Latest / Classic Science Fiction Books / 07 - The God's of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs

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07 - The God's of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs · Classic Science Fiction Books

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Speaker 1: Chapter seven, A fair goddess. For an instant, the black
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Speaker 1: Pirate and I remained motionless, glaring into each other's eyes.
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Speaker 1: Then a grim smile curled the handsome lips above me,
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Speaker 1: as an ebony hand came slowly in sight from above
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Speaker 1: the edge of the deck, and the cold, hollow eye
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Speaker 1: of a revolver sought the center of my forehead. Simultaneously,
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Speaker 1: my free hand shot out for the black throat just
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Speaker 1: within reach, and the ebony finger tightened on the trigger.
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Speaker 1: The pirate's hissing die curse thorn was half choked in
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Speaker 1: his windpipe by my clutching fingers. The hammer fell with
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Speaker 1: a futile click upon an empty chamber. Before he could
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Speaker 1: fire again, I had pulled him so far over the
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Speaker 1: edge of the deck that he was forced to drop
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Speaker 1: his firearm and clutch the rail with both hands. My
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Speaker 1: grasp upon his throat effectually prevented any outcry, and so
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Speaker 1: we struggled in grim silence. He to tear away from
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Speaker 1: my hold. I to drag him over to his death.
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Speaker 1: His face was taking on a livid hue, his eyes
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Speaker 1: were bulging from their sockets. It was evident to him
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Speaker 1: that he soon must die unless he tore loose from
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Speaker 1: the steel fingers that were choking the life from him.
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Speaker 1: With a final effort, he threw himself further back upon
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Speaker 1: the deck at the same instant, releasing his hold upon
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Speaker 1: the rail, to tear frantically with both hands at my
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Speaker 1: fingers in an effort to drag them from his throat.
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Speaker 1: That little second was all that I awaited. With one
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Speaker 1: mighty downward surge, I swept him clear of the deck.
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Speaker 1: His falling body came near to tearing me from the
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Speaker 1: frail hold that my single free hand had upon the
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Speaker 1: anchor chain, and plunging me with him to the waters
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Speaker 1: of the sea below. I did not relinquish my grasp
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Speaker 1: upon him, however, for I knew that a single shriek
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Speaker 1: from those lips, as he hurtled to his death in
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Speaker 1: the silent waters of the sea, would bring his comrades
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Speaker 1: from above to avenge him. Instead, I held grimly to him, choking,
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Speaker 1: ever choking, while his frantic struggles dragged me lower and
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Speaker 1: lower toward the end of the chain. Gradually his contortions
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Speaker 1: became spasmodic, lessening by degrees until they ceased entirely. Then
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Speaker 1: I released my hold upon him, and in an instant
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Speaker 1: he was swallowed by the black shadows far below. Again,
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Speaker 1: I climbed to the ship's rail. This time I succeeded
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Speaker 1: in raising my eyes to the level of the deck,
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Speaker 1: where I could take a careful survey of the conditions
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Speaker 1: immediately confronting me. The nearer moon had passed below the horizon,
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Speaker 1: but the clear effulgence of the further satellite bathed the
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Speaker 1: deck of the cruiser, bringing into sharp relief the bodies
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Speaker 1: of six or eight black men sprawled about in sleep.
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Speaker 1: Huddled close to the base of a rapid fire gun
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Speaker 1: was a young white girl, securely bound. Her eyes were
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Speaker 1: wide spread in an expression of horrified anticipation, and fixed
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Speaker 1: directly upon me. As I came in sight above the
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Speaker 1: edge of the deck, unutterable relief instantly filled them as
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Speaker 1: they fell upon the mystic jewel, which sparkled then the
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Speaker 1: center of my stolen head piece. She did not speak. Instead,
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Speaker 1: her eyes warned me to beware the sleeping figures that
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Speaker 1: surrounded her. Noiselessly, I gained the deck. The girl nodded
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Speaker 1: to me to approach her. As I bent low, she
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Speaker 1: whispered to me to release her. I can aid you,
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Speaker 1: She said, and you will need all the aid available
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Speaker 1: when they awaken. Some of them will awake in chorus,
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Speaker 1: I replied, smiling. She caught the meaning of my words,
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Speaker 1: and the cruelty of her answering smile horrified me. One
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Speaker 1: is not astonished by cruelty in a hideous face, But
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Speaker 1: when it touches the features of a goddess whose fine
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Speaker 1: chiseled lineaments might more fittingly portray love and beauty, the
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Speaker 1: contrast is appalling. Quickly I released her. Give me a revolver,
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Speaker 1: she whispered, I can use that upon those your sword
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Speaker 1: does not silence in time. I did as she bid.
