Avoid Planetoid 787. Lush and sunny, with fine
air and no dangerous beasts, it'll tempt you to
curve in for some nice solid-ground sleep. DON'T!
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Planet Stories Winter 1948.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
You don't want death and you don't expect death. Something goes wrong,your rocket tilts in space, a planetoid jumps up, blackness, movement,hands over the eyes, a violent pulling back of available power in thefore-jets, the crash....
The darkness. In the darkness, the senseless pain. In the pain, thenightmare.
He was not unconscious.
Your name? asked hidden voices. Sale, he replied in whirlingnausea. Leonard Sale. Occupation, cried the voices. Spaceman!he cried, alone in the night. Welcome, said the voices. Welcome,welcome. They faded.
He stood up in the wreckage of his ship. It lay like a folded, tatteredgarment around him.
The sun rose and it was morning.
Sale pried himself out the small air-lock and stood breathing theatmosphere. Luck. Sheer luck. The air was breathable. An instant'schecking showed him that he had two month's supply of food with him.Fine, fine! And this—he fingered at the wreckage. Miracle of miracles!The radio was intact.
He stuttered out the message on the sending key. CRASHED ON PLANETOID787. SALE. SEND HELP. SALE. SEND HELP.
The reply came instantly: HELLO, SALE. THIS IS ADDAMS IN MARSPORT.SENDING RESCUE SHIP LOGARITHM. WILL ARRIVE PLANETOID 787 IN SIX DAYS.HANG ON.
Sale did a little dance.
It was simple as that. One crashed. One had food. One radioed for help.Help came. La! He clapped his hands.
The sun rose and was warm. He felt no sense of mortality. Six dayswould be no time at all. He would eat, he would read, he would sleep.He glanced at his surroundings. No dangerous animals; a tolerableoxygen supply. What more could one ask. Beans and bacon, was theanswer. The happy smell of breakfast filled the air.
After breakfast he smoked a cigarette slowly, deeply, blowing out. Henodded contentedly. What a life! Not a scratch on him. Luck. Sheer luck.
His head nodded. Sleep, he thought.
Good idea. Forty winks. Plenty of time to sleep, take it easy. Sixwhole long, luxurious days of idling and philosophizing. Sleep.
He stretched himself out, tucked his arm under his head, and shut hiseyes.
Insanity came in to take him. The voices whispered.
Sleep, yes, sleep, said the voices. Ah, sleep, sleep.
He opened his eyes. The voices stopped. Everything was normal. Heshrugged. He shut his eyes casually, fitfully. He settled his long body.
Eeeeeeeeeeee, sang the voices, far away.
Ahhhhhhhh, sang the voices.
Sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep, sang the voices.
Die, die, die, die, die, sang the voices.
Ooooooooooooooo, cried the voices.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, a bee ran through his brain.
He sat up. He shook his head. He put his hands to his ears. He blinkedat the crashed ship. Hard metal. He felt the solid rock under hisfingers. He saw the real sun warming the blue sky.
Let's try sleeping on our back, he thought. He adjusted himself, lyingback down. His watch ticked on his wrist. The blood burned in his veins.
Sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep, sang the voices.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, sang the voices.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, sang the voices.
Die, die, die, die, die. Sleep, sleep, die, slee BU KİTABI OKUMAK İÇİN ÜYE OLUN VEYA GİRİŞ YAPIN!
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