The Third Science Fiction Megapack Page 11

  But he held on tight. “Come on, Marian, let’s dance!” He began to jump up and down on the spot. “Let’s pogo!” All his life he seemed to have been scared, or miserable or both. Knowing it couldn’t get any worse was weirdly liberating. “White Riot! White Riot! White, white, white, white riot!” He yelled at the top of his voice, trying to remember the lines to some of Auntie Beth’s obscurer taste in music.

  “Thom, for God’s sake!” Her shriek almost drowned out the distant rumbling.

  “No more heroes anymore!” He bellowed. “Dah-dah-DAH-dah-DAH-dah-dah-—”

  “THOM!”

  He paused, panting. He could hear the rumbling. “What’s it going to be, Marian? You want to die as well?” He still hadn’t let go of her.

  “I can give you the vaccine—”

  “What about Liv? The boys? An eight-year-old and a teenager—do they deserve to die because their Mum met the wrong bloke?”

  “I can only get one dose at the moment,” she gabbled, eyes wide. “I can get another tomorrow, maybe one the day after that, but I can’t get more than three—”

  “Do—they—deserve—to—die?” He shouted the words, and she shook her head as the rumbling grew louder. His head was splitting and he was freaking out; he thought it had gone dark for a moment, and that his paws—hands- had gripped stones.

  “No. No. I thought—” she shook her head, as if as confused as him. “I didn’t know about them. Of course they don’t.”

  “Then get them the vaccine!” Thom begged. “Give Liv one dose tonight.”

  “But what about you?”

  “I’m a dead man, anyway, aren’t I?” Thom said, knowing that it was true. What was there to look forward to? Empty days of watching TV and screwing a woman he didn’t love, or living in poverty with the one he did. “They just haven’t turned off my heart yet,” he said. “Do you promise, Marian? Promise to get them the vaccine? To take care of them?”

  Marian nodded, as the rumbling grew louder—

  —It’s scrabbling at the stones, the scent of the prey nearly enough to make it swoon, but there are rocks in the way, if it can just get through…

  “Run, Marian!” He shouted, jumping away from her. “Tip-toe, but tip-toe bloody quick, woman! Run for your life! And look after them!”

  He pogo-ed, shouting and singing in a circle around another pushed up slab. He risked a look, and Marian was half-running, half-skipping in an erratic dance up the steps. He shouted, “Marian! Blacktongue attracts them!”

  “What?”

  “I can share their thoughts!” He saw her mouth hang open. “I can sense another one!”

  He took the phone from his pocket; whispered, “Bye, love.”

  He could smell wet fur and earth and carrion. He started to sing Redemption Song as the slabs in front of him erupted.

  CHARON’S CURSE, by John Glasby

  The ship from Earth was a mere thirty thousand miles from Jupiter when Major Melvin Jamieson entered the control room. An important man in spite of his unimpressive appearance; his sharp features outlined a hard mouth which seemed set in a perpetual sneer. Carl Naysmith, the captain of the Endeavor gave him a brief nod of recognition, then gestured him towards a chair.

  As you see, Major,” Naysrnith said, waving a hand towards the large visiplate, “the Endeavor is on schedule. Another seventeen days and we should reach the orbit of Pluto, the first manned vessel to venture to the outer reaches of the solar system.”

  Jamieson gave the visiplate a cursory glance, then said without preamble, “I’ve just opened the orders given me before we left Earth.” He held up the sheet of paper in his hand. “I’ve already carried out the first part of them. All of the molecular disruptors have been armed and are ready to be deployed on my command.” He tried to shape his mouth into a grim smile and failed miserably.

  “May I ask why you’ve done that?” Naysmith asked. “I’ve received no such orders and as captain of this vessel—”

  Jamieson interrupted him brusquely and consulted the paper in his hand. “Whether you’re aware of it or not, Captain Naysmitn, the First Directive issued by the Terran Government is that the entire solar system must be made absolutely safe for human colonization. Five years ago, Mars was completely sterilized to ensure that no unknown or dangerous organisms exist there.