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Speaker 1: Then I turned toward the distasteful work that lay before me.
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Speaker 1: This was no time for fine compunctions, nor for a
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Speaker 1: chivalry that these cruel demons would neither appreciate nor reciprocate. Stealthily,
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Speaker 1: I approached the nearest sleeper. When he awoke, he was
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Speaker 1: well on his journey to the bosom of Chorus. His
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Speaker 1: piercing shriek as consciousness returned to him, came faintly up
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Speaker 1: to us from the black depths beneath the second awoke
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Speaker 1: as I touched him, And though I succeeded in hurling
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Speaker 1: him from the cruiser's deck. His wild cry of alarm
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Speaker 1: brought the remaining pirates to their feet. There were five
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Speaker 1: of them. As they arose, the girl's revolver spoke in
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Speaker 1: sharp staccato, and one sank back to the deck again
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Speaker 1: to rise no more. The others rushed madly upon me
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Speaker 1: with drawn swords. The girl evidently dared not fire for
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Speaker 1: fear of wounding me, but I saw her sneak stealthily
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Speaker 1: and catlike toward the flank of the attackers. Then they
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Speaker 1: were on me. For a few minutes I experienced some
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Speaker 1: of the hottest fighting I had ever passed through. The
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Speaker 1: quarters were too small for footwork. It was stand your
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Speaker 1: ground and give and take. At first, I it took
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Speaker 1: considerably more than I gave, But presently I got beneath
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Speaker 1: one fellow's guard and had the satisfaction of seeing him
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Speaker 1: collapse upon the deck. The others redoubled their efforts. The
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Speaker 1: crashing of their blades upon mine raised a terrific din
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Speaker 1: that might have been heard for miles through the silent night.
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Speaker 1: Sparks flew as steel smote steel, and then there was
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Speaker 1: the dull and sickening sound of a shoulder bone parting
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Speaker 1: beneath the keen edge of my martians sword. Three now
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Speaker 1: faced me, but the girl was working her way to
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Speaker 1: a point that would soon permit her to reduce the
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Speaker 1: number by one at least. Then things happened with such
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Speaker 1: amazing rapidity that I can scarce comprehend even now all
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Speaker 1: that took place in that brief instant. The three rushed me,
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Speaker 1: with the evident purpose of forcing me back the few
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Speaker 1: steps that would carry my body over the rail into
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Speaker 1: the void below. At the same instant, the girl fired,
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Speaker 1: and my sword arm made two moves. One man dropped
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Speaker 1: with a bullet in his brain, A sword flew clattering
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Speaker 1: across the deck, dropped over the edge beyond as I
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Speaker 1: disarmed one of my opponents, and the third went down
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Speaker 1: with my blade buried to the hilt in his breast
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Speaker 1: and three feet of it protruding from his back, and
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Speaker 1: falling wrenched the sword from my grasp, disarmed myself. I
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Speaker 1: now faced my remaining foeman, whose own sword lay somewhere
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Speaker 1: thousands of feet below us, lost in the lost sea.
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Speaker 1: The new conditions seemed to please my adversary, for a
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Speaker 1: smile of satisfaction bared his gleaming teeth. As he rushed
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Speaker 1: at me bare handed. The great muscles which rolled beneath
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Speaker 1: his glossy black hide evidently assured him that here was
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Speaker 1: easy prey, not worth the trouble of drawing the dagger
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Speaker 1: from his harness. I let him come almost upon me.
