rock near the beach. The mind, when confronted witha huge shock, somehow concentrates itself on a small detail. Perhaps ittries to absorb itself in a small thing because the whole thing is toogreat to comprehend all at once. So with Bill's mind. He saw the yellowand black fur grow toward the rock. It seemed to ooze around it andthen up and over the top of it. Bill saw, when it reached the top of therock, that it dropped a spiny tendril to the ground. Like a root, thetendril buried itself into the earth below the jutting rock, and slowlythe rock was covered with the flowing fur.
Bill's thoughts sped ahead of his reason. The dog. The dog ... growinglike a plant. Its hide covering the ground, putting out roots,suffocating everything, smothering everything, growing, growing.
With almost superhuman effort, he turned his back on the awful sight andswam desperately out to the _Seven Seas_.
"Bill, what's happened?" cried Carol, when she saw his white andterrified face.
"Carol ... the dog ... it must have had some cosmic reaction to itscellular structure ... some cancerous reaction ... when the chamberbroke open and the cells were exposed to our atmosphere again it startedsome action ... started to grow ... doesn't stop growing ... it'shorrible ..." Bill's words were disjointed and hysterical.
Carol stared at him. "Bill, _what_ are you saying?" Bill pointed mutelyto the shore. Carol rushed to the cockpit. She stared at the island. Sheran back to the cabin where Bill was sitting, holding his head in hishands. She grabbed the binoculars from the bookshelf and turned them tothe island.
"Bill! It's ... oh no! The whole island looks as though it's coveredwith ... fur!" She screamed.
Bill grabbed the binoculars and ranged the island with them. A quarterof a mile down he could see small figures in the water, flounderingaround, climbing aboard the two fishing smacks. All around, the blackand yellow mounds of fur carpeted the pretty green island with a softrug of yellow and black.
"Get the Coast Guard, Carol!"
"They called back while you were gone. They're sending a plane overimmediately."
"Call them, Carol!" Bill shouted at her. "Don't you realize what thiscould mean? Don't you realize that something, only God knows what, hashappened to the cellular structure of this animal, has turned it into avoracious plant-like thing that seems to grow and grow once it hits ouratmosphere? Don't you realize that today they're going to open thatsatellite, that other one, in Washington? Suppose this is what happenswhen living tissue is exposed to cosmic rays or whatever is up there.Don't you see what could happen?" Bill was hoarse from fright andshouting. "Smother everything, grow and grow and smother ..."
Carol was at the ship-to-shore. "What time is it, Carol?"
"I don't know. 5:30 I guess."
"They plan to open the ejection chamber at six. We've got to tell themwhat happened here before they open it! Hurry with the damned CoastGuard!"
"May Day! May Day! Coast Guard come in. This is the _Seven Seas_. Comein and hurry!"
"Coast Guard to the _Seven Seas_. Come in."
Bill grabbed the phone. "Listen carefully," he said in a quietdetermined voice. "This is God's own truth. I repeat: This is God's owntruth. The remains of the dog we discovered last night have started togrow. It is growing as we look at it. It has covered the entire islandas far as we can see, with fur. Stinking yellow and black fur. We've gotto get word to Washington before they open up the satellite. The samething could happen there. Do you understand? I must get in touch withWashington. Immediately!"
There was no mistaking the urgency and near-panic in Bill's voice. TheCoast Guard returned with "We understand you _Seven Seas_. We will cleara line directly to Dr. Killian in Washington. Stand by."
With his hand shaking, Bill turned on the standard broadcast band of theportable RDF. A voice cut in: "... latest reports from Walter ReedGeneral Hospital where the first human-manned satellite ejection chamberhas just been opened. All leading physiologists and physicists wereassembled at the hospital by midnight last night and plans to open theejection chamber at 6 a.m. this morning were moved up. The chamber wasopened at 4 a.m. Eastern Standard Time today. Our first report confirmedthat volunteer moon traveller, the man in the moon, Robert Joy, was nolonger alive. Hope had been abandoned for him some 80 hours previous,when recording instruments on his body processes indicated no reactions.Of scientific curiosity is the fact that though dead for more than threedays, his body is in a perfect state of preservation ...
"Flash! We interrupt this special newscast for a late bulletin: The bodyof Robert Joy has begun to shoot out unexplained appendages, likerapidly growing cancerous growths. His integument appears to beenlarging, growing away from his body ..."
"Hello _Seven Seas_," broke in the ship-to-shore. "We are still tryingto locate Dr. Killian...."
END
Transcriber's Note:
This etext was produced from _If Worlds of Science Fiction_ June 1958. 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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