 6. At his brother's eager cry, John ran over toward where the older brother was stooping down, examining carefully, something almost completely embedded in the sand. He saw Jack rise, take his shovel from the carrying straps on his soots back, and start uncovering whatever it was he had stumbled over. As John came up, he uttered an exclamation of surprise. Why, what, that's a metal plate. What is it, Jack? Don't know yet. The elder punted as he worked even more fervously with his shovel. John quickly laid down the detector, which was clicking excitedly, to unsling his own shovel, and begin digging. In a few moments they had completely bared the metal plate, and could now see it was about ten by four feet, and hinged on one side. Looks like a trap door. Sure does lend a hand, let's see if we can open it. The crack along the edge was not wide enough for the gloved fingers of their soots, so John inserted his shovel tip in the crack as a prize. Jack did the same, and after many attempts, for it was much heavier, even than they expected, they managed to lift the edge a bit. Can you hold it alone a sec? Jack asked. Try, John threw his whole weight on the end of the shovel handle, while Jack quickly found a small stone and wedged it in the opening. Then, with John moving his shovel farther and farther back along the edge, Jack pushed his even larger stones closely behind him, and they finally managed to get the cover high enough so they were able to tip it back, but only after considerable straining and puffing. What do you suppose is down there? John hopped about, digging at the sand with his boot tip. Don't know, but it has sure been a long time since anyone used this. Jack spoke slowly. How can you tell? Because of all the sand that sifted in here silly. You don't think this is just a box of sand, do you? It could have been here thousands and thousands of years. You mean there were people living here then? The elder boy shook his head. Maybe yes, maybe no. It could have been folks who merely visited here. Well, what do we do now? John picked up a shovel. You're the one that's silly now. We clear it out and look. For some time the two made the sand fly. Then Jack's shovel struck metal, and feverishly the two concentrated on that spot. Another few minutes and they could see it was a large metal's chest that almost filled its covered metal lined pit. When they finally had the top of the box completely exposed, they found its cover fastened with a simple hasp, which was quickly opened. Then they lifted this second lid. Inside the box was completely filled with thousands of small cubes of some sort of glistening metal. Jack started to reach for one, but John struck his hand away. Listen to that detector. It has gone crazy. He yelled. That stuff's deadly radioactive. I bet. He started to scramble out of the hole after slamming down the lid. We get out of here, but first, then we talk about it. Jack had, since enough, to heed his brother's warning and lost no time in following. Some little distance away the two stopped to debate what they were to do. You know what I think. John's eyes gleamed. I think this was a fuel cache left by people who used it to make trips around the galaxy and not something left by people who once lived here. You're nuts. Who and when and why didn't they ever come to Terra if they had space flight? If they came this close, wouldn't they have gone there too? Not necessarily. Space is so big and soul is relatively small, you know. But maybe they did get to Earth at that. John grew more thoughtful. Remember our reading about all the strange things people have reported saying? Hundreds. You mean those old flying saucer reports a couple of centuries ago? Yes, them. And even before that, there'd been reports of strange airships and things. Why, there was one that's almost 400 years ago of a Dutch sea captain who saw something in the air above the NDC and reported it in his log, even made a sketch of it. That was almost exactly that those made later by people who said they'd seen it. Hmm, Jack had been thinking back. Then maybe the Bible story of Ezekiel's wheel within a wheel he saw in the air was one. Sure, Earth people for centuries have seen all sorts of unknown things. Then maybe our idea isn't so wild after all. Question now is, John ignored the apology. How do we take some of this stuff back to the ship and how do we test it to see if it's fuel or don't we? That's more your line than mine. What do you suggest? John thought seriously for several minutes. Then brightened. You stay here and I can see where I'm going and I'll go get out the ship and bring it here. Then we'll try one of those cubes in the generator. You think it's safe? What would get you out here in this desert? I didn't mean that. And you know it. I meant do you think it's safe to try this stuff that way? Oh, that? Sure. John threw down the extra things he was carrying and stirred it away at a trot. When he reached the ship and was inside the air ducts he called to his mother as he was sitting down at the controls. What's the matter, John? She asked if she came in and saw him working at the controls. And where's Jack? I found something out there too heavy to carry. And Jack's watching it while I bring up the ship. Strap down. She sank into the co-pilot seat and fastened the broad belt about her. Even as John was activating the generator and tubes, raggedly since he was trying to handle the controls and read the directions at the same time, it simply didn't occur to him to ask his mother to read them to him. The boy finally got the ship into the air. What is it you find? His mother could contain her curiosity no longer. Something we think is that new fuel pop talked about. But it's radioactive and we didn't dare try to carry it without special equipment. He told her, absently, as the ship began lowering. He maneuvered it to a bumpy landing close to his brother whom they could now see through the port excitedly waving his arms at them. We think it's something some other people left here as a cache a long, long time ago. John explained as he put his controls in neutral, his voice and excited squake. Some other earth people, she asked incredulously. You mean we aren't the first ones here after all? No. We don't think it was Terrans. He said as he unstrapped. But before he could get out of the seat, they heard the locked door mechanisms working and knew Jack was coming in board. So the two stayed in the control room. John answered his mother's anxious questions as best he could. Jackson came running in and the two boys held a quick council almost ignoring their mother in the excitement of trying to figure a safe way of bringing some of the fuel stuff aboard and trying it out. But at last she made herself heard. I think you should wait and let Mr C decide about this, she said with determination. How is he awake? About the same? Still unconscious. Then don't you see mum that there's no telling when he'll wake up and we don't want to wait that long. I still say you mustn't take the chance of blowing us all to kingdom come before you can have his advice and help in deciding what to do with that new untried and dangerous metal. She declared so firmly that they could not ignore her. Now you listen to your mother. This is once when I'm setting my foot down. I will not let you do it. Nor could there please move her. Alright mother, Jack finally conceded to defeat with if the truth must be told, an inner sense of relief. He too had been more than a little afraid of that untried stuff. But John had seemed so sure while he knew very little about it. We'll leave it here while we go set our markers on the other planets. Unless Pop wakes up before we're finished here, John added suddenly. Somewhat humiliated because he felt his mother was treating him like a little boy instead of the man and scientist he now considered himself to be. When he does though, you'll see, he'll say we should have tried it. His mother understanding well how he felt, but still worried over the possibilities for danger. Her anxious mind insisted on painting patted his shoulder. In that case son, she said softly I'll apologise. We'd better go out and shut that trap door and mark the place some way before we leave. Jack tried to enlighten the tension. I'll take measurements of where we are, and that'll do just as well. John's voice still held that injured tone. Mrs Carver kept her voice level, but her eyes caught and held those of her younger son. I'm sorry if I seem too stubborn about this John, but I just don't like the idea of you boys trying to handle alone something you don't know anything about, especially since you yourself admit that it's highly dangerous. John's pitcholence slowly disappeared and finally he grinned and kissed her. You're right as always mum. I'm getting too big for my coveralls. I'll calculate courses to one and two and around the sun and we'll let this ride until Pop wakes up. While Jack and Mrs Carver busied themselves at other tasks, John sweated over the complicated math of the new courses. He knew how important this was, especially the plan he had in mind for placing the marker in its orbit about the sun. He knew their very lives depended on the correctness of his calculations so he did them slowly carefully and checked them closely to make sure he had done them right and made no mistakes. But when he was finished he put the sheets of calculations in the drawer, took the paper and figured the courses over a second time. That solution he also put in the drawer and figured it the third time without consulting what he had done before. When he had completed this third computation he took out the other two sets and compared three. All came out exactly the same and he grasped in relief and sank back, trembling with thankfulness. In the pilot's seat they must be right. While Mrs Carver and her sons were eating lunch they heard a weak call from the bunk room and ran in to find their father fully awake. He seemed surprised at his condition but Jack explained swiftly what had happened and John told briefly what they had done and were planning to do next. That's good, that's very good, he said drizzily. And before John could say anything about finding that new mail his father had again sunk into sleep or unconsciousness not even Jack could tell which. Well, John had to be brave about his disappointment, I guess we'll just have to go ahead but isn't it swell that Pop woke up fully? It certainly is. Mrs Carver had tears of joy in her eyes now we know he'll soon be alright. The trip to Planet One, Tad, was neither long nor eventful once they got started. They found as expected that the small world smaller than souls, Mercury, was so close to the sun that it was fearfully hot even on the equator or intermediate zone. Despite the refrigerators on the ship it was becoming hot inside and all stripped as far as decency allowed. The planet had no real atmosphere but many of the metals indeed the very rocks themselves were so largely molten, especially on the eternally sunward side that there was a fog of gases about the surface. These gaseous emanations were in a state of motion much like that of earthly cyclones constantly swirling and blowing with terrific velocity. The boys carefully examined their spectro analyzer but Annie showed none of that strange fuel metal they were so keen to locate in its natural state maybe we find all there is here Jack suggested perhaps but somehow I can't feel that way. John's voice was worried I must have stepped somewhere don't see how just one box full could have shown up so clearly from as many light years away as we first discovered it. Despite the conditions the young planet mappers found here on one the colonial law required that ascending beacon be set up on all planets or else in an orbit about them. They decided to place theirs on top of one of the highest of the small mountains that comprised the twilight zone. John made up the tape for this planet's signal marker while Jack brought it from the storeroom. When the tape was installed and running the sender was placed in the log between the inner and outer doors and the boys returned to the control room John directed the shift toward the range of mountains and when he neared them Jack from his co-pilot seat worked the remote controls and the outer lock door swung open. Then he activated the distant hands and handling mechanism that was an integral part of the airlocks equipment for handling materials into and out of the ship. Watching through his special busy plate really a sort of two-way television Jack made the grips pick up the signal sender box ready to deposit it on the hard hot ground outside when John would slip down over the pre-selected mountaintop. Move it outside John called and Jack did so. Set it down John yelled as soon as he was sure Jack had placed the sender solidly since the space shot rising higher and away from the planet then