XX
For two days, the _Ancient Mariner_ lay hidden in the hills. It wasvisible all that time, but at least two of the men were watching the skyevery hour of the day. Torlos himself was, they knew, perfectlytrustworthy, but they did not know whether his people were as honorableas he claimed them to be.
Arcot and Wade were in the control room on the afternoon of the secondday--not Earth days, but the forty-hour Nansalian days--and they hadbeen quietly discussing the biological differences between themselvesand the inhabitants of this planet.
Suddenly, Wade saw a slowly moving speck in the sky.
"Look, Arcot! There's Torlos!"
They waited, ready for any hostile action as the tiny ship approachedrapidly, circling slowly downward as it came nearer. It landed a fewhundred feet away, and Torlos emerged, running rapidly toward the Earthship. Arcot let him in through the airlock.
Torlos smiled broadly. "I had difficulty in convincing the Council thatmy story was true. When I told them that you could go faster than light,they strongly objected. But they had to admit that you had certainlybeen able to tear down the mountain very effectively, and they hadreceived reports of the destruction of the Satorian capitol.
"It seems you first visited the city of Thanso when you came here. Thepeople were nearly panic-stricken when they saw you rip that mountaindown and uproot the magnetic ray station. No one ship had ever done thatbefore!
"But the fact that several guards had seen me materialize out of thinair, plus the fact that they knew you could make yourselves invisible,convinced them that my story was true.
"They want to talk to you, and they say that they will gladly grant yourrequests. But you must promise them one thing--you must stay away fromany of our people, for they are afraid of disease. Bacteria that do notbother you very much might be deadly to us. The Supreme Council of Threeis willing to take the risk, but they will not allow anyone else to beexposed."
"We will keep apart from your people if the Council wishes," Arcotagreed, "but there is no real danger. We are so vastly different fromyou that it will be impossible for you to get our diseases, or for us tocontract yours. However, if the Council wants it, we will do as theyask."
Torlos at once went back to his ship and headed toward the city.
Arcot followed in the _Ancient Mariner_, keeping about three hundredfeet to the rear.
When they reached the magnetic screen of the city, one of the beamstations cut its power for a few moments, leaving a gap for the twoships to glide smoothly through.
On the roofs of the buildings, men and women were collected, watchingthe shining, polished hull of the strange ship as it moved silentlyabove them.
Torlos led them to the great central building and dropped to the hugelanding field beside it. All around them, in regular rows, the greathulls of the Nansal battleships were arranged. Arcot landed the _AncientMariner_ and shut off the power.
"I think Wade is the man to go with me this time," Arcot said. "He haslearned to communicate with Torlos quite well. We will each carry bothpistols and wear our power suits. And we'll be in radio communicationwith you at all times.
"I don't think they'll start anything we don't like this time, but I'mnot as confident as I was, and I'm not going to take any uselesschances. This time I'm going to make arrangements. If I die here,there's going to be a very costly funeral, and these men are going topay the costs!
"I'll call you every three minutes, Morey. If I don't, check up on me.If you still don't get an answer, take this place apart because youwon't be able to hurt us then.
"I'm going to tell Torlos about our precautions. If the building shieldsthe radio, I'll be listening for you and I'll retrace my steps until Ican contact you again. Right? Then come on, Wade!" Arcot, fullyequipped, strode down the corridor to the airlock.
Torlos was waiting for them with another man, whom Torlos explained wasa high-ranking officer of the fleet. Torlos, it seemed, was withoutofficial rank. He was a secret service agent without official status,and therefore an officer had been assigned to accompany the Earthmen.
Torlos seemed to be relaxing in the soft, warm sunlight of his nativeworld. It had been years since he had seen that yellow sun except fromthe windows of a space flier. Now he could walk around in the clear airof the planet of his birth.
Arcot explained to him the precautions they had taken against troublehere, and Torlos smiled. "You have certainly learned greater caution. Ican't blame you. We certainly seem little different from the men ofSator; we can only stand on trial. But I know you will be safe."
They walked across the great court, which was covered with a soft,springy turf of green. The hot sun shining down on them, the brilliantcolors of the buildings, the towering walls of the magnificent edificethey were approaching, and, behind them, the shining hull of the_Ancient Mariner_ set among the dark, needle-shaped Nansalian ships, allcombined to make a picture that would remain in their minds for a longtime.
Here, there were no guards watching them as they were conducted to themeeting of the Supreme Council of Three.
They went into the main entrance of the towering government building andstepped into the great hall on the ground floor. It was like theinterior of an ancient Gothic cathedral, beautiful and dignified. Greatpillars of green stone rose in graceful, fluted columns, smoothlycurving out like the branches of some stylized tree to meet in archesthat rose high in pleasing curves to a point midway between fourpillars. The walls were made of a dark green stone as a background; onthem had been traced designs in colored tile.