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Speaker 1: Then I ducked beneath his outstretched arms. At the same time,
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Speaker 1: side stepping to the right, pivoting on my left toe,
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Speaker 1: I swung a terrific right to his jaw, and like
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Speaker 1: a felled ox, he dropped in his tracks. A low,
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Speaker 1: silvery laugh rang out behind me. Hugh or no Thurn,
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Speaker 1: said the sweet voice of my companion. For all your
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Speaker 1: golden locks or the harness of Sotre Throg, never live
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Speaker 1: there upon all barsoom before one who could fight as
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Speaker 1: you have fought this night. Who are you? I am,
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Speaker 1: John Carter, Prince of the House of tardos More's Jeddak
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Speaker 1: of Helium, I replied, And whom, I added, has the
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Speaker 1: honor of serving been accorded me? She hesitated a moment
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Speaker 1: before speaking, Then she asked, you are no Thurn? Are
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Speaker 1: you an enemy of the Theurns? I have been in
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Speaker 1: the territory of the Theurns for a day and a half.
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Speaker 1: During that entire time, my life has been in constant danger.
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Speaker 1: I have been harassed and persecuted. Armed men and fierce
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Speaker 1: beasts have been set upon me. I had no quarrel
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Speaker 1: with the thorns before. But can you wonder that I
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Speaker 1: feel no great love for them now I have spoken.
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Speaker 1: She looked at me intently for several minutes before she replied.
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Speaker 1: It was as though she were attempting to read my
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Speaker 1: inmost soul, to judge my character and my standards of chivalry.
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Speaker 1: In that long, drawn, searching gaze. Apparently the inventory satisfied her.
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Speaker 1: I am Pador, daughter of Matai Shang, Holy Hekkador of
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Speaker 1: the Holy Therns, father of Thurns, master of life and
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Speaker 1: death upon Barsoom, brother of Issus, Prince of life eternal.
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Speaker 1: At that moment, I noticed that the black I had
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Speaker 1: dropped with my fist was commencing to show signs of
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Speaker 1: returning consciousness. I sprang to his side, stripping his harness
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Speaker 1: from him. I securely bound his hands behind his back, and,
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Speaker 1: after similarly fastening his feet, tied him to a heavy
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Speaker 1: gun carriage. Why not the simpler way, asked Fodor, I
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Speaker 1: do not understand what simpler way, I replied, with a
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Speaker 1: slight shrug of her lovely shoulders. She made a gesture
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Speaker 1: with her hands, personating the casting of something over the
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Speaker 1: craft's side. I am no murderer, I said, I kill
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Speaker 1: in self defense. Only she looked at me narrowly. Then
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Speaker 1: she puckered those divine brows of hers and shook her head.
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Speaker 1: She could not comprehend well. Neither had my dejah Thoris
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Speaker 1: been able to understand what, to her had seemed a
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Speaker 1: foolish and dangerous policy toward enemies upon barsoom quarter is
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Speaker 1: neither asked nor given, and each dead man means so
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Speaker 1: much more of the waning resources of this dying planet
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Speaker 1: to be divided amongst those who survive. But there seemed
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Speaker 1: a subtle difference here between the manner in which this
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Speaker 1: girl contemplated the despatching of an enemy, and the tender
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Speaker 1: hearted regret of my own princess for the stern necessity
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Speaker 1: which demanded it. I think that Fador regretted the thrill
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Speaker 1: that the spectacle would have afforded her, rather than the
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Speaker 1: fact that my decision left another enemy alive to threaten us.
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Speaker 1: The man had now regained full possession of his faculties,
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Speaker 1: and was regarding us intently from where he lay bound
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Speaker 1: upon the deck. He was a handsome fellow, limbed and powerful,
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Speaker 1: with an intelligent face and features of such exquisite chiseling
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Speaker 1: that Adanus himself might have envied him. The vessel unguided,
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Speaker 1: had been moving slowly across the valley, but now I
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Speaker 1: thought it time to take the helm and direct her course.
