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The Invader By: Alfred Coppel (1921-2004) |
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By Alfred Coppel [Transcriber Note: This etext was produced from Imagination Stories of
Science and Fantasy February 1953. Extensive research did not uncover
any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
[Sidenote: Invading Earth was going to be a cinch, the Triomed scout
decided. But to make certain he must study its inhabitants as one of
them!]
The Triomed advanced stealthily across the floor of the dark cell toward
the sleeping figure huddled in the corner. After the long, lonely
voyage, the nearness to a host filled the Triomed with eager
anticipation. The tiny spaceship that had carried him into this lush planetary system
far from the galaxy's heart lay well hidden behind him. So far as he
could tell, his descent had not been detected, and that was as it should
be for he was a Triomed and a scientist. One of the finest in the
service of his dying race. Dying that is, until now, he thought. No
longer would the race of Triomeds weaken and die for lack of suitable
hosts. This third planet of the yellow sun was a paradise thick with
warm blooded biped mammals.... The sleeping creature stirred uneasily, as though sensing the approach
of danger. The Triomed froze into immobility. It was unlikely that he
could be seen, he knew, though the sense of sight was only a synthesized
abstraction to him. It was not one of his own proper senses, but he had
been able to detect at long distance that almost every living creature
on this planet received impressions through certain specialized organs
mounted on and within their structure. There were plants, of course, as
there were on Triom, but they were unimportant. There were viruses, too, and he had been afraid when he had discovered
this fact that he had arrived too late. But the first attempts at
establishing communication had relieved the Triomed of his fears. The
indigenous viruses were primitive; not at all like his own illustrious
ancestors of ancient Triom. The sleeping biped relaxed and the Triomed inched forward again, a flat,
almost two dimensional smear of glistening matter on the floor in front
of the biped. From high above the planet's night side, the Triomed had sensed the
city. He had absorbed its shape and size and meaning while his craft
settled through the heavy, oxygen rich air. It was not enough that his
instruments told of suitable hosts. He was a scientist and believed in
absolute proof. Also, he had been in space long without the
satisfaction of a host and he yearned for the rapport, the domination
of a warm blooded creature. There had been a dark segment in the brilliant pattern of the city. An
island of solitude amid the myriad confluences. It was there that he had
landed his tiny probe ship and hidden it among the thickly wooded
glades. Almost immediately he had sensed the nearness of many creatures.
Insects, plants, warm blooded quadrupeds and bipeds. There had been
machines and buildings and winding roadways among the trees. Darkness
had covered his progress until at last he found himself near the
sleeping creature, ready to infiltrate and take command. The glistening shape elongated, became a thread like tendril of almost
gossamer thickness. It touched the flesh of the sleeper and thrilled
with pleasure. Cautiously, the Triomed moved up the hairy leg, an
invisible strand of alien life close to the warm skin. Presently, the
strand found the opening it sought. It slithered imperceptibly into the
moist warmth of the sleeper's nostril, moved through the tear duct into
the space behind the eyeball. Here it probed through muscle and membrane
along the base of the brain, seeking the pineal gland. And found it, penetrated it, coiling like a microscopic serpent within
the gland. A surge of pleasure went through the Triomed. Here was
safety. The host was large, powerful and vibrant with life... Continue reading book >>
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Literature |
Science |
Short stories |
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