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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/29271-h.zip b/29271-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..4c6e472 --- /dev/null +++ b/29271-h.zip diff --git a/29271-h/29271-h.htm b/29271-h/29271-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0559f0b --- /dev/null +++ b/29271-h/29271-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,1184 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Issahar Artifacts, by J. F. Bone + </title> + <style type="text/css"> + + p {margin-top: .75em; text-align: justify; margin-bottom: .75em;} + h1,h2 {text-align: center; clear: both; font-weight: normal;} + hr {width: 45%; margin: 1em auto; clear: both; visibility: hidden;} + body {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + img {border: none;} + a:link,a:visited {text-decoration: none;} + p.cap:first-letter {float: left; margin-right: .05em; padding-top: .05em; font-size: 300%; line-height: .8em; width: auto;} + .dcap {text-transform: uppercase;} + .bk1 {margin: 2em auto; text-align: center; width: 18em;} + .bk2 {text-align: left; float: right; width: auto;} + .bk3 {text-align: right; margin-top: 2em;} + .figt {float: left; clear: left; margin: 15px; padding: 0; width: 140px;} + .trn {border: solid 1px; margin: 3em 15%; min-height: 230px;} + .trn p {margin: 15px;} + + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Issahar Artifacts, by Jesse Franklin Bone + +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: The Issahar Artifacts + +Author: Jesse Franklin Bone + +Release Date: June 29, 2009 [EBook #29271] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ISSAHAR ARTIFACTS *** + + + + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<h1><big><b>THE ISSAHAR ARTIFACTS</b></big></h1> + +<h2>By J. F. BONE</h2> + +<div class="bk1"><i><b>Lincoln said it eons ago.... It took +a speck of one-celled plant life on a +world parsecs away to prove it for +all the galaxy.</b></i></div> + +<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">The</span> following manuscript was +discovered during the excavation +of a lateral connecting +link between the North-South +streamways in Narhil Province +near Issahar on Kwashior. The +excavator, while passing through +a small valley about 20 yursts +south of the city, was jammed by +a mass of oxidized and partially +oxidized metallic fragments. On +most worlds this would not be +unusual, but Kwashior has no recorded +history of metallic artifacts. +The terrestrial operator, +with unusual presence of mind, +reported the stoppage immediately. +Assasul, the District +Engineering monitor, realized +instantly that no metallic debris +should exist in that area, and in +consequence ordered a most careful +excavation in the event that +the artifacts might have cultural +significance.</p> + +<p>The debris proved to be the +remnants of an ancient spaceship +similar to those described in Sector +Chronicles IV through VII, +but of much smaller size and +cruder design—obviously a relic +of pre-expansion days. Within +the remnants of the ship was +found a small box of metal covered +with several thicknesses of +tar and wax impregnated fabric +which had been mostly destroyed. +The metal itself was badly +oxidized, but served to protect an +inner wooden box that contained +a number of thin sheets of a +fragile substance composed +mainly of cellulose which were +brown and crumbling with age. +The sheets were covered with +runes of <i>lingua antiqua</i> arranged +in regular rows, inscribed by +hand with a carbon-based ink +which has persisted remarkably +well despite the degenerative +processes of time. Although +much of the manuscript is illegible, +sufficient remains to settle +for all time the Dannar-Marraket +Controversy and lend important +corroborating evidence to +the Cassaheb Thesis of Terrestrial +migrations.</p> + +<p>The genuineness of this fragment +has been established beyond +doubt. Radiocarbon dating +places its age at ten thousand +plus or minus one hundred +cycles, which would place it at +the very beginning of the Intellectual +Emergence. Its importance +is beyond question. Its +implications are shocking despite +the fact that they conform to +many of the early legends and +form a solid foundation for Dannar's +Thesis which has heretofore +been regarded as implausible. +In the light of this material, +the whole question of racial origins +may well have to be reevaluated. +Without further comment, +the translated text is presented +herewith. You may draw your +own conclusions. Go with enlightenment.</p> + +<div class="bk2">-BARRAGOND-<br /> +Monitor of Cultural Origins and Relics<br /> +Kwashior Central Repository</div> + +<hr /> + +<p>I have decided after some +thought, to write this journal. It +is, I suppose, a form of egotism—for +I do not expect that it shall +ever be read in the event that I +am unable to leave this place. +Yet it affords me a certain satisfaction +to think that a part of +me will remain long after I have +returned to dust. In any event, +I feel that one is not truly dead +if a part of his personality remains. +Many of the ancients such +as Homer, Phidias, Confucius, +Christ, da Vinci, Lincoln, Einstein, +Churchill—and many others—live +on through their works +when otherwise they would long +since have been forgotten and +thus be truly dead. Earth's history +is full of such examples. +And while I have no expectation +of an immortality such as theirs, +it flatters my ego to think that +there will be some part of me +which also will survive ...</p> + +<p><i>(Note: There are several lines +following this which are obliterated, +defaced or unreadable. +There are more to follow. In the +future such gaps in the content +will be indicated thus: ...)