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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..49445fc --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #64625 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64625) diff --git a/old/64625-0.txt b/old/64625-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 0bc017f..0000000 --- a/old/64625-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1035 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Sidewinders From Sirius, by Fox B. Holden - -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 -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Sidewinders From Sirius - -Author: Fox B. Holden - -Release Date: February 25, 2021 [eBook #64625] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SIDEWINDERS FROM SIRIUS *** - - - - - Sidewinders from SIRIUS - - by Fox B. Holden - - The treacherous aliens from Outer Space gave Earth - six months to surrender or be destroyed ... but - Vice-colonel Gaylord Kram, fearless ace of Terrestrial - Intelligence, had a daring plan: Why not surrender _now_? - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Planet Stories November 1950. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -Gaylord Kram, Vice-colonel of Intelligence, Terrestrial Federal -government, sat pondering one of the worst poker hands he had ever -witnessed, and he had witnessed a goodly number in his 38 years, when -he should have been sweating blood over his tottering government's most -perplexing problem: what to do about the colonists from Sirius and -their G-ray. - -But what could even a Kram do with two deuces, the joker, a five and an -eight-spot, all of different suits? - -The other three Intelligence officers who were taking a little -badly-needed recreation the "old fashioned" way weren't too surprised -when Kram raised a thousand credits. There was no sense in trying to -analyze Kram's poker, any more than there was any sense in trying to -analyze Kram. He usually won. Always a different technique, but he -usually won anyway. - -Major Ignacius Luverduk, Kram's somewhat useful assistant, knew -this and folded his lowly hand which consisted of nothing more than -dogs-over. - -While he was waiting for the colonel across from him to up-ship or get -off the runway, Kram fell to thinking. - -Xenthl had pulled a dirty one. Forty years ago, the people of Iaaro, -system of Sirius, under the too-able leadership of Xenthl, had finally -made their presence known on Earth. For three centuries, they had -examined Earth from afar to assure themselves that it would make a -suitable landing spot. For awhile, during the mid-twentieth century, -they had scared the pants off some people and incurred the ridicule -of some others less imaginative with their disc-shaped space and -aircraft, but that couldn't have been helped. One had to trace a -culture, a civilization, for a long time before one could analyze its -true character-traits, abilities, potentialities. Especially when one's -forces were few in number, and there were nearly two billion of the -other fellow. - -But the people of Iaaro had finally landed, back in 2010, satisfied -that Earth with its faults was better than more light-years of space -with its uncertainties and hardships. And Xenthl had been very nice -about the whole thing. - - * * * * * - -The colonel decided to up-ship. He was new. He pushed a mountain of -white chips forward. "I'll stay," he said, with a tremulous sort of -confidence. The lieutenant to his right folded, and being the dealer, -gave Kram the two cards he asked for. The joker, Kram had decided, -ought to be kept this once for a kicker. - -"I'll play these," the colonel said in what he intended to be a -convincing tone. - -"Check blind to the pat," Kram heard himself saying. - -"Umm. Five thousand should be enough." - -Kram edged his hand open, and now it was his turn to up-ship or not. -The two twos and the joker had been somewhat disgustingly joined by a -six and a seven. - -Yes, Xenthl had been very nice about it all, but then, in his position -with only a few thousand followers, how else could he have been? -Conquest and occupation, even with superior weapons, would at any -time have been unthinkable; force of numbers alone would have told as -long as Earthmen had cannon and aircraft. And mass-murder of Earth's -people prior to the planet's methodical examination would have left an -immense, empty planet with only a few thousand of the newcomers to work -it. - -Xenthl had wanted not only a planet, but slaves to work it as well. - -So he couldn't kill 'em off, reasoned Kram in the back of his mind for -the millionth time. The thing was to use strategy, not arms, and Xenthl -could have his cake and eat it. - -Which, in six months' time, unless somebody, probably himself, figured -out a way to stop him, he would have. - -"Hmm," grunted Kram, knitting his sleek brows in final appraisal of his -hand. "Your five and my-y-y--seven-fifty." Smoothly he pushed a pile of -whites into the center of the polished Marswood table--not too quickly, -and not too hesitantly. Timed just right. Just the way Xenthl had timed -things. - -A firm toe-hold on Earth. That was first ... the promise that, if -allowed to colonize all the deserts of the planet, his people would -within a few years' time make garden spots of them through their vastly -developed science of hydroponics. They had come, they explained, -seeking refuge from their own drying planet of Iaaro--they were all -that were left. All they wanted was a home, and they would, in turn, -give to the men of Earth the advantages of their advanced learning. And -see? No weapons! - -And that was true. They had dismantled every defensive weapon they -had carried in the disc-shaped spacecraft; had turned the parts and -blueprints over to earth scientists for study. - -And they had turned the deserts of the planet into garden spots, save -for a few patches left barren for laboratory construction. - -And they had improved the lot of Earthmen in countless -ways--philosophically, governmentally, politically, educationally, -religiously, scientifically, technically, and so on. - -Nice kids. Until they had sprung the G-ray and shown their true colors, -and by that time it was a little too late, even for the men of Earth -to cuss themselves out for having been the most gullible jays in the -Universe, fourth dimension included. While telecrooners were dripping -songs about the delirious gal from Sirius and housewives were listening -to the adventures of the young widow from Iaaro, Xenthl was quietly -setting about to take over the planet. - -And, he was doing that, too. - -"You," said the colonel as he got off the airstrip, "win." - - * * * * * - -Kram raked in his loot. There was some deliberation concerning the -continuation of the game. Idly, Kram counted the credits he had -bluffed the colonel out of. Or, which he more than suspected, he had -counter-bluffed the colonel out of. - -The G-ray, Xenthl had explained to the men of Earth when he announced -to them that they would be given one year in which to reorganize their -governments in conformation with his dictates and in subservience to -his rule and under the sovereignty of himself and his people, operated -on the practical principles of a theory once promulgated, but never put -to work before his death, by an Earth scientist of the 20th century. -The Earthman had called it a "general theory of gravitation." The -Sirians had their own name for it, and when applied in weapon form, -the result was the G-ray--a weapon capable of completely nullifying -the forces of gravitational cohesion within any and all molecular -structures. Result? Complete and