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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..3ad22ae --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #64691 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64691) diff --git a/old/64691-0.txt b/old/64691-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index abe1486..0000000 --- a/old/64691-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2830 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Eternal Zemmd Must Die!, by Henry Hasse - -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: Eternal Zemmd Must Die! - -Author: Henry Hasse - -Release Date: March 04, 2021 [eBook #64691] - -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 ETERNAL ZEMMD MUST DIE! *** - - - - - ETERNAL ZEMMD MUST DIE! - - By HENRY HASSE - - Lancing out of the void at light-speed, it - stabbed deep into the Solar System--and vanished. - Then began corruption ... poison and hate - creeping from world to world. Too late men - learned a death blow had been delivered! - - [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.] - - -_We have remained indecisive too long! You must understand this! The -future, perhaps the very existence of the Federation hangs in the -balance unless we can correlate all that has happened and decide upon a -course of action NOW...._ - -DeHarries, Correlator for Earth, paced alone in his suite far beneath -the Council Room. He held a sheaf of papers--his intended speech to -the Planetary Delegates. Now he crumpled it viciously, flung it to -the floor. What good were speeches? Already he anticipated their -arguments, the protests and questions. He, himself, had a question or -two. - -"Course of action," he muttered grimly, "What sort of action? Action -against what?" - -He strode to the immense tele-globe, flicked it on. Its radiant surface -reflected the austere Council Chamber above. Already the six delegates -were entering. Soon they'd become restless waiting for him. But still -DeHarries watched. - -Aladdian, Empress of Venus, was there, fragile and lovely despite the -grave look on her alabastrine face. She at least was aware of the -threat to the System which had grown apace during the past few years. -In Aladdian, DeHarries knew he had an ally to the startling proposal he -was going to make. He would need a majority of four. He couldn't count -on Mars. The other two votes must come from Mercury, Jupiter, Perlac, -or the Callistan colonies. - -Leaving his suite by a secret exit, DeHarries stepped into a lift which -brought him near the Council Room above. - - * * * * * - -Six pairs of eyes fastened upon DeHarries, as he stood at the head of -the table. He was a striking figure, six-feet-two and white haired, yet -with a perpetual tightness of the jaw and a hint of fire in the dark -eyes that belied his great age. - -"You are wondering why I asked for an Emergency Council, particularly -since our Federation has ridden a crest of peace for the past -hundred years. Our various governments were never more in accord." -He paused for effect, watching the puzzlement grow in their eyes. -"Nevertheless, I am convinced that we face the greatest crisis we have -ever known! I ask for your fullest co-operation. Any data you can -submit--_anything_--may well be a part of the pattern!" - -Kraaj, the Jovian emissary, shifted his huge bulk nervously. "Pattern? -Pattern for what? You speak in riddles, DeHarries!" - -"A pattern so diabolic it's frightening. A pattern I'm convinced is -weaving about us all. For example: Earth's complex civilization, -atomic-powered industries and commerce, would be irreparably damaged if -we were cut off from the Uranium isotope we receive from Mars. You can -realize the seriousness when I point out that the annual shipment which -should have arrived a month ago--did not arrive." - -Jal Tagar of Mars was instantly on his feet, his heavy-lidded eyes -blazing. "I submit that my government is blameless! As you well know, -the shipment was dispatched as usual! Your own Earth representatives -were aboard--" - -DeHarries turned a smiling countenance upon Jal Tagar which left the -Martian Overlord abashed. - -"No accusation has been made," DeHarries said softly, "and none is -contemplated. I think we all agree that Mars is blameless." - -Aladdian arose to her full height of four-feet-eleven. - -"DeHarries is right. We have delayed too long. I have felt that there -is a strange force at work among us. As you know, Venus has long -held the secret of allotropic metal, which makes any space fleet -invulnerable. We have guarded it carefully--"[1] - -[Footnote 1: Alcatraz of the Starways, Planet Stories, May, 1943.] - -She placed tiny fists upon the table. "Yet--our most secret documents, -concerning the processing of this metal, have disappeared from the -vault in our Royal Laboratories!" - -"A matter which need not concern us," growled Rehlek, the Callistan -Leader. "Has it not been the Federation policy for each planet to solve -its own internal problems?" - -"Save where those problems may effect the status of the Federation!" -Aladdian countered. "I submit the theft of our allotropic process as -a part of the _pattern_ DeHarries mentioned. Have _you_ nothing to -report, Rehlek?" - -"Nothing that would have any bearing--" The Callistan hesitated, then -his eyes became worried. "Yes! Simply that during the past year there -has been an alarming traffic in _tsith-stems_ among our people. We -thought we had this drug traffic stopped, but now it's growing out of -hand. We can't trace how it's being entered and distributed. Under the -influence of this drug our workers become restless, and easily incited -to revolt." Rehlek wet his lips nervously. "Begging your pardon, -Aladdian ... these _tsith-stems_ come only from the K'Yarthan Swamp of -Venus!" - -Rasping sounds had been issuing from Sarik, the sun-hardened little -Mercurian. Now he lifted his shell-like body from the chair. His -faceted eyes glittered angrily. - -"We are newest in the Federation. We have tried to co-operate in every -way. We even permitted the location, on our planet, of the Federation -Prison for Outlaws and Irreconcilables. If what I have to report is a -part of your _pattern_, DeHarries, make the most of it. - -"Recently our vast Solar Reflectors--which protect our cities from -the sun--were found to be tampered with! If our engineers had not -discovered certain discrepancies in time, thousands of my people would -have died under merciless radiations. We are still investigating this -foul piece of work. It was deliberate, not accidental." Sarik glared -about the table. "I hardly need remind you--we can easily convert our -Solar Reflectors into powerful weapons should the need arise!" - - * * * * * - -At this open threat, such a clamor of protests arose that DeHarries -pounded for order. He gave the floor to Jal Tagar. - -"DeHarries ... I see the reason for alarm. Similar incidents have -occurred on Mars. In return for our Uranium, Earth supplies us with -engineers for the maintenance and development of our Canals. As long -as a year ago, there began a series of breakdowns in our Canal system! -Already the desert has reclaimed vast areas of our irrigated lands!" - -Carver, the Earthman from Perlac, rose to deliver the final bombshell. -Using the Frequency Tuner, he had traversed the route from his adopted -planet in a mere two weeks. The strange world beyond Pluto, to which -many of Earth's scientists had migrated, was becoming a power and an -asset to the Federation.[2] - -[Footnote 2: Passage to Planet X, Planet Stories, Winter, 1945.] - -Now Carver announced simply, "We have lost the Frequency Tuner. The -detailed plans of this power unit, which we intended to share with the -Federation, have been stolen." - -DeHarries broke the stunned silence. - -"And Venus had announced that the secret of allotropic metal should be -shared by the Federation. Each planet knew this. Each would benefit. It -doesn't seem likely that any planet individually could be behind these -thefts and outrages." - -"There's a frightening purpose behind it all," Rehlek of Callisto -said worriedly. "Someone or _something_ is seeking to cause disunity. -Creating suspicion.... It may easily lead to war!" - -Jal Tagar said, "You have a theory, DeHarries?" - -"A theory and a plan. It's my conviction that in our various -governments, in places of highest trust, _are men who are not what they -seem_!" He glanced about, saw that the others did not fully grasp the -idea. - -"I mean that literally!" DeHarries went on. "_Men whose minds have -somehow been seized; who are now under the control of--of an alien -intelligence! Something not of our Federation!_" - -Sarik waved a disdainful hand. "Men whose minds have been seized? That -is fantastic!" - -"Is it? How much do you know of the members of your own Inner Council, -Sarik? Just one alien intellect planted there could cause inestimable -damage! What do you _really_ know of Jal Tagar, here, beyond what you -see? Or of Aladdian? Or of me? I may be an alien--though I deny it. Any -one or any several of us may be _other than what we seem_!" - -Aladdian shuddered, glancing around. "It's an eerie thought--and one to -ponder upon! But you said you have a plan, DeHarries?" - -"Yes." He glanced from face to face in the growing silence. "A very -simple plan. But I like to think it will work...." - - - II - -Curt Emmons paused in his cautious stride. With a supernal sense -of keening, he knew he was not alone in the darkness. He threw his -shoulders aside. The _energast_ recoil was no more than a soft sigh, -but the beam passed so close to Curt's face he could feel the swirling -heat of it. - -With a muffled cry, Curt let himself crumple and fall. The muscles of -his broad shoulders went tight as he pressed against the hard prison -pavement. Weaponless, he realized his only chance was the element of -surprise! He saw a darker shadow detach itself from the wall and come -toward him. A lone Guard. The man stared down for a moment, then, -relaxed, bent over the prone figure. - -Curt propelled himself upward. With an oath the Guard tried to leap -back, bring the _energast_ into position. Curt clawed for the gun -wrist. His fingers tightened. The Guard was Jovian, Curt realized in -an instant of panic. His other hand found the wrist, his feet moved -swiftly, then he threw all his strength into the leverage. Bone -snapped, and the seven-foot bulk sailed backward into the wall. - -But Curt knew these Jovians! He leaped forward as the Guard tried to -rise, brought his knee up under the chin with a sickening crunch. Blood -bubbled from the man's lips. Curt sprang upon him, thrust an open hand -into his face. He brought the other hand in a vicious, slicing blow -across the hard throat muscles. The Jovian plunged forward and lay -still. - -Curt came to his feet, breathing heavily. It seemed unbelievable that -other Guards were not attracted to the scene! But all he heard was the -steady, hollow sound of the pumps supplying air to the Prison Dome. He -groped for the _energast_ gun, but couldn't find it now. There was no -time to waste! - -He hurried forward, keeping one hand outstretched against the wall. -He sought to pierce the darkness ahead. A few minutes later he paused -again, as another figure loomed. Curt wished now that he'd found the -gun, but it was too late for that! - -"Emmons?..." - -Curt let out a slow breath of relief as the whisper came to him. He -hurried forward to greet another Earthman. - -"You're late," the second man said. "What happened?" - -"A little trouble. How about the helmets? Get them?" - -"Wouldn't be here otherwise!" - -"The Martian. Did he make it?" - -"Yeah, but I don't see why _he_--" - -"Never mind that, Rikert," Curt snapped. "Let's go." - -They reached one of the gates. The Martian was waiting. Curt stumbled -over another Guard, but this one was dead. A tiny _bak_-glass needle -protruded from his throat. - -"We had some trouble too," Rikert explained. - -Curt wondered which of them had the needle-gun, but he said nothing. -When they had donned the oxygen-helmets, Curt produced a triggered -electronic key. - -"I managed to smuggle this. It's the only way we'll make it out of -here! Don't worry about the alarms, just stay close to me. I have a -plan." - -Once in the exit lock, Curt had a moment of foreboding as he watched -the huge inner doors close behind them. Again he applied the electronic -key. The outer doors opened. They stepped into the unending lava waste -of Mercury's nightside. - -No sound reached them now. But Curt knew that already, in the Prison -Dome behind them, the alarm was being given. He hugged the outer -_crystyte_ wall, hurrying along it away from the exit. The others sped -after him. Rikert clicked on his speaker. - -"Emmons, what the hell! This is crazy!" - -"Is it?" Curt didn't stop his half running pace. "You two agreed I was -to handle this! They won't think to look for us so close!" - -They stopped at last, huddling against the wall. A half mile behind -them the lock was opening again. Two of the surface-cars, on -caterpillar treads, blasted out and away. Searchlights slashed the -ragged terrain. - -"They won't spend too much time," Curt said. "They figure we're dead -men already." Never yet had a prisoner succeeded in reaching the -Mercurian cities, hundreds of miles away on the twilight-strip. Curt's -face went grim as he thought of _their_ chances. They weren't trying to -reach a city! Their destination was the little mountain-range somewhere -on the nightside. - -Ten minutes later the surface-cars came back. The Prison lock opened -and closed. Grimly, the three fugitives headed into the wastes. - -There'd be no pursuit now. - - * * * * * - -Rikert strode forward purposeful as an automaton, and he was much like -an automaton in other ways. As silent and grim. As big and hard, and as -cold. The square lines of his face were unmoving beneath the crystyte -helmet. - -Kueelo was smaller, but he managed to keep pace. His eyes burned -brightly in his finely chiselled face. Only the high-pitched, mad -little tune on his lips seemed to keep him going. - -Curt Emmons, perhaps more than the others, knew the chances against -them. His gray eyes flicked worriedly to the dial inside his helmet. -It registered slightly over half, which meant they had two more hours -of oxygen. It would be close! He set his lips tight, glanced at his -companions. - -He knew Rikert would bear up. It was Kueelo who worried Curt. The -little Martian was leg weary, keeping pace on sheer grit alone--grit -that stemmed somehow from that eerie little tune eternally on his lips! - -"We're a little ahead of schedule," Curt lied. "Let's take five." - -Kueelo sank down gratefully on the hard rock. Even Rikert eased his -bulk down. Then in annoyance he thrust a hand against the Martian. - -"Damn it, Kueelo, turn it off!" - -Abruptly the tune died on Kueelo's lips. He stretched out, gazed with -infinite longing at the black sky and myriads of mocking stars. He -searched for Mars. - -Curt stared back across Mercury's lava-waste. The Prison Dome was well -behind them now. He wished he could say how far ahead their objective -lay, the little mountain-range that straddled half the planet. - -"Last chance," Curt told them grimly. "If either of you wants to change -his mind, you've just enough oxygen to make it back! They may let you -in again--if you want a month of solitary at the radite mines. What -about you, Rikert?" - -The big man raised his head, laughed nastily. "Go back to that hell -hole? I'd rather die a quick death out here. _You_ getting cold feet, -Emmons?" - -Curt flashed darkly. He'd only made the suggestion for Kueelo's sake. - -"You, Kueelo? There's a chance of our missing Landreth. We've been -delayed, and he said he'd wait only ten hours with the spaceship." - -The little Martian's face showed white in the darkness. His voice was -soft, very soft and musical as always. - -"Thanks, Emmons. But I've waited years for a chance like this. If it -were a million to one I'd still say go on." Curt nodded. Sure, he knew. -Kueelo was a Martian political, an "irreconcilable," exiled to Mercury -six years ago when Jal Tagar's government had taken over Mars. As to -Rikert, Curt knew even less. The man had been sentenced for murder or -space-piracy. It didn't matter now. - -What mattered was that these two knew even less about him. He wondered -how long he'd stay alive if they learned his real status! - -DeHarries had taken into his confidence a mere half-dozen of his most -trusted operatives. They were given widespread assignments. None knew -what he would find, or where. And Curt's assignment, the Federation -Prison, was toughest of all. Not even the Prison overseers knew his -true identity! Curt worked with the hardened criminals of all planets, -enduring the privations and hardships and awful radite rays. - -Gradually, Curt became one of the select group of prisoners who helped -unload the supply ship which arrived twice a year. On its last arrival, -just a few days ago, a crew member had slipped a folded note into -Curt's hand! The message stated that _Landreth_ would be waiting on the -darkside, and would take three men--any three. It set the time and the -place. - -Landreth! Curt could scarcely believe his luck. That elusive pirate -had disappeared, and was thought to be dead. Apparently not! What new -scheme was he hatching now--and more important--did it have a bearing -on the unseen forces which DeHarries felt were at work? - -Curt selected Rikert for the escape because the man was big and tough -and could handle himself well in a showdown fight. Kueelo he selected -for a different reason. It was partly sentiment--but more than that, -Curt had a deep-rooted suspicion that Kueelo was more than an ordinary -"political"! - - * * * * * - -Curt gave the signal, and they continued across the dark uncertain -terrain. Jagged rock cut into their boots. Soon they were forced to -circle wide around crevices large enough to swallow a man. - -Curt watched the hand on his oxygen gauge drop lower and lower. There -could be no turning back now! If they didn't find Landreth's ship -within the next hour.... - -Rikert spoke, worry creeping into his voice. "We ought to be getting -close, Emmons! How about using a signal flare?" - -Curt peered ahead at the cobalt sky. The horizon dropped sheerly away. -He shook his head. - -"Only got two flares, can't waste them! Wait 'til we sight the -mountains." - -Rikert grumbled, but Curt saved his breath. Half an hour later they -glimpsed a serrated line of cliffs low on the horizon. Curt released -one of the flares in that direction. They watched it rage in a fiery -arc across the darkness for perhaps twenty seconds ... then it -disappeared. - -They awaited an answering signal. Anything to guide them! But nothing -appeared. The darkness pressed in, almost tangible. - -Despair washed over Curt like a cold wave from the sea. - -"Better set your oxygen flow to one-half," he advised. They hurried -the pace now, heedless of sharp rocks and dangerous gullies. Once Curt -pulled Kueelo back from a steep brink just in time. The little Martian -was staggering. - -Could Landreth have given up hope on them, and hoisted gravs? At the -thought, Curt hurriedly brought out the remaining flare. With a prayer -on his lips he aimed it, this time in a higher arc. - -Then Kueelo was clutching at Curt's arm, pointing far off to the left. - -There was the answering signal--a thin pencil of light slicing upward. -It flashed on and off at intervals, but it seemed a long way! - -Already, sharp pains were slicing through Curt's lungs. He stayed close -to Kueelo--but the Martian's fatigue seemed to have left him now! -He was giving voice again to the peculiar little aria in the higher -octaves which Curt had come to know so well. In that strange tune -was a challenge, a promise--and something more. It was pagan. It was -strength. It got into a man's soul! - -It seemed an eternity. They were nearing the cliffs, stumbling into a -rocky ravine. They saw the spaceship, Landreth's ship! But the scalpels -of fire in Curt's lungs were unendurable. The spaceship and all the -terrain danced and faded away. His legs were leaden, Kueelo staggered -against him, and somehow he managed to hold the little Martian upright. - -A vague impression ... a spilled square of light out of which a -helmeted figure came leaping. Kueelo collapsed, sliding slowly away. -Curt plummeted forward, gasped for air where there was suddenly none, -then utter darkness claimed him. - - - III - -There was air now. Great gulps of it. Someone had thrown back Curt's -helmet, and he could hear the steady thrum of the airostat. It was -beautiful music. - -Kueelo had recovered, and Rikert. And a fourth man was there. As -Curt came to his feet he heard Rikert's voice, a little suspicious, -addressing the stranger. - -"You! You're not Landreth. I thought we were going to meet--" - -"Disappointed? Get going then! Back where you came from!" The -stranger's voice was like a whiplash. He held an electro in his -hard-knuckled fist. Rikert became silent. - -"So. You'd like to see Landreth, eh?" - -Rikert grinned, wet his lips a little. "Sure would! Don't get me wrong, -mister. There's one man I'd like to join up with, if he's operating -again!" - -Curt watched the stranger, saw him grin as though secretly amused at -Rikert's words. - -"Later!" the man said. "Right now get this through your heads, all of -you. Your lives were forfeit at the mines, and that isn't altered by -your being here! I'll blast the first one who makes a wrong move." He -gestured with the gun, surveyed them coldly. "Good. Now you will strip. -Put your clothes over here." - -He went carefully through their clothes, found nothing in Curt's or -Kueelo's. But from a secret pocket in Rikert's leather suit he brought -forth a deadly needle-gun. A smile creased his dark, thin face. - -"You won't need _this_ where you are going." The spaceman pocketed the -needle-gun then turned suddenly on Curt, sharp eyes going over him. -"Up! Up with that left arm!" - -Too late Curt remembered the thin disc fastened under his arm-pit, -identifying him as an investigator for the Federation Prison-Board. -He had adopted that merely as a cover-up. Actually his mission for -DeHarries was far more important! Now Curt shrugged, tore the disc away -from the paper-thin duroplast fastening. - -"So," the spaceman purred, examining it. "You were sent here by the -Prison-Board! And we thought no one was aware of the missing prisoners." - -"Well I'll be damned," Rikert said, half in anger, staring at Curt. "If -I'd known who you really were, Emmons--" - -"You'd have come just the same!" Curt said icily. - -"It really doesn't matter who you are," the man with the gun said -softly, surveying Curt's well-muscled figure and clear eyes. "Yes, I'm -glad you came. You're the type we need. This one too," he nodded at -Rikert. - -He turned his gaze upon Kueelo. "But I can't understand why you brought -_this_ one! Well, we shall find a use for him." - -At the insult, quick points of fire appeared in Kueelo's eyes. Curt -flashed him a warning look. Kueelo set his lips tightly. - -"My name," the other was saying, "is Jeffers. Dress quickly now. -Captain Landreth will want to see you, then we'll be on our way." - -It became apparent to Curt that this was no ordinary spacer! It was -small and trim, with a suggestion of untold speed. If the ship carried -weapons, they were kept well under cover. Jeffers led them along a -single corridor with staterooms on either side. - -"Where's the crew?" Rikert asked. - -"You three are the crew. Beyond that there's just me--and Captain -Landreth." Again Curt had the feeling that Jeffers was secretly amused. -He ushered them into a compartment near the control-room. - -Curt stood quite still for a moment, staring around. The room was a -dream. Magnificent tapestries, interwoven with _kra_ plumes, covered -the walls. Beneath his feet an imperial Martian rug was a splash of -vari-colored splendor. He saw furniture of extinct _jragua_ wood, -inlaid with mosaics of semi-precious stones. - -Then Curt's eyes widened, as he gazed across the room and saw the -person who rose to greet them. - -She was tall, for a girl. Auburn hair brushed smoothly back from her -forehead fell in waves to the shoulders of a close-fitting uniform. Her -eyes were blue but unsmiling, her lips smiled thinly but didn't mean it. - -"I am Lorine Landreth," she said without emotion. "If you must be -amazed, please do it quickly. We have work to do!" - - * * * * * - -Curt was beyond being amazed. Thoughtfully his gaze took in her trim -figure, the pale but determined face, the electro held loosely in a -belt at her waist. She gave the impression of knowing how to use it. - -"Captain Landreth, I presume." Curt's voice was serious. "George -Landreth's daughter?" - -"Correct! On both counts." She turned to Jeffers. "You made it clear -that their status is not altered by their being here?" - -"Of course. Don't worry, I'll see that they remember it, Lorine." - -Her eyes blazed quickly. "Captain to you! See that you remember _that_ -Jeffers!" - -He nodded, smiling with faint insolence as he leaned against the door. -The girl turned back to the three prisoners. - -"There is one difference. At the Prison mines you worked hard. And -for a life-time. And you died. You will work where we are going, -too--perhaps not so hard, but dangerously! You may die, but at least -I offer you a chance. If we succeed in our mission, you are free men. -Free to change your identities and go where you will." - -"That's okay by me, miss!" Rikert was enthusiastic. "Er, I -mean--Captain. But look! Don't we get to see Landreth, George Landreth? -I was counting on--" - -The girl turned a gaze upon Rikert which reduced him to silence. - -"It is my wish that we all may see George Landreth! I may as well -tell you now. The purpose of our mission--is to find my father." -For the merest instant, Curt saw a deepening look in her eyes which -dissolved the mask of hardness. She turned quickly away, seized a -sheaf of papers. "We are wasting time here! Jeffers! Show them their -assignments." Kueelo and Rikert followed the man from the room. Curt -hesitated, then stepped into the control-room where the girl had gone. -He may have been mistaken, but for a moment she had shown signs of -being almost human. - -Curt stood silent, watching her at the navigator's table. She consulted -pencilled data on the papers, then swiftly, with practised fingers, -she adjusted the sliding sheathes on the robot control. At last it was -finished. She glanced up, saw him watching. - -"Venus!" Curt exclaimed. "So that's where we're going!" - -Her blue eyes surveyed him coolly. "So. You can read a robot-wheel, can -you? What else can you do?" - -"Around a spaceship, almost anything. Tubes, controls, magnibeams, -calculations and differential, any weapon you care to mention--" - -"That will do." Her narrow eyes narrowed. "I don't like men with me in -space who know more about a ship than I do! Suppose you help Jeffers in -the rocket-room." - -"Very well, Captain. But about your father--" - -"Later!" - -Curt nodded, looked at her a moment, then hurried to the rocket-room. -Jeffers said brusquely, "Do you understand magnetic stabilizers, -Emmons?" - -"Sure." - -"Help me with these, then." - -As Curt worked, his mind went back across the years, tying together -threads of stories he had heard. Stories about George Landreth, one -of the first men to open up the rich new territory on Callisto. He -had brought his wife there from Earth. He struck a rich iridium vein -and worked it slowly, alone. Until the Earth Corporations stepped in. -Landreth defied them to the bitter end. His wife died unpleasantly.... - -There the stories varied. Some said that Landreth placed his daughter -in the hands of relatives