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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..c24affe --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #62253 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/62253) diff --git a/old/62253-h.zip b/old/62253-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index aa3dee1..0000000 --- a/old/62253-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62253-h/62253-h.htm b/old/62253-h/62253-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index c0ded52..0000000 --- a/old/62253-h/62253-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,942 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=us-ascii" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of Star of Panadur, by Albert De Pina And Henry Hasse. - </title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.caption {font-weight: bold;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -div.titlepage { - text-align: center; - page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; -} - -div.titlepage p { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; - font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; - margin-top: 3em; -} - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -Project Gutenberg's Star of Panadur, by Albert dePina and Henry Hasse - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Star of Panadur - -Author: Albert dePina - Henry Hasse - -Release Date: May 28, 2020 [EBook #62253] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STAR OF PANADUR *** - - - - -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="348" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>STAR OF PANADUR</h1> - -<h2>BY ALBERT de PINA AND HENRY HASSE</h2> - -<p>On the barren wastes of Europa, two marooned<br /> -men fought, battling over an animal whose life<br /> -one had saved. There was no fear in the animal's<br /> -eyes—only the gleam of a weird unearthly knowledge<br /> -that foretold the way the fight would end.</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Planet Stories March 1943.<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>"Hugh! Hugh! There's life here ... look ... look at this! Found it in a -cavern!" The shrill voice was exultant and gleeful.</p> - -<p>Hugh Betancourt quickly rose from the fire he tended, and turned -startled eyes on the furry bundle Jim Brannigan grasped firmly by the -scruff of its neck. At first, nothing was visible but the liquid sheen -of the thing's silvery fur; but as Jim roughly thrust it out, Hugh -gave an involuntary gasp of surprise. The creature's small, triangular -face was nothing less than beautiful! Its eyes were soft and large and -luminous, like beryls, set wide apart. Above its broad forehead a short -mane of silver fur, beginning in a widow's peak, fell back cloud-soft -and shimmering. It was about three feet tall, slim, furred to the -throat-line; a strange biped with slender arms and six-fingered hands.</p> - -<p>"Damn it, Jim, go easy! You've all but strangled it! Here give it to -me." Hugh extended his arms.</p> - -<p>"Don't let it get away from you, it's faster than a jack-rabbit," Jim -cautioned, extending the ham-sized hand in which he held the creature. -"Luckily, I surprised it in a sort of cave-like gully, where it -couldn't escape. It means food, Hugh! Lots of food if we can find more -of these animals!"</p> - -<p>For a moment, the incipient madness of many days on this hellish -satellite engulfed Hugh in a wave of nausea. He remembered the -gravity-screen tearing from its pivots, and the space-ship caught in -the tremendous pull of Jupiter; the last desperate try at the controls, -and then the tiny dark bulk of Europa curving up to met them headlong. -There had been cheerless days of biting cold when the tiny satellite -faced the distant pallid sun. There had been nights that were like a -canto out of Dante, as they were bathed in Jupiter's red cold-glow. -More recently, and for more reason, Hugh remembered the dwindling food -supply which had now quite vanished.</p> - -<p>"Yes, food," Hugh echoed Jim's words in a hoarse whisper. He grasped -the soft warm body in his hands with gentle firmness. The creature -did not try to escape, it lay limp and inert with its eyes closed. -"But—but food doesn't quite solve our problem. Unless we can find some -oxide crystal to alloy in the portable smelter, we're sunk. Jim, that -jagged hole in the prow isn't going to repair itself!"</p> - -<p>Jim's ordinarily red face grew redder with anger, until there was no -distinguishing between the color of his hair and that of his face. -"All right," he snarled, "so we need the oxide! For days we've been -searching all over this cold hell for some, and where are we? I still -maintain our immediate problem is food!"</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes, food," Hugh murmured. Why, he wondered vaguely, was he so -reluctant to talk about it while he held this limp warm creature in -his arms? He looked down at it again, and was startled to find himself -staring into its extraordinary eyes. Limpid, brilliant, full of a -semi-human intelligence now, they were scarcely a foot from Hugh's own -eyes—and for a single instant Hugh had the crazy idea that they were -filled with a strange fixity of purpose, almost as if it were trying to -convey something to him there in the appalling silence of Europa.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>A sudden cold came over Hugh that was not the cold of Europa. It took -quite an effort for him to tear his own eyes away, then he laughed and -whispered inquiringly of himself, "Am I going crazy? Maybe this place -is beginning to get me at last. For a moment I thought...."</p> - -<p>He shrugged uneasily.