by Earl
“Throw him in prison!” commanded the boy leader.
“Now wait,” Jon yelled angrily, shaking off the boys holding his arms. “Listen to me for a minute. I’m an Earthman. Can’t you see? I’m not a monster or an enemy. I’m just one of you boys grown into a man. Don’t you understand?”
The boy leader was puzzled. “Wait!” he grunted. “Now I remember. He is like my—father. He is like all our parents who came in the other ship which exploded! But that was all so long ago!”
Jon gasped. “Are you trying to tell me you boys are of that expedition that came here fifty years ago?”
The boy leader nodded. “Yes. We can hardly remember, but our parents and the girls were in one ship. All us boys were in the other. Their ship exploded! They all died. Our ship crashed. The crew was killed, up in front, but we boys all survived. Gosh, it all happened so long ago, we almost forgot. But here we are. We lived here ever since.”
Jon’s mind was whirling dizzily. “But that happened fifty years ago! Why didn’t you boys grow up?”
“Grow up?” the boy leader repeated, as if the thought was strange. “You mean we are supposed to become like you? But . . .” He shrugged. “We just never did, that’s all. We stayed like we are now.”
Jon suspected the answer when he saw the bubbling pool in the center of the boys’ village. Its waters glowed weirdly, and when Jon took a sip it tasted like nothing he had ever before met on any other world. “You boys all drank from this pool?”
“Yes, it’s the only water in this whole valley. We’ve been drinking that all the time, since we first came.”
“The Fountain of Youth!” breathed Jon, stunned. “That’s what it is. It must have some ingredient in it that delays old age. These boys are all over sixty years old, in actual time—yet they haven’t aged one bit. As long as they drink that water, they’ll never grow up. Just think what people would pay for that water back home, giving them eternal youth!”
“You mean it would be valuable?”
“Valuable?” Jon said. “Why, it could be sold for a fortune!”
He turned suddenly, seeing one shack with a door of wooden bars and a boy peering out. “But what’s this? What’s that boy doing locked up?”
“He’s our one criminal,” the boy leader explained. “He steals and lies and cheats, so we keep him locked up most of the time. Don’t let him out!”
But Jon had already pulled away a wooden bar and opened the crude jail cell, before he heard the full explanation. The released boy instantly grabbed Jon’s gun out of its holster.
“Don’t move,” he growled, “or I’ll shoot!”
Jon froze. The boy criminal was dead serious. He might have a boy’s body, but his mind was warped—ruthless—greedy. “I’m going to be the one to sell the Youth Water and become rich!” he spat out. “I can’t fly the ship, but you can pilot me back to civilization. Get going!”
Jon was forced to obey. He shot the ship up from Oberon, with the boy holding the gun at him. “You can’t get away with this,” Jon tried to tell him. “I’ll tell them the truth . . .”
“You’ll tell nothing,” the grim boy chuckled. “Because after you land me on Earth, in some hidden spot, I’m going to shoot you! Then I’ll get a big spaceship and return to Oberon for the Youth Water. As for those other kids, they get killed, too, for keeping me in jail all the time! See? I may be only a boy, but I’m as smart as any man!”
It was a long trip toward Earth. The boy kept awake by drinking water steadily, from Jon’s tanks, and splashing it in his face at times. He never relaxed his guard. And he never allowed Jon to turn or leave the controls. Jon had to sit there, eyes front, avoiding meteors and rocketing for Earth.
Without any sleep, Jon felt light-headed after long dragging hours. So light-headed that he imagined the boy’s voice grew deeper when he spoke at times. And the boy’s reflection in the metal wall seemed strange.
Suddenly a shriek came from behind Jon. Jon whirled.
The boy stood there, feeling his face, covered with a thick beard on it. He stared at his hands which were wrinkled. And his voice was the croak of—an old man!
“I should have known!” Jon cried. “You see, only daily doses of the Youth Water kept you young. On this trip, drinking plain water, you gained all the years back and aged. You’re an old man of over seventy.”
Snarling, the man-boy tried to shoot at Jon. But the gun fell from his trembling hands. And the figure that fell to the floor was that of an old white-haired man!
