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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..cb9a3d1 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #64596 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64596) diff --git a/old/64596-0.txt b/old/64596-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 839294b..0000000 --- a/old/64596-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,954 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Star Beast, by Damon Knight - -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: The Star Beast - -Author: Damon Knight - -Release Date: February 19, 2021 [eBook #64596] - -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 THE STAR BEAST *** - - - - - THE STAR BEAST - - By DAMON KNIGHT - - They called this strange tentacle-headed - blob that had floundered into the System - Oscar. They were to learn a better name. - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Planet Stories Spring 1949. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -The observation deck of the _President Marcus_, this early in the -ship's arbitrary morning, was deserted except for two shapeless -figures. One of them was dead. - -The body was sprawled in the curve of the deck about midway between -two of the entrance wells. It had arms and legs, if you looked closely -enough at the limp tangle of garments; it had a gray beard and a purple -face. - -The other figure had neither limbs nor a face. It was black, and it -looked more like a pile of mud than anything else: a five-foot lump of -black mud, slightly flattened at either side, with a cluster of black, -stumpy filaments at the top. It moved slightly, dropping the filaments -a little toward the dead body; then it flowed away again, and the -filaments pointed straight up, toward the stars. - -Phil Horitz came up at the forward end of the deck. He let the levitor -push him gently clear of the well then stepped over to the glassine -and looked out at the tiny blue disk that was Earth. His back was to -the body and its watcher. He struck a cigarette, inhaling deeply, then -turned around. - -He swore and threw his cigarette away, leaping forward at the same -instant. He skidded to a halt in front of the corpse and fell to one -knee beside it. "Dead," he said. "Oh, Lord." - -He searched the body swiftly, and came up with a flat metal box, -attached by a silver chain to the body's middle. He tried the lid; it -opened easily. The box was empty. - -Horitz sighed and lifted the dead man's chin. Under the grey beard was -a deeply-indented red line that encircled the throat. - -He stood up and pressed a button on his wrist transceiver. "Walsh," he -said. "Sommers. Get up to the observation deck. _Thomasson has been -murdered._" - -A deep voice swore fervently in his ear. He didn't wait for it to -finish. He made an adjustment on the transceiver and said, "Captain -Tooker, please. This is Philip Horitz." A querulous male voice spoke: -"Yes, Horitz? What do you want?" - -Horitz repeated his message, and added, "I'm bringing the body down to -Thomasson's stateroom. Get the ship's doctor and meet me there." - -Two figures exploded out of the levitor well a dozen yards away; one -bulky and grey-haired, the other lean and young. They ran up to Horitz, -panting. The bulky one, Walsh, was still swearing. - -"I watched him like a baby," he protested. "He told me he was going to -get up at nine this morning, so I set my watch for eight. _Why_ the -howling hell did he--" - -"Save it," said Horitz. "He did. I'll take his head, Sommers, you take -his feet. Walsh, think you can carry Oscar?" - -"Listen, Phil," said Sommers abruptly, "are the Equations gone?" - -"Yes," Horitz told him. "They're gone." - -Walsh grunted and, stooping, wrapped his arms around the black thing. -He lifted it without apparent effort. The stumpy tendrils waved down -toward him, then stood upright again, ignoring him. The other two -picked up the body of Thomasson, and all three walked back to the -levitor well from which they had come. - -Captain Tooker and the medical officer, Dr. Evans, met them at the door -of the dead man's stateroom. Tooker was boiling over. "Do you call -yourselves Security agents?" he shouted. "Three of you, to protect one -man, and you couldn't do it. I'll raise hell about this, Horitz, see if -I don't." - -Horitz and Sommers put the body down on the bed, and Dr. Evans fell -quietly to examining it. "We'll find the killer," said Horitz grimly, -"or else any hell you can raise will be a sneeze in a gale of wind. You -don't know the half of this yet." - -"I know that a man has been murdered on my ship," said Tooker. - -"A man!" said Sommers, staring at him. "A whole planet may have been -murdered, unless we get the Equations back." - -"What equations?" said Tooker. "What the devil are you talking about?" - -"The Thomasson Equations," said Sommers, "are the answer to the problem -of faster-than-light space travel. Prof. Thomasson derived them from -observations he made on the space shell this thing--" he gestured at -Oscar--"landed on Pluto in, last year." - -Captain Tooker glanced at Oscar with evident dislike. "Well," he said, -"what are you going to do about it?" - -"Have the ship searched," said Horitz quietly; "but that won't do any -good. There are a hundred ways the killer could hide the Equations so -that no search would ever find them. Our one chance, I'm afraid, is to -get the only witness to tell us who garroted Thomasson." - -"The witness?" said the captain, staring. "Who?" - -Horitz turned to look at the black, five-foot lump, with its gently -waving tendrils. "Oscar," he said. - - * * * * * - -Oscar had come whirling out of interstellar space almost a year ago, in -a thin, cloudy shell hardly bigger than himself. The shell was partly -wrecked and put out of control; but by sheer luck, a supply ship had -picked it up and hauled it in to Pluto. The newspapers had labeled its -occupant a Centaurian, since he came from that general sector of space; -but actually, no one knew. The scientists at the Pluto Station who had -sweated over him for a year had found out exasperatingly little. He had -no eyes or ears, and yet he was aware of things around him. He had no -recognizable brain; he had no skeleton, no lungs, no circulatory system -and no excretory system. He got his energy, they thought, from cosmic -radiation; but they didn't know for sure. - -His tendrils or filaments--the stumpy, fingerlike organs on top of his -shapeless body--had no function that they would discover. They did not -respond to sound, to