Star of Ill-Omen

by Dennis Wheatley

  The German shook his bristly head. ‘Having watched them carefully, I am inclined to think that in these special cases they have no idea what they are doing, and act only on orders that have been conveyed to them by a form of hypnotism. Of one thing I am certain: the insects can make their will felt by telepathy.’

  ‘Yes. We have experienced that; but found it comparatively easy to resist. However, I see your point: it would not occur to the monsters to offer any resistance, and even if they did they are not mentally equipped to resist to the same degree as ourselves.’

  ‘Have you tried the process in reverse? I mean, attempting to convey your wishes to the insects by concentrated thought?’

  ‘No. Do you think that possible?’

  ‘Yes. I have already met with a limited success. I practise every day, and am progressing slowly; although I regard it as most unlikely that I shall ever be able to carry on an intelligent conversation with them by such means.’

  ‘I take it that thought transference is their normal means of communicating with one another?’

  ‘No,’ replied the Herr Doktor a shade hesitantly. ‘I don’t think it is. That they are animated by common mental impulses, such as that which mysteriously impels all the flying ants in the nests of a whole district to take wing on the same day, I am certain. Ten days ago, at about two o’clock in the afternoon, they suddenly became subject to the sexual urge, and without a moment’s warning abandoned everything they were doing to indulge it. But I think they have developed telepathy only as a means of conveying their orders to the monsters. Among themselves they use a language which seems to have been evolved in a similar manner to that used by our own bees.’

  Escobar looked his surprise. ‘I had no idea that our bees had a language. It has always been supposed that all such insects played their part in communal life owing to race instinct, and had no need, much less the means, to convey their thoughts to one another. Are you certain of what you say? If such a, discovery has been made it implies a revolution in our biological knowledge which has never been surpassed.’

  ‘It is now regarded as proven by the greatest authorities on the subject.’ Harsbach shrugged. ‘Evidently you missed Herr Doktor Von Frisch’s papers about his bee-keeping experiments in Austria. The first was published in 1946, and others followed in ’48 and ’49. As we all know, the bees’ one preoccupation is the search for material with which to make honey. Von Frisch placed caches of sugar in various parts of his grounds on different days and at gradually increasing distances from their hives; then watched for results. Every apiarist knows that bees well laden with pollen often circle round the inside of the hive on their return, then do a little dance. That has always been put down to excitement; but Von Frisch proved conclusively that the bees behaving in such a manner were giving their brothers definite directions on how to find the lucky strike they had made themselves.’

  ‘You amaze me! How could they possibly do that?’

  ‘Having made their circle, they cross it, making the bisecting line in what appears to be a drunken dance. But they are not in the least drunk. The angle of the line in relation to the position of the sun gives the watching bees the direction in which the cache lies; the drunken movements and wriggles of the stomach give the distance it is away. By timing the movements with a stop-watch Von Frisch worked out a scale of distances; and the final proof that the audience had received an intelligent message lay in their flying direct, and without pause, to the place a mile away where he had put the sugar.’

  ‘And you think that the bee-beetles here have a similar language?’

  ‘I am certain of it. One must regard their horns and pincers as arms and hands. If you observe them closely you will see that they use the former as a type of semaphore, and the latter similarly to the motions by which deaf and dumb humans talk to one another.’

  ‘Does not the fact that they can talk invalidate your theory that they have no individuality?’

  ‘I do not think so. Bees cannot be said to have individuality, or any other insects, whatever their achievements. They have no thought of self, but are dominated entirely by the urge to perpetuate their race. That postulates: firstly the procuring of sufficient food to feed it; secondly the creation of a suitable habitation to protect it from the elements and from its natural enemies, and to enable breeding to take place in the most favourable conditions; thirdly the instinct to migrate when it becomes apparent that the locality occupied no longer affords facilities adequate to support it.’

  After a moment’s thought, Escobar said: ‘Your analysis of insect mentality explains many things that have puzzled us. Creatures entirely absorbed in the urges you mention would naturally give no thought to comfort, art or any form of self-indulgence; and would use such knowledge they have gained only for labour-saving devices such as the trolleys, or to facilitate their migration to another world now this one threatens to become uninhabitable for them. That they are entirely ruthless in pursuit of their aims is shown by the way in which they have eliminated every species here with the exception of the giants and one form of vegetation.’

  ‘They must also have eliminated all forms of harmful bacteria. Since I have been here I have not seen a single instance of an insect or giant in ill-health. That they have performed this remarkable feat is made all the more certain from the fact that none of my party has fallen a victim to disease.’

  ‘What you say is a great relief to me. Having been decontaminated on our arrival would have prevented us giving them any of Earth’s diseases, but it could not protect us from picking up other forms of disease which might exist on Mars. I have said nothing to my wife or Señor Linares of my fears, but I have been expecting that at any time we should feel the first symptoms of some probably deadly complaint.’

  Harsbach smiled. ‘I think you may set your mind at rest. The metabolism of the giants must be very similar to our own; so if every disease to which their race was subject in the past has been stamped out, we, too, should be safe.’

