MAN, CREATOR AND DESTROYER
"What we must find," said Arcot, puffs, for he had slept well, and his had been good, "is some which will attack them, but won't attack us. The question is, what is it? And I think, I think—I know." His were dreamy, his so that not Morey them.
"Fine—what is it?" asked Morey after to some from the that were through Arcot's thoughts. Here and there he them: Einstein's energy formula, Planck's formulas, Nitsu Thansi's formulas, Stebkowfski's proton interference, Williamson's electric field, and his own appeared, and others so he not them.
"Do you what Dad said about the way the Thessians the out in space—hauled from the moon and it to and relux. Remember, I said then I it might be a ray—but it wasn't what I thought? I want to to use the I was of. The only question in my mind is—what is going to to us when I use it?"
"What's the ray?"
"Why is it, Morey, that an through the different energy levels, and till it its 'lowest energy level,' and can no more. Why can't it another step, and the proton? Why has it no more to release? We know that to always to energy level orbits. Why do they stop?"
"And," said Morey, his own now, "what would if it did? If it all the way?"
"I cannot your thoughts, Earthmen, a of an explosion. And it it is Thett that is exploding, and that Thett is itself. Can you explain?" asked Stel Felso Theu.
"Perhaps—you know that in their orbits, so called, to away to of energy, till they the energy orbit, and till more energy comes and is absorbed, them out again. Now we want to know why they don't lower, all the way? As a of fact, thanks to some work I did last year with lead, we do know. And thanks to the of matter, we can such a condition.
"The thing we are in is this: Artificial has no to radiate, its have no to into the proton, for the is created, and as it was created. But natural have a to let the into the proton. A force, the 'lowest energy wall,' over which no can jump, by the space of the proton's and attraction, it. What we want to do is to remove that force, iron it out. Requires power to do so in a the size of Thett-but then—!
"And here's what will happen: Our of protonic material won't be by it in the least, it has no to collapse, as has normal matter, but Thett, the wall, has that tendency, and the will the energy of every on Thett, and every will take with it the energy of one proton. And it will take about one one-hundred-millionth of a second. Thett will in one of radiation, in the high cosmics!
"Here's the trouble: Thett a as great as our sun. And our sun can off energy at the present of one for a period of some ten million years, three and a of a second for ten years. If all of that up in one one-hundred-millionth of a second, how many sols?" asked Morey.
"Too many, is all I can say. Even this ship couldn't maintain its of energy against that!" Stel Felso Theu, by the thought.
"But that same power would be this ship, and helping it to support its wall. We would from—half a miles."
"We will. If we are destroyed—so is Thett, and all the worlds of Thett. Let that of energy loose, and a dozen light years will be destroyed. We will have to the Venonians, that their people on worlds may in the time the energy them," said Arcot slowly.
The Thought started toward one of the nearer suns, and as it went, Arcot and Morey were with the calculators. They their work, and started from that world, having their message of warning, with the constructors. When they Thett, less than a of an hour of Thessian time had passed. But, they Thett, Arcot's were for an as a of energy the protectors, and them to into defense. Thett's was sending its message of destruction. That had it, touched it, and left it a shattered, of hydrogen.
"There won't be that left when we through with Thett!" said Arcot grimly. The was finished, and once more they were over the now fiery-red sea that had been mountains. The was still in action. Arcot had cut a of energy now, and as the triple-ray it, he what would happen. It did. The triple-ray off at an of forty-five in the energy field, and spread to a of blackness. Arcot's out. The was black, and of ice were over the of the fort. The screen was working.
"I'd like to know how they make that'll that, Morey," said Arcot, pointing to an that read .01 millisols. "They have now, that would have us out in minutes, this."
The triple-ray off. They were it to the ship now, for the shield. Arcot out his protonic shield, and to a miles, as he had said.
"Here goes." But his send Theft to radiation, the entire of the incandescent. Thett was learning what had when their had the Thought.
And then, in the of time, there was no Thett. There was an of radiation, then blackness, and then the were where Thett had been. Thett was gone.
But Arcot did not see this. About him there was a roar, generator-converters that had not so much as under the impact of Thett's weapons, and now. The two generators, the of the protonic shield, and the great generator, an to the Thett gave off as it vanished, were whining. And the six smaller machines, which Arcot had succeeded in with the protonic generator, were too. Space was distorted, about them, the great to maintain the of protecting power against the of energy as Thett, a world of matter, disintegrated.
But the very energy that to those was in it, and by that much the energy was lessened. Still, it hours, days that the of continued.
Then it was over, and the were clear once more as Arcot the protonic screen silently. The white sky of Thett was gone, and only the black of space remained.
"It's gone!" Torlos. He had been it—still, the of a world—
"We will have to do no more. No ships had time to escape, and the we is too great," said Morey slowly. "The energy from that world will the others of this as completely, and it will the sun itself to up—perhaps to new planets, and so the itself. But Venone now, and their will not populate more worlds.
"And we can go—home. To our little specks."
"But they're welcome specks, and to us, Earthman," Zezdon Afthen.
"Let us go then," said Arcot.
It was dusk, and the rose of the recently-set sun still on the clouds that like white of in the sky. The dark of the little lake, and the tree-clad very beautiful. And there was a little group of there, and a field. On the rested a shining, shape, seventy-five long, ten in diameter.
But all, the lake, the even, were by the silent, of a machine that settled very, very slowly, and very, very downward. It touched the surface of the with a splash, then hung, a in that lake.
Lights were in the the had, and lights now in the on the shore. Through an open door light was streaming, of two men. And now a door opened in the that the lake, and from it came five figures, that up, and away, and toward the cottage.
"Hello, Son. You have been gone long," said Arcot, senior, gravely, as his son him.
"I so. Earth has moved in her orbit. More than six months?"
His father a wryly. "Yes. Two years and three months. You got in another time and the other way this time?"
"Time and force. Do you know the yet?"
"Part of it—Venone sent a ship to us a month of the time you left, and said that all Thett's had save for one cloud—mostly hydrogen. Their ships were met by such a blast of as they came toward Thett that the pressure it almost to advance. There were two waves. One was slighter, and was more in the range, so they that two had been directly destroyed; one small one, and one large one were to cosmics. Your to Sentfenn was taken seriously, and they have all near. It was the when you Thett that you forward? Where are the others?"
"Zezdon Afthen and Zezdon Inthel we took home, and in their power suits, without landing. Stel Felso Theu as well. We will visit them later."
"Have you eaten? Then let us eat, and after supper we'll tell you what little there is to tell."
"But Arcot," said Morey slowly, "I that Dad will be here soon, so let us wait. And I have something of which I have not spoken to you as yet. Worked it out and it on the trip. Installed in the Thought with the Banderlog's controls. It is—well, will you look?—Fuller! Come and see the new toy you are going to have to work on!"
They had all been by the of their long absence, by the of they had so recently. They were to better.
"Watch." Morey's concentrated. The Thought had been left on locked controls, but the Morey had to his from this distance.
Before them in the room appeared a that was copper. It there but a moment, brightly, then there was a of about them—and it to the and with the impact!
"It was not from the air," said Morey simply.
"And now," said Arcot, looking at it, "Man can do what was possible. From the of Space he can make anything.
"Man alone in this space is Creator and Destroyer.
"It is a high place.
"May he live up to it."
And he looked out toward the that had a system—and create another.
