Skylark Three

oise-Men

o get there, Mart?" Seaton asked from a corner,

I set it at what I thought the safe maxi

'd have to more than double the acceleration, and none of us could

orning from my forgetting to watch them when I tried to walk. Don't let me

fer to it as a chart, but it's three-dimensional and almost incredible. I can't say that I understand it, but I get an awful kick out of looking at it. I've been studying it a couple of hours, and

. One section of the film was always under the viewing mechanism-an optical system projecting an undistorted image into a visiplate plate

nt stars and nebulous masses of light, too distant to be resolved into separate stars-a true representation of the actual sky. As both men stared, fascinated, into the visiplate, Seaton touched the lever and they apparently traveled directly along the center line of that ever-widening wedge. As they proceeded, the nearer stars grew brighter and larger, soon becoming suns, wi

le and incomprehensible vacuum they saw faint lenticular bodies of light, which were also named, and which each man knew to be other galaxies, charted and named by the almost unlimited power of the Fenachrone astronomers, but not as yet e

e ankles, Mart? Did you ever conce

lm in each of those reels, and I see that there is a magazine full

eir names or numbers-wait a minute! How did he report our Earth on that torpedo? Pl

en three Pila

tudied the index volume. "Reel twenty

ystem is. Seaton stopped the chart when star six four seven three was at its closest range, and there

he hazy stretches and getting his knowledge straightened out so we can use it, and there's a lot of this kind of stuff in t

hich will be very useful indeed. You are right-I am intensely interested in this material, and if you do no

, I'm afraid, especially all at once, but I'm going to kinda peck around the edges a

net through number six visiplate, called Seaton away from the

ven't you got that knowledge al

dozen of mine, and it was loaded until the scuppers

f even the human brain was almost infi

erations. I think maybe I can get most of this stuff into my pe

head of ours as I gathered from

traits of the cat tribe and the carnivorous lizards-the most savage and bloodthirsty branches of the animal kingdom-and instead of getting better as they went along, they got worse, in that respect at least. But they sure do know something. When you get a month or so to spare, you want to put on this harness an

ility is fine-very few clouds-but this whole half of it is soli

e. There were a few fleecy wisps of cloud, but the entire surface upon which they gazed was one sheet of the no

olution, just like the Osnomian and Urvanian oceans-and nothing else v

and heavily covered with their green-blue vegetation, we might not be able to see even a rather lar

n line with their own sun, so it's daylight all over it. As it turns and as we get clo

fifty hours. Margaret, then at the controls, picked out the largest island visible and directed the bar toward it. As they dropped down close to their objective, they found that the air was

y place to land without getting wet, do you? Those reflectors are probably solar g

ed so closely together that little could be seen between them. Each reflector apparently focussed upon an object in the

land itself. The wall was one vertical plate of seamless metal, supporting huge metal guides, between which floated metal pontoons. From these gigantic floats metal girders and trusses went through slot

ce!" ejaculated Seaton. "Some power-plant! Folks, I'm goin

lks, I'm going to ta

eflectors, and that the island was one solid stand of tide-motors. At one end of the lagoon was an open metal structure, the only building visible, and Seaton brought the space-cruiser up to it and through the huge opening-for door there was none. The interior of the room was lighted by long, tubular lights running around in front of the walls, which were veritable switchboards. Row after row

of it, Dick?" as

frequency separable units. Millions and millions of kilowatts there, if I'

hat?" aske

h. I wouldn'

had to put you to bed afte

has been eroded to a level below that of the ocean? You picked us out an old one, all right-so old that there's no land lef

develop some fish-like traits. I do not believe, howev

that you think fish live here instead of people, and that fish did al

ad a talk about this very thing in our first trip, shortly after I met you. Remember? I commented on the fact that there must be life throughout the Universe, m

d Seaton, as he appeared with a box fu

ed Dorothy

now, then pick it up outside and follow it to where it's going. It'll go through anything, of course,

g I got from tha

certain position in front of one of the meters. Noting the bearing on the great circles, he then moved the Skylark along

this just right, we'll

the bar into the line and applied a little power, keeping the light

an't take my eyes off it for a second or I'll lo

rike the water," re

!" exclaim

nough-w

at the Skylark is as good a s

e directly into the line of fligh

Mart?" asked Sea

et, and we do not seem t

the planet-through the ground. If so, we'd have had to go back and trace another

ess we g

beam of energy, traveling at a hundred miles an hour,

us. I bet we're making the water

, I guess. It sure takes power to dr

ht be a whale at first, but it is a boat and it is what we are aiming fo

detector lamp went out. "It's a relief to follow something I can see, instead of trying to

elescopic visiplate. Finally the stranger stopped and rose to the surface between two rows of subm

where we're going,

floating isleport, like what it told about i

ook it over," and water flew in all directions as the Skylark burst out of t

together, and there were numerous open lagoons. The water around the entire city was covered with wave-motors. From their great height the visitors could see an occasional submarine moving slowly under the

nes, speedboats, and fast seaplanes. Fish or not, they're not so slow. I'm going to grab o