light, to heat or any other known radiation--but -they followed moving objects, in a dark room as well as in a light one. - -He was somehow able to emit and receive radio waves. They were able -to communicate with him, after a fashion, that way. They suspected it -wasn't his normal method of communication; but when they ticked at him -with a Morse sender, he obligingly ticked back. Slowly and painfully, -during that year, they had worked up from 1 + 1 = 2, to 9^3 = 729, to -simple nouns and a few verbs, in a code they invented as they went -along. They could talk to Oscar, and Oscar could talk to them. The only -trouble was, that nothing Oscar said made much sense--to men. - -"That's the whole difficulty," explained Dr. Y. Ilyanov, running her -fingers through her thick yellow hair. Dr. Ilyanov was one of the two -assistants Thomasson had brought along, and very beautiful. The other -was Dr. Hugh Meers, who was bald and not beautiful at all. - -"You understand, he perceives--but he doesn't perceive with human -senses or think in human patterns. Undoubtedly, he saw Professor -Thomasson killed; but he saw it--differently." - -"If we could only get some scrap of description," said Walsh. "Surely -he can tell size, for instance? If we knew whether the murderer was a -big man or a little man, even that would help." - -"You're thinking, I'll venture, of a particularly big man," said Dr. -Meers. "Carson Jahore, the ambassador from the Jovian Federation." - -Horitz nodded. "A prime suspect. The Federation has always been too big -for its planets. They'd give anything for a space-drive that would let -them beat Earth to the punch in interstellar colonization." - -"Well," said Walsh, "what about my question? Can't Oscar tell the -difference between a big man and a little one?" - -Dr. Meers' brow wrinkled. "Not in the way a man could," he said. -"If you put them side by side, then perhaps yes. Perhaps, mind you. -But--don't you see, he hasn't got one of our senses, except touch. -Instead, he probably has a whole gamut of his own. Lord only knows how -he differentiates between one man and another, or between one apple and -another. He doesn't do it our way, anyhow." - -"Look here," said Captain Tooker impatiently, "we're wasting time. Why -can't we just search everybody on board?" - -"Have you got authority," asked Horitz carefully, "to strip Ambassador -Jahore and his wife to the skin and put them and all their belongings -through five hundred and twenty different chemical solutions? For a -starter, that is? If you have, go ahead. I haven't." - -The captain shuddered. - -"Just the same," said Horitz, standing up, "you're right; we are -wasting time. Have you got that passenger list, Captain?" - -"Yes; here," Tooker said, producing it. "I've got to get back. If -anything happens, buzz me. And it had better be soon!" he added as he -left. - -"All right." Horitz turned to the two scientists. "Dr. Meers, can you -and Dr. Ilyanov make Oscar understand this much: that he's to signal -when he sees the man who was with Thomasson on the observation deck -this morning?" - -Meers shrugged. "We can try," he said. "I don't promise anything." He -pulled his chair over to the crude Morse set on the table and began -clicking the key. - - * * * * * - -Oscar's tendrils waved slowly back and forth, as if he were interested -in anything in the world but radio clicks. - -Meers stopped, waited a moment, then tried again. - -_Tick-tick_, said the amplifier. - -Meers nodded. "He says yes. Whether he really knows what we want, or -not, I can't say." - -Horitz spoke into his transceiver: "Central. Will you please page Mr. -Abbot, Miss Acheson, Mr. and Mrs. Adler and Mr. Aguirez? Ask them to -come to stateroom B39." - -One by one, the passengers whose names began with A were let into the -stateroom and presented to Oscar. Oscar said nothing. The passengers, -bewildered or indignant, were ushered out and a new batch came in. - -They went through the B's, the C's, the D's, the E's, the F's, the G's, -the H's, the I's.... The whole list numbered about 150, some of whom -had been shuttled aboard at the Jovian System, others at Mars. Finally -Horitz called a halt for lunch. Dr. Meers, pleading indisposition, had -gone to lie down in his stateroom. The three Security men were alone -with Dr. Ilyanov--and Oscar. - -Walsh, munching a corned-beef sandwich, stared at the black lump -balefully. "Honestly, Dr. Ilyanov," he said, "doesn't he ever give you -the creeps?" - -She smiled slightly. "Honestly--yes. I dream about him sometimes." - -Sommers glanced at her curiously. "What do you dream?" he asked. - -"Well--" she hesitated. "It's really silly, but--Last night, you -see, I was thinking of something poor Professor Thomasson had said, -half-jokingly, when we were discussing Oscar. He said that Oscar might -not be a complete organism." She gestured toward the black thing on the -table. "You know--his flat underside, that he walks with, and those -curious flat areas along his sides? He can grip with those. If you put -your hand there, he grips it." - -Horitz nodded. "Thomasson showed me that trick." He reached over and -put his hand on Oscar's black, glutinous side. "Shake hands, Oscar." - -The hand sank visibly in the black flesh. When Horitz pulled it away, -there was a small sucking noise. - -"Ugh," said Walsh disgustedly. - -"Well," continued Dr. Ilyanov, "you know that Oscar's space shell was -wrecked. Professor Thomasson suggested that the accident that wrecked -it might have wrecked Oscar too--that really, when he is all there, he -is three or four Oscars linked together--" - -She laughed embarrassedly. "Anyhow, when I slept last night, I had this -nightmare. I dreamed that I saw Oscar floating in space, but there -was more of him. There was another similar shape attached behind him, -and two smaller ones, one on either side. He was like a sort of black -cross--with those horrible tassels waving at each point of it--floating -along, under the stars...." - -"Well," said Horitz puzzledly, "what was so horrible about that?" - -"Why, I don't know," said Dr. Ilyanov. "But it was." - -Horitz crumpled up his sandwich-wrappers and threw them into the waste -chute. "Might as well get started again," he said. He picked up the -passenger list and read, "Jaeger, Jahore, Jessamin, Johnson." - - * * * * * - -Oscar watched interestedly as the beings in the room moved about, -trailing their flaming auras. These people had strange and sometimes -frightening counterpoints, he thought, but they were undeniably -picturesque. He would have a story to