</p> - -<p>"What are you mumbling?" Jim demanded irritably, his huge form bulking -against the bizarre jagged landscape. "I'd have slit that thing's -throat and skinned it already? Here, give it——"</p> - -<p>"Wait, you fool!" Hugh's ordinarily thoughtful, hazel eyes were bright -now and hard, as he drew back from Jim's grasping hand. "We're the -first to find life on Europa, the only ones to see what inhabits it; -and all you can think of is your damned stomach. You can't be starved, -you ate this morning!"</p> - -<p>"Yes, and that was the last of it," Jim snarled. His face was ugly now -and purposeful. "Well, I'm hungry again, and now that I've found these -Europan kangaroos I aim to be fed and kept warm. Notice how fine that -pelt is?"</p> - -<p>Hugh had noticed, indeed. He had noticed even more, the peculiar sheen -and aliveness of it, as if it were surcharged with a definite energy. -As he held the creature close, a warm feeling of well-being slowly -diffused through him. And something, <i>something</i> like a faint echo in -his brain was like a shadowy background to his thoughts. Yes, he knew; -here was food and here was warm fur against the eternal cold of the -satellite. But their space suits protected them in a measure against -the cold, and if necessary they could subsist a few more days without -eating. Perhaps by then they would find some of the rare crystal oxide, -enough to repair their ship and leave. Perhaps....</p> - -<p>It was a long chance, almost an impossibility, and Hugh knew it; but -now, also, he knew what he must do.</p> - -<p>He did it. With a distasteful glance at his now openly-belligerent -partner, he stepped forward. Then with unexpected suddenness he lurched -as if he'd lost his footing on the rough terrain. He stumbled sideways. -He twisted and fell deliberately to the ground. He opened his arms wide.</p> - -<p>It was rather clumsily done, Hugh realized that instantly.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>For an infinitesimal moment, the furry creature sprawled too, immobile, -where Hugh's momentum had flung it. It gazed with an uncanny intensity -into the Earthman's eyes. Then in a single, graceful leap of incredible -speed, it was gone into the growing red haze, as night came on and -Jupiter's macabre glow shattered the surrounding crags.</p> - -<p>"You fool, you utter damned fool!" Jim Brannigan screamed, livid with -rage. "You did that deliberately!" Then his huge body was launching -at Hugh, the great heavy fists lashing out with the force of pistons. -Hugh, lighter but more lithe, had only time to roll to one side and -regain his feet. Then he was ducking the barrage of blows, evading the -murderous rushes, allowing Jim to tire out of his frantic rage. Only -once did Hugh strike a blow, a terrific lashing left into the other's -solar plexus that doubled the red giant into helpless nausea.</p> - -<p>"That's all we need now," Hugh said with a measure of calm, "to maim or -cripple each other. We'll never get back that way. Come out of it, man! -What we've got to do is get that oxide!"</p> - -<p>"What we've got to get is food! You let the only food go that we had!" -Jim Brannigan began to weep, in great racking sobs.</p> - -<p>Merely nerves, temporary hysterical reaction, Hugh decided. Jim wasn't -really hungry yet; he was only anticipating the event. When he got -over this, he would sulk. When he got over that, he would start -scheming, with that unpredictable mind of his. Knowing the man, Hugh -decided to watch him carefully from now on.</p> - -<p>He took Jim's arm and they walked over to the crippled spacer, lying -like a great silver bug with its nose smashed, in the stark hollow -of this ravine. They entered. Hugh walked forward and examined the -thin sheet of berryllium that patched the ship's wounded hull for the -night. He went astern and turned on the generators at quarter speed, to -provide a miserly warmth. On his way back to the inner cabin he stopped -and peered out of a porthole at a now familiar scene: Europa's dark mad -terrain becoming swiftly suffused with Jupiter's red.</p> - -<p>He entered the cabin, glanced at Jim and saw that he was now in the -sulking stage. The hunger problem pressed insistently upon Hugh's own -mind. That little furry creature! In spite of hunger, he was still -glad he had let it escape; but damn it, he wished he knew why! Hugh -thrust the problem from him and glanced again at Jim. Soon Jim's mind, -bordering upon necessity, would begin scheming.</p> - -<p>Hugh knew the man....</p> - -<p>Despite an utter weariness, Hugh didn't sleep through the rest of -that short night. His mind, alert and hunger-clear, wrestled with the -problem of survival in this mad world of snow and silence. In the -opposite beryllium-mesh bunk, Jim snored fitfully, as though rehearsing -in his sleep some violence in his mind.</p> - -<p>Hugh arose slowly, and donned with caution the stiff, heavy space-suit -as protection against the cold. Adjusting the helmet and oxygen tank, -he opened the airlock and ventured out into the Dantesque magnificence -of Europa's night. The red opaline haze had the quality of a waking -nightmare. The great snow crystals were drifting lazily again, -appearing now like livid blotches of ruby. Jupiter loomed like a great -gloating nemesis across the entire ragged horizon.</p> - -<p>Hugh didn't know where he was going. No pre-determined plan guided his -footsteps. There was only a great urgency to leave the spacer and go -somewhere and seek.... Hugh stopped, brushed the brittle red snow from -his face-plate and wished he could wipe the sweat from his brow. Go -where, and seek what? Seek oxide crystals of course, he told himself; -but there was something else now, something strange and powerful that -gripped a part of his mind and urged him on like the fear of madness.</p> - -<p>He stumbled on for hours it seemed, until he was in the fearsome -cavern country. Here the stark, heaven-rearing cliffs were honeycombed -with tortuous caves and gullies and immense grottoes. He entered a -low gallery-like cave that wound in and downward into the mass of a -gigantic cliff.