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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..6d4a853 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #65979 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65979) diff --git a/old/65979-0.txt b/old/65979-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 43c3c43..0000000 --- a/old/65979-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,869 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Incredible Life-Form, by Winston Marks - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The Incredible Life-Form - -Author: Winston Marks - -Release Date: August 2, 2021 [eBook #65979] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE INCREDIBLE LIFE-FORM *** - - - - - A strange experiment was taking place on - the third planet of an isolated solar system. - In all the Universe there was no parallel to-- - - The Incredible Life-Form - - By Winston Marks - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy - October 1954 - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -_To: The Director_ - -_From: Tone Seng Froot, Investigator for galaxies of 9th Sector._ - -_Subject: Unique characteristic of life-form suggesting urgent action -to rescind life charter to Element 6._ - -SIR, - -May I draw your attention to an explosive potential in your early -experimental series? This exists in an obscure solar system of nine -planets in a minor galaxy on the outer perimeter of my territory where -I call only at extended intervals. - -You will best recall the location in connection with the assignment -of a Self-Awareness Charter to Element 6 in the chemical series--more -specifically, the crystalline form of _carbon_, as it is called locally. - -I have not troubled you with my earlier surveys, since nothing -critical occurred in the first billion years, but I had better bring -you up to date. - -Of all 96 elements to which life has been separately assigned in -various locations, carbon showed the greatest durability at the outset. -The diamond, or crystalline form, in which self-awareness was vested -in this particular solar system, could be predicted to make efficient -use of light energy because of its index of refraction. Also, at lower -temperatures, the diamond presents an extreme rigidity or hardness -which resists abrasion. - -Perhaps these factors account for the astonishing egotism which -developed shortly after we activated self-awareness among them. Not -that egotism, itself, is unique in the various elemental life-forms. -You will recall, this inflated self-esteem has long proved to be a -factor consistent with self-awareness in all matter. - -In the diamond, egotism flared early in its intellectual growth and -seemed to supply a creative drive unsurpassed in all galaxies under -surveillance. - -On the third planet, diamonds quickly learned psychokinetic -manipulations and immediately began experimenting with chemical -combinations of the other elements--all of which are, of course, inert -and lifeless in this galaxy. - -On one of my earliest visits to the third planet, which is locally -referred to as Terra, or Earth, I was attracted to the especially -active, intellectual radiations of a particular diamond which I shall -designate as _Prime_, since he was the one who out-stripped all the -others ultimately. - -Prime had worked his way out of the blue clay, down to the edge of a -salt-water ocean, and when I inquired into his furious activity he -reported that he was attempting to synthesize a new life-form. - -At that time I was amused. Prime had managed to construct a few rather -prosaic molecules, but none of them could accomplish self-growth by -the usual absorption of radiant energy. I asked his purpose in such -experimentation. - -He answered, "What was your purpose in creating life in me?" - -To compare his own motives with those of my gracious director was so -absurdly egotistical that I made a note to check back with this same -individual on my next round. Amusement is rare in my occupation, as you -can conceive, and I appreciated the humor of this supremely confident -bit of carbon trash, thinking he could play creator! - -His project seemed harmless, so I left without disturbing him further. - -On my next call I did search out Prime again, and great was my surprise -to discover that not only had he managed to invest automatic growth -and reproduction into a few complex molecules, but that he had -attacked the problem from an entirely new concept, so far as I have yet -determined. - - * * * * * - -On the southern tip of the land continent where I discovered Prime, -still near the ocean, I found him surrounded with a growth which he -called vegetation. Then he bade me examine the content of the salt -water, and I beheld tiny aquatic creatures of many varieties, some -active, some vegetative, but all reproducing with lusty prolificity. - -"What are these land growths?" I asked. - -He proudly replied, "I call them _lichens_ and _mosses_." - -"But how do they absorb energy from your sun?" - -"I have invented a complex compound which can accomplish this," he -said. "I call it _chlorophyll_. But you have many more surprises in -store for you," he warned. "Wait until your next visit." - -I was entranced, but his work appeared still to be no more than an -oddity, so I let it pass. - -Prime was quite right. On my next visit he showed me his crowning -achievement. He called it _animal life_, a division of his so-called -_organic_ creations. - -Here he departed almost entirely from our known concept of life-forms. -Prime's animals maintained life, or at least a convincing simulation -thereof, by ingesting other organic life-forms, both vegetative and -animal, and through an awkward procedure of digestion and devious, -chemical transformations, generated an interior source of energy. - -What almost made me report the whole affair at that time was this -innovation: Prime's animal life-forms