The Molten Bullet by Anthony Rud Read online

  Thrilling Wonder Stories, June, 1937

  HIS is the last of my long series of

  clashing dialects different along each two

  studies of the folk of the Lost Planet,

  canals, and so many of their incredible

  T fellow Skrygeours. Or, fellow mechanisms, it is only natural that we should Martians, as we have agreed to call ourselves, have devoted time to their individuals.

  the name being so much more pleasing to the In passing let me say that my deepest

  electric ear.

  regret has been the inability of myself and I feel a warmth and a sympathy for

  other Martian scientists, in spite of our

  those Earthmen, so far ahead of us in many

  monster selectoscope which allowed me to

  ways, yet totally unable to help themselves in pick up their ether waves, their speech, and that last dreadful calamity.

  even to follow the movements of any single

  Since we have adopted their spoken

  Earthian with understanding, to get together and written word, in place of our thousands of with their great scientific men in any sort of

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  talk.

  fifteen, and acting as third assistant at the We could hear and see and understand

  great Sandraes Observatory, he worked out a almost everything; but we could not fathom

  correction to the parallax of Neptune—an

  the manner in which those ether waves they

  error which had gone undiscovered for more

  called radio, were flung from place to place, than a century.

  and even out to us here in the center of the Development of this kind, usual with

  Universe.

  us on Mars, was something more than

  They, on the other hand, were phenomenal on Earth. Ammerton was called a apparently several time cycles behind prodigy. Like our great astronomer and discovering anything similar to the Loamm

  calculator, Ebii Loamm, who had conquered

  selectoscope, which would have enabled them the binomial theorem at the age of forty

  really to study us!

  months, Ammerton was a trifle narrow in after As I have reiterated, both physically

  life. He did not become insane, however, (You and mentally they resembled us so closely—

  will recall that Loamm, after inventing the allowing for the differences in climate and our selectoscope, went violently mad at the age of other natural advantages, of course—that it is two hundred, in the very prime of his young almost certain we sprang from the same stock.

  Martian manhood.)

  Either the Creator developed life on

  Ammerton’s greatest interest lay in the

  both planets in almost identical fashion, or at far stretches of the Universe. He was human some past time and greater epoch of enough, in his odd moments though, to court civilization we must have conquered the and marry a beautiful young woman, one difficulties of interplanetary travel, and sent a Elspeth Sandraes, daughter of the multi-space ship to colonize Earth.

  millionaire Earthman who had given this

  I favor that theory. Though of course it

  observatory its great 300-inch mirror

  might have been a landing party from Earth

  telescope.

  which started us!

  So no one was greatly surprised when

  in 1963, at the death of the observatory chief, I HAD great hopes for Albert Einstein Albert E. Ammerton was promoted over the Ammerton. He was more like a Martian than

  head of the then assistant chief, one Hans

  any of the other scores of Earthmen I had

  Becker, and given supreme authority in the

  studied. If any man on Earth ever could have Sandraes Observatory.

  invented our selectoscope, or its equivalent, Note that name, Hans Becker. He was

  Ammerton would have been the man.

  much like many Martians you and I know—

  According to their time reckoning, selfish devils, consumed by inner furies, men which I have explained earlier, Ammerton was who believe that all that they desire should be born in their year 1937, A.D. Though we

  handed to them, irrespective of their real

  might have regarded him notably backward,

  desserts.

  and odd in some respects, from his very

  With the selectoscope I followed

  earliest years he was far ahead of his fellow Becker and Ammerton, and flatter myself I

  Earthians. He was a mathematical genius. At understood them from bones to brains. It is too the age of eleven he had graduated from bad they were not radio engineers, for if so it Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is certain we would know now the one great already was in a fair way to becoming Earthian secret which escaped us.

  recognized as the greatest Earthian authority (Even now, after one of our Martian

  on mathematical variants. When he was centuries—equal to 178 Earth years—I often

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  puzzle over what those early radio characteristic of him. But his inner thoughts broadcasters were trying to tell us, when they must have been black and slimy enough. He

  kept repeating over and over again that vowed aloud in a shout to the distant stars—

  statement about the music going round and

  and to my selectoscope—that he would devote around. It did, and so did their words, of

  the remainder of his life to vengeance.

  course, but as far as giving us the hint we It was Amrherton’s career as Earth’s

  sought, it seemed irrelevant!)

  foremost astronomer, which Hans Becker

  Hans Becker was about forty years of

  ruined—and ruined so insidiously, after a long age, haughty and arrogant of manner. He was period of seeming harmony with his chief, that a competent astronomer, of course, the plotter achieved his object in full before painstaking and methodical, until a pair of Ammerton as much as suspected that he was

  things happened to upset him greatly.

  the victim of a conspiracy.

