Suddenly the blazing sun was gone and they were floating in a vast world
of rolling mists--mists that brushed the car with tiny clicks, which,
with the millions of particles that struck simultaneously, merged into a
steady roar.
"Ice--ice clouds!" Morey exclaimed.
Arcot nodded. "We'll drop below the clouds; they're probably miles deep.
Look, already they're changing--snow now--in a moment it will be
water--then it'll clear away and we'll actually see Venus!"
For ten miles--an endless distance it seemed--they dropped through
clouds utterly impenetrable to the eye. Then gradually the clouds
thinned; there appeared brief clear spots, spots into which they could
see short distances--then here and there they caught glimpses of green
below. Was it water--or land?
With a suddenness that startled them, they were out of the clouds,
shooting smoothly and swiftly above a broad plain. It seemed to stretch
for endless miles across the globe, to be lost in the far distance to
east and west; but to the north they saw a low range of hills that rose
blue and misty in the distance.
"Venus! We made it!" Morey cried jubilantly. "The first men ever to
leave Earth--I'm going to start the old sender and radio back home!
Man--look at that stretch of plain!" He jumped to his feet and started
across the control room. "Lord--I feel like of ton of lead now--I sure
am out of condition for walking after all that time just floating!"
Arcot raised a restraining hand. "Whoa--wait a minute there, Morey--you
won't get anything through to them now. The Earth is on the other side
of Venus--it's on the night side, remember--and we're on the day side.
In about twelve hours we'll be able to send a message. In the meantime,
take the controls while I make a test of the air here, will you?"
Relieved of the controls, Arcot rose and walked down the corridor to the
power room where the chemical laboratory had been set up. Wade had
already collected a dozen samples of air, and was working on them.
"How is it--what have you tested for so far?" asked Arcot.
"Oxygen and CO_{2}. The oxygen is about twenty-two per cent, or
considering the slightly lower air pressure here, we will have just
about the right amount of oxygen. The CO_{2} is about one-tenth of one
per cent. The atmosphere is O.K. for terrestrial life apparently; that
mouse there is living quite happily. Whatever the other seventy-five per
cent or so of diluting gas is, I don't know, but it isn't nitrogen."
Briefly Arcot and Wade discussed the unusual atmosphere, finally
deciding that the inert gas was argon.
"No great amount of nitrogen," Arcot concluded. "That means that life
will have a sweet time extracting it from the air--but wherever there is
life, it finds a way to do the impossible. Test it more accurately, will
you--you try for nitrogen and I'll try the component inert gasses."
They ran the analyses rapidly, and in a very short time--less than an
hour--their results stood at 23 per cent oxygen, .1 per cent carbon
dioxide, 68 per cent argon, 6 per cent nitrogen, 2 per cent helium, 5
per cent neon, .05 per cent hydrogen, and the rest krypton and xenon
apparently. The analyses of these inert gasses had to be done rather
roughly in this short time, but it was sufficient to balance fairly
accurately.
The two chemists reported back to the control cabin.
"Well, we'll be able to breathe the atmosphere of Venus with ease. I
believe we can go on now. I have been surprised to see no water in
sight, but I think I see my mistake now. You know the Mississippi has
its mouth further from the center of the Earth than its source; it flows
up hill! The answer is, of course, that the centrifugal force of the
Earth's spin impels it to flow that way. Similarly, I am sure now that
we will find that Venus has a vast belt of water about the middle, and
to the north and south there will be two great caps of dry land. We are
on the northern cap.
"We have the microphone turned way down. Let's step up the power a bit
and see if there are any sounds outside," said Arcot and walked over to
the power control switch. An instant later a low hum came from the
loudspeaker. There was a light breeze blowing. In the distance, forming
a dull background for the hum, there came a low rumbling that seemed
punctuated now and then by a greater sound.
"Must be a long way off," said Arcot, a puzzled frown on his face.
"Swing the ship around so we can see in what direction the sound is
loudest," he suggested.
Slowly Morey swung the ship around on its vertical axis. Without a
doubt, something off in the direction of the hills was making a
considerable noise.
"Arcot, if that's a fight between two animals--two of those giant
animals that you said might be here--I don't care to get near them!"
Fuller's narrowed eyes strove to penetrate the haze that screened the
low hills in the blue distance.
The microphone was shut off while the _Solarite_ shot swiftly forward
toward the source of the sound. Quickly the hills grew, the blue
mistiness disappearing, and the jagged mounds revealing themselves as
bleak harsh rock. As they drew nearer they saw beyond the hills,
intermittent flashes of brilliant light, heard shattering blasts of
sound.
"A thunderstorm!" Wade began, but Arcot interrupted.
"Not so fast, Wade--Fuller's animal _is_ there--the only animal in all
creation that can make a noise like that! Look through the
telescope--see those dots wheeling about there above the flashing
lights? The only animal that can make that racket is man! There are men
over there--and they aren't in a playful mood! Turn on the invisibility
while we can, Morey--and let's get nearer!"
"Look out--here we go!" Morey began to close a tiny switch set in one
side of the instrument panel--then, before the relay below could move,
he had flipped it back.
"Here, you take it, Arcot--you always think about two steps ahead of
me--you're quicker and know the machine better anyway."
Quickly the two men exchanged places.
"I don't know about that, Morey," said a voice from vacancy, for Arcot
had at once thrown the ship into invisibility. "The longer we're here,
the more mistakes I see we made in our calculations. I see what put me
off so badly on my estimate of the intelligence of life found here! The
sun gives it a double dose of heat--but also a double dose of other
radiations--some of which evidently speed up evolution. Anyway, we may
be able to find friends here more quickly if we aid one side or the
other in the very lively battle going on there. Before we go any
further, what's our decision?"
"I think it is a fine idea," said Fuller. "But which side are we to
aid--and what are the sides? We haven't even seen them yet. Let's go
nearer and take a good look."
