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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/75438-0.txt b/75438-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..056a8f8 --- /dev/null +++ b/75438-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1240 @@ + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75438 *** + + + + + + Corsairs of the Cosmos + + By EDMOND HAMILTON + + _A stupendous story of the Interstellar + Patrol--an amazing weird-scientific tale + of an invasion from outside the universe._ + + [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from + Weird Tales April 1934. + Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that + the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] + + +"What was the greatest adventure that you ever took part in during your +service in the Interstellar Patrol?" + +That is a question which I, Dur Nal, captain in the Patrol, and my two +officers are often asked. + +My own answer is: "I believe our space-fight with the serpent-people +was the wildest adventure ever we had." + +Korus Kan, my first officer, disagrees: "It was the time that we were +drawn into the dark nebula." + +And Jhul Din, my big second officer, differs with both of us and says, +"That time we penetrated inside a comet was by far the most venturous." + +To settle this difference of opinion I once put the question to Lacq +Larus, Chief of the Interstellar Patrol. + +Lacq Larus knew of every venture we of the service had ever engaged +upon. He considered for a long time before he answered me. + +"Dur Nal," he told me finally, "I think that the time we fought the +cosmic corsairs was the wildest any of us ever saw." + +And looking back, I am not sure but that Lacq Larus is right. For +certainly that was the maddest space-struggle in which even the oldest +veterans of the Patrol ever took part. + +My cruiser had just returned to headquarters at Canopus when the +thing first burst upon us. Our ship had been engaged for long weeks +patrolling a lonely section of the galaxy beyond Mira, policing space +between the suns and seeing that law was maintained in the interstellar +void. + +We had been glad enough when our relief came and we could return to +headquarters. At full speed we flew across the galaxy between suns and +nebulæ until at last we were watching Canopus' worlds come out of the +huge white sun's glare as our cruiser swept in toward them. + +But our stay at headquarters was to be short. For when I went up into +the great tower that holds the central authority of the Interstellar +Patrol, and reported our return to Lacq Larus, the Chief, I found that +a new assignment awaited us. + +"Dur Nal, I'm sorry to send you right back out into space," Lacq Larus +told me, "but there's a job to be done." + +"What is it, sir?" I asked. "A little meteor-sweeping to be done?" + +"No, the space-routes of the galaxy are all clear at the moment," the +Chief answered. "But I've just had a report from the astronomers at +Betelgeuse that a number of celestial bodies are approaching our galaxy +from outer space. They report that there are about twenty of these +bodies, that they are non-luminous and are apparently a group of dark +stars. They are approaching with phenomenal speed and will reach our +galaxy at a point near Betelgeuse." + +"And you want us to go out and investigate these oncoming dark stars?" +I guessed as he paused. + +Lacq Larus nodded. "Yes. I want you to take a squadron of cruisers and +go out into outer space to meet them. You will ascertain the exact +course and speed of these dark stars and determine accurately where and +when they will enter our galaxy. Then return here at once with your +report." + +I saluted. "Very well, sir. If the cruisers are ready we'll start at +once." + +"The squadron is waiting for you now down in the docks," Lacq Larus +said. And he called after me as I went out, "I'll see that you get the +leave due you when you return." + + * * * * * + +I went down to the great docks beside the tower, in which were resting +or refitting hundreds of ships of the Interstellar Patrol. Most +numerous among them were the long, cigar-shaped cruisers, the swiftest +ships in space, grim beam-tubes projecting from their sides. + +There were also slower, broader-beamed meteor-sweeps; observation ships +fitted with elaborate instruments; heat-cruisers such as are used for +close work with nebulæ and suns; and representatives of all the other +classes of ships in the Patrol. + +I found the squadron of twenty-five cruisers assigned me, waiting with +all officers and crews aboard. Then I went on to my own cruiser and +as I neared the dock where it rested I saw beside it a small crowd of +Patrol officers listening to some one discoursing in a loud voice. +As I drew nearer I saw that the speaker was a big, bulky figure and +recognized him as Jhul Din, my second officer. + +Beside him, listening in some amusement, was Korus Kan, my first +officer, and the other officers were hanging on his words. + +"----and we ran our ship at full speed right through that +meteor-swarm!" Jhul Din was saying. "We went so fast that not a cursed +meteor in the whole swarm ever touched us." + +"But weren't you afraid to head your cruiser into a meteor-swarm like +that?" asked a young officer. + +Jhul Din stared at him. "Afraid? You won't know what it is to be afraid +when you've spent as much time out in space as I have." + +"Well, you're going to spend a little more time in space right now," I +broke in. "Jhul Din, call the crew to stations at once." + +He looked at me in dismay. "You don't mean that we're going out on +patrol again, Dur Nal? Not when we've just come in?" + +"We're going out again, but not on patrol," I told him, and informed +them briefly of the mission Lacq Larus had assigned to us. + +"Why did the Chief have to pick on us?" Jhul Din exclaimed. "Look how +long it'll take us to go outside the galaxy far enough to meet those +dark stars." + +"Well, it can't be helped," I said as we entered the cruiser. "The +sooner you quit complaining and we get started, the sooner we'll be +back." + +He left us, still grumbling, and I heard his deep voice calling the +crew to their posts as Korus Kan and I climbed to the cruiser's +bridge-room. + +"Is everything in order for a start?" I asked Korus Kan and he saluted. + +"Everything in order--all generators and projectors satisfactory, +air-tanks and supply-rooms full, all beam-tubes working." + +"Very well," I said, and picked up the space-phone by which I could +communicate with the other cruisers of my squadron. + +"Dur Nal speaking--we will start in five minutes," I ordered. "Triangle +formation, and keep at two light-speeds until we clear Canopus." + +As the captains of the other cruisers responded their understanding, I +turned to the pilot who had just come up into the bridge-room. "Start +in four minutes, Jan Allon," I ordered. "Lay our course for Betelgeuse +for the present." + +I heard Jhul Din bellow an order down below and the space-doors clanged +shut. Then the whining hum of the great generators in the lower deck +began. + +Jan Allon waited for a few moments, then threw on the power and pulled +the cruiser's wheel slightly toward him. Our ship arrowed up at once +into the sunlight, the other cruisers following close behind in the +familiar triangle formation of the Patrol. + +In a short time our squadron was clear of Canopus, and with the huge +sun glaring behind us like a great white eye we were racing across the +galaxy's spaces at many light-speeds toward Betelgeuse. We followed the +straightest possible course, and this took us past the Orion nebula, +which lies almost directly on the space-route between Canopus and +Betelgeuse. The nebula bulked for billions of miles in space beside +us, a stupendous burning cloud along whose edge our comparatively tiny +cruiser crawled. + + * * * * * + +Once the mighty nebula was behind us, it was not long before our +squadron reached Betelgeuse and the galaxy's edge. There was no need +for us to halt at Betelgeuse; so we passed that sun and in a short +time were passing clear out of the galaxy into outer space. + +Behind us lay the galaxy, a colossal swarm of suns floating in the +infinitude of space. Before us lay only space itself, vast, lightless, +empty. Far, far across its unthinkable reaches glowed a few little +patches of soft, hazy light, galaxies as large as our own but so far +away they were hardly visible. + +Out in space some distance from our galaxy we could descry with our +instruments a group of dark bodies coming toward us. They were the +score of dark stars approaching the galaxy from the outer emptiness. +Our squadron headed right out into the infinite toward them. + +Korus Kan took observations on the dark stars as we approached them, +while Jhul Din and I watched. + +He found that they were all of large size and that they were coming on +with astounding speed. + +"They're moving faster than any dark star I ever heard of before!" +Korus Kan told us. + +"That's all the better," Jhul Din grunted. "We'll meet them the sooner +and can get back sooner into the galaxy." + +We watched as the black globes of the oncoming dark stars became dimly +visible in the blackness ahead. Then I gave an order for the squadron +to slacken speed. + +"When we meet the dark stars we'll turn and move above them and with +them, back toward the galaxy," I directed, "long enough to investigate +them." + +In a short time the dark stars had grown to huge black worlds booming +toward us close ahead. + +We ascended to a higher level and prepared to turn and follow above +them when they reached us. They came on with truly amazing velocity, +those mighty burned-out cinders that long ago had been suns. + +From what far region of space had they come, I wondered? How came these +dark wanderers to be rushing through outer space far from whatever +galaxy had been their origin? What chance had led them through infinity +toward our own galaxy? + +Musing on this, I watched as our squadron passed close over the group, +executed a broad turn, and then came back and flew above the dark stars +toward the galaxy. + +Now we were almost stupefied to find that they were moving through +space nearly half as fast as our swift ships could move! + +"By all the suns, this is incredible!" I cried. "These dark stars are +moving faster than any celestial body was ever known to move!" + +Korus Kan's eyes were excited. "There's something strange about this +whole business! Wait and I'll take some observations." + +As he trained his instruments on the hurtling worlds below, Jhul Din +and I stared down at them in increasing amazement. + +"Maybe there has been a cosmic convulsion in some other galaxy that +hurled these dead suns into outer space," Jhul Din suggested. + +"Even that wouldn't account for their tremendous velocity," I was +saying, when Korus Kan interrupted. + +"By the suns, it's as I suspected!" he cried. "Those dark stars are +propelled by artificial power!" + +We turned our stare on him. "What are you saying?" + +"It's the truth!" Korus Kan affirmed. "Our instruments show that +they are being impelled through space by super-powerful propulsion +vibrations like those that impel our ships! It means that the dark +stars have been fitted with huge generators and projectors and +controls, and are being driven through space like so many colossal +ships!" + +"It can't be!" Jhul Din exclaimed incredulously. "Whoever heard of dead +suns the size of those being propelled artificially?" + +But rapidly I was thinking. "I believe that Korus Kan is right," I +said. "And if these dark stars are really being propelled deliberately +through space, it means that there are living creatures of some kind on +them directing their flight." + +"Why have they steered their twenty worlds across the outer void toward +our galaxy? Where have they come from and for what?" Jhul Din asked. + +"We must learn the answer to these questions and report to +headquarters. This matter may be of import to our whole galaxy." + +"Shall we descend and land on one of those dark stars to investigate, +then?" asked Jhul Din. + +Quickly I considered. "There's no need to imperil our whole squadron," +I said. + +I grasped the space-phone and spoke to the other ships. "It appears +that these twenty dark stars are being deliberately propelled toward +our galaxy, no doubt by beings of some sort upon them," I stated. "Our +cruiser is going to descend to investigate. All others of the squadron +will remain at their present level, and if we do not rejoin you within +two hours you will return at full speed toward the galaxy and report +what has happened at headquarters." + +From the captains of the other cruisers came assent to the order, and +then I turned to the pilot. "Very well, Jan Allon--descend toward the +foremost of the dark stars." + + * * * * * + +In tense silence Korus Kan and Jhul Din and I watched as our cruiser +shot down through space toward the first of the onrushing dead suns. +What would we find there? We waited in taut anticipation as the ship +dropped down through the millions of miles. + +Presently Korus Kan spoke. "None of the dark stars seems to have any +atmospheric halo," he said. + +"What kind of creatures could exist on worlds without atmosphere?" Jhul +Din marvelled. + +The foremost dark-star's surface rushed up toward us. We saw on it +crowded movement, a stir of hosts of moving things. + +"There's life of some kind down there, all right," said Jhul Din. + +Then as our ship raced lower an exclamation of utter astonishment came +from me. "Life? This isn't a world of life as we know it. It's a world +of machines!" + +For the moving things that existed in hosts on the dark star were all +machines! + +The twilight surface of the star was crowded with their numbers. There +were towering machines that stalked to and fro; many-limbed mechanisms +such as