Latest / Classic Sci-Fi Tales Audio Library / 05 - Regeneration
Transcript
- 0:02Speaker 1: Regeneration. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are
- 0:07Speaker 1: in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer,
- 0:11Speaker 1: please visit LibriVox dot org. Regeneration by Charles Dye. It
- 0:20Speaker 1: was bound to happen sooner or later, not because man
- 0:24Speaker 1: failed to understand his fellow man, but because he failed
- 0:27Speaker 1: to understand himself. There wasn't much left afterwards, after the
- 0:32Speaker 1: golden showers of deadly dust and the blinding flashes that
- 0:35Speaker 1: blotted out the light from the sun, and all because
- 0:38Speaker 1: man continued to confuse emotion with reason. But somehow, as
- 0:43Speaker 1: before man survive, don't touch Cinsor's command shot through the
- 0:52Speaker 1: chill morning air like an arrow. The ragged little group
- 0:56Speaker 1: of men stopped dead in their tracks and looked questioningly
- 0:59Speaker 1: at their leaders. He was pointing down to an object
- 1:02Speaker 1: lying half buried in the soil at his feet. Another
- 1:06Speaker 1: death thing, maybe, Sinzor said, another thing our ancestors made
- 1:11Speaker 1: with which to destroy themselves. He peered around the semicircle
- 1:15Speaker 1: of men until he spotted the aged one with a
- 1:17Speaker 1: leg missing. Morge, see that this place is marked forbidden.
- 1:22Speaker 1: The hunting party moved on, and Morge stayed behind. He
- 1:26Speaker 1: hobbled about collecting sticks and stones, arranging them in the
- 1:31Speaker 1: forbidden symbol way to form a barrier around the thing.
- 1:36Speaker 1: It was because of such a thing that he'd lost
- 1:38Speaker 1: a leg in his youth. He both hated and feared
- 1:41Speaker 1: the death things his ancestors had so carelessly left lying
- 1:44Speaker 1: about before they vanished. But that wasn't right. Morge scratched
- 1:49Speaker 1: his grisly old head and thought hard. According to Builder,
- 1:53Speaker 1: wisest of their tribe, their ancestors hadn't all vanished, some
- 1:58Speaker 1: of them had become the tribe Sinzor Builder, and even
- 2:03Speaker 1: old Morge very puzzling. It was all because of the
- 2:07Speaker 1: death things. Puffing, Morge completed the barrier, then turned for
- 2:13Speaker 1: a last look at the thing, gleaming dully in the
- 2:15Speaker 1: pale winter sunlight. How strange it looked. In no way
- 2:19Speaker 1: did it resemble the usual death things, most of which
- 2:23Speaker 1: were long and round with little wings attached. This one
- 2:27Speaker 1: was different, like nothing he'd ever seen before. It was
- 2:30Speaker 1: box like, with strange arms sticking up and under the arms,
- 2:36Speaker 1: half buried was a shelf or platform, resembling vaguely the
- 2:39Speaker 1: upper portion of two legs. The thing terrified Morge for
- 2:44Speaker 1: a moment. Then, in order to prove his courage to himself,
- 2:48Speaker 1: he stepped forward and spat on it. Nothing happened. Sneering,
- 2:54Speaker 1: he spat on it again and watched its spittle slowly
- 2:57Speaker 1: run down its side over a strange marks, working like
- 3:00Speaker 1: a thunderbolt thunderbolt. Suddenly Morge fell, groveling to his one
- 3:07Speaker 1: good knee. It was Thor, god of thunder and lightning,
- 3:11Speaker 1: and god of the tribe, and he had spat on
- 3:15Speaker 1: Thor for nearly an hour. He knelt there, praying forgiveness
- 3:20Speaker 1: for his sacrilege. Then, trembling, he tore off a piece
- 3:24Speaker 1: of his goat skin and wiped the spittle off Thor's side,
- 3:27Speaker 1: and carefully he began to uncover the remainder of Thor. Finally,
- 3:31Speaker 1: he lifted Thor out of the hole and on to
- 3:34Speaker 1: level ground. Kneeling once more, he took a small drink
- 3:37Speaker 1: scoop from his belt and placed it before Thor. Then
- 3:41Speaker 1: he pulled out his knife and folded his single leg
- 3:44Speaker 1: under him. Bending over, he cut a gash in his
- 3:47Speaker 1: wrist and let the blood flow into the scoop until
- 3:50Speaker 1: it was nearly full. Rising to his knee, he said, oh, Thor,
- 3:56Speaker 1: please take this humble offering to show that I am forgiven.