"Yes--but are we going to join either side after looking?"
"Oh, that's unanimous!" said Wade, excitedly.
The invisible ship darted forward. They sped past the barrier of low
hills, and were again high above a broad plain. With a startled gasp,
Arcot cut their speed. There, floating high in the air, above a
magnificent city, was a machine such as no man had ever before seen! It
was a titanic airplane--monstrous, gargantuan, and every other word that
denoted immensity. Fully three-quarters of a mile the huge metal wings
stretched out in the dull light of the cloudy Venerian day; a machine
that seemed to dwarf even the vast city beneath it. The roar of its
mighty propellers was a rumbling thunder to the men in the _Solarite_.
From it came the flashing bursts of flame.
On closer inspection, the watchers saw what seemed to be a swarm of tiny
gnats flying about the mighty plane. They appeared to be attacking the
giant as vainly as gnats might attack an eagle, for they could not
damage the giant machine. The flashing bombs burst in blasts of yellow
flame as harmlessly as so many firecrackers.
All that mighty plane was covered with heavy metal plates, fully ten
inches thick, and of metal so tough that when the powerful bombs hit it
they made no impression, though they blasted tremendous craters in the
soil below. From it poured a steady stream of bombs that burst with a
great flash of heat and light, and in an instant the tiny planes they
struck streaked down as incandescent masses of metal.
Yet the giant seemed unable to approach the city--or was it defending
it? No, for it was from the city that the vainly courageous little ships
poured out. But certainly it was not these ships that kept the titanic
battleship of the air at bay!
Tensely the men watched the uneven conflict. The rain of bombs
continued, though all fell short of the city. But slowly around the
metropolis there appeared an area of flaring, molten lava, and steadily
this moved toward the beautiful buildings. Suddenly the battleship
turned toward the city and made a short dash inward on its circling
path. As though awaiting this maneuver, a battery of hissing, flaming
swords of white light flashed upward, a few hundred feet from the ring
of molten rock. As the titanic plane rolled, side-slipped out of the
way, they passed, harmlessly, barely missing a monstrous wing.
"Which?" Arcot demanded. "I say the city. No one should destroy anything
so magnificent."
Not a dissenting voice was raised, so Arcot sent the _Solarite_ nearer.
"But what in the world can we do to that huge thing?" Fuller's voice
came eerily out of the emptiness. "It has perfect invulnerability
through size alone."
There was sudden silence among the Terrestrials as one of the tiny
planes darted forward and dove at full speed directly toward one of the
giant's propellers. There were fifty of these strung along each great
wing. If enough of them could be destroyed, the plane must crash. There
came a terrific crash--a flare of light--and splintered fragments of
flaming wreckage plummeted down. Yet the mighty blades continued
whirling as smoothly as ever!
What could the _Solarite_ do against the giant monoplane? Evidently
Arcot had a plan. Under his touch their machine darted high into the sky
above the great plane. There was a full mile between them when he
released the sustaining force of the _Solarite_ and let it drop,
straight toward the source of the battle--falling freely, ever more and
more rapidly. They were rushing at the mighty plane below at a pace that
made their hearts seem to pause--then suddenly Arcot cried out, "Hold
on--here we stop!"
They seemed a scant hundred feet from the broad metal wings of the
unsuspecting plane, when suddenly there was a tremendous jerk, and each
man felt himself pressed to the floor beneath a terrific weight that
made their backs crack with the load. Doggedly they fought to retain
their senses; the blackness receded.
Below them they saw only a mighty sea of roaring red flames--a hell of
blazing gas that roared like a score of bombs set off at once. The
_Solarite_ was sitting down on her rocket jets! All six of the rocket
tubes in the base of the ship had been opened wide, and streaming from
them in a furious blast of incandescent gas, the atomic hydrogen shot
out in a mighty column of gas at 3500 degrees centigrade. Where the gas
touched it, the great plane flared to incandescence; and in an
immeasurable interval the fall of the _Solarite_ ended, and it rebounded
high into the air. Arcot, struggling against the weight of six
gravities, pulled shut the little control that had sent those mighty
torches blasting out. An instant later they sped away lest the plane
shoot toward the gas columns.
From a safe distance they looked back at their work. No longer was the
mighty plane unscathed, invulnerable, for now in its top gaped six great
craters of incandescent metal that almost touched and coalesced. The
great plane itself reeled, staggering, plunging downward; but long
before it reached the hard soil below, it was brought into level flight,
and despite many dead engines, it circled and fled toward the south. The
horde of small planes followed, dropping a rain of bombs into the
glowing pits in the ship, releasing their fury in its interior. In
moments the beings manning the marauder had to a large extent recovered
from the shock of the attack and were fighting back. In a moment--just
before the ship passed over the horizon and out of sight--the
Terrestrians saw the great props that had been idle, suddenly leap into
motion, and in an instant the giant had left its attackers
behind--fleeing from its invisible foe.
Under Arcot's guidance the ship from Earth, still invisible, returned to
the approximate spot where they had destroyed the invulnerability of the
Giant. Then suddenly, out of nothing, the _Solarite_ appeared. In an
instant a dozen of the tiny two-man planes darted toward it. Just that
they might recognize it, Arcot shot it up a bit higher with the aid of
the keel rockets at one-third power. The typical reddish flame of atomic
hydrogen, he knew, would be instantaneously recognizable.
Little these planes were, but shaped like darts, and swifter than any
plane of Earth. They shot along at 1000 miles an hour readily, as Arcot
soon found out. It was not a minute before they had formed a long line
that circled the _Solarite_ at minimum speed, then started off in the
direction of the city. On impulse Arcot followed after them, and
instantly the planes increased their velocity, swiftly reaching 1000
miles per hour.
