THETT
Through the of space a shell, a of a ship. Scarcely twenty long, it was one single power plant. The man who sat alone in it, as it through the at the maximum speed that its was of, when every last possible had been to the time fields, a far, ahead that unchanging.
Hours, days by, and he did not move from his position in the ship. But the ship had the great gulf, and was through the now. He was near the end. At a speed, he sat the controls, save for movements of that the ship at a about some sun and its family of planets. Suns flashed, to discs, and were left in the instant.
The ship slowed, the it had been fell, and of to a hum. A star was looming, it. The great sun the red of a as the ship to less than a light-speed, and toward a that the red sun. The was very close to 50,000 miles in diameter, and it at a of four and one of miles from the surface of its sun, which the to the center of the four billion, eight hundred miles, in figures, for the sun's was close to six hundred and fifty miles! Greater than Antares, is close to four hundred miles, was this star of another universe, and from the of miles of that its revolved, the was enormous, a of red flame. But so low was its surface temperature, that that did not the planet.
The planet's out of thousands of miles into space, and under the of the of that planet, it was near the surface a as water. There was no temperature upon it, though its night was one hundred hours long, and its day the same. The of the of this had it when still liquid till it now more of the shape of a than of an orange. It was a planet, for its was a world of one hundred thousand miles diameter, yet smaller in to its than is Luna in to Earth. It at a of five miles from its primary's center, and it, too, was with its people.
But the ship directly toward the great planet, and its way through the atmosphere, till its was in the violet.
Straight it to where a city in the heaped, masonry, but in some order yet, for on closer the of circles came over the of the cities. Ray screens were and the city was protected by of stations.
The was going well under the speed of light now, and a message, and commanding, ahead of him. Half a dozen up, and in him, and with him to a that its from the center of the city.
Under a white sky they to it, and on its roof. From the little machine the single man came out. Using the hands and that had the Allied scientists to think them an race, he upward, and through the water-dense of the toward the door.
Trees the building, for it had but four stories, above ground, though it was the in the city. The trees, like seaweed, most of their weight in the air, but the under the acceleration, which was more than one hundred times Earth's gravity, not be very high they under their own weight. Though one of these men two hundred on Earth, for all their stature, on this their weight was more than ten tons! Only the permitted them to move.
And such an atmosphere! At a temperature of almost 360 centigrade, there was no liquid water on the planet, naturally. At that temperature water cannot be a liquid, no what the pressure, and it was a gas. In their own there was liquid water, but only they on heat, their their energy for work from the of the air. They in their own refrigeration, and, with that aid, were able to keep liquid water for their life processes. With death, the water evaporated. Almost the entire was up of oxygen, with but a of nitrogen, and some amount of dioxide.
Here their was not needed, as Arcot had supposed, to move their own bodies, but to them to perform the ordinary of life. The act of a thing ten on Earth, here a of more than a ton! No wonder had been developed! Such as a man might with him, a pistol, would a ton; his money would near to a hundred pounds!
But—there were no on this world. A man a a distance, but when a of more than a a mile second on it, and it was through an as water—what was there for a long range?
But these little men of did not know other of existence, save in the abstract, and as of peculiarity. To them life on a like Earth was as life to a on a planetoid such as Ceres, Juno or Eros would have seemed. Even on Thettsost, the of Thett, life was strange, and they used over their cities, though their weight there was four tons!
As the through the of his world toward the entrance way to the building, stopped him, and his credentials. Then he was through long halls, and a ten the planet's surface, to where a great table a part of a low ceilinged, wide room. This room was shielded, screens of all the walls, no through it to the men within. The changed, and new men the scout's credentials, and he was still into the of the planet. Once more the changed, and he entered a room not by single but by triple, and with six relux, and with the same material. But here, under the gravity, its great in the of pillars.
A of his sat a low table. The table ran the length of the room, and it sat four other men. But there were places for more than two dozen.
"A from the colony? What news?" the leader. His voice was a growl, and throaty.
