World Upside-Down by Ray Cummings (Tubby) Read online

  Thrilling Wonder Stories, December, 1940

  HE big auditorium was hot and because as we all know, the Earth is revolving crowded. Wedged in his chair, Tubby,

  on its axis.”

  T the amateur scientist, sat owl-eyed, “Sure,” Tubby muttered to his staring at the platform. There, by means of

  companion, Jake Saunders. “I know that. But

  several little gadgets, the lecturer was he said—”

  illustrating an intricate scientific problem.

  “Shut up,” Jake warned.

  “We all know what gravity is,” the

  “The reason our bodies—houses—

  lecturer was saying. “But few people realize everything on Earth—do not fly off under the that gravity on Earth is affected by other influence of centrifugal force,” the lecturer forces. Centrifugal force, for instance. We live went on, “is that Earth’s gravity is a greater on the surface of a globe. A revolving globe force. But now suppose that the Earth were to

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  revolve on its axis much faster than it does.

  The centrifugal force would increase. When

  that force became greater than gravity—well, then, everything would fly off! We would

  have a world depopulated! Denuded of

  everything!”

  “That ain’t so,” Tubby muttered.

  But now the lecturer was illustrating

  his point. He had a little turn-table gadget that looked like the record turn-table of a

  phonograph.

  He put a small white cardboard pillbox

  on it

  “That box is held there by gravity,” he

  said. “Now I will slowly rotate the table.”

  The turn-table disc began to revolve

  slowly. The pill-box stayed in its place.

  “That’s the Earth and us on it,” the

  lecturer said. “But now if the rotation is

  faster—”

  The turn-table went faster. Presently

  the pill-box quivered and slid off.

  “’Tain’t

  so,”

  Tubby

  muttered.

  “Nothin’ could make me slide off the Earth.

  I’m too heavy. That ain’t right.”

  “But it is right!” a strange voice hissed

  in his ear. “It’s right, and it’s vital! It’s illuminating. Oh, now I realize that it fits in exactly with all the terrible facts!”

  A hand was gripping Tubby’s fat

  shoulder—a long-fingered bony hand that

  shook with excitement. Tubby turned and

  stared into the face of the man behind him. It was a long, thin, bony face that looked like skin drawn over a skull.

  The man’s eyes were blazing.

  “You said you were too heavy to slide

  off the Earth,” he addressed Tubby. “How

  much do you weigh?”

  “Me? Hun’erd an’ ninety-two pounds,”

  Tubby said proudly. “More maybe.”

  The cadaverous man gulped.

  “You—you look it. Yes, you’re a little

  safer than the rest of us, but not much.”

  “Safer?” Tubby gasped. “What’s the

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  matter? Any danger?”

  and smacked Tubby squarely in the face. He

  “Danger?” the slender man behind him

  stooped and picked it up. It was a little rag echoed. “Why, the world is menaced! You and

  doll. It felt very light, as though it was just me. Everything—everybody! The greatest cloth with no stuffing in it.

  danger that has ever threatened the world is

  “Oh, my goodness,” Professor Newt

  upon us now! What he said—so wailed. “It’s beginning already. And look up illuminating—”

  there!”

  The man had slid from his seat. He

  Tubby saw other objects sailing in the

  stood in the dark aisle beside Tubby, a thin air now.

  little man with long scraggly white hair. He

  “Look at the Moon,” the Professor

  was trembling with excitement.

  added. “And those stars—look how visibly

  “You come with me,” he pleaded. “Oh,

  they are moving.”

  please—I need you—the world needs you.

  Tubby saw it. The moon and all the

  Hurry! It’s a crisis!”

  stars were visibly shifting in the sky!

  A radio was blaring in the Professor’s

  LABORIOUSLY, Tubby climbed from his dim, dusty and littered laboratory. A news seat and followed the little man out of the

  commentator was giving frightening news.

  auditorium.

  People all over the world were getting

  “What’s your name?” the little man

  panicky. Everything seemed to be getting

  demanded.

  lighter. Things were beginning to sail up into

  “Me? I’m Tubby.”

  the air.

  *Tm Professor Newt. Professor Arthur

  “The Earth’s rotation on its axis is

  A. Newt.”

  increasing in speed,” the radio voice was

  “Pleased to meet you, Perfessor.”

  exclaiming. “The days are getting shorter. The The professor shook hands.

  nights are getting shorter. Astronomers are

  “Come on,” he said. “We haven’t a

  terrified. If this cannot be checked, we’ll all be minute to waste.”

  hurled off the Earth! And what is causing it,

  “Where we goin’?” Tubby demanded

  nobody knows!”

  as they hurried down the dark village street.