</p> - -<p>Now an unshakable inner dread plucked at his mind and gripped his -throat as he tried to check his precipitate descent, but couldn't. He -no longer seemed possessed of any volition of his own. He shrugged -fatalistically; then he felt a thrill of excitement, as he noticed a -faint luminescence of the surrounding walls. This light increased as he -descended deeper and deeper through widening passages. Then at last, at -the end of a turn a burst of radiance met his eyes.</p> - -<p>He was in a grotto of titanic proportions. The substance of its walls -and distant ceiling gave it the gentle radiance of a sunless day. But -it was a glaucous radiance, ineffably green as the light beneath the -waters of a shallow sea.</p> - -<p>"Holy, roaring comets!" Hugh swore aloud as he stood there quite still, -staring. "By all the Red-Tails on Venus, it's oxide—all of it!" His -voice echoed inside his helmet and beat against his eardrums.</p> - -<p>Yes, it was berryllium oxide gleaming at his feet, crystalline and -powdery just as men had found it for the first time a century before -in the desert wastes of Arizona. The entire floor of the grotto was -covered with it as far as his widening eyes could see. He bent in a -frenzy of joy and scooped up whole handfuls. He half-babbled over it -like a delirious King Midas. He let it trickle fondly through his -fingers in a little glittering flood. Saved! Now they could repair the -ship and return! Return to Earth and tell of this!</p> - -<p>Not until several minutes later did Hugh begin to wonder how he had -come here. With a rush of apprehension, he remembered a cold and -tenacious something that had seized a part of his mind. But now it was -gone and he felt strangely limp and tired.</p> - -<p>He leaped to his feet. Staring around, he wondered if he could retrace -his steps back to the space-ship. And in that precise moment he felt -his mind seized again with a sort of frantic suddenness. There was no -mistaking that very clear warning of, "<i>Danger! Danger!</i>"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" width="397" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>But he could not have acted in time. Even as he spun around he was -unaware of the shadow that lengthened behind him, until it loomed very -near and a part of it lashed out. Not until the last split second, did -Hugh glimpse wild and red-streaked eyes in vivid contrast to the grim -and purposeful face behind a helmet plate. Then the part of the shadow -that was Jim Brannigan's arm, holding something massive like a rock, -completed the swift arc and struck.</p> - -<p>A sun exploded within Hugh's head. Livid flames engulfed him, consumed -him, he tried to cry out but couldn't; then the sun fragments cruelly -withdrew, leaving him helpless in a cold blackness through which he -fell like a plummet to ultimate extinction.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Jim Brannigan stood there tensely for a moment, looking at the man he -had struck down. But only for a moment. His lips quirked into a tight -smile, and his exulting keen eyes took in the cave's glittering expanse.</p> - -<p>"A fortune in oxide crystals," he murmured, "an inexhaustible mine! And -he thought he could cheat me out of it, keep it from me! Good thing I -followed him. Serves him right if I've killed him."</p> - -<p>He didn't seem too worried about it, and he didn't look at Hugh's body -again as he started gathering in the rare crystals.</p> - -<p>"Europa's uncharted, I can claim-deed this whole region! And probably -there's another fortune in furs," he added as he suddenly remembered -the creature he had captured. Already, in his greedy mind's eye, he -saw himself a tycoon, the oxide king, with a corner on furs finer than -anything ever seen on Earth, Venus or Mars.</p> - -<p>This he saw. But what he didn't see were the myriad pairs of burning -beryl eyes peering at him from concealed openings in the opaline walls. -He was not aware of the increasing energy potential being generated by -a growing legion of furred bodies in surrounding caverns, as more and -more Panadurs pressed forward to peer out at him. Around Jim Brannigan -now the frigid atmosphere began to rise. At first it was pleasantly -cool, then warm, and warmer, until it became suffocating.</p> - -<p>Still the silvery-furred Panadurs, in utter silence, generated heat -as their mental forces grew and deliberately united into a single, -increasing potential. Their fur stood erect, an angry violet-silver -now, crackling a little with the intensity of the effort. As a single -unit, they waited, each furry Panadur now touching the other in a -living, livid chain of cumulative power.</p> - -<p>Jim Brannigan ceased his gloating and awoke at last to an indefinable -danger. Swiftly he arose and whirled toward the entrance, peering back -over his shoulder at the danger he could feel, that he knew was there, -but could not see.</p> - -<p>But already it was too late. Now that increasing energy potential, -grown and united into a single purposeful weapon, was being aimed. Jim -Brannigan hadn't taken three steps toward the entrance when suddenly, -silently, intangible as thought, but infinitely more devastating, it -was released! As the devastating bolt struck him, Brannigan collapsed -into a crumpled heap, shattered, silent ... inert.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>For hours that lengthened into days, Hugh Betancourt lay unconscious. -His blanched features were lifeless and cold, there in the same cavern -where Brannigan's treacherous blow had toppled him into oblivion.</p> - -<p>Then, as a hint of color returned to his cheeks, and a slow strength -began to course through his limbs, he regained moments of lucidness; -but they were brief and he always lapsed back into delirium.