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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..1c3ed07 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #61052 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/61052) diff --git a/old/61052-h.zip b/old/61052-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 0348c8a..0000000 --- a/old/61052-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/61052-h/61052-h.htm b/old/61052-h/61052-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 3f5e04c..0000000 --- a/old/61052-h/61052-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,953 +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 Spawning Ground, by Lester Del Rey. - </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 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; } -.ph1 { font-size: large; margin: .83em auto; } - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Spawning Ground, by Lester del Rey - -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: Spawning Ground - -Author: Lester del Rey - -Release Date: December 30, 2019 [EBook #61052] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPAWNING GROUND *** - - - - -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="359" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>Spawning Ground</h1> - -<h2>By LESTER DEL REY</h2> - -<p class="ph1">They weren't human. They were something<br /> -more—and something less—they were,<br /> -in short, humanity's hopes for survival!</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Worlds of If Science Fiction, September 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" /> - -<p>The Starship <i>Pandora</i> creaked and groaned as her landing pads settled -unevenly in the mucky surface of the ugly world outside. She seemed to -be restless to end her fool's errand here, two hundred light years from -the waiting hordes on Earth. Straining metal plates twanged and echoed -through her hallways.</p> - -<p>Captain Gwayne cursed and rolled over, reaching for his boots. He was -a big, rawboned man, barely forty; but ten years of responsibility -had pressed down his shoulders and put age-feigning hollows under his -reddened eyes. The starlanes between Earth and her potential colonies -were rough on the men who traveled them now. He shuffled toward the -control room, grumbling at the heavy gravity.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Jane Corey looked up, nodding a blonde head at him as he -moved toward the ever-waiting pot of murky coffee. "Morning, Bob. You -need a shave."</p> - -<p>"Yeah." He swallowed the hot coffee without tasting it, then ran a -hand across the dark stubble on his chin. It could wait. "Anything new -during the night?"</p> - -<p>"About a dozen blobs held something like a convention a little ways -north of us. They broke up about an hour ago and streaked off into the -clouds." The blobs were a peculiarity of this planet about which nobody -knew anything. They looked like overgrown fireballs, but seemed to have -an almost sentient curiosity about anything moving on the ground. "And -our two cadets sneaked out again. Barker followed them, but lost them -in the murk. I've kept a signal going to guide them back."</p> - -<p>Gwayne swore softly to himself. Earth couldn't turn out enough starmen -in the schools, so promising kids were being shipped out for training -as cadets on their twelfth birthday. The two he'd drawn, Kaufman and -Pinelli, seemed to be totally devoid of any sense of caution.</p> - -<p>Of course there was no obvious need for caution here. The blobs hadn't -seemed dangerous, and the local animals were apparently all herbivorous -and harmless. They were ugly enough, looking like insects in spite of -their internal skeletons, with anywhere from four to twelve legs each -on their segmented bodies. None acted like dangerous beasts.</p> - -<p>But <i>something</i> had happened to the exploration party fifteen years -back, and to the more recent ship under Hennessy that was sent to check -up.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He turned to the port to stare out at the planet. The Sol-type sun -must be rising, since there was a dim light. But the thick clouds that -wrapped the entire world diffused its rays into a haze. For a change, -it wasn't raining, though the ground was covered by thick swirls of -fog. In the distance, the tops of shrubs that made a scrub forest -glowed yellow-green. Motions around them suggested a herd of feeding -animals. Details were impossible to see through the haze. Even the -deep gorge where they'd found Hennessy's carefully buried ship was -completely hidden by the fog.</p> - -<p>There were three of the blobs dancing about over the grazing animals -now, as they often seemed to do. Gwayne stared at them for a minute, -trying to read sense into the things. If he had time to study them....</p> - -<p>But there was no time.</p> - -<p>Earth had ordered him to detour here, after leaving his load of -deep-sleep stored colonists on Official World 71, to check on any sign -of Hennessy. He'd been here a week longer than he should have stayed -already. If there was no sign in another day or so of what had happened -to the men who'd deserted their ship and its equipment, he'd have to -report back.</p> - -<p>He would have left before, if a recent landslip hadn't exposed enough -of the buried ship for his metal locators to spot from the air by -luck. It had obviously been hidden deep enough to foil the detectors -originally.</p> - -<p>"Bob!" Jane Corey's voice cut through his pondering. "Bob, there are -the kids!"