on Earth, before he turned pirate. Others -said the girl stayed with her father, learning every trick of the -spaceways. One thing was clear: throughout the years Landreth gathered -lawless men about him. More than one Corporation had gone to ruin under -the incessant attacks of an enemy who had achieved a ruthlessness -equal to their own! Then the attacks ceased. Landreth seemed to have -disappeared. - - * * * * * - -Curt thrust these questions from his mind. At last the stabilizers -and rocket-feeds were ready. Jeffers signalled the control-room, -and a moment later they swept upward. Endless miles away, near the -twilight-strip, Curt could see a faint pin-point glow of a Mercurian -city. He turned to Jeffers. - -"One question, Jeffers. What happened to the other men you rescued from -the Federation Prison?" - -"We've only pulled this stunt once before. The others died." - -"On Venus?" - -Jeffers looked sharply at Curt, then shrugged. "Sure, on Venus. We'll -arrive there in exactly three days." - -Rikert came up, wiping his hands on a piece of waste. "You know," he -grinned, "even at the Prison word had a way of reaching us. Any truth -to these stories about Aladdian throwing a guard around Venus?" - -"We may run into the Imperial Guard. But I doubt if they'll have many -patrollers where _we're_ going." - -"Yeah? Where is that?" - -Jeffers' dark face grinned at them. "Right into the K'Yarthan Swamp!" A -sudden cry reached them from beyond the rocket-room. Lorine Landreth's -voice! Curt was first to reach the corridor, then he stopped dead in -his tracks. - -They saw Kueelo, standing spraddle-legged in the middle of the -corridor. An electro was in his hand. He turned it quickly toward the -three men, and they fell back. - -"He sneaked behind me and got my gun! Watch him, Jeffers, he'll use -it!" The warning came from the girl. Curt saw her crouching out of -range near a stateroom door, on the other side of Kueelo. "He can't -cover us both. Easy, Jeffers." - -"Get his gun, Emmons. Quick!" The Martian's voice came in an excited -high pitch. - -Curt saw Jeffers easing behind him, away from the line of fire; -glimpsed his hand as it went for his gun. Curt whirled away, sliced -his hand downward into Jeffers' wrist. The electro flamed once, then -clattered to the floor. Jeffers leaped for it, but Curt threw his broad -shoulders into a block that hurled the man aside. Then he came up with -the gun, and backed towards Kueelo. - -"Nice going, Emmons. Get to those controls! I'll keep them covered." - -They were not quite free of Mercury's gravity, Curt realized as he felt -the spacer surge erratically, threatening to go into a spin. He saw the -tight smile on Kueelo's lips. - -"Hurry, Emmons! We've got the ship now!" - -Curt surged past the Martian. Then he whirled, clamped his free hand -across the frail wrist holding the electro. A single twist, and -Kueelo's fingers opened. Curt held both weapons. - -"Get to those controls!" he snapped at Lorine Landreth. - -She stared at him in blank astonishment, then leaped to the controls. -A moment later the ship straightened out, and they were in free space. -Kueelo's eyes were blazing pools of hate as he gazed at Curt Emmons. - -Curt ignored him, turned to Jeffers and tossed him his weapon. "Here, -put this away. I guess Kueelo can't wait to get back to Mars--but I'll -settle for the K'Yarthan Swamp." - -Jeffers levelled the electro. "The other gun, Emmons. It goes to -Captain Landreth! Quick!" - -Curt shrugged, walked forward and handed it to her. - -She flashed him a smile. "Thanks for what you did, Emmons." She came -and faced Kueelo, surveyed him coldly. "Little man, can't you wait to -die? Let me assure you--another trick like that and you'll never see -Mars again!" - -Kueelo stalked away, eyes still blazing hatred. - - - IV - -Lorine Landreth proved a canny navigator. She set a course far beneath -the ecliptic, and for two days they did not encounter a Patrol. Curt -had noticed the spacer was painted solid black and carried no insignia; -an old trick of George Landreth's. - -Was George Landreth connected in some way with all the far-scattered -events which DeHarries called the _pattern_? Had he allowed his gnawing -hate to encompass the entire Federation? All else was relegated to -unimportance in Curt's mind beside this single throbbing question. War -between the planets was imminent, as more and more monstrous happenings -occurred without reason. Curt doubted that Landreth himself could be -behind it all; it was too far-reaching and purposeful. But Curt was -resolved to follow his present lead, and hope for a way to report back -to DeHarries. - -And there was another question. Kueelo. - -Late on the second day Curt was off duty when there came a soft rap on -his stateroom door, and Kueelo entered. - -"The girl is studying maps of the K'Yarthan Swamp," he announced. -"Jeffers and Rikert are at the controls. I think they will bear -watching, those two." - -Curt nodded. He studied Kueelo. The little Martian was over his anger, -but now he seemed strangely perturbed. - -"I've been waiting to speak to you alone, Curt Emmons. Remember, -Jeffers couldn't understand why you brought _me_ along? I've wondered -the same thing. From the very first. There were many others to choose -for the escape, strong ones like Rikert." - -"You made it, didn't you?" Curt snapped. "Before this is over, you may -wish you were back at the Prison mines." - -"That doesn't answer my question. Why did you select _me_?" - -Curt hesitated. "All right. If you must know, I always had a feeling -you didn't belong at the Prison. Sure, I knew you were a 'political.' -But no ordinary one! And I don't think your name is Kueelo!" - -He watched the other's face, saw emotion ripple across the chiselled -features. - -"So," the Martian said softly. "I thought you might have guessed. Was -it the tune, the little aria I always sang? Many times I could feel you -listening. I sensed that you knew ... but I could not keep it within -me, Emmons!" - -"Doesn't that aria occur somewhere in the _Deimian Cabal_?" - -"So you know that! But for you--for any Earthman--" - -"I know very little about it," Curt said quickly. "I've heard that it's -rooted in your religion somehow, but the thing's meaningless to me." - - * * * * * - -Kueelo stood still and straight. Curt could almost see the emotion -welling up inside him like a slow ocean tide. Then Kueelo made up his -mind. He spoke rapidly and without pause. "You are right. My name is -not Kueelo. I am Tor Ekkov, Supreme Co-ordinator of the Society of -Deimos on Mars! This cannot mean much to you, an Earthman, so I'll -tell you only this--when the occasion demands we can, and often have, -served as a balancewheel in the politics of Mars. Jal Tagar knew this -when he took over Mars six years ago. Oh, he planned well! The twelve -Co-ordinators throughout Mars were simultaneously arrested. It was a -paralyzing blow. And Jal Tagar took me, the supreme Co-ordinator, by a -most treacherous ruse--" - -The little Martian paused. Hate blazed in the indomitable black depths -of his eyes. - -"So Jal Tagar completed his _coup_, and Mars was under his heel. He -deemed that death was too good for _me_. Only the Mercury mines would -do, for that was a slow death." - -"You paint a dark picture, Kueelo, or, rather, Tor Ekkov, but all -this was six years ago! The Federation has recognized Jal Tagar's -government. He has ruled well, and Mars has co-operated in every...." - -Tor Ekkov paced the floor, stopped in front of Curt. - -"Do you really believe that, Emmons? What can anyone believe--_now_?" -He noticed Curt's start of surprise. "Yes, I have heard of the strange -forces at work in the System! And let me assure you: when dark events -are brewing, you'll find Jal Tagar's hand in it somewhere!" - -Curt waved a hand wearily. "Man, don't you know we're going into the -K'Yarthan Swamp? You'd better start thinking about that!" - -"I believe _your_ mission is greater than you pretend, Curt Emmons. -You're no prison-board Investigator! Why did you stop me when we had -control of this ship? We could have gone back to Earth--or Mars." - -"Don't ask questions, Tor Ekkov." - -Tor's eyes were steady on him. "We've got to trust each other," he -urged. "If I can't return to Mars, it's imperative that I get to a -Tele-Magnum!" - -Curt laughed outright at that one. - -"We're going into K'Yarthan, and you speak of Tele-Magnums!" - -"I must get my voice through to Mars!" Tor's eyes seemed like black -jewels in the pallid face. "There are those of my Society who believe I -still live--and when they hear my voice, hear my aria, you will see a -new Mars!" - -Curt shrugged at Tor's babbling: In the face of what was happening -throughout the Federation, what did he care about a new Mars? But -the mention of a Tele-Magnum struck a sudden note. Lorine Landreth -must have a secret base in the K'Yarthan Swamp! If there should be a -Tele-Magnum there, powerful enough to contact Earth ... Curt came back -to his senses, laughed mirthlessly at such a remote chance. - -In the next instant he was on his feet, as the clangor of the emergency -alarm rang through the ship. For a moment he stared at Tor's startled -face, then rushed into the corridor with the little Martian pounding -after him. - - * * * * * - -They found Lorine and the others in the Control Room. The girl was -calm, impassive, bending over the open receptor as a voice sliced -through. - -"... have had you in our beam for the past five minutes! As you carry -no insignia, you will go into a drift immediately while we approach! -Venus Guard calling...." - -Jeffers' dark face broke into a grin, but Lorine remained serious. -"They never patrolled this far from Venus! Jeffers, look to the -emergency tubes. We may need some speed!" She turned to Curt. "Get on -the V-Panel, will you Emmons? See if you can pick them out." - -The crystyte panel came to life. Curt grasped the directional-finder, -swung it in eccentric parabolas. Star pinpoints arced to and fro. A -touch on the Magni-lens brought the blackness swimming into closer -view, then they sighted the Guard. Six formidable spacers emblazoned -with the Imperial Venus Emblem. - -Curt glanced at the proximity dial. They seemed a comfortable distance -away, but he knew what a tremendous area the network of "finder-beams" -covered! - -"Last warning," the voice razored. "Nullify your control immediately, -or we blast!" - -"They're bluffing," Lorine decided. - -"They can't reach us yet. If we can get away from those finder-beams -they'll never pick us up again. Jeffers, prepare for emergency blast!" -She hurried to the control-console. - -"This will give our position away!" Curt exclaimed. - -She glanced at him impassively. "Just stay on that panel, Emmons." The -little spacer vibrated anew. Rockets thundered on full power, then the -spacer leaped forward, executed a wide parabola that carried it miles -out of position. Almost at once Lorine cut all rockets, and they sped -forward on the momentum. - -"Safe," she smiled thinly. "They'll never spot us now, a solid black -ship!" - -Again Curt centered the Panel. The Venus Guard had broken formation, -widening the area of search. Magnetic beams, pale green and swirling, -criss-crossed miles of space. - -Then Curt peered intently, puzzled, as a new kind of beam appeared. It -seemed to uncoil across space, carrying a little bubble of brighter -color before it. Suddenly the bubble burst. An expanse of blinding -white light illumined the depths of space! It continued to spread -outward. One edge of the perfect light-sphere very nearly touched their -speeding ship! - -Startled, Lorine jabbed at the rocket studs. Once more they swept into -a parabola before she cut power. Dozens of the strange light-spheres -were appearing behind them now, dotting space for a thousand-mile -radius, expanding, shoving back the darkness. Three more times Lorine -used rockets, changing direction, before they were out of the danger -zone. Then their ship was a silent black ghost speeding away. - -"Fine thing!" Jeffers exploded as he watched the scene behind them. -"Springing a new stunt like that. What a target we'd be if we got -caught in one of those things!" He grinned at Curt. "What won't they -think of next, eh?" - -"Yeah," Curt said wryly. "A guy just ain't safe any more. If I were you -I'd write 'em a letter about it!" - - - V - -Venus, mysterious and cloud-obscured, rolled up like a rounded ghost -below them. They had approached from the extreme south polar side, and -there, Curt knew, lay the K'Yarthan Swamp--a vast unexplored region -some eight hundred miles across. - -As they entered the first strata of clouds a curtain of hot rain swept -about them, slashing across their ports and dissolving into vapor. Then -they broke through, and Curt felt his insides twisting up into cold -knots. - -The swamp was a festering sore across the planet. A miasmic nightmare -shrouded in viscous yellow fog that seemed alive as it curled up to -touch the low-lying clouds. Jeffers put into play a penetrant beam that -partly dissolved the fog. Lorine drove the ship relentlessly forward. - -They swept lower through membranous foliage and corrupted fungi-growth -reaching hundreds of feet high. There was a moment of terrible -uncertainty. Then Curt saw a clear space spreading out below. A -low-structured building occupied the exact center. Lorine set the craft -down with no more than a slight roll, then turned to the new men. - -"We have to wear protective suits here. You'll understand why. Jeffers -will show you how to get into them." - -The suits were of flexible beryllium-mesh, with tough rubberized -helmets fitting snugly around the neck. Curt noticed that the duroplast -face-plates were equipped with ingenious filter units. - -"When you leave the ship," Jeffers told them, "be fast! Just stay close -to me." The outer lock opened, they leaped to the ground and raced -toward the building. - -Curt knew instantly that the atmosphere was laden with millions of -microscopic spores. The heat was insufferable. He hadn't taken ten -steps, when sweat began trickling into the close-fitting collar. It -burned. - -He heard a sharp _zing_ past his ear. Then another. Something struck -his meshed arm with enough force to half spin him around. He saw a -tiny, wickedly metallic beetle fastened in the mesh. More of them -struck him, and others sang past liked winged bullets, to flatten -against the building. He heard Rikert cry out. - -Lorine was at the building now, inserting a long triggered key. There -came a crackle of sparks and the door was open. - -"Welcome to Venus!" Jeffers said, as they flung themselves inside--then -he saw that Rikert was hit. One of the beetles had imbedded itself in -his wrist where he'd failed to fasten down the mesh garment. - -Jeffers tore it away, crushed it underfoot. He hurried to a wall -cabinet, came back with a box of evil-smelling unguent to spread over -the wound. - -"That'll heal soon. We must have stirred up a nest of those damned -_jung_ beetles!" - -Curt sat down limply. Fire still burned in his lungs. So this was -K'Yarthan Swamp! He found it hard to believe that far to the north -were three hospitable continents with modern cities, verdant lands and -mountains rearing into clean air. - -Kueelo moved beside Curt and whispered, "No Tele-Magnum here, unless -_that's_ one!" - -Curt followed his gaze. Lorine was unlocking a metal cabinet, but it -was definitely not a Tele-Magnum. A bank of curious power-tubes was -connected with sets of coils. The girl made several adjustments, the -tubes leaped into silver radiance and the coils sang a cadence that -ascended the scale beyond the audible. - -Curt came over to watch. Then he stepped to a window. In the fog -overhead he noticed a fine-laced canopy of wires. They came alive now, -singing gently and sending down a power that dispelled the fog until -only a faint obscurant mist remained. - -"How long do we stay here?" - -"Only tonight. Tomorrow we trek into the Swamp, but we have to wait for -the Phibians." - -"Phibians!" Curt stared at her. - -"Creatures who live deep in the Swamp," she explained. "We couldn't get -to where we're going without them." - - * * * * * - -The station was stocked with food in plasti-sealed containers. They -prepared their meal over a tiny atomic stove, and it was a welcome -repast for the men from Mercury Prison! When they had finished, Lorine -lost little time in explaining the set-up. "Now that we're here, you -men have every right to know what to expect. Our task isn't easy! But -we have the protective suits and weapons, the Phibians are friendly and -will guide us part of the way." She moved with quick little strides -about the room, as if impatient even at this brief delay. "You, Rikert. -You're still anxious to see George Landreth?" - -"Nothing I want more!" - -"Then stay alive! That's all I ask of any of you--to stay alive." She -paused. "You have questions. I'll answer them." - -Rikert asked the obvious question. "How do you know George Landreth is -here?" - -"Because he built this Station! Jeffers and I found it here just as you -see it. And I have other proof." - -"That's right," Jeffers nodded. "This Station is identical to the one -Landreth built at his secret base on Io. I was there with him a long -time, in fact I was second in command--" He hesitated. - -"Go on," Lorine waved a hand. "Tell them the story." - -"About three years ago," Jeffers said, "observers reported a strange -spaceship plunging in from the orbit of Pluto. Well, we watched it from -Io. And I can tell you this--it was travelling faster than anything we -had at the time--" - -Curt recalled the event. Astronomers had found it difficult to keep the -strange object in sight. Some said it wasn't a spacer at all, but a -meteor. Jeffers' voice went on: - -"When this thing neared Jupiter, the planet's gravity slowed it down. -We tried signalling it, but no answer. That's when Landreth determined -to go out and meet it! He was that kind of man! None of us wanted to -go with him--we'd braved many things in the spaceways, but this seemed -foolhardy. Landreth laughed at us. He would have gone alone, but -finally three of the men volunteered. - -"They set out in the fastest cruiser we had--and they never came back. -I never saw Landreth again." - -There was pounding excitement in Curt's brain. "I remember it now! This -ship, or whatever it was, escaped Jupiter's gravity. It accelerated -and plunged toward the sun. But you believe it crashed here, in the -K'Yarthan Swamp?" - -"Crashed, or else Landreth brought it safely here. We know, now, that -he didn't die." - -"My father escaped alive," Lorine nodded. "_Because I saw him once -shortly after this!_" - -Curt started. "You--saw him? You're sure it was _after_?" - -"Yes! He came to Earth. Understand, I hadn't seen my father since I -was fourteen, and he hadn't set foot on Earth in years." Her blue eyes -were haunted as she paced the room. "But he risked capture just to -come there and talk to me. He said it was extremely urgent that I find -Jeffers--and give him this!" She showed them a crude map of K'Yarthan -Swamp, with a route leading south. "He seemed strange and different. -Frightening! Not as I'd ever known him!" - -"Different? How?" - -"I--I can't explain it. He seemed under some stress. A terrible -urgency, as if he hadn't much time. Before I could question him, he was -gone!" - -"An urgency," Curt repeated. "An urgency to come back here!" - -"I'm sure of it. I set about finding Jeffers, and it took me months. -I finally located him on Ceres. We came here, made friends with the -Phibians, even went deep into the Swamp with them. But there's a place -miles from here beyond which _they_ won't go. I'm sure my father is -there!" She paused. Anguish brimmed in her eyes. "Two people could -never make it, though. Together we might. We'll have to fight our way." - -Curt watched this girl in growing wonderment. By some strange alchemy -her mask of hardness was gone, something of pain and lost uncertainty -rose in her shadowed eyes. Curt found himself suddenly being glad she -wasn't criminal; at least she hadn't been with her father in the later -years! Then a thought fastened upon his mind like a patina. The girl -was guilty of removing criminals from Federation Prison! Such an act -was punishable by death, and Curt was an agent under direct orders of -DeHarries.... - -He cursed inaudibly. What was happening to him? He had a far greater -mission here! He had stumbled upon one thread of DeHarries' _pattern_, -and it might result in unravelling the entire skein of monstrous events -which had plagued the planets for the past two years! - -"We'd better all get some sleep," Jeffers was saying. "Tomorrow'll be a -tough day, and I mean tough!" - - * * * * * - -Curt tossed restlessly in his bunk. It wasn't the steady hum of the -ionization screen outside that kept him awake. He had a preternatural -awareness of something impending. He sat up, and saw that someone was -moving about. - -Curt swung himself silently to the floor, just as silently crossed the -room. It was Lorine. Curt saw the outer door open and close behind her. - -Quickly he followed. The jungle clearing was free of fog now. Lorine -was hurrying toward the spaceship. Curt followed her inside, then -forward to the control-room. He watched her manipulating the V-Panel. -Bits of outer space swept into view, together with pin-point gleams -that were stars. At last she centered on one. A tiny disc of bright -blue. It was Earth. - -She leaned forward, gazing at the screen. Curt was startled at the -clear-cut radiance of her face. He saw the glint of tears in her eyes, -and the lengthening glimmer of one that rolled down her check. He came -forward softly. - -"It is beautiful, isn't it?" - -"I miss Earth," she said simply, looking up. - -"All of us feel that, out here. A yearning to get back. But you--" - -"I've never been back. Not since I started searching for father, two -years ago." She turned her face to the screen, was silent for a moment. -"It must have been terrible for you, Curt Emmons. How long were you at -the Prison?" - -Curt started. It dawned on him that she still regarded him as one of -the regulation prisoners. But Jeffers knew better! There must be a -reason why he hadn't told her! - -"A long time," he answered her question. "Suppose we do find your -father," he said slowly. "His life is forfeit anywhere in the -Federation. I guess he and Jeffers will start their reign of outlawry -again--" - -Her face was troubled. "I suppose so, but I've got to find him, Curt! -He's in desperate trouble here, and he's still alive. I feel it!" - -Curt nodded. Then he was suddenly alert, as a sound reached his ears. -It came as a faint hum far above the jungle roof. The propulsion beam -of a spacer! It came louder and nearer. Curt raced for the outer lock, -stared up into a far-away patch of fog. For the merest instant the fog -eddied furiously, as a great bulk that seemed a silvery ghost flashed -through. Then it was gone, the deafening drone diminished. - -Curt whirled upon Lorine. Her face had gone white. - -"The other times you were here! Did you ever see a spacer?" - -"Never! I can't believe--" - -"Come on." He hurried back to the control-room, clicked off -the V-Panel, then began ripping away the wires leading to the -directional-finder. - -"Man, are you mad? What are you doing?" - -"That spacer was coming in for a landing, don't you understand? Here -in the Swamp! I'm going to find out where! Quick, bring me a tool-kit." - -She hurried to comply. In a few minutes Curt had the directional-finder -uncovered. Twin coils of thin, sensitized metal tape were revealed. -He unrolled one, stretched it across the room, attached it to the -terminals of the starboard magni-plates imbedded in the hull. - -"A little trick I once learned. The magni-plates act as a -sounding-board, the vibration is carried across this tape to the -finder, and recorded. If that ship hasn't landed yet we ought to get an -approximate position!" - -He clicked on the magni-plate feed. Powerful coils hummed, the tape -stretching across the room began to undulate gently. - -"We're getting something!" Curt hurried to the finder, turned it on. -The second metal tape began unwinding to a rear spool. A beryllium -needle scratched a continuous, wavering line along the sensitized -surface. - -"The spacer's still in flight," Lorine murmured. - -"It was heading due south. It's going to berth somewhere in the Swamp!" -For five minutes they watched the lengthening line, as the tape slowly -unrolled. Ten minutes. Then it stopped abruptly. - -"There we have it." Curt spun the tape carefully back into place. "We -can follow the route now!" He stared at her. "That ship must have come -down at least fifty miles from here! And we were going to fight our way -through this jungle?" - -"Jeffers and I flew over the Swamp dozens of times," she explained. -"We've criss-crossed it from one end to the other, without spotting a -single place to land! Except here." She examined the route on the tape, -excitement showing in her eyes. "But we'll try it again now. This will -save us days!" - -It was still a few hours until dawn, but there was no sleep for Curt -now. He'd had but the briefest glimpse of the mysterious spacer, but -one thing he was sure of. The sound. It hadn't been the sound of a -rocket-propelled ship! - -His mind went back to Carver of Perlac, found murdered in space, the -Frequency Tuner stolen. Curt was certain the silvery spacer he'd just -seen was powered by a Frequency Tuner! - - - VI - -"Never saw this done before, Emmons. It's a mighty cute trick!" Jeffers -examined the route on the finder-tape. "But how does this guide us?" - -"You'll see. We set up a circuit and run this directly to the -rocket-feeds! We can't go astray." - -At last all was ready. With Lorine again at the controls, the spacer -rose into the heavy shrouding clouds. It was ticklish business, and -Curt admired the way she upped gravs. - -Here there was no dawn. Morning had come as a mere paling of the mists, -but hot rain blanketed them as the little spacer drove forward. - -Tor Ekkov began an endless, nervous pacing, but Curt and the others -huddled over the tape, watching its undeviating movement. In a matter -of minutes, Curt realized, they'd reach the place where the unknown -spacer had berthed. Perhaps it were best if they didn't set down too -near-- - -Within ten minutes their guiding tape had nearly run its course. Curt -hurried to Lorine, spoke something, and she nodded. They began the -descent, broke through an under-strata of clouds and were speeding over -a limitless expanse of vegetation. - -Curt began to understand what Lorine meant. Nowhere could he see a -break in the corrupted fungi-growth and giant, spiked ferns that -reached above the blanketing steam. Some of those ferns were large -enough to impale a spacer! - -But luck was with them. As they began a criss-crossing route Curt spied -a thinning area through the haze. A narrow, slate-dark opening appeared -in the jungle roof, deep and straight as though made by the slice of a -giant hand. - -Steadying in its course, the ship nosed toward it. There was little -room to spare. A yellowish-green gloom engulfed them as they levelled -off with a thrust of underhull rockets. Mud and matted vegetation -sprayed high about the ports. They sloughed to a stop. - -"Nice landing," Curt commented. - -"Any landing here is a nice one," Lorine said wryly. She glanced at the -totally dark ports. "I wonder if we're below the Swamp! Jeffers, turn -off those rocket-feeds!" - -Once more they donned the protective suits and helmets. Lorine opened a -locker, handed each of them an electro pistol. - -"I'll feel better with this," Jeffers said grimly, lifting a long -duralloy cylinder with a lens-covered bore. "Radiant-gun," he -explained. "Transforms