  “They don’t know!” the Professor

  “To my laboratory. It’s not far. exclaimed witheringly. “You hear that, Goodness, don’t you feel it? It’s getting Tubby? But I know. Come here, I’ll show worse!”

  you.”

  “What’s getting worse?”

  From the window Tubby and the

  “The lightness. The terrible lightness.

  Professor stared at the glittering night-sky, the Everything losing weight. Don’t you feel stars and the moon crawling so surprisingly queer?”

  across it,

  Tubby expanded his chest. Come to

  “You see that radiance, Tubby?”

  think of it, he did feel queer. Sort of peppy as Tubby saw it—a faint greenish glow of

  though it wouldn’t be any trouble at all to run light-sheen like a huge sword slashing the sky.

  and jump. It was a pleasant feeling.

  A new world has come into the Solar

  “Come on, Perfessor,” he said. “Let’s

  System,” the Professor declared. “It’s below hurry.”

  the horizon just at this moment—you can’t see The night was clear, with stars and a

  it now. My giant electro-telescope discovered full moon. There was quite a breeze blowing.

  it quite some time ago. An inhabited world

  Suddenly something came sailing on the wind

  with strange diabolical beings on it I’ve

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  named it Xenenon.”

  “Oh, dear—”

  The Professor’s bony bands were again

  “What’s that for?” Tubby demanded.

  gripping Tubby.

  “Our supplies. We’ve got to hurry—

&nbsp
; “Xenenon is attacking us! That my space ship is on the roof.”

  radiance—it’s a repulsive ray, striking

  “You got a space ship to go places?”

  slantingly on the surface of the Earth—

  “Yes. It’s a fast space snip. I was

  whipping our globe like you whip a top, so

  thinking—”

  that every moment we are rotating faster!”

  “We gotta go an’ attack them beings

  on that other world,” Tubby said promptly.

  THE Professor’s voice was a wail. “We gotta smash that ray that’s doin’ this to

  “Centrifugal force is increasing. That makes us. Am I right?”

  gravity seem to be lessening. Don’t you see

  “Yes. That was my idea. But I have no

  the diabolical menace of it?”

  revolver—no weapons—”

  “No—yes,” Tubby gasped. “We’ll all

  “Don’t need none,” Tubby declared.

  get too light and we’ll slide off the Earth. Am He thumped his chest, and the blow spun him

  I right?”

  around surprisingly. “I ain’t afraid of nothin’

  “Of course you’re right! We’ll be nor nobody,” he asserted. “I’ll tear them hurled off. And then, with us all gone, those beings on that other world all to bits. Come damnable beings will take possession of our

  on, Perfessor.”

  world. They’re accelerating our rotation

  They rushed up the stairs with the big

  terribly tonight Oh—look there! It’s morning suitcase, climbed to the roof. Tubby felt so already.”

  light and strong that it seemed as if a big jump The crawling, sinking full moon had

  would take him over the roof parapet without already set in the west. Suddenly the eastern any trouble at all.

  sky flushed, and the sun came up.

  The sun was off in the west as they got

  “That ain’t just right,” Tubby to the roof. It was tomorrow’s afternoon. Light murmured. “It’s only ten o’clock at night.”

  objects were sailing in the air. The wind—

  “True,” the Professor agreed. “Ten unnatural wind caused by the Earth’s o’clock at night, and tomorrow’s sun is rising.

  accelerated rotation, the Professor declared—

  You see how fast they’ve already got us was blowing things away with the fury of a going? And a constant acceleration—”

  tornado.

  “But what we gonna do about it?”

  Tubby didn’t waste much time. He

  Tubby demanded. He swung toward the shoved the diminutive Professor and his big Professor. The violent movement made him

  suitcase up into the yawning doorway of the

  stagger on his feet He was feeling so light now little space ship, then jumped in himself and that it made him dizzy. “Got to do somethin’

  slammed the door.

  about it, Perfessor. Am I right?”

  “Get goin’ Perfessor. We got no time

  “Of course you’re right.” Professor to lose. Right?”

  Newt had turned hurriedly away. Hastily, he

  “Yes—yes, we must certainly hurry.”

  was packing a big suitcase with clothes, food, and with water bottles. Then he lifted it all NIMBLY, the Professor jumped for the

  from the floor and put it on a table. It was a controls. The little turtle-backed, mud-colored suitcase almost as big as himself, but he lifted space ship quivered and rose. It sailed like a it effortlessly.

  great clay soup-plate up into the night-sky,

  “You see how light it is?” he wailed.

  where the sun of the day after tomorrow was

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  5

  now swiftly rising over the eastern horizon.

  side of the control room.