tell when he got home. - -One of the creatures arose and moved across the room. Its glowing -sheath was bright reeve, with radiating streaks of darker gel. Inside, -the shadowy nucleus seemed to be constructed differently from the -others. Oscar followed it with the waving feelers atop his own nucleus. -If he could only get into syntact with that one, he thought, he might -find out something about it. Perhaps it had been badly morloned when it -was young; or perhaps it was a different species entirely. It was hard -to see, with these people. - -Two more beings came into the room, one of them tall but with a slight -nucleus, shaped like the one he had just been examining. He felt it -with interest, but it was as uncommunicative as the other. The figure -beside it was of an uninspiring shape, but its aura was reminiscent. He -recalled that something was expected of him. - -Carson Jahore was a big man, with the dark skin and fair hair that -characterized his race. He was saying loudly, "--I won't stand for it, -d'you hear? D'you think you can drag me and my wife in here like any -common suspect? I'll hear an apology, or by God, heads will roll!" - -_Tick-tick-tick_, said the amplifier on the table. - -"There's your apology," said Horitz, his eyes shining. "Where have you -hidden the Equations, Ambassador Jahore?" - -"What _is_ this?" roared the ambassador. "What equations? What's that -thing? Are you all mad?" - -Dr. Ilyanov put a hand on Horitz's arm. "Please," she said, "don't be -hasty. We don't know that Oscar understands, remember. Let's at least -run through the rest of the passenger list, and see if he picks out -anyone else." - -"I never heard such nonsense in my life," put in Mrs. Jahore, who was -small and sultry. "Come along, Carson, let's go and tell the captain." - -"I've already buzzed the captain," said Horitz. He glanced at Dr. -Ilyanov. "You're right, of course. Walsh, take Ambassador and Mrs. -Jahore into the other room. If they make any trouble, give them a jolt." - -Walsh, with his electrogun out, herded the pair into the next room. -Jahore's shouts continued for some time. - -"Ask Oscar if he was _sure_," suggested Sommers. - -Dr. Ilyanov stepped to the Morse sender and tapped out the message. - -_Tick-tick_, said Oscar. - -"Well, that's good enough for me," said Sommers, "but we might as well -have the rest in, I suppose." - -The captain called Horitz via his wrist phone, swore fearfully when -he heard that they had bagged the ambassador, and promised to come -down later. Horitz continued to read off lists of names to the central -operator, bringing in groups of passengers whose nervousness increased -as rumors spread through the ship. - - * * * * * - -Horitz strode up and down the room, slamming one fist into the palm of -the other hand. "There must be something we've overlooked," he said. -"We've got to figure out what the semantic block is between us and -Oscar. I know it's something simple, I feel it; but--" - -Dr. Ilyanov was frowning thoughtfully. "I have an idea," she said. "Did -it ever occur to you that Dr. Tooker might be the man we are looking -for?" - -"Tooker!" said Horitz. - -"Yes. You saw how jealous he is of his job on this ship. If the -Thomasson Equations were used, he would certainly be put out of work. -To a man like that, it would be worse than death. And remember, he has -not been in this room since we asked Oscar to point out the killer." - -"You might be right," said Horitz slowly. "But even if Oscar put the -finger on him, it wouldn't prove anything unless we can find out what -Oscar _means_." - -"Please try it," said the girl. "I have--I have a theory." - -"Yes," said Horitz. - -She flushed slowly. "I know it sounds absurd," she said, "but I think -Oscar has been pointing out all the ones on this ship who _could_ have -killed Professor Thomasson--who had reasons to. I think he perceives -that, just as we'd perceive a man's height, or his manner of walking." - -Horitz looked at her doubtfully. - -"Don't you see," she went on, "that would explain why he pointed out -two when we asked for only one? They look the same to him--he can't -tell them apart!" - -"Maybe you've got it," said Horitz. He opened the transceiver and said, -"Captain Tooker, please. Horitz calling." - -"Yes, Horitz?" said the captain's voice. - -"Can you come down immediately? I think we've got this thing licked." - -The captain walked in a few minutes later. "Horitz," he said, "you -deserve a medal. Who is it?" - -_Tick-tick-tick_, said the amplifier. - -"Maybe you," Horitz told him. He produced his electrogun and waved the -captain over toward the wall. "No offense, but I've got to make sure." - -"What!" shouted the captain, his face reddening. "Are you crazy, -Horitz? Put that gun down!" - -"Shut up," said Horitz, "please." He moved over to the connecting door, -opened it and said, "Bring them out." - -Walsh and Sommers herded their prisoners back into the room. The -Jahores had subsided some time before, but broke out afresh when they -saw that they were not going to be released. The captain tried to -outshout the Jahores, and it took Horitz a full minute to quiet them. - -When they were silent at last, he said, "Oscar has pointed out each -of you as the one who murdered Professor Thomasson. Now's the time to -confess." - -No one said anything. Horitz picked up the passenger list from the -table and glanced at it. "All right," he said. He adjusted his -transceiver and said, "Stewards' Department? This is Horitz, in -stateroom B39. I want the stewards who serve A deck Section 3, C deck -Section 5, and the Captain's quarters. Get them down here fast." - - * * * * * - -The stewards arrived, looking apprehensive. There were five of them in -all: two for each of the passenger sections, and one for Tooker. The -latter said to Horitz, "Is there anything wrong, sir?" - -"Nothing that need worry you," Horitz told them. "Just stand there and -answer any questions I may ask you." He turned to Jahore. "Professor -Thomasson was killed at a very early hour this morning," he said. -"According to the ship's doctor, he had been dead approximately thirty -minutes when I found him, and that was at seven-thirty. What time did -you leave your stateroom this morning, Ambassador?" - -"I don't know that that concerns you, you insolent puppy!" Jahore -replied. - -"Answer him, dearest," said his wife. "Let's get this beastly business -over." - -"Oh, very well," said the ambassador. "I was up at nine." - -"Is that correct?" Horitz said to the stewards. - -One of them spoke up, "Yes, sir, I believe so. I was in