Data Science: Concepts and Practice

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Data Science
This page intentionally left blank
Data Science
Concepts and Practice
Second Edition

Vijay Kotu
Bala Deshpande
Morgan Kaufmann is an imprint of Elsevier
50 Hampshire Street, 5th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
Copyright r 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publisher. Details on how to seek permission, further information about the Publisher’s permissions policies
and our arrangements with organizations such as the Copyright Clearance Center and the Copyright Licensing Agency,
can be found at our website: www.elsevier.com/permissions.
This book and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by the Publisher (other than
as may be noted herein).
Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our
understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary.
Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any
information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they
should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional
responsibility.
To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors, assume any liability for
any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any
use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
ISBN: 978-0-12-814761-0

For Information on all Morgan Kaufmann publications

visit our website at https://www.elsevier.com/books-and-journals

Publisher: Jonathan Simpson

Acquisition Editor: Glyn Jones
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Production Project Manager: Sreejith Viswanathan
Cover Designer: Greg Harris
Typeset by MPS Limited, Chennai, India
Dedication

To all the mothers in our lives

This page intentionally left blank
Contents

FOREWORD................................................................................................. xi
PREFACE ................................................................................................... xv
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS............................................................................... xix

Chapter 1 Introduction ..................................................................................... 1

1.1 AI, Machine Learning, and Data Science..........................................2
1.2 What is Data Science? .......................................................................4
1.3 Case for Data Science........................................................................8
1.4 Data Science Classification .............................................................10
1.5 Data Science Algorithms .................................................................12
1.6 Roadmap for This Book ...................................................................12
References ................................................................................................18

Chapter 2 Data Science Process................................................................... 19

2.1 Prior Knowledge...............................................................................21
2.2 Data Preparation ..............................................................................25
2.3 Modeling............................................................................................29
2.4 Application ........................................................................................34
2.5 Knowledge ........................................................................................36
References ................................................................................................37

Chapter 3 Data Exploration ........................................................................... 39

3.1 Objectives of Data Exploration ........................................................40
3.2 Datasets ............................................................................................40
3.3 Descriptive Statistics........................................................................43
3.4 Data Visualization .............................................................................48
3.5 Roadmap for Data Exploration........................................................63
References ................................................................................................64

Chapter 4 Classification................................................................................. 65
4.1 Decision Trees ..................................................................................66
4.2 Rule Induction...................................................................................87 vii
viii Contents

4.3 k-Nearest Neighbors .......................................................................98

4.4 Naïve Bayesian ...............................................................................111
4.5 Artificial Neural Networks.............................................................124
4.6 Support Vector Machines ..............................................................135
4.7 Ensemble Learners........................................................................148
References ..............................................................................................161

Chapter 5 Regression Methods................................................................... 165

5.1 Linear Regression ..........................................................................166
5.2 Logistic Regression........................................................................185
5.3 Conclusion ......................................................................................196
References ..............................................................................................197

Chapter 6 Association Analysis ................................................................... 199

6.1 Mining Association Rules...............................................................201
6.2 Apriori Algorithm............................................................................206
6.3 Frequent Pattern-Growth Algorithm ............................................211
6.4 Conclusion ......................................................................................220
References ..............................................................................................220

Chapter 7 Clustering .................................................................................... 221

7.1 k-Means Clustering........................................................................226
7.2 DBSCAN Clustering .......................................................................238
7.3 Self-Organizing Maps ....................................................................247
References ..............................................................................................260

Chapter 8 Model Evaluation ........................................................................ 263

8.1 Confusion Matrix ............................................................................264
8.2 ROC and AUC..................................................................................266
8.3 Lift Curves.......................................................................................268
8.4 How to Implement..........................................................................271
8.5 Conclusion ......................................................................................276
References ..............................................................................................279

Chapter 9 Text Mining.................................................................................. 281

9.1 How It Works ..................................................................................283
9.2 How to Implement..........................................................................290
9.3 Conclusion ......................................................................................304
References ..............................................................................................305

Chapter 10 Deep Learning .......................................................................... 307

10.1 The AI Winter............................................................................. 309
10.2 How it Works ............................................................................. 315
10.3 How to Implement .................................................................... 335
 Contents ix

10.4 Conclusion ................................................................................. 341

References ........................................................................................... 342

Chapter 11 Recommendation Engines ....................................................... 343

11.1 Recommendation Engine Concepts......................................... 346
11.2 Collaborative Filtering .............................................................. 353
11.3 Content-Based Filtering ........................................................... 373
11.4 Hybrid Recommenders............................................................. 389
11.5 Conclusion ................................................................................. 390
References ........................................................................................... 394