- 4:00Speaker 1: Almost prostrate now, he picked up the scoop and placed
- 4:03Speaker 1: it on Thor's lap beneath his arms. Immediately there was
- 4:07Speaker 1: a soft rumble and humming. Fearfully, Old Morge watched Thor's
- 4:12Speaker 1: arms come down, lift up the scoop, and carry it
- 4:15Speaker 1: inside his huge mouth. There was a sucking noise, and
- 4:19Speaker 1: the scoop was returned empty to his lap. Filled with joy,
- 4:24Speaker 1: Morge spent another endless time thanking Thor. Then all of
- 4:28Speaker 1: a sudden, an idea seized him. What if he carried
- 4:31Speaker 1: Thor back to the tribe and presented him to the
- 4:33Speaker 1: priest Thaugor for all to worship and give sacrifices to.
- 4:38Speaker 1: Would not he, the despised the look down upon, be
- 4:42Speaker 1: the greatest of heroes. All that was known of Thor
- 4:46Speaker 1: were the legends, But at last they would have the
- 4:48Speaker 1: actual God. Painfully, with many grunts and groans, he got
- 4:54Speaker 1: Thor under one arm and staggered off toward the village,
- 4:57Speaker 1: his crutch kicking up little puffs of dust. Builder was
- 5:03Speaker 1: having trouble with Thalgre. He almost wished now that he'd
- 5:06Speaker 1: continued his search a little longer for a segment of humanity,
- 5:11Speaker 1: he might have found a group less primitive who would
- 5:13Speaker 1: have appreciated and understood his help much better. But this
- 5:17Speaker 1: was the best he'd found. As it was, he'd wandered
- 5:20Speaker 1: over the continent nearly a lifetime before even finding these
- 5:23Speaker 1: poor wretches, but they were at least human, something that
- 5:27Speaker 1: couldn't be said for those others he'd come in contact
- 5:30Speaker 1: with all through the past years. And now, after having
- 5:34Speaker 1: been with the tribe, the only human tribe, for over
- 5:38Speaker 1: a year, he was being balked by this priest, which
- 5:42Speaker 1: meant being balked at setting up truth and knowledge as
- 5:45Speaker 1: the only true gods of humanity, being balked at getting
- 5:48Speaker 1: the dam built before the spring rains so that there
- 5:52Speaker 1: would not be another summer drouth followed by a winter
- 5:54Speaker 1: of famine such as they had just passed through. The
- 5:58Speaker 1: dam was his first big project. Without freedom from want,
- 6:02Speaker 1: there would be little progress next winter. Almost savagely, he
- 6:07Speaker 1: turned on thoal Gore. But why must you have this
- 6:11Speaker 1: religious festival now because of the finding of the god Thor?
- 6:16Speaker 1: Came thou Gore's cold answer. Why the offerings of blood
- 6:21Speaker 1: can't they wait. The damn must be finished before the rains.
- 6:24Speaker 1: But the loss of blood already has so weakened the
- 6:27Speaker 1: workers that they can no longer work for a full day.
- 6:31Speaker 1: Which is more important worldly or spiritual things? Thougor replied,
- 6:37Speaker 1: But there maybe won't be anyone around to indulge in
- 6:40Speaker 1: spiritual things if there's another drought this year. Thor will
- 6:44Speaker 1: see to it that there is not another drought. Yes,
- 6:49Speaker 1: I know, but wouldn't it be wiser to be on
- 6:51Speaker 1: the safe side. Suppose somebody does something to displease Thor.
- 6:57Speaker 1: Nobody will displease Thor. It is my duty to see
- 7:00Speaker 1: to that I tell them what to think so that
- 7:03Speaker 1: they won't displease Thor. A crafty devil, you are, builder thought,
- 7:09Speaker 1: manipulating this image of Thor you talk about, so that
- 7:13Speaker 1: it will take the blood offerings of the people, and
- 7:16Speaker 1: even you in that half baked discipline of yours, Morge,
- 7:21Speaker 1: I must look at your god Thor one of these days.
