The Third Science Fiction MEGAPACK®: 26 Modern and Classic Science Fiction Tales by Fritz Leiber & Philip K. Dick

Author:Fritz Leiber & Philip K. Dick [Leiber, Fritz]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: science fiction, dumarest, space opera, short stories, sci-fi
ISBN: 9781434449528
Publisher: Wildside Press LLC
Published: 2012-02-06T16:00:00+00:00

Brett went through a pool of water. Everybody had to wade through that pool.

“Suppose the Aspasians run faster than their—ah—dogs?” he asked drily, though he knew better. He was not able to believe that the girl he’d seen on the island, and whose picture was in his pocket, was an Aspasian. The evidence was past questioning, but he couldn’t accept it. “Suppose they could run as fast as their prey?”

“Then they’d never get civilized,” said Kent promptly, beaming, “Nobody gets civilized unless he gains by it. Unless he needs to! If our ancestors had been able to run down the creatures they hunted, they’d never have bothered with more than clubs. We’d be trotting after rabbits back on Earth, you and I, instead of being here. Eh?”

“I never thought—” Brett stopped.

The ground quivered underfoot. A distinct, unsettled quivering. A tree branch snapped somewhere and came crashing to the ground. The marching party of twelve men stopped and listened. Long seconds later the sound came. It was a crashing, horrific roar. The leaves quivered overhead and a shower of water fell down from among the boughs.

“A bomb,” acknowledged Halliday, looking up from his wrist chronometer. “But well away.” He added firmly, “A solid ground burst. They will bracket their first bomb crater on all sides. Then they’ll drench the area with radioactives from sea water. We will go on.”

He led on. Brett trudged after him. Half an hour later there was another bomb. The delay was almost proof that Halliday had been right about the solid ground aspect. A bomb to be aimed for a particular spot had to wait for the radiation cloud from a previous bomb to clear away, so it could be aimed.

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