[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
intimidating terrestrial cactus appear defenseless by comparison.
On the fourth day he was stopped by the hedge.
Actually, "hedge" was something of an understatement, wholly inadequate
to describe the barrier which confronted him. He found himself facing a solid
silicate wall which varied in height from four to ten meters and stretched
from horizon to horizon. Each of the growths comprising the hedge was more
than a meter thick at its base. They clustered so tightly together that
nothing larger than a glass mouse could slip between them.
Two thirds of the way up its trunk, each "tree" was pierced by three or
four thick, girderlike branches. The outer surfaces of these projections were
highly polished and rotated about a common axis to reflect as much light as
possible onto the light-gathering upper portion of the trunk. The rest of the
organism had the color and sheen of pink chrome.
The hedge had crowded out all vegetation from its immediate vicinity. The
suit estimated the wall to be some five meters thick. They were less than a
Page 43
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
day's run from the location of the beacon.
"No telling where it stops," Evan muttered, glancing first to his deft
and then right. "Can we cut through?"
"I can try, sir."
Evan approached the nearest tree and studied the smooth, unbroken surface
appraisingly. Then he made a fist and hammered down. A big chunk of pink
silicate- (lithium aluminate, no doubt, he mused)- broke free, fell to the
ground. For an instant he thought the parent growth might have shuddered
slightly, but that had to be an illusion. Surely a plant analog like this one
was incapable of generating so visual a reaction to minor destruction. He
struck again. The fragment that crumbled under his armored hand this time was
smaller than the first.
"Take too long and it's energy-wasteful," he muttered. "Bum through."
"I am not sure that will be any more efficient, sir. A laser is not as
effective on highly reflective forms, and from what I can see of their
internal structure they are highly dispersive as well."
"Try it anyway. I'm not interested in spending hours punching my way
through like a demented boxer."
His arm rose and the laser began to cut. The silicate surface in front of
him reacted by bubbling and melting away. The suit's concern seemed unfounded.
Evan waited impatiently while the suit cut a gap wide enough to pass
through in the first row of growths and went to work on the second. Work there
proceeded a little more slowly, but soon the second row too had been breached.
The suit began on the third. Evan could see daylight beyond.
A single tree more than a meter thick was cut clean through and he had to
step aside as it fell backward toward him. It shattered when it struck the
ground, sending splinters flying. Casually he straddled it as the laser went
to work on the last pair of trunks blocking their path.
In the center of the cut-through stump was a darker material the color of
morion, an almost black quartz. It bore an uncanny resemblance to the
heartwood of a normal tree.
Perhaps the darker material served as the conduit for raw silica drawn
from the soil which the tree utilized for growth. Fertile ground for
speculation outside his own field.
Then he was through the last barrier. At the same time, a small nova went
off in front of his eyes.
Fortunately his vision darkened quickly enough to save him from permanent
blindness, but the flare still hurt. Tears streamed from his eyes, trickled
down his cheeks despite the efforts of the suit's humidity control to soak
them up. The visor was black and he couldn't see what was happening.
Occasionally the blackness was marred by a brief silvery cloud, evidence of
new flashes.
The suit reminded him of his position. "We must move forward, sir."
He nodded absently, staggered through the gap the laser had cut. The
silvery mists grew fainter as he moved away from the hedge. Soon the visor
Page 44
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
began to lighten. After a while he could see again. Forest ahead, sky above.
He turned and looked back toward the barrier recently breached.
Flashes continued to fill the gap, but they were greatly lessened in
intensity and frequency. The energy required to generate the bursts must be
considerable.
"Interesting." He turned to continue on. Neither leg responded.
"I fear I have sustained some damage, sir."
"Damage?" That word wasn't supposed to be in the MHW's vocabulary. "From
what? A little light? What kind of damage?"
"The growths which form the line behind us are slow to react to attack,
sir. Perhaps because they rarely are attacked. As a result they have evolved a
unique method of defending themselves. Unique and yet obvious. It is quite
remarkable."
"I'm sure it is. This world is one remarkable discovery after another.
You can detail it for me later." He tried to walk again, with the same
ineffectual result.
"I am very much afraid, sir, that my lower motor drive has been burnt
out."
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]