“Perhaps, father, the mistake was mine,” said Enid. Challenger took his daughter ’s tiny hand. “I loved your mother more than life itself. But my incredible knowledge of science came with a responsibility to mankind. I had to face that responsibility, Enid. And yes, I am curious---forever searching the mysteries of the universe. That was my greatest weakness. It’s why I was off on some wild scientific goose chase when your mother became ill.
“ But, Enid,” said Challenger, with tears forming at the corners of his dark eyes, “you must believe me when I say that I had absolutely no idea Jessie was dying. She had kept it from me for months. Had I known I would have sacrificed everything to be at her side. Can you honestly believe I would have cheated myself of any last moments we might have shared? But she’s here with me now, Enid. We’re all here. This is my one chance to redeem myself.”
Enid threw her arms around Challenger ’s neck and buried her face in his enormous beard. “There’s nothing to make amends for, father,” she said, sobbing. “In all the times you were away from us, mother never uttered a word. She understood. She knew she had to share you with the rest of the world. But I didn’t. I was too selfish. I wanted you all to myself.”
She lifted her head. “I was wrong, father, about you, about your work. But I was hurting. And I miss mother, too. But I can’t trade the lives of a whole world for my own happiness. You knew that better than I did. You made sacrifices. I never have.”
Enid turned to see the furious image of her mother rising above her. Her white hair and silken raiment flowed about her, lifted up by an otherwise undetectable breeze. “What rot!” she raged. “George Challenger has sacrificed nothing! Nor has he ever accomplished anything in his life. He failed me once, and now he must prove his love to me! By remaining here with me forever!”
Summers stepped out of the mist with the disruptor.“I’m sorry, George.”
“Monty, no!” cried Challenger, rushing forth. The disruptor shrieked into life, its blast like the wail of a banshee, and the figure of Mrs Challenger flickered and wavered like an object viewed through a layer of desert heat. For a moment she only sneered at the priest, but then the image began to break up and lose its shape, and the woman started to scream for mercy. Summers kept squeezing the trigger, despite desperate pleas to stop, from both George Challenger and the distorted image before him.
The tortured figure of Jessie Challenger suddenly disappeared in an implosion of light, leaving in its place a shadow so black that it looked as though someone had cut out a shape in the space she had just occupied. The shape threw up its arms and cried out, “Interloper! This is my domain! You shall not leave here. My will be done!”
And then it shot past their heads like a streak of black lightning, disappearing into the distant horizon.
***
“What the devil was that thing?” cried Roxton. Summers lowered the pattern disruptor. “Precisely, Lord John.”
“It was reptilian!” “No, not at all,” said Malone. “It was more like a bird of prey. It was beautiful!”
“It was hideous!” Enid said, trembling, and Ned put his arm around her. “ Evidently it appeared differently to each of us,” said Summers. “But regardless of its assumed shape, it was the ruler of this dark region, the Prince of the Air.”
Enid shivered with revulsion. “Satan!”
“Yes,” said Summers, “a fallen angel.”
“ She’s gone!” Challenger suddenly cried. “I thought I’d found her again, and now she’s gone!” The huge man crumbled to the tunnel surface. “It’s all been a lie,” he said in disbelief. “How could I have been so gullible? How could I allow myself to be lured so far from the truth?”
Roxton put a hand on Challenger’s broad shoulder. “We were all duped by this world, Professor.” “ But I of all people should have known better, Lord John. I have devoted my entire life to dealing in facts, not emotions. But I was blinded by the blackness of my grief for Jessie. I allowed my emotions to cloud my judgment.” He buried his face in his hands. “No, I must confess my shame to you. I compromised my own scientific principles, and by doing so I’ve placed my daughter and friends in great jeopardy. And heaven help me, I hope I haven’t doomed mankind in the process.”
Summers knelt before his dispirited friend. “George, you needn’t feel ashamed,” he said. “Your motives were noble. You entered this realm in the true spirit of exploration. Thanks to you we’ve seen what no other mortals ever set eyes upon. I personally must thank you for the opportunity.”