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Speaker 1: Only in a very general way could I guess the
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Speaker 1: location of the valley door. That it was far south
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Speaker 1: of the equator was evident from the constellations, But I
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Speaker 1: was not sufficiently a Martian astronomer to come much closer
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Speaker 1: than a rough guess, without the splendid charts and delicate
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Speaker 1: instruments with which, as an officer in the Heliumite Navy,
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Speaker 1: I had formerly reckoned the positions of the vessels on
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Speaker 1: which I sailed that a northerly course would quickest lead
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Speaker 1: me toward the more settled portions of the planet. Immediately
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Speaker 1: decided the direction that I should steer. Beneath my hand,
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Speaker 1: the cruiser swung gracefully about. Then the button which controlled
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Speaker 1: the repulsive rays sent us soaring far out into space
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Speaker 1: with speed, lever pulled to the last notch, we raced
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Speaker 1: toward the north. As we rose ever farther and farther
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Speaker 1: above that terrible valley of death. As we passed at
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Speaker 1: a dizzy height over the narrow domains of the Thurns,
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Speaker 1: the flash of powder far below bore mute witness to
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Speaker 1: the ferocity of the battle that still raged along that
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Speaker 1: cruel frontier. No sound of conflict reached our ears, for
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Speaker 1: in the rarefied atmosphere of our great altitude, no sound
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Speaker 1: weight could penetrate. They were dissipated in thin air. Far
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Speaker 1: below us. It became intensely cold. Breathing was difficult. The
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Speaker 1: girl fedor and the black pirate kept their eyes glued
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Speaker 1: upon me. At length, the girl spoke, Unconsciousness comes quickly
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Speaker 1: at this altitude, she said, quietly, unless you are inviting
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Speaker 1: death for us, all you had best drop, and that quickly.
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Speaker 1: There was no fear in her voice. It was as
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Speaker 1: one might say, you had better carry an umbrella, it
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Speaker 1: is going to rain. I dropped the vessel quickly to
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Speaker 1: a lower level. Nor was I a moment too soon.
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Speaker 1: The girl had swooned. The black too, was unconscious, while
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Speaker 1: I myself retained my senses. I think only by sheer
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Speaker 1: will the one on whom all responsibility to rest is
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Speaker 1: apt to endure the most. We were swinging along low
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Speaker 1: above the foothills of the Orts. It was comparatively warm,
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Speaker 1: and there was plenty of air for our starved lungs.
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Speaker 1: So I was not surprised to see the Black open
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Speaker 1: his eyes, and a moment later the girl also it
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Speaker 1: was a close call. She said. It has taught me
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Speaker 1: two things. Though I replied, what that? Even Fador, daughter
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Speaker 1: of Master of Life and Death, is mortal, I said, smiling.
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Speaker 1: There is immortality only in Issus, she replied, and Issus
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Speaker 1: is for the race of thorns alone. Thus am I immortal.
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Speaker 1: I caught a fleeting grin passing across the features of
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Speaker 1: the Black as he heard her words. I did not
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Speaker 1: then understand why he smiled. Later, I was to learn,
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Speaker 1: and she too, in a most horrible manner. If the
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Speaker 1: other thing you have just learned, she continued, has led
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Speaker 1: to as erroneous deductions as the first, you are little
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Speaker 1: richer in knowledge than you were before. The other, I replied,
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Speaker 1: is that our dusky friend here does not hail from
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Speaker 1: the nearer moon He was like to have died at
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Speaker 1: a few thousand feet above Barsoom. Had we continued the
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Speaker 1: five thousand miles that lie between Thuria and the planet,
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Speaker 1: he would have been but the frozen memory of a man.
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Speaker 1: Fodor looked at the Black in evident astonishment. If you
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Speaker 1: are not of Thuria, then where, she asked. He shrugged
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Speaker 1: his shoulders and turned his eyes elsewhere, but did not reply.
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Speaker 1: The girl stamped her little foot in peremptory manner. The
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Speaker 1: daughter of Matai Shang is not accustomed to having her
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Speaker 1: queries remain unanswered. She said, one of the lesser breeds
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Speaker 1: should feel honored that a member of the holy race
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Speaker 1: that was born to inherit life eternal should deign even
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Speaker 1: to notice him. Again, the Black smiled that wicked knowing smile.
