by Various
And, in 1975, the affairs of the world were controlled by five men, of whom Orlando Fragoni was the most powerful and most important.
* * * * *
His grandfather had been a small banker, and out of his obscure transactions the great House of Fragoni had arisen. The money power of the world was now controlled by Orlando Fragoni. Dirk Vanderpool, partly as a result of a vast inheritance and partly through his own ability and untiring industry, dominated the transportation facilities of the world. Planes and Zeppelins, railroad equipment and ships, were built in his plants and operated by the many organizations which he controlled.
Stanton had inherited the agricultural activities of the world and, in addition to this, he was the sovereign of distribution. He owned immense acreages in all of the continents; he not only cultivated every known variety of produce, but also handled the sale of his products through his own great chains of stores. His father had been one of the great geniuses of the preceding generation, but Stanton, while inheriting the commercial empire which he had ruled, had not inherited much of the ability which had gone into the establishment of it.
There were two other members of that invisible council of Five, the very existence of which was not even suspected by the general populace of the world.
Sigmund Lazarre was the world's mightiest builder, and millions of great structures, which were built of material from his own mines, were under his control. It was Lazarre, too, who owned the theaters and other amusement centers in which millions upon millions of people sought relaxation every day. The creation and application of electrical power made up the domain of Wilhelm Steinholt, who also owned the factories that made the machinery of the world.
Absolute control of all of the necessities and luxuries of life, in fact, were in the hands of the five men, who used their vast power wisely and beneficently.
Ostensibly the peoples of the world ruled themselves by means of a democratic form of government.
In reality their lives were directed by a few men whose power and wealth were entirely unsuspected by any but those who were close to them.
* * * * *
The council room in which Fragoni had received Dirk and Stanton was lofty and sumptuously appointed.
The rugs which covered the floor were soft to the tread, and the walls and ceiling were adorned with a series of murals which represented the various heavenly constellations.
At the far end of the chamber there was a staircase, and Dirk was among those who knew that it led up to the great observatory in which Fragoni and certain of his scientific associates spent so much of their time at night.
For men had commenced to talk about the conquest of the stars, and it was generally believed that it would not be many years more before a way would be found to traverse the interplanetary spaces.
"We are rather fortunate, my friends," Fragoni said to his two associates, "to have been the witnesses of the event that transpired last night."
"Fortunate!" exclaimed Stanton. "Then you know that the thing is harmless?"
A little smile lit the benign and scholarly countenance of Fragoni as he calmly regarded Stanton.
"We know very little about it," he replied after a brief pause, "and, if our surmises are correct, it may be very far from harmless. It is intensely interesting, nevertheless," he continued, "because that thing, as you term it, unquestionably is directed by intelligence. Without the slightest doubt the people of the earth are about to behold a form of life from some far-away planet. What that form will be," he added, with an almost imperceptible shrug of his shoulders, "it is impossible to forecast."
"But it was so hot," commenced Stanton, "that--"
"True," agreed Fragoni, "but it also is large and it may be that only the outer shell of it was effected by friction with the atmosphere that surrounds the earth. Nachbaren," he continued, "is certain that there is intelligent life within it; and Nachbaren," he added dryly, "is usually right."
* * * * *
While Fragoni had been speaking, two more men had quietly joined them.
"Good morning, Lazarre," Fragoni said, addressing a short, swarthy man who, very apparently, was of Jewish extraction.
"Good morning," the other replied in a soft and mellifluous voice. "It seems," he continued, with a twinkle in his eyes, "as if some of my pretty buildings may be toppled over soon."
"Maybe," agreed Fragoni. "And maybe," he added more seriously, "much more than your buildings will be toppled over, Lazarre."
"That thing, then, is...?" questioned the heavy-set, slow-speaking, blue-eyed Teuton who had come into the room with Lazarre.
"We do not know, Steinholt," admitted Fragoni, "but our knowledge undoubtedly will be increased considerably within the next few hours. And now," he said, "we will consider the problem at hand."
"--the object which has created such unrest is slowly rising. It is now some twenty-five thousand feet above Manhattan. It is--"
The voice from the radiovisor attracted the attention of the five men, and, with one accord, they rushed to the terrace and looked toward Manhattan. They saw the great leviathan high in the air for a moment, and then, suddenly, it seemed to vanish from sight.
"It's gone!" exclaimed Stanton, with a sigh of relief. "It must have been some odd atmospheric freak, that's all."
They searched the skies through the luciscope that was on the terrace, but failed to detect any trace of the monster.
* * * * *
"That seems to simplify matters," remarked Fragoni as they again walked back into the great conference room. But here, once more, they heard the voice from the Worldwide Tower.
"--we are advised by Chicago that the thing, dull-red with heat, is hovering only a couple of thousand feet over the city. Thousands in the streets are being killed by the heat it is radiating--panic reigns, despite a rigorous enforcement of martial law. The strange object just rose suddenly to a high altitude and disappeared--"
"It's another one of those damned things," asserted Stanton. "That couldn't go a thousand miles a minute!"
