Callisto to the Rescue
ALL of Callisto, the fourth major of Jupiter, had for many years been a and defense against of six-limbed beings. Every city and town had long since been to level of by the of the invaders. Every and every of had long since from the surface of the satellite. Far the surface the city of Zbardk, the largest of the of the race. At one portal of the city a torpedo-shaped, stubby-winged plane rested in the of a catapult. Near it the captain the six men his crew.
"Men, you already know that our today is not an ordinary patrol. We are to go to One, there to a of the hexans. We have one in ten thousand of returning. Therefore I am taking only one man—barely to the plane. Volunteers step one forward."
The six as one man, and a came over the of their leader as he them for the of him to death. The two men entered the of the torpedo, sealed the openings and waited.
"Free exits?" the Captain of the Portal, and twelve keen-eyed screens and panels to the powerful the of the from which their issue into Callisto's night.
"No can be from Exit Eight," came the report. The Captain of the Portal an arm in warning, in the guides, and the two were backward, into their seats, as the their plane the runway. As the catapult's was upon the the and mile after mile, with velocity, the plane through the tube. As the was approached, the a long curve, so that when the opening into the of the was and the was detached, the was almost upward. Such was its and so powerful was the liquid of its motors, that the not the of the as it through the thin of the and itself out into the of space.
"Did we away?" asked the captain, hands upon his and upon his moving of space.
"I so, sir," answered the other officer, at the screens of the six which the full of vision. "No reports from the rim, and all screens blank." Once more a had from the city of Zbardk without its to the and hexans.
For a time the the of their explosions, then, the having been attained, they were cut out and for hours the good ship "Bzark" on through the at an but speed toward the world of One, which it was to reach.
"Captain Czuv! Hexan radiation, twenty two, fourteen, area six!" the observer, and the his own into the region. His hands played over and for a minute, and he at his results in astonishment.
"I of a traveling that way before," he frowned. "Constant negative and in a line. He must think that we have been out of the ether. Almost to us and not much faster—even at this long range, it is an easy kill unless he dodging, as usual."
As he spoke, he a and from a port under the there out into space a small of destruction—a rocket-propelled, radio-controlled torpedo. The of the were flaming, but that was visible only from the and no radio was upon it. Czuv had it the direction and necessary to make it meet the in impact, provided that its and unchanged.
"Shall I direct the in the case the shifts?" asked the officer.
"I think not. They can, of course, any at almost any distance, and at the of they would and the bomb. They also, in all probability, would us. I would not to attack them on that account alone, but we must that we are upon a more mission than one ship. We are out of range of their detectors, and our will have such a that they will have no time to protect themselves against it after detection. Unless they shift in the next seconds, they are lost. This is the most perfect I had at one of them, but one is all I risk—we must not ourselves."
COURSE, lookout, and rank forgotten, the little of two into the narrow of vision, set at its maximum magnification. The that the enemy was upon its original course. Very soon the came range of the of the hexans. But as Captain Czuv had foretold, the was a of a second too late, as their screens responded, and the two men of Zbardk together a short, of as a of light the of the vessel.
"But hold!" The into his screen. "Upon that same line, but now at velocity, there is still a very radiation, of a pattern I have before."
"I think ... I ..." the captain was studying the pattern, puzzled. "It must be low frequency, low-tension electricity, which is used, so as I know. It may be some new engine of destruction, which the was at such a that the of our did not it. Since there are no of activity and since it will not take much fuel, we shall that radiation."
Tail and port-side into activity and soon the plane was the of wreckage, which had been the IPV Arcturus.
"Human beings, although of some species!" the captain, as his vision-ray through the upper of the great and came to upon Captain King at his desk.