the corridor -when His Excellency came out, and it was at about nine o'clock, sir." - -Horitz bowed slightly. "You have my apologies, Ambassador. You and your -wife may go now." - -"Just a minute," said Sommers unexpectedly. "Oscar clicked when both -the Ambassador and his wife were in the room, didn't he? Mrs. Jahore, -when did you leave the stateroom?" - -"At ten-thirty," the woman said coldly. - -"That's correct, sir," said the steward. "I was working in that section -almost all the morning, and I saw Mrs. Jahore leave at that time." - -"Please accept my apologies also," said Tooker to the Jahores, trying -to curb his apoplexy. "I assure you, sir, that this was none of my -doing." - -"You're not out of the woods yet yourself, Captain," said Horitz wryly. - -Mrs. Jahore tugged at her husband's sleeve, but the ambassador looked -interested. "You're in this too, are you?" he said to Tooker. "I think -I'll stay and see the finish." - -Horitz looked at Tooker. "Well, Captain?" - -"I was up at six-thirty," said the captain. - -"Right?" said Horitz. - -The steward coughed. "Approximately right, sir. I should say that it -was more nearly six-_forty_." - -"Where did you go, Captain Tooker?" asked Horitz. "To the control room?" - -"Certainly." - -"Who was on duty there?" - -"First mate--Marshall," said the captain angrily. - -Horitz lifted his transceiver. - -"All right!" said the captain, raising his hand. "I didn't arrive in -the control room until seven-thirty. I can't account for the time, -either, or rather I won't. I suppose you think you can burn me for -that." - -"Maybe," said Horitz soberly. "For your own sake, I advise you to tell -me where you were." - -The captain wilted suddenly. "I was--visiting a certain lady," he said. -"That's all I'll tell you, but it's the truth." He stiffened again, -and glared at Horitz. "If it comes to that, what time did _you_ get up -this morning?" - -"Seven-twenty," said Horitz. "Well it's one of you two," he began. - -One of the stewards coughed. "Excuse me, sir," he said, "but what you -said isn't true." - -Horitz looked at him without comprehension. "What isn't true?" he asked. - -"You didn't get up at seven-twenty, sir. I saw you leave at not later -than six-forty-five, sir." - -Horitz simply stared at him. "What are you lying for?" he asked, -puzzled. - -"I'm not lying," the man said stiffly. "I remember distinctly, because -I thought it was odd at the time. You left your room at a quarter to -seven, and then I saw you come back about twenty minutes later. Both -times, you had a funny sort of expression on your face--sort of dazed, -you looked. When you came back, you had some papers in one hand, and -you were carrying your belt in the other, sir." - -The others were all staring at Horitz. - -"His belt!" said Sommers. His gun swiveled to point at Horitz. "I'm -sorry, Phil. Drop your gun." - -Horitz dropped it, and Walsh scooped it up. - -"Then he went into his stateroom and locked the door," said the steward -excitedly, "and about twenty after seven he came out again, looking for -all the world as if he'd just waked up. I went into the room, being a -little curious, and looked around to see if I could see the papers, or -anything. I didn't see the papers, but there was scraps of burnt paper -and ashes all around the waste chute. It looked to me as if he burnt -them up." - - * * * * * - -Horitz felt numb. The words he was hearing, incredibly, awoke echoes of -memory ... a memory that had not been there an instant before. - -"Burned them!" said the girl, her eyes wide. "But why!" - -Sommers was speaking rapidly into his wrist transceiver, and a few -moments later the ship's doctor bustled in, carrying his bag. - -"Give your belt to Dr. Evans, Phil," said Sommers. - -_This is crazy_, thought Horitz to himself. _I'm dreaming._ He took off -the thin rawhide band he wore about his waist and handed it over to the -doctor. _I remember his face_, he thought. _His purple face as I.... -But I didn't. I couldn't have!_ - -The doctor took the belt, casting a sharp glance at Horitz, and held it -up to the light in his gloved hands. He took a bulky instrument from -his bag, clipped a section of the belt into its base and peered at it -through the eyepieces. He looked up after a moment and nodded. - -"Traces of human skin," he said. "This is undoubtedly the instrument -which was used to kill Professor Thomasson." - -"I think I understand now," said Dr. Ilyanov slowly, staring straight -ahead of her. "We forgot one person who had a motive ... Oscar! He -didn't want us to reach the stars...." - -She turned until her wide gaze rested on Horitz's face. "And you _shook -hands_ with him!" she said. - -The nightmare boiled up in Horitz's head. Impossible things, memories -from nowhere, battled with his sanity: the silent decks, the slow, -dreamlike progress upward into starlight ... and the hideous purple -face, staring impersonally into his. - -Raging, his mind retreated, flung itself away from the thing that -was hurting it. He felt his body in motion, felt himself caught, -struggling, but it was as if he were a far-off spectator. The words -that came to him were meaningless. - -Walsh and Sommers, holding him, looked at each other across the -prostrate body. The muscles on Walsh's heavy forearms stood out, and -there was sweat on Sommers' forehead. Gradually the struggles subsided: -Horitz lay still and white, looking upward at nothing. - -Dr. Ilyanov came to kneel over him. She said, "He will be cured. And -he can't be punished, of course." She turned her head slowly toward -the black shape across the room. "But--" she said--"_neither can that -thing_!" - -Oscar's tentacles writhed, delicately. - -[Illustration: _Oscar's tentacles writhed delicately._] - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STAR BEAST *** - -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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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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. 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. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Star Beast</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Damon Knight</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: February 19, 2021 [eBook #64596]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STAR BEAST ***</div> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>THE STAR BEAST</h1> - -<h2>By DAMON KNIGHT</h2> - -<p>They called this strange tentacle-headed<br /> -blob that had floundered into the System<br /> -Oscar. They were to learn a better name.