Читать книгу The Shadow People - John Russell Fearn - Страница 5

CHAPTER ONE

EMERGENCE

Here was the unbelievable. The highly trained scientific minds of the Golden Amazon of Earth, and her husband, Abna of Jupiter, were grappling with the completely unexpected—a vision such as they had never hoped to see; and now they did see it, they could not understand it.

The space machine in which they were traveling was nearly motionless. It hung in a lavender haze, an infinite space, in which there was no top or bottom. It extended to the limit of vision—and yet here and there were glittering stars, brightly scintillating points that suggested there were other worlds. Yet how could this be when occasionally across the vastness there marched the shadows of gigantic people—shadows so enormous that they plunged the space machine into eclipse every time they passed.

At last the Amazon stirred from the wonder of the view. She turned a face of phenomenal beauty and intelligence to the man beside her, and Abna, the seven-foot giant of Jupiter, merely shrugged.

“I don’t understand it, Vi,” he admitted. “We’ve been in lots of queer places, but never one like this.”

“There’s Viona’s space machine, anyway,” the Amazon said, nodding to the infinity.

“Yes.…” Abna relapsed into thought, swiftly going over the events that had led up to this singular experience.

Some time before, an enormously powerful nuclear bomb had been exploded. For some reason unexplained, its core had released a mysterious form of purple energy that had blown Viona—daughter of the Amazon and Abna—into an entirely different space. Now the Amazon and Abna had repeated the condition and they, too, were absorbed into this unexplained region. The only concrete thing they could hang on to was the fact that Viona’s machine was not far away, moving against the pinpoints of the stars. Within the machine the girl herself was presumably alive, and Mexone, her husband, also.

“Try radio,” Abna decided at length, and crossed to the instrument board. He spent a moment or two adjusting the controls and listening to the queer whistling note from the speaker.

“Abna calling Viona,” he intoned into the microphone. “Can you hear me?”

There was a crackling of static, a wailing note, and then a reedy voice answered. It was unmistakably the voice of Viona.

“Dad! It’s you? Where are you?”

“Approximately 2,000 miles away,” Abna responded, looking at the instruments. “We can see you clearly as a moving speck despite the distance. I’ll flash a signal light and maybe you’ll be able to spot it.”

He gave a nod to the Amazon, and she promptly pressed the switch of the single searchlight with which the machine was equipped. A brilliant light flashed on and off into the void, and immediately Viona’s voice chattered again in the loudspeaker.

“Yes, I see it! Keep on flashing so I shan’t lose you. What do I do now? Fly toward you?”

“Yes, you’d better do that. All four of us had better get together again. We’re not going to achieve anything separately.”

With that Abna switched off and crossed to the window to watch developments. The Amazon beside him, they stood surveying the lilac haze—the shadows of people crossing it occasionally—and in particular their attention concentrated on that tiny glittering speck which was Viona’s space machine. Why it glittered when there was no visible sun was only one of the mysteries in this region. Light seemed to be transmitted brilliantly, but indirectly.

“There was something in that bomb which caused all this to happen,” the Amazon remarked, as she watched the distant space machine slowly turn and head in their direction. “I’m just trying to think what it could have been. And it repeated twice, don’t forget—once for Viona and Mexone, and again for us.… We’ve got to find out what happened.”

“True enough, but it can wait until later. I want to find out something about this space to begin with.”

The Amazon nodded, taking her eyes for a moment from the advancing space machine to the mysteries of infinity around her. She frowned as a titanic pair of legs came and went—shadows again, like the elongated shadows cast by a setting sun. They seemed to extend for infinite miles. For a moment she thought she had the solution, then it evaded her again.

The distant space machine grew. Abna waited until it was near enough to see the outlines clearly, then he crossed again to the radio and switched it on.

“Draw alongside,” he instructed. “We’ll put airlock to airlock and you can jump through. Okay?”

“Yes—okay,” came Viona’s young, eager voice. “Shan’t be long now.”

