Latest / 20 Short Science Fiction Stories / The Helpful Hand of God

Transcript

The Helpful Hand of God · 20 Short Science Fiction Stories

0:00
Speaker 1: Section fourteen of twenty short science fiction stories by various authors.
0:06
Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. The Helpful
0:11
Speaker 1: Hand of God by Tom Godwin. God can be very helpful, indeed,
0:17
Speaker 1: But of course it's long been known that God helps
0:20
Speaker 1: those who wisely help themselves. From Bulgarian Revised Encyclopedia, Saints
0:28
Speaker 1: Golden Saints properly yellow Saints a term of contempt applied
0:32
Speaker 1: by the Bulgarian state press to members of the Church
0:35
Speaker 1: of the Golden Rule because of their opposition to the
0:38
Speaker 1: war then being planned against Alcorea see Churches Church Golden
0:45
Speaker 1: Rule of the a group of reactionary fanatics who resisted
0:50
Speaker 1: state control and advocated social chaos through individual freedom. They
0:55
Speaker 1: were liquidated in the Unity Purge, but for two thousand
0:59
Speaker 1: of the more able, who were sentenced to the moon
1:02
Speaker 1: mines of bell and nine. The prison ship never arrived there,
1:06
Speaker 1: and it is assumed that the condemned Saints somehow overpowered
1:10
Speaker 1: the guards and escaped to some remote section of the galaxy.
1:15
Speaker 1: Kane had observed Commander Yuore's bird of prey profile with
1:18
Speaker 1: detached interest as Yunere jerked his head around to glare
1:22
Speaker 1: again at the chronometer on the farther wall of the
1:25
Speaker 1: cruiser's command room. What's keepin dailing you, Nor demanded, transferring
1:30
Speaker 1: his glare to Kane. Did you assure him that I
1:33
Speaker 1: have all day to waste. He should be here any minutes, Sir,
1:37
Speaker 1: Kane answered, I didn't find the Saints after others had
1:41
Speaker 1: failed for sixty years. Then to sit and wait. The
1:45
Speaker 1: situation on Volgar was already very critical when we left.
1:50
Speaker 1: Nuor scowled at the chronometer again. Every hour we waste
1:54
Speaker 1: waiting here will delay a return to Volgar by an hour.
1:58
Speaker 1: I presume you realize that it does sound like logical theory,
2:02
Speaker 1: Kane agreed. Yenoor's face darkened dangerously. You will quick hard
2:09
Speaker 1: heeled footsteps sounded in the corridor outside. The guard officer
2:14
Speaker 1: Dleen stepped through the doorway and saluted, his eyes like
2:18
Speaker 1: ice under his pale brows, and his uniform seeming to
2:22
Speaker 1: bristle with weapons. The native is here, sir, he said
2:26
Speaker 1: to Yenoor. He turned and made a commanding gesture. The
2:30
Speaker 1: leader of the Saints appeared, the man whose resistance Yanoor
2:34
Speaker 1: would have to break. A frail, white bearded old man
2:38
Speaker 1: scuffled uncertainly into the room in straw sandals, his faded
2:43
Speaker 1: blue ice peering near sightedly toward Yanoor. Go to the
2:47
Speaker 1: commander's desk, dalen ordered in his metallic tones. The old
2:52
Speaker 1: man obeyed and stopped before Yenore's desk, his hands clasped
2:56
Speaker 1: together as though to hide their trembling. You are, Younor said,
3:01
Speaker 1: and you hold I believe the impressive titles of Chief
3:05
Speaker 1: Executive of the Council of Provinces and Supreme Elder of
3:08
Speaker 1: the Churches of the Golden Rule. Yes, sir, there was
3:12
Speaker 1: a faint quaver in the old Brind's voice. I welcome
3:16
Speaker 1: you to our world, sir, and offer you our friendship.
3:20
Speaker 1: I understand you can produce elusium ex fuel, Yes, sir,
3:25
Speaker 1: Our doctor Larude told me the process is within our ability.
3:29
Speaker 1: We he hesitated. We know you haven't enough fuel to
3:33
Speaker 1: return to Bogar. You were stiffened in his chair. What
3:38
Speaker 1: makes you think that it requires a great deal of
3:41
Speaker 1: fuel to get through the whirlpool star cluster, and even
3:45
Speaker 1: sixty years ago, the elusium oars of Bogar were almost exhausted.
3:50
Speaker 1: Yunuor smiled thinly. That reminds me you would be one
3:54
Speaker 1: of the saints who murdered their guards and stole a
3:56
Speaker 1: ship to get here. We killed no guards, sir. In
4:00
Speaker 1: in fact, all of them eventually joined our church. We
4:03
Speaker 1: had to cut it up for our started mechanization. I
4:07
Speaker 1: presume you know you will pay for it. It was
4:10
Speaker 1: taking us to our deaths in the radium minds. But
4:13
Speaker 1: we will pay whatever you ask. The first installment will
4:17
Speaker 1: be one thousand units of fuel, to be produced with
4:20
Speaker 1: the greatest speed possible. Yes, sir, But in return, the
4:25
Speaker 1: old man stood a little straighter, and an underlying resolve
4:28
Speaker 1: was suddenly revealed. You must recognize us as a free race,
4:33
Speaker 1: free a colony founded by escaped criminals. That's not true.
4:39
Speaker 1: We committed no crime, harming no living thing. The hard
4:43
Speaker 1: cold words of Yuner cut off his protest. This world
4:47
Speaker 1: is now a Vulgarian possession. Every man, woman and child
4:52
Speaker 1: upon it is a prisoner of the Bulgarian state. There
4:55
Speaker 1: will be no resistance. This cruiser's disintegrators can disc roya
5:00
Speaker 1: town within seconds, your race within hours. Do you understand
5:05
Speaker 1: what I mean? The visible portion of Old Briand's face
5:08
Speaker 1: turned pale. He spoke at last in the bitter tones
5:12
Speaker 1: of frightened, stubborn determination. I offered you our friendship. I
5:18
Speaker 1: hope you would accept, for we are a peaceful race.
5:22
Speaker 1: I should have known that you came only to persecute
5:24
Speaker 1: and enslave us. But the hand of God will reach
5:27
Speaker 1: down and help us. And Ynor laughed a racous sound,
5:32
Speaker 1: like the harsh caw of the Bulgarian vulture, and held
5:35
Speaker 1: up a hairy fist. This old man is the hand
5:39
Speaker 1: for you to center your prayers around. I want full
5:43
Speaker 1: scale fuel production commenced within twenty four hours. If this
5:47
Speaker 1: is done, and if you continue to unquestionably obey all
5:51
Speaker 1: my commands, I will for that long defer your punishment
5:55
Speaker 1: as an escape criminal. If it is not done, I
5:59
Speaker 1: will destroy a town exactly twenty five hours from now,
6:03
Speaker 1: and as many more as may be necessary, and you
6:06
Speaker 1: will be publicly executed as a condemned criminal and an
6:10
Speaker 1: enemy of the Vulgarian state. Yinor turned to Dallan, take
6:15
Speaker 1: him away. Scared sheep, Yinor said, when Brenn was gone tomorrow,
6:21
Speaker 1: he'll say that he prayed and as God told him
6:23
Speaker 1: what to do, which will be to save his neck
6:26
Speaker 1: by doing as a command I don't know, Kane said, doubtfully.
