The insect rose again, wheeled, and came straight at him, head first.
Tiger, standing as if facing a charging lion, held his fire until the last moment and at point blank range put a bullet into the face - which was not as beautiful as the body. The shot must have raked the insect from head to tail. At all events, it fell dead, quivering, one wing cocked like a gaudy sail.
'I'm sorry I had to do that,' said Tiger apologetically. It seemed a shame to destroy such a glorious creature but I was afraid it was going to do some mischief.'
'I agree,' replied the Professor. You had no alternative.' As they walked up to the insect he went on: 'What a sensation this would cause on Earth.
We'll take a section of the wing home with us for a souvenir. I must have a photograph. Then we'll get on, or the others will be wondering what the shooting was about.'
8 Vargo tells his tale
The next two days passed without any serious incident. The sample of water turned out to be slightly saline which made it somewhat bitter to the taste, but to everyone's satisfaction the Professor pronounced it safe to drink in small quantities. It had, he said, changed its character during the long journey from the pole where it had its source, collecting mineral salts from the land through which it passed. The hole from which it had been obtained was enlarged; the Spacemaster was moved over to it, and while Tiger mounted guard with his rifle the tanks were filled. As the water had to be filtered this took some time.
No spaceships were seen. The only living thing that attempted to interfere with them was an ugly beast like an overgrown scorpion, which Tiger shot. They did not risk the unknown perils of the still-spreading jungle, having no reason to. It may be that this absence of danger encouraged a certain amount of complacency which was later to end in tragedy.
The tanks filled, the next step was a reconnaissance of the town for other possible survivors. None was found, although several bodies were seen, preserved in the manner of mummies. Some were quite shrivelled up and obviously of great age. They also came across signs of burning, also very old. This absence of more living men - or to put it the other way round, the fact that only one had survived - was, the Professor declared, the most extraordinary thing so far encountered. For, as he averred, it seemed incredible that they had arrived just in time to save the last Martian. Actually, this was not the case, as was soon to be revealed.
The next operation was an extension of the anti-mosquito scheme. That the insects still swarmed from other canals they knew, for they sometimes saw them in the distance.
This, of course, was only to be expected. So every canal within a hundred miles of the town was treated, the Professor persisting while his stock of insecticide lasted. This, it was thought, would at least make the region in which they had settled comparatively safe. Later, should it be decided to rid the planet entirely of its pest, more insecticide could be fetched from Earth - possibly an improved mixture, said the Professor, who was not altogether happy about the one they were using, as the ultimate effects of it were still not known.
During this period the physical condition of Vargo had improved beyond recognition.
Not only was he able to walk about like the rest of them but it was no longer necessary for him to employ thought-transference, for he was able to speak English with a fluency which, had he not been witness to it, said the Professor, he would not have believed possible. In the matter of high intelligence it was clear that the people of Earth still had a long way to go.
Already there had been a certain amount of conversation. Vargo knew their names. He also knew where they had come from, for they were able to point to Earth, shining like a small moon in the sky - a planet twice the size of Mars seen from Earth. The belt of atmosphere round Mars was so thin that Earth could be seen even in daylight, as also could Jupiter and Saturn. Indeed, Vargo knew all the heavenly bodies, and had his own names for them. From the casual way he spoke of them, and the fact that the arrival of the Spacemaster had caused him no surprise, it was evident that he came from a race of men to whom space travel was commonplace.
And so it came about that on the third day, after the evening meal, Vargo was invited to explain the mystery of his sole survival - indeed, to tell his story; which he did, speaking in the thin, concise voice, to which they had become accustomed. Little guessing what they were about to learn the others gave him their attention.
To narrate the story as Vargo told it, in halting phrases and with a vocabulary that was still limited, would make long laborious reading. Interruptions for explanations were frequent, for the facts did not emerge in chronological order. Part of the tale was obviously legendary, sometimes vague, and of an antiquity which, at first, the listeners, with a history of a mere seven thousand years on their own planet, found difficult to grasp. On the other hand some parts were modern, and, indeed, right up to date.
The summary of it all, put in correct sequence, was something like this.
His full name, he announced, was Vargo Lentos, the second name being the name of the planet on which he had been born. He continued.
Long, long ago, how long ago he himself did not know, Mars had reached a state of what was thought to be perfect happiness and prosperity. It might have been a hundred thousand sun cycles ago, or even two hundred thousand. (By sun cycles he obviously meant years. Martian years of six hundred and eighty-seven Earthly days.) The actual time was unimportant.
It was in the dim past. This was the age of machines, of mechanical inventions and discoveries. It had lasted for a long time, and had produced, among other things, the first spaceships. Food was plentiful, and illness, long ago conquered, was unknown. In their spaceships the people had visited other worlds, some even more advanced than their own.
The worlds were then closer together, and the Solar System had near neighbours. By the interchange of information progress became even faster.
Every day the scientists produced new wonders, until the people no longer wondered at anything. Life was perfect. Everyone was happy.