instantaneous disintegration of any -material object, solid, gaseous or liquid, at which it was aimed. -Within its scope, the forces of what Xenthl termed "molecular gravity" -fell completely to zero. Nothing exploded. It just stopped being, all -at once. - -There had been demonstrations. Three demonstrations, and the world was -more than convinced. - -Xenthl had demonstrated his weapon on three of his own no-longer-needed -laboratories. Situated in their sterile patches of blistering desert, -they had each covered areas about the size of three large earth cities. -With the complete operation telecast to all the world, and with earth -scientists watching at respectful distances in observation posts in one -of which Xenthl himself had been present, the Sirian dictator had given -the commands for his G-batteries to fire. They fired at ranges twice -those of Earth's best atomic cannon. - -The lab-cities, each hit with a single blast, vanished one, two, three. - -The places where the labs had been were minutely examined by Earth's -men of science for weeks afterward. - -Not a trace. Of anything. Just sand. The sand, Xenthl explained, was -kept as much below the ray-field as possible--digging holes for miles -into the planet wasn't, after all, necessary, and it would've wasted -power.... - -Where there may have been signs of disbelief, Xenthl had only to infer -that, really, did the credulous ones of Earth suppose that the Lords -of Iaaro had disclosed _all_ their great secrets of science when they -had landed? Would they have divulged the very secret of their proposed -conquest? - -The brave man with the club facing an enemy with an atomic rifle knows -he is licked. At such a point, Kram reflected, heroism would be a -little silly; hysterical anger would be useless. - -"Xenthl and his crowd," mused Vice-colonel Gaylord Kram to himself as -he stretched the zipper on his bulging hip-pocket, "are a bunch of -sidewinders!" - -"The game, in which you have been the only victor, is over," said -Luverduk at his elbow, "and in your last statement, you are as usual, -correct. But wait until the Old Man learns how much time we killed -diddling instead of using the electro-relaxers!" - -"Jupiter damn the 'laxers--You do not seem to have perceived, Luverduk, -that I have a theory!" - - * * * * * - -The other's globular countenance reflected no particular surprise -at this quiet thunder, for to Luverduk, theories by Kram were -things to be taken regularly for granted; monstrous theories which, -oddly enough, were without exception correct in every detail when -put into actual practice, as Kram himself, of course, would never -fail to make perfectly clear in the first place. That Kram was an -Intelligence expert with a brilliant background in weapon design was -the fact, however, in which the Terrestrial government was at present -narrow-mindedly interested. - -And it was the fact that had led to the dumping of the Sirian G-ray -problem right in his lap. - -Unearthing the G-ray secret was Kram's assigned mission; that made it -Ignacius Luverduk's, as well. "You have a theory. Should I take that -Siriusly? Ha!" - -Kram only quickened the strides of his long, gaunt legs as they headed -for his office. There was not even the quiver of one long black eyebrow -to denote his having heard Luverduk's effort. - -"For a ballistics and weapon-design expert," the wheezing Major -observed, "you, Kram, are at least a devilish poker player. You were -bluffing on that last hand. Lying in your teeth! Psychologically -speaking, you were guilty of the worst sort of misrepresentation." - -"Foof. He was bluffing every bit as bad as I was. Worse. Probably -didn't even have a pair." - -"You could tell?" Luverduk's round blue eyes became excited, for his -own brand of poker left something to be desired in the way of winning -money. - -"When the time comes," Kram said, "that I fail to perceive a bluff, and -fail then to call it, I will start a mink ranch on Pluto." - -No reply. Luverduk had heard that Pluto was a sterile planet, and was a -little puzzled. The two strode into Kram's office, which was empty of -staffers. It was 'laxer time. Kram started doing the talking: - -"You, Ignacius, will deliver a message for me to Sectors-General -Hoskins, in person." Kram was writing things on a memo pad, the blanks -of which were stamped CONFIDENTIAL at their tops in big red letters. -"It says, Iggy, that President Thurston is to be informed that I have -unequivocally failed to glean any information concerning the Sirian -secret weapon, and in trying further to do so, would seriously imperil -whatever chances Earth may have left to escape total destruction. I, -Kram, have somehow failed! The message points out in addition that -I've lost seventy-three percent of my secret operatives already, and -it explains that with each additional one captured, Xenthl's temper is -shortening to the breaking point. Being slightly paranoiac, he hates to -be crossed. He's one of those egotistical bastards, you know...." - -"Oh, but you can't--" - -"Shuddup. It also advises that the Terrestrial government open truce -negotiations for the consideration of terms." - -"You mean you're telling Hoskins and Thurston that we should wave the -white flag?" Luverduk paled to the color of old paste. - -"You deliver it. And--" Kram kept writing, "there's a P.S. It says -that I personally--that _we_ personally--plan to request audience with -Xenthl, to open aforementioned truce negotiations. Today!" - -"You," quavered the Major scarcely above a whisper, "have cracked up!" - -"We will take off for Xenthl's Moonside headquarters at precisely -1600 hours, radiating a truce signal. And you will now deliver this -message." He thrust the memo into Luverduk's wringing hands. "And you -will return here in exactly 30 minutes. That's an order!" - -"Oh, Gaylord!" breathed Luverduk asthmatically. "Oh, oh, oh...." The -length of the corridor down which he waddled swallowed up the gibberish -that whispered in his wake. - - * * * * * - -Thirty minutes to the second later, just as Kram was putting the -finishing touches on the thing which he had estimated would take him -precisely 30 minutes to rig, Luverduk returned. - -"Gaylord!" - -"I have something to show you, Major Luverduk. Come here." Kram -gestured toward the outside door of the large office which led through -a space-cruiser hangar and out to the experimental detonation range -where new weapons received their first tests in the half-scale stage. - -"Show me! Good Lord, Gaylord! Hoskins read it right there in front -of me! He said for you to get to his headquarters as fast as you -can double-time it! Sore! It was more or less nice knowing you, -Lance-corporal Kram!" - -"I knew he'd be a little silly about it at first." - -"He said if you're not in his office in 15 minutes, he's coming to -yours with his whole damned guard!" - -"Might, come to think of it. Come here, Luverduk." - -"But--" - -"See this?" Kram held a shiny new needle-ray pistol in his hand. It was -strictly an anti-personnel weapon, and good only for close-in combat. A -hand weapon of limited powers, and nothing more. - -"I see it. But as one skeleton in the museum told the other, if we had -any guts we'd get out of here...." - -"Follow me." - -Since it sounded like an order, Luverduk obeyed it. Kram was not a -lance-corporal yet. Luverduk followed his superior to one of the firing -ranges for atomic cannon. Kram pointed to a dismantled space-cruiser -hull, used regularly by cannoneer cadets for target practice. Its -molybdenum hide was scarred with many accurately-directed blasts. It -was nearly a quarter-mile from where Kram stood. - -"Watch," he said. Luverduk sensed an