Chapter VIII
Kirk came to with the feeling that his period of unconsciousness hadbeen momentary. Naia was standing as she had stood before, just beyondthe inner doorway. The mocking smile was still on her face. "Did youtrip?"
Kirk got groggily to his feet. "No, angel. That's the way I always crossa room." As he came upright his hand reached toward the bulge made byhis shoulder holster. But it didn't get that far.
He had not seen from whence the first blow came but that was not truewith the second. From a tiny opening in the door jamb, a pinpoint oflight appeared. It hung there for a moment. Then it brightened,expanded, and shot forth as a slim beam. It contained a silvery radianceand the kick of a Missouri mule. It slammed against Kirk's jaw, but notquite so hard this time; only hard enough to send him down again amidsta cloud of shooting stars.
He shook his head and got to his hands and knees. "Wha's 'at? A trainedflashlight?" He began coming up. As soon as he didn't need his righthand for rising he reached for his gun. The light beam seemed to resentthis. It hit him in the solar plexus this time; a sickening blow thatfed nausea down through his legs. He tightened his stomach against theagony and began getting up again.
"You see how useless it is?" Naia asked. "Beside us, you Earthlings arechildren. Will you stop being foolish, or must I kill you?"
Kirk squinted craftily at the pinpoint of light with one closed eye.Clever little devil. What the hell! Nude innocents. Tigers on leashes.Light beams that knocked your teeth out. Paul Cordell with a shaved spoton his head.
"You got your bag packed for a little trip, baby?"
For a brief moment, genuine fear flamed in Naia's eyes. And in Kirk'smind: Dumb babe. What's she got to be scared of? They hit you withnothing and make it stick. Kirk croaked, "Grab your bag, baby. We'll gofind that flying biscuit. We got a date with Arthur Kahler Troy."
He was really cagey this time. When the light beam shot out, he hurledhimself to the side. But he could have saved the effort. A beam camefrom the other door jamb and he stepped right into it. That one reallytore his head off.
* * * * *
Somebody was talking. It was a man and he had a deep resonant voice: avoice full of authority--and censure. "I'm surprised at you Naia. Inever suspected you of having a sadistic streak."
Naia's sullen reply. "Do you think anyone can do the work I do andremain unmarked?"
"I suppose not. But as I remember it, you asked to serve."
"As a benefit to humanity."
"We won't go into it."
But Naia pressed the point. "I have always followed orders. I placedmyself in possible jeopardy on Earth by clearing Paul Cordell."
"But Paul Cordell was not cleared."
"Not through any fault of mine."
"But why this? What end does torturing this poor unfortunate serve?"
Martin Kirk cautiously opened one eye. It brought to his brain the imageof a large blue globe. A man of fine and commanding appearance stoodwithin the globe, suspended about a foot from the floor. The globe andthe man gave every indication of having just come through the opaqueglass wall of the room, and as Kirk watched, the man was lowered slowlyto the floor and the globe became a blue mist that spiralled lazily andwas gone.
Kirk opened both eyes now, stirred, and climbed dizzily to his feet."You bump into the damndest things around here," he said, "But let's getdown to the important business. My name is Martin Kirk. I'm an Americanpolice officer. One of your subjects committed a murder on Americansoil. I hope you aren't going to be difficult about extradition."
The other could not hide his surprise. Nor did he try to. "Amazing," hemurmured. Then, "I am Tamu, the overlord of the galaxy. I wonder ifNaia's cruelty hasn't affected your mind?"
"If you mean I'm nuts, I think maybe you're right. But it wasn't littlePlayful here who did it. I've gone through a lot and I don't speak withany sense of bragging. I've seen more funny things happen than any oneman should see in so short a time. So maybe I am off my rocker. So I'dlike your permission to take my prisoner back to Earth so I can give allmy time to regaining my sanity."
Tamu regarded Kirk with thoughtful eyes. "I think we should have atalk."
"I would like a talk. I would like nothing better than to chew the fatwith you for hours on end if my jaw didn't hurt so damned much. So I'lljust take my prisoner and go. Do I have to sign a paper or something?"
The overlord's surprise was fast becoming a kind of fascinated awe."Kirk, you said?" He pointed to the door leading to the inner room."Please go in, sir. There's no use of our standing out here while wediscuss your problem."
The Lieutenant eyed the door frame warily, "I tried getting throughthere before but the light got in my eyes!"
"You can trust me."
The police officer stepped cautiously through the opening and on into aluxuriously furnished room. Tamu, dressed much the same as one ofEarth's better bankers, followed him in and suggested he sit down.
