An Empty Bottle

by Mari Wolf

Hugh McCann took the last of the photographic plates out of the developer and laid them on the table beside the others. Then he picked up the old star charts—Volume 1, Number 1—maps of space from various planetary systems within a hundred light years of Sol. He looked around the observation room at the others. "We might as well start checking." The men and women around the table nodded. None of them said anything. Even the muffled conversation from the corridor beyond the observation room ceased as the people stopped to listen. McCann set the charts down and opened them at the first sheet—the composite map of the stars as seen from Earth. "Don't be too disappointed if we're wrong," he said. Amos Carhill's fists clenched. He leaned across the table. "You still don't believe we're near Sol, do you? You're getting senile, Hugh! You know the mathematics of our position as well as anybody." "I know the math," Hugh said quietly. "But remember, a lot of our basics have already proved themselves false this trip. We can't be sure of anything. Besides, I think I'd remember this planet we're on if we'd ever been here before. We visited every planetary system within a hundred light years of Sol the first year."

Genres: Short Stories

30 pages, Paperback

First published December 9, 2010

Reviews

[DOUGLAS J BERRY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sci fi short story.

From a magazine called If?. This female author of the fifties wrote less than ten stories. This is a time travel story with a simple, elegant plot.

[Matilda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A real surprise, I really enjoyed that story of a time paradox. I thought it was really cleverly done and I want to read other stories from Mari Wolf.