order in that word also. - -Kram pointed the pistol, potent up to 50 yards. Slowly, his long right -arm came up. The streamlined weapon glinted in the afternoon sunlight. -Carefully, Kram aimed--aimed impossibly--at the distant cruiser hull! -Then his finger constricted on the trigger. _Hiss_ it went. - -And the hull was blasted to atoms! - -"You--" That was all Luverduk could utter. He gaped, pudgy mouth -hanging open, first at the pistol, then at the rising column of white -smoke where the scarred hull had been. He knew at the same time that -had it not been for the shock-wave absorbers covering the range with -their radiations, he would at present be flat on his face, or its -reasonable facsimile. - -"I," Kram said, "am a weapons expert as well as an Intelligence -officer. You know that. Correct?" - -"Gurgle." - -"Confronted with the facts, Luverduk, which you yourself have just -witnessed, what would you say?" - -"That pistol is better than the--the G-ray! You--" - -"I have. Xenthl's skin, I expect, should crawl. Agreed?" - -Luverduk nodded slowly. - -"Good. Because we are now going to see him. A ship is parked in the -hangar." - -"Not about that truce business--" Luverduk's voice rose in horror. - -"Precisely." - -"Hoskins?" Luverduk's voice was a challenge to all soprano mice. - -"Umm," Kram said. Luverduk followed him. - - * * * * * - -_From Karz, Commander, Sector Patrol III: For Kuul, Patrol Coordinator. -Urgent. Subject: enemy flight. At 16:12, western hemisphere Earth time, -single ship seen to be directed Moonside, no armament, but beyond -restrictive boundary. Following, three smaller craft, likewise unarmed, -towing six apparently unmanned cruisers of obsolete design. Single -craft continues Moonside. Towing craft leave unmanned cruisers adrift -after deceleration approximately 1,500 miles outside boundary. Speed -of abandoned ships, less than 300 miles per hour. Adrift in loose line -formation. Single ship, now radiating truce signal, continues course. -Am holding fire pending your advisory._ - - * * * * * - -_From Kuul, Patrol Coordinator, Sirian Expeditionary Forces: For Karz, -Commander, Sector Patrol III. Subject: communication 18Z. Continue -holding fire pending my command._ - - * * * * * - -_From Karz, Commander, Sector Patrol III: For Kuul, P. C. Subject: -armed enemy cruisers. Enemy fleet of military destroyer-units hovering -in formation at edge of restrictive boundary. Armed, but have not fired -into restrictive zone. Appear to be in command of General Flagship. No -communications intercepted, no actual violation as yet of restrictive -boundary. Twenty-one craft counted. Requesting further advice, to avert -any possible breach of strategic diplomacy._ - - * * * * * - -_From Kuul, P. C., SEF: For Karz, Cmmdr., Sector Patrol III. Subject: -communication 18Z1. Stand by. Deliberate disregard of ultimatum -stipulations on our part would tend to lessen prestige and introduce -possibility of unsatisfactory psychological reactions. It is to be -remembered that Terrestrials are highly unpredictable when abruptly -angered. Alert your command this headquarters._ - - * * * * * - -"What did they say?" Kram asked. The Moon leered at him through the -thick quartz conning-port like a pitted, rotted rubber ball that had -once been painted with a diluted silver gilt. - -Luverduk still shook, but not as much. "About those skeletons--" - -"You'll be one if you don't cut your jets. What was their reply?" - -"Xenthl will give us an audience upon our landing, but we have been -emphatically warned that the slightest move we make which may be -interpreted as a breach of truce will be our last. And they added -that any move made by anybody else in the neighborhood which may be so -interpreted will be their last, too...." - -"Told you things would work out." - -"Work out? We're only flying a white flag with no authorization from -anybody. We've only gone AWOL. And Hoskins is gunning right behind. We -often leave without saying good-bye--" - -"Parts of that statement are inaccurate. Hoskins is waiting at the -boundary, not daring to fire into the Sirian zone--not gunning right -behind. And he knows that one ship-length of an armed cruiser over the -boundary will mean the G-ray for the whole shooting-match. He also -knows we'll come back, so is just standing by until we do. However, to -something of far more importance. Did you bring the blast-rifle?" - -"I did. I assume it is like the pistol, only more so." - -"It certainly is supposed to be." - -"Your answer is only more or less perfect. I say again, is the rifle -like a super G-ray?" - -"No." - -"Like a super atomic cannon, then." - -"No. The rifle, as well as the pistol I showed you, are, to put it -vulgarly, fakes. They wouldn't squirt water." - -"I asked you a straight question, you should therefore give me at least -the semblance of a straight answer. Come again." - -"You heard me. Fakes." - -"You mean they will not work? It will not work?" - -Silence. - -"Good Lord, you mean we're actually going to see Xenthl with truce in -our white little hearts and not blow his headquarters to pieces? This -is a real, honest-to-God truce mission?" - -"In a manner of speaking, sort of." - -"Then the explosion of the space-cruiser hull...?" - -"Was faked." - -"You _tricked_ me!" - -"I did. But you believed me until I told you." - -Luverduk was starting to hop up and down, although his feet never quite -left the deck. "I will admit that, but only because it's true!" - -"It's true, all right. In addition to being an Intelligence and weapons -expert, I am likewise rather clever in the field of psychology. -Your foreknowledge of my expertness with weapon design had you -half-convinced I could do something fantastic before you even saw me -apparently do it. And when you saw it in what looked like actuality, it -was all you needed." - -"But we are surrendering anyhow! You _are_ a mad fellow--" - -"Let us not, Luverduk, confuse the term 'truce' with 'surrender.' What -I told Hoskins and what I am actually doing are horses, one might say, -of variable hues...." - -"You see a way out of this, Kram?" - -"Prepare to man the decelerators at 3.8G on my signal." - -As the roar of the forward jets cut in and Kram's vision grew -momentarily blurred, the suspicion grew in his mind that Luverduk was -mumbling something about northbound horses.... - - * * * * * - -The military headquarters of Xenthl, Commander-In-Chief of the Sirian -Expeditionary Forces and Grand Protector of the Universe were, as Kram -would have put it, somewhat stupendous. Simplicity was the keynote of -its otherworldly architecture; the huge hemisphere of eerily glimmering -alloy was first viewed by Luverduk with anything but a narrow-eyed, -analytical gaze. And its interior, although not resplendent in the -sense of the courts of ancient kings, was a breath-stopping spectacle -of geometry as could only have been conceived by minds of Other Space. -The involutions of its eye-defying curves were as gracefully simple as -they were dimensionally complex; the very straightness of the corridor -down which the procession of heavily armed guards and the men from -earth proceeded was a masterpiece of structural design in itself. - -Xenthl's sanctum sanctorum was an even greater achievement in the -architecturally impossible. Kram made a mental note to make a -requisition for a replastering job in his own office immediately upon -his return to Earth. - -Luverduk was impressed, but more with Xenthl's bearded, rotund, -pink-skinned majesty than with his surroundings. - -"Without the beaver, he'd look just like me, Kram!" - -"So he would, Major!" - -The seated Xenthl signalled his guards to halt, and the envoys of