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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..80ddb15 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #64826 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64826) diff --git a/old/64826-0.txt b/old/64826-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 2a821b0..0000000 --- a/old/64826-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,970 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Message from Venus, by R. R. Winterbotham - -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: Message from Venus - -Author: R. R. Winterbotham - -Release Date: March 15, 2021 [eBook #64826] - -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 MESSAGE FROM VENUS *** - - - - - MESSAGE from VENUS - - by R. R. WINTERBOTHAM - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Comet January 41. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -The Venusians had one admirable characteristic. When they set out to -do a thing, nothing could stop them. Captain Paul Bonnet had said -something to this effect to Major Rogers and it made the old man so -angry that he almost court-martialed the youth. - -"We're going to stop them!" the major roared. - -Captain Bonnet glanced up into the sky, already dark with the ballooned -bodies of the Venusian bipeds. The creatures looked like huge sausages, -except that there was something deadly about them. - -On the approaches to Outpost 53, sweating men labored on the caissons -of twelve batteries of Amorg twenty-fives, pouring atomic destruction -into a solidly packed mass of Venusians advancing through the wire -entanglements. - -Captain Bonnet nodded to the major. "You're right, sir!" He turned to -the members of his crew who were manning an anti-rocket gun. "Did you -hear that? Knock 'em out of the sky!" - -The gun coughed Amorg vapor into the sky. A gaping hole appeared -directly overhead where the bodies of at least a hundred Venusians were -disintegrated. Before the gun could be recharged the hole disappeared, -filled by more bulging Venusians. - -Lieutenant Bill Riley wiped the sweat from his face with his soiled -coat sleeve. - -"It's like bailing a boat with a sieve!" he said. - -Major Rogers looked as though he were going to have apoplexy. - -"We'll get 'em," Captain Bonnet announced, winking at his lieutenant. - -Lieutenant Riley grinned. There was a great deal in common between -the captain and the lieutenant, besides the fact that they were both -officers of the same space ship--_The Piece of Sky_--which now lay -ruined on the landing field, its plates dissolved by acid poured from -the sky by the Venusians. - -Both officers were young and husky. Both had seen action on the Martian -canals and this wasn't the first meeting they had had with Venusians. - -"If they had any sense they'd know they were licked," the captain -added, casting his steely blue eyes at the entanglements. The place was -a grisly sight, strewn with parts of thousands of long-bodied Venusians. - -But the captain knew and the lieutenant knew--perhaps even the major -knew--that Outpost 53 was worth any sacrifice the Venusians were -willing to make. If this post were captured, the Venusians could -control their planet again. There were any number of reasons why it -was best that the planet be governed by terrestrials, and not all of -them were commercial. The Venusians were murderous, evil, destructive -creatures who hated every other living thing in the universe. - -Captain Bonnet checked his casualties. Of his crew of sixty, three were -dead and twelve paralyzed by the poisoned darts the Venusians used. The -other forty-five were half dead from exhaustion. Three days of fighting -was about all any man could stand. - -Captain Bonnet's men had been in a more or less exposed position during -the first part of the battle and their casualties had been heavy while -they tried to prevent _The Piece of Sky's_ destruction. But probably -ten percent of the fifteen hundred men who manned Outpost 53 were out -of the action now, the majority of them suffering temporary paralysis -from dart poison. The captain realized that the attack would continue -until the Venusians captured the post. - -The radio power house had been destroyed first of all. Then the space -ship had been wrecked. The outpost was cut off from communication with -the earth. Reinforcements who could attack the Venusians from above and -disperse them would not be due for two months. If Outpost 53 lasted -three weeks, it would mean fighting to the last man. - -Lieutenant Riley reached into his bag between coughs of the Amorg gun. -He brought out a slender bottle and pulled the cork. He pressed the -bottle into Captain Bonnet's hand. - -"Martian Zingo," the lieutenant said. "A friend of mine gave it to me -for a little service in the Canal campaign on Mars. I've been saving -it for a special occasion and it looks like this is it. Here's to our -short and merry lives, Captain!" - - * * * * * - -Night brought some relief, although the poisoned darts still rained on -the outpost and the ground was lighted with flashes of the atom guns. - -Major Rogers, his face drawn with weariness, stomped to the spacemen's -battery. - -"We've got to get a man through to earth, Captain," the major said. -"Can't your ship be fixed?" - -[Illustration: _"We've got to get a ship through to earth, Captain," -the Major said. "Can't your ship be fixed?" The Captain shook his head -slowly._] - -The captain shook his head. "No, sir." - -"Doesn't your ship carry a lifeboat?" - -"It does, but you couldn't make the earth in that--and survive. The -lifeboat carries just enough fuel to land on a planet. That fuel would -be used on the takeoff." - -"But if you got off Venus and aimed the boat toward the earth, nothing -would keep it from getting there, would it?" - -"No, I suppose not, sir." - -"Then we've got to do it. Yes, yes, I know. It's suicide. But it's -suicide not to try it. We simply must get a message through to the -earth. We'll ask for volunteers." - -"No need of that, Major," the captain said. "I'll make the trip." - -"One man couldn't do it," broke in Lieutenant Riley. "I'm going along." - -"You know what it means?" the captain asked his friend. - -"Any spaceman knows what a forty-five million mile trip in a lifeboat -means, you mug," the lieutenant replied. "But I'd rather die quickly in -a crash landing than to face what the Venusians probably have thought -up for us when they whittle us down to their size." - -"By gad! You're both heroes." - -"Umph!" said Captain Bonnet, who had been a hero before. - -"What's that?" - -"I was about to say: we'd better get started. It's getting late." - -"Good! Take a detail to your ship and get the lifeboat ready. Then you -and the lieutenant get some rest. I'll call you in an hour for the -takeoff." - - * * * * * - -_The Piece of Sky's_ lifeboat was scarcely one hundred feet in length. -It was powered by fourteen rocket valves, fed from detachable fuel -containers, so