Latest / Nine Sci-fi Stories by Poul Anderson / 38 - Nine Sci-fi Stories by Poul Anderson by Poul William Anderson

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38 - Nine Sci-fi Stories by Poul Anderson by Poul William Anderson · Nine Sci-fi Stories by Poul Anderson

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Section katy eight of nine Sciphi stories by Paul Anderson.
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: This Sleepovox recording is in the public domain. Sir Gasso,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: of Last Starships, Chapter four, the Ganymede's engines rose to
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: full power, and the pilot control spun over without a
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: hand on them. Hindrunum, hendrenum, stop the nonsense. Done there.
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: We can't they're frozen. The converter has gone to fall
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  Speaker 1: without us, Sir, I can't budge the stick. It's locked. Somehow.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: The lights went on. Man screamed, get me a flashlight,
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: snapped Takahashee in the dark. I'll take this damn panel
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: apart myself. The beam etched his features against the knight.
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: Who goes He cried, it's I. Yansky appeared in the
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: dim reflected glow. Never mind, Takahashie let the ship have
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: her way, But ma'am, we could crutch. I finally got
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: Donovan to talk. He says, we're in the grip of
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: some kind of power beam, a puluster one of their
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  Speaker 1: space stations, and then maybe we can negotiate or fight.
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: Come on, we've got to quiet the men. The flashlight
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: went out. Takahashi's laugh was shrill. Better quite me first. Capt'n.
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: Her hand was on his arm, steadying, strengthening. Don't fill me, titsuo,
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: it's the last one I've got. I guess at the
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: Powerley scoresby. Thanks, thanks Chief, I'm all right. Now let's go.
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: They fumbled through blindness. The engines roared full speed ahead,
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  Speaker 1: with a ghost on the bridge. Men were stumbling and
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: cursing and screaming in the dark. Someone switched on the
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: battle station's siren, and its howl was the last voice
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: of insanity. Struggled in the dark, wrestling, paralyzing at the berserk,
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: calling on all the iron will which had lifted human
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  Speaker 1: kind to the stars. Slow restoration of order. Men creeping
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  Speaker 1: to general quarters, breathing heavily in the guttering light of
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: paper torches. The engines cut off and the ship snapped
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: into normal matter state. Helena Yansky saw blood red sunlight
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  Speaker 1: through the viewport. There was no time to sound the
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: alarm before the ship crashed. A hundred men no more
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: than a hundred alive. She wrapped her cloak tight about
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: her against the wind and stood looking across the camp.
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  Speaker 1: The streaming firelight touched her face with red limbing. It
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  Speaker 1: against utter darker the night heavens, sheening faintly in the
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  Speaker 1: air that blew wildly round her, strong bitter countenance beyond
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  Speaker 1: other fires danced and flickered in the gloom. Men huddled
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  Speaker 1: around them, while the cold seeped slowly to their bones.
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  Speaker 1: Here and there, an injured human moaned across the ragged
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  Speaker 1: spine of bare black hills. They could still see the
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  Speaker 1: molten glow of the wreck. When it hit, the atomic
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: converters had run wild and begun devouring the hull. There
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: had barely been time for the survivors to drag themselves
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  Speaker 1: and some of the cripples free, and to put the
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: rocky barrier between them and the mounting radioactivity. During the
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: slow red sunset, they had gathered wood, hewing with knives
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: at the distorted scrub trees reaching above the shale and
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: snow off the valley. Now they sat waiting at the night.
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: Takahashi shuddered. God, it's cold. It'll get colder, said Donovan toneously.
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  Speaker 1: This is an old planet, of an old wed dwarf's sun.
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: His rotation has slowed. The nights are long. How do
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  Speaker 1: you know, Lieutenant Elijah Cohen, glad at him out of
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  Speaker 1: a cruelly bandaged face. The firelight made his eyes gleam red.
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: How do you know unless you're in with him, Unless
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  Speaker 1: you arrange this yourself. Watcher reached forth a massive fist.
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: You shut up, he rumbled. Never mind, said Dunovan. I
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: just thought some things would be obvious. You saw the star,
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: so you should know it's the type of a burned
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: out dwarf. Since planets are formed at an early stage
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: of a star's evolution, this world must be old too.
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: Look at these rocks, citrified back when the stellar energy
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: output got really high just before the final collapse, and
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: nevertheless eroded down to bare snags. That takes millions of years.