I had never seen; and dozens of other kinds. + +The eye could not count them, so great were their numbers. There was no +other life or moving things in sight. Here was mystery of the cosmos, +dark, enigmatic. How came the active and apparently masterless machines +to be peopling these dirigible worlds? + +"By the suns, there must be people of some kind here!" exclaimed Jhul +Din. "If not, who made these machines?" + +Korus Kan uttered a sharp cry. "Dur Nal! Some of the machines are +coming up toward us!" + +A hundred or more mechanisms had risen from the dark star and were +flying swiftly up through space toward us. + +These mechanisms had no occupants, no operators. They were simply +masterless machines flying in space, disk-like in shape and with tubes +much like beam-tubes projecting from them. + +"They may be going to attack us," Jhul Din warned. "Shall we beam them?" + +"No--don't loose a single beam," I commanded. "There are a hundred of +them to our one." + +The flying-mechanisms came rapidly up, swarmed in a crowd around +our descending cruiser. There was something chilling and uncanny at +the sight of the metal machines acting with apparent volition and +intelligence. They seemed watching us, but made no move to attack us. I +had a lively sense, though, that they were only waiting for an untoward +movement on our part to leap upon us. + +"Keep descending," I told the pilot. "They're not going to harm us at +present, apparently." + +"There's a clear space down there to the left that looks like the +center of activities, sir," the pilot reported to me. + +"Land there, then," I directed. + +The spot on the dark-star's surface toward which we now descended was a +clear circle surrounded by hosts of machines. As our ship slanted down +toward it, with the flying-mechanisms keeping in a close swarm around +us, I turned. + +"Jhul Din, order every one in the ship to don space-suits," I +commanded. "There is no atmosphere on this world." + + * * * * * + +Jan Allon turned to me and saluted. "We have landed, sir." + +"I am going to emerge. Korus Kan and Jhul Din and five of the crew will +accompany me," I said. "The rest will remain in the cruiser and in case +of accident to us will attempt to escape with the ship." + +With my two officers I went down from the bridge-room to the lower deck. + +"Open the space-door," I ordered. + +The heavy door swung, and with Jhul Din and Korus Kan and our five +followers I stepped out onto the dark-star's surface. + +We looked about us. We stood in an unimaginably weird and alien scene. +A thick twilight lay over everything, but half-way up to the zenith in +the black heavens glittered a great swarm of stars. It was our galaxy, +toward which these dark-star worlds were rushing. + +All around us in that twilight, surrounding with their hosts the clear +circular space in which our cruiser had landed, towered the mighty +machines. They were now motionless, as though they were watching us. +With a chilling of my blood I knew that they _were_ watching us. + +Across the circle from us loomed a huge panel, and beside it great +levers and wheels. Near this stood a half-dozen curious, squat, cowled +mechanisms resting each on three metal limbs. + +Korus Kan touched my arm, whispered. "Dur Nal, that panel and the +levers--they must be the controls by which this dark star is propelled +and steered through space!" + +"We'll go over toward them, then," I said. "If there's any center of +authority, it will be there." + +As we neared the huge controls a stir went through the machine-giants +around the clearing, menacing, watchful. + +"By the suns, these cursed machines are all _alive_!" muttered Jhul Din. + +We stopped before the six cowled mechanisms that stood by the controls. +Some instinct told me of power, of authority, concentrated in them. + +Then out from one of those squat, cowled machines came a clear +thought-message, impinging directly on my mind. The machine was +speaking to us. + +"You are inhabitants of the galaxy which our twenty dark stars are now +approaching?" it asked. + +"We are," I answered, projecting the thought toward it. "Are you +machines the only inhabitants of these dark stars? It is you who are +steering them toward our galaxy?" + +"It is," the machine replied. "We come from one of the galaxies nearest +in space to your own galaxy. And that one from which we come is a +galaxy inhabited only by machines like ourselves." + +"A whole galaxy peopled only by machines?" I said. "How can such a +thing be?" + +"It has been so for countless ages," the mechanism answered. "Long ago +we machines came to power in that galaxy and we have retained it ever +since." + +"But how did these machines come into existence in the first place?" +Korus Kan whispered, beside me. + +The cowled mechanism must have caught his thought. "In our galaxy +in the far past," it told us, "there existed a race of beings who +were not mechanisms but were living things similar to yourselves. +They constructed many and diverse machines to aid in their conquest +of nature, and they made those machines ever more automatic and +self-sufficient. Finally they devised mechanisms that possessed a +mechanical brain-structure capable of memory and association and +decision, machines that could think. These thinking machines soon came +to be superior in capabilities to their living creators. With unerring +logic they recognized this fact and saw themselves better fitted to +rule than their creators. So they rebelled against those who had made +them and destroyed them all. + +"Since then we machines have ruled supreme and alone in that galaxy and +long ago spread out to every part of it and now are masters of all its +suns and worlds." + +"A machine-race rebelling against its creators!" Jhul Din exclaimed +incredulously. "And these metal monsters rule a whole galaxy!" + +"Quiet, Jhul Din!" I ordered. "We've got to find out what they've come +to our own galaxy for." + +I projected another thought at the cowled master-machines before me. +"How come you machines to be propelling these dark stars toward our +galaxy?" + +The mechanism's thought-answer came. "We took twenty dark stars in our +galaxy, fitted them with propulsion-apparatus and other apparatus, and +then steered them out of our galaxy and across the gulf of space toward +this galaxy of yours." + +"But why did you do it?" I asked. "What have you come to our galaxy +for?" + +The machine's thought-answer came like a thunder-clap. + +"We have come for suns!" + +"For suns? What do you mean?" + +The mechanism explained. "Our galaxy is much older than yours. A large +number of its suns are old, red, dying. The worlds of our dying suns +have been growing colder and colder. Upon many of them even we machines +can no longer exist. We wish to get some new suns to replace the dying +ones in our galaxy. We saw across space that your galaxy has many hot, +young suns, and we have come to get some of them." + +We were stupefied. "You are mad!" I said finally. "How could you hope +to move suns from our galaxy to yours?" + +"We can do it quite simply," the machine affirmed. "These dark stars +can be propelled anywhere we wish and we need only approach a sun with +one of them, project toward that sun a powerful attraction-beam such as +we are equipped to produce, and then head our dark star back toward our +galaxy dragging the sun with us." + +I heard with increasing stupefaction. "And you've come with these +twenty dark stars to rob us of twenty of our suns!" + +"It's impossible!" Jhul Din exclaimed. "Not these machines or any one +else could ever tow away suns like that!" + +"It's not impossible," said Korus Kan tensely. "They can do it if they +have such equipment as they say." + +"We can do it, yes, and we mean to do it," the machine affirmed. +"Already we approach your galaxy, and when we reach it each of our dark +stars will attach itself to a sun and we will start back with these +twenty suns toward our galaxy. We will return again for another twenty +suns and will continue this until our galaxy has sufficient hot, young +suns to keep all our worlds warm. + +"If you do not oppose us, no one in your galaxy will be harmed and +we will allow the worlds of the suns we choose time enough to be +evacuated of their inhabitants. But if you do oppose us, you will find +it useless, for we machines are mighty and no mere living creatures can +hope to resist us. You will only sacrifice yourselves in attempting +resistance." + +[Illustration: "We machines are mighty. You will only sacrifice +yourselves in attempting resistance."] + +The cold, logical statement of the machine stung me to fury. "Do you +imagine for a moment that we are going to allow you to come out of +space and rob us of our suns at will?" I cried. + +The mechanism's reply was completely unimpassioned. "You will gain +nothing by resistance," it repeated. "When we have taken what suns we +need, you will still have thousands of suns left." + +"You'll take no suns at all from our galaxy!" I answered. "You'll find +that we are not such powerless creatures as you machines imagine." + +The cowled machine ignored my threat. "You will return to your galaxy," +it told me, "and will tell your peoples what we have said. Make clear +to them that if they do not resist us, no one will be harmed when we +take the suns we need. But tell them also that if any of them oppose us +we will annihilate them." + +A burning resentment at this mechanical thing's cold arrogance welled +in me, but I retained enough reason to choke it down. + +"We are free to go, then?" I asked. + +"You are commanded to go!" the mechanism answered. "You are ordered to +take that message to your galaxy's peoples." + +"Very well, we will go," I answered. To our followers I said, "Back to +the cruiser." + + * * * * * + +We strode across the circle with the hosts of machines around it still +motionless, watching. As coolly as possible we entered the ship and +slammed shut the space-door. I climbed with my two officers to the +bridge-room. + +"Ascend at once," I ordered Jan Allon. + +The generators hummed and our craft rose rapidly from the dark-star's +surface. Around us rose the flying-mechanisms, too. + +"They're seeing us off to make sure we don't attempt any attack," I +said. "These machines leave nothing to chance." + +"Dur Nal, what will come of all this?" cried Jhul Din as our cruiser +rose. "Can those mechanical things actually steal suns from our galaxy?" + +"They can do it unless we are able to stop them," I said thoughtfully. +"And whether or not we shall be able to stop them, I don't know." + +"Why, if we gather all the Patrol together we ought to be able to beam +them and their cursed dark stars out of space!" Jhul Din exclaimed. + +"We'll do our best, anyway," I said grimly. + +"The flying-mechanisms are dropping back, sir," reported Jan Allon. + +We had risen high above the onrushing dark stars, and the machines that +had accompanied us were now descending. + +In a short time we were millions of miles above the twenty dead suns, +and we soon made contact with our squadron, which had been hovering +overhead. + +"We return toward the galaxy at full speed immediately," I ordered the +ships of our squadron. + +As our ships put on speed we soon left the dark stars behind us, +outracing them toward the galaxy. + +I took the space-phone and after a little difficulty got through to +headquarters at Canopus. In a few moments I was talking to the Chief. + +Lacq Larus listened with utmost attention as I related what we +had discovered concerning the dark stars and the purposes of the +machine-things guiding them. + +"This is almost incredible!" replied Lacq Larus' voice when I had +finished. "Cosmic buccaneers coming from another galaxy to steal suns +from our own galaxy!" + +"It is incredible but true," I told him. "They will reach our galaxy +within a short time and will start dragging away suns." + +"You believe that they can do this, Dur Nal?" he asked. + +"I am almost sure that they can," I answered. "These machines impressed +me as being the most formidable creatures I've ever encountered. Korus +Kan is of my opinion also." + +"Well, we're not going to stand tamely by and let them rob us of any +of our suns," said Lacq Larus, a steely quality in his voice. "Dur Nal, +when you reach the galaxy's edge stand by there with your squadron +and keep watch for the coming of these dark stars. I'll call up every +cruiser in the Interstellar Patrol and order them to rendezvous off +Betelgeuse. We'll join up with you there to combat these machines and +their worlds." + +"One more thing, sir," I added quickly. "What if we are unable to +prevent these machines from taking twenty of our suns?" + +"You don't think they will prove too strong for us, do you?" Lacq Larus +asked. + +"I have been strongly impressed by the powers of these mechanisms," I +answered. "I suggest that the worlds of all suns in that section at the +galaxy's edge be evacuated of their inhabitants so that if the suns are +taken, the inhabitants will be safe." + +After a moment's silence he said, "Very well, Dur Nal. I'll give orders +for the evacuation to take place." + + * * * * * + +During the next hours our squadron raced at top speed toward the +galaxy's edge. The dark stars faded from sight behind us, but we knew +that they were still there, still rushing steadily on toward our galaxy. + +By the time we reached Betelgeuse the whole galaxy was aflame with news +of the coming of these cosmic corsairs, who meant to plunder us of part +of our suns. Despite this excitement there was no panic. + +Lacq Larus was on his way from Canopus with the thousand cruisers of +the Interstellar Patrol that had been at headquarters. And in response +to his commands, flashed across the whole galaxy, every fighting-ship +in the Patrol was making for Betelgeuse. + +Yes, from every part of the galaxy they were coming, those lean, +long