More Things in Heaven by John Brunner

Author:John Brunner [Brunner, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Fantasy
ISBN: 9780886771874
Goodreads: 3055927
Publisher: DAW
Published: 1963-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Throwing aside the papers, I stared through the steamy air at nothing in particular. Thinking of Manuel had reminded me that I was supposed to plant a cover stoiy for myself, as well as the grand one, to disguise my absence in space. From my mental note to call him and request his help, my mind had suddenly leaped to the impending reality of that trip.

Now I was beginning to sense a little of what Carmen must have endured last night. I whis

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pered under my breath, tiying to make facts come real by dressing them in words.

“Listen! Today, or more likely tomorrow, they’re going to take you down to the spaceport and load you on an orbital ferry and fly you out to Starventure. There they are going to show you a—a creature, a half-shapeless thing with metallic eyes and too many limbs, which they will say is Leon. How can it possibly be Leon?”

I’d been in space before, so the flight itself didn’t frighten me. But the thought of what was promised to me out there brought back visions from the past. By the time I was old enough to take notice, the Mars flight was a routine matter and there were permanent colonists on the Moon. I was vaguely aware, though, that in the early days of spaceflight some people had seriously feared the consequences— whether for the comparatively rational reason that Mars might be inhabited by dangerous monsters, or because they regarded the heavens as God’s private domain and spacemen as impious trespassers.

Well, so far God had kept quiet. But here were the monsters with a vengeance.

The phone went. I started, making the water in the tub slosh back and forth with little waves that broke against my chest. I’d forgotten to switch my incoming calls through to the sound- only circuit serving the bathroom. For a minute I was inclined to let it ring; then I realized it might be Carmen calling and climbed out of the bath.

Swathed in towels, leaving wet footprints on

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the carpet, I went to answer. It wasn’t Carmen. A uniformed man showed in the screen.

“Mr. Drummond?”

“Yes—what is it?”

“General Suvorov for you. Hold the line.”

The screen blanked; then the image re-formed, catching Suvorov passing his fingers tiredly through his hair.

“Good morning, Mr. Drummond,” he said. “We owe you our congratulations—you and Mr. Watchett. Your cover story is exactly what the situation called for.”

“How long it will stand up is anybody’s guess.” I shrugged. “Henri Chambord saw through it right away. ”

“At least it has gained us a breathing space. So I will fulfill my part of our bargain, not only because I am a man of my word but also because when 1 put the idea to our psychologists they said it would be very helpful to study the reaction not only of yourself to your brother in his—ah—new shape, but also of your brother himself.”

I said nothing. The water drying on my skin was chilling me despite the warmth of the air.

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