6:31
Speaker 1: I think you're wrong about his conscience folding so easily,
6:35
Speaker 1: you think, Yinor asked, perhaps I should remind you that
6:39
Speaker 1: the ability to think is usually characteristic of commanders rather
6:43
Speaker 1: than sub ensigns. You will not be asked to try
6:47
Speaker 1: to think beyond the small extent required to comprehend simple commands.
6:52
Speaker 1: Kin sighed with weary resignation. An unexpected encounter with an
6:57
Speaker 1: Alcorean battleship had sent the Vulgarian the cruiser fleeing through
7:01
Speaker 1: the unexplored whirlpool star cluster. You know are in Kine.
7:05
Speaker 1: The two surviving commissioned officers with results of negative value
7:10
Speaker 1: to those most affected the world of the Saint had
7:13
Speaker 1: been accidentally discovered, and he Kine had risen from sub
7:18
Speaker 1: ensign to the shaky temporary position of second in command.
7:22
Speaker 1: You know, Or spoke again. Since Bulgarian commanders do not
7:27
Speaker 1: go out and mingle with the natives of the subject world,
7:30
Speaker 1: you will act as my representative. I'll let Brand sweat
7:34
Speaker 1: until tomorrow, then you will go see him. In that
7:38
Speaker 1: and in all subsequent contacts with the natives, you will
7:42
Speaker 1: keep in mind the fact that I shall hold you
7:44
Speaker 1: personally responsible for any failure of my program. The next afternoon,
7:50
Speaker 1: two hours before the deadline, Kane went out into the
7:54
Speaker 1: sweet spring air of the world the Saints had named Sanctuary.
7:58
Speaker 1: It was a virgin world, rich in resources needed by Vogar,
8:03
Speaker 1: with twenty thousand Saints as the primary labor supply. It
8:07
Speaker 1: was also, he thought, a green and beautiful world, almost
8:12
Speaker 1: a familiar world. The cruiser stood at the upper edge
8:16
Speaker 1: of the town, and in the late afternoon soon the
8:19
Speaker 1: little white and brown houses were touched with gold, half
8:22
Speaker 1: hidden in deep azure shadows of the tall trees and
8:26
Speaker 1: flowering vines that bordered the gently curving streets. Restlessness stirred
8:31
Speaker 1: within him as he looked at them. It was like
8:34
Speaker 1: going back in time to the Lost Islands that isolated
8:38
Speaker 1: little region of Vogar that had eluded collectivisation until the
8:42
Speaker 1: year he was sixteen. It had been at the same
8:46
Speaker 1: time of year, in the spring that the State Unity
8:49
Speaker 1: forces had landed. The Lost Island villages had been drowsing
8:53
Speaker 1: in the sun that afternoon, as this town was drowsing. Now.
8:58
Speaker 1: He forced the memories from his mind and the feudal
9:01
Speaker 1: restlessness they brought and went on past a gold inspired
9:05
Speaker 1: church to a small cottage that was almost hidden in
9:08
Speaker 1: a garden of flowers and giant silver ferns. Brynn met
9:12
Speaker 1: him at the door, his manner very courteous, his eyes
9:16
Speaker 1: dark shadowed with weariness, as though he had not slept
9:19
Speaker 1: for many hours, and invited him inside. When they were
9:23
Speaker 1: seated in the simply furnished room, bryn said, you came
9:27
Speaker 1: for my decision, sir. The commander sent me for it.
9:32
Speaker 1: Bryan folded his thin hands, which seemed to have the
9:35
Speaker 1: trembling sometimes characteristic of the aged. Yesterday evening, when I
9:40
Speaker 1: came from the ship, I prayed for guidance, and I
9:43
Speaker 1: saw that I could only abide by the Golden rule.
9:47
Speaker 1: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,
9:50
Speaker 1: which means Kane asked that you will do what should
9:54
Speaker 1: we of the church be stranded upon an alien world,
9:58
Speaker 1: our fuel supply almost go, we would ask for help.
10:02
Speaker 1: By our golden rule, we can do no less than
10:05
Speaker 1: give it. Eighteen hours ago I issued the order for
10:09
Speaker 1: full scale, all out fuel production. I've been up all
10:13
Speaker 1: night and day checking the operation. Caine stared, surprised that
10:18
Speaker 1: Yenoor should have so correctly predicted Bren's reaction. He tried
10:23
Speaker 1: to see some change in the old man, some evidence
10:26
Speaker 1: of the personal fear that must have broken him so quickly,
10:30
Speaker 1: But there was only weariness and a gentleness so much fuel.
10:35
Speaker 1: Brennan said, is Vogar still at war with al Chorea?
10:39
Speaker 1: Kane nodded. Once I saw some Alcorean prisoners of war
10:44
Speaker 1: on Vogar, Brennan said. They are a peaceful, doglike race.
10:48
Speaker 1: They never wanted to go to war with Vogar. Well,
10:52
Speaker 1: they still didn't want war. But on al Korea were
10:55
Speaker 1: elusiumors and other resources that the Vulgarian state had to
10:59
Speaker 1: have before it could carry out its long frustrated ambition
11:03
Speaker 1: of galactic conquest. I'll go now, Caine said, getting out
11:08
Speaker 1: of his chair, and see what you're having done. The
11:11
Speaker 1: Commander doesn't take anybody's word for anything. Brenn called a
11:17
Speaker 1: turbo car and driver to take him to the multi
11:19
Speaker 1: purpose factory, which was located a short distance beyond the
11:23
Speaker 1: other side of town. The driver stopped before the factory's
11:27
Speaker 1: main office, where a plump, bald man was waiting, his
11:31
Speaker 1: scalp and glasses gleaming in the sunshine. I'm doctor LaRue, sir,
11:36
Speaker 1: he greeted Kane. He had a face that, under normal
11:40
Speaker 1: circumstance would have been genial. Father Brnn said you were coming.
11:45
Speaker 1: I am at your service to show you what we're doing.
11:49
Speaker 1: They went inside the factory, where the rush of activity
11:52
Speaker 1: was like a beehive. Machines and installations not needed for
11:56
Speaker 1: fuel production were being torn out as quickly as possible,
12:00
Speaker 1: others taking their place the workers. He crained his neck
12:04
Speaker 1: to verify his astonished first impression. All of them were women.
12:10
Speaker 1: Father Bren's suggestion, Lerou said, these girls are as competent
12:14
Speaker 1: as men for this kind of work, and their use
12:17
Speaker 1: here permits the release of men to the outer provinces
12:20
Speaker 1: to procure the raw materials. As you know, our population
12:25
Speaker 1: is small and widely scattered. A crash sounded as a
12:29
Speaker 1: huge object near by toppled and fell. Kane took an
12:33
Speaker 1: instinctive backward step and bumped into something soft. Oh excuse me, sir.
12:40
Speaker 1: He turned and had a confused vision of an apologetic
12:43
Speaker 1: smile in a pretty young face, of red curls knocked
12:47
Speaker 1: into disarray, and of amazingly short shorts and a tantalizing
12:52
Speaker 1: wispy halter. She recovered the note book she had dropped
12:55
Speaker 1: and hurried on, leaving a faint cloud of perfume in
12:59
Speaker 1: her wake and a disturbing memory of curving golden tan
13:03
Speaker 1: legs and a flat little stomach that had been exposed
13:06
Speaker 1: both north and south to the extreme limits of modesty.
13:11
Speaker 1: A personal supervisor from Beechville Laru, said she was sunbathing
13:16
Speaker 1: when the plane arrived to pick her up, and had
13:18
Speaker 1: no time to obtain her clothing. Father Brynn firmly insisted
13:23
Speaker 1: upon not losing one minute of time during this emergency.