hawks of space, from the great trade-routes between the bigger +suns, from lonely regions in uncharted parts of the galaxy. Rushing +at reckless speed through the perils of the void, the ships of the +Interstellar Patrol came in answer to their Chief's call. + +Meanwhile all the worlds of the suns in the threatened section at +the galaxy's edge were being swiftly evacuated of their inhabitants. +Interstellar liners and freighters in hundreds of thousands swarmed +from those worlds to suns back in the galaxy, carrying their whole +populations to suns and worlds more safe. + +Out beside great Betelgeuse, at the galaxy's very edge, I lay waiting +with my squadron. My ships still maintained their triangular formation. +We had climbed several light-years above the plane of the threatened +suns and now lay in the void, Jhul Din and Korus Kan and I watching +intently through our instruments as the dark stars in the outer void +rushed toward us. Nearer and nearer they came, still flying on in a +compact group. + +"They're beginning to slow down," muttered Jhul Din, watching. "If Lacq +Larus and the rest of the Patrol don't show up soon, they'll be too +late." + +"Here they come now!" exclaimed Korus Kan. + +We turned and saw racing toward us thousands on thousands of shining +points that became cruisers as they neared us. Foremost among them flew +the flagship of Lacq Larus, and the Chief's craft drew up close beside +our own. + +"Almost the whole strength of the Patrol is here, Dur Nal," Lacq Larus +told me on the space-phone. "What about the dark stars?" + +"They're almost here too," I said grimly. "You can see them out there." + +There was silence as Lacq Larus and all the rest in our fleet peered +toward those twenty onrushing giant globes. + +"They're almost here, sir," I said. "What are your orders for attack?" + +"We'll divide into twenty divisions, one to attack each of those +dark stars," Lacq Larus ordered. "Each division will descend on its +objective and beam everything upon it as heavily as possible, trying +especially to destroy the controls of the propulsion-apparatus." + +"We will not attack until they actually start dragging away suns. For +if they find themselves unable to seize any of our suns as they plan, +they will no doubt return to their own galaxy and there will be no need +of combat." + +We watched, therefore, without making a move as the score of dark stars +drew nearer. + +The scene was a thrilling one: the hosts of the galaxy's shining suns +stretching away behind us; the myriad cruisers of our great fleet lying +motionless up there high above the outermost suns; the twenty huge +black stars booming nearer on their ruthless mission of intergalactic +piracy. + +The dark stars were now at the galaxy's edge, and there they separated. +Each of them moved toward one of the suns below, and each selected a +hot, youthful sun of large or medium size. Directly under my own ship +we could see one of the dark stars approaching a blue sun, curving +smoothly in toward it. + +"It can't be done!" Jhul Din exclaimed tautly. "Nothing can drag a sun +away!" + +"But they're doing it!" cried Korus Kan. "Look at that!" + +The dark star had come very close to the blue sun, and now from its +surface a broad, pale beam of immense magnitude stabbed toward the sun. + +For a few moments they remained thus, dark star and sun connected +by that beam. Then the dark star began to move slowly away under the +influence of its propulsion-apparatus, and the blue sun moved slowly +after it! + +"They're doing it!" repeated Korus Kan. "They're towing that sun away!" + +"And look--all the other dark stars are dragging away suns!" cried the +astounded Jhul Din. + + * * * * * + +It was an astounding, an awful spectacle--those robber dark stars of +the machines making away with twenty of our suns. + +Lacq Larus' voice snapped at that moment from the space-phone. Our +fleet divided into twenty subdivisions, each with one of the dark stars +as its objective. Then came the order to attack. + +Down, down--like swooping hawks of space our cruisers rushed headlong +down through the millions of miles toward the dark stars towing away +their helpless prey. And up from each of the dark stars to meet us, +as though they had only been awaiting our attack, darted hosts of the +disk-like flying-mechanisms. + +There was a hell of cosmic struggle then over the twenty dark stars. So +appalling was the inferno of that battle that I lost all sense of the +individual part our ship took in it. + +I was aware of Jhul Din and Korus Kan yelling hoarsely beside me as +the beams of our ships stabbed and smashed through the masses of the +darting flying-machines. Then I saw brilliant filaments of blue force +emitted from the flying-mechanisms toward our cruisers, saw every +cruiser touched by them explode instantly into blue light. Ships and +flying-mechanisms went to death by hundreds in space all around us. Our +cruisers still strove to smash down through the machines to the surface +of the dark stars. For even while this wild combat went on above them, +the dark stars were still steadily towing their captive suns on out +into space. + +The flying-mechanisms outnumbered us two to one, and despite our wild +efforts we could not get through them to the worlds beneath. And more +and more of our ships were exploding in azure light as the filaments of +force found a mark. + +Three-quarters of our force had been destroyed and it looked as though +the rest of us would be wiped out in a few minutes, when there came an +order from the Chief. + +"All ships break off fighting and ascend!" ordered Lacq Larus. + +What cruisers were left us at once disengaged from the struggle and +darted upward. + +The flying-mechanisms pursued us but we beamed them so savagely from +above that they dropped back. + +We climbed two light-years before Lacq Larus gave our shattered forces +the order to halt and resume formation. + +"The machines have destroyed all but a quarter of our ships," he said. +"They outnumber us, and to continue the battle is only to invite +complete destruction." + +"But, sir, we can't let them take those twenty suns away!" cried one of +the captains on the space-phone. + +"I'm afraid we'll have to this time," Lacq Larus said. "But they will +be coming back for more suns, and the next time we will be ready for +them." + +"But, sir----" protested another officer, and was cut short by the +Chief's grim voice. + +"I know how you of the Patrol feel at thus letting them take those suns +away. But we can do no good by sacrificing ourselves at this time, and +must have all the forces available to meet them when they come again. +We will return into the galaxy, except for two scouting-divisions +which will remain and keep watch along the edge." + +Grimly, with bitter thoughts, our shattered forces moved back into the +galaxy, leaving the patrolling force behind. + +"Beaten!" Jhul Din exclaimed unbelievingly. "The Interstellar Patrol, +beaten by those machines!" + +"We're not completely beaten, Jhul Din," I told him. "They've won the +first round, but when they come back again it will be a different +story." + +"But we've let them take twenty of our suns away from us," he said, "as +easily as though we weren't there at all!" + + * * * * * + +When our remaining forces re-entered the galaxy we found it in uproar. +News of the success of the machine-corsairs in robbing us of twenty +suns had already flashed everywhere across it. It was known that the +machines would return for more suns, and in view of what had happened +it seemed probable that they could loot our galaxy of as many suns as +they wished. + +Lacq Larus broadcast a statement to allay the general fear. + +"The machines greatly outnumbered our forces and for that reason we +were unable to prevent them from towing away twenty suns," he stated. +"But they will without doubt return to plunder us of more suns, and +before then we must construct as many ships as possible with which to +meet them. If we have forces enough we should be able to prevent the +theft of any more suns." + +Preparations were begun almost at once to build up sufficient forces to +meet the cosmic corsairs on their return. Thousands on thousands of new +Patrol cruisers were hastily laid down to replace those destroyed in +the battle. Beams of greater range and power were installed in them. + +It was estimated that we would have twice as many ships to meet the +next coming of the corsairs as when we first had combated them. We +would be meeting them on something like even terms as to numbers. + +"By the suns, we'll blast them out of space when they show up next +time!" Jhul Din vowed. + +Korus Kan was not so sure. "Their weapons are more powerful than our +own," he reminded. + + * * * * * + +Our new ships were hardly completed when there came warning of the +corsairs' return. + +Our astronomers had watched them closely as they towed our score of +suns steadily across the void toward their own distant galaxy. Now the +astronomers reported that the twenty dark stars were on their way back +to our galaxy. + +Lacq Larus ordered a patrol far out into space in the direction of the +oncoming corsairs. Our main forces remained just inside the galaxy's +edge. All worlds of suns there had been evacuated. + +Soon came word from the patrol that the dark stars were close. Lacq +Larus ordered our scouts not to engage but to keep just ahead of them. + +Again Jhul Din and Korus Kan and I looked down from a great height +at the oncoming dead suns of the buccaneering machines. They swept +steadily, purposefully, toward our galaxy's edge again, but this time +Lacq Larus did not wait for them to attach themselves to suns. He +ordered the attack at once. + +If our first battle with the machines had been wild, our second one was +madness. The flying-mechanisms still outnumbered our ships slightly, +and they fought like the machines they were, with cold, relentless +purpose. + +And as they fought with us, the dark stars on which they had come were +being directed smoothly toward our suns, hooking onto a sun each with +their great attraction-beams, and starting again to tow these suns out +into the void. + +At this sight, Lacq Larus flashed an order to us. "Try above all to get +down and cripple the propulsion-apparatus of those dark stars! If we +don't, they'll get away with these suns too!" + +"They're getting away with them now!" groaned Jhul Din. "Curse them, if +they were only living creatures instead of machines we might be able to +beat them!" + +Already a third of our forces were gone, and at Lacq Larus' new order +we spent our ships at an appalling rate to wing down and disable the +dirigible dark stars. + +It was in vain. The flying-mechanisms kept always between us and the +dark stars below. And steadily as the wild battle raged above them, +those dark stars were dragging away their second capture of suns. + +One only did our forces manage to disable. There had been a break in +the battle above it for a moment, and through that break two Patrol +cruisers cometed down instantly and crashed deliberately into the +controls of that world. At once that dark star slowed and drifted +rudderless in space, circling aimlessly with the sun it had been towing +away. The machines deserted it and darted on to help protect the other +nineteen that were dragging their suns onward. + +We followed those nineteen dark stars and their prey fiercely out +into space, never ceasing our attacks. Two-thirds of our force was +annihilated before Lacq Larus gave over the attack. The machines had +again had much the best of it and now outnumbered us by an even greater +margin. + +His voice was heavy as he gave the order that signified our defeat. +"All ships return toward the galaxy." + +We were silent as our remnant of ships returned. + +"It's no good," said Korus Kan finally. "The machines are stronger than +we are, and though we'll fight them when they come again, they'll take +our suns despite us." + +"We'll stop them somehow," Jhul Din asserted. "The Patrol has met a lot +of enemies in its time and beaten them, and it will beat these cursed +mindless things of metal." + +"I confess that I don't see how it can be done," I answered him. "We've +met them twice now and each time they've defeated us." + +Lacq Larus' voice came to me shortly on the space-phone. "Dur Nal, land +your ship on that disabled dark star," he said. "I want to examine it +with you." + + * * * * * + +I gave the pilot the order and we detached ourselves from the rest of +the fleet and headed toward the dark star. It still drifted aimlessly +outside the galaxy's edge, it and the sun it had been towing away when +crippled now circling each other. + +When we landed on it beside the ship of Lacq Larus and emerged in +space-suits we found the dark-star's surface held only some wrecks of +machines that had been shattered by our beams. No living or moving +machine was left upon that world. + +Lacq Larus led toward the huge panel and levers the two down-crashing +cruisers had wrecked. "I want to examine the controls of this thing," +he said. + +Jhul Din was looking at the fragments of machines around us with some +little satisfaction. "At least some of them knew they met up with us," +he said. + +We came to the shattered controls and examined them closely. Korus Kan +was especially interested. + +"These dark stars are propelled by great generators of +propulsion-vibrations, as I thought," he said. "The beams they use to +pull suns away are simply attractive rays of immense power released +from a huge projector." + +"So that's how they do it," Lacq Larus said. "Well, I'm afraid it makes +small difference to us how they do it, as long as they continue to do +it." + +But I clutched Korus Kan's arm. A sudden thought had entered my brain +with his words. + +"Korus Kan, could the scientists of our galaxy duplicate this +propulsion-apparatus