Jack closed the outer door turned in his co-pilot seat and tuned in their receiver. Soon they caught the message and knew everything was jetting fair. Nice going oil John applauded. Aww you're just saying that because it's true John turned his attention once more to his controls and the new course he had plotted for their swing around the sun of this system now less than 30 million miles away. How close should go? Jack was more interested than fearful having confidence in his brother's skill we have to follow a course so that when the sender is dumped it will take up a closed orbit the more nearly circular the better around the sun. Also we'll have to have speed enough so we won't get fried to your crisp at the near point which figures to be about 10 million miles isn't that pretty close to their mother who had slipped into the control room quietly just after Jack had placed the sender tried not to sound too frightened. Relax mother the kid knows what he's doing Jack tried to calm her. I figured this three times mum John said earnestly. Got the same answer each time so I know we can do it well still doubtfully I guess you do know what you're doing but that seems awfully close she struggled with herself and finally managed a weak smile I promised to let you boys make the decisions I'll go lie down in my bunk so I won't know what's happening until it's all over. You do that mother I'm not worrying John really knows his stuff. Jack assured her brightly but as soon as she had left the control room he turned worried eyes to his brother I hope you actually do chubby his voice quavered a bit. John grinned mockingly there's one sure thing if I'm wrong we'll never know it but I've studied this a lot since I knew it was up to me I know the technique and as I said before I've computed our course three times and come up with the same figures each time and we have to set it as close as possible now either hit your bunk or set your seat to recline we're up to better than two G's already and I'm building to five yes I feel us getting heavier I'll stay with you Jack made sure his straps were in place then tilt at his seat John cranked his own to recline the control panel automatically slanting to keep it in the same relative position his arms were resting on movable slides and the controls he would have to manipulate on this dangerous orbit were all beneath his hands and fingers closer and closer they drove to the sun with ever-mining speed their gallant little ships refrigerators were full on all shutters in place their only view of the outside was three one visit plate whose aperture was closed until only a tiny slit was open but it was enough although John was forced to keep building up layer after layer of protective coloured plastic to make the intense blinding light of the swiftly approaching sun variable clearly visible now with the tremendous streamers of matter the sun was throwing up as prominences John was able to see huge sunspots occurring here and there about the surface of that mighty furnace tremendous cyclonic storms of atomic disintegration so interested was he in this first close view of a sun that he almost forgot the reason for this dangerous trip almost but not quite for his mind was well trained to remember the things that had to be recalled young as he was so his eyes glanced often at the distance gauge soon he yelled at Jack get ready to throw out the sender Jack struggled to place his hands on the controls a thing he had the foresight to do before John started building up that tremendous acceleration his muscles strained sweat broke out on him even worse than that the heat from the sun brought his breathing became gasps there seemed to be a constricting band about his chest his eyes filled as though the balls were being pushed down into his head he just couldn't possibly move a muscle under this terrible pressure still he exerted every force of will and of muscle slowly painfully he stretched out his fingertips a fraction of an inch he dug them into the fabric of the arm rest and pulled the palm of his hand along then he forced the rest of his arm to follow his fingers and hand over and over straining to do what had to be done then victory at last his hand and arm were on the sliding arms now it was easier and soon his fingers were on the controls to say when he punted then open the outer door now we're almost there John commanded watching his controls intently we're going so fast won't have much time you're sure Sender will keep correct orbit sure John's voice was confident if we don't dump exactly on zero it'll just change shape or orbit a little that's all door open Jack reported a moment later lift Sender but don't eject yet right more minutes while the heat increased and even through that tiny aperture and the covering shields the blinding light was coming in so fiercely John was tempted to close it entirely then with a snort of disgust at his stupidity he did close it and braced a sigh of relief as that piercing beam died he didn't need to say there was no reason to look even if there was it was too late now to do anything about it if his calculations were correct the ship would get away safely if his figures were wrong he shuddered well they'd never know it that was for sure he made himself forget that dire possibility and kept his eyes glued to his indicators almost there ready Jack tensed his hand and fingers above the controls he hoped he could do it when the time came but this awful heat this horrible acceleration pressure drop it John yelled suddenly Jack tensed his hand and fingers and tried to depress the button it seemed he couldn't move he credit his teeth and again called upon his inner strength as well from that hidden depth he found that extra measure of energy necessary to curve his fingertip downward his eyes peering into the shielded intercom visit plate saw those distant hands the servo mechanism in the lock swing the box out through the opened doorway when he could no longer see it because of the angle at which this visit plate was set he touched and depressed the second button now if the mechanism was still functioning in spite of that terrific heat its arms were opening and the box slipping away he withdrew the handling arms and as they came into sight again he saw with satisfaction that they were empty he locked them into their cradle then closed the outer lock door done he reported thankfully and let himself go and consciousness claimed him at once why suffer had been his thought when he could so easily sleep until this intolerable pressure was gone so quickly did he slip away he did not realise that John too after a final quick glance at his board and knowing that everything necessary had been done had also relaxed into unconsciousness did not know or care that their ship was now spinning around and away from the sun did not realise that all four of the caviers were now unconscious but their blackout did not last too long in a few hours during which the autopilot took them smoothly and accurately away from that titanic furnace safety distance was attained and the frightful acceleration began to ease by the time they were travelling at a little less than two gravities John stirred his memory cells began functioning once more and slowly he awakened as soon as he realised where he was and why he glanced at his various details we made it he yelled triumphantly then as he heard no reply from his brother he quickly raised his seat to upright and turned to look at Jack the latter was still lying down his face white and strained quickly anxiously John released himself and sprang across to his brother's side he rubbed Jack's wrists and temples soon the flush of returning blood showed and the elder sighed and opened his eyes we made it John cried again as he pushed Jack's seat into a wrecked everything went off a sharky Jack struggled into full consciousness then began listening his straps mother and father he exclaimed did they come through all right end of chapter six recording by Chad Horner from Ballyclair Northern Ireland chapter seven of the planet mappers this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org the planet mappers by Edward Everett Evans chapter seven at Jack's question John started haven't looked yet let's go see the two raced into the living room and into their parents' bunk room Mrs. Carver was just opening her eyes and seeing the boys anxious looks struggled to sit up they helped her and Jack turned quickly to look at his father to his relief the latter's pulse was no weaker and his breathing was regular we got through all safely John assured his mother and she threw her arms about him and broken to tears hey no need of crying now it's all over I know she reached down for a corner of her apron and wiped her eyes just relief I guess is Mr. C all right she asked Jack didn't seem to hurt him a bit just then there was a mutter from Mr. Carver's lips and his eyelids flooded open the three gathered closely beside him and were tremendously heartened by the look of sane awareness in his eyes hello as though surprised to find himself in bed and the others gathered about him did I oversleep Jack reached out and took his father's hand no father you've been a little ill and unconscious that's all but you're almost well now a bit more rest and you'll be okay the invalid looks surprised then doubtfully at his wife who quickly stooped and kissed him Jack's right Mr. C you get some more sleep so you'll get strong quicker dutifully he closed his eyes and immediately his regular breathing told the three he was asleep once more quietly Jack do the others out of the bunk room and close the door then his eyes shown and he grabbed his mother and danced her about while John tried to get into the act almost well Jack chanted John yelled and on his praise you did a grand job owl but his voice broke into a boy's trouble with the excitement after several minutes of jubilation John went back into the control room and began figuring their course to Planet Three he turned on the receiver and pointed the directional antenna soon the broadcast of their solar signal came in this one about the Sun had him most worried but he could read it clearly the solar system was first discovered and charted by Tad Carver of Terra on 14th January 2136 it has been named Carveria and the five planets and seven satellites are being charted and named details will be filed with the Terran Colonial Board finally John finishes his astrogation then went back into the living quarters ready to set course to three folks strap down while I change course how long will it take just under a couple of days at two G's ouch do we have to go that fast Jack complained you want to get there don't you John turned away differently while Mrs. Carver smiled at Jack and shrugged during the balance of that day John stayed in the control room when either of the others looked in he was studying intently right after breakfast the next morning he put in a long session at the computer and his drawing board then after lunch went into the storeroom after a while he came out with his arms and ears, cells, relays and other oddments which he carried into the control room the others busy with their own work and chores paid no special attention to what John was doing seeing him busy like this he become so commonplace they seldom bothered even asking what he was doing when he did not volunteer the information but as they approached planet three early the following morning under negative acceleration all three were in the control room peering intently into the visit plates they find there would there be people of some sort cities jungles deserts ice fields all three minds were busy with such conjectures as they came closer in their instruments had already told them three possessed an atmosphere containing water vapor so they knew it could not be entirely untenable unless the air contained poisonous gases but what real conditions they would discover they remained to be seen they had already found, charged and photographed the two small moons that circled the planet one of these was fairly large about nine hundred miles in diameter and the other much smaller about a hundred and fifty three itself was about five thousand miles through there are clouds down there jack called suddenly as they approached ever near at constantly decreasing speed yes I see them and there's a big ocean their mother was equally excited three is only about thirty million further away than two although on the opposite side of the sun right now so there shouldn't be too much difference except three will be colder john stated we're about a hundred miles up now so I'm throwing us into a descending spiral there's a big mountain range and some of the peaks are snow covered jack called out a few minutes later I see them we're down to about twenty miles now and I'm setting a crisscross orbit for two or three revolutions to get a better view and