Lights were showing in the few windows the huge bulk had, and lights showed now in the buildings on the sh.o.r.e. Through an open door light was streaming, casting silhouettes of two men. And now a tiny door opened in the enormous bulk that occupied the lake, and from it came five figures, that floated up, and away, and toward the cottage.
"h.e.l.lo, Son. You have been gone long," said Arcot, senior, gravely, as his son landed lightly before him.
"I thought so. Earth has moved in her orbit. More than six months?"
His father smiled a bit wryly. "Yes. Two years and three months. You got caught in another time field and thrown the other way this time?"
"Time and force. Do you know the story yet?"
"Part of it--Venone sent a ship to us within a month of the time you left, and said that all Thett"s system had disappeared save for one tremendous gas cloud--mostly hydrogen. Their ships were met by such a blast of cosmic rays as they came toward Thett that the radiation pressure made it almost impossible to advance. There were two distinct waves. One was rather slighter, and was more in the gamma range, so they suspected that two bodies had been directly destroyed; one small one, and one large one were reduced completely to cosmics. Your warning to Sentfenn was taken seriously, and they have vacated all planets near. It was the force field created when you destroyed Thett that threw you forward? Where are the others?"
"Zezdon Afthen and Zezdon Inthel we took home, and dropped in their power suits, without landing. Stel Felso Theu as well. We will visit them later."
"Have you eaten? Then let us eat, and after supper we"ll tell you what little there is to tell."
"But Arcot," said Morey slowly, "I understand that Dad will be here soon, so let us wait. And I have something of which I have not spoken to you as yet. Worked it out and made it on the back trip. Installed in the _Thought_ with the _Banderlog_"s controls. It is--well, will you look?--Fuller! Come and see the new toy you designers are going to have to work on!"
They had all been depressed by the thought of their long absence, by the scenes of destruction they had witnessed so recently. They were beginning to feel better.
"Watch." Morey"s thoughts concentrated. The _Thought_ outside had been left on locked controls, but the apparatus Morey had installed responded to his thoughts from this distance.
Before them in the room appeared a cube that was obviously copper. It stayed there but a moment, beaming brightly, then there was a snapping of energies about them--and it dropped to the floor and rang with the impact!
"It was not created from the air," said Morey simply.
"And now," said Arcot, looking at it, "Man can do what never before was possible. From the nothingness of s.p.a.ce he can make anything.
"Man alone in this s.p.a.ce is Creator and Destroyer.
"It is a high place.
"May he henceforth live up to it."
And he looked out toward the mighty starlit hull that had destroyed a solar system--and could create another.
Books by JOHN W. CAMPBELL in Ace editions:
THE BLACK STAR Pa.s.sES
THE MIGHTIEST MACHINE
ISLANDS OF s.p.a.cE
THE PLANETEERS & THE ULTIMATE WEAPON