Sense of Wonder: A Century of Science Fiction (120 page)

* * * *

Because there was nothing else to do, Grant unscrewed his helmet and let it fall back on its hinge. Then he looked very calmly and steadily at the Inspector of the Service for Ganymede.

A dull flame leaped into Miro’s eyes at the sight of his captive.

“You!” Then he smiled, a peculiarly horrible smile. “You are cleverer than I thought, my Earth friend. You should have been strangled to death on the
Althea
, or made into one of—”

He stopped short, and the smile widened cruelly. “But it is not too late. No, it is not too late.”

Grant disregarded his cryptic phrases. He smiled, too, a contemptuous smile that cut like a lash.

“You, Miro, an Inspector of the Service, are only a lying, treacherous, butchering Ganymedan. Filthy scum of the Universe.”

Miro started forward with a roar, a dark flush of rage suffusing his green-tinged countenance. His blunt-edged finger trembled on the button of the pencil-ray. Grant knew he was perilously on the verge of sudden death, yet his scornful glance did not waver.

It was Nona, hitherto unnoticed, her helmet removed, who darted upon the giant Ganymedan with small beating fists. Miro saw her coming and swung her sprawling away with one sweep of his free hand, while he covered Grant with the other.

He had recovered his composure. Some secret merriment seemed to convulse him.

“Ho! ho!” he shouted. “Who is this little spitfire? By Jupiter, she is a tempting morsel.” And his red eyes took in the flushed beauty of the panting girl speculatively.

Grant tensed for a quick spring.

“Stand where you are,” Miro barked. “One move and it will be your last.” Gone was the smooth unctuous speech of former times. His tone now was cutting, deadly.

* * * *

“You damned Earthmen have been crowing long enough,” he said. “When Miro and Ganymede get through with you, the very memory of your filthy planet will have been erased from the solar system.” His voice rose higher. “You thought you had us beaten down with your space-battleships and your embargoes on metals. And we were meekly repentant. Oh yes, we were! We took you in nicely. Why, they even made me, Miro, Inspector of your rotten Service.

“But we have been preparing against the day for years. Here on this island that we built we worked, hidden from interference. We are ready now. Our fleets will sail out, in your own ships, to smash the combined space navies of the solar system.”

In spite of himself Grant could not hide a sudden grin of relief. The man was mad, to think of pitting a few liners against armored battle craft. Miro saw that grin.

“You think I’m mad, don’t you?” he gloated. “Just listen to this, then. We have found a substance that no ray, no electro-bullet can penetrate. Every ship will be coated with it. And the Gorm here”—he pointed to the oily lake—”will draw your proud cruisers down to destruction, or thrust them far out into the uncharted spaces, helpless, just as it pleases us. You wonder how it works? Look! Now it attracts, and powerfully. But when I reverse the current passing through it like this”—he leaned over and pulled a switch set in the rock right by the edge—”it repels everything. We’ll just stand off in space and pick off your proud warships one by one, without a scratch to ourselves. See?” He fairly hissed the last word.

Grant saw, and the cold sweat burst out on his forehead. His brain raced desperately in a vain effort to find some way out, some method of foiling this beast.

“You sure talk big, Miro,” he said in bored fashion, feigning indifference; “but it means nothing to me. The point is, what do you intend doing with us?”

* * * *

The Ganymedan’s lips writhed. “Nothing at all to your pretty friend,” he leered. “I have plans for her. But as for you—see these creatures all about?”

“Well?”

“You are going to be one of them. They are passengers and crews who had the misfortune to be alive when the captured ships were sprayed with our gas. It does not kill. Oh, no! It just numbs their faculties, paralyzes them. Then our surgeons get busy. They know how to remove the memory and reasoning areas of the brain and leave just machines, automata, to do our bidding. Clever, aren’t they? When Earth is captured, I intend subjecting all your damned breed to the operation. They make very willing slaves, I’ve found. Two blasts on this toy”—he raised the whistle to his lips—”and an Earth-Doora comes for you.”

Nona sprang forward. “No, no, Miro. Please do not touch Mr. Pemberton. I’ll—I’ll—”

“What will you?” The Ganymedan’s pig-eyes devoured her.