take our first pictures mom if you can tear yourself away I'm hungry she stepped back from the screen laughing you're always hungry then she glanced at her risk cronum and gasp in dismay no wonder it's over an hour past lunchtime will yell if anything especially interesting shows up jack called as she was leaving by circling the planet from east to west they kept to the daylight side most of the time and as the hours passed they were able to get most of their pictures and reports on the geography climate and other conditions their spectro analyzer showed considerable mineral deposits in many of the places over which they passed they saw plenty of vegetation and john exclaimed about its coloring must be fall here jack explained unless of course those plants don't contain chlorophyll which I doubt but nowhere did they see anything that looked like the works of intelligent beings like planet two there was no sign of people anywhere when they became so tired they could no longer keep awake john set the ship into a higher safer orbit and they all went to bed their father had awakened only once during the day and then only for a few minutes nor had his wife allowed him to talk greatly as the boys especially desired it after breakfast the next morning john maneuvered the ship down closer to the surface and they completed exploring the planet taking their pictures and recordings jack made tests and reported the atmosphere not poisonous although so scant they would have to wear suits most of the time when outdoors it's lost better than mars but not near as dense as terror or two back there he told john temps below freezing but I imagine it'll get warmer when the sun's nearer noon here humans can adapt themselves to living here then john's voice was joyful they've already colonized planets worse than this as far as temperature and air are concerned yes the human animal seems to be relatively adaptable to almost any conditions not actually poisonous jack said admiringly there's even a colony of people from the high andes of suomars living on mars now without domes they could transport those indian indians to mars direct because they were used to living in the rarefied atmosphere of the high mountains eh that's right those indians would have suffocated at sea level back on terror indeed they seldom went down the mountains below ten thousand feet because of the discomfort on mars they had some difficulty at first but I understand the second generation born there are perfectly at home john's blue eyes have been watching his detectors even while his ears had been listening to jack's explanations so far he had not discovered any of that strange fuel metal if it was fuel they had found on two he spoke of this now to his brother wonder if those people didn't leave any caches here on three or what maybe they didn't like cold weather jack grinned more likely though either we haven't come close enough to detect it or else they may only have made a cache on one planet in the system that's probably it I've been watching for it all the way in and Annie didn't chirp at all well do we land and see what the joint is like don't know about you chubby but I sure want to how about closer to the equator ought to be warmer there and more comfortable I want to study that plant life okay by me you don't try to load the boat with your specimens john left and jack joined in sheepishly I promise not to go hog wild like I did last time going to land mom strapped down john called into the intercom jack reached for the sheet of landing instructions but john shook his head don't think we'll need those tighten your belt here we go hey what gives jack's eyes widened as he saw his brother throw in one switch and then take his hands off the controls although his eyes were literally watching as many dials and lights and his body was tensely ready for emergencies john did not answer and jack watched in the plate as the ground below appeared to rush closer each second it almost seemed to him they were not slowing as fast as were usual on landings but he was not unduly worried he trusted john's know what he was doing even if he didn't but apparently john was not satisfied for when the ship was only a few hundred yards above ground he only worked frantically at his controls and the nose of a little yacht came up sharply and she zoomed into the upper air with a push from her stern tubes 30 some miles up john set the ship into a circular orbit then got out of his pilot seat and began tinkering with some of the controls what's wrong jack asked how come you went down without following the manual and then came up again but john was tight-lipped and uncommunicative their mother's voice came over the intercom asking why they had not landed and john answered her question just a slight miscalculation of height mom so i came up to try again he answered stay strapped down i'll be going down again in a minute soon he was back in his seat scanning his various instruments then again jack saw him throw that one switch once more the little ship began settling toward the ground beneath without any handling of the controls this time the landing was smooth soft and even still without any move by john jack could feel the various generators and engine stop the landing props go down and finally the board show a clear green neutral condition how how come jack gasped and this time john chose to answer just rigged up a series of photoelectric cells and relays so now all i have to do is throw one switch and it takes care of all the little details of landing just as this other one does of takeoffs john tried to make it sound like an offhand comment my height to descent speed ratio was off a bit and that was what i had to fix but but that's something brand new isn't it i've never heard of such a thing before jack could still hardly believe what he had just witnessed oh it wasn't so much a much john looked down as he guessed that his brother would soon realize what a remarkable thing he had done boy you're good jack applauded and as their mother came into the control room he almost shouted john's gone and landed so we could go out a bit and make a full report in our log jack cut in sharply with a warning look at his senior how's pop been moving about some although he hasn't waken fully yet today his breathing is much easier he still makes noises but then he always did sort of snore when he slept the boys went with her into the bunk room to look at their father before they started outside there was a flush of color on his skin although it was paler than its usual state when jack examined the side of his patient's head he could see that it was practically healed also the broken leg seemed in fine shape as seen through the clear plastic of the cast he'll be waking up for good any day now i'm sure he said thankfully gosh i hope so john said i feel like a fish out of water without my pop you seem to be doing fine anyway his mother cheered him and so is jack she hastened to add fear for her elder son might think her prejudice the boys went out to get ready for their outside trip what's the big idea not letting me tell mom about her new dinkus for landings and takeoffs jack railed oh she wouldn't understand it and it'd worry her for fear that wouldn't work john was clearly uncomfortable about the praise he could not help seeing in his brother's eyes i'll tell pop when he wakes up come on i'll race you into our suits the boys donned their spacesuits and examined each other to make sure they were tight they saw to it that their guns and bandoliers were fully loaded that they had with them what tools and other equipment they felt might be needed then they opened the locked doors and went outside they started off in a predetermined direction having made plans to go about five miles then they would swing in a circle around the ship if they saw anything they thought exceptionally interesting they would make short side trips and if necessary complete their circle on another day in any event they had promised their mother to be back by dark the first leg of their journey was completed without any excitement although jack was continually finding new plans he wanted to collect for a future study nicks owl not this trip john kept protesting you promised remember oh all right kill joy but there's so much here i want to find out about yes so much you couldn't even make a dent of it in a lifetime want us to leave you behind to do it you just try that and unlock your teeth loose you and what platoon of space marines john jeered goodnationally knowing that with his greater size and strength jack could not make good his threat even if you really wanted to bickering in more or less friendly fashion they covered their first five miles then turned to the left and started circling about a mile of this they entered a fairly large wood the trees here were so strange the boys looked about them with a growing excitement unconsciously they drew closer together and finally john voiced what was in both their minds i'm beginning to get scared jack ought we to keep trying to go this way i'm not sure said jack slowly i'm getting a feeling there's something here that seems to be unfriendly perhaps dangerous but there isn't a thing we can see not even animal life maybe that's only because his forest is so unlike either those on terror or the ones on two but john gripped his rifle more tightly and his thumb unlocked the safety catch the two boys finally came to a dead halt in a small clearing perhaps a hundred feet in diameter and examined more closely the few trees and bushes about them the ground on which they were now standing was bare and sandy although beneath the trees it had been more like black loam this sand must be why there's practically no vegetation here jack said he dug into the ground a bit and found it to be sand as deep as he went rising he looked even more closely at the trees about the edge of the clearing not one of them was the straight slim type with which they were familiar these were ungainly and appeared stunted although many were actually close to 30 feet tall even so they looked too large in diameter for their height none of them had more than five or six twigless leafless limbs and those were almost as large in diameter as the trunks from which they grew these branches twisted and curved although in most cases the curve was upward so the leafless limbs often ended at a higher point than the main trunk of the tree suddenly jack began laughing but with a high-pitched mirthless laughter as john looked at him in a surprise the elder tried to calm himself i know what makes them look so scary he finally said between gasps but it's that weird look but remember those pictures we've seen to the zona and new max desert in norama back home remember the joshua trees growing there there is alien looking as anything on terra and these look something like them john too began grinning as remembrance came must let ourselves get scared over nothing didn't we come on let's travel and he started forward yet the strangeness persisted and before the boys had passed through the fringe of those tortured trees on the other side of that wood they started to get that queasy feeling again in spite of their realization of what caused it they began going more slowly cautiously ready for a quick turn and run yet both inwardly hating themselves for the fear and each determined not to let the other know he was afraid but it was with a distinct sense of relief that they saw the end of that forest ahead of them unconsciously they hurried their steps until they were almost trotting for the balance of their trip john was strangely acquiescent as jack became more and more engrossed in the strange plant life of this world three he knew that this was jack's dish and he was perfectly willing to defer to the elder's knowledge and desire to learn his main concern was to keep his brother from overloading himself with specimens or from loitering too much jack had been especially studying the soil here john noticed and finally he asked about it notice one peculiar thing about this planet what's on your mind the total absence as far as we've seen of any sort or type of protoplasmic life jack reported hey that's right although i hadn't thought of it before our examination from the air i remember now showed no animals birds or people plenty of vegetation though yes it has everything in that line i wonder though he paused and he grew thoughtful wonder what how those plants can grow without any worms or ants or anything to loosen and irrigate the soil and no animals or birds to make fertilizers or bees or butterflies or anything to carry pollen john shrugged who wouldn't have the foggiest that's your line not mine but they must do it some way they're sure lots of plant life here but jack was still shaking his head in puzzlement as they finally returned to the ship it was quite dark outside when the boys went into the