Dead Ahead-Jack Vance short story
Dead Ahead - Jack Vance short story (author’s preferred title) AKA: Ultimate Quest Dead Ahead is a 18/19 page short story that was first published in the magazine Super Science Stories in September, 1950 under the title "Ultimate Quest". In 1986 it was released under the title of "Dead Ahead" in a collection of Vance shorter works titled The Dark Side of the Moon. A space captain, Chiram , and a financier sponsor are planning for two spaceships to travel the length of the universe by going straight ahead in one direction at many times the speed of light. The assumption is that the universe is circular and not infinite so that by traveling in just one direction they will eventually arrive home again. The trick is to make sure the flight course is absolutely straight because even a slight deviation in piloting will get them hopelessly lost. Because of advanced technology their ship can travel at the speed of “six or seven thousand light years a second” so ...