_The Doom on Mars_
Two days later Damis dropped the ship gently to the ground in a wide and
deep depression which had been designated as their landing place. The
Grand Mognac had assured them that the depression held enough atmosphere
to enable them to breathe with comfort. There was no one in sight when
they landed and after a short consultation, Damis and Turgan entered the
airlock. In a few moments they stood on the surface of Mars.
They had landed in a desert without even a trace of the most rudimentary
vegetation. Barren slate-colored mountains shut off their view at a
distance of a few miles. When they strove to move they found that the
conditions which had confronted the Jovians in their first landing on
the Earth were duplicated. The lesser gravity of the smaller planet made
their strength too great for easy control and the slightest effort sent
them yards into the air. This condition had been anticipated and at a
word from Damis, lead weights, made to clamp on the soles of their
sandals were passed out from the space ship. Although this enabled them
to keep their footing when moving over the dry surface of Mars, the
slightest exertion in the thin air caused them acute distress.
"We had better save our strength until the messengers of the Grand
Mognac arrive," said Damis at length. "We may have quite a trip before
us."
Turgan agreed and they sat down by the side of the ship where its shadow
would shield them from the fierce solar rays which beat down on them.
The sun looked curiously small, yet its rays penetrated the thin air
with a heat and fierceness strange to them. Lura and a half dozen of the
crew were passed through the airlock and joined them.
"I am surprised that the Martians have not arrived," said Damis
presently. "I am interested to see what their appearance is."
* * * * *
Hardly had he spoken than the air before them seemed to thicken in a
curious fashion. Lura gave a cry of alarm and pressed close to Damis.
The sun's rays penetrated with difficulty through a patch of air
directly before them. Gradually the mistiness began to assume a nebulous
uncertain outline and separated itself into four distinct patches. The
thickening air took on a silvery metallic gleam and four metallic
cylinders made their appearance. Two of them were about eight feet in
height and three feet in diameter. The other two were fully thirty feet
in length and about the same diameter. On the top of each one was a
projecting cap shaped like a mushroom and from it long tenuous streamers
of metal ran the full length of each cylinder. From the ether came a
thought wave which registered on the brains of all the Terrestrials.
"The Grand Mognac of Mars sends his greeting and a welcome to the
visitors from Earth," the message ran. "Before his envoys make their
appearance before you, we wish to warn you to be prepared for a severe
shock for their physical appearance is not that of the life with which
you are familiar. I would suggest that you turn your heads while we
emerge from our transporters."
Obediently the Earthmen turned their gaze toward their ship until
another thought wave ordered them to turn. Lura gave a cry of horror and
Damis instinctively raised one of the Jovian ray tubes. Before them were
huge figures which seemed to have stepped out of a nightmare, so
grotesque were their forms.
* * * * *
The Martians had long slug-like bodies, twenty-five feet in length, from
which projected a multiplicity of short legs. The legs on the rear
portions of the bodies terminated in sucker-like disks on which they
stood on the surface of the planet. The upper part of the body was
raised from the ground and the legs terminated in forked appendages like
hands. Stiff, coarse hair, brown in color, protruded from between
brilliant green scales, edged with crimson. The heads were huge and
misshapen and consisted mostly of eyes with a multitude of facets and
huge jaws which worked incessantly as though the slugs were continually
chewing on something. Nothing that the Earth could show resembled those
monstrosities, although it flashed across Damis' mind that a hugely
enlarged caricature of an intelligent caterpillar would bear some
resemblance to the Martians. Another thought wave impinged on the
consciousness of the Terrestrials.
"Mars is much older than your planet and evolution has gone much farther
here than it has on the Earth. At one time there were forms of life
similar to yours which ruled this planet, but as air and water became
scarce, these forms gave way to others which were better suited to
conditions as they existed. I would be pleased to explain further, but
the Grand Mognac anxiously awaits his guests. His orders are that two of
you shall visit him in his city. The two whom he desires to come are
Turgan, the leader of the expedition and Damis, the Nepthalim. Fear
nothing, you are among friends."
Damis hesitated and cast a glance at Lura.
"By all means, Damis, do as the Grand Mognac bids you," she exclaimed.
"I will stay here with the ship until you return. I am not at all
frightened, for the whole crew will be here with me."
* * * * *
Damis kissed her and after a word with Turgan, he announced their
readiness to proceed. He inquired the direction in which they should
travel, but another thought wave interrupted him.
