diff options
| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 02:47:00 -0700 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 02:47:00 -0700 |
| commit | c8aaf8bbf562e0c92da748ffab0e97d7993dfe0c (patch) | |
| tree | ba95954226f8e381e45a2d715c41d4b2fc34f657 | |
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 3 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 29159-h.zip | bin | 0 -> 47173 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 29159-h/29159-h.htm | 1429 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 29159-h/images/001.png | bin | 0 -> 26820 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 29159.txt | 1133 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 29159.zip | bin | 0 -> 18776 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 |
8 files changed, 2578 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/29159-h.zip b/29159-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..ba7ea2f --- /dev/null +++ b/29159-h.zip diff --git a/29159-h/29159-h.htm b/29159-h/29159-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..fe8eb8a --- /dev/null +++ b/29159-h/29159-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,1429 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of Acid Bath, by Vaseleos Garson + </title> + <style type="text/css"> + + p {margin-top: .75em; text-align: justify; margin-bottom: .75em;} + h1,h2 {text-align: center; clear: both;} + h2 {font-weight: normal;} + hr {width: 45%; margin: 1em auto; clear: both; visibility: hidden;} + body {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .bk1 {margin: 2em 20%;} + .figcenter {margin: 0 auto; width: 600px;} + .trn {border: solid 1px; margin: 3em 15%; padding: 1em; text-align: justify;} + img {border: none;} + p.cap:first-letter {float: left; margin-right: .05em; padding-top: .05em; font-size: 300%; line-height: .8em; width: auto;} + .dcap {text-transform: uppercase;} + + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Acid Bath, by Vaseleos Garson + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Acid Bath + +Author: Vaseleos Garson + +Illustrator: Herman Vestal + +Release Date: June 19, 2009 [EBook #29159] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ACID BATH *** + + + + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/001.png" width="600" height="463" alt="" title="" /></div> + +<h1><big>ACID BATH</big></h1> + +<h2>By VASELEOS GARSON</h2> + +<div class="bk1"><p><i><big><b>The starways' Lone Watcher had expected some odd developments +in his singular, nerve-fraught job on the asteroid. But nothing like the +weird twenty-one-day liquid test devised by the invading Steel-Blues.</b></big></i></p></div> + +<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">Jon Karyl</span> was bolting in a new baffle +plate on the stationary rocket engine. +It was a tedious job and took all his +concentration. So he wasn't paying too much +attention to what was going on in other +parts of the little asteroid.</p> + +<p>He didn't see the peculiar blue space +ship, its rockets throttled down, as it drifted +to land only a few hundred yards away from +his plastic igloo.</p> + +<p>Nor did he see the half-dozen steel-blue +creatures slide out of the peculiar vessel's +airlock.</p> + +<p>It was only as he crawled out of the +depths of the rocket power plant that he +realized something was wrong.</p> + +<p>By then it was almost too late. The six +blue figures were only fifty feet away, approaching +him at a lope.</p> + +<p>Jon Karyl took one look and went bounding +over the asteroid's rocky slopes in fifty-foot +bounds.</p> + +<p>When you're a Lone Watcher, and +strangers catch you unawares, you don't +stand still. You move fast. It's the Watcher's +first rule. Stay alive. An Earthship may depend +upon your life.</p> + +<p>As he fled, Jon Karyl cursed softly under +his breath. The automatic alarm should have +shrilled out a warning.</p> + +<p>Then he saved as much of his breath as +he could as some sort of power wave tore +up the rocky sward to his left. He twisted +and zig-zagged in his flight, trying to get +out of sight of the strangers.</p> + +<p>Once hidden from their eyes, he could cut +back and head for the underground entrance +to the service station.</p> + +<p>He glanced back finally.</p> + +<p>Two of the steel-blue creatures were jack-rabbiting +after him, and rapidly closing the +distance.</p> + +<p>Jon Karyl unsheathed the stubray pistol +at his side, turned the oxygen dial up for +greater exertion, increased the gravity pull +in his space-suit boots as he neared the +ravine he'd been racing for.</p> + +<p>The oxygen was just taking hold when +he hit the lip of the ravine and began +sprinting through its man-high bush-strewn +course.</p> + +<p>The power ray from behind ripped out +great gobs of the sheltering bushes. But +running naturally, bent close to the bottom +of the ravine, Jon Karyl dodged the bare +spots. The oxygen made the tremendous +exertion easy for his lungs as he sped down +the dim trail, hidden from the two steel-blue +stalkers.</p> + +<p>He'd eluded them, temporarily at least, +Jon Karyl decided when he finally edged off +the dim trail and watched for movement +along the route behind him.</p> + +<p>He stood up, finally, pushed aside the +leafy overhang of a bush and looked for +landmarks along the edge of the ravine.</p> + +<p>He found one, a stubby bush, shaped like +a Maltese cross, clinging to the lip of the +ravine. The hidden entrance to the service +station wasn't far off.</p> + +<p>His pistol held ready, he moved quietly +on down the ravine until the old water +course made an abrupt hairpin turn.</p> + +<p>Instead of following around the sharp +bend, Jon Karyl moved straight ahead +through the overhanging bushes until he +came to a dense thicket. Dropping to his +hands and knees he worked his way under +the edge of the thicket into a hollowed-out +space in the center.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">There</span>, just ahead of him, was the lock +leading into the service station. Slipping +a key out of a leg pouch on the space suit, +he jabbed it into the center of the lock, +opening the lever housing.</p> + +<p>He pulled strongly on the lever. With a +hiss of escaping air, the lock swung open. +Jon Karyl darted inside, the door closing +softly behind.</p> + +<p>At the end of the long tunnel he stepped +to the televisor which was fixed on the area +surrounding the station.</p> + +<p>Jon Karyl saw none of the steel-blue creatures. +But he saw their ship. It squatted +like a smashed-down kid's top, its lock shut +tight.</p> + +<p>He tuned the televisor to its widest range +and finally spotted one of the Steel-Blues. +He was looking into the stationary rocket +engine.</p> + +<p>As Karyl watched, a second Steel-Blue +came crawling out of the ship.</p> + +<p>The two Steel-Blues moved toward the +center of the televisor range. They're coming +toward the station, Karyl thought grimly.</p> + +<p>Karyl examined the two creatures. They +were of the steel-blue color from the crown +of their egg-shaped heads to the tips of +their walking appendages.</p> + +<p>They were about the height of Karyl—six +feet. But where he tapered from broad +shoulders to flat hips, they were straight up +and down. They had no legs, just appendages, +many-jointed that stretched and +shrank independent of the other, but keeping +the cylindrical body with its four pairs +of tentacles on a level balance.</p> + +<p>Where their eyes would have been was +an elliptical-shaped lens, covering half the +egg-head, with its converging ends curving +around the sides of the head.</p> + +<p>Robots! Jon gauged immediately. But +where were their masters?</p> + +<p>The Steel-Blues moved out of the range +of the televisor. A minute later Jon heard +a pounding from the station upstairs.</p> + +<p>He chuckled. They were like the wolf of +pre-atomic days who huffed and puffed to +blow the house down.