TROUBLE ON TITAN
A COMPLETE TONY QUADE NOVELET
By HENRY KUTTNER
The sub-human denizens of Saturn’s largest moon were said
to be harmless—but when the ace director of Nine Planets
Films was sent to photograph them, he was in for a shock!
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Thrilling Wonder Stories, February 1947.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
CHAPTER I
Von Zorn Is Perturbed
Whenever Von Zorn, chief ofNine Planets Films, ran intotrouble he automatically startedthe televisors humming with calls for AnthonyQuade. The televisors were hummingnow. In fact they were shrieking hysterically.Quade’s code number bellowed outthrough a startled and partially deafenedHollywood on the Moon.
Von Zorn, teetering on the edge of hischair behind the great glass-brick desk, wasthrowing a fit.
“You can’t do this to me!” he yelped intothe transmitter, his scrubby mustache bristlingwith outrage. “I know you can hearme, Quade! It’s a matter of life and death!Quade!”
A covey of anxious secretaries wincedinvoluntarily as he swung the chair around.
“Get Quade!” he screamed. “Bring meQuade! All you do is stand around withyour mouths open. I—” He paused, thelight of an unpleasant idea dawning acrosshis face. He was grinning disagreeably ashe switched the televisor to a private wavelength.
“I’ll fix him!” he muttered. “I’ll—oh,hello.” This to the face that flashed onto thescreen before him. Rapidly Von Zorn spoketo the face. It nodded, smiling grimly.
Afterward Von Zorn leaned back and calledfor a drink.
“Nine Planets on the brink of ruin,” hegrowled into the tilted glass, “and Quaderuns out on me. I’ll fire him! I’ll blackballhim all over the System! But not till hedoes this job.”
Meanwhile Tony Quade, relaxing comfortablyin a seat at the Lunar Bowl, listenedto a distant orchestra in the depthsof the crater crash into the opening strainsof the Star Symphony. Under his coat apocket televisor was buzzing shrill commands.
Quade chuckled and shifted his big-bonedbody more comfortably in the padded chair.Kathleen Gregg, beside him, smiled in thedimness and he told himself that she wasprettier than ever.
It was to her credit that she loathed thetitle of “The System’s Sweetheart” which anenthusiastic publicity department had bestowedupon her. She was one of NinePlanets’ brightest stars and Tony Quade wasin love with her.
“Hello, stupid,” he said lazily. “You lookworried. Anything wrong?”
“I suppose you know what you’re doing,”Kathleen murmured. “Of course, Von Zorn’sonly been calling you half an hour.”
The cries from the pocket televisor hadbeen all too audible, Quade realized. Hegrinned largely and laid an arm along theback of her chair.
“Let him yell.”
“It must be important, Tony.”
“I,” said Quade, “am resting. ShootingStar Parade was hard work. I need a rest.Anyhow, it’s much too nice a night to listento Von Zorn.”
“It is nice,” the girl agreed. She glancedaround them. This was the topmost tier ofthe Lunar Bowl. At their feet the long rowsof seats swept down endlessly to the centralplatform far below, where an orchestra satin the changing play of varicolored searchlights.
Behind these uppermost seats stretchedHollywood on the Moon, the strangest cityin the Solar System. The wonder of Hollywoodon the Moon