Ross Rocklynne

“ Their passengers can't drink. The power house at Niagara is useless; the water comes over the falls in drops as big as houses. People are beginning to suffer from thirst. I know a Martian named Olduk who's going to burn alive if he doesn't tell us how to stop the mechanism."
The cigar contacted, lingered. There was a sulphurous odor.
Tiny muscles on the Martian's face began to tense. Sweat broke out on his face.
"You cannot harm me," he said steadily. "Can only kill me. If you kill me, mankind die. We of Mars have then a planet of water to ourselves. ”

“ It was three feet in diameter; and another one was growing from the faucet.
"I wanna drink of water," said the damned kid, waddling into the kitchen, rubbing its eyes.
Those eyes brightened as they saw the gleaming sphere. A grimy hand reached out and touched it. Against his will, the whole arm of the kid was drawn against the sphere, and the rest of the body was drawn with it, legs snapped together, one arm locked to its side, the other curled to the breaking point over its head. ”

“ The Spanish governor rose, cleared his throat. "Bribes!" he said loudly.
"Bribes?" said Olduk.
"Bribes! Gentlemen, Olduk has made his plea for ten years, and for ten years, in the best interests of the World State, we have refused him. Why? Because if you sell the Martians water, their population will increase to the point where they are able to conquer Earth. Remember that it was our numbers and not our science that won out over the Martians in the two wars. ”

“ The world now knew, by the word of scientists, that nothing but a thin surface of molecules, strengthened by a million times, lay between them and the water their bodies thirsted for. Surface tension, acted upon by a strange force, broadcasted from a mechanism ten miles beneath the surface of the Atlantic. ”

“ The crowd stared in pure fright. The pool of water had become—a hemisphere of glass? And Pedro Morestes, world's diving champion, lay atop that gleaming sphere, ribs and one leg broken, unable to move a muscle....
"Damn that kid," said Sam, throwing his newspaper to the floor.
"I wanna drink," wailed the damned kid, from the bedroom.
"All right, keep your pants on," growled Sam surlily. He went out to the kitchen, leaving the radio on. It had been jabbering for some time, something about Olduk.
"Please," said the radio voice of Olduk, "do not touch water. ”

“ The diving champion of the world puffed out his chest, feigning complete nonchalance as five thousand admiring people looked up at him where he stood as resplendant as an angel on the diving platform. ”

“ The pilot looked at the other men.
"Ten tons of helio-hydrogen didn't do the trick," he said softly. "What will? You know, I almost forgot. The science of the Martians is way ahead of ours. Naturally, that ship wouldn't be exactly tender...."
He knew it was useless. He had no more explosives. He shoved every atom of power he had into his jets, but the ship could not move more than forty miles an hour under water. For a moment it seemed the blunt nose of the ship was going to penetrate the incredibly tough under-surface of that film, but no.... ”

“ Men are now at work in the Maracot Deep, in super-tension ships raising the Martian ship to the surface. There is no reason to doubt that a means to destroy the mechanism that caused so much trouble will be found. We won't have to keep our agreement with the Martians. ”

“ The pilot said, grinning crookedly, "Say your prayers, boys, and here's hoping they give the Old Duck what he wants—quick."
Two days passed. Three billion people stared into the face of eternity. Rivers, lakes, oceans were full. There were reservoirs of clear, sparkling water, from which laboring pumps could take water, pumping it to homes, making it accessible, forcing it out of faucets.
But it was untouchable. The water came out in impenetrable spheres.
They lay like jewels in the homes of most people. People stood around and stared at them, longingly, yet not daring to touch them. ”

“ The surface film acts like a tight skin or jacket surrounding a drop of water, and the jacket contracts down to the least possible area, a sphere. If you put your hands on it—the way I've got my hands on this damned thing—you increase the 'coastline,' and the surface film doesn't like that. It tries to decrease the coastline formed by your fingers, so your fingers are crushed together. ”

“ This hatred has endured, without reason."
"Without reason?" said the Japanese governor.
"Doubtless," said Olduk, "you have neglected to follow history, of own people and of what occurred before Martians made war. Not until after the war did Martians know that Earthmen could be peaceful. Before the war, Earthmen slaughtered great numbers of Martians. So Martians did not feel bad when they wished to slaughter numbers of Earthmen."
"There was the second war," sarcastically.
"The second war the war of water, as the first. Earth no good for us, see? ”

“ The five men circled him.
Olduk drew his cape tighter about him. "Very well," he complied, and led the way out of the room, thinking wistfully of his native planet.
He was taken before the chief of the secret service of the World State. The Speaker of the Master Conclave, and the Japanese and Spanish sectional Governors were there. He was forced to a seat.
Olduk's eyes rested on the sphere of the water in the Speaker's hands. His eyes flickered briefly. The Speaker glared at him wildly. ”

“ He wheeled. "Didn't Olduk say 'ten miles' below the surface? Damn! There aren't many places that deep—" He snapped his fingers, and reached for a phone.
Three hours later, a bullet-shaped rocket ship, able to withstand thousands of tons' pressure, and reinforced with an intangible force-field, fled away from the continent, bound for the Maracot Deep; for such was the first choice, and, as it happened, it was the last.
High above the ocean, the pilot turned the craft nose-down, and poured full power into his jets.
The craft plunged for the surface of the hard ocean, at frightful velocity ”

“ Our birth rate falls.
"But no, my people do not suffer of thirst. There become less people to drink. But it is cruel of Earth to kill a race because they hate. Therefore, all read story of Tantalus—interesting, see? ”

“ Sam panted excitedly, only vaguely conscious that the radio was going.
He watched the spheroid grow and grow. Still suspended from the faucet, it touched the sink. Then the "drop" grew up around the faucet until the faucet was completely enclosed. ”