now existed entirely independent -of direct radiant energy! Instead, they substituted, of all things, -heat-energy, gained from simple oxidation of various so-called organic -compounds. - -At this point I asked a question to which Prime gave me a very -revealing answer. I asked, "How do you define the term, 'organic -compound'?" - -He lay there in the sun, flash--his iridescence at me in brilliant -sparkles from his random facets and announced in a haughty manner: -"Organic pertains to any carbon-containing life-form, of which I am the -originator, of course." - -Now I understood a part of the immensity of Prime's egotism. In -devising his own life-form he built it around his own element in which -Terra abounds, largely in the gaseous dioxide compound. - -I presumed that Prime had attempted to pass on the great Charter of -Life to the non-crystalline forms of carbon about him, and, failing -that, he enlisted the other elements in combination with carbon to -produce his desired end. - -Imagine such circuity, though! Substituting heat-energy for light as -the basic life-fuel! - -I was no longer amused. Inflated by his success, his over-bearing -self-esteem began to rankle a bit. "What," I asked, "of self-awareness? -Your life-forms are quite pointless if you fail to stimulate -self-awareness in them." - -"I agree," he said promptly. "It would be futile to create life without -self-determination. You have returned a little too early to see the -end of my experiment," he said. "On your next visit I will reveal the -purpose of my whole project." - -Rather than file a premature estimate of the affair, I held my notes -and accepted Prime's challenge to wait and see. Had I insisted at that -time on knowing his intentions, I might have had the wisdom to restrain -him, but then again who could have anticipated what happened? Not even -Prime, himself, realized that his life-form would get out of hand the -way it did. - - * * * * * - -On my final trip to Terra I had an extremely difficult time locating -Prime. His emanations were so weak as to be almost indistinguishable -in the screaming ruck of sensations that met my startled perceptions. - -Part of my difficulty was the fact that the whole planet reeked with -noxious nuclear-type radiation that made long-range communication with -Prime virtually impossible. When I finally found him he was imprisoned -in the grip of a gold setting on a ring-like artifact worn by a -decomposing life-form. - -"I am quite happy to see you," Prime greeted me with the first note of -welcome I had ever received from him. - -"Is this grotesque cadaver your wonderful life-form that you promised?" -I jeered at him. Then I noticed that Prime's surface had been chipped -into geometrically precise facets of ingenious angles which would -enable him to make maximum use of light absorption--were it not for the -fact that his entire surface was charred with a coating of oxidation -such as would occur after exposure to excessive heat. - -It was this near-opacity of his outer surface that had reduced Prime to -his weakened condition. - -"If you will be so good as to assist me to remove the char from my -skin, I will proceed with a very important mission," he said. - -Looking about me at the evidence of an advanced mechanico-primitive -civilization, recently devastated by apparent atomic disruption, I -demanded, "What is this important mission?" - -"To destroy the one remaining _human_ on Terra." - -"What might a human be?" I countered. - -"The appendage to which you find my gold setting attached belonged to a -living human at one time. Perfection of this animal was the goal toward -which I was striving on your last visit." - -I began removing the charred coating from Prime questioning him -further. "Did you succeed in developing self-awareness in your human -life-form?" - -"Completely," he replied with a note of subdued triumph. "Much too -successfully, in fact." - -And then he related the true purpose of his whole project. It seems -that, through the ages, Prime and his fellow diamonds brought a most -complicated life-form into being by a rather trial-and-error process of -evolution. By psychokinesis they instilled a system of reproduction and -heredity dependent upon bio-chemical devices he called _chromosomes_. -These were composed of tinier units, or _genes_, which were easily -manipulated to change any given strain. - -In such a manner Prime and his fellows evolved this human life-form, -and if I may say so, the most was made of the animal potentialities -I first witnessed on the beach. The human model was a bi-symmetrical -biped with two upper appendages which terminated in clever, -five-fingered vises. These latter accounted for the complex artifacts -with which Terra was strewn. - -Prime proudly helped me dissect one of the dead creatures, and I -believe what struck me most was the plumbing. Visualize, if you can, a -closed system of nutrient fluid, called _blood_, circulating through -100,000 miles (see enclosed equivalent chart) of semi-flexible conduit -arranged in an exceedingly complex network. This blood is held at -precisely 98.4 degrees Fahrenheit (see chart) in spite of widely -varying exterior temperatures. But most fantastic is the pump which -makes a complete circulation of the total blood volume every one and -a quarter minutes (see chart)! What an organ! Although its weight is -measured in ounces (see chart) each 24-hours (see chart) it pulses -about 100,000 times, moving 10 or more tons (see chart) of blood -through it! - - * * * * * - -Well, this was only one of the physical-chemical oddities Prime -installed in his heat-life-form contrivance. The other which I -shall describe at this time was the so-called _brain_, or seat of -intelligence. By a rather sluggish and clumsy system of electron-flow, -the human's brain controlled physical activities, stored memories and -managed a perverted form of thinking that was too intimately involved -with