The Enormous Room

by H. L. Gold

  III

  Mrs. Full sat on the straw, twisting her hands together. She did notknow she was doing it until she had to disentangle them to pull herskirt lower on her folded legs, and then she deliberately put one handflat on the floor so that she would not appear to be nervous. She wantedCalvin to be as proud of her in this terrible crisis as she was of him.

  But Calvin was calm, at any rate; so she was impatiently proud of him.

  "We've got to slam something into that opening next time the wall slidesback," said Watkins. She nodded at him approvingly. There was a man whomight be of some help.

  "What do you think these creatures are, Mr. Watkins?" she asked quietly,though she felt like screeching the question.

  "I haven't the least idea, ma'am."

  "Freak gorillas," said Calvin.

  "No, sir," said Adam. "I've been thinking. Wasn't the Java Ape Man aboutnine feet tall?"

  "Five and a half's more like it," said Watkins. "At least that's how Iremember it."

  "Well, _some_ fossil man was nine feet tall," said Adam dogmatically."Couldn't that thing be one of them? There's plenty of places in theworld where a race of people or animals could have developed withoutHomo sapiens being any the wiser. Now suppose they got hold of us?"

  "How?" asked Calvin.

  "Through people working for 'em. We might all have been doped and put ona plane and we might be on an island somewhere now, or in the middle ofa jungle, with these whatcha-may-call-'ems."

  "How were we doped?" persisted Calvin.

  "Gosh, I don't know that!"

  "And what the devil do they want with us?" asked Watkins.

  * * * * *

  Mrs. Full did not hear what Adam said. She was wondering, with a coldhorror, if the creatures were near enough human to desire white girlsas--as mates. "Calvin, we've got to get home!" she cried.

  "We will, dear." He patted her shoulder. "Don't you worry."

  "Someone has to worry."

  "We all are, ma'am," said the pleasant Watkins. "Except you, I guess,Summersby," he added accusingly.

  Summersby stared at him, seemed about to speak, then looked away. Shewas afraid of this great man. He might be a lunatic, with that lined,tormented face.

  "We might be in the East Indies somewhere," said Adam thoughtfully. "Aplane could get us there from New York in a lot less than two days."

  "Where are these East Indies?" asked Villa. Mrs. Full wished he wouldstop rubbing his stomach that way. It reminded her that she was veryhungry.

  "Someplace near Siam," said Adam vaguely. "Question is, if we're there,or anyplace else for that matter, _why_ are we?"

  A number of reasons shot through Mrs. Full's mind, all of them toofantastic to suggest aloud. They might be potential mates for theseincredible animals, or slaves, or food, or.... She was surprised atherself for thinking of such things; one would suppose she had beenreared on a diet of sensational thrillers.

  She rose and walked aside, ostensibly studying the green fountain (whichaugmented her suffering with its tinkling splash). "Oh, Calvin," shesaid.

  He came over to her. "Yes, dear?"

  "Calvin, I--" she halted unable to phrase her question. But he did itfor her.

  "I've been thinking: if there are--certain basic needs--I mean, if youfind it necessary to--"

  "I do, Calvin," she said gratefully.

  "Oh. Well, there is the, hmm, sand box. I believe it's meant for such,ah, purposes."

  "Calvin! In front of you, in front of these strangers?" She was shocked,and put up one hand to push nervously at her hair, which felt untidy.

  "We'll ask them to turn their backs. After all, such things must beattended to."

  "I'd rather die," she said, but not at all certainly.

  "There are sacrifices to be made in this predicament, and modesty isone," he clipped out. "Er, gentlemen."

  Watkins said, "I know, it just hit me too."

  "What?"

  "I've got to go to the john."

  "Yes," said Calvin stiffly. "I suggest we retire to the farther end fromthe sand box, while one by one--"

  "We could rig a screen or something, but there isn't anything to do itwith," said Watkins. He walked away; despite his outspoken manner, heseemed to have the proper instincts.

  Adam followed him. Summersby turned his back. Calvin looked at theMexican. "Come along."

  "Why?" asked Villa, raising his black brows. "What is there in a simplerelieving of--"

  Calvin strode to him, catching him by the nape, lifted him bodily fromthe floor, and sent him reeling after the others. He half-turned, thenwalked on, muttering, "Crazy _gringos_!" Calvin went and stood a littlebehind the others, his back to her.