"It can go faster than that, if I am not mistaken," said Fragoni. And it presently appeared that he was right, for in a couple of minutes the radiovisor transmitted the news that it was over San Francisco, where it remained for only a few seconds. It was not more than a minute later that word came from Shanghai that it had passed slowly over that city. Then again it was poised high over Manhattan, crimson with heat.
"Is there any possible defense against it, Steinholt?" Fragoni asked. The Teuton shook his head with an air of finality.
"None," he said, "as far as I can determine now. We can create and direct artificial lightning that would reduce this building to a mass of powdered stone and fused metal in a fraction of a second. But I am certain that it wouldn't leave as much as a scratch on that monster up there. We might try the Z-Rays on it, but an intelligence that could devise such a craft would undoubtedly have the wisdom to protect it against such an elementary menace as rays. Even the mightiest explosives that we have wouldn't send a tremor through that mighty mass."
* * * * *
"Why not await developments?" asked Dirk. "We do not even know the nature of the thing we are trying to combat."
"It's solid metal," insisted Stanton tenaciously. "It's a metal body with a metal brain."
"Don't be ridiculous," said Steinholt. "It seems quite apparent that the craft has come from another planet, and, if I am not greatly mistaken, there are intelligent creatures inside it."
"In any event," said Dirk, "it seems impractical to make any plans until we know more about it. I suggest that we empower Fragoni to act for the rest of us in this matter."
"That is very agreeable to me," said Steinholt. "A crisis very possibly may arise in which the quick judgment of one man may be necessary to avert the danger that always is inherent in delay."
"You hold my proxy," Lazarre said to Fragoni, "and I assume that Stanton is agreeable to this procedure."
"--the thing is mo
ving very slowly eastward in the direction of Long Island Sound. It is, at the same time, losing altitude. Its movements are being carefully watched. As yet we see no cause for immediate alarm--people are advised to remain calm--"
"Yes, I am agreeable," said Stanton nervously and hastily. "If there are things in it with which we can compromise, I would suggest that we do not offend them."
"I am, then, empowered to act for all of you," said Fragoni, ignoring the suggestion of Stanton.
* * * * *
He rose from his chair and walked out on the terrace. The others followed after him.
Looking westward, they saw the mammoth craft descending slowly in their direction.
Its vast dimensions became more and more apparent as, spellbound, they watched it approach closer and closer to them.
The thing in the sky was now not more than three thousand feet above them and only a few miles to the westward.
The observers on the terrace regarded it for a moment in silence as it drifted forward and downward.
"It's colossal!" Steinholt then exclaimed, lost in scientific admiration of the mammoth craft. "Magnificent! Superb!"
"But it's coming right toward us!" cried Stanton.
"What makes it move, I wonder?" asked Dirk. "And how in the world is it controlled?"
"It surely is not of this world," said Fragoni quietly. "That gigantic thing has come to us from somewhere out of the infinite and terrible depths of space."
* * * * *
Another minute elapsed while they watched it, speechless with wonder.
"Do you know," Lazarre then said calmly, "I believe that it is going to land in the waters of the Sound. It appears so to me, anyway."
It was nearly opposite them by this time, and not more than a thousand feet above the water. A few planes which, very apparently, were being flown by intrepid and fearless flyers, were hovering close around it.
Then finally it came to rest, as Lazarre had predicted, in the water some two miles off shore, and it was obscured by a great cloud of vapor for several minutes.
"Steam," asserted Steinholt. "That trip around the world, which it made in a few minutes, generated considerable frictional heat in the shell."
"Come," said Fragoni, "we'll fly out and look the thing over."
Around the corner of the building, on the level of the terrace, there was a landing stage which was occupied by a number of planes of various sizes.
Dirk entered the door of a small twenty passenger speedster, and the others filed in after him.
"Ready?" he asked, after he had seated himself at the controls.
"Ready!" replied Fragoni.
The plane rose straight up into the air and then darted gracefully out over the Sound.
* * * * *
Dirk swooped straight down at the leviathan which lay so quietly on the surface of the Sound and then slowly circled around it. No sign of an aperture of any sort could be seen in the craft. Then he dropped the plane lightly on the water, close to the metallic monster, which towered fully four hundred feet above them, despite the fact that more than half of it was submerged.
"It must be hollow," remarked Steinholt, "or it wouldn't be so far out of the water. In fact, it most certainly would sink, if it was solid."
At the touch of a lever which lay under one of Dirk's hands the plane rose straight out of the water, and he maneuvered it directly over the top of the strange enigma. Then he touched a button and the pontoons were drawn up into the undercarriage of the craft.
"Shall I make a landing on it?" he asked, turning his head and addressing Fragoni.
The latter nodded his head, and Dirk dropped the ship gently onto the smooth surface of the monster, the pneumatic gearing completely absorbing the shock of the landing.
Dirk relinquished the controls and, opening the door of the cabin, he stepped out onto the rough and pitted substance of which the leviathan was compounded. He stood there while the others came out after him.