Chapter 12 Time Series Forecasting .......................................................... 395

12.1 Time Series Decomposition ..................................................... 400
12.2 Smoothing Based Methods ...................................................... 407
12.3 Regression Based Methods ..................................................... 413
12.4 Machine Learning Methods...................................................... 429
12.5 Performance Evaluation ........................................................... 439
12.6 Conclusion ................................................................................. 443
References ........................................................................................... 444

Chapter 13 Anomaly Detection.................................................................... 447

13.1 Concepts .................................................................................... 447
13.2 Distance-Based Outlier Detection ........................................... 453
13.3 Density-Based Outlier Detection ............................................. 457
13.4 Local Outlier Factor.................................................................. 460
13.5 Conclusion ................................................................................. 464
References ........................................................................................... 465

Chapter 14 Feature Selection ..................................................................... 467

14.1 Classifying Feature Selection Methods................................... 468
14.2 Principal Component Analysis ................................................. 470
14.3 Information Theory-Based Filtering........................................ 477
14.4 Chi-Square-Based Filtering ..................................................... 480
14.5 Wrapper-Type Feature Selection............................................. 483
14.6 Conclusion ................................................................................. 489
References ........................................................................................... 490

Chapter 15 Getting Started with RapidMiner ............................................. 491

15.1 User Interface and Terminology.............................................. 492
15.2 Data Importing and Exporting Tools ....................................... 497
15.3 Data Visualization Tools ........................................................... 501
15.4 Data Transformation Tools ...................................................... 504
15.5 Sampling and Missing Value Tools.......................................... 509
x Contents

15.6 Optimization Tools .................................................................... 512

15.7 Integration with R ..................................................................... 520
15.8 Conclusion ................................................................................. 521
References ........................................................................................... 521

COMPARISON OF DATA SCIENCE ALGORITHMS ...................................... 523

ABOUT THE AUTHORS ............................................................................. 531
INDEX ...................................................................................................... 533
PRAISE .................................................................................................... 545
Foreword

A lot has happened since the first edition of this book was published in
2014. There is hardly a day where there is no news on data science, machine
learning, or artificial intelligence in the media. It is interesting that many of
those news articles have a skeptical, if not an even negative tone. All this
underlines two things: data science and machine learning are finally becom-
ing mainstream. And people know shockingly little about it. Readers of this
book will certainly do better in this regard. It continues to be a valuable
resource to not only educate about how to use data science in practice, but
also how the fundamental concepts work.
Data science and machine learning are fast-moving fields which is why this
second edition reflects a lot of the changes in our field. While we used to
talk a lot about “data mining” and “predictive analytics” only a couple of
years ago, we have now settled on the term “data science” for the broader
field. And even more importantly: it is now commonly understood that
machine learning is at the core of many current technological breakthroughs.
These are truly exciting times for all the people working in our field then!
I have seen situations where data science and machine learning had an
incredible impact. But I have also seen situations where this was not the
case. What was the difference? In most cases where organizations fail with
data science and machine learning is, they had used those techniques in
the wrong context. Data science models are not very helpful if you only
have one big decision you need to make. Analytics can still help you in
such cases by giving you easier access to the data you need to make this
decision. Or by presenting the data in a consumable fashion. But at the
end of the day, those single big decisions are often strategic. Building a
machine learning model to help you make this decision is not worth
doing. And often they also do not yield better results than just making the
decision on your own.

xi
xii Foreword

Here is where data science and machine learning can truly help: these
advanced models deliver the most value whenever you need to make lots of
similar decisions quickly. Good examples for this are:
G Defining the price of a product in markets with rapidly changing
demands.
G Making offers for cross-selling in an E-Commerce platform.
G Approving credit or not.
G Detecting customers with a high risk for churn.
G Stopping fraudulent transactions.
G And many others.
You can see that a human being who would have access to all relevant data
could make those decisions in a matter of seconds or minutes. Only that
they can’t without data science, since they would need to make this type of
decision millions of times, every day. Consider sifting through your customer
base of 50 million clients every day to identify those with a high churn risk.
Impossible for any human being. But no problem at all for a machine learn-
ing model.
So, the biggest value of artificial intelligence and machine learning is not to
support us with those big strategic decisions. Machine learning delivers most
value when we operationalize models and automate millions of decisions.
One of the shortest descriptions of this phenomenon comes from Andrew
Ng, who is a well-known researcher in the field of AI. Andrew describes what
AI can do as follows: “If a typical person can do a mental task with less than
one second of thought, we can probably automate it using AI either now or
in the near future.”
I agree with him on this characterization. And I like that Andrew puts the
emphasis on automation and operationalization of those models—because
this is where the biggest value is. The only thing I disagree with is the time
unit he chose. It is safe to already go with a minute instead of a second.
However, the quick pace of changes as well as the ubiquity of data science
also underlines the importance of laying the right foundations. Keep in
mind that machine learning is not completely new. It has been an active
field of research since the 1950s. Some of the algorithms used today have
even been around for more than 200 years now. And the first deep learning
models were developed in the 1960s with the term “deep learning” being
coined in 1984. Those algorithms are well understood now. And under-
standing their basic concepts will help you to pick the right algorithm for
the right task.
To support you with this, some additional chapters on deep learning and rec-
ommendation systems have been added to the book. Another focus area is
 Foreword xiii

