You'll Like It On Mars! By Tom W. Harris Nobody could figure out how Kettering had shot his realistic scenes on Mars. His movie was just too good to be true--and much too gruesome! [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy August 1958 Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] I remember it all so clearly. "Get the information and you can have anything you want," Myron Ferdinand told me. He stuffed his heavy pipe with five-dollar-an-ounce tobacco and blew a heavy cloud around his heavy face. "Fail to get it, and I'll wash you out of the whole industry." Myron meant what he said. "I'll get it," I said with beautifully faked confidence. "Renn Kettering will be glad to see you at his party tonight," Myron grinned. "I planted a rumor that you want to leave me and go to work for him. Maneuver a private talk, get him on the subject of how he made that damned movie. Maybe he'll let something slip." "Great idea," I said. Movie magnates always have great ideas. "Talk to his cast. And slip off alone if you can and look his house over. I don't care what you do, but come back here with the information. And don't get big ideas on selling out to Kettering. He'd hire you to get you away from Stupendous and then dust-bin you because he couldn't trust you. You understand that, of course." "Of course," I said. Movie magnates are always right. "One thing more, Manny. I want you to see those steals again." "I've seen those scenes of his about seven thousand times, Myron." "So have I--so has the whole country--and between you and me I don't think they're as hot as they're cracked up to be. I'd have done it different. But I want you to see them just before you go to Kettering's party, to have 'em fresh in your mind. Get it?" "Terrif idea!" I bellowed. "I didn't think of that!" "That's why I'm president of Stupendous," said Myron. Modest guy, Myron Ferdinand. "Right," I said, sliding toward the door. "Remember," said Myron. "Anything you want--or on the other hand, the end of you in Hollywood." On the way to the preview room I mulled it over. Nice simple assignment. Find out how Renn Kettering of PGP Studios had shot those startling sequences _Mars Hazard_, an international hit. It was super realism--the critics were calling it "Art's answer to the newsreel" and stuff like that. The scenes had been shot on Mars. Renn had fabulous influence. In this case he must have paid off the government itself, because the crew of the third ship to touch the new planet had been mostly his own actors and technicians and Renn himself was along. These factors were known to every hipster. But how had he managed to shoot those....