Latest / Crystal Crypt, the & Beyond the Door / 02 - Crystal Crypt, the & Beyond the Door by Philip K. Dick

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02 - Crystal Crypt, the & Beyond the Door by Philip K. Dick · Crystal Crypt, the & Beyond the Door

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Section two of the Crystal Gripped by Philip K. Dick.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. He opened
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: the case. From it, he took a letter knife, a
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: pencil sharpener, a glass globe paper weight, a box of
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: thumb tacks, a stapler, some clips, a plastic ash train,
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: and some things Thatcher could not identify. He placed the
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: objects in a row in front of him on the
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: table top. Then he closed the sample case. I gather
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: you're in office supplies, Thatcher said. He touched the letter
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: knife with his finger. Nice quality steel looks like sweetish
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: steel to me. Erickson nodded, looking into Thatcher's face. Not
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: really an impressive business, is it? Office supplies, ash trays,
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: paper clips, he smiled. Oh, Thatcher shrugged. Why not? They're
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: necessity in modern business. The only thing I wonder, what's that? Well?
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: I wonder how you'd ever find enough customers on Mars
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: to make it worth your while. He paused, Examining the
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: glass paperweight. He lifted it up, holding it to the light,
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: staring at the scene within until Ericson took it out
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: of his hand and put it back in the sample case.
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: And another thing, If you three know each other. Why
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: did you sit apart when you got on? They looked
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: at him quickly. And why didn't you speak to each
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: other until we left the demos? He leaned toward Ericsson,
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: smiling at him. Two men and a woman, three of
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: you sitting apart in a ship, not speaking until the
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: check station was past. I find myself thinking over what
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: the martian said. Three saboteurs, a woman and two men.
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: Ericson put the things back in the sample case. He
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: was smiling, but his face had gone chalk white. Mars
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: stared down, playing with a drop of water on the
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: edge of her glass. Jan clenched his hands together, nervously,
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: blinking rapidly. You you three are the ones the leeiter
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: was after Thatcher said softly, you are the destroyers, the saboteurs,
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: but their lie detector. Why didn't it trap you? How
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: did you get by that? And now you're safe outside
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: the check station? He grinned, staring around at them. I'll
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: be damned, and I really thought you were a salesman, Erickson,
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: You really fool me. Ericson relaxed a little. Well, mister Thatcher,
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: it's an a good cause. I'm sure you have no
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: love for Mars either no, Terran does, and I see
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: you're leaving with the rest of us. True, Thatcher said,
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: you must certainly have an interesting account to give the
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: three of you. He looked around the table. We still
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: have an hour or so of travel. Sometimes he gets
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: dull this Mar's terror run. Nothing to see, nothing to
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: do but sit and drink in the lounge. He raised
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: his eyes slowly. Any chance you'd like to spend a
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: story to keep us awake. Jan and Mara looked at Ericson.
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: Go on, Jan said, he knows who we are. Tell
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: him the rest of the story. You might as well,
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: Mara said. Jan let out a sigh, suddenly, a sigh
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: of relief. Let's put the cards on the table, get
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: this weight off us. I'm tired of sneaking around slipping. Sure,
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: Ericson said expansively, Why not. He settled back in his chair,
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: unbuttoning his vest. Certainly, mister Thatcher, I'll be glad to
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: spin you a story, and I'm sure it will be
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: interesting enough to keep you awake. They ran through the
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: groves of dead trees, leaping across the sun baked Martian soil.
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: Running silently together, they went up a little rise across
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: a narrow ridge. Suddenly Eric stopped, throwing himself down flat
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: on the ground. The others did the same, pressing themselves
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: against the soil, gasping for breath. Be silent, Eric muttered,
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: he raised himself A little no noise. There'll be leaters
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: near by from now on. We don't dare take any
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: chances between the three people lying in the grove of
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: dead trees, and the city was a barren level waste
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: of desert, over a mile of blasted sand. No trees
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: or bushes marred the smooth, parched surface. Only an occasional wind,
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: a dry wind, eddying and twisting, blew the sand up
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: into little rills. A faint odor came to them, a
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: bitter smell of heat and sand, carried by the wind.
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: Eric pointed, look, the city, there it is. They stared, still,
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: breathing deeply from their race through the trees. The city
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: was close, closer than they had ever seen it before.
