Life on other planets -- Fiction; Science fiction; Space warfare -- Fiction
Haynes relented enough to let von Hohendorff go first, and both were
given the necessary injections. The commandant was then strapped
solidly into a chair; his head was clamped so firmly that he could not
move it in any direction.
The Posenian swung his needle rays into place; two of them,
diametrically opposed, each held rigidly upon micrometered racks and
each operated by two huge, double, rock-steady hands. The operator
_looked_ entirely aloof--being eyeless and practically headless, it
is impossible to tell from a Posenian's attitude or posture anything
about the focal point of his attention--but the watchers knew that he
was observing in microscopic detail the tiny gland within the old
Lensman's skull.
Then Haynes. "Is this all there is to it, or do we come back for more?"
he asked, when he was released from his shackles.
"That's all," Lacy answered. "One stimulation lasts for life, as far as
we know. But if the treatment is successful you'll come back--about day
after tomorrow, I think--to go to bed here. Your spare equipment won't
fit and your stumps may require surgical attention."
Sure enough, Haynes did come back to the hospital, but not to go to
bed. He was too busy. Instead, he got a wheel chair, and in it he was
taken back to his now-boiling office. And in a few more days he called
Lacy in high exasperation.
"Know what you've done?" he demanded. "Not satisfied with taking my
perfectly good parts away from me, you've taken my teeth, too. They
don't fit--I can't eat a thing! And I'm hungry as a wolf--I was never
so hungry before in all my life! I _can't_ live on soup, man; I've got
work to do. What are you going to do about it?"
"_Ho-ho-haw!_" Lacy roared. "Serves you right--von Hohendorff is taking
it easy here; sitting right on top of the world. Easy, now, sailor,
don't rupture your aorta. I'll send a nurse over with a soft-boiled egg
and a spoon. _Teething_--at _your_ age--_Haw-ho-haw!_"
But it was no ordinary nurse who came, a few minutes later, to see
the port admiral; it was the sector chief herself. She looked at him
pityingly as she trundled him into his private office and shut the
door, thereby establishing complete coverage.
"I had no idea, Admiral Haynes, that you ... that there--" She paused.
"That I was so much of a machine-shop rebuild?"--complacently. "Except
in the matter of eyes--which he doesn't need, anyway--our mutual
friend Kinnison has very little on me, my dear. I got so handy with the
replacements that very few people knew how much of me was artificial.
But it's these teeth that are taking all the joy out of life. I'm
hungry, confound it! Have you got anything really satisfying that I can
eat?"
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.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account