Devil’s Asteroid - Manly Wade Wellman

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Devil's asteroid by Manly Wade Wellman. It was not very
large as asteroids go, but about it clung a silvery
mist of atmosphere. Deeper flashes through the mist betokened water,
and green patches hinted of rich vegetation. The space patroller

(00:21):
circled the little world knowledgeably, like a wasp buzzing around
an apple. In the control room by the forward ports,
the Martian skipper addressed his terrestrial companion. I wish you
joy of your new home, he purred. Like many Martians,
he was braced upright on his lower tentacles by hoops
and buckles around his blattery body, so that he had

(00:44):
roughly a human form, over which lay a strange, loose
armour of light plates. In the breathing whole of his petal,
tufted skull was lodged an artificial voice box that had
achieved words I regret, Fitzhugh park glowered bag. He was
tall even for a man of Earth, and his long

(01:04):
jawed young face darkened with wrath. Regret nothing, he snapped.
You're jolly glad to drop me on this little hell hell,
repeated the Martian reproachfully, but it is a splendid miniature world,
nineteen of your miles in diameter, with artificial gravity, center
to cold air and water soon too, with terrestrial plants

(01:28):
and companions of your own race. There's a catch, rejoined
par something you Martian swine think is a heap big joke.
I can see that, Captain, the tufted head wagged. Under
treaty between Mars and Earth. Judges of one planet cannot
sentence to death criminals from the other, not even for murder.

(01:51):
It wasn't for murder. Exploded par I struck in self defense.
I cannot argue the point. Your victim was a high
perhaps insolent, But you earth folk forget how easy our
craniums crack under your blows. Anyway, you do not die.
You are exiled, prepared to disembark. Behind them, three Martian

(02:14):
space hands, sprawling like squids near the control board, made
flutelike comments to each other. The tentacle of each twiddled
and electro automatic pistol, remove tunic and boots directed the skipper.
You will not need them quickly, Sir Parr glared at
the leveled weapons of the space hands, then shucked his

(02:35):
upper garment and kicked off his boots. He stood up
straight and lean muscled in a pair of duck shorts,
his fists clenched at his sides. Now we ground, the
skipper continued, and even as he spoke, there came the
shock of the landfall. The inner panel opened, then the
outer hatch. Sunlight beat into the chamber. Good Bye, said

(02:57):
the skipper. Formally, you have third twenty seconds earth time
to walk clear of our blasts before we take off.
March Parr strode out upon dark, rich soil. He sensed
behind him the silent quiver of Martian laughter and felt
a new ecstasy of hate for his late guards, their race,
and the red planet that spawned them. Not until he

(03:20):
heard the rumble and swish of the ship's departure did
he take note of the little world that was now
his prison home. At first view, it wasn't really bad.
At second, it wasn't really strange. The sky, by virtue
of an Earth type atmosphere, shone blue with wispy clouds,
and around the small plain on which he stood sprouted

(03:41):
clumps and thickets of green tropical trees. Heathery ferns with
white and yellow edges to their leaves grew under his
bare feet. The sun hovering at zenith, gave a july
warmth to the air. The narrow horizon was very near,
of course, but the variety of thickets and the broken
nature of the land beyond and kept it from seeming

(04:01):
too different from the skyline of Earth. Parr decided that
he might learn to endure, even to enjoy. Meanwhile, what
about the other terrestrials exiled here? And as Parr wondered,
he heard their sudden excited voices, threats, and oaths rent
the balmy air. Through the turmoil resounded solid blows. Parr

(04:23):
broke into a run, shoved through some broad leafed bushes,
and found himself in the midst of the excitement. A
dozen men with scraggly beards and skimpy rags of clothing
were setting upon an unclassifiable creature that snarled and fought back.
It was erect and coarsely hairy. Parr saw that much
before the enigma, gave up the unequal fight and ran

(04:44):
clumsily away into a mass of bright flowered shrub excretions,
and a volley of sticks and stones speeded its flight.
Then the mob was aware of par every man. They
were all male terrestrials turned toward him with something like respect.
One of them, tall and thin, spoke, diffidently, you just arrived.

(05:07):
I was just booted out ten minutes ago. Parr informed him, Why,
because you're our new chief, responded the thin man, bowing.
The latest comer always commands here. Parr must have goggled,
for the thin one smiled through tawny stumble. The latest
comer is always the highest and wisest, he elaborated. He

(05:28):
is healthiest best. The longer you stay on this asteroid,
the lower you fall. Parr thought he was being joked
with and scowled, but his informant smiled. The broader my
name is Sadoo here under sentence for theft of Martian
government property. I'm fits you, Parr. They said I was

(05:49):
a murderer. It's a lie. One or two chuckled at that,
and the one who called himself Saddaal said, we all
feel unjustly condemned. Meet the others, Jeffords, Wayne Haldecott. Each
man as named bowed to Parr. The final introduction was
of a sallow, frowning lump of a fellow called Shanklin.

(06:10):
I was bost until you came volunteered this last man.
Now you take over. He waved toward a little cluster
of grass huts, half hidden among ferny palms. This is
our capital city. You get the largest house until somebody
new shows up. Then you step down like me. He
spoke with ill grace. Parr did not reply at once,

(06:33):
but studied these folk who were putting themselves under his rule.
They would not have been handsome, even if shaved and
dressed properly. Indeed, two or three had the coarse, low
browed look of profound degenerates. Back into Parr's mind came
the words of Sadau. The longer you stay, the lower
you fall, gentlemen, said Parr. At last, before I accept

(06:56):
command or other office, give me information. Just now you
were acting violently. You, Sadau started explaining. Go ahead. Saddal
shrugged a lean, freckled shoulder, and with a jerk of
his head directed his companions to retire towards the huts.
They obeyed with one or two backward glances. Left alone

(07:17):
with Parr, Sadau looked up with a wise, friendly expression.
I won't waste time trying to be scientific or convincing.
I'll give you facts. We older exiles know them only
too well. This asteroid seems a sort of Eden to you.
I dare say, I told the Martians that I knew
there was a catch somewhere. Your instincts sound. The catch

(07:40):
is this living creatures, terrestrials anyway degenerate. Here they go
backward in evolution, become Sadal broke off a moment, for
his lips had begun to quiver. They become beasts, he finished,
what growled Parr. You mean that men turn into apes, Yes,

(08:01):
and the apes turn into lower creatures. Those become lower creatures. Still,
sad Al's eyes were earnest and doleful. The process may
run back and down to the worm for all we
can judge. We try not to think too much about it.
This is a joke of some kind, protested Parr. But
Saddal was not smiling. Martian joke. Perhaps the treaty keeps

(08:25):
them from killing us, and this is their alternative punishment.
It makes death trivial by comparison. You don't believe it's hard,
but you see that some of us oldest in point
of exile are sliding back into bestiality. And you saw
us drive away as our custom is a man who
had definitely become a beast. That thing was a man,

(08:48):
prompted Parr, his spine chilling. It had been a man.
As you wander here and there, you'll come upon queer sights,
sickening ones. Parr squinted at the huts around the doors
of which lounge the other men. That looks like a
permanent community, said Dal, it is, but the populations floating.

