[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.I brushed away hishand, but stood still.He sagged a little, and tried to lean on the plants.But of course they wouldn'tentertain the notion, and just gave way.He fought for the balance he'd so carelessly committed to thenon-existent support, lost the fight, and fell over.I left, in a hurry.There was a moment's dreadful pause,when I thought he might not panic, and then he screamed.'Grainger!''What's the matter?' I inquired, not pausing in my stride.'I've lost you.' Fear dripped from every syllable.'Well, don't panic,' I reprimanded him primly."That's the thing to avoid.You're not helpless.You knowwhere the ship is.The one thing we mustn't do is stagger around in this stuff.We might get lost.''Come back here!''I haven't gone anywhere,' I lied.'I can't be more than a few feet away.But don't start fumbling aroundfor me.Use your compass and your pedometer.You can get to the ship.''I was following you' he wailed.'I don't know the way, and I don't even know what a pedometer is!''Don't get hysterical,' I told him.'You heard the compass bearings Johnny gave me.I assure you I didn'tlose the straight line.You don't need the pedometer.Just keep going in a straight line, and you'll reach the Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlship.''Why can't you come back for me?''Because I'd lose the straight line and the direction.I assure you that my way is best.I'm going on now.If you start now as well, we'll probably only be a matter of three feet apart the whole way.''Grainger, please!' He was petrified.Which was good.I was relying on the fact that even given the rightcompass bearing, he still wouldn't be able to find the ship.Not before I'd had time for a good look and achance to act, anyway.'I'm moving, Captain,' I said sweetly.I hoped that my voice didn't betray any of the satisfaction I felt.But call circuits distort in a most convenient manner.Behind me, delArco began to sob.Poor bastard, I thought.You poor bastard.Then my light fell upon a human face, and it was my turn to be terrified.21I wiped my faceplate clear of little beasties with a quick stroke of the back of my hand.As I did so, thecircle of light shifted.So did the face.It stayed where I could see it.It stared vacuously at my silver-cladform.'Doctor Livingstone, I presume?' I said.I put out my hand, and he disappeared.Just gone, into nothingness, or into.plantness.'I have a horrible suspicion,' I confided to the world in general, 'that things are not as they should be.Wehave been trampling on somebody's toes, and.'I was rudely interrupted by Captain delArco, who screamed again.'Shut up, Captain,' I said tiredly.'It's not real.Just the plants.They can change shape, remember.'He didn't stop crying.His nerves were pretty bad.I waited.'What the hell's happening?' Johnny wanted to know.'The jungle's making faces at us.It can't hit us, or hurt us, or call us names.So it's making faces at us.Ithink the captain is frightened.'The calmness of my voice and the scorn inherent in the last remark brought delArco back to his senses. Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html'I'm all right,' he said heroically.'I was startled, that's all.''Great,' I said, 'I'm on my way again.'But the moment I moved again, I was a stimulus.The jungle had got an idea, and it worked - stoppedme dead in my tracks.It wasn't about to give up.There was another face, and another, and another.But shock tactics had lost their effect.I was nolonger impressed.I walked straight through them.This time, the jungle wasn't so slow with itsinventiveness.The faces changed expression.From vacuousness, they passed through fear and pain andagony.I watched the face - always the same face - grow thinner, watched the flesh whiten and tautenabout the bones, watched it begin to peel from the face, watched it dissolve and flow and writhe.Iwatched the death and decay of a human being.Wherever my lamp fell, there it was.As long as Imoved, the continuity was maintained.No rest for the wicked." It's one of the crew of the Lost Star, supplied the wind.It's something they've actually seen andexperienced.It took them time to recognise you as human.That's why there was a delay.So why are they showing me? I asked.Are they threatening me with the same fate? Trying to scare meto death? It won't work." Forget about trying to prove how tough you are, the whisper replied.They aren't trying to hurt you.They're like everything else on this world - just plain and simple reaction.To every stimulus, they have areaction.It's the whole of their existence.They can't fail to react.They can't fail to react specifically.Thisis all they need to do - from their point of view - to cancel you out.You were hurting them before, as aninvader with no programmed response.But not now.They've made up their minds.They've blotted youout of their existence plane.From now on, you're just an accident of providence.They don't care aboutyou, Grainger.They won't hurt you.They can't even try.Thank you, I said, you've taken a load off my mind.Then I found the Lost Star.She was still intact.The jungle was close up to her sides, but it didn't touch her.I paused for breath,leaning on the hull.She was a long, wide-bellied ship with big tailfins and solid wings.She wasn't ugly butshe was outsize - Junoesque.I knew as soon as I realised just how big she was that my plan to lose delArco wouldn't pay off.Shewas no needle in a haystack [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.I brushed away hishand, but stood still.He sagged a little, and tried to lean on the plants.But of course they wouldn'tentertain the notion, and just gave way.He fought for the balance he'd so carelessly committed to thenon-existent support, lost the fight, and fell over.I left, in a hurry.There was a moment's dreadful pause,when I thought he might not panic, and then he screamed.'Grainger!''What's the matter?' I inquired, not pausing in my stride.'I've lost you.' Fear dripped from every syllable.'Well, don't panic,' I reprimanded him primly."That's the thing to avoid.You're not helpless.You knowwhere the ship is.The one thing we mustn't do is stagger around in this stuff.We might get lost.''Come back here!''I haven't gone anywhere,' I lied.'I can't be more than a few feet away.But don't start fumbling aroundfor me.Use your compass and your pedometer.You can get to the ship.''I was following you' he wailed.'I don't know the way, and I don't even know what a pedometer is!''Don't get hysterical,' I told him.'You heard the compass bearings Johnny gave me.I assure you I didn'tlose the straight line.You don't need the pedometer.Just keep going in a straight line, and you'll reach the Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlship.''Why can't you come back for me?''Because I'd lose the straight line and the direction.I assure you that my way is best.I'm going on now.If you start now as well, we'll probably only be a matter of three feet apart the whole way.''Grainger, please!' He was petrified.Which was good.I was relying on the fact that even given the rightcompass bearing, he still wouldn't be able to find the ship.Not before I'd had time for a good look and achance to act, anyway.'I'm moving, Captain,' I said sweetly.I hoped that my voice didn't betray any of the satisfaction I felt.But call circuits distort in a most convenient manner.Behind me, delArco began to sob.Poor bastard, I thought.You poor bastard.Then my light fell upon a human face, and it was my turn to be terrified.21I wiped my faceplate clear of little beasties with a quick stroke of the back of my hand.As I did so, thecircle of light shifted.So did the face.It stayed where I could see it.It stared vacuously at my silver-cladform.'Doctor Livingstone, I presume?' I said.I put out my hand, and he disappeared.Just gone, into nothingness, or into.plantness.'I have a horrible suspicion,' I confided to the world in general, 'that things are not as they should be.Wehave been trampling on somebody's toes, and.'I was rudely interrupted by Captain delArco, who screamed again.'Shut up, Captain,' I said tiredly.'It's not real.Just the plants.They can change shape, remember.'He didn't stop crying.His nerves were pretty bad.I waited.'What the hell's happening?' Johnny wanted to know.'The jungle's making faces at us.It can't hit us, or hurt us, or call us names.So it's making faces at us.Ithink the captain is frightened.'The calmness of my voice and the scorn inherent in the last remark brought delArco back to his senses. Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html'I'm all right,' he said heroically.'I was startled, that's all.''Great,' I said, 'I'm on my way again.'But the moment I moved again, I was a stimulus.The jungle had got an idea, and it worked - stoppedme dead in my tracks.It wasn't about to give up.There was another face, and another, and another.But shock tactics had lost their effect.I was nolonger impressed.I walked straight through them.This time, the jungle wasn't so slow with itsinventiveness.The faces changed expression.From vacuousness, they passed through fear and pain andagony.I watched the face - always the same face - grow thinner, watched the flesh whiten and tautenabout the bones, watched it begin to peel from the face, watched it dissolve and flow and writhe.Iwatched the death and decay of a human being.Wherever my lamp fell, there it was.As long as Imoved, the continuity was maintained.No rest for the wicked." It's one of the crew of the Lost Star, supplied the wind.It's something they've actually seen andexperienced.It took them time to recognise you as human.That's why there was a delay.So why are they showing me? I asked.Are they threatening me with the same fate? Trying to scare meto death? It won't work." Forget about trying to prove how tough you are, the whisper replied.They aren't trying to hurt you.They're like everything else on this world - just plain and simple reaction.To every stimulus, they have areaction.It's the whole of their existence.They can't fail to react.They can't fail to react specifically.Thisis all they need to do - from their point of view - to cancel you out.You were hurting them before, as aninvader with no programmed response.But not now.They've made up their minds.They've blotted youout of their existence plane.From now on, you're just an accident of providence.They don't care aboutyou, Grainger.They won't hurt you.They can't even try.Thank you, I said, you've taken a load off my mind.Then I found the Lost Star.She was still intact.The jungle was close up to her sides, but it didn't touch her.I paused for breath,leaning on the hull.She was a long, wide-bellied ship with big tailfins and solid wings.She wasn't ugly butshe was outsize - Junoesque.I knew as soon as I realised just how big she was that my plan to lose delArco wouldn't pay off.Shewas no needle in a haystack [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]