Super Science Fiction v03n03 1959-04

In
VAMPIRES
From Outer Space
BY RICHARD F. WATSON
The Abominable
Creature
y BY F. X. FALLON
iJTTJ
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SUPER-SCIENCE
FICTION!
Vol. 3 — No. 3 April, 1959
CONTENTS
NOVELETTES
MOURNFUL MONSTER by Dan Malcolm 2
A thing- of horror! Yet it could think — and feel
VAMPIRES FROM OUTER SPACE by Richard F. Watson . . B8

The weird seven-foot bats spread lantastic terror
SHORT STORIES
THE ABOMINABLE CREATURE by F. X. Fallon 36
It was loathsome, vile beyond all endurance!
THE HUGE AND HIDEOUS BEASTS by' James Rosenqvest 92

They made men tremble with nightmare fear
A CRY FOR HELP by Eric Rodman 113

The strange beings could alter a man's brain
FEATURES
LOOK TO THE STARS by Scott Nevets 57
NUCLEAR NEWS by Steven Rory 91
COVER by Emsh
ILLUSTRATIONS by Emsh.
W. W. Scott — Editor
SUPER-SCIENCE FICTION is published bi-monthly by Headline Publications Tnc..

at 1 Appleton Street, Holyoke, Mass. Editorial office at 1790 Broadway. Ne York
19. N. Y. Second class postage paid at the post office at Holyoke, Mass. Single copy
35c. Subscription rates, $4.00 for 12 issues. Not responsible for unsolicited manu-
scripts, and all such materials must be accompanied by self-addressed, stamped en-
velopes. All stories printed in the magazine are fiction, and any similarity between
the characters and actual persons is coincidental. Copyright 1959 by Headline Pub-
lications Inc. All rights, including translation, reserved under International Copy-
right Convention and Pan American Copyright Convention. Printed T
in the l .?.A.
i
MOURNFUL MONSTER
by DAN MALCOLM
NOVELETTE illustrated, by EMSH
It was huge, massive, with a hide of scales, legs like

tree trunks and a fanged mouth of utter horror. Yet it
was unmistakably intelligent —
and filled with sadness
JT was almost time for the ly to catch the attention of the

regular midweek flight to strikingly beautiful girl in the
leave. On the airstrip, the violet synthofab dress. Mar-
technicians were giving the shall, an anthropologist spe-
two-engine jet a last-minute cializing non-human
in cul-
checkdown. In fifteen minutes, tures, was on his way to New
according to the chalked an- Lisbon to interview a few
nouncement on the bulletin wrinkled old hunters who
board, the flight would de- claimed to have valuable in-
part —making the two thou- formation for him. He was try-
sand mile voyage across the ing to prove that an intelligent
trackless, unexplored wilder- non-human race still existed
ness that lay between the two somewhere on Loki, and he
Terran colonies of Marley- had been told at Marleyville
ville and New Lisbon, on the that several veteran hunters in
recently-s e e d
1 1 1 planet of New Lisbon had insisted they
Loki in the Procyon system. knew where the hidden race
In the Marleyville airport lived.
building, David Marshall was “Now boarding for the
having one last drink for the flight to New Lisbon,” came
road, and trying unsuccessful- the tinny announcement from
2
4 SUPER-SCIENCE FICTION
the loudspeaker. “Passengers as high as 180 degrees. In the
for New Lisbon please report cooler areas of high and low al-
to the planeon the field.” titudes, a more tolerable range
Marshall gulped the re- of 70-100 prevailed. The polar
mainder of his drink, picked regions were more comfortable
up his small portfolio, and so far as climate but went,
headed through the swinging they were barren and worth-
door to the airfield. Stepping less as places to farm or mine.
o*t of the aircooled building “Last call for New Lisbon
into the noonday heat was like plane,” the announcer called.
walking into a steambath. The Marshall trotted up the ramp,
climate on Loki ranged from smiled at the stewardess, and
subtropical to utterly unbear- took a seat. The plane was an
able. Humans had been able to old and *
rickety one. It had
settle in coastal areas only, in seen many years’ service, Mar-
the temperate zone. There was shall thought. Loki Airlines
one Earth colony here, Mar- had a “fleet” of just one plane,
leyville, forty years old and purchased at great expense
with a population of about from the highly industrialized
eighteen thousand. neighbor world of Thor. There
Far across the continent, on was not much traffic between
the western coast, was the oth- Marleyville and New Lisbon.
er major colony, New Lisbon, Once a week, the old jet plane
with some twenty thousand made a round trip across the
people. Half a dozen other jungle for the benefit of those
smaller colonies were scattered people—never more than a
up and down each coast, but dozen or so each time who —
few humans had ventured into had some reason for travelling
the torrid interior of the con- to another colony.
tinent. It was one vast unex- The plane seated about
plored jungle. forty, but no more than fifteen
And as for the other conti- were aboard. The attractive
nents of the planet, they were girl in the violet dress was sit-
totally unsuited for human ting a few rows ahead of Mar-

life. Temperatures equa-
in the shall. With so many empty
torial regions of Loki ranged seats in the plane, he did not
MOURNFUL MONSTER 5
have any valid excuse for sit- out, and he would have to re-
ting down next to her. Which turn to Earth and take a job
was unfortunate, he thought teaching at some university.
with mild regret. He hoped there would be some
He glanced around. People clue waiting at the other col-
sat scatteredly here and there ony.

in the plane. The stewardess The only way an anthropolo-
came by and pleasantly told gist could win prestige and ac-
him to fasten his seat belt. A claim these days was by doing
few moments later, the twin an intensive report on some
jet engines rumbled into life. unknown alien race. The trou-
The plane rolled slowly out ble was, most of the planets of
onto the runway. Within in- the galaxy had been pretty well
stants, it was aloft, streaking covered by now. He had his
eastward on the five-hour jour- choice of venturing onto some
ney to distant New Lisbon. distant and dangerous world or
repeating someone else’s work.
T'HE accident happened in
the third hour of the flight. But there was a rumor that
Marshall had been dividing his somewhere on Loki lived the
time between staring out the remnants of an almost-extinct
window at the bright green alien race. Marshall had
blur that was the ground eight- pegged his hopes on finding
een thousand feet below, and that race. He had arrived in
reading. He had brought an Marleyville week ago and
a
anthropological journal with had spoken some of the. old
to
him to read, but he found it settlers. Yes, they knew the
difficult to concentrate. He rumors, they told him; no,
would much rather have pre- they couldn’t offer any con-
ferred to be talking to the girl crete information. But there
in the violet dress. were some early settlers in
He was wondering whether New Lisbon who might be able
he would have any luck in New to help. So Marshall was on
Lisbon. This was the final year his way to New Lisbon. And if
of his research grant; in a few he drew a blank there, it was

months his money would run back to Earth.
His thoughts were running thing came the tight, tense
in that depressing channel, and voice of the pilot: “We are
he decided to try to get some making an emergency landing.
sleep instead of doing still Remain calm. Do not leave
more brooding and worrying. your seats until the instruc-
He nudged the seat-stud, guid- tion is given.”
ing the seat back into a more The ship was swooping to-
comfortable p o s i t i o n, and ward the jungle in an erratic
closed his eyes. wobbling glide now. Cries of
An instant later a shriek panic were audible. With one
sounded in the ship. engine completely gone, the
Marshall snapped to atten- pilot was having obvious diffi-
tion. He glanced across the culty controlling the ship. It
cabin and saw what the cause came stuttering down through
of the shriek had been. Great the atmosphere. Marshall
reddish gouts of flame were could make out individual
streaking from the engine on features of the landscape now.
the opposite wing. Moments He saw jungle, wild, fierce-
later the ship yawed violently looking, untamed.
Over the public ad-
to one side. “Prepare for landing!” came
dress system came the pilot’s the pilot’s words. Marshall
voice: “Please fasten seat gripped his chair’s arms tight-
belts. Remain seated.” ly. A second later the ship
An excited buzz of conversa- thundered to the ground, ac-
tion rippled through the ship. companied by the crashing
Marshall felt strangely calm trees. Marshall
sound of falling
and detached. So this was what glanced out the window. They
it was like to become involved had crash-landed in the thick
in an aircraft accident! of the jungle, pancaking down
His ears stung suddenly as on top of the trees and flatten-
the ship lost altitude. It was ing them.

dropping in a long, slow glide He ripped off his safety
toward the ground. Shock- belt. No time to stop to
waves ran through the passen- think —he had to get out of the
ger cabin as the smoking jet plane. He fumbled for his
engine exploded. Above every-
' portfolio, picked it up, saw
MOURNFUL MONSTER 7
something else under the seat, thick vegetation, panting

in big red letters it said breathlessly, while fury raged
SURVIVAL KIT. Marshall a few hundred yards behind
grabbed it. him. He did not look. He ut-
Passengers were rising from tered a prayer of thankfulness
Some were stunned,
their seats. for his lucky escape.
unconscious, perhaps dead And then he realized he had
from the violent impact of very littleto be thankful for.
landing. Marshall stepped out He was alive, true. But he was
into the aisle. Words met his alive in the middle of a track-
eyes— EMERGENCY EXIT. less jungle, with civilization a
His hands closed on a metal thousand miles away at the
handle. He thrust downward, nearest. Desperately he hoped
out. that there had been other sur-
The door opened. He tum- vivors.
bled out, dropping eight or
nine feet to the soft, spongy waited for a few min-
J_JE
A
forest floor. He knew he had utes after the blast had
to run, run fast. subsided. Then he rose un-
He ran — helter-skelter, trip- steadily. The ship a was
ping and stumbling over the charred ruin, a blistered hulk.
hidden vines. Sweat poured Fragments of the fuselage lay
down his body. Time seemed scattered over a wide area.
to stand still. He wondered One had landed only a few
how many other passengers dozen feet from where he lay.
would escape in time from the
doomed ship. He started to walk toward
The explosion, when it came, the wreckage.
seemed to fill the universe. A Figures lay huddled in the
colossal boom unfolded behind grass. Marshall reached the
him. The jungle heat rose to first. He was a man in his fif-
searing intensity for a mo- who was clambering to his feet,

ment. Marshall fell flat, shield- ties, heavy-set and balding,
ing his head against metal Marshall helped him up. The
fragments with his arms. He older man’s face was pale and
lay sprawled face-down in the sweat-beaded, and his lips
” ” —
were quivering. For a moment survivors out of twenty. And
neither said anything. they were lost in the heart of
Then Marshall said, in a the jungle.
voice that was surprisingly “We’re all that’s left,” he
steady, “Come. We’d better said in a quiet voice.
look for other survivors.” The girl in the violet
The second to be found was dress —

her beauty oddly en-
the girl in the violet dress. She hanced by the tattered appear-
was sitting upright, fighting to ance of her clothing and the
control her tears. Marshall smudges of soot on her face
felt a sudden surge of joy murmured, “It’s horrible! Go-
when he saw was still
that she ing along so well and in just——
alive.She had not completely a couple of moments
escaped the fury of the “It was an old plane,” mut-
blast, though; her dress was tered the older man bitterly.
scorched, her eyebrows singed, “An antique. It was criminal
the ends of her hair crisped. to such a plane be used
let
She seemed otherwise un- commercially.”
harmed. “Talking like that isn’t go-
Not far from her lay two ing to help us now,” said the
—
more people a couple, who remaining man, who stood
got shakily to their feet as close to his wife.
Marshall approached them. “Nothing’s going to help us
Like the others they were pale now,” said the girl in the vio-
and close to the borderline of let dress'. “We’re in the middle
hysteria. of nowhere without any way
Five survivors. That was of getting help. It would have
been better to be blown up
all.
bodies
Marshall found
near the
six charred
—
plane pas- than to survive like this
—
sengers who had succeeded in “No,” Marshall said. He
escaping from the ship, but held up the small square box
who had been only a few feet labelled SURVIVAL KIT.
away at the time of the blast. “Did any of you bring your
None of the bodies was recog- survival kits out of the plane?
nizable. He
turned away, slow- No? Well, luckily, I grabbed
ly, shoulders slumping. Five up mine before I escaped.
—
MOURNFUL MONSTER 9
Maybe there’s something in small stream. Strange forest

here to help us.” birds, angry over the sudden
They crowded close around noisy invasion of their domain,
as he opened the kit. He called cackled shrilly in the heavy-
off the contents.“Water puri- leaved trees above them. Mar-
compass .... a
fier .... flare- shall took a seat on a blunt
gun and a couple of flares .... boulder at the edge of the
a blaster with auxiliary charg- stream and said, “Now, then.
es. . . .a handbook of survival We’re going to make a trek
techniques. That’s about it. through this jungle and we’re
There’s a knife, a flamegun, going to reach New Lisbon
and a couple of other things.” alive. All clear?”
“We’ll never make it,” the No one answered.

girl in the violet dress said Marshall said, “Good. That
softly. “A thousand miles back means we all have to work to-
to a thousand
Marleyville, gether, if we’re going to sur-
miles ahead to New Lisbon. vive. hope you understand
I
And no roads, no maps. We the meaning of cooperation. No
might as well use that blaster bickering, no selfishness, no
on ourselves.” . defeatism. Let’s get acquaint-
“No!” Marshall snapped. ed, first. My name is David
Staring at the stunned, defeat- Marshall. I’m from Earth. I’m
ed faces of the other four, he a graduate student of anthro-
would have to
realized that he pology —came to Loki to do
assume the leadership of the anthropological research to-
group. “We’re not giving

little ward my doctorate in alien cul-
up,” he said sharply. “We tures.”
can’t let ourselves give up. He glanced inquisitively at
We’re going ahead —ahead to the girl in the violet dress. She
New Lisbon!” said in a faltering voice, “My
name is Lois Chalmers. I’m
r 1
HE first thing to do, Mar- I’m the daughter of the govern-
J shall was to get thought,
or of the New Lisbon colony.”
organized. He led them a few Marshall’s eyes widened

hundred yards through the low Governor Alfred Chal-
slightly.
underbrush, to the side of a mers was one of the most im-
to SUPER-SCIENCE FICTION
portant men in the entire Pro- Lisbon. We might as well head
cyon system. Her presence in that direction.”
here meant that there would “Maybe it’s better to stay
surely be an attempt to find rightwhere we are,” Nathan
the survivors of the crash. Kyle suggested. “They’re cer-
Marshall next looked toward tain to search for survivors. If
the married couple. The man, we stay near the wreckage—”

who was short, thickset, and “They could search this jun-
muscular, said, “I’m Clyde gle for a hundred years and
Garvey. This is my wife Es- never cover the whole terri-
telle. We’re second-generation tory,” Marshall said. “Don’t
colonists at Marleyville. We forget that the only transcon-

were going to take a vacation tinental plane on this world
in New Lisbon.” just crashed. All they have is
a handful of short-range cop-
The remaining member of
ters and light planes not suf- —
ficient to venture this deep into
the little band was the middle-
aged man. He spoke now. “My the jungle. No; our only hope
name is Kyle, Nathan Kyle. is to head for New Lisbon.
I’m from Earth. I have large

Maybe when we get close
business investments on Loki,

enough, we’ll be spotted by a
search-party.”
both at Marleyville and New
Lisbon.” “What will we eat?” Estelle
“All Marshall said.

right,”
Garvey wanted to know.
“We’ll hunt the native wild-
“We all know who everybody
else is, now.” He looked up at
life,”Marshall told her. “And
the sky. It was mid-afternoon, supplement that with edible
vegetation. Don’t worry about
and only the overhanging roof
of leaves the food angle.”
shielded the forest
floor from the blazing sun. “How long will it take to
“We were just about at the reach New Lisbon?” Kyle
halfway point of the trip when asked.
we crashed. That means it’s Marshall shrugged. “We’ll
just as far to Marleyville as it march by day, camp by night.
is to New Lisbon. Probably If we can average ten miles a
we’re slightly closer to New day through the jungle, it’ll
” ”
MOURNFUL MONSTER II
take about three months to jungle,where the treetops were

reach safety.” linked a hundred feet above
“Three months
— the forest floor by a thick
“I’m afraid so. But at least meshwork of entangled vines
we’ll get there alive.” thatall but prevented sunlight
“Nice to know you’re so from penetrating.

confident, Marshall,” Kyle They moved slowly, trying
said bleakly. “Three months on to avoid making noise. Garvey
foot through jungle
with all sorts of
a
dangers
—thick heard a threshing in the under-
brush and touched Marshall’s
“Don’t give up before we’ve arm. They froze; a second lat-
started,” Marshall said. He er a strange creature emerged
studied the survival kit com- from a thicket a few feet away
pass for a moment, frowning. from them. It was vaguely
“We want to head due east. deerlike, a lithe, graceful beast
That way. If we start right whose hide was a delicate gray-
away, we can probably cover ish-purple in color. In place of
five or six miles before night- horns, three fleshy tendrils
fall. But let’s eat and freshen sprouted from its forehead.
up first.” The animal studied the two
The blaster supplied in the men with grave curiosity. Evi-
survival kit had one hundred dently it had never seen human
shots in it, plus an extra hun- beings before, and did not
dred in the refill. Marshall was know whether or not to be
a fair shot, but he knew he afraid. Slowly the forehead-
would have to do better than tendrils rose in the air, until
fair if they were to survive the they stood erect like three pen-
trip. Every shot would have to cils on the beast’s head.
count. Marshall lifted the blaster.
He and Garvey struck out Alarmed at the sudden motion,
into the forest while Kyle and the animal gathered its legs
the women remained behind to and prepared to bound off into
fashion water-canteens out of the darkness. Marshall fired
some gourds that grew near the quickly. A bolt of energy
water’s edge. The two men en- spurted from the blaster; he
tered the darkest part of the aimed for the chest, but his
a
aim was high, and he caught seemed have much of an ap-
to
the beast in the throat instead. petite, but they forced them-
The animal blinked once in selves to eat, and washed it
surprise, then slipped to the down with purified water. Af-
mossy carpet of the forest. ter the meal, Marshall care-
Marshall and Garvey car- fully wrapped up the remain-
ried their prey back to the der of the meat in the animal’s
stream slung between them. own hide, tying the bundle to-
The women had worked effi- gether with vines. They filled
cently while they were gone, their gourd canteens and
Marshall saw. Five gourds lay plugged them shut.
ranged neatly along the No one said much. A tre-
stream’s bank, each one care- mendous task faced them —
fully hollowed out. Kyle was trek across half a continent,
busy with the water purifier. through unknown jungle. All
Marshall and Garvey five seemed subdued by the
dumped the deer-like creature enormity of the job that con-
in the middle of the clearing. fronted them.
“Our first meal,” Marshall
said. “I hope there aren’t any They started out, hacking
vegetarians among us.” their way through the inter-
twined brambles, following the
TT was a messy business, compass on an easterly course.
A skinning the animal and pre- The stream followed right
paring it for cooking. Marshall along with them, which made
drew that and performed
job, things a little easier. It was
it with the small knife from the always good to know that your
survival kit. Garvey and his water supply was heading in
wife built the fire, while Kyle the same general direction you
cut down a green branch to were going.
use as a spit. Loki’s day was twenty-eight
The cooking job was ex- hours long. Marshall’s wrist-
tremely amateur, and the watch was an Earthtype stand-
meat, when they finally served ard one, so it was of little use
it, was half raw and half to him, but Garvey wore a
scorched. None of them watch which gave the time as
MOURNFUL MONSTER 13
half past three in the after- beady-eyed, at the Earthmen.

noon Loki time — Marleyville After more than an hour of
time. But they were a thou- steady marching Lois Chal-
sand miles east of Marleyville, mers asked for a few minutes
and heading further east with to rest, and they halted. She
every step. Marshall did not pulled off the stylish pumps
attempt to adjust the time to she was wearing, and stared
the longitude. Life was comoli- ruefully at her swollen feet.
cated enough as it was, just “These shoes of mine just
then. aren’t intended for jungle
If Garvey’s watch were treks,” she said mournfully.
right, though, they had about “But I can’t walk barefoot in
six more hours of marching the jungle, I suppose.”

time before nightfall would ar- Garvey said, “If you’d like,
rive. If they could average a I’ll make you some sandals
mile an hour while walking, out of bark and vines.”
Marshall thought, it might be The girl brightened. “Oh,
possible to reach New Lisbon would you?”
in eighty or ninety days. If So there was a fifteen-min-
they lived that long, he added ute halt while Garvey fash-
grimly. ioned crude sandals for her.
The stream widened out af- During the wait, Marshall ven-
ter a while, becoming a fairly tured down to the river-bank
broad little river. Water beasts again. The big sleeping reo-
were slumbering near the bank. tiles lay sunning themselves on
Marshall approached to look the mud by the side of the wa-
at them. They were reptiles, ter.
sleek velvet-brown creatures Marshall saw golden shaoes

twenty feet long, with tails gliding through the water.
that switched ominously from Fish. Another source of food,
side to side and toothy mouths he thought, and one that would
that yawned hungrily at the not consume the precious
little party of Terrans. But blaster-charges. They would
the animals made no attempt need to make hooks from sliv-
to come up on shore and at- ers of bone and fishing-line
tack. They simply glared, from the sinews of animals.
He smiled to himself as the trees whose trunks were the
idea occurred. David Mar- thickness of a dozen men. The
shall, late of the University of forest grew dark rapidly;
Chicago, no had
business Loki’s gleaming moon’s
three
knowing anything about such could be seen bobbing inter-
primitive things as home-made mittently above the trees, and
fishing equipment. a sprinkling of stars brightened
But a man had to survive, the night.
he thought. And to survive you Marshall said, “We’ll stand
had your brains.
to use watch in shifts through the
He peered at the slowly- night. Kyle, you take first
moving fish below the water, watch. Then Lois. I’ll hold
and nodded to himself. The down the middle slot. Mrs.
first opportunity they had, Garvey, you follow me, and
they would improvise some your husband can have the
fishing equipment. last shift. Two hours apiece
ought to do it.”
r ,
HE river narrowed to a He opened the survival kit
J
stream again, later on, and and handed the blaster and
veered sharply off to the south. flare gun to Kyle. The busi-
The party continued on the nessman frowned and said,
eastward path, even though “What am I supposed to do?”
they were no longer with a wat- “Stay awake, mostly, and
er supply. The afternoon dark- keep an eye out for visiting an-
ened into night, and the jungle imals. And if you happen to
heat subsided. hear an airplane overhead,
shoot of one of the flares so
As dusk began to gather they’ll be able to find us.”
around them, Marshall said, “Do you think they’ll send

“We’d better stop now. Make a plane this far?” Lois asked.
camp continue in the
here, Marshall shook his head.
morning. We’ll get into trou- “Frankly, no. But it can’t do
ble if we try to hike in the any harm to be prepared.”
dark.” He and Garvey built a fire
They settled in a small while the others collected a
clearing fenced in by vaulting woodpile to use as fuel through
MOURNFUL MONSTER 15
the night. Then the group set- soundly asleep when Lois came
tled down for the night. They to fetch him for his shift on
remained close together; Mar- patrol.
shall chose a clump of grass as
his bed, while the Garvey’s
J_JE was dreaming of some
huddled in each other’s arms pleasant tropical isle
not far away and Lois bedded where there was nothing to do
down on the other side of the but sleep on the beach, swim,
fire. Kyle, as first watch, sat make love, and sip mild
near the fire. drinks. He felt the girl’s hand
on his shoulder, but she had
Marshall did not find it easy to shake him several times be-
to fall asleep. His senses were fore he woke.

