THE MONSTER THAT THREATENED THE UNIVERSE
By R. R. WINTERBOTHAM
From Chaos a space-consuming creature reached
slimy tentacles toward trembling planets. And
no man of the old fighting breed remained on
effete Earth to battle the invulnerable monster.
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Planet Stories Spring 1941.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Limio hugged the dying fires of Chaos. He was not cold, for the firesthat burned in the center of the cold star were not dead, only dying.But they were the source of life to the monster who lived in the depthsof a black hole of space.
The Black Hole, about thirty degrees from the solar quadrant in theterrestrial galaxy, was not dark, but twilight to Limio, whose eyeswere sensitive to infra-red radiation. These eyes, hundreds of themfloating on huge cranial bumps that dotted the thousands of miles ofhis massive body, caught the ruddy glow of a rocket ship entering TheBlack Hole.
Limio grunted. These iron creatures were hard to crack, but insidetheir hulls were juicy tidbits of carbon and oxygen in variouscombinations. It had seemed to Limio that these tasty morsels werealive; that they might even possess intelligence. Of course, it wouldbe hard to conceive of anything so small having much intelligence, butLimio had run across strange things in the universe in his millions ofyears of existence.
Limio had come to Chaos a single spore. He had grown into a slimy,reptilian, nauseating mass, the supreme hideosity in a warp ofcreation. His body lacked form, except as a tenuous syrupy blanketcovering a fourth of the surface of Chaos. Here and there in theskin of this monster were toothed craters ready to devour any carbonmolecule that might fall from space. Food was not important to Limio,for it only made him grow. The energy of the inner fires of Chaossupplied the needs of his existence. He ate simply to destroy, forLimio wanted no competitive form of life on Chaos. Competition mightmean death and Limio loved his immortality.
The rocket ship drew nearer. Limio saw that it had guns. Limio knewthese guns. Once before he had met a rocket ship equipped with neutronblasters. Limio had received a hole in his body that had taken acentury to heal. Limio had been unprepared then, but this time he wasready.
He tapped the inner fires of energy. A warm glow softened his body. Thenetwork of nerves that formed his brain threw out a web of magneticenergy. The toothed craters in his skin yawned expectantly.
The intelligence behind the controls of the ship spotted Chaos. Itcircled the dying sun. Searchlights stabbed downward toward thesurface. Limio's sensitive nerves tingled as radio energy lashed outrhythmically from the craft. It was signaling, probably.
Suddenly from the surface of the star a long, tenuous arm shot out. Itwas fifty miles long and five miles in diameter. It leaped from thesurface with mile a second velocity, aiming a blow at the space shipthat could have pounded it to junk, had it landed.
But the pilot saw the blow and dodged out of the way. The tentaclesnapped back. Again Limio tingled with radio energy. His brain caughtthe rhythm and deciphered the thought:
"It is a living world. It seems to be a vicious animal. Just now itattacked—"
"And I will attack again!" whispered Limio's brain in the same magneticrhythm of the impulses that flowed from the ship.
Again the arm shot out toward the ship's hull. Once more th