The Giants From Outer Space Part 10

"I was not lying. Give me some alcohol, Captain."

"No. How do I know it won't revive you?"

"My word on it."

Pink gave the hardest and briefest bark of laughter ever heard on the s.p.a.ceways. It became silent. Finally he leaned forward to stare at it.

"Your eyes have faded," he said. "By G.o.d, I think you aren't paralyzed.

I think you're dying!"

After another silence it said, "Yes. I am dying."

"I couldn't be happier," said Pinkham viciously. "I even hope it's painful."

"It is not. The only pain came with the pa.s.sage through my molecules of the l--" it halted abruptly.

"Ah," said Pink, hefting the Colt. "Of the lead. It had to be that, of course; but thanks for rea.s.suring me. Your tribe's allergic to lead in a rather high degree."

The flames leaped in its eyes. "I haven't told you anything so valuable," it said, with a kind of weak bravado. "There are too many of us, too few of you, and not enough lead in this whole system to conquer us. You have found the secret, but you'll never carry it back to Earth.

My people shall go there instead, when they have sucked the methods from your broken body."

"When will you die?" he asked it. In spite of his hatred, humanity was rising in him. It was beaten and he was too much of a man to crow for long.

"I hear remorse in your tone," said the alien. "For the love of G.o.d, then, give me some alcohol."

He remembered the headless corpse of Wright. He said, "No."

Perhaps a quarter of an hour pa.s.sed. It began to talk to itself in a monotone, a sort of feverish delirium.

"I never thought of it, at least not often, for I steered my mind away from it; but once a decade or every thirty years I would remember, perhaps one of us would say, 'Oh, to have a flagon of palm wine,' and then the agony of desire would wrack me until I must fight my body and tear it proton from proton so that I hurt badly and the remembrance would leave me. _Al-kuhl, al-kuhl!_ Why in all the universe must there be this one combination of stupid elements which drags every fleck of yearning from me like water wrung from a cloth? My race needs nothing, nothing--we long for nothing--we are the only self-sufficient beings in creation--why do we remember the _al-kuhl?_"

"Like a _keef_-smoker," said Pinkham quietly. "You don't long for anything else." After a little he added, "And you fear nothing save lead."

"True," said the being distractedly. "If it were not for lead and alcohol we would be perfect G.o.ds."

"Who are you?" Pink asked, conscious that his throat was constricted with excitement. "When did you leave Earth? Why don't I recognize you, out of history? What are you called?"

He had tried too hard. The alien rolled its dimmed eyes at him. "I wish I could smile now," it said through motionless lips. "Ah, if I could only smile knowingly! You will die today with that curiosity unslaked."

He was balefully angry at that; he leaped to his feet, thrusting out the revolver. "If I throw another slug into you, it just might hurt some more," he roared.

"I would rather die in pain than see your questions answered. I know well that curiosity is the worst torment to an Englishman."

"I'm not English," said Pink.

"It's all the same. I might as well have said 'human.'"

Pink recalled that he had the Colt, and so could take a few chances.

"I'll trade you. One drop of brandy for each answer."

It considered. Then, without budging, it gave the effect of a shrug.

"Why not? You'll be dead soon."

"You're so sure," said Pink.

"Look at your scanner."

There was something in the words that sent Pink racing. He was only just in time to see the finish of all his new-born hopes.

The _Cottabus_ and _Diogenes_ were approaching at a slowing pace; the _Elephant's Child_ had deactivated her drive to wait for them. Whether the captains of the sister ships saw them or not, Pink could not tell; but a number of the s.p.a.ce giants, so reduced in size as to be mere blots on the screen, hovered in the area.

As the ships gradually lost speed, a giant appeared atop each, growing rapidly from eight feet to a thousand, till they straddled the great ships like riders on Shetland ponies.

The thing on the floor chuckled. "We are much more comfortable at that size, you see, Captain. We don't like to cramp our molecular structure into these puny dimensions. We can get into bottles--but we prefer to expand as you see." Then it laughed. "Yes, there is one of us on your own flagship at this instant, where he has been waiting, compressed, till the others caught their seats. Your ships are captured as surely as in a net. You cannot dislodge them, as you know. You must carry them to Earth so, or capitulate and let them inside."

There was no sc.r.a.p of fear that he would carry these devils to Earth, naturally. But for the moment, Pink could see no sure way to escape the doom that now lay over him and all his men. They would have to remain in this asteroid belt ... perhaps forever.

CHAPTER XV

The three s.p.a.ceships lay together in the void.

In the _Elephant's Child_, 57 men, seven officers, and Circe Smith were seated in the demolished recreation room, which was the only place besides the mess hall with enough chairs to accommodate them all. Radio communication with the other ships was handled over an extension set connected to the main radio room by a triple quancord laid down with furious energy by Sparks.

"What we need, and need fast, is this," said Pinkham. "A method by which we can project lead, in pellets or spray or any d.a.m.n form, with accuracy, using our platinum guns. There aren't any other weapons that will fire from within."

"As you know, we've tried a few methods. One of the gunners of the _Cottabus_ went into an air-lock and tossed a lead ball at the giant on the _Diogenes_, using a sling-gun. He found the range was too long; and when the captain attempted to bring the _Cottabus_ nearer, the thing on _Diogenes_ simply reared his ship up by shifting his weight backward. So long as they can maneuver our ships as easily as toy boats, we can't use that simple method.

"Then _Diogenes_ tried to smash our giant off his perch by simply ramming him headlong. Take a look at the screen and you'll see that _Diogenes_ has a dented nose for her pains. Five men died in that try."

"Captain," said a hydroponics engineer, "isn't it possible that, if we keep trying to oppose these aliens, they may simply tear their way into the ships and retaliate?"

"Quite possible. Their strength is equal to picking the _Elephant's Child_ apart, I'm sure." He glared at the men. "Listen: I don't have to pull punches with you. The chances of our getting rid of these giants and making it to Earth are d.a.m.ned remote. There may be a chance, though, so we have to keep trying for it.

"The most important thing we have to do is keep this life-form of the asteroids from going to Earth. We of the armada are a terrible danger to mankind, through no fault of ours. We're so many Typhoid Marys, potential carriers of something worse than any disease. Even if we're all killed, the giants might manage to learn the control of the ships, and take them to Terra alone.

"So if we can't wipe out the enemy, our only course is to destroy ourselves and our ships. Every officer in the armada has instructions to blow up his ship if the giants should break into it. The thing is so important that I've issued orders to do that even though the use of lead-thrower weapons might conquer the invaders.

"If giants seize a ship and it is not destroyed within five minutes, the other two will turn their platinum guns on it.

"Any questions?"

Jackson, who was spokesman for the crew, answered promptly, "No questions, sir."