The whole hall was a thing of colored beauty; the color gave it life, asthe yellow sunlight gave life to the trees of the mountains.
They crossed the great hall and came at last to the elevator. Its doorwas made of narrow strips of metal, so bound together that the wholemade a flexible, but strong sheet. In principle, the doors worked likethe cover of an antique roll-top desk. The idea was old, but these menhad made their elevator doors very attractive by the addition of color.In no way did they detract from the dignified grace of the magnificenthall.
Torlos turned to Arcot. "I wonder if it would not be wise to shut offyour radio as we enter the elevator. Might not the magnetic force affectit?"
"Probably," Arcot agreed. He contacted Morey and told him that the radiowould be cut off for a short while. "But it won't be more than threeminutes," Arcot finished. "If it is--you know what to do."
As they entered the elevator, Torlos smiled at the two Earthmen. "Wewill ascend more gradually this time, so that the acceleration won't beso tiring to you." He moved the controls carefully, and by gentle stepsthey rose to the sixty-third floor of the giant building.
As they stepped out of the elevator, Torlos pointed toward an openwindow that stretched widely across one wall. Below them, they could seethe _Ancient Mariner_.
"Your radio contact should be good," Torlos commented.
Wade put in a call to Morey, and to his relief, he made contactimmediately.
The officer was leading them down a green stone corridor toward a simpledoor. He opened it, and they entered the room beyond.
In the center of the room was a large triangular table. At a place atthe center of each side sat one man on a slightly raised chair, while oneach side of him sat a number of other men.
Torlos stopped at the door and saluted. Then he spoke in rapid, liquidsyllables to the men sitting at the table, halting once or twice andshowing evident embarrassment as he did so.
He paused, and one of the three men in command replied rapidly in apleasant voice that had none of the harsh command that Arcot had noticedin the voice of the Satorian Commanding One. Arcot liked the voice andthe man.
Judging by Earth standards, he was past middle age--whatever that mightbe on Nansal--with crisp black hair that was bleaching slightly. Hisface showed the signs of worry that the making of momentous decisionsalways leaves, but although the face was strong with authority, therewas a gentleness that comes with a feeling of kindly power.
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Wade was talking rapidly into the radio, describing the scene beforethem to Morey. He described the great table of dark wood, and the menabout it, some in the blue uniform of the military, and some in theloose, soft garments of the civilian. Their colored fabrics,individually in good taste and harmony, were frequently badly out ofharmony with the costume of a neighbor, a difficulty accompanying thisbrightly tinted clothing.
Torlos turned to Arcot. "The Supreme council asks that you be seated atthe table, in the places left for you." He paused, then quickly added:"I have told them of your precautions, and they have said: 'A wise man,having been received treacherously once, will not again be trapped.'They approve of your policy of caution.
"The men who sit at the raised portions of the table are the SupremeThree; the others are their advisors who know the details of Science,Business, and War. No one man can know all the branches of humanendeavor, and this is but a meeting place of those who know best theindividual lines. The Supreme Three are elected from the advisors incase of the death of one of the Three, and they act as co-ordinators forthe rest.
"The man of Science is to your left; directly before you is the man ofBusiness, and to your right is the Commander of the Military.
"To whom do you wish to speak first?"
Arcot considered for a moment, then: "I must first tell the Scientistwhat it is I have, then tell the Commander how he can use it, andfinally I will tell the Businessman what will be needed."
Arcot had noticed that the military officers all wore holsters for theirpneumatic pistols, but they were conspicuously empty. He was bothpleased and embarrassed. What should he do--he, who carried two deadlypistols. He decided on the least conspicuous course and left them wherethey were.
Arcot projected his thoughts at Torlos. "We have come a vast distanceacross space, from another galaxy. Let your astronomer tell them whatdistance that represents."
Arcot paused while Torlos put the thoughts into the words of theNansalian language. A moment later, one of the scientists, a tall,powerfully built man, even for these men of giant strength, rose andspoke to the others. When he was seated, a second rose and spoke also,with an expression of puzzled wonder.
"He says," Torlos translated, "that his science has taught him that aspeed such as you say you have made is impossible, but the fact that youare here proves his science wrong.
"He reasoned that since your kind live on no planet of this system, youmust come from another star. Since his science says that this is just asimpossible as coming from another galaxy, he is convinced of the fallacyin the theories."
Arcot smiled. The sound reasoning was creditable; the man did not labelas "impossible" something which was proven by the presence of the twoEarthmen.
Arcot tried to explain the physical concepts behind his space-straindrive, but communication broke down rapidly; Torlos, a warrior, not ascientist, could not comprehend the ideas, and was completely unable totranslate them into his own language.
"The Chief Physicist suggests that you think directly at him," Torlosfinally told Arcot. "He suggests that the thoughts might be morefamiliar to him than to me." He grinned. "And they certainly aren'tclear to me!"
