"Woods, Laurence - The Colossus Of Maia" - читать интересную книгу автора (Woods Laurence)

THE COLOSSUS OF MAIA
by Laurence Woods
(Author of "Strange Return," "Black Flames," etc.)



There, in the depths of space, floated the body of an Earthman, but it was the
body of a giant sixty feet tall!



IN THE DISC of the tele-screen, the well-known features of Michael Boyer
appeared; simultaneously throughout the nation a medley of ohs and ahs emanated
from the lips of eligible, unmated young women. It was not exactly that Boyer
was handsome--his hair was too sparse and his nose too thin. But there was
something about those mobile features and clipped voice that excited women and
brought forth infatuation. As for the males of the nation--for the most part,
they rather liked him too, called him a right guy, spoke of him in terms of
slight amusement, and let it go at that. No pantywaist, this Michael Boyer, at
any rate.
"Cheerio," Boyer was saying with a belying grin. Then, for the veriest instant
he hesitated, his face taking on a more serious expression. The tens of
thousands of enraptured femininity leaned forward, breathing more rapidly. They
knew what that hesitation, followed by the serious look meant: today's report
would be a human interest story--something different.
"Our story begins on Ealth-Mars voyage number 668 on the Liner Peter Penguin,
named after the cartoon character which was so popular a few years back. The
first officer, Lt. Arthur Rockwell, is on duty in the control room. Fifteen days
out; Mars will be reached in three days more. The ship has long since been
rotated so that it approaches Planet 4 rockets-on, ready to splash-fire for
deceleration 8. The controls are set; there is nothing for Rockwell to do but
watch the dials and be prepared for an emergency breakdown--something which has
not occurred for the past three years.
"Suddenly an alarm-bell rings from the gravitometer. Most of you have seen
pictures of this device, if you haven't had occasion to look over a space-liner.
But, for the benefit of those of you who may not, I'll describe it for you. lt's
a small iron ball, about an inch in diameter, suspended in vacuo, centered in a
large glass globe. Electro-magnets at top and bottom keep it there; along the
equator of this transparent globe, at 90 degree intervals, are set four
instruments: the two in the side, open to view, are photoselenic cells;
diametrically opposite each of these is a lens. Two beams of ultraviolet light,
crossing each other in the middle, constantly focus on their respective cells.
But the light does not reach those cells because the iron ball, stationed in the
center, blocks the flow of beams perfectly.
"This is the gravitometer. Can you picture it? Carefully adjusted to the ship's
pull, and that of known astronomical bodies, the ball remains in the center of
the sphere. But let some unknown body approach the ship, and its gravital drag
will draw the ball in that direction; ever so slightly it will be drawn out of
alignment. Immediately a tiny ray of light from one or the other of the beams
finds its way past so that it falls on the cell. An automatic alarm is set off;