</p> - -<p>With the wavering unreality of a mirage, vague memories of those -strange furred creatures, encircling him, surged into his mind; they -seemed to have pressed close to him, holding hands. Strange! They -were joined by a line of their fellow Panadurs to a similar circle -surrounding a huddled figure a short distance away. But that was crazy! -And Hugh's mind would slide back into the darkness again.</p> - -<p>Once, he thought one of the Panadurs came and placed its exquisite -face against his chest, and held it there a long time, as if it were -testing the Earthman's metabolism. This seemed so very real! Hugh was -aware of an almost crackling silence and the cave ceiling's unchanging -luminescence.</p> - -<p>Still a third time, he imagined that a silver-gray Panadur, almost -stately in his measured movements, came over to him with a gleaming -jewel in his hand. It was an inch in diameter and the same color as -the creature's eyes, a pale luscent green. Majestically, despite his -diminutive size, he placed the stone over Hugh's heart. Instantly the -gem flamed with the effulgence of a glowing star. The Panadur seemed -satisfied.</p> - -<p>When at last Hugh Betancourt regained full consciousness, and was able -to sit up and stare around him, he realized that he had not been a prey -to delusions. Although he still felt weak, his mind was crystal clear. -Here was the circle of Panadurs still enclosing him. <i>But the circle -had grown</i>, as if a great many more creatures had joined the uncanny -circle in an ecstasy to be in close proximity to the tall earthman. -Their furry, vibrating bodies pressed close to him, and their strange, -fragile hands touched his wrists and throat and face, as they seemed to -caress him with infinite gentleness.</p> - -<p>Waves of sheer energy seemed to envelop him and penetrate to the -deepest recesses of his being, as if by some strange alchemy, these -alien creatures of stark Europa were transmitting to him the elemental -life force itself.</p> - -<p>But strangely enough, that other circle of Panadurs enclosing that -huddled figure over there, in the semi-gloom, was contracting as it -grew smaller and smaller, day by day. Hugh ceased to wonder about all -this as he lay back to gather his strength. He fell into a peaceful -sleep.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>This time when he awoke, it was a profound sense of well-being far -beyond anything he'd ever known. It permeated his body with the -exhilarating glow of a rare Venusian wine.</p> - -<p>One thing, however, still eluded him. He sat up and felt his head -where the blow had fallen. He remembered only the excruciating pain in -the microscopic instant before the rushing darkness came. There was -nothing there now. Not even a scar.</p> - -<p>"A rock from the ceiling must have fallen," he thought. "My luck to be -standing right under it."</p> - -<p>"<i>It was not a rock!</i>"</p> - -<p>The thought came into his mind clear and unmistakable. Then Hugh found -himself staring into the beryl-green eyes of the stately keeper of the -jewel. Like a flash, the scene he had not witnessed, of Jim Brannigan -stalking him from the space-ship, the murderous blow and the vision of -himself lying in a pool of blood on the glittering expanse of oxide -crystals, was etched into his mind by the telepathic power of the -Panadur.</p> - -<p>"We know you would have spared us," came the uncanny stream of thought. -"Your companion captured me when I, as the chosen leader, went to -investigate your arrival. But you deliberately let me go when it meant -your own life. But he, whose fur was like the angry spot of the greater -world, would have destroyed us. We read his thoughts."</p> - -<p>"Telepathy, by Mercury's molten heart!" Hugh exclaimed in awe, dimly -sensing the prodigious mental power of the being. "And we were going -to eat one of them!" He stared around the cave, remembering Jim -Brannigan, and it was apparent that Hugh still didn't realize all that -had occurred. "I suppose that murdering, mercenary scum's left long ago -with the ship, and here I'm stranded! If I ever get my hands on him——"</p> - -<p>"That you will never do."</p> - -<p>Hugh was aware of the Panadur again, and he saw the shadowy copy of a -smile flit over its features.</p> - -<p>"We gave you of our energy," the shimmering silver being transmitted. -"And we gave you of another life that you might have yours again. It -was but justice!"</p> - -<p>"What? What other life?" And then Hugh tottered where he stood, swayed -sickeningly, as the entire meaning burst upon him. He remembered the -scenes in his delirium, when two circles, one of which enclosed him and -another that enclosed a huddled figure, had been formed by Panadurs, -while a living chain of the brooding creatures joined the two circles -together. He shuddered as he remembered that his own circle seemed to -expand as the other inexorably <i>contracted</i>!</p> - -<p>"There was no choice!" The limpid thought-message from the Panadur -impinged upon Hugh's mind. "We know the secret of the release of -electronic energy by the disassociation of electronic and neutronic -balance in the atomic scale. We reverse the vibration of matter and -through magnetic means draw a steady stream of energy—pure energy -from matter in whatever state. In your case, we simply transmitted the -energy content of the red-furred one to you."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Hugh hardly dared to glance in the direction where the huddled figure -had been, but with an effort of will he steeled himself against the -growing nausea and resolutely walked over to the thing.</p> - -<p>He felt his sanity reeling.</p> - -<p>He was brought back to sanity by the Panadur, who, all along, had -communicated with him. Its fragile, six-fingered hand was extended, -palm-upwards and lying on it was a gleaming jewel.</p> - -<p>"Take it and go!" The message came with majestic power, yet there was -a world of kindness in it. "Go back to your ship. You will find its -damage repaired. We have done that for you. With the star of Panadur -you will be guided back as my thought centers upon it. On the day when -you return to our world, gaze upon the star and you will be helped to -find again and gather the crystals you seek. <i>But none from your planet -must ever see us again, or even hear of us!