A Novelet of Grim New Worlds
Strange. Strange. The empty space ships. The patched
voices. The curt invitation to Venus. But what had Clyde
Ellery and the other atom-plague survivors to lose?
They forgot there are many kinds of death!
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Planet Stories March 1952.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
The first ship landed in a plowed field fifty miles from the city, justbeyond the signs that warned of radiation. Rather circular in shape, itwas fully sixty feet across and twenty feet in thickness, its color aburnished green. It came down swiftly until it was fifty feet from theground; then a gush of flame poured from the under side and checked itsfall. It settled to the soil, like a giant mushroom, and there was asmell of scorched earth in the air.
Max Carr was the first to see it. He was sitting under the gnarledapple tree in the front yard, and he watched the ship settle down onthat tail of fire. He should have been out in the fields planting, buthe wasn't. He hadn't worked in months, beyond milking the cows andtossing them wisps of hay. He knew that a hundred million people haddied in America the day the bombs fell, that hundreds of millionsmore had died in Europe the following day, and in Asia and Africa theday after, as American atomic bombs rocketed in reply to the suddenattack.
He knew that millions had died since, and were still dying as theradioactivity bit deep into their bones and flesh. He felt the clutchof death on himself, so he looked at the ship with little curiosity.It was a strange ship, but there was nothing it could do that had notalready been done.
But when nothing happened, when no strange warriors came swaggeringfrom the ship, his sluggish interest uncoiled and took on life. Hecalled his wife and children and they cautiously approached the ship.Still nothing happened. It seemed to be made of solid metal, with nowindows or doors. They touched the strange metal and stared at theblackened ground, and then returned to the lethargy that was theirdaily fare.
The ship might have set there in the field, forgotten for months, ifa neighbor hadn't stopped by that evening. He saw the ship and askedquestions and carried the news away with him. It was the first thingthat had happened in months which was at least neutral, and he stoppedat three houses to talk about it. He was tired of talking about death.
Three days later, they trudged into Max Carr's farm, some of themcoming from as far as twenty miles away. A dozen men and women stood inthe field and stared at the ship. Max Carr and his wife joined them.
"Big, huh?" one of the men said, but no one answered him. They were asmall community in which everything had been said.
Two more men came along the road, their dragging feet kicking up littlespurts of dust, and turned into the field. After fifteen minutes,another arrived. It was when he drew near the ship that it happened.
There was a loud click from somewhere inside the ship and a crackappeared in the side as a panel slid back. Soon there was an opening,large enough for a man to enter or leave. It was dark within. But noone came from the ship, nor was there a single step taken nearer it.The small group stood and waited.
"People of Earth," said a harsh voice from the ship, "you have justcome through a war and there are few of you left alive. There is littlehope for any of you, for the radioactivity is spreading over theentire face of your planet. This ship has come to invite those of youwho are not sick to establ