truce -to step forward. His oversized cranium, typical of his race, seemed to -nod gently from its own weight. - -"You come," he mouthed the Terrestrian language awkwardly, "as couriers -of surrender?" - -"You are crazier than Luverduk, here, if you think so!" Kram casually -folded his arms. "As a personal representative of his Most Excellent -Sovereign Worthiness, the Guardian of all Universes in Space and Time, -the President of Terra, and also the Bronx, I appear before you to -recognize and return the civility displayed by your forces in not -attacking an Earth ship radiating a signal of truce. In short, I am -here to offer you your life, and the lives of your people, with the -alternative of instantaneous annihilation." - -"I am amused," purred Xenthl. "But at your expense. For this -impertinence, your government shall be given but one month more, -instead of six months more, to prepare itself for my rule. And in -addition, from this moment forward, it will be under the direct -surveillance of my own armed forces. I have, it would seem, grossly -overestimated the intelligence of you Earthmen. It had been my thought -that, as you say, you knew what was good for you. I have erred." - -"That," said Kram, allowing the flicker of a self-indulgent grin -to play at the corners of his long mouth, "is something of an -understatement, Mr. Xenthl. And to prove what I say--and a man of your -intellect would require proof of any statement--I ask that the only -armament aboard the ship in which I came, a blast-rifle, be brought -here, to be fired as I direct by one of your own marksmen. By directing -his aim telescopically, he should have no trouble in sighting on the -abandoned cruiser hulls which I have had towed into position for target -purposes...." - -Xenthl's mouth worked. "This is a trick of some sort," he said icily. -"At the very least, a gross misuse of the purposes of truce." - -"I offer you your lives," Kram said almost nonchalantly. - -"As a man of my intellect--" Xenthl declared after a breath-take of -hesitation, "I require whatever attempt at proof you may have for your -childish statements. Guard!" - - * * * * * - -Within moments, the rifle was in the hands of one of Xenthl's marksmen, -and, sighting with a headquarters electrono-telescope, the soldier -from Sirius drew a bead on the drifting cruiser hulls, and pressed the -curved trigger at Xenthl's order. - -In a visiplate, Xenthl himself witnessed an incredible white flash as -first one of the space-cruiser hulls was blown to atoms, and then in -rapid succession, the second, third, fourth, and fifth. - -[Illustration: _The first space-cruiser hull was blown to atoms...._] - -"You will observe," Kram said, "that only one hull was hit. But all -were destroyed. A little chain-reaction gadget I developed last week--" -A gasp at Kram's elbow; but Kram had not finished--"You have observed -also," he continued matter-of-factly, "that with one blast of only a -rifle, to say nothing of the _cannon_ I have also developed, a myriad -of targets may at once be destroyed. Your G-ray," Kram adopted a tone -dripping with respect, "is capable, after all, of destroying but one -target at a time." - -Xenthl's features had lost their healthy pink tinge. "You have -mastered," he said, "a practical application of the chain-reaction -principle. It is impossible, but I have seen you do it with my own -eyes." - -"That was the object in my having come," Kram said in his most -courteous tone. "And it is the proof which I knew your excellency would -demand. In addition to which, I might inform you that I am Gaylord -Kram!" - -Silence. Then: - -"This is indeed a matter for some consideration," Xenthl said. - -And even the mask-like face of the arrogant Sirian was not able to -disguise the look of utter incredulity which was shadowed beneath its -still-white-tinged surface. - - * * * * * - -"Kram, you'll hang for this!" - -Gaylord Kram stood at rigid attention before Sectors-General Hoskins -on the flight-deck of the General Flagship. He had drawn his own craft -alongside and boarded with Major Luverduk at the General's command, and -under the ugly snouts of the General's artillery. - -"I trust," he said, "that you will accept my apology for having issued -you a false communication. But I theorized that only in anger would -I be followed so promptly and with such a show of strength. Only the -thought of surrender could make you angry, sir!" - -"You impudent puppy! You--" Hoskins was livid. He did not shake. He -vibrated. - -"It was necessary, sir. I was bluffing, but I needed at least the -appearance of armed might to give credence to my strategy. I readily -admit having rescued our planet by means of what may unappreciatively -be termed trickery. As I tricked Luverduk, here, by simply using a -mined target on the detonation range, so I also attempted to trick -Xenthl with five unmanned space-cruisers, loaded to the seams with -atomic detonators timed to produce the effect of chain-reaction and set -off by remote control. There was a miniature radar transmitter of my -own design within the blast-rifle which I had Xenthl's marksman use. -Quite simple, really." - -"Simple is hardly the word!" Hoskins thundered. "With the Sirian G-ray -staring us in the face, _you_ try your hand at strategy! I hope there -is time to hang you before Earth is blown to Kingdom Come!" - -"Never fear, sir! Xenthl had merely used an innovation of the Q-type -light-bender to produce a mirage at the desert location of his supposed -'abandoned laboratories.' First the buildings were 'seen,' then, at -the instant his weapon was supposedly 'fired,' they were not. A mirage -had been turned on and off at will. That was all! Putting it simply, -sir--I theorized that the G-ray was, in the first place, no more than a -colossal bluff itself!" - -"Theorized, the man says!" The General's complexion blended nicely with -his lavender tunic. "To him, politics is five-card stud! To him--" - -The tirade was interrupted by a wide-eyed orderly who bore a -signal-technician's insignia on his sleeve. "Sir! Sirian ships are -leaving the Moon, driving hard past Pluto! By the minute, sir, larger -and larger flights are going up-ship for Deep Space! And at full drive! -Sir!" - -"Of course," murmured Kram. "I gave them twenty-four hours to clear -out!" - -Deftly mounting a portable G-gun which he had confiscated from Xenthl's -personal arsenal, Kram pointed it directly at his own ship, drifting -under robot control a few miles to the Flagship's starboard. - -"They cleared out," he declared quietly, "because Gaylord Kram -had called their bluff, gentlemen!" and triumphantly punched a -firing-button. - -A soft hiss, and Kram's cruiser was blown to smithereens! - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SIDEWINDERS FROM SIRIUS *** - -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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Holden. - </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;} - -/* 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; -} - - </style> - </head> -<body> - -<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Sidewinders From Sirius, by Fox B. Holden</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Sidewinders From Sirius</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Fox B. Holden</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: February 25, 2021 [eBook #64625]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SIDEWINDERS FROM SIRIUS ***</div> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>Sidewinders from SIRIUS</h1> - -<h2>by Fox B. Holden</h2> - -<p>The treacherous aliens from Outer Space gave Earth<br /> -six months to surrender or be destroyed ... but<br /> -Vice-colonel Gaylord Kram, fearless ace of Terrestrial<br /> -Intelligence, had a daring plan: Why not surrender <i>now</i>?