The Death Rays Of Ardilla, page 3
`Yes. Our present expectation of life is about a hundred and twenty-five years. Now that we know from Dacoona that it is possible to live longer we must learn what causes it or how it is achieved.'
`How will you go about that?' inquired Toby, whose interest was of course professional.
`We shall shortly have the material on which to begin our experiments,' replied Multavo. 'Some scientists on Dacoona have expressed a wish to visit Terromagna, when their current, rest period comes to an end. We shall teach them all we know. In return, they will allow us to perform minor operations on them for the purpose of extracting some of their glandular secretions.'
Tiger spoke again. 'Is there any point in living for hundreds of years?'
`Why not, if one is healthy in mind and body?'
`There are people on Earth who have health and wealth, which is everything, yet profess to be bored with life,' said Rex.
`Then they must be unhealthy in mind,' declared Multavo. `Boredom is a state of mental tension. It arises from doing nothing. The brain was intended for work. It must work. If it is not given constructive work to do it recoils upon itself. All it does then is build up tension which you call boredom, which is a disease.'
`But surely character and will-power have something to do with it?'
`Of course; but they are products of a healthy mind. Unhealthy minds alternate between ecstatic delight and abysmal despair. It is like a road that goes up and down hills. You do not get as far in a given time as if you were moving over level ground. So the great thing is to acquire a level happiness without the depressing reverses which occur in a mind not properly balanced. You will not find boredom on Terromagna, for which reason we have no word for it in our language.'
`It seems that apart from your scientific marvels you have developed a wonderful philosophy of life,' said the Professor, reaching for a caramel.
`We are seekers of truth,' answered Multavo, simply.
`When we find it we shall pass it on to more backward planets. After all, what else is there to pass on? Space travel is a means to that end. It is only a question of time. Time inevitably means progress.
`Not always,' said Borron.
`What else can happen?' asked the Professor.
`Some worlds die.'
For what reason? A great catastrophe?'
`No, the human race just dies out. I have seen it happen.'
`You must tell us about it one day,' asserted the Professor.
`But not now,' ordered Vargo. 'We must return to more practical matters, for as you can see, we are approaching Mars, our first port of call.'
3 Petroconda
The Tavona did not stay long on Mars, for no news of importance was found there and Vargo was anxious to push on with his rescue assignment, provided the missing ship had not returned to Mino in his absence. He only made the call on Mars because it did not take the Tavona far off its course.
Nevertheless, the Professor and his party were allowed a little time for a short tour of inspection to see how well the work of restoration was going. With more and more families coming from Mino it was proceeding faster than they could have imagined, considering the state the planet was in when they had first set foot on it.
With the reopening of the irrigation canals and the elimination of the insect menace it was well on the way to becoming a normal inhabited planet, and Vargo predicted that the time was not far distant when all those who had been marooned on distant planetoids, by the explosion of nearby Kraka, would be returning to the home of their ancestors. Mars, as Vargo assured them, and indeed, as they were able to confirm, was still regaining its lost atmosphere, although whether this was coming out of the ground, or being gathered from detached air masses in space, was still not known. Light clouds, of sufficient density to precipitate a little rain, occurred with increasing frequency. Some of the crops, from imported seed, springing from ground that had for so long been sterile, were magnificent.
Rex rather expected to find Rolto there, the man who had a bee in his bonnet about Earth being a danger to everyone in the Solar System; but he learned that he had now returned to Mino.
The Tavona proceeded on its way there, Mino being the major planetoid that was its base. It was learned at once that the missing ship had not returned from its survey flight to Petroconda, whereupon Vargo announced his intention of proceeding with his rescue mission forthwith. Rex managed to have a few words with his friend, Morino, and the Professor paid a courtesy call to the High Council. Then, as there was no longer any reason for delay, goodbyes were said, and the Tavona, to Morino's distress, prepared to take off at once on its venture into the unknown.
Multavo found himself in a quandry. The Terromagna ship that had brought him to Mino was still there, awaiting orders. Naturally, the crew was anxious to return home, but hesitated to face the ray barrage being put up by the sinister planet Ardilla, through which they would have to pass. There were plenty of rumours about what was happening in that Region, but no reliable information apart from what they already knew. Inquiries were being made at Ando and other 'advanced' planets, and Rolto was one of those who had gone off on a search for news.
Multavo's problem was whether to risk disaster from Ardilla by trying to get to Terromagna, or wait for definite news; in which case, he said, rather than sit doing nothing on Mino he might as well, as a matter of interest and experience, accompany the Tavona on its rescue assignment which, if successful, should not take long. In the end he decided to do this.
The Professor's opinion of the situation was that it was not much use waiting for news, anyway, because any ship venturing close enough to Ardilla to learn the facts about what that planet was doing, was unlikely to return.
`Something will have to be done about this,' he concluded. `If Ardilla extends its field of influence, and that is the way of all aggressors, space travel will not be safe for anyone. We still have no idea of how many ships, unknown to us, have fallen victim to these monstrous people. But for Tiger's foresight we should never have returned from our last voyage, when we were attacked by one of Ardilla's red ships.'