(09:09):
I came here three months ago, earth months, and the
place was operating under the rules I outlined. Latest comer
necessarily the highest grade human being to be chief, those
who degenerate beyond a certain point to be driven out.
The rest to live peaceably together, helping each other. Parr
only half heard him. Evolution turned backward. It can't be true.

(09:32):
It's against nature. Martians war against nature, replied Sadal pithily.
Mars is a dead world and its people are devils.
They'd be the logical explorers to find a place where
such things can be and to make use of it.
Don't believe me. If you don't want to, Time and
life here will convince you. In the days that followed,

(09:54):
the asteroid turned once in approximately twenty two hours Parr
was driven to belief perhaps the slowness of the ideas
dawning kept him from some form of insanity. Every man
of the little group that called him chief was on
the way to being a man no more. There were
stooped backs among them, a forward hang to arms, a

(10:15):
sprouting of coarse, lank hair. Farheads fell away, noses flattened coarsely,
eyes grew small and shifty. Sadau informed Parr that such
evidences of degeneration meant a residence of a year or
so on the exile asteroid. We'll be driving one or
two of them away pretty soon. He observed what, then

(10:38):
asked Parr, what happens to the ones that are driven out?
Sometimes we notice them peering through the brush, but mostly
they haul out by themselves a little way from here,
shaggy brutes like our earliest fathers. There are lower types.
Still they stay completely clear of us. Parr asked the
question that had haunted him since his first hour of exile. Sadao,

(11:01):
do you see any change in me? Sadau smiled and
shook his head. You won't alter in the least for
a month. That was reasonable man, Parr remembered, has been
pretty much the same for the past ten thousand years.
If a year brought out the beast in the afflicted exiles,
then that year must count for a good hundred thousand years.

(11:22):
Turned backward, five years would be five hundred thousand of
reverse evolution. In that time, one would be reduced to
something definitely animal. Beyond that, one would drop into the
category of tailed monkeys or rodent crawlers reptiles next. And
then I'll kill myself first, he thought, But even as

(11:42):
he made the promise, he knew he would not. Cowards
took the suicide way out, the final gilding to unjust
cruel mastery by the Martians. Parr stiffened his shoulders that
had grown tanned and vigorous in the healthy air. He
spoke grimly to Saddao, I don't accept all this yet.
It's happened to others, but not to me so far.

(12:05):
There's a way of stopping this and paying off those
Martian swine, if it can be done. I'm with you, Chief,
cried Sadal, and they shook hands. Heartened, he made inquiries.
The Martian space patroller came every month or so to
drop a new exile. It always landed on the plain
where Parr had first set foot to the asteroid. That

(12:26):
gave him an idea, and he held conference in the
early evening with Sadau, Shankland, and one or two others
of the higher grade. We could capture that craft, urged
par There's only a skipper in three Martians. Yes, with
pistols and ray throwers, objected Shanklin. Too big a risk.

(12:47):
What's the alternative, demanded Sadao, you want to stay here
and turn monkey Shanklin chief, He added to Parr, I
said once that I was on your side, I'll follow
wherever you lead me too. In jefforts, a sturdy man
of middle age who had been sentenced for killing a
Martian in a brawl and me wound up Holdocott, a

(13:08):
blonde youth whose skin was burned darker than his hair
and downy beard. We fork and pull it off without Shanklin.
But Shanklin agreed, with something like good humor, to stand
by the vote of the majority. The others of the
community as scented readily, for they were used to acting
at the will of their wiser companions. And at the

(13:28):
next arrival of the Martian patroller, an observer posted by
Parr in a tree top reported its coming whole hours away.
They made a quick disposal of forces around the rocket
scorched plane that did duty for a landing field. Parr
consulted for a last moment with Sadal, Shanklin, Jeffords, and Holdecott.

(13:48):
We'll lead the rushes from different directions, he said. As
the hatchway comes open, the patroller will stall for a moment.
Can't take off until it's air tight everywhere. I'll give
a yell for signal. Then everybody charged jammed the tubes
by smacking the soft metal collars at the nozzles. We
can straighten them back when the ships ares out to

(14:09):
your places. Now, the first one at the hatch will
probably be shot or rayed, grumbled Shanklin. I'll be first there,
Parr promised him. Who wants to live forever, anyway posts
everybody here. She comes in tense, quick breathing moments thereafter,
as the craft descended and lodged, then the hatchway opened, Parr,

(14:31):
crouching in a clump of bushes with two followers, raised
his voice in a battle yell and rushed. A figure
had come forward to the open hatch. Slender and topped
with tawny curls. It paused and shrank back at the
sudden apparition of Parr and his men leaping forward. Tentacles
swarmed out, trying to push or pull the figure aside
so as to close the hatch again. That took more seconds.

(14:55):
Then Parr had crossed the intervening space without even looking
at the newcomer exile who had so providentially forestalled the
closing of the hatch. He clutched a shoulder and heaved mightily.
The Martian, whose tentacles had reached from within, came floundering out,
dragging along. It was the skipper whose ironic acquaintance Parr
had made in his own voyage. Out All dressed in

(15:18):
that loose plate armor, Parr wrenched a pistol from a tentacle.
Yelling again, he fired through the open hatchway. Two space
hands ducked out of sight. We've one, yelled Parr, and
for a moment he thought they had, but not. All
his followers had charged with his own bald immediacy. Sadau

(15:39):
on one side of the ship, Jeffords and Holdecott on
the other had run in close and were walloping manfully
at the nozzles of the rocket tubes. The outer metal
yielded under the blows, threatening to clog the throats of
the blasts. Only at the rear was there no attack.
Shanklin and with him three or four of the lesser
men had hung back. The few moments delay there was

(16:03):
enough to make all the difference. Thinking and acting wisely
even without a leader, the Martian space hands met the emergency.
They had withdrawn from the open hatchway, but could reach
the mechanism that closed it. Parr was too late to
jump in after them. Then one of them fired the
undamaged rear tubes swish whang. The ship took off so

(16:24):
abruptly that Parr barely dodged aside in time, dragging along
with him the new terrestrial, whose shoulder he clutched, and
also the surprised Martian skipper. The rocket blasts, dragging fiery
fingers across the plain, struck down Holdecott and Jeffords, and
bowled over two of the laggards with Shanklin's belated contingent.