</p> + +<p>The outer shell of the station was formed +from stelrylite, the toughest metal in the +solar system. With the self-sealing lock of +the same resistant material, a mere pounding +was nothing.</p> + +<p>Jon thought he'd have a look-see anyway. +He went up the steel ladder leading to the +station's power plant and the televisor that +could look into every room within the +station.</p> + +<p>He heaved a slight sigh when he reached +the power room, for right at his hand were +weapons to blast the ship from the asteroid.</p> + +<p>Jon adjusted one televisor to take in the +lock to the station. His teeth suddenly +clamped down on his lower lip.</p> + +<p>Those Steel-Blues were pounding holes +into the stelrylite with round-headed metal +clubs. But it was impossible. Stelrylite didn't +break up that easily.</p> + +<p>Jon leaped to a row of studs, lining up +the revolving turret which capped the station +so that its thin fin pointed at the +squat ship of the invaders.</p> + +<p>Then he went to the atomic cannon's +firing buttons.</p> + +<p>He pressed first the yellow, then the blue +button. Finally the red one.</p> + +<p>The thin fin—the cannon's sight—split in +half as the turret opened and the coiled nose +of the cannon protruded. There was a +soundless flash. Then a sharp crack.</p> + +<p>Jon was dumbfounded when he saw the +bolt ricochet off the ship. This was no ship +of the solar system. There was nothing that +could withstand even the slight jolt of power +given by the station cannon on any of the +Sun's worlds. But what was this? A piece of +the ship had changed. A bubble of metal, +like a huge drop of blue wax, dripped off +the vessel and struck the rocket of the +asteroid. It steamed and ran in rivulets.</p> + +<p>He pressed the red button again.</p> + +<p>Then abruptly he was on the floor of the +power room, his legs strangely cut out from +under him. He tried to move them. They lay +flaccid. His arms seemed all right and tried +to lever himself to an upright position.</p> + +<p>Damn it, he seemed as if he were paralyzed +from the waist down. But it couldn't +happen that suddenly.</p> + +<p>He turned his head.</p> + +<p>A Steel-Blue stood facing him. A forked +tentacle held a square black box.</p> + +<p>Jon could read nothing in that metallic +face. He said, voice muffled by the confines +of the plastic helmet, "Who are you?"</p> + +<p>"I am"—there was a rising inflection in +the answer—"a Steel-Blue."</p> + +<p>There were no lips on the Steel-Blue's +face to move. "That is what I have named +you," Jon Karyl said. "But what are you?"</p> + +<p>"A robot," came the immediate answer. +Jon was quite sure then that the Steel-Blue +was telepathic. "Yes," the Steel-Blue answered. +"We talk in the language of the +mind. Come!" he said peremptorily, motioning +with the square black box.</p> + +<p>The paralysis left Karyl's legs. He followed +the Steel-Blue, aware that the lens +he'd seen on the creature's face had a +counterpart on the back of the egg-head.</p> + +<p>Eyes in the back of his head, Jon thought. +That's quite an innovation. "Thank you," +Steel-Blue said.</p> + +<p>There wasn't much fear in Jon Karyl's +mind. Psychiatrists had proved that when he +had applied for this high-paying but man-killing +job as a Lone Watcher on the Solar +System's starways.</p> + +<p>He had little fear now, only curiosity. +These Steel-Blues didn't seem inimical. +They could have snuffed out my life very +simply. Perhaps they and Solarians can be +friends.</p> + +<p>Steel-Blue chuckled.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">Jon</span> followed him through the sundered +lock of the station. Karyl stopped for a +moment to examine the wreckage of the +lock. It had been punched full of holes as +if it had been some soft cheese instead of a +metal which Earthmen had spent nearly a +century perfecting.</p> + +<p>"We appreciate your compliment," Steel-Blue +said. "But that metal also is found on +our world. It's probably the softest and most +malleable we have. We were surprised you—earthmen, +is it?—use it as protective +metal."</p> + +<p>"Why are you in this system?" Jon asked, +hardly expecting an answer.</p> + +<p>It came anyway. "For the same reason you +Earthmen are reaching out farther into your +system. We need living room. You have +strategically placed planets for our use. We +will use them."</p> + +<p>Jon sighed. For 400 years scientists had +been preaching preparedness as Earth flung +her ships into the reaches of the solar system, +taking the first long step toward the +conquest of space.</p> + +<p>There are other races somewhere, they +argued. As strong and smart as man, many +of them so transcending man in mental and +inventive power that we must be prepared to +strike the minute danger shows.</p> + +<p>Now here was the answer to the scientists' +warning. Invasion by extra-terrestrials.</p> + +<p>"What did you say?" asked Steel-Blue. +"I couldn't understand."</p> + +<p>"Just thinking to myself," Jon answered. +It was a welcome surprise. Apparently his +thoughts had to be directed outward, rather +than inward, in order for the Steel-Blues to +read it.</p> + +<p>He followed the Steel-Blue into the gaping +lock of the invaders' space ship wondering +how he could warn Earth. The Space +Patrol cruiser was due in for refueling at +his service station in 21 days. But by that +time he probably would be mouldering in +the rocky dust of the asteroid.</p> + +<p>It was pitch dark within the ship but the +Steel-Blue seemed to have no trouble at all +maneuvering through the maze of corridors. +Jon followed him, attached to one tentacle.</p> + +<p>Finally Jon and his guide entered a circular +room, bright with light streaming from +a glass-like, bulging skylight. They apparently +were near topside of the vessel.</p> + +<p>A Steel-Blue, more massive than his +guide and with four more pair of tentacles, +including two short ones that grew from the +top of its head, spoke out.</p> + +<p>"This is the violator?" Jon's Steel-Blue +nodded.</p> + +<p>"You know the penalty? Carry it out."</p> + +<p>"He also is an inhabitant of this system," +Jon's guide added.</p> + +<p>"Examine him first, then give him the +death."</p> + +<p>Jon Karyl shrugged as he was led from +the lighted room through more corridors. +If it got too bad he still had the stubray +pistol.</p> + +<p>Anyway, he was curious. He'd taken on +the lonely, nerve-wracking job of service +station attendant just to see what it offered.</p> + +<p>Here was a part of it, and it was certainly +something new.</p> + +<p>"This is the examination room," his +Steel-Blue said, almost contemptuously.</p> + +<p>A green effulgence surrounded him.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">There</span> was a hiss. Simultaneously, as the +tiny microphone on the outside of his +suit picked up the hiss, he felt a chill go +through his body. Then it seemed as if a +half dozen hands were inside him, examining +his internal organs. His stomach contracted. +He felt a squeeze on his heart. His +lungs tickled.</p> + +<p>There were several more queer motions +inside his body.</p> + +<p>Then another Steel-Blue voice said:</p> + +<p>"He is a soft-metal creature, made up of +metals that melt at a very low temperature. +He also contains a liquid whose makeup I +cannot ascertain by ray-probe. Bring him +back when the torture is done."</p> + +<p>Jon Karyl grinned a trifle wryly. What +kind of torture could this be?</p> + +<p>Would it last 21 days? He glanced at the +chronometer on his wrist.</p> + +<p>Jon's Steel-Blue led him out of the alien +ship and halted expectantly just outside the +ship's lock.</p> + +<p>Jon Karyl waited, too. He thought of the +stubray pistol holstered at his hip. Shoot my +way out? It'd be fun while it lasted. But he +toted up the disadvantages.