His eyes glowed as he wheeled the snout of the gun about with his free hand, wheeled it directly toward the heart of the black ship and pressed the release with his thumb. The burning wave of hot power that surged through him nearly blinded him. But he saw the great ship shudder as the disintegrating force smashed into it, saw it lose form in a shapeless cloud of nothingness as its neutralized atoms went spinning away. A great cry of triumph rang out from the fighting men of the city. The hand guns redoubled their fury. "They've got the creatures on the run!" It was Marene. She was looking down into the street from the broken wall of the laboratory. But there were more ships coming. Zurk saw the tiny black specks that had leaped above the far horizon. He stopped two of them while they were still but specks, saw a third wheel back toward the dark side, its radio whining. The others came hurtling on. Methodically, one by one, he began blasting them from the sky. The hot charges of power that coursed through his body bleared his eyes and jarred his senses. Only two of the ships remained. He sent one of them into oblivion; missed the other. Twice more, the ravishing shudders of power racked his body before the black ship and its evil crew vanished into nothingness before his burning eyes. But there was no time for rest. Other black ships were coming. Zurk, now a glowing, burning thing, felt himself moving the gun slowly from one to another of the ships. Zurk was surprised to find so few ships left. He must have gotten more of them than he had thought. If he had been able to hang on a moment or two longer.... A wave of blackness began to spread over him. The great surges of energy pounding devastatingly through his heat-ridden body jarred him back again into consciousness. Through a black and red mist, he saw the youth bending over the gun. The young man's eyes were afire with the light of battle and his face was grim as he worked the weapon deliberately and methodically. Zurk felt an overwhelming desire for peace creep over him. He knew what that meant. But he didn't care. His steel body was solidly fused to the ends of the cable. Even in death, his body would continue to hold the connection while Bob Simms rid the city of the demons for all time. Never again would the black ships dare to attack. And the Earthians could rebuild their own spaceship. His heavy head slumped slowly forward to rest upon his hot arm. The wild, triumphant shouts of the people in the street came but dimly to his ears as he felt himself swimming away into a warm, red mist. Then came the last vibration of all. It was an infinitely sweet vibration that caressed his tired brain and gave to him the peace he needed. He knew it was Marene--_his Marene_--who had set that vibration into motion with her lips as close to his ear as she dared. "Thank you, Zurk," came that last vibration. "Thank you, _Father_!"