The Leech

by Robert Sheckley

Thereshould have been time for evacuation, but the frightened soldiers hadbeen blind with fear.

  Sixty-seven men were lost in Operation Leech, and General O'Donnellasked permission to use atomic bombs. Washington sent a group ofscientists to investigate the situation.

  "Haven't those experts decided yet?" O'Donnell asked, halting angrily infront of the tent. "They've been talking long enough."

  "It's a hard decision," Micheals said. Since he wasn't an officialmember of the investigating team, he had given his information and left."The physicists consider it a biological matter, and the biologists seemto think the chemists should have the answer. No one's an expert onthis, because it's never happened before. We just don't have the data."

  "It's a military problem," O'Donnell said harshly. "I'm not interestedin what the thing is--I want to know what can destroy it. They'd bettergive me permission to use the bomb."

  Micheals had made his own calculations on that. It was impossible to sayfor sure, but taking a flying guess at the leech's mass-energyabsorption rate, figuring in its size and apparent capacity for growth,an atomic bomb _might_ overload it--if used soon enough.

  He estimated three days as the limit of usefulness. The leech wasgrowing at a geometric rate. It could cover the United States in a fewmonths.

  "For a week I've been asking permission to use the bomb," O'Donnellgrumbled. "And I'll get it, but not until after those jackasses endtheir damned talking." He stopped pacing and turned to Micheals. "I amgoing to destroy the leech. I am going to smash it, if that's the lastthing I do. It's more than a matter of security now. It's personalpride."

  That attitude might make great generals, Micheals thought, but it wasn'tthe way to consider this problem. It was anthropomorphic of O'Donnell tosee the leech as an enemy. Even the identification, "leech," was ahumanizing factor. O'Donnell was dealing with it as he would anyphysical obstacle, as though the leech were the simple equivalent of alarge army.

  But the leech was not human, not even of this planet, perhaps. It shouldbe dealt with in its own terms.

  "Here come the bright boys now," O'Donnell said.

  * * * * *

  From a nearby tent a group of weary men emerged, led by Allenson, agovernment biologist.

  "Well," the general asked, "have you figured out what it is?"

  "Just a minute, I'll hack off a sample," Allenson said, glaring throughred-rimmed eyes.

  "Have you figured out some _scientific_ way of killing it?"

  "Oh, that wasn't too difficult," Moriarty, an atomic physicist, saidwryly. "Wrap it in a perfect vacuum. That'll do the trick. Or blow itoff the Earth with anti-gravity."

  "But failing that," Allenson said, "we suggest you use your atomicbombs, and use them fast."

  "Is that the opinion of your entire group?" O'Donnell asked, his eyesglittering.

  "Yes."

  The general hurried away. Micheals joined the scientists.

  "He should have called us in at the very first," Allenson complained."There's no time to consider anything but force now."

  "Have you come to any conclusions about the nature of the leech?"Micheals asked.

  "Only general ones," Moriarty said, "and they're about the same asyours. The leech is probably extraterrestrial in origin. It seems tohave been in a spore-stage until it landed on Earth." He paused to lighta pipe. "Incidentally, we should be damned glad it didn't drop in anocean. We'd have had the Earth eaten out from under us before we knewwhat we were looking for."

  They walked in silence for a few minutes.

  "As you mentioned, it's a perfect converter--it can transform mass intoenergy, and any energy into mass." Moriarty grinned. "Naturally that'simpossible and I have figures to prove it."

  "I'm going to get a drink," Allenson said. "Anyone coming?"

  "Best idea of the week," Micheals said. "I wonder how long it'll takeO'Donnell to get permission to use the bomb."

  "If I know politics," Moriarty said, "too long."

  * * * * *

  The findings of the government scientists were checked by othergovernment scientists. That took a few days. Then Washington wanted toknow if there wasn't some alternative to exploding an atomic bomb in themiddle of New York State. It took a little time to convince them of thenecessity. After that, people had to be evacuated, which took more time.

  Then orders were made out, and five atomic bombs were checked out of acache. A patrol rocket was assigned, given orders, and put underGeneral O'Donnell's command. This took a day more.

  Finally, the stubby scout rocket was winging its way over New York. Fromthe air, the grayish-black spot was easy to find. Like a festered wound,it stretched between Lake Placid and Elizabethtown, covering Keene andKeene Valley, and lapping at the edges of Jay.

  The first bomb was released.

  * * * * *

  It had been a long wait after the first rich food. The greater radiationof day was followed by the lesser energy of night many times, as theleech ate away the earth beneath it, absorbed the air around it, andgrew. Then one day--

  An amazing burst of energy!

  Everything was food for the leech, but there was always the possibilityof choking. The energy poured over it, drenched it, battered it, and theleech grew frantically, trying to contain the titanic dose. Still small,it quickly reached its overload limit. The strained cells, filled tosatiation, were given more and more food. The strangling body built newcells at lightning speed. And--

  It held. The energy was controlled, stimulating further growth. Morecells took over the load, sucking in the food.

