The Black Star Passes - John W. Campbell (reading cloud ebooks txt) 📗

time so short that before the explosive shells of the other could be trained on it, the Solarite had moved. Under that touch the mighty plane began crumbling, then it splintered beneath the driving blow of the great wing, as it shot toward the main body of the plane at several miles a second⁠—driving into and through it! The giant plane twisted and turned as it fell swiftly downward into the darkness⁠—and, again there came that world-rocking explosion, and the mighty column of light.

Again and yet again the Solarite found and destroyed Kaxorian super-planes, protected in the uneven conflict by their diminutive size and the speed of their elusive maneuvering.

But to remind the men of the Solarite that they were not alone, there came a sudden report just behind them, and they turned to see that one of the energy bombs had barely fallen short! In an instant the comparative midget shot up at top speed, out of danger. It looped and turned, hunting, feeling with its every detector for that other ship. The great planes were spread out now. In every direction they could be located⁠—and all were leaving the scene of the battle. But one by one the Solarite shot after them, and always the speed of the little ship was greater.

Two escaped. They turned off their useless invisibility apparatus and vanished into the night.

The Solarite, supported by her vertical lift units, coasted toward a stop. The drone of the fleeing super-planes diminished and was gone, and for a time the thrum of the generator and the tap-dance of relays adjusting circuits was the only sound aboard.

Wade sighed finally. “Well, gentlemen, now we’ve got it, what do we do with it?”

“What do you mean?” Morey asked.

“Victory. The Jackpot. Having the devices we just demonstrated, we are now the sole owners, by right of conquest, of one highly disturbed nation of several million people. With that gadget there, we can pick it up and throw it away.

“Personally, I have a feeling that we’ve just won the largest white elephant in history. We don’t just walk off and leave it, you know. We don’t want it. But we’ve got it.

“Our friends in Sonor are not going to want the problem either; they just wanted the Kaxorians combed out of their hair.

“As I say⁠—we’ve got it, now⁠—but what do we do with it?”

“It’s basically their problem, isn’t it?” protested Fuller. Morey looked somewhat stricken, and thoroughly bewildered. “I hadn’t considered that aspect very fully; I’ve been too darned busy trying to stay alive.”

Wade shook his head. “Look, Fuller⁠—it was their problem before, too, wasn’t it? How’d they handle it? If you just let them alone, what do you suppose they’ll do with the problem this time?”

“The same thing they did before,” Arcot groaned. “I’m tired. Let’s get some sleep first, anyway.”

“Sure; that makes good sense,” Wade agreed. “Sleep on it, yes. But go to sleep on it⁠—well, that’s what the not-so-bright Sonorans tried doing.

“And offhand, I’d say we were elected. The Kaxorians undoubtedly have a nice, two thousand year old hatred for the Sonorans who so snobbishly ignored them, isolated them, and considered them unfit for association. The Sonorans, on the other hand, are now thoroughly scared, and will be feeling correspondingly vindictive. They won this time by a fluke⁠—our coming. I can just see those two peoples getting together and settling any kind of sensible, long-term treaty of mutual cooperation!”

Arcot and Morey both nodded wearily. “That is so annoyingly correct,” Morey agreed. “And you know blasted well none of us is going to sleep until we have some line of attack on this white elephant disposal problem. Anybody any ideas?”

Fuller looked at the other three. “You know, in design when two incompatible materials must be structurally united, we tie each to a third material that is compatible with both.

“Sonor didn’t win this fight. Kaxor didn’t win it. Earth⁠—in the persona of the Solarite⁠—did. Earth isn’t mad at anybody, hasn’t been damaged by anybody, and hasn’t been knowingly ignoring anybody.

“The Sonorans want to be let alone; it won’t work, but they can learn that. I think if we run the United Nations in on this thing, we may be able to get them to accept our white elephant for us.

“They’ll be making the same mistake Sonor did if they don’t⁠—knowingly ignoring the existence of a highly intelligent and competent race. It doesn’t seem to work, judging from history both at home and here.”

The four looked at each other, and found agreement.

“That’s something more than a problem to sleep on,” Morey said. “I’ll get in touch with Sonor and tell ’em the shooting is over, so they can get some sleep too.

“It’s obvious a bunch of high-power research teams are going to be needed in both countries. Earth has every reason to respect Sonoran mental sciences as well as Kaxorian light-engineering. And Earth⁠—as we just thoroughly demonstrated⁠—has some science of her own. Obviously, the interaction of the three is to the maximum advantage of each⁠—and will lead to a healing of the breach that now exists.”

Arcot looked up and yawned. “I’m putting this on autopilot at twenty miles up, and going to sleep. We can kick this around for a month anyway⁠—and this is not the night to start.”

“The decision is unanimous,” Wade grinned.

Book III The Black Star Passes Prologue

Taj Lamor gazed steadily down at the vast dim bulk of the ancient city spread out beneath him. In the feeble light of the stars its mighty masses of up-flung metal buildings loomed strangely, like the shells of some vast race of crustacea, long extinct. Slowly he turned, gazing now out across the great plaza, where rested long rows of slender, yet mighty ships. Thoughtfully he stared at their dim, half-seen shapes.

Taj Lamor was not human. Though he was humanoid, Earth had never seen creatures just like him. His seven foot high figure seemed a bit ungainly by Terrestrial