Suddenly he saw an image, as of the Cluster Tarot, the Queen of Energy. A naked woman chained for a monster. It symbolized Andromeda, both Galaxy and mythical girl, and also Melody of Mintaka. Now it was Psyche, chained for the fire.
"Ignition!" Prince Circlet cried. The Sador's fervor had not been changed by Psyche's touch. Perhaps she had not wanted to change it, being constrained by a similar honor to that of her father and the Duke of Qaval.
The soldiers soaked the wood with lantern oil, and advanced with flaring torches. But they were cut off by one of their number, a fighting Sador noble. It was the Earl of Dollar! "You may not do this thing!" he cried.
But there were six of them and only one of him. They charged him, Solarian and Sador, overwhelming him by their number. "Healer!" Whirl cried as he was wounded. "Do you stand there idle while the Lady burns?"
Then axes struck, cutting Whirl apart. His wheels were ripped off. He was dead. And Herald... stood idle, still gripped by the stasis Psyche had put him in.
Now the torches were thrown onto the pile. The fire blazed up with lascivious vigor, licking around Psyche's bare feet. She jerked them out of the way with a whimper of pain, a faint little scream that tore at Herald's gut. Then she let them drop again, as though no longer deigning to protest against fate. "Herald, forgive them!" she cried. "They know not what they do!"
The flame roared up hungrily, its orange mass enveloping her blue body. Her golden hair caught, shriveling into a black mass.
The sight and sound of her agony broke Herald's stasis at last. He charged the fire, hauling out burning pieces of wood with his bare human hands. Suddenly he, too, was surrounded by the flame. Flame of Furnace! he thought irrelevantly. He drove in to the center until his hand struck something soft—one of her bare slender legs—and he gripped it hard and pulled. But only a handful of crackling skin came off on his fingers. She was chained, he could not draw her free, he had to break open the manacles somehow.
Then other hands were on him, hauling him out. Not hands; green claws, strong, resistant to the fire. It was Qaval, unchained. "She is dead, Herald! But you must live. Enough of the message got through. Segment Command called back."
That chiming phone! Could he have saved Psyche if he had gone back to answer it?
"You are summoned to Cluster HQ with Hweeh of Weew to testify about the Amoeba. And I too. And—the Lady." The Duke made an ironic grimace. "It took too long for the call to reach me, for the Prince's staff to be convinced. I came here too late. But now the Prince dare not interfere, and no doubt you shall see him brought to trial for his act in destroying a source of evidence."
As though any of that mattered! Herald had suffered himself to be drawn out of the pyre while Qaval talked. His tearing eyes saw Prince Circlet squatting on his wheels, impotent. The hell with Circlet!
He looked down at his hand, seeing the bit of burnt stuff on it. Was there a suggestion of blue, light blue, to its ash? He turned his back on the furnace, thinking of the warning of Smallbore of Metamorphic, the incalculable agony he had been foredoomed to suffer. Through space and time that torment had reached her mind, and he had not properly understood—until now.
He was in too much physical and emotional agony even to feel fury at the irony of the reprieve that had come just minutes too late to save his love. Psyche herself, in her fashion, had willed it. She had gone almost willingly into the pyre, balking all attempts to change her fate, as though she had seen some greater good. But Herald could not see it! He let the Duke of Qaval lead him away.
The looting was proceeding as they rode out on fresh steeds. The females of the castle were being taken into chambers for the service of victorious soldiers. Herald wondered briefly how Sador maidens were raped, but could not muster much interest. Most of the staff of Kastle Kade was human, anyway, and he knew how they were raped.
They took the ferry across to the north pier and wheeled rapidly through the forest to the west. They would proceed to the King of Crown's palace for Transfer to Cluster HQ. Hweeh would be mattermitted entire.
Herald, forgive them—they know not what they do.
Forgive them? He would gladly see them all go up in the flame they had made for Psyche. He could not even begin to assess the depth of his loss!