"We have brought transportation for you," it said. "Each of you will
enter one of the smaller transporters which were especially prepared for
your use. When you enter them, seal them tightly and place your feet in
the stirrups you will find in them. Grasp the handles which will be
before you firmly in your hands. In an instant you will be dissolved
into elemental atoms and carried on a beam of force to the receiving
focus where you will again be materialized. There is no danger and no
pain. It is our usual means of transportation."
With a final word of farewell to Lura and the crew, Turgan and Damis
unfastened and entered the two smaller cylinders. Before the astonished
eyes of the Terrestrials the cylinders grew thin and vanished like a
puff of smoke dissipating in a wind. Lura turned to Kastner whom Turgan
had left in command.
"What were my father's orders?" she asked.
"Merely that we wait here until his return," he replied. "Since we are
among friends, there is no need to keep the ray projectors manned and I
am anxious to let all of the crew have the experience of setting foot on
a new planet."
"I am a little tired," said Lura. "I will return to the ship and rest
while you let the crew try their footing on Mars."
She entered the airlock and in a few moments was again inside the ship.
At a word from Kastner the balance of the crew passed through the lock
and began to amuse themselves by trying to keep their footing on the
surface of Mars.
* * * * *
Damis and Turgan, having entered the transporters, slipped their feet in
place as the Martians had directed. They grasped firmly the handles
which projected from the inside of the cylinders. There was a momentary
sensation of slight nausea and then a thought wave reached them.
"You have arrived. Unfasten your cylinders and emerge."
They stepped out of the transporters and rubbed their eyes in
astonishment. Two of the huge slugs had been amazing, but the effect of
half a hundred grouped about them was more than the mind could, for a
moment, grasp. They were in a huge room composed apparently of the same
silvery material of which the transporters were made. It rose above
them in a huge dome with no signs of windows or openings. It was lighted
by a soft glow which seemed to emanate from the material of the dome
itself, for it cast no shadows. On a raised platform before them rested
one of the huge slugs, a broad band of silvery metal set with flashing
coruscating jewels clasped about its body. From the ornament and the
exalted position, they judged that they were before the Grand Mognac of
Mars. With a muttered word to Turgan to follow him, Damis advanced to
the foot of the platform and bowed deeply.
"I thank you for that mark of respect, Nepthalim," came a thought wave
from the Grand Mognac, "but such forms are obsolete on Mars. Here all
living intelligences are equal. Only the accident of superior mental
power is allowed to differentiate between us and this added power brings
only added and more arduous duties. You came here to get weapons which
will free you from the dominance of the Jovians who rule you, did you
not?"
"We did, oh Grand Mognac," replied Damis.
"Your prayers shall be answered if you are found worthy. Relate to me
now all that has passed since the Jovians first landed on your planet.
If you can form thoughts without speaking, you may save the effort of
speech. The air has become so thin on Mars that sound will not carry
over large portions of it. As a result, we have no organs of hearing,
for they have been atrophied from ages of disuse. We use thought as our
only means of communication."
* * * * *
Rapidly, Damis marshaled his thoughts in order. Slowly and carefully he
pictured in his mind the landing of the Jovians as he had heard it
described and then the event leading up to their trip. The Grand Mognac
frequently interrupted him and caused him to amplify in detail some of
the mental pictures and at times turned to Turgan and requested him to
picture the same events. When Damis had finished the Grand Mognac was
motionless for ten minutes.
"Pardon me for sealing my thoughts from you," he said at length, "but my
consultation with my councillors was not a matter for those from another
planet to know, no matter how friendly they may be. My council have
agreed with me that your tale is a true one and has been fairly
pictured. We have no interest in the fate of your planet except that we
desire to help the form best adapted to bring about the day we all await
with anxiety when all of the planets will be united in bonds of love and
justice. We believe that the form which developed on the Earth is better
adapted to this than the form which developed on Jupiter and we will
give you weapons which will enable you to free yourselves and to protect
your planet against future invasions. My scientists are now busy
preparing for you weapons which we will deliver to your ship. Meanwhile,
you are our honored guests. You will be interested in seeing life as it
exists here and Attomanis, one of my council, will be your guide and
will answer your questions."
The Grand Mognac dropped the upper portion of his body to the dais as a
sign that the interview was ended. Damis and Turgan hurriedly tried to
form appropriate expressions of gratitude in their minds but a powerful
thought wave took possession of their minds.
"Follow me," it said.
