Free Return to the Stars: Evidence for the Impossible by Erich von Däniken Page B

themselves technically. For with the present rocket motors, which are still comparatively weak, only pointed flying objects offering small frictional surfaces can pierce the thick 'wall' of the earth's atmosphere. Yet sharp needles are not ideal for interstellar traffic.
     
    The liberation of higher propulsive energy is the key that would lead to the manufacture of new types of space-craft. The time when technology will have as yet incredible energies as its disposal is no longer so far away. When that time comes, it could lead to pure photon propulsion units that reach a velocity close to the speed of light and can provide propulsion for an almost unlimited period.
     
    Then we should no longer have to economise on every pound of payload, as we do today, when for every pound that a space-craft takes on a journey to the moon, an extra 2,590 lb of fuel is needed. Once that was the case, space-craft would soon be built in a very different shape.
     
    Old texts and archaeological finds around the world have convinced me that the first space-craft that reached the earth many thousands of years ago were spherical, and I am sure that the space-craft of the future will (once again) be spherical.
     
    I am no rocket designer, but there are a couple of reflections that we can all make and which seem completely convincing. A sphere has no 'forward' or 'aft', no 'above' or 'below', no 'right' or 'left'. It offers the same surface in every position and direction. So the sphere is the ideal shape for the cosmos, which also has no 'above' or 'below', no 'forward' or 'aft'.
     
    Let us take a walk round a space sphere that still seems like a science-fiction dream today. But let's not skimp matters. Imagine a sphere with a diameter of 17,000 ft. This monster stands on sprung, retractable spider legs. Like an ocean liner, the interior is divided into decks of various sizes. Around the belly of the gigantic ball—at its equator— runs a massive ring housing the twenty or more propulsion units that can all be swivelled through 180°—a simple technical feat. When the countdown has reached zero, they will radiate concentrated light waves amplified a million-fold. If the cosmic sphere is to rise from the surface of the planet or one of the launching areas stationed in orbit, the propulsion units shoot their columns of light directly down on to the launching pad, giving the sphere a tremendous thrust. Once the sphere has reached the extra-gravitational field and is on its course to a fixed star, the propulsion units around its equator will only be fired now and then for course corrections. There is no risk of the sphere moving out of its flight path in a way that might endanger the crew because it can immediately adapt itself to any situation. Besides, something happens that will be very pleasant for the astronauts; the sphere begins to rotate of its own accord. In this way an artificial gravity is created in all the external rooms that decreases the state of weightlessness so much that conditions are almost the same as on earth. If one flies to the stars, one is still bound by one of the laws of the old earth!
     
    It is important to realise that in this kind of space sphere course corrections in any direction are possible without danger. The propulsion units mounted on the steel girdle round the sphere permit lightning avoiding action or quick turns in any direction. Billiards players will easily catch on to the idea. If a right turn is needed, the sphere gets a light touch from a steering jet mounted on the left and vice-versa.
     
    Spherical space-craft of the kind that may have traversed the galaxies millennia ago will be only minute particles in the infinity of the universe. Shooting along close to the speed of light, the astronauts will only sense this tempo as a slow soft floating away. Time will seem to stand still in their craft.
     
    But what will happen in the 'timeless time' in the interior of the cosmic sphere? Well, once space