(16:45):
Then it was away, moving jumpily with its half wrecked
side tubes, but nevertheless escaping. Parr swore a great oath
that made this stranger gasp, And then Parr had time
to see that this was a woman and young. She
was briefly dressed in blouse and shorts, Her tawny hair
was tumbled, her blue eyes wide to her still clung

(17:07):
the Martian skipper, and Parr covered him with the captured pistol.
Next instant, Shanklin arrived at last, struck out with his
club and shattered the flower like cranium inside the plated cap.
The skipper fell dead on the spot. I wanted him
for a prisoner, growled Parr. What good would that do?

(17:28):
Flung back Shanklin roughly, the ship's what we wanted. It's gone, you,
bungled par Parr was about to reply with the obvious
charge that Shanklin's own hesitancy had done much to cause
the failure when Saddal spoke this young lady, miss, are
you an exile? Because he spoke in the same fashion

(17:49):
that he had once employed to Parr, then you're our
new chief, The latest comer commands, why why stammered the girl?
Wait a minut in it, interposed Parr again, Let's take
stock of ourselves, Holdecott and Jeffords, killed and a couple
of others. Shanklin barked at him, you don't give the

(18:09):
orders any more. We've got a new chief and you're
just one of the rabble like me. He made a
heavily gallant bow toward the latest arrival. May I ask
your name, lady, I'm Verena Pemberton, she said, But what's
the meaning of all this? Shanklin and sed Dal began
to explain. The others gathered interestingly around. Parr felt suddenly

(18:34):
left out and stooped to look at the dead martian.
The body wore several useful things, a belt with ammunition
and a knife combination, shoes on the thickened ends of
the tentacles, and that strange armor. As Parr moved to
retrieve these, his companions called out to Hault him. The
new chief will decide about those things, said Shanklin officiously,

(18:57):
especially the gun. Can I have it? To avoid a crisis?
Par passed the weapon to the girl, who nodded thanks
and slid it into her own waist belt. Shanklin asked
for and received the knife. Sad Al was the only
man slender enough to wear the shoes, and gratefully donned them.
Parr looked once again at the armor, which he had

(19:18):
drawn free of its dead owner. What's that for, asked Shanklin.
Parr made no answer, because he did not know. The
armor was too loosely hung together for protection against weapons.
It certainly was no space over all, and it had
nothing of the elegance that might make it a Martian
uniform of office. Casting back, Parr remembered that the skipper

(19:40):
had worn it at the time when he Parr was landed,
but not during the voyage out. He shook his head
over the mystery let that belong to you. The girl,
Verena Pemberton was telling him it has plates of metal
that may be turned to use. Perhaps she seemed to
be the verge of seeing something important, but checked herself.

(20:03):
If you'll come with us, said al told her respectfully.
We'll show you where we live and where you will rule.
They helped counsel that night among the grass huts, the
nine that were left after the unsuccessful attack on the patroller.
Verena Pemberton, very pretty and her brief sports costumes, sat
on the stump that was Chief's place, But Shanklin did

(20:24):
most of the talking. Nobody will argue about our life
and prospects being good here, he thundered. But there's no
use in making things worse when they're bad enough. He
shook a thick forefinger at Fitzhugh Parr, who wore the
armor he had stripped from the dead Martian. You were chief,
and what you said goes. But you're not chief now.

(20:45):
You're just the man who murdered four of us. Um Yes,
growled one of the lower fallen listeners, a fairy shouldered,
bucktoothed clad named Wayne. That blast almost got me right
behind Haldocot. But his eyes grown small, gleamed nastily at Parr.
We ought to condemn this man, please, interposed Sadal, who

(21:09):
alone remained friendly to Parr. It's for the chief to condemn.
He looked to Varina Pemberton, who shook her head slowly.
I feel, she ventured, with her eyes on Parr, that
this ought to be left up to you as a
voting body. Shanklin sprang to his feet. Fair enough, he bawled,
I call Parr guilty. All who think like me, say

(21:32):
I I I I. They were all agreeing, except Saddal,
who looked shrunken and sad and frightened, Shanklin smirked. All
who think he should be killed as a murderer, hold on,
put in Verena Pemberton. If I'm chief, I'll draw the
line there, don't kill him. Shanklin bowed toward her. I

(21:56):
was wrong to suggest that before a woman. Then he's
to be kicked out out. There was a chorus of
approving yells, and all save Saddal jumped up to look
for sticks and stones. Parr laid his hand on the
club he had borne in the skirmish that day. Now, wait,
he said, clearly and harshly, and the whole party faced him,

(22:17):
Saddal Wanley, the girl questioningly, the rest angrily. I'm to
be kicked out, Parr repeated. I'll accept that. I'll go.
But and the club lifted itself in his right hand.
I'm not going to be rough housed. I've seen it
happen here and none of it for me. Oh no,

(22:38):
Shanklin had picked up a club of his own and
grinned fiercely. No, let me go, and I leave without
having to be whipped out of camp. Mob me and
I promise to die fighting right here. He stamped a
foot on the ground, I'll crack a skull or two
before I wink out. That's a solemn statement of fact.

(22:59):
Let him go, said Verena Pemberton, again, this time with
a ring of authority. He wears that armor and he'll
put up a fight. We can't spare any more men,
Thank you, Parr told her bleakly. He gave Shanklin a
last long stare of challenge, then turned on his heel
and walked away toward the thickets amid deep silence. Behind him,

(23:21):
the council fire made a dwindling hole in the blackness
of night. It seemed to be his last hope. Fading away,
he pushed in among thick leafy stems. A voice hailed him,
and a figure blacker than the gloom tramped close to
him across a little grassy clearing you they they drive

(23:43):
you out. A thick, unsure voice accosted him. Parr hefted
his club, wondering if this would be an enemy. Yes,
they drove me out. I'm exiled from among exiles. Ah.
The other seemed flexed over these words, as though they
stated a situation too complicated. Parr's eyes, growing used to

(24:06):
the darkness, saw that this was a grotesque, shaggy form.
One of the degenerate outcasts from the village. Emh repeated
his interrogator, you come to us, make one more in camp.
Come among tall trees, thickly grown lay a throng of sleepers.
Parr's companion led him there and made an awkward gesture.