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: Never had they gotten so close to it. In times past,
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: terreins were never allowed near the great Mortian cities, the
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: centers of more Marsian life, even in ordinary times, when
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: there was no threat of approaching war. The Martians shrewdly
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: kept all Terrans away from their citadels, partly from fear,
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: partly from a deep innate sense of hostility toward the
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: white skinned visitors whose commercial ventures had earned them their respect,
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: and the dislike of the whole system. How does it
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: look to you? Eric said? The city was huge, much
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: larger than they had imagined from the drawings and models
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: they had studied so carefully back in New York in
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: the War Ministry Office. Huge. It was huge, and stark,
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: black towers rising up against the sky, incredibly thin columns
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: of ancient metal columns that had stood wind and sun
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: for centuries. Around the city was a wall of stone,
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: redstone emmits, bricks that had been lugged there and fitted
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: into place by slaves of the early Martian dynasties, under
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: the whiplash of the first great Kings of Mars. An
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: ancient sun baked city, a city set in the middle
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: of a wasted plain, beyond groves of dead trees, A
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: city seldom seen by Terrans, but a city studied on
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: maps and charts in every war office on Terra. A
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  Speaker 1: city that contained for all its ancient stone and archaic towers.
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  Speaker 1: The ruling group of all moors, the Council of Senior Leaters,
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  Speaker 1: black clad men who governed and ruled with an iron hand.
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  Speaker 1: The Senior Leaters twelve fanatic and devoted men, black priests,
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: but priests with flashing rods of fire, light, detectors, rocket ships,
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: intrast space canon, many more things. The Terran Senate could
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  Speaker 1: only conjecture about the Senior Leads and their subordinate province leads.
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: Eric and the two behind him suppressed a shudder. We've
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: got to be careful, Eric said again. We'll be passing
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: among them soon if they guess who we are, are
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: what we're here for. He snapped open the case he carried,
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: glancing inside for a second. Then he closed it again,
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: grasping the handle firmly. Let's go, he said. He stood
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: up slowly. You two come up beside me. I want
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: to make sure you look the way you should. Mara
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: and jan stepped quickly ahead. Eric studied them critically as
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: the three of them walked slowly down the slope on
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: to the plain, toward the towering black spires of the city. Jan.
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: Eric said, take hold of her hand. Remember you're going
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: to marry her. She's your bride, and Martian peasants think
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: a lot of their brides. Jan was dressed in the
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: short trousers and coat of the Martian former, a knotted
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: rope tied around his waist, a hat on his head
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: to keep off the sun. His skin was dark colored
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: by dye until it was almost bronze. You look fine,
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: Eric said to him. He glanced at Mara. Her black
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: hair was tied in a knot looped through a hollowed
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: out yuke bone. Her face was dark, too dark, and
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: lined with colored ceremonial pigment, green and orange stripes across
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: her cheeks. Ear Rings were strung through her ears. On
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: her feet were tiny slippers of peru hide laced around
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: her ankles. And she wore long, translucent Martian trousers with
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: a bright sash tied around her waist. Between her small breasts,
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: a chain of stone beads rested good luck charms for
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: the coming marriage. All right, Eric said, He himself wore
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: the flowing gray robe of a Martian priest, dirty robes
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: that were supposed to remain on him all his life,
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: to be buried around him when he died. I think
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: we'll get past the guards. There should be heavy morning traffic.
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: On the road. They walked on the hard sand, crunching
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: under their feet. Against the horizon, they could see specks
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: moving other persons going toward the city, farmers and peasants,
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: and merchants bringing their crops and goods to market. See
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: the cart, Mara exclaimed. They were nearing a narrow road,
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  Speaker 1: two ruts worn into the sand. A Martian hoofa was
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: pulling the cart, its great sides wet with perspiration, its
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  Speaker 1: tongue hanging out. The cart was piled high with bales
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  Speaker 1: of cloth, rough country cloth, and dipped. A bent farmer
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  Speaker 1: urged the hoofah on and there she pointed, smiling. A
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  Speaker 1: group of merchants riding small animals were moving along behind
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  Speaker 1: the cart, martians and long robes, their faces hidden by
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: sand masks. On each animal was a pack carefully tied
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: on with rope. And beyond the merchants, plodding dully along
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  Speaker 1: were peasants and arms in an endless procession, some riding
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  Speaker 1: carts or animals, but mostly on foot. Mara and Jan
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: and Eric joined the line of people, melting in behind
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  Speaker 1: the merchants. No one noticed them. No one looked up
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: or gave any sign. The march continued as before. Neither
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: Jan nor Mara said anything to each other. They walked
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: a little behind Eric, who paced with a certain dignity,
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: a certain bearing, becoming his position. Once he slowed down,
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: pointing up at the sky, look, he murmured in the
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: Martian hill dialect. See that. Two dots circled lazily Martian
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: patrol craft, the military on the outlook for any sign
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  Speaker 1: of unusual activity. War was almost ready to break out
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  Speaker 1: with Terra any day, almost any moment. We'll be just
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: in time. Eric said, Tomorrow will be too late, the
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: last ship will have left Mars. I hope nothing stops us.
