The War Between the Worlds
Gary Lane's immediate reaction to these incredible words was a swift
and regretful commiseration. The little man plainly did not know what
he was saying. The rigors of the long and arduous trip had undermined
his nerve. Now this final, most perilous adventure had completely
disrupted his morale.
Lane said soothingly, "Easy, Doctor. It's not so bad as all that. It'll
be all over in a few minutes. Here, sit down and rest--"
And he moved a few paces toward the rotund little savant. But Anjers,
moving even more swiftly, evaded him. He darted back, a hand dipping
into one capacious pocket of his jacket, and when that hand emerged
it gripped the hilt of an ugly Haemholtz ray pistol. With this Anjers
covered his stunned companions.
"Stand back, Lane! Another step and I'll--Aaah, that's better." There
was no cherubic placidity on his features now. Nothing but pure,
unadulterated malevolence. "No, my friends, I am not, as you think,
unnerved or mad. I am in complete possession of my senses ... and have
been all along. Too much so to permit that you outcasts of Gog shall
ever achieve your purpose--"
"Boris!" cried Dr. Bryant. "Whatever _is_ the matter? Calm down man,
for God's sake!"
"Gog?" spluttered Flick Muldoon. "What's he mean, Gog?"
And Gary Lane, remembering it was wise to humor the deranged, said in
as calm a voice as he could muster, "Now, Dr. Anjers please! Be calm.
Rest a while."
"Rest?" Anjers' voice broke almost hysterically. "Yes ... rest. That is
good. When the red button is pressed, we will _all_ rest, eternally."
"What do you mean?" demanded Lark O'Day harshly.
"I mean it was an evil day for you, pirate, when you cast your lot with
these too-ambitious thwarters of destiny. For this journey is, and has
been since its beginning, doomed to failure. I, the _Kraedar_ Borisu,
Prae-consul of Magog, have seen to that!"
"Now it's _Magog_!" cried Muldoon. "A minute ago it was Gog. What's all
this double talk--Gog and Magog?"
Gog and Magog! The two names struck a familiar spark in Gary Lane's
brain. The ancient legend of Earth, about which they had been talking
only the other day. A folk tale of an elder age when giants walked the
earth and strove mightily amongst themselves.
The dim beginnings of a horrible conception stirred within him, and he
repeated the words. "Gog and Magog. Not two mythical persons, but two
worlds. Two ancient worlds embattled."
* * * * *
Anjers' half-mad laughter rang shrill in the tense control turret. "You
surpass yourself, Dr. Lane. Sometimes your swift intuition amazes me.
Yes, you have guessed the truth. A truth forgotten by man for countless
centuries. There _are_ two worlds--two worlds which one time warred.
The name of one is Magog. That is the planet whereon I was born, from
which I came to Earth. The name of the other was Gog. It was the solar
globe which one time circled your sun between Mars and Jupiter. Long
ages ago our two great empires strove in bitter conflict. Long ages ago
_your_ time, that is. In the Greater Universe--the true universe--of
which Magog is still a dominant part, time has passed more slowly. To
our people it has been but a score of years since our great weapons
crumbled Gog to destruction and hurled your entire solar system into
the doom which now approaches its climax."
Nora Powell cried, "Then Gary's theory was right! The cosmic rays _are_
a deliberate force being played upon our solar system to destroy it.
And you--you--"
"I am one of a race pledged to the utter obliteration of your people,"
snarled Anjers. "Yes. Had you not been blind and trusting fools you
should have realized this long since. I did my utmost to prevent this
expedition. And even though through fortunate follies on your part my
efforts came to naught, now at the end triumph shall be mine!"
Gary said dazedly, "Then--then the marauder in the laboratory, that
_was_ you! And the informer whose distorted revelations caused the
World Council to reject our pleas--"
"And it was you," challenged Muldoon, "who stumbled and fell at the
Space Patrol port, almost ruining our escape? You, too, who suggested
we turn back when Venus refused us _neurotrope_--"
"And it was also you," said Dr. Kang gravely, "who from the engine room
tampered with the controls of the force-shield on Jupiter, imperiling
all our lives? You who insisted we should set our course toward
Proxima Centauri rather than Sirius--"
Boris Anjers, or "Borisu", as he now designated himself, bowed
mockingly. But his grip was still firm upon the butt of the Haemholtz
pistol, and his eyes carefully guarded against sudden movement by his
erstwhile comrades.
"Yes, my friends," he taunted. "It was I who did these things. Your
belated recognition of my exploits is amusing ... but not significant.
For it was _also_ I who, a short while ago, reset the verniers of the
Jovian quadridimensional drive. In a few short moments I shall press
the red key which unfolds the space warp. When that happens, success
will finally crown my efforts. For in this room are gathered the half
dozen Earthmen capable of staying your solar system's destruction. With
your passing dies the last hope of saving your universe."
O'Day's eyes were narrowed slits. He rasped dryly, "Haven't you
forgotten something else, Dr. Anjers. _You_ are one of our party. When
that red stud is depressed _you_ will share our fate."
The Magogean traitor asked proudly, "Do you think, scavenger of the
spaceways, _that_ consideration would in any way alter my act? When I
was assigned to espionage service in your universe, I knew and accepted
the perils of my post. The death of one Magogean is a small price to
pay for the complete and final destruction of your hated empire. And
now--"
* * * * *
A smile of fanatic triumph touched his lips as he moved toward the
banked studs. But Gary, staring beyond him, had been watching with
a glimmer of hope the frantic gesturings of Captain Hugh Warren.