(24:28):
You lie down, you sleep tomorrow, Boss talk m so,
saying the beast man curled up at the root of
a tree. Parr sat down with his back against another trunk,
the club across his knees, But he did not sleep.
This plainly enough was the outcast horde. It clung together

(24:50):
the gregariousness of humanity, not yet winnowed out by degeneration.
It had a ruler too, Tomorrow Boss talk talk of
what in what fashion? Thus Parr meditated during the long
moonless night. He also took time to examine once more
his captured armor. Its metal plates clamped upon a garment

(25:12):
of leatheroid, covered his body and limbs, even the backs
of his hands, as well as his neck and scalp. Yet,
as he had decided before, it was no great protection
against violence as clothing. It was superfluous on this tropical planetoid.
What then, he could not see, but he could feel
his fingers questioned all over one plate, probing and tapping.

(25:36):
The plate was hollow in reality, two saucer shaped plates
with their concave faces together. They gave off a muffled
clink of hollowness when he tapped them. When he shook
the armor, there was something extra in the sound, and
that impelled him to hold a plate close to his ear.
He heard a soft rhythmic whirr of machinery. There's a

(25:58):
vibration in this stuff. He summed up in his mind,
what four to protect against? What? Then suddenly he had it.
The greatest menace of the whole tiny world was the
force that reversed evolution. The vibration must be designed to
neutralize that force. I'm immune, cried Fitzhugh Parr aloud, And

(26:20):
in the early dawn that now crept into the grove,
his sleeping companions began to wake and rise and gape
at him. He gaped back with the shocked fascination that
any intelligent person would feel at viewing such reconstructions of
his ancestors. At almost the first glance, he saw that
the newest evolutionary thought was correct. These were simion, but

(26:42):
not apes, ape and man, as he had often heard
sprang from the same common forefather. Low browed, muzzle faced, hairy.
Such were these, in varying degrees of intensity. None wore clothes,
grinning mouths, exhibited fanglike teeth, bare chests, broadened powerfully clumsy
hands with short, ineffectual thumbs made foolish gestures. But the feet,

(27:07):
for instance, were not like hands. They were flat pedestals
with forward projecting toes. The legs, though short, were powerful.
Man's father decided Parr must have had something of the
bear about his appearance, and the most bear like of
the twenty or thirty beast men, heaved himself erect and
came slouching across toward par This thing had once been

(27:29):
a giant of a man, and remained a giant of
an animal. None of the others present were nearly as large,
nor were any of the men who had driven par fourth.
Six feet six towered, this hair thicketed ogre, with a
chest like a dray horse, and arms as thick as stovepipes.
One hand. The thumb had trouble opposing the great cucumber

(27:51):
fingers flourished a club almost as long as Parr's whole body,
I Boss, thundered this monster impressively, throw down stick. Parr
had risen his own club, poised for defense. The giant's
free hand pointed to the weapon. Throw down, it repeated,
with a growl, as bare like as the body. Not me,

(28:14):
said Parr, and ducked away from the tree trunk against
which he might be pinned. What's the idea, I didn't
do anything to you, I boss, said his threatener again.
Nobody fight me, true true chorused the others, sickophantically, Ling,
he Boss, throw down club, you new man. Parr saw

(28:37):
what they meant with the other community. The newest and
therefore most advanced individual ruled in this more primitive society.
The strongest held sway until a stronger displaced him. The
giant called Ling was by no means the most human
seeming creature there, but he was plainly the ruler, and
plainly meant so to continue. Parr was no coward, but

(28:59):
he was no fool. As the six foot bludgeon whirled
upward between him and the sky, he cast down his
own stick in token of surrender. No argument, Ling, he said, sensibly.
There was laughter at that, and silly applause. Ling swung
around and stripped bare his great pointed fangs in a snarl.

(29:20):
Silence fell abruptly, and he faced Parr again. You, he said,
you got on, and he stepped close, tapping the plates
on Parr's chest. It's armor, said par emp r r.
The word was too much for the creature whose brain

(29:40):
and mouth alike had forgotten most language. Well, said Ling,
I want I wear. He fumbled at the fastenings. Par
jumped clear of him. He had accepted authority a moment ago,
but this armor was his insurance against becoming a beast.
It's mine, he objected solemnly. Ling shook his great browless

(30:02):
head as big as a coal scuttle, and fringed with
bristly beard. Mine, he said, roughly, I boss you. He
caught Parr by the arm and dragged him close. So
quick and powerful was the clutch that it almost dislocated
Par's shoulder. By sheer instinct, par struck with his free fist,

(30:24):
square and solid on that coarse bearded chin, landed Par's
knuckles with their covering of armor plate, and Ling confident
to the point of innocence because of his strength and authority,
had neither guarded nor prepared. His great head jerked back
as though it would fly from his shoulders, and par
wrenching loose followed up the advantage, because a second's hesitation

(30:45):
would be his downfall. He hit Ling on the lower
end of the breastbone, where his belly would be softest
above him. He heard the beast giant grunt in pain,
and then par swung round about to score on the
jaw again. Ling actually gave back, dropping his immense bludgeon.
A body less firmly pedestaled upon powerful legs and scoop

(31:07):
shoveled feet would have gone down. It took a moment
for him to recover. Ah, he roared, I kill you.
Barr had stooped and caught up his own discarded club.
Now he threw it full at the distorted face of
his enemy. Ling's hands flashed up like a short stops,
snatched the stick in mid air, and broke it in

(31:28):
two like a carrot. Another roar, and Ling charged, head
down and arms outflung for a pulverizing grapple. Parr sprang sideways.
Ling blundered past his stooping head, crashed against a tree,
his whole body bounded back from the impact, and down
he went, in a quivering, moaning heap. He did not

(31:49):
get up. Parr backed away, gazing at the others. They
stood silent in a score of attitudes, like children playing
at moving statues. Then cried one, low Boss. A chorus
of cries and howls greeted this. They gathered around Parr
with fawning faces. You boss, you fight, Ling beat him,

(32:12):
h you boss at the racket. Ling recovered a little
and managed to squirm into a sitting posture. Yes, he said,
you boss. With one hand holding his half smashed skull,
he lifted the other in salute to Parr. It took time,
several days, but Parr got over his first revulsion at

(32:34):
the bestial traits of his new companions. After all, in
shedding the wit and grace of man, they were recovering
the honest simplicity of animals. For instance, Ling was not
malicious about being displaced as Shanklin had been. Two. There
was much more real mutual helpfulness, if not so much
talk about it. When one of the horde found a

