[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Thrilling Wonder Stories, June 1939.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
CHAPTER I
The Ten Thinkers
The War of the Planets is considered to have ended on 18 Sol, 3012,with that epic struggle, the Battle of Sector Ten. In that engagement,as is of course well known, the Grand Fleet of the Inner Planets—thecombined space-power of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars—met that ofthe Outer Planets in what was on both sides a desperate bid for thesupremacy of interplanetary space.
But, as is also well known, there ensued not supremacy, but stalemate.Both fleets were so horribly shattered that the survivors despairedof continuing hostilities. Instead, the few and crippled remainingvessels of each force limped into some sort of formation and returnedto their various planetary bases.
And, so far, there has not been another battle. Neither side daresattack the other; each is waiting for the development of somesuper-weapon which will give it the overwhelming advantage necessaryto insure victory upon a field of action so far from home. But as yetno such weapon has been developed; and indeed, so efficient are thevarious Secret Services involved, the chance of either side perfectingsuch a weapon unknown to the other is extremely slim.
Thus, although each planet is adding constantly to its alreadypowerful navy of the void, and although four-planet, full-scale warmaneuvers are of almost monthly occurrence, we have had and still havepeace—such as it is.
In the foregoing matters the public is well enough informed, both asto the actual facts and to the true state of affairs. Concerning theconflict between humanity and the robots, however, scarcely anyonehas even an inkling, either as to what actually happened or as to whoit was who really did abate the Menace of the Machine; and it is torelieve that condition that this bit of history is being written.
The greatest man of our age, the man to whom humanity owes most, isentirely unknown to fame. Indeed, not one in a hundred million ofhumanity's teeming billions has so much as heard his name. Now thathe is dead, however, I am released from my promise of silence and cantell the whole, true, unvarnished story of Ferdinand Stone, physicistextraordinary and robot-hater plenipotentiary.
The story probably should begin with Narodny, the Russian, shortlyafter he had destroyed by means of his sonic vibrators all save ahandful of the automatons who were so perilously close to wiping outall humanity.
As has been said, a few scant hundreds of the automatons were soconstructed that they were not vibrated to destruction by Narodny'scataclysmic symphony. As has also been said, those highly intelligentmachines were able to communicate with each other by some telepathicmeans of which humanity at large knew nothing. Most of these survivorswent into hiding instantly and began to confer through their secretchannels with others of their ilk throughout the world.
Thus some five hundred of the robots reached the uninhabited mountainvalley in which, it had been decided, was to be established the basefrom which they would work to regain their lost supremacy over mankind.Most of the robot travelers came in stolen airships, some fitted motorsand wheels to their metal bodies, not a few made the entire journeyupon their own tireless legs of steel. All, however, brought tools,material and equipment; and in a matter of days a power-plant was infull operation.
Then, reasonably certain of their immunity to