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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..aee8274 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #62246 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/62246) diff --git a/old/62246-8.txt b/old/62246-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 2fafacd..0000000 --- a/old/62246-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2667 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Colossus of Chaos, by Nelson S. Bond - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Colossus of Chaos - -Author: Nelson S. Bond - -Release Date: May 27, 2020 [EBook #62246] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COLOSSUS OF CHAOS *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - Colossus of Chaos - - By NELSON S. BOND - - IT was the evil spawn of lifeless space, - drifting aimlessly until ITs sinister - birthing place should come. And finding - that abode for life, IT grew, sucking - energy from Terra itself--gathering - strength for that time when all should - flee before ITs malign wrath. - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Planet Stories Winter 1942. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -_Out of the darkness It came. Out of the grim, bleak, frore, -incalculable depths of outer space, into the empire of light and -warmth ... and life._ - -_It was like nothing known to Man. It was round, but not quite round; -It was hard, but not altogether hard; It was cold, but not cold with -the terrible, utter iciness of things which come from Beyond. It was in -motion but It did not move of Its own volition, for It was quiescent, -insensate. It let Itself be carried by the vagrant and unpredictable -whims of a kinetic universe, confident that in a day ... or a -century ... or a thousand, thousand centuries ... the fitful fingers of -chance would find for It a bourne, a resting-place._ - -_Out of the night It came ... the endless, inpenetrable night which -spans the void between star and star. Out of one cosmos into another; -out of oblivion into waking horror._ - -_No eye beheld Its coming. None saw Its faint, thin, cool iridescence; -no voice lifted to challenge Its arrival on the sixth satellite of the -sixth solar planet. It dropped to earth unwatched, rolled a brief, -sluggish way, then rested in a deep, soft, sandy pit._ - -_A gray hoar-frost rimed Its surface as the warmth of a friendly orb -dispelled the frightful chill of space; a pale mist rose from Its -petroid carapace and trembled into the air like a wan and restless -ghost._ - -_It had found a home, a lair, a birthing-place. With a slow, ecstatic, -burrowing motion It dug Itself still deeper into the nourishing sands. -It had arrived. It grew...._ - - - I - -"A dangerous place," said the heavy man with ominous deliberation. "A -most dangerous place!" He raised his glass to his nostrils, passed it -back and forth appreciatively, and rolled a single drop of the liqueur -upon his tongue. A smile creased his full, red lips. "Excellent, my -dear Captain!" he approved. "A most superior brandy. Allow me to -congratulate you. Domrémy-Thol '98, I should judge?" - -Captain Burke, skipper of the IPS space-cruiser _Gaea_, basked in the -sunshine of his passenger's approbation. - -He swirled the liquor in his frosted glass, glanced about the table -with a self-satisfied complacency that was almost ludicrous. Then he -nodded his head slowly, acknowledging the compliment bestowed upon his -judgment in selecting the after-dinned liquor. - -"Allow me," he corrected, "to congratulate you, sir, on a truly -magnificent palate. You have named the exact vine and season. But ... -danger? You spoke of danger?" - -The connoisseur glanced at the young lady across the table and -permitted his eyebrows to arch significantly. - -"Perhaps it would be better to abandon the subject," he suggested. -"After all, I do not wish to cause Miss Graham undue alarm--" - -The girl laughed. She did not seem, noted young Dr. Roswell, occupant -of another seat at the captain's table, the least bit perturbed by -Grossman's shadowy hint of menace. On the contrary, her already vivid -features assumed new color at the scent of danger. Her gray-green -eyes brightened, a flush highlighted the natural golden beauty of her -cheeks; she bent forward interestedly. - -"Please, Mister Grossman ... don't stop because of me. I want to learn -everything I can about Titan. It's going to be my home from now on, you -know. I'll learn sooner or later." - -"Ye-e-es," acknowledged the heavy man grudgingly, "I suppose that is -true. Your father is Commandant of the Space Patrol post at New Boston, -isn't he? Hasn't _he_ warned you of the dangers you face in coming to -live with him?" - -Again the girl laughed. - -"Hardly! You see, he doesn't know I'm coming. He'd have conniption fits -if he knew I were aboard the _Gaea_. He's a lamb, really, but terribly -old-fashioned. 'Women belong on Earth,' you know ... that sort of -thing. He thinks I'm safe in a Terra boarding-school right now. If he -_dreamed_ I were less than an hour off Titan--well, I'm afraid he'd be -pale violet with anger." - -"And," reproved Grossman sternly, "rightly so. Your father is a wise -man. Titan is no place for a girl of gentle breeding. It is a vile -and treacherous pest-hole. It should never have been opened to Earth -colonists!" - -Rockingham Roswell coughed gently. The young savant was taller than any -man present, and but for the conservative cut of his clothing might -have looked his true weight, but he carried himself in such a way as -to seem more fragile than he really was. His lean, close-shaven cheeks -were pale, and his tow-colored hair was meticulously plastered to his -scalp. He wore thick-lensed, tortoise-shell glasses which he removed -and polished nervously as he spoke. - -"In ... er ... in that case, Mister Grossman, it strikes me as a bit -odd that you should ... er ... have established business headquarters -on the satellite." - -Grossman glanced sharply at the slender man, snapped impatiently, -"A business man cannot always pick and choose his locations, Doctor -Roswell. He must follow the path of empire as it leads. Since there are -Earthmen on Titan, someone must serve them. It is an obligation which -cannot be refused--" - -"Er ... quite!" acknowledged Roswell confusedly. "Job of work to be -done ... noble noble sacrifice ... the white man's burden ... all that -sort of rot ... what?" - -Unaccountably, Grossman flushed. "If you are trying to imply, sir," he -fumed, "that I have any ulterior motive in establishing a trading post -on Titan--" - -"Oh, gracious, no! Nothing of the sort. I wouldn't presume to question -your ... er ... business acumen, Factor. I'm hardly the type, what?" -Roswell smiled a faint, thin, apologetic smile. "I mean I ... er ... I -really don't know much about this sort of thing ... if you know what I -mean...." - - * * * * * - -Captain Burke stared at the younger man impatiently. A spaceman -toughened in the crucible of action, he had little patience with -such learned young fops as this passenger. His words were polite, as -befitted the skipper of a luxury liner, but his tone was brushed with -acid. - -"If you don't mind, Doctor Roswell, Factor Grossman was about to tell -us something about the hazards of Titan. Well, Mister Grossman?" - -Grossman took another appreciative sip of his brandy, set down the -tulip-glass, and steepled his fingers. - -"Well, the perils of Titan fall into several classes. Geographic, -physiological and racial. In the first place, it is a satellite -approximately the size of Earth's moon ... large enough to sustain -life, but small enough to be influenced by the perturbations not only -of its massive primary, which lies a scant seven hundred and sixty -thousand miles away, but also by the attractive forces of the Ring and -Saturn's eight _other_ satellites. - -"Evidence of this is the peculiarity interwoven orbit trajectories of -Titan and its nearest sister, Hyperion, which sometimes approach each -other perilously close. Were Titan a sphere of pumaceous formation, -like Luna, it would long since have burst into a million fragments -under the impact of these conflicting forces. Fortunately, it is of a -basaltic nature, and consequently reasonably stable. - -"More immediately hazardous are what might be called the physiological -dangers of Titan. These are multifold. To begin with, there is the -so-called 'water' of the orb--" - -"I've read about that," nodded Captain Burke gravely. "Not water at -all, but--" - -"But a deadly corrosive acid," finished the speaker, "yes! Happily, the -'seas' of Titan do not cover such a share of the planet's surface as do -those of Earth; if they did, no life--either flora or fauna--would ever -have developed upon the little world." - -His heavy shoulders shivered. - -"Still ... imagine frothing, tide-swept lakes as large as Lake Erie or -Victoria Nyanza splashing endlessly at shores until inch by inch and -foot by foot those beaches are eroded, rotted, eaten away by the action -of the fluid they contain! These are the 'oceans' of Titan. There are -four of them, fed by subterranean sources we have not yet discovered. -One day they will have completely devoured the parent planet, and Titan -will cease to be." - -"But that day, of course," interposed the girl, "is a long way off. Is -this the only physiological danger?" - -"There is one even _more_ dreadful. The T-radiation." - -"T-radiation? What is that?" - -Grossman smiled mirthlessly. - -"Were I able to tell you, I should be a greater physicist than any who -have so far visited Titan. Dozens of the wisest have come, probed, -pondered, analyzed ... and left Titan none the wiser for their efforts. -Frankly, they do not know! The very name 'T-radiation' is an admission -of their failure. It is simply an abbreviation for 'Titan-radiation.' -It is an electro-magnetic or radioactive emanation lethal to -humans ... that is all they know about it." - -Young Dr. Roswell wiped his spectacles carefully and interrupted, -"But ... er ... but surely, Factor, these physicists were able to -determine the wave-length of the radiation? Did that not tell them--?" - -Grossman said bluntly, almost rudely, "The radiation lies in the -Hertzian range, Doctor Roswell. Does that knowledge help you any? -Perhaps now _you_ can tell us why these rays are deadly?" - - * * * * * - -Roswell flushed and faltered into silence. The girl glanced curiously -at Grossman. - -"Hertzian range, Factor?" - -"Electrical waves ranging between 1 m. and 1/10 c.m. in length, Miss -Graham. Their place is between the so-called 'short waves' of radio -transmission and the infra-red or heat waves. Their existence has been -known, theoretically, for at least two hundred years. But man has never -been able to find a reason, a place, or use for them. Nor have they -been found to occur freely in nature elsewhere than on Titan." - -"And," asked Captain Burke, "you say these waves are deadly to humans? -But how, then, have our colonists managed to win and maintain a -foothold--" - -"I should have said," admitted Grossman, "the waves are deadly to -_unshielded_ humans. Lead sheathing protects the wearer from harm; -consequently men in bulgers are quite safe. And one of the first acts -of the Solar Space Patrolmen, upon reaching Titan, was to project -a series of leaden highways or avenues between the cities of the -satellite. Upon these, and _only_ upon these, may Earthmen travel -unprotected by bulgers. To stray from one of these roadbeds means -exposure to the T-radiation. And that, in turn, means death!" - -Rockingham Roswell shuddered delicately. "Beastly!" he murmured. -"Deuced unpleasant sort of place, what? But, I say ... how about the -natives? How did they manage to survive before our countrymen built -those jolly old lead roadways?" - -Grossman pursed his lips impatiently at the affected young scholar. - -"They, Doctor Roswell," he said scornfully, "are immune to the -T-radiation. Certainly you are acquainted with the principles of -selective breeding?" - -"Selective--oh, yes! Survival of the fittest ... all that -fiddle-di-diddle? You mean the present Titanians _are_ the present -Titanians simply because they adapted their physiques to the -surroundings, eh? Why, rather! That's clear enough. Still, if they can -stand the radiation, I don't see why other humans--" - -"Other _humans_!" Grossman laughed curtly. "My dear Doctor, it is -obvious you have never seen a Titanian. Human, indeed! Why, it is the -dissimilarity between the Titanians and ourselves which led me to name -racial divergence as among the hazards of life on Titan. - -"The creatures who rule Titan look less like humans than like those -monsters deranged and alcoholic patients see in their dreams. For some -reason--possibly because of this mysterious T-radiation--the denizens -of the world have never bred true. Consequently, there is no way of -foretelling what the child of any two parents may resemble ... though -one almost certain guess is that it will resemble neither parent. - -"Bilateral symmetry is about the only constant human attribute to -be found amongst the Titanians. That and a more or less rudimentary -intelligence ... an instinct which is more akin to animal cunning than -to intellect. - -"Some Titanians walk erect on their hind legs. Some crawl on all fours -or squirm on their bellies. Some resemble the humanoid races of our -planet, or Mars, or Venus. Others look like obscene jungle beasts, -ghouls, fabulous monsters. - -"I have seen Titanians whose leprous flesh covered bones have no -counterpart in the human skeleton ... others with no faces at all, as -we know the meaning of the word ... others who grope blindly along on -tactile tentacles, 'seeing' with foot-long tongues, 'hearing' through -their fingertips. - -"Some there are who look like gigantic, crimson ants; others inch -their way along the streets like hideous, mangled slugs; while yet -again--astonishingly--you may chance upon a Titanian not only similar -in appearance to Earthmen, but as clever and quick in thought as any -terrestrial." - -Grossman paused, nodding significantly. "These," he said, "are the most -dangerous of all." - -"And--" breathed Lynn Graham--"the nature of this danger, Mister -Grossman? Attack, perhaps?" - -"Attack!" The trading-post factor laughed brusquely, harshly. "A mild -word for it. Extermination! The Titanians hate interlopers on their -world--_particularly_ Earthmen--with a smoldering, implacable hatred -inconceivable to a civilized mind. Had they their will, they would hunt -down every Earthman and slaughter him with the most horrible tortures -their warped and twisted minds can devise. - -"Your father, Miss Graham--" Grossman bent forward across the table to -lend emphasis to his warning--"maintains a post on Titan by sufference -only. Because the natives have not the strength nor the weapons with -which to rebel. But if ever the day dawns when they find such strength -or weapons--" Grossman drew a deep breath and shook his head--"Then ... -Lord help all like us who dwell on Titan!" - - - II - -_It had arrived. It had found a birthing-place. It grew. There in the -lone, lorn silence, in the thawing warmth of the nourishing sands. It -spawned according to its nature._ - -_It made no sound save that of a thin, dry grating as Its shell-like -covering stirred against the sides of the pit. But a change had come -upon Its carapace. Its one-time stony surface now was mottled with -yolky cloud; Its one-time opaque walls were now translucent with a -jelly-like shimmering. And from within the egg came the bruit of liquid -movement. Slow, groping movement of Life that would be free. Amorphous -hands scraped and slithered at softening, yielding walls. A single -flake chipped and fell away from the gigantic shell. Another followed -it. Another ... and another._ - -_A native of the planet, random-roaming, chanced upon the pit. His -nostrils quivered with the scent of food. With greedy stealth he moved -upon his prey._ - -_And then:_ - -_And then the native witnessed the phenomenon. Wide-eyed with wonder he -beheld the monstrous sight ... the ultimate emergence of the Thing!_ - -_In his dull, brutelike brain there dawned a dreadful fear. A fear ... -and a great hope! On trembling limbs he fell back from the pit, all -thoughts of food forgotten, turned and scampered to the city whence he -had come._ - -_Meanwhile, the sprawling, raw and new-fledged Thing lay gasping in the -sunlight, sucking strength from the depths of the nourishing soil. It -was born. It grew...._ - - - III - -A strained silence followed the factor's final words. A silence -during which Lynn Graham's troubled gaze swept the table, searching -reassurance--finding none--in the eyes of her dinner companions. A -silence during which Dr. Rockingham Roswell fidgeted uneasily, removed -his glasses, breathed upon them, polished them, and replaced them for -the hundredth time. - -It was Captain Burke who finally broke the spell. He cleared his throat -and rose. - -"Well, I must be getting along to the bridge. We'll be at New Boston -space-port in a matter of minutes now. I suggest that you go to -your staterooms, see that your luggage is in order, and prepare to -disembark." - -Dr. Roswell said hesitantly, "Er ... Captain ... just a moment. -When ... er ... how soon does the _Gaea_ return to Earth?" - -"Return to Earth! But--" Captain Burke turned a blank, uncomprehending -stare upon his questioner--"but you have not yet set foot on Titan!" - -Dr. Roswell shuffled uncomfortably. - -"I ... er ... I quite realize that, Captain. But I ... er ... have -been reconsidering. In view of Mister Grossman's revelations, -I ... er ... am not altogether certain it would be wise to pursue my -investigations...." - -The space skipper's broad, flat features contracted into a grimace of -disdain. Despite his company's instructions to maintain at all times a -respectful mien toward passengers, he permitted contempt to echo in his -voice. - -"You don't mean to say you are _afraid_, Doctor Roswell!" - -The young man's cheeks flushed. He said, "I ... er ... should not -put it quite that way, sir. However, I prefer not to expose myself -to needless risks. The work I had intended to do on Titan is not -sufficiently important to warrant--" - -Grossman chuckled. The girl, Lynn Graham, looked at the embarrassed -pedant almost pityingly. Captain Burke said, "I am afraid, Doctor -Roswell, it will not be possible to return to Earth immediately. The -_Gaea_ is not returning to Earth." - -"Not returning--" - -"No. We are going on to Uranus to leave a cargo of food and medical -supplies there. We will, however, stop back at Titan in three Solar -Constant weeks. If--" The skipper's voice was openly ironic--"if you -can endure the rigors of the satellite for that length of time, we will -be glad to pick you up on our return trip." - -"I ... er ... I suppose it would not be possible for me to ride with -you to Uranus?" - -"I'm sorry," said Burke decidedly. "The Uranus post is a military zone -forbidden to civilian tourists. I cannot take you there." - -"Then in that case," shrugged Roswell, "I must stay. But you _will_ -stop for me?" - -"I'll stop for you. Meanwhile, you had better make arrangements to stay -somewhere where you will be quite safe." Captain Burke's patience was -quite exhausted. "Miss Graham can, perhaps, prevail upon her father to -allow you to remain at the Space Patrol base." - -The young doctor turned to the girl eagerly. - -"Can you, Miss Graham? I would be _most_ grateful--" - -Lynn Graham nodded, her icy politeness more devastating than forthright -scorn. - -"Yes, Doctor Roswell, I am reasonably sure you can make such -arrangements. I will ask Daddy as soon as we land. And now, gentlemen, -if you will excuse me--" - -She rose and left the dining-hall. Grossman, still chuckling, followed -her example. He stopped at the doorway. - -"Sorry I upset you, Roswell. But cheer up! Three weeks will pass -swiftly. You'll be all right on Titan if you keep your eye peeled and -carry your Haemholtz at all times." - -But his reassurance proved to be just the opposite. For the savant's -lower jaw dropped; he quavered, "Haemholtz! Gracious ... you mean I -should carry a ray-pistol! Oh, mercy! I couldn't _think_ of doing such -a thing!" - -And with a little bleat of dismay, he turned and ran toward his -stateroom. The two men in the dining-hall watched him disappear. Then -Grossman laughed aloud, and Captain Burke snorted. - -"The younger generation! If that's the kind of men Earth is breeding -nowadays, Lord help us all!" - - * * * * * - -Dr. Rockingham Roswell pattered down the long, metal corridors of the -_Gaea_ to his A-deck suite. He fumbled near-sightedly at the vibro-lock -and stumbled into his compartment. But once inside, the door securely -bolted behind him, a change came over him. A change which would have -astonished those who had a few moments before been amused at his -timidity. - -He removed his spectacles, casing them and thrusting them into an -inside pocket. He then removed his coat. Oddly enough, rid of that -closely-tailored garment, his shoulders looked considerably broader, -his chest inches deeper. He drew a deep breath ... much the same sort -of breath as a sponge diver draws when he emerges from the hampering -depths of the sea to the more accustomed world above ... and called a -name. - -"Bud?" - -A figure appeared from the plushy wallows of a divan, waved at the -young professor companionably. - -"Hi, Rocky! Beginnin' to wonder when you was comin' back. We're halfway -to the cradle. What's the good word?" - -"The good word," grinned his informant, "is that I've paved the way. -Miss Graham is going to ask her father to let us stay at the Patrol -base." - -"Huh?" Mulligan looked baffled. "What's good about _that_? We could've -stayed at the Patrol Base anyway. All you had to do was tell Colonel -Graham who you were--" - -His superior officer groaned in mock despair. - -"Sometimes I wonder if that cranium of yours is good for anything but -a hair-garden! Don't you see, Bud, that the whole scheme depends on -our being _invited_ to become guests at the Patrol base? Of course, -we could present our credentials, walk directly from the _Gaea_ to -headquarters. But it would be a cold tip-off to Grossman that we are -S.I.D. men. - -"As it is, he hasn't got the faintest idea that 'Doctor Rockingham -Roswell' and his 'valet' are members of the Solar Investigation -Department. He thinks I'm a very badly rattled pedagogue, and you're -a mealy-mouthed nonentity. And that is exactly what we want him to -believe--until we get the goods on him." - -"Then he _is_ our man?" - -"I'm practically certain of it now. He's as nervous as a cat. Flared -up the moment I questioned his reasons for living on Titan. As factor -of the New Boston trading-post he is in an ideal situation to stir up -trouble amongst the Titanians. And that's precisely what he has been -doing. We don't know exactly why--yet!--but it's quite clear that for -some reason of his own he wants all Earthmen save himself to leave -Titan." - -"Gold, maybe?" suggested Bud. "Oil? _Ekalastron?