</i></p> + +<p>... I expect that it is a basic +trait of character, for spacemen +must be gregarious, and although +I am not truly a spaceman +I have been in space and, in +consequence, my character is no +different from my ex-crewmates—at +least in that respect. I think +as time passes I shall miss the +comfort of companionship, the +sense of belonging to a group, +the card games, the bull sessions, +the endless speculation on what +comes next, or what we will do +when the voyage is over and we +are again on Earth ...</p> + +<p>... I particularly recall Gregory. +Odd, but I never knew his surname, +or maybe it was his given +name, for Gregory could function +as well in one respect as the other. +He would boast continually of +what he would do to wine, women, +and song once we returned to +Earth. Poor Gregory. The meteor +that hulled our ship struck +squarely through the engine +room where he was on duty. +Probably he never knew that he +had died. At least his fate had +the mercy of being brief. Certainly +it is not like mine. It was +... given ...</p> + +<p>There was plenty of time for +the survivors to reach the lifeboats, +and in our decimated condition +there were plenty of boats—which +increased our chances of +living by a factor of four ... I +suppose that it was foolish to +give way to the feeling of every +man for himself but I am not a +spaceman trained to react +automatically to emergencies. +Neither am I a navigator or a +pilot, although I can fly in an +emergency. I am a biologist, a +specialist member of the scientific +staff—essentially an individualist. +I knew enough to seal +myself in, push the eject button +and energize the drive. However, +I did not know that a lifeboat +had no acceleration compensators, +and by the time the drive +lever returned to neutral, I was +far out in space and thoroughly +lost. I could detect no lifeboats +in the vicinity nor could I raise +any on the radio. I later found +that a transistor malfunctioned, +but by then I was well out of +range, stranded between the +stars in the black emptiness of +space. After reading the manual +on lifeboat operation there was +but one course open. I selected +the nearest G-type star, set the +controls on automatic, and went +into cold sleep. There was nothing +else to do. If I remained +awake I would be dead of oxygen +starvation long before I reached +a habitable world. The only alternative +was the half-death of +frozen sleep and the long wait +until the boat came within range +of the sun I had selected.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p>I awoke in orbit around this +world, and after I recovered full +use of my faculties and checked +the analyzer, I decided to land. +I'm afraid I did a rather bad job +of it, since I used the chemical +rockets too late, and the plasma +jets scorched a considerable +amount of acreage in the meadow +where I finally came to rest. +However, the residual radioactivity +is low, and it is safe +enough to walk outside.... The +life boat is lying beside a small +stream which empties into a circular +pool of blue water in the +center of a small meadow. The +fiery trail of the jets and rockets +has burned a hundred-foot-wide +path across the meadow, and the +upper edge of the pool, and ends +in a broad, blackened circle surrounding +the boat. I came down +too fast the last few feet, and the +drive tubes are a crumpled mess +inextricably fused with the bent +landing pads. This boat will never +fly again without extensive +repairs which I cannot perform. +But the hull is otherwise sound, +and I am comfortable enough except +for a few rapidly healing +bruises and contusions. In a few +days I should be well enough to +explore....</p> + +<p>I am surprised that this world +is so capable of supporting human +life. The consensus of scientific +opinion has been that less +than one out of 50,000 planets +would be habitable. Yet I have +struck paydirt on the first try. +Perhaps I am lucky. At any rate +I am alive, and my lifeboat, while +somewhat damaged by an inept +landing, is still sufficiently intact +to serve as a shelter, and the survival +kits are undamaged, which +should make my stay here endurable +if not pleasant ... and we +are learning a great deal about +our galaxy with the development +of the interstellar drive—not the +least of which is that authoritative +opinion is mere opinion and +far from authoritative.</p> + +<p>This world on which I find myself +is in every respect but one +similar to Earth. There is no +animate life—only plants. No +birds fly, no insects buzz, no animals +rustle the silent underbrush. +The only noise is the wind +in the trees and grasses. I am +utterly alone. It is a strange feeling, +this loneliness. There is a +feeling of freedom in it, a release +from the too-close proximity of +my fellow men. There is the +pleasure of absolute privacy. But +this will undoubtedly pall. Already +I find that I am anxious +for someone to talk to, someone +with whom I can share ideas and +plans. There ...</p> + +<p>... which I cannot explain. +But one thing is certain. My first +impression of this place was +wrong. The life here, if not animate, +is at least intelligent—and +it is not friendly. Yet neither +does it hate. It observes me with +a slow, methodical curiosity that +I can sense at the very threshold +of consciousness. It is a peculiar +sensation that is quite indescribable—unpleasant—but +hardly +terrifying. I suppose I can feel it +more than a normal person because +I am a biologist and it is +part of my training and specialized +skill to achieve a certain +rapport with my surroundings. +I first noticed it yesterday. It +came suddenly, without warning, +a vague uneasiness, like the +feeling when one awakens from +a partially remembered but unpleasant +dream. And it has been +increasing ever since.