  “We’ve known for some time that large oceans exist beneath the ice on Europa, Jupiter’s fourth largest moon. Evidence gathered from the last unmanned probe to this planet shows that some form of alien life exists in those seas. The Directive specifically states that all forms of extraterrestrial life found in the solar system must be eliminated. That is why Euopa must be totally destroyed before such life can pose any threat to our future expansion.”

  “And I presume you’ll consult with Doctor Marland, the biologist on board, before you carry out this act of destruction?”

  “That won’t be necessary. I’ve no doubt she’ll object strongly to this course of action, but there’s nothing she can do to prevent it. The Directive overrules all other considerations.”

  “And what is it I’m unable to prevent?” Sheila Marland had entered the control room unnoticed.

  Before Jamieson could answer, Naysmith said, “Europa has to be destroyed. The military authorities on Earth believe there’s intelligent life in those oceans on that moon, life which could pose a threat to the human race.”

  “Nonsense. You can’t do that. If there is intelligent life there, it has to be studied scientifically, not destroyed. Any life that exists on Europa is either some form of marine life, or simply a very primitive kind like that in Earth’s oceans a billion years ago.”

  She turned to Naysmith. “Can’t you stop him, Carl? This is supposed to be a scientific expedition to study Pluto and its moon, not a military operation.”

  Naysmith shrugged resignedly. “I’m afraid that the Prime Directive which the Major has overrules everything else. I don’t agree with it; in fact I object to it most strongly.”

  Jamieson walked towards the visiplate, staring intently at the awe-inspiring scene. Jupiter loomed vast to one side, the Great Red Spot showing clearly. Three of the moons were visible, with Europa very close to the center. Io lay closest to the ship with Ganymede further away.

  Without removing his gaze from the scene, Jamieson said sharply, “I want you to alter course slightly, Captain. I’ll give you the exact coordinates.”

  He waited until Naysmith had taken up his position at the controls, then reeled off the numbers. Slowly, the image changed until Europa hung against the blackness in the exact center of the screen. Taking a small communicator from his pocket, Jamieson spoke rapidly into it.

  There was no visible sign that anything was happening. The molecular disruptor beams were completely invisible. For almost five minutes, the picture on the visiplate remained unchanged. Then, without warning, Europa exploded. One second, the satellite was there; the next, it had vanished as completely as if it had never existed.

  Satisfied, Jamieson said, “You may now resume our course to Pluto, Captain. My work here is done for the time being.”

  When the military man had left the control room, Naysmith leaned back in his chair and ran a hand across his forehead. He knew Sheila was watching him closely with an expression of utter horror in her eyes.

  Finally, she said, “There was no reason for him to do that, you know. To destroy an entire species just because the Government thinks that, at some time in the distant future, they might pose a threat to Earth.”

  Naysmith sighed. “Unfortunately, the Government doesn’t think the way we scientists do.” As well as being captain of the Endeavor, he was also an eminent astronomer. “The only thing which concerns them is to colonize all of the possible planets and moons in the solar system. There isn’t enough room on Earth now. Mars is being; populated. The big corporations are setting up mining operations on most of the planetary moons.”

  “So why this expedition to Pluto?” Sheila eyed
the big viewing screen musingly. Already, Jupiter was failing away into the void behind them. Ahead lay mighty Saturn, Uranus and Neptune and then, far out towards the rim, tiny Pluto.

  “From what I’ve been able to learn, there’s something odd about Charon, its moon.”

  “Odd?”

  “Yes. One theory is that Pluto was once a satellite of Neptune, which was torn away from that planet millions of years ago. That would explain its peculiar elliptical orbit, but if that were the case, it would have been the only double satellite in the entire solar system. What makes it even more mysterious is that Charon is half the size of Pluto. I suppose you could call it a double planet.”

  “So you don’t go along with the theory that Pluto was once one of Neptune’s satellites?”

