Latest / Pilot Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge / Eyes Have It & Tony and the Beetles-Philip K. Dick

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Eyes Have It & Tony and the Beetles-Philip K. Dick · Pilot Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The Eyes Have It by Philip K. Dick. This is
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  Speaker 1: a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
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  Speaker 1: Recording by Phil Schinevert The Eyes Have It by Philip K. Dick,
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  Speaker 1: published in the magazine Science Fiction Stories nineteen fifty three.
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  Speaker 1: It was quite by accident. I discovered this incredible invasion
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: of Earth by life forms from another planet. As yet
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: I haven't done anything about it. I can't think of
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: anything to do. I wrote to the government and they
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: sent back a pamphlet on the repair and maintenance of
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: frame houses. Anyhow, the whole thing is known. I'm not
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: the first to discover it. Maybe it's even under control.
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: I was sitting in my easy chair idly turning the
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  Speaker 1: pages of a paperbacked book somewhere had left on the
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  Speaker 1: bus when I came across the reference that first put
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  Speaker 1: me on the trail. For a moment, I didn't respond.
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: It took some time for the full import to sink in.
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  Speaker 1: After I comprehended, it seemed odd I hadn't noticed it
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  Speaker 1: right away. The reference was clearly to a non human
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  Speaker 1: species of incredible properties not indigenous to Earth, a species
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  Speaker 1: I hastened to point out, customarily masquerading as ordinary human beings.
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  Speaker 1: Their disguise, however, became transparent in the face of the
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: following observations by the author. It was at once obvious
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  Speaker 1: the author knew everything, knew everything, and was taking it
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  Speaker 1: in his stride the line, and I tremble remembering it
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  Speaker 1: even now. Read His eyes slowly roved about the room.
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  Speaker 1: Vague jills assailed me. I tried to picture the eyes.
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  Speaker 1: Did they roll like dimes? The passage indicated not. They
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: seemed to move through the air, not over the surface,
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: rather rapidly. Apparently, no one in the story was surprised.
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  Speaker 1: That's what tipped me off. No sign of amazement at
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: such an outrageous thing. Later the matter was amplified. His
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  Speaker 1: eyes moved from person to person. There it was in
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  Speaker 1: a nutshell. The eyes had clearly come apart from the
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: rest of him and were on their own. My heart
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  Speaker 1: pounded and my breath choked in my windpipe. I had
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: stumbled on an accidental mention of a totally unfamiliar race,
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: obviously non terrestrial. Yet to the characters in the book,
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: it was perfectly natural. Which suggested they belonged to the
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: same species, and the author. A slow suspicion burned in
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  Speaker 1: my mind. The author was taking it rather too easily
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: in his stride. Evidently he felt this was quite a
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  Speaker 1: usual thing. He made absolutely no attempt to conceal this knowledge.
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: The story continued presently. His eyes fastened on Julia. Julia,
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: being a lady, had at least the breeding to feel indignant.
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: She is described as blushing and knitting her brows angrily
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: at this eye side with relief. And they weren't all
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: non terrestrials, the narrative continues, slowly, calmly, his eyes examined
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: every inch of her great scott And here the girl
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: turned and stomped off, and the matter ended. I lay
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: back in my chair, gasping with horror. My wife and
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: family regarded me, and I wonder, what's wrong, dear, my
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: wife asked. I couldn't tell her. Knowledge like this was
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: too much for the ordinary, run of the mill person.
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: I had to keep it to myself. Nothing, I gasped.
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  Speaker 1: I leaped up, snatched the book and hurried out of
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  Speaker 1: the room. In the garage, I continued reading. There was
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: more tremblingly I read the revealing passage. He put his
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: arm around Julia. Presently, she asked him if he would
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: remove his arm. He immediately did so with a smile.
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: It is not said what was done with the arm
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: after the fellow had removed it. Maybe it was left
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: standing up right in the corner. Maybe it was thrown away.
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  Speaker 1: I don't care. In any case, the full meaning was there,
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  Speaker 1: staring me right in the face. Here was a race
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  Speaker 1: of creatures capable of removing portions of their eyes anatomy
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  Speaker 1: at will, eyes, arms, and maybe more without batting an eyelash.
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  Speaker 1: My knowledge of biology came in handy at this point.
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  Speaker 1: Obviously they were simple beings, unicellular, some sort of primitive
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  Speaker 1: single self things, being no more developed than starfish. Starfish
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  Speaker 1: can do the same thing you know I read on hand.