matter into radiant energy, by an instantaneous -stripping of electrons. Landreth used to have these at Io Base, but I -worked out this smaller model myself." - - * * * * * - -They stepped down into soft, glutinous muck. Vision stopped five yards -away. Curt expected the gloom to come alive with motion and sound and -unseen terrors, but there was none of that here. A terrible quiet -enfolded them. - -The matted-walled chasm seemed to extend interminably. They proceeded -along it, finding their vision gradually improved. Curt hurried -forward, stayed close beside the girl. - -"You mentioned something about a region where these--these Phibians -wouldn't go. Did you ever find out why?" - -Lorine nodded. "They claimed that far in the Swamp was a god that spoke -to them! They were afraid of it." - -"Spoke to them?" - -"Yes. With the voice that has no sound. Warning them back." - -Curt was startled. "The voice that has no sound. Telepathy! But it's -strange we've felt nothing!" - -There was no sight or sound of a living thing, but hot blasts of wind -from above brought a miasmic swamp odor. It became almost an opiate to -their senses. - -Curt noticed the tangled walls on either side were beginning to widen -away. And there was something else, as he felt his mind preternaturally -alert despite the cloying odors. He imagined he felt the faintest -thought-impression impinging on him, subtle and eerie, almost a feeling -of being under surveillance. He glanced about at the others. They were -feeling it too. - -Suddenly the loom of jungle broke. They emerged into a downward sloping -place that seemed all swamp; a vast circular area black and quiescent, -with jungle rising on all sides. Descending toward it, they noticed a -vague glistening shape protruding just above the area of muck. - -"The spacer!" Tor Ekkov exclaimed. "Must be the one you saw, Emmons--it -crashed here!" - -Curt peered closer, then shook his head. He pointed out greenish swamp -tendrils entwining over and about the hull, mute evidence of time. - -"It's a spacer all right," Jeffers was taut with excitement. "It's the -one Landreth boarded near Io, three years ago! By all that's holy, -we've found it!" They could only make out the stern, but the very size -of it indicated that the rest of the hull must be gigantic, far beneath -the primordial ooze. - -Lorine clutched at Curt's arm, pointing. The Swamp moved. The black -surface was surging up in a horrible turgid mass. In one place and -then another, dark tentacles broke the surface. A central body began -to emerge, huge and bulbous beyond belief! It was octopoid--ghastly -and gelatinous, the body itself some fifty feet across, with tentacles -sprawling the entire diameter of the swamp. It pulled its greenish-gray -shape toward the protruding stern of the spacer. Like an ominous -guardian it draped itself entirely around and over the polished hull. -There it lay, pulsing gently, lord of all it surveyed. - -And it surveyed them well! Curt found himself staring into -orange-tinted eyes a yard in diameter. Clammy uneasiness took hold of -him. Those eyes were bright and alert with meaning! - -Curt felt overtones across his mind, saw Rikert's hand flash to his -electro. But never reached it. A huge tentacle lashed out. Curt fell -prone as it slashed over his head, Rikert ducked away too--but the -tentacle seized Jeffers, tightened, lifted him in a sweeping arc. - -The others hurried out of danger as more tentacles lashed out. Curt -rolled from beneath one of them, threw up an arm against another, and -felt his arm go numb from the impact. He stumbled over the radiant -cylinder which Jeffers had let fall. Curt seized it, took careful aim. - -Radiant energy, Jeffers had said. The beam that lashed from the -lens-covered bore was radiant indeed, and it saved Jeffers' life! Curt -slashed it squarely across the octopoid bulk and across the eyes. -They blanked out in a flash of disorganized electrons. Jeffers came -plummeting down, scrambled to safety as Curt swept the radiant beam -with devastating effect. In a matter of minutes the haughty guardian of -the swamp ceased to move ... then a strange thing happened. - -[Illustration: _Curt swept the radiant beam with devastating effect._] - -From the tangle of disrupted flesh and shredded integument, a tiny -globule of light rose lazily up. Electric-blue, sentient, scarcely a -few inches in diameter, it hung poised and gently pulsing. - -Rikert took careful aim. Curt whirled, knocked his hand aside. "Don't -fire! I want to see where it goes!" - -Seeming to lose interest in them, the light drifted, still pulsing, -toward the far edge of the swamp. There seemed to be a clearing of -some sort. Suddenly the strange light dipped toward the ground and -disappeared. - -"Should've let me take a shot at that thing," Rikert growled. - -"That was an intelligent entity! It may lead us to something." - - * * * * * - -They circled the swamp area in the direction the light had taken. -There was still an eeriness about the place, a brooding overtone they -couldn't shake off. At last they reached the opposite side, saw a -smooth aisle extending into the jungle. But that's not what brought -them up short, staring. - -A hundred yards beyond was a milky-white mistiness reaching from wall -to jungle wall. And this was not Venusian fog! It remained quiescent. -An unearthly blue radiance seemed to shine beyond, giving an impression -of vast distance. - -Curt said brusquely, "Wait here. Keep out of sight!" - -He hurried forward, keeping to the tangled jungle wall wherever -possible. As he neared the barrier, it tended toward a -semi-translucence. The bluish light beyond seemed to have no source, -and Curt had the impression of a vast grotto that reached interminably -above, curving away into the fog. - -Now he could see vague outlines beyond, towering and bulky. Other -shapes moved about, appearing to Curt as shadows seen through faintly -frosted glass. - -"Buildings--and people!" Undoubtedly, the silver spacer had come here; -there was probably an overhead entrance. Curt moved closer, and heard -the faintest murmur of sound beyond, as of men and machines at work. - -Excitement caught at his brain. Now he knew, with sharp certainty, that -he'd found the thing that DeHarries and other planetary leaders were -seeking! Only for some inimical purpose would men, whoever they were, -band together in so secret and inaccessible spot as K'Yarthan Swamp! -Curt examined the barrier. It was some sort of power screen; he felt a -dangerous radiation that decided him against trying his electro on it. -He hurried back to the others. - -"Can't tell how far it extends," he told them. "It's an Electronic -Curtain, that's for sure! And there are men and buildings behind it." - -"We've got to find an entrance somewhere." A terrible grimness took -hold of Lorine, as she thought of her father. But Curt shook his head -doubtfully. - -"If we tried our electros on it--" This came from Tor Ekkov, and Curt -laughed mirthlessly. - -"Sure, you try that, if you're tired of your present identity. It would -turn you into a billion disorganized electrons!" - -"I have an idea." Lorine turned back to the swamp edge. She stood -pondering, staring at the stern of the alien spacer. "How far would you -say that goes beneath the surface?" - -They saw her meaning, as she pointed out the angle of the stern. The -spacer was gigantic, and the other end should almost certainly reach -somewhere beneath the Electronic Curtain! - -They set to work at once. By strewing thick foliage across the mud they -formed a path that bore their weight. With electros at pencil-thin -sharpness, they began on the spacer hull. - -The metal was strange and tough, uncorrosive. Its atomic structure -resisted. But after a long while it began to soften, then to melt away -in radiant froth. A circular section gave way, fell slowly inward. -Flash-beams revealed a long empty corridor sloping gently down. - -A kind of grill-work along the floor gave them foothold as they passed -slowly along the central corridor. Gradually it widened out. They saw -row upon row of arched cross-corridors, with walls curving far overhead -into interlacing spans and beams. Ceiling globes of green radiance cast -a macabre glow along their route. - -If George Landreth had boarded this spacer, there was no evidence of -it now! They walked on, staring around at the widening walls that sent -back solemn echoes of their footsteps. The ship was a colossus! Curt -was estimating that they'd come a good quarter of a mile already, when -they reached a bulwark directly across the corridor. - -The wall was massive, coppery, engraven with thousands of inter-twining -figures. Rikert raised his electro to burn a way through, but Lorine -stopped him. - -"We'd best save our weapons! They're already weak." - -Good advice, Curt thought grimly. They were rushing headlong into -trouble. It was Tor Ekkov at last who found the mechanism, a row of -tiny hidden studs. There came a faint droning sound as he fumbled at -them. Then slowly, ponderously, the entire wall slid upward. - -Weapons held in readiness, they waited. But no motion or sound came -from beyond. They stepped through, found themselves in a vast circular -room so startling in its content that they were held taut in amazement. - - * * * * * - -Here were machines, of every sort and description, every size and -purpose. Bewildering units which somehow, seemed to form a definite -pattern. Rows of them stood against the circular wall. Tier upon tier -of switchboards, coils, banks of tubes, reached to the ceiling. - -Here, Curt knew, was the spacer's central control! But close -examination showed that much of this equipment was smashed irreparably. -The forward wall itself was crumpled and twisted. Then Curt noticed -many bank niches about the wall, indicating that some of the machines -had been removed. He frowned at that. - -Tor caught Curt's eye. The Martian was standing before a towering -instrument. It was alien too, but there was something familiar in the -arrangement of the huge power-tubes and the coils leading up to a -faceted screen. - -"Tele-Magnum!" Tor whispered fiercely. "Or something mighty similar! -Seems to work on the same etheric principle that we--" - -Curt cut him short. Despite everything, Tor had but one thought in -mind--getting his voice through to Mars! - -"There's another door over here!" Rikert called. - -The only mechanism on this door was a two-inch disc that swung back to -reveal a small opening, interlaced with silver wires. Then, in a rack -near by, Jeffers spied a tiny metal tube. He lifted it out gingerly. - -"Take a chance," Lorine nodded. "This may be the exit we're looking -for." - -Jeffers aimed the tube into the opening. A beam of red light lanced -through the wires. They heard a faint ripple of music, then a soft -whirr as the door swung back. - -It was no exit, however. They stared into a room where hundreds of -crystalline coffins reposed, row upon row. They were cube-like, perhaps -two feet in dimension. Within each cubicle was a drift of almost -colorless substance which might have been either fluid or gaseous. - -But what held their gaze were the things deep within the substance! - -They were globules, gelatinous, tear-dropped in shape with the tapering -ends down. They gently swayed and pulsed, and deep within them could -be seen a central core of _electric-blue_ with an interlacing of tiny -filaments. - -"They're in some sort of suspended animation!" Curt took a step into -the room. A feeling of incredible age was about the place. Curt walked -between row after row of the cubicles, making closer examination of -the strange life-forms. Beyond all doubt, these were identical to the -pulsing globe of light which had emerged from the body of the octopoid -creature! - -"Emmons, come back," Lorine called from the door. "I--I don't think -this place is safe!" - -Curt didn't think so either. They returned to the room of machines, -closing the door carefully. Lorine stared around, perplexed. - -"There must be an exit somewhere!" - -"Quite right, young lady. And now that you are here, I'll be glad to -show you." - -It was a strange, mocking voice that came from behind them. They -whirled about, peering into the shadows. - - * * * * * - -From a little alcove beneath a tier of machines stepped an Earthman. He -was tall, young, blond. Four electros swung instantly up to cover him. - -Only Curt didn't hold an electro, and now he snapped, "Put those guns -away!" He peered again. "I know this man!" - -The stranger's smile vanished. Puzzlement came across his face as he -turned gray eyes upon Curt. He seemed searching his mind, trying to -recall something deeply imbedded in the matrix of the past. - -"Robert Frane," Curt said. "Good lord, man, don't you recognize me? -Curt Emmons! You knew me at Government Spacer School--" - -"Robert Frane ... yes. That is my name." It seemed an effort for him to -recall it. It was apparent he didn't recognize Curt. Curt gave it up -for the moment, studying him, wondering at the strange, puzzled look of -the man. Frane spoke in clipped phrases. - -"You killed our guardian. Of course. That's how we became aware of your -presence. But how could you have known of this place? How did you come -here?" - -"We'll ask the questions, Earthman!" A strength seemed to rise in -Lorine as she came a step forward, eyes blazing, electro held high. "Is -George Landreth here? Answer me that!" - -"George ... Landreth." Again that strangeness about Frane, a shadow -across the eyes. "I believe that such a one is here." - -"Then you will take us to him. At once!" - -"Presently," the man contradicted. "Just now I will take your weapons, -please. All of them." It was not so much a command as a statement, -seeming so ridiculous that a loud guffaw come from Rikert. Lorine came -forward, not smiling, and thrust the electro hard against Frane's side. - -"Enough of this talk. Your choice! Take us at once to George Landreth -or I'll blast you here and now!" - -The man seemed unconcerned. "That you will never do. Look about you." - -From beneath the machines a dozen men had silently entered the room. -They were unarmed, except for the nets they carried--nets that flowed -as if woven of fire. - -"Magna-webs!" gasped Lorine. "Back, _back_ Curt!" - -But she was too late. Before Curt and the others could react to her -panicked words, the strange men flung the nets at them. They only -lifted their arms and released the magna-webs, which floated through -the air with deceptive swiftness. - -Curt grabbed Lorine to hurl her back. And then the glowing nets settled -over their shoulders, the fiery strands sending numbing tingles deep -into their flesh. Curt tried to reach his electro, but his hand was -nerveless. Scalpels of fire sliced through his brain. He felt a vast -tiredness in the instant before a rushing darkness came. - - * * * * * - -It could only have been minutes. Curt found himself struggling up, -fighting against a numbness that clung to his limbs. He saw Lorine and -the others stagger erect. Frane's men were confiscating the weapons. - -"I hope you will not make this necessary again," Frane said without -emotion. "Believe me, it could be fatal." - -Curt believed him. He set his lips grimly. Without further ado, the -newcomers were hurried through one of the secret exits. Tor Ekkov gave -a last, longing look at the Tele-Magnum device. - -They passed through a long, illuminated corridor with walls of shining -substance, leading directly away from the prow of the alien spaceship. -Curt forced his way ahead to walk beside Frane. - -"You're Robert Frane, all right," Curt glanced at the man's face. "Sure -you don't remember me, Frane?" - -The man turned colorless eyes upon Curt. A shrug was in his voice. "I -may have known you once." - -Curt gave it up. He turned his mind to that terrible combined potential -which had struck them down. These men were possessed of a power that -was more than telepathic. The octopoid creature had been telepathic -too. Curt recalled the strange life-form rising from the mangled body -of the octopoid, and the hundreds of similar life-forms inside the -spacer. A truth was dawning that left Curt numb with horror. - -He let his hand brush the bare forearm of the man walking next to him. -He felt a faint tingling through his fingertips that was something more -than electrical. - -A car awaited them, its dark blue hull gleaming and translucent. They -crowded in. A propulsion beam hummed, and they rose straight up with -sickening speed. - -Again Curt spoke to Frane, "Where are you taking us?" - -"To our Leader! The Zemmd!" Emotion came into Frane's voice, a tone of -such awe that Curt was startled. - -"The Zemmd," Curt repeated, not liking the sound of it. The car came to -a halt. The door slid smoothly back. - -They stepped into an area aglow with a gentle radiance, ineffably -blue as a summer day on Earth. Curt glanced around. They were beneath -the Electronic Curtain! It reached above them in a shallow dome of -indeterminate diameter. The clang of metal on metal reached their ears, -and a faint sound of atomic furnaces. A few buildings were seen, and -groups of men at work--Martians and Jovians, Venusians and Earthmen -alike. - -The captives were hurried toward a central domed building that towered -above the others. Before they quite reached it, Tor stopped dead in -his tracks. Across his face came an indescribable look of hate as he -uttered a word. A name. - -"Jal Tagar!" - -A group of men had come from a nearby building, and among them was Jal -Tagar, the Martian Overlord! In that split second of recognition a -bitter taste of hate seemed to rise up in Kueelo. He would have leaped -forward. Only Curt's fierce grip held him back. - -Impatiently, Frane motioned them on. They entered the central building, -passed into a huge circular chamber that seemed alive with a violet -color reaching from floor to ceiling and wall to wall. Here there was -utter stillness. Even the floor was soft and cushionly, absorbing the -sound of their entrance. - -Frane and his men seemed waiting for something. As their eyes became -slowly adapted to this room they saw a patch of deeper color across the -far wall. It moved. Gradually it changed size and shape. Purposeful, -deliberate, it drifted slowly up. Then, somehow, as if by a mental as -well as visual perception, they saw it clearly. - -Here was a super creation, huge and wondrous beyond belief! The thought -leaped instantly to Curt's mind. It was more than mere color. It seemed -composed of thousands of the smaller, radiant tear-drop shapes, yet a -complete entity in itself and infinitely more alive! Beyond doubt it -was self-created, could add or subtract from itself at will. Here was -the thing Frane had referred to so reverently as the Zemmd! - -Spinning, gently pulsing with some inner sentience, it was a thing of -horror yet surpassing beauty. It drifted toward them. It probed at them -with fingers of violet light. - - * * * * * - -Frane and his men threw themselves to the floor in an attitude of -worship. The sight disgusted Curt. No doubt remained now! Inwardly they -were as alien as the composite thing drifting there above them. It went -beyond mere worship. Here was an undeniable _affinity_! - -Rikert was muttering. Then he acted with the stupid bravado of his -kind. He flung himself toward one of the prone men, grabbed an electro -and whirled toward the drifting bulk. Lorine screamed a warning, a -shrill lance of sound in the soundless room. - -For the merest instant the great radiant shape tumbled back. Almost, is -seemed afraid. Then it came drifting forward, fast, swirling angrily. -In a blur of motion Curt whirled upon Rikert, swung a heavy fist to the -man's jaw. Rikert dropped to the floor, and Curt kicked the gun from -his hand. - -Zemmd's drifting bulk paused, as if surveying this scene with some -inner faculty. Slowly the radiant anger died away. Rikert came up from -the floor, muttering balefully, and Curt gripped his arm. - -"Quiet, you fool! If you value your lives, don't move, any of you!" - -But the entity seemed to have lost interest in them, for the moment at -least. Its probing light resolved into a blanket of soft color that -reached down to encompass Frane and the others. The men came to their -feet. Now they seemed in mental _rapport_, doubtless recounting the -story of these newcomers. - -Then a part of the light focussed, reached out. Curt steeled himself -against it. It was cold but not unpleasant. It merely brushed over -them, clung for a moment, then drew away. Curt had the fleeting -impression that it was dismissing them because it knew, already, all -there was to know about their basic life-principle and their science as -well! - -Curt was almost sorry. He would have liked to study this entity more. -But the thing drew a veil of deepest purple about itself and drifted -back into the dim recesses of the chamber. Once more Frane and his men -made obeisance, then herded the captives from the building. - - * * * * * - -They were taken this time across the compound, away from the area where -the work was going on. Curt noticed that most of the activity centered -around one particular building. He wondered if the silver spaceship -he'd seen could be there! Like a jig-saw puzzle, the reason for all -this activity was beginning to take shape in his mind. - -He flashed his companions a warning look, said tentatively to Frane, -"What happens to us now?" - -Frane answered him obliquely. "Already we are aware of all that led to -your coming here. It is unfortunate. There must be no interruption of -our plans now--so I think you will become a part of us." - -Curt had a pretty clear picture of what becoming a "part" of them -meant! To have one of the radiant life-forms somehow enter his body, -take possession of his mind until all that was individualistic, all -that was Curt Emmons, would be gone! To be under the encompassing -control of that entity they called the Zemmd! It was evident that every -man here, Earthman or Martian or Jovian, was merely a controlled unit. -But for what ultimate purpose? Curt felt a chill along his spine as he -remembered the hundreds of alien forms waiting patiently, in suspended -animation.... - -Tor's voice, bitter with hate, broke upon his tumult of thoughts. -"Become a part of you--just as Jal Tagar did? A traitor to everything -that we--" - -"You have no choice," Frane replied in cold, unhuman tones. "Every man -here is part and substance of the great Zemmd. Just as the sum and -total of all that is in your brains will become a part of him." He -turned his gaze upon Rikert. "Even this one, who sought to defy the -Zemmd, will become a part." - -"Yeah? We'll see about that!" Rikert laughed unpleasantly. - -They were silent then, under the watchful guidance of Frane and his -men. Once more they were taken below the level of the compound, then -ushered into a plainly furnished room. - -"You will not lack for comfort," Frane said, "but you must remain here -until time for the transition. I promise it will be soon!" There was -pride in his tone, as though conferring a great honor upon them. He -employed a metal device in the arched doorway. A sheet of crackling -color passed across it, effectively barring the entrance. - -Rikert leaped forward in a last effort, but a searing heat from the -barrier stopped him. Bitterly he turned back. - -"Fine thing, Emmons! If you'd let me blast that hunk of brain-trust -when I had the chance--" - -"You'd be dead now, and the rest of us with you! Can't you ungroove -that brain of yours, Rikert?" - -Rikert surged forward, fists clenched, but Jeffers stepped between the -men. - -"I don't know, Emmons," Jeffers said slowly. "I think Rikert had the -thing scared there for a minute. Didn't you notice the way it moved -back from the electro--" - -"It was a darn fool thing to try, and this kind of talk isn't helping -us!" Curt turned abruptly, began examining the room. - -Walls, floor and ceiling seemed to be of solid-hewed stone with no -break of any kind. The arched doorway failed to reveal the source of -the radiant barrier; it was electronic, Curt was sure. - -Lorine was a pitiful figure, despair making an unreal mask of her face. -All the fine courage that had carried her this far, seemed to fail her -now. - -Once more Tor hummed the high-pitched aria which Curt hadn't heard -since they left Mercury. The tune seemed to sustain the little Martian -in times of trouble. Jeffers and Rikert were aimless automatons pacing -the room. - -Curt sank down and let despair wash over him. Yet a thought, -half-formed, struggled to emerge from the recesses of his mind; -something he had noticed about that entity, Zemmd; an idea that danced -away as he sought to remember. - -He couldn't quite grasp it. It was maddening. - -Such a weariness of body and mind came upon Curt that he fell into a -fitful sleep. His last conscious thought was of the sentient entity, of -which they were to become a part. - -All would be over then. - - * * * * * - -Curt dreamed. A great arctic wind, alive as if with a snapping -intelligence, seemed to roar about his huddled carcass. Far away a -door whispered open and closed with a sigh. A stranger seemed to have -entered the room, a great towering figure with silvery hair, who stood -looking down at them and then paced away in the gloom like the going of -a breeze. - -Curt rolled over, mumbling in his sleep. - -The wind crept back like a padding cat, whispering in his ears. It -resolved itself into a voice, a human voice very real and urgent. Curt -sat up abruptly. This was no dream, the towering stranger was still -there. - -Somehow he had passed through the electronic curtain across the -doorway.... - -Curt leaped to his feet as he recognized George Landreth. - - - VII - -The others came quickly awake. Lorine stared, then with a sob threw -herself into her father's arms. Landreth comforted her, his face -twisting strangely. He had aged greatly, Curt knew, he was still a -dominant figure of a man. - -"Why did you do it, child, why?" Landreth spoke with a great effort. -"You should never have come here!" - -Startled, Jeffers was staring at the electronic barrier. "Man, you came -through that curtain! How is it done?" - -Rikert said fiercely, "Are you one of these things, too?" - -"I'm one of them, heaven help me, but soon I won't be! You must listen -carefully now. I haven't much time!" Landreth paced the room with great -uneven strides, face still twisting, his voice coming with an effort. - -"They call themselves _Energons_. Their life-principle is ionized -protoplasm, that's as near as I can describe it! They subsist on the -energy-source fields that originate within all planetary bodies. -Electric, magnetic, gravitic, call it what you will. They left their -System, far beyond Pluto, because it's in a state of disintegration for -lack of the energy-magnetic source--" Landreth's features had gone pale -and tight, as if some ghastly struggle were occurring within him. - -"I and three others boarded their ship. It drove toward the sun ... we -couldn't stop it. We barely managed to bring it to a crash, here. In -the crash some of the _Energons_ were released, they took possession of -our unconscious bodies ... and they evolved their plan ... they must -be stopped!" With a great effort Landreth managed to hold his body -erect. - -Curt's mind raced. He saw the rest. Landreth and his three men were -only the beginning. _Through them, completely Energon-dominated, the -net had spread!