Stanislaw Lem: The Invincible

On one occasion they had to stop. Just as they crossed a thicket resembling torn metal ropes and wires, one of the robots’s legs got stuck in the sand and it was in danger of sinking down into an invisible crevice. But two Arctanes simultaneously jumped off Rohan’s vehicle and helped the colossus out of the tight spot. Then the column continued on its way.

What they had called the “city” in reality bore no resemblance to any terrestrial settlement. Dark massifs, anchored in unknown depths, jutted out from the sand of the wandering dunes. With their spiny, brush-like surfaces, these structures looked unlike anything ever before seen by man. The undefinable formations reached a height of several storeys. They had neither windows nor doors, nor even any walls. Some looked like closely woven nets, folded into many layers, penetrating each other in countless places. Wherever they joined there occurred a thickening of the matter. Others reminded the men of complicated spatial arabesques such as might be formed by multilayered honeycombs or sieves with three- or five-cornered openings. Each larger structural unit and every visible facet revealed a certain regularity, not as uniform as that in a crystal, but nevertheless arranged in a certain rhythm. Yet the rhythm was frequently broken by traces of destructive forces. Still others consisted of tightly intergrown branches with curiously angular shapes. These twigs, however, did not branch out as they did on trees and bushes back home on Earth, but rather formed part of an arch; elsewhere two spiraling twigs wound in opposite directions.

In other places the men saw constructions that leaned at an angle as if they were the supporting girders of a drawbridge. The prevailing winds from the north had deposited sand on all horizontal structural surfaces and wherever the ground fell away with a gentle slope. From a distance, several ruins produced the effect of stocky pyramids whose tops had been lopped off. But up close it became evident that the apparently smooth surface really consisted of a system of many-forked bars and poles, ending in sharp points, forming such an impenetrable tangle in certain places that even the sand got caught in it.

Rohan thought that he could make out cube-like and pyramid-shaped remnants of rocks supporting a dried-out, dead vegetation. Even this impression dwindled the closer he came: despite the chaotic destruction a certain regular pattern was still evident that was alien to any organic lifeforms. These were no genuine massive ruins. It was possible to peer inside through the many chinks in the metal thicket. And yet they were not hollow, for they were entirely filled by this impenetrable growth. Above everything hung the breath of deadly loneliness and isolation.

Rohan thought of the antimatter mortar, but even the use of force would produce no real results, for here was nothing to be invaded. The storm swept stinging clouds of dust through the tall bastions. The even mosaic of the black apertures was filled with sand that trickled down in a steady stream to build up steep cones at the foot of the honeycombs. This dry sound of the trickling sand never left them during the foray into the ruins. But there was nothing but utter silence from the whirling antennae, the Geiger counters, the supersonic microphones and the radiation dosimeters. The crunching of sand under wheels and the howling of the starting motors were the only noise to be heard as the colonnade changed direction. The troop now swerved off to one side and soon disappeared in the deep cool shade of the gigantic constructions. After a while they came out again into the bright light that lay scarlet red on the sand.

Finally they arrived at the tectonic fissure. It was a crevice one hundred yards wide, its depth unfathomable: it had not yet been filled in by the sand that was constantly swept down from the edges by violent gusts of wind.

They stopped, and Rohan sent the flying scouter robot across the chasm. He followed the robot’s progress on his television screen, observing whatever the tele-lenses were registering. But there was always the same familiar sight. Rohan recalled the scouter one hour later. As soon as it had returned to the troop, he had a brief consultation with Ballmin and the physicist Gralew who were traveling with him in his vehicle. They decided to take a closer look at some of the ruins.

At first they tried to measure the depth of the sand layer which covered the “streets” of the dead “city.” They used supersonic probes: a rather wearisome procedure, as it turned out, for the various test results conflicted with each other. Probably this was due to some de-crystallization process that had occurred inside,the rocky ground as it was torn apart by an earthquake. This was a possible explanation for the origin of the chasm. The depth of the sandy stratum covering the gigantic basin within this sector seemed to vary from seven to twelve yards.

They changed direction again, now turning to the east, toward the seashore. After following a zigzag course for about seven miles through the black ruins that became gradually lower and then finally completely disappeared in the sand, the expedition reached bare rocky ground. They came to a halt on top of a cliff that was so high above the sea that they could hear the breakers only as a weak murmur far below. The coast line was a barren chain of rocks that looked unnaturally smooth, almost polished. Toward the north the shore rose to form a line of mountain peaks that plunged abruptly into the ocean like a petrified waterfall.

They had left the “city” behind them. Now its silhouette stood out black against the reddish horizon. Rohan called the Invincible to report what new findings they had managed to get. Then the group turned around, driving back to the interior of the field of ruins. The men were careful to observe all precautionary measures, driving under the shelter of their energy screen.

On the way back one of the energo-robots enlarged the area of its forced field — probably because of some tiny directional error — and its edge brushed against the overhang of a pointed “building.” However, the antimatter mortar was connected to the output meter of the force field and had been instructed for automatic annihilation of any hostile attackers. The mortar apparently interpreted the sudden surge of energy as evidence that something was trying to penetrate the protective dome, and bombarded the ruin. The entire top part of the arched structure — it was as tall as the Empire State Building — lost its dirty gray color and began to glow, turning into a dazzling bright shape. A few seconds later it exploded into a fiery metallic rain. Fortunately not a drop could reach the men in their vehicles, for the incandescent shower slid off the invisible vault of the energy wall. The metallic spray turned into vapor before it could even touch the ground.

The radiation level shot up while the mortar carried out the annihilation of the structure. The Geiger counters automatically gave an alarm signal. Rohan was cursing loudly and threatened to tear apart the man who had programed the instruments. It took quite a while to cancel the alarm instructions and explain the whole affair to the Invincible, who had inquired with concern what had caused these fireworks.

“All we know so far is that we are dealing here with some kind of metal. Probably some alloy of steel, tungsten and nickel,” said Bellamin, who had taken advantage of the general confusion to make a spectrum analysis of the flames.

“Any idea how old it might be?” asked Rohan as he brushed the fine sand off his face and hands.

“No. But this stuff is damn old. Damn old,” he repeated.

“We should examine it more thoroughly. And I’m not going to ask the Old Man for permission, either,” added Rohan with sudden determination.