The Martian Way and Other Stories

“No more, though?” asked Sheffield.

“No.”

Sheffield said, ”Well then, listen, all of you. In the first place, anything Mark quotes is accurate. That’s what the book said. It’s my opinion that beryllium is poisonous. In ordinary life, it doesn’t matter because the beryllium content of the soil is so low. When man concentrates beryllium to use in nuclear piles or in fluorescent lights or even in alloys, he comes across the toxicity and looks for substitutes.

“He finds substitutes, forgets about beryllium, and eventually forgets about its toxicity. And then we come across an unusual beryllium-rich planet like Junior and we can’t figure out what hits us.”

Cimon didn’t seem to be listening. He said in a low voice, “What does that mean, ‘Prognosis is not good.’”

Novee said abstractedly, “I means that if you’ve got beryllium poisoning, you won’t recover.”

Cimon fell back in his chair, chewing his lip.

Novee said to Mark, “I suppose the symptoms of beryllium poisoning-”

Mark said at once, “I can give you the full list. I don’t understand the words but-”

“Was one of them ‘dyspnea’?”

“Yes.”

“Novee sighed and said, “I say that we get back to Earth as quickly as possible and get under medical investigation.”

Cimon said weakly, “But if we won’t recover, what use is it?”

Novee said, “Medical science has advanced since the days of books printed on paper. Besides, we may not have received the toxic dose. The first settlers survived for over a year of continuous exposure. We’ve had only a month, thanks to Mark A

Fawkes, miserably unhappy, yelled, “For space’ sake, Captain, get out of here and get this ship back to Earth.”

It amounted to the end of the trial. Sheffield and Mark walked out among the first.

Cimon was the last to stir out of his chair, and when he did, it was the listless gait of a man already dead in all but fact.

Twenty-Six

The Lagrange System was only a star lost in the receding cluster.

Sheffield looked at that large patch of light and said, “So beautiful a planet.” He sighed. “Well, let’s hope we live. In any case, the government will watch out for beryllium-high planets in the future. There’ll be no catching mankind with that particular variety of sucker bait any more.”

Mark did not respond to that idealism. The trial was over; the excitement was gone. There were tears in his eyes. He could only think that he might die; and that if he did, there were so many things, so many, many things in the Universe that he would never learn.