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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..b45066d --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #63945 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/63945) diff --git a/old/63945-0.txt b/old/63945-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 6937d9f..0000000 --- a/old/63945-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1125 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Poison Planet, by William Oberfield - -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 -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this ebook. - -Title: Poison Planet - -Author: William Oberfield - -Release Date: December 05, 2020 [EBook #63945] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POISON PLANET *** - - - - - POISON PLANET - - by WILLIAM OBERFIELD - - ... It was only a muffled gun-shot, deep in the - rank, fetid jungles of Venus--a single bullet from - the gun of the gaunt, blazing-eyed man called - Heinie. But it plunged the crew of the VENUS I - into a Hell from which there was no return.... - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Planet Stories January 1951. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -Captain James McBride didn't know exactly what to make of it at first. -The first Earthmen ever to set foot on Venus, he and his crew had come -armed to the teeth, fully prepared to fight wild elephants, giant -tigers, pre-historic monsters or anything an imaginative mind might -dream up. - -When they found evidence of absolutely no danger at all they stood -around with their heavy weapons and felt mighty foolish. The only signs -of animal life were the small creatures that scampered right up to the -men and chattered at them, unafraid, and birds more evident by sound -than by sight. There were no trails made by giant animals, no heavy, -frightening sounds in the jungle about them. Only a misty, drowsing -calm. - -The mist was always there, they were to find out later, steaming up -from the wet ground by day and condensing in a blanket of life-giving -water by night. Otherwise, Venus resembled mildly tropical Earth -without storm and tempest. The lack of these made one think of thunder -and lightning as some unseen, unknown entity bound to Earth alone in -chains of gravity. - -The only really unpleasant note was the condition of the ship in which -they had come. The underside was a mass of twisted steel and buckled -plates, where it had come down considerably harder than it had ever -been intended to come down. It was something that could never take to -space again, even if the "H" tanks hadn't been torn loose to gush out -their contents. - -Communication with Earth was out. A transmitter small enough to fit the -ship and yet powerful enough to breach millions of miles of space, as -well as penetrate two atmospheres, just wasn't made. The expedition was -on its own. - -The orders were conditional. If possible, they were to set up an -outpost on Venus, as others had done several years before on Mars. -Consisting mainly of scientists, the crew was to find out all it could -about the new world. In one year the second ship would follow, bringing -engineers and laborers. The scientists were to have, by that time, the -information required to form the first colony quickly, wisely, and -safely. - -If confronted with insurmountable obstacles, they were to return at -once to Earth with whatever information they might have as to the -nature of the obstacles. - -McBride grinned in spite of his regret over the loss of his ship and -looked at the wreckage. That sort of made the orders unconditional. - -Things could have been worse, he thought. Not one of the ten men in the -expedition had been lost or even badly injured. And, Venus being the -land of plenty that it had turned out to be, it was beginning to look -as if the stay here would be a pleasant one. - -He was just starting to get some of his old spunk back when Jeff -Flaunders came up to him with a worried frown on his face. - -Because of the limited space aboard the ship, Flaunders was a -combination of several men, as were most of the others. Specially -trained for the expedition, he handled anything that went under the -heading of botany, biology or zoology. - -Now he was looking worried. - -"You look a lot like bad news," McBride said as Flaunders drew near. -"Might have known there'd be a catch to this world." - -"More than a catch," Flaunders said. "I hope none of the men has eaten -anything native to Venus." - -McBride shook his head. "They haven't if they've followed orders. I -told them not to touch anything until you had made a report." He looked -at the other questioningly. "Poison?" - -"We brought twelve white rats and two monkeys along for experimental -purposes," Flaunders said. "Now we have only six rats. Each of the -others we fed a different kind of native fruit or meat. That was about -five hours ago. In the past hour they've gone into convulsions one -after another. Seemed to go blind, too. Died within minutes." - -"You tried it on just the six rats and not the monkeys?" McBride asked, -and got a nod from Flaunders. "Then that's just six things tested. -Maybe something edible will turn up yet." - -"Small chance." Flaunders was positive. "Thompson used a little of his -chemistry and found a substance he couldn't identify, not only in the -stuff we fed the rats but in twenty-some other plants. He even found -it in the flesh of the animals we caught. That makes it pretty certain -that it will be found in everything. When the rats died we pegged that -substance as the poison. - -"What to do about it is another question. Since it's entirely new to -us it would probably take years to find a way to neutralize it, and it -plays such an integral part in the structure of everything on Venus -that we'd have one sweet time trying to completely draw it out. Anyway, -a lot of needed lab equipment was smashed in the wreck. That makes it -even more of a problem." - -McBride listened, frowned and rubbed his cheek. "In other words, we -might as well give up any idea of living off the fat of the land." - -"That's about the size of it," Flaunders agreed. "Our best bet, the way -things stand now, would be to try and have a garden going before our -supply of food runs out." - -"Check," said McBride. "But the seed was brought along just in case the -soil and climate should prove suitable for planting. What do you make -of that?" - -"Climate ought to be just about perfect," Flaunders grunted. "As to the -soil, Thompson and I will check on that right away." - - * * * * * - -In another day a few things had been learned. There was now no doubt -about the poisonous nature of Venus. The infuriating thing about it -was that the creatures native to Venus thrived about them on food that -would put out the lights for good for any Earth-born animal. - -But that was not quite so hard to take when they found that the soil -was suitable for Earth crops. That left nothing to get excited about. - -So they thought, until Venus turned stubborn. - -No one knew exactly how stubborn Venus could get until the garden -location was being cleared of weeds. They had gone over about fifty -feet of the clearing, working earnestly and not bothering to look back, -when one of the men--a lanky individual called Henry Higgins--turned to -look back, put one grimy fist on his hip, hunched his shoulders, stuck -out his chin and hollered, "Damn!" - -The others turned and looked surprised. Not that Higgins' well-known -exaggerative ways any longer surprised them, but what Higgins was -looking at might surprise anyone, including the botanist in Flaunders. - -The eight-or-ten feet of ground directly behind the men was clear of -weeds. But at the far edge of this cleared space little green shoots -were thrusting inquisitive noses above the ground. Beyond these were -one-inch plants, then two-inch, and four and six and eight, on up. They -formed a slope up to the edge of the clearing. - -"Damn!" Higgins said again, and tossed away his spade. - -Someone laughed uncertainly. The others scratched their heads, cast -blank stares at one another and forgot how to keep their mouths closed. - -"Just what in blazes do you make of that?" McBride asked of Flaunders. - -Flaunders could be quite an optimist when he wanted to; he was one of -those rare persons who seem to grow stronger with each failure. At -least on the surface. - -"Only what I see," he replied, not willing to show consternation. -"Amazingly rapid growth, but they're still only weeds. It's just going -to take a little applied science." - -"Maybe." McBride didn't like it. "But I've done a little farming in my -time; know what it is to worry a chunk of farmland out of the raw. And -the nature of Earth is dead compared to