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: Mara said, I want to get back home when we're through.
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  Speaker 1: Half an hour passed. They neared the city, the walls
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  Speaker 1: growing as they walked, rising higher and higher until it
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: seemed to blot out the sky itself, a vast wall,
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: a wall of eternal stone that had felt the wind
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: and sun for centuries. A group of Martian soldiers were
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: standing at the entrance. The single passage gate hewed into
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: the rock leading to the city. As each person went through,
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: the soldiers examined him, poking his garments, looking into his load.
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  Speaker 1: Eric tensed the line had slowed almost to a halt.
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  Speaker 1: You'll be our turn soon, he murmured. Be prepared. Let's
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: hope no leats come around. Jan said, The soldiers aren't
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  Speaker 1: so bad. Mara was staring up at the wall and
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: the towers beyond under their feet. The ground trembled, vibrating
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: and shaking. She could see tongues of flame rising from
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: the towers. From the deep underground factories and forges of
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: the city, The air was thick and dense with particles
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: of soot. Mara rubbed her mouth, coughing. Here they come,
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: Eric said softly. The merchants had been examined and allowed
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: to pass through the dark Gate, the entrance through the
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: wall into the city. They and their silent animals had
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: already disappeared inside. The leader of the group of soldiers
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: was beckoning impatiently to Eric, waving him on, come along,
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: He said, carry up there, old man. Eric advanced slowly,
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: his arms wrapped around his body, looking down at the ground.
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: Who are you and what's your business here? The soldier
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: demanded his hands on his hips, his gun hanging idly
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: at his waist. Most of the soldiers were lounging lazily,
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: leaning against the wall, some even squatting in the shade.
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: Flies crawled on the face of one who had fallen asleep,
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: his gun on the ground beside him. My business, Eric murmured,
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: I am a village priest. Why do you want to
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: answer the city. I must bring these two people before
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: the magistrate to marry them, he indicated, Mara and Jan
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: standing a little behind him. That is the law the
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: leeters have made. The soldier laughed. He circled around Eric.
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: What do you have in that bag, you carrie laundry?
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: We stay the night? What fillage are you from? Cronos? Kronos?
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: The soldier looked to a companion. Ever heard of kronos?
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: Hey backward pigs thigh? I saw it once on a
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: hunting trip. The leader of the soldiers nodded to Jan
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: and Mara. The two of them advanced, their hands clasped,
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: standing close together. One of the soldiers put his hand
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: on Mara's bare shoulder, turning her around. Nice little wife,
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  Speaker 1: you're getting, he said, good and firm looking. He winked,
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: grinning ludely. Jan glanced at him in sullen resentment. The
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: soldier's gaffard all right, the leader said to Eric, you
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: people can pass. Eric took a small purse from his
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: robes and gave the soldier a coin. Then the three
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: of them went into the dark tunnel that was the
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: entrance passing through the wall of stone into the city beyond.
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: They were within the city now, Eric whispered, hurry around them.
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: The city roared and cracked, the sound of a thousand
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: vents and machines, shaking the stones under their feet. Eric
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: led Mara and Jan into a corner by a row
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: of brick warehouses. People were everywhere, hurrying back and forth,
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: shouting above the den merchants, paddlers, soldiers, street women. Eric
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: bent down and opened the case he carried. From the case,
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: he quickly took three small coils of fine metal, intricate
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: meshed wires and veins worked together into a small cone.
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: Jan took one and Mara took one. Eric put the
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: remaining cone into his robe and snapped the case shut. Now,
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: remember the coils must be buried in such a way
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: that the line runs through the center of the city.
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: We must try sect the main section where the largest
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: concentration of buildings is. Remember the maps, Watch the alleys
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: and streets carefully. Talk to no one if you can
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: help it. Each of you has enough Martian money to
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: buy your way out of trouble. Watch especially for cut purses,
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: and for Heaven's sake, don't get lost. Eric broke off.
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: Two black clad leaters were coming along the endside of
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: the wall, strolling together with their hands behind their backs.
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: They noticed the three who stood in the corner by
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: the warehouses, and stopped. Go Eric muttered, and be back
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: here at sundown, he smiled, grimly, or never come back.
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: Each went off a different way, walking quickly without looking back.
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: The leaters watched them go. The little bride was quite
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: lovely when letters said, those hill people have the stamp
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: of nobility in their blood from the old times. A
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: very lucky young peasant to possess her, the other said.
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: They went on. Eric looked after them, still smiling a little.
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: Then he joined the surging mass of people that milled
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: eternally through the streets of the city. End of Section two.