The Excalibur began to hum and the lights flickered as Sammy activated the graviton drive. They would be in position to jump in a minute. Suddenly Eric’s suspicion that Strem was hiding a crucial fact became a certainty.

“How long?” Strem asked. He looked scared and jubilant. Eric didn’t know which worried him more.

“Fifteen seconds.” Sammy said. “Fourteen...twelve...ten...”

“We’re not going to Tau Ceti, are we?” Eric demanded. Strem did not answer. Eric grabbed him by the collar and yanked him around. “”Are we?”

“Eight...seven...six...”

“Where are we going?” Eric shouted.

Too late. It was done. Eric had the sensation of stepping outside himself. When the blink of time and space was complete, Eric repeated his question, with one word left out.

“Where are we?”

“Outside.” said Strem. “Beyond the Tachyon Web...”