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Space Fever

John Ragusa

    The worst thing about being an astronaut was the food.
    That’s what Gerard Dilby thought as he ate his supper in the spaceship. His wife could make a better dinner, and she was a lousy cook.
    Dilby looked at Felix Marker, his fellow astronaut, who was wolfing down his meal. The man had horrible table manners.
    There wasn’t much about Marker that he liked. Submissive to a fault, he constantly thanked Dilby, and he was always apologizing. That kind of thing became annoying after a while. Still, Marker was a brilliant astronaut, and Dilby admired him for that.
    “Aren’t the stars pretty?” Marker asked. “They shine like diamonds in the sky.”
    “What’s so pretty about a bunch of rocks?” Dilby said.
    “According to my figures, we’ll be landing on an asteroid soon.”
    “It’ll probably be a wasteland, like the others we explored.”
    “Maybe we’ll be lucky this time. We might find the energy source we’re looking for.”
    They strapped themselves in and Marker counted. “Get ready for touchdown. Five, four, three, two, one.”
    The spaceship landed, throwing up dust and pebbles.
    “We’ve grounded safely, by golly,” Marker said.
    “Let’s go out and start searching,” Dilby said.
    They opened the hatch and stepped out onto the asteroid.
    Glancing about, Marker said, “You were right. This place looks about the same as the others.”
    “Then we won’t find an energy source.”
    “The oxygen meter shows that this atmosphere has air. We can take off our helmets.”
    They removed their headgear.
    “It’s hot, isn’t it?” Marker said, sweat running down his face.
    “Yeah, it’s like a desert.” Dilby looked around and found the landscape familiar. It was barren. A few hills composed of dark, dusty rocks contrasted sharply with the eerie violet hue of the sky.
    Dilby nudged his partner. “Do you see that crater over there? It appears to have what we’re looking for. Let’s go check it out.”
    “Help! Help me!” a voice cried out.
    “Look over there!” Marker said, pointing. “Someone is caught under a rock.”
    “We must save him,” Dilby said.
    They ran over to the creature and lifted the rock from his legs. He was black and hirsute, with red eyes and a ragged leather outfit. He smiled at them.
    “Thanks for saving my life,” he said.
    The astronauts were amazed. “You can talk!” Dilby said.
    The creature offered his hand. “Welcome to our asteroid. Your journey must have been exhausting. You can rest here.”
    “Who are you?” Marker said.
    “I am a Beloid. I belong to a species that looks different than Earthlings, but has a similar lifestyle to theirs. We have lived here for several centuries. We view your activities on our monitors. Come, let me show you our houses.”
    He was friendly and polite. Dilby and Marker were incredulous.
    “This is like a dream,” Marker said. “I can’t believe it’s happening.”
    “Both of us can’t be dreaming,” Dilby said.
    They came upon some stone dwellings.
    “This is where we stay,” the Beloid said.
    “These houses aren’t very big,” Dilby said.
    “That’s because our population is small,” the Beloid explained. “Our species consists of only several individuals; a plague killed everyone else. Our doctors haven’t found a cure for it yet.”
    “What a shame,” Marker said. “What’s your name?”
    “I am Meegar.”
    “I’m sorry, Meegar.”
    “There’s no need for an apology. We all have to go sometime.”
    Another Beloid joined them. “I’ll be damned!” he said. “These are visitors from Earth.”
    “Yes, they’ve arrived for their mission,” Meegar said.
    “I see. Anyway, I’m afraid Bentlose will die from the plague, but not quickly. Should we use the alternative?”
    “Yes,” Meegar said. “We must kill him to end his suffering.”
    “Do you mean you commit euthanasia here?” Marker asked.
    “Yes, we do. Unlike humans, we don’t like to see people endure pain.”
    “We won’t be spending much time here,” Dilby said. “Once we find an energy source, we’ll go back home.”
    “In the meantime, why don’t you stay in one of our houses?” Meegar said.
    Dilby shrugged. “That’s fine with me.”
    “Me, too,” Marker said.
    “Splendid! Follow me.”
    They went into one of the houses.
    “The bedroom is this way,” Meegar said, walking down the hall.
    “I still can’t believe this,” Marker said. “Isn’t it awesome?”
    “It sure is,” Dilby said.
    They entered the bedroom. It was small, with little furniture.
    “I think the bed is big enough for both of you,” Meegar said.
    “It’ll suffice,” Dilby said.
    Marker took a camera from his pocket. “Okay, Meegar, give me your best smile.”
    Meegar grinned. Marker snapped a picture.
    “Gee, thanks,” he said. “When we get home, I’ll show this photograph to everyone. It’ll be printed in every newspaper in the world. We’ll make history!”
    “Let’s go outside and do our job,” Dilby said.
    Marker turned to Meegar. “Gerard and I will explore the area now for an energy source.”
    “Good enough. If you need anything, we’ll be here.”
    “Thank you. Off we go, Gerard.”
    Outside, they went over some rocks with energy detectors. They had no success.
    “Damn!” Dilby said, throwing his machine to the ground. “We’re not making any progress.”
    “Well, we haven’t checked many rocks yet.”
    “I know what we can do. You stay here, and I’ll go over other areas. There’s no sense in us both checking the same spots.”
    “That’s a good idea.”
    Dilby walked in the opposite direction. He checked some rocks for a few minutes. Then Marker called out, “Gerard, come over here, quick!”
    Dilby ran over. “Have you found something?”
    “You bet I have! Look at the gauge on my energy detector.”
    Its needle indicated that the stone contained energy.
    “Mission accomplished! Boy, I’ll really get recognized now.”
    Dilby then realized that they would share the credit for their accomplishment. The idea made him furious. He wanted to be the hero.
    Marker could not receive some of the credit if he was killed.
    Yes, murder was the only solution.
    He knew how to get away with it. He would strangle Marker and then he’d tell the Beloids that he had died from “space fever,” a rare disease from outer space.
    There was just one snag. The Beloids would see finger marks on his throat, and they’d realize that he’d been strangled. Dilby could solve that problem. He’d tell them that they couldn’t get close to Marker, because space fever is contagious.
    It was a perfect plan; there were no loose ends. He had fame in his pocket.
    “Hey, Marker,” he said, “come here a second. I want to ask you something.”
    Marker walked up to him. “What is it?”
    “Are you going to let me have some of the credit for our success?”
    “Why, certainly, Gerard.”
    “That’s too bad.”
    “Why?”
    “Because I want all of it.”
    Dilby grabbed his partner by the throat and squeezed. Marker struggled, but to no avail. In minutes, he was dead.
    Satisfied, Dilby headed toward the house.
    When he arrived, he told Meegar about space fever and how it had killed Marker.
    “That’s awful,” Meegar said. He frowned. “Didn’t you say that this disease is contagious?”
    “Oh, yes. It spreads very fast, too.”
    “Is it painful?”
    “Yes, indeed.”
    “Doctor Vantren, come in here, please,” Meegar called out. “We need your services.”
    Puzzled, Dilby said, “You don’t understand. Marker is already dead. A doctor can’t help him now.”
    “That is not why I’m getting the doctor.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “You said that space fever is contagious. You were with Marker just now, so you must have caught it. But don’t worry; we won’t let you suffer.”
    At that moment, Vantren walked into the room with his little black bag.
    “Doctor, give this man the alternative,” Meegar said.
    Vantren took a hypodermic needle out of his bag and approached Dilby with it.
    “No, don’t do it!” Dilby pleaded.
    “This won’t hurt,” Vantren said.
    The spaceman screamed as he received the lethal injection. Soon he was as dead as his partner.

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