over their shoulders and deliberately reverted to the thoughtworld and the religious cosmogony of their remote ancestors4 ,in other words1 ,i think that they used the natural disaster that forced them to migrate to another planet as an excuse to begin all over again1 and that they burned their bridges behind them so that they would have to begin all over again4 ,probably they blew up the auxiliary craft1 or lifeboat1 and every technological gadget it contained the very same day they landed4444 ,earth1 in those days1 must have seemed like a promised land indeed4 ,green1 fertile1 relatively unpeopled4444 ,they had no way of knowing1 probably1 that inter-marriage with the natives would soon decimate their average life-expectancy4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,wouldn't you say that you're indulging in some rather wild surmises1 ,colonel ,greaves8 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,not at all4 ,i think that the find ,i made shortly after returning to the forward part of the ship justifies everything ,i've said4 ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,you're referring1 no doubt1 to the 'dove'4 ,very well--go on1 ,colonel ,greaves4 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,i had some five minutes remaining when ,i got back to the large hall from which ,i had begun my explorations1 and ,i knew that ,i would have to hurry if ,i expected to see the rest of the ship4 ,crossing the hall1 ,i passed through a wide entrance and found myself at the base of a spiral companionway4 ,i propelled myself up the metal stairs1 and a few minutes later1 found myself on the bridge4 ,the first object my torch beam picked up was a huge viewscreen4 ,when activated1 it must have provided a splendid view of space1 but now of course the screen was blank4 ,next to the screen stood a long desk1 and on this desk lay the ship's log--the metallic scrolls which had been left behind 7deliberately1 ,i believe7 and which are now being deciphered by ,dr4 ,noyes and his staff4 ,in addition to the viewscreen and the desk1 the bridge contained a complex sextant1 and an instrument panel so intricate that compared to it1 our panel on the ,camaraderie #ag seemed like a primitive abacus4 ,to the right of the panel1 a doorway opened into another sequence of compartments4 ,as there were only four of them and as they were obviously much more spacious than the previous compartments ,i had found1 ,i concluded that ,i had blundered into officers' country4 ,one of the compartments appeared to be considerably larger than the other three1 and believing it to be the captain's1 ,i looked into it first4 ,i learned nothing beyond the fact that two people1 not one1 had occupied it4 ,i found this to be the case with the three remaining compartments1 and concluded that the four officers had had their wives with them4 ,finally ,i returned to the bridge4 ,i had only two minutes to go now1 and ,i probably would have propelled myself straight back down the companionway 7,i had already taken possession of the scrolls7 if the 'dove' hadn't caught my eye4 ,that's exactly what ,i thought of when my torch beam picked up the object bracketed to the bulkhead--a dove4 ,a dove in flight4 ,investigating1 ,i learned that it was a streamlined telescopic camera the lens of which were probably located somewhere in the ventral region of the hull4 ,the 'wings' were merely a device for centering the image and focusing the lens1 while the 'body' provided the housing for the automatic developing unit and served as a receptacle for the finished photograph4 ,the final photograph to have been taken and never been removed1 and it stood out vividly in the beam of my torch4 ,it was a photograph of an olive grove4 ,by now1 my time had just about run out1 and ,i removed the photograph from the 'dove'1 returned to the boat-bay area1 picking up a fragment of meteor-dislodged metal on my way1 and regained the ,camaraderie #ag4 ,,sen4 ,,kuell3 ,it is imperative that ,i interpose a few words at this point1 ,senator ,larch4 ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,please go ahead1 ,senator ,kuell4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,sen4 ,,kuell3 ,colonel ,greaves1 ,i am of course familiar with this photograph you brought back1 but1 while the general trend of your reasoning is apparent to me1 ,i cannot comprehend how so insignificant a discovery could have set so unorthodox a train of thought in motion4 ,the fact that the photograph depicts an olive grove means absolutely nothing1 even when brought into juxtaposition with the concomitant fact that the camera used in taking and developing it was shaped like a dove4 ,how could you possibly have arrived at the conclusion you did8 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,because my 'train of thought'1 as you call it1 was already in motion and had been in motion for some time4 ,the camera and the photograph were merely the final clues in a whole series of clues3 the ship's dimensions1 its obvious age1 the cages1 the large compartment in the officers' section1 and the three smaller ones4444 ,with the discovery of the camera and the photograph1 everything fell into place4 ,,sen4 ,,kuell3 ,everything1 colonel8 ,i can think of any number of details that your theory does not explain4 ,what of ,xithuthros1 ,prithu1 and ,ut-napishtim8 ,what of ,deucalion and ,pyrrha8 ,would you have me believe that they were aboard this streamlined space-scow of yours8 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,in a sense they were4 ,all versions of the legend are based on handed-down memories of the voyage of ,spaceship ,x from ,planet ,x to ,earth1 but the concept of space being beyond the scope of primitive minds1 the two planets were made into one1 and the survivors of the disaster were pictured not as fleeing from one planet to another1 but as sweating out the debacle in a craft that never left ,earth4 ,the religious cosmogony which the survivors reverted to after spreading out among the early civilized sectors of the world was adapted in various ways1 but the most authentic version1 ,i believe1 comes down to us through ,genesis1 since it was in the region that later became known as ,judea that the captain of ,spaceship ,x and his three officers settled down4 ,,sen4 ,,kuell3 ,all of this is pure conjecture1 colonel4 ,you haven't so much as a single fact to go on4 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,you're forgetting--are you not1 senator8--that a blow-up of the photograph of the olive grove revealed several pieces of pottery in good condition that the experts agreed dated from the late ,neolithic ,period4 ,,sen4 ,,kuell3 ,you're forgetting--are you not1 colonel8--that a vast difference exists between an olive grove and an olive leaf4 ,and how do you explain why these ancient voyageurs of yours brought animals with them8 ,more important1 how do you explain what became of these animals8 ,surely if they had been landed1 some evidence of them would remain1 and just as surely1 that evidence would have come to light by now4 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,maybe they were brought along out of compassion4 ,more probably1 they were brought along because the survivors were flesh-eaters4 ,in either case1 you can be certain that they were transported from the mother-ship to ,earth4 ,as to why no evidence of their existence has ever been found1 isn't it reasonable to assume that ,planet ,x paralleled ,earth in lower1 as well as higher1 forms of life8 ,,sen4 ,,kuell3 ,only if you're trying to shore up a theory that is about to collapse4 ,but it will do you no good1 ,colonel ,greaves3 the text of ,genesis confutes your entire contention4 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,on the contrary1 the text of ,genesis substantiates my contention4 ,let me quote one or two passages by way of illustration4 '--the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up1 and the windows of heaven were opened4' ,this is race memory coming to the fore in the form of an imagery so strong that it survives translation1 and with the aid of a little imagination1 the passage can be interpreted to mean that all is in readiness for the launching4 ',and the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth3 and all the high hills that were under the whole heaven were covered'4 ,if you will substitute 'distances' for 'waters' and 'over' for 'upon'1 you will obtain a fairly clear mental picture of a planet fading from sight in the viewscreen of a departing spaceship4 ,and how about the 'stories' referred to in the building specification8 '--with lower1 second1 and third stories shalt thou make it'8 ,those weren't 'stories'1 senator--they were stages4 ,rocket stages4 ,the number of rocket stages that would be required to launch a ship the size of ,spaceship ,x into space4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,sen4 ,,kuell3 ,i submit1 colonel1 that your reasoning is defective4 ,i submit furthermore that it is not the sort of reasoning which normal well-adjusted ,americans indulge in1 and ,i hereby recommend to this committee that both yours and ,commander ,perkins' qualifications be reexamined at the earliest possible opportunity and that both of you be relieved from duty until such time as it can satisfactorily be proven that both of you have recovered from your hallucinatory experience4 ,,lt4 ,,col4 ,,greaves3 ,but the scrolls ,i brought back aren't hallucinatory1 senator4 ,neither is the fragment of--of--yes1 of gopherwood4 ,and certainly the photograph is real enough4 ,,sen4 ,,kuell3 ,granted4 ,but ,i have grave doubts about some of the other items you have called to our attention4 ,i'm afraid you're going to be in for a rather rude awakening1 ,colonel ,greaves1 when ,dr4 ,noyes and his staff finish deciphering the scrolls4 ,gopherwood indeed6 ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,excuse me1 senator4 ,i have just been handed a telegram from ,dr4 ,noyes4 ,it--it would appear that they have deciphered the scrolls already4 ,i will read the telegram aloud3 ',deep ,space ,scrolls prove ,spaceship ,x to be ,noah's ,ark beyond vestige of a doubt--,noyes'4 ,an extended silence4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,sen4 ,,nicholson3 ,i hereby resolve that this hearing be adjourned and that a transcript of the proceedings be made public immediately4 ,,sen4 ,,kuell3 ,gentlemen1 ,i implore you not to act hastily in this matter4 ,don't you see that if we accept ,dr4 ,noyes' word as final1 we will be obligated to accept as fact that the concept of one ,god did not originate on ,earth1 but somewhere out there in the wastes of space8 ,we will be obligated to admit that ,earth was not the purpose of all creation1 but only a sort of afterthought8 ,,sen4 ,,hewlett3 ,gentlemen1 ,i emphatically disagree4 ,we are now obligated to do what we should have done before3 to really accept ,god as the creator of the universe as we have come to know it4 ,i hereby move that we shed our geocentric cloaks once and for all and start looking upon space not as a bte noir which circumstance and the ,soviet ,union have forced us to come to grips with but as a great star-flowered sea upon which we should have ventured long ago4 ,that ,god is far beyond the pale of our picayune conception of ,him is a fact that we have known all along but which we have refused to live with because we would have had ,him be as small and as petty as we are4 ,let us resolve from this moment on that when we say ',almighty' we mean ',almighty' beyond peradventure of a doubt4 ,gentlemen1 we have roots among the stars6 ,let us lift off from this dust mote on the doorstep of reality and wing our way into the majestic hall of universe and go asearching for the planet of our birth6 ,,sen4 ,,larch3 ,amen4 ,,end ,,of ,,transcript