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  Speaker 1: Came to this incredible revelation, tossed off coolly by the
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  Speaker 1: author without the faintest tremor. Outside the movie theater, we
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  Speaker 1: split up. Part of us went inside, part over to
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  Speaker 1: the cafe for dinner. Binary fission, obviously splitting in half
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: and forming two entities. Probably each lower half went to
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: the cafe, it being further, and the upper halves to
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  Speaker 1: the movies. I read on hands shaking, I had really
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: stumbled onto something here. My mind reeled as I made
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  Speaker 1: out this passage. I'm afraid there's no doubt about it.
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: Poor Bimny has lost his head again, which was followed
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: by and Bob says he has utterly no guts. Yet
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: Bimny got around as well as the next person. The
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: next person, however, was just as strange. He was described
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: as totally lacking in brains. There was no doubt of
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: the thing. In the next passage, Julia, whom I had
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: thought to be the one normal person, reveals herself as
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: also being an alien life form similar to the rest.
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  Speaker 1: Quite deliberately, Julia had given her heart to the young man.
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: It didn't relate what the final disposition of the Argan was,
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: but I didn't really care. It was evident Julia had
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: gone right on living in her usual manner, like all
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  Speaker 1: the others in the book, without heart, arms, eyes, brains, visier,
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  Speaker 1: dividing up in two when the occasion demanded, without a qualm. Thereupon,
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  Speaker 1: she gave him her hand. I sickened. A rascal now
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  Speaker 1: had her hand as well as her heart. I shudder
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  Speaker 1: to think what he's done. With him. By this time
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  Speaker 1: he took her arm. Not content to wait, he had
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  Speaker 1: to start dismandling her on his own. Flushing crimson, I
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  Speaker 1: slammed the book shut and leaped to my feet, but
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  Speaker 1: not in time to escape one last reference to those
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  Speaker 1: carefree bits of anatomy whose travels had originally thrown me
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  Speaker 1: on the track. Her eyes followed him all the way
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  Speaker 1: down the road and across the meadow. I rushed from
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  Speaker 1: the garage and back inside the warm house, as if
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  Speaker 1: the accursed things were following me. My wife and children
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: were playing monopoly in the kitchen. I joined them and
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: played with frantic fervor, brow feverish, teeth chattering. I had
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  Speaker 1: had enough of the thing. I want to hear no
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  Speaker 1: more about it. Let them come on, let them invade earth.
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  Speaker 1: I don't want to get mixed up in it. I
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  Speaker 1: have absolutely no stomach for it. End of the Eyes
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: Have It? By Philip K. Dick. Tony and the Beatles
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: by Philip K. Dick, Part one. This LibriVox recording is
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  Speaker 1: in the public domain. This story was originally published in
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: Arbit Magazine nineteen fifty three. Tony and the Beatles Part
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: one by Philip K. Dick. Reddish yellow sunlight filtered through
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  Speaker 1: the thick quartz windows into the sleep comportment. Tony Rossy yawned,
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: stirred a little, then opened his black eyes and sat
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: up quickly. With one motion, he tossed the covers back
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  Speaker 1: and slid to the warm metal floor. He clicked off
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: his alarm clock and hurried to the closet. It looked
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: like a nice day. The landscape outside was motionless, undisturbed
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: by winds or dust shift. The boy's heart pounded excitedly.
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: He pulled his trousers on, zipped up the reinforced mesh,
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: struggled into his heavy canvas shirt, and then sat down
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: on the edge of the cot to tug on his boots.
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: He closed the seams around their tops, and then did
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: the same with his gloves. Next, he adjusted the pressure
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: on his pump unit and strapped it between his shoulder blades.
