In 2646 Beowulf Shaeffer (Bey) was on
Jinx, where he was hired by a
Puppeteer executive of
General Products to pilot the
Long Shot, an enormous starship
equipped with an experimental Quantum II
hyperdrive which moved it thousands of times faster than a normal
hyperdrive. He was to fly it to the
galactic core as a publicity stunt for this Puppeteer
invention. After starting out, Bey quickly discovered the ship moved so fast that he kept having near-misses with
stars whizzing past. He found this too stressful, and called his employer via
hyperwave communicator to back out
of the contract. But the hefty penalty clauses forced him to continue. Eventually he realized he could navigate much
easier by moving into a sparsely populated gap between the galaxy's spiral arms, and was soon making good time. As
he approached the galactic core, he found it glorious sight, ablaze with brilliant, multicolored lights. But a glaring
blue-white patch grew in size and intensity as he approached. Alarmed at the increase in radiation, he called his
employer again.
They determined there had been a chain reaction of supernovae in the densely packed stars (see
core explosion). He continued on, but stopped
well short of his goal, with radiation and heat at alarming levels even through his
General Products hull. Calling the
Puppeteer again, he announced "The galaxy is exploding." He explained a wave of radiation would reach
Known Space in about 20,000 years, so lethal it
would kill all known life forms. After arguing over their contract, the Puppeteer allowed him to return. When
Bey landed again on Jinx he discovered the Puppeteers were gone; the
Puppeteer migration had begun. But he got
his pay.
