Joseph Samachson

“ And these were hardly enough to put an end for good to a project on which so many human beings had built their hopes.
The buildings approached completion, the laboratory equipment began to be installed. And then, finally, when delay was no longer possible, on the eve of the very day that was to see the plant put into operation, Kayin acted.
He knew that until work actually began there would be but a single night watchman, and it was this man at whom he struck first. A single carefully aimed blow with a padded club produced unconsciousness. Kayin did not strike hard, but he struck hard enough. ”

“ He was on the outside of the building, and two of the men in charge were nearby. One of them, shrewd and elderly, had financed the building. The other, in his thirties, was the scientist who had invented the process. They were speaking in low tones, tones which no human being standing in Kayin’s position would have been able to understand.
“You’re sure, Blayson, that there’s no danger?” the older man was saying.
The scientist smiled. “There’s always some danger, Mr. Lymer, especially when you try something new. But there’s nothing we shouldn’t be able to control.” ”

“ He knew that later they would not listen to him, and he realized that if he could convince Blayson of the danger of the project, his battle would be won. “Do you want to know why I did so much damage, Mr. Blayson?”
“You’ve already answered that.”
“No, I am not insane. It is you who are failing to use your mind properly. Your method is extremely dangerous.”
“How do you know?”
“I have made similar studies.”
“That’s absurd. No one on Earth has done anything like this.”
“I didn’t mention Earth,” thought Kayin. Aloud, he said patiently, “You are mistaken. ”

“ He dashed out through a side door into a small control room. He locked the door behind him. He heard a club pound furiously upon it, and the pounding ceased as the policeman decided against a further waste of time here. Kayin ran to the other door. As he did so the knob turned. He threw all his weight against the door and turned the key. Men pounded on both doors, and he looked around for windows. There were none. He was locked in.
He heard Blayson’s voice, “Open up! You can’t get away!”
There was, it was true, no way out. But Kayin said calmly, “Stay away, or I’ll blow up the building.” ”

“ He recalled how absurdly different his own clothes had been, constructed to fit a creature whose morphology was so much unlike theirs. He had taken over a suit from a man he had met driving on a dark country road, not too close to the ship. He had stopped the car and put the man to sleep without difficulty, but there must have been a great outcry after his victim had awakened to find himself cold and naked in the driver’s seat. ”

“ He left the car on a deserted side road, and changed into his truck driver’s outfit. He knew enough now about human customs to feel momentarily safe. And he knew enough also to realize that they would institute a nationwide search for a strange creature with wings. He would not be safe for long. He had to get back to his ship, of which, fortunately, they knew nothing. ”

“ He had the scientist’s desire to keep any race, even the least useful, alive so that he might study it, and at the very worst, write an article about it. But now—and this he realized almost to his amazement—he felt practically human himself. ”

“ And in this place too, disaster would strike quickly. Kayin had begun to read more and more, and he knew what was taking place here. Science had developed quickly, but sporadically. Vast regions had remained untouched by it, masses of people knew nothing of it but the name and the fact that it could perform miracles. ”

“ True, they had learned that certain discoveries might lead to disaster as well as to the improvement of their lives, but they still failed to test their discoveries fully before using them, they still failed to exercise the necessary controls.
The young man, Blayson, had made his discovery ahead of its proper time. At the rate at which human science was progressing, thought Kayin, at least a hundred years would have to pass before such a discovery could be considered safe. ”

“ His original store of food had been exhausted a week before as these creatures counted time, and despite the fact that his metabolic requirements were low, he had long needed to eat again. The food that was exhibited in many stores was of a kind strange to him, but from the very structure and behavior of individuals who ate it, he knew that it was of the right chemical composition. ”

“ The younger man was saying confidently, “We’ll control them. All we need to know is that they’re high energy, higher than anything we can produce here on Earth, and that we can concentrate them in a way no one else can. ”

“ He was the only one to know the danger. He realized at once that he could tell no one. Blayson and Lymer had eyes only on the fortunes they intended to make, and they would have refused to believe anything that stood in the way of those fortunes. Nor could he go to anyone else. There would be questions—
He imagined himself trying to inform the Mayor of the city. Some underling would be sure to meet him. “You say there’s danger, Mr. Kayin? ”

“ He looked like them, but they had muscles which he simply did not possess. He was so clumsy at lifting rocks that another man, with whom he was working, said finally in exasperation, “Didn’t you ever lift anything before? ”