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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf 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..446a578 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #62186 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/62186) diff --git a/old/62186-h.zip b/old/62186-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 6e43e9c..0000000 --- a/old/62186-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62186-h/62186-h.htm b/old/62186-h/62186-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 5ee8bc9..0000000 --- a/old/62186-h/62186-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1641 +0,0 @@ -<!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=us-ascii" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of Space Oasis, by Raymond Z. Gallun. - </title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.caption {font-weight: bold;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -.caption p -{ - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0; - margin: 0.25em 0; -} - -div.titlepage { - text-align: center; - page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; -} - -div.titlepage p { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; - font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; - margin-top: 3em; -} - -.ph1 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; } -.ph1 { font-size: medium; margin: .83em auto; } - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Space Oasis, by Raymond Z. Gallun - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Space Oasis - -Author: Raymond Z. Gallun - -Release Date: May 21, 2020 [EBook #62186] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPACE OASIS *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="347" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>SPACE OASIS</h1> - -<h2>By RAYMOND Z. GALLUN</h2> - -<p>Space-weary rocketmen dreamed of an<br /> -asteroid Earth. But power-mad Norman<br /> -Haynes had other plans—and he<br /> -spread his control lines in a<br /> -doom-net for that oasis in space.</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Planet Stories Fall 1942.<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>I found Nick Mavrocordatus scanning the bulletin board at the Haynes -Shipping Office on Enterprize Asteroid, when I came back with a load of -ore from the meteor swarms.</p> - -<p>He looked at me with that funny curve on his lips, that might have been -called a smile, and said, "Hi, Chet," as casually as though we'd seen -each other within the last twenty-four hours.... "Queer laws they got -in the Space Code, eh? The one that insists on the posting of casualty -lists, for instance. You'd think the Haynes Company would like to keep -such things dark."</p> - -<p>I didn't say anything for a moment, as my eyes went down those narrow, -typed columns on the bulletin board: Joe Tiffany—dead—space armor -defect.... Hermann Schmidt and Lan Harool—missing—vicinity of -Pallas.... Irvin Davidson—hospitalized—space blindness....</p> - -<p>There was a score of names of men I didn't know, in that -space-blindness column. And beneath, there was a much longer line of -common Earth-born and Martian John-Henrys, with the laconic tag added -at the top—<i>hospitalized</i>—<i>mental</i>. Ditto marks saved the trouble of -retyping the tag itself, after each name.</p> - -<p>One name caught my eye.</p> - -<p>Ted Bradley was listed there. Ted Bradley from St. Louis, my and Nick -Mavrocordatus' home town. It gave me a little jolt, and a momentary -lump somewhere under my Adam's Apple. I knew the state Bradley would be -in. Not a man any more—no longer keen and sure of himself. A year out -here among the asteroids had changed all that forever.</p> - -<p>Shoving from one drifting, meteoric lump to another, in a tiny space -boat. Chipping at those huge, grey masses with a test hammer that -makes no sound in the voidal vacuum. Crawling over jagged surfaces, -looking for ores of radium and tantalum and carium—stuff fabulously -costly enough to be worth collecting, for shipment back to the -industries of Earth, at fabulous freight rates, on rocket craft whose -pay-load is so small, and where every gram of mass is at premium.</p> - -<p>No, Ted Bradley would never be himself again. Like so many others. It -was an old story. The almost complete lack of gravity, out here among -the asteroids, had disturbed his nerve-centers, while cosmic rays -seeped through his leaded helmet, slowly damaging his brain.</p> - -<p>There was more to it than the airlessness, and absence of weight, and -the cosmic rays. There was the utter silence, and the steady stars, and -the blackness between them, and the blackness of the shadows, like the -fangs of devils in the blazing sunshine. All of this was harder than -the soul of any living being.</p> - -<p>And on top of all this, there was usually defeat and shattered hope. -Not many futures were made among the asteroids by those who dug for -their living. Prices of things brought from Earth in fragile, costly -space craft were too high. Moments of freedom and company were too -rare, and so, hard-won wealth ran like water.</p> - -<p>Ted Bradley was gone from us. Call him a corpse, really. In the -hospital here on Enterprize, he was either a raving maniac, or -else—almost worse—he was like a little child, crooning over the -wonder of his fingers.</p> - -<p>It got me for a second. But then I shrugged. I'd been out here two -years. An old timer. I knew how empires were built. I knew, better -than most, how to get along out here. Be fatalistic and casual. Don't -worry. Don't plan too much. That way I'd stayed right-side-up. I'd even -had quite a lot of fun, being an adventurer, against that gigantic, -awesome background of the void.</p> - -<p>I didn't consider my thoughts about Ted Bradley worth mentioning to -Nick Mavrocordatus. He was probably thinking about Ted, too, and that -was enough.</p> - -<p>"Come on, Nick," I said. "They've got my ore weighed and analyzed for -content in the hopper rooms. I'm going into the pay-office and get my -dough. Then we might shove off to the Iridium Circle, or some other -joint, and have us a time, huh?"</p> - -<p>Nick laughed, then, good-naturedly, triumphantly. I gave him a sharp -glance, noticing that under his faintly bitter air, there seemed to be -something big. Some idea that gripped him, confused him, thrilled him. -His small, knotty body was taut with it; his dark eyes, under the curly -black hair that straggled down his forehead, glowed with a far-away -look.</p> - -<p>Of course, he was still very young—only twenty-two, which to me, -at twenty-five, with a six-months edge of asteroid-lore beyond his -year and a half of experience, made me feel old and disillusioned and -practical, by comparison.</p> - -<p>"All right, Chet," he said at last. "Let's get your money. Celebrations -are in order—on me, though. But I guess we'd better soft-pedal them -some. I've got a lot to tell you, and more to do."</p> - -<p>I didn't give his words proper attention, just then. I swaggered into -the pay office, where a couple of stenogs clicked typewriters, and -where Norman Haynes, acting head of the Haynes Shipping Company, sat at -his desk, under the painted portrait of his uncle, that grizzled old -veteran, Art Haynes, who had retired years ago, and who now lived on -Earth.</p> - -<p>I knew old Art only by reputation. But that was enough to arouse my -deep respect. Between nephew and uncle there was a difference as great -as between night and day. The one, the founder, unafraid to dirty his -hands and face death, and build for the future. Tough, yes, but square, -and willing to pay bonuses to miners even while he'd been struggling -to expand his company, and open up vast, new space trails. The other, -an arm-chair director, holding on tight, now, to an asteroid empire, -legally free of his control, but whose full resources came eventually -into his hands at the expense of others, because he controlled the -fragile, difficult supply lines.</p> - -<p>At sight of me, Norman Haynes arose from his chair. He was very tall, -and he wore an immaculate business suit. He was smooth-shaven, with a -neat haircut, in contrast to my shaggy locks and bristles. Across his -face spread a smile of greeting as broad as it was false.</p> - -<p>"Well—Chet Wallace," he said. "You've done some marvelous meteor -mining, this trip: Nineteen hundred dollars' worth of radium-actinium -ore! Splendid! Maybe you'll do even better next time!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Yeah! I'd seen and heard Norman Haynes act and talk like this before. -He handed out the same line to all of the miners. To me it was forever -irritating. Always I'd wanted to turn that long nose of his back -against his right ear. He and his words were both phony. Always he used -a condescending tone. And I felt that he was a bloodsucker. My anger -was further increased, now, because of Ted Bradley.</p> - -<p>I guess I sneered. "Don't worry about those nineteen hundred dollars, -Mr. Haynes," I said. "When I buy grub, and a few things I need, and -have a little blow, you'll have the money all back."</p> - -<p>Beside the office railing there was a machine—a cigarette vendor. Into -a roller system at its top, I inserted two five-dollar bills from my -pay. There was a faint whir as the robot photographic apparatus checked -the denominations of the notes, and proved their authenticity. Two -packs of cigarettes slipped down into the receiver arrangement.</p> - -<p>"Five bucks apiece, Haynes," I said. "At a fair shipping rate, -cigarettes brought out from Earth aren't worth much more than three -bucks. But you're just a dirty chiseller, not satisfied with a fair -profit. Costs here in the asteroids are naturally plenty steep; but you -make a bad situation worse by charging at least twenty-five per-cent -more than's reasonable! A Venutian stink-louse is more of a gentleman -than you are, Haynes!"</p> - -<p>Oh, there was a Satanic satisfaction in feeling the snarl in my throat, -and seeing Haynes' face go purplish red, and then white with surprise -and fury. Some other space men had entered the pay office, and they hid -their grins of pleasure behind calloused palms.</p> - -<p>First I thought Norman Haynes would swing at me. But he didn't. He -lacked that kind of nerve. He began to sputter and curse under his -breath, and I thought of a snake hissing. I felt the danger of it, -though—danger that broods and plans, and doesn't come out into the -open, but waits its chance to strike. Knowing that it was there, -sizzling in Haynes' mind, gave me a thrill.</p> - -<p>Casually I tossed one of the packs of cigarettes to Nick Mavrocordatus, -who had come with me into the pay office. He gave me a nudge, which -meant we'd better scram. When we were out of the building, he held -me off from going to any of the few tawdry saloons there under the -small, glassed-in airdome of Enterprize City, the one shabby scrap of -civilization and excuse for comfort.</p> - -<p>"No drinks now, Chet," Nick whispered. "Can't chance it. Got to keep -on our toes. In one way I'm glad you talked down to that—whatever you -want to call him. But you've made us the worst possible enemy we could -have—now."</p> - -<p>I shrugged. "What were you gonna tell me before, Nick?" I demanded. "I -gathered you had something plenty big in view."</p> - -<p>He answered me so abruptly that I didn't quite believe my ears at -first. "Pa and Sis and Geedeh and I, have made good, Chet," he said. -"We found—not just pickings—but a real fortune in ore, on planetoid -439. So rich is the deposit that we could buy our own smelting and -purifying machinery, and hire ships under our own control, to take the -refined metals back to Earth!"</p> - -<p>"You're kidding, Nick," I said amazedly.</p> - -<p>"Not a bit of it," he returned.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Then I was pumping his hand, congratulating him. Really good luck was -a phenomenon among the asteroids. That friends of mine, among the -thousands of hopeful ones that I didn't know, should grab the jack-pot, -seemed almost impossible.</p> - -<p>"I suppose you'll all be leaving us soon," I told him. "Going back to -Earth, living the lives of millionaires. I'm glad for you all, kid. -Your Pa can raise his flowers and grapes, instead of starting up in the -truck-garden business again. Your sis, Irene, can study her painting -and her music, like she wants to."</p> - -<p>Anybody can see the way my thoughts were going just then. When you -start out green for the Minor Planets, that's part of what's in your -mind, first—get rich, come back to Earth.</p> - -<p>Nick sighed heavily as we walked along. That funny smile was on -his lips again. He glanced around, and the emerald light of the -illuminators was on his young face.</p> - -<p>Then he said, "I don't think it's quite safe to talk here, Chet. -Better come to our old space jaloppy, the <i>Corfu</i>."</p> - -<p>The <i>Corfu</i> was on the ways outside the dome. We put on space suits to -reach it. Inside, the old crate smelled of cooking odors, some of them -maybe accumulated over the eighteen months the Mavrocordatuses had been -asteroid mining. Old ships are hard to ventilate, with their imperfect -air-purifiers.</p> - -<p>The instruments in the control room, were battered and patched; and -from the living quarters to the rear, issued a duet of snores—one -throaty and rattly, Pa Mavrocordatus' beyond doubt; and the other an -intermittent hiss, originating unquestionably in the dust-filtering -hairs in the larynx of Geedeh, the little Martian scientist, whom Nick -had befriended.</p> - -<p>"I can't figure you out, Nick," I said. "Rich, and not leaving this -hell-hole of space. You're an idiot."</p> - -<p>"So are you, Chet," he returned knowingly. "In my place, you wouldn't -go either—at least not without regrets. In spite of all hell, there's -something big here in space that gets you. You feel like nothing, -yourself. But you feel that you're part of something terribly huge and -terribly important. You'd be happy on Earth for a week; then you'd -begin to smother inside. The Minor Planets have become our home, Chet. -It's too late to break the ties."</p> - -<p>Slowly it soaked into my mind that Nick was right.