The Black Star Passes John W. Campbell (good novels to read in english TXT) đ
- Author: John W. Campbell
Book online «The Black Star Passes John W. Campbell (good novels to read in english TXT) đ». Author John W. Campbell
Landing finally, he looked curiously at the mass of Venerians who had gathered in the busy street, coming out of buildings where they evidently had sought shelter during the raid. The crowd grew rapidly as the Terrestrians watched themâ âpeople of a new world.
âWhy,â exclaimed Fuller in startled surprise, âthey look almost like us!â
âWhy not?â laughed Arcot. âIs there any particular reason why they shouldnât look like us? Venus and Earth are very nearly the same size, and are planets of the same parent sun. Physical conditions here appear to be very similar to conditions back home, and if thereâs anything to Svend Arreheniusâ theory of life spores being sent from world to world by sunlight, thereâs no reason why humanoid races cannot be found throughout the universe. On worlds, that is, suitable for the development of such life forms.â
âLook at the size of âem,â Fuller commented.
Their size was certainly worth noting, for in all that crowd only the obviously young were less than six feet tall. The average seemed to be seven feetâ âwell-built men and women with unusually large chests, who would have seemed very human indeed, but for a ghastly, deathlike blue tinge to their skin. Even their lips were as bright a blue as manâs lips are red. The teeth seemed to be as white as any humanâs, but their mouths were blue.
âThey look as if theyâd all been eating blueberries!â laughed Wade. âI wonder what makes their blood blue? Iâve heard of blue-blooded families, but these are the first Iâve ever seen!â
âI think I can answer that,â said Morey slowly. âIt seems odd to usâ âbut those people evidently have their blood based on hemocyanin. In us, the oxygen is carried to the tissues, and the carbon dioxide carried away by an iron compound, hemoglobin, but in many animals of Earth, the same function is performed by a copper compound, hemocyanin, which is an intense blue. I am sure that that is the explanation for these strange people. By the way, did you notice their hands?â
âYes, I had. They strike me as having one too many fingersâ âlook thereâ âthat fellow is pointingâ âwhyâ âhis hand hasnât too many fingers, but too many thumbs! He has one on each side of his palm! Say, that would be handy in placing nuts and bolts, and such fine work, wouldnât it?â
Suddenly a lane opened in the crowd, and from the great black and gold building there came a file of men in tight-fitting green uniforms; a file of seven-foot giants. Obviously they were soldiers of some particular branch, for in the crowd there were a number of men dressed in similar uniforms of deep blue.
âI think they want one or more of us to accompany them,â Arcot said. âLetâs flip a coin to decide who goesâ âtwo better stay here, and two go. If we donât come back inside of a reasonable period of time, one of you might start making inquiries; the other can send a message to Earth, and get out of harmâs way till help can come. I imagine these people are friendly now, howeverâ âelse I wouldnât go.â
The leader of the troop stepped up to the door of the Solarite, and coming to what was obviously a position of attention, put his left hand over his right breast in an equally obvious salute, and waited.
The coin was flipped with due ceremonyâ âit would decide which of them were to have the distinction of being the first Terrestrians to set foot on Venus. Arcot and Morey won, and they quickly put on the loose-fitting ventilated cooling suits that they might live comfortably in the hot air outsideâ âfor the thermometer registered 150 degrees!
The two men quickly walked over to the airlock, entered, closed it behind them, and opened the outer door. There was a slight rush of air, as the pressure outside was a bit lower than that inside. There was a singing in their ears, and they had to swallow several times to equalize the pressure.
The guards at once fell into a double row on either side of them, and the young officer strode ahead. He himself had curbed his curiosity after the single startled glance he had given these strange men. Only their hands were visible, for the cooling suits covered them almost completely, but the strange pink color must indeed have been startling to the eyes; also their dwarf stature, and the strange suits they wore. The men of his little troop, however, as well as the people in the crowd about them, were not so disinterested. They were looking in eager amazement at these men who had just saved their city, these strange small men with their queer pink skin. And most surprising of all, perhaps, the inner thumb was missing from each hand!
But soon they had passed beyond the sight of the crowd, which was held in check by a handful of the deep blue uniformed men.
âThose fellows would never hold such a Terrestrial crowd back if visitors from another planet landed!â remarked Morey wonderingly.
âHow do they know we are visitors from another planet?â Arcot objected. âWe suddenly appeared out of nowhereâ âthey donât even know our direction of approach. We might be some strange race of Venerians as far as they know.â
They walked briskly up to the massive gold and black entrance, and passed through the great doors that seemed made of solid copper, painted with some clear coating that kept the metal lustrous, the rich color shining magnificently. They stood open wide now, as indeed they always were. Even the giant Venerians were dwarfed by these mighty doors as they passed through into an equally vast hall, a tremendous room that must have filled all the front half of the ground floor of the gigantic building, a hall of graceful columns that hid the great supporting members. The stone, they knew, must serve the Venerians as marble serves us, but it was a far more handsome stone. It was a rich green,
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