Brain of Venus by John Russell Fearn

by Monte Herridge

“And the Brain? How do you expect to

  the Venusian satellite itself will be able to

  stand that mentality?”

  deflect the disruptive radiations hurled from

  “Simple. We have Venus satellite

  Venus back onto Venus herself.”

  metal left over. We can soon fashion helmets

  “But why won’t the Brain itself absorb

  both for myself and the men who will be

  the reflected radiations?”

  working the power rays on Earth here. We

  “For two reasons. In the first place,

  have the apparatus to fashion as many helmets

  this new radiation will be inconceivably more

  as we want. With those we will be safe.”

  powerful—too tremendously potent for the

  Brain to nullify or absorb. It will annihilate

  AT midnight Jefferson left a world that was

  him almost instantly. Secondly, in the past the

  slowly disappearing under the steady advance

  Brain drew his energy from outer space. Now

  of reflective protoplasm. He left satisfied,

  he’s using his own, built-up thought power.

  rough-hewn helmet on his head, content that

  It’s a fundamental law of Nature that no Stanhope would see through the final details, organism can survive in its own waste. Just as

  content too that Bragg would expertly handle

  the carbon dioxide we exhale proves fatal to

  all the radio messages that came to him. He

  other organisms—the same carbon dioxide felt confident that the Brain would not absorbed by the exhaler would have a lethal

  intercept the radio messages, mainly because

  affect on him. Similarly, the Brain will be

  of the helmets.

  unable to cope with his own emanations which

  Two hours after Jefferson’s departure

  will be, in a sense, his waste.”

  Bragg began to receive the necessary

  “Agreed,” nodded Bragg. “The slight

  instructions—the rate of the satellite, its

  difficulty in the way is holding the said position—every detail, checked by Jefferson’s satellite still enough to accomplish the own instruments, was given, to be deflection. You can bet your life the Brain has

  immediately relayed by Bragg to the waiting

  got it all worked out to send the disruptive

  Stanhope. He in turn gave the helmeted

  vibrations intermittently as the satellite whirls engineers the instructions and they set to work

  past.”

  on the details of the two spare force

  “Naturally, but I’m thinking of our projectors.

  power rays which are holding Earth steady.

  Helmeted as they were the men

  We have two other power rays, standing by in

  received no mental distractions, but they were

  case of emergency. Doesn’t it seem possible

  forced to struggle constantly with ever-

  Brain of Venus

  15

  expanding protoplasm. New York was already

  chronometer pointed exactly to eight, and

  a smothered city. The only advantage about

  exactly at the identical second the satellite

  the stuff was that it did not kill or digest

  halted, dead in a line between Earth and

  human beings, merely rendered them Venus.

  unconscious.

  Jefferson never knew what happened

  So, watched by the helmeted after that. Too long he had lingered, too close commandant, the last conscious men of Earth

  to the danger zone, drawn by the uncanny

  made their last stand, waiting for the dawn,

  fascination of it all.

  listening to the radio instructions that came

  He had one glimpse of a world

  through the silent night, uttered originally by a crumbling and smashing into blinding flame,

  lone man situated almost stationary one of a stationary satellite etched out against the thousand miles from the surface of the glare. Vast and tremendous electrical Venusian moon.

  repercussions beat through infinity, seized the

  Jefferson himself spent the last hours

  infinitesimally small space ship and hurled it

  with his eyes glued to the chronometer, timed

  into the uttermost reaches of space.

  exactly to Earth time. Then he gave the firing

  Jefferson never knew what happened.

  signal to Earth, allowing for the time interval

  Death claimed him instantly. His ship slowly

  of nearly eight minutes, and a corresponding

  returned, wrecked, to the position of the

  eight minutes for the projected force to strike

  shattered Venus and gravitated finally as a

  the Venusian moon. Back on Earth response

  tiny moon around the largest remaining piece.

  was exact to the second. Lunar and Venusian

  Back on Earth, the danger averted,

  force rays were projected to the pre-calculated

  men waited through the days and weeks for

  second, allowing for the differences in the return of Jefferson—waited long past the distance. Helmeted men in the major power

  time when the protoplasm, deprived of the

  house fed the immense projector engines, energy from Venus that had given it life, had engines now working to support four instead

  died and rotted, long past the time when man

  of two machines.

  had recovered himself and set himself to the

  Jefferson waited tensely, eyes glued to

  task of rebuilding the shattered solar system.

  the Venusian satellite. He watched The task of recreating a balance equaling that breathlessly as it appeared on its usual fast

  of the old.

  journey round the parent world—but now

  But Jefferson never returned. He had

  there was something different. Its onrush was

  tempted danger once too often.

  slowing down. Slower. The hands of the