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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e0111c8 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #51751 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51751) diff --git a/old/51751-h.zip b/old/51751-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 781f93e..0000000 --- a/old/51751-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51751-h/51751-h.htm b/old/51751-h/51751-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 0b083d7..0000000 --- a/old/51751-h/51751-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1021 +0,0 @@ -<!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=us-ascii" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of Oh, Rats!, by Miriam Allen Deford. - </title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.caption {font-weight: bold;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -div.titlepage { - text-align: center; - page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; -} - -div.titlepage p { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; - font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; - margin-top: 3em; -} - -.ph1, .ph2, .ph3, .ph4 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; } -.ph1 { font-size: xx-large; margin: .67em auto; } -.ph2 { font-size: x-large; margin: .75em auto; } -.ph3 { font-size: large; margin: .83em auto; } -.ph4 { font-size: medium; margin: 1.12em auto; } - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Oh, Rats!, by Miriam Allen deFord - -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/license - - -Title: Oh, Rats! - -Author: Miriam Allen deFord - -Release Date: April 13, 2016 [EBook #51751] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OH, RATS! *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="385" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> -<h1>OH, RATS!</h1> - -<p>By MIRIAM ALLEN DEFORD</p> - -<p>Illustrated by WOOD</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Galaxy Magazine December 1961.<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus1.jpg" width="420" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph3"><i>Orthedrin, maxiton and glutamic<br /> -acid—they were the prescription<br /> -that made him king of his world!</i></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>SK540, the 27th son of two very ordinary white laboratory rats, -surveyed his world.</p> - -<p>He was no more able than any other rat to possess articulate speech, or -to use his paws as hands. All he had was a brain which, relative to its -size, was superior to any rat's that had hitherto appeared on Earth. It -was enough.</p> - -<p>In the first week of gestation his embryo had been removed to a more -suitable receptacle than the maternal womb, and his brain had been -stimulated with orthedrin, maxiton and glutamic acid. It had been -continuously irrigated with blood. One hemisphere had been activated -far in excess of the other, since previous experiments had shown that -increased lack of symmetry between the hemispheres produced superior -mentality. The end-result was an enormous increase in brain-cells -in both hemispheres. His brain showed also a marked increase in -cholinesterase over that of other rats.</p> - -<p>SK540, in other words, was a super-rat.</p> - -<p>The same processes had been applied to all his brothers and sisters. -Most of them had died. The few who did not, failed to show the desired -results, or showed them in so lopsided and partial a manner that it was -necessary to destroy them.</p> - -<p>All of this, of course had been mere preparation and experimentation -with a view to later developments in human subjects. What SK540's gods -had not anticipated was that they would produce a creature mentally the -superior, not only of his fellow-rats, but also, in some respects, of -themselves.</p> - -<p>He was a super-rat: but he was still a rat. His world of dreams and -aspirations was not human, but murine.</p> - -<p>What would you do if you were a brilliant, moody young super-rat, caged -in a laboratory?</p> - -<p>SK540 did it.</p> - -<p>What human beings desired was health, freedom, wealth, love, and -power. So did SK540. But to him health was taken for granted; freedom -was freedom from cages, traps, cats, and dogs; wealth meant shelter -from cold and rain and plenty to eat; love meant a constant supply of -available females.</p> - -<p>But power! It was in his longing for power that he most revealingly -displayed his status as super-rat.</p> - -<p>Therefore, once he had learned how to open his cage, he was carefully -selective of the companions—actually, the followers—whom he would -release to join his midnight hegira from the laboratory. Only the -meekest and most subservient of the males—intelligent but not too -intelligent—and the most desirable and amiable of the females were -invited.</p> - -<p>Once free of the cages, SK540 had no difficulty in leading his troop -out of the building. The door of the laboratory was locked, but a -window was slightly open from the top. Rats can climb up or down.</p> - -<p>Like a silver ribbon they flowed along the dark street, SK540, looking -exactly like all the rest, at their head. Only one person in the -deserted streets seems to have noticed them, and he did not understand -the nature of the phenomenon.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Young Mr. and Mrs. Philip Vinson started housekeeping in what had once -been a mansion. It was now a rundown eyesore.