CANINE PEOPLE
"And that," said Arcot puffs, "will be a great to the Rocket Patrol, you must admit. They don't like with these space-pirates using the rays, and since have such a value, we can't the sale of apparatus. Now, if you will come into the 'workshop,' Fuller, I'll give a with friend Morey's help."
The four friends rose, Morey, Wade and Fuller Arcot into his laboratory on the thirty-seventh of the Arcot Research Building. As they went, Arcot to Fuller the results and of the latest product of the of the "Triumvirate," as Arcot, Morey and Wade had come to be called in the news dispatches.
"As you know, the make all the of any piece of they are upon move in the direction. Since they supply no new energy, but make the they are upon supply its own, using the energy of its own motion of heat, they are to stop. The energy necessary for to take is so small that the type of lets of it pass. A ship with is no off when than one without. The the end into the rear, or versa, or it to pieces as the desired. The Rocket Patrol kill off the pirates, but they so many men in the process, it was a Phyrric victory.
"For some time Morey and I have been on something to stop the rays. Obviously it can't be by means of any of the energy screens.
"We a of rays, frequencies, that did what we wanted. I have such an here. What we want you to do, of course, is the job of the so that the can be from dies, and put into quantity production. As the Official Designer for the A.A.L. you ought to do that easily." Arcot as Fuller looked in at the Arcot had up from the bench in the "workshop."
"Don't worried," laughed Morey, "that's got a unit combined—just a plain ordinary such as you see by the hundreds out there." Morey pointed through the great window where thousands of those were men, and children through the air, them hundreds, thousands of above the and through the doors of buildings.
"Here's an ordinary pistol. I'm going to put the on, and about five off the floor. You can turn the pistol on me, and see what it makes on the suit."
Fuller took the pistol, while Wade helped Arcot into the suit. He looked at the pistol dubiously, pointed it at a of iron in one of the room, and the at low concentration, then pressed the trigger-button. The gave out a low, grind, and toward him with a lurch. Instantly he off the power. "This isn't any ordinary pistol. It's got seven or eight times the ordinary power!" he exclaimed.
"Oh yes, I forgot," Morey said. "Instead of the fuel that the early pistols used, this has a space-distortion power coil. This pistol has as much power as the A-39 power unit for work."
By the time Morey had the to Fuller, Arcot had the on, and was five or six in the air, like a balloon. "Ready, Fuller?"
"I so, but I that is all it is to be. If it isn't—well I'd not murder."
"It'll work," said Arcot. "I'll my on that!" Suddenly he was by the of auras, a strange, light, like the about a 400,000-volt power line. "Now try it."
Fuller pointed the pistol at the man and pushed the trigger. The of the ray, and the low of the air, in the path of the beam, out toward Arcot. The about him was a times till he in a of blue-white fire. Scarcely visible, the air about him with of ionization.
"Increase the power," Morey. Fuller on more power. The was through with sparks, the odor of in the air was stifling; the of energy was making the room hotter. The power further, and the were streamers, that across the surface of the fire. Little of electric out along the of the now. Finally, as full power of the was reached, the entire was under a of that to up into the air above the man's head, up to extinction. The room was hot, despite the the of the air, and air into the room.
Fuller off the ray, and put the pistol on the table him. The died, and out a moment later, and Arcot settled to the floor.
"This particular will up against anything the ordinary sets will give. The now: that the are waves. The way to stop them is to a of opposite phase, and interference. Fine, but try to in with an unknown when it is moving in relation to your center of control. It is to do it you have been out of existence. We must use some that will automatically, be out of phase.
"The Hall would naturally to make the of a through a medium change, and lengthen. If we can send out a front, and have it as it proceeds, we will have a that is, at all points, different. Any entering would, sooner or later, meet a that was a phase out, no what the motion was, what the frequency, as long as it the narrow band. What this apparatus, or screen, of, is a machine a of the nature of a wave, but of just too great a to do anything. A second part a condition in space, which that wave. After traveling a distance, the has to type, but is now the machine which it, and no longer it, or it. However, as it proceeds, it to lengthen, till it the length of infra-light, when the air it, as it one of the for air waves, and any must its half-wave in that of waves. It does, and is at once off, its energy the energy of the screen, of course. In the air, however, the screen is helped by the that the half-wave is met in the ray-wedge, the is in ions, the screen little work to do.
"Now your job is to design the in a that can make automatically. We doing it ourselves for the fun of it, but we couldn't see how we make a machine that didn't need at least two to supervise."
"Well," Fuller, "you have it all over me as scientists, but as economic workers—two to make one product!"
"All right—we agree. But no, let's see you—Lord! What was that?" Morey started for the door on the run. The was still from the of a blow, a that much as though a machine had been on the roof, and a big machine at that. Arcot, a already on, was up in the air, and past Morey in an instant, for the that would let him out to the roof. The pistol was already in his hand, to any off under them.