using text analytics and natural language processing. It became clear in the
past years that the most successful predictive models have been using
unstructured input data in addition to the more traditional tabular formats.
Finally, expansion of Time Series Forecasting should get you started on one
of the most widely applied data science techniques in the business.
More algorithms could mean that there is a risk of increased complexity. But
thanks to the simplicity of the RapidMiner platform and the many practical
examples throughout the book this is not the case here. We continue our
journey towards the democratization of data science and machine learning.
This journey continues until data science and machine learning are as ubiqui-
tous as data visualization or Excel. Of course, we cannot magically transform
everybody into a data scientist overnight, but we can give people the tools to
help them on their personal path of development. This book is the only tour
guide you need on this journey.

Ingo Mierswa
Founder
RapidMiner Inc.
Massachusetts, USA
This page intentionally left blank
Preface

Our goal is to introduce you to Data Science.

We will provide you with a survey of the fundamental data science concepts
as well as step-by-step guidance on practical implementations—enough to
get you started on this exciting journey.

WHY DATA SCIENCE?

We have run out of adjectives and superlatives to describe the growth trends
of data. The technology revolution has brought about the need to process,
store, analyze, and comprehend large volumes of diverse data in meaningful
ways. However, the value of the stored data is zero unless it is acted upon. The scale
of data volume and variety places new demands on organizations to quickly
uncover hidden relationships and patterns. This is where data science techni-
ques have proven to be extremely useful. They are increasingly finding their
way into the everyday activities of many business and government functions,
whether in identifying which customers are likely to take their business else-
where, or mapping flu pandemic using social media signals.
Data science is a compilation of techniques that extract value from data.
Some of the techniques used in data science have a long history and trace
their roots to applied statistics, machine learning, visualization, logic, and
computer science. Some techniques have just reached the popularity it
deserves. Most emerging technologies go through what is termed the “hype
cycle.” This is a way of contrasting the amount of hyperbole or hype versus
the productivity that is engendered by the emerging technology. The hype
cycle has three main phases: peak of inflated expectation, trough of disillu-
sionment, and plateau of productivity. The third phase refers to the mature
and value-generating phase of any technology. The hype cycle for data sci-
ence indicates that it is in this mature phase. Does this imply that data sci-
ence has stopped growing or has reached a saturation point? Not at all. On
the contrary, this discipline has grown beyond the scope of its initial
xv
xvi Preface

applications in marketing and has advanced to applications in technology,

internet-based fields, health care, government, finance, and manufacturing.

WHY THIS BOOK?

The objective of this book is two-fold: to help clarify the basic concepts
behind many data science techniques in an easy-to-follow manner; and to
prepare anyone with a basic grasp of mathematics to implement these techni-
ques in their organizations without the need to write any lines of program-
ming code.
Beyond its practical value, we wanted to show you that the data science
learning algorithms are elegant, beautiful, and incredibly effective. You will
never look at data the same way once you learn the concepts of the learning
algorithms.
To make the concepts stick, you will have to build data science models.
While there are many data science tools available to execute algorithms and
develop applications, the approaches to solving a data science problem are
similar among these tools. We wanted to pick a fully functional, open source,
free to use, graphical user interface-based data science tool so readers can fol-
low the concepts and implement the data science algorithms. RapidMiner, a
leading data science platform, fit the bill and, thus, we used it as a compan-
ion tool to implement the data science algorithms introduced in every
chapter.

WHO CAN USE THIS BOOK?

