Spacehounds of IPC

o to th

to level fields of lava by the rays of the invaders. Every building and every trace of human civilization had long since disappeared from the surface of the satellite. Far below the surface lay the city of Zbardk, the largest of the

to destroy a base of the hexans. We have perhaps one chance in ten thousand of returning. Therefo

ader as he watched them draw lots for the privilege of accompanying him to probable

eens and instrument panels connected to the powerful automatic lookout stations beneath the rims of

utomatic trips upon the undercarriage actuated the propelling rockets and mile after mile, with rapidly mounting velocity, the plane sped through the tube. As the exit was approached, the tunnel described a long vertical curve, so that when the opening into the shaft of the crater was reached and the undercarriage w

in, hands upon his controls and ey

d the full sphere of vision. "No reports from the rim, and all screens blank." Once more a vessel had issu

sired velocity having been attained, they were cut out and for hours the good ship "Bzark" hurtled on through t

and the commander swung his own telescopic finder into the indicated region. His hands played o

d in a straight line. He must think that we have been cleared out of the ether. Almost parallel to u

o-controlled torpedo. The rockets of the tiny missile were flaming, but that flame was visible only from the rear and no radio beam was upon it. Czuv had given it preci

do in the case the hexan

m on that account alone, but we must remember that we are upon a more important mission than attacking one hexan ship. We are far out of range of their electromagnetic detectors, and our torpedo will have such a velocity that they will h

aying upon its original course. Very soon the torpedo came within range of the detectors of the hexans. But as Captain Czuv had foretold, the detection was a fraction of a second too la

same line, but now at constant velocity, there is still a

used, so far as I know. It may be some new engine of destruction, which the hexan was towing at such a distance that the explosion of our torp

ity and soon the plane was cautiously approaching t

ptain, as his vision-ray swept through the undamaged upper portion

lf over to the airlock of the Callistonian warplane. Inside the central compartment, the strangers placed over his helmet a heavily wired harness, and he found himself instantly in full mental communication with the Callistonian commander. For several minutes they stood silent, exchanging thoughts with a rapidity impossible in any language; then, dressed in space-suits, both leaped ligh

lookouts on duty will assemble immediately in Sal

packed before the raised platform upon which were King and Czuv, wired together with the peculiar Callistonian harness. To most of the passengers, familiar with the humanity of three planets, the app

ir own names as much as possible, because they are almost unpronounceable in English or Interplanetarian. This device that you see connecting us is a Callistonian thought transformer, by means of which any two intelligent beings can converse without la

your vessel and had read your minds. I regret bitterly that we can do so little for you, for only the representatives of a human civilization being exterminated by a race of highly intelligent monsters can fully realize how desirable it is for all the various races of humanity

upon axis?" flashed from Czuv's brain, and

ur common sun, is the product of an entirely different evolution. It is a six-limbed animal, with a brain equal to our own-one perhaps in some ways superior to our own. They have nothing in common with humanity, however; they have few of our traits and fewer of our mental processes. Even we who have fought them so long can scarcely comprehend the chambers of horror

us human races, after many attempts to meet conditions of life there by variations in type fell before the hexans; who, although very small in size upon the planet, thrived there amazingly. Upon the three outer satellites humanity triumphed, and many hundreds of cycles ago the hexans of those satellites were wiped out, save for an occasional tribe of savages of low intelligence wh

earest them, and then upon fruitful Io. There they made common cause with the hexans against the humans, and in space of time Ionian humanity ceased to exist. Much traffic and interbreeding followed between the hexans of Jupiter and those of Io, resulting in time in a race intermediate in size between the parent stocks and e

s at favorable times. Finally, vessels were also sent to Io and to Europa, but none of them returned. Knowing then what to expect, Ganymede and Callisto joined forces and prepared for war. But our science, so long attuned to the arts of peace, had fallen behind lamentably in the devising of

t their beck and call forces of staggering magnitude. Therefore in our cities is no electricity save that which is wired, shielded, and grounded; no broadcast radio; no source whatever of etheri

lth so that our burrows shall not be revealed to the hexans. We are fighting for time in which our scientists may learn the secrets of power-and fearing, each new day, that the enemy may have so perfected th

and the driving forces of your lifeboats, practically broadcast as they are, would be detected and we should all be destroyed long before we could reach safety. Captain King and I have pondered long and have been able

e next few hours we can probably land upon Europa in safety, since its neighborhood is guarded but loosely. In fact, we have a city there, as yet unsuspected by the hexans, in which our scientists will continue to labor after Callisto's civilization shall have disappeared. We think that it will be safe to use your power for the short time necessary to effect a landing. We shall land in a cavern, in a crater already in communication with our city. In that cavern, instructed and aided by some of us, you will

