He walked slowly down the ramp7, drawing deep breaths of the crisp air. The day would grow warmer with the rising sun. But now it was just the sort of morning which led him to be glad he was alive—and young! Maybe part of it was because he was free of the ship and at last not just excess baggage but a man with a definite job before him.
Spacemen tended to be young. But until this moment Raf had never felt the real careless freedom of youth. Now he was moved by a desire to disobey orders—to take the flitter up by himself and head off into the blue of the brightening sky for more than just a test flight, not to explore Hobart's city but to cruise over the vast sea of grass and find out its wonders for himself.
But the discipline which had shaped him almost since birth sent him now to check the flyer and wait, inwardly impatient, for Hobart, Lablet, and Soriki, the com-tech, to join him.
The wait was not a long one since the three others, with equipment hung about, tramped down the ramp as Raf settled himself behind the control board of the flyer. He triggered the shield which snapped over them for a windbreak and brought the flitter up into the spreading color of the morning. Beside him Hobart pressed the button of the automatic recorder, and in the seat behind, Soriki had the headset of the com clamped over his ears. They were not only making a record of their trip, they were continuing in constant[37] communication with the ship—now already a silver pencil far to the rear.
It was some two hours later that they discovered what was perhaps one reason for the isolation9 of the district in which the RS 10 had set down. Rolling foothills rose beneath them and miles ahead the white-capped peaks of a mountain range made a broken outline against the turquoise10 sky. The broken lands would be a formidable barrier for any foot travelers: there were no easy roads through that series of sharp lifts and narrow valleys. And the one stream they followed for a short space descended11 from the heights in spectacular falls. Twice they skimmed thick growths of trees, so tightly packed that from the air they resembled a matted carpet of green-blue. And to cut through such a forest would be an impossible task.
The four in the flitter seldom spoke12. Raf kept his attention on the controls. Sudden currents of air were tricky13 here, and he had to be constantly alert to hold the small flyer on an even keel. His glimpses of what lay below were only snatched ones.
At last it was necessary to zoom14 far above the vegetation of the lower slopes, to reach an altitude safe enough to clear the peaks ahead. Since the air supply within the windshield was constant they need not fear lack of oxygen. But Raf was privately15 convinced, as they soared, that the range might well compare in height with those Asian mountains which dominated all the upflung reaches of his native world.
When they were over the sharp points of that chain disaster almost overtook them. A freakish air current caught the flitter as if in a giant hand, and Raf fought for control as they lost altitude past the margin16 of safety. Had he not allowed for just such a happening they might have been smashed against one of the rock tips over which they skimmed to a precarious17 safety. Raf, his mouth dry, his hands sweating on the controls, took them up—higher than was necessary—to coast above the last of that rocky spine18 to see below[38] the beginning of the downslopes leading to the plains the range cut in half. He heard Hobart draw a hissing19 breath.
"That was a close call." Lablet's precise, lecturer's voice cut through the drone of the motor.
"Yeah," Soriki echoed, "looked like we might be sandwich meat there for a while. The kid knows his stuff after all."
Raf grinned a little sourly, but he did not answer that. He ought to know his trade. Why else would he be along? They were each specialists in one or two fields. But he had good sense enough to keep his mouth shut. That way the less one had to regret minutes—or hours—later.
The land on the south side of the mountains was different in character to the wild northern plains.
"Fields!"
It did not require that identification from Lablet to point out what they had already seen. The section below was artificially divided into long narrow strips. But the vegetation growing on those strips was no different from the northern grass they had seen about the spacer.
Raf brought the flitter closer to the ground so that when a domed23 structure arose out of a tangle24 of overgrown shrubs25 and trees they were not more than fifty feet above it. There was no sign of life about the dwelling26, if dwelling it was, and the unkempt straggle of growing things suggested that it had been left to itself through more than one season. Lablet wanted to set down and explore, but the captain was intent upon reaching the city. A solitary27 farm was of little value compared with what they might learn from a metropolis28. So, rather to Raf's relief, he was ordered on.
He could not have explained why he shrank from such investigation29. Where earlier that morning he had wanted to take the flitter and go off by himself to ex[39]plore the world which seemed so bright and new, now he was glad that he was only the pilot of the flyer and that the others were not only in his company but ready to make the decisions. He had a queer distaste for the countryside, a disinclination to land near that dome22.