</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Planet Stories November 1950.<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>Gaylord Kram, Vice-colonel of Intelligence, Terrestrial Federal -government, sat pondering one of the worst poker hands he had ever -witnessed, and he had witnessed a goodly number in his 38 years, when -he should have been sweating blood over his tottering government's most -perplexing problem: what to do about the colonists from Sirius and -their G-ray.</p> - -<p>But what could even a Kram do with two deuces, the joker, a five and an -eight-spot, all of different suits?</p> - -<p>The other three Intelligence officers who were taking a little -badly-needed recreation the "old fashioned" way weren't too surprised -when Kram raised a thousand credits. There was no sense in trying to -analyze Kram's poker, any more than there was any sense in trying to -analyze Kram. He usually won. Always a different technique, but he -usually won anyway.</p> - -<p>Major Ignacius Luverduk, Kram's somewhat useful assistant, knew -this and folded his lowly hand which consisted of nothing more than -dogs-over.</p> - -<p>While he was waiting for the colonel across from him to up-ship or get -off the runway, Kram fell to thinking.</p> - -<p>Xenthl had pulled a dirty one. Forty years ago, the people of Iaaro, -system of Sirius, under the too-able leadership of Xenthl, had finally -made their presence known on Earth. For three centuries, they had -examined Earth from afar to assure themselves that it would make a -suitable landing spot. For awhile, during the mid-twentieth century, -they had scared the pants off some people and incurred the ridicule -of some others less imaginative with their disc-shaped space and -aircraft, but that couldn't have been helped. One had to trace a -culture, a civilization, for a long time before one could analyze its -true character-traits, abilities, potentialities. Especially when one's -forces were few in number, and there were nearly two billion of the -other fellow.</p> - -<p>But the people of Iaaro had finally landed, back in 2010, satisfied -that Earth with its faults was better than more light-years of space -with its uncertainties and hardships. And Xenthl had been very nice -about the whole thing.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The colonel decided to up-ship. He was new. He pushed a mountain of -white chips forward. "I'll stay," he said, with a tremulous sort of -confidence. The lieutenant to his right folded, and being the dealer, -gave Kram the two cards he asked for. The joker, Kram had decided, -ought to be kept this once for a kicker.</p> - -<p>"I'll play these," the colonel said in what he intended to be a -convincing tone.</p> - -<p>"Check blind to the pat," Kram heard himself saying.</p> - -<p>"Umm. Five thousand should be enough."</p> - -<p>Kram edged his hand open, and now it was his turn to up-ship or not. -The two twos and the joker had been somewhat disgustingly joined by a -six and a seven.</p> - -<p>Yes, Xenthl had been very nice about it all, but then, in his position -with only a few thousand followers, how else could he have been? -Conquest and occupation, even with superior weapons, would at any -time have been unthinkable; force of numbers alone would have told as -long as Earthmen had cannon and aircraft. And mass-murder of Earth's -people prior to the planet's methodical examination would have left an -immense, empty planet with only a few thousand of the newcomers to work -it.</p> - -<p>Xenthl had wanted not only a planet, but slaves to work it as well.</p> - -<p>So he couldn't kill 'em off, reasoned Kram in the back of his mind for -the millionth time. The thing was to use strategy, not arms, and Xenthl -could have his cake and eat it.</p> - -<p>Which, in six months' time, unless somebody, probably himself, figured -out a way to stop him, he would have.</p> - -<p>"Hmm," grunted Kram, knitting his sleek brows in final appraisal of his -hand. "Your five and my-y-y—seven-fifty." Smoothly he pushed a pile of -whites into the center of the polished Marswood table—not too quickly, -and not too hesitantly. Timed just right. Just the way Xenthl had timed -things.</p> - -<p>A firm toe-hold on Earth. That was first ... the promise that, if -allowed to colonize all the deserts of the planet, his people would -within a few years' time make garden spots of them through their vastly -developed science of hydroponics. They had come, they explained, -seeking refuge from their own drying planet of Iaaro—they were all -that were left. All they wanted was a home, and they would, in turn, -give to the men of Earth the advantages of their advanced learning. And -see? No weapons!</p> - -<p>And that was true. They had dismantled every defensive weapon they -had carried in the disc-shaped spacecraft; had turned the parts and -blueprints over to earth scientists for study.</p> - -<p>And they had turned the deserts of the planet into garden spots, save -for a few patches left barren for laboratory construction.</p> - -<p>And they had improved the lot of Earthmen in countless -ways—philosophically, governmentally, politically, educationally, -religiously, scientifically, technically, and so on.</p> - -<p>Nice kids. Until they had sprung the G-ray and shown their true colors, -and by that time it was a little too late, even for the men of Earth -to cuss themselves out for having been the most gullible jays in the -Universe, fourth dimension included. While telecrooners were dripping -songs about the delirious gal from Sirius and housewives were listening -to the adventures of the young widow from Iaaro, Xenthl was quietly -setting about to take over the planet.</p> - -<p>And, he was doing that, too.</p> - -<p>"You," said the colonel as he got off the airstrip, "win."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Kram raked in his loot. There was some deliberation concerning the -continuation of the game. Idly, Kram counted the credits he had -bluffed the colonel out of. Or, which he more than suspected, he had -counter-bluffed the colonel out of.</p> - -<p>The G-ray, Xenthl had explained to the men of Earth when he announced -to them that they would be given one year in which to reorganize their -governments in conformation with his dictates and in subservience to -his rule and under the sovereignty of himself and his people, operated -on the practical principles of a theory once promulgated, but never put -to work before his death, by an Earth scientist of the 20th century. -The Earthman had called it a "general theory of gravitation." The -Sirians had their own name for it, and when applied in weapon form, -the result was the G-ray—a weapon capable of completely nullifying -the forces of gravitational cohesion within any and all molecular -structures. Result? Complete and instantaneous disintegration of any -material object, solid, gaseous or liquid, at which it was aimed. -Within its scope, the forces of what Xenthl termed "molecular gravity" -fell completely to zero. Nothing exploded. It just stopped being, all -at once.</p> - -<p>There had been demonstrations. Three demonstrations, and the world was -more than convinced.</p> - -<p>Xenthl had demonstrated his weapon on three of his own no-longer-needed -laboratories. Situated in their sterile patches of blistering desert, -they had each covered areas about the size of three large earth cities. -With the complete operation telecast to all the world, and with earth -scientists watching at respectful distances in observation posts in one -of which Xenthl himself had been present, the Sirian dictator had given -the commands for his G-batteries to fire. They fired at ranges twice -those of Earth's best atomic cannon.