_ Other men had been captured out of space and brought -here. The _Energon_ life-forms had been taken secretly to other -planets, to seize upon bodies, and bring them into _Energon_ control! -The plan had taken two years, but they had selected well. Jal Tagar of -Mars had been reached, and doubtless others among the highest officials -and scientists in the Federation! This explained it all, the growing -havoc and sabotage-- - -Curt saw the ghastly pattern, then he saw Landreth collapse against the -wall as if all strength were being drained from him. Lorine hurried to -his side, but Landreth waved her away. - -"No, child, don't worry about me now! Heaven knows I've hated Earth.... -I've done some terrible things in my time ... but nothing so terrible -as allowing these creatures to get foothold here...." He pulled himself -erect. "Jeffers! Has the Federation plunged into war?" - -It was Curt who answered. "They're on the verge of it!" - -"That is their plan. Already they have the secret of all our weapons. -They have the Venus allotropic metal. They have the Frequency Tuner! -With it, they can return to their System and be back here within a -year! They'll bring hundreds of thousands of _Energons_.... They hope -we'll be at war ... our planets will be easy pickings!" - -"The silver spacer!" Curt snapped. "They're leaving in it?" - -"In a few days. The Frequency Tuner has been installed! Some of the men -took it for a test flight yesterday." Again Landreth staggered, as if -fighting a battle within. "The spacer is well guarded, but I might get -you weapons ... as for me...." - -"Then hurry, man!" It was Rikert, eager. "Just let me get my hands on -an electro again!" - -"Two of you come with me." - -Curt and Rikert stepped forward. Landreth looked at his daughter as -if there was much more he wanted to say. But there wasn't time. He -held her close for a moment, then thrust her away. "Take care of her, -Jeffers!" - -Lorine's eyes were red-rimmed, as if she knew she'd never see her -father alive again. They all knew it. - -Landreth inserted a three-pronged device near the doorway. The curtain -vanished. The three men stepped through, and Landreth tossed the key -back to Jeffers. - - * * * * * - -Curt observed the man closely, as they reached a car which sped them -toward the compound above. Landreth seemed drawing upon his last -energy-reserves. Curt wondered how the man kept going! And if he was -_Energon_ controlled, why had he come to help them? - -"The _tsith-drug_," Landreth gasped, as if sensing Curt's wonderment. -"It allows you to regain your identity ... but only briefly. I didn't -want Lorine to know ... that I'm dying!" - -Curt was aghast. Only Callistans could withstand the ravages of this -drug, and eventually it destroyed even them. Landreth must have taken -enough to kill two ordinary men! Now the _Energon_ force within him -was regaining control. Tiny particles of light came from his bare face -and hands, similar to radium disintegration seen under a powerful -microscope. - -"Landreth! Will electros kill these men?" - -"The Earthian bodies--yes. But not the _Energons_. Watch out ... for -the potential! That one they call the Zemmd ... there is no--" His -words were suddenly cut off as he clutched at his throat. Their car -reached the upper level. Here the pervading blue had deepened to a -simulation of night, but still they heard the sounds of work going on. - -"Hurry, man! The weapons first!" Rikert was urging. - -Landreth nodded. Even that was an effort for him now. He seemed -suffering untold tortures. Supporting Landreth between them, they -neared a low-structured building which he indicated. But Landreth fell. -He was a dead weight in their grasp, then he crumpled to the ground. - -"The spaceship--wait until--" He tried to say more, but the words came -slurred and unnatural. - -They left Landreth there, hurried on to the building he had pointed -out. They pushed into a large shadowy room. It seemed a storeroom for -tools, as well as strange machines similar to those in the smashed -_Energon_ spacer. - -"Here they are!" Rikert spied the weapons, apparently the same ones -Frane had taken from them. These _Energon_-controlled men were so -contemptuous of Earth weapons that these had been tossed aside! "What -next? Try and get to that spacer?" - -"Too many men about! We'll have to wait." Curt felt that was what -Landreth had tried to tell him. Rikert grumbled; with an electro in his -hand he felt he could overcome any obstacle. Remembering Lorine and the -others, Curt thrust three electros in his belt and cradled the lensed -radiant-gun. They hurried from the room. - - * * * * * - -Landreth was dead. But now, with a feeling of danger, Curt suddenly -straightened away from the body. It glowed, as if from a weird inner -aura! The aura seemed to coalesce, take definite form. An _Energon_ -emerged directly upward from the earthly remains! Spinning, crackling -angrily, it hung poised for a mere instant then darted straight at the -two men. - -With an oath, Rikert swung his electro up and sent a charge at the -six-inch globe. It connected, sent the thing buffeting back--but that -was all. It swept beneath the beam and darted upon Rikert. It fastened -just below his throat. Rikert screamed, clutched at the vibrant shape, -but his fingers seemed to sink through it. Then the _Energon_ was -gone--had completely entered his body! - -The event was so swift that Curt stood numbed with horror. To fire -would have meant hitting Rikert. Now Curt saw the man stiffen, saw the -startled expression leave his eyes. A queer emotion rippled across -Rikert's features ... then he whirled upon Curt, the electro uplifted. - -"Rikert, you fool!" Curt's cry was instinctive as he flung himself -aside. The electro-beam passed so close to his face he could feel the -swirling heat of it. - -"Rikert--" But Rikert was no longer Earthian, he was _Energon_! The -thought stabbed at Curt even as he brought the radiant beam around in -a swift arc. It slashed across Rikert's body. A sickness rose within -Curt, but it was his life or Rikert's now! He held the beam fast, saw -Rikert go down in a mass of disintegrant flame. In seconds it was all -over. Curt waited tensely, but this time there was no sign of the -_Energon_ form. - -Could the radiant beam have destroyed it too? But here was no time -for speculation. Through the deepening gloom he saw a group of men -approaching. If they'd seen the flash of the gun-- - -Curt seized what was left of Rikert's body, shuddering as it seemed to -fall apart in his hands. But he managed to drag it into the building's -shadow, then did the same with Landreth's. The men were coming nearer. -Curt crouched back in the shadows, gun ready. They passed him by, -heading toward some rough stone buildings that apparently served as -barracks. - -Now other men were heading toward the barracks, as the sound of work -died away. Apparently they needed rest, despite the _Energon_ forces. -Curt peered toward the central building where the Zemmd reposed. Did it -sleep too? Curt doubted that. At all costs they must avoid the supernal -power of the thing! - -He remembered Frane's words, "You will become a part of us; I promise -it will be soon." - -He must get back to the others! Curt waited until the way seemed clear, -then darted across the compound to where Landreth had left the car. -Seconds later he was descending to the lower corridors. - - * * * * * - -A glow from the electron curtain showed him the room. Curt raced -forward, a single thought hammering at him now. They had weapons! It -meant a fighting chance, if they could avoid the thing that happened to -Rikert.... - -Then Curt stopped. The curtain still crackled across the doorway, an -impenetrable barrier. But he heard Jeffers' voice. - -"I tell you it's true! Emmons is an official agent of Earth government. -Suppose we do pull out of this, what'll your life be worth? He'll take -you back for trial--" A pause, then: - -"That spacer is allotropic metal! And we'd have the Frequency -Tuner--think of it! We could build up the organization again, you and -I, Lorine. We know all the secret bases, and how your father operated. -He'd want you to go on, Lorine--" - -Through the rage that rose up to choke him, Curt called out to them. -He saw the blurred figure of Jeffers move toward the door, then the -curtain vanished as Jeffers used the key. Curt stepped quickly inside. - -"So that's your game, Jeffers! Back to space-piracy, and you think -you'll use the spacer the _Energons_ have built here! You'd even talk -Lorine into it with you." - -Jeffers' dark face creased in the barest semblance of a smile. - -"Landreth told me to take care of her, didn't he? After all, she used -to be part of our crew, and before I see _you_ take her back for -trial--" - -Curt turned to the girl, spoke softly. - -"Your father is dead, Lorine. I'm sorry." He saw her features tighten. -She seemed a mere automation, beyond all emotion or grief. Jeffers -had taken advantage of this in trying to talk her into his plan. Curt -touched one of the electros at his waist. - -"I should burn you!" he told Jeffers in a cold, tight voice, and -Jeffers went pale. "As it is, we're a hell of a way from being out -of this spot, and we'll need you! We'll have to make a try for that -spacer." He tossed an electro to Jeffers, handed one to Lorine. - -"What happened to Rikert?" - -"He's dead too." Curt didn't explain further, for he suddenly knew what -was wrong here. He whirled upon Jeffers. - -"Tor Ekkov! Where'd he go? Why'd you let him leave here?" - -"He insisted on it. Something about a Tele-Magnum! He was driving me -crazy with that damned tune of his--" - -Curt swore inaudibly. "How long has he been gone?" - -"Not long. _You've_ only been gone twenty minutes." Jeffers shrugged. -"Anyway, he acted crazy. Why worry about him?" - -"Why? He'll ruin whatever chances we have! We've got to stop him!" Curt -raced from the room, with Jeffers and Lorine pounding after him. - -At the far cross-corridor Curt paused uncertainly, staring around. - -"What's it about, Emmons?" Concern was in Jeffers' voice now. "What's -that Martian up to?" - -"Back there in the spacer--he spotted a Tele-Magnum! If he manages to -operate it, the Zemmd is going to know it! We won't have a chance!" - - - VIII - -Curt hurried to the right, not sure of his direction now in this -underground place. But he stopped abruptly at the next corridor. His -heart leaped. Huddled against the angle of the wall was the body of a -man. - -Curt turned him over. It was the man he knew as Frane! Twisted tightly -around his throat, cutting into the flesh, was a plasticoid belt that -Curt recognized as Tor's. - -Jeffers was right. Tor had gone fanatical crazy, determined that -nothing would stop him from reaching the Tele-Magnum and getting his -voice through to Mars! But now another thought sliced into Curt's mind. -The _Energon-form_ which had inhabited Frane's body! There were two -alternatives. Either it had emerged and seized control of Tor, or had -sped back to give the alarm. - -There was no time to waste! At the end of this corridor Curt saw the -crumpled prow of the alien spacer. He hurried toward it, Jeffers -and Lorine running to keep pace beside him. Curt squeezed into the -low-arched doorway, beneath twisted and tumbled metalloy beams. Again -he was in the room where they'd seen the array of machines, including -the one Tor thought was a Tele-Magnum. - -And Tor Ekkov was there. Curt knew it, as the angry sound of an electro -beam sang close. It splashed against a bulkhead beside him. Curt waved -Jeffers and the girl back, then pressed forward. - -He saw Tor. The man was still Martian, Curt could tell that; the -_Energon_ hadn't reached him. But a glint of madness was in the depths -of his eyes, as he held an electro in his tight-knuckled fist. He must -have taken it from Frane, Curt thought. - -And he solved the secret of the Tele-Magnum! Curt heard a faint hum, -saw the glow of the selector screen as selenic cells poured power into -the trans-etheric beam. Curt came a step nearer, into the room. - -Again Tor's electro splashed fire at him. - -"So it's you, Curt Emmons. No, don't come any closer!" The Martian's -eyes darted to the lensed radiant-rifle Curt held cradled in his arm. -"Throw that thing on the floor. I mean it! I'll blast you!" - -Curt did as he was told. The Martian had gone mad. Helpless and -weaponless, Curt glanced at the screen. A shifting blur was -focussing--Turibek, capitol city of Mars! Tor had managed to get the -beam through! - -"Don't try to stop me, Emmons. We'll never get out of this alive, I -realize that now! But I swore I'd get my voice through to my people! -Six long years I've waited--" - -Curt tensed, almost leaped forward, but Tor held the weapon steady upon -him. It was then that Curt felt a pronounced overtone across his mind. -He knew the Zemmd had contacted them! - -"Curt!" It was Lorine's whispered voice in the doorway behind him. He -felt the grip of an electro pressed into his hand. - -"We had a fighting chance, Tor," Curt grated, "but you've ruined that! -The Zemmd has contacted us. He'll send his men down here. Yes, we'll -die!" He brought the electro unobserved to his side. "And you'd leave -the entire Federation prey to these things because of your damned -stupid fanaticism about Mars!" - -"Don't try to stop me!" With his free hand Tor brought the Martian -scene sharper into focus. Nothing else mattered to him. - -"A last chance, Tor! You can reach Earth on that thing. Let me contact -Earth and warn them of what goes on here! Even if we die, they can send -the Fleet and blast this place--" - -Curt saw it was no use. - -He brought his gun around fast, tried a snap shot from the waist. But -Tor was faster. He swayed aside, then his own electro sent its beam. - -Curt's arm went numb from wrist to shoulder, as the Martian's beam -caught his gun squarely and sent it spinning from his grasp. Curt -dived low, in a try for the radiant-rifle a few yards away. Again Tor -blasted. A spray of molten froth from the floor sent Curt tumbling -back. He poised for another try. To think of failure now was to think -of death! - -But he had failed. This was death! - -He heard Lorine cry out, heard Jeffers cursing behind him, as a rush of -feet came toward them down the corridor! - - * * * * * - -Jeffers was battling for his life. A score of men were converging upon -them. Jovian, Martian, Earthmen alike, they had but one purpose as they -rushed forward under Zemmd's mental command. - -That purpose was to kill! - -But it was they who died, as Jeffers swept his beam in a deadly -crossfire. Lorine had retrieved the electro, and she joined the battle, -crouching beside Jeffers in the narrow doorway. Luckily it offered a -measure of protection. A few of these men were armed. Beams slashed and -glanced from the walls. In a matter of seconds the place was a hell of -heat and blinding light. - -Tor was intent upon the Tele-Magnum now. Curt sprang for the -radiant-rifle, came up with it, whirled to join the battle. But already -the men were falling back out of range! They left four of their dead -upon the corridor floor. - -In the brief respite Curt remembered Landreth, and the _Energon-form_. -The same thing was happening now! The bodies coalesced with an inner -aura of electric-blue. Four _Energons_ emerged swiftly and hung poised, -spinning, crackling with angry radiance. Then they darted forward. - -"Don't let them touch you!" Curt hurled Lorine aside, sprang forward -with rifle upraised. Before he could touch the firing stud, the -_Energons_ were tumbling back, wildly--as if in panic! - -Curt stared. It wasn't his weapon they feared-- - -Then Curt knew! - -_It was Tor Ekkov's voice behind him, sending his strident, -high-pitched aria into the telector-beam to Mars. Sound! These things -feared super-sonic sound!_ - -Lorine screamed, clutched at Curt's arm. - -Far down the corridor, reaching almost from wall to wall, the huge -bulk of the Zemmd itself sped toward them. Streamers of angry violet -splashed before it, illuminating the scene. The Zemmd's own men tumbled -pell-mell out of the way. - -The four smaller _Energons_ sped toward the parent bulk, touched, and -merged. But the Zemmd never paused. Tor's high-pitched tune seemed not -to affect it! - -A heavy potential rose crackling from the walls. Lorine crumpled and -went down. Jeffers, reeling upon his feet, still blasted with the -electro but to no avail. Part of the potential washed upon Curt and -sent him staggering.... - -Curt hurled himself back into the room, jabbed the rifle at Tor before -the Martian knew what was happening. - -"Sing, damn you, keep singing! Send your song to Mars! You were right -after all!" - -Tor's eyes went wide, but he needed no urging. He sang! The Martian -sibilants were meaningless to Curt, nor did he care. Tor's voice -reached the higher octaves, far higher than any operatic star of Earth! -Down the scale, then up, and up, endlessly, Tor sang his message to -Mars. It took on a savage note, something of the pagan was in it--and -something of fright. - -For now it was Curt who had gone mad with fanatical purpose! - -"Sing, damn you, or I'll blast you where you stand." He reached to -Tor's side and lifted the electro. He reached to the Tele-panel and -fumbled at the controls. - -Suddenly the sound amplified a thousand-fold. It flooded the room, -reverberating, rebounding into the corridor from wall to wall, as -selenic cells poured additional power into the instrument. - -"Sing!" Curt shouted. And Tor nodded. Sanity seemed to come back to -him, and he realized what was happening. - -Curt hurried to the corridor. Already the Zemmd's potential was -diminishing! The great bulk was tumbling back, trying to escape the -waves of strident sound that washed upon it. - -Now Curt could _feel_ the shrieking crescendo, like a file rasping over -naked nerve-ends. And the Zemmd seemed to disintegrate! The color died -away. It broke apart into hundreds of the smaller _Energon_ shapes. - -They were dull and disorganized now, moving aimlessly, crashing into -the walls where they clung, then slid to the floor. - -But a few of them retained their inner life-force! They came -surging forward. Curt threw up the radiant-rifle, spread a swath of -disintegrant power that sent them buffeting back. Gradually they -blanked out, until nothing moved in the length of corridor. The Zemmd's -men had long since vanished from the scene. - - * * * * * - -It was over in minutes. Behind Curt came a harsh roar, then a crash of -tubes and metal as the Tele-Magnum failed under the overload of power. -But Tor still sang. - -Curt stepped warily forward, touched one of the grayish translucent -shapes. It was warm. A decided shock, more than electrical, went -through his arm. - -"These things aren't finished yet! We've got to hurry!" He stared at -Lorine. "What happened to Jeffers?" - -She shook her head. Horror was still mirrored on her face. But Jeffers -was gone! Somehow he had managed to make his way out! - -All weariness vanished, as Curt raced back through the corridors with -Lorine hurrying after him. He had a chill premonition of what Jeffers -was up to! - -A deathly silence settled over them. Tor's singing had stopped. Not -until they reached the lifts did Curt notice that Tor had caught -up with them. The little Martian was deathly pale but his eyes -fever-bright, as he shook his head drunkenly and clutched at his throat. - -Curt paid him no heed now. They tumbled into one of the cars. A -propulsion beam hummed, and they rose swiftly toward the upper compound. - -Jeffers was there, battling his way past a score of the Zemmd's -men. But there was a great difference in these men now. They seemed -disorganized and aimless without the co-ordinating, driving power of -the Zemmd! - -Jeffers was heading toward a hangar-like building. The spaceship with -the Frequency Tuner! The man's scheme was obvious now; he had given up -on Lorine, decided to try it alone! - -Curt hurled himself forward, and a path opened for him as the men -scurried to cover before the blast of the radiant-rifle. At all costs -he must reach Jeffers-- - -He was too late. Already Jeffers had reached the building fifty yards -away. He fumbled at the door, then disappeared. Curt was there seconds -later. A gorge of despair rose in him, as he found the door barred from -the inside. - -There might still be time! Jeffers would have to find the secret of the -Electronic Curtain reaching above them. Frantically, Curt blasted at -the door. The metal resisted stubbornly, but gradually it began to melt -away. - -Then, from within, came a smooth droning sound. It increased in tempo. -The building trembled against the full reverberant power. The Frequency -Tuner! Jeffers was going to try to drive _through_ the Electronic -Curtain. - -Curt realized his danger, and whirled away. The building smashed apart -like an eggshell, hurling debris in all directions. Curt plummeted -forward, caught a glimpse of the silver spacer streaking obliquely up -on the whining power of the Tuner.... - -But it wasn't enough! It struck the Curtain and penetrated part way, -and there it dangled. There came a scintillant hell of fire and flaming -metal. In seconds, the spacer's hull became cherry red and then white. -Huge molten blobs of it dripped down, then an explosion sent them -scattering across the compound. - -What was left of the spacer came slipping out of the gaping rent in the -Curtain. Gravity took it. It fell in a fiery tangle of wreckage. - -Curt was scarcely aware that his legs propelled him away from the scene. - -He caught sight of Lorine and Tor Ekkov, and hurried toward them. They -huddled in a doorway and looked out upon the scene. Flames crackled up -from a few of the buildings. None of the other men were in sight; they -had scurried somewhere to safety. - -"There went our last chance! Jeffers fixed everything!" - -Curt's voice was a well of bitterness. These _Energon_ forces weren't -finished by any means, and Curt knew it. Their work would go on.... - -But his mission for DeHarries was finished. The secret of this place -was still secret. - -The fate of the Federation had rested upon Curt's shoulders, and he had -failed. - - * * * * * - -As if in answer, a blaze of violet light appeared far across the -compound. It was the Zemmd again!--a smaller entity now, but Curt knew -it would increase in power as more and more of the _Energons_ revived -to join it! - -It moved slowly, as if searching. _Searching for the Curtain--and -Lorine._ It disappeared, appeared again, and once more vanished from -sight. - -"No use fighting that thing." Curt looked down at his hands, then -laughed bitterly. He had lost the radiant-rifle somewhere. Even his -electro was gone. "Maybe if we keep out of sight, it'll think we -perished in the spaceship!" - -"Curt!" Lorine's huddled figure came suddenly erect, she stood taut -with excitement. Then they all heard the sound. Somewhere overhead, but -coming nearer. The sound of a spacer! - -It sped past the broken rent in the Curtain a hundred feet above. It -returned, braked, hovered on underhull repulsion beams. Then it eased -through the hole in the Curtain with little room to spare, trailing -part of the K'Yarthan fog with it. - -Already Curt was racing toward the spacer, as it settled down. A man -stepped from the lock, others crowding behind him. - -"Back! Back there, you!" The man levelled a deadly power-rapier at -Curt. "Who are you, and what is this place?" - -"Never mind who we are," Curt grated, "lift us out of here!" He -recognized the Imperial Venus Emblem on the man's tunic. - -"We were Tele-casting, and a strange beam cut into our etheric channel! -The Empress Aladdian ordered that it be traced. Our directional-finders -brought us here." The Venusian Guard stared around at the flaming -holocaust. - -"Man, if you value your lives, get us in that ship and lift gravs!" - -Something of Curt's urgency caught at the man. He nodded, turned and -gave swift orders. The radiant bulk of the Zemmd came into sight again -and Curt saw it speeding, whirling toward them. - -They tumbled into the ship. The lock closed, and seconds later they -were lifting up, carefully, through the Curtain. There the spacer -poised. The Venusian stared through the under ports at the blazing, -angry bulk of the Zemmd. - -Something of the truth mirrored in the man's eyes as he turned to Curt. - -"Shall we try blasting it? We have neutros and Ingrams! We have--" - -"No! It'll take super-sonic weapons to completely destroy these things. -Powerful ones. Take me to Aladdian! I must contact Co-ordinator -DeHarries of Earth." - - * * * * * - -Tor Ekkov paced endlessly, as they sped toward the hospitable -continents of Venus. His glorious voice was gone, but his eyes had come -alive and vibrant. He knew he'd soon return to his own people. - -But Lorine ... she was a forlorn and shattered figure. Her face had -gone tragic, especially at the mention of Earth. - -"You're still thinking of what Jeffers told you?" Curt said. "Yes, -Lorine, I'll have to take you back to Earth. But I can get absolute -amnesty for you now. I shall demand it! And there are other reasons, -Lorine. There are reasons--" - -A tightness in his throat made his voice sound strange. - -She whispered, "Yes?" - -Curt drew her to him, and she was happy in his arms. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ETERNAL ZEMMD MUST DIE! *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <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: Eternal Zemmd Must Die!</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Henry Hasse</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: March 04, 2021 [eBook #64691]</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 ETERNAL ZEMMD MUST DIE! ***</div> - -<div class="figcenter x-ebookmaker-drop"> - <img src="images/illusc.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>ETERNAL ZEMMD MUST DIE!</h1> - -<h2>By HENRY HASSE</h2> - -<p>Lancing out of the void at light-speed, it<br /> -stabbed deep into the Solar System—and vanished.<br /> -Then began corruption ... poison and hate<br /> -creeping from world to world. Too late men<br /> -learned a death blow had been delivered!</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><i>We have remained indecisive too long! You must understand this! The -future, perhaps the very existence of the Federation hangs in the -balance unless we can correlate all that has happened and decide upon a -course of action NOW....</i></p> - -<p>DeHarries, Correlator for Earth, paced alone in his suite far beneath -the Council Room. He held a sheaf of papers—his intended speech to -the Planetary Delegates. Now he crumpled it viciously, flung it to -the floor. What good were speeches? Already he anticipated their -arguments, the protests and questions. He, himself, had a question or -two.</p> - -<p>"Course of action," he muttered grimly, "What sort of action? Action -against what?"</p> - -<p>He strode to the immense tele-globe, flicked it on. Its radiant surface -reflected the austere Council Chamber above. Already the six delegates -were entering. Soon they'd become restless waiting for him. But still -DeHarries watched.</p> - -<p>Aladdian, Empress of Venus, was there, fragile and lovely despite the -grave look on her alabastrine face. She at least was aware of the -threat to the System which had grown apace during the past few years. -In Aladdian, DeHarries knew he had an ally to the startling proposal he -was going to make. He would need a majority of four. He couldn't count -on Mars. The other two votes must come from Mercury, Jupiter, Perlac, -or the Callistan colonies.</p> - -<p>Leaving his suite by a secret exit, DeHarries stepped into a lift which -brought him near the Council Room above.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Six pairs of eyes fastened upon DeHarries, as he stood at the head of -the table. He was a striking figure, six-feet-two and white haired, yet -with a perpetual tightness of the jaw and a hint of fire in the dark -eyes that belied his great age.