</p> - -<p>Before he could swing to follow her pointing finger, movement caught -his eye.</p> - -<p>The blobs had left the herd. Now the three were streaking at fantastic -speed to a spot near the ship, to hover excitedly above something that -moved there.</p> - -<p>He saw the two cadets then, heading back to the waiting ship, just -beyond the movement he'd seen through the mist.</p> - -<p>Whatever was making the fog swirl must have reached higher ground. -Something began to heave upwards. It was too far to see clearly, but -Gwayne grabbed the microphone, yelling into the radio toward the cadets.</p> - -<p>They must have seen whatever it was just as the call reached them. -Young Kaufman grabbed at Pinelli, and they swung around together.</p> - -<p>Then the mists cleared.</p> - -<p>Under the dancing blobs, a horde of things was heading for the cadets. -Shaggy heads, brute bodies vaguely man-like! One seemed to be almost -eight feet tall, leading the others directly toward the spacesuited -cadets. Some of the horde were carrying spears or sticks. There was a -momentary halt, and then the leader lifted one arm, as if motioning the -others forward.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"Get the jeeps out!" Gwayne yelled at Jane. He yanked the door of -the little officers' lift open and jabbed the down button. It was -agonizingly slow, but faster than climbing down. He ripped the door -back at the exit deck. Men were dashing in, stumbling around in -confusion. But someone was taking over now—one of the crew women. The -jeeps were lining up. One, at the front, was stuttering into life, and -Gwayne dashed for it as the exit port slid back.</p> - -<p>There was no time for suits or helmets. The air on the planet was -irritating and vile smelling, but it could be breathed. He leaped to -the seat, to see that the driver was Doctor Barker. At a gesture, the -jeep rolled down the ramp, grinding its gears into second as it picked -up speed. The other two followed.</p> - -<p>There was no sign of the cadets at first. Then Gwayne spotted them; -surrounded by the menacing horde. Seen from here, the things looked -horrible in a travesty of manhood.</p> - -<p>The huge leader suddenly waved and pointed toward the jeeps that were -racing toward him. He made a fantastic leap backwards. Others swung -about, two of them grabbing up the cadets. The jeep was doing twenty -miles an hour now, but the horde began to increase the distance, in -spite of the load of the two struggling boys! The creatures dived -downward into lower ground, beginning to disappear into the mists.</p> - -<p>"Follow the blobs," Gwayne yelled. He realized now he'd been a fool to -leave his suit; the radio would have let him keep in contact with the -kids. But it was too late to go back.</p> - -<p>The blobs danced after the horde. Barker bounced the jeep downward into -a gorge. Somewhere the man had learned to drive superlatively; but he -had to slow as the fog thickened lower down.</p> - -<p>Then it cleared to show the mob of creatures doubling back on their own -trail to confuse the pursuers.</p> - -<p>There was no time to stop. The jeep plowed through them. Gwayne had a -glimpse of five-foot bodies tumbling out of the way. Monstrously coarse -faces were half hidden by thick hair. A spear crunched against the -windshield from behind, and Gwayne caught it before it could foul the -steering wheel. It had a wickedly beautiful point of stone.</p> - -<p>The creatures vanished as Barker fought to turn to follow them. The -other jeeps were coming up, by the sound of their motors, but too late -to help. They'd have to get to the group with the cadets in a hurry or -the horde would all vanish in the uneven ground, hidden by the fog.</p> - -<p>A blob dropped down, almost touching Gwayne.</p> - -<p>He threw up an instinctive hand. There was a tingling as the creature -seemed to pass around it. It lifted a few inches and drifted off.</p> - -<p>Abruptly, Barker's foot ground at the brake. Gwayne jolted forward -against the windshield, just as he made out the form of the eight-foot -leader. The thing was standing directly ahead of him, a cadet on each -shoulder.</p> - -<p>The wheels locked and the jeep slid protestingly forward. The creature -leaped back. But Gwayne was out of the jeep before it stopped, diving -for the figure. It dropped the boys with a surprised grunt.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The arms were thin and grotesque below the massively distorted -shoulders, but amazingly strong. Gwayne felt them wrench at him as his -hands locked on the thick throat. A stench of alien flesh was in his -nose as the thing fell backwards. Doc Barker had hit it seconds after -the captain's attack. Its head hit rocky ground with a dull, heavy -sound, and it collapsed. Gwayne eased back slowly, but it made no -further move, though it was still breathing.</p> - -<p>Another jeep had drawn up, and men were examining the cadets. Pinelli -was either laughing or crying, and Kaufman was trying to break free to -kick at the monster. But neither had been harmed. The two were loaded -onto a jeep while men helped Barker and Gwayne stow the bound monster -on another before heading back.</p> - -<p>"No sign of skull fracture. My God, what a tough brute!" Barker shook -his own head, as if feeling the shock of the monster's landing.</p> - -<p>"I hope so," Gwayne told him. "I want that thing to live—and you're -detailed to save it and revive it. Find out if it can make sign -language or draw pictures. I want to know what happened to Hennessy -and why that ship was buried against detection. This thing may be the -answer."