- 7:25Speaker 1: He suddenly felt very weary and sat down on the floor,
- 7:29Speaker 1: looking up at Thalgor. He said, but that is not
- 7:32Speaker 1: part of being civilized to tell the people what to think.
- 7:37Speaker 1: You must make them think without telling them what to think,
- 7:41Speaker 1: And with the damn Next winter, there will be freedom
- 7:44Speaker 1: from want for the first time. The tribe will have
- 7:46Speaker 1: a chance to think and be on the road to civilization.
- 7:51Speaker 1: The tribe has already found civilization by finding Thor, by
- 7:55Speaker 1: worshiping him as a group, they have already ceased their
- 7:58Speaker 1: bickering and quarreling. Does not that fit with your definition
- 8:02Speaker 1: of civilization, the one you gave my people when you
- 8:04Speaker 1: first came to us. Since the coming of Thor, we
- 8:08Speaker 1: have begun to co operate, have we not? No, hardly
- 8:11Speaker 1: at all? I said. Civilization is co operating among men
- 8:16Speaker 1: in adapting to the environment, which includes man. The two
- 8:20Speaker 1: men stared at each other, and for a while there
- 8:23Speaker 1: was silence. Nevertheless, Thalgar finally said Thor and blood offerings continue.
- 8:32Speaker 1: Builder watched thal Gore turn and stalk out of the
- 8:34Speaker 1: tiny hovel that house his plans and his work, himself
- 8:38Speaker 1: and his dreams. What could he do? He could only
- 8:42Speaker 1: appeal to the tribe's reason. Thal Gore could appeal to
- 8:45Speaker 1: their emotions, which were far stronger. But unless emotion was
- 8:49Speaker 1: controlled used wisely, there could never be any reason. Builder
- 8:54Speaker 1: realized with a sinking heart that he was much too
- 8:58Speaker 1: old for the job he'd undertaken too late in life.
- 9:01Speaker 1: He had discovered these people. Almost all his energy since
- 9:05Speaker 1: youth had been sapped, just looking for a segment of humanity.
- 9:09Speaker 1: His mother and father had told him there might be failure,
- 9:12Speaker 1: but still they had taught him everything they could in
- 9:15Speaker 1: the short time before death had overtaken them. They had
- 9:18Speaker 1: been the only humans living in that towering jungle of
- 9:21Speaker 1: concrete and steel. How they had gotten there was never
- 9:24Speaker 1: explained to him. It didn't matter, though. Suddenly Builders shook
- 9:28Speaker 1: himself here he was recollecting his youth instead of concentrating
- 9:33Speaker 1: on the task at hand. He must really be getting old.
- 9:38Speaker 1: He was glad of thal Gore's visit. At least now
- 9:41Speaker 1: he was fully aware of the problem to be solved
- 9:44Speaker 1: in spite of the priest. He had to find a
- 9:46Speaker 1: way of getting that damn finished, and soon, or maybe
- 9:49Speaker 1: next year, there wouldn't be any people, for game was
- 9:52Speaker 1: getting scarcer each winter. Very little work was done that day,
- 9:57Speaker 1: in spite of Builders managing to round up his full crew.
- 10:01Speaker 1: The blood offering each worker had given the night before
- 10:04Speaker 1: had left them tired and listless. Only four of the
- 10:07Speaker 1: fifty four molds running across the river were filled with
- 10:10Speaker 1: sand and gravel that morning and afternoon there were still
- 10:13Speaker 1: nearly fifty to be filled. Builder was very depressed, but
- 10:19Speaker 1: he was even more depressed at the close of day
- 10:22Speaker 1: when two workmen grew careless and slipped into the last
- 10:24Speaker 1: mold being filled. Their ear splitting shrieks brought half the
- 10:28Speaker 1: tribe up over the hill above the village and down
- 10:31Speaker 1: to the damn sight. After Builder explained what had happened,
- 10:35Speaker 1: there were angry mutterings to the effect that Thor was
- 10:37Speaker 1: displeased with the dam and therefore had taken lives. Nothing
- 10:41Speaker 1: Builder could say would dissuade them from this notion. So
- 10:45Speaker 1: well had thal Gore indoctrinated them with religious fear of
- 10:48Speaker 1: anything used to control nature. Builder hadn't realized until that
- 10:52Speaker 1: moment just how much the people were against the dam.