In that she was correct. When at last a dull thud and a slight quiver of the spaceship announced that contact was complete, Abna unfastened the somewhat old-fashioned airlock. Presently the airlock of Viona’s machine was drawn into airtight contact by suction, and in a moment she and Mexone had made the easy leap from one machine to the other.

“Thank goodness for that!” Viona exclaimed, and threw herself into the Amazon’s arms.

For a moment there was a tangle of golden and copper hair as mother and daughter embraced. Abna grinned, shook the big hand of Mexone, and then closed the airlock. In a few moments he was driving the machine away from the abandoned vessel, cruising to nowhere in particular.

“Well, what sort of a place are we in?” Viona questioned, turning at last and swinging to Abna’s embrace. “Any ideas, dad?”

“I’ve had little time to formulate any. One thing I do know: this is a space we’re not familiar with. Even the stars and constellations are cockeyed, aren’t they, Vi?”

But the Amazon did not reply. She was again at the window, her unfathomable violet eyes contemplating space. She did not even seem to be aware there were others in the control room. Her extraordinary mind was given over entirely to the mystery of the surroundings.

“We’ve tried to figure it out, but we just get nowhere,” Mexone said, as Abna glanced at him. “It was something to do with that exploding bomb we dropped—and that seems to be the limit of what we can discover.”

“You weren’t hurt at all when you were blown in this space?” Abna asked.

“Not at all,” Viona responded. “Plenty of bruises, but we don’t bruise easy. We were worried because we didn’t know how to begin finding the way back. Now, of course, everything will be all right.”

Abna smiled slightly. The superb trust the younger ones had in himself and the Amazon was something he did not accept lightly. He knew the responsibility, and was proud to wrestle with it.

“I may be wrong,” said the Amazon at last, her voice slow and thoughtful, “but I don’t think those stars are stars at all!”

“Then what—are they?” Viona asked hesitantly, her sapphire blue eyes full of wonder.

The reply was unexpected, yet to the point. “I think they’re lighted windows!”

“Windows?” Abna repeated. “How do you make that out?”

“Imagine yourself as a worm,” the Amazon mused.

“Sometimes I am, in your estimation.”

The violet eyes flashed reproof. “Don’t go off into one of your ‘little boy’ moods, Abna. This is serious! I repeat, imagine yourself a worm, at night, looking up at the tallest building in London. You’d see lighted windows, spread out against the dark.”

Abna looked long and earnestly, then he gave a low whistle.

“I believe you’re right,” he said slowly.

“There’s another thing,” the Amazon went on, “and that’s the size of these shadow people. By comparison they would just be about normal if the stars we see are windows—normal, that is, for entry into one of the buildings.”

“Could be,” Viona murmured, also looking. “Have you got a theory about all this, mother?”

“Certainly I have. We all know that matter, when reduced to the last analysis, is basically a series of electrical charges with atomic spaces between. It is then visible only as a misty outline. To use an analogy— Look at a newspaper photograph from a distance, and it is perfectly normal. Look at it near-to and one sees an interspacing and the texture of the paper, with the picture only as a vague outline. So it is here.…” The Amazon paused for a moment, thinking. Then: “Long ago, in one of our experiences, we were plunged into the infinitely small, the region of atomic space. From that adventure we learned a good deal about relativity. That was an instance of being in the microcosm. I am wondering if perhaps there isn’t a similar case here, only instead of being the microcosm, it’s the macrocosm, the infinitely large.”

“Meaning,” Abna said at length, “that in our leap from normal space we extended infinitely and burst through the molecule which is our universe into an immensely greater one beyond? That being so, we are reduced to midget—indeed microscopic—size by comparison with our surroundings?”

“That is what I think has happened,” the Amazon agreed. “And we can never hope to understand these shadow people, or gain the least conception of the space we’re in, unless we, too, are of the same size.”

“Which looks like being pretty well impossible,” Viona said ruefully.

“There’s radio though,” Mexone put in quickly. “Surely it is possible that these people know what radio is? They might be able to contact us that way?”