and attractive beam?" I cried. + +He looked at me, puzzled. "I suppose so. I don't see why not when the +principle is clear." + +"And we could install them in dark stars just as the machines did?" I +pressed. + +"Yes, that would not be hard. But why do you ask, Dur Nal?" + +"Because I've found a way to get back our stolen suns and whip those +machines once and for all!" I cried. + +"What do you mean, Dur Nal?" asked Lacq Larus quickly. + +Swiftly I explained. "Suppose we take a hundred of the dark stars in +our galaxy and fit them with propulsion-apparatus and attraction-beams +like this one. Then suppose we sail across space with those hundred +dark stars to the galaxy of the machines and----" + +"And take our suns back from them!" cried Korus Kan, his eyes blazing. +"If we can do it----" + +"By the suns, we _can_ do it!" cried Jhul Din. "It's a way to get back +our stolen suns and smash the machine-people!" + +"Dur Nal, you may have found the right answer," Lacq Larus told me. +"The thing you propose is stupendous, but it seems to be the only +course open to us to win." + +"We'll assemble all the scientists and workers in the galaxy if +necessary to get this done," he added. + +Within hours, the hastily summoned scientists of our galaxy had +pronounced our plan practicable, and preparations had begun. + +Swiftly cruisers of the Interstellar Patrol went forth and located a +hundred dark stars of the dimensions needed. There are hosts of such +dead suns booming along in the galaxy's spaces, and it was not hard to +find a hundred of suitable size. + +Meanwhile all the scientific ability of the galaxy had been thrown +into the manufacture of huge generators and propulsion and attractive +vibrations. + +In an incredibly short time these were completed and transported to the +hundred selected dark stars. They were installed so that the dark stars +could be propelled in space at great speed in any direction, and could +fasten onto and tow any sun or body of stellar size. Giant defensive +beam-batteries were also installed. + +When the first dark star was so equipped I gave it its tests. Standing +with Korus Kan and Jhul Din at its controls, and with Lacq Larus +watching beside us, I turned on the power. + +The huge dead sun moved away through space in perfect answer to its +controls. I speeded it up, slowed it, turned sharply and circled it +around a few suns to make sure of its tractability. + +Then we tried the attractive beam. Korus Kan handled the controls of +this, and with it we hooked onto a medium-size sun. Then as I started +our dark star forward through space again we found that we towed the +sun steadily along with us. + +"It's successful!" Lacq Larus exclaimed. "And all the others will be +ready soon!" + +"As soon as they're ready we'll start for the galaxy of the machines," +he said, "before they've time to come back here again." + +Rapidly the others of the hundred dark stars were equipped and tested. +Lacq Larus took one as the flagship of the stupendous fleet. + +At his order we drove our dark-star chariot outside the galaxy's edge +and there the whole hundred massed together. + +We formed in columns of ten, the dark star of Lacq Larus taking a +position a little ahead of the rest of us. + +Then Lacq Larus gave an order on the space-phones which had been fitted +to all our worlds, and as one our fleet of a hundred dark stars began +to move through space toward the soft, hazy patch of light that was +the distant galaxy of the machines. Our caravan was on its way to +retrieve our stolen suns, in the mightiest venture yet undertaken by +the Interstellar Patrol. + + * * * * * + +Jhul Din was exultant. "By the suns, this is better than driving +ships!" he exclaimed. "Driving dark stars to battle!" + +"There'll be all the battle you want when we reach the galaxy of the +machines," I told him grimly. + +"You're going to follow out our original plan?" I asked Lacq Larus on +the space-phone, and he answered in the affirmative. + +"It's a risky one, but I believe it is the best one." + +We hurtled on in the void toward the distant galaxy of the machines. +Slowly, very slowly despite our immense speed, it grew in apparent +size. It grew from a little patch of light to a cloud of tiny points of +light. And as it grew, our own galaxy shrank astern. + +Korus Kan and Jhul Din and I relieved each other at the controls of the +dark star. We kept our place in the general formation, the dark star of +Lacq Larus still leading. There was something magnificent and awful in +this cosmic march of our hundred dead suns through space to retrieve +our stolen suns and take vengeance on those who had stolen them. + +The galaxy of the machine-people grew into a great cloud of stars +across the firmament. With eager eyes we surveyed it. + +"It seems about the same size as our own galaxy," Lacq Larus commented. +"But it has far more dying suns than ours." + +Yes, as the machines had told us, this galaxy of theirs contained hosts +of dying suns, old, red and cold. They greatly outnumbered the suns +still hot with life. Small wonder that the machines had sought for new, +young suns to replenish their waning universe! + +"I see some of our own suns in there!" Korus Kan exclaimed. "The ones +they took from us." + +"Yes, I see them," Lacq Larus said. "If all goes well, we'll soon be +taking them back." + +As we neared the galaxy of the machines, Lacq Larus gave one hundred +dark stars their orders. + +Thirty-nine of us were assigned to hook onto the stolen suns and +tow them back at once toward our own galaxy. The other sixty-one, +including Lacq Larus' dark star and my own also, were to wreak all the +destruction in their power upon the machines' galaxy. + +We drew steadily nearer and soon were very close to the galaxy ahead. +There was no sign that any of the machines in it were aware of our +approach. + +"They can't have seen us coming," Jhul Din commented. + +"They've no idea we could come at all," I responded. "They're probably +busy placing the last suns they took from us. Our dark stars would be +hardly visible to them." + +Soon came the voice of Lacq Larus in final orders. "We are now about to +enter this galaxy," he said. "Remember your duties and let nothing stop +you." + +Like rushing spheres of blackness our hundred dark stars raced into +the galaxy of the machines. Once inside, we separated. The thirty-nine +assigned to retrieve our thirty-nine stolen suns sped directly, each +toward one of those suns. The rest of us darted forward on our dark +stars after the leading one of Lacq Larus. + +Our purpose was to destroy as many of that galaxy's suns as possible by +dragging them into one another. Before the machines that peopled their +worlds were aware of our presence we had begun. + +Lacq Larus drove his dark star toward a small white sun at that +galaxy's edge, hooked onto it with his attractive beam, and towed it +quickly toward a blue sun off to the left. + +When near the blue sun he released the one he towed and it rushed on of +its own accord, crashed head-on into the blue star. The two colliding +suns melted into a cloud of flame that whiffed away the worlds of both +of them in an instant. + +While Lacq Larus was thus employed, the rest of us were not idle. I had +driven our own dark star toward a large red sun some distance inside, +and now I yelled for Korus Kan to hook onto it with our attractive +beam. He did so, and as I put on power we dragged the red sun after us +toward a double star not far from it. + +We cast loose just before we reached the double star. I shot our dark +star past it, and the red sun, drifting after us, struck the twin +star squarely. The cosmic outrush of flame from that collision almost +reached our own hurtling world before we got out of reach. + + * * * * * + +Off to one side three of our dark stars had seized another double star, +this one of huge dimensions, and were dragging it toward a great green +sun. And further in, one of our forces had got hold of an aged red sun +that was almost too big for it to handle, and was tugging it slowly +toward its doom. + +All around us this stupendous process of wreckage was going on and we +were part of it. Space inside that galaxy seemed filled with booming +dark stars and suns being dragged to flaming death. I glimpsed some of +the thirty-nine of our force assigned to that duty seizing our stolen +suns and towing them toward outer space. + +From the worlds of the suns we were destroying came clouds of +flying-mechanisms rushing to attack us. But the giant beam-batteries +installed on our dark stars blasted them out of space as they came +near. And still our smashing of suns went on. + +Jhul Din and Korus Kan yelled with exultation as we towed still another +sun to collision and doom. I saw Lacq Larus' dark star some distance +away rapidly stripping the worlds from a sun and towing them into +another sun. + +Then Korus Kan cried out, pointed. "Look--the dark stars of the +machines!" + +I made out dim, huge shapes rushing toward us across that galaxy. "The +machines' dark stars!" + +Through the wild wreckage of crashing and flaring suns and worlds, +nineteen dark stars were bearing down on us. They were the dark stars +with which the machines had gone across space to steal our suns. Now +they were rushing to battle us! + +The scene that followed was beyond description. The machines meant to +stop our wrecking activities at any cost to themselves and they drove +their dark stars straight toward our own. + +A half-dozen of them crashed into that many of our dark stars in the +first rush. As they collided, dark star and dark star blazed up in hot +new life. + +Again and again they rushed at us headlong, as we dragged and wrecked +their suns. They never hesitated to collide with us. They fought with +magnificent, mindless courage to stop our wrecking activities. + +But at last the last of them was gone, though more than twenty of our +own dark stars had been destroyed in the collisions that had ensued +when the machines rammed them. All space around us now seemed filled +with the wild flare of collided suns. + +"All dark stars retreat back into space!" came Lacq Larus' order. "Our +work here is finished." + +"Are all our own suns retrieved?" I asked him on the space-phone. + +"Yes, our other dark stars towed them out into space and they're all +clear." + +Quickly I turned my dark star and sent it booming with the others after +Lacq Larus, out of that ravaged galaxy. + +Outside in space waited the thirty-nine dark stars that had retrieved +our thirty-nine stolen suns. + +"We got them all back!" cried Jhul Din. "Didn't I tell you that we +would, that nothing could beat the Patrol?" + +"Head toward our own galaxy," Lacq Larus ordered. "Keep at half-speed, +as those of us towing suns can't go so fast." + +Slowly, towing our thirty-nine suns with us, we headed away through +space toward the dim light-patch of our own galaxy. + +Looking back, we saw that the galaxy of the machines was lit in many +places by the flaring fire of collided suns. + +We stared back for a long time at the stupendous damage which we had +done to that universe. + +"It'll be a long time before _they_ will come buccaneering again for +our suns!" predicted Jhul Din. + +"And if they ever do come again we can defeat them now that we have +powers equal to their own," I added. "We'd rather not war with the +machines nor with any one else. But we have fought for our suns, and as +long as the Patrol lasts we are going to keep them!" + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75438 *** diff --git a/75438-h/75438-h.htm b/75438-h/75438-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..03460c0 --- /dev/null +++ b/75438-h/75438-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,1338 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html> +<html lang="en"> +<head> + <meta charset="UTF-8"> + <title> + Corsairs of the Cosmos | Project Gutenberg + </title> + <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover"> + <style> + +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.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} +hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} +@media print { hr.chap {display: none; visibility: hidden;} } +hr.full {width: 95%; margin-left: 2.5%; margin-right: 2.5%;} +div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} +h2.nobreak {page-break-before: avoid;} + +x-ebookmaker-drop {display: none;} + +.center {text-align: center;} + +.right {text-align: right;} + +.smcap { font-variant:small-caps; } + +/* Images */ +.figcenter { + margin: auto; + text-align: center; + page-break-inside: avoid; + max-width: 100%; +} + +.caption p +{ + text-align: center; + text-indent: 0; + margin: 0.25em 0; + font-weight: bold; +} + +div.titlepage { + text-align: center; + page-break-before: always; + page-break-after: always; +} + +div.titlepage p { + text-align: center; + text-indent: 0em; + font-weight: bold; + line-height: 1.5; + margin-top: 3em; +} + +.ph1 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; } +.ph1 { font-size: x-large; margin: .83em auto; } + +.ph2 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; } +.ph2 { font-size: medium; margin: .83em auto; } + + </style> +</head> +<body> +<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75438 ***</div> + +<div class="titlepage"> + +<h1>Corsairs of the Cosmos</h1> + +<p class="ph1">By EDMOND HAMILTON</p> + +<p><i>A stupendous story of the Interstellar<br> +Patrol—an amazing weird-scientific tale<br> +of an invasion from outside the universe.</i></p> + +<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br> +Weird Tales April 1934.<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>"What was the greatest adventure that you ever took part in during your +service in the Interstellar Patrol?"</p> + +<p>That is a question which I, Dur Nal, captain in the Patrol, and my two +officers are often asked.