Red Shards on Ceres by Raymond Z Read online

  scientist in him persisted in trying to

  and odd, pistol like weapons dangled in understand the inexplicable. He was still holsters fastened to those harnesses.

  observing keenly everything that passed

  within his line of vision.

  THE Cereans allowed the Earthmen to

  The party traversed the cave of

  advance along the road which led across the

  machines, and entered a third cavern, smaller

  cavern floor. Then they fell in behind them,

  than the others, but still of gigantic size. It was like a military escort.

  thronged with hundreds of Cereans facing its

  Finally the huge cave was crossed. A

  center in ranks arranged like the spokes of a

  short tunnel was traversed. Now the humans

  wheel. There was no artificial light here—only

  found themselves in a second cavern, smaller

  a sullen, reddish glow originating from

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  something in an open space at the center of the

  victim. Still retaining his grip on the red,

  packed ranks of monsters.

  glassy fragment that Ronnie Iverness had

  Slowly, down an open lane, the given him, he lowered himself into the pit Terrestrials were forced to approach the thing.

  with the same outward calm that the Cereans

  Then they saw what it was—some hellish

  were showing. He moved very slowly, as if to

  form of life. It grew in a bowl-like hollow in

  avoid injuring the abhorrent mass of jelly that

  the floor. It seemed at first glance to be only a

  craved his flesh. Pseudopods enveloped him,

  semi_liquid mass of phosphorescent pulp. But

  and he sank into the mass of glowing cells.

  then one saw the countless fine, nervelike

  His body writhed a little, and then was still. Its filaments that traversed it in every direction,

  substance began to dwindle.

  and the glowing nuclei of the myriad,

  Hansen, the engineer, was next....

  oversized cells that composed it. The effect of

  Behind him, just ahead of Ronnie, was

  a close scrutiny was disturbing. Presently and

  Professor Farnsworth. The sickening

  inevitably one realized that here in this mass

  experience of watching the ends of two of his

  of alien protoplasm resided deific wisdom,

  loyal henchmen had done almost as much to

  and an intellect that never wearied.

  reduce the stamina of his old body as the

  The ghoulish pulp heaved and moved

  exertion of the descent into this realm of

  suggestively, thrusting up hungry pseudopods.

  horror. He knew that he was going to swoon

  From the latter, translucent, reddish flakes before his limbs could carry him into the broke away and dropped to the floor around

  slimy clutches of the monster; and at last he

  the pit. These were the Red Shards. They were

  thought he understood the strange and ghastly

  a natural product of the devilish thing, perhaps

  mystery of Ceres.

  originally exuded as a liquid, from its

  He took one more step toward the pit.

  substance, just as a mollusc exudes the liquid

  Then his knees buckled. He could no longer

  which hardens to form its shell.

  respond to the commands of whatever it was

  A number of Cereans were around the

  that controlled him. Blackness closed in

  pit. Some were gathering the shards in metal

  around him. His ears were roaring. As he fell,

  baskets. Others, stripped of all their ornaments

  he stumbled against the small figure of Ronnie

  except a sort of belt made of interlocking

  Iverness, close behind him. The weird crystal

  shard fragments, stood in line, waiting to of evil was knocked from his numbed hand.

  perform what seemed a fanatical act of The boy and the savant sprawled together.

  devotion to their hideous god.

  For a fleeting fragment of time, while

  a dim shred of consciousness still remained to

  ONE by one they were easing themselves him, Professor Farnsworth was once more his gently into the pit whose glowing, pulpy own master. And he acted quickly and surely.

  contents folded over them, and began to With stiff fingers he groped for Ronnie’s right absorb their still living flesh.

  hand and struck it a fierce blow. A second

  And now the Earthmen could begin to

  shard of evil went skittering and tinkling

  guess their own fate. With cool deliberation,

  across the floor.

  their hands went to work removing their space

  Then with a final, tremendous effort

  armor, clothing, and other equipment. The air

  the old scientist rasped out instructions:

  around them, now, was cool and fresh. They

  “Throw something at that—devil. Something

  too were to be food for the monster—a strange

  heavy. Kill—it— Get the—the fragment away

  delicacy which it longed to taste!

  from— Dave—”

  A man named Rogers was the first

  The savant lapsed into limp

  Red Shards on Ceres

  7

  unconsciousness. But a quick young body was

  A sheet of killing flame leaped forth.

  free, now, to act under the direction of a quick

  Dave did not release pressure on the trigger

  young mind. Ronnie no longer held the glassy

  until all of the slimy thing was blasted and

  fragment, and temporarily at least his slavery

  seared into nothingness. A reeking, steamy

  was at an end. Cereans were rushing toward

  vapor filled the cavern.

  him, but for the moment he was free.

  Panting, Dave looked about. A little

  His gaze fell on a discarded space suit.

  light was afforded by the now incandescent

  Here at the heart of Ceres its weight was very

  stone at the bottom of the pit. The Cereans all

  small, but its large mass remained unchanged.

  lay inert except for feeble, pointless

  He seized it, hoisted it easily above his head,

  twitchings. The Earthmen regained control of

  and threw it with all his might.

  their bodies, discarding the Red Shards.