u know the proverb," Crane c

Seaton returned as the Skylark dropped rapid

k," Dorothy chuckled. "You forget all abo

point a finger at us, I'm going

e of force, slowly lowered the vessel down past the reflectors and to the surface of the water. Through the visiplate he saw the crowd

curious, Mart. I've already got the repellers on

t the ray

thing. They'll stop any ray attack and this arenak hull will stop anything else we are ap

ray-generator trained upon the Skylark. Seaton stood motionless, his right hand raised in the universal sign of peace, his left holding at his hip an automatic pistol charged with X-plosive shells-while Crane,

is thick skin was of the characteristic Osnomian green and his eyes were the usual black, but he had no hair whatever. His shoulders, though broad and enormously strong, were very sloping, and his powerful arms were little more than half as long as would have been expected had they belonged to a human being of his size. The hands and feet were very large and very broad, and the fingers and toes were heavily webbed. His high domed forehead appeared even higher because of the t

reet you. I would offer you refreshment, as is our custom, but I fear that your chemistry is but ill adapted to our customary fare. If there be au

he power systems you employ, and from what I have learned of the composition of your suns and planets, I a

eed cannot be built and many new projects cannot be started, all for lack of power. For one gram of that metal I see plated upon that copper cylinder, of whose very existence no scientist upon Dasor has had even an inkling, we woul

e formal language he had been employing. "Have you

mathematics fairly well. You see, our race i

, this is Sacner Carfon, Chief of the Council of the planet Dasor. They saw us all the time, and when we headed for this, the Sixth City, he came over from the capital, or First City, in the fla

ton went to one of the store-rooms and brought ou

if you were to dismiss your submarine. With you to pilot us, we can ta

heir journey from the Sixth City, they found a curious and excited crowd awaiting them. The central portion of the lagoon was almost covered by the small surface craft, while the sides, separated from the sidewalks by the curbs, were full of swimmers. The peculiar Dasorian equivale

sit! They could give the New York subway

h was full of people, heads almost touching feet, unconcernedly being borne along, completely immersed in that mad current. As the passenger saw daylight and felt the stream begin to drop, he righted himself, apparently selecting an objective point, and rode the current down into the ocean. A few quick strokes, and he was either at

k! They'll kill th

d that way-you could hardly hit one of them enough with a baseball bat to hurt him. And as for drowning-they can out-swim a fish, and can stay

velocity of flow, C

ter flows through it. This was necessary in order to save power. At each intersection there are four stand pipes and automatic swim-counters that regulate the volume of water and the number of tubes in use. This is ordinarily a quiet pool

ople, leading from the ocean level up to the top of a tall metal tower. As the passengers reached

dling people!" exclaimed Seaton. "

casions as this, that they are ever loaded to capacity. Some of the channels in the middle of the city have as many

han once in the New York subway, and been in some perfectly frightful

olling machines allow only so many persons to enter any tube-if more should try to enter than can be carried comfortably, the surplu

he receiving pool, which was now one solid mass except for the sp

idence is the fifth cubicle on the right side of this channel. Our custom demands that you accept the hospitality of my home, if only

the door of his house, and preceded his guests within. The room was large and square, and built of a synthetic, non-corroding metal, as was the entire city. The walls were tastefully decorated with striking geometrical designs in many-colored metal, and upon the floor was a softly wov

feminine replica of himself, although she

en is far away, is he?" C

t came down, it is only because someone stronger than he pushed him aside. You know how bo

hy 'Seven'?" asked Dorothy,

as not explained these things to you. Our population must not be allowed to increase, therefore each couple can have only two children.

ors have given us the secret of power, and we shall be able to

itors. "For that we Dasorians thank you more than words can express. Perhaps you strangers do not know what it means to wan

ot a half-grown boy, swimming so rapidly that he scarcely touched the coaming as he

short ride, in your vessel before you g

n sternly, and the ex

irs, but I wa

our parents will let you." He turned to Carfon. "I'm not so far beyond that stage my

elighted to accompany us down to the office, and it wi

girl, too?" Dorot

orians sleep floating in thermostatically controlled tanks, buoyed up in water of the temperature they like best, in a fashion that no Earthly springs and mattresses can a

ed concerning the two planets and their races of peoples, Carfon drew six metal goblets of di

the Council, and while Dorothy and Margaret showed the eager Seven all over the vessel, Seaton explaine

a depth of vision, a sheer power of imagination and grasp, that no member of our older civilization could approach. I believe that you are right in your conclusions. We have no such rays nor forces upon this planet, and never have had; but the sixth planet of our own

didn't

cket-ships for hundreds of generations. We have never been able to reach Six with them, but we visited Three long ago; and every one who went there came back as soon as he could. We detest land. It is hard, barren, unfriendly. We have everything, here upon Dasor. Food is plentiful, synthetic or natural, as we prefer

ent. But how do I get to planet Six? Its distance is terrific, even as cosmic distances go. You won't have any night unti

l send out a call for the chief astronomer. He will

ne men in control of the entire planet. The ceremony over and their course caref

s is no idle word-if we can assist you in any way in this conflict which is to come, the resources of this planet are