While the Magogean spy boasted, Warren had been inching toward the
_Liberty's_ intercommunicating audio system. He was now but a few feet
from the diaphragm over which his voice could be borne to every nook
and cranny of the ship. His eyes pled desperately with Gary to stall
the small Magogean a while longer.
Gary answered with no sign but with action. He cried, "But Dr. Anjers--"
"The name, my foolish young Quixote, is not 'Anjers' but 'Borisu'. The
second name I adopted to comply with your silly Earth tradition of two
names for a single entity. It is an amusing joke. In our tongue the
word 'anjers' means 'the fox'."
"Fox," growled Lark O'Day, "spelled r-a-t."
"But tell me, Borisu," persisted Gary, "if we are to die, there can
be no harm in our knowing now ... why do your people bear such fierce
hatred for those of our universe?"
Borisu glowered darkly. "That is a story too long to tell in its
entirety. But a portion I _will_ tell you that you may die realizing
the implacable enmity of all Magogeans.
"It is a story which goes back many years--as we measure time in the
true universe. Many millenia of your brief solar time.
"In true space once existed side by side two universes. That of our
mother sun, which you call Sirius, and that of your parent star--Sol.
Life spawned on the planets of these two systems; human life evolved.
Men similar to you and me grew in stature and wisdom, developed
civilizations, cultures.
"All this was long ago. For ages untold each planet lived in
ignorance of its neighbors. But some two hundred years ago--I measure
chronology now in Universal Constant time, which is the only true
measurement--that race of azure-tinted humans who peopled Sol's fifth
planet--"
"The predecessors of the Jovians?"
"Yes, they. The Gogeans they called themselves, for the name of their
world was Gog. Their science discovered, as has recently your Earthly
science re-discovered, space travel. Their employment of this knowledge
was a parallel to your own. They ventured, explored, expanded. They
colonized, transporting their people to the other worlds of your
sun. They set up outposts, carrying their superior culture to every
habitable world. So potent was their rule, so all-embracing their
lordship, that all the other planets' creatures they made slaves,
shuttling them back and forth between the worlds as they had need of
them."
* * * * *
Dr. Kang interrupted, "Then my theory was right, at least in part?
Space travel _is_ responsible for the commingling of planetary types."
"Yes," nodded Borisu. "And had the Gogeans gone no farther than this,
their worlds might still exist. Their people might still be a great
people instead of the decadent sprinkling we met on Jupiter.
"But they were not content with draining the wealth of one solar
system. No, they must venture afar. So Gogean space-vessels, a mighty
armada of them, came to our neighboring system, there by weight of
superior science wreaked havoc on our cities, slew our brave warriors
and set themselves up as rulers not only of their system but of our own.
"But their tyranny was short-lived. Though our race had not solved the
secret of spaceflight, still our scientists possessed a vast knowledge.
They turned to the construction of a weapon which should overthrow
the interlopers. You know the result, because you have experienced
it. Our scientists discovered an all-penetrating ray with the power
of contracting the molecules of anything upon which it was turned. In
brief, a 'dwindling' ray which projects what you Earthmen call gamma or
cosmic rays.
"The hour for revolt was struck. Long was the warfare, and bloody.
But ultimately our people were triumphant. And in judicial council,
when victory had been won, it was decided that never again would Gog
be granted an opportunity to threaten cosmic peace with its lust for
power. And since the only way to cure a disease is by ruthlessly
crushing out its roots, a gigantic cosmic ray gun was built. This was
turned upon Gog--"
"And Gog," Dr. Bryant took up the tale, from the depths of his
scientific wisdom supplying the details as accurately as if he had
been eye witness, "dwindling, crumbled into ruins beneath the cannon's
radiation. But your vengeance did not stop there. You continued to play
the gun upon the whole of Sol's system. Now, not only one world but an
entire universe had been contracted well-nigh to the breaking point.
Shortly our parent star itself will become too densely packed to supply
light, and then--"
"Then," proclaimed Borisu stridently, "our planet, called 'Magog'
because it is 'the enemy of Gog', will reign triumphant throughout not
only ours but through _every_ universe."
Gary risked a swift glance at Warren. The skipper had not been idle.
Moving a hair's breadth at a time he had finally gained the wall. Now a
single motion of his hand would snap open the switch.
"But, Borisu," demanded Gary. "Are not your people satisfied? You have
destroyed your real enemy. Must you take vengeance on the children of
the other planets which never harmed you? On the descendants thousands
of years removed of those with whom you once struggled?"
"That," said Borisu, "does not matter. Our vengeance will not
be complete until the last despised Solarian is destroyed. Only
then--_Stop!_ I warned you--"
* * * * *
His ray pistol, whirling to bear upon Warren, spat viciously. Its flame
cracked across the turret to blast at the spot where Hugh but a moment
before had stood. But its lethal tongue barely licked Warren's uniform.
With a blinding movement the captain had smashed open the audio key,
bawled, _Engine room! Hypos on, quickly!_
Then no more, for a second flare of the pistol dropped him, choking,
to the floor. Its searing blast kindled the serge of his uniform. Nora
Powell screamed and impetuously lunged forward to beat at the burning
cloth with bare hands. A familiar thin, high, whining shuddered through
the ship, and from the engine room below came the voice of Bud Howard
demanding, "_Why, Skipper? I thought you told us not to--_"
Then the Magogean _Kraedar_ wheeled, his face livid. "Enough," he
rasped. "It will do you no good, Miss Powell, to extinguish that
little burning. In a moment it and you and _all_ of us will merge in a
mightier flame ... Magog's blazing star!"
He laughed madly as his fist smashed down upon the crimson stud!