"Why?" Kirk demanded bluntly. "Let's stop kitten-and-micing around, Mr.Tamu. I'm not comfortable here and I want to leave. With her." He tiltedhis head toward the watching, sullen-faced Naia North. "And now."
Tamu said, "Believe me, it will be as easy for you to return to Earth anhour from now. You seem weary to the point of exhaustion. I ask youagain: sit down and get back some of your strength. Naia will find yousomething to eat."
Kirk's stubborn determination to force an immediate showdown wavered. Ithad been born largely of fear to begin with, and the thought of relieffor his burning throat was impossible to resist.
"I could use a drink," he admitted.
* * * * *
Tamu gestured and Naia North turned to leave the room. But Kirk leapedforward to block her off. "Nothing doing! I don't take my eyes off you,baby. I'll just pass up that drink."
The girl glanced at the overlord and shrugged helplessly. Tamu said,"Have a girl bring in something. While we're waiting I suggest all threeof us get comfortable."
While Naia was speaking into a tiny screen set into one of thesilk-covered walls, Tamu and the man from Earth sat down across fromeach other on a pair of fragile-legged chairs. The overlord leaned backand sighed. "You've asked my leave to return to Earth and to take Naiaback with you to stand trial for murder. Have you considered that I mayrefuse that permission?"
"I don't think I have to consider it," Kirk said promptly.
"You don't?" Tamu was mystified again. "Why not?"
"You tell me you're the overlord. I take that to mean you're in charge.That means you have laws to govern your people and _that_ means youbelieve in laws. One of your subjects has broken the law of my country.You can't refuse to let her take the consequences any more than if thesituation was reversed."
Tamu was shaking his head and smiling slightly. "I'm afraid you're nottaking into consideration one fact, Mr. Kirk. Naia North broke your law,as you call it, on express and definite instructions from me."
Martin Kirk made a show of astonishment. "Let me get this straight. You_ordered_ Professor Gilmore and Juanita Cordell murdered? Is that whatyou're telling me?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Exactly the reason I suggested we have a talk. To make you see whythey--and others in the same classification--could not be allowed tolive."
"Men like Karney? Kennedy? Blatz?"
Tamu blinked. "My respect for you increases, Martin Kirk."
"Don't let it throw you. I'm a police officer, and police officers aretrained to do the job right."
The overlord crossed his legs and settled deeper into the chair. "Mythoxneeds men like you, Martin Kirk. That is why I'm going to give you achance for life. For this you must understand: if I wanted it, you wouldbe dead within seconds."
A chill slid along the stubborn back of the Lieutenant but nothingshowed in his impassive expression and he did not speak.
"But because we do need you, I am going to tell you things no Earthmanknows. I believ
e that once you understand why Mythox has undertaken tomeddle in the affairs of another world--and I tell you frankly that ourdoing so is as abhorrent to us as anything you can imagine--once youunderstand our reasons, you will cheerfully, even eagerly, join us."
"And if I don't?"
"You know the answer to that, I'm sure."
* * * * *
A slim fair-haired girl in a pale green toga-like dress entered the roomcarrying a tray holding tall glasses of some sparkling blue beverage.She offered it first to Kirk, then the others. The Lieutenant removedone of the glasses, waited until Tamu and Naia had done the same, butnot until they had drunk some of the liquid did he tilt his own glass.The cold tangy liquid hit him like a bombshell--a bombshell on thepleasant side. He could almost literally feel his strength flow back,his senses sharpen and the poisons of fatigue and mental straindisappear.
"I'm listening," he said.
Tamu set his glass on the edge of a nearby table and bent forward, hismanner earnest. "It won't take long, Martin Kirk. Hear me. We of Mythoxare far in advance of the peoples of Earth--both spiritually andscientifically. Life on our planet materialized in much the same manneras on your own world, but countless ages before. Almost the same processof evolution took place; but somewhere along the line humanity on Mythoxmanaged to reach full development without the flaws of character foundamong so many of Earth's inhabitants. When I tell you that we find italmost impossible to voice an untruth, that taking a human lifewillfully for any reason is equally difficult, that crime of any natureis almost unknown here--then you will see the difference between the twoplanets.
"For ages our scientists have observed the events taking place on Earth.By perfecting a method for changing matter from terrene tocontraterrene, we have managed to bridge the million light years ofspace separating our worlds as we saw fit. Thousands of years ago wecould have gained control of your ball of clay and turned mankind intoany pattern we might choose.
"That is not our way, Martin Kirk. Free will is our heritage too--and werespect it in ourselves, and for that reason must respect it in others.So long as Earth's peoples confined their more destructive tendencies tothemselves we kept our hands off--even while we failed to understandsuch senseless conduct.