. Why are they leaving Europa and Ganymede so unguarded that human b

and kilometers, and they have explosives thousands of times as powerful as any known to us. Ray screens are effective only against rays, and the hexans cannot destroy anything they cannot see before it strikes them. So it is that all the hexan vessels except those necessary to protect their own strongholds, are being concentrated against Callisto. They cannot spare vessels to guard uselessly the abandoned satellites. Because of the enormously high gravity of Jupiter the hexans there are safe from human attack save for ineffectual long-

willing to follow wherever the more valiant spirits led. It was decided that no attempt should be made to salvage any portion of the Arcturus, since any such attempt would be fraught with danger and since the wreckage would b

ng armor. At a signal from Captain Czuv the pilot of each lifeboat shot his tiny craft out into space and took his allotted place in the formation following closely behind the Bzarvk, flying toward Europa, now so large in the field of vision that she resembled more a world than a

aside, revealing the yawning black mouth of a horizontal tunnel. At intervals upon its roof there winked into being almost invisible points of light. Along that line of lights the lifeboats felt their way, coming finally into a huge cavern, against one sheer metal wall of which they parked in an orderly row. Roll was called, and the terrestrials walked, as well as they could in the feeble gravity of the satellite, across the vast chamber and into a conveyance somewhat res

to it and is easier to pronounce. We must finish our trip in small cars, holding ten persons each. We shall assemble again in the build

, horrible-we might as well die!" a

it as much as possible. We are alive and well, and will be able to return to Tellus eventually. Please remember that these people are p

reckenridge, in the last car to leave the portal, studied his surroundings with interest as his conveyance darted through the gateway. More or less a fatalist by nature and an adventurer,

s; pedestrians pursued their courses upon walks attached to the walls of the buildings, far above the level of the streets. The walls were themselves peculiar, rising as they did stark, unbroken, windowless expanses of metal, merging into and supporting a massive roof of the same silvery metal. Walls and roof alike reflected a soft, yet intense, white light. Soon a sliding switch ahead of them shot in and simultaneously an openin

creation, study, and amusement, of all of which you will find unsuspected stores in this underground community. You will each be registered and studied by physicians, surgeons, and psychologists; and each of you will have prescribed for him the exact diet that is necessary for his best development. You will find this diet somewhat monotonous, compared to our normal fare of natural products, since it is wholly synthetic; but that is one of the minor drawbacks that must be endured. Chief Pilot Breckenridge and I will not be with you. In some small and partial recompense for what they are doing for us all, he and I are going with Captain Czuv to Callisto, there to see whether or not we can aid them in

the building it dashed and down the crowded but noiseless thoroughfare to the portal. Signal lights flashe

er to a big car, then

ort, but to make contacts through which traffic signals are sent and received. In the tunnels the wheels do not touch at all, as signaling is unnecessary-the tunnels bein

ut their

it very well-hardl

because my vocal organs are not accustomed to making vowel sounds. Our power is obtained by the combustion of gases in highly efficient turbines. It is transmitted and used as direct current, our generator and motors being so constructed that they can produce no etheric disturbances capable of penetrating the shielding walls of our city. The city was built close to deposits of coal, oil, and gas of sufficient amount to support our life for thousands of

nformation concerning Earthly life, activity, and science. Long they talked, and it was almost time to slow

know all the vibrations you have mentioned and several others. The enemy, however, is supreme in that field, and until our scientists have succeeded in developing ray-screens, suc

are also unknown upon Mars and Venus, w

tercourse with any human civilization save that of internecine war. We, of Callisto, have only one hope-or is it really a hope? In the South Polar country of Jupiter, there dwells a race of beings implacably hostile to the hexans. They seem to invade the

othing of t

ess in that eternal fog. We know, however, that they are far advanced in science, and we are thankful indeed that none of their frightful flying fortresses have been laun

ight showing, and with no apparatus of any kind functioning. Utterly invisible and undetectable, she dove downward, and not until she was well below the crater's rim did the forward rockets burst into furious life. Then the Terrestrials understood another reason for the immense depth of those shafts other than that of protection from the detectors of the enemy-all that distance was necessary to