  ‘To have achieved such a degree of hygiene is quite extraordinary, in view of the fact that many of the most dangerous types of bacteria are detectable only under our most powerful microscopes.’

  ‘For them to have waged a victorious war against disease would have been far easier than for us. At close range, the eyes of most insects are far more powerful than our own; and, as you will have seen from their photography, their lenses are incomparably better than ours. There were other factors in their favour, too. By liquidating all animal and vegetable life other than the giants and the beans, they at the same time destroyed the majority of the breeding-grounds and carriers of pests. Again, Mars is now mainly arid desert in which even bacteria would find no means of subsistence, and all the remaining water being canalised it would not be beyond their powers to filter and disinfect it. That leaves only the bean-fields and the habitations, and a systematic cleansing of those over several generations would have completed the task.’

  After a moment, Harsbach added: ‘Another fact which convinces me that no harmful bacteria exists here is the use to which the excreta of the giants is put. Insect economy demands that nothing should be allowed to go to waste, so it is used to manure the bean-fields. Thus a form of perpetual motion is achieved, through the same chemicals of which the beans consist being put back into the earth season after season and emerging again as a new crop. But that would not be practical if the excreta was not free of harmful germs.’

  Kem had become restless during this long conversation, and cut in to ask Escobar in Spanish if he and Harsbach had decided on a future policy; upon which Escobar said to the German:

  ‘Señor Lináres still hopes that we may find a means of getting back to Earth. Do you think there are any prospects of our doing so?’

  Harsbach pulled a wry face. ‘Naturally we have also given that much thought, but it is certain that the insects will do their utmost to prevent us, and it seems to me that without their co-operation any such attempt must prove h
opeless.’

  ‘Have you seen any of the Flying Saucers since you landed? I mean, close to?’

  ‘Yes. They make everything they require at the one plant. That is, in this part of Mars; there are doubtless other hives and other plants in other areas. Adjacent to the plant is a flying base and there are several Saucers stationed on it.’

  ‘Could we get hold of one?’

  ‘I greatly doubt it. We have not yet discovered if the insects have stings; but if they have the sting of one their size would prove deadly. Besides, we have not the faintest idea how the Saucers are operated.’

  ‘Since you are already able to communicate with them to a certain extent, could you induce them to show you over one on the excuse that you will have to fit the Atom bomb you are making to it? After a number of visits you might learn its secrets. If you could do that, and they are unguarded at night, we might succeed in stealing one and getting away in it.’

  With a shake of his head the Herr Doktor replied: ‘Even if I could manage to find out enough about them to get one off the ground, what of the problem of navigating it back to Earth on magnetic waves, about which I understand nothing. No; it is out of the question. I would rather take my chance in a rocket powered by atomic energy, with which we are familiar. You know much more about rockets than I do, and in making one you would have the co-operation of the insects. Such a plan seems to me to offer far better possibilities.’

  It was Escobar’s turn to shake his head. ‘No; such a project is beyond me. I could, of course, make a giant rocket with their help, but its take-off is the problem that I see no way of solving. To reach Earth in one flight would necessitate an initial speed that, even allowing for the comparatively low gravity of Mars, would kill us.’

  ‘The use of nuclear energy instead of normal jet fuel would enormously reduce the mass-ratio required for such a rocket.’

  ‘True; but even so such an attempt would be a most hideous gamble, unless we first carried out successful experiments in sending pilotless rockets to one of their moons, then to Earth. Perhaps, though, we might do that on the excuse of testing. To start with I could make a rocket and you could insert a fission bomb into its warhead; then we could launch it against Phobos or Deimos. Both are so small that if it hit the mark whichever it was aimed at would blow up. We would know then that we were working on the right lines, and—’

  Harsbach cut him short with a harsh laugh. ‘If we did that they would never let us launch another. Have not you yet realised what Phobos and Deimos are?’

  Escobar looked puzzled. ‘Some people argue that they are small burnt-out moons, others that they are captured asteroids. I know of no other theories concerning them.’

  ‘They are neither; but perhaps you have not been here long enough to notice the regularity of the movements of the two Saucers that are frequently to be seen above us. One appears to move from west to east and crosses the meridian three times in every twenty-four hours. The other rises in the east and crosses the meridian only once every thirty hours. It is those two Saucers that we have named Phobos and Deimos.’

  ‘Indeed! They are then the equivalent of the permanent aerial rafts that our own scientists are already planning to send up as second launching bases for despatching rockets to the Moon. In that case you are certainly right that it would be the end of us if we blew one up.’

  ‘We could send a trial rocket to Earth.’

  ‘No. It would be useless unless it contained a big enough explosive charge for us to observe the burst, and so make certain that it landed. We could not take the risk of its devastating some highly populated area.’

  ‘And without a trial you consider our chances of arrival would be too slender?’

  ‘Yes. Even if we could make a large enough rocket to carry us without the bee-beetles suspecting our intentions, and take them by surprise in getting away in it, I think the attempt would be suicidal.’

  They were silent for a moment, then Escobar went on, ‘There is another possibility put forward by Senor Lináres; but in view of our fears that the bee-beetles have deadly stings, it would prove extremely hazardous. He suggested that I should manufacture some explosives and by their use terrorise the insects into taking us back to Earth themselves.’

