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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..576acf8 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #62314 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/62314) diff --git a/old/62314-h.zip b/old/62314-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index c7eaee7..0000000 --- a/old/62314-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62314-h/62314-h.htm b/old/62314-h/62314-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 9a22677..0000000 --- a/old/62314-h/62314-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1085 +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 Stranger from Space, by Hannes Bok. - </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; -} - -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; -} - -.poetry .stanza -{ - margin: 1em auto; -} - -.poetry .verse -{ - padding-left: 3em; -} - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Stranger From Space, by Hannes Bok - -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: Stranger From Space - -Author: Hannes Bok - -Release Date: June 2, 2020 [EBook #62314] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STRANGER FROM SPACE *** - - - - -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="349" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>STRANGER FROM SPACE</h1> - -<h2>By HANNES BOK</h2> - -<p>She prayed that a God would come from the skies<br /> -and carry her away to bright adventures. But<br /> -when he came in a metal globe, she knew only<br /> -disappointment—for his godliness was oddly strange!</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Planet Stories March 1943.<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>It was twilight on Venus—the rusty red that the eyes notice when -their closed lids are raised to light. Against the glow, fantastically -twisted trees spread claws of spiky leaves, and a group of clay huts -thrust up sharp edges of shadow, like the abandoned toy blocks of a -gigantic child. There was no sign of clear sky and stars—the heavens -were roofed by a perpetual ceiling of dust-clouds.</p> - -<p>A light glimmered in one of the huts. Feminine voices rippled across -the clearing and into the jungle. There was laughter, then someone's -faint and wistful sigh. One of the voices mourned, in the twittering -Venusian speech, "How I envy you, Koroby! I wish I were being married -tonight, like you!"</p> - -<p>Koroby stared defiantly at the laughing faces of her bridesmaids. She -shrugged hopelessly. "I don't care," she said slowly. "It will be nice -to have Yasak for a husband—yes. And perhaps I do love him. I don't -know." She tightened her lips as she reflected on it.</p> - -<p>She left them, moving gracefully to the door. Venus-girls were -generally of truly elfin proportions, so delicately slim that they -seemed incapable of the slightest exertion. But Koroby's body -was—compared to her friends'—voluptuous.</p> - -<p>She rested against the door-frame, watching the red of the afterglow -deepen to purple. "I want romance," she said, so softly that the girls -had to strain forward to hear her. "I wish that there were other worlds -than this—and that someone would drop out of the skies and claim -me ... and take me away from here, away from all this—this monotony!"</p> - -<p>She turned back to her friends, went to them, one of her hands, patting -the head of the kneeling one. She eyed herself in the mirror.</p> - -<p>"Well—heigh-ho! There don't seem to be any other worlds, and nobody is -going to steal me away from Yasak, so I might as well get on with my -preparations. The men with the litter will be here soon to carry me to -the Stone City."</p> - -<p>She ran slim hands down her sides, smoothing the blue sarong; she -fondled her dark braids. "Trossa, how about some flowers at my ears—or -do you think that it would look a little too much—?" Her eyes sought -the mirror, and her lips parted in an irreprehensible smile. She -trilled softly to herself, "Yes, I am beautiful tonight—the loveliest -woman Yasak will ever see!" And then, regretfully, sullenly, "But oh, -if only <i>He</i> would come ... the man of my dreams!"</p> - -<p>There was a rap at the doorway; they turned. One of the litter-bearers -loomed darker than the gloomy sky. "Are you ready?" he asked.</p> - -<p>Koroby twirled before the mirror, criticizing her appearance. "Yes, -ready," she said.</p> - -<p>"Ready!" the girls cried. Then there was a little silence.</p> - -<p>"Shall we go now?" Koroby asked, and the litter-carrier nodded. Koroby -kissed the girls, one after another. "Here, Shonka—you can have this -bracelet you've always liked. And this is for you, Lolla. And here, -Trossa—and you, Shia. Goodbye, darlings, goodbye—come and see me -whenever you can!"</p> - -<p>"Goodbye, Koroby!"</p> - -<p>"Goodbye! Goodbye!" They crowded around her, embracing, babbling -farewells, shreds of advice. Trossa began to cry. Finally Koroby broke -away from them, went to the door. She took a last look at the interior -of the little hut, dim in the lamplight—at the hard bed of laced -<i>gnau</i>-hide strips, the crude but beautifully-carved charts and chests. -Then she turned and stepped out into the night.</p> - -<p>"This way," the litter-carrier announced, touching the girl's arm. They -stumbled over the rutted clearing toward the twinkling sparks that were -the lights of the other litter-bearers, colored sparks as befitted -a wedding-conveyance. The winking lights were enclosed in shells of -colored glass for another reason—the danger of their firing the papery -jungle verdure.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was not a new litter, built especially for the occasion—Yasak was -too practical a man to sanction any kind of waste. It was the same -old litter that Koroby had been watching come and go ever since she -was a little girl, a canopied framework of gaudily-painted carvings. -She had wondered, watching it pass, whether its cushioned floor was -soft, and now, as she stepped into the litter, she patted the padding -experimentally. Yes, it was soft .... And fragrant, too—a shade too -fragrant. It smelled stale, hinting of other occupants, other brides -being borne to other weddings....</p> - -<p>Garlands of flowers occupied a good deal of space in it. Settled among -them, she felt like a bird in a strange nest. She leaned back among -them; they rustled dryly. Too bad—it had been such a dry year—</p> - -<p>"You're comfortable?" the litter bearer asked. Koroby nodded, and the -litter was lifted, was carried along the path.</p> - -<p>The procession filed into the jungle, into a tunnel of arched branches, -of elephant-eared leaves. Above the monotonous music came the hiss of -the torches, the occasional startled cry of a wakened bird. The glow of -the flames, in the dusty air, hung around the party, sharply defined, -like a cloak of light. At times a breeze would shake the ceiling of -foliage, producing the sound of rolling surf.