Painters -- Fiction; Science fiction; Short stories
The girl folded her hands in her lap. She looked down at them as if
not wanting to look Brent in the eye when she made her next statement.
However, he wasn’t waiting for it. If he could overpower the girl, he
might find the elevator control--any chance was worth taking. He tensed
his muscles and jumped.
A wave of pain swept through his body. Another mind--strong beyond
comparison--was controlling his body!
Every muscle jerked with spasmodic activity, halting his plunge in
mid-air. Crashing to the desk he lay unmoving; every muscle ached with
the fierce alien control. The redhead looked up--eyes blazing with the
strength she had so suddenly revealed.
“Never underestimate your opponent, Brent Dalgreen. I adopted the
earthly form of a woman for just this reason. I find your people much
easier to handle. They never suspect that I am ... more than what they
see. I will release your mind from my control, but please don’t force
me to resume it.”
* * * * *
Brent sank to the floor, his heart pumping wildly, his body vibrating
from the unnatural spasm.
“I am the director of this ... sanitarium, so you see I have no desire
to have our work exposed to the prying eyes of your government. I shall
have to have you disposed of.”
Brent controlled his breathing enough to allow him to speak. “You ...
intend to ... kill me then?”
“Not at all Mr. Dalgreen, our philosophy forbids killing except for the
most humane reasons. Your physical body will be changed to conform to
the environment of another of our sanitarium planets. We will of course
remove all the radiation damage. You can look forward to a long and
interesting life. If you agree to cooperate you will be allowed to keep
your present personality.”
* * * * *
“What kind of a planet is it?” Brent asked hurriedly. He realized from
the girl’s tones that the interview was almost at an end.
“Quite different from this one. It is a very dense planet with a
chlorine atmosphere.” She pressed a stud on her desk and turned back to
her typewriter.
Brent had a last, ragged thought as unconsciousness overcame him. He
was going to _live_ ... and work ... and there must be some fine greens
to paint on a chlorine planet....
Transcriber’s note:
This etext was produced from Rocket Stories, September 1953 (Vol. 1,
No. 3.). Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
copyright on this publication was renewed.
Obvious errors have been silently corrected in this version, but minor
inconsistencies have been retained as printed.
New original cover art included with this eBook is granted to the
public domain.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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