  “You’re

  sure

  this is Xenenon?” Tubby

  “Ill stop us—never fear,” he muttered.

  demanded an hour later. “Don’t let’s make no Tubby saw the clouds beneath the ship

  errors, Perfessor.”

  suddenly break away into daylight of s dull

  “Of course it’s Xenenon. I don’t make

  muddy glow. Off a little to one side the

  errors. I’ve calculated all the elements of its greenish radiance of the enemy’s ray was

  orbit. It came from outer space, on a shooting down. The ground of a weird hyperbola, into the Solar System. But now its landscape slanted crazily and got rapidly

  orbit is becoming an ellipse—like the orbit of larger. Already it was horribly close. And now our Earth, with the sun at one of its foci. Its it appeared to be overhead, as though the

  final distance from the sun will be a mean of space ship had rolled over.

  only a hundred and eleven million miles. You

  “Hey, Perfessor!” Tubby yelled.

  see the diabolical meaning of that, Tubby?

  “Watch out! Everything’s goin’ wrong!”

  The inhabitants of Xenenon can make their

  “I am—watching out—” He was

  orbit what they like!”

  running frantically from one control to

  He paused, then went on.

  another. Then the landscape hit the space ship

  “I have evidence now that their ray is

  with a crash that flung the Professor and

  repulsive, or attractive at will. They are using Tubby to the floor.

  it to alter their planet’s course among the stars.

  “Well, we’re here,” Tubby said “This

  It’s diabolical! They have made the elliptical is Xenenon, last stop. Am I right?”

  orbit parallel to our Earth’s now—and only

  They picked themselves up. The space

  about nineteen million miles away from us!”

  ship had evidently landed hull down, and,

  Xenenon seemed a very simple fortunately, it wasn’t smashed. Then in a looking world to have such complicated things minute they were out through the doorway,

  connected with it. For an hour it had been just staring numbed at their first sight of the

  a brown spot in the sky. The Professor was

  strange landscape.

  rolling off more figures, but Tubby was used At first Tubby could see nothing but a

  to that now and be didn’t pay much attention.

  dirty blur, as though his eyes had slipped out Through the bull’s-eye window he stared at

  of focus. Then the blur got clearer. Under his their approaching destination.

  feet there was a dizzying expense of

  Xenenon was now a dirty round ball,

  emptiness, with dirty clouds far down. It made hanging in the glittering black firmament his head swim.

  ahead of them. But it was rapidly getting

  “Well, my goodness! What

  larger. As the space ship turned over, Xenenon happened?” the Professor gasped, his eyes

  presently was a great mass of tumbling cloud-wild with excitement.

  vapors, like a muddy sea beneath them. And

  then they plunged into the clouds as the ship IT was like standing on nothingness. But

  dropped rapidly downward.

  Tubby could feel solid ground under his feet.

  “Don’t forget to stop us,” Tubby The Professor was clinging to him as they warned. “Ain’t we fallin’ pretty fast, took a step. And now Tubby saw that close Perfessor?”

  over them, like a little ceiling just above their

  “Yes—yes, I guess we are.” The heads, there was a spread of solid, mud-Professor looked a little alarmed. He became colored surface that went off into a dim,

  very busy with the huge collection of dials, blurred distance.

  levers and push buttons that took up all one Things were hanging down from it.

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  Things that looked like rocks, with a path

  the upside-down rock surface. Underneath, it between them. Further away, weird-shaped had a row of bulging little heads—twelve of brown and purple buildings were hanging them, fastened to the community body on down—buildings with lights in their windows.

  spindly necks.

  And things were moving off there—living

  The heads bobbed as it walked. Every

  things like bugs crawling on a ceiling.

  head had a goggling face of glowing eyes and

  “Why—why—” the Professor said a round mouth. There was a brain under the suddenly. “I understand it now. I thought this eyes that expanded in and out as though the

  atmosphere here was queer when I examined

  creature was thinking very hard.

  it through my electro-micrographic-

  “Easy!” Tubby whispered. “Stand still,

  spectroscope a while ago. The light rays here Perfessor. It’s our enemy. Right?”

  won’t travel horizontally through this

  “Yes, of course. Oh, my goodness—”

  atmosphere. They are bent upward—no, I The little Professor was chattering with terror, mean downward—diffused by the cloud-now that the crisis was at hand.

  vapors like a great prism so that they come

  “We gotta gauge it,” Tubby whispered.

  hack to us reversed!”