The Secret of the Ninth Planet | Page 9

was not a hounding of questions as
in a police quizzing, or a baiting from newspapermen eager to get a scoop. Rather, their
questions were deliberate and intelligent. They drew out the full account of what Burl and
his father had seen in that valley, and of what the Sun-theft globes appeared to be like in
operation. They concentrated deeply on the curious experience which had placed in Burl
the charge that enabled him to control the machines.
"Would you mind," the general asked Burl, "if we subject you to a series of medical and
electronic tests to determine whether this charge is still with you?"
Burl shook his head. "I'll go along with anything you say."
"Very well," the general smiled. "We'll make our purposes clear to you afterward. But we
want to get this over as soon as we can."
Burl left the room in company with three technicians who had come in. They took him to
the medical office at the base and there he was given a complete check. At the electronics
lab, electrodes were attached to him and careful readings were made of the natural
electrical resistance of his body, and of his apparent physical charge. After an hour of

tests, Burl was brought back to the main council room.
As he entered, he sensed he had interrupted something important. His father looked at
him, and Burl detected in his face a certain curious mingling of pride and parental
concern. What, the young man wondered, were they up to?
When he was seated, the company grew silent. The general pursed his lips, looked
directly at Burl, and said, "I think the time has come to acquaint you with the problem our
world is facing. We may ask you to make a very personal decision, and we think you
ought to know what may hang on it."
He stopped. Every face at the table was grim. Mark Denning, too, was sober, though Burl
detected that he also did not quite know what was to come.
"It is apparent that some race of beings, some species from outer space, unknown to us,
has begun a process of tapping the power and light of the Sun for transmission elsewhere.
The station on Earth, which you shut down, was an important one. But... it was not the
only one. There are others, operating in this solar system." He nodded to Merckmann.
The old astronomer took the cue. "The observatories of the Earth, aided by the lunar
observers, have definitely determined that there is still a certain amount of light being
shifted from the faces of other planets and diverted. We have detected by telescopic and
telethermic measurements that there are areas of Sun-disturbances on the surfaces of the
planets Mercury and Mars. We suspect the existence of one on Venus. We believe that
this may prove to be true on other planets as well, but we have no doubt of the first two.
"Measurements of the amount of Sun power being piped away, and of the effect of the
magnetic disturbances used to create and maintain these stations, have shown that they
will have a definite effect on the structure of the Sun itself. We have not yet completed all
our calculations, but preliminary studies indicate that if this type of solar interference is
not stopped, it may cause our Sun to nova in somewhere between two and three years
time."
He stopped, but the thirty-year-old prodigy, Russell Clyde, took up the story. "By nova,
we mean that the Sun will literally explode. It will flame up, burst to many times its
present size. Such an explosion will burn Earth to cinders, render all the planets inside the
orbit of Jupiter uninhabitable, scorch their atmospheres, dissolve their waters into steam,
and make them lifeless flaming deserts. We have seen other stars turn nova. We have
measured their explosions. We know just about what age and stability inside a sun is
necessary to cause this. And we fear that the danger of our own Sun doing so is great if
the Sun-tapping is not stopped."
Everyone at the table was silent. Burl was stunned. Finally he caught his breath. "But
how can we stop it? We can't get to all the planets in time. Our rockets are not ready and
rocketships would be too slow. Why it would take two years for rocketships to reach
Mars, if the expedition were ready now... and I understand that it will be another ten
years before Operation Mars is even attempted."

General Shrove nodded. "That is correct. Our rocket engineering is not yet advanced
enough to allow us to take such emergency action. We are still only just over the doorstep
of interplanetary flight and our enemies, whoever they may be, are obviously far
advanced.