The Creature from Beyond Infinity by Kuttner Henry

Author:Kuttner, Henry [Kuttner, Henry]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Post-1930
Publisher: manybooks.net

CHAPTER XII.

The Man from Earth

Stephen Court raced his roadster along a Wisconsin road as he peered through sun-glasses at the lonely countryside. Beside him, Marion Barton huddled like a kitten in the seat, the collar of her white blouse open for coolness.

"How long?" she asked.

"Couple of hours," Court grunted. "We pass through Madison first. The 'drome's fifty miles south of there."

Marion drew a notebook from her purse and thumbed through it rapidly.

"Everything's checked, I think," she reported absently. "Except the test flight. I don't believe the Temra was thoroughly inspected."

"Damn silly name the papers gave the ship," Court said wryly. "It didn't need a name. It'll make the flight, all right."

"And if it doesn't?"

He shrugged indifferently without glancing at her.

"Nothing much lost. For more than a month now, I've been working on the Plague--since Sammy got away--and I'm still at sea. Earth's science just isn't advanced enough. But perhaps I can find some more advanced alien science in that golden ship. Anyhow, we'll see."

"Why must you go alone?" she insisted, her voice not quite steady.

"Because there's only room for one. We can't take chances. There will be little enough air and supplies as it is. I'm the best man for the job, so I'm the one to go.'

"But suppose something happens!"

"I can't stop the Plague by myself. X is still unknown, as far as I'm concerned. The only real clue so far is entropy. I know that X is catalyzed by some element in Earth's atmosphere. It speeds up the entropy of a living organism, changes it into some form of life that might exist, normally, a billion years from now. But it's so alien!"

He switched on the radio. A news commentator was talking excitedly.

"Around Pittsburgh, martial law has been declared. W. P. A. workers are blasting out a deep trench around the city, and pouring deadly acids into it. Whether this will form an effective barrier, no one knows. The rivers are filled with floating corpses. The contagion is spreading with great speed. Nearly a hundred of the Carriers have been seen in Pittsburgh, and the bridges are choked with refugees. . . ."

So there were still more of the shining monsters. Sammy had been one of the first, and he was still wandering at large, since nothing could capture or destroy him.

"The Carriers kill instantly by touching their victims. Lead-plated suits are being issued to the guardsmen, but these do not always work. It depends on the quantity of energy emitted by a Carrier. Dynamite has been placed at the New York bridges and tubes. The mayor is ready to isolate Manhattan, if necessary, for protection.

"The war is at a standstill. Troops are mutinying by the thousands. Every metropolis is being vacated. We estimate about three thousand Carriers now exist, widely scattered over the Earth. From Buenos Aires--"

With an impatient gesture, Court shut off the radio.

"No hope," he said. "The Plague is steadily on the increase. I must get to the golden ship and back as soon as possible.

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