_" - -"No-o-o, I don't think so. The mineralogists would have detected -the presence of any of those when they surveyed Titan. His reason -is something deeper than that--Say! Wait a minute! I wonder if it -possibly--?" - -"Yeah?" - -"No, I'm crazy! It couldn't be that. I happened to think of that -T-radiation. But I don't believe even Grossman is enough of a scientist -to have discovered what it is or how it can be used--if at all. Well, -anyhow--" - -"Anyhow, we're in at the Base. And Grossman doesn't suspect us. That's -part of the job. So--the next move?" - -"We circulate. We move around and ask questions and snoop and pry and -investigate." - -Mulligan grinned. - -"In the good old Rocky Russell tradition, eh?" - -"Who?" - -"Rocky Russell, I said. Don't tell me you've forgot your real name, -chum?" - -Rocky Russell reached into an inside pocket, brought forth a pair of -thick-lensed spectacles, hooked them over his ears. His voice lifted to -a high, gentle, hesitant whine. - -"Oh, mercy me!" he simpered. "Forgotten my ... er ... real name? But, -of course not! I am Doctor Rockingham Roswell. And you are my valet, -Ambrose." - -Bud groaned. - -"Gawd! All the names in creation, and I've got to be called 'Ambrose'!" - - * * * * * - -"So you're a doctor?" asked Colonel Graham. "That's fine. We can use -another doctor on this post. Glad to have you stay with us, Doctor -Roswell." - -Several hours had passed since the _Gaea's_ landing on Titan. In that -time, much had happened. Dr. Roswell and his "man" had made their -adieux to a scornful Captain Burke and a highly amused Factor Grossman, -removed their baggage from the cruiser, and accompanied Lynn Graham to -the S.S.P. base a few miles outside the Titanian city of New Boston. - -There they had witnessed the surprise meeting of the Commandant and his -daughter. Lynn Graham had rightly guessed her father's reaction upon -seeing her. She had erred in only one minor detail. She had expected -him to turn "pale violet" with anger. The color he _actually_ achieved -was somewhere in the apoplectic spectrum between dull scarlet and -turkey red. - -His outraged bellows, replete with invocations to the deities of a -dozen worlds and highly censorable, were audible for a good half mile. -But eventually--when Lynn had pointed out that: (1) she could not -return to the _Gaea_; (2) she didn't want to return to the _Gaea_, and -(3) that she had no intention of returning to the _Gaea_ even if she -could--he calmed down a trifle. And in his brusque kiss of greeting was -an affection hardly in keeping with the violence of his protestations. - -It was then that Lynn had introduced Dr. Roswell and his valet, -explaining their desire to stay at the base. Confused and bewildered, -the commandant had agreed. And now the quartet were gathered in the -colonel's private quarters. The colonel, in his own crisp way, was -trying to be friendly. - -"A doctor," he repeated. "That's good. We need the services of a good -doctor around here." - -Rocky smiled feebly. - -"I ... er ... I'm afraid you don't understand, sir. I'm not an M.D., -you know. I'm an ... er ... D.M." - -"D.M.?" repeated Graham wonderingly. "What's that?" - -"A Doctor," explained Rocky, "of Mythology. It's an archeological -degree, rather than a medical one. I'm what ... er ... might be -called a research student. I gather folk tales and ancient legends, -study them, analyze them, and attempt to determine their underlying -meanings." He beamed happily from behind his thick-lensed glasses. -"A most fascinating hobby," he said. "Oh, goodness, yes ... _most_ -fascinating!" - -Colonel Graham stared at him incredulously. - -"Legends! Folk tales! But why on earth--?" - -Red of face, he spluttered into silence. Lynn tried to bridge the -awkward moment. - -"What Daddy means, Doctor Roswell, is--why do you hunt down these -ancient fables? Does your work have any practical value?" - -Rocky's eyebrows arched as if the query caused him a physical pain. - -"Practical value! My dear young lady, of course not! It is purely -a labor of love. Knowledge for the sake of pure knowledge. Er ... -_scientia gratia scientiarum_, you know ... that sort of thing. Of -course--" He shrugged--"once in a while the research of my learned -colleagues does contribute a share to the understanding of man's more -mundane pursuits, but such occasions are, I hasten to assure you, quite -incidental--" - -Colonel Graham had recovered his composure. - -"Mythology, eh? Well, what sort of legends interest you, Doctor? Fairy -tales? Ghost stories?" - -"Well--no," said Rocky pedantically. "The tales of greatest interest -are those of fabulous monsters ... incredible beings endowed with -fantastic powers or attributes. Such may be found in the mythologies -of any race or clan. Not only on Earth, but on all the planets have we -heard such stories. It is our delight to track down these tales and -unearth the germ of underlying truth which created them." - - * * * * * - -"You mean," queried the girl, "that behind each folk tale lies a true -cause or event or--or creature?" - -"Exactly. For instance--well, let me see--you are familiar with the -Earthly legend of the phoenix, aren't you?" - -"The bird which was supposed to have had a life-span of a thousand -years, at the end of which time it threw itself into a blazing pyre, -from the ashes of which it was reborn?" - -"That," nodded Dr. Rocky, "is the legend. Quoted as you have told it, -it made no sense to Earthmen for thousands of years. Until, in fact, -the year 1987 A.D., when the first Martian expedition visited the -desert planet. The members of this expedition were amazed to discover -a _rara avis_ upon Mars impervious to extremes of both heat and cold. -A bird with an astonishing life-span in excess of a thousand Earthly -years. In short ... the archetype of the fabled phoenix!" - -Colonel Graham looked interested in spite of himself. - -"By Gad, that's right! The _tulalaroo_ bird. Doesn't mind heat or cold, -either one. Nests in ice or red-hot coals! That's rather interesting, -Doctor. Any more such examples?" - -"Scores! There is the fabled unicorn ... a one-horned gazelle-like -animal certainly not indigenous to Terra, yet it found its place in -the 'unnatural natural history' of not one but a dozen races. Whence -originated this record of a single horned creature we could not -guess .. until we discovered such a beast on Venus. - -"The fabulous 'salamander' turned out to be a common asbestos-like -lizard of Mercury. Aqueous Venus solved for us the problems of the -mermaid, the sea serpent and the undine. On mighty Jupiter mythologists -encountered the fire-breathing saurian which gave rise to the 'dragon' -myth--" - -"But, Doctor Roswell!" gasped the girl, "what does this mean? That once -upon a time, countless centuries ago, beasts of this sort roamed Earth? -Or--?" - -Rocky shook his head soberly. - -"We do not know, Miss Graham. There are a number of equally valid -possibilities. One is that which you have mentioned ... that Earth -was once host to all the types of animal life now to be found on its -sister planets. Another is that aeons ago Earthmen--or the intellectual -rulers of one of the other planets--knew the secret of spacetravel. The -factual records of places visited, strange sights seen, would in the -musty passage of time become mythology. - -"Still another possibility--" - -"Yes?" - -"Well, it is ... er ... a theory recently advanced by an erudite -scholar, but it has elements of fantasy which make it almost -incredible. You are ... er ... familiar with the theories of Svante -Arrhenius?" - -Lynn frowned. "I remember the name faintly. Didn't he claim life -traveled through the ether?" - -"Yes. He put forward, the concept that the life-germ is universally -diffused, constantly emitted from all habitable worlds in the form -of spores which traverse space for years or ages, the majority being -ultimately destroyed by the flame of some blazing star, but some few -finding a resting-place on bodies which have reached the habitable -stage. - -"My colleague has carried this theory a step forward, suggesting it -is not only the fundamental life-germ which thus travels ... but also -individual and distinctive life-forms! He has suggested that from each -and every world in every galaxy, occasionally there set forth into the -void the spores or eggs of every highly developed life-form. - -"Most of these never reach their destinations. Some do. And when these -do, unwilling worlds play host to beasts of nightmare mien." - - - IV - -A babble from the street lifted Humboldt Grossman's eyes from shrewd -perusal of his ledgers. He frowned, rose to investigate the tumult, -then stood stock-still in his tracks, startled as the door of his -private chamber burst open. - -A stunted troll with four, gnarled, dangling arms--a native -Titanian--served as spokesman for the excited group. - -"A marvel, Master!" he jabbered. "Behold, a marvel! It was found by one -of us in the sand-pits north of the city, captured and brought to you -immediately. See, O Master, its height, its bulk, its strength." - -He stood aside and into the room a score of tugging natives hauled a -bound and helpless creature. - -Bound and helpless creature? - -Bound ... yes. With yards upon yards of tightly laced metal cord -which even now stretched taut over bulging sinews. Helpless ... -perhaps. It stood quietly, struggling not, but in its very quiescence -Factor Grossman found a swift, disturbing menace. It was still as -flood-waters are still, ere, angered, they burst with fury the puny -dams constraining them. It was motionless as powerful machines are -motionless before, spurred to deed, they ravage all before them. - -A creature it was. But such a creature. Humanoid in form ... male ... -but dull of eye as a brain-fogged idiot. It was seven feet tall and -half as broad of shoulder, heavy of thigh and iron-strong of bicep. A -Hercules, an Atlas of a man. - -Grossman stared at it strangely. Then he turned to his native visitors. - -"It is a marvel, yes. A great man. But what has it to do with me?" - -The spokesman cringed forward hopefully. - -"It has power, O Master. You promised us vengeance and freedom when we -found you one with strength to fight our cause." - -Grossman's thick face mottled with disdain. "Fool!" he spat. "Do you -call this creature power enough to wage a war? One halfwit giant -against a well-armed garrison of humans? Take it away. This is not the -power I asked for!" - -The Titanian inched another step forward. "Wait, O Master!" he advised. -"Wait and see what we have seen! For not yet do you understand. He is -still growing!" - -Grossman stared, his tiny, pig-like eyes bewildered. - -"Growing? This giant--growing?" - -"_Yes, Master. He is as yet a babe! This monster is less than two -hours old...._" - - - V - -The gunner said, "This yere now four-headed animule jest sorta wriggled -its fur, like, an' presto! all of a sudden it ain't no beast a-tall, -but a bird! Yessirree, jest as sure as I'm tellin' the gospel truth, -it turned smack into a purple bird with six green wings an' a lavender -tail--" - -He stopped and aimed an accurate stream of Venusian _mekel_-juice -at a hapless insect. The insect floundered helplessly. So did Rocky -Russell--inwardly--with his desire to laugh out loud. But he restrained -himself, nodding his head sagely as he jotted a transcript of the old -trooper's narrative in his little black notebook. - -At his side, Lynn Graham protested, "Oh, Gunner, but _really_! I mean -you must be mistaken! Animals simply don't turn into birds and fly -away--" - -"This un did!" swore Gunner solemnly. "Hope to drop dead in my--I -mean, cross my heart! An' that ain't all the curious sights I seen in -my life, neither. If the Puffessor would like to hear another little -story--" - -"I'm sure," said Rocky primly, "it would be most interesting. But I -hate to trouble you--" - -"No trouble, Puffessor. No trouble a-tall. 'Course my throat is gettin' -a mite dry-like from talkin' so much. I might could use a sip o' -water ... or mebbe a drap o' likker to sorta loosen my tongue--" - -Rocky dug deep, and a coin passed between him and his informant. -"Please allow me, Gunner. And many thanks. We'll have another little -chat soon. I'm afraid I must be running along now, though." - -Followed by his two companions, he climbed from the pill-box embrasure -in which he had been interviewing the not-too-reliable old Patrolman. - - * * * * * - -Two days had passed since "Dr. Roswell" and his aide had taken up -residence in the Base. In that time, Rocky had wandered much, talked -much, and learned much. Slowly he was beginning to gather that -accumulation of facts which, he hoped and believed, would ultimately -bring the weight of the Law to bear on Factor Humboldt Grossman. - -Exactly what Grossman's racket was, he _still_ didn't know. But from -various and sundry sources he had heard tales of the fat man's greed -and cunning, his autocratic domination over a number of the lower-class -Titanians. In his own small way, and to those rebels he had gathered -about him, Humboldt Grossman was emperor of New Boston. It remained to -be proven whether or not he could extend his control to embrace the -whole of the satellite. - -Emerging from the sunken gunnery pit, the trio found themselves upon -one of the metal highways which criss-crossed the little world. - -To their left lay the squat, grim rows of structures which comprised -Fort Beausejour, the Solar Space Patrol base on Titan. Barracks, -administration and ordnance headquarters, messhalls, dumps and depots -mingled in gray heterogeneity behind a strong defense-in-depth -calculated to withstand months of siege or any known form of military -attack. - -To their right, several miles distant at the far end of the highway, -lay the city of New Boston. It was a strange city, a curious -commingling of ancient and modern, savage and cultured, alien and -civilized. It boasted two tremendous skyscrapers of ultramodern design -constructed by Earth colonists, but about and around these, clustered -like mud-daubers' nests, clung rows upon rows, thousands upon countless -thousands, of tiny, dingy, one-story hovels ... the dwellings of the -natives. - -It was into this city Rocky Russell's investigations now led him. He -glanced at his wrist chronometer. - -"Bless my soul! Very nearly time for my appointment with Factor -Grossman. You are sure we can use a roller, Miss Graham?" - -"Positive," answered the girl cheerfully. "I asked Daddy yesterday. You -wait here; I'll get it and come back." - -She moved away, giving the two S.I.D. men their first moment of privacy -in hours. Bud Mulligan sighed and fumbled for a cigarette. - -"So we're really gonna get to see Grossman at last? Good! How'd he -sound when you audioed him for an interview?" - -"Friendly enough," answered Rocky. "He said he was very busy, but he'd -be glad to give me a few minutes." - -"Did he know what you wanted?" - -Rocky grinned a slow, lopsided grin. "Everybody on Titan knows by now," -he drawled, "that there's a myth-chasing crackpot roaming loose. I'm -Public Joke No. One. Which suits me just fine." - -"Yeah," snorted Bud disgustedly, "but when this job's done, I'm gonna -backtrack and do a little plain and fancy nose-punchin'! Like that old -spacerat we talked to a few minutes ago--did you ever hear such lyin' -in your life? A bird with purple wings an'--" - -"Cheer up!" chuckled Rocky. "Gunner thought he was giving me the -runaround, and for a generally unimaginative old codger he didn't do -such a bad job of yarn spinning. He'd be surprised to learn, though, -that his wild story is not half so fantastic as some of the honest -tales I've heard since I began this masquerade." - -Bud nodded grudgingly. - -"That's true enough. An', boy, I really got to hand it to you. You talk -that Doctor-o'-Mythology patter like you really _was_ one. Sometimes -you sound like you really believed in it yourself!" - -"And the funny part of it is," said Rocky, "I almost _do_! As for -talking the patter ... well, no wonder! I studied comparative -mythologies for three solid months under the best experts in the field -before I undertook this job, Bud. I know more about hamadryads and -demigods and winged horses than old man Bulfinch himself! Well--" He -nodded significantly, and his voice lifted to the high-pitched tones of -"Dr. Rockingham Roswell"--"here comes Lynn. Off we go!" - -Bud shot a swift, appraising glance at him. "Oh-ho! So it's 'Lynn', -now, eh?" - -Fortunately, Rocky Russell did not have time to concoct an alibi for -that slip of the tongue. Because the roller was drawing up beside them, -Lynn was motioning them in. And in a few minutes they were on their way -to New Boston. - - * * * * * - -"You understand," said Factor Grossman, "I have never _seen_ this -creature myself, Dr. Roswell. I am merely repeating the description -given me by some of my friends." - -Rocky nodded, busily jotting in his ubiquitous black notebook the facts -just told him by the fat man. "A furry animal," he repeated, "with the -netherparts of a horse and the torso of a human. Two curly black -horns ... cloven hoofs ... is occasionally glimpsed in damp, woodland -dells ... excellent!" - -He looked up, smiling. "Very interesting, sir. You have perhaps -already noted the similarity between this ... er ... thing and the -'Centaur' of Greek mythology? Amazing, isn't it, that we should find -the same ... er ... legendary monster on two worlds separated by so -many millions of miles? Well, we must organize an expedition to search -for this creature. Now, have you any other fables to add to my little -collection?" - -He poised his pencil expectantly, his eyes vaguely eager and excited. - -"We-e-ell, let me see--" Grossman stroked a sleek, fleshy jaw--"I heard -one the other day about--Yes? What is it, Grushl?" - -A Titanian had pressed open the door of the factor's private office. He -glanced at the guests nervously. - -"If you please, sir--the Thing-that-Grows! It has broken its--" - -"_That will do!_" Grossman's voice crackled like the snap of a -bulldozer's whip. He rose hastily, bowed apology to his visitors. "If -you will excuse me a moment--" - -He strode to the door, propelled his underling out of sight and -hearing. The three guests stared after him in astonishment. - -"Well!" exclaimed Lynn Graham. "Whatever came over him so quickly? Why, -he turned positively pale!" - -"You're telling me?" grunted Bud. "He looked like he seen his -grandmother's ghost ... or his own. What did that guy say? -'Thing-that-Grows'? What would _that_ be? And what would it break?" - -"Shhh!" warned Rocky. "He's coming back.... Ah, there Factor! -Everything all right?" - - * * * * * - -Grossman had been gone but a few seconds, but in that time a change had -come over him. His eyes were dark with ... Rocky could not tell just -what. Excitement? Or fear? A thin film of perspiration overspread his -cheeks, his forehead, his upper lip. He tried to put reassurance into -his voice, but the effort didn't quite jell. - -"Quite all right, Doctor. A little trouble with ... with a small -horticultural experiment we are conducting. But I'm afraid I must ask -you to leave now. I have work to do." - -Rocky said, "If I ... er ... can be of any help--?" - -"No. Thank you very much, but this is work of an ... er ... -experimental nature. Company business, you know." The Factor bustled -them to the door. "We will meet again. Good afternoon." - -And almost before they had stammered their confused farewells, he had -waved to them and lumbered off. - -"Well!" said Lynn. "I must say that's the quickest brush-off I ever -got ... if not the smoothest." - -"Horticultural experiment," mused Rocky. "Mmm-hmmm! It's possible, of -course, but ... I wonder. Bud ... er ... I mean, Ambrose--" - -"Yeah?" said Ambrose. - -"I think I'll stay here in New Boston for a few more hours. I'd like -to ... er ... study the native quarters. Perhaps you would be kind -enough to escort Miss Graham back to the Fort?" - -"Certainly," nodded Bud. "A pleasure. But--" - -Lynn Graham had been staring from one to the other of the two men -querulously. Now she declared herself. "Oh, no!" she stated flatly. -"You don't get rid of _me_ so easily as all that. Doctor Roswell--just -what's going on here?" - -Rocky fumbled for his glasses. - -"Er ... going on, Miss Graham? I don't understand--" - -"Neither do I--which is just why I'm asking. First Grossman goes into -a mild panic; now you two are acting like the masked strangers in Act -Two. Not to mention the fact--" the girl pointed out shrewdly--"that -for a few minutes you quite forgot to talk like a college professor ... -and addressed your alleged 'valet' as 'Bud'--" - -Rocky did remove his glasses. But this time he did not breathe on them, -wipe them, and replace them as was the habit of "Dr. Roswell." Instead, -he shoved them out of sight, and grinned at the girl. When he spoke it -was in his natural voice. - -"All right, Miss Lynn," he said, "you win. I pulled a boner. Now I -might as well come clean. I am not Doctor Rockingham Roswell at all. My -name is Russell ... Rocky Russell ... and I'm here on Titan to--" - -But not at that moment did he tell Lynn Graham who he was, and his -purpose on the satellite. For suddenly he paused in midsentence, his -jaw dropping open, and his eyes widening to match. - -"Lord!" he gasped. "Look ... look at _that_!" - -The others, too, had turned to determine the origin of the rumbling -sound. Now they saw it. A tremendous motor-roller trundling down the -main thoroughfare of New Boston. A heavy roller bearing a ponderous -burden ... a single, gigantic item. The appearance and purpose of this -item was unmistakable, but its size.... - -"Manacles!" croaked Bud. "But ... but who ever heard of manacles that -size! _That Thing is twenty feet in circumference!_" - - - VI - -Humboldt Grossman entered the cavern cautiously. It was dark in there, -but not altogether dark. The ever-present luminescence of the chamber -walls lent an eerie glow by which could be seen the giant figure -huddled at the far end. There had been bonds upon the wrists and ankles -of this figure, but now the frayed ends of snapped hawsers dangled -loosely as the creature pawed fretfully at adamant walls and ceiling. - -At sight of the monster, Grossman faltered, stunned. To the Titanian -behind him he choked hoarsely, "He--he still grows!" - -"Yes, Master. Already he must crouch to avoid being crushed by the -cavern's roof. Each hour he grows faster. In a day ... half a day ... -perhaps less ... he will die in here if we do not let him out." - -Grossman smiled. It was not a pleasant smile. - -"Have no fear. Before that time, he will be outside--under my -control!" He stepped forward into the cave. The creature's eyes turned -questioningly toward this tiny mote of life which dared approach -him thus, stretched forth a hand to crush the annoying insect. But -from a curiously-shapen tube in the insect's claw leaped a lancet -of flame. A gout of red agony that scorched and blistered his palm. -The giant howled and pulled his hand away. Grossman smiled. Good! -Who holds an adversary in fear of pain possesses a slave. Now, if -only the creature were telepathic--"You!" he thought, his thought -directed and intensified by the menavisal unit in his helmet, "have you -intelligence? Can you understand me?" - -The giant's answer came back sluggishly. - -"_I can ... understand._" - -"That is well. Then listen to me, and mark well my words. I am Master -here. Do you acknowledge that?" - -The creature stirred restlessly. "Master? I accept no Master. I am -Master of mine own will." - -Grossman pressed the grip of his Haemholtz. A flash of livid lightning -seared the subterranean chamber. Grossman challenged, "You defy the -Master of the fire-that-bites?" - -The giant cringed against the farthest wall. "Nay!" he conceded. "You -are Master. I am your servant." - -"It is well you understand. For there is work to be done. When it is -accomplished, then you will be freed. Hear now, huge one, what is -expected of you...." - - - VII - -"Manacles!" repeated Rocky Russell, "Manacles twenty feet in -circumference! But that--that's impossible! Handcuffs for a normal -six-foot man measure about six _inches_ in circumference. Twenty foot -manacles would be used on someone _two hundred and forty feet tall_!" - -"Always assuming of course," Lynn pointed out, "that these gyves are to -be used on a _man_. Which isn't very likely. Much more possible that -they were constructed for some beast ... some tremendous animal--" - -"True," admitted Rocky. "But even so--imagine the size of that animal! -Well, that settles it. Bud, I want you to take Miss Graham back to the -fort immediately." - -"And you?" - -"I'm going to follow that roller." - -"But there may be danger--" - -"There undoubtedly _is_ danger," replied Rocky grimly, "directed at -the Patrol ... perhaps the whole of Titan. Those manacles are somehow -associated with Grossman's secret. I've got to learn how. You can help -best by racing back to Beausejour and warning Colonel Graham to be on -guard against any eventuality. Keep your portable vocoder tuned to our -private wave-length. If and when I learn anything important I'll send -it on to you. O.Q.?" - -Bud shrugged helplessly. - -"You're the boss. But I'd rather stay here with you and--" - -"Get going! Oh--when you reach the Base, take off the lid. Tell Colonel -Graham who we are." - -"And if it's not too much trouble," interrupted Lynn Graham, "would you -mind telling me _now_?" - -Rocky grinned at her, for the last time using Dr. Roswell's high whine, -"Oh, mercy, Miss Graham, you mustn't be impatient. Ambrose will tell -you as you ride." - -"_Ambrose!