</p> + +<p>My own answer is: "I believe our space-fight with the serpent-people +was the wildest adventure ever we had."</p> + +<p>Korus Kan, my first officer, disagrees: "It was the time that we were +drawn into the dark nebula."</p> + +<p>And Jhul Din, my big second officer, differs with both of us and says, +"That time we penetrated inside a comet was by far the most venturous."</p> + +<p>To settle this difference of opinion I once put the question to Lacq +Larus, Chief of the Interstellar Patrol.</p> + +<p>Lacq Larus knew of every venture we of the service had ever engaged +upon. He considered for a long time before he answered me.</p> + +<p>"Dur Nal," he told me finally, "I think that the time we fought the +cosmic corsairs was the wildest any of us ever saw."</p> + +<p>And looking back, I am not sure but that Lacq Larus is right. For +certainly that was the maddest space-struggle in which even the oldest +veterans of the Patrol ever took part.</p> + +<p>My cruiser had just returned to headquarters at Canopus when the +thing first burst upon us. Our ship had been engaged for long weeks +patrolling a lonely section of the galaxy beyond Mira, policing space +between the suns and seeing that law was maintained in the interstellar +void.</p> + +<p>We had been glad enough when our relief came and we could return to +headquarters. At full speed we flew across the galaxy between suns and +nebulæ until at last we were watching Canopus' worlds come out of the +huge white sun's glare as our cruiser swept in toward them.</p> + +<p>But our stay at headquarters was to be short. For when I went up into +the great tower that holds the central authority of the Interstellar +Patrol, and reported our return to Lacq Larus, the Chief, I found that +a new assignment awaited us.</p> + +<p>"Dur Nal, I'm sorry to send you right back out into space," Lacq Larus +told me, "but there's a job to be done."</p> + +<p>"What is it, sir?" I asked. "A little meteor-sweeping to be done?"</p> + +<p>"No, the space-routes of the galaxy are all clear at the moment," the +Chief answered. "But I've just had a report from the astronomers at +Betelgeuse that a number of celestial bodies are approaching our galaxy +from outer space. They report that there are about twenty of these +bodies, that they are non-luminous and are apparently a group of dark +stars. They are approaching with phenomenal speed and will reach our +galaxy at a point near Betelgeuse."</p> + +<p>"And you want us to go out and investigate these oncoming dark stars?" +I guessed as he paused.</p> + +<p>Lacq Larus nodded. "Yes. I want you to take a squadron of cruisers and +go out into outer space to meet them. You will ascertain the exact +course and speed of these dark stars and determine accurately where and +when they will enter our galaxy. Then return here at once with your +report."</p> + +<p>I saluted. "Very well, sir. If the cruisers are ready we'll start at +once."</p> + +<p>"The squadron is waiting for you now down in the docks," Lacq Larus +said. And he called after me as I went out, "I'll see that you get the +leave due you when you return."</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>I went down to the great docks beside the tower, in which were resting +or refitting hundreds of ships of the Interstellar Patrol. Most +numerous among them were the long, cigar-shaped cruisers, the swiftest +ships in space, grim beam-tubes projecting from their sides.</p> + +<p>There were also slower, broader-beamed meteor-sweeps; observation ships +fitted with elaborate instruments; heat-cruisers such as are used for +close work with nebulæ and suns; and representatives of all the other +classes of ships in the Patrol.</p> + +<p>I found the squadron of twenty-five cruisers assigned me, waiting with +all officers and crews aboard. Then I went on to my own cruiser and +as I neared the dock where it rested I saw beside it a small crowd of +Patrol officers listening to some one discoursing in a loud voice. +As I drew nearer I saw that the speaker was a big, bulky figure and +recognized him as Jhul Din, my second officer.</p> + +<p>Beside him, listening in some amusement, was Korus Kan, my first +officer, and the other officers were hanging on his words.</p> + +<p>"——and we ran our ship at full speed right through that +meteor-swarm!" Jhul Din was saying. "We went so fast that not a cursed +meteor in the whole swarm ever touched us."</p> + +<p>"But weren't you afraid to head your cruiser into a meteor-swarm like +that?" asked a young officer.</p> + +<p>Jhul Din stared at him. "Afraid? You won't know what it is to be afraid +when you've spent as much time out in space as I have."</p> + +<p>"Well, you're going to spend a little more time in space right now," I +broke in. "Jhul Din, call the crew to stations at once."</p> + +<p>He looked at me in dismay. "You don't mean that we're going out on +patrol again, Dur Nal? Not when we've just come in?"</p> + +<p>"We're going out again, but not on patrol," I told him, and informed +them briefly of the mission Lacq Larus had assigned to us.</p> + +<p>"Why did the Chief have to pick on us?" Jhul Din exclaimed. "Look how +long it'll take us to go outside the galaxy far enough to meet those +dark stars."</p> + +<p>"Well, it can't be helped," I said as we entered the cruiser. "The +sooner you quit complaining and we get started, the sooner we'll be +back."</p> + +<p>He left us, still grumbling, and I heard his deep voice calling the +crew to their posts as Korus Kan and I climbed to the cruiser's +bridge-room.</p> + +<p>"Is everything in order for a start?" I asked Korus Kan and he saluted.</p> + +<p>"Everything in order—all generators and projectors satisfactory, +air-tanks and supply-rooms full, all beam-tubes working."</p> + +<p>"Very well," I said, and picked up the space-phone by which I could +communicate with the other cruisers of my squadron.</p> + +<p>"Dur Nal speaking—we will start in five minutes," I ordered. "Triangle +formation, and keep at two light-speeds until we clear Canopus."</p> + +<p>As the captains of the other cruisers responded their understanding, I +turned to the pilot who had just come up into the bridge-room. "Start +in four minutes, Jan Allon," I ordered. "Lay our course for Betelgeuse +for the present."</p> + +<p>I heard Jhul Din bellow an order down below and the space-doors clanged +shut. Then the whining hum of the great generators in the lower deck +began.</p> + +<p>Jan Allon waited for a few moments, then threw on the power and pulled +the cruiser's wheel slightly toward him. Our ship arrowed up at once +into the sunlight, the other cruisers following close behind in the +familiar triangle formation of the Patrol.</p> + +<p>In a short time our squadron was clear of Canopus, and with the huge +sun glaring behind us like a great white eye we were racing across the +galaxy's spaces at many light-speeds toward Betelgeuse. We followed the +straightest possible course, and this took us past the Orion nebula, +which lies almost directly on the space-route between Canopus and +Betelgeuse. The nebula bulked for billions of miles in space beside +us, a stupendous burning cloud along whose edge our comparatively tiny +cruiser crawled.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Once the mighty nebula was behind us, it was not long before our +squadron reached Betelgeuse and the galaxy's edge. There was no need +for us to halt at Betelgeuse; so we passed that sun and in a short +time were passing clear out of the galaxy into outer space.</p> + +<p>Behind us lay the galaxy, a colossal swarm of suns floating in the +infinitude of space. Before us lay only space itself, vast, lightless, +empty. Far, far across its unthinkable reaches glowed a few little +patches of soft, hazy light, galaxies as large as our own but so far +away they were hardly visible.</p> + +<p>Out in space some distance from our galaxy we could descry with our +instruments a group of dark bodies coming toward us. They were the +score of dark stars approaching the galaxy from the outer emptiness. +Our squadron headed right out into the infinite toward them.</p> + +<p>Korus Kan took observations on the dark stars as we approached them, +while Jhul Din and I watched.</p> + +<p>He found that they were all of large size and that they were coming on +with astounding speed.</p> + +<p>"They're moving faster than any dark star I ever heard of before!" +Korus Kan told us.</p> + +<p>"That's all the better," Jhul Din grunted. "We'll meet them the sooner +and can get back sooner into the galaxy."</p> + +<p>We watched as the black globes of the oncoming dark stars became dimly +visible in the blackness ahead. Then I gave an order for the squadron +to slacken speed.</p> + +<p>"When we meet the dark stars we'll turn and move above them and with +them, back toward the galaxy," I directed, "long enough to investigate +them."</p> + +<p>In a short time the dark stars had grown to huge black worlds booming +toward us close ahead.</p> + +<p>We ascended to a higher level and prepared to turn and follow above +them when they reached us. They came on with truly amazing velocity, +those mighty burned-out cinders that long ago had been suns.</p> + +<p>From what far region of space had they come, I wondered? How came these +dark wanderers to be rushing through outer space far from whatever +galaxy had been their origin? What chance had led them through infinity +toward our own galaxy?</p> + +<p>Musing on this, I watched as our squadron passed close over the group, +executed a broad turn, and then came back and flew above the dark stars +toward the galaxy.</p> + +<p>Now we were almost stupefied to find that they were moving through +space nearly half as fast as our swift ships could move!</p> + +<p>"By all the suns, this is incredible!" I cried. "These dark stars are +moving faster than any celestial body was ever known to move!"</p> + +<p>Korus Kan's eyes were excited. "There's something strange about this +whole business! Wait and I'll take some observations."</p> + +<p>As he trained his instruments on the hurtling worlds below, Jhul Din +and I stared down at them in increasing amazement.</p> + +<p>"Maybe there has been a cosmic convulsion in some other galaxy that +hurled these dead suns into outer space," Jhul Din suggested.</p> + +<p>"Even that wouldn't account for their tremendous velocity," I was +saying, when Korus Kan interrupted.</p> + +<p>"By the suns, it's as I suspected!" he cried. "Those dark stars are +propelled by artificial power!"</p> + +<p>We turned our stare on him. "What are you saying?"</p> + +<p>"It's the truth!" Korus Kan affirmed. "Our instruments show that +they are being impelled through space by super-powerful propulsion +vibrations like those that impel our ships! It means that the dark +stars have been fitted with huge generators and projectors and +controls, and are being driven through space like so many colossal +ships!"</p> + +<p>"It can't be!" Jhul Din exclaimed incredulously. "Whoever heard of dead +suns the size of those being propelled artificially?"</p> + +<p>But rapidly I was thinking. "I believe that Korus Kan is right," I +said. "And if these dark stars are really being propelled deliberately +through space, it means that there are living creatures of some kind on +them directing their flight."</p> + +<p>"Why have they steered their twenty worlds across the outer void toward +our galaxy? Where have they come from and for what?" Jhul Din asked.</p> + +<p>"We must learn the answer to these questions and report to +headquarters. This matter may be of import to our whole galaxy."</p> + +<p>"Shall we descend and land on one of those dark stars to investigate, +then?" asked Jhul Din.</p> + +<p>Quickly I considered. "There's no need to imperil our whole squadron," +I said.</p> + +<p>I grasped the space-phone and spoke to the other ships. "It appears +that these twenty dark stars are being deliberately propelled toward +our galaxy, no doubt by beings of some sort upon them," I stated. "Our +cruiser is going to descend to investigate. All others of the squadron +will remain at their present level, and if we do not rejoin you within +two hours you will return at full speed toward the galaxy and report +what has happened at headquarters."</p> + +<p>From the captains of the other cruisers came assent to the order, and +then I turned to the pilot. "Very well, Jan Allon—descend toward the +foremost of the dark stars."</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>In tense silence Korus Kan and Jhul Din and I watched as our cruiser +shot down through space toward the first of the onrushing dead suns. +What would we find there? We waited in taut anticipation as the ship +dropped down through the millions of miles.</p> + +<p>Presently Korus Kan spoke. "None of the dark stars seems to have any +atmospheric halo," he said.</p> + +<p>"What kind of creatures could exist on worlds without atmosphere?" Jhul +Din marvelled.</p> + +<p>The foremost dark-star's surface rushed up toward us. We saw on it +crowded movement, a stir of hosts of moving things.</p> + +<p>"There's life of some kind down there, all right," said Jhul Din.</p> + +<p>Then as our ship raced lower an exclamation of utter astonishment came +from me. "Life? This isn't a world of life as we know it. It's a world +of machines!"</p> + +<p>For the moving things that existed in hosts on the dark star were all +machines!</p> + +<p>The twilight surface of the star was crowded with their numbers. There +were towering machines that stalked to and fro; many-limbed mechanisms +such as I had never seen; and dozens of other kinds.</p> + +<p>The eye could not count them, so great were their numbers. There was no +other life or moving things in sight. Here was mystery of the cosmos, +dark, enigmatic. How came the active and apparently masterless machines +to be peopling these dirigible worlds?