13:27
Speaker 1: A crane rumbled into view, and its grapples seized the
13:30
Speaker 1: huge object that had fallen our central air conditioning unit.
13:34
Speaker 1: Laru said it had to go. You're putting something else
13:38
Speaker 1: in his place? Of course, oh yes, we must have
13:42
Speaker 1: more space. But Father Brynn opposed the plan of building
13:45
Speaker 1: a n annex as too dangerously time consuming. The only
13:49
Speaker 1: alternative is to tear out everything not absolutely essential. Kane
13:54
Speaker 1: left shortly afterward, satisfied that the Saints were doing as
13:58
Speaker 1: Bryn had said. He went back out in the spring sunshine,
14:03
Speaker 1: where the turbo car was still waiting for him. Debated
14:06
Speaker 1: briefly with himself, and dismissed the driver. After so many
14:10
Speaker 1: weeks in the prison like ship, it would be pleasant
14:13
Speaker 1: to walk again. A grassy tree covered ridge ran like
14:18
Speaker 1: the swell of a green sea between the plant and
14:20
Speaker 1: the town. He stopped on top of it, where the
14:24
Speaker 1: town was almost hidden from view, and looked out across
14:27
Speaker 1: the white valley. Shadows moved lazily across it as cotton
14:32
Speaker 1: puff clouds drifted down the blue dome of the sky.
14:35
Speaker 1: Great white birds like swans, were soaring overhead, calling to
14:39
Speaker 1: one another in voices like the singing of violins, bringing
14:43
Speaker 1: again the memories of the lost islands. And the Bulgarian
14:47
Speaker 1: lord gazed upon his world and found it good. He
14:51
Speaker 1: swung around his hand, dropping to his holstered blaster, and
14:55
Speaker 1: looked into the green, mocking eyes of a tawny haired girl.
15:00
Speaker 1: He was beautiful in the savage way that the hill
15:02
Speaker 1: leopards of Vogar were beautiful, and her hand was on
15:06
Speaker 1: a pistol in her belt. Her eyes flickered from his
15:09
Speaker 1: blaster up to his face, bright with challenge. Want to
15:13
Speaker 1: try it, she asked. She wore a short skirt with
15:17
Speaker 1: some rough material, and her knees were dusty, as though
15:20
Speaker 1: she had walked for a long way. These things he
15:23
Speaker 1: noticed only absently, his eyes going back to the bold,
15:27
Speaker 1: beautiful face. For twenty years he had been accustomed to
15:31
Speaker 1: the women of Vogar, colorless in their party uniforms, and
15:35
Speaker 1: men's hair cuts, made even more drab by the masculine
15:38
Speaker 1: mannerisms they affected. Not since the spring the Lost Island died,
15:44
Speaker 1: had he seen a girl like this one before him? Well?
15:47
Speaker 1: She asked, do you think you'll know me next time?
15:51
Speaker 1: He walked to her, while she watched him with catlike weariness.
15:56
Speaker 1: Hand me that pistol, he ordered, Try to take it.
15:59
Speaker 1: You will go ape. He moved, and a moment later
16:03
Speaker 1: she was sitting on the ground, her eyes wide with
16:06
Speaker 1: dismayed surprise, as he shoved the pistol in his own belt.
16:10
Speaker 1: Resisting the Bulgarian with the deadly weapon calls for the
16:13
Speaker 1: death penalty, he said, I suppose you know what I
16:17
Speaker 1: can do? She got up, defiance like a blaze about her.
16:22
Speaker 1: I'll tell you what you can do. You can go
16:24
Speaker 1: to hell. The thought came to him that there might
16:27
Speaker 1: be considerable pleasure in laying her over his knee and
16:31
Speaker 1: raising some blisters where they would do her the most good.
16:34
Speaker 1: He regretfully dismissed the idea as too undignified for even
16:38
Speaker 1: a sub ensign and asked, who are you and what
16:42
Speaker 1: are you doing here with that pistol? She hesitated, then
16:46
Speaker 1: answered with insolent coolness. My name is Barbara Loring. I
16:51
Speaker 1: heard that you Bulgarians had demanded that we agreed to surrender.
16:56
Speaker 1: I came down from the hills to disagree. Is a
16:59
Speaker 1: resistance force meeting here? Do you think you could make me?
17:03
Speaker 1: Tell you? There are ways? But I'm not here to
17:06
Speaker 1: use them. I am not your enemy. A little of
17:10
Speaker 1: the hostility faded from her face, and she asked, how
17:13
Speaker 1: could a Vulgarian ever not be our enemy? He could
17:17
Speaker 1: find no satisfactory answer to the question. I can tell
17:21
Speaker 1: you this, she said, I know of no resistance organization.
17:26
Speaker 1: I can also tell you that we are not the
17:28
Speaker 1: race of cowards you think and will fight. The instant
17:31
Speaker 1: Fatherbrenn gives the word for one who speaks respectfully of Brnn.
17:36
Speaker 1: He said, your recent words and actions weren't very religious
17:39
Speaker 1: and refined fire flashed in the green eyes again up
17:44
Speaker 1: in the Azure mountains, where I come from. We're not
17:47
Speaker 1: very refined, and we like being that way. And why
17:51
Speaker 1: do you carry guns, he asked, because all along our
17:55
Speaker 1: frontier lines are rhinal stags, cliff bears, thunder hawks, and
18:00
Speaker 1: a lot of other overgrown carnivora that don't like us.
18:03
Speaker 1: That's why I see. He took the pistol from his
18:07
Speaker 1: belt and held it out to her. Go back to
18:10
Speaker 1: your mountains where you belong, before you do something to
18:13
Speaker 1: get yourself executed. You are waiting impatiently in the ship
18:19
Speaker 1: was grimly pleased by the news of Brend's change of attitude.
18:23
Speaker 1: Exactly what I predicted, as you no doubt recall how
18:27
Speaker 1: long until they can have a thousand units of fuel produced,
18:31
Speaker 1: LaRue estimated fourteen days at best. Unor tapped his thick
18:36
Speaker 1: fingers on the desk, scowling thoughtfully. As little as seven
18:40
Speaker 1: extra days might force Volgar to accept the Alcoreian peace terms.
18:45
Speaker 1: Because of lack of fuel, the natives can work twice
18:48
Speaker 1: as hard as they expected. To tell Old Brenn, they
18:51
Speaker 1: will be given exactly seven days from sunrise tomorrow and
18:55
Speaker 1: summon Dalen and Graver. I want them to make use
18:59
Speaker 1: of every man on them. The ship for a twenty
19:01
Speaker 1: four hour guard and inspection system in the plant. The
19:04
Speaker 1: natives will get no opportunities for stalling or sabotage. Brennan
19:10
Speaker 1: was writing at his book laden table when Cain went
19:14
Speaker 1: into his cottage the next morning. These are called edicts,
19:18
Speaker 1: Brenn said, after greeting him, But I possess no law
19:21
Speaker 1: making powers, and they are really only suggestions. Brynn shoved
19:26
Speaker 1: the paper to one side. The script was somewhat different
19:30
Speaker 1: from that of Vogar. The Bulgarian inspection and guard system
19:34
Speaker 1: is no more than an expected precaution against sabotage. The
19:39
Speaker 1: Bulgarians must be regarded as potential friends who now treat
19:42
Speaker 1: us with suspicion and arrogance only because they do not
19:46
Speaker 1: yet realize the sincerity of our desire to help them
19:49
Speaker 1: to any extent short of surrender. Cain looked up from
19:53
Speaker 1: the uncompleted, surprisingly humble edict, and Brennan asked, your commander, sir,
20:00
Speaker 1: he is now pleased with our actions, Not exactly. He
20:04
Speaker 1: will disintegrate a town seven days from sunrise this morning,
20:08
Speaker 1: if all the fuel isn't produced by then, seven only
20:12
Speaker 1: seven days. There was a startled disbelief on Bryn's face.