  Harsbach’s grey eyes suddenly lit up, and he explained: ‘That had not occurred to me, but it is certainly an idea. Virtually it would amount to declaring war on them; so, as you say, it would mean gambling our lives in the attempt. But it would be less of a gamble than leaving Mars on our own in any form of space-ship that we did not know how to navigate. As insects are so dominated by routine it should be much easier to temporarily paralyse their activities by surprise than it would be with men. I believe Señor Lináres is right. If we laid our plans carefully, we might overawe them for long enough to make them place a Saucer and its crew at our disposal, and be glad to be rid of us.’

  ‘Have you yet come across any chemicals here from which we could make explosives?’

  ‘Yes. They use nitric acid in some of their processes, and also mercury. But only in small quantities, and I doubt if I could get hold of enough to make the quantity of explosives we should require to really terrorise them.’

  ‘An Atom bomb would serve our purpose far better than anything else. You suggested just now using nuclear energy to power a rocket. Were you only theorising, or could you stop pretending and actually produce it?’

  ‘I could if I had the materials; but uranium is essential, and lead, for screens for our protection while we make it; and, as far as I know, they use neither.’

  Anna had been following the conversation, and she now put in: ‘There must be both on Mars. I took a diploma in geology, and if it could be arranged for me to go prospecting I am certain I could identify the type of ground in which they are to be found.’

  The Herr Doktor gave her a swift glance. ‘In that case I will try to make suitable arrangements. It may take me some days to convey to the insects that I cannot complete my work until you have found certain minerals for me, and that to find them may necessitate an expedition across the desert; but with patience I think I shall manage it.’

  Turning back to Escobar, he added: ‘This plan may be dangerous but I welcome it with relief. At worst it provides me with an excuse for failing to produce immediate results in a few days’ time, when the insects have finished making the container for my bomb; at best it may lead to our regaining our freedom.’

  ‘I wonder what the best course would be for me to adopt in the meantime,’ Escobar said thoughtfully. ‘Do you think they would allow us to work together?’

  ‘They might; and now that I am to make a real bomb I shall have much preparatory work to do while Anna is out prospecting; so I should welcome your help. But whether they will allow you to give it me is quite another matter. It is probable that their object in bringing two atomic scientists here from different countries is to have them make bombs independently of one another, then combine the best features of each.’

  Anna spoke again. ‘Why not make two bombs? The American employment of atomic warfare against Japan was not decisive until a second bomb had been dropped. It may prove the same here.’

  ‘Why not?’ Harsbach agreed, smiling at Escobar. ‘By the time Anna has found uranium and lead, and sufficient quantities have been mined for our purpose, you should easily have caught up with me in getting your casing and mechanism manufactured. Then we will have a race to see who can first complete the filling of the warhead. I am told that in the Argentine you have found a short cut to production. Well; we in the Soviet Union have found one, too. I challenge you to beat us.’

  Escobar gave him a rueful look. ‘You will recall, Herr Doktor, that at Peenemünde I was a rocket man. Whatever you may have since been led to suppose, I am a rocket man still. I know practically nothing about the production of nuclear energy. Enough perhaps to superintend the construction of a suitable bomb casing; but there can be no race between us. When it comes to the finer mechanism and
the filling of my bomb, you will have either to give me your instructions or undertake the work yourself.’

  ‘So we are ahead of you, as well as of the Americans and those swinish British.’ Harsbach gave his short, harsh laugh again. ‘I challenged you in order to find out. That you should not even be able to compete is more satisfactory than if I had won by a good deal. However, Anna is right in her contention that with two bombs at our disposal we shall stand several times as much chance of emerging, victorious as we should with one. I will, therefore, provide you with specifications for making your shell. By the time it is completed I should be able to transmit ideas to the insects fairly easily. I will convey to them that matters would proceed faster if you became my assistant, and we will carry out the finer work on both bombs, together.’

  Anna suddenly began to speak very fast in Russian. After a moment Zadovitch joined in. Harsbach turned and snapped at them both in the same language. Twice, Zadovitch significantly tapped the holster of the gun that he was wearing on his belt. Then Harsbach silenced them both by a series of sharp staccato sentences which might have issued from the thin-lipped mouth of a typical Junker of the German General Staff.

  Turning back to Escobar’s party the Herr Doktor waved an apologetic hand. ‘Please to excuse this little disagreement,’ he said smilingly, again using German. ‘My companion with the untidy yellow hair is a person of very low intelligence. At times he forgets that we are no longer in the Soviet Union, and that on Mars it is I, not he, who gives the orders. Be good enough to disregard the incident. It is closed.’

  It was now close on four o’clock in the morning; so both parties felt that they ought to get a little sleep before the long day ahead of them. Harsbach said that, as a first step, he would tackle the bee-beetles with a view to gaining their consent to the amalgamation of the two parties, so that they could communicate freely at all times in future; and that should he meet with opposition they would, in any case, get together each night in secret until such opposition could be overcome. Then good nights were said and the visitors departed.