The handsome, fair-haired Conquistadors
were welcomed by the S'zetnurs with open
arms—the grasping, grotesque arms of a
lost race of beauty-worshippers.
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Planet Stories November 1951.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
The Conquistadors were tall men, tall and bronzed by many suns, andsplendid as they strode down the gangplank in a seemingly endlessprocession. They were fair-haired, with flashing black eyes likepolished onyx, and their straight profiles might have been copiedfrom the faces of the silver coins that jingled in their pockets.In the steamy-hot atmosphere of the new-found planet, S'zetnu, theystripped to the waist almost at once, and their muscles rippled in theblue-green sunlight....
At the edge of the pallid forest surrounding the clear spot wherethe great rocket had landed, many eyes were watching their advent.Wondering eyes, wistful and excited eyes ... but eyes that peered andsquinted, rheumy with disease and almost blind.
The Conquistadors, after the manner of their ancient ancestors, kneltdown in a ring, hands folded, heads bowed. One of them—the tallest,the most splendid—stood in the center of the circle and lifted botharms to the sky. His lips moved, and lovely rolling sounds issued fromthem....
The watchers in the forest gasped, looking at one another in silentwonder. Two centuries ago, their kind had lost the power of speech; andfor a half century their deformed ears had been able to hear only theloudest of sounds—the screech of a giant beetle stalking them throughthe swampland, the crash of thunder, the rumble of a waterfall ... thesound of this great rocket-ship roaring down upon them out of nowhere.Now, holding little seashells to their ears to amplify the voice of theTall One, they began to jump up and down ecstatically, like childrenpromised a treat. They nodded. They hugged one another with their shortdeformed arms, bumping their foreheads together in the ancient gestureof happiness and good will.
The Conquistadors stood up. The leader raised his hand—and suddenly,from all their open mouths, came beautiful noises that made thelisteners in the forest shiver with pleasure. It was a strange thing,a magic thing! Cocking their hideous little heads this way and that,and holding the shells to their ears, they began to sway in cadence,mesmerized with delight; for not even their Elders could remembersinging.
The lovely sounds ended. Then the Leader, the tall splendid one withthe pleasant expression, held up his hand again and spoke, pointingfirst at one group of men, then at another, who nodded and drifted awayfrom the ring toward the task he had set for them. The watchers in theforest nudged one another, pointing with their stumps of hands andconversing (in the only way that was left to them) with the expressionsthat flitted across their horribly disfigured faces. Hands! theycommented excitedly. With fingers! And feet, gracefully arched feet,with five toes on each! Oh, were not the strangers beautiful—were theynot perfect?
However—the watchers frowned—they did not seem to be too intelligent.Now, with evident excitement, one of them came running to the tallleader with a handful of pebbles. Others gathered about the two ofthem, yelling and pounding one another on the back as they examined thesmall stones—which, the watchers knew, were completely worthless. Noone, not even these strong healthy newcomers, could eat a stone.
"Rob! Yah-hoo!..." Harris, first astrogator, was yelling at hislong-time buddy, the pilot and captain