diff options
Diffstat (limited to '22876.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 22876.txt | 1081 |
1 files changed, 1081 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/22876.txt b/22876.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f516026 --- /dev/null +++ b/22876.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1081 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Link, by Alan Edward Nourse + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Link + +Author: Alan Edward Nourse + +Release Date: October 3, 2007 [EBook #22876] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LINK *** + + + + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + +Transcriber's Note: + + This etext was produced from _The Counterfeit Man More Science + Fiction Stories by Alan E. Nourse_ published in 1963. Extensive + research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on + this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and typographical + errors have been corrected without note. + + + + + The + Link + + + + +It was nearly sundown when Ravdin eased the ship down into the last slow +arc toward the Earth's surface. Stretching his arms and legs, he tried +to relax and ease the tension in his tired muscles. Carefully, he +tightened the seat belt for landing; below him he could see the vast, +tangled expanse of Jungle-land spreading out to the horizon. Miles ahead +was the bright circle of the landing field and the sparkling glow of the +city beyond. Ravdin peered to the north of the city, hoping to catch a +glimpse of the concert before his ship was swallowed by the brilliant +landing lights. + +A bell chimed softly in his ear. Ravdin forced his attention back to the +landing operation. He was still numb and shaken from the Warp-passage, +his mind still muddled by the abrupt and incredible change. Moments +before, the sky had been a vast, starry blanket of black velvet; then, +abruptly, he had been hovering over the city, sliding down toward warm +friendly lights and music. He checked the proper switches, and felt the +throbbing purr of the anti-grav motors as the ship slid in toward the +landing slot. Tall spires of other ships rose to meet him, circle upon +circle of silver needles pointing skyward. A little later they were +blotted out as the ship was grappled into the berth from which it had +risen days before. + +With a sigh, Ravdin eased himself out of the seat, his heart pounding +with excitement. Perhaps, he thought, he was too excited, too eager to +be home, for his mind was still reeling from the fearful discovery of +his journey. + +The station was completely empty as Ravdin walked down the ramp to the +shuttles. At the desk he checked in with the shiny punch-card robot, and +walked swiftly across the polished floor. The wall panels pulsed a +somber blue-green, broken sharply by brilliant flashes and overtones of +scarlet, reflecting with subtle accuracy the tumult in his own mind. Not +a sound was in the air, not a whisper nor sign of human habitation. +Vaguely, uneasiness grew in his mind as he entered the shuttle station. +Suddenly, the music caught him, a long, low chord of indescribable +beauty, rising and falling in the wind, a distant whisper of life.... + +The concert, of course. Everyone would be at the concert tonight, and +even from two miles away, the beauty of four hundred perfectly +harmonized voices was carried on the breeze. Ravdin's uneasiness +disappeared; he was eager to discharge his horrible news, get it off his +mind and join the others in the great amphitheater set deep in the +hillside outside the city. But he knew instinctively that Lord Nehmon, +anticipating his return, would not be at the concert. + +Riding the shuttle over the edges of Jungle-land toward the shining +bright beauty of the city, Ravdin settled back, trying to clear his mind +of the shock and horror he had encountered on his journey. The curves +and spires of glowing plastic passed him, lighted with a million hues. +He realized that his whole life was entangled in the very beauty of this +wonderful city. Everything he had ever hoped or dreamed lay sheltered +here in the ever-changing rhythm of colors and shapes and sounds. And +now, he knew, he would soon see his beloved city burning once again, +turning to flames and ashes in a heart-breaking memorial to the age-old +fear of his people. + +The little shuttle-car settled down softly on the green terrace near +the center of the city. The building was a masterpiece of smoothly +curving walls and tasteful lines, opening a full side to the south to +catch the soft sunlight and warm breezes. Ravdin strode across the deep +carpeting of the terrace. There was other music here, different music, a +wilder, more intimate fantasy of whirling sound. An oval door opened for +him, and he stopped short, staggered for a moment by the overpowering +beauty in the vaulted room. + +A girl with red hair the color of new flame was dancing with enthralling +beauty and abandon, her body moving like ripples of wind to the music +which filled the room with its throbbing cry. Her beauty was exquisite, +every motion, every flowing turn a symphony of flawless perfection