</p> + +<p>He either would have to find a hiding +place on the asteroid, and if the Steel-Blues +wanted him bad enough they could tear the +whole place to pieces, or somehow get +aboard the little life ship hidden in the +service station.</p> + +<p>In that he would be just a sitting duck.</p> + +<p>He shrugged off the slight temptation to +use the pistol. He was still curious.</p> + +<p>And he was interested in staying alive as +long as possible. There was a remote chance +he might warn the SP ship. Unconsciously, +he glanced toward his belt to see the little +power pack which, if under ideal conditions, +could finger out fifty thousand miles into +space.</p> + +<p>If he could somehow stay alive the 21 +days he might be able to warn the patrol. +He couldn't do it by attempting to flee, for +his life would be snuffed out immediately.</p> + +<p>The Steel-Blue said quietly:</p> + +<p>"It might be ironical to let you warn +that SP ship you keep thinking about. But +we know your weapon now. Already our +ship is equipped with a force field designed +especially to deflect your atomic guns."</p> + +<p>Jon Karyl covered up his thoughts +quickly. They can delve deeper than the +surface of the mind. Or wasn't I keeping a +leash on my thoughts?</p> + +<p>The Steel-Blue chuckled. "You get—absent-minded, +is it?—every once in a +while."</p> + +<p>Just then four other Steel-Blues appeared +lugging great sheets of plastic and various +other equipment.</p> + +<p>They dumped their loads and began unbundling +them.</p> + +<p>Working swiftly, they built a plastic +igloo, smaller than the living room in the +larger service station igloo. They ranged instruments +inside—one of them Jon Karyl +recognized as an air pump from within the +station—and they laid out a pallet.</p> + +<p>When they were done Jon saw a miniature +reproduction of the service station, lacking +only the cannon cap and fin, and with clear +plastic walls instead of the opaqueness of the +other.</p> + +<p>His Steel-Blue said: "We have reproduced +the atmosphere of your station so that you +be watched while you undergo the torture +under the normal conditions of your life."</p> + +<p>"What is this torture?" Jon Karyl asked.</p> + +<p>The answer was almost caressing: "It is +a liquid we use to dissolve metals. It causes +joints to harden if even so much as a drop +remains on it long. It eats away the metal, +leaving a scaly residue which crumbles +eventually into dust.</p> + +<p>"We will dilute it with a harmless liquid +for you since No. 1 does not wish you to die +instantly.</p> + +<p>"Enter your"—the Steel-Blue hesitated—"mausoleum. +You die in your own atmosphere. +However, we took the liberty of purifying +it. There were dangerous elements in +it."</p> + +<p>Jon walked into the little igloo. The +Steel-Blues sealed the lock, fingered dials +and switches on the outside. Jon's space suit +deflated. Pressure was building up in the +igloo.</p> + +<p>He took a sample of the air, found that +it was good, although quite rich in oxygen +compared with what he'd been using in the +service station and in his suit.</p> + +<p>With a sigh of relief he took off his helmet +and gulped huge draughts of the air.</p> + +<p>He sat down on the pallet and waited +for the torture to begin.</p> + +<p>The Steel Blues crowded about the igloo, +staring at him through elliptical eyes.</p> + +<p>Apparently, they too, were waiting for the +torture to begin.</p> + +<p>Jon thought the excess of oxygen was +making him light-headed.</p> + +<p>He stared at a cylinder which was beginning +to sprout tentacles from the circle. +He rubbed his eyes and looked again. An +opening, like the adjustable eye-piece of a +spacescope, was appearing in the center of +the cylinder.</p> + +<p>A square, glass-like tumbler sat in the +opening disclosed in the four-foot cylinder +that had sprouted tentacles. It contained a +yellowish liquid.</p> + +<p>One of the tentacles reached into the +opening and clasped the glass. The opening +closed and the cylinder, propelled by locomotor +appendages, moved toward Jon.</p> + +<p>He didn't like the looks of the liquid in +the tumbler. It looked like an acid of some +sort. He raised to his feet.</p> + +<p>He unsheathed the stubray gun and prepared +to blast the cylinder.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">The</span> cylinder moved so fast Jon felt his +eyes jump in his head. He brought the +stubray gun up—but he was helpless. The +pistol kept on going up. With a deft movement, +one of the tentacles had speared it +from his hand and was holding it out of +his reach.</p> + +<p>Jon kicked at the glass in the cylinder's +hand. But he was too slow. Two tentacles +gripped the kicking leg. Another struck him +in the chest, knocking him to the pallet. The +same tentacle, assisted by a new one, +pinioned his shoulders.</p> + +<p>Four tentacles held him supine. The cylinder +lifted a glass-like cap from the tumbler +of liquid.</p> + +<p>Lying there helplessly, Jon was remembering +an old fairy tale he'd read as a kid. +Something about a fellow named Socrates +who was given a cup of hemlock to drink. +It was the finis for Socrates. But the old +hero had been nonchalant and calm about +the whole thing.</p> + +<p>With a sigh, Jon Karyl, who was curious +unto death, relaxed and said, "All right, +bub, you don't have to force-feed me. I'll +take it like a man."</p> + +<p>The cylinder apparently understood him, +for it handed him the tumbler. It even reholstered +his stubray pistol.</p> + +<p>Jon brought the glass of liquid under his +nose. The fumes of the liquid were pungent. +It brought tears to his eyes.</p> + +<p>He looked at the cylinder, then at the +Steel-Blues crowding around the plastic +igloo. He waved the glass at the audience.</p> + +<p>"To Earth, ever triumphant," he toasted. +Then he drained the glass at a gulp.</p> + +<p>Its taste was bitter, and he felt hot +prickles jab at his scalp. It was like eating +very hot peppers. His eyes filled with tears. +He coughed as the stuff went down.</p> + +<p>But he was still alive, he thought in +amazement. He'd drunk the hemlock and +was still alive.</p> + +<p>The reaction set in quickly. He hadn't +known until then how tense he'd been. Now +with the torture ordeal over, he relaxed. He +laid down on the pallet and went to sleep.</p> + +<p>There was one lone Steel-Blue watching +him when he rubbed the sleep out of his +eyes and sat up.</p> + +<p>He vanished almost instantly. He, or another +like him, returned immediately accompanied +by a half-dozen others, including +the multi-tentacled creature known as No. 1.</p> + +<p>One said,</p> + +<p>"You are alive." The thought registered +amazement. "When you lost consciousness, +we thought you had"—there was a hesitation—"as +you say, died."</p> + +<p>"No," Jon Karyl said. "I didn't die. I +was just plain dead-beat so I went to sleep." +The Steel-Blues apparently didn't understand.</p> + +<p>"Good it is that you live. The torture +will continue," spoke No. 1 before loping +away.</p> + +<p>The cylinder business began again. This +time, Jon drank the bitter liquid slowly, trying +to figure out what it was. It had a +familiar, tantalizing taste but he couldn't +quite put a taste-finger on it.</p> + +<p>His belly said he was hungry. He glanced +at his chronometer. Only 20 days left before +the SP ship arrived.</p> + +<p>Would this torture—he chuckled—last +until then? But he was growing more and +more conscious that his belly was screaming +for hunger. The liquid had taken the edge +off his thirst.</p> + +<p>It was on the fifth day of his torture that +Jon Karyl decided that he was going to get +something to eat or perish in the attempt.</p> + +<p>The cylinder sat passively in its niche in +the circle. A dozen Steel-Blues were watching +as Jon put on his helmet and unsheathed +his stubray.</p> + +<p>They merely watched as he pressed the +stubray's firing stud. Invisible rays licked +out of the bulbous muzzle of the pistol. +The plastic splintered.