</p> - -<p>"You are wondering why I asked for an Emergency Council, particularly -since our Federation has ridden a crest of peace for the past -hundred years. Our various governments were never more in accord." -He paused for effect, watching the puzzlement grow in their eyes. -"Nevertheless, I am convinced that we face the greatest crisis we have -ever known! I ask for your fullest co-operation. Any data you can -submit—<i>anything</i>—may well be a part of the pattern!"</p> - -<p>Kraaj, the Jovian emissary, shifted his huge bulk nervously. "Pattern? -Pattern for what? You speak in riddles, DeHarries!"</p> - -<p>"A pattern so diabolic it's frightening. A pattern I'm convinced is -weaving about us all. For example: Earth's complex civilization, -atomic-powered industries and commerce, would be irreparably damaged if -we were cut off from the Uranium isotope we receive from Mars. You can -realize the seriousness when I point out that the annual shipment which -should have arrived a month ago—did not arrive."</p> - -<p>Jal Tagar of Mars was instantly on his feet, his heavy-lidded eyes -blazing. "I submit that my government is blameless! As you well know, -the shipment was dispatched as usual! Your own Earth representatives -were aboard—"</p> - -<p>DeHarries turned a smiling countenance upon Jal Tagar which left the -Martian Overlord abashed.</p> - -<p>"No accusation has been made," DeHarries said softly, "and none is -contemplated. I think we all agree that Mars is blameless."</p> - -<p>Aladdian arose to her full height of four-feet-eleven.</p> - -<p>"DeHarries is right. We have delayed too long. I have felt that there -is a strange force at work among us. As you know, Venus has long -held the secret of allotropic metal, which makes any space fleet -invulnerable. We have guarded it carefully—"<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> - -<p>She placed tiny fists upon the table. "Yet—our most secret documents, -concerning the processing of this metal, have disappeared from the -vault in our Royal Laboratories!"</p> - -<p>"A matter which need not concern us," growled Rehlek, the Callistan -Leader. "Has it not been the Federation policy for each planet to solve -its own internal problems?"</p> - -<p>"Save where those problems may effect the status of the Federation!" -Aladdian countered. "I submit the theft of our allotropic process as -a part of the <i>pattern</i> DeHarries mentioned. Have <i>you</i> nothing to -report, Rehlek?"</p> - -<p>"Nothing that would have any bearing—" The Callistan hesitated, then -his eyes became worried. "Yes! Simply that during the past year there -has been an alarming traffic in <i>tsith-stems</i> among our people. We -thought we had this drug traffic stopped, but now it's growing out of -hand. We can't trace how it's being entered and distributed. Under the -influence of this drug our workers become restless, and easily incited -to revolt." Rehlek wet his lips nervously. "Begging your pardon, -Aladdian ... these <i>tsith-stems</i> come only from the K'Yarthan Swamp of -Venus!"</p> - -<p>Rasping sounds had been issuing from Sarik, the sun-hardened little -Mercurian. Now he lifted his shell-like body from the chair. His -faceted eyes glittered angrily.</p> - -<p>"We are newest in the Federation. We have tried to co-operate in every -way. We even permitted the location, on our planet, of the Federation -Prison for Outlaws and Irreconcilables. If what I have to report is a -part of your <i>pattern</i>, DeHarries, make the most of it.</p> - -<p>"Recently our vast Solar Reflectors—which protect our cities from -the sun—were found to be tampered with! If our engineers had not -discovered certain discrepancies in time, thousands of my people would -have died under merciless radiations. We are still investigating this -foul piece of work. It was deliberate, not accidental." Sarik glared -about the table. "I hardly need remind you—we can easily convert our -Solar Reflectors into powerful weapons should the need arise!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>At this open threat, such a clamor of protests arose that DeHarries -pounded for order. He gave the floor to Jal Tagar.</p> - -<p>"DeHarries ... I see the reason for alarm. Similar incidents have -occurred on Mars. In return for our Uranium, Earth supplies us with -engineers for the maintenance and development of our Canals. As long -as a year ago, there began a series of breakdowns in our Canal system! -Already the desert has reclaimed vast areas of our irrigated lands!"</p> - -<p>Carver, the Earthman from Perlac, rose to deliver the final bombshell. -Using the Frequency Tuner, he had traversed the route from his adopted -planet in a mere two weeks. The strange world beyond Pluto, to which -many of Earth's scientists had migrated, was becoming a power and an -asset to the Federation.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> - -<p>Now Carver announced simply, "We have lost the Frequency Tuner. The -detailed plans of this power unit, which we intended to share with the -Federation, have been stolen."</p> - -<p>DeHarries broke the stunned silence.</p> - -<p>"And Venus had announced that the secret of allotropic metal should be -shared by the Federation. Each planet knew this. Each would benefit. It -doesn't seem likely that any planet individually could be behind these -thefts and outrages."</p> - -<p>"There's a frightening purpose behind it all," Rehlek of Callisto -said worriedly. "Someone or <i>something</i> is seeking to cause disunity. -Creating suspicion.... It may easily lead to war!"</p> - -<p>Jal Tagar said, "You have a theory, DeHarries?"</p> - -<p>"A theory and a plan. It's my conviction that in our various -governments, in places of highest trust, <i>are men who are not what they -seem</i>!" He glanced about, saw that the others did not fully grasp the -idea.</p> - -<p>"I mean that literally!" DeHarries went on. "<i>Men whose minds have -somehow been seized; who are now under the control of—of an alien -intelligence! Something not of our Federation!</i>"</p> - -<p>Sarik waved a disdainful hand. "Men whose minds have been seized? That -is fantastic!"</p> - -<p>"Is it? How much do you know of the members of your own Inner Council, -Sarik? Just one alien intellect planted there could cause inestimable -damage! What do you <i>really</i> know of Jal Tagar, here, beyond what you -see? Or of Aladdian? Or of me? I may be an alien—though I deny it. Any -one or any several of us may be <i>other than what we seem</i>!"</p> - -<p>Aladdian shuddered, glancing around. "It's an eerie thought—and one to -ponder upon! But you said you have a plan, DeHarries?"</p> - -<p>"Yes." He glanced from face to face in the growing silence. "A very -simple plan. But I like to think it will work...."</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">II</p> - -<p>Curt Emmons paused in his cautious stride. With a supernal sense -of keening, he knew he was not alone in the darkness. He threw his -shoulders aside. The <i>energast</i> recoil was no more than a soft sigh, -but the beam passed so close to Curt's face he could feel the swirling -heat of it.</p> - -<p>With a muffled cry, Curt let himself crumple and fall. The muscles of -his broad shoulders went tight as he pressed against the hard prison -pavement. Weaponless, he realized his only chance was the element of -surprise! He saw a darker shadow detach itself from the wall and come -toward him. A lone Guard. The man stared down for a moment, then, -relaxed, bent over the prone figure.</p> - -<p>Curt propelled himself upward. With an oath the Guard tried to leap -back, bring the <i>energast</i> into position. Curt clawed for the gun -wrist. His fingers tightened. The Guard was Jovian, Curt realized in -an instant of panic. His other hand found the wrist, his feet moved -swiftly, then he threw all his strength into the leverage. Bone -snapped, and the seven-foot bulk sailed backward into the wall.</p> - -<p>But Curt knew these Jovians! He leaped forward as the Guard tried to -rise, brought his knee up under the chin with a sickening crunch. Blood -bubbled from the man's lips. Curt sprang upon him, thrust an open hand -into his face. He brought the other hand in a vicious, slicing blow -across the hard throat muscles. The Jovian plunged forward and lay -still.</p> - -<p>Curt came to his feet, breathing heavily. It seemed unbelievable that -other Guards were not attracted to the scene! But all he heard was the -steady, hollow sound of the pumps supplying air to the Prison Dome. He -groped for the <i>energast</i> gun, but couldn't find it now. There was no -time to waste!</p> - -<p>He hurried forward, keeping one hand outstretched against the wall. -He sought to pierce the darkness ahead. A few minutes later he paused -again, as another figure loomed. Curt wished now that he'd found the -gun, but it was too late for that!</p> - -<p>"Emmons?..."</p> - -<p>Curt let out a slow breath of relief as the whisper came to him. He -hurried forward to greet another Earthman.</p> - -<p>"You're late," the second man said. "What happened?"</p> - -<p>"A little trouble. How about the helmets? Get them?"</p> - -<p>"Wouldn't be here otherwise!"</p> - -<p>"The Martian. Did he make it?"</p> - -<p>"Yeah, but I don't see why <i>he</i>—"</p> - -<p>"Never mind that, Rikert," Curt snapped. "Let's go."</p> - -<p>They reached one of the gates. The Martian was waiting. Curt stumbled -over another Guard, but this one was dead. A tiny <i>bak</i>-glass needle -protruded from his throat.</p> - -<p>"We had some trouble too," Rikert explained.</p> - -<p>Curt wondered which of them had the needle-gun, but he said nothing. -When they had donned the oxygen-helmets, Curt produced a triggered -electronic key.</p> - -<p>"I managed to smuggle this. It's the only way we'll make it out of -here! Don't worry about the alarms, just stay close to me. I have a -plan."</p> - -<p>Once in the exit lock, Curt had a moment of foreboding as he watched -the huge inner doors close behind them. Again he applied the electronic -key. The outer doors opened. They stepped into the unending lava waste -of Mercury's nightside.</p> - -<p>No sound reached them now. But Curt knew that already, in the Prison -Dome behind them, the alarm was being given. He hugged the outer -<i>crystyte</i> wall, hurrying along it away from the exit. The others sped -after him. Rikert clicked on his speaker.</p> - -<p>"Emmons, what the hell! This is crazy!"</p> - -<p>"Is it?" Curt didn't stop his half running pace. "You two agreed I was -to handle this! They won't think to look for us so close!"</p> - -<p>They stopped at last, huddling against the wall. A half mile behind -them the lock was opening again. Two of the surface-cars, on -caterpillar treads, blasted out and away. Searchlights slashed the -ragged terrain.</p> - -<p>"They won't spend too much time," Curt said. "They figure we're dead -men already." Never yet had a prisoner succeeded in reaching the -Mercurian cities, hundreds of miles away on the twilight-strip. Curt's -face went grim as he thought of <i>their</i> chances. They weren't trying to -reach a city! Their destination was the little mountain-range somewhere -on the nightside.</p> - -<p>Ten minutes later the surface-cars came back. The Prison lock opened -and closed. Grimly, the three fugitives headed into the wastes.</p> - -<p>There'd be no pursuit now.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Rikert strode forward purposeful as an automaton, and he was much like -an automaton in other ways. As silent and grim. As big and hard, and as -cold. The square lines of his face were unmoving beneath the crystyte -helmet.</p> - -<p>Kueelo was smaller, but he managed to keep pace. His eyes burned -brightly in his finely chiselled face. Only the high-pitched, mad -little tune on his lips seemed to keep him going.</p> - -<p>Curt Emmons, perhaps more than the others, knew the chances against -them. His gray eyes flicked worriedly to the dial inside his helmet. -It registered slightly over half, which meant they had two more hours -of oxygen. It would be close! He set his lips tight, glanced at his -companions.</p> - -<p>He knew Rikert would bear up. It was Kueelo who worried Curt. The -little Martian was leg weary, keeping pace on sheer grit alone—grit -that stemmed somehow from that eerie little tune eternally on his lips!</p> - -<p>"We're a little ahead of schedule," Curt lied. "Let's take five."</p> - -<p>Kueelo sank down gratefully on the hard rock. Even Rikert eased his -bulk down. Then in annoyance he thrust a hand against the Martian.</p> - -<p>"Damn it, Kueelo, turn it off!"</p> - -<p>Abruptly the tune died on Kueelo's lips. He stretched out, gazed with -infinite longing at the black sky and myriads of mocking stars. He -searched for Mars.</p> - -<p>Curt stared back across Mercury's lava-waste. The Prison Dome was well -behind them now. He wished he could say how far ahead their objective -lay, the little mountain-range that straddled half the planet.</p> - -<p>"Last chance," Curt told them grimly. "If either of you wants to change -his mind, you've just enough oxygen to make it back! They may let you -in again—if you want a month of solitary at the radite mines. What -about you, Rikert?"</p> - -<p>The big man raised his head, laughed nastily. "Go back to that hell -hole? I'd rather die a quick death out here. <i>You</i> getting cold feet, -Emmons?"</p> - -<p>Curt flashed darkly. He'd only made the suggestion for Kueelo's sake.</p> - -<p>"You, Kueelo? There's a chance of our missing Landreth. We've been -delayed, and he said he'd wait only ten hours with the spaceship."</p> - -<p>The little Martian's face showed white in the darkness. His voice was -soft, very soft and musical as always.</p> - -<p>"Thanks, Emmons. But I've waited years for a chance like this. If it -were a million to one I'd still say go on." Curt nodded. Sure, he knew. -Kueelo was a Martian political, an "irreconcilable," exiled to Mercury -six years ago when Jal Tagar's government had taken over Mars. As to -Rikert, Curt knew even less. The man had been sentenced for murder or -space-piracy. It didn't matter now.</p> - -<p>What mattered was that these two knew even less about him. He wondered -how long he'd stay alive if they learned his real status!</p> - -<p>DeHarries had taken into his confidence a mere half-dozen of his most -trusted operatives. They were given widespread assignments. None knew -what he would find, or where. And Curt's assignment, the Federation -Prison, was toughest of all. Not even the Prison overseers knew his -true identity! Curt worked with the hardened criminals of all planets, -enduring the privations and hardships and awful radite rays.</p> - -<p>Gradually, Curt became one of the select group of prisoners who helped -unload the supply ship which arrived twice a year. On its last arrival, -just a few days ago, a crew member had slipped a folded note into -Curt's hand! The message stated that <i>Landreth</i> would be waiting on the -darkside, and would take three men—any three. It set the time and the -place.</p> - -<p>Landreth! Curt could scarcely believe his luck. That elusive pirate -had disappeared, and was thought to be dead. Apparently not! What new -scheme was he hatching now—and more important—did it have a bearing -on the unseen forces which DeHarries felt were at work?</p> - -<p>Curt selected Rikert for the escape because the man was big and tough -and could handle himself well in a showdown fight. Kueelo he selected -for a different reason. It was partly sentiment—but more than that, -Curt had a deep-rooted suspicion that Kueelo was more than an ordinary -"political"!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Curt gave the signal, and they continued across the dark uncertain -terrain. Jagged rock cut into their boots. Soon they were forced to -circle wide around crevices large enough to swallow a man.</p> - -<p>Curt watched the hand on his oxygen gauge drop lower and lower. There -could be no turning back now! If they didn't find Landreth's ship -within the next hour....</p> - -<p>Rikert spoke, worry creeping into his voice. "We ought to be getting -close, Emmons! How about using a signal flare?"</p> - -<p>Curt peered ahead at the cobalt sky. The horizon dropped sheerly away. -He shook his head.</p> - -<p>"Only got two flares, can't waste them! Wait 'til we sight the -mountains."</p> - -<p>Rikert grumbled, but Curt saved his breath. Half an hour later they -glimpsed a serrated line of cliffs low on the horizon. Curt released -one of the flares in that direction. They watched it rage in a fiery -arc across the darkness for perhaps twenty seconds ... then it -disappeared.</p> - -<p>They awaited an answering signal. Anything to guide them! But nothing -appeared. The darkness pressed in, almost tangible.</p> - -<p>Despair washed over Curt like a cold wave from the sea.</p> - -<p>"Better set your oxygen flow to one-half," he advised. They hurried -the pace now, heedless of sharp rocks and dangerous gullies. Once Curt -pulled Kueelo back from a steep brink just in time. The little Martian -was staggering.</p> - -<p>Could Landreth have given up hope on them, and hoisted gravs? At the -thought, Curt hurriedly brought out the remaining flare. With a prayer -on his lips he aimed it, this time in a higher arc.</p> - -<p>Then Kueelo was clutching at Curt's arm, pointing far off to the left.</p> - -<p>There was the answering signal—a thin pencil of light slicing upward. -It flashed on and off at intervals, but it seemed a long way!</p> - -<p>Already, sharp pains were slicing through Curt's lungs. He stayed close -to Kueelo—but the Martian's fatigue seemed to have left him now! -He was giving voice again to the peculiar little aria in the higher -octaves which Curt had come to know so well. In that strange tune -was a challenge, a promise—and something more. It was pagan. It was -strength. It got into a man's soul!</p> - -<p>It seemed an eternity. They were nearing the cliffs, stumbling into a -rocky ravine. They saw the spaceship, Landreth's ship! But the scalpels -of fire in Curt's lungs were unendurable. The spaceship and all the -terrain danced and faded away. His legs were leaden, Kueelo staggered -against him, and somehow he managed to hold the little Martian upright.</p> - -<p>A vague impression ... a spilled square of light out of which a -helmeted figure came leaping. Kueelo collapsed, sliding slowly away. -Curt plummeted forward, gasped for air where there was suddenly none, -then utter darkness claimed him.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">III</p> - -<p>There was air now. Great gulps of it. Someone had thrown back Curt's -helmet, and he could hear the steady thrum of the airostat. It was -beautiful music.</p> - -<p>Kueelo had recovered, and Rikert. And a fourth man was there. As -Curt came to his feet he heard Rikert's voice, a little suspicious, -addressing the stranger.</p> - -<p>"You! You're not Landreth. I thought we were going to meet—"</p> - -<p>"Disappointed? Get going then! Back where you came from!" The -stranger's voice was like a whiplash. He held an electro in his -hard-knuckled fist. Rikert became silent.</p> - -<p>"So. You'd like to see Landreth, eh?"</p> - -<p>Rikert grinned, wet his lips a little. "Sure would! Don't get me wrong, -mister. There's one man I'd like to join up with, if he's operating -again!"</p> - -<p>Curt watched the stranger, saw him grin as though secretly amused at -Rikert's words.</p> - -<p>"Later!" the man said. "Right now get this through your heads, all of -you. Your lives were forfeit at the mines, and that isn't altered by -your being here! I'll blast the first one who makes a wrong move." He -gestured with the gun, surveyed them coldly. "Good. Now you will strip. -Put your clothes over here."</p> - -<p>He went carefully through their clothes, found nothing in Curt's or -Kueelo's. But from a secret pocket in Rikert's leather suit he brought -forth a deadly needle-gun. A smile creased his dark, thin face.</p> - -<p>"You won't need <i>this</i> where you are going." The spaceman pocketed the -needle-gun then turned suddenly on Curt, sharp eyes going over him. -"Up! Up with that left arm!"</p> - -<p>Too late Curt remembered the thin disc fastened under his arm-pit, -identifying him as an investigator for the Federation Prison-Board. -He had adopted that merely as a cover-up. Actually his mission for -DeHarries was far more important! Now Curt shrugged, tore the disc away -from the paper-thin duroplast fastening.</p> - -<p>"So," the spaceman purred, examining it. "You were sent here by the -Prison-Board! And we thought no one was aware of the missing prisoners."</p> - -<p>"Well I'll be damned," Rikert said, half in anger, staring at Curt. "If -I'd known who you really were, Emmons—"</p> - -<p>"You'd have come just the same!" Curt said icily.</p> - -<p>"It really doesn't matter who you are," the man with the gun said -softly, surveying Curt's well-muscled figure and clear eyes. "Yes, I'm -glad you came. You're the type we need. This one too," he nodded at -Rikert.</p> - -<p>He turned his gaze upon Kueelo. "But I can't understand why you brought -<i>this</i> one! Well, we shall find a use for him."</p> - -<p>At the insult, quick points of fire appeared in Kueelo's eyes. Curt -flashed him a warning look. Kueelo set his lips tightly.</p> - -<p>"My name," the other was saying, "is Jeffers. Dress quickly now. -Captain Landreth will want to see you, then we'll be on our way."</p> - -<p>It became apparent to Curt that this was no ordinary spacer! It was -small and trim, with a suggestion of untold speed. If the ship carried -weapons, they were kept well under cover. Jeffers led them along a -single corridor with staterooms on either side.</p> - -<p>"Where's the crew?" Rikert asked.</p> - -<p>"You three are the crew. Beyond that there's just me—and Captain -Landreth." Again Curt had the feeling that Jeffers was secretly amused. -He ushered them into a compartment near the control-room.</p> - -<p>Curt stood quite still for a moment, staring around. The room was a -dream. Magnificent tapestries, interwoven with <i>kra</i> plumes, covered -the walls. Beneath his feet an imperial Martian rug was a splash of -vari-colored splendor. He saw furniture of extinct <i>jragua</i> wood, -inlaid with mosaics of semi-precious stones.</p> - -<p>Then Curt's eyes widened, as he gazed across the room and saw the -person who rose to greet them.</p> - -<p>She was tall, for a girl. Auburn hair brushed smoothly back from her -forehead fell in waves to the shoulders of a close-fitting uniform. Her -eyes were blue but unsmiling, her lips smiled thinly but didn't mean it.</p> - -<p>"I am Lorine Landreth," she said without emotion. "If you must be -amazed, please do it quickly. We have work to do!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Curt was beyond being amazed. Thoughtfully his gaze took in her trim -figure, the pale but determined face, the electro held loosely in a -belt at her waist. She gave the impression of knowing how to use it.</p> - -<p>"Captain Landreth, I presume." Curt's voice was serious. "George -Landreth's daughter?"</p> - -<p>"Correct! On both counts." She turned to Jeffers. "You made it clear -that their status is not altered by their being here?"</p> - -<p>"Of course. Don't worry, I'll see that they remember it, Lorine."</p> - -<p>Her eyes blazed quickly. "Captain to you! See that you remember <i>that</i> -Jeffers!"</p> - -<p>He nodded, smiling with faint insolence as he leaned against the door. -The girl turned back to the three prisoners.</p> - -<p>"There is one difference. At the Prison mines you worked hard. And -for a life-time. And you died. You will work where we are going, -too—perhaps not so hard, but dangerously! You may die, but at least -I offer you a chance. If we succeed in our mission, you are free men. -Free to change your identities and go where you will."</p> - -<p>"That's okay by me, miss!" Rikert was enthusiastic. "Er, I -mean—Captain. But look! Don't we get to see Landreth, George Landreth? -I was counting on—"</p> - -<p>The girl turned a gaze upon Rikert which reduced him to silence.</p> - -<p>"It is my wish that we all may see George Landreth! I may as well -tell you now. The purpose of our mission—is to find my father." -For the merest instant, Curt saw a deepening look in her eyes which -dissolved the mask of hardness. She turned quickly away, seized a -sheaf of papers. "We are wasting time here! Jeffers! Show them their -assignments." Kueelo and Rikert followed the man from the room. Curt -hesitated, then stepped into the control-room where the girl had gone. -He may have been mistaken, but for a moment she had shown signs of -being almost human.</p> - -<p>Curt stood silent, watching her at the navigator's table. She consulted -pencilled data on the papers, then swiftly, with practised fingers, -she adjusted the sliding sheathes on the robot control. At last it was -finished. She glanced up, saw him watching.</p> - -<p>"Venus!" Curt exclaimed. "So that's where we're going!"</p> - -<p>Her blue eyes surveyed him coolly. "So. You can read a robot-wheel, can -you? What else can you do?"</p> - -<p>"Around a spaceship, almost anything. Tubes, controls, magnibeams, -calculations and differential, any weapon you care to mention—"</p> - -<p>"That will do." Her narrow eyes narrowed. "I don't like men with me in -space who know more about a ship than I do! Suppose you help Jeffers in -the rocket-room."</p> - -<p>"Very well, Captain. But about your father—"</p> - -<p>"Later!"</p> - -<p>Curt nodded, looked at her a moment, then hurried to the rocket-room. -Jeffers said brusquely, "Do you understand magnetic stabilizers, -Emmons?"</p> - -<p>"Sure."</p> - -<p>"Help me with these, then."</p> - -<p>As Curt worked, his mind went back across the years, tying together -threads of stories he had heard. Stories about George Landreth, one -of the first men to open up the rich new territory on Callisto. He -had brought his wife there from Earth. He struck a rich iridium vein -and worked it slowly, alone. Until the Earth Corporations stepped in. -Landreth defied them to the bitter end. His wife died unpleasantly....</p> - -<p>There the stories varied. Some said that Landreth placed his daughter -in the hands of relatives on Earth, before he turned pirate. Others -said the girl stayed with her father, learning every trick of the -spaceways. One thing was clear: throughout the years Landreth gathered -lawless men about him. More than one Corporation had gone to ruin under -the incessant attacks of an enemy who had achieved a ruthlessness -equal to their own! Then the attacks ceased. Landreth seemed to have -disappeared.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Curt thrust these questions from his mind. At last the stabilizers -and rocket-feeds were ready. Jeffers signalled the control-room, -and a moment later they swept upward. Endless miles away, near the -twilight-strip, Curt could see a faint pin-point glow of a Mercurian -city. He turned to Jeffers.</p> - -<p>"One question, Jeffers. What happened to the other men you rescued from -the Federation Prison?"</p> - -<p>"We've only pulled this stunt once before. The others died."</p> - -<p>"On Venus?"</p> - -<p>Jeffers looked sharply at Curt, then shrugged. "Sure, on Venus. We'll -arrive there in exactly three days."</p> - -<p>Rikert came up, wiping his hands on a piece of waste. "You know," he -grinned, "even at the Prison word had a way of reaching us. Any truth -to these stories about Aladdian throwing a guard around Venus?"</p> - -<p>"We may run into the Imperial Guard. But I doubt if they'll have many -patrollers where <i>we're</i> going."</p> - -<p>"Yeah? Where is that?"</p> - -<p>Jeffers' dark face grinned at them. "Right into the K'Yarthan Swamp!" A -sudden cry reached them from beyond the rocket-room. Lorine Landreth's -voice! Curt was first to reach the corridor, then he stopped dead in -his tracks.