M. E. Knerr

“ After a couple of years, Terran time, studying on Mars we became agents on this planet. I got an easy one here with Thesa, but Imry had bigger plans for you. Damn him!”
“But why are we spying on these people, Narvi? For war?”
“I hope not. The Terrans are getting close to space travel, and you know what that would do to our colonies in this galaxy. They’re entering a primitive Atomic civilization and they’re like little children playing with weapons. Oh, they’re serious enough, but they’re so damned careless they’re likely to ruin the planet in atomic wars...” ”

“ Tell him that I love a Terran and want her to be happy?”
“Thunder and lightning! What’s so important about Brice and Danson? They’re only Terrans. This woman you’re so silly about will find someone else. Lors, by the gods, if you take those two back they’ll talk to everyone they can get their hands on...”
“No they won’t, not Danson. Narvi, that’s the beauty of this whole plot. Danson understands that our people simply want to begin trade negotiations with Terra; he’s learned to speak and read our language and he knows how badly we want to trade with his people. ”

“ Narvi choked finally. “With an alien? You must be joking.”
“I’m serious.”
“That blow on the head must have been solid as a rock.”
Thesa just stared, without speaking.
“Beth is a wonderful woman and I’m in love with her. If the blow on the head did that ... well then, I’m glad the ship cracked up.”
“But, Lors! She’s an alien! It’s like a farmer, falling in love with his stock! It’s crazy! You couldn’t live on this planet the rest of your life, and she couldn’t live with you!”
Lors shrugged.
“What about Jela,” Narvi demanded swiftly. ”

“ Beth threw herself into his arms, the ever ready tears welling in her eyes. “No, Nick,” she pleaded. “Whatever it is, we’ll fight it. We’ll make out, but darling, don’t leave me again!”
He held her tightly against him, his hands stroking the warm softness of her back and spine. The perfume of her hair filled him with a heady thought of summer fields of flowers, of sweetness and tenderness, of ... love. Love. Nick Danson, he told himself, you are mixed up. You’re falling in love with your own wife. ”

“ Lors shoved the weapon back into the holster and slammed his hand against the button. It would lock them out now! He had his thirty seconds now. He dived for the ship, dropped into the cockpit and slammed the canopy forward, twisting the lock into place.
His fingers moved over the controls and the engines whined into life as the port opened before him. He was on his way! He revved the engines impatiently as the big door rolled away and the stars burned in at him. Then he shoved the speed control forward and the scout ship surged out into the blackness of space. ”

“ Beneath the blond tumble of hair, her blue eyes watched him, her lips toying with a bemused smile. She wore the odd toga-like dress that had recently become popular among the women on the home planet; it was a white color, trimmed in a pale blue that went well with her hair, but Lors hardly noticed it. His eyes were fixed upon the twin lift of her breasts as they fought against the material.
She swung her long, curved legs to the floor, a momentary flash of creamy flesh showing at her thighs, and stood up. ”

“ Nick stared at them and foggy pictures swung vaguely into his mind. Galaxies of stars whirled [p99] about, silver ships streaking in the sky and tiny points of light whipping across ochre deserts. Men in blue uniforms drilling beneath a violet sky in the heat of a solar wafer splotched above them. It was real! The fears he had had, the crazy alternative that the dreams presented to him ... it was all real.
“It wasn’t a dream,” Nick muttered, shaking his head like a punch-drunk fighter. “I really am Firstspacer Lors! And I know you! I know you!”
“Take it easy, boy,” Narvi said softly. ”

“ Beth was whispering in his ear. “We’ll pack everything and go far away, where we’ll never see these men again. Nick. Please. Oh, please keep me with you.”
“Going away won’t settle anything, sweetheart. They’ll always be there, just outside the door. I’ve got to do something...”
He broke off suddenly and it flicked into his mind like a film of the past, like a memory. The soft face of the girl, her hair a golden color against the backdrop of the ochre mountains ... the softness of the pale blue-green tree... ”