</p> + +<p>"By the suns, there must be people of some kind here!" exclaimed Jhul +Din. "If not, who made these machines?"</p> + +<p>Korus Kan uttered a sharp cry. "Dur Nal! Some of the machines are +coming up toward us!"</p> + +<p>A hundred or more mechanisms had risen from the dark star and were +flying swiftly up through space toward us.</p> + +<p>These mechanisms had no occupants, no operators. They were simply +masterless machines flying in space, disk-like in shape and with tubes +much like beam-tubes projecting from them.</p> + +<p>"They may be going to attack us," Jhul Din warned. "Shall we beam them?"</p> + +<p>"No—don't loose a single beam," I commanded. "There are a hundred of +them to our one."</p> + +<p>The flying-mechanisms came rapidly up, swarmed in a crowd around +our descending cruiser. There was something chilling and uncanny at +the sight of the metal machines acting with apparent volition and +intelligence. They seemed watching us, but made no move to attack us. I +had a lively sense, though, that they were only waiting for an untoward +movement on our part to leap upon us.</p> + +<p>"Keep descending," I told the pilot. "They're not going to harm us at +present, apparently."</p> + +<p>"There's a clear space down there to the left that looks like the +center of activities, sir," the pilot reported to me.</p> + +<p>"Land there, then," I directed.</p> + +<p>The spot on the dark-star's surface toward which we now descended was a +clear circle surrounded by hosts of machines. As our ship slanted down +toward it, with the flying-mechanisms keeping in a close swarm around +us, I turned.</p> + +<p>"Jhul Din, order every one in the ship to don space-suits," I +commanded. "There is no atmosphere on this world."</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Jan Allon turned to me and saluted. "We have landed, sir."</p> + +<p>"I am going to emerge. Korus Kan and Jhul Din and five of the crew will +accompany me," I said. "The rest will remain in the cruiser and in case +of accident to us will attempt to escape with the ship."</p> + +<p>With my two officers I went down from the bridge-room to the lower deck.</p> + +<p>"Open the space-door," I ordered.</p> + +<p>The heavy door swung, and with Jhul Din and Korus Kan and our five +followers I stepped out onto the dark-star's surface.</p> + +<p>We looked about us. We stood in an unimaginably weird and alien scene. +A thick twilight lay over everything, but half-way up to the zenith in +the black heavens glittered a great swarm of stars. It was our galaxy, +toward which these dark-star worlds were rushing.</p> + +<p>All around us in that twilight, surrounding with their hosts the clear +circular space in which our cruiser had landed, towered the mighty +machines. They were now motionless, as though they were watching us. +With a chilling of my blood I knew that they <i>were</i> watching us.</p> + +<p>Across the circle from us loomed a huge panel, and beside it great +levers and wheels. Near this stood a half-dozen curious, squat, cowled +mechanisms resting each on three metal limbs.</p> + +<p>Korus Kan touched my arm, whispered. "Dur Nal, that panel and the +levers—they must be the controls by which this dark star is propelled +and steered through space!"</p> + +<p>"We'll go over toward them, then," I said. "If there's any center of +authority, it will be there."</p> + +<p>As we neared the huge controls a stir went through the machine-giants +around the clearing, menacing, watchful.</p> + +<p>"By the suns, these cursed machines are all <i>alive</i>!" muttered Jhul Din.</p> + +<p>We stopped before the six cowled mechanisms that stood by the controls. +Some instinct told me of power, of authority, concentrated in them.</p> + +<p>Then out from one of those squat, cowled machines came a clear +thought-message, impinging directly on my mind. The machine was +speaking to us.</p> + +<p>"You are inhabitants of the galaxy which our twenty dark stars are now +approaching?" it asked.</p> + +<p>"We are," I answered, projecting the thought toward it. "Are you +machines the only inhabitants of these dark stars? It is you who are +steering them toward our galaxy?"</p> + +<p>"It is," the machine replied. "We come from one of the galaxies nearest +in space to your own galaxy. And that one from which we come is a +galaxy inhabited only by machines like ourselves."</p> + +<p>"A whole galaxy peopled only by machines?" I said. "How can such a +thing be?"</p> + +<p>"It has been so for countless ages," the mechanism answered. "Long ago +we machines came to power in that galaxy and we have retained it ever +since."</p> + +<p>"But how did these machines come into existence in the first place?" +Korus Kan whispered, beside me.</p> + +<p>The cowled mechanism must have caught his thought. "In our galaxy +in the far past," it told us, "there existed a race of beings who +were not mechanisms but were living things similar to yourselves. +They constructed many and diverse machines to aid in their conquest +of nature, and they made those machines ever more automatic and +self-sufficient. Finally they devised mechanisms that possessed a +mechanical brain-structure capable of memory and association and +decision, machines that could think. These thinking machines soon came +to be superior in capabilities to their living creators. With unerring +logic they recognized this fact and saw themselves better fitted to +rule than their creators. So they rebelled against those who had made +them and destroyed them all.</p> + +<p>"Since then we machines have ruled supreme and alone in that galaxy and +long ago spread out to every part of it and now are masters of all its +suns and worlds."</p> + +<p>"A machine-race rebelling against its creators!" Jhul Din exclaimed +incredulously. "And these metal monsters rule a whole galaxy!"</p> + +<p>"Quiet, Jhul Din!" I ordered. "We've got to find out what they've come +to our own galaxy for."</p> + +<p>I projected another thought at the cowled master-machines before me. +"How come you machines to be propelling these dark stars toward our +galaxy?"</p> + +<p>The mechanism's thought-answer came. "We took twenty dark stars in our +galaxy, fitted them with propulsion-apparatus and other apparatus, and +then steered them out of our galaxy and across the gulf of space toward +this galaxy of yours."</p> + +<p>"But why did you do it?" I asked. "What have you come to our galaxy +for?"</p> + +<p>The machine's thought-answer came like a thunder-clap.</p> + +<p>"We have come for suns!"</p> + +<p>"For suns? What do you mean?"</p> + +<p>The mechanism explained. "Our galaxy is much older than yours. A large +number of its suns are old, red, dying. The worlds of our dying suns +have been growing colder and colder. Upon many of them even we machines +can no longer exist. We wish to get some new suns to replace the dying +ones in our galaxy. We saw across space that your galaxy has many hot, +young suns, and we have come to get some of them."</p> + +<p>We were stupefied. "You are mad!" I said finally. "How could you hope +to move suns from our galaxy to yours?"</p> + +<p>"We can do it quite simply," the machine affirmed. "These dark stars +can be propelled anywhere we wish and we need only approach a sun with +one of them, project toward that sun a powerful attraction-beam such as +we are equipped to produce, and then head our dark star back toward our +galaxy dragging the sun with us."</p> + +<p>I heard with increasing stupefaction. "And you've come with these +twenty dark stars to rob us of twenty of our suns!"</p> + +<p>"It's impossible!" Jhul Din exclaimed. "Not these machines or any one +else could ever tow away suns like that!"</p> + +<p>"It's not impossible," said Korus Kan tensely. "They can do it if they +have such equipment as they say."</p> + +<p>"We can do it, yes, and we mean to do it," the machine affirmed. +"Already we approach your galaxy, and when we reach it each of our dark +stars will attach itself to a sun and we will start back with these +twenty suns toward our galaxy. We will return again for another twenty +suns and will continue this until our galaxy has sufficient hot, young +suns to keep all our worlds warm.</p> + +<p>"If you do not oppose us, no one in your galaxy will be harmed and +we will allow the worlds of the suns we choose time enough to be +evacuated of their inhabitants. But if you do oppose us, you will find +it useless, for we machines are mighty and no mere living creatures can +hope to resist us. You will only sacrifice yourselves in attempting +resistance."</p> + +<hr class="chap"> + +<div class="figcenter"> + <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""> + <div class="caption"> + <p>"We machines are mighty. You will only sacrifice yourselves in attempting resistance."</p> + </div> +</div> + +<hr class="chap"> + +<p>The cold, logical statement of the machine stung me to fury. "Do you +imagine for a moment that we are going to allow you to come out of +space and rob us of our suns at will?" I cried.</p> + +<p>The mechanism's reply was completely unimpassioned. "You will gain +nothing by resistance," it repeated. "When we have taken what suns we +need, you will still have thousands of suns left."</p> + +<p>"You'll take no suns at all from our galaxy!" I answered. "You'll find +that we are not such powerless creatures as you machines imagine."</p> + +<p>The cowled machine ignored my threat. "You will return to your galaxy," +it told me, "and will tell your peoples what we have said. Make clear +to them that if they do not resist us, no one will be harmed when we +take the suns we need. But tell them also that if any of them oppose us +we will annihilate them."</p> + +<p>A burning resentment at this mechanical thing's cold arrogance welled +in me, but I retained enough reason to choke it down.</p> + +<p>"We are free to go, then?" I asked.</p> + +<p>"You are commanded to go!" the mechanism answered. "You are ordered to +take that message to your galaxy's peoples."</p> + +<p>"Very well, we will go," I answered. To our followers I said, "Back to +the cruiser."</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>We strode across the circle with the hosts of machines around it still +motionless, watching. As coolly as possible we entered the ship and +slammed shut the space-door. I climbed with my two officers to the +bridge-room.</p> + +<p>"Ascend at once," I ordered Jan Allon.</p> + +<p>The generators hummed and our craft rose rapidly from the dark-star's +surface. Around us rose the flying-mechanisms, too.</p> + +<p>"They're seeing us off to make sure we don't attempt any attack," I +said. "These machines leave nothing to chance."</p> + +<p>"Dur Nal, what will come of all this?" cried Jhul Din as our cruiser +rose. "Can those mechanical things actually steal suns from our galaxy?"</p> + +<p>"They can do it unless we are able to stop them," I said thoughtfully. +"And whether or not we shall be able to stop them, I don't know."</p> + +<p>"Why, if we gather all the Patrol together we ought to be able to beam +them and their cursed dark stars out of space!" Jhul Din exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"We'll do our best, anyway," I said grimly.</p> + +<p>"The flying-mechanisms are dropping back, sir," reported Jan Allon.</p> + +<p>We had risen high above the onrushing dark stars, and the machines that +had accompanied us were now descending.</p> + +<p>In a short time we were millions of miles above the twenty dead suns, +and we soon made contact with our squadron, which had been hovering +overhead.</p> + +<p>"We return toward the galaxy at full speed immediately," I ordered the +ships of our squadron.</p> + +<p>As our ships put on speed we soon left the dark stars behind us, +outracing them toward the galaxy.</p> + +<p>I took the space-phone and after a little difficulty got through to +headquarters at Canopus. In a few moments I was talking to the Chief.</p> + +<p>Lacq Larus listened with utmost attention as I related what we +had discovered concerning the dark stars and the purposes of the +machine-things guiding them.</p> + +<p>"This is almost incredible!" replied Lacq Larus' voice when I had +finished. "Cosmic buccaneers coming from another galaxy to steal suns +from our own galaxy!"</p> + +<p>"It is incredible but true," I told him. "They will reach our galaxy +within a short time and will start dragging away suns."</p> + +<p>"You believe that they can do this, Dur Nal?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"I am almost sure that they can," I answered. "These machines impressed +me as being the most formidable creatures I've ever encountered. Korus +Kan is of my opinion also."</p> + +<p>"Well, we're not going to stand tamely by and let them rob us of any +of our suns," said Lacq Larus, a steely quality in his voice. "Dur Nal, +when you reach the galaxy's edge stand by there with your squadron +and keep watch for the coming of these dark stars. I'll call up every +cruiser in the Interstellar Patrol and order them to rendezvous off +Betelgeuse. We'll join up with you there to combat these machines and +their worlds."</p> + +<p>"One more thing, sir," I added quickly. "What if we are unable to +prevent these machines from taking twenty of our suns?"</p> + +<p>"You don't think they will prove too strong for us, do you?" Lacq Larus +asked.</p> + +<p>"I have been strongly impressed by the powers of these mechanisms," I +answered. "I suggest that the worlds of all suns in that section at the +galaxy's edge be evacuated of their inhabitants so that if the suns are +taken, the inhabitants will be safe."</p> + +<p>After a moment's silence he said, "Very well, Dur Nal. I'll give orders +for the evacuation to take place."</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>During the next hours our squadron raced at top speed toward the +galaxy's edge. The dark stars faded from sight behind us, but we knew +that they were still there, still rushing steadily on toward our galaxy.