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p>The principal impressions I received +from this initial contact +were an awareness of self and a +recognizance of identity—the +concept of <i>cogito ergo sum</i> came +through quite clearly. I wonder +what Descartes would think of +an alien intelligence quoting his +dogma.... I think it is animal, +despite the absence of animal life +in this area. The thought patterns +are quick and flexible. And +they have been increasing in +power and precision at an appreciable +rate. I am sure that it is +aware of me. I shall call the feeling +"it" until I can identify the +source more accurately. Certainly +"it" appears to be as good a +description as any, since there is +no consciousness of sex in the +thought patterns. I wonder what +sort of ... and to my surprise +I <i>swore</i>! I do not ordinarily +curse or use obscenities—not because +they are obscene but because +they are a poor and inexact +means of conveying ideas or impressions. +But in this case they +were particularly appropriate. +No other words could so precisely +describe my feelings. Me, a +rational intelligence, succumbing +to such low-level emotional +stimuli! If this keeps on, the +next thing I know I will be seeing +little green men flitting +through the trees.... Of course, +this world is unnatural, which +makes its effect on the nervous +system more powerful, yet that +does not explain the feeling of +tension which I have been experiencing, +the silent straining +tension of an overloaded cable, +the tension of a toy balloon overfull +with air. I have a constant +feeling of dreadful expectancy, +of imminent disaster, mixed +with a sense of pain and a lively—almost +childlike—curiosity. To +say that this is disquieting +would be a complete understatement, +this state of chronic disease, +mixed with occasional +rushes of terror. I am certain +that my nervous system and +emotional responses are being examined, +and catalogued like a +visceral preparation in an anatomy +laboratory. There is something +infinitely chilling about +this mental dissection.</p> + +<p>... and after a careful search +of the area I found precisely +nothing. You who may read this +will probably laugh, but I cannot. +To me this is no laughing +matter. I find myself jumping at +the slightest noise, an increase in +the wind, the snap of an expanding +hull plate, the crackle of +static over my radio. I whirl +around to see who, or <i>what</i>, is +watching me. My skin crawls and +prickles as though I were covered +with ants. My mind is filled +with black, inchoate dread. In +three words, <i>I'm scared stiff</i>! +Yet there is nothing tangible—nothing +I should be frightened +about, and this terrifies me even +more. For I know where this continual +fear and worry can lead—to +what ends this incessant stimulation +can reach.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p>Under pressure my body reacts, +preparing me to fight or +flee. My adrenals pump hormones +into my bloodstream, stimulating +my heart and my sympathetic +nervous system, making glucose +more available to my muscles. +My peripheral capillaries dilate. +Intestinal activity stops as blood +is channeled into the areas which +my fear and my glands decide +will need it most. I sweat. My +vision blurs. All the manifold +changes of the fight or flight +syndrome are mobilized for instant +action. But my body cannot +be held in this state of readiness. +The constant stimulation will +ultimately turn my overworked +adrenal glands into a jelly-like +mess of cystic quivering goo. My +general adaptation syndrome will +no longer adapt. And I will die.</p> + +<p>But I am not dead yet. And I +have certain advantages. I am +intelligent. I know what faces +me. And I can adjust. That is +one of the outstanding characteristics +of the human race—the +ability to adjust to our environment, +or, failing that, to adjust +our environment to us. In addition, +I have my hands, tools, and +materials to work with here in +the lifeboat. And finally I am +desperate! I should be able to +accomplish something. There +must be ...</p> + +<hr /> + +<p>... But it is not going well. +There are too many parts which +I do not know by sight. If I were +a more competent electronicist I +would have had the parts assembled +now and would be sending a +beacon signal clear across this +sector. The pressure hasn't been +any help. It doesn't get greater, +but it has become more insisting—more +demanding. I seem to +feel that it <i>wants</i> something, +that its direction has become +more channelized. The conviction +is growing within me that I am +destined to be <i>absorbed</i>.</p> + +<p>The fear with which I live is +a constant thing. And I still keep +looking for my enemy. In a +strange, impersonal way it has +become my enemy for though it +does not hate, it threatens my +life. My waking hours are hell +and my sleep is nightmare. +Strange how a man clings to life +and sanity. It would be so easy +to lose either. Of one thing I am +certain—this cannot go on much +longer. I cannot work under +pressure. I must act. I shall try +again to find my enemy and kill +it before it kills me. It is no +longer a question of ...</p> + +<p>... Never again shall I wish +to be alone. If I get out of this +alive I am going to haunt +crowds. I will surround myself +with people. Right now I would +give my soul to have one—just +one—person near me. Anyone. I +feel certain that two of us could +face this thing and lick it. If +necessary we could face it back +to back, each covering the other. +I am now getting impressions. +Sensory hallucinations. I am +floating. I swim. I bathe luxuriantly +in huge bathtubs and the +water runs through my body as +though I were a sponge. Have +you ever felt <i>porous</i>?...