(32:56):
new crop of berries or roots or nuts, he set
up a yell for his friends to come and share
a couple of ulsters, doddering and incompetent gargoyles were fed
and cared for by the younger beast men, and all
stood ready to obey Parr's slightest word or gesture. Thus,
though it was a new thought to them, several went

(33:17):
exploring with him to the north pole of their world.
The journey was no more than fifteen miles, but took
them across grassy, foodless plains, which had never been worth negotiation.
Parr chose Ling and another comparatively intelligent specimen, who called
himself Ruba. Isaac, the mild mannered one who had first
met and guided Parr on the night of his banishment

(33:40):
from the human village, also pleaded to go. Several others
would have joined the party, but the deterioration of legs
and feet made them poor walkers. The four went single file, Parr,
then big Ling, then Ruba, then Isaac. Each carried on
a vine, sling, a leaf, package of fruit, and a

(34:01):
melon for quenching thirst. They also carried clubs. The plain
was well grassed, as high as Ling's knuckled knee. Occasionally,
small creatures hopped or scuttled away. The beast men threw
stones until Parr told them to stop. He could not help,
but wonder if those scurriers had once been men. The

(34:21):
hot sun made him sweat under his plate armor, but
not for all the Solar system would he have laid
it aside? They paused for noonday lunch in a grove
of ferny trees beyond the plane, then scaled some rough,
lava like rocks. In the early afternoon, they came to
what must be the asteroid's northern pole. Like most asteroids,

(34:44):
this was originally jagged and irregular. Martian engineers, in fitting
it artificially to support life, had roughed it into a
sphere and pulverized quantities of the rock into soil. Here
at the apex was a ring of rough, naked hills,
enclosing a pit into which the sun could not look ling.
Catching up with Parr on the brow of the circular range,

(35:06):
pointed with his great club. Look like mouth of world.
He hazarded dark Maybe world hungry eat us, maybe, agreed Parr.
The pit, about a hundred yards across and full of shadow,
looked forbidding enough to be a savage maw Isaac also
came alongside Mouth. He repeated after Ling h look down.

(35:32):
Men in there There was a movement, sure enough, and
a flare of something, a torch of punky wood. Isaac
was right, Men were inside this polar depression. Come on,
said Parr at once, and began to scramble down the steep,
gloomy inner slope. Ling grimaced, but followed, lest his companions

(35:52):
think him afraid. Ruba and Isaac, who feared to be
left behind, stayed close to his heels. The light of
the torch flared more brightly. Parr could make out figures
in its glow, two of them. The torch itself was
wedged in a crack of the rock, and beneath its flame,
the couple seemed to tug and wrench at something that

(36:13):
gleamed darkly, like a great metal toadstool at the bottom
of the depression. So engrossed were the workers that they
did not notice Parr and his companions, and Parr, drawing near,
had time to recognize them both. One was Sadal, who
would have remained his friend. The other was Verena Pemberton.
In the torchlight, she looked browner and more vigorous than

(36:35):
when he had seen her last. What are you doing,
he called to them. Abruptly. They both snapped erect and
looked toward him. Sadal seized the torch and whirled it
on high, shedding light. Verena Pemberton peered at the newcomers. Oh,
she said, it's you par Well, get out of here.

(36:56):
Parr stood his grounds, studying the toadstool thing they had
been laboring over. It was a wheel like disk of
metal set upon an axle that sprouted from the floor
of rock. By turning it they could finish opening a
great rock faced panel near by. Get out, repeated the girl,
with a hard edge on her voice. Parr felt himself

(37:19):
grow angry. Take it easy, he said. Your crowd booted
me out, and I'm not under your rule anymore. Neither
can this be said to be your country. We've as
much right here as you. Four of us, added Ruba,
with threatening logic. Two of you fight, m Parr said, Sadau,

(37:40):
do as Miss Pemberton tells you leave here, and if
I don't, temporized Parr, who felt the eagerness of his
beast men for some sort of skirmish. Verena Pemberton took
something from her belt and pointed it A brittle report
resounded wick and an electro automatic exploded almost between Parr's feet,

(38:02):
digging a hole in the rock. He jumped back, so
did his three comrades, from whose memories had not faded
the knowledge of firearms. The next shot, she warned, will
be a little higher and more carefully placed. Get out
and don't come back. They win, said Parr. Come on, boys.

(38:24):
They retired to the upper combing of rock, with the
sun at their backs. There, Parr motioned them into hiding
behind jagged boulders. Time passed several hours of it. Finally
they saw Sadao and Varena Pemberton depart on the other
side of the hole. Good rumbled, ling, We follow sneak up,

(38:44):
grab kill not us, par ruled, no war against women, ling,
But we'll go down where they were working and see
what it's all about. They groped their way down again.
At the bottom of the pit valley, they found the
metal projection so like a mighty steering wheel. Sado's torch
lay there, extinguished, and Parr still carried a radium lighter

(39:07):
in the pocket of his shabby shorts. He made a
light and looked the big panel or a rock that
had been half open was closed. As for the wheel,
it had been bent and jammed by powerful blows with
a rock. He could not budget, nor could the mighty Ling,
nor could all of them together they were inside this asteroid,

(39:29):
decided Parr half to himself down where the Martians planted
the artificial gravity machinery. Having been there, they fixed things
so nobody will follow them. Only blasting rays could open
up away, and those would probably wreck the mechanism and
send air, water and exiles all flying into space. All
this she did, why why what, asked Isaac, Not comprehending, Yes,

(39:57):
why what, repeated Parr. We only guess, Isaac, and none
of my guesses have been worth much lately. Let's go
home and keep an eye peeled on our neighbors. The
Martians had come again, the same space patroller, repaired and
twice as many hands, and a new skipper. They carried
no terrestrial exile, for once, their errand was different. Four

(40:20):
of them, harnessed into a wrecked human posture, armed and armored,
stood around the evening fire in the central clearing of
the village, now ruled by Verena Pemberton. The skipper was
being insistent, but not particularly deadly. We recognize that four
dead among you will settle for one dead martian, he

(40:40):
told the gathered exiles, the more so as you assure
me that the man responsible has been driven from among you.
But we make one demand the armor taken from the
body of the dead Martian. I am sorry about that,
the chieftainess replied from her side. He didn't know that

(41:00):
you valued it. If we get it back for you,
such action would reflect favorably upon you, nodded the Martian skipper,
get the armor again, and we'll refrain from punitive measures.
Why do you want the armor so much, inquired Shanklin boldly.
He himself had never thought of it as worth much.

