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+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Martian V.F.W., by G.L. Vandenburg
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Martian V.F.W.
+
+Author: G.L. Vandenburg
+
+Release Date: July 20, 2007 [EBook #22110]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARTIAN V.F.W. ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
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+</pre>
+
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+
+
+
+
+
+
+<h1>MARTIAN V.&nbsp;F.&nbsp;W.</h1>
+
+<h2>By G.&nbsp;L. VANDENBURG</h2>
+
+
+
+
+<p class="tease"><big><b><i>There's nothing like a parade, I always<br />
+say. Of course, I'm a Martian.</i></b></big></p>
+
+
+<p>Mr. Cruthers was a busy
+man. Coordinating the biggest
+parade in New York's history
+is not easy. He was maneuvering
+his two hundred pounds
+around Washington Square with
+the agility of a quarterback. He
+had his hands full organizing
+marchers, locating floats, placing
+the many brass bands in
+their proper order and barking
+commands to assistants. But
+Mr. Cruthers approached the
+job with all the zeal of an evangelist
+at a revival meeting.</p>
+
+<p>As he approached the south-west
+corner of the square he saw
+something that jarred his already
+frayed nerves. He stopped
+abruptly. The mass of clipboards
+and papers he was carrying fell
+to the street. There before him
+were one hundred and fifty ants,
+each of them at least six feet
+tall. His first impulse was to
+turn and run for the nearest
+doctor. He was certain that the
+strain of his job was proving
+too much for him. But one of
+the ants approached him. It
+seemed friendly enough, so Mr.
+Cruthers stood his ground.</p>
+
+<p>"My group is waiting for
+their assignment." The ant's
+voice seemed to be coming from
+the very core of its thorax which
+was a violent red.</p>
+
+<p>"Good Lord!" Mr. Cruthers'
+mouth opened up as wide as an
+oven door.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Cruthers, I believe the
+parade is about to start and my
+group&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Cruthers managed to
+blurt out. "What the devil <i>are</i>
+you anyway!"</p>
+
+<p>"This <i>is</i> the parade marking
+the International Geophysical
+Year, is it not?" The ant had a
+pleasant, friendly voice.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, yes, but&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"And you are Mr. Cruthers,
+the manager of the parade, is
+that not correct?"</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 25%;' />
+
+<p>Mr. Cruthers rubbed his eyes
+and took another look at the
+strange creature. Its head was
+a brilliant yellow. It had two
+large goggle eyes which rolled
+like itinerant marbles when it
+spoke. The low slung abdomen
+was a burnt brown. It was bad
+enough, Cruthers thought, that
+these ants were six feet tall, but
+it was nightmarish to see them
+in three colors.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Cruthers," the ant continued,
+"haven't you been instructed
+by the National Academy
+of Sciences that the Martian
+V.F.W. is to participate in
+this parade?"</p>
+
+<p>"The Martian&mdash;!!" Mr. Cruthers'
+mouth was open again.
+Then he realized that when the
+ant spoke its mouth didn't move.
+He picked up his clipboard and
+papers from the street. His voice
+was hostile now. "What the hell
+is this, some kind of a gag!
+What are you trying to do, scare
+a man half to death!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, we're not joking, Mr.
+Cruthers. The National Academy&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"They didn't say anything to
+me about a bunch of clowns
+dressed up like ants!" Mr. Cruthers'
+indignation became intensified.
+He was loathe to admit
+that he'd been taken in by such
+obviously animated costumes.
+"Now look here, I'm a very busy
+man."</p>
+
+<p>"The arrangements <i>have</i> been
+made, Mr. Cruthers. If my
+group is refused a place in this
+parade we shall file suit immediately.
+As manager you'll be
+named co-defendant." The ant
+was gentle but firm.</p>
+
+<p>The thought of being sued
+softened Mr. Cruthers' attitude.
+"Well, I'm very sorry, pal, but
+every contingent in this parade
+is listed on my clipboard and
+you're not. I know this list by
+heart. What did you say the
+name of your group was?"</p>
+
+<p>"The Martian V.F.W."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Cruthers was amused.
+"Those sure are the craziest outfits
+I've ever seen," he chuckled.
+"Where'd you get them? Walt
+Disney make them for you?" He
+followed his own little joke with
+a long throaty laugh.</p>
+
+<p>The ant was impatient.