“Dead!” Jon said, kneeling over him. “The boy who started off with me only hours ago just died of old age!”
Jon shook his head sadly. “Those other boys—back on Oberon. None of them can ever leave! And I don’t think I’ll report the Fountain of Youth! There are some things better left alone.”
EVIL BEYOND THE SUN
The chief of the Space Patrol spoke gravely to Lieutenant Jon Jarl. “You understand, of course, that you may never come hack from Alpha Centauri?”
Jon nodded. “I understand. But I’ll go, sir.”
The chief went on. “Alpha Centauri is the nearest star to our solar system. Yet it’s over four light years away—25 trillion miles! With our ordinary ships it would take 4 years at the speed of light—186,000 miles a second!—to get there! But with this special Overdrive ship, you’ll exceed the speed of light. That is—if it works!”
Jon nodded again, at the implied warning.
“We can’t risk more than one life,” the chief continued. “You’ll make the first test flight—the first attempt in history to reach another star. Good luck, son!”
They gripped hands silently. There was no fan-fare, no ballyhoo. The result might be failure again. Other ships had tried and none succeeded. Only the chief and a few of his aides were witnesses as Jon Jarl stepped in the ship and rocketed away from Earth.
Three days later, Jon passed Pluto and the solar system began to shrink and recede behind him. Now was the time for the miraculous Overdrive. It was designed to warp space ahead of his ship and allow the craft to reach fantastic speeds.
Jon held his breath for a moment—then jerked the lever.
Would the ship blow up? Or turn to cosmic vapor? Or crack open like an eggshell? Nobody knew. This was the first test of the new Overdrive.
The ship leaped ahead like a runaway comet, almost tearing Jon from his elastic straps. His mind spun dizzily. But he glued his eyes on the velocimeter and saw the miracle happen.
The ship reached 50,000 miles per second—then 100,000—150,000—and suddenly, Jon Jarl was going faster than light—over 200,000 miles a second!
“It works!” Jon breathed—thankfully.
He pulled the lever to its limit and saw incredible speed recorded by the meter. First it was twice as fast as light, then ten times, and finally 100 times faster than light! That was the Overdrive’s limit. But still, at that stupendous speed, it would take 14 days to reach the nearest star!
Ahead, Alpha Centauri grew steadily in brightness as the days passed. On the 14th day, Jon was near enough to see the three separate suns of the Centauri System. Unlike solitary Sol, Centauri was a triple sun.
Jon cut the overdrive. Now, looking back, he could see Earth’s sun—but only as a dim yellow star remote in space. Jon felt chilled and thrilled at the same time. Chilled to be so unthinkably far from home. Thrilled to be the first known human being to cross interstellar space and reach a neighboring star!
Using his ship telescope, Jon searched the vicinity and came to the conclusion that there was only one Centaurian planet. One planet for three suns. Did that planet hold intelligent beings?
Jon shook his head disappointedly after circling the planet. Not a sign of cities or people. It seemed to be a barren, uninhabited world. Jon landed in a stretch of sun-baked sand. Strangely enough, the air was breathable. Jon stepped out and almost fainted as the hot blast of the triple suns hit him. Three suns poured down their withering rays.
And when Jon looked around, he saw three separate shadows of himself! Odd world indeed.
Jon whirled suddenly, as he saw other shadows, moving toward him. His eyes widened in stunned surprise—men were approaching him. Strange men of Centauri with huge thick bodies and simian faces blending high intelligence with ruthless brutality. Jon knew they would be enemies from the first moment.
“Stop!” Jon shouted, even though they could not understand. But he waved his ray gun at the same time. They could not mistake that gesture.
Surprisingly, words came back that Jon could understand.
“Do not be surprised,” one Centaurian spoke. “We long ago mastered telepathy. We are using our own language, but the telepathic meaning goes directly to your brain. We can read your mind, too. You are from Sol, our nearest neighbor star. How did you get here?”
“A special faster-than-light engine,” Jon said tersely. “But where do you people live? I saw no cities.”
