BLACK-OUT
By JOSEPH FARRELL
The destiny of a dying world lay
in another—a blue planet which
could not control its own.
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Planet Stories Winter 1943.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Old Thak watched fondly as the new telescope was being put into its place. He had been a long time persuading the elders to build this instrument, a duplicate of the one destroyed in the latest great war. It was as fine a telescope as Mars could produce, and only Thak's assurances that the work was of the greatest importance had secured him this luxury.
His project must succeed, he felt, glancing at his students. Like him, they were almost spherical in shape, with fine arm-like appendages ringing their middles. They were young and enthusiastic, and Thak believed they could revive the science of astronomy. He, the last astronomer of Mars, would teach them all he knew.
The overseer of the workers was disgusted. "You waste our resources, Thak," he declared. "You have taken two years of labor by dozens of workers, and for what? So that you may look at the sky!"
Thak's tentacles purpled, a sign of irritation. "You military men!" he retorted. "It was your kind, Mitfpa, that destroyed our civilization and reduced our race to a few hungry thousands. You have ruined progress and science forever. You have hastened the death of our race. Unless—"