Here Vargo pointed to Jupiter, saying that of all worlds it was the most beautiful, although at that time it was smaller, and had no moons. Near it was another world called Kraka, which was no longer there. Mars, too, was beautiful, with forests and fields and rivers populated by animals, birds and fish, all very tame, for they were allowed to live in peace.
The people no longer ate flesh; only fruit and vegetables and corn, which grew everywhere and was public property.
Here the Professor interposed to ask if Earth was visited at this time, and if so, what were the conditions there.
Vargo replied that according to legend it was the worst of all the worlds, being almost entirely covered with ice; and what was not ice was water, from which projected great mountains of rock. The planet was enveloped in clouds that seldom broke, as was the case with Venus even now, although Venus was nearer to the sun. Earth, at that time, was farther from the sun. There were people there, and huge beasts; but the people were little better than animals, for which reason no travellers ever went there.
'Now we know the answer to the great Ice Ages,' murmured the Professor.
This era of happiness, of genius, of pure thought and reasoning, ended in a day, Vargo explained. It was a day of universal calamity, the cause of which was not known. It began at Kraka, the home of great scientists.
That was certain, because Martian ships, and others in outer space, had seen the flash of the explosion that had destroyed it utterly, breaking it into fragments, some of which they could see. Vargo turned his eyes to the planetoids.
'So our theory was correct,' murmured the Professor.
There were some, continued Vargo, who believed that the cause of the disaster was a collision with a great meteor that came from outer space, where such things were not uncommon. Others disputed this, saying that the approach of such a visitor would have been noted and a warning given.
They believed that the catastrophe was caused by an ill-advised experiment on
Kraka that had cracked the hard crust of the planet so that its molten heart had burst it asunder. However it may have been the result was beyond imagination or description.
The entire system of worlds round the sun was affected. Much was destroyed.
Everything was changed, although this was not known at the time, for all was darkness that lasted for no one knew how long. The sun was put out.
All life was destroyed. The only survivors, from whose descendants these things were known, were those in ships in outer space. There they stayed, landing on a remote planet where they ended their days, for there could be no return. The Solar System was a black patch in the Universe, filled with fire and meteors and dust. Thus perished the first civilizations.
Such was the story that had been handed down from father to son through the ages.
How long the era of darkness lasted no one knew; but when, slowly, the dust settled on the worlds that were left, and the light returned, it could be seen that everything was changed. The planets were in different orbits. Some were larger, some smaller. Kraka had disappeared. Jupiter, its nearest neighbour, was on fire, and still burned, as they could see.
(Vargo was pointing.) Around Saturn the dust still swirled in a great band, which could also be seen. Earth was nearer to the sun. A new planet (he pointed to Venus) had appeared.
'This world which you call Mars,' went on Vargo sadly, 'was as you see it now, except for the canals. Everything had gone, scorched or torn away by blast — hills, trees, water and most of the air. Small new worlds were everywhere, moons and planets, fragments of the broken Kraka. Earth was a world of water, for the ice had melted and poured into the holes torn in it by comets and great meteors. A small new world, your Moon of Earth, had taken an orbit near it. There is much more that I could tell you, but it would take much time. Did you not know of these things?'
'No,' answered the Professor, soberly. 'We knew nothing of this.'
'The reason would be because the people of Earth, being no better than animals, had no ships; so none could escape.'
He continued his story.
With the return of light, he stated, began another era, quite different from the first, for everything was changed. He went on to describe how the Martians who had escaped settled on their new world, having much of the knowledge that had been acquired on the old one. They still had their ships, but they could not make new ones. Those now in use they obtained from other worlds much farther away. They never forgot their old home, so when the dust had settled and travel within the Solar System once more became possible they returned to see what had happened. It was then that they discovered the changes that had taken place. Mars was hardly habitable but they resolved to make it so.
Fortunately there were now a large number of small planets comparatively near. These, on account of their size, had been the first to cool down and settle in regular orbits. It was on these that the old Martians had established themselves while engaged in the tremendous project of restoring their original home. Vargo pointed to the sky, naming some of the planetoids which could be seen.
Water was the first consideration and it was now that the canals were dug; for the only water that remained on Mars was at the Poles, and as there was not a great quantity even there it was necessary to conserve it. But before this task was finished there had come another disaster, one which had proved fatal to their hopes. In the canals had appeared a weed, and from the weed had come insects in countless numbers, bringing death to so many that the last survivors had fled back to their temporary homes on the planetoids.
There they remained, numbering only a few, but increasing in numbers so rapidly that they were faced with a food shortage. Already everything had been sacrificed to food.
Every inch of land was cultivated. The trees had gone. So had the animals, which they could no longer feed. Only a type of bird, one that could not fly, was kept for its eggs.
Recently an attempt had been made to produce food on Mars, near the Poles, where there were no mosquitoes.
'Have you given up all hope of coming back to Mars?' asked the Professor.
