 What did David determine the black box was for?
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from Planet Stories November 1952. There were round dials set in a row above a speaker. Over the mesh-covered speaker, two knobs glowed red. The mesh-covered hole and the two lights looked like a caricature of a face, set in a panel of dials. I reached down to the tightness that held my body, found the wide strap that held me and fumbled with the buckle. There was no sensation of place, no feeling of up or down, no direction. After the first shock of looking out, I accepted the fact that I was in a space ship, yet I couldn't read the maps that were fastened to a table, nor understand the function or design of the compact machinery. Now it must tell me why I didn't. It must tell me.... It was the only thing I saw that could help me, guard me against another shock like seeing outside of the clear portholes. The first swung back to reveal a deep closet holding five bulky suits. He was as still as death, motionless without warmth or breath as I hovered over him. The eyelid remained open until I closed it and went on. Everything lay in readiness, fastened down star charts, instruments, glittering equipment. It waited for human hands to make it operate. This room was filled with equipment that formed a room out of the bordered area I stood in. The ports on the side were shielded and I stared out at static energy, hung motionless in a world of searing light. They stood for anything I might guess, and something kept pricking my mind, telling me I had no time to guess. Four people in all, depending on a blind helpless fool who didn't know their names or the reason for that dependence. I went from the nose to the last bulkhead in a frenzy of floating motion, looking behind each door until I went as far as I could. They both ended in the lead shield that was set where the swell of the curve was biggest. It meant the engine or engines took up half the ship, cut off from the forward half by the instrument studded shield. The silence was a force in itself, pressing down from the metal walls, driving me back to the comforting smallness of the room where I had been reborn. I had literally been reborn in this room, equipped with half ideas, and no point to start from, no premise to seek.
 A device to deliver medication
 Storage of canned food  A navigation device  A device to deliver medication  Testing equipment