The Tavona sped on its course for its objective, the mystery planet Petroconda.
After a little while, as they gazed through the window at the myriads of stars in view Tiger spoke: 'There is this to be said for astro exploration. Men will never be without new worlds to conquer.'
`I don't like that word conquer,' protested the Professor, frowning.
`I meant conquer as one talks of conquering Mount Everest, or one of the Poles,' explained Tiger. 'Perhaps I should have said visit.'
`That's better.'
`Bearing in mind that every one presents new and unknown perils it becomes a question of how many a man can explore before he meets disaster,' observed Vargo. 'Our present journey is a case in point. No doubt we shall arrive at Petroconda, but our departure from that planet is not so certain.'
`Why do you say that?' asked Rex.
`Others have been there. None has returned. It may be that our disaster awaits us there.'
`That's a cheerful remark, I must say,' returned Rex. `Have you no idea at all why your friend Quantos failed to return?'
`None.'
`Well, we know there is a danger so at least we are prepared,' put in Toby, philosophically.
`The problem of space exploration is that one can never be prepared for dangers that are unknown, perhaps not even understood.'
`I'd call that the fascination of it,' asserted the Professor, passing round his bag of caramels.
`As I have told you, Quantos and his companions were men specially selected for the mission on account of their experience. They were equipped for any eventuality within the limits of our knowledge. Yet they have not returned. I am sad for Quantos. He was my friend. I was teaching him to speak English when he went away, so that he could tell you some of his adventures.'
Borron the navigator stepped in. 'There may be difficulty in finding the exact spot where he landed. We know where he intended to land because that was worked out before the flight started. We also know that he arrived there, because he reported in his first signal that the spot had turned out to be perfect for his purpose. Nevertheless, a ship is a small object to look for on a world as large as Petroconda.'
`It may no longer be there,' said Rex.
`Had it left, assuming its radio transmitter to be in order, Quantos would have said so.'
Vargo came back into the conversation. 'All we can do is start the search at the spot where we know the ship landed.' He indicated a planet, growing in magnitude, ahead of them. 'There is Petroconda, so we should soon know the answers to our questions.'
`It looks harmless enough,' opined Rex.
`So do they all,' said Multavo, with a wry smile.
Rex, who had the 'butterflies in the tummy' feeling that always came over him when approaching a new world, said no more.
As more time passed all interest became focused on the planet on which they intended to land. By the time they were within its atmosphere, approaching from the sunlit side, they could form an idea of its surface, which appeared to be flat without physical features of any sort, and was of a monotonous greenish colour. The interest quickened as the Tavona’s jet brakes came into action to check its fall preparatory to landing. Soon they were low enough to search for the missing ship, but could see no sign of it. Still losing altitude, Gator, at the controls, began to cover the ground in widening circles at Vargo's request.
`Never before have I seen a planet that size without even a landscape to offer,' observed the Professor.
`It all looks alike to me,' said Rex.
`That is its peculiarity,' stated Vargo. 'Every planet has its own particular features.'
`This one seems to have none at all,' remarked Tiger. `Except,' he added, 'that the whole place appears to be covered with a vegetable growth of some sort.'
`It is all grass. There is no population, human or otherwise,' reminded Vargo. 'That is how Quantos reported the place in his early signals. In the last we had he said they were going to confirm it.'
`The place looks completely and utterly dead to me,' declared Tiger.
`There must be something there to prevent Quantos from leaving, otherwise he would have returned,' Vargo pointed out.
`How are we going to find out what it is, or was?'
`There is only one way. We must land.'
`Well, that's one way of finding out,' murmured Toby.
`Like walking into a lion's den to see if the lion is at home,' said Rex, trying to strike a cheerful note. 'There's the ship!' he exclaimed excitedly. 'I can see it. There it is.' He pointed.
`Yes, that is the ship,' confirmed Vargo, in his usual flat voice.
`It does not appear to be damaged,' observed the Professor, looking through his spy-glass.
`The crew are not there or they would have shown themselves to us by now,' said Borron.
`They may not be able to do that,' returned Vargo, meaningly. 'Go on down, Gator. Land as near as you can to the ship.'
The Tavona descended slowly, presently to put down its feet close to the missing ship, in what turned out to be a rather coarse grass about two feet high.
`By gosh! It's warm here, anyway,' remarked Rex, while Vargo made the usual atmospheric and habitation tests before opening the doors.
`As Quantos reported, the air is good, but hot and humid,' stated Vargo. 'Pressure and gravity rather less than Mars. Spacesuits will not be needed.'
`That's one good thing, anyway,' said Rex with relief. Vargo opened the exit doors, and after a cautious look round stepped down.
Rex followed and gazed about him. Although the scene presented was as it had been described by Quantos, and, indeed, as they had observed from their overhead survey, it was with astonishment that he looked out over an endless sea of grass. On all sides it was the same, apparently a flat, grass-covered plain. The air was absolutely still. Nothing moved, not even the grass. The air was hot and felt damp, with a smell of stagnation in it. Clearly, they were in an ocean, an ocean of grass, an ocean without a ripple on its surface.