- 10:56Speaker 1: Then he saw thal Gore, tall and ominous in his
- 10:59Speaker 1: cloak of black skins, come striding through the crowd. For
- 11:04Speaker 1: a moment he stood facing them with his hands on
- 11:06Speaker 1: his hips. There seemed to be a silent understanding between them.
- 11:10Speaker 1: Slowly the crowd turned and disappeared over the hill. Then
- 11:14Speaker 1: Thalgor strode over to build Her and said, simply, there
- 11:18Speaker 1: will be no more dam. Turning, he followed the rest
- 11:22Speaker 1: of the tribe back to the village. Builder was thunderstruck.
- 11:27Speaker 1: He knew there was no use arguing or trying to
- 11:29Speaker 1: reason with either Thalgor or the tribe. It was far
- 11:32Speaker 1: too late for that. Only some drastic measure would complete
- 11:35Speaker 1: the dam. Now, he walked tiredly over the black hill
- 11:39Speaker 1: and down to his shack, wondering how he could compete
- 11:42Speaker 1: with an idol. He realized now it had been foolish
- 11:46Speaker 1: of him to have overlooked the possible effect Thor might
- 11:48Speaker 1: have upon the tribe when it had been found three
- 11:51Speaker 1: months ago. He never dreamed they would spend all their
- 11:54Speaker 1: leisure in rituals. The god was his problem. Therefore he
- 11:59Speaker 1: must get it out of the way himself, without expecting
- 12:03Speaker 1: help from anyone. Each evening, the clouds on the northern
- 12:06Speaker 1: horizon were darkening and drawing closer. It was night when
- 12:10Speaker 1: Builder finally stumbled into his quarters. After lighting a pine torch.
- 12:14Speaker 1: He sat down by his work bench and buried his
- 12:16Speaker 1: head in his hands. He was too tired and upset
- 12:19Speaker 1: to eat, which was just as well. Outside of deliberately
- 12:24Speaker 1: killing thal Gore, there was only one thing he could
- 12:27Speaker 1: do that was to kidnap Thor. With this realization, in
- 12:31Speaker 1: spite of the risk involved, came some peace of mind.
- 12:35Speaker 1: He hadn't the vaguest idea just how he was to
- 12:37Speaker 1: go about it, especially since his strength was failing him.
- 12:41Speaker 1: But do it he would. First, though he would have
- 12:45Speaker 1: to wait until some time before dawn, when everybody, even
- 12:48Speaker 1: thal Gore, was sure to be asleep. The hours dragged
- 12:52Speaker 1: heavily between then and his chosen time. Many were the
- 12:56Speaker 1: times when he longed for something to read, although he
- 12:59Speaker 1: supposed that by by this time he'd forgotten how like
- 13:02Speaker 1: wisps of smoke, memories of his youth and the concrete
- 13:05Speaker 1: jungle drifted through his mind. How long ago that all seemed.
- 13:09Speaker 1: Now sometimes he wondered if any of it had been real.
- 13:14Speaker 1: But here he was, as his parents wished him to be,
- 13:18Speaker 1: trying to help what was left of humanity, back up
- 13:20Speaker 1: the trail to what he wondered to destruction again, this
- 13:25Speaker 1: time probably complete and final. He shook his old head
- 13:30Speaker 1: and ran a trembling hand through his white, shaggy hair.
- 13:33Speaker 1: He'd gotten this far. Somehow he would get the rest
- 13:37Speaker 1: of the way. Builder got up and crossed over to
- 13:39Speaker 1: a sleeping pile. After tying several skins together, he folded
- 13:44Speaker 1: them under his arm and walked out into the pre
- 13:46Speaker 1: dawn night. His bones felt the crackling cold of early
- 13:50Speaker 1: spring as they had never felt it before. Slowly he
- 13:53Speaker 1: made his way around the village to where Thor was
- 13:56Speaker 1: housed under a huge slanting roof of bark and scraped skins.
