Godson of Almarlu: A Collection of Science Fiction Novellas by Raymond Z. Gallun

Author:Raymond Z. Gallun [Gallun, Raymond Z.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sci-Fi Collection
Published: 2021-08-12T23:00:00+00:00

“What happened was this, as dad sees it: The vast cloud of meteors which came into the solar system was largely absorbed by the Sun. The shock of those falling stones from space did things to old Sol. Maybe he felt younger, or something. Maybe materials which exist in his center to-day, but once were also part of his photosphere, were caused to rise briefly to his light-giving outer shell by the impact of the meteors. There those materials or elements acted to produce the radiations, perhaps by the disintegration of their atoms. Any comments or questions so far?”

“Yes,” Ellayne replied. “Life and rays of any sort are a long way apart. How can there be any connection?”

“You’re all wrong there, sis.” Roland responded earnestly. “Everybody knows that without the Sun’s rays there couldn’t be any living creatures on the Earth. To green plants light is food, and without those plants there wouldn’t be any animals. And there are other facts to consider when judging the Maynard theory:

"X rays and the radiations of radium exert a tremendous influence upon both fauna and flora grown where they are present. Experiments of this sort were conducted many years ago. Normal young of any species developed into freaks or sports, quite different in physical characteristics from their parents. Brown rats became albino rats. Fruit flies were curiously distorted.

“It has long been suspected that the radium present in mountainous regions is a powerful cause of mutation, which furthers quickly the progress of evolution, both animal and plant. Cosmic rays and the periodic radiations of Sun spots have been accused of exciting comparatively innoxious bacteria, thus producing terrible plagues.

“So, you see, radiations of various kinds can direct, control and sustain vital processes. To suppose that the first primitive life was actually created by a combination of special and transient solar emanations is just another step in connecting this evidence with the great scheme by which our universe operates.

“Think of the warm, azoic seas at the beginning. Nothing lived in them, even though conditions were ideal. The world was like a tinder pile, waiting for the spark of life. That spark might be, in part, an arrangement of the elements involved—nitrogen, oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen—but a condition that was special and inevitable could aid enormously. Our present visitation began a little differently, for the radiations were stronger than the original ones, and they didn’t last nearly as long. The creation of the scum was more sudden than the first creation. I guess that’s about all I can say, Ellayne.”

The girl nodded slowly, her mind lost in her brother’s explanation of the great riddle. But abruptly her thoughts came back to the practical present. She moved to the telescope.

“We’ve got to plot the rocket’s course,” she said. “We’ve got to know exactly where it is going to land. Maybe Amy Forster will be able to tell us what to do.”

Around the refuge, green slime oozed, its corrosive acids eating metal and softening earth. Beyond the walls men fought the dread menace; while within those walls other men thought and planned and toiled.

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