by Lee Sheldon
Seeing that the Illustrian wasn't going to use his gun, Jeff speeded up, looking for the tender thumb. It was on the hand clamped around Woody's back. Jeff had no trouble hitting it once he got close enough. The man relaxed his grip and Woody scrambled out of the coil of arms.
"Now what?" Woody asked.
Jeff reached down, scooped up the Illustrian's paralyzer gun, and dropped it in his pocket; then he turned toward the dome. "We've got to knock out that machine. Come on."
Running toward the dome, Jeff held his power thumb in his hand ready to use. When he came to the wall, however, he couldn't even find a door. Then Woody signaled him.
"Here's a depression,” he said. "May be a door.”
"Try it," Jeff said, running to Woody.
Woody used the thumb he had taken from the IIlustrian outside the complex. A door appeared where there apparently hadn't been one; Jeff and Woody hurried inside.
Jeff blinked his eyes. There were literally thousands of lights winking on and off in a panel that reached almost to the ceiling of the dome. Jeff guessed this controlled more than just the thought patterns of a few people. This much machinery had to be used for many things. He wondered if it wasn't a gigantic computer.
However, he didn't have any time to spend in speculation about the machine. His eye ran over the huge bank of blinking lights, looking for the amber depression that Lool said was its nerve center. He finally found it in the lower right hand corner. It was bigger and brighter than the others.
Running to it, he pressed his power thumb into the socket. A muffled explosion rocked the room and fire flashed over the whole face of the panel; smoke soon filled the room, an acrid biting smoke that choked Jeff. Then suddenly the lights went out.
"You did it!" Woody said, choking on the smoke.
"Let's get out of here," Jeff said.
"Here," Woody said, handing Jeff the power thumb he had been carrying. "You lead the way."
Jeff took the thumb and ran to the door. It was closed. He wondered momentarily if he had knocked out all the power in the complex when he shorted that panel. If he had, these doors wouldn't respond to the thumbs.
The door slid open easily, however, and Jeff and Woody were soon outside. The four guards who had come out of the dome earlier to chase them were just coming up the corridor now. They stopped and one of them brought up his gun. He didn't fire, though, apparently not realizing that the machine behind Jeff and Woody had already been shorted out and his shot couldn't do any more damage.
Jeff whipped up his gun. He had nothing to hold him back. He squeezed the handle and swept the muzzle of the gun over the four men. They dropped like empty sacks and lay still.
"This way," Jeff said, turning down a small corridor leading at right angles from the main one.
"But only this big one will lead us back to the gate," Woody objected.
"We've got to find Meredith and Peter."
"We'll be caught and tortured to death," Woody said.
"Destroying this machine won't do any good unless we get Meredith and Peter out of here," Jeff said. "They'll just take them out to the spaceship equipped with the smaller machine and send them to Earth right now."
Woody shook his head as he followed Jeff. "I think we ought to get out of here. But you've got the gun and the thumb."
"Watch for familiar surroundings," Jeff said. "I'm not sure where we are in relation to where we were before."
"Everything looks alike in here."
Proof that the machine had controlled more than just thought patterns was evident in the confused Illustrians they saw milling around in the corridors they came to. The machine hadn't been the only source of power for the complex because the lights were still working and the doors responded to the power thumbs. But something else had gone wrong, and the Illustrians were confused; apparently they were not used to things not working exactly as they were supposed to.
"That door looks familiar," Woody exclaimed suddenly as they ducked down a corridor, more in an effort to avoid a mass of Illustrians in another hallway than in the hope of finding Meredith's room.
Jeff looked at the door. The figure on it did seem familiar. Then he knew. "That was Sue's room," he exclaimed. "We're close, because Sue said her room wasn't far from Meredith's."
"There's an arrow pointing that way."
"We'll follow it. That probably points to the lab. Sue said she was allowed to see Meredith and Peter one day on the way to the lab."