</p> - -<p>It had belonged to Norah Vinson's great-aunt Martha, who had left it -to her in her will. The estate was in litigation, but the executor had -permitted the Vinsons to settle down in the house, though they weren't -allowed yet to sell it. It had no modern conveniences, and was full of -rooms they couldn't use and heavy old-fashioned furniture; but it was -solidly built and near the laboratory where he worked as a technician, -and they could live rent-free until they could sell the house and use -the money to buy a real home.</p> - -<p>"Something funny happened in the lab last night," Philip reported, -watching Norah struggle with dinner on the massive coal-stove. -"Somebody broke in and stole about half our experimental animals. And -they got our pride and joy."</p> - -<p>"The famous SK540?" Norah asked.</p> - -<p>"The same. Actually, it wasn't a break-in. It must have been an inside -job. The cages were open but there were no signs of breaking and -entering. We're all under suspicion till they find out who-dunit."</p> - -<p>Norah looked alarmed.</p> - -<p>"You too? What on earth would anybody want with a lot of laboratory -rats? They aren't worth anything, are they—financially, I mean?"</p> - -<p>"Not a cent. That's why I'm sure one of the clean-up kids must have -done it. Probably wanted them for pets. They're all tame, of course, -not like wild rats—though they can bite like wild rats if they want -to. Some of the ones missing are treated, and some are controls. It -would just be a nuisance if they hadn't taken SK540. Now they've -got to find him, or do about five years' work over again, without -any assurance of as great a success. To say nothing of letting our -super-rat loose on the world."</p> - -<p>"What on earth could even a super-rat do that would matter—to human -beings, I mean?"</p> - -<p>"Nobody knows. Maybe that's what we're going to find out."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>That night Norah woke suddenly with a loud scream. Philip got the -gas lighted—there was no electricity in the old house—and held her -shaking body in his arms. She found her breath at last long enough to -sob: "It was a rat! A rat ran right over my face!"</p> - -<p>"You're dreaming, darling. It's because I told you about the theft at -the lab. There couldn't be rats in this place. It's too solidly built, -from the basement up."</p> - -<p>He finally got her to sleep again, but he lay awake for a long time, -listening. Nothing happened.</p> - -<p>Rats can't talk, but they can communicate. About the time Norah Vinson -dropped off after her frightened wakening, SK540 was confronting a -culprit. The culprit was one of the liberated males. His beady eyes -tried to gaze into the implacable ones of SK540, but his tail twitched -nervously and if he bared his teeth it was more in terror than in -fight. They all knew that strict orders had been given not to disturb -the humans in the house until SK540 had all his preparations made.</p> - -<p>A little more of that silent communication, and the rat who had run -over Norah's face knew he had only two choices—have his throat slit or -get out. He got.</p> - -<p>"What do you know?" Philip said that evening. "One of our rats came -back."</p> - -<p>"By itself?"</p> - -<p>"Yeah. I never heard of such a thing. It was one of the experimental -ones, so it was smarter than most, though not such an awful lot. I -never heard of a rat with homing instinct before. But when we opened up -this morning, there he was, sitting in his cage, ready for breakfast."</p> - -<p>"Speaking of breakfast, I thought I asked you to buy a big box of -oatmeal on your way home yesterday. It's about the only thing in the -way of cereal I can manage on that old stove."</p> - -<p>"I did buy it. Don't you remember? I left it in the kitchen."</p> - -<p>"Well, it wasn't there this morning. All I know is that you're going to -have nothing but toast and coffee tomorrow. We seem to be out of eggs, -too. And bacon. And I thought we had half a pound left of that cheese, -but that's gone too."</p> - -<p>"Good Lord, Norah, if you've got that much marketing to do, can't you -do it yourself?"</p> - -<p>"Sure, if you leave the car. I'm not going to walk all that way and -back."</p> - -<p>So of course Philip did do the shopping the next day. Besides, Norah -had just remembered she had a date at the hairdresser's.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>When he got home her hair was still uncurled and she was in hysterics. -One of the many amenities great-aunt Martha's house lacked was a -telephone; anyway, Norah couldn't have been coherent over one. She cast -herself, shuddering and crying, into Philip's arms, and it was a long -time before he got her soothed enough for her to gasp: "Philip! They -wouldn't let me out!"</p> - -<p>"They? Who? What do you mean?"</p> - -<p>"The—the rats! The white rats. They made a ring around me at the front -door so I couldn't open it. I ran to the back and they beat me there -and did the same thing. I even tried the windows but it was no use. And -their teeth—they all—I guess I went to pieces. I started throwing -things at them and they just dodged. I yelled for help but there's -nobody near enough to hear. Then I gave up and ran in our bedroom and -slammed the door on them, but they left guards outside. I heard them -squeaking till you drove up, then I heard them run away."