</p> - -<p>Barker nodded grimly. "I'll try, though I can't risk drugs on an alien -metabolism." He sucked in on the cigarette he'd dug out, then spat -sickly. Smoke and this air made a foul combination. "Bob, it still -makes no sense. We've scoured this planet by infra-red, and there was -no sign of native villages or culture. We should have found some."</p> - -<p>"Troglodytes, maybe," Gwayne guessed. "Anyhow, send for me when you get -anything. I've got to get this ship back to Earth. We're overstaying -our time here already."</p> - -<p>The reports from the cadets were satisfactory enough. They'd been -picked up and carried, but no harm had been done them. Now they were -busy being little heroes. Gwayne sentenced them to quarters as soon -as he could, knowing their stories would only get wilder and less -informative with retelling.</p> - -<p>If they could get any story from the captured creature, they might save -time and be better off than trying to dig through Hennessy's ship. That -was almost certainly spoorless by now. The only possible answer seemed -to be that the exploring expedition and Hennessy's rescue group had -been overcome by the aliens.</p> - -<p>It was an answer, but it left a lot of questions. How could the -primitives have gotten to the men inside Hennessy's ship? Why was its -fuel dumped? Only men would have known how to do that. And who told -these creatures that a space ship's metal finders could be fooled by a -little more than a hundred feet of solid rock? They'd buried the ship -cunningly, and only the accidental slippage had undone their work.</p> - -<p>Maybe there would never be a full answer, but he had to find -something—and find it fast. Earth needed every world she could make -remotely habitable, or mankind was probably doomed to extinction.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The race had blundered safely through its discovery of atomic weapons -into a peace that had lasted two hundred years. It had managed to -prevent an interplanetary war with the Venus colonists. It had found -a drive that led to the stars, and hadn't even found intelligent life -there to be dangerous on the few worlds that had cultures of their own.</p> - -<p>But forty years ago, observations from beyond the Solar System had -finally proved that the sun was going to go nova.</p> - -<p>It wouldn't be much of an explosion, as such things go—but it would -render the whole Solar System uninhabitable for millenia. To survive, -man had to colonize.</p> - -<p>And there were no worlds perfect for him, as Earth had been. The -explorers went out in desperation to find what they could; the -terraforming teams did what they could. And then the big starships -began filling worlds with colonists, carried in deep sleep to conserve -space.</p> - -<p>Almost eighty worlds. The nearest a four month journey from Earth and -four more months back.</p> - -<p>In another ten years, the sun would explode, leaving man only on the -footholds he was trying to dig among other solar systems. Maybe some -of the strange worlds would let men spread his seed again. Maybe none -would be spawning grounds for mankind in spite of the efforts. Each was -precious as a haven for the race.</p> - -<p>If this world could be used, it would be nearer than most. If not, as -it now seemed, no more time could be wasted here.</p> - -<p>Primitives could be overcome, maybe. It would be ruthless and unfair to -strip them of their world, but the first law was survival.</p> - -<p>But how could primitives do what these must have done?</p> - -<p>He studied the spear he had salvaged. It was on a staff made of -cemented bits of smaller wood from the scrub growth, skillfully -laminated. The point was of delicately chipped flint, done as no human -hand had been able to do for centuries.</p> - -<p>"Beautiful primitive work," he muttered.</p> - -<p>Jane pulled the coffee cup away from her lips and snorted. "You can -see a lot more of it out there," she suggested.</p> - -<p>He went to the port and glanced out. About sixty of the things were -squatting in the clearing fog, holding lances and staring at the ship. -They were perhaps a thousand yards away, waiting patiently. For what? -For the return of their leader—or for something that would give the -ship to them?</p> - -<p>Gwayne grabbed the phone and called Barker. "How's the captive coming?"</p> - -<p>Barker's voice sounded odd.</p> - -<p>"Physically fine. You can see him. But—"</p> - -<p>Gwayne dropped the phone and headed for the little sick bay. He swore -at Doc for not calling him at once, and then at himself for not -checking up sooner. Then he stopped at the sound of voices.</p> - -<p>There was the end of a question from Barker and a thick, harsh growling -sound that lifted the hair along the nape of Gwayne's neck. Barker -seemed to understand, and was making a comment as the captain dashed in.</p> - -<p>The captive was sitting on the bunk, unbound and oddly unmenacing. The -thick features were relaxed and yet somehow intent. He seemed to make -some kind of a salute as he saw Gwayne enter, and his eyes burned up -unerringly toward the device on the officer's cap.</p> - -<p>"Haarroo, Cabbaan!" the thing said.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"Captain Gwayne, may I present your former friend, Captain Hennessy?" -Barker said. There was a grin on the doctor's lips, but his face was -taut with strain.