arranged that as fast as a fuel drum was emptied it -could be dropped from the rocket. The ship was streamlined from the -nose to tail, but it was flattened on the bottom, so that either of -two possible types of landing maneuvers could be attempted. - -Attempted was the correct word, for lifeboats of space ships were never -the last word in navigable machines. They were to be used only as a -last resort under desperate circumstances. No lifeboat had ever been -built as a machine for lengthy interplanetary travel. But the universe -is foolproof to a certain extent. Any piece of matter is sure to obey -the laws of the universe. Captain Bonnet supposed that if the lifeboat -succeeded in taking off, and if it were put on the right orbit, it -could reach the earth in time to send reinforcements back to Venus. - -As Captain Paul Bonnet and Lieutenant Bill Riley took their places -in the ship, Major Rogers explained that the craft had been equipped -with a small parachute to be used just before the lifeboat crashed in -dropping a message to authorities that Outpost 53 had been attacked and -that reinforcements were needed. - -"After you drop the message, you men are on your own," the major -explained. - -"You mean we're to try to get out of it, if we can?" asked Captain -Bonnet dryly. "Humph!" - -A few minutes later the lifeboat's rockets roared and the craft soared -upward through Venusian clouds to deliver a message to Terra. - -Captain Bonnet watched the rockets drain the fuel tank on the takeoff. -His gravity gauge told him that he was going to make it. Once beyond -Venus and nosed toward the earth, which was approaching conjunction, -no more fuel would be needed. The ship would be seized by terrestrial -gravity and brought home. There would be a period of uncomfortable -warmth as the sides of the ship became red hot in the earth's -atmosphere. A few moments of frantic work dropping the parachute over -some populous region of the earth, and then a crash that would mean the -end. - -Each man had gone over the details of what he was to do. Each man had -told himself that there was no end to this trip except death, yet each -man hoped that in some way he could avoid the final disaster. If there -were only some way a space ship could be landed without fuel! - -"It's no use," Captain Bonnet said. "Up to the end of the Twentieth -Century, when all problems dealing with space navigation were worked -out, excepting space flight itself, all of the experts agreed that -there was no practical way of landing a space ship. It wasn't until the -Twenty-first Century that the spiral landing orbit was discovered and -it took another century to discover the Rippler force method of landing -a ship intact." - -"At least the Rippler method's out," Lieutenant Riley said dryly. "We'd -have to have fifty gallons of fuel to land a fourteen-valve lifeboat on -its rocket jets." - -"Even the spiral landing orbit would require twenty-five gallons," -Captain Bonnet pointed out. "Both methods are out. We've got about -two gallons of rocket fuel in the tank and we'll need most of it in -the cooling system to keep us from burning up until we can drop the -message." - -Hours ticked swiftly away as the space ship moved closer to the earth. -The craft had reached the middle of its course, where terrestrial and -Venusian gravities neutralized, with speed to spare. From now on it -would accelerate slowly under the pull of the earth's attraction and it -could be expected to enter the earth's atmosphere at a speed greater -than 200 miles a second. The entire trip from Venus to the earth would -take about 72 hours. The job of decelerating from 200 miles a second to -less than ten would be taken care of in the 1,000 miles of atmosphere -lying above the earth. It could be accomplished with no more discomfort -than a passenger in a car experiences in a sudden stop. But the last -ten miles per second deceleration would mean the overcoming of the -force of gravity itself. - -Captain Bonnet considered the danger of the moon interfering with the -ship's flight to earth. He discovered, to his relief, that the moon was -out of the way, on the opposite side of the earth. At least he would -not have to use precious fuel to keep the craft from landing on the -moon. - -He checked the cooling apparatus. It seemed in perfect working -condition and should keep the two passengers from roasting alive until -the ship crashed. At least this was a comfort. - -Lieutenant Riley, who had been sleeping, opened his eyes. - -"Say, Paul, I've an idea!" - -"Yeah? Spill it." - -"Why couldn't we keep the ship in an orbit outside the earth's -atmosphere until it is sighted by telescope?" - -"There are two pretty good reasons for that," Paul Bonnet replied. -"In the first place we'll be going too fast. If we tried to get into -an orbit we'd sail right out again. To become a satellite of the -earth--and I suppose that's what you're thinking of--we'd have to slow -ourselves down to exactly the right speed necessary to overcome the -earth's gravity. That would be hard to do with the instruments on this -lifeboat, even if we had the fuel necessary to brake. In the second -place, if we got close enough to the earth to be seen by a telescope, -our orbital speed would be too fast for any 'scope to keep us in focus. -We'd be mistaken on photographs for a meteor." - -"I guess we're up against it, eh Paul?" - -"I've been thinking," Captain Bonnet said. - -"What's this, a joke?" - -"There's one plan that might work--a suicide plan. But even that might -be spoiled by an accident." - -"If there's a chance we ought to take it." - -"The message goes overboard first," the captain said. "After that we -save ourselves. I've been studying the charts and I know just where we -ought to land--that is in which hemisphere." - -"Yeah? Which?" - -"We're going to land somewhere in the Pacific." - -"That's a nice thought. Who's going to pick up our message in the -middle of the Pacific?" - -"That's what gave me the idea of our suicide plan," Captain Bonnet -said. "In order to drop the message over a city, we've got to float -around the earth until we get near one...." - -Captain Bonnet began to explain his idea. The ship was going to hit the -earth's atmosphere at a terrific pace. The deceleration would be pretty -stiff--might be fatal--unless it were done gradually, but spacemen -had learned the trick of pancaking a flat-bottomed craft on top of -the atmosphere, then diving; pancaking again, diving again, until the -deceleration was accomplished. - -This method of deceleration usually was accomplished with some use of -rockets and it led to the old time spiral landing orbit. The atmosphere -was the chief brake and the rockets were used to maneuver the craft -into dives and pancakes. A first class cooling system was needed, of -course, to carry off the heat of atmospheric friction, but the lifeboat -was equipped with a cooling system and there was nothing to worry about -from this source. - -But the lifeboat had