Meet Me at Infinity by James Tiptree Jr.
Authors: James Tiptree Jr.
Tags: SF, Short Stories
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advanced and spoke for them all, saying, Oh Man, we hear and understand! This is truly a time when we must stand together in battle for our lives. And we will! Moreover, it will be a sight never before seen, because behind us will arise the dread might and majesty of our Mother, the Earth, who is also the Mother of you men, though I have never understood why. She will strengthen us to invincible power. Even the soft wings of the mayflies and the very softest moles will take on the fury of our offended Mother. When your killing machines come they will be met by a terror never before seen and the men will know fear at last and flee!
To which the man said, So be it. I will stand with you.
And so one morning when the great yellow earth-gutting machines roared over the horizon into the little valley, there stood ready for them all the creatures of the forest. In the forefront the air was filled with moths and butterflies and every flying insect in waves and clouds, and underfoot the mice and the frogs and turtles in ranks, and all around them even the smallest blades of grass and leaves of the trees were drawn up and hard as spears. And behind them were the armies of woodchucks and squirrels and foxes unsmiling, right down to the raccoon babies unnaturally grim. And in their midst stood the proud stag of the forest with the sun gleaming on his antlers, and the man standing beside him. And every single one of them felt the power of their Mother the Earth surging through them, invincible at last, a thing which had never been known before. And swooping from the sky came the birds large and small in squadrons dazzling to the eye, and all this took place in perfect silence, which is the voice of Earth.
When the first bulldozer driver saw them he yelled through his transceiver, Hey, look at the birds! And the second driver bellowed back, kee-rist there’s a hell of a lot of animals in there! And the third driver shouted, Look out, maybe they’re rabid or something, I can’t see anything; my glass is covered with bugs. And they all lurched to a stop.
But the foreman came tearing up in his Jeep, yelling Gimme that shotgun, there’s a buck! By God, I haven’t shot a rack like that since I was a kid! And the support crew ran up after him and started shooting streams of chemical fog into the sky.
The first bulldozer driver said, I feel sick. If you’re sick go home, the foreman shouted, by Jesus I’m going to get that buck.
At that moment the man walked out of the woods and stood before them with his arms lifted, saying Stop! I command you in the name of our dread Mother, the Earth. This valley is under her protection forever. Turn and go!
The second bulldozer driver asked, What is that gray thing? Do you hear some kind of squeaking?
The foreman, sighting down his barrels told him, Nothing but a shadow, goddammit, you seeing ghosts?
When the man heard those words he felt draftiness and faintness. He looked down at his body and saw that the air was mingling through him; he was in fact only a gray shadow. And he groaned and said, Yes, it is true. I am only a ghost. I am dead. Now I remember.
And the foreman let off both barrels crash, blam, straight into the throat of the stag of the forest, and the great horns fell and gored the ground.
The first bulldozer driver jumped out and said, Screw you, I’m going home. But the foreman went and dragged the stag and he heaved him onto the Jeep and climbed in the bulldozer cab himself, howling Hit it! And the line of earth killers moved forward.
The foxes and raccoons and chipmunks and all the animals bared their teeth and called on the deep power of the Earth, standing their ground bravely around the ghost of the man, and the old badger dipped his heavy claws in the blood of the slain stag and charged. And the birds dived screaming and the baby quail and mice rushed into the treads to jam them and the butterflies and bees rained into the cabs, all calling on their Mother the
To which the man said, So be it. I will stand with you.
And so one morning when the great yellow earth-gutting machines roared over the horizon into the little valley, there stood ready for them all the creatures of the forest. In the forefront the air was filled with moths and butterflies and every flying insect in waves and clouds, and underfoot the mice and the frogs and turtles in ranks, and all around them even the smallest blades of grass and leaves of the trees were drawn up and hard as spears. And behind them were the armies of woodchucks and squirrels and foxes unsmiling, right down to the raccoon babies unnaturally grim. And in their midst stood the proud stag of the forest with the sun gleaming on his antlers, and the man standing beside him. And every single one of them felt the power of their Mother the Earth surging through them, invincible at last, a thing which had never been known before. And swooping from the sky came the birds large and small in squadrons dazzling to the eye, and all this took place in perfect silence, which is the voice of Earth.
When the first bulldozer driver saw them he yelled through his transceiver, Hey, look at the birds! And the second driver bellowed back, kee-rist there’s a hell of a lot of animals in there! And the third driver shouted, Look out, maybe they’re rabid or something, I can’t see anything; my glass is covered with bugs. And they all lurched to a stop.
But the foreman came tearing up in his Jeep, yelling Gimme that shotgun, there’s a buck! By God, I haven’t shot a rack like that since I was a kid! And the support crew ran up after him and started shooting streams of chemical fog into the sky.
The first bulldozer driver said, I feel sick. If you’re sick go home, the foreman shouted, by Jesus I’m going to get that buck.
At that moment the man walked out of the woods and stood before them with his arms lifted, saying Stop! I command you in the name of our dread Mother, the Earth. This valley is under her protection forever. Turn and go!
The second bulldozer driver asked, What is that gray thing? Do you hear some kind of squeaking?
The foreman, sighting down his barrels told him, Nothing but a shadow, goddammit, you seeing ghosts?
When the man heard those words he felt draftiness and faintness. He looked down at his body and saw that the air was mingling through him; he was in fact only a gray shadow. And he groaned and said, Yes, it is true. I am only a ghost. I am dead. Now I remember.
And the foreman let off both barrels crash, blam, straight into the throat of the stag of the forest, and the great horns fell and gored the ground.
The first bulldozer driver jumped out and said, Screw you, I’m going home. But the foreman went and dragged the stag and he heaved him onto the Jeep and climbed in the bulldozer cab himself, howling Hit it! And the line of earth killers moved forward.
The foxes and raccoons and chipmunks and all the animals bared their teeth and called on the deep power of the Earth, standing their ground bravely around the ghost of the man, and the old badger dipped his heavy claws in the blood of the slain stag and charged. And the birds dived screaming and the baby quail and mice rushed into the treads to jam them and the butterflies and bees rained into the cabs, all calling on their Mother the
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