this." - -"Bunk!" Flaunders scoffed. "Work, certainly. But we'll be eating fresh -corn in two months!" - -McBride looked around, seeing little you wouldn't see on Earth. What's -wrong with me? he thought. It's my place to keep the spirits of the -men up, not to dampen them. Flaunders is right, of course. This -stuff is still only vegetation, even if it _is_ styled after Jack's -beanstalk. Jack chopped down the beanstalk and killed the giant. Our -giant is the threat of starvation, but killing it is still a matter of -stalk-chopping. If Jack could do it so can we. - - * * * * * - -It started out like that. Two weeks of hacking and digging, of -specially prepared weed-killer and the aid of every trick known to -science, and there was a strip of dark, rich ground all ready for -planting. It looked like things were really beginning to roll. They did -roll. Right up against a blank wall. - -A few days after the planting, Flaunders was looking at a handful -of black spider-things and swearing under his breath. The shriveled -spider-things were seeds brought from Earth. They were shot through -with hairlike roots, and that was the strange thing. It was strange -because the roots were not their own. - -It took several more days for Flaunders to understand. When he did he -took on an attitude faintly remindful of a cornered rat. In a spot, but -frustrated to fighting anger. The ship had contained enough food for -only about two months to begin with, and more than two weeks had now -come out of that. Starvation was becoming a very real possibility in -his mind. - -"We're up against something big," he said, peeved with himself for -having to admit it. "We're fighting millions of years of evolution." - -McBride sensed something disturbing in the other's voice. Maybe a trace -of fear. "What do you mean?" he said. - -Flaunders enlarged. "A very long time ago a war started here on Venus. -It was a war among plants. You find the same thing on Earth, too, but -not on this scale. There must have been certain 'aggressive' plants -which threatened to force out all others. The others, in order to -survive, had to evolve into something even more deadly to other plants. -Once started, it had to keep going. Now, after millions of years, -they've evolved into things capable, of vicious little tricks you'd -never be able to count. - -"What happened to our seeds is one of them. Some of the roots extend -into microscopic threads hardly more than streaks of single molecules. -You can't dig them out and they escape all the ordinary weed-fighting -methods. One of their cute little tricks is to attach themselves to -other plants and seeds and absorb them, strangely enough not harming -their own species. Add to that the rapid growth, almost comparable to -the motion of the minute hand of a clock, and planting anything from -Earth among them is something like throwing a housecat into a den of -wild lions." - -"A very pretty picture," McBride groaned. "We can't go back to Earth -for a year, everything on Venus is poison and we have less than two -months' supply of food. Now you as much as admit that there will be no -garden. I'm suddenly getting a headache." - -"I didn't say we had failed," Flaunders said sharply. "I'm never going -to. By thunder, we'll beat this hellhole if it takes every minute of -our time!" - -That was a sane enough statement. They had the seeds and they had the -soil. With good health and the will to work, what was to stop them? - -Only weeds. - - * * * * * - -"Only weeds," McBride said ten weeks later. "They couldn't be -responsible for this! Ten weeks of breaking our backs and losing our -minds, and you can't even tell that we've done anything. It must be a -nightmare!" - -Flaunders was a man all washed out, a man badly stung. How hard for an -optimist to face defeat! - -"Ten years," he said reflectively. "That's what it seems like. Thirteen -since we crashed. Lucky number." - -"A week since we've had anything to eat," said McBride. "Or has it been -two? Anyway, it's too late to think about a garden. And if you and -Thompson can't find a way to make this stuff fit to eat--" There was no -need to complete that sentence. - -Flaunders said nothing, seemingly absorbed in thought. - -"Why don't you stop trying?" McBride said suddenly. - -Flaunders looked up as if he thought he hadn't heard right. "Why in the -world should I do that?" - -"Because as long as you try the rest of us have hope." McBride's sunken -cheeks burned red. He was somehow ashamed of his thoughts, but still -determined to voice them. "Without that hope we wouldn't go on waiting -and starving. There wouldn't be anything to wait for. Maybe there isn't -anyway. Do you actually think there is any hope?" - -Flaunders stared for a moment, considering the suicide tendency behind -McBride's words. He turned away, hardly disturbed by the morbid idea. -"I don't really know," he replied at last. "I don't even think any -more. I just keep going like an automaton, not hoping and not giving -up. That's my responsibility. Mine and Thompson's. Maybe we will find a -way and maybe not. The only thing to do is to keep dogging it till we -drop." - -"No need to blame yourself for that," McBride said. "God knows you -tried. With all the generators of this and that, the sprayers and fires -and wires strung all over, we looked like we were fighting a real war -instead of one against plants." - -Flaunders snorted. "A hell of a lot of good it did. We destroyed -the weeds and the properties of the soil with them. By the time we -reactivated the soil the weed seeds had come on the wind. Same thing -all over again. How much good did the hothouse do us, even with all the -filters? Nearly microscopic seed came in on our clothing, in our hair. -I'd rather fight elephants or pre-historic monsters. At least they're -big enough to see and slow enough to cope with." - -These were two skeletons, speaking of starvation under a tree loaded -down with plump, ripe fruit, watching small animals scamper. The easy -way out was all around them. They thought about it. - -All together there had been ten men. Now ten skeletons. Now ten -scarecrows with faces unshaven and dirty, with clothing hanging in -tattered strips and extra holes punched in belts. They were slowly -starving to death in the Garden of Paradise, in the land of plenty. And -nothing, you would think, could be worse than that. - -But there was something worse. It came shortly. The real Hell started -with a gun. - - * * * * * - -The gaunt men were sitting around in a circle, pow-wow fashion, -pretending to work out an answer and all feeling that there wasn't -any, when McBride noticed Heinie, the cook, handling his automatic. -It wasn't the mere fact that he was handling the weapon that deserved -notice. It was the way he was handling it. - -Heinie sat with a faraway look in his eye that was now glistening and -now lackluster, fondling the gun in a way that suggested something. -Black words not spoken, but safety off, a damp brow and moody -reflections. - -"Heinie," said McBride. "Anything wrong?" - -Heinie's eyes came back from that far place with a start. He laughed -bitterly. "Anything wrong! Two weeks without a damned thing to eat, and -the man wants to know if anything's wrong!" - -No respect for rank now. No more tin-soldier discipline. What penalty -can you impose upon a man mere days from death? - -"You'd better put away the gun, Heinie." - -Heinie stared back at McBride with a sort of thoughtful defiance. He -didn't put away the gun. - -"Then hand it over," McBride said, and started getting up. - -"Stay where you are! All of you!" - -Heinie's sunken eyes were suddenly glaring at the others over the -muzzle of his gun. The others settled back, a little afraid but not -caring much. - -"As cook," Heinie was saying, "it's my place to prepare meals. I -haven't been doing my job. Now I'm going to." - -"Don't let it get you down, man," McBride cautioned. "It's not your -fault if we haven't--" - -"Listen to me!" Heinie cut in sharply. "I happened to be in the Navy -when I was only a kid, and three other guys and myself were once -in a fix a lot like this. Only we were adrift on the open sea in a -life-raft. Three of us kept from starving to death, but we had to draw -straws to do it. The one who got the short one--well, I've been having -nightmares about it ever since. God! We didn't even have a fire--" - -His voice trailed off, his eyes drawing inward with some shocking -memory. McBride edged toward him. - -"Hold it!" Heinie ordered, coming out of the daze. - -McBride stopped, half inclined not to. He wavered, drew back, and -decided to try and argue it out. - -"You're--sick," he said. "Say you do kill one of us; do you think you -could go through that 'life-raft thing' again? Do you actually think -any of us, starving or