Beyond the first of the deserted30 farms they came to the highway and, since the buckled31 and half-buried roadway ran south, Hobart suggested that they use it as a visible guide. More isolated32 dome houses showed in the course of an hour. And their fields were easy to map from the air. But nowhere did the Terrans see any indication that those fields were in use. Nor were there any signs of animal or bird life. The weird33 desolation of the landscape began to work its spell on the men in the flitter. There was something unnatural34 about the country, and with every mile the flyer clocked off, Raf longed to be heading in the opposite direction.
The domes35 drew closer together, made a cluster at crossroads, gathered into a town in which all the buildings were the same shape and size, like the cells of a wasp36 nest. Raf wondered if those who had built them had not been humanoid at all, but perhaps insects with a hive mind. And because that thought was unpleasant he resolutely37 turned his attention to the machine he piloted.
They passed over four such towns, all marking intersections38 of roads running east and west, north and south, with precise exactness. The sun was at noon or a little past that mark when Captain Hobart gave the order to set down so that they could break out rations39 and eat.
Raf brought the flitter down on the cracked surface of the road, mistrusting what might lie hidden in the field grass. They got out and walked for a space along pavement which had once been smooth.
"High-powered traffic—" That was Lablet. He had[40] gone down on one knee and was tracing a finger along the substance.
"Straight—" Soriki squinted41 against the sun. "Nothing stopped them, did it? We want a road here and we'll get it! That sort of thing. Must have been master engineers."
To Raf the straight highways suggested something else. Master engineering, certainly. But a ruthlessness too, as if the builders, who refused to accept any modifications42 of their original plans from nature, might be as arrogant43 and self-assured in other ways. He did not admire this relic44 of civilization; in fact it added to his vague uneasiness.
The land was so still, under the whisper of the wind. He discovered that he was listening—listening for the buzz of an insect, the squeak45 of some grass dweller46, anything which would mean that there was life about them. As he chewed on the ration40 concentrate and drank sparingly from his canteen, Raf continued to listen. Without result.
Hobart and Lablet were engrossed47 in speculation48 about what might lie ahead. Soriki had gone back to the flitter to make his report to the ship. The pilot sat where he was, content to be forgotten, but eager to see an animal peering at him from cover, a bird winging through the air.
"—if we don't hit it by nightfall—But we can't be that far away! I'll stay out and try tomorrow." That was Hobart. And since he was captain what he said was probably what they would do. Raf shied away from the thought of spending the night in this haunted land. Though, on the other hand, he would be utterly49 opposed to lifting the flitter over those mountains again except in broad daylight.
But the problem did not arise, for they found their city in the midafternoon, the road bringing them straight to an amazing collection of buildings, which appeared doubly alien to their eyes since it did not include any of the low domes they had seen heretofore.[41]
Here were towers of needle slimness, solid blocks of almost windowless masonry50 looking twice as bulky beside those same towers, archways stringing at dizzy heights above the ground from one skyscraper51 to the next. And here time and nature had been at work. Some of the towers were broken off, a causeway displayed a gap—Once it had been a breathtaking feat4 of engineering, far more impressive than the highway, now it was a slowly collapsing52 ruin.
But before they had time to take it all in Soriki gave an exclamation53. "Something coming through on our wave band, sir!" He leaned forward to dig fingers into Hobart's shoulder. "Message of some kind—I'd swear to it!"
Hobart snapped into action. "Kurbi—set down—there!"
His choice of a landing place was the flat top of a near-by building, one which stood a little apart from its neighbors and, as Raf could see, was not overlooked except by a ruined tower. He circled the flitter. The machine had been specially54 designed to land and take off in confined spaces, and he knew all there was possible to learn about its handling on his home world. But he had never tried to bring it down on a roof, and he was very sure that now he had no margin for error left him, not with Hobart breathing impatiently beside him, his hands moving as if, as a pilot of a spacer, he could well take over the controls here.
Raf circled twice, eyeing the surface of the roof in search of any break which could mean a crack-up at landing. And then, though he refused to be hurried by the urgency of the men with him, he came in, cutting speed, bringing them down with only a slight jar.
Hobart twisted around to face Soriki. "Still getting it?"
The other, cupping his earphones to his head with his hands, nodded. "Give me a minute or two," he told them, "and I'll have a fix. They're excited about[42] something—the way this jabber-jabber is coming through—"
"About us," Raf thought. The ruined tower topped them to the south. And to the east and west there were buildings as high as the one they were perched on. But the town he had seen as he maneuvered55 for a landing had held no signs of life. Around them were only signs of decay.