</p> - -<p>They saw Kueelo, standing spraddle-legged in the middle of the -corridor. An electro was in his hand. He turned it quickly toward the -three men, and they fell back.</p> - -<p>"He sneaked behind me and got my gun! Watch him, Jeffers, he'll use -it!" The warning came from the girl. Curt saw her crouching out of -range near a stateroom door, on the other side of Kueelo. "He can't -cover us both. Easy, Jeffers."</p> - -<p>"Get his gun, Emmons. Quick!" The Martian's voice came in an excited -high pitch.</p> - -<p>Curt saw Jeffers easing behind him, away from the line of fire; -glimpsed his hand as it went for his gun. Curt whirled away, sliced -his hand downward into Jeffers' wrist. The electro flamed once, then -clattered to the floor. Jeffers leaped for it, but Curt threw his broad -shoulders into a block that hurled the man aside. Then he came up with -the gun, and backed towards Kueelo.</p> - -<p>"Nice going, Emmons. Get to those controls! I'll keep them covered."</p> - -<p>They were not quite free of Mercury's gravity, Curt realized as he felt -the spacer surge erratically, threatening to go into a spin. He saw the -tight smile on Kueelo's lips.</p> - -<p>"Hurry, Emmons! We've got the ship now!"</p> - -<p>Curt surged past the Martian. Then he whirled, clamped his free hand -across the frail wrist holding the electro. A single twist, and -Kueelo's fingers opened. Curt held both weapons.</p> - -<p>"Get to those controls!" he snapped at Lorine Landreth.</p> - -<p>She stared at him in blank astonishment, then leaped to the controls. -A moment later the ship straightened out, and they were in free space. -Kueelo's eyes were blazing pools of hate as he gazed at Curt Emmons.</p> - -<p>Curt ignored him, turned to Jeffers and tossed him his weapon. "Here, -put this away. I guess Kueelo can't wait to get back to Mars—but I'll -settle for the K'Yarthan Swamp."</p> - -<p>Jeffers levelled the electro. "The other gun, Emmons. It goes to -Captain Landreth! Quick!"</p> - -<p>Curt shrugged, walked forward and handed it to her.</p> - -<p>She flashed him a smile. "Thanks for what you did, Emmons." She came -and faced Kueelo, surveyed him coldly. "Little man, can't you wait to -die? Let me assure you—another trick like that and you'll never see -Mars again!"</p> - -<p>Kueelo stalked away, eyes still blazing hatred.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">IV</p> - -<p>Lorine Landreth proved a canny navigator. She set a course far beneath -the ecliptic, and for two days they did not encounter a Patrol. Curt -had noticed the spacer was painted solid black and carried no insignia; -an old trick of George Landreth's.</p> - -<p>Was George Landreth connected in some way with all the far-scattered -events which DeHarries called the <i>pattern</i>? Had he allowed his gnawing -hate to encompass the entire Federation? All else was relegated to -unimportance in Curt's mind beside this single throbbing question. War -between the planets was imminent, as more and more monstrous happenings -occurred without reason. Curt doubted that Landreth himself could be -behind it all; it was too far-reaching and purposeful. But Curt was -resolved to follow his present lead, and hope for a way to report back -to DeHarries.</p> - -<p>And there was another question. Kueelo.</p> - -<p>Late on the second day Curt was off duty when there came a soft rap on -his stateroom door, and Kueelo entered.</p> - -<p>"The girl is studying maps of the K'Yarthan Swamp," he announced. -"Jeffers and Rikert are at the controls. I think they will bear -watching, those two."</p> - -<p>Curt nodded. He studied Kueelo. The little Martian was over his anger, -but now he seemed strangely perturbed.</p> - -<p>"I've been waiting to speak to you alone, Curt Emmons. Remember, -Jeffers couldn't understand why you brought <i>me</i> along? I've wondered -the same thing. From the very first. There were many others to choose -for the escape, strong ones like Rikert."</p> - -<p>"You made it, didn't you?" Curt snapped. "Before this is over, you may -wish you were back at the Prison mines."</p> - -<p>"That doesn't answer my question. Why did you select <i>me</i>?"</p> - -<p>Curt hesitated. "All right. If you must know, I always had a feeling -you didn't belong at the Prison. Sure, I knew you were a 'political.' -But no ordinary one! And I don't think your name is Kueelo!"</p> - -<p>He watched the other's face, saw emotion ripple across the chiselled -features.</p> - -<p>"So," the Martian said softly. "I thought you might have guessed. Was -it the tune, the little aria I always sang? Many times I could feel you -listening. I sensed that you knew ... but I could not keep it within -me, Emmons!"</p> - -<p>"Doesn't that aria occur somewhere in the <i>Deimian Cabal</i>?"</p> - -<p>"So you know that! But for you—for any Earthman—"</p> - -<p>"I know very little about it," Curt said quickly. "I've heard that it's -rooted in your religion somehow, but the thing's meaningless to me."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Kueelo stood still and straight. Curt could almost see the emotion -welling up inside him like a slow ocean tide. Then Kueelo made up his -mind. He spoke rapidly and without pause. "You are right. My name is -not Kueelo. I am Tor Ekkov, Supreme Co-ordinator of the Society of -Deimos on Mars! This cannot mean much to you, an Earthman, so I'll -tell you only this—when the occasion demands we can, and often have, -served as a balancewheel in the politics of Mars. Jal Tagar knew this -when he took over Mars six years ago. Oh, he planned well! The twelve -Co-ordinators throughout Mars were simultaneously arrested. It was a -paralyzing blow. And Jal Tagar took me, the supreme Co-ordinator, by a -most treacherous ruse—"</p> - -<p>The little Martian paused. Hate blazed in the indomitable black depths -of his eyes.</p> - -<p>"So Jal Tagar completed his <i>coup</i>, and Mars was under his heel. He -deemed that death was too good for <i>me</i>. Only the Mercury mines would -do, for that was a slow death."</p> - -<p>"You paint a dark picture, Kueelo, or, rather, Tor Ekkov, but all -this was six years ago! The Federation has recognized Jal Tagar's -government. He has ruled well, and Mars has co-operated in every...."</p> - -<p>Tor Ekkov paced the floor, stopped in front of Curt.</p> - -<p>"Do you really believe that, Emmons? What can anyone believe—<i>now</i>?" -He noticed Curt's start of surprise. "Yes, I have heard of the strange -forces at work in the System! And let me assure you: when dark events -are brewing, you'll find Jal Tagar's hand in it somewhere!"</p> - -<p>Curt waved a hand wearily. "Man, don't you know we're going into the -K'Yarthan Swamp? You'd better start thinking about that!"</p> - -<p>"I believe <i>your</i> mission is greater than you pretend, Curt Emmons. -You're no prison-board Investigator! Why did you stop me when we had -control of this ship? We could have gone back to Earth—or Mars."</p> - -<p>"Don't ask questions, Tor Ekkov."</p> - -<p>Tor's eyes were steady on him. "We've got to trust each other," he -urged. "If I can't return to Mars, it's imperative that I get to a -Tele-Magnum!"</p> - -<p>Curt laughed outright at that one.</p> - -<p>"We're going into K'Yarthan, and you speak of Tele-Magnums!"</p> - -<p>"I must get my voice through to Mars!" Tor's eyes seemed like black -jewels in the pallid face. "There are those of my Society who believe I -still live—and when they hear my voice, hear my aria, you will see a -new Mars!"</p> - -<p>Curt shrugged at Tor's babbling: In the face of what was happening -throughout the Federation, what did he care about a new Mars? But -the mention of a Tele-Magnum struck a sudden note. Lorine Landreth -must have a secret base in the K'Yarthan Swamp! If there should be a -Tele-Magnum there, powerful enough to contact Earth ... Curt came back -to his senses, laughed mirthlessly at such a remote chance.</p> - -<p>In the next instant he was on his feet, as the clangor of the emergency -alarm rang through the ship. For a moment he stared at Tor's startled -face, then rushed into the corridor with the little Martian pounding -after him.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>They found Lorine and the others in the Control Room. The girl was -calm, impassive, bending over the open receptor as a voice sliced -through.</p> - -<p>"... have had you in our beam for the past five minutes! As you carry -no insignia, you will go into a drift immediately while we approach! -Venus Guard calling...."</p> - -<p>Jeffers' dark face broke into a grin, but Lorine remained serious. -"They never patrolled this far from Venus! Jeffers, look to the -emergency tubes. We may need some speed!" She turned to Curt. "Get on -the V-Panel, will you Emmons? See if you can pick them out."</p> - -<p>The crystyte panel came to life. Curt grasped the directional-finder, -swung it in eccentric parabolas. Star pinpoints arced to and fro. A -touch on the Magni-lens brought the blackness swimming into closer -view, then they sighted the Guard. Six formidable spacers emblazoned -with the Imperial Venus Emblem.</p> - -<p>Curt glanced at the proximity dial. They seemed a comfortable distance -away, but he knew what a tremendous area the network of "finder-beams" -covered!</p> - -<p>"Last warning," the voice razored. "Nullify your control immediately, -or we blast!"</p> - -<p>"They're bluffing," Lorine decided.</p> - -<p>"They can't reach us yet. If we can get away from those finder-beams -they'll never pick us up again. Jeffers, prepare for emergency blast!" -She hurried to the control-console.</p> - -<p>"This will give our position away!" Curt exclaimed.</p> - -<p>She glanced at him impassively. "Just stay on that panel, Emmons." The -little spacer vibrated anew. Rockets thundered on full power, then the -spacer leaped forward, executed a wide parabola that carried it miles -out of position. Almost at once Lorine cut all rockets, and they sped -forward on the momentum.</p> - -<p>"Safe," she smiled thinly. "They'll never spot us now, a solid black -ship!"</p> - -<p>Again Curt centered the Panel. The Venus Guard had broken formation, -widening the area of search. Magnetic beams, pale green and swirling, -criss-crossed miles of space.</p> - -<p>Then Curt peered intently, puzzled, as a new kind of beam appeared. It -seemed to uncoil across space, carrying a little bubble of brighter -color before it. Suddenly the bubble burst. An expanse of blinding -white light illumined the depths of space! It continued to spread -outward. One edge of the perfect light-sphere very nearly touched their -speeding ship!</p> - -<p>Startled, Lorine jabbed at the rocket studs. Once more they swept into -a parabola before she cut power. Dozens of the strange light-spheres -were appearing behind them now, dotting space for a thousand-mile -radius, expanding, shoving back the darkness. Three more times Lorine -used rockets, changing direction, before they were out of the danger -zone. Then their ship was a silent black ghost speeding away.</p> - -<p>"Fine thing!" Jeffers exploded as he watched the scene behind them. -"Springing a new stunt like that. What a target we'd be if we got -caught in one of those things!" He grinned at Curt. "What won't they -think of next, eh?"</p> - -<p>"Yeah," Curt said wryly. "A guy just ain't safe any more. If I were you -I'd write 'em a letter about it!"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">V</p> - -<p>Venus, mysterious and cloud-obscured, rolled up like a rounded ghost -below them. They had approached from the extreme south polar side, and -there, Curt knew, lay the K'Yarthan Swamp—a vast unexplored region -some eight hundred miles across.</p> - -<p>As they entered the first strata of clouds a curtain of hot rain swept -about them, slashing across their ports and dissolving into vapor. Then -they broke through, and Curt felt his insides twisting up into cold -knots.</p> - -<p>The swamp was a festering sore across the planet. A miasmic nightmare -shrouded in viscous yellow fog that seemed alive as it curled up to -touch the low-lying clouds. Jeffers put into play a penetrant beam that -partly dissolved the fog. Lorine drove the ship relentlessly forward.</p> - -<p>They swept lower through membranous foliage and corrupted fungi-growth -reaching hundreds of feet high. There was a moment of terrible -uncertainty. Then Curt saw a clear space spreading out below. A -low-structured building occupied the exact center. Lorine set the craft -down with no more than a slight roll, then turned to the new men.</p> - -<p>"We have to wear protective suits here. You'll understand why. Jeffers -will show you how to get into them."</p> - -<p>The suits were of flexible beryllium-mesh, with tough rubberized -helmets fitting snugly around the neck. Curt noticed that the duroplast -face-plates were equipped with ingenious filter units.</p> - -<p>"When you leave the ship," Jeffers told them, "be fast! Just stay close -to me." The outer lock opened, they leaped to the ground and raced -toward the building.</p> - -<p>Curt knew instantly that the atmosphere was laden with millions of -microscopic spores. The heat was insufferable. He hadn't taken ten -steps, when sweat began trickling into the close-fitting collar. It -burned.</p> - -<p>He heard a sharp <i>zing</i> past his ear. Then another. Something struck -his meshed arm with enough force to half spin him around. He saw a -tiny, wickedly metallic beetle fastened in the mesh. More of them -struck him, and others sang past liked winged bullets, to flatten -against the building. He heard Rikert cry out.</p> - -<p>Lorine was at the building now, inserting a long triggered key. There -came a crackle of sparks and the door was open.</p> - -<p>"Welcome to Venus!" Jeffers said, as they flung themselves inside—then -he saw that Rikert was hit. One of the beetles had imbedded itself in -his wrist where he'd failed to fasten down the mesh garment.</p> - -<p>Jeffers tore it away, crushed it underfoot. He hurried to a wall -cabinet, came back with a box of evil-smelling unguent to spread over -the wound.</p> - -<p>"That'll heal soon. We must have stirred up a nest of those damned -<i>jung</i> beetles!"</p> - -<p>Curt sat down limply. Fire still burned in his lungs. So this was -K'Yarthan Swamp! He found it hard to believe that far to the north -were three hospitable continents with modern cities, verdant lands and -mountains rearing into clean air.</p> - -<p>Kueelo moved beside Curt and whispered, "No Tele-Magnum here, unless -<i>that's</i> one!"</p> - -<p>Curt followed his gaze. Lorine was unlocking a metal cabinet, but it -was definitely not a Tele-Magnum. A bank of curious power-tubes was -connected with sets of coils. The girl made several adjustments, the -tubes leaped into silver radiance and the coils sang a cadence that -ascended the scale beyond the audible.</p> - -<p>Curt came over to watch. Then he stepped to a window. In the fog -overhead he noticed a fine-laced canopy of wires. They came alive now, -singing gently and sending down a power that dispelled the fog until -only a faint obscurant mist remained.</p> - -<p>"How long do we stay here?"</p> - -<p>"Only tonight. Tomorrow we trek into the Swamp, but we have to wait for -the Phibians."</p> - -<p>"Phibians!" Curt stared at her.</p> - -<p>"Creatures who live deep in the Swamp," she explained. "We couldn't get -to where we're going without them."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The station was stocked with food in plasti-sealed containers. They -prepared their meal over a tiny atomic stove, and it was a welcome -repast for the men from Mercury Prison! When they had finished, Lorine -lost little time in explaining the set-up. "Now that we're here, you -men have every right to know what to expect. Our task isn't easy! But -we have the protective suits and weapons, the Phibians are friendly and -will guide us part of the way." She moved with quick little strides -about the room, as if impatient even at this brief delay. "You, Rikert. -You're still anxious to see George Landreth?"</p> - -<p>"Nothing I want more!"</p> - -<p>"Then stay alive! That's all I ask of any of you—to stay alive." She -paused. "You have questions. I'll answer them."</p> - -<p>Rikert asked the obvious question. "How do you know George Landreth is -here?"</p> - -<p>"Because he built this Station! Jeffers and I found it here just as you -see it. And I have other proof."</p> - -<p>"That's right," Jeffers nodded. "This Station is identical to the one -Landreth built at his secret base on Io. I was there with him a long -time, in fact I was second in command—" He hesitated.</p> - -<p>"Go on," Lorine waved a hand. "Tell them the story."</p> - -<p>"About three years ago," Jeffers said, "observers reported a strange -spaceship plunging in from the orbit of Pluto. Well, we watched it from -Io. And I can tell you this—it was travelling faster than anything we -had at the time—"</p> - -<p>Curt recalled the event. Astronomers had found it difficult to keep the -strange object in sight. Some said it wasn't a spacer at all, but a -meteor. Jeffers' voice went on:</p> - -<p>"When this thing neared Jupiter, the planet's gravity slowed it down. -We tried signalling it, but no answer. That's when Landreth determined -to go out and meet it! He was that kind of man! None of us wanted to -go with him—we'd braved many things in the spaceways, but this seemed -foolhardy. Landreth laughed at us. He would have gone alone, but -finally three of the men volunteered.</p> - -<p>"They set out in the fastest cruiser we had—and they never came back. -I never saw Landreth again."</p> - -<p>There was pounding excitement in Curt's brain. "I remember it now! This -ship, or whatever it was, escaped Jupiter's gravity. It accelerated -and plunged toward the sun. But you believe it crashed here, in the -K'Yarthan Swamp?"</p> - -<p>"Crashed, or else Landreth brought it safely here. We know, now, that -he didn't die."</p> - -<p>"My father escaped alive," Lorine nodded. "<i>Because I saw him once -shortly after this!</i>"</p> - -<p>Curt started. "You—saw him? You're sure it was <i>after</i>?"</p> - -<p>"Yes! He came to Earth. Understand, I hadn't seen my father since I -was fourteen, and he hadn't set foot on Earth in years." Her blue eyes -were haunted as she paced the room. "But he risked capture just to -come there and talk to me. He said it was extremely urgent that I find -Jeffers—and give him this!" She showed them a crude map of K'Yarthan -Swamp, with a route leading south. "He seemed strange and different. -Frightening! Not as I'd ever known him!"</p> - -<p>"Different? How?"</p> - -<p>"I—I can't explain it. He seemed under some stress. A terrible -urgency, as if he hadn't much time. Before I could question him, he was -gone!"</p> - -<p>"An urgency," Curt repeated. "An urgency to come back here!"</p> - -<p>"I'm sure of it. I set about finding Jeffers, and it took me months. -I finally located him on Ceres. We came here, made friends with the -Phibians, even went deep into the Swamp with them. But there's a place -miles from here beyond which <i>they</i> won't go. I'm sure my father is -there!" She paused. Anguish brimmed in her eyes. "Two people could -never make it, though. Together we might. We'll have to fight our way."</p> - -<p>Curt watched this girl in growing wonderment. By some strange alchemy -her mask of hardness was gone, something of pain and lost uncertainty -rose in her shadowed eyes. Curt found himself suddenly being glad she -wasn't criminal; at least she hadn't been with her father in the later -years! Then a thought fastened upon his mind like a patina. The girl -was guilty of removing criminals from Federation Prison! Such an act -was punishable by death, and Curt was an agent under direct orders of -DeHarries....</p> - -<p>He cursed inaudibly. What was happening to him? He had a far greater -mission here! He had stumbled upon one thread of DeHarries' <i>pattern</i>, -and it might result in unravelling the entire skein of monstrous events -which had plagued the planets for the past two years!</p> - -<p>"We'd better all get some sleep," Jeffers was saying. "Tomorrow'll be a -tough day, and I mean tough!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Curt tossed restlessly in his bunk. It wasn't the steady hum of the -ionization screen outside that kept him awake. He had a preternatural -awareness of something impending. He sat up, and saw that someone was -moving about.</p> - -<p>Curt swung himself silently to the floor, just as silently crossed the -room. It was Lorine. Curt saw the outer door open and close behind her.</p> - -<p>Quickly he followed. The jungle clearing was free of fog now. Lorine -was hurrying toward the spaceship. Curt followed her inside, then -forward to the control-room. He watched her manipulating the V-Panel. -Bits of outer space swept into view, together with pin-point gleams -that were stars. At last she centered on one. A tiny disc of bright -blue. It was Earth.</p> - -<p>She leaned forward, gazing at the screen. Curt was startled at the -clear-cut radiance of her face. He saw the glint of tears in her eyes, -and the lengthening glimmer of one that rolled down her check. He came -forward softly.</p> - -<p>"It is beautiful, isn't it?"</p> - -<p>"I miss Earth," she said simply, looking up.</p> - -<p>"All of us feel that, out here. A yearning to get back. But you—"</p> - -<p>"I've never been back. Not since I started searching for father, two -years ago." She turned her face to the screen, was silent for a moment. -"It must have been terrible for you, Curt Emmons. How long were you at -the Prison?"</p> - -<p>Curt started. It dawned on him that she still regarded him as one of -the regulation prisoners. But Jeffers knew better! There must be a -reason why he hadn't told her!</p> - -<p>"A long time," he answered her question. "Suppose we do find your -father," he said slowly. "His life is forfeit anywhere in the -Federation. I guess he and Jeffers will start their reign of outlawry -again—"</p> - -<p>Her face was troubled. "I suppose so, but I've got to find him, Curt! -He's in desperate trouble here, and he's still alive. I feel it!"</p> - -<p>Curt nodded. Then he was suddenly alert, as a sound reached his ears. -It came as a faint hum far above the jungle roof. The propulsion beam -of a spacer! It came louder and nearer. Curt raced for the outer lock, -stared up into a far-away patch of fog. For the merest instant the fog -eddied furiously, as a great bulk that seemed a silvery ghost flashed -through. Then it was gone, the deafening drone diminished.</p> - -<p>Curt whirled upon Lorine. Her face had gone white.</p> - -<p>"The other times you were here! Did you ever see a spacer?"</p> - -<p>"Never! I can't believe—"</p> - -<p>"Come on." He hurried back to the control-room, clicked off -the V-Panel, then began ripping away the wires leading to the -directional-finder.</p> - -<p>"Man, are you mad? What are you doing?"</p> - -<p>"That spacer was coming in for a landing, don't you understand? Here -in the Swamp! I'm going to find out where! Quick, bring me a tool-kit."</p> - -<p>She hurried to comply. In a few minutes Curt had the directional-finder -uncovered. Twin coils of thin, sensitized metal tape were revealed. -He unrolled one, stretched it across the room, attached it to the -terminals of the starboard magni-plates imbedded in the hull.</p> - -<p>"A little trick I once learned. The magni-plates act as a -sounding-board, the vibration is carried across this tape to the -finder, and recorded. If that ship hasn't landed yet we ought to get an -approximate position!"</p> - -<p>He clicked on the magni-plate feed. Powerful coils hummed, the tape -stretching across the room began to undulate gently.</p> - -<p>"We're getting something!" Curt hurried to the finder, turned it on. -The second metal tape began unwinding to a rear spool. A beryllium -needle scratched a continuous, wavering line along the sensitized -surface.</p> - -<p>"The spacer's still in flight," Lorine murmured.</p> - -<p>"It was heading due south. It's going to berth somewhere in the Swamp!" -For five minutes they watched the lengthening line, as the tape slowly -unrolled. Ten minutes. Then it stopped abruptly.</p> - -<p>"There we have it." Curt spun the tape carefully back into place. "We -can follow the route now!" He stared at her. "That ship must have come -down at least fifty miles from here! And we were going to fight our way -through this jungle?"</p> - -<p>"Jeffers and I flew over the Swamp dozens of times," she explained. -"We've criss-crossed it from one end to the other, without spotting a -single place to land! Except here." She examined the route on the tape, -excitement showing in her eyes. "But we'll try it again now. This will -save us days!"</p> - -<p>It was still a few hours until dawn, but there was no sleep for Curt -now. He'd had but the briefest glimpse of the mysterious spacer, but -one thing he was sure of. The sound. It hadn't been the sound of a -rocket-propelled ship!</p> - -<p>His mind went back to Carver of Perlac, found murdered in space, the -Frequency Tuner stolen. Curt was certain the silvery spacer he'd just -seen was powered by a Frequency Tuner!</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">VI</p> - -<p>"Never saw this done before, Emmons. It's a mighty cute trick!" Jeffers -examined the route on the finder-tape. "But how does this guide us?"</p> - -<p>"You'll see. We set up a circuit and run this directly to the -rocket-feeds! We can't go astray."</p> - -<p>At last all was ready. With Lorine again at the controls, the spacer -rose into the heavy shrouding clouds. It was ticklish business, and -Curt admired the way she upped gravs.</p> - -<p>Here there was no dawn. Morning had come as a mere paling of the mists, -but hot rain blanketed them as the little spacer drove forward.</p> - -<p>Tor Ekkov began an endless, nervous pacing, but Curt and the others -huddled over the tape, watching its undeviating movement. In a matter -of minutes, Curt realized, they'd reach the place where the unknown -spacer had berthed. Perhaps it were best if they didn't set down too -near—</p> - -<p>Within ten minutes their guiding tape had nearly run its course. Curt -hurried to Lorine, spoke something, and she nodded. They began the -descent, broke through an under-strata of clouds and were speeding over -a limitless expanse of vegetation.</p> - -<p>Curt began to understand what Lorine meant. Nowhere could he see a -break in the corrupted fungi-growth and giant, spiked ferns that -reached above the blanketing steam. Some of those ferns were large -enough to impale a spacer!</p> - -<p>But luck was with them. As they began a criss-crossing route Curt spied -a thinning area through the haze. A narrow, slate-dark opening appeared -in the jungle roof, deep and straight as though made by the slice of a -giant hand.</p> - -<p>Steadying in its course, the ship nosed toward it. There was little -room to spare. A yellowish-green gloom engulfed them as they levelled -off with a thrust of underhull rockets. Mud and matted vegetation -sprayed high about the ports. They sloughed to a stop.</p> - -<p>"Nice landing," Curt commented.</p> - -<p>"Any landing here is a nice one," Lorine said wryly. She glanced at the -totally dark ports. "I wonder if we're below the Swamp! Jeffers, turn -off those rocket-feeds!"</p> - -<p>Once more they donned the protective suits and helmets. Lorine opened a -locker, handed each of them an electro pistol.</p> - -<p>"I'll feel better with this," Jeffers said grimly, lifting a long -duralloy cylinder with a lens-covered bore. "Radiant-gun," he -explained. "Transforms matter into radiant energy, by an instantaneous -stripping of electrons. Landreth used to have these at Io Base, but I -worked out this smaller model myself."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>They stepped down into soft, glutinous muck. Vision stopped five yards -away. Curt expected the gloom to come alive with motion and sound and -unseen terrors, but there was none of that here. A terrible quiet -enfolded them.