The city they were approaching was an inspiring sight. Mighty towers
swept graceful lines a half mile in the air, their brightly colored
walls gleaming in rainbow hues, giving the entire city the aspect of a
gigantic jewel--a single architectural unit. Here was symmetry and
order, with every unit in the city built around the gigantic central
edifice that rose, a tremendous tower of black and gold, a full half
mile in the air.
The outer parts of the city were evidently the residential districts,
the low buildings and the wide streets with the little green lawns
showing the care of the individual owner. Then came the apartment houses
and the small stores; these rose in gentle slopes, higher and higher,
merging at last with the mighty central pinnacle of beauty. The city was
designed as a whole, not in a multitude of individually beautiful, but
inharmonious units, like some wild mixture of melodies, each in itself
beautiful, but mutually discordant.
V
The Terrestrians followed their escort high above these great buildings,
heading toward the great central tower. In a moment they were above it,
and in perfect order the ships of the Venerians shot down to land
smoothly, but at high speed. On the roof of the building they slowed
with startling rapidity, held back by electromagnets under the top
dressing of the roof landing, as Arcot learned later.
"We can't land on that--this thing weighs too much--we'd probably sink
right through it! The street looks wide enough for us to land there."
Arcot maneuvered the _Solarite_ over the edge of the roof, and dropped
it swiftly down the half mile to the ground below. Just above the
street, he leveled off, and descended slowly, giving the hurrying crowds
plenty of time to get from beneath it.
Landing finally, he looked curiously at the mass of Venerians who had
gathered in the busy street, coming out of buildings where they
evidently had sought shelter during the raid. The crowd grew rapidly as
the Terrestrians watched them--people of a new world.
"Why," exclaimed Fuller in startled surprise, "they look almost like
us!"
"Why not?" laughed Arcot. "Is there any particular reason why they
shouldn't look like us? Venus and Earth are very nearly the same size,
and are planets of the same parent sun. Physical conditions here appear
to be very similar to conditions back home, and if there's anything to
Svend Arrehenius' theory of life spores being sent from world to world
by sunlight, there's no reason why humanoid races cannot be found
throughout the universe. On worlds, that is, suitable for the
development of such life forms."
"Look at the size of 'em," Fuller commented.
Their size was certainly worth noting, for in all that crowd only the
obviously young were less than six feet tall. The average seemed to be
seven feet--well-built men and women with unusually large chests, who
would have seemed very human indeed, but for a ghastly, death-like blue
tinge to their skin. Even their lips were as bright a blue as man's lips
are red. The teeth seemed to be as white as any human's, but their
mouths were blue.
"They look as if they'd all been eating blueberries!" laughed Wade. "I
wonder what makes their blood blue? I've heard of blue-blooded families,
but these are the first I've ever seen!"
"I think I can answer that," said Morey slowly. "It seems odd to us--but
those people evidently have their blood based on hemocyanin. In us, the
oxygen is carried to the tissues, and the carbon dioxide carried away by
an iron compound, hemoglobin, but in many animals of Earth, the same
function is performed by a copper compound, hemocyanin, which is an
intense blue. I am sure that that is the explanation for these strange
people. By the way, did you notice their hands?"
"Yes, I had. They strike me as having one too many fingers--look
there--that fellow is pointing--why--his hand hasn't too many fingers,
but too many thumbs! He has one on each side of his palm! Say, that
would be handy in placing nuts and bolts, and such fine work, wouldn't
it?"
Suddenly a lane opened in the crowd, and from the great black and gold
building there came a file of men in tight-fitting green uniforms; a
file of seven-foot giants. Obviously they were soldiers of some
particular branch, for in the crowd there were a number of men dressed
in similar uniforms of deep blue.
"I think they want one or more of us to accompany them," Arcot said.
"Let's flip a coin to decide who goes--two better stay here, and two go.
If we don't come back inside of a reasonable period of time, one of you
might start making inquiries; the other can send a message to Earth, and
get out of harm's way till help can come. I imagine these people are
friendly now, however--else I wouldn't go."
The leader of the troop stepped up to the door of the _Solarite_, and
coming to what was obviously a position of attention, put his left hand
over his right breast in an equally obvious salute, and waited.
The coin was flipped with due ceremony--it would decide which of them
were to have the distinction of being the first Terrestrians to set foot
on Venus. Arcot and Morey won, and they quickly put on the loose-fitting
ventilated cooling suits that they might live comfortably in the hot air
outside--for the thermometer registered 150°!
The two men quickly walked over to the airlock, entered, closed it
behind them, and opened the outer door. There was a slight rush of air,
as the pressure outside was a bit lower than that inside. There was a
singing in their ears, and they had to swallow several times to equalize
the pressure.
The guards at once fell into a double row on either side of them, and
the young officer strode ahead. He himself had curbed his curiosity
after the single startled glance he had given these strange men. Only
their hands were visible, for the cooling suits covered them almost
completely, but the strange pink color must indeed have been startling
to the eyes; also their dwarf stature, and the strange suits they wore.
The men of his little troop, however, as well as the people in the crowd
about them, were not so disinterested. They were looking in eager
amazement at these men who had just saved their city, these strange
small men with their queer pink skin. And most surprising of all,
perhaps, the inner thumb was missing from each hand!
But soon they had passed beyond the sight of the crowd, which was held
in check by a handful of the deep blue uniformed men.
"Those fellows would never hold such a Terrestrial crowd back if
visitors from another planet landed!" remarked Morey wonderingly.
"How do they know we are visitors from another planet?" Arcot objected.
"We suddenly appeared out of nowhere--they don't even know our direction
of approach. We might be some strange race of Venerians as far as they
know."