  Becker came of a German family of

  FIRST, the beautiful heiress, Elspeth clockmakers, and himself had served an early Sandraes, married Becker’s young rival, apprenticeship in that trade. So he was deft Ammerton. Second, Ammerton received the

  with delicate machinery, intricate little affairs coveted post as head of the observatory. As of springs, pawls and ratchets. He studied the the chief assistant, Becker believed that he finer adjustment mechanisms of the awesome

  should have received the appointment. And it camera-telescope, and then busied himself for is probable that he did love the girl. A good weeks in a secret workshop in the cellar of his many men of assorted ages did.

  home.

  How Becker did rage! I was fascinated

  Then during one afternoon, when

  by him, and followed him on the long walks

  honest astronomers sleep, Becker brought his he took over the countryside. He walked fast devilish little gadget to the observatory and in spurts, sometimes raising his right leg fitted it to the great telescope. It concerned stiffly in a sort of wooden-soldier march, tiny fractions of a degree in setting, and was sometimes stopping short to lift his fists to the so small itself and placed so well out of the uncompromising stars, and shout curses which way that no one could suspect its presence, ought to have turned green the face of the

  save possibly the subordinate in charge of

  moon.

  cleaning, oiling and care of the
expensive

  Becker’s own white face would grow

  instrument. And that subordinate was Hans

  red, then purple, while his thinning thatch of Becker himself!

  yellow hair bristled with the electricity

  A tiny electric switch in the adjoining

  generated by his venom.

  office had to be thrown, in order to affect the All that first year Ammerton, happy

  telescope. When the switch was not in contact, with his new wife and the great camera-the instrument was perfect as usual. But

  telescope, was unaware of the hatred and Becker, by merely moving that switch arm jealousy seething in Becker’s heart. In fact back and forth, could make one observation

  Ammerton was extremely blind, never finding faulty, while another taken the next minute, out about this personal grudge until at last it would be accurate!

  was almost too late to do anything about it.

  The error there on Earth was perhaps

  In all their relations at the observatory,

  three one-hundred-thousandths of an inch.

  Becker was courteous, suave and obedient to Two and one-half billion miles away on

  his new chief, bending often from the waist in Neptune, for instance—a planet much nearer

  that stiff, rather jerky bow which was than any star—that tiny discrepancy had

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  magnified itself so greatly that an astronomer Becker stayed right with his chief all

  could break his heart endeavoring to night long every night for months, helping understand it.

  take the photos, tabulating results, and making intricate calculations.

  OR, he could believe that stars and planets When not in the observatory,

  suddenly and irresponsibly had left their Ammerton was walking around wide-eyed and prescribed orbits, like so many off-center-preoccupied. His wife scarcely knew him. He weighted golf balls in flight, and were slicing muttered long strings of figures to himself.

  and hooking themselves into the heavenly The thing he had come upon was stupendous, rough.

  unbelievable!

  Becker was far too wise in his plotting

  Yet everything checked. Each time he

  to allow anything like this, uncontrolled and repeated his observations he obtained the

  incredible, to happen. What did seem to occur same amazing results. Of course it had been was calmly regulated and consistent, even difficult indeed for those poor fellows with though startling. You see, astronomy was so their primitive apparatus, back in the

  exact a science that when even a tiny error nineteenth century. But even so, it was hard to showed its head, it created a sensation conceive that they had been this far wrong.

  throughout the world. It is quite as if in a high At last Ammerton’s final doubts were

  school geometry class a young sophomore

  satisfied, though. He sat down to write the went to the blackboard and demonstrated to

  epoch-making article for the Journal of the astounded teacher that in a certain right-Astronomy, which would give these new angle triangle he had discovered, the sum of results to a wondering world.

  the squares of the two other sides did not Heretical statements such as this were

  equal the square of the hypothenuse!

  the meat of the new exposition, which would Becker waited until his chief launched

  make savants gasp:

  a series of observations. These had to do with the earth’s present orbit, and inferentially with It must not be supposed that the eccentricity, in the eccentricity of that orbit from one million obedience to the laws, relating to planetary eccentricities, oscillates between the absolute maximum years B.C. until the present day. Ammerton

  and the absolute minimum, the perihelion shifting little realized that he was going to find continuously forward. On the contrary, the successive anything more wrong than might be accounted maxima and minima-are very unequal, and are attained for by the difference in modern and old-time after very unequal intervals.

  instruments. Croll, Leverrier and Stone,

  working out these calculations first, had been Becker looked startled and shocked

  handicapped by telescopes outdated by more

  when he read. He stammered around, and then than a century.

  suggested fearfully that it might be wiser to But Ammerton’s results certainly did

  break the news somewhat more gently. Would

  begin to come out differently! At first he was not Herr Ammerton consider sending out a

  inclined to doubt, to think that possibly the few hints first, and postpone the actual

  great instrument itself must be in error. But publication of his revolutionary article until tireless checks over all the great coordinates of some future time?

  the heavens, finally convinced him that he was on the right track, and that those old figures, THIS got the scientist’s back up—as it was

  believed in the way lamas believe in Buddha, intended to do.

  were in gross error!