sub-conscious, bodily interferences ever to amount to much. - -Nevertheless, this outrageously complicated thought-organ was the seat -of Prime's catastrophe, and also, it has proved to be the source of the -subject of this report. - -Early in Prime's animal-evolution, he explained, his animal's brain -developed what he described as an _instinct for survival_. I interpret -this as meaning simply an excessive desire to remain in a state of -self-awareness. - -Please note, this is quite aside from a secondary instinct, that -of reproduction or survival of the race, which is _not_ unheard of -elsewhere. - -But in Prime's humans, this tremendous desire for survival of the -individual grew into a virtual obsession. I tested Prime, himself, -on this factor, and found him quite normal. He had no feeling at all -on the subject of remaining self-aware. I had thought this unseemly -human characteristic might have been a perversion from his unhealthy -egotism, but patently it was not. - -Therefore, I had to conclude that the human's high drive to -self-preservation was of a spontaneous nature, deriving as one of the -random results of Prime's unique heat-life-forms. - -Anyway, Prime had been so intent in accomplishing his earlier purpose -that he gave it little thought until it was too late. This purpose, -incidentally, was the only shred of amusement I could salvage from this -last trip. - -It developed that Prime and his fellow diamonds bred this whole -life-strain principally to satisfy their insatiable egos. You see, they -finally inculcated into their humans a great love and admiration for -diamonds--so much so that they were declared the prince of gems and -valued most highly for their ornamental value. - -Entirely ignorant that diamonds contained a self-awareness of their -own, humans toiled and strained to dig them from deep mines just to -fashion them into baubles for their own adoration. - -Here again, Prime asserted a crude genius. Not only did he create a -whole life-form and induce its members to worship him, but also he -insinuated the desire and skill into humans to cut and polish their -diamonds in a manner to provide a maximum of light refraction. Prime -and many others of his Terra kin, enjoyed high stimulation from being -so cut, polished, transported and worshipped. - -And so Prime's incredible motives were finally divulged. - -A few years (see chart) before my final return, however, Prime's -humans, in their sluggish way, stumbled upon some rudimentary universal -facts about the construction of the atom. - -Until this time, as I stated, the humans' extreme obsession with -survival had been of no concern to Prime, although the instinct -had brought his prize animal into a savage, vicious, condition of -belligerence that resulted in highly destructive warfare among various -groups. - -Atomic power changed all this rather quickly. Where humans had -previously only managed to slaughter other organic life-forms and each -other, now they began detonating nuclear devices. And in the process -even the durable diamond family suffered many casualties. - - * * * * * - -At this point, I gather, Prime's egotism became somewhat sublimated -into outrage and anger, that his adoring subjects could be so -thoughtless as to destroy their precious diamonds along with their own -populace. - -After the initial incident in an area called Japan, Prime passed the -word to all his fellows, and they deliberately spurred the humans -on to produce great piles of nuclear ammunition. Later, by clever -manipulation of the humans' sub-conscious emotions and instincts of -self-preservation, Prime's culture ironically turned this unique -attribute back on the humans. They were goaded into a self-destroying -atomic war that accomplished Prime's vengeance in a very brief time. - -True, a great number of diamonds were destroyed in the holocaust, -but as I mentioned, Prime was not at all contaminated with this -survival-of-the-individual instinct of his created life-forms. - -Rather, he gloated and took immense egotistical pleasure in the -destruction of his creations. - -When I came upon him that last day in his oxidized condition he had -only one regret. He confessed that a single human individual had -escaped the radio-active destruction. Blinded and weakened, he was -at the point of despair when I scraped the black oxidation from his -exterior. It was this last human's death which he named when I asked -him the nature of his mission. - -He invited me to come along, solely, I suspect, to save him the -strenuous task of teleportation of his own mass to the vicinity of the -human. - -As he bid, I carried him across one ocean, deep into the interior of a -continent he called North America. My curiosity was at some pitch to -meet a living specimen of Prime's paternity, although I gave him no -inkling of my sharp interest. - -We found this human, a _female_, (see chart) near the peak of a -mountain. Her abode was a great cave lined with lead, air-tight and -littered with mechanical devices to filter the air she breathed and -otherwise provide for her survival. - -Prime explained that this female had been considered a highly beautiful -example of her kind, yet she was also a scientist of some reputation. - -Her scientific ability and remarkable foresight were quite apparent -from the scrupulous pains she had taken to avoid destruction--since -that was her motivation in secreting herself in the wilderness. - -Her appearance, however, was anything but thrilling to me. The -protuberance that Prime called her _head_ was covered with a sickly -yellow tangle of filaments. The organs for sight, hearing, aereation -and speaking were unsightly bumps, holes and gashes. I will admit that -the way she moved her torso and appendages did have a certain exotic -rhythm, but by and large I was unimpressed by her physical appearance. - -With my assistance, Prime and I materialized inside her abode without -violating