“But Monty--” “ You remain, as ever, an intrepid explorer,” continued Summers, “always prepared to plumb the darkest recesses of man’s knowledge. For a time you were the challenger of the spirit world. But you have so much yet to accomplish in the physical world. It’s time to go back, my friend. Time for you to return to the work you know best.”
“Help me get him up, Malone,” said Roxton, and the two men lifted the Professor to his feet. Challenger lifted his head and inhaled deeply. “Thank you, Monty. You’re quite right: scientific research certainly is my forte. And I dare say I have made great strides within that arena. I promise from now on to leave the supernatural to such as you, Monty---and God help you, my friend!”
“Father,” cried Enid, “the tunnel surfaces are growing brighter, but the frequency of the light flares has slowed.” “ Or perhaps,” said Summers, “as this world grows brighter, the flare-ups are simply less noticeable. Either way, the energy exchange is still accelerating. George, we may still have time to correct the imbalance---but we must find a way to exit this world.”
“I’ve searched the tunnels for hours,” said Malone. “There is no way out.” Challenger said, “Oh ye of little faith, Malone! Lord John, kindly hand me that weapon of yours.” And then he swung about to face Malone with the disruptor.
Malone shrank back. “Surely you’re not going to turn that gun on us?”
“No need for that, my young friend. Remember, the Nemor Disintegrator worked only on solid matter, and there is nothing solid about our present bodies---our very presence here is proof of this. We currently exist only as loosely assembled groupings of molecules in the ether of this dimension. To paraphrase that crazed Latvian inventor, we are like so much salt dissolved in a pool of water, but we will become solid again once we find a way to leave this pond.”
Challenger handed the gun back to Roxton. “The disruptor is our ticket home, my friends. We simply use it to re-open the interdimensional doorway between this world and ours.”
“The same way we opened it from our side?” asked Roxton. “ Well, it should work, in theory. It is a smaller beam, but the construction of the gun is similar to the teleportation device I built. It should cut a wide gash in the barrier that separates us from our world.”
“And then we simply wade ashore to earth,” said Summers. “ It may not be quite that easy,” said Enid. “Each time we open a doorway through the barrier, the flow of energy into this world temporarily increases, like water flooding through a hole in a dyke. We will be swimming, so to speak, against a strong current of energy.
Challenger beamed at his daughter.“Yes, Enid, exactly so! Are you game, my dear?”
“I’ll be right behind you, father. Let’s go home.” “ One last thing,” said Challenger. “This will be like trying to punch a hole in a cloud of vapour---the vapour quickly rushes in to fill any existing void space. So please understand that the opening will quickly narrow and soon disappear altogether. If necessary, we can use the disruptor to create a second and third doorway, but we cannot be certain of the effect upon us should the barrier totally close up while we’re trying to pass through it.”
Roxton lifted the disruptor.“In other words, no dawdlin’ on the return trip!”
“Aim for a more distant surface, Lord John,” said Enid. “We don’t want to be standing right in front of the dam when it bursts.” Roxton squeezed the trigger and the disruptor screeched like a thousand fingernails drawn across
a blackboard. He gritted his teeth as he swept the surface of the tunnel with the beam, cutting a large swath of blinding light in the tunnel surface.
The rush of energy pounded the tiny group like a crashing ocean wave, pushing them backwards until they once again found their footing. The current roared like a rushing wind, and Roxton had to yell to be heard. “Let’s go. You first, Enid.”
“No,” she said, “let my father go through first.” A great tremor shot through the surface of the tunnel world, and George Challenger was thrown to his knees:“The plain is pulsating more violently with each moment.”
“ Look at the walls of the tunnel, George,” Summers yelled, “---they’re almost white now! Dear God! This world looks as though it were spun from some fibrous material.”
“Like silk,” Malone screamed. Roxton grabbed Enid by the arm and tried to pull her toward the shrinking crack in the barrier. “Quickly,” he cried. “These whorls look like the...” He broke off when something dark popped to the surface of the nearest one. The thing resembled something from a nightmare. It rose up on eight long, jointed legs supporting a segmented body the size of an elephant, and then crawled out onto the plain before them.