</p> - -<p>"Not to say anything bad against old Mother Earth, Chet," he continued. -"Far from it! That's just what's needed out here—a little touch of -our native scene. Growing things. A piece of blue sky, maybe. Enough -gravity to make a man believe in solid ground again."</p> - -<p>Right then I began to smell Nick's plan, not only what it was, but all -the impractical dreamer part of it.</p> - -<p>I began to grin, but there was a kind of sadness in me, too. "Sure! -Sure, Nick!" I chided. "The idea's as old as the hills! Rejuvenate -some asteroid. Bring in soil and water and air from Earth. Install a -big gravity-generating unit. Ha! Have you any idea how many ships it -would take to bring those thousands and thousands of tons of stuff out -here—even to get started?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>I was talking loud. My voice was booming through the rusty hull of the -<i>Corfu</i>, making ringing echoes. So just about as I finished, they were -all around me. Pa Mavrocordatus, in pajamas and ragged dressing gown, -his handle-bar moustaches bristling. Geedeh, the tiny Martian, draped -in a checkered Earthly blanket, his great eyes blinking, and his tiny -fingers, with fleshy knobs at their ends instead of nails, twiddling -nervously near the center of his barrel-chest. And Irene, too, standing -straight and defiant and little, in her blue smock.</p> - -<p>Irene hadn't been sleeping. Probably she'd been washing dishes, and -straightening up the galley after supper. She still had a dish towel in -her hands. Wealth hadn't altered the Mavrocordatus' mode of life, yet. -Irene looked like a bold little kewpie, her dark head of tousled, curly -hair, not up to my shoulder. She was exquisitely pretty; but now she -was somewhat irritated.</p> - -<p>She shook a finger up at me, angrily. "You think Nick has a dumb idea, -eh, Chet Wallace?" she accused. "That's only because you don't know -what you're talking about! We won't have to bring a drop of water, or a -molecule of air or soil, out from Earth! You ask Geedeh!"</p> - -<p>I turned toward the little Martian. The dark pupil-slits, and the -yellow irises of his huge eyes, covered me. "Irene has spoken the -truth, Chet," he told me in his slow, labored English. "The Asteroid -Belt, the many hundreds of fragments that compose it, are the remains -of a planet that exploded. So there is soil on many of the asteroids. -Dried out—yes—after most of the water and air disappeared into space, -following the catastrophe. But the soil can still be useful. And there -is still water, not in free, liquid form, but combined in ancient rock -strata; gypsum, especially. It is like on Mars, when the atmosphere -began to get too thin for us to breathe, and the water very scarce on -the dusty deserts."</p> - -<p>I said nothing, wished I had kept silent.</p> - -<p>"We roasted gypsum in atomic furnaces," Geedeh finished, "driving -the water out as steam, and reclaiming it for our underground -cities. The same can be done here among the Minor Planets. And since -water is hydrogen dioxide, oxygen can be obtained from it, too, by -electrolysis. Nitrogen and carbon dioxide, necessary to complete the -new atmosphere, which will be prevented from leaking into space by the -force of the artificial gravity, can be obtained from native nitrates, -and other compounds. Only vital parts of the machinery need be brought -out from Earth and Mars by rocket. The rest can be made here, from -native materials."</p> - -<p>Geedeh's voice, as he spoke to me, was a soft, sibilant whisper, like -the rustle of red dust in a cold, thin, Martian wind.</p> - -<p>"You bet," Pa Mavrocordatus enthused. "Nick's got a good idea. I'm -gonna raise my flowers! I'm gonna raise tomatoes and cabbages and -carrots, right here on one of them asteroids!"</p> - -<p>It struck me as funny—asteroids—cabbages! Nothing I could think of, -could seem quite that far apart. Black, airless vacuum, rough rocks, -and raw, spacial sunshine! And things from a truck garden! It didn't -match. But then, Pa Mavrocordatus didn't match the asteroids either! -He'd had a truck garden once, outside of St. Louis. And yet he was out -here in space, and had been for a year and a half!</p> - -<p>Well, even if the idea <i>was</i> practical, I thought first that they were -still just dreaming—kidding themselves that it would be a cinch to -accomplish. And not being able to fight through.</p> - -<p>Then I glanced back at Nick. That look on his face was there again. A -strange mixture of confidence, worry, grimness, and vision. It came to -me then that he was no kid at all.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"Let me in on the job?" I asked hopefully.</p> - -<p>"Sure!" Nick returned. "We wouldn't be telling you all this, if we -didn't want you. That's why we came back to Enterprize—hoping to find -you around some place."</p> - -<p>So I was in. Part of a wild scheme of progress—more thrilling -and inspiring because it seemed so wild. An asteroid made into a -tiny, artificial Earth! A boon to void-weary space men! A source of -cheap food supplies, as well as a place to rest up. A new stage of -colonization—empire building!</p> - -<p>And then I thought I heard a sound—a faint clinking outside of the -hull of the <i>Corfu</i>. At once, I was alert—taut. Maybe half of my -sudden worry was intuition, or a form of telepathy. When you've been -out in deep space, a million miles away from any other living soul, you -feel a vast, hollow loneliness, that perhaps is mostly the absence of -human telepathy waves from other minds. But when you have people around -you once more, your sixth sense seems keener for the period of lack. -That was why I was sure of an eavesdropper, sensing his presence. With -proper sub-microphonic equipment, a man outside a space ship can hear -every word spoken inside.</p> - -<p>Nick felt it too. "But we'd better look and see," he whispered. "Norman -Haynes keeps spies around. And he may have heard rumors. You can't keep -a project like ours secret very long. It's too big."</p> - -<p>My pulses jumped with fear, as I piled into my space suit. But when -Nick and I got through the airlock together, there was nobody in sight. -Only some footprints in the faint rocket dust of the ways, covering our -own footprints, where we'd passed before, coming to the <i>Corfu</i>. Our -flashlights showed them plainly.</p> - -<p>"Having a rejuvenated asteroid in these parts, producing fresh food -and so forth, would take a lot of trade away from the Haynes Shipping -Company, wouldn't it?" I said when we were back in the cabin once -more. "Norman Haynes wouldn't be practically boss of the Minor Planets -anymore, would he? He wouldn't like that. He'll fight us."</p> - -<p>"We need you, Chet," Irene said, her eyes appealing. That was enough -for me.</p> - -<p>"We'd better blast off right away," Nick added. "We're going to -asteroid 487, Chet. Its new name is Paradise. It's the one we've -picked."</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">II</p> - -<p>Asteroid 487 was the usual thing. A torn, jagged, airless fragment. -It was no paradise yet, unless it was a paradise of devils. Nick had -a thousand men hired—space roustabouts, and a lot of mechanics and -technicians, mostly fresh from Earth. Sure, it's hard handling a bunch -like that, but there was nothing in this difficulty that we didn't know -was part of the job. Some of our outfit gave us horse-laughs, but they -worked. The pay was good.</p> - -<p>The ships came through with the packed loads of machinery. Atomic -forges blazed, purifying native meteoric iron to complete the vast -gravity-generating machine, sunk in a shaft at the center of the -planetoid, ten miles down. Geedeh directed most of the work. Nick and -I saw that orders were carried out, swearing, sweating, and making -speeches intended to inspire.</p> - -<p>And then the trouble started.</p> - -<p>A rocket, bringing in food, and money to pay our crews, blew up in -space, just as it was coming close. The light of the blast was blinding -and awesome, making even the bright stars seem to vanish for a moment. -Atomic rocket fuel going up. Gobs of molten metal dripped groundward, -like real meteors heated in an atmosphere which still didn't exist.</p> - -<p>It could have been an accident. You can't always control titanic atomic -power, and space ships fly to pieces quite frequently. But then I had a -suspicion that maybe this wasn't an accident.</p> - -<p>Nick and I were in the open plain to see it happen. He'd just come from -the airtight barracks we'd built. His face didn't change much behind -the quartz crystal of his oxygen helmet—it only sobered a trifle. -While the fiery wreckage of the rocket was still falling in shreds and -fragments, he spoke, his voice clicking in my receptor phones:</p> - -<p>"Yeah, Chet.... And there's trouble on asteroid 439, too, where our -mines are located. I just got the radio message, back at the office. -Sabotage, and some men killed. It seems that some of the workmen are -trying to break things up for us. Harley's in charge. I think he can -handle matters—for a while."</p> - -<p>"I hope so," I answered fervently. "If the work only turns out right at -this end. With that ship smashed, we'll be on short rations for a week. -And we've lost some important machinery. The pay money's insured, but -the men won't like the delay."</p> - -<p>I didn't expect much trouble from the crew—yet. It was Irene that -really helped the most—mastered the situation. She'd taken over the -management of the kitchens since the start of the work.</p> - -<p>But now she had an additional job. She talked to that rough crew of -ours. "We're going to win, boys!" she told them. "We know what we've -got to do: Our task is for the good of every one of us—and for many -people yet to come!"</p> - -<p>Simple, straightforward, inspiring talk. Funny what men will do for -a pretty girl—against hell itself. But that wasn't all of it. The -paintings of hers, that she'd hung in our recreation room, showed what -asteroid 487 <i>could</i> be, when we were finished with it.</p> - -<p>Space men are the toughest kind of adventurers that ever lived. But -adventurers are always optimists, sentimentalists, romanticists, no -matter how hard the exterior. And space men, by the very nature of the -appalling region to which they belong, believe in miracles.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>They cheered the thought—most of those tough men. I cheered, too. But -the miracle hadn't happened yet, and in the back of my mind, there -was always the fear that it wouldn't happen. Those crags were still -bleak and star-washed. Deader than any tomb! It wasn't an impossible -wonder—technically—to change all this. But perhaps it was impossible, -anyway—because of Norman Haynes! He was the only person who had the -power and the reason to stop all that we were attempting. The sabotage -and killings must be incited by him—certain members of our crews must -be in his hire. Quite probably the rocket that had blown up had been -secretly mined with explosive, under his orders, too.</p> - -<p>But there is nothing harder to fight than those subtle methods. We had -no proof, and no easy means of getting it. We could only go on with -our task. Geedeh and the rest of us worked hopefully. One segment of -asteroid 487, had been part of the surface of that old world that had -exploded. From here we spread the dry soil over the planetoid's jagged -terrain, drawing it in atom trucks. More soil was brought in from other -asteroids. The great rock-roasting furnaces were put up. Gypsum was -heated in them, releasing its water in great clouds of steam, which -the artificial gravity kept from drifting off into space. Some of the -water, under electrolysis, yielded oxygen. Nitrogen came from nitrates.</p> - -<p>Our gravity machine needed readjustments now and then. To a large -extent, the thousands of parts that composed it were electrical. Great -coils converted magnetic force into gravitation.</p> - -<p>One ship reached us all right, bringing seeds and food. Another didn't. -It blew up in space, the second to go. Then somebody tried to get -Geedeh, the Martian, with a heat ray. Another food ship failed to -arrive.</p> - -<p>Then Norman Haynes came to visit us. He landed before we had a chance -to refuse to receive him. He had a body-guard of a dozen men. He was -our enemy, but we couldn't prove it. He seemed to have forgotten the -little brush between himself and me, at his office.</p> - -<p>"Splendid layout you've got, Wallace and Mavrocordatus!" he said to -Nick and me, pronouncing Nick's name perfectly. He sounded very much -like his usual self. "Of course there's bound to be difficulties. -Trouble with crews, and so on. It's hard to get people to believe in -a project as fantastic as this. I didn't quite believe in it, either, -at first. But the facts are proved, now that the groundwork is laid. -You'll need help, fellows. I can give it to you."</p> - -<p>He was smiling, but under the smile I could see a snaky smirk, which -probably he didn't know showed. I felt fury rising inside me. He was -trying to get control of our project, now that he saw for sure that it -could amount to something. Competition he feared, but if he had control -he could enforce his high prices, keep his empire, and expand his -wealth by millions of dollars. His dirty work must have been partly an -attempt to force the issue.</p> - -<p>"Thanks," Nick told him quietly. "But we prefer to do everything alone."</p> - -<p>Our visitor shrugged, standing there at the door of his space boat. -"Okay," he breezed. "Get in touch with me, if you feel you need me!"</p> - -<p>Some hours later, a radiogram came through from Earth. -"<i>Congratulations!</i>" it read. "<i>Stick to your guns! I like people with -imagination. Maybe I'll be back in harness soon myself.—Art Haynes.</i>"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"He's probably just being sarcastic," I said bitterly.</p> - -<p>"Old devil!" Pa Mavrocordatus growled.</p> - -<p>Two men were killed just thirty minutes after the message was received. -A little thin-faced fellow named Sparr did it. But he got away in a -space boat before we could catch him. A paid killer and trouble maker.</p> - -<p>The incident put our crew more on edge than before. A half dozen of the -newcomers—mechanics from Earth—quit abruptly. Our food was almost -gone. We got another shipload in, but the growing unrest didn't abate, -though we kept on for another month. There was similar trouble on 439, -where the Mavrocordatus money came from. But maybe we'd make the grade, -anyway.