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Speaker 1: Exodore DeTar, the first born of Barsoom, is accustomed to
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Speaker 1: give commands, not to receive them, replied the Black pirate, then,
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Speaker 1: turning to me, what are your intentions concerning me? I
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Speaker 1: intend taking you both back to Helium, I said, No
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Speaker 1: harm will come to you. You will find the red
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Speaker 1: men of Helium a kindly and magnanimous race. But if
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Speaker 1: they listen to me, there will be no more voluntary
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Speaker 1: pilgrimages down the river Ish, and the impossible belief that
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Speaker 1: they have cherished for ages will be shattered into a
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Speaker 1: thousand pieces. Are you of Helium, he asked, I am
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Speaker 1: a prince of the house of Tardos mors Jeddak of Helium,
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Speaker 1: I replied, But I am not of Barsoom. I am
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Speaker 1: of another world. Exodar looked at me intently for a
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Speaker 1: few moments. I can well believe that you are not
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Speaker 1: of Barsoom, he said at length. None of this world
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Speaker 1: could have been vested eight of the first born single handed.
15:03
Speaker 1: But how is it that you wear the golden hair
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Speaker 1: and the jeweled circlet of a holy thern? He emphasized
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Speaker 1: the word wholly with the touch of irony. I had
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Speaker 1: forgotten them, I said, they are the spoils of conquest,
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Speaker 1: And with a sweep of my hand I removed the
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Speaker 1: disguise from my head. When the Black's eyes fell on
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Speaker 1: my close crop black hair, they opened in astonishment. Evidently
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Speaker 1: he had looked for the bald pate of a thern.
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Speaker 1: You are indeed of another world, he said, a touch
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Speaker 1: of awe in his voice. With the skin of a thern,
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Speaker 1: the black hair of a first born, and the muscles
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Speaker 1: of a dozen detours. It was no disgrace even for
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Speaker 1: Exodar to acknowledge your supremacy, a thing he could never do.
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Speaker 1: Were you a Barsomium, he added, you are traveling several
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Speaker 1: laps ahead of me, My friend, I interrupted, I glean
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Speaker 1: that your name is Exodar. But whom prey are the
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Speaker 1: first born? And what a detour? And why if you
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Speaker 1: were conquered by a Bar's yumium could you not acknowledge it?
16:02
Speaker 1: The first born of barsoom, he explained, are the race
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Speaker 1: of black men, of which I am a detour, Or,
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Speaker 1: as the lesser Barsoomiums would say, Prince, my race is
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Speaker 1: the oldest on the planet. We trace our lineage, unbroken,
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Speaker 1: direct to the tree of life, which flourished in the
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Speaker 1: center of the valley door twenty three million years ago.
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Speaker 1: For countless ages, the fruit of this tree underwent the
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Speaker 1: gradual changes of evolution, passing by degrees from true plant
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Speaker 1: life to a combination of plant and animal. In the
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Speaker 1: first stages, the fruit of the tree possessed only the
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Speaker 1: power of independent muscular action, while the stem remained attached
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Speaker 1: to the parent plant. Later a brain developed in the fruit,
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Speaker 1: so that, hanging there by their long stems, they thought
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Speaker 1: and moved as individuals. Then, with the development of perceptions
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Speaker 1: came a comparison of them. Judgments were reached and compared,
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Speaker 1: and thus reason and the power to reason were borne
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Speaker 1: upon Barsoom. Ages pass Many forms of life came and
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Speaker 1: went upon the tree of life, but still all were
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Speaker 1: attached to the parent plant by stems of varying lengths.
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Speaker 1: At length, the fruit tree consisted in tiny plant men,
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Speaker 1: such as we now see reproduced in such huge dimensions
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Speaker 1: in the valley door, but still hanging to the limbs
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Speaker 1: and branches of the tree by the stems which grew
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Speaker 1: from the tops of their heads. The buds from which
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Speaker 1: the plant men blossomed resembled large nuts about a foot
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Speaker 1: in diameter, divided by double partition walls into four sections.
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Speaker 1: In one section grew the plant men, in another a
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Speaker 1: sixteen legged worm, in the third the progenitor of white ape,
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Speaker 1: and in the fourth the primeval black man of Barsoom.