20:16
Speaker 1: But how can he expect us to produce so much
20:19
Speaker 1: fuel in so short a time. I don't know. I'm sorry.
20:24
Speaker 1: It's something I would have argued against if I hadn't
20:27
Speaker 1: had too much sense to try seven days, Brent said again.
20:32
Speaker 1: We can only pray that God will let it be
20:34
Speaker 1: time enough. Kane walked on to the plant. The hilltop
20:39
Speaker 1: where he had met the girl was deserted, and he
20:41
Speaker 1: felt a vague disappointment. The plant was hot without the
20:45
Speaker 1: air conditioner, especially in the vicinity of the electronic roasters.
20:50
Speaker 1: The girls looked flushed and uncomfortable, but for the red head,
20:54
Speaker 1: who still wore her scanny sun suit. The arm Bulgarians
20:58
Speaker 1: looked incongruously out of place among the girls and were
21:01
Speaker 1: sweating profusely. Kane made a mental note to have them
21:05
Speaker 1: ordered into tropical uniforms. He found Dalen prowling like a
21:10
Speaker 1: wolf among his guards. It's inconceivable that these women could
21:14
Speaker 1: ever be a menace, Dalan said, but I'm taking no chances.
21:19
Speaker 1: He saw Graver, the cruiser's chief technician, a thin, dry
21:24
Speaker 1: man who seemed to be as emotionless as the machines
21:27
Speaker 1: and electronic circuits that were his life. They're doing everything
21:31
Speaker 1: with astonishing competence, Graver said, My technicians are watching like hawks.
21:37
Speaker 1: Though LaRue was not in his office, his secretary, a
21:41
Speaker 1: brown eyed woman of strikingly intelligent appearance, said, I'm sorry, sir,
21:47
Speaker 1: Doctor LaRue had to go back to town for a
21:49
Speaker 1: few minutes. May I give him your message? No thanks,
21:53
Speaker 1: he said, Father Brenn is probably performing that unpleasant chore
21:57
Speaker 1: right now. Since Dalen and Graver seemed to have of
22:02
Speaker 1: the situation at the plant well in hand, Kane decided
22:06
Speaker 1: to make a tour of the outer provinces where the
22:08
Speaker 1: oars were being mined. An efficient plant would be worthless
22:12
Speaker 1: if it did not receive sufficient ore. He spent four
22:16
Speaker 1: days on the inspection tour, much longer than he had
22:19
Speaker 1: expected to be gone, but made necessary by the fact
22:22
Speaker 1: that the small elusium mines were widely scattered in rugged,
22:26
Speaker 1: roadless areas, and he had to walk most of the distance.
22:30
Speaker 1: The single helicopter on Sanctuary was being used to fly
22:34
Speaker 1: the oar out, but it was operating on a schedule
22:37
Speaker 1: that caused him to miss it each time. Each mine
22:40
Speaker 1: was being worked by full day and night cruise, In fact,
22:44
Speaker 1: by more men than necessary. The reason for that, and
22:48
Speaker 1: for the way the men silently withheld their hostility, was
22:52
Speaker 1: made apparent in a bit of conversation between two miners
22:56
Speaker 1: that he overheard one day. So why all of us
22:59
Speaker 1: here when not this many are needed, they say, Father
23:03
Speaker 1: Brynn wanted to get all the men out of town,
23:06
Speaker 1: away from the cruiser so there would be no trouble,
23:09
Speaker 1: and you know there would have been if we had stayed.
23:12
Speaker 1: He wants to get the cruiser on its way back
23:14
Speaker 1: to Vogar, they say, so we can get busy producing
23:18
Speaker 1: weapons to fight the occupation force. He returned on the
23:22
Speaker 1: fifth evening of the allotted seven days, and stopped by
23:25
Speaker 1: Bryn's cottage before going on to the ship. The old
23:28
Speaker 1: man was working in his garden, his trembling hands, trying
23:32
Speaker 1: to tie up a red flowered vine. Caine tied it
23:35
Speaker 1: for him, and he said, thank you, sir. Did you
23:38
Speaker 1: find the mining to be as I had said? I
23:41
Speaker 1: found more than that. You know, don't you that you
23:45
Speaker 1: nor will return with the occupation force one hundred days
23:49
Speaker 1: after leaving here? Yes, I know that is his intention.
23:53
Speaker 1: I understand that you're going to try to build weapons
23:56
Speaker 1: while he's gone. Don't if you think anything of your people,
24:00
Speaker 1: let them do it. Nothing you could build in a
24:03
Speaker 1: hundred days would last a minute against a cruiser's disintegrators.
24:08
Speaker 1: I know, Brenn said, We're supposed to choose between bloody,
24:12
Speaker 1: hopeless resistance and eternal slavery, aren't we? But why should
24:16
Speaker 1: either fate befall a peaceful race? Kane asked the logical question,
24:22
Speaker 1: why shouldn't it? The laws of God have always been
24:25
Speaker 1: laws of justice and mercy. Not even the Bulgarian state
24:29
Speaker 1: can change them. He thought of the way the state
24:32
Speaker 1: had changed the Lost Islands in one bloody, violent afternoon. Bryan,
24:37
Speaker 1: watching his face, said, you are skeptical and bitter, my son,
24:41
Speaker 1: but you will learn that a harmless old man can
24:44
Speaker 1: speak with wisdom. No, he said, there's neither justice nor
24:49
Speaker 1: mercy in the universe. I know from experience. A man
24:53
Speaker 1: can only choose between the lesser of two evils, and
24:56
Speaker 1: almost anything is less evil than you know when he's mad.
25:01
Speaker 1: He went to the plant the next morning. Inside, wherever
25:05
Speaker 1: he looked, he saw girls in shorts and halters. The
25:09
Speaker 1: place seemed to be alive with partially clad women. He
25:13
Speaker 1: went to the nearest bulletin board and read Brin's edict
25:16
Speaker 1: of four days before. Since the excessively warm temperature of
25:20
Speaker 1: the plant causes much discomfort and thereby impairs the efficiency
25:24
Speaker 1: of all workers, and since maximum efficiency will be required
25:29
Speaker 1: to produce the fuel in the extremely short time permitted us,
25:32
Speaker 1: it is suggested that the cool sun suits of the
25:35
Speaker 1: Beechfield girls become the standard work uniform until further notice.
25:40
Speaker 1: These may be obtained for the asking in Department five A.
25:44
Speaker 1: The next day's edict re read some have hesitated to
25:47
Speaker 1: follow yesterday' zedik through a sense of modesty. This is
25:51
Speaker 1: most commendable. However, the situation is very critical. Our lives
25:57
Speaker 1: depend upon the highest degree of efficiency we can attain,
26:01
Speaker 1: and a hot, miserable worker is not efficient. Your bodies
26:05
Speaker 1: are God's handwork. Do not be ashamed of them. The
26:09
Speaker 1: edict for the next day read simply warningly, thou shalt
26:14
Speaker 1: not commit at altree. The Bulgarian guards and inspectors, now
26:20
Speaker 1: in tropical uniforms, still looked out of place with their
26:23
Speaker 1: holstered weapons, but their former cold arrogance was gone, and
26:27
Speaker 1: the attitude of the girls had changed from polite reserve
26:31
Speaker 1: to laughing chattering friendliness. He found Dalen in a far corner,
26:36
Speaker 1: cornered literally by the red haired personnel's supervisor, who was
26:40
Speaker 1: spitting like a cat. As she said, Then tell your
26:44
Speaker 1: commander how one of your men tried to make one
26:46
Speaker 1: of my girls and got hit with a wrench for it.
