CHAPTER VII
_Jupiter and Trouble!_
The huge ship circled the planet twice, with the instruments adjusted todetect the metal of the domes. They spread over many miles of thesurface, yet were like grains of sand on the enormous globe. When thegauges quivered over a section, hidden beneath the mists, every onebreathed a sigh of relief.
It would be many hours before the ship was within the cities, but theywere _home_! Every earthman had the same feeling. Jupiter was almost asmuch of a home to them as to the natives, even before they had seen it.They eagerly looked forward to sight of the domes that would be undertheir care.
John McCarthy entered the control room with a big tray of containers."Here! It's not liquor, but I'll bet you enjoy it more. There's enoughin each of these to _really_ quench your thirst. I for one, will enjoydrinking all of the water I want, after five weeks on short rations."
It seemed impossible that the clouds outside could be deadly. They werebeautiful in the reflected light of the sun, yet those vapors containedpoison that no man could live in. The domes were the only place thatlife could exist on the strange planet.
As they dropped through the heavy mists, it created a feeling of densefog. They could see nothing of the surroundings, trusting entirely onthe instruments. It was like groping in the dark, yet the earthmen knewit had been done before, and the dome men showed no fear.
When a slight jar shook the ship, they breathed easier. _It had touchedthe ground!_ They could feel some effect of the heavy gravity, evenwithin the insulated hull. The ship slanted down at a steep angle,sliding forward with its own weight.
The earthmen didn't understand what was happening, but watched theactions of the dome men. They were using a different control board now,beneath the other panel. McCarthy was down in the hold, watching theaction of machines that had been idle until now.
When they stopped, the mists disappeared from around them. Lights aboveoutlined a huge metal passage. The ship started forward again and heavydoors slid back at the approach with bright light appearing beyond.
They were looking across sun-lit country; the most perfect scene theyhad ever witnessed. Strange trees, and growth of every description,spread in every direction. When the ship slid into the open, they werebeneath one of the domes--enormous beyond their greatest imagination,and exquisitely beautiful.
While they watched spellbound, people started across the fields to greetthe expedition. The women were well proportioned, and far different fromthe men of the race. Not as tall as the women of earth, or quite as wellbuilt, but their heads were much smaller than the men's.
All men were dressed in flowing robes, the women in much less clothing.They wore tight-fitting garments, like bathing suits of metallic cloth.They were happy and carefree, seemingly without a worry in their lives.Children came romping across the fields beside their parents.
Minutes, slipped by, and the people from earth hadn't moved. Sight oftheir new home was too wonderful to grasp at once. Instead of the gloomymetal covering they had expected, the curved surface above was finishedin blue that resembled clear sky at home--as if they had reached theland of their dreams.
* * * * *
When their minds snapped back to reality, the dome men were beingwelcomed by friends and relatives. The babble of voices came faintly tothe control room, from the power hull.
John McCarthy joined them. When the machines stopped, he came up to findthe reason. Now the others watched as he gazed at the beautiful scenefor the first time. Their own amazement was reflected in his eyes. Whenhe looked up at the curved dome, his wife slipped her arm around him.
They were disturbed by the crew, returning with their friends to welcomethe engineers. The dome people seemed completely happy. They were likechildren greeting their parents, holding the hands of the earth peopleand gazing into their faces with adoration. In their minds, the futurewas secure, and they no longer had a care in the world. Eileen McCarthywas so overwhelmed at the reception that she hugged two of the littlewomen.
It was like a dream to walk across the heavy carpet of moss. There wasno grass, but the velvet coat of green was quite similar. The trees wereshaped like an inverted bowl, their branches conforming to the curve ofthe dome above. They were smaller than the trees of earth, with verylarge leaves.
The eyes of the earth people kept returning to the dome. It was hard tobelieve that it was not blue sky, except for giant supports that reachedfrom the ground to the metal ceiling, hundreds of feet above.