</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus2.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Philip stared at her, scared to death. His wife had lost her mind.</p> - -<p>"Now, now, sweetheart," he said soothingly, "let's get this straight. -They fired a lab boy today. They found four of our rats in his home. -He told some idiotic story of having 'found' them, with the others -missing, running loose on the street that night, but of course he stole -them. He must have sold the rest of them to other kids; they're working -on that now."</p> - -<p>Norah blew her nose and wiped her eyes. She had regained her usual calm.</p> - -<p>"Philip Vinson," she said coldly, "are you accusing me of lying, or -just of being crazy? I'm neither. I saw and heard those rats. They're -here <i>now</i>. What's more, I guess I know where that oatmeal went, and -the eggs and bacon too, and the cheese. I'm—I'm a hostage!</p> - -<p>"I don't suppose," she added sarcastically, "that your SK540 was one of -the ones they found in the boy's home?"</p> - -<p>"No, it wasn't," he acknowledged uneasily. A nasty little icy trickle -stole down his spine. "All right, Norah, I give in. You take the poker -and I'll take the hammer, and we'll search this house from cellar to -attic."</p> - -<p>"You won't find them," said Norah bitterly. "SK540's too smart. They'll -stay inside the walls and keep quiet."</p> - -<p>"Then we'll find the holes they went through and rout them out."</p> - -<p>They didn't, of course. There wasn't a sign of a rathole, or of a rat.</p> - -<p>They got through dinner and the evening somehow. Norah put all the -food not in cans inside the old-fashioned icebox which took the place -of a refrigerator. Philip thought he was too disturbed to be able to -sleep, but he did, and Norah, exhausted, was asleep as soon as her head -touched the pillow.</p> - -<p>His last doubt of his wife's sanity vanished when, the next morning, -they found the icebox door open and half the food gone.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"That settles it!" Philip announced. "Come on, Norah, put your coat -on. You're coming with me to the lab and we'll report what's happened. -They'll find those creatures if they have to tear the house apart to do -it. That boy must have been telling the truth."</p> - -<p>"You couldn't keep me away," Norah responded. "I'll never spend -another minute alone in this house while those dreadful things are in -it."</p> - -<p>But of course when they got to the front door, there they were, -circling them, their teeth bared. The same with the back door and all -the first floor windows.</p> - -<p>"That's SK540 all right, leading them," Philip whispered through -clenched jaws. He could smash them all, he supposed, in time, with what -weapons he had. But he worked in the laboratory. He knew their value to -science, especially SK540's.</p> - -<p>Rats couldn't talk, he knew, and they couldn't understand human speech. -Nevertheless, some kind of communication might establish itself. -SK540's eyes were too intelligent not to believe that he was getting -the gist of talk directed to him.</p> - -<p>"This is utterly ridiculous," Philip grated. "If you won't let us out, -how can we keep bringing food into the house for you? We'll all starve, -you and we together."</p> - -<p>He could have sworn SK540 was considering. But he guessed the implicit -answer. Let either one of them out, now they knew the rats were there, -and men from the laboratory would come quickly and overwhelm and carry -off the besiegers. It was a true impasse.</p> - -<p>"Philip," Norah reminded him, "if you don't go to work, they know we -haven't a phone, and somebody will be here pretty soon to find out if -anything's wrong."</p> - -<p>But that wouldn't help, Philip reflected gloomily; they'd let anyone -in, and keep him there.</p> - -<p>And he thought to himself, and was careful not to say it aloud: rats -are rats. Even if they are 25th generation laboratory-born. When the -other food was gone there would be human meat.</p> - -<p>He did not want to look at them any more. He took Norah's arm and -turned away into their bedroom.</p> - -<p>They stayed there all day, too upset to think of eating, talking and -talking to no conclusion. As dusk came on they did not light the gas. -Exhausted, they lay down on the bed without undressing.</p> - -<p>After a while there was a quiet scratching at the door.</p> - -<p>"Don't let them in!" Norah whispered. Her teeth were chattering.</p> - -<p>"I must, dear," he whispered back. "It isn't 'them,' I'm sure of -it—it's just SK540 himself. I've been expecting him. We've got to -reach some kind of understanding."</p> - -<p>"With a rat?"</p> - -<p>"With a super-rat. We have no choice."</p> - -<p>Philip was right. SK540 alone stood there and sidled in as the door -closed solidly again behind him.</p> - -<p>How could one communicate with a rat? Philip could think of no way -except to pick him up, place him where they were face to face, and talk.</p> - -<p>"Are your—followers outside?" he asked.</p> - -<p>A rodent's face can have no expression, but Philip caught a glance of -contempt in the beady eyes. The slaves were doubtless bedded down in -their hideaway, with strict orders to stay there and keep quiet.