  The minutes following were interminable, horribly embarrassing. At lastshe touched his shoulder. "All right, Calvin," she whispered.

  One by one the others used the sand box. By the time they were throughwith the unspeakably primitive ritual, she had become almost inured toit, and considered herself to be admirably calm. There were unsuspectedresources in her nature, she thought.

  "When do you suppose they feed us?" asked Watkins. He was holding histan briefcase under his left arm; he hadn't once laid it down. "I'm soempty I rattle."

  "Soon," said Calvin firmly, and she felt reassured.

  Summersby was standing by the door-wall, his great hands working alongthe seams of his trouser legs. A violent temper, held in check, thoughtMrs. Full. He was the worst of the problems facing them, except for theunknown animals.

  Even as she looked at him, the wall opened again. This time no onejumped or shrieked, though she felt her breath hiss back over hertongue. Watkins said, "Well, Viva, here's your pal again."

  The Mexican glared. Evidently the joke was a stale one to him. "My nameis Villa, not Viva. I hope you get a good taste of that green stick, youlittle man!"

  "Viva Villa," said Watkins. "Lead on. You know the way."

  The awful arm came in like a hairy python, groping blindly with the rod.

  Summersby, standing near the opening, was the first to be touched. Ittapped him lightly, and he walked out of the room, really very bravely,she thought. The rod discovered Adam. The boy backed up, too frightenedto put on a show of boldness. The rod slapped him impatiently, and heyelled and darted forward into the other room. He and Summersby stoodtogether, staring up at something that could not be seen from inside theprison box.

  "It's electrical," said Calvin. "Like a bull prod."

  "Yes, dear," she said automatically.

  "We may as well go out. I don't want you shocked."

  "All right, Calvin." She took his arm. Watkins had been caught andherded out. As they stepped forward after him, she glanced sideways ather husband. She would have liked to tell him she loved him, but itwould have been too melodramatic. She pressed his arm tightly,affectionately. They walked out into the great hall.

  * * * * *

  Villa's cursory description had not prepared Calvin Full for the realityof the huge beings.

  There were three of them. They stood absolutely motionless, grotesquelyhumanoid figures with smallish, sunken eyes fixed rigidly on the peoplesome yards away. Then, as Calvin watched, two of them thrust out theirhands holding the ball-tipped rods. The gestures were almost too swiftto follow.

  He stared at the central figure, and it gazed back with its withdrawn,pupilless, rust-red eyes. Its head was, as Villa had told them, theshape of a watermelon, with the eyes wide-set on either side of a gentlyagitating orifice that was probably a nostril. The mouth, very human inshape, with full lips the color of the eyeballs, was quite low in theface. There was a rough growth of gray-black hair on the crown of thebig head and a fuzz of it, less dark, on the face itself. There seemedto be no ears.

  Its body, long and thick, was dwarfed by the tremendous arms. Its feetwere large, toeless, and flat; its legs joined smoothly to the trunkabout halfway up. It wore clothing of a sort, which surprised CalvinFull, perha
ps more than anything else about the being. There was a kindof short sleeveless jacket of amber color caught at the front by a longsilver bar, and a white skirt worn under the legs, reaching from justbelow the hip joints to the bottom of the torso.

  Its companions were almost identical with it, except for clothing ofdifferent hues and varying cut.

  The thing in the middle now opened its mouth and made a noise thatreminded Full of an off-key clarinet.

  "Gpwk?" it said, with a rising inflection. "Hummr gpwk?"

  Abruptly it came forward, its motions flowing and yet a bit jerky, itslong legs carrying it rhythmically, but with a hint of gawkiness; Calvinthought of a galloping giraffe he and his wife had seen in a traveloguesome nights before. It towered over them, bending at the hip joints.

  "Steady, dear," he said.

  "I'm all right," his wife said shakily, seeming just on the verge ofscreaming.

  "Wish I could say the same," said Adam Pierce, the Negro boy. "What aspecimen!"

  "Look like anything to you?" asked Watkins.

  "Hell, no. Unless it's something from Mars."

  "Maybe we're on Mars," said Watkins conversationally, but no oneresponded.

  * * * * *

  It's as sensible a suggestion as the East Indian one, thought Calvin. Hehad not the slightest idea where they were, and he saw no sense inworrying over it until they had more information to build theories on.

