Online Read Free Novel
  • Home
  • Romance & Love
  • Fantasy
  • Science Fiction
  • Mystery & Detective
  • Thrillers & Crime
  • Actions & Adventure
  • History & Fiction
  • Horror
  • Western
  • Humor

    View from Another Shore : European Science Fiction

    Prev Next


      Bro.

      I have placed the two Quadragnes in two observation cages, trans-

      parent only from the outside looking in, and separated by a temporary

      partition that is for the moment opaque. The cages are empty, except

      for a narrow orifice intended to receive their excrement. Food will be

      transmitted to them by matter decoder during their sleep: it is

      important for exactness of observation that the Quadragnes be

      completely unaware of me, for it is well known that the physical

      presence of an observer alters the behaviour of the creature under

      observation.

      Brou.

      I have observed the two Quadragnes for a major part of the cycle.

      Quadragne A passed the greater part of his time pacing back and forth

      in the cage. He ate voraciously the fruits of the eligourne and drank

      the milk of the adrache, but he refused the flesh of the bzigalgue:

      tomorrow I will have it cooked.

      I saw him expel at two intervals a clear excremental fluid by means

      of his ventral tube: the first time against the wall of the cage, the

      second time into the hole reserved for this use, whose purpose he

      understood only after long contemplation.

      Quadragne B has not touched her food. She has remained immobile

      in a corner of the cage, withdrawn into herself, all her limbs folded.

      Bru.

      The attitude of the two Quadragnes appears to evolve toward a norm

      of common activity: Quadragne B has drunk and eaten a little, has

      made several circuits of her cage, and has squatted over the hole to

      expel liquid and solid excrement. Quadragne A has behaved very

      similarly. He has shown himself considerably less agitated than B.

      *

      *

      *

      *

      *

      I still don’t understand what is happening to me. They’ve put me in a

      completely empty room and taken away all my clothes. The walls are

      52

      J.-P. Andrevon

      made of a weird silvery material that doesn’t seem to be metal—it’s

      hard to the touch, but it’s warm and luminous. As far as the ceiling

      goes, I can’t even tell whether it’s high or low, solid or not. It looks

      like a sky with a low fog. It gives me a funny feeling, this ceiling. I’m almost afraid to look up.

      In any case, I’m in jail, no doubt about it. In the clink, yes sir. But I don’t have the impression I’m being held by the police. They would

      have interrogated me by now, made me sign papers . . . and then

      they’re not usually so discreet.

      No, I figure they’ve packed me off to some kind of hospital. Maybe

      even an insane asylum. I must have been really loaded the other

      night. And yet I didn’t have any more than usual . . . but that slob

      Buster Brown must have put some kind of slop in his brew. Just wait

      till I get my hands on him! I remember leaving the bar, it must have

      been one or one-thirty in the morning, I took a few steps on the

      pavement, and then—pow! Blackout! I must have collapsed and got

      myself picked up by—but, my God, who was it? I’ve been here three

      days and haven’t seen anyone!

      This damned cell can’t be more than six by ten yards. I paced it off.

      And bare as my hand! There isn’t even a bed—just a hole for the can. I

      have to sleep on the floor when the light goes out. What do I mean,

      ‘light’? It’s really the walls that go out . . . What a place to live! In the morning, there’s food at my side when I wake up. They must bring it

      to me on the sly when I’m asleep. The first day there was a piece of

      stinking raw greenish meat. What do they think I am, a savage? But

      things have improved since then. Now they serve me hamburger—it

      has a funny colour, but it’s edible. And weird fruits like I’ve never

      seen anywhere. There are these big sugary purple oranges (purple

      oranges!), and then these long black things—not bad at all. They’re

      certainly taking good care of me! Too bad there isn’t a little wine or

      brandy from time to time. But the only thing they give me to drink is

      milk— that’s why I figure I must be in hospital. I bet they’re doing

      experiments on me. I’ve heard of cases like that. They round up guys

      in the street under the pretext that they’re fat, and then they make

      them do all kinds of crap, tests and stuff . . . It’s no joke! And my rights as a citizen! I’m an American, not some foreigner!

      I always thought a nuthouse was a place where they put you under

      the showers and measured the electricity in your brain with those

      gadgets they put on your head . . . But maybe that’s still in store for

      me. I’m ready for them! Just let them show themselves! They’re going

      to hear from me! You’d better know it! They’ll hear from me!

      Observation of Quadragnes

      53

      Bro.

      I have rendered transparent the partition that separates the two

      Quadragnes. Their reactions differed considerably: Quadragne A

      hurled himself against the partition and made an admirable effort to

      break it or push it back, while Quadragne B retreated as far as

      possible, covering her ventral surface and especially her two pectoral

      excrescences with her upper paws. I concluded that among the

      individuals of type B there exists a taboo to do with nudity. In their

      native world, Quadragnes cover their bodies with thick fabrics, but

      inanimate matter is unfortunately not transmitted by the substance

      extractor . . . Quadragne A, confronted by the futility of his efforts,

      then endeavoured to communicate with his congener by sounds, but

      the cages are soundproof. Then he waved his upper limbs in all

      directions—another probable system of communication.

