,translator's ,error by ,charles ,dye ,it was a perfectly natural mistake for men to make4444 ,illustration3 ,the mural extended the full length of the hall1 depicting scenes of the old ,martian civilization4444 ,richard ,potterboy was a beefy man with a big red face like an old-time politican's2 he looked like an elephant beside the little man with the telescopic spectacles sitting next to him4 ,they both arose as ,grisby walked in4 ,potterboy's face grew a shade redder as he glanced menacingly at his watch4 8,good ,lord1 ,grisby1 where do you think you're at8 ,vacationing back on earth8 ,we've been waiting here nearly an hour for you60 ,he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand4 ,his uppers didn't fit well and he was inclined to sputter4 ,before ,grisby could reply1 ,potterboy was introducing him to the little man with the powerful glasses4 8,philip ,grisby1 ,mr4 ,theodore ,mc,ginnis1 newly-appointed historian of the ,martian ,rehabilitation ,project40 ,grisby gravely shook ,mc,ginnis' limp hand1 still saying nothing4 8,well1 shall we go to your office80 ,potterboy suggested impatiently4 8,you might also have coffee sent in4 ,this was ,mc,ginnis' first trip into space2 and after two weeks1 ,i'm sure he'll enjoy drinking out of a plain1 old-fashioned cup again60 ,the ,administrator1 slapping ,mc,ginnis on the back1 chuckled at his own hearty humor4 8,coffee1 ,halstead10 ,grisby shouted as they walked from reception into office4 ,potterboy lighted a huge cigar1 while they all sat around in strained silence until the secretary entered and left the coffee4 8,now10 ,potterboy said1 puffing furiously on his cigar--but he didn't finish4 ,for the first time1 he noticed how ill and dejected ,grisby looked4 ,in spite of being a back-slapping extrovert1 he was completely disconcerted4 ,after years of setbacks1 things had seemed to be going so well the last time he was here4 ,grisby1 who was known as an optimist1 moistened his lips and ran a shaky hand through his thinning hair4 8,for a historian1 ,mr4 ,mc,ginnis1 you have come at a most historic moment4 ,the ,martian ,project has just failed60 ,except for ,mc,ginnis taking notes1 there was dead silence4 ,potterboy felt suddenly ill4 ,his cigar tasted like old rope4 ,he wondered what he was going to tell the government in order to justify the billions sunk into this1 as well as other planetary rehabilitation projects4 ,to build the solar-system into one of the finest in the galaxy1 had originally been his idea2 and1 for any failures1 he would certainly be to blame4 8,let's have the details10 ,potterboy said in a weak voice4 8,there's nothing much to tell10 said ,grisby1 smiling wanly4 8,just before you landed1 both polar furnaces melted through the ice and sank into ,god knows where40 ,potterboy looked aghast4 8,but how8 ,i thought they were designed to float1 once the polar caps began to melt80 8,so did ,i1 but they didn't4 ,i can't offer any explanation4 ,they just didn't60 ,for the first time1 ,mc,ginnis opened his mouth and said in a dry voice1 8,i take it1 then1 that this was the last try to get water into the canals80 8,the last try10 ,grisby and ,potterboy both said1 staring down into their cups of coffee4 99 99 99 99 99 ,for awhile1 no one said anything4 ,then1 ,grisby1 more to himself than to the others1 8,if only something could have been done about those damned ,blotting ,pads6 ,they1 alone1 have apparently ruined ,mars2 and caused the only intelligent life-form to atrophy into the cone-shaped things you see occasionally writhing in the sand40 ,mc,ginnis cleared his throat4 8,is it true that no one has been able to capture and analyze a ,blotting ,pad80 8,they've been captured1 but the minute they are1 they crumble to dust2 and any liquid or moisture absorbed1 remains in the form of a gooey tar--of which you see traces all over the planet4 8,the only way to keep liquids is to store them in containers lined with deuterium--heavy hydrogen1 that being the one material through which they cannot absorb4 ,of course1 at more than ten feet distance1 they can't absorb through anything4 ,when we first arrived1 every one thought they would have to walk around in deuterium lined armour2 but1 for some peculiar reason nobody has been able to figure out1 they won't absorb from men4 ,the ,blotting ,pads1 which resemble lichens only in the vaguest way1 average two feet in diameter and can absorb up to a gallon of water1 which1 almost instantly1 is excreted in the form of tar4 ,that's all that's known about them4 ,if you look out the window1 ,mc,ginnis1 you'll see them floating and crawling all over the sand40 ,mc,ginnis crossed over to the window and stood watching the green1 rubbery disks lying on the sand and hovering a few feet in the thin morning air4 ,he and ,potterboy had arrived before dawn and this was his first glimpse of them4 8,there must be millions of them10 he said4 8,yes4 ,how they breed we don't know4 ,to electrocute them is the only way to kill them4 ,radiation1 poison1 or shooting won't work2 and we can't run around using atomics40 8,oh1 well10 said ,potterboy1 breaking a long silence1 8if the project to completely melt the polar ice had been successful1 in probably no time1 the ,blotting ,pads would have absorbed all the water in the canals1 in spite of the electrocution angle40 ,grisby sighed bitterly4 8,no1 it would have worked4 ,the ,pads can't absorb while floating1 and the moment they came to rest within the ten foot area bordering either side of the canals1 the high tension cables would have done the rest60 ,mc,ginnis was peering far to his left4 8,i take it those are the generating plants80 8,they were the generators--,i gave orders this morning to start dismantling operations40 8,as ,i understand it10 ,mc,ginnis said1 8the cables and plants are bordering only two of the canals80 8,yes1 all subsidiary branches were blocked off from the two main arteries4 ,once the arteries became filled1 and the ,pads--we hoped--electrocuted1 the other branches would have been opened2 including the minor ones connecting directly with the polar caps40 8,what do you say to taking ,mc,ginnis over to the ruins80 ,potterboy asked4 8,since ,i'm leaving tonight1 and probably never visiting ,mars again1 ,i would like to gaze1 cynically1 on the business that started this whole damned white elephant project rolling60 8,since you're going to be here for a year or two1 ,mc,ginnis10 ,grisby said1 8you can wait and go out later1 when you have more chronological data concerning the project80 8,no1 ,i might as well go out now4 ,i'm feeling rather restless and depressed--,i always do1 at the end of some big dream like the ,martian ,project40 99 99 99 99 99 ,the administration buildings towered like mountains against the flat1 two-dimensional sandiness of ,syrtis ,major4 ,the three men in sun goggles and chemically cooled clothing looked like insects as they trudged across the reddish1 iron-oxide nightmare4 ,heat waves rolled up into the pale sky like breakers from some gigantic ocean4 ,blottings ,pads1 resembling shiny1 green fish1 darted swiftly as they moved out of the pathway of the men4 8,we could have taken a jet out10 ,grisby was saying1 8but ,i wanted ,mc,ginnis to see the desert1 ,cones1 and ,pads first hand4 ,incidentally1 there's approximately one ,pad to every twenty square feet of ,mars4 ,they slowly1 but constantly1 rotate counter-clockwise around the planet4 ,that way1 they all get a crack at what little water forms around the polar cap edges40 ,in spite of the intense heat1 ,potterboy had another cigar going1 on which he would puff heavily before speaking4 8,sabotage1 of one sort or another1 seems to be the only answer to these polar furnaces4 ,the first two explode1 and the second two sink6 ,i can't help feeling that someone doesn't want ,mars resurrected from its sandy grave40 8,yes10 ,grisby said1 with a sarcastic laugh1 8the ,blotting ,pads don't6 ,but1 then1 ,i doubt if they know that they don't4 ,they're completely unintelligent--just a couple of instincts in a rubbery bag1 absorbing water and transmuting it into tar4 ,and1 as you know1 ,potterboy1 all men and technicians were given a six month psycho before being allowed to work on the project2 then carefully watched for any sign of dangerous neuroses40 ,for awhile1 they walked along listening to the crunch of their feet on the sand1 saying nothing4 ,the ruins loomed steadily larger through the rippling heat waves4 ,finally1 ,grisby said1 8,there is one puzzling thing--not a single man in the eighteen years we've been here1 has lost his life or met with an accident40 8,how do you account for that80 ,mc,ginnis asked4 8,i don't4 ,nor can anyone else4 ,our equipment seems to have been the only thing meeting with disasters40 8,well10 interrupted ,potterboy1 thinking of what he was going to have to say back on earth1 8we'll just have to put it down to not understanding the alien laws of chance1 or the undetected forces working on ,mars--if there are any8 ,but1 outside of the ruins1 the sand1 and the ice caps1 the only two remaining things are the ,pads and the ,cones4 ,the ,pads run around absorbing water1 and the ,cones bake in the sand1 occasionally sending up head-splitting telepathic squawks that no linguist can decipher or begin to comprehend4 ,establishing communication has proved impossible1 in spite of their telepathic powers4 ,and the only motion they appear capable of is sluggishly burrowing up and down in the sand40 8,yes1 gentlemen10 ,grisby said1 gravely1 8we've failed in resurrecting the one seemingly-intelligent life-form on ,mars40 8,how do you know they're any more intelligent than the ,pads80 questioned ,mc,ginnis4 8,oh1 well10 said ,potterboy1 8the ruins show1 as you shall presently see1 that they've developed telepathy4 ,and they have tried communicating with us40 8,also10 ,grisby added1 8when the first party landed to establish a base1 and started bringing water from the ships1 the ,cones set up shrill mental vibrations1 attempting to warn us before the ,blotting ,pads could come within range and start absorbing40 ,as they came within a hundred yards of the ruins1 ,mc,ginnis halted4 8,are these the ruins8 ,just two metal walls80 8,the only bit of ,martian culture left on the whole planet10 ,potterboy said1 lighting another cigar4 ,how he stood them in the heat1 was beyond both ,grisby and ,mc,ginnis4 ,but1 then1 the government official was eccentric in many ways4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in another five minutes1 ,mc,ginnis was touching the strange1 glassy surface of one of the walls2 both of which1 ran parallel to one another and towered twenty-five feet into the air4 ,grisby1 noticing1 said1 8,another indication of how advanced the ,martians were4 ,we've tried everything1 including atomics1 on these walls in order to get a piece for analysis--no luck4 ,we drilled down five thousand feet and couldn't even find the bottom of either wall4 8,step around to the inside here4 ,this is where the chronological line drawings begin1 as well as the hieroglyphics1 which1 ,i'm told1 the archeologists have pretty well deciphered40 8,we'll have to skim rather rapidly10 ,grisby continued1 8in order to get back before our helmet and suit chemicals give out40 ,mc,ginnis peered myopically at the huge scene pictured on the wall4 ,it showed several large cone-shaped creatures with long legs and arms1 similar to those of a human4 ,in place of heads1 they had stalks on which a single eye rested1 while1 underneath1 gaped what appeared to be a mouth4 ,the ,cones were standing near a wall which was in front of a city of fantastically complex architecture--yet1 breath-takingly beautiful6 ,the surrounding landscape was a jungle of weird1 luxuriant foliage2 trees and plants alike1 towering hundreds of feet into the air--almost as high as the city itself4 ,in1 and around the picture's foreground1 several ,blotting ,pads were shown lying on1 and hovering over the tall grass4 ,the wall in the drawing had the same picture on it as the actual one ,mc,ginnis and the others were staring at4 ,underneath the scene1 were several rows of complex hen-scratchings4 8,from the hieroglyphics and picture10 ,grisby said1 8one must conclude that this was the height of ,martian culture4 ,hereafter1 as we walk along1 you'll notice1 not only the physical and cultural characteristics changing1 but the sharp delineation of the murals themselves becoming vague and incomprehensible40 ,they walked down the long expanse of the first wall in silence2 ,mc,ginnis with his note book1 ,potterboy1 his cigar1 and ,grisby1 his shattered dreams of turning the sandy grave of ,mars into the once fertile paradise depicted in the first mural4 99 99 99 99 99 ,each scene showed an increasing number of ,blotting ,pads1 and a decreasing amount of foliage4 ,whole gardens were shown withering away2 and huge cities being deserted1 as the ,pads increased1 and the greenery and water disappeared4 ,the last scene on the wall showed the fantastically beautiful city of the first mural1 crumbling to dust with ,blotting ,pads resting on the sandy waste they had created around it4 ,the second wall showed the elongated legs and arms of the ,cones1 shrivelling and withering4 ,later1 the stalk with eye and mouth vanished4 ,then the ,cones began to shrink until they were only an eighth their original size4 ,the final1 comprehensible scene showed the ,cones buried in sand with ,blotting ,pads all around them4 ,strange dotted and wavering lines--telepathic symbols--connected the apex of each ,cone with that of its neighbor4 ,after that1 the remaining scenes fell sharply off into incomprehensibility1 leaving the later portion of the wall completely blank4 ,as the three men reached the second wall's end1 several ,cones came into view1 being grouped more closely than the thousands of others scattered willy-nilly over the planet4 ,mc,ginnis stopped short4 8,so these are what they atrophied into from lack of water10 he said1 sadly4 ,shifting his gaze1 he glared bitterly at the ,blotting ,pads1 covering most of the desert as far as the eye could see4 ,potterboy and ,grisby followed suit1 staring off into the approaching dusk at the one big stumbling block which had prevented them from resurrecting ,mars4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the humans had left4 ,all traces of their coming had been obliterated by the sea of restless sand1 except one thing--a spherical deuterium water-container2 which1 during the windy season1 would be buffeted about the planet this way and that1 the law of averages occasionally causing it to crack into the timeless ,martian wall4 ,at such times1 the ,cones would philosophically contemplate it and the peculiar1 yet likeable1 creatures that had brought it4 ,one ,cone1 who was considered a little strange by his brothers because he lacked the philosophic intensity for complete introverted contemplation1 one day1 broke the telepathic silence2 a thing considered still stranger by his brothers1 since it was thought very rude to disturb one another1 except in times of extreme importance4 8,a shame we could not communicate 444 strain incurred destroying furnaces 444 thousands of years to erase 4440 ,weakened by many buffetings1 the water sphere hit the wall for the last time4 ,with a crack it split in half1 splashing gallons of water far up the wall4 ,the nearest ,cones shrieked in telepathic unison as the ,life-,destroyer splashed nearby6 ,almost immediately1 directed by the urgency of their commands1 their organic-robots--the ,blotting ,pads--were hurling themselves upon the death giving liquid6 ,the ,cones1 at the height of their evolutionary ascent1 one by one1 returned to the contemplation of eternity4 ,once and for all time1 the danger was past4 ,transcriber's note3 ,this etext was produced from ,dynamic ,science ,fiction1 ,december #aieb 7,vol4 #a1 ,no4 #a474 ,extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the ,u4,s4 copyright on this publication was renewed4 ,obvious errors have been silently corrected in this version1 but minor inconsistencies have been retained as printed4