</p> - -<p>Koroby fingered the flowers around her throat, her eyes rapt on the -passing trees. Her lips moved in the barest murmur: "If only—!" -and again, "Oh, if only—!" But the music trickled on, and nothing -happened; the litter seemed to float along—none of the bearers even -stumbled.</p> - -<p>They came to a cleared space of waist-high grass. It was like a canyon -steeply walled by cliffs of verdure. The litter jerked as it glided -along, and Koroby heard one of the bearers exclaim gruffly, "Listen!" -Then the litter resumed its dream-like floating on the backs of the men.</p> - -<p>"What was it?" another bearer asked.</p> - -<p>"Thought I heard something," the other replied. "Shrill and high—like -something screaming—"</p> - -<p>Koroby peered out. "A <i>gnau</i>?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"I don't know," the bearer volunteered.</p> - -<p>Koroby lifted a hand. "Stop the litter," she said.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The conveyance halted. Koroby leaning out, the men peering around them, -they listened. One of the bearers shouted at the musicians; the music -ceased. There was nothing to be heard except the whisper of the breeze -in the grass.</p> - -<p>Then the girl heard it—a shrill, distant whine, dying away, then -growing louder—and louder—it seemed to be approaching—from the sky—</p> - -<p>All the faces were lifted up now, worriedly. The whine grew -louder—Koroby's hands clenched nervously on the wreaths at her throat—</p> - -<p>Then, far ahead, a series of bright flashes, like the lightning of the -dust-storms, but brilliantly green. A silence, then staccatto reports, -certainly not thunder—unlike any sound that Koroby had ever heard.</p> - -<p>There was a babble of voices as the musicians crowded together, asking -what had it been, and where—just exactly—could one suppose it had -happened, that thunder—was it going to storm!</p> - -<p>They waited, but nothing further happened—there were no more stabs of -green light nor detonations. The bearers stooped to lift the litter's -poles to their shoulders. "Shall we go on?" one of them asked Koroby.</p> - -<p>She waved a hand. "Yes, go on."</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" width="392" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>The litter resumed its gentle swaying, but the music did not start -again. Then, from the direction of the light-flashes, a glow appeared, -shining steadily, green as the flashes had been. Noticing it, Koroby -frowned. Then the path bent, and the glow swung to one side.</p> - -<p>Suddenly Koroby reached out, tapped the shoulder of the closet bearer. -"Go toward the light."</p> - -<p>His face swung up to hers. "But—there's no path that way—"</p> - -<p>"I don't care," she said. "Take me there." Her order had reached the -others' ears, and they slowed their pace.</p> - -<p>"Lady—believe me—it's impossible. There's nothing but matted jungle -in that direction—we'd have to hack our way as we go along. And who -knows how far away that light is? Besides, you're on your way to be -married."</p> - -<p>"Take me to that light!" she persisted.</p> - -<p>They set the litter down. "We can't do that," one man said to another.</p> - -<p>Koroby stepped out to the path, straightened up, her eyes on the glow. -"You'd better," she said ominously. "Otherwise, I'll make a complaint -to Yasak—"</p> - -<p>The men eyed each other, mentally shrugging. "Well—" one yielded.</p> - -<p>The girl whirled impatiently on the others. "Hurry!" she cried. "If you -won't take me, I'll go by myself. I must get to that fire, whatever it -is!" She put a hand to her heart. "I must! I must!" Then she faced the -green glare again, smiling to herself.</p> - -<p>"You can't do that!" a carrier cried.</p> - -<p>"Well, then, you take me," she said over her shoulder.</p> - -<p>Grumbling, they bent to the conveyance's poles, and Koroby lithely -slipped to the cushions. They turned off the path, plodded through the -deep grass toward the light. The litter lurched violently as their -feet caught in the tangled grass, and clouds of fine dust arose from -the disturbed blades.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>By the time they reached the source of the light, they were quite -demoralized. The musicians had not accompanied them, preferring to -carry the message to Yasak in the Stone City that his prospective -bride had gone off on a mad journey. The bearers were powdered grey -with dust, striped with blood where the dry grass-stems had cut them. -They were exhausted and panting. Koroby was walking beside them, for -they had abandoned the litter finally. Her blue drapery was ripped and -rumpled; her carefully-arranged braids had fallen loose; dust on her -face had hid its youthful color, aging her.</p> - -<p>The expedition emerged from the jungle on a sandy stretch of barren -land. A thousand feet away a gigantic metal object lay on the sand, -crumpled as though it had dropped from a great distance. It had been -globular before the crash, and was pierced with holes like windows. -What could it possibly be? A house? But whoever heard of a metal house? -Why, who could forge such a thing! Yasak's house in the City had iron -doors, and they were considered one of the most wonderful things of the -age. It would take a giant to make such a ponderous thing as this.</p> - -<p>A house, fallen from the sky? The green lights poured out of its -crumpled part, and a strange bubbling and hissing filled the air.</p> - -<p>Koroby stopped short, clasping her hands and involuntarily uttering a -squeal of joyful excitement, for between her and the blaze, his eyes on -the destruction, stood a man.....</p> - -<p>He was very tall, and his shoulders were very wide. Oh, but he looked -like a man, and stood like one—even though his hands were folded -behind his back and he was probably dejected. A man in a house from the -sky—</p> - -<p>Koroby hastily grasped a corner of her gown, moistened it with saliva, -and scrubbed her face. She rearranged her hair, and stepped forward.</p> - -<p>"Don't go there—it's magic—he'll cast a spell—!" one of the bearers -whispered urgently, reaching after her, but Koroby pushed him away. The -litter-carriers watched the girl go, unconsciously huddling together -as if feeling the need for combined strength. They withdrew into the -jungle's shadows, and waited there anxiously, ready at any moment to -run away.</p> - -<p>But Koroby, with supreme confidence, walked toward the stranger, her -lovely body graceful as a cat's, her face radiant. The man did not hear -her. She halted behind him, waited silent, expectant, excited—but he -did not turn. The green fire sputtered upward. At last the girl stepped -to the man's side and gently touched him again. He turned, and her -heart faltered: she swayed with bliss.