control room after dinner john went over to the window ports while jack began working with his plant specimens jack come here john called after a moment or two the elder prompted by the curious urgency in his brother's voice left his specimens and ran to the other side what are those things jack stared through the port in amazement outside drifting across the clearing were nearly a dozen large spherical things like ghostly white balloons they must have been almost a yard in diameter and by straining their eyes the boys could see tentacles or tendrils of some sort depending from the bottom surfaces gosh never saw anything like those let's go out and see what they are let's not and say we did john retorted i want to find out more about them first he went over to the control panel and switched on the search light as well as the pilot's visit screen looking into the ladder he was able to direct the light so it's shown on a couple of floating balls jack was studying the plants for so we still believe them to be more carefully now that they were lighted but after a moment he yelped excitedly hey they're deflating must be the light does it john was watching them in his screen yes i see now what causes it i don't know jack answered sadly and absently but i sure want to know how about covering me while i go out and see if i can get one well maybe in your suit you'll be safe once suited up jack went outside and across the short distance to where the balls seemed to be slightly closer together he tried first one way and then another to catch one but at his lightest touch they burst and deflated after several unsuccessful attempts though he called excitedly through his suit sender john you read me coming through i'm going to try fanning one toward the air analyzer i want to see if we can get an idea of what's inside i've got a screwy hunch right i'll switch the light away from them up into the air carefully jack hurted one of the globes near the ship and was finally successful in getting it close to the hull vent of the air analyzer when it was almost touching the ship's side he reached out and touched it and it promptly broke get anything he yelled yes guess of some sort taking the reading now it seems to be mostly nitrogen ah that's it then i'm coming in when jack was back inside john helped him remove his helmet then demanded curiously what's it all about owl i'm not positive of course but i bet those things take the place of bees for pollinating and also furnish the fertilizer for the ground when they burst and the nitrogen gets into the soil some way end of chapter seven recording by todd chapter eight of the planet mappers this is a liber vox recording all liber vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit liber vox dot org recording by jude summers the planet mappers by edward everett evans chapter eight later that evening john carver sat for nearly an hour studying intently from one of his real books and the frown on his face grew deeper and deeper jack had been working over their father he had given him a careful sponge bath then fed him another intravenous dosage of the combined liquid protein salt sugar and glucose even though their mother had been able to spoon feed her husband small amounts of food each day the young hope-to-be doctor felt additional nourishment was necessary when he finished his task and started to seek a comfortable seat in the living quarters of the space yacht to relax with a little reading of his own he noticed his brother's intent look and worried face what's the matter john a the younger boy looked up startled from his deep study then as jack repeated the question he answered unhappily i just don't know enough owl i can't figure out why pop found such strong spectroscopic lines of that new element while we were billions of miles away and yet we can't find any traces of it anywhere on these planets except what we found in that cache maybe it's in the sun i tried that when we were out there but annie didn't even peep the elder brothers studied the problem a moment could it be so strong that even the little bit we found would have shown those lines maybe doubtfully but i don't think so tomorrow morning when the sun comes up i'm going to try to take a new reading from here i tried to read two but couldn't get anything however i'm not so hot with the regular spectrograph and that's why i'm boning up on it is this important their mother had laid her sewing in her lap to listen to them trying to follow and understand what her sons were talking about pop thought it was mom john explained one of the things men have been looking for ever since they first started dreaming of rockets and spaceships was the best possible fuel we knew the one we're using now isn't the ultimate but it's the best they've been able to get so far pop thought perhaps this new stuff might be it if we could find it and if we could learn how to use it why can't we use it if you find it jack wanted to know there are so many problems maybe it would be so radioactive we wouldn't be able to handle it or keep it in the storage bins without endangering the people on the ship maybe the exciters and converters wouldn't handle it without a lot of new experimenting and new designs we couldn't have the scientific or technical know-how to make or it might be that instead of getting a steady stream of power as we do with our present activated copper fuel the stuff would want to blow up all at once if the metals as powerful as I think it is it might cause an explosion that would make man's biggest H or C bomb look like a firecracker then don't you go experimenting with it and blow us all up his mother said sharply john grinned at her you needn't worry about that mom now that I've had a chance to learn how little I know although I would have gone off half cock that day you stopped me for which I'm grateful even though I was sore at you for a while then but I'm sure going to study it as soon as we get the other markers set and can get back to two by that time father will be well again jack said isn't it wonderful that he really is coming around all right seems to be taking an awful long time for him to recover fully though I'm sure he'll be his own keen self again soon although he'll have to stay in bed until that leg is strong enough to stand on again well let's hit the sack so we can get a good start in the morning night mom during their journeys over the surface of planet three the boys conscientiously tended the machines and recorders that gave them the data on land and water conditions the proportions of each the approximate amounts of metallic ores their analyzers showed the information on weather temperature and humidity they took numerous pictures as required by law their mother often helping in this after jack taught her how to operate the cameras these pictures jack developed and printed as he had time and mounted them in their data book for the colonial board to study when they got back they also mapped and recorded the sizes and distances of threes two moons jack named these zinnia and begonia much to john's sarcastic and openly expressed derision this will make a swell home for people who like cold weather jack tried to change the subject yes just as too well for those who like it hotter john's eyes shan pop sure picked a winner when he decided to explore this system even with just two worlds he has a prize if they accept our work as proof wonder what the fourth planet will be like jack continued in a different tone cold lots colder probably than mars then it won't do us any good depends on what's on it in the way of metals that can be mined maybe we'll find something there might be natural gems or jewels too and anyway cold never stopped man that's right john said admiringly they have minds on Pluto even although they're mostly worked by automatics while the men stay warm in their bubble cities as the star rover approached closer to the distant smaller planet they had named john their instruments showed it to have a diameter of about 4400 miles and a density of about 4.6 a little lighter than terra this meant the gravity would be a bit weaker and they would weigh less than on their home planet four was almost a quarter of a billion miles from the sun and would be very cold as john had said while their ship drove in closer the boy's mother came into the control room all three carvers stared excitedly into their visit plates watching their rapid approach to this new world would they find anything of value there or was it simply a barren wasteland of ice and frozen air and rocks far too cold and forbidding for men even to bother trying to explore it when jack i still glued to the telescopic sites of his spectro analyzer voiced something of this john drawled you know better than that owl we said just yesterday that there's no place no matter how bad that man won't explore to see if there's anything he can possibly use they'll follow us here don't worry after cruising about the surface for some time recording their data and taking the needed pictures they saw a fairly level valley ice covered in bear and john set the ship down there by now he was becoming an expert astrogator and pilot and with his new controls they could hardly feel the jar of the ship's landing how's the temp outside jack was examining the gauges about a hundred below and not a bit of moisture naturally going to try going out i don't their mother started to speak against it but made herself stop her boys were showing such resourcefulness and unexpected habits of caution that she felt she must let them decide things for themselves even though her motherly instinct was always to hold them back from possible dangers sure we're going out for a bit john answered his brother then faced their mother it'll be okay mom he said affectionately we'll wear our suits of course with the heaters on we won't go far because the moment we feel any cold we'll run back but i want to see what it's like out there and if there's any sort of life we're supposed to report life here incredulously it was jack who answered this sure mom there can be life forms anywhere oh not necessarily nor even probably anything we know on terra but there should be some sort of moss or lichen in the plant line yes it has been learned from experience there's some sort of life almost everywhere john chimed in even though most of it is so different from the basic protoplasm type we're used to that it's hard to realize it's really life at all jack continued but then remember back on terra the vast difference between animal and vegetable life so totally unlike each other i second john's plan to go out i'd really like to see what's out there she sighed as if in recognition of the fact that these boys of hers were fast becoming reliable self-sufficient men they were not her babies anymore she was proud of course but she couldn't resist the motherly impulse to warn well be careful anyway sure we will john locked all the controls in neutral and the two boys went to put on their suits knowing as they did the vital necessity of making sure they were tight and fully equipped they examined and inspected their own and each other's spacesuits carefully before they opened the inner locked door once outside they stood on the icy ground for several minutes to make sure their heaters were working capable enough to keep them and especially their feet warm finding they were as completely comfortable as anyone ever can be inside that sort of suit they started off across the frozen plain headed for the near distant hills on the side of the valley closest to the ship jack examined the ground about them intently as they walked hoping to find some sort of plant life while john kept his eyes mostly on the portable analyzer he carried hoping they might discover valuable deposits of inorganics was there any of that unknown fuel metal here he wondered anxiously their big analyzer had not shown it as they were coming in on the survey or landing spiral but that did not necessarily mean the portable wouldn't show it on closer approach or that there might not be some on a portion of the surface they had not yet covered from above their trips about and above the surface had however shown traces of iron manganese gold silver copper and several other metals although not strongly enough to indicate great deposits but john knew experience had shown over the years that one of the inefficiencies of such analyzers was that they would not show the depth of a deposit many times when only a slight trace had been detected while flying above the surface prospectors on the ground had found veritable bonanzas once they started mining even though the gravity was about eight percent lighter than on terra the boys found walking not too easy the terrain was mostly rough although there were many spots of slick glare ice to there were many hillocks and cracks and crevices between the slippery places so even though they had