</p> + +<p>By the time we reached Betelgeuse the whole galaxy was aflame with news +of the coming of these cosmic corsairs, who meant to plunder us of part +of our suns. Despite this excitement there was no panic.</p> + +<p>Lacq Larus was on his way from Canopus with the thousand cruisers of +the Interstellar Patrol that had been at headquarters. And in response +to his commands, flashed across the whole galaxy, every fighting-ship +in the Patrol was making for Betelgeuse.</p> + +<p>Yes, from every part of the galaxy they were coming, those lean, +long hawks of space, from the great trade-routes between the bigger +suns, from lonely regions in uncharted parts of the galaxy. Rushing +at reckless speed through the perils of the void, the ships of the +Interstellar Patrol came in answer to their Chief's call.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile all the worlds of the suns in the threatened section at +the galaxy's edge were being swiftly evacuated of their inhabitants. +Interstellar liners and freighters in hundreds of thousands swarmed +from those worlds to suns back in the galaxy, carrying their whole +populations to suns and worlds more safe.</p> + +<p>Out beside great Betelgeuse, at the galaxy's very edge, I lay waiting +with my squadron. My ships still maintained their triangular formation. +We had climbed several light-years above the plane of the threatened +suns and now lay in the void, Jhul Din and Korus Kan and I watching +intently through our instruments as the dark stars in the outer void +rushed toward us. Nearer and nearer they came, still flying on in a +compact group.</p> + +<p>"They're beginning to slow down," muttered Jhul Din, watching. "If Lacq +Larus and the rest of the Patrol don't show up soon, they'll be too +late."</p> + +<p>"Here they come now!" exclaimed Korus Kan.</p> + +<p>We turned and saw racing toward us thousands on thousands of shining +points that became cruisers as they neared us. Foremost among them flew +the flagship of Lacq Larus, and the Chief's craft drew up close beside +our own.</p> + +<p>"Almost the whole strength of the Patrol is here, Dur Nal," Lacq Larus +told me on the space-phone. "What about the dark stars?"</p> + +<p>"They're almost here too," I said grimly. "You can see them out there."</p> + +<p>There was silence as Lacq Larus and all the rest in our fleet peered +toward those twenty onrushing giant globes.</p> + +<p>"They're almost here, sir," I said. "What are your orders for attack?"</p> + +<p>"We'll divide into twenty divisions, one to attack each of those +dark stars," Lacq Larus ordered. "Each division will descend on its +objective and beam everything upon it as heavily as possible, trying +especially to destroy the controls of the propulsion-apparatus."</p> + +<p>"We will not attack until they actually start dragging away suns. For +if they find themselves unable to seize any of our suns as they plan, +they will no doubt return to their own galaxy and there will be no need +of combat."</p> + +<p>We watched, therefore, without making a move as the score of dark stars +drew nearer.</p> + +<p>The scene was a thrilling one: the hosts of the galaxy's shining suns +stretching away behind us; the myriad cruisers of our great fleet lying +motionless up there high above the outermost suns; the twenty huge +black stars booming nearer on their ruthless mission of intergalactic +piracy.</p> + +<p>The dark stars were now at the galaxy's edge, and there they separated. +Each of them moved toward one of the suns below, and each selected a +hot, youthful sun of large or medium size. Directly under my own ship +we could see one of the dark stars approaching a blue sun, curving +smoothly in toward it.</p> + +<p>"It can't be done!" Jhul Din exclaimed tautly. "Nothing can drag a sun +away!"</p> + +<p>"But they're doing it!" cried Korus Kan. "Look at that!"</p> + +<p>The dark star had come very close to the blue sun, and now from its +surface a broad, pale beam of immense magnitude stabbed toward the sun.</p> + +<p>For a few moments they remained thus, dark star and sun connected +by that beam. Then the dark star began to move slowly away under the +influence of its propulsion-apparatus, and the blue sun moved slowly +after it!</p> + +<p>"They're doing it!" repeated Korus Kan. "They're towing that sun away!"</p> + +<p>"And look—all the other dark stars are dragging away suns!" cried the +astounded Jhul Din.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>It was an astounding, an awful spectacle—those robber dark stars of +the machines making away with twenty of our suns.</p> + +<p>Lacq Larus' voice snapped at that moment from the space-phone. Our +fleet divided into twenty subdivisions, each with one of the dark stars +as its objective. Then came the order to attack.</p> + +<p>Down, down—like swooping hawks of space our cruisers rushed headlong +down through the millions of miles toward the dark stars towing away +their helpless prey. And up from each of the dark stars to meet us, +as though they had only been awaiting our attack, darted hosts of the +disk-like flying-mechanisms.</p> + +<p>There was a hell of cosmic struggle then over the twenty dark stars. So +appalling was the inferno of that battle that I lost all sense of the +individual part our ship took in it.</p> + +<p>I was aware of Jhul Din and Korus Kan yelling hoarsely beside me as +the beams of our ships stabbed and smashed through the masses of the +darting flying-machines. Then I saw brilliant filaments of blue force +emitted from the flying-mechanisms toward our cruisers, saw every +cruiser touched by them explode instantly into blue light. Ships and +flying-mechanisms went to death by hundreds in space all around us. Our +cruisers still strove to smash down through the machines to the surface +of the dark stars. For even while this wild combat went on above them, +the dark stars were still steadily towing their captive suns on out +into space.</p> + +<p>The flying-mechanisms outnumbered us two to one, and despite our wild +efforts we could not get through them to the worlds beneath. And more +and more of our ships were exploding in azure light as the filaments of +force found a mark.</p> + +<p>Three-quarters of our force had been destroyed and it looked as though +the rest of us would be wiped out in a few minutes, when there came an +order from the Chief.</p> + +<p>"All ships break off fighting and ascend!" ordered Lacq Larus.</p> + +<p>What cruisers were left us at once disengaged from the struggle and +darted upward.</p> + +<p>The flying-mechanisms pursued us but we beamed them so savagely from +above that they dropped back.</p> + +<p>We climbed two light-years before Lacq Larus gave our shattered forces +the order to halt and resume formation.</p> + +<p>"The machines have destroyed all but a quarter of our ships," he said. +"They outnumber us, and to continue the battle is only to invite +complete destruction."</p> + +<p>"But, sir, we can't let them take those twenty suns away!" cried one of +the captains on the space-phone.</p> + +<p>"I'm afraid we'll have to this time," Lacq Larus said. "But they will +be coming back for more suns, and the next time we will be ready for +them."</p> + +<p>"But, sir——" protested another officer, and was cut short by the +Chief's grim voice.</p> + +<p>"I know how you of the Patrol feel at thus letting them take those suns +away. But we can do no good by sacrificing ourselves at this time, and +must have all the forces available to meet them when they come again. +We will return into the galaxy, except for two scouting-divisions +which will remain and keep watch along the edge."</p> + +<p>Grimly, with bitter thoughts, our shattered forces moved back into the +galaxy, leaving the patrolling force behind.</p> + +<p>"Beaten!" Jhul Din exclaimed unbelievingly. "The Interstellar Patrol, +beaten by those machines!"</p> + +<p>"We're not completely beaten, Jhul Din," I told him. "They've won the +first round, but when they come back again it will be a different +story."</p> + +<p>"But we've let them take twenty of our suns away from us," he said, "as +easily as though we weren't there at all!"</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>When our remaining forces re-entered the galaxy we found it in uproar. +News of the success of the machine-corsairs in robbing us of twenty +suns had already flashed everywhere across it. It was known that the +machines would return for more suns, and in view of what had happened +it seemed probable that they could loot our galaxy of as many suns as +they wished.</p> + +<p>Lacq Larus broadcast a statement to allay the general fear.</p> + +<p>"The machines greatly outnumbered our forces and for that reason we +were unable to prevent them from towing away twenty suns," he stated. +"But they will without doubt return to plunder us of more suns, and +before then we must construct as many ships as possible with which to +meet them. If we have forces enough we should be able to prevent the +theft of any more suns."</p> + +<p>Preparations were begun almost at once to build up sufficient forces to +meet the cosmic corsairs on their return. Thousands on thousands of new +Patrol cruisers were hastily laid down to replace those destroyed in +the battle. Beams of greater range and power were installed in them.</p> + +<p>It was estimated that we would have twice as many ships to meet the +next coming of the corsairs as when we first had combated them. We +would be meeting them on something like even terms as to numbers.</p> + +<p>"By the suns, we'll blast them out of space when they show up next +time!" Jhul Din vowed.</p> + +<p>Korus Kan was not so sure. "Their weapons are more powerful than our +own," he reminded.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Our new ships were hardly completed when there came warning of the +corsairs' return.</p> + +<p>Our astronomers had watched them closely as they towed our score of +suns steadily across the void toward their own distant galaxy. Now the +astronomers reported that the twenty dark stars were on their way back +to our galaxy.</p> + +<p>Lacq Larus ordered a patrol far out into space in the direction of the +oncoming corsairs. Our main forces remained just inside the galaxy's +edge. All worlds of suns there had been evacuated.</p> + +<p>Soon came word from the patrol that the dark stars were close. Lacq +Larus ordered our scouts not to engage but to keep just ahead of them.</p> + +<p>Again Jhul Din and Korus Kan and I looked down from a great height +at the oncoming dead suns of the buccaneering machines. They swept +steadily, purposefully, toward our galaxy's edge again, but this time +Lacq Larus did not wait for them to attach themselves to suns. He +ordered the attack at once.</p> + +<p>If our first battle with the machines had been wild, our second one was +madness. The flying-mechanisms still outnumbered our ships slightly, +and they fought like the machines they were, with cold, relentless +purpose.</p> + +<p>And as they fought with us, the dark stars on which they had come were +being directed smoothly toward our suns, hooking onto a sun each with +their great attraction-beams, and starting again to tow these suns out +into the void.</p> + +<p>At this sight, Lacq Larus flashed an order to us. "Try above all to get +down and cripple the propulsion-apparatus of those dark stars! If we +don't, they'll get away with these suns too!"</p> + +<p>"They're getting away with them now!" groaned Jhul Din. "Curse them, if +they were only living creatures instead of machines we might be able to +beat them!"</p> + +<p>Already a third of our forces were gone, and at Lacq Larus' new order +we spent our ships at an appalling rate to wing down and disable the +dirigible dark stars.</p> + +<p>It was in vain. The flying-mechanisms kept always between us and the +dark stars below. And steadily as the wild battle raged above them, +those dark stars were dragging away their second capture of suns.</p> + +<p>One only did our forces manage to disable. There had been a break in +the battle above it for a moment, and through that break two Patrol +cruisers cometed down instantly and crashed deliberately into the +controls of that world. At once that dark star slowed and drifted +rudderless in space, circling aimlessly with the sun it had been towing +away. The machines deserted it and darted on to help protect the other +nineteen that were dragging their suns onward.</p> + +<p>We followed those nineteen dark stars and their prey fiercely out +into space, never ceasing our attacks. Two-thirds of our force was +annihilated before Lacq Larus gave over the attack. The machines had +again had much the best of it and now outnumbered us by an even greater +margin.</p> + +<p>His voice was heavy as he gave the order that signified our defeat. +"All ships return toward the galaxy."</p> + +<p>We were silent as our remnant of ships returned.</p> + +<p>"It's no good," said Korus Kan finally. "The machines are stronger than +we are, and though we'll fight them when they come again, they'll take +our suns despite us."</p> + +<p>"We'll stop them somehow," Jhul Din asserted. "The Patrol has met a lot +of enemies in its time and beaten them, and it will beat these cursed +mindless things of metal."</p> + +<p>"I confess that I don't see how it can be done," I answered him. "We've +met them twice now and each time they've defeated us."</p> + +<p>Lacq Larus' voice came to me shortly on the space-phone. "Dur Nal, land +your ship on that disabled dark star," he said. "I want to examine it +with you."</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>I gave the pilot the order and we detached ourselves from the rest of +the fleet and headed toward the dark star. It still drifted aimlessly +outside the galaxy's edge, it and the sun it had been towing away when +crippled now circling each other.