“Of course. We have no excuse, of course, but you should have realized it at once. Interstellar gas of normal matter had polished the planet’s surface with minuscule explosions, had raised the temperature of the protosun beyond any rational estimate, and was causing a truly incredible radiation hazard. Did you not even wonder about these things? You knew that the system was from beyond the galaxy. Humans are supposed to be highly curious, are they not?”

“The hull,” said Elephant.

“A General Products hull is an artificially generated molecule with interatomic bonds artificially strengthened by a small power plant. The strengthened molecular bonds are proof against any kind of impact and heat into the hundreds of thousands of degrees. But when enough of the atoms had been obliterated by antimatter explosions, the molecule naturally fell apart.”

Elephant nodded. I wondered if his voice was gone for good.

“When may we expect you to collect your indemnity? I gather no human was killed; this is fortunate, since our funds are low.”

Elephant turned off the phone. He gulped once or twice, then turned to look me in the eye. I think it took all his strength, and if I’d waited for him to speak, I don’t know what he would have said.

“I gloat,” I said. “I gloat. I was right; you were wrong. If we’d landed on your forsaken planet, we’d have gone up in pure light. At this time it gives me great pleasure to say, I Told You So.”

He smiled weakly. “You told me so.”

“Oh, I did, I did. Time after time I said, Don’t Go Near That Haunted Planet! It’s Worth Your Life And Your Soul, I said. There Have Been Signs in the Heavens, I said, To Warn Us from This Place—”

“All right, don’t overdo it, you bastard. You were dead right all the way. Let’s leave it at that.”

“Okay. But there’s one thing I want you to remember.”

“If you don’t understand it, it’s dangerous.”

“That’s the one thing I want you to remember besides I Told You So.”

And that should have ended it.

But it doesn’t. Elephant’s going back. He’s got a little flag with a UN insignia, about two feet by two feet, with spring wires to make it look like it’s flapping in the breeze, and a solid rocket in the handle so it’ll go straight when the flag is furled. He’s going to drop it on the antimatter planet from a great height, as great as I can talk him into.

It should make quite a bang.

And I’m going along. I’ve got a solidly mounted tridee camera and a contract with the biggest broadcasting company in known space. This time I’ve got a reason for going!

✴
GHOST: FOUR

“But he never went back,” I said.