as +she danced to the wild music. + +"Lord Nehmon!" + +The dancer threw back her head sharply, eyes wide, her body frozen in +mid-air, and then, abruptly, she was gone, leaving only the barest +flickering image of her fiery hair. The music slowed, singing softly, +and Ravdin could see the old man waiting in the room. Nehmon rose, his +gaunt face and graying hair belying the youthful movement of his body. +Smiling, he came forward, clapped Ravdin on the shoulder, and took his +hand warmly. "You're too late for the concert--it's a shame. Mischana is +the master tonight, and the whole city is there." + +Ravdin's throat tightened as he tried to smile. "I had to let you know," +he said. "_They're coming_, Nehmon! I saw them, hours ago." + +The last overtones of the music broke abruptly, like a glass shattered +on stone. The room was deathly still. Lord Nehmon searched the young +man's face. Then he turned away, not quite concealing the sadness and +pain in his eyes. "You're certain? You couldn't be mistaken?" + +"No chance. I found signs of their passing in a dozen places. Then I +saw _them_, their whole fleet. There were hundreds. They're coming, I +saw them." + +"Did they see you?" Nehmon's voice was sharp. + +"No, no. The Warp is a wonderful thing. With it I could come and go in +the twinkling of an eye. But I could see them in the twinkling of an +eye." + +"And it couldn't have been anyone else?" + +"Could anyone else build ships like the Hunters?" + +Nehmon sighed wearily. "No one that we know." He glanced up at the young +man. "Sit down, son, sit down. I--I'll just have to rearrange my +thinking a little. Where were they? How far?" + +"Seven light years," Ravdin said. "Can you imagine it? Just seven, and +moving straight this way. _They know where we are_, and they are coming +quickly." His eyes filled with fear. "They _couldn't_ have found us so +soon, unless they too have discovered the Warp and how to use it to +travel." + +The older man's breath cut off sharply, and there was real alarm in his +eyes. "You're right," he said softly. "Six months ago it was eight +hundred light years away, in an area completely remote from us. Now just +_seven_. In six months they have come so close." + +The scout looked up at Nehmon in desperation. "But what can we do? We +have only weeks, maybe days, before they're here. We have no time to +plan, no time to prepare for them. What can we do?" + +The room was silent. Finally the aged leader stood up, wearily, some +fraction of his six hundred years of life showing in his face for the +first time in centuries. "We can do once again what we always have done +before when the Hunters came," he said sadly. "We can run away." + + * * * * * + +The bright street below the oval window was empty and quiet. Not a +breath of air stirred in the city. Ravdin stared out in bitter silence. +"Yes, we can run away. Just as we always have before. After we have +worked so hard, accomplished so much here, we must burn the city and +flee again." His voice trailed off to silence. He stared at Nehmon, +seeking in the old man's face some answer, some reassurance. But he +found no answer there, only sadness. "Think of the concerts. It's taken +so long, but at last we've come so close to the ultimate goal." He +gestured toward the thought-sensitive sounding boards lining the walls, +the panels which had made the dancer-illusion possible. "Think of the +beauty and peace we've found here." + +"I know. How well I know." + +"Yet now the Hunters come again, and again we must run away." Ravdin +stared at the old man, his eyes suddenly bright. "Nehmon, when I saw +those ships I began thinking." + +"I've spent many years thinking, my son." + +"Not what I've been thinking." Ravdin sat down, clasping his hands in +excitement. "The Hunters come and we run away, Nehmon. Think about that +for a moment. We run, and we run, and we run. From what? We run from the +Hunters. They're hunting _us_, these Hunters. They've never quite found +us, because we've always already run. We're clever, we're fortunate, and +we have a way of life that they do not, so whenever they have come close +to finding us, we have run." + +Nehmon nodded slowly. "For thousands of years." + +Ravdin's eyes were bright. "Yes, we flee, we cringe, we hide under +stones, we break up our lives and uproot our families, running like +frightened animals in the shadows of night and secrecy." He gulped a +breath, and his eyes sought Nehmon's angrily. "_Why do we run, my +lord?_" + +Nehmon's eyes widened. "Because we have no choice," he said. "We must +run or be killed. You know that. You've seen the records, you've been +taught." + +"Oh, yes, I know what I've been taught. I've been taught that eons ago +our remote ancestors fought the Hunters, and lost, and fled, and were +pursued. But why do we keep running? Time after time we've been +cornered, and we've turned and fled. _Why?