not, could bring ourselves to do what you -suggest?" - -"I'm not going to go through it," said Heinie. "But if I could be -around to collect, I'd lay you ten to one that you will." - -McBride shook his head negatively. "Stop being foolish. You need a -rest." - -Heinie did it then. He did it quickly, before anyone had a chance to -stop him. He jerked the muzzle of the automatic up to his own temple. - -"So long, suckers!" he shouted, and pulled the trigger. - - * * * * * - -The loud report made the silence that followed seem even more silent. -The men who had come to their feet stood like statues of a mad -sculptor, watching the black hole turn red and gush. Then it came, -dawning in their eyes. The hungry, frightened, hopeful fascination, -the impact of conflicting thoughts. It grew stronger and burned in -the sunken eyes of these dead men who wanted to live. There was no -mistaking the intent, no mistaking the _desire_. - -McBride saw it and understood. "Good Lord, no!" he said. He tried to -keep saying it, thinking it. - -But he was as near death as the others. The mutual thought bloomed in -his mind like some evil flower. It made him tremble. Sweat suddenly -stung his eyes, ran into his mouth. - -Food! Slow miserable death on one side and food on the other! A chance -to live a little longer. Maybe Flaunders would find something in -another week, and one meal might make the difference between seeing -that and not seeing it. One wanted to live! You couldn't bring Heinie -back anyway, so why not live? Heinie had wanted it that way. A human is -an animal as much as a pig or a cow. A chance to live, to hope again! - -Some part of his mind screamed at him. "Cannibal!" - -"The only chance!" cried another part. - -"Vulture!" said the soul-part with unnerving keening. "Will you have -loin? Or perhaps the rump?" - -His flesh prickled, the sweat flowed in streams. Unheard murmurings -distorted his mind. - -"Only this once, for a little more time!--Maggot! Dungworm!--Only -another week and maybe the Venus II, months ahead of time--Fool! Not a -chance! Die now, quickly!--No, no, no! Still some hope! Never give up. -Never say die! Oh, God, Heinie! Why did you suggest it?" - -Gibbering conflict, a trend to insanity. The voices inside beat his -brain against his temple and raged. The civilized man went to his knees -and drew back. The beast man thumped his chest and screamed. - -"Alright!" McBride shouted, wondering why his voice sounded so angry, -why his face felt distorted. He drew his feelings within himself. His -voice grew flat and quiet with bitter irony. - -"Alright," he said. "Go ahead. Undress the main course." - - * * * * * - -When the meal ended the Hell came. Full stomachs restore sanity. The -beast man lay down, well fed and sleeping, to leave the civilized man -awake with his thoughts. A new kind of Hell, this one that started with -a gun. You could see the fires of it burning the face of every man. - -Like the extra-animated Henry Higgins. He sat with unnaturally red -cheeks puffed out beneath his beard, eyes glassy wet, looking at -McBride as if harboring some question too awful to ask. There was -something of the frightened, wild animal about him as his eyes left -McBride and jerked around from one face to another. Then he was up and -awkwardly running in among the trees. - -The men got up from the rough table that had been set up outside the -ship. They got up and went away, slinking, like a sex maniac leaving -the scene of his crime when his reason returns and he knows his -insanity. They went away by themselves--those not too sick to walk--and -hid from one another. - -But a man can't hide from himself. That was the Hell. This was not a -life-raft on the open sea, every man told himself. This was a green, -smiling world with the smell of flowers on the air, with plenty of -glistening, tempting fruit growing wild and enough game to make an -Indian hunter call it the Happy Hunting Ground. Like a camping trip -back on Earth. Like a picnic where you get drunk and start eating and -then sober up with the smell of blood in your nostrils to find yourself -chewing the hair off the detached leg or arm of your best friend. - -What did every man tell himself? That it wouldn't happen again, ever, -this terrible thing. When they found the strength and courage to go -back and clean up the remains of a meal, knowing it to be the remains -of a meal, when they had put what was left of Heinie in a hole and -covered it with dirt and set up a stone marker, they promised one -another it would never ever happen again. - -The next day they put it on paper, in black and white. An agreement. On -the third day they thought about it, and on the fourth day they began -wondering why they had done it. And on the fifth day-- - -On the fifth day they found Thompson, the chemist, hanging from a tree -a short distance from the ship. Quite dead, of course, and no one had -to ask why he had done it. - -Hunger madness walked among the men. They took Thompson down from the -tree. Hunger madness whispered in their ears. They listened. - -McBride took out the agreement and looked at it, having heard the -tempter's whisper. He didn't think much. It hurt him to think. But -something that had been done once-- - -He looked at the men and saw an inescapable vise tightening. He looked -at himself and saw the same. At his feet fell the small fragments of -the agreement. - - * * * * * - -The creeping hell closed in. The real Hell that had started with a gun. -Could these any longer think of themselves as men? After the second -time the change starts. It gets a little easier. All you have to do is -keep from looking at anyone. It's nice to live. With life there's hope. -Don't get cheated. - -What happened one day surprised no one. Eight of the ten remained, -two gone. Thompson had been gone for days. The hunger returned. The -pendulum swung back. The beast man shoved out any remaining noble -thought and screamed for food. The addict returns to his drug, the -pervert to his revolting deed.... As mad as these, the starving. - -Nor was McBride surprised when he found himself holding a little -stick. He wasn't greatly disturbed when it turned out to be the short -one. Sympathy from the others? Not a bit. Only a sort of brooding -resignation. And hunger. Always hunger. - -"Flaunders," McBride said. "Where's Flaunders?" - -"Don't worry," the one who had passed the straws said. "He took his -chance with us. Been working like a madman since Thompson went. He -wouldn't stop, so I took the straws in to him." - -"I don't care about that," McBride informed. "But I've known him since -we were kids. Just felt that I'd like to--well--maybe it's better this -way." He started slowly away. - -"Where you going?" someone said suspiciously. - -McBride looked at the man with a feeling part disgust, part pity and a -little of something unexplainable. He almost laughed. - -"I'm not depriving you of your next meal," he said. "I just feel like -being alone for this." - -He walked slowly on, taking his thoughts with him. What was the -purpose in all this? All a monotonous cycle, constantly repeated. -From the torture of starvation to the torture of the shame and bitter -self-accusation that makes one despise himself, back to the starvation. -Men slowly becoming something lower than pigs, and knowing it all too -well. A satisfying of the body at the expense of decency, even, of -sanity. A Hell within souls. - -And all for what purpose? To live? For how long, and in what hideous -way? There would be only one lonely and sick man left long before help -could come. What would that last man do? Go completely mad and try to -devour himself? Like the two snakes who met one sunny afternoon and -decided to swallow one another. Each took hold of the tail of the other -and both swallowed and swallowed until nothing at all remained. There -was no purpose. No purpose or reason at all. - - * * * * * - -A short distance back among the trees McBride halted and looked back. -There were bushes between the men and himself. This was it. He drew his -automatic. - -Strange, he thought. I don't feel at all like I should about this. It's -just like routine procedure, something you do every day. I actually -think I'm glad I came out with the short straw. - -He even thought coolly about the best way to do it. The heart? Not sure -enough. The brain, like Heinie? A little better, but what if there -should be a nervous twitch at the wrong time and a deflection caused by -the bone of the skull? - -A babble of voices came to him as if from a great distance, through his -thoughts. Excited voices. But he was in a world of his own, now. All -the others were behind him, cut off. - -Safety off, he put the muzzle of the automatic into his mouth and -aimed it sharply upward. The most efficient way, probably. His