Christopher Priest - The Space Machine

I was told that in flight we would have no difficulty reaching them, although this was clearly something I would have to take on trust.

The controls themselves were many, and when I saw them, and thought about the bulk of the craft they directed, it was daunting to recall that until this day the most elaborate vehicle I had ever driven was a pony and trap!

The men explained everything in great detail, but I grasped little of what was said. In this, I felt Edwina’s interpretations were unreliable, and even when I was confident she was conveying the meaning of their words accurately, I had difficulty with the concept described.

For example, I was shown a large glass panel-which was currently blank—and told that in flight there would be displayed upon it a picture of what was directly in front of the ship. This I could grasp, as it seemed to be common with the smaller projectile. However, there was a subtle refinement here. I was told repeatedly of a ‘target’, and this was talked of in conjunction with a series of metal knobs protruding from a place below the screen. Furthermore, I was told that target was applied when using the green-tipped lever which, I already knew from my earlier flight, released a blast of green fire from the nose.

I decided that much of what puzzled me now would become clear by experimentation in flight.

The explanations went on until my mind was spinning. At last I had a broad idea of what was to happen—the actual firing of the cannon, for instance, would be controlled from a building outside the ship—and further, I knew roughly how much I could manoeuvre the craft while in flight.

My guides told me that the monsters were not planning their first launch for another four days. We should therefore have plenty of time to make our escape before the monsters were ready.

I said that I would be happy to leave as soon as possible, for now the means was open to us I had no desire to stay on Mars a moment longer than necessary.

Amelia and I passed that night in one of the city dormitories. It had again been difficult for us to say much to each other, for Edwina was always in attendance, but when at last we took to a hammock we were able to talk quietly.

We lay in each other’s arms; this was the one burden of our legendary rôles that I found easiest to fulfil.

“Have you inspected the craft?” Amelia said.

“Yes. I think there will be no problem. The area is crowded with monsters, but they are all occupied with their preparations.”

I told her what I had seen: the number of projectiles ready to be fired at Earth, the arrangements within the craft.

“Then how many of the creatures are planning to invade?” Amelia said.

“The projectile we will be going in carries five of the brutes. I could not count the other projectiles … certainly there were several hundred.”

Amelia lay in silence for a while, but then she said: “I wonder, Edward… if the revolution is now necessary. If this is to be the scale of the migration, then how many monsters will be left on Mars? Could the plan be for a total exodus?”

“That had crossed my mind too.”

“I saw this as a moment of unpreparedness, but how ironical it would be if in a few days’ time there would be no monsters left to overthrow!”

“And the adversary would be on Earth,” I said. “Do you not see how urgent it is that we fly to Earth before the monsters?”

A little later, Amelia said: “The revolution is to start tomorrow.”

“Could the Martians not wait?”

“No… the firing of our craft is to be the signal for action.”

“But could we not deter them? If they would only wait …”

“You have not seen all their preparations, Edward. The excitement of the people is irrepressible. I have lit a gunpowder trail, and the explosion is no more than a few hours away.”

We said no more after this, but I for one could hardly sleep. I was wondering if this was indeed to be our last night on this unhappy world, or whether we should ever be free of it.

We had gone to bed in a mood of worried calm, but when we awoke it was to a very different situation.

What awakened us was a sound which sent chills of fear down my spine: the howling of the monsters’ sirens, and the reverberations of distant explosions. My first thought, prompted by experience, was that there had been another invasion, but then, as we jumped from the hammock and saw that the dormitory was deserted, we realized that the fighting must be between opposing forces within the city. The Martians had not waited!

A battle-machine strode past the building, and we felt the walls tremble with the vibration of its passage.

Edwina, who until this moment had been hiding beside the door, rushed over to us when she saw we were awake.

“Where are the others?” Amelia said immediately.

“They went in the night.”

“Why were we not told?”

“They said you were now only wanting to fly in the machine.”

“Who started this?” I said, indicating the bedlam beyond the building.

“It began in the night, when the others left.”

And we had slept through this noise and confusion? It seemed hardly likely. I went to the door and peered into the street. The battle-machine had gone its way, and its armoured platform could be seen above some near-by buildings. Some distance from me I could see a column of black smoke rising, and over to my left there was a smaller fire. In the distance there was another explosion, although I could not see any smoke, and in a moment I heard two battle-machines braying in response.

I went back to Amelia.

“We had better get to the cannon-site,” I said. “It might still be possible to take the projectile.”

She nodded, and went to where our erstwhile friends had laid out two of the black uniforms for us. When we had put these on, and were preparing to leave, Edwina looked at us uncertainly.

“Are you coming with us?” I said, brusquely. I had been growing tired of her fluting voice and the unreliability of her translations. I wondered how much of our information had been misrepresented by her.

She said: “You would like me to come, Amelia?”

Now Amelia looked doubtful, and said to me: “What do, you think?”

“Will we need her?”

“Only if we have something to say.”

I considered for a few seconds. Much as I distrusted her, she was our only contact with the people here, and she had at least stayed behind when the others left.

I said: “She can come with us as far as the cannon-site.”

With that, and pausing only to collect Amelia’s hand-bag, we set off at, once.

As we hurried across the city it became obvious that although the Martians had started their revolution, damage was as yet minor, and confined to a few areas. The streets were not empty of people, nor yet were they crowded. Several Martians gathered together in small groups, watched over by the battle-machines, and in the distance we heard many sirens. Somewhere near the centre of the city we came across evidence of more direct revolt: several of the battle-machines had been somehow overturned, and lay helplessly across the streets; these provided effective barricades, for once set on its side a tower could not by itself stand up again, and so blocked the passage of the ground vehicles.

When we came to the place where the electrical force-screen was extended towards the cannon-site, we found that the monsters and their machines were much in evidence. Several ground vehicles, and five battle-machines, stood thickly together, their heat-cannons raised.

We paused at this sight, not sure whether to go on. There were no Martian humans to be seen, although we noticed that several charred bodies had been swept roughly into a heap at the base of one of the buildings. Clearly there had been fighting here, and the monsters retained their supremacy. To approach now would bring almost certain death.