Although the upper ultra-lights of the Terrestrial had been cut away by the plane of force, lights had been rigged, and the two were soon trying to with each other. Intelligible was, of course, impossible, but King soon that the visitors were not enemies. At their he put on a space-suit and himself over to the of the Callistonian warplane. Inside the compartment, the over his a harness, and he himself in full with the Callistonian commander. For minutes they silent, with a in any language; then, in space-suits, across the narrow into the still open lock of the liner. King Czuv after the pressure to his suit, but the no of distress. He had been right in his that the pressure would him. King off his helmet, a order, and soon every in the Arcturus announced:
"All and all members of the on will in Saloon Three to discuss a possible rescue."
The being one of interest, it was a of minutes until the full of two hundred men and were in the main saloon, to hand lines, closely packed the upon which were King and Czuv, together with the Callistonian harness. To most of the passengers, familiar with the of three planets, the of the no surprise; but many of them in at his body, his pale, almost skin, his small, weak and arms, and his head.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Captain King opened the meeting. "I to you Captain Czuv, of the Bzarvk, of the only now upon the fourth large of Jupiter, which we know as Callisto. I am their own names as much as possible, they are almost in English or Interplanetarian. This device that you see us is a Callistonian transformer, by means of which any two beings can without language. Our is peculiar, and in order that you may what ahead of us, the captain will now speak to you, through me—that is, what will be spoken by Captain Czuv, of the Bzarvk, but he will be using my organs."
"Friends from Tellus," King's voice on, almost without a break, "I you. I am glad, for your as well as our own, that your was able to the ship you captive, and would have killed you all as soon as they had your and had read your minds. I that we can do so little for you, for only the of a being by a of can how it is for all the of to and support each other. In order that you may the situation, it is necessary that I at some length into history, but we have time. In about ..." he off, that the two had no in common in the measure of time.
"One-half time of of Great Planet upon axis?" from Czuv's brain, and "About five hours," King's mind back.
"It will be about five hours any steps can be taken, so that I in using a period for explanation. In the of the of life upon Callisto, two ahead of all others. One was the human, as you and I; the other the hexan. This creature, unknown to you of the nearer our common sun, is the product of an different evolution. It is a six-limbed animal, with a brain equal to our own—one in some to our own. They have nothing in common with humanity, however; they have of our and of our processes. Even we who have them so long can the of that are their minds. Even were I able to paint a picture with words, you of Earth not to their and inhumanity, among themselves. You would that I was lying, or that my was warped. I can say only that I most that none of you will with them."
"AGES ago, then, the and the upon all four of the major of the Great Planet, which you know as Jupiter, and upon the north region of Jupiter itself. By what means the two came into being upon worlds so in space we know not—we only know it to be the fact. Human life, however, not long upon Jupiter. The races, after many to meet of life there by in type the hexans; who, although very small in size upon the planet, there amazingly. Upon the three triumphed, and many hundreds of ago the of those were out, save for an occasional of of low who in of the three worlds. For then there was peace upon Callisto. Here is the picture at that time—upon Jupiter the hexans; upon Io and humans, a and of extermination; upon the three in and peace. Five worlds, each of life upon any other.
"As I have said, the of Jupiter were, and are, intelligent. Driven by their to see what their of cloud, to the of which their was attuned, they the space-ship; and a safe landing, upon the barren, nearest them, and then upon Io. There they common with the against the humans, and in space of time Ionian to exist. Much traffic and the of Jupiter and those of Io, resulting in time in a in size the parent stocks and at home in the air and of and satellite. Soon their the of Europa to their gaze, and as soon as they that the of Europa was human, they it utterly, with the blood that is their heritage.
"In the meantime the of Ganymede and Callisto had also of power. Observing the upon the other satellites, many scientists the problem of space navigation, and there was some the two at times. Finally, were also sent to Io and to Europa, but none of them returned. Knowing then what to expect, Ganymede and Callisto joined and prepared for war. But our science, so long to the of peace, had in the of more and more of destruction. Ganymede fell, and in her we read our own doom. Abandoning our cities, we underground. Profiting from lessons learned full upon Ganymede, we to the of the as long as possible.