The concepts and implementations described in this book are geared towards
business, analytics, and technical professionals who use data everyday. You,
the reader of the book will get a comprehensive understanding of the differ-
ent data science techniques that can be used for prediction and for discover-
ing patterns, be prepared to select the right technique for a given data
problem, and you will be able to create a general-purpose analytics process.
We have tried to follow a process to describe this body of knowledge. Our
focus has been on introducing about 30 key algorithms that are in wide-
spread use today. We present these algorithms in the framework of:
1. A high-level practical use case for each algorithm.
2. An explanation of how the algorithm works in plain language. Many
algorithms have a strong foundation in statistics and/or computer
science. In our descriptions, we have tried to strike a balance between
being accessible to a wider audience and being academically rigorous.
 Preface xvii

3. A detailed review of implementation using RapidMiner, by describing

the commonly used setup and parameter options using a sample data
set. You can download the processes from the companion website
www.IntroDataScience.com and we recommend you follow-along by
building an actual data science process.
Analysts, finance, engineering, marketing, and business professionals, or any-
one who analyzes data, most likely will use data science techniques in their
job either now or in the near future. For business managers who are one step
removed from the actual data science process, it is important to know what
is possible and not possible with these techniques so they can ask the right
questions and set proper expectations. While basic spreadsheet analysis, slic-
ing, and dicing of data through standard business intelligence tools will con-
tinue to form the foundations of data exploration in business, data science
techniques are necessary to establish the full edifice of analytics in the
organizations.

Vijay Kotu
California, USA
Bala Deshpande, PhD
Michigan, USA
This page intentionally left blank
Acknowledgments

Writing a book is one of the most interesting and challenging endeavors one
can embark on. We grossly underestimated the effort it would take and the
fulfillment it brings. This book would not have been possible without the
support of our families, who granted us enough leeway in this time-
consuming activity. We would like to thank the team at RapidMiner, who
provided great help with everything, ranging from technical support to
reviewing the chapters to answering questions on the features of the product.
Our special thanks to Ingo Mierswa for setting the stage for the book through
the foreword. We greatly appreciate the thoughtful and insightful comments
from our technical reviewers: Doug Schrimager from Slalom Consulting,
Steven Reagan from L&L Products, and Philipp Schlunder, Tobias Malbrecht
and Ingo Mierswa from RapidMiner. Thanks to Mike Skinner of Intel and to
Dr. Jacob Cybulski of Deakin University in Australia. We had great support
and stewardship from the Elsevier and Morgan Kaufmann team: Glyn Jones,
Ana Claudia Abad Garcia, and Sreejith Viswanathan. Thanks to our collea-
gues and friends for all the productive discussions and suggestions regarding
this project.

xix
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Latent Image
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the
United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
you are located before using this eBook.

Title: Latent Image

Author: George O. Smith

Illustrator: Paul Orban

Release date: June 10, 2022 [eBook #68280]

Language: English

Original publication: United States: Street & Smith Publications,

Incorporated, 1944

Credits: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed

Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net.