</p> - -<p>The lab-cities, each hit with a single blast, vanished one, two, three.</p> - -<p>The places where the labs had been were minutely examined by Earth's -men of science for weeks afterward.</p> - -<p>Not a trace. Of anything. Just sand. The sand, Xenthl explained, was -kept as much below the ray-field as possible—digging holes for miles -into the planet wasn't, after all, necessary, and it would've wasted -power....</p> - -<p>Where there may have been signs of disbelief, Xenthl had only to infer -that, really, did the credulous ones of Earth suppose that the Lords -of Iaaro had disclosed <i>all</i> their great secrets of science when they -had landed? Would they have divulged the very secret of their proposed -conquest?</p> - -<p>The brave man with the club facing an enemy with an atomic rifle knows -he is licked. At such a point, Kram reflected, heroism would be a -little silly; hysterical anger would be useless.</p> - -<p>"Xenthl and his crowd," mused Vice-colonel Gaylord Kram to himself as -he stretched the zipper on his bulging hip-pocket, "are a bunch of -sidewinders!"</p> - -<p>"The game, in which you have been the only victor, is over," said -Luverduk at his elbow, "and in your last statement, you are as usual, -correct. But wait until the Old Man learns how much time we killed -diddling instead of using the electro-relaxers!"</p> - -<p>"Jupiter damn the 'laxers—You do not seem to have perceived, Luverduk, -that I have a theory!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The other's globular countenance reflected no particular surprise -at this quiet thunder, for to Luverduk, theories by Kram were -things to be taken regularly for granted; monstrous theories which, -oddly enough, were without exception correct in every detail when -put into actual practice, as Kram himself, of course, would never -fail to make perfectly clear in the first place. That Kram was an -Intelligence expert with a brilliant background in weapon design was -the fact, however, in which the Terrestrial government was at present -narrow-mindedly interested.</p> - -<p>And it was the fact that had led to the dumping of the Sirian G-ray -problem right in his lap.</p> - -<p>Unearthing the G-ray secret was Kram's assigned mission; that made it -Ignacius Luverduk's, as well. "You have a theory. Should I take that -Siriusly? Ha!"</p> - -<p>Kram only quickened the strides of his long, gaunt legs as they headed -for his office. There was not even the quiver of one long black eyebrow -to denote his having heard Luverduk's effort.</p> - -<p>"For a ballistics and weapon-design expert," the wheezing Major -observed, "you, Kram, are at least a devilish poker player. You were -bluffing on that last hand. Lying in your teeth! Psychologically -speaking, you were guilty of the worst sort of misrepresentation."</p> - -<p>"Foof. He was bluffing every bit as bad as I was. Worse. Probably -didn't even have a pair."</p> - -<p>"You could tell?" Luverduk's round blue eyes became excited, for his -own brand of poker left something to be desired in the way of winning -money.</p> - -<p>"When the time comes," Kram said, "that I fail to perceive a bluff, and -fail then to call it, I will start a mink ranch on Pluto."</p> - -<p>No reply. Luverduk had heard that Pluto was a sterile planet, and was a -little puzzled. The two strode into Kram's office, which was empty of -staffers. It was 'laxer time. Kram started doing the talking:</p> - -<p>"You, Ignacius, will deliver a message for me to Sectors-General -Hoskins, in person." Kram was writing things on a memo pad, the blanks -of which were stamped CONFIDENTIAL at their tops in big red letters. -"It says, Iggy, that President Thurston is to be informed that I have -unequivocally failed to glean any information concerning the Sirian -secret weapon, and in trying further to do so, would seriously imperil -whatever chances Earth may have left to escape total destruction. I, -Kram, have somehow failed! The message points out in addition that -I've lost seventy-three percent of my secret operatives already, and -it explains that with each additional one captured, Xenthl's temper is -shortening to the breaking point. Being slightly paranoiac, he hates to -be crossed. He's one of those egotistical bastards, you know...."</p> - -<p>"Oh, but you can't—"</p> - -<p>"Shuddup. It also advises that the Terrestrial government open truce -negotiations for the consideration of terms."</p> - -<p>"You mean you're telling Hoskins and Thurston that we should wave the -white flag?" Luverduk paled to the color of old paste.</p> - -<p>"You deliver it. And—" Kram kept writing, "there's a P.S. It says -that I personally—that <i>we</i> personally—plan to request audience with -Xenthl, to open aforementioned truce negotiations. Today!"</p> - -<p>"You," quavered the Major scarcely above a whisper, "have cracked up!"</p> - -<p>"We will take off for Xenthl's Moonside headquarters at precisely -1600 hours, radiating a truce signal. And you will now deliver this -message." He thrust the memo into Luverduk's wringing hands. "And you -will return here in exactly 30 minutes. That's an order!"</p> - -<p>"Oh, Gaylord!" breathed Luverduk asthmatically. "Oh, oh, oh...." The -length of the corridor down which he waddled swallowed up the gibberish -that whispered in his wake.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Thirty minutes to the second later, just as Kram was putting the -finishing touches on the thing which he had estimated would take him -precisely 30 minutes to rig, Luverduk returned.</p> - -<p>"Gaylord!"</p> - -<p>"I have something to show you, Major Luverduk. Come here." Kram -gestured toward the outside door of the large office which led through -a space-cruiser hangar and out to the experimental detonation range -where new weapons received their first tests in the half-scale stage.</p> - -<p>"Show me! Good Lord, Gaylord! Hoskins read it right there in front -of me! He said for you to get to his headquarters as fast as you -can double-time it! Sore! It was more or less nice knowing you, -Lance-corporal Kram!"</p> - -<p>"I knew he'd be a little silly about it at first."</p> - -<p>"He said if you're not in his office in 15 minutes, he's coming to -yours with his whole damned guard!"</p> - -<p>"Might, come to think of it. Come here, Luverduk."</p> - -<p>"But—"</p> - -<p>"See this?" Kram held a shiny new needle-ray pistol in his hand. It was -strictly an anti-personnel weapon, and good only for close-in combat. A -hand weapon of limited powers, and nothing more.</p> - -<p>"I see it. But as one skeleton in the museum told the other, if we had -any guts we'd get out of here...."</p> - -<p>"Follow me."</p> - -<p>Since it sounded like an order, Luverduk obeyed it. Kram was not a -lance-corporal yet. Luverduk followed his superior to one of the firing -ranges for atomic cannon. Kram pointed to a dismantled space-cruiser -hull, used regularly by cannoneer cadets for target practice. Its -molybdenum hide was scarred with many accurately-directed blasts. It -was nearly a quarter-mile from where Kram stood.</p> - -<p>"Watch," he said. Luverduk sensed an order in that word also.</p> - -<p>Kram pointed the pistol, potent up to 50 yards. Slowly, his long right -arm came up. The streamlined weapon glinted in the afternoon sunlight. -Carefully, Kram aimed—aimed impossibly—at the distant cruiser hull! -Then his finger constricted on the trigger. <i>Hiss</i> it went.</p> - -<p>And the hull was blasted to atoms!