  “No. But I’m hoping we’ll find some answers when we get there.”

  “So how big is Charon?”

  “About seven hundred and fifty miles in diameter. It takes only six and a half days to go around Pluto, the same time that the planet rotates on its axis.”

  “So there shouldn’t be any problem landing on it?”

  “None that 1 can foresee. It’s composed primarily of ice, possibly frozen methane. At least, it’s highly improbable there’s any form of life there. We may be able to carry out our observations without Jamieson breathing down our necks, threatening to destroy everything in sight.”

  * * * *

  Fourteen days later, the Endeavor entered a decelerating orbit to match their velocity with that of Pluto. In the rear visiplate, the Sun was now nothing more than a very bright star. Ahead of the vessel, Pluto showed as a small disc with Charon readily visible under high magnification.

  The vessel was now on automatic and Naysmith had time to stand and watch the strange double world hanging against the utter blackness. So many questions to be answered, he thought. He could understand why Charon orbited the planet in exactly the same time it took Pluto to rotate on its axis. Gravity explained that quite satisfactorily. What he couldn’t fully understand was why Charon was there at all.

  A satellite half the size of the parent planet! Was it just a freak of planetary formation, which had happened in the far distant past when the solar system came into existence? Or was there some other explanation that continued to elude him? With an effort, he pushed these thoughts from his mind. All of this was mere speculation. Until they actually landed on Charon and investigated that frozen moon thoroughly, everything was just conjecture.

  He glanced at the chronometer on the wall. A meeting had been convened in another five minutes. He knew that Jamieson would attend and the thought sparked a sense of anger. He had been led to believe that this was purely a scientific mission, yet already the other had shown, quite clearly, that the military were really in command. Scarcely had the thought crossed his mind than the door slid open and Jamieson came in. There were two military men behind him and Naysmith felt his emotions harden still further as the men took up positions on either side of the door. Sheila Marland entered two minutes later.

  She threw the soldiers a quick glance but said nothing, keeping her thoughts to herself.

  When they were seated, Naysmith said tautly, “Now that we’ve almost reached our objective, it’s time to decide on what we intend to do. Our prime function, as I see it, is to make a landing on Charon. The general belief is that this satellite is composed solely of methane ice with no rocky core. However, until we’ve carried out drilling operations, we can’t be absolutely certain of that.”

  Jamieson turned to Sheila. “I understand you’re also a microbiologist. You intend to take samples and examine them for the presence of bacteria and other microorganisms?”

  “That’s correct. We know there are a few which could probably survive even under the extreme conditions we have here.”

  “And if you find any?”

  “Naturally, we’ll study them—under strict laboratory conditions, of course. We have all of the necessary facilities here on board the ship.”

  Jamieson pursed his lips into a hard line. “I’m not sure I can allow that. Bringing unknown organisms on board the ship could pose a highly dangerous threat to all of us.”

  “So your answer would be to vaporize Charon just as you did Europa?” Naysmith sat taut and straight in his chair. He had no doubt this was the only course open to men such as Jamieson. Kill anything that was not indigenous to Earth, without reason, without question.

  He now realized why almost all of the crew were soldiers acting under the Major’s direct command. The Terran Government evidently wanted Pluto and Charon as armed outposts on the rim of the solar system—either to guard against imaginary invaders from some other planetary system, or jumping off points whenever they succeeded in venturing out to the stars. He felt suddenly sick in his stomach. Clearly there was no place for true scientists now.

  * * * *

  Against the light gravity, the Endeavor landed without incident. All around the ship, amid the eternal silence, lay a great sheet of ice. Pluto stood poised above the completely smooth horizon. Now, after the long days and weeks of the journey, everything was a hive of activity.

  In the control room, Carl and Sheila stood watching the scene outside, ready to suit up. The landscape was unlike anything Carl had seen before. Over the past ten years, he had visited a number of the satellites of Jupiter and Saturn, had walked on the red deserts of Mars. But in all these instances, there had been variations in the terrain. Craters and the ancient riverbeds of Mars, strewn with huge boulders, throwing grotesque shadows across the ground. Even the moons of the major planets were pockmarked by meteoric impacts.