“Perhaps.…” Abna was thinking hard. “Don’t forget that if this theory of a macrocosm is true, then a lot of other things are involved. Speech, for one thing. What is normal speech to us will just sound like so much chatter to them. On the other hand, their voices will be slow, sonorous, and generally unintelligible to our ears. Even apart from being an alien language.”

“Well, I’m all for trying the radio anyway.” Mexone hurried across to the radio equipment and switched it on. The Amazon, Abna, and Viona drifted slowly to his side and watched and listened intently. That the radio worked all right the Amazon and Abna knew full well, for they had, earlier, contacted Viona with the self-same apparatus; but whether it would establish any communication with the colossi was another matter.

After a series of preliminary whistles and squeaks from the loudspeaker, the power settled down to normal, and Mexone did the usual intoning into the microphone. Time and again he repeated the process, without any apparent effect. Finally he looked up with a frustrated glance.

“Waste of time, I’m afraid. No sign of a reaction.”

“Leave the speaker open in case of response,” Abna suggested. “Maybe these giants will require a little while to adapt themselves to our language. In the meantime, let’s consider alternatives.”

The Amazon gave a sharp glance. “Alternatives? What alternatives? There aren’t any.”

“There have got to be,” Abna responded calmly. “You must have realized the position as clearly as anybody. Either we cruise around here in this ultra-atomic space until our food gives out and we pass away, or else we think up some way of blowing ourselves back into the normal space from which we came. Lastly, we have the alternative of increasing our size to that of the colossi. It may be dangerous to meet them; equally, it may not. But it won’t be the first time we’ve taken a chance.”

“You talk very freely about increasing our size to that of the colossi,” the Amazon remarked. “How exactly?”

Abna grinned. “I don’t know offhand, but the mind should rise superior to any material problem.”

The Amazon gave a dubious glance. Though she knew Abna was capable of the most incredible mental gymnastics, she always had this feeling of profound doubt beforehand. He had—to her—the irritating habit of making it all seem so simple.

“For the moment,” Abna said, “let us see if our giant friends have any communication to send us. If not, we’ll get busy.”

“Assume a less difficult problem first,” Mexpne suggested. “Supposing we decide to get back into our own space and leave this one forever unexplored. How do we do that?”

Abna brooded. The schoolboy-like smile had gone from his powerful features, and he was again the skilled superhuman scientist.

“Since we got here by the explosion of a particular type of bomb, we ought to get out the same way,” he commented finally. “But there are other factors, since everything must now be reversed. It is a matter of implosion instead of explosion. We must be—”

“Say, something’s happening out here!” It was Viona’s suddenly excited voice. She was gazing out of the window on to the depths of atomic space, Mexone as ever by her side.

“Happening?” the Amazon repeated, turning. “In what way?”

“Come and look for yourself! The stars are growing bigger—or at least it looks that way.”

The Amazon crossed to the window and Abna joined her. In puzzled silence all four stood for a moment surveying, and gradually it became apparent to them what Viona meant. The nearest ‘pyramid’ constellation of stars was undoubtedly altering shape.

“What’s happening?” Viona asked breathlessly, and it was her father who answered her.

“I’ll take one guess. That radio message we sent out was infinite in wavelength, not limited as was our message to you. Maybe it penetrated to the understanding of the colossi and made them realize that, although they couldn’t answer, they could fix our position. Right now I’d say they’ve found us and are saving us a lot of trouble by enlarging us.… Yes,” Abna added, with an intent study outside. “I’m sure of it!”

In a matter of seconds there was no longer any doubt of it. The shifting ‘stars’ changed position again and steadily grew larger, so much so that it finally became apparent that they were not stars at all, but, as the Amazon had guessed earlier, windows. Here and there across this lighted space there strode an occasional gigantic figure, but as the time passed, the giantism began to shrink and the stars assumed their normal aspect of windows in a truly tremendous building.

