by Earl
“Don’t you worry about that, Mr. Banks,” spoke up Joyce for the first time. “My Dad knows that wherever Tom is, I’ll be, so your responsibility rests only with him.”
Gerald Banks was beaten and he knew it. Even before he spoke, he showed his resignation, and smiles broke on the lips of the two young men.
“Well, I see I can do no more with you than I could with wild boars. But mind, fellows, I’m going to tell your fathers exactly how this came about! Oh, woe is me that I should have under my care such willful youngsters as you two, and I hope a meteorite lands ten feet away from you both when I’m gone and takes some of that self-confidence of yours away!”
But Banks was smiling. He was secretly proud of them. Not many young men had the spirit and adventurous daring possessed by these two energetic specimens of Earth humans. And when they clapped him on the back and wrung his hand and playfully tussled with him in exuberance, he felt a glow of pleasure and pride, even though he had to straighten his clothes and wipe his damp forehead after they had joyfully sallied away from the sun tent.
“FRANKLY, I’m worried about the whole thing!”
The speaker was Gool Akool, a Martian with whom Tom and Joyce had formed a close friendship during the two years they had been on Mars after Gerald Banks returned to Earth. Being the son of one of the Mars Mining Company’s Martian agents, he had lived in the Earthian settlement on the Desert of Whispers all his life. He spoke English with barely a trace of Martian hissing and was “earth-ized” to a remarkable extent. Only in his physical form could he be distinguished as a Martian, for he had picked up as much information about the Green World (Earth) as his own native planet.
“Just when did the plague first appear?” asked Tom, lolling at ease after their jaunt into the wild lands of the northern hills, which were some hundred miles away from the mining camp.
“When did it?” asked Gool, turning to his brother Nork.
Nork, who was also well versed in Earth language and customs, thought a moment. “I think it was first recognized as a plague about a Jark[*] ago.”
“Just about the time uncle left,” said Tom, speaking to Joyce. Then he turned to the two brothers.
“You say it seems harmless to Earth people?”
“Yes, curiously enough,” answered Gool. “My people in the infected area get feverish, lie in agony for three days, then die. Your people develop a slight cough, feel miserable for a few days, and then recover completely. We know it is not fatal to Earth people because there is a section of land where every Martian has died—but every Earthman lives today.”
Gool and Nork seemed greatly saddened by the matter. News had come to the camp that very day telling of the complete decimation of a Martian town on the other side of the planet, where the plague seemed to have taken root. Their curious peak-nosed
faces reflected a troubled state of mind.
Tom and Joyce were far too familiar with Martian physiognomy to notice the oddities of their companions. When they had first arrived on Mars nearly two years before, they had about doubled up in laughter at the sight of the Martians. They were tall creatures with heads that seemed all nose, ears that looked like ram’s horns, large soft eyes, enormous barrel-chests, and incredibly long arms with two elbows each. The short, broad-footed legs were set to a second torso below the huge chest. The two young vacationers had called them “fish faces” till they got to know them better. Their respect for the genial, intelligent Martians grew as their surprise at their physical appearance wore off.
“What do they say about the matter in authoritative circles?” asked Joyce, referring to the plague.
“Well, they analyzed the sickness as a lung disease. The germ that causes it has not been identified yet, although many scientists are now working on the problem trying to check the ravages of the pestilence. No preventative or cure has yet turned up.”
Gool shook his head sadly as he finished.
“Haven’t they investigated to find out from where the germs come? Surely they must originate somewhere, especially as the sickness has never before appeared on this planet.”
“I hate to tell you this,” said Gool slowly, his face tinging yellow in typical Martial embarrassment, as an Earthman’s face reddens. “But the rumor has sprung up that. . . that the germ is a product of. . . of Earth!”
“Of Earth!” repeated the Earth youths in unison.
“You see, it’s like this,” went on Gool, his face still more yellow. “Before I go on I just want to tell you, Tom and Joyce, that I don’t credit the idea at all; nor does Nork here. But anyway, some of my people say that the germ has been brought from Earth and introduced here on Mars . . .”