`Well, there's some good grazing here, if nothing else,' said Tiger, cheerfully.
`Because, obviously, there are no animals to graze it off,' the Professor pointed out. 'How very strange. The ground must be fertile or this grass wouldn't grow. Why, we may ask, is there nothing here? Not an animal, a bird, a reptile, or even an insect, as far as I can see.'
`There can be only one answer to that,' said Vargo, seriously. 'There is something bad about the place. We must be careful, and not let this silent emptiness deceive us.' Followed by the others he strode toward the lost ship.
The doors were closed. He opened them, slowly, as if afraid of what he might see inside. Rex heard his indrawn breath of relief when he said, simply: 'They are not here.'
`You thought they might be inside — dead?' queried Rex.
`What else could we expect to find? The question is now, what became of them.' Vargo gazed across the weary expanse of grass, for although the sun was shining in a blue sky there was something depressing about the featureless landscape. 'They must have gone a long way,' he observed. `Let us see if there is anything wrong with the ship.'
They went in and looked around. Everything appeared to be normal. There were no signs of a struggle. There were the remains of a meal and some outer garments had been left on the seats. But there was no clue as to why the crew had left, or why they had not returned.
It was Borron who called attention to the outer shell of the ship. There were quite a number of slight dents in it.
`They must have passed through a cloud of meteorites, was Vargo's opinion, and Borron agreed, saying it was the only explanation.
`Before we do anything else we must send a message home to notify them of our arrival,' decided Vargo. 'They will be listening. I don't suppose the equipment here is working, or Quantos would have used it. We'll test it.' So saying Vargo went back into the ship, the others waiting outside.
He came out with a perplexed expression on his face. `The mystery deepens,' he said. 'All is in perfect order. I had no difficulty in getting through to Mino. Why, then, did they so suddenly break off communications?'
`Because they went out, and something happened to prevent them from returning,' offered Rex.
`That must be the answer. Our task now is to find them, or learn what became of them. They would not go far away; or at least one would remain to guard the ship.'
"Why did they leave the ship at all?' questioned Tiger. `They could see all there is to see from here.'
`I doubt if we shall find the solution by standing here guessing,' said Vargo.
`If they were anywhere within miles, this side of the horizon, we should see them,' declared Rex. 'On such open ground we couldn't fail to see them.'
`One would think so — if they were on their feet. But one can never be sure.'
The Professor went into the Tavona and came out with his spy-glass. Standing on the top step of the ship he scrutinized the miles of motionless grass. When at length he lowered the glass all he could say was: 'I see no sign of them, or any other living creature. Here, it seems, the grass is King.'
`I'll tell you something about that,' rejoined Tiger. Whichever way they went in the grass they would leave a trail. Dash it all, you can't walk through standing grass without leaving a trail.'
`Indeed?' said Vargo, frowning as if in perplexity. 'What of ourselves? We have been walking between the two ships and have we left a trail?'
Silence fell. They all stared at the ground. There was not a mark. Every blade was vertical.
`Dear me! How very extraordinary,' murmured the Professor, adjusting his spectacles.
Rex stamped his foot, holding some grass flat. When he removed the foot the grass returned slowly to an upright position.
`Well!' breathed the Professor.
`The stuff behaves as if it were alive,' muttered Toby.
`Or made of elastic,' contributed Tiger. He looked at Vargo. 'Can you think of any way in which this could have affected Quantos?'
`No.'
`It's peculiar, but I can't see how it could possibly be harmful,' said the Professor. 'Mind you,' he went on, 'there must be some reason why the grass behaves like that. Nature doesn't play tricks for no reason.'
`Since there is no trail we shall have to manage without one,' said Vargo.
`There is a lot of ground to cover. Shall we take different direction?' Tiger put the question.
`I think it would be better if we stayed together,' decided Vargo, always cautious. 'Borron can stand on the step of the ship and watch us through the Professor's telescope. He will from there obtain a more distant view than from ground level.'
`I'll take my rifle,' said Tiger. 'That should account for anything we're likely to encounter here — not that there seems anything to encounter.'
`Perhaps,' mumured Vargo.
Thus it was agreed, and Borron, with the spy-glass, took up his position on the top step of the ship. 'I will call if there is danger,' he said.
The others, the Professor's party with Vargo and Multavo, forming a line abreast to cover as much ground as possible, set off, taking a course directly away from the door of the abandoned ship, this being the direction, it was thought, the missing men would be most likely to take.
It should be said that at the last minute Rex had declared his intention of discarding his jacket on account of the oppressive heat, but his father, pointing to the edge of a cloud that was creeping up over the horizon advised him against this, saying it might rain, as from the spongy state of the ground it often did.
Rex accepted the advice, not so much that he was afraid of getting wet as because it struck him suddenly that the lost men had done just that. They had left their space travel helmets and jackets in the ship. Was there a lesson, a warning, to be gathered from that? He didn't know, but he kept his cap and coat on.
4 The peril strikes