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Speaker 1: When the bud burst, the plant man remained dangling at
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Speaker 1: the end of his stem, but the three other sections
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Speaker 1: fell to the ground, where the efforts of their imprisoned
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Speaker 1: occupants to escape sent them hopping about in all directions. Thus,
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Speaker 1: as time went on, all Barsoom was covered with these
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Speaker 1: imprisoned creatures. For countless ages. They live their long lives
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Speaker 1: within their hard shells, hopping and skipping about the broad planet,
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Speaker 1: falling into rivers, lakes, and seas to be still further
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Speaker 1: spread about the surface of the new world. Countless billions
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Speaker 1: died before the first black Man broke through his prison
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Speaker 1: walls into the light of day. Prompted by curiosity, he
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Speaker 1: broke open other shells, and the peopling of Barsoom commenced.
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Speaker 1: The pure strain of the blood of this first black
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Speaker 1: Man has remained untainted by admixture with other creatures in
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Speaker 1: the race of which I am a member. But from
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Speaker 1: the sixteen legged worm, the first Ape, and the renegade
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Speaker 1: black Man has sprung every other form of animal life
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Speaker 1: upon Barsoom. The thens, and he smiled maliciously as he spoke,
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Speaker 1: are but the result of ages of evolution from the
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Speaker 1: pure white ape of antiquity. They are a lower order. Still,
18:54
Speaker 1: there is but one race of true and immortal humans
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Speaker 1: on Barsoom. It is the race of black men. The
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Speaker 1: tree of life is dead. But before it died, the
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Speaker 1: plant men learn to detach themselves from it and roam
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Speaker 1: the face of Barsoom with the other children of the
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Speaker 1: first parent. Now their bisexuality permits them to reproduce themselves
19:14
Speaker 1: after the manner of true plants. But otherwise they have
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Speaker 1: progressed but little. In all the ages of their existence.
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Speaker 1: Their actions and movements are largely matters of instinct, and
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Speaker 1: not guided to any great extent by reason, since the
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Speaker 1: brain of a plant man is but a trifle larger
19:30
Speaker 1: than the end of your smallest finger. They live upon
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Speaker 1: vegetation and the blood of animals, and their brain is
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Speaker 1: just large enough to direct their movements in the direction
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Speaker 1: of food, and to translate the food sensations which are
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Speaker 1: carried to it from their eyes and ears. They have
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Speaker 1: no sense of self preservation, and so are entirely without
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Speaker 1: fear in the face of danger. That is why they
19:52
Speaker 1: are such terrible antagonists in combat. I wondered why the
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Speaker 1: black man took such pains to discourse thus as at
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Speaker 1: length to enemies upon the genesis of life Barsomium. It
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Speaker 1: seemed a strangely inopportune moment for a proud member of
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Speaker 1: a proud race to unbend in casual conversation with a captor,
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Speaker 1: especially in view of the fact that the black still
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Speaker 1: lay securely bound upon the deck. It was the faintest
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Speaker 1: straying of his eye beyond me, for the barest fraction
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Speaker 1: of a second, that explained his motive for thus dragging
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Speaker 1: out my interest in his truly absorbing story. He lay
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Speaker 1: a little forward of where I stood at the levers,
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Speaker 1: and thus he faced the stern of the vessel as
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Speaker 1: he addressed me. It was at the end of his
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Speaker 1: description of the plant men that I caught his eye
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Speaker 1: fixed momentarily upon something behind me. Nor could I be
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Speaker 1: mistaken in the swift gleam of triumph that brightened those
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Speaker 1: dark orbs for an instant Some time before I had
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Speaker 1: reduced our speed, for we had left the valley door
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Speaker 1: many miles astern, and I felt comparatively safe. I turned
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Speaker 1: an apprehensive glance behind me, and the sight that I
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Speaker 1: saw froze the new born hope of freedom that had
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Speaker 1: been springing up within me. A great battleship forging, silent
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Speaker 1: and unlighted through the dark night, loomed close astern end
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Speaker 1: of chapter seven