Forbidden Planet (22 page)

It was a bad feeling. I went over to him and tapped him on the shoulder. I said, “Are you ready? To come to the ship?”

He turned as if I’d hit him. Altaira shrank away. He said, “Do you think you can make me go?” He pointed at the couch. “Haven’t you learned what happens to meddlers? Look at that fool there—or what’s left of him!”

I said, “That fool had you figured, Doctor Morbius.” It was all I could do not to hit him.

Behind him I saw Altaira turn suddenly and look at the window. But I hadn’t time to wonder about it.

I kept after Morbius. I said, “He found out what destroyed the Krells.
He
found what they were after. And you! And that you were lying about it!”

I picked Doc’s notebook up from the desk and opened it. I wished Altaira didn’t have to be there.

He tried to stop me reading, but I pushed him off. I read him what I wanted him to hear. Not all of it. But enough.

He was shaking as if he had ague. He said, “It’s—it’s madness! Insanity!”

I didn’t like his eyes. I got that outside-something feel again.

I said, “And he had more. I haven’t read it yet—”

Altaira screamed.

She was looking at the window again. I was beside her in a couple of jumps. She pointed. Out to the grove.

She said, “There’s—there’s something in the trees—” She turned and hid her face against my shoulder. She was shaking all over.

I looked through the glass. I didn’t see anything.

Then one of the biggest trees—broke.

It was snapped off a couple of feet from the ground.

It fell in the direction of the house. As if a hurricane had been blowing from behind it. But there wasn’t a leaf moving on the other trees. This one had been in the way. Of something. It was thirty feet high and at least six feet in diameter. And it had broken like a match stick.

But there was nothing else to see. To see—

I knew what it was. I thought I knew what it was. I had to be sure.

I opened the notebook again and found the scrawled end pages.

I heard Altaira say, “The shutters—the shutters!” She was whispering. Talking to herself. She ran out of the room. I heard her calling, “Robby—Robby, the shutters!”

I knew Morbius hadn’t moved to go after her. I knew Morbius was looking at me. Concentrating on me.

I started to read. There wasn’t much of it. The writing was so big.

There was a flicker in the light. Just a flicker—and I looked up.

The Krell-metal shutters were over the windows, closing out everything.

I dropped the notebook on the desk. Morbius was still staring at me. He hadn’t moved. I felt sick at my stomach now I knew. I wasn’t surprised—but it’s different when you know.

I pointed to the book. “There’s the whole story, Morbius. Doc got it. He killed himself doing it—but he got it. That first shock you gave yourself on the machine; that liberated something in you. You didn’t know it then, but you’d gotten half the effect of the Krell knowledge without the learning . . . You and your wife didn’t want to go back to Earth. But the rest of your party did. You knew that if they went back you wouldn’t have a chance to stay here and study by yourself. You wished they were all dead—”

He said, “Stop! Stop!” He was almost shouting.

I said, “You wished they were dead . . . And then they were! You killed them. Your Id killed them. It tore them to pieces. It ripped them apart as if they were rag dolls, Morbius. The way it did to my men tonight—”

He shouted, “Stop!”

I said, “You didn’t know then. But you went on learning, Morbius. And you found out. So it wasn’t in your subconscious any more. It was up there in your consciousness. But you pushed it away; rammed it back. And shut it up in what Doc calls your ‘mid-mind’. Where you put the things you want to forget—but don’t want to bury so deep you can’t use ‘em if you have to?”

He stood there. Staring at me.

Altaira came running in. She looked at him—and stopped. And put her hands over her face.

I said to him, “You hate me for taking your daughter. You hate your daughter for choosing me instead of you . . .”

There was a sound from the outside house. I can’t describe it. It wasn’t a voice. But it wasn’t anything else.

Altaira gasped. She was white as paper. She came at me in a little run. I put my arm around her. I could feel her trembling.

I heard the sound outside again. It was nearer.

I suddenly thought of that dream I’d had on the ship, when something kept breathing—soft and too big. Then I thought of young Grey. And how he’d heard, ‘something breathing, sir—something awful big!’ I remembered him screaming, just before he’d been stamped down into the sand . . .