</i>"</p> - -<p>"I promise!" Hugh exclaimed fervently, remembering Jim Brannigan's -intent and that there were many men like Brannigan.</p> - -<p>Slowly Hugh left the cave, clutching the dazzling gem through which -he could feel a directed flow of thought. He was still a little dazed -at this miracle. He wanted to laugh and to cry. But the flooding -realization that his ship, repaired and ready, awaited him; that he was -free to leave this craggy hell of crimson shadows and arctic nights, -left only a vast, singing quiet in his soul, too deep for tears.</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Star of Panadur, by Albert dePina and Henry Hasse - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STAR OF PANADUR *** - -***** This file should be named 62253-h.htm or 62253-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/2/5/62253/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Star of Panadur - -Author: Albert dePina - Henry Hasse - -Release Date: May 28, 2020 [EBook #62253] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STAR OF PANADUR *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - STAR OF PANADUR - - BY ALBERT de PINA AND HENRY HASSE - - On the barren wastes of Europa, two marooned - men fought, battling over an animal whose life - one had saved. There was no fear in the animal's - eyes--only the gleam of a weird unearthly knowledge - that foretold the way the fight would end. - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Planet Stories March 1943. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -"Hugh! Hugh! There's life here ... look ... look at this! Found it in a -cavern!" The shrill voice was exultant and gleeful. - -Hugh Betancourt quickly rose from the fire he tended, and turned -startled eyes on the furry bundle Jim Brannigan grasped firmly by the -scruff of its neck. At first, nothing was visible but the liquid sheen -of the thing's silvery fur; but as Jim roughly thrust it out, Hugh -gave an involuntary gasp of surprise. The creature's small, triangular -face was nothing less than beautiful! Its eyes were soft and large and -luminous, like beryls, set wide apart. Above its broad forehead a short -mane of silver fur, beginning in a widow's peak, fell back cloud-soft -and shimmering. It was about three feet tall, slim, furred to the -throat-line; a strange biped with slender arms and six-fingered hands. - -"Damn it, Jim, go easy! You've all but strangled it! Here give it to -me." Hugh extended his arms. - -"Don't let it get away from you, it's faster than a jack-rabbit," Jim -cautioned, extending the ham-sized hand in which he held the creature. -"Luckily, I surprised it in a sort of cave-like gully, where it -couldn't escape. It means food, Hugh! Lots of food if we can find more -of these animals!" - -For a moment, the incipient madness of many days on this hellish -satellite engulfed Hugh in a wave of nausea. He remembered the -gravity-screen tearing from its pivots, and the space-ship caught in -the tremendous pull of Jupiter; the last desperate try at the controls, -and then the tiny dark bulk of Europa curving up to met them headlong. -There had been cheerless days of biting cold when the tiny satellite -faced the distant pallid sun. There had been nights that were like a -canto out of Dante, as they were bathed in Jupiter's red cold-glow. -More recently, and for more reason, Hugh remembered the dwindling food -supply which had now quite vanished. - -"Yes, food," Hugh echoed Jim's words in a hoarse whisper. He grasped -the soft warm body in his hands with gentle firmness. The creature -did not try to escape, it lay limp and inert with its eyes closed. -"But--but food doesn't quite solve our problem. Unless we can find some -oxide crystal to alloy in the portable smelter, we're sunk. Jim, that -jagged hole in the prow isn't going to repair itself!" - -Jim's ordinarily red face grew redder with anger, until there was no -distinguishing between the color of his hair and that of his face. -"All right," he snarled, "so we need the oxide! For days we've been -searching all over this cold hell for some, and where are we? I still -maintain our immediate problem is food!" - -"Yes, yes, food," Hugh murmured. Why, he wondered vaguely, was he so -reluctant to talk about it while he held this limp warm creature in -his arms? He looked down at it again, and was startled to find himself -staring into its extraordinary eyes. Limpid, brilliant, full of a -semi-human intelligence now, they were scarcely a foot from Hugh's own -eyes--and for a single instant Hugh had the crazy idea that they were -filled with a strange fixity of purpose, almost as if it were trying to -convey something to him there in the appalling silence of Europa. - - * * * * * - -A sudden cold came over Hugh that was not the cold of Europa. It took -quite an effort for him to tear his own eyes away, then he laughed and -whispered inquiringly of himself, "Am I going crazy? Maybe this place -is beginning to get me at last. For a moment I thought...." - -He shrugged uneasily. - -"What are you mumbling?" Jim demanded irritably, his huge form bulking -against the bizarre jagged landscape. "I'd have slit that thing's -throat and skinned it already? Here, give it----" - -"Wait, you fool!" Hugh's ordinarily thoughtful, hazel eyes were bright -now and hard, as he drew back from Jim's grasping hand. "We're the -first to find life on Europa, the only ones to see what inhabits it; -and all you can think of is your damned stomach. You can't be starved, -you ate this morning!" - -"Yes, and that was the last of it," Jim snarled. His face was ugly now -and purposeful. "Well, I'm hungry again, and now that I've found these -Europan kangaroos I aim to be fed and kept