</p> - -<p>We had a pretty dense atmosphere already, on Paradise Asteroid. The -black sky had turned blue now. The ground was moist with water. Earthly -buildings were going up. Pa Mavrocordatus had had seeds and small trees -and things planted. It was that deceptive moment of success, before the -real blow came.</p> - -<p>After sunset one night, I heard shots. I raced out of the barracks, -Geedeh, Irene, and Pa Mavrocordatus following me. We all carried blast -tubes.</p> - -<p>We found Nick in a gorge, his body half burned through, just above his -right hip. But he was still alive. He had a blast tube in one hand. -Two men lay on the rocks and earth in front of him, dead. Beside them, -glinting in our flashlight beams, was an aluminum cylinder.</p> - -<p>"It's a bacteria culture container, Chet," Nick whispered. "They had me -caught, and they bragged a little before I did some fast moving, and -got one of their blast tubes. Venutian Black-Rot germs. They were going -to dump them in the drinking water supply. They mentioned—Haynes...."</p> - -<p>Nick couldn't say much more than that. But he'd saved our lives. He -died there in my arms, a hero to progress, a little breeze in the new -atmosphere he'd helped to create rumpling his curly hair. He'd died for -his dream of beauty and betterment.</p> - -<p>Poor little Irene couldn't even cry. Her face was white, and she was -stricken mute. Her pa was shaken by great sobs, and he babbled threats. -I told him to shut up. Geedeh cursed in his own language, his voice a -soft, deadly hiss, his little fists clenching and unclenching.</p> - -<p>"Too bad Nick had to kill these men!" I growled. "We could have made -'em talk. We'd have evidence. The law would take care of Norman -Haynes!"</p> - -<p>"But we ain't got nothing!" Pa Mavrocordatus groaned. "Nothing!"</p> - -<p>Geedeh's face was twisted into a Martian snarl of hate. Irene stared, -as though she were somewhere far away. I tried putting my arm around -her, to bring her back to us. It was a minute before she seemed to -realize I was there.</p> - -<p>"Irene," I said. "I love you. We all love you. Buck up, kid. We can't -quit now—ever! We'd be letting Nick down."</p> - -<p>She just nodded. She couldn't talk.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>A couple of hours later I was meeting our workers in our office. Most -of them tried to be decent about it. "We'd like to stick, Wallace. But -how can we? Nothing to eat...." That was what most of them said, in one -way or another.</p> - -<p>And how could I answer them?</p> - -<p>Some were not so regretful, of course. Some were downright ugly. A -little crazy with space perhaps, or else hopped up with propaganda that -secret agents in Haynes' hire had been spreading among them.</p> - -<p>"Why should we work for you anyway?" they snarled. "Even for good -money, most of which we haven't collected? You're probably like what -we're used to. Just fixing up another place here, to clip us in the -end, charging us prices sky high. Your 'Paradise' is just a little -fancier, that's all."</p> - -<p>So they turned away, and the exodus began. The freight ships blasted -off, one by one, with loads of men. We couldn't stop them. And soon the -silence closed in. We were left alone to bury Nick. The small sun was -bright on the rough pinnacles, and their naked grey stone was bluely -murky in the new air. There was a humid warmth of summer around us.</p> - -<p>Just then, I didn't even feel exactly angry, in the blackness of -failure, Norman Haynes had won, so far. What would be his next step in -completing our final defeat?</p> - -<p>I spent some time in the office, going over records. Presently Pa -Mavrocordatus came rushing from the barracks. His whole fat body -sagged, as he paused before me. His face was like paste. He didn't seem -quite alive.</p> - -<p>"Irene," he croaked. "She's gone ... too...."</p> - -<p>I ran with him to her quarters. There was some disorder. A picture of -her mother was tipped over on a little metal dressing table. A rug was -rumpled, and there was some clothing scattered on the floor. That was -all.</p> - -<p>Geedeh had entered her quarters, too. "Kidnapped," he hissed.</p> - -<p>What Haynes meant to accomplish by having his agents, carry off Irene, -I couldn't imagine. The hate I felt blurred all but the thought of -getting her back to safety. The urge was like a dagger-point, sharp and -clear in the chaos of memories. I knew how much she meant to me now.</p> - -<p>"I need a rocket," I said quietly. "The fastest we've got. I want to -radio the Space Patrol, too."</p> - -<p>"There are no ships left here," Geedeh returned. "The men took them -all, except a little flier, which they meant us to have. But somebody -has smashed it. Our big radio transmitter is smashed, also."</p> - -<p>A minute later I was clawing in the wreckage of tubes and wires, there -in the radio room. The apparatus was completely beyond repair. For the -time being we were helpless, stranded on our asteroid. For a moment -I felt little shouts of madness shrieking in my brain. But Geedeh's -stabbing glance warned me that this was not the way. I fought back, out -of that flash of mania.</p> - -<p>"We'd better break out all of our weapons, Geedeh," I said. "Haynes has -gone too deep to back out now. He's in danger of the Patrol if we talk, -so he'll have to strike at us soon."</p> - -<p>Thus we prepared ourselves as well as we could, for attack. Geedeh, -Pa Mavrocordatus, and I. We equipped ourselves with our best -armament—atomic rifles. Pa Mavrocordatus had gotten over most of his -confusion. He was still sick with grief, but necessity seemed to have -steadied him. He clutched his rifle grimly as we took up positions -behind rock masses at the edge of the landing field.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">III</p> - -<p>We waited silently. The asteroid turned on its axis. The brief night -came. Then we saw the rockets approaching—flaming in on shreds of -blue-white rocket fire. As the two ships slowed for a landing, the -three of us discharged a volley.</p> - -<p>Our atomic bullets burst on impact, dazzling in the dark. The -concussion was terrific.</p> - -<p>"Got one!" I heard Pa Mavrocordatus shout after a moment, his voice -thin through the ringing in my ears. My dazzled eyes saw one ship lying -on its side on the landing field, its meteor armor unpunctured by our -small missiles, but with its landing rockets damaged. The other ship -had grounded itself perfectly.</p> - -<p>We were ready to fire again, when the paralytic waves swept over us. -I saw Geedeh half rise, doubling backward in a rigid spasm, his rifle -flying wide.</p> - -<p>Then I knew no more, until I heard Norman Haynes speaking to us. We -were bound firmly, and it was daylight again, and our captor and his -score of henchmen were smirking.</p> - -<p>"I'm just trying to figure out how to make your deaths seem as -accidental as possible," Haynes said, looking at me. "A couple of men -of mine seem to have bungled a little business of bacteria. Maybe -they blabbed before you fellows killed them. Now, of course, I can't -take any chances. Too bad your reconditioned asteroid has to appear a -failure for a while. But I can't let my taking over seem too obvious. -Have to wait a while. I may be able to start up something here later, -when people sort of forget."</p> - -<p>"What have you done with Irene?" I stormed blackly.</p> - -<p>Haynes' look was quizzical. "Why ask me?" he answered. "She probably -ran off with one of your roustabouts. Or else they decided that she'd -be nice company to have around, and made her go along."</p> - -<p>He laughed cynically. Maybe he was telling the truth about not knowing -where Irene was. But if this was true, it didn't make me feel much -better. If some of his gang, who'd been working with us, had kidnapped -her, there was no telling how badly she'd fare.</p> - -<p>My fears showed on my face, and Norman Haynes seemed to enjoy them, -though he was nervous, dangerously so. It was getting daylight again, -now. He kept glancing at the sky, twiddling his soft hands. He didn't -like physical danger.</p> - -<p>"Your gravity generator seems to be the answer to my prayers, Wallace," -he informed me. "At full force it'll develop at least fifty Earth -gravities, before breaking down and melting itself. We've inspected it. -Power like that'll destroy all of you. It will look like an accident—a -breakdown of the machinery."</p> - -<p>Though Pa Mavrocordatus kept cursing Haynes continuously, and Geedeh -kept calling him names that no Earthman could have translated into our -less vitriolic English, our captor paid them no attention. He kept -directing his threats at me. That was how I knew he was still thinking -of the time in his office at Enterprize, when I'd called him by his -true colors. He still held that grudge, and he meant to pay me back -with fifty gravities. Which means that every pound of Earth-weight -would be increased to fifty pounds! In a grip like that a man as big as -me would weigh a good four tons!</p> - -<p>That meant a heart stopped by the load of the blood it tried to pump, -and tissues crushed by their own weight! Like being on the surface of -some dead star of medium dimensions, where gravity is terrific!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>At Haynes' order, six of his twenty henchmen picked up Geedeh and Pa -and me. The whole bunch was an ugly looking lot, the scum of the space -ports. Some of these men were commanded to stay on the surface of the -planetoid, while we were carried to the elevator shed. In the cage we -descended at dizzying speed to that vault at the center of 487 where -the gravity machinery was housed in its crystal shell. At that depth, -under the load of the column of air above, the atmospheric pressure was -very high. One could not breathe comfortably in that stuffy medium.</p> - -<p>"Courage!" Geedeh gasped to Pa Mavrocordatus and me, while his great -eyes kept roving around, looking for some chance that wasn't there.</p> - -<p>Haynes began to examine the machinery. He was smirking again. "Simple -to do!" he said to his companions. "Set the robot control for gradually -increasing power, so that we'll have time to get away. Break the manual -controls, so that no readjustments can be made. You can cut our friends -loose now, Zinder, so there won't be any ropes to show this was a -put-up job. But keep your blasters on these men—all of you!"</p> - -<p>This was the end, all right. I was sure of it. I'd die without even -knowing what had happened to Irene. Irene, whom I knew now that I -loved....</p> - -<p>We'd been freed of our bonds when the surface phone rang. The lookout -party, whom Haynes had left above, was calling. Our captor snapped on -the switch of the speaker. A voice boomed in that busy cavern of metal -giants, green light, and glinting crystal:</p> - -<p>"Listen, Chief! There's a bunch of specks to the right of the sun. -They're getting bigger fast. Must be a flock of space ships. Couldn't -be any of yours. What'll we do?"</p> - -<p>I saw Haynes' weak features go sallow. Briefly my spirits rose. I -couldn't imagine whom those ships could belong to. But they must be -rescuers of some kind. They were coming to stop Norman Haynes' madness.</p> - -<p>But Haynes was clever, as he quickly proved. "Friends of Wallace here, -I suppose. Maybe even Space Patrol boats," he said over his phone to -the lookout party. "You'll all have to take a discomfort for a while. -We'll use gravity on them, too! They'll never land successfully."</p> - -<p>Pa Mavrocordatus looked at me and Geedeh. "What's he mean—use gravity?"</p> - -<p>Geedeh was a bit quicker than I in giving the obvious answer. "Just -as with us," he said. "Increase the output of the gravity generator -here to a certain degree. From space, the increase will be practically -unnoticeable. The rockets will try to land—but without taking into -consideration the multiplied attractive force, they will crash!"</p> - -<p>"Many birds with one stone!" Haynes chuckled gleefully. "You will -have a short reprieve, friends, while I take care of these intruders, -whoever they are. I can't use too great a gravity on them at first. It -might warn them, if they notice that their ships are accelerating too -rapidly. They might as well be part of my 'accident', even if they do -happen to be police. The Space Patrol has accidents now and then, just -like anybody else!"</p> - -<p>Haynes started to work the manual controls of the generator. The -area in which he and his several aides stood, was shielded against -the greater attraction, having been thus arranged by us for testing -purposes. The shrill hum of the machines grew louder.</p> - -<p>I felt the weight of my prone body increase suffocatingly. The -heat increased too, as the great coils, gleaming in the glow of -illuminators, gradually absorbed more power. And I knew that, out in -space, those slender fingers of force were reaching and strengthening, -invisible and treacherous. Our unknown friends were doomed.</p> - -<p>Not only were they doomed, but our whole idea was destined to failure. -The dream that Nick had died for. The vast progress that it meant. -Worlds out here—worlds with largely a self-sufficient production—real -colonization. Fair play. Norman Haynes would resist all that, because -progress would weaken his power here. He was master of the asteroids, -because he was master of their imports and exports. And unless he -could control the rejuvenated asteroids himself, they would never be. -With him directing, they would not represent a real improvement—only -another means of robbing from the colonists. And colonists weren't rich.</p> - -<p>I could see those same thoughts, that gouged savagely into my own -brain, burning in Geedeh's cat eyes, where he sprawled near me. Being -a Martian, born to a lesser gravity than the terrestrial, he was -suffering more than I—physically. But perhaps my mental torture was -worse. Geedeh was Irene's friend, but I loved her. She was gone—lost -somewhere—maybe dead. That, for me, was the worst—much worse than -that crushing weight.</p> - -<p>I couldn't let things remain the way they were! My seething fury and -need lashed me on, even in my helplessness. God—what could I do? I -tried to figure something out. Could I break the gravity machinery some -way? Impossible, now, certainly!