</p> - -<p>"You—" That was all Luverduk could utter. He gaped, pudgy mouth -hanging open, first at the pistol, then at the rising column of white -smoke where the scarred hull had been. He knew at the same time that -had it not been for the shock-wave absorbers covering the range with -their radiations, he would at present be flat on his face, or its -reasonable facsimile.</p> - -<p>"I," Kram said, "am a weapons expert as well as an Intelligence -officer. You know that. Correct?"</p> - -<p>"Gurgle."</p> - -<p>"Confronted with the facts, Luverduk, which you yourself have just -witnessed, what would you say?"</p> - -<p>"That pistol is better than the—the G-ray! You—"</p> - -<p>"I have. Xenthl's skin, I expect, should crawl. Agreed?"</p> - -<p>Luverduk nodded slowly.</p> - -<p>"Good. Because we are now going to see him. A ship is parked in the -hangar."</p> - -<p>"Not about that truce business—" Luverduk's voice rose in horror.</p> - -<p>"Precisely."</p> - -<p>"Hoskins?" Luverduk's voice was a challenge to all soprano mice.</p> - -<p>"Umm," Kram said. Luverduk followed him.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p><i>From Karz, Commander, Sector Patrol III: For Kuul, Patrol Coordinator. -Urgent. Subject: enemy flight. At 16:12, western hemisphere Earth time, -single ship seen to be directed Moonside, no armament, but beyond -restrictive boundary. Following, three smaller craft, likewise unarmed, -towing six apparently unmanned cruisers of obsolete design. Single -craft continues Moonside. Towing craft leave unmanned cruisers adrift -after deceleration approximately 1,500 miles outside boundary. Speed -of abandoned ships, less than 300 miles per hour. Adrift in loose line -formation. Single ship, now radiating truce signal, continues course. -Am holding fire pending your advisory.</i></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p><i>From Kuul, Patrol Coordinator, Sirian Expeditionary Forces: For Karz, -Commander, Sector Patrol III. Subject: communication 18Z. Continue -holding fire pending my command.</i></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p><i>From Karz, Commander, Sector Patrol III: For Kuul, P. C. Subject: -armed enemy cruisers. Enemy fleet of military destroyer-units hovering -in formation at edge of restrictive boundary. Armed, but have not fired -into restrictive zone. Appear to be in command of General Flagship. No -communications intercepted, no actual violation as yet of restrictive -boundary. Twenty-one craft counted. Requesting further advice, to avert -any possible breach of strategic diplomacy.</i></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p><i>From Kuul, P. C., SEF: For Karz, Cmmdr., Sector Patrol III. Subject: -communication 18Z1. Stand by. Deliberate disregard of ultimatum -stipulations on our part would tend to lessen prestige and introduce -possibility of unsatisfactory psychological reactions. It is to be -remembered that Terrestrials are highly unpredictable when abruptly -angered. Alert your command this headquarters.</i></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"What did they say?" Kram asked. The Moon leered at him through the -thick quartz conning-port like a pitted, rotted rubber ball that had -once been painted with a diluted silver gilt.</p> - -<p>Luverduk still shook, but not as much. "About those skeletons—"</p> - -<p>"You'll be one if you don't cut your jets. What was their reply?"</p> - -<p>"Xenthl will give us an audience upon our landing, but we have been -emphatically warned that the slightest move we make which may be -interpreted as a breach of truce will be our last. And they added -that any move made by anybody else in the neighborhood which may be so -interpreted will be their last, too...."</p> - -<p>"Told you things would work out."</p> - -<p>"Work out? We're only flying a white flag with no authorization from -anybody. We've only gone AWOL. And Hoskins is gunning right behind. We -often leave without saying good-bye—"</p> - -<p>"Parts of that statement are inaccurate. Hoskins is waiting at the -boundary, not daring to fire into the Sirian zone—not gunning right -behind. And he knows that one ship-length of an armed cruiser over the -boundary will mean the G-ray for the whole shooting-match. He also -knows we'll come back, so is just standing by until we do. However, to -something of far more importance. Did you bring the blast-rifle?"</p> - -<p>"I did. I assume it is like the pistol, only more so."</p> - -<p>"It certainly is supposed to be."</p> - -<p>"Your answer is only more or less perfect. I say again, is the rifle -like a super G-ray?"</p> - -<p>"No."</p> - -<p>"Like a super atomic cannon, then."</p> - -<p>"No. The rifle, as well as the pistol I showed you, are, to put it -vulgarly, fakes. They wouldn't squirt water."</p> - -<p>"I asked you a straight question, you should therefore give me at least -the semblance of a straight answer. Come again."</p> - -<p>"You heard me. Fakes."</p> - -<p>"You mean they will not work? It will not work?"</p> - -<p>Silence.</p> - -<p>"Good Lord, you mean we're actually going to see Xenthl with truce in -our white little hearts and not blow his headquarters to pieces? This -is a real, honest-to-God truce mission?"</p> - -<p>"In a manner of speaking, sort of."</p> - -<p>"Then the explosion of the space-cruiser hull...?"</p> - -<p>"Was faked."</p> - -<p>"You <i>tricked</i> me!"</p> - -<p>"I did. But you believed me until I told you."</p> - -<p>Luverduk was starting to hop up and down, although his feet never quite -left the deck. "I will admit that, but only because it's true!"</p> - -<p>"It's true, all right. In addition to being an Intelligence and weapons -expert, I am likewise rather clever in the field of psychology. -Your foreknowledge of my expertness with weapon design had you -half-convinced I could do something fantastic before you even saw me -apparently do it. And when you saw it in what looked like actuality, it -was all you needed."</p> - -<p>"But we are surrendering anyhow! You <i>are</i> a mad fellow—"</p> - -<p>"Let us not, Luverduk, confuse the term 'truce' with 'surrender.' What -I told Hoskins and what I am actually doing are horses, one might say, -of variable hues...."</p> - -<p>"You see a way out of this, Kram?"</p> - -<p>"Prepare to man the decelerators at 3.8G on my signal."</p> - -<p>As the roar of the forward jets cut in and Kram's vision grew -momentarily blurred, the suspicion grew in his mind that Luverduk was -mumbling something about northbound horses....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The military headquarters of Xenthl, Commander-In-Chief of the Sirian -Expeditionary Forces and Grand Protector of the Universe were, as Kram -would have put it, somewhat stupendous. Simplicity was the keynote of -its otherworldly architecture; the huge hemisphere of eerily glimmering -alloy was first viewed by Luverduk with anything but a narrow-eyed, -analytical gaze. And its interior, although not resplendent in the -sense of the courts of ancient kings, was a breath-stopping spectacle -of geometry as could only have been conceived by minds of Other Space. -The involutions of its eye-defying curves were as gracefully simple as -they were dimensionally complex; the very straightness of the corridor -down which the procession of heavily armed guards and the men from -earth proceeded was a masterpiece of structural design in itself.</p> - -<p>Xenthl's sanctum sanctorum was an even greater achievement in the -architecturally impossible. Kram made a mental note to make a -requisition for a replastering job in his own office immediately upon -his return to Earth.</p> - -<p>Luverduk was impressed, but more with Xenthl's bearded, rotund, -pink-skinned majesty than with his surroundings.