+"About the parade, Mr. Cruthers,
+there isn't much time."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes, the parade. Well, let
+me see," he thumbed through
+the clipboard, "I guess there's
+always room for a few laughs.
+How many in your group?"</p>
+
+<p>"One hundred and fifty. And
+we also have a float with us. Not
+a very large one. It measures
+twenty by twenty."</p>
+
+<p>"Tell you what. You move
+your group to the corner of
+Thompson Street and Third
+Street. Get behind the Tiffany
+float and follow them, okay?"</p>
+
+<p>The ant paused a moment to
+record the instructions in his
+mind. Then he turned to leave.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, wait a minute," Mr. Cruthers
+cried before the ant could
+rejoin his group. "Just who did
+you speak to at the National
+Academy of Sciences?"</p>
+
+<p>"I believe it was a Mr. Canfield."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Cruthers' face lit up.
+"Well, why didn't you say so in
+the first place! I'd have placed
+you right away."</p>
+
+<p>"That's perfectly all right,
+Mr. Cruthers."</p>
+
+<p>"Listen, I don't know what
+you guys do but those costumes
+should certainly bring the house
+down. There's going to be four
+million people watching this parade.
+I bet that's the biggest
+audience you've ever seen."</p>
+
+<p>"It certainly is." With that
+the ant strode away.</p>
+
+<p>"Good luck!" Mr. Cruthers
+shouted after him.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 25%;' />
+
+<p>"Daddy! Daddy, look! Look
+at the big rocket!" The little boy
+jumped up and down gleefully.
+"It must be a whole mile long,
+Daddy! What kind is it?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's the Vanguard, son."</p>
+
+<p>An autumn breeze from the
+East River chilled their vantage
+point at Sixty-First Street and
+Fifth Avenue.</p>
+
+<p>"The Vanguard?" The name
+meant nothing to the boy. "Gee,
+I'll bet it can fly all the way to
+the stars!"</p>
+
+<p>"It's the rocket that carried
+the first artificial satellite into
+space."</p>
+
+<p>The parade, now three hours
+old, continued past the reviewing
+stand.</p>
+
+<p>"I wanna get a better look at
+the Vanguard!" the boy shouted.</p>
+
+<p>The father lifted the boy onto
+his shoulders. The little fellow
+laughed and whooped it up, firing
+several shots from his Captain
+Video Ray gun at the passing
+missile.</p>
+
+<p>The rocket moved on and the
+noise of the crowd diminished
+slightly.</p>
+
+<p>A one-hundred piece brass
+band was passing in front of
+them. They were playing "The
+Stars and Stripes Forever."
+They were followed by the Sak's
+Fifth Avenue display; nine
+small floats, each depicting life
+on another planet. The National
+Academy of Sciences had a success
+on its hands.</p>
+
+<p>"Wow! Daddy, I wanna ride
+on it! I wanna ride on that float
+and visit all those planets! Can
+I, Daddy!" The boy became all
+limbs trying to squirm down
+from his father's shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>"You stay right where you are,
+young man," the father struggled
+to hold his balance.</p>
+
+<p>"But I wanna go to the stars.
+I can watch the rest of the parade
+from Venus or Mercury!
+Please, Daddy!"</p>
+
+<p>The father grinned. "Not just
+yet, son, but it won't be long
+before man will go to the stars."</p>
+
+<p>"Who lives up there, Daddy?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, there isn't any life up
+there yet."</p>
+
+<p>"If no one's living up there
+why does anyone want to go
+there?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, maybe there'll be too
+many people on earth someday
+and then we'll have to find other
+planets with more room."</p>
+
+<p>Another monstrous brass
+band was going by. The boy became
+restless. He began to toy
+with his ray gun, half interested
+in seeing if there were any
+sparks left in it. "Why can't
+there be something besides so
+many bands in a parade? I wanna
+see another float."</p>
+
+<p>The father tried to interest
+the boy by pointing out all the
+famous people who were also
+there: a variety of statesmen
+the world's leading scientists
+and religious and cultural leaders,
+the president of the United
+States.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 25%;' />
+
+<p>The boy was interested but
+not in what his elder was saying
+to him. He was looking downtown,
+his eyes squinting, trying
+to make out figures as far away
+as Fifty-sixth Street. Then his
+mouth opened, not uttering a
+sound yet, just waiting to burst
+with joy at what was coming toward
+them.</p>
+
+<p>His father looked up at him.