“ When he had started it and headed back toward Everett, he found himself struggling with the feeling that he was being cheated.
After all, he reasoned with himself, why should a guy have to play second fiddle to a man who was probably dead. If Nick Danson were alive, it’d be different; but dead, and that was an almost sure thing, he felt cheated. Beth could learn to love him. She could forget. Hell, a lot of women lost their men for some reason or another, but they accustomed, they altered their lives. If a man dropped the reins, some other guy should pick them up. ”

“ And Lors?
It moved in him, churned through his guts like a forest fire. He was man! All men, glaring with the red eyes of passion at all women. He too, in the wash of lust that had swept over him, lost his identity and he didn’t give a damn. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered except that she was [p126] waiting...
His fingers ripped away his clothing and he was at her side in no time at all, his arms sliding about the pliant warmth of her flesh to clasp her to him. To take her. To love her with a fever that was equal to the challenge she presented. ”

“ The whole damned thing was impossible, ridiculous...
But true. A man just couldn’t sit down and say “I refuse to believe in lightning.” It didn’t make sense. You had to believe what your mind told you ... and his mind was telling him wild things.
It all fit. Hell, it fit with a perfection that was absolutely fantastic, but crazy enough to be the truth. Nick Danson, commercial artist, disappeared thirteen months ago and every police agency in the country can’t locate him. It was as if the earth had opened and swallowed him ”

“ My planet needs Earth as a trade base, and if you people ever wake up as a race, we’ll be able to help each other a hell of a lot. Maybe that’s why I want to take you back to your wife. Is that good enough for you?”
Danson nodded. “I guess so. I know enough about this situation to tell that you’re either on the level, or you’re a damned convincing liar. What’s the plot?”
“The plot, as you put it, is to get you and Brice back to earth...”
“Brice? Nolan Brice? He’s here?”
Lors nodded. “Brice found your watch where my scout ship cracked up and guessed who I was before I did. ”

“ I’ve waited for thirteen long months for you to love me again, and by some miracle you’ve come back. You’re here and so am I. I love you and I want you. Oh, darling, pretend I’m a whore; pretend I’m anything ... but make love to me. ”

“ Imry picked Danson because he’s a footloose artist who paints illustrations for magazines. All he had to do was snatch Danson, work a little plastic surgery on you and put you in Nick Danson’s place. You then, would not be confined and could roam all over the planet without being questioned.”
“That’s crazy,” Lors told him. “I couldn’t take Danson’s place for the rest of my life. He was gambling on a hell of a lot.”
Narvi grunted. “You’re a good spacer, Lors. You follow orders, even when they’re dictated by a madman. When you left the ship, you were Danson. ”

“ Hell, what kind of thing had huge, yellow eyes and stood nine feet tall? What sort of a world had a violet sky and grey-green rocks? The whole damned thing had the scent of a Walt Disney movie, the colors vivid and sharp, the landscape seemingly done by a watercolor brush.
Thista.
Apparently it was some kind of planet and he hoped that Beth was right. Would it be possible for a man to get so confused via a crack on the head, that he believed he had lived through the literature he’d once read? What would he dream about next? Macbeth? Treasure Island? Christ, what a world! ”

“ The Defense boys spotted the thing up north. Radar locked on it and gave it a speed of over two thousand miles per. So it crashes and we find no wings, no tail assembly ... and I have the hunch that the damned thing ran on nuclear power.”
“Atomic?” Nolan whispered, amazed. While the Federal cop talked about nuclear power and fantastic speeds, all Brice could think of was the watch he’d found at the scene. How the hell could an artist learn to pilot a thing like that in a mere thirteen months, and what the hell was behind it all. “You mean, atomic power?” ”