A large area on the top of the monster was perfectly flat and, within a very few moments, Dirk discovered that it was decidedly warm. He had brought the plane down close to the middle of the length of the strange craft in the belief that there, if anywhere, some indication of an entrance might be found.
* * * * *
The voice of Steinholt, tense with suppressed excitement, appraised him that his surmise had been correct.
"There is a manhole of some sort," the electrical wizard exclaimed. "And look, it is turning!"
They saw, not far ahead of them, a circular twelve-foot section of the deck slowly revolving, and, even as they watched, it commenced to rise slowly upward as the threads with which it was provided turned gradually around.
Almost involuntarily they retreated a few feet and stood there, spellbound, as they stared at the massive, revolving section of the deck.
It continued to turn until fully ten feet of the mobile cylinder had been exposed. Then the bottom of it appeared. Even then it continued to revolve and rise on a comparatively small shaft which supported it and, at the same time, thrust it upward. Dirk and his companions kept their eyes on the rim of the well which had been exposed, and awaited the appearance of something, they knew not what. When the top of the great cylinder was fully twelve feet above the deck of the craft it slowly ceased to revolve.
Moment succeeded moment as the members of the little group rigidly and almost breathlessly awaited developments.
Then Dirk, with an impatient ejaculation, stepped forward toward the yawning hole and cautiously peered over the edge of it.
He stood there for a moment, as if transfixed, and then, with an exclamation of horror, retreated swiftly to where his friends were standing.
* * * * *
"What is it?" gasped Steinholt. "What did you see when--"
But the words died on his lips for, swarming swiftly over every side of the well, there poured an array of erect, piercing-eyed beings, who had all the characteristics of humans. They were clad in tight-fitting attire of thin and pliant metal which, with the exception of their faces, shielded them from head to foot. On their heads they wore close-fitting helmets, apparently equipped with visors which could be drawn down to cover their unprepossessing features.
Each one of them carried a tube which bore a striking resemblance to a portable electric flashlight.
Swiftly they advanced, in ranks of eight, toward Dirk and his companions who, gripped with amazement, held their positions.
The first line came to a halt not more than four feet from the little group on the deck. The other lines halted, too, and formed a great platoon. Then a shrill whistle sounded and the formation parted in the middle, leaving an open path that led backward to the entrance, to the well.
A moment later the watchers saw the regal figure of a man emerge from the orifice and, after a moment's pause, advance slowly in their direction with a stately stride.
He was tall and muscular and blond and his attire, golden in texture, glittered with sparkling gems.
As he approached them he raised his right hand and, inasmuch as his countenance was calm and benign, his gesture appeared to be one of peace and good-will.
* * * * *
Following close behind him there was a younger man who, very apparently, was of the same lineage. His expression, however, was petulant and haughty and it contained more than a suggestion of rapacity and evil.
Behind him there were others of the same fair type, all of them sumptuously and ornately attired.
Fragoni stepped forward, himself a dignified and striking figure, as the leader of the strange adventurers came forth from the lane that had been formed by his immobile guard of warriors.
The two men confronted each other, one whose power and wealth gave him a dominate position on earth, and the other a personage from some domain that was remote in the abyss of space.
Fragoni bowed and spoke a few friendly words of welcome and the stranger, to the utter amazement of the banker and his associates,
responded in an English that was rather peculiar in accent but that they could understand without any difficulty.
"From what part of the world do you come," asked the astounded Fragoni, "that you speak our language?"
"We come from no part of this world," replied the stranger. "The empire of my ruler is infinitely far away. But language, my friend, is not a thing of accident. Life grows out of the substance of the universe and language comes out of life. The speech of mankind, in your state of development, varies but little throughout all space and I have heard your English, as you call it, spoken among those who dwell in many, many worlds."
"And your world?" asked Steinholt with avid curiosity. "Tell us of the planet from which you come."
* * * * *
But Fragoni, smiling at the eagerness of Steinholt, interposed with a kindly but arresting gesture.
"My name is Fragoni," he said to the stranger, "and I would have you partake, of my hospitality and refresh yourself after your long journey. These," he added, "are my friends, Steinholt, Vanderpool and Lazarre."
"I am Teuxical, vassal of his Supreme Highness, Malfero of Lodore," the other replied. "This is my son, Zitlan," he continued, indicating the young man behind him, "and the others are my high captains, Anteucan, Orzitza and Huazibar. More of my officers are below together with ten thousand armed and armored men such as you see before you."
If the last part of the statement was intended as a threat or a warning, the expression on Fragoni's face gave no indication that he was aware of it.
"You carry a large crew, sir," Fragoni replied, "but we gladly will make provisions for all of your men. As for yourself, your son, and your captains, if you will come with me...."
He nodded in the direction of the plane which rested on the great interplanetary vessel and started to walk slowly in the direction of it. The leader of the skymen walked by his side and the other men from Lodore followed close after them.
Dirk, Steinholt and Lazarre brought up the rear, while the soldiers remained motionless in their serried array.