(41:22):
He was more satisfied to have the knife, which he
now hid behind him, lest the Martians see and claim.
But the skipper only shook his petalled skull. It is
no problem of yours, he snubbed Shanklin, and to Verena Pemberton,
what time shall we grant you a day? Two days?
Come before the end of that time, and report to

(41:44):
me at the patrol vessel. He turned and led his
followers back towards the plane where the ship was parked.
Knight had well fallen, and silence hung about the vessel.
Only a rectangle of soft light showed the open hatchway.
The martian officer l the way thither, ducked his head entered.
Powerful hairy hands caught and overpowered him. Before he could

(42:06):
collect himself for resistance, other hands had disarmed him and
were dragging him away. His three companions, narrowly escaping the
same fate, fell back and drew their guns and ray throwers.
A voice warned them, sharply, don't fire any of you.
We've got your friends in here, and we've taken their
electro automatics. Give us the slightest reason and we'll wipe

(42:29):
them out first. You second, who are you? Shrilled one
of the martians, lowering his weapon. My name's fits you,
par came back. The grim reply, you framed me into
this exile. It's going to prove the worst day's work,
you martian flower faces ever, did not a move any
of you. The ship's mine and I'm going to take

(42:52):
off at dawn. The three discomfitted hands tramped away again.
Inside the control room, Parr spoke to his followers, who
grinned and twinkled like so many gnomes. Doing mischief. They
won't dare Russi us, he said, But two of you,
Ling and Isaac stay at the door with those guns dead.
Sure you can still use em. You, Ruba, come here

(43:15):
to the controls. You say you once flew spacecraft. Ruba's broad,
coarse hand ruffled the brushy hair that grew on his
almost browless head. Once he agreed dolefully. Now, I many
things I don't remember. His face, flat nosed and blubber lipped,
grew bleak and plaintive as he gazed upon instruments he

(43:37):
once had mastered. You'll remember, par assured him vehemently. I
never flew anything but a short shot pleasure cruiser. But
I'm beginning to dope things out. We'll help each other, Ruba.
Don't you want to get away from here? Go home, home,
breathed Ruba, and the ears of the others pointed, some
of those ears, and all of them. Harry pricked up

(43:59):
visibly at that word. Well there you are, parr said, encouragingly.
Sweat your brain's lad. We've got until dawn, then away
we go. You will never manage, slurred the skipper from
the corner where the Martian captives bound securely sprawled under
custody of a beast man with a lever bar for
a club. These animals have not the power. Shut up,

(44:23):
or I'll let that guard tap you, Parr warned him.
They had mental power enough to fool you all over
the shop. Come on, Ruba, isn't this the rocket gage?
Please remember how it operates. The capture of the ship
had been easy, so easy. The guard had been well
kept only until the skipper and his party had gone

(44:43):
out of sight toward the human village. Nobody ever expected
trouble from beast men, and the watch on board had
not dreamed of a rush until they were down and secure.
But this, the rationalization of intricate space machinery, was, by contrast,
a doleful obstacle. Please remember, Parr pleaded with Ruba again

(45:04):
and so for hours, and at last, prodded and cajoled
and bullied, the degenerated intelligence of Ruba had partially responded.
His clumsy paws, once so skillful coaxed the mechanism into life.
The blasts emitted preliminary belches. The whole fabric of the
ship quivered like a sleeper, slowly waking. Can you get

(45:24):
her nose? Up Ruba, Parr found himself able to inquire.
At last, eh Buss spoke ling from his watch at
the door. Come, I see white thing. Parr hurried across
to look. The white thing was a tattered shirt held
aloft on a stick. From the direction of the village
came several figures, martian and terrestrial. Parr recognized the bearer

(45:49):
of the flag of truce. It was Verena Pemberton. With
her walked the three Martian hands whom he had warned off.
Their tentacles lifted to ask for parley. They are weapons
sheathed at their belts. Sadal was there and Shanklin ready guns,
Parr warned, Ling and Isaac stand clear of us out there,

(46:11):
he yelled, We're going to take off fits you. Parr
called back Verena Pemberton. You must not, Oh must I not?
He taunted her, who's so free with her orders. I've
got a gun myself this time. Better keep your distance.
The others stopped at the warning, but the girl came forward.

(46:31):
You wouldn't shoot a woman, she announced, confidently. Listen to me.
Parr looked back to where Ruba was fumbling the ship
into more definite action. Go on, and talk, he bade her,
I give you one minute. You've got to give up
this foolish idea, she said earnestly. It can't succeed even
if you take off. No if about it. We're doing wonders.

(46:54):
Make your good byes short. I wish you joy of
this asteroid, ma'am. Suppose you do get away, she conceded.
Suppose though it's a small crowded ship, you reach Earth
and land safely. What then I'll blow the lid off
this dirty Martian joke, he told her. Exhibit these poor
devils to show what the Martians do to terrestrials they convict.

(47:17):
And then yes, and then she cut in passionately. Don't
you see, Parr, Relations between Mars and Earth are at
a breaking point now, they have been for long. The
Martians are technically within their rights when they dump us here.
But you'll be a pirate, a thief, a fugitive from justice.
You can cause a break perhaps war. And for what

(47:40):
for getting away? For giving freedom to my only friends
on this asteroid? Said par freedom? She repeated, You think
they can be free on Earth? Can they face their
wives or mothers as they are now no longer men? Boss,
said Ling. Suddenly and brokenly, she tell true, I won't

(48:01):
go home. It was like cold wooter, that sudden rush
of ghastly truth upon Parr. The girl was right. His
victory would be the saddest of defeats. He looked around
him at the beast men who had placed themselves under
his control. What would happen to them on earth prison
asylum zoo Verena Pemberton, he called, I think you win.