little fuel. Captain Bonnet, however, had flown -airplanes. He knew that braking could be accomplished without fuel if -the flat-bottomed ship were used as a plane. He planned to use airplane -tactics to slow the ship down to a speed closely approximating the -escape velocity of the earth--6.9 miles a second. This would enable the -ship to soar over the earth until it was over a good sized city, where -the message from Outpost 53 would be dropped. - -"But if we land at that speed--and gravity will see to it we don't hit -much slower--we'll be buried deep in the ground. Even if we hit the -ocean, the deceleration will kill us--" - -"Would it? There have been records of meteors striking the ground so -lightly they did little more than raise a cloud of dust." - -"We're not a meteor." - -"We're practically a meteor and there's one chance in a million that we -can duplicate what a meteor can do, Bill. It's our only chance." - -"What do you want me to do?" - - * * * * * - -Rocket engineers in developing machines for space travel had found -speed the foremost bugaboo. It was the speed a rocket had to attain -to leave terrestrial gravity that balked engineers. There also was -man's instinctive fear of going fast, in spite of the assurances of -science that speed, in itself, was harmless. It was acceleration and -deceleration that killed people. - -One might travel seven miles a second indefinitely and suffer no ill -effects, once he got going that rate of speed. However, one might die -quickly while attaining it. Drugs enabled spacemen to withstand several -gravities of acceleration or deceleration without fatal effects and -there were a few of these pills aboard. But any speed change greater -than nine or ten gravities would be dangerous under any conditions. - -The craft neared the earth. Already the travelers could make out the -dim outlines of the continental areas. - -The gravity gauge registered the earth's pull strongly and Captain -Bonnet calculated that they were nearing the outer limits of the -atmosphere. He twisted a valve a fraction of a turn. - -From a steering jet, a tiny needle of flame shot into the ether. From -another jet, a second flame glowed for an instant. The space ship -turned, wheeling the onrushing earth out of line with the lifeboat's -prow. Now the huge, radiant ball peeked into the craft through the -glass window in the floor, but the ship's direction of travel continued -toward it as before. - -Captain Bonnet shut off the valves, conserving every ounce of rocket -fuel that remained in the tanks. Lieutenant Riley started the cooling -mechanism and for an instant the craft became uncomfortably cold. - -This discomfort lasted only a few minutes, however, for the craft soon -began to strike the first atoms of the atmosphere and its sides began -to glow with heat. The space ship was fast becoming a meteor flashing -into the atmosphere of the earth. - -There was a sudden jerk. Once more Bonnet twisted the valve, nosing -the streamlined craft downward slightly to allow these atoms of air to -strike the sides less forcefully. There was danger of a blackout if the -deceleration were too fast. - -The ship dived forward and Bonnet used more precious fuel to turn it -broadside again. The craft slowed, this time not so violently. - -The atoms of the atmosphere were audible now as whistling screams as -the ship spiraled one thousand miles above the earth. - -Captain Bonnet watched the air speed indicator. For a long time it -stood at twenty miles a second--the highest speed it would register. -Then it began to slow: nineteen, fifteen, twelve, nine, seven miles a -second. - -Instead of decreasing the speed further, he nosed the craft down. The -speed increased slightly, and then, like an airplane in flight, he -brought the craft slowly broadside by degrees. The effect of the slow -turn was to catch the atoms on the flat bottom so that the downward -rush was transformed into a horizontal rush. The craft was speeding -in an orbit parallel to the surface of the earth. Captain Bonnet had -brought the space ship out of a tail spin. - -Instantly he shut off the fuel valves, leaving the remainder of the -fuel available for the cooling apparatus. - -Lieutenant Riley looked wide-eyed at the hemisphere beneath the craft. - -"Well, we're here and we've less than a gallon of fuel," he said. -"What next?" - -"Unless there's an accident, we're going to land on an ounce or two," -Captain Bonnet replied. "A meteor doesn't use any fuel, but it has -accidents. That tiny bit of fuel is going to keep us from having an -accident--I hope." - -"That fuel is mighty potent," the lieutenant admitted. "It's the most -powerful explosive known. But old Terra's gravity is a pretty big -thing, too." - -"For every action there must be a reaction," Captain Bonnet said. -"Strangely, no one ever considered this principle in respect to coming -down, as well as going up." - -"Gravity is action and you're the reaction in that case," the -lieutenant observed. - -"Not exactly. The escape velocity of the earth is gravity in -reverse--if we can twist our minds around to think of it that way. We -manufacture the escape velocity with our rocket fuel and use it to -neutralize gravity. An object going 6.9 miles a second goes far enough -around the earth in a second that the earth's curvature doesn't catch -up with it, so to speak." - -"I hope you're sure of your reactions, although it doesn't make a lot -of difference if we get this message down." - -"We're hitting the atmosphere at a speed close to the escape velocity -of the earth. If we were going that speed we'd never get any closer to -the surface. But we're being slowed so that we're falling--not very -fast, but fast enough. Our speed _around_ the earth is about 6.9 miles -a second, minus a few decimals. Our speed _toward_ the earth isn't very -fast--I'd say a few feet a second. Our only problem now is to stop our -forward speed without speeding our downward speed." - -"I don't suppose you're very optimistic about it?" the lieutenant -asked, hopefully. - -"No," the captain admitted, "but we can try. You've seen airplanes land -at speeds of one hundred miles an hour or more. That was their speed -forward. Their speed downward was measured in feet per minute. That's -our problem now. We've got to land like an airplane--make a deadstick -landing without crashing." - -"Oh we might be able to land, but the minute we touch, some of our -forward speed is going to get us into trouble. Remember, an airplane -has wheels." - -Captain Bonnet pointed to a small globe painted with a map of the -world. His finger touched a dot in the South Pacific near the Antarctic -continent at 60 degrees south latitude and 120 degrees west longitude. - -"That's Dougherty Island," he said. "Between that island and San -Francisco are 6,300 miles of empty Pacific ocean. We're going to try to -land near Dougherty Island at a speed so fast we'll barely touch the -surface of the water. But as we touch the water, the frictional heat -of the