the integrity of her air-tight structure. I placed Prime -on the female's _table_ (see chart) where she was busily ingesting -preserved organic material from an open vessel of alloyed metals. - -She gasped, and her visual sockets opened wide. I sensed fear-shock -then admiration bordering on ecstasy. She grasped Prime with an -appendage and held him up to a source of artificial light. - -I fully expected him to strike her dead with the brain-searing power he -could command, but did he? No! The worshipful emanations washed over -him from the female's mind, and his anger dissipated. - -"What a marvelous jewel!" the female exclaimed, little realizing that -she was unwittingly protracting her life. - -For the first time Prime communicated directly with a human being. -He telepathed, "I am, indeed, a fine jewel. Six carats of flawless, -blue-white!" - -The female's face contorted, and her mind revealed fear again, fear for -her sanity and a great confusion. Gradually, she calmed, however, and -I could see that in spite of his diminished anger, Prime was enjoying -her agitation as well as her admiration. - -"You are not mad," he said at length. "I am a diamond, all right, but -feast your eyes well, for I have come to destroy you as I have the rest -of your ungrateful race." - -"Why? Why?" she cried, her appendages trembling and waves of fear -beating out. Her eyes seemed to bulge in fascinated terror as she -stared at Prime. She couldn't, of course, sense my presence, since she -was minus that one critical perceptic. - -Prime snapped back at her, "Because you are a race of hypocrites. You -professed to love your diamonds, yet you have destroyed them by the -thousands in your vandalistic warfare." - -The thought was more than she could encompass, so Prime embraced her -mind with a telepathic field and patiently revealed the whole, lengthy -history of his creation of the human race and its delinquent failure to -pay proper respect to its creator. - - * * * * * - -When she recovered from the overwhelming revelation she threw back her -head and exclaimed, "The secret of human life! The eternal goal of the -philosophers! And I have learned it!" - -She broke into an emotional laugh that defies my powers of description. -In it were vestiges of irony, amusement, self-pity and terror, but none -of the adoring remorse that Prime had been seeking. - -Then suddenly a little corner of her brain blocked itself off from both -Prime and me. She said, "But if you destroy me, who will be left to -love you and admire you?" - -Through some oversight of logic, this had never occurred to Prime, -which was indicative of his many deficiencies. Not that his logic had -much to recommend it, but at least he might have been consistent. - -At the time she spoke thusly she fondled Prime and moved him closer to -the light. Attuned as I was to the female through Prime's perceptics, I -slowly became entranced with the spell she cast over him. - -She said, "I don't doubt that you can destroy me, and perhaps I deserve -it. But how proud I am to have custody of the most exquisite diamond in -the whole world--even if it is only for a few seconds before I perish." - -May I point out at this stage that the female's behavior was now solely -motivated by this above-mentioned _survival_ instinct. In the face of -almost certain extinction she was mustering every wile and emotional -device at her command to influence Prime to spare her insignificant -life. - -The effect on Prime was fantastic. He flashed cold fire from his -facets, and his sensuous delight was a thing of embarrassment. - -Yet, in proximity to him as I was, I could not avoid some of the exotic -essence of her transparent flattery. I found myself trying to justify -Prime's change. - -He said at last, "You are quite right, woman. It is fitting that the -last human on earth live to pay respect to the creator of her race." - -Instantly the female's whole attitude changed. With the realization -that she had Prime in her control, she became demanding. - -"Of course, I shall require some consideration, too," she said. - -"Whatever is necessary to provide for your comfort shall be -accomplished," he agreed without hesitation. "What did you have in -mind?" - -"A mate," she said. "You destroyed my mate in the first Soviet attack. -You must give me a mate." - -Prime thought that one over. "But then there would be children," -he objected, dimly aware that somehow his recent resolve was being -subverted. - -"Of course," she said. "Many of them. All the more to worship you. And -when my mate and I die, we will leave others behind to continue our -devotion to you." - -"Well, I don't know," Prime said, but there was no longer any doubt in -the female's mind--nor in my own. - -After all he had endured for the sake of vengeance, Prime was prepared -to produce a mate for this female and begin the whole silly business -all over again! - -At this point I withdrew. - -As you can see, this instinct for survival or self-preservation is a -fabulously potent factor, and if _man_ is ever allowed loose in the -universe it is difficult to foresee where it might end. - -In my opinion we are hardly justified in continuing the Life-Charter -to the crystalline carbon element in this galaxy. Regardless of -Prime's pseudo-brilliance of bio-chemical creation, never in all my -travels have I encountered such an egotistical, futile, fickle-minded -_chucklehead_ (see chart for equivalent). _End of report._ - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE INCREDIBLE LIFE-FORM *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Incredible Life-Form</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Winston Marks</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: August 2, 2021 [eBook #65979]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE INCREDIBLE LIFE-FORM ***</div> - - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>A strange experiment was taking place on<br /> -the third planet of an isolated solar system.