</p> - -<p>He was probably a god. Not even handsome Yasak looked like this. Here -was a face so finely-chiseled, so perfectly proportioned, that it was -almost frightening, unhuman, mechanical. It was unlined and without -expression, somehow unreal. Mysterious, compelling.</p> - -<p>He was clothed very peculiarly. A wonderfully-made metallic garment -enclosed his whole body—legs and all, unlike the Venus-men's tunics. -Even his feet were covered. Perhaps it was armor—though the Venus-men -usually wore only breastplate and greaves. And a helmet hid all of -the man's head except his face. Around his waist was a belt with many -incomprehensible objects dangling from it. If he was so well armored, -why was he not carrying a sword—a dagger at least! Of what use were -those things on his belt—for instance, that notched L-shaped thing? It -would not even make a decent club!</p> - -<p>The stranger did not speak, merely gazed deeply into Koroby's eyes. And -she, returning the gaze, wondered if he was peering into her very soul. -The words of a folk-ballad came to her:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">"—He'll smile and touch my cheek,</div> - <div class="verse">And maybe more;</div> - <div class="verse">And though we'll neither speak,</div> - <div class="verse">We'll know the score—"</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Suddenly he put his hands to her cheeks and bent close to her, his eyes -peering into hers as though he were searching for something he had lost -in them. She spoke her thought: "What are you doing? You seem to be -reading my mind!"</p> - -<p>Without removing hands, he nodded. "Reading—mind." He stared long -into her eyes. His dispassionate, too-perfect face began to frighten -her. She slipped back from him, her hand clutching her throat.</p> - -<p>He straightened up and spoke—haltingly at first, then with growing -assurance. "Don't be afraid. I mean you no harm." She trembled. It was -such a wonderful voice—it was as she had always dreamed it! But she -had never really believed in the dream....</p> - -<p>He was looking at the wrecked globe of metal. "So there are people on -Venus!" he said slowly.</p> - -<p>Koroby watched him, forgot her fear, and went eagerly to him, took his -arm. "Who are you?" she asked. "Tell me your name!"</p> - -<p>He turned his mask of a face to her. "My name? I have none," he said.</p> - -<p>"No name? But who are you? Where are you from? And what is that?" She -pointed at the metal globe.</p> - -<p>"The vehicle by which I came here from a land beyond the sky," he said. -She had no concept of stars or space, and he could not fully explain. -"From a world known as Terra."</p> - -<p>She was silent a moment, stunned. So there was another world! Then she -asked, "Is it far? Have you come to take me there?"</p> - -<p>Here the similarity between her dream and actual experience ended. -What was he thinking as he eyed her for a long moment? She had no way -of guessing. He said, "No, I am not going to take you back there." Her -month gaped in surprise, and he continued, "As for the distance to -Terra—it is incredibly far away."</p> - -<p>The glare was beginning to die, the green flames' hissing fading to a -whisper. They watched the melting globe sag on the sand. Then Koroby -said, "But if it is so far away, how could you speak my language? There -are some tribes beyond the jungle whose language is unlike ours—"</p> - -<p>"I read your mind," he explained indifferently. "I have a remarkable -memory."</p> - -<p>"Remarkable indeed!" she mocked. "No one here could do that."</p> - -<p>"But my race is infinitely superior to yours," he said blandly. "You -little people—ah—" He gestured airily.</p> - -<p>Her lips tightened and her eyes narrowed. "And I?"</p> - -<p>His voice sounded almost surprised. "What about you?"</p> - -<p>"You see nothing about me worthy of your respect? Are you infinitely -superior to me—<i>me</i>?"</p> - -<p>He looked her up and down. "Of course!"</p> - -<p>Her eyes jerked wide open and she took a deep breath. "And just who do -you think you are? A god?"</p> - -<p>He shook his head. "No. Just better informed, for one thing. And—"</p> - -<p>Koroby cut him short. "What's your name?"</p> - -<p>"I have none."</p> - -<p>"What do you mean, you have none?"</p> - -<p>He seemed just a trifle bored. "We gave up names long ago on my world. -We are concerned with more weighty things than our own selves. But I -have a personal problem now," he said, making a peculiar sound that -was not quite a sigh. "Here I am stranded on Venus, my ship utterly -wrecked, and I'm due at the Reisezek Convention in two weeks. You"—he -gripped Koroby's shoulder, and his strength made her wince—"tell me, -where is the nearest city? I must communicate with my people at once."</p> - -<p>She pointed. "The Stone City's that way."</p> - -<p>"Good," he said. "Let's go there."</p> - -<p>They took another glance at the metal globe and the green fire, which -by now had died to a fitful glimmer. Then the stranger and the girl -started toward the jungle, where the litter-bearers awaited them.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>As the party was struggling through the prairie's tall grass, the man -said to Koroby, "I realize from the pictures in your mind that there -is no means in your city of communicating directly with my people. But -it seems that there are materials which I can utilize in building a -signal—"</p> - -<p>He was walking along, head erect, apparently quite at ease, while the -litter bearers and Koroby could barely drag themselves with him. The -girl's garment was a tattered ruin. Her skin was gritty with dust, and -she was bleeding from many scratches. She tripped over tangled roots -and exclaimed in pain. Then the man took one of the strange implements -from his belt, pressed a knob on it, and light appeared as if by magic! -He handed the stick to Koroby, but she was afraid to touch it. This was -a strange light that gave no heat, nor flickered in the breeze. Finally -she accepted it from him, but carried it gingerly at arm's length.</p> - -<p>She refused to believe that he had no name, and so he named himself. -"Call me Robert. It is an ancient name on Terra."</p> - -<p>"Robert," she said, and, "Robert."</p> - -<p>But at last she could go no farther. She had forced herself along -because she wanted to impress this indifferent man that she was not as -inferior as he might think—but now she could not go on. With a little -cry almost of relief, she sank to the ground and lay semi-conscious, so -weary that the very pain of it seemed on the point of pleasure.</p> - -<p>Robert dipped down, scooped her up, and carried her.