Arcot projected his thoughts directly toward the physicist; to hissurprise, the man was a perfect receiver. He had a natural gift for it.Quickly, Arcot outlined the system that had made his intergalacticvoyage possible.
The physicist smiled when Arcot was finished, and tried to reply, but hewas not a good transmitter. Torlos aided him.
"He says that the science of your people is far ahead of us. Theconceptions are totally foreign to his mind, and he can only barelygrasp the significance of the idea of bent emptiness that you have givenhim. He says, however, that he can fully appreciate the possibility thatyou have shown him. He has given your message to the Three, and they areanxious to hear of the weapons you have."
Arcot drew the molecular pistol, and holding it up for all to see,projected the general theory of its operation toward the physicist.
To the Chief Physicist of Nansal, the idea of molecular energy was anold one; he had been making use of it all his life, and it was wellknown that the muscles used the heat of air to do their work. Heunderstood well how it worked, but not until Arcot projected into hismind the mental impression of how the Earthmen had thrown one sun intoanother did he realize the vast power of the ray.
Awed, the man translated the idea to his fellows.
Then Arcot drew the heat pistol and explained how the annihilation ofmatter within it was converted into pure heat by the relux lens.
"I will show you how they work," Arcot continued. "Could we have a lumpof metal of some kind?"
The Scientist spoke into an intercom microphone, and within a fewminutes, a large lump of iron--a broken casting--was brought in. Arcotsuspended it on the molecular beam while Wade melted it with the heatbeam. It melted and collapsed into a ball that glowed brilliantly andflamed as its surface burned in the oxygen of the air. Wade cut off hisheat ray, and the ball quickly cooled under the influence of themolecular beam until Arcot lowered it to the floor, a perfect spherecrusted with ice and frost.
Arcot continued for the better part of an hour to explain to the Councilexactly what he had, how they could be used, and what materials andprocesses were needed to make them.
When he was finished, the Supreme Three conferred for several minutes.Then the Scientist asked, through Torlos: "How can we repay you forthese things you have given us?"
"First, we need lead to fuel our ship." Arcot gave them the exactspecifications for the lead wire they needed.
He received his answer from the man of Business and Manufacturing. "Wecan give you that easily, for lead is cheap. Indeed, it seems hardlyenough to repay you."
"The second thing we need," Arcot continued, "is information. We becamelost in space and are unable to find our way home. I would like toexplain the case to the Astronomer."
The Astronomer proved to be a man of powerful intelligence as well aspowerful physique, and was a better transmitter than receiver. It tookevery bit of Arcot's powerful mind to project his thoughts to the man.
He explained the dilemma that he and his friends were in, and told himhow he could recognize the Galaxy on his plates. The Astronomer said hethought he knew of such a nebula, but he would like to compare his ownphotographs with Arcot's to make sure.
"In return," Arcot told him, "we will give you another weapon--a weapon,this time, to defeat the astronomer's greatest enemy, distance. It is anelectrical telescope which will permit you to see life on every planetof this system. With it, you can see a man at a distance ten times asgreat as the distance from Nansal to your sun!"
Eagerly, the Astronomer questioned Arcot concerning the telectroscope,but others were clamoring for Arcot's attention.
The Biologist was foremost among the contenders; he seemed worried aboutthe possibility of the alien Earthmen carrying pathogenic bacteria.
"Torlos has told us that you have an entirely different internalorganization. What is it that is different? I can't believe that he hascorrectly understood you."
Arcot explained the differences as carefully as possible. By the time hewas finished, the Biologist felt sure that any such creature wassufficiently far removed from them to be harmless biologically, but hewanted to study the Man of Earth further.
Arcot had brought along a collection of medical books as a possible aidin case of accident. He offered to give these to Nansal in exchange fora collection of Nansalian medical texts. The English would have to beworked out with the aid of a dictionary and a primary working aid whichArcot would supply. Arcot also asked for a skeleton to take with him,and the Biologist readily agreed.
"We'd like to give you one in return," Arcot grinned, "But we onlybrought four along, and, unfortunately, we are using them at themoment."
The Biologist smiled back and assured him that they would not think oftaking a piece of apparatus so vitally necessary to the Earthmen.
The Milita
ry Leader was the man who demanded attention next. Arcot had along conference with him, and they decided that the best way for theMilitary Leader to learn the war potential of the _Ancient Mariner_ wasto personally see a demonstration of its powers.
The Council decided that the Three would go on the trip. The MilitaryCommander picked two of his aides to go, and the Scientist picked theAstronomer and the Physicist. The head of Business and Manufacturingdeclined to bring any of his advisors.
"We would learn nothing," he told Arcot, "and would only be in the way.I, myself, am going only because I am one of the Three."
"Very well," said Arcot. "Let's get started."