They walked briskly up to the massive gold and black entrance, and
passed through the great doors that seemed made of solid copper, painted
with some clear coating that kept the metal lustrous, the rich color
shining magnificently. They stood open wide now, as indeed they always
were. Even the giant Venerians were dwarfed by these mighty doors as
they passed through into an equally vast hall, a tremendous room that
must have filled all the front half of the ground floor of the gigantic
building, a hall of graceful columns that hid the great supporting
members. The stone, they knew, must serve the Venerians as marble serves
us, but it was a far more handsome stone. It was a rich green, like the
green of thick, heavy grass in summer when the rain is plentiful. The
color was very pleasing to the eye, and restful too. There was a
checker-board floor of this green stone, alternated with another, a
stone of intense blue. They were hard, and the colors made a very
striking pattern, pleasingly different from what they had been
accustomed to, but common to Venus, as they later learned.
At last the party had crossed the great hall, and stopped beside a large
doorway. The officer halted for a moment, and gestured toward two of his
men, who remained, while the others walked quickly away. The diminished
party stepped through the doorway into a small room whose walls were
lined with copper, and an instant later, as the officer pushed a small
button, there was a low hiss of escaping air, and a copper grating
sprang quickly up across the opening of the elevator. He touched another
button, and there was the familiar sinking feeling as the car rose, a
low hum seeming to come from its base.
The elevator rose swiftly through a very considerable distance--up--up,
endlessly.
"They must have some wonderfully strong cables here on Venus!" Morey
exclaimed. "The engineers of Terrestrial buildings have been wondering
for some time how to get around the difficulty of shifting elevators.
The idea of changing cars doesn't appeal to me, either--but we must have
risen a long way!"
"I should say so--I wonder how they do it. We've been rising for a
minute and a half at a very fair clip--there we are; end of the line--I
want to look at this car!" Arcot stepped over to the control board,
looked at it closely, then stepped out and peered down between the car
and the shaft as the copper grating fell, simultaneously pulling down
with it the door that had blocked off the hallway.
"Come here, Morey--simple system at that! It would be so, of course.
Look--they have tracks, and a regular trolley system, with cog rails
alongside, and the car just winds itself up! They have a motor
underneath, I'll bet, and just run it up in that way. They have never
done that on Earth because of the cost of running the car up without too
much power. I think I see the solution--the car has electro-dynamical
brakes, and descending, just slows itself down by pumping power into the
line to haul some other car up. This is a mighty clever scheme!"
As Arcot straightened, the officer beckoned to him to follow, and
started down the long corridor which was lined on either side with large
doorways, much like a very exotic earthly office building. Passing
through a long series of branching corridors they at last reached one
that terminated in a large office, into which the young officer led
them. Snapping to attention, he spoke briefly and rapidly, saluted and
retired with his two men.
The man before whom the Terrestrians stood was a tall, kindly-faced old
gentleman. His straight black hair was tinged with bluish gray, and the
kindly face bore the lines of age, but the smiling eyes, and the air of
sincere interest gave his countenance an amazingly youthful air. It was
warm and friendly despite its disconcerting blueness. He looked
curiously, questioningly at the two men before him, looked at their
hands, his eyes widening in surprise; then he stepped quickly forward,
and extended his hand, at the same time looking toward Arcot.
Smiling, Arcot extended his own. The Venerian grasped it--then with an
exclamation on the part of each, they mutually released each other,
Arcot feeling an uncomfortable sensation of heat, just as the Venerian
felt a flash of intense cold! Each stared from his hand to the hand of
the other in surprise, then a smile curved the blue lips of the Venerian
as he very emphatically put his hand at his side. Arcot smiled in turn,
and said to Morey in an animated tone:
"They have a body temperature of at least 170° Fahrenheit. It would
naturally be above room temperature, which is 150° here, so that they
are most unpleasantly hot to us. Marvelous how nature adapts herself to
her surroundings!" He chuckled. "I hope these fellows don't have fevers.
They'd be apt to boil over!"
The Venerian had picked up a small rectangle of black material, smooth
and solid. He drew quickly upon it with what appeared to be a pencil of
copper. In a moment he handed the tablet to Arcot, who reached out for
it, then changed his mind, and motioned that he didn't want to burn his
fingers. The old Venerian held it where Arcot could see it.
"Why, Morey, look here--I didn't think they had developed astronomy to
any degree, because of the constant clouds, but look at this. He has a
nice little map of the solar system, with Mercury, Venus, Earth, the
Moon, Mars, and all the rest on it. He has drawn in several of the
satellites of Jupiter and of Saturn too."
The Venerian pointed to Mars and looked inquisitively at them. Arcot
shook his head and pointed quickly to Earth. The Venetian seemed a bit
surprised at this, then thought a moment and nodded in satisfaction. He
looked at Arcot intently. Then to the latter's amazement, there seemed
to form in his mind a thought--at first vague, then quickly taking
definite form.
"Man of Earth," it seemed to say, "we thank you--you have saved our
nation. We want to thank you for your quick response to our signals. We
had not thought that you could answer us so soon." The Venerian seemed
to relax as the message was finished. It obviously had required great
mental effort.
Arcot looked steadily into his eyes now, and tried to concentrate on a
message--on a series of ideas. To him, trained though he was in deep
concentration on one idea, the process of visualizing a series of ideas
was new, and very difficult. But he soon saw that he was making some
progress.
"We came in response to no signals--exploration only--we saw the
battle--and aided because your city seemed doomed, and because it seemed
too beautiful to be destroyed."
"What's it all about, Arcot?" asked Morey wonderingly, as he watched
them staring at each other.
"Mental telepathy," Arcot answered briefly. "I'm terribly thick from his
point of view, but I just learned that they sent signals to Earth--why,
I haven't learned--but I'm making progress. If I don't crack under the
strain, I'll find out sooner or later--so wait and see." He turned again
to the Venerian.
The latter was frowning at him rather dubiously. With sudden decision he
turned to his desk, and pulled down a small lever. Then again he looked
intently at Arcot.
"Come with me--the strain of this conversation is too great--I see you
do not have thought transference on your world."
"Come along, Morey--we're going somewhere. He says this thought
transference is too much for us. I wonder what he is going to do?"