troubled by new sensations— Finally he rolled over and
the chickk-chickk of the jun- blinked at her. “What’s the
gle insects, the far-off hooting matter?”
of night-flying birds, the oc- “Your turn,” the girl whis-
casional unnerving trumpet- pered.
call of some huge wandering “Turn?” he repeated vague-
animal settling down for the ly. Then he came fully awake.
night. “Oh. I see.” He got to his feet
The flickering of the camp- and glanced his watch. It
at
fire bothered him no matter read two o’clock. He made a
how tightly clamped his
he rough computation into Loki
eyelids together. He remained time and decided that it was
awake a long while, squirm- about six and a half hours be-
ing and shifting position, his fore dawn.
mind full of a million thoughts
and plans. He The Gar-
looked around.
He was still half awake and veys and Kyle were sound
dimly aware of what was hap- asleep; Kyle was even snoring.
pening when Kyle’s shift end- The fire was getting a bit low.
ed, for he heard the financier Marshall added some logs to it.
talking to Lois, waking her up. “Was there any trouble?” he
But some time after that he asked.
dozed off, because he was “No,” Lois said. “Nothing
has happened. Good night.” “You ought to get some
“Good night,” he replied. sleep,” he told her.
She crossed the clearing and “I know. But I She
can’t.”
settled down to sleep. Mar- got to herfeet, and they
shall squatted by the fire and strolled around the clearing
stared upward. A great white together. He watched her with
bird on a tree-limb
settled interest. She was certainly a
above him, and the huge crea- lovely girl. In the past, he had
ture was staring down at the never had much time to spare
camp with serene indifference. for women. His studies had al-
For a moment Marshall seri- ways come first.
ously considered shooting the

big bird with the blaster he “How old are you?” he
held; it would probably pro- asked after a while.
vide them with enough meat “Nineteen,” she said.
for several days. But he held “You?”
back, reluctant to kill anything “Twenty-seven.”
quite so beautiful. They still “You’re an anthropologist?”
had some of the deer meat left, she asked.
and there was no need to kill “Yes.”
again just yet. After a short “A good one?”
while the bird took wing, and “Not very,” he admitted.
flew off into the darkness with “Just run of the mill. I came
solemn dignity. here hoping to make my fame
Marshall paced around the and fortune by discovering the
camp. An hour slipped by. He native life of Loki.”
looked around, saw the girl “You still may,” she said.
Lois sitting up. her head “Aren’t they supposed to live
propped against her hand, somewhere in the jungle? May-
watching him. He walked over be we’ll find them while we’re
to her. travelling east.”
“Why are you up?” Marshall chuckled quietly.
“I can’t sleep. I’m wide He had been so busy with the
awake again.” she whispered. sheer problems of survival
“M nd if I keep you com-
:
that he had never even stopped
pany?” to consider that possibility. Of
MOURNFUL MONSTER 17
course, he thought! Wouldn’t their campsite, and some pa-

it be wonderful if I stumbled tient angling by Garvey and
right into an alien village! Marshall provided their break-
They talked for a while fast: small herring-like fish
longer, mostly about her. She which had a sharp, pungent

went to school on Thor, the taste when cooked. After
neighboring world; she had breakfast they washed up. the
stopped at Marleyville to visit women bathing first, then the
her brother, who was in busi- men. Personal privacy was be-
ness there, before going on to ing respected as best as possi-
see her father at New Lisbon. bleamong them.
Evidently, Mar|hall thought, They marched until noon,
she had led a rather plush and when the heat became almost
sheltered life up till now. But intolerable and they were
she was bearing up pretty well forced to stop for a siesta. Lois
under the jungle life, he found a bush with round blue-
thought. green fruits the size of apples
growing on it, and, after Gar-
When watch read half
his vey had boldly tasted one
past four, he woke up Estelle without immediate ill effects,
Garvey. “Your turn,” he told they lunched on those and
her. “Your husband relieves moved on half an hour later.
you at six o’clock.” The forest creatures showed
He returned to his clump of no fear of them. From time to
grass. Lois settled down across time small rodents with huge
the way from him. He was hind legs would hop rabbit-
asleep within minutes. fashion almost defiantly close
to them, peering curiously out
r ,
HEY
were all up at dawn. of gleaming blue eyes. Once a
J' big beast clumsily blundered
Garvey, who was very good
with his hands, had made use across their path —an animal
of his time on watch to fashion the height of a man and about
a pair of fishhooks and some fifteen feet which
long,
line. clumped along on four im-
They discovered another mense legs.
small brook not too far from It was obviously a vegeta ri-
an, and just as obviously it had was no time to seek cover, and
poor eyesight. It crossed their no cover to be had.
path only twenty feet in front The rain lasted fifteen min-
of Marshall, who was in the utes,though there were mo-
lead, and paused briefly to ments when Marshall felt it
gulp down a hillock of grass was going to go on forever,
before continuing on its myop- cascading in endless sheets.
ic way. They were soaked to the skin
Morale remained high in the by the time it was over.
little band. Marshall estimated Their clothing, already
that they covered better than shredded and soiled after three
fourteen miles during the day, days of jungle lifej clung to
and when they stopped at sun- their skins as if pasted there.
down Garvey shot a long- Gnatlike insects came to hover
eared gazelle-like animal for around the bedeviled Earth-
their dinner. Sniffing little hy- men, stinging and buzzing and
enas came to investigate the flying into ears and eyes and
kill, but rapidly scattered noses and mouths.
when Marshall hurled a rock A glorious rainbow arched
at them. It was not worth wast- across the sky, glowing in the
ing a blaster shot on such ver-
golden-green sunlight, but
min. none of the Earthmen were in
any mood to appreciate its
The next day they moved beauty. They were wet and
on again, and that day they sticky and miserable. After a
ran into their first serious while, their clothes dried some-
problems in the jungle. what though the humidity as-
The initial snag came in sured that nothing would ever
mid-morning. The party was dry completely. By noontime
hacking its way through a par- that day, colorful molds were
ticularly tangled stretch of already beginning to form on
pathless underbrush. Abruptly, the soaked clothing. By the
a torrential rain descended on time they finished the trip,
—
them a warmish rain that fell Marshall thought, their clothes
by the bucketful, drenching will have rotted completely
them within instants. There away.
—
MOURNFUL MONSTER 19
The prospect of regular died together while Marshall

drenching of this sort was not and Garvey poled the rickety
an appealing one. But, in the raft across.
middle of the afternoon, a new They were midway across
problem presented itself. The when Kyle, who was holding
stream that they had been fol- the blaster, suddenly pointed
lowing most of the day had and shouted: “L-look!”
widened suddenly into a riv-
er— and the river had taken a A snout was rising from the
broad swinging curve o.ut in river’s murky depths. Turning,
front of them, where it blocked Marshall saw the head that
the eastward passage complete- followed it —
a head about the
ly- size of a large basketball, and
Marshall shaded his eyes mostly teeth. The neck came
and looked upriver. “Think we gliding up from the water next,
ought to try heading north for yards of Ten, fifteen feet
it.
a while?” he asked. of neck rose above them, and

Garvey shook his head. still more lurked beneath the
“Don’t think it’s wise to leave —

water along with who knew
course, Marshall. We’d better how many feet of body.
build a raft.” The head was swaying from
side to side, looming above the
took them most of the
It raft and rocking gently as if
rest of the day to complete the getting into the rhythm of a .
raft, with Garvey, as the best spring. Kyle’s trembling hands

hand craftsman of the group, held the blaster. The river
directing the work. The raf*. creature followed smoothly
when it was finished, was a along the side of the raft,
crude but serviceable affair studying the five people

several dozen logs lashed solid- aboard, deciding which one
ly together by the tough, sin- would make the juiciest mor-
ewy vines that grew every- sel.
where in the jungle. The river “For God’s sake, fire!”

that had so unexpectedly Marshall called. “Shoot, Kyle,
blocked their route was almos*: shoot ” !
a mile wide. The Terrans ed- 7

But Kyle did not shoot.
With a muttered curse, Mar- beached itself, they continued
shall sprang forward, nearly inland.
upsetting the delicate balance During the next five days,
of the raft, and snatched the they plodded steadily along.
blaster from the financier’s Marshall figured they had
numb fingers. He lifted and covered about a hundred
fired. The river-serpent’s head miles —
which sounded like a
vanished. The long sleek neck great deal, until he realized it
slipped gracefully into the wa- was only one tenth of the total
ter. A trail of blood eddied up- journey.
ward toward the surface. The five of them were
Lois gasped and pointed to- changing, in those five days.
ward the water. It boiled with Becoming less prissy, less civi-
activity. Creatures were com- lized. The barriers of restraint
ing from all over to devour the were rapidly breaking down.
dead monster.
They ate foods they would
never have dreamed of eating
“I’m sorry,” Kyle muttered normally, ripping and rending
thinly. “I had the gun I tried — almost raw meat to assuage
to fire it — but I couldn’t shoot, their hunger. They a f e less fre-
I just was too
couldn’t. I quently and from day to
too,
scared. Marshall, dammit, I’m day they grew leaner, tougher.
”
sorry !
In the past few years Marshall
“Forget it,” Marshall said. had let himself get slightly out
“It’s dead and no harm was of shape, but that roll of flesh
done.” But he made a men<al around his middle had disap-
note to the effect that Kyle peared utterly in only a few
could not be trusted to act in days. Muscles that had not
an emergency. In the jungle, worked for many years came
you were either quick or you into regular play.
were dead. The little band did not pre-
sent a very imposing picture,
'
j^'FIEY reached the other "he men had week-old beards;
side of the river without the women, despite sporadic
further mishap, and. abandon- attempts at self-tidiness, were
ing the raft where it had growing unkempt and very un-
MOURNFUL MONSTER 21
feminine, with ragged, stringy niggling concern with modesty

hair and no makeup. As for or other social graces that were
clothing, it was diminishing irrevelant in the cruel world of
rapidly, the effects of continu- the jungle.
al humidity and rain and jun- Marshall became an adept
gle life. hunter. The jungle abounded
Marshall’s shirt had been so in strange life-forms of every
encrusted with violet and description: thick-furred crea-
green molds that he had been tures like little teddy-bears,
forced to discard it. His that soared on bat-wings from
trousers were frayed and tat- tree to tree, forming easy tar-
tered, and ended at the knee. gets in mid-glide and yielding
Garvey looked similarly dis- deliciously tender white meat;
heveled, while Kyle was even big-beaked jungle birds of
worse. astonishing color, who ranged
themselves in groups of a doz-
The insubstantial fabrics of en along a tree-limb and obedi-
the women’s dresses had suf- ently waited to be shot; curi-
fered the hiost. Lois’ violet ous amphibious creatures who
synthofab dress, which had at- looked like oildrums with eyes,
tracted Marshall so much back and whose hind legs tasted
in Marleyville, was a bedrag- like chicken; graceful fawn-
gled ruin. She shed it com- like creatures that flitted
pletelyon the fourth day, through the forest like tawny
making do with her under- ghosts, occasionally coming
clothes and some foliage within range.
bound around her breasts for Making the most of his two
the sake of modesty. hundred blaster charges, Mar-
But modesty mattered very shall kept the group supplied
little in the jungle. It was fu- with meat. Kyle became a sur-
tile maintain the old civi-
to prisingly able fisherman, while
lized taboos under such condi- the women made themselves
tions. Before the end of the responsible for gathering
first week, the five of them fruits, nuts, and vegetables,
were bathing unashamedly to- and Garvey took care of the
gether, and there was no more mechanical aspects of jungle
—
life, the building of clearings good pace all morning. They
and the fashioning of clubs stopped at noon and feasted
and sandals and the like. on a pair of the small green
They forged forward, keep- amphibious oildrum-creatures,
ing careful track of the days and then moved on. Marshall,
and careful watch of the skies, his blaster in his hand, led the
in case a rescue ship should way, with Lois at his side. The
pass overhead. None did. But girl wore only sheer pants
the general mood of the party round her waist, but despite
was one of quiet determination. this she did not show the em-
The conviction now gripped barrassment she had displayed
them that they would return to originally when it had been ne-
civilization alive. cessary for her to discard her
Her body
useless city clothes.
Except for occasional brush- was tanned and handsome.

es with the larger jungle wild- Walking behind Marshall
life, and a few small incidents came Nathan Kyle, holding
involving snakes underfoot, the flare-gun, with the Gar-
there had been no serious veys bringing up the rear. On
problem. The rain, the humid- one of his recent evening
ity, the insects —
these were in- watches Garvey had fashioned
conveniences which could be a bow and arrow outfit for
tolerated. There was no reason himself, and henow wore the
to suspect that they would get bow slung over his thick bar-
into difficulties. All they had rel chest. His wife carried the
to do was to keep on plugging survival kit.
ahead. They cut their way through
Until the ninth day. When it
some reasonably open terri-
suddenly became clear that tory for about an hour after
their eastward march had the lunch halt. Marshall, keep-
come to an unexpected halt ing his compass constantly in
perhaps permanently. hand, maintained the consis-
tent eastward course which he
TT had been a coolish day, by hoped would, in time, bring
""jungle standards, and the them to the coastal area where
group had been moving at a the colony of New Lisbon and
MOURNFUL MONSTER 23
the other smaller coast settle- Lois pressing up against him,

ments could be found. her hand gripping his arm in
The course took them up sudden fright. He put his free
the side of a small, heavily- arm around her to steady her.
wooded rise. Marshall strode But he was frightened himself.
through the thick shrubbery, He had never seen anything
ignoring as best he could the quite like the beast that stood
droning insects that nipped at squarely in their path, no more
his bare legs, and down the than five hundred yards ahead.
other side of the low hill. The creature was vaguely
He stopped, staring ahead. —
humanoid in shape that is, if
His eyes ranged toward the ithad any meaning to describe
next hill in the gently undulat- such a monster as humanoid.
ing series. Sudden amazement It towered above the trees, but
surged through him. through the shrubbery Mar-
“Good God,” he muttered. shall could see that it stood on
“Look at that!” two massive legs that seemed
The others came up to him almost like treetrunks them-
and paused with him, an anx- selves. The being was covered
ious, frightened little group. entirely with thick, metallic-
Garvey, squinting out into the looking scales that glinted
distance with his keen, experi- blue-green in the sunlight. Its
enced eyes, said finally, “I’ve immense head consisted most-
never seen anything like it. ly of mouth; fangs more than
The beast must be fifty feet six inches long were visible.
high!” The eyes were like blazing
“Are you sure?” Marshall beacons, as big as dishes but —
asked. they were not the eyes of a
“At least that much. It’s beast. There was unmistakable
standing in a clump of rhizome intelligence in them.
trees that grow to about forty As they watched, one gigan-
feet, never less, and you can tic arm swooped upward
see the creature’s head bob- through the air. For an in-
bing up over the damned stant, eight huge fingers were
” spread wide. Then they closed
trees!
Marshall was conscious o r tight, imprisoning a bat-like
. .
flying reptile the way a man Marshall and Lois crouched
might pounce on a small in- down behind a thick shrub
sect.The trumpfeting sound of and waited. He gripped the
the frightened pterodactyl blaster tight, holding it in
echoed for a moment in the readiness, but even as he
forest; then, the mouth opened the safety he paused
yawned, the arm went toward to think that the blaster was a
it. futile weapon to use against a
monster of this size.
The mouth closed. The Lois whispered, “What is
monster had devoured an ap- that thing? I’ve never heard of

petizing morsel —a pleasant a life-form that size.”
midday snack. As if to signal “Neither have I. This is just
its pleasure it rumbled ground- something that’s lurked in this
shakingly, a fierce bellow of unexplored jungle without ever
content. Then it turned, and, getting seen from the air. And
sending saplings crashing all it’s just our luck to be the ones
around, began to stride toward to discover it!”
the group of humans huddled “Does it know where we
at the foot of the hill. are?”
Marshall shrugged. “Some-
J^JARSHALL was the first thing that size probably
x
to react. “Come on,” he doesn’t have very highly de-
said harshly. “Maybe it sens- veloped sense organs. But it
es us. Let’s split up before we may have seen us. And it may
all wind up as lunch for that be hungry.”
thing.” “I hope not.”
With a rough shove, he sent The creature was getting
Nathan Kyle plunging away closer.Marshall could feel the
into the underbrush. Garvey ground quivering as each pon-
needed no hint; he and his derous foot descended to. the
wife faded off the road into a jungle floor. It was like a dis-
sheltered spot. Marshall tant drumbeat .... boom ....
glanced at him, saw him boom . . . boom . . . boom .
stringing his bow and notching Abruptly the booming

an arrow into place. stopped. That meant, Marshall
MOURNFUL MONSTER 25
thought, that the monster had the brush apart with its mon-
to be very close —and perhaps strous paws, hunting for the
was pausing a few yards away, hidden Earthmen. Marshall
searching for the small crea- prayed that Garvey, on the
tures it had seen from the dis- other side of the creature,
tance. He held his breath and would not decide to open fire
warily looked over his shoul- with his bow. The monster ev-
der. idently had a poor sense of
Two legs were planted like smell, and the humans were
treetrunks no more than twen- well hidden under the shrub-
ty yards away from him. He bery. With luck, they might
caught his breath sharply. Lois avoid being seen. Perhaps the
turned to see what he was creature, cheated of its prey,
looking at; her mouth widened would simply continue on its
as if she were about to scream, way through the jungle, allow-

and Marshall instantly clapped ing them tomove along toward
his hand over it. New Lisbon without harm.
She relaxed. He lifted his
hand from her mouth and put Long moments passed. The
a finger to his lips, indicating creature, with seemingly cos-
silence. mic patience, was still stand-
They turned round to see ing there, probing the under-
the creature. brush with its enormous fin-
It did not seem to notice gers. Marshall kept the blaster
them. Marshall’s gaze rose, up cocked and ready in case he

the giant legs, past the thick should be uncovered. No doubt
midsection of the body, to the Garvey was waiting, too, with
head. Yes there was no doubt his wife.
—
about it there was intelli- How about Kyle? Marshall
gence in those eyes. But an ali- remembered the way Kyle had
en intelligence. And it was the choked up when the sea-ser-
face of a carnivorous creature pent had risen from the depths
that would hardly stop to won- of the river. How was the fi-
der before devouring them. nancier reacting now, with
It had come to a halt and hideous death looming not far
was peering round, spreading overhead?
Marshall found out a mo- The creature stooped sud-
ment later. denly. It reached into the un-
Kyle began to scream. derbrush; its fingers closed
“Help! Help me! It’s going around something. Then it
to find me! Marshall! Gar- straightened up. Marshall saw

vey! Kill it before it catches something impossibly tiny-
me!” looking held in the monster’s
His pitiful wails rang out hand, and he had to force him-
loudly. Marshall saw the feet self to realize that the kicking,
of the monster rise and move squirming creature the mon-

in the direction of the sound. ster held was a human being.
“No! No!” Kyle yelled. “Let’s go,” Marshall said.
“Stay here and don’t move “It’s caught Kyle. Maybe we
from the spot,” Marshall told can kill it.”
Lois. “I’ve got to protect Kyle.

The idiot! The absolute idiot!” 'T'HE monster was staring at
He moved in a half-crouch Kyle with deep curiosity.

through the underbrush. Kyle The Earthman blubbered and
was still yelling in hysterical screamed. Gently, the huge
fear. Marshall kept going un- creature touched Kyle with an
til he reached Garvey. The inch-long fingernail. Kyle
solidly built colonist had his moaned and prayed for re-
bow drawn tight and was look- lease.
ing around.
“The creature’s just over to “Should we fire?” Garvey
the left,” Garvey informed asked.
him. “It heard Kyle squalling “Wait a minute. Maybe it’ll
and now it’s going to have a set him down. It seems fasci-
look.” nated by him.”
Marshall craned his neck “It’s never seen an Earth-
back. Yes, there was the crea- man before,” Garvey said.
ture, hovering high above the “Maybe it’ll decide Kyle isn’t
forest floor. edible.”
“Help me! Please don’t let “He deserves whatever he
it get me ” Kyle was still wail-
! gets,” Marshall grunted. “But
ing. it’s our duty as Earthmen to
—
MOURNFUL MONSTER 27
try to save him. Suppose you and kicked over the tree that
take a pot-shot at the hand had been sheltering them.
that’s holding Kyle. Think you Marshall fired first, aiming
can hit the alien without nail- his blaster bolt straight into
ing Kyle?” the thick leg in front of him.
“I’ll do my best,” Garvey The energy beam was opened
said grimly. to the widest possible aperture.
He drew the bowstring back It played on the leg for a mo-
and let the arrow fly — straight ment but barely seemed to
and true, humming through pierce the surface. The crea-
the air and burying itself deep ture was virtually armor-plat-
in the wrist of the hand that ed. Marshall glanced back at
grasped Kyle round the mid- Garvey. The colonist had al-
dle. ready shot two more arrows
The creature paused in its Marshall saw them sticking
examination of Kyle. It probed out of the creature’s face and —
with a forefinger of the other he was notching a third arrow.
hand at the arrow that was The monster stooped over,
embedded in its flesh. Sudden- slapping at the foliage as if ir-
ly, it tossed Kyle to the ground ritated by the sudden attack

like a doll it had tired of. and rather than angry. One paw
advanced toward the place swept inches over Marshall’s
where Marshall and Garvey head. He fired a second bolt
crouched hidden behind two into thesame place as the first
gigantic palm-fronds. had gone, and saw a break in
“Here it comes,” Marshall the scales now. The monster
muttered. “We’d better shoot roared in pain and lifted its
to kill. You go for the eyes wounded leg high.

with your arrows, and I’ll aim The thrashed around,
leg
for the legs and try to cut the kicking and trampling. Sud-
thing down to our size.” denly a sidewise swipe of an
The ground was shaking open hand caught Marshall
again. Marshall’s hand gripped and sent him sprawling, half
the blaster butt tightly. Sud- unconscious. He landed near
denly the monster emitted an Kyle. The financier, Marshall
earsplitting howl of defiance saw, was not in good shape.
Blood was trickling from his voice said. “Kill me - It would
mouth and one of his legs was be well. I long to die.”
grotesquely twisted. Kyle’s
face was a pale white with fear
and shock. He did not seem to M AR S HALL
stunned he lowered his
was so
be conscious. blaster. Turning to Garvey he

Marshall struggled to his said, “Did you hear that?”
feet. He became aware that the “It sounded like— like a
alien’s struggleshad slackened voice.”
somewhat. Running back to “I was the one who spoke. I
Garvey’s side, he looked up speak directly to your minds.
and saw an arrow arch upward Why do you not kill me?”
and bury itself in the center of “Great Jehosaphat ” Gar- !
one huge yellow eyeball. vey cried. “The monster’s talk-

“Bullseye!” Garvey yelled. ing!”
The scream of pain that re- “It’s a telepath,” Marshall
sulted seemed to fill the entire said. “It’s intelligent and it’s
jungle. Marshall grinned at the able to communicate with us!”

colonist and gripped his blast- “I ask for death,” came the
er again. solemn thought.
He fired —three times. The Marshall stared at the great
charges burrowed into the being. It had slumped down on
weakened place in the mon- both its knees now, and it held
ster’s leg, and suddenly the its hands over its shattered
great being slipped to one eyes. Even so, its head was
knee. Unafraid now, the two more than twenty feet above
men dashed out into the open. the ground.
Garvey’s final arrow pierced “Who — what are you?”
the remaining eye of the giant. Marshall asked.
A cry of pain resulted.
shrill “/ am nothing now and soon
Marshall raised his blaster, will be even less. Twenty thou-
centering the sights on &e sand years ago my people
monster’s ruined eye, hoping ruled this world. Today I am
that his shot would supply the the only one. And soon I too
coni) de grace. will be gone —
killed by tiny
"Yes,” a deep, throbbing creatures I can hardly see.”
. —
MOURNFUL MONSTER 29
Marshall heard a rustling ones died slowly away. Until

sound behind him and glanced at last only I was left, eating
over his shoulder to see Lois animals and living the life of a
and Garvey’s wife come hesi- beast in the jungle. ...”
tantly out of hiding, now that “How can you be sure
the danger seemed to be past. you’re the last?” Marshall
Marshall felt a twinge of asked. “Maybe there are other
awe. To think of a world ruled survivors.”
by beings such as these and — “When others lived my
to think of them all gone ex- mind was attuned to them. But
cept this one, their cities for many years I have known
buried under thousands of nothing but silence on this
years of jungle growth, their world. I did not know beings
very bones rotted by the plan- your size could be intelli-
et’s warmth and lost forever. gent ./ beg your pardon if

. .
What a sight it must have I have injured the companion

been, a city of titans such as of yours who 1 seized in my
these! curiosity. Will you not give me
“Why do you not kill me?” the satisfaction of death at
the being asked telepathically. last?”
“What’s happening?” Lois
asked. Marshall felt deep sadness
Marshall said, “Garvey hit as he watched blood stream
the creature in the eyes with down the alien’s face —yellow-
arrows, and I knocked him brown blood. Tf only they had
down by blasting his legs. But known, if only the being had
he seems to be intelligent. And not been so fearsome in ap-
he’s pleading with us to put pearance, if only it had made
him out of his misery.” telepathic contact with them

—
“That thing intelligent?” sooner
“Once we had science and If. Well, it was too late now.
arts and poetry,” came the “Isn’t there some way we
slow, mournful telepathic can help it?” Lois asked.
voice. “But our civilization Marshall shook his head.
withered and died. Children no “We’re hundreds of miles
longer were born and the old
,
from civilization, We’ll be
” '
lucky to get back alive our- through huge and probably
its
selves. And I crippled it with tremendously complex nervous

my blaster.” system. In a moment it was all
“Only thing to do is put it over except for a quivering of
out of its misery,” Garvey the outstretched limbs, and
said flatly. that soon stopped.
“Yes. I am in great pain Marshall stared at the great
and wish to die.” body face down on the jungle
Marshall lifted the blaster floor. Then he turned away.
regretfully. Only
few mo- a “Let’s go see how Kyle is,”
ments before had been he he said. “The alien picked him
shooting to kill, shooting what up and dropped him again
he thought was a ferocious and when we opened fire. I think
deadly creature. And, he he’s in bad shape.”
thought, unwittingly he had
destroyed the last of an ancient The four of them stepped
an awe-inspiring race. around the corpse of the fallen
Now he had no choice. It alien and made their way to
was wrong to permit this noble the place where Kyle lay. The
creature to suffer, to be eaten financier had not moved. Mar-
alive by the blood-hungry shall bent over him, pointing
jungle creatures. to the livid bruises that stood
His finger tightened on the out on Kyle’s body.

blaster. “Fingerprints,” Marshall
“I thank you for giving me said. “The big boy had a pret-
peace,” the alien telepathed. ty strong grip.”
“My loneliness at last will Kyle’s eyes opened and he
end.” looked wildly around. “The
Marshall fired. monster,” he said in a thick,
The energy bolt pierced the barely intelligible voice. “Don’t
already broken eye of the mon- let it touch me! Don’t
—
ster and seared its way through Kyle slumped over, his head
to the brain. The vast creature rolling loosely to one side. A
toppled forward on its face, fresh trickle of blood began to
kicked convulsively as the issue from between his lips, but
message of death passed it stopped almost at once.
”
MOURNFUL MONSTER 31
Marshall knelt, putting his ear moved along anyway, since no

to Kyle’s chest. one was anxious to camp for
After a moment he looked the night close to the scene of
up. the violence. Few words were
“How he?” Garvey asked.
is spoken. The brief and tragic
Marshall shrugged. “He’s encounter with the huge alien,
dead, I’m afraid.The shock of and Kyle’s death, had left
the whole thing, and the in- them drained of emotion, with
ternal hemorrhages caused by little to say to each other.
the creature’s grip on him —
“And he fell about twenty The next day, they con-
feet,” Garvey pointed out. tinued to forge eastward. Mar-
shall was still obsessed with the
Marshall nodded. “We’d thought of the dead alien.
better bury -him before the lo- “Imagine,” he said to Lois.
cal fauna comes around for “An entire planet full of giants
their meal. And then we’ll get like that —
can you picture
back on the path to New even a city of them? Fantas-
Lisbon.” tic!”
“And all gone,” Lois said.
'"THEY dug a grave at the “Yes. Every one. Not a
side of the clearing and fossil remains. If we ever get
lowered Kyle’s body in. Garvey back to civilization, I hope to
bound two sticks together be able to organize a search
crosswise with a bit of vine, party to bring back the skele-
and planted them at the head ton of that giant. It’ll be quite
of the grave. No one even sug- an exhibit at the Galactic Sci-
gested a burial for the dead ence Museum, if we ever find
alien. It would have been total- it.”
ly impossible to move a crea- In the distance, a hyena

ture of such bulk at all. Its cackled. A huge shadow
weight was probably many crossed path in front of
the
tons, Marshall estimated. —
them the shadow of an enor-
It was nearly nightfall by mous flying reptile winging its
the time they were finished in- solitary way over the jungle.
terring Kyle, but the party Far away, the rhythmic bel-
—
lowing of some jungle crea- Marshall could hear the
tures resounded echoingly. droning sound even before he
Marshall wondered if they could raise his eyes. He looked
ever would get back. They had up, feeling the pulse of excite-
covered many miles, sure ment go through him. There,
enough, but they had not yet limned sharply against the
even reached the halfway bright metallic blueness of the
point in their journey to New 'afternoon sky, a twin-engine
Lisbon. And who knew what plane circled the jungle!
dangers still lay ahead for
them? COR a moment they were all
A too numb, too stupefied with
They marched on, through joy to react. Marshall was the
that day and the next, and the first to break from his stasis.
one after that. Heat closed in “The flare-gun —
where is
around them like a veil, and it?”
the rain was frequent and an- “In the survival kit!” Gar-
noying. But they managed. vey exclaimed.
They killed for meat, and Hasty hands ripped open the
fished when they came to wa- fabric of the kit that had
ter, and by this time they had served them so long. Marshall
all become experts on which hurriedly jerked out the flare-
vegetables were edible and gun, inserted a charge with
which were likely to provide a fumbling fingers, lifted the
night of indigestion and gun, fired.
cramps.
Day blurred into day. Mar- A blaze of red light blos-
shall’sbeard became long and somed in the sky. Shading his
tangled.They looked like four eyes, Marshall saw the plane
jungle creatures rather than wheel round to investigate. He
four Earthmen. inserted another flare and fired
And then, one day shortly it.
after high noon “Shirts off, everyone! Signal