In a moment he had up through the seven stories, and out to the roof. A machine rested there, to perfection, its in the sunlight. A door opened, and three tall, men from it. Already people were about the ship, up from below. Air patrolmen up in a minute, and Arcot, the back.
The men were tall, eight or more in height. Great, round, soft looked in at the buildings, at the people in the air, at the green trees and the sky, the sun.
Arcot looked at their and heads, faces, arms and hands. Their were very long and narrow, their long and thin. Their were kindly; the skin, and white and black, not to make them ugly. It was not a disfigurement; it familiar and natural in some way.
"Lord, Arcot—queer specimens, yet they familiar!" said Morey in an undertone.
"They are. Their is that of man's and best friend, the dog! See the eyes? The teeth? The still the of the dog's toe-step. Their nails, not like ones but rounded? The skin, the ears—look, one is advancing."
One of the walked forward. A world than Earth was his home. His great themselves on Arcot's. Arcot them. They to expand, larger; they to all the sky. Hypnotism! He his mind, and the to the normal of the stranger. The man back, as Arcot's to sleep came, than his own will. The stranger's friends him, him, but he slept. One of the others looked at Arcot; his hurt, pleading.
Arcot forward, and the man out of the trance. He his head, at Arcot, then, with difficulty, he some in English, distorted.
"Ahy tahk. Vokle ron. Tahk by breen."
Distorted as it was, Arcot the meaning without difficulty. "I wish (to) talk. Vocal wrong. Talk by brain." He to by the Venerian method, telepathically, but without hypnotism.
"Good enough. When you to me, I didn't what you wanted. It is not necessary to to on by the method of the second world of this system. What you to our system? From what do you come? What do you wish to say?"
The other, not having learned the Venerian system, had great in his thoughts, but Arcot learned that they had which would make it easier, and the them into his laboratory, for the was growing.
The three returned to their ship for a moment, out with headsets. Almost at once the ship started to rise, going up more and more swiftly, as the people a way for it.
Then, in the of a second, the ship was gone; it to a point, and was in the of the sky.
"Apparently they to a while," said Wade. "They are souls, for their line of is cut off. We naturally have no of them, but they can't know that."
"I'm not so sure," said Arcot. He to the leader of the three and that there were to descend, and stairs were than a unit. "Wrap your arms about my legs, when I above you, and on till your are on the again," he concluded.
The walked a little closer to the of the shaft, and looked down. White its its length to the ground. The man talked to his friends, looking with at the shaft, and the pack on Arcot's back. Finally, smiling, he his willingness. Arcot rose, the man his legs, and then rose. Over the shaft, and to his laboratory was the work of a moment.
Arcot them into his "consultation room," where a number of chairs were arranged, each other. He seated them together, and his own friends them.
"Friends of another world," Arcot, "we do not know your here, but you have good for to this place. It is that your landing was the result of chance. What you? How came you to this point?"
"It is difficult for me to reply. First we must be en rapport. Our is not as yours, but more effective, for yours on ideas, not universal. Place these on your heads, for only a moment. I must temporary coma. Let one try if you desire." The leader of the visitors out one of the they had brought, things, of metal apparently.
Arcot hesitated, then with a it on.
"Relax," came a voice in Arcot's head, a low, voice, a voice of command. "Sleep," it added. Arcot himself an shaft, on some that did not at him with its straps, just lightly, and and down. Suddenly he the bottom, and to his that it directly into the room again! He was back. "You are awake. Speak!" came the voice.
Arcot himself, and looked about. A new voice spoke now, not the voice, but the voice of an individual, yet a voice. It was perfectly clear, and perfectly comprehensible. "We have to you, and now we have of the import. Ask these others to let us them, for we must do what we can in the least possible time. I will when all can understand. I am Zezdon Fentes, First Student of Thought. He who on my right is Zezdon Afthen, and he him, is Zezdon Inthel, of Physics and of Chemistry, respectively."
And now Arcot spoke to his friends.
"These men have something of the to tell us, it seems. They want us all to hear, and they are in a hurry. The isn't at all annoying. Try it. The man on the right, as we them, is Zezdon Fentes of Thought, Zezdon meaning something like professor, or 'First Student of.' Those next him are Zezdon Afthen of Physics and Zezdon Inthel of Chemistry."
Zezdon Afthen offered them the headsets, and in a moment present was one. The of them en took very little time, and all were able to with ease.
"Friends of Earth, we must tell our for the of your world as well as ours, and others, too. We cannot so much as annoy. We are to them.
"Our world out across the galaxy; with of the great thing that us, three long months have we toward your worlds, that at last the Invaders might meet their masters.
"We on this we the knowledge of a pilot of one of your ships. His mind told us that here we would the three students of Science of this Solar System. So it was here we came for help.
"Our has arisen," he continued, "as you have so surely from the you call canines. It was produced by the Ancient Masters when their hour of need had come. We have the great science of the Ancient Ones. But we have a different science, a science of the mind."
"Dogs are more than are men. They would naturally to such a civilization," said Arcot judiciously.