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: He grabbed his helmet from the dress and he was
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: ready for the day. In the dining compartment, his mother
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: and father had finished breakfast. Their voices drifted to him
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: as he clattered down the ramp a disturbed murmur. He
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: paused to listen. What were they talking about? Had he
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: done something wrong again, and then he caught it. Behind
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: their voices was another voice, static and crackling pups, the
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: all system audio signal from Rigel four. They had it
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: turned up full blast. The dull thunder of the monitor's
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: voice boomed loudly. The war, always, the war. He sighed
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  Speaker 1: and stepped out into the dining compartment. Morning. His father muttered,
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: good morning, dear. His mother said absently. She sat with
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  Speaker 1: her head turned to one side, wrinkles of concentration webbing
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  Speaker 1: her forehead. Her thin lips were drawn together in a
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: tight line of concern. His father had pushed his dirty
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  Speaker 1: dishes back and was smoking elbows on the table, dark hairy, arms,
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  Speaker 1: bare and muscular. He was scowling, intent on the jumbled
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: roar from the speaker above the sink. How's it going,
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: Tony asked. He slid into his chair and reached automatically
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: for the erzat's grapefruit. Any news from Orion. Neither of
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  Speaker 1: them answered, they didn't hear him. He began to eat
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: his grapefruit. Outside had beyond the little metal and plastic
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  Speaker 1: housing unit. Sounds of activity grew, shouts and muffled crashes
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  Speaker 1: as rural merchants and their trucks rumbled along the highway
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  Speaker 1: toward Cornet. The reddish daylight swelled. Beetlejuice was rising quietly
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  Speaker 1: and majestically. Nice day Tony said, no flux wind. I
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  Speaker 1: think I'll go down to the in quarter awhile. We're
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  Speaker 1: building a neat spaceport and model, of course, but we've
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  Speaker 1: been able to get enough materials to lay out strips
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  Speaker 1: for With a savage snarl, his father reached out and
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  Speaker 1: struck the audio roar. Immediately died. I knew it. He
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  Speaker 1: got up and moved angrily away from the table. I
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  Speaker 1: told him it would happen. They shouldn't moved so soon.
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  Speaker 1: Should have built up Class A supply basis first, isn't
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  Speaker 1: our main fleet moving in from Bellatrix. Tony's mother fluttered anxiously.
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  Speaker 1: According to last night's summary, the worst that can happen
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  Speaker 1: is Orion nine and ten will be dumped. Joseph Rossy
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: laughed harshly. The hell with last night's summary. The ain't
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  Speaker 1: know as well as I do. What's happening? What's happening,
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: Tony echoed, as he pushed aside his grapefruit and began
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  Speaker 1: to ladle out dry cereal. Are we losing the battle? Yes,
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  Speaker 1: his father's lips twisted earthmen losing to to be, I
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  Speaker 1: told them. But they couldn't wait. My god, there's ten
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  Speaker 1: good years left in this system. Why they have to
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: push on? Everybody knew Orion would be tough, the whole
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: damn beetle fleet strung out around there waiting for us,
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  Speaker 1: and we have to barge right in. But nobody ever
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: thought beetles would fight, Leah, Rossi protested mildly. Everybody thought
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  Speaker 1: they'd just fire a few blasts and then they have
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  Speaker 1: to fight. Orion's the last to jump off. If they
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: don't fight, there, where the hell can they fight? Rossi
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: swore savagely. Of course they're fighting. We have all their
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: planets except the inner Orion's string. Not that they're worth much,
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: but it's the principle of the thing. If we built
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: up strong supply bases, we could have broken up the
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: beetle fleet and really clabbored it. Don't say beetle, Tony
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: muttered as he finished his cereal. Their passe yudetty same
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  Speaker 1: as here. The word beetle comes from beetlejuice, an Arabian
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: word we invented ourselves. Joe Rossy's mouth opened and closed.
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: What are you a goddamn beetle lover? Joe Leah snapped.
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: For heaven's sake, Rossi moved toward the door. If I
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: was ten years younger, I'd be out there. I'd really
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: show those shiny shelled insects what the hell they're up against,
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: them and their junkie beat up old Huax converted freighters.
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: His eyes blazed. When I think of them shooting down
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: Terrin cruisers with our boys in them. Orion's their system,
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: Tony muttered, their system. When the hell did you get
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: to be an authority on space law? Why I ought to?
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: He broke off, choked with rage. My own kid, He muttered,
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: one more crack out of you to day, and I'll
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: hang one on you. You'll feel the rest of the week.
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: Tony pushed his chair back. I won't be around here
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: to day. I'm going into carnate with my E E P. Yeah,
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: to play with beetles. Tony said nothing. He was already
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: sliding his helmet in place and snapping the clamps tight
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: as he pushed through the back door into the lock membrane.
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: He unscrewed his oxygen tap and set the tank filter
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: into action, an automatic response conditioned by a lifetime spent
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: on a colony planet in an alien system. A faint
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: flux wind caught at him and swept yellow red dust
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: around his boots. Sunlight glittered around the metal root of
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: his family's housing unit, one of endless rows of squat
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: boxes set in the sandy slope, protected by the line
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: of ore refining installations against the horizon. He made an impatience,
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: seated and from the storage shed. His e e P
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: came gliding out, catching the sunlight on its chrome trim.