      This first emotion did not last long. Quadragne B sat down against

      the wall of her cage that was the farthest removed from the

      transparent partition; Quadragne A recommenced walking back and

      forth, frequently stopping in front of the wall to look at Quadragne B.

      I was able to record that at about the third decima of the cycle, the

      ventral tube of Quadragne A, a small appendage usually half con-

      cealed by a tuft of very localized hairs, lengthened in a surprising

      manner, at the same time horizontally erecting itself. The Quadragne

      seemed to want to conceal this transformation from his congener,

      presenting his dorsal surface to her throughout the elongation. I limit

      myself for the moment to registering these facts, without seeking to

      attribute a particular significance to them. Time enough for that

      later . . .

      I note also that since the partition has become transparent, the

      Quadragnes have expelled no excrement.

      *

      *

      *

      *

      *

      How’s that for a surprise?

      This morning when I woke up, the cell had doubled in size, and not

      far from me there was a woman, also completely naked. I wanted to

      go over to her, ask her what she was doing here, have a little chat or

      something—but damn it, the cell is divided in two by a transparent

      wall. No way to push it out or break it, and even sounds don’t get

      through. I had to give up.

      She seems pretty unsoci
    able herself. So what if she’s naked? I’m not

      going to gobble her up, not with this invisible barrier. Besides, she’s

      54

      J.-P. Andrevon

      not my type, and she’s no spring chicken, either. She must be about

      forty or forty-five years old. Not exactly in the first bloom of youth . . .

      Of course, if I forced myself a little . . . She’s not as bad as all that, mind you. Blonde (but not natural! I saw that right away: there’s one

      little detail that doesn’t lie), on the chubby side, with big boobs, the

      way I like them. They sag a little, but you can’t be choosy all the time.

      Meanwhile, I don’t see how I can possibly get to her. And I’d sure

      like to know what she’s doing here. Did they grab her off the

      pavement like they did me? She doesn’t look like a wino. She looks

      distinguished. But we’ll have to see . . . After all, plenty of middle-

      aged women start taking a little on the side. I’ve known a few myself.

      Or did they put her there just to get me aroused? It looks to me like

      that might be it. With their pitiful experiments, they’re capable of

      anything . . . But they’ve got another thing coming. I know how to

      behave, all right. Look, I’m even afraid to go piss in the hole in front

      of her.

      Just the same, I’d like to talk to her . . .

      Good God! Simply talk to her!

      Bsou.

      Wishing to confirm certain suspicions, I observed the Quadragnes

      during the dark half of the cycle which I maintain in their cage, so as

      not to interrupt the periodicity of night and day of their native planet.

      Hardly had this darkness been produced than both of them rushed to

      their holes to expel their excrements; there is, then, in the matter of

      defecation, another ritual taboo which is of interest to note.

      During the period of illumination which followed, the activity of

      the Quadragnes presented few points of interest. The mobility of

      Quadragne A is consistently greater than that of Quadragne B. He

      frequently goes to palpate the surface of the transparent partition, as if he entertained the hope of seeing it dissolve before his eyes. His

      ventral tube has likewise lengthened on several occasions; but this

      physiological transformation has apparently not affected him in the

      same way as before, as he has not tried to hide his condition from his

      congener. On the contrary, it is Quadragne B (who, as I have

      neglected to note, does not possess a ventral tube) who has turned

      away from A during the periods of extension. There is a line of

      conduct there that escapes me.

      On the other hand, Quadragne A on this occasion ejected his liquid

      excrement in the period of full illumination; this ritual instability

      seems much more developed in this individual than in Quadragne B.

      Observation of Quadragnes

      55

      Nevertheless, I must not forget that captivity necessarily influences

      the behaviour patterns of these animals. But I have been thinking of a

      conduct, rites . . . while it may very well be possible that the activity of these creatures is governed merely by a mass of reflexes and other

      tropisms.

      *

      *

      *

      *

      *

      Heavens! As if the situation were not already painful enough as it is!

      They had to confront me with this ignoble individual, who has not

      stopped looking at me and snickering, and who does . . . who does

      everything in front of me, as if we were animals.

      But what am I saying? We are animals. We are in a zoo, and I am

      certain that eyes are watching us, through this ceiling that constantly

      scintillates. Why, why must I undergo such humiliation? Why me?