Vargo surprised them with his answer, which explained why he was there.
The scientists among them were trying to find an anti-mosquito specific that would enable men to live on Mars regardless of the plague, long enough to destroy the insects without resorting to fire, which might destroy the last remaining water. Every so often, therefore, a few men, volunteers, had been landed on Mars with this object in view. They had been inoculated, provided with food and medicines, and had even had their skins varnished. So far all had failed. He, Vargo, was the sole survivor of the last party to face death for the community. It was a point of honour to remain to the end, for otherwise it could not be known for certain that the remedy had failed.
Asked why so little remained on Mars of the first and greatest civilization Vargo said that over a long period of time everything worth saving, not destroyed in the holocaust, had been transported to the new small planets on which his people had settled.
Occasional visits were still made by spaceships at times when the mosquitoes were dormant. Ships on long voyages called at the Poles to collect water and fresh vegetables.
They were able to drink the water without ill effects.
Rex blinked at the idea of a removal on such a scale, but from the calm way Vargo had made the statement he obviously meant what he said. But then Vargo was always calm, even to the point of monotony. If he was capable of emotion, pondered Rex, he kept it under perfect control.
That, in brief, was Vargo's story of what had happened in the past, and its effect on those who heard it can be imagined. However, they were not allowed to dwell on it, for when he moved on to the present he delivered a bombshell that left his hearers stunned. In his thin unemotional voice he announced that Earth had recently been surveyed by Martian spaceships with a view to its occupation in lieu of their own ruined land. This scheme, however, had been abandoned.
The Professor, naturally, asked why.
For once a fficker of surprise showed in Vargo's queer eyes. 'For the same reason that you Earthmen are looking for a new home.'
'But we're not looking for a new home,' asserted the Professor.
'There is so much activity now in the atmosphere around Earth that we thought you were,
' said Vargo simply.
'But why should we?'
'Don't you know?'
'Know what?'
Vargo pointed to a pinpoint of light in the deep blue sky. 'That,' said he, 'is a tiny planet which, first seen by our Interstellar Watch Squadron, has broken free from its constellation in outer space and has been named by our Space Department, Vontor. It is travelling on an orbit which in ninety days will take it so near Earth that your atmosphere will be dragged away and the seas torn from their beds: and such will be the heat by friction that everything will be scorched to a cinder. We thought you must know that.'
9 A bolt from the blue
It was a full minute before anyone spoke. Then the Professor said, in a strange, heavy voice: 'We did not know. Are you sure of this?'
'Our old men are wise,' answered Vargo. Some have lived for as long as three hundred sun cycles, and they do not make mistakes; for knowing what terrible things have happened in the past they watch the stars always.'
Although Vargo had spoken plainly enough it took Rex a little while to grasp the enormity of what he had predicted. The end of the world. As an expression at home this was often used lightly, but spoken seriously -
and Vargo was obviously serious - it produced a picture too awful to be easily comprehended. Yet that such a thing could happen was proved by the state of Mars, which was there, at their feet, to be seen. And Jupiter, still burning. Saturn, still girdled with meteoric dust. The Novae, which the Professor had described. This, then, was to be the fate of Earth.
Vargo did not appear to be in the least upset by the prospect. To him, apparently, the end of a planet was not the end of e
verything. But then, it was not his planet.
'How big is this star, Vontor, which you say will collide with Earth?'
asked the Professor.
Vargo could not of course describe the actual size in Earthly measurements; but he made it plain that the invader was quite small - not that size really mattered.
'Is it on fire?' queried the Professor.
Vargo said no. It was cold, dead. The spaceship crews knew that because they had been to look at it; and, he thought, had actually landed on it, to test its substance. But it would, of course, become incandescent with heat, by friction, like a meteor, the moment it plunged into the Earth's atmosphere.
We must go home. People will have to be warned,' declared Tiger.
To what purpose?' inquired the Professor. Ìf they were told they would not believe it.'
Tiger frowned. I'm not so sure of that. People think more about these things than they used to. Governments, fearing a panic, may have made light of flying saucers and tried to account for them in all sorts of ridiculous ways. But nowadays the public are not so easily fooled, and a lot of people believe in them.'
The Professor shrugged. 'Does it matter? If people knew definitely that doom was on the way they could not escape. We alone could get away because we have the Spacemaster.'
We might build more ships.'
The Professor shook his head. In so little time it would be impossible to build enough ships for a mass evacuation, even if such a project was feasible.'
The Martians, friends of Vargo, could save a few in their ships, if they would co-operate,'
suggested Toby.
Who would select those to be saved,' asked the Professor, with a tinge of sarcasm. In such a panic as would occur when the truth became known law and order would disappear, and nothing would be possible.'
In that case we might as well stay here,' said Tiger grimly.
'A most depressing prospect even if we knew we were safe; and we do not know; the repercussions of such a collision as we are asked to visualize might be felt even here.'
T2 Return To Mars Page 7
