Nance smiled foolishly. The long trip back to
Earth from Mars wouldn't be at all dull. It might
well be one long delicious chuckle over a great,
grim and incredible joke. And wouldn't Nance's
little cocker spaniel appreciate it most of all?
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Planet Stories March 1954.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
He was lying in the grass and his cute little cocker spaniel was
nibbling on his ear when the message came. He was breathing the
fragrant air of spring and feeling cool spring breeze and the solid
earth under the grass beneath him, while the dog with doleful eyes
delighted him with her tricks.
His name was Oscar Nance, and he was the world's top archaeologist.
That was why the message came to him when the UN began selecting a crew
for Earth's first expedition to Mars.
"We want you," the message read. It was an invitation that was
difficult to refuse. He cuffed the cocker on the ear. She barked softly
and let her tongue hang out at the cutest angle. "Good-bye, Mimsy," he
said. The dog was all he had on this world. "I'll miss you, lady,"
Nance told the dog. She licked his hand.
Then Nance raised his six-three form from the soft grass and started
with a careless gait toward the boarding house where he lived during
infrequent visits to his home town. Usually he took Mimsy with him on
his trips but he knew this trip would not be available for pets.
He stopped at the house and told his landlady to be sure and take care
of the dog while he was gone. "I sure will," the landlady told him. She
already had Mimsy's supper of liver and dog biscuits waiting on the
hearth.
A day later, Oscar Nance became a part of man's grandest adventure....
The place where the first earth ship to Mars landed was very cold and
very dead. The commander of the expedition was a gruff, retired Army
general who had a smattering of science and a great deal of command.
His crew, with the exception of two handy men, was composed of the
leading persons in all branches of Terran science. None of them were
women, and most of them were young.
Oscar Nance was 34. He had been around the world 10 times, with
particular emphasis on Easter Island and the Antarctica.
The ship had taken two weeks to bridge the gap between Earth and
Mars. The voyage had been smooth. Every man aboard knew his job, and
they were following a plan that the U.N. had worked on for 20 years.
Boone, the commander, had been a top general in World War III. He was
efficient, stern, colorless to the point that he was almost colorful.
Immediately upon landing, Boone had dispatched two cats to take the
first steps onto Mars. The cats suffered no ill effects, and now the
Commander was preparing for the crew to explore the new world.
He pointed to Nance and Zoologist Braun. "You, Nance, and Braun, and
myself, will form one group," he said. He quickly divided the remaining
twelve men into three groups. One was to stay at the ship, the other
two would be exploring units.
When the small group of Earthmen descended from the ship to alien soil,
Commander Boone's businesslike manner seemed to take much of the
glamour from the moment. "No heroics, Commander?" Physicist Allgood
asked.
Boone was not a man for ceremony. "We're here," he said. "We must see
what is here. We must get back."
* * * * *
What was there was not a great deal. Some vegetation did exist, and
there was a thin coat of snow spread over the few scraggly trees.
Commander Boone surveyed the surrounding land through his spyglass,
then suddenly lowered it with a set expression on his face. "There's
a city to the North," he announced. He checked the group's immediate
enthusiasm with a harsh bellow. "There's no movement there," he barked.
"And from the looks of the buildings there's been no life there for
centuries. However, if there is intelligent life, we will find it
there, but it may not be friendly."
Boone studied the buildings to the North for another moment, then
turned to Nance and Braun. "We three will explore the city," he rasped
into the thin air. "You others will fan out in other directions and
meet back here in an hour." He paused emphatically. "If we do not come
back, bring every weapon in the ship when you come to get us. I repeat,
life here, if any, may not be friendly. That is why we can't afford to
risk the whole party on an expedition to the city."
Nance and Braun followed the stern old General as he set out on foot
in a northward direction. The other parties went their own way. The
three men spoke sparingly during the hour's walk to the buildings.
Mars was too quiet, almost like a funeral parlor, Nance thought, and
perhaps the corpses were waiting on their slabs in the city now rising
before them. The air was tolerable but cold, and the sun was fighting
a losing battle with a heavy fog. Nance finally made out the form of
the structures when they were only a mile away. As they drew nearer, he
noticed that the buildings were made of solid stone, apparently, and
rivaled the pyramids in height. There were gigantic cracks in the walls
of many, and a few had crumbled to the ground.
As the three entered the city, Nance dropped to his knees and examined
the stone closely. "Good Lord," he gasped. "Mars must have been
deserted for thousands of years. It would require that long for stone
like this to deteriorate."
Boone stared at the winding street between the fallen buildings. "Then
no intelligent life exists here," he said.
Braun looked up from a small flower which he'd found. "I challenge that
statement, Commander," he said. "Life could exist here today. Perhaps
the life that is here just doesn't know how to keep house very well,
and let the work of its ancestors go to ruin."
"Well, then, let's investigate," Boone ordered. He led the way into the
nearest structure, a gnarled hand falling close to the automatic which
hung at his side. But there was nothing in the building save the rubble
of a dead civilization and rusted machines which once must have given
life and meaning to Mars.
They left and went on to the second building. Here they found life.
Life was in a back room that had one small window to admit light. Nance
entered. The light was so dim that he did not see it at first. He saw
it when it moved, slowly, clumsily in a far corner, as if awaking from
a long sleep. Nance quickly shone his flashlight over the room and onto
the life.
"Commander Boone, Braun, come here," he shouted. The other two men were
at his side almost instantly.
Nance directed his beam of light to the face of the creature in the
corner. The creature looked remarkably like a man. He had huge jowls
and long overlapping ears, and was somewhat fat. He blinked tiny eyes
at the light for a moment and finally managed to get a look at his
visitors.
In English, he growled, "So you've come at last." The flash quivered
in Nance's hand. He remembered his first trip into the pyramids, and
suddenly he knew how he would have felt if King Tut's mummy had spoken
to him--in English.