</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Planet Stories Spring 1949.<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>The observation deck of the <i>President Marcus</i>, this early in the -ship's arbitrary morning, was deserted except for two shapeless -figures. One of them was dead.</p> - -<p>The body was sprawled in the curve of the deck about midway between -two of the entrance wells. It had arms and legs, if you looked closely -enough at the limp tangle of garments; it had a gray beard and a purple -face.</p> - -<p>The other figure had neither limbs nor a face. It was black, and it -looked more like a pile of mud than anything else: a five-foot lump of -black mud, slightly flattened at either side, with a cluster of black, -stumpy filaments at the top. It moved slightly, dropping the filaments -a little toward the dead body; then it flowed away again, and the -filaments pointed straight up, toward the stars.</p> - -<p>Phil Horitz came up at the forward end of the deck. He let the levitor -push him gently clear of the well then stepped over to the glassine -and looked out at the tiny blue disk that was Earth. His back was to -the body and its watcher. He struck a cigarette, inhaling deeply, then -turned around.</p> - -<p>He swore and threw his cigarette away, leaping forward at the same -instant. He skidded to a halt in front of the corpse and fell to one -knee beside it. "Dead," he said. "Oh, Lord."</p> - -<p>He searched the body swiftly, and came up with a flat metal box, -attached by a silver chain to the body's middle. He tried the lid; it -opened easily. The box was empty.</p> - -<p>Horitz sighed and lifted the dead man's chin. Under the grey beard was -a deeply-indented red line that encircled the throat.</p> - -<p>He stood up and pressed a button on his wrist transceiver. "Walsh," he -said. "Sommers. Get up to the observation deck. <i>Thomasson has been -murdered.</i>"</p> - -<p>A deep voice swore fervently in his ear. He didn't wait for it to -finish. He made an adjustment on the transceiver and said, "Captain -Tooker, please. This is Philip Horitz." A querulous male voice spoke: -"Yes, Horitz? What do you want?"</p> - -<p>Horitz repeated his message, and added, "I'm bringing the body down to -Thomasson's stateroom. Get the ship's doctor and meet me there."</p> - -<p>Two figures exploded out of the levitor well a dozen yards away; one -bulky and grey-haired, the other lean and young. They ran up to Horitz, -panting. The bulky one, Walsh, was still swearing.</p> - -<p>"I watched him like a baby," he protested. "He told me he was going to -get up at nine this morning, so I set my watch for eight. <i>Why</i> the -howling hell did he—"</p> - -<p>"Save it," said Horitz. "He did. I'll take his head, Sommers, you take -his feet. Walsh, think you can carry Oscar?"</p> - -<p>"Listen, Phil," said Sommers abruptly, "are the Equations gone?"</p> - -<p>"Yes," Horitz told him. "They're gone."</p> - -<p>Walsh grunted and, stooping, wrapped his arms around the black thing. -He lifted it without apparent effort. The stumpy tendrils waved down -toward him, then stood upright again, ignoring him. The other two -picked up the body of Thomasson, and all three walked back to the -levitor well from which they had come.</p> - -<p>Captain Tooker and the medical officer, Dr. Evans, met them at the door -of the dead man's stateroom. Tooker was boiling over. "Do you call -yourselves Security agents?" he shouted. "Three of you, to protect one -man, and you couldn't do it. I'll raise hell about this, Horitz, see if -I don't."</p> - -<p>Horitz and Sommers put the body down on the bed, and Dr. Evans fell -quietly to examining it. "We'll find the killer," said Horitz grimly, -"or else any hell you can raise will be a sneeze in a gale of wind. You -don't know the half of this yet."</p> - -<p>"I know that a man has been murdered on my ship," said Tooker.</p> - -<p>"A man!" said Sommers, staring at him. "A whole planet may have been -murdered, unless we get the Equations back."</p> - -<p>"What equations?" said Tooker. "What the devil are you talking about?"</p> - -<p>"The Thomasson Equations," said Sommers, "are the answer to the problem -of faster-than-light space travel. Prof. Thomasson derived them from -observations he made on the space shell this thing—" he gestured at -Oscar—"landed on Pluto in, last year."</p> - -<p>Captain Tooker glanced at Oscar with evident dislike. "Well," he said, -"what are you going to do about it?"</p> - -<p>"Have the ship searched," said Horitz quietly; "but that won't do any -good. There are a hundred ways the killer could hide the Equations so -that no search would ever find them. Our one chance, I'm afraid, is to -get the only witness to tell us who garroted Thomasson."</p> - -<p>"The witness?" said the captain, staring. "Who?"</p> - -<p>Horitz turned to look at the black, five-foot lump, with its gently -waving tendrils. "Oscar," he said.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Oscar had come whirling out of interstellar space almost a year ago, in -a thin, cloudy shell hardly bigger than himself. The shell was partly -wrecked and put out of control; but by sheer luck, a supply ship had -picked it up and hauled it in to Pluto. The newspapers had labeled its -occupant a Centaurian, since he came from that general sector of space; -but actually, no one knew. The scientists at the Pluto Station who had -sweated over him for a year had found out exasperatingly little. He had -no eyes or ears, and yet he was aware of things around him. He had no -recognizable brain; he had no skeleton, no lungs, no circulatory system -and no excretory system. He got his energy, they thought, from cosmic -radiation; but they didn't know for sure.</p> - -<p>His tendrils or filaments—the stumpy, fingerlike organs on top of his -shapeless body—had no function that they would discover. They did not -respond to sound, to light, to heat or any other known radiation—but -they followed moving objects, in a dark room as well as in a light one.</p> - -<p>He was somehow able to emit and receive radio waves. They were able -to communicate with him, after a fashion, that way. They suspected it -wasn't his normal method of communication; but when they ticked at him -with a Morse sender, he obligingly ticked back. Slowly and painfully, -during that year, they had worked up from 1 + 1 = 2, to 9<sup>3</sup> = 729, to -simple nouns and a few verbs, in a code they invented as they went -along. They could talk to Oscar, and Oscar could talk to them. The only -trouble was, that nothing Oscar said made much sense—to men.