guess the world -
seventh series
entries 601 -

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Now the clouds drift up and [..........] lies far below the scudding ship — desolation rampant. Crags, deserts, great ranges and wind-carved, time-worn plateaus — all of the blue-green ice of the outer planets, ice that has lain hidden for ages under the cloud-drift that men see. But it is not barren ice that he seeks, but another thing by far, and as the rocket sinks slowly he sees his goal rising above the curve of the planet — the great [..........].   
    The ice has nearly all vanished, and harsh black rock juts in its stead in a chaotic wilderness where no ship can land unwrecked. He is uneasy, the controls are unfamiliar, do not respond as he would like. He is close to the crags now, too close, closer than he has ever been. He can see great rivers, torrents of ice and water, flowing in the heat of the [..........]. The great mass of the planet, too, is making itself felt, and he reacts to stimuli sluggishly. But the [..........] is close now, and the great updraft of hot air that will hurl them above the clouds, to safety. Like a crimson mountain it looms ahead, and already great winds are sweeping them into the maelstrom. But it is hot, and his feet and hands feel heavy — it is hard to think and act. No, he has never been so low— he can see the region about the base of the [..........], cloaked in rising vapor that is torn to shreds by the gales. It is like a deep bowl all around the great oval of the [..........], deep and green with rank vegetation. There are swamps, where the waters of the great rivers fester and rise to mist in the frozen clouds. There are great forests, and long, low plains — all gleaming strangely in the lurid glare of the [..........].

(…)

The air was thick, stifling and unbearably hot and humid, trying to burst into his body and strangle him. His ears throbbed with a dull thunderous roar, from the greater air-pressure, and an awful weight was bearing him down. Slowly, painfully he rolled over on his face, pressed down into the thick, springy moss [..........]. Inch by inch he gathered his limbs beneath him, struggling against the weight of his space-suit — five hundred pounds of matter crushing him into the ground. His head rose above the moss; he looked about him.
    Above the forest the [..........] loomed through the rising mists — a huge mountain of molten rock, oval, raised from the planet’s face by the whirling centrifuge and tidal drag that will some day rip it free and give it birth [..........]. Then the forest — a matted tangle of unearthly olive-green tree-ferns, glossy and uncannily still — at its edge the rocket, by Fate’s whim unharmed in its fall…

entry 609      [contributed by Lone Wolf]

>>  here's where this is

The valley floor was a flat expanse of gray pumice, dust deposited here by the action of swift, tenuous winds. A huge, jagged rock, gaunt and black and fanglike, projected upward from its center, a low' ridge of solid ground leading to it. Dotting the valley were spiny gray spheroids, half-embedded. Within their thick shells, moisture, which was absorbed during the rare times that a little of it seeped into the desiccated soil of the place, was sealed up. Those spheroids might have been called plants, though their metabolism differed considerably from that of any terrestrial flora. And they were not actively alive now ; the water in them was frozen solid, for this was clearly not a warm season.
    [...]
    There was a sickly, whitish yellow haze over the valley. The air was extremely thin, but the speed of its currents, combining with a feeble gravity, enabled it to support such fine debris blown from [..........]. From a deep mountain gorge a creamy wisp, looking like a discolored cirrus cloud, projected. But it was only the path of the incoming wind, made visible by the dust and other solid material it bore…

entry 608      [contributed by Zendexor]

