Rivets and Sprockets by Alexander Key

Author:Alexander Key
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media

“Of course! That explains it. H’mm! Who would have dreamed that a plant could be so revoltingly ravenous for oxygen? Bless me, there’s a valuable clue here. Let me think.” He reached absently into the lunch basket, found a pickle that Jim didn’t want, and began to nibble it thoughtfully.

“Daddy,” Jim began. “I’ve an idea.”

“Don’t interrupt my thinking. There’s a conclusion trying to elude me.”

“But, Daddy,” Jim persisted, “can’t you see? The lichens are growing where they are for a purpose.”

“Eh? Purpose?”

“Daddy, they are the only things alive on Mars, and they grow only near the canals. Couldn’t their purpose be to suck up all the vapor that drifts down to them?”

“Naturally,” said the doctor. “Practically the conclusion I was almost arriving at. Proceed.”

“Well,” said Jim, “since they are so grubbily greedy for oxygen, it would seem that their purpose is to store it up for something.”

“Yes? Yes?”

“Maybe for a Something,” said Jim.

“H’mm! Ah, h’mmmm! Bless me, that could be it!”

“Then, Daddy, why don’t we just fly around Mars, and look for places where the lichens have been picked? Maybe it will show us where the Something lives.”

“Sometimes,” said Dr. Bailey, “you show signs of, ah, an almost tolerable mentality—as naturally you should, since I’m your father. Sprockets, ask Ilium to take us around the daylight side of the planet. We must look for a place where lichens have been picked. Everybody on his toes! Sing out immediately if you see anything unusually unusual.”

Since Mars is only a middling planet, and the daylight half of it little wider than from here to there, relatively speaking—or no more than a quickish zip from New York to London—they were able to zip back and forth from the edge of night to the edge of dawn in a very short time.

On the first four zips they saw nothing at all unusually unusual. On the fifth zip they saw a dust storm. It came up so fast, and spread over so much of the planet, and it was so thick and red and boiling, that searching for signs of a Something in it was impossible. There was nothing to do but zip around to the night side of Mars and wait till dawn.

While they waited, Ilium and Leli taught Rivets how to play curious games with the floating space marbles. Jim wanted to play, but he couldn’t keep his hands out of the lunch basket. Dr. Bailey kept pacing the saucer, impatiently snapping his fingers.

Finally Sprockets said, “Sir, it occurs to me that we might save time by trying to signal the Something.”

“Eh? Signal it? How? Has the saucer a radio?”

“Not one that we could use, sir. The saucer’s radio works by thought. But since we’re right here on Mars, I believe my special positronic hookup might be adequate—if I give it full power and send the proper signal.”

“What kind of signal would you send?”

“I believe, sir, I can best get the Something’s attention by repeating the message we heard over Jim’s do-jigger.”

“Impossible! Those

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