- 14:00Speaker 1: He had never seen Thor and now wished he'd paid
- 14:03Speaker 1: at least one visit to the god. Like a shadow,
- 14:07Speaker 1: he glided carefully through the blackness and back of the
- 14:10Speaker 1: temple until he was just inside the rear opening. He
- 14:13Speaker 1: could see clear across the chamber out to the pale,
- 14:16Speaker 1: twinkling stars. Then he detected a dark mass in the
- 14:19Speaker 1: center of the temple, silhouetted against the stars, that must
- 14:24Speaker 1: be Thor. Swiftly Builder advanced toward it until his foot
- 14:27Speaker 1: struck something soft, causing him to stumble and fall. As
- 14:31Speaker 1: he did so, he heard a grunt sounding like someone
- 14:34Speaker 1: being kicked in the stomach. Then something was on top
- 14:37Speaker 1: of him, pounding his head and shoulders with a heavy
- 14:40Speaker 1: stick of some kind. Old Builder knew he didn't have
- 14:43Speaker 1: the strength to wrestle. He managed to get his pile
- 14:45Speaker 1: of skins unfolded and with his last ounce of strength,
- 14:49Speaker 1: throw them over the head of his attacker. Somehow he
- 14:52Speaker 1: managed to wiggle out from underneath and climb to his feet.
- 14:55Speaker 1: His assailant began to scream for help, but the heavy
- 14:58Speaker 1: skins muffled his shouts. Quickly. Builder looked around for something
- 15:02Speaker 1: to hit him with. The only thing his eye spotted
- 15:05Speaker 1: was the idol. He hobbled over and, using both arms,
- 15:09Speaker 1: dragged it off its dais, then, with the remainder of
- 15:12Speaker 1: his strength, dropped it squarely on top of whomever was
- 15:15Speaker 1: under the skins. There was a muted clunk, followed by silence. Fearfully,
- 15:22Speaker 1: Builder stood there for a moment, catching his breath and
- 15:24Speaker 1: listening for any one coming. All was quiet except the
- 15:28Speaker 1: pounding of his heart. As fast as he could make
- 15:31Speaker 1: his arms and hands work, he rolled up the body
- 15:34Speaker 1: in the skins and painfully hoisted it over one shoulder.
- 15:38Speaker 1: With his other hand, he reached down and picked thor
- 15:40Speaker 1: up by one of its arms. Then, staggering under the load,
- 15:44Speaker 1: he started back the way he had come. Except for
- 15:48Speaker 1: a grayish streak in the east, it was still dark.
- 15:52Speaker 1: He stumbled and fell several times before reaching his dwelling,
- 15:55Speaker 1: but he was confident that he had left no tracks.
- 15:59Speaker 1: Every night, even this late in the winter, the ground
- 16:02Speaker 1: froze solid. Back inside his shed, still in the dark,
- 16:08Speaker 1: Builder unrolled his burden and listened for any heart beat.
- 16:12Speaker 1: There was none. As he rolled the body up again,
- 16:15Speaker 1: something clattered to the floor. It was a crutch. Quickly
- 16:20Speaker 1: he felt for his victim's legs. One was missing. Of
- 16:24Speaker 1: all the people he had to kill, Morge thal Gore's
- 16:28Speaker 1: right hand man. He realized he had to get rid
- 16:31Speaker 1: of the body before daylight and fast. Already more gray
- 16:34Speaker 1: was lining the eastern horizon. He didn't know whether he
- 16:38Speaker 1: had the strength to do it or not, but he
- 16:40Speaker 1: had to get Morge up to the dam and into
- 16:42Speaker 1: one of the unfilled molds. For the time being, he
- 16:45Speaker 1: would have to hide thor some place inside here. He
- 16:48Speaker 1: couldn't carry both of them up to the dam. He
- 16:51Speaker 1: rolled the idol up in another set of skins and
- 16:54Speaker 1: placed it under the head of his sleeping pile. Then,
- 16:57Speaker 1: picking up his other bundle once more, he started for
- 17:00Speaker 1: the dam. The sun was just peeking over the horizon
- 17:04Speaker 1: when Builder finally stumbled back into his dwelling and into bed.