_" fumed Bud. "Ambrose be damned--!" But he was talking to -empty space. Rocky had already disappeared down the avenue after the -gyve-laden roller. - -Fortunately the roller, groaning under its ponderous burden, was not -moving very fast. Rocky, though on foot, was able to keep it within -sight without too obviously appearing to be following it. In the -character of Dr. Rockingham Roswell, already known and amusing to the -Titanians, he dawdled through the city five hundred yards or so in the -wake of the burdened vehicle. - -Through business streets he followed it, where eyes turned to follow -its passage and furtive Titanians whispered to each other behind -concealing palms, and--as the squalid little shops thinned out--into -the suburban residential districts ... finally quite out of the city -proper. - -Out here it was practically impossible to follow the truck without -being noticed. Once the city's artificial foliage was left behind, the -landscape of Titan's countryside stretched stark and severe so far -as the eye could see ... its drab, sandy monotony broken only by an -occasional dune, its dull sameness embellished only by the silvery span -of roadbed upon which humans must travel to live on Titan. - -By dropping far behind the roller, Rocky was able to keep it in sight -for a little while longer. But then his efforts came suddenly to -naught as the driver of the truck--a Titanian--swerved completely off -the lead highway and began rolling across the barren desert toward a -hummock outlined on the horizon some miles distant. - - * * * * * - -Lacking a bulger, Rocky was stopped cold. No way to follow, now. But he -waited and watched a while longer to assure himself that the swollen -rise of ground _was_ the roller's destination, then strolled back into -New Boston. - -Here he sought the privacy of a 'fresher, and called Bud on the -vocoder. Mulligan answered immediately. - -"Yeah, Rocky? Everything all right?" - -"Everything's all _wrong_! The confounded roller left the highway and -plowed across the gray-and-nasty. Having no desire to be cooked into -frizzled beef, I gave up the chase." - -"That's tough, Chief. What do we do now?" - -"I," said Rocky, "stay right here. You load a couple of bulgers in a -roller and come charging back here as fast as you can. I _still_ want -to find out what Grossman's hiding in those hills that needs to be tied -up with twenty-foot bands of forged steel." - -"O.Q." said Bud. "Sit tight. I'll pick you up in three shakes." - -"Make it two!" - -"One," chuckled Bud. "I'm practically on my way now." - -He was as good as his word. Rocky had only finished one cigarette when -a blue S.S.P. roller came tearing up the highway from Fort Beausejour. -Bud jumped out, bulger-clad and carrying a second protective suit for -his comrade. - -"Here you are, pal. Where do we go from here?" - -"Out of town on the east highway. I'll show you. A hill rising out -of--Hey, wait a minute! Who's driving this crate?" - -Bud looked embarrassed. - -"Oh--she is!" - -"She?" - -"Miss Graham. She--" - -"--refused," chimed in Lynn Graham, "to be left out of it. Indeed I -did. Captain Russell, you ought to be ashamed of yourself, deceiving -us the way you did. When the Sergeant, here, told me who you _really_ -were, and what you were doing here, I almost _died_ with excitement! -And to think that you, a Captain in the S.I.D., pretended to be a -mythologist! It's the funniest thing--" - -"Miss Graham," interrupted Rocky impatiently, "there is nothing at all -amusing about the job we are engaged in. It is, moreover, no work in -which a girl should be involved. You would oblige me by returning to -the Fort on the first transport bus--" - -"Oh, no! This is a Patrol roller, and I requisitioned it in my own -name. Either I drive it or--" Stubbornly--"or it doesn't roll!" - -"Very well, then. You may take us as far as the desert path. But there -we leave you. And now, let's get going. We have wasted enough time as -it is." - -Rocky motioned Bud into the roller. A few seconds later they were -speeding noiselessly out on the highway toward the spot where Rocky had -seen the truck leave the road. - - * * * * * - -Russell had been keeping an eye on his chronometer for the past little -while, estimating the number of daylight minutes left to him. On this -little satellite there was no such thing as dusk or twilight. At ninety -million miles from Sol, there was little enough sunlight. Titan's main -radiance came not from the Sun, but from its own parent planet which, a -huge, shining platter in the sky, gathered up and reflected to its tiny -satellite the thin illumination from afar ... for all the world like a -gigantic, reflecting mirror. - -Titan revolved on its axis in fifteen hours, twenty-three minutes. -Almost the whole of its day period had elapsed now. Shortly.... - -Yes, even as he studied out the problem, night came suddenly and -completely to this part of Titan. It descended instantaneously, -snuffing out the light as a finger presses the wick of a candle. Only -the stars remained, glowing white in the rich, jet vastness of outer -space. - -The girl reached toward the dashboard instinctively, but Rocky's hand -clasped about her wrist. - -"No! Don't!" - -"But--but I was only going to turn on the lights." - -"I know. But you mustn't. We're getting very close to the spot now. -Can you see to drive without them?" - -"Why, I--I guess so," said Lynn dubiously. She was surprised, herself, -to learn that she could. "Why, yes! The road stands out like a dark -ribbon against the sands on either side. Isn't that strange?" - -"Not so strange at that," grunted Rocky. "I'm beginning to get an idea -about the mysterious T-radiation of this planet. I may be completely -wrong, of course, but so far my theory fits all the facts I've -observed. There's something I would like to know, though. Grossman told -us the soil killed humans. I wonder _how_ they die?" - -"I can answer that. Daddy told me the first day I was here. He was -warning me against ever leaving the shielded areas ... the Fort, the -city, the roads. He said that if they wander onto the soil of Titan -without protection, humans just shrivel up and crumble into dust -like--like mummies!" - -"Like mummies, eh!" grunted Rocky. He sounded quite well satisfied. -"Mmm-hmm! Then _that_ fits, too. Yes, I think I'm beginning to -understand a lot of things ... including the reason Factor Grossman -would like to rid this little world of all competitors--" - -"Well, don't keep secrets!" snapped Bud. "We'd like to know, too. -What's it all about?" - -"No time now. There's the hill out yonder. Pull up here, Miss Lynn. -Here's where we leave you." - -Lynn stopped the roller obediently. But as Bud and Rocky climbed out -she asked, "What do you want me to do now? Can't I come with you?" - -"No. You turn the roller around and wait here. We have no idea what -we're going to buck up against. We may have to retreat--suddenly. If -so, I'll fire three blasts on my Haemholtz. Two short, one long. If -you see that signal, get ready to start moving. We'll come on the -double-quick. But if we're being pursued too closely to make it--" - -"Yes?" - -"Then don't wait for us!" ordered Rocky. - -"Head for the Base and bring the Patrolmen. Understand?" - -"All but one thing," complained the girl. "Why not send for a platoon -of Patrolmen right now? Why wait until it is too late?" - -"Because," explained Rocky patiently, "despite our suspicions, we have -as yet no actual _proof_ that the factor is involved in anything shady. -The Patrol is an organization sworn to maintain the Law, not to violate -it, riding roughshod over the rights and privileges of citizens. - -"When we are certain--as I fully expect we shall be shortly--that -Grossman is implicated in some illegal scheme _then_ we can call in the -Patrol. But until that time--" - -"Until that time," broke in an oily, taunting voice, "you will play the -part of quixotic fools, eh, my dear Doctor? But has it never occurred -to you that by the time you get the proof you want ... it may be too -late to summon help?" - -Rocky whirled, as did his two companions. From the side of the road, -where they had lain in dark concealment behind a low escarpment, rose -a circle of shadowy figures. The largest of these, a heavy man looming -even greater in his protective bulger, approached them. In his left -hand he held a flash; its rays glinted upon still another instrument in -his right hand ... the tube of a Haemholtz burner held steadily upon -them. All recognized the newcomer's voice at once. - -"_Grossman!_" - - - VIII - -In the gloom, Grossman's features could not be seen behind the -quartzite view-pane of his bulger, but by the thick satisfaction in his -voice, Rocky could guess the complacent smirk lingering on his over-red -lips. - -"Yes, my friends," he acknowledged, "Grossman. This is somewhat of a -reversal, no? The one you came to apprehend has captured you. My dear -Doctor Roswell, did you consider me a perfect fool? Did you not know -the driver of my roller would report to me that you had followed him to -this spot?" - -Rocky said levelly, "Not 'Doctor Roswell,' Grossman. My name is -Russell. Captain Russell of the S.I.D. And it is my duty to advise you -that you stand self-convicted of armed assault upon the persons of -legal officers engaged in the performance of their duties. Anything you -say may later be used against you." - -Grossman laughed. - -"My soul, Captain, you _are_ a cool one! Not the same man at all as -the learned doctor who was afraid of firearms! It is too bad you have -blundered into this situation. I rather admire your effrontery. We -could have been friends, I think." - -"The question," said Rocky dryly, "is open to argument." - -Lynn Graham bridled, "This is all very high-handed, Mister Grossman, -and very mysterious. What is all this talk of 'capturing' someone? What -do you intend to do with us?" - -Grossman said soothingly, "Have no fear, Miss Graham, you will come -to no harm. But I fear that for the present I shall be compelled to -take you into--well, shall we call it, 'protective custody'? You see, -I have--ah--_certain plans_. It would not do for these plans to be -overthrown at the final moment. Therefore, I must request you to be my -guests until I have succeeded in gaining my objective--" - -"Which is," interrupted Rocky harshly, "complete control of Titan?" - -"Exactly, Captain Russell." - -"And its wealth." - -"And its--" Grossman stopped abruptly, the tone of his voice altering. -"Ah! Then you know?" - -"Enough," said Russell. "Enough to warn you, Grossman, that it won't -work. This isn't the first time, you know, that an individual has tried -to discard interplanetary law and seize control of some rich plum. The -penal colonies are full of ambitious men like yourself who thought they -could defy the Space Control. But it won't work, Grossman. No man, or -group of men, wields sufficient power to defeat the forces of justice -and order--" - -Grossman chuckled again, this time delightedly. - -"You know a little, Captain--yes. But not enough! Titan will be -mine--and soon!--because I have found an ally powerful enough to win me -my demands. You doubt? Very well, you shall see for yourself. Come!" - -He spun to his little coterie of followers, snapped commands in the -strange, guttural tongue of Titan. The oddly assorted creatures, some -humanoid in form, some frighteningly animalistic, formed a rough guard -about Rocky and Bud. Grossman hesitated before Lynn. - -"You have no protective suit? That is unfortunate. It would, of course, -be fatal for you to accompany us across the sands without one. Yet I -cannot permit you to go free--Grushl!" - -"Yes, Master?" - -"Take the girl to my office building in the city and keep her there -until I come. She must not escape, nor may she communicate with any -other humans. You understand?" - -"Yes, Master." - -"Very well. Take her away. And now, gentlemen, if you are quite -ready--Forward, march!" - -The Titanians behind Bud and Rocky prodded. Helpless in the face of -vastly superior odds, the two S.I.D. men stumbled forward off the -highway and across the rough desert, toward the hill dully gleaming a -short distance away. - - * * * * * - -Seated at the controls of the tiny roller, Lynn Graham was thinking -furiously as she drove. Obviously there was no chance of escaping so -long as that flabby-fleshed parody of manhood crouched behind her with -a Haemholtz leveled on the small of her back. Yet somehow she must get -away ... get to the Fort and bring the Patrol.... - -Guile, that was her only chance. Take advantage of the slow-thinking -Titanian's inferior mentality. She turned and smiled back over her -shoulder. - -"Have you ever been to the Patrol Base before?" she asked pleasantly. - -Grushl answered mechanically, "Yes. Many times--" Then the implication -of her words penetrated his brute brain. "Before? But we are not going -to the Patrol Base." - -"Maybe," retorted Lynn airily, "_you're_ not, but _I_ am. Just as fast -as this roller will carry me." - -Grushl's heavy brows gathered in perplexity. - -"But, no! You are to drive to the office building, there await the -Master." - -Lynn laughed. "What nonsense! So long as I am the driver of this -roller, I will take it where I wish." - -"Then," said Grushl thoughtfully, "I will be forced to shoot you. You -must not escape." - -"But you can't do that," Lynn pointed out shrewdly. "Factor Grossman -said nothing about shooting me. He ordered that I was to be kept safely -until he came." - -"Yes," pondered the Titanian, "that is true. But I see no other way -to--" - -"I am afraid you will have to let me drive to Fort Beausejour. So long -as I am driving, there is nothing you can do to prevent me taking the -roller where I wish." - -Grushl, who had been wrestling laboriously with the problem, now -suddenly saw the light. His deepset eyes brightened. "Oh, no! There is -another way!" he cried triumphantly. "_I_ will drive the roller!" - -"B-but--" cried Lynn. - -"That is the solution. Stop the roller. You and I will change places. I -will drive; you will move back here." - -Obediently, Lynn drew the car to a halt, slipped from the driver's -cubicle as the Titanian moved from the rear seat to take her place. -Grushl smiled at her complacently. "You see?" he boasted. "It is really -very simple. Now I can stop the roller wherever I wish. The Master will -be obeyed." He reached for the controls laying his Haemholtz on the -cushion beside him as he did so. That was what Lynn had been waiting -for. In one sudden motion she leaned forward, scooped up the weapon. - -"Sorry, Grushl!" she cried. "But it's you or me--" - -She slashed the tube down hard upon the Titanian's scalp. Grushl -groaned once, heavily--and sagged. His hands, falling away, dragged -at the steering control-stick. In an instant the car jerked into -convulsive motion, charged toward the edge of the road. - -Lynn screamed and tugged at the door beside her. In a moment more she -would have been carried out across the deadly sands without a shield of -any sort. But just as the roller left the road, the girl threw herself -through the door ... fell sprawling on the edge of the roadbed. - -The roller bounced out fifty ... a hundred ... two hundred yards into -the desert-land ... then stalled. It lay there, a dark form dimly -outlined against the thin iridescence of the soil, a silent vehicle -bearing a single, unconscious occupant. - -Lynn Graham stared at it dolefully for a few moments. Then, -because there was no use crying over spilt milk--or lost means of -transportation--she turned and hurried toward the city as quickly as -possible ... afoot. - - * * * * * - -As they approached the hill in the darkness, the two S.I.D. men were -aware of much activity going on around them. They heard the cries of -foremen, the grunts of laborers, the chuff-chuff of old-fashioned -combustion engines, and the high, shrill whining of a single -highpowered atomotor. - -Rocky glanced at the New Boston factor inquisitively. - -"Mining, Grossman--already?" - -Grossman chuckled. - -"Mining, yes. But not for what you think. Before we mine for wealth, we -must mine for power." - -"Mine for power?" - -"You shall see in a moment what I mean." Grossman motioned one of -his native aides to him. "Ho, there! He is secure? The mighty one is -shackled as I commanded?" - -"Yes, O Master. He is bound wrist and ankle." - -"Good! And the excavation?" - -"Proceeds on schedule, Master. By dawn it should be finished." - -"That is well. For if he still grows--" - -"He does, O Master!" - -"--dawn will be none too soon. The cavern will no longer hold him." - -Bud whispered to his friend and superior, "Say, what goes on here? What -are they talking about?" - -"If I'm not greatly mistaken," answered Rocky, "the thing for which -those manacles were made." - -Verification of his guess came almost immediately. Again their guards -prodded them forward, and behind Grossman they entered a passageway -dipping into the side of the hill. Through an ancient tunnel, damp and -malodorous, they marched, debouching finally into a gigantic cavern ... -a huge bubble of emptiness blown into the solid rock in some forgotten -geologic age of change. - -And there at last before them stood.... - -No ... it did not stand. There was no longer room for it to stand -upright in an underground cavern whose roof was but three hundred feet -high. It crouched. It knelt upon all fours like a great, mute beast; -knelt and stared with dumbly questioning eyes at the tiny motes now -entering its lair to look upon it. - -It had been secured, as the Titanian had said, with great metal -manacles, from the welded joints of which stretched mighty chains so -huge that a man might walk upright through a single loop. Its wrists -were also gyved, and a length of chain swung between the two. - -But it made no effort to fight these bonds. It just crouched there in -the strange semi-gloom, watching with pale-gleaming eyes the movements -of its self-proclaimed Master. - -Subconsciously Rocky Russell had been expecting just some such -revelation as this. Even so, it was one case where realization of an -idea far surpassed speculation. A gasp of sheer astonishment wrenched -itself from his lips; he stared at the giant with shocked incredulity. - -"Colossus!" he choked. "Lord--the Colossus himself, come to life! -Grossman, where did you find this--?" - -Grossman smiled urbanely. - -"Not a bad name for him, Captain. Your brief period of masquerade as a -mythologist apparently left some impression on you. Colossus--yes! But -this time no brainless monster of brass. A living creature, intelligent -and obedient to my commands. You, there!" He turned and addressed his -slave, again utilizing the menavisal unit. "You know your orders? You -know what must be done?" - - * * * * * - -The creature had telepathic power commensurate with its bulk. The -mental answer came rolling into the brains of the Earthmen with almost -audible force. - -"_I know my orders. I know what must be done._" - -"And who is Master? Whose will must be obeyed?" - -This, thought Rocky with swift distaste, was sheer braggadocio, and -typical of Grossman. It was not necessary to bludgeon a servile answer -out of the gigantic captive. He had already proven his point. - -But if the question had been intended to elicit a humble deference, it -failed in its purpose. For the Colossus did not answer. Instead, it -continued to stare down at its accoster mutely, speculatively. Almost, -thought Rocky, defiantly. - -"Well?" repeated Grossman. "Who is Master here?" - -And this time, whipping a tube from his holster, he accompanied -the question with a rapier-like lash of fire that swept across the -Colossus' hurriedly upraised palm. For at sight of the gun, at the -crackle of the heat-beam, the giant had begun to stammer a hasty -answer-- - -"_You, O Master! You are Master! You--_" - -And then, as suddenly as it had begun--it stopped! And over its -features spread a strange, strained look. What that expression meant, -Rocky could not guess. It seemed to mirror surprise. Vast, pleased -surprise. The giant lifted the palm across which Grossman's ray had -swept and studied it with sluggish interest. It drew a finger of its -other hand across what should be a badly burned piece of flesh ... and -began smiling. It was an evil smile. There was no mirth in it. Just -grim, savage exultation. And determination! - -Then deliberately it reached forward--and attempted to grasp Grossman! - -This time it was the Factor who fell back hurriedly. A cry burst -from his lips, he pointed the Haemholtz at the giant and coldly, -murderously, turned its ray to the maximum concentration. The air of -the confined quarters seethed and crackled with blistering heat as the -livid flame blasted its way to its target. - -But the Colossus ... _laughed_! - -It was the first time human ears had ever heard a sound from that -inhuman throat. Nor did those who heard it ever want to hear it again. -From those great, gaping lips towering yards above them peeled a -deep-pitched torrent like the simultaneous rolling of a thousand summer -thunders. It was a sound to batter, blast and deafen the eardrums. -Were it not for the bulgers in which they were clad, the Earthen would -in that moment have been stricken with instantaneous deafness. As it -was, Rocky's ears rang fearsomely with the vibrations of the Colossus' -laughter, muted, as the sound was, through his helmet diaphragm. - -And Grossman's flame ... meant nothing. The Colossus ignored it as if -it were a dancing sunbeam briefly flickering across his flesh. Again he -stretched forth an avid, clutching hand.... - -Grossman screamed aloud in panic fear ... and ran! Into the narrow -tunnel he darted, where that mighty hand could not follow and close -about him. Through the tunnel, out and up from the depths of the -underground cavern. Behind him ran the unguarded duo he had called his -captives. - -At the mouth of the tunnel, attracted by the tumult, were gathered a -knot of Titanians. To these Grossman panted swift commands. - -"The mouth of the tunnel ... close and block it immediately. The -Colossus has gone mad. And the excavation, stop working on it!" - -"But, Master ... it is almost finished!" - -"All the worse! Fill it in again. He must not break free. He -will destroy us all!" Grossman turned to Rocky and pawed at him -beseechingly. "Russell, call the Base! Tell the Colonel to send men -here ... guns! This creature--" - - * * * * * - -Russell said sternly, "Rather sudden change of heart, Grossman. A few -short minutes ago the Colossus was your ally, the aide through whose -efforts you were going to force the Patrol off Titan and gain sole -possession for yourself." - -"That doesn't matter now. I was ambitious ... yes. I had dreams of -being a king, an emperor. You know why, Russell. You are a clever man. -You guessed the reason for the T-radiation. But I did not dream, when -the egg was hatched two days ago, that its occupant would continue to -grow ... and _grow_ ... and GROW!" Grossman's voice rose hysterically. -"It is a madness from space, come to kill us all. I thought at first I -could use It, bend It to my will. It was afraid of flame. But now It -has grown too large, Its flesh too thick, to mind such puny weapons. -It is strong, Russell ... inconceivably strong. It is practically -invulnerable--" - -Bud said, "But what you're doing ought to hold it in check. If you bury -it alive ... don't feed it..." - -"Feed it!" Grossman laughed mirthlessly. "It doesn't _need_ feeding! -Don't you understand ... it has never been fed a mouthful in its life!" - -"Never been--!" Rocky stared at the shaking Factor. "But--but do you -realize what that means? It does not eat--yet it continues to grow. -From _somewhere_ it must be deriving the nourishment to gorge its -cells. From somewhere--" - -"Rocky!" Bud's voice interrupted him suddenly. It was a voice cracked -with terror and strain. "Rocky--quick! We've got to get out of here! -Look! The earth! Quaking--" - -His warning was superfluous. All present had experienced the trembling -at the same time, a violent, insistent rocking of the soil beneath -their feet. Now gaunt Titanians, panic-stricken, were fleeing in all -directions. Grossman had stumbled and fallen to his knees. Rocky bent -over him, lifted him by main force and howled into his ear, - -"A roller, Grossman! You must have a private roller somewhere around -here! Where is it?" - -"O-over there!" The Factor pointed uncertainly at a gray bulk dim in -the gloom. - -"Then come on!" snapped Rocky. "We've got to get to New Boston!" - -"N-new Boston? The city? But--but why? We want to get to the Patrol -Base--" - -"New Boston," Rocky grated, "first. That's where you sent Lynn -Graham--remember? Gad! I didn't think he could do it! But he is! Start -this roller, Grossman, and let's get out of here--quick! Look! The -Colossus--" - - * * * * * - -The others stared, and a little whimper escaped Grossman's slack lips -as he saw the final act of the drama which had begun with the trembling -of the earth beneath them. - -The thin iridiscence of the hillside was seamed and cracked with a -myriad of tiny black veins. The whole hummock quivered and trembled as -though stricken with some petrologic ague. And then, suddenly, with a -crash like that of rolling doom, the whole crown of the hill seemed -to erupt explosively before them. Gigantic boulders ripped loose from -ancient bedrock and raced wildly down tattered slopes. A myriad tiny -fragments burst skyward, sifted down as a hail of deadly debris. There -came the rending, tearing, grating sound of stone grinding against -stone ... cacophonous background for the cries of maddened Titanians, -the screech of roller motors roaring into action, the moans of injured -and dying natives. Then-- - -Then Colossus burst from the womb of the hampering earth! Rose to stand -upright in the prison he had outgrown. He shook himself, and detritus -scattered about the terrified watchers. He raised a great palm, and -with demoniac deliberation brought it squarely down upon a tiny band -of huddled and terrified natives. When he lifted his palm again ... it -dripped redly! - -Rocky thrust the fumbling Grossman from the controls. "Move over! Let -me at the stick--" - -In a flash he had started the roller's motor, sent the speedster -tearing headlong and recklessly across the broken desert flooring. -Not a moment too soon. For the Colossus, having once shed blood, now -swung into a literal orgy of savage destruction. Like a huge, brainless -automaton he flailed the hillside about him clean of every moving -thing ... beating with gigantic, steel-hard fists at anything and -everything he saw, until that thing lay like a flattened pulp upon the -ground. - -And all the while horrendous laughter peeled incessantly from his -contorted lips. Laughter which carried to New Boston, miles away; even -to the Patrol Base beyond the city. Laughter which struck terror into -the hearts of listeners who did not know as yet--happily!