On the monitor a wave sample appeared. The excursions 
of the mass tracers were very weak however. 
   The Commander had wrinkles of consideration on 
his forehead. What could it be? Here outside, beyond 
the gates of the Milky Way as it were, only interstellar 
objects of extremely small density were to be expected, 
mainly wandering hydrogen atoms. Nothing which the mass 
scanners could seize. 
   Pandit Madhva's message had made the whole Command 
Center attentive. The first speculations already buzzing 
through the area. 
   "A dark planet perhaps", Alan Carter, the chief pilot 
of the base, assumed. "My guess is an errant wanderer 
that tore itself away from its sun and has gone into the 
intergalactic region." 
   Other crew members speculated about neutron stars 
or considered the possibility of a concentrated 
accumulation of cosmic dust particles. 
   All these speculations only possessed a very small 
degree of probability, because they were supported  
more by sponteneity than by actual considerations. 
   John Koenig did not let himself be carried away into 
a rash delivery of a judgement. He proceeded in a 
manner that was completely systematic.
   "What do the infrared sensors say?" he asked. 
   "Negative", was the information that Annette Fraser 
gave. 
   "Gravitation sensors?"
   These had also registered nothing so far. And neither 
did the normal photo lenses. 
   Due to the negative information, it could be stated 
with certainty; the body, which the mass scanners had 
picked up, could not be very large. A dark star, a planet, 
or even a comet sized body, were not applicable. If 
pressed, a meteor was a conceivable possibility. 

21