>>  here's where this is

The astroship arrived at the beginning of evening twilight.
    Sophie Kasvin was given the privilege of stepping out first. Her gaze eagerly scanned the vast greyish plain bordered on its surroundings by gigantic rock formations that defined the horizon.
    The temperature was rather warm. However, inhaling the air gave her lungs a pleasant
refreshing sensation, due to the high oxygen saturation.
    A distant murmur could be heard like a prolonged rumble of thunder. The rumble, contrasting with the sepulchral silence of the landscape, added a disturbing, awe-inspiring note.
    "The Black Sea!" said Charles Javin, straining his ears. "Don't you hear the roar of its waves?"
    Ted shuddered and looked at Sophie. At that moment, a dense chain of reddish clouds obscured the radiant semicircle of the sun. A strange gloom fell upon the Earthlings who, astonished, gazed at the inhospitable [..........] region.
    Unconsciously, Sophie turned up the collar of her sweater in an instinctive gesture of protection.
    "It's cold," she said, her teeth chattering.
    Atartuk consulted the tiny thermometer attached to the face of his watch.
    "Twenty-six degrees," he replied. "The cold we feel is a mere nervous reflection of our thoughts."
    Ted Drummond set off toward a nearby rise in the terrain. A few minutes later, he stood atop a promontory overlooking a spectacle breath-taking in its grandeur and sinister significance.
    In the iridescent light of twilight, the polished surface of an ebony-black sea shimmered. It stretched to infinity on the horizon. At Ted's feet, more than two hundred meters deep, a gentle swell broke against the cliffs, producing a rhythmic murmur with a steady frequency and thick resonances.
    Drummond picked up a large pebble and threw it forcefully. A shiver of horror ran down his spine as he watched the indescribable whirlpool that formed when the stone hit. A raging jet of water erupted, spraying in all directions. For a few seconds, that small area of the sea seemed to boil and crackle. Then came the calm.
    His soul shrinking with terror, Ted Drummond turned around and bumped into Sophie Kasvin, who was standing behind him.
    "Did you see it?" he asked hoarsely. The girl nodded.
    "A living sea...!" —The words spilled from her lips as if propelled by a hallucinating mind—. "My father was right."

entry 607      [contributed by Lone Wolf]

>>  here's where this is

"On the planet [..........]… where we were exiled, the three-brained beings are… how shall I tell you?—like a 'karoona,' that is to say, they have a long broad trunk, amply provided with fat, and a head with enormous protruding and shining eyes. On the back of this huge planetary body of theirs are two large wings, and on the underside two comparatively small feet with very strong claws…     
    “…the three-brained beings breeding on that planet can see freely everywhere, however great the 'kldatsakhti,' ["Kldatsakhti" means "darkness"] and can move about not only on the planet but also in its atmosphere, and occasionally some of them even manage to travel beyond its limits.    
    (…)   
    "… the planet [..........] … has a 'keskestasantnian firm surface,' that is to say, one half of its surface consists of land presence and the other of 'saliakooriapnian' masses or, as your favorites would say, one half of it is land in one continuous continent, and the other half is covered with water.    
    “…I was told that the 'toof-nef-tef very much wished to see me.    
    "'Toof-nef-tef is the name given on the planet [..........] to the chief of all the three-brained beings breeding there, that is, he corresponds to the being who, on your planet, is called 'king. '    
    "I had known this toof-nef-tef, or king, in his youth, when he was only a 'plef-perf-noof' A plef-perf-noof is almost the same as a zirlikner on our planet and a physician on your planet Earth.    
    (…)   
    “… I was informed that the toof-nef-tef of the planet wished to see me personally…
    "This [..........] toof-nef-tef was already...an extremely old being, by the time-calculation of the planet [..........], he was about twelve thousand years old..."

entry 606      [contributed by Lone Wolf]