</p> + +<p>Jon was out of his goldfish bowl and +striding toward his own igloo adjacent to +the service station when a Steel-Blue +accosted him.</p> + +<p>"Out of my way," grunted Jon, waving +the stubray. "I'm hungry."</p> + +<p>"I'm the first Steel-Blue you met," said +the creature who barred his way. "Go back +to your torture."</p> + +<p>"But I'm so hungry I'll chew off one of +your tentacles and eat it without seasoning."</p> + +<p>"Eat?" The Steel-Blue sounded puzzled.</p> + +<p>"I want to refuel. I've got to have food +to keep my engine going."</p> + +<p>Steel-Blue chuckled. "So the hemlock, as +you call it, is beginning to affect you at +last? Back to the torture room."</p> + +<p>"Like R-dust," Jon growled. He pressed +the firing stud on the stubray gun. One of +Steel-Blue's tentacles broke off and fell to +the rocky sward.</p> + +<p>Steel-Blue jerked out the box he'd used +once before. A tentacle danced over it.</p> + +<p>Abruptly Jon found himself standing on +a pinnacle of rock. Steel-Blue had cut a +swath around him 15 feet deep and five feet +wide.</p> + +<p>"Back to the room," Steel-Blue commanded.</p> + +<p>Jon resheathed the stubray pistol, +shrugged non-committally and leaped the +trench. He walked slowly back and reentered +the torture chamber.</p> + +<p>The Steel-Blues rapidly repaired the damage +he'd done.</p> + +<p>As he watched them, Jon was still curious, +but he was getting mad underneath at +the cold egoism of the Steel-Blues.</p> + +<p>By the shimmering clouds of Earth, by +her green fields, and dark forests, he'd +stay alive to warn the SP ship.</p> + +<p>Yes, he'd stay alive till then. And send +the story of the Steel-Blues' corrosive acid +to it. Then hundreds of Earth's ships could +equip themselves with spray guns and squirt +citric acid and watch the Steel-Blues fade +away.</p> + +<p>It sounded almost silly to Jon Karyl. The +fruit acid of Earth to repel these invaders—it +doesn't sound possible. That couldn't be +the answer.</p> + +<p>Citric acid wasn't the answer, Jon Karyl +discovered a week later.</p> + +<p>The Steel-Blue who had captured him in +the power room of the service station came +in to examine him.</p> + +<p>"You're still holding out, I see," he observed +after poking Jon in every sensitive +part of his body.</p> + +<p>"I'll suggest to No. 1 that we increase +the power of the—ah—hemlock. How do +you feel?"</p> + +<p>Between the rich oxygen and the dizziness +of hunger, Jon was a bit delirious. But he +answered honestly enough: "My guts feel as +if they're chewing each other up. My bones +ache. My joints creak. I can't coordinate I'm +so hungry."</p> + +<p>"That is the hemlock," Steel-Blue said.</p> + +<p>It was when he quaffed the new and +stronger draught that Jon knew that his +hope that it was citric acid was squelched.</p> + +<p>The acid taste was weaker which meant +that the citric acid was the diluting liquid. +It was the liquid he couldn't taste beneath +the tang of the citric acid that was the corrosive +acid.</p> + +<p>On the fourteenth day, Jon was so weak +he didn't feel much like moving around. He +let the cylinder feed him the hemlock.</p> + +<p>No. 1 came again to see him, and went +away chuckling, "Decrease the dilution. +This Earthman at last is beginning to +suffer."</p> + +<hr /> + +<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">Staying</span> alive had now become a fetish +with Jon.</p> + +<p>On the sixteenth day, the Earthman realized +that the Steel-Blues also were waiting +for the SP ship.</p> + +<p>The extra-terrestrials had repaired the +blue ship where the service station atomic +ray had struck. And they were doing a little +target practice with plastic bubbles only a +few miles above the asteroid.</p> + +<p>When his chronometer clocked off the +beginning of the twenty-first day, Jon received +a tumbler of the hemlock from the +hands of No. 1 himself.</p> + +<p>"It is the hemlock," he chuckled, "undiluted. +Drink it and your torture is over. +You will die before your SP ship is destroyed.</p> + +<p>"We have played with you long enough. +Today we begin to toy with your SP ship. +Drink up, Earthman, drink to enslavement."</p> + +<p>Weak though he was Jon lunged to his +feet, spilling the tumbler of liquid. It ran +cool along the plastic arm of his space suit. +He changed his mind about throwing the +contents on No. 1.</p> + +<p>With a smile he set the glass at his lips +and drank. Then he laughed at No. 1.</p> + +<p>"The SP ship will turn your ship into +jelly."</p> + +<p>No. 1 swept out, chuckling. "Boast if you +will, Earthman, it's your last chance."</p> + +<p>There was an exultation in Jon's heart +that deadened the hunger and washed away +the nausea.</p> + +<p>At last he knew what the hemlock was.</p> + +<p>He sat on the pallet adjusting the little +power-pack radio. The SP ship should now +be within range of the set. The space patrol +was notorious for its accuracy in keeping to +schedule. Seconds counted like years. They +had to be on the nose, or it meant disaster +or death.</p> + +<p>He sent out the call letters.</p> + +<p>"AX to SP-101 ... AX to SP-101 ... AX +to SP-101 ..."</p> + +<p>Three times he sent the call, then began +sending his message, hoping that his signal +was reaching the ship. He couldn't know if +they answered. Though the power pack +could get out a message over a vast distance, +it could not pick up messages even +when backed by an SP ship's power unless +the ship was only a few hundred miles +away.</p> + +<p>The power pack was strictly a distress +signal.</p> + +<p>He didn't know how long he'd been +sending, nor how many times his weary +voice had repeated the short but desperate +message.</p> + +<p>He kept watching the heavens and hoping.</p> + +<p>Abruptly he knew the SP ship was coming, +for the blue ship of the Steel-Blues was +rising silently from the asteroid.</p> + +<p>Up and up it rose, then flames flickered +in a circle about its curious shape. The ship +disappeared, suddenly accelerating.</p> + +<p>Jon Karyl strained his eyes.</p> + +<p>Finally he looked away from the heavens +to the two Steel-Blues who stood negligently +outside the goldfish bowl.</p> + +<p>Once more, Jon used the stubray pistol. +He marched out of the plastic igloo and ran +toward the service station.</p> + +<p>He didn't know how weak he was until +he stumbled and fell only a few feet from +his prison.</p> + +<p>The Steel-Blues just watched him.</p> + +<p>He crawled on, around the circular pit in +the sward of the asteroid where one Steel-Blue +had shown him the power of his +weapon.</p> + +<p>He'd been crawling through a nightmare +for years when the quiet voice penetrated +his dulled mind.</p> + +<p>"Take it easy, Karyl. You're among +friends."</p> + +<p>He pried open his eyes with his will. He +saw the blue and gold of a space guard's +uniform. He sighed and drifted into unconsciousness.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">He was</span> still weak days later when +Capt. Ron Small of SP-101 said,</p> + +<p>"Yes, Karyl, it's ironical. They fed you +what they thought was sure death, and it's +the only thing that kept you going long +enough to warn us."</p> + +<p>"I was dumb for a long time," Karyl said. +"I thought that it was the acid, almost to +the very last. But when I drank that last +glass, I knew they didn't have a chance.</p> + +<p>"They were metal monsters. No wonder +they feared that liquid. It would rust their +joints, short their wiring, and kill them. +No wonder they stared when I kept alive +after drinking enough to completely annihilate +a half-dozen of them.</p> + +<p>"But what happened when you met the +ship?"</p> + +<p>The space captain grinned.</p> + +<p>"Not much. Our crew was busy creating +a hollow shell filled with <i>water</i> to be shot +out of a rocket tube converted into a projectile +thrower.