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: He reflected that his reasoning, while sound enough, was based
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  Speaker 1: on foreknown conclusions. Cohen's right, I half betrayed them. It
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: was Valduma watching over me, who brought Watcher and myself
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  Speaker 1: unhurt through the crash. I saw Valdumer. I saw you
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  Speaker 1: with your hair flying in the chaos, riding witchlike through
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  Speaker 1: sundering ruin, and you were laughing, laughing. He fell ill. Nevertheless,
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  Speaker 1: the planet has a thin but breathiful atmosphere, frozen water
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  Speaker 1: and vegetable life, said Takahashi. Such things don't survive the
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  Speaker 1: final hot stage of a sun without artificial help. This
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  Speaker 1: planet has natives. Since we were deliberately crashed here, I
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  Speaker 1: dare say the natives are our earlier friends. He turned dark,
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  Speaker 1: accusing eyes and the anson. How about it, Donovan, I
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: suppose you're right, he answered. I knew there was a
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  Speaker 1: planet in the Nebula. The natives had told me that
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  Speaker 1: in my previous trip. This star lies near the center,
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  Speaker 1: in a hollow region where there isn't enough dust to
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  Speaker 1: force the planet into its primary and shares a common
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: velocity with the Nebula. It stays here. In other words,
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: you told me. Helena Yansky bit her lip and slowly
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  Speaker 1: forced the words out. You told me, and I believed
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  Speaker 1: you that there was nothing immediately to fear when the
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: neby lights took over our controls, so we didn't fight them.
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: We didn't try to overcome their forces with our own engines,
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  Speaker 1: and it cost us the ship and over half her crew.
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: I told you what happened to me last time, he
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  Speaker 1: lied steadfastly. I can't help it if things were different
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: this trip. She turned her back. The wind blew a
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  Speaker 1: thin hissing veil of dry snow across her ankles. A
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: wounded man suddenly screamed out there in the dark, how
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: does it feel, Donovan, You made her trust you and
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: then betrayed every thing that isn't even human? How does
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: it feel to be a judas? Never mind recombinations, said Tagashi.
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  Speaker 1: This isn't the time to hold trials. We've got to
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  Speaker 1: decide what to do. They have a city on this planet,
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: said Donovan. Dragaby they call it, and the planet's name
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  Speaker 1: is Oz, and it lies somewhere near the equator. They
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  Speaker 1: told me once, if they meant us to make our
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  Speaker 1: own way to it, and it would be like them,
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  Speaker 1: then it may well lie due south. We can march
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  Speaker 1: that way, assuming that the sun set in the west.
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  Speaker 1: Nothing to lose, shrugged the Terran. But we have many weapons,
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  Speaker 1: a few sorted side arms, as all know, one much
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  Speaker 1: of us against these creatures. Anyway, something howled out in
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  Speaker 1: the dark. The ground quivered, ever so faintly to the
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  Speaker 1: pounding of heavy feet wild animals. Yet Comen grinned humorously,
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  Speaker 1: bettersun battle stations. Captain, Yes, yes, I suppose so. She
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: blew her whistle, a thin shrilling in the windy dark.
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: As she turned round, Donovan saw a gleam running along
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  Speaker 1: her cheek tears. The noise came closer. They heard the
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  Speaker 1: rattle of claws on stone. The Terrans moved together, guns
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  Speaker 1: in front, clubs and rocks and bare hands behind. They
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  Speaker 1: have guts, thought Donovan. God, but they have guts. Food
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: would be scarce on a barren planet like this, said
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: Ensign Chundradas we seemed to be elected. The hollow roar sounded,
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  Speaker 1: echoing between the hills and caught up by the thin,
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  Speaker 1: harrying wind. Hold fire, said Helena. Her voice was clear
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  Speaker 1: and steady. Don't waste charges. Wait. The thing leaped out
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  Speaker 1: of the darkness, a ten meter length of Gaunt's scaled
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  Speaker 1: body and steel, hard claws and whipping tail, soaring through
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  Speaker 1: the snow streaked air and caught in the vague, uneasy firelight.
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  Speaker 1: Helena's blaster crashed, a lightning boat sizzled against the armed head.
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  Speaker 1: The monster screamed, Its body tumbled shatteringly among the humans.
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  Speaker 1: It seized a man in its jaws and shook him
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  Speaker 1: and trampled another under foot. Teka as she stepped forward
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  Speaker 1: and shot again at its dripping wound. The blastable zigzagged
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  Speaker 1: wildly off the muzzle of his gun. You the animals
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  Speaker 1: can do it. Oh get him buss. Wacher reared on
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  Speaker 1: his hind legs, came down again with a third and charged.
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: Stones flew from beneath his feet. The monster's tail swept out.