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LATENT

IMAGE ***
"Latent Image"
 by WESLEY LONG

Illustrated by Orban

[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from

Astounding Science-Fiction, May 1944.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
John McBride stood on the roof garden of Satan's Hotel, looking
across the River Styx at Sharon. To his left, the River Styx emptied
into the Sulphur Sea, and in the evening sky to his right, the dancing
flames lighted the cloud banks over Mephisto, where the uranium
smelters worked on a nonstop plan.
John McBride was in Hell.
But Hell is a city on Pluto, where the planners had a free hand
because no intelligent life had ever scarred the planet until man came
with his machinery and his luxury and his seeking for metal. Uranium
had been found in plenty on Pluto, and so man had created a livable
planet from the coldest, most forbidding planet in the System.
John McBride was in Hell, on Pluto, but his mind was dwelling in a
little cube that rotated about a mythical spot halfway between Sol and
Pluto; one of the many stations that created the space warp that
focused Sol on Pluto with an angle of incidence equal to the
incidence of Sol on Terra. Enid McBride was back there in that minute
station, and John McBride wanted to be with her.
But Dr. Caldwell, the resident doctor of the Plutonian Lens, said:
"John, if you've got to go to Pluto, that's O.K. But you can't take Enid
with you. That's strictly out, with a capital 'O,' get me?"
"I suppose—"
"I've been doctoring for many years, John. It's safe for you to run off
for a week or so, but don't move Enid. Your kid won't be born for a
month, yet, but if you subject her to the 4- or 5-G you need to get
from here to Pluto, you'll have—not only the baby, but as nasty a
mess as you've ever seen! Take it from me, fella, 4-G is worse than a
fall if you keep it up for hours. No dice!"
"O.K.," said John, unhappily. "She'll be all right?"
"Sure," said Caldwell. "Besides, all you can do now is to sit around,
bite your fingernails, and ask foolish questions. If I had my way, you'd
be away when the youngster is born, that'd save you from a lot of
useless worry."
"That isn't fair."
"I know you feel that way. Enid does too. But it is still sort of futile. You
want the right to worry; go ahead and worry. After all, there are
enough people around the Lens that know you are worrying. She'll be
all right, I tell you!"
"You'll let me know if anything turns up?"
"That's a promise, John."
So John McBride was standing on a roof garden in Hell, thinking how
appropriate it was. He was in Hell, all right. Hell was a nice place to
be, warm, pleasant, and happily balanced. But it was no place to be
when your wife is nineteen hundred million miles away. Ah, well,
another week of this and he would be racing homeward.
Home! That was funny, to consider home, a place in space where
gravity was furnished by an mechanogravitic warp, and where there
were no windows to open, and where you lived in a cube of steel
three thousand feet on a side, mostly filled with the items required for
living plus the maze of equipment required to maintain the great lens
that gave Pluto its sun.
Home! It was a far cry from his boyhood home on Venus, where the
greenery of the forest fought with the very walls. But home is where
you like it, and McBride liked it.
He wished that he were there, for he felt that Enid needed him.
Then with that perversity of nature that people call fate, a bellhop
approached him and handed him a spacegram. McBride tipped the
boy and opened the envelope easily. He'd been getting 'grams by
round numbers for several years, and this was no novelty. He was not
aware of its importance until he opened the folded page and read:
JOHN MC BRIDE
SATAN'S HOTEL
HELL, PLUTO
 HIT SKY FOR HOME. ENID IN NO GREAT DANGER
FROM FALL, BUT HER RECOVERY WILL BE ASSISTED
BY YOUR PRESENCE.
CALDWELL.
McBride read the words twice, and then looked around himself, wildly.
Hit Sky was easy to say—but at 6-G it would take just over one
hundred hours to make the passage. Four days minimum!
McBride raced to the elevator, chewed his fingernails while the car
rode him down the hundred and seven floors with that snail's pace
caused by many stops. He shot out of the elevator door, caromed off
the opposite wall into an ash tray which he upset and sent a small
cascade of sand across the floor. McBride coasted to a stop before
the hotel manager's desk and tossed the 'gram in front of him. The
manager read and looked up in sympathy.
McBride said: "Get me a reservation on the next sunward-bound ship.
Emergency stop; they'll make the stopoff with an emergency."
"Right." The manager spoke into the phone and then said: "And you'll
be checking out?"
"Yes. Have one of the boys collect my stuff and ship it out to Station
1."
"O.K., McBride, we'll see that your stuff is taken care of. Ben!" he
called out through the door, "hurry up on that reservation, and see
that a car is ready to take Mr. McBride to Hellsport."
"T'won't be necessary," said Ben with a glum face. "The Uranium
Lady just took off fifteen minutes ago, and there isn't another ship
scheduled out of Hellsport for five days."
"Five days!" groaned McBride. "Anything flyable on this planet?"
"Nothing that would take a run to the Lens," said Ben.
"Sure?"
"Almost positive. However, I'll put a request on the radio that may
smoke out an unknown."
"I'll buy the thing if they won't let me go any other way," said McBride.
"We understand," said the hotel manager.
McBride stamped up and down the hotel lobby for an hour. His
luggage came down, all collected and prepared. He called Caldwell,
and spoke to him for an hour, but Dr. Caldwell's protestations didn't
help McBride. Enid had fallen from a chair while cleaning out a shelf,
and was resting easily, no complications. Yes, there was some pain,