finger -tightened. - -He heard the deafening report and felt the recoil jerk his arm down. -Somewhere he had heard that a man killed instantly by a gun never lives -to hear the report. It puzzled him. Why didn't he fall? Why could he -still see the green tangle of Venus and hear sounds? - -There was a ringings in his ears and a sickening shimmer before his -eyes. His shocked mind refused to come back to things for a moment. Who -were these laughing, crying, shouting skeletons whirling about him with -their dirty beards and red-rimmed eyes? - -"It's Flaunders," someone shouted. "He's done it!" - -"Done it," McBride repeated dumbly. "Done what?" - -Then Flaunders was shaking him by the shoulders and grinning. "Come out -of it, man! You're safe; we all are, now! There's no need for any more -of this--gluttony! Don't you understand? I've won! I know how to treat -the fruit, even the edible animals of this world, so we can eat them -and they won't hurt us a bit!" - -McBride tried to call order to mind, starting from the beginning. He -looked dazedly at the gun in his hand. - -Flaunders laughed. "Don't look so surprised to be alive. One of the men -hit your arm just in time. You missed death by an inch." - -It was all too much at one time, a skirling confusion. - -"That what you said about beating the poison," McBride said. "Are you -sure? It's not just something on paper, something not proven?" - -"Lord, no," Flaunders said, fighting down an urge to shout. "I had it -worked out yesterday, but it still had to be tested and the white rats -and two monkeys we brought along for experimental purposes were gone. -So I went out last night and gathered some fruit and treated it and -tried it on myself. Just look at me and you have your answer. I feel -fine." - -Still dazed, still not quite understanding how everything had happened, -McBride started back toward the ship with the others. But one thing he -knew. Venus had been beaten! - - * * * * * - -The meal was all day in the preparing. The eating was a gala event, a -banquet, a roaring party. It lasted two hours. - -There wasn't any wolfing down. When you have been starving for weeks -you just don't start off that way. You take a small bite and wait until -you are sure it is safely down. Then you take another small bite and -wait again. If you keep doing that you have a chance of holding what -you eat. - -They didn't mind. This food was not the kind you had to force yourself -to chew on, like--some other things. - -There were little animals looking something like rabbits, but tasting -more like chicken, fried golden brown. There were oranges that tasted -like nothing of Earth and apples that reminded you of paw-paws in -fall. Seven different kinds of meat there were, and it seemed like a -hundred different kinds of fruits and nuts and herbs. There was even a -juice that proved mildly intoxicating. All a little different, but all -delightfully, temptingly good! - -"We'll be eating like this every day!" Flaunders said. "Maybe we can -even set up a bar, with fruit-juice drinks and wine and even invent a -new kind of beer. Big, foamy schooners of beer on Venus! Won't the work -crew be surprised when they get here!" - -They let it run away with them. It went to their heads. The warmth of -intoxication, the feel of stomachs filling out. All the things long -missing now returning in full force, all at one time. Almost it was too -much. Almost death from excessive joy. - -They went on and on like that, the most happy men ever. They wanted it -to go on for ever, but the feast had started late and it ended late. -After the two hours they felt like sleeping. In fact, they felt a more -relentless urge to sleep than they ever had before. - -The result of a full stomach, they supposed, or the aftermath of months -of hardship let in by the sudden relaxation. It certainly wasn't a -matter of choice. Who wanted to sleep at a time like this, a time for -staying up all night and celebrating? But the sandman said no, and -right now he had the advantage. - -One by one they yawned, stretched and drifted off to bed like carefree -children, and to hell with cleaning up. That could wait until tomorrow. -Tomorrow! It was wonderful to have one to think about. Tomorrow was a -golden day. - -The last to turn in was Captain McBride, just as sleepy but not so -carefree. He alone, perhaps, was not completely satisfied. Underneath -the powerful urge to sleep was a question, and that question needed -answering. Or did it? In one way it didn't really matter. He went in -and found his bed in the darkness and decided to forget the question. - - * * * * * - -Fifteen minutes later McBride lay awake. The great urge to sleep was -still there, but sleep wouldn't come. No, that was not it exactly. He -wouldn't let it come. He was fighting it. The question wouldn't go -away, and it really did need answering after all. - -Moving around quietly in the darkness he made sure that the men were -sleeping. Then he returned to the bed next to his, the one in which -Flaunders slept. - -"Flaunders," he said softly. - -The question grew in his mind. "Flaunders," he called more urgently. He -jostled the quiet form. - -"What's wrong?" said Flaunders, half asleep. - -"Nothing exactly. I want to talk a bit." - -"Better sleep. The time is--" - -"Go on," McBride said intently. - -Flaunders fought himself awake. "Nothing. Half asleep. Didn't know what -I was saying. What do you want?" - -McBride lay down on his own bed, hardly able to keep his eyes open. -"Maybe I want to talk about the Garden of Eden, about the pair who were -told that a certain fruit was death to them, and about a serpent who -told them it wasn't." - -Flaunders said nothing. - -"Must have been quite a persuader, that Serpent," McBride went on in -dream talk. "Up until this morning I guess I might have welcomed such a -one, and I don't think I was alone in feeling that way. Men were never -intended to live the way we were living. We really didn't want to live -if we had to live that way. We only convinced ourselves that we did. We -were caught in a hellish vise and each of us knew it, underneath. So a -talking serpent who could convince us that the fruit of Venus was not -poison might not have been such a bad idea." - -"Why talk about that?" said Flaunders, like a man talking in his sleep. -"It's over. We've beaten Venus." - -McBride tried to open his eyes. It was too much trouble. His own words -seemed to him like someone else talking, far away and unreal. There was -a feeling like being detached from one's body. - -"Beaten Venus, yes," he said. "But I'm wondering how. I keep thinking -how this kind of poison acts. Probably affect us as it did the rats -and monkeys. Takes four or five hours to act, and it hasn't been three -since we started eating. Was it only chance that your treatment of -the food took all day and had to be extended up to the last moment -before serving? It wasn't even sampled before three hours ago. And so I -wonder." - -Flaunders' voice seemed to come out of a deep well. "Let's get some -sleep." - -McBride's voice almost matched it. "Not yet. I haven't mentioned about -the medical supplies we brought along. Even drugs. It would have been -simple for the welcome serpent to treat the food with something to -deaden pain, to make us sleep through it." - -His voice trailed off in sleep, his thoughts drifting away with the -night. Still the question wouldn't go away. It forced him partly awake. -He didn't even realize how little of a question it was now. His body -was a chunk of lead, not able to move. To speak required almost more -effort than he could muster. - -"Flaunders. You didn't. It's just fatigue, letdown after strain. I know -you won't lie if I ask you. All I want is to hear you say you didn't." - -Flaunders wouldn't have tried to move if he could. He lay on his back -with his hands folded on his chest. Appropriate. - -"Goodnight," he said. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POISON PLANET *** - -***** This file should be named 63945-0.txt or 63945-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/9/4/63945/ - -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. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive -specific permission. 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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 -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this ebook. - -Title: Poison Planet - -Author: William Oberfield - -Release Date: December 05, 2020 [EBook #63945] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POISON PLANET *** -</pre> -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>POISON PLANET</h1> - -<h2>by WILLIAM OBERFIELD</h2> - -<p>... It was only a muffled gun-shot, deep in the<br /> -rank, fetid jungles of Venus—a single bullet from<br /> -the gun of the gaunt, blazing-eyed man called<br /> -Heinie. But it plunged the crew of the VENUS I<br /> -into a Hell from which there was no return....