+"I wish you'd tell me what you
+are looking at. I'm all the way
+down here on street level, remember?"</p>
+
+<p>"Daddy, they look like ants!"</p>
+
+<p>"What?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ants, Daddy, ants! A whole
+army of them. Ain't it exciting?"</p>
+
+<p>"What on earth are you talking
+about?"</p>
+
+<p>"They're doing somersaults
+and back flips and everything!
+They're coming right this way!
+Gee, there's hundreds of them.
+And they got a float behind
+them, Daddy! A great big float
+with something burning on it."</p>
+
+<p>The child sitting on his shoulders
+made mobility impossible
+for the father. And he couldn't
+see around the spectators. He
+resigned himself to stand and
+wait for this new spectacle to
+overtake them. The reaction to
+this new sight had already begun
+to work its way uptown. In
+the distance, but getting closer
+every second, he could hear unrestrained
+laughter and rejoicing.</p>
+
+<p>"Hey, take it easy!" The boy
+was beginning to ride the shoulders
+like a bronco buster. "By
+the time they get here I won't
+have any shoulders left. Where
+are they now?"</p>
+
+<p>"They're almost here, Daddy!
+And they aren't ants at all.
+They're just a bunch of clowns
+dressed up like it." He began
+to giggle hysterically. "Golly,
+they're funny. Can you see them
+yet, Daddy?"</p>
+
+<p>Before the father could produce
+an answer the ants were
+in view. They were a sight that
+couldn't fail to stimulate the
+funny bone. By comparison with
+real ants everything about them
+had been grossly exaggerated to
+achieve the proper effect. They
+walked on their two back legs
+but the four front apertures
+were far from idle. Some of
+them turned somersaults, others
+did complicated flips consisting
+of two or three spins in mid-air.
+Still others, doing a kind of animated
+cakewalk, carried toy ray
+guns which they fired at random
+into the crowd. The guns were
+something like the little boy's
+Captain Video ray gun, only
+larger. They emitted little
+streaks of blue sparks which
+shone brightly but disappeared
+when contact was made with air.</p>
+
+<p>They were easily the hit of
+the parade, a three ring circus
+all by themselves, as they
+pranced and clowned their way
+up Fifth Avenue giving the
+spectators a whale of a show
+that was completely new.</p>
+
+<p>The guests on the reviewing
+stand refrained from any hilarity
+until they saw the float that
+four of the ants were pulling behind
+them. It was in keeping
+with the rest of the nonsense
+they were perpetrating. The
+float boasted eight larger ray
+guns, three on either side and
+two in the rear, that fired the
+same fascinating blue sparks.
+Behind each gun an ant stood on
+its head, wildly waving six legs
+in the breeze, begging to be noticed
+and laughed at. Above the
+guns, emblazoned in fiery orange
+letters, were the words: "MARTIAN
+V.F.W." This was interpreted
+by one and all as a punch
+line and was treated accordingly.</p>
+
+<p>It was heartwarming to be
+able to see the president and so
+many other dignitaries abandon
+composure in favor of a good old
+fashioned belly laugh.</p>
+
+<p>"Daddy, I can't laugh any
+more," the boy had to pause between
+every other word. "My
+stomach hurts. Aren't they the
+funniest things you ever saw?"</p>
+
+<p>The father was too convulsed
+to be able to answer him.</p>
+
+<p>"Daddy, one of them is coming
+this way! He's firing his
+Captain Video ray gun at us!"
+They boy squeezed his father
+and held on tight.</p>
+
+<p>The father took a deep breath
+in order to be able to speak.
+"Take your gun and fire back
+at him, son. Fire away! Go on,
+he's just being playful!" He
+broke forth with another gust
+of laughter. "I won't see anything
+as funny as this again if
+I live to be a hundred!"</p>
+
+<p>The ant pranced over to where
+they were standing, firing its
+gun in every direction. The boy
+fired back. The ant took one look
+at the lad's gun and let out a
+long cackling sound which built
+to a crescendo and then stopped
+as though it had been turned off.