“ Nick lied and shook a cigarette from a half empty pack. “Thanks for not giving me away.”
Andy nodded, lapsing into silence, while Nick concentrated on coming home to a strange woman, and the two men who had been asking after him. For some reason, he got the feeling that Beth Danson was his wife and he accepted it that way. She couldn’t be his sister ... besides, a man his age would be married, in all likelihood. He wondered vaguely how she would welcome him, but cast the thought aside. He’d know soon enough.
As they approached Everett, in the gathering twilight, Andy turned to him. ”

“ Everything was so balled up. Everything was crazy. He wasn’t Nick Danson ... he didn’t know his name ... Brice vanished into thin air ... the two guys were dogging his tracks ... women came out of the woodwork to make love to him. What the hell else could possibly happen?
Beth was staring at him. “You killed him,” she breathed.
“No, no! He vanished. He vanished ... honest to God, I never even came close to hitting him. I might as well have thrown rocks.”
“Men do not disappear into thin air,” she said. ”

“ For just a second, she smiled down at him.
“Father is sleeping like a baby,” she whispered.
He felt himself talk: “Good.” Then his fingers curled about the curve of her thigh. His fingers tightened and the crimson smile broadened; he pulled and felt her resist him with maidenly demureness, but in the end she came to him.
He felt the yielding firmness of her body pressing down into his on the bed and his arms furled about the softness that she offered. The warm cones of her breasts worked on the hardness of his chest and his mouth fused against hers in a passionate kiss.
“Lors, Lors, darling. ”

“ Lors sucked on the cigarette. “You can’t talk about this thing to anyone except your wife.”
“Who’d believe me anyhow?”
“It’s bigger than that, Danson. If you talk to anyone, I’ll kill you.”
“You don’t make sense. Why not kill me now?”
Lors sighed. “Look, Commander Imry made a booboo, to use one of your terms, and I got caught in the middle. This whole operation is fouled up because of what he did. If we don’t try [p131] to put things back, it’s going to be in a real tough light.
“For the first time in history, Terra is in possession of a scout ship even though it is wrecked. ”

“ Thesa, get some water! He looks as though he’s going to pass out!”
“I’m all right, I’m all right.” He looked at Narvi and the memories, at least a few of them, came fluttering into place. The temporary amnesia slipped aside and the veil began to rise.
“You’re sure you’re all right, Lors?”
“Yes, Narvi. Things are beginning to make sense. Tell me about what I’m doing here.”
Narvi cursed angrily. “Commander Imry, the stupid thistlebug! It’s all his fault! All this fouled up thing is his doing. It would have been bad enough even without your ship crashing; that just added to it. ”

“ To replace him? To send an alien being down to take the place of the Terran they had stolen. That took care of the confusion the watch had represented. For awhile it had looked as though Nick had piloted that space ship, but now Nolan [p87] knew better. It wasn’t Nick. It was an alien!
Beth!
Had an alien, posing as Nick, located Beth and was now engaged in using her to help in whatever they had come here to do? How many other Missing Persons cases were wrapped up in this thing? How many aliens were walking the streets of earth right now? To hell with that, Nolan, he roared at himself. ”

“ She actually believed that her husband was alive and that he would return to her. He hoped not. It was a selfish thing to think about, but he was in love with her; he’d have had her long ago if it wouldn’t have been for Nick and his dark good looks. He mouthed a swallow of coffee and settled the cup in its saucer. She was looking at him.
“Is there any news, Nolan?”
“About Nick? No.” He touched her arm. “They’ve given up ... and so should you. Honey, you’re young, beautiful. Hell, another woman would have gone out and had a ball.
“Listen, there’s a lousy show on down in Everett. Want to go?” ”

“ We’ll have some of our men in Washington mumble in their beards about experimental aircraft until everyone is taken from the scene except our people. Then we’ll have the ship taken somewhere, ostensibly to be studied, and they’ll all forget it.
“But these Terrans are another matter. If they can get their people to listen to them, we’re in trouble...”
“Perhaps,” Lors said softly, “if they were believed, it would speed up our relations with the Terran governments.”
Zark shook his grey head. “No. They aren’t ready yet. ”