The Shadow People. John Russell Fearn

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what—are they?” Viona asked hesitantly, her sapphire blue eyes full of wonder.

      The reply was unexpected, yet to the point. “I think they’re lighted windows!”

      “Windows?” Abna repeated. “How do you make that out?”

      “Imagine yourself as a worm,” the Amazon mused.

      “Sometimes I am, in your estimation.”

      The violet eyes flashed reproof. “Don’t go off into one of your ‘little boy’ moods, Abna. This is serious! I repeat, imagine yourself a worm, at night, looking up at the tallest building in London. You’d see lighted windows, spread out against the dark.”

      Abna looked long and earnestly, then he gave a low whistle.

      “I believe you’re right,” he said slowly.

      “There’s another thing,” the Amazon went on, “and that’s the size of these shadow people. By comparison they would just be about normal if the stars we see are windows—normal, that is, for entry into one of the buildings.”

      “Could be,” Viona murmured, also looking. “Have you got a theory about all this, mother?”

      “Certainly I have. We all know that matter, when reduced to the last analysis, is basically a series of electrical charges with atomic spaces between. It is then visible only as a misty outline. To use an analogy— Look at a newspaper photograph from a distance, and it is perfectly normal. Look at it near-to and one sees an interspacing and the texture of the paper, with the picture only as a vague outline. So it is here.…” The Amazon paused for a moment, thinking. Then: “Long ago, in one of our experiences, we were plunged into the infinitely small, the region of atomic space. From that adventure we learned a good deal about relativity. That was an instance of being in the microcosm. I am wondering if perhaps there isn’t a similar case here, only instead of being the microcosm, it’s the macrocosm, the infinitely large.”

      “Meaning,” Abna said at length, “that in our leap from normal space we extended infinitely and burst through the molecule which is our universe into an immensely greater one beyond? That being so, we are reduced to midget—indeed microscopic—size by comparison with our surroundings?”

      “That is what I think has happened,” the Amazon agreed. “And we can never hope to understand these shadow people, or gain the least conception of the space we’re in, unless we, too, are of the same size.”

      “Which looks like being pretty well impossible,” Viona said ruefully.

      “There’s radio though,” Mexone put in quickly. “Surely it is possible that these people know what radio is? They might be able to contact us that way?”

      “Perhaps.…” Abna was thinking hard. “Don’t forget that if this theory of a macrocosm is true, then a lot of other things are involved. Speech, for one thing. What is normal speech to us will just sound like so much chatter to them. On the other hand, their voices will be slow, sonorous, and generally unintelligible to our ears. Even apart from being an alien language.”

      “Well, I’m all for trying the radio anyway.” Mexone hurried across to the radio equipment and switched it on. The Amazon, Abna, and Viona drifted slowly to his side and watched and listened intently. That the radio worked all right the Amazon and Abna knew full well, for they had, earlier, contacted Viona with the self-same apparatus; but whether it would establish any communication with the colossi was another matter.

      After a series of preliminary whistles and squeaks from the loudspeaker, the power settled down to normal, and Mexone did the usual intoning into the microphone. Time and again he repeated the process, without any apparent effect. Finally he looked up with a frustrated glance.

      “Waste of time, I’m afraid. No sign of a reaction.”

      “Leave the speaker open in case of response,” Abna suggested. “Maybe these giants will require a little while to adapt themselves to our language. In the meantime, let’s consider alternatives.”

      The Amazon gave a sharp glance. “Alternatives? What alternatives? There aren’t any.”

      “There have got to be,” Abna responded calmly. “You must have realized the position as clearly as anybody. Either we cruise around here in this ultra-atomic space until our food gives out and we pass away, or else we think up some way of blowing ourselves back into the normal space from which we came. Lastly, we have the alternative of increasing our size to that of the colossi. It may be dangerous to meet them; equally, it may not. But it won’t be the first time we’ve taken a chance.”

      “You talk very freely about increasing our size to that of the colossi,” the Amazon remarked. “How exactly?”

      Abna grinned. “I don’t know offhand, but the mind should rise superior to any material problem.”

      The Amazon gave a dubious glance. Though she knew Abna was capable of the most incredible mental gymnastics, she always had this feeling of profound doubt beforehand. He had—to her—the irritating habit of making it all seem so simple.

      “For the moment,” Abna said, “let us see if our giant friends have any communication to send us. If not, we’ll get busy.”

      “Assume a less difficult problem first,” Mexpne suggested. “Supposing we decide to get back into our own space and leave this one forever unexplored. How do we do that?”

      Abna brooded. The schoolboy-like smile had gone from his powerful features, and he was again the skilled superhuman scientist.

      “Since we got here by the explosion of a particular type of bomb, we ought to get out the same way,” he commented finally. “But there are other factors, since everything must now be reversed. It is a matter of implosion instead of explosion. We must be—”

      “Say, something’s happening out here!” It was Viona’s suddenly excited voice. She was gazing out of the window on to the depths of atomic space, Mexone as ever by her side.

      “Happening?” the Amazon repeated, turning. “In what way?”

      “Come and look for yourself! The stars are growing bigger—or at least it looks that way.”

      The Amazon crossed to the window and Abna joined her. In puzzled silence all four stood for a moment surveying, and gradually it became apparent to them what Viona meant. The nearest ‘pyramid’ constellation of stars was undoubtedly altering shape.

      “What’s happening?” Viona asked breathlessly, and it was her father who answered her.

      “I’ll take one guess. That radio message we sent out was infinite in wavelength, not limited as was our message to you. Maybe it penetrated to the understanding of the colossi and made them realize that, although they couldn’t answer, they could fix our position. Right now I’d say they’ve found us and are saving us a lot of trouble by enlarging us.… Yes,” Abna added, with an intent study outside. “I’m sure of it!”

      In a matter of seconds there was no longer any doubt of it. The shifting ‘stars’ changed position again and steadily grew larger, so much so that it finally became apparent that they were not stars at all, but, as the Amazon had guessed earlier, windows. Here and there across this lighted space there strode an occasional

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