"And then one day we witnessed an explosion on Earth's surface--anexplosion different from any of the countless ones before it. Thatexplosion was the first man-made release of atomic energy--a process wehad known how to bring about for ages, but one we would never use. Forwe have learned the secret of limitless power without the transformationof mass into energy. Your way is the way of destruction, Martin Kirk;ours is exactly the opposite.
"For the first time, the leaders of Mythox knew the meaning offear--fear that, once Earth's scientists had found the secret of nuclearfission they would go on to the one extreme forbidden throughout theUniverse itself.
"And so we acted. Not in the way your people would have acted were thesituations reversed. For we were still determined that there would be nointervention on our part in Earth's affairs--and that is still our way,just as it must always be. But there must be one exception to this rule:no one on Earth must be allowed to blunder into the extreme I mentioneda moment ago."
* * * * *
Tamu, overlord of Mythox, paused to drink from his glass and to cast aspeculative glance at the stolid face of Martin Kirk. He might as wellhave studied the contours of a brick wall.
"The road to that blunder had been opened the day your learned men firstsplit the atom. If they persisted down that path, it was bound to followthat they would attempt the thing we feared: the splitting of hydrogenatoms--the hydrogen bomb, as you call it.
"We know what that would mean: a chain reaction that would wipe out anentire galaxy in one blinding flash. _Our galaxy_, Martin Kirk--yoursand mine! Do you have any thought at all on what that means?"
The question was rhetorical; even before Kirk could shake his head, theoverlord pressed on.
"Mythox and Earth are two grains of dust on opposite sides of agalaxy--a spiral formation of stars and planets 200,000 light years wideand 20,000 thick. Between us lie countless other worlds, a vast numberof them supporting life--not always, or even often, life as we know it,but life nonetheless.
"There is not one of those worlds, Martin Kirk, we do not know asthoroughly as we do our own. Fortunately for our purpose only a relativefew have progressed along a line which can lead to danger for the rest.Yours is one of those which has--and that is why we of Mythox have takena well-masked place in your affairs _so far as they relate to nuclearphysics_.
"Every scientist of your world, male or female, is constantly under theeye of a Watcher. These Watchers are members of your own races--peoplewe have enlisted in the fight to save not just their world or mine--butmillions of worlds.
"When a Watcher learns a physicist is close to the one key to success inhis effort to make a hydrogen bomb--an equation that begins: 'Twelvetimes zero point seven nine'--we are notified and a killer from our ownpeople is sent to execute that scientist. Yes, Martin Kirk, we havethose among us--a very few--who are capable of killing on orders and forcause. Naia, here, is one of them. She was sent to take the lives ofGregory Gilmore and Juanita Cordell; but she bungled and instead oftheir deaths resembling heart failure, they were obviously murdered.
"Alma Dakin tried to cover up the truth by making it appear bothscientists had died at the hands of a jealous husband. She succeeded,both because of her perjured testimony and the fact that Paul Cordellinsisted on telling the truth. But when we of Mythox learned what hadhappened, Naia was sent back to confess the crime. She entered thelaboratory only a few hours before she came to your office; while shewas in the laboratory the second time, the clues you found were putthere.
"Our mistake was in thinking that, once proof was offered clearingCordell, the innocent man would be freed. For once more we creditedEarthlings with the same code of ethics we of Mythox adhere to.
"You succeeded in following Naia here. Only a man composed of equalparts of Earth bulldog and genius could have done so. Martin Kirk, Ioffer you a place among us and a lifetime devoted to making sure thegalaxy of which we both are a part does not perish. What say you?"
Several minutes dragged by. The eyes of both Tamu and Naia North wereglued to the grim visage of Homicide Lieutenant Kirk. It was impossiblefor either of them to know what thoughts were churning behind that stoneface.
Abruptly he stood up. "I'm a cop. I leave your kind of problem to thepeople who are good at it. My people, Tamu. You see, I belong to myworld, not to yours.
"But you've got a solid argument--one I'd be a fool not to consider. Letme sleep on it. Tomorrow morning we'll talk about it some more; thenI'll give you my answer. Right now I'm too worn out to think in astraight line."
"Of course." The overlord rose to his feet. "Find Martin Kirkcomfortable quarters, Naia, and leave orders he is not to be disturbeduntil he is ready to join us."
On his way down a corridor behind the same slip of a girl who hadbrought him his drink, Martin Kirk was thinking: They didn't even friskme for a gun!
Martin Kirk went into his apartment and lay for a while looking at theceiling. After a time, he got up and went out again.