</p> - -<p>Lights glimmered ahead; shouts reached them. It was a searching party, -Yasak in it. The litter-carriers who could still speak blurted out what -had happened. "A green light—loud sounds—fire—this man there—" and -then dropped into sleep.</p> - -<p>"Someone carry these men," Yasak ordered. To Robert he said, "We're not -very far from the path to the City now. Shall I carry the girl?"</p> - -<p>"It makes no difference," Robert said.</p> - -<p>"You will stay with me while you are in the City, of course," Yasak -said, as they walked. He eyed this handsome stranger speculatively, and -then turned to shout an necessary order. "You, there, keep in line!" He -glanced at Robert furtively to see if this had impressed him at all.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was day. Koroby sat up in bed and scanned her surroundings. She was -in Yasak's house. The bed was very soft, the coverlets of the finest -weave. The furniture was elegantly carved and painted; there were even -paintings on the walls.</p> - -<p>A woman came to the bed. She was stocky and wore drab grey: the blue -circles tattooed on her cheeks proclaimed her a slave. "How do you -feel?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"Fairly well. How long have I been ill?" Koroby asked, sweetly weak.</p> - -<p>"You haven't been ill. They brought you in last night."</p> - -<p>"Oh," Koroby said disappointedly, and sat upright. "I feel as if I'd -been lying here for weeks. Where's Yasak? Where's the strange man in -armor?"</p> - -<p>"Yasak's out somewhere. The stranger man is in the room at the end of -the hall."</p> - -<p>"Fetch me something to wear—that's good enough," the girl accepted the -mantle offered by the slave. "Quick, some water—I must wash."</p> - -<p>In a few minutes she was lightly running down the hall; she knocked on -the door of Robert's room. "May I come in?"</p> - -<p>He did not answer. She waited a little and went in. He was seated on -one of the carved chairs, fussing over some scraps of metal on the -table. He did not look up.</p> - -<p>"Thank you for carrying me, Robert." He did not reply. "Robert—I -dreamed of you last night. I dreamed you built another round house and -that we both flew away in it. Yasak had to stay behind, and he was -furious. Robert! Aren't you listening?"</p> - -<p>"I hear you."</p> - -<p>"Don't you think it was an exciting dream?" He shook his head. "But -why? Robert"—she laid longing hands on his shoulders—"can't you see -that I'm in love with you?" He shrugged. "I believe you don't know what -love is!"</p> - -<p>"I had a faint idea of it when I looked into your mind," he said. "I'm -afraid I haven't any use for it. Where I come from there is no love, -and there shouldn't be here, either. It's a waste of time."</p> - -<p>"Robert—I'm mad about you! I've dreamed of your coming—all my life! -Don't be so cruel—so cold to me! You mock me, say that I'm nothing, -that I'm not worthy of you—"</p> - -<p>She stepped back from him, clenching her hands. "Oh, I hate you—hate -you! You don't care the least bit about me—and I've shamed myself in -front of you—I, supposed to be Yasak's wife by now!" She began to -cry, hid her face in suddenly lax fingers. She looked up fiercely. "I -could kill you!" Robert stood immobile, no trace of feeling marring the -perfection of his face. "I could kill you, and I will kill you!" she -sprang at him.</p> - -<p>"You'll hurt yourself," he admonished kindly, and after she had -pummeled his chest, bruising her fingers on his armor, she turned away.</p> - -<p>"And now if you're through playing your incomprehensible little scene," -Robert said, "I hope you will excuse me. I regret that I have no -emotions—I was never allowed them. But it is an esthetic regret.... I -must go back to my wrecked ship now and arrange the signals there." He -did not wait for her leave, but strode out of the room.</p> - -<p>Koroby huddled on a chair, sobbing. Then she dried her eyes on the -backs of her hands. She went to the narrow slits that served as windows -and unfastened the translucent shutter of one. Down in the City street, -Robert was walking away. Her eyes hardened, and her fingers spread -into ugly claws. Without bothering to pull the shutter in place she -hurried out of the room, ran eagerly down the hall. She stopped at -the armor-rack at the main hall on her way outside, and snatched up a -<i>siatcha</i>—a firestone. Then she slipped outside and down the street.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The City's wall was not far behind. Robert was visible in the distance, -striding toward his sky-ship, a widening cloud of dust rising behind -him like the spreading wake of a boat. Koroby stood on tip-toe, waving -and calling after him, "Robert! Robert! Come back!" but he did not seem -to hear.</p> - -<p>She watched him a little longer. Then she deliberately stooped and drew -the firestone out of its sheath. She touched it to a blade of the tall -grass. A little orange flame licked up, slowly quested along the blade, -down to the ground and up another stem. It slipped over to another -stem, and another, growing larger, hotter—Koroby stepped back from the -writhing fire, her hand protectively over her face.</p> - -<p>The flames crackled at first—like the crumpling of thin paper. Then, -as they widened and began climbing hand over hand up an invisible -ladder, they roared. Koroby was running back toward the City now, away -from the heat. The fire spread in a long line over the prairie. Above -its roar came shouts from the City. The flames rose in a monstrous -twisting pillar, brighter than even the dust-palled sky, lighting the -buildings and the prairie. The heat was dreadful.</p> - -<p>Koroby reached the City wall, panted through the gate into a shrieking -crowd. Someone grasped her roughly—she was too breathless to do more -than gasp for air—and shook her violently. "You fool, you utter -fool! What did you think you were doing?" Others clamored around her, -reaching for her. Then she heard Yasak's voice. Face stern, he pushed -through the crowd, pressed her to him. "Let her alone—Let her alone, I -say!"</p> - -<p>They watched the conflagration, Yasak and Koroby, from a higher part of -the wall than where the others were gathered. They could glimpse Robert -now and then. He was running, trying to outrace the flames. Then they -swept around him, circling him—his arms flailed frantically.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The fire had passed over the horizon. The air was blue with smoke, -difficult to breathe, and ashes were drifting lightly down like -dove-colored snow. Yasak, watery eyed, a cloth pressed to his nose, was -walking with several others over the smoking earth and still warm ashes -up to his knees. In one hand he held a stick. He stopped and pointed. -"He fell about here," he said, and began to probe the ashes with the -stick.