</p> + +<p>... and that last attack was a +doozer! I wrecked a week's work +looking for the little man who +wasn't there. The urge to kill is +becoming more intense. I want +to destroy the author of my misery. +Even though I am still a +balanced personality—polite language +for being sane—I can't +take much more of this. I will +not go mad, but I will go into +the adrenal syndrome unless I +can end this soon.</p> + +<p>Nothing I have done seems to +help. For a while I was sure that +the music tapes held the pressure +back, but the enemy is used to +them now. I am still working on +the subspace beacon. The radio +and most of the control linkages +have gone into it. It looks like an +electronicist's nightmare, but if +the survival manual is right, it +will work. It has to work! I +dread the time when I shall have +to cannibalize the recorder. Can't +help thinking that Shakespeare +was right when he wrote that bit +about music soothing the savage +breast. It may not soothe the +enemy, for it isn't savage, but it +certainly soothes me, even +though there's something repetitive +about it after a half a hundred +playings. My breast's savage +all right. Fact is, it's downright +primitive when an attack +starts. I can feel them coming +now. I keep wondering how much +longer I can last. Guess I'm getting +morbid....</p> + +<p>More nightmares last night. I +drowned three times and a purple +octopus gave me an enema. +Woke up screaming, but got an +idea from it. Funny that I never +thought of it before. Water's the +fountainhead of life, and there is +no real reason for assuming my +enemy is terrestrial. He could +just as well be aquatic. I'll find +out today—maybe. Just to be +doing something positive—even +thinking—makes me feel better....</p> + +<hr /> + +<p><i>Got it!</i> I know where it is! +And I know how to kill it. Fact +is, I've already done it! Now +there's no more pressure. God—what +a relief! This morning I +burned the meadow and cut down +the nearest trees surrounding +this clearing and nothing happened. +I expected that. Then I +checked the water. Nothing in +the stream, but the pond was +<i>green</i>!—filled almost to the edge +with a mass of algae! A hundred-foot +platter of sticky green +slime, cohesive as glue and ugly +as sin. It <i>had</i> to be it—and it +was. I never saw algae that cohered +quite like that. So I gave +it about fifty gallons of rocket +juice—red fuming nitric acid—right +in the belly. Then I sat +down and let the tension flow out +of me, revelling in its pain, +laughing like crazy as it turned +brown—and the pressure disappeared. +No tension at all now. +The place is as quiet and peaceful +as the grave. I want to laugh +and laugh—and run through the +burned meadow and roll in the +ashes so grateful am I for my +deliverance.</p> + +<p>Got the idea of killing the +monster from a splash of rocket +fuel on the bank of the stream +and my memory of the pain in +the early feelings. But it was +nothing compared to the feeling +when the acid hit that damned +mass of green slime! Even +though my brain was screaming +at me, I felt good. I should put a +couple of hundred gallons into +the stream just to make sure—but +I can't afford it. I need the +fuel to run the generators to +propagate the wave that'll bring +me home if someone hears it. +And they'll hear it all right. My +luck is in. Now I'm going to +sleep—<i>sweet sleep that knits the +ravelled sleeve of care</i>—Shakespeare, +old man, you had a phrase +for everything! I love you. I love +everything. I even feel sorry for +that poor plant ... of guilt. It +couldn't help the fact that my +jets set up a mutation. And being +intelligent it <i>had</i> to be +curious. Of course, no one would +believe me if I started talking +about intelligent algae. But +what's so odd about that? Even +the most complex life forms are +just aggregations of individual +cells working together. So if a +few individual cells with rudimentary +data-storage capacity +got the idea of uniting why +couldn't they act like a complex +organism?</p> + +<hr /> + +<p>It is useless to speculate on +what might have happened had +that thing lived. But it's dead +now—burned to death in acid. +And although destruction of intelligent +life is repugnant to me, +I cannot help feeling that it is +perhaps better that it is gone. +Considering how rapidly it developed +during its few weeks of +life, and the power it possessed, +my mind is appalled at its potential. +I've had my experience and +that's enough. Lord! but I'm +tired. I feel like a wrung-out +sponge. Guess I'll rest for a little +while ...</p> + +<p>... and received a reply to my +signal! They heterodyned it +right back along my own beam. +They'll be landing in a week. I +don't think I'll take this manuscript +with me. I couldn't use it—and +somehow I don't feel like +burning it. Maybe I'll make a +time capsule out of it. It will be +amusing to speculate about what +sort of a reaction it'll provoke, +providing it is ever read. I can +see them now, huge-headed humans, +wrinkling their noses and +saying "Intelligent algae—fantastic—the +man must have been +mad!"</p> + +<p><i>The manuscript ends here—and +of course we know that the +"man" was not mad. He left behind +a rich heritage indeed, for +those few cells that escaped his +wrath and floated down to the +sea. Did we but know his origin +we would erect a suitable memorial +if we had to travel to the +farthest reach of our galaxy. But +the names he quotes are not in +our repositories and as for the +word "Earth" which he used for +his homeworld, I need not remind +my readers that the intelligent +terrestrial inhabitants of +the 22,748 planets of this sector +use the term "Earth" or its synonyms +"soil" and "world" to describe +their planets. Of course, +the term "Homewater" is gradually +replacing this archaic concept +as we extend our hegemony +ever more widely across the disunited +worlds of the galaxy.