  But outside the vessel, the ground appeared perfectly smooth as far as the eye could see with scarcely a blemish to mar the surface. It seemed utterly unreal.

  Sheila came to stand beside him. “Ready to go out?” she asked.

  He gave a shaky nod. “Somehow, I’ve got a funny feeling about all of this.”

  “That’s nothing more than your imagination, Carl. I felt the same when I first went to the Moon, standing on a new world so different from Earth. Nothing has happened here for billions of years. I’d say it’s the one place in the entire solar system where nothing has ever happened.”

  “Let’s hope you’re right. Because at the first sign of anything he doesn’t understand, Jamieson will have this world, and probably Pluto as well, vaporized.”

  Ten minutes later they prepared to step out of the ship and onto the Charonian surface. The suits they wore were far different to those worn by the first astronauts decades earlier. Made of plastimetal, they clung to every contour of the body, allowing complete freedom of movement. Only the much lower gravity hampered them a little as they climbed down the short metal-runged ladder and stepped onto the incredibly smooth ground. Ice crystals gave slightly beneath their boots.

  Above their heads, the sky was black but filled with more stars than Naysmith had ever seen. He noticed that Jamieson, some distance away, was also staring up into the heavens but Naysmith guessed that the Major’s thought were far different to his own. To the Major, those multitudinous points of light represented more worlds to conquer once the solar system had been colonized and a faster than light propulsion system could be developed. At the moment, that was just a dream—but it might be realized some time in the future and then men like Jamieson would come into their own.

  He experienced a sudden hatred for the man and all he stood for, but the feeling passed instantly. Quite without warning, the ground beneath his feet shuddered. He saw the others who had come out of the ship—Sheila, Jamieson and three soldiers who were manhandling the heavy drilling equipment down the ladder, stagger and fall as the intensity of the quake hurled them off their feet.

  The low gravity prevented any injury. Getting cautiously to his feet, he stared about him, seeking the origin of this strange phenomenon. At first, he could see nothing out of the ordinary. The glassy surface appeared unchanged.

  Then he noticed Sh
eila pointing and turned as quickly as he could. Perhaps two miles away, a gaping circular hole showed in the ground. Even from that distance, it looked huge. A beam of intensely brilliant light poured from it.

  The small ultrawave communicator in his helmet crackled faintly. Then Jamieson’s harsh voice sounded.

  “All of you! Remain where you are. No one is to go near that hole—or whatever it is—until we know what we’re dealing with. Quite clearly, Charon is not as devoid of life as we thought.”

  Naysmith spoke tersely, knowing his voice would reach everyone wearing a space helmet. “Whatever it is, Jamieson, we’ll find out nothing just standing here.” Moving awkwardly in the low gravity, he edged towards the gaping aperture.

  “Stay where you are, Captain,” Jamieson cut in.

  Naysmith continued walking. “I’m not under your command, Major,” he called back. “I came here to carry out scientific observations, along with Doctor Marland.”

  There was a pause, then the Major’s voice came on again as he attempted to assert his authority. “Don’t forget that the military came along for your protection, Naysmith.”

  “I’m aware of that,” Carl answered. “But this is a scientific expedition. This is something we never expected, something we nave to investigate. By all means have your men ready for any danger.”

  Cautiously, Naysmith approached the vast circular aperture. The strange radiance still poured upward from it but now it was less brilliant. Sheila came to stand beside him, clinging tightly to his arm as they both stared down into the stupendous sight.

  The sides of the tremendous shaft were perfectly smooth, every single detail clearly delineated in the light. It seemed to stretch down into the very core. Along its length were wide, circular openings, clearly extending laterally in all directions.

  “What in God’s name is it?” Sheila’s voice was oddly muted in his communicator.