</p> + +<p>"These Steel-Blues, as you call them, put +traction beams on us and started tugging us +toward the asteroid. We tried a couple of +atomic shots but when they just glanced off, +we gave up.</p> + +<p>"They weren't expecting the shell of +water. When it hit that blue ship, you could +almost see it oxidize before your eyes.</p> + +<p>"I guess they knew what was wrong right +away. They let go the traction beams and +tried to get away. They forgot about the +force field, so we just poured atomic fire +into the weakening ship. It just melted +away."</p> + +<p>Jon Karyl got up from the divan where +he'd been lying. "They thought I was a +metal creature, too. But where do you suppose +they came from?"</p> + +<p>The captain shrugged. "Who knows?"</p> + +<p>Jon set two glasses on the table.</p> + +<p>"Have a drink of the best damn water in +the solar system?" He asked Capt. Small.</p> + +<p>"Don't mind if I do."</p> + +<p>The water twinkled in the two glasses, +winking as if it knew just what it had +done.</p> + +<div class="trn"><b>Transcriber's Note:</b> +This etext was produced from <i>Planet Stories</i> July 1952. +Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. +copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and +typographical errors have been corrected without note.</div> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Acid Bath, by Vaseleos Garson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ACID BATH *** + +***** This file should be named 29159-h.htm or 29159-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/1/5/29159/ + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +https://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +https://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + + +</pre> + +</body> +</html> diff --git a/29159-h/images/001.png b/29159-h/images/001.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..d499a4e --- /dev/null +++ b/29159-h/images/001.png diff --git a/29159.txt b/29159.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7a6ddf8 --- /dev/null +++ b/29159.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1133 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Acid Bath, by Vaseleos Garson + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Acid Bath + +Author: Vaseleos Garson + +Illustrator: Herman Vestal + +Release Date: June 19, 2009 [EBook #29159] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ACID BATH *** + + + + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration] + + +ACID BATH + +By VASELEOS GARSON + + + _The starways' Lone Watcher had expected some odd developments in + his singular, nerve-fraught job on the asteroid. But nothing like + the weird twenty-one-day liquid test devised by the invading + Steel-Blues._ + + +Jon Karyl was bolting in a new baffle plate on the stationary rocket +engine. It was a tedious job and took all his concentration. So he +wasn't paying too much attention to what was going on in other parts of +the little asteroid. + +He didn't see the peculiar blue space ship, its rockets throttled down, +as it drifted to land only a few hundred yards away from his plastic +igloo. + +Nor did he see the half-dozen steel-blue creatures slide out of the +peculiar vessel's airlock. + +It was only as he crawled out of the depths of the rocket power plant +that he realized something was wrong. + +By then it was almost too late. The six blue figures were only fifty +feet away, approaching him at a lope. + +Jon Karyl took one look and went bounding over the asteroid's rocky +slopes in fifty-foot bounds. + +When you're a Lone Watcher, and strangers catch you unawares, you don't +stand still. You move fast. It's the Watcher's first rule. Stay alive. +An Earthship may depend upon your life. + +As he fled, Jon Karyl cursed softly under his breath. The automatic +alarm should have shrilled out a warning. + +Then he saved as much of his breath as he could as some sort of power +wave tore up the rocky sward to his left. He twisted and zig-zagged in +his flight, trying to get out of sight of the strangers. + +Once hidden from their eyes, he could cut back and head for the +underground entrance to the service station. + +He glanced back finally. + +Two of the steel-blue creatures were jack-rabbiting after him, and +rapidly closing the distance. + +Jon Karyl unsheathed the stubray pistol at his side, turned the oxygen +dial up for greater exertion, increased the gravity pull in his +space-suit boots as he neared the ravine he'd been racing for. + +The oxygen was just taking hold when he hit the lip of the ravine and +began sprinting through its man-high bush-strewn course. + +The power ray from behind ripped out great gobs of the sheltering +bushes. But running naturally, bent close to the bottom of the ravine, +Jon Karyl dodged the bare spots. The oxygen made the tremendous exertion +easy for his lungs as he sped down the dim trail, hidden from the two +steel-blue stalkers. + +He'd eluded them, temporarily at least, Jon Karyl decided when he +finally edged off the dim trail and watched for movement along the route +behind him. + +He stood up, finally, pushed aside the leafy overhang of a bush and +looked for landmarks along the edge of the ravine. + +He found one, a stubby bush, shaped like a Maltese cross, clinging to +the lip of the ravine. The hidden entrance to the service station wasn't +far off. + +His pistol held ready, he moved quietly on down the ravine until the old +water course made an abrupt hairpin turn. + +Instead of following around the sharp bend, Jon Karyl moved straight +ahead through the overhanging bushes until he came to a dense thicket. +Dropping to his hands and knees he worked his way under the edge of the +thicket into a hollowed-out space in the center. + + * * * * * + +There, just ahead of him, was the lock leading into the service station. +Slipping a key out of a leg pouch on the space suit, he jabbed it into +the center of the lock, opening the lever housing. + +He pulled strongly on the lever. With a hiss of escaping air, the lock +swung open. Jon Karyl darted inside, the door closing softly behind. + +At the end of the long tunnel he stepped to the televisor which was +fixed on the area surrounding the station. + +Jon Karyl saw none of the steel-blue creatures. But he saw their ship. +It squatted like a smashed-down kid's top, its lock shut tight. + +He tuned the televisor to its widest range and finally spotted one of +the Steel-Blues. He was looking into the stationary rocket engine. + +As Karyl watched, a second Steel-Blue came crawling out of the ship. + +The two Steel-Blues moved toward the center of the televisor range. +They're coming toward the station, Karyl thought grimly. + +Karyl examined the two creatures. They were of the steel-blue color from +the crown of their egg-shaped heads to the tips of their walking +appendages. + +They were about the height of Karyl--six feet. But where he tapered from +broad shoulders to flat hips, they were straight up and down. They had +no legs, just appendages, many-jointed that stretched and shrank +independent of the other, but keeping the cylindrical body with its four +pairs of tentacles on a level balance. + +Where their eyes would have been was an elliptical-shaped lens, covering +half the egg-head, with its converging ends curving around the sides of +the head. + +Robots! Jon gauged immediately. But where were their masters? + +The Steel-Blues moved out of the range of the televisor. A minute later +Jon heard a pounding from the station upstairs. + +He chuckled. They were like the wolf of pre-atomic days who huffed and +puffed to blow the house down. + +The outer shell of the station was formed from stelrylite, the toughest +metal in the solar system. With the self-sealing lock of the same +resistant material, a mere pounding was nothing. + +Jon thought he'd have a look-see anyway. He went up the steel ladder +leading to the station's power plant and the televisor