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: We're going down into carnate, Tony said, unconsciously, slipping into
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: the pass dialect. Hurry up. The ee P took up
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: its position behind him, and he started briskly down the
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: slope over the shifting sand toward the road. There were
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: quite a few traders out today. It was a good
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: day for the market. Only a fourth of the year
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: was fit for travel. Beetlejuice was an erratic and undependable sun,
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: not at all like Saul. According to the edgey tapes
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: fed to Tony four hours a day, six days a week.
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: He had never seen saul himself. He reached the noisy road.
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: Pas Eudetti were everywhere, whole groups of them, with their
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: primitive combustion driven trucks, battered in filthy motors. Grinding protestingly,
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: he waved at the trucks as they pushed past him.
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: After a moment, one slowed down. It was piled with
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: tiss bundled heaps of gray vegetables, dried and prepared for
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: the table, a staple of the passe Eudetti diet. Behind
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: the wheel lounged a dark faced elderly pass one arm
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: over the open window, ay rolled a leaf between his lips.
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: He was like all other passe Eudetti, lank and hard shelled,
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: encased in a brittle sheath in which he lived and died.
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: You an a ride, the posse murmured required protocol when
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: an earthmen on foot was encountered. Is there room for
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: my e e p The passe made a careless motion
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: with his claw. I can run behind. Sardonic amusement touched
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: his ugly old face. If it gets to carnet, we'll
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: sell it for scrap. We can use a few condensers
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: in relay tubing. We're sharp on the electronic maintenance stuff.
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: I know, Tony said solemnly, as he climbed into the
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: cabin of the truck. It's all and sent to the
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: big repair base at Oriyon one for you. Warfleet. Amusement
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: vanished from the leathery face. Yes, the war fleet. He
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: turned away and started up the truck again. In the back,
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: Tony's E E P had scrambled up on the load
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: of tists and was gripping precariously with its magnetic lines.
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: Tony noticed the pass Eudetti's sudden change of expression, and
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: he was puzzled. He started to speak to him, but
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: now he noticed unusual quietness among the other pass in
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: the other trucks behind and in front of his own.
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: The war, of course, it had swept through this system
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: a century ago. These people had been left behind. Now
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: all eyes were on Orion, on the battle between the
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: Terran warfleet and the pass Eudetti collection of armed freighters.
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: Is it true, Tony asked carefully, that you're winning. The
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: elderly Passe grunted, we're rumors, Tony considered. My father says
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: Tara went ahead too fast. He says, we should have consolidated.
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: We didn't assemble adequate supply bases. He used to be
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: an officer when he was younger. He was with the
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: fleet for two years. The Pause was silent a moment.
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: It's true, he said at last, that one years so
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: far from home, supply is a great problem. We, on
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: the other hand, don't have that. We have no distances
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: to cover. Do you know anybody fighting? I have distant relatives?
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: The answer was vague. The Pause obviously didn't want to
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: talk about it. Have you ever seen your war fleet?
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: Not as it exists now? When the system was defeated,
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: most of our units were wiped out. Remnants limped to
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: Orion and joined the Orion fleet. Your relatives were with
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: the remnants. That's right. Then you were alive when this
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: planet was taken. Why do you ask? The old Pause
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: quivered violently, what business is it of yours? Tony leaned
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: out and watched the walls and building of Cornet grow
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: ahead of them. The Carnate was an old city. It
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: had stood thousands of years. The pass Yudetti civilization was stable.
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: It had reached a certain point of technocratic development and
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: then leveled off. The Pause had inter system ships that
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: had carried people and freight between planets in the days
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: before the Terran confederation. They had combustion driven cars, audiophones,
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: a power network of magnetic type, and their plumbing was satisfactory,
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: and their medicine was highly advanced. They had art forms
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: emotional and exciting. They had a vague religion. Who do
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: you think will win the battle? Tony asked, I don't know.
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: With a sudden jerk, the old pause brought the truck
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: to a crashing halt. This is as far as I go.
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: Please get out and take your ee with you. Tony
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: faltered in surprise. But aren't you going no farther? Tony
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: pushed the door open. He was vaguely uneasy. There was
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: a hard, fixed expression on the leathery face, and the
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: old creature's voice had a sharp edge he had never
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: known before. Thanks, he murmured. He hopped down into the
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: red dust and signaled his eep. It released its magnetic lines,
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: and instantly the truck started up with a roar. Passing
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: on inside the city. Tony watched it go, still dazed.