* * * * *
One of the caterpillars crawled forward and beckoned to them. With a
backward glance at the Grand Mognac who seemed unaware of their
existence, Damis and Turgan followed their guide. He led the way to a
platform upon which he slowly crawled. In answer to a thought command,
Turgan and Damis climbed upon it and in an instant they were skimming at
high speed over the ground. The platform came to a stop near the outer
edge of the huge dome. They followed their guide from the platform to a
box-like contrivance built against the dome. It had lenses similar in
appearance to the observers on the Jovian space ship but built on a
larger scale. Attomanis removed the lenses from the instrument and
substituted two smaller pairs through which he motioned Turgan and Damis
to look.
Before them lay a huge plain across which ran a belt of green foliage.
The vegetation forms were like nothing the earth could show. There were
no true leaves but huge pulpy branches ran up into the air a hundred
feet and divided and subdivided until they became no larger around than
hairs. At places on the plants were huge crimson, mauve and blue
flowers, ten feet across. As they watched a monstrous form flitted into
view. It was that of a butterfly, but such a butterfly as they had never
imagined.
The spread of the huge wings was fully a hundred feet across and its
swollen body was larger by far than the huge slug which stood beside
them. The butterfly waved its thirty-foot tentacles and approached one
of the blue flowers. A long curled sucker, fifty feet in length,
unrolled and was plunged down into the heart of the trumpet-shaped
flower. Gradually the blue color faded to mauve and then to a brilliant
crimson. The butterfly abandoned it when the change of color was
completed and flitted away to another of the blue blooms.
* * * * *
"What manner of thing is that?" demanded Damis.
"That was a member of the council," replied Attomanis. "She was chosen
to be one of those to perpetuate our race. Evolution has gone further
with us than on your planet but it will show you what in time you may
expect.
"Life started with an amoeba on Mars as it did on Earth and the slow
process of evolution followed similar lines. At one time forms like
yours were the ruling and guiding intelligences of Mars. They were,
however, a highly specialized form. As conditions changed, the form
changed. The head and chest grew larger as the air grew thinner until
the enfeebled trunk and limbs could no longer support their weight.
Gradually the form died out and was replaced by others.
"The forms which you call insects on your Earth were more primitive and
hardier forms and more readily adaptable. They increased in size and in
intelligence until they were ready to supplant all other forms. The last
vestiges of the bipeds were carefully nurtured and guarded by our
forefathers until the vanishing atmosphere made their survival
impossible. The insect form became supreme.
"We multiplied with extreme rapidity and would have overcrowded the
planet had we not learned several things. Our present form of life is
immature in many ways. For example, we are totally unable to reproduce
our kind. That is the function of the next phase. In this form, however,
the intelligence reaches its maximum. As a result, all living creatures,
except selected ones, have their growth arrested at the larval stage and
pass their entire life in this form. Certain ones at long intervals of
time as the population diminishes, are allowed to spin cocoons and hatch
out in the form you have witnessed. This form is almost brainless, the
securing of nourishment from flowers and reproducing their kind being
the limits of their intelligence. The eggs are maturing in the body of
the one you saw. Soon she will lay many thousands of them and then, her
life mission accomplished, she will die. We will gather these eggs and
tend them until they hatch. All defective ones will be destroyed and the
balance will be instructed until they are ready to take their place in
the community and carry on the work of the planet."
* * * * *
"That is extremely interesting," exclaimed Damis. "Will our Earth in
time support the same forms of life as does Mars now?"
"I can see no reason why evolution should follow a different path there
than it has here," replied Attomanis, "but millions of years will pass
before you lose your atmosphere to such an extent as we have. All of our
water is gathered at the polar icecaps, from whence we lead it as it
melts through underground pipes hundreds of miles to the spot where we
desire vegetation to grow. There we deliver it directly to the roots of
the plants so there is no waste. Great bands of cultivated areas
crisscross the planet where the soil is of unusual fertility. A certain
number of plants are allowed to flower and to bear fruit for the
sustenance of the reproductive form of life and to replace themselves.
The others we devour while they are young and tender."
"Do you always live in these sealed cities?"
"Always. There are hundreds of them scattered over the planet. As you
have noticed, they are composed of damazonium, the same substance as is
used in making the transporters. The whole city is but a large
transporter. When we desire to feed, the city is disintegrated and
materialized over a patch of vegetation which we eat. When the supply is
for a time exhausted, the city is moved. This is one way in which we
conserve the small supply of atmosphere which is left."
Attomanis suddenly paused and held up one hand for silence. In a moment
the thought waves again beat in on the consciousness of Damis and
Turgan.
"The weapons which were promised you are ready," he said. "We will
return to the throne of the Grand Mognac and you will receive
instructions in their use."