that could look +into every room within the station. + +He heaved a slight sigh when he reached the power room, for right at his +hand were weapons to blast the ship from the asteroid. + +Jon adjusted one televisor to take in the lock to the station. His +teeth suddenly clamped down on his lower lip. + +Those Steel-Blues were pounding holes into the stelrylite with +round-headed metal clubs. But it was impossible. Stelrylite didn't break +up that easily. + +Jon leaped to a row of studs, lining up the revolving turret which +capped the station so that its thin fin pointed at the squat ship of the +invaders. + +Then he went to the atomic cannon's firing buttons. + +He pressed first the yellow, then the blue button. Finally the red one. + +The thin fin--the cannon's sight--split in half as the turret opened and +the coiled nose of the cannon protruded. There was a soundless flash. +Then a sharp crack. + +Jon was dumbfounded when he saw the bolt ricochet off the ship. This was +no ship of the solar system. There was nothing that could withstand even +the slight jolt of power given by the station cannon on any of the Sun's +worlds. But what was this? A piece of the ship had changed. A bubble of +metal, like a huge drop of blue wax, dripped off the vessel and struck +the rocket of the asteroid. It steamed and ran in rivulets. + +He pressed the red button again. + +Then abruptly he was on the floor of the power room, his legs strangely +cut out from under him. He tried to move them. They lay flaccid. His +arms seemed all right and tried to lever himself to an upright position. + +Damn it, he seemed as if he were paralyzed from the waist down. But it +couldn't happen that suddenly. + +He turned his head. + +A Steel-Blue stood facing him. A forked tentacle held a square black +box. + +Jon could read nothing in that metallic face. He said, voice muffled by +the confines of the plastic helmet, "Who are you?" + +"I am"--there was a rising inflection in the answer--"a Steel-Blue." + +There were no lips on the Steel-Blue's face to move. "That is what I +have named you," Jon Karyl said. "But what are you?" + +"A robot," came the immediate answer. Jon was quite sure then that the +Steel-Blue was telepathic. "Yes," the Steel-Blue answered. "We talk in +the language of the mind. Come!" he said peremptorily, motioning with +the square black box. + +The paralysis left Karyl's legs. He followed the Steel-Blue, aware that +the lens he'd seen on the creature's face had a counterpart on the back +of the egg-head. + +Eyes in the back of his head, Jon thought. That's quite an innovation. +"Thank you," Steel-Blue said. + +There wasn't much fear in Jon Karyl's mind. Psychiatrists had proved +that when he had applied for this high-paying but man-killing job as a +Lone Watcher on the Solar System's starways. + +He had little fear now, only curiosity. These Steel-Blues didn't seem +inimical. They could have snuffed out my life very simply. Perhaps they +and Solarians can be friends. + +Steel-Blue chuckled. + + * * * * * + +Jon followed him through the sundered lock of the station. Karyl stopped +for a moment to examine the wreckage of the lock. It had been punched +full of holes as if it had been some soft cheese instead of a metal +which Earthmen had spent nearly a century perfecting. + +"We appreciate your compliment," Steel-Blue said. "But that metal also +is found on our world. It's probably the softest and most malleable we +have. We were surprised you--earthmen, is it?--use it as protective +metal." + +"Why are you in this system?" Jon asked, hardly expecting an answer. + +It came anyway. "For the same reason you Earthmen are reaching out +farther into your system. We need living room. You have strategically +placed planets for our use. We will use them." + +Jon sighed. For 400 years scientists had been preaching preparedness as +Earth flung her ships into the reaches of the solar system, taking the +first long step toward the conquest of space. + +There are other races somewhere, they argued. As strong and smart as +man, many of them so transcending man in mental and inventive power that +we must be prepared to strike the minute danger shows. + +Now here was the answer to the scientists' warning. Invasion by +extra-terrestrials. + +"What did you say?" asked Steel-Blue. "I couldn't understand." + +"Just thinking to myself," Jon answered. It was a welcome surprise. +Apparently his thoughts had to be directed outward, rather than inward, +in order for the Steel-Blues to read it. + +He followed the Steel-Blue into the gaping lock of the invaders' space +ship wondering how he could warn Earth. The Space Patrol cruiser was due +in for refueling at his service station in 21 days. But by that time he +probably would be mouldering in the rocky dust of the asteroid. + +It was pitch dark within the ship but the Steel-Blue seemed to have no +trouble at all maneuvering through the maze of corridors. Jon followed +him, attached to one tentacle. + +Finally Jon and his guide entered a circular room, bright with light +streaming from a glass-like, bulging skylight. They apparently were near +topside of the vessel. + +A Steel-Blue, more massive than his guide and with four more pair of +tentacles, including two short ones that grew from the top of its head, +spoke out. + +"This is the violator?" Jon's Steel-Blue nodded. + +"You know the penalty? Carry it out." + +"He also is an inhabitant of this system," Jon's guide added. + +"Examine him first, then give him the death." + +Jon Karyl shrugged as he was led from the lighted room through more +corridors. If it got too bad he still had the stubray pistol. + +Anyway, he was curious. He'd taken on the lonely, nerve-wracking job of +service station attendant just to see what it offered. + +Here was a part of it, and it was certainly something new. + +"This is the examination room," his Steel-Blue said, almost +contemptuously. + +A green effulgence surrounded him. + + * * * * * + +There was a hiss. Simultaneously, as the tiny microphone on the outside +of his suit picked up the hiss, he felt a chill go through his body. +Then it seemed as if a half dozen hands were inside him, examining his +internal organs. His stomach contracted. He felt a squeeze on his heart. +His lungs tickled. + +There were several more queer motions inside his body. + +Then another Steel-Blue voice said: + +"He is a soft-metal creature, made up of metals that melt at a very low +temperature. He also contains a liquid whose makeup I cannot ascertain +by ray-probe. Bring him back when the torture is done." + +Jon Karyl grinned a trifle wryly. What kind of torture could this be? + +Would it last 21 days? He glanced at the chronometer on his wrist. + +Jon's Steel-Blue led him out of the alien ship and halted expectantly +just outside the ship's lock. + +Jon Karyl waited, too. He thought of the stubray pistol holstered at his +hip. Shoot my way out? It'd be fun while it lasted. But he toted up the +disadvantages. + +He either would have to find a hiding place on the asteroid, and if the +Steel-Blues wanted him bad enough they could tear the whole place to +pieces, or somehow get aboard the little life ship hidden in the service +station. + +In that he would be just a sitting duck. + +He shrugged off the slight temptation to use the pistol. He was still +curious. + +And he was interested in staying alive as long as possible. There was a +remote chance he might warn the SP ship. Unconsciously, he glanced +toward his belt to see the little power pack which, if under ideal +conditions, could finger out fifty thousand miles into space. + +If he could somehow stay alive the 21 days he might be able to warn the +patrol. He couldn't do it by attempting to flee, for his life would be +snuffed out immediately. + +The Steel-Blue said quietly: + +"It might be ironical to let you warn that SP ship you keep thinking +about. But we know your weapon now. Already our ship is equipped with a +force field designed especially to deflect your atomic guns." + +Jon Karyl covered up his thoughts quickly. They can delve deeper than +the surface of the mind. Or wasn't I keeping a leash on my thoughts? + +The Steel-Blue chuckled. "You get--absent-minded, is it?