There seemed to be no one in this particular part of the complex and Jeff and Woody raced along the corridor without interference. Suddenly Jeff caught Woody's arm and stopped; two doors ahead, he saw the sign he had been looking for.
"There it is, Woody. I hope they're in there."
Jeff ran to the door and jammed the thumb into the depression. The door slid back. The inside of the room was in wild disarray. The table was upset and only one chair was still on its legs. Meredith was on the floor, rolling around in pain while Peter was lying on the bed groaning.
"What happened in here?" Woody exclaimed.
Jeff kneeled beside Meredith. "Can you hear me, Meredith?" he asked.
Meredith stopped rolling and looked up at Jeff. "Jeff! How did you get here?"
"Woody and I came to take you out. Are you sick?"
"My head hurts terribly," Meredith said as he sat up. "I don't know what happened. Peter and I were talking about our return to Earth, then suddenly this terrible headache hit me."
"When were you going to Earth?"
"Right away. Dood said yesterday that we were ready." Meredith shook his head. "But I don't know. I don't want to go now—or . . ."
Jeff saw the indecision in Meredith's face. He was sure he understood; the thought control machine had suddenly stopped operating and Meredith's brain was in a bog of confusion.
"We've got to get out of here now. Can you walk?"
"I think so," Meredith said, and got to his feet.
Woody helped Peter to his feet and Peter stood staring at them, shaking his head. "When did you get here?" he asked, looking at Jeff.
"Just a minute ago."
"I mean here on Illus," Peter said. "We were here alone in a hostile environment. We had to do what they said."
Jeff realized that the two men could barely remember what had been happening. Meredith apparently recalled that Jeff and Woody were here on Illus but Peter seemed to have a mental block from the time the machine took over his thinking.
"We'll talk about it later," Jeff said. "We've got to get out of here now before the Illustrians capture us again."
Meredith shook his head slowly. "We don't want that. Go ahead. We'll follow."
Jeff ran to the door and looked down the corridor. Still no one was in sight. He realized that Meredith, being the stronger-minded of the two scientists, had retained more of his mental balance than Peter had. Peter had been completely blocked off from his former world, and now that the machine was gone, he had to pick up the threads where he had dropped them.
As Jeff started down the corridor, he glanced back at Woody helping the two men. He saw that more than their minds had been shaken up by the destruction of the thought control machine; they were physically weak. That was going to present a problem.
"Which way did we go to get out of here yesterday?" Woody asked.
"We went through a dozen rooms and corridors. I could never follow that course again."
"Then how are we going to get out now?" Woody asked despairingly.
"Stick to the main corridors if we can. The big corridors seem to lead to gates out of the complex."
Jeff was sure that most of the Illustrians had gone to see what had happened to their machine in the dome; there was no one in this section of the complex. But if Jeff led the others into the area of the big dome, or if they didn't get out of here before the Illustrians came back looking for them, they'd be in serious trouble.
Moving rapidly along a corridor, Jeff was concentrating on finding a main corr
idor when Woody called to him. Meredith and Peter were so weak that they were completely exhausted.
"We'll have to rest," Woody said.
Jeff agreed, but while they rested he moved on a short distance where he could watch for the return of the Illustrians. There was a main corridor ahead and Jeff, peeking around the corner, saw the Illustrians fanning out into every room as they came down the corridor.
They'd soon find them and then there would be a battle. Jeff resolved not to take any chances from here on. He'd use his paralyzer gun and avoid a hand-to-hand fight if he could. His strength was no match for that of an Illustrian.
He hurried back to Woody and the two scientists. "Can you go on now?"
"I think so," Meredith said. "I don't know when I've ever been so weak."
Jeff ran back to the junction with the main corridor. Peeking around the corner, he saw that there were only two men in sight. He waited until Woody had brought the two scientists up close; then he stepped around and used his gun on both Illustrians. They sank to the floor before either could make a sound.
Jeff led the way down the big corridor, hoping he was headed in the direction of a gate out of the complex. Suddenly the alarm whine began vibrating along the corridor. Until now, apparently, the Illustrians had been so concerned over the destruction of their machine that they hadn't organized a search for the ones who had shorted it out. Now that search was on in full force.