>>  here's where this is

"During the period I am speaking of, I visited most of the planets of that solar system, those already populated and those still unpopulated.
    "Personally I liked best of all the three-centered beings dwelling on the planet ['……….']. Their outer form is quite unlike ours, resembling that of the bird-being, 'raven. '
    (…)
    "The verbal intercourse of these raven-beings of the planet [……….] is somewhat like our own. But their way of speaking is the most beautiful I have ever heard.
    "It can be compared to the music of our best singers when with all their being they sing in a minor key.
    "And as for the quality of their relations with each other—I don't even know how to describe it. It can be known only by existing among them and having the experience oneself.
    "All that can be said is that these bird-beings have hearts exactly like those of the angels nearest our Endless Maker and Creator.
    "They exist strictly according to the ninth commandment of our Creator: 'Consider everything belonging to another as if it were your own, and so treat it.'
    "Later, I must certainly tell you in more detail about those three-brained beings who arise and exist on the planet [……….], since one of my real friends during the whole period of my exile in that solar system was a being of that planet, who had the exterior coating of a raven and whose name was Harharkh."
    (...)
    "On the planet [……….] 'harakhrakhrookhry' is the name given to the sole chief of all the other beings on that planet... on the Earth such a chief is called a 'king.'
    (…)
    "No sooner had we arrived on the planet [……….] than the chief of our tribe there came to communicate to us the contents of an etherogram he had just received, announcing that the big intersystem ship Omnipresent would not land on the planet [……….] until early in the next 'khreh-khree-khra. '
    " 'Khreh-khree-khra,' on the planet [……….], means a period of time determined by a certain position occupied by this planet in relation, on the one hand, to the sun of its system, and on the other, to another planet of this system called 'Neptune.'
    "In one [……….]ian year there are seven of these definitely established periods, and each of them has its own name.
    "As there still remained... almost half a 'fooss' before the next 'khreh-khree-khra' or, by the time-calculation of your favorites, about a month and a half, we decided to organize our ordinary being-existence in the meantime in a more or less suitable manner...”

entry 605      [contributed by Lone Wolf]

>>  here's where this is

"There is still another planet in that solar system, my dear boy, quite a small one, bearing the name ['..........']     
    (...)   
    "Though the beings of this planet have very frail planetary bodies, they have an indomitable spirit, which gives them an extraordinary perseverance and capacity for work.    
    "Their external form is like that of large ants, and like them they are always bustling about, working both on and within their planet.    
    "The results of their ceaseless activity are already plainly visible.    
    "I once happened to notice that in two of our years they had 'tunneled' the whole of their planet. They were obliged to undertake this task on account of the abnormal 'climatic conditions' there, caused by the fact that this planet arose unexpectedly, and therefore the regulation of its climatic harmony had not been prearranged by the Higher Powers.   
    "The climate of this planet is truly 'mad,' and in its variability could give points to the most high-strung, hysterical women existing on another planet of that solar system, which I shall also tell you about.    
    "Sometimes the cold is so intense on this [..........] that everything is frozen through and through, and it becomes impossible for beings to breathe in the open atmosphere, and then suddenly it gets so hot that you could fry an egg in a jiffy.    
    "There are only two short periods on that peculiar little planet, namely, before and after it completes its orbit around a neighboring planet, when the weather is so glorious that for several rotations the whole planet is in bloom, and yields the various products for the first being-food of its inhabitants—even greatly in excess of what they need for existence in that strange intraplanetary kingdom they have devised, where they are sheltered from the vagaries of this mad climate and all the inharmonious changes in the state of the atmosphere..."

entry 604      [contributed by Lone Wolf]