--whence it -came, or the awful fate which lay in store for them. - -For Colossus wearied, now, of lingering in his pit. He placed a palm -on either side of the chasm he had opened for his escape, and vaulted -easily to the surface. The enormous manacles with which his captors had -hoped to hold him dangled uselessly. The ground shuddered beneath him. -Where his feet met earth they forced depressions. Colossus was drawing -sustenance, now, at ever-increasing speed from the soil which fed -his odd, unnatural appetite. Already he was taller than New Boston's -highest building. More than a quarter mile he towered into the air. And -still he grew.... - - - IX - -Lynn Graham, plodding at long and weary last into the outskirts of -the city, wondered again--with the vague, dull incuriosity which was -the only emotion of which her exhausted brain was capable--what had -been the meaning of those sounds she had heard from the desert wastes -behind her a few hours ago. - -It was all very mysterious ... mysterious and alarming. First had come -the wails. Not wails, really, but dreadful, ear-splitting howls like -the bellowing of some monstrous beast. Then out of the darkness behind -her had come hurtling a small roller. A madly ricocheting vehicle -without lights. She had attempted to signal the driver ... but in vain. -As well try to hitch a ride on a runaway comet as on that speeding car. - -And now? Now she was entering a city which ought to be asleep, but, -instead, was seething with furious activity. Lights shone from the -windows of buildings, shacks, stores. Crowds congregated at corners, -huddled groups of frightened figures that looked astonishingly like -mobs of refugees. - -It was as though a mass-panic had seized the entire city. Earthmen -gathered their families fearfully about them; Titanians scurried, -slithered, hobbled in every direction in helter-skelter confusion. -Vainly Lynn accosted passers-by in search of an explanation. Her -queries were met with terror-numbed stares, with mumbles, with -incomprehensible mouthings. - -"_We heard.... Danger approaching.... Someone said.... Must leave the -city.... They told us.... Giant beast.... Death...._" - -Despairing of ever learning the truth from such informants, Lynn fought -her way to a public audio booth. After a longer-than-usual wait, her -call was put through. Over the selenoplate she stared into the worried -eyes of her father. - -A prayer of relief and gratitude escaped the Colonel as he recognized -his caller. - -"Lynn! Thank the Lord you're safe! I've been worried sick about you. -And so has that young doctor--" - -"Rocky? You mean he and Bud escaped? They're with you at the base?" - -"Roswell--I mean _Russell_--is. Mulligan has gone out with the Fleet on -scout patrol." - -"F-fleet?" stammered Lynn. "Scout patrol? Daddy--what _is_ this all -about? I seem to be the only person on this world who doesn't know -what's wrong--" - - * * * * * - -A voice at the other end of the wire said politely, "May I, sir?"--and -Colonel Graham's face faded back to be replaced by the grave, -sharp-lined features of the young S.I.D. captain. "Lynn--" he began, -and even in that tense moment Lynn Graham found time to wonder that he -had dropped all pretense of formality--"Lynn, we are all in the gravest -peril. Colossus has broken loose!" - -"Co-colossus?" - -"The _Thing_ for which those manacles were forged. It turned out to -be a giant humanoid. Bud and I saw it. It was more than a thousand -feet tall when it escaped Grossman. Now it has more than doubled that -height!" - -Lynn gasped. - -"But--but where is it?" - -"After it broke from its underground cell it headed west. For almost -seven hours it has been roaming the planet wildly and at will. It -completely destroyed the mining-town of Hawesbury and the villages of -Placer and Dry Ditch." - -"But aren't we doing anything to stop it? It must be destroyed--" - -"Three flights are out looking for it. Two haven't been able to contact -it at all ... the third is unreported. We fear that flight ... found -it!" Russell's voice was more sober than ever. "Lynn ... our weapons -seem to be useless against it. Its skin is incredibly tough, hard, -resistant. Heat does not bother it, and our heaviest HE shells are like -pebbles upon a hippo's hide." - -"But there must be _some_ way--" - -"There has _got_ to be some way," nodded Russell, "for if we don't find -it ... and soon ... Titan will be a dead world, peopled by a single, -monstrous entity. Now--" He abandoned explanations for a more immediate -problem--"you stand tight. I'm coming to New Boston to get you." - -"Oh, that's not necessary. I'll hire a transport." - -"There's no such thing. The road between here and the city is and -has been thronged with refugees for hours. I don't believe there's a -commercial roller left in the city. Because, you see--" - -"Yes?" pressed Lynn as he hesitated. - -"Never mind. I'll be right there for you." - -"You were going to tell me something, Rocky. What?" - -"Well," said Rocky reluctantly, "I guess you'd better know. According -to the seismograph, Colossus has almost completed his circumambulation -of Titan ... and is on his way back toward New Boston. You must be -very, very careful. And now, good-bye! See you later!" - -The circuit faded, and he was gone. Lynn stood for a moment thinking -swiftly. Then she decided. Better to _do_ something than to just sit -waiting ... waiting ... waiting ... in a city gone mad with fear. She -would start toward the Base _now_, meet Rocky on the way. - -Having made her decision, she turned quickly and took her place in the -jostling throng pressing southward.... - - * * * * * - -Rocky, moving north on the New Boston safeway, as he wormed his roller -through the ever-thickening mass of panicky Titanians and terrified -Earth colonists rushing to the safety of the Base was once again--for -perhaps the hundredth time--trying to grasp that elusive half-thought -which had lurked in the back of his brain ever since Colossus had -broken free. - -Something Grossman had said--Grossman who now cowered in a Patrol cell, -far from the haughty, autocratic figure he had pretended to be--had -brushed a spark in Rocky's mind. But now that spark had dulled, and -Rocky could not recapture it. It had something to do with Colossus ... -it suggested some means of combating.... - -"_Damnation!_" - -The hordes of refugees had been parting like a flesh sea before him -ever since he left the Fort gates. But now the numbers were becoming -so great that he could not move the roller through them except at a -crawl. He realized this, and gave up the unequal struggle. He called an -Earthman to him. - -"Here, you--can you drive a roller?" - -"Yes, indeed, sir!" - -"Then take this back to Colonel Graham at the Fort. Tell him Captain -Russell is going ahead on foot." - -The colonist stared at him strikingly. "You--do you mean you're going -back toward the city, sir? But you can't do that! It--it's suicide. -They say a huge monster, ten miles tall, is coming to smash the city to -pieces--" - -Rocky said tightly, "Never mind that now. You give my message to the -Commandant--_understand_?" And he climbed from the car and forced his -way against the tide, northward on foot. - -It was as he was pressing along that he thought of Bud Mulligan, who -had gone out with "B" flight in an effort to find and destroy--or at -least delay--Colossus. Thinking of Bud reminded him that they wore on -their persons the means of constant communication. The chances were -greatly against Bud's being on the beam, but it was worth a try. He -took the miniature vocoder from his breast pocket and activated it -on the secret S.I.D. wave-length. Vastly to his surprise, he got an -immediate reply. - -"O.Q., chief! Where in Tophet have you been? I've been buzzing you for -the past hour and a half!" - -Rocky signaled back, "Where are you, Bud?" - -"Look north," ordered Bud, "and east ... about thirty thousand -elevation. If you see five black dots in the sky, they ain't -asterisks--they're us. Flight B, keeping an eye on the Mountain that -Walks Like a Man." - -"Then he--he's in sight?" - -"How can you miss him? He's bigger than the landscape. Can't you see -him yet?" - -"No." - -"Well, I'm afraid you will. He's heading your way now. Keep an eye on -the horizon and--" - -A sudden roar rose from the throngs swarming the safeway. It was a roar -of fear, but deeper even than the note of fear was that of awe. Rocky, -looking up from his vocoder swiftly, beheld two things simultaneously. -First--the dawn of a new day. Saturn-rise, breaking swiftly, suddenly, -over the horizon, brooming all shadows in its path immediately. And the -second phenomenon-- - - * * * * * - -Colossus! Colossus rising over the horizon ... a head, then mighty -neck, broad shoulders, naked torso ... rising from the other side of -the world like a vast, bestial nightmare. A tremendous Colossus whose -head was so far above the veiled cloudlets of Titan that from time to -time he was forced to bob and weave in order to avoid collision with -the "rogues," those tiny bits of cosmic debris escaped from Saturn's -Ring which besprinkle space in the neighborhood of the girdled planet. - -"Rocky!" Bud was chattering on the vocoder. "Rocky, what's the matter. -CX, Rocky Russell. CX, Rocky Russell.... Are you all right, Rocky?" - -Rocky answered slowly, "I'm all right, Bud. But I just saw him. We all -just saw him. He--he's tremendous!" - -"You're telling me? See them manacles? He's grown so big they've split -in half ... right up the back! They look like the only reason they're -hanging on is because they're imbedded in his flesh! And his height.... -Whew! The navigator here just shot an estimate! Over six thousand feet, -Rocky! Colossus is more than a mile high!" - -Rocky said, "Keep on the beam, Bud, and don't mind if I don't answer -you immediately. I'm fighting my way north on the safeway, hunting for -Lynn. She's in New Boston--" - -"New Boston!" Bud's voice was horror-stricken. "My Lord, no! She -mustn't be, Rocky! That's where he's heading for right now. He can see -it ... he's got a glint in his eye ... a blood-lust.... Oh, great gods -of space.... Rocky!" - -The voice died in a tiny wail. - -Russell needed no explanation of his agonized words. For he, too, saw -the climax of that frightful action. Colossus had climbed completely -over the horizon, now. There was no doubt he had spotted the city. -He seemed fascinated by its twin towers. Like a destructive child -experimenting with some new toy he leaned over, gripped the spire of -the nearest between a massive thumb and forefinger ... and snapped it -off! - -From the shard of stone and metal wherein a few desperate fugitives -had taken refuge dropped tiny motes, tumbling hundreds of feet to -certain, dreadful doom! Rocky could not hear their screams ... but he -could imagine them. One of those black fragments _might_ have been ... -_could_ have been.... - -He shook his head doggedly. No! He must not think of such things! Lynn -still lived. _Must_ live! - -Then another sound burst so close to him that for a moment his tense -nerves shrieked in agony. A mighty hissing roar ... the explosive blast -of a rotor-gun going into action. Glancing to his right he found -himself beside the very gun-embrasure wherein yesterday--("_Lord, only -yesterday? Not a hundred thousand centuries ago?_")--a jovial gunner -had told "Dr. Rockingham Roswell" fabulously genial tales of monstrous -beasts. Could either of them have guessed that today.... - -"Gunner!" he cried. - -The old warrior glanced up, identified him amongst the hordes of -refugees. "Oh, you, Puffessor! Come on! I'm short-handed here. Crew -didn't make it afore the attack. If you're still lookin' for fab'lus -monsters, here's y'r chance to git some fust-hand experience--" - -Rocky needed no second invitation. A terrible rage was upon him, now. -Futile to attempt to any longer buck the mob to New Boston still more -than three miles away. If Lynn had been in the city, neither he nor -any man could help her now. The only thing he could do was ... avenge -her.... - -He dropped into the pit, and swung instantly into action. "What do you -need here? Oh--short a prime-loader, eh? All right, Gunner--" He spun -toward the charge-rheo, jazzed its fill to max, slammed home the breech -of the rotor, snapped, "O.Q. Charge set!" - -"Range," said Gunner mechanically, "_Fire!_" The beam blasted away. -Then, and only then, did the old fighter seem to realize what had -happened. His leathery old face crinkled, and he stared at Rocky in -bewilderment. "Hey, wait a minute! What's goin' on here? Puffessor, -where did _you_ ever learn to prime-load a Mallory rotor?" - -"The same place," grunted Rocky, "you saw a purple bird with six green -wings and a lavender tail! Stop loafing! Let's give that beast another -bellyful. Charge set!" - -"Range," said Gunner automatically, "_Fire!_" A slow grin overspread -his face. "Comets! Looks like I pulled the wrong guy's leg, hey?" - - * * * * * - -But not long did Rocky work with the gun-crew. Came another buzz from -Milligan, aloft. And this time the S.I.D. sergeant's news was worse -than ever before. - -"It's no good, Rocky. Neither the groundfire nor our aerial blasts -are having any effect on him. Heat-beams don't even make his muscles -twitch, and as for physical ordnance--the shells don't even penetrate -his hide." - -Rocky cried, "But there has to be some way to stop him, Bud! He's -practically on top of New Boston now. After that, he'll turn on the -Patrol Base--" - -"And crush us all out," conceded Bud dolefully, "like a bad kid -stamping out an ant-heap. That's all we are to him. Just so many ants. -No, there's only one way left. The Flight Leader has decided we've got -to use ourselves as human shells, Rocky. Bullets won't harm him, but -if we can smash these ships into some vulnerable spot ... his eyes ... -perhaps we can kill him before we ... we...." - -"_Wait!_" cried Rocky. "_Ants! That's it!_ Not _ants_--but _Antaeus_! -Bud, listen carefully! Those craft are equipped with repulsor beams?" - -"Why--why, yes, but--" - -"Then contact your Flight Leader immediately. Tell him these are -orders. As an S.I.D. agent it is your privilege to take over any -command in case of urgency. I want the three ships of your flight to -turn on their repulsor beams to maximum strength--and bear down on the -Colossus!" - -"B--but, Rocky--" - -"Do as I say!" - -"Y--yeah, sure. But if they don't lift him?" - -"Don't be an ass! Repulsors are used to move asteroids from -trade-lanes, aren't they? Colossus is huge, but no bigger than -thousands of asteroids! They'll lift him off the face of this world!" - -"And--and then?" - -"Then we shall see," said Rocky grimly, "if I have saved us, or just -given us a few minutes' grace. If I'm wrong, he'll fight his way free -as soon as the repulsors wear down. But if I'm right--" - -"Well?" - -"I've got to be right! And now--get going!" - -"Y--yessir!" gulped Bud obediently, and disconnected to contact the -Flight Commander of the spacevessels. - -Thus it was that a few moments later, as Rocky and Gunner lay in their -pit watching hopefully, as the unceasing throngs continued to block the -safeway, casting fearful looks back over their shoulders as they fled -from one doomed place to another, that the five ships gathered together -momentarily ... then separated ... then converged on the Colossus in -a narrow V--their prows invisibly pouring repulsor radiation at the -gigantic creature. - -The reaction of Colossus was the only thing which assured Rocky his -plan was being carried out. For the repulsor radiation was colorless. -But as the ships neared Colossus, he bent, momentarily, at the middle -as if he had suffered a surprise thrust in the belly or groin. Then an -expression of anger crossed his features. - -[Illustration: _Anger filled Colossus' face; he flailed with both -arms._] - -The ships were coming in beneath the protection of a cloud-bank, but -Colossus spotted them. He flailed a whiplike arm at them as a pettish -child might sweep at bothersome flies ... but to no avail. The speedy -craft swirled away, but kept their prows pointed at his midriff. - -Again Colossus struck at them, and smashed one. Then a new idea -struck him. Reaching above his head, by sheer force he tugged from a -satellitic course about Titan a rogue rock of tremendous size. A rock -which must have been every bit of fifteen hundred feet in diameter, a -shard of matter hewn into a perfect sphere by long ages in the Rings of -Saturn. - -This he clutched and aimed at the spacecraft. Let it be hurled upon -them, Rocky knew, and in an instant every spark of life would be dashed -from existence as the metal walls of the ships were beaten flat. - - * * * * * - -But the sphere was not hurled! It was the Colossus who gave way ... not -the ships! The cumulative pressure of the repulsor beams caused him to -yield, bend, stagger! He tried to regain his balance with a lurching -stride forward ... and thus it was that the twin towers, pride of New -Boston, were destroyed. Colossus' left foot descended crushingly upon -the buildings ... and when it withdrew a moment later, a yawning hole -gaped where had been city streets ... a hole partly filled with the -crumbled masonry of the once-proud skyscrapers.... - -But Colossus staggered back one step ... and another ... and still -another. Then one foot slipped into the air-_and did not descend_! -After it went the other foot. And Colossus _was off the ground_! Off -the ground and being pressed farther and farther out into space with -every passing moment! - -A great cheer ... a cheer which had in it half a sob ... rose from -the safeway beside the gunnery-pit. Rocky Russell, glancing up at the -hordes who had turned to behold this last-moment salvation, felt a -moment of pain strike at his heart. - -Saved! A world ... and all these ... saved. But the one most important -person in this or any world.... - -And then he saw her! She had been fighting beside him in this very -pit ... weary, disheveled, eyes haggard ... but still, to him, -beautiful! And it could not have been mere coincidence that she saw him -at the same moment. Their eyes met ... and no longer was there need -for words. Both knew what the other was thinking ... both accepted the -decisions of their hearts gladly. Without a word she turned and fled -into the circle of his arms. - -While up above, Bud Mulligan was signaling desperately, "Rocky! CX, -Rocky Russell. Dammittahell, where are you? What do we do now? Our -beams can't hold this mountain up here forever? What do you want us -to--_Great guns of grief!_" - -Colossus ... _dwindled_! Like a tinfoil effigy held over a flame, his -tremendous bulk began to slough away. It did not fall off in chunks or -clots. There was no destruction of his flesh, not horrid streams of -blood flowing from open wounds. Colossus simply ... _disappeared_! - -A mile-high roaring monster, pinned on invisible repulsor beams ... -then a half-mile creature screaming in panic ... then a massive Thing a -thousand ... five hundred ... fifty ... five ... two feet tall. Then a -small, gray, shapeless wisp hanging like a shredded tatter in space ... -a sudden, silent puff of flame ... then nothing.... - -_So found its final resting place the Thing which came from afar. -The Thing which, in accordance with the theories of a scientist It -had never heard of, had journeyed through black space to spawn on a -hospitable world._ - -_So ended another of Nature's blind attempts to convey a life form from -one galaxy to another. So ended--Colossus!_ - - - X - -Afterwards, Bud Mulligan said solemnly, "if you didn't see it very -plain from where you was, I ain't going to explain what it looked like. -It was ... well, ugly. That's all. What _I want_ to know is ... how did -you know it would dry up and crumble away if we could lift it off the -ground, Rocky?" - -Russell grinned. He said, "I suppose you'd be highly chagrined to learn -it was really you who gave me the idea?" - -"Me?" - -"Yes. When you mentioned 'ants'. The word reminded me of a dim thought -I had been trying all day to recapture, without success. It reminded me -of--Antaeus." - -"Aunty _who_?" - -"Antaeus. You'll find his story in the folk-tales of our mother planet, -Earth. Hercules, while engaged on his famous 'Labors' met this giant -in mortal combat. Antaeus was a son of Mother Earth, and from her he -derived his tremendous strength. Each time Hercules felled him, he grew -larger. At last the hero discovered Antaeus' secret, and overcame him -by lifting him completely above his head. Antaeus then dwindled ... as -did our own Colossus...." - -"Comets!" gaped Bud. "That's exactly what happened? But why?" - -"Because," explained his friend, "Colossus devoured not _food_, as we -do--but _energy_! Raw, radiant energy. Titan not only fed him ... it -gave him a _banquet_! The storage-battery which is this planet--" - -"Eh?" interrupted Colonel Graham, startled. "What's that, Captain? -Storage-battery?" - -"Yes, Colonel. That is the secret of Titan, the secret Grossman learned -and hoped to capitalize on after he had frightened or forced all other -Earthmen ... including the Space Patrol ... off this globe. - -"Titan is not simply a world ... it is a gigantic storage-battery! -Its 'acid seas' and 'metallic mountains' are a parallel of the simple -voltaic cell. The mysterious 'T-radiation' is nothing more nor less -than constantly reversing polarity on a gigantic scale. Humans are -destroyed by it for the same reason they die in an electric chair. -Titanians can endure it because they are endowed with the physical -characteristic of being 'poor conductors.' - -"Colossus _fed_ on this steady stream of current, and in him electrical -energy transmuted into matter. How, we do not know ... nor will we -ever, now ... unless some day another of Colossus' race is cast by the -tides of time upon the shores of one of our solar planets...." - -"Which," whispered Bud, "God forbid! Well, it just goes to show you, -everything happens for the best, doesn't it? I mean, if you hadn't -masqueraded as a Doctor of Mythology so we could trap Grossman and -shove him into clink, like he now is--" - -"I might not have guessed," acknowledged Rocky, "the reason for -Colossus' bulk. Yes, that's right. But speaking of myths--" - -He turned to the girl. - -"Oh, it's not _you_ I want to ask, but your father. I would like to -know, Colonel Graham ... have I permission to track down one final -'myth' as 'Dr. Roswell' ... and make her become 'Mrs.' Russell?" - -Colonel Graham smiled. "Well, Captain--" he began. - -But Bud interrupted him, groaning. - -"Migawd, what a terrible pun! You had to stretch that one a mile, -Rocky!" - -It was then that Lynn Graham proved herself a suitable future wife in -all respects. For she smiled gently, and: - -"Well, why not, Bud?" she demanded. "According to the old adage ... 'A -myth is as good as a mile'...." - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Colossus of Chaos, by Nelson S. Bond - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COLOSSUS OF CHAOS *** - -***** This file should be named 62246-8.txt or 62246-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/2/4/62246/ - -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 print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - diff --git a/old/62246-8.zip b/old/62246-8.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 2a5a1de..0000000 --- a/old/62246-8.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62246-h.zip b/old/62246-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index c727cb5..0000000 --- a/old/62246-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62246-h/62246-h.htm b/old/62246-h/62246-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index a02ab54..0000000 --- a/old/62246-h/62246-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2800 +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=iso-8859-1" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of Colossus of Chaos, by Nelson S. Bond. - </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; -} - -.caption p -{ - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0; - margin: 0.25em 0; -} - -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; } -.ph1 { font-size: medium; margin: .83em auto; } - - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Colossus of Chaos, by Nelson S. Bond - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Colossus of Chaos - -Author: Nelson S. Bond - -Release Date: May 27, 2020 [EBook #62246] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COLOSSUS OF CHAOS *** - - - - -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="346" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>Colossus of Chaos</h1> - -<h2>By NELSON S. BOND</h2> - -<p>IT was the evil spawn of lifeless space,<br /> -drifting aimlessly until ITs sinister<br /> -birthing place should come. And finding<br /> -that abode for life, IT grew, sucking<br /> -energy from Terra itself—gathering<br /> -strength for that time when all should<br /> -flee before ITs malign wrath.</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Planet Stories Winter 1942.<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><i>Out of the darkness It came. Out of the grim, bleak, frore, -incalculable depths of outer space, into the empire of light and -warmth ... and life.</i></p> - -<p><i>It was like nothing known to Man. It was round, but not quite round; -It was hard, but not altogether hard; It was cold, but not cold with -the terrible, utter iciness of things which come from Beyond. It was in -motion but It did not move of Its own volition, for It was quiescent, -insensate. It let Itself be carried by the vagrant and unpredictable -whims of a kinetic universe, confident that in a day ... or a -century ... or a thousand, thousand centuries ... the fitful fingers of -chance would find for It a bourne, a resting-place.</i></p> - -<p><i>Out of the night It came ... the endless, inpenetrable night which -spans the void between star and star. Out of one cosmos into another; -out of oblivion into waking horror.</i></p> - -<p><i>No eye beheld Its coming. None saw Its faint, thin, cool iridescence; -no voice lifted to challenge Its arrival on the sixth satellite of the -sixth solar planet. It dropped to earth unwatched, rolled a brief, -sluggish way, then rested in a deep, soft, sandy pit.