The Centaurian pointed down. “Underground. The triple sun long ago forced us to seek cool depths. This is a harsh world to live on. I see in your mind that your sun has nine planets and many moons—cool and habitable.”
The Centaurian squinted and then, so suddenly that it shocked Jon to the roots of his being, he blandly said—“So we will take your ship, make more, and migrate to your solar system!”
Just like that!
Jon laughed grimly. “Suppose we don’t want you?”
The answer was cold and ruthless.
“Your people couldn’t stop us. We are powerful—strong—and we read minds. We conquered and killed off several other races that once lived on this world. And one of them was very much like you—a puny weakling race. Now we will take your ship.”
They advanced. Jon yelled in warning, but they kept coming. Jon shot his ray gun, spraying them all with its fiery fury.
But they kept coming!
“I told you we were powerful,” mocked the Centaurian leader. “Our bodies are made of dense, packed molecules. No ordinary weapon can even scratch us. And we have far more physical weight and power than you—see?”
At the last word, reaching Jon, the Centaurian merely flicked his hand against Jon’s chest. It was like the blow of an elephant. Jon spun through the air and landed heavily, almost knocked cold.
The Centaurians now ignored him and stepped eagerly toward the ship.
Staggering to his feet, Jon’s mind knew panic and horror. If they succeeded in duplicating the Overdrive, these bestial creatures could swarm to Earth. And with their tremendous powers, they would win out in any war. The solar system would be invaded—conquered—enslaved—decimated!
Jon raised his gun again, face haggard. There was only one thing to do—destroy the engine! One well-placed shot would make it explode. Jon would be marooned—never to return to Earth—but what choice was there?
Jon fired—to destroy his only chance of escape . . .
But one Centaurian whirled an instant before and flung his body in the way, taking the shot, protecting the engine. Then he leaped and easily wrested the gun from Jon’s hand.
“You were going to destroy the engine,” the Centaurian snapped. “I caught your thought just in time. But we want the engine.” Before Jon’s eyes, he broke the ray gun in half, as easily as snapping a twig. “Now, Earthman, you will take me up in the ship and show me how to run it. After that, you will die.”
Jon was flung into the ship. One Centaurian followed him and the hatch slammed shut. Jon was forced to take off with the ship; as the enemy took in every move he made, learning how the ship operated.
A slow gleam of hope came into Jon’s eyes. They were out in open space now, far from the Centaurian planet. Already Jon could feel the peculiar floating sensation as gravity let go.
Jon leaped grimly at the Centaurian, fists pounding.
“You fool!” spat the alien. “Must I break every bone in your puny body to teach you a lesson?”
Jon staggered under a return blow, but came to his feet grinning. “I’m going to teach you a lesson—a lesson about space and gravity.”
Fourteen days later, Jon Jarl shut off the Overdrive. The glorious sight of the sun and nine glowing planets lay before him. He was home again. And behind him was the Centaurian—dead.
Back on Earth, Jon reported his Centaurian adventure in full to the chief. “And after I defeated him,” Jon concluded, “the Centaurian killed himself, tortured by disgrace!”
“But how did you defeat him?” gasped the chief. “He had ten times your strength and weight.”
“Not in space,” interrupted Jon. “Weight is a result of gravity. But in space, there is no gravity. That took away all his weight and left me on equal terms with him—man to man. I threw the book at him—boxing, ju-jitsu, and judo. It was close—but I won!”
Jon Jarl turned his face up to the bright star that was Alpha Centauri. “The first trip mankind ever made to that star—and for me at least, the last.”
THE MIND EXCHANGE
The Space Patrol dragnet closed in on the asteroids, those thousands of tiny worldlets between Mars and Jupiter. A thousand Patrol ships were closing in, seeking a notorious space criminal, Blaster Barton.
Blaster Barton was the Public Enemy Number One of 2261 A.D. He had left a trail of crime and bloodshed from Mercury to Pluto. But now he was trapped in the asteroids. Not even a fly could escape, as the grim Space Patrol ships surrounded the Asteroid Belt and slowly closed in.
