Raymond Z. Gallun

“ The Crystal Ray
In the glow of floodlights, a thousand workmen were laboring like demons on some giant machine that gleamed dimly in the faint radiance. Far, far aloft, supported by four slender towers, was a vast network of wires.
Plainly the finishing touches to the engine were in progress. A hundred men were fastening cables to a two-hundred ton cylinder-head which would in a moment be hoisted into place by an electric crane. Other workers were inspecting and oiling the giant machine. ”

“ Pelton—here, shake! When it looks black as night, along you come and put those invaders in their proper place. I can't see through this at all. What wonder is it that you have created?"
The fulfillment of his ambition beyond the wildest dreams of his school days had wrought the young scientist up to a pitch of excitement more intense than ever before, "It is the thing that killed Calhoun, the ace," he almost shrieked; "The crystal ray!" ”

“ Suddenly the position of the Asiatic fleet seemed to change from south to a little west by south in a way that would have made a man of the twentieth century doubt the evidence of his senses. But these latter-day Americans knew well what was happening. It was merely a weird illusion—another creation of Thomas Whitley's master mind. Soon after he invented the gravitational screen, he had found that, under the influence of certain electromagnetic waves produced by a special generator, air could be made to refract light enormously. ”

“ Truly, it was as though Satan had swallowed up both."
"Men have gone up into mountains before, and failed to return," said Pelton: "There are places where footing is precarious, and crevices in which it would be almost impossible to find a human body. However, we have a little mystery here to solve—George, what do you say if we take a trip to 'The Devil's Nest' tomorrow?"
"Bully enough, old egg," returned Calhoun laughingly: "We've faced devils before, haven't we? They were real devils hurtling at us from out of the sky and shooting streams of poisoned lead dangerously close to our gills. ”

“ I'd rather do that than become a slave to those Asiatics."
"I don't fear death in the physical sense any more than you do, George," said Pelton, "but, Lord! How I hate to be forgotten! I'd like to survive this war and live long enough to work out some of my scientific theories. Since I was just a kid I have dreamed of doing something really big and that idea has grown to be almost an obsession with me. You are lucky; even our enemies will remember you as one of the cleverest aerial duelists that ever fought."
"Pshaw!" returned Calhoun ”

“ Holding the controls was George Calhoun, the ace who had to his credit more than sixty aerial victories, including the bombing of two great battleships of the skies. Joseph Pelton, his companion, who in peace time had devoted all his spare moments to science, was not so successful a fighter; but he had participated in many hazardous struggles.
These men were now on a three days' leave of absence. The United States—the only formidable power of the Occident that had so far escaped being wiped out by the air fleets of Asia, could ill spare either ”

“ The light produced in the ray projectors must be many times as intense as that produced by ordinary lamps, in order to be effective at any considerable range. Only this new power plant could furnish sufficient energy. The filaments in the projectors would only glow on the power supplied by the old outfits. ”

“ On the shining metal of its body were painted several red, white and blue stars—the insignia of the United States; mounted on its prow were two dangerous looking automatic guns. Beneath the body of the machine was a convex, hollow sheet of metal containing a substance which neutralized gravity when acted upon by the electromagnetic waves sent out by the power stations throughout the western hemisphere; this device, the Whitley gravitational screen, supported the craft in the air. ”

“ There was a big block of the material at the crater's western edge. The sun had been obscured by a cloud and, when it came out, its light struck the block, passed through it, and came out as a bluish beam. It hit my old friend and sent him on the long journey west. Thank God, it was not in vain!
"After a lot of effort I learned more about the wonderful properties of the crystal. You know that light is the vibration of an all-pervading medium sometimes called the ether, just as are radio waves. When a beam of light passes through andite, its rate of vibration is enormously increased ”

“ This super-vibration is the crystal ray. It will penetrate four feet of solid lead and a much greater thickness of any other metal. When it strikes a man it produces within his blood a poison that is instantly fatal. The process is comparable with that which goes on in the leaves of a plant when starch is produced by the action of sunlight.
"The projectors of the crystal ray are merely specially constructed radio lamps, equipped with a receiver of wireless power, and fitted with a piece of andite which modifies the light. ”

“ Crew Two, examine all the connections of the Z wires. Crew Three, fill the main fuel tanks with the liquid terrorium preparation; Crews Four and Five will take care of the cylinder-head. Are all the cables securely fastened? We can't afford another mishap, you know. Good! Now start the crane."
Every man realized that it was vitally important that he should perform his task to the best of his ability in the shortest possible time; and every man responded to the will of his chief with the promptness of a well-oiled machine. ”

“ I couldn't help thinking of him now and then, because you see I play hide-and-seek with him pretty nearly every day. He's come to be about my most intimate playfellow, and he's a real sport. He's always 'it' and he never gets sore. ”