"A ghost town!" Gail whispered. "An ancient, abandoned city!"
"I hope it's abandoned," I said.
We rode on. We had to find out, even at the risk of our lives.
The archway was just wide enough for the car. Still seeing no signs of
life, we drove through it. Then we found that it had not been necessary
to go through the arch at all. Above us was only half a dome. Beyond
the gate we could see where it had been smashed and broken. Overhead,
the cover ended with a jagged edge, as if some giant hammer had struck
it with a terrific, shattering blow.
Before whatever disaster had struck the city, it had been a thriving
community, at least a square mile in area. There were ruins of
buildings, columns, monuments and narrow streets. The buildings were
not like those on earth; they had ramps for entering and leaving the
upper floors. The structures had no spires or architectural flourishes,
but were strictly utilitarian--plain walls, narrow windows, and doors.
Whatever had been used for glass was gone now, probably shattered when
the city met its fate.
"Wonder how they raised that dome," said Gail.
"It might have been blown, like a bottle," I said.
We crossed the city and resumed our southward trip. Looking back at the
dome, I noted that it was constructed of a shiny, glasslike substance
which probably had been transparent at one time. But now it was coated
with a fine layer of reddish dust. Centuries had passed since Martians
lived here.
At the edge of the city stood a monument--a headless camel, a Martian,
with his eight arms raised proudly above his spine.
"Glory wasn't unknown to the Martians, either," I said.
"A trait that springs from the urge to self-preservation," said Gail.
"An individual, seeing a glorified image of himself, feels more secure."
We left the city after taking photographs. A minute or two later our
Geiger counter began buzzing wildly. I slammed on the brakes just as we
approached a terrific crater.
And now I knew why the city was no longer lived in, why there was no
water in the canal, and why the road wasn't used.
"The bomb!" I said, almost in a whisper.
Mars had its own nuclear war! How long ago, I didn't know. Had I the
time I might have measured the amount of radiation and determined
approximately when the explosion had occurred. The radiation was not
dangerously strong now and I knew the blast had taken place many, many
years ago.
"You know," said Gail quietly, "maybe this is why the Martians were
afraid of us."
"They knew we had the bomb and might use it on Mars?" I asked.
She nodded her head soberly. "I think the Martians must know a great
deal about the earth. More than we ever knew about Mars."
"The question is," I told her, "whether they still have the bomb and if
they're likely to use it on us."
"Maybe they've outlawed it," she said.
"If so, they're more civilized than we are."
"Maybe the Martians have had more time in which to become civilized,"
she replied.
"Civilization has a way of turning back," I said. "If they had the bomb
once, they can build it again."
As we continued southward, we saw another domed city raise above the
horizon. This was no ghost town. The dome was whole, larger than the
one we had seen by the dried-up canal. It stretched across the horizon
for five miles, at least, for the horizons of Mars seemed to be shorter
than those of the earth.
I flipped the switch of the transmitter and called our base. Axel
answered.
"We're not far from Pnyx," I told him.
"Have they spotted you yet?"
"No, but I haven't seen anything to report, either," I said. I squinted
toward the city for a couple of minutes before I saw there was movement
on what seemed to be an east-west highway running past the dome. A
cloud of dust hung there and I thought I saw figures moving.
"It's too far off to see clearly," I said, "but there seems to be a lot
of traffic on the main highway."
"Highways yet? You got money for toll?"
"Not funny, Ax," I said. "They got paved roads, but no cars that I've
seen. We followed an old road part of the way. It's worn out and
unused. I'll tell you about it later."
"See what's going on, if you can, Bill," said Axel. "We're still
getting a lot of radio from Pnyx."
"I came here for information and I'll find something to report," I
said. "Keep listening."