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.This last prospect was not to be seriously considered, for the Watcher'sreasoning ability was based not only on the knowledge of the Designers butreflected their attitudes and prejudices.The Designers had known that theSleepers would not be left to their dreamless rest for eternity.It was in thenature of things that someone would come.Somewhere among the stars theprocesses that had produced the Sleepers had been, were and would forever bein action and it was inevitable that beings of intelligence would be curiousabout the ice-shrouded planets, for life zone planets were the prized jewelsof the galaxy, and as rare.They had come and while it was true that certain aspects of their technologywere impressive, it was still as the Designers had predicted.The newcomers were not the equal of that which had been.In fact, theinferiority of Man was easily illustrated by his lack of understanding of thesilencing cold, and by his unawareness of the Watcher's intrusion into hismind.However, several aspects of the confrontation with the beings who calledthemselves Man generated accelerated activity in the Watcher's reason center.The purpose was clear, to silence, to protect the Sleepers.It had seemedsimple at first and the ease with which the first two intruders had beensilenced had lulled the Watcher into complacency.When the second ship landed,the web of complications had become apparent and logic had dictated sincefamily ties had instigated its coming thatothers of the same family would follow.It had been deemed necessary tosilence brothers and sisters of the two who had come seeking their parents,and as quickly as possible.Extensions had been sent to the alien worlds toexpedite that desired end by implanting in the minds of the other members ofthe family the compulsion to find their missing relatives.That the brother, Joshua Webster, was a representative of government was anunfortunate coincidence, and that was one of the Watcher's concerns.Thelikelihood of further complications became more probable when the female leftin charge of the enemy ship placed a communications device in space where thePage 64 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlnext searcher would be sure to find it.TheWatcher had tried and failed to prevent that action, but even as JoshuaWebster approached the two dead ships on the planet's surface, measures werebeing taken to prevent the distribution of the information contained in thedevice.From the south polar region an extension lifted into space, shieldingitself from the enemy's detection instruments by keeping the mass of theplanet between itself and the alien ship's sensors.And at installationssituated in a circle around the two frozen vessels on the surface instrumentsthat had not been used since the beginning were activated and held ready foranimation.* * *Josh was the first to step out of the launch onto the ice.Pat Barkleyfollowed him.Pat and the two crewmen who completed the landing party werearmed with heavy duty saffer rifles.Josh felt heavy and clumsy, for he hadordered that thermal shells be worn over the E.V.A.gear.The addition of thespace armor added fifty pounds to the weight of the gear.The shell's special alloys would have allowed a man to work safely on the sunside of the first planet, where the storm of the solar wind flared down withlethal force.Scientists had used the thermal shell to walk within spittingdistance of the lava flow of an active volcano.The shell would deflect adirect blast from a small laser weapon and would be intact, although the maninside might be dead from concussion, after a direct hit from a saffer.Josh was taking no chances.He led the way to theOld Folks.Barkley and the two crewmen maneuvered two specimen recovery vehicles towardthe ships, left one of them at the bow of theFran Webster.The other, its small flux engine purring, floated under guidance into theopen lock of theOld Folks.For long moments Josh stood looking down at the frozen remains of his parents.He had seen them on the ship's viewers and it had not seemed real.His reasonhad told him they were dead, but it was not until he stood over them, sawthrough the coating of ice the terrible damage that had been done to flesh byrupturing cells, that the total impact of their death hit him."Shall I begin, Captain?" Pat Barkley asked.For a moment he was tempted to say no, to leave them as they were with hisfather's arm around his mother's waist.Yes."Barkley used a small molecular disrupter to cut the frozen bodies free fromthe ice that bound them to the deck of the ship.Finished, he secured thetorch and stood back as the crewmen positioned the specimen recovery bin nearthe bodies.Working space was limited in the control room of the tug, andcompletion of the task was slowed by the awkwardness and bulk of the thermalshells
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