</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Planet Stories January 1951.<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>Captain James McBride didn't know exactly what to make of it at first. -The first Earthmen ever to set foot on Venus, he and his crew had come -armed to the teeth, fully prepared to fight wild elephants, giant -tigers, pre-historic monsters or anything an imaginative mind might -dream up.</p> - -<p>When they found evidence of absolutely no danger at all they stood -around with their heavy weapons and felt mighty foolish. The only signs -of animal life were the small creatures that scampered right up to the -men and chattered at them, unafraid, and birds more evident by sound -than by sight. There were no trails made by giant animals, no heavy, -frightening sounds in the jungle about them. Only a misty, drowsing -calm.</p> - -<p>The mist was always there, they were to find out later, steaming up -from the wet ground by day and condensing in a blanket of life-giving -water by night. Otherwise, Venus resembled mildly tropical Earth -without storm and tempest. The lack of these made one think of thunder -and lightning as some unseen, unknown entity bound to Earth alone in -chains of gravity.</p> - -<p>The only really unpleasant note was the condition of the ship in which -they had come. The underside was a mass of twisted steel and buckled -plates, where it had come down considerably harder than it had ever -been intended to come down. It was something that could never take to -space again, even if the "H" tanks hadn't been torn loose to gush out -their contents.</p> - -<p>Communication with Earth was out. A transmitter small enough to fit the -ship and yet powerful enough to breach millions of miles of space, as -well as penetrate two atmospheres, just wasn't made. The expedition was -on its own.</p> - -<p>The orders were conditional. If possible, they were to set up an -outpost on Venus, as others had done several years before on Mars. -Consisting mainly of scientists, the crew was to find out all it could -about the new world. In one year the second ship would follow, bringing -engineers and laborers. The scientists were to have, by that time, the -information required to form the first colony quickly, wisely, and -safely.</p> - -<p>If confronted with insurmountable obstacles, they were to return at -once to Earth with whatever information they might have as to the -nature of the obstacles.</p> - -<p>McBride grinned in spite of his regret over the loss of his ship and -looked at the wreckage. That sort of made the orders unconditional.</p> - -<p>Things could have been worse, he thought. Not one of the ten men in the -expedition had been lost or even badly injured. And, Venus being the -land of plenty that it had turned out to be, it was beginning to look -as if the stay here would be a pleasant one.</p> - -<p>He was just starting to get some of his old spunk back when Jeff -Flaunders came up to him with a worried frown on his face.</p> - -<p>Because of the limited space aboard the ship, Flaunders was a -combination of several men, as were most of the others. Specially -trained for the expedition, he handled anything that went under the -heading of botany, biology or zoology.</p> - -<p>Now he was looking worried.</p> - -<p>"You look a lot like bad news," McBride said as Flaunders drew near. -"Might have known there'd be a catch to this world."</p> - -<p>"More than a catch," Flaunders said. "I hope none of the men has eaten -anything native to Venus."</p> - -<p>McBride shook his head. "They haven't if they've followed orders. I -told them not to touch anything until you had made a report." He looked -at the other questioningly. "Poison?"</p> - -<p>"We brought twelve white rats and two monkeys along for experimental -purposes," Flaunders said. "Now we have only six rats. Each of the -others we fed a different kind of native fruit or meat. That was about -five hours ago. In the past hour they've gone into convulsions one -after another. Seemed to go blind, too. Died within minutes."</p> - -<p>"You tried it on just the six rats and not the monkeys?" McBride asked, -and got a nod from Flaunders. "Then that's just six things tested. -Maybe something edible will turn up yet."</p> - -<p>"Small chance." Flaunders was positive. "Thompson used a little of his -chemistry and found a substance he couldn't identify, not only in the -stuff we fed the rats but in twenty-some other plants. He even found -it in the flesh of the animals we caught. That makes it pretty certain -that it will be found in everything. When the rats died we pegged that -substance as the poison.</p> - -<p>"What to do about it is another question. Since it's entirely new to -us it would probably take years to find a way to neutralize it, and it -plays such an integral part in the structure of everything on Venus -that we'd have one sweet time trying to completely draw it out. Anyway, -a lot of needed lab equipment was smashed in the wreck. That makes it -even more of a problem."</p> - -<p>McBride listened, frowned and rubbed his cheek. "In other words, we -might as well give up any idea of living off the fat of the land."</p> - -<p>"That's about the size of it," Flaunders agreed. "Our best bet, the way -things stand now, would be to try and have a garden going before our -supply of food runs out."</p> - -<p>"Check," said McBride. "But the seed was brought along just in case the -soil and climate should prove suitable for planting. What do you make -of that?"</p> - -<p>"Climate ought to be just about perfect," Flaunders grunted. "As to the -soil, Thompson and I will check on that right away."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>In another day a few things had been learned. There was now no doubt -about the poisonous nature of Venus. The infuriating thing about it -was that the creatures native to Venus thrived about them on food that -would put out the lights for good for any Earth-born animal.</p> - -<p>But that was not quite so hard to take when they found that the soil -was suitable for Earth crops. That left nothing to get excited about.</p> - -<p>So they thought, until Venus turned stubborn.</p> - -<p>No one knew exactly how stubborn Venus could get until the garden -location was being cleared of weeds. They had gone over about fifty -feet of the clearing, working earnestly and not bothering to look back, -when one of the men—a lanky individual called Henry Higgins—turned to -look back, put one grimy fist on his hip, hunched his shoulders, stuck -out his chin and hollered, "Damn!"</p> - -<p>The others turned and looked surprised. Not that Higgins' well-known -exaggerative ways any longer surprised them, but what Higgins was -looking at might surprise anyone, including the botanist in Flaunders.</p> - -<p>The eight-or-ten feet of ground directly behind the men was clear of -weeds. But at the far edge of this cleared space little green shoots -were thrusting inquisitive noses above the ground. Beyond these were -one-inch plants, then two-inch, and four and six and eight, on up. They -formed a slope up to the edge of the clearing.</p> - -<p>"Damn!" Higgins said again, and tossed away his spade.</p> - -<p>Someone laughed uncertainly. The others scratched their heads, cast -blank stares at one another and forgot how to keep their mouths closed.</p> - -<p>"Just what in blazes do you make of that?" McBride asked of Flaunders.</p> - -<p>Flaunders could be quite an optimist when he wanted to; he was one of -those rare persons who seem to grow stronger with each failure. At -least on the surface.</p> - -<p>"Only what I see," he replied, not willing to show consternation. -"Amazingly rapid growth, but they're still only weeds. It's just going -to take a little applied science."</p> - -<p>"Maybe." McBride didn't like it. "But I've done a little farming in my -time; know what it is to worry a chunk of farmland out of the raw. And -the nature of Earth is dead compared to this."</p> - -<p>"Bunk!" Flaunders scoffed. "Work, certainly. But we'll be eating fresh -corn in two months!"</p> - -<p>McBride looked around, seeing little you wouldn't see on Earth. What's -wrong with me? he thought. It's my place to keep the spirits of the -men up, not to dampen them. Flaunders is right, of course. This -stuff is still only vegetation, even if it <i>is</i> styled after Jack's -beanstalk. Jack chopped down the beanstalk and killed the giant. Our -giant is the threat of starvation, but killing it is still a matter of -stalk-chopping. If Jack could do it so can we.