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: The hot dust lapped at his ankles. He automatically moved
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: his feet and slapped at his trousers. A truck hanked,
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: and his EEP quickly moved him from the road up
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: to the level pedestrian ramp has Eudetti in swarms, moved
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: by endless lines of rural people hurrying into Carnate on
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: their daily business. A massive public bus set stopped by
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: the gate and was letting off passengers, male and female,
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: paws and children. They laughed and shouted. The sounds of
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: their voices blended with the low hum of the city.
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: Going in a sharp pause, yudetty voice sounded close behind him.
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: Keep moving, you're blocking the ramp. It was a young
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: female with a heavy armload clutched in her claws. Tony
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: felt embarrassed. Female pause had a certain telepathic ability, a
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: part of their sexual make up. It was effective on
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: earthmen at close range. Here, she said, give me a hand.
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: Tony nodded his head and the e e p accepted
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: the female's heavy armload. I'm visiting the city, Tony said,
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: as they moved with the crowd toward the gates. I
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: got a ride most of the way, but the driver
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: let me off here. You're from the settlement, yes, she
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: eyed him critically. You've always lived here, haven't you. I
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: was born here. My family came here from Earth four
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: years before I was born. My father was an officer
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: in the fleet. He earned an immigration priority. So you've
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: never seen your own planet? How old are you? Ten years? Tarin?
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: You shouldn't have asked the driver so many questions. They
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: passed through the decontamination shield and into the city, and
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: information square loomed ahead. Paws Men and women were packed
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: around it. Moving chutes and transport cars rumbled everywhere, buildings
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: and ramps and open air machinery. The city was sealed
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: in a protective dust proof envelope. Tony unfastened his helmet
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: and clipped it to his belt. The air was stale, smelling, artificial,
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: but usable. Let me tell you something, the young female
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: said carefully as she strode along the foot ramp beside Tony.
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: I wonder if this is a good day for you
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: to come into Carnate. I know you've been coming here
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: regularly to play with your friends, but perhaps today you
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: ought to stay at home in your settlement. Why because
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: today everybody is upset. I know, Tony said. My mother
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: and father were upset. They were listening to the news
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: from our base in the Ridual system. I don't mean
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: your family. Other people are listening to these people here
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: my race. They're upset, all right, Tony admitted, But I
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: come here all the time. There's nobody to play with
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: at the settlement. And anyhow, we're working on a project,
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: a model spaceport. That's right. Tony was envious. I sure
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: wish I was a telepath. It must be fun. The
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: female pas Yudetti was silent. She was deep in thought.
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: What would happen? She asked, if your family left here
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: and returned to Earth, that couldn't happen. And there's no
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: room for us on Earth. Sea bombs destroyed most of
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: it Asia and North America back in the twentieth century.
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: Suppose you had to go back. Tony did not understand.
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: But we can't habitable portions of Earth are overcrowded. Our
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: main problem is finding places for Terence to live in
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: other systems, he added. And anyhow, I don't particularly want
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: to go to Terra. I'm used to it here, all
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: my friends are here. I'll take my packages. The female said,
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: I go this other way down this third level ramp.
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: Tony nodded to his eep and it lowered the bundles
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: into the female's claws. She lingered a moment, trying to
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: find the right words. Good luck, she said, with what
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: she smiled faintly ironically, with your model's spaceport. I hope
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: you and your friends get to finish it. Of course,
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: we'll finish it, Tony said, surprised it's almost done. What
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: did she mean to? Part one of Tony and the
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: Beatles Tony and the Beatles by Philip K. Dick tart TiO.
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. The pass
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: Yudetti woman hurried off before he could ask her. Tony
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: was troubled and uncertain. More doubts filled him. After a moment,
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: he headed slowly into the lane that took him toward
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: the residential section of the city, passed the stores and factories,
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: to the place where his friends lived. The group of
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: pass Udetti children eyed him silently as he approached. They
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: had been playing in the shade of an immense hinello,
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: whose ancient branches drooped and swayed with the air currents
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: pumped through the city. Now they sat unmoving. I didn't
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: expect you today, but Prith said in an expressionless voice.
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: Tony halted awkwardly, and does eep did the same. How
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: are things he murmured, fine, I got a ride part
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: way fine. Tony squatted down in the shade. None of
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: the pause children stirred. They were small, not as large
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: as Terran children. Their shells had not hardened and had
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: not turned dark and opaque like horn. It gave them
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: a soft, unformed appearance, but at the same time it
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: lightened their load. They moved more easily than their elders.
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: They could hop and skip around still, but they were
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: not skipping right now? What's the matter? Tony demanded, what's
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: wrong with everybody? No one answered? Where's the model? He asked,
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: have you fellows been working on it? After a moment,
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: Liar nodded slightly. Tony felt dull anger rise up inside him.