"The were, and are masters of the physical science. They the in a way of. Their at distances, and they have at their and call of magnitude. Therefore in our is no electricity save that which is wired, shielded, and grounded; no radio; no of save light—and our are of which we to be to any of being generated. Now I am able to picture to you the present.
"We are the last of the in the Jovian system. Our every upon the surface has been obliterated. We are in our in the ground, out at night by so that our shall not be to the hexans. We are for time in which our scientists may learn the of power—and fearing, each new day, that the enemy may have so perfected their of that they will be able to us and us, in our and retreats, by means of more than those they are now employing.
"Therefore, friends, you see how little we are able to do for you, we a for our very and to save for a miracle. We cannot take you to Callisto, for it is by the and the of your lifeboats, as they are, would be and we should all be long we safety. Captain King and I have long and have been able to see only one of action. We are at velocity, using no power, and with all save the most necessary at rest. Thus only may we to avoid the next two hours.
"Our present will take us very close to Europa, which the to be like Ganymede, of life. Its original was totally destroyed, and all its are from our upon Jupiter until we of Callisto shall have been annihilated. The temperature of Europa will you. Its atmosphere, while less than that to which you are accustomed, will support your life. If we are not in the of the next hours we can land upon Europa in safety, since its neighborhood is but loosely. In fact, we have a city there, as yet by the hexans, in which our scientists will continue to labor after Callisto's shall have disappeared. We think that it will be safe to use your power for the time necessary to a landing. We shall land in a cavern, in a already in with our city. In that cavern, and by some of us, you will a vessel—no can be used of the hexans—in which you will be able to travel to a region close to your earth so that you can call for help. You will not be able to fuel to land there—in fact, nearly all the will have to be without power, traveling in a around the sun—but if you the hexans, you should be able to home safely, in time. It is for the of this plan that this meeting has been called."
"JUST one question," Breckenridge spoke. "The are intelligent. Why are they Europa and Ganymede so that beings can move there and that we can land there, all undetected?"
"I will answer that question myself," King. "Captain Czuv did not do to his own people. It is true that they are being conquered, but for every life that is taken, a thousand die, and for every ship that is lost, twenty are in return. While the are masters of rays, the are masters of and of mechanisms. They can a perfect score upon any in free space and can be determined, at any range up to five thousand kilometers, and they have thousands of times as powerful as any to us. Ray screens are only against rays, and the cannot anything they cannot see it them. So it is that all the those necessary to protect their own strongholds, are being against Callisto. They cannot to the satellites. Because of the high of Jupiter the there are safe from attack save for long-range bombardment, but Io is being and it is that in a more years Io also will be an world. Some of you may have the that the are to immediately, but such an idea is wrong. The can, and will, out for a hundred years or more unless the enemy a of the type to. Even then, I think that our will out a long time. They are able men, all, and their are protected."
There was little argument. Most of the that the was the best one possible. The were so by the events of the attack that they had no initiative, but were to the more led. It was that no attempt should be to any of the Arcturus, since any such attempt would be with and since the would be of little value. The new was to be and was to be of Callistonian alloys. Personal were moved into lifeboats, doors were closed, and there a painful period of waiting and suspense.
The hour was without event—no had come close to them to the low-tension of the of the Arcturus, cut as it was to the minimum and as it was by the of her armor. At a from Captain Czuv the pilot of each his out into space and took his place in the closely the Bzarvk, toward Europa, now so large in the of that she more a world than a moon. Captain King, in the Callistonian vessel, to Breckenridge the and data him by the of the craft. The pilot, "point," in turn more to the less of the other lifeboats.
Soon the surface of Europa them; a rugged, cratered, and of of mountains. Most of the were cold and lifeless; but here and there a of and steam the presence of vast, forces. Straight one of those the of space dropped—straight a full two miles the landing was given. At the of the a of the aside, the black mouth of a tunnel. At upon its there into being almost points of light. Along that line of lights the their way, into a cavern, against one metal of which they in an row. Roll was called, and the walked, as well as they in the of the satellite, across the and into a a railway coach, which away as soon as the doors were shut. For hundreds of miles that extended, and as the car along door after door of natural opened it, and closed as soon as it had through. In of the high of the vehicle, it almost two hours to complete the journey. Finally, however, it to a and the Terrestrial visitors at a portal of the Europan city of the Callistonians.