On they wheeled, the sun setting beautifully through the barrel trees of the forest ahead. As though any beauty mattered, compared to what had been in Psyche. The full shock had not yet settled in on him; neither Slash nor Solarian host reacted as simplistically as Weew! But in time, when the full magnitude of horror was assimilated....
As they emerged from the forest and entered the plain, there was a sound behind them. The trees shook, the ground shuddered, and a sudden wind swept past so fiercely that they had to duck down and cling to their saddles. The horses, terrified, bolted forward, doubling their prior pace.
When they had succeeded in halting the beasts, the three turned about and looked back.
A giant glowing mushroom was forming in the dusty sky. It ballooned and folded in on itself continuously, a thing of ghastly power and significance.
"That is an atomic explosion!" Hweeh exclaimed, his eye-stalk wobbling. "What of the Medieval Covenant? No explosives—"
"It is Kastle Kade," Qaval said. "There is no atomic technology on the planet and least of all there! And if there were, why would the victors set it off, destroying themselves?"
Herald's human jaw dropped. "I wished fire on them all!" he said. "Now it has come—and still it is not enough!"
"This cannot have been through any agency of yours," Hweeh pointed out. "There must have been a device there from some prior culture, and somehow it was set off."
"The Ancients!" Qaval exclaimed. "The source of the girl's enhancement of aura. If only we had known! Not a demon, but an Ancient site below the castle, a functioning one. She was possessed—by the aura of the Ancients!
"There is the connection!" Hweeh said. "To fight the Amoeba, we must have the power of the Ancients—and she was that power, via her attunement to the site. We could have had it all, through her!"
"Had it all," Qaval echoed sadly, gazing at the monstrous cloud of death.
"And when she died... at peak aura," Hweeh concluded, "she triggered the site into nuclear destruction."
"Good for her!" Herald said with bitter feeling.
Slowly Hweeh sank into shock, as he appreciated the desolation of their situation. But the holocaust had already had its impact on Herald.
PART II
QUEST
7
Site of Mars
2 Site nullified. 2
E Question whether the Quotes obtained ancient science prior to nullification. There was aural generation of site-keying capacity in vicinity, departing shortly before 2's arrival. E
& Where did that aural generation travel? &
E To the capital of the Quote empire, Planet Outworld. E
& Surely bringing ancient information there. &
E Cluster conference is commencing now. I will monitor it from the viewpoint of Planet Outworld observation station and report as relevant. E
"Emergency Cluster Council Conference now declared in session. Rationale: display of information relating to Cluster security."
% Is there need for a full Cluster Conference? If this is merely another aspect of the energy problem that has plagued us for three thousand years— %
"No, Minister of Knyfh. This is a potential threat of invasion from extra-Cluster space."
δ Invasion? Ridiculous! None of our neighbor Clusters would make such an attempt. They surely have problems of their own, and the energy required merely to communicate is prohibitive! δ
"Minster of Qaval, it is one of your nationals who bear the report."
δ One of ours! Put him on! δ
"I am a Qaval, a Duke of Planet Keep, Sphere Sador, Segment Etamin. I participated in—"
δ No true Qaval speaks in Solarian Quotes! Is this a degenerate joke? δ
"Pay a
ttention, kinkytail, lest you answer to the sword! I am using Solarian communication equipment, designed to project in Quotes regardless of intonation, as any quarterwit knows."
δ That's a Qaval national! Proceed. δ
"I participated in the interrogation of a national of Segment Weew, who was in shock. He has evidence of—"
Hold! If this matter sends Weews into shock, the Minister of Weew must be warned.
@ I am conversant with the situation, Minister of Lodo. We mattermitted Hweeh of Swees to Segment Etamin for shock treatment, believing that his information was vital to Cluster security. When a message from him was attempted, we pursued the matter and obtained his removal from the local situation, which was becoming tenuous owing to local politics. I have assimilated shock absorbers, and am prepared. @
"If the Segment Ministers will permit me to continue."
:: Continue, Qaval of Quote. ::
"Appreciation, Quadpoint of Andromeda. The Weew has news of the approach of an immense space fleet via mattermission. This fleet is now massed at the perimeter of the Cluster."