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: Say something, what's the matter? What are you all mad about? Mad?
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: But Prith echoed, We're not mad. Tony scratched aimlessly in
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: the dust. He knew what it was, the war again,
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: the battle going on near Orion. His anger burst up wildly.
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: Forget the war. Everything was fine yesterday before the battle. Sure,
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: Liar said, it was fine. Tony caught the edge of
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: his voice. It happened a hundred years ago, It's not
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: my fault, sure, Beprith said, This is my home, isn't it.
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: Haven't I got as much right here as anybody else.
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: I was born here, sure, Liar said, tonelessly. Tony appealed
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: to them helplessly. Do you have to act this way?
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: You didn't act this way yesterday. I was here yesterday.
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: All of us were here yesterday. What's happened since yesterday?
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: The battle? Beprith said, What difference does that make? Why
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: does that change? Everything's all ways war? There have been
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: battles all the time as long as I can remember.
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: What's different about this? But Prith broke apart a clump
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: of dirt with his strong claws. After a moment, he
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: tossed it away and got slowly to his feet. Well,
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: he said, thoughtfully, according to our audio relay, it looks
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: as if our fleet is going to win this time. Yes,
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: Tony agreed, not understanding. My father says we didn't build
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: up adequate supply bases. We'll probably have to fall back to.
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: And then the impact hit him. You mean for the
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: first time in one hundred years, yes, Liar said, also
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: getting up. The others got up too. They moved away
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: from Tony toward the nearby house. We're winning. The Terran
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: flank was turned half an hour ago. Your right wing
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: has folded completely. He was stunned. And it matters, It
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: matters to all of you, matters. But Prith halted, suddenly
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: blazing out in fury. Sure, it matters. For the first
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: time in a century, the first time in our lives,
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: we are beating you. We have you on the run. You,
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: He choked out the word, almost spat it out, you
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: white grubs. They disappeared into the house. Tony sat gazing
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: stupidly down at the ground, his hands still moving aimlessly.
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: He had heard the word before, seen it scrawled on
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: walls and in the dust near the settlement. White grubs
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: the pause term of derision for Terreans because of their softness,
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: their whiteness, lack of hard shells, pulpy Doey's skin. But
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: they had never dared say it out loud before to
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: an earthman's face. Beside him. His eep stirred restlessly, its
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: intricate radio mechanism sense the hostile atmosphere. Automatic relays were
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: sliding into place, Circuits were opening and closing. It's all right, Tony, murmured,
• 31:16
  Speaker 1: getting slowly up, maybe we'd better go back. He moved
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: unsteadily toward the ramp, completely shaken. The eep walked calmly ahead,
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: its metal face blank and confident, feeling nothing, saying nothing.
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: Tony's thoughts were a wild turmoil. He shook his head,
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: but the crazy spinning kept up. He couldn't make his
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: mind slow down, Lock in place, Wait a minute, a
• 31:44
  Speaker 1: voice said, But Prith's voice from the open doorway, cold
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: and withdrawn, almost unfamiliar. What do you want? But Brith
• 31:52
  Speaker 1: came toward him, claws behind his back in the formal
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: pass Judetti posture used between strangers. You shouldn't have come
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: here to day, I know, Tony said. But Prith got
• 32:08
  Speaker 1: out a bit of tiss stalk and began to roll
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: it into a tube. He pretended to concentrate on it. Look,
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: he said. You said you have a right here, but
• 32:19
  Speaker 1: you don't. I Tony murmured, do you understand why not?
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: You said? It isn't your fault. I guess not. But
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: it's not my fault either. Maybe it's stillbody's fault. I've
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: known you a long time, five years, tarran, But Prith
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: twisted the stalk up and tossed it away. Yesterday we
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: played together. We worked on the spaceport. But we can't
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: play to day. My family said to tell you not
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: to come here any more. He hesitated and did not
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: look Tony in the face. I was going to tell
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: you anyhow before they said anything. Oh, Tony said, everything
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: that's happened today, the battle our fleets stand. We didn't know.
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: We didn't dare hope. You see a century of running
• 33:08
  Speaker 1: first this system, then the Rigel system, all the planets,
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: then the other Orion stars. We fought here and there
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: scattered fights. Those that got away joined up. We supplied
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: the base at Orion. You people didn't know, but there
• 33:23
  Speaker 1: was no hope, at least nobody thought there was. He
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: was silent a moment. Funny, He said, what happens when
• 33:32
  Speaker 1: you're backs to the wall and there isn't any further
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: place to go, Then you have to fight if our
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: supply bases. Tony began thickly, but Beprith cut him off savagely.