"Oh Sthanto, I news of resistance. We waited too long, in our explorations, and those men of World 3769-8482730-3 have learned too much. We were wrong. They had the of the speed of light, and can travel through space as as we can, and now, since by some means we cannot fathom, they have learned to our own and theirs, they have one engine of that across their in less time than it takes us to travel across a system.
"Our is lost, which is by the least of our troubles. Thett is in danger. We cannot to that ship."
"Thalt—what means have we. Can we not them?" Sthanto of his scientist.
"Great Sthanto, we know that such a can be when pressure can be to on under the of 24-7649-321, but that cannot be produced, no of energy is available. Energy cannot be to replace the when the is developing. The that they have that material their of an and energy source. I would have said that there was no energy than the energy of matter, but we know the properties of this material and that the which has at last been perfected, can be produced providing your order for all energy is given, will its energy at a speed to the of energy in a ray, but that the takes place only in the path of the ray."
"What more, Scout?" asked Sthanto smoothly.
"The ship appeared in with our attack on world 3769-8482730-3. The attack was near success, their screens were already failing. They have a new and very as a conductor. It was difficult to break, and since their sun had been screened, we not of that upon them.
"In another of time, we would have their world. Then the ship appeared. It has rays, magnetic and rays, and a fourth we know nothing of. It has screens, we suspect, but has not had occasion to use them.
"Our screens under their rays. Ordinary screens without defense. The power is incalculable.
"Their magnetic are used in with cosmics. The action of the two the to current, and to of on the magnetic field—"
"And the to the relux, the is to and then the ship opens out as the air pressure the relux?" Thalt.
"No, the is more terrific. It into powder," the scout.
"And what to worlds that the magnetic touches?" the scientist.
"A of it touched the world we over, and the world shook," the colonist.
"And the last weapon?" asked Sthanto, his voice soft now.
"It a ghost. It is a that comes into like a cloud, and what it touches is crushed, what it is shattered. It the great ship, and into it at a speed of more than six times that of light are destroyed, without in the the shield.
"Then—what my from the colony—it once more its power. The in the path of our world, number 3769-1-5, and the against that of mistiness, and was shattered, and in less than five to a of blue-white fire. The stopped the in its motion. We not that machine, and we left the worlds. The others are coming," the scout.
The ruler his to the of his armies, who sat him.
"Give orders," he said softly, almost gently, "that a station be set up under the direction of Thalt, and notice that all power be available to it. Add that the are returning defeated, and at their heels. The will each ship as it enters the system." His hand under the table pushed an protuberance, and from the perfectly to the perfectly ceiling, and four around the spot where the stood, came into being. They for the thousandth part of a second, and when they died away, as as they had come, there was not where the had been.
"Have you any suggestions, Thalt?" he asked of the scientist, his voice as soft as before.
"I agree with your so far, but the you had planned is unsatisfactory," the scientist. The ruler sat in his great seat, at the scientist. "I think it is time I take your place, therefore." The place where the ruler had been was as through a dark cloud, then the cloud was gone, and with it the king, only his chair, and the of or that had been about his remained.
"He was a fool," said the scientist softly, as he rose, "to plan on his scientist. Are there any who object to my succession?"
"No one objects," said Faslar, the ex-king's Prime Minister and councilor.
"Then I think, Phantal, Commander of forces, that you had best see Ranstud, my assistant, and out the plan by my predecessor. And you Tastal, Commander of Fleets, had best your near the for protection. Go."
"May I suggest, Thalt," said Faslar after the others had left, "that my knowledge will be useful to you. You have two commanders, neither of loves you, and neither of is capable. The family of Thadstil would be to learn who that gentleman, and the family of Datstir would support him who the of their to them.
"This would remove two menaces, and open places for such as Ranstud and your son Warrtil.
"And," he said as he saw a shift in Thalt's eyes, "I might say that the ones of Parthel would great in of my papers, which are only protected by my personal watchfulness."
"Ah, so? And what of Kelston Faln, Faslar?" the new Sthanta.
Thalt's hand and they started a and on means of defense.
