Introduction<br >3y the twenty-third cen- efficient exploitation of the Federation， however.<br >:ury， the Galactic Federa- existing resources， was outweighed by the<br >:ion had grown to occupy Expansion did not， how- economic difficulty of<br > volume almost 500 light ever， cease entirely and searching through a gi-<br >tears in diameter. Within the survey ships sponsored gantic haystack for very<br >ts sphere of influence by the authorities contin- small needles that might<br >Jvere thousands of worlds ued to probe into the not even exist. It certainly<br >~nd although most were darkness beyond the offi- could not be justified<br >Jninhabited， a high pro- cial frontiers charting and without there being any<br >;)ortion were the homes of gathering data on the evidence of alien species.<br >indigenous species or worlds they encountered. That evidence came to<br >~vere settled by colonists In addition， the newly light when a Security<br >From elsewhere. Many settled planets on the Fed- Patrol ship on a routine<br >more were scenes of in- eral Perimeter were be- mission among the Perim-<br >:lustrial activity in the fields coming more securely eter planets stumbled on<br >0f mining or manufac- established， creating fur- the existence of an alien<br >turing， often by totally ther opportunities for trade ship that had not orig-<br >automated processes， and and shipping， inated from within the<br >hundreds of thousands of Despite this industrious Federation. This brief en-<br >vessels of every kind plied spiral of development and counter heralded the start<br >to and fro along the trade activity， the authorities of one of the most am-<br >routes which led to every ，were constantly aware that bitious journeys of explor-<br >oorner of the Federation: although the Federation ation ever undertaken. The<br > During the very earliest had already grown larger voyage of the Venturer<br >period of the Federation s than could have been im- stands out as one of the<br >history， expansion out- agined just 200 or 300 most remarkable episodes<br >wards into the Galaxy had Earth-yearsearlier， itnever- in the annals of space<br >been comparatively rapid theless represented only travel. The courage of its<br >and uncontrolled， as both a minute area of the dedicated crew in the face<br >c.ommercial interests and Galaxy. Given the number of the uncertainty of the<br >adventurous individuals of inhabited worlds within mission s outcome is still<br >pushed out into unknown its boundaries， it was cer- more remarkable when<br >space in search of wealth tain that hundreds if not each man knew at the<br >and open land. Death and thousands of other intelli- outset of the voyage that<br >disaster decimated the gent forms of life must lie due to the relative time<br >:ranks of these intrepid among the countless stars effects of prolonged hy-<br >explorers during this first beyond. It was just a perspace travel， any of<br >rush for the stars until， matter of time before we themreturninghomewould<br >gradually， the Federation encountered a species or have aged only days for<br >.began to impose controls group of species as tech- each year of real time.<br >and to institute a planned nologically advanced as Those they had left behind<br >programme of expansion， those of the Federation， would be long dead and<br > As a direct result， the and quite possibly more so. oncefamiliarworldswould<br >:rate of expansion slowed The obvious advantage of have changed almost be-<br >.dramatically and greater searching out and iden- yond recognition.<br >emphasis was placed on tifying any such species Star Quest， then， is their<br > ，，4~，; ，4 th，~ h~.fnre， they stumbled on story.<br >