open.
"Try again," said the Doctor in a muffled voice. He was unable to move. "I'm getting tired of this. Oof, hey, don't step on me!"
Although the situation was hardly amusing, they laughed, and together pulled a comb-shaped frame off the front and used it like a battering ram against the ceiling. The ceiling bent, became covered with pits, but would not open.
"Enough is enough," growled the Doctor, and tried to get up. At that moment the bottom gave way, and everyone spilled out, rolling down the steep twenty-foot slope to the floor of the canyon.
"Anyone hurt?" asked the Captain, the first to get to his feet. He was covered with clay.
"No, but you're bleeding! Let me have a look," said the Doctor.
Indeed, the Captain had a deep cut on his head. The Doctor bandaged it as best as he could. The others were only bruised, but the Chemist spit blood—he had bitten his lip. They set out for the ship, without even glancing at the shattered craft.
V
The sun was touching the horizon when they reached the knoll. The ship cast a long shadow across the sands of the plain. Before they entered, they searched the vicinity thoroughly, but found no traces of any visitor in their absence. The pile was working perfectly. The cleaning robot had managed to clear the halls and the library before becoming hopelessly stuck in the thick layer of broken plastic and glass that covered the laboratory.
After supper, which they wolfed down, the Doctor had to sew up the Captain's wound, because it wouldn't stop bleeding. Meanwhile the Chemist analyzed the water samples from the brook and pronounced it drinkable, though it contained a lot of iron, which spoiled the taste.
"It's time to have a council of war," said the Captain. They were sitting on air cushions in the library, the Captain in the middle, his white bandage like a hat.
"What do we know?" he began. "Well, we know that the planet is inhabited by intelligent beings, which the Engineer calls 'doublers.' The name doesn't fit the thing that… But it doesn't matter. We've come across various artifacts of the doubler civilization. First, an automated factory that we concluded was abandoned and gone haywire—I'm not so sure of that now. Second, mirrorlike domes on the hilltops, of unknown function. Third, masts that emit some kind of energy—we don't know their function, either. Fourth, the flying disks, one of which we captured after an attack, operated, and crashed. Fifth, we saw their city, though from too great a distance to make out any detail. Sixth, the attack that I mentioned, in which a doubler set upon us an animal that was specially designed to throw a small fireball, which it seemed to operate or control until we killed it. Finally—seventh—we witnessed the covering of a burial ditch filled with dead inhabitants of the planet. That's all—as far as I can remember. Correct me if I've made a mistake or left anything out."
"That's pretty much it," said the Doctor. "Except for what happened the day before yesterday, in the ship…"
"True. And you were right—the creature was naked. Perhaps it was trying to escape, and in its panic crawled into the first opening at hand, which happened to be the tunnel leading to our ship."
"A tempting hypothesis, but risky," said the Doctor. "Being human, we make associations and interpretations that are human, we apply human laws, arrange facts into patterns brought from Earth. I am absolutely certain that we all thought the same thing this morning: that we had come upon the grave of victims of violence, of murder. But we don't really know…"
"You don't believe that," objected the Engineer.
"It's not a question of what I believe. Eden is not the place for our beliefs. The hypothesis, for example, about the doubler 'siccing' its electric dog on us…"
"What do you mean, a hypothesis? That's what happened," the Chemist and the Engineer said, almost together.
"You're wrong. We have no idea why it attacked us. We might resemble some
"Try again," said the Doctor in a muffled voice. He was unable to move. "I'm getting tired of this. Oof, hey, don't step on me!"
Although the situation was hardly amusing, they laughed, and together pulled a comb-shaped frame off the front and used it like a battering ram against the ceiling. The ceiling bent, became covered with pits, but would not open.
"Enough is enough," growled the Doctor, and tried to get up. At that moment the bottom gave way, and everyone spilled out, rolling down the steep twenty-foot slope to the floor of the canyon.
"Anyone hurt?" asked the Captain, the first to get to his feet. He was covered with clay.
"No, but you're bleeding! Let me have a look," said the Doctor.
Indeed, the Captain had a deep cut on his head. The Doctor bandaged it as best as he could. The others were only bruised, but the Chemist spit blood—he had bitten his lip. They set out for the ship, without even glancing at the shattered craft.
V
The sun was touching the horizon when they reached the knoll. The ship cast a long shadow across the sands of the plain. Before they entered, they searched the vicinity thoroughly, but found no traces of any visitor in their absence. The pile was working perfectly. The cleaning robot had managed to clear the halls and the library before becoming hopelessly stuck in the thick layer of broken plastic and glass that covered the laboratory.
After supper, which they wolfed down, the Doctor had to sew up the Captain's wound, because it wouldn't stop bleeding. Meanwhile the Chemist analyzed the water samples from the brook and pronounced it drinkable, though it contained a lot of iron, which spoiled the taste.
"It's time to have a council of war," said the Captain. They were sitting on air cushions in the library, the Captain in the middle, his white bandage like a hat.
"What do we know?" he began. "Well, we know that the planet is inhabited by intelligent beings, which the Engineer calls 'doublers.' The name doesn't fit the thing that… But it doesn't matter. We've come across various artifacts of the doubler civilization. First, an automated factory that we concluded was abandoned and gone haywire—I'm not so sure of that now. Second, mirrorlike domes on the hilltops, of unknown function. Third, masts that emit some kind of energy—we don't know their function, either. Fourth, the flying disks, one of which we captured after an attack, operated, and crashed. Fifth, we saw their city, though from too great a distance to make out any detail. Sixth, the attack that I mentioned, in which a doubler set upon us an animal that was specially designed to throw a small fireball, which it seemed to operate or control until we killed it. Finally—seventh—we witnessed the covering of a burial ditch filled with dead inhabitants of the planet. That's all—as far as I can remember. Correct me if I've made a mistake or left anything out."
"That's pretty much it," said the Doctor. "Except for what happened the day before yesterday, in the ship…"
"True. And you were right—the creature was naked. Perhaps it was trying to escape, and in its panic crawled into the first opening at hand, which happened to be the tunnel leading to our ship."
"A tempting hypothesis, but risky," said the Doctor. "Being human, we make associations and interpretations that are human, we apply human laws, arrange facts into patterns brought from Earth. I am absolutely certain that we all thought the same thing this morning: that we had come upon the grave of victims of violence, of murder. But we don't really know…"
"You don't believe that," objected the Engineer.
"It's not a question of what I believe. Eden is not the place for our beliefs. The hypothesis, for example, about the doubler 'siccing' its electric dog on us…"
"What do you mean, a hypothesis? That's what happened," the Chemist and the Engineer said, almost together.
"You're wrong. We have no idea why it attacked us. We might resemble some
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