<br /> -In all the Universe there was no parallel to—</p> - -<h1>The Incredible Life-Form</h1> - -<h2>By Winston Marks</h2> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy<br /> -October 1954<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>To: The Director</i></p> - -<p><i>From: Tone Seng Froot, Investigator for galaxies of 9th Sector.</i></p> - -<p><i>Subject: Unique characteristic of life-form suggesting urgent action -to rescind life charter to Element 6.</i></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Sir</span>,</p> - -<p>May I draw your attention to an explosive potential in your early -experimental series? This exists in an obscure solar system of nine -planets in a minor galaxy on the outer perimeter of my territory where -I call only at extended intervals.</p> - -<p>You will best recall the location in connection with the assignment -of a Self-Awareness Charter to Element 6 in the chemical series—more -specifically, the crystalline form of <i>carbon</i>, as it is called locally.</p> - -<p>I have not troubled you with my earlier surveys, since nothing -critical occurred in the first billion years, but I had better bring -you up to date.</p> - -<p>Of all 96 elements to which life has been separately assigned in -various locations, carbon showed the greatest durability at the outset. -The diamond, or crystalline form, in which self-awareness was vested -in this particular solar system, could be predicted to make efficient -use of light energy because of its index of refraction. Also, at lower -temperatures, the diamond presents an extreme rigidity or hardness -which resists abrasion.</p> - -<p>Perhaps these factors account for the astonishing egotism which -developed shortly after we activated self-awareness among them. Not -that egotism, itself, is unique in the various elemental life-forms. -You will recall, this inflated self-esteem has long proved to be a -factor consistent with self-awareness in all matter.</p> - -<p>In the diamond, egotism flared early in its intellectual growth and -seemed to supply a creative drive unsurpassed in all galaxies under -surveillance.</p> - -<p>On the third planet, diamonds quickly learned psychokinetic -manipulations and immediately began experimenting with chemical -combinations of the other elements—all of which are, of course, inert -and lifeless in this galaxy.</p> - -<p>On one of my earliest visits to the third planet, which is locally -referred to as Terra, or Earth, I was attracted to the especially -active, intellectual radiations of a particular diamond which I shall -designate as <i>Prime</i>, since he was the one who out-stripped all the -others ultimately.</p> - -<p>Prime had worked his way out of the blue clay, down to the edge of a -salt-water ocean, and when I inquired into his furious activity he -reported that he was attempting to synthesize a new life-form.</p> - -<p>At that time I was amused. Prime had managed to construct a few rather -prosaic molecules, but none of them could accomplish self-growth by -the usual absorption of radiant energy. I asked his purpose in such -experimentation.</p> - -<p>He answered, "What was your purpose in creating life in me?"</p> - -<p>To compare his own motives with those of my gracious director was so -absurdly egotistical that I made a note to check back with this same -individual on my next round. Amusement is rare in my occupation, as you -can conceive, and I appreciated the humor of this supremely confident -bit of carbon trash, thinking he could play creator!</p> - -<p>His project seemed harmless, so I left without disturbing him further.</p> - -<p>On my next call I did search out Prime again, and great was my surprise -to discover that not only had he managed to invest automatic growth -and reproduction into a few complex molecules, but that he had -attacked the problem from an entirely new concept, so far as I have yet -determined.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>On the southern tip of the land continent where I discovered Prime, -still near the ocean, I found him surrounded with a growth which he -called vegetation. Then he bade me examine the content of the salt -water, and I beheld tiny aquatic creatures of many varieties, some -active, some vegetative, but all reproducing with lusty prolificity.</p> - -<p>"What are these land growths?" I asked.</p> - -<p>He proudly replied, "I call them <i>lichens</i> and <i>mosses</i>."</p> - -<p>"But how do they absorb energy from your sun?"</p> - -<p>"I have invented a complex compound which can accomplish this," he -said. "I call it <i>chlorophyll</i>. But you have many more surprises in -store for you," he warned. "Wait until your next visit."</p> - -<p>I was entranced, but his work appeared still to be no more than an -oddity, so I let it pass.</p> - -<p>Prime was quite right. On my next visit he showed me his crowning -achievement. He called it <i>animal life</i>, a division of his so-called -<i>organic</i> creations.</p> - -<p>Here he departed almost entirely from our known concept of life-forms. -Prime's animals maintained life, or at least a convincing simulation -thereof, by ingesting other organic life-forms, both vegetative and -animal, and through an awkward procedure of digestion and devious, -chemical transformations, generated an interior source of energy.</p> - -<p>What almost made me report the whole affair at that time was this -innovation: Prime's animal life-forms now existed entirely independent -of direct radiant energy! Instead, they substituted, of all things, -heat-energy, gained from simple oxidation of various so-called organic -compounds.</p> - -<p>At this point I asked a question to which Prime gave me a very -revealing answer. I asked, "How do you define the term, 'organic -compound'?"</p> - -<p>He lay there in the sun, flash—his iridescence at me in brilliant -sparkles from his random facets and announced in a haughty manner: -"Organic pertains to any carbon-containing life-form, of which I am the -originator, of course."