JUPITER FOUND
By ROBERT F. YOUNG
Illustrated by FINLAY
_Godhead can be more than a guilt complex
growing out of the knowledge of good and
evil. It can also be a sense of fulfillment
that comes from the ability to create._
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Amazing Stories March 1963.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
8M sunk a new shaft, lowered his skip-arm into it, and scooped up huge
handfuls of iron ore into his blast-furnace belly. Around him swirled
the grayish murk that passed for an atmosphere on Jupiter. Dislodged
pebbles, propelled by the rampaging wind, pelted ceaselessly against
his metal hull. The temperature stood at -169 degrees Fahrenheit.
A picture of himself of old sitting at a roseate fireside flashed upon
the screen of his memory. It was superseded by a picture of a pretty
girl walking down a springtime street. Resolutely he ignored both
sequences. They were remnants of an old movie that had been written
around a young man named John Sheldon, and John Sheldon was dead.
8M, _nee_ John Sheldon, chased the ore with several skiploads of
limestone and coke from his stock-stomach; then, his blast-furnace
belly replete, he stopped to rest. But not for long. The ingots from
his last hearth-heat were due to be removed from his soaking pits in a
few minutes, and he could not let them over-stay their time. The life
of a M.A.N., model 8M, was not an easy one. But then, he had known that
when he had bequeathed his brain to the Company.
He was not sorry. Far better to build bases on the wind-torn surface of
Jupiter than to lie in cold and eternal oblivion beneath the unheeding
surface of Earth. And there was the longevity factor to be considered
too. As a man, even if he had lived, he probably wouldn't have reached
the age of ninety. As the first M.A.N., however, he might very well
reach the age of nine hundred and fifty.
A patriarchal age indeed--but, unlike the patriarchs of old, he would
have no sons and daughters to carry on after he was gone.
* * * * *
The message that he had been momentarily expecting from the orbiting
_Raphael_ came through. His transceiver picked it up, converted it into
thought, and relayed the thought to the ganglionic sealed unit that
encased both his transplanted brain and the nutrient solution that
sustained it. "Model EV just dropped. Will chute into your area any
moment."
"Good," 8M pulsed into the trans-transmitter. "Building a base the size
of this one is no job for one M.A.N."
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