(48:26):
The hairy ones crowded around him. Sensing a change in plan,
he spoke quickly, it's all off, boys, get out, one
at a time and rush away for cover. Nobody will
hurt you, and we'll be no worse off than we were.
He raised his voice again. If I clear out, will
we be left alone? You must give back that armor,

(48:47):
she told him. The martians insist. It's a deal. He
stripped the stuff from him and threw it across the
floor to lie beside the bound prisoners. I'm trusting you,
Verena Pemberton, he shouted, We're getting out. They departed at
his orders, all of them, Ling and Isaac went last,
dropping the stolen guns they had held so unhandily. Parr

(49:10):
waited for all of them to be gone. Then he
himself left the ship. At once. Bullets began to whicker
around him. He dodged behind the ship and ran crookedly
for cover. By great good luck, he was not hit.
His beast men hurried to him among the bushes. Boss,
they asked, anxiously ship, no good, what we do? He

(49:34):
looked over his shoulder. Somewhere in the night, enemies hunted
for him. The beast folk were beneath contempt. Would be
left alone. Only he had shown himself too dangerous to
be allowed to live. Goodbye, boys, he said, with real regret.
I'm not much of a boss. If I bring bullets
among you get back home and let me haul out

(49:55):
by myself. I mean it, he said sternly, as they
hesitated on your way, and don't get close to me again.
Death's catching. They trampled away into the gloom with querulous
backward looks. Parr took a lonely trail in an opposite direction.
After a moment, he paused, tingling with suspense. Heavy feet

(50:16):
were following him. Who's coming, he challenged, and ducked to
avoid a possible shot. None came. The heavy tread came nearer. Boss,
it was Ling. I told you to go away, reminded
Parr gruffly. I not go Ling retorted, you know, make
me Ling. You were boss before I came. Now that

(50:40):
I'm gone from you, you not gone from me. You
my boss. Those others they may be pick new boss, Ling,
you fool. Parr put out a hand in the night
and grabbed a mighty shaggy arm. I'll be hunted, may
be killed. M grunted Ling, they hunt us, Maybe they
kill us. He turned and spat over his shoulder in

(51:02):
contempt for all marauding Martians and their vassal earth folk.
You me, we stayed together. Boss. Come on, then, said
par Ling. You're all right. Good talk, said Ling. They
went to the other side of the little spinning world,
and there nobody bothered them. Time and space were relative,

(51:24):
as once Einstein remarked to illustrate a rather different situation. Anyway,
The village under Verena Pemberton numbered only eight men. Parr
and Ling could avoid that many easily on a world
with nearly nine hundred square miles of brush, rock and gully.
In a grove among grapevines, they built a shelter and
there dwelt for many weeks, Ling wore well as a

(51:48):
sole friend and partner. Looking at the big, devoted fellow,
Parr did not feel so revolted as at their first
glimpse of each other. Ling had seemed so hairy, so misshapen,
like a troll out of a Gothic legend. But now
he was only big and burly, and not so hairy
as Parr had once supposed. As for his face, all

(52:11):
tusk and jaw and no brow. Where had Parr gotten
such an idea of it? Homely? It was brutal. It
wasn't I get it, mused Parr. I'm beginning to degenerate.
I'm falling into the beast man class, closer to Ling's type,
like can't discuss? Like, oh well, why bother about what

(52:33):
I can't help? He felt, resigned to his fate. But
then he thought of another Verena Pemberton, the girl who
might have been a pleasant companion in happier, easier circumstances.
She had banished him, threatened him, wheedled him out of victory.
She too would be slipping back to the beast. Her

(52:54):
body would warp, her skin grow hairy, her teeth lengthened
and sharpened. Ugh, that at least revolted him. Look, boss,
said Ling, rising from where he lounged with a cluster
of grapes in his big hand. People coming, two of em.
Get your club, commanded Parr, and caught up his own

(53:15):
rugged length of tough torn wood. They're men, not beast men.
They must be looking for trouble. Couldn't come to a
better place to find it, rejoined Ling, spitting between his
palm and the half of his cudgel to tighten his grip.
The two of them walked boldly into view. I see you,

(53:35):
said Dal, shouted Parr clearly, for there was no mistaking
the gaunt, freckled figure in the lead. Who's that with you?
The other man must be a new arrival. He was
youngish and merry faced as he drew closer, with black
curly hair and a pointed beard. There was a mental
motive look to him, as if he were a high

(53:56):
grade engineer or machinist. He were a reach clint of
woven grasses, and looked expectantly at Parr. They aren't armed,
pointed out Ling. And it was true the pair carried sticks,
but only as staffs, Parr Saidal was shouting back. Thank Heaven,
I've found you. We need you badly. He came close,

(54:20):
and Parr hefted his club. No funny business, he challenged,
but Saddal gestured the challenge aside, I'm not here to fight.
I say you're needed. Things have gone wrong awfully. The
others got to feeling that there was no reason to
obey a woman, Chief, even though miss Pemberton has many
good impulses. I agreed to that, nodded Parr, remembering the

(54:43):
girl's many strange behaviors. I dare say she wasn't much
of a leader. Saddal did not argue the point. Shanklin,
as the previous newest man, grabbed back the chieftaincy. He
plunged ahead. Those other fools backed him. When I tried
to defend Miss Pemberton, they drove me out. I stumbled
among the others that crowd you used to capture the

(55:06):
patroller and got a line on where you were. I
came for help. One phrase had stuck in Parr's mind.
You tried to defend that girl. They were going to
kill her. No, Shanklin adds, Chief, and King figures he
needs a queen. She's not bad looking he's going to
marry her unless Parr snorted and said, Now's voice grew angry.

(55:31):
Curse it, man, I'm not casting you for a knight
of the Brown Table or a valiant space hero who
arrives in the nick of time at the television drama.
Simplify it, Parr. You're the only man who ever had
the enterprise to do anything actual here. You ought to
be chief still running things justly, and it isn't justice
for a girl to be married unofficially to someone she

(55:52):
doesn't like. Miss Pemberton despises Shanklin. Now do you get
my point? Or are you afraid? It was Ling who
made answer. My boss isn't afraid of anything. He'll straighten
that mess out. Parr glanced at the big fellow. Thanks
for making up my mind for me, Ling, Well, you

(56:14):
two have talked me into something, saidal shake Ling's big paw,
and he now had time to view the stranger at
close hand. Who's this with you? The man with the
black curls looked genially surprised. You know me, boss, I'm
Frank Rupert, Parr stared, never heard of you. You're joking?