“I’ll—” Then, to Grant’s eternal horror, she sank into Miro’s arms. The surprised look on Miro’s face changed slowly to one of passion, as he held her close to him with his great hairy arm.

“Nona!” Grant gasped and saw red. Heedless of the unwavering weapon at his breast, he sprang. Miro snarled as he saw him coming. His finger pressed down. But at that instant the Earth girl struck out with all the power of her slender arm. It was not much of a blow, but it managed to jar the weapon aside. The blue flame leaped hissing through the air.

Miro roared with rage, and flung her yards away, to lie, an unmoving pathetic bundle. Then he swung his ray back into play.

But he never had a chance to use it. All the strength and fury of Grant’s lithe, steel sinews and bone were behind the solid smash that landed squarely on the Ganymedan’s chin. He went down in a slump, completely out.

* * * *

Grant stooped to pick up the fallen pencil-ray, thrust it in the side flap, then hurried over to the limp figure of Nona.

“Darling,” he cried, “if anything’s happened to you, I’ll—”

The still form stirred, sat up.

“Say that again.” She was smiling weakly, but happily.

Grant flushed. “As many times later as you’ll want,” he said, “but now that you’re not hurt, we can’t waste any time in trying to get out of here.”

He walked over to Miro, who was just coming to.

“Listen, you rat,” he told the Ganymedan, who was rubbing his chin and groaning: “you do exactly as I say, if you know what’s good for you.” He shook the pencil-ray significantly.

“You can’t get away with it,” Miro snarled, muttering a string of curses. There was baffled rage in his red pig-eyes.

Grant surveyed him coldly.

“We’ll see about that,” he snapped. “Get up.” He reinforced his demand with a well-placed kick. The huge Ganymedan came quickly to his feet.

“Walk to the wall,” was the next order, “and open the trick door.”

With a glance of savage hate, Miro obeyed. Grant followed him with his pistol in readiness. The poor mindless creatures paid no heed to what was going on, but dully continued their appointed tasks.

Pemberton hid himself behind the wall to one side. Nona did likewise, having picked up the electro-gun meanwhile. Only Miro stood before the opening.

“Now tell your cutthroat friends out there we want one of the liners brought directly over the Gorm, you understand. Not the Althea, though—that’s still full of holes. And only one Ganymedan to guide her over the wall. Be very explicit, and not a false move out of you, or it’ll be your last.”

With the knowledge that two deadly weapons were pointing squarely at him, Miro shouted unwillingly the necessary instructions to his subordinates outside. Then Grant leaned over and kicked the slide shut.

* * * *

There followed tense moments of waiting. Would the workers beyond obey their leader? Had they become suspicious, and were even now massing for a surprise attack? Grant had no means of telling.

Then to his ears came the most welcome soft roar of muted rockets. A huge shape swept over the high wall, soared directly over the Gorm, and nestled down in little jets of flame until the stern rested on the solid rock, and the bow swung idly over the brilliant pool.

“Keep your gun trained on this bird,” Grant told Nona swiftly. She nodded. The air-lock door on the ship was already sliding open. A Ganymedan, space-suited, was coming through. He saw them, tried to spring back into the shelter of the ship. But a blue ray stabbed out and caught him in mid-flight. There was a spatter of dust, and the hapless creature disintegrated into thin air.

“Sorry I had to do it, but I couldn’t afford to let him give the alarm. Now for the dirty work, Nona. You hustle this big bully into the ship, and keep him covered. I’ll be right along.”

The girl cast him a look of anxiety. “What do you intend doing?”

“Don’t worry,” he assured her; “I won’t get hurt.”

After he had seen them within the liner, he got to work. First he brought out from the ship coils of wiring and jumbles of instruments. He took them over to the edge of the Gorm, to the place where he had seen Miro pull the switch, and for the next ten minutes was busy connecting wires, attaching batteries, putting his instruments in place. Then, when he was satisfied that everything was ready, he reversed the switch. The great space-ship, some fifty feet away, was already trembling in every line.

Just as he was rising to sprint for the slowly moving liner, he heard a smooth rushing noise. He whirled. The slide was opening in the wall. A mob of Ganymedans were pouring through. They paused uncertainly a moment, then, as they spied him, there was a concerted rush forward.