When Peter Yarbro learned that he was in charge of this agriculturaldome, his pleasure knew no bounds. His wife couldn't wait to see thehome that had been prepared for them--and waiting almost twenty years.
A circle of buildings formed the foundation of the immense metalceiling, as well as housing thousands of inhabitants. The back walls ofthe structures were always blank, toward the vapor beyond the miniaturecivilization. Each city was a world of its own, with a curved horizon atthe top of the buildings.
In Yarbro's dome there were few means of travel, as every inch of soilwas cultivated. The dome dwellers were past masters at farming, andloved this work more than any other type of labor. To them, it was apleasure that vied with amusement machines of other cities.
When Mrs. Yarbro entered her new apartment, thirty stories above theground, and stepped to one of the balconies, the view was superb. Shewas not interested in the next dome, but wanted to settle her own domainas soon as possible; completely happy.
The rest of the party entered an open car, mounted on a single track,and started for the next city. Every object that moved was operated bythe control of gravity, and could develop enormous speed and power. Itrolled swiftly across the open ground, to enter a tunnel three hundredfeet wide, which carried all of the commerce between the cities. When itemerged in the next dome, the imitation sky was the same, but only asmall portion of the ground surface was cultivated.
Small buildings dotted the level floor, which Morquil explained were theentrances of the mines, unworked for many years. Jerold Brown and hiswife remained in this city, in an apartment as well situated as that ofthe Yarbro's, in the first dome.
Hours passed as they moved from city to city. When they reached thecapitol, only the Barrows, McCarthys and Martins remained of theoriginal fourteen. The others were in their own domes, settling down tothe new existence.
Every occupation seemed to have been forgotten by the childish people,to come and welcome the beings from another planet. They lined everyinch of the way, many deep.
The main dome was three times the size of the others. Supportingpillars, one hundred feet in diameter, seemed vague where they touchedthe ceiling above. Parks covered most of the ground, dotted here andthere by amusement buildings and theaters.
Cars whizzed back and forth, as people gathered to see the strangers.For the first time in generations the amusement buildings were deserted.Since their arrival, Dick had seen no sign of work, and finallyquestioned Morquil.
"The people work one mig out of each lix, Dick. It is enough to carry oncultivation of the crops, and keep the amusement buildings runningproperly and efficiently."
Barrow was stunned. The working period would have to be increased tothree immediately, then four and five. They seemed to think thatbringing men from another world would do the work, and were apt to bedisappointed when he started issuing orders.
* * * * *
When Dick and his wife were installed in their new home, and theMcCarthys settled in a nearby apartment, Morquil hesitated. The Martinswere anxious to see their own habitation, and looked at the dome manquestioningly.
He finally spoke with hesitation. "I have bad news for you. The Martinswill have to occupy an apartment in this city for a while. Their dome isout of order. Trouble developed soon after the ship left here, on thistrip, and over a thousand people were killed. Every other city isovercrowded with refugees.
"It started with a strange banging
on top of the dome, which keptincreasing. No one knew what the trouble was or how to stop it, so theywaited to see what happened. It didn't sound as if the ceiling was goingto fall--but as if the banging came from _outside_! It was several migsbefore they knew the cause.
"When a large section crashed to the ground, it was a complete surprise,and caught the inhabitants unprepared. Soon the air was mixing with thepoison gases from outside. People tried to escape, and most of them did.All except those that fell unconscious from the gas.
"Before the last of them reached the tunnel, green things dropped to theground, and started after those who remained. They had to close thedoors between the cities to keep the creatures from entering this dome.It is the first time that anything has happened to my people, and wedon't know what it could be."
For a long time the earthmen remained silent. The troubles of thiscivilization had been dumped into their laps already--in the form of aterrible calamity. It sounded _almost_ as if some kind of life forms hadbroken through the domes _from the outside_! Perhaps there was moredanger than could be imagined. One dome had been injured, if notdestroyed, and others might follow!