Out into the maze of halls they went again, now led by the kindly
seven-foot Venerian. After walking through a long series of halls, they
reached a large auditorium, where already there had gathered in the
semi-circle of seats a hundred or so of the tall, blue-tinged Venerians.
Before them, on a low platform, were two large, deeply-cushioned chairs.
To these chairs the two Terrestrians were led.
"We will try to teach you our language telepathically. We can give you
the ideas--you must learn the pronunciation, but this will be very much
quicker. Seat yourselves in these chairs and relax."
The chairs had been designed for the seven-footers. These men were six
feet and six feet six, respectively, yet it seemed to them, as they sank
into the cushions, that never had they felt such comfortable chairs.
They were designed to put every muscle and every nerve at rest.
Luxuriously, almost in spite of themselves, they relaxed.
Dimly Arcot felt a wave of sleepiness sweep over him; he yawned
prodigiously. There was no conscious awareness of his sinking into a
deep slumber. It seemed that suddenly visions began to fill his
mind--visions that developed with a returning consciousness--up from the
dark, into a dream world. He saw a mighty fleet whose individual planes
were a mile long, with three-quarters of a mile wingspread--titanic
monoplanes, whose droning thunder seemed to roar through all space. Then
suddenly they were above him, and from each there spurted a great stream
of dazzling brilliance, an intense glow that reached down, and touched
the city. An awful concussion blasted his ears. All the world about him
erupted in unimaginable brilliance; then darkness fell.
Another vision filled his mind--a vision of the same fleet hanging over
a giant crater of molten rock, a crater that gaped angrily in a plain
beside low green hills--a crater that had been a city. The giants of the
air circled, turned, and sped over the horizon. Again he was with
them--and again he saw a great city fuse in a blazing flash of blinding
light--again and yet again--until around all that world he saw smoking
ruins of great cities, now blasted crimson craters in a world of fearful
desolation.
The destroyers rode up, up, up--out of the clouds--and he was with them.
Out beyond the swirling mists, where the cold of space seemed to reach
in at them, and the roaring of the mighty propellers was a thin
whine--then suddenly that was gone, and from the tail of each of the
titanic machines there burst a great stream of light, a blazing column
that roared back, and lit all space for miles around--rocket jets that
sent them swiftly across space!
He saw them approaching another world, a world that shone a dull red,
but he saw the markings and knew that it was Earth, not Mars. The great
planes began falling now--falling at an awful speed into the upper air
of the planet, and in an instant the rocket flares were gone, fading and
dying in the dense air. Again there came the roar of the mighty
propellers. Then swiftly the fleet of giants swooped down, lower and
lower. He became aware of its destination--a spot he knew must be New
York--but a strangely distorted New York--a Venerian city, where New
York should have been. And again, the bombs rained down. In an instant
the gigantic city was a smoking ruin.
The visions faded, and slowly he opened his eyes, looked about him. He
was still in the room of the circle of chairs--he was still on
Venus--then with sudden shock, understanding came. He knew the meaning
of these visions--the meaning of that strangely distorted New York, of
that red earth. It meant that this was what the Venerians believed was
to happen! They were trying to show him the plans of the owners and
builders of those gigantic ships! The New York he had seen was New York
as these men imagined it.
Startled, confused, his forehead furrowed, he rose unsteadily to his
feet. His head seemed whirling in the throes of a terrific headache. The
men about him were looking anxiously at him. He glanced toward Morey. He
was sleeping deeply in the seat, his features now and again reflecting
his sensations. It was his turn to learn this new language and see the
visions.
The old Venerian who had brought them there walked up to Arcot and spoke
to him in a softly musical language, a language that was sibilant and
predominated in liquid sounds; there were no gutturals, no nasals; it
was a more musical language than Earth men had ever before heard, and
now Arcot started in surprise, for he understood it perfectly; the
language was as familiar as English.
"We have taught you our language as quickly as possible--you may have a
headache, but you must know what we know as soon as possible. It may
well be that the fate of two worlds hangs on your actions. These men
have concentrated on you and taught you very rapidly with the massed
power of their minds, giving you visions of what we know to be in
preparation. You must get back to your wonderful ship as quickly as
possible; and yet you must know what has happened here on our world in
the last few years, as well as what happened twenty centuries ago.
"Come with me to my office, and we will talk. When your friend has also
learned, you may tell him."
Quickly Arcot followed the Venerian down the long corridors of the
building. The few people they met seemed intent on their own business,
paying little attention to them.
At last they seated themselves in the office where Arcot had first met
his escort; and there he listened to a new history--the history of
another planet.
"My name is Tonlos," the old man said. "I am a leader of my
people--though my title and position are unimportant. To explain would
entail a prolonged discussion of our social structure, and there is no
time for that. Later, perhaps--but now to our history.
"Twenty centuries ago," Tonlos continued, "there were two great rival
nations on this planet. The planet Turo is naturally divided so that
there would be a tendency toward such division. There are two enormous
belts of land around the globe, one running from about 20 degrees north
of the equator to about 80 degrees north. This is my country, Lanor. To
the south there is a similar great belt of land, of almost identical
size, Kaxor. These two nations have existed for many thousands of our
years.
"Two thousand years ago a great crisis arose in the affairs of the
world--a great war was in process of starting--but a Lanorian developed
a weapon that made it impossible for the Kaxorians to win--and war was
averted. The feeling was so strong, however, that laws were passed which
stopped all intercourse between the two nations for these thousands of
years. By devious ways we've learned that Kaxor has concentrated on the
study of physics, perhaps in hopes of finding a weapon with which they
could threaten us once more. Lanor has studied the secrets of the human
mind and body. We have no disease here any longer; we have no insanity.
We are students of chemistry, but physics has been neglected to a great
extent. Recently, however, we have again taken up this science, since it
alone of the main sciences had not received our study. Only twenty-five
years have been spent on these researches, and in that short time we
cannot hope to do what the Kaxorians have done in two thousand.