</p> - -<p>"You know," Philip Vinson went on, "I could kill you, very easily." The -words would mean nothing to SK540; the tone might. He watched the beady -eyes; there was nothing in them but intelligent attention, no flicker -of fear.</p> - -<p>"Or I could tie you up and take you to the laboratory and let them -decide whether to keep you or kill you. We are all much bigger and -stronger than you. Without your army you can't intimidate us."</p> - -<p>There was, of course, no answer. But SK540 did a startling and touching -thing. He reached out one front paw, as if in appeal.</p> - -<p>Norah caught her breath in astonishment.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"He—he just wants to be free," she said in a choked whisper.</p> - -<p>"You mean you're not afraid of him any more?"</p> - -<p>"You said yourself he couldn't intimidate us without his army."</p> - -<p>Philip thought a minute. Then he said slowly:</p> - -<p>"I wonder if we had the right to do this to him in the first place. He -would have been an ordinary laboratory rat, mindless and contented; -we've made him into a neurotic alien in his world."</p> - -<p>"You're not responsible, darling; you're a technician, not a -biochemist."</p> - -<p>"I share the responsibility. We all do."</p> - -<p>"So what? The fact remains that it was done, and here he is—and here -we are."</p> - -<p>The doorbell rang.</p> - -<p>Philip and Norah exchanged glances. SK540 watched them.</p> - -<p>"It's probably Kelly, from the lab," Philip said, "trying to find out -why I wasn't there today. It's just about quitting time, and he lives -nearest us."</p> - -<p>Norah astonished him. She picked up SK540 from the bed-side table where -Philip had placed him, and hid him under her pillow.</p> - -<p>"Get rid of whoever it is," she said defensively. Philip stared for an -instant, then walked briskly downstairs. He was back in a few minutes.</p> - -<p>"It was Kelly, all right," he told her. "I said you were sick and I -couldn't leave you to phone. I said I'd be there tomorrow. Now what?"</p> - -<p>SK540's white whiskers emerged from under the pillow, and he jumped -over to the table again. Norah's cheeks were pink.</p> - -<p>"When it came to the point, I just couldn't," she explained -shamefacedly. "I suddenly realized that he's a <i>person</i>. I couldn't let -him be taken back to prison."</p> - -<p>"Aren't you frightened any more?"</p> - -<p>"Not of him." She faced the super-rat squarely. "Look," she said, "if -we take care of you, will you get rid of that gang of yours, so we can -be free too?"</p> - -<p>"That's nonsense, Norah," Philip objected. "He can't possibly -understand you."</p> - -<p>"Dogs and cats learn to understand enough, and he's smarter than any -dog or cat that ever lived."</p> - -<p>"But—"</p> - -<p>The words froze on his lips. SK540 had jumped to the floor and run to -the door. There he stood and looked back at them, his tail twitching.</p> - -<p>"He wants us to follow him," Norah murmured.</p> - -<p>There was no sign of a hole in the back wall of the disused pantry. -But behind it they could hear squeaks and rustlings.</p> - -<p>SK540 scratched delicately at almost invisible cracks. A section of the -wall, two by four inches, fell out on the floor.</p> - -<p>"So that's where some of the oatmeal went," Norah commented. "Made into -paste."</p> - -<p>"Sh!"</p> - -<p>SK540 vanished through the hole. They waited, listening to -incomprehensible sounds. Outside it had grown dark.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Then the leader emerged and stood to one side of the long line that -pattered through the hole. The two humans stared, fascinated, as the -line made straight for the back door and under it. SK540 stayed where -he was.</p> - -<p>"Will they go back to the lab?" Norah asked.</p> - -<p>Philip shrugged.</p> - -<p>"It doesn't matter. Some of them may ... I feel like a traitor."</p> - -<p>"I don't. I feel like one of those people who hid escaped war prisoners -in Europe."</p> - -<p>When the rats were all gone, they turned to SK540. But without a glance -at them he re-entered the hiding-place. In a minute he returned, -herding two white rats before him. He stood still, obviously expectant.</p> - -<p>Philip squatted on his heels. He picked up the two refugees and looked -them over.</p> - -<p>"Both females," he announced briefly. "And both pregnant."</p> - -<p>"Is he the father?"</p> - -<p>"Who else? He'd see to that."</p> - -<p>"And will they inherit his—his—"</p> - -<p>"His 'super-ratism'? That's the whole point. That's the object of the -entire experiment. They were going to try it soon."</p> - -<p>The three white rats had scarcely moved. The two mothers-to-be had -apparently fallen asleep. Only SK540 stood quietly eying the humans. -When they left him to find a place where they could talk in private he -did not follow them.</p> - -<p>"It comes down to this," Philip said at the end of half an hour's -fruitless discussion. "We promised him, or as good as. He believed us -and trusted us.</p> - -<p>"But if we keep to our promise we're <i>really</i> traitors—to the human -race."</p> - -<p>"You mean, if the offspring should inherit his brain-power, they might -overrun us all?"</p> - -<p>"Not might. Would."</p> - -<p>"So—"</p> - -<p>"So it's an insoluble problem, on our terms. We have to think of this -as a war, and of them as our enemies. What is our word of honor to a -rat?"</p> - -<p>"But to a super-rat—to SK540—"</p> - -<p>As if called, SK540 appeared.