26:50
Speaker 1: Ask him whether he wants us to produce fuel or
26:52
Speaker 1: make love. Go ahead, ask him, or let me. I'll
26:57
Speaker 1: ask him. You'll have to see to it that your
26:59
Speaker 1: girl don't lead my men on Dyalon ran his finger
27:03
Speaker 1: around his collar, worry on his face, Florence, are you
27:07
Speaker 1: trying to get me ruined? Then inform your men that
27:10
Speaker 1: there is a certain commandment we all believe in, and
27:14
Speaker 1: anything beyond our willingness to be friends calls for marriage,
27:17
Speaker 1: first marriage. Dylan sputtered the word, recovered his poise with
27:22
Speaker 1: an effort, and said, stiffly, my men are soldiers, not suitors.
27:27
Speaker 1: I want them respected as such. He strode away without
27:31
Speaker 1: seeing Kin. The girl stared after him, fuming, and Kine
27:35
Speaker 1: went in search of Graver. Graver and the brown eyed
27:39
Speaker 1: secretary were in LaRue's office, their heads together over a
27:43
Speaker 1: flow sheet of some kind. The secretary excused herself and
27:48
Speaker 1: when she was gone, Kin asked, where's LaRue checking the
27:52
Speaker 1: catalytic processors? I think, Sir, Graver answered, almost vaguely, mar
27:58
Speaker 1: his secretary was just showing me how they improvised so
28:01
Speaker 1: much of their equipment so quickly. There was a strange
28:04
Speaker 1: light in Graver's usually expressionless eyes. It's incredible, Well, the
28:10
Speaker 1: commander gave them no time to waste, you know, Sir
28:14
Speaker 1: oh I was referring to her intelligence. Sir, it is
28:17
Speaker 1: amazing that a woman should have such a thorough knowledge
28:20
Speaker 1: of such a complex process. Caane felt the birth pains
28:24
Speaker 1: of the first dark premonition. If you don't want to
28:27
Speaker 1: throw knowledge of the interior of state prison, he said,
28:31
Speaker 1: in grim warning, you'd better get that silly look off
28:34
Speaker 1: your face and concentrate on your duties. Tell Dayalen the
28:37
Speaker 1: same order applies to him, and tell LaRue that the
28:41
Speaker 1: commander reminds him they now have less than forty hours
28:44
Speaker 1: to finish the job. He decided again to walk back
28:49
Speaker 1: to the ship. There was now a multitude of paths
28:52
Speaker 1: through the grass where the girls had been walking to
28:54
Speaker 1: and from work. Two groups from the last shift change
28:58
Speaker 1: were a short distance ahead of him. Several of Dalan's guards,
29:02
Speaker 1: Engraver's technicians among them, all of them talking and laughing.
29:06
Speaker 1: In that area they could not be spied upon by
29:09
Speaker 1: Yunore with the ship's viewscreen scanners. And even as he
29:12
Speaker 1: watched a tall, dark young guard put his arm around
29:16
Speaker 1: the girl walking close beside him, she twisted away from
29:20
Speaker 1: him and ran on to the next group there to
29:23
Speaker 1: look back with a teasing toss of her head. Kane
29:26
Speaker 1: watched both groups disappear over the hill, then followed, muttering thoughtfully.
29:32
Speaker 1: He felt he could safely assume, if anything could be
29:35
Speaker 1: said to be safe about the situation, that the lack
29:39
Speaker 1: of discipline he had just witnessed was typical of all
29:42
Speaker 1: the men. They were all young and healthy, and for
29:45
Speaker 1: sixteen hours out of each day they were side by
29:49
Speaker 1: side with the almost nude, provocatively feminine Sanctuary girls. Their
29:55
Speaker 1: weakness was understandable. It was also very dangerous. Hedge would
30:00
Speaker 1: roll if you nor ever learned what was going on,
30:03
Speaker 1: and it required no psychic ability to guess whose head
30:07
Speaker 1: would roll the fastest and farthest. He would have to
30:10
Speaker 1: have it stopped at once. He took a short cut
30:13
Speaker 1: to Brend's cottage by a sleepy shady street he had
30:17
Speaker 1: never been down before. Half Way along it was an
30:21
Speaker 1: open air eating place of some kind, with tables placed
30:25
Speaker 1: about under the trees. There seemed to be no customers
30:28
Speaker 1: at the moment, but he stopped anyway to take a
30:31
Speaker 1: closer look for errant guards. A tawny head lifted at
30:35
Speaker 1: a table half hidden by a nearby tree, and he
30:38
Speaker 1: looked into the surprised face of the Mountain girl, Barbara Well.
30:43
Speaker 1: She said, come on over and let me offer you
30:45
Speaker 1: a glass of cyanide. He walked over to her table.
30:50
Speaker 1: She was wearing a blouse and skirt similar to that
30:52
Speaker 1: of the day he had met her. But the pistol
30:55
Speaker 1: was gone. I thought, I told you to go back
30:57
Speaker 1: to your hills, he said. I decided it would be
31:01
Speaker 1: more fun to work in the plant and sabotage things.
31:05
Speaker 1: Let you nor learn you said that, and you'll be
31:07
Speaker 1: in a fix. I can't help you out of should
31:10
Speaker 1: a bulgarian care. But the jeering was gone, as she said,
31:15
Speaker 1: when you gave my pistol back to me, I thought
31:17
Speaker 1: it was a trick of some kind. I told you
31:20
Speaker 1: I wasn't your enemy, I know, but it's hard for
31:24
Speaker 1: a saint to believe any Bulgarian could ever be anything else.
31:28
Speaker 1: It doesn't seem to be very hard for the girls
31:30
Speaker 1: in the plant, he observed, glumly. Oh that's different. She
31:36
Speaker 1: made a gesture of light dismissal. Those soldiers and technicians
31:40
Speaker 1: are good boys at heart. They haven't been brainwaished like
31:43
Speaker 1: you officers. That's interesting to know. I'm sure I suppose.
31:49
Speaker 1: He stopped as a gray haired woman came and sat
31:52
Speaker 1: down a tray containing the sandwich in a mug. From
31:55
Speaker 1: the foamy top of the mug came the unmistakable aroma
31:59
Speaker 1: of beer. Do you saints drink? He asked, increduously sure?
32:05
Speaker 1: Why but your church Earth churches used to ban alcohol
32:10
Speaker 1: is sinful because it would cause a mean person to
32:12
Speaker 1: show his true character. My church is more sensible and
32:16
Speaker 1: works to change the person's character instead. She took a
32:21
Speaker 1: bite of the sandwich. Cliff bearsteak and beer go perfectly together.
32:26
Speaker 1: Shall I order you some? No, he said, thinking of
32:30
Speaker 1: Yinore's fury. If Yenore should learn he had had a
32:34
Speaker 1: friendly lunch with a native girl about your church? What
32:38
Speaker 1: kind of church is it? Anyway? What its name implies?