After that the transition from smallness to normality—if such it could be called—in a world gigantic beyond imagination was rapid. Suddenly the quartet within the space machine realized that everything had become still and that their vessel was standing in the center of an enormously long street, flanked on either side by buildings with a multiplicity of windows. It was night here, and out of the darkness an occasional figure walked, paused to stare in wonder, and then continued onwards.

“Apparently,” Abna said finally, peering outside, “we’ve landed! It seems to be a main street of some sort. I assume the enlargement was done for us, but by what sort of apparatus has me guessing.”

“Must be some kind of long-distance vibration for increasing the electronic orbits of ourselves and the ship,” the Amazon commented.

None of the others attempted to question the rightness or wrongness of her theory: they were too busy gazing outside. As Abna had said, they had materialized in some kind of main street in a gigantic metropolis. The city sprawled for untold miles into the distance, ablaze with light and activity. Perhaps, though, this street was not a very important one, for vehicular traffic seemed to be nonexistent, and pedestrians were few and far between. The most interesting thing about the passers-by was the fact that they were comparatively normal when considered from Earth standards. In no sense did they have any leanings toward the grotesque.

“Well,” the Amazon said at length, inspecting the weapon belt about her slim waist. “Do we venture outside, or wait for something to happen?”

“Since we are obviously under observation,” Abna responded, “it seems it would only be common courtesy to wait for our friends to finish the job they’ve started. Besides, it will save a lot of time trying to explore. Something will happen soon.”

The Amazon nodded agreement, gazing into the long vista of buildings. Her tremendously imaginative mind was finding it impossible to realize that here was a world so big as to be beyond belief—that she herself, Abna, Viona, and Mexone were really now so gargantuan that a million million earthly universes would fit inside their little fingers, and still leave infinite room.… Such a conception was impossible of realization, even though it was the mathematical fact. This was the macrocosm, never before penetrated.

“Looks as if somebody is coming,” Mexone said presently. “See them—over to the right?”

The others looked intently. Some kind of vehicle was approaching at outlandish speed, apparently traveling in a deep groove, which now the quartet came to notice it, was gouged in the center of the road.

“Certainly traveling,” Abna commented, as the queer, ball-shaped object leaped out of the distance.

“And incidentally, we’re seeing the realization of something here which I’ve often theorized upon yet never seen actually. A monorail track.”

Such indeed proved to be the case. Moving at certainly something in the neighborhood of 300 miles an hour, the vehicle shot nearer the motionless space machine. Moving with such speed it even occasioned the quartet a momentary alarm. It seemed it could never pull up in time, and yet it did. Stopping, it was only a matter of three yards from the stationary vessel.

“Well, this is it.” The Amazon gave a grim glance as yet again she fingered the weapons in her belt. “I’m all set for trouble. How about the rest of you?”

“Why anticipate trouble?” Abna asked, with a curious glance.

“It’s all one can expect. If the assumption proves to be incorrect, it’s all the nicer.… Better get the airlock open, Abna.”

He nodded, and the metal inner covering slid back. Then before opening the outer lock he suddenly bethought himself and consulted the exterior gauges over the switchboard. Not that he need have worried: the readings were quite reassuring, giving a temperature and humidity similar to that of Earth, and a breathable atmosphere. And, from the feel of things, gravity, too, was about normal, though with the change in size it was difficult to assess correctly.

“Talk about war paint!” Viona murmured, watching through the window. “Take a look at this lot!”

The others were already looking, and once Abna had the main airlock open he, too, crossed over to the window—to observe a quartet of resplendent individuals coming from the monorail ear. All of them were tall, but not abnormally so, with exceptionally wide shoulders. Every one of them was totally bald and clean-shaven, and their attire was magnificent to the last detail. Their robes seemed to be all in one piece and were of a delightful royal blue, with a deep sash of purple thrown over the left shoulder. They looked exactly like Scriptural dignitaries of extreme wealth. Nowhere did they appear to carry arms of any sort.

Abna raised a powerful arm in the universal greeting of goodwill as they came forward.

“Greetings!” Abna exclaimed, to break the tension. “We come as friends and to bring you good tidings.”