</i></p> - -<p><i>A gray hoar-frost rimed Its surface as the warmth of a friendly orb -dispelled the frightful chill of space; a pale mist rose from Its -petroid carapace and trembled into the air like a wan and restless -ghost.</i></p> - -<p><i>It had found a home, a lair, a birthing-place. With a slow, ecstatic, -burrowing motion It dug Itself still deeper into the nourishing sands. -It had arrived. It grew....</i></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">I</p> - -<p>"A dangerous place," said the heavy man with ominous deliberation. "A -most dangerous place!" He raised his glass to his nostrils, passed it -back and forth appreciatively, and rolled a single drop of the liqueur -upon his tongue. A smile creased his full, red lips. "Excellent, my -dear Captain!" he approved. "A most superior brandy. Allow me to -congratulate you. Domrémy-Thol '98, I should judge?"</p> - -<p>Captain Burke, skipper of the IPS space-cruiser <i>Gaea</i>, basked in the -sunshine of his passenger's approbation.</p> - -<p>He swirled the liquor in his frosted glass, glanced about the table -with a self-satisfied complacency that was almost ludicrous. Then he -nodded his head slowly, acknowledging the compliment bestowed upon his -judgment in selecting the after-dinned liquor.</p> - -<p>"Allow me," he corrected, "to congratulate you, sir, on a truly -magnificent palate. You have named the exact vine and season. But ... -danger? You spoke of danger?"</p> - -<p>The connoisseur glanced at the young lady across the table and -permitted his eyebrows to arch significantly.</p> - -<p>"Perhaps it would be better to abandon the subject," he suggested. -"After all, I do not wish to cause Miss Graham undue alarm—"</p> - -<p>The girl laughed. She did not seem, noted young Dr. Roswell, occupant -of another seat at the captain's table, the least bit perturbed by -Grossman's shadowy hint of menace. On the contrary, her already vivid -features assumed new color at the scent of danger. Her gray-green -eyes brightened, a flush highlighted the natural golden beauty of her -cheeks; she bent forward interestedly.</p> - -<p>"Please, Mister Grossman ... don't stop because of me. I want to learn -everything I can about Titan. It's going to be my home from now on, you -know. I'll learn sooner or later."</p> - -<p>"Ye-e-es," acknowledged the heavy man grudgingly, "I suppose that is -true. Your father is Commandant of the Space Patrol post at New Boston, -isn't he? Hasn't <i>he</i> warned you of the dangers you face in coming to -live with him?"</p> - -<p>Again the girl laughed.</p> - -<p>"Hardly! You see, he doesn't know I'm coming. He'd have conniption fits -if he knew I were aboard the <i>Gaea</i>. He's a lamb, really, but terribly -old-fashioned. 'Women belong on Earth,' you know ... that sort of -thing. He thinks I'm safe in a Terra boarding-school right now. If he -<i>dreamed</i> I were less than an hour off Titan—well, I'm afraid he'd be -pale violet with anger."</p> - -<p>"And," reproved Grossman sternly, "rightly so. Your father is a wise -man. Titan is no place for a girl of gentle breeding. It is a vile -and treacherous pest-hole. It should never have been opened to Earth -colonists!"</p> - -<p>Rockingham Roswell coughed gently. The young savant was taller than any -man present, and but for the conservative cut of his clothing might -have looked his true weight, but he carried himself in such a way as -to seem more fragile than he really was. His lean, close-shaven cheeks -were pale, and his tow-colored hair was meticulously plastered to his -scalp. He wore thick-lensed, tortoise-shell glasses which he removed -and polished nervously as he spoke.</p> - -<p>"In ... er ... in that case, Mister Grossman, it strikes me as a bit -odd that you should ... er ... have established business headquarters -on the satellite."</p> - -<p>Grossman glanced sharply at the slender man, snapped impatiently, -"A business man cannot always pick and choose his locations, Doctor -Roswell. He must follow the path of empire as it leads. Since there are -Earthmen on Titan, someone must serve them. It is an obligation which -cannot be refused—"</p> - -<p>"Er ... quite!" acknowledged Roswell confusedly. "Job of work to be -done ... noble noble sacrifice ... the white man's burden ... all that -sort of rot ... what?"</p> - -<p>Unaccountably, Grossman flushed. "If you are trying to imply, sir," he -fumed, "that I have any ulterior motive in establishing a trading post -on Titan—"</p> - -<p>"Oh, gracious, no! Nothing of the sort. I wouldn't presume to question -your ... er ... business acumen, Factor. I'm hardly the type, what?" -Roswell smiled a faint, thin, apologetic smile. "I mean I ... er ... I -really don't know much about this sort of thing ... if you know what I -mean...."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Captain Burke stared at the younger man impatiently. A spaceman -toughened in the crucible of action, he had little patience with -such learned young fops as this passenger. His words were polite, as -befitted the skipper of a luxury liner, but his tone was brushed with -acid.</p> - -<p>"If you don't mind, Doctor Roswell, Factor Grossman was about to tell -us something about the hazards of Titan. Well, Mister Grossman?"</p> - -<p>Grossman took another appreciative sip of his brandy, set down the -tulip-glass, and steepled his fingers.</p> - -<p>"Well, the perils of Titan fall into several classes. Geographic, -physiological and racial. In the first place, it is a satellite -approximately the size of Earth's moon ... large enough to sustain -life, but small enough to be influenced by the perturbations not only -of its massive primary, which lies a scant seven hundred and sixty -thousand miles away, but also by the attractive forces of the Ring and -Saturn's eight <i>other</i> satellites.</p> - -<p>"Evidence of this is the peculiarity interwoven orbit trajectories of -Titan and its nearest sister, Hyperion, which sometimes approach each -other perilously close. Were Titan a sphere of pumaceous formation, -like Luna, it would long since have burst into a million fragments -under the impact of these conflicting forces. Fortunately, it is of a -basaltic nature, and consequently reasonably stable.</p> - -<p>"More immediately hazardous are what might be called the physiological -dangers of Titan. These are multifold. To begin with, there is the -so-called 'water' of the orb—"</p> - -<p>"I've read about that," nodded Captain Burke gravely. "Not water at -all, but—"</p> - -<p>"But a deadly corrosive acid," finished the speaker, "yes! Happily, the -'seas' of Titan do not cover such a share of the planet's surface as do -those of Earth; if they did, no life—either flora or fauna—would ever -have developed upon the little world."</p> - -<p>His heavy shoulders shivered.</p> - -<p>"Still ... imagine frothing, tide-swept lakes as large as Lake Erie or -Victoria Nyanza splashing endlessly at shores until inch by inch and -foot by foot those beaches are eroded, rotted, eaten away by the action -of the fluid they contain! These are the 'oceans' of Titan. There are -four of them, fed by subterranean sources we have not yet discovered. -One day they will have completely devoured the parent planet, and Titan -will cease to be."</p> - -<p>"But that day, of course," interposed the girl, "is a long way off. Is -this the only physiological danger?"</p> - -<p>"There is one even <i>more</i> dreadful. The T-radiation."</p> - -<p>"T-radiation? What is that?"</p> - -<p>Grossman smiled mirthlessly.</p> - -<p>"Were I able to tell you, I should be a greater physicist than any who -have so far visited Titan. Dozens of the wisest have come, probed, -pondered, analyzed ... and left Titan none the wiser for their efforts. -Frankly, they do not know! The very name 'T-radiation' is an admission -of their failure. It is simply an abbreviation for 'Titan-radiation.' -It is an electro-magnetic or radioactive emanation lethal to -humans ... that is all they know about it."</p> - -<p>Young Dr. Roswell wiped his spectacles carefully and interrupted, -"But ... er ... but surely, Factor, these physicists were able to -determine the wave-length of the radiation? Did that not tell them—?"</p> - -<p>Grossman said bluntly, almost rudely, "The radiation lies in the -Hertzian range, Doctor Roswell. Does that knowledge help you any? -Perhaps now <i>you</i> can tell us why these rays are deadly?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Roswell flushed and faltered into silence. The girl glanced curiously -at Grossman.</p> - -<p>"Hertzian range, Factor?"</p> - -<p>"Electrical waves ranging between 1 m. and 1/10 c.m. in length, Miss -Graham. Their place is between the so-called 'short waves' of radio -transmission and the infra-red or heat waves. Their existence has been -known, theoretically, for at least two hundred years. But man has never -been able to find a reason, a place, or use for them. Nor have they -been found to occur freely in nature elsewhere than on Titan."</p> - -<p>"And," asked Captain Burke, "you say these waves are deadly to humans? -But how, then, have our colonists managed to win and maintain a -foothold—"</p> - -<p>"I should have said," admitted Grossman, "the waves are deadly to -<i>unshielded</i> humans. Lead sheathing protects the wearer from harm; -consequently men in bulgers are quite safe. And one of the first acts -of the Solar Space Patrolmen, upon reaching Titan, was to project -a series of leaden highways or avenues between the cities of the -satellite. Upon these, and <i>only</i> upon these, may Earthmen travel -unprotected by bulgers. To stray from one of these roadbeds means -exposure to the T-radiation. And that, in turn, means death!"</p> - -<p>Rockingham Roswell shuddered delicately. "Beastly!" he murmured. -"Deuced unpleasant sort of place, what? But, I say ... how about the -natives? How did they manage to survive before our countrymen built -those jolly old lead roadways?"</p> - -<p>Grossman pursed his lips impatiently at the affected young scholar.</p> - -<p>"They, Doctor Roswell," he said scornfully, "are immune to the -T-radiation. Certainly you are acquainted with the principles of -selective breeding?"</p> - -<p>"Selective—oh, yes! Survival of the fittest ... all that -fiddle-di-diddle? You mean the present Titanians <i>are</i> the present -Titanians simply because they adapted their physiques to the -surroundings, eh? Why, rather! That's clear enough. Still, if they can -stand the radiation, I don't see why other humans—"</p> - -<p>"Other <i>humans</i>!" Grossman laughed curtly. "My dear Doctor, it is -obvious you have never seen a Titanian. Human, indeed! Why, it is the -dissimilarity between the Titanians and ourselves which led me to name -racial divergence as among the hazards of life on Titan.</p> - -<p>"The creatures who rule Titan look less like humans than like those -monsters deranged and alcoholic patients see in their dreams. For some -reason—possibly because of this mysterious T-radiation—the denizens -of the world have never bred true. Consequently, there is no way of -foretelling what the child of any two parents may resemble ... though -one almost certain guess is that it will resemble neither parent.</p> - -<p>"Bilateral symmetry is about the only constant human attribute to -be found amongst the Titanians. That and a more or less rudimentary -intelligence ... an instinct which is more akin to animal cunning than -to intellect.</p> - -<p>"Some Titanians walk erect on their hind legs. Some crawl on all fours -or squirm on their bellies. Some resemble the humanoid races of our -planet, or Mars, or Venus. Others look like obscene jungle beasts, -ghouls, fabulous monsters.</p> - -<p>"I have seen Titanians whose leprous flesh covered bones have no -counterpart in the human skeleton ... others with no faces at all, as -we know the meaning of the word ... others who grope blindly along on -tactile tentacles, 'seeing' with foot-long tongues, 'hearing' through -their fingertips.</p> - -<p>"Some there are who look like gigantic, crimson ants; others inch -their way along the streets like hideous, mangled slugs; while yet -again—astonishingly—you may chance upon a Titanian not only similar -in appearance to Earthmen, but as clever and quick in thought as any -terrestrial."</p> - -<p>Grossman paused, nodding significantly. "These," he said, "are the most -dangerous of all."</p> - -<p>"And—" breathed Lynn Graham—"the nature of this danger, Mister -Grossman? Attack, perhaps?"</p> - -<p>"Attack!" The trading-post factor laughed brusquely, harshly. "A mild -word for it. Extermination! The Titanians hate interlopers on their -world—<i>particularly</i> Earthmen—with a smoldering, implacable hatred -inconceivable to a civilized mind. Had they their will, they would hunt -down every Earthman and slaughter him with the most horrible tortures -their warped and twisted minds can devise.</p> - -<p>"Your father, Miss Graham—" Grossman bent forward across the table to -lend emphasis to his warning—"maintains a post on Titan by sufference -only. Because the natives have not the strength nor the weapons with -which to rebel. But if ever the day dawns when they find such strength -or weapons—" Grossman drew a deep breath and shook his head—"Then ... -Lord help all like us who dwell on Titan!"</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">II</p> - -<p><i>It had arrived. It had found a birthing-place. It grew. There in the -lone, lorn silence, in the thawing warmth of the nourishing sands. It -spawned according to its nature.</i></p> - -<p><i>It made no sound save that of a thin, dry grating as Its shell-like -covering stirred against the sides of the pit. But a change had come -upon Its carapace. Its one-time stony surface now was mottled with -yolky cloud; Its one-time opaque walls were now translucent with a -jelly-like shimmering. And from within the egg came the bruit of liquid -movement. Slow, groping movement of Life that would be free. Amorphous -hands scraped and slithered at softening, yielding walls. A single -flake chipped and fell away from the gigantic shell. Another followed -it. Another ... and another.</i></p> - -<p><i>A native of the planet, random-roaming, chanced upon the pit. His -nostrils quivered with the scent of food. With greedy stealth he moved -upon his prey.</i></p> - -<p><i>And then:</i></p> - -<p><i>And then the native witnessed the phenomenon. Wide-eyed with wonder he -beheld the monstrous sight ... the ultimate emergence of the Thing!</i></p> - -<p><i>In his dull, brutelike brain there dawned a dreadful fear. A fear ... -and a great hope! On trembling limbs he fell back from the pit, all -thoughts of food forgotten, turned and scampered to the city whence he -had come.</i></p> - -<p><i>Meanwhile, the sprawling, raw and new-fledged Thing lay gasping in the -sunlight, sucking strength from the depths of the nourishing soil. It -was born. It grew....</i></p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">III</p> - -<p>A strained silence followed the factor's final words. A silence -during which Lynn Graham's troubled gaze swept the table, searching -reassurance—finding none—in the eyes of her dinner companions. A -silence during which Dr. Rockingham Roswell fidgeted uneasily, removed -his glasses, breathed upon them, polished them, and replaced them for -the hundredth time.</p> - -<p>It was Captain Burke who finally broke the spell. He cleared his throat -and rose.</p> - -<p>"Well, I must be getting along to the bridge. We'll be at New Boston -space-port in a matter of minutes now. I suggest that you go to -your staterooms, see that your luggage is in order, and prepare to -disembark."</p> - -<p>Dr. Roswell said hesitantly, "Er ... Captain ... just a moment. -When ... er ... how soon does the <i>Gaea</i> return to Earth?"</p> - -<p>"Return to Earth! But—" Captain Burke turned a blank, uncomprehending -stare upon his questioner—"but you have not yet set foot on Titan!"</p> - -<p>Dr. Roswell shuffled uncomfortably.</p> - -<p>"I ... er ... I quite realize that, Captain. But I ... er ... have -been reconsidering. In view of Mister Grossman's revelations, -I ... er ... am not altogether certain it would be wise to pursue my -investigations...."</p> - -<p>The space skipper's broad, flat features contracted into a grimace of -disdain. Despite his company's instructions to maintain at all times a -respectful mien toward passengers, he permitted contempt to echo in his -voice.</p> - -<p>"You don't mean to say you are <i>afraid</i>, Doctor Roswell!"</p> - -<p>The young man's cheeks flushed. He said, "I ... er ... should not -put it quite that way, sir. However, I prefer not to expose myself -to needless risks. The work I had intended to do on Titan is not -sufficiently important to warrant—"</p> - -<p>Grossman chuckled. The girl, Lynn Graham, looked at the embarrassed -pedant almost pityingly. Captain Burke said, "I am afraid, Doctor -Roswell, it will not be possible to return to Earth immediately. The -<i>Gaea</i> is not returning to Earth."</p> - -<p>"Not returning—"</p> - -<p>"No. We are going on to Uranus to leave a cargo of food and medical -supplies there. We will, however, stop back at Titan in three Solar -Constant weeks. If—" The skipper's voice was openly ironic—"if you -can endure the rigors of the satellite for that length of time, we will -be glad to pick you up on our return trip."</p> - -<p>"I ... er ... I suppose it would not be possible for me to ride with -you to Uranus?"</p> - -<p>"I'm sorry," said Burke decidedly. "The Uranus post is a military zone -forbidden to civilian tourists. I cannot take you there."</p> - -<p>"Then in that case," shrugged Roswell, "I must stay. But you <i>will</i> -stop for me?"</p> - -<p>"I'll stop for you. Meanwhile, you had better make arrangements to stay -somewhere where you will be quite safe." Captain Burke's patience was -quite exhausted. "Miss Graham can, perhaps, prevail upon her father to -allow you to remain at the Space Patrol base."</p> - -<p>The young doctor turned to the girl eagerly.</p> - -<p>"Can you, Miss Graham? I would be <i>most</i> grateful—"</p> - -<p>Lynn Graham nodded, her icy politeness more devastating than forthright -scorn.</p> - -<p>"Yes, Doctor Roswell, I am reasonably sure you can make such -arrangements. I will ask Daddy as soon as we land. And now, gentlemen, -if you will excuse me—"</p> - -<p>She rose and left the dining-hall. Grossman, still chuckling, followed -her example. He stopped at the doorway.</p> - -<p>"Sorry I upset you, Roswell. But cheer up! Three weeks will pass -swiftly. You'll be all right on Titan if you keep your eye peeled and -carry your Haemholtz at all times."</p> - -<p>But his reassurance proved to be just the opposite. For the savant's -lower jaw dropped; he quavered, "Haemholtz! Gracious ... you mean I -should carry a ray-pistol! Oh, mercy! I couldn't <i>think</i> of doing such -a thing!"</p> - -<p>And with a little bleat of dismay, he turned and ran toward his -stateroom. The two men in the dining-hall watched him disappear. Then -Grossman laughed aloud, and Captain Burke snorted.</p> - -<p>"The younger generation! If that's the kind of men Earth is breeding -nowadays, Lord help us all!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Dr. Rockingham Roswell pattered down the long, metal corridors of the -<i>Gaea</i> to his A-deck suite. He fumbled near-sightedly at the vibro-lock -and stumbled into his compartment. But once inside, the door securely -bolted behind him, a change came over him. A change which would have -astonished those who had a few moments before been amused at his -timidity.</p> - -<p>He removed his spectacles, casing them and thrusting them into an -inside pocket. He then removed his coat. Oddly enough, rid of that -closely-tailored garment, his shoulders looked considerably broader, -his chest inches deeper. He drew a deep breath ... much the same sort -of breath as a sponge diver draws when he emerges from the hampering -depths of the sea to the more accustomed world above ... and called a -name.</p> - -<p>"Bud?"</p> - -<p>A figure appeared from the plushy wallows of a divan, waved at the -young professor companionably.</p> - -<p>"Hi, Rocky! Beginnin' to wonder when you was comin' back. We're halfway -to the cradle. What's the good word?"</p> - -<p>"The good word," grinned his informant, "is that I've paved the way. -Miss Graham is going to ask her father to let us stay at the Patrol -base."</p> - -<p>"Huh?" Mulligan looked baffled. "What's good about <i>that</i>? We could've -stayed at the Patrol Base anyway. All you had to do was tell Colonel -Graham who you were—"</p> - -<p>His superior officer groaned in mock despair.</p> - -<p>"Sometimes I wonder if that cranium of yours is good for anything but -a hair-garden! Don't you see, Bud, that the whole scheme depends on -our being <i>invited</i> to become guests at the Patrol base? Of course, -we could present our credentials, walk directly from the <i>Gaea</i> to -headquarters. But it would be a cold tip-off to Grossman that we are -S.I.D. men.</p> - -<p>"As it is, he hasn't got the faintest idea that 'Doctor Rockingham -Roswell' and his 'valet' are members of the Solar Investigation -Department. He thinks I'm a very badly rattled pedagogue, and you're -a mealy-mouthed nonentity. And that is exactly what we want him to -believe—until we get the goods on him."</p> - -<p>"Then he <i>is</i> our man?"</p> - -<p>"I'm practically certain of it now. He's as nervous as a cat. Flared -up the moment I questioned his reasons for living on Titan. As factor -of the New Boston trading-post he is in an ideal situation to stir up -trouble amongst the Titanians. And that's precisely what he has been -doing. We don't know exactly why—yet!—but it's quite clear that for -some reason of his own he wants all Earthmen save himself to leave -Titan."</p> - -<p>"Gold, maybe?" suggested Bud. "Oil? <i>Ekalastron?</i>"</p> - -<p>"No-o-o, I don't think so. The mineralogists would have detected -the presence of any of those when they surveyed Titan. His reason -is something deeper than that—Say! Wait a minute! I wonder if it -possibly—?"</p> - -<p>"Yeah?"</p> - -<p>"No, I'm crazy! It couldn't be that. I happened to think of that -T-radiation. But I don't believe even Grossman is enough of a scientist -to have discovered what it is or how it can be used—if at all. Well, -anyhow—"</p> - -<p>"Anyhow, we're in at the Base. And Grossman doesn't suspect us. That's -part of the job. So—the next move?"</p> - -<p>"We circulate. We move around and ask questions and snoop and pry and -investigate."</p> - -<p>Mulligan grinned.</p> - -<p>"In the good old Rocky Russell tradition, eh?"</p> - -<p>"Who?"</p> - -<p>"Rocky Russell, I said. Don't tell me you've forgot your real name, -chum?"</p> - -<p>Rocky Russell reached into an inside pocket, brought forth a pair of -thick-lensed spectacles, hooked them over his ears. His voice lifted to -a high, gentle, hesitant whine.</p> - -<p>"Oh, mercy me!" he simpered. "Forgotten my ... er ... real name? But, -of course not! I am Doctor Rockingham Roswell. And you are my valet, -Ambrose."</p> - -<p>Bud groaned.</p> - -<p>"Gawd! All the names in creation, and I've got to be called 'Ambrose'!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"So you're a doctor?" asked Colonel Graham. "That's fine. We can use -another doctor on this post. Glad to have you stay with us, Doctor -Roswell."</p> - -<p>Several hours had passed since the <i>Gaea's</i> landing on Titan. In that -time, much had happened. Dr. Roswell and his "man" had made their -adieux to a scornful Captain Burke and a highly amused Factor Grossman, -removed their baggage from the cruiser, and accompanied Lynn Graham to -the S.S.P. base a few miles outside the Titanian city of New Boston.</p> - -<p>There they had witnessed the surprise meeting of the Commandant and his -daughter. Lynn Graham had rightly guessed her father's reaction upon -seeing her. She had erred in only one minor detail. She had expected -him to turn "pale violet" with anger. The color he <i>actually</i> achieved -was somewhere in the apoplectic spectrum between dull scarlet and -turkey red.</p> - -<p>His outraged bellows, replete with invocations to the deities of a -dozen worlds and highly censorable, were audible for a good half mile. -But eventually—when Lynn had pointed out that: (1) she could not -return to the <i>Gaea</i>; (2) she didn't want to return to the <i>Gaea</i>, and -(3) that she had no intention of returning to the <i>Gaea</i> even if she -could—he calmed down a trifle. And in his brusque kiss of greeting was -an affection hardly in keeping with the violence of his protestations.</p> - -<p>It was then that Lynn had introduced Dr. Roswell and his valet, -explaining their desire to stay at the base. Confused and bewildered, -the commandant had agreed. And now the quartet were gathered in the -colonel's private quarters. The colonel, in his own crisp way, was -trying to be friendly.</p> - -<p>"A doctor," he repeated. "That's good. We need the services of a good -doctor around here."</p> - -<p>Rocky smiled feebly.</p> - -<p>"I ... er ... I'm afraid you don't understand, sir. I'm not an M.D., -you know. I'm an ... er ... D.M."</p> - -<p>"D.M.?" repeated Graham wonderingly. "What's that?"