  The next doses were wonderfully palatable, easily handled. The leechoverflowed its bounds, growing, eating, and growing.

  That was a taste of real food! The leech was as near ecstasy as it hadever been. It waited hopefully for more, but no more came.

  It went back to feeding on the Earth. The energy, used to produce morecells, was soon dissipated. Soon it was hungry again.

  It would always be hungry.

  * * * * *

  O'Donnell retreated with his demoralized men. They camped ten miles fromthe leech's southern edge, in the evacuated town of Schroon Lake. Theleech was over sixty miles in diameter now and still growing fast. Itlay sprawled over the Adirondack Mountains, completely blanketingeverything from Saranac Lake to Port Henry, with one edge of it overWestport, in Lake Champlain.

  Everyone within two hundred miles of the leech was evacuated.

  General O'Donnell was given permission to use hydrogen bombs, contingenton the approval of his scientists.

  "What have the bright boys decided?" O'Donnell wanted to know.

  He and Micheals were in the living room of an evacuated Schroon Lakehouse. O'Donnell had made it his new command post.

  "Why are they hedging?" O'Donnell demanded impatiently. "The leech hasto be blown up quick. What are they fooling around for?"

  "They're afraid of a chain reaction," Micheals told him. "Aconcentration of hydrogen bombs might set one up in the Earth's crust orin the atmosphere. It might do any of half a dozen things."

  "Perhaps they'd like me to order a bayonet attack," O'Donnell saidcontemptuously.

  Micheals sighed and sat down in an armchair. He was convinced that thewhole method was wrong. The government scientists were being rushed intoa single line of inquiry. The pressure on them was so great that theydidn't have a chance to consider any other approach but force--and theleech thrived on that.

  Micheals was certain that there were times when fighting fire with firewas not applicable.

  Fire. Loki, god of fire. And of trickery. No, there was no answer there.But Micheals' mind was in mythology now, retreating from the unbearablepresent.

  Allenson came in, followed by six other men.

  "Well," Allenson said, "there's a damned good chance of splitting theEarth wide open if you use the number of bombs our figures show youneed."

&
nbsp; "You have to take chances in war," O'Donnell replied bluntly. "Shall Igo ahead?"

  Micheals saw, suddenly, that O'Donnell didn't care if he did crack theEarth. The red-faced general only knew that he was going to set off thegreatest explosion ever produced by the hand of Man.

  "Not so fast," Allenson said. "I'll let the others speak forthemselves."

  The general contained himself with difficulty. "Remember," he said,"according to your own figures, the leech is growing at the rate oftwenty feet an hour."

  "And speeding up," Allenson added. "But this isn't a decision to be madein haste."

  Micheals found his mind wandering again, to the lightning bolts of Zeus.That was what they needed. Or the strength of Hercules.

  Or--

  He sat up suddenly. "Gentlemen, I believe I can offer you a possiblealternative, although it's a very dim one."

  They stared at him.

  "Have you ever heard of Antaeus?" he asked.

  * * * * *

  The more the leech ate, the faster it grew and the hungrier it became.Although its birth was forgotten, it did remember a long way back. Ithad eaten a planet in that ancient past. Grown tremendous, ravenous, ithad made the journey to a nearby star and eaten that, replenishing thecells converted into energy for the trip. But then there was no morefood, and the next star was an enormous distance away.

  It set out on the journey, but long before it reached the food, itsenergy ran out. Mass, converted back to energy to make the trip, wasused up. It shrank.

  Finally, all the energy was gone. It was a spore, drifting aimlessly,lifelessly, in space.

  That was the first time. Or was it? It thought it could remember back toa distant, misty time when the Universe was evenly covered with stars.It had eaten through them, cutting away whole sections, growing,swelling. And the stars had swung off in terror, forming galaxies andconstellations.

  Or was that a dream?

  Methodically, it fed on the Earth, wondering where the rich food was.And then it was back again, but this time above the leech.

  It waited, but the tantalizing food remained out of reach. It was ableto sense how rich and pure the food was.

  Why didn't it fall?

  For a long time the leech waited, but the food stayed out of reach. Atlast, it lifted and followed.

  The food retreated, up, up from the surface of the planet. The leechwent after as quickly as its bulk would allow.

  The rich food fled out, into space, and the leech followed. Beyond, itcould sense an even richer source.

  The hot, wonderful food of a sun!

  * * * * *

  O'Donnell served champagne for the scientists in the control room.Official dinners would follow, but this was the victory celebration.

  "A toast," the general said, standing. The men raised their glasses. Theonly man not drinking was a lieutenant, sitting in front of the controlboard that guided the drone spaceship.

  "To Micheals, for thinking of--what was it again, Micheals?"