A meeting of the earthmen was called immediately, much to theirsurprise. Dick dared not let conditions stay as they were, for fear offuture trouble. Action must be taken at once.
"We don't know what we're facing, but the fate of the race as well asour own lives, seem to be in danger. The break in the dome might havebeen accident, and the moving forms the imagination of fear. But we knowthat over a thousand people were killed--whatever caused the trouble!"
The men went back to their domes to rest, and plan some means ofentering the deserted city, but were disturbed before they had time forsleep.
_The agricultural dome had been attacked!_ The pounding had begun withina short time of their arrival.
One thing was certain, the injured dome had been _attacked_! It was notaccident that the metal ceiling fell. _There were living beings in thegases outside their civilization!_
The first dome had been attacked just after the space ship left for theearth, and this attack came just after its return to the domes. Therewas little doubt that movement of the ship had disturbed the serenity ofexistence. Perhaps the gas creatures hadn't known what was beneath themetal hives until the ship appeared.
The banging on the agricultural dome, _had to be stopped_! A hole wouldlet in the gas! Rifles, that had been brought back on the ship ascuriosities, were given to each earthman. They loaded them carefullywhile they searched for some means of reaching the trouble.
When the leader of the dome heard what they were planning, he showedthem sealed openings to a space between the sections of metal, whichhadn't been used since the city was built. The dome was constructed inthree layers, for insulation, and to give added protection. It was likea maze, to work their way toward the pounding through the network ofstruts. At times they had to crawl on their hands and knees, at othersthere were clearly defined passages.
They were afraid, and not ashamed to show it. They were huntingcreatures which they knew nothing about--didn't even know whetherbullets would affect them! They might face thinking beings, or forms oflife that only wanted to search in the domes for food. It was not apleasant thought.
Every rifle was cocked as they neared the source of the pounding. Everynerve drawn to the finest point.
Suddenly Dick stopped. He was ahead of the others and first to glimpsewhat they faced. He motioned to use the oxygen masks, as he fastened hisown in place.
As they crept closer, light glinted on the giant pointed hammer,operated from beyond the outer layer of metal. It rose and fell at evenintervals, through the rent in the upper surface. The ram had alreadycrushed through two thicknesses of metal, and was battering at the innerlayer.
The inside section was more like glass than metal and dim light passedthrough, but the outer layers were opaque. When the huge ram disappearedfrom the glow of light it left a gaping hole where it had been. It wasof material they had never seen and glistened with a brownish hue. Itappeared to shorten and expand in diameter, each time it struck thesurface.
For a moment they hesitated, trying to decide the best means of attack.Whatever animated the ram was above their vision, and they had to beclose to the opening to see it.
Each time the shiny object descended, the dome vibrated beneath theirfeet. As long as the vibration remained they were safe, but when it feltlike a thud--the metal would be cracking!
Thousands of helpless people were depending on the action of earthmen,for their future existence. They seemed to think that it was onlynecessary to _tell_ their troubles to these amazing strangers, to havethem solved. Stories about the use of water to drive the space ship, hadcirculated throughout the cities, crediting the newcomers withsuperhuman powers.
As the little party crept nearer, they separated, to approach theopening from every direction. Dick was to fire first--if he saw anythingto shoot at! It might be a powerful machine, clamped to the outersurface, instead of a being that could be injured. The glass globes ofthe masks were clouding with moisture, and it was hard to see.
A thud came, that didn't vibrate quite as much, and the men could feelthe hair on their necks stiffen. It was now or never, and Dick firedalthough he was still several feet from the opening. He fired at thetopmost section of the ram, hoping it might stop the hammering for amoment even if it didn't injure the equipment. Two more shots rang out,before the object could deliver another blow.
_It was alive!_ The heavy ram _jumped_ from the shock of the bullets,curving convulsively to one side of the opening. Then it drew back outof sight.
CHAPTER VIII
_Battle with a Monster_
Minutes passed, while the earthmen hardly dared breathe. Their ebbingheartbeat seemed to almost echo in their breasts. Then the objectappeared at the opening, hesitated, and was thrust in!