_ Even animals know that when +they're cornered they must turn and fight." + +"We are not animals." Nehmon's voice cut the air like a whiplash. + +"But we could fight." + +"Animals fight. We do not. We fought once, like animals, and now we must +run from the Hunters who continue to fight like animals. So be it. Let +the Hunters fight." + +Ravdin shook his head. "Do you mean that the Hunters are not men like +us?" he said. "That's what you're saying, that they are animals. All +right. We kill animals for our food, isn't that true? We kill the +tiger-beasts in the Jungle to protect ourselves, why not kill the +Hunters to protect ourselves?" + +Nehmon sighed, and reached out a hand to the young man. "I'm sorry," he +said gently. "It seems logical, but it's false logic. The Hunters are +men just like you and me. Their lives are different, their culture is +different, but they are men. And human life is sacred, to us, above all +else. This is the fundamental basis of our very existence. Without it we +would be Hunters, too. If we fight, we are dead even if we live. That's +why we must run away now, and always. Because we know that we must not +kill men." + + * * * * * + +On the street below, the night air was suddenly full of voices, +chattering, intermingled with whispers of song and occasional brief +harmonic flutterings. The footfalls were muted on the polished pavement +as the people passed slowly, their voices carrying a hint of puzzled +uneasiness. + +"The concert's over!" Ravdin walked to the window, feeling a chill pass +through him. "So soon, I wonder why?" Eagerly he searched the faces +passing in the street for Dana's face, sensing the lurking discord in +the quiet talk of the crowd. Suddenly the sound-boards in the room +tinkled a carillon of ruby tones in his ear, and she was in the room, +rushing into his arms with a happy cry, pressing her soft cheek to his +rough chin. "You're back! Oh, I'm so glad, so very glad!" She turned to +the old man. "Nehmon, what has happened? The concert was ruined tonight. +There was something in the air, everybody felt it. For some reason the +people seemed _afraid_." + +Ravdin turned away from his bride. "Tell her," he said to the old man. + +Dana looked at them, her gray eyes widening in horror. "The Hunters! +They've found us?" + +Ravdin nodded wordlessly. + +Her hands trembled as she sat down, and there were tears in her eyes. +"We came so close tonight, so very close. I _felt_ the music before it +was sung, do you realize that? I _felt_ the fear around me, even though +no one said a word. It wasn't vague or fuzzy, it was _clear_! The +transference was perfect." She turned to face the old man. "It's taken +so long to come this far, Nehmon. So much work, so much training to +reach a perfect communal concert. We've had only two hundred years here, +only _two hundred_! I was just a little girl when we came, I can't even +remember before that. Before we came here we were undisturbed for a +thousand years, and before that, four thousand. But _two hundred_--we +_can't_ leave now. Not when we've come so far." + +Ravdin nodded. "That's the trouble. They come closer every time. This +time they will catch us. Or the next time, or the next. And that will be +the end of everything for us, unless we fight them." He paused, watching +the last groups dispersing on the street below. "If we only knew, for +certain, what we were running from." + +There was a startled silence. The girl's breath came in a gasp and her +eyes widened as his words sank home. "Ravdin," she said softly, "_have +you ever seen a Hunter_?" + +Ravdin stared at her, and felt a chill of excitement. Music burst from +the sounding-board, odd, wild music, suddenly hopeful. "No," he said, +"no, of course not. You know that." + +The girl rose from her seat. "Nor have I. Never, not once." She turned +to Lord Nehmon. "Have _you_?" + +"Never." The old man's voice was harsh. + +"Has _anyone_ ever seen a Hunter?" + +Ravdin's hand trembled. "I--I don't know. None of us living now, no. +It's been too long since they last actually found us. I've read--oh, I +can't remember. I think my grandfather saw them, or my great-grandfather, +somewhere back there. It's been thousands of years." + +"Yet we've been tearing ourselves up by the roots, fleeing from planet +to planet, running and dying and still running. But suppose we don't +need to run anymore?" + +He stared at her. "They keep coming. They keep searching for us. What +more proof do you need?" + +Dana's face glowed with excitement, alive with new vitality, new hope. +"Ravdin, can't you see? _They might have changed._ They might not be the +same. Things can happen. Look at us, how we've grown since the wars with +the Hunters. Think how our philosophy and culture have matured! Oh, +Ravdin, you were to be master at a concert next month. Think how the +concerts have changed! Even my grandmother can remember when the +concerts were just a few performers playing, and everyone else just +sitting and _listening_! Can you imagine anything more silly? They +hadn't even thought of transference then, they never dreamed what a +_real_ concert could be! Why, those people had never begun to understand +music until they themselves became a part of it. Even we can see these +changes, why couldn't the Hunters have grown and changed just as we +have?" + +Nehmon's voice broke in, almost harshly, as he faced the excited pair. +"The Hunters don't have concerts," he said grimly. "You're deluding +yourself, Dana. They laugh at our music, they scoff at our arts and +twist them into obscene mockeries. They have no concept of beauty in +their language. The Hunters are incapable of change." + +"And you can be certain of that when _nobody has seen them for thousands +of years_?" + +Nehmon met her steady eyes, read the strength and determination there. +He knew, despairingly, what she was thinking--that he was old, that he +couldn't understand, that his mind was channeled now beyond the approach +of wisdom. "You mustn't think what you're thinking," he said weakly. +"You'd be blind. You wouldn't know, you couldn't have any idea what you +would find. If you tried to contact them, you could be lost completely, +tortured, killed. If they haven't changed, you wouldn't stand a chance. +You'd never come back, Dana." + +"But she's right all the same," Ravdin said softly. "You're wrong, my +lord. We can't continue this way if we're to survive. Sometime our +people must contact them, find the link that was once between us, and +forge it strong again. We could do it, Dana and I." + +"I could forbid you to go." + +Dana looked at her husband, and her eyes were proud. "You could forbid +us," she said, facing the old man. "But you could never stop us." + + * * * * * + +At the edge of the Jungle-land a great beast stood with green-gleaming +eyes, licking his fanged jaws as he watched the glowing city, sensing +somehow that the mystifying circle of light and motion was soon to +become his Jungle-land again. In the city the turmoil bubbled over, as +wave after wave of the people made the short safari across the +intervening jungle to the circles of their ships. Husbands, wives, +fathers, mothers--all carried their small, frail remembrances out to the +ships. There was music among them still, but it was a different sort of +music, now, an eerie, hopeless music that drifted out of the city in the +wind. It caused all but the bravest of the beasts, their hair prickling +on their backs, to run in panic through the jungle darkness. It was a +melancholy music, carried from thought to thought, from voice to voice +as the people of the city wearily prepared themselves once again for the +long journey. + +To run away. In the darkness of secrecy, to be gone, without a trace, +without symbol or vestige of their presence, leaving only the scorched +circle of land for the jungle to reclaim, so that no eyes, not even the +sharpest, would ever know how long they had stayed, nor where they might +have gone. + +In the rounded room of his house, Lord Nehmon dispatched the last of his +belongings, a few remembrances, nothing more, because the space on the +ships must take people, not remembrances, and he knew that the +remembrances would bring only pain. All day Nehmon had supervised the +loading, the intricate preparation, following plans laid down millennia +before. He saw the libraries and records transported, mile upon endless +mile of microfilm, carted to the ships prepared to carry them, stored +until a new resting place was found. The history of a people was +recorded on that film, a people once proud and strong, now equally +proud, but dwindling in numbers as toll for the constant roving. A proud +people, yet a people who would turn and run without thought, in a panic +of age-old fear. They _had_ to run, Nehmon knew, if they were to +survive. + +And with a blaze of anger in his heart, he almost hated the two young +people waiting here with him for the last ship to be filled. For these +two would not go. + +It had been a long and painful night. He had pleaded and begged, tried +to persuade them that there was no hope, that the very idea of remaining +behind or trying to contact the Hunters was insane. Yet he knew _they_ +were sane, perhaps unwise, naive, but their decision had been reached, +and they would not be shaken. + +The day was almost gone as the last ships began to fill. Nehmon turned +to Ravdin and Dana, his face lined and tired. "You'll have to go soon," +he said. "The city will be burned, of course, as always. You'll be left +with food, and with weapons against the jungle. The Hunters will know +that we've been here, but they'll not know when, nor where we have +gone." He paused. "It will be up to you to see that they don't learn." + +Dana shook her head. "We'll tell them nothing, unless it's safe for them +to know." + +"They'll question you, even torture you." + +She smiled calmly. "Perhaps they won't. But as a last resort, we can +blank out." + +Nehmon's face went white. "You know there is no coming back, once you do +that. You would never regain your memory. You must save it for a last +resort." + +Down below on the street the last groups of people were passing; the +last sweet, eerie tones of the concert were rising in the gathering +twilight. Soon the last families would have taken their refuge in the +ships, waiting for Nehmon to trigger the fire bombs to ignite the +beautiful city after the ships started on their voyage. The concerts +were over; there would be long years of aimless wandering before another +home could be found, another planet safe from the Hunters and their +ships. Even then it would be more years before the concerts could