</p> - -<p>"A Doctor," explained Rocky, "of Mythology. It's an archeological -degree, rather than a medical one. I'm what ... er ... might be -called a research student. I gather folk tales and ancient legends, -study them, analyze them, and attempt to determine their underlying -meanings." He beamed happily from behind his thick-lensed glasses. -"A most fascinating hobby," he said. "Oh, goodness, yes ... <i>most</i> -fascinating!"</p> - -<p>Colonel Graham stared at him incredulously.</p> - -<p>"Legends! Folk tales! But why on earth—?"</p> - -<p>Red of face, he spluttered into silence. Lynn tried to bridge the -awkward moment.</p> - -<p>"What Daddy means, Doctor Roswell, is—why do you hunt down these -ancient fables? Does your work have any practical value?"</p> - -<p>Rocky's eyebrows arched as if the query caused him a physical pain.</p> - -<p>"Practical value! My dear young lady, of course not! It is purely -a labor of love. Knowledge for the sake of pure knowledge. Er ... -<i>scientia gratia scientiarum</i>, you know ... that sort of thing. Of -course—" He shrugged—"once in a while the research of my learned -colleagues does contribute a share to the understanding of man's more -mundane pursuits, but such occasions are, I hasten to assure you, quite -incidental—"</p> - -<p>Colonel Graham had recovered his composure.</p> - -<p>"Mythology, eh? Well, what sort of legends interest you, Doctor? Fairy -tales? Ghost stories?"</p> - -<p>"Well—no," said Rocky pedantically. "The tales of greatest interest -are those of fabulous monsters ... incredible beings endowed with -fantastic powers or attributes. Such may be found in the mythologies -of any race or clan. Not only on Earth, but on all the planets have we -heard such stories. It is our delight to track down these tales and -unearth the germ of underlying truth which created them."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"You mean," queried the girl, "that behind each folk tale lies a true -cause or event or—or creature?"</p> - -<p>"Exactly. For instance—well, let me see—you are familiar with the -Earthly legend of the phoenix, aren't you?"</p> - -<p>"The bird which was supposed to have had a life-span of a thousand -years, at the end of which time it threw itself into a blazing pyre, -from the ashes of which it was reborn?"</p> - -<p>"That," nodded Dr. Rocky, "is the legend. Quoted as you have told it, -it made no sense to Earthmen for thousands of years. Until, in fact, -the year 1987 A.D., when the first Martian expedition visited the -desert planet. The members of this expedition were amazed to discover -a <i>rara avis</i> upon Mars impervious to extremes of both heat and cold. -A bird with an astonishing life-span in excess of a thousand Earthly -years. In short ... the archetype of the fabled phoenix!"</p> - -<p>Colonel Graham looked interested in spite of himself.</p> - -<p>"By Gad, that's right! The <i>tulalaroo</i> bird. Doesn't mind heat or cold, -either one. Nests in ice or red-hot coals! That's rather interesting, -Doctor. Any more such examples?"</p> - -<p>"Scores! There is the fabled unicorn ... a one-horned gazelle-like -animal certainly not indigenous to Terra, yet it found its place in -the 'unnatural natural history' of not one but a dozen races. Whence -originated this record of a single horned creature we could not -guess .. until we discovered such a beast on Venus.</p> - -<p>"The fabulous 'salamander' turned out to be a common asbestos-like -lizard of Mercury. Aqueous Venus solved for us the problems of the -mermaid, the sea serpent and the undine. On mighty Jupiter mythologists -encountered the fire-breathing saurian which gave rise to the 'dragon' -myth—"</p> - -<p>"But, Doctor Roswell!" gasped the girl, "what does this mean? That once -upon a time, countless centuries ago, beasts of this sort roamed Earth? -Or—?"</p> - -<p>Rocky shook his head soberly.</p> - -<p>"We do not know, Miss Graham. There are a number of equally valid -possibilities. One is that which you have mentioned ... that Earth -was once host to all the types of animal life now to be found on its -sister planets. Another is that aeons ago Earthmen—or the intellectual -rulers of one of the other planets—knew the secret of spacetravel. The -factual records of places visited, strange sights seen, would in the -musty passage of time become mythology.</p> - -<p>"Still another possibility—"</p> - -<p>"Yes?"</p> - -<p>"Well, it is ... er ... a theory recently advanced by an erudite -scholar, but it has elements of fantasy which make it almost -incredible. You are ... er ... familiar with the theories of Svante -Arrhenius?"</p> - -<p>Lynn frowned. "I remember the name faintly. Didn't he claim life -traveled through the ether?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. He put forward, the concept that the life-germ is universally -diffused, constantly emitted from all habitable worlds in the form -of spores which traverse space for years or ages, the majority being -ultimately destroyed by the flame of some blazing star, but some few -finding a resting-place on bodies which have reached the habitable -stage.</p> - -<p>"My colleague has carried this theory a step forward, suggesting it -is not only the fundamental life-germ which thus travels ... but also -individual and distinctive life-forms! He has suggested that from each -and every world in every galaxy, occasionally there set forth into the -void the spores or eggs of every highly developed life-form.</p> - -<p>"Most of these never reach their destinations. Some do. And when these -do, unwilling worlds play host to beasts of nightmare mien."</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">IV</p> - -<p>A babble from the street lifted Humboldt Grossman's eyes from shrewd -perusal of his ledgers. He frowned, rose to investigate the tumult, -then stood stock-still in his tracks, startled as the door of his -private chamber burst open.</p> - -<p>A stunted troll with four, gnarled, dangling arms—a native -Titanian—served as spokesman for the excited group.</p> - -<p>"A marvel, Master!" he jabbered. "Behold, a marvel! It was found by one -of us in the sand-pits north of the city, captured and brought to you -immediately. See, O Master, its height, its bulk, its strength."</p> - -<p>He stood aside and into the room a score of tugging natives hauled a -bound and helpless creature.</p> - -<p>Bound and helpless creature?</p> - -<p>Bound ... yes. With yards upon yards of tightly laced metal cord -which even now stretched taut over bulging sinews. Helpless ... -perhaps. It stood quietly, struggling not, but in its very quiescence -Factor Grossman found a swift, disturbing menace. It was still as -flood-waters are still, ere, angered, they burst with fury the puny -dams constraining them. It was motionless as powerful machines are -motionless before, spurred to deed, they ravage all before them.</p> - -<p>A creature it was. But such a creature. Humanoid in form ... male ... -but dull of eye as a brain-fogged idiot. It was seven feet tall and -half as broad of shoulder, heavy of thigh and iron-strong of bicep. A -Hercules, an Atlas of a man.</p> - -<p>Grossman stared at it strangely. Then he turned to his native visitors.</p> - -<p>"It is a marvel, yes. A great man. But what has it to do with me?"</p> - -<p>The spokesman cringed forward hopefully.</p> - -<p>"It has power, O Master. You promised us vengeance and freedom when we -found you one with strength to fight our cause."</p> - -<p>Grossman's thick face mottled with disdain. "Fool!" he spat. "Do you -call this creature power enough to wage a war? One halfwit giant -against a well-armed garrison of humans? Take it away. This is not the -power I asked for!"</p> - -<p>The Titanian inched another step forward. "Wait, O Master!" he advised. -"Wait and see what we have seen! For not yet do you understand. He is -still growing!"</p> - -<p>Grossman stared, his tiny, pig-like eyes bewildered.</p> - -<p>"Growing? This giant—growing?"</p> - -<p>"<i>Yes, Master. He is as yet a babe! This monster is less than two -hours old....</i>"</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">V</p> - -<p>The gunner said, "This yere now four-headed animule jest sorta wriggled -its fur, like, an' presto! all of a sudden it ain't no beast a-tall, -but a bird! Yessirree, jest as sure as I'm tellin' the gospel truth, -it turned smack into a purple bird with six green wings an' a lavender -tail—"</p> - -<p>He stopped and aimed an accurate stream of Venusian <i>mekel</i>-juice -at a hapless insect. The insect floundered helplessly. So did Rocky -Russell—inwardly—with his desire to laugh out loud. But he restrained -himself, nodding his head sagely as he jotted a transcript of the old -trooper's narrative in his little black notebook.</p> - -<p>At his side, Lynn Graham protested, "Oh, Gunner, but <i>really</i>! I mean -you must be mistaken! Animals simply don't turn into birds and fly -away—"</p> - -<p>"This un did!" swore Gunner solemnly. "Hope to drop dead in my—I -mean, cross my heart! An' that ain't all the curious sights I seen in -my life, neither. If the Puffessor would like to hear another little -story—"</p> - -<p>"I'm sure," said Rocky primly, "it would be most interesting. But I -hate to trouble you—"</p> - -<p>"No trouble, Puffessor. No trouble a-tall. 'Course my throat is gettin' -a mite dry-like from talkin' so much. I might could use a sip o' -water ... or mebbe a drap o' likker to sorta loosen my tongue—"</p> - -<p>Rocky dug deep, and a coin passed between him and his informant. -"Please allow me, Gunner. And many thanks. We'll have another little -chat soon. I'm afraid I must be running along now, though."</p> - -<p>Followed by his two companions, he climbed from the pill-box embrasure -in which he had been interviewing the not-too-reliable old Patrolman.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Two days had passed since "Dr. Roswell" and his aide had taken up -residence in the Base. In that time, Rocky had wandered much, talked -much, and learned much. Slowly he was beginning to gather that -accumulation of facts which, he hoped and believed, would ultimately -bring the weight of the Law to bear on Factor Humboldt Grossman.</p> - -<p>Exactly what Grossman's racket was, he <i>still</i> didn't know. But from -various and sundry sources he had heard tales of the fat man's greed -and cunning, his autocratic domination over a number of the lower-class -Titanians. In his own small way, and to those rebels he had gathered -about him, Humboldt Grossman was emperor of New Boston. It remained to -be proven whether or not he could extend his control to embrace the -whole of the satellite.</p> - -<p>Emerging from the sunken gunnery pit, the trio found themselves upon -one of the metal highways which criss-crossed the little world.</p> - -<p>To their left lay the squat, grim rows of structures which comprised -Fort Beausejour, the Solar Space Patrol base on Titan. Barracks, -administration and ordnance headquarters, messhalls, dumps and depots -mingled in gray heterogeneity behind a strong defense-in-depth -calculated to withstand months of siege or any known form of military -attack.</p> - -<p>To their right, several miles distant at the far end of the highway, -lay the city of New Boston. It was a strange city, a curious -commingling of ancient and modern, savage and cultured, alien and -civilized. It boasted two tremendous skyscrapers of ultramodern design -constructed by Earth colonists, but about and around these, clustered -like mud-daubers' nests, clung rows upon rows, thousands upon countless -thousands, of tiny, dingy, one-story hovels ... the dwellings of the -natives.</p> - -<p>It was into this city Rocky Russell's investigations now led him. He -glanced at his wrist chronometer.</p> - -<p>"Bless my soul! Very nearly time for my appointment with Factor -Grossman. You are sure we can use a roller, Miss Graham?"</p> - -<p>"Positive," answered the girl cheerfully. "I asked Daddy yesterday. You -wait here; I'll get it and come back."</p> - -<p>She moved away, giving the two S.I.D. men their first moment of privacy -in hours. Bud Mulligan sighed and fumbled for a cigarette.</p> - -<p>"So we're really gonna get to see Grossman at last? Good! How'd he -sound when you audioed him for an interview?"</p> - -<p>"Friendly enough," answered Rocky. "He said he was very busy, but he'd -be glad to give me a few minutes."</p> - -<p>"Did he know what you wanted?"</p> - -<p>Rocky grinned a slow, lopsided grin. "Everybody on Titan knows by now," -he drawled, "that there's a myth-chasing crackpot roaming loose. I'm -Public Joke No. One. Which suits me just fine."</p> - -<p>"Yeah," snorted Bud disgustedly, "but when this job's done, I'm gonna -backtrack and do a little plain and fancy nose-punchin'! Like that old -spacerat we talked to a few minutes ago—did you ever hear such lyin' -in your life? A bird with purple wings an'—"</p> - -<p>"Cheer up!" chuckled Rocky. "Gunner thought he was giving me the -runaround, and for a generally unimaginative old codger he didn't do -such a bad job of yarn spinning. He'd be surprised to learn, though, -that his wild story is not half so fantastic as some of the honest -tales I've heard since I began this masquerade."</p> - -<p>Bud nodded grudgingly.</p> - -<p>"That's true enough. An', boy, I really got to hand it to you. You talk -that Doctor-o'-Mythology patter like you really <i>was</i> one. Sometimes -you sound like you really believed in it yourself!"</p> - -<p>"And the funny part of it is," said Rocky, "I almost <i>do</i>! As for -talking the patter ... well, no wonder! I studied comparative -mythologies for three solid months under the best experts in the field -before I undertook this job, Bud. I know more about hamadryads and -demigods and winged horses than old man Bulfinch himself! Well—" He -nodded significantly, and his voice lifted to the high-pitched tones of -"Dr. Rockingham Roswell"—"here comes Lynn. Off we go!"</p> - -<p>Bud shot a swift, appraising glance at him. "Oh-ho! So it's 'Lynn', -now, eh?"</p> - -<p>Fortunately, Rocky Russell did not have time to concoct an alibi for -that slip of the tongue. Because the roller was drawing up beside them, -Lynn was motioning them in. And in a few minutes they were on their way -to New Boston.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"You understand," said Factor Grossman, "I have never <i>seen</i> this -creature myself, Dr. Roswell. I am merely repeating the description -given me by some of my friends."</p> - -<p>Rocky nodded, busily jotting in his ubiquitous black notebook the facts -just told him by the fat man. "A furry animal," he repeated, "with the -netherparts of a horse and the torso of a human. Two curly black -horns ... cloven hoofs ... is occasionally glimpsed in damp, woodland -dells ... excellent!"</p> - -<p>He looked up, smiling. "Very interesting, sir. You have perhaps -already noted the similarity between this ... er ... thing and the -'Centaur' of Greek mythology? Amazing, isn't it, that we should find -the same ... er ... legendary monster on two worlds separated by so -many millions of miles? Well, we must organize an expedition to search -for this creature. Now, have you any other fables to add to my little -collection?"</p> - -<p>He poised his pencil expectantly, his eyes vaguely eager and excited.</p> - -<p>"We-e-ell, let me see—" Grossman stroked a sleek, fleshy jaw—"I heard -one the other day about—Yes? What is it, Grushl?"</p> - -<p>A Titanian had pressed open the door of the factor's private office. He -glanced at the guests nervously.</p> - -<p>"If you please, sir—the Thing-that-Grows! It has broken its—"</p> - -<p>"<i>That will do!</i>" Grossman's voice crackled like the snap of a -bulldozer's whip. He rose hastily, bowed apology to his visitors. "If -you will excuse me a moment—"</p> - -<p>He strode to the door, propelled his underling out of sight and -hearing. The three guests stared after him in astonishment.</p> - -<p>"Well!" exclaimed Lynn Graham. "Whatever came over him so quickly? Why, -he turned positively pale!"</p> - -<p>"You're telling me?" grunted Bud. "He looked like he seen his -grandmother's ghost ... or his own. What did that guy say? -'Thing-that-Grows'? What would <i>that</i> be? And what would it break?"</p> - -<p>"Shhh!" warned Rocky. "He's coming back.... Ah, there Factor! -Everything all right?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Grossman had been gone but a few seconds, but in that time a change had -come over him. His eyes were dark with ... Rocky could not tell just -what. Excitement? Or fear? A thin film of perspiration overspread his -cheeks, his forehead, his upper lip. He tried to put reassurance into -his voice, but the effort didn't quite jell.</p> - -<p>"Quite all right, Doctor. A little trouble with ... with a small -horticultural experiment we are conducting. But I'm afraid I must ask -you to leave now. I have work to do."</p> - -<p>Rocky said, "If I ... er ... can be of any help—?"</p> - -<p>"No. Thank you very much, but this is work of an ... er ... -experimental nature. Company business, you know." The Factor bustled -them to the door. "We will meet again. Good afternoon."</p> - -<p>And almost before they had stammered their confused farewells, he had -waved to them and lumbered off.</p> - -<p>"Well!" said Lynn. "I must say that's the quickest brush-off I ever -got ... if not the smoothest."</p> - -<p>"Horticultural experiment," mused Rocky. "Mmm-hmmm! It's possible, of -course, but ... I wonder. Bud ... er ... I mean, Ambrose—"</p> - -<p>"Yeah?" said Ambrose.</p> - -<p>"I think I'll stay here in New Boston for a few more hours. I'd like -to ... er ... study the native quarters. Perhaps you would be kind -enough to escort Miss Graham back to the Fort?"</p> - -<p>"Certainly," nodded Bud. "A pleasure. But—"</p> - -<p>Lynn Graham had been staring from one to the other of the two men -querulously. Now she declared herself. "Oh, no!" she stated flatly. -"You don't get rid of <i>me</i> so easily as all that. Doctor Roswell—just -what's going on here?"</p> - -<p>Rocky fumbled for his glasses.</p> - -<p>"Er ... going on, Miss Graham? I don't understand—"</p> - -<p>"Neither do I—which is just why I'm asking. First Grossman goes into -a mild panic; now you two are acting like the masked strangers in Act -Two. Not to mention the fact—" the girl pointed out shrewdly—"that -for a few minutes you quite forgot to talk like a college professor ... -and addressed your alleged 'valet' as 'Bud'—"</p> - -<p>Rocky did remove his glasses. But this time he did not breathe on them, -wipe them, and replace them as was the habit of "Dr. Roswell." Instead, -he shoved them out of sight, and grinned at the girl. When he spoke it -was in his natural voice.</p> - -<p>"All right, Miss Lynn," he said, "you win. I pulled a boner. Now I -might as well come clean. I am not Doctor Rockingham Roswell at all. My -name is Russell ... Rocky Russell ... and I'm here on Titan to—"</p> - -<p>But not at that moment did he tell Lynn Graham who he was, and his -purpose on the satellite. For suddenly he paused in midsentence, his -jaw dropping open, and his eyes widening to match.</p> - -<p>"Lord!" he gasped. "Look ... look at <i>that</i>!"</p> - -<p>The others, too, had turned to determine the origin of the rumbling -sound. Now they saw it. A tremendous motor-roller trundling down the -main thoroughfare of New Boston. A heavy roller bearing a ponderous -burden ... a single, gigantic item. The appearance and purpose of this -item was unmistakable, but its size....</p> - -<p>"Manacles!" croaked Bud. "But ... but who ever heard of manacles that -size! <i>That Thing is twenty feet in circumference!</i>"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">VI</p> - -<p>Humboldt Grossman entered the cavern cautiously. It was dark in there, -but not altogether dark. The ever-present luminescence of the chamber -walls lent an eerie glow by which could be seen the giant figure -huddled at the far end. There had been bonds upon the wrists and ankles -of this figure, but now the frayed ends of snapped hawsers dangled -loosely as the creature pawed fretfully at adamant walls and ceiling.</p> - -<p>At sight of the monster, Grossman faltered, stunned. To the Titanian -behind him he choked hoarsely, "He—he still grows!"</p> - -<p>"Yes, Master. Already he must crouch to avoid being crushed by the -cavern's roof. Each hour he grows faster. In a day ... half a day ... -perhaps less ... he will die in here if we do not let him out."</p> - -<p>Grossman smiled. It was not a pleasant smile.</p> - -<p>"Have no fear. Before that time, he will be outside—under my -control!" He stepped forward into the cave. The creature's eyes turned -questioningly toward this tiny mote of life which dared approach -him thus, stretched forth a hand to crush the annoying insect. But -from a curiously-shapen tube in the insect's claw leaped a lancet -of flame. A gout of red agony that scorched and blistered his palm. -The giant howled and pulled his hand away. Grossman smiled. Good! -Who holds an adversary in fear of pain possesses a slave. Now, if -only the creature were telepathic—"You!" he thought, his thought -directed and intensified by the menavisal unit in his helmet, "have you -intelligence? Can you understand me?"</p> - -<p>The giant's answer came back sluggishly.</p> - -<p>"<i>I can ... understand.</i>"</p> - -<p>"That is well. Then listen to me, and mark well my words. I am Master -here. Do you acknowledge that?"</p> - -<p>The creature stirred restlessly. "Master? I accept no Master. I am -Master of mine own will."</p> - -<p>Grossman pressed the grip of his Haemholtz. A flash of livid lightning -seared the subterranean chamber. Grossman challenged, "You defy the -Master of the fire-that-bites?"</p> - -<p>The giant cringed against the farthest wall. "Nay!" he conceded. "You -are Master. I am your servant."</p> - -<p>"It is well you understand. For there is work to be done. When it is -accomplished, then you will be freed. Hear now, huge one, what is -expected of you...."</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">VII</p> - -<p>"Manacles!" repeated Rocky Russell, "Manacles twenty feet in -circumference! But that—that's impossible! Handcuffs for a normal -six-foot man measure about six <i>inches</i> in circumference. Twenty foot -manacles would be used on someone <i>two hundred and forty feet tall</i>!"</p> - -<p>"Always assuming of course," Lynn pointed out, "that these gyves are to -be used on a <i>man</i>. Which isn't very likely. Much more possible that -they were constructed for some beast ... some tremendous animal—"</p> - -<p>"True," admitted Rocky. "But even so—imagine the size of that animal! -Well, that settles it. Bud, I want you to take Miss Graham back to the -fort immediately."</p> - -<p>"And you?"</p> - -<p>"I'm going to follow that roller."</p> - -<p>"But there may be danger—"</p> - -<p>"There undoubtedly <i>is</i> danger," replied Rocky grimly, "directed at -the Patrol ... perhaps the whole of Titan. Those manacles are somehow -associated with Grossman's secret. I've got to learn how. You can help -best by racing back to Beausejour and warning Colonel Graham to be on -guard against any eventuality. Keep your portable vocoder tuned to our -private wave-length. If and when I learn anything important I'll send -it on to you. O.Q.?"</p> - -<p>Bud shrugged helplessly.</p> - -<p>"You're the boss. But I'd rather stay here with you and—"</p> - -<p>"Get going! Oh—when you reach the Base, take off the lid. Tell Colonel -Graham who we are."</p> - -<p>"And if it's not too much trouble," interrupted Lynn Graham, "would you -mind telling me <i>now</i>?"</p> - -<p>Rocky grinned at her, for the last time using Dr. Roswell's high whine, -"Oh, mercy, Miss Graham, you mustn't be impatient. Ambrose will tell -you as you ride."</p> - -<p>"<i>Ambrose!</i>" fumed Bud. "Ambrose be damned—!" But he was talking to -empty space. Rocky had already disappeared down the avenue after the -gyve-laden roller.</p> - -<p>Fortunately the roller, groaning under its ponderous burden, was not -moving very fast. Rocky, though on foot, was able to keep it within -sight without too obviously appearing to be following it. In the -character of Dr. Rockingham Roswell, already known and amusing to the -Titanians, he dawdled through the city five hundred yards or so in the -wake of the burdened vehicle.</p> - -<p>Through business streets he followed it, where eyes turned to follow -its passage and furtive Titanians whispered to each other behind -concealing palms, and—as the squalid little shops thinned out—into -the suburban residential districts ... finally quite out of the city -proper.</p> - -<p>Out here it was practically impossible to follow the truck without -being noticed. Once the city's artificial foliage was left behind, the -landscape of Titan's countryside stretched stark and severe so far -as the eye could see ... its drab, sandy monotony broken only by an -occasional dune, its dull sameness embellished only by the silvery span -of roadbed upon which humans must travel to live on Titan.</p> - -<p>By dropping far behind the roller, Rocky was able to keep it in sight -for a little while longer. But then his efforts came suddenly to -naught as the driver of the truck—a Titanian—swerved completely off -the lead highway and began rolling across the barren desert toward a -hummock outlined on the horizon some miles distant.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Lacking a bulger, Rocky was stopped cold. No way to follow, now. But he -waited and watched a while longer to assure himself that the swollen -rise of ground <i>was</i> the roller's destination, then strolled back into -New Boston.