Lablet got out of the flitter and walked to the edge of the roof, leaning against the parapet to focus his vision glasses on what lay below. After a moment Raf followed his example.
Silence and desolation, windows like the eye pits in bone-picked skulls56. There were even some small patches of vegetation rooted and growing in pockets erosion had carved in the walls. To the pilot's uninformed eyes the city looked wholly dead.
"Got it!" Soriki's exultant57 cry brought them back to the flitter. As if his body was the indicator58, he had pivoted59 until his outstretched hand pointed60 southwest. "About a quarter of a mile that way."
They shielded their eyes against the westering sun. A block of solid masonry loomed61 high in the sky, dwarfing62 not only the building they were standing63 on but all the towers around it. Its imposing64 lines made clear its one-time importance.
He dropped his glasses to swing on their cord, his eyes glistening66 as he spoke directly to Raf.
"Can you set us down on that?"
The pilot measured the curving roof of the structure. A crazy fool might try to make a landing there. But he was no crazy fool. "Not on that roof!" he spoke with decision.
To his relief the captain confirmed his verdict with a slow nod. "Better find out more first." Hobart could be cautious when he wanted to. "Are they still broadcasting, Soriki?"[43]
The com-tech had stripped the earphones from his head and was rubbing one ear. "Are they!" he exploded. "I'd think you could hear them clear over there, sir!"
And they could. The gabble-gabble which bore no resemblance to any language Terra knew boiled out of the phones.
"Someone's excited," Lablet commented in his usual mild tone.
"Maybe they've discovered us." Hobart's hand went to the weapon at his belt. "We must make peaceful contact—if we can."
Lablet took off his helmet and ran his fingers through the scrappy ginger-and-gray fringe receding67 from his forehead. "Yes—contact will be necessary—" he said thoughtfully.
Well, he was supposed to be their expert on that. Raf watched the older man with something akin8 to amusement. The pilot had a suspicion that none of the other three, Lablet included, was in any great hurry to push through contact with unknown aliens. It was a case of dancing along on shore before having to plunge68 into the chill of autumn sea waves. Terrans had explored their own solar system, and they had speculated learnedly for generations on the problem of intelligent alien life. There had been all kinds of reports by experts and would-be experts. But the stark69 fact remained that heretofore mankind as born on the third planet of Sol had not encountered intelligent alien life. And just how far did speculations70, reports, and arguments go when one was faced with the problem to be solved practically—and speedily?
Raf's own solution would have been to proceed with caution and yet more caution. Under his technical training he had far more imagination than any of his officers had ever realized. And now he was certain that the best course of action was swift retreat until they knew more about what was to be faced.
But in the end the decision was taken out of their[44] hands. A muffled71 exclamation from Lablet brought them all around to see that distant curving roof crack wide open. From the shadows within, a flyer spiraled up into the late afternoon sky.
Raf reached the flitter in two leaps. Without orders he had the spray gun ready for action, on point and aimed at the bobbing machine heading toward them. From the earphones Soriki had left on the seat the gabble had risen to a screech72 and one part of Raf's brain noted73 that the sounds were repetitious: was an order to surrender being broadcast? His thumb was firm on the firing button of the gun and he was about to send a warning burst to the right of the alien when an order from Hobart stopped him cold.
"Take it easy, Kurbi."
Soriki said something about a "gun-happy flitter pilot," but, Raf noted with bleak74 eyes, the com-tech kept his own hand close to his belt arm. Only Lablet stood watching the oncoming alien ship with placidity75. But then, as Raf had learned through the long voyage of the spacer, a period of time which had left few character traits of any of the crew hidden from their fellows, the xenobiologist was a fatalist and strictly76 averse77 to personal combat.
The pilot did not leave his seat at the gun. But within seconds he knew that they had lost the initial advantage. As the tongue-shaped stranger thrust at them and then swept on to glide78 above their heads so that the weird shadow of the ship licked them from light to dark and then to light again, Raf was certain that his superiors had made the wrong decision. They should have left the city as soon as they picked up those signals—if they could have gone then. He studied the other flyer. Its lines suggested speed as well as mobility79, and he began to doubt if they could have escaped with that craft trailing them.
Well, what would they do now? The alien flyer could not land here, not without coming down flat upon the flitter. Maybe it would cruise overhead as[45] a warning threat until the city dwellers80 were able to reach the Terrans in some other manner. Tense, the four spacemen stood watching the graceful81 movements of the flyer. There were no visible portholes or openings anywhere along its ovoid sides. It might be a robot-controlled ship, it might be anything, Raf thought, even a bomb of sorts. If it was being flown by some human—or nonhuman—flyer, he was a master pilot.
