Dark Sun by Raymond Z Read online

  relief.

  precaution of keeping his demolition tube

  Pons was far more than merely trained on the captive.

  puzzled. How could anyone explain his

  “Thanks,” Pons murmured.

  strange, paradoxical reaction? It was just this For a minute he sat smoking and

  sort of death that he was most afraid of, planning. He did not look at the black box, wasn’t it? Or was it?

  which rested out of reach on the table, for he

  His knowledge of psychology was did not wish the attention of the Venusians to scant. He did not see at once the difference

  be drawn to it.

  between fear born out of long and morbid

  Presently he evolved a simple scheme.

  brooding, and the fear that comes from a There was danger in it, but he was reasonably sudden and not altogether expected danger.

  sure that at least part of it would work—if the The latter can be far less damaging. It is not

  awful terror that had gripped him before did

  the actual clash of battle that does so much to not return.

  ruin morale; it is the monotony of waiting for

  When his cigarette was half smoked he

  Thrilling Wonder Stories

  6

  arose very slowly from the bunk, his eyes

  point. The landing stage was now receiving

  turned toward the Venusian leader who stood

  the full weight of Khoraba’s pull. There was

  close at hand.

  no audible sign of any result, for what

  “Well,” he said in a mild tone. “Let’s

  atmosphere there was, beyond the walls of the

  be getting along. I dislike waiting.”

  plant, was too thin to transmit sound. The eyes At his first move, Ooboh, the guard,

  of the Venusian remained fixed on their

  had leaped to the door, his demolition tube

  captive, and so they were not warned.

  ready, but Pons seemed not to notice. His

  Pons felt a wave of fierce exultation.

  every act and gesture was calculated to check

  He had surmounted his ghastly fear, and he

  any hint of suspicion.

  had accomplished his main objective. But he

  “So be it,” said the Venusian leader.

  did not look through the windows toward the

  With slow, listless, but precisely landing stage now, for he did not want to premeditated steps, Pons walked toward the

  betray himself to his watchful captors.

  door. Beside the stout metal table he paused,

  His fingers moved to dial 1, which

  as if gripped by a momentary absent-

  controlled the reducers directly beneath the

  mindedness, which, under the circumstances,

  floor on which he stood. He leaned forward a

  could not have seemed odd. Idly his fingers

  little, against the edge of the table. Then he

  began to fumble with the litter on the turned dial 1 a tiny bit toward zero.

  tabletop—papers, pencils, books, pipes. Many

  The result, however, seemed quite out

  of these things might have been the relics of

  of proportion to the minuteness of the turn.

  fond memories, to which he, a condemned

  Norbert Pons, yanked by the sudden

  man, might now be saying farewell.

  magnification of his bodyweight, pitched

  forward to the top of the sturdy table. He

  THE Venusian aristocrat behind him did not

  heard a grunt behind him, and then a clang of

  hinder, though Pons could guess that his cold

  metal as a demolition tube, weighing many

  eyes were watching him closely, and that there

  times more than it should have, was torn from

  was a demolition tube pointed straight at his

  the grasp of the Venusian leader and jerked to

  own back. Gradually the Earthman turned his

  the floor.

  attention to the black box. The dozen dials on

  Both of the Venusians were taken

  its top were within reach now. Each of those

  completely by surprise. Neither had known

  dials controlled one of the twelve sections of

  what was about to happen, as Pons had.

  the gravity reduction system.

  Ooboh, who stood by the door, dropped his

  Now was the moment to act, if there

  weapon a split second after his master had

  ever was to be such a moment. Pons felt keyed

  done so. Then he crumpled up like a thing of

  up, as with a touch of stage fright. There was

  jelly, and lay pinned to the floor by a tiny

  suspense in this situation too, but it was not

  fraction of Khoraba’s gravity. A heavy thud

  the product of a long period of morbid told Pons that the Venusian aristocrat behind brooding, which was now ended. It was the

  him had fallen too. Now the Earthman heard

  simple, thrilling suspense of a man, fighting

  the rasping sighs of labored breathing.

  the enemies of his race.

  Pons was sprawled on his stomach on the

  Still moving his hand slowly, he tabletop. His heart and lungs were toiling reached for the number 3 dial, which painfully. Blood was being literally pulled controlled the gravity reducers under the from his brain, making his consciousness landing stage. As if to do so were only a bit of vague and dim. Yet he was surprised that the

  idle fumbling, he twisted the dial to the zero

  sensations he was experiencing were not as

  Dark Sun

  7

  terrible as he had once anticipated.

  of Khoraba should be slightly inferior to that

  With ponderous effort he turned his

  of an Earthman.

  eyes toward a window. The shapes of the

  He waited until he knew that his

  vessels on the landing stage were changing

  consciousness had almost reached its limit.

  slowly as the materials from which they were

  Then, slowly once more, to avoid the danger

  made yielded to the full strength of Khoraba’s

  of any sudden change, he returned the dial to

  attraction. They were flattening out like lumps its normal position. Once more his body was

  of soft mud set on a board. By now, every

  approximately Earth weight.

  Venusian inside them was dead. There had

  After a few moments he was able to

  been no time to put the repulsion plates in

  stand on his feet again, Ooboh and his master

  operation.

  were inert but still alive. Pons left them where From beyond the door of the room,

  they were until he had readjusted all the dials.

  Pons heard excited mutterings, which Then he dragged them to a small closet, and reminded his hazy consciousness that there

  locked them inside.

  were things yet to be done. He gasped for

  Before beginning a tour of inspection

  breath. Then his hand, which seemed to weigh

  through the plant, he stood for a minute before a hundred pounds, groped toward the black

  one of the windows which afforded a view of

  box a few inches away. He gave each of the

  the landing stage and the wreckage upon it,

  ten dials which he had not previously touched

  and the black plain beyond. His head ached

  a quarter turn toward zero—enough to kill, but

  furiously, and his flesh was damp with sweat,

  not enough to damage seriously any but within him there was
a strange, refreshing machinery. There were peculiar, heavy lightness, and a sense of freedom from an sounds, and the excited mutterings ceased.

  elusive and terrible burden.

  There was a new and unaccustomed

  THEN, once more, he groped for the number

  friendliness in the aspect of the dark star now.

  1 dial. He turned it a very little more, Even the thin, glowing atmosphere, and the gradually, so that the further increase in his

  Pleiades above, seemed to smile. The forces of

  weight would not overstep the ultimate limit

  this dying colossus of space had yielded to his of his endurance. At first every fiber of his

  will and had fought in his favor. Though they

  body shrieked a protest of agony, then might threaten, he would, never fear them numbness began to set in. Pons’ act was again. He knew that the wait for the freighters dreadful self torture, but it had a purpose.

  from Earth, would not seem so painful now, or

  Venusians were accustomed to a slightly so long.

  feebler gravity than Earthmen; hence,

  “Khoraba, old girl,” he muttered

  logically, a Venusian’s endurance to the pull

  gently, and then he laughed.