"The secret of the heat ray, the weapon that prevented the last war, had
been almost forgotten. It required diligent research to bring it to life
again, for it is a very inefficient machine--or was. Of late, however,
we have been able to improve it, and now it is used in commerce to smelt
our ores. It was this alone that allowed this city to put up the slight
resistance that we did. We were surely doomed. This is the capital of
Lanor, Sonor. We--and the nation--would have fallen but for you.
"We have had some warning that this was coming. We have spies in Kaxor
now, for we learned of their intentions when they flew the first of
their giant planes over one of our cities and dropped a bomb! We have
been trying, since we discovered the awful scope of their plans, to send
you a warning if you could not help us. That you should come here at
this particular time is almost beyond belief--a practically impossible
coincidence--but perhaps there is more than coincidence behind it? Who
knows?" He paused briefly; went on with a heavy sigh: "Since you drove
that plane away, we can expect a new raid at any moment, and we must be
prepared. Is there any way you can signal your planet?"
"Yes--we can signal easily," Arcot answered; he struggled with the newly
acquired language. "I do not know the word in your tongue--it may be
that you do not have it--radio we call it--it is akin to light, but of
vastly longer wavelength. Produced electrically, it can be directed like
light and sent in a beam by means of a reflection. It can penetrate all
substances except metals, and can leak around them, if it be not
directional. With it I can talk readily with the men of Earth, and this
very night I will."
Arcot paused, frowning thoughtfully, then continued, "I know there's
definite need for haste, but we can't do anything until Morey has
received the knowledge you've given me. While we're waiting here, I
might just as well learn all I can about your planet. The more I know,
the more intelligently I'll be able to plan for our defense."
In the conversation which followed, Arcot gained a general knowledge of
the physical makeup of Venus. He learned that iron was an exceedingly
rare element on the planet, while platinum was relatively plentiful.
Gold, though readily available, was considered a nuisance, since it was
of no practical value due to its softness, excessive weight and its
affinity for many catalysts. Most of the other metallic elements were
present in quantities approximating those of Earth, except for an
element called "morlus". When Tonlos mentioned this, Arcot said:
"Morlus--I have the word in your language--but I do not know the
element. What is it?"
"Why--here is some!"
Tonlos handed Arcot a small block of metal that had been used as a
weight on a table in one corner of the room. It seemed fairly dense,
about as heavy as iron, but it had a remarkably bluish tint. Obviously,
it was the element that composed the wings of the airplane they had
seen that afternoon. Arcot examined it carefully, handicapped somewhat
by its heat. He picked up a small copper rod and tried to scratch it but
there was no noticeable effect.
"You cannot scratch it with copper," said Tonlos. "It is the second
hardest metal we know--it is not as hard as chromium, but far less
brittle. It is malleable, ductile, very very strong, very tough,
especially when alloyed with iron, but those alloys are used only in
very particular work because of iron's rarity."
Indicating the bluish block, Arcot said, "I'd like to identify this
element. May I take it back to the ship and test it?"
"You may, by all means. You will have considerable difficulty getting it
into solution, however. It is attacked only by boiling selenic acid
which, as you must know, dissolves platinum readily. The usual test for
the element is to so dissolve it, oxidize it to an acid, then test with
radium selenate, when a brilliant greenish blue salt is--"
"Test with radium selenate!" Arcot exclaimed. "Why, we have no radium
salts whatever on Earth that we could use for that purpose. Radium is
exceedingly rare!"
"Radium is by no means plentiful here," Tonlos replied, "but we seldom
have to test for morlus, and we have plenty of radium salts for that
purpose. We have never found any other use for radium--it is so active
that it combines with water just as sodium does; it is very soft--a
useless metal, and dangerous to handle. Our chemists have never been
able to understand it--it is always in some kind of reaction no matter
what they do, and still it gives off that very light gas, helium, and a
heavy gas, niton, and an unaccountable amount of heat."
"Your world is vastly different from ours," Arcot commented. He told
Tonlos of the different metals of Earth, the non-metals, and their
occurrence. But try as he would, he could not place the metal Tonlos had
given him.
Morey's arrival interrupted their discussion. He looked very tired, and
very serious. His head ached from his unwonted mental strain, just as
Arcot's had. Briefly Arcot told him what he had learned, concluding with
a question as to why Morey thought the two planets, both members of the
same solar family, should be so different.
"I have an idea," said Morey slowly, "and it doesn't seem _too_ wacky.
As you know, by means of solar photography, astronomers have mapped the
sun, charting the location of the different elements. We've seen
hydrogen, oxygen, silicon and others, and as the sun aged, the elements
must have been mixed up more and more thoroughly. Yet we have seen the
vast areas of single elements. Some of those areas are so vast that they
could easily be the source of an entire world! I wonder if it is not
possible that Earth was thrown off from some deposit rich in iron,
aluminum and calcium, and poor in gold, radium and those other
metals--and particularly poor in one element. We have located in the sun
the spectrum of an element we have named coronium--and I think you have
a specimen of coronium in your hand there! I'd say Venus came from a
coronium-rich region!"
The discussion ended there, for already the light outside had deepened
to a murky twilight. The Terrestrians were led quickly down to the
elevator, which dropped them rapidly to the ground. There was still a
large crowd about the _Solarite_, but the way was quickly cleared for
them. As the men passed through the crowd, a peculiar sensation struck
them very forcibly. It seemed that everyone in the crowd was wishing
them the greatest success--the best of good things in every wish.
"The ultimate in applause! Morey, I'll swear we just received a silent
cheer!" exclaimed Arcot, as they stood inside the airlock of the ship
once more. It seemed home to them now! In a moment they had taken off
the uncomfortable ventilating suits and stepped once more into the room
where Wade and Fuller awaited them.
