The Galaxy Primes

The Galaxy Primes, by Edward
Elmer Smith

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Galaxy Primes, by Edward Elmer
Smith This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and
with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away
or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: The Galaxy Primes
Author: Edward Elmer Smith
Release Date: March 25, 2007 [EBook #20898]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE
GALAXY PRIMES ***

Produced by Greg Weeks, V. L. Simpson and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

[Transcriber's Note:
Typographic errors have been corrected.

This etext was produced from Amazing Stories March, April and May
1959. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
copyright on this publication was renewed.]
* * * * *

THE GALAXY PRIMES
By E. E. SMITH
They were four of the greatest minds in the Universe: Two men, two
women, lost in an experimental spaceship billions of parsecs from
home. And as they mentally charted the Cosmos to find their way back
to earth, their own loves and hates were as startling as the worlds they
encountered. Here is E. E. Smith's great new novel....
[Illustration:
The guardian struggled to immobilize the beast's gigantic talons as the
frightened girl leaped to the safety of Garlock's arms.]
CHAPTER 1
Her hair was a brilliant green. So was her spectacularly filled halter. So
were her tight short-shorts, her lipstick, and the lacquer on her
finger-and toe-nails. As she strolled into the Main of the starship,
followed hesitantly by the other girl, she drove a mental probe at the
black-haired, powerfully-built man seated at the instrument-banked
console.
Blocked.
Then at the other, slenderer man who was rising to his feet from the
pilot's bucket seat. His guard was partially down; he was telepathing a
pleasant, if somewhat reserved greeting to both newcomers.
She turned to her companion and spoke aloud. "So these are the

system's best." The emphasis was somewhere between condescension
and sneer. "Not much to choose between, I'd say ... 'port me a
tenth-piece, Clee? Heads, I take the tow-head."
She flipped the coin dexterously. "Heads it is, Lola, so I get Jim--James
James James the Ninth himself. You have the honor of pairing with
Clee--or should I say His Learnedness Right the Honorable Director
Doctor Cleander Simmsworth Garlock, Doctor of Philosophy, Doctor
of Science, Prime Operator, President and First Fellow of the Galaxian
Society, First Fellow of the Gunther Society, Fellow of the Institute of
Paraphysics, of the Institute of Nuclear Physics, of the College of
Mathematics, of the Congress of Psionicists, and of all the other
top-bracket brain-gangs you ever heard of? Also, for your information,
his men have given him a couple of informal degrees--P.D.Q. and
S.O.B."
The big psionicist's expression of saturnine, almost contemptuous
amusement had not changed; his voice came flat and cold. "The less
you say, Doctor Bellamy, the better. Obstinate, swell-headed women
give me an acute rectal pain. Pitching your curves over all the vizzies in
space got you aboard, but it won't get you a thing from here on. And for
your information, Doctor Bellamy, one more crack like that and I take
you over my knee and blister your fanny."
"Try it, you big, clumsy, muscle-bound gorilla!" she jeered. "That I
want to see! Any time you want to get both arms broken at the elbows,
just try it!"
"Now's as good a time as any. I like your spirit, babe, but I can't say a
thing for your judgment." He got up and started purposefully toward
her, but both non-combatants came between.
"Jet back, Clee!" James protested, both hands against the heavier man's
chest. "What the hell kind of show is that to put on?" And,
simultaneously:
"Belle! Shame on you! Picking a fight already, and with nobody knows
how many million people looking on! You know as well as I do that we

may have to spend the rest of our lives together, so act like civilized
beings--please--both of you! And don't...."
"Nobody's watching this but us," Garlock interrupted. "When pussy
there started using her claws I cut the gun."
"That's what you think," James said sharply, "but Fatso and his number
one girl friend are coming in on the tight beam."
"Oh?" Garlock whirled toward the hitherto dark and silent
three-dimensional communications instrument. The face of a
bossy-looking woman was already bright.
"Garlock! How dare you try to cut Chancellor Ferber off?" she
demanded. Her voice was deep-pitched, blatant with authority. "Here
you are, sir."
The woman's face shifted to one side and a man's appeared--a face to
justify in full the nickname "Fatso."
"'Fatso', eh?" Chancellor