_The hammer was a head!!!_ It swayed back and forth, like the head of ahuge caterpillar, and every gun fired in unison. Shot after shot pumpedinto the head with rapid and unerring accuracy.
The giant head moved from one side to the other, while two gigantic eyespeered around. It didn't know enough to draw back from the danger zone,but muscular reaction finally moved it out of sight.
Dick crept forward, motioning for the others to wait until heinvestigated. There was no need for all of them to enter the dangerzone.
He turned the flashlight on, that had been strapped to his waist, andplayed it around the jagged opening, then climbed to the next level andsearched again.
When he crawled to the outer surface, the creature was writhing a fewfeet away. He motioned, and the other men soon joined him, where theycould watch the creature.
They were standing almost on the direct center of the dome, where it wasalmost flat. The flashlights penetrated the mists enough to mark out theshape of the attacker, when they were all centered.
Suddenly they felt sick to their stomachs.
It _was_ a caterpillar! As loathsome a creature as they could haveimagined with its curled body, and the farthest possible thing from ahuman being. A form of life that existed in the poison gases, where menwould die within minutes. The muscles of the creature had to beterrifically strong, to move against the gravity of the huge globe.
Even at the center of the dome, they felt less effect of the neutralizedgravity of the interior. It required effort to stand on their feet. Someeffect of the neutralizers in the giant pillars, which eliminated mostof the weight of the dome, enabled them to handle their bodies.
The creature before them was accustomed to normal gravity of the heavyplanet, and even the metal of the dome was not beyond the pounding ofits hammer. What they had mistaken for a battering ram, was the browntip of the mammoth insect. From end to end it measured over sixty feet.The men finally turned away in disgust, as it writhed in muscularreaction.
John McCarthy was climbing into the opening behind the other men, whenhe happened to glance back. His flashlight dimly lighted the s
pot wherethe monster had been, and _it was gone_!
He hesitated with one foot in the air, then realized what had happened.The movement of the body had moved it farther and farther from thecenter of the dome. It had reached a place where the curve wassufficient to let it slide on the smooth metal. A moment later, a slightjar was felt through the entire structure--it had slid from the man-mademound, to crash on the ground below. Memory of that sight made a soberreturn to the interior.
Before they dared rest, metal sheets were carried to the opening andblocked in place. Then dome men welded them to the solid metal. Theydidn't want to see any of those creatures in the cities!
Twelve hours had passed by the time the opening was sealed, and theearthmen dragged their tired forms through the maze of supports for thelast time.
They were almost asleep before they could reach their own apartments,and tumble onto comfortable beds. They had conquered the first problem.
Dick was awakened by an excited man, talking faster than he couldunderstand the new language. When he grasped what the other was saying,he leaped from bed wide awake.
_Every dome had been attacked!!!_ The caterpillars were pounding manyspots on each one. They seemed to be trying to get at the creatures thathad destroyed one of their number.
* * * * *
In that moment Dick felt like an old man. He thought of the space ship;the only way of attacking from the outside, and gave that up. Therewasn't enough fuel to handle it, and the blasts might injure the metaldomes. His mind searched frantically for some way of fighting _all_ ofthe creatures--and knew it couldn't be done.
He was racing across the open ground, while thousands of people gazed atthe banging overhead. Suddenly he stopped, then turned back toward hisapartment, running just as hard. There was a system of communicationbetween the domes--that _sometimes_ worked! It was not efficient, but ifhe could get in touch with the others immediately, there was _one_chance!
He tried frantically to get a connection, but it wasn't until one of thenatives helped with the intricate system of signals, that he heard thevoice of Andrew Smith. A few moments later Philip Jones answered, thenJerold Brown and Peter Yarbro. Each man was given quick, yet explicit,instruction.
When Dick turned away from the phone, John McCarthy entered the room,followed by George Martin. The noise in the city had finally arousedthem from their slumber.