“Look! ” Garvey yelled to them!”
shrilly. “Look up there, every- They waved frandcaJlv.
one! Look!” Minutes passed; then, the
:
MOURNFUL MONSTER 33
hatch of the plane opened and ted over the provisions kit,
a small dark object dropped munching with delight on choc-

through. A parachute bellied olate and fruit, and smoking
open immediately. The plane their first cigarettes since the

circled the area and streaked day of the crash.
off toward the east. Finally they heard the dron-
ing sound of a helicopter’s
Through some sort of mira- rotors overhead.
cle, the parachute did not be- There it was —descending
come snagged in the trees on vertically, coming to a halt in
the way down, and the package their clearing. Three men
came to rest not far from sprang from the helicopter the
where the four stood. Marshall moment it reached the ground.
and the others ran for it. They One wore the uniform of a
found a note pinned to the medic. They sprinted toward
wrapping became
the survivors. Marshall
We were just about to give uncomfortably aware of his
up hope of ever finding any own uncouth appearance, and

of the crash survivors when saw the women attempting to
we saw the flares go up. Your cover the exposed parts of

area is too heavily wooded to their anatomy in sudden new-
allow for a landing, and so found modesty.
we’re returning to New Lisbon
to get a ’copter. Remain ex- “Well! I’m Captain Collins
actly where you are now. We of the New Lisbon airbase. I
expect to be back in about two certainly didn’t expect to be
hours. In the meantime we’re picking up any survivors of
dropping some provisions to that crash!”
tideyou over until we. return. “My name’s David Mar-
“We’re going to be res- shall,” Marshall said. He in-
cued!” Lois cried. “They’ve troduced the others.
found us!” “You the only survivors?”
“It’s like a miracle!” Gar- Marshall nodded. “A fifth
vey’s wife exclaimed. man was thrown from the
The two hours seemed to plane alive, but he died later.
take forever. The four squat- We’re the only ones who sur-
”
vived. How far are we from “No, not us,” Marshall said.
New Lisbon?” “It must have been the alien.”
“Oh, three hundred fifty You met an alien?”
“Alien?
miles, I’d say.” “Past tense. He’s dead.”
Marshall frowned. “Three Marshall smiled oddly. “But
hundred fifty? That means we he must have decided to do us
covered better than six hun- one last favor before he died.
dred miles on foot since the In return for the favor we were
crash. But aren’t you a little doing him. He must have
far from home base? How broadcast a telepathic message
come you searched for us to New Lisbon.”
here?” The New Lisbon man eyed
The New Lisbon man looked Marshall strangely. “Are you
uncomfortable. “Well, to tell telling me that you found an
the truth, it was a kind of a intelligent alien in the jungle?’’
hunch.
sage — We got this crazy mes- “That’s right. And we’re go-
ing to go back and locate his
“Message?” body, and see if we can pre-
“Yes. A days back.
few serve it for science. It’s the
Damn everyone in the
near least we can do for him. At
colony heard it. It was a kind least one remnant of his race
of telepathic voice telling us will be preserved. They won’t

that there were still a few sur- die away without leaving a
vivors from the crash, and giv- trace,” Marshall said, as he
ing an approximate position. walked toward the helicopter
So we sent out a few scouts. that would take him back to
Say, anyone of you folks a civilization.
telepath?” THE END

:
of this sensotionol trial offer os we did? ^ dramatization

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43 West 61st Street, New York 23, N. Y.
THE ABOMINABLE
CREATURE
by F. X. FALLON
No living thing as loathsome and vile as this creature

had ever been known in the universe before. The horror
of its way of life was too much for a human to endure
'
j
'HE big, beefy man oppo- He wiped his mouth on the
site me raised the crystal back of one hairy hand, and
goblet in one ham-like fist and with the other hurled the now
drained the Martian absinthe empty glass against the wall of
fizz in a single thirsty guzzle. the private booth. It shattered,
On the Lunar colony there are and the pieces fell tinkling and
no restrictions on certain added to the growing pile of
liquors as there are on earth, glittering glass fragments on
and everything —
but every- the floor. A waiter hurried up
thing — is wide open. and obsequiously placed an-
Oh well, everyman to his other glass of the green liquor
own poison. And his vice in front of Big Mike Sill,
showed in the ruin of what had ignoring the broken glass as if
once been a strong, intelligent it were the most natural thing
face. Yet, behind the mask of in the world, and then with-
dissipation, I thought I saw drew silently.
something in his eyes some- — I waited patiently for him

thing haunted Something
. . . to speak. As a young reporter
he would like to push back into for Interplanetary News Serv-
oblivion, but could not. ice, I had stumbled on an un-
36
\ .wSSak:
19*&a
*-
g
37
believable piece of good luck. could always find the biggest
An interview with Big Mike crowds around the cage when
Sill could make my reputation the keeper dropped a live, kick-
as a reporter. Here was the ing slug-beast into the twenty-
man who, two years ago, had foot web, and that God-awful
suddenly sold out his Museum hairy body pushed out into the
of All Planets and retired with dim light of the cage from its
a fortune that could have paid silk-strand-covered hiding

for the Lunar colony twice place and danced across the
over. thick strands of the web like
The funny thing was that he a ballerina from hell. It took
retired at the height of his suc- a strong stomach, though, to
cess and in the prime of life, watch it pounce on the shrilling
and started on his perpetual slug-beast with dripping man-
interplanetary bender, never dibles and carry it off to be
stopping long in one place, as sucked dry in leisure.
if he were running away.

The biggest thrill came that
TF you’ve been on Earth in day when the giant-sized taran-
the last five years, you’ve tula became a mother ... It
been to the Museum of All seems that the keeper was
Planets. There have been im- dropping the daily ration of
itators since, but Big Mike was live meat into the center of the
the first. Fie paid the best quivering web from the trap-
prices for specimens from all door overhead, when one of the
the known planets and their onlookers spotted a movement
moons, and crazy space jockeys near the roof of the cage and
competed with each other get- screamed a warning. It was too
ting maimed and killed collect- late... A baby spider with a
ing bigger and better horrors body about the size of a foot-
for his collections. more or less, had managed
ball,
to climb the iron grillwork
You know, people are mor- where its mother would have
bid. The biggest attraction was been too heavy to pull herself
the giant spider from the forest up.
of Venus’ only land mass. You While ordinary civilians
. . .
THE ABOMINABLE CREATURE 39
screamed and fainted, and even partners of the expedition that

toughened spacemen turned had brought the giant spider
away and pressed their hand- back and sold it to Big Mike,
kerchiefs to their mouths, the confessed thatwhen they had
infant sprang on the keeper captured it in its native habi-
and fastened itself to his tat, they had found the dried-
throat.He shouted once, more out husk of another, somewhat
with surprise than terror, and smaller spider. Any entomolo-
threw up his hands to ward off gist could have told them that
the eight-legged monstrosity. their live specimen was prob-
He lost his balance and fell, ably a female and, like others
together with the slug-beast, of her kind, had made a meal
into the center of the web . . of her spouse after the honey-
The mother spider, with ma- moon was over. And since it
ternal restraint, remained in was a fertilized female, a brood

her hidey-hole. Or maybe she would be the next thing. But
just wasn’t hungry that day. .
Big Mike denied that he had
But another dozen of her brood been told anything of the sort
came scampering out of the or that he even suspected it,
sack and swarmed over the and who could prove it?
keeper and the slug-beast, Then there was the time a

hungry and greedy for their harmless-looking thing from
first taste of warm mammalian Titan, looking like nothing so
blood. I guess the bite of the much as a ball of fur balanced
first young one had instantly on four dainty legs, unexpect-
paralyzed the keeper, for he edly threw out a feeler several
did not scream again, and his yards long, like the tongue of
arms and legs jerked more with an ant-eater, and stung two by-
reflex motion than with con- standers with a poisoned barb
scious struggling. With a dozen in the tip, turning them into
of those things draining his swollen purple masses in a
blood, it mu9t have been over matter of minutes. That one
very fast. At least, I hope cost Mike Sill a cool half-
so . .
million dollars in damages paid
There was a big scandal to the families of the victims,
about that incident. One of the and resulted in all the ‘animal’
?
cages being enclosed in glass as deep-set, shadowed eyes. He
well as steel mesh. rubbed his forehead abstract-
edly.
OIG Mike looked across the “Oh yes, young fellow,” he
table at me, twirling the rumbled, “I was going to tell
new goblet of absinthe, relish- you all about why Big Mike
ing the anticipation. retired from the specimen col-

“I like you, young fellow,” lecting business and became
he rasped. “You remind me of the lush
biggest on three
the time when I was starting planets and four moons!” He
out, full of energy and ideas, scratched his chin thoughtfully.
ghat’s why I’m giving you this “But will you ever believe
interview. Big Mike Sill’s first what I tellyou? Will anybody
official interview in two believe what you tell them
years ” ! Will they believe that there
He laughed hollowly and was anything so awful that it
raised the goblet. But this time drove tough Mike Sill into sell-
he sipped reflectively, his dark- ing out his business for half its
rimmed, sunken eyes staring worth?”

with horrified fascination into He struck the table heavily.
the distance at some thought or “Bah,” he rasped scornfully,
remembered scene. “they think it was those acci-
So intense was his stare that dents at the Museum of All
I shuddered and glanced in- Planets that drove me out of
voluntarily over my left shoul- the business.” v
der, but there was nothing be-

hind me but the public bar, He leaned forward confiden-
where spacemen and their com- tially, and whispered in hoarse
panions of the evening mingled tones: “The worst of them all
with engineers and their ladies. was never shown to the public
looked back again. Mike
I — and never will be!” He
Sill had set his half-empty shuddered then. “There are
goblet down and cradled his some things that should never
face in his hands. I coughed be seen. That’s why I got out
discreetly and he lifted his of the specimen business, fast.
head again, fixing me with his I was afraid of what some
money-hungry space prospector “You were going to tell

would show up with next.” —
me ?” I prompted.
He drained the goblet and He shook his head doubtful-
this time merely tossed it limp- ly. “I don’t know, I don’t
ly into a corner, as though all know. .Will they ever be-
.
the strength had gone out of lieve you? Many a young re-
him. He waved away the wait- porter has tried to crash into
er this time. “No more for a the by-line set by padding up
while,” he said thickly, “I a story.”
promised young man a
this I tapped my notebook with
story.” The waiter bowed and my pencil, pointing to the pre-
withdrew, closing the sound- liminary notes had made. “I
I
proof glass door with the one- can take down your story in
way vision. longhand,” I offered anxiously,
With the sounds of talking “and you could sign it to verify
and laughing and music from the authenticity. How about
the public bar cut off, the pri- it?”
vate cubicle was heavily si-
lent, and I could now make out He thought for a moment.

Big Mike’s labored breathing. “All right,” he said suddenly,
His ruddy face had taken on a “a promise is a promise. And
congested, purplish-veinedap- maybe it will serve as a warn-
pearance, and I grew alarmed, ing to other zoo-men and speci-
having read something of the men hunters who are eager to
deleterious effects of continued follow in my footsteps.”
absinthe drinking.
He saw my expression and His eyes widened in fear. He
smiled sardonically. “Don’t put out one big, hairy hand
worry,” he chuckled, “I’m not and rested it heavily on mine.
going to pass out or die on “Be sure to tell them that they
you.” He drew a small gold can’t be too careful. Life takes
pillbox from one pocket, ex- many forms throughout the
tracted a greenish pill and universe, and some day they
popped it into his mouth. His may stumble on something
color improved rapidly. “Ah, they can’t hold in a net or a
that’s better,” he sighed. trap or a cage, or in anything
.
42 SUPER-SC'ENCE FICTION
else. When you end your alien beast, it had to be put
story, tell them that!” through an incubation lab to
see whether any dangerous
I remained respectfully si- germs could be bred from it. If
lent while he seemed to not,it was then transported to

be
gathering his thoughts. The the zoo in a sealed car.
waiter stood outside the closed
door, not seeing us, but know- So the procedure was for the
ing that we could see him. I hopefuls to bring me photos of
pressed the button that flashed their pets to see whether they
a red light above the entrance, were desirable for the zoo.
indicating that service was not Some were obviously touched
now desired, an admirable fea- up to bring out some unusual
ture where couples often want- feature of the specimen, or to
ed privacy along with their in- put one in where there wasn’t
timacy. . any. And some were duplica-
T sat with my notebook open tions of creatures I already
and my pencil poised. had. I quickly weeded out the
phonies and the duplications,
TT happened two years ago of and bought a pair of ten-foot-
A course, said Mike. I was in long rock scorpions from Ti-
my office in the tower over the tan, from one of my old relia-
entrance to the museum and ble suppliers. Then he left,
zoo, with a deskful of ringing and was all ready to go out

I
telephones and the chairs filled to lunch when I heard a light
with hopeful space prospectors cough, and for the first time
and just plain bums. It was a saw this wizened old space rat
standing rule that no live speci- practically swallowed up in
mens were brought to me there, the velvet cushions of one of
no matter how small, or inno- my plush divans reserved for
cent-looking, because you nev- visiting VIP’s.
er knew what these alien speci- “You’ll have to leave now,”
mens were capable of doing. I snapped. “Come back in
Then too of course, there about two hours with your
was always the quarantine at photos. I’m going out to lunch
the spaceports. If I accepted an now.”
—
He raised his five feef and “What on earth is it?” I

one hundred and twenty muttered curiously.
pounds of bone and gristle out “Not on earth,” he chuckled.
of the divan. He smiled with “Venus. Found it in one of
a smirk that made me feel like those deep caves everybody
I needed a shower, and his else is afraid to go into!” He
voice was like oil drained off stood with his hands on his
after ten thousand miles of hips, relishing my curiosity.
driving.
“I got something for you,” It was a photo of a large
he oozed, “the likes of which glass tank, half full of water,
there never was and ain’t any- and reinforced with bands of
where else, except right in my metal running horizontally
ship. I ain’t even registered it around the four sides, and the
for quarantine yet. I want you whole thing topped with a
to have first look at it, Mr. plastic cover hinged at one
Sill.” side and fastened down with a
shook my head impatient-
I padlock at the opposite side.
ly, and headed for the door, In the background I could see
taking him by one scrawny arm the rungs of a ladder set
and pullirig him after me. “Not against one wall, indicating
now, my friend,” I repeated. that the tank was in the cargo
“Wait outside if you like. I’ll compartment of a one-man
be back around three o’clock.” space scouter.
Besides the metal straps
He held back with surpris- running around the four walls
ing strength, and I was about of the tank, vision of the thing
to call out to my
male secre- inside was further obscured
tary to help me throw the little perhaps intentionally —by the
spacer out, as long as he was dim light coming from the
going to be obstinate. But then single fluorescent overhead.
he reached into an inner pocket But could make out this big
I
of his filthy coveralls and gray blob floating or swimming
pulled out a wrinkled snapshot. in the center. It was shapeless
I snatched it from his hand and — yet, not quite. There was
released his arm suddenly. something tantalizingly famil-
AA SUPER-SCIENCE FICTION
iar in the portion of the swim- one.” He licked his lips. “I
mer that stuck above the level been trainin’ it, in a way. .” .
of the water. “Training it?” I repeated in-

I turned the picture this wr ay credulously. “What can a
and that, trying to get it in a shapeless mass of protoplasm'
better light. “Looks
an like like that learn?” I turned to
oversized jellyfish or ameba,” leave again. He seized my coat
I grunted indifferently. “May- sleeve.
be no one has ever found one “Mr. he whined ear-
Sill,”
that large, but aside from that, nestly, dropping the oily smile
what’s -so unusual about it?” that he evidently considered
suave, “I’ll make a deal with
The little man took back the you. If this honey of mine
little
photo, looked at it lovingly, ain’t everything I say it is, you

and thrust it back under his can have it for free. I’ll leave
coveralls. “I know T
that ain’t a it up to you. Fair enough?”
very good picture,” he grinned. Since I usually paid a thou-

“Poor light. Ought to see it sand dollars and up for new
for yourself to do it justice.” items, depending on their rari-
I said, casually, “Why the ty and shock value, thought I
big tank? Your overgrown the offer w'as worth thirty min-
ameba is almost lost in it.” utes of my time, and told the
“Got to give it room to old codger so.
grow,” he rasped, still grin- But I still said he would
ning. “Wouldn’t be surprised have to wait until I got back
if it was going to split in two to the office from lunch. No
pretty soon, far as that goes!” use showing too much interest
I triedprod him again.
to and giving him a bargaining
“Yes, old-timer, but wdiat does point. I figured that the min-
it do? I have an aquarium full imum fee of a thousand would
of marine life that make this be just about right, and had no
blob almost lovable.” desire to haggle wdth him to
He poked me in the chest bring down an over-inflated
with a bony forefinger. “Mister estimate.
Sill, this here animal’s a zoo So I left him outside in the
and a ’quarium all rolled in waiting room and went to
lunch. The smile was back on side. I had to stoop to get

his face as I took off. He knew through the entrance. It was
he had me hooked. like walking into a dark, musty
cave. I stumbled over the rim
YV^HEN I got back at three of the inner lock. Then I heard
o’clock he was waiting pa- a click as my guide threw a
tiently. I told the receptionist switch, and the interior was
I might be gone for an hour or coldly lighted by a single fluo-
so, or just possibly for the rescent set in the wall.
rest of the afternoon, and not He led the way down a short
to make any more appoint- corridor so narrow that I had
ments for me that day. The to walk partially sideways to

little space rat and I took the get through. ‘‘How on earth did
elevator to the roof, where we you ever get that tank in your
climbed into my private heli- hold?” I asked.
copter and headed for the “Cargo lock,” he answered
space port. Clem Linton, as he shortly. “Other side, ground
finally identified himself, level.” We came to a round
guided me to the farthest and trapdoor set in the metal floor.
dingiest outlying strip of the “Here we are,” he added, and
port, where berthing fees were raised the lid with surprising
cheapest. I set the whirlybird ease. I followed him down the
down near a small ship of an- short ladder into the dimly
cient vintage that looked as if lighted cargo hold and looked
itleaked air through the seams around as I stepped off the
of the entrance lock when it last rung.
got out into space. We climbed They say that there is no
out of the ’copter and crunched such thing as instinctive fear,
over gravel to where the old that we learn to be afraid of
ship loomed like an abandoned the dark, and of snakes and
watch tower in the late after- bugs and crawly things. May-
noon sun. be they’re right. Maybe it was
the few loose feathers on the
Clem Linton opened the out- floor, and the big tuft of fur
er lock on hinges that actually floating on the surface of the
creaked, and led the way in- water in one corner of the tank,
and the various birds and ani- ing from it, flowing with a
mals huddled in terrified, ab- sluggish ‘blood’ of a faintly
ject silence in the cages set in green tinge. Otherwise it was
the corners of the hold — all very quiet, as if asleep, or
this might have combined to waiting. As for size, I judged
make the hairs at the back of it to be five feet in diameter.
my neck stand up and an in-
visible icicle to drip lazily down Clem seemed to read my
my spine. But I don’t think so. thoughts. “Weren’t always that
big,” he crooned. “I fed it and
Clem danced up to the side nursed it. See that fish bowl
of the tank, rubbing his hands over there?” My
gaze followed
gleefully and singing a few his pointing arm to a fair-sized
bars from that ribald old army bowl in which a number of
song from the twentieth cen- swam lazily. “I brung
goldfish
tury : ithome from Venus in that.
“Bless ’em all, bless ’em all, Then as I fed it and it kept
“The long and the short and growin’ bigger, I had to keep
the tall.” gettin’ bigger bowls. But that
I followed him slowly over ain’t all I found out about it,
to the tank. It only came up not by a long shot, mister.”

to my shoulders, but it was And he began to do the song
over his head. A stepladder and dance routine again. I felt
leaning against one side showed that he was more than a little
how he got to the hatch on the off center.
top. “Step up a little closer and
I stared, fascinated, at the look real hard,” he gurgled
thing floating in the center of gleefully. I pressed my nose
the pool. It was a big, dirty against the glass reluctantly.
gray blob, without tentacles, Even with the barrier between
or fins, or any external fea- me and that, I didn’t want to
tures.You might not even have get close.
thought it alive, were it not for After a minute of hard star-
the slowly pulsing sac near ing, I saw that the glob of pro-
the a primitive
center, like toplasm was rotating slowly, as
heart, and the channels radiat- though stirred by a slow cur-
rent. And as the far side swept of the tankClem, and

near
languidly into view, I could paused only inches from the
make out faint, shadowy trac- barrier, about one eighth of it
eries in the murky interior. protruding above the surface,
They were the skeletons of and the rest of the mass be-
small birds and animals and low, like a gelatinous iceberg.
fishes,complete in every detail
but reduced to almost complete A ripple began to stir on the
transparency, like plastic slimy portion that stuck out
models. above the surface. Then little
bumps arose and grew larger,
iiNJOW watch this, watch like bubbles rising to the sur-
^ this!” the wizened space face of molasses or pitch. But
rat and bounded to
chortled, they did not burst. They
one of the cages in a dark cor- merged together. They melted
ner. He pulled out a trembling and flowed and finally settled
white mouse and approached into a recognizable shape.
the tank. Then he held the A white mouse. The shape of
mouse close to the glass, dan- a white mouse.
gling it by its tail. At first I Oh, was not too perfect;
it
thought he was going to feed it there was no fur, for example,
to the giantameba, but all he but otherwise it was a good re-
did was hold it close to the production. I even thought I
glass wall. could see terror in, the rudi-
The blob began to move. mentary eyes of the false-
mouse, as if it almost had an
I watched, frozen, as the independent existence of its
thing flowed ever so slowly to own.
the side of the tank where “Now watch.” Clem re-
Clem stood with his white turned the real mouse to its
mouse. I have seen many hor- cage. While I watched, hypno-
rors from the inner and outer tized by the sight, the pseudo-
planets in my day, but the ap- mouse began to melt and run
proach of this faceless spheroid together like wax over a flame,
of flesh made my blood run and sank down finally and dis-
cold. At last it was on the side appeared into the parent mass.
Half an hour passed while times, or just plain not hungry,
he took creature after creature so’s not to bite at a lure.But
and held it up to the silent what could be more friendly-
mimic in the tank, and one like than somebody of your
after one I saw their reproduc- own kind? You’d just naturally
tions form on that awful bulk. go up to him or her to pass the
“Of course,” Clem remarked time of day.”
at one point, “I have to feed
one specimen to it before it He patted the glass wall
can do an imitation. You might fondly. “Now my baby here is
say it’s a collector, just like real smart. She does just that
you, Mr. Sill.” — makes out like she’s some-
At last I managed to croak, thing else, and then when the
“But what—how? I mean, curious critter gets close: snap!
what’s the purpose of the whole She throws out a sort of ropy
thing?” I sat down on a near- thing and pulls it in and has
by stool and mopped my brow. her dinner. Found out she
“Well, now,” he said proud- could do this accidental, and
ly, “I’m not one of them scien- been feedin’ her all sorts of
tists, but I give it a lot of bugs and animals, and birds
thought in the last few weeks, and fishes.”
and got me a good idea why. I could imagine the delight
It’s a lure.” he must have taken in feeding
“A lure?” I think I must it, with the playful cruelty of
have looked stupid. of a small boy dropping flies
“Sure,” he said with a su- into a spider’s web.

