“And the Brain? How do you expect to
the Venusian satellite itself will be able to
stand that mentality?”
deflect the disruptive radiations hurled from
“Simple. We have Venus satellite
Venus back onto Venus herself.”
metal left over. We can soon fashion helmets
“But why won’t the Brain itself absorb
both for myself and the men who will be
the reflected radiations?”
working the power rays on Earth here. We
“For two reasons. In the first place,
have the apparatus to fashion as many helmets
this new radiation will be inconceivably more
as we want. With those we will be safe.”
powerful—too tremendously potent for the
Brain to nullify or absorb. It will annihilate
AT midnight Jefferson left a world that was
him almost instantly. Secondly, in the past the
slowly disappearing under the steady advance
Brain drew his energy from outer space. Now
of reflective protoplasm. He left satisfied,
he’s using his own, built-up thought power.
rough-hewn helmet on his head, content that
It’s a fundamental law of Nature that no Stanhope would see through the final details, organism can survive in its own waste. Just as
content too that Bragg would expertly handle
the carbon dioxide we exhale proves fatal to
all the radio messages that came to him. He
intercept the radio messages, mainly because
affect on him. Similarly, the Brain will be
of the helmets.
unable to cope with his own emanations which
Two hours after Jefferson’s departure
will be, in a sense, his waste.”
Bragg began to receive the necessary
“Agreed,” nodded Bragg. “The slight
instructions—the rate of the satellite, its
difficulty in the way is holding the said position—every detail, checked by Jefferson’s satellite still enough to accomplish the own instruments, was given, to be deflection. You can bet your life the Brain has
immediately relayed by Bragg to the waiting
got it all worked out to send the disruptive
Stanhope. He in turn gave the helmeted
vibrations intermittently as the satellite whirls engineers the instructions and they set to work
past.”
on the details of the two spare force
“Naturally, but I’m thinking of our projectors.
power rays which are holding Earth steady.
Helmeted as they were the men
We have two other power rays, standing by in
received no mental distractions, but they were
case of emergency. Doesn’t it seem possible
forced to struggle constantly with ever-
Brain of Venus
15
expanding protoplasm. New York was already
chronometer pointed exactly to eight, and
a smothered city. The only advantage about
exactly at the identical second the satellite
the stuff was that it did not kill or digest
halted, dead in a line between Earth and
human beings, merely rendered them Venus.
unconscious.
Jefferson never knew what happened
So, watched by the helmeted after that. Too long he had lingered, too close commandant, the last conscious men of Earth
to the danger zone, drawn by the uncanny
made their last stand, waiting for the dawn,
fascination of it all.
listening to the radio instructions that came
He had one glimpse of a world
through the silent night, uttered originally by a crumbling and smashing into blinding flame,
lone man situated almost stationary one of a stationary satellite etched out against the thousand miles from the surface of the glare. Vast and tremendous electrical Venusian moon.
repercussions beat through infinity, seized the
Jefferson himself spent the last hours
infinitesimally small space ship and hurled it
with his eyes glued to the chronometer, timed
into the uttermost reaches of space.
exactly to Earth time. Then he gave the firing
Jefferson never knew what happened.
signal to Earth, allowing for the time interval
Death claimed him instantly. His ship slowly
of nearly eight minutes, and a corresponding
returned, wrecked, to the position of the
eight minutes for the projected force to strike
the Venusian moon. Back on Earth response
tiny moon around the largest remaining piece.
was exact to the second. Lunar and Venusian
Back on Earth, the danger averted,
force rays were projected to the pre-calculated
men waited through the days and weeks for
second, allowing for the differences in the return of Jefferson—waited long past the distance. Helmeted men in the major power
time when the protoplasm, deprived of the
house fed the immense projector engines, energy from Venus that had given it life, had engines now working to support four instead
died and rotted, long past the time when man
of two machines.
had recovered himself and set himself to the
Jefferson waited tensely, eyes glued to
task of rebuilding the shattered solar system.
the Venusian satellite. He watched The task of recreating a balance equaling that breathlessly as it appeared on its usual fast
of the old.
journey round the parent world—but now
But Jefferson never returned. He had
there was something different. Its onrush was
tempted danger once too often.
slowing down. Slower. The hands of the