enough to make Enid want her husband near. No danger, no, but it
would be best if he were there.
But McBride was still one hundred hours and nineteen hundred
million miles away.
John McBride didn't see the messenger boy bringing the message
until he almost bumped into him. "Mr. McBride, here's your answer,"
said the lad, and he saw McBride rip the envelope open with a quick
gesture to read the following:
MC BRIDE:
EXPERIMENTAL SPACESHIP HAYWIRE QUEEN AT
YOUR COMMAND IF YOU CAN REPAIR ALPHATRON.
MEET ME AT HELLSPORT.
STEVE HAMMOND (SKYWAYS)
McBride said to the messenger: "It's grabbing at straws, but get me a
cab and I'll take a whirl at it."
"Think you can do it?" asked the lad.
"Don't know. I'm desperate. After all, it's a wild chance because if
Steve Hammond and his gang haven't been able to repair it, how can
I expect to?"
"Give it a whirl anyway, sir," said the lad.
"That I'll do," said McBride. "And now that cab!"
The Haywire Queen stood above McBride as he met Steve
Hammond. "What's your trouble, John?" asked Hammond.
McBride explained. Then he asked: "What's yours?"
Hammond smiled wryly. "That's a long, sad tale. We've been trying to
increase the efficiency of the drive, you know. We've been hunting up
and down the electrogravitic spectrum for a more efficient operating
point. We found what we knew already; that we were using the most
efficient part of the E-grav range. We went all the way from down low,
where the stuff is just beginning to make itself detectable to up high
where the equipment is slightly fragile and extremely experimental in
construction. Then we took a run at the mec-grav, with absolutely no
success other than to ruin a whole bank of relays; the
mechanogravitic warp extended farther than we anticipated when we
hit the mechanogravitic resonance of the drive bar, and hell sort of
flew all over in great hunks. One of the interesting items was the
closing of the E-grav field controls, and the resulting power drain
over-loaded the alphatron. We limped in using a jury-rigged line from
the lifeship's alphatron and made a something-slightly-less than a
crash landing here on Pluto.
"So now we're either stuck here until we get the new alphatron we
ordered, or you can give us a few hints on household repairs."
"What's your lifeship's output?" asked McBride, following Hammond
into the spacelock.
"About eleven hundred alphons."
"You'll need about fourteen hundred to take off from Pluto," said John.
"How's the big one?"
"Deader than the proverbial dodo, whatever that was."
"Dodo?" laughed McBride. "That was a mythical critter that went
around dead, I think. It was so dead, even when alive, that when it
really died, it was really dead."
"You'd better stick to alphatrons," laughed Hammond.
"Speaking of the equipment, have you tried to get a replacement on
Pluto?"
"Nothing didding. About our only chance is to haywire something
together. But remember, we still have to make a landing, somewhere,
and that means a safety factor is somewhat to be desired."
"Not at all. If we can take off safely, we're in!"
"Explain. As I was taught in school, anyone can fly a spaceship, but it
takes a pilot to land one."
"Sure, but remember you'll be stopping off at the Lens. We've got
replacements there that will enable you to make space repairs and go
on from there in safety."
"Didn't think of that. Well, here's the mess!"
McBride needed no close inspection to see that the alphatron was
definitely defunct. A foul smell, faint, ephemerally pungent,
permeated the room. It was the smell of burned synthetic coil dope
and field-winding varnish which has been described as smelling
something like a frying toupee.
"Not only dead," was his cryptic remark, "but dead and sutteed!"
"Fricasseed," corrected Hammond. "Anything we can do?"
"Is the winding intact?"
"We thought of that, too. Nope. Electrical inspection indicates that the
winding is melted together in several places. You couldn't unwind the
coil, let alone rewind it with fresh insulation. We've got a couple of
gallons of insulation handy, if you get a good idea."
"Not yet. But look, Hammond, have you tried the magnetogravitic
spectrum yet?"
"No. That was our next program."
"I'd have tried that first," mused McBride. "Knowing that the drive
depends upon the action of a cupralum bar under high magnetic
density plus an electrogravitic warp, I should think that the close
relationship between the magnetic and electronic phenomena would
lead you to try the mag-grav first."
"I didn't want to start at the top," said Hammond dryly. "In spite of the
fact that Dr. Ellson claimed to have discovered a region in the mag-
grav spectrum that produced a faint success."
"Well, what I'm thinking is that we can rip up the E-grav generator and
use the field coil for the alphatron. It'll carry electrons as well as it
carries alphons, you know."
"Better," said Hammond. "But what do we use for an E-grav?"
"First we'll hunt up through the spectrum of the magnetogravitic
spectrum. If that doesn't work, we can add the warp produced by your
mech-grav, run from the lifeship's little alphatron. Right?"
"It's an idea. Seems to me that I've heard somewhere that the
combined warps of magneto- and mechanogravitic produces some
vectors in the electrogravitic spectrum."
"Mind if I brag?" asked McBride. "That was in a paper I scribbled for
the Interplanetary Gravitic Engineers. Purely a matter of making a few
dimes, at the time there was nothing practical about it, since we had
E-grav generators before we discovered the mechano- and
magnetogravitics."
"We?" grinned Hammond. "You were still three generations in the
future at the time, grandpa. But it's worth a try."
"Never thought that my effort was going to be worth a hoot," smiled
John McBride. "Let's give it a whirl."
"O.K. I'll call the gang." Steve Hammond stepped to the
communicator and spoke. "Jimmy, Pete, Larry! Come a-running and
bring your cutting pliers!"

