The Project Gutenberg eBook of From outer space, by Robert Zacks
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
at
www.gutenberg.org. If you
are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the
country where you are located before using this eBook.
Title: From outer space
Author: Robert Zacks
Release Date: August 29, 2022 [eBook #68860]
Language: English
Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FROM OUTER SPACE ***
FROM OUTER SPACE
By ROBERT ZACKS
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Startling Stories, May 1952.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
The grizzled old space veteran leaned back in his chair and stared up
through the transparent dome. In the black sky myriad white specks
gleamed without twinkling, their light unbent by atmosphere or dust.
The steady pulse of the airmakers kept rhythm with the heartbeats of
the young men seated in a semi-circle, listening with glistening eyes
to these ancient tales of an Earth they'd never seen—the home of their
species.
They stared hungrily at the old man's face. There was a silvery spot on
the chin where Venusian fungus had nearly gotten into his bloodstream
and had had to be burned away. Over one eye an eyebrow was gone,
replaced by scar tissue grown on a planet at the other end of the
galaxy where the light of enormous fireflies wasn't cold, as on ancient
earth, but searing with heat.
"Imagine," they marveled, "such weak flame in fireflies."
"Not weak," corrected the old man. "Just different. Those insects on
Earth didn't have to fight off intense cold. They had a much thicker
atmosphere and were close to the sun. And they didn't feed on alcohol."
The young men's eyes glittered. They were an odd group. Small—most of
them, none over five feet five inches—and pale, unlike the old man
who was bulky around the shoulders and had skin virtually leathered by
various radiations and temperatures and winds.
Each day this group waited hungrily for the old man to come and talk to
them. The stories he told were the breath of life to them. And of all
the tales of adventures in the far ends of the universe, the one that
was most repeatedly called for was the story of what had happened to
Earth.
"Tell us about Earth," said one of them, now, in a low voice.
"About how great we were?" said the old man. "About what love was like?
About homes and children and how a man went to work in the morning at
tasks of his own choosing? Or...."
"No. About what happened. You know. At the finish."
The old man looked up again. His eyes were dreamy.
"Earth," he said, softly. "Earth. I've been through the galaxies these
last forty years and I've seen planets by the thousand. And there never
was one like Earth."
"Tell us," they said, each in urgent, differing words, but all with the
same tortured look. "Tell us about what went wrong."
"I've told you that a hundred times," he said.
But they wanted it again. Like a man who relives an incident to examine
each moment with incredulity, as if in hope that it will fade and not
have happened, as if in unconscious attempt to move sideways from that
point into another time stream probability where a different course of
action will be true.
"All right," said the old man.
The first they had heard of the strangers from outer space was when
the new ultra short-wave frequencies were used. Professor Kennicot of
Palmira University was the first to find how to generate and control
them. He tried to transform the wavelengths upward to a range either
auditory or visual but for some reason power was lost in the process.
Apparently he gave them a sufficient jolt with extra voltage, however,
because they were picked up by the strangers in outer space as a
signal. The heaviside layer did not stop these wavelengths.
Professor Kennicot was startled one day when he heard, or thought he
heard, a soundless voice in his mind. It said:
"Interesting. We didn't know there was life on your planet or in your
solar system."
Professor Kennicot shook his head and looked around. Nobody was in the
laboratory.
"Of course," said the voice, "We detected atomic radiations from the
area, but Zeetal thought it might come from your sun. Tell us, please,
are you a Grade Three society?"
"My God," muttered Professor Kennicot. "I'm having hallucinations."
"There seems to be some difficulty establishing telepathic
communication," came the puzzled thought. And then, after a pause,
"Could it be we're in communication with creatures of zero grade?"
Another thought from elsewhere answered, and yet Professor Kennicot,
somewhat, was tuned in: "Impossible. The signal picked up was very
close to telepathic frequency."
It wasn't until two days later that Professor Kennicot discovered that
he wasn't the only one who had experienced the auditory hallucination.
The entire college was babbling about how Professor Johnson had come
running out of the Chemistry Lab, which was two doors away from
Physics, holding his head and babbling nonsense.
Professor Kennicot made a beeline for the hospital and had a quiet
discussion with Professor Johnson, a discussion which is now historic.
They discovered that not only were both their I.Q.s over one hundred
and eighty, but that both of them, sitting together discussing the
matter, were simultaneously getting new messages which nobody around
them was receiving.
It wasn't long after that, of course, that many of the most brilliant
men on Earth were reporting the same hallucinations, and as news of
it spread it became obvious that not all could be insane in exactly
the same way with the same thoughts. Excitement and puzzlement ran
tremendously high because, although these intellects of Earth could
receive telepathic messages, they were not advanced enough to send.
They only knew what was being messaged to them; and this continued to
be so until feverishly working physicists pinned down the telepathic
wavelength mechanically. That was when conversations were begun and
the entire Earth was able to listen in, by translation and regular
broadcast.
The discussions did not go well. The beings from outer space would not
answer questions. They only asked. The first thing, apparently, that
made them cautious, was the first official question from Earth.
