Goddess of Mars: Clayton Drew Book 4 by John Russell Fearn

Author:John Russell Fearn [Fearn, John Russell]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction
ISBN: 9781473209763
Publisher: Orion Publishing Group
Published: 2015-06-30T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 6

Marooned in the Microcosm

When two days and nights had gone, and the power house had at last been restored to normal, Clay and Thalia began to believe that the incident had been a coincidental accident after all, for nothing else happened. Power and light was restored and where debris and damage had been caused by collisions and other mishaps these too were removed and made good.

But during all this time Lexas had been at work, directing his twelve micro-machine followers. He had deliberately held his hand until normalcy had been restored so as to make the impact of his second onslaught all the more savage.

Now, in touch by radio, his minute vessel was leading the others towards the outermost wall of the controlling building—the wall facing the main street and known to be the strongest of all. To Lexas and the two men with him it appeared to fill all the universe—a grey, unending expanse which swallowed everything within itself.

Until they touched its outer edge and then passed through its interstices into the midst of it. Owing to their vastly reduced size, they were able to see about the cavernous emptiness between atomic structures, spaces as vast as those between stars and planets in the normal system. Lexas had gone the limit in reduction and his and the other vessels were so microscopic they were indeed atom ships, floating on a mission of tremendous destruction.

When his instruments told him they were well within the wall Lexas gave the order to halt—which was effected by rocket beams in the same way as in space travel. Then he considered the position with his two followers beside him.

“There is our objective,” he said finally, pointing to a distant glowing spot around which were circled twenty six apparent planets at varying distances. “That is an atom of iron—proton and attendant electrons. Stiranium has many iron molecules in its makeup for the simple reason that no element in our existent system can be without iron. It is the basic clay around which other elements cluster … If we destroy that, then the whole balance will shift and stiranium will fall apart, its molecules no longer holding together. It is such an unstable element that the task should not be difficult.”

“And what happens to us?” one of the men asked uneasily. “The scheme you mention is equivalent to that of destroying a planet or a sun—with similar consequences.”

“We will enlarge considerably before we act,” Lexas said. “You will see.”

By radio he conveyed his intentions to the men in the other vessels, then still using the radio he directed operations thereafter. With gathering speed the thirteen machines swept on through the gulf towards the “target”. Though it seemed near it took them close on six hours to come within measurable distance of it and to picture it as a molecule of iron was impossible. The cluster looked exactly like an intense green sun with a vast family of varying sized worlds—electrons—whirling round it.

“Now we enlarge,” Lexas said, through the radio.

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