John started to smile, but the expression on Barrow's face drove allthought of greeting away.
"_What is it?_ I thought the people were doing a day's work--but_you_----!!!" His face turned ashen as he ran to the balcony, GeorgeMartin only a step behind. After gazing up for a moment, McCarthy turnedslowly to face Dick.
"The worms? It sounds like _hundreds of them_! We better work fast, orthey'll have the whole roof down around our ears."
"No, John. We can't fight them with guns. _They have attacked every domeon the planet!_"
When full realization came to the big Irishman, he sank slowly into achair. "Then what? Have you got any plan--or are we helpless?"
"We've got work to do and plenty of it. There's a slight chance ofsaving the cities. I've already instructed the others."
As the three men raced toward the power plant, Dick explained. John andGeorge were to do the work, while he traveled from dome to dome to makesure the people were prepared, and see that the power plants were usedas he intended.
By the time they reached the entrance of the building, John nodded, andBarrow turned back as the other men entered the door. The first domepeople that Dick saw were told to remove everyone from the buildings,and gather them in the open spaces of the parks. _Leaving no one withinany structure!_
The expression on his face scared them even more than the pounding ofthe worms, and they hurried to obey.
Dick jumped into the nearest ground car. He couldn't be botheredtraveling on the railroads. This happened to belong to the assistanthead of the dome, whom he dispossessed. It jerked crazily across streetsand parks, while he learned to handle the controls.
An hour later Dick was back at the powerhouse in the big dome. Everycity was ready. In several places the hammering heads had broken throughthe outer layers, and were banging at the translucent inner ceiling. Thecreatures _had learned how_ to break through.
The first worm that attacked, while the space ship was away, either tookits time or didn't realize what was beneath the heavy metal. Thesecreatures were working in earnest.
Heavy insulated cables ran from the powerhouse to the nearest metalpillars, where McCarthy and Martin were working desperately to fastenthem in place. The booming voice of the Irishman had kept the nativesback, although they crowded as close as they dared. They were reallyafraid, when the hammering grew plainer with each passing minute.
When the cables were fastened, John shouted to Dick, who was waiting inthe powerhouse. He pulled a heavy switch, at the end of the wires.
The city was suddenly in complete darkness, then it flashed bright againas power flowed back into the thousands of coils in the ceilingmaterial. Twice more it darkened, when the giant switch was thrown, andthe lights came on again. This time it stayed bright.
Dick ran to the doorway, and gazed at the dome above. _It was silent!_The people were frightened, and moved restlessly about. Twice more heturned the power into the metal, and after one long darkened period, thecity remained bright. _No sound came from the dome!_ Either the wormswere dead--or frightened away!
Within a week the doors to the deserted city were opened, and theearthmen passed through. When they glimpsed the interior, they stoppedin consternation, then started to laugh.
Huge worms covered the ground, and smaller editions of the same species,crawled around them. _They were using the dome for a hatching place!_
They had only entered it to bring forth their young! It was not _brains_that tempted them to attack the city, but the instinct to find aprotected place for their eggs. Since they had broken in, many of theyoung had hatched, and were crawling around the ground.
Sight of the earthmen seemed to excite their feelings, and several ofthe creatures started toward them. The men fired carefully, and theforms squirmed on the ground. The ones that came behind stopped, andsome of the young tried to feed on the remains of their companions.
The sight was so sickening that the earthmen fired at every living thingthey could see. Several of the wounded creatures crawled up the hugepillars, to disappear through the opening above, while the men shot attheir disappearing forms. When the last caterpillar lay dead, the entirearea appeared like a battlefield.
Three days later the gas had been expelled, and the hole in the domerepaired. The population was returning to their homes, burying thecarcasses in the fields. The city was livable again, and they knewelectric current would stop any future attack of the strange creatures.
