Page 40 - Astounding Pulp V2

40 ASTOUNDI~G SCIEXCE-FICTION 41
MOON OF DELIRIUM
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PRESE NTLY, as he- stagaere<l around a ta111111g ior some obscure reason thr. snapped back, and forthwith all that
• b glimpsed the Dionian monster.
Jagged block of rock which rose from quality of being telepathically sensitive. A ll this was very clear to Norm-al- scene of madness evaporated into mist.
the floor of the ravine, he saw his fate- A pertinent discove1·y, thought Xorn1. though unimportant. And yet, McDill's
-~ vividly green, star-shaped monstro- But now nothing seemed to matter ex- sl:out, fra~ght ~ith urgency, did cause ,11/xTH returning consciot~ ness came
sity ! Twenty feet from tip to tip, its cept the quick relinquishm~nt of his ego h1111 to raise his eyes for a last look the impression that a rather Iona- interval
body bulged upward in the center to as _a_ ·separate being. So, blindly and around before taking that final step. had elapsed. Again Norm could breathe
fo'.111 ~ hideous mamelon of glaucous, delmously, he reeled forward. " Food . . . food!" boomed that without gasping ;, there was plenty of
ghstenmg flesh on which emerald eye- Now he was almost within the mon- soundless voice. \;Tith a slowly flow- oxygen. · And even before he opened his
spots pulsed with rhythmic dilation and ing motion the monster's multitudinous eyes he knew where he was-,-back
ster's reach- so close, indeed. that one
shrinkage. The thing was advancing of the triangular extremities of its star- feet bore it closer. aboard the Pegasus, in his own bunk!
slowly up the ravine on its hundreds of shaped body had lifted to dra"v him close McDill, corpulent in his oxygen suit, He opened his eyes. In the soft glow
short. pseudopodia! legs. i~ its frightful embrace-v1.hen a thin, hip-pouches overflowing with milk-white cast by the nimbus tube on the metal
'"Food ... food . .. food!" it was nodules, was bounding across the rock- ceiling, he blinked at the group of wor- .
distant voice bawled out behind him.
~hrieking with that extra-sensory voice. "Norm ! \Vhat the hell ? Norm- strewn floor of the ravine, shouting as ried faces around him-Captain Egard,
Footl .. . come nearer-nearer!" he came, " Norm-for God's sake-beat Griffin, Talbot, all the crew, in fact, ex-
come back!"
~gain that strange rapture seized it!" cept Perrin. .
E n c Norm-intensified now into an It was a real voice this time, a \'Oice - The fact that McDill was not himself "He's coming around," said the voice
edged with fear and astonishment a of Dr. Frontain. "Take it easy, Norm
exquisite ecstasy o[ longing, a yearning in any danger, pleased Norm distinctly.
to be consumed, absorbed, combined! voice that he, ki1ew-McDill's voic~. But not so pleasing came knov.-ledge of -just relax. Are you in any pain ?"
And as he reeled onward, his mind 1\IcDill was trying to call him back the loyal-hearted engineer's determina- For a .moment Norm didn't answer.
half numbed with horror half frenzied from dea5h. But the mystery of the tion to take an active hand in these He was trying to figure things out_:_
with this nameless deliri~m, he noticed engineer's voice, of bis presence here proceedings. with strangely good success ! All t hat
d~lly a strange thing on the rocks under seemed of slight importa1rce. Not ,\·o.-tl~ Something touched Norm's shoulder. former obsession, the sacrifice of his
his stumbling feet. troubling over. He glanced around. The monster had body to ti1e monster in the ravine, had
The floor of the ravine was strewn Moreover, to Norm, with his new heaved itself half upright over him. The vanished. He felt, if not perfectly nor-
with milk-white nodules. ~ense, there was nothing strange about undersurface thus exposed was a writh- mal, very fit indeed-and in a certain
Hundreds of them lay there. And in it anyway . . H e seemed instinctively to ing· mass of pseudopodia! legs and ab- odd way, even more than normal.
a flash o[ odd vision be realized the an- ~mow lVIcDill's recent line of experience, sorptive disks, pulsing with a dreadful McDill shouldered his way forward-.
swer. Thought-nuggets and green burrs JUSt as well as his own. McDill had eagerness. Despite Frontain's remonstrances, the
were _the same thing! This frightful wandered into this ravine from a dif- ''Food ... food · .. . food!" the. impulsive chief grasped Norm's hand.
'
orgamsm sent out the green burrs in a ferent angle. Enthusiastic over his dis- thing seemed to gurgle. · "Kid, you got into this 011 my account.
sporelike fashion, to snare and lure. covery_ of myriad thought-nuggets, he A gtoved hand suddenly clamped itself I'm sorry I had to crack you."
·when they failed to contact a living crea- was 11.ot even aware that his microwave around Norm's arm, tried to yank him Norm sat up in the bunk. "That's all
ture, they returned to this ravine where connection. with the ship had been oc- ba~k. But like a luna~ic poised on the right. You saved my life. Thanks for
the monster had its lair, and here meta- culted by these black, metallic rocks · bnnk of a cliff, he resisted rescue, strug- packing me back here to the ship."
morphosed into thot_1ght-nuggets- re- and only this very instant had h; Frontain pushed McDill aside. "Bet-
gled to twist his arm free. ter lie down," he urged Norm, sooth-
That grasp, however, was not to be
broken, for McDill was solidly boned ingly. ·
But Norm had no desire to lie down.
and muscled.
Instead, he raised a hand to the back
" ~form!" he was half shouting, half
gaspmg. "You dope ! Don't you know of his neck. The swelling was not nearly
so noticeable, and a piece of tape was
me? Stop fighting! Come away!"
"\ t(I.A\<E SUR~ . T he affrighted and desperate appeal plastered o_ver the place where the burr
~p..~H SIP m McDill's voice penetrated only dimiy had entered.
I th rough the delirium drowning Norm's "You tried to operate," he said,' look-
~p_c:;1cS S1.y~{( •
reason. H e continued to struggle. ing at the troubled Dr. Frontain.
· ~uddenly, l\kDill's hard fist swung Norm's words wei·e more in the form
of a statement than question.
up m a crushing blow that pliable glasso-
plaSt c~uld not divert. Norm's hood The ship's surgeon nodded unwiil-
bulged 111 against his · jaw. His head ingly. "Just lie down and relax ," he