The Edge Of Beyond, page 9
'Ah!' exclaimed the Professor, who had advanced as near as it was possible to get to one of the trees. 'What have we here? Some of this fruit has been picked, and recently. I can see where it has been torn off. Some has been thrown on the ground.'
`Are you sure it hasn't dropped off?' queried Toby.
The fruit on the ground is green, which I take to mean it is unripe. Fruit doesn't fall until it is ripe. It looks very much to me as if some fruit has been picked, and that not wanted, being unripe, left on the ground.'
`But who, or what, would pick it?' said Tiger. 'No animal could climb that tree, and a man couldn't reach the fruit without a ladder. Even then he would need to be careful, for to fall into those thorns would be a nasty business.'
`You have posed a question I cannot answer,' confessed the Professor.
Rex took a fresh interest in the landscape. Watching, he saw, or thought he saw, a movement. Something that might have been a head had bobbed up and down again, in the cactus as if to snatch a look at them. The doubt arose on account of the cactus. It seemed hardly possible that anything could move in such thorns. However, he thought he should warn the others.
`Mind how you go,' he told the Professor. 'I have a feeling we are being watched from the shrubbery.'
`I can see what look like tracks in it,' said Tiger. 'What did you see, Rex?'
`I thought I just caught sight of a movement, as if something had bobbed up and down again. There it is again. Either it has moved to another position or there are more than one. Hey! Look out!' he went on quickly, in a rising, startled voice, at the same time taking a pace backward, as from the area where he had seen the movement, shot up, in the manner of a jack-in-the-box, a figure that was undoubtedly a man — of sorts.
He was dark brown, or black, in colour, and naked except for a garment that looked like a piece of coconut matting draped across his body. He carried no weapon, Rex was glad to observe, particularly when several identical figures popped up beside the first.
With beetling brows, large ears, flat noses and wide mouths and long hair it was clear that they were savages of a most primitive type. They reminded Rex of the pictures he had seen of Australian aborigines. But appearances were not everything. The important question was, were they dangerous? The manner of their appearance puzzled him not a little. They did not get up as if they had been in a lying or crouching position. They shot straight up, erect, as if impelled by a spring, as if their legs had suddenly been extended in some extraordinary fashion.
`We'd better get back to the ship,' advised Tiger, for the others had of course seen what was happening. 'I don't like the look of that lot. If appearance is anything to go by they're capable of any devilment. I'd make a wager they're cannibals.'
`I see no need to hurry,' answered the Professor. 'They may be quite harmless. They must be the fellows who live in those huts we saw. I've seen worse-looking types on Earth. I wonder will they fraternize?' He took a pace towards them, hands extended, in what presumably was intended to be a sign of greeting. But he stopped short when with one accord the figures, without moving their positions, shot up at least another foot. 'Dear me,' said the Professor. 'What a remarkable performance. How tall are these odd creatures?'
`They must have telescopic legs,' declared Tiger, but in a tone of voice that suggested he was not really serious. 'It's either that or they must have concertina bodies,' he added.
`I suppose even that is not outside the bounds of possibility,' averred the Professor, pushing up his spectacles.
The natives began slowly to advance, chattering like a lot of monkeys.
`Let's get out of this,' urged Tiger, beginning to back away. `They mean trouble.'
But the Professor lingered. 'They appear to be unarmed,' he observed. 'Unless they have missiles of some sort they can't hurt us at this distance. Besides, we have the bushes between us, and they're as good as a barbed wire fence.'
The natives came on, their bodies going up and down as if they were in fact telescopic, providing a spectacle which was almost comic.
Curiously, perhaps, it did not occur to any of the spectators that what these peculiar people could do with their legs they could also do with their arms, which, admittedly, had not so far been seen at full length. They realized it quickly enough, however, and with a shock, when, although the men did not move their bodies, their arms suddenly appeared and came groping forward like the tentacles of an octopus. The only difference was they remained rigid. As they were extended so they shrank in diameter.
Tiger was the first to recover from the shock. 'Let's go,' he rapped out.
Rex needed no second invitation. Turning to retire he saw Vargo and the crew watching them from the door of the ship, beckoning furiously. Such encouragement was by this time unnecessary. As Rex had thought so apparently had the others and the return to the ship was in the nature of a rout.
Looking round when he reached the door Rex saw men coming from all directions, bobbing up and down like rabbits.
Whether or not they intended harm was still not clear, but no one, not even the Professor seemed inclined to wait and see. He and Tiger were the last to enter the ship. Each stood aside for the other to go in first, with the result that there was a momentary hesitation. This brief delay might have had serious consequences, for a long arm shot out and caught the Professor by the ankle. Tiger knocked it off with a sharp blow and they both bundled inside. Vargo slammed the door. Even before they were out of their kit the ship was well away.
`It is a pity we had to behave as we did,' said the Professor, sadly, putting on his spectacles, while they were still between the double doors. 'If they meant no harm they will be thinking we were a churlish lot.'
`If they did mean harm they can now kick themselves with their stilty legs for letting us get away,' growled Tiger. 'What could you do with people who could knock you down without you being able to reach them? I must say creation has produced some weird effects. That one was a masterpiece.'