</p> - -<p>The creature nodded slowly and drew something from the thick hair on -its head. It was the golden comet of a captain.</p> - -<p>"He never meant to hurt the kids—just to talk to them," Barker cut in -quickly. "I've got some of the story. He's changed. He can't talk very -well. Says they've had to change the language around to make the sounds -fit, and he's forgotten how to use what normal English he can. But it -gets easier as you listen. It's Hennessy, all right. I'm certain."</p> - -<p>Gwayne had his own ideas on that. It was easy for an alien to seize -on the gold ornament of a captive earthman, even to learn a little -English, maybe. But Hennessy had been his friend.</p> - -<p>"How many barmaids in the Cheshire Cat? How many pups did your oldest -kid's dog have? How many were brown?"</p> - -<p>The lips contorted into something vaguely like a smile, and the -curiously shaped fingers that could handle no human-designed equipment -spread out.</p> - -<p>Three. Seven. Zero.</p> - -<p>The answers were right.</p> - -<p>By the time the session was over, Gwayne had begun to understand the -twisted speech from inhuman vocal cords better. But the story took a -long time telling.</p> - -<p>When it was finished, Gwayne and Barker sat for long minutes in -silence. Finally Gwayne drew a shuddering breath and stood up. "Is it -possible, Doc?"</p> - -<p>"No," Barker said flatly. He spread his hands and grimaced. "No. Not -by what I know. But it happened. I've looked at a few tissues under -the microscope. The changes are there. It's hard to believe about -their kids. Adults in eight years, but they stay shorter. It can't be -a hereditary change—the things that affect the body don't change the -germ plasm. But in this case, what changed Hennessy is real, so maybe -the fact that the change is passed on is as real as he claims."</p> - -<p>Gwayne led the former Hennessy to the exit. The waiting blobs dropped -down to touch the monstrous man, then leaped up again. The crowd of -monsters began moving forward toward their leader. A few were almost as -tall as Hennessy, but most were not more than five feet high.</p> - -<p>The kids of the exploring party....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Back in the control room, Gwayne found the emergency release levers, -set the combinations and pressed the studs. There was a hiss and gurgle -as the great tanks of fuel discharged their contents out onto the -ground where no ingenuity could ever recover it to bring life to the -ship again.</p> - -<p>He'd have to tell the men and women of the crew later, after he'd had -time to organize things and present it all in a way they could accept, -however much they might hate it at first. But there was no putting off -giving the gist of it to Jane.</p> - -<p>"It was the blobs," he summarized it. "They seem to be amused by men. -They don't require anything from us, but they like us around. Hennessy -doesn't know why. They can change our cells, adapt us. Before men came, -all life here had twelve legs. Now they're changing that, as we've seen.</p> - -<p>"And they don't have to be close to do it. We've all been outside the -hull. It doesn't show yet—but we're changed. In another month, Earth -food would kill us. We've got to stay here. We'll bury the ships deeper -this time, and Earth won't find us. They can't risk trying a colony -where three ships vanish, so we'll just disappear. And they'll never -know."</p> - -<p>Nobody would know. Their children—odd children who matured in eight -years—would be primitive savages in three generations. The Earth -tools would be useless, impossible for the hands so radically changed. -Nothing from the ship would last. Books could never be read by the new -eyes. And in time, Earth wouldn't even be a memory to this world.</p> - -<p>She was silent a long time, staring out of the port toward what must -now be her home. Then she sighed. "You'll need practice, but the others -don't know you as well as I do, Bob. I guess we can fix it so they'll -believe it all. And it's too late now. But we haven't really been -changed yet, have we?"</p> - -<p>"No," he admitted. Damn his voice! He'd never been good at lying. "No. -They have to touch us. I've been touched, but the rest could go back."</p> - -<p>She nodded. He waited for the condemnation, but there was only -puzzlement in her face. "Why?"</p> - -<p>And then, before he could answer, her own intelligence gave her the -same answer he had found for himself. "The spawning ground!"</p> - -<p>It was the only thing they could do. Earth needed a place to plant her -seed, but no world other than Earth could ever be trusted to preserve -that seed for generation after generation. Some worlds already were -becoming uncertain.</p> - -<p>Here, though, the blobs had adapted men to the alien world instead of -men having to adapt the whole planet to their needs. Here, the strange -children of man's race could grow, develop and begin the long trek back -to civilization. The gadgets would be lost for a time. But perhaps -some of the attitudes of civilized man would remain to make the next -rise to culture a better one.</p> - -<p>"We're needed here," he told her, his voice pleading for the -understanding he couldn't yet fully give himself. "These people need -as rich a set of bloodlines as possible to give the new race strength. -The fifty men and women on this ship will be needed to start them with -a decent chance. We can't go to Earth, where nobody would believe or -accept the idea—or even let us come back. We have to stay here."