* * * * *
He again mounted the platform and Damis and Turgan took their places
beside him. Rapidly they were borne over the ground until they came to a
stop before the dais on which the Grand Mognac rested. Beside the four
cylinders in which they and the Grand Mognac's messengers had traveled
from the space ship to the city, another of huge proportions stood
before the platform. Beside it were two instruments. From a mass of
coils and tubes a long rod projected up. It was pivoted so that it could
be directed toward any point. The rod on one of the instruments was blue
while the other was a fiery scarlet.
"These are the weapons which will enable you to destroy your oppressors
and prevent more from ever landing," said the Grand Mognac. "I must
caution you, however, regarding their use. They generate a ray of almost
infinite frequency, much higher than the disintegrating ray the Jovians
use. Instead of resolving materials into light and energy, these devices
will absolutely destroy the ether, that imponderable substance which
permeates and fills all space.
"Heat and light travel in waves through the ether. When it is destroyed,
only blackness and entire absence of heat remain. Nothing can bear the
cold of interstellar space and yet it is warm compared to the absolute
cold which the absence of ether produces. When you direct one of these
rays toward a Jovian ship, the ether in the ship is destroyed. No
insulation against the cold of space will interfere for the ether
penetrates and permeates all substance. The cold of absolute nothingness
will destroy all life in the twinkling of an eye and the ship will be
reduced to a puff of powder. At such a temperature, even stellanium has
less strength than the most brittle substance.
* * * * *
"There are two of these devices, set to different powers. The one with
the blue rod is for use against space ships either before or after they
enter the atmosphere envelope. Beware of using it except when it points
in a direction almost normal to the surface of your planet. These
devices tap and use the enormous force of gravity itself and when they
are locked to your planet, they are anchored to the center of gravity of
the planet. Unless it were normal to the planet's surface, its reactive
force is so great that it would disrupt the balance which holds the
planet in place were the beam sent off on a tangential line.
"The other, whose projecting rod is painted red, can be used at any
angle as its force is only a minute fraction of that of the other. It
also must be locked to the center of gravity of the earth before it is
used by means of the switch on the front. This instrument will give you
power to annihilate your oppressors on earth, for while it has not the
terrible force of the other, it will penetrate any protective screen
which the science of Jupiter can erect. Use it only against the Jovians
and when you have finished with it, destroy it that it may not fall into
the hands of those who would misuse it. The other may be left intact to
repel other Jovian attacks but I think you need fear none. Once they
learn you have it, they will be content with their conquests of Venus
and Mercury and give you a wide berth. The Jovians have had a taste of
it already and they leave Mars alone. Each instrument is set in action
by closing the switch on top, after closing the gravity anchor switch.
To stop them, open the top switch."
Under the direction of the Grand Mognac, the Martians placed the
terrible weapons in the transporter prepared for them. Turgan and Damis
strove to thank the Grand Mognac for his gift but he interrupted them
promptly.
"No thanks are due us," he said. "We have done that which we believe is
the best for the orderly development of this galaxy of planets and there
is no reason why we should be thanked. Now enter the transporters and
you will be returned to your space ship. Destroy your oppressors and
work for the day when Mars and Earth will march in peace toward the
final goal of all life."
* * * * *
Accompanied by two Martian envoys, Damis and Turgan entered the
cylinders and fastened them closely. They set their feet in place and
grasped the handles before them. Again came the feeling of nausea and
then a thought ordered them to emerge from the transporters. They
emerged almost at the same instant. Before them lay the space ship with
its airlock wide open. Not a living soul was in sight. Damis leaped
toward the ship, but his foot struck an obstruction which sent him
sprawling. He glanced down and a hoarse cry of alarm broke from his
lips. He had stumbled over the body of Kastner. The body had been
horribly mutilated by some heavy instrument, one arm hanging to the
torso by a mere shred of flesh. Scattered around on the ground lay other
mutilated bodies.
With a shout of anguish, Turgan sped toward the open space ship. Damis,
with a pale face, hastily examined the dead bodies. Eighteen of the
Terrestrials lay stiff in death while the bodies of two huge Jovians in
the uniform of Glavour's personal guard told the cause of their death.
Damis struck by a sudden apprehension, ran from one body to the next,
and in a little while he straightened up with a momentary breath of
relief. Lura's body was not among them. He turned to the space ship in
time to see Turgan appear in the door of the airlock, his face distorted
by grief and his tall body swaying. Damis hurriedly ran to him.
"Is Lura--dead?"
He brought out the last word with an effort. Turgan's face worked for a
moment before he could reply. Through the thin air of Mars came his
choking voice.
"Worse," he muttered: "she is gone!"
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Damis' fist caught him under the ear.]