sides of our space ship will transform the water instantly into -steam. The steam will cushion our ship against shock and decelerate us -rapidly--but not too rapidly for endurance. The stop will be rough, but -we can take it. We ought to be able to stop in 6,300 miles." - -"Whew! A steam landing!" - - * * * * * - -Captain Bonnet kept his hands on the control, ready to use a few drops -of precious fuel to keep the craft in its spiral parallel to the -surface of the earth. The earth seemed to float upward slowly to meet -the space ship. - -The interior of the craft grew uncomfortably hot, but the cooling -system worked. - -A vast expanse of white appeared directly below the craft. It was the -South Polar ice cap. - -"We're over James Ellsworth Land," the captain said, checking his -position. "That's about twenty-three degrees east of the longitude of -Dougherty Island. That's lucky." - -"Lucky?" said the lieutenant. - -"We can circle the earth once, drop our message over some city and -get back on the right longitude," the captain explained. "It'll -take us about an hour and a half at our present speed to make the -circumnavigation. In that time the earth will turn twenty-two and -one-half degrees beneath us." - -The Pacific ocean flashed beneath the craft. The ship struck the -continent on the coast of Mexico and skirted above eastern Texas. Over -Kansas City, Captain Bonnet jerked a lever to release the message of -the beleaguered Venusian garrison. - -The lieutenant watched it fall slowly down toward the ground. - -Then he groaned. - -"We've failed!" he said. "The parachute dropped in the Missouri river! -The last chance to save the garrison is lost!" - -Captain Bonnet turned to his companion. "It isn't the last chance--if -our landing works!" - -The craft soared northward into Canada, passing some distance west of -Hudson Bay. It crossed the Arctic sea, reached Siberia and then zoomed -southward, flying dangerously close to the tall peaks of the Himalayas. -Each minute saw it moving closer to the earth. - -The craft shot across the Indian Ocean and entered the Antarctic again. -The Antarctic continent was reached near Douglas Island and it crossed -Enderby and Kemp lands toward the pole. - -The metal monster was scarcely two thousand feet high as it soared over -the South Pole. The loss of the natural elevation of the polar plateau -left the ship about the same distance above the surface of the earth as -it approached the ocean again. - -Captain Bonnet used a few more ounces of fuel to keep the craft in its -course, headed always toward the horizon, which at 1,600 feet seemed -fifty miles away. - -Down the craft sank, inch by inch, toward the sea. Suddenly Lieutenant -Riley shouted and pointed: - -"Dougherty Island! Over there!" - -A black speck rose out of the Pacific dead ahead. - - * * * * * - -The two men already had slipped into their emergency landing harness -to protect themselves from the deceleration that was bound to come. -They had swallowed pills to protect themselves from the gravitational -pressure and now they felt the drug taking hold of their systems. - -The ship seemed to be sailing parallel to the surface of the sea. The -tops of the waves reached up and touched the bottom of the craft, and -evaporated in a hiss of steam. - -Gracefully, like a huge dirigible airship, the lifeboat dipped down. It -shuddered as the disturbed air roared like thunder around it. There was -a tremendous drag and a loud explosion as the ship touched the water. - -Both men pitched forward in their harness. - -Captain Bonnet felt the world growing black around him. With superhuman -effort he shook off the threatened blackout and sent the last drop of -fuel into the lower jets to hold the ship one second more above the -waves. - -There was a terrific jar. Tons and tons of pressure exerted itself -against the ship and on the men inside. But nothing cracked. - -Outside the window, vision was obscured by clouds of swirling vapor. -The craft bounded forward in gigantic, hundred-mile leaps, like a rock -skipping across the surface of a huge pond. - -Lieutenant Riley hung limply in his harness, a stream of blood -trickling from his nose. Slowly he opened his eyes. - -"We're alive!" he gasped. - -Then he fainted again. - -The craft slowed down. A startled fishing craft off the Central -American coast almost capsized in the wash of the monster from the -skies. - -Ahead of them land reared its head above the horizon. Captain Bonnet -wondered if the ship would stop in time, but he did not realize how -quickly the craft was coming to a standstill. He turned the rudders and -steered for shore. A cry came from Lieutenant Riley. - -It was the Golden Gate. - - * * * * * - -A patrol boat met them in the harbor as the space ship, floating in -boiling water, came to a stop. - -Captain Bonnet opened the locks and climbed out on the top of the -craft. He wore an asbestos space suit to protect himself from the heat -of the sides. - -"Have you a wireless aboard?" he called to the patrol. - -"Of course, captain!" came the reply from the patrol boat, as the -rescuers saw the insignia of rank on Bonnet's clothing. - -"Send a message to the nearest interplanetary garrison that -reinforcements are needed at Outpost 53 on Venus. Lieutenant Riley and -myself just came from there--the situation is desperate...." - -"You don't mean you came all the way from Venus in a lifeboat?" - -"If you're going to waste time asking questions, let us come aboard," -Captain Bonnet said. "But get that message in the air at once!" - -Lieutenant Riley followed the captain through the locks into the patrol -boat. He lifted his hand and showed a bottle to the captain. - -"Look what a close shave we had," he said. "This bottle of Martian -Zingo was in the lockers all the way from Venus and neither of us -suspected it. Lord, if we'd crashed we'd never have been able to sample -it!" - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MESSAGE FROM VENUS *** - -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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Winterbotham. - </title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -.caption p -{ - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0; - margin: 0.25em 0; -} - -div.titlepage { - text-align: center; - page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; -} - -div.titlepage p { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; - font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; - margin-top: 3em; -} - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - -<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Message from Venus, by R. R. Winterbotham</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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 <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: Message from Venus</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: R. R. Winterbotham</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: March 15, 2021 [eBook #64826]</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 MESSAGE FROM VENUS ***</div> - - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>MESSAGE from VENUS</h1> - -<h2>by R. R. WINTERBOTHAM</h2> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Comet January 41.