</p> - -<p>Here he sought the privacy of a 'fresher, and called Bud on the -vocoder. Mulligan answered immediately.</p> - -<p>"Yeah, Rocky? Everything all right?"</p> - -<p>"Everything's all <i>wrong</i>! The confounded roller left the highway and -plowed across the gray-and-nasty. Having no desire to be cooked into -frizzled beef, I gave up the chase."</p> - -<p>"That's tough, Chief. What do we do now?"</p> - -<p>"I," said Rocky, "stay right here. You load a couple of bulgers in a -roller and come charging back here as fast as you can. I <i>still</i> want -to find out what Grossman's hiding in those hills that needs to be tied -up with twenty-foot bands of forged steel."</p> - -<p>"O.Q." said Bud. "Sit tight. I'll pick you up in three shakes."</p> - -<p>"Make it two!"</p> - -<p>"One," chuckled Bud. "I'm practically on my way now."</p> - -<p>He was as good as his word. Rocky had only finished one cigarette when -a blue S.S.P. roller came tearing up the highway from Fort Beausejour. -Bud jumped out, bulger-clad and carrying a second protective suit for -his comrade.</p> - -<p>"Here you are, pal. Where do we go from here?"</p> - -<p>"Out of town on the east highway. I'll show you. A hill rising out -of—Hey, wait a minute! Who's driving this crate?"</p> - -<p>Bud looked embarrassed.</p> - -<p>"Oh—she is!"</p> - -<p>"She?"</p> - -<p>"Miss Graham. She—"</p> - -<p>"—refused," chimed in Lynn Graham, "to be left out of it. Indeed I -did. Captain Russell, you ought to be ashamed of yourself, deceiving -us the way you did. When the Sergeant, here, told me who you <i>really</i> -were, and what you were doing here, I almost <i>died</i> with excitement! -And to think that you, a Captain in the S.I.D., pretended to be a -mythologist! It's the funniest thing—"</p> - -<p>"Miss Graham," interrupted Rocky impatiently, "there is nothing at all -amusing about the job we are engaged in. It is, moreover, no work in -which a girl should be involved. You would oblige me by returning to -the Fort on the first transport bus—"</p> - -<p>"Oh, no! This is a Patrol roller, and I requisitioned it in my own -name. Either I drive it or—" Stubbornly—"or it doesn't roll!"</p> - -<p>"Very well, then. You may take us as far as the desert path. But there -we leave you. And now, let's get going. We have wasted enough time as -it is."</p> - -<p>Rocky motioned Bud into the roller. A few seconds later they were -speeding noiselessly out on the highway toward the spot where Rocky had -seen the truck leave the road.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Russell had been keeping an eye on his chronometer for the past little -while, estimating the number of daylight minutes left to him. On this -little satellite there was no such thing as dusk or twilight. At ninety -million miles from Sol, there was little enough sunlight. Titan's main -radiance came not from the Sun, but from its own parent planet which, a -huge, shining platter in the sky, gathered up and reflected to its tiny -satellite the thin illumination from afar ... for all the world like a -gigantic, reflecting mirror.</p> - -<p>Titan revolved on its axis in fifteen hours, twenty-three minutes. -Almost the whole of its day period had elapsed now. Shortly....</p> - -<p>Yes, even as he studied out the problem, night came suddenly and -completely to this part of Titan. It descended instantaneously, -snuffing out the light as a finger presses the wick of a candle. Only -the stars remained, glowing white in the rich, jet vastness of outer -space.</p> - -<p>The girl reached toward the dashboard instinctively, but Rocky's hand -clasped about her wrist.</p> - -<p>"No! Don't!"</p> - -<p>"But—but I was only going to turn on the lights."</p> - -<p>"I know. But you mustn't. We're getting very close to the spot now. -Can you see to drive without them?"</p> - -<p>"Why, I—I guess so," said Lynn dubiously. She was surprised, herself, -to learn that she could. "Why, yes! The road stands out like a dark -ribbon against the sands on either side. Isn't that strange?"</p> - -<p>"Not so strange at that," grunted Rocky. "I'm beginning to get an idea -about the mysterious T-radiation of this planet. I may be completely -wrong, of course, but so far my theory fits all the facts I've -observed. There's something I would like to know, though. Grossman told -us the soil killed humans. I wonder <i>how</i> they die?"</p> - -<p>"I can answer that. Daddy told me the first day I was here. He was -warning me against ever leaving the shielded areas ... the Fort, the -city, the roads. He said that if they wander onto the soil of Titan -without protection, humans just shrivel up and crumble into dust -like—like mummies!"</p> - -<p>"Like mummies, eh!" grunted Rocky. He sounded quite well satisfied. -"Mmm-hmm! Then <i>that</i> fits, too. Yes, I think I'm beginning to -understand a lot of things ... including the reason Factor Grossman -would like to rid this little world of all competitors—"</p> - -<p>"Well, don't keep secrets!" snapped Bud. "We'd like to know, too. -What's it all about?"</p> - -<p>"No time now. There's the hill out yonder. Pull up here, Miss Lynn. -Here's where we leave you."</p> - -<p>Lynn stopped the roller obediently. But as Bud and Rocky climbed out -she asked, "What do you want me to do now? Can't I come with you?"</p> - -<p>"No. You turn the roller around and wait here. We have no idea what -we're going to buck up against. We may have to retreat—suddenly. If -so, I'll fire three blasts on my Haemholtz. Two short, one long. If -you see that signal, get ready to start moving. We'll come on the -double-quick. But if we're being pursued too closely to make it—"</p> - -<p>"Yes?"</p> - -<p>"Then don't wait for us!" ordered Rocky.</p> - -<p>"Head for the Base and bring the Patrolmen. Understand?"</p> - -<p>"All but one thing," complained the girl. "Why not send for a platoon -of Patrolmen right now? Why wait until it is too late?"</p> - -<p>"Because," explained Rocky patiently, "despite our suspicions, we have -as yet no actual <i>proof</i> that the factor is involved in anything shady. -The Patrol is an organization sworn to maintain the Law, not to violate -it, riding roughshod over the rights and privileges of citizens.</p> - -<p>"When we are certain—as I fully expect we shall be shortly—that -Grossman is implicated in some illegal scheme <i>then</i> we can call in the -Patrol. But until that time—"</p> - -<p>"Until that time," broke in an oily, taunting voice, "you will play the -part of quixotic fools, eh, my dear Doctor? But has it never occurred -to you that by the time you get the proof you want ... it may be too -late to summon help?"</p> - -<p>Rocky whirled, as did his two companions. From the side of the road, -where they had lain in dark concealment behind a low escarpment, rose -a circle of shadowy figures. The largest of these, a heavy man looming -even greater in his protective bulger, approached them. In his left -hand he held a flash; its rays glinted upon still another instrument in -his right hand ... the tube of a Haemholtz burner held steadily upon -them. All recognized the newcomer's voice at once.</p> - -<p>"<i>Grossman!</i>"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">VIII</p> - -<p>In the gloom, Grossman's features could not be seen behind the -quartzite view-pane of his bulger, but by the thick satisfaction in his -voice, Rocky could guess the complacent smirk lingering on his over-red -lips.</p> - -<p>"Yes, my friends," he acknowledged, "Grossman. This is somewhat of a -reversal, no? The one you came to apprehend has captured you. My dear -Doctor Roswell, did you consider me a perfect fool? Did you not know -the driver of my roller would report to me that you had followed him to -this spot?"</p> - -<p>Rocky said levelly, "Not 'Doctor Roswell,' Grossman. My name is -Russell. Captain Russell of the S.I.D. And it is my duty to advise you -that you stand self-convicted of armed assault upon the persons of -legal officers engaged in the performance of their duties. Anything you -say may later be used against you."</p> - -<p>Grossman laughed.</p> - -<p>"My soul, Captain, you <i>are</i> a cool one! Not the same man at all as -the learned doctor who was afraid of firearms! It is too bad you have -blundered into this situation. I rather admire your effrontery. We -could have been friends, I think."</p> - -<p>"The question," said Rocky dryly, "is open to argument."</p> - -<p>Lynn Graham bridled, "This is all very high-handed, Mister Grossman, -and very mysterious. What is all this talk of 'capturing' someone? What -do you intend to do with us?"</p> - -<p>Grossman said soothingly, "Have no fear, Miss Graham, you will come -to no harm. But I fear that for the present I shall be compelled to -take you into—well, shall we call it, 'protective custody'? You see, -I have—ah—<i>certain plans</i>. It would not do for these plans to be -overthrown at the final moment. Therefore, I must request you to be my -guests until I have succeeded in gaining my objective—"</p> - -<p>"Which is," interrupted Rocky harshly, "complete control of Titan?"</p> - -<p>"Exactly, Captain Russell."</p> - -<p>"And its wealth."</p> - -<p>"And its—" Grossman stopped abruptly, the tone of his voice altering. -"Ah! Then you know?"</p> - -<p>"Enough," said Russell. "Enough to warn you, Grossman, that it won't -work. This isn't the first time, you know, that an individual has tried -to discard interplanetary law and seize control of some rich plum. The -penal colonies are full of ambitious men like yourself who thought they -could defy the Space Control. But it won't work, Grossman. No man, or -group of men, wields sufficient power to defeat the forces of justice -and order—"</p> - -<p>Grossman chuckled again, this time delightedly.</p> - -<p>"You know a little, Captain—yes. But not enough! Titan will be -mine—and soon!—because I have found an ally powerful enough to win me -my demands. You doubt? Very well, you shall see for yourself. Come!"</p> - -<p>He spun to his little coterie of followers, snapped commands in the -strange, guttural tongue of Titan. The oddly assorted creatures, some -humanoid in form, some frighteningly animalistic, formed a rough guard -about Rocky and Bud. Grossman hesitated before Lynn.</p> - -<p>"You have no protective suit? That is unfortunate. It would, of course, -be fatal for you to accompany us across the sands without one. Yet I -cannot permit you to go free—Grushl!"</p> - -<p>"Yes, Master?"</p> - -<p>"Take the girl to my office building in the city and keep her there -until I come. She must not escape, nor may she communicate with any -other humans. You understand?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, Master."</p> - -<p>"Very well. Take her away. And now, gentlemen, if you are quite -ready—Forward, march!"</p> - -<p>The Titanians behind Bud and Rocky prodded. Helpless in the face of -vastly superior odds, the two S.I.D. men stumbled forward off the -highway and across the rough desert, toward the hill dully gleaming a -short distance away.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Seated at the controls of the tiny roller, Lynn Graham was thinking -furiously as she drove. Obviously there was no chance of escaping so -long as that flabby-fleshed parody of manhood crouched behind her with -a Haemholtz leveled on the small of her back. Yet somehow she must get -away ... get to the Fort and bring the Patrol....</p> - -<p>Guile, that was her only chance. Take advantage of the slow-thinking -Titanian's inferior mentality. She turned and smiled back over her -shoulder.</p> - -<p>"Have you ever been to the Patrol Base before?" she asked pleasantly.</p> - -<p>Grushl answered mechanically, "Yes. Many times—" Then the implication -of her words penetrated his brute brain. "Before? But we are not going -to the Patrol Base."</p> - -<p>"Maybe," retorted Lynn airily, "<i>you're</i> not, but <i>I</i> am. Just as fast -as this roller will carry me."</p> - -<p>Grushl's heavy brows gathered in perplexity.</p> - -<p>"But, no! You are to drive to the office building, there await the -Master."</p> - -<p>Lynn laughed. "What nonsense! So long as I am the driver of this -roller, I will take it where I wish."</p> - -<p>"Then," said Grushl thoughtfully, "I will be forced to shoot you. You -must not escape."</p> - -<p>"But you can't do that," Lynn pointed out shrewdly. "Factor Grossman -said nothing about shooting me. He ordered that I was to be kept safely -until he came."</p> - -<p>"Yes," pondered the Titanian, "that is true. But I see no other way -to—"</p> - -<p>"I am afraid you will have to let me drive to Fort Beausejour. So long -as I am driving, there is nothing you can do to prevent me taking the -roller where I wish."</p> - -<p>Grushl, who had been wrestling laboriously with the problem, now -suddenly saw the light. His deepset eyes brightened. "Oh, no! There is -another way!" he cried triumphantly. "<i>I</i> will drive the roller!"</p> - -<p>"B-but—" cried Lynn.</p> - -<p>"That is the solution. Stop the roller. You and I will change places. I -will drive; you will move back here."</p> - -<p>Obediently, Lynn drew the car to a halt, slipped from the driver's -cubicle as the Titanian moved from the rear seat to take her place. -Grushl smiled at her complacently. "You see?" he boasted. "It is really -very simple. Now I can stop the roller wherever I wish. The Master will -be obeyed." He reached for the controls laying his Haemholtz on the -cushion beside him as he did so. That was what Lynn had been waiting -for. In one sudden motion she leaned forward, scooped up the weapon.</p> - -<p>"Sorry, Grushl!" she cried. "But it's you or me—"</p> - -<p>She slashed the tube down hard upon the Titanian's scalp. Grushl -groaned once, heavily—and sagged. His hands, falling away, dragged -at the steering control-stick. In an instant the car jerked into -convulsive motion, charged toward the edge of the road.</p> - -<p>Lynn screamed and tugged at the door beside her. In a moment more she -would have been carried out across the deadly sands without a shield of -any sort. But just as the roller left the road, the girl threw herself -through the door ... fell sprawling on the edge of the roadbed.</p> - -<p>The roller bounced out fifty ... a hundred ... two hundred yards into -the desert-land ... then stalled. It lay there, a dark form dimly -outlined against the thin iridescence of the soil, a silent vehicle -bearing a single, unconscious occupant.</p> - -<p>Lynn Graham stared at it dolefully for a few moments. Then, -because there was no use crying over spilt milk—or lost means of -transportation—she turned and hurried toward the city as quickly as -possible ... afoot.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>As they approached the hill in the darkness, the two S.I.D. men were -aware of much activity going on around them. They heard the cries of -foremen, the grunts of laborers, the chuff-chuff of old-fashioned -combustion engines, and the high, shrill whining of a single -highpowered atomotor.</p> - -<p>Rocky glanced at the New Boston factor inquisitively.</p> - -<p>"Mining, Grossman—already?"</p> - -<p>Grossman chuckled.</p> - -<p>"Mining, yes. But not for what you think. Before we mine for wealth, we -must mine for power."</p> - -<p>"Mine for power?"</p> - -<p>"You shall see in a moment what I mean." Grossman motioned one of -his native aides to him. "Ho, there! He is secure? The mighty one is -shackled as I commanded?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, O Master. He is bound wrist and ankle."</p> - -<p>"Good! And the excavation?"</p> - -<p>"Proceeds on schedule, Master. By dawn it should be finished."</p> - -<p>"That is well. For if he still grows—"</p> - -<p>"He does, O Master!"</p> - -<p>"—dawn will be none too soon. The cavern will no longer hold him."</p> - -<p>Bud whispered to his friend and superior, "Say, what goes on here? What -are they talking about?"</p> - -<p>"If I'm not greatly mistaken," answered Rocky, "the thing for which -those manacles were made."</p> - -<p>Verification of his guess came almost immediately. Again their guards -prodded them forward, and behind Grossman they entered a passageway -dipping into the side of the hill. Through an ancient tunnel, damp and -malodorous, they marched, debouching finally into a gigantic cavern ... -a huge bubble of emptiness blown into the solid rock in some forgotten -geologic age of change.</p> - -<p>And there at last before them stood....</p> - -<p>No ... it did not stand. There was no longer room for it to stand -upright in an underground cavern whose roof was but three hundred feet -high. It crouched. It knelt upon all fours like a great, mute beast; -knelt and stared with dumbly questioning eyes at the tiny motes now -entering its lair to look upon it.</p> - -<p>It had been secured, as the Titanian had said, with great metal -manacles, from the welded joints of which stretched mighty chains so -huge that a man might walk upright through a single loop. Its wrists -were also gyved, and a length of chain swung between the two.</p> - -<p>But it made no effort to fight these bonds. It just crouched there in -the strange semi-gloom, watching with pale-gleaming eyes the movements -of its self-proclaimed Master.</p> - -<p>Subconsciously Rocky Russell had been expecting just some such -revelation as this. Even so, it was one case where realization of an -idea far surpassed speculation. A gasp of sheer astonishment wrenched -itself from his lips; he stared at the giant with shocked incredulity.</p> - -<p>"Colossus!" he choked. "Lord—the Colossus himself, come to life! -Grossman, where did you find this—?"</p> - -<p>Grossman smiled urbanely.</p> - -<p>"Not a bad name for him, Captain. Your brief period of masquerade as a -mythologist apparently left some impression on you. Colossus—yes! But -this time no brainless monster of brass. A living creature, intelligent -and obedient to my commands. You, there!" He turned and addressed his -slave, again utilizing the menavisal unit. "You know your orders? You -know what must be done?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The creature had telepathic power commensurate with its bulk. The -mental answer came rolling into the brains of the Earthmen with almost -audible force.</p> - -<p>"<i>I know my orders. I know what must be done.</i>"</p> - -<p>"And who is Master? Whose will must be obeyed?"</p> - -<p>This, thought Rocky with swift distaste, was sheer braggadocio, and -typical of Grossman. It was not necessary to bludgeon a servile answer -out of the gigantic captive. He had already proven his point.</p> - -<p>But if the question had been intended to elicit a humble deference, it -failed in its purpose. For the Colossus did not answer. Instead, it -continued to stare down at its accoster mutely, speculatively. Almost, -thought Rocky, defiantly.</p> - -<p>"Well?" repeated Grossman. "Who is Master here?"</p> - -<p>And this time, whipping a tube from his holster, he accompanied -the question with a rapier-like lash of fire that swept across the -Colossus' hurriedly upraised palm. For at sight of the gun, at the -crackle of the heat-beam, the giant had begun to stammer a hasty -answer—</p> - -<p>"<i>You, O Master! You are Master! You—</i>"</p> - -<p>And then, as suddenly as it had begun—it stopped! And over its -features spread a strange, strained look. What that expression meant, -Rocky could not guess. It seemed to mirror surprise. Vast, pleased -surprise. The giant lifted the palm across which Grossman's ray had -swept and studied it with sluggish interest. It drew a finger of its -other hand across what should be a badly burned piece of flesh ... and -began smiling. It was an evil smile. There was no mirth in it. Just -grim, savage exultation. And determination!</p> - -<p>Then deliberately it reached forward—and attempted to grasp Grossman!</p> - -<p>This time it was the Factor who fell back hurriedly. A cry burst -from his lips, he pointed the Haemholtz at the giant and coldly, -murderously, turned its ray to the maximum concentration. The air of -the confined quarters seethed and crackled with blistering heat as the -livid flame blasted its way to its target.</p> - -<p>But the Colossus ... <i>laughed</i>!</p> - -<p>It was the first time human ears had ever heard a sound from that -inhuman throat. Nor did those who heard it ever want to hear it again. -From those great, gaping lips towering yards above them peeled a -deep-pitched torrent like the simultaneous rolling of a thousand summer -thunders. It was a sound to batter, blast and deafen the eardrums. -Were it not for the bulgers in which they were clad, the Earthen would -in that moment have been stricken with instantaneous deafness. As it -was, Rocky's ears rang fearsomely with the vibrations of the Colossus' -laughter, muted, as the sound was, through his helmet diaphragm.</p> - -<p>And Grossman's flame ... meant nothing. The Colossus ignored it as if -it were a dancing sunbeam briefly flickering across his flesh. Again he -stretched forth an avid, clutching hand....</p> - -<p>Grossman screamed aloud in panic fear ... and ran! Into the narrow -tunnel he darted, where that mighty hand could not follow and close -about him. Through the tunnel, out and up from the depths of the -underground cavern. Behind him ran the unguarded duo he had called his -captives.</p> - -<p>At the mouth of the tunnel, attracted by the tumult, were gathered a -knot of Titanians. To these Grossman panted swift commands.</p> - -<p>"The mouth of the tunnel ... close and block it immediately. The -Colossus has gone mad. And the excavation, stop working on it!"</p> - -<p>"But, Master ... it is almost finished!"</p> - -<p>"All the worse! Fill it in again. He must not break free. He -will destroy us all!" Grossman turned to Rocky and pawed at him -beseechingly. "Russell, call the Base! Tell the Colonel to send men -here ... guns! This creature—"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Russell said sternly, "Rather sudden change of heart, Grossman. A few -short minutes ago the Colossus was your ally, the aide through whose -efforts you were going to force the Patrol off Titan and gain sole -possession for yourself."</p> - -<p>"That doesn't matter now. I was ambitious ... yes. I had dreams of -being a king, an emperor. You know why, Russell. You are a clever man. -You guessed the reason for the T-radiation. But I did not dream, when -the egg was hatched two days ago, that its occupant would continue to -grow ... and <i>grow</i> ... and GROW!" Grossman's voice rose hysterically. -"It is a madness from space, come to kill us all. I thought at first I -could use It, bend It to my will. It was afraid of flame. But now It -has grown too large, Its flesh too thick, to mind such puny weapons. -It is strong, Russell ... inconceivably strong. It is practically -invulnerable—"</p> - -<p>Bud said, "But what you're doing ought to hold it in check. If you bury -it alive ... don't feed it..."</p> - -<p>"Feed it!" Grossman laughed mirthlessly. "It doesn't <i>need</i> feeding! -Don't you understand ... it has never been fed a mouthful in its life!"</p> - -<p>"Never been—!" Rocky stared at the shaking Factor. "But—but do you -realize what that means? It does not eat—yet it continues to grow. -From <i>somewhere</i> it must be deriving the nourishment to gorge its -cells. From somewhere—"</p> - -<p>"Rocky!" Bud's voice interrupted him suddenly. It was a voice cracked -with terror and strain. "Rocky—quick! We've got to get out of here! -Look! The earth! Quaking—"</p> - -<p>His warning was superfluous. All present had experienced the trembling -at the same time, a violent, insistent rocking of the soil beneath -their feet. Now gaunt Titanians, panic-stricken, were fleeing in all -directions. Grossman had stumbled and fallen to his knees. Rocky bent -over him, lifted him by main force and howled into his ear,</p> - -<p>"A roller, Grossman! You must have a private roller somewhere around -here! Where is it?"</p> - -<p>"O-over there!" The Factor pointed uncertainly at a gray bulk dim in -the gloom.</p> - -<p>"Then come on!" snapped Rocky. "We've got to get to New Boston!"</p> - -<p>"N-new Boston? The city? But—but why? We want to get to the Patrol -Base—"</p> - -<p>"New Boston," Rocky grated, "first. That's where you sent Lynn -Graham—remember? Gad! I didn't think he could do it! But he is! Start -this roller, Grossman, and let's get out of here—quick! Look! The -Colossus—"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The others stared, and a little whimper escaped Grossman's slack lips -as he saw the final act of the drama which had begun with the trembling -of the earth beneath them.</p> - -<p>The thin iridiscence of the hillside was seamed and cracked with a -myriad of tiny black veins. The whole hummock quivered and trembled as -though stricken with some petrologic ague. And then, suddenly, with a -crash like that of rolling doom, the whole crown of the hill seemed -to erupt explosively before them. Gigantic boulders ripped loose from -ancient bedrock and raced wildly down tattered slopes. A myriad tiny -fragments burst skyward, sifted down as a hail of deadly debris. There -came the rending, tearing, grating sound of stone grinding against -stone ... cacophonous background for the cries of maddened Titanians, -the screech of roller motors roaring into action, the moans of injured -and dying natives. Then—</p> - -<p>Then Colossus burst from the womb of the hampering earth! Rose to stand -upright in the prison he had outgrown. He shook himself, and detritus -scattered about the terrified watchers. He raised a great palm, and -with demoniac deliberation brought it squarely down upon a tiny band -of huddled and terrified natives. When he lifted his palm again ... it -dripped redly!