Across the void it was sent, while the few men left in the ray machine awaited the coming of the mighty battle fleet that would soon be ready. Around them glowed a pale, scarcely visible field of light. Defenseless they seemed as they lived and slept in the car swinging in its orbit about the blazing sun, but many of the Atomic Giants found the mighty strength that lay hidden in that thin wall of scarcely visible vibration. And constantly the men were observing the planets and communicating the data to the leaders on Earth and Venus.
And in the System wild activity was going on. The entire force of the machines of all the planets was concentrated on the production of the great generators of this new force. It was simple in principle. The Atomic Giants lived by using as their "fuel" the energy of the atoms. We live by burning the carbon and hydrogen of our foods with the oxygen of the air. If the supply of either oxygen or food were cut off, the incombustibility results and we die. If oxygen is cut off, we die because the carbon compounds will no longer burn. If food is cut off, we die because there is nothing to consume the oxygen with.
The Atomic Giants needed no oxygen or carbon—any element would do. But they needed elements that they could decompose for their energy. Any atom under normal conditions would do, but if that atom was made incombustible they too died. This new force that was so deadly to them, was a force created by the energy of matter. The electrons of matter were altered by the application of terrific spatial strains, and they would no longer react in the same way and would not decompose as did the normal electron. They merely prevented the use of atomic energy wherever they were. Thus the "fuel" of the Atomic Giants was made incombustible and they died.
But there was a tremendous amount of work to be done before they could be ready for the great offensive to be carried across space. The great ships were rapidly being equipped with the electron projectors and assembled in long rows outside the great transmitting stations, awaiting the final start.
It was nearly two weeks before the great fleet was ready. Then they were all assembled, ready to start. The control ship went first. Since the cessation of the release of atomic energy did not affect the release of material energy, they did not have to worry for the safety of the men when projected out into space. They would regain consciousness soon enough, and the wonderful automatic devices that ran the complex mechanism would hold it in place, maintain its temperature and the distance of the one ship from the other. The protective shield of the strained electrons would protect them.
In the darkened observatory on Venus, many men were watching in silence. The room was absolutely silent; only the smooth, gentle hum of the smoothly operating news-casters marred the utter quiet. They had come to observe, not to comment, and they waited quietly.
There was a flash of light on the screen and the image became clear and sharp. They seemed to be in a huge room, the walls were lined with small electro-vision boards, tier above tier of balconies ran around the sides of the great room, and in the center rose a mighty cylinder. The entire wall area of the great room was covered with the projectors, and before each one sat a man. But the mighty cylinder in the center was carefully walled off. Now, as they watched it, it suddenly glowed faintly bluish—the air about it was being ionized—there arose a faint, deep hum; then there appeared about it an intense corona of air, ionized under the titanic forces within it—tiny shooting sparks crackled blue over all its polished surface——
The entire wall area of the great room was covered with projectors, and before each one sat a man, but the mighty cylinder in the center was carefully railed off.