The sound was right outside the window. But outside the shutters too. I thought, Thank God for the shutters . . .

I made myself look at Morbius. I had to look at him. I had to hold him.

I said to him, “That’s you outside, Morbius . . .”

The sound was louder now. It wasn’t the same sound—but it was made by the same thing. It wasn’t just breathing. It was—it was snuffling . . .

Morbius put his hands up to his head. The fingers seemed to be digging into his skull. I could see his face. There was a rumbling metallic noise. It vibrated. The whole house front seemed to be shaking . . . I said again, “That’s you, Morbius!” I said, “You killed your friends. You’ve killed my friends. Now you want to kill me—and your daughter. And your daughter, Morbius!”

The shaking stopped. There wasn’t a sound. It was worse than the breathing. Morbius said, “No—no!”

I knew I had to go on. I knew our only chance was to make him admit. Admit to himself. Admit to his Conscious.

I said, “It was in your mind—your mid-mind. You ‘forgot’ it. So you had to be asleep to release it. But you knew. It wasn’t deep in your subconscious. You knew! If you hadn’t, you wouldn’t have fought against sleeping the way you did.”

There was another rumbling of metal, and the shaking. It was from further along. From near the big door.

Suddenly Morbius ran—out into the living room. And then stopped. His body was bent over. He was twisting about. Like a man trying—I don’t know—like a man struggling to get free of something tying him.

I went after him. I had to. I dropped my arm from around Altaira and made the living room in a couple of jumps.

But she was right beside me. I felt her hand on my wrist—and found my DR pistol was in my hand.

She said, “John—” and I pushed the gun back into my holster.

The shaking came again. The whole house trembled. There was a rending clang from the shutters. The metal was being—torn.

The metallic screeching stopped. And something hit the big door from the outside. The wood groaned.

I started for Morbius—and then stopped when I saw Altaira running across the room behind him. She was making for the Robot. It was standing by the alcove. She spoke to it—and the light came on in its headpiece.

There was another crash against the door, and a noise of wood cracking. I thought Morbius was going to fall and grabbed him. I shouted something at him—I don’t know what.

Everything was happening at once. Altaira was pointing at the door as she said to the Robot, “Stop it—stop it getting in!” Morbius was fighting to get away from me. I could see the Robot over his shoulder—

The thing was jibbing—fighting an impossible order. Its lights were flashing crazily—and there was a whining sound coming from it. The way it had when it couldn’t use the DR on me that first day.

There was another blow on the door. It boomed like thunder.

I said to Morbius, “You can stop it! You’re the only one! Admit to yourself what it is! Admit it’s you!”

He shouted, “No—no!” again—up high, like a woman.

The Robot was a dead lump of metal. Altaira came running across to me. I yelled, “Back—into the study—” and started dragging at Morbius.

And the door fell in. We couldn’t see it—but there was no mistaking the sound.

Morbius was resisting me. But Altaira took his arm and he stopped. We rushed him into the study. I didn’t look behind me, but I could hear the breathing.

I dropped my hold on him and slid the door shut and snapped the lock. The sort of futile thing one does.

There was a crash on the door. The wood split. The breathing was loud.

Altaira was trying to get Morbius to the open archway in the rock. Now he was hanging back. I ran to them and got my arm around him and forced him to the arch and through it. He sagged against me, limp.

Altaira said, “John—how do we shut it—we have to shut it—”

Behind us, around the ell, I heard the study door crash down.

And I didn’t know how to shut this one.

But Morbius straightened up. He made a sort of sign in the air with his hand. And then sagged against me again.

The sheet of metal slid into the arch. Filling it.

I thought I saw something on the other side just as it closed. A shadow. Something . . .

And I heard something. It wasn’t a voice. But it wasn’t anything else.

I pushed Morbius off and went to Altaira. She was leaning against the rock wall. She was shaking like a Venusian-fever case. She didn’t say anything, just buried her face against my shoulder.

There was a concussion against the metal door. As if a thunderbolt had hit it.

But it stood. It didn’t even vibrate.

Suddenly, Morbius moved. Along the rock corridor to the lab chamber. He was trying to run, stumbling.

