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THE INVADER
By Alfred Coppel
[Transcriber Note: This etext was produced from Imagination Stories ofScience and Fantasy February 1953. Extensive research did not uncoverany evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
[Sidenote: Invading Earth was going to be a cinch, the Triomed scoutdecided. But to make certain he must study its inhabitants--as one ofthem!]
The Triomed advanced stealthily across the floor of the dark cell towardthe sleeping figure huddled in the corner. After the long, lonelyvoyage, the nearness to a host filled the Triomed with eageranticipation.
The tiny spaceship that had carried him into this lush planetary systemfar from the galaxy's heart lay well hidden behind him. So far as hecould tell, his descent had not been detected, and that was as it shouldbe--for he was a Triomed and a scientist. One of the finest in theservice of his dying race. Dying that is, until now, he thought. Nolonger would the race of Triomeds weaken and die for lack of suitablehosts. This third planet of the yellow sun was a paradise thick withwarm-blooded biped mammals....
* * * * *
The sleeping creature stirred uneasily, as though sensing the approachof danger. The Triomed froze into immobility. It was unlikely that hecould be seen, he knew, though the sense of sight was only a synthesizedabstraction to him. It was not one of his own proper senses, but he hadbeen able to detect at long distance that almost every living creatureon this planet received impressions through certain specialized organsmounted on and within their structure. There were plants, of course, asthere were on Triom, but they were unimportant.
There were viruses, too, and he had been afraid when he had discoveredthis fact that he had arrived too late. But the first attempts atestablishing communication had relieved the Triomed of his fears. Theindigenous viruses were primitive; not at all like his own illustriousancestors of ancient Triom.
The sleeping biped relaxed and the Triomed inched forward again, a flat,almost two dimensional smear of glistening matter on the floor in frontof the biped.
From high above the planet's night side, the Triomed had sensed thecity. He had absorbed its shape and size and meaning while his craftsettled through the heavy, oxygen-rich air. It was not enough that hisinstruments told of suitable hosts. He was a scientist and believed inabsolute proof. Also, he had been in space long--without thesatisfaction of a host--and he yearned for the rapport, the dominationof a warm-blooded creature.
There had been a dark segment in the brilliant pattern of the city. Anisland of solitude amid the myriad confluences. It was there that he hadlanded his tiny probe ship and hidden it among the thickly woodedglades. Almost immediately he had sensed the nearness of many creatures.Insects, plants, warm-blooded quadrupeds and bipeds. There had beenmachines and buildings and winding roadways among the trees. Darknesshad covered his progress until at last he found himself near thesleeping creature, ready to infiltrate and take command.
* * * * *
The glistening shape elongated, became a thread-like tendril of almostgossamer thickness. It touched the flesh of the sleeper and thrilledwith pleasure. Cautiously, the Triomed moved up the hairy leg, aninvisible strand of alien life close to the warm skin. Presently, thestrand found the opening it sought. It slithered imperceptibly into themoist warmth of the sleeper's nostril, moved through the tear-duct intothe space behind the eyeball. Here it probed through muscle and membranealong the base of the brain, seeking the pineal gland.
And found it, penetrated it, coiling like a microscopic serpent withinthe gland. A surge of pleasure went through the Triomed. Here wassafety. The host was large, powerful and vibrant with life. Quickly, theTriomed established dominance. It was shockingly easy. The creature'smind was immature, primitive. Briefly it struggled and then died as thealien poisoned the identity centers of the brain.
New sensations poured in through unfamiliar sense organs. Sounds of thefaraway city, small sounds from the many living creatures in thedarkness. Smells and sights and pressures from all about him presentedthemselves--were evaluated and recorded in the atomic structure of theTriomed.
He was now equipped, he reflected with satisfaction, to carry outfurther exploration. In the guise of the indigenous biped he could roamamong the natives at will. He remained in a sitting position, however,while he familiarized himself with his host.
He had two articulated appendages fixed to the trunk at a point near andbelow the skull-case. These ended in complex extremities consisting offive jointed fingers. The same pattern was repeated at the lower end ofthe trunk, but the extremities were suited there for the carrying of thecreature's considerable weight. Within the trunk were the customaryviscera generally associated with warm-blooded beings: lungs,intestines, stomach, liver, bladder, reproductive organs and assortedducted and ductless glands. It was apparent to the Triomed that hispresent body was in excellent health. He was greatly pleased.
After some careful experiments, the Triomed rose. If there was a propermethod of egress from the cubicle in which he found himself, it was notimprinted on the biped's brain. For a moment this gave the alien pause.He could, of course, determine the proper method by a tedious process oftrial and error, but that would take time and he had no desire to wastethe hours of darkness. One wall, he noted, consisted of vertical risersfixed in the substance of the floor and ceiling. Beyond, he could seethe darkling woods and the sky-glow of the city. The answer, then, wassimple force. He did not doubt there was strength enough in the host'smusculature to distort the risers.
His assumption was quite correct.
* * * * *
Stepping through the bent risers, he picked his way along a narrowwalkway lined with cubicles similar to the one he had left. Within them,dark shapes moved or lay sleeping. Some were alert, others were not. Butnone gave an alarm. The Triomed reached the end of the walk, scaled afence easily and stood on a surface of wet grass that sloped away fromthe low dark building toward the woods.
Behind him he heard a shout. A narrow beam of light pierced the night,swinging to and fro with a searching motion. He had a fleeting glimpseof a small biped running down the walk toward the cubicle he haddeserted.
The Triomed broke toward the wood with a long loping pace that coveredthe ground with unbelievable swiftness. The probing light did not findhim. Once among the trees he paused and took his bearings. The woodswere not thick. He could see the lights of the city through the foliage.They began at the very edge of the trees, where a wide open area couldbe discerned. Wheeled vehicles moved past with breathtaking speed.
If there was pursuit, it was inefficient, for the Triomed moved throughthe woods undisturbed until he stood at the edge of the avenue,sheltered by the shadow of a large tree. Most of the traffic wasvehicular, he noted. There were few pedestrians. From the noise and odorhe classified the vehicles as being powered by internal combustionengines burning hydro-carbons. Primitive. That was good, he reflected.When the fleets of Triom descended on this planet, there would be noscience worthy of the name to oppose them.
He waited until there was an interval in the traffic, and then steppedout confidently, crossing the avenue. As he reached the opposite side heheard a screech of brakes and a garbled, choking sound. He did not turnto discover the source of the disturbance until he had reached theshelter of a building on the far side of the walk bordering the street.
A vehicle had stopped at an oblique angle to the lane in which it wastravelling, and its single occupant, a very pale-faced biped wasgoggling stupidly in the direction of the hidden Triome
d.
For the first time, the alien being felt a twinge of apprehension.Certainly he had done nothing out of the ordinary in crossing the openspace on foot? But perhaps there were tribal taboos and traditions amongthe natives that could not be ignored without attracting attention.
The Triomed promised himself that he would exercise more caution in suchmatters. Too much depended on this reconnaissance to allow it to bedisturbed by carelessness.
He worked his way through the shadows between the many buildings untilthe wide highway was far behind him. He was very aware of the teeminglife all about him--in the buildings, in the vehicles on the streets.Still, some odd impulse that stemmed from the numbed brain of his hostrather than his own, kept him fairly hidden. This, he decided withsomething akin to annoyance, was not as it should be. If his survey wereto be of any value, he must roam at will and without fear of detection,secure in his disguise.
* * * * *
Presently he came upon a street where streams of bipeds jostled oneanother, each