- 17:08Speaker 1: All that day he lay there body on fire, with
- 17:11Speaker 1: fever and heart pounding like a drum. He was almost
- 17:14Speaker 1: certain he would soon die. It was just as well,
- 17:18Speaker 1: a little corner of his consciousness said, at least he
- 17:21Speaker 1: would be missing all the frenzied excitement of Thor's disappearance,
- 17:24Speaker 1: along with Morge. But it looked as though he had
- 17:28Speaker 1: failed after all, in spite of removing the god. Now
- 17:32Speaker 1: he was dying, and the dam still unfinished. The day
- 17:35Speaker 1: dragged on and on, and he didn't die. After waking
- 17:40Speaker 1: up in late afternoon, he felt better. He ate a
- 17:42Speaker 1: handful of nuts and figs, washed down with a little
- 17:45Speaker 1: herb tea. Then as night crept over the sky, he
- 17:48Speaker 1: tottered down to the village. Whatever had taken place during
- 17:52Speaker 1: the day was done, and little groups of people stood
- 17:55Speaker 1: around fires, resting and talking as though it were the
- 17:58Speaker 1: old days before the coming of thought Builder. That was good.
- 18:04Speaker 1: Filder moved in closer to one of the fires to
- 18:06Speaker 1: warm himself against the early spring night. Some one recognized him.
- 18:10Speaker 1: It was one of his workers, and he was suddenly
- 18:13Speaker 1: made welcome once again, being given the place of honor
- 18:16Speaker 1: nearest the fire as in the old days when he
- 18:18Speaker 1: first discovered the humans, Bilder was dumbfounded at the sudden
- 18:22Speaker 1: cordiality in recent days thoal Gore had done such a
- 18:26Speaker 1: good job of discrediting he never dreamed of regaining his
- 18:29Speaker 1: old standing. Then he was told what had happened during
- 18:32Speaker 1: the day while he lay almost dying, when the god
- 18:36Speaker 1: and Morge were discovered missing. Thal Gore had called the
- 18:39Speaker 1: village together, explaining that Thor had left them, taking Morge
- 18:43Speaker 1: as a sacrifice, because he was dissatisfied with the tribe's
- 18:46Speaker 1: paltry blood offerings and worship. Therefore, a great death sacrifice
- 18:51Speaker 1: of young men and women must be undertaken to pacify
- 18:54Speaker 1: Thor and cause his return. But the people questioned thal
- 18:58Speaker 1: Gore's order. They seemed to feel it was the priest
- 19:02Speaker 1: who had been at fault, not themselves. After all, he
- 19:05Speaker 1: was the closest to Thor, was he not. Therefore, it
- 19:09Speaker 1: was thou Gore, not the village, that Thor had become
- 19:12Speaker 1: angered at, And after holding quick counsel, they had driven
- 19:15Speaker 1: Thougor out into the wilderness, telling him he was not
- 19:19Speaker 1: to return unless Thor was with him. Old Builder almost
- 19:23Speaker 1: cried when he heard this joyful news. The dam would
- 19:26Speaker 1: be completed after all, he was almost certain. He decided
- 19:29Speaker 1: to say nothing more about religion Thor or thal Gore.
- 19:34Speaker 1: Maybe soon they would forget the whole thing. Now he
- 19:37Speaker 1: could go back to teaching the youngsters and some of
- 19:39Speaker 1: the brighter oldsters the methods of writing and symbols instead
- 19:42Speaker 1: of drawing pictures. Hours and days turned into weeks and
- 19:48Speaker 1: months as Builder taught his people what feeble knowledge he
- 19:50Speaker 1: possessed in arithmetic, simple engineering such as the dam, and
- 19:55Speaker 1: most of all, instilling in them the will to want
- 19:58Speaker 1: to learn and investigate and question anything they came in
- 20:02Speaker 1: contact with, even the very thing he was asking them
- 20:05Speaker 1: to do. As the weeks passed on and the dam
- 20:08Speaker 1: was completed, he gradually gathered around him an ardent little
- 20:12Speaker 1: group of seeker after that most elusive of all things truth.
