Sleepers Of Mars
- Автор: Уиндем Джон Паркс Лукас Бейнон Харрис
- Год: 1977
- Язык: английский
- Год: Coronet Books/Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
- ISBN: 0340173262
- Жанр: Научная фантастика
Электронная книга - «Sleepers Of Mars». Краткое содержание книги:
Of course, we are now well used to the idea of Man On The Moon, we have become blasé as to the possibilities of inter-planetary travel. But imagine two expeditions to Mars, one British, the other Russian, both in the process of discovering a mechanical race, invented and produced by the Martians as they believe their specie to be dying.
The other four novellas in this collection give further evidence of John Wyndham’s genius at invention, characterisation and sense of movement.
In the forecourt my car waited, balancing on its gyroscopes. I approached it unmolested and slid thankfully into the driving-seat. The hand which I put out for the steering-stick was trembling violently. The gates opened before me, and I jerked the machine forward.
So far, so good. But where was I to go? When Zacta’s body should be found, every man and woman in Atlantis would be against me. Every man… ? No, perhaps some of my assistants would understand. The vibrator meant everything to them. They would realise that obedience would have caused all our work of years to go for nothing.
Tlantec, my head assistant, was near Azco, where he had been superintending the erection of the vibrators. A glance at the indicators showed me that the batteries were almost full; there would be more than enough power to take me to Azco. I made to the east side of Zapetl and opened flat out. The little gyro-car gave everything she had.
Some hours later, I slid to a stop outside the control-house on the cliffs above Azco. Over the house towered Number One Pylon, supporting the greatest of the vibrators. Far to the north I could see a similar, though smaller pylon, the second of the chain we had erected.
Before I could climb out of the car, the door of the house opened. Tlantec, with a dart-tube in his hand, stood facing me. I knew that the news had reached him.
‘Zacta is dead,’ he said. ‘They say you killed him.’
I began to explain, and Tlantec’s eyes grew wide as he listened. When I spoke of Zacta’s ban on the vibrators, he stared incredulously.
‘But why—why?’
I repeated the old man’s words, and he frowned.
‘He must have been mad. The greatest power in all the ages to be thrown away for an old wives’ tale! ’
‘And so,’ I finished, ‘it came to that. Nothing would alter Zacta’s mind once it was made up. Either he or the vibrator had to be destroyed.’
There was a considerable pause. I waited anxiously for Tlantec’s decision, for my immediate fate was in his hands. If he should choose to shoot me where I stood, he would be acclaimed a national hero. He lowered the tube slowly, gazed at it in a half absence of mind, and then turned his eyes back to me.
‘You were right, Xtan,’ he said, ‘but I wish there had been some other way.’
I nodded. ‘So do I—but you know Zacta’s power. There was no other way.’
We walked together into the house. ‘And now?’ he asked.
‘We must communicate at once with the other pylons. If necessary, the vibrators must fight against their own destruction. As soon as it is known that I am here we shall be attacked.’
Tlantec looked white. ‘You mean that we must turn the machines to landward—train them on our own people?’ ;
‘How else can we protect them?’
He went away to call up the other pylons, while I searched for some badly-needed food. He was gone perhaps half an hour. When he came back, it was with a serious expression.
‘Pylons 2, 3 and 5 are agreed to stand with us,’ he reported, ‘but numbers 4 and 6 are opposed. They say that if Zacta condemned vibrators, then vibrators must be destroyed, and they will obey him.’
I thought rapidly. If pylons 4 and 6 were to turn their machines on us, it would be the end. ‘Quick,’ I said, ‘get the protection suits.’
While I was still struggling into mine, Tlantec had fastened his and gone to the window. He called me to him and pointed down to the town. Even at this distance of three miles it was plain that something unusual was taking place.
From the city gates a crowd of men and women was hurrying along the road towards us. Either Pylon 4 or Pylon 6 must have informed the town where I was to be found, and the crowd was out to avenge Zacta. I hurried to the message machine and made connection with the military barracks in Azco.
‘Xtan speaking,’ I called. ‘Head back your people, or I will not be responsible for the consequences.’
I crossed to the big control wheel in the middle of the room and spun it. The big vibrator far above swung slowly to face the town. Tlantec was looking very pale.
‘But this is only a mob—unarmed,’ he protested.
‘A mob is capable of destroying the vibrator. They must be stopped. Switch on minimum power.’
He obeyed with reluctance. The crowd was as yet out of range, and we watched intently. A mile and a half away from us they came to a stop. Those in front were behaving queerly, staggering and moving with queer, twitching, wooden actions. The vibrations at that distance were too weak to kill them, but strong enough to disorganise their movements. Those behind did not understand what was happening, and relentlessly pushed forward; several of the leaders dropped and lay still.
Those to the rear suddenly realised what they faced. They surged to and fro in panic, then broke and retreated pell-mell. The message machine rang stridently.
‘Pylon Number 2 speaking. Have you gone mad, Xtan?’
‘The vibrators must be saved—at any cost.’
The reply was bitter. ‘You have killed a score of unarmed men already, Xtan. We won’t stand for massacring our own countrymen.’
‘But if they get close they’ll wreck us,’ I said desperately.
The voice answered with a sneer. ‘Are you sure it’s not your own skin you’re worrying about? You murdered Zacta. Pylon Number 2 is quitting, and the rest will, too.’
The machine went dead. Tlantec spoke from the window. ‘They’re running back into the town.’
Following his words came a whine overhead, followed by a dull, distant boom. We looked at each other. The guns behind Azco had opened up. There was only one way for us to silence them. ‘Full power on the vibrator.’ I ordered.
Tlantec did not move. He stared at me with a curious intentness. ‘We should destroy all Azco,’ he protested again.
‘Those guns must be stopped,’ I insisted.
‘Every man in the town and for miles around would die. You must be mad. Think of the consequences, man! You’d ruin the country.’
I shrugged my shoulders and walked across to the switchboard. What were a few lives? To me, at that moment, no price seemed too big to pay for the preservation of the vibrator. But before I could pull over the handle Tlantec was upon me.
The force of his attack hurled me to the floor, but he could get no hold on the cumbersome garments I wore. I wrenched free and rolled to one side, but before I could rise he was on me again, hammering with futile fists against the heavy clothing. I groped desperately for my dart-tube, only to remember that it was inside my suit, out of reach. With a heave and a twist, I managed to roll uppermost again.
Both of us were breathing hard, for the suits were weighty. I sought with clumsy gloves for his throat, but when I found it, it was impossible to get a grip. Swiftly I changed my tactics and began to fumble for the fastenings of his suit. The vibrator was still at minimum power and directed towards the town, but here, right below it, there might be sufficient radiation to do the job….
Tlantec felt my change of plan and knew what I was after. His struggles grew still more desperate, swinging me from side to side in an effort to throw me off, and causing my groping hands to slip again and again from the fastener. At last I managed to get a finger through the ring, and at that moment Tlantec put forth his mightiest effort. The heave he gave sent me flying to one side, but my finger remained crooked in the ring, and as I went his suit was ripped open. I felt him quiver as the vibrator did its work. He never moved again.
I struggled up, dizzy and panting. Another rumbling boom reached me. How many shots had been fired while we struggled, I could not tell. It was surprising that the pylon had not been hit already. With an effort, I lurched across the room and pulled the full-power switch. I let it stay for a minute before I pushed it back into place and crossed to the windows.