<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>The Venusians had one admirable characteristic. When they set out to -do a thing, nothing could stop them. Captain Paul Bonnet had said -something to this effect to Major Rogers and it made the old man so -angry that he almost court-martialed the youth.</p> - -<p>"We're going to stop them!" the major roared.</p> - -<p>Captain Bonnet glanced up into the sky, already dark with the ballooned -bodies of the Venusian bipeds. The creatures looked like huge sausages, -except that there was something deadly about them.</p> - -<p>On the approaches to Outpost 53, sweating men labored on the caissons -of twelve batteries of Amorg twenty-fives, pouring atomic destruction -into a solidly packed mass of Venusians advancing through the wire -entanglements.</p> - -<p>Captain Bonnet nodded to the major. "You're right, sir!" He turned to -the members of his crew who were manning an anti-rocket gun. "Did you -hear that? Knock 'em out of the sky!"</p> - -<p>The gun coughed Amorg vapor into the sky. A gaping hole appeared -directly overhead where the bodies of at least a hundred Venusians were -disintegrated. Before the gun could be recharged the hole disappeared, -filled by more bulging Venusians.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Bill Riley wiped the sweat from his face with his soiled -coat sleeve.</p> - -<p>"It's like bailing a boat with a sieve!" he said.</p> - -<p>Major Rogers looked as though he were going to have apoplexy.</p> - -<p>"We'll get 'em," Captain Bonnet announced, winking at his lieutenant.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Riley grinned. There was a great deal in common between -the captain and the lieutenant, besides the fact that they were both -officers of the same space ship—<i>The Piece of Sky</i>—which now lay -ruined on the landing field, its plates dissolved by acid poured from -the sky by the Venusians.</p> - -<p>Both officers were young and husky. Both had seen action on the Martian -canals and this wasn't the first meeting they had had with Venusians.</p> - -<p>"If they had any sense they'd know they were licked," the captain -added, casting his steely blue eyes at the entanglements. The place was -a grisly sight, strewn with parts of thousands of long-bodied Venusians.</p> - -<p>But the captain knew and the lieutenant knew—perhaps even the major -knew—that Outpost 53 was worth any sacrifice the Venusians were -willing to make. If this post were captured, the Venusians could -control their planet again. There were any number of reasons why it -was best that the planet be governed by terrestrials, and not all of -them were commercial. The Venusians were murderous, evil, destructive -creatures who hated every other living thing in the universe.</p> - -<p>Captain Bonnet checked his casualties. Of his crew of sixty, three were -dead and twelve paralyzed by the poisoned darts the Venusians used. The -other forty-five were half dead from exhaustion. Three days of fighting -was about all any man could stand.</p> - -<p>Captain Bonnet's men had been in a more or less exposed position during -the first part of the battle and their casualties had been heavy while -they tried to prevent <i>The Piece of Sky's</i> destruction. But probably -ten percent of the fifteen hundred men who manned Outpost 53 were out -of the action now, the majority of them suffering temporary paralysis -from dart poison. The captain realized that the attack would continue -until the Venusians captured the post.</p> - -<p>The radio power house had been destroyed first of all. Then the space -ship had been wrecked. The outpost was cut off from communication with -the earth. Reinforcements who could attack the Venusians from above and -disperse them would not be due for two months. If Outpost 53 lasted -three weeks, it would mean fighting to the last man.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Riley reached into his bag between coughs of the Amorg gun. -He brought out a slender bottle and pulled the cork. He pressed the -bottle into Captain Bonnet's hand.</p> - -<p>"Martian Zingo," the lieutenant said. "A friend of mine gave it to me -for a little service in the Canal campaign on Mars. I've been saving -it for a special occasion and it looks like this is it. Here's to our -short and merry lives, Captain!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Night brought some relief, although the poisoned darts still rained on -the outpost and the ground was lighted with flashes of the atom guns.</p> - -<p>Major Rogers, his face drawn with weariness, stomped to the spacemen's -battery.</p> - -<p>"We've got to get a man through to earth, Captain," the major said. -"Can't your ship be fixed?"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p><i>"We've got to get a ship through to earth, Captain," the Major said. "Can't your ship be fixed?" The Captain shook his head slowly.</i></p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>The captain shook his head. "No, sir."</p> - -<p>"Doesn't your ship carry a lifeboat?"</p> - -<p>"It does, but you couldn't make the earth in that—and survive. The -lifeboat carries just enough fuel to land on a planet. That fuel would -be used on the takeoff."</p> - -<p>"But if you got off Venus and aimed the boat toward the earth, nothing -would keep it from getting there, would it?"</p> - -<p>"No, I suppose not, sir."</p> - -<p>"Then we've got to do it. Yes, yes, I know. It's suicide. But it's -suicide not to try it. We simply must get a message through to the -earth. We'll ask for volunteers."</p> - -<p>"No need of that, Major," the captain said. "I'll make the trip."</p> - -<p>"One man couldn't do it," broke in Lieutenant Riley. "I'm going along."</p> - -<p>"You know what it means?" the captain asked his friend.</p> - -<p>"Any spaceman knows what a forty-five million mile trip in a lifeboat -means, you mug," the lieutenant replied. "But I'd rather die quickly in -a crash landing than to face what the Venusians probably have thought -up for us when they whittle us down to their size."</p> - -<p>"By gad! You're both heroes."</p> - -<p>"Umph!" said Captain Bonnet, who had been a hero before.</p> - -<p>"What's that?"</p> - -<p>"I was about to say: we'd better get started. It's getting late."</p> - -<p>"Good! Take a detail to your ship and get the lifeboat ready. Then you -and the lieutenant get some rest. I'll call you in an hour for the -takeoff."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p><i>The Piece of Sky's</i> lifeboat was scarcely one hundred feet in length. -It was powered by fourteen rocket valves, fed from detachable fuel -containers, so arranged that as fast as a fuel drum was emptied it -could be dropped from the rocket. The ship was streamlined from the -nose to tail, but it was flattened on the bottom, so that either of -two possible types of landing maneuvers could be attempted.