</p> - -<p>"Without the beaver, he'd look just like me, Kram!"</p> - -<p>"So he would, Major!"</p> - -<p>The seated Xenthl signalled his guards to halt, and the envoys of truce -to step forward. His oversized cranium, typical of his race, seemed to -nod gently from its own weight.</p> - -<p>"You come," he mouthed the Terrestrian language awkwardly, "as couriers -of surrender?"</p> - -<p>"You are crazier than Luverduk, here, if you think so!" Kram casually -folded his arms. "As a personal representative of his Most Excellent -Sovereign Worthiness, the Guardian of all Universes in Space and Time, -the President of Terra, and also the Bronx, I appear before you to -recognize and return the civility displayed by your forces in not -attacking an Earth ship radiating a signal of truce. In short, I am -here to offer you your life, and the lives of your people, with the -alternative of instantaneous annihilation."</p> - -<p>"I am amused," purred Xenthl. "But at your expense. For this -impertinence, your government shall be given but one month more, -instead of six months more, to prepare itself for my rule. And in -addition, from this moment forward, it will be under the direct -surveillance of my own armed forces. I have, it would seem, grossly -overestimated the intelligence of you Earthmen. It had been my thought -that, as you say, you knew what was good for you. I have erred."</p> - -<p>"That," said Kram, allowing the flicker of a self-indulgent grin -to play at the corners of his long mouth, "is something of an -understatement, Mr. Xenthl. And to prove what I say—and a man of your -intellect would require proof of any statement—I ask that the only -armament aboard the ship in which I came, a blast-rifle, be brought -here, to be fired as I direct by one of your own marksmen. By directing -his aim telescopically, he should have no trouble in sighting on the -abandoned cruiser hulls which I have had towed into position for target -purposes...."</p> - -<p>Xenthl's mouth worked. "This is a trick of some sort," he said icily. -"At the very least, a gross misuse of the purposes of truce."</p> - -<p>"I offer you your lives," Kram said almost nonchalantly.</p> - -<p>"As a man of my intellect—" Xenthl declared after a breath-take of -hesitation, "I require whatever attempt at proof you may have for your -childish statements. Guard!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Within moments, the rifle was in the hands of one of Xenthl's marksmen, -and, sighting with a headquarters electrono-telescope, the soldier -from Sirius drew a bead on the drifting cruiser hulls, and pressed the -curved trigger at Xenthl's order.</p> - -<p>In a visiplate, Xenthl himself witnessed an incredible white flash as -first one of the space-cruiser hulls was blown to atoms, and then in -rapid succession, the second, third, fourth, and fifth.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus1.jpg" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p><i>The first space-cruiser hull was blown to atoms....</i></p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>"You will observe," Kram said, "that only one hull was hit. But all -were destroyed. A little chain-reaction gadget I developed last week—" -A gasp at Kram's elbow; but Kram had not finished—"You have observed -also," he continued matter-of-factly, "that with one blast of only a -rifle, to say nothing of the <i>cannon</i> I have also developed, a myriad -of targets may at once be destroyed. Your G-ray," Kram adopted a tone -dripping with respect, "is capable, after all, of destroying but one -target at a time."</p> - -<p>Xenthl's features had lost their healthy pink tinge. "You have -mastered," he said, "a practical application of the chain-reaction -principle. It is impossible, but I have seen you do it with my own -eyes."</p> - -<p>"That was the object in my having come," Kram said in his most -courteous tone. "And it is the proof which I knew your excellency would -demand. In addition to which, I might inform you that I am Gaylord -Kram!"</p> - -<p>Silence. Then:</p> - -<p>"This is indeed a matter for some consideration," Xenthl said.</p> - -<p>And even the mask-like face of the arrogant Sirian was not able to -disguise the look of utter incredulity which was shadowed beneath its -still-white-tinged surface.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"Kram, you'll hang for this!"</p> - -<p>Gaylord Kram stood at rigid attention before Sectors-General Hoskins -on the flight-deck of the General Flagship. He had drawn his own craft -alongside and boarded with Major Luverduk at the General's command, and -under the ugly snouts of the General's artillery.</p> - -<p>"I trust," he said, "that you will accept my apology for having issued -you a false communication. But I theorized that only in anger would -I be followed so promptly and with such a show of strength. Only the -thought of surrender could make you angry, sir!"</p> - -<p>"You impudent puppy! You—" Hoskins was livid. He did not shake. He -vibrated.</p> - -<p>"It was necessary, sir. I was bluffing, but I needed at least the -appearance of armed might to give credence to my strategy. I readily -admit having rescued our planet by means of what may unappreciatively -be termed trickery. As I tricked Luverduk, here, by simply using a -mined target on the detonation range, so I also attempted to trick -Xenthl with five unmanned space-cruisers, loaded to the seams with -atomic detonators timed to produce the effect of chain-reaction and set -off by remote control. There was a miniature radar transmitter of my -own design within the blast-rifle which I had Xenthl's marksman use. -Quite simple, really."</p> - -<p>"Simple is hardly the word!" Hoskins thundered. "With the Sirian G-ray -staring us in the face, <i>you</i> try your hand at strategy! I hope there -is time to hang you before Earth is blown to Kingdom Come!"</p> - -<p>"Never fear, sir! Xenthl had merely used an innovation of the Q-type -light-bender to produce a mirage at the desert location of his supposed -'abandoned laboratories.' First the buildings were 'seen,' then, at -the instant his weapon was supposedly 'fired,' they were not. A mirage -had been turned on and off at will. That was all! Putting it simply, -sir—I theorized that the G-ray was, in the first place, no more than a -colossal bluff itself!"</p> - -<p>"Theorized, the man says!" The General's complexion blended nicely with -his lavender tunic. "To him, politics is five-card stud! To him—"</p> - -<p>The tirade was interrupted by a wide-eyed orderly who bore a -signal-technician's insignia on his sleeve. "Sir! Sirian ships are -leaving the Moon, driving hard past Pluto! By the minute, sir, larger -and larger flights are going up-ship for Deep Space! And at full drive! -Sir!"</p> - -<p>"Of course," murmured Kram. "I gave them twenty-four hours to clear -out!"</p> - -<p>Deftly mounting a portable G-gun which he had confiscated from Xenthl's -personal arsenal, Kram pointed it directly at his own ship, drifting -under robot control a few miles to the Flagship's starboard.</p> - -<p>"They cleared out," he declared quietly, "because Gaylord Kram -had called their bluff, gentlemen!" and triumphantly punched a -firing-button.</p> - -<p>A soft hiss, and Kram's cruiser was blown to smithereens!</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus2.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - - - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SIDEWINDERS FROM SIRIUS ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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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