+The ant rejoined the group and
+they continued on their merry
+way.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 25%;' />
+
+<p>The boy fired several shots into
+the float as it passed. He
+wanted to see if he could knock
+out those blazing orange letters:
+MARTIAN V.F.W. The letters
+continued to burn, but in the
+boy's mind he was certain he
+had made several direct hits.</p>
+
+<p>The boy and his father watched
+the float until it was out of
+sight. They knew there wouldn't
+be another attraction like those
+ants. They must have been real
+professionals, the father
+thought. Such teamwork! Such
+precision! Each one of them
+having a specific job to do and
+each doing it to perfection.
+After them everything was
+bound to be anticlimactic.</p>
+
+<p>More marchers, more bands, a
+few more floats. The boy was
+beginning to tire. It had been a
+long day. Now everything was
+dull. "Daddy, I don't want to
+see any more. Let's go home."</p>
+
+<p>"We'll stay another five minutes."</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 25%;' />
+
+<p>The parade somehow seemed
+to be slowing down. The father
+yawned and let his son down
+from his shoulders. He looked
+across the street at the president
+and the other dignitaries on the
+reviewing stand. All were slowly
+raising their hands in salute as
+another color guard drowsily
+made its way by.</p>
+
+<p>Soon the last group in the parade
+was passing the reviewing
+stand. Another brass band. They
+were moving with the speed of
+a glacier. A full five seconds
+elapsed between each note of
+music. Everything was happening
+in slow motion. On the reviewing
+stand the dignified
+hands went up, agonizingly
+slow, to a final salute and they
+stayed there. The greatest
+minds in the world stood motionless,
+unalterably still. Just as
+each wave of pandemonium had
+unfurled itself up Fifth Avenue
+during the parade, so now did
+silence take command.</p>
+
+<p>The little boy tugged at his
+father's coat. "Daddy! Daddy,"
+he pleaded, "why has the parade
+stopped? I wan-na-go-home&mdash;"
+His words came more slowly
+with each passing second, like a
+high speed phonograph playing
+at thirty-three and a third r.p.m.
+"Dad-dy&mdash;why&mdash;don't&mdash;you&mdash;an&mdash;swer&mdash;me&mdash;Da&mdash;ddy&mdash;why&mdash;don't&mdash;"
+His
+father never heard him.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 25%;' />
+
+<p>Fifty miles above the Atlantic
+the fleet of spaceships hung suspended
+like lanterns. In the lead
+ship the ant in charge of communications
+reported to the
+commander.</p>
+
+<p>"We've just received the first
+communique from the advance
+guard, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Read it to me."</p>
+
+<p>The communications chief
+read from a large perforated
+paper. "Time&mdash;0600&mdash;mission
+accomplished. Manhattan island
+cut down the middle&mdash;immediate
+result of super-isonic rays; four
+million dead&mdash;rays spreading
+east and west&mdash;estimated time
+of rays' full effect; 0800&mdash;island
+will then be neutralized&mdash;awaiting
+further orders." The ant
+folded the paper and looked up
+at the commander. "Shall I relay
+further orders, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"No." The commander of the
+ants paused and stroked his
+chin. "We're moving in."</p>
+
+
+<p class="tease"><big><b>THE END</b></big></p>
+
+
+<div class="trans2"><p class="zerop"><b>Transcriber's Note:</b><br />This etext was produced from <i>Amazing Science Fiction Stories</i> May 1959. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and typographical errors have been corrected without note.</p></div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Martian V.F.W., by G.L. Vandenburg
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARTIAN V.F.W. ***
+
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+</pre>
+
+</body>
+</html>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Martian V.F.W., by G.L. Vandenburg
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Martian V.F.W.
+
+Author: G.L. Vandenburg
+
+Release Date: July 20, 2007 [EBook #22110]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARTIAN V.F.W. ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+MARTIAN V. F. W.
+
+By G. L. VANDENBURG
+
+
+
+
+ _There's nothing like a parade, I always
+ say. Of course, I'm a Martian._
+
+
+Mr. Cruthers was a busy man. Coordinating the biggest parade in New
+York's history is not easy. He was maneuvering his two hundred pounds
+around Washington Square with the agility of a quarterback. He had his
+hands full organizing marchers, locating floats, placing the many brass
+bands in their proper order and barking commands to assistants. But Mr.
+Cruthers approached the job with all the zeal of an evangelist at a
+revival meeting.