perior smirk. “When you go “And the beauty of it is,” he
fishin’ you put a lure on the went on enthusiastically, “is
end of your line something — the more you feed her, the big-
that looks like a tasty bug to ger she grows and the more
a fish, and it swallows the
. imitations she can do. Why
hook. Now, my baby here, why there just ain’t no end to it!”
she goes one better, and im- He wound up his sales pitch
itates what’s in front of her, to out of breath. “How about it
make it come closer. Even a now, Mister Sill,” he conclud-

fish is smart enough some ed, squinting craftily, “will ten
thousand be right for little TWO days later in mid-after-

honey here?” noon I picked up the phone
I stroked my chin as if con- and heard that oily voice on
sidering his offer. “Five thou- the other end. It was Clem,
sand is tops,” I said firmly. and he was excited.
The first look of disappoint- “Listen, Mister Sill, it
ment was quickly replaced by worked! It worked! My im-

the greedy look again. “Tell provement! I just never fed jt
you what,” he said. “I got anything so big. Couldn’t af-
some improvements in mind. If ford expensive meat. I fed it
they work out, maybe you’d a dog, Mister Sill, a big dog, a
raise the price some?” Collie, and brought another
“If it’s a real addition to one along to make it imitate
what you already have here, “Xow listen careful,” he
I’ll think about it.” I got up sputtered excitedly. “I rented
and stretched, as if I was be- me a radio-telephone and got it
ginning to get a little bored or here in the hold now. I’m goin’
tired. “Well,” I added, “when to lead the real Collie up to the
you make your improvements, side of the tank. Listen!”
call me at my office and I’ll

try to get out again. So long Then there was the sound of
for now.” the radio-telephone cabinet be-
He preceded me up the iron ing drawn across the floor of
ladder, through the narrow the distant ship, followed by
passage way and out onto the faint footsteps and a pathetic
space port, almost bowing and bark. I could see that foul
scraping like a waiter leading dungeon in my mind’s eye.
a big tipper to his favorite ta- There was a minute of silence,
ble. It was already getting then an agonized help as Clem
dark outside. I had not realized did something to the live dog
how long we had been down in to make it 'talk.’ Then I heard
the stuffy hold. Clem grabbed the second sound, like a dis-
my hand and shook it as we torted echo, or like a phono-
parted. Once back in my ’cop- graoh recording slowed down,
ter, I wiped it on my trousers so that the answering yelp was
leg. d — "-n out, and dee-ner.
50 iUPER-SCIENCE FICTION
Clem returned to the other I hurried. Clem really had
end of the line. “That’s it,” he an attraction now for my zoo.
make
said breathlessly. “It can I could visualize the streams of
sounds now. Don’t know why visitors bringing their pets in
it couldn’t before. Unless may- and watching that plastic blob
be the things I fed it weren’t put on its imitations. I was not
big enough or enough
smart going to let a competitor latch
to make it more like them- on to it. I tore out of the office,
selves, if you know what I stuffing a few hundreds into an
mean. Now a Collie is a big envelope for a down payment
animal and it’s smart, so I and putting it in my pocket
guess Baby was able to make along with a blank contract
a better Collie than anything form.
else. And that’s not all. I got Ilanded the ’copter on the
myself a young ape. Ought to field as a blood-red sun was
be interestin’ what she can do sinking down toward the west-
with that. What do you say ern horizon. The old ship
now, Big Mike? I put a lot of loomed up before me, black-
money into this.” ened and blotched with corro-
sion, like something dead and
“All right,” I said quickly, in the first stage of decomposi-
“I’ll be down there in about an tion.
hour. Then we’ll make the ar- The outer lock of the access
rangements to get your pet into hatch was open, and the dim
quarantine. But for heaven’s light was on inside, so I
sake, hold off on that ape, or stooped and went inside. It was
you’ll have the SPCA down on very quiet, too much so. I
you. They don’t care what you could feel the prickling at the
do to extra-terrestrial crea- back of my neck start again. I
tures, but death on
they’re moved forward cautiously to-
cruelty to earth animals.” ward the narrow passageway
“Don’t worry,” he chuckled. that led to the entrance to the
“No one seen me bringin’ these cargo hold.
animals into my ship. Now I called out tentatively:
hurry on down here, Mister “Clem?”
Sill!” There was no answer.
“Clem!” I called out, a lit- from my forehead and went on

tle louder, my voice sounding to the manhole leading down
hollow in the metal confines The light was on.
into the hold.
of the ship. “Clem?” I called out again.
Silence. But there was no reply. I
thought he might have been
I started to move forward asleep, or maybe went out for
again toward the dark manhole a quick snack or a drink. I de-
at the other end of the passage, cided I would wait for him. I
and stopped short. climbed down the iron rungs

I heard a patter and a and stepped off onto the floor.
scraping, and then a strange I found the stool I had sat on
chittering sound, like the faint two days before, and lighted
chuckling of an asthmatic old a cigarette to pass the time
man. I pressed my back while I waited for Clem.
against the cold steel wall in My eyes travelled slowly
alarm as a small human-like around the dim room. A whim-
shape bounded suddenly out of per pulled my attention to a
the hold and scampered toward far corner, and I could make
me, half erect and half on all out form of the second
the
fours. Collie, crouched on its belly,
tied to a stanchion. I went over
I sighed with relief as it to it to pet it, but the low,
came and I saw
into the light ominous growl made me think
that it was the young ape Clem better of it. I returned to the
had spoken about. I grabbed stool.
for it as it went by, but it I finished the cigarette, and
snarled with mixed rage and then a second and a third. I
fear and darted by me, out looked at my wrist watch.
through the open lock and out Half an hour had gone by, and
onto the field. I wondered what still no Clem. I got up my
they would think in the direc- nerve and walked to the tank
tion tower when they saw an in the center of the hold, de-
ape bounding across the land- ciding to get a better look at
ing field. what I was golnv to invest
I wiped the perspiration some ten thousand dol’ars in.
The damned thing was to bubble and swell until I
floating lazily in the dirty wa- thought it would never stop.
ter, throbbing slowly and turn- Then the bumps began to
ing around slowly like it had merge together, as they had
the first time I saw it. It also done before. Slowly, like some-
looked considerably larger. thing out of an opium smoker’s
Clem had certainly been stuff- nightmare, a face formed out of
ing it. the shapeless mass, flowing
drew back as it started to
I like water, but getting more
swim toward me, but then real- solid all the time.
ized there was thick, reinforced Then I saw it clearly, be-
glass between it and me, and yond all doubt and forever be-
stood my ground with gritted yond all possibility of forget-
teeth. It surged up against the fulness. It was Clem’s face,
inside of the glass and re- and Clem’s head, and then the
bounded slightly. I was startled outlines of a neck and shoul-
now to see how much weight der. It was so good that even
it had really put on. Then, the eyes had that pale, washed-
while I stared, the huge blob out blue color of the original
of protoplasm, which now man.
reached nearly to the lid of the I staggered back against the
tank, began to ripple and bub- wall, upsetting the goldfish
ble. I wanted to turn and run, bowl with a crash, and the fish
but stood riveted to the spot flopped on the floor in their
with horrified fascination. death agony while I slumped to
The thought ran through my my knees and hid mv face in
fevered mind: What can it my hands. I think I cried, af-
possibly be going to imitate? 1 ter the initial shock of horror
am the only living creature gave way to anguished pity for
near enough' to the tank. what happened to the old space
Then it gave me the answer rat.
to my unspoken question. Oh,

God! I still see it in my night- I think I know what hap-
mares. And worse still, I hear pened. Clem must have been
it. crouched on the lid of the tank
That abomination continued with the trapdoor open, at-
tempting to throw the young rope ground and around the

ape to his pet. It had been too stanchion, and crouched now'
strong for him, and in the on the floor, frothing at the
struggle Clem fell victim in- mouth. In one corner, a small
stead. I w'ondered dully how' bird lay stiff on the floor of its
long had taken to digest
it — cage, dead of fright.
him. Then, later, when I had The air in the hold was
appeared on the scene, the heavy and oppressive, like the
hellish mimic had given its atmosphere just before a thun-
master performance: an imita- derstorm. The great blob of
tion of a human being for the protoplasm in the tank was
first time. featureless once more, but
seemed be internally agitat-
to
T finally pulled myself toed, as if once it had swal-

for
gether. I knew w hat hadr
to lowed more than it could di-
be done. I knew' that cyanide gest, and small waves lapped
w as deadly to all protoplasm.
7
against the glass walls of its
In the zoo we kept special guns prison.

loaded w’ith glass needles that Standing on the tips of my
burst inside the target, releas- toes, I could see that my guess
ing deadly hydrocyanic acid. as to what had happened ear-
Dragging myself up the lad- lier was probably right, for the
der shakily, I left the ship, trapdoor stood ajar in the lid
climbed into my ’copter and of the tank. I raised my arm
flew back to the office. It was over my head, pointing the
dark now, and the office staff pistol on a downward slant to-
had gone home. I got my cya- ward the opening, and fired.
nide pistol out of the desk But the angle was impossible,
drawer, ran back to the heli- and the first needle went wide
copter and flew once more to of its mark. I realized I w'ould
the space port. have to get up closer.
It w'as all I could do to force Trembling violen' iy in every
myself into the bowels of that I’mb, I forced myself to mount
dying old hulk and down again the step-ladder and crawl on
into the hold. The remaining my hands and knees across the
live Collie had wrapped its top of the tank to the opening.
for a direct shot at the huge I hop across the hold
tried to
gray mass. I should have re- on my
good foot, and was mak-
membered what Clem had told ing fair progress,when I heard
me about its method of captur- a sucking, slopping sound and
ing prey. looked back over my shoulder.
With a speed incredible for Almost the entire mass of
that seemingly sluggish bulk, a the enormous ameba was now
long tentacle whipped up from out of the tank and was start-
the depths of the tank, drip- ing to flow across the floor as
ping with foul water and slime, if to cut off my escape. I
and lashed out at my wrist. I screamed until there was blood

pulled back just in time, for in my throat.
only the tip of the pseudopod I leaped for the ladder with
slapped wetly across the bach a superhuman effort and made
of my wrist. it, up hand over
pulling myself
hand and dragging my bad leg
But that single caress burned behind me. Somehow I had the
like acid. I screamed with pain presence of mind to hold the
and rolled over to the outer pistol between my teeth. An-
edge of the lid and fell to the other tentacle lashed out from
floor. I crawled over to the the living nightmare behind
Collie’s pan of water and me, but missed. I finally made
dipped my burning wrist again it to the top, wriggled through
and again. Then I heard a the manhole and lay on the

squishing, rubbery squeak and gangway on my belly gasping
whirled around. Scrambling to for air.
my feet, I saw' wdth a numbing My right hand and wrist
shock that the thing was begin- now burned with such agony
ning to ooze up out of the tank that I had take the pistol
to
and flow across the lid toward in my left hand. Stopping the
me. trembling by sheer effort of
I ran for the ladder in panic, will, I aimed the cyanide pistol
but slipped on the corpse of a down and fired needle after
goldfish, and the agony of a needle into the churning gray
broken ankle sent stabbing mass below as it milled about
spears of fire into my brain. in blind frustration.
And then I looked down into they recognized me and were

the deepest pit of hell. trying to say something.
Have you ever seen how a I screamed and hurled the
moth or a fly behaves when empty pistol at the contorted,
you spray it with insecticide? rubbery head. The pistol
It becomes blindly phototropic. bounced off, covered with fer-
That is as the poison begins to menting slime, and where it
work, its nervous system be- had struck, an opening ap-
comes deranged. The insect re- peared and a mouth formed,
verts to some basic instinct, grinning idiotically I whim-
flying again and again into the pered as the mouth gaped
nearest light until it dies. wider and the sounds came out.
As the thing below me began God help me!
to die, it blindly followed its
primal instinct. One after an- First there came a sort of

other, an insane kaleido-
in high-pitched whistling, quickly
scope, form followed form followed by a deep, gluey gur-
across the upper surface of the gling accompanied by brief
heaving bulk: insects, fishes, gusts of fetid gases heavy with
birds; then mice and rabbits the odor of death and decay.
and other small animals, fol- Then the head made a final
lowed finally by the shape of convulsive effort and half
the Collie. sang, half roared the sounds.
“essmm AWRRR! essmm
Then, in its ultimate dying AWRRRt” it belched, with an
agony, the thing belched a idiotic irrelevancy that made a
huge bubble, and the head of mockery of life and death.
Clem formed in the frothing, I tried to clap my hands
gelatinous mass, and shot up over my ears, but too late to
into the air on a long stalk, shut out that thick, glutinous
bobbing to and fro a mere foot bellow; too late not to know
below me. Then, from the what it was trying to say— or
writhing, twisting caricature of sing. It was the first line of

his face, the pale blue eyes Clem’s favorite ditty.
looked up at me, and in a mo- Then the head suddenly col-
ment of madness I thought lapsed like a punctured balloon
and dropped back into the hurried in and set a glass and
stinking, decomposing bulk, a bottle of whiskey in front of
where pores as big as saucers him and left. Mike Sill waved
opened and closed spasmodi- a hand at me in dismissal, then
cally, emitting puffs of vile poured a straight shot with a
fumes. I staggered to my feet trembling hand and tossed it
and found my way out again off, then a second and a third.
into the clean, pure air of night. When he looked up again and
saw that I was still there, he
OIG Mike Sill finished his roared at me to get out and
story and sat with his eyes leave him alone.
closed, his face a mask of an- I stood in the doorway for a
guish. I sat stunned and silent. moment watching him. He had
Then Big Mike opened his forgotten me, and had begun to
eyes again, reached for my pound on the table with both
notebook silently, and signed it fists, beating out the time
as he had promised. As he did crudely as he started to sing,
so, I saw the mark on his wrist in a hoarse voice,
— a deep, raw furrow, as if the “Bless ’em all, bless ’em
flesh had sloughed off at one all—”
time and never healed over I left the private booth hur-
completely. riedly and closed the door be-
he signed my note-
After hind me.
book, he began to press the As for myself, I don’t think
green service button again and I’ll ever want to go to Venus.
again, frantically. The waiter THE END
LOOK TO THE STARS
by SCOTT NEVETS
Harvard University scien- to another, it radiates energy

tistshave perfected a new am- at a specific wave-length. But
plifierwhich will extend the if radiation of that wavelength
range of radio telescopes ten- comes in from outside and
fold. The amplifier is known strikes the electron at the low-
as a three-level solid state er level, it is thrown back up-
MASER. The core of the in- stairs.
strument is a single crystal of can interpret the
Scientists
potassium cobalticyanide about radio signals from outer space
the size of the first joint of a by measuring the amount of
man’s thumb. The name radiation caused by the level-
stands for Microwave Ampli- shifting of the electrons.
fication by Stimulated Emis-
sion of Radiation.
A radio telescope picks up A space satellite may be
radiation from hydrogen clouds used to beam telecasts round-
in the galaxies of space. The the-world in the future. Pres-
MASER amplifies the range ent-day television is limited by
far beyond any reach now the reflecting power of the
available, and should yield ionosphere, which bounces the
valuable data on the makeup waves back to Earth. A
of the distant stellar clusters satellite in twenty-four hour
now beyond range. orbit around Earth, remaining
It functions at a temperature over the same point at all
only two degrees above abso- times, could be used to pick up
lute zero, being kept cold by a television impulses and relay
bath of liquid helium. Ampli- them to other areas of Earth
fication is gained by shifting or to other more distant satel-
electrons from level to level lites that can transmit them to
within the crystal. When an other continents than the one
electron drops from one level of origin.
57
VAMPIRES
FROM OUTER SPACE
by RICHARD F. WATSON
NOVELETTE illustrated by EMSH
The weird seven-foot purple hats had come to Earth to

stay. Terror ran wild over the land when rumors spread
that they were vampires who killed to suck human blood
'T'HE first report of what “San Francisco. It just came

was quickly to become in by simultaneous visitape.
known as the Vampire Menace Marked special for your office,
reached the central office of with all the emergency labels.”
the Terran Security Agency “Okay,” Harriman said. He

half an hour after the attack flipped the switch that dark-
had taken place. The date was ened the office and brought
June 11, 2104. Agency Sub- the viewing screen down from
chief Neil Harriman was busy its niche in the ceiling. As Har-
with routine matters when the riman unwrapped the message

courier burst into his office, pellet and began to slip it into
carrying a message pellet the viewer, he glanced up at
gaudy with the red-and-yellow the courier, who was standing
wrapping that meant Top by with expectant curiosity.
Level Emergency. Harriman scowled darkly. No
Harriman reached one big words were necessary. The
hand out for the message pel- courier gulped, moistened his
let. “Where’s it from?” lips, and backed out of the of-
58
59
fice, his curiosity about the wondering why it had been
emergency message doomed to necessary to bring to his atten-
be unsatisfied. tion a routine West Coast
Alone, Harriman nudged the murder. The image bounced as
starter button and the tape the man holding the camera
started to unwind past the walked toward the corpse.
photon-cell eye of the viewer. Special Agent Michaels’
An image formed in glowing voice said, “This is just the
natural colors at the far side way he was found, twenty min-
of the room. utes ago.”
Thevoice of the speaker
said. “This is Special Agent A hand reached down and
Michaels reporting from San turned the cadaver over so its
Francisco, chief. There was a face was visible. An involun-
killing out here twenty min- tary gasp broke from Harri-
utes ago. The local police sent man’s lips. The dead man’s
for me because it looked like face was the color of chalk.
Agency business.” Harriman had never seen so
pale a face before. The vic-
The screen showed one of tim’s eyes were open, and
San Francisco’s steep hills. frozen in them was an image
Some twenty feet *from the of pain, of shock, of horror
camera’s eye a body lay gro- beyond human comprehension.
tesquely sprawled, face down- There were two dark little
ward, head toward the foot of holes an inch apart on the
the hill. Gray fog swirled over dead man's throat, just over
the scene. It was nearly noon the jugular.
at Harriman’s New York of- “There isn’t a drop of blood
fice, but it was still quite early in him, chief,” Michaels said
in the morning across the con- quietly in commentary. “He’s
tinent in California. Transmis- as dry as if he was pumped
sion of the message-tape w as T
clean with a force-pump.
virtually instantaneous, thanks We’ve identified him as Sam
to progress in communications Barrett, a salesman in a used-
so’ence. car showroom. Unmarried,
Harriman watched patiently, lived with his aged mother. He
VAMPIRES FROM OUTER SPACE 61
worked around the corner on of them Nirotans, bending over

Van Ness Avenue. There were the man’s throat like he was
two eye-witnesses at the scene sucking blood from him. Be-
of the crime.” fore I knew what was going
The camera’s eye panned to on, the bat-thing saw me and
a balding man in his forties bolted away into an alley.”
who stood at the edge of the Harkins shuddered. “I went to
sidewalk, nervously twisting look at the body. No blood at
his hands together. He looked all, just like he is now.
almost as pale as the ghastly Drained.”
body on the ground. “You’re sure it was a Niro-
“Go on,” prompted Mi- tan you saw?” Michaels asked.
chaels. “This is for the record. “I airw’t sure of anything.
Tell us who you are and what But there was this big purple
you saw.” thing with bat-wings wrestling
with poor Barrett. If it wasn’t
“My name is Mack Har- one of them Nirotans, I’d like
kins,” the balding man said in to know what it was, then.”
a thin, hesitant voice. “I live “Thank you, Mr. Harkins. I
over on Austin Street, couple think the local authorities
of blocks from here. Work at would like to ask you some
the Dynacar showroom around questions now.” The camera
the corner. I was walking flashed toward the second wit-
along and suddenly I looked ness.
up ahead and saw a man strug-
gling with —
well —
some kind The second witness was not
of thing.” human. He was a member of
“Describe it,” Michaels one of the half-dozen different
prodded gently./ species of alien beings that fre-
—
“Well bigger than a man, quented Earth since the open-
purple-colored, with big bat- ing of the age of interstellar
wings. You know, one of those travel some three decades
bat-people, what do you call earlier.
them?” The camera focussed on the
“Nirotans?” short, stockily-built being
“Yeah. Yeah, that’s it. One whose only external physical
—
differences from humanity they break. Awaiting your in-
were the two tiny heat-sensi- structions.”
tive antennae that sprouted The screen went dead.
just above each eye.
“You are from Drosk?” Mi- TN his darkened office, Neil
chaels asked. Harriman sat quietly with
folded hands while a chill of
The alien nodded. “I am terror rippled quickly through
Blen Duworn, attache to the him. He recovered self-control
Drosk Trade Commission of- with an effort, and switched
fice in San Francisco,” he said on the light.
in smooth, faultless English. “I His mind refused to accept
was out for a morning stroll what the message tape had
when I came upon the scene just told him.
this man has just described to
you.” Harriman’s particular job
“Tell us what you saw.” in theworkings of the Terran
“I saw a large winged entity Security Agency was to deal
vanishing into that alley. I with crimes involving Earth-
saw a man falling toward the men and There was
aliens.
ground, and another man plenty of bad blood between
Mr. Harkins— rushing toward the people of Earth and the
him. That is all.” strange-looking visitors from
“And this large winged en- space. A planet which had not
tity —
you saw can you identify yet fully reconciled itself even
it more precisely?” to racial differences in its own
The alien frowned. “I am species of intelligent life could
quite sure it was a Nirotan,” not easily adjust to the pres-
he said after a brief pause. ence of bizarre life-forms,
some of them considerably su-
“Thank you,” Michaels perior to the best that Earth
said. The screen showed anoth- had.
er view of the bloodless corpse. Up till now, Harriman’s job
“That’s where it stands as of had largely been to protect the
now, chief. I’llkeep in touch aliens from the hostility of
on further developments as Earthmen. The green-skinned
Qafliks, for example, had ing in appearance —purple-

touched off demonstrations in hued creatures seven feet tall,
those parts of the world where their bodies covered with

white skin was still thought to thick coarse fur, their eyes
be in some way superior to all tiny and set deep in their skull,
other colors of skin. their faces weird and strange.

In other places, the peculiar They had wings, bat-like
sexual mores of the uninhibited membranes of skin stretched
Zadoorans had angered cer- over vastly elongated finger-
tain puritanical Terrestrials. bones, while a small pair of
So Harriman’s wing of the well-equipped hands provided
Agency had been given the them with the manipulative
task of protecting Earth’s abilities necessary for the de-
many alien visitors until the velopment of a civilization.
people of Earth were mature They were traders, bringing
enough to realize that it was with them curiously fashioned
not necessary to hate that mechanical contrivances that
which was strange. were in great demand on
Earth. But they had little con-
But now an entirely new and tact with Earthmen. The Niro-
dangerous aspect had entered tans seemed to be a with-
the picture. One of the aliens drawn, self-contained race,
had murdered an Earthman. and few Earthmen cared for
And, thought Harriman bleak- the company of such repellent-
ly, it would have to be a Niro- looking beings in any event.
tan that had committed the
crime. So littlewas known about
The Nirotans were recent them. Dark rumors had arisen
additions to the Terran scene. that they were vampire beings,
They had first landed on Earth thirsty for human blood. The
less than a year previously, ordinary people of Earth re-
and no more than a few thou- garded the Nirotans with fear
sand were present at this time. and loathing for this reason,
They were not pretty. De- and gave them a wide berth.
scended from a primitive bat- So far as anyone had known,
like form, they were frighten- the vampire story was nothing
but a terror-inspired myth. normally wore an affable ex-
The murder story. Harriman pression during even the most
thought, would have to be grave crisis. But there was
hushed up somehow. At least nothing cheerful about his
until the investigation had plump face now. He nodded
definitely proven the guilt or curtly to Harriman as the Sub-
innocence of the Nirotans. If chief entered. Harriman saw
the world ever learned of the two message pellets lying on
“vampire” attack, there would Russell’sdesk, both of them
be an hysterical uprising that wrapped in the red-and-yellow
might bring about the death of emergency trimmings.
—
every Nirotan or every alien
of any kind —
on Earth. Re- Russell said, “I’ve been
prisal from the stars would be reading some of your mail,
swift. Harriman. You know that I’m
Harriman scowled tightly. always notified when an emer-
This was too big for him to gency message arrives here.
handle on his own. He re- You got one about half an hour
stored the message tape to its ago. Then another one showed
container and picked up his up for you, and I figured I’d
phone. save some time by having a
“Harriman speaking. Let me look at it myself. And no soon-
talk to Director Russell. And er did I finish scanning that
fast.” . one when another one showed
up.” Russell tapped the two
His call went through rush message pellets on his desk.
channels, and a moment later “One of these is from Warsaw.
the deep, resonant voice of the The other is from London.
Director of the Terran Securi- They’re both about the same
ty Agency said, “Hello, Harri- thing.”
man. I was just about to call “The Nirotans?”
you anyway. I want to see you Russell nodded darkly. “Tell
In a hurry. And I mean hurry.” me about your tape.”
“A man was murdered in
IRECTOR Russell was a San Francisco this morning.