</p> - -<p>Attempted was the correct word, for lifeboats of space ships were never -the last word in navigable machines. They were to be used only as a -last resort under desperate circumstances. No lifeboat had ever been -built as a machine for lengthy interplanetary travel. But the universe -is foolproof to a certain extent. Any piece of matter is sure to obey -the laws of the universe. Captain Bonnet supposed that if the lifeboat -succeeded in taking off, and if it were put on the right orbit, it -could reach the earth in time to send reinforcements back to Venus.</p> - -<p>As Captain Paul Bonnet and Lieutenant Bill Riley took their places -in the ship, Major Rogers explained that the craft had been equipped -with a small parachute to be used just before the lifeboat crashed in -dropping a message to authorities that Outpost 53 had been attacked and -that reinforcements were needed.</p> - -<p>"After you drop the message, you men are on your own," the major -explained.</p> - -<p>"You mean we're to try to get out of it, if we can?" asked Captain -Bonnet dryly. "Humph!"</p> - -<p>A few minutes later the lifeboat's rockets roared and the craft soared -upward through Venusian clouds to deliver a message to Terra.</p> - -<p>Captain Bonnet watched the rockets drain the fuel tank on the takeoff. -His gravity gauge told him that he was going to make it. Once beyond -Venus and nosed toward the earth, which was approaching conjunction, -no more fuel would be needed. The ship would be seized by terrestrial -gravity and brought home. There would be a period of uncomfortable -warmth as the sides of the ship became red hot in the earth's -atmosphere. A few moments of frantic work dropping the parachute over -some populous region of the earth, and then a crash that would mean the -end.</p> - -<p>Each man had gone over the details of what he was to do. Each man had -told himself that there was no end to this trip except death, yet each -man hoped that in some way he could avoid the final disaster. If there -were only some way a space ship could be landed without fuel!</p> - -<p>"It's no use," Captain Bonnet said. "Up to the end of the Twentieth -Century, when all problems dealing with space navigation were worked -out, excepting space flight itself, all of the experts agreed that -there was no practical way of landing a space ship. It wasn't until the -Twenty-first Century that the spiral landing orbit was discovered and -it took another century to discover the Rippler force method of landing -a ship intact."</p> - -<p>"At least the Rippler method's out," Lieutenant Riley said dryly. "We'd -have to have fifty gallons of fuel to land a fourteen-valve lifeboat on -its rocket jets."</p> - -<p>"Even the spiral landing orbit would require twenty-five gallons," -Captain Bonnet pointed out. "Both methods are out. We've got about -two gallons of rocket fuel in the tank and we'll need most of it in -the cooling system to keep us from burning up until we can drop the -message."</p> - -<p>Hours ticked swiftly away as the space ship moved closer to the earth. -The craft had reached the middle of its course, where terrestrial and -Venusian gravities neutralized, with speed to spare. From now on it -would accelerate slowly under the pull of the earth's attraction and it -could be expected to enter the earth's atmosphere at a speed greater -than 200 miles a second. The entire trip from Venus to the earth would -take about 72 hours. The job of decelerating from 200 miles a second to -less than ten would be taken care of in the 1,000 miles of atmosphere -lying above the earth. It could be accomplished with no more discomfort -than a passenger in a car experiences in a sudden stop. But the last -ten miles per second deceleration would mean the overcoming of the -force of gravity itself.</p> - -<p>Captain Bonnet considered the danger of the moon interfering with the -ship's flight to earth. He discovered, to his relief, that the moon was -out of the way, on the opposite side of the earth. At least he would -not have to use precious fuel to keep the craft from landing on the -moon.</p> - -<p>He checked the cooling apparatus. It seemed in perfect working -condition and should keep the two passengers from roasting alive until -the ship crashed. At least this was a comfort.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Riley, who had been sleeping, opened his eyes.</p> - -<p>"Say, Paul, I've an idea!"</p> - -<p>"Yeah? Spill it."</p> - -<p>"Why couldn't we keep the ship in an orbit outside the earth's -atmosphere until it is sighted by telescope?"</p> - -<p>"There are two pretty good reasons for that," Paul Bonnet replied. -"In the first place we'll be going too fast. If we tried to get into -an orbit we'd sail right out again. To become a satellite of the -earth—and I suppose that's what you're thinking of—we'd have to slow -ourselves down to exactly the right speed necessary to overcome the -earth's gravity. That would be hard to do with the instruments on this -lifeboat, even if we had the fuel necessary to brake. In the second -place, if we got close enough to the earth to be seen by a telescope, -our orbital speed would be too fast for any 'scope to keep us in focus. -We'd be mistaken on photographs for a meteor."</p> - -<p>"I guess we're up against it, eh Paul?"</p> - -<p>"I've been thinking," Captain Bonnet said.</p> - -<p>"What's this, a joke?"</p> - -<p>"There's one plan that might work—a suicide plan. But even that might -be spoiled by an accident."</p> - -<p>"If there's a chance we ought to take it."</p> - -<p>"The message goes overboard first," the captain said. "After that we -save ourselves. I've been studying the charts and I know just where we -ought to land—that is in which hemisphere."</p> - -<p>"Yeah? Which?"</p> - -<p>"We're going to land somewhere in the Pacific."</p> - -<p>"That's a nice thought. Who's going to pick up our message in the -middle of the Pacific?"</p> - -<p>"That's what gave me the idea of our suicide plan," Captain Bonnet -said. "In order to drop the message over a city, we've got to float -around the earth until we get near one...."</p> - -<p>Captain Bonnet began to explain his idea. The ship was going to hit the -earth's atmosphere at a terrific pace. The deceleration would be pretty -stiff—might be fatal—unless it were done gradually, but spacemen -had learned the trick of pancaking a flat-bottomed craft on top of -the atmosphere, then diving; pancaking again, diving again, until the -deceleration was accomplished.</p> - -<p>This method of deceleration usually was accomplished with some use of -rockets and it led to the old time spiral landing orbit. The atmosphere -was the chief brake and the rockets were used to maneuver the craft -into dives and pancakes. A first class cooling system was needed, of -course, to carry off the heat of atmospheric friction, but the lifeboat -was equipped with a cooling system and there was nothing to worry about -from this source.