"Attention!" Captain King. "The name of this city, as nearly as I can come to it in English, is WRUZK. 'Roosk' comes close to it and is to pronounce. We must our in small cars, ten each. We shall again in the in which we have been quarters. The driver of each car will lead his to the room in which we shall meet."
"Oh, what's the use—this is horrible, horrible—we might as well die!" a woman shrieked, and fainted.
"Such a is, perhaps, natural," King on, after the woman had been and had been restored, "but it as much as possible. We are alive and well, and will be able to return to Tellus eventually. Please that these people are themselves to much trouble and to help us, as their own is, and yourselves accordingly."
The had its effect, and with no the company the small cars, which through an opening in the and into a of that city. Breckenridge, in the last car to the portal, his with as his through the gateway. More or less a by nature and an adventurer, of course, since no other type among the older of the IPC, he was in every new phase of their experience, and was no or frightened.
HE himself seated in a narrow of metal, the pilot, who sat at a small in the bow. Propelled by above a single rail, upon and noiseless wheels, the pilot saw with the manner in which after ahead of them the sent ahead from the car. The were narrow and with monorails; their upon walks to the of the buildings, above the level of the streets. The were themselves peculiar, as they did stark, unbroken, of metal, into and supporting a of the same metal. Walls and a soft, yet intense, white light. Soon a ahead of them in and an opening appeared in the blank metal of a building. Through the opening the street-car flew, and as the pilot the to a halt, the door them. Parking the car a of its fellows, the Callistonian driver that the Terrestrials were to him and the way into a large hall. There the others from the Arcturus were assembled, Captain King, who was upon a table.
"Fellow travelers," King them, "our of action has been decided. There are two hundred three of us. There will be twenty of ten persons, each being in of one of the officers of the Arcturus. Doctor Penfield, our surgeon, a man intelligence, fairness, and are unquestioned, will be in command. His power and authority will be absolute, limited only by the Callistonian Council. He will work in with the engineer, who is to direct the entire project of the new vessel. Each of you will be to do he can—the work you will be asked to do will be well your powers, and you will each have for recreation, study, and amusement, of all of which you will stores in this community. You will each be registered and by physicians, surgeons, and psychologists; and each of you will have for him the exact diet that is necessary for his best development. You will this diet monotonous, to our normal of natural products, since it is synthetic; but that is one of the minor that must be endured. Chief Pilot Breckenridge and I will not be with you. In some small and for what they are doing for us all, he and I are going with Captain Czuv to Callisto, there to see or not we can them in any way in the against the hexans. One last word—Doctor Penfield's will be the of his own well-ordered mind after and agreement with the Council of this city, and will be for the best good of all. I do not any to with him. If, however, such should occur, that he is a with power, and that anyone the program by to his will the of his time here in and will go to Tellus in irons, if at all. In case Chief Pilot Breckenridge and I should not see you again, we you goodbye and wish you a safe voyage—but we to go with you."
Brief were said and captain and pilot Czuv to one of the little street-cars. Out of the it and the but noiseless to the portal. Signal lights there and they did not stop, but on through the portal and the tunnel, with speed.
"Don't have to transfer to a big car, then?" asked Breckenridge.
"No," King answer. "Small can travel these as well as the large ones, and on much less power. In the city the touch the rails lightly, not for support, but to make through which traffic are sent and received. In the the do not touch at all, as is unnecessary—the being used and by but one vehicle at a time. No trolleys, tracks, or are visible, you notice. Everything is from any possible of the hexans."
"How about their power?"
"I don't it very well—hardly at all, in fact."