</p> - -<p>I tried to remember my high school physics. Principles that might be -used to give warning signals, and so forth. And just what that awful -gravity would do to things.</p> - -<p>Close to me was the base of the domelike crystal shell that covered -the gravity generator. It wasn't a vital part, certainly, just stout -quartz. But it was the only thing I could reach. As I lay there on the -floor, I drew my foot back, doubling my knee. I stamped down against -the quartz with all my strength. The first blow cracked it. The second -drove my metal-shod boot-heel through with a crashing sound. A small -hole, eighteen inches long, was made in the barrier. The sounds of the -great machinery went on as before. The gravity kept slowly increasing. -Geedeh, suffering more, now, looked at me puzzledly. Pa Mavrocordatus -stared anxiously. And Norman Haynes at the surface phone laughed -unpleasantly.</p> - -<p>"Cracking up, eh, Wallace?" he sneered. "I know who your would-be -helpers on those space ships are, now. I suppose I should be surprised -at their identities. They're calling to you. Want to listen? My men -above have locked this surface phone to our ship radio."</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" width="393" height="500" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p><i>"Cracking up, eh, Wallace?" Norman Haynes sneered.</i></p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>He turned up the volume of the reproducer.</p> - -<p>Irene's voice was the first in the speaker. "Chet!" she was urging. -"Chet Wallace! Pa! Geedeh! Do you hear me? I left 487 of my own free -will. I couldn't waste time, going to the Space Patrol for help—they'd -want proof, and that would take a while to present. So—there was only -one person and I thought you'd mistrust him.... Why don't you answer? -Or have you left 487 too? I'm turning the mike over to somebody else, -now. I found him on Enterprize, just come from Earth, Mr. Arthur -Haynes...."</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">IV</p> - -<p>I gasped, listening to Irene. I didn't know what surprised and confused -me most—her being alive and safe, or what she'd done about old Art -Haynes. Could I trust old Art? I had no way of telling. Had Irene -told him about his nephew, or had she kept silent? Did he know he was -opposed to Norman Haynes, or did he think it was somebody else who had -sabotaged the project? Where would his loyalties be, if he found out? -It was a ticklish situation.</p> - -<p>As soon as Irene's ragged, excited breathing died away in the speaker, -Norman Haynes took it upon himself to clarify his own stand, and my -uncertainties. He looked at Geedeh and Pa and me, tense and suffering -in the grip of the gravity, and tortured with doubt.</p> - -<p>"Uncle Art is an old fool," he said. "So he thinks he'll come back to -the asteroids, and replace me in the business, does he? Well, he should -have died long ago, and now is as good a time as any! He might as well -be part of the accident, too, along with those space bums of yours. -Nobody'll ever know!"</p> - -<p>It was tragic that old Art couldn't have heard that. But his nephew -wasn't broadcasting. He was just listening quietly. And now his uncle's -voice was coming through:</p> - -<p>"We're blasting in to land, Wallace, if you're listening. There won't -be any more trouble, now. I'll see to that! We'll find out who's back -of this sabotage. We'll put an end to it!"</p> - -<p>For me it was bitter, black irony—old Art proving himself our friend, -now! He didn't know his enemy. He was nearly ninety—a grim old -fighter, with real vision. Irene too, who meant everything to me. She -didn't know that with the intensified gravity those incoming ships -would be smashed and blazing!</p> - -<p>My mind was growing a bit dim in the strangling pressure of -the artificial gravitation. Sweat was streaming from me in the -smothering heat that added to the oppressiveness of the heavy air. Pa -Mavrocordatus was groaning the name of his daughter. Geedeh's great -eyes were fixed on me in helpless suffering.</p> - -<p>Through the shrill sounds of the engines I listened for more words -from Irene and old Art. But none came. They must know their doom by -now. They must be fighting savagely and hopelessly to get away. Still -some distance from 487, they were already caught, deep in the web of -invisible force.</p> - -<p>After some moments, I heard a distant crash, a roll of sound. What was -it? A huge rocket, hitting the jagged crags above, at meteoric speed? -Crumpling, destroying itself and those inside it? I thought my heart -would burst with the added weight of my anxiety.</p> - -<p>The first crash was only the beginning. Others followed in quick -succession—inexorably. And there was a faint, far-off roar, coming -down from ten miles above.</p> - -<p>And that roar was the roar of titanic rain. Of floods of water coming -down this shaft, where the gravity machine was! All the countless tons -of water that we'd baked from ancient rocks, and which had been mostly -suspended as vapor in our synthetic atmosphere, was condensing now, -coming down in torrents!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Norman Haynes kept grinning satanically, while he and his aides -attended to the gravity machine. Triumph showed in his eyes. But -presently he began to look puzzled, as that soughing roar that -accompanied the crashing din, increased. It was a little early for the -space ships to be smashing up, anyway.</p> - -<p>I could feel a grim smile coming over my lips, against my will. Had my -guesses and hopes, which had seemed so unsubstantial, been correct? -Norman Haynes was glancing doubtfully at the reproducer. I could see -that he was wondering why his surface watchers didn't communicate any -more—and tell him what was happening up there on the crust of 487.</p> - -<p>I knew the answers, now! Geedeh did, too. The excitement of knowledge -was in his withered, pain-wracked face. Those distant crashes were not -what I'd feared they might be, but part of what I'd hoped for. They -were gigantic thunder-claps—the noise of terrific lightning bolts! -Norman Haynes had made a simple oversight in his plan to destroy those -incoming space craft. There was a fearsome electrical storm going on -above—one of inconceivable proportions—utterly beyond the Earthly! -Doubtless all of Norman Haynes' surface watchers, up above, had been -killed by that sudden deluge of electricity! The multiplied gravitation -up there, had pinned them down, so that they could neither escape, nor -warn their chief!</p> - -<p>Before Norman Haynes understood what was happening, foam-flecked muddy -water was at the door of the machinery room, rushing and gurgling past -the threshold! He and his helpers stared at it stupidly, and I laughed -at them.</p> - -<p>"You didn't realize it, did you, Haynes?" I grunted. "You didn't -realize that increased gravity would increase the weight of the -atmosphere, as well as of everything else! And increased weight of -the air, means increased atmospheric pressure, too, pushing molecules -together, creating greater density. And what happens? Go back to your -high school physics, Haynes! It's like when you store air in the tank -of a compressor pump. The moisture in it liquifies. And in the case -of an atmosphere as big as 487 has now, static electricity would be -suddenly and violently condensed, besides."</p> - -<p>Norman Haynes stared at me, stunned with consternation. But his -recovery was fairly prompt. His sudden sneer had a rattish desperation. -"Hell," he said. "Just a thunder storm. A lot of rain. What of it? The -gravity machine still works. The ships will still be destroyed."</p> - -<p>I knew that that was true—unless what I'd planned happened. Those -rockets, manned by our old construction crew, and Irene, and old Art -Haynes, had been too close to asteroid 487 for the last couple of -minutes, to effect an escape, even if the sudden dark clouds had warned -them that something dangerous was afoot.</p> - -<p>"Watch this—Haynes," Geedeh panted, and it was hard for the acting -head of the Haynes Shipping Company to guess what the little Martian -meant, at first.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Under the pull of that terrific gravity, the water was coming into that -room like an avalanche. Geedeh and Pa and I were floundering in it -feebly, held to the floor by that awful weight. I was sure we'd drown. -But as we coughed and sputtered, the flood found its way through the -hole I'd kicked, low down in the side of the crystal dome that covered -that gigantic machinery. There was a flash of electrical flame, as the -water interfered with the functioning of the apparatus.</p> - -<p>It was pandemonium, then. Every man for himself. Geedeh, the scientist, -and I, who, under the force of grim need, had somehow contrived to plan -this finale, had the advantage of knowledge. We'd figured out a little -of what to do.</p> - -<p>The gravity winked off suddenly—reaching the low of practically -nothing, here at the center of this tiny world, whose normal -attraction, even at the surface, was very small. We struggled to our -feet, in a muddy swirl that was now a yard in depth. But before we -could take advantage of our sudden lightness, and leap clear, the -gravity machines gave a last gasp of power, and we were pulled down -again, smothering. Then, with a grating roar, the apparatus stopped. -The bedlam ceased, except for a low whine of expanding atmosphere, and -screams from Haynes and his men.</p> - -<p>Presently, I felt all hell stabbing through me. My ears rang as -with the after effects of some colossal explosion. My whole body -ached. I clutched at Geedeh, who seemed on the point of collapse. Pa -Mavrocordatus managed to help me....</p> - -<p>But strained by gravity vastly stronger than that of Mars, and now -facing a circumstance even more dangerous, tough little Geedeh still -had his wits, fortunately for us all. He pointed to an airtight crystal -cage at one edge of the chamber. The cage was necessary in routine -testing of the machinery here, which called for variations in the -output of the gravity generators, and consequent great variations in -air pressure.</p> - -<p>"Inside the cage—all of us!" Geedeh squeaked. "Quickly! Bends!..."</p> - -<p>Do you know what the air pressure is, at the bottom of a ten-mile -shaft, even at normal Earth gravity? Yeah, something pretty high! Then -you can imagine what it had just been like, here, at six or seven -gravities! But when the generators had quit entirely, there had been -that sudden loss of weight in the air, sudden expansion, thinning, loss -of pressure!</p> - -<p>The three of us got inside the cage, and sealed the door. I spun -valves. There was a hiss of entering atmosphere, and the pressure rose -again, far above the norm of sea-level, on Earth. I felt better at -once, but I knew it had been a close call.</p> - -<p>We looked out at Norman Haynes and his henchmen. They weren't drowning, -now. Tottering, they stood with their heads well above the flood. It -was something else that was killing them. Not suffocation, either. -Their faces were bloated and congested in the glow of illuminators. -Their bodies seemed to swell.</p> - -<p>Norman Haynes raised his blast tube, as did several of the others, -trying to fire at the crystal shelter where we had taken refuge. Norman -Haynes must have known his failure, then. Why had it happened. How we -had won. It may be that he even realized some justice in his hideous -punishment. He had tried to obstruct progress and fair play.</p> - -<p>The blast tube dropped from his fingers. He opened his mouth to shriek -in his agony. But dark blood gushed forth, and, with his henchmen, he -toppled back into the water.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"Bends!" Geedeh said again. "Haynes had a worse case of bends than any -deep-sea diver ever experienced."</p> - -<p>The flood had almost stopped, now, outside the cage. We waited. -Vengeance was complete. And it wasn't quite as satisfying as I might -once have thought.</p> - -<p>Presently they were with us. Irene. And old Art—proving that the -Haynes name was still great, even though one who bore it had soiled it -some. We emerged from our sealed cage, after the pressure around us was -gradually lowered to normal.</p> - -<p>"I didn't think it was Norman who was guilty," old Art breathed sadly -when he spoke to us. "I knew he was high-handed, but I didn't realize -it was as bad as it was. I guess Norman got what he deserved," he -finished, and there were tears in his heavy voice.</p> - -<p>We went to the surface in the elevator. We needed space suits again, -up there, with the air as expanded as it was. A lot of the atmosphere -was leaking away from 487, being held down only by the tiny natural -gravity. But there was nothing that couldn't be repaired and replaced.</p> - -<p>"We must have pumps rigged to draw the water out of the vault, so that -we can dry and repair the gravity machinery, and start it again," -Geedeh stated.</p> - -<p>We started again, almost as we had done at the first, for quite a -bit of the air and water had been whisked into space. We lived in -space-suits for days, rebuilding and repairing the damaged machinery. -Then with the aid of Art Haynes, and with extended credit now that our -plans were made fully known and approved, we imported machinery to pump -the water from the vault.</p> - -<p>We hired specialists to come in, each of them with a trained crew of -men to do the work that our old crews lacked the technical skill to do. -Slowly, our planet of hope grew again, and there were bulletins sent -through the asteroid belt that workers were wanted again on Paradise -Asteroid.</p> - -<p>The specialists left, replaced by the crews that had worked on the -asteroid before. With unlimited credit, our great freighting ships -piled materials in regular formation, and the returning crews set their -ships down on the landing fields, the men pouring eagerly forth, ready -to set up the buildings that would be the nucleus of another Earth in -space.</p> - -<p>With our old crews returned, it took about a hundred hours to -accomplish this. Asteroid 487 was almost the same as before the final -trouble with Norman Haynes, now, except that the air was a little -thinner. But that could be quickly taken care of. Pa Mavrocordatus -was working with his vineyards and trees, and his tomato and cabbage -patches, again. The big trouble was all finished, now. The dream was -coming true. A little Earth, fresh and green, for tired miners of the -Path of Minor Planets. Space madness could never be so common now. And -cheap, fresh products would be theirs.