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: You're supply bases, don't you understand we're beating you. Now.
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: You'll have to get out all you white grubs out
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: of our system. Tony's eep moved forward. I'm gonna but
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: Preth saw it. He bent down, snatched up a rock,
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: and hurled it straight at the EEP. The rock clanged
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: off the metal hull and bounced harmlessly away, but Pith
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: snatched up another rock. Lire and the others came quickly
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: out of the house. An adult pause loomed up behind them.
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: Everything was happening too fast. More rocks crashed against the EEP.
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: One struck Tony on the arm. Get out, but Prith screamed,
• 34:30
  Speaker 1: don't come back. This is our planet. His claws snatched it. Tony.
• 34:36
  Speaker 1: We'll tear you to pieces if you. Tony smashed him
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: in the chest. The soft shell gave like rubber, and
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: the paws stumbled back. He wabbled and fell over, gasping
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: and screeching. Beagle. Tony breathed hoarsely. Suddenly he was terrified.
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: A crowd of pastudetti was forming rapidly. They surged on
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: all sides, hushed, little faces, dark and angry, a rising
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: thunder of rage. More stones showered, some struck the EEP.
• 35:09
  Speaker 1: Others fell around Tony near his boots. One whizzed past
• 35:12
  Speaker 1: his face. Quickly he slid his helmet in place. He
• 35:16
  Speaker 1: was scared. He knew his eep's E signal had already
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: gone out, but it would be minutes before a ship
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: could come. Besides, there were other Earthmen in the city
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: to be taken care of. There were earthmen all over
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: the planet, in all the cities, on all the twenty
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: three Beetle Juice planets, on the fourteen Ridio planets, on
• 35:36
  Speaker 1: the other Orion planets. We have to get out of here,
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: he muttered to the EEP, do something. A stone hit
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: him on the helmet. The plastic cracked, air leaked out,
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: and then the auto seal filmed over. More stones were falling.
• 35:53
  Speaker 1: The paws swarmed close, a yelling, seething mass of black,
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: sheathed creatures. He could smell them, the acrid body odor
• 36:02
  Speaker 1: of insects. Hear their claws snap, feel their weight. The
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: EEP threw its heat beam on The beams shifted in
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: a wide band toward the crowd of pass Yudetti crude
• 36:15
  Speaker 1: hand weapons appeared. A clatter of bullets burst around Tony.
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: They were firing at the EP. He was dimly aware
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: of the metal body beside him. A shuddering crash. The
• 36:28
  Speaker 1: eep was toppled over. The crowd poured over it. The
• 36:33
  Speaker 1: metal hull was lost from sight like a demented animal.
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: The crowd tore at the struggling EEP. A few of
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: them smashed in its head. Others tore off struts and
• 36:45
  Speaker 1: shiny arm sections. The eep seesed struggling. The crowd moved away,
• 36:52
  Speaker 1: panting and clutching jagged remains. They saw Tony as the
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: first line of them reach for him. The protective envelope
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: high above them shattered. A Terran scout ship thundered down
• 37:06
  Speaker 1: heat beams, screaming. A crowd scattered in confusion, some firing,
• 37:11
  Speaker 1: some throwing stones, others leaping for safety. Tony picked himself
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: up and made his way unsteadily toward the spot where
• 37:19
  Speaker 1: the Scout was landing. I'm sorry, Joe Rossi said gently.
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: He touched his son on the shoulder. I shouldn't have
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: let you go down there today. I should have known.
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: Tony sat hunched over in the big plastic easy chair.
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: He rocked back and forth, face pale with shock. The
• 37:39
  Speaker 1: Scout ship, which had rescued him, had immediately headed back
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: toward Cornet. There were other Earthmen to bring out besides
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: this first load. The boy said nothing. His mind was blank.
• 37:52
  Speaker 1: He still heard the roar of the crowd, felt its hate,
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: a sentry of pent up fury and reth. The memory
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: drove out everything else. It was all around him even now,
• 38:05
  Speaker 1: and the sight of the floundering eep, the metallic ripping
• 38:09
  Speaker 1: sound as its arms and legs were torn off and
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: carried away. His mother dabbed at his cuts and scratches
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: with antiseptic. Joe Rossy shakily lit a cigarette and said,
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: if your Ep hadn't been along, they'd have killed you. Beetles,
• 38:27
  Speaker 1: He shuddered. I never should have let you go down
• 38:30
  Speaker 1: there all this time. They might have done it any time,
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: any day. Knife you cut you open with their filthy,
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: goddamn claws. Below the settlement, the reddish yellow sunlight glinted
• 38:45
  Speaker 1: on gun barrels already dull booms echoed against the crumbling hills.