"I don't understand," Soriki moved impatiently. "They're just shuttling around up there. What do we do now?"
Lablet turned his head. He was smiling faintly. "We wait," he told the com-tech. "I should imagine it takes time to climb twenty flights of stairs—if they have stairs—"
Soriki's attention fell from the flyer hovering82 over their heads to the surface of the roof. Raf had already looked that over without seeing any opening. But he did not doubt the truth of Lablet's surmise83. Sooner or later the aliens were going to reappear. And it did not greatly matter to the marooned84 Terrans whether they would drop from the sky or rise from below.
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1
tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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2
soften
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| v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和 | |
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3
analyze
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| vt.分析，解析 (=analyse) | |
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4
feat
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| n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的 | |
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wildernesses
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| 荒野( wilderness的名词复数 )； 沙漠； （政治家）在野； 不再当政（或掌权） | |
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6
herding
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| 中畜群 | |
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7
ramp
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| n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速 | |
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8
akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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isolation
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| n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离 | |
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10
turquoise
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| n.绿宝石；adj.蓝绿色的 | |
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11
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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12
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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13
tricky
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| adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的 | |
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14
zoom
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| n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升 | |
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15
privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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16
margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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17
precarious
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| adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的 | |
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spine
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| n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊 | |
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19
hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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20
Amended
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| adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词 | |
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21
reverting
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| 恢复( revert的现在分词 )； 重提； 回到…上； 归还 | |
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22
dome
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| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
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23
domed
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| adj. 圆屋顶的, 半球形的, 拱曲的 动词dome的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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24
tangle
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| n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱 | |
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25
shrubs
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| 灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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26
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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27
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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28
metropolis
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| n.首府；大城市 | |
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29
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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30
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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31
buckled
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| a. 有带扣的 | |
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32
isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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33
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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35
domes
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| n.圆屋顶( dome的名词复数 )；像圆屋顶一样的东西；圆顶体育场 | |
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36
wasp
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| n.黄蜂，蚂蜂 | |
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resolutely
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| adj.坚决地，果断地 | |
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intersections
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| n.横断( intersection的名词复数 )；交叉；交叉点；交集 | |
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39
rations
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| 定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量 | |
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40
ration
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| n.定量(pl.)给养，口粮；vt.定量供应 | |
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41
squinted
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| 斜视( squint的过去式和过去分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看 | |
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42
modifications
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| n.缓和( modification的名词复数 )；限制；更改；改变 | |
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43
arrogant
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的 | |
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44
relic
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| n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物 | |
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45
squeak
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| n.吱吱声，逃脱；v.（发出）吱吱叫，侥幸通过；（俚）告密 | |
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46
dweller
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| n.居住者，住客 | |
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47
engrossed
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| adj.全神贯注的 | |
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48
speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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49
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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50
masonry
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| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
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51
skyscraper
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| n.摩天大楼 | |
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52
collapsing
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| 压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂 | |
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53
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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54
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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55
maneuvered
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| v.移动，用策略( maneuver的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵 | |
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56
skulls
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| 颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜 | |
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57
exultant
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| adj.欢腾的，狂欢的，大喜的 | |
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58
indicator
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| n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器 | |
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59
pivoted
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| adj.转动的，回转的，装在枢轴上的v.（似）在枢轴上转动( pivot的过去式和过去分词 )；把…放在枢轴上；以…为核心，围绕（主旨）展开 | |
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60
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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61
loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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62
dwarfing
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| n.矮化病 | |
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63
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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64
imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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65
mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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66
glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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67
receding
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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68
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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69
stark
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| adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地 | |
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70
speculations
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| n.投机买卖( speculation的名词复数 )；思考；投机活动；推断 | |
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71
muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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72
screech
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| n./v.尖叫；(发出)刺耳的声音 | |
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73
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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74
bleak
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| adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的 | |
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75
placidity
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| n.平静，安静，温和 | |
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76
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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77
averse
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| adj.厌恶的；反对的，不乐意的 | |
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78
glide
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| n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝 | |
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79
mobility
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| n.可动性，变动性，情感不定 | |
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80
dwellers
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| n.居民，居住者( dweller的名词复数 ) | |
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81
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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82
hovering
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| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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83
surmise
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| v./n.猜想，推测 | |
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84
marooned
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| adj.被围困的；孤立无援的；无法脱身的 | |
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