</i></p> + +<p><i>At that it seems strange that +the unknown author's race +should have passed. As individuals +they had so many advantages, +while we are so weak and +individually so helpless. They +could do almost everything except +communicate and cooperate. +We can do but little else, yet our +larger aggregations can control +entire worlds, some peopled perhaps +with descendants of this +very individual. It merely proves +that Dannar's statement in the +preface of his Thesis is correct.</i></p> + +<p>"United, cohesive cooperation +is the source of irresistible +strength."</p> + +<p class="bk3"><b>THE END</b></p> + +<div class="trn"><div class="figt"><a href="images/001-2.jpg"><img src="images/001-1.jpg" width="140" height="200" alt="" title="" /></a></div> + +<p><b><big>Transcriber's Note:</big></b></p> + +<p>This etext was produced from <i>Amazing Science Fiction Stories</i> April 1960. +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 Project Gutenberg's The Issahar Artifacts, by Jesse Franklin Bone + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ISSAHAR ARTIFACTS *** + +***** This file should be named 29271-h.htm or 29271-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/2/7/29271/ + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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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: The Issahar Artifacts + +Author: Jesse Franklin Bone + +Release Date: June 29, 2009 [EBook #29271] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ISSAHAR ARTIFACTS *** + + + + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + +THE ISSAHAR ARTIFACTS + +By J. F. BONE + + + _Lincoln said it eons ago.... It took + a speck of one-celled plant life on a + world parsecs away to prove it for + all the galaxy._ + + +The following manuscript was discovered during the excavation of a +lateral connecting link between the North-South streamways in Narhil +Province near Issahar on Kwashior. The excavator, while passing through +a small valley about 20 yursts south of the city, was jammed by a mass +of oxidized and partially oxidized metallic fragments. On most worlds +this would not be unusual, but Kwashior has no recorded history of +metallic artifacts. The terrestrial operator, with unusual presence of +mind, reported the stoppage immediately. Assasul, the District +Engineering monitor, realized instantly that no metallic debris should +exist in that area, and in consequence ordered a most careful excavation +in the event that the artifacts might have cultural significance. + +The debris proved to be the remnants of an ancient spaceship similar to +those described in Sector Chronicles IV through VII, but of much smaller +size and cruder design--obviously a relic of pre-expansion days. Within +the remnants of the ship was found a small box of metal covered with +several thicknesses of tar and wax impregnated fabric which had been +mostly destroyed. The metal itself was badly oxidized, but served to +protect an inner wooden box that contained a number of thin sheets of a +fragile substance composed mainly of cellulose which were brown and +crumbling with age. The sheets were covered with runes of _lingua +antiqua_ arranged in regular rows, inscribed by hand with a carbon-based +ink which has persisted remarkably well despite the degenerative +processes of time. Although much of the manuscript is illegible, +sufficient remains to settle for all time the Dannar-Marraket +Controversy and lend important corroborating evidence to the Cassaheb +Thesis of Terrestrial migrations. + +The genuineness of this fragment has been established beyond doubt. +Radiocarbon dating places its age at ten thousand plus or minus one +hundred cycles, which would place it at the very beginning of the +Intellectual Emergence. Its importance is beyond question. Its +implications are shocking despite the fact that they conform to many of +the early legends and form a solid foundation for Dannar's Thesis which +has heretofore been regarded as implausible. In the light of this +material, the whole question of racial origins may well have to be +reevaluated. Without further comment, the translated text is presented +herewith. You may draw your own conclusions. Go with enlightenment. + + -BARRAGOND- + Monitor of Cultural Origins and Relics + Kwashior Central Repository + + * * * * * + +I have decided after some thought, to write this journal. It is, I +suppose, a form of egotism--for I do not expect that it shall ever be +read in the event that I am unable to leave this place. Yet it affords +me a certain satisfaction to think that a part of me will remain long +after I have returned to dust. In any event, I feel that one is not +truly dead if a part of his personality remains. Many of the ancients +such as Homer, Phidias, Confucius, Christ, da Vinci, Lincoln, Einstein, +Churchill--and many others--live on through their works when otherwise +they would long since have been forgotten and thus be truly dead. +Earth's history is full of such examples. And while I have no +expectation of an immortality such as theirs, it flatters my ego to +think that there will be some part of me which also will survive ... + +_(Note: There are several lines following this which are obliterated, +defaced or unreadable. There are more to follow. In the future such gaps +in the content will be indicated thus: ...)