short, rotund man who Body found completely
”
drained of blood, with punc- almost a year,” Harriman pro-

ture-holes over the jugular. tested. “Why should they sud-
Two witnesses —a Drosk and denly break out in a wave of
a man named Harkins. They blood-d r i n k i n g the same
saw the victim struggling with night?”
something that looked like a “Are you defending them?”
Nirotan.” Russell asked.
“I’m just speculating. We
The Director’s eyebrows have no definite proof that
rose. “Witnesses? That’s more they’re guilty.”
than we have on these other “Maybe,” Russell said,
two.” “they just couldn’t hold out
“What are they?” any longer with all that nice
“Murder reports. One in fresh blood tempting them.”
Poland last night, the other in
London about two hours ago. Harriman eyed his chief
An old man and a girl, both strangely. He knew Russell
bloodless.” did not have much liking for
“We’ll have to keep this the alien beings on Earth. The
quiet,” Harriman said. “If the Director was, in many re-
people find out — spects, an old-fashioned man.
“They have. There’s already “You aren’t pre-judging the
been a vampire-h»nt in War- Nirotans, are you?” Harriman
saw. Two Nirotans were asked.
flushed by the mob and just “Of course not. But it cer-
barely escaped with their lives. tainly looks bad for them. I’ve
Londoners are talking vampire ordered all Nirotans taken
too. It looks damned bad for into protective custody until
the Nirotans, Harriman. Es- things cool down a little.”
pecially with this eye-witness “Good i Harriman
d e a,”
thing in San Francisco. Every- agreed. “If some of them got
one called the Nirotans vam- lynched by the mobs we might
pires all along—and now find ourselves ' at war with
there’s something concrete to Nirota tomorrow.”
pin suspicions to.” “I’m aware of that,” Rus-
“But they’ve been here for sell said. “Also, I’m haviog the
three bodies flown here for ex- to form. A country wide move-
amination. And I want to get ment was under way in Po-
a live Nirotan to examine, land, the object to hunt down
too.” any Nirotans thatbe could
“That won’t be so easy,” found and destroy them. An-
Harriman said. “They don’t cient superstitious legends had
like Eathmen peering at them been reawakened in Central
up close.” Europe. There was talk of sil-
“They’d better like it,” Rus- ver bullets, of wooden stakes
sell said. “Take a trip over to through the heart.
the Nirotan Consulate down- “D a c u 1 a-men from the
r
town and talk to the head stars,” shouted a West Coast

man.” newspaper. In Los Angeles,
Harriman nodded. “Right. crowds surrounded the Nirotan
But I don’t think they’re go- headquarters, climbing tower-
ing to cooperate.” ing palms to hurl bricks at the
windows. A major incident was
r
T’HE news sheets picked up brewing as news of the triple
the story with almost su- killings swept the world. Fear
pernatural speed. THREE and hatred were turned against
VAMPIRE VICTIMS, alien beings of all sorts. Har-
screamed the headlines of the riman sent out a world-wide
afternoon editions. BLOOD- order instructing authorities
LESS BODIES FOUND IN everywhere to give sanctuary
FRISCO, LONDON, WAR- to aliens of any kind, in case
SAW. N I ROT AN S SUS- the mob generalized its hate
PECTED. and struck out against all non-
humans.
Harriman made an appoint-
ment to see the ranking mem- At two that afternoon the
ber of the Nirotan Consulate at first —
body arrived from Lon-
half past two that afternoon. don, flown over by transat-
Until that time, he busied him- lantic rocket. Harriman had a
self with keeping up on news moment to view the corpse be-
reports. fore heading downtown to the
Angry mobs were beginning Nirotan Consulate.
— —
The victim was a girl of the case. Maybe the Nirotans

about seventeen, with plain were hideous; maybe they did
but^ pleasant features. The look like the Devil’s own
sheet was lifted from her body nightmares. It made no differ-
and Harriman saw its paper- ence. His job was simply to
whiteness, and the two dark determine guilt or innocence.
little holes at her throat. Hor- If the Nirotans were guilty,
ror crept down his back. It if three of their number had
was a ghastly sight, this blood- committed the crimes, then

less body. The girl’s mouth there would be grave inter-
was locked in the configura- stellar repercussions. Probably
tions of a terrified scream. She the Nirotans would be asked
looked like a waxen image, not to leave Earth permanently.
like a creature of flesh and But if they were innocent
blood. somehow— then it was his job
to protect them from the wrath
Harriman’s special car was of the mobs, and find the real
waiting for him outside the culprits.
Agency building. He rode
downtown in deep silence, his The Nirotan Consulate was
mind still gripped by the sight a sturdy four-story building
of those chalky young breasts, on Fifth Avenue
an —old
those dead white thighs. De- building, back nearly
dating
spite himself he could picture two centuries. Just now it was
the huge revolting form of the surrounded by a boiling,
Nirotan huddling around her, screaming mob. Eight armed
its wings half unfolding as the men in the gray uniforms of
gleaming teeth plunged the Security Corps held the
through the soft flesh of the rioters back. The door, Harri-
protesting girl’s throat man saw, was barred. One of
Harriman shook his head. the Security men had a cut
He was an officer of the law, over his left eye; the result,
he reminded himself. An im- probably, of a thrown missile.
partial investigator dedicated The crowd melted to one
to justice. He had to keep from side as Harriman’s official
letting his emotions enter into Security Corps car came to a
halt outside the building. Es- r|~'HE Nirotan was standing
corted by three armed Corps- "*
in one corner of the
men, Harriman made his way office —Nirotans
never v sat.
up the steps of the building. His small, muscular arms were
He waited outside the door folded in a surprisingly human
while a scanner beam ex- posture. The great sleek wings
amined him. There was the lay huddled on his shoulders.
sound of relays groaning as On Earth the atmosphere was
the heavy protective bars too thin, the gravitational pull
were electronically drawn too strong, to make it possible
back. for the Nirotans to fly. Their
The door opened. A Nirotan home world had a thicker at-
stood in shadows within,
the mosphere and lighter gravity,
looming high above Harriman. anti there they soared on wings
“Enter,” the alien said in its that measured fifteen feet
strange, hoarse, voice. from tip to tip.
*
Harriman stepped inside Harriman tried to hide the

and the great door clanged irrational fear he experienced
shut behind him, obliterating at the sight of the huge bat-
the raucousscreams of the like creature. He stared at the
mob Three Nirotans
outside. face, covered, like the rest of
faced Harriman, the smallest the Nirotan’s body, with fine
of them better, than a foot tall- purplish fur. He could see the
er than he. They conducted dog-like snout, the tiny yel-
him silently through the build- low eyes, the enormous fan-
ing tg the office of the Nirotan like ears, and, gleaming behind
consul. the Nirotan’s thin lips, the
There was a faintly musty teeth.Teeth that might, per-
odor about the place. Despite haps, be able to drain blood
himself, Harriman felt a from an Earthman’s throat.
twinge of revulsion as he was Harriman said, “You under-
ushered into the presence of stand why I am here, of
Trinnin Nirot, ranking Niro- course.”
tan diplomat in North Ameri- “I understand that there are
ca. rioters outside this building,
and that my people on this “There are two reasons for

planet must take cover for fear suspecting Nirotans,” Harri-
of their lives,” said the Niro- man said. “The first is an an-
tan crisply. Like most aliens cient superstitious belief in
on Earth, his command of the vampires. Bats who drink hu-
language was flawless. “More man blood. The people of
than that I do not understand. Nirota are closest in physical
I am waiting for an explana- appearance to the popular
tion.” image of the vampire.”
Harriman’s jaws tightened. “And the other reason?”
He felt awkward standing half- “The other reason,” said
way across the room from the Harriman, “is more pertinent.
Nirotan; butwas no
there Two eye-witnesses in San
place to sit down, and the Francisco said they saw a
alien did not offer any sort of Nirotan in the process of at-
hospitality. Harriman fidgeted, tacking one of the victims.”
crossing and uncrossing his
arms. After a brief pause he The alien was silent for a
said —
quietly, since the Niro- long moment. Finally he said,
tans were extraordinarily sen- “Tell Mr. Harriman: if
me,
sitive to sound —
“Last night
- you could, would you kill and
and this morning three Earth- eat me?”
men were found dead in widely Harriman was stunned.
separated places, their bodies “Would I — killand eat you?”
drained of blood. Many people he repeated slowly.
believe that they were killed “Yes. Do you feel any in-
by members of your race.” clination to feast on a roasted
Nirotan?”
The alien’s facial expression “Why —
of course not. The
was unreadable. “Why should idea’smonstrous!”
they believe this? Why choose “Exactly so,” the Nirotan
us as the- killers, and not the said calmly. “Let me assure
Qafliks or the Zadoorans or you that a member of my race
some other race? There are would no sooner drink the
many alien beings on this blood of an Earthman than an
planet.” Earthman would dine on Niro-
”” ” ”
tan flesh. Pardon me when I “We do not tolerate any
say that we find your physical handling of our bodies by
appearance as repugnant as alien beings,” said the Nirotan
you seem to find ours. The haughtily. “If you persist in
whole concept of this crime is accusing us of this incredible
beyond our belief. We are not crime, we will be forced to
vampires. We do not feed on withdraw from your planet.
animal matter of any sort. The But we cannot and will not
crime we are accused of could submit to any sort of examina-
not possibly have been com- tion of the sort you suggest,
mitted by a Nirotan.” Mr. Harriman.”
Harriman silently regarded “Don’t you see, though, it
the alien, staring at the flash- might clear your people at
ing teeth; needle-sharp, at the once, and
—
vicious little claws, at the fold- “You have heard my reply,”
ed, leathery, infinitely terrify- the Nirotan said. He rustled
ing wings. Appearance seemed his wings in an unfriendly ges-
to belie thecalm denial of ture. “We have stated our in-
guilt that Harriman had just nocence. I must take your re-
heard. fusal to believe my statement
The Earthman said, “It as a deeply wounding insult.”
might be possible to determine
guilt or innocence quickly. If There was crackling silence
you would lend us a member in the room. This was an alien,
of your staff for examina- Harriman reflected. On Nirota,
tion
— perhaps, the idea of lying was
“No,” came the curt, imme- not known. Or perhaps the
diate response. Nirotan was a very subtle
“But our physicians might devil indeed. In any event, the
be able to establish beyond interview was rapidly getting
doubt the impossibility of any nowhere.
— —
ah vampirism. I can assure “Very well,” Harriman
— said.
you that no harm would “If your refusal is final
—
come “It is.”
“No.” “We’ll have to proceed with
“But—” our investigation as best we
can. For your own sake, I headquarters of the Terran

must ask you not to let any Security Agency, in a bleak
of your people venture out un- and bitter mood. For the ten
protected. We can’t be re- years that he had held.his job,
sponsible for the actions of he had devoted himself to
hysterical mobs. And, natural- protecting the alien beings on
ly, we’ll do everything in our Earth, guarding them from the
power to discover the guilty outcroppings of superstitious
parties. Your cooperation hatred that sometimes rose up
might have made things a little to threaten them. And now,
easier all around, of course.” he could no longer defend the
“Good day, Mr. Harriman.” extra-terrestrials.Three vi-
cious crimes had been commit-
Harriman scowled. “For the ted. And Trinnin Nirot’s cold
sake of good relations between refusal to permit investigation
Earth and Nirota, I hope made it that much harder to
none of your people is re- believe in the innocence of the
sponsible for But
this crime. Nirotans. The vampire image
you can be sure that when we was ingrained too deeply.
do find the murderers, they’ll
be fully punished under the When he returned to his of-
laws of Earth. Good day, fice, Harriman found a mes-
Trinnin Nirot.” sage instructing him to report
to Director Russell at once.
T TARRTMAN was shaking He found Russell in confer-
A with repressed disgust ence. In the Director’s office
as
he made his way down the were four men —George Zach-
consulate steps, and into his ary, Secretary-General of the
car. The Nirotan stench United Nations; Henri Lamar-
seemed to cling to him, to tine, Commissioner of Extra-
hover in a cloud about him. terrestrial Relationships; Dr.
And he knew the Nirotan’s David van Dyne, chief medical
hideous face would plague his examiner of the Security
dreams for weeks to come. Agency; and Paul Hennessey,
He rode uptown, back to the Commissioner of Justice and
skyscraper that housed the Russell’s immediate superior.
” —
Director Russell said, “Well, of a Nirotan and examine his
Harriman? Did you see the teeth, we could probably find
Nirotans?” out readily enough whether one
“I saw Trinnin Nirot him- of them actually committed
self,” Harriman said. “And I the crime or not. If they’re
got nowhere.” really vegetarians, they proba-
“What do you mean, no- bly don’t have the equipment
where?” fpr doing it.”
“Trinnin Nirot categorically
denies the possibility that any “Are we trying to decide
Nirotan might have committed whether a Nirotan actually did
the crimes. He says that Niro- it?” Director Russell asked in
tans are vegetarians, and that some surprise. “I thought that
the whole idea of their being was all settled. There were
vampires is beyond belief. But witnesses, after all, for the
he won’t let us have a look at San Francisco murder.”
any of his men to confirm it.” Commissioner Lamar-
tine said, “Before we can start
“We expected the denial,” to take legal action against the
muttered Commissioner Hen- Nirotans, we’ll have to rule
nessey. “But where do we go out all possibility that any oth-
from here?” er race might have done it
“Isn’t there any evidence on or that the crimes were com-

the bodies?” Harriman asked. mitted by Earthmen.”
Dr. van Dyne said, “All Russell blinked. “Earth-
three bodies are here, and I’ve ,men? Are you suggesting —
examined them. All that can
be definitely determined was The bearded little commis-
that two needle-like instru- sioner shook his head stub-
ments penetrated the jugular bornly. “We’re dealing with a
veins of the victims and rapid- proud and stubborn race here,
ly withdrew their blood. The as Mr. Harriman can confirm.
withdrawal might have been We can’t simply accuse them
done with teeth, or it could of a crime like this without
have been done mechanically. proof.”
Of course, if we could get hold “Eyewitnesses consti-
—
tute some beginning of proof,” tra-terrestrials pulling out

Russell snapped. and turning Earth into a back-
Commissioner Hennessey water world considered not fit
held up a hand to cut short for civilized beings to visit.”
the dispute. “Please, gentle- Harriman stared at the five
men. I think Trinnin Nirot’s grim faces. These men, like
refusal to permit examination himself, were shaken to the
of any Nirotans speaks for it- core by the notion that the be-
self in the matter of guilt or ings from the stars might be
innocence.” blood-drinkers in fact as well
as in appearance. And it was
“I’m not so sure,” Harriman hard to believe in the inno-
put in. “They seem to have cence of the Nirotans.
some kind of taboo against let-
ting other species get too close The phone rang. Director
to them.” Russell reached Out w’ith a
“But certainly they’d be plump hand and snatched the
willing to let the taboo go by telephone nervously from its
the boards for the sake of cradle.He listened for a mo-

clearing themselves,” Russell ment, snapped some sort of re-
objected. ply,and slammed the instru-
“Not necessarily,” said La- ment down again.
martine. “We’re dealing with “Bad news,” he said, his
alien beings, remember. They face becoming grimmer. “A
don’t see things the way we mob broke into the building
do.” where the Nirotans were taking
“In any event,” said Secre- sanctuary in Budapest.
tary-General Zachary, “we’ll Dragged three Nirotans out
have to reach some solution in and killed them. Drove wood-
a hurry. There’s rioting going en stakes through their
on in every city where Niro- hearts.”
tans are located. And the bit- Harriman felt Le-
chilled.
terness is starting to spread to gends weighted with medieval
take in other aliens, too. If we dust were erupting into the
don’t restore order in a hurry, neat, ordered world of the
we’re going to find all the ex- twenty-second century. Wood-
en stakes in Budapest! Omi- mobs to come bursting in.
nous mutterings against the The United Nations General
winged people —and three Assembly, which had become
bloodless bodies lying in the the world government in fact
morgue ten floors below. as well as in name during the
“Heaven help us if the Niro- past seventy-five years, met in
tans are innocent,” Secretary- an extraordinary session that
General Zachary said toneless- evening at U. N. Headquarters.
ly. “They’ll never forgive us
for today.” The purpose of the meeting
“I’ll order triple protection,” was simply to vote additional
Russell said. “We don’t want appropriations for the protec-
a massacre.” tion of extra-terrestrial beings
against mob violence —but dur-
TTYSTERIA was the order ing the session a delegate from
A of the day on Earth in the the United States rose in wrath
next six hours. Three murders to demand the immediate with-
in themselves were not of any drawal of what he termed the
great importance; round the “N i r o t a n vampires” from
world each day, hundreds of Earth.
human beings met violent The resolution was declared
deaths without causing a stir. out of order, and did not
But was the manner of the
it come a vote. But it repre-
to
deaths that dug deep into hu- sented the sentiments of a
manity. The killings struck great majority of Earth’s nine
subconscious fears, and billion people on that evening.
brought to the surface the old
myths. Harriman flew
to San Fran-
cisco that evening aboard a
was dread of the un-
It midnight jetliner that made
known, dread of the people the journey in four hours. A
from the stars, that touched waiting taxi took him to the
off the rioting round the world. downtown San Francisco of-
The relative handful of Niro- fices of the Nirotan Trade
tans waited behind the walls of Delegation, in the heart of the
their shelters, waiting for the city on Market Street. The
summer shrouded
fog every- had been in the San Francisco
thing in gloom. area in the past three days.
Special Agent Michaels was If a Nirotan had been the
waiting for him outside the murderer of Sam Barrett, then
heavily protected building. Th; the murderer was in this room.
agent’s face was set tightly. Harriman stared at the
Fifty or sixty people were group. As always the facial ex-
parading wearily around the pressions of the aliens defied
building, despite the lateness interpretation. They seemed to
of the hour. They no longer be waiting for the disturbance
seemed violent, but they car- to diedown, so they could re-
ried hastily constructed plac- sume their normal way of life.
ards which bore slogans like
VAMPIRES MUST DIE! Conscious of their dread ap-
and NIROTANS GO HOME! pearance, of his own insigni-
ficance, of the nauseous odor
“Been any trouble with the of Nirotans in one
fifteen
pickets?” Harriman asked, in- room, Harriman moistened his
dicating the mob. lips. A mental image came to
“Not as much as earlier,” him unexpectedly — the fifteen
Michaels said. “There were bat-likecreatures surrounding
about five hundred people out him, throwing themselves on
here around nine o’clock, but him with one accord, fastening
they’ve all gone home except their fangs in his throat and
the diehards. They were parad- sucking away his life-blood. He
murdered
ing the mother of the wirced involuntarily at the
man around the building and vividness of the picture.
screaming for justice, but they Then he remembered that
didn’t try to do any damage, he was an officer of the law,
at least.” and that these beings facing
Harrirnan nodded. “Good. him were simply suspects in a
Let’s go in.” murder case.
There were fifteen Nirotans He said, “Ea-’y yesterday
standing inside. Michaels as- morning a man was killed in
sured Harriman that the group this city. I’m sure you all
included every Nirotan who know how he was killed. I’ve
come here from New York to count for your whereabouts at
talk to you about the murder murder?”
the time of the
of Sam Barrett.” “We will give no informa-
None of the aliens spoke. In tion,”rumbled the Nirotan

the solemn silence Harriman who seemed to be the spokes-
continued. ‘‘Two witnesses man
claim they saw a Nirotan A stone wall again, Harri-
struggling with the murdered man thought gloomily. He said,
man in the street. If the wit- “Don’t you see that by refus-
nesses are telling the truth, ing to answer questions or per-
one of you in this room commit an examination, you natu-
mitted that crime.” rally make yourselves look sus-
picious in humanity’s eyes?”
“The witnesses are saying “We have no concern with
that whichis not so,” declared appearances. We did not com-
an immense Nirotan booming- mit the crime.”
ly. “We have committed no “On Earth we need proof of
crimes. The offense you charge that.Your word isn’t enough
us with is unthinkable in Niro- here.”
tan eyes.” “We will not submit to inter-
“I haven’t charged you with rogation. We demand the right
anything,” Harriman said. to leave this planet at once, in
“The evidence implies that a order to return to Nirota.”
Nirotan was responsible. For
your sake and the sake of in- Harriman’s eyes narrowed.
terstellar relations, I hope it “The Interstellar Trade Agree-
isn’t so. But my job is to find ments prevent any suspected
out who is responsible for the criminals from leaving Earth
killings.” for their home world. You’ll
“We wish you luck. But you have to stay here until some-
must look elsewhere.” thing definite is settled, one
Harriman shook his head. way or the other, on the mur-
“My first step has to be to der.”
establish guilt or innocence in “We will answer no ques-
thisroom. As a beginning, sup- tions,” came the flat, positive,
pose I ask each of you to ac- unshakeable reply.
Anger glimmered in Harri- whelming mass of the people,

man’s eyes. “All right, then. utterly convinced that the Ni-
But you’ll rot here until we de- rotans were vampires, stood
cide to let you go! See how you ready to enforce justice them-
like that!” selves if the authorities lin-
He turned and spun out of gered. Already, three Nirotans
the room. had died hands of the
at the
jeering mobs an incident —
I_JE slept fitfully and un- which would have serious con-
A easily on the return jour- sequences once the hysteria
ney to New York. It was mid- died down.
morning when the jetliner
touched down at New York Director Russell growled a
Jet Skyport, and was noonit
greeting at Harriman as the
by the time Harriman returned Agency subchief entered the
to his office at Terran
the office. It was obvious from
Security Agency. He felt deep Russell’s harried expression
frustration. There was no way and from the overflowing ash-
for the investigation to proceed trays that the Director had
—not when the only suspects been up all night, keeping in
refused to defend themselves. touch with the crisis as it un-
folded and as new complica-
Earth couldn’t accuse mem- tions developed.
bers of an alien species of mur- “Well?” Russell demanded.
der on the basis of tw o early- T
“What’s the word from San
morning eyewitnesses and a lot Francisco?”
of circumstantial evidence ris- “The word is nothing,
ing out of old hysterical le- chief,” Harriman said tiredly.
gends. It was always a risky “The Nirotans clajnmed up
business when one planet tried completely. They insist that
people of another world for they’re but beyond
innocent,
—
crime and in this case, the that they refuse to say any-
evidence was simply too thin thing. And they’re demanding
for a solid indictment. to be allowed to return to their
On the other hand, Earth home world now.”
clamored fox a trial. The over- “I know. Trinnin Nirot
petitioned Secretary-General “Maybe,” Harriman said,
Zachary late last night to per- “we ought to just let the bats
mit all Nirotans on Earth to clear off Earth, as they want
withdraw.” to do. That’ll solve all our
“What did Zachary say?” problems.”
—
“He didn’t not yet. But he “And bring up a million new
doesn’t want to let the Niro- ones. I would mean that any
tans go until we get to the bot- alien could come down here
tom of this vampire business.” and commit crimes, and go
“Any word from anyplace away untouched if he simply
else?” denied his guilt. I wouldn’t like
“Not much that’s hopeful,” to see a precedent like that get
Russell said wearily with a set. Uh-uh, Harriman. We
tired shrug. “There are thirty have to find the killers, and
Nirotans under surveillance in we have to do it legally. Only
London, but they’re not talk- I’m damned if I know how
ing. And we have twenty we’re going to go about doing
cooped up in Warsaw. Zero it.”
there too. Right now we’re

busy protecting a couple of VV7E have to find the killers,
thousand of the bats. But how ** Harriman thought half an
long can this keep up?” hour later, in the solitude of
“Couldn’t we seize a Nirotan his 'own office. And we have
forcibly and examine him?” to do it legally. Well, the first
Harriman asked. part of that was reasonable
“I’ve thought of that. But enough.
the high brass says no. If we
happen to be wrong, we’ll have But how about the second,
committeda what the Nirotans Harriman thought?
are perfectly free to consider Legally they were powerless
as an open act of war. And if to continue the investigation.
we’re right— theif Nirotans The forces of law and order
were lying— then we still have were hopelessly stalled, while
the problem of finding out fear-crazy rioters demanded
which Nirotans did the actual Nirotan blood in exchange for
killing.” Terran.
Themain problem, he The Security Agency

was
thought, was whether or not a —
stymied officially. They were
Nirotan any— Nirotan h a d — at an impasse which could not
actually committed the atroci- be surmounted.
ties. According to the Niro- How about unofficially,
tans, such crimes were beyond though?
their capacities even to imag- Harriman moistened his lips.
ine. Yet the heavy weight of He had an idea. It was a gam-
popular belief — as well as the ble, that would be worth his
damning fact of the two San job and his career if he lost.
Francisco witnesses — lent va- But it was worth taking, he
lidity to the notion of the decided firmly. Someone had
Nirotans as blood-sucking to risk it.
vampires. Picking up the phone, he or-

dered his special car to be
Medical examination of a ready for him outside the
Nirotan might settle the thing building.Then, without leav-
in one direction or another. If ing word with anyone of his
it could be proven that the intended destination- or pur-
Nirotans might possibly have pose, he quietly departed.
committed such a crime, it There were several dozen
would be reasonable to assume Nirotans cooped up at the con-
that they had. But, on the oth- sulate on Fifth Avenue. Any
er hand, if the Nirotans had one of those Nirotans would
definitely not done it, Harri- do, for his purposes. The thing
man would have to begin look- he had to remember was that
ing elsewhere for the authors he was in this on his own. He
of the atrocities. did not dare risk taking on an
If only the Nirotans would accomplice. His plan was too
cooperate, he thought! risky to share with another
But some alien quirk, some person.
incomprehensible pride of The consulate was guarded
theirs, kept them from lower- by armed Security Corpsmen.
ing themselves to take part in And, unless there had been a
anything so humiliating to slackening of public animosity,
them as an official inquest. the building was probably
—
still surrounded by a howling “Just one. They want him
mob. down at Headquarters. When
It was. More than a thou- I get him out, I want an armed
sand shouting New Yorkers convoy through this crowd

clustered around the building, eight of you on each side of
pressing close to the steps but me, with drawn guns, in case
not daring to approach for anyone in the crowd tries to
fear of the guns of the Security make trouble. All that under-
men. The mob. frustrated, kept stood?”
up a low animal-like murmur They nodded. Tension •
beneath the hysteria of the pounded in Harriman’s chest.