Grant acted quickly. Already the space-ship was off the ground, soaring upward. He had not an instant to spare. He dove toward it. The mob yelled, and raced forward to cut him off. His pencil-ray was useless—the distance was too great for its limited range. But then, that applied equally to the weapons of the Ganymedans.

* * * *

The blue rays snapped forward at him angrily, but fell short. The ship was moving faster now. It was already several feet off the ground. Grant’s heavy space-suit impeded his progress. The charging Ganymedans were dangerously close now. That last beam had missed him by inches. The ship was gathering speed. He was five feet away from the open air-lock when they got the range. A sharp searing pain right across his shoulder. The creatoid material of his suit was cut away as with a knife. A layer of flesh lay exposed. The skin had been whiffed into nothingness.

But that very instant he was leaping off the ground with a mighty effort. The ship was going upward with a rush now. His fingers clawed desperately at the edge of the air-lock. For one breathless instant he clung; then, to his horror, the smooth creatoid covering refused to hold. Slowly he slipped, in spite of every effort, as the surface of the hull refused purchase to his bleeding hands, then down he went with a thud.

A cry of triumph arose from the onrushing Ganymedans as Grant scrambled to his feet, bruised and shaken. He cast a swift, despairing glance upward. The huge liner was a hundred feet up now, gathering speed swiftly. To one side was the Gorm, a place of dread and menace. The gloating enemy were almost upon him. Even the comfort of a weapon, the grim satisfaction of taking some of his foes to death with him, was denied him.

The pencil-ray had been jarred out of his hand by the impact and had doubtless fallen into the Gorm.

Grant felt that he had come to the end of the rope. There was no tremor of fear in him, only regret that he had met the girl and lost her so soon. What would she do, out in space, alone with Miro? No time to think of that now, though. The foremost of the Ganymedans were almost upon him. They intended taking him alive, did they? He braced himself for the attack, ready to go down fighting.

* * * *

Then a brilliant plan beat suddenly upon his dazzled mind. It was breath-taking, so simple, yet so desperate did it appear. If it worked—he would win through. If not—but Grant dismissed that thought quickly; one form of death was no worse than another.

Without an instant’s hesitation, he whirled and jumped as high as he could—directly over the Gorm! There was a yell of astonishment from the Ganymedans —one had already clutched at his intended victim—as they fell back in horror from the edge. This Earthling was mad to brave the terrors of the Gorm!

But Grant heard nothing. He was instantly conscious of a searing, racking pain that penetrated his every fiber. He forced his eyes upward, anywhere but beneath him. Was his theory correct, or was he destined to drop into the fiery lake. For a single interminable instant, he suffered untold agonies.

Then his body quivered, and he felt an unmistakable push against him. He was moving upward, just as he had hoped. The Gorm was repelling him, even as it had the ship.

Faster and faster he shot up, chasing the liner. Would he catch up with it? He strained his eyes. Exultation flooded through him as he realized that the distance was rapidly lessening between them. The added impetus of his leap over the Gorm had given him the required extra fillip of speed. By now, rays were streaking by him.

Soon he was directly underneath. For an instant he had a quick fear that he might overshoot his mark. But no—he was sliding past the open air-lock. He threw himself sideways and caught at it. This time his fingers held.

As he squirmed and wriggled into the lock, they were already careening into the orange tube through the red swirling clouds. There was no longer any air. Choking, he managed with numbed fingers to screw his helmet on. Then, closing the lock, he proceeded into the ship.

Nona was guarding her prisoner vigilantly. Miro sat there, sullen, defiant. Her glad, welcoming cry filled Grant with a new strange warmth.

“I was so afraid for you when the ship started and you didn’t show up,” she said, “but I didn’t dare leave him alone.” She indicated Miro.

“Good girl,” he said admiringly. “We’ll bind him now and then I want to show you something.”

* * * *

They stood a little later at the bow quartz port-hole. Down the long shaft through which they had risen they saw the glaring flame of the Gorm. As they looked, its regular pulsations turned irregular: it leaped and splashed as though it was a stormy, choppy sea. Then it gave one final mighty heave, and the universe seemed to shatter beneath them. The “walls” of the shaft collapsed about them and they were enswathed in a raging storm of red clouds.