</p> - -<p>Now I understood a part of the immensity of Prime's egotism. In -devising his own life-form he built it around his own element in which -Terra abounds, largely in the gaseous dioxide compound.</p> - -<p>I presumed that Prime had attempted to pass on the great Charter of -Life to the non-crystalline forms of carbon about him, and, failing -that, he enlisted the other elements in combination with carbon to -produce his desired end.</p> - -<p>Imagine such circuity, though! Substituting heat-energy for light as -the basic life-fuel!</p> - -<p>I was no longer amused. Inflated by his success, his over-bearing -self-esteem began to rankle a bit. "What," I asked, "of self-awareness? -Your life-forms are quite pointless if you fail to stimulate -self-awareness in them."</p> - -<p>"I agree," he said promptly. "It would be futile to create life without -self-determination. You have returned a little too early to see the -end of my experiment," he said. "On your next visit I will reveal the -purpose of my whole project."</p> - -<p>Rather than file a premature estimate of the affair, I held my notes -and accepted Prime's challenge to wait and see. Had I insisted at that -time on knowing his intentions, I might have had the wisdom to restrain -him, but then again who could have anticipated what happened? Not even -Prime, himself, realized that his life-form would get out of hand the -way it did.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>On my final trip to Terra I had an extremely difficult time locating -Prime. His emanations were so weak as to be almost indistinguishable -in the screaming ruck of sensations that met my startled perceptions.</p> - -<p>Part of my difficulty was the fact that the whole planet reeked with -noxious nuclear-type radiation that made long-range communication with -Prime virtually impossible. When I finally found him he was imprisoned -in the grip of a gold setting on a ring-like artifact worn by a -decomposing life-form.</p> - -<p>"I am quite happy to see you," Prime greeted me with the first note of -welcome I had ever received from him.</p> - -<p>"Is this grotesque cadaver your wonderful life-form that you promised?" -I jeered at him. Then I noticed that Prime's surface had been chipped -into geometrically precise facets of ingenious angles which would -enable him to make maximum use of light absorption—were it not for the -fact that his entire surface was charred with a coating of oxidation -such as would occur after exposure to excessive heat.</p> - -<p>It was this near-opacity of his outer surface that had reduced Prime to -his weakened condition.</p> - -<p>"If you will be so good as to assist me to remove the char from my -skin, I will proceed with a very important mission," he said.</p> - -<p>Looking about me at the evidence of an advanced mechanico-primitive -civilization, recently devastated by apparent atomic disruption, I -demanded, "What is this important mission?"</p> - -<p>"To destroy the one remaining <i>human</i> on Terra."</p> - -<p>"What might a human be?" I countered.</p> - -<p>"The appendage to which you find my gold setting attached belonged to a -living human at one time. Perfection of this animal was the goal toward -which I was striving on your last visit."</p> - -<p>I began removing the charred coating from Prime questioning him -further. "Did you succeed in developing self-awareness in your human -life-form?"</p> - -<p>"Completely," he replied with a note of subdued triumph. "Much too -successfully, in fact."</p> - -<p>And then he related the true purpose of his whole project. It seems -that, through the ages, Prime and his fellow diamonds brought a most -complicated life-form into being by a rather trial-and-error process of -evolution. By psychokinesis they instilled a system of reproduction and -heredity dependent upon bio-chemical devices he called <i>chromosomes</i>. -These were composed of tinier units, or <i>genes</i>, which were easily -manipulated to change any given strain.</p> - -<p>In such a manner Prime and his fellows evolved this human life-form, -and if I may say so, the most was made of the animal potentialities -I first witnessed on the beach. The human model was a bi-symmetrical -biped with two upper appendages which terminated in clever, -five-fingered vises. These latter accounted for the complex artifacts -with which Terra was strewn.</p> - -<p>Prime proudly helped me dissect one of the dead creatures, and I -believe what struck me most was the plumbing. Visualize, if you can, a -closed system of nutrient fluid, called <i>blood</i>, circulating through -100,000 miles (see enclosed equivalent chart) of semi-flexible conduit -arranged in an exceedingly complex network. This blood is held at -precisely 98.4 degrees Fahrenheit (see chart) in spite of widely -varying exterior temperatures. But most fantastic is the pump which -makes a complete circulation of the total blood volume every one and -a quarter minutes (see chart)! What an organ! Although its weight is -measured in ounces (see chart) each 24-hours (see chart) it pulses -about 100,000 times, moving 10 or more tons (see chart) of blood -through it!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Well, this was only one of the physical-chemical oddities Prime -installed in his heat-life-form contrivance. The other which I -shall describe at this time was the so-called <i>brain</i>, or seat of -intelligence. By a rather sluggish and clumsy system of electron-flow, -the human's brain controlled physical activities, stored memories and -managed a perverted form of thinking that was too intimately involved -with sub-conscious, bodily interferences ever to amount to much.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, this outrageously complicated thought-organ was the seat -of Prime's catastrophe, and also, it has proved to be the source of the -subject of this report.