Edward W. Ludwig

Name: The Lonely Ones
Author: Edward W. Ludwig

The Lonely Ones

Summary

“The Lonely Ones”, is a work by Edward W. Ludwig. It explores elements such as planet, Wiley and Gunderson.

Quotes from The Lonely Ones (Edward W. Ludwig)

Edward W. Ludwig, The Lonely Ones

“ No life there. Not even the stars to make one think of home. Only the dust and wind, a dark veil of death screaming eternally over hot dry land.
And Jupiter, with its seas of ice; and hot Mercury, a cracked, withered mummy of a planet, baked as hard and dry as an ancient walnut in a furnace.
Next, the airless, rocky asteroids, and frozen Saturn with its swirling ammonia snows. And last, the white, silent worlds, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.
World after world, all dead, with no sign of life, no reminder of life, and no promise of life.
Thus the loneliness had grown. It was not a child of Earth. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Edward W. Ludwig, The Lonely Ones

“ The men walked to the ports. A tenseness, an excitement grew in their faces, like dying flame being fanned into its former brilliancy.
Out of the clouds loomed monstrous, shining, silver spires and towers, Cyclopean bridges, gigantic lake-like mirrors, immense golden spheres. It was a nightmare world, a jungle of fantastic shape and color.
The men gasped, whispered, murmured, the flame of their excitement growing, growing.
"The whole planet is a city!" breathed Parker.
Thump!
The Wanderer came to rest on a broad landing field of light blue stone. The jets coughed, spluttered, died. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Edward W. Ludwig, The Lonely Ones

“ The line between noble dreams and madness is thin, and loneliness can push men past it....
Onward sped the Wanderer, onward through cold, silent infinity, on and on, an insignificant pencil of silver lost in the terrible, brooding blackness.
But even more awful than the blackness was the loneliness of the six men who inhabited the silver rocket. They moved in loneliness as fish move in water. Their lives revolved in loneliness as planets revolve in space and time. They bore their loneliness like a shroud, and it was as much a part of them as sight in their eyes. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Edward W. Ludwig, The Lonely Ones

“ The journey was over, and the waiting, and now the loneliness would soon be over. Mankind was not alone. It was a good universe after all!
He stepped outside, followed by Lieutenant Gunderson, then by Parker, Doyle and Fong.
He rubbed his eyes. This couldn't be! A world like this couldn't exist! He shook his head, blinked furiously.
"It—it can't be true," he mumbled to Lieutenant Gunderson. "We're still on the ship—dreaming."
The landing field was huge, perhaps ten miles across, and its sides were lined with incredible ships, the smallest of which seemed forty times as large as the Wanderer. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Edward W. Ludwig, The Lonely Ones

“ What if our own civilization is insignificant by comparison? Look at those beings. Think of what we can learn from them. Why, their ships might have exceeded the speed of light. They might be from other galaxies!"
"Let's find out," said Parker.
They strode to the nearest ship, an immense, smooth, bluish sphere. Two creatures stood before it, shaped like men and yet twice the size of men. They wore white, skin-tight garments that revealed muscular bodies like those of gods.
They looked at Captain Wiley and smiled.
One of them pointed toward the Wanderer. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Edward W. Ludwig, The Lonely Ones

“ The dream of the spacemen turned from the planets to the stars. Somewhere in the galaxy or in other galaxies there had to be life. Life was a wonderful and precious thing. It wasn't right that it should be confined to a single, tiny planet. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Edward W. Ludwig, The Lonely Ones

“ If it were, then life would seem meaningless. Mankind would be a freak, a cosmic accident.
And now the Wanderer was on the first interstellar flight, hurtling through the dark spaces to Proxima Centauri. Moving silently, as if motionless, yet at a speed of 160,000 miles a second. And ahead loomed the great, gray planet, the only planet of the sun, growing larger, larger, each instant....
A gentle, murmuring hum filled the ship. The indicator lights on the control panel glowed like a swarm of pink eyes.
"Deceleration compensator adjusted for 12 G's, sir," reported Lieutenant Gunderson. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Edward W. Ludwig, The Lonely Ones

“ Knowledge of our science would be abused by your people, and used for the thing you call war. We hope that you have been inspired by what you have seen. However, neither we nor the other visitors to our planet are permitted to hold contact with you. It is suggested that you and your vessel depart."
"Listen, you!" screamed Parker. "We've been nine years getting here! By Heaven, we won't leave now! We're...."
"We have no time to discuss the matter. Beings under the 4th stage of Galactic...."
"Never mind!" spat Captain Wiley.
Madness flamed in Parker's eyes. "We won't go! ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Edward W. Ludwig, The Lonely Ones

“ But Mars. For centuries men had dreamed of Mars and written of Mars with its canals and dead cities, with its ancient men and strange animals. Everyone knew there was or had been life on Mars.
The flaming rockets reached Mars, and the canals became volcanic crevices, and the dead cities became jagged peaks of red stone, and the endless sands were smooth, smooth, smooth, untouched by feet of living creatures. There was plant-life, a species of green-red lichen in the Polar regions. But nowhere was there real life. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Edward W. Ludwig, The Lonely Ones

“ Down, down into soft, cotton-like clouds, the whiteness sliding silently past the ports.
Suddenly, a droning voice:
"To those in the ship from the planet called Earth: Please refrain from landing at this moment. You will await landing instructions."
Parker leaped off his couch, grasping a stanchion for support. "That voice! It was human!"
Captain Wiley's trembling hand moved over the jet-control panel. The ship slowed in its descent. The clouds outside the portholes became motionless, a milky whiteness pressed against the ship.
"The voice!" Parker cried again. "Am I crazy? ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

Edward W. Ludwig, The Lonely Ones

“ And yet for a few moments, as they gazed at the screen, they seemed like happy, expectant children.
"I wish Brown could see this," Doyle murmured. "He says now he isn't going to get off his couch till we land and discover life. Says he won't dare look for himself."
"The planet's right for life," said Fong, the dark-faced astro-physicist. "Atmosphere forty per cent oxygen, lots of water vapor. No poisonous gases, according to spectroscopic analyses. It should be ideal for life."
"There is life there," said Parker, the radarman. "You know why? Because we've given up eighteen years of our lives. ”

Edward W. Ludwig

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Quotes from The Lonely Ones (Edward W. Ludwig)

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