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: The defense ring was going into action. Black shapes darted
• 38:55
  Speaker 1: and scurried up the side of the slope. Black patches
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: moved out from Carnie toward the Terran settlement across the
• 39:02
  Speaker 1: dividing line the Confederation surveyors had set up a century
• 39:06
  Speaker 1: ago carnate was a bubbling pot of activity. The whole
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: city rumbled with feverish excitement. Tony raised his head. They
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: turned our flank. Yeah, Joe Rossi stumped out a cigarette.
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: They sure did. That was at one o'clock. At two,
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: they drove a wedge right through the center of our line,
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: split the fleet in half, broke it up, sent it running,
• 39:34
  Speaker 1: picked us off one by one as we fell back.
• 39:38
  Speaker 1: Christ they're like maniacs now that they've got the scent,
• 39:42
  Speaker 1: the taste of our blood. But it's getting better. Leah fluttered.
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: Our main fleet units are beginning to appear. We'll get them.
• 39:52
  Speaker 1: Joe muttered. It'll take a while, but by god, we'll
• 39:55
  Speaker 1: wipe them out, every last one of them. If it
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: takes up thousand years, we'll follow every last ship down.
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: We'll get them all. His voice rose to a frenzy beatles.
• 40:09
  Speaker 1: Goddamn insects when I think of them trying to hurt
• 40:13
  Speaker 1: my kid with their filthy black claws. If you were younger,
• 40:18
  Speaker 1: you'd be in the line, Lea said, it's not your fault.
• 40:20
  Speaker 1: You're too old. The heart strain's too great. You did
• 40:24
  Speaker 1: your job. They can't let an older person take chances.
• 40:27
  Speaker 1: It's not your fault. Joe clenched his fists. I feel
• 40:32
  Speaker 1: so futile. If there was only something I could do.
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: The fleet will take care of them, Lea said, soothingly.
• 40:41
  Speaker 1: You said so yourself. They'll hunt every one of them down,
• 40:45
  Speaker 1: destroy them all. There's nothing to worry about. Joe sagged miserably.
• 40:51
  Speaker 1: It's no use. Let's cut it out. Let's stop kidding ourselves.
• 40:55
  Speaker 1: Oh what do you mean, face it. We're not going
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: to win, not this time. We went too far. Our
• 41:05
  Speaker 1: times come. There was silence. Tony sat up a little.
• 41:11
  Speaker 1: When did you know? I've known a long time. I
• 41:16
  Speaker 1: found out today. I didn't understand that first. This is
• 41:20
  Speaker 1: stolen ground. I was born here, but it's stolen ground. Yes,
• 41:25
  Speaker 1: it's stolen. It doesn't belong to us. We're here because
• 41:30
  Speaker 1: we're stronger. But now we're not stronger. We're being beaten.
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: They know Terrans can be licked like anybody else. Joe
• 41:41
  Speaker 1: Rossy's face was gray and flabby. We took their planets
• 41:45
  Speaker 1: away from them. Now they're taking them back. It'll be
• 41:48
  Speaker 1: a while, of course, we'll retreat slowly. It'll be another
• 41:53
  Speaker 1: five centuries going back. There are a lot of systems
• 41:56
  Speaker 1: between here and Saul. Tony shook his head, still uncomprehending,
• 42:02
  Speaker 1: even lyar in bebreath, all of them waiting for their
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: time to come, for us to lose and go away
• 42:08
  Speaker 1: again where we came from. Joe Rossi paced back and forth. Yeah,
• 42:14
  Speaker 1: we'll be retreating from now on, giving ground instead of
• 42:18
  Speaker 1: taking it. It'll be like this today, Losing fights draws
• 42:23
  Speaker 1: stalemates and worse. He raised his feverish eyes toward the
• 42:27
  Speaker 1: ceiling of the little metal housing unit, face while with
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: passion and misery. But by God, we'll give them a
• 42:36
  Speaker 1: run for their money, all the way back, every inch.
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: End of Part two of Tony and the Beatles by
• 42:47
  Speaker 1: Philip K. Dick. These stories recorded by Phil Schinever, October
• 42:52
  Speaker 1: twenty twelve in Baton Rouge, Louisiana,