</p> - -<p>"That's the whole difficulty," explained Dr. Y. Ilyanov, running her -fingers through her thick yellow hair. Dr. Ilyanov was one of the two -assistants Thomasson had brought along, and very beautiful. The other -was Dr. Hugh Meers, who was bald and not beautiful at all.</p> - -<p>"You understand, he perceives—but he doesn't perceive with human -senses or think in human patterns. Undoubtedly, he saw Professor -Thomasson killed; but he saw it—differently."</p> - -<p>"If we could only get some scrap of description," said Walsh. "Surely -he can tell size, for instance? If we knew whether the murderer was a -big man or a little man, even that would help."</p> - -<p>"You're thinking, I'll venture, of a particularly big man," said Dr. -Meers. "Carson Jahore, the ambassador from the Jovian Federation."</p> - -<p>Horitz nodded. "A prime suspect. The Federation has always been too big -for its planets. They'd give anything for a space-drive that would let -them beat Earth to the punch in interstellar colonization."</p> - -<p>"Well," said Walsh, "what about my question? Can't Oscar tell the -difference between a big man and a little one?"</p> - -<p>Dr. Meers' brow wrinkled. "Not in the way a man could," he said. -"If you put them side by side, then perhaps yes. Perhaps, mind you. -But—don't you see, he hasn't got one of our senses, except touch. -Instead, he probably has a whole gamut of his own. Lord only knows how -he differentiates between one man and another, or between one apple and -another. He doesn't do it our way, anyhow."</p> - -<p>"Look here," said Captain Tooker impatiently, "we're wasting time. Why -can't we just search everybody on board?"</p> - -<p>"Have you got authority," asked Horitz carefully, "to strip Ambassador -Jahore and his wife to the skin and put them and all their belongings -through five hundred and twenty different chemical solutions? For a -starter, that is? If you have, go ahead. I haven't."</p> - -<p>The captain shuddered.</p> - -<p>"Just the same," said Horitz, standing up, "you're right; we are -wasting time. Have you got that passenger list, Captain?"</p> - -<p>"Yes; here," Tooker said, producing it. "I've got to get back. If -anything happens, buzz me. And it had better be soon!" he added as he -left.</p> - -<p>"All right." Horitz turned to the two scientists. "Dr. Meers, can you -and Dr. Ilyanov make Oscar understand this much: that he's to signal -when he sees the man who was with Thomasson on the observation deck -this morning?"</p> - -<p>Meers shrugged. "We can try," he said. "I don't promise anything." He -pulled his chair over to the crude Morse set on the table and began -clicking the key.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Oscar's tendrils waved slowly back and forth, as if he were interested -in anything in the world but radio clicks.</p> - -<p>Meers stopped, waited a moment, then tried again.</p> - -<p><i>Tick-tick</i>, said the amplifier.</p> - -<p>Meers nodded. "He says yes. Whether he really knows what we want, or -not, I can't say."</p> - -<p>Horitz spoke into his transceiver: "Central. Will you please page Mr. -Abbot, Miss Acheson, Mr. and Mrs. Adler and Mr. Aguirez? Ask them to -come to stateroom B39."</p> - -<p>One by one, the passengers whose names began with A were let into the -stateroom and presented to Oscar. Oscar said nothing. The passengers, -bewildered or indignant, were ushered out and a new batch came in.</p> - -<p>They went through the B's, the C's, the D's, the E's, the F's, the G's, -the H's, the I's.... The whole list numbered about 150, some of whom -had been shuttled aboard at the Jovian System, others at Mars. Finally -Horitz called a halt for lunch. Dr. Meers, pleading indisposition, had -gone to lie down in his stateroom. The three Security men were alone -with Dr. Ilyanov—and Oscar.</p> - -<p>Walsh, munching a corned-beef sandwich, stared at the black lump -balefully. "Honestly, Dr. Ilyanov," he said, "doesn't he ever give you -the creeps?"</p> - -<p>She smiled slightly. "Honestly—yes. I dream about him sometimes."</p> - -<p>Sommers glanced at her curiously. "What do you dream?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"Well—" she hesitated. "It's really silly, but—Last night, you -see, I was thinking of something poor Professor Thomasson had said, -half-jokingly, when we were discussing Oscar. He said that Oscar might -not be a complete organism." She gestured toward the black thing on the -table. "You know—his flat underside, that he walks with, and those -curious flat areas along his sides? He can grip with those. If you put -your hand there, he grips it."</p> - -<p>Horitz nodded. "Thomasson showed me that trick." He reached over and -put his hand on Oscar's black, glutinous side. "Shake hands, Oscar."</p> - -<p>The hand sank visibly in the black flesh. When Horitz pulled it away, -there was a small sucking noise.</p> - -<p>"Ugh," said Walsh disgustedly.</p> - -<p>"Well," continued Dr. Ilyanov, "you know that Oscar's space shell was -wrecked. Professor Thomasson suggested that the accident that wrecked -it might have wrecked Oscar too—that really, when he is all there, he -is three or four Oscars linked together—"</p> - -<p>She laughed embarrassedly. "Anyhow, when I slept last night, I had this -nightmare. I dreamed that I saw Oscar floating in space, but there -was more of him. There was another similar shape attached behind him, -and two smaller ones, one on either side. He was like a sort of black -cross—with those horrible tassels waving at each point of it—floating -along, under the stars...."</p> - -<p>"Well," said Horitz puzzledly, "what was so horrible about that?"</p> - -<p>"Why, I don't know," said Dr. Ilyanov. "But it was."</p> - -<p>Horitz crumpled up his sandwich-wrappers and threw them into the waste -chute. "Might as well get started again," he said. He picked up the -passenger list and read, "Jaeger, Jahore, Jessamin, Johnson."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Oscar watched interestedly as the beings in the room moved about, -trailing their flaming auras. These people had strange and sometimes -frightening counterpoints, he thought, but they were undeniably -picturesque. He would have a story to tell when he got home.</p> - -<p>One of the creatures arose and moved across the room. Its glowing -sheath was bright reeve, with radiating streaks of darker gel. Inside, -the shadowy nucleus seemed to be constructed differently from the -others. Oscar followed it with the waving feelers atop his own nucleus. -If he could only get into syntact with that one, he thought, he might -find out something about it. Perhaps it had been badly morloned when it -was young; or perhaps it was a different species entirely. It was hard -to see, with these people.