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It started out like that. Two weeks of hacking and digging, of -specially prepared weed-killer and the aid of every trick known to -science, and there was a strip of dark, rich ground all ready for -planting. It looked like things were really beginning to roll. They did -roll. Right up against a blank wall.</p> - -<p>A few days after the planting, Flaunders was looking at a handful -of black spider-things and swearing under his breath. The shriveled -spider-things were seeds brought from Earth. They were shot through -with hairlike roots, and that was the strange thing. It was strange -because the roots were not their own.</p> - -<p>It took several more days for Flaunders to understand. When he did he -took on an attitude faintly remindful of a cornered rat. In a spot, but -frustrated to fighting anger. The ship had contained enough food for -only about two months to begin with, and more than two weeks had now -come out of that. Starvation was becoming a very real possibility in -his mind.</p> - -<p>"We're up against something big," he said, peeved with himself for -having to admit it. "We're fighting millions of years of evolution."</p> - -<p>McBride sensed something disturbing in the other's voice. Maybe a trace -of fear. "What do you mean?" he said.</p> - -<p>Flaunders enlarged. "A very long time ago a war started here on Venus. -It was a war among plants. You find the same thing on Earth, too, but -not on this scale. There must have been certain 'aggressive' plants -which threatened to force out all others. The others, in order to -survive, had to evolve into something even more deadly to other plants. -Once started, it had to keep going. Now, after millions of years, -they've evolved into things capable, of vicious little tricks you'd -never be able to count.</p> - -<p>"What happened to our seeds is one of them. Some of the roots extend -into microscopic threads hardly more than streaks of single molecules. -You can't dig them out and they escape all the ordinary weed-fighting -methods. One of their cute little tricks is to attach themselves to -other plants and seeds and absorb them, strangely enough not harming -their own species. Add to that the rapid growth, almost comparable to -the motion of the minute hand of a clock, and planting anything from -Earth among them is something like throwing a housecat into a den of -wild lions."</p> - -<p>"A very pretty picture," McBride groaned. "We can't go back to Earth -for a year, everything on Venus is poison and we have less than two -months' supply of food. Now you as much as admit that there will be no -garden. I'm suddenly getting a headache."</p> - -<p>"I didn't say we had failed," Flaunders said sharply. "I'm never going -to. By thunder, we'll beat this hellhole if it takes every minute of -our time!"</p> - -<p>That was a sane enough statement. They had the seeds and they had the -soil. With good health and the will to work, what was to stop them?</p> - -<p>Only weeds.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"Only weeds," McBride said ten weeks later. "They couldn't be -responsible for this! Ten weeks of breaking our backs and losing our -minds, and you can't even tell that we've done anything. It must be a -nightmare!"</p> - -<p>Flaunders was a man all washed out, a man badly stung. How hard for an -optimist to face defeat!</p> - -<p>"Ten years," he said reflectively. "That's what it seems like. Thirteen -since we crashed. Lucky number."</p> - -<p>"A week since we've had anything to eat," said McBride. "Or has it been -two? Anyway, it's too late to think about a garden. And if you and -Thompson can't find a way to make this stuff fit to eat—" There was no -need to complete that sentence.</p> - -<p>Flaunders said nothing, seemingly absorbed in thought.</p> - -<p>"Why don't you stop trying?" McBride said suddenly.</p> - -<p>Flaunders looked up as if he thought he hadn't heard right. "Why in the -world should I do that?"</p> - -<p>"Because as long as you try the rest of us have hope." McBride's sunken -cheeks burned red. He was somehow ashamed of his thoughts, but still -determined to voice them. "Without that hope we wouldn't go on waiting -and starving. There wouldn't be anything to wait for. Maybe there isn't -anyway. Do you actually think there is any hope?"</p> - -<p>Flaunders stared for a moment, considering the suicide tendency behind -McBride's words. He turned away, hardly disturbed by the morbid idea. -"I don't really know," he replied at last. "I don't even think any -more. I just keep going like an automaton, not hoping and not giving -up. That's my responsibility. Mine and Thompson's. Maybe we will find a -way and maybe not. The only thing to do is to keep dogging it till we -drop."</p> - -<p>"No need to blame yourself for that," McBride said. "God knows you -tried. With all the generators of this and that, the sprayers and fires -and wires strung all over, we looked like we were fighting a real war -instead of one against plants."</p> - -<p>Flaunders snorted. "A hell of a lot of good it did. We destroyed -the weeds and the properties of the soil with them. By the time we -reactivated the soil the weed seeds had come on the wind. Same thing -all over again. How much good did the hothouse do us, even with all the -filters? Nearly microscopic seed came in on our clothing, in our hair. -I'd rather fight elephants or pre-historic monsters. At least they're -big enough to see and slow enough to cope with."</p> - -<p>These were two skeletons, speaking of starvation under a tree loaded -down with plump, ripe fruit, watching small animals scamper. The easy -way out was all around them. They thought about it.</p> - -<p>All together there had been ten men. Now ten skeletons. Now ten -scarecrows with faces unshaven and dirty, with clothing hanging in -tattered strips and extra holes punched in belts. They were slowly -starving to death in the Garden of Paradise, in the land of plenty. And -nothing, you would think, could be worse than that.</p> - -<p>But there was something worse. It came shortly. The real Hell started -with a gun.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The gaunt men were sitting around in a circle, pow-wow fashion, -pretending to work out an answer and all feeling that there wasn't -any, when McBride noticed Heinie, the cook, handling his automatic. -It wasn't the mere fact that he was handling the weapon that deserved -notice. It was the way he was handling it.</p> - -<p>Heinie sat with a faraway look in his eye that was now glistening and -now lackluster, fondling the gun in a way that suggested something. -Black words not spoken, but safety off, a damp brow and moody -reflections.</p> - -<p>"Heinie," said McBride. "Anything wrong?"</p> - -<p>Heinie's eyes came back from that far place with a start. He laughed -bitterly. "Anything wrong! Two weeks without a damned thing to eat, and -the man wants to know if anything's wrong!"</p> - -<p>No respect for rank now. No more tin-soldier discipline. What penalty -can you impose upon a man mere days from death?</p> - -<p>"You'd better put away the gun, Heinie."</p> - -<p>Heinie stared back at McBride with a sort of thoughtful defiance. He -didn't put away the gun.</p> - -<p>"Then hand it over," McBride said, and started getting up.</p> - -<p>"Stay where you are! All of you!"</p> - -<p>Heinie's sunken eyes were suddenly glaring at the others over the -muzzle of his gun. The others settled back, a little afraid but not -caring much.</p> - -<p>"As cook," Heinie was saying, "it's my place to prepare meals. I -haven't been doing my job. Now I'm going to."</p> - -<p>"Don't let it get you down, man," McBride cautioned. "It's not your -fault if we haven't—"</p> - -<p>"Listen to me!" Heinie cut in sharply. "I happened to be in the Navy -when I was only a kid, and three other guys and myself were once -in a fix a lot like this. Only we were adrift on the open sea in a -life-raft. Three of us kept from starving to death, but we had to draw -straws to do it. The one who got the short one—well, I've been having -nightmares about it ever since. God! We didn't even have a fire—"</p> - -<p>His voice trailed off, his eyes drawing inward with some shocking -memory. McBride edged toward him.</p> - -<p>"Hold it!" Heinie ordered, coming out of the daze.</p> - -<p>McBride stopped, half inclined not to. He wavered, drew back, and -decided to try and argue it out.</p> - -<p>"You're—sick," he said. "Say you do kill one of us; do you think you -could go through that 'life-raft thing' again? Do you actually think -any of us, starving or not, could bring ourselves to do what you -suggest?"</p> - -<p>"I'm not going to go through it," said Heinie. "But if I could be -around to collect, I'd lay you ten to one that you will."</p> - -<p>McBride shook his head negatively. "Stop being foolish. You need a -rest."