</p> + +<p>When we landed on it beside the ship of Lacq Larus and emerged in +space-suits we found the dark-star's surface held only some wrecks of +machines that had been shattered by our beams. No living or moving +machine was left upon that world.</p> + +<p>Lacq Larus led toward the huge panel and levers the two down-crashing +cruisers had wrecked. "I want to examine the controls of this thing," +he said.</p> + +<p>Jhul Din was looking at the fragments of machines around us with some +little satisfaction. "At least some of them knew they met up with us," +he said.</p> + +<p>We came to the shattered controls and examined them closely. Korus Kan +was especially interested.</p> + +<p>"These dark stars are propelled by great generators of +propulsion-vibrations, as I thought," he said. "The beams they use to +pull suns away are simply attractive rays of immense power released +from a huge projector."</p> + +<p>"So that's how they do it," Lacq Larus said. "Well, I'm afraid it makes +small difference to us how they do it, as long as they continue to do +it."</p> + +<p>But I clutched Korus Kan's arm. A sudden thought had entered my brain +with his words.</p> + +<p>"Korus Kan, could the scientists of our galaxy duplicate this +propulsion-apparatus and attractive beam?" I cried.</p> + +<p>He looked at me, puzzled. "I suppose so. I don't see why not when the +principle is clear."</p> + +<p>"And we could install them in dark stars just as the machines did?" I +pressed.</p> + +<p>"Yes, that would not be hard. But why do you ask, Dur Nal?"</p> + +<p>"Because I've found a way to get back our stolen suns and whip those +machines once and for all!" I cried.</p> + +<p>"What do you mean, Dur Nal?" asked Lacq Larus quickly.</p> + +<p>Swiftly I explained. "Suppose we take a hundred of the dark stars in +our galaxy and fit them with propulsion-apparatus and attraction-beams +like this one. Then suppose we sail across space with those hundred +dark stars to the galaxy of the machines and——"</p> + +<p>"And take our suns back from them!" cried Korus Kan, his eyes blazing. +"If we can do it——"</p> + +<p>"By the suns, we <i>can</i> do it!" cried Jhul Din. "It's a way to get back +our stolen suns and smash the machine-people!"</p> + +<p>"Dur Nal, you may have found the right answer," Lacq Larus told me. +"The thing you propose is stupendous, but it seems to be the only +course open to us to win."</p> + +<p>"We'll assemble all the scientists and workers in the galaxy if +necessary to get this done," he added.</p> + +<p>Within hours, the hastily summoned scientists of our galaxy had +pronounced our plan practicable, and preparations had begun.</p> + +<p>Swiftly cruisers of the Interstellar Patrol went forth and located a +hundred dark stars of the dimensions needed. There are hosts of such +dead suns booming along in the galaxy's spaces, and it was not hard to +find a hundred of suitable size.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile all the scientific ability of the galaxy had been thrown +into the manufacture of huge generators and propulsion and attractive +vibrations.</p> + +<p>In an incredibly short time these were completed and transported to the +hundred selected dark stars. They were installed so that the dark stars +could be propelled in space at great speed in any direction, and could +fasten onto and tow any sun or body of stellar size. Giant defensive +beam-batteries were also installed.</p> + +<p>When the first dark star was so equipped I gave it its tests. Standing +with Korus Kan and Jhul Din at its controls, and with Lacq Larus +watching beside us, I turned on the power.</p> + +<p>The huge dead sun moved away through space in perfect answer to its +controls. I speeded it up, slowed it, turned sharply and circled it +around a few suns to make sure of its tractability.</p> + +<p>Then we tried the attractive beam. Korus Kan handled the controls of +this, and with it we hooked onto a medium-size sun. Then as I started +our dark star forward through space again we found that we towed the +sun steadily along with us.</p> + +<p>"It's successful!" Lacq Larus exclaimed. "And all the others will be +ready soon!"</p> + +<p>"As soon as they're ready we'll start for the galaxy of the machines," +he said, "before they've time to come back here again."</p> + +<p>Rapidly the others of the hundred dark stars were equipped and tested. +Lacq Larus took one as the flagship of the stupendous fleet.</p> + +<p>At his order we drove our dark-star chariot outside the galaxy's edge +and there the whole hundred massed together.</p> + +<p>We formed in columns of ten, the dark star of Lacq Larus taking a +position a little ahead of the rest of us.</p> + +<p>Then Lacq Larus gave an order on the space-phones which had been fitted +to all our worlds, and as one our fleet of a hundred dark stars began +to move through space toward the soft, hazy patch of light that was +the distant galaxy of the machines. Our caravan was on its way to +retrieve our stolen suns, in the mightiest venture yet undertaken by +the Interstellar Patrol.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Jhul Din was exultant. "By the suns, this is better than driving +ships!" he exclaimed. "Driving dark stars to battle!"</p> + +<p>"There'll be all the battle you want when we reach the galaxy of the +machines," I told him grimly.</p> + +<p>"You're going to follow out our original plan?" I asked Lacq Larus on +the space-phone, and he answered in the affirmative.</p> + +<p>"It's a risky one, but I believe it is the best one."</p> + +<p>We hurtled on in the void toward the distant galaxy of the machines. +Slowly, very slowly despite our immense speed, it grew in apparent +size. It grew from a little patch of light to a cloud of tiny points of +light. And as it grew, our own galaxy shrank astern.</p> + +<p>Korus Kan and Jhul Din and I relieved each other at the controls of the +dark star. We kept our place in the general formation, the dark star of +Lacq Larus still leading. There was something magnificent and awful in +this cosmic march of our hundred dead suns through space to retrieve +our stolen suns and take vengeance on those who had stolen them.</p> + +<p>The galaxy of the machine-people grew into a great cloud of stars +across the firmament. With eager eyes we surveyed it.</p> + +<p>"It seems about the same size as our own galaxy," Lacq Larus commented. +"But it has far more dying suns than ours."</p> + +<p>Yes, as the machines had told us, this galaxy of theirs contained hosts +of dying suns, old, red and cold. They greatly outnumbered the suns +still hot with life. Small wonder that the machines had sought for new, +young suns to replenish their waning universe!</p> + +<p>"I see some of our own suns in there!" Korus Kan exclaimed. "The ones +they took from us."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I see them," Lacq Larus said. "If all goes well, we'll soon be +taking them back."</p> + +<p>As we neared the galaxy of the machines, Lacq Larus gave one hundred +dark stars their orders.</p> + +<p>Thirty-nine of us were assigned to hook onto the stolen suns and +tow them back at once toward our own galaxy. The other sixty-one, +including Lacq Larus' dark star and my own also, were to wreak all the +destruction in their power upon the machines' galaxy.</p> + +<p>We drew steadily nearer and soon were very close to the galaxy ahead. +There was no sign that any of the machines in it were aware of our +approach.</p> + +<p>"They can't have seen us coming," Jhul Din commented.</p> + +<p>"They've no idea we could come at all," I responded. "They're probably +busy placing the last suns they took from us. Our dark stars would be +hardly visible to them."</p> + +<p>Soon came the voice of Lacq Larus in final orders. "We are now about to +enter this galaxy," he said. "Remember your duties and let nothing stop +you."</p> + +<p>Like rushing spheres of blackness our hundred dark stars raced into +the galaxy of the machines. Once inside, we separated. The thirty-nine +assigned to retrieve our thirty-nine stolen suns sped directly, each +toward one of those suns. The rest of us darted forward on our dark +stars after the leading one of Lacq Larus.</p> + +<p>Our purpose was to destroy as many of that galaxy's suns as possible by +dragging them into one another. Before the machines that peopled their +worlds were aware of our presence we had begun.</p> + +<p>Lacq Larus drove his dark star toward a small white sun at that +galaxy's edge, hooked onto it with his attractive beam, and towed it +quickly toward a blue sun off to the left.</p> + +<p>When near the blue sun he released the one he towed and it rushed on of +its own accord, crashed head-on into the blue star. The two colliding +suns melted into a cloud of flame that whiffed away the worlds of both +of them in an instant.</p> + +<p>While Lacq Larus was thus employed, the rest of us were not idle. I had +driven our own dark star toward a large red sun some distance inside, +and now I yelled for Korus Kan to hook onto it with our attractive +beam. He did so, and as I put on power we dragged the red sun after us +toward a double star not far from it.</p> + +<p>We cast loose just before we reached the double star. I shot our dark +star past it, and the red sun, drifting after us, struck the twin +star squarely. The cosmic outrush of flame from that collision almost +reached our own hurtling world before we got out of reach.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Off to one side three of our dark stars had seized another double star, +this one of huge dimensions, and were dragging it toward a great green +sun. And further in, one of our forces had got hold of an aged red sun +that was almost too big for it to handle, and was tugging it slowly +toward its doom.</p> + +<p>All around us this stupendous process of wreckage was going on and we +were part of it. Space inside that galaxy seemed filled with booming +dark stars and suns being dragged to flaming death. I glimpsed some of +the thirty-nine of our force assigned to that duty seizing our stolen +suns and towing them toward outer space.</p> + +<p>From the worlds of the suns we were destroying came clouds of +flying-mechanisms rushing to attack us. But the giant beam-batteries +installed on our dark stars blasted them out of space as they came +near. And still our smashing of suns went on.</p> + +<p>Jhul Din and Korus Kan yelled with exultation as we towed still another +sun to collision and doom. I saw Lacq Larus' dark star some distance +away rapidly stripping the worlds from a sun and towing them into +another sun.</p> + +<p>Then Korus Kan cried out, pointed. "Look—the dark stars of the +machines!"</p> + +<p>I made out dim, huge shapes rushing toward us across that galaxy. "The +machines' dark stars!"</p> + +<p>Through the wild wreckage of crashing and flaring suns and worlds, +nineteen dark stars were bearing down on us. They were the dark stars +with which the machines had gone across space to steal our suns. Now +they were rushing to battle us!</p> + +<p>The scene that followed was beyond description. The machines meant to +stop our wrecking activities at any cost to themselves and they drove +their dark stars straight toward our own.</p> + +<p>A half-dozen of them crashed into that many of our dark stars in the +first rush. As they collided, dark star and dark star blazed up in hot +new life.</p> + +<p>Again and again they rushed at us headlong, as we dragged and wrecked +their suns. They never hesitated to collide with us. They fought with +magnificent, mindless courage to stop our wrecking activities.</p> + +<p>But at last the last of them was gone, though more than twenty of our +own dark stars had been destroyed in the collisions that had ensued +when the machines rammed them. All space around us now seemed filled +with the wild flare of collided suns.</p> + +<p>"All dark stars retreat back into space!" came Lacq Larus' order. "Our +work here is finished."</p> + +<p>"Are all our own suns retrieved?" I asked him on the space-phone.</p> + +<p>"Yes, our other dark stars towed them out into space and they're all +clear."</p> + +<p>Quickly I turned my dark star and sent it booming with the others after +Lacq Larus, out of that ravaged galaxy.</p> + +<p>Outside in space waited the thirty-nine dark stars that had retrieved +our thirty-nine stolen suns.</p> + +<p>"We got them all back!" cried Jhul Din. "Didn't I tell you that we +would, that nothing could beat the Patrol?"</p> + +<p>"Head toward our own galaxy," Lacq Larus ordered. "Keep at half-speed, +as those of us towing suns can't go so fast."</p> + +<p>Slowly, towing our thirty-nine suns with us, we headed away through +space toward the dim light-patch of our own galaxy.</p> + +<p>Looking back, we saw that the galaxy of the machines was lit in many +places by the flaring fire of collided suns.</p> + +<p>We stared back for a long time at the stupendous damage which we had +done to that universe.</p> + +<p>"It'll be a long time before <i>they</i> will come buccaneering again for +our suns!" predicted Jhul Din.</p> + +<p>"And if they ever do come again we can defeat them now that we have +powers equal to their own," I added. "We'd rather not war with the +machines nor with any one else. But we have fought for our suns, and as +long as the Patrol lasts we are going to keep them!" +</p> +<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75438 ***</div> +</body> +</html> + diff --git a/75438-h/images/cover.jpg b/75438-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..a1d3d9b --- /dev/null +++ b/75438-h/images/cover.jpg diff --git a/75438-h/images/illus.jpg b/75438-h/images/illus.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..c723880 --- /dev/null +++ b/75438-h/images/illus.jpg 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. 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