I left Altaira and went after him. But she was right behind me.

I caught him at the end of the chamber. The place was big and calm. Just the same. As if nothing was happening—never had happened.

It was quiet too. Completely quiet. There wasn’t a sound from the archway behind us. It was worse than any noise would have been.

I grabbed Morbius’ arm. He tried to pull away but I yanked him closer. I said, “Running won’t help—”

His face was—horrible. I couldn’t look at it. I said, “You must admit what it is, man!”

He said, “No!” His voice was a sort of rattling whisper. “It’s going away!” he said. “It’s going way—”

I looked along the rock corridor. There wasn’t a sound—

But the metal door in the arch was changing. It was a different color. The dun-gray wasn’t there any more. It was a reddish pink. Glowing. And darkening to crimson-red while I watched.

A drift of air much hotter than the rest came across my face.

I said, “No, Morbius. It’s not going away. Look at that!”

I tried to force him to turn his head. He fought me—but I made him look.

And I saw something else. All the lights in the chamber—all the relays, all the rows in the big central column-gauge of the, ‘island’—they’d all gone mad. Flickering on. Winking off. Not in any steady pattern. Like a crazy dance . . .

I made Morbius look. I said, “See the power! It’s flowing into that thing out there! Into you! . . . You can do anything! Nothing can stop you!”

He was suddenly strong. Stronger than I was. He pushed me away as if I was a child.

He said, “You say I knew. I didn’t. I don’t!”

The air was hotter now. A broad stream, filling the chamber. I looked along the corridor.

The metal of the door in the arch was white-hot. Molten. Streams of it were bubbling down onto the rock floor. Flaky lumps of it were dropping inwards. There was a hole in the center. It was getting bigger all the time.

I said, “The last chance, Morbius . . . Admit, man—admit!”

He stood there. I don’t think he even heard me. He was immovable now. His body and his mind . . .

I switched my eyes to the corridor again. For a microsecond. The hole in the metal wasn’t a hole any more. It nearly filled the archway. Something moved on the other side.

I knew I had to do it. Do it now . . . I could only hope to God Altaira would understand . . .

I put my hand on the butt of my gun. I started to pull it out. I fixed my eyes on a point between his shoulders . . .

And Altaira walked between us. As if I wasn’t there.

She stood in front of him. She said, “John’s right, Father. You must believe it!”

She stood as tall as she could and put her hands up to his face. And kissed him on the cheek.

The breathing was in the corridor. Close.

Something happened to Morbius. He didn’t look at Altaira. Or at me. He waved us back. He went to the mouth of the corridor . . .

I put my arms around Altaira, turning her so she couldn’t see . . .

But I could . . . Or maybe it wasn’t seeing. Maybe it was feeling . . .

All I know is that there was—Something there. Framed in the rock. Something facing Morbius. Huge, impossible. Looming over him—around him.

Morbius stood like the rock itself. His head was tilted, looking up—

My eyes wouldn’t work. My head was spinning. I felt the way you might feel if your mind was your stomach—

I felt as if my mind was—was vomiting . . .

Altaira’s arms came around my neck. I could hear her whispering, “Don’t look, darling—don’t look!”

I turned my head away . . .

We waited . . .

There was no sound . . . Or was there? I don’t know . . .

Thsn there was a feeling. A sensation of—of easing . . .

I found my head was lifting, turning so that I could see—

But I still don’t know what I saw. Or didn’t see but felt . . .

But I knew.

I knew the thing that had been facing Morbius was fading . . .

And then it was gone.

But the man went on standing with his back to us.

His head sank. I could see the strength leaving him . . .

He turned—slowly. And staggered. And came slowly back to us.

Altaira broke away from me. She stood in front of him. She said, “Father! . . . Father!” She was looking up into his face. “Are you all right, Father?”

I moved nearer to them. He said, “Yes, Altaira. Yes.” He said, “There’s nothing to trouble you now. Nothing.”

He swayed. I thought he was going to fall.

I could see his face now. I hardly knew it. It was—it was a good face.

But he was burned out. Exhausted. There was no life behind his eyes.