</p> - -<p>Heinie did it then. He did it quickly, before anyone had a chance to -stop him. He jerked the muzzle of the automatic up to his own temple.</p> - -<p>"So long, suckers!" he shouted, and pulled the trigger.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The loud report made the silence that followed seem even more silent. -The men who had come to their feet stood like statues of a mad -sculptor, watching the black hole turn red and gush. Then it came, -dawning in their eyes. The hungry, frightened, hopeful fascination, -the impact of conflicting thoughts. It grew stronger and burned in -the sunken eyes of these dead men who wanted to live. There was no -mistaking the intent, no mistaking the <i>desire</i>.</p> - -<p>McBride saw it and understood. "Good Lord, no!" he said. He tried to -keep saying it, thinking it.</p> - -<p>But he was as near death as the others. The mutual thought bloomed in -his mind like some evil flower. It made him tremble. Sweat suddenly -stung his eyes, ran into his mouth.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Food! Slow miserable death on one side and food on the other! A chance -to live a little longer. Maybe Flaunders would find something in -another week, and one meal might make the difference between seeing -that and not seeing it. One wanted to live! You couldn't bring Heinie -back anyway, so why not live? Heinie had wanted it that way. A human is -an animal as much as a pig or a cow. A chance to live, to hope again!</p> - -<p>Some part of his mind screamed at him. "Cannibal!"</p> - -<p>"The only chance!" cried another part.</p> - -<p>"Vulture!" said the soul-part with unnerving keening. "Will you have -loin? Or perhaps the rump?"</p> - -<p>His flesh prickled, the sweat flowed in streams. Unheard murmurings -distorted his mind.</p> - -<p>"Only this once, for a little more time!—Maggot! Dungworm!—Only -another week and maybe the Venus II, months ahead of time—Fool! Not a -chance! Die now, quickly!—No, no, no! Still some hope! Never give up. -Never say die! Oh, God, Heinie! Why did you suggest it?"</p> - -<p>Gibbering conflict, a trend to insanity. The voices inside beat his -brain against his temple and raged. The civilized man went to his knees -and drew back. The beast man thumped his chest and screamed.</p> - -<p>"Alright!" McBride shouted, wondering why his voice sounded so angry, -why his face felt distorted. He drew his feelings within himself. His -voice grew flat and quiet with bitter irony.</p> - -<p>"Alright," he said. "Go ahead. Undress the main course."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>When the meal ended the Hell came. Full stomachs restore sanity. The -beast man lay down, well fed and sleeping, to leave the civilized man -awake with his thoughts. A new kind of Hell, this one that started with -a gun. You could see the fires of it burning the face of every man.</p> - -<p>Like the extra-animated Henry Higgins. He sat with unnaturally red -cheeks puffed out beneath his beard, eyes glassy wet, looking at -McBride as if harboring some question too awful to ask. There was -something of the frightened, wild animal about him as his eyes left -McBride and jerked around from one face to another. Then he was up and -awkwardly running in among the trees.</p> - -<p>The men got up from the rough table that had been set up outside the -ship. They got up and went away, slinking, like a sex maniac leaving -the scene of his crime when his reason returns and he knows his -insanity. They went away by themselves—those not too sick to walk—and -hid from one another.</p> - -<p>But a man can't hide from himself. That was the Hell. This was not a -life-raft on the open sea, every man told himself. This was a green, -smiling world with the smell of flowers on the air, with plenty of -glistening, tempting fruit growing wild and enough game to make an -Indian hunter call it the Happy Hunting Ground. Like a camping trip -back on Earth. Like a picnic where you get drunk and start eating and -then sober up with the smell of blood in your nostrils to find yourself -chewing the hair off the detached leg or arm of your best friend.</p> - -<p>What did every man tell himself? That it wouldn't happen again, ever, -this terrible thing. When they found the strength and courage to go -back and clean up the remains of a meal, knowing it to be the remains -of a meal, when they had put what was left of Heinie in a hole and -covered it with dirt and set up a stone marker, they promised one -another it would never ever happen again.</p> - -<p>The next day they put it on paper, in black and white. An agreement. On -the third day they thought about it, and on the fourth day they began -wondering why they had done it. And on the fifth day—</p> - -<p>On the fifth day they found Thompson, the chemist, hanging from a tree -a short distance from the ship. Quite dead, of course, and no one had -to ask why he had done it.</p> - -<p>Hunger madness walked among the men. They took Thompson down from the -tree. Hunger madness whispered in their ears. They listened.</p> - -<p>McBride took out the agreement and looked at it, having heard the -tempter's whisper. He didn't think much. It hurt him to think. But -something that had been done once—</p> - -<p>He looked at the men and saw an inescapable vise tightening. He looked -at himself and saw the same. At his feet fell the small fragments of -the agreement.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The creeping hell closed in. The real Hell that had started with a gun. -Could these any longer think of themselves as men? After the second -time the change starts. It gets a little easier. All you have to do is -keep from looking at anyone. It's nice to live. With life there's hope. -Don't get cheated.</p> - -<p>What happened one day surprised no one. Eight of the ten remained, -two gone. Thompson had been gone for days. The hunger returned. The -pendulum swung back. The beast man shoved out any remaining noble -thought and screamed for food. The addict returns to his drug, the -pervert to his revolting deed.... As mad as these, the starving.</p> - -<p>Nor was McBride surprised when he found himself holding a little -stick. He wasn't greatly disturbed when it turned out to be the short -one. Sympathy from the others? Not a bit. Only a sort of brooding -resignation. And hunger. Always hunger.</p> - -<p>"Flaunders," McBride said. "Where's Flaunders?"</p> - -<p>"Don't worry," the one who had passed the straws said. "He took his -chance with us. Been working like a madman since Thompson went. He -wouldn't stop, so I took the straws in to him."</p> - -<p>"I don't care about that," McBride informed. "But I've known him since -we were kids. Just felt that I'd like to—well—maybe it's better this -way." He started slowly away.</p> - -<p>"Where you going?" someone said suspiciously.</p> - -<p>McBride looked at the man with a feeling part disgust, part pity and a -little of something unexplainable. He almost laughed.</p> - -<p>"I'm not depriving you of your next meal," he said. "I just feel like -being alone for this."</p> - -<p>He walked slowly on, taking his thoughts with him. What was the -purpose in all this? All a monotonous cycle, constantly repeated. -From the torture of starvation to the torture of the shame and bitter -self-accusation that makes one despise himself, back to the starvation. -Men slowly becoming something lower than pigs, and knowing it all too -well. A satisfying of the body at the expense of decency, even, of -sanity. A Hell within souls.</p> - -<p>And all for what purpose? To live? For how long, and in what hideous -way? There would be only one lonely and sick man left long before help -could come. What would that last man do? Go completely mad and try to -devour himself? Like the two snakes who met one sunny afternoon and -decided to swallow one another. Each took hold of the tail of the other -and both swallowed and swallowed until nothing at all remained. There -was no purpose. No purpose or reason at all.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>A short distance back among the trees McBride halted and looked back. -There were bushes between the men and himself. This was it. He drew his -automatic.</p> - -<p>Strange, he thought. I don't feel at all like I should about this. It's -just like routine procedure, something you do every day. I actually -think I'm glad I came out with the short straw.</p> - -<p>He even thought coolly about the best way to do it. The heart? Not sure -enough. The brain, like Heinie? A little better, but what if there -should be a nervous twitch at the wrong time and a deflection caused by -the bone of the skull?</p> - -<p>A babble of voices came to him as if from a great distance, through his -thoughts. Excited voices. But he was in a world of his own, now. All -the others were behind him, cut off.