From what was obviously three different parts of the ship, three
voices answered.
Pete arrived first. "Meet John McBride of the Plutonian Lens,"
introduced Hammond. "This is Pete, whose whole name is Peter
Thurman, and who is the guy who knows all about drive equipment."
Pete grinned. "You see us hitting sky at two hundred feet per," he
said, shaking McBride's hand.
Jimmy arrived, with Larry not far behind. "These are James Wilson
and Lawrence Timkins, respectively. Jimmy is the alphatron expert,
and Larry knows all there is to know about electrical circuits and
wiring."
"He's ribbing me about those relays," laughed Larry, while Jimmy was
saying: "Y'smell that smell? That was my pride and joy."
"Tell me," asked McBride, "what does he do?"
"Who, Steve? Oh he's just the bird that wanted the things done that
resulted in this mess. He's primarily responsible."
"Hm-m-m. That puts the fix on the whole thing," said McBride. "Well,
fellow, you've heard about Enid. I've got to get home. If we can fake
up something so that the Haywire Queen will cut loose with a couple
of hundred feet per for long enough to get me to Station 1, I'll see that
your ruined equipment is replaced so that you can make a safe
landing. Say! How come you do not carry a spare alphatron?"
"Why doesn't man come with two hearts?" asked Jimmy. "That's
because they're usually dependable. No one ever tried to run two
brains off of one heart—that's why one heart stands up pretty well. I
can imagine the trouble that would result if two involuntary control
centers were running the same heart—it would be something like
what happened when the mech-grav made the E-grav cut in—
something would blow a fuse."
They laughed, and then Hammond explained about the program.
"Right away quick we'll try the mech-grav along with the mag-grav.
That sounds like our best bet for something that works. Also breach
the lifeship and sabotage the little alphatron for the mech-grav. Might
as well have it down here where it's needed." In an aside to McBride,
he added: "Is this like your place? No fuses, no safety devices, no
spare equipment because some screwball is always filching
something off of a bit of standard equipment to make an experimental
set-up?"
"Anything but the running and operating gear of the Lens stations,"
said McBride, "is subject to change without notice. I've even seen a
spare mech-grav generator used to counterbalance Jim Lear's teeter-
totter. Jim's dad is on Station 3 and there isn't any kid of that size and
age on Three. Did a good job, too, since Bob Lear fixed the mech-
grav density control with a switch that urged the far end of the plank
so that Jim was lifted and dropped at the right speed."
"Sort of expensive counterbalance, wasn't it?"
"I suppose so, but Bob said it was better than having to crank his son
up and down by hand. Besides, we have lots of power out at the
Lens." McBride paused. "Say. Do you run the Haywire Queen with
this crew? Who's pilot?"
"Hannigan. But he got hurt when the works blew up. He ran us in all
right, though any of us can take a trick at landing. But he's taking a
rest cure to soothe his nerves; they got a scrambling from too much
electricity."
"Too bad."
"Not so bad. Just made him jittery. He'll be all right in a week. But we
won't have to run home without a pilot. I've got one coming out in a
couple of hours. Drake. Ever heard of a pilot named Drake?"
"Seems to me that the name is familiar," said McBride slowly. "But not
too clear, I'll know him when I see him."
"I won't. Conducted the hiring by mail, and then gave him a call when
the need came—your need, I mean. They told me that Drake was out
of the building, but that he'd be at Hellsport as soon as they could find
him. Has a pretty good record, too, save for one thing—"
"Steve," said one of the men, "can you give us a lift? The Beetle's
alphatron is somewhat heavier than we can handle around this
corner."
"Sure. And the next time we're at Terra, have 'em fix the hoist rail,
huh?"
Wires, bunched cables, and scraps were a tangled mess on the floor.
Tools were strewn about in profusion. A box of nuts and bolts had
overturned and cascaded the small parts across the floor below the
workbench. But the work was progressing in fine shape in spite of the
seeming confusion and messiness. To someone who knew these
men, it was obvious that they knew their business and how to use
their tools even though the place was ankle deep in junk. To someone
who knew them not, the place looked like a junk shop.
"Is this the place where the finest brains in space work out the
intricate problems?" asked a cool contralto with a cynical tone.
McBride, who had just finished welding a small angle bracket on the
bottom of the mech-grav generator, looked up, blinked, did a double
take, and then stood up. The torch burned the air in his limp fingers,
wasting the canned gas.
"You! Drake! Sandra Drake!"
"Is there another?" asked the saucy voice.
"I thought that Sandy was a nickname," snapped Hammond.
"It's Sandra," said she, "and it looks to me that your friend McBride is
always up to his ears in junk!"
John extinguished the torch and advanced upon the picturesque red-
head. "Have you still got your license?" he asked. "After that stunt
you pulled—"
"Your political pals took away my private license, but I'm still
registered as a pilot. This, I've been told, is an emergency, and,
therefore, I am compelled to run your junk-heap for you. I'm willing for
no other reason than the fact that my assistance to you in your so-
called time of need will be instrumental in getting my private license
back. Are you ready to go—and where?"
"We're about ready to try," said Steve.
"Try?" scorned Sandra. The perfect features twisted in a sneer.
"Aren't the best brains working today?"
"Look, Pilot Drake, this is an experimental crate from way back,"
snapped Hammond. "You're likely to find yourself drinking coffee out
of a relay-shield. We blew out the only alphatron this side of Jupiter
by mishap, and John and we have been trying to gain the same effect
by trusting to an experiment made several years ago but abandoned."
"I think I'll have none of it," snorted Drake. "I'd like to see a little more
of the solar system before I die. You can get some other fool to run
your patched-up ash can."
"Drake," said Steve Hammond, "if you do not run this crate for us—or
at least try as hard as we are trying—I'll personally see that you are
mentioned whenever skunks, lizards, and butyl mercaptan are talked
about. This is an emergency."
"Mind telling me just what type of life-and-death run you're going for?"
asked Sandra, loftily.
"Enid McBride is hurt and needs him," said Hammond, pointing at
John. "There's a small matter involved—a small matter of a baby's
life, possibly. If John can get there in time, his presence will give Enid
the amount of lift she needs. Get me?"
"Baby?" sneered Sandra. "What woman in her right mind would have
—"
"Your mother," snapped Hammond, "and she made a mistake. Now
will you rectify her error and do something of value for once in your ill-
used twenty-four years?"
"I've no choice," said Drake. "I'll do it. But—"
"No buts. You're under suspension right now, and how you handle the
Haywire Queen marks your card. Take it—or take it!"
"Where's the pilot room?" asked Sandra in a cool tone.
"Below—where it usually is in a ship of this type. Your orders will be
coming soon enough, I hope."
"And our destination will probably be Station 1?"
"Right. Will you need navigational details?"
"I can work them out."
Drake left, and the men put the finishing touches on the double-warp
set-up. Hammond turned the equipment on, running them at test
power while Jimmy and McBride adjusted the generators for
maximum output.
Pete inspected the myriad of little glowing lights on the informer panel
and said that the ship was working properly from dome to foot.
"Grab a rolling chair," said Hammond to McBride. Then he snapped
the communicator and said: "Drake. Up at twenty feet per."
"Up at twenty feet per second per second acceleration," responded
Sandra in that flat, personless voice.
"We hope," said Steve with a short laugh.

