The Inhabitant of the Lake and Less Welcome Tenants

' 'No progress whatever. Unable to concentrate on findings; dreams distracting.'

' 'January 7: Insane perhaps, but am off to British Museum tomorrow. In last night's dream was told: Check Necronomicon — formula for aiding us to reach you. Page reference given. Expect and hope this will be false alarm — dreams taking altogether too much out of me. But what if something on that page? Am not interested in that field — impossible to know in normal way?'

' 'January 9: Back from London. Mao rite — on page I looked up — exactly as described in dream! Don't know what it will do, but will perform it tonight to find out. Strange no dreams while away — some influence existing only here?'

' 'January 10: Didn't wake till late afternoon. Dreams began as soon as sleep after rite. Don't know what to think. Alternatives both disturbing: either brain receiving transmission, or subconsciously inventing everything — but wd. sane mind act thus?

' 'If true that transmission external, learned following:

' 'Sounds in this area are equivalents of matter in another dimension. Said dimension overlaps ours at this point and certain others. City and inhabitants in dream do not appear as in own sphere, but as wd. appear if consisting of matter. Different sounds here correspond to various objects in other dimension; whirring equals pillars & cones, bass throbbing is ground, other varying sounds are people of city & other moving objects. Matter on our side they sense as odors.

' 'The inhabitants can transmit whole concepts mentally. Leader asked me to try not to make sounds in radius of point of connection. Carried over to their dimension. My footsteps — huge crystals appeared on streets of city. My breathing — something living which they refused to show me. Had to be killed at once.

' 'Inhabitants interested in communication with our dimension. Not dream — transmission — frequent use of Mao rite dangerous. Translator to be built on this side — enables sound to be translated into visual terms on screen, as in dream, but little else. When they build counterpart link will be effected — complete passage between dimensions. Unfortunately, their translator completely different from ours and not yet successful. Leader told me: Look in The Revelations of Glaaki for the plans. Also gave me page reference & said where to get copy.

' 'Must get copy. If no plan, all coincidence & can return to normal research. If plan, can build machine, claim discovery of other dimension!' '

'I've been thinking,' I interrupted. 'Arnold Hird — there was something — wasn't he asked to leave the university because he attacked someone when they disagreed with him? Said he'd return and astonish everybody some day, but was never heard of again.'

'I don't know,' said Tony. 'Anyway, he continues: ' 'January 12: Got Revelations of Glaaki. Had to take drastic measures to obtain it, too. Plan here — book 9, pp. 2057-9. Will take some time to build, but worth it. To think that besides me, only superstitious know of this — but will soon be able to prove it!'

'Hmmm — well, there don't seem to be any very interesting entries after that, just 'not much progress today' or 'screen arrangement completed' or here 'down to Severnford today — had to order strings at music shop. Don't like idea of using it, but must keep it handy in case.''

'So that's it,' Frank said, standing up. 'The man was a lunatic, and we've been sitting here listening to his ravings. No wonder he was kicked out of the University.'

'I don't think so,' I disagreed. 'It seems far too complex—'

'Wait a minute, here's another entry,' called Tony. '—December 7.'' Frank gave him a protesting look, but sat down again. ' 'December 7: Got through. Image faint, but contact sufficient — beings aware. Showed me unfinished translator on their side — may take some time before completion. Few more days to perfect image, then will publicise.'

' 'December 8: Must be sure about weapon I have constructed. Revelations give reason for use, but way of death is horrible. If unnecessary, definitely will destroy. Tonight will find out — will call Alain.' '

'Well, Frank?' I asked as Tony replaced the diary and began to search the shelves. 'Crazy, maybe — but there are those sounds — and he called something that night where his diary ends — and there's that peculiar stuff all over the bed—'

'But how will we know either way?' Tony asked, removing a book.

'Set up all that paraphernalia, obviously, and see what comes through on the screen.'

'I don't know,' Tony said. 'I want to look in the Revelations of Glaaki—that's what I've got here — but as for trying it ourselves, I think that's going a bit far. You'll notice how careful he was about it, and something happened to him.'

'Come on, let's look at the book,' interrupted Frank. 'That can't do any harm.'

Tony finally opened it and placed it on the table. On the page we examined diagrams, and learned that 'the screen is attached to the central portion and viewed, while the receiver is directed toward the sounds before attachment.' No power was necessary, for 'the very sounds in their passing manipulate the instrument.' The diagrams were crude but intelligible, and both Frank and I were ready to experiment. But Tony pointed to a passage at the end of the section:

'The intentions of the inhabitants of S'glhuo are uncertain. Those who use the translator would be wise to keep by them the stringed sounding-board, the only earthly weapon to touch S'glhuo. For when they build the translator to complete the connexion, who knows what they may bring through with them? They are adept in concealing their intentions in dream-communication, and the sounding-board should be used at the first hostile action.'

'You see?' Tony said triumphantly. 'These things are unfriendly — the book says so.'

'Oh, no, it doesn't,' contradicted Frank, 'and anyway it's a load of balls — living sounds, hah! But just suppose it was true — if we got through, we could claim the discovery — after all, the book says you're safe with this 'weapon.' And there's no rush back to the University.'

Arguments ensued, but finally we opened the doors and dragged the instruments outside. I returned for the sounding-board, noticing how rusted it was, and Tony brought the volume of the Revelations. We stood at the edge of the area of sound and placed the receiver about midway. The screen was connected to the central section, and at last we clipped the wire from the screen to the rest.

For a minute nothing happened. The screen stayed blank; the coils and wire did not respond. Tony looked at the sounding-board. The vibrations had taken on a somehow expectant quality, as if aware of our experiment. And then the blue light bulb flickered, and an image slowly formed on the screen.

It was a landscape of dream. In the background, great glaciers and crystal mountains sparkled, while at their peaks enormous stone buildings stretched up into the mist. There were translucent shapes flitting about those buildings. But the foreground was most noticeable — the slanting streets and twisted pillar-supported cones which formed a city on one of the icy mountains. We could see no life in the city brooding in a sourceless blue light; only a great machine of tubes and crystals which stood before us on the street.

When a figure rose into the screen, we recoiled. I felt a chill of terror, for this was one of the city's inhabitants — and it was not human. It was too thin and tall, with huge pupil-less eyes, and a skin covered with tiny rippling scales. The fingers were boneless, and I felt a surge of revulsion as the white eyes stared unaware in my direction. But I somehow felt that this was an intelligent being, and not definitely hostile.

The being took out of its metallic robe a thin rod, which it held vertically and stroked several times. Whatever the principle, this must have been a summons, for in a few minutes a crowd had formed about the instrument in the street. What followed may only have been their method of communication, but I found it horrible; they stood in a circle and their fingers stretched fully two feet to interlace in the centre. They dispersed after a short time and spread out, a small group remaining by the machine.

'Look at that thing in the street,' said Tony. 'Do you suppose—'

'Not now,' Frank, who was watching in fascination, interrupted. 'I don't know if it'd be better to switch off now and get someone down from the University — no hell, let's watch a bit longer. To think that we're watching another world!'

The group around the machine were turning it, and at that moment a set of three tubes came into view, pointing straight at us. One of the beings went to a switchboard and clutched a lever with long twining fingers. Tony began to speak, but simultaneously I realised what he was thinking.