(56:36):
Why I almost got that Martian patroller into space when
miss Pemberton, Parr sprang at him and caught him by
his shoulders. You were Ruba, Rupert. It's it's only that
you didn't talk plain before. What's happened to you man,
Sadal hastily answered. The degeneration forces obviated, reversed. All those

(56:57):
who were beast men are coming back, some of the
later arrivals completely normal again. Haven't you noticed a change
in this big husk? Parr turned and looked at Ling.
So that was it. Day by day the change had
not been enough to impress him. As Ling had climbed
back along his lost evolutionary trail, Parr had thought that

(57:18):
he himself was slipping down. Don't stop and scratch your
head over at Parr, Sadaal scolded him. It'll take a
lot of explaining, and we haven't the time. You said
you'd help get miss Pemberton out of her jam. Come on,
it was like the television thrillers after all, Parr reflected.
But Saddal was right on one count. Parr didn't quite

(57:40):
fill the role of the space hero. He had neither
the close clipped mustache nor the gleaming top boots, but
he did have the regulation, deep unfathomable eyes, and the
murderous impulse. It was just after noon. Shanklin, as chief king,
had also set up for a priest in the center
of the village clearing. He stood holding a sullen and

(58:02):
pale Verena Pemberton by one wrist while he recited what
garblings of the marriage service. He remembered. His subordinates were
gathered to lear and applaud. They did not know of
the rush until it was all over them. Parr smote
one on the side of the neck and spilt him
into a squalling heap. Sadal, Ling and rupert overwhelmed the

(58:24):
rest of the audience, while Parr charged on into Shanklin.
His impact interrupted the words I take this woman, just
after the appropriate syllable whoa as once before with ling,
Parr dusted Shanklin's jaw with his fist, followed with a
digging jab to the solar plexus, and swung again to
the jaw. Shanklin tottered, reeled back, and Parr closed in again.

(58:50):
I always knew I could lick you, Parr taunted. Come
on and fight, bridegroom. I'll raise a knot on your
head the size of a wedding cake. Shanklin retreated another
two paces, and from his girdle snatched the Martian knife.
He opened its longest blade with a snap. Verena Pemberton screamed.
Then above the commotion of battle sounded the flat smack

(59:11):
of an electro automatic. Shanklin swore murderously, dropping his knife.
His knuckles were torn open by the grazing pellet, and Parr,
glancing in the direction whence the shot came, realized with
savage disgust that the space hero had come. After all,
there stood a gorgeous young spark in absolutely conventional space

(59:33):
hero costume, not forgetting the top boots or the close
clipped mustache. Parr moved back as if to allow this
young demigod the center of the stage, but Verena Pemberton
was not playing the part of heroine. Instead of rushing
in and embracing, she set her slim hands on her hips.
She spoke, and her voice was acid. It's high time

(59:56):
you came, Captain Warrel. I did my part of the
job weeks ago. The handsome fellow in uniform chuckled. We
weren't late, at least, we've been hiding here for some time.
Saw what this fellow I shot loose from the knife
had in mind whole hours ago. But we also saw
these others, and he nodded toward Parr. They sneaked up

(01:00:18):
in such a business like manner. I hadn't the heart
to spoil their rescue. Other uniformed men, hands of the
Terrestrial Space Fleet were coming into view from among the bows.
They too were armed ling walked across to par A,
struggling captive under each arm. What are these strangers up to, boss,

(01:00:38):
he demanded, Say the word, and I'll wring that officer's neck.
I never liked officers anyway. Wait, Parr bade him. Then
to the man called Captain Warrel, Just what are you
doing here this asteroid, replied Warrel is now terrestrial territory.
We're fortifying it against the Martians. War was the declared

(01:01:00):
three weeks ago, and we made rocket tracks for this
little crumb. It's an ideal base for a flanking attack.
Parr scowled, you're fortifying. He repeated, Well, you'd better shag
out of here. There's a power not working just now.
But no fear of that. Verena Pemberton told him she
was smiling. I can explain best by starting at the start.

(01:01:24):
Recently we got a report of what the Martians were
doing out here. We realized that Earth must take care
of her own, these poor devils who were being pushed
back into animalism, also with war inevitable. You aren't starting
at the start, objected Parr. Where do you fit into
all this? You're no soldier. Oh but she is, Captain

(01:01:45):
Warrell said, offering Parr a cigarette from a platinum case.
She's a colonel of intelligence, high ranking. Wonderful job you've done,
Colonel Pemberton. She took up the tail again. If the
reverse evolution power could be destroyed, this artificially habitable rock
in space would be a great prize for our navy
to capture. So I took a big chance, got myself

(01:02:08):
framed to a charge of murder on Mars, and was
the first woman ever sent here. I knew fairly accurately
when the war would break out, and figured I had
months to do my work. That captured armor gave me
the clue. All I knew was that it gave off
a vibration, nodded Parr exactly, which meant that the evolution
reverse was vibratory too. I confided in Sadal, and he

(01:02:32):
and I pieced the rest of the riddle together. The
vibrator would be inside where nobody would venture for fear
of jamming the gravity corps. But we ventured and shut
it off, cried Parr. More than that, we reversed it
started it again at top speed to cause a recovery
from the degeneration process. Clever, these martians. They fix it

(01:02:55):
so you can shuttle to and fro in development. Already,
the higher beast men are back to normal, like Rupert
there and the others will be all right soon. You
had every right to chase me off at the end
of a pistol, said Parr. I might have gummed the
works badly. You nearly did that anyway, Verena Pemberton accused fighting, raiding,

(01:03:16):
stirring up the martians, who might have put a crimp
in my plans any moment. But being the type you are,
you couldn't do otherwise. I recognize that when I gave
you the protective armor, he gazed at her. Why didn't
you keep it for yourself? No, and she shook her
tawny head. I figured to win or lose very promptly.

(01:03:38):
But you armored against degeneration might live after me and
be an awful problem to the martians. Remember, I didn't
make you give it back until I had done what
I came to do. Warrel spoke again, Colonel, these exiles
must stay until all effects of the degeneration influence is gone.
They'll figure as civilians with colonists rites. That means they

(01:04:02):
must have a governor to co operate with the military garrison.
Will that be you, Shanklin dared to speak. I am chief,
arrest that man. The girl told two space hands, No, captain,
but I'm senior officer, and I'll make an appointment. By far,
the best fitted person for the governorship is fits you.

(01:04:23):
Par The other exiles had pressed close to listen. Sadal,
the diplomatic at once set up a cheer, Ling added
his own loyal bellow, and the others joined in. Parr's
ears burned with embarrassment. Have it your way, he said
to the ball. We'll live here, get normal and help

(01:04:44):
all we can. But first, what have we to eat?
We've got guests. No governor, you're the guest of the garrison,
protested Captain Warrel. Come aboard my ship. I'll lend you
a uniform, and you'll preside at the head of the
table to night Verena Pemberton. Parr addressed the girl who
had caused so much trouble and change on the little

(01:05:05):
world of exile. Will you come and sit at my
right hand? There a pleasure, She smiled, and put her
arm through his. Everybody cheered again, and both Parr and
the girl blushed. And of Devil's Asteroid by Manly Wade

(01:05:27):
Wellman