Read Online Only You Can Save Mankind by Terry Pratchett - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Terry Pratchett
Ads: Link
Yo-less.
“Nothing on it,” said Bigmac.
Unarmed, thought Johnny. And slow. One hit with a missile and Wobbler is sitting inside the biggest cheese in the universe. What happens to people in my dream?
Why does it always go wrong?
“I’ll just go on ahead,” he said, and pressed the Fast button.
There were three players attacking the ScreeWee fleet. It soon became two; Johnny had one in his sights all the way in, curving away through the smoke ring of the explosion and heading for the next attacker so fast that he was only just behind his own missile.
It was going after the Captain’s ship, and the player wasn’t paying attention to his radar. Another explosion, already behind Johnny as he looked for the third player.
Johnny realized he wasn’t thinking about it. His eyes and hands were doing all the work. He was just watching from inside.
The third player had spotted the tankers. It saw him, turned, and actually managed to get some shots away.
Oh, no. Johnny’s mind whirred like a machine, judging speed and distance…
He felt the ship buck under him, but he held it steady until the crosshairs merged.
Then he pressed his thumb down until a beeping sound told him he hadn’t got anything more to fire.
After a while the red mist cleared. He found thoughts slinking back into his mind again. They moved slowly, uncertain of where they were, like people drifting back into a bombed city, picking through rubble, trying to find the old familiar shapes.
There was a metallic taste in his mouth. His elbow ached—he must have banged it on something during the turn.
He thought: No wonder we make rules. The Captain thinks it’s strange, but we don’t. We know what we’d be like if we didn’t have rules.
A light flashed by the communication screen. Someone wanted to talk to him. He flicked a switch.
The face of the Captain appeared.
“Ah, Johnny. What an efficient technique.”
“Yes. But I had to—”
“Of course. And I see you have brought some friends.”
“You said you needed food.”
“Even more so now. That last attack was severe.”
“Aren’t you firing at all?”
“No. We have surrendered, I remind you. Besides, we must not stop. Some of us at least will reach the Border.”
“Border?” said Johnny. “I thought you were going to a planet.”
“We must cross the Border first. Beyond the Border, we are safe. Even you cannot follow us. If we fight, all of us die. If we run, some of us live.”
“I don’t think humans can think like that,” said Johnny. He glanced out of the cockpit. The tankers were getting nearer.
“You are mammals. Fast. Hot-blooded. We are amphibians. Cold-blooded. Slow. Logical. Some of us will get across. We breed fast. To us, it makes sense. To me, it makes sense.”
The Captain’s image moved to a corner of the screen. Wobbler, Bigmac, and Yo-less appeared in the other three quarters.
“That was brilliant shooting,” said Bigmac. “When I’m in the army—”
“There’s a frog on my screen,” said Wobbler.
“It’s…she’s the Captain,” said Johnny.
“A woman in charge?” said Yo-less.
“No wonder the aliens always lose,” said Wobbler. “You should see the side of my mum’s car.”
“Um. She can hear you, I think. Don’t use sexist language,” said Johnny.
The Captain smiled.
“I invite your comrades to unload their welcome cargoes,” she said.
They found out how to do it eventually. The whole of the middle of the tankers came away as one unit. Small ScreeWee ships, not much more than a seat and a pilot’s bubble and a motor, nudged them into the holds of the biggest ships. Without them, the tankers were just a cockpit and engine and a big empty network of girders.
Johnny watched the tank from Yo-less’s ship drift gently through the hatch of the Captain’s ship.
“Er…if when you, you know…you’re pouring them out of the box,” he said, “and you sort of find something plastic falls into your bowl…well,
“Nothing on it,” said Bigmac.
Unarmed, thought Johnny. And slow. One hit with a missile and Wobbler is sitting inside the biggest cheese in the universe. What happens to people in my dream?
Why does it always go wrong?
“I’ll just go on ahead,” he said, and pressed the Fast button.
There were three players attacking the ScreeWee fleet. It soon became two; Johnny had one in his sights all the way in, curving away through the smoke ring of the explosion and heading for the next attacker so fast that he was only just behind his own missile.
It was going after the Captain’s ship, and the player wasn’t paying attention to his radar. Another explosion, already behind Johnny as he looked for the third player.
Johnny realized he wasn’t thinking about it. His eyes and hands were doing all the work. He was just watching from inside.
The third player had spotted the tankers. It saw him, turned, and actually managed to get some shots away.
Oh, no. Johnny’s mind whirred like a machine, judging speed and distance…
He felt the ship buck under him, but he held it steady until the crosshairs merged.
Then he pressed his thumb down until a beeping sound told him he hadn’t got anything more to fire.
After a while the red mist cleared. He found thoughts slinking back into his mind again. They moved slowly, uncertain of where they were, like people drifting back into a bombed city, picking through rubble, trying to find the old familiar shapes.
There was a metallic taste in his mouth. His elbow ached—he must have banged it on something during the turn.
He thought: No wonder we make rules. The Captain thinks it’s strange, but we don’t. We know what we’d be like if we didn’t have rules.
A light flashed by the communication screen. Someone wanted to talk to him. He flicked a switch.
The face of the Captain appeared.
“Ah, Johnny. What an efficient technique.”
“Yes. But I had to—”
“Of course. And I see you have brought some friends.”
“You said you needed food.”
“Even more so now. That last attack was severe.”
“Aren’t you firing at all?”
“No. We have surrendered, I remind you. Besides, we must not stop. Some of us at least will reach the Border.”
“Border?” said Johnny. “I thought you were going to a planet.”
“We must cross the Border first. Beyond the Border, we are safe. Even you cannot follow us. If we fight, all of us die. If we run, some of us live.”
“I don’t think humans can think like that,” said Johnny. He glanced out of the cockpit. The tankers were getting nearer.
“You are mammals. Fast. Hot-blooded. We are amphibians. Cold-blooded. Slow. Logical. Some of us will get across. We breed fast. To us, it makes sense. To me, it makes sense.”
The Captain’s image moved to a corner of the screen. Wobbler, Bigmac, and Yo-less appeared in the other three quarters.
“That was brilliant shooting,” said Bigmac. “When I’m in the army—”
“There’s a frog on my screen,” said Wobbler.
“It’s…she’s the Captain,” said Johnny.
“A woman in charge?” said Yo-less.
“No wonder the aliens always lose,” said Wobbler. “You should see the side of my mum’s car.”
“Um. She can hear you, I think. Don’t use sexist language,” said Johnny.
The Captain smiled.
“I invite your comrades to unload their welcome cargoes,” she said.
They found out how to do it eventually. The whole of the middle of the tankers came away as one unit. Small ScreeWee ships, not much more than a seat and a pilot’s bubble and a motor, nudged them into the holds of the biggest ships. Without them, the tankers were just a cockpit and engine and a big empty network of girders.
Johnny watched the tank from Yo-less’s ship drift gently through the hatch of the Captain’s ship.
“Er…if when you, you know…you’re pouring them out of the box,” he said, “and you sort of find something plastic falls into your bowl…well,
Similar Books