32:42
Speaker 1: Heaven isn't for sale at the pulpit. Everybody has to
32:46
Speaker 1: qualify for it by his own actions. We have to
32:49
Speaker 1: practice our belief. Just looking pious and saying that we
32:53
Speaker 1: believe doesn't count. He revised his opinion of the saints,
32:57
Speaker 1: then asked, but you were practicing your golden rule when
33:00
Speaker 1: you came to this town with a gun to shoot Bulgarians.
33:04
Speaker 1: For Bulgarians. We have a special golden rule that reads,
33:08
Speaker 1: do unto Vulgarians as they have come to do unto you,
33:12
Speaker 1: and you came here to enslave or kill us, remember,
33:15
Speaker 1: it could not be denied. When he did not answer,
33:19
Speaker 1: she smiled at him, a smile surprisingly gentle and understanding.
33:24
Speaker 1: You honestly would like to be our friend, wouldn't you?
33:28
Speaker 1: The state psychiatrist didn't do a good job of brainwashing you.
33:31
Speaker 1: After all, It was the first time since he was
33:34
Speaker 1: sixteen that anyone had spoken to him with genuine kindness.
33:39
Speaker 1: It gave him a strange feeling, a lonely sense of
33:42
Speaker 1: something rising up out of the past to mock him,
33:45
Speaker 1: and he changed the subject. Are the Azure mountains the
33:49
Speaker 1: edge of your frontier? She nodded. Beyond is the Emerald Plain,
33:54
Speaker 1: a great wide plain, and beyond it are mountain ranges
33:58
Speaker 1: that have never been named or explored. I am going
34:02
Speaker 1: into them someday. And time passed with astonishing speed as
34:08
Speaker 1: he talked with the girl, and it was late in
34:10
Speaker 1: the afternoon when he continued on to Bryn's cottage. He
34:14
Speaker 1: put the thoughts of her from his mind and told
34:16
Speaker 1: Bryn of the too warm association between the girls and
34:20
Speaker 1: the Bulgarians. But it is only friendship, Brynn said soothingly.
34:25
Speaker 1: I can assure your commander that nothing immoral is being done.
34:29
Speaker 1: If he knew what was going on, it would be
34:32
Speaker 1: my neck. It has to be stopped. Write an edict,
34:36
Speaker 1: do anything that will stop it. At once, Bryn stroked
34:39
Speaker 1: his white beard thoughtfully. I'm sorry this unforeseen situation has occurred, sir.
34:45
Speaker 1: Will you have strict orders to the same effect given
34:48
Speaker 1: your men. There's a severe penalty for unauthorized fraternization. I'll
34:54
Speaker 1: see that they're well reminded of it. I'll write another
34:57
Speaker 1: edict at once forbidding the girls to s speak to
35:00
Speaker 1: your men, sir. Yenore was pacing the floor when Kane
35:04
Speaker 1: went to the ship, his face black and ugly with anger.
35:09
Speaker 1: Have you been blind he demanded. Kane tried to swallow
35:13
Speaker 1: a sinking feeling, wondering just how much Yenore had seen,
35:17
Speaker 1: and said, sir, my guards, my so called guards. How
35:22
Speaker 1: long have they been strolling back from the plant in
35:25
Speaker 1: company with the native women? Oh, he said, feeling a
35:29
Speaker 1: great relief that Yenore had not seen the true situation.
35:33
Speaker 1: It's only that some of the outgoing shifts coincide, sir.
35:37
Speaker 1: And you know, don't you, that military men marched to
35:42
Speaker 1: and from duty in military formation. You are aware of
35:46
Speaker 1: the importance of discipline, yes, sir. You are further aware
35:50
Speaker 1: of the fact that you, Dalen Engraver, will be guilty
35:54
Speaker 1: of treason if this lack of discipline imperils my plans
35:57
Speaker 1: in any way. Yes, sir, you have heard of the
36:01
Speaker 1: punishment for treason, Yes, sir, he went below. When the
36:06
Speaker 1: unpleasant business with Ynoa was finally over, it was the
36:10
Speaker 1: beginning of the eight hour sleep period for Dalen and Graver,
36:13
Speaker 1: but they were still up, sitting on their bunks and
36:16
Speaker 1: staring dreamily into space. It was only belatedly, almost fuzzily,
36:22
Speaker 1: that they became aware of his glowering prisons in the doorway.
36:27
Speaker 1: I bring you glad tidings, He said from the commander's
36:30
Speaker 1: own lips. The multiple gallows at State Prison is still
36:34
Speaker 1: in perfect working order, especially the first three trap doors.
36:39
Speaker 1: The last day dawned bright and sunny, and he went
36:43
Speaker 1: to see Brynn. I had the new edict posted immediately,
36:47
Speaker 1: Brynn said, I hope it will undo the damage. Let's
36:51
Speaker 1: see it, Kane requested, and Brynn handed him the handwritten original.
36:55
Speaker 1: It was despite our affection for the Bulgarians among us,
37:00
Speaker 1: we must not endanger them by any longer talking to them.
37:04
Speaker 1: A Vulgarian military rule is now being enforced which forbids
37:08
Speaker 1: Vulgarians to speak to sanctuary girls except in the line
37:12
Speaker 1: of duty. There is a severe penalty for those who
37:15
Speaker 1: disobey this rule. It must also be pointed out sternly
37:20
Speaker 1: to the sanctuary girls and respectfully to the Vulgarians, that
37:24
Speaker 1: flight into the uninhabited Sanctuary mountains would result in execution
37:30
Speaker 1: for the fleeing couples. If Commander you know or should
37:32
Speaker 1: ever find them. What's this, Kane demanded, pointing to the
37:37
Speaker 1: last paragraph. Why a warning, sir, warning, It's a suggestion,
37:43
Speaker 1: a suggestion. Brynn lifted his hands in shocked protest. But sir,
37:49
Speaker 1: how could anyone think I personally wouldn't give a damn
37:53
Speaker 1: if the entire crew was too love sick to eat.
37:56
Speaker 1: But the commander does, and my future welfare, including the
37:59
Speaker 1: pre privilege of breathing, depends upon my retaining what passes
38:03
Speaker 1: for his good will. Good heavens, I shall have this
38:07
Speaker 1: edict removed from the bulletin boards at once. A great idea.
38:11
Speaker 1: It should fix up everything to lock the stable door
38:14
Speaker 1: now that the horse has stolen. He went to the
38:18
Speaker 1: plant and felt the air of resentment as soon as
38:20
Speaker 1: he stepped inside. Dalen was patrolling among his men, his
38:25
Speaker 1: haggard face becoming more haggard each time the red haired
38:29
Speaker 1: personnel supervisor went by, with her hips swinging and her
38:33
Speaker 1: head held high and hurt aloof silence. The guards were
38:37
Speaker 1: pacing their beats in wordless quiet. Graver's technicians were speaking
38:42
Speaker 1: only in the line of duty. The girls were not
38:45
Speaker 1: talking even to one another, but in the soft, melting
38:48
Speaker 1: glances they gave the Vulgarians, they said, we understand in
38:53
Speaker 1: a manner more eloquent than any words, in fact, far
38:57
Speaker 1: too eloquent. He considered the plan of having bren forbid
39:01
Speaker 1: the girls to look at the guards, discard that as impractical.
39:06
Speaker 1: For a moment, wildly considered ordering the guards not to
39:09
Speaker 1: look at the girls, discarded that as even more impractical,
39:13
Speaker 1: and went muttering to Laroux's office. Laru was at his desk,
39:18
Speaker 1: his face lined with fatigue. It's been a difficult job,
39:22
Speaker 1: he said, but we'll meet the deadline good. Kane answered,
39:27
Speaker 1: did brandfoni you about having that edict removed? Ah? Which one?
