The Brains of Earth
This novella was first published in Ace Double The Brains of Earth / The Many Worlds of Magnus Ridolph in 1966. Separate edition published by Dobson in 1975. Also known as Nopalgarth.
The Brains of Earth
The monstrous thing glowed and swam towards them. It bulged now and its myriad capillaries glistened.
"Do you believe what I told you about the gher?"
There
was a moment's horrified hesitation. Then Tarbert gave a sigh. "Yes, I
believe you. There was something – I don't know what – controlling me."
Burke studied him for a moment. "I can fight the gher," he declared.
Tarbert gave a weak laugh. "And then what? The others again? Which of the two is worse?"
Burke looked back into para-cosmos and he could see the orb of the enemy flickering.
"The gher is worse. It's immeasurably dangerous to the human race."
And so, feeling like an infinitesimal David before a colossal Goliath, Burke started across the void to fight the Brains of Earth.
Jack Vance
John Holbrook "Jack" Vance (1916–2013) was an American mystery, fantasy and science fiction writer. Though most of his work has been published as by Jack Vance, he also wrote 11 mystery novels using his full name John Holbrook Vance, three under the pseudonym Ellery Queen, and once each using the pseudonyms Alan Wade, Peter Held, John van See, and Jay Kavanse.
Vance won the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 1984 and he was a Guest of Honor at the 1992 World Science Fiction Convention in Orlando, Florida. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America made him its 14th Grand Master in 1997 and the Science Fiction Hall of Fame inducted him in 2001, its sixth class of two deceased and two living writers.