- 20:17Speaker 1: But Builder knew that his days were numbered now and
- 20:20Speaker 1: his work completed. There was still one thing he had
- 20:23Speaker 1: to do, and that was permanently to do away with
- 20:26Speaker 1: Thor by dropping the idol to the bottom of the dam.
- 20:29Speaker 1: He still hadn't examined the god hidden under his sleeping pile.
- 20:34Speaker 1: One evening after returning from a solitary walk above the dam.
- 20:37Speaker 1: He entered his shack and led a torch, then almost
- 20:40Speaker 1: dropped it from shock. His dwelling was a wreck. The
- 20:44Speaker 1: place had been ransacked from top to bottom. His sleeping
- 20:47Speaker 1: pile lay in the middle of the floor. The idol
- 20:50Speaker 1: was gone. He turned and fled from the room, but
- 20:55Speaker 1: before he could take a dozen steps toward the village,
- 20:57Speaker 1: several shadows glided out from behind trees and rocks in
- 21:00Speaker 1: the moonlight, resolving themselves into men. Before he could cry
- 21:05Speaker 1: out or struggle, strong arms pinned his arms to his body,
- 21:08Speaker 1: and someone clapped a dirty hand over his mouth. He
- 21:11Speaker 1: was forced back into his hovel and the door slam shut.
- 21:15Speaker 1: Standing in front of him was a very bedraggled figure
- 21:18Speaker 1: whom he recognized as thou Gore. He also recognized his
- 21:23Speaker 1: three other captors, All were elderly reactionaries of the tribe
- 21:26Speaker 1: who had disapproved of him from the beginning. In spite
- 21:30Speaker 1: of his predicament, Builder felt a warm glow of happiness
- 21:33Speaker 1: course through him. If these were the only cronies thou
- 21:36Speaker 1: Gore could round up, that meant the rest of the
- 21:38Speaker 1: villagers were sympathetic with his cause. He suddenly became aware
- 21:42Speaker 1: of thal Gore's grating voice. It took me a little
- 21:45Speaker 1: time to piece things together, but once I did, it
- 21:48Speaker 1: didn't take me long to come back and find the
- 21:50Speaker 1: God where I might have at first suspected it would
- 21:52Speaker 1: be right here. For your sacrilege, you will pay with
- 21:56Speaker 1: every last drop of blood you have in your scrawny
- 21:58Speaker 1: old body. And now whereupon Talalgor disappeared out of the hovel.
- 22:05Speaker 1: Somehow Bilder had known they were going to kill him
- 22:07Speaker 1: before arousing the rest of the tribe to the fact
- 22:10Speaker 1: that Thor was back. Thalgar was taking no chances of
- 22:14Speaker 1: his standing in the way of him or Thor ever again,
- 22:17Speaker 1: but Builder didn't care. He had sown his few seeds
- 22:20Speaker 1: of knowledge and wisdom well, although Thalgor didn't know it.
- 22:24Speaker 1: This time he wouldn't have complete homage from all the tribe.
- 22:28Speaker 1: There would now be doubts and questionings and tests for
- 22:31Speaker 1: both Thor and thal Gore in the ways of truth
- 22:34Speaker 1: and righteousness. Then Thalgor returned to the shack with what
- 22:38Speaker 1: Builder thought must be Thor. The hand over his mouth
- 22:42Speaker 1: had twisted his head back so that he only got
- 22:44Speaker 1: a glimpse, but he didn't miss the long knife Thalgor
- 22:48Speaker 1: pulled from beneath his tattered skins, nor the large sacrificial
- 22:51Speaker 1: bowl one of the others held below his neck. Then
- 22:55Speaker 1: his head was tilted forward and sideways, and he got
- 22:58Speaker 1: his first full look at the god Thor. At the
- 23:01Speaker 1: site his whole body shook with smothered laughter. Below the
- 23:05Speaker 1: two arms and etched a thunderbolt, were large block letters
- 23:09Speaker 1: standing out in bold relief. Thor Automatic dishwasher, Atomic Powered,
- 23:17Speaker 1: nineteen ninety nine. End of Regeneration by Charles Dye