puzzle. One of them had to bearrogance--the natural arrogance of picked people that leads to a beliefin corporeal immortality: _Nothing can happen to me; you, maybe, but notme._
* * * * *
Even though I knew exactly what to expect, it was impossible not to jerkback involuntarily with the others.
We were in the star ship, clustered around a bell jar. The jar containeda small specimen of the killer that I'd dug up gingerly and brought backfor evidence.
I'd introduced water into the jar, and the first reaction had just takenplace.
"Watch closely," I cautioned.
Again it happened--innocently at first and then too swiftly for the eyeto follow. One of the little protuberances seemed to swellslightly--_Ping._ Something struck the wall of the bell jar hard enoughto evoke a clear, sharp, resonant note.
"I don't know the exact range of a mature specimen," I said, grimly,"but I saw leaves shake a good twenty yards away."
"A seed," one of the crewmen breathed. "Nothing but a tiny,insignificant _seed_."
Moya shook his head.
"A deadly missile, son, wearing or containing a virulent poison. Andpeople used to blather about curare."
I began to draw concentric arcs on the chart.
"I kept fetching water and testing and retreating all the way back tothe plain. Pretty soon there's not going to be any place safe withinmiles of where these mutants can take root. Near the plain's camp,they're still innocuous--the original species. The propagation responseis triggered by rain, all right, but the seeds just pop out, and, ofcourse, the poison is undoubtedly weak--a bother only to insects."
"But they weren't a problem--" Moya interjected.
"Time," I said. "Five years. Look here on the chart. I figured this tobe the center: the first team's permanent camp on the hill. Now whathappened there? Heaters to destroy immediate vegetation, and_Radio-Frequency_ beams to kill insects and their larvae over a widerarea. R-F--don't you see? Cells react to certain portions of the radiospectrum. Some are destroyed, depending upon intensity. Some behavestrangely--the 'marching protozoa,' the 'dancing amoeba.' In others,chromosomal aberrations occur, resulting in mutations. Remember theexperiments with yeasts, garlic, grains? The growth of somemicroorganisms is stimulated by R-F irradiation."
"Then these glorified flytraps got mad at what was happening to theirinnards and decided to fight even harder for survival?"
"You're anthropomorphizing," I told Moya, "but that's the way I see it.They just responded along already established lines."
I paused and noted the expressions on the faces of the crew. Maybe itwas that, and maybe it was the fact that my leg hadn't held up very wellunder the beating I'd given it. And maybe it was twelve goodmen--Anyway, I spent the next half hour pulling no punches. When I'dfinished, Interstel had regained its reputation. Nobody--neithershort-timer nor veteran--likes to hear dead comrades characterized as"stupid." But I figured the crew would remember.
Moya seemed unfazed, as if he'd paid scant attention to my speech; herubbed his chin reflectively.
"The bug suits--"
"Were they any protection? At long range, probably. But up close--"
Moya apparently could think of nothing more to say.
We radiated the danger area, left 231 for a pick-up team, and headedfor home.
* * * * *
Moya walked with me from Quarantine to the Terra Ramp. The leg stillwasn't right.
"Did you mention me kindly in your report?"
"Of course not," I told him.
He chuckled and put his hand on my shoulder.
"About Ben Stuart--"
"It's a nasty job," I said.
"Did he rate getting cashiered?"
"He did, Tony."
"Well, take care of yourself, Ivy."
The redhead again was on duty at the outbound desk. She ignored me.
_Xanadu!_
It was night, and there was a heavy fog. Standing alone on the openpromenade outside the dome, I was grateful that I couldn't see thesky--and the ominous stars that were not so far away.
A couple of months later, I heard that Epsilon-Terra had received itsofficial name: _Atri-Terra_. _Atri_ from attrition. I've wondered eversince whether GS based the choice upon the secular or the theologicaldefinition.
THE END
Transcriber's Note:
This etext was produced from _Analog_ November 1961. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and typographical errors have been corrected without note.
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