--every once in +a while." + +Just then four other Steel-Blues appeared lugging great sheets of +plastic and various other equipment. + +They dumped their loads and began unbundling them. + +Working swiftly, they built a plastic igloo, smaller than the living +room in the larger service station igloo. They ranged instruments +inside--one of them Jon Karyl recognized as an air pump from within the +station--and they laid out a pallet. + +When they were done Jon saw a miniature reproduction of the service +station, lacking only the cannon cap and fin, and with clear plastic +walls instead of the opaqueness of the other. + +His Steel-Blue said: "We have reproduced the atmosphere of your station +so that you be watched while you undergo the torture under the normal +conditions of your life." + +"What is this torture?" Jon Karyl asked. + +The answer was almost caressing: "It is a liquid we use to dissolve +metals. It causes joints to harden if even so much as a drop remains on +it long. It eats away the metal, leaving a scaly residue which crumbles +eventually into dust. + +"We will dilute it with a harmless liquid for you since No. 1 does not +wish you to die instantly. + +"Enter your"--the Steel-Blue hesitated--"mausoleum. You die in your own +atmosphere. However, we took the liberty of purifying it. There were +dangerous elements in it." + +Jon walked into the little igloo. The Steel-Blues sealed the lock, +fingered dials and switches on the outside. Jon's space suit deflated. +Pressure was building up in the igloo. + +He took a sample of the air, found that it was good, although quite rich +in oxygen compared with what he'd been using in the service station and +in his suit. + +With a sigh of relief he took off his helmet and gulped huge draughts of +the air. + +He sat down on the pallet and waited for the torture to begin. + +The Steel Blues crowded about the igloo, staring at him through +elliptical eyes. + +Apparently, they too, were waiting for the torture to begin. + +Jon thought the excess of oxygen was making him light-headed. + +He stared at a cylinder which was beginning to sprout tentacles from the +circle. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. An opening, like the +adjustable eye-piece of a spacescope, was appearing in the center of the +cylinder. + +A square, glass-like tumbler sat in the opening disclosed in the +four-foot cylinder that had sprouted tentacles. It contained a yellowish +liquid. + +One of the tentacles reached into the opening and clasped the glass. The +opening closed and the cylinder, propelled by locomotor appendages, +moved toward Jon. + +He didn't like the looks of the liquid in the tumbler. It looked like an +acid of some sort. He raised to his feet. + +He unsheathed the stubray gun and prepared to blast the cylinder. + + * * * * * + +The cylinder moved so fast Jon felt his eyes jump in his head. He +brought the stubray gun up--but he was helpless. The pistol kept on +going up. With a deft movement, one of the tentacles had speared it from +his hand and was holding it out of his reach. + +Jon kicked at the glass in the cylinder's hand. But he was too slow. Two +tentacles gripped the kicking leg. Another struck him in the chest, +knocking him to the pallet. The same tentacle, assisted by a new one, +pinioned his shoulders. + +Four tentacles held him supine. The cylinder lifted a glass-like cap +from the tumbler of liquid. + +Lying there helplessly, Jon was remembering an old fairy tale he'd read +as a kid. Something about a fellow named Socrates who was given a cup of +hemlock to drink. It was the finis for Socrates. But the old hero had +been nonchalant and calm about the whole thing. + +With a sigh, Jon Karyl, who was curious unto death, relaxed and said, +"All right, bub, you don't have to force-feed me. I'll take it like a +man." + +The cylinder apparently understood him, for it handed him the tumbler. +It even reholstered his stubray pistol. + +Jon brought the glass of liquid under his nose. The fumes of the liquid +were pungent. It brought tears to his eyes. + +He looked at the cylinder, then at the Steel-Blues crowding around the +plastic igloo. He waved the glass at the audience. + +"To Earth, ever triumphant," he toasted. Then he drained the glass at a +gulp. + +Its taste was bitter, and he felt hot prickles jab at his scalp. It was +like eating very hot peppers. His eyes filled with tears. He coughed as +the stuff went down. + +But he was still alive, he thought in amazement. He'd drunk the hemlock +and was still alive. + +The reaction set in quickly. He hadn't known until then how tense he'd +been. Now with the torture ordeal over, he relaxed. He laid down on the +pallet and went to sleep. + +There was one lone Steel-Blue watching him when he rubbed the sleep out +of his eyes and sat up. + +He vanished almost instantly. He, or another like him, returned +immediately accompanied by a half-dozen others, including the +multi-tentacled creature known as No. 1. + +One said, + +"You are alive." The thought registered amazement. "When you lost +consciousness, we thought you had"--there was a hesitation--"as you say, +died." + +"No," Jon Karyl said. "I didn't die. I was just plain dead-beat so I +went to sleep." The Steel-Blues apparently didn't understand. + +"Good it is that you live. The torture will continue," spoke No. 1 +before loping away. + +The cylinder business began again. This time, Jon drank the bitter +liquid slowly, trying to figure out what it was. It had a familiar, +tantalizing taste but he couldn't quite put a taste-finger on it. + +His belly said he was hungry. He glanced at his chronometer. Only 20 +days left before the SP ship arrived. + +Would this torture--he chuckled--last until then? But he was growing +more and more conscious that his belly was screaming for hunger. The +liquid had taken the edge off his thirst. + +It was on the fifth day of his torture that Jon Karyl decided that he +was going to get something to eat or perish in the attempt. + +The cylinder sat passively in its niche in the circle. A dozen +Steel-Blues were watching as Jon put on his helmet and unsheathed his +stubray. + +They merely watched as he pressed the stubray's firing stud. Invisible +rays licked out of the bulbous muzzle of the pistol. The plastic +splintered. + +Jon was out of his goldfish bowl and striding toward his own igloo +adjacent to the service station when a Steel-Blue accosted him. + +"Out of my way," grunted Jon, waving the stubray. "I'm hungry." + +"I'm the first Steel-Blue you met," said the creature who barred his +way. "Go back to your torture." + +"But I'm so hungry I'll chew off one of your tentacles and eat it +without seasoning." + +"Eat?" The Steel-Blue sounded puzzled. + +"I want to refuel. I've got to have food to keep my engine going." + +Steel-Blue chuckled. "So the hemlock, as you call it, is beginning to +affect you at last? Back to the torture room." + +"Like R-dust," Jon growled. He pressed the firing stud on the stubray +gun. One of Steel-Blue's tentacles broke off and fell to the rocky +sward. + +Steel-Blue jerked out the box he'd used once before. A tentacle danced +over it. + +Abruptly Jon found himself standing on a pinnacle of rock. Steel-Blue +had cut a swath around him 15 feet deep and five feet wide. + +"Back to the room," Steel-Blue commanded. + +Jon resheathed the stubray pistol, shrugged non-committally and leaped +the trench. He walked slowly back and reentered the torture chamber. + +The Steel-Blues rapidly repaired the damage he'd done. + +As he watched them, Jon was still curious, but