"It is simple." To the of Terrestrials, Czuv was speaking English, but with a and very accent; all the and the sounds. "The car no longer my attention, so I am now free to converse. You are at my your language? You will speak mine after a more of the exchanger. I am speaking with a accent, of course, but that is my organs are not to making vowel sounds. Our power is by the of in turbines. It is and used as direct current, our and being so that they can produce no of the of our city. The city was close to deposits of coal, oil, and of amount to support our life for thousands of years; for from these deposits come power, food, clothing, and all the other and of our lives. Strong fans air from craters, it through into every room and of the city, and it into the of a volcano, in any of our is, of course, imperceptible. For no or are used in the city proper."
THUS Captain Czuv to the Terrestrials his own mode of life, and from them in turn full Earthly life, activity, and science. Long they talked, and it was almost time to slow for the journey's end when the Callistonian the to their concerns.
"My and I were upon a mission of some importance, but it is more to take you to Callisto, for there may be many in which you can help us. Not in rays—we know all the you have mentioned and others. The enemy, however, is in that field, and until our scientists have succeeded in ray-screens, such as are used by the hexans, it would be to use at all. Such screens the of pure, yet dirigible, forces—you do not have them upon your planet?"
"No, and so as I know such screens are also unknown upon Mars and Venus, with we are friendly."
"The of all the should be friendly; the should be together in for common advancement. But that is not to be. The will here, and a Jovian by will have no with any save that of war. We, of Callisto, have only one hope—or is it a hope? In the South Polar country of Jupiter, there a of beings to the hexans. They to the country of the frequently, though they are each time. Our to the South Polar country, however, have returned—those beings, they are, if not inimical, are not toward us."
"You know nothing of their nature?"
"Nothing, since our are not to give us more than a idea of what is there, and is in that fog. We know, however, that they are in science, and we are that none of their have been against us. They are not in the satellites, and it is no to their that we have as long as we have."
In the at last, the three men the Callistonian space-plane and were up the crater's shaft. The to Callisto was uneventful, save at its termination. The Bzarvk, every as it was with a dull, black, coating, entered the thin of Callisto's in night, with all dead, with not a light showing, and with no of any functioning. Utterly and undetectable, she downward, and not until she was well the crater's did the into life. Then the Terrestrials another for the of those other than that of protection from the of the enemy—all that was necessary to overcome the of their free without a negative than the Callistonian endure. From the at the of the shaft, a to the Callistonian city of Zbardk. Portal and city were very like Wruszk, upon Europa, and soon the captain and pilot were in with the Council of Callisto.
MONTHS of Earthly time slowly past, months which King and Breckenridge the and of Callisto without any particular in which they them to any degree. Captain Czuv and his still survived, and it was while the Callistonian was visiting his guests, that King the that had long men.
"We're of doing nothing, Czuv. We have been of little benefit, and we have that your ideas of us are all wrong. We are that our personal can be of more use to you than our brain-power, which doesn't amount to much. Your whole present policy is one of and sniping. I think that I know why, but I want to be sure. Your of fuel—why can the you?" Thus did King put his problem.
"They can higher than we can. The very of us at an of twenty-five second second, no how he is braced, and that is only a little than the normal of our upon Jupiter. Their at power an of thirty-five meters, and the themselves can much more than that high figure," Czuv.
"I so. Assume that you at forty-five. Would it you permanently, or would you as soon as it was lowered?"
"We would promptly, unless the had been prolonged. Why?"
"Because," said King, "I can an of fifty-four for two hours, and Breckenridge here fifty two meters. I can anything, and Breckenridge can as well as any of your own men. Build a plane to at forty-five and we will those out of the ether. You will have to and do the shooting, however—your is us."
"That is an idea of promise, and one that had not to any of us," Czuv and work was at once upon the new flyer.