shouts and curses it hurled He was taking a tremendous
forth. risk, putting a Nirotan in front
of thecrowd in broad daylight.
Harriman ordered his driver But there was no help for it.
to park his car several blocks If he came at dead of night,
north of the scene of the dis- when the mob had diminished,
turbance. The Agency subchief he would get no response from
proceeded cautiously, on foot, within. Nirotans slept the sleep
making his way between the of the dead at night — this
packed rows of angry demon- much had been definitely es-
strators toward the consulate. tablished.
He felt a dryness in his throat.
He was gambling everything, Harriman waited in the
now. scanner beam while the Niro-
He needed a Nirotan dead — tans within examined him. At
last, he heard the heavy door
or alive, preferably alive. And
there was only one way for begin to clank open. Beady
him to get one, he knew. yellow Nirotan eyes stared at
He made his way up the him from within.
steps of the consulate. The “Yes? What do you want?”
guards, recognizing him, gave “To talk,” Harriman said.
way. Harriman called them to- “Something new has come up
gether. that you must be told about.”
“I’ve got orders to bring a The door widened a little to
Nirotan out,” he whispered. admit Harriman. But, instead
”
of stepping inside, he extended cooperation. But evidently the

a hand and seized the wrist of Nirotans’ pride did not extend
the Nirotan. Harriman tugged. that far. Eyes blazing with
The Nirotan, for all his great fury but otherwise meek, the
height, had the light bones of a Nirotan allowed himself to be
flying creature; besides, sur- led down the consulate steps
prise \Vas on Harriman’s side. by Harriman.
The astonished Nirotan came “Keep back!” the Security
tumbling through the half open Corpsmen shouted, gesturing
door before he knew what was with weapons, as they
their
happening. formed an enflankment to pro-
tectHarriman and his captive.
A great shout went up from An ugly menacing buzz rose
the mob at the sight of the bat- from the crowd; some began to
creature. Harriman felt a jostle forward, evidently im-
twinge of fear at the raucous pelled by hotter heads behind
roar of the crowd. The Niro- them. But they gave way as
tan was squirming, struggling the little convoy proceeded
to break Harriman’s grasp. past.
His wings riffled impotently. The trip to the car seemed
“What is the meaning of to take hours. Harriman was
this?” demanded the bat-crea- limp and sweat-soaked by the
ture indignantly. time he finally reached the ve-
“Just come with me, and hicle and thrust the Nirotan
don’t struggle, and everything in. There had not been a single
will be all right,” Harriman overt act of violence on the
said soothingly. He let the part of the crowd. It was as if
alien catch a glimpse of the the actual sight of a Nirotan
tiny needle-blaster he held in walking safely through their
his free hand. “We want to very midst had left them too
talk you at headquarters.
to stunned to react.
The crowd won’t hurt you if “This is an outrage,” the
you cooperate with me.” Nirotan started to say, as the
For an uneasy moment Har- car pulled away. “I will pro-
riman wondered if the alien test this kidnapping and I
—
might not prefer suicide to Smiling in relief, Harriman
” ”
took from his pocket the an- ation for the next couple of
esthetic capsule he had pre- hours, at least. Don’t ask any
pared, and crushed it under the questions about where or how
Nirotan’s snout. The bat-crea- I got him, Doc. Just examine
ture slumped instantly into un- him, and get in touch with me
consciousness and said no the instant you’re finished.”
more.
Harriman reached forward
COME fifteen minutes later, and yanked the coverings off
^a stretcher was borne into the figure on the stretcher.
the headquarters of the Terran Even in sleep, the face of the
Security Agency. The form on Nirotan was hideous. Dr. van
the stretcher was totally Dyne’s jaw sagged in disbe-
swathed in wrappings, and it lief.
was impossible to detect what “My God! A Nirotan! Har-

lay beneath. Harriman super- riman, how did you —
vised delivery of the stretcher “I told you, Doc, don’t ask
to the inner office of Security any questions. He’s here, that’s
Corps Medical Examiner van all,and until the anesthetrin
Dyne. wears off he won’t say a word.
Look him over. Find out
Dr. van Dyne looked puz- whether or not a Nirotan can
zled and more than a little ir- be a vampire. Let me know the
ritated.“Would you mind tell- —
outcome and don’t breathe a
ing me what
all this mystery is syllable of this to anybody else,
about, Harriman?” anybody, or it’ll be worth your
Harriman nodded agreeably. head and mine. Clear?”
“Is your office absolutely se- The pudgy medico looked
curity-tight?” troubled by the obvious irregu-
“Of course. What do you larity of the situation. But he
think — remained silent for a moment,
“Okay, then. I’ve brought eyeing the slumbering Nirotan
you someone to examine. He’s on the stretcher. Finally van
currently out with a double Dyne said, “Okay. I’ve always
dose of anesthetrin, and I’ll wanted to have a close look at
guarantee his complete cooper- one of these fellows. And we
,
can get a lot of things settled look one of the bat-crea-

at
this way.” tures, it was impossible to take
Harriman smiled. “Thanks, even the first steps toward
Doc. Remember, you don’t solving the vampire mysteries.
know anything. If there’s any Now, he needed information.
blame to be taken, let me be He rang up the library circuit
the one to take it. How soon and requested everything they
will you have any information —
had on Nirota immediately.
to give me?” The tapes started arriving a
few minutes later. Harriman
“That’s hard to say. Sup- sorted through them. The first
pose you stick around the ones were dry statistics on Ter-
building for a while. I’ll phone ran-Nirotan trade over the
you in — oh, say, an hour and past ten months. But at length
a half.” Harriman came up with some-
“Right. I’ll be waiting.” thing that was more useful to
As Harriman walked toward him —a tape about Nirota it-
the door of van Dyne’s office, self.

the medical examiner had al-
ready begun to select the The Nirotans are a proud,
equipment he planned to use aloofpeople, Harriman read.
in the examination. They do not welcome contact
with other races except for the
OACK in his own office, Har- purpose of trade.
riman dropped down weari- Their historical records
ly at his desk and ran tensely stretch back for nearly fifteen
quivering hands through his thousand Terran years. They
hair. In ninety minutes, he have had space travel for ten
would have the answers to thousand of those years. The
some of the questions that Nirotan F ederation extends
were plaguing him about the over some thirteen worlds, all
Nirotans. of them settled by Nirotan

He had kidnapped a Nirotan colonists many centuries pre-
in front of a raging mob. It viously.
had been bold, foolhardy but — The Nirotans are superb
necessary. Without a close mechanical craftsmen and their
wares are prized throughout have been a streetcleaner in-
the galaxy. In general they do stead of a medic.”

not take part in galactic dis- “What do you mean?”
putes, preferring to remain “Item one, the Nirotan’s two
above politics. However, the big front incisor teeth are
Nirotans have been engaged in wedge-shaped — triangular. The
fierce economic competition holes in the victims’ throats
with the artisans of Drosk for were round. Item two is that
the past thousand years, and the Nirotan’s jaws aren’t de-
several times during this period —
signed for biting he’d have to
the rivalry has become so in- be a contortionist or better, in
tense that it has erupted into order to get his teeth onto a
brief but savage wars between human throat. And item three
Drosk and Nirota — is that metabolically the Niro-
tans are as vegetarian as can
Harriman’s reading was sud- be. Their bodies don’t have
denly interrupted by the stri- any way of digesting animal
dent sound of the telephone. As matter, blood or meat. Human
he answered, his eye fell on the blood would be- pure poison to
wall-clock,and he discovered them if they tried to swallow
with some surprise that he had any. It would go down their
been immersed in Nirotan his- gullet like a shot of acidr”
tory for rather more than an “So were telling the
they
hour. Perhaps, he thought truth after all,” Harriman said
hopefully, van Dyne had com- quietly'. “And all they had to
pleted his examination and was do was let us examine one of

reporting on his findings! them for ten minutes, and we’d
“Harriman speaking.” be able to issue a full exonera-
“van Dyne here, Neil. I’ve tion!”
just finished giving our speci- “They’re aliens, Nfeil,” said
men a good checkdown.” van Dyne. “They have their
“Well?” Harriman demand- own about pride. They
ideas
ed eagerly. just couldn’t bring themselves
In a quiet voice said, “If a to let an Earthman go poking
a Nirotan committed those around their bodies with in-
murders, Neil, then I should struments.”
‘•You haven’t done any harm tans have been engaged in

to your patient, have you?” fierce economic competition
“Lord, no!” van Dyne said. with the artisans of Drosk for
“I ran a complete external the past thousand years, and
diagnosis on him. When he several times during this period
wakes up he won’t even know the rivalry has become so in-
I’ve touched him. By the way, tense that it has erupted into
what am I supposed to do with brief but savage wars between
him when he wakes up?” Drosk and Nirota—
“Does he show any signs of
coming out from under the an- “I’ve got a hunch,” Harri-
esthetrin yet?” man said. “It’s pretty wild, but
“He’s beginning to show it's worth a try. Keep that
signs ofcoming around.” Nirotan out of sight for the
“Give him another jolt and rest of the day. I’m going to
put him back under,” Harri- make another trip to San
man said. “Keep him hidden Francisco.”
down at your place for a while,
r
until I can figure out where to T'HE San Francisco Security
go next.” Corpsmen knew exactly
“You have any ideas? Now where to Duworn,
find Blen
that we know definitely that attache Drosk Trade
to the
the Nirotans didn’t pull the Commission office. For one
vampire stunt, how are we go- thing, all non-human beings
ing to find out who did?” were kept under informal sur-
Harriman said, “That’s a veillanceduring the emergen-
damned good question. I wish cy, for their own protection.
I had an equally good answer For another, Blen Duworn was
for it.” a material witness in the kill-
ing of Sam Barrett, and there-

Then his eye fell to the tape fore was watched closely so he
of Niroian history, still open could be on hand in case
at the place where he had been authorities cared to question
reading when interrupted by him again.
the telephone call. Which they did. Early in the
He read: However ,
the Niro- day, after his night flight to
the West Coast, Neil Harriman “No. The Earthman named
was shown into a room with Harkins was there first.”
the Drosk and left alone. Blen Harriman nodded again.
Duworn was short, about five “We of Earth know so little
feet three, but sturdily built, about the Nirotans, of course.
with thick hips and immensely We have some of their history,
broad shoulders, indicating the but none of their biology at all.
higher gravitational pull of his They claim to be vegetarians,
home world. you know.”
The Drosk was, at least ex-
ternally, human in every way “They’re lying. On their
except for the half-inch stubs native worlds they raise ani-
above each eye that provided mals simply to drink their
a sixth sense, that of sensitivity blood.”
to heat-waves. Internally, of Harriman lifted an eyebrow.
course, the Drosk was probably “You mean they have a long
totally alien —but non-terres- history of —ah—vampirism?”
trial beings were not in the “They’ve been blood-drink-
habit of letting Terrans exam- ers for thousands of years.
ine their interiors. Luckily for us, Drosk blood
Harriman said affably, “I doesn’t attract them. Evident-
know you must be tired of it ly Terran blood does.”
by now, Blen Duworn, but
would you mind telling me just “Evidently,” Harriman
w’hatyou saw that morning?” agreed. In the same level, un-
The Drosk’s smile was excited tone of voice he went
equally affable. “To put it on, “Would you mind telling
briefly, I saw a Nirotan killing me, now, just how you man-
an Earthman. The Nirotan had aged to convince Harkins that
his fangs to the Earthman’s he saw a Nirotan draining
throat and seemed to be draw- blood from Barrett when it —
ing blood out of him.” was really you he saw?”
Nodding, Harriman pretend- The antennae above Blen
ed to jot down notes. “You Duw orn’s
r
cold eyes quivered.
were not the first one on the “On my w’orld, Earthman, a
scene?” statement like that is a mortal
—
insult that can be wiped out and found out beyond ques-
only by your death.” tion that the Nirotans have to
“We’re not on your world be innocent.”
now. We’re on Earth. And I “I don’t believe it.”
say that you killed Sam Bar- “Believe as you wish. But
rett, not a Nirotan, and that who might be interested in
you deluded Harkins into seeing the Nirotans blamed for
thinking it was a Nirotan he such crimes? For thousands of
saw.” years Drosk and Nirota have
Duworn laughed contemptu- been rivals in the galaxy, try-
ously. “How preposterous! ing to cut each other out of
The Nirotans known for
are juicy trading spots. Here on
their we
blood-drinking, while Earth we’ve allowed both of
of Drosk are civilized people. you to come peddle your wares,
And you can yet accuse me in direct competition with each
of—” other.
“The Nirotans are vegetari-
ans. Human blood is poison to “But Drosk didn’t like that,
them.” did it? So an enterprising
“You believe their lies?” Drosk did some research into
Duworn asked bitterly. Terran folklore, and found out
Harriman shook his head. about the vampire legend
“It isn’t a matter of belief. about the dreaded giant bats
We’ve examined a Nirotan. We who drink human blood, and
know they couldn’t possibly who happen to resemble the
have committed those mur- people of Nirota.
ders.” “And someone cooked up the
“Examined a Nirotan?” Du- idea of murdering a few Earth-
worn repeated, amused. “How men by draining out their
fantastic!' A Nirotan wouldn’t blood, and letting us draw our
let himself be touched by own conclusions about who did
Earthmen ” ! it —knowing damned well that
“This one had no choice,” there would be an immediate
Harriman said softly. “He was public outcry against the Niro-
unconscious at the time. We tans, and also-knowing that the
gave him a thorough going-over Nirotans were culturally
oriented against defending ly gleamed strangely, and the
themselves. antennae above his eyes rose
“You we’d never
figured rigidly.“You’re very clever,
find out that the Nirotans Earthman. You seem to have
couldn’t possibly have done it. figured everything out quite
But you didn’t count on the neatly.
chance that we might violate “Only —we of Drosk are not
Nirotan privacy, drag one of blood-drinkers ourselves; med-
them off to a medical labora- ical tests could easily prove
tory, and see for ourselves.” that we are just as innocent
as the Nirotans are. Why try
Blen Duworn’s muscular to fix the blame on us? I’ve
face remained impassive, but never been positive that I saw
his tiny antennae were stiff a Nirotan that morning; it- was
and agitated. “You forget that dark and foggy. If I was the
there was an Earthman who vampire, how did I do the
saw the Nirotan drinking killing?”
blood.”
“We know the Nirotans “Drosk is noted for its
can’t drink human blood,” re- mechanical skill,” Harriman

turned H
arri m
a n sharply. hard to devise an
said. “It isn’t
“Therefore, Harkins was either instrument that can tap the

lying, bribed, or not responsi- jugular, pump out a few liters
ble for what he was saying. I of blood, and immediately turn

rather thinkit was the last, the blood to vapor and dis-
Blen Duwom. That you manip- charge it into the atmosphere.
ulated his mind in such a way I’m sure you could create such
as to have him think he saw a a device the size of a signet
Nirotan. And then that you ring, with Drosk’s microminia-
gilded the lily by coming forth turizing techniques. Plunge it
as a witness never
yourself — into the jugular, draw out the
dreaming we’d be un-
that blood, dispose of it—who
civilized enough to look at a would be the wiser?”
Nirotan despite his wishes, and “The Nirotans are equally
find out the truth.” clever at such contrivances,”
Blen Duworn’s eyes sudden- retorted the Drosk.
—
”
“Yes, they are. But what clear it, and smiled faintly.
motive would they have for “Thanks,” he muttered. “If

confirming the popular stereo- you’d waited another minute
type of themselves as vam- he would have had me. I hope
pires? No, Blen Duworn, you got every word down on
you’ve exhausted all your argu- tape.”
ments. I say that the so-called
Vampire Menace was cooked A FTER that, the rest was
up by Drosk conspirators, with simple. “Duworn cracked
an eye toward driving your and gave us the name of his
Nirotan competition off Earth. conspirators,” Harriman re-
And—” ported the next day to Director
Russell. “Half a dozen Drosk
The gleam in Blen Duworn ’s were in on it. The idea was to
eyes grew more intense. Harri- make it look as if the Nirotans
man tried to avert the alien’s were going vampire all over
gaze, but the Drosk snapped, Terra.”
“Look me, Earthman! At
at “And if you hadn’t illegally
my eyes! You’ve been very examined that bat-creature,”
clever! But you haven’t count- Russell said, “We’d still be go-
ed on one thing, the Drosk ing- around in circles. You
hypnotic power, the power with ought to hear the apologies
which I persuaded Harkins Secretary-General Zachary’s
that he had seen a Nirotan, the been making to the Nirotans.”
power which I will use now to
obtain my freedom — “Couldn’t be helped, chief.
Harriman rose, reeling dizzi- Duworn and the others were
ly, as the alien’s mind lashed banking on our lack of knowl-
out at his own. It was impossi- edge about the Nirotans. And
ble to look away, impossible to they came close to succeeding.
break the alien’s hold But what kind of an investiga-
Harriman began to sag. Sud- tion can you conduct if you
denly the doors opened. Three don’t know anything about the
Security Corpsmen rushed in, suspects, even?”
seizing Blen Duworn. Russell nodded. “You’ll have
Harriman shook his head to to take a reprimand, Neil.
That’s just for the record. But species departed from Earth at
there’ll be a promotion coming once.
along right afterward, to take Neil Harriman received his
the sting out of it.” promotion, and once again it
“Thanks, chief.” was safe for the Nirotans to

walk the streets of Earth. But,
Secretary-General Zachary despite the well-publicized
managed to convey Earth’s findings that the Nirotans were
apologies to the Nirotans for harmless vegetarians, and de-
the recent indignities they had spite the confession of the
suffered, and the bat-beings Drosk, few Earthmen passed
decided to remain
on Earth. one of the hulking bat-like be-
Drosk, on the other hand, felt ings without a slight shiver of
compelled to withdraw; it was revulsion, and a thought for
decided that the six guilty con- the ancient legends of the era
spirators would be taken back of superstition, which had so
to their home world for pun- shockinglycome alive for a
ishment according to Drosk few days during the so-called
taw, and all members of the Vampire Menace of 2104.
THE END
NUCLEAR NEWS
by STEVEN RORY
A
group of Stanford Univer- spherical shape. In some cases,
sity scientists have been able it was discovered, the nucleus
to measure one of the atom’s might* take the shape of a foot-
basic components the neu- — ball or a pear.
tron, which is the uncharged
particle found in atomic nuclei. Among the wealth of scien-
The neutron is so small that tific information yielded so far
its average radius can best be by the Soviet space satellites
described as “from six to eight is the fact that the atmosphere
times ten to the minus fourteen 140 miles above the Earth is
centimeters.” This means that much denser than had pre-
if neutrons could be lined up viously been thought.
in a row, it would take The upper atmosphere at
10,000,000,000,000 of them to that * height is “five times
reach one inch. denser than might have been
The research group had pre- supposed from studies made
viously measured the proton with rockets,” said Dr. Fred
and found it also to be about L. Whipple, director of the
one ten-trillionth of an inch in Smithsonian Astrophysical Ob-
size. The work of the Stanford servatory. The drag of the at-
team shed new light on the mosphere is the force that
form, as well as the size, of slows space satellites and
the atomic particles. They brings them toward Earth,
found that instead of being where they meet eventual de-
super-microscopic round units struction in thicker atmos-
with clear-cut surfaces, the phere. The new discovery will
particles appear actually to be affect future satellite-raising
tiny clouds, dense in the core, plans of both countries, since
and gradually thinning out. in order to insure a long life
Another finding was that for any satellite it must be
atomic nuclei themselves do placed beyond the dense part
not always have a perfectly of the atmosphere.
THE HUGE
AND HIDEOUS BEASTS
by JAMES ROSENQUEST
The big beasts were terrible and deadly. But even more
even more deadly was the fearful reason that
terrible,
explained the way they existed on that strange planet
TP periscope!” With a the green button in the wall

twinkle in his calm, of the command room. With a
grey eyes, Commander fior- barely audible whirring, a
rescer gave the customary or- great disk of alloy metal slid
der as the good spaceship aside in the curved wall, ex-
Wanderer ‘surfaced’ at anoth- posing the window of foot-
er planetary shoal in the thick special glass. The bright
shoreless expanse of galactic yellow light of the planet’s
space —
a carryover from the distant sun flooded into the
old days when he had com- ship.
manded one of America’s The ship’s assembled crew
atomic-powered submarines. crowded forward —
and gasped.
When the first of the great The initial surprise gave way
globular ships had been built to a muted babble of voices as
and declared ready for the the highly-trained crew began
starways, he had been the to exchange technical com-
natural selection for its skip- ments and opinions.
per. “Another surprise for the
“Aye, sir,” responded Lieu- log, eh Commander?” Lieuten-
tenant Muller crisply, with the ant Muller murmured to his
faintest of smiles, and pressed chief. The Old Man nodded
92
*'v ^
—
thoughtfully, stroking his chin. nering a few for the next
The ship stood in the mid- meal’s vegetable course, and
dle of a clearing that had been there was laughter all around.
selected for the landing “Many a truth is spoken in
about an acre of pebbly soil, jest,” said a quiet voice pontif-
slightly concave and very ically, and the slight form of
smooth, like a shallow amphi- Kim Lee, the pharmacist, el-
theatre or the dried-out bed of bowed through the crew, al-
an artificial lake. Off to the mond eyes narrowed with

right were some high, rounded thought.
hills —
or perhaps they were Muller laid a friendly hand
the stumps of amputated on his frail shoulder when he
mountains, incredibly old, finally reached the porthole
worn featureless and smooth and raised himself on his toes
by vast eons of time. for a better look.
“Now, now, Lee,” the Lieu-
Otherwise, nothing but the
tenant joked, “don’t try to
plants.
pre-empt my specialty. If any-
Vegetable monsters, reach-
body around here is going to
ing toward the livid sky like
get psychic impressions, I
green skyscrapers, planted
will!”
firmly in the black soil on
stalks as thick as an earthly The little Oriental smiled
redwood tree and tapering off^ modestly and shrugged his
some two hundred feet up, shoulders. “True enough,” he
into asparagus-like tops sur- admitted, “You’ve been
mounted by an umbrella of trained in ESP. I haven’t. But
immense, fleshly leaves. I have noticed something. I
They were immediately wonder if any one else has.”
dubbed “asparagus” by the Muller put his hands on his
crew, with the frowning excep- hips. “What now, super-
tion of Hopkins, the botanist. sleuth,” he asked good-na-
But even he could not deny turedly, alluding to the phar-
their succulent appearance, as macist’s hobby of twentieth
if they were good enough to century detective fiction.
eat. Some one suggested gar- Kim Lee continued didac-
THE HUGE AND HIDEOUS BEASTS 95
tically: “Look straight ahead “Gentlemen,” he said re-

into that over-sized asparagus, luctantly, “I have to agree.
then fan your eyes slowly to The arrangement of the plants
the right and then to the left.” — they cannot be called trees
Muller complied in good — is, if I may pun, irregularly
humor, not knowing what to regular.” His face colored
expect. After a few seconds he slightly as he added: “Almost
grunted in surprise. He then as if they had been plant-
yielded to the Old Man, who ed ... ” His eyes widened in as-
stepped forward and followed tonishment at his own sugges-
the same procedure, squinting tion.
his pale grey eyes against the Silence fell over the crew.
glare. That night, several mem-
bers of the and
crew tossed
He turned around and
rolled on their cots, not sure
looked down at Kim Lee from
whether they had heard or
his six-feet-plus, his face seri-
merely dreamed it: a far-off
ous. “I see what you mean. At
trumpeting, like the challenge
first sight that forest of as-
of a bull elephant, but muf-
paragus has the random ap-
fled, as if the sound were
pearance of a grass lawn.
damped by miles of strangely
When you look closer, those
succulent plants. The combin-
monster vegetables seem to
ation of that great sound with
fall into a pattern, like an or-
the suggestion of distance
ange grove, in more or less
aroused stirrings of troubled
straight rows. Is that what
imagination that were quickly
you had in mind?”
thrust out of mind.
Kim Lee nodded somberly.
One by one, the other crew In his own cubicle, Lieuten-
members pressed close to the ant Muller rolled over sudden-
window and followed the same ly and sat upright on the edge
scanning procedure, the initial of his cot. He groped toward
murmurs of disbelief slowing the table in the ensuing echo-
dying out. The botanist, Hop- less silence, found his ciga-
kins, put the final seal of ac- rettes in the dark, and lighted
ceptance on Kim Lee’s theory. one. He regarded the glowing,
orange-red tip in the black- “Between you and Kim Lee,”
velvet darkness, coaxing his he grunted, “you have the ex-
mind into the receptive hyp- ploration party preparing for
noidal state. the first sortie as if they were
At last the impression came, going to a funeral.”
and he groaned to himself: “I know,” admitted Muller,
“Oh, no!” with a worried frown.
He could not get back to The Old Man lighted his an-
sleep the rest of that night. cient pipe —a real antique
from the early twentieth cen-
HTHE day after planet-fall tury —
and veiled himself be-
dawned with deceptively hind clouds of fragrant blue
cheerful brightness.The plan- smoke.
et’s atmosphere was exception-
He continued: “On top of
ally clear and cloudless, and
Kim Lee’s discovery yesterday
there seemed to be no eleva-
and your intuition of last
tions other than the effete
night, you issued instructions
hills to the right of the inspec-
that the exploring party must
tion porthole, so that the great
carry a portable atomic can-
yellow sun came up, almost
non! As if the flare-guns were
literally, like thunder.
not enough to reduce a full-
The big, globular ship was grown elephant to a well-done
a beehive of activity, as the meat patty!” He shook his
various crew members pre- grizzled head and sighed.
pared for preliminary explora- “Well, you must know what
tions. Lieutenant Muller sat you are doing. You were cer-
alone with the Commander in tainly right in the beta-Cen-
the conference room, and re- tauri incident.”
lated the event of the night Muller replied somberly: “I
before, and his own — as yet would have given anything to
formless —impressions of the be wrong. We lost a good man
new planet. in Moroney, although Doctor
Commander Forrester ran Wiley is doing a good job of
one strong, gnarled hand filling in for him.”
through a stubble of grey hair. There was a knock on the
open door. The Commander er inert Temperature

gases.
looked up. “Come in, Pren- range and humidity quite com-
tice.” fortable. Ultra-violet and in-
The ship’s balding, middle- fra-red radiation from that
aged chemist stepped over the yellow giant are within the
high sill and approached For- safe range.”
rester, waving a strip of paper Commander Forrester
tape punched with round knocked the dottle from his
holes. pipe and shook his head. “1
“Here it is, Chief,” he never* cease to be amazed by
crowed, “another planet with the automatic analyzer. By
good, breathable air for red- the by, does Wiley have his
bloodedmammals like us!” report ready yet?”
The Old Man waved away “He asked me to give it to
the tape impatiently. “You you, sir. The bacterial content
know I can’t read that invert- of the soil and air is — nil.”
ed Braille. Tick it off for me.”
The Commander leaned for-
Prentice scanned the per-
ward in his chair. “Nil?”
forated strip with considerable
The chemist nodded.
satisfaction. “Oxygen content
Muller looked at his chief
slightly above terrestrial level
significantly. “This a com-
—but this will just give the
plete reversal of all
is
our past
crew a little added pep. Car-
bon dioxide level also higher
experience. Wherever we
found there have al-
—
than on earth will only make
life at all,
ways been micro-organisms.”