</p> - -<p>Rocky thrust the fumbling Grossman from the controls. "Move over! Let -me at the stick—"</p> - -<p>In a flash he had started the roller's motor, sent the speedster -tearing headlong and recklessly across the broken desert flooring. -Not a moment too soon. For the Colossus, having once shed blood, now -swung into a literal orgy of savage destruction. Like a huge, brainless -automaton he flailed the hillside about him clean of every moving -thing ... beating with gigantic, steel-hard fists at anything and -everything he saw, until that thing lay like a flattened pulp upon the -ground.</p> - -<p>And all the while horrendous laughter peeled incessantly from his -contorted lips. Laughter which carried to New Boston, miles away; even -to the Patrol Base beyond the city. Laughter which struck terror into -the hearts of listeners who did not know as yet—happily!—whence it -came, or the awful fate which lay in store for them.</p> - -<p>For Colossus wearied, now, of lingering in his pit. He placed a palm -on either side of the chasm he had opened for his escape, and vaulted -easily to the surface. The enormous manacles with which his captors had -hoped to hold him dangled uselessly. The ground shuddered beneath him. -Where his feet met earth they forced depressions. Colossus was drawing -sustenance, now, at ever-increasing speed from the soil which fed -his odd, unnatural appetite. Already he was taller than New Boston's -highest building. More than a quarter mile he towered into the air. And -still he grew....</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">IX</p> - -<p>Lynn Graham, plodding at long and weary last into the outskirts of -the city, wondered again—with the vague, dull incuriosity which was -the only emotion of which her exhausted brain was capable—what had -been the meaning of those sounds she had heard from the desert wastes -behind her a few hours ago.</p> - -<p>It was all very mysterious ... mysterious and alarming. First had come -the wails. Not wails, really, but dreadful, ear-splitting howls like -the bellowing of some monstrous beast. Then out of the darkness behind -her had come hurtling a small roller. A madly ricocheting vehicle -without lights. She had attempted to signal the driver ... but in vain. -As well try to hitch a ride on a runaway comet as on that speeding car.</p> - -<p>And now? Now she was entering a city which ought to be asleep, but, -instead, was seething with furious activity. Lights shone from the -windows of buildings, shacks, stores. Crowds congregated at corners, -huddled groups of frightened figures that looked astonishingly like -mobs of refugees.</p> - -<p>It was as though a mass-panic had seized the entire city. Earthmen -gathered their families fearfully about them; Titanians scurried, -slithered, hobbled in every direction in helter-skelter confusion. -Vainly Lynn accosted passers-by in search of an explanation. Her -queries were met with terror-numbed stares, with mumbles, with -incomprehensible mouthings.</p> - -<p>"<i>We heard.... Danger approaching.... Someone said.... Must leave the -city.... They told us.... Giant beast.... Death....</i>"</p> - -<p>Despairing of ever learning the truth from such informants, Lynn fought -her way to a public audio booth. After a longer-than-usual wait, her -call was put through. Over the selenoplate she stared into the worried -eyes of her father.</p> - -<p>A prayer of relief and gratitude escaped the Colonel as he recognized -his caller.</p> - -<p>"Lynn! Thank the Lord you're safe! I've been worried sick about you. -And so has that young doctor—"</p> - -<p>"Rocky? You mean he and Bud escaped? They're with you at the base?"</p> - -<p>"Roswell—I mean <i>Russell</i>—is. Mulligan has gone out with the Fleet on -scout patrol."</p> - -<p>"F-fleet?" stammered Lynn. "Scout patrol? Daddy—what <i>is</i> this all -about? I seem to be the only person on this world who doesn't know -what's wrong—"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>A voice at the other end of the wire said politely, "May I, sir?"—and -Colonel Graham's face faded back to be replaced by the grave, -sharp-lined features of the young S.I.D. captain. "Lynn—" he began, -and even in that tense moment Lynn Graham found time to wonder that he -had dropped all pretense of formality—"Lynn, we are all in the gravest -peril. Colossus has broken loose!"</p> - -<p>"Co-colossus?"</p> - -<p>"The <i>Thing</i> for which those manacles were forged. It turned out to -be a giant humanoid. Bud and I saw it. It was more than a thousand -feet tall when it escaped Grossman. Now it has more than doubled that -height!"</p> - -<p>Lynn gasped.</p> - -<p>"But—but where is it?"</p> - -<p>"After it broke from its underground cell it headed west. For almost -seven hours it has been roaming the planet wildly and at will. It -completely destroyed the mining-town of Hawesbury and the villages of -Placer and Dry Ditch."</p> - -<p>"But aren't we doing anything to stop it? It must be destroyed—"</p> - -<p>"Three flights are out looking for it. Two haven't been able to contact -it at all ... the third is unreported. We fear that flight ... found -it!" Russell's voice was more sober than ever. "Lynn ... our weapons -seem to be useless against it. Its skin is incredibly tough, hard, -resistant. Heat does not bother it, and our heaviest HE shells are like -pebbles upon a hippo's hide."</p> - -<p>"But there must be <i>some</i> way—"</p> - -<p>"There has <i>got</i> to be some way," nodded Russell, "for if we don't find -it ... and soon ... Titan will be a dead world, peopled by a single, -monstrous entity. Now—" He abandoned explanations for a more immediate -problem—"you stand tight. I'm coming to New Boston to get you."</p> - -<p>"Oh, that's not necessary. I'll hire a transport."</p> - -<p>"There's no such thing. The road between here and the city is and -has been thronged with refugees for hours. I don't believe there's a -commercial roller left in the city. Because, you see—"</p> - -<p>"Yes?" pressed Lynn as he hesitated.</p> - -<p>"Never mind. I'll be right there for you."</p> - -<p>"You were going to tell me something, Rocky. What?"</p> - -<p>"Well," said Rocky reluctantly, "I guess you'd better know. According -to the seismograph, Colossus has almost completed his circumambulation -of Titan ... and is on his way back toward New Boston. You must be -very, very careful. And now, good-bye! See you later!"</p> - -<p>The circuit faded, and he was gone. Lynn stood for a moment thinking -swiftly. Then she decided. Better to <i>do</i> something than to just sit -waiting ... waiting ... waiting ... in a city gone mad with fear. She -would start toward the Base <i>now</i>, meet Rocky on the way.</p> - -<p>Having made her decision, she turned quickly and took her place in the -jostling throng pressing southward....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Rocky, moving north on the New Boston safeway, as he wormed his roller -through the ever-thickening mass of panicky Titanians and terrified -Earth colonists rushing to the safety of the Base was once again—for -perhaps the hundredth time—trying to grasp that elusive half-thought -which had lurked in the back of his brain ever since Colossus had -broken free.</p> - -<p>Something Grossman had said—Grossman who now cowered in a Patrol cell, -far from the haughty, autocratic figure he had pretended to be—had -brushed a spark in Rocky's mind. But now that spark had dulled, and -Rocky could not recapture it. It had something to do with Colossus ... -it suggested some means of combating....</p> - -<p>"<i>Damnation!</i>"</p> - -<p>The hordes of refugees had been parting like a flesh sea before him -ever since he left the Fort gates. But now the numbers were becoming -so great that he could not move the roller through them except at a -crawl. He realized this, and gave up the unequal struggle. He called an -Earthman to him.</p> - -<p>"Here, you—can you drive a roller?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, indeed, sir!"</p> - -<p>"Then take this back to Colonel Graham at the Fort. Tell him Captain -Russell is going ahead on foot."</p> - -<p>The colonist stared at him strikingly. "You—do you mean you're going -back toward the city, sir? But you can't do that! It—it's suicide. -They say a huge monster, ten miles tall, is coming to smash the city to -pieces—"</p> - -<p>Rocky said tightly, "Never mind that now. You give my message to the -Commandant—<i>understand</i>?" And he climbed from the car and forced his -way against the tide, northward on foot.</p> - -<p>It was as he was pressing along that he thought of Bud Mulligan, who -had gone out with "B" flight in an effort to find and destroy—or at -least delay—Colossus. Thinking of Bud reminded him that they wore on -their persons the means of constant communication. The chances were -greatly against Bud's being on the beam, but it was worth a try. He -took the miniature vocoder from his breast pocket and activated it -on the secret S.I.D. wave-length. Vastly to his surprise, he got an -immediate reply.</p> - -<p>"O.Q., chief! Where in Tophet have you been? I've been buzzing you for -the past hour and a half!"</p> - -<p>Rocky signaled back, "Where are you, Bud?"</p> - -<p>"Look north," ordered Bud, "and east ... about thirty thousand -elevation. If you see five black dots in the sky, they ain't -asterisks—they're us. Flight B, keeping an eye on the Mountain that -Walks Like a Man."</p> - -<p>"Then he—he's in sight?"</p> - -<p>"How can you miss him? He's bigger than the landscape. Can't you see -him yet?"</p> - -<p>"No."</p> - -<p>"Well, I'm afraid you will. He's heading your way now. Keep an eye on -the horizon and—"</p> - -<p>A sudden roar rose from the throngs swarming the safeway. It was a roar -of fear, but deeper even than the note of fear was that of awe. Rocky, -looking up from his vocoder swiftly, beheld two things simultaneously. -First—the dawn of a new day. Saturn-rise, breaking swiftly, suddenly, -over the horizon, brooming all shadows in its path immediately. And the -second phenomenon—</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Colossus! Colossus rising over the horizon ... a head, then mighty -neck, broad shoulders, naked torso ... rising from the other side of -the world like a vast, bestial nightmare. A tremendous Colossus whose -head was so far above the veiled cloudlets of Titan that from time to -time he was forced to bob and weave in order to avoid collision with -the "rogues," those tiny bits of cosmic debris escaped from Saturn's -Ring which besprinkle space in the neighborhood of the girdled planet.</p> - -<p>"Rocky!" Bud was chattering on the vocoder. "Rocky, what's the matter. -CX, Rocky Russell. CX, Rocky Russell.... Are you all right, Rocky?"</p> - -<p>Rocky answered slowly, "I'm all right, Bud. But I just saw him. We all -just saw him. He—he's tremendous!"</p> - -<p>"You're telling me? See them manacles? He's grown so big they've split -in half ... right up the back! They look like the only reason they're -hanging on is because they're imbedded in his flesh! And his height.... -Whew! The navigator here just shot an estimate! Over six thousand feet, -Rocky! Colossus is more than a mile high!"</p> - -<p>Rocky said, "Keep on the beam, Bud, and don't mind if I don't answer -you immediately. I'm fighting my way north on the safeway, hunting for -Lynn. She's in New Boston—"</p> - -<p>"New Boston!" Bud's voice was horror-stricken. "My Lord, no! She -mustn't be, Rocky! That's where he's heading for right now. He can see -it ... he's got a glint in his eye ... a blood-lust.... Oh, great gods -of space.... Rocky!"</p> - -<p>The voice died in a tiny wail.</p> - -<p>Russell needed no explanation of his agonized words. For he, too, saw -the climax of that frightful action. Colossus had climbed completely -over the horizon, now. There was no doubt he had spotted the city. -He seemed fascinated by its twin towers. Like a destructive child -experimenting with some new toy he leaned over, gripped the spire of -the nearest between a massive thumb and forefinger ... and snapped it -off!</p> - -<p>From the shard of stone and metal wherein a few desperate fugitives -had taken refuge dropped tiny motes, tumbling hundreds of feet to -certain, dreadful doom! Rocky could not hear their screams ... but he -could imagine them. One of those black fragments <i>might</i> have been ... -<i>could</i> have been....</p> - -<p>He shook his head doggedly. No! He must not think of such things! Lynn -still lived. <i>Must</i> live!</p> - -<p>Then another sound burst so close to him that for a moment his tense -nerves shrieked in agony. A mighty hissing roar ... the explosive blast -of a rotor-gun going into action. Glancing to his right he found -himself beside the very gun-embrasure wherein yesterday—("<i>Lord, only -yesterday? Not a hundred thousand centuries ago?</i>")—a jovial gunner -had told "Dr. Rockingham Roswell" fabulously genial tales of monstrous -beasts. Could either of them have guessed that today....</p> - -<p>"Gunner!" he cried.</p> - -<p>The old warrior glanced up, identified him amongst the hordes of -refugees. "Oh, you, Puffessor! Come on! I'm short-handed here. Crew -didn't make it afore the attack. If you're still lookin' for fab'lus -monsters, here's y'r chance to git some fust-hand experience—"</p> - -<p>Rocky needed no second invitation. A terrible rage was upon him, now. -Futile to attempt to any longer buck the mob to New Boston still more -than three miles away. If Lynn had been in the city, neither he nor -any man could help her now. The only thing he could do was ... avenge -her....</p> - -<p>He dropped into the pit, and swung instantly into action. "What do you -need here? Oh—short a prime-loader, eh? All right, Gunner—" He spun -toward the charge-rheo, jazzed its fill to max, slammed home the breech -of the rotor, snapped, "O.Q. Charge set!"</p> - -<p>"Range," said Gunner mechanically, "<i>Fire!</i>" The beam blasted away. -Then, and only then, did the old fighter seem to realize what had -happened. His leathery old face crinkled, and he stared at Rocky in -bewilderment. "Hey, wait a minute! What's goin' on here? Puffessor, -where did <i>you</i> ever learn to prime-load a Mallory rotor?"</p> - -<p>"The same place," grunted Rocky, "you saw a purple bird with six green -wings and a lavender tail! Stop loafing! Let's give that beast another -bellyful. Charge set!"</p> - -<p>"Range," said Gunner automatically, "<i>Fire!</i>" A slow grin overspread -his face. "Comets! Looks like I pulled the wrong guy's leg, hey?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>But not long did Rocky work with the gun-crew. Came another buzz from -Milligan, aloft. And this time the S.I.D. sergeant's news was worse -than ever before.</p> - -<p>"It's no good, Rocky. Neither the groundfire nor our aerial blasts -are having any effect on him. Heat-beams don't even make his muscles -twitch, and as for physical ordnance—the shells don't even penetrate -his hide."</p> - -<p>Rocky cried, "But there has to be some way to stop him, Bud! He's -practically on top of New Boston now. After that, he'll turn on the -Patrol Base—"</p> - -<p>"And crush us all out," conceded Bud dolefully, "like a bad kid -stamping out an ant-heap. That's all we are to him. Just so many ants. -No, there's only one way left. The Flight Leader has decided we've got -to use ourselves as human shells, Rocky. Bullets won't harm him, but -if we can smash these ships into some vulnerable spot ... his eyes ... -perhaps we can kill him before we ... we...."</p> - -<p>"<i>Wait!</i>" cried Rocky. "<i>Ants! That's it!</i> Not <i>ants</i>—but <i>Antaeus</i>! -Bud, listen carefully! Those craft are equipped with repulsor beams?"</p> - -<p>"Why—why, yes, but—"</p> - -<p>"Then contact your Flight Leader immediately. Tell him these are -orders. As an S.I.D. agent it is your privilege to take over any -command in case of urgency. I want the three ships of your flight to -turn on their repulsor beams to maximum strength—and bear down on the -Colossus!"</p> - -<p>"B—but, Rocky—"</p> - -<p>"Do as I say!"</p> - -<p>"Y—yeah, sure. But if they don't lift him?"</p> - -<p>"Don't be an ass! Repulsors are used to move asteroids from -trade-lanes, aren't they? Colossus is huge, but no bigger than -thousands of asteroids! They'll lift him off the face of this world!"</p> - -<p>"And—and then?"</p> - -<p>"Then we shall see," said Rocky grimly, "if I have saved us, or just -given us a few minutes' grace. If I'm wrong, he'll fight his way free -as soon as the repulsors wear down. But if I'm right—"</p> - -<p>"Well?"</p> - -<p>"I've got to be right! And now—get going!"</p> - -<p>"Y—yessir!" gulped Bud obediently, and disconnected to contact the -Flight Commander of the spacevessels.</p> - -<p>Thus it was that a few moments later, as Rocky and Gunner lay in their -pit watching hopefully, as the unceasing throngs continued to block the -safeway, casting fearful looks back over their shoulders as they fled -from one doomed place to another, that the five ships gathered together -momentarily ... then separated ... then converged on the Colossus in -a narrow V—their prows invisibly pouring repulsor radiation at the -gigantic creature.</p> - -<p>The reaction of Colossus was the only thing which assured Rocky his -plan was being carried out. For the repulsor radiation was colorless. -But as the ships neared Colossus, he bent, momentarily, at the middle -as if he had suffered a surprise thrust in the belly or groin. Then an -expression of anger crossed his features.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" width="650" height="500" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p><i>Anger filled Colossus' face; he flailed with both arms.</i></p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>The ships were coming in beneath the protection of a cloud-bank, but -Colossus spotted them. He flailed a whiplike arm at them as a pettish -child might sweep at bothersome flies ... but to no avail. The speedy -craft swirled away, but kept their prows pointed at his midriff.</p> - -<p>Again Colossus struck at them, and smashed one. Then a new idea -struck him. Reaching above his head, by sheer force he tugged from a -satellitic course about Titan a rogue rock of tremendous size. A rock -which must have been every bit of fifteen hundred feet in diameter, a -shard of matter hewn into a perfect sphere by long ages in the Rings of -Saturn.</p> - -<p>This he clutched and aimed at the spacecraft. Let it be hurled upon -them, Rocky knew, and in an instant every spark of life would be dashed -from existence as the metal walls of the ships were beaten flat.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>But the sphere was not hurled! It was the Colossus who gave way ... not -the ships! The cumulative pressure of the repulsor beams caused him to -yield, bend, stagger! He tried to regain his balance with a lurching -stride forward ... and thus it was that the twin towers, pride of New -Boston, were destroyed. Colossus' left foot descended crushingly upon -the buildings ... and when it withdrew a moment later, a yawning hole -gaped where had been city streets ... a hole partly filled with the -crumbled masonry of the once-proud skyscrapers....</p> - -<p>But Colossus staggered back one step ... and another ... and still -another. Then one foot slipped into the air-<i>and did not descend</i>! -After it went the other foot. And Colossus <i>was off the ground</i>! Off -the ground and being pressed farther and farther out into space with -every passing moment!</p> - -<p>A great cheer ... a cheer which had in it half a sob ... rose from -the safeway beside the gunnery-pit. Rocky Russell, glancing up at the -hordes who had turned to behold this last-moment salvation, felt a -moment of pain strike at his heart.</p> - -<p>Saved! A world ... and all these ... saved. But the one most important -person in this or any world....</p> - -<p>And then he saw her! She had been fighting beside him in this very -pit ... weary, disheveled, eyes haggard ... but still, to him, -beautiful! And it could not have been mere coincidence that she saw him -at the same moment. Their eyes met ... and no longer was there need -for words. Both knew what the other was thinking ... both accepted the -decisions of their hearts gladly. Without a word she turned and fled -into the circle of his arms.</p> - -<p>While up above, Bud Mulligan was signaling desperately, "Rocky! CX, -Rocky Russell. Dammittahell, where are you? What do we do now? Our -beams can't hold this mountain up here forever? What do you want us -to—<i>Great guns of grief!</i>"</p> - -<p>Colossus ... <i>dwindled</i>! Like a tinfoil effigy held over a flame, his -tremendous bulk began to slough away. It did not fall off in chunks or -clots. There was no destruction of his flesh, not horrid streams of -blood flowing from open wounds. Colossus simply ... <i>disappeared</i>!</p> - -<p>A mile-high roaring monster, pinned on invisible repulsor beams ... -then a half-mile creature screaming in panic ... then a massive Thing a -thousand ... five hundred ... fifty ... five ... two feet tall. Then a -small, gray, shapeless wisp hanging like a shredded tatter in space ... -a sudden, silent puff of flame ... then nothing....</p> - -<p><i>So found its final resting place the Thing which came from afar. -The Thing which, in accordance with the theories of a scientist It -had never heard of, had journeyed through black space to spawn on a -hospitable world.</i></p> - -<p><i>So ended another of Nature's blind attempts to convey a life form from -one galaxy to another. So ended—Colossus!</i></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">X</p> - -<p>Afterwards, Bud Mulligan said solemnly, "if you didn't see it very -plain from where you was, I ain't going to explain what it looked like. -It was ... well, ugly. That's all. What <i>I want</i> to know is ... how did -you know it would dry up and crumble away if we could lift it off the -ground, Rocky?"</p> - -<p>Russell grinned. He said, "I suppose you'd be highly chagrined to learn -it was really you who gave me the idea?"</p> - -<p>"Me?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. When you mentioned 'ants'. The word reminded me of a dim thought -I had been trying all day to recapture, without success. It reminded me -of—Antaeus."</p> - -<p>"Aunty <i>who</i>?"</p> - -<p>"Antaeus. You'll find his story in the folk-tales of our mother planet, -Earth. Hercules, while engaged on his famous 'Labors' met this giant -in mortal combat. Antaeus was a son of Mother Earth, and from her he -derived his tremendous strength. Each time Hercules felled him, he grew -larger. At last the hero discovered Antaeus' secret, and overcame him -by lifting him completely above his head. Antaeus then dwindled ... as -did our own Colossus...."</p> - -<p>"Comets!" gaped Bud. "That's exactly what happened? But why?"</p> - -<p>"Because," explained his friend, "Colossus devoured not <i>food</i>, as we -do—but <i>energy</i>! Raw, radiant energy. Titan not only fed him ... it -gave him a <i>banquet</i>! The storage-battery which is this planet—"</p> - -<p>"Eh?" interrupted Colonel Graham, startled. "What's that, Captain? -Storage-battery?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, Colonel. That is the secret of Titan, the secret Grossman learned -and hoped to capitalize on after he had frightened or forced all other -Earthmen ... including the Space Patrol ... off this globe.</p> - -<p>"Titan is not simply a world ... it is a gigantic storage-battery! -Its 'acid seas' and 'metallic mountains' are a parallel of the simple -voltaic cell. The mysterious 'T-radiation' is nothing more nor less -than constantly reversing polarity on a gigantic scale. Humans are -destroyed by it for the same reason they die in an electric chair. -Titanians can endure it because they are endowed with the physical -characteristic of being 'poor conductors.'</p> - -<p>"Colossus <i>fed</i> on this steady stream of current, and in him electrical -energy transmuted into matter. How, we do not know ... nor will we -ever, now ... unless some day another of Colossus' race is cast by the -tides of time upon the shores of one of our solar planets...."</p> - -<p>"Which," whispered Bud, "God forbid! Well, it just goes to show you, -everything happens for the best, doesn't it? I mean, if you hadn't -masqueraded as a Doctor of Mythology so we could trap Grossman and -shove him into clink, like he now is—"</p> - -<p>"I might not have guessed," acknowledged Rocky, "the reason for -Colossus' bulk. Yes, that's right. But speaking of myths—"</p> - -<p>He turned to the girl.</p> - -<p>"Oh, it's not <i>you</i> I want to ask, but your father. I would like to -know, Colonel Graham ... have I permission to track down one final -'myth' as 'Dr. Roswell' ... and make her become 'Mrs.' Russell?"</p> - -<p>Colonel Graham smiled. "Well, Captain—" he began.</p> - -<p>But Bud interrupted him, groaning.</p> - -<p>"Migawd, what a terrible pun! You had to stretch that one a mile, -Rocky!"</p> - -<p>It was then that Lynn Graham proved herself a suitable future wife in -all respects. For she smiled gently, and:</p> - -<p>"Well, why not, Bud?" she demanded. "According to the old adage ... 'A -myth is as good as a mile'...."</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Colossus of Chaos, by Nelson S. 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