courtesy!" I shouted. He made little bubbles in the water."The ancestors are annoyed and have decided to forbid entrance to theInner Temple forever; though, out of kindness, they will let the watersflow. Now I must return--on with the ceremony!"
The torture-master was too frightened to move, so I grabbed out his hotiron. A touch on the side of my face dropped a steel plate over my eyes,under the plastiskin. Then I jammed the iron hard into my phonyeye-sockets and the plastic gave off an authentic odor.
A cry went up from the crowd as I dropped the iron and staggered inblind circles. I must admit it went off pretty well.
* * * * *
Before they could get any more bright ideas, I threw the switch and myplastic pterodactyl sailed in through the door. I couldn't see it, ofcourse, but I knew it had arrived when the grapples in the claws latchedonto the steel plates on my shoulders.
I had got turned around after the eye-burning and my flying beast hookedonto me backward. I had meant to sail out bravely, blind eyes facinginto the sunset; instead, I faced the crowd as I soared away, so I madethe most of a bad situation and threw them a snappy military salute.Then I was out in the fresh air and away.
When I lifted the plate and poked holes in the seared plastic, I couldsee the pyramid growing smaller behind me, water gushing out of the baseand a happy crowd of reptiles sporting in its radioactive rush. Icounted off on my talons to see if I had forgotten anything.
One: The beacon was repaired.
Two: The door was sealed, so there should be no more sabotage,accidental or deliberate.
Three: The priests should be satisfied. The water was running again, myeyes had been duly burned out, and they were back in business. Whichadded up to--
Four: The fact that they would probably let another repairman in, underthe same conditions, if the beacon conked out again. At least I had donenothing, like butchering a few of them, that would make themantagonistic toward future ancestral messengers.
I stripped off my tattered lizard suit back in the ship, very glad thatit would be some other repairman who'd get the job.
--HARRY HARRISON
Transcriber's Note:
This etext was produced from _Galaxy_ February 1958. Extensive researchdid not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publicationwas renewed.
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