  "Antaeus." Micheals had been drinking champagne steadily, but he didn'tfeel elated. Antaeus, born of Ge, the Earth, and Poseidon, the Sea. Theinvincible wrestler. Each time Hercules threw him to the ground, hearose refreshed.

  Until Hercules held him in the air.

  Moriarty was muttering to himself, figuring with slide rule, pencil andpaper. Allenson was drinking, but he didn't look too happy about it.

  "Come on, you birds of evil omen," O'Donnell said, pouring morechampagne. "Figure it out later. Right now, drink." He turned to theoperator. "How's it going?"

  Micheals' analogy had been applied to a spaceship. The ship, operated byremote control, was filled with pure radioactives. It hovered over theleech until, rising to the bait, it had followed. Antaeus had left hismother, the Earth, and was losing his strength in the air. The operatorwas allowing the spaceship to run fast enough to keep out of the leech'sgrasp, but close enough to keep it coming.

  The spaceship and the leech were on a collision course with the Sun.

  "Fine, sir," the operator said. "It's inside the orbit of Mercury now."

  "Men," the general said, "I swore to destroy that thing. This isn'texactly the way I wanted to do it. I figured on a more personal way. Butthe important thing is the destruction. You will all witness it.Destruction is at times a sacred mission. This is such a time. Men, Ifeel wonderful."

  "Turn the spaceship!" It was Moriarty who had spoken. His face waswhite. "Turn the damned thing!"

  He shoved his figures at them.

  They were easy to read. The growth-rate of the leech. Theenergy-consumption rate, estimated. Its speed in space, a constant. Theenergy it would receive from the Sun as it approached, an exponentialcurve. Its energy-absorption rate, figured in terms of growth, expressedas a hyped-up discontinuous progression.

  The result--

  "It'll consume the Sun," Moriarty said, very quietly.

  The control room turned into a bedlam. Six of them tried to explain itto O'Donnell at the same time. Then Moriarty tried, and finallyAllenson.

  "Its rate of growth is so great and its speed so slow--and it will getso much energy--that the leech will be able to consume the Sun by thetime it gets there. Or, at least, to live off it until it can consumeit."

  O'Donnell didn't bother to understand. He turned to the operator.

  "Turn it," he said.

  They all hovered over the radar screen, waiting.

  * * * * *

  The food turned out of the leech's path and streaked away. Ahead was atremendous source, but still a long way off. The leech hesitated.

  Its cells, recklessly expending energy, shouted for a decision. The foodslowed, tantalizingly near.

  The closer source or the greater?

  The leech's body wanted food _now_.

  It started after it, away from the Sun.

  The Sun would come next.

  * * * * *

  "Pull it out at right angles to the plane of the Solar System," Allensonsaid.

  The operator touched the controls. On the radar screen, they saw a blobpursuing a dot. It had turned.

  Relief washed over them. It had been close!

  "In what portion of the sky would the leech be?" O'Donnell asked, hisface expressionless.

  "Come outside; I believe I can show you," an astronomer said. Theywalked to the door. "Somewhere in that section," the astronomer said,pointing.

  "Fine. All right, Soldier," O'Donnell told the operator. "Carry out yourorders."

  The scientists gasped in unison. The operator manipulated the controlsand the blob began to overtake the dot. Micheals started across theroom.

  "Stop," the general said, and his strong, commanding voice stoppedMicheals. "I know what I'm doing. I had that ship especially built."

  The blob overtook the dot on the radar screen.

  "I told you this was a personal matter," O'Donnell said. "I swore todestroy that leech. We can never have any security while it lives." Hesmiled. "Shall we look at the sky?"

  The general strolled to the door, followed by the scientists.

  "Push the button, Soldier!"

  The operator did. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the sky lit up!

  A bright star hung in space. Its brilliance filled the night, grew, andstarted to fade.

  "What did you do?" Micheals gasped.

  "That rocket was built around a hydrogen bomb," O'Donnell said, hisstrong face triumphant. "I set it off at the contact moment." He calledto the operator again. "Is there anything showing on the radar?"

  "Not a speck, sir."

  "Men," the general said, "I have met the enemy and he is mine. Let'shave some more champagne."

  But Micheals found that he was suddenly ill.

  * * * * *

  It had been shrinking from the expenditure of energy, when the greatexplosion came. No thought of containing i
t. The leech's cells held forthe barest fraction of a second, and then spontaneously overloaded.

  The leech was smashed, broken up, destroyed. It was split into athousand particles, and the particles were split a million times more.

  The particles were thrown out on the wave front of the explosion, andthey split further, spontaneously.

  Into spores.

  The spores closed into dry, hard, seemingly lifeless specks of dust,billions of them, scattered, drifting. Unconscious, they floated in theemptiness of space.

  Billions of them, waiting to be fed.

  --PHILLIPS BARBEE

  Transcriber's Note:

  This etext was produced from _Galaxy Science Fiction_ December 1952. 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.