+
+As he approached the south-west corner of the square he saw something
+that jarred his already frayed nerves. He stopped abruptly. The mass of
+clipboards and papers he was carrying fell to the street. There before
+him were one hundred and fifty ants, each of them at least six feet
+tall. His first impulse was to turn and run for the nearest doctor. He
+was certain that the strain of his job was proving too much for him. But
+one of the ants approached him. It seemed friendly enough, so Mr.
+Cruthers stood his ground.
+
+"My group is waiting for their assignment." The ant's voice seemed to be
+coming from the very core of its thorax which was a violent red.
+
+"Good Lord!" Mr. Cruthers' mouth opened up as wide as an oven door.
+
+"Mr. Cruthers, I believe the parade is about to start and my group--"
+
+Mr. Cruthers managed to blurt out. "What the devil _are_ you anyway!"
+
+"This _is_ the parade marking the International Geophysical Year, is it
+not?" The ant had a pleasant, friendly voice.
+
+"Well, yes, but--"
+
+"And you are Mr. Cruthers, the manager of the parade, is that not
+correct?"
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Cruthers rubbed his eyes and took another look at the strange
+creature. Its head was a brilliant yellow. It had two large goggle eyes
+which rolled like itinerant marbles when it spoke. The low slung abdomen
+was a burnt brown. It was bad enough, Cruthers thought, that these ants
+were six feet tall, but it was nightmarish to see them in three colors.
+
+"Mr. Cruthers," the ant continued, "haven't you been instructed by the
+National Academy of Sciences that the Martian V.F.W. is to participate
+in this parade?"
+
+"The Martian--!!" Mr. Cruthers' mouth was open again. Then he realized
+that when the ant spoke its mouth didn't move. He picked up his
+clipboard and papers from the street. His voice was hostile now. "What
+the hell is this, some kind of a gag! What are you trying to do, scare a
+man half to death!"
+
+"Oh, we're not joking, Mr. Cruthers. The National Academy--"
+
+"They didn't say anything to me about a bunch of clowns dressed up like
+ants!" Mr. Cruthers' indignation became intensified. He was loathe to
+admit that he'd been taken in by such obviously animated costumes. "Now
+look here, I'm a very busy man."
+
+"The arrangements _have_ been made, Mr. Cruthers. If my group is refused
+a place in this parade we shall file suit immediately. As manager you'll
+be named co-defendant." The ant was gentle but firm.
+
+The thought of being sued softened Mr. Cruthers' attitude. "Well, I'm
+very sorry, pal, but every contingent in this parade is listed on my
+clipboard and you're not. I know this list by heart. What did you say
+the name of your group was?"
+
+"The Martian V.F.W."
+
+Mr. Cruthers was amused. "Those sure are the craziest outfits I've ever
+seen," he chuckled. "Where'd you get them? Walt Disney make them for
+you?" He followed his own little joke with a long throaty laugh.
+
+The ant was impatient. "About the parade, Mr. Cruthers, there isn't much
+time."
+
+"Oh, yes, the parade. Well, let me see," he thumbed through the
+clipboard, "I guess there's always room for a few laughs. How many in
+your group?"
+
+"One hundred and fifty. And we also have a float with us. Not a very
+large one. It measures twenty by twenty."
+
+"Tell you what. You move your group to the corner of Thompson Street and
+Third Street. Get behind the Tiffany float and follow them, okay?"
+
+The ant paused a moment to record the instructions in his mind. Then he
+turned to leave.
+
+"Oh, wait a minute," Mr. Cruthers cried before the ant could rejoin his
+group. "Just who did you speak to at the National Academy of Sciences?"
+
+"I believe it was a Mr. Canfield."
+
+Mr. Cruthers' face lit up. "Well, why didn't you say so in the first
+place! I'd have placed you right away."
+
+"That's perfectly all right, Mr. Cruthers."
+
+"Listen, I don't know what you guys do but those costumes should
+certainly bring the house down. There's going to be four million people
+watching this parade. I bet that's the biggest audience you've ever
+seen."
+
+"It certainly is." With that the ant strode away.
+
+"Good luck!" Mr. Cruthers shouted after him.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+"Daddy! Daddy, look! Look at the big rocket!" The little boy jumped up
+and down gleefully. "It must be a whole mile long, Daddy! What kind is
+it?"
+
+"That's the Vanguard, son."