</p> - -<p>Had he been listening? Had he understood? Neither of them dared to -voice the question aloud in his presence.</p> - -<p>"Later," Philip murmured.</p> - -<p>"We must eat," said Norah. "Let's see what's left in the way of food."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Everything tasted flat; they weren't very hungry after all. There was -enough left over to feed the three rats. But they had evidently helped -themselves earlier; they left the scraps untasted.</p> - -<p>Neither of the humans guessed what else had vanished from the pantry -shelves—what, when he had heard enough, SK540 had slipped away and -sprinkled on the remaining contents of the icebox, wherever the white -powder would not show.</p> - -<p>They did not know until it was too late—until both of them lay -writhing in their last spasms on their bedroom floor.</p> - -<p>By the time the house was broken into and their bodies found, SK540 and -his two wives were far away, and safe....</p> - -<p>And this, children, is the true account, handed down by tradition from -the days of our great Founder, of how the human race ceased to exist -and we took over the world.</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Oh, Rats!, by Miriam Allen deFord - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OH, RATS! *** - -***** This file should be named 51751-h.htm or 51751-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/7/5/51751/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan 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/license - - -Title: Oh, Rats! - -Author: Miriam Allen deFord - -Release Date: April 13, 2016 [EBook #51751] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OH, RATS! *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - OH, RATS! - - By MIRIAM ALLEN DEFORD - - Illustrated by WOOD - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Galaxy Magazine December 1961. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - - - - Orthedrin, maxiton and glutamic - acid--they were the prescription - that made him king of his world! - - -SK540, the 27th son of two very ordinary white laboratory rats, -surveyed his world. - -He was no more able than any other rat to possess articulate speech, or -to use his paws as hands. All he had was a brain which, relative to its -size, was superior to any rat's that had hitherto appeared on Earth. It -was enough. - -In the first week of gestation his embryo had been removed to a more -suitable receptacle than the maternal womb, and his brain had been -stimulated with orthedrin, maxiton and glutamic acid. It had been -continuously irrigated with blood. One hemisphere had been activated -far in excess of the other, since previous experiments had shown that -increased lack of symmetry between the hemispheres produced superior -mentality. The end-result was an enormous increase in brain-cells -in both hemispheres. His brain showed also a marked increase in -cholinesterase over that of other rats. - -SK540, in other words, was a super-rat. - -The same processes had been applied to all his brothers and sisters. -Most of them had died. The few who did not, failed to show the desired -results, or showed them in so lopsided and partial a manner that it was -necessary to destroy them. - -All of this, of course had been mere preparation and experimentation -with a view to later developments in human subjects. What SK540's gods -had not anticipated was that they would produce a creature mentally the -superior, not only of his fellow-rats, but also, in some respects, of -themselves. - -He was a super-rat: but he was still a rat. His world of dreams and -aspirations was not human, but murine. - -What would you do if you were a brilliant, moody young super-rat, caged -in a laboratory? - -SK540 did it. - -What human beings desired was health, freedom, wealth, love, and -power. So did SK540. But to him health was taken for granted; freedom -was freedom from cages, traps, cats, and dogs; wealth meant shelter -from cold and rain and plenty to eat; love meant a constant supply of -available females. - -But power! It was in his longing for power that he most revealingly -displayed his status as super-rat. - -Therefore, once he had learned how to open his cage, he was carefully -selective of the companions--actually, the followers--whom he would -release to join his midnight hegira from the laboratory. Only the -meekest and most subservient of the males--intelligent but not too -intelligent--and the most desirable and amiable of the females were -invited. - -Once free of the cages, SK540 had no difficulty in leading his troop -out of the building. The door of the laboratory was locked, but a -window was slightly open from the top. Rats can climb up or down. - -Like a silver ribbon they flowed along the dark street, SK540, looking -exactly like all the rest, at their head. Only one person in the -deserted streets seems to have noticed them, and he did not understand -the nature of the phenomenon. - - * * * * * - -Young Mr. and Mrs. Philip Vinson started housekeeping in what had once -been a mansion. It was now a rundown eyesore. - -It had belonged to Norah Vinson's great-aunt Martha, who had left it -to her in her will. The estate was in litigation, but the executor had -permitted the Vinsons to settle down in the house, though they weren't -allowed yet to sell it. It had no modern conveniences, and was full of -rooms they couldn't use and heavy old-fashioned furniture; but it was -solidly built and near the laboratory where he worked as a technician, -and they could live rent-free until they could sell the house and use -the money to buy a real home. - -"Something funny happened in the lab last night," Philip reported, -watching Norah struggle with dinner on the massive coal-stove. -"Somebody broke in and stole about half our experimental animals. And -they got our pride and joy." - -"The famous SK540?" Norah asked. - -"The same. Actually, it wasn't a break-in. It must have been an inside -job. The cages were open but there were no signs of breaking and -entering. We're all under suspicion till they find out who-dunit." - -Norah looked alarmed. - -"You too? What on earth would anybody want with a lot of laboratory -rats? They aren't worth anything, are they--financially, I mean?" - -"Not a cent. That's why I'm sure one of the clean-up kids must have -done it. Probably wanted them for pets. They're all tame, of course, -not like wild rats--though they can bite like wild rats if they want -to. Some of the ones missing are treated, and some are controls. It -would just be a nuisance if they hadn't taken SK540. Now they've -got to find him, or do about five years' work over again, without -any assurance of as great a success. To say nothing of letting our -super-rat loose on the world." - -"What on earth could even a super-rat do that would matter--to human -beings, I mean?" - -"Nobody knows. Maybe that's what we're going to find out." - - * * * * * - -That night Norah woke suddenly with a loud scream. Philip got the -gas lighted--there was no electricity in the old house--and held her -shaking body in his arms. She found her breath at last long enough to -sob: "It was a rat! A rat ran right over my face!" - -"You're dreaming, darling. It's because I told you about the theft at -the lab. There couldn't be rats in this place. It's too solidly built, -from the basement up." - -He finally got her to sleep again, but he lay awake for a long time, -listening. Nothing happened. - -Rats can't talk, but they can communicate. About the time Norah Vinson -dropped off after her frightened wakening, SK540 was confronting a -culprit. The culprit was one of the liberated males. His beady eyes -tried to gaze into the implacable ones of SK540, but his tail twitched -nervously and if he bared his teeth it was more in terror than in -fight. They all knew that strict orders had been given not to disturb -the humans in the house until SK540 had all his preparations made. - -A little more of that silent communication, and the rat who had run -over Norah's face knew he had only two choices--have his throat slit or -get out. He got. - -"What do you know?" Philip said that evening. "One of our rats came -back." - -"By itself?" - -"Yeah. I never heard of such a thing. It was one of the experimental -ones, so it was smarter than most, though not such an awful lot. I -never heard of a rat with homing instinct before. But when we opened up -this morning, there he was, sitting in his cage, ready for breakfast." - -"Speaking of breakfast, I thought I asked you to buy a big box of -oatmeal on your way home yesterday. It's about the only thing in the -way of cereal I can manage on that old stove." - -"I did buy it. Don't you remember? I left it in the kitchen." - -"Well, it wasn't there this morning. All I know is that you're going to -have nothing but toast and coffee tomorrow. We seem to be out of eggs, -too. And bacon. And I thought we had half a pound left of that cheese, -but that's gone too." - -"Good Lord, Norah, if you've got that much marketing to do, can't you -do it yourself?" - -"Sure, if you leave the car. I'm not going to walk all that way and -back." - -So of course Philip did do the shopping the next day. Besides, Norah -had just remembered she had a date at the hairdresser's. - - * * * * * - -When he got home her hair was still uncurled and she was in hysterics. -One of the many amenities great-aunt Martha's house lacked was a -telephone; anyway, Norah couldn't have been coherent over one. She cast -herself, shuddering and crying, into Philip's arms, and it was a long -time before he got her soothed enough for her to gasp: "Philip! They -wouldn't let me out!" - -"They? Who? What do you mean?" - -"The--the rats! The white rats. They made a ring around me at the front -door so I couldn't open it. I ran to the back and they beat me there -and did the same thing. I even tried the windows but it was no use. And -their teeth--they all--I guess I went to pieces. I started throwing -things at them and they just dodged. I yelled for help but there's -nobody near enough to hear. Then I gave up and ran in our bedroom and -slammed the door on them, but they left guards outside. I heard them -squeaking till you drove up, then I heard them run away." - -Philip stared at her, scared to death. His wife had lost her mind. - -"Now, now, sweetheart," he said soothingly, "let's get this straight. -They fired a lab boy today. They found four of our rats in his home. -He told some idiotic story of having 'found' them, with the others -missing, running loose on the street that night, but of course he stole -them. He must have sold the rest of them to other kids; they're working -on that now." - -Norah blew her nose and wiped her eyes. She had regained her usual calm. - -"Philip Vinson," she said coldly, "are you accusing me of lying, or -just of being crazy? I'm neither. I