For the first time the men smiled, not so much at the quartet as at each other. It seemed as though they had found the answer to a question that had puzzled them. Perhaps it was whether or not the quartet would prove hostile. Now they had their answer.

In response, one of the four men answered, but as had been anticipated, his language was completely incomprehensible. Finally he resorted to signs, indicating the monorail car with an unmistakable gesture.

“Do we?” the Amazon asked, with a glance, “If we lose this spaceship, we lose everything.”

“We haven’t much choice,” Abna replied, shrugging, and set the example by walking forward. It pleased him to note that the four men fell aside in deference as he moved, and he even suspected their heads were slightly bowed in subservience. All of which did much to bolster up the theory of friendship.

Abna having taken the plunge, the Amazon, Viona, and Mexone followed suit. In a moment or two they were all within the control cabin of the monorail car, gazing about them with interest upon a number of panels that, from their very nature, proved that these people were anything but ignorant of scientific laws.

Entering, the leader of the four men waved to a long, softly sprung seat. Then he and his colleague settled in special driving saddles and by automatic control the door closed. A second later the monorail car started up and, had the four not been accustomed to tremendous velocities, they would probably have been caused considerable anguish by the acceleration. Even as it was they were pressed tightly back into their sprung seats as with terrific speed the vehicle went back along the track the way it had originally come. The curious thing was that there seemed to be no lag between starting and picking up speed. Almost instantaneously the machine reached a 400-mile-an-hour velocity from a standing start, taking no cognizance of inertia or basic laws.

This was a problem that seemed to preoccupy Abna, and the Amazon, too, in a lesser way. She had not the mentality of an Abna, brilliant though she undoubtedly was.… Entirely disinterested in the scientific side issues were Viona and Mexone. Their heads close together, they gazed out of the window on the flashing scenery outside.

For a seemingly interminable time, despite their speed, there seemed to be nothing but the one enormous gouged road; but at last things began to change and they found themselves approaching the heart of the city proper. Then suddenly—stillness. Without any slowing down, or even a hint of it, the machine stopped dead. The quartet were thrown forward, but not as violently as they would have expected, but the four magnificently resplendent men seemed unconcerned as they climbed from their control saddles.

Abna, frowning, got to his feet and looked at the Amazon.

“First time I ever came across a vehicle that defied the laws of mass as this one does,” he murmured. “Things don’t seem to fit in the way we’re accustomed to.”

The Amazon nodded but did not say anything. She stood waiting as the four escorts opened the door of the vehicle and led the way outside, thereafter standing in deference for the travelers to follow.

“We’re in it now,” Abna said, shrugging. “Might as well go on with it.”

He stepped outside and waited for the others to join him. As they did so, he gazed at the gigantic edifice before which the monorail car had drawn up. It towered up 200 and more storeys with the inevitable endless lighted windows. Significantly, there was an aircraft beacon on the roof, turning its yellow guiding light constantly to the skies.

“Evidently air travel is understood,” the Amazon remarked, also seeing it. “Wonder if space travel is?”

“Soon find out,” Abna murmured, as the four escorts started to walk forward, and presently up the wide steps of the building. Automatic doors slid aside.

Inside they crossed an immense hall, on the perimeter of which were several wide corridors. They followed their escorts into one of the corridors, then passed along it until they came to a room of tremendous proportions. In fact, it was more than a room; it had something in common with an electrical laboratory. There was, too, a hum of power and, from a great distance, the droning of dynamos. Over it all glowed the bright light of this world, though where it came from was skillfully hidden.

The leader of the quartet made a series of signals to signify that his part of the job was finished, and with a bow he retired with his colleagues and closed the platinum door. Abna turned from watching him go and gave a glance of inquiry.

“Well, what now, I wonder? And say, couldn’t we do something with a lab like this, Vi?”

The Amazon seemed about to reply, then she paused as in the center aisleway a figure suddenly appeared—tall, bald-headed, and with an air of serene composure. He advanced silently.