“Yes, go on!” urged Tom tersely, as Gool paused.
“. . . to kill off us Martians so that the Earth people could have the planet all to themselves!”
TOM and Joyce looked at one another aghast. When they looked back to the brothers, the latter hung their heads in perturbation.
“Tom, Joyce!” cried Gool, breaking the icy silence. “I want you to know as I said once, that I think it the most inane idea ever conceived. Please don’t think I’m throwing that up to you . . .”
“No, no; not at all,” assured Tom. “Come to think of it, I don’t blame your people for that supposition. We fair-minded Earthmen must admit that often our fellow men have shown unutterable greed the way they snapped at the rich mineral beds of the deserts. And their conduct has not always been what it should be. Then, too, it must seem queer to anyone thinking about it that the plague should affect ONLY Martians! On the face of it, I can hardly blame your people for that view.”
“But it’s preposterous!” cut in Joyce vehemently, “to suppose for a second that the Earth people would resort to such a despicable, abominable practice for the mere sake of mineral wealth! In the first place, the Mars government has always allowed the Earth-companies to exploit the ore beds, almost without a single dissent, and their terms have always been lenient. To my mind, there is no plausible reason for such an accusation.”
“You must remember, though,” put in Gool, “that my people still control the richest of the mineral beds, especially the radium mines. Our government has granted the mining rights of mineral deposits to Earth people only because necessity has never forced us to exploit them, desert-surrounded and rather poor as they are. The radicals who accuse Earth of the deed say that the Earth people have cast covetous eyes on the much richer, more conveniently situated plateau ore-beds now owned by the Martians.”
“But not under any circumstances do we, or any sane-minded Martians, think that such is the cause of the plague,” added Nork.
“Of course not,” said Gool. “However, things are coming to a dangerous point. The plague has steadily increased; there have been hot words between the Martian radicals and the Earth ambassadors, I have heard; and it is hard to say what will result of the whole thing.”
“It may lead to war!” cried Tom suddenly. “And that would be the worst thing possible. Excuse my frankness, Gool and Nork, but Earth, with her superior armament and war experience—you know, we always have had war on Earth, while you Martians here got along like one family—would overwhelm Mars; and that, it is easy to see, would never rectify the trouble.”
Four people looked at each other in dismay. The statement Tom made only too clearly showed the tragic result that would come upon the heels of the plague if it continued its remorseless path—two worlds embroiled in a war, two peoples which had long been friendly and co-operative, at each other’s throats—two civilizations cast at each other’s armored fronts in a war that might result in the complete annihilation of the one—the bloody, unsatisfying victory of the other.
These four of two worlds, close friends now for two years, bosom companions on many a joyful hunting trip and hiking jaunt in the fascinating wild lands of unexplored regions, felt a barrier come up between them—felt themselves thrust apart by a rude nonenity that was beyond their power to thwart. Frien
dship must always be second to race patriotism. They looked at the darkening future with dread.
INTO THE UNKNOWN
IT WAS not many days later that Tom called a halt beside a bubbling stream underneath the towering height of a Martian Zilt, or bush-tree. The four of them, forgetting the gathering cloud of worldly disaster, had essayed into the cool hill region north of the mining camp for a sort of picnic.
Joyfully, they unstrapped their knapsacks, glad to rid themselves of the chafing straps, wiped their moist faces and drank of the sweet water. In more minutes they were lolling at ease on the moss-sward, wolfing down their various provisions, talking aimlessly and pleasantly, at peace with the universe. Then Tom broke the spell.
“You said the other day, Gool, that the plague seems to center in the Pruntz Plateau, almost half-way around Mars from here?”
The Martian brothers, who had been chuckling at Joyces’ antics as he tossed up bits of food and caught them in his mouth, lost their smiles. Joyce looked resentfully at his friend for introducing that painful topic.
“Yes, that is so,” answered Gool. “The Pruntz Plateau region first felt the inroads of the pestilence. From there it spread outward.”
