Micro-Man
With the thought, "That ought to hold him," I dashed upstairs to answer
the call._
_But it didn't hold him. There was quite a bit of strength in that tiny
body._
"Miserable fate! I flounder in a horrid marsh," the upset thought-waves
came to the men of Mortia. "The viscous mire seeks to entrap me, but I
think I can escape it. Then I will make for the Temple. The Gods may
recognize and protect me there."
* * * * *
I missed the call--I had delayed too long--but the momentary diversion
had cleared my mind and allowed new thoughts to enter. I now knew what
my first step would be in presenting the little man to the world.
I'd write a newspaper account myself--exclusive! Give the scoop to Earl.
Would that be a sensation for _his_ paper! Then I'd be made. A friend of
the family, this prominent publisher had often promised he would give me
a break when I was ready. Well, I _was_ ready!
Excited, dashing downstairs, I half-formulated the idea. The
headlines--the little man under a microscope--a world afire to see him.
Fame ... pictures ... speeches ... movies ... money.... But here I was
at my desk, and I grabbed for a piece of typing paper. They'd put that
in a museum, too!
The stamp and the little man lay just at the edge of the sheet, and he
clutched at a "great orange mountain" covered by a "vast slab of
curving, opaque glass" like the "Temples of Aerat." It was my thumb, but
I did not see him there.
_I thrust the paper into the typewriter and twirled it through._
"I have fallen from the mountain, and hang perpendicularly, perilously,
on a limitless white plain. I tremble, on the verge of falling, but the
slime from the marsh holds me fast."
_I struck the first key._
"A metal meteor is roaring down upon me. Or is it something I have never
before witnessed? It has a tail that streams off beyond sight. It comes
at terrific speed.
"I know. The Gods are angry with me for leaving Mortia land. Yes! 'Tis
only They who kill by iron. Their hands clutch the rod in mighty tower
Baviat, and thrust it here to stamp me out."
And a shaking little figure cried: "Baviat tertia!... Mortia mea...." as
the Gods struck wrathfully at a small one daring to explore their
domain. For little man Jeko had contrived to see Infinity--and Infinity
was only for the eyes of the Immortals, and those of the Experience who
dwelt there by the Gods' grace. He had intruded into the realm of the
rulers, the world of the After Life and the Gods Omnipotent!
A mortal--in the land of All!
In a world deep down in Smallness, in an electron of a cell of dead
wood, five scientists were grouped before the complicated instrument so
reminiscent of early radios. But now they all were standing. Strained,
perspiring, frightened, they trembled, aghast at the dimensions the
experiment had assumed; they were paralysed with terror and awe as they
heard of the wrath of the affronted Gods. And the spirit of science
froze within them, and would die in Mortia land. "Seek the skies only by
hallowed Death" was what they knew. And they destroyed the machine of
the man who had found Venquil land--and thought to live--and fled as
Jeko's last thoughts came through.
For many years five frightened little men of an electron world would
live in deadly fear for their lives, and for their souls after death;
and would pray, and become great disciples, spreading the gospels of the
Gods. True, Jeko had described a monstrous world; but how could a mere
mortal experience its true meaning? It was really ethereal and
beautiful, was Venquil land, and they would spend the rest of their days
insuring themselves for the day of the experience--when they would
assume their comforted place in the world of the After Life.
_As I struck the first letter, a strange sensation swept over me.
Something compelled me to stop and look at the typing paper. I was using
a black ribbon, but when the key fell away, there was a tiny spot of
red...._