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
Again and yet again the Solarite found and destroyed Kaxorian super-planes, protected in the uneven conflict by their diminutive size and the speed of their elusive maneuvering.
But to remind the men of the Solarite that they were not alone, there came a sudden report just behind them, and they turned to see that one of the energy bombs had barely fallen short! In an instant the comparative midget shot up at top speed, out of danger. It looped and turned, hunting, feeling with its every detector for that other ship. The great planes were spread out now. In every direction they could be locatedâ âand all were leaving the scene of the battle. But one by one the Solarite shot after them, and always the speed of the little ship was greater.
Two escaped. They turned off their useless invisibility apparatus and vanished into the night.
The Solarite, supported by her vertical lift units, coasted toward a stop. The drone of the fleeing super-planes diminished and was gone, and for a time the thrum of the generator and the tap-dance of relays adjusting circuits was the only sound aboard.
Wade sighed finally. âWell, gentlemen, now weâve got it, what do we do with it?â
âWhat do you mean?â Morey asked.
âVictory. The Jackpot. Having the devices we just demonstrated, we are now the sole owners, by right of conquest, of one highly disturbed nation of several million people. With that gadget there, we can pick it up and throw it away.
âPersonally, I have a feeling that weâve just won the largest white elephant in history. We donât just walk off and leave it, you know. We donât want it. But weâve got it.
âOur friends in Sonor are not going to want the problem either; they just wanted the Kaxorians combed out of their hair.
âAs I sayâ âweâve got it, nowâ âbut what do we do with it?â
âItâs basically their problem, isnât it?â protested Fuller. Morey looked somewhat stricken, and thoroughly bewildered. âI hadnât considered that aspect very fully; Iâve been too darned busy trying to stay alive.â
Wade shook his head. âLook, Fullerâ âit was their problem before, too, wasnât it? Howâd they handle it? If you just let them alone, what do you suppose theyâll do with the problem this time?â
âThe same thing they did before,â Arcot groaned. âIâm tired. Letâs get some sleep first, anyway.â
âSure; that makes good sense,â Wade agreed. âSleep on it, yes. But go to sleep on itâ âwell, thatâs what the not-so-bright Sonorans tried doing.
âAnd offhand, Iâd say we were elected. The Kaxorians undoubtedly have a nice, two thousand year old hatred for the Sonorans who so snobbishly ignored them, isolated them, and considered them unfit for association. The Sonorans, on the other hand, are now thoroughly scared, and will be feeling correspondingly vindictive. They won this time by a flukeâ âour coming. I can just see those two peoples getting together and settling any kind of sensible, long-term treaty of mutual cooperation!â
Arcot and Morey both nodded wearily. âThat is so annoyingly correct,â Morey agreed. âAnd you know blasted well none of us is going to sleep until we have some line of attack on this white elephant disposal problem. Anybody any ideas?â
Fuller looked at the other three. âYou know, in design when two incompatible materials must be structurally united, we tie each to a third material that is compatible with both.
âSonor didnât win this fight. Kaxor didnât win it. Earthâ âin the persona of the Solariteâ âdid. Earth isnât mad at anybody, hasnât been damaged by anybody, and hasnât been knowingly ignoring anybody.
âThe Sonorans want to be let alone; it wonât work, but they can learn that. I think if we run the United Nations in on this thing, we may be able to get them to accept our white elephant for us.
âTheyâll be making the same mistake Sonor did if they donâtâ âknowingly ignoring the existence of a highly intelligent and competent race. It doesnât seem to work, judging from history both at home and here.â
The four looked at each other, and found agreement.
âThatâs something more than a problem to sleep on,â Morey said. âIâll get in touch with Sonor and tell âem the shooting is over, so they can get some sleep too.
âItâs obvious a bunch of high-power research teams are going to be needed in both countries. Earth has every reason to respect Sonoran mental sciences as well as Kaxorian light-engineering. And Earthâ âas we just thoroughly demonstratedâ âhas some science of her own. Obviously, the interaction of the three is to the maximum advantage of eachâ âand will lead to a healing of the breach that now exists.â
Arcot looked up and yawned. âIâm putting this on autopilot at twenty miles up, and going to sleep. We can kick this around for a month anywayâ âand this is not the night to start.â
âThe decision is unanimous,â Wade grinned.
Book III The Black Star Passes PrologueTaj Lamor gazed steadily down at the vast dim bulk of the ancient city spread out beneath him. In the feeble light of the stars its mighty masses of up-flung metal buildings loomed strangely, like the shells of some vast race of crustacea, long extinct. Slowly he turned, gazing now out across the great plaza, where rested long rows of slender, yet mighty ships. Thoughtfully he stared at their dim, half-seen shapes.
Taj Lamor was not human. Though he was humanoid, Earth had never seen creatures just like him. His seven foot high figure seemed a bit ungainly by Terrestrial
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