An alarm gong sounded through the open communicator, and directly

afterward, the men in the power room could hear the relays closing.
In the room above them, an oil switch closed with a crashing sound,
its racket hardly muffled by the steel-grating floor. A rheostat whirred
as it followed the impulses sent from the control board in the pilot's
room; it whisked over a dozen contacts and came to rest. Four big
pilot lights winked into brilliance above the informer panel, indicating
that the ship was, 1.: Air-tight; 2.: Properly air-conditioned; 3.:
Possessed of sufficient power for flight; and 4.: Ready to lift. Behind a
two-foot dial, a diffused light glowed, illuminating the face which
would indicate the acceleration in feet per second. A small dynamotor
whined up the scale and into the region of inaudibility, and a series of
safe lights went on; lights that would be on all the time regardless of
what happened to the rest of the operating equipment. The meters of
the alphatron moved slightly, and then leaped toward the top peg,
stopping before they hit as the meter-sensitivity was cut accordingly.
The mag-grav generator meters followed suit, and then the mech-
grav meters went through the same dance. Then, far above them in
the larger part of the ship, a remotely controlled tap on a bank of
high-powered resistors made two steps forward, and an oil switch
that connected the drive's electronic requirements to the closed-
system turbine went home. Energy charged the gravitic equipment
with operating power—
And the Haywire Queen lifted upward!
The accelerometer moved quickly up the scale toward twenty.
"We made it!" yelled Jimmy Wilson.