>>  here's where this is

We stared for a long time at that wall of scarlet plant-life, lacking the vocabulary to express our reactions to it.     
    The higher part of the weed-bank had the appearance of being smooth and rounded, especially towards its visible crest. Here it looked like a gentle, undulating hill, although by looking in more detail at its surface we could see that what appeared to be an unbroken face was in fact made up of thousands or millions of branches.    
    Lower down, in the part of the growth where we had lain, its appearance was quite different. Here the newer plants were growing, presumably from seeds thrown out from the main bulk of vegetation. Both Amelia and I remarked on a horrible feeling that the wall was inexorably advancing, throwing out new shoots and piling up its mass behind. Then, even as we looked aghast at this incredible weed-bank, we saw that the impact of the sun's rays was having an effect, for from all along the wall there came a deepthroated groaning, and a thrashing, breaking sound. One branch moved, then another... then all along that living cliff-face branches and stems moved in a semblance of unthinking animation.    
    (...)   
    As we moved along the weed-bank we came across more and more of the peasants, all of whom seemed to be working without supervision. Their conditions of work were atrocious, as in the more crowded areas the spilled sap created large swamps, and some of the poor wretches were standing in muddy liquid above their waists. As Amelia observed, and I could not help but agree, there was much room for reform here.    
    We walked for about half a mile until we reached a point where the wooden trough came to a confluence with three others, which flowed from different parts of the weed-bank. Here the sap was ducted into a large pool, from which it was pumped by several women using a crude, hand-operated device into a subsidiary system of irrigation channels. From where we were standing we could see that these flowed alongside and through a large area of cultivated land. On the far side of this stood two more of the metal towers.    
    Further along we saw that the peasants were cutting the weed on the slant, so that as we had been walking parallel to their workings we eventually found what it was that lay beyond the bank of weeds. It was a water-course, some three hundred yards wide. Its natural width was only exposed by the cropping of weeds, for when we looked to the north, in the direction from which we had walked, we saw that the weeds so choked the waterway that in places it was entirely blocked. The total width of the weed-bank was nearly a mile, and as the opposite side of the waterway was similarly overgrown, and with another crowd of peasants cutting back the weed; we realized that if they intended to clear the entire length of the waterway by hacking manually through the weeds then the peasants were confronted with a task that would take them many generations to accomplish.    
    Amelia and I walked beside the water, soon leaving the peasants behind. The ground was uneven and pitted, presumably because of the roots of the weeds which had once grown here, and the water was dark-coloured and undisturbed by ripples. Whether it was a river or a canal was difficult to say; the water was flowing, but so slowly that the movement was barely perceptible, and the banks were irregular. This seemed to indicate that it was a natural watercourse, but its very straightness belied this assumption...

entry 603      [contributed by Lone Wolf]

>>  here's where this is

   ...The smoke and steam cleared. The explorers pressed their faces to the windows.    
    Fog rolled in, darkness approached. Alien nature seemed to hide from prying eyes.   
    Gigantic reddish trunks, bare and smooth, branchless, stretched upward in columns. There they blossomed into dark tents. There was no grass beneath them. Instead, serpentine roots intertwined in knots. And between the trunks stretched... nets?   
    Alyosha froze. Nets! Intricately woven nets!
    But the scientist suppressed the dreamer in him. These were vines, tenacious, twining around the trunks, woven in an intricate pattern. The thicket seemed impenetrable.
    Alyosha peered until his eyes ached, trying to spot any movement.
    But darkness approached. Soon everything disappeared... Lights began to flicker in the forest and in the swamp. If it weren't for them, the darkness would be total. The inhabitants of [..........] never see the stars or the sun...      Alyosha looked expectantly at Ilya Yuryevich.
    "Wait," Bogatyrev immediately understood. "Roman, turn on the external microphones."
    Alyosha froze. Blood pounded in his ears.
    And suddenly, without interruption, a wave of sound burst into the cabin, a terrifying symphony, brutally capturing, overwhelming...
    The receding, galloping rumble of a rumbling chariot or an avalanche of rocks gave way to a close howl. Then came a piercing squeal and a cry of pain, heartbreaking, hoarse. And suddenly the wings flapped...
    Pulka screeched desperately and scraped the bulkhead.
    Dobrov wanted to turn on the searchlight, but Ilya Yuryevich stopped him.
    Now a steady, measured hooting could be heard. Alyosha grabbed the back of the chair. Could it really be a machine?
    There was a cracking sound, as if fabric was being torn apart, and immediately—a rising whistle, dying at the highest pitch.
    Then a melodic note, then another, then a third... Singing? Alyosha looked at Ilya Yuryevich with wide eyes.
    He shook his head.
    Dobrov turned on the spotlight.
    And suddenly everything fell silent, as if the microphone had been turned off, froze, crouched.
    Only the dog whined piteously in its compartment.   
    A blinding light tore the nearby trunks of giant ferns and the network of vines, now somehow white, from the darkness. The serpentine roots seemed frozen in their struggle, frozen.
    In the thicket, angry little stars sparkled with reflected lights... And not a movement...

