"Campbell, John W Jr - Arcot, Wade and Morey 03 - Invaders from the Infinite" - читать интересную книгу автора (Campbell John W Jr)

only a moment. I must induce temporary hypnotic coma. Let one try first
if you desire." The leader of the visitors held out one of the several
headsets they had brought, caplike things, made of laminated metal
apparently.

Arcot hesitated, then with a grin slipped it on.

"Relax," came a voice in Arcot's head, a low, droning voice, a voice of
command. "Sleep," it added. Arcot felt himself floating down an infinite
shaft, on some superflying suit that did not pull at him with its
straps, just floating down lightly, down and down and down. Suddenly he
reached the bottom, and found to his surprise that it led directly into
the room again 1 He was back. "You are awake. Speak!" came the voice.

Arcot shook himself, and looked about. A new voice spoke now, not the
tonelessly melodious voice, but the voice of an individual, yet a mental
voice. It was perfectly clear, and perfectly comprehensible. "We have
traveled far to find you, and now we have business of the utmost import.
Ask these others to let us treat them, for we must do what we can in the
least possible time. I will explain when all can understand. I am Zezdon
Fentes, First Student of Thought. He who sits on my right is Zezdon
Afthen, and he beyond him, is Zezdon Inthel, of Physics and of
Chemistry, respectively."

And now Arcot spoke to his friends.

"These men have something of the greatest importance to tell us, it
seems. They want us all to hear, and they are in a hurry. The treatment
isn't at all annoying. Try it. The man on the extreme right, as we face
them, is Zezdon Fentes of Thought, Zezdon apparently meaning something
like professor, or 'First Student of.' Those next him are Zezdon Afthen
of Physics and Zezdon Inthel of Chemistry."

Zezdon Afthen offered them the headsets, and in a moment everyone
present was wearing one. The process of putting them en rapport took
very little time, and shortly all were able to communicate with ease.

"Friends of Earth, we must tell our strange story quickly for the
benefit of your world as well as ours, and others, too. We bring news of
a menace of cosmic proportions, of an enemy that we cannot so much as
annoy. We are helpless to combat them.

"Our world lies far out across the galaxy; even with incalculable
velocity of the great swift thing that bore us, three long months have
we traveled toward your distant worlds, hoping against hope that we
would find the aid we needed, hoping that at last the Invaders might
meet their masters.

"We landed on this roof because we examined mentally the knowledge of a
pilot of one of your patrol ships. His mind told us that here we would