</p> - -<p>But the lifeboat had little fuel. Captain Bonnet, however, had flown -airplanes. He knew that braking could be accomplished without fuel if -the flat-bottomed ship were used as a plane. He planned to use airplane -tactics to slow the ship down to a speed closely approximating the -escape velocity of the earth—6.9 miles a second. This would enable the -ship to soar over the earth until it was over a good sized city, where -the message from Outpost 53 would be dropped.</p> - -<p>"But if we land at that speed—and gravity will see to it we don't hit -much slower—we'll be buried deep in the ground. Even if we hit the -ocean, the deceleration will kill us—"</p> - -<p>"Would it? There have been records of meteors striking the ground so -lightly they did little more than raise a cloud of dust."</p> - -<p>"We're not a meteor."</p> - -<p>"We're practically a meteor and there's one chance in a million that we -can duplicate what a meteor can do, Bill. It's our only chance."</p> - -<p>"What do you want me to do?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Rocket engineers in developing machines for space travel had found -speed the foremost bugaboo. It was the speed a rocket had to attain -to leave terrestrial gravity that balked engineers. There also was -man's instinctive fear of going fast, in spite of the assurances of -science that speed, in itself, was harmless. It was acceleration and -deceleration that killed people.</p> - -<p>One might travel seven miles a second indefinitely and suffer no ill -effects, once he got going that rate of speed. However, one might die -quickly while attaining it. Drugs enabled spacemen to withstand several -gravities of acceleration or deceleration without fatal effects and -there were a few of these pills aboard. But any speed change greater -than nine or ten gravities would be dangerous under any conditions.</p> - -<p>The craft neared the earth. Already the travelers could make out the -dim outlines of the continental areas.</p> - -<p>The gravity gauge registered the earth's pull strongly and Captain -Bonnet calculated that they were nearing the outer limits of the -atmosphere. He twisted a valve a fraction of a turn.</p> - -<p>From a steering jet, a tiny needle of flame shot into the ether. From -another jet, a second flame glowed for an instant. The space ship -turned, wheeling the onrushing earth out of line with the lifeboat's -prow. Now the huge, radiant ball peeked into the craft through the -glass window in the floor, but the ship's direction of travel continued -toward it as before.</p> - -<p>Captain Bonnet shut off the valves, conserving every ounce of rocket -fuel that remained in the tanks. Lieutenant Riley started the cooling -mechanism and for an instant the craft became uncomfortably cold.</p> - -<p>This discomfort lasted only a few minutes, however, for the craft soon -began to strike the first atoms of the atmosphere and its sides began -to glow with heat. The space ship was fast becoming a meteor flashing -into the atmosphere of the earth.</p> - -<p>There was a sudden jerk. Once more Bonnet twisted the valve, nosing -the streamlined craft downward slightly to allow these atoms of air to -strike the sides less forcefully. There was danger of a blackout if the -deceleration were too fast.</p> - -<p>The ship dived forward and Bonnet used more precious fuel to turn it -broadside again. The craft slowed, this time not so violently.</p> - -<p>The atoms of the atmosphere were audible now as whistling screams as -the ship spiraled one thousand miles above the earth.</p> - -<p>Captain Bonnet watched the air speed indicator. For a long time it -stood at twenty miles a second—the highest speed it would register. -Then it began to slow: nineteen, fifteen, twelve, nine, seven miles a -second.</p> - -<p>Instead of decreasing the speed further, he nosed the craft down. The -speed increased slightly, and then, like an airplane in flight, he -brought the craft slowly broadside by degrees. The effect of the slow -turn was to catch the atoms on the flat bottom so that the downward -rush was transformed into a horizontal rush. The craft was speeding -in an orbit parallel to the surface of the earth. Captain Bonnet had -brought the space ship out of a tail spin.</p> - -<p>Instantly he shut off the fuel valves, leaving the remainder of the -fuel available for the cooling apparatus.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Riley looked wide-eyed at the hemisphere beneath the craft.</p> - -<p>"Well, we're here and we've less than a gallon of fuel," he said. -"What next?"</p> - -<p>"Unless there's an accident, we're going to land on an ounce or two," -Captain Bonnet replied. "A meteor doesn't use any fuel, but it has -accidents. That tiny bit of fuel is going to keep us from having an -accident—I hope."</p> - -<p>"That fuel is mighty potent," the lieutenant admitted. "It's the most -powerful explosive known. But old Terra's gravity is a pretty big -thing, too."</p> - -<p>"For every action there must be a reaction," Captain Bonnet said. -"Strangely, no one ever considered this principle in respect to coming -down, as well as going up."</p> - -<p>"Gravity is action and you're the reaction in that case," the -lieutenant observed.</p> - -<p>"Not exactly. The escape velocity of the earth is gravity in -reverse—if we can twist our minds around to think of it that way. We -manufacture the escape velocity with our rocket fuel and use it to -neutralize gravity. An object going 6.9 miles a second goes far enough -around the earth in a second that the earth's curvature doesn't catch -up with it, so to speak."</p> - -<p>"I hope you're sure of your reactions, although it doesn't make a lot -of difference if we get this message down."</p> - -<p>"We're hitting the atmosphere at a speed close to the escape velocity -of the earth. If we were going that speed we'd never get any closer to -the surface. But we're being slowed so that we're falling—not very -fast, but fast enough. Our speed <i>around</i> the earth is about 6.9 miles -a second, minus a few decimals. Our speed <i>toward</i> the earth isn't very -fast—I'd say a few feet a second. Our only problem now is to stop our -forward speed without speeding our downward speed."</p> - -<p>"I don't suppose you're very optimistic about it?" the lieutenant -asked, hopefully.</p> - -<p>"No," the captain admitted, "but we can try. You've seen airplanes land -at speeds of one hundred miles an hour or more. That was their speed -forward. Their speed downward was measured in feet per minute. That's -our problem now. We've got to land like an airplane—make a deadstick -landing without crashing."</p> - -<p>"Oh we might be able to land, but the minute we touch, some of our -forward speed is going to get us into trouble. Remember, an airplane -has wheels."