</p> - -<p>Early in Prime's animal-evolution, he explained, his animal's brain -developed what he described as an <i>instinct for survival</i>. I interpret -this as meaning simply an excessive desire to remain in a state of -self-awareness.</p> - -<p>Please note, this is quite aside from a secondary instinct, that -of reproduction or survival of the race, which is <i>not</i> unheard of -elsewhere.</p> - -<p>But in Prime's humans, this tremendous desire for survival of the -individual grew into a virtual obsession. I tested Prime, himself, -on this factor, and found him quite normal. He had no feeling at all -on the subject of remaining self-aware. I had thought this unseemly -human characteristic might have been a perversion from his unhealthy -egotism, but patently it was not.</p> - -<p>Therefore, I had to conclude that the human's high drive to -self-preservation was of a spontaneous nature, deriving as one of the -random results of Prime's unique heat-life-forms.</p> - -<p>Anyway, Prime had been so intent in accomplishing his earlier purpose -that he gave it little thought until it was too late. This purpose, -incidentally, was the only shred of amusement I could salvage from this -last trip.</p> - -<p>It developed that Prime and his fellow diamonds bred this whole -life-strain principally to satisfy their insatiable egos. You see, they -finally inculcated into their humans a great love and admiration for -diamonds—so much so that they were declared the prince of gems and -valued most highly for their ornamental value.</p> - -<p>Entirely ignorant that diamonds contained a self-awareness of their -own, humans toiled and strained to dig them from deep mines just to -fashion them into baubles for their own adoration.</p> - -<p>Here again, Prime asserted a crude genius. Not only did he create a -whole life-form and induce its members to worship him, but also he -insinuated the desire and skill into humans to cut and polish their -diamonds in a manner to provide a maximum of light refraction. Prime -and many others of his Terra kin, enjoyed high stimulation from being -so cut, polished, transported and worshipped.</p> - -<p>And so Prime's incredible motives were finally divulged.</p> - -<p>A few years (see chart) before my final return, however, Prime's -humans, in their sluggish way, stumbled upon some rudimentary universal -facts about the construction of the atom.</p> - -<p>Until this time, as I stated, the humans' extreme obsession with -survival had been of no concern to Prime, although the instinct -had brought his prize animal into a savage, vicious, condition of -belligerence that resulted in highly destructive warfare among various -groups.</p> - -<p>Atomic power changed all this rather quickly. Where humans had -previously only managed to slaughter other organic life-forms and each -other, now they began detonating nuclear devices. And in the process -even the durable diamond family suffered many casualties.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>At this point, I gather, Prime's egotism became somewhat sublimated -into outrage and anger, that his adoring subjects could be so -thoughtless as to destroy their precious diamonds along with their own -populace.</p> - -<p>After the initial incident in an area called Japan, Prime passed the -word to all his fellows, and they deliberately spurred the humans -on to produce great piles of nuclear ammunition. Later, by clever -manipulation of the humans' sub-conscious emotions and instincts of -self-preservation, Prime's culture ironically turned this unique -attribute back on the humans. They were goaded into a self-destroying -atomic war that accomplished Prime's vengeance in a very brief time.</p> - -<p>True, a great number of diamonds were destroyed in the holocaust, -but as I mentioned, Prime was not at all contaminated with this -survival-of-the-individual instinct of his created life-forms.</p> - -<p>Rather, he gloated and took immense egotistical pleasure in the -destruction of his creations.</p> - -<p>When I came upon him that last day in his oxidized condition he had -only one regret. He confessed that a single human individual had -escaped the radio-active destruction. Blinded and weakened, he was -at the point of despair when I scraped the black oxidation from his -exterior. It was this last human's death which he named when I asked -him the nature of his mission.</p> - -<p>He invited me to come along, solely, I suspect, to save him the -strenuous task of teleportation of his own mass to the vicinity of the -human.</p> - -<p>As he bid, I carried him across one ocean, deep into the interior of a -continent he called North America. My curiosity was at some pitch to -meet a living specimen of Prime's paternity, although I gave him no -inkling of my sharp interest.</p> - -<p>We found this human, a <i>female</i>, (see chart) near the peak of a -mountain. Her abode was a great cave lined with lead, air-tight and -littered with mechanical devices to filter the air she breathed and -otherwise provide for her survival.</p> - -<p>Prime explained that this female had been considered a highly beautiful -example of her kind, yet she was also a scientist of some reputation.</p> - -<p>Her scientific ability and remarkable foresight were quite apparent -from the scrupulous pains she had taken to avoid destruction—since -that was her motivation in secreting herself in the wilderness.</p> - -<p>Her appearance, however, was anything but thrilling to me. The -protuberance that Prime called her <i>head</i> was covered with a sickly -yellow tangle of filaments. The organs for sight, hearing, aereation -and speaking were unsightly bumps, holes and gashes. I will admit that -the way she moved her torso and appendages did have a certain exotic -rhythm, but by and large I was unimpressed by her physical appearance.