East and West -- Fiction; Giants -- Fiction; Science fiction
"Take us away from here, if you wish to hear what we have to say. Take
us, or they will kill us!"
In answer, Buddha extended one hand, palm up, so that it was level with
the balcony. For an instant I hesitated at the sight of that irregular
rough surface, big as a city block, and then I heard steps behind us and
a click. With one accord we leaped over the parapet just as a scattered
volley of pistol shots rang out. We tumbled head over heels down a rough
leathery slope into a hollow, and then the platform lifted like a roller
coaster. In a second the balcony, the whole hillside vanished and we
went rocketing up into the blue sky. A gale of wind blew past, almost
carrying us with it, and then a portion of the surface rose and became
thirty foot tree trunks which curled incredibly over and around us,
forming a small cavern which shut out the wind and held us securely
against falling.
Buddha had closed his fist.
For a breathless fifteen seconds we were carried in darkness, and then
the great hand unfolded. It was lying flat on an immense smooth area of
concrete, which we presently identified as the higher of the two tables.
We got to our feet and staggered to the edge of the palm. Here we met
another problem, in the form of a rounded ten foot drop-off to the
concrete table. As we stood looking down in dismay, the other vast hand
came up from below, carrying a heavy sheet of metal. This was carefully
placed with one edge on the hand and the other on the table, forming a
ramp. Holding onto each other for mutual support, we made our way to the
table and there literally collapsed. Chamberlin became violently sick,
and none of the rest of us felt much better. The giant carefully
withdrew both hands and watched us from a distance of a hundred yards,
with only the head and upper part of his body visible.
From our position on the concrete platform I now looked closely at Kazu
for the first time. My first impression was not so much one of size, as
of an incredible richness of detail. It was like examining a normal
human through a powerful microscope, except here the whole was visible
at once. Even at a distance of two hundred feet, the hair, the
eyelashes, the pores of the skin showed up with a texture and form which
I had never noted before, even in my studies as a biologist. The general
effect was most confusing, for I would lose and regain the sense of
scale, first thinking of him as an ordinary man, and then realizing the
proportion. The nearest comparison that I can think of is the sensation
when standing very close to a large motion picture screen, but here the
image is blurry whereas I saw with a clarity and sharpness that was
simply unbelievable.
Buddha seemed to realize our condition, for he smiled sympathetically,
and waited until poor Walt had recovered somewhat from his nausea.
Baker, as spokesman, renewed the conversation. Walking a few steps
toward the front of the enormous desk, he spoke in a loud clear voice.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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