When the super-plane was for its voyage, its of three it as it in the at the portal. Dead black as were all the warplanes, its was twice as large as that of the ordinary vessel, its were more stubby, and its had been cut to a minimum to make room for the stores of fuel necessary to drive the of and for the supply of carried. Waving to the group of soldiers and citizens to the take-off of the new of space, the three men entered the compartment, themselves into their seats, and were away. As the were cut off well the of the shaft, and the rose in a long and curve, in the night. Such was its and so was the of of the that they were many hundreds of miles from the they to descend, and Breckenridge his screens for of activity.
"Do you want to try one of your long-range when we one of them?" the pilot asked Czuv.
"No, it would be useless. Between by air-currents and the of the enemy vessels, our range is to a kilometers, and their are at that distance. No, our best is to the original plan—to them out into space at acceleration, where we can them easily."
"Right," and Breckenridge to King, who was at his controls. "How she work on a stick, Chief?"
"Maneuverability about ten at this speed and in this air. She'd have to have at least fifteen hundred an hour to be out here. See anything yet?"
"Not yet ... wait a minute! Yes, there's one now—P-12 on area five. Give us all the X10 and W27 you can, without using power—we want to over close so that she can't help but see us when we start the rockets."
"Be sure and well out of range. I'm her all she'll take, but she won't take much. With these she has the of a sink."
"All x—I'm the range, close. Wish we had like these on the IPV's. We'll have to some when we back. All x! Give her the gun—level and ahead!"
Half the of into their stuttering, of power and the away in flight.
"He sees us and is after us—turn her up!"
A searing, of toward them, but their calculations had been sound—the was at that range. King, under the pilot's direction, the plane at a safe from the while the smaller and smaller them and Czuv into unconsciousness.
"He's been out for a while. Far enough?" asked King.
"All x now, I guess—don't they can see the from here. Cut!"
The died and a blast from the the plane out of the beam—and once out of it, range of the as they were their of black the safe from observation. One in action, its from the enemy by the of the vessel, and Captain Czuv soon his senses.
"Wonderful, gentlemen!" he exclaimed, as he the of his panel. "This is the time in history that a Callistonian has from a by speed alone."
An of marked the of the into nothingness, and the toward Callisto in search of more prey. It was all too plentiful, and twenty times the was day it necessary for Czuv to take the and the into the landing-shaft of Zbardk. A and welcome them, and spread when their success known.
"Now we know what to do, and we had do it immediately, they our out and their own power." King reported to the Council. "You might send a of ships to Europa and as many of the Tellurian officers as want to come and can be from the work there. They all test above forty-five meters, and they can learn this in order. While they're coming, your can be more ships like this one."
The new did not make another until nine sister ships were and manned, each with two Terrestrial officers and one Callistonian gunner. All ten took to the at once, and the melted away like frost-crystals a sun. A of and and not a was range of the of Callisto—they were gone!
"This is the time in years that Callisto's air has been free of the hexans," Czuv said, thoughtfully. "With your help we have their to a of what it was, but they have not up. They will return, with a higher than you Terrestrials, powerful as you are, can stand."
"Certainly they will, but you will be no off than you were before—you can return to your own tactics."
"We are off for your help. You have us a new on life...."
He off as a light into being upon the portal and the of Exit One his report—there was a in the air, 425 over VJ-42.
"There's one left! Let us him! No, he's ours!" Confused from the bull-pen; but the original was at the top of the call-board and King, Breckenridge, and Czuv upon an more than they had supposed—an every was to those in the portal by the upon the and which was ended a single supporting Callistonian plane be launched.
For the enemy was not the last of the low-powered vessels, as had supposed—it was the of the high-powered craft, long its was expected. Before its and onslaught, the might as well have been and unarmed. After his long downward, King not the atmosphere—the was upon them a seconds, though the of rockets, full driven, had almost into action. Bomb after bomb Breckenridge hurled, with full radio control, with every at his command, but in vain. The were in mid-flight; and nose, tail-assembly, and were from the by a plane of force. Side and were away and the of the Callistonian cruiser, like a plummet, was and by a ray. Captor and settled toward the ground.