The corridor ended abruptly as they ran into an even bigger one; Jeff felt that they must be heading toward a gate out of the complex.
Two men came out of a door ahead of them, looking the other way. They turned just as Jeff stopped, holding his gun on them. One of them had a gun and he brought it up. Jeff fired, dropping both of them.
"Get that gun, Woody," Jeff called as he ran past the two fallen Illustrians.
Ahead, Jeff saw a blank wall. It could be the outside wall of the complex, he thought, and hurried faster than ever. Suddenly behind him, he heard a strangled call. Wheeling, he saw that an Illustrian had leaped on Woody's back and carried him to the floor. Meredith and Peter were too weak and mentally confused to help.
Jeff raced back toward Woody. The Illustrian saw him coming but he held Woody with two arms and reached out with the other two to do battle with Jeff. Jeff looked for an opportunity to use his paralyzer gun, but there was none—not with the Illustrian holding Woody so close. Nevertheless, Jeff held the gun in front of him as he rushed forward. Panic showed in the Illustrian's face as he apparently thought Jeff would use the gun, regardless of the effect on his friend. That panic gave Jeff the opportunity he was looking for; while the Illustrian was watching the gun in Jeff's hand, Jeff saw his chance to strike at that tender lower thumb. The moment he hit it, the man sank to the floor and Woody pulled away, gasping.
"He was choking me to death," Woody gasped. "We can never get away from all of them."
"I think that's the outside wall right ahead of us," Jeff said. "Come on."
Woody helped Meredith and Peter to their feet where they had sunk the moment Woody became involved in the fight with the Illustrian. Jeff ran on to the wall. No corridor crossed here, so he knew this had to be the outside; still it took him a full minute to find the depression where his power thumb would open the door.
As the door slid open, four men appeared far up the corridor behind them. Jeff helped Meredith and Peter through the door.
"They're coming," Woody exclaimed. "They'll shoot us down like pigs."
"I don't think so," Jeff said. "Once we get out on the ground, I think they'll be afraid to shoot at us. They might miss and cause a quake."
Jeff pushed Woody outside then followed. The door closed behind them. Jeff saw that they had come out a different gate than they had gone in today. But the cave with Lool and Sue had to be somewhere ahead of them; once they got out away from the complex, Lool would probably see them.
They had no chance to duck into a gully as he and Woody and Sue had done yesterday. Before they had gone fifty yards, the door opened and a half-dozen men poured out. Jeff watched them over his shoulder. They were not particularly fast runners. Jeff knew he and Woody could keep ahead of them. But he doubted if Meredith and Peter could. They were exhausted.
"Can you keep going?" Jeff called back.
"We'll try," Meredith said.
Woody was helping Peter now. Jeff stopped and motioned the others on ahead. "The danger is back here now," Jeff said. "I've got a gun. You go on."
"How will we find Lool?"
"He's ahead of us somewhere," Jeff said. "Maybe he'll find us."
Jeff ran along behind the others, matching his pace to theirs. The pursuing Illustrians quickly narrowed the distance between them. But when Jeff pointed his gun at them, they slowed down, keeping a safe distance from him.
As Jeff hoped, Lool suddenly appeared in front of them when they were some distance from the complex. A dozen more Illustrians had joined the first ones and now they were spreading out in a semicircle as they followed.
"What are they planning to do? Jeff asked.
"Rush you," Lool said. "They figure that you can't get them all with your gun until one of them gets close enough to paralyze you or grab you."
"Why haven't they done it before?"
"Figured on something else, I reckon," Lool said. "They don't like to take a chance on these little guns starting a rumble in the ground, but they have to have these two men to send back to Earth. If they stay away from that thought control machine long enough, they'll completely recover from it and might never be put under control again."
"What will we do?"
"Do you have more than one gun?" Lool asked.
"Woody has one, but he's been helping Peter so he couldn't help me."
