Transcriber's Note:
This etext was produced from If Worlds of Science Fiction September 1954. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.
World Without War
BY E. G. VON WALD
Illustrated by Ed Emsh
Cooperation was all right back in the dark ages but thiswas an era of super culture and hi-psi intelligence. Andlove was no laughing matter. People who cooperated, evenbiologically, were unlawful and....
ark knew he shouldn't stop. He was already late for Jennette'sbirthday party, but the sight of three people out in the open likethis was too much.
He pulled around and hovered over the undulating flow of glassy magma,frozen on its way to the long, dry Potomac river bed, with its shallowcaverns and fascinating mile-wide potholes. Just under an overhangingcliff of half-vitrified soil were two cars, obviously damaged. Thethree men were standing beside them.
Mark laughed out loud. It was not often that one found three people atonce. And so close to each other. The scene there, with the long,slanting rays of milky sunlight glancing off the ribbing of the flatsand sparkling through the million brittle shards of collapsed debris,filled him with a certain poetic exultation.
"By the stars," he murmured to himself happily.
Bubbling with good humor, he slipped down a little closer to the hole,staying up hard against the overhanging cliff. He was feeling toocheerful to use his rightful advantage over them, and decided to use ahandgun, since they had nothing better.
This was a mistake, of course. He was only moving along at a hundredmiles an hour now. Too slow for safe shooting, particularly with thebumpy air in the hole. But he happily disregarded this, as he pushedopen a view port and blazed away with a zuzz pistol.
Almost immediately the ship lurched in the uneven air, and he couldsee the tiny thin trace of violet as it swept up and away off thetargets. One of the men went down, sliced cleanly in two. But theothers had seen him.
Mark cursed mildly, some of his high good humor gone, and pulled thecar about for another run. The chronometer pinged warningly at him,notifying him that he was now a full hour late for Jennette's birthdayparty, but the code required the second try.
There was nothing that required handweapons for this, however, and heslipped his strong young hands around the main gun control. A singleburst of violet, and one of the men vanished in a puff of steam. Goodand clean, he told himself with satisfaction. But the last man openedhis pistol onto broad-beam, burning a red flare of general destructionat him.
Mark veered around and bore down sharply for the last burst. He had toget it over with and on to Jennette. But the deadly broad beam sweptbelow the car, evacuating the air and throwing the vehicle momentarilyout of control. Close behind, the cliff became suddenly alive as thebeam engaged it, bubbling and spewing out huge gouts of molten rock.The aircar burst into a brief, brilliant, sodium-colored fire andfell, with Mark burning inside of it, yelling and screaming in pain.