</p> - -<p>The matted-walled chasm seemed to extend interminably. They proceeded -along it, finding their vision gradually improved. Curt hurried -forward, stayed close beside the girl.</p> - -<p>"You mentioned something about a region where these—these Phibians -wouldn't go. Did you ever find out why?"</p> - -<p>Lorine nodded. "They claimed that far in the Swamp was a god that spoke -to them! They were afraid of it."</p> - -<p>"Spoke to them?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. With the voice that has no sound. Warning them back."</p> - -<p>Curt was startled. "The voice that has no sound. Telepathy! But it's -strange we've felt nothing!"</p> - -<p>There was no sight or sound of a living thing, but hot blasts of wind -from above brought a miasmic swamp odor. It became almost an opiate to -their senses.</p> - -<p>Curt noticed the tangled walls on either side were beginning to widen -away. And there was something else, as he felt his mind preternaturally -alert despite the cloying odors. He imagined he felt the faintest -thought-impression impinging on him, subtle and eerie, almost a feeling -of being under surveillance. He glanced about at the others. They were -feeling it too.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the loom of jungle broke. They emerged into a downward sloping -place that seemed all swamp; a vast circular area black and quiescent, -with jungle rising on all sides. Descending toward it, they noticed a -vague glistening shape protruding just above the area of muck.</p> - -<p>"The spacer!" Tor Ekkov exclaimed. "Must be the one you saw, Emmons—it -crashed here!"</p> - -<p>Curt peered closer, then shook his head. He pointed out greenish swamp -tendrils entwining over and about the hull, mute evidence of time.</p> - -<p>"It's a spacer all right," Jeffers was taut with excitement. "It's the -one Landreth boarded near Io, three years ago! By all that's holy, -we've found it!" They could only make out the stern, but the very size -of it indicated that the rest of the hull must be gigantic, far beneath -the primordial ooze.</p> - -<p>Lorine clutched at Curt's arm, pointing. The Swamp moved. The black -surface was surging up in a horrible turgid mass. In one place and -then another, dark tentacles broke the surface. A central body began -to emerge, huge and bulbous beyond belief! It was octopoid—ghastly -and gelatinous, the body itself some fifty feet across, with tentacles -sprawling the entire diameter of the swamp. It pulled its greenish-gray -shape toward the protruding stern of the spacer. Like an ominous -guardian it draped itself entirely around and over the polished hull. -There it lay, pulsing gently, lord of all it surveyed.</p> - -<p>And it surveyed them well! Curt found himself staring into -orange-tinted eyes a yard in diameter. Clammy uneasiness took hold of -him. Those eyes were bright and alert with meaning!</p> - -<p>Curt felt overtones across his mind, saw Rikert's hand flash to his -electro. But never reached it. A huge tentacle lashed out. Curt fell -prone as it slashed over his head, Rikert ducked away too—but the -tentacle seized Jeffers, tightened, lifted him in a sweeping arc.</p> - -<p>The others hurried out of danger as more tentacles lashed out. Curt -rolled from beneath one of them, threw up an arm against another, and -felt his arm go numb from the impact. He stumbled over the radiant -cylinder which Jeffers had let fall. Curt seized it, took careful aim.</p> - -<p>Radiant energy, Jeffers had said. The beam that lashed from the -lens-covered bore was radiant indeed, and it saved Jeffers' life! Curt -slashed it squarely across the octopoid bulk and across the eyes. -They blanked out in a flash of disorganized electrons. Jeffers came -plummeting down, scrambled to safety as Curt swept the radiant beam -with devastating effect. In a matter of minutes the haughty guardian of -the swamp ceased to move ... then a strange thing happened.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p><i>Curt swept the radiant beam with devastating effect.</i></p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>From the tangle of disrupted flesh and shredded integument, a tiny -globule of light rose lazily up. Electric-blue, sentient, scarcely a -few inches in diameter, it hung poised and gently pulsing.</p> - -<p>Rikert took careful aim. Curt whirled, knocked his hand aside. "Don't -fire! I want to see where it goes!"</p> - -<p>Seeming to lose interest in them, the light drifted, still pulsing, -toward the far edge of the swamp. There seemed to be a clearing of -some sort. Suddenly the strange light dipped toward the ground and -disappeared.</p> - -<p>"Should've let me take a shot at that thing," Rikert growled.</p> - -<p>"That was an intelligent entity! It may lead us to something."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>They circled the swamp area in the direction the light had taken. -There was still an eeriness about the place, a brooding overtone they -couldn't shake off. At last they reached the opposite side, saw a -smooth aisle extending into the jungle. But that's not what brought -them up short, staring.</p> - -<p>A hundred yards beyond was a milky-white mistiness reaching from wall -to jungle wall. And this was not Venusian fog! It remained quiescent. -An unearthly blue radiance seemed to shine beyond, giving an impression -of vast distance.</p> - -<p>Curt said brusquely, "Wait here. Keep out of sight!"</p> - -<p>He hurried forward, keeping to the tangled jungle wall wherever -possible. As he neared the barrier, it tended toward a -semi-translucence. The bluish light beyond seemed to have no source, -and Curt had the impression of a vast grotto that reached interminably -above, curving away into the fog.</p> - -<p>Now he could see vague outlines beyond, towering and bulky. Other -shapes moved about, appearing to Curt as shadows seen through faintly -frosted glass.</p> - -<p>"Buildings—and people!" Undoubtedly, the silver spacer had come here; -there was probably an overhead entrance. Curt moved closer, and heard -the faintest murmur of sound beyond, as of men and machines at work.</p> - -<p>Excitement caught at his brain. Now he knew, with sharp certainty, that -he'd found the thing that DeHarries and other planetary leaders were -seeking! Only for some inimical purpose would men, whoever they were, -band together in so secret and inaccessible spot as K'Yarthan Swamp! -Curt examined the barrier. It was some sort of power screen; he felt a -dangerous radiation that decided him against trying his electro on it. -He hurried back to the others.</p> - -<p>"Can't tell how far it extends," he told them. "It's an Electronic -Curtain, that's for sure! And there are men and buildings behind it."</p> - -<p>"We've got to find an entrance somewhere." A terrible grimness took -hold of Lorine, as she thought of her father. But Curt shook his head -doubtfully.</p> - -<p>"If we tried our electros on it—" This came from Tor Ekkov, and Curt -laughed mirthlessly.</p> - -<p>"Sure, you try that, if you're tired of your present identity. It would -turn you into a billion disorganized electrons!"</p> - -<p>"I have an idea." Lorine turned back to the swamp edge. She stood -pondering, staring at the stern of the alien spacer. "How far would you -say that goes beneath the surface?"</p> - -<p>They saw her meaning, as she pointed out the angle of the stern. The -spacer was gigantic, and the other end should almost certainly reach -somewhere beneath the Electronic Curtain!</p> - -<p>They set to work at once. By strewing thick foliage across the mud they -formed a path that bore their weight. With electros at pencil-thin -sharpness, they began on the spacer hull.</p> - -<p>The metal was strange and tough, uncorrosive. Its atomic structure -resisted. But after a long while it began to soften, then to melt away -in radiant froth. A circular section gave way, fell slowly inward. -Flash-beams revealed a long empty corridor sloping gently down.</p> - -<p>A kind of grill-work along the floor gave them foothold as they passed -slowly along the central corridor. Gradually it widened out. They saw -row upon row of arched cross-corridors, with walls curving far overhead -into interlacing spans and beams. Ceiling globes of green radiance cast -a macabre glow along their route.</p> - -<p>If George Landreth had boarded this spacer, there was no evidence of -it now! They walked on, staring around at the widening walls that sent -back solemn echoes of their footsteps. The ship was a colossus! Curt -was estimating that they'd come a good quarter of a mile already, when -they reached a bulwark directly across the corridor.</p> - -<p>The wall was massive, coppery, engraven with thousands of inter-twining -figures. Rikert raised his electro to burn a way through, but Lorine -stopped him.</p> - -<p>"We'd best save our weapons! They're already weak."</p> - -<p>Good advice, Curt thought grimly. They were rushing headlong into -trouble. It was Tor Ekkov at last who found the mechanism, a row of -tiny hidden studs. There came a faint droning sound as he fumbled at -them. Then slowly, ponderously, the entire wall slid upward.</p> - -<p>Weapons held in readiness, they waited. But no motion or sound came -from beyond. They stepped through, found themselves in a vast circular -room so startling in its content that they were held taut in amazement.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Here were machines, of every sort and description, every size and -purpose. Bewildering units which somehow, seemed to form a definite -pattern. Rows of them stood against the circular wall. Tier upon tier -of switchboards, coils, banks of tubes, reached to the ceiling.</p> - -<p>Here, Curt knew, was the spacer's central control! But close -examination showed that much of this equipment was smashed irreparably. -The forward wall itself was crumpled and twisted. Then Curt noticed -many bank niches about the wall, indicating that some of the machines -had been removed. He frowned at that.</p> - -<p>Tor caught Curt's eye. The Martian was standing before a towering -instrument. It was alien too, but there was something familiar in the -arrangement of the huge power-tubes and the coils leading up to a -faceted screen.</p> - -<p>"Tele-Magnum!" Tor whispered fiercely. "Or something mighty similar! -Seems to work on the same etheric principle that we—"</p> - -<p>Curt cut him short. Despite everything, Tor had but one thought in -mind—getting his voice through to Mars!</p> - -<p>"There's another door over here!" Rikert called.</p> - -<p>The only mechanism on this door was a two-inch disc that swung back to -reveal a small opening, interlaced with silver wires. Then, in a rack -near by, Jeffers spied a tiny metal tube. He lifted it out gingerly.</p> - -<p>"Take a chance," Lorine nodded. "This may be the exit we're looking -for."</p> - -<p>Jeffers aimed the tube into the opening. A beam of red light lanced -through the wires. They heard a faint ripple of music, then a soft -whirr as the door swung back.</p> - -<p>It was no exit, however. They stared into a room where hundreds of -crystalline coffins reposed, row upon row. They were cube-like, perhaps -two feet in dimension. Within each cubicle was a drift of almost -colorless substance which might have been either fluid or gaseous.</p> - -<p>But what held their gaze were the things deep within the substance!</p> - -<p>They were globules, gelatinous, tear-dropped in shape with the tapering -ends down. They gently swayed and pulsed, and deep within them could -be seen a central core of <i>electric-blue</i> with an interlacing of tiny -filaments.</p> - -<p>"They're in some sort of suspended animation!" Curt took a step into -the room. A feeling of incredible age was about the place. Curt walked -between row after row of the cubicles, making closer examination of -the strange life-forms. Beyond all doubt, these were identical to the -pulsing globe of light which had emerged from the body of the octopoid -creature!</p> - -<p>"Emmons, come back," Lorine called from the door. "I—I don't think -this place is safe!"</p> - -<p>Curt didn't think so either. They returned to the room of machines, -closing the door carefully. Lorine stared around, perplexed.</p> - -<p>"There must be an exit somewhere!"</p> - -<p>"Quite right, young lady. And now that you are here, I'll be glad to -show you."</p> - -<p>It was a strange, mocking voice that came from behind them. They -whirled about, peering into the shadows.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>From a little alcove beneath a tier of machines stepped an Earthman. He -was tall, young, blond. Four electros swung instantly up to cover him.</p> - -<p>Only Curt didn't hold an electro, and now he snapped, "Put those guns -away!" He peered again. "I know this man!"</p> - -<p>The stranger's smile vanished. Puzzlement came across his face as he -turned gray eyes upon Curt. He seemed searching his mind, trying to -recall something deeply imbedded in the matrix of the past.</p> - -<p>"Robert Frane," Curt said. "Good lord, man, don't you recognize me? -Curt Emmons! You knew me at Government Spacer School—"</p> - -<p>"Robert Frane ... yes. That is my name." It seemed an effort for him to -recall it. It was apparent he didn't recognize Curt. Curt gave it up -for the moment, studying him, wondering at the strange, puzzled look of -the man. Frane spoke in clipped phrases.</p> - -<p>"You killed our guardian. Of course. That's how we became aware of your -presence. But how could you have known of this place? How did you come -here?"</p> - -<p>"We'll ask the questions, Earthman!" A strength seemed to rise in -Lorine as she came a step forward, eyes blazing, electro held high. "Is -George Landreth here? Answer me that!"</p> - -<p>"George ... Landreth." Again that strangeness about Frane, a shadow -across the eyes. "I believe that such a one is here."</p> - -<p>"Then you will take us to him. At once!"</p> - -<p>"Presently," the man contradicted. "Just now I will take your weapons, -please. All of them." It was not so much a command as a statement, -seeming so ridiculous that a loud guffaw come from Rikert. Lorine came -forward, not smiling, and thrust the electro hard against Frane's side.</p> - -<p>"Enough of this talk. Your choice! Take us at once to George Landreth -or I'll blast you here and now!"</p> - -<p>The man seemed unconcerned. "That you will never do. Look about you."</p> - -<p>From beneath the machines a dozen men had silently entered the room. -They were unarmed, except for the nets they carried—nets that flowed -as if woven of fire.</p> - -<p>"Magna-webs!" gasped Lorine. "Back, <i>back</i> Curt!"</p> - -<p>But she was too late. Before Curt and the others could react to her -panicked words, the strange men flung the nets at them. They only -lifted their arms and released the magna-webs, which floated through -the air with deceptive swiftness.</p> - -<p>Curt grabbed Lorine to hurl her back. And then the glowing nets settled -over their shoulders, the fiery strands sending numbing tingles deep -into their flesh. Curt tried to reach his electro, but his hand was -nerveless. Scalpels of fire sliced through his brain. He felt a vast -tiredness in the instant before a rushing darkness came.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It could only have been minutes. Curt found himself struggling up, -fighting against a numbness that clung to his limbs. He saw Lorine and -the others stagger erect. Frane's men were confiscating the weapons.</p> - -<p>"I hope you will not make this necessary again," Frane said without -emotion. "Believe me, it could be fatal."</p> - -<p>Curt believed him. He set his lips grimly. Without further ado, the -newcomers were hurried through one of the secret exits. Tor Ekkov gave -a last, longing look at the Tele-Magnum device.</p> - -<p>They passed through a long, illuminated corridor with walls of shining -substance, leading directly away from the prow of the alien spaceship. -Curt forced his way ahead to walk beside Frane.</p> - -<p>"You're Robert Frane, all right," Curt glanced at the man's face. "Sure -you don't remember me, Frane?"</p> - -<p>The man turned colorless eyes upon Curt. A shrug was in his voice. "I -may have known you once."</p> - -<p>Curt gave it up. He turned his mind to that terrible combined potential -which had struck them down. These men were possessed of a power that -was more than telepathic. The octopoid creature had been telepathic -too. Curt recalled the strange life-form rising from the mangled body -of the octopoid, and the hundreds of similar life-forms inside the -spacer. A truth was dawning that left Curt numb with horror.</p> - -<p>He let his hand brush the bare forearm of the man walking next to him. -He felt a faint tingling through his fingertips that was something more -than electrical.</p> - -<p>A car awaited them, its dark blue hull gleaming and translucent. They -crowded in. A propulsion beam hummed, and they rose straight up with -sickening speed.</p> - -<p>Again Curt spoke to Frane, "Where are you taking us?"</p> - -<p>"To our Leader! The Zemmd!" Emotion came into Frane's voice, a tone of -such awe that Curt was startled.</p> - -<p>"The Zemmd," Curt repeated, not liking the sound of it. The car came to -a halt. The door slid smoothly back.</p> - -<p>They stepped into an area aglow with a gentle radiance, ineffably -blue as a summer day on Earth. Curt glanced around. They were beneath -the Electronic Curtain! It reached above them in a shallow dome of -indeterminate diameter. The clang of metal on metal reached their ears, -and a faint sound of atomic furnaces. A few buildings were seen, and -groups of men at work—Martians and Jovians, Venusians and Earthmen -alike.</p> - -<p>The captives were hurried toward a central domed building that towered -above the others. Before they quite reached it, Tor stopped dead in -his tracks. Across his face came an indescribable look of hate as he -uttered a word. A name.</p> - -<p>"Jal Tagar!"</p> - -<p>A group of men had come from a nearby building, and among them was Jal -Tagar, the Martian Overlord! In that split second of recognition a -bitter taste of hate seemed to rise up in Kueelo. He would have leaped -forward. Only Curt's fierce grip held him back.</p> - -<p>Impatiently, Frane motioned them on. They entered the central building, -passed into a huge circular chamber that seemed alive with a violet -color reaching from floor to ceiling and wall to wall. Here there was -utter stillness. Even the floor was soft and cushionly, absorbing the -sound of their entrance.</p> - -<p>Frane and his men seemed waiting for something. As their eyes became -slowly adapted to this room they saw a patch of deeper color across the -far wall. It moved. Gradually it changed size and shape. Purposeful, -deliberate, it drifted slowly up. Then, somehow, as if by a mental as -well as visual perception, they saw it clearly.</p> - -<p>Here was a super creation, huge and wondrous beyond belief! The thought -leaped instantly to Curt's mind. It was more than mere color. It seemed -composed of thousands of the smaller, radiant tear-drop shapes, yet a -complete entity in itself and infinitely more alive! Beyond doubt it -was self-created, could add or subtract from itself at will. Here was -the thing Frane had referred to so reverently as the Zemmd!</p> - -<p>Spinning, gently pulsing with some inner sentience, it was a thing of -horror yet surpassing beauty. It drifted toward them. It probed at them -with fingers of violet light.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Frane and his men threw themselves to the floor in an attitude of -worship. The sight disgusted Curt. No doubt remained now! Inwardly they -were as alien as the composite thing drifting there above them. It went -beyond mere worship. Here was an undeniable <i>affinity</i>!</p> - -<p>Rikert was muttering. Then he acted with the stupid bravado of his -kind. He flung himself toward one of the prone men, grabbed an electro -and whirled toward the drifting bulk. Lorine screamed a warning, a -shrill lance of sound in the soundless room.</p> - -<p>For the merest instant the great radiant shape tumbled back. Almost, is -seemed afraid. Then it came drifting forward, fast, swirling angrily. -In a blur of motion Curt whirled upon Rikert, swung a heavy fist to the -man's jaw. Rikert dropped to the floor, and Curt kicked the gun from -his hand.</p> - -<p>Zemmd's drifting bulk paused, as if surveying this scene with some -inner faculty. Slowly the radiant anger died away. Rikert came up from -the floor, muttering balefully, and Curt gripped his arm.</p> - -<p>"Quiet, you fool! If you value your lives, don't move, any of you!"</p> - -<p>But the entity seemed to have lost interest in them, for the moment at -least. Its probing light resolved into a blanket of soft color that -reached down to encompass Frane and the others. The men came to their -feet. Now they seemed in mental <i>rapport</i>, doubtless recounting the -story of these newcomers.</p> - -<p>Then a part of the light focussed, reached out. Curt steeled himself -against it. It was cold but not unpleasant. It merely brushed over -them, clung for a moment, then drew away. Curt had the fleeting -impression that it was dismissing them because it knew, already, all -there was to know about their basic life-principle and their science as -well!</p> - -<p>Curt was almost sorry. He would have liked to study this entity more. -But the thing drew a veil of deepest purple about itself and drifted -back into the dim recesses of the chamber. Once more Frane and his men -made obeisance, then herded the captives from the building.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>They were taken this time across the compound, away from the area where -the work was going on. Curt noticed that most of the activity centered -around one particular building. He wondered if the silver spaceship -he'd seen could be there! Like a jig-saw puzzle, the reason for all -this activity was beginning to take shape in his mind.</p> - -<p>He flashed his companions a warning look, said tentatively to Frane, -"What happens to us now?"</p> - -<p>Frane answered him obliquely. "Already we are aware of all that led to -your coming here. It is unfortunate. There must be no interruption of -our plans now—so I think you will become a part of us."</p> - -<p>Curt had a pretty clear picture of what becoming a "part" of them -meant! To have one of the radiant life-forms somehow enter his body, -take possession of his mind until all that was individualistic, all -that was Curt Emmons, would be gone! To be under the encompassing -control of that entity they called the Zemmd! It was evident that every -man here, Earthman or Martian or Jovian, was merely a controlled unit. -But for what ultimate purpose? Curt felt a chill along his spine as he -remembered the hundreds of alien forms waiting patiently, in suspended -animation....</p> - -<p>Tor's voice, bitter with hate, broke upon his tumult of thoughts. -"Become a part of you—just as Jal Tagar did? A traitor to everything -that we—"</p> - -<p>"You have no choice," Frane replied in cold, unhuman tones. "Every man -here is part and substance of the great Zemmd. Just as the sum and -total of all that is in your brains will become a part of him." He -turned his gaze upon Rikert. "Even this one, who sought to defy the -Zemmd, will become a part."</p> - -<p>"Yeah? We'll see about that!" Rikert laughed unpleasantly.</p> - -<p>They were silent then, under the watchful guidance of Frane and his -men. Once more they were taken below the level of the compound, then -ushered into a plainly furnished room.</p> - -<p>"You will not lack for comfort," Frane said, "but you must remain here -until time for the transition. I promise it will be soon!" There was -pride in his tone, as though conferring a great honor upon them. He -employed a metal device in the arched doorway. A sheet of crackling -color passed across it, effectively barring the entrance.</p> - -<p>Rikert leaped forward in a last effort, but a searing heat from the -barrier stopped him. Bitterly he turned back.</p> - -<p>"Fine thing, Emmons! If you'd let me blast that hunk of brain-trust -when I had the chance—"</p> - -<p>"You'd be dead now, and the rest of us with you! Can't you ungroove -that brain of yours, Rikert?"</p> - -<p>Rikert surged forward, fists clenched, but Jeffers stepped between the -men.</p> - -<p>"I don't know, Emmons," Jeffers said slowly. "I think Rikert had the -thing scared there for a minute. Didn't you notice the way it moved -back from the electro—"</p> - -<p>"It was a darn fool thing to try, and this kind of talk isn't helping -us!" Curt turned abruptly, began examining the room.</p> - -<p>Walls, floor and ceiling seemed to be of solid-hewed stone with no -break of any kind. The arched doorway failed to reveal the source of -the radiant barrier; it was electronic, Curt was sure.</p> - -<p>Lorine was a pitiful figure, despair making an unreal mask of her face. -All the fine courage that had carried her this far, seemed to fail her -now.</p> - -<p>Once more Tor hummed the high-pitched aria which Curt hadn't heard -since they left Mercury. The tune seemed to sustain the little Martian -in times of trouble. Jeffers and Rikert were aimless automatons pacing -the room.</p> - -<p>Curt sank down and let despair wash over him. Yet a thought, -half-formed, struggled to emerge from the recesses of his mind; -something he had noticed about that entity, Zemmd; an idea that danced -away as he sought to remember.</p> - -<p>He couldn't quite grasp it. It was maddening.</p> - -<p>Such a weariness of body and mind came upon Curt that he fell into a -fitful sleep. His last conscious thought was of the sentient entity, of -which they were to become a part.</p> - -<p>All would be over then.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Curt dreamed. A great arctic wind, alive as if with a snapping -intelligence, seemed to roar about his huddled carcass. Far away a -door whispered open and closed with a sigh. A stranger seemed to have -entered the room, a great towering figure with silvery hair, who stood -looking down at them and then paced away in the gloom like the going of -a breeze.</p> - -<p>Curt rolled over, mumbling in his sleep.</p> - -<p>The wind crept back like a padding cat, whispering in his ears. It -resolved itself into a voice, a human voice very real and urgent. Curt -sat up abruptly. This was no dream, the towering stranger was still -there.</p> - -<p>Somehow he had passed through the electronic curtain across the -doorway....</p> - -<p>Curt leaped to his feet as he recognized George Landreth.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">VII</p> - -<p>The others came quickly awake. Lorine stared, then with a sob threw -herself into her father's arms. Landreth comforted her, his face -twisting strangely. He had aged greatly, Curt knew, he was still a -dominant figure of a man.</p> - -<p>"Why did you do it, child, why?" Landreth spoke with a great effort. -"You should never have come here!"</p> - -<p>Startled, Jeffers was staring at the electronic barrier. "Man, you came -through that curtain! How is it done?"</p> - -<p>Rikert said fiercely, "Are you one of these things, too?"</p> - -<p>"I'm one of them, heaven help me, but soon I won't be! You must listen -carefully now. I haven't much time!" Landreth paced the room with great -uneven strides, face still twisting, his voice coming with an effort.</p> - -<p>"They call themselves <i>Energons</i>. Their life-principle is ionized -protoplasm, that's as near as I can describe it! They subsist on the -energy-source fields that originate within all planetary bodies. -Electric, magnetic, gravitic, call it what you will. They left their -System, far beyond Pluto, because it's in a state of disintegration for -lack of the energy-magnetic source—" Landreth's features had gone pale -and tight, as if some ghastly struggle were occurring within him.