"You two keep as many of them under your guns as you can," Lool said. "I'll go ahead with the two Earthmen."
"Where's Sue?"
"Safe at the cave. Look!" Lool pointed toward the complex. "That's what they were waiting for."
Jeff saw three huge machines coming through a big gate in the wall that he hadn't seen before. They stood nearly fifteen feet tall and reminded Jeff a little of huge grain combines with enclosed cabs.
"What are those?" he asked.
"Vaporizer machines," Lool said. "They haven't been used in centuries. We haven't had any wars. They were probably hard to get into operation again."
"What do they do?"
"Vaporize everything they fire at. Their charge is not so explosive so it can safely be used on the surface."
"Then they figure on vaporizing us?" Woody groaned.
"They won't unless they have to," Lool said. "They must have the two scientists to send to Earth. But they will use those machines as a threat. You can't stand up to them, however, because they will use them as a last resort."
"Then we're doomed," Woody said in despair.
Lool stared at the machines rumbling slowly toward them. "Maybe not. We've got one chance. Come on. We'll have to hurry."
It seemed to Jeff he had been hurrying ever since he started toward the complex this morning. But now he turned and followed Lool, still keeping an eye on the half-circle of Illustrians following them at a safe distance.
They reached the cave where they had left Sue and she came out when Jeff called; then Lool led the way on farther from the complex. Jeff had no idea where they were going, but he could see that the Illustrians did; they began crowding closer and suddenly one of them waved one of his arms. The crowd split apart, leaving a wide gap in the line. Through the gap, Jeff could see the big machines lumbering toward them.
Suddenly a bright blue flame leaped out from the lead machine. It fell short but Jeff felt the hot breath of it. When the flame died away, there was a haze over the path it had taken. The haze floated to one side, revealing a naked strip of ground. Every spear of vegetation had disappeared. It wasn't just burned; it was as if it had never existed.
Woody gasped as he looked. "If they get close enough, th
ey'll vaporize us."
The sight gave them all added speed. Jeff couldn't see where they could go to be safe from those machines. He guessed that they would vaporize a wall or mountain just as easily as they had the vegetation.
Suddenly Lool called, "Here it is. Hurry inside."
Jeff wheeled from his pursuers to look. Ahead was the mouth of a big cave, bigger than the one they had stayed in last night. The path into it led down at a much sharper angle, too; but he didn't hesitate to follow the others down the path, even though the heat here struck him with almost a tangible force.
"We'll be trapped down here," Woody said. "We might as well have stayed up there and fought."
Lool shook his head. "We are safe here. Those vaporizer machines can shoot only straight ahead or up—they cannot point down. That's a safety device built into them. Anyway, even if they could point the machines downward, they wouldn't risk shooting into this cave. The crust is very thin here. Even the vaporizer beam might break through.''
"What about this?" Jeff asked, holding up his paralyzer gun.
"I hope we never have to find out," Lool said. "It is thought that a blast from that gun would cause a break in the crust here and a volcano would erupt where the beam struck."
Jeff could hear the Illustrians outside as they crowded around the mouth of the cave. Lool found one of the inflammable rocks and got it blazing for light, then he led the way deeper into the cave.
Sue suddenly gasped as she pointed to a long shelf on one side of the cave. Jeff saw that it was lined with what looked like empty sacks except that the sacks resembled the forms of Illustrians.
"This is the cave of the dead," Lool explained, seeing the others staring at the shelf. "When we are turned out from the complex, we are to come here to die." He pointed down the shelf toward a bigger room. "I will find a place on one of those shelves in that room and crawl up there when I am ready to die. I'll eat all those berries I can and die happy."
"Why this place?" Sue asked, shuddering in horror.
"No animals will come down in here. It is the perfect burying place. I hadn't planned to come here yet, however."
Jeff was attracted by a sound behind them. He turned and saw a dozen Illustrians there, their expressions a confusion of fear and determination. He realized how desperate they were to recapture Meredith and Peter to risk coming down here to get them.