again +rise from their hearts and throats and minds, generations before they +could begin work again toward the climactic expression of their +heritage. + +Ravdin felt the desolation in the people's minds, saw the utter +hopelessness in the old man's face, and suddenly felt the pressure of +despair. It was such a slender hope, so frail and so dangerous. He knew +of the terrible fight, the war of his people against the Hunters, so +many thousand years before. They had risen together, a common people, +their home a single planet. And then, the gradual splitting of the +nations, his own people living in peace, seeking the growth and beauty +of the arts, despising the bitterness and barrenness of hatred and +killing--and the Hunters, under an iron heel of militarism, of +government for the perpetuation of government, split farther and farther +from them. It was an ever-widening split as the Hunters sneered and +ridiculed, and then grew to hate Ravdin's people for all the things the +Hunters were losing: peace, love, happiness. Ravdin knew of his people's +slowly dawning awareness of the sanctity of life, shattered abruptly by +the horrible wars, and then the centuries of fear and flight, hiding +from the wrath of the Hunters' vengeance. His people had learned much in +those long years. They had conquered disease. They had grown in strength +as they dwindled in numbers. But now the end could be seen, crystal +clear, the end of his people and a ghastly grave. + +Nehmon's voice broke the silence. "If you must stay behind, then go now. +The city will burn an hour after the count-down." + +"We will be safe, outside the city." Dana gripped her husband's hand, +trying to transmit to him some part of her strength and confidence. +"Wish us the best, Nehmon. If a link can be forged, we will forge it." + +"I wish you the best in everything." There were tears in the old man's +eyes as he turned and left the room. + + * * * * * + +They stood in the Jungle-land, listening to the scurry of frightened +animals, and shivering in the cool night air as the bright sparks of the +ships' exhausts faded into the black starry sky. A man and a woman +alone, speechless, watching, staring with awful longing into the skies +as the bright rocket jets dwindled to specks and flickered out. + +The city burned. Purple spumes of flame shot high into the air, throwing +a ghastly light on the frightened Jungle-land. Spires of flame seemed to +be seeking the stars with their fingers as the plastic walls and streets +of the city hissed and shriveled, blackening, bubbling into a vanishing +memory before their eyes. The flames shot high, carrying with them the +last remnants of the city which had stood proud and tall an hour before. +Then a silence fell, deathly, like the lifeless silence of a grave. Out +of the silence, little whispering sounds of the Jungle-land crept to +their ears, first frightened, then curious, then bolder and bolder as +the wisps of grass and little animals ventured out and out toward the +clearing where the city had stood. Bit by bit the Jungle-land gathered +courage, and the clearing slowly, silently, began to disappear. + +Days later new sparks of light appeared in the black sky. They grew to +larger specks, then to flares, and finally settled to the earth as +powerful, flaming jets. + +They were squat, misshapen vessels, circling down like vultures, +hissing, screeching, landing with a grinding crash in the tall thicket +near the place where the city had stood. Ravdin's signal had guided them +in, and the Hunters had seen them, standing on a hilltop above the +demolished amphitheater. Men had come out of the ships, large men with +cold faces and dull eyes, weapons strapped to their trim uniforms. The +Hunters had blinked at them, unbelieving, with their weapons held at +ready. Ravdin and Dana were seized and led to the flagship. + +As they approached it, their hearts sank and they clasped hands to +bolster their failing hope. + +The leader of the Hunters looked up from his desk as they were thrust +into his cabin. Frankle's face was a graven mask as he searched their +faces dispassionately. The captives were pale and seemed to cringe from +the pale interrogation light. "Chickens!" the Hunter snorted. "We have +been hunting down chickens." His eyes turned to one of the guards. "They +have been searched?" + +"Of course, master." + +"And questioned?" + +The guard frowned. "Yes, sir. But their language is almost +unintelligible." + +"You've studied the basic tongues, haven't you?" Frankle's voice was as +cold as his eyes. + +"Of course, sir, but this is so different." + +Frankle stared in contempt at the fair-skinned captives, fixing his +eyes on them for a long moment. Finally he said, "Well?" + +Ravdin glanced briefly at Dana's white face. His voice seemed weak and +high-pitched in comparison to the Hunter's baritone. "You are the leader +of the Hunters?" + +Frankle regarded him sourly, without replying. His thin face was +swarthy, his short-cut gray hair matching the cold gray of his eyes. It +was an odd face, completely blank of any thought or emotion, yet capable +of shifting to a strange biting slyness in the briefest instant. It was +a rich face, a face of inscrutable depth. He pushed his chair back, his +eyes watchful. "We know your people were here," he said suddenly. "Now +they've gone, and yet you remain behind. There must be a reason for such +rashness. Are you sick? Crippled?" + +Ravdin shook his head. "We are not sick." + +"Then criminals, perhaps? Being punished for rebellious plots?" + +"We are not criminals." + +The Hunter's fist crashed on the desk. "Then why are you here? _Why?