39:33
Speaker 1: Which one you mean? He turned and ran from the office.
39:38
Speaker 1: A girl was removing the offending edict from the nearest
39:41
Speaker 1: bulletin board. Another later one proclaimed we must abandon as
39:47
Speaker 1: hopeless the suggestion of some that if there must be
39:50
Speaker 1: an occupation force, we would like for it to be
39:53
Speaker 1: these men, whom we have come to respect and many
39:56
Speaker 1: of us to love. This can never be. Only Commander
40:01
Speaker 1: Yere will leave the ship at Vogar, there to select
40:05
Speaker 1: his own occupation force, while the men now among us
40:08
Speaker 1: continued directly on to the Alkorean War, from which many
40:12
Speaker 1: of them will never return. We must not resent the
40:16
Speaker 1: fact that, on this their last day among us, these
40:19
Speaker 1: men are forbidden to speak to us, or to let
40:22
Speaker 1: us speak to them, nor say that this is unfair
40:26
Speaker 1: when Commander ye Nour's occupation troops will be permitted to
40:29
Speaker 1: associate freely with us. These things are beyond our power
40:34
Speaker 1: to change. We must accept the inevitable and show only
40:38
Speaker 1: by our silent conduct the love we have for these warriors,
40:42
Speaker 1: whom we shall never see again. Kane gulped convulsively, read
40:47
Speaker 1: it again and hurried back to LaRue's office. How long
40:51
Speaker 1: has that last edict been up, he demanded, About twelve hours.
40:56
Speaker 1: Then every shift has seen it. Ah, yes, why is
41:00
Speaker 1: something wrong with it? That depends on the viewpoint. I
41:04
Speaker 1: want them removed at once, and tell that sanctified old
41:08
Speaker 1: weasel that if this last edicch of his gets me hanged,
41:11
Speaker 1: which it probably will, I'll see to it that he
41:14
Speaker 1: gets the same medicine. He went back into the plant
41:18
Speaker 1: and made his way through the bare legged, soft eyed
41:21
Speaker 1: girls looking for Dalen. He overheard a guard say in
41:25
Speaker 1: low bitter tones to another, maybe eight hours on Vogar
41:29
Speaker 1: and we can't leave the ship. Then on to the
41:32
Speaker 1: battle front for us while Ynoer and his home guard
41:35
Speaker 1: favorites come back here and pick out their harems. He
41:39
Speaker 1: found Dalen and said to him. Watch your men. They're resentful.
41:43
Speaker 1: Some of them might even desert. And you know er
41:46
Speaker 1: wasn't joking about that gallows for us last night. I
41:50
Speaker 1: know Dalen ran his finger around the collar that seemed
41:53
Speaker 1: to be getting increasingly tighter for him. I've warned them
41:57
Speaker 1: that the occupation troops would get them in the end.
42:01
Speaker 1: He found Graver at a dial covered panel. The brown
42:05
Speaker 1: eyed secretary, her eyes darker and more appealing than ever,
42:09
Speaker 1: was just leaving a notebook in her hand. Since when
42:14
Speaker 1: Kane asked, has been customary for technicians to need the
42:17
Speaker 1: assistance of secretaries to read a dial. But sir, she
42:21
Speaker 1: is a very good technician herself. Her paperwork is now done,
42:26
Speaker 1: and she was helping me trace a circuit that was fluctuating.
42:30
Speaker 1: Caine peered suspiciously into Graver's expressionless face. Are you sure
42:35
Speaker 1: that it was a circuit that was doing the fluctuating? Yes, sir.
42:40
Speaker 1: Did you know that half of Dalan's guards seemed to
42:42
Speaker 1: be ready to jump ship? Yes, sir, But the resentment
42:46
Speaker 1: is not characteristic of my technicians. He realized with surprise
42:51
Speaker 1: that that was true, and Graver, in contrast to Dalan's agitation,
42:57
Speaker 1: had the calm, purposeful air of a man who had
43:00
Speaker 1: pondered deeply upon an unpleasant future and had taken steps
43:04
Speaker 1: to prevent it. I have no desire to hang, sir,
43:08
Speaker 1: and I have convinced my men that it would be
43:11
Speaker 1: suicide for part of them to desert. I shall do
43:14
Speaker 1: my best to convince Dalan's guards of the same thing.
43:18
Speaker 1: He went back through the plant, much of his confidence restored,
43:22
Speaker 1: and back to the ship. Yenor was pacing the floor again,
43:26
Speaker 1: his impatience keen him to a mood more vile than ever.
43:30
Speaker 1: This ship will leave at exactly twenty three fifteen vulgar time,
43:35
Speaker 1: you nor said. Any man not on it then will
43:38
Speaker 1: be regarded as a deserter and executed as such when
43:42
Speaker 1: I return with the occupation force. He stopped his pacing
43:46
Speaker 1: to stare at Kane with the ominous anticipation of a
43:49
Speaker 1: spider surveying a captured fly. Although I can operate this
43:53
Speaker 1: ship with a minimum of two crewmen, I shall expect
43:57
Speaker 1: you to make certain that every man is on board.
44:00
Speaker 1: Kane went back out of the ship, his confidence shaken again,
44:04
Speaker 1: and back to the plant. Night came at last, and finally,
44:09
Speaker 1: the first shielded tank of fuel was delivered to the ship.
44:13
Speaker 1: Others followed one by one as the hours went by.
44:17
Speaker 1: It was almost morning when Graver came to him and said,
44:21
Speaker 1: my duties and those of my men are finished here, sir,
44:24
Speaker 1: Shall we go prepare the ship for flight. Yes, get
44:28
Speaker 1: busy at it, Kane answered, don't give the commander any
44:31
Speaker 1: excuse to get any matter than he already is. An
44:35
Speaker 1: hour later, the last of the fuel went into the
44:38
Speaker 1: last tank and was hauled away. Someone said that's all,
44:43
Speaker 1: and a switch clicked. A machine rumbled off into silence,
44:47
Speaker 1: followed by others. Control panels went dark. Within a minute,
44:52
Speaker 1: there was not a machine running, not a panel lighted.
44:56
Speaker 1: Daylan's swistle for guard assembly sounded high shrill. A girl's
45:02
Speaker 1: voice called to one of the guards, hurry back to
45:05
Speaker 1: your ship, Billy. The thunder hawks might get you if
45:08
Speaker 1: you stayed and broke on a sob. Another girl said, hush, Julia,
45:13
Speaker 1: it's not his fault. He went out of the plant
45:16
Speaker 1: and passed Laru's office. He saw that the brown eyed
45:20
Speaker 1: secretary was gone her desk clean. Larux was still there,
45:25
Speaker 1: looking very tired. He did not go in. The fuel
45:29
Speaker 1: had been produced. He would never see Laru again. He
45:33
Speaker 1: took the path that led toward town. Part of the
45:36
Speaker 1: Whirlpool star cluster was still above the horizon, a white
45:40
Speaker 1: blaze of a thousand suns, and the eastern sky was
45:44
Speaker 1: lighting with the first rays of dawn. A dozen girls
45:47
Speaker 1: were ahead of him, their voices a low murmur. As
45:51
Speaker 1: they hurried back toward town. There was an undertone of tension.
45:55
Speaker 1: All of the former gaiety gone. The brief week of
45:59
Speaker 1: Makebi lee was over, and the next Bulgarians to come
46:02
Speaker 1: would truly be their enemy. He came to the hilltop
46:06
Speaker 1: where he had met the mountain girl, thought of her
46:09
Speaker 1: with irrational longing, and suddenly she was there before him.