added cocks to their metallic suit boots walking was unsafe and hard by the time they reached the base of the first low hills they were winded and glad to rest a few minutes not a thing so far jack panted into his suit mic i can't see even a bit of color just this white glare annie hasn't let out a peep either guess this is a deaden all right at least this district looks at let's climb a ways and if we don't find anything there go back to the ship and try somewhere else i'll buy a chunk of that they started up the hill before them the climbing was difficult because of the ice and because in most places the side of the hill was not a gradual slope but a starkly steep climb it was evident there had been no gradual weathering here to produce rounded edges and rolling slopes although there were occasional smooth places these though the boys knew could not be climbed at all without special equipment which they did not carry this isn't frozen water ice is it john asked as they panted upward no silly there can be no water vapor here any more than there is on neptune or pluto back home this is mostly frozen carbon dioxide well it's just as cold and just as hard to climb as polar ice they climbed the quarter mile to the crest of the first hill and peered eagerly over its top in front and slightly below was another valley not as deep as the one in which their ship lay but even larger from their higher position the floor of this new valley seemed quite smooth but that can be just an optical illusion jack answered john's statement adding the glare of white would make it look smoother from a height john ignored the tone of superiority good thing our suits have tinted lenses do we go down natch jacket already started off to the right and partway down are some darker places i want to look at them could lichens grow there some could possibly though not exactly like the kind we'd find on earth if there's life here it's probably a type that can convert energy directly from the elements in the ground or ice instead of using photosynthesis or other methods of obtaining nourishment we know about half sliding half climbing they made their difficult way to the little patch of gray greenness which jack examined with growing delight hey that's nice what's nice about oh john grew red faced and having been caught that way you and your education he snorted see how brittle it is jack ignored the interruption as he touched a stem only to have it snap off like a slim glass fiber can't tell without a more thorough at microscopic examination but i'll bet this is some sort of silicon based life crystalline instead of being like the nice rocks back home john meanwhile had been surveying the valley with his binoculars suddenly he gave a gasp and focused his glasses more steadily on something that had caught his eye for some minutes he studied it then called excitedly hey owl give a look over there see beside that spire of rock he pointed as his brother rose and unlimbered his own pair of binoculars there's movement of some sort there though it's very very slow on that sort of pyramid a yard or so high for long moments the two studied the spot through their high powered glasses then jack said slowly but with mounting excitement i think you're right chubby and that we've got to see in their excitement the two started off faster and more carelessly than was safe they found out that fact when both almost at the same time lost their footing and fell coasting down the remainder of the hill faster and faster they slid shaken and becoming bruised although luckily neither broke any bones at the bottom they picked themselves up and started on again both walked more gingerly now and jack limped a bit from a twisted ankle yet they were so eager to see what this strange movement might be they soon forgot their bruises and hurried once more it was a good half mile across the valley floor to their destination but there sure enough they found life strange unearthly life it was but they soon discovered that it had reproduction growth and movement the three main criteria of life forms crystalline by golly john yelled jack was squatting beside the growing thing it was somewhat pyramidal yet the sides were not smooth rather they were many faceted like the pieces of rock crystal which with the boys were familiar it was a grayish white color with just enough of the gray in it so it had become visible from a distance against the white background but now as the boys were on the sunward side of one of the pyramids for there were many of them about they could see that the light reflected from it was kaleidoscopic coloration at times jack reached out a gloved hand and wrapped on the pyramid and it gave forth a tinkling sound then collapsed into a thousand tiny shards you you broke it yes i'm sorry i didn't mean to kill it had no idea it was so fragile jack rose moved over to another pyramid and squatted beside it examining it closely but careful not to touch it john sank onto his heels beside him for a few seconds as they watched there was no change but suddenly they heard a small clear ping and a new crystal sprang into existence near the base almost at once there was a repetition of the sound and another appeared further up on the adjoining side of the structure or creature as the boys continued watching this was repeated over and over with each tiny sound a new facet came into being somewhere on the pyramid before their very eyes the crystal being was growing boy that's something john exclaimed admiringly yes it's a life form all right jack said more seriously without taking his eyes from it it's all new to us but i'll bet there's silicon of some sort beneath this carbon dioxide ice and that this thing gets its nourishment from that what makes it keep growing what makes a man or an animal or plant grow when it eats oh then do you suppose it has any mentality jack was silent a moment mulling that over then he looked at his brother a crease of concentration on his forehead i feel quite sure that it probably has but of a sort we wouldn't be able to understand even if we could get in contact with its so-called mind even reading that i doubt very much if we'd be able to understand its way of thinking reasoning or the motivations by which it lives he went back to studying the strange crystallization um probably you're right john agreed after some thought a moment later he asked is it good for anything i mean can man use it for something jack wrenched his gaze away from that astounding growth to look up in shocked disgust is that all you can think about in the face of such a marvel as this whether it's worth anything or not here we've found an entirely new type of life and hey keep your suit tight owl we have to report this you know and i'm just trying to find out what to write down oh jack spoke slowly his voice now admitting the lightness of that point of view i can't offhand see any practical value especially considering how easily these crystals are broken but i know geologists and possibly chemists will be intensely interested in studying them there's a lot they can learn here i'm sure we'll naturally report all that you're right and the location of this valley think they may occur all over the planet no telling but probably if they can find the right sort of soil nourishment we didn't see any while coming down but they might have been there and we missed them not expecting anything like this we didn't see any other life forms either that we could recognize maybe these are the dominant species here jack rose to his feet and looked all about him there were hundreds of the pyramids to be seen some towering a dozen or more feet high and as large across each baseline others very small babies he thought with a grin again he watched one of the smaller ones intently noticing how it grew john walked about looking at the different structures of that mysterious growing crystal suddenly he stiffened straining listening then he called hey jack you hear anything huh his brother tore his gaze from the crystallization he was watching hear what turn up the power of your suit receiver there there it is again hey sounds like our siren yes yes i heard it then mother must be in trouble or something jack's last words were flung back across his shoulder as he ran as fast as he could across the icy wastes of the valley floor nor was john far behind in fact after a few strides the younger but longer legged boy was beside him then forged ahead hurry owl mom wouldn't signal unless it was urgent maybe father's worse they tried to conserve their breath after that for running and climbing once john broke the silence turn your oxygen a little higher jack he said as he twisted the small lever at his own shoulder to increase the flow of the strength giving energy they were panting and winded by the time they reached the top of the hill but they disregarded fatigue in the face of their mother's probable danger or their father's john looked quickly to one side and then the other as jack topped the ridge he saw his brother run some 20 feet or so to where he had spotted a fairly smooth downward slope down this the younger boy launched himself feet first sliding on his suit's back jack instantly realized the reason and threw himself after his brother in less than a tenth of the time it would have taken them to climb down the boys were at the foot of the hill they struggled to their feet and started off toward the ship both were again shaken and sorely bruised from their rough slide but they trotted on mother had called nothing else mattered as they came closer to the ship they saw her reason for summoning them all about the outer locked door were those strange crystalline structures growing swiftly as the two boys came still closer they could see that streamers of the crystals had already reached the lower edge and were trying to force their way through the almost imperceptible crack they'll they'll never get through there john panted as he raced the last few feet don't see how they can but watch them jack waded into the alien growing things his gloved fists smashed right and left as he spoke john was already doing the same thing but whether these crystal beings were of a different type from those that jack had broken in the distant valley or just what was the reason the boys now found it more difficult to break these crystals down these aren't like those back there john had now seen that the crystals did not always grow in pyramidal shape no they grow new crystals whenever needed jack had been concentrating on the tendrils or chains of crystals that were reaching always reaching toward the locked door while john had been trying to break the bases of the pyramids from which these arms sprang although the crystals were still fairly easy to break especially the tentacles which were only a thin string new ones replaced them so swiftly and their numbers increased so constantly that it seemed almost a losing battle these are growing lots faster than the others john gritted his teeth as he now tried crushing the bases with his heavy metallic boots hoping thus to make it harder for the crystal beings to reach the door for minutes the two boys fought in desperation then john grunted in disgust at his thoughtlessness and yanked out his flame gun never thought of this he yelled as he trained it on the crystal beings the terrifically hot flame washed off them in corresponding showers but did no damage try bullets jack unlimbered his gun from his back and started firing into the base of the crystals nearest the locked door the heavy bullets shattered the crystals easily and soon the boys could begin to see that they were clearing the way you keep firing while i open the door and climb in john yelled then you climb in while i'm going to the control room and i'll lift ship right jack replied and fired even faster as john touched the outer mechanism stud that opened the door hardly had it begun opening however then they heard the sound of another gun being fired through the opening they looked up in surprise and saw it was their mother shooting a shotgun john scrambled up into the lock good work mom but get back in i'm lifting ship he dashed through the inner doorway and into the control room he threw the switch and star rover shuddered as its tubes roared into life john punched on the intercom visi plate that scanned the interior of the lock and saw his mother pulling jack into the ship then closing the outer door quickly john put the ship into a slow cruising orbit and switched on the autopilot remembering the outer doors and the bitter outside cold he glanced to see that the automatic heaters were taking care of the inside temperature then ran back toward the lock there he found his brother desperately trying to warm their mother's unsuited body now growing blue from that terrible cold help me carry her into bed jack rose and grasped her arms but john pushed him aside stooping he picked her