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">V</p> - -<p>Irene and I walked in the warm night. The crews were whooping it up -in the lighted barracks. Somebody was playing a harmonica. The stars -were brilliant, and there were a thousand things to think of. How -we'd all struggled. How Nick Mavrocordatus, had dreamed and worked -and died. How once the asteroids had been a planet, with almost human -inhabitants, dreaming, planning, struggling, too. Their rock carvings -were everywhere.</p> - -<p>"It's the beginning, Chet," Irene whispered. "Asteroid 487 is the -first. But there'll be others—other small, beautiful, living planets. -There's a lot of work to be done. And when it's all finished that will -be almost unfortunate—too tame."</p> - -<p>I knew what she meant. She was pioneer stuff, just as all of us were. -The greatness of life was in its battles. On and on, to vaster and -vaster heights. That was what had driven us into the interplanetary -void in the first place.</p> - -<p>I kissed her. "Don't worry, Honey," I said. "There's no end to it. No -point of final stagnation. It goes on and on. There'll always be a -frontier—something bigger to reach and conquer...."</p> - -<p>And we looked up in awe toward the infinite stars.</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Space Oasis, by Raymond Z. Gallun - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPACE OASIS *** - -***** This file should be named 62186-h.htm or 62186-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/1/8/62186/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://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. 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Gallun - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Space Oasis - -Author: Raymond Z. Gallun - -Release Date: May 21, 2020 [EBook #62186] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPACE OASIS *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - SPACE OASIS - - By RAYMOND Z. GALLUN - - Space-weary rocketmen dreamed of an - asteroid Earth. But power-mad Norman - Haynes had other plans--and he - spread his control lines in a - doom-net for that oasis in space. - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Planet Stories Fall 1942. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -I found Nick Mavrocordatus scanning the bulletin board at the Haynes -Shipping Office on Enterprize Asteroid, when I came back with a load of -ore from the meteor swarms. - -He looked at me with that funny curve on his lips, that might have been -called a smile, and said, "Hi, Chet," as casually as though we'd seen -each other within the last twenty-four hours.... "Queer laws they got -in the Space Code, eh? The one that insists on the posting of casualty -lists, for instance. You'd think the Haynes Company would like to keep -such things dark." - -I didn't say anything for a moment, as my eyes went down those narrow, -typed columns on the bulletin board: Joe Tiffany--dead--space armor -defect.... Hermann Schmidt and Lan Harool--missing--vicinity of -Pallas.... Irvin Davidson--hospitalized--space blindness.... - -There was a score of names of men I didn't know, in that -space-blindness column. And beneath, there was a much longer line of -common Earth-born and Martian John-Henrys, with the laconic tag added -at the top--_hospitalized_--_mental_. Ditto marks saved the trouble of -retyping the tag itself, after each name. - -One name caught my eye. - -Ted Bradley was listed there. Ted Bradley from St. Louis, my and Nick -Mavrocordatus' home town. It gave me a little jolt, and a momentary -lump somewhere under my Adam's Apple. I knew the state Bradley would be -in. Not a man any more--no longer keen and sure of himself. A year out -here among the asteroids had changed all that forever. - -Shoving from one drifting, meteoric lump to another, in a tiny space -boat. Chipping at those huge, grey masses with a test hammer that -makes no sound in the voidal vacuum. Crawling over jagged surfaces, -looking for ores of radium and tantalum and carium--stuff fabulously -costly enough to be worth collecting, for shipment back to the -industries of Earth, at fabulous freight rates, on rocket craft whose -pay-load is so small, and where every gram of mass is at premium. - -No, Ted Bradley would never be himself again. Like so many others. It -was an old story. The almost complete lack of gravity, out here among -the asteroids, had disturbed his nerve-centers, while cosmic rays -seeped through his leaded helmet, slowly damaging his brain. - -There was more to it than the airlessness, and absence of weight, and -the cosmic rays. There was the utter silence, and the steady stars, and -the blackness between them, and the blackness of the shadows, like the -fangs of devils in the blazing sunshine. All of this was harder than -the soul of any living being. - -And on top of all this, there was usually defeat and shattered hope. -Not many futures were made among the asteroids by those who dug for -their living. Prices of things brought from Earth in fragile, costly -space craft were too high. Moments of freedom and company were too -rare, and so, hard-won wealth ran like water. - -Ted Bradley was gone from us. Call him a corpse, really. In the -hospital here on Enterprize, he was either a raving maniac, or -else--almost worse--he was like a little child, crooning over the -wonder of his fingers. - -It got me for a second. But then I shrugged. I'd been out here two -years. An old timer. I knew how empires were built. I knew, better -than most, how to get along out here. Be fatalistic and casual. Don't -worry. Don't plan too much. That way I'd stayed right-side-up. I'd even -had quite a lot of fun, being an adventurer, against that gigantic, -awesome background of the void. - -I didn't consider my thoughts about Ted Bradley worth mentioning to -Nick Mavrocordatus. He was probably thinking about Ted, too, and that -was enough. - -"Come on, Nick," I said. "They've got my ore weighed and analyzed for -content in the hopper rooms. I'm going into the pay-office and get my -dough. Then we might shove off to the Iridium Circle, or some other -joint, and have us a time, huh?" - -Nick laughed, then, good-naturedly, triumphantly. I gave him a sharp -glance, noticing that under his faintly bitter air, there seemed to be -something big. Some idea that gripped him, confused him, thrilled him. -His small, knotty body was taut with it; his dark eyes, under the curly -black hair that straggled down his forehead, glowed with a far-away -look. - -Of course, he was still very young--only twenty-two, which to me, -at twenty-five, with a six-months edge of asteroid-lore beyond his -year and a half of experience, made me feel old and disillusioned and -practical, by comparison. - -"All right, Chet," he said at last. "Let's get your money. Celebrations -are in order--on me, though. But I guess we'd better soft-pedal them -some. I've got a lot to tell you, and more to do." - -I didn't give his words proper attention, just then. I swaggered into -the pay office, where a couple of stenogs clicked typewriters, and -where Norman Haynes, acting head of the Haynes Shipping Company, sat at -his desk, under the painted portrait of his uncle, that grizzled old -veteran, Art Haynes, who had retired years ago, and who now lived on -Earth. - -I knew old Art only by reputation. But that was enough to arouse my -deep respect. Between nephew and uncle there was a difference as great -as between night and day. The one, the founder, unafraid to dirty his -hands and face death, and build for the future. Tough, yes, but square, -and willing to pay bonuses to miners even while he'd been struggling -to expand his company, and open up vast, new space trails. The other, -an arm-chair director, holding on tight, now, to an asteroid empire, -legally free of his control, but whose full resources came eventually -into his hands at the expense of others, because he controlled the -fragile, difficult supply lines. - -At sight of me, Norman Haynes arose from his chair. He was very tall, -and he wore an immaculate business suit. He was smooth-shaven, with a -neat haircut, in contrast to my shaggy locks and bristles. Across his -face spread a smile of greeting as broad as it was false. - -"Well--Chet Wallace," he said. "You've done some marvelous meteor -mining, this trip: Nineteen hundred dollars' worth of radium-actinium -ore! Splendid! Maybe you'll do even better next time!" - - * * * * * - -Yeah! I'd seen and heard Norman Haynes act and talk like this before. -He handed out the same line to all of the miners. To me it was forever -irritating. Always I'd wanted to turn that long nose of his back -against his right ear. He and his words were both phony. Always he used -a condescending tone. And I felt that he was a bloodsucker. My anger -was further increased, now, because of Ted Bradley. - -I guess I sneered. "Don't worry about those nineteen hundred dollars, -Mr. Haynes," I said. "When I buy grub, and a few things I need, and -have a little blow, you'll have the money all back." - -Beside the office railing there was a machine--a cigarette vendor. Into -a roller system at its top, I inserted two five-dollar bills from my -pay. There was a faint whir as the robot photographic apparatus checked -the denominations of the notes, and proved their authenticity. Two -packs of cigarettes slipped down into the receiver arrangement. - -"Five bucks apiece, Haynes," I said. "At a fair shipping rate, -cigarettes brought out from Earth aren't worth much more than three -bucks. But you're just a dirty chiseller, not satisfied with a fair -profit. Costs here in the asteroids are naturally plenty steep; but you -make a bad situation worse by charging at least twenty-five per-cent -more than's reasonable! A Venutian stink-louse is more of a gentleman -than you are, Haynes!" - -Oh, there was a Satanic satisfaction in feeling the snarl in my throat, -and seeing Haynes' face go purplish red, and then white with surprise -and fury. Some other space men had entered the pay office, and they hid -their grins of pleasure behind calloused palms. - -First I thought Norman Haynes would swing at me. But he didn't. He -lacked that kind of nerve. He began to sputter and curse under his -breath, and I thought of a snake hissing. I felt the danger of it, -though--danger that broods and plans, and doesn't come out into the -open, but waits its chance to strike. Knowing that it was there, -sizzling in Haynes' mind, gave me a thrill. - -Casually I tossed one of the packs of cigarettes to Nick Mavrocordatus, -who had come with me into the pay office. He gave me a nudge, which -meant we'd better scram. When we were out of the building, he held -me off from going to any of the few tawdry saloons there under the -small, glassed-in airdome of Enterprize City, the one shabby scrap of -civilization and excuse for comfort. - -"No drinks now, Chet," Nick whispered. "Can't chance it. Got to keep -on our toes. In one way I'm glad you talked down to that--whatever you -want to call him. But you've made us the worst possible enemy we could -have--now." - -I shrugged. "What were you gonna tell me before, Nick?" I demanded. "I -gathered you had something plenty big in view." - -He answered me so abruptly that I didn't quite believe my ears at -first. "Pa and Sis and Geedeh and I, have made good, Chet," he said. -"We found--not just pickings--but a real fortune in ore, on planetoid -439. So rich is the deposit that we could buy our own smelting and -purifying machinery, and hire ships under our own control, to take the -refined metals back to Earth!" - -"You're kidding, Nick," I said amazedly. - -"Not a bit of it," he returned. - - * * * * * - -Then I was pumping his hand, congratulating him. Really good luck was -a phenomenon among the asteroids. That friends of mine, among the -thousands of hopeful ones that I didn't know, should grab the jack-pot, -seemed almost impossible. - -"I suppose you'll all be leaving us soon," I told him. "Going back to -Earth, living the lives of millionaires. I'm glad for you all, kid. -Your Pa can raise his flowers and grapes, instead of starting up in the -truck-garden business again. Your sis, Irene, can study her painting -and her music, like she wants to." - -Anybody can see the way my thoughts were going just then. When you -start out green for the Minor Planets, that's part of what's in your -mind, first--get rich, come back to Earth. - -Nick sighed heavily as we walked along. That funny smile was on -his lips again. He glanced around, and the emerald light of the -illuminators was on his young face. - -Then he said, "I don't think it's quite safe to talk here, Chet. -Better come to our old space jaloppy, the _Corfu_." - -The _Corfu_ was on the ways outside the dome. We put on space suits to -reach it. Inside, the old crate smelled of cooking odors, some of them -maybe accumulated over the eighteen months the Mavrocordatuses had been -asteroid mining. Old ships are hard to ventilate, with their imperfect -air-purifiers. - -The instruments in the control room, were battered and patched; and -from the living quarters to the rear, issued a duet of snores--one -throaty and rattly, Pa Mavrocordatus' beyond doubt; and the other an -intermittent hiss, originating unquestionably in the dust-filtering -hairs in the larynx of Geedeh, the little Martian scientist, whom Nick -had befriended. - -"I can't figure you out, Nick," I said. "Rich, and not leaving this -hell-hole of space. You're an idiot." - -"So are you, Chet," he returned knowingly. "In my place, you wouldn't -go either--at least not without regrets. In spite of all hell, there's -something big here in space that gets you. You feel like nothing, -yourself. But you feel that you're part of something terribly huge and -terribly important. You'd be happy on Earth for a week; then you'd -begin to smother inside. The Minor Planets have become our home, Chet. -It's too late to break the ties." - -Slowly it soaked into my mind that Nick was right. - -"Not to say anything bad against old Mother Earth, Chet," he continued. -"Far from it! That's just what's needed