“Is that region any different from any other on Mars?”
“Yes. It is situated in such a geographical position that eddying winds make it their core. From that plateau sweep out long arms of gentle, but constant, winds.”
“Is the disease contagious?”
“That’s the queerest thing of all, Tom,” answered Gool. “It is not contagious as proven by certain tests. It does not pass from person to person, but seems to spring out from nowhere, wiping out whole communities at a time.”
“Oh, bosh, Tom!” burst in Joyce petulantly. “What’s the use of bringing up and carrying on a sordid topic like that? We can’t do anything about it, anyway. What comes, comes. For the sake of our happiness, drop that smelly old subject and let’s enjoy ourselves as we should. Surely something like that can’t affect us four, at least not for a long time.”
Tom rose to his feet. His blue eyes blazed and dilated.
“It can affect us four, and will! Don’t you see that disaster is coming, and coming fast? Nork translated the bulletin for me yesterday; it indicated that in six Jark or less, the Martian race will die out if the plague continues at its present rate of increase. But before that ever happens, there will be Avar! Maddened by the devastation of the plague, mentally warped by the terrible threat of extinction, the Martians will rise and wage war against Earth, thinking the Earth-people responsible for the pestilence. Do you want to see that happen? Do you, all of you, want to see the beautiful cities of Mars come tumbling down—those fairy-like, gossamer-threaded buildings that bring a nameless comfort just to see them? Do you Avant to see a happy, thriving race of people fall to oblivion? Do you, Joyre, want to see Earth, bloody and gory, carry a taint of murder for the rest of eternity?”
It was seldom that Tom flared up in this way and Joyce gaped in astonishment. He looked long as his friend stood there waving his hands and continuing in the same vein, picturing the horror that would envelop the two worlds as a result of the deadly, insidious plague.
“But, Tom!” burst in Joyce finally. “What in the wide world can we do about it?”
Tom stiffened. When next he spoke, his voice was low, fraught with great portent.
“Gool, Nork, and Joyce—I’ve been thinking this whole thing over. Maybe I’m a disillusioned fool and maybe I can see things that others can’t, but has it ever occurred to anybody that the disease might be the diabolical effort of alien creatures to conquer this planet?”
JOYCE burst out laughing. “Tom, you should be a writer with an imagination like that!”
Tom went on as if he hadn’t heard the interruption:
“Listen, all of you. Mars is the outermost of the four inner planets. Suppose now that invaders wanted to conquer the four worlds. Wouldn’t it be logical for them to start with Mars, it being the furthest out? Now digest this: seven expeditions have been sent to Jupiter since space-flying first came into being fifty years ago. Not one of them has returned! They had splendid ships, plenty of fuel, good crews, experienced captains, armament, and everything else to make the trip in safety. Why did none of them return?”
The others sat up tensely. Gool and Nork seemed bereft of speech. But the indomitable Joyce spoke up:
“Don’t forget, Tom, that Jupiter is a God—awful ways away and nobody knows just what conditions come up when you take a long trip like that. I suppose those ships simply blew up somewhere, got lost, crashed on Jupiter, or struck a meteorite or asteroid.”
“Yes, Joyce,” agreed Tom. “But it’s just as reasonable to think that perhaps the Jovians, if there are such, captured them and killed them for dirty reasons of their own, probably to prevent the leak of information about them. Now, to carry on my line of argument: the last three expeditions had along with them Martians as well as Earthmen and Venusians. Couldn’t the Jovians have used the Martians as laboratory specimens, producing a germ that would kill them, in line with their supposed program of conquering the four inner planets?”
“Certainly,” agreed Nork suddenly. “But still,” cried Joyce. “How explain the transportation of the germs from Jupiter to Mars? Surely if they brought them here in space-ships, they would be seen! The Pruntz Plateau is well-settled.”