</p> - -<p>He struck something. "Here he is!" he cried. The others hurried to the -spot and scooped ashes away, dog-fashion, until Robert's remains were -laid clear. There were exclamations of amazement and perplexity from -the people.</p> - -<p>It was a metal skeleton, and the fragments of complicated machinery, -caked with soot.</p> - -<p>"He wasn't human at all!" Yasak marvelled. "He was some kind of a toy -made to look like a man—that's why he wore armor, and his face never -changed expression—"</p> - -<p>"Magic!" someone cried, and backed away.</p> - -<p>"Magic!" the others repeated, and edged back ... and that was the -end of one of those robots which had been fashioned as servants for -Terrestial men, made in Man's likeness to appease Man's vanity, then -conquered him.</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Stranger From Space, by Hannes Bok - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STRANGER FROM SPACE *** - -***** This file should be named 62314-h.htm or 62314-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/3/1/62314/ - -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 print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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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: Stranger From Space - -Author: Hannes Bok - -Release Date: June 2, 2020 [EBook #62314] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STRANGER FROM SPACE *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - STRANGER FROM SPACE - - By HANNES BOK - - She prayed that a God would come from the skies - and carry her away to bright adventures. But - when he came in a metal globe, she knew only - disappointment--for his godliness was oddly strange! - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Planet Stories March 1943. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -It was twilight on Venus--the rusty red that the eyes notice when -their closed lids are raised to light. Against the glow, fantastically -twisted trees spread claws of spiky leaves, and a group of clay huts -thrust up sharp edges of shadow, like the abandoned toy blocks of a -gigantic child. There was no sign of clear sky and stars--the heavens -were roofed by a perpetual ceiling of dust-clouds. - -A light glimmered in one of the huts. Feminine voices rippled across -the clearing and into the jungle. There was laughter, then someone's -faint and wistful sigh. One of the voices mourned, in the twittering -Venusian speech, "How I envy you, Koroby! I wish I were being married -tonight, like you!" - -Koroby stared defiantly at the laughing faces of her bridesmaids. She -shrugged hopelessly. "I don't care," she said slowly. "It will be nice -to have Yasak for a husband--yes. And perhaps I do love him. I don't -know." She tightened her lips as she reflected on it. - -She left them, moving gracefully to the door. Venus-girls were -generally of truly elfin proportions, so delicately slim that they -seemed incapable of the slightest exertion. But Koroby's body -was--compared to her friends'--voluptuous. - -She rested against the door-frame, watching the red of the afterglow -deepen to purple. "I want romance," she said, so softly that the girls -had to strain forward to hear her. "I wish that there were other worlds -than this--and that someone would drop out of the skies and claim -me ... and take me away from here, away from all this--this monotony!" - -She turned back to her friends, went to them, one of her hands, patting -the head of the kneeling one. She eyed herself in the mirror. - -"Well--heigh-ho! There don't seem to be any other worlds, and nobody is -going to steal me away from Yasak, so I might as well get on with my -preparations. The men with the litter will be here soon to carry me to -the Stone City." - -She ran slim hands down her sides, smoothing the blue sarong; she -fondled her dark braids. "Trossa, how about some flowers at my ears--or -do you think that it would look a little too much--?" Her eyes sought -the mirror, and her lips parted in an irreprehensible smile. She -trilled softly to herself, "Yes, I am beautiful tonight--the loveliest -woman Yasak will ever see!" And then, regretfully, sullenly, "But oh, -if only _He_ would come ... the man of my dreams!" - -There was a rap at the doorway; they turned. One of the litter-bearers -loomed darker than the gloomy sky. "Are you ready?" he asked. - -Koroby twirled before the mirror, criticizing her appearance. "Yes, -ready," she said. - -"Ready!" the girls cried. Then there was a little silence. - -"Shall we go now?" Koroby asked, and the litter-carrier nodded. Koroby -kissed the girls, one after another. "Here, Shonka--you can have this -bracelet you've always liked. And this is for you, Lolla. And here, -Trossa--and you, Shia. Goodbye, darlings, goodbye--come and see me -whenever you can!" - -"Goodbye, Koroby!" - -"Goodbye! Goodbye!" They crowded around her, embracing, babbling -farewells, shreds of advice. Trossa began to cry. Finally Koroby broke -away from them, went to the door. She took a last look at the interior -of the little hut, dim in the lamplight--at the hard bed of laced -_gnau_-hide strips, the crude but beautifully-carved charts and chests. -Then she turned and stepped out into the night. - -"This way," the litter-carrier announced, touching the girl's arm. They -stumbled over the rutted clearing toward the twinkling sparks that were -the lights of the other litter-bearers, colored sparks as befitted -a wedding-conveyance. The winking lights were enclosed in shells of -colored glass for another reason--the danger of their firing the papery -jungle verdure. - - * * * * * - -It was not a new litter, built especially for the occasion--Yasak was -too practical a man to sanction any kind of waste. It was the same -old litter that Koroby had been watching come and go ever since she -was a little girl, a canopied framework of gaudily-painted carvings. -She had wondered, watching it pass, whether its cushioned floor was -soft, and now, as she stepped into the litter, she patted the padding -experimentally. Yes, it was soft .... And fragrant, too--a shade too -fragrant. It smelled stale, hinting of other occupants, other brides -being borne to other weddings.... - -Garlands of flowers occupied a good deal of space in it. Settled among -them, she felt like a bird in a strange nest. She leaned back among -them; they rustled dryly. Too bad--it had been such a dry year-- - -"You're comfortable?" the litter bearer asked. Koroby nodded, and the -litter was lifted, was carried along the path. - -The procession filed into the jungle, into a tunnel of arched branches, -of elephant-eared leaves. Above the monotonous music came the hiss of -the torches, the occasional startled cry of a wakened bird. The glow of -the flames, in the dusty air, hung around the party, sharply defined, -like