  The beast making no further move, his wife at last leaned toward him andsaid in his ear, "Calvin, can you tell what--I mean whether it's male orfemale?"

  He studied it carefully. He couldn't even make a guess. He shook hishead.

  Then it reached forward its stick and thrust it directly at Calvin'sface. He backed off, startled and somewhat frightened. At once the thingtouched Mrs. Full with the ivory ball, as if to separate her from theknot of men.

  She cried out in pain, and Calvin leaped forward; he had a flash of thegreat paw coming at him with the prod aimed for his face again. Ittouched his forehead, he felt an intense shock, and then he waspowerless to move.

  His mind screamed, he could feel tiny muscles try sluggishly to crawldeep under his skin, but he was paralyzed where he stood in an attitudeof charging; he knew his face must be twisted in horror and rage, but hecould feel nothing. Only his mind and eyesight seemed wholly clear.

  He saw his wife taken off, stumbling unwillingly and looking back at himover her shoulder. Watkins said, (Calvin could hear plainly, he found),"Watch it, he's falling!" Then the paralysis left him and he slumped asthough all his bones had been extracted. Someone caught him under thearms, holding him up. He tried to move, but aside from rolling his eyesand lolling his tongue out, he was helpless.

  Summersby, behind him, said, "Are his eyes open?"

  "Yeah." Watkin's face appeared before him. "Poor guy looks half dead."

  Calvin blinked and made a try at speech, but nothing came out but aflop-tongued drooling sound.

  The two creatures remaining near them squatted down and observed them,making fragmentary noises to each other. Watkins started to walk afterthe third, which had escorted Mrs. Full across the wide room and was onthe point of making her get onto a low platform on which were a numberof structures of purple tubing and crimson boxes and varicolored smallcontrivances. One of the pair flicked its goad across his path.

  Villa said, "Come back, you foolish, do you think you can take thatstick?" He sounded furious, probably because he was afraid of the beastsbecoming enraged.

  Calvin made a wracking effort to say, "Let him go," for surely theycouldn't stand callously by and see his wife undergo the Lord knew whattortures; but the sound he made was unintelligible.

  Watkins said, "Blast it, Viva, we don't know what the thing might do toher."

  "Come on back," said Summersby. "Do you want to get this?" He hefted thelimp Full.

  Calvin writhed and managed to move his hands up and down.

  "He's gaining," said Watkins, coming back.

  "Those rods pack a wallop," said Adam. "What sort of power can they havein 'em? Seems to me they're away beyond our science."

  "They're not hitched to batteries," said Watkins. "Say, look at all thismachinery. If these animals built it, they're a pretty advanced race."

  * * * * *

  Mrs. Full was seated now on a large thing like a chrome-and-rubberchair, one of those modern abominations which she and Calvin socordially detested. He could not see her face. The twelve-foot brute wasmoving its fingers before her, evidently telling her to do something.Calvin heard her say plaintively, "But what _is_ it?"

  Summersby hoisted him up and about then feeling began to come back tohim with a sharp, unpleasant tingling of the skin. He said, "Help her!"quite distinctly.

  "Nothing's happening to her," said Watkins. "Take it easy."

  Mrs. Full was apparently pulling levers and moving blocks of vividlycolored material back and forth on rods; like an abacus, thought herhusband.

  Suddenly one of the other pair of creatures gave a cry, "Brrm hmmr!" andpointed to the left. From a muddle of gear rose a small airship, orange,with a nose like a spaceship and streamlined fins, and a square box onits tail. It made no noise, but rose straight toward the ceiling, movingslowly, jerkily.

  His wife had her back to it. He heard her give an exasperated,bewildered cry. "What on earth ... what are you _doing_?" She spoke tothe creature as if it understood. "I don't see why you--"

  Calvin pushed free of Summersby. He could stand now, shakily. The beastindicated a blue block on a vertical bar; Mrs. Full moved it down, theairship halted and began to sail toward them. "Do you see the toy ship?"called Calvin. "You're flying the ship!"

  "Oh, my," she said helplessly. "What shall I do now?"

  "This is crazy," said Watkins. "Absolutely crazy."

  "Go on moving things," Calvin called to his wife. "Experiment. It wantsyou to fly it." It occurred to him that this was too obvious to botherstating. He must be distracted by weakness. He rubbed his tingling armsand hands, hoping she wouldn't crash the ship. Villa and Adam Piercewere calling encouragement to her as the orange thing drifted up anddown and sideways.