::: * # Where?! # * :::
σσ How quickly the Fringe Segments react! Be not unduly concerned, Ministers of Freng, Thousandstar, Ast, and Furnace. A Cluster invasion would involve us all. σσ
"Thank you for the reassurance, Novagleam. The enemy fleet is known to us as the obscure extra-Cluster configuration called the Space Amoeba. It is not formed of meteoric debris, but of sophisticated spaceships whose pattern of mattermission staging provides the formation with its typical configuration."
—You claim that one extra-Cluster formation is a fleet of space? This is difficult to believe.—
"I do so claim, Dash of Andromeda. A national of your Galaxy first evoked the expert testimony of the Weew astronomer."
—Play no games, Q of Q. What Sphere?—
"Sphere Slash."
σσ Sphere Slash, the Accursed of Llume? σσ
"Novagleam, we are all in this Cluster together! If we resume the rehearsal of past differences—"
—Put the curse on!—
"I am Herald the Healer, of Sphere Slash, Andromeda. Duke Qaval's statement is true. But I am ill-equipped to testify, because—"
—I did not perceive your conclusion, Slash. Why can't you testify?—
"Qaval here. Herald the Healer of Slash is in partial shock himself."
—Slash nationals do not go into shock.—
"He is in Solarian host. He—"
—Solarians do not go into shock either.—
"Not in precisely the way Weews do. However, they have a psychological condition that—"
—This Slash is obviously able to communicate. Therefore—
"Do all Dash interrupt, or only ignorant ones?"
—(silence)—
"Herald of Slash married a Sol female, who was recently destroyed at the height of her appeal. It is grief-shock he suffers."
$ The personal angle is irrelevant. We accept the fact that he is not at the moment an ideal witness. Detail on the alien fleet is more to the point. $
"Agreed, Cloud 9. Yet it does relate. It was Herald's Sol-wife who evoked the testimony of the Weew, and who alone was capable of evoking the further details. We therefore have incomplete information."
—This is an indirect report? For a Cluster conference?—
* Why was so important an entity destroyed? *
"Local politics. She was a super-Kirlian entity, aura two hundred seventy-five."
§¢/ Aura two hundred seventy-five!? /¢§
"Affirmed, Ministers of Bhyo, Sculp, Cloud 6, Slash, and Lodo. Herald of Slash is the highest Kirlian known, at two hundred thirty-six, but Psyche of Keep was substantially higher at the time of her demise. This was in fact the cause of her demise. The locals thought she was possessed."
δ Where were you, exile of Qaval, when this destruction of a potential witness occurred? δ
"I was under restraint unable to salvage her. But the killers have been in turn destroyed."
% That justice was not for you to make! Why not a trial? %
"The region exploded. Apparently she interacted with an Ancient site, and—"
—An Ancient site! Self-destruct variety?—
"Presumably. I conjecture it was keyed to the Kirlian Lady, enhancing her aura periodically."
—So we lost an invaluable site as well as potential information on a Cluster invasion, thanks to your bungling.—
δ Attention, Dash! For a Sphere of your ignominy to cast aspersions on a Qaval— δ
¢ Must you two Galaxies still quarrel? The Wars of Energy have been over for a thousand years. ¢
δ Therefore we may be about due for another! δ
% To the subject. Was the destruction of the site coincidental with the death of the Kirlian female? %
"No, Knyfh. The girl died about half an hour before the detonation."
% Then the events may have been unrelated, unless there was a delayed reaction. %
That is not typical of Ancient sites.