up bodily he ran staggering a bit with her into the bunk room jack was right behind and pulled some extra blankets from a drawer then while he was piling covers about her john dashed into the galley he drew hot water from the tap and quickly made a cup full of instant tea then ran back with it to the bunk room some minutes later they saw with satisfaction that their mother's color was growing more natural and her body tremors were slowing from the combined warmth of the extra blankets and hot drink only then did the boys stop to help each other out of their suits thanks for the help mother but don't you know enough to wear a suit in weather as cold as this jack's worry made his voice sharp yes and who's always fussing about us being careful john added then pull a stunt like this their mother looked up at them and the old impish grin they had seen so seldom of late came onto her face you've got me chums she drawled from now on I reckon I'll keep my big mouth shut john howled and jack added in the same sort of drawl well now I wouldn't go for to say it was big and ducked as she slapped out at him soon the two boys sobered down we'd better go examine the lock and make sure no crystals got in jack said yow I forgot about that john sprang forward we sure don't want any of them in or on the ship end of chapter eight chapter nine of the planet mappers this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Johan Highland California USA the planet mappers by Edward Everett Evans chapter nine despite john's desire to get away from this unfriendly world that bore his name he was careful to see that the signal marker was set out and functioning and that the ship's log contained as complete a record of the resources and data on the planet as was required by the Terran Colonial Board the same was true of fours four moons jack checked all the work nor did they leave for until both boys were satisfied it was complete their mother was a great help in taking the numerous photographs needed having become quite competent in the handling of the cameras she was so relieved at the steady progress of her husband's convalescence that she put extra enthusiasm into her photography the family still felt that mr carver should be kept as quiet as possible and away from any mental strain and connection with the ship and the planet mapping and in his weakness he seemed content to leave it that way for the time being he asked few questions and accepted the reassuring answers contentedly nor even though john wished to get back to friendly to as soon as he could did he forget that they still had to visit planet five and scout and record that as soon as they were completely done on four he lost no time setting course for five on the way he announced his names for the four moons of four and now it was jack's turn to scoff well if you can name yours after flowers i don't see why you've got any kick coming because i named mine after fish john asserted i leave it to you mom aren't tuna better sturgeon and porpoise nice names i think they're fine just as i think zinnia and begonia are aptly named she said diplomatically the two boys made faces at each other and john turned back to his computations i'm not as good at figuring these things out as pop is but i think five is about a half a billion miles from the sun it's almost 350 million miles from here since it's further around the sun but we'll cut across on a more direct route to a surprise jack came up and clapped him on the shoulder you're doing a grand job of astrogating chubby i'm really proud of you his voice was sincere and appreciative yes their mother came over and kissed john rumpling his hair affectionately i've been unexpectedly relieved that you've managed to get us to each world so surely and land us so gently though maybe i shouldn't have been surprised at that she laughed gaily as her younger son flushed from the unexpected praise ah you guys are just saying that because i'm so wonderful john tried to joke but they could tell how deeply he felt their compliments a day later when john announced they were approaching this outermost planet the other two joined him in the control room and all were soon deeply engrossed in the site revealed to them in their visit plates an hour or so later john was examining their spectro analyzer when he let out a yelp of excitement hey that fuel stuff showing up it must have come from five and a moment later listen to any rattle it sure is there but plenty they clustered about him and even though they could not tell anything from the lines of the spectrograph he had pointed out they could hear the machine chattering and they grew excited from his exaltation miners can use the same type of automatics they use on pluto to get it can't they jack asked i'd imagine so although i don't really know anything about it however if we find we can use it there's where they can get it and that's the important thing their plates again showed only the blinding whiteness of ice they knew was frozen carbon dioxide rather than frozen water or snow for even more than on four there could be no water here even in its most frozen form they cruised about above the surface watching their instruments to find and record any metallic ore deposits especially the new one the terrain was so forbidding so desolate that even the irrepressible john felt no desire to land on it or to go outside again their mother took most of the needed photographs while the boys recorded all the other data of geography size and conditions generally finally john set the ship down on a fairly level plateau close to what they figured was the equator well here we are and that's all i care about john announced with the shiver we'll use the distant hands to put out our marker then we'll see if we can find the location of the fuel deposit jack agreed i wouldn't go there for a million credits he shuddered as he looked out the port while the others crowded about to view that forbidding scene maybe we should but i sure wouldn't get any fun out of it doubt if our suits would be able to keep us warm even with the heaters at max now their mother said sharply although they could detect relief in a voice that they had already made the decision this is one time i would have sent my foot down and not allowed it this place gives me the creeps while john was making up the tape jack carried a signal sender into the lock and placed it beneath those distant hands john came in and installed the tape then started the mechanism running they returned to the control room and jack whistling unmelodiously between his teeth operated the controls that opened the outer door then used the lifting servo mechanism to set the signal sender outside on the icy ground when the outer door was closed he nodded to john and the ladder lifted the ship again i'm going up a couple of miles then circle about to look for deposits of that fuel metal meanwhile as we go we can get the rest of our dope and then scoot out of here jack again took his place at the recorders while his mother was at the cameras john set the ship into a quartering circle and when he had located the direction in which the analyzer showed the strongest indications of the enigmatic metal swung into that course they had gone less than 500 miles when they noticed a reddish glow in the distance as they came closer they saw that a head and below was a terrific whirling mass of colored gas wow look at that storm jack yelled but could not help adding did you ever see anything more beautiful better get well above it hadn't you mrs carver asked anxiously he looks dangerous i'm sure not going through it john was already lifting the ship but annie says the stuff's right close at five miles high he leveled off and put the ship into a narrowing spiral from that vantage point they could see that the storm was a purely localized affair perhaps some 20 miles in diameter wonder what makes those colors jack called from his telescopic visi plate into what she was staring suppose it could be a volcano could there be volcanic action on so cold a planet their mother asked a astonishment i don't see how there could be jack answered slowly but that certainly looks like flames of some sort down there maybe the experts from terra can figure it out from our color pictures mrs carver said i'm taking a lot of extra ones with the variable focus lens that new metals down there though whatever it is since those other people mind our minors will figure out how to get to it too i bet i wonder jack was suddenly diffident don't laugh now but do you suppose maybe those flames could be some sort of life and they're feeding on the metal which you said was highly radioactive now who's nutty has john witheringly while mrs carver gasped the daring concept well some of those flames are coming higher and aiming for us jack tried to defend this position we'd have said such crystal creatures as we found on four were impossible but we know they aren't and that they have some sort of well intelligence from the way they tried to get to our ship so why not flame beings do you think they're dangerous their mother's voice held a frightened note as she saw on her plate those swiftly approaching flames don't see how they could possibly hurt the ship or us john tried to speak calmly but he tilted the nose and the space yacht was soon nearly 10 miles high although it still continued circling man oh man they're certainly beautiful jack was enthralled as those bright shining tongues of flame grew taller and taller there there does seem to be a purpose in the way they act though his tone changed to a more anxious one the flames were now high above the storm of fire that constituted the main body now the tongues broke loose and they continued rising toward the ship as they became more spherical in shape were no longer simply extensions of the planet-based fires and as they rose ever higher and faster they seem to the anxious watchers to be really thinking intelligent entities let's move away from here their mother pleaded i'm getting the feeling that they are actually pursuing us and for no good purpose either john touched the controls and the ship began rising more swiftly no don't leave i want to study jack began but john interrupted them so would i like to know more about them but if mom wants to leave then away we go there was an undercurrent of relief in his voice but as if guessing his intention the flames hurtled after them at such tremendous speed that before the ship had barely begun accelerating they were almost up to it hang on tight john yelled and increased the acceleration soon the ship had left the flames behind peering in their telescopic plates the three could see the flames reluctantly and as if baffled return it lasts to their home below all gone mother we're safe now jack said comfortably thank you god she said devoutly and sank wimply into a seat i was afraid for a while so was i john's teeth began chattering and his body shaking so hard that he too was glad he was sitting down now that it was all over the shock of that strangeness the utter alienness was hitting him nor was jack in much better shape in spite of his expressed desire to stay and study the enigmatic flame wife it was many minutes before the trio were able to discuss the matter calmly and to realize that they had been in actual danger i see now we sure would have been if john hadn't zoomed us out of there so fast jack said finally mrs carver shook herself i'll get lunch it must be time hungry as i feel me too john left but then i'm always hungry as soon as the three had finished eating mrs carver and jack went to sit with the invalid and watch hopefully for those semi-conscious moments which were becoming more and more frequent john went back to check his course back to planet two and to lounge later in the pilot seat studying from one of his real books there must be he told himself some way of handling that fuel and of storing and using it the fact that it was cash there on two shows that but then the folks who used it were so evidently far advanced in science a bit later the thought intruded hey if that stuff's so powerful now after all the untold time it was stored there what was it like when it was new an hour or so later he heard his name called urgently he sprang up and ran into the other room to see his brother beckoning him from the doorway of their parents bunk room as he came up john saw his mother inside bending over the bunk is his pop worse he'd been so much better john's heart was clogging his speech no he seems to be waking up fully jack turned a radiant face toward him and they immediately know by their father's side john knelt to his eyes fastened on the still figure in the bed but even as he watched the eyelid slowly fluttered a bit then a hand was raised to the forehead mr carver's head turned from side to side restlessly and his eyes opened they seem to be studying each of the three watchers in turn as