</p> - -<p>She smiled then and moved toward him, groping for his strength. "Be -fruitful," she whispered. "Be fruitful and spawn and replenish an -earth."</p> - -<p>"No," he told her. "Replenish the stars."</p> - -<p>But she was no longer listening, and that part of his idea could wait.</p> - -<p>Some day, though, their children would find a way to the starlanes -again, looking for other worlds. With the blobs to help them, they -could adapt to most worlds. The unchanged spirit would lead them -through all space, and the changing bodies would claim worlds beyond -numbering.</p> - -<p>Some day, the whole universe would be a spawning ground for the -children of men!</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Spawning Ground, by Lester del Rey - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPAWNING GROUND *** - -***** This file should be named 61052-h.htm or 61052-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/1/0/5/61052/ - -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: Spawning Ground - -Author: Lester del Rey - -Release Date: December 30, 2019 [EBook #61052] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPAWNING GROUND *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - Spawning Ground - - By LESTER DEL REY - - They weren't human. They were something - more--and something less--they were, - in short, humanity's hopes for survival! - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Worlds of If Science Fiction, September 1961. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -The Starship _Pandora_ creaked and groaned as her landing pads settled -unevenly in the mucky surface of the ugly world outside. She seemed to -be restless to end her fool's errand here, two hundred light years from -the waiting hordes on Earth. Straining metal plates twanged and echoed -through her hallways. - -Captain Gwayne cursed and rolled over, reaching for his boots. He was -a big, rawboned man, barely forty; but ten years of responsibility -had pressed down his shoulders and put age-feigning hollows under his -reddened eyes. The starlanes between Earth and her potential colonies -were rough on the men who traveled them now. He shuffled toward the -control room, grumbling at the heavy gravity. - -Lieutenant Jane Corey looked up, nodding a blonde head at him as he -moved toward the ever-waiting pot of murky coffee. "Morning, Bob. You -need a shave." - -"Yeah." He swallowed the hot coffee without tasting it, then ran a -hand across the dark stubble on his chin. It could wait. "Anything new -during the night?" - -"About a dozen blobs held something like a convention a little ways -north of us. They broke up about an hour ago and streaked off into the -clouds." The blobs were a peculiarity of this planet about which nobody -knew anything. They looked like overgrown fireballs, but seemed to have -an almost sentient curiosity about anything moving on the ground. "And -our two cadets sneaked out again. Barker followed them, but lost them -in the murk. I've kept a signal going to guide them back." - -Gwayne swore softly to himself. Earth couldn't turn out enough starmen -in the schools, so promising kids were being shipped out for training -as cadets on their twelfth birthday. The two he'd drawn, Kaufman and -Pinelli, seemed to be totally devoid of any sense of caution. - -Of course there was no obvious need for caution here. The blobs hadn't -seemed dangerous, and the local animals were apparently all herbivorous -and harmless. They were ugly enough, looking like insects in spite of -their internal skeletons, with anywhere from four to twelve legs each -on their segmented bodies. None acted like dangerous beasts. - -But _something_ had happened to the exploration party fifteen years -back, and to the more recent ship under Hennessy that was sent to check -up. - - * * * * * - -He turned to the port to stare out at the planet. The Sol-type sun -must be rising, since there was a dim light. But the thick clouds that -wrapped the entire world diffused its rays into a haze. For a change, -it wasn't raining, though the ground was covered by thick swirls of -fog. In the distance, the tops of shrubs that made a scrub forest -glowed yellow-green. Motions around them suggested a herd of feeding -animals. Details were impossible to see through the haze. Even the -deep gorge where they'd found Hennessy's carefully buried ship was -completely hidden by the fog. - -There were three of the blobs dancing about over the grazing animals -now, as they often seemed to do. Gwayne stared at them for a minute, -trying to read sense into the things. If he had time to study them.... - -But there was no time. - -Earth had ordered him to detour here, after leaving his load of -deep-sleep stored colonists on Official World 71, to check on any sign -of Hennessy. He'd been here a week longer than he should have stayed -already. If there was no sign in another day or so of what had happened -to the men who'd deserted their ship and its equipment, he'd have to -report back. - -He would have left before, if a recent landslip hadn't exposed enough -of the buried ship for his metal locators to spot from the air by -luck. It had obviously been hidden deep enough to foil the detectors -originally. - -"Bob!" Jane Corey's voice cut through his pondering. "Bob, there are -the kids!" - -Before he could swing to follow her pointing finger, movement caught -his eye. - -The blobs had left the herd. Now the three were streaking at fantastic -speed to a spot near the ship, to hover excitedly above something that -moved there. - -He saw the two cadets then, heading back