  It landed in the center of the slimy

  “That, somehow, seems to be that,”

  mass that filled the pit. The effect was Iverness commented with a puzzled grimace.

  something like that of hurling a heavy stone

  “Good work, Ronnie!”

  into soft mud. The hard metal of the armor

  Several minutes later, under the

  was not like the soft living flesh of the ministrations of his henchmen, Professor victims, and it was hurled with considerable

  Farnsworth regained his senses. He looked

  force. The monstrous thing in the pit heaved

  about, and then smiled in wan satisfaction.

  and throbbed with the shock of pain.

  “I think none of our alien friends are in

  a position to cause us any more trouble,” he

  THEN Ronnie darted toward his brother. No

  said.

  one hindered him. The Cereans who were

  “How so?” someone asked.

  leaping in his direction stopped in their tracks.

 
; “You all saw that each of them is

  The other natives stood like grotesque statues,

  wearing fragments of the red, glassy

  seemingly too surprised to act. But it was not

  substance,” the savant replied. “Even those

  surprise which held them spellbound; it was

  about to sacrifice themselves retained a string

  something far more bizarre.

  of the pieces. This gave me a clue. Those

  Ronnie kicked the shard from his fragments afforded a means of contact brother’s hand. At once Dave went into action.

  between the ruling entity of Ceres, and his

  A second space suit went crashing into the

  subjects. They were the detectors for his

  pulpy mass of glowing jelly. The elder commands, which were emanated from his Iverness was a powerful man.

  substance in the form of a kind of etheric

  This time the effect on the Cereans

  impulse or wave.

  was more definite. Their hideous, furry bodies

  “Symbiosis—that was what it was: A

  swayed. Many of them crumpled to the floor,

  state in which two diverse forms of life exist

  and writhed and kicked aimlessly there.

  together, usually to each other’s mutual

  There were no weapons among the benefit. The relationship of the ants, and the Earthmen, but Dave rushed to one of the fallen

  aphids, or plant lice, of Earth, is an example.

  natives and jerked from its harness the pistol

  The ants care for the aphids much as human

  like device with which it was armed. Sensing

  beings care for and protect domestic animals.

  that the ghoulish horror would quickly recover

  In return the aphids exude a sweet juice which

  from the shock of the missiles, he directed the

  the ants like; thus both kinds of insect are

  muzzle of the weapon toward the pit, and

  benefited.

  pressed the button which was evidently the

  “The thing in the pit was not just a

  trigger.

  huge, senseless mass of jelly, of which the

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  8

  Cereans made a god. It was the brains of the

  the Professor finished. Ronnie broke it.

  whole system! The more manlike creatures

  “The Cereans in the other caverns—

  were controlled by it just as it controlled us—

  they won’t bother us either?”

  through the agency of the red flakes which it

  “I’m sure they won’t, lad,” Farnsworth

  produced. Without the master’s guidance, they

  replied.

  are inert, as you see. They have not enough

  “Two space suits are gone,” the boy

  intellect of their own to remain on their feet.

  persisted pessimistically. “Burned up in the

  The ruling entity saw through their eyes, and

  monster’s hole!”

  worked with their tentacles, inventing and

  “We won’t need those suits,” the

  building marvelous machines. Now that the

  scientist reminded him. “There’s still enough

  entity is dead they will starve, for they have

  to go around. Rogers and Hansen are dead,

  not the sense to feed themselves.

  remember. We’ll be able to blast and climb

  our way out of here, I think.”

  “BARRING violence, the master of Ceres was

  “Then everything’s okay?” Ronnie

  probably immortal; for, in spite of his wisdom,

  questioned, casting a scared glance about the

  he had no complex organs to wear out. A few

  shadowy cavern. “I mean—about what I did—

  cells in his structure would die, but they would

  finding that red stuff.”

  be replaced by the splitting of other cells.

  “Forget it, Ronnie,” the savant

  “The entity was very old, and probably

  laughed. “If I had found the shards I would

  had seen much in his time. He and the lesser

  have done just as you did. Someone would

  Cereans must have evolved on another greater

  have found them eventually, I’m sure; for we

  planet, where their symbiotic relationship were making a fairly complete survey of the began, for Ceres is too small to have produced

  substances that compose Ceres. The result

  a native life of its own. Its gravity is too slight would have been the same, no matter who the

  to retain external atmosphere and water. discoverer happened to be.”

  Perhaps that greater planet was destroyed by

  Dave Iverness patted his young

  an explosion. Perhaps thus the asteroids were

  brother’s shoulder.

  formed. If this is true, the entity’s science was

  “You’re a real space man, kid!” he

  already far advanced; he built this comfortable

  reassured him.

  underworld. That, I think, is about as far as

  And Ronnie Iverness’ freckled face

  human guesswork can go.”

  registered a grin of relief.

  There was a moment of silence after