"Say--what were you fellows doing?" Wade demanded. "We were actually
getting ready to do some inquiring about your health!"
"I know we were gone a long time--but when you hear the reason you'll
agree it was worth it. See if you can raise Earth on the radio, Morey,
will you, while I tell these fellows what happened? If you succeed, tell
them to call in Dad and your father, and to have a couple of tape
recorders on the job. We'll want a record of what I have to send. Say
that we'll call back in an hour." Then, while Morey was busy down in the
power room sending the signals out across the forty million miles of
space that separated them from their home planet, Arcot told Wade and
Fuller what they had learned.
Morey finally succeeded in getting his message through, and returned to
say that they would be waiting in one hour. He had had to wait eight
minutes after sending his message to get any answer, however, due to
time required for radio waves to make the two-way trip.
"Fuller," Arcot said, "as chef, suppose you see what you can concoct
while Wade and I start on this piece of coronium and see what there is
to learn."
At the supper table Wade and Arcot reported to the others the curious
constants they had discovered for coronium. It was not attacked by any
acid except boiling selenic acid, since it formed a tremendous number of
insoluble salts. Even the nitrate violated the long-held rule that "all
nitrates are soluble"--it wouldn't dissolve. Yet it was chemically more
active than gold.
But its physical constants were the most surprising. It melted at 2800°
centigrade, a very high melting point indeed. Very few metals are solid
at that temperature. But the tensile strength test made with a standard
bar they finally turned out by means of a carbaloy tool, gave a reading
of more than one million, three hundred thousand pounds per square inch!
It was far stronger than iron--stronger than tungsten, the strongest
metal heretofore known. It was twice as strong as the Earth's strongest
metal!
Fuller whistled in awe. "No wonder they can make a plane like that when
they have such a metal to work with." The designing engineer had visions
of a machine after his own heart--one in which half the weight was
_not_ employed in holding it together!
It was a little later that they got communication through to Earth, and
the men went to the power room. The television screen was struggling to
form a clear image despite the handicap of forty million miles of space.
In a moment it had cleared, though, and they saw the face of Dr. Arcot.
He showed plainly that he was worried about the startling news that had
reached him already, sketchy though it was. After brief though warm
greetings, his son rapidly outlined to him the full extent of their
discoveries, and the force that Earth would have to meet.
"Dad, these Kaxorians have planes capable of far more than a thousand
miles an hour in the air. For some reason the apparatus they use to
propel them in space is inoperative in air, but their propellers will
drive them forward faster than any plane Earth ever saw. You must start
at once on a fleet of these molecular motion planes--and a lot of the
gas Wade developed--you know how to make it--the animation suspending
gas. They don't have it--and I believe it will be useful. I'll try to
develop some new weapons here. If either of us makes any progress along
new lines--we'll report to the other. I must stop now--a Lanorian
delegation is coming." After a few words of farewell, Arcot severed
connections with the Earth and arose to await the arrival of the
visitors.
Since the return of the Terrestrians to the _Solarite_, a great crowd of
Venerians had gathered around it, awaiting a glimpse of the men, for the
news had spread that this ship had come from Earth. Now, the crowd had
divided, and a group of men was approaching, clothed in great heavy
coats that seemed warm enough to wear in Terrestrial arctic regions!
"Why--Arcot--what's the idea of the winter regalia?" asked Fuller in
surprise.
"Think a moment--they are going to visit a place whose temperature is
seventy degrees colder than their room temperature. In the bargain,
Venus never has any seasonal change of temperature, and a heavy bank of
clouds that eternally cover the planet keeps the temperature as constant
as a thermocouple arrangement could. The slight change from day to night
is only appreciable by the nightly rains--see--the crowd is beginning to
break up now. It's night already, and there is a heavy dew settling.
Soon it will be rain, and the great amount of moisture in the air will
supply enough heat, in condensing, to prevent a temperature drop of more
than two or three degrees. These men are not used to changes in
temperature as we are and hence they must protect themselves far more
fully."
Three figures now entered the airlock of the _Solarite_, and muffled in
heavy garments as they were, large under any conditions, they had to
come through one at a time.
Much that Arcot showed them was totally new to them. Much he could not
explain to them at all, for their physics had not yet reached that
stage.
But there was one thing he could show them, and he did. There were no
samples of the liquids he wanted, but their chemistry was developed to a
point that permitted the communication of the necessary data and Arcot
told them the formula of Wade's gas. Its ability to penetrate any
material at ordinary temperatures, combined with its anesthetic
properties, gave it obvious advantages as a weapon for rendering the
opposing forces defenseless.
Since it was able to penetrate all substances, there was no means of
storing it. Hence it was made in the form of two liquids which reacted
spontaneously and produced the gas, which was then projected to the spot
where needed.
Arcot asked now that the Venerian chemists make him a supply of these
two liquids; and they promptly agreed. He felt he would have a fighting
chance in combatting the enemy if he could but capture one of their
flying forts. It seemed a strange task! Capturing so huge a machine with
only the tiny _Solarite_--but Arcot felt there was a good possibility of
his doing it if he but had a supply of that gas.
There was one difficulty--one step in the synthesis required a
considerable quantity of chlorine. Since chlorine was rare on Venus,
the men were forced to sacrifice most of their salt supply; but this
chlorine so generated could be used over and over again.
It was quite late when the Venerians left, to go again into the scalding
hot rain, rain that seemed to them to be a cold drizzle. After they had
gone, the Terrestrians turned in for the night, leaving a telephone
connection with the armed guard outside.
* * * * *
The dull light of the Venerian day was filtering in through the windows
the next morning when the Terrestrians awoke. It was eight o'clock, New
York time, but Sonor was working on a twenty-three hour day. It happened
that Sonor and New York had been in opposition at midnight two nights
ago, which meant that it was now ten o'clock Sonorian time. The result
was that Arcot left the car to speak to the officer in charge of the
guard about the ship.
