Earth Alert!
"Forential told us we'd get many strange powers...." one said.

Just before we went down to the planet, another completed the thought.

It's growing time, then.

They laughed together with excitement, and Calvin cracked his knuckles nervously.

"Let's play a trick on Forential," Calvin said. "Let's see if we can go through the bulkhead." His face was bright and hopeful. "Let's huh?"

Calvin raced to the far end of the compartment. "Come on!"

Like guilty children, they looked at one another. Then a few of them joined Calvin. All right, let's.

"Don't," Walt cautioned. "It's just machinery on the other side."

Why can't our thoughts penetrate it, then?

We aren't developed enough, Walt thought.

"Huh?" Calvin asked. He began pounding the bulkhead with his fist.

"No," one of the other mutants said. "Like this." He concentrated and tried to put a hand through the bulkhead.

We aren't developed enough.

Still the mutants continued. Since the aliens had stepped up the power in the two transmitters (power that closed the final connection in the mutants' brains and held it closed) the mutants were able to assault any problem with the full potentialities of the human brain. But even that was not enough. The aliens had planned carefully in order to keep the two mutant groups from discovering each other.

Forential came to make a special announcement. He spoke English with an accent that the mutants (who had learned the language from him) could not even imitate. As he surveyed them, his eyes shone with pride: they were a good, sturdy, healthy lot. "Children," he said. "Earth is now in the middle of a war. There will be little work left for us within another two months."

Calvin cried and waved his arms wildly and bounced the ball viciously around the room. Every earthman who killed an earthman was depriving him personally, of a victim. He wrung 
 Prev. P 11/112 next 
Back Top
Privacy Statement Terms of Service Contact