"This is a honor," Captain Czuv when he had revived. "It has been many, many since they have taken Callistonians captive. They kill us at every opportunity. Is it your to yourselves in a such as this?"
"It is not. While we live there is hope."
"Not ours. Unless they have in mechanisms, they cannot tear from our minds any we wish to keep. That is useless," he on, as King a hand-weapon. "You will have no opportunity to use it," and he was right.
A of energy them out of the vessel, then every object out of their possession. Burning them into the and into a small room, door them.
"Ah, two are of a breed!" a voice from the wall, in the Callistonian language. "Our were accurate, as usual—it is to the of Planet Three, are a less than those of the of the satellites, that we our reverses. However, those were temporary—humanity, no what its breed, shall very from the satellites. Now, you of the Solar System, you shall be permitted to an on the way to our headquarters, where all your knowledge is to be taken from you you die, and horribly. There is a space-vessel us for the one we took and which you dogs of Callisto must have been to take from us we study and kill its cargo. Watch its and cringe—and know, in your suffering, that the more you suffer, the shall be our enjoyment."
"I that," King acknowledged. As all three at the wall-screen, upon which was pictured a football of steel, Czuv was to see the of Breckenridge and King light up with of and anticipation.
"You well," the Callistonian. "That will them of much pleasure."
"They'll of more than that," King returned. "This is too good to keep, and since they cannot English, I'll tell you something. I told you about Stevens. He wasn't killed, as we thought. He must have escaped, and there is the result. That ship there is from innocent—her being so out of range of any of our power-plants proves that. That is the Sirius—the laboratory of the IPC—the Inter-Planetary Corporation! It the scientific minds of three of the planets, and it is with pure or it wouldn't be here. Oh, you hexans, what you have got to you!"
Concluding a Thrilling New Serial of Interplanetary Life and Travel by Edward E. Smith, Ph.D.
Author of "Skylark of Space," and "Skylark Three"
PART III
Spacehounds of IPC
THE question of rays—their power for good and evil—is attention from scientists. The x-ray has been to be very beneficial, in quantities, but to health, and fatal, if too much is given. The powers of the have not been as yet. And there is no to the that there may be still more and powerful rays. Even are a more for nations of our world—to say nothing of other possible from other parts of our universe. Stevens and Nadia Newton meet with in this instalment.
What Went Before:
THE Interplanetary Vessel Arcturus sets out for Mars, with Breckenridge as pilot, on board, its regular and some passengers, the famous Dr. Stevens, of space ships and computer. He by in observatories, and after he has any trouble and a plan for the of the from the earth to Mars he reports his and to Mr. Newton, of the Interplanetary Corporation.
Stevens then takes Nadia, Mr. Newton's daughter, on a sight-seeing of the Arcturus and to her all of the of the vessel. Nadia has herself had a good science education. While they are at the of the ship—nearing the end of their tour—Stevens a movement of the from its course. When he on the visiplate, he is to that a of power has the Arcturus in places.
Nadia and Stevens are from the of the and of the ship, so they into a lifeboat, which is for a limited amount of space travel. Despite the and of the enemy destroyer, Stevens and Nadia make their in the lifeboat, which they call "Forlorn Hope," and make a safe landing on Ganymede, where Stevens almost a power-plant and a radio transmitter, to him to with the earth or with the IPV Sirius, which is used by Westfall and Brandon (two of the world's best scientists) as a laboratory.
They start for Cantrell's Comet, where Stevens the necessary material for his tube, to Ganymede, when their ship is cut, top and bottom, by a ray-beam. Stevens and Nadia soon that the other ship is by beings from Saturn. Together they plan against their common foes—the Hexans—who are of the universe. After helping the Saturnians to repair their power plant, they start to Ganymede, by their new friends from the civilization. Finally, however, Stevens succeeds in connecting, by radio, with the Sirius and his scientist friends on it, who to the of the two castaways. It is while the are of the Hexans that help near.
