Nightmare Planet
by MURRAY LEINSTER
(Illustrations by Tom O'Reilly)
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from Science Fiction PlusJune 1953. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.copyright on this publication was renewed.]
In science-fiction, as in all categories of fiction, there are storiesthat are so outstanding from the standpoint of characterization,concept, and background development that they remain popular fordecades. Two such stories were Murray Leinster's The Mad Planet andRed Dust. Originally published in 1923, they have been reprintedfrequently both here and abroad. They are now scheduled for bookpublication. Especially for this magazine, Murray Leinster has writtenthe final story in the series. It is not necessary to have read theprevious stories to enjoy this one. Once again, Burl experiencesmagnificent adventures against a colorful background, but to the wholethe author has added philosophical and psychological observations thatgive this story a flavor seldom achieved in science-fiction.
Under his real name of Will Fitzgerald Jenkins, the author has sold toThe Saturday Evening Post, Colliers', Today's Woman, in fact everyimportant publication in America. He has had over 1200 storiespublished, 15 books and 35 science-fiction stories anthologized. Hiswriting earned him a listing in Who's Who in America.
The Directory-ship Tethys made the first landing on the planet,L21612. It was a goodly world, with an ample atmosphere and manyseas, which the nearby sun warmed so lavishly that a perpetualcloud-bank hid them and all the solid ground from view. It had mountainsand islands and high plateaus. It had day and night and rain. It had anequable climate, rather on the tropical side. But it possessed no life.
No animals roamed its solid surface. No vegetation grew from its rocks.Not even bacteria struggled with the stones to turn them into soil. Noliving thing, however small, swam in its oceans. It was one of thatdisappointing vast majority of otherwise admirable worlds which wasunsuited for colonization solely because it had not been colonizedbefore. It could be used for biological experiments in a completelygerm-free environment, or ships could land upon it for water andsupplies of air. The water was pure and the air breathable, but it hadno other present utility. Such was the case with an overwhelming numberof Earth-type planets when first discovered in the exploration of thegalaxy. Life simply hadn't started there.
So the ship which first landed upon it made due note for the GalacticDirectory and went away, and no other ship came near the planet foreight hundred years.
But nearly a millennium later, the Seed-Ship Orana arrived. It landedand carefully seeded the useless world. It circled endlessly above theclouds, dribbling out a fine dust comprised of the spores of everyconceivable microorganism that could break down rock to powder and turnthe powder to organic matter. It also seeded with moulds and fungi andlichens, and everything that could turn powdery primitive soil intostu