_ + +... I expect that it is a basic trait of character, for spacemen must be +gregarious, and although I am not truly a spaceman I have been in space +and, in consequence, my character is no different from my +ex-crewmates--at least in that respect. I think as time passes I shall +miss the comfort of companionship, the sense of belonging to a group, +the card games, the bull sessions, the endless speculation on what comes +next, or what we will do when the voyage is over and we are again on +Earth ... + +... I particularly recall Gregory. Odd, but I never knew his surname, or +maybe it was his given name, for Gregory could function as well in one +respect as the other. He would boast continually of what he would do to +wine, women, and song once we returned to Earth. Poor Gregory. The +meteor that hulled our ship struck squarely through the engine room +where he was on duty. Probably he never knew that he had died. At least +his fate had the mercy of being brief. Certainly it is not like mine. It +was ... given ... + +There was plenty of time for the survivors to reach the lifeboats, and +in our decimated condition there were plenty of boats--which increased +our chances of living by a factor of four ... I suppose that it was +foolish to give way to the feeling of every man for himself but I am not +a spaceman trained to react automatically to emergencies. Neither am I a +navigator or a pilot, although I can fly in an emergency. I am a +biologist, a specialist member of the scientific staff--essentially an +individualist. I knew enough to seal myself in, push the eject button +and energize the drive. However, I did not know that a lifeboat had no +acceleration compensators, and by the time the drive lever returned to +neutral, I was far out in space and thoroughly lost. I could detect no +lifeboats in the vicinity nor could I raise any on the radio. I later +found that a transistor malfunctioned, but by then I was well out of +range, stranded between the stars in the black emptiness of space. After +reading the manual on lifeboat operation there was but one course open. +I selected the nearest G-type star, set the controls on automatic, and +went into cold sleep. There was nothing else to do. If I remained awake +I would be dead of oxygen starvation long before I reached a habitable +world. The only alternative was the half-death of frozen sleep and the +long wait until the boat came within range of the sun I had selected. + + * * * * * + +I awoke in orbit around this world, and after I recovered full use of my +faculties and checked the analyzer, I decided to land. I'm afraid I did +a rather bad job of it, since I used the chemical rockets too late, and +the plasma jets scorched a considerable amount of acreage in the meadow +where I finally came to rest. However, the residual radioactivity is +low, and it is safe enough to walk outside.... The life boat is lying +beside a small stream which empties into a circular pool of blue water +in the center of a small meadow. The fiery trail of the jets and rockets +has burned a hundred-foot-wide path across the meadow, and the upper +edge of the pool, and ends in a broad, blackened circle surrounding the +boat. I came down too fast the last few feet, and the drive tubes are a +crumpled mess inextricably fused with the bent landing pads. This boat +will never fly again without extensive repairs which I cannot perform. +But the hull is otherwise sound, and I am comfortable enough except for +a few rapidly healing bruises and contusions. In a few days I should be +well enough to explore.... + +I am surprised that this world is so capable of supporting human life. +The consensus of scientific opinion has been that less than one out of +50,000 planets would be habitable. Yet I have struck paydirt on the +first try. Perhaps I am lucky. At any rate I am alive, and my lifeboat, +while somewhat damaged by an inept landing, is still sufficiently intact +to serve as a shelter, and the survival kits are undamaged, which should +make my stay here endurable if not pleasant ... and we are learning a +great deal about our galaxy with the development of the interstellar +drive--not the least of which is that authoritative opinion is mere +opinion and far from authoritative. + +This world on which I find myself is in every respect but one similar to +Earth. There is no animate life--only plants. No birds fly, no insects +buzz, no animals rustle the silent underbrush. The only noise is the +wind in the trees and grasses. I am utterly alone. It is a strange +feeling, this loneliness. There is a feeling of freedom in it, a release +from the too-close proximity of my fellow men. There is the pleasure of +absolute privacy. But this will undoubtedly pall. Already I find that I +am anxious for someone to talk to, someone with whom I can share ideas +and plans. There ... + +... which I cannot explain. But one thing is certain. My first +impression of this place was wrong. The life here, if not animate, is at +least intelligent--and it is not friendly. Yet neither does it hate. It +observes me with a slow, methodical curiosity that I can sense at the +very threshold of consciousness. It is a peculiar sensation that is +quite indescribable--unpleasant--but hardly terrifying. I suppose I can +feel it more than a normal person because I am a biologist and it is +part of my training and specialized skill to achieve a certain rapport +with my surroundings. I first noticed it yesterday. It came suddenly, +without warning, a vague uneasiness, like the feeling when one awakens +from a partially remembered but unpleasant dream. And it has been +increasing ever since. + + * * * * * + +The principal impressions I received from this initial contact were an +awareness of self and a recognizance of identity--the concept of _cogito +ergo sum_ came through quite clearly. I wonder what Descartes would +think of an alien intelligence quoting his dogma.... I think it is +animal, despite the absence of animal life in this area. The thought +patterns are quick and flexible. And they have been increasing in power +and precision at an appreciable rate. I am sure that it is aware of me. +I shall call the feeling "it" until I can identify the source more +accurately. Certainly "it" appears to be as good a description as any, +since there is no consciousness of sex in the thought patterns. I wonder +what sort of ... and to my surprise I _swore_! I do not ordinarily +curse or use obscenities--not because they are obscene but because they +are a poor and inexact means of conveying ideas or impressions. But in +this case they were particularly appropriate. No other words could so +precisely describe my feelings. Me, a rational intelligence, succumbing +to such low-level emotional stimuli! If this keeps on, the next thing I +know I will be seeing little green men flitting through the trees.... Of +course, this world is unnatural, which makes its effect on the nervous +system more powerful, yet that does not explain the feeling of tension +which I have been experiencing, the silent straining tension of an +overloaded cable, the tension of a toy balloon overfull with air. I have +a constant feeling of dreadful expectancy, of imminent disaster, mixed +with a sense of pain and a lively--almost childlike--curiosity. To say +that this is disquieting would be a complete understatement, this state +of chronic disease, mixed with occasional rushes of terror. I am certain +that my nervous system and emotional responses are being examined, and +catalogued like a visceral preparation in an anatomy laboratory. There +is something infinitely chilling about this mental dissection. + +... and after a careful search of the area I found precisely nothing. +You who may read this will probably laugh, but I cannot. To me this is +no laughing matter. I find myself jumping at the slightest noise, an +increase in the wind, the snap of an expanding hull plate, the crackle +of static over my radio. I whirl around to see who, or _what_, is +watching me. My skin crawls and prickles as though I were covered with +ants. My mind is filled with black, inchoate dread. In three words, _I'm +scared stiff_! Yet there is nothing tangible--nothing I should be +frightened about, and this terrifies me even more. For I know where this +continual fear and worry can lead--to what ends this incessant +stimulation can reach. + + * * * * * + +Under pressure my body reacts, preparing me to fight or flee. My +adrenals pump hormones into my bloodstream, stimulating my heart and my +sympathetic nervous system, making glucose more available to my muscles. +My peripheral capillaries dilate. Intestinal activity stops as blood is +channeled into the areas which my fear and my glands decide will need it +most. I sweat. My vision blurs. All the manifold changes of the fight or +flight syndrome are mobilized for instant action. But my body cannot be +held in this state of readiness. The constant stimulation will +ultimately turn my overworked adrenal glands into a jelly-like mess of +cystic quivering goo. My general adaptation syndrome will no longer +adapt. And I will die. + +But I am not dead yet. And I have certain advantages. I am intelligent. +I know what faces me. And I can adjust. That is one of the outstanding +characteristics of the human race--the ability to adjust to our +environment, or, failing that, to adjust our environment to us. In +addition, I have my hands, tools, and materials to work with here in the +lifeboat. And finally I am desperate! I should be able to accomplish +something. There must be ... + + * * * * * + +... But it is not going well. There are too many parts which I do not +know by sight. If I were a more competent electronicist I would have had +the parts assembled now and would be sending a beacon signal clear +across this sector. The pressure hasn't been any help. It doesn't get +greater, but it has become more insisting--more demanding. I seem to +feel that it _wants_ something, that its direction has become more +channelized. The conviction is growing within me that I am destined to +be _absorbed_. + +The fear with which I live is a constant thing. And I still keep looking +for my enemy. In a strange, impersonal way it has become my enemy for +though it does not hate, it threatens my life. My waking hours are hell +and my sleep is nightmare. Strange how a man clings to life and sanity. +It would be so easy to lose either. Of one thing I am certain--this +cannot go on much longer. I cannot work under pressure. I must act. I +shall try again to find my enemy and kill it before it kills me. It is +no longer a question of ... + +... Never again shall I wish to be alone. If I get out of this alive I +am going to haunt crowds. I will surround myself with people. Right now +I would give my soul to have one--just one--person near me. Anyone. I +feel certain that two of us could face this thing and lick it. If +necessary we could face it back to back, each covering the other. I am +now getting impressions. Sensory hallucinations. I am floating. I swim. +I bathe luxuriantly in huge bathtubs and the water runs through my body +as though I were a sponge. Have you ever felt _porous_?... + +... and that last attack was a doozer! I wrecked a week's work looking +for the little man who wasn't there. The urge to kill is becoming more +intense. I want to destroy the author of my misery. Even though I am +still a balanced personality--polite language for being sane--I can't +take much more of this. I will not go mad, but I will go into the +adrenal syndrome unless I can end this soon. + +Nothing I have done seems to help. For a while I was sure that the music +tapes held the pressure back, but the enemy is used to them now. I am +still working on the subspace beacon. The radio and most of the control +linkages have gone into it. It looks like an electronicist's nightmare, +but if the survival manual is right, it will work. It has to work! I +dread the time when I shall have to cannibalize the recorder. Can't +help thinking that Shakespeare was right when he wrote that bit about +music soothing the savage breast. It may not soothe the enemy, for it +isn't savage, but it certainly soothes me, even though there's something +repetitive about it after a half a hundred playings. My breast's savage +all right. Fact is, it's downright primitive when an attack starts. I +can feel them coming now. I keep wondering how much longer I can last. +Guess I'm getting morbid.... + +More nightmares last night. I drowned three times and a purple octopus +gave me an enema. Woke up screaming, but got an idea from it. Funny that +I never thought of it before. Water's the fountainhead of life, and +there is no real reason for assuming my enemy is terrestrial. He could +just as well be aquatic. I'll find out today--maybe. Just to be doing +something positive--even thinking--makes me feel better.... + + * * * * * + +_Got it!