The Martian Pendant Read Online Free PDF

decimated native peoples in the Americas after the arrival of Europeans.
    “Bacterial diseases had been controlled on the home planet by Bacteriophage , at that time unique to Mars. That virus particle at first proved to be effective in inhibiting earth’s pathologic micro-organisms, benefiting the alien race and contributing to their survival, where otherwise they might have succumbed as easily to earth’s bacteria, as Africa’s early proto-humans were wiped out by the newly imported viruses. Bacteriophage is still among us, but is largely ineffective now, since bacteria have developed a relative immunity to that virus, much as today, where many such pathogens have developed a resistance to penicillin.
    “As the inexorable northward migration of the descendants of the Martians continued over the millennia, another species of native humans was encountered living in caves around the rocky eastern shores of the Mediterranean. Most of these people, Neanderthals, had survived initially by avoiding much contact with the Martians. Aside from a few isolated pockets, they died out about forty thousand years ago, scattered as they had become, and pushed northward by the newcomers. A few traits of these original humans did survive, due to interbreeding of the two races, as seen by an occasional prominent brow ridge, or other primitive feature.
    “The size of the migrating groups rapidly increased, with populations of growing children. Many died of fever, especially malaria, caused by neither bacteria nor virus, but suffered when passing through swampy areas. This became less of a problem among those who continued north, but remains a scourge for the descendants of the invaders who settled locally.
    “Fire was naturally looked upon as a benevolent force for cooking and for the circle of protection at night. The dead were offered to fire, returning them to the spirit that gave life. T o thwart the hyenas and other carrion feeders, cremation was thorough enough to leave mostly ashes, only a few crumbly bone fragments remaining. It would take more than ten thousand years before most of these people could commit the bodies of their dead to the earth-host, and only then, when the last vestiges of a Martian origin in their unconscious had finally been extinguished.
    “From the home planet, the surface nomads brought very little awareness of any divinity. With the hibernation drug’s imposition of amnesia, nothing but a vague sense of their origins was retained. They often found themselves looking to the sky for answers to the puzzle. The solution just had to be up there, to their way of thinking, but the answers could only be imagined.
    “As the centuries passed, many continued generally in a northerly direction, but others fanned out to the vast lands of the east, as the onset of the ice ages created a less hospitable climate in the north. It was this divergent migration to diverse regions and environments, coupled with the genetic adaptability characteristic of humans, which led to the different racial forms we see today.
    “At about that time they again encountered that other race, at first only chance meetings of hunters in the course of following animals to be used for food. Later meetings became more frequent, especially for those continuing west along the mountains. From a distance, they looked much like members of the migrant clans, clad in furs and armed with clubs and spears. Shyness inevitably gave way to curiosity, and close-up inspections took place. Unlike the little primitives of Africa encountered by their Martian ancestors, the Neanderthals were stocky, and a little stooped-looking, perhaps because of their massive shoulders. They had large heads with sloping foreheads, and their brows were heavy ridges of bone, giving the eyes a deep-set look. Where their furs permitted skin exposure, one could see reddish hair covering light skin. When they grimaced, possibly in an attempted smile, their teeth protruded from thick