a cloak of light. At times a breeze would shake the ceiling of -foliage, producing the sound of rolling surf. - -Koroby fingered the flowers around her throat, her eyes rapt on the -passing trees. Her lips moved in the barest murmur: "If only--!" -and again, "Oh, if only--!" But the music trickled on, and nothing -happened; the litter seemed to float along--none of the bearers even -stumbled. - -They came to a cleared space of waist-high grass. It was like a canyon -steeply walled by cliffs of verdure. The litter jerked as it glided -along, and Koroby heard one of the bearers exclaim gruffly, "Listen!" -Then the litter resumed its dream-like floating on the backs of the men. - -"What was it?" another bearer asked. - -"Thought I heard something," the other replied. "Shrill and high--like -something screaming--" - -Koroby peered out. "A _gnau_?" she asked. - -"I don't know," the bearer volunteered. - -Koroby lifted a hand. "Stop the litter," she said. - - * * * * * - -The conveyance halted. Koroby leaning out, the men peering around them, -they listened. One of the bearers shouted at the musicians; the music -ceased. There was nothing to be heard except the whisper of the breeze -in the grass. - -Then the girl heard it--a shrill, distant whine, dying away, then -growing louder--and louder--it seemed to be approaching--from the sky-- - -All the faces were lifted up now, worriedly. The whine grew -louder--Koroby's hands clenched nervously on the wreaths at her throat-- - -Then, far ahead, a series of bright flashes, like the lightning of the -dust-storms, but brilliantly green. A silence, then staccatto reports, -certainly not thunder--unlike any sound that Koroby had ever heard. - -There was a babble of voices as the musicians crowded together, asking -what had it been, and where--just exactly--could one suppose it had -happened, that thunder--was it going to storm! - -They waited, but nothing further happened--there were no more stabs of -green light nor detonations. The bearers stooped to lift the litter's -poles to their shoulders. "Shall we go on?" one of them asked Koroby. - -She waved a hand. "Yes, go on." - -The litter resumed its gentle swaying, but the music did not start -again. Then, from the direction of the light-flashes, a glow appeared, -shining steadily, green as the flashes had been. Noticing it, Koroby -frowned. Then the path bent, and the glow swung to one side. - -Suddenly Koroby reached out, tapped the shoulder of the closet bearer. -"Go toward the light." - -His face swung up to hers. "But--there's no path that way--" - -"I don't care," she said. "Take me there." Her order had reached the -others' ears, and they slowed their pace. - -"Lady--believe me--it's impossible. There's nothing but matted jungle -in that direction--we'd have to hack our way as we go along. And who -knows how far away that light is? Besides, you're on your way to be -married." - -"Take me to that light!" she persisted. - -They set the litter down. "We can't do that," one man said to another. - -Koroby stepped out to the path, straightened up, her eyes on the glow. -"You'd better," she said ominously. "Otherwise, I'll make a complaint -to Yasak--" - -The men eyed each other, mentally shrugging. "Well--" one yielded. - -The girl whirled impatiently on the others. "Hurry!" she cried. "If you -won't take me, I'll go by myself. I must get to that fire, whatever it -is!" She put a hand to her heart. "I must! I must!" Then she faced the -green glare again, smiling to herself. - -"You can't do that!" a carrier cried. - -"Well, then, you take me," she said over her shoulder. - -Grumbling, they bent to the conveyance's poles, and Koroby lithely -slipped to the cushions. They turned off the path, plodded through the -deep grass toward the light. The litter lurched violently as their -feet caught in the tangled grass, and clouds of fine dust arose from -the disturbed blades. - - * * * * * - -By the time they reached the source of the light, they were quite -demoralized. The musicians had not accompanied them, preferring to -carry the message to Yasak in the Stone City that his prospective -bride had gone off on a mad journey. The bearers were powdered grey -with dust, striped with blood where the dry grass-stems had cut them. -They were exhausted and panting. Koroby was walking beside them, for -they had abandoned the litter finally. Her blue drapery was ripped and -rumpled; her carefully-arranged braids had fallen loose; dust on her -face had hid its youthful color, aging her. - -The expedition emerged from the jungle on a sandy stretch of barren -land. A thousand feet away a gigantic metal object lay on the sand, -crumpled as though it had dropped from a great distance. It had been -globular before the crash, and was pierced with holes like windows. -What could it possibly be? A house? But whoever heard of a metal house? -Why, who could forge such a thing! Yasak's house in the City had iron -doors, and they were considered one of the most wonderful things of the -age. It would take a giant to make such a ponderous thing as this. - -A house, fallen from the sky? The green lights poured out of its -crumpled part, and a strange bubbling and hissing filled the air. - -Koroby stopped short, clasping her hands and involuntarily uttering a -squeal of joyful excitement, for between her and the blaze, his eyes on -the destruction, stood a man..... - -He was very tall, and his shoulders were very wide. Oh, but he looked -like a man, and stood like one--even though his hands were folded -behind his back and he was probably dejected. A man in a house from the -sky-- - -Koroby hastily grasped a corner of her gown, moistened it with saliva, -and scrubbed her face. She rearranged her hair, and stepped forward. - -"Don't go there--it's magic--he'll cast a spell--!" one of the bearers -whispered urgently, reaching after her, but Koroby pushed him away. The -litter-carriers watched the girl go, unconsciously huddling together -as if feeling the need for combined strength. They withdrew into the -jungle's shadows, and waited there anxiously, ready at any moment to -run away. - -But Koroby, with supreme confidence, walked toward the stranger, her -lovely body graceful as a cat's, her face radiant. The man did not hear -her. She halted behind him, waited silent, expectant, excited--but he -did not turn. The green fire sputtered upward. At last the girl stepped -to the man's side and gently touched him again. He turned, and her -heart faltered: she swayed with bliss. - -He was probably a god. Not even handsome Yasak looked like this. Here -was a face so finely-chiseled, so perfectly proportioned, that it was -almost frightening, unhuman, mechanical. It was unlined and without -expression, somehow unreal. Mysterious, compelling. - -He was clothed very peculiarly. A wonderfully-made metallic garment -enclosed