They flew by the Asteroid Belt, made an orbit around Jupiter and its moons to pick up momentum, then passed Saturn and circled it for the final push out of the Sun's grasp.
The rings, myriad fragments stretching away into the unfathomable distance beyond the gas giant, floated past the ship.
An incoming message reached them over the radio. Though the signal was very faint, Argus recognized the voice through the static.
"Gus... I know that it's you. It's me - Chris! I'm still back here on Earth, in Kuwait. When the Martians learned you were going away, they got in touch and helped me send this message. I don't have much time. I found Giddog after the crash. Took him to a hospital, took care of him for you. He's fine now, but he misses you.
"I thought you were dead, but... that stubborn dog kept watching the skies, like he was waiting. As if he knew. And now that I know, I figured... maybe you want to come back for him. If you do, you know where to find us. Don't worry about that I won't be able to feed Giddog - both he and I are loaded with PP now, because we were your friends. I mean, we still are. We're famous.
"I tell everybody what a great guy you were, I mean you are. If you're not coming back... well... take care. Say hello to Gus, Giddog."
A half-anxious, needy bark sounded over the radio.
"Oh God," Argus said, staring out at the spectacle of Saturn's rings. Venix gave him an inquisitive look.
"Is that -?"
"Yeah, it's Giddog all right. I could send a reply. What do I tell a dog? What do I tell my best friend?" He cast a guilty glance toward the ship's screens and added: "My next best friend."
She put a hand across his cheek, and directed his gaze toward her mild smile. "How about: 'Hi Giddog, who's a good dog then, this is goodbye, thanks for everything Chris, bye.'"
"You always know what to say."
He embraced her and kissed her deeply, and her response was equally warm. Then he sent the spoken reply she had suggested. And he added, on his own, a few entirely improvised words.
His last worded message crossed the gulf of outer space, was picked up by satellites, and was relayed to the ears of a man and a dog. The man recorded the message for posterity...
"Chris, when people ask you, why did we leave, tell them that I expect others to follow us. Now the road lies open. There's room to spare for everyone, and all the time you need before the sun goes out. But we're not going to wait for the rest of you to catch up.
"Go there, or be square,
"Foul or fair, this is the game.
"Fly with pride or sink in shame,
"Lie in the cradle, mute and lame.
"The human race has just begun,
"We're speeding far beyond the sun.
"Flying far as our eyes can see...
"Floating like butterflies, stinging like bees.
"This is F-Three-Oh Two-Oh, Flight Omega, signing out."
<--Previous
- - -
Next-->