a black pattern on a white background

'It was painted a very bright red, an odd color, I thought, for anything in space. There was some lettering on the side'apparently in English, though I couldn't make out the words at this distance. As the projectile slowly revolved, a black pattern on a white background came into view. . . .

Clearly painted on the side of the slowly approaching missile was the symbol of death'the skull and crossbones.'

'Arthur C. Clarke, Islands in the Sky, 1952.