his whole body--legs and all, unlike the Venus-men's tunics. -Even his feet were covered. Perhaps it was armor--though the Venus-men -usually wore only breastplate and greaves. And a helmet hid all of -the man's head except his face. Around his waist was a belt with many -incomprehensible objects dangling from it. If he was so well armored, -why was he not carrying a sword--a dagger at least! Of what use were -those things on his belt--for instance, that notched L-shaped thing? It -would not even make a decent club! - -The stranger did not speak, merely gazed deeply into Koroby's eyes. And -she, returning the gaze, wondered if he was peering into her very soul. -The words of a folk-ballad came to her: - - "--He'll smile and touch my cheek, - And maybe more; - And though we'll neither speak, - We'll know the score--" - - * * * * * - -Suddenly he put his hands to her cheeks and bent close to her, his eyes -peering into hers as though he were searching for something he had lost -in them. She spoke her thought: "What are you doing? You seem to be -reading my mind!" - -Without removing hands, he nodded. "Reading--mind." He stared long -into her eyes. His dispassionate, too-perfect face began to frighten -her. She slipped back from him, her hand clutching her throat. - -He straightened up and spoke--haltingly at first, then with growing -assurance. "Don't be afraid. I mean you no harm." She trembled. It was -such a wonderful voice--it was as she had always dreamed it! But she -had never really believed in the dream.... - -He was looking at the wrecked globe of metal. "So there are people on -Venus!" he said slowly. - -Koroby watched him, forgot her fear, and went eagerly to him, took his -arm. "Who are you?" she asked. "Tell me your name!" - -He turned his mask of a face to her. "My name? I have none," he said. - -"No name? But who are you? Where are you from? And what is that?" She -pointed at the metal globe. - -"The vehicle by which I came here from a land beyond the sky," he said. -She had no concept of stars or space, and he could not fully explain. -"From a world known as Terra." - -She was silent a moment, stunned. So there was another world! Then she -asked, "Is it far? Have you come to take me there?" - -Here the similarity between her dream and actual experience ended. -What was he thinking as he eyed her for a long moment? She had no way -of guessing. He said, "No, I am not going to take you back there." Her -month gaped in surprise, and he continued, "As for the distance to -Terra--it is incredibly far away." - -The glare was beginning to die, the green flames' hissing fading to a -whisper. They watched the melting globe sag on the sand. Then Koroby -said, "But if it is so far away, how could you speak my language? There -are some tribes beyond the jungle whose language is unlike ours--" - -"I read your mind," he explained indifferently. "I have a remarkable -memory." - -"Remarkable indeed!" she mocked. "No one here could do that." - -"But my race is infinitely superior to yours," he said blandly. "You -little people--ah--" He gestured airily. - -Her lips tightened and her eyes narrowed. "And I?" - -His voice sounded almost surprised. "What about you?" - -"You see nothing about me worthy of your respect? Are you infinitely -superior to me--_me_?" - -He looked her up and down. "Of course!" - -Her eyes jerked wide open and she took a deep breath. "And just who do -you think you are? A god?" - -He shook his head. "No. Just better informed, for one thing. And--" - -Koroby cut him short. "What's your name?" - -"I have none." - -"What do you mean, you have none?" - -He seemed just a trifle bored. "We gave up names long ago on my world. -We are concerned with more weighty things than our own selves. But I -have a personal problem now," he said, making a peculiar sound that -was not quite a sigh. "Here I am stranded on Venus, my ship utterly -wrecked, and I'm due at the Reisezek Convention in two weeks. You"--he -gripped Koroby's shoulder, and his strength made her wince--"tell me, -where is the nearest city? I must communicate with my people at once." - -She pointed. "The Stone City's that way." - -"Good," he said. "Let's go there." - -They took another glance at the metal globe and the green fire, which -by now had died to a fitful glimmer. Then the stranger and the girl -started toward the jungle, where the litter-bearers awaited them. - - * * * * * - -As the party was struggling through the prairie's tall grass, the man -said to Koroby, "I realize from the pictures in your mind that there -is no means in your city of communicating directly with my people. But -it seems that there are materials which I can utilize in building a -signal--" - -He was walking along, head erect, apparently quite at ease, while the -litter bearers and Koroby could barely drag themselves with him. The -girl's garment was a tattered ruin. Her skin was gritty with dust, and -she was bleeding from many scratches. She tripped over tangled roots -and exclaimed in pain. Then the man took one of the strange implements -from his belt, pressed a knob on it, and light appeared as if by magic! -He handed the stick to Koroby, but she was afraid to touch it. This was -a strange light that gave no heat, nor flickered in the breeze. Finally -she accepted it from him, but carried it gingerly at arm's length. - -She refused to believe that he had no name, and so he named himself. -"Call me Robert. It is an ancient name on Terra." - -"Robert," she said, and, "Robert." - -But at last she could go no farther. She had forced herself along -because she wanted to impress this indifferent man that she was not as -inferior as he might think--but now she could not go on. With a little -cry almost of relief, she sank to the ground and lay semi-conscious, so -weary that the very pain of it seemed on the point of pleasure. - -Robert dipped down, scooped her up, and carried her. - -Lights glimmered ahead; shouts reached them. It was a searching party, -Yasak in it. The litter-carriers who could still speak blurted out what -had happened. "A green light--loud sounds--fire--this man there--" and -then dropped into sleep. - -"Someone carry these men," Yasak ordered. To Robert he said, "We're not -very far from the path to the City now. Shall I carry the girl?" - -"It makes no difference," Robert said. - -"You will stay with me while you are in the City, of course," Yasak -said, as they walked. He eyed this handsome stranger speculatively, and -then turned to shout an necessary order. "You, there, keep in line!" He -glanced at Robert furtively to see if this had impressed him at all. - - * * * * * - -It was day. Koroby sat up in bed and scanned her surroundings. She was -in Yasak's house. The bed was very soft, the coverlets of the finest -weave. The furniture was elegantly carved and painted; there were even -paintings