"How is it that we understand your thought even though many of our
scientists speak different languages?"
The whole world awaited the first answer. None came. There was a
silence lasting four hours. Then came a message:
"Your question indicates you may be a low grade of developed life.
We shall investigate and fit you into our needs according to your
capabilities."
A thrill of horror went around the world. What kind of monsters were
these? What would they do? The uproar that ensued was full of frantic
military preparations. Bombs were readied in the atomic planes, rockets
were raised in their cradles adjustable to any orbit. Unfortunately,
nobody thought to conceal this, and some fool had failed to shut
off the telepathic wavelength. One morning the world awoke to a
non-electrical society in which nothing electrical would work.
"We have put a field of force around your planet," came the message.
"There must be no violence. Be not afraid. We come as friends. We will
appear now and investigate. Be calm."
The leaders of each nation spoke to their people, and the world waited
in tense silence. One day an enormous sphere appeared and landed. The
creatures that emerged couldn't be clearly discerned because they were
in space-suits which gave them comfortable air-pressures and what was
to them breathable atmosphere. They were four-legged creatures but
could walk on two, if necessary.
A delegation of picked dignitaries started to show them our world, our
customs, the way we dressed, what we lived in, what we ate. Almost
immediately the strangers turned and left our world.
Within two days Earth was in bondage.
The old space veteran stopped. He looked around at the tense faces.
"We found out later," he said. "It was the banquet they watched on a
film which we ran off, that did it. There was a scene where a waiter
brings in a whole roast pig with an apple in its mouth and then it's
eaten."
All the boys drew a deep horrified breath. The old man nodded heavily.
"Well," he said, "how were we to know these beings from outer space had
evolved from pigs, or creatures very similar?" He sighed, and stood
up. "Well, maybe in fifty years they'll feel we're advanced enough for
freedom." He smiled. "I'll leave you to your telepathy classes and
conditioning."
He moved toward the door and a portion of glass wall slid aside to let
him through. But before he exited he turned and said softly, "Now don't
let it get you, boys. Being exhibited in a zoo isn't too bad. Serve
your time and you'll get servant status like me and get out into space."
He waved and walked out through the spectators gathered around the
glass cage. They moved aside to let him through, staring at him with
brilliant brown eyes, their snoutlike noses twitching in sympathy and
kindness, their pig-like faces gentle with the expression a man gives a
trained dog.
*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FROM OUTER SPACE ***
Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will
be renamed.
Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright
law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works,
so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United
States without permission and without paying copyright
royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part
of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project
Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™
concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark,
and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following
the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use
of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for
copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very
easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation
of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project
Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may
do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected
by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark
license, especially commercial redistribution.
START: FULL LICENSE
THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project
Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full
Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at
www.gutenberg.org/license.
Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or
destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your
possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a
Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound
by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person
or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this
agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™
electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.
1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the
Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection
of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual
works in the collection are in the public domain in the United
States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the
United States and you are located in the United States, we do not
claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing,
displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as
all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope
that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting
free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™
works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the
Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily
comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the
same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when
you share it without charge with others.
1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are
in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States,
check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this
agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing,
distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any
other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no
representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any
country other than the United States.
1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other
immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear
prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work
on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the
phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed,
performed, viewed, copied or distributed:
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
at
www.gutenberg.org. If you
are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws
of the country where you are located before using this eBook.
1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is
derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not
contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the
copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in
the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are
redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project
Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply
either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or
obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™
trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any
additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms
will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works
posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the
beginning of this work.
1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™.
1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg™ License.
1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including
any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access
to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format
other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official
version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website
(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense
to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means
of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain
Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the
full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
provided that:
• You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method
you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed
to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has
agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid
within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are
legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty
payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in
Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation.”
• You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™
License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all
copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue
all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™
works.
• You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of
any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of
receipt of the work.
• You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works.
1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project
Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than
are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing
from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of
the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set
forth in Section 3 below.
1.F.
1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project
Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™
electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may
contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate
or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other
intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or
other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or
cannot be read by your equipment.
1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right
of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.
1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium
with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you
with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in
lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person
or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second
opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If
the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing
without further opportunities to fix the problem.
1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO
OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT
LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of
damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement
violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the
agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or
limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or
unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the
remaining provisions.
1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in
accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the
production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™
electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses,
including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of
the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this
or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or
additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any
Defect you cause.
Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™
Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of
computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It
exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations
from people in all walks of life.
Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will
remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future
generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see
Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.
Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by
U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws.
The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West,
Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up
to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website
and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact
Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread
public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.
The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND
DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state
visit
www.gutenberg.org/donate.
While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.
International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation
methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To
donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate
Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project
Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be
freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and
distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of
volunteer support.
Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in
the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not
necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper
edition.
Most people start at our website which has the main PG search
facility:
www.gutenberg.org.
This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.