warm. Notice how fine that -pelt is?" - -Hugh had noticed, indeed. He had noticed even more, the peculiar sheen -and aliveness of it, as if it were surcharged with a definite energy. -As he held the creature close, a warm feeling of well-being slowly -diffused through him. And something, _something_ like a faint echo in -his brain was like a shadowy background to his thoughts. Yes, he knew; -here was food and here was warm fur against the eternal cold of the -satellite. But their space suits protected them in a measure against -the cold, and if necessary they could subsist a few more days without -eating. Perhaps by then they would find some of the rare crystal oxide, -enough to repair their ship and leave. Perhaps.... - -It was a long chance, almost an impossibility, and Hugh knew it; but -now, also, he knew what he must do. - -He did it. With a distasteful glance at his now openly-belligerent -partner, he stepped forward. Then with unexpected suddenness he lurched -as if he'd lost his footing on the rough terrain. He stumbled sideways. -He twisted and fell deliberately to the ground. He opened his arms wide. - -It was rather clumsily done, Hugh realized that instantly. - - * * * * * - -For an infinitesimal moment, the furry creature sprawled too, immobile, -where Hugh's momentum had flung it. It gazed with an uncanny intensity -into the Earthman's eyes. Then in a single, graceful leap of incredible -speed, it was gone into the growing red haze, as night came on and -Jupiter's macabre glow shattered the surrounding crags. - -"You fool, you utter damned fool!" Jim Brannigan screamed, livid with -rage. "You did that deliberately!" Then his huge body was launching -at Hugh, the great heavy fists lashing out with the force of pistons. -Hugh, lighter but more lithe, had only time to roll to one side and -regain his feet. Then he was ducking the barrage of blows, evading the -murderous rushes, allowing Jim to tire out of his frantic rage. Only -once did Hugh strike a blow, a terrific lashing left into the other's -solar plexus that doubled the red giant into helpless nausea. - -"That's all we need now," Hugh said with a measure of calm, "to maim or -cripple each other. We'll never get back that way. Come out of it, man! -What we've got to do is get that oxide!" - -"What we've got to get is food! You let the only food go that we had!" -Jim Brannigan began to weep, in great racking sobs. - -Merely nerves, temporary hysterical reaction, Hugh decided. Jim wasn't -really hungry yet; he was only anticipating the event. When he got -over this, he would sulk. When he got over that, he would start -scheming, with that unpredictable mind of his. Knowing the man, Hugh -decided to watch him carefully from now on. - -He took Jim's arm and they walked over to the crippled spacer, lying -like a great silver bug with its nose smashed, in the stark hollow -of this ravine. They entered. Hugh walked forward and examined the -thin sheet of berryllium that patched the ship's wounded hull for the -night. He went astern and turned on the generators at quarter speed, to -provide a miserly warmth. On his way back to the inner cabin he stopped -and peered out of a porthole at a now familiar scene: Europa's dark mad -terrain becoming swiftly suffused with Jupiter's red. - -He entered the cabin, glanced at Jim and saw that he was now in the -sulking stage. The hunger problem pressed insistently upon Hugh's own -mind. That little furry creature! In spite of hunger, he was still -glad he had let it escape; but damn it, he wished he knew why! Hugh -thrust the problem from him and glanced again at Jim. Soon Jim's mind, -bordering upon necessity, would begin scheming. - -Hugh knew the man.... - -Despite an utter weariness, Hugh didn't sleep through the rest of -that short night. His mind, alert and hunger-clear, wrestled with the -problem of survival in this mad world of snow and silence. In the -opposite beryllium-mesh bunk, Jim snored fitfully, as though rehearsing -in his sleep some violence in his mind. - -Hugh arose slowly, and donned with caution the stiff, heavy space-suit -as protection against the cold. Adjusting the helmet and oxygen tank, -he opened the airlock and ventured out into the Dantesque magnificence -of Europa's night. The red opaline haze had the quality of a waking -nightmare. The great snow crystals were drifting lazily again, -appearing now like livid blotches of ruby. Jupiter loomed like a great -gloating nemesis across the entire ragged horizon. - -Hugh didn't know where he was going. No pre-determined plan guided his -footsteps. There was only a great urgency to leave the spacer and go -somewhere and seek.... Hugh stopped, brushed the brittle red snow from -his face-plate and wished he could wipe the sweat from his brow. Go -where, and seek what? Seek oxide crystals of course, he told himself; -but there was something else now, something strange and powerful that -gripped a part of his mind and urged him on like the fear of madness. - -He stumbled on for hours it seemed, until he was in the fearsome -cavern country. Here the stark, heaven-rearing cliffs were honeycombed -with tortuous caves and gullies and immense grottoes. He entered a -low gallery-like cave that wound in and downward into the mass of a -gigantic cliff. - -Now an unshakable inner dread plucked at his mind and gripped his -throat as he tried to check his precipitate descent, but couldn't. He -no longer seemed possessed of any volition of his own. He shrugged -fatalistically; then he felt a thrill of excitement, as he noticed a -faint luminescence of the surrounding walls. This light increased as he -descended deeper and deeper through widening passages. Then at last, at -the end of a turn a burst of radiance met his eyes. - -He was in a grotto of titanic proportions. The substance of its walls -and distant ceiling gave it the gentle radiance of a sunless day. But -it was a glaucous radiance, ineffably green as the light