"Selective--oh, yes! Survival of the fittest ... all that
fiddle-di-diddle? You mean the present Titanians _are_ the present
Titanians simply because they adapted their physiques to the
surroundings, eh? Why, rather! That's clear enough. Still, if they can
stand the radiation, I don't see why other humans--"
"Other _humans_!" Grossman laughed curtly. "My dear Doctor, it is
obvious you have never seen a Titanian. Human, indeed! Why, it is the
dissimilarity between the Titanians and ourselves which led me to name
racial divergence as among the hazards of life on Titan.
"The creatures who rule Titan look less like humans than like those
monsters deranged and alcoholic patients see in their dreams. For some
reason--possibly because of this mysterious T-radiation--the denizens
of the world have never bred true. Consequently, there is no way of
foretelling what the child of any two parents may resemble ... though
one almost certain guess is that it will resemble neither parent.
"Bilateral symmetry is about the only constant human attribute to
be found amongst the Titanians. That and a more or less rudimentary
intelligence ... an instinct which is more akin to animal cunning than
to intellect.
"Some Titanians walk erect on their hind legs. Some crawl on all fours
or squirm on their bellies. Some resemble the humanoid races of our
planet, or Mars, or Venus. Others look like obscene jungle beasts,
ghouls, fabulous monsters.
"I have seen Titanians whose leprous flesh covered bones have no
counterpart in the human skeleton ... others with no faces at all, as
we know the meaning of the word ... others who grope blindly along on
tactile tentacles, 'seeing' with foot-long tongues, 'hearing' through
their fingertips.
"Some there are who look like gigantic, crimson ants; others inch
their way along the streets like hideous, mangled slugs; while yet
again--astonishingly--you may chance upon a Titanian not only similar
in appearance to Earthmen, but as clever and quick in thought as any
terrestrial."
Grossman paused, nodding significantly. "These," he said, "are the most
dangerous of all."
"And--" breathed Lynn Graham--"the nature of this danger, Mister
Grossman? Attack, perhaps?"
"Attack!" The trading-post factor laughed brusquely, harshly. "A mild
word for it. Extermination! The Titanians hate interlopers on their
world--_particularly_ Earthmen--with a smoldering, implacable hatred
inconceivable to a civilized mind. Had they their will, they would hunt
down every Earthman and slaughter him with the most horrible tortures
their warped and twisted minds can devise.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account