% My point, Lodo. Our experts have reviewed the records of Sphere Sador Transfers during the period in question. This was unproductive. However, we have discovered the stigmata of major mattermission, unaccounted for in Segment logs. I suggest that an unknown agency mattermitted a bomb to the Ancient site. The question remains: what agency, and why? %
(E They have had much irrelevant discussion, but now they appear to be homing in on the fact. E)
(& It does not matter. They lack the technology to oppose us. Continue monitoring. &)
σσ You imply there is a connection between the alleged Amoeba fleet and the alleged Ancient site destruction? σσ
% That is a possibility, Novagleam. If the Amoeba is an enemy force that has mattermitted from far space—a million parsecs or more—it has a technology well beyond our present capability, quite apart from the ruthless energy expense. It could certainly mattermit a nuclear bomb to a specific site, if it had a mattermission receiver there—and it appears that some Ancient sites do have mattermission facilities. In this case, there would be only one way we might achieve parity quickly enough to save our Cluster from conquest and probable destruction: by mastering the full science of the Ancients immediately. The Amoeba surely knows this. Therefore it fears the functioning Ancient sites, and is destroying any it locates. %
—Then why have the Amoebites not destroyed the sites Of Sphere Dash?—
% I presume because they do not know about them, or because they intend to preserve them for their own study and use, after they have conquered the Cluster. No civilization can afford to throw away technology of the level of the Ancients! But when it seemed we were about to activate the Sador site, they destroyed it. %
This is highly speculative.
—In fact, it is fantastic! It supposes that the Amoeba is an alien fleet, that its purpose is inimical, that it is so well aware of our activities as to be able to strike accurately on short notice at any planet.—
^ And that it might even be monitoring our communications at this instant! ^
% Certainly, Minister of Pin. An excellent point. We need more information. I suggest we take immediate steps to obtain it. We must also guarantee the privacy of our deliberations. We must stay well clear of the Amoeba itself, lest we give away our purpose, but elsewhere we must pursue every avenue leading to possible revelation of the secrets of the Ancients. If this Amoeba threat is a false alarm, it will give us experience; if not, we shall need the science of the Ancients. In a hurry. %
(E They are in verge-awareness of us, and are seeking the science of the Ancient sites. E)
(& Monitor any interstellar communicatory transmissions associated with this effort. If there is evidence the locals are achieving Ancient technology, nullify all specialists associated with that specific breakthrough. &)
How do you propose to maintain privacy of our deliberations and actions, if they should be able to monitor our communications
?
% By referring the matter to committee. %
(E They conspire to elude our surveillance by operating through a committee. E)
(& Then have no further concern. Nothing of value ever came out of a committee in time to be useful. There will be no effective resistance. &)
Herald jetted forward across the dusty lava plain. His flaring gas-scoop channeled in the thin atmosphere, compressing it, ionizing it, separating out the elements vital to the life processes, and propelling the residue out at extreme velocity. This host was a native of Sphere Jet, a small culture within a Globular Cluster, one of the tight little conglomerations of stars orbiting the major Galaxies. The intense concentration of old suns in these globs made planets a rarity, and the few that did form were mainly desert balls.
But Globular Cluster Jet contained a small black hole—a region of collapsed matter so dense it had punched through the nebulous fabric of space itself and formed a "hole" from which nothing, not even light, could escape. This hole was the size of a large planet, but it had the effective mass of a large star. It was surrounded by a shell of gas, whose occasional turbulent rifts permitted intense bursts of radiation to escape. This erratic radiation had betrayed the hole's location to galactic astronomers thousands of years ago, and brought early exploration of the region. Thus the sapient Jets had been discovered out of turn as it were.
The Jets were a strange species, as might have been expected of one so close to such a strange phenomenon as a black hole set within a Globular Cluster. The hole sucked in matter from all around, creating an almost irresistible vortex whose compression at the center caused the fierce radiation normally diffused by the shell of gas. On irregular occasion, matter was thrown clear, complicating the geography and geology of the Globular Cluster. This debris had formed a number of planets, whose surface conditions fluctuated widely. Periodically, the radiation destroyed much of the life of such worlds, and clouds of drifting gas coalesced about them and changed the conditions under which new life could evolve. Thus the species that survived and progressed to the point of sapience was adept at foraging for meager assets spread across wide areas, highly adaptable to extremes of atmosphere and climate, and virtually immune to radiation damage.