</p> - -<p>Safety off, he put the muzzle of the automatic into his mouth and -aimed it sharply upward. The most efficient way, probably. His finger -tightened.</p> - -<p>He heard the deafening report and felt the recoil jerk his arm down. -Somewhere he had heard that a man killed instantly by a gun never lives -to hear the report. It puzzled him. Why didn't he fall? Why could he -still see the green tangle of Venus and hear sounds?</p> - -<p>There was a ringings in his ears and a sickening shimmer before his -eyes. His shocked mind refused to come back to things for a moment. Who -were these laughing, crying, shouting skeletons whirling about him with -their dirty beards and red-rimmed eyes?</p> - -<p>"It's Flaunders," someone shouted. "He's done it!"</p> - -<p>"Done it," McBride repeated dumbly. "Done what?"</p> - -<p>Then Flaunders was shaking him by the shoulders and grinning. "Come out -of it, man! You're safe; we all are, now! There's no need for any more -of this—gluttony! Don't you understand? I've won! I know how to treat -the fruit, even the edible animals of this world, so we can eat them -and they won't hurt us a bit!"</p> - -<p>McBride tried to call order to mind, starting from the beginning. He -looked dazedly at the gun in his hand.</p> - -<p>Flaunders laughed. "Don't look so surprised to be alive. One of the men -hit your arm just in time. You missed death by an inch."</p> - -<p>It was all too much at one time, a skirling confusion.</p> - -<p>"That what you said about beating the poison," McBride said. "Are you -sure? It's not just something on paper, something not proven?"</p> - -<p>"Lord, no," Flaunders said, fighting down an urge to shout. "I had it -worked out yesterday, but it still had to be tested and the white rats -and two monkeys we brought along for experimental purposes were gone. -So I went out last night and gathered some fruit and treated it and -tried it on myself. Just look at me and you have your answer. I feel -fine."</p> - -<p>Still dazed, still not quite understanding how everything had happened, -McBride started back toward the ship with the others. But one thing he -knew. Venus had been beaten!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The meal was all day in the preparing. The eating was a gala event, a -banquet, a roaring party. It lasted two hours.</p> - -<p>There wasn't any wolfing down. When you have been starving for weeks -you just don't start off that way. You take a small bite and wait until -you are sure it is safely down. Then you take another small bite and -wait again. If you keep doing that you have a chance of holding what -you eat.</p> - -<p>They didn't mind. This food was not the kind you had to force yourself -to chew on, like—some other things.</p> - -<p>There were little animals looking something like rabbits, but tasting -more like chicken, fried golden brown. There were oranges that tasted -like nothing of Earth and apples that reminded you of paw-paws in -fall. Seven different kinds of meat there were, and it seemed like a -hundred different kinds of fruits and nuts and herbs. There was even a -juice that proved mildly intoxicating. All a little different, but all -delightfully, temptingly good!</p> - -<p>"We'll be eating like this every day!" Flaunders said. "Maybe we can -even set up a bar, with fruit-juice drinks and wine and even invent a -new kind of beer. Big, foamy schooners of beer on Venus! Won't the work -crew be surprised when they get here!"</p> - -<p>They let it run away with them. It went to their heads. The warmth of -intoxication, the feel of stomachs filling out. All the things long -missing now returning in full force, all at one time. Almost it was too -much. Almost death from excessive joy.</p> - -<p>They went on and on like that, the most happy men ever. They wanted it -to go on for ever, but the feast had started late and it ended late. -After the two hours they felt like sleeping. In fact, they felt a more -relentless urge to sleep than they ever had before.</p> - -<p>The result of a full stomach, they supposed, or the aftermath of months -of hardship let in by the sudden relaxation. It certainly wasn't a -matter of choice. Who wanted to sleep at a time like this, a time for -staying up all night and celebrating? But the sandman said no, and -right now he had the advantage.</p> - -<p>One by one they yawned, stretched and drifted off to bed like carefree -children, and to hell with cleaning up. That could wait until tomorrow. -Tomorrow! It was wonderful to have one to think about. Tomorrow was a -golden day.</p> - -<p>The last to turn in was Captain McBride, just as sleepy but not so -carefree. He alone, perhaps, was not completely satisfied. Underneath -the powerful urge to sleep was a question, and that question needed -answering. Or did it? In one way it didn't really matter. He went in -and found his bed in the darkness and decided to forget the question.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Fifteen minutes later McBride lay awake. The great urge to sleep was -still there, but sleep wouldn't come. No, that was not it exactly. He -wouldn't let it come. He was fighting it. The question wouldn't go -away, and it really did need answering after all.</p> - -<p>Moving around quietly in the darkness he made sure that the men were -sleeping. Then he returned to the bed next to his, the one in which -Flaunders slept.</p> - -<p>"Flaunders," he said softly.</p> - -<p>The question grew in his mind. "Flaunders," he called more urgently. He -jostled the quiet form.</p> - -<p>"What's wrong?" said Flaunders, half asleep.</p> - -<p>"Nothing exactly. I want to talk a bit."</p> - -<p>"Better sleep. The time is—"</p> - -<p>"Go on," McBride said intently.</p> - -<p>Flaunders fought himself awake. "Nothing. Half asleep. Didn't know what -I was saying. What do you want?"</p> - -<p>McBride lay down on his own bed, hardly able to keep his eyes open. -"Maybe I want to talk about the Garden of Eden, about the pair who were -told that a certain fruit was death to them, and about a serpent who -told them it wasn't."</p> - -<p>Flaunders said nothing.</p> - -<p>"Must have been quite a persuader, that Serpent," McBride went on in -dream talk. "Up until this morning I guess I might have welcomed such a -one, and I don't think I was alone in feeling that way. Men were never -intended to live the way we were living. We really didn't want to live -if we had to live that way. We only convinced ourselves that we did. We -were caught in a hellish vise and each of us knew it, underneath. So a -talking serpent who could convince us that the fruit of Venus was not -poison might not have been such a bad idea."</p> - -<p>"Why talk about that?" said Flaunders, like a man talking in his sleep. -"It's over. We've beaten Venus."</p> - -<p>McBride tried to open his eyes. It was too much trouble. His own words -seemed to him like someone else talking, far away and unreal. There was -a feeling like being detached from one's body.</p> - -<p>"Beaten Venus, yes," he said. "But I'm wondering how. I keep thinking -how this kind of poison acts. Probably affect us as it did the rats -and monkeys. Takes four or five hours to act, and it hasn't been three -since we started eating. Was it only chance that your treatment of -the food took all day and had to be extended up to the last moment -before serving? It wasn't even sampled before three hours ago. And so I -wonder."</p> - -<p>Flaunders' voice seemed to come out of a deep well. "Let's get some -sleep."</p> - -<p>McBride's voice almost matched it. "Not yet. I haven't mentioned about -the medical supplies we brought along. Even drugs. It would have been -simple for the welcome serpent to treat the food with something to -deaden pain, to make us sleep through it."</p> - -<p>His voice trailed off in sleep, his thoughts drifting away with the -night. Still the question wouldn't go away. It forced him partly awake. -He didn't even realize how little of a question it was now. His body -was a chunk of lead, not able to move. To speak required almost more -effort than he could muster.</p> - -<p>"Flaunders. You didn't. It's just fatigue, letdown after strain. I know -you won't lie if I ask you. All I want is to hear you say you didn't."</p> - -<p>Flaunders wouldn't have tried to move if he could. He lay on his back -with his hands folded on his chest. Appropriate.</p> - -<p>"Goodnight," he said.</p> - -<pre style='margin-top:6em'> -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POISON PLANET *** - -This file should be named 63945-h.htm or 63945-h.zip - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/9/4/63945/ - -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. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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