</p> - -<p>Captain Bonnet pointed to a small globe painted with a map of the -world. His finger touched a dot in the South Pacific near the Antarctic -continent at 60 degrees south latitude and 120 degrees west longitude.</p> - -<p>"That's Dougherty Island," he said. "Between that island and San -Francisco are 6,300 miles of empty Pacific ocean. We're going to try to -land near Dougherty Island at a speed so fast we'll barely touch the -surface of the water. But as we touch the water, the frictional heat -of the sides of our space ship will transform the water instantly into -steam. The steam will cushion our ship against shock and decelerate us -rapidly—but not too rapidly for endurance. The stop will be rough, but -we can take it. We ought to be able to stop in 6,300 miles."</p> - -<p>"Whew! A steam landing!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Captain Bonnet kept his hands on the control, ready to use a few drops -of precious fuel to keep the craft in its spiral parallel to the -surface of the earth. The earth seemed to float upward slowly to meet -the space ship.</p> - -<p>The interior of the craft grew uncomfortably hot, but the cooling -system worked.</p> - -<p>A vast expanse of white appeared directly below the craft. It was the -South Polar ice cap.</p> - -<p>"We're over James Ellsworth Land," the captain said, checking his -position. "That's about twenty-three degrees east of the longitude of -Dougherty Island. That's lucky."</p> - -<p>"Lucky?" said the lieutenant.</p> - -<p>"We can circle the earth once, drop our message over some city and -get back on the right longitude," the captain explained. "It'll -take us about an hour and a half at our present speed to make the -circumnavigation. In that time the earth will turn twenty-two and -one-half degrees beneath us."</p> - -<p>The Pacific ocean flashed beneath the craft. The ship struck the -continent on the coast of Mexico and skirted above eastern Texas. Over -Kansas City, Captain Bonnet jerked a lever to release the message of -the beleaguered Venusian garrison.</p> - -<p>The lieutenant watched it fall slowly down toward the ground.</p> - -<p>Then he groaned.</p> - -<p>"We've failed!" he said. "The parachute dropped in the Missouri river! -The last chance to save the garrison is lost!"</p> - -<p>Captain Bonnet turned to his companion. "It isn't the last chance—if -our landing works!"</p> - -<p>The craft soared northward into Canada, passing some distance west of -Hudson Bay. It crossed the Arctic sea, reached Siberia and then zoomed -southward, flying dangerously close to the tall peaks of the Himalayas. -Each minute saw it moving closer to the earth.</p> - -<p>The craft shot across the Indian Ocean and entered the Antarctic again. -The Antarctic continent was reached near Douglas Island and it crossed -Enderby and Kemp lands toward the pole.</p> - -<p>The metal monster was scarcely two thousand feet high as it soared over -the South Pole. The loss of the natural elevation of the polar plateau -left the ship about the same distance above the surface of the earth as -it approached the ocean again.</p> - -<p>Captain Bonnet used a few more ounces of fuel to keep the craft in its -course, headed always toward the horizon, which at 1,600 feet seemed -fifty miles away.</p> - -<p>Down the craft sank, inch by inch, toward the sea. Suddenly Lieutenant -Riley shouted and pointed:</p> - -<p>"Dougherty Island! Over there!"</p> - -<p>A black speck rose out of the Pacific dead ahead.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The two men already had slipped into their emergency landing harness -to protect themselves from the deceleration that was bound to come. -They had swallowed pills to protect themselves from the gravitational -pressure and now they felt the drug taking hold of their systems.</p> - -<p>The ship seemed to be sailing parallel to the surface of the sea. The -tops of the waves reached up and touched the bottom of the craft, and -evaporated in a hiss of steam.</p> - -<p>Gracefully, like a huge dirigible airship, the lifeboat dipped down. It -shuddered as the disturbed air roared like thunder around it. There was -a tremendous drag and a loud explosion as the ship touched the water.</p> - -<p>Both men pitched forward in their harness.</p> - -<p>Captain Bonnet felt the world growing black around him. With superhuman -effort he shook off the threatened blackout and sent the last drop of -fuel into the lower jets to hold the ship one second more above the -waves.</p> - -<p>There was a terrific jar. Tons and tons of pressure exerted itself -against the ship and on the men inside. But nothing cracked.</p> - -<p>Outside the window, vision was obscured by clouds of swirling vapor. -The craft bounded forward in gigantic, hundred-mile leaps, like a rock -skipping across the surface of a huge pond.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Riley hung limply in his harness, a stream of blood -trickling from his nose. Slowly he opened his eyes.</p> - -<p>"We're alive!" he gasped.</p> - -<p>Then he fainted again.</p> - -<p>The craft slowed down. A startled fishing craft off the Central -American coast almost capsized in the wash of the monster from the -skies.</p> - -<p>Ahead of them land reared its head above the horizon. Captain Bonnet -wondered if the ship would stop in time, but he did not realize how -quickly the craft was coming to a standstill. He turned the rudders and -steered for shore. A cry came from Lieutenant Riley.</p> - -<p>It was the Golden Gate.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>A patrol boat met them in the harbor as the space ship, floating in -boiling water, came to a stop.</p> - -<p>Captain Bonnet opened the locks and climbed out on the top of the -craft. He wore an asbestos space suit to protect himself from the heat -of the sides.</p> - -<p>"Have you a wireless aboard?" he called to the patrol.</p> - -<p>"Of course, captain!" came the reply from the patrol boat, as the -rescuers saw the insignia of rank on Bonnet's clothing.</p> - -<p>"Send a message to the nearest interplanetary garrison that -reinforcements are needed at Outpost 53 on Venus. Lieutenant Riley and -myself just came from there—the situation is desperate...."</p> - -<p>"You don't mean you came all the way from Venus in a lifeboat?"</p> - -<p>"If you're going to waste time asking questions, let us come aboard," -Captain Bonnet said. "But get that message in the air at once!"</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Riley followed the captain through the locks into the patrol -boat. He lifted his hand and showed a bottle to the captain.</p> - -<p>"Look what a close shave we had," he said. "This bottle of Martian -Zingo was in the lockers all the way from Venus and neither of us -suspected it. Lord, if we'd crashed we'd never have been able to sample -it!"</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MESSAGE FROM VENUS ***</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. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ -concept and trademark. 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