`Strange to us, perhaps, but not to them,' replied the Professor. 'It goes to confirm the theory I have always held, that local conditions must produce different results.'
By the time they were inside the ship the planet was a fast shrinking ball of light far below.
For what possible reason could men have developed extending limbs?' questioned Toby, as they settled in their seats. 'There must have been a reason for it.'
`Without a doubt,' agreed the Professor.
For stepping over those horrible spiky bushes,' suggested Rex. 'Without long legs they wouldn't be able to get about without tearing their legs to pieces. Yet without collapsible legs they wouldn't be able to sit down or get into their huts.'
`There is a theory,' observed the Professor, 'that the giraffe evolved its long legs and neck in order to be able to reach the leaves of the trees on which it lives. As the fruit I saw grew only on the tops of the trees, and there was nothing else to eat as far as I could see, the same form of evolution may have been followed here with the peculiar modification that astonished us. It provides an enthralling problem the correct solution of which we shall never know.'
`That suits me,' muttered Tiger. 'Did you get the repair job finished, Vargo?'
`Yes. Just in time.'
`Are we going on to Ardilla?' asked Rex.
`I hope so,' said the Professor. 'I see no reason to turn back.'
10 Ray-struck
They were far out into the Minoan Second Region, with Ardilla a brilliant planet, dominating the sky when a suspicion slowly dawned on Rex that something was wrong, that something was happening, a feeling that all was not as it should be. He could find no reason for this. The ship and everything in it appeared to be perfectly normal. He told himself that he was losing his nerve, but try as he would he could not shake off the premonition that danger was present, or would be, presently.
He remembered what Rolto had said about a visit to Ardilla, and the expression on his face when he had made the suggestion. He remembered what Vargo had said, too, when he had repeated the conversation to him. Again, on more than one occasion Vargo had remarked on the strange effects that emanations of cosmic energy, and certain unknown rays, could have on the bodies and minds of men. He had not described these effects, either because he could not or was reluctant to do so. That these perils were real was proved by the behaviour of the crew, who at first seemed unwilling to undertake the voyage, and when they did agree had varnished their skins with what they claimed to be a ray repellent.
They were now in the section of space where such radiations, if they existed, might begin to make their presence felt. Were they already in operation or was his instinct of self-preservation anticipating them? pondered Rex, uneasily. He could not have explained in actual words how he felt. The nearest he could have got would have been to say a feeling of unreality, as if he were a distant spectator of a scene in which he played no part. In short, he was not himself. His body felt sluggish and his brain worked with difficulty as he strove to diagnose his symptoms.
After some time had passed without the feeling wearing off he looked at the others. They appeared to be behaving normally so he came to the conclusion that he was imagining things, or that he alone was suffering from some slight indisposition, perhaps the result of an unusually long exposure to the artificial conditions inside the ship. Had they picked up radioactivity on the last planet they had touched, the others would surely have been conscious of it by now.
Ardilla was by this time faintly gleaming in the sky. It might almost be said to be glowing, like an evil eye. Was it coincidence, wondered Rex, that his sensation of unreality, far from passing, was slowly becoming intensified? With a frown of perplexity on his face and alarm in his eyes he looked again at the others in turn. They were looking at him, and they, too, were frowning, as if they had suddenly become aware of something unusual. Moreover, in some peculiar way they appeared to have changed. Their expressions had an intense, fixed quality. Or was this, too, a trick of the imagination? wondered Rex vaguely. At all events the crew were unaffected. They were going about their duties in the ordinary way.
He was now finding it difficult to concentrate without an effort of will, and for a moment the alarming thought struck him that his memory might be failing. But he soon realized that this could not be the case because he could recall clearly some of the adventures they had shared, such as the panic flight away from that evil star Ardilla. Ardilla? But that was absurd! They had never been to Ardilla. They were on their way to it now. Or were they ... ? What was he thinking about? He clapped a hand to his head. What was the matter with him? Was he going out of his mind? How could he remember flying from Ardilla in a panic if he had never been there?
Rex moistened his lips, which had suddenly turned dry as fear mounted and set his heart beating faster. How could he remember things that had never happened? Or had these things happened? He didn't think so but he couldn't be sure. With a shock he realized that if he couldn't be sure of that he couldn't be sure of anything. His hands, he discovered, were trembling. He drew a sleeve across his forehead where beads of sweat were beginning to form. Why? Did the others know the answer? Why were they silent?
Speaking in a voice that seemed far away, a voice which he hardly recognized as his own, he asked the others if they were aware of anything unusual happening.
As in one voice they asked the same question at the same instant, and simultaneously to every face leapt an identical expression of bewilderment.
For a brief period they stared at each other, as if they were all striving, separately or collectively, to work out what was happening, or what had happened. The crew, Rex noticed, were still at their posts, apparently unaware of any change. He half rose in his seat to confirm that he still had the use of his limbs. The others did the same thing at exactly the same time. Rex stared. They all stared. And from then on every movement was made by them all in perfect unison, as if they were one person; or, to put it the other way, four persons actuated by a single brain. No one could do anything without the others doing precisely that same thing.