  “By the cosine of Caraneus, no! ” cried

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  5

  Ammerton, banging his clenched fist on the

  that Ammerton must be quite mad. This came

  table in passionate emphasis. “I’ll never from Professor Emmanuel Liebling, of quibble or qualify! When I’m right, I’m Prague.

  right—and everyone must know and

  An Associated Press interview with

  understand!”

  another noted astronomer, Dr. Wilfred

  “Of course you know best, chief,” Graham of Lick Observatory, appeared in murmured the hypocritical Becker, bowing many of the chief newspapers. Dr. Graham stiffly from the hips. “And what a poke in the said flatly that his learned contemporary was eye is coming to you, you handsome sap!” he mistaken.

  gritted under his breath, concealing jubilance Less dignified savants all over the

  under the usual mask of grave suavity.

  earth jeered loudly. Why, any eighteen-year-It was during those days, following the

  old freshman in college astronomy could take mailing of his treacherously deluded article, a twenty-foot ’scope and show how ridiculous that my fullest Martian sympathy went out to these findings were!

  poor Ammerton. Not only had he been

  The Judas plot of Hans Becker had

  betrayed in his lifework, but all the natural and worked to perfection.

  unnatural misfortunes men are heir to, started Now he added the master touch.

  ganging up on him. He fell ill with influenza.

  Spurred out of his grief, indignant beyond

  His wife died in childbirth, and the baby with words, Ammerton plunged into a complete

  her. And then when at long last Ammerton

  recheck of his work. And his second batch of managed to stagger to his feet, facing every results was identical with the first, to a dozen disaster like a strong man should, resolved to decimal place!

  bury his sorrows in work, he found even that He called in Becker to see. But now,

  chance for forgetfulness slipping away from appalling though it was, results were totally him!

  different! (Becker, of course, had thrown off The friendly editor of the Journal of

  the switch.)

  Astronomy had sent him a message, hinting Sweating even in that chill mountain

  that after having read the cosmic surprise in observatory, shaking with a palsy of sudden the long article, he wondered if Ammerton

  horror, Ammerton suddenly broke. He yelled

  were not poking out his neck a bit too rashly.

  insanely, flung his fists aloft, and ran from the He suggested a careful recheck of results.

  observatory gibbering in momentary madness.

  Ammerton, out of himself with grief

  If Hans Becker right then and there


  and physical illness at the time, answered this had dismantled his secret apparatus-of-error, with curt savagery, quite unlike his usual he would never have been discovered. Like manner. So in due course the article appeared.

  many another criminal, however, he could not The magazine editor realized it would boom

  keep from overdoing it. He saw that his

  circulation, even though it did ruin Ammerton.

  chief’s great brain was practically unhinged And then, of course, there was the slight now. One more shock, one more senseless possibility that the man was right. He had a happening which reason could not explain,

  worldwide reputation for care and and the mental ruin of the young scientist thoroughness in his work.

  would be complete. That, and nothing less,

  The sensation was all that anyone was Becker’s goal.

  expected. Then for a few weeks—silence.

  Finally, when other observers had gone over BACK now into the observatory rushed the

  the ground, there came the frigid, stern word wild-appearing Ammerton. One can realize

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  just how far from his usual mental moorings There were other terrible possibilities

  he had drifted, by what he did then. He as we on Mars know; but those were enough actually cleaned the lenses of a ponderous

  for Ammerton at that time. He started new

  eyepiece, unused since the first days of testing observations, making photos of Polyphemus

  the giant camera-telescope, and looked

  every half hour, and calculations from them.

  through this eyepiece into the heavens!

  During the following day, unable to

  Becker waited. The opportunity for his

  sleep, the scientist studied all available data on final coup would arrive, he thought, but this Polyphemus. He made painstaking

  was not it.

  calculations, and at ten that evening carefully Ammerton was sweeping the night swung the giant telescope to a certain position sky, his own mind chaotic. He chanced to