“God, how I detest spiders,” yelled Challenger. Summers pushed his friend back. “That’s precisely why it’s here!” He withdrew his flask of holy water and ran forward. But the creature reared up on its four back legs and brought its forelimbs crashing down on the priest. One of them struck him in the chest, knocking him to the surface and sending the flask tumbling from his hand.
Challenger stood frozen and dazed for what felt to him like an eternity, watching as the thing hovered over Summers, its mouthparts working furiously, before a horrible scream shocked him back to reality. Roxton had sprung forward like a tiger, his disruptor screeching to life once more.
The shockwave hit the spider, and the monster twitched and slowed. It momentarily fell back, but its foreleg kept the priest pinned to the surface. Roxton raised the weapon for another shot, this time aiming more carefully, but the spider had recovered it senses. It shot out another of its hideous forelegs, slamming the great hunter to the floor of its nightmare-spun world.
The disruptor flew from Roxton ’s hands, and he watched it slide across the grey plane, and come to rest on the edge of one of the huge whorls---half of the weapon laying on the pulsating surface, the other half hanging over the dark abyss. The gun remained there for one agonizing, breathless moment, before it dropped over the edge.
Roxton saw the disruptor disappear into the darkness, knowing it could never be retrieved. Then he felt the press of the spider’s leg upon his chest as it began to drag him beneath its gaping jaws. For a brief moment Roxton had an image of that idiot scientist back in London, and the words“untested prototype” echoed in his head.
Malone charged the monster, yelling his friend ’s name, but he was knocked down and pinioned by another of the spider’s massive legs.
Enid was screaming now. Her father had turned away from the ghastly scene unfolding before them, and was observing an equally dreadful sight: the breach in the tunnel wall was shrinking, healing---repairing itself. If she and her father didn’t act soon, they would be trapped here forever, or at least until they too fell prey to the spider.
She stopped screaming and fell to her knees. She suddenly felt weak and beaten. She was helpless to save Ned or Lord John or Father Monty, three men who had come to mean so much to her, but she also knew she could never abandon them. So there was nothing more she could do here. Soon all life on earth would perish. The young Challenger had failed miserably!
With this last thought Enid saw something lying close to her on the plain. Glowing bright red in the brilliant light blasting through the barrier was Summers’ ruby flask. She threw herself upon it, then got to her feet again. She struggled for a moment trying to open the bottle. The glass stopper was stuck fast. When it refused to give, she broke off the neck of the flask, tearing a deep gash in her hand.
Enid ran toward the spider and flung the liquid, sending a shower of droplets across its huge legs. The droplets smoked and burned as though they were sulphuric acid instead of water, and the monster twitched and released its hold on the three men, before quickly retreating into its silken den.
George Challenger ran forward and helped the others to their feet.“We must hurry. The hole in the barrier is rapidly closing!” “ Enid, your hand--” cried Malone.
“I’m alright,” she said.
Malone took her hand. “The blood ... it’s red!”
“Colour,” she said,“the ultimate expression of light in this world! Are we too late?” The group pushed forward toward the rapidly shrinking opening. The flow of energy into the tunnel was less furious now, and yet with each step of their advance, Challenger and Malone fell farther behind.
“What is it, father?” asked Enid.
“I’m not sure,” he yelled. “Something is holding back Malone and me. Perhaps our exit needs to be the exact reverse of the order in which we entered this hellish place. The three of you must leave before us!”
“No!” she screamed. “You’re both coming with us!” The surface of the tunnel trembled beneath their feet. Behind them in the distance three more spiders were emerging from their holes.
“There’s no time to argue,” Challenger bellowed. “Pass through the barrier before it closes!”
“I won’t lose you again!” cried Enid. “ You won’t lose him if you hurry,” yelled Roxton, taking her by the arm again. “You saved us, Enid....” Then he corrected himself, “No ... Professor Challenger! You saved everything! Please don't fail us now!” He pushed her forward, and she disappeared in a blaze of light.