Lieutenant Jon Jarl was part of the vast dragnet. His one-man ship cruised inward toward the asteroids, along with others who were sent to land and search. Jon Jarl was assigned to Asteroid V-46.
Jon landed beside a steel dome. His records told him it was the laboratory of Professor Godfrey, a recluse scientist. Jon noticed no other spaceship nearby, except the scientist’s, so he suspected no danger as he strode in the double air locks of the dome. But he had his ray gun out as a precaution.
Inside, a short bald man turned from his scientific apparatus.
“Professor Godfrey?” Jon said. “I’m making a routine checkup. Did you see or hear any sign of Blaster Barton, the space crook?”
The scientist’s face was working strangely. “Go back!” he suddenly croaked.
Jon sensed danger and whirled with his gun—but he was too late. A form hidden behind the apparatus shot first, and Jon’s gun spun from his hand. The form rose, grinning.
“Blaster Barton!” gasped Jon. “Hiding here! You must have parked your ship out of sight among rocks.” Jon let out a long breath, puzzled. “But why didn’t you shoot to kill, as you usually do?”
“I wanted you alive, and unharmed,” returned the killer mysteriously.
Jon shrugged. “No matter. You might as well give yourself up. Blaster. The dragnet has you trapped. If you’re thinking of escaping in my ship, forget it. There’s a television hookup among all police ships, so they’d spot you immediately.”
“My plan is much cleverer than that,” gloated the criminal, and his tone sent a chill down Jon’s spine.
“I wish you hadn’t come,” moaned the scientist, breaking in. “You’re in great danger, Lieutenant! You see, Barton—”
“Shut up!” roared the criminal, waving his gun. “I want him to be surprised. Now get in that chair.”
Menaced by the gun, Jon could only obey, wonderingly. The chair he sat in had wires and apparatus attached to it. The criminal sat opposite him—in an identical chair.
“Now get to work,” Barton hissed at the scientist. “And keep your mouth shut.”
Silent and haggard, the scientist now placed a metal shell on Jon’s head and clipped wires to his forehead. He did the same to the criminal. It was almost as if they were sitting in two electric chairs, about to be electrocuted.
“Wondering what’s going to happen, Space Copper?” grinned the crook. “You’ll soon find out. Pull the main switch. Prof!”
The scientist, with an agonized face, pulled a huge switch.
<
br /> Jon blacked out, as surging electrical energy shot through his brain. Slowly, Jon’s senses swam back. He was still sitting in the chair. He looked across at the other chair.
Jon was stunned, dumbfounded. For in the other chair, across from him sat—JON JARL! Himself!
And that Jon Jarl, dressed in the blue-and-gold uniform of the Space Patrol, spoke with the voice of Blaster Barton!
“Get it?” came from the lips of Jon Jarl. “You see, yesterday I landed on this asteroid to hide. I came in this lab and found the professor had just finished making this apparatus. Tell him about it, professor.”
The scientist explained in a hollow voice, “This is my Ego Exchanger machine! The human ego, or mind, is really of an electrical nature. I found the way of transferring a person’s ego from one body to another. In other words, Blaster Barton’s ego has now gone over into your body. And your ego, Lieutenant . . .”
Silently, the scientist held up a mirror. Jon Jarl—or the ego of Jon Jarl—stared into the reflected face of the space criminal! Jon Jarl’s mind was in the crook’s physical body. And the crook’s mind was in Jon Jarl’s body!
“Good heavens,” breathed Jon, through Barton’s lips, and even his voice sounded grating and harsh, like Barton’s. It was the most deadly trap ever imagined by the human mind.
Suddenly, Jon was elated. In his hand—the gnarled hand of Barton—lay the ray gun! And Barton himself was unarmed, for he had only Jon Jarl’s empty holster!
Jon raised the gun, but Barton only laughed. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I took care to empty the ray clip just before the Prof threw the switch. That gun is empty. And I had another gun planted here.” He reached and pulled out a hidden gun.
Jon shivered. It was weird, maddening.
There opposite him stood his own form, tall and athletic, but with the twisted mind of Blaster Barton inhabiting it. And when Jon arose, he found it strange to move the thick arms and heavy legs of the criminal.
