The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Crystal Crypt, by Philip Kindred Dick

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Title: The Crystal Crypt

Author: Philip Kindred Dick

Release Date: May 6, 2009 [EBook #28698]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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THE CRYSTAL CRYPT

By PHILIP K. DICK

_Stark terror ruled the Inner-Flight ship on that last Mars-Terra
run. For the black-clad Leiters were on the prowl ... and the grim
red planet was not far behind._

"Attention, Inner-Flight ship! Attention! You are ordered to land at the
Control Station on Deimos for inspection. Attention! You are to land at
once!"

The metallic rasp of the speaker echoed through the corridors of the
great ship. The passengers glanced at each other uneasily, murmuring and
peering out the port windows at the small speck below, the dot of rock
that was the Martian checkpoint, Deimos.

"What's up?" an anxious passenger asked one of the pilots, hurrying
through the ship to check the escape lock.

"We have to land. Keep seated." The pilot went on.

"Land? But why?" They all looked at each other. Hovering above the
bulging Inner-Flight ship were three slender Martian pursuit craft,
poised and alert for any emergency. As the Inner-Flight ship prepared to
land the pursuit ships dropped lower, carefully maintaining themselves a
short distance away.

"There's something going on," a woman passenger said nervously. "Lord, I
thought we were finally through with those Martians. Now what?"

"I don't blame them for giving us one last going over," a heavy-set
business man said to his companion. "After all, we're the last ship
leaving Mars for Terra. We're damn lucky they let us go at all."

"You think there really will be war?" A young man said to the girl
sitting in the seat next to him. "Those Martians won't dare fight, not
with our weapons and ability to produce. We could take care of Mars in a
month. It's all talk."

The girl glanced at him. "Don't be so sure. Mars is desperate. They'll
fight tooth and nail. I've