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  Speaker 1: A man tumbled before it with his ribs caved in,
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  Speaker 1: and Watcher staggered as he caught the blow. Still, he
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  Speaker 1: rushed in, clutching the barbed end of the tail to
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  Speaker 1: his breast. The monster writhed, bellowing another BLASTA bolt hit
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  Speaker 1: it from the rear. It turned and shuttered, Its eyes
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  Speaker 1: veered away. Watcher hit it with all the furious momentum
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  Speaker 1: he had. He rammed its spear like tail down the
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  Speaker 1: open jaws, and blood spurted. Oh Donovan, he shouted. As
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  Speaker 1: the thing screamed and snapped at him. He caught its
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  Speaker 1: jaws and his hands. Watcher yelled, Donovan, Watcher. He ran
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  Speaker 1: wildly toward the fight. The Dunarian's great back arched with strain.
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: It was as if they could hear his muscles crack. Slowly, slowly,
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  Speaker 1: he forced the jaws wider. The monster lashed its body
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  Speaker 1: pulling him to his knees, dragging him over the ground.
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  Speaker 1: And still he fought, damn you, he roared in the
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  Speaker 1: whirling dust and snow. Hold still the jaws broke, and
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: the monster screamed once more, and then it wasn't there.
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: Watcher tumbled over. Donovan fell across him, sobbing, laughing, cursing.
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  Speaker 1: Watcher picked him up. You white buss, he asked, you
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  Speaker 1: will yes, yes, Oh, you blind, bloody fool, you stupid,
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  Speaker 1: blundering ass. Donovan hugged him, Gone, said Helen. It vanished.
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  Speaker 1: They picked up their dead and wounded and returned to
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  Speaker 1: the fires. The cold bit deep. Something else hooted out
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: in the night. It was a long time before at
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: take Hashi spoke. You might expect it, he said. These
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: parapsychical powers don't come from nowhere. The intelligent race, our
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: enemies of Dragabak, simply have them highly developed. The animals
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: do a lesser extent. And I think it's a matter
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: of life being linked to the primary atomic probabilities, the
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: sigh functions, which give the continuous filled distribution of matter
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: energy in space time, in a word, control of external
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: matter and energy by conscious will acting through the unified field,
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: which is space time telekinesis, ah Ha, said Dat wearily.
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: Even some humans have a slight powder power, could troll
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: dice or electron beams or what have you. But why
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: aren't they Why did you call them Alzunians over running
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: the galaxy? They can only operate over a certain range,
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: which happens to be about the distance to the fringe stars,
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: said Donovan. Beyond that, distance dispersion limits them, plus the
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: fact that differences of potential energy must be made up
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: from their own metabolism. The animals, of course, have a
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: very limited range a few kilometers. Perhaps the Auzunians use
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: helekinesis to control matter and energy, and the same subspatial
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: principles as though ships to go faster than light. Only
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: since they aren't lugging around a lot of hull and
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: passengers and a sort of machinery, just themselves and a
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  Speaker 1: little air and maybe an armful of sacrificial goods from
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  Speaker 1: a fringe planet, they don't need doomic engines. They aren't
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: interested in conquering the galaxy. Where should they be. They
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: can get all their needs and luxuries from the peoples
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: to whom they are gods an old race, very old decadent,
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: if you will, but they don't like interference. Take Ahashi
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: looked at him sharply a glimpse one of them on
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: the ship, He said, carry to spear. Yeah, another reason
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: why they aren't conquerors. They have no sense of mechanics
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: at all, never had any reason to revolve one when
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: they could manipulate matter directly without more than the simplest tools.
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: They're probably more intelligent than humans in an all around way,
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: but they don't have the type of brain and the
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: concentration needed to learn physics and chemistry. Aren't interested either
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: of Swords against guns, we may have a chance. They
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: can turn your missiles. Remember, guns are little use. You
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: have to distract them so they don't notice your shot
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: till too late. But they can't control you. They aren't telepaths,
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: and their type of matter control is to pterodyne by
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: living nerve currents. You could kill one of them with
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: a sword, where a gun would most likely kill you.
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: I see. Elena looked strangely at him. You're becoming very
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: vocal all of a sudden, Donovan rubbed his eyes and
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: shivered in the coals. What of it? You wanted the
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: truth begetting it? Why am I telling them? Or I
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: may not just leading them to the slaughter as Valduma wanted.
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: Is it that I can't stand the thought of Helen
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: are being hunted like a beast? You sign him, I arm,
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: he thought wildly. Take a Hashy gestured, and his voice
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: came eager. That's it, that's it. The ship scattered, assorted
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  Speaker 1: metal and plastic over twenty hectares as she fell, safe
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: for us to gather up tomorrow. We can use our
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: blast of flames to shape weapons, swords, axes, spears, But
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: the galaxy will arm ourselves, and then we'll march and drag.
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: A back end of section thirty eight