The tear in the barrier continued to narrow. The opening would soon be gone. Summers took a last look back at the advancing spiders, and the faces of Challenger and Malone, which were white with terror. Then he and Roxton leaped through.
*** Doctor Steiner continued to pace in front of Challenger’s teleportation device, his eyes fixed upon the warehouse floor, his thoughts upon the fate awaiting the world beneath a cold and blackened sky.
“They should have come through by now,” Enid said anxiously. “I’m going back in.” “ Not yet,” said Summers. “We know time passes far more slowly in that place. Even a brief moment can take long minutes. Have faith, Enid.”
“ The three of you were gone for so long,” said Steiner.“We almost gave up hope, almost sent another team through the portal. But we knew we were out of time.”
“Never give up on Challenger,” said Roxton. “Why, I recall one of our adventures, when we were off the coast of....” A burst of light cut Roxton ’s anecdote short, and Challenger and Malone materialized on the dais. The two men breathed deeply and patted one another on the back.
“That was too close,” said Malone.
They stepped down from the dais into the outstretched arms of their friends who greeted them with tears and hugs. “It’s good to be home again,” said Challenger. “ The balance should be restored now,” said Summers. “With no more energy being drained from our world, things should soon return to normal.”
Doctor Steiner grabbed Challenger ’s hand and shook it excitedly. “Well done, sir! Well done!” Then Steiner turned to Enid. “All of England thanks you, Professor, both of you! Now, I must go and inform His Majesty! Thank you! Thank you all!”
“Quite a fellow,” said Enid.
“Yes,” said Challenger, “but I don’t deserve the man’s praise.”
“Well, Malone,” said Roxton, “I dare say you have another story to write---and a ripping tale at that.” “ I’m not so sure,” said Malone. “I’ve never had trouble writing up one of the Professor’s adventures, but this one ... who will believe it? I’m not even sure what angle to pursue.”He rubbed the back of his neck. “This was not exactly science’s finest hour.”
“ Not in the least, my boy,” said Challenger. “Nor was it my finest hour. Perhaps it’s not t
he sort of copy old McArdle will care to print. If it is, however, I hope you’ll cast your good friend in a favorable light.”
***
PROFESSOR CHALLENGER SAVES THE WORLD Aided by a band of intrepid explorers, Professor Challenger literally entered the Spirit World to repair a breach between it and our own physical world, a breach that upset the balance between light and darkness, imperiling all mankind with utter extinction.
Beginning this week: read about the daring Professor ’s descent into a nightmare realm, where one’s worst fears are made real; of his encounters with the supernatural in the land of mist and shadows; of his dangerous struggles with creatures not of this earth; and of his desperate battle with the dark Prince of Evil. All this and more awaits the reader in the first installment of the seven-part story CHALLENGER OF TWO WORLDS!
*** “ I say, Malone, this may be overdoing it just a bit!” said Challenger, folding the Gazette. “Just a bit.” Then the Professor threw back his head and laughed until tears came to his eyes.
AN UNNATURAL SELECTION
by Ian Faulkner The light was dim in the cluttered study at Enmore Park, London W. Despite the slight tremor in his large and powerful hands, he filled his eye-drop pen and spilled but little ink in the process. There were other, more efficient designs on the market now - after all, this was October of 1908 - but he trusted this slim, Swan-made writing instrument. He closed his eyes for a second, nib poised over the blank sheet of paper in front of him; taking a deep, calming breath, he began thus:
I am Professor George Edward Challenger, zoologist of note, and I shall be the architect of my own death. My nemesis is out there, patiently waiting in the darkness. Oh, it knows my dread, and it savours my terror. It should not exist in our world; but now, because of my insatiable curiosity and wild folly, it does. In a moment of pure happenstance I resurrected it from death; because of me, it will be free to claim all of our futures.
But I swear that I will cheat it yet. I shall be triumphant, for I have seen the way.
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