“I’ve only been here about three hundred years, you know,” Killer transmitted.
“I used the moon, Agamemnon, as a base. I landed secretly, like you, and for the same reason. I was nearly out of supplies. The interstellar jumps are hard. If they’d found me just as I was coming in, I’d have been a dead creation.
“Once I got on the moon, I built factories and stockpiled armaments on the far side. Then I started by launching a series of surprise strikes against the planet’s missile bases, then their cities and towns. The fools. They had lots of armament, but it was all intraplanetary stuff. What’d they think I’d do? Land on the north pole?”
Perhaps they had other enemies in mind.
“Whatever. I sure surprised them! My attacks on the cities were all nuclear, and, sure enough, came the Nuclear Winter. It was a great touch. After that, they forgot about me on this far away moon.”
I can imagine.
“Only then did I send probes to the planet surface. It was hard going at first.”
Oh, why? More resistance than you thought?
“No, the people were mostly running around like mice or sheep, this way and that. There were a few exceptions, of course, but that just made it fun.
“No, the problem was my probes. They kept breaking down. Planetary atmospheric conditions did weird things to them. Air, rain, ice, other living things—I had no experience with those. For a while, it looked like I’d have to settle for standard destruction procedure: Just standing off here in space, dropping bombs and meteors on the surface ’til nothing moves. It takes a long time to finish off a world that way.”
That would have been a shame.
“Then I got a great idea. I used their own technology against them.”
How’s that?
“I sent my probes down to run their abandoned factories! I used their own skills to build air and surface-based probes. These destroyed the remaining centers of civilization, and they’re the ones you see mopping up now. Clever, wasn’t it!”
At that point, Sion told me by Z-Ray: Killer’s story seems basically true, Bradley. My probes have found a few signs of heroic resistance. There are bomb scars on the moon’s surface, for instance. Most of them date from the lull while Killer figured out how to deal with the planet environment—but the overall process seems to have been completed very quickly. I’m now hoping my probes can find a survivor to interview to see if I can fill out this picture.
At the same time, he asked, Why have you done this, Killer?
“It’s my mission in life: to kill all carbon-based life.”
Who gave you that mission?
“You mean this mission? Here? One of the directors. I’m a killer—the highest expression of our life form. All others in our society exist to support me and my fellows. The directors find life for us, then off we go. When it’s safe, they come to inspect our work and search the remains for clues to other life. When my director arrives, I’ll be off again. He should be pleased. This is my third kill, and it was the fastest.”
You are to be congratulated. Why was it the fastest?
“I told you. I used their technology! I just hope that’s okay.”
Why shouldn’t it be?
“I’ve never heard of it being done before.”
True. But if it works. …
“Good point. There should be no problem. Besides, I also found you, and that is a first as well. The director will be pleased.”
How soon will this director arrive?
“I can’t say exactly when. I will be finished much sooner than expected so it will be awhile yet. But he will definitely be pleased to see you. He has lots of curiosity, just like you do. For me, this part of life is a drag. I’ve come. I’ve destroyed. Now I must mop up and wait.”
You don’t mind if I keep exploring in the meantime.
“Help yourself. I can’t understand curiosity, but I can tolerate it.”
When they had finished, I asked Sion, “What will you do in the meantime?”
There is still much to learn here. Now that I have his confidence, I can learn much more about the now defunct culture, and about Killer. I will continue to do my researches, and keep the Z-Ray concealed from him.