Now, dimly, Rex began to comprehend. Their minds were no longer their own in the individual sense. Did he think that? Or was it one of the others thinking? Then he realized that the same thought must have occurred to them all at the same instant. This was by no means easy to grasp. In fact, it tended to make a fantastic situation all the more confusing.
He took a grip on himself and tried to work it out. Oddly enough, it did not occur to him, which meant apparently that it did not occur to any of them, to ask Gator to turn back. Turn back from what? The only thing certain was that something had happened. Only their brains were affected. What had caused this? They were obviously under the influence of something, but what could it be? Was it some mysterious external agency that linked the past the present and the future into one entity without the usual punctuations of time?
Vaguely Rex suspected that this was not his own thought, for such a tremendous theory was beyond his mental capacity. That was what the Professor, with his superior brain, was thinking. What he thought they all thought. Somehow their brains had become synchronized. How? Why? Was this the effect of too close a contact with the universal cosmic rays? Or some unknown, even more powerful ray, that sprang from the very roots of creation? Were these rays themselves a form of mind, a brain, a thought-producing phenomenon?
Again Rex knew that this must be what the Professor was thinking, for such a staggering theory, such an incredible concept, would never have occurred to him. Only a master-mind could have imagined such a possibility.
From force of habit he reached out to take a caramel from the bag that lay on the table. As if operated by an automatic control the others did the same thing; but as four hands could not enter the bag together they were withdrawn, empty. Rex started to laugh foolishly, but checked himself when the others laughed. They all checked, and the laughter stopped abruptly.
Rex drew a deep breath. I'm mad, he told himself. We're all mad.
Another thought struck him — or struck one of them, who transmitted it to the others. It was a suspicion that if ever they returned to normal they would have no recollection of this weird experience because in this realm of supernatural forces there was no past. Or was there? And what of the future? Had he been in the future when he had seen them, or thought he had seen them, flying away from Ardilla? Ardilla! Was that the evil genius that had done this to them? Were they already in its fearful power?
It was Vargo who provided the answer. He happened to glance up, and either from their expressions or the rigid poise of their bodies must have recognized certain symptoms. For a second his eyes saucered. Then he uttered one sharp word to Gator, who was at the controls. Gator moved swiftly.
Exactly what happened after that Rex did not know. He never did know. There was a split second of terror as he felt that something inside him was being torn out. It was rather as if an electric current had been running through him and this had been suddenly switched off, leaving his muscles, which had been taut, slack. White light flashed in his eyes as if his brain had exploded. From white it turned to orange, to red, to purple, and finally black. He felt his body going limp and he knew no more.
When next he opened his eyes he was reclining in his seat. He yawned. 'I must have dropped off to sleep,' he told the others, who were also in their usual seats.
`I think we've all been asleep,' said the Professor. 'How very odd that we should all fall asleep together.'
`None of you were asleep,' said Vargo, quietly.
`Nonsense!' exclaimed the Professor. 'I know I've been asleep because I had a quite ridiculous dream.'
`So did I,' stated Rex.
`And I'—`and I,' put in Tiger and Toby in turn.
`What did you dream?' inquired Vargo.
The Professor answered, with a whimsical smile. 'Believe it or not, I dreamed that our brains and our bodies had become fused, united, so that each one of us was no longer capable of individual thought or movement.'
The others stared.
`But — but — that's what I dreamt,' stammered Rex.
`Me too,' put in Tiger.
`And me,' said Toby, in a queer voice.
The Professor pushed up his glasses. 'Well, well. How extraordinary. Such a coincidence is hardly to be believed.'
`It was not a coincidence because it was not a dream,' said Vargo, seriously. 'What you have described really took place.
That is why we have turned away on a new course.'
`Are you serious?' asked the Professor in a shocked voice.
`Ask Gator,' returned Vargo.
`But I don't understand,' muttered the Professor.
`Nobody understands. I warned you there were things beyond all reason and understanding.'
`Dear, dear,' murmured the Professor. 'Why was it necessary to change our course?'
`To get away from Ardilla.'
`Why?'
`Because Ardilla is discharging radiations that make it dangerous to approach. You, having no protection, were the first to feel the effects. Fortunately I noticed what was happening to you or the situation might have become serious; for while I have some protection against such emanations I would not claim complete immunity if subjected to their full force. Or it may be that some people are more susceptible than others. Of this I am sure. Had we been affected as you were this ship would never have returned to Mino.'
`When you speak of rays, are these being projected by the planet itself or by some form of life on it?'
`That is a question I cannot answer, because, as far as I know, for reasons that will now be obvious to you, no ship from our Region has ever landed on Ardilla. I can only give you my opinion and it is this. The radiations of Ardilla are a natural force that may occur everywhere. Perhaps by reason of the composition of Ardilla they happen there to be exceptionally strong. But that does not mean they have the faculty of intelligence, the power to think for themselves. It is more likely that the inhabitants of the planet have learned how to bring the force under control and utilize it. Other planets may project the same or similar radiations. If so, either they have not been discovered, or they are less powerful and so do not have a range sufficient to penetrate far into the Universe. That is what we think.'