them breathe deeper.”
Forrester shifted his big
He looked toward Lieuten- frame uneasily in his chair.
ant Muller. “Warn them “Too artificial,” he muttered.
against over -oxygenation. If “Still, so much the better for
they begin to feel a little light- us. No chance of contracting
headed, they must make a something as horrible as the
conscious effort to control Venus rot.” He filled his pipe
their rate of respiration. Aside again slowly. “This is not the
from that, there are satisfac- first time I have wished we
tory levels of nitrogen and oth- could stow a helicopter on
—
board, and eliminate the ne- of the pebbles under foot.
cessity for exploration on There might have been the
foot.” barest, rubbery rustling of the
He struck the table deci- great, fleshy leaves, as if the
sively with his palm. “Go gigantic vegetables were dis-
ahead, Fred. Take over. It’s cussing the intruders among
all yours now.” themselves.
Lieutenant Muller stood As they climbed the slight
up, saluted quickly, and left grade of the clearing toward
the command room. the nearest rim, Muller sur-
veyed it again briefly, struck
The exploration party was
by the saucer-like uniformity
ready: six men, including Mul-
of the acre-wide depression.
ler, complete with testing
equipment, pith helmets, flare
He turned to the biologist to
comment on it, but stopped
—
guns and the portable atomic
with his mouth open.
cannon, loaded for firing. The
The ground had trembled
lieutenant pressed the button
slightly underfoot.
in the wall and a section
Muller looked at Polya, the
moved outward, settling slow-
geologist, with a worried
ly down until the far end
frown. “Earthquake?”
touched lightly on the pebbly
ground and came to a halt. He The geologist shook his
raised his hand informally and head. “Not likely. When the
stepped out on the ramp, fol- ship made its preliminary cir-
lowed by the rest of the party. cling of the planet, there were
The air smelled clean and no signs of volcanic forma-
good, and somewhat invigorat- tions. Nothing but low hills.
ing, and the temperature was This hunk of matter is old

in the eighties, but there was very old.” He added disgust-
not a man who did not look edly, “This is not a geologist’s
longingly back at the great, dream. Not an interesting for-
cool, protective cave that was mation.”
the Wanderer. At last they stood on the
The absolute was quiet rim of the saucer. Several
broken only by the crunching hundred yards behind lay the
—
—
protection of the ship. Ahead His feeling of uneasiness had

was the endless forest of ‘as- grown suddenly stronger. . .
paragus.’As they approached,

they realized that the growths N hour later, they came to
were farther apart than had the first body of water
been apparent from the ship they had seen so far.
perhaps several hundred feet. The stream was a hundred

The regular spacing was also yards across. The banks on
very obvious now. either side were slightly irreg-
ular, but the water flowed
They stopped at the enor- slowly and smoothtly and —
mous base- of one of the green straight as an arrow, from east
towers while the botanist to west.
wielded a small power-saw to Muller threw down the
cut out a section of stalk. He gauntlet. “Now,” he chal-
examined the under a mi-
slice lenged, “let some one step for-
croscope, muttering under his ward and tell me that this is a
breath. Finally he looked up. natural river bed.” There
“Most curious,” he an- were no takers.
nounced. “The cellular struc- Three rubber rafts were in-
ture is coarse and large, but flated with bottles of com-
simple and very regular. There pressed air, and they crossed
seems to be a high fat and the shallow water in pairs,
protein content, similar to the Muller sharing the leading
soya bean.” raft with the geologist. They
left the three rafts inflated on
Lieutenant Muller inter-
the bank, ready for instant
poses casually: “Almost as if
re-use if needed.
somebody with a fancy biolog-
ical erector set had put the Muller took a compass bear-
things together?” ing and they struck due south,
The botanist snorted. “Who a course facilitated by the
dreamed that up — you or Kim straight lane between rows of
Lee?” giant plants. Despite the rap-
The Lieutenant smiled idly rising yellow sun, the par-
but he was not at all amused. ty made its way deeper into
heavy shade, cast by the al- “You’re right, Fred. A sort
most solid umbrella of huge of acrid smell, like a cross be-
leaves almost two hundred tween the lion house and the
feet overhead. reptile pits at the zoo.”
The excited babble first in- Muller rapped out tensely:
dulged in by the party — like “Flare guns out and at ready
small boys whistling past a position! I think we’re about
graveyar d—had gradually to contact the first animal life
died out, giving way to silent on this phoney planet.”

boredom and then to plain de-
pression, as repeated stops and
TTIE blast of sound was like
samplings of the soil revealed
the combined scream of a
nothing of interest. The un-
dozen express trains bearing
ending ranks of towering plant
down on them, trapped like a
monsters blended into a solid
stalled motor vehicle on a
wall of green at a distance of
grade crossing. They clapped
about a thousand yards, effec-
their hands to their ears and
tively screening off land for-
staggered like drunken men.
mations, if there were any.
After a few seconds they re-
The ground was uniformly
moved their hands cautiously.
level and composed of rich
The sound had died away, but
black soil, making the absence
their ear-drums still ached.
of other plant life all the more
The acrid scent had been re-
extraordinary.
placed by an overwhelmingly
It was during the third hour fetid, hot breath of air, as if
that Lieutenant Muller raised a great beast had opened its
his hand silently in the halt maw and breathed in their

signal, and lifted his face as faces.
if sniffing the air. A faint The ground trembled again.

breeze had sprung up. The ear-shattering scream
“Does any one else get that was repeated.
odor?” “My God!” some one
There was an answering gasped.
chorus of sniffs. The biologist They stood almost on tip-
spoke first. toe, straining every muscle,
searching with feverish eyes in that not a man broke ranks.

the general direction of the They stood in a straight line,
sound. shoulder to shoulder, their su-
Then, without further warn- per-charged blasters aimed at
ing, a mere half mile away, the horror that shambled by
the green wall wavered like day.
grass in the wind, and trem- They fired in unison.
bled, and parted like flimsy The air sparkled and crack-
bamboo curtain. led, and the thundering mon-
And then it was upon them, strosity was momentarily ob-
with a speed that paralyzed, scured in a cloud of blue fire.
and a hugeness that froze the The ragged cloud of pro-

limbs. tonic flame cleared away. The
beast had come to a confused
Screaming its rage and ha-
halt, stunned and blinded and
tred, it bore down, a mountain
injured.
that moved. It was behemoth
But it was injured. . .not
and leviathan rolled into one,
dead. The incredibly tough
all the monsters of fact and
hide around the reptilian head
fancy rolled into one, com-
and shoulders was charred and
posed of equal parts of mad-
smoking, and steam rose from
ness and delirium.
blood-oozing fissures in its
And where it crashed un-
living armor.
heeding against the sides of
the towering plants, they But it was not dead... It
swayed and shuddered to their screamed again, pain mingled
roots, and their tossing now with the hatred and fury,
branches clawed frantically at and the six tremendous stumps
the lurid sky. of legs began to move again,
Lieutenant Muller was the carrying the mountain of flesh
first to recover his wits. toward them once more across
“Flare guns ready,” he the quaking ground. It extend-
shouted through the pandemo- ed the flat, ugly head toward
n i u m. “FLARE GUNS them on the elongated neck of
READY! . . FIRE!” a brontosaurus and hissed
It was to their eternal credit like a thousand serpents. The
. —
tiny had been scorched
eyes hemoth a bare hundred 'yards
and blinded by the blast, but behind them. Somehow, Mul-
it still lumbered forward, guid- ler made his voice heard above
ed by the scent of the group the din and brought the other
of puny interlopers. members of the party to a
It was too close to use the stop. They raised their flare
atomic whose small,

cannon, guns, but was too late, even
it
controlled fire-ball would still if the creature had not been
be too close for the safety of so plose as to make the botan-

the group. Muller shouted a ist’s inclusion in the blast al-
command again, his throat raw most inevitable.
with the effort.A second blast
They watched, sick and
from six guns enveloped the
shaken to the depths of their
beast in blue fire, and under
souls as it dipped the great
its temporary cover the little
reptilian head and snapped up
party turned and ran in the
the screaming botanist like a
direction of the stream and
fowl pecking at an insect. The
the rubber rafts. The earth
rows of jagged teeth came to-
quivered beneath their flying
gether with an audible clash,
feet, and they knew they were
and the frail human screaming
being followed by the living
stopped. Some one became vi-
nightmare.
olently ill as one severed leg
Muller looked back over his dropped to the ground from
shoulder and gasped to his between the grinding jaws.
nearest companion: “We’ll There was no longer need
never make it!” for hesitation. While the mon-
They were a few hundred ster was momentarily distract-
yards from the river when ed by the strange new morsel
Muller made a rapid mental of food in its gore-dripping
inventory and realized that he maw, the remainder of the
had only jour companions party retreated to a safe dis-
instead of five. . tance and raised the small
He looked back. The botan- atomic cannon. Like the ‘ba-
ist had staggered and fallen to zooka’ of the twentieth century
his hands and knees, the be- wars, it spat out its rocket.
They closed their eyes until back to the sanctuary of the

they heard the blast and felt Wanderer.
the concussion. When they
opened them again, they saw AN hour later, after the five
the miniature mushroom-cloud survivors had relaxed and
rising rapidly toward the tree- thrown off much of the shock
tops. They made their way to under a stiff dose of Pacificol,
the shattered bulk on trem- the newest tranquilizer, the
bling legs, horrified and grief ship rose five hundred feet
stricken. No trace remained of and floated southward like a
Hopkins. toy balloon on a vagrant cur-
rent of air. Requiring minutes
The head had been blasted
where the trip by foot had
from the colossal body, and
taken the party three hours,
lay five hundred yards away.
the Wanderer soon hovered
The enormous hulk still quiv-
over the spot where a man and
ered with the tattered rem-
a monster had both met vio-
nants of tenacious life, and
lent ends. The rest of the crew
the hindmost pair of the six
turned pale to their lips at the
tree-stump legs twitched spas-
sight of the still-smoking
modically.
corpse televised on the com-
mand room’s wall-screen.
Muller circled the smoking
hillock of flesh dully, taking Still a few miles further
measurements and making ob- south from the scene of the
servations almost mechanical- gruesome tragedy, the viewers
ly, then produced a camera were staggered by the sight of
and took pictures from sever- an entire herd of the leviathans
al angles. He repeated the wallowing in an enormous
procedure with the severed swamp and basking in the
head. When he was finished warmth of the sun. Several of
he gestured silently, with in- the hell-beasts were tearing
finite weariness,and the sur- huge hunks from the stalks of
vivors followed him mutely to the 'trees’ almost halfway up.
the river’s edge and info the One giant plant, gnawed at
wroi+jng ]ife-rafts, and finally from two sides, crashed down
with the impact of a felled look like twenty years old
redwood, and was at once at- when you’re twice that age,”
tacked by several ravenous he grumbled.“You never seem
beasts; who tore at the fleshy to let anything bother you.”
delicacy of the soft tip and its Then he added gruffly: “Sor-
crown of immense leaves. ry. Lee. I am.”
Really
Several of the crew were all and again tut,” re-
“Tut,
for destroying the six- footed plied the pharmacist lightly,
nightmares with the ship’s “you needed the outlet. The
atomic armament. Commander catharsis did y:u good.”
Forrester was willing to do so They resumed their seats
until, acting on an indefinite over the empty board, but Lee
hunch, Muller dissuaded him. sensed the officer’s mood, and
delicately replaced the pieces
The Lieutenant sat now in their box. “Let’s just talk.
over the customary chess game
No more chess today.”
with Kim Lee while they wait-
Muller grunted assent, then
ed on dinner. With a mur-
pounded softly but insistently
mured “sorry” the little Ori-
on the table’s edge. “It’s my
ental took Muller's remaining
fault,” he groaned. “My fault
rook with one of his knights.
and mine alone that Hopkins
The Lieutenant swept the
is lying now in the gut of that
pieces to the floor with one
god-awful monstrosity. There
ham-like fist and stood up wouldn’t even be anything left
suddenly.
to put together for a decent
Kim Lee stooped down and
burial.” He buried his face in
began to gather up the pieces his hands.
placidly, as if it were a nor-
mal, daily occurrence. His Kim Lee coughed discreet-
square-jawed face turning red ly. “Confucius said,” he broke
to the roots of his hair, Mul- in thought is the
softly, “that
ler joined the pharmacist on best antidote for emotion.”
the floor and assisted him in Muller looked up suspi-
garnering the carved wooden ciously. “I don’t recall ever
pieces. reading that.”
“No .wonder you Orientals Lee shrugged deprecatingly.
“One of his less-known say- tute somebody’s — or some-

ings.” His dark, almond eyes thing’s — food supply, like a
narrowed in thought. “Let us herd of domesticated cattle,
pass the time with a little de- although they seem far from
duction,” he added, and smiled tame.”
as Muller sat up with interest.
Muller gnawed at his fin-
“First, we have the regular
gernails, his intense blue eyes
spacing of the ‘asparagus’
squinting with worried
plants, like trees in an orange
thought. At last: “Fine, so far.
grove. Your expedition con-
But if these mountains of mus-
firmed this arrangement. Sec-
cle and armor, by stretching
ond, they comprise the only
imagination, are the food sup-
on so
vegetation
far as we
the
can
planet,
determine.
ply, then who are the master —
race? And where do they keep
Third, the stream of water
themselves?
you crossed, which is so
“Our aerial surveys of the
straight and regular as to sug-
planet have revealed absolute-
gest an artificial irrigation
ly no artificial structures, or
ditch rather than a natural
anything that could be regard-
river. Fourth, the complete
And any
absence of bacterial life—an
ed as dwellings.
that could breed and use these
race
absolute, biological impossi-

bility. Fifth — the presence of
creatures as a source of food
would have no reason, for ex-
a herd of these beasts in a
ample, to live underground.
convenient swamp. And, by
They should have an immense,
the way, whoever called it a
surface civilization covering
herd used a singularly preg-
most of the planet’s surface,
nant word.”
with the
exception of the
Muller’s jaw dropped. “I ‘groves’ of vegetables and the
had the same impression, but breeding grounds for the
did not pigeon-hole the facts herds. Yes? No?”
as neatly as you just have. Kim Lee’s smooth yellow
What you are getting at — ?” brow furrowed slightly. “That
“Exactly,” Kim Lee nodded objection I readily concede,”
solemnly, “the beasts consti- he murmured. “Yet what other
—
explanation can there be? The own and pumped it until the
whole planet is artificial to an slightly-built pharmacist
—
extreme ‘phoney,’ as you put thought his arm would detach
it so succinctly.” at the shoulder.
He looked across at the of- “Intuition and deduction!”
ficer, but the latter seemed to the Lieutenant exclaimed,
be lost in thought and un- chuckling. “The
two of us
aware of the pharmacist’s last make an unbeatable combina-
remark. His eyes had the far- tion!”
away, dreamy look that Lee
had come to recognize and re- He stood up, tall and mas-
spect —
the look of one whose sive in the small private cubi-
natural ESP faculty had been cle. “Kim Lee, my lad,” he
trained and sharpened in one crowed, “you left something
of mother Earth’s experimen- out in your excellent enumer-
tal parapsych centers. ation of the facts —and I think
The pharmacist remained I have it!”
silent until the Lieutenant ‘re- “The sixth and final point,
turned’ of his own accord that explains everything!”
until the staring eyes pulled
back from immense distances f
I 'HEY sat in the command
and converged to present time A room on either side of the
and place, and focussed on him Old Man, Kim Lee somewhat
again. diffidently, Muller confident-
ly. The fourth member of the
Muller was pale but firm- conference sat on the other
jawed, like one who has ar- side of Muller: the astronomer
rived at an unpalatable con- and astrophysicist, Professor
clusion, but was nonetheless Newman. From an array of
determined to follow it to its charts and photographs spread
ultimate consequences. The out before him on the table,
rugged face at last broke into he selected one photo and
one of its rare smiles that gave handed it to the second-in-
him an almost boyish look. command.
Reaching out, he took Lee’s “This is an electronic tele-
frail, blue-veined hand in his scope enlargement of the plan-
” :
et's satellite. A
dead body like and we had landed— and what
our own moon, but half its I suspect is true!”
size and only some hundred He handed the photo back
thousand miles from the par- to the astronomer. “What’s
ent body. It therefore com-
’
next, Professor?”
pletes its cycle in about ten of The astrophsicist handed
Garganta’s days. By the way, him another picture, one of a
if there are no objections, I small, cloudy disk strongly re-
have christened this planet sembling Terra’s veiled neigh-
Garganta, with obvious refer- bor, Venus. “A strange paral-
ence to the huge size of its remarked Newman. “The
lel, ”
two life-forms: plant and ani- planet we are now on Gar- —

mal.” ganta —
is the third from this
system’s sun. This body,” he

Muller grunted non-commit-
added, tapping the glossy print
tally and took the photo that
with a long finger, “is next
the astronomer offered him.
closest to the star, and seems
Commander Forrester leaned
to be perpetually veiled in
forward to get a closer look.
mist or clouds of some sort,
“Just another worn-out, air-
like Venus. It is impossible to
less satellite,” he commented
penetrate this barrier with the
through luish clouds of tobac-
electron telescope and observe
co smoke, “like so many we the surface. I really wish we
have encountered which —
is
could —
why I did not bother to give
the order to land on it.” He Muller broke in, speaking
looked at his aide anxiously. heavily. “Sorry, Professor, I
“Was that wrong, Fred? don’t thinkwe may ever get

Could this be it?” closer than we are to it right
Muller studied the dreary now ...” He added suddenly
craters and vast ‘seas’ of fine “How close is it at the present
pumice powder, and shook his time?”
head slowly. “No,” he replied Newman thought briefly.
grimly, “I’m pretty sure it “About thirty million miles.
isn’t —
and it would have been Come to think of it, it’s ap-
a sorry day for us if it was, proaching perigee with Gar-
”
ganta now — that is, coming as table excitedly. “Exactly! A
close to it as it ever will for crop of babies has been
” hatched recently. Being rep-
about ten years. . .
Muller snapped his fingers tilian, the beasts are on their
and stood up, and the other own from birth. They are not
three men were shocked to see dependent on the parents for
the expression of fear on that food, like mammals. And this
craggy face. “Commander,” means that the parents, fully
he said tensely, “please issue grown, are now ready for the
this order at once, for God’s slaughter!”

sake. If I am right, it is of
the utmost urgency.” He He swung about, facing the
whirled on Kim Lee. “Lee, do Commander again, and ground
you have a good recollection out: “I implore you, sir, give
of the televised viewing of the order to the Chief Engi-
that herd today?” neer. We must get off Gar-
ganta —AT ONCE!”
Commander Forrester broke
“I can have the film re-
in:
run for you, if you like
— 'T'HE Wanderer hung mo-
Muller waved his hand with tionless in space, a million
unconscious brusqueness. miles out. Relatively motion-
“Well, Lee?” less, for it had to match the
“As I recall,” said the little velocity of Garganta in its or-
Oriental slowly, “there seemed bit in order to remain at the
to be only two sizes of beasts: same distance. Against the
either mountain-size, appar- black infinity of space, its
ently the fully grown adults; non-reflecting outer shell

or just hill-size, probably the would have been indetectable
infants— Heaven protect us! to any observer not specifical-
As a matter of fact, I also re- ly looking for it, and not
call great, white, semi-spheri- knowing its approximate posi-
cal objects lying about on the tion. And Muller was most
swamp, like so many egg- emphatic that it must lie on
shells.” the far side of the planet —not
The Lieutenant rapped the between k and its veiled sis-
”
ter. And this was well for right, Lieutenant, you were
them, indeed... right!” he said, with under-
After forty-eight hours, tones of incredulity and fear,
Muller was striding up and and handed over a sheaf of
down in the command room, glossy photos numbered con-
while the Old Man watched secutively, his hands trem-
him with patient amusement bling.
and the barest glimmering of Muller studied them silent-
doubt. “Sit down, Fred. You’ll ly, handed them to his chief
wear a hole right through the without a word. A small, lu-
floor and find yourself in the minous dot, spark-like, could
outer shell.” be seen detaching itself from
Muller did not reply to his the parent body of the veiled
superior, but kept glancing at planet. And
in each successive
the screen that covered one photograph the tiny spark was
entire wall, and on which the farther away from the main
electronic- telescope enlarger disk, as if hurled outward at
cast an image of the acre- enormous velocity.
wide, pebbly saucer that had
been the ship’s berth so recent-
ly-
T ATE afternoon was casting
shadows over the still, si-
By the thirty-sixth hour af- lent face of Garganta when
ter leaving Garganta, Muller the “Others’' landed, settling
was cursing his intuition and their titanic spheroid gently
Kim Lee’s deductions. “But as thistledown, until it rested
it’s got to be right!” he shout- in the great concave landing
ed, and struck the table a blow area had used so many times
it
that made even the placid before, its enormous, curved

Commander start, and cough bottom filling the saucer-like
over his pipe. depression from rim to rim.
“Now, now Fred — It was like a small moon, or
Professor Newman hurried a large asteroid. It was- the
in, his ascetic face chalk-white end of inter-planetary trans-
and his lips compressed to ports, and the beginnings of
hairline thinness. “You were an artificial planetoid. It was
an engineer’s dream, but an of the ‘crime’ before the Wan-
explorer’s nightmare. derer had fled to safety in the
And then a vast section of womb of galactic space. So it
the hull opened out and set- was that the carcass of the
tled down as a ramp, the far beast had been removed from
end touching lightly at the the forest of plant giants,
very edge of the monstrous borne aloft on an extension of
forest, like a stupendous the spaceship’s anti-grav field,
mockery of the Wanderer’s and deposited in the nearby
own earlier procedure. Some- and buried under tons of
hills
body stifled a scream. Per- earth.

haps it was the astronomer. As it was, the Others fol-
No matter. lowed almost the exact route
of the exploration party, and
Through the vast, yawning so on to the breeding grounds,
port and down the tremendous
where they descended with ut-
ramp half-c r a w e d, half- 1
ter ruthlessness on .their herd,
stamped the Scouts, followed killing many of the adults
by the Herdsmen and then with their unknown weapons
the Butchers, wearing com-
and carrying them off on their
plex devices and weapons at-
backs, while others were driv-
tached at the thinner portions en, trumpeting with terror,
where each segment of the
into the interior of the cargo
long, scabrous body was at-
ship. A
few adults were left
tached to the next segment.
behind with the young of the
The innumerable pairs of herd: the larder, evidently,
‘feet’ were sheathed in some- was filled.
thing like metallic shoes. And
the heads. . . The un- eyes Night was sweeping over
winking and many-faceted, that side of Garganta when
like an insect’s. . . The giant the herding and slaughtering
maws, held shut with gro- was finally done. The scouts
tesque primness . . . and the Herdsmen and the
It was to Kim Lee’s credit, Butchers disappeared into the
at this point, that he had sug- depths of their metallic aster-
gested removing the evidence oid. The ramp swung upward
THE HUGE AND HIDEOUS BEASTS III
and closed and became a part believes that the masters cre-
of the vast, seamless hull. ated the artificial environment
Gently as thistledown borne on Garganta, completely free-
on a vagrant breeze, the great ing it of all bacterial life, so
globe rose into the air, arced that their herds could grow
out into space, and dwindled big and strong.”
rapidly as it hurtled toward its
shrouded parent planet. The Lieutenant nodded. “It
makes sense. We add anti-bi-
u O F course,”
smugly, “the sixth point
said Muller
otics to the
make them
fowl and cattle to
feed of our own
was the curved depression we grow and healthier.

bigger
berthed in when we landed on

Now, I suppose Wiley means,
Garganta. If everything else
we have contaminated the
on planet with the micro-organ-
the planet was artificial,
that had to very
be, too. Its
isms that humans always car-
appearance should have been

ry around in abundance. Come
to think of it, our parting
the tip-off at the very start.
view of Garganta, after the
The curved surface was abso-
lutely much too smooth and
masters left, showed some of
the adult beasts going around
regular.
in circles and others lying on
“But the mind simply re-
fused acknowledge that
their sides as though they
to
there
were sick.”
existed a space vehicle
“And, of course,” added
big enough to make that in-
dentation. Or that there were Kim Lee, moving a piece,
beings large enough to handle
“the masters will probably
contract something before they
it.” He pushed a pawn deep
realize what has happened. No
into Kim Lee’s center.
doubt they have not experi-
The pharmacist studied the enced infection for countless
move. “Wiley, our esteemed ages. Sad, in a way, for they
biologist,”he said, “seems to must be highly intelligent. Yet
think that we may have unwit- — who knows? Perhaps they
tingly contributed to the ex- might have felt like star-wan-
tinction of a great race. He dering some day, and stumbled
onto poor little Terra!” ciously. “By Confucius?”
Muller replied to his oppo- The Lieutenant grinned
nent’s last move. The pharma- broadly. “No "
— by Robert
cist moved again, removing Muller!”
the Lieutenant’s remaining The Wanderer plunged into
rook with one of his knights. hyperspace, literally vanishing
The officer groaned, then: from sight—had there been
“Oh well, he who trips twice any one to observe in the
over the same stone deserves great emptiness and began —
to break his shins, as the an- the long journey home.
cient proverb goes.”
Kim Lee squinted suspi- THE END
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A CRY FOR HELP
by ERIC RODMAN
The strange beings on World 9, System XG could enter

into a man’s brain at will and make certain changes
in the cells, changes to suit their ruthless purpose
«T ISTEN,” Walters said. for help? Be reasonable, man!

“There it is again. You How—”
can just barely make it out, “Quiet ” ! O’Dell snapped.
above all the other noise of “Here it comes again!”
the forest. Hear it?” The four Earthmen fell si-
His three fellow-members lent. The wind changed slight-
of the Terran Exploratory ly, blowing in toward them,
Force stopped in their tracks and, borne on the wind, came
and cocked their ears for the thesound that Walters had
sound Walters had claimed to said he had heard.
hear.
“There ” Walters cried.