</p> - -<p>Two more beings came into the room, one of them tall but with a slight -nucleus, shaped like the one he had just been examining. He felt it -with interest, but it was as uncommunicative as the other. The figure -beside it was of an uninspiring shape, but its aura was reminiscent. He -recalled that something was expected of him.</p> - -<p>Carson Jahore was a big man, with the dark skin and fair hair that -characterized his race. He was saying loudly, "—I won't stand for it, -d'you hear? D'you think you can drag me and my wife in here like any -common suspect? I'll hear an apology, or by God, heads will roll!"</p> - -<p><i>Tick-tick-tick</i>, said the amplifier on the table.</p> - -<p>"There's your apology," said Horitz, his eyes shining. "Where have you -hidden the Equations, Ambassador Jahore?"</p> - -<p>"What <i>is</i> this?" roared the ambassador. "What equations? What's that -thing? Are you all mad?"</p> - -<p>Dr. Ilyanov put a hand on Horitz's arm. "Please," she said, "don't be -hasty. We don't know that Oscar understands, remember. Let's at least -run through the rest of the passenger list, and see if he picks out -anyone else."</p> - -<p>"I never heard such nonsense in my life," put in Mrs. Jahore, who was -small and sultry. "Come along, Carson, let's go and tell the captain."</p> - -<p>"I've already buzzed the captain," said Horitz. He glanced at Dr. -Ilyanov. "You're right, of course. Walsh, take Ambassador and Mrs. -Jahore into the other room. If they make any trouble, give them a jolt."</p> - -<p>Walsh, with his electrogun out, herded the pair into the next room. -Jahore's shouts continued for some time.</p> - -<p>"Ask Oscar if he was <i>sure</i>," suggested Sommers.</p> - -<p>Dr. Ilyanov stepped to the Morse sender and tapped out the message.</p> - -<p><i>Tick-tick</i>, said Oscar.</p> - -<p>"Well, that's good enough for me," said Sommers, "but we might as well -have the rest in, I suppose."</p> - -<p>The captain called Horitz via his wrist phone, swore fearfully when -he heard that they had bagged the ambassador, and promised to come -down later. Horitz continued to read off lists of names to the central -operator, bringing in groups of passengers whose nervousness increased -as rumors spread through the ship.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Horitz strode up and down the room, slamming one fist into the palm of -the other hand. "There must be something we've overlooked," he said. -"We've got to figure out what the semantic block is between us and -Oscar. I know it's something simple, I feel it; but—"</p> - -<p>Dr. Ilyanov was frowning thoughtfully. "I have an idea," she said. "Did -it ever occur to you that Dr. Tooker might be the man we are looking -for?"</p> - -<p>"Tooker!" said Horitz.</p> - -<p>"Yes. You saw how jealous he is of his job on this ship. If the -Thomasson Equations were used, he would certainly be put out of work. -To a man like that, it would be worse than death. And remember, he has -not been in this room since we asked Oscar to point out the killer."</p> - -<p>"You might be right," said Horitz slowly. "But even if Oscar put the -finger on him, it wouldn't prove anything unless we can find out what -Oscar <i>means</i>."</p> - -<p>"Please try it," said the girl. "I have—I have a theory."</p> - -<p>"Yes," said Horitz.</p> - -<p>She flushed slowly. "I know it sounds absurd," she said, "but I think -Oscar has been pointing out all the ones on this ship who <i>could</i> have -killed Professor Thomasson—who had reasons to. I think he perceives -that, just as we'd perceive a man's height, or his manner of walking."</p> - -<p>Horitz looked at her doubtfully.</p> - -<p>"Don't you see," she went on, "that would explain why he pointed out -two when we asked for only one? They look the same to him—he can't -tell them apart!"</p> - -<p>"Maybe you've got it," said Horitz. He opened the transceiver and said, -"Captain Tooker, please. Horitz calling."</p> - -<p>"Yes, Horitz?" said the captain's voice.</p> - -<p>"Can you come down immediately? I think we've got this thing licked."</p> - -<p>The captain walked in a few minutes later. "Horitz," he said, "you -deserve a medal. Who is it?"</p> - -<p><i>Tick-tick-tick</i>, said the amplifier.</p> - -<p>"Maybe you," Horitz told him. He produced his electrogun and waved the -captain over toward the wall. "No offense, but I've got to make sure."</p> - -<p>"What!" shouted the captain, his face reddening. "Are you crazy, -Horitz? Put that gun down!"</p> - -<p>"Shut up," said Horitz, "please." He moved over to the connecting door, -opened it and said, "Bring them out."</p> - -<p>Walsh and Sommers herded their prisoners back into the room. The -Jahores had subsided some time before, but broke out afresh when they -saw that they were not going to be released. The captain tried to -outshout the Jahores, and it took Horitz a full minute to quiet them.</p> - -<p>When they were silent at last, he said, "Oscar has pointed out each -of you as the one who murdered Professor Thomasson. Now's the time to -confess."</p> - -<p>No one said anything. Horitz picked up the passenger list from the -table and glanced at it. "All right," he said. He adjusted his -transceiver and said, "Stewards' Department? This is Horitz, in -stateroom B39. I want the stewards who serve A deck Section 3, C deck -Section 5, and the Captain's quarters. Get them down here fast."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The stewards arrived, looking apprehensive. There were five of them in -all: two for each of the passenger sections, and one for Tooker. The -latter said to Horitz, "Is there anything wrong, sir?"</p> - -<p>"Nothing that need worry you," Horitz told them. "Just stand there and -answer any questions I may ask you." He turned to Jahore. "Professor -Thomasson was killed at a very early hour this morning," he said. -"According to the ship's doctor, he had been dead approximately thirty -minutes when I found him, and that was at seven-thirty. What time did -you leave your stateroom this morning, Ambassador?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know that that concerns you, you insolent puppy!" Jahore -replied.</p> - -<p>"Answer him, dearest," said his wife. "Let's get this beastly business -over."</p> - -<p>"Oh, very well," said the ambassador. "I was up at nine."