TOM spoke in a hushed voice: “No, that would be out of the question. I doubt they could bring enough germs to do much damage without being detected sooner or later, and this plague has been going on for over a Jark. Since the disease is not contagious, it must be constantly replenished. Since they appear mainly in the Pruntz Plateau where winds waft them all over the planet, that must be the infesting spot. Since it is unreasonable for them to bring germ cultures in ships, they must somehow project them through the ether in the form of a beam!”
“Well, that beats all!” ejaculated Joyce. “From improbabilities to impossibilities! Tom, for Heaven’s sake, forget it. You’ll be going insane in a minute with ideas like that cluttering up your mind!”
Tom offered no rebuke. His seriousness was adamant to humorous sarcasm.
“There are just two things that make me think of that beam idea. Think back, Joyce, to nearly two years ago when we first came to Mars. Remember one time when we were nearing Mars in the space-ship, that I looked at the sun through darkened glasses? Remember that accidentally I turned to Mars with the glasses and saw a pale, shimmering beam reaching out from Mars to black space? I let you see it then. It was invisible without the darkened glasses. Some strange property of the smoked lenses showed up an otherwise invisible beam.”
“Yes, I do remember,” cried Joyce excitedly. “We talked to your uncle about it and he said it was funny but probably something used by the Martians.”
Tom nodded. “Well, my theory is that the beam we saw is the same one that brings the germs to Mars!”
“Beans for your theory,” chuckled Joyce. “I can explode it right off. First of all, Jupiter is now a quarter way around the sun from Mars. At the time we saw the beam it pointed almost at right angles to Jupiter’s position. And last, Professor, no germ can live in space, nor can you make it swim to a certain spot where there is no air. Now don’t say it’s Saturn that sends the beam, or I’ll scream!”
But Tom refused to laugh as Joyce pantomimed readiness to shrill forth.
“Joyce, I’m more serious than you can ever imagine. And now I’ll explode your contentions! I said two things started this train of thought of mine. One was the incident of the beam we saw through the smoked glasses and the other is the fact that, in my memory of astronomical lore, we both studied, there reposes this pregnant fact: There is an asteroid that follows Mars around the sun like a shadow! This queer body, although traversing a greater orbit, has a superior speed that matches the orbital swing of Mars, so that age in, age out, it is never further from the bigger planet than about 95,000,000 miles! Now I’m
going to finish up what I have to say to keep you from asking too many questions.
“I have an idea that grows stronger each time I think of it that the Jovians want to conquer the inner planets. They have picked Mars first for strategic reasons. They have perfected a germ fatal to Martians. They have set up some sort of projector on that asteroid that follows this planet. From this machine, they shoot the beam that carries the germ spores—and germ spores capable of living in space are scientifically possible. The germs are pushed there by the well-known pressure of light, or in this case, infra-red rays.
“I may be hopelessly wrong, but at least the idea is worth acting upon. It is just as plausible as the Earth-invasion idea. To the vast majority of Martians, Earth people are greedy, grasping, overbearing, aggressive, and troublesome people. But we know, you and I, Joyce, that for all of these traits that come out when our people see precious minerals, that never in a million years would they do such an obsene, utterly foul deed as impregnate Martian air with disease germs, merely to have that wealth for their own. It is far more logical to me that the plague, since it seems to be caused by some outside agency, comes from other alien creatures, presumably the Jovians, as they are the nearest. But whether Jovians or Saturnians, or even creatures from some other star, it is a menace that may well cause the complete collapse of civilization as we know it!”
A WEEK later, the four friends met and conversed inside the building that contained the living quarters of the mining camp.
Tom paced up and down, frowning and fretting. Joyce lounged on a cot, twisting the corner of a blanket. Gool and Nork sat quietly, staring at the floor.
“There you are,” exploded Tom suddenly. “Balked at every step; names hurled at us—fools, nitwits, idiots, and the rest. Our youth is against us. They think we are too young to reason!—to have inklings of the truth! Glory, how I’d like to wring the neck of that one fat government official as he cursed me for a lying Earthman, saying I had been sent by the Earth powers to attempt to shift suspicion to a non-existent party, namely the alien invaders!”