!
It was a high-pitched cry,
“That was it!” drifting on the wind. It was
“Probably just , some alien louder now than it had been
baboon howling in the trees,” before. And this time there
Buckmaster said in a thick, was no mistaking the identity
scornful voice. of the sounds that floated on
“I’m not so sure,” Stivens the wind.
put in. “Walters may have They were words. Terran
been right.” words.
“But it’s impossible!” Soipeone on this unexplored
Buckmaster retorted. “A hu- alien world was screaming for
man voice out here on an un- help.
explored alien world, crying “Well?” Walters asked tri-
113
umphantly. “Now do you be- gate,” O’Dell said quietly.
lieve me, Buckmaster?” At that moment the sound
The biggest of the four came again. There was no
Earthmen was shaking his doubt about it, this time. It
head in stunned disbelief. “It was an undeniably human
can’t be,” Buckmaster mut- voice; crying, “Help me!
tered. “How could there be an Please —help me!”
Earthman out here? We’re the
first, aren’t we?” 'T'HE quartet of Exploratory
“Someone’s making that Force men moved forward
sound, though,” O’Dell said. uneasily,away from their ship
“Impossible or not.” and toward the point of origin
“Someone?” Stivens asked. of the sound, a couple of hun-
“Or something ?” dred yards away in the forest.
The bright yellow sun climbed
Walters whirled. “What are
to its noontime height above
you trying to say?”
them. The forest was warm;
Stivens shrugged. “Just
the men perspired heavily.
wondering. We’re liable to
Small birds cheeped at them
find anything at all on an ali-
from the oddly angular limbs
en world that’s previously un-
of the gaunt trees that made
explored. But it’s a lot more
up the forest; insects sang
likely that we’ll find an alien
shrilly inches from their feet.
life-form capable of imitating
A voice crying for help in
human speech than that we’ll
the forest. On the face of it,
discover a castaway Earthman
it was impossible.
in a part of space where no
Earthman’s ever been before.” The planet was designated
“You think it’s an alien be- on the charts of Terran Cen-
ing making that sound, then?” tral Command only as World
Walters asked. 9 of System XG. It was a
Stivens said, “I’m not mak- small, Earthtype
moderately
ing any guesses about some- world many
thousands of
thing I have no information light-years from
Earth. Ac-
on.” cording to the records of Cen-
“We ought to go investi- tral Command, no Earthman
! 16 SUPER-SCIENCE FICTION
had set foot on World 9 of been in the Exploratory Force
System XG before the arrival long enough to know that you
of this four-man exploratory had tomove with step-by-step
team. care when exploring a new
No Earthman had set foot world.
here. But yet someone or — You never knew when the
something was — crying for ground would give way be-
help in the forest. neath your feet, sucking you
Tree-shadows slanted before down into a trap where a lurk-
them as they walked. The for- ing flesh-eating creature wait-
est floor was soft with the de- ed. You never could tell when
cayed "
remnants of undis- sinewjr would de-
tentacles
turbed centuries of fallen scend from a tree and haul
leaves. No one spoke. Every you up to become some beast’s
few minutes the strange cry meal. You never could be pre-
was repeated: “Help me? pa r e d against the sudden
Won’t you help me?” spring of a jungle animal with
legs like coiled steel.
The cry grew louder as they
All you could do, on these
approached.
alien worlds, was to take one
O’Dell said, “We’d better
step at a time, look north,
be careful. This may be some
east, south, west, up, and
kind of trap.”
down simultaneously, and
“Trap?” Wa 1 1 e r s sa d.
:
trust to
all
your luck.
“What do you mean, trap?”
Especially the last. It took
“I don’t know,” O'Ddl said.
luck to survive as a member
“I just think we ought to be
of the Exploratory Force.
careful.”
“It has to be a trick." Buck- Stivens had survived sixteen
master said. “There couldn’t years of active duty. O'Dell
be another human being cut and Buckmaster were each
here on this planet. Not twen- twelve-year men. Walters, the
ty thousand light-years from youngest of the outfit, was an
Earth.” eight-year veteran himself.
They moved forward cau- This was no green and inex-
tiously. All four of them had perienced crew that had been
A CRY FOR HELP 117
sent forth to World 9 of Sys- for sure,” Buckmaster said.

tem XG. “But how did it learn to speak
“Help me!” wailed the piti- our language so well? And in
ful voice. the voice of an Earthman?”
'“It’s not far from us now,” “And what is it?” Walters
Stivens said. “No more than asked.
twenty yards.”
They peered through the TTHE thing, whatever it was,
thick curtain of closely inter- stood on four stubby legs.
twined shrubbery, looking. Al- It was about five feet tall, ta-
most unconsciously, four pering conically up from its
hands crept to four hips, and four legs and terminating in a
blasters appeared. round dome. Big saucer-like
eyes ringed its head about six
They fanned out. .
inches from the top of the

“Here I am!” the voice
dome. The eyes, which were
was an unmistakably
called. It
the size of silver dollars, were
Terran voice. “Over here!”
arranged in a circle clear
The Exploratory Force men
around the creature’s head,
exchanged worried glances.
giving it a complete three hun-
Then, quietly, they converged
dred sixty degree sweep of vi-
on the clump of shrubbery
sion.
which lay between them and
the unseen speaker.
It had four arms, likewise
Buckmaster was the first to
arranged in a circle around
get there.
the body. The arms ended in
“Help me!” cried the famil-
long triple-j o i n t e d fingers.
iar voice.
There was no mouth, only a
Buckmaster gasped heavily.
kind of grillwork equidistant
—
“What what are you?” between eyes and arms.
A moment later the other
three were there. Stivens whis- The creature was greenish
tled in amazement. Walters in color. There was an appear-
nibbled his lip. O’Dell ance of tremendous age about
frowned. it, as if its thick, leathery hide
“It isn’t from Earth, that’s had been exposed to the ele-
” ” ”
merits for hundreds or perhaps “Please confirm the accuracy
thousands of years. of these designations.”
Stivens said, “Is this the “Sure, they’re our names,”
thing that was making all the Buckmaster growled. “Look
noise?” here, just what are you,
“I called to you, yes,” the and —
creature said gravely. Its voice
“Your purpose in visiting
emerged from the grillwork af-
this planet, which you desig-
fair above its arms. It spoke
nate as World 9 of System
in tones and inflections that
XG, is to establish Terran
were Earthlike to the last dec-
claim here. The ultimate aim
imal place.
of Earth is to explore and col-
“I’ll be damned,” O’Dell
onize the entire known uni-
said quietly. “It speaks Ter-
verse. Is this not your pur-
ran like a native.”
pose?”
“It is,” Stivens snapped.
They stared at the strange
“And now, suppose you an-
being for a long moment with-
swer a few questions for us.
out speaking. The silence was
First: are you a native of this
broken by the creature itself.
planet? Second: how do you
“You are natives of a plan-
manage to speak our language
et called Earth,” it said in a
so well? Third
—
flat, declarative voice. “Earth
The alien being interrupted
is the third planet in orbit
in a smooth, almost purring
round a yellow sun which you
voice. “It is not my function
know as Sol. Is this true?”
to answer questions, but mere-
“Yes, of course,” stam-
mered O’Dell. “But — ly to gather information and
relay it to the appropriate
The creature continued data-gathering centers.”
smoothly, “You are known in “You yelled for help,” Wal-
your native areas by the desig- ters said sharply. “But you
nations Walters, Buckmaster, don’t seem to be in any trou-
Stivens, and O’Dell.” The be- ble. Were you yelling like that
ing nodded in turn to each of simply as a ruse, to attract our
the dumbstruck Earthmen. attention?”
”
A CRY FOR HELP 1 19
“I repeat,” the being said. am now authorized to reveal

“My function is not to answer certain information to you.
questions.” Please remain exactly where
“You asked us plenty!” you are.” The robot paused.
Buckmaster stormed. “I am an information-gather-
“My function is to gather ing device built and installed
data and relay it.” by intelligent life-forms of a
“Relay it to whom?” Stiv- distant world, who have placed
ens asked. me here for the purpose of de-
tection and warning in case of
“To those who built me,”
visitation by other intelligent
said the alien creature.
“To
life-forms
—
those who built it,”
O’Dell repeated in a softly Stivens said hurriedly,

wondering voice. “So it’s a ro- “Quick! Back to the ship!
bot? A robot sitting here in Don’t stand here listening any
middle ”
the of an uncharted more!
jungle on an uninhabited He turned and began to run
world, and a robot capable of rapidly through the under-
speaking our language —even brush toward their ship, whose
of crying for help — !”
greenish-gold hull glowed in
“What’s it doing here?” the sunlight several hundred
Walters asked, of nobody in yards away. After a moment’s
particular. “What does it hesitation he was followed by
want?” O’Dell, then by Buckmaster
“It gathers data,” Stivens and Walters.
said. “But what kind of data? The robot called to them:
And who does it gather it “Flight will be futile! You are
for?” wasting your energies!”
The robot stood quietly in
the middle of the group, a CTIVENS was the first to
short, blunt-topped, bizarre- ^ reach the ship. At least, he
looking figure that studied got close to the ship. Ten feet
them emotionlessly with its from the catwalk that led into
big eyes. the control cockpit, he ran
Blandly the robot said, “I into what seemed like an in-
visible wall. He bounced back gouged a couple of inches of
five feet and lost his balance, dirt out of the forest floor,
tumbling backward with arms and prodded experimentally
and legs flailing in all direc- into the hole he had just cre-
tions. ated. He shook his head.
O’Dell and Walters, who “Goes right down into the
were not far behind him, ground,” Buckmaster report-
caught the falling Stivens and ed. He stretched up as high as
steadied him into an upright he could reach. And up, too.”
position. “It extends all the way
“What’s the matter?” Wal- around the ship,” said Wal-
ters asked. ters. “It’s like an invisible
The panting Stivens nursed dome that somebody dropped
hand
his bruised nose with one right over the ship. A dome of
and pointed toward the ship force. Keeping us from getting
with the other. “Some kind of into the ship.”
force-field surrounding the
Four pale, frightened Earth-
ship — invisible — I banged into
men turned to stare at each
it full tilt.”
other wonderment. What
in
Buckmaster, who had come had started with the mysteri-
lumbering up to the ship a ous cry for help in the forest
distant fourth in the run, tip- now had abruptly turned into
toed forward and placed one a completely inexplicable and
hand cautiously outward, dangerous situation.
groping toward the ship. The “What’s going on?” Buck-
hand halted in mid-air. master wanted to know.
“Here it is,” Buckmaster “Where, did that crazy robot
said. “A solid w^all, all right. come from, anyway? And
It feels like glass. Smooth, what does that force-field
cool to the touch, just like around our ship mean?”
glass.” “The force-field,” said a
He knelt and ran his hand smooth voice from behind
down along a curved path to- them, “is present for obvious
ward the ground. He picked reasons.”The men turned and
up a stick lying nearby, saw that the weird robot had
A CRY FOR HELP 121
followed them back to their control their own actions. The

ship, and now stood ten or fif- men stared at their weapons
teen feet behind them, eyeing without being able to stoop
them gravely. “The purpose of and pick them up.
the force-field is to prevent The aliens arrived.
you from leaving this planet There were eight of them.
until my masters arrive. But I They simply seemed to pop
can assure you that their ar- out of nowhere. One moment
rival will take place in a mat- there was a curious glimmer-
ter of seconds.” ing light in the clearing, the
“Get your blasters ready,” next moment the glimmering
Stivens said in a quiet voice. was gone and eight aliens
“Let’s get into a tight forma- stood there.
tion. Back to back, facing in
They looked very much
all directions. But don’t shoot
They stood the
like the robot.
until you have to.. We’re a
same height, had the same
scouting team, not a military
number of eyes and limbs. In
expeditionary force.”
place of the grillwork through
The four men edged close to
which the robot had spoken,
each other, forming a circle no
the newcomers had small
more than a dozen feet in cir-
beaked mouths. Otherwise,
cumference. They waited with
they were identical, even to
drawn blasters. Not far away
the very ancient look of their
stood the robot, staring at
wrinkled, leathery skins.
them with no hint of expres-
The robot said, “These are
sion on its alien face.
my masters, the Methii.”
Suddenly an odd glimmering One of the aliens moved
effect became noticeable in a forward slightly, “we come,
wide area surrounding the Earthmen, in response to a
men, the ship, and the robot. message beamed by thought-
Four hands tightened on four wave from our warning-post
trigger-studs. here. We are informed that, a
And then, four blasters space-going race has at last
dropped to the forest floor, entered Methii domains.”
falling from hands unable to “I get it,” Stivens mur-
” —
mured. “The robot’s just a no alien beings within our do-
sort of cosmic fire-alarm box! mains.”
Whenever intelligent beings “If you’re telepathic as you
show up, the robot sends out a claim to be,” Stivens said,
signal and the emergency pa- “you can see in our minds that
trol comes running!” our intention is completely
peaceful. In fact, we have or-
“Your analysis is indeed ders to depart at once from
keen,” said the Methii spokes- any world that we find is the
man. “On each of the border property of another species.”
worlds of our realm we have “We have no doubt of your
placed these telepathically-at- peaceful intentions,” said the
tuned robots whose function it alien.“In any event, there is
is to warn us of trespassing be- small chance that three such
ings. It makes contact with beings as you could wreak any
the trespassers through a sim- measurable damage against
ple strategem, extracts tele- Methii strength.”
pathically from them their
“In that case,” said Stivens,
planet origin and purpose
of
ignoring the slightly mocking
and sends out an au-
of visit,
tones of the last Methii state-
tomatic warning to the near-
ment, “we ask that you re-
est Methii invasion patrol.
move the force-field that your
Our transportation is by mat-
robot has placed around our
ter-transmission, and is virtu-
spaceship, and permit us to
ally instantaneous over long
leave this planet and this solar
distances.”
system at once.”
“We aren’t invader s,” “You will be allowed to
O’Dell protested. “We’re just leave once we are certain that
explorers who thought this you can never bring harm to
world was uninhabited and not Methii civilization,” the alien
owned by anyone, and — said.
“You have entered Methii “Which means?”
territory,” was the calm, level “It will first be necessary
reply. “By our law this con- to expunge certain details
stitutes invasion. We tolerate from your memory. Then
”
A CRY FOR HELP 123
and only then — will you be damn,” he cried. “I’ll call your
permitted to depart,” the alien bluff!”
said coldly. He broke and started to
“Galactic isolationists,” run. The aliens did not move;
Walters muttered. no visible action took place.
“If you like. We value our But Walters froze with one
privacy. There are over two leg in mid-air no more than a
thousand worlds in the Methii step two from his place,
or
sphere of influence, and we do and remained that way, look-
not wish alien infiltrators to ing like a grotesque living sta-
enter any one of these plan- tue. Beads of sweat dribbled
ets.” down his face. The cords of
his neck stood out as he
The aliens moved forward,
fought desperately to put his
gliding on their short, stumpy
leg down, without success.
legs with a strange grace.
They formed an open circle “Resistance is futile,” the
around the Earthmen. alien remarked. “We have per-
fect mental control over you
Walters whispered, “Should all, Earthmen.”
we try to make a break for Walters was unablte to move
it?” a muscle.
“Don’t waste your time,” “We can destroy you with a
Stivens advised. “We don’t minute flick of a mental im-
stand a chance against these pulse,” said the Methii. “All
babies.” we need do is interfere with
“You think we cannot de- the nerve-channel that con-
tect your whispers?” asked trols the beating of your heart,
the Methii spokesman. “The or the intake of your
oldest Earthman is correct. breath —
You would not be able to Walters’ foot lowered itself
move two paces toward your The sta-

gently to the ground.
ship if we willed you to re- sis was broken. The young
main where you are.” Earthman gasped heavily for
Walters shook his head ve- breath.
hemently. “I don’t give a “God, that was awful!” he
exclaimed. “Like being held a ture onto World 9 of System
prisoner in your own skin! I XG.
wanted to get free and “The force-field’s gone,”
couldn’t do as much as wiggle Buckmaster observed, as they
a pinky!” approached the ship.
“Very well, Earthmen,” the “Sure,” O’Dell said. “They
alien said. “We will now enter just wanted us to stay around
your minds to complete the for the treatment. Now we
process of safeguarding can leave —and they want us
Methii territory. You will not out of here in a hurry.”
be able to resist.” They climbed silently up-
The four Earthmen went ward into the ship. Walters,
rigid. Only their eyes re- the last man in, actuated the
mained able to move. Tendrils control that shut the hatch.
of thought drifted from the O’Dell began up for
setting
aliens to the Earthmen. blastoff while Stivens punched
out a homeward orbit on the
It was over in an instant—
c o u r s e-computer and Buck-
the entry into mind, the
the
master got the fuel-feeders
placing of unbreakable
the
operating.
hypnotic command. The Earth
men were allowed finally to As they worked, Walters
relax. The alien said, “It will said, “What did it feel like to
now be impossible for you to you?”
make our existence known to “Like an ice-pick sliding
others of your kind. You will into my head and sloshing
return to your home world at around for a while,” O’Dell
once.” said.
Stivens chuckled darkly.
'
"HE Methii waited while “It felt like precise surgery to
j
the four Earthmen crossed me. They reached in and made
the clearing to their ship. The a few quick incisions, and got
robot had already vanished out.”
into the underbrush —on guard “Felt like a three-day hang-
and ready in case any other over to me,” Buckmaster
explot ers ever decided to ven- grunted. “Only it lasted a cou-
A CRY FOR HELP 125
pie of seconds, that’s all. How HPRAVELLING by nullwarp

about you, Walters?” drive, the ship needed only
“It seemed like they were seven weeks to cross the im-
pulling memories out of my mense gulf of space that sepa-
mind with wires,” Walters rated Earth from the borders
said. of the Methii domains. On the
“But we haven’t forgotten, forty-eighth day of the jour-
have we?” O’Dell said. ney the ship snapped out of
Stivens shook his head. warp to find Earth square
“They didn’t say we’d forget. ahead in the viewscrcens, and
Just that we wouldn’t be able early the following morning
to communicate the truth to they effected a landing at the
others.” main Exploratory Force space-
Buckmaster looked doubt- port near the east coast of
ful. “Seems to me they can't Australia.
stop us. All I have to do
The four men turned their
is open my mouth and say,
ship over to the spaceport
‘Look here, there’s an alien
crew and presented them-
race called the Methii, and
selves, according to regula-
they have a robot posted on
tions, to their section com-
this plane as a sort of warn-
ing, and
—
That’s how easy
’
mander, for a review of their
voyage. Stivens had with him
it is,” Buckmaster finished.
the routing-chart of assign-
“Just let the words come out.”
ments. He handed it across
Stivens tightened his lips. the desk.
“It’s easy for us, here in the The section commander
ship,” he said. “But maybe it picked the booklet up casual-
won’t be so easy to talk about ly. “Good trip?” he asked,
it when we’re back on Earth, routinely.
among other people.” “Not bad, sir,” Stivens said.
“We’ll see soon enough,” “Umm. Glad to hear it.”
Walters said. The commander frowned, then

O’Dell called, “Stand by for peered more closely at the
blastoff, everyone! We’re lift- schedule-chart. “According to
ing ship!” this you were supposed to
” — ” ”
head out through Systems us how easy it would be. Go
XF, XG, and XH. But I see on!”
that you stopped short after The spaceman took a
big
World 9 of System XG, with deep breath and plunged in.
nearly a third of your assign- “You see, sir, it’s this way.
ment unfulfilled.” When we —
“Yes, sir,” Stivens said. “Yes, Buckmaster? Go
“Well, man, what’s your ex- ahead, speak up!”
planation for that? How come “When —when—
you returned .early? I notice “What is the matter with
you gave World 9 a double- you men?” the perplexed com-
plus unfavorable rating, but mander demanded loudly.
why didn’t you go on to the Walters said, “It’s a kind of
next planet as scheduled?” compulsion, sir. We want to
speak, but whenever we come
Stivens squirmed
He stared at his three
uneasily.
com-
to- — to a certain topic we—
can’t talk!”
rades. His face reddened and
he began to perspire heavily.
“Well, sir, I — that is
TT caused a sensation at the
Exploratory Force base.
ah—”
“Yes, Stivens?”
Four men had returned from
a distant part of the galaxy,
Stivens glanced at O’Dell,
and it was obvious that they
Walters, and Buckmaster. “I
had encountered something
-
—can’t seem to say it, sir.
strange, perhaps menacing.
Maybe one of the other
men — But they could not tell anyone
what it was.
“O’Dell, can you help Stiv-
ens out?” the commander Question-and-answer games
asked. got nowhere. Experts were
“Sir, I— we— ” O’Dell called in to devise series of
stopped. He scowled and dug yes-and-no questions, that
the point of his shoe into the might yield information, but
thick carpet. He clenched his every time a direct question
fists. “Go on, Buckmaster,” he that touched on the Methii
said finally. “You were telling was asked, such as, “Did you
”
A CRY FOR HELP 127
encounter an intelligent alien “All we’ve been able to find

race on World 9?” the imme- out is that you went out to
diate response was a complete World 9 of System and XG
muscle freeze, making impos- found something out there,
sible either a yes or a no re- something that we must know
ply. —
about something that put an
Walters was sent off for unbreakable lock on your
hypnotic probing. Nothing was tongues.
learning. O’Dell was given
“But that’s all we know, af-
truth drugs, to no avail.
ter months of probing. So
Stivens was subjected to a
we re going to risk sending
full-scale depth analysis,,
another exploring team out to
which failed to turn up a
that planet. We’ve got to find
thing. They gave Buckmaster here, and if we
out what’s
a barrage of shock treatments
can’t get it out of you we’ll
without breaking through his
have to do it some other way.”
communication barrier.
“Sir, it’s no use,” O’Dell
Finally all four men were said. “Any other ships that
called together in the office of
you send — the same thing
— will
the
manding
Exploratory Force Com-
Officer, General
happen. They’ll — they’ll
He stopped. He could go no
Bradcliffe. They stood togeth-
further.
er, O’Dell, Stivens, Buckmas-
“This is a risk we must
ter, and Walters, each know-
take,” the General said. “The
ing what the trouble was, each
men going out there will know
unable to speak.
the risk they’re taking.
General Bradcliffe said, “At They’ll remain in contact with
ease, men. I’ve called you us, via subspace radio, every
here to let you know that step of the way. As for you
we’re discontinuing our at- men, I’m afraid we’ll have to
tempts to crack open your se- pension you off. You’re of no
crets. The psych boys tell us use to the Force in the condi-
that any more probing is like- tion you’re in now.”
ly to have damaging perman- So they were pensioned off
ent effects on your minds. and given groundside jobs in
.
! 28 SUPER-SCIENCE FICTION
Exploratory Force offices. The eight men left the ship
They kept together, the four and reported to headquarters.
men, and their eyes bore wit- They could give no account of
ness to the secret that they their adventures past hearing
could not voice, even to each the cry for help in the forest.
other. F urious, the Exploratory
And a second ship, manned Force administration an-
by eight volunteers, the cream nounced that a third, and larg-
of the Exploratory Force, deer, expedition would be outfit-
parted for World 9 of System ted immediately. But twelve

XG. men on Earth smiled sadly
O’Dell, Stivens, Buckmas- when they heard the news,
ter, and Walters were on hand knowing that there was no de-
when the first subspace radio fense against the Methii, and
reports came back from the that the only thing to do was
second The land-
expedition. to keep far, far away from
ing was without difficulty; World 9 of System XG, and
they were establishing a base to hope that Mankind never
and preparing to explore the again trespassed on Methii
On the second day af-
vicinity. territory.
ter landing, a new message Twelve men. Prisoners in
came from the explorers: their own skulls, unable to
“Dudley has heard a cry for communicate their vital se-
help in the forest. We’re going cret.
out to explore.” And it was no surprise to
Dudley has heard a cry for any of them when the third
help in the forest. It was the expedition suddenly went si-
last message ever received lent, on the second day of its
from the second expedition. stay on World 9 of System
Their radio went dead imme- XG, after reporting a strange
diately afterward, and they and human-sounding cry in
were not heard from again un- the forest . .
til their return to Earth, seven
weeks later. THE END

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In

VAMPIRES FROM OUTER SPACE by Richard F. Watson . . B8

THE HUGE AND HIDEOUS BEASTS by' James Rosenqvest 92

A CRY FOR HELP by Eric Rodman 113

NUCLEAR NEWS by Steven Rory 91

SUPER-SCIENCE FICTION is published bi-monthly by Headline Publications Tnc..

NOVELETTE illustrated, by EMSH

It was huge, massive, with a hide of scales, legs like

JT was almost time for the ly to catch the attention of the

totally unsuited for human ting a few rows ahead of Mar-

sat scatteredly here and there ony.

of his research grant; in a few he drew a blank there, it was

the ship lost altitude. It was ing them.

something else under the seat, thick vegetation, panting

searing intensity for a mo- who was clambering to his feet,

The second to be found was dress —

Maybe there’s something in small stream. Strange forest

“We’ll never make it,” the No one answered.

group. “We’re not giving

organized. He led them a few Marshall’s eyes widened

the married couple. The man, we stay near the wreckage—”

colonists at Marleyville. We forget that the only transcon-

I’m from Earth. I have large

business investments on Loki,

“All Marshall said.

take about three months to jungle,where the treetops were

“Nice to know you’re so from penetrating.

half past three in the after- beady-eyed, at the Earthmen.

six more hours of marching the jungle, I suppose.”

sleek velvet-brown creatures Marshall saw golden shaoes

around them, Marshall said, “Do you think they’ll send

to fall asleep. His senses were fore he woke.

ously considered shooting the

course, he thought! Wouldn’t their campsite, and some pa-

longer, mostly about her. She which had a sharp, pungent

The prospect of regular died together while Marshall

a while?” he asked. of neck rose above them, and

“Don’t think it’s wise to leave —

raft, with Garvey, as the best spring. Kyle’s trembling hands

crude but serviceable affair studying the five people

where in the jungle. The river “For God’s sake, fire!”

a mile wide. The Terrans ed- 7

feminine, with ragged, stringy niggling concern with modesty

Except for occasional brush- was tanned and handsome.

the other smaller coast settle- Lois pressing up against him,

The mouth closed. The Lois whispered, “What is

monster had devoured an ap- that thing? I’ve never heard of

stringing his bow and notching Abruptly the booming

as if she were about to scream, way through the jungle, allow-

them. Marshall’s gaze rose, up cocked and ready in case he

to find me! Marshall! Gar- straightened up. Marshall saw

of the monster rise and move squirming creature the mon-

Lois. “I’ve got to protect Kyle.

He moved in a half-crouch Kyle with deep curiosity.

bow drawn tight and was look- lease.

ly, it tossed Kyle to the ground ritated by the sudden attack

to kill. You go for the eyes wounded leg high.

be conscious. blaster. Turning to Garvey he

one huge yellow eyeball. vey cried. “The monster’s talk-

jungle. Marshall grinned at the able to communicate with us!”

Marshall heard a rustling ones died slowly away. Until

et’s warmth and lost forever. gent ./ beg your pardon if

What a sight it must have I have injured the companion

him out of his misery.” telepathic contact with them