</p> - -<p>"Is that correct?" Horitz said to the stewards.</p> - -<p>One of them spoke up, "Yes, sir, I believe so. I was in the corridor -when His Excellency came out, and it was at about nine o'clock, sir."</p> - -<p>Horitz bowed slightly. "You have my apologies, Ambassador. You and your -wife may go now."</p> - -<p>"Just a minute," said Sommers unexpectedly. "Oscar clicked when both -the Ambassador and his wife were in the room, didn't he? Mrs. Jahore, -when did you leave the stateroom?"</p> - -<p>"At ten-thirty," the woman said coldly.</p> - -<p>"That's correct, sir," said the steward. "I was working in that section -almost all the morning, and I saw Mrs. Jahore leave at that time."</p> - -<p>"Please accept my apologies also," said Tooker to the Jahores, trying -to curb his apoplexy. "I assure you, sir, that this was none of my -doing."</p> - -<p>"You're not out of the woods yet yourself, Captain," said Horitz wryly.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Jahore tugged at her husband's sleeve, but the ambassador looked -interested. "You're in this too, are you?" he said to Tooker. "I think -I'll stay and see the finish."</p> - -<p>Horitz looked at Tooker. "Well, Captain?"</p> - -<p>"I was up at six-thirty," said the captain.</p> - -<p>"Right?" said Horitz.</p> - -<p>The steward coughed. "Approximately right, sir. I should say that it -was more nearly six-<i>forty</i>."</p> - -<p>"Where did you go, Captain Tooker?" asked Horitz. "To the control room?"</p> - -<p>"Certainly."</p> - -<p>"Who was on duty there?"</p> - -<p>"First mate—Marshall," said the captain angrily.</p> - -<p>Horitz lifted his transceiver.</p> - -<p>"All right!" said the captain, raising his hand. "I didn't arrive in -the control room until seven-thirty. I can't account for the time, -either, or rather I won't. I suppose you think you can burn me for -that."</p> - -<p>"Maybe," said Horitz soberly. "For your own sake, I advise you to tell -me where you were."</p> - -<p>The captain wilted suddenly. "I was—visiting a certain lady," he said. -"That's all I'll tell you, but it's the truth." He stiffened again, -and glared at Horitz. "If it comes to that, what time did <i>you</i> get up -this morning?"</p> - -<p>"Seven-twenty," said Horitz. "Well it's one of you two," he began.</p> - -<p>One of the stewards coughed. "Excuse me, sir," he said, "but what you -said isn't true."</p> - -<p>Horitz looked at him without comprehension. "What isn't true?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"You didn't get up at seven-twenty, sir. I saw you leave at not later -than six-forty-five, sir."</p> - -<p>Horitz simply stared at him. "What are you lying for?" he asked, -puzzled.</p> - -<p>"I'm not lying," the man said stiffly. "I remember distinctly, because -I thought it was odd at the time. You left your room at a quarter to -seven, and then I saw you come back about twenty minutes later. Both -times, you had a funny sort of expression on your face—sort of dazed, -you looked. When you came back, you had some papers in one hand, and -you were carrying your belt in the other, sir."</p> - -<p>The others were all staring at Horitz.</p> - -<p>"His belt!" said Sommers. His gun swiveled to point at Horitz. "I'm -sorry, Phil. Drop your gun."</p> - -<p>Horitz dropped it, and Walsh scooped it up.</p> - -<p>"Then he went into his stateroom and locked the door," said the steward -excitedly, "and about twenty after seven he came out again, looking for -all the world as if he'd just waked up. I went into the room, being a -little curious, and looked around to see if I could see the papers, or -anything. I didn't see the papers, but there was scraps of burnt paper -and ashes all around the waste chute. It looked to me as if he burnt -them up."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Horitz felt numb. The words he was hearing, incredibly, awoke echoes of -memory ... a memory that had not been there an instant before.</p> - -<p>"Burned them!" said the girl, her eyes wide. "But why!"</p> - -<p>Sommers was speaking rapidly into his wrist transceiver, and a few -moments later the ship's doctor bustled in, carrying his bag.</p> - -<p>"Give your belt to Dr. Evans, Phil," said Sommers.</p> - -<p><i>This is crazy</i>, thought Horitz to himself. <i>I'm dreaming.</i> He took off -the thin rawhide band he wore about his waist and handed it over to the -doctor. <i>I remember his face</i>, he thought. <i>His purple face as I.... -But I didn't. I couldn't have!</i></p> - -<p>The doctor took the belt, casting a sharp glance at Horitz, and held it -up to the light in his gloved hands. He took a bulky instrument from -his bag, clipped a section of the belt into its base and peered at it -through the eyepieces. He looked up after a moment and nodded.</p> - -<p>"Traces of human skin," he said. "This is undoubtedly the instrument -which was used to kill Professor Thomasson."</p> - -<p>"I think I understand now," said Dr. Ilyanov slowly, staring straight -ahead of her. "We forgot one person who had a motive ... Oscar! He -didn't want us to reach the stars...."</p> - -<p>She turned until her wide gaze rested on Horitz's face. "And you <i>shook -hands</i> with him!" she said.</p> - -<p>The nightmare boiled up in Horitz's head. Impossible things, memories -from nowhere, battled with his sanity: the silent decks, the slow, -dreamlike progress upward into starlight ... and the hideous purple -face, staring impersonally into his.</p> - -<p>Raging, his mind retreated, flung itself away from the thing that -was hurting it. He felt his body in motion, felt himself caught, -struggling, but it was as if he were a far-off spectator. The words -that came to him were meaningless.</p> - -<p>Walsh and Sommers, holding him, looked at each other across the -prostrate body. The muscles on Walsh's heavy forearms stood out, and -there was sweat on Sommers' forehead. Gradually the struggles subsided: -Horitz lay still and white, looking upward at nothing.</p> - -<p>Dr. Ilyanov came to kneel over him. She said, "He will be cured. And -he can't be punished, of course." She turned her head slowly toward -the black shape across the room. "But—" she said—"<i>neither can that -thing</i>!"</p> - -<p>Oscar's tentacles writhed, delicately.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p><i>Oscar's tentacles writhed delicately.</i></p> - </div> -</div> - - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STAR BEAST ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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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