out here--a little touch of -our native scene. Growing things. A piece of blue sky, maybe. Enough -gravity to make a man believe in solid ground again." - -Right then I began to smell Nick's plan, not only what it was, but all -the impractical dreamer part of it. - -I began to grin, but there was a kind of sadness in me, too. "Sure! -Sure, Nick!" I chided. "The idea's as old as the hills! Rejuvenate -some asteroid. Bring in soil and water and air from Earth. Install a -big gravity-generating unit. Ha! Have you any idea how many ships it -would take to bring those thousands and thousands of tons of stuff out -here--even to get started?" - - * * * * * - -I was talking loud. My voice was booming through the rusty hull of the -_Corfu_, making ringing echoes. So just about as I finished, they were -all around me. Pa Mavrocordatus, in pajamas and ragged dressing gown, -his handle-bar moustaches bristling. Geedeh, the tiny Martian, draped -in a checkered Earthly blanket, his great eyes blinking, and his tiny -fingers, with fleshy knobs at their ends instead of nails, twiddling -nervously near the center of his barrel-chest. And Irene, too, standing -straight and defiant and little, in her blue smock. - -Irene hadn't been sleeping. Probably she'd been washing dishes, and -straightening up the galley after supper. She still had a dish towel in -her hands. Wealth hadn't altered the Mavrocordatus' mode of life, yet. -Irene looked like a bold little kewpie, her dark head of tousled, curly -hair, not up to my shoulder. She was exquisitely pretty; but now she -was somewhat irritated. - -She shook a finger up at me, angrily. "You think Nick has a dumb idea, -eh, Chet Wallace?" she accused. "That's only because you don't know -what you're talking about! We won't have to bring a drop of water, or a -molecule of air or soil, out from Earth! You ask Geedeh!" - -I turned toward the little Martian. The dark pupil-slits, and the -yellow irises of his huge eyes, covered me. "Irene has spoken the -truth, Chet," he told me in his slow, labored English. "The Asteroid -Belt, the many hundreds of fragments that compose it, are the remains -of a planet that exploded. So there is soil on many of the asteroids. -Dried out--yes--after most of the water and air disappeared into space, -following the catastrophe. But the soil can still be useful. And there -is still water, not in free, liquid form, but combined in ancient rock -strata; gypsum, especially. It is like on Mars, when the atmosphere -began to get too thin for us to breathe, and the water very scarce on -the dusty deserts." - -I said nothing, wished I had kept silent. - -"We roasted gypsum in atomic furnaces," Geedeh finished, "driving -the water out as steam, and reclaiming it for our underground -cities. The same can be done here among the Minor Planets. And since -water is hydrogen dioxide, oxygen can be obtained from it, too, by -electrolysis. Nitrogen and carbon dioxide, necessary to complete the -new atmosphere, which will be prevented from leaking into space by the -force of the artificial gravity, can be obtained from native nitrates, -and other compounds. Only vital parts of the machinery need be brought -out from Earth and Mars by rocket. The rest can be made here, from -native materials." - -Geedeh's voice, as he spoke to me, was a soft, sibilant whisper, like -the rustle of red dust in a cold, thin, Martian wind. - -"You bet," Pa Mavrocordatus enthused. "Nick's got a good idea. I'm -gonna raise my flowers! I'm gonna raise tomatoes and cabbages and -carrots, right here on one of them asteroids!" - -It struck me as funny--asteroids--cabbages! Nothing I could think of, -could seem quite that far apart. Black, airless vacuum, rough rocks, -and raw, spacial sunshine! And things from a truck garden! It didn't -match. But then, Pa Mavrocordatus didn't match the asteroids either! -He'd had a truck garden once, outside of St. Louis. And yet he was out -here in space, and had been for a year and a half! - -Well, even if the idea _was_ practical, I thought first that they were -still just dreaming--kidding themselves that it would be a cinch to -accomplish. And not being able to fight through. - -Then I glanced back at Nick. That look on his face was there again. A -strange mixture of confidence, worry, grimness, and vision. It came to -me then that he was no kid at all. - - * * * * * - -"Let me in on the job?" I asked hopefully. - -"Sure!" Nick returned. "We wouldn't be telling you all this, if we -didn't want you. That's why we came back to Enterprize--hoping to find -you around some place." - -So I was in. Part of a wild scheme of progress--more thrilling -and inspiring because it seemed so wild. An asteroid made into a -tiny, artificial Earth! A boon to void-weary space men! A source of -cheap food supplies, as well as a place to rest up. A new stage of -colonization--empire building! - -And then I thought I heard a sound--a faint clinking outside of the -hull of the _Corfu_. At once, I was alert--taut. Maybe half of my -sudden worry was intuition, or a form of telepathy. When you've been -out in deep space, a million miles away from any other living soul, you -feel a vast, hollow loneliness, that perhaps is mostly the absence of -human telepathy waves from other minds. But when you have people around -you once more, your sixth sense seems keener for the period of lack. -That was why I was sure of an eavesdropper, sensing his presence. With -proper sub-microphonic equipment, a man outside a space ship can hear -every word spoken inside. - -Nick felt it too. "But we'd better look and see," he whispered. "Norman -Haynes keeps spies around. And he may have heard rumors. You can't keep -a project like ours secret very long. It's too big." - -My pulses jumped with fear, as I piled into my space suit. But when -Nick and I got through the airlock together, there was nobody in sight. -Only some footprints in the faint rocket dust of the ways, covering our -own footprints, where we'd passed before, coming to the _Corfu_. Our -flashlights showed them plainly. - -"Having a rejuvenated asteroid in these parts, producing fresh food -and so forth, would take a lot of trade away from the Haynes Shipping -Company, wouldn't it?" I said when we were back in the cabin once -more. "Norman Haynes wouldn't be practically boss of the Minor Planets -anymore, would he? He wouldn't like that. He'll fight us." - -"We need you, Chet," Irene said, her eyes appealing. That was enough -for me. - -"We'd better blast off right away," Nick added. "We're going to -asteroid 487, Chet. Its new name is Paradise. It's the one we've -picked." - - - II - -Asteroid 487 was the usual thing. A torn, jagged, airless fragment. -It was no paradise yet, unless it was a paradise of devils. Nick had -a thousand men hired--space roustabouts, and a lot of mechanics and -technicians, mostly fresh from Earth. Sure, it's hard handling a bunch -like that, but there was nothing in this difficulty that we didn't know -was part of the job. Some of our outfit gave us horse-laughs, but they -worked. The pay was good. - -The ships came through with the packed loads of machinery. Atomic -forges blazed, purifying native meteoric iron to complete the vast -gravity-generating machine, sunk in a shaft at the center of the -planetoid, ten miles down. Geedeh directed most of the work. Nick and -I saw that orders were carried out, swearing, sweating, and making -speeches intended to inspire. - -And then the trouble started. - -A rocket, bringing in food, and money to pay our crews, blew up in -space, just as it was coming close. The light of the blast was blinding -and awesome, making even the bright stars seem to vanish for a moment. -Atomic rocket fuel going up. Gobs of molten metal dripped groundward, -like real meteors heated in an atmosphere which still didn't exist. - -It could have been an accident. You can't always control titanic atomic -power, and space ships fly to pieces quite frequently. But then I had a -suspicion that maybe this wasn't an accident. - -Nick and I were in the open plain to see it happen. He'd just come from -the airtight barracks we'd built. His face didn't change much behind -the quartz crystal of his oxygen helmet--it only sobered a trifle. -While the fiery wreckage of the rocket was still falling in shreds and -fragments, he spoke, his voice clicking in my receptor phones: - -"Yeah, Chet.... And there's trouble on asteroid 439, too, where our -mines are located. I just got the radio message, back at the office. -Sabotage, and some men killed. It seems that some of the workmen are -trying to break things up for us. Harley's in charge. I think he can -handle matters--for a while." - -"I hope so," I answered fervently. "If the work only turns out right at -this end. With that ship smashed, we'll be on short rations for a week. -And we've lost some important machinery. The pay money's insured, but -the men won't like the delay." - -I didn't expect much trouble from the crew--yet. It was Irene that -really helped the most--mastered the situation. She'd taken over the -management of the kitchens since the start of the work. - -But now she had an additional job. She talked to that rough crew of -ours. "We're going to win, boys!" she told them. "We know what we've -got to do: Our task is for the good of every one of us--and for many -people yet to come!" - -Simple, straightforward, inspiring talk. Funny what men will do for -a pretty girl--against hell itself. But that wasn't all of it. The -paintings of hers, that she'd hung in our recreation room, showed what -asteroid 487 _could_ be, when we were finished with it. - -Space men are the toughest kind of adventurers that ever lived. But -adventurers are always optimists, sentimentalists, romanticists, no -matter how hard the exterior. And space men, by the very nature of the -appalling region to which they belong, believe in miracles. - - * * * * * - -They cheered the thought--most of those tough men. I cheered, too. But -the miracle hadn't happened yet, and in the back of my mind, there -was always the fear that it wouldn't happen. Those crags were still -bleak and star-washed. Deader than any tomb! It wasn't an impossible -wonder--technically--to change all this. But perhaps it was impossible, -anyway--because of Norman Haynes! He was the only person who had the -power and the reason to stop all that we were attempting. The sabotage -and killings must be incited by him--certain members of our crews must -be in his hire. Quite probably the rocket that had blown up had been -secretly mined with explosive, under his orders, too. - -But there is nothing harder to fight than those subtle methods. We had -no proof, and no easy means of getting it. We could only go on with -our task. Geedeh and the rest of us worked hopefully. One segment of -asteroid 487, had been part of the surface of that old world that had -exploded. From here we spread the dry soil over the planetoid's jagged -terrain, drawing it in atom trucks. More soil was brought in from other -asteroids. The great rock-roasting furnaces were put up. Gypsum was -heated in them, releasing its water in great clouds of steam, which -the artificial gravity kept from drifting off into space. Some of the -water, under electrolysis, yielded oxygen. Nitrogen came from nitrates. - -Our gravity machine needed readjustments now and then. To a large -extent, the thousands of parts that composed it were electrical. Great -coils converted magnetic force into gravitation. - -One ship reached us all right, bringing seeds and food. Another didn't. -It blew up in space, the second to go. Then somebody tried to get -Geedeh, the Martian, with a heat ray. Another food ship failed to -arrive. - -Then Norman Haynes came to visit us. He landed before we had a chance -to refuse to receive him. He had a body-guard of a dozen men. He was -our enemy, but we couldn't prove it. He seemed to have forgotten the -little brush between himself and me, at his office. - -"Splendid layout you've got, Wallace and Mavrocordatus!" he said to -Nick and me, pronouncing Nick's name perfectly. He sounded very much -like his usual self. "Of course there's bound to be difficulties. -Trouble with crews, and so on. It's hard to get people to believe in -a project as fantastic as this. I didn't quite believe in it, either, -at first. But the facts are proved, now that the groundwork is laid. -You'll need help, fellows. I can give it to you." - -He was smiling, but under the smile I could see a snaky smirk, which -probably he didn't know showed. I felt fury rising inside me. He was -trying to get control of our project, now that he saw for sure that it -could amount to something. Competition he feared, but if he had control -he could enforce his high prices, keep his empire, and expand his -wealth by millions of dollars. His dirty work must have been partly an -attempt to force the issue. - -"Thanks," Nick told him quietly. "But we prefer to do everything alone." - -Our visitor shrugged, standing there at the door of his space boat. -"Okay," he breezed. "Get in touch with me, if you feel you need me!" - -Some hours later, a radiogram came through from Earth. -"_Congratulations!_" it read. "_Stick to your guns! I like people with -imagination. Maybe I'll be back in harness soon myself.