Lab
Library
Journal
Shop
Sign in
to keep
1
289
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, August 1930
·
Various
24
Slowly
he
drew
the
six-shooter.
In
some
occult
way
he
knew
it
was
watching
him.
"Oh,
this
is
harmless!
This
is
an
instrument
to
aid
my
weak
eyes!
It
will
help
me
realize
your
mastery!
This
will
enable
me
to
know
your
true
greatness.
This
will
enable
me
to
know
you
as
a
god."
Was
it
complacence
or
suspicion
that
stirred
the
liquid
in
the
cyst
so
smoothly?
Was
it
susceptible
to
flattery?
He
sighted
along
the
barrel.
"In
another
moment
your
great
intelligence
will
overwhelm
me,"
proclaimed
his
surface
mind
desperately,
while
the
subconscious
tensed
the
trigger.
And
at
that
the
clear
liquid
burst
into
a
turmoil
of
alarm.
Too
late.
Forepaugh
went
limp,
but
not
before
he
had
loosed
a
steel-jacketed
bullet
that
shattered
the
mind
cyst
of
the
pipe
denizen.
A
horrible
pain
coursed
through
his
every
fibre
and
nerve.
He
was
safe
in
the
arms
of
Gunga,
being
carried
to
the
top
of
the
pipe
to
the
clean
dry
air,
and
the
blessed,
blistering
sun.
The
pipe
denizen
was
dying.
A
viscous,
inert
mass,
it
dropped
lower
and
lower,
lost
contact
at
last,
shattered
into
slime
at
the
bottom.
Miraculous
sun!
For
a
luxurious
fifteen
minutes
they
roasted
there
on
the
top
of
the
pipe,
the
only
solid
thing
in
a
sea
of
clouds
as
far
as
the
eye
could
reach.
But
no!
That
was
a
circular
spot
against
the
brilliant
white
of
the
clouds,
and
it
was
rapidly
coming
closer.
In
a
few
minutes
it
resolved
itself
into
the
Comet,
fast
relief
ship
of
the
Terrestial,
Inranian,
Genidian,
and
Zydian
Lines,
Inc.
With
a
low
buzz
of
her
repulsion
motors
she
drew
alongside.
Hooks
were
attached
and
ports
opened.
A
petty
officer
and
a
crew
of
roustabouts
made
her
fast.
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
