that had been forced aside, lay a naked humpbacked mass, glistening. Now and then a tremor ran across its surface.
"It's alive," whispered the Physicist.
There was a sharp, foul stench like that of burning horsehair, and wisps of bluish smoke curled in the beam of the flashlight.
"Just in case," said the Engineer, and raised the jector, pressing the stock to his hip and aiming at the shapeless mass. With a hiss the shot hit the steeply arched hulk right below its hump. The huge body stiffened, swelled, and seemed to cave in a little, to flatten. The partition walls shuddered, buckling on either side under the body's weight.
"Finis," declared the Engineer, crossing the steel threshold.
They went in. They tried—unsuccessfully—to locate the creature's legs and head. It lay on a detached part of the transformer, an inert, shapeless mass, its hump to one side, like a sack filled with jelly. The Doctor touched the side of the dead body, then brought his hand to his nose.
"Smell this," he said, holding out his hand to them; something like a white glue glistened on his fingertips. The Chemist was the first to sniff it. He cried out in surprise.
"You recognize it?" asked the Doctor.
They all smelled the glue—and recognized the acrid stink that had filled the "factory."
In a corner the Doctor found a bar he could use as a lever, slipped one end of it under the creature, and tried to turn the thing over. But the bar, instead, went almost halfway into the flesh.
"Wait," said the Engineer. "How could an animal like this have got the unit going?"
Everyone looked at him in dismay.
"You're right…" muttered the Physicist.
"We have to turn this thing over," the Doctor insisted. "Come on, everyone together, on the same side. That's it, don't be squeamish! Now what?"
"Hold on," said the Engineer. He went out, and returned a moment later with the steel poles they had used to dig the tunnel. These were slipped under the body and, at the Doctor's command, all lifted. The Cyberneticist shuddered when his hand slid down the slippery metal and touched the skin. With a dreadful smack the creature was rolled over on its side. Everyone jumped back. Someone shouted.
As from a gigantic, elongated oyster, a small two-armed trunk emerged between the thick, fleshy folds that closed winglike around it; dangling, its knotty fingers touched the floor. The thing, no bigger than a child's head, swayed back and forth, slower and slower, suspended from pale-yellow ligament membranes, until finally it came to rest. The Doctor was the first to pluck up the courage to approach it. He grasped the end of a limp, multijointed arm, and the small veined torso turned, revealing a flat, eyeless face with gaping nostrils and something jagged, like a tongue bitten in two, in the place where a man's mouth would be.
"An inhabitant of Eden…" whispered the Chemist.
The Engineer, too shaken to speak, sat down on the generator shaft and began wiping his hands unconsciously on his suit, over and over again.
"So is this one creature or two?" asked the Physicist, who was watching closely as the Doctor carefully touched the chest of the lifeless "man."
"Two in one or one in two—or maybe they're symbionts. It could even be that they separate at times."
"Like that horror with that single hanging black hair?" suggested the Physicist. The Doctor nodded and continued his examination.
"But this monster has no legs, no eyes, not even a head!" said the Engineer. He lit a cigarette—something he never did.
"That remains to be seen," replied the Doctor. "I suppose you won't mind if I dissect it? We'll have to cut up the thing anyway to get it out of here. I'd be grateful for an assistant, though this might be … unpleasant. Any volunteers?"
The Captain and the Cyberneticist stepped forward.
The Doctor stood up. "Good. I'll look for instruments—which will take a while. I must say, if the plot keeps thickening like this, a man will need a week to polish his
"It's alive," whispered the Physicist.
There was a sharp, foul stench like that of burning horsehair, and wisps of bluish smoke curled in the beam of the flashlight.
"Just in case," said the Engineer, and raised the jector, pressing the stock to his hip and aiming at the shapeless mass. With a hiss the shot hit the steeply arched hulk right below its hump. The huge body stiffened, swelled, and seemed to cave in a little, to flatten. The partition walls shuddered, buckling on either side under the body's weight.
"Finis," declared the Engineer, crossing the steel threshold.
They went in. They tried—unsuccessfully—to locate the creature's legs and head. It lay on a detached part of the transformer, an inert, shapeless mass, its hump to one side, like a sack filled with jelly. The Doctor touched the side of the dead body, then brought his hand to his nose.
"Smell this," he said, holding out his hand to them; something like a white glue glistened on his fingertips. The Chemist was the first to sniff it. He cried out in surprise.
"You recognize it?" asked the Doctor.
They all smelled the glue—and recognized the acrid stink that had filled the "factory."
In a corner the Doctor found a bar he could use as a lever, slipped one end of it under the creature, and tried to turn the thing over. But the bar, instead, went almost halfway into the flesh.
"Wait," said the Engineer. "How could an animal like this have got the unit going?"
Everyone looked at him in dismay.
"You're right…" muttered the Physicist.
"We have to turn this thing over," the Doctor insisted. "Come on, everyone together, on the same side. That's it, don't be squeamish! Now what?"
"Hold on," said the Engineer. He went out, and returned a moment later with the steel poles they had used to dig the tunnel. These were slipped under the body and, at the Doctor's command, all lifted. The Cyberneticist shuddered when his hand slid down the slippery metal and touched the skin. With a dreadful smack the creature was rolled over on its side. Everyone jumped back. Someone shouted.
As from a gigantic, elongated oyster, a small two-armed trunk emerged between the thick, fleshy folds that closed winglike around it; dangling, its knotty fingers touched the floor. The thing, no bigger than a child's head, swayed back and forth, slower and slower, suspended from pale-yellow ligament membranes, until finally it came to rest. The Doctor was the first to pluck up the courage to approach it. He grasped the end of a limp, multijointed arm, and the small veined torso turned, revealing a flat, eyeless face with gaping nostrils and something jagged, like a tongue bitten in two, in the place where a man's mouth would be.
"An inhabitant of Eden…" whispered the Chemist.
The Engineer, too shaken to speak, sat down on the generator shaft and began wiping his hands unconsciously on his suit, over and over again.
"So is this one creature or two?" asked the Physicist, who was watching closely as the Doctor carefully touched the chest of the lifeless "man."
"Two in one or one in two—or maybe they're symbionts. It could even be that they separate at times."
"Like that horror with that single hanging black hair?" suggested the Physicist. The Doctor nodded and continued his examination.
"But this monster has no legs, no eyes, not even a head!" said the Engineer. He lit a cigarette—something he never did.
"That remains to be seen," replied the Doctor. "I suppose you won't mind if I dissect it? We'll have to cut up the thing anyway to get it out of here. I'd be grateful for an assistant, though this might be … unpleasant. Any volunteers?"
The Captain and the Cyberneticist stepped forward.
The Doctor stood up. "Good. I'll look for instruments—which will take a while. I must say, if the plot keeps thickening like this, a man will need a week to polish his
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