Badge of Infamy

Badge of Infamy, by Lester del
Rey

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Title: Badge of Infamy
Author: Lester del Rey
Release Date: October 5, 2006 [EBook #19471]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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INFAMY ***

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Transcriber's Note:
This etext was produced from an Ace Books paperback, 1973.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.

copyright on this publication was renewed.

[Illustration: BADGE OF INFAMY
LESTER DEL REY
EARTHMEN BECOMING MARTIANS]
The computer seemed to work as it should. The speed was within
acceptable limits. He gave up trying to see the ground and was forced
to trust the machinery designed for amateur pilots. The flare bloomed,
and he yanked down on the little lever.
It could have been worse. They hit the ground, bounced twice, and
turned over. The ship was a mess when Feldman freed himself from the
elastic straps of the seat. Chris had shrieked as they hit, but she was
unbuckling herself now.
He threw her her spacesuit and one of the emergency bottles of oxygen
from the rack. "Hurry up with that. We've sprung a leak and the
pressure's dropping."
* * * * *
Turn this book over for a second complete novel.
[Transcriber's Note: The second novel is not present in this etext.]
* * * * *
BADGE OF INFAMY
By LESTER DEL REY
* * * * *
ace books A Division of Charter Communications Inc. 1120 Avenue of
the Americas New York, N.Y. 10036

BADGE OF INFAMY
Copyright © 1963 by Galaxy Publishing Corp. Copyright © 1957 by
Renown Publications, Inc.
A shorter and earlier version of this story appeared in Satellite Science
Fiction for June, 1957.
* * * * *
First Ace printing: January, 1973
* * * * *
THE SKY IS FALLING Copyright © 1954, 1963 by Galaxy
Publishing Corp.
* * * * *
Printed in U.S.A.

I
Pariah
The air of the city's cheapest flophouse was thick with the smells of
harsh antiseptic and unwashed bodies. The early Christmas snowstorm
had driven in every bum who could steal or beg the price of admission,
and the long rows of cots were filled with fully clothed figures. Those
who could afford the extra dime were huddled under thin, grimy
blankets.
The pariah who had been Dr. Daniel Feldman enjoyed no such luxury.
He tossed fitfully on a bare cot, bringing his face into the dim light. It
had been a handsome face, but now the black stubble of beard lay over
gaunt features and sunken cheeks. He looked ten years older than his

scant thirty-two, and there were the beginnings of a snarl at the corners
of his mouth. Clothes that had once been expensive were wrinkled and
covered with grime that no amount of cleaning could remove. His tall,
thin body was awkwardly curled up in a vain effort to conserve heat
and one of his hands instinctively clutched at his tiny bag of
possessions.
He stirred again, and suddenly jerked upright with a protest already
forming on his lips. The ugly surroundings registered on his eyes, and
he stared suspiciously at the other cots. But there was no sign that
anyone had been trying to rob him of his bindle or the precious bag of
cheap tobacco.
He started to relax back onto the couch when a sound caught his
attention, even over the snoring of the others. It was a low wail, the
sound of a man who can no longer control himself.
Feldman swung to the cot on his left as the moan hacked off. The man
there was well fed and clean-shaven, but his face was gray with
sickness. He was writhing and clutching his stomach, arching his back
against the misery inside him.
"Space-stomach?" Feldman diagnosed.
He had no need of the weak answering nod. He'd treated such cases
several times in the past. The disease was usually caused by the
absence of gravity out in space, but it could be brought on later from
abuse of the weakened internal organs, such as the intake of too much
bad liquor. The man must have been frequenting the wrong space-front
bars.
Now he was obviously dying. Violent peristaltic contractions seemed to
be tearing the intestines out of him, and the paroxysms were coming
faster. His eyes darted to Feldman's tobacco sack and