on the walls. - -A woman came to the bed. She was stocky and wore drab grey: the blue -circles tattooed on her cheeks proclaimed her a slave. "How do you -feel?" she asked. - -"Fairly well. How long have I been ill?" Koroby asked, sweetly weak. - -"You haven't been ill. They brought you in last night." - -"Oh," Koroby said disappointedly, and sat upright. "I feel as if I'd -been lying here for weeks. Where's Yasak? Where's the strange man in -armor?" - -"Yasak's out somewhere. The stranger man is in the room at the end of -the hall." - -"Fetch me something to wear--that's good enough," the girl accepted the -mantle offered by the slave. "Quick, some water--I must wash." - -In a few minutes she was lightly running down the hall; she knocked on -the door of Robert's room. "May I come in?" - -He did not answer. She waited a little and went in. He was seated on -one of the carved chairs, fussing over some scraps of metal on the -table. He did not look up. - -"Thank you for carrying me, Robert." He did not reply. "Robert--I -dreamed of you last night. I dreamed you built another round house and -that we both flew away in it. Yasak had to stay behind, and he was -furious. Robert! Aren't you listening?" - -"I hear you." - -"Don't you think it was an exciting dream?" He shook his head. "But -why? Robert"--she laid longing hands on his shoulders--"can't you see -that I'm in love with you?" He shrugged. "I believe you don't know what -love is!" - -"I had a faint idea of it when I looked into your mind," he said. "I'm -afraid I haven't any use for it. Where I come from there is no love, -and there shouldn't be here, either. It's a waste of time." - -"Robert--I'm mad about you! I've dreamed of your coming--all my life! -Don't be so cruel--so cold to me! You mock me, say that I'm nothing, -that I'm not worthy of you--" - -She stepped back from him, clenching her hands. "Oh, I hate you--hate -you! You don't care the least bit about me--and I've shamed myself in -front of you--I, supposed to be Yasak's wife by now!" She began to -cry, hid her face in suddenly lax fingers. She looked up fiercely. "I -could kill you!" Robert stood immobile, no trace of feeling marring the -perfection of his face. "I could kill you, and I will kill you!" she -sprang at him. - -"You'll hurt yourself," he admonished kindly, and after she had -pummeled his chest, bruising her fingers on his armor, she turned away. - -"And now if you're through playing your incomprehensible little scene," -Robert said, "I hope you will excuse me. I regret that I have no -emotions--I was never allowed them. But it is an esthetic regret.... I -must go back to my wrecked ship now and arrange the signals there." He -did not wait for her leave, but strode out of the room. - -Koroby huddled on a chair, sobbing. Then she dried her eyes on the -backs of her hands. She went to the narrow slits that served as windows -and unfastened the translucent shutter of one. Down in the City street, -Robert was walking away. Her eyes hardened, and her fingers spread -into ugly claws. Without bothering to pull the shutter in place she -hurried out of the room, ran eagerly down the hall. She stopped at -the armor-rack at the main hall on her way outside, and snatched up a -_siatcha_--a firestone. Then she slipped outside and down the street. - - * * * * * - -The City's wall was not far behind. Robert was visible in the distance, -striding toward his sky-ship, a widening cloud of dust rising behind -him like the spreading wake of a boat. Koroby stood on tip-toe, waving -and calling after him, "Robert! Robert! Come back!" but he did not seem -to hear. - -She watched him a little longer. Then she deliberately stooped and drew -the firestone out of its sheath. She touched it to a blade of the tall -grass. A little orange flame licked up, slowly quested along the blade, -down to the ground and up another stem. It slipped over to another -stem, and another, growing larger, hotter--Koroby stepped back from the -writhing fire, her hand protectively over her face. - -The flames crackled at first--like the crumpling of thin paper. Then, -as they widened and began climbing hand over hand up an invisible -ladder, they roared. Koroby was running back toward the City now, away -from the heat. The fire spread in a long line over the prairie. Above -its roar came shouts from the City. The flames rose in a monstrous -twisting pillar, brighter than even the dust-palled sky, lighting the -buildings and the prairie. The heat was dreadful. - -Koroby reached the City wall, panted through the gate into a shrieking -crowd. Someone grasped her roughly--she was too breathless to do more -than gasp for air--and shook her violently. "You fool, you utter -fool! What did you think you were doing?" Others clamored around her, -reaching for her. Then she heard Yasak's voice. Face stern, he pushed -through the crowd, pressed her to him. "Let her alone--Let her alone, I -say!" - -They watched the conflagration, Yasak and Koroby, from a higher part of -the wall than where the others were gathered. They could glimpse Robert -now and then. He was running, trying to outrace the flames. Then they -swept around him, circling him--his arms flailed frantically. - - * * * * * - -The fire had passed over the horizon. The air was blue with smoke, -difficult to breathe, and ashes were drifting lightly down like -dove-colored snow. Yasak, watery eyed, a cloth pressed to his nose, was -walking with several others over the smoking earth and still warm ashes -up to his knees. In one hand he held a stick. He stopped and pointed. -"He fell about here," he said, and began to probe the ashes with the -stick. - -He struck something. "Here he is!" he cried. The others hurried to the -spot and scooped ashes away, dog-fashion, until Robert's remains were -laid clear. There were exclamations of amazement and perplexity from -the people. - -It was a metal skeleton, and the fragments of complicated machinery, -caked with soot. - -"He wasn't human at all!" Yasak marvelled. "He was some kind of a toy -made to look like a man--that's why he wore armor, and his face never -changed expression--" - -"Magic!" someone cried, and backed away. - -"Magic!" the others repeated, and edged back ... and that was the -end of one of those robots which had been fashioned as servants for -Terrestial men, made in Man's likeness to appease Man's vanity, then -conquered him. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Stranger From Space, by Hannes Bok - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STRANGER FROM SPACE *** - -***** This file should be named 62314.txt or 62314.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/3/1/62314/ - -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 print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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