saw and heard those rats. They're -here _now_. What's more, I guess I know where that oatmeal went, and -the eggs and bacon too, and the cheese. I'm--I'm a hostage! - -"I don't suppose," she added sarcastically, "that your SK540 was one of -the ones they found in the boy's home?" - -"No, it wasn't," he acknowledged uneasily. A nasty little icy trickle -stole down his spine. "All right, Norah, I give in. You take the poker -and I'll take the hammer, and we'll search this house from cellar to -attic." - -"You won't find them," said Norah bitterly. "SK540's too smart. They'll -stay inside the walls and keep quiet." - -"Then we'll find the holes they went through and rout them out." - -They didn't, of course. There wasn't a sign of a rathole, or of a rat. - -They got through dinner and the evening somehow. Norah put all the -food not in cans inside the old-fashioned icebox which took the place -of a refrigerator. Philip thought he was too disturbed to be able to -sleep, but he did, and Norah, exhausted, was asleep as soon as her head -touched the pillow. - -His last doubt of his wife's sanity vanished when, the next morning, -they found the icebox door open and half the food gone. - - * * * * * - -"That settles it!" Philip announced. "Come on, Norah, put your coat -on. You're coming with me to the lab and we'll report what's happened. -They'll find those creatures if they have to tear the house apart to do -it. That boy must have been telling the truth." - -"You couldn't keep me away," Norah responded. "I'll never spend -another minute alone in this house while those dreadful things are in -it." - -But of course when they got to the front door, there they were, -circling them, their teeth bared. The same with the back door and all -the first floor windows. - -"That's SK540 all right, leading them," Philip whispered through -clenched jaws. He could smash them all, he supposed, in time, with what -weapons he had. But he worked in the laboratory. He knew their value to -science, especially SK540's. - -Rats couldn't talk, he knew, and they couldn't understand human speech. -Nevertheless, some kind of communication might establish itself. -SK540's eyes were too intelligent not to believe that he was getting -the gist of talk directed to him. - -"This is utterly ridiculous," Philip grated. "If you won't let us out, -how can we keep bringing food into the house for you? We'll all starve, -you and we together." - -He could have sworn SK540 was considering. But he guessed the implicit -answer. Let either one of them out, now they knew the rats were there, -and men from the laboratory would come quickly and overwhelm and carry -off the besiegers. It was a true impasse. - -"Philip," Norah reminded him, "if you don't go to work, they know we -haven't a phone, and somebody will be here pretty soon to find out if -anything's wrong." - -But that wouldn't help, Philip reflected gloomily; they'd let anyone -in, and keep him there. - -And he thought to himself, and was careful not to say it aloud: rats -are rats. Even if they are 25th generation laboratory-born. When the -other food was gone there would be human meat. - -He did not want to look at them any more. He took Norah's arm and -turned away into their bedroom. - -They stayed there all day, too upset to think of eating, talking and -talking to no conclusion. As dusk came on they did not light the gas. -Exhausted, they lay down on the bed without undressing. - -After a while there was a quiet scratching at the door. - -"Don't let them in!" Norah whispered. Her teeth were chattering. - -"I must, dear," he whispered back. "It isn't 'them,' I'm sure of -it--it's just SK540 himself. I've been expecting him. We've got to -reach some kind of understanding." - -"With a rat?" - -"With a super-rat. We have no choice." - -Philip was right. SK540 alone stood there and sidled in as the door -closed solidly again behind him. - -How could one communicate with a rat? Philip could think of no way -except to pick him up, place him where they were face to face, and talk. - -"Are your--followers outside?" he asked. - -A rodent's face can have no expression, but Philip caught a glance of -contempt in the beady eyes. The slaves were doubtless bedded down in -their hideaway, with strict orders to stay there and keep quiet. - -"You know," Philip Vinson went on, "I could kill you, very easily." The -words would mean nothing to SK540; the tone might. He watched the beady -eyes; there was nothing in them but intelligent attention, no flicker -of fear. - -"Or I could tie you up and take you to the laboratory and let them -decide whether to keep you or kill you. We are all much bigger and -stronger than you. Without your army you can't intimidate us." - -There was, of course, no answer. But SK540 did a startling and touching -thing. He reached out one front paw, as if in appeal. - -Norah caught her breath in astonishment. - - * * * * * - -"He--he just wants to be free," she said in a choked whisper. - -"You mean you're not afraid of him any more?" - -"You said yourself he couldn't intimidate us without his army." - -Philip thought a minute. Then he said slowly: - -"I wonder if we had the right to do this to him in the first place. He -would have been an ordinary laboratory rat, mindless and contented; -we've made him into a neurotic alien in his world." - -"You're not responsible, darling; you're a technician, not a -biochemist." - -"I share the