well as the room in which he was lying what the voice was low and they strained to hear what happened to me his wife answered quietly don't you worry about that now dear you are hurt and have been unconscious for some time but now you're getting well and i'll tell you all about it when you wake up again go back to sleep now you're getting stronger that way mr carver seemed to be weighing the advice then to accept it all right he said with an affectionate smile he closed his eyes and soon the rhythmic breathing told the three anxious watchers he was asleep once more john let out his breath in a happy sigh and there were tears of joy in his mother's eyes jack exclaimed delightedly he's getting well mother in another day or so he'll be all right naturally he'd not remember clearly for a while my text reels say that people with concussions seldom do but as soon as he gets a little stronger and there's damaged places in his brain completely restore themselves he will you'll see john chimed in quickly although he was not too sure of what he was saying it's just the shock like jack says he'll snap out of it in a day or so she wiped her eyes on the corner of her apron and smiled tremulously of course boys i i guess i've been so nervous and he was so much more like himself this time no wonder john laid his hand gently on her arm you've been under a terrible strain too what with pop sick and us boys roaming around on alien planets but we'll be back to two where it's more like home and there's only a little more to be done before we can start back for tara anyway we did and are doing what had to be done to prove up pops claim and we've beaten slick bogey supposing he's out here trying to cheat us out of the system the boys went into the control room we'll have to figure out where to lay our town site and which planet is best to put it on i vote for two jack said after a moment's hesitation it seems the most home like to me and we can stand the climate so much better there won't have to work in suits all the time yes that's where i wanted it too this is a funny system in a way though there's a much greater difference in the distances between planets than we usually find why is that as some astronomer not me has something to do with sizes and densities i believe i'm not even sure of that maybe it's because the sun is larger and denser than the others we've studied i know it's almost a quarter bigger than sol twos almost as far away from this sun as tara is from sol didn't you say yeah earth's average is about 93 million miles while two is about 87 million which accounts for its warmth then near as i can figure it out three is lots closer than mars yet five is only a little farther than jupe and four is between them didn't i read somewhere that sol's asteroid belt is actually a broken up planet some people think so but nobody knows for sure yet all right let's put our city on to jack grin has the mastermind decided where to put it not the exact location john flushed but grin back colonial says it must be fairly close to good water good soil forests and mineral deposits however he sobered and looked at his brother appealingly golly al any chance of pop getting entirely well before we have to start it so that it wouldn't hurt him to do brain work i don't know very much about city planning you know only the specs colonial furnished he could but maybe he won't i don't know enough to say how soon i've been fooled before thought it would take only a few days when he was first hurt what about him being so dreamy you mean when he woke up just now there's really nothing to worry about honestly just as i told you and mother i looked it up again and the text says amnesiacs often act this way just before they recover full consciousness john let out his breath and relief but listen jack changed back to the old subject if you don't know anything about city planning and i don't either how are we gonna know what has to be done to satisfy the colonial board it's all in the papers they gave us that have to be filled out to file when we get back it tells how much area to cover how far apart the streets are to be and how wide and how to mark out everything gosh that sounds like a complicated deal it'll take us an awful long time won't it not as much as you think if we work really hard i figure we should be able to do it in a couple of weeks we just have to sketch in the bear outline not fill it all in get out the papers and we'll study them right end of chapter nine recording by yoan highland california usa chapter 10 of the planet mappers this is a leber vox recording all leber vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit leber vox dot org recording by jude summers the planet mappers by edward everett evans chapter 10 with the various members of the carver family busy with their studies and chores it did not seem long before they came close to planet two and john laid down his real books to begin preparing for the landing he had started down through the atmosphere when jack suddenly roused why don't we circle around a bit and look for our town site from the air i was going to john said with a disarming grin just wanted to get close enough to see well before i called you in to help me decide at about five miles above the surface he leveled off and began circumnavigating the globe he headed in the direction which he remembered from their previous visit would soonest bring them near the great ocean but zigzagged from north to south as they proceeded eastward watch for rivers he said a fairly large one that empties into the sea they were about halfway between the north pole and the equator as they had already decided the climate in that latitude would probably be the most suitably average in a few minutes of traveling they saw ahead a plane that looked to be just what they wanted quickly john maneuvered the ship downward and soon landed they were just a few miles from the edge of the great ocean at the mouth of a large river of considerable width and length and not far from an extensive forest to the south and a range of considerable mountains to the west hope the soil here is good john commented as he locked the controls in neutral everything else seems perfect the speck annals shows minerals fairly close in those hills to the west jack was eagerly peering from the port i know that's why i chose this spot nice flat land here good river close to the ocean mountains less than a hundred miles away and not too high ideal place i'd say that it is that it is going out today why not nearly four hours till sundown we can start planning today then get busy in the morning their mother came in just then i thought it felt like we had landed what are you going to do here she glanced out of the port we have to lay out a town site john answered and at her astonished look he explained she shook her head admiringly and with surprise you boys continually amaze me you seem able to do anything john shrugged that off when a thing has to be done a fellow usually can figure out some way of doing it besides jack grinned we're like those old chaps on terra who used to say the difficult we do immediately the impossible takes a little longer they left her then and hurried out of the ship even though they felt there could be no possible danger here they could see for miles in every direction and noticed nothing moving they were wise enough from experience to carry their rifles slung across their backs and wore bandoliers of ammunition in addition both carried tools and what equipment they felt might be needed once outside they ran first to the river and tested the water it was fresh and clear and they knew this would be a good source of water for their proposed city until men might pollute it with their garbage and wastes got your pedometer jack asked sure right here in my cover all pocket why i suggest this would be a good place for the center of the town's north side yes here by the riverbank would i'll go east and you go west a half mile each then we'll set our corner stakes then we'll both walk south a mile and set those and have the four corners done sometimes owl i have to give you credit for having brains wish i could say the same about you jack reached out and gave his brother a friendly shove get going stoop and when we start south be sure you keep your lines straight look who's yelping mine'll be as plum as yours probably more so because i'm a better plumber than you are john started his pacing while jack went in the opposite direction after a pretended err at john's horrible pun when they returned to the ship as the sun was going down they felt they had made a good beginning but as they went into the control room to talk alone away from their mother's hearing lest they worry her they were not too cheerful you know anything about surveying jack slumped into a seat nope not a sardine's worth john paced forth and back in the little room that's what has me worried hope we're going to place those other marking stakes in exactly the right spots guess we'll have to measure them some other way how darn if i know you're the mechanically minded one i thought you could figure it out john continued his pacing his young forehead creased with thought finally just as their mother called them to dinner he looked up excitedly hey it'll be easy after all how jack was as excited as his brother as they went into the living quarters and sat down at the table a light plastic line that won't stretch exactly measured and fastened to two metal pin stakes will make two sets and i get it one the length of the blocks and the other the width of the streets right stick a pin in the ground measure out a line then plant one of our regular stakes then give a yank pull the pin out and haul it in then use the other set to measure the street yes just keep going hey i believe with that system we could each work alone so i'll make two sets jack thought all this over swiftly for several minutes working fork and knife and jaws meanwhile finally between mouthfuls he said slowly i can't see a flaw in it as long as we're mighty careful do you think it'll pass inspection if we take our time and make sure we're right i don't see why not what are you boys talking about now their mother said a refilled dish of steaming clorella stew on the table and resumed her own seat they explained and told her the necessity of what they had to do in order to prove up their father's claim on this system when they returned to terra and appeared before the colonial board with their proofs of prime discovery the worried look came back into her eyes i always understood that surveying was a mighty exact profession do you really think you can measure it exactly enough to take the place of a regular survey i think we can make it close enough so when pop wakes up and shows us how to do the final survey with the instruments we can save a lot of time at least jonna shirter that's what we're thinking and planning about now you see mother jack broke in if we have the stakes all set all we have to do is make the sites on each other after father teaches us how to use the transmit then if we should be off anywhere we can fix them easily yes it'll cut down the time a lot john went on and now we're so near done i want to get everything finished so we can go back to terra immediate why getting homesick his mother teased not so much that but we want to get our claim before the board anything can happen when such distances and times are concerned and we just don't want anything to spoil fathers chances of having this valuable claim verified i see she smiled now in relief and again her eyes showed the pride she felt in her two manly boys who were daily proving themselves more than equal to the unusual situations in which they found themselves your father woke up again while you were out and he did it was a duet of happy excitement and while he still didn't seem to realize what had happened he acted even more as though he recognized me he let me feed him some broth and then went back to sleep again very contentedly golly that's great john reached out and patted her hand the three chatted together with more freedom and animation than they had known since the terrible accident first occurred it seemed as though their worst troubles were over for tad carver was so reliable so confident in himself so trust inspiring even beyond their natural love for him that they felt everything would just have to work out right once he was again in command as soon as they had finished eating the boys hurried to the storeroom and found some metal rods cut me four lengths about 15 inches each john ordered as he went to the workbench he cleared a space then began getting the tools he wanted and hooking up the induction furnace you'll need eight for two full sets won't you i got to thinking we'd better make only one set for now if it works out all okay then we can make the other by the time jack had the pieces cut john was ready