--Art Haynes._" - - * * * * * - -"He's probably just being sarcastic," I said bitterly. - -"Old devil!" Pa Mavrocordatus growled. - -Two men were killed just thirty minutes after the message was received. -A little thin-faced fellow named Sparr did it. But he got away in a -space boat before we could catch him. A paid killer and trouble maker. - -The incident put our crew more on edge than before. A half dozen of the -newcomers--mechanics from Earth--quit abruptly. Our food was almost -gone. We got another shipload in, but the growing unrest didn't abate, -though we kept on for another month. There was similar trouble on 439, -where the Mavrocordatus money came from. But maybe we'd make the grade, -anyway. - -We had a pretty dense atmosphere already, on Paradise Asteroid. The -black sky had turned blue now. The ground was moist with water. Earthly -buildings were going up. Pa Mavrocordatus had had seeds and small trees -and things planted. It was that deceptive moment of success, before the -real blow came. - -After sunset one night, I heard shots. I raced out of the barracks, -Geedeh, Irene, and Pa Mavrocordatus following me. We all carried blast -tubes. - -We found Nick in a gorge, his body half burned through, just above his -right hip. But he was still alive. He had a blast tube in one hand. -Two men lay on the rocks and earth in front of him, dead. Beside them, -glinting in our flashlight beams, was an aluminum cylinder. - -"It's a bacteria culture container, Chet," Nick whispered. "They had me -caught, and they bragged a little before I did some fast moving, and -got one of their blast tubes. Venutian Black-Rot germs. They were going -to dump them in the drinking water supply. They mentioned--Haynes...." - -Nick couldn't say much more than that. But he'd saved our lives. He -died there in my arms, a hero to progress, a little breeze in the new -atmosphere he'd helped to create rumpling his curly hair. He'd died for -his dream of beauty and betterment. - -Poor little Irene couldn't even cry. Her face was white, and she was -stricken mute. Her pa was shaken by great sobs, and he babbled threats. -I told him to shut up. Geedeh cursed in his own language, his voice a -soft, deadly hiss, his little fists clenching and unclenching. - -"Too bad Nick had to kill these men!" I growled. "We could have made -'em talk. We'd have evidence. The law would take care of Norman -Haynes!" - -"But we ain't got nothing!" Pa Mavrocordatus groaned. "Nothing!" - -Geedeh's face was twisted into a Martian snarl of hate. Irene stared, -as though she were somewhere far away. I tried putting my arm around -her, to bring her back to us. It was a minute before she seemed to -realize I was there. - -"Irene," I said. "I love you. We all love you. Buck up, kid. We can't -quit now--ever! We'd be letting Nick down." - -She just nodded. She couldn't talk. - - * * * * * - -A couple of hours later I was meeting our workers in our office. Most -of them tried to be decent about it. "We'd like to stick, Wallace. But -how can we? Nothing to eat...." That was what most of them said, in one -way or another. - -And how could I answer them? - -Some were not so regretful, of course. Some were downright ugly. A -little crazy with space perhaps, or else hopped up with propaganda that -secret agents in Haynes' hire had been spreading among them. - -"Why should we work for you anyway?" they snarled. "Even for good -money, most of which we haven't collected? You're probably like what -we're used to. Just fixing up another place here, to clip us in the -end, charging us prices sky high. Your 'Paradise' is just a little -fancier, that's all." - -So they turned away, and the exodus began. The freight ships blasted -off, one by one, with loads of men. We couldn't stop them. And soon the -silence closed in. We were left alone to bury Nick. The small sun was -bright on the rough pinnacles, and their naked grey stone was bluely -murky in the new air. There was a humid warmth of summer around us. - -Just then, I didn't even feel exactly angry, in the blackness of -failure, Norman Haynes had won, so far. What would be his next step in -completing our final defeat? - -I spent some time in the office, going over records. Presently Pa -Mavrocordatus came rushing from the barracks. His whole fat body -sagged, as he paused before me. His face was like paste. He didn't seem -quite alive. - -"Irene," he croaked. "She's gone ... too...." - -I ran with him to her quarters. There was some disorder. A picture of -her mother was tipped over on a little metal dressing table. A rug was -rumpled, and there was some clothing scattered on the floor. That was -all. - -Geedeh had entered her quarters, too. "Kidnapped," he hissed. - -What Haynes meant to accomplish by having his agents, carry off Irene, -I couldn't imagine. The hate I felt blurred all but the thought of -getting her back to safety. The urge was like a dagger-point, sharp and -clear in the chaos of memories. I knew how much she meant to me now. - -"I need a rocket," I said quietly. "The fastest we've got. I want to -radio the Space Patrol, too." - -"There are no ships left here," Geedeh returned. "The men took them -all, except a little flier, which they meant us to have. But somebody -has smashed it. Our big radio transmitter is smashed, also." - -A minute later I was clawing in the wreckage of tubes and wires, there -in the radio room. The apparatus was completely beyond repair. For the -time being we were helpless, stranded on our asteroid. For a moment -I felt little shouts of madness shrieking in my brain. But Geedeh's -stabbing glance warned me that this was not the way. I fought back, out -of that flash of mania. - -"We'd better break out all of our weapons, Geedeh," I said. "Haynes has -gone too deep to back out now. He's in danger of the Patrol if we talk, -so he'll have to strike at us soon." - -Thus we prepared ourselves as well as we could, for attack. Geedeh, -Pa Mavrocordatus, and I. We equipped ourselves with our best -armament--atomic rifles. Pa Mavrocordatus had gotten over most of his -confusion. He was still sick with grief, but necessity seemed to have -steadied him. He clutched his rifle grimly as we took up positions -behind rock masses at the edge of the landing field. - - - III - -We waited silently. The asteroid turned on its axis. The brief night -came. Then we saw the rockets approaching--flaming in on shreds of -blue-white rocket fire. As the two ships slowed for a landing, the -three of us discharged a volley. - -Our atomic bullets burst on impact, dazzling in the dark. The -concussion was terrific. - -"Got one!" I heard Pa Mavrocordatus shout after a moment, his voice -thin through the ringing in my ears. My dazzled eyes saw one ship lying -on its side on the landing field, its meteor armor unpunctured by our -small missiles, but with its landing rockets damaged. The other ship -had grounded itself perfectly. - -We were ready to fire again, when the paralytic waves swept over us. -I saw Geedeh half rise, doubling backward in a rigid spasm, his rifle -flying wide. - -Then I knew no more, until I heard Norman Haynes speaking to us. We -were bound firmly, and it was daylight again, and our captor and his -score of henchmen were smirking. - -"I'm just trying to figure out how to make your deaths seem as -accidental as possible," Haynes said, looking at me. "A couple of men -of mine seem to have bungled a little business of bacteria. Maybe -they blabbed before you fellows killed them. Now, of course, I can't -take any chances. Too bad your reconditioned asteroid has to appear a -failure for a while. But I can't let my taking over seem too obvious. -Have to wait a while. I may be able to start up something here later, -when people sort of forget." - -"What have you done with Irene?" I stormed blackly. - -Haynes' look was quizzical. "Why ask me?" he answered. "She probably -ran off with one of your roustabouts. Or else they decided that she'd -be nice company to have around, and made her go along." - -He laughed cynically. Maybe he was telling the truth about not knowing -where Irene was. But if this was true, it didn't make me feel much -better. If some of his gang, who'd been working with us, had kidnapped -her, there was no telling how badly she'd fare. - -My fears showed on my face, and Norman Haynes seemed to enjoy them, -though he was nervous, dangerously so. It was getting daylight again, -now. He kept glancing at the sky, twiddling his soft hands. He didn't -like physical danger. - -"Your gravity generator seems to be the answer to my prayers, Wallace," -he informed me. "At full force it'll develop at least fifty Earth -gravities, before breaking down and melting itself. We've inspected it. -Power like that'll destroy all of you. It will look like an accident--a -breakdown of the machinery." - -Though Pa Mavrocordatus kept cursing Haynes continuously, and Geedeh -kept calling him names that no Earthman could have translated into our -less vitriolic English, our captor paid them no attention. He kept -directing his threats at me. That was how I knew he was still thinking -of the time in his office at Enterprize, when I'd called him by his -true colors. He still held that grudge, and he meant to pay me back -with fifty gravities. Which means that every pound of Earth-weight -would be increased to fifty pounds! In a grip like that a man as big as -me would weigh a good four tons! - -That meant a heart stopped by the load of the blood it tried to pump, -and tissues crushed by their own weight! Like being on the surface of -some dead star of medium dimensions, where gravity is terrific! - - * * * * * - -At Haynes' order, six of his twenty henchmen picked up Geedeh and Pa -and me. The whole bunch was an ugly looking lot, the scum of the space -ports. Some of these men were commanded to stay on the surface of the -planetoid, while we were carried to the elevator shed. In the cage we -descended at dizzying speed to that vault at the center of 487 where -the gravity machinery was housed in its crystal shell. At that depth, -under the load of the column of air above, the atmospheric pressure was -very high. One could not breathe comfortably in that stuffy medium. - -"Courage!" Geedeh gasped to Pa Mavrocordatus and me, while his great -eyes kept roving around, looking for some chance that wasn't there. - -Haynes began to examine the machinery. He was smirking again. "Simple -to do!" he said to his companions. "Set the robot control for gradually -increasing power, so that we'll have time to get away. Break the manual -controls, so that no readjustments can be made. You can cut our friends -loose now, Zinder, so there won't be any ropes to show this was a -put-up job. But keep your blasters on these men--all of you!" - -This was the end, all right. I was sure of it. I'd die without even -knowing what had happened to Irene. Irene, whom I knew now that I -loved.... - -We'd been freed of our bonds when the surface phone rang. The lookout -party, whom Haynes had left above, was calling. Our captor snapped on -the switch of the speaker. A voice boomed in that busy cavern of metal -giants, green light, and glinting crystal: - -"Listen, Chief! There's a bunch of specks to the right of the sun. -They're getting bigger fast. Must be a flock of space ships. Couldn't -be any of yours. What'll we do?" - -I saw Haynes' weak features go sallow. Briefly my spirits rose. I -couldn't imagine whom those ships could belong to. But they must be -rescuers of some kind. They were coming to stop Norman Haynes' madness. - -But Haynes was clever, as he quickly proved. "Friends of Wallace here, -I suppose. Maybe even Space Patrol boats," he said over his phone to -the lookout party. "You'll all have to take a discomfort for a while. -We'll use gravity on them, too! They'll never land successfully." - -Pa Mavrocordatus looked at me and Geedeh. "What's he mean--use gravity?" - -Geedeh was a bit quicker than I in giving the obvious answer. "Just -as with us," he said. "Increase the output of the gravity generator -here to a certain degree. From space, the increase will be practically -unnoticeable. The rockets will try to land--but without taking into -consideration the multiplied attractive force, they will crash!" - -"Many birds with one stone!" Haynes chuckled gleefully. "You will -have a short reprieve, friends, while I take care of these intruders, -whoever they are. I can't use too great a gravity on them at first. It -might warn them, if they notice that their ships are accelerating too -rapidly. They might as well be part of my 'accident', even if they do -happen to be police. The Space Patrol has accidents now and then, just -like anybody else!" - -Haynes started to work the manual controls of the generator. The -area in which he and his several aides stood, was shielded against -the greater attraction, having been thus arranged by us for testing -purposes. The shrill hum of the machines grew louder. - -I felt the weight of my prone body increase suffocatingly. The -heat increased too, as the great coils, gleaming in the glow of -illuminators, gradually absorbed more power. And I knew that, out in -space, those slender fingers of force were reaching and strengthening, -invisible and treacherous. Our unknown friends were doomed. - -Not only were they doomed, but our whole idea was destined to failure. -The dream that Nick had died for. The vast progress that it meant. -Worlds out here--worlds with largely a self-sufficient production--real -colonization. Fair play. Norman Haynes would resist all that, because -progress would weaken his power here. He was master of the asteroids, -because he was master of their imports and exports. And unless he -could control the rejuvenated asteroids himself, they would never be. -With him directing, they would not represent a real improvement--only -another means of robbing from the colonists. And colonists weren't rich. - -I could see those same thoughts, that gouged savagely into my own -brain, burning in Geedeh's cat eyes, where he sprawled near me. Being -a Martian, born to a lesser gravity than the terrestrial, he was -suffering more than I--physically. But perhaps my mental torture was -worse. Geedeh was Irene's friend, but I loved her. She was gone--lost -somewhere--maybe dead. That, for me, was the worst--much worse than -that crushing weight. - -I couldn't let things remain the way they were! My seething fury and -need lashed me on, even in my helplessness. God--what could I do? I -tried to figure something out. Could I break the gravity machinery some -way? Impossible, now, certainly! - -I tried to remember my high school physics. Principles that might be -used to give warning signals, and so forth. And just what that awful -gravity would do to things. - -Close to me was the base of the domelike crystal shell that covered -the gravity generator. It wasn't a vital part, certainly, just stout -quartz. But it was the only thing I could reach. As I lay there on the -floor, I drew my foot back, doubling my knee. I stamped down against -the quartz with all my strength. The first blow cracked it. The second -drove my metal-shod boot-heel through with a crashing sound. A small -hole, eighteen inches long, was made in the barrier. The sounds of the -great machinery went on as before. The gravity kept slowly increasing. -Geedeh, suffering more, now, looked at me puzzledly. Pa Mavrocordatus -stared anxiously. And Norman Haynes at the surface phone laughed -unpleasantly. - -"Cracking up, eh, Wallace?" he sneered. "I know who your would-be -helpers on those space