responsibility. We all do." - -"So what? The fact remains that it was done, and here he is--and here -we are." - -The doorbell rang. - -Philip and Norah exchanged glances. SK540 watched them. - -"It's probably Kelly, from the lab," Philip said, "trying to find out -why I wasn't there today. It's just about quitting time, and he lives -nearest us." - -Norah astonished him. She picked up SK540 from the bed-side table where -Philip had placed him, and hid him under her pillow. - -"Get rid of whoever it is," she said defensively. Philip stared for an -instant, then walked briskly downstairs. He was back in a few minutes. - -"It was Kelly, all right," he told her. "I said you were sick and I -couldn't leave you to phone. I said I'd be there tomorrow. Now what?" - -SK540's white whiskers emerged from under the pillow, and he jumped -over to the table again. Norah's cheeks were pink. - -"When it came to the point, I just couldn't," she explained -shamefacedly. "I suddenly realized that he's a _person_. I couldn't let -him be taken back to prison." - -"Aren't you frightened any more?" - -"Not of him." She faced the super-rat squarely. "Look," she said, "if -we take care of you, will you get rid of that gang of yours, so we can -be free too?" - -"That's nonsense, Norah," Philip objected. "He can't possibly -understand you." - -"Dogs and cats learn to understand enough, and he's smarter than any -dog or cat that ever lived." - -"But--" - -The words froze on his lips. SK540 had jumped to the floor and run to -the door. There he stood and looked back at them, his tail twitching. - -"He wants us to follow him," Norah murmured. - -There was no sign of a hole in the back wall of the disused pantry. -But behind it they could hear squeaks and rustlings. - -SK540 scratched delicately at almost invisible cracks. A section of the -wall, two by four inches, fell out on the floor. - -"So that's where some of the oatmeal went," Norah commented. "Made into -paste." - -"Sh!" - -SK540 vanished through the hole. They waited, listening to -incomprehensible sounds. Outside it had grown dark. - - * * * * * - -Then the leader emerged and stood to one side of the long line that -pattered through the hole. The two humans stared, fascinated, as the -line made straight for the back door and under it. SK540 stayed where -he was. - -"Will they go back to the lab?" Norah asked. - -Philip shrugged. - -"It doesn't matter. Some of them may ... I feel like a traitor." - -"I don't. I feel like one of those people who hid escaped war prisoners -in Europe." - -When the rats were all gone, they turned to SK540. But without a glance -at them he re-entered the hiding-place. In a minute he returned, -herding two white rats before him. He stood still, obviously expectant. - -Philip squatted on his heels. He picked up the two refugees and looked -them over. - -"Both females," he announced briefly. "And both pregnant." - -"Is he the father?" - -"Who else? He'd see to that." - -"And will they inherit his--his--" - -"His 'super-ratism'? That's the whole point. That's the object of the -entire experiment. They were going to try it soon." - -The three white rats had scarcely moved. The two mothers-to-be had -apparently fallen asleep. Only SK540 stood quietly eying the humans. -When they left him to find a place where they could talk in private he -did not follow them. - -"It comes down to this," Philip said at the end of half an hour's -fruitless discussion. "We promised him, or as good as. He believed us -and trusted us. - -"But if we keep to our promise we're _really_ traitors--to the human -race." - -"You mean, if the offspring should inherit his brain-power, they might -overrun us all?" - -"Not might. Would." - -"So--" - -"So it's an insoluble problem, on our terms. We have to think of this -as a war, and of them as our enemies. What is our word of honor to a -rat?" - -"But to a super-rat--to SK540--" - -As if called, SK540 appeared. - -Had he been listening? Had he understood? Neither of them dared to -voice the question aloud in his presence. - -"Later," Philip murmured. - -"We must eat," said Norah. "Let's see what's left in the way of food." - - * * * * * - -Everything tasted flat; they weren't very hungry after all. There was -enough left over to feed the three rats. But they had evidently helped -themselves earlier; they left the scraps untasted. - -Neither of the humans guessed what else had vanished from the pantry -shelves--what, when he had heard enough, SK540 had slipped away and -sprinkled on the remaining contents of the icebox, wherever the white -powder would not show. - -They did not know until it was too late--until both of them lay -writhing in their last spasms on their bedroom floor. - -By the time the house was broken into and their bodies found, SK540 and -his two wives were far away, and safe.... - -And this, children, is the true account, handed down by tradition from -the days of our great Founder, of how the human race ceased to exist -and we took over the world. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Oh, Rats!, by Miriam Allen deFord - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OH, RATS! *** - -***** This file should be named 51751.txt or 51751.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/7/5/51751/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan 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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