46:13
Speaker 1: The pistol was again in her belt. You came with
46:17
Speaker 1: all the stealth of a plain' sox, She said, I
46:20
Speaker 1: could have shot you a dozen times over. Are we
46:23
Speaker 1: already at war? He asked, We saints have to let
46:27
Speaker 1: you Vulgarians kill some of us first. First, our penalty
46:31
Speaker 1: for being ethical. Listen to me, he said, We tried
46:35
Speaker 1: to fight the inevitable in the Lost Islands. When the
46:39
Speaker 1: sun went down that day, half of us were dead
46:42
Speaker 1: and the rest prisoners. And you rose from prisoner to officer,
46:47
Speaker 1: because you're too selfish to keep fighting for what was right.
46:51
Speaker 1: I saw them bury, the ones who insisted on doing that,
46:54
Speaker 1: and you want us to meekly bow down here. I
46:58
Speaker 1: have no interest of any kind in this world. I'll
47:01
Speaker 1: never see it again. But I know from experience what
47:04
Speaker 1: will happen to you and your people if you try
47:07
Speaker 1: to fight. I don't want that to happen. Do you
47:11
Speaker 1: think that because a man isn't a blind chauvinist, he
47:15
Speaker 1: has to be a soulless monster. No, she said, in
47:19
Speaker 1: a suddenly small voice. But I had hoped we were
47:23
Speaker 1: talking that day of the mountains beyond the Emerald Plain
47:26
Speaker 1: and a frontier to last for centuries. It was just
47:29
Speaker 1: idle talk, but I thought maybe that when the showdown came,
47:33
Speaker 1: you would be on our side after all. She drew
47:37
Speaker 1: a deep breath that came a little raggedly, and said
47:40
Speaker 1: with a lightness that was too forced. You don't mind
47:43
Speaker 1: if I have a silly sentimental fondness for my world,
47:46
Speaker 1: do you? It's the only world I have. Maybe you
47:50
Speaker 1: would understand if you could see the Azure mountains in
47:53
Speaker 1: the spring. But you never will, will you? Because you
47:57
Speaker 1: lied when you said you weren't my enemy, and now
48:00
Speaker 1: I know you are, and I the lightness faltered and broke.
48:04
Speaker 1: I'm yours, and the next time we meet, one will
48:07
Speaker 1: have to kill the other. She turned away and vanished
48:11
Speaker 1: among the trees like a shadow. He was unaware of
48:14
Speaker 1: the passage of time as he stood there on the
48:17
Speaker 1: hill that was silent with her going, and remembering the
48:20
Speaker 1: day he had met her and the way the song
48:23
Speaker 1: swans had been calling. When he looked up at the sky,
48:27
Speaker 1: it was bright gold in the east, and the blazing
48:30
Speaker 1: stars of the whirlpool were fading into invisibility. He looked
48:34
Speaker 1: to the west, where the road wound its long way
48:37
Speaker 1: out of the valley, and he thought he could see
48:40
Speaker 1: her trudging up it, tiny and distant. He looked at
48:43
Speaker 1: his watch and saw he had just enough time to
48:46
Speaker 1: reach the ship before it left. Brynn was standing by
48:50
Speaker 1: his gate, watching the dawn flame into incandescence, and looking
48:54
Speaker 1: more frail and helpless than ever. The cruiser towered beyond,
48:59
Speaker 1: blotting out half the dawn sky like a sinister omen
49:03
Speaker 1: A faint deep hum was coming from within it as
49:06
Speaker 1: the drive went into the preliminary phase that proceeded take off.
49:11
Speaker 1: You have only seconds left to reach the ship, Brynn said,
49:14
Speaker 1: you have already tarried almost too long. You're looking at
49:18
Speaker 1: a fool, he answered, who is going to tarry in
49:21
Speaker 1: the Azure mountains and beyond the Emerald plane for a
49:24
Speaker 1: hundred days? Then the occupation men will kill him. There
49:28
Speaker 1: was no surprise on Bryn's face, but it seemed to
49:31
Speaker 1: Kin that the old man smiled in his beard. For
49:34
Speaker 1: the second time since he was sixteen, Kane heard someone
49:38
Speaker 1: speak to him with gentle understanding. Although you have not
49:42
Speaker 1: been much help to my plans, your intentions were good.
49:46
Speaker 1: I was sure that in the end this would be
49:48
Speaker 1: your decision. I am well pleased with you, my son.
49:53
Speaker 1: A wine came back from the ship, and the boarding
49:55
Speaker 1: ramp flicked up like a disappearing tongue. The black open
50:00
Speaker 1: of the airlock seemed to wink, then was solid, featureless
50:03
Speaker 1: metal as the doors slid shut. Bonvoyage, You, nor, Kane said,
50:09
Speaker 1: We'll be waiting for you with our bows and arrows.
50:12
Speaker 1: There is no one on the ship but you, nor
50:15
Speaker 1: Brynn said. Graver saw to it that the ready lights
50:18
Speaker 1: were all going on the command room control board. Then
50:21
Speaker 1: he and all the others followed my suggestion. Kane remembered
50:26
Speaker 1: Graver's calmness and his statement concerning his men, it would
50:30
Speaker 1: be suicide for part of them to desert. For part
50:34
Speaker 1: of them if every last one deserted. The drives of
50:38
Speaker 1: the ship roared as you Nor pushed a control button,
50:41
Speaker 1: and the ship lifted slowly. The roaring faltered and died
50:45
Speaker 1: as yunr pushed another button, which called for a crewman
50:48
Speaker 1: who was not there. The ship dropped back with a
50:51
Speaker 1: ponderous thud, careening and fell with a force that shook
50:55
Speaker 1: the ground. It made no further sound or movement. He
51:00
Speaker 1: stared at the silent, impotent ship, finding it hard to
51:03
Speaker 1: realize that there would be no hundred day limit for him,
51:07
Speaker 1: that the new World, the Boundless Frontier, and Barbara would
51:11
Speaker 1: be his for as long as he lived. Poor commander,
51:15
Speaker 1: you know, he Brent said. The airlock is now under
51:18
Speaker 1: the ship, and we shall have to dig a tunnel
51:20
Speaker 1: to rescue him. Don't hurry about it, Kane advised. Let
51:25
Speaker 1: him sweat in the dark for a few days with
51:27
Speaker 1: his desk wrapped around his neck. It will do him good.
51:31
Speaker 1: We are a kind, harmless race. We could never do
51:34
Speaker 1: anything like that kind I believe you, but harmless. You
51:39
Speaker 1: made monkeys out of Bogar's choicest fighting men. Please do
51:44
Speaker 1: not use such an uncouth expression. I was only the
51:47
Speaker 1: humble instrument of a greater power. I only encouraged the
51:52
Speaker 1: natural affection between man and maid, the love that God
51:56
Speaker 1: intended them to have. But did you practice your golden room?
52:01
Speaker 1: You saw to it that fifty men were forced to
52:03
Speaker 1: associate day after day with hundreds of almost naked girls.
52:08
Speaker 1: Would you really have wanted the same thing done to
52:10
Speaker 1: you if you had been in their place? Would I?
52:14
Speaker 1: There was a gleam in the old eyes that did
52:16
Speaker 1: not seem to come from the brightness of the dawn.
52:19
Speaker 1: I too, once was young, my son, what do you think?
52:24
Speaker 1: And of section fourteen,