entry 602      [contributed by Lone Wolf]

>>  here's where this is

 ...Lost in such thoughts, he tripped over a small black rock that was almost invisible in the deep shadow of a larger boulder. He caught himself in time to keep from falling, then noticed that Dorn had stopped walking and was staring at an advancing object. At the same time, the ground began to tremble. Carson, looking up, thought at first that a mountain had begun to move.
    It was not a mountain, however, but a living creature somewhat like a dinosaur, as a second glance showed him. Its dull, scaly covering gave it a rock-like appearance. The thing was about fifty feet in length, and about a third that in width and height.
    Except for an elongated neck and a relatively tiny topknot, such as the human-appearing [..........] possessed, the major portion of the creature’s body appeared to be a single undifferentiated mass of what Carson supposed to be flesh.
    There were six short legs that could hardly have supported the weight of so huge an animal on Earth, but were quite sufficient here because of the lesser gravity. And set in the topknot’s forehead were hideous eyes, four of them in a semi-circle, glaring viciously...
    (…)
    ...From the edge of the desert on, the pace of the expedition slowed down to a crawl. Carson, staring out at the barren rocks that stretched mile after mile in front of them, found it difficult to believe that this was an expanse of wasteland greater than any on Earth.
    At the horizon something seemed to rise in the air, ascend to the sun, and then come plummeting down. Carson called the attention of the leader of the [..........], a member of the purple race, to the unexpected phenomenon. It seemed impossible that any creatures should be able to make their homes in this desolate waste.
    The [..........] raised his topknot cautiously, uncovering his eyes, and stared. Again the object rose in the air, shimmering like a prism of glass in the bright sunlight, and again it swept down.
    “It is a flyer,” the [..........] said uneasily.
    “Is it alive?”
    “Very much alive.”
    It seemed incredible to Carson. A bird or a plane needed air in which to fly. There wasn’t enough air here to support a mosquito.
    The flyer was coming closer. A third time it soared upward, and then sank to the ground once more. Apparently it did not possess the ability to stay up very long. Apparently—
    Carson’s eyes were glued to the creature. It did not really fly— it leaped. That was the secret of its travel through the air. Carson imagined what a large creature possessing the leaping ability of a flea would do on this planet of low gravity, and knew he had the answer.
    The flyer shimmered like a piece of glass, because it reflected the sun’s light and heat almost completely. That was one of the best ways to keep cool on this overheated desert. Simply not to absorb heat...
    (…)
    ...Presently, a few feet ahead of Nora, in the space between two enormous rocks, there was a darker patch on the ground, several inches across, like a small hole dug by a miniature meteor. The girl flashed her lights at it, but the black patch reflected no light at all.
    She approached until she was almost above it. Then she saw with astonishment that the object was moving, inching along the ground at a snail’s pace toward her.
    One of the [..........] noticed her surprise.
    “They are alive, but not dangerous. All the same, it is well to keep away from them.”
    “How can they live here?”
    “There is in their bodies a liquid that never freezes, no matter how cold.”
    Haines touched her shoulder, making contact between his suit and her own, so that the sound of his voice would carry.
    “Sounds like liquid air to me,” he said.
    Nora was dubious. She turned to the [..........].
    “Is it the gas we breathe?”
    “That freezes. This does not.”
    “Maybe it’s liquid helium,” Haines ventured. "Unless the temperature got closer to absolute zero than I can imagine it could, helium would stay liquid.”
    “These creatures absorb radiations of all sorts,” the [..........] went on. “They knew we were approaching because of the radiations of heat from our suits. The light attracts them also, but it is too much for them. They can’t stand a sharp light.”
    As Nora stared at it, the black patch suddenly exploded. Where it had been, there was nothing whatever left.
    “It absorbed too much heat,” the [..........] explained. “The liquid turned into gas, the pressure inside became too great, and there was an explosion.”

entry 601      [contributed by Lone Wolf]

>>  here's where this is