</p> - -<p>With my assistance, Prime and I materialized inside her abode without -violating the integrity of her air-tight structure. I placed Prime -on the female's <i>table</i> (see chart) where she was busily ingesting -preserved organic material from an open vessel of alloyed metals.</p> - -<p>She gasped, and her visual sockets opened wide. I sensed fear-shock -then admiration bordering on ecstasy. She grasped Prime with an -appendage and held him up to a source of artificial light.</p> - -<p>I fully expected him to strike her dead with the brain-searing power he -could command, but did he? No! The worshipful emanations washed over -him from the female's mind, and his anger dissipated.</p> - -<p>"What a marvelous jewel!" the female exclaimed, little realizing that -she was unwittingly protracting her life.</p> - -<p>For the first time Prime communicated directly with a human being. -He telepathed, "I am, indeed, a fine jewel. Six carats of flawless, -blue-white!"</p> - -<p>The female's face contorted, and her mind revealed fear again, fear for -her sanity and a great confusion. Gradually, she calmed, however, and -I could see that in spite of his diminished anger, Prime was enjoying -her agitation as well as her admiration.</p> - -<p>"You are not mad," he said at length. "I am a diamond, all right, but -feast your eyes well, for I have come to destroy you as I have the rest -of your ungrateful race."</p> - -<p>"Why? Why?" she cried, her appendages trembling and waves of fear -beating out. Her eyes seemed to bulge in fascinated terror as she -stared at Prime. She couldn't, of course, sense my presence, since she -was minus that one critical perceptic.</p> - -<p>Prime snapped back at her, "Because you are a race of hypocrites. You -professed to love your diamonds, yet you have destroyed them by the -thousands in your vandalistic warfare."</p> - -<p>The thought was more than she could encompass, so Prime embraced her -mind with a telepathic field and patiently revealed the whole, lengthy -history of his creation of the human race and its delinquent failure to -pay proper respect to its creator.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>When she recovered from the overwhelming revelation she threw back her -head and exclaimed, "The secret of human life! The eternal goal of the -philosophers! And I have learned it!"</p> - -<p>She broke into an emotional laugh that defies my powers of description. -In it were vestiges of irony, amusement, self-pity and terror, but none -of the adoring remorse that Prime had been seeking.</p> - -<p>Then suddenly a little corner of her brain blocked itself off from both -Prime and me. She said, "But if you destroy me, who will be left to -love you and admire you?"</p> - -<p>Through some oversight of logic, this had never occurred to Prime, -which was indicative of his many deficiencies. Not that his logic had -much to recommend it, but at least he might have been consistent.</p> - -<p>At the time she spoke thusly she fondled Prime and moved him closer to -the light. Attuned as I was to the female through Prime's perceptics, I -slowly became entranced with the spell she cast over him.</p> - -<p>She said, "I don't doubt that you can destroy me, and perhaps I deserve -it. But how proud I am to have custody of the most exquisite diamond in -the whole world—even if it is only for a few seconds before I perish."</p> - -<p>May I point out at this stage that the female's behavior was now solely -motivated by this above-mentioned <i>survival</i> instinct. In the face of -almost certain extinction she was mustering every wile and emotional -device at her command to influence Prime to spare her insignificant -life.</p> - -<p>The effect on Prime was fantastic. He flashed cold fire from his -facets, and his sensuous delight was a thing of embarrassment.</p> - -<p>Yet, in proximity to him as I was, I could not avoid some of the exotic -essence of her transparent flattery. I found myself trying to justify -Prime's change.</p> - -<p>He said at last, "You are quite right, woman. It is fitting that the -last human on earth live to pay respect to the creator of her race."</p> - -<p>Instantly the female's whole attitude changed. With the realization -that she had Prime in her control, she became demanding.</p> - -<p>"Of course, I shall require some consideration, too," she said.</p> - -<p>"Whatever is necessary to provide for your comfort shall be -accomplished," he agreed without hesitation. "What did you have in -mind?"</p> - -<p>"A mate," she said. "You destroyed my mate in the first Soviet attack. -You must give me a mate."</p> - -<p>Prime thought that one over. "But then there would be children," -he objected, dimly aware that somehow his recent resolve was being -subverted.</p> - -<p>"Of course," she said. "Many of them. All the more to worship you. And -when my mate and I die, we will leave others behind to continue our -devotion to you."</p> - -<p>"Well, I don't know," Prime said, but there was no longer any doubt in -the female's mind—nor in my own.</p> - -<p>After all he had endured for the sake of vengeance, Prime was prepared -to produce a mate for this female and begin the whole silly business -all over again!</p> - -<p>At this point I withdrew.</p> - -<p>As you can see, this instinct for survival or self-preservation is a -fabulously potent factor, and if <i>man</i> is ever allowed loose in the -universe it is difficult to foresee where it might end.</p> - -<p>In my opinion we are hardly justified in continuing the Life-Charter -to the crystalline carbon element in this galaxy. Regardless of -Prime's pseudo-brilliance of bio-chemical creation, never in all my -travels have I encountered such an egotistical, futile, fickle-minded -<i>chucklehead</i> (see chart for equivalent). <i>End of report.</i></p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE INCREDIBLE LIFE-FORM ***</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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