to the waiting ship, just -beyond the movement he'd seen through the mist. - -Whatever was making the fog swirl must have reached higher ground. -Something began to heave upwards. It was too far to see clearly, but -Gwayne grabbed the microphone, yelling into the radio toward the cadets. - -They must have seen whatever it was just as the call reached them. -Young Kaufman grabbed at Pinelli, and they swung around together. - -Then the mists cleared. - -Under the dancing blobs, a horde of things was heading for the cadets. -Shaggy heads, brute bodies vaguely man-like! One seemed to be almost -eight feet tall, leading the others directly toward the spacesuited -cadets. Some of the horde were carrying spears or sticks. There was a -momentary halt, and then the leader lifted one arm, as if motioning the -others forward. - - * * * * * - -"Get the jeeps out!" Gwayne yelled at Jane. He yanked the door of -the little officers' lift open and jabbed the down button. It was -agonizingly slow, but faster than climbing down. He ripped the door -back at the exit deck. Men were dashing in, stumbling around in -confusion. But someone was taking over now--one of the crew women. The -jeeps were lining up. One, at the front, was stuttering into life, and -Gwayne dashed for it as the exit port slid back. - -There was no time for suits or helmets. The air on the planet was -irritating and vile smelling, but it could be breathed. He leaped to -the seat, to see that the driver was Doctor Barker. At a gesture, the -jeep rolled down the ramp, grinding its gears into second as it picked -up speed. The other two followed. - -There was no sign of the cadets at first. Then Gwayne spotted them; -surrounded by the menacing horde. Seen from here, the things looked -horrible in a travesty of manhood. - -The huge leader suddenly waved and pointed toward the jeeps that were -racing toward him. He made a fantastic leap backwards. Others swung -about, two of them grabbing up the cadets. The jeep was doing twenty -miles an hour now, but the horde began to increase the distance, in -spite of the load of the two struggling boys! The creatures dived -downward into lower ground, beginning to disappear into the mists. - -"Follow the blobs," Gwayne yelled. He realized now he'd been a fool to -leave his suit; the radio would have let him keep in contact with the -kids. But it was too late to go back. - -The blobs danced after the horde. Barker bounced the jeep downward into -a gorge. Somewhere the man had learned to drive superlatively; but he -had to slow as the fog thickened lower down. - -Then it cleared to show the mob of creatures doubling back on their own -trail to confuse the pursuers. - -There was no time to stop. The jeep plowed through them. Gwayne had a -glimpse of five-foot bodies tumbling out of the way. Monstrously coarse -faces were half hidden by thick hair. A spear crunched against the -windshield from behind, and Gwayne caught it before it could foul the -steering wheel. It had a wickedly beautiful point of stone. - -The creatures vanished as Barker fought to turn to follow them. The -other jeeps were coming up, by the sound of their motors, but too late -to help. They'd have to get to the group with the cadets in a hurry or -the horde would all vanish in the uneven ground, hidden by the fog. - -A blob dropped down, almost touching Gwayne. - -He threw up an instinctive hand. There was a tingling as the creature -seemed to pass around it. It lifted a few inches and drifted off. - -Abruptly, Barker's foot ground at the brake. Gwayne jolted forward -against the windshield, just as he made out the form of the eight-foot -leader. The thing was standing directly ahead of him, a cadet on each -shoulder. - -The wheels locked and the jeep slid protestingly forward. The creature -leaped back. But Gwayne was out of the jeep before it stopped, diving -for the figure. It dropped the boys with a surprised grunt. - - * * * * * - -The arms were thin and grotesque below the massively distorted -shoulders, but amazingly strong. Gwayne felt them wrench at him as his -hands locked on the thick throat. A stench of alien flesh was in his -nose as the thing fell backwards. Doc Barker had hit it seconds after -the captain's attack. Its head hit rocky ground with a dull, heavy -sound, and it collapsed. Gwayne eased back slowly, but it made no -further move, though it was still breathing. - -Another jeep had drawn up, and men were examining the cadets. Pinelli -was either laughing or crying, and Kaufman was trying to break free to -kick at the monster. But neither had been harmed. The two were loaded -onto a jeep while men helped Barker and Gwayne stow the bound monster -on another before heading back. - -"No sign of skull fracture. My God, what a tough brute!" Barker shook -his own head, as if feeling the shock of the monster's landing. - -"I hope so," Gwayne told him. "I want that thing to live--and you're -detailed to save it and revive it. Find out if it can make sign -language or draw pictures. I want to know what happened to Hennessy -and why that ship was buried against detection. This thing may be the -answer." - -Barker nodded grimly. "I'll try, though I can't risk drugs on an alien -metabolism." He sucked in on the cigarette he'd dug out, then spat -sickly. Smoke and this air made a foul combination. "Bob, it still -makes no sense. We've scoured this planet by infra-red, and there was -no sign of native villages or culture. We should have found some." - -"Troglodytes, maybe," Gwayne guessed. "Anyhow, send for me when you get -anything. I've got to get this ship back to Earth. We're overstaying -our time here already." - -The reports from the cadets were satisfactory enough. They'd been -picked up and carried, but no harm had been done them. Now they were -busy being little heroes. Gwayne sentenced them to quarters as soon -as he could, knowing their stories would only get wilder and less -informative with retelling. - -If they could get any story from the captured creature, they might save -time and be better off than trying to dig through Hennessy's ship. That -was almost certainly spoorless by now. The only possible answer seemed -to be that the exploring expedition and Hennessy's rescue group had -been overcome by the aliens. - -It was an answer, but it left a lot of questions. How could the -primitives have gotten to the men inside Hennessy's ship? Why was its -fuel dumped? Only men would have known how to do that. And who told -these creatures that a space ship's metal finders could be fooled by a -little more than a hundred feet of solid rock? They'd buried the ship -cunningly, and only the accidental slippage had undone their work. - -Maybe there would never be a full answer, but he had to find -something--and find it fast. Earth needed every world she could make -remotely habitable, or mankind was probably doomed to extinction. - - * * * * * - -The race had blundered safely through its discovery of atomic weapons -into a peace that had lasted two hundred years. It had managed to -prevent an interplanetary war with the Venus colonists. It had found -a drive that led to the stars, and hadn't even found intelligent life -there to be dangerous on the few worlds that had cultures of their own. - -But forty years ago, observations from beyond the Solar System had -finally proved that the sun was going to go nova. - -It wouldn't be much of an explosion, as such things go--but it would -render the whole Solar System uninhabitable for millenia. To survive, -man had to colonize. - -And there were no worlds perfect for him, as Earth had been. The -explorers went out in desperation to find what they could; the -terraforming teams did what they could. And then the big starships -began filling worlds with colonists, carried in deep sleep to conserve -space. - -Almost eighty worlds. The nearest a four month journey from Earth and -four more months back. - -In another ten years, the sun would explode, leaving man only on the -footholds he was trying to dig among other solar systems. Maybe some -of the strange worlds would let men spread his seed again. Maybe none -would be spawning grounds for mankind in spite of the efforts. Each was -precious as a haven for the race. - -If this world could be used, it would be nearer than most. If not, as -it now seemed, no more time could be wasted here. - -Primitives could be overcome, maybe. It would be ruthless and unfair to -strip them of their world, but the first law was survival. - -But how could primitives do what these must have done? - -He studied the spear he had salvaged. It was on a staff made of -cemented bits of smaller wood from the scrub growth, skillfully -laminated. The point was of delicately chipped flint, done as no human -hand had been able to do for centuries. - -"Beautiful primitive work," he muttered. - -Jane pulled the coffee cup away from her lips and snorted. "You can -see a lot more of it out there," she suggested. - -He went to the port and glanced out. About sixty of the things were -squatting in the clearing fog, holding lances and staring at the ship. -They were perhaps a thousand yards away, waiting patiently. For what? -For the return of their leader--or for something that would give the -ship to them? - -Gwayne grabbed the phone and called Barker. "How's the captive coming?" - -Barker's voice sounded odd. - -"Physically fine. You can see him. But--" - -Gwayne dropped the phone and headed for the little sick bay. He swore -at Doc for not calling him at once, and then at himself for not -checking up sooner. Then he stopped at the sound of voices. - -There was the end of a question from Barker and a thick, harsh growling -sound that lifted the hair along the nape of Gwayne's neck. Barker -seemed to understand, and was making a comment as the captain dashed in. - -The captive was sitting on the bunk, unbound and oddly unmenacing. The -thick features were relaxed and yet somehow intent. He seemed to make -some kind of a salute as he saw Gwayne enter, and his eyes burned up -unerringly toward the device on the officer's cap. - -"Haarroo, Cabbaan!" the thing said. - - * * * * * - -"Captain Gwayne, may I present your former friend, Captain Hennessy?" -Barker said. There was a grin on the doctor's lips, but his face was -taut with strain. - -The creature nodded slowly and drew something from the thick hair on -its head. It was the golden comet of a captain. - -"He never meant to hurt the kids--just to talk to them," Barker cut in -quickly. "I've got some of the story. He's changed. He can't talk very -well. Says they've had to change the language around to make the sounds -fit, and he's forgotten how to use what normal English he can. But it -gets easier as you listen. It's Hennessy, all right. I'm certain." - -Gwayne had his own ideas on that. It was easy for an alien to seize -on the gold ornament of a captive earthman, even to learn a little -English, maybe. But Hennessy had been his friend. - -"How many barmaids in the Cheshire Cat? How many pups did your oldest -kid's dog have? How many were brown?" - -The lips contorted into something vaguely