"We need some pure water--water free of copper salts. I think it would
be best if you can get me some water that has been distilled. That is,
for drinking. Also we need about two tons of water of any kind--the
ship's tanks need recharging. I'd like about a ton of the drinking
water." Arcot had to translate the Terrestrian measures into the
corresponding Venerian terms, of course, but still the officer seemed
puzzled. Such a large amount of water would create a real problem in
transportation. After apparently conferring by telepathic means with his
superiors, the officer asked if the _Solarite_ could be moved to some
more accessible place.
Arcot agreed to have it moved to a spot just outside the city, where the
water could be procured directly from a stream. The drinking water would
be ready when he returned to the city.
The _Solarite_ was moved to the bank of the little river and the
electrolysis apparatus was set up beside it. During the previous day,
and ever since they had landed on Venus, all their power had been coming
from the storage cells, but now that the electrolysis apparatus was to
establish such a heavy and constant drain, Arcot started the generator,
to both charge the cells, and to do the work needed.
Throughout the day there could be heard the steady hum of the generator,
and the throb-throb-throb of the oxygen pump, as the gas was pumped into
the huge tanks. The apparatus they were using produced the gas very
rapidly, but it was near nightfall before the huge tanks had again been
filled. Even then there was a bit more room for the atomic hydrogen that
was simultaneously formed, although twice as much hydrogen as oxygen was
produced. Its task completed, the _Solarite_ rose again and sped toward
the distant city.
A soft red glow filled the sky now, for even through the miles of clouds
the intense sun was able to force some direct rays, and all the city was
lighted with that warm radiance. The floodlights had not yet been turned
on, but the great buildings looming high in the ruddy light were
wonderfully impressive, the effect being heightened by the planned
construction, for there were no individual spires, only a single mass
that grew from the ground to tower high in the air, like some man-made
mountain.
Back at the Capital the _Solarite_ again settled into the broad avenue
that had been cut off to traffic now, and allotted to it as its resting
place. Tonlos met them shortly after they had settled into place, and
with him were five men, each carrying two large bottles.
"Ah-co," as Tonlos pronounced the Terrestrian name, "we have not been
able to make very much of the materials needed for your gas, but before
we made any very great amount, we tried it out on an animal, whose blood
structure is the same as ours, and found it had the same effect, but
that in our case the iodide of potassium is not as effective in
awakening the victim as is the sorlus. I do not know whether you have
tried that on Terrestrial animals or not. Luckily sorlus is the most
plentiful of the halogen groups; we have far more of it than of
chlorine, bromine or iodine."
"Sorlus? I do not know of it--it must be one of the other elements that
we do not have on Earth. What are its properties?"
"It, too, is much like iodine, but heavier. It is a black solid melting
at 570 degrees; it is a metallic looking element, will conduct
electricity somewhat, oxidizes in air to form an acidic oxide, and forms
strong oxygen acids. It is far less active than iodine, except toward
oxygen. It is very slightly soluble in water. It does not react readily
with hydrogen, and the acid where formed is not as strong as HI."
"I have seen so many new things here, I wonder if it may not be the
element that precedes niton. Is it heavier than that?"
"No," replied Tonlos; "it is just lighter than that element you call
niton. I think you have none of it."
"Then," said Arcot, "it must be the next member of the halogen series,
Morey. I'll bet they have a number of those heavier elements."
The gas was loaded aboard the _Solarite_ that evening, and when Wade saw
the quantity that they had said was "rather disappointingly small" he
laughed heartily.
"Small! They don't know what that gas will do! There's enough stuff
there to gas this whole city. Why, with that, we can bring down any
ship! But tell them to go on making it, for we can use it on the other
ships."
Again that night they spoke with Earth, and Morey, Senior, told them
that work was already under way on a hundred small ships. They were
using all their own ships already, while the Government got ready to act
on the idea of danger. It had been difficult to convince them that
someone on Venus was getting ready to send a force to Earth to destroy
them; but the weight of their scientific reputation had turned the
trick. The ships now under construction would be ready in three weeks.
They would be unable to go into space, but they would be very fast, and
capable of carrying large tanks of the gas-producing chemicals.
It was near midnight, Venerian time, when they turned in. The following
day they planned to start for the Kaxorian construction camp. They had
learned from Tonlos that there were but five of the giant planes
completed now, but there were fifteen more under construction, to make
up the fleet of twenty that was to attack Earth. These fifteen others
would be ready in a week--or less. When they were ready, the _Solarite_
would stand small chance. They must capture one of the giants and learn
its secrets, and then, if possible, with the weapons and knowledge of
two worlds, defeat them. A large order!
Their opportunity came sooner than they had hoped for--or wanted. It was
about three o'clock in the morning when the telephone warning hummed
loudly through the ship. Arcot answered.
Far to the east and south of them the line of scout planes that
patrolled all the borders of Lanor had been broken. Instantaneously, it
seemed, out of the dark, its lights obscured, the mighty Kaxorian craft
had come, striking a tiny scout plane head on, destroying it utterly
before the scout had a chance to turn from the path of the titanic ship.
But even as the plane spun downward, the pilot had managed to release a
magnesium flare, a blindingly brilliant light that floated down on a
parachute, and in the blaze of the white light it gave off, the other
scouts at a few miles distance had seen the mighty bulk of the Kaxorian
plane. At once they had dropped to the ground and then, by telephone
lines, had sent their report to far off Sonor.
In moments the interior of the _Solarite_ became a scene of swift
purposeful activity. All day the Terrestrians had been able to do so
little in preparation for the conflict they knew must come, the battle
for two worlds. They had wanted action, but they had no weapons except
their invisibility and the atomic hydrogen. It would not sink a plane.
It would only break open its armor, and they hoped, paralyze its crew.
And on this alone they must pin their hopes.