Death of a B.E.M.
Page 3
from the line of jaw. Therewas, another, somewhat like a spider, but with dozens of legs. A thirdwas half-man, half alligator; a fourth was all snake, but with threehuman heads; and another was all head without body. They were, the twomen realized, the most terrible _things_ they had ever imagined.
"... And there is the rub," the voice went on. "We are all as you haveimagined us. We exist only in your imagination."
"But how can that be?" Harry Zmilch asked. "We are here. We can seeyou...."
"Only because your imaginations have been developed to such a degree,"the voice replied. "Were you able to you would imagine us as somethingaltogether different. But since there are limits to your imaginationwe are as we are. Now you must pay the penalty of that imagination.
"Torture will be the price we will exact from you...."
In an instant they were transported to the torture chamber. They sawthe horrible machines, the Copper Conker, the Pallid Pulley, and therest. And up on the platform they saw Sally Patica in all her glory,her seven pairs of eyes watering so great was her excitement.
The monsters got in each other's way so hurried were they to tie andmake fast the two humans to the torture machines. And despite Harry'sand Jack's screams, they were bound, hand and foot and placed on eachof the machines in turn. But though the machines whirled and clankedand ground and grunted and snarled their vicious ways the two humanscould not feel a single thing. Yet all about them the horriblemonsters screamed and shouted and laughed and danced and on theplatform Sally Patica shrieked with joy.
"A torture party at last," she screamed. "Oh, Hiah-Leugh, I'm sohappy. I'm the happiest monster in the whole world."
But down below, on the last of the machines in the assembly line,Harry Zmilch thought as he was being whirled around, his head alwaysmeeting a mace-like thing which was supposed to shear a slice from hishead at every turn but which felt like a feather, gosh! If I get backalive what a story I could do on B. E. M's.
While on another instrument of torture, the Pallid Pulley, a devicesupposed to tear the limbs slowly from a man, Jack Gangreneyellowthought, man! what a cover I could make if ever I get out of this.
A strange thing happened then.
The machines stopped their whirring, the monsters stopped theirshriekings, and Jack and Harry stopped moving.
"Ohh, you nasty humans," Hiah-Leugh said. "Now you've spoiled ourparty!"
"Why?" Harry asked.
"Because all this has been in vain. All you can see is that we'remonsters. And as such we have no feelings except for the giving ofpain, torture and death. Gosh, fellas! Can't you see these thingsaren't real? We're the nicest monsters."
But all Harry and Jack could think of was that B. E. M's. were real.Further, they were as terrible as anything they had ever imagined.
"Yes," Hiah-Leugh went on. "We are as you have imagined because welive only in your imagination. And there we live as monsters. If inthe beginning you had given us other lines to read and other lives tolive, things might be as they really are. But no. The human race hadto be the master race. The insect world and the animal world couldonly provide danger and conflict." He turned to the assembled monstersand said, sadly, "Okay, boys. Turn 'em loose. Let them go back totheir typewriters and drawing boards...."
* * * * *
Harry Zmilch shook his head savagely and looked at his friend. He wasdoing the same.
"Got dizzy for a second," Harry said. "Gees! Have I got a swell endingfor my story...."
"Funny," Jack said. "I got dizzy too. And have I got a sweet idea fora monster. All detail...."
Harry went back and typed:
'But Tom Brighteyes was no longer listening to the voice of hisbeloved. Behind him were the advance guards of Hogo the Mogo. Andahead the dreaded swamp. There was but one thing to do, go into thesixth dimension, the fifth was already too perilous. Drawing the girlwithin the embrace of his brawny arms, he closed his eyes and sent outthe powerful thought waves which would send him into the sixthdimension....'
And at the end, he tacked on:
To be continued next month....