+
+An autumn breeze from the East River chilled their vantage point at
+Sixty-First Street and Fifth Avenue.
+
+"The Vanguard?" The name meant nothing to the boy. "Gee, I'll bet it can
+fly all the way to the stars!"
+
+"It's the rocket that carried the first artificial satellite into
+space."
+
+The parade, now three hours old, continued past the reviewing stand.
+
+"I wanna get a better look at the Vanguard!" the boy shouted.
+
+The father lifted the boy onto his shoulders. The little fellow laughed
+and whooped it up, firing several shots from his Captain Video Ray gun
+at the passing missile.
+
+The rocket moved on and the noise of the crowd diminished slightly.
+
+A one-hundred piece brass band was passing in front of them. They were
+playing "The Stars and Stripes Forever." They were followed by the Sak's
+Fifth Avenue display; nine small floats, each depicting life on another
+planet. The National Academy of Sciences had a success on its hands.
+
+"Wow! Daddy, I wanna ride on it! I wanna ride on that float and visit
+all those planets! Can I, Daddy!" The boy became all limbs trying to
+squirm down from his father's shoulders.
+
+"You stay right where you are, young man," the father struggled to hold
+his balance.
+
+"But I wanna go to the stars. I can watch the rest of the parade from
+Venus or Mercury! Please, Daddy!"
+
+The father grinned. "Not just yet, son, but it won't be long before man
+will go to the stars."
+
+"Who lives up there, Daddy?"
+
+"Oh, there isn't any life up there yet."
+
+"If no one's living up there why does anyone want to go there?"
+
+"Well, maybe there'll be too many people on earth someday and then we'll
+have to find other planets with more room."
+
+Another monstrous brass band was going by. The boy became restless. He
+began to toy with his ray gun, half interested in seeing if there were
+any sparks left in it. "Why can't there be something besides so many
+bands in a parade? I wanna see another float."
+
+The father tried to interest the boy by pointing out all the famous
+people who were also there: a variety of statesmen the world's leading
+scientists and religious and cultural leaders, the president of the
+United States.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The boy was interested but not in what his elder was saying to him. He
+was looking downtown, his eyes squinting, trying to make out figures as
+far away as Fifty-sixth Street. Then his mouth opened, not uttering a
+sound yet, just waiting to burst with joy at what was coming toward
+them.
+
+His father looked up at him. "I wish you'd tell me what you are looking
+at. I'm all the way down here on street level, remember?"
+
+"Daddy, they look like ants!"
+
+"What?"
+
+"Ants, Daddy, ants! A whole army of them. Ain't it exciting?"
+
+"What on earth are you talking about?"
+
+"They're doing somersaults and back flips and everything! They're coming
+right this way! Gee, there's hundreds of them. And they got a float
+behind them, Daddy! A great big float with something burning on it."
+
+The child sitting on his shoulders made mobility impossible for the
+father. And he couldn't see around the spectators. He resigned himself
+to stand and wait for this new spectacle to overtake them. The reaction
+to this new sight had already begun to work its way uptown. In the
+distance, but getting closer every second, he could hear unrestrained
+laughter and rejoicing.
+
+"Hey, take it easy!" The boy was beginning to ride the shoulders like a
+bronco buster. "By the time they get here I won't have any shoulders
+left. Where are they now?"
+
+"They're almost here, Daddy! And they aren't ants at all. They're just a
+bunch of clowns dressed up like it." He began to giggle hysterically.
+"Golly, they're funny. Can you see them yet, Daddy?"
+
+Before the father could produce an answer the ants were in view. They
+were a sight that couldn't fail to stimulate the funny bone. By
+comparison with real ants everything about them had been grossly
+exaggerated to achieve the proper effect. They walked on their two back
+legs but the four front apertures were far from idle. Some of them
+turned somersaults, others did complicated flips consisting of two or
+three spins in mid-air. Still others, doing a kind of animated cakewalk,
+carried toy ray guns which they fired at random into the crowd. The
+guns were something like the little boy's Captain Video ray gun, only
+larger. They emitted little streaks of blue sparks which shone brightly
+but disappeared when contact was made with air.
+
+They were easily the hit of the parade, a three ring circus all by
+themselves, as they pranced and clowned their way up Fifth Avenue giving
+the spectators a whale of a show that was completely new.