ships are, now. I suppose I should be surprised -at their identities. They're calling to you. Want to listen? My men -above have locked this surface phone to our ship radio." - -[Illustration: _"Cracking up, eh, Wallace?" Norman Haynes sneered._] - -He turned up the volume of the reproducer. - -Irene's voice was the first in the speaker. "Chet!" she was urging. -"Chet Wallace! Pa! Geedeh! Do you hear me? I left 487 of my own free -will. I couldn't waste time, going to the Space Patrol for help--they'd -want proof, and that would take a while to present. So--there was only -one person and I thought you'd mistrust him.... Why don't you answer? -Or have you left 487 too? I'm turning the mike over to somebody else, -now. I found him on Enterprize, just come from Earth, Mr. Arthur -Haynes...." - - - IV - -I gasped, listening to Irene. I didn't know what surprised and confused -me most--her being alive and safe, or what she'd done about old Art -Haynes. Could I trust old Art? I had no way of telling. Had Irene -told him about his nephew, or had she kept silent? Did he know he was -opposed to Norman Haynes, or did he think it was somebody else who had -sabotaged the project? Where would his loyalties be, if he found out? -It was a ticklish situation. - -As soon as Irene's ragged, excited breathing died away in the speaker, -Norman Haynes took it upon himself to clarify his own stand, and my -uncertainties. He looked at Geedeh and Pa and me, tense and suffering -in the grip of the gravity, and tortured with doubt. - -"Uncle Art is an old fool," he said. "So he thinks he'll come back to -the asteroids, and replace me in the business, does he? Well, he should -have died long ago, and now is as good a time as any! He might as well -be part of the accident, too, along with those space bums of yours. -Nobody'll ever know!" - -It was tragic that old Art couldn't have heard that. But his nephew -wasn't broadcasting. He was just listening quietly. And now his uncle's -voice was coming through: - -"We're blasting in to land, Wallace, if you're listening. There won't -be any more trouble, now. I'll see to that! We'll find out who's back -of this sabotage. We'll put an end to it!" - -For me it was bitter, black irony--old Art proving himself our friend, -now! He didn't know his enemy. He was nearly ninety--a grim old -fighter, with real vision. Irene too, who meant everything to me. She -didn't know that with the intensified gravity those incoming ships -would be smashed and blazing! - -My mind was growing a bit dim in the strangling pressure of -the artificial gravitation. Sweat was streaming from me in the -smothering heat that added to the oppressiveness of the heavy air. Pa -Mavrocordatus was groaning the name of his daughter. Geedeh's great -eyes were fixed on me in helpless suffering. - -Through the shrill sounds of the engines I listened for more words -from Irene and old Art. But none came. They must know their doom by -now. They must be fighting savagely and hopelessly to get away. Still -some distance from 487, they were already caught, deep in the web of -invisible force. - -After some moments, I heard a distant crash, a roll of sound. What was -it? A huge rocket, hitting the jagged crags above, at meteoric speed? -Crumpling, destroying itself and those inside it? I thought my heart -would burst with the added weight of my anxiety. - -The first crash was only the beginning. Others followed in quick -succession--inexorably. And there was a faint, far-off roar, coming -down from ten miles above. - -And that roar was the roar of titanic rain. Of floods of water coming -down this shaft, where the gravity machine was! All the countless tons -of water that we'd baked from ancient rocks, and which had been mostly -suspended as vapor in our synthetic atmosphere, was condensing now, -coming down in torrents! - - * * * * * - -Norman Haynes kept grinning satanically, while he and his aides -attended to the gravity machine. Triumph showed in his eyes. But -presently he began to look puzzled, as that soughing roar that -accompanied the crashing din, increased. It was a little early for the -space ships to be smashing up, anyway. - -I could feel a grim smile coming over my lips, against my will. Had my -guesses and hopes, which had seemed so unsubstantial, been correct? -Norman Haynes was glancing doubtfully at the reproducer. I could see -that he was wondering why his surface watchers didn't communicate any -more--and tell him what was happening up there on the crust of 487. - -I knew the answers, now! Geedeh did, too. The excitement of knowledge -was in his withered, pain-wracked face. Those distant crashes were not -what I'd feared they might be, but part of what I'd hoped for. They -were gigantic thunder-claps--the noise of terrific lightning bolts! -Norman Haynes had made a simple oversight in his plan to destroy those -incoming space craft. There was a fearsome electrical storm going on -above--one of inconceivable proportions--utterly beyond the Earthly! -Doubtless all of Norman Haynes' surface watchers, up above, had been -killed by that sudden deluge of electricity! The multiplied gravitation -up there, had pinned them down, so that they could neither escape, nor -warn their chief! - -Before Norman Haynes understood what was happening, foam-flecked muddy -water was at the door of the machinery room, rushing and gurgling past -the threshold! He and his helpers stared at it stupidly, and I laughed -at them. - -"You didn't realize it, did you, Haynes?" I grunted. "You didn't -realize that increased gravity would increase the weight of the -atmosphere, as well as of everything else! And increased weight of -the air, means increased atmospheric pressure, too, pushing molecules -together, creating greater density. And what happens? Go back to your -high school physics, Haynes! It's like when you store air in the tank -of a compressor pump. The moisture in it liquifies. And in the case -of an atmosphere as big as 487 has now, static electricity would be -suddenly and violently condensed, besides." - -Norman Haynes stared at me, stunned with consternation. But his -recovery was fairly prompt. His sudden sneer had a rattish desperation. -"Hell," he said. "Just a thunder storm. A lot of rain. What of it? The -gravity machine still works. The ships will still be destroyed." - -I knew that that was true--unless what I'd planned happened. Those -rockets, manned by our old construction crew, and Irene, and old Art -Haynes, had been too close to asteroid 487 for the last couple of -minutes, to effect an escape, even if the sudden dark clouds had warned -them that something dangerous was afoot. - -"Watch this--Haynes," Geedeh panted, and it was hard for the acting -head of the Haynes Shipping Company to guess what the little Martian -meant, at first. - - * * * * * - -Under the pull of that terrific gravity, the water was coming into that -room like an avalanche. Geedeh and Pa and I were floundering in it -feebly, held to the floor by that awful weight. I was sure we'd drown. -But as we coughed and sputtered, the flood found its way through the -hole I'd kicked, low down in the side of the crystal dome that covered -that gigantic machinery. There was a flash of electrical flame, as the -water interfered with the functioning of the apparatus. - -It was pandemonium, then. Every man for himself. Geedeh, the scientist, -and I, who, under the force of grim need, had somehow contrived to plan -this finale, had the advantage of knowledge. We'd figured out a little -of what to do. - -The gravity winked off suddenly--reaching the low of practically -nothing, here at the center of this tiny world, whose normal -attraction, even at the surface, was very small. We struggled to our -feet, in a muddy swirl that was now a yard in depth. But before we -could take advantage of our sudden lightness, and leap clear, the -gravity machines gave a last gasp of power, and we were pulled down -again, smothering. Then, with a grating roar, the apparatus stopped. -The bedlam ceased, except for a low whine of expanding atmosphere, and -screams from Haynes and his men. - -Presently, I felt all hell stabbing through me. My ears rang as -with the after effects of some colossal explosion. My whole body -ached. I clutched at Geedeh, who seemed on the point of collapse. Pa -Mavrocordatus managed to help me.... - -But strained by gravity vastly stronger than that of Mars, and now -facing a circumstance even more dangerous, tough little Geedeh still -had his wits, fortunately for us all. He pointed to an airtight crystal -cage at one edge of the chamber. The cage was necessary in routine -testing of the machinery here, which called for variations in the -output of the gravity generators, and consequent great variations in -air pressure. - -"Inside the cage--all of us!" Geedeh squeaked. "Quickly! Bends!..." - -Do you know what the air pressure is, at the bottom of a ten-mile -shaft, even at normal Earth gravity? Yeah, something pretty high! Then -you can imagine what it had just been like, here, at six or seven -gravities! But when the generators had quit entirely, there had been -that sudden loss of weight in the air, sudden expansion, thinning, loss -of pressure! - -The three of us got inside the cage, and sealed the door. I spun -valves. There was a hiss of entering atmosphere, and the pressure rose -again, far above the norm of sea-level, on Earth. I felt better at -once, but I knew it had been a close call. - -We looked out at Norman Haynes and his henchmen. They weren't drowning, -now. Tottering, they stood with their heads well above the flood. It -was something else that was killing them. Not suffocation, either. -Their faces were bloated and congested in the glow of illuminators. -Their bodies seemed to swell. - -Norman Haynes raised his blast tube, as did several of the others, -trying to fire at the crystal shelter where we had taken refuge. Norman -Haynes must have known his failure, then. Why had it happened. How we -had won. It may be that he even realized some justice in his hideous -punishment. He had tried to obstruct progress and fair play. - -The blast tube dropped from his fingers. He opened his mouth to shriek -in his agony. But dark blood gushed forth, and, with his henchmen, he -toppled back into the water. - - * * * * * - -"Bends!" Geedeh said again. "Haynes had a worse case of bends than any -deep-sea diver ever experienced." - -The flood had almost stopped, now, outside the cage. We waited. -Vengeance was complete. And it wasn't quite as satisfying as I might -once have thought. - -Presently they were with us. Irene. And old Art--proving that the -Haynes name was still great, even though one who bore it had soiled it -some. We emerged from our sealed cage, after the pressure around us was -gradually lowered to normal. - -"I didn't think it was Norman who was guilty," old Art breathed sadly -when he spoke to us. "I knew he was high-handed, but I didn't realize -it was as bad as it was. I guess Norman got what he deserved," he -finished, and there were tears in his heavy voice. - -We went to the surface in the elevator. We needed space suits again, -up there, with the air as expanded as it was. A lot of the atmosphere -was leaking away from 487, being held down only by the tiny natural -gravity. But there was nothing that couldn't be repaired and replaced. - -"We must have pumps rigged to draw the water out of the vault, so that -we can dry and repair the gravity machinery, and start it again," -Geedeh stated. - -We started again, almost as we had done at the first, for quite a -bit of the air and water had been whisked into space. We lived in -space-suits for days, rebuilding and repairing the damaged machinery. -Then with the aid of Art Haynes, and with extended credit now that our -plans were made fully known and approved, we imported machinery to pump -the water from the vault. - -We hired specialists to come in, each of them with a trained crew of -men to do the work that our old crews lacked the technical skill to do. -Slowly, our planet of hope grew again, and there were bulletins sent -through the asteroid belt that workers were wanted again on Paradise -Asteroid. - -The specialists left, replaced by the crews that had worked on the -asteroid before. With unlimited credit, our great freighting ships -piled materials in regular formation, and the returning crews set their -ships down on the landing fields, the men pouring eagerly forth, ready -to set up the buildings that would be the nucleus of another Earth in -space. - -With our old crews returned, it took about a hundred hours to -accomplish this. Asteroid 487 was almost the same as before the final -trouble with Norman Haynes, now, except that the air was a little -thinner. But that could be quickly taken care of. Pa Mavrocordatus -was working with his vineyards and trees, and his tomato and cabbage -patches, again. The big trouble was all finished, now. The dream was -coming true. A little Earth, fresh and green, for tired miners of the -Path of Minor Planets. Space madness could never be so common now. And -cheap, fresh products would be theirs. - - - V - -Irene and I walked in the warm night. The crews were whooping it up -in the lighted barracks. Somebody was playing a harmonica. The stars -were brilliant, and there were a thousand things to think of. How -we'd all struggled. How Nick Mavrocordatus, had dreamed and worked -and died. How once the asteroids had been a planet, with almost human -inhabitants, dreaming, planning, struggling, too. Their rock carvings -were everywhere. - -"It's the beginning, Chet," Irene whispered. "Asteroid 487 is the -first. But there'll be others--other small, beautiful, living planets. -There's a lot of work to be done. And when it's all finished that will -be almost unfortunate--too tame." - -I knew what she meant. She was pioneer stuff, just as all of us were. -The greatness of life was in its battles. On and on, to vaster and -vaster heights. That was what had driven us into the interplanetary -void in the first place. - -I kissed her. "Don't worry, Honey," I said. "There's no end to it. No -point of final stagnation. It goes on and on. There'll always be a -frontier--something bigger to reach and conquer...." - -And we looked up in awe toward the infinite stars. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Space Oasis, by Raymond Z. 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