beneath the -waters of a shallow sea. - -"Holy, roaring comets!" Hugh swore aloud as he stood there quite still, -staring. "By all the Red-Tails on Venus, it's oxide--all of it!" His -voice echoed inside his helmet and beat against his eardrums. - -Yes, it was berryllium oxide gleaming at his feet, crystalline and -powdery just as men had found it for the first time a century before -in the desert wastes of Arizona. The entire floor of the grotto was -covered with it as far as his widening eyes could see. He bent in a -frenzy of joy and scooped up whole handfuls. He half-babbled over it -like a delirious King Midas. He let it trickle fondly through his -fingers in a little glittering flood. Saved! Now they could repair the -ship and return! Return to Earth and tell of this! - -Not until several minutes later did Hugh begin to wonder how he had -come here. With a rush of apprehension, he remembered a cold and -tenacious something that had seized a part of his mind. But now it was -gone and he felt strangely limp and tired. - -He leaped to his feet. Staring around, he wondered if he could retrace -his steps back to the space-ship. And in that precise moment he felt -his mind seized again with a sort of frantic suddenness. There was no -mistaking that very clear warning of, "_Danger! Danger!_" - -But he could not have acted in time. Even as he spun around he was -unaware of the shadow that lengthened behind him, until it loomed very -near and a part of it lashed out. Not until the last split second, did -Hugh glimpse wild and red-streaked eyes in vivid contrast to the grim -and purposeful face behind a helmet plate. Then the part of the shadow -that was Jim Brannigan's arm, holding something massive like a rock, -completed the swift arc and struck. - -A sun exploded within Hugh's head. Livid flames engulfed him, consumed -him, he tried to cry out but couldn't; then the sun fragments cruelly -withdrew, leaving him helpless in a cold blackness through which he -fell like a plummet to ultimate extinction. - - * * * * * - -Jim Brannigan stood there tensely for a moment, looking at the man he -had struck down. But only for a moment. His lips quirked into a tight -smile, and his exulting keen eyes took in the cave's glittering expanse. - -"A fortune in oxide crystals," he murmured, "an inexhaustible mine! And -he thought he could cheat me out of it, keep it from me! Good thing I -followed him. Serves him right if I've killed him." - -He didn't seem too worried about it, and he didn't look at Hugh's body -again as he started gathering in the rare crystals. - -"Europa's uncharted, I can claim-deed this whole region! And probably -there's another fortune in furs," he added as he suddenly remembered -the creature he had captured. Already, in his greedy mind's eye, he -saw himself a tycoon, the oxide king, with a corner on furs finer than -anything ever seen on Earth, Venus or Mars. - -This he saw. But what he didn't see were the myriad pairs of burning -beryl eyes peering at him from concealed openings in the opaline walls. -He was not aware of the increasing energy potential being generated by -a growing legion of furred bodies in surrounding caverns, as more and -more Panadurs pressed forward to peer out at him. Around Jim Brannigan -now the frigid atmosphere began to rise. At first it was pleasantly -cool, then warm, and warmer, until it became suffocating. - -Still the silvery-furred Panadurs, in utter silence, generated heat -as their mental forces grew and deliberately united into a single, -increasing potential. Their fur stood erect, an angry violet-silver -now, crackling a little with the intensity of the effort. As a single -unit, they waited, each furry Panadur now touching the other in a -living, livid chain of cumulative power. - -Jim Brannigan ceased his gloating and awoke at last to an indefinable -danger. Swiftly he arose and whirled toward the entrance, peering back -over his shoulder at the danger he could feel, that he knew was there, -but could not see. - -But already it was too late. Now that increasing energy potential, -grown and united into a single purposeful weapon, was being aimed. Jim -Brannigan hadn't taken three steps toward the entrance when suddenly, -silently, intangible as thought, but infinitely more devastating, it -was released! As the devastating bolt struck him, Brannigan collapsed -into a crumpled heap, shattered, silent ... inert. - - * * * * * - -For hours that lengthened into days, Hugh Betancourt lay unconscious. -His blanched features were lifeless and cold, there in the same cavern -where Brannigan's treacherous blow had toppled him into oblivion. - -Then, as a hint of color returned to his cheeks, and a slow strength -began to course through his limbs, he regained moments of lucidness; -but they were brief and he always lapsed back into delirium. - -With the wavering unreality of a mirage, vague memories of those -strange furred creatures, encircling him, surged into his mind; they -seemed to have pressed close to him, holding hands. Strange! They -were joined by a line of their fellow Panadurs to a similar circle -surrounding a huddled figure a short distance away. But that was crazy! -And Hugh's mind would slide back into the darkness again. - -Once, he thought one of the Panadurs came and placed its exquisite -face against his chest, and held it there a long time, as if it were -testing the Earthman's metabolism. This seemed so very real! Hugh was -aware of an almost crackling silence and the cave ceiling's unchanging -luminescence. - -Still a third time, he imagined that a silver-gray Panadur, almost -stately in his measured movements, came over to him with a gleaming -jewel in his hand. It was an inch in diameter and the same color as -the creature's eyes, a pale luscent green. Majestically, despite his -diminutive size, he placed the stone over Hugh's heart. Instantly the -gem flamed with the effulgence of a glowing star. The Panadur seemed -satisfied. - -When at last Hugh Betancourt regained full consciousness, and was able -to sit up and stare around him, he realized that he had not been a prey -to delusions. Although he still felt weak, his mind was crystal clear. -Here was the circle of Panadurs still enclosing him. _But the circle -had grown_, as if a great many more creatures had joined the uncanny -circle in an ecstasy to be in close proximity to the tall earthman. -Their furry, vibrating bodies pressed close to him, and their strange, -fragile hands touched his wrists and throat and face, as they seemed to -caress him with infinite gentleness. - -Waves of sheer energy seemed to envelop him and penetrate to the -deepest recesses of his being, as if by some strange alchemy, these -alien creatures of stark Europa were transmitting to him the elemental -life force itself. - -But strangely enough, that other circle of Panadurs enclosing that -huddled figure over there, in the semi-gloom, was contracting as it -grew smaller and smaller, day by day. Hugh ceased to wonder about all -this as he lay back to gather his strength. He fell into a peaceful -sleep. - - * * * * * - -This time when he awoke, it was a profound sense of well-being far -beyond anything he'd ever known. It permeated his body with the -exhilarating glow of a rare Venusian wine. - -One thing, however, still eluded him. He sat up and felt his head -where the blow had fallen. He remembered only the excruciating pain in -the microscopic instant before the rushing darkness came. There was -nothing there now. Not even a scar. - -"A rock from the ceiling must have fallen," he thought. "My luck to be -standing right under it." - -"_It was not a rock!_" - -The thought came into his mind clear and unmistakable. Then Hugh found -himself staring into the beryl-green eyes of the stately keeper of the -jewel. Like a flash, the scene he had not witnessed, of Jim Brannigan -stalking him from the space-ship, the murderous blow and the vision of -himself lying in a pool of blood on the glittering expanse of oxide -crystals, was etched into his mind by the telepathic power of the -Panadur. - -"We know you would have spared us," came the uncanny stream of thought. -"Your companion captured me when I, as the chosen leader, went to -investigate your arrival. But you deliberately let me go when it meant -your own life. But he, whose fur was like the angry spot of the greater -world, would have destroyed us. We read his thoughts." - -"Telepathy, by Mercury's molten heart!" Hugh exclaimed in awe, dimly -sensing the prodigious mental power of the being. "And we were going -to eat one of them!" He stared around the cave, remembering Jim -Brannigan, and it was apparent that Hugh still didn't realize all that -had occurred. "I suppose that murdering, mercenary scum's left long ago -with the ship, and here I'm stranded! If I ever get my hands on him----" - -"That you will never do." - -Hugh was aware of the Panadur again, and he saw the shadowy copy of a -smile flit over its features. - -"We gave you of our energy," the shimmering silver being transmitted. -"And we gave you of another life that you might have yours again. It -was but justice!" - -"What? What other life?" And then Hugh tottered where he stood, swayed -sickeningly, as the entire meaning burst upon him. He remembered the -scenes in his delirium, when two circles, one of which enclosed him and -another that enclosed a huddled figure, had been formed by Panadurs, -while a living chain of the brooding creatures joined the two circles -together. He shuddered as he remembered that his own circle seemed to -expand as the other inexorably _contracted_! - -"There was no choice!" The limpid thought-message from the Panadur -impinged upon Hugh's mind. "We know the secret of the release of -electronic energy by the disassociation of electronic and neutronic -balance in the atomic scale. We reverse the vibration of matter and -through magnetic means draw a steady stream of energy--pure energy -from matter in whatever state. In your case, we simply transmitted the -energy content of the red-furred one to you." - - * * * * * - -Hugh hardly dared to glance in the direction where the huddled figure -had been, but with an effort of will he steeled himself against the -growing nausea and resolutely walked over to the thing. - -He felt his sanity reeling. - -He was brought back to sanity by the Panadur, who, all along, had -communicated with him. Its fragile, six-fingered hand was extended, -palm-upwards and lying on it was a gleaming jewel. - -"Take it and go!" The message came with majestic power, yet there was -a world of kindness in it. "Go back to your ship. You will find its -damage repaired. We have done that for you. With the star of Panadur -you will be guided back as my thought centers upon it. On the day when -you return to our world, gaze upon the star and you will be helped to -find again and gather the crystals you seek. _But none from your planet -must ever see us again, or even hear of us!_" - -"I promise!" Hugh exclaimed fervently, remembering Jim Brannigan's -intent and that there were many men like Brannigan. - -Slowly Hugh left the cave, clutching the dazzling gem through which -he could feel a directed flow of thought. He was still a little dazed -at this miracle. He wanted to laugh and to cry. But the flooding -realization that his ship, repaired and ready, awaited him; that he was -free to leave this craggy hell of crimson shadows and arctic nights, -left only a vast, singing quiet in his soul, too deep for tears. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Star of Panadur, by Albert dePina and Henry Hasse - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STAR OF PANADUR *** - -***** This file should be named 62253.txt or 62253.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/2/5/62253/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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