+
+The guests on the reviewing stand refrained from any hilarity until they
+saw the float that four of the ants were pulling behind them. It was in
+keeping with the rest of the nonsense they were perpetrating. The float
+boasted eight larger ray guns, three on either side and two in the rear,
+that fired the same fascinating blue sparks. Behind each gun an ant
+stood on its head, wildly waving six legs in the breeze, begging to be
+noticed and laughed at. Above the guns, emblazoned in fiery orange
+letters, were the words: "MARTIAN V.F.W." This was interpreted by one
+and all as a punch line and was treated accordingly.
+
+It was heartwarming to be able to see the president and so many other
+dignitaries abandon composure in favor of a good old fashioned belly
+laugh.
+
+"Daddy, I can't laugh any more," the boy had to pause between every
+other word. "My stomach hurts. Aren't they the funniest things you ever
+saw?"
+
+The father was too convulsed to be able to answer him.
+
+"Daddy, one of them is coming this way! He's firing his Captain Video
+ray gun at us!" They boy squeezed his father and held on tight.
+
+The father took a deep breath in order to be able to speak. "Take your
+gun and fire back at him, son. Fire away! Go on, he's just being
+playful!" He broke forth with another gust of laughter. "I won't see
+anything as funny as this again if I live to be a hundred!"
+
+The ant pranced over to where they were standing, firing its gun in
+every direction. The boy fired back. The ant took one look at the lad's
+gun and let out a long cackling sound which built to a crescendo and
+then stopped as though it had been turned off. The ant rejoined the
+group and they continued on their merry way.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The boy fired several shots into the float as it passed. He wanted to
+see if he could knock out those blazing orange letters: MARTIAN V.F.W.
+The letters continued to burn, but in the boy's mind he was certain he
+had made several direct hits.
+
+The boy and his father watched the float until it was out of sight. They
+knew there wouldn't be another attraction like those ants. They must
+have been real professionals, the father thought. Such teamwork! Such
+precision! Each one of them having a specific job to do and each doing
+it to perfection. After them everything was bound to be anticlimactic.
+
+More marchers, more bands, a few more floats. The boy was beginning to
+tire. It had been a long day. Now everything was dull. "Daddy, I don't
+want to see any more. Let's go home."
+
+"We'll stay another five minutes."
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The parade somehow seemed to be slowing down. The father yawned and let
+his son down from his shoulders. He looked across the street at the
+president and the other dignitaries on the reviewing stand. All were
+slowly raising their hands in salute as another color guard drowsily
+made its way by.
+
+Soon the last group in the parade was passing the reviewing stand.
+Another brass band. They were moving with the speed of a glacier. A full
+five seconds elapsed between each note of music. Everything was
+happening in slow motion. On the reviewing stand the dignified hands
+went up, agonizingly slow, to a final salute and they stayed there. The
+greatest minds in the world stood motionless, unalterably still. Just as
+each wave of pandemonium had unfurled itself up Fifth Avenue during the
+parade, so now did silence take command.
+
+The little boy tugged at his father's coat. "Daddy! Daddy," he
+pleaded, "why has the parade stopped? I wan-na-go-home--" His
+words came more slowly with each passing second, like a high
+speed phonograph playing at thirty-three and a third r.p.m.
+"Dad-dy--why--don't--you--an--swer--me--Da--ddy--why--don't--" His
+father never heard him.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Fifty miles above the Atlantic the fleet of spaceships hung suspended
+like lanterns. In the lead ship the ant in charge of communications
+reported to the commander.
+
+"We've just received the first communique from the advance guard, sir."
+
+"Read it to me."
+
+The communications chief read from a large perforated paper.
+"Time--0600--mission accomplished. Manhattan island cut down the
+middle--immediate result of super-isonic rays; four million dead--rays
+spreading east and west--estimated time of rays' full effect;
+0800--island will then be neutralized--awaiting further orders." The ant
+folded the paper and looked up at the commander. "Shall I relay further
+orders, sir?"
+
+"No." The commander of the ants paused and stroked his chin. "We're
+moving in."
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note:
+
+This etext was produced from _Amazing Science Fiction Stories_ May 1959.
+Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright
+on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and typographical errors
+have been corrected without note.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Martian V.F.W., by G.L. Vandenburg
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARTIAN V.F.W. ***
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