Callisto without finding any particular in which they could improve them to any considerable degree. Captain Czuv and his warplane still survived

at our personal horsepower can be of vastly more use to you than our brain-power, which doesn't amount to much. Your whole present policy is one of hiding

second per second, no matter how he is braced, and that is only a little greater than the normal gravity of our enemies upon Jupiter. Their vessels a

rty-five. Would it disable you permanently, o

, unless the exposure had

can navigate anything, and Breckenridge can observe as well as any of your own men. Build a plane to accelerate at forty-five meters an

d not occurred to any of us," Czuv replied a

to drive the greatly increased battery of rocket motors and for the extra supply of torpedoes carried. Waving to the group of soldiers and citizens gathered to witness the take-off of the new dreadnought of space, the three men entered the cramped operating compartment, strapped themselves into their seats, and were shot away. As usual the driving rockets w

long-range shots when we find on

range is shortened to a few kilometers, and their beams are deadly at that distance. No, our best course is to

g, who was frowning at his controls. "H

s air. She'd have to have at least fifteen hundred kilome

us all the X10 and W27 you can, without using power-we want to edge over

all she'll take, but she won't take much. With these

ts like these on the IPV's. We'll have to install some when

ir stuttering, explosive roar of power and

is after us-turn

harmless at that extreme range. King, under the pilot's direction, kept the plane at a safe distance from the

quite a while. Far

t believe they can see t

electromagnetic detectors as they were their coating of absolute black rendered the craft safe from observation. One dirigible r

e controls of his gunnery panel. "This is the first time in history

ch of more prey. It was all too plentiful, and twenty times the drama was reenacted before approaching day made it necessary for Czuv to take the controls and di

il. "You might send a couple of ships to Europa and bring back as many of the Tellurian officers as want to come and can be spared from the work there. They a

nd one Callistonian gunner. All ten took to the ether at once, and the hexan fleet melted away like frost-crystals before a su

. "With your help we have reduced their strength to a fraction of what it was, but they have not given up.

worse off than you were before-you can re

for your help. You have give

portal board and the observer of Exit One made his report-t

and accordingly King, Breckenridge, and Czuv embarked upon an expedition more hazardous far than they had supposed-an expedition whose every feature was

could not even leave the atmosphere-the hexan was upon them within a few seconds, even though the stupendous battery of rockets, full driven, had roared almost instantly into desperate action. Bomb after bomb Breckenridge hurled, with full radio control, fighting with every resource at his command, but in vain. The frightful torpedoes were

any, many cycles since they have taken Callistonians captive. They kill us at every

hile we live

tear from our minds any secrets we really wish to keep. That is useless," he went on, as Ki

s burned every metallic object out of their possession. Burning rays herded them

ere merely temporary-humanity, no matter what its breed, shall very shortly disappear from the satellites. Now, you scum of the Solar System, you shall be permitted to witness an entrancing spectacle on the way to our headquarters, where all your knowledge is to be taken from you before you die, lingeringly and horribly. Ther

pon which was pictured a huge football of scarred grey steel, Czuv was amazed to see the

d the Callistonian. "That wil

ht. He must have escaped, and there is the result. That ship there is far from innocent-her being so far out of range of any of our power-plants proves that. That vessel is the Sirius-the research laboratory of the

al of Interplanetary Life and T

rk of Space," an

RT

ounds

n fatal, if too much exposure is given. The powers of the cosmic rays have not been fully discovered as yet. And there is no reason to doubt the theory that there may be found still more destructive and powerful rays. Even wars ar

Went

tevens, designer of space ships and computer. He checks computations made by astronomers stationed in floating observatories, and after he has located any trouble and su

vessel. Nadia has herself had a good science education. While they are down at the bottom of the ship-nearing the end of their tour-Stevens feels a barely perceptible movement o

ntly effective vigilance of the enemy destroyer, Stevens and Nadia make their getaway in the lifeboat, which they aptly call "Forlorn Hope," and finally make a safe landing on Ganymede, where Stevens almost comp

anned by friendly beings from Saturn. Together they plan against their common foes-the Hexans-who are enemies of the universe. After helping the Saturnians to repair their power plant, they start back to Ganymede, aided by their new friends from the