      Oh Lord, wasn’t I a good wife, a good mother, a good Christian? But I

      suppose I will have to accept my fate with resignation. It is a trial that I must undergo, as others before me. My only concern is for Martial

      and the children. What are they doing? What must they think? If only

      I knew where I am, and why I am here, and how long they intend to

      keep me here. If only someone would come to tell me, explain . . . but

      no. Nothing. It is an absolute nightmare. And this waiting is unbear-

      able. I still can’t understand how this could have happened . . . I was

      walking in the street, it was six in the evening, people were all around

      me, and then . . . I don’t know any more. Everything vanished. I

      found myself here, between these four walls, as naked as Eve. Has

      there been an atomic attack? Am I in a centre for decontamination?

      But surely they would have come to inform me . . .

      Sometimes I begin to imagine—but I mustn’t—sometimes I begin to

      imagine that I am dead, that I am in hell or at least in purgatory. It is justly said that hell is the Others . . . But that is literature. Bad

      literature. A blasphemy. I must not have such thoughts. I am . . .

      somewhere. Everything can be explained. There is nothing to do but

      wait.

      If only there weren’t this cad, eyeing me continually, stroking his

      moustache. Fortunately, he is not able to approach me. But enough—

      it remains only to pray . . .

      Bsu.

      In the course of the last dark period, I witnessed a curious phenom-

      enon. While I was observing Quadragne A through the light-toner

      56

      J.-P. Andrevon

      (he was lying on his back in a position which they habitually assume

      for sleep), he seized his ventral tube between the flexible appendages

      for grasping of one of his upper paws, and began to rapidly manip-

      ulate it back and forth. The tube soon achieved its maximum length.

      The movement to and fro which was imparted to it accelerated still

      more, while the body of the Quadragne convulsed in a disquieting

      manner on the floor. He finally emitted a series of short groans, while

      from his ventral tube spurted in six spasms drops of a whitish liquid

      which appeared to be different from the habitual yellow liquid. This

      ejection—apparently accompanied by violent suffering—terminated,

      and the ventral tube was rapidly resorbed. Then the Quadragne

      turned over on his side and soon fell asleep. I do not know how to

      interpret this latest event.

      I am now going to transfer myself to the Sphere of Gondonax to

      replenish my pharmacopoeia with vernamoual Double-Z. I will

      resume my observations when I return: it will be necessary to conduct

      tests on the practical intelligence of the Quadragnes, in suggesting to

      them by visual or material indices that it is possible for them to do

      away with the partition themselves.

      Cso.

      I manipulated the atomic structure of the transparent partition so that

      it will become permeable both ways however little one influences its

      molecular alignment by means of a simple Psy-O wave. I then

      materialized in the cell, by the side of individual A, a green gandarche

      which I caused to pass through the wall several times, so as to make it

      clear to the Quadragnes that it was possible to annihilate this

      apparently solid barrier by mind alone.

      The results were nil. At the apparition of the green gandarche,

      Quadragne B emitted a piercing shriek and took refuge fearfully
    in a

      distant corner of its cell. This creature is definitely affected with

      hyper-emotivity. Quadragne A, without displaying the same kind of

      repulsion (after all, the gandarche is a charming animal) prudently

      kept his distance from it; then, as soon as he had registered the fact

      that the wall could be traversed, he threw himself against it—and

      naturally banged his head! He then tried to push it, but unfortunately

      it does not seem to have occurred to him that he was able to make it

      disappear by a simple effort of thought.

      I then caused the green gandarche to disappear, and I materialized

      by the side of Quadragne A, who seemed to me nonetheless to possess

      faculties superior to those of his congener, the six elements of a

      Observation of Quadragnes

      57

      multa-X series, which permit, however sloppily they are arranged, a

      passage to be opened in any inert matter even if it is atomically non-

      decynethisized. The Quadragne contemplated the elements for a long

      time, hefted them one by one, attempted to pile them up in the

      evident intention of clambering up to reach the suppose summit of

      the cage, and finally, after the scanty success of these initiatives, he

      hurled one against the wall, in the senseless hope of breaking it by

      simple impact.

      I caused the elements to disappear in their turn, and as a last shift I

      activated the wall so that it would emit, in a gamut of colours

      perceptible to the imperfect eyes of the Quadragnes, and in an

      accelerated yet irregular rhythm, the three universal signals of the

      Recognition of Matter: Danger—Neutral—Welcome. No sooner had

      the projections begun than the two Quadragnes put their heads

      between their upper paws and turned their eyes away from the

      flashing wall, as if the syncopated signal dangerously injured their

      visual centres.

      I soon stopped this, careful not to injure them. But I am very

      annoyed: I have abandoned any idea of testing the intellectual

      coefficient of these creatures, who must be placed quite low in the

      universal scale of intelligence. And to think that the Quadragnes are

      indexed as ‘creatures with a fair measure of civilization!’ There is

      nothing left for me to do but observe them in the position of physical

      contact: on Csou, I will eliminate the wall.

      *

      *

      *

      *

      *

      They’re crazy! Completely crazy! But what do they want? What are

     


    Prev Next
Online Read Free Novel Copyright 2016 - 2025