* * * * *
Ten years later, Dick Barrow sat on the balcony before his apartment.His son John, eight years old, was playing with Dick McCarthy. While hewatched the boys, his mind swung back to the earth the little group hadleft so many years before.
For three years they had talked of returning to their home planet, andthe evening before the conversation reached a climax. They were startingin two months.
It no longer required years to manufacture fuel for one trip. Allmachinery was working at top efficiency, and they could turn out enoughof the liquid in a month, to drive the ship back and forth severaltimes. Crews of workmen had been trained to care for all mechanicalequipment, and there was no longer need for the engineers from theearth.
The day the little party (it now consisted of eighteen with the fourchildren), entered the space ship tears rolled down the cheeks of manyof the crowd. The dome people had learned to almost worship thesemembers of an alien race, and thought they would never leave. But whenthey realized that their leaders were dissatisfied, and wanted to returnto their native planet, they aided in every way they knew how.
&nbs
p; The ship was out of port for less than a week when the people becamerestless. They hardly spoke, even at meal time, and for the first timein ten years there were petty quarrels.
When Barrow called them to the main cabin, they came grudgingly, thenslowly the expressions changed. Smiles appeared on their faces, andtheir heads moved with sheepish nods of assent.
"We're fools, and you all know it. We were happy in the domes, happierthan we ever were in our lives before. We didn't appreciate it andlonged to return to the earth. We wanted to leave, yet had everythingthere to live for. We had comfort, every pleasure, and more friends thanwe can possibly have on our own world. _I feel ashamed!_
"Right now we _wish_ that we were back in our own apartments, and mightas well admit it. The earth is not what we want, _we want the domes_!They are _home_!!!
"The best thing for us to do, now that we are on the way to the earth,is establish commerce.
"We can create friendship between the planets, but we are natives ofJupiter! Our interests will always be with the dome people. We havealmost become part of that race, and they have given us everything inreturn. They even gave us our freedom when we wanted it. _We belongthere!_"
Ten years more passed, and John Barrow was beginning to help with hisfather's work. Vacationing in Jupiter's domes had become so popular onthe earth that they were building another city to accommodate thetourist trade. It was the third to be added to the original six.Merchant ships were constantly discharging goods from the earth, andcarrying back rare metals.
Space ships from the earth, designed after the original Jupiter ship,were searching the little known planets for minerals. Domes were beingbuilt on three of the smaller globes, and pioneering humans migrated tonew worlds. There was danger, yes, but also fame and fortune for thehardy people who would inhabit them.
The earth had changed a lot, since the visit of the space ship. They hadadopted the principle of controlling gravity, and tremendous structureswere the result. New buildings were several times as large as thegreatest structure of ten years before. Both planets had benefited fromthe friendship, and both were happier as a result.
As Dick Barrow's mind ran over these facts, he smiled and spoke aloud tohimself. "And all of this in twenty years--it seems incredible!"
"What did you say, dear?" asked Dolores.
Dick smiled as he glanced at her. "It's nothing. I was just thinking.Remember the night you fell in front of my table in the hotel? And Ithought it was _accidental_--you scheming gold-digger!"
The ruler of the domes ducked when his wife threw her book--but shedidn't throw it very hard.
THE END
FOOTNOTES:
[1] This gravity power was derived from huge weights swung on an axisthat could be faced toward any point in the universe, and the slightestpull resulted in force that was exerted on the fuel. The explosivemixture remained at constant pressure, creating a smooth driving medium.Discharge of the fuel under high compression resulted in greater powerthan could be obtained in any other way.
When the fuel shot through the tubes, it exerted force on the gas cloudthat was far above the actual speed of the explosion. The heat ofcombustion was reduced, and the ship operated without effect from theblasts. The tubes were small, yet the power expended was beyond anythingever accomplished on earth.--Author.
Transcriber's Note:
This etext was produced from _Amazing Stories_ April 1956 and was first published in _Amazing Stories_ February 1939. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and typographical errors have been corrected without note.
Wanted—7 Fearless Engineers! Page 7