like a smile, and the -curiously shaped fingers that could handle no human-designed equipment -spread out. - -Three. Seven. Zero. - -The answers were right. - -By the time the session was over, Gwayne had begun to understand the -twisted speech from inhuman vocal cords better. But the story took a -long time telling. - -When it was finished, Gwayne and Barker sat for long minutes in -silence. Finally Gwayne drew a shuddering breath and stood up. "Is it -possible, Doc?" - -"No," Barker said flatly. He spread his hands and grimaced. "No. Not -by what I know. But it happened. I've looked at a few tissues under -the microscope. The changes are there. It's hard to believe about -their kids. Adults in eight years, but they stay shorter. It can't be -a hereditary change--the things that affect the body don't change the -germ plasm. But in this case, what changed Hennessy is real, so maybe -the fact that the change is passed on is as real as he claims." - -Gwayne led the former Hennessy to the exit. The waiting blobs dropped -down to touch the monstrous man, then leaped up again. The crowd of -monsters began moving forward toward their leader. A few were almost as -tall as Hennessy, but most were not more than five feet high. - -The kids of the exploring party.... - - * * * * * - -Back in the control room, Gwayne found the emergency release levers, -set the combinations and pressed the studs. There was a hiss and gurgle -as the great tanks of fuel discharged their contents out onto the -ground where no ingenuity could ever recover it to bring life to the -ship again. - -He'd have to tell the men and women of the crew later, after he'd had -time to organize things and present it all in a way they could accept, -however much they might hate it at first. But there was no putting off -giving the gist of it to Jane. - -"It was the blobs," he summarized it. "They seem to be amused by men. -They don't require anything from us, but they like us around. Hennessy -doesn't know why. They can change our cells, adapt us. Before men came, -all life here had twelve legs. Now they're changing that, as we've seen. - -"And they don't have to be close to do it. We've all been outside the -hull. It doesn't show yet--but we're changed. In another month, Earth -food would kill us. We've got to stay here. We'll bury the ships deeper -this time, and Earth won't find us. They can't risk trying a colony -where three ships vanish, so we'll just disappear. And they'll never -know." - -Nobody would know. Their children--odd children who matured in eight -years--would be primitive savages in three generations. The Earth -tools would be useless, impossible for the hands so radically changed. -Nothing from the ship would last. Books could never be read by the new -eyes. And in time, Earth wouldn't even be a memory to this world. - -She was silent a long time, staring out of the port toward what must -now be her home. Then she sighed. "You'll need practice, but the others -don't know you as well as I do, Bob. I guess we can fix it so they'll -believe it all. And it's too late now. But we haven't really been -changed yet, have we?" - -"No," he admitted. Damn his voice! He'd never been good at lying. "No. -They have to touch us. I've been touched, but the rest could go back." - -She nodded. He waited for the condemnation, but there was only -puzzlement in her face. "Why?" - -And then, before he could answer, her own intelligence gave her the -same answer he had found for himself. "The spawning ground!" - -It was the only thing they could do. Earth needed a place to plant her -seed, but no world other than Earth could ever be trusted to preserve -that seed for generation after generation. Some worlds already were -becoming uncertain. - -Here, though, the blobs had adapted men to the alien world instead of -men having to adapt the whole planet to their needs. Here, the strange -children of man's race could grow, develop and begin the long trek back -to civilization. The gadgets would be lost for a time. But perhaps -some of the attitudes of civilized man would remain to make the next -rise to culture a better one. - -"We're needed here," he told her, his voice pleading for the -understanding he couldn't yet fully give himself. "These people need -as rich a set of bloodlines as possible to give the new race strength. -The fifty men and women on this ship will be needed to start them with -a decent chance. We can't go to Earth, where nobody would believe or -accept the idea--or even let us come back. We have to stay here." - -She smiled then and moved toward him, groping for his strength. "Be -fruitful," she whispered. "Be fruitful and spawn and replenish an -earth." - -"No," he told her. "Replenish the stars." - -But she was no longer listening, and that part of his idea could wait. - -Some day, though, their children would find a way to the starlanes -again, looking for other worlds. With the blobs to help them, they -could adapt to most worlds. The unchanged spirit would lead them -through all space, and the changing bodies would claim worlds beyond -numbering. - -Some day, the whole universe would be a spawning ground for the -children of men! - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Spawning Ground, by Lester del Rey - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPAWNING GROUND *** - -***** This file should be named 61052.txt or 61052.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/1/0/5/61052/ - -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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