The IF Reader of Science Fiction by Anthology

Author:Anthology [Anthology]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-12-03T16:00:00+00:00

VII

He came back from his far-flung ranging to about a million miles from Earth. There he paused to let the signals come in from all of the space between.

Without opening his eyes, he said to Baxter, “I don’t read him. He must have gone around the planet and put the mass of Earth between him and me. Are the reflectors ready?” Baxter talked on a phone line that had been kept open for him. Previously alerted Telstar and astronomical satellites were placed at Cemp’s disposition. Through one of the ,reflectors, he focused on the invading entity.

Cemp said to the alien, “Above everything else we want information.”

The other said, “Perhaps I should tell you our history.” And so Cemp was given the story of the eternal lovers, more than a million beings who moved from one planetary system to another, and each time altered themselves to the form of the inhabitants and established a love relationship with them—a love relationship that meant death and pain for their love-objects. Only twice had the lovers met beings of sufficient power to make them draw back. In each instance, they had destroyed the entire system.

Di-isarill finished: “No additional information is available no matter what you do.”

Cemp broke contact. A shaken Baxter said, “Do you think that was true information?”

Cemp answered that he thought it was.

He finished with finality: “Our job is to find out one tiling: Where does he come from? And then destroy him.”

“But how do you propose to do this?”

It was a good question. His single clash with the creature had brought him up hard against a wall of power.

Cemp sank lower into his settee and with closed eyes considered the problem of a race of beings who had complete control of body change. Many times in those long duty watches out in space, he had pondered such possibilities; for the cell could grow and ungrow, divide, split off, fall away and re-form, all within a few seconds. In the twilight virus, the bacteria and the cell had their complex being, the enormous speed of change had made possible the almost instantaneous orderly altering of human to Silkie and back again.

The invader apparently could change to an infinite number of forms with equal rapidity, assuming any body shape at will.

But the logic of levels applied to the Kibmadine’s every action.

From somewhere behind Cemp, Baxter said, “Are you sure?” His voice sounded incredulous.

Cemp had two reactions to the question: Extreme joy at the hope that his analysis brought . . . and the stronger conviction. He said aloud, “Yes, logic applies. But for him we’ll need the closest contact of the energies involved. Inches would be better than feet, feet better than yards. So I’ll have to get out there in person.”

“Out where?” Baxter asked, almost incredulous.

“To his ship.”

“Do you think he has a ship?”

“Of course he has one. Anything else would be impractical for his operations.

Cemp was patient as he made his explanation. He had observed that even the Special People had exaggerated idea’s on such matters.

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