to heat one end of each in the furnace then bend it into a small eye the other end he sharpened on the emery wheel now measure out pieces of that plastic rope he ordered pointing to a reel of a small diametered but very strong line figure about six inches extra on each look chum you tend to your job and give me credit for brains enough to know that much jack's tone was almost cross for sometimes this younger brother got on his nerves since john did occasionally get quite bossy but the elder quickly subdued that feeling helped by the surprised and somewhat hurt look in john's eyes he knew so well that john was merely trying as he himself was learning to do to see that neither made any mistakes in this important work they were attempting to do in their father's absence father was always cautioning them to take pains with whatever they were doing and they usually accepted his warning and advice as they did their mothers without any more grumbling than boys ordinarily make about such fussing but now each of them and both of them together had to be and did try to be extra painstaking in all the things their father would have cautioned them about and they checked and rechecked each other constantly so jack said nothing more and quietly helped john complete the stakes and line sets after all he admitted honestly there were undoubtedly times when he got just as bossy as john did soon the two sets of pins and line were done each of the boys measured each once twice to make doubly sure their work was right then they cut up and sharpened a number of wooden stakes from some inch by inch strips they found in the storeroom the next morning they started out early each carried a bundle of the marking sticks and john had a small sledge in one hand in addition they had their rifles slung across their backs working together to begin with john said at breakfast we can start the eastward leg from the southwest corner and run it a ways then come back and start the northward one from the same corner yes if we get that first corner square and right there's less chance of the other three being wrong they'll more or less check themselves they soon found they could work at quite a swift pace and at lunchtime john cried at this rate we'll have time to go back and recheck everything and still get done within our two weeks yes if we don't run into any trouble this seems to be working out fine much better than i'd have given you credit for being able to figure out chubby catfish to you brother john grinned hey that reminds me i want to see if that river's got any fish in it and no he caught himself and stopped but jack knew what he meant their mother still didn't know about that quicksand john had been almost trapped in and they didn't want her to learn of it i suppose it would be worth knowing jack hasten to say almost as if interrupting for once your eternal love of fishing will have its good points as well as getting us fresh food what about the ocean i'll try that too if i have time surf fishing won't tell us much about the deeper sea but i haven't any heavy tackle for anything very big if we happen to run into it but probably close to shore like i'll have to fish we wouldn't catch anything my lines and hooks won't handle if you can handle them jack said with a grin don't you worry about me john retorted i can pull in anything i can get my hook on except a sunken ship jack jibed and john's face grew red that incident when he and his father had been fishing off the coast of southern california back in terra's pacific ocean was still a tender subject with him he had had to cut his line that time because they could not loosen his hooks and he had lost a favorite spinner and leader and half his best line that first week passed uneventfully the boys worked hard from shortly after sunup to almost sundown so hard in fact that their mother finally protested after noticing that they were so weary that they slumped in their chairs at the table and could hardly eat each evening when they returned to the ship now you boys listen to your mother she commanded one night at dinner i'm just as anxious to get back to earth as you are but there's no sense killing yourself to save a day or two from now on you are to start an hour later and quit an hour earlier jack managed a weak grin guess you're right mother but we are coming along fine sure we've almost completed outlining the site we have to take tomorrow off anyway to go to the forest out there and cut some more stakes john added it'll make a nice vacation i'm really fed up with so much sameness of hard work yes it's been a steady grind no fooling but we wanted to get it done as quick as we can so pop can check it for their father had been waking up several times every day their mother reported true he had only been conscious for short periods and was still too weak to be bothered with any of their problems but she told the boys he was able to eat something each time he awoke and his mind was clear again she was preparing easily eaten and digested foods that would bring back his strength quickly jack asked anxiously whether his father had mentioned how the leg felt and mrs carver told him he says it doesn't pain any although sometimes it itches beneath the cast later on just as they were finishing eating jack suggested take your tackle along tomorrow chubby and we'll chop where the woods meet the river why tanks pal you're a good kid john made a fake pass at his brother who jumped up from the table and yanked the other one's chair backward starting a small scuffle which their mother wisely did not try to stop knowing that tired as they were it would last only a few seconds and would be good for them when the boys returned from their expedition the next night with arms and backs loaded with bundles of steaks and john's creel well filled with two's fish things she met them anxiously at the locked door did you boys hear or see the ship that passed over us this morning ship no we didn't see nor hear a thing sure it was a ship no i didn't see it either i thought i heard one and ran to look out but couldn't locate anything maybe it was just my imagination spaceship or airship john asked i couldn't tell you that either except that if i did really hear one it must have been a spaceship to disappear so quickly unless it was a fast jet they're just as hard to spot they discussed the affair for some time but could come to no conclusions if it was a ship why hadn't it stopped or signaled and if it wasn't one what had she heard or had she actually heard anything two evenings later the two boys had completed outlining their city site and were just climbing into the star rover when they heard their mother's voice that you boys come in here hurry at the urgency in her voice they ran quickly and found her sitting at the side of their father's bunk as they got closer they saw his head turned toward them and recognition in the wide open eyes hello fellows his voice was weak but happy father oh pop you're awake at last the two almost fought to be closest to him but their mother moved a little and both sank to their haunches beside the bunk each with one of their father's somewhat emaciated hands in theirs your mother tells me i've been sick quite a long time and that you chaps have been carrying on i'm grateful and proud you should see the way mom has caught on to doing things john said quickly she does almost all our photographing now and john has developed into a real astrogator jack said yes pop but you wouldn't be as well as you are today if it hadn't been for owl knowing how to set your leg and make a cast for it and giving you the proper medicines and intravenous feedings john turned to smile at his brother who grew red in the face and tried to stop the compliments but the younger boy rushed on he's really a whiz as a doctor knew exactly what to do for you how's your leg feel fine thanks to you jack oh it wasn't so much and i didn't know i had to study a lot to find out anyway i'm still alive and that shows you did a fine job mr carver lifted a weak hand to caress his elder son's face then he turned to john i've had fine reports of you too son your mother says yes if anyone deserves praise around here it's john jack broken he has done all the piloting and figuring courses and he even invented a one man control so he can land and take off without all the trouble and preciseness needed before why he nicks owl john was the one now to be embarrassed that can wait until pops stronger the main thing is to report now so he can tell us what to do next where are we and what has been done so far mr carver asked your mother hasn't or wouldn't tell me except that we've reached the new system and are landed on one of the worlds there we're on planet two and we're laying out the city that the board requires this son has five planets and two and three are perfectly habitable for humans but no natives above animal level jack began there are seven moons one at two two at three and four at four john took up the tail we visited all the planets and have set out the automatic signal centers with tapes giving you credit for the prime discovery they named the sun carveria after you mr c his wife leaned forward eyes shining with pride and an arm across the shoulders of each of the boys they named the planets after one of us each and the fifth one after the ship and we've given names to the moons too this world will be swell for people who like it warm and three will be just as good for those who prefer colder weather both are a lot like terra at different seasons and sections and both are rich in soil water forests metals and and we discovered a cache of that new fuel metal that you thought you saw in the spectroscope john broke in his voice bubbling with eagerness right here on two not a mine or a vein understand but a cache in a metal box buried in the sand must have been some people a long long time ago because from the sand drifted inside the box it apparently hadn't been touched for thousands of years and it showed up on five but it's guarded by some kind of sentient flames jack burst in his father's face lighted up have you tried it yet he asked john no the boys face showed disappointment mom wouldn't let me take any chances when i first wanted to but now i'm glad it's very highly radioactive still in spite of who knows how many half-life deteriorations it might have blown us higher than up maybe though when you get better we can study if we haven't got a small lead box you ought to be able to make one his father broke in you could probably handle a small quantity of it that way to bring it in here so we can study it maybe though as an afterthought if it's that strong you'd better wait for me to help before trying any of it in the generators it's in little cubes a bit smaller than our copper pellets that's why i'm so sure it's a fuel and that it was put here by some sort of people who had advanced space travel a long long time ago john was still excited we figure all we have to do is finish laying out the town here and then we can start back for terra and put your claim before the colonial board john said of course we all hoped and expected you'd be well enough to check what we've done but we tried to follow all the items in the papers the board gave us jack added seriously and now you're well we can make sure your father is far from well yet their mother broke in her voice imperative we're all so happy he's awake at last but i can see he's very weak and all this excitement has been almost too much for him you boys say good night to him now and then run off and eat your dinner and let him sleep tomorrow evening you can finish your report reluctantly the boys obeyed and went into their living quarters and to the table golly i should think popped want to hear all about it now john frowned with disappointment he does don't you worry jack tried to cheer him up i should have watched him more closely to see we didn't excite or overtire him but i was just as happy and eager as you were he'll be stronger after another good long sleep but we've got to be careful not to expect too much of him for some time yet yes i know you're right then john's face lighted with relief but it's sure swell to have him awake so we can talk to him and he can take charge of things again you did a grand job owl bringing him through that's another thing you big bum you go handing out praise like that again i'll bust you one oh yeah and who was the parrot fish talking up so big the few little things i did jack came over and threw his arm across the shoulders of his taller but younger brother both of us were so carried away by our enthusiasm we forgot to belittle each other he said sagely maybe we do sort of like each other after all john pushed him away with rough tenderness but his eyes were suspiciously moist his words though were an attempted snort as he picked up his knife and fork what do you want the next waltz end of chapter 10