  Now the twelve-foot being gestured briefly at a portion of theapparatus, Mrs. Full caught his meaning and moved something, and theship tilted and flew along the wall without touching it. All three ofthe creatures uttered sounds that might be taken for words of pleasure.

  "Good girl!" yelled Watkins. "Keep it up!"

  She turned to them and Calvin saw she was smiling. "There's reallynothing to it," she said. The airship bumped into the wall and fell. Theanimal above her squawked and pressed down a lever, which evidently sentout a beam or impulse that caught the ship in midair and held itsuspended. Then it grasped Mrs. Full and carried her, flailing herlimbs, over to the corner.

  Calvin started forward, apprehensive.

  "Hold it, Cal, you don't want another shock." Watkins took his arm.

  The creature kicked aside a mound of small gadgets, sending themhelter-skelter, picked up what looked like a big five-legged stool andset it on its feet. It was perhaps ten feet high. Then he deposited Mrs.Full on its smooth round top and turned her bodily so that she faced thewall.

  "Help her!" snapped Calvin.

  "We can't do a damn thing."

  "Just wait a minute, sir," said Adam. "He's leaving her alone. I don'tthink he'll hurt her."

  She twisted her head around, looking frightened. Her legs hung over theedge. The being strode back with its curious gawky-graceful walk, andfirmly turned her face to the wall again, using one big rubbery finger."Oh!" she said, in a small voice, and remained staring at the wall, likea naughty child on a dunce's stool. The beast came over to the group.

  * * * * *

  The three talked among themselves, glancing at the men. The airship hungon its invisible beam of energy, ignored. Mrs. Full patted up her hair.She must be terrified, thought Calvin.
>
  The three came to them, their skirts swishing like taffeta. Theyknelt--it was an odd movement, their high-hipped legs angling to thesides, their bodies slanting forward as their heads dropped toward thehumans--and stared at one and then another. The one who was evidentlythe leader put out his green goad, but slowly, as if showing no harm wasintended, and pushed at Calvin's jacket. The ivory ball touched hischest but no shock followed. The thing made noises, perhaps comparinghis clothing with its own.

  "Take it off, Cal," said Watkins.

  "Why?"

  "He'd like to see it. Be friendly."

  "That's it," agreed Adam, "be friendly."

  He removed his jacket and handed it to the brute, who received itdubiously, fingered it, exhibited it to the other two, and dropped it.Calvin bent to pick it up; the goad barred his way. Two large fingersplucked at his trousers. He felt himself flush with outrage.

  "No!"

  Watkins chuckled. "I'll bet you will."

  "Don't make it mad," said Adam.

  "I won't take my trousers off."

  "If we took them off, it might soothe this monster," suggested Villa."Let us throw him down and take off his pants."

  "Try it," said Calvin. The Mexican started toward him. Then the creaturehad lifted him high in the air, peering closely at the trousers. Ittugged at them. "Ouch!" said Calvin. The beast would tear them off; thehumiliation of that would be worse than removing them himself. It mightrip them to shreds. He loosened his belt and unbuttoned and unzippedjust in time; they came off over his shoes and were held up in front ofthe sunken red eyes. Calvin was set down, carefully enough, and thegarment was handed to the other monstrosities. Calvin cast a look at thestool. He was glad his wife was not witnessing his shame.

  "Nice shorts," said Villa.

  Full whirled on him, angry enough to bark out an insult, even an oath,but the man was evidently sincere in his praise.

  "Thank you," he said stiffly.

  His trousers were thrown to him and he shoved his feet into them andsecured them once more. He put on his jacket.

  One of the beasts which had not taken an active part in the business nowwalked to Mrs. Full and picked her up by the back of the waist, asthough she had been a cat, and brought her over. For one ghastly momentCalvin thought it was going to divest her of her skirt, but afterscrutinizing her a while, it set her down among them.

  He took her hand. "Are you all right, dear?"

  She was amazingly calm. "I am, Calvin, I am. I don't believe they meanus any harm, after all."

  The first great animal pointed at the box, waving his prod.

  "We're supposed to go in again, I guess," said Watkins.

  "Let's go, then," said Adam. "No sense in getting shocked."

  They trooped in, and the wall closed behind them.