_ I know where it is! And I know how to kill it. Fact is, I've +already done it! Now there's no more pressure. God--what a relief! This +morning I burned the meadow and cut down the nearest trees surrounding +this clearing and nothing happened. I expected that. Then I checked the +water. Nothing in the stream, but the pond was _green_!--filled almost +to the edge with a mass of algae! A hundred-foot platter of sticky green +slime, cohesive as glue and ugly as sin. It _had_ to be it--and it was. +I never saw algae that cohered quite like that. So I gave it about fifty +gallons of rocket juice--red fuming nitric acid--right in the belly. +Then I sat down and let the tension flow out of me, revelling in its +pain, laughing like crazy as it turned brown--and the pressure +disappeared. No tension at all now. The place is as quiet and peaceful +as the grave. I want to laugh and laugh--and run through the burned +meadow and roll in the ashes so grateful am I for my deliverance. + +Got the idea of killing the monster from a splash of rocket fuel on the +bank of the stream and my memory of the pain in the early feelings. But +it was nothing compared to the feeling when the acid hit that damned +mass of green slime! Even though my brain was screaming at me, I felt +good. I should put a couple of hundred gallons into the stream just to +make sure--but I can't afford it. I need the fuel to run the generators +to propagate the wave that'll bring me home if someone hears it. And +they'll hear it all right. My luck is in. Now I'm going to sleep--_sweet +sleep that knits the ravelled sleeve of care_--Shakespeare, old man, you +had a phrase for everything! I love you. I love everything. I even feel +sorry for that poor plant ... of guilt. It couldn't help the fact that +my jets set up a mutation. And being intelligent it _had_ to be +curious. Of course, no one would believe me if I started talking about +intelligent algae. But what's so odd about that? Even the most complex +life forms are just aggregations of individual cells working together. +So if a few individual cells with rudimentary data-storage capacity got +the idea of uniting why couldn't they act like a complex organism? + + * * * * * + +It is useless to speculate on what might have happened had that thing +lived. But it's dead now--burned to death in acid. And although +destruction of intelligent life is repugnant to me, I cannot help +feeling that it is perhaps better that it is gone. Considering how +rapidly it developed during its few weeks of life, and the power it +possessed, my mind is appalled at its potential. I've had my experience +and that's enough. Lord! but I'm tired. I feel like a wrung-out sponge. +Guess I'll rest for a little while ... + +... and received a reply to my signal! They heterodyned it right back +along my own beam. They'll be landing in a week. I don't think I'll take +this manuscript with me. I couldn't use it--and somehow I don't feel +like burning it. Maybe I'll make a time capsule out of it. It will be +amusing to speculate about what sort of a reaction it'll provoke, +providing it is ever read. I can see them now, huge-headed humans, +wrinkling their noses and saying "Intelligent algae--fantastic--the man +must have been mad!" + +_The manuscript ends here--and of course we know that the "man" was not +mad. He left behind a rich heritage indeed, for those few cells that +escaped his wrath and floated down to the sea. Did we but know his +origin we would erect a suitable memorial if we had to travel to the +farthest reach of our galaxy. But the names he quotes are not in our +repositories and as for the word "Earth" which he used for his +homeworld, I need not remind my readers that the intelligent terrestrial +inhabitants of the 22,748 planets of this sector use the term "Earth" or +its synonyms "soil" and "world" to describe their planets. Of course, +the term "Homewater" is gradually replacing this archaic concept as we +extend our hegemony ever more widely across the disunited worlds of the +galaxy._ + +_At that it seems strange that the unknown author's race should have +passed. As individuals they had so many advantages, while we are so weak +and individually so helpless. They could do almost everything except +communicate and cooperate. We can do but little else, yet our larger +aggregations can control entire worlds, some peopled perhaps with +descendants of this very individual. It merely proves that Dannar's +statement in the preface of his Thesis is correct._ + +"United, cohesive cooperation is the source of irresistible strength." + + +THE END + + + + +Transcriber's Note: + + This etext was produced from _Amazing Science Fiction Stories_ April + 1960. 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 Project Gutenberg's The Issahar Artifacts, by Jesse Franklin Bone + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ISSAHAR ARTIFACTS *** + +***** This file should be named 29271.txt or 29271.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/2/7/29271/ + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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