he was getting mad +underneath at the cold egoism of the Steel-Blues. + +By the shimmering clouds of Earth, by her green fields, and dark +forests, he'd stay alive to warn the SP ship. + +Yes, he'd stay alive till then. And send the story of the Steel-Blues' +corrosive acid to it. Then hundreds of Earth's ships could equip +themselves with spray guns and squirt citric acid and watch the +Steel-Blues fade away. + +It sounded almost silly to Jon Karyl. The fruit acid of Earth to repel +these invaders--it doesn't sound possible. That couldn't be the answer. + +Citric acid wasn't the answer, Jon Karyl discovered a week later. + +The Steel-Blue who had captured him in the power room of the service +station came in to examine him. + +"You're still holding out, I see," he observed after poking Jon in every +sensitive part of his body. + +"I'll suggest to No. 1 that we increase the power of the--ah--hemlock. +How do you feel?" + +Between the rich oxygen and the dizziness of hunger, Jon was a bit +delirious. But he answered honestly enough: "My guts feel as if they're +chewing each other up. My bones ache. My joints creak. I can't +coordinate I'm so hungry." + +"That is the hemlock," Steel-Blue said. + +It was when he quaffed the new and stronger draught that Jon knew that +his hope that it was citric acid was squelched. + +The acid taste was weaker which meant that the citric acid was the +diluting liquid. It was the liquid he couldn't taste beneath the tang of +the citric acid that was the corrosive acid. + +On the fourteenth day, Jon was so weak he didn't feel much like moving +around. He let the cylinder feed him the hemlock. + +No. 1 came again to see him, and went away chuckling, "Decrease the +dilution. This Earthman at last is beginning to suffer." + + * * * * * + +Staying alive had now become a fetish with Jon. + +On the sixteenth day, the Earthman realized that the Steel-Blues also +were waiting for the SP ship. + +The extra-terrestrials had repaired the blue ship where the service +station atomic ray had struck. And they were doing a little target +practice with plastic bubbles only a few miles above the asteroid. + +When his chronometer clocked off the beginning of the twenty-first day, +Jon received a tumbler of the hemlock from the hands of No. 1 himself. + +"It is the hemlock," he chuckled, "undiluted. Drink it and your torture +is over. You will die before your SP ship is destroyed. + +"We have played with you long enough. Today we begin to toy with your SP +ship. Drink up, Earthman, drink to enslavement." + +Weak though he was Jon lunged to his feet, spilling the tumbler of +liquid. It ran cool along the plastic arm of his space suit. He changed +his mind about throwing the contents on No. 1. + +With a smile he set the glass at his lips and drank. Then he laughed at +No. 1. + +"The SP ship will turn your ship into jelly." + +No. 1 swept out, chuckling. "Boast if you will, Earthman, it's your last +chance." + +There was an exultation in Jon's heart that deadened the hunger and +washed away the nausea. + +At last he knew what the hemlock was. + +He sat on the pallet adjusting the little power-pack radio. The SP ship +should now be within range of the set. The space patrol was notorious +for its accuracy in keeping to schedule. Seconds counted like years. +They had to be on the nose, or it meant disaster or death. + +He sent out the call letters. + +"AX to SP-101 ... AX to SP-101 ... AX to SP-101 ..." + +Three times he sent the call, then began sending his message, hoping +that his signal was reaching the ship. He couldn't know if they +answered. Though the power pack could get out a message over a vast +distance, it could not pick up messages even when backed by an SP ship's +power unless the ship was only a few hundred miles away. + +The power pack was strictly a distress signal. + +He didn't know how long he'd been sending, nor how many times his weary +voice had repeated the short but desperate message. + +He kept watching the heavens and hoping. + +Abruptly he knew the SP ship was coming, for the blue ship of the +Steel-Blues was rising silently from the asteroid. + +Up and up it rose, then flames flickered in a circle about its curious +shape. The ship disappeared, suddenly accelerating. + +Jon Karyl strained his eyes. + +Finally he looked away from the heavens to the two Steel-Blues who stood +negligently outside the goldfish bowl. + +Once more, Jon used the stubray pistol. He marched out of the plastic +igloo and ran toward the service station. + +He didn't know how weak he was until he stumbled and fell only a few +feet from his prison. + +The Steel-Blues just watched him. + +He crawled on, around the circular pit in the sward of the asteroid +where one Steel-Blue had shown him the power of his weapon. + +He'd been crawling through a nightmare for years when the quiet voice +penetrated his dulled mind. + +"Take it easy, Karyl. You're among friends." + +He pried open his eyes with his will. He saw the blue and gold of a +space guard's uniform. He sighed and drifted into unconsciousness. + + * * * * * + +He was still weak days later when Capt. Ron Small of SP-101 said, + +"Yes, Karyl, it's ironical. They fed you what they thought was sure +death, and it's the only thing that kept you going long enough to warn +us." + +"I was dumb for a long time," Karyl said. "I thought that it was the +acid, almost to the very last. But when I drank that last glass, I knew +they didn't have a chance. + +"They were metal monsters. No wonder they feared that liquid. It would +rust their joints, short their wiring, and kill them. No wonder they +stared when I kept alive after drinking enough to completely annihilate +a half-dozen of them. + +"But what happened when you met the ship?" + +The space captain grinned. + +"Not much. Our crew was busy creating a hollow shell filled with _water_ +to be shot out of a rocket tube converted into a projectile thrower. + +"These Steel-Blues, as you call them, put traction beams on us and +started tugging us toward the asteroid. We tried a couple of atomic +shots but when they just glanced off, we gave up. + +"They weren't expecting the shell of water. When it hit that blue ship, +you could almost see it oxidize before your eyes. + +"I guess they knew what was wrong right away. They let go the traction +beams and tried to get away. They forgot about the force field, so we +just poured atomic fire into the weakening ship. It just melted away." + +Jon Karyl got up from the divan where he'd been lying. "They thought I +was a metal creature, too. But where do you suppose they came from?" + +The captain shrugged. "Who knows?" + +Jon set two glasses on the table. + +"Have a drink of the best damn water in the solar system?" He asked +Capt. Small. + +"Don't mind if I do." + +The water twinkled in the two glasses, winking as if it knew just what +it had done. + + + + +Transcriber's Note: + + This etext was produced from _Planet Stories_ July 1952. Extensive + research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on + this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and typographical + errors have been corrected without note. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Acid Bath, by Vaseleos Garson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ACID BATH *** + +***** This file should be named 29159.txt or 29159.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/1/5/29159/ + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +https://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +https://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/29159.zip b/29159.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..5aceb6c --- /dev/null +++ b/29159.zip diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..88051af --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #29159 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29159) |
