Doomsday on Ajiat

by Neil R. Jones

The Ajirs possessed hardly any language at all, and their minds were so simple and elementary that the machine men rarely took the trouble to trace their thoughts.

When they were left alone, the machine men looked out upon many things scurrying back to their proper places when their owners approached the caves.

Once, the professor was not quick enough, and he lay still on the floor. The Ajir picked him up and placed him on the ledge, thinking, as the professor had expected he would, that the machine man had fallen off the ledge.

6W-438 was caught out on the plateau once. One of the Ajirs accused another of theft, and a terrific battle ensued between the two.

Meanwhile, the anxiety of the machine men grew. The days before the nova was expected were becoming fewer, and still they found no means of escape. 12W-62 argued that escape meant little unless they were found and taken back to the spaceship.

The Ajirs continued the routine of their simple yet turbulent lives, blissfully ignorant of the impending doom to all life on Ajiat and the sister worlds of the system. They had little time to live, but they were living it ignorantly and happily.

It was the hope of all four Zoromes that another helium ship would be sent out by their companions and that the mental detectors would find them. Unless they escaped in time, there would be a battle with the Ajirs, but the machine men doubted the ability of the fearsome monsters to survive a barrage of the power guns.

More days passed, and still no help reached them as they remained prisoners of the Ajirs. The machine men were now rarely handled by their captors—the novelty having worn off. They watched everything that went on, and they saw parties of the monsters come and go. Once there was a battle with a raiding party from another village.

At another time, the monotony was relieved by an unusually large bevy of Quari that flew down from their mountain aeries, drawn by the meat of the baited snares laid by the Ajirs. The monsters rushed out to beat them to death with great clubs as several of them were trapped and fought viciously to escape.

The large numbers of the Quari stayed and fought loyally with their snared brethren until the latter broke free or else fell exhausted by their efforts and by the blows from the Ajirs. Several of the great brutes were severely injured by the Quari, and bled deeply from gashes inflicted by teeth and talons. One of them died as the price for the four Quari which were taken.