</p> - -<p>"I and three others boarded their ship. It drove toward the sun ... we -couldn't stop it. We barely managed to bring it to a crash, here. In -the crash some of the <i>Energons</i> were released, they took possession of -our unconscious bodies ... and they evolved their plan ... they must -be stopped!" With a great effort Landreth managed to hold his body -erect.</p> - -<p>Curt's mind raced. He saw the rest. Landreth and his three men were -only the beginning. <i>Through them, completely Energon-dominated, the -net had spread!</i> Other men had been captured out of space and brought -here. The <i>Energon</i> life-forms had been taken secretly to other -planets, to seize upon bodies, and bring them into <i>Energon</i> control! -The plan had taken two years, but they had selected well. Jal Tagar of -Mars had been reached, and doubtless others among the highest officials -and scientists in the Federation! This explained it all, the growing -havoc and sabotage—</p> - -<p>Curt saw the ghastly pattern, then he saw Landreth collapse against the -wall as if all strength were being drained from him. Lorine hurried to -his side, but Landreth waved her away.</p> - -<p>"No, child, don't worry about me now! Heaven knows I've hated Earth.... -I've done some terrible things in my time ... but nothing so terrible -as allowing these creatures to get foothold here...." He pulled himself -erect. "Jeffers! Has the Federation plunged into war?"</p> - -<p>It was Curt who answered. "They're on the verge of it!"</p> - -<p>"That is their plan. Already they have the secret of all our weapons. -They have the Venus allotropic metal. They have the Frequency Tuner! -With it, they can return to their System and be back here within a -year! They'll bring hundreds of thousands of <i>Energons</i>.... They hope -we'll be at war ... our planets will be easy pickings!"</p> - -<p>"The silver spacer!" Curt snapped. "They're leaving in it?"</p> - -<p>"In a few days. The Frequency Tuner has been installed! Some of the men -took it for a test flight yesterday." Again Landreth staggered, as if -fighting a battle within. "The spacer is well guarded, but I might get -you weapons ... as for me...."</p> - -<p>"Then hurry, man!" It was Rikert, eager. "Just let me get my hands on -an electro again!"</p> - -<p>"Two of you come with me."</p> - -<p>Curt and Rikert stepped forward. Landreth looked at his daughter as -if there was much more he wanted to say. But there wasn't time. He -held her close for a moment, then thrust her away. "Take care of her, -Jeffers!"</p> - -<p>Lorine's eyes were red-rimmed, as if she knew she'd never see her -father alive again. They all knew it.</p> - -<p>Landreth inserted a three-pronged device near the doorway. The curtain -vanished. The three men stepped through, and Landreth tossed the key -back to Jeffers.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Curt observed the man closely, as they reached a car which sped them -toward the compound above. Landreth seemed drawing upon his last -energy-reserves. Curt wondered how the man kept going! And if he was -<i>Energon</i> controlled, why had he come to help them?</p> - -<p>"The <i>tsith-drug</i>," Landreth gasped, as if sensing Curt's wonderment. -"It allows you to regain your identity ... but only briefly. I didn't -want Lorine to know ... that I'm dying!"</p> - -<p>Curt was aghast. Only Callistans could withstand the ravages of this -drug, and eventually it destroyed even them. Landreth must have taken -enough to kill two ordinary men! Now the <i>Energon</i> force within him -was regaining control. Tiny particles of light came from his bare face -and hands, similar to radium disintegration seen under a powerful -microscope.</p> - -<p>"Landreth! Will electros kill these men?"</p> - -<p>"The Earthian bodies—yes. But not the <i>Energons</i>. Watch out ... for -the potential! That one they call the Zemmd ... there is no—" His -words were suddenly cut off as he clutched at his throat. Their car -reached the upper level. Here the pervading blue had deepened to a -simulation of night, but still they heard the sounds of work going on.</p> - -<p>"Hurry, man! The weapons first!" Rikert was urging.</p> - -<p>Landreth nodded. Even that was an effort for him now. He seemed -suffering untold tortures. Supporting Landreth between them, they -neared a low-structured building which he indicated. But Landreth fell. -He was a dead weight in their grasp, then he crumpled to the ground.</p> - -<p>"The spaceship—wait until—" He tried to say more, but the words came -slurred and unnatural.</p> - -<p>They left Landreth there, hurried on to the building he had pointed -out. They pushed into a large shadowy room. It seemed a storeroom for -tools, as well as strange machines similar to those in the smashed -<i>Energon</i> spacer.</p> - -<p>"Here they are!" Rikert spied the weapons, apparently the same ones -Frane had taken from them. These <i>Energon</i>-controlled men were so -contemptuous of Earth weapons that these had been tossed aside! "What -next? Try and get to that spacer?"</p> - -<p>"Too many men about! We'll have to wait." Curt felt that was what -Landreth had tried to tell him. Rikert grumbled; with an electro in his -hand he felt he could overcome any obstacle. Remembering Lorine and the -others, Curt thrust three electros in his belt and cradled the lensed -radiant-gun. They hurried from the room.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Landreth was dead. But now, with a feeling of danger, Curt suddenly -straightened away from the body. It glowed, as if from a weird inner -aura! The aura seemed to coalesce, take definite form. An <i>Energon</i> -emerged directly upward from the earthly remains! Spinning, crackling -angrily, it hung poised for a mere instant then darted straight at the -two men.</p> - -<p>With an oath, Rikert swung his electro up and sent a charge at the -six-inch globe. It connected, sent the thing buffeting back—but that -was all. It swept beneath the beam and darted upon Rikert. It fastened -just below his throat. Rikert screamed, clutched at the vibrant shape, -but his fingers seemed to sink through it. Then the <i>Energon</i> was -gone—had completely entered his body!</p> - -<p>The event was so swift that Curt stood numbed with horror. To fire -would have meant hitting Rikert. Now Curt saw the man stiffen, saw the -startled expression leave his eyes. A queer emotion rippled across -Rikert's features ... then he whirled upon Curt, the electro uplifted.</p> - -<p>"Rikert, you fool!" Curt's cry was instinctive as he flung himself -aside. The electro-beam passed so close to his face he could feel the -swirling heat of it.</p> - -<p>"Rikert—" But Rikert was no longer Earthian, he was <i>Energon</i>! The -thought stabbed at Curt even as he brought the radiant beam around in -a swift arc. It slashed across Rikert's body. A sickness rose within -Curt, but it was his life or Rikert's now! He held the beam fast, saw -Rikert go down in a mass of disintegrant flame. In seconds it was all -over. Curt waited tensely, but this time there was no sign of the -<i>Energon</i> form.</p> - -<p>Could the radiant beam have destroyed it too? But here was no time -for speculation. Through the deepening gloom he saw a group of men -approaching. If they'd seen the flash of the gun—</p> - -<p>Curt seized what was left of Rikert's body, shuddering as it seemed to -fall apart in his hands. But he managed to drag it into the building's -shadow, then did the same with Landreth's. The men were coming nearer. -Curt crouched back in the shadows, gun ready. They passed him by, -heading toward some rough stone buildings that apparently served as -barracks.</p> - -<p>Now other men were heading toward the barracks, as the sound of work -died away. Apparently they needed rest, despite the <i>Energon</i> forces. -Curt peered toward the central building where the Zemmd reposed. Did it -sleep too? Curt doubted that. At all costs they must avoid the supernal -power of the thing!</p> - -<p>He remembered Frane's words, "You will become a part of us; I promise -it will be soon."</p> - -<p>He must get back to the others! Curt waited until the way seemed clear, -then darted across the compound to where Landreth had left the car. -Seconds later he was descending to the lower corridors.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>A glow from the electron curtain showed him the room. Curt raced -forward, a single thought hammering at him now. They had weapons! It -meant a fighting chance, if they could avoid the thing that happened to -Rikert....</p> - -<p>Then Curt stopped. The curtain still crackled across the doorway, an -impenetrable barrier. But he heard Jeffers' voice.</p> - -<p>"I tell you it's true! Emmons is an official agent of Earth government. -Suppose we do pull out of this, what'll your life be worth? He'll take -you back for trial—" A pause, then:</p> - -<p>"That spacer is allotropic metal! And we'd have the Frequency -Tuner—think of it! We could build up the organization again, you and -I, Lorine. We know all the secret bases, and how your father operated. -He'd want you to go on, Lorine—"</p> - -<p>Through the rage that rose up to choke him, Curt called out to them. -He saw the blurred figure of Jeffers move toward the door, then the -curtain vanished as Jeffers used the key. Curt stepped quickly inside.</p> - -<p>"So that's your game, Jeffers! Back to space-piracy, and you think -you'll use the spacer the <i>Energons</i> have built here! You'd even talk -Lorine into it with you."</p> - -<p>Jeffers' dark face creased in the barest semblance of a smile.</p> - -<p>"Landreth told me to take care of her, didn't he? After all, she used -to be part of our crew, and before I see <i>you</i> take her back for -trial—"</p> - -<p>Curt turned to the girl, spoke softly.</p> - -<p>"Your father is dead, Lorine. I'm sorry." He saw her features tighten. -She seemed a mere automation, beyond all emotion or grief. Jeffers -had taken advantage of this in trying to talk her into his plan. Curt -touched one of the electros at his waist.</p> - -<p>"I should burn you!" he told Jeffers in a cold, tight voice, and -Jeffers went pale. "As it is, we're a hell of a way from being out -of this spot, and we'll need you! We'll have to make a try for that -spacer." He tossed an electro to Jeffers, handed one to Lorine.</p> - -<p>"What happened to Rikert?"</p> - -<p>"He's dead too." Curt didn't explain further, for he suddenly knew what -was wrong here. He whirled upon Jeffers.</p> - -<p>"Tor Ekkov! Where'd he go? Why'd you let him leave here?"</p> - -<p>"He insisted on it. Something about a Tele-Magnum! He was driving me -crazy with that damned tune of his—"</p> - -<p>Curt swore inaudibly. "How long has he been gone?"</p> - -<p>"Not long. <i>You've</i> only been gone twenty minutes." Jeffers shrugged. -"Anyway, he acted crazy. Why worry about him?"</p> - -<p>"Why? He'll ruin whatever chances we have! We've got to stop him!" Curt -raced from the room, with Jeffers and Lorine pounding after him.</p> - -<p>At the far cross-corridor Curt paused uncertainly, staring around.</p> - -<p>"What's it about, Emmons?" Concern was in Jeffers' voice now. "What's -that Martian up to?"</p> - -<p>"Back there in the spacer—he spotted a Tele-Magnum! If he manages to -operate it, the Zemmd is going to know it! We won't have a chance!"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">VIII</p> - -<p>Curt hurried to the right, not sure of his direction now in this -underground place. But he stopped abruptly at the next corridor. His -heart leaped. Huddled against the angle of the wall was the body of a -man.</p> - -<p>Curt turned him over. It was the man he knew as Frane! Twisted tightly -around his throat, cutting into the flesh, was a plasticoid belt that -Curt recognized as Tor's.</p> - -<p>Jeffers was right. Tor had gone fanatical crazy, determined that -nothing would stop him from reaching the Tele-Magnum and getting his -voice through to Mars! But now another thought sliced into Curt's mind. -The <i>Energon-form</i> which had inhabited Frane's body! There were two -alternatives. Either it had emerged and seized control of Tor, or had -sped back to give the alarm.</p> - -<p>There was no time to waste! At the end of this corridor Curt saw the -crumpled prow of the alien spacer. He hurried toward it, Jeffers -and Lorine running to keep pace beside him. Curt squeezed into the -low-arched doorway, beneath twisted and tumbled metalloy beams. Again -he was in the room where they'd seen the array of machines, including -the one Tor thought was a Tele-Magnum.</p> - -<p>And Tor Ekkov was there. Curt knew it, as the angry sound of an electro -beam sang close. It splashed against a bulkhead beside him. Curt waved -Jeffers and the girl back, then pressed forward.</p> - -<p>He saw Tor. The man was still Martian, Curt could tell that; the -<i>Energon</i> hadn't reached him. But a glint of madness was in the depths -of his eyes, as he held an electro in his tight-knuckled fist. He must -have taken it from Frane, Curt thought.</p> - -<p>And he solved the secret of the Tele-Magnum! Curt heard a faint hum, -saw the glow of the selector screen as selenic cells poured power into -the trans-etheric beam. Curt came a step nearer, into the room.</p> - -<p>Again Tor's electro splashed fire at him.</p> - -<p>"So it's you, Curt Emmons. No, don't come any closer!" The Martian's -eyes darted to the lensed radiant-rifle Curt held cradled in his arm. -"Throw that thing on the floor. I mean it! I'll blast you!"</p> - -<p>Curt did as he was told. The Martian had gone mad. Helpless and -weaponless, Curt glanced at the screen. A shifting blur was -focussing—Turibek, capitol city of Mars! Tor had managed to get the -beam through!</p> - -<p>"Don't try to stop me, Emmons. We'll never get out of this alive, I -realize that now! But I swore I'd get my voice through to my people! -Six long years I've waited—"</p> - -<p>Curt tensed, almost leaped forward, but Tor held the weapon steady upon -him. It was then that Curt felt a pronounced overtone across his mind. -He knew the Zemmd had contacted them!</p> - -<p>"Curt!" It was Lorine's whispered voice in the doorway behind him. He -felt the grip of an electro pressed into his hand.</p> - -<p>"We had a fighting chance, Tor," Curt grated, "but you've ruined that! -The Zemmd has contacted us. He'll send his men down here. Yes, we'll -die!" He brought the electro unobserved to his side. "And you'd leave -the entire Federation prey to these things because of your damned -stupid fanaticism about Mars!"</p> - -<p>"Don't try to stop me!" With his free hand Tor brought the Martian -scene sharper into focus. Nothing else mattered to him.</p> - -<p>"A last chance, Tor! You can reach Earth on that thing. Let me contact -Earth and warn them of what goes on here! Even if we die, they can send -the Fleet and blast this place—"</p> - -<p>Curt saw it was no use.</p> - -<p>He brought his gun around fast, tried a snap shot from the waist. But -Tor was faster. He swayed aside, then his own electro sent its beam.</p> - -<p>Curt's arm went numb from wrist to shoulder, as the Martian's beam -caught his gun squarely and sent it spinning from his grasp. Curt -dived low, in a try for the radiant-rifle a few yards away. Again Tor -blasted. A spray of molten froth from the floor sent Curt tumbling -back. He poised for another try. To think of failure now was to think -of death!</p> - -<p>But he had failed. This was death!</p> - -<p>He heard Lorine cry out, heard Jeffers cursing behind him, as a rush of -feet came toward them down the corridor!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Jeffers was battling for his life. A score of men were converging upon -them. Jovian, Martian, Earthmen alike, they had but one purpose as they -rushed forward under Zemmd's mental command.</p> - -<p>That purpose was to kill!</p> - -<p>But it was they who died, as Jeffers swept his beam in a deadly -crossfire. Lorine had retrieved the electro, and she joined the battle, -crouching beside Jeffers in the narrow doorway. Luckily it offered a -measure of protection. A few of these men were armed. Beams slashed and -glanced from the walls. In a matter of seconds the place was a hell of -heat and blinding light.</p> - -<p>Tor was intent upon the Tele-Magnum now. Curt sprang for the -radiant-rifle, came up with it, whirled to join the battle. But already -the men were falling back out of range! They left four of their dead -upon the corridor floor.</p> - -<p>In the brief respite Curt remembered Landreth, and the <i>Energon-form</i>. -The same thing was happening now! The bodies coalesced with an inner -aura of electric-blue. Four <i>Energons</i> emerged swiftly and hung poised, -spinning, crackling with angry radiance. Then they darted forward.</p> - -<p>"Don't let them touch you!" Curt hurled Lorine aside, sprang forward -with rifle upraised. Before he could touch the firing stud, the -<i>Energons</i> were tumbling back, wildly—as if in panic!</p> - -<p>Curt stared. It wasn't his weapon they feared—</p> - -<p>Then Curt knew!</p> - -<p><i>It was Tor Ekkov's voice behind him, sending his strident, -high-pitched aria into the telector-beam to Mars. Sound! These things -feared super-sonic sound!</i></p> - -<p>Lorine screamed, clutched at Curt's arm.</p> - -<p>Far down the corridor, reaching almost from wall to wall, the huge -bulk of the Zemmd itself sped toward them. Streamers of angry violet -splashed before it, illuminating the scene. The Zemmd's own men tumbled -pell-mell out of the way.</p> - -<p>The four smaller <i>Energons</i> sped toward the parent bulk, touched, and -merged. But the Zemmd never paused. Tor's high-pitched tune seemed not -to affect it!</p> - -<p>A heavy potential rose crackling from the walls. Lorine crumpled and -went down. Jeffers, reeling upon his feet, still blasted with the -electro but to no avail. Part of the potential washed upon Curt and -sent him staggering....</p> - -<p>Curt hurled himself back into the room, jabbed the rifle at Tor before -the Martian knew what was happening.</p> - -<p>"Sing, damn you, keep singing! Send your song to Mars! You were right -after all!"</p> - -<p>Tor's eyes went wide, but he needed no urging. He sang! The Martian -sibilants were meaningless to Curt, nor did he care. Tor's voice -reached the higher octaves, far higher than any operatic star of Earth! -Down the scale, then up, and up, endlessly, Tor sang his message to -Mars. It took on a savage note, something of the pagan was in it—and -something of fright.</p> - -<p>For now it was Curt who had gone mad with fanatical purpose!</p> - -<p>"Sing, damn you, or I'll blast you where you stand." He reached to -Tor's side and lifted the electro. He reached to the Tele-panel and -fumbled at the controls.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the sound amplified a thousand-fold. It flooded the room, -reverberating, rebounding into the corridor from wall to wall, as -selenic cells poured additional power into the instrument.</p> - -<p>"Sing!" Curt shouted. And Tor nodded. Sanity seemed to come back to -him, and he realized what was happening.</p> - -<p>Curt hurried to the corridor. Already the Zemmd's potential was -diminishing! The great bulk was tumbling back, trying to escape the -waves of strident sound that washed upon it.</p> - -<p>Now Curt could <i>feel</i> the shrieking crescendo, like a file rasping over -naked nerve-ends. And the Zemmd seemed to disintegrate! The color died -away. It broke apart into hundreds of the smaller <i>Energon</i> shapes.</p> - -<p>They were dull and disorganized now, moving aimlessly, crashing into -the walls where they clung, then slid to the floor.</p> - -<p>But a few of them retained their inner life-force! They came -surging forward. Curt threw up the radiant-rifle, spread a swath of -disintegrant power that sent them buffeting back. Gradually they -blanked out, until nothing moved in the length of corridor. The Zemmd's -men had long since vanished from the scene.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was over in minutes. Behind Curt came a harsh roar, then a crash of -tubes and metal as the Tele-Magnum failed under the overload of power. -But Tor still sang.</p> - -<p>Curt stepped warily forward, touched one of the grayish translucent -shapes. It was warm. A decided shock, more than electrical, went -through his arm.</p> - -<p>"These things aren't finished yet! We've got to hurry!" He stared at -Lorine. "What happened to Jeffers?"</p> - -<p>She shook her head. Horror was still mirrored on her face. But Jeffers -was gone! Somehow he had managed to make his way out!</p> - -<p>All weariness vanished, as Curt raced back through the corridors with -Lorine hurrying after him. He had a chill premonition of what Jeffers -was up to!</p> - -<p>A deathly silence settled over them. Tor's singing had stopped. Not -until they reached the lifts did Curt notice that Tor had caught -up with them. The little Martian was deathly pale but his eyes -fever-bright, as he shook his head drunkenly and clutched at his throat.</p> - -<p>Curt paid him no heed now. They tumbled into one of the cars. A -propulsion beam hummed, and they rose swiftly toward the upper compound.</p> - -<p>Jeffers was there, battling his way past a score of the Zemmd's -men. But there was a great difference in these men now. They seemed -disorganized and aimless without the co-ordinating, driving power of -the Zemmd!</p> - -<p>Jeffers was heading toward a hangar-like building. The spaceship with -the Frequency Tuner! The man's scheme was obvious now; he had given up -on Lorine, decided to try it alone!</p> - -<p>Curt hurled himself forward, and a path opened for him as the men -scurried to cover before the blast of the radiant-rifle. At all costs -he must reach Jeffers—</p> - -<p>He was too late. Already Jeffers had reached the building fifty yards -away. He fumbled at the door, then disappeared. Curt was there seconds -later. A gorge of despair rose in him, as he found the door barred from -the inside.</p> - -<p>There might still be time! Jeffers would have to find the secret of the -Electronic Curtain reaching above them. Frantically, Curt blasted at -the door. The metal resisted stubbornly, but gradually it began to melt -away.</p> - -<p>Then, from within, came a smooth droning sound. It increased in tempo. -The building trembled against the full reverberant power. The Frequency -Tuner! Jeffers was going to try to drive <i>through</i> the Electronic -Curtain.</p> - -<p>Curt realized his danger, and whirled away. The building smashed apart -like an eggshell, hurling debris in all directions. Curt plummeted -forward, caught a glimpse of the silver spacer streaking obliquely up -on the whining power of the Tuner....</p> - -<p>But it wasn't enough! It struck the Curtain and penetrated part way, -and there it dangled. There came a scintillant hell of fire and flaming -metal. In seconds, the spacer's hull became cherry red and then white. -Huge molten blobs of it dripped down, then an explosion sent them -scattering across the compound.</p> - -<p>What was left of the spacer came slipping out of the gaping rent in the -Curtain. Gravity took it. It fell in a fiery tangle of wreckage.</p> - -<p>Curt was scarcely aware that his legs propelled him away from the scene.</p> - -<p>He caught sight of Lorine and Tor Ekkov, and hurried toward them. They -huddled in a doorway and looked out upon the scene. Flames crackled up -from a few of the buildings. None of the other men were in sight; they -had scurried somewhere to safety.</p> - -<p>"There went our last chance! Jeffers fixed everything!"</p> - -<p>Curt's voice was a well of bitterness. These <i>Energon</i> forces weren't -finished by any means, and Curt knew it. Their work would go on....</p> - -<p>But his mission for DeHarries was finished. The secret of this place -was still secret.</p> - -<p>The fate of the Federation had rested upon Curt's shoulders, and he had -failed.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>As if in answer, a blaze of violet light appeared far across the -compound. It was the Zemmd again!—a smaller entity now, but Curt knew -it would increase in power as more and more of the <i>Energons</i> revived -to join it!</p> - -<p>It moved slowly, as if searching. <i>Searching for the Curtain—and -Lorine.</i> It disappeared, appeared again, and once more vanished from -sight.</p> - -<p>"No use fighting that thing." Curt looked down at his hands, then -laughed bitterly. He had lost the radiant-rifle somewhere. Even his -electro was gone. "Maybe if we keep out of sight, it'll think we -perished in the spaceship!"</p> - -<p>"Curt!" Lorine's huddled figure came suddenly erect, she stood taut -with excitement. Then they all heard the sound. Somewhere overhead, but -coming nearer. The sound of a spacer!</p> - -<p>It sped past the broken rent in the Curtain a hundred feet above. It -returned, braked, hovered on underhull repulsion beams. Then it eased -through the hole in the Curtain with little room to spare, trailing -part of the K'Yarthan fog with it.</p> - -<p>Already Curt was racing toward the spacer, as it settled down. A man -stepped from the lock, others crowding behind him.</p> - -<p>"Back! Back there, you!" The man levelled a deadly power-rapier at -Curt. "Who are you, and what is this place?"</p> - -<p>"Never mind who we are," Curt grated, "lift us out of here!" He -recognized the Imperial Venus Emblem on the man's tunic.</p> - -<p>"We were Tele-casting, and a strange beam cut into our etheric channel! -The Empress Aladdian ordered that it be traced. Our directional-finders -brought us here." The Venusian Guard stared around at the flaming -holocaust.</p> - -<p>"Man, if you value your lives, get us in that ship and lift gravs!"</p> - -<p>Something of Curt's urgency caught at the man. He nodded, turned and -gave swift orders. The radiant bulk of the Zemmd came into sight again -and Curt saw it speeding, whirling toward them.</p> - -<p>They tumbled into the ship. The lock closed, and seconds later they -were lifting up, carefully, through the Curtain. There the spacer -poised. The Venusian stared through the under ports at the blazing, -angry bulk of the Zemmd.</p> - -<p>Something of the truth mirrored in the man's eyes as he turned to Curt.</p> - -<p>"Shall we try blasting it? We have neutros and Ingrams! We have—"</p> - -<p>"No! It'll take super-sonic weapons to completely destroy these things. -Powerful ones. Take me to Aladdian! I must contact Co-ordinator -DeHarries of Earth."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Tor Ekkov paced endlessly, as they sped toward the hospitable -continents of Venus. His glorious voice was gone, but his eyes had come -alive and vibrant. He knew he'd soon return to his own people.</p> - -<p>But Lorine ... she was a forlorn and shattered figure. Her face had -gone tragic, especially at the mention of Earth.</p> - -<p>"You're still thinking of what Jeffers told you?" Curt said. "Yes, -Lorine, I'll have to take you back to Earth. But I can get absolute -amnesty for you now. I shall demand it! And there are other reasons, -Lorine. There are reasons—"</p> - -<p>A tightness in his throat made his voice sound strange.</p> - -<p>She whispered, "Yes?"</p> - -<p>Curt drew her to him, and she was happy in his arms.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Alcatraz of the Starways, Planet Stories, May, 1943.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Passage to Planet X, Planet Stories, Winter, 1945.</p></div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ETERNAL ZEMMD MUST DIE! ***</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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