Captain Future 08 - The Lost World of Time (Fall 1941) Read Online Free PDF Page A
Author: Edmond Hamilton
Tags: Sci Fi & Fantasy
were anxious to help the ancient people of a doomed planet, to make a bold attempt to bring scientific assistance to a race that must have perished long ago.
Mystery cloaked the desperate situation of Katain. Darmur's time message had told little, except that his people faced some ghastly, tragic choice of fates, due to the coming death of their world. Nevertheless the bitter urgency of the Katainian's call through time rang in their minds. It was that agonized cry that had spurred on the haste with which Curt Newton and his comrades had worked on the building of the big, enigmatic machine that was to hurl them back across the ages.
CURT came out of the ship. Brad Melton was watching the activity with wide, wondering eyes.
"We're about ready to take off," Captain Future told the young Earthman. "Sure you understand everything you need to know to guard this place?"
Melton nodded his head eagerly.
"I'll know how to deal with anyone who happens to come prowling around the Moon, from what you've shown me." His eyes glowed with unashamed hero-worship. "Being left here to guard your home and laboratory — gosh, it's a great honor, Captain Future!"
Otho came up with a heavy block of copper in his arms.
"Thought I'd take this along," he said. "We might need it, Chief."
"Good idea," Curt agreed. "I see Grag's bringing Eek."
Otho turned sharply and cursed. The giant robot was stalking toward the Comet with the little, sharp-nosed moon-pup in his arms.
"You're not going to take that blasted pest along with us, are you?" Otho demanded fiercely.
"Why not?" Grag argued. "Eek's too Sensitive to be left here. He'd die of loneliness, the poor little fellow."
"Poor little fellow?" repeated Otho, glaring disgustedly at the beady-eyed moon-pup. "Like as not, he'll try to eat up everything that's made of metal in the ship. You can't take him! You don't see me dragging along my pet, do you?"
"Where is Oog, anyway?" Curt asked. "I haven't seen him lately."
"Why, he's sleeping —" Otho began. He stopped, his face growing red. An amazing thing had happened when Curt pronounced the name "Oog." The block of copper that Otho had been taking to the ship suddenly shifted shape. With a bewildering protean flow of outline, it metamorphosed into a fat, doughy white animal — Otho's meteor-mimic pet.
"Why, there's Oog!" Grag bellowed in outrage. "You dirty, double-crossing son of a test-tube, you tried to smuggle Oog aboard, disguised as that copper block, and yet you wanted me to leave poor little Eek behind!"
"Cut your rockets and take both of the blasted mutts!" Captain Future rapped out, at the point of losing his temper. "Maybe we'll be lucky enough to lose 'em both somewhere in the past. I certainly hope so!"
Simon Wright glided out of the ship, moving toward them silently on his traction beams. He poised with his lidless lens-eyes fixed unblinkingly on Curt's face.
"All ready, lad," he reported. "We might as well get started."
Curt turned to the young meteor miner.
"I'm trusting you to guard things here for us while we're gone, Melton. I've explained everything necessary to you."
"I still can't understand how you will be able to move along the time dimension," Melton said hesitatingly. "You said your time-thruster used an extra-electromagnetic force that pressed atoms back along time. But how?"
"It's simple enough," Curt assured him. "The orbital speed of the electrons inside an atom is what controls its movement along the time dimension. When the electron orbital speed is normal, the matter flows down the time river at a normal rate. Accelerate the electronic orbit speed and you accelerate its movement down the time dimension, directly into the future. Reverse the orbit and you force that atom back up the time flow, into the past. Is that clear?"
"Sure — clear as the inside of a dark nebula," muttered Grag. "It gives me a headache, just trying to figure it out."
"As though that iron skull of yours could ache," scoffed
Mystery cloaked the desperate situation of Katain. Darmur's time message had told little, except that his people faced some ghastly, tragic choice of fates, due to the coming death of their world. Nevertheless the bitter urgency of the Katainian's call through time rang in their minds. It was that agonized cry that had spurred on the haste with which Curt Newton and his comrades had worked on the building of the big, enigmatic machine that was to hurl them back across the ages.
CURT came out of the ship. Brad Melton was watching the activity with wide, wondering eyes.
"We're about ready to take off," Captain Future told the young Earthman. "Sure you understand everything you need to know to guard this place?"
Melton nodded his head eagerly.
"I'll know how to deal with anyone who happens to come prowling around the Moon, from what you've shown me." His eyes glowed with unashamed hero-worship. "Being left here to guard your home and laboratory — gosh, it's a great honor, Captain Future!"
Otho came up with a heavy block of copper in his arms.
"Thought I'd take this along," he said. "We might need it, Chief."
"Good idea," Curt agreed. "I see Grag's bringing Eek."
Otho turned sharply and cursed. The giant robot was stalking toward the Comet with the little, sharp-nosed moon-pup in his arms.
"You're not going to take that blasted pest along with us, are you?" Otho demanded fiercely.
"Why not?" Grag argued. "Eek's too Sensitive to be left here. He'd die of loneliness, the poor little fellow."
"Poor little fellow?" repeated Otho, glaring disgustedly at the beady-eyed moon-pup. "Like as not, he'll try to eat up everything that's made of metal in the ship. You can't take him! You don't see me dragging along my pet, do you?"
"Where is Oog, anyway?" Curt asked. "I haven't seen him lately."
"Why, he's sleeping —" Otho began. He stopped, his face growing red. An amazing thing had happened when Curt pronounced the name "Oog." The block of copper that Otho had been taking to the ship suddenly shifted shape. With a bewildering protean flow of outline, it metamorphosed into a fat, doughy white animal — Otho's meteor-mimic pet.
"Why, there's Oog!" Grag bellowed in outrage. "You dirty, double-crossing son of a test-tube, you tried to smuggle Oog aboard, disguised as that copper block, and yet you wanted me to leave poor little Eek behind!"
"Cut your rockets and take both of the blasted mutts!" Captain Future rapped out, at the point of losing his temper. "Maybe we'll be lucky enough to lose 'em both somewhere in the past. I certainly hope so!"
Simon Wright glided out of the ship, moving toward them silently on his traction beams. He poised with his lidless lens-eyes fixed unblinkingly on Curt's face.
"All ready, lad," he reported. "We might as well get started."
Curt turned to the young meteor miner.
"I'm trusting you to guard things here for us while we're gone, Melton. I've explained everything necessary to you."
"I still can't understand how you will be able to move along the time dimension," Melton said hesitatingly. "You said your time-thruster used an extra-electromagnetic force that pressed atoms back along time. But how?"
"It's simple enough," Curt assured him. "The orbital speed of the electrons inside an atom is what controls its movement along the time dimension. When the electron orbital speed is normal, the matter flows down the time river at a normal rate. Accelerate the electronic orbit speed and you accelerate its movement down the time dimension, directly into the future. Reverse the orbit and you force that atom back up the time flow, into the past. Is that clear?"
"Sure — clear as the inside of a dark nebula," muttered Grag. "It gives me a headache, just trying to figure it out."
"As though that iron skull of yours could ache," scoffed