_ +Are you going to tell me now, or do you propose to waste a few hours of +my time first?" + +"There is no mystery," Ravdin said softly. "We stayed behind to plead +for peace." + +"For peace?" Frankle stared in disbelief. Then he shrugged, his face +tired. "I might have known. Peace! Where have your people gone?" + +Ravdin met him eye for eye. "I can't say." + +The Hunter laughed. "Let's be precise, you don't _choose_ to say, just +now. But perhaps very soon you will wish with all your heart to tell +me." + +Dana's voice was sharp. "We're telling you the truth. We want peace, +nothing more. This constant hunting and running is senseless, exhausting +to both of us. We want to make peace with you, to bring our people +together again." + +Frankle snorted. "You came to us in war, once, long ago. Now you want +peace. What would you do, clasp us to your bosom, smother us in your +idiotic music? Or have you gone on to greater things?" + +Ravdin's face flushed hotly. "Much greater things," he snapped. + +Frankle sat down slowly. "No doubt," he said. "Now understand me +clearly. Very soon you will be killed. How quickly or slowly you die +will depend largely upon the civility of your tongues. A civil tongue +answers questions with the right answers. That is my definition of a +civil tongue." He sat back coldly. "Now, shall we commence asking +questions?" + +Dana stepped forward suddenly, her cheeks flushed. "We don't have the +words to express ourselves," she said softly. "We can't tell you in +words what we have to say, but music is a language even you can +understand. We can tell you what we want in music." + +Frankle scowled. He knew about the magic of this music, he had heard of +the witchcraft these weak chicken-people could weave, of their strange, +magic power to steal strong men's minds from them and make them like +children before wolves. But he had never heard this music with his own +ears. He looked at them, his eyes strangely bright. "You know I cannot +listen to your music. It is forbidden, even you should know that. How +dare you propose--" + +"But this is different music." Dana's eyes widened, and she threw an +excited glance at her husband. "Our music is beautiful, wonderful to +hear. If you could only hear it--" + +"Never." The man hesitated. "Your music is forbidden, poisonous." + +Her smile was like sweet wine, a smile that worked into the Hunter's +mind like a gentle, lazy drug. "But who is to permit or forbid? After +all, you are the leader here, and forbidden pleasures are all the +sweeter." + +Frankle's eyes were on hers, fascinated. Slowly, with a graceful +movement, she drew the gleaming thought-sensitive stone from her +clothing. It glowed in the room with a pearly luminescence, and she saw +the man's eyes turning to it, drawn as if by magic. Then he looked away, +and a cruel smile curled his lips. He motioned toward the stone. "All +right," he said mockingly. "Do your worst. Show me your precious music." + +Like a tinkle of glass breaking in a well, the stone flashed its fiery +light in the room. Little swirls of music seemed to swell from it, +blossoming in the silence. Frankle tensed, a chill running up his spine, +his eyes drawn back to the gleaming jewel. Suddenly, the music filled +the room, rising sweetly like an overpowering wave, filling his mind +with strange and wonderful images. The stone shimmered and changed, +taking the form of dancing clouds of light, swirling with the music as +it rose. Frankle felt his mind groping toward the music, trying +desperately to reach into the heart of it, to become part of it. + +Ravdin and Dana stood there, trancelike, staring transfixed at the +gleaming center of light, forcing their joined minds to create the +crashing, majestic chords as the song lifted from the depths of oblivion +to the heights of glory in the old, old song of their people. + +A song of majesty, and strength, and dignity. A song of love, of +aspiration, a song of achievement. A song of peoples driven by ancient +fears across the eons of space, seeking only peace, even peace with +those who drove them. + +Frankle heard the music, and could not comprehend, for his mind could +not grasp the meaning, the true overtones of those glorious chords, but +he felt the strangeness in the pangs of fear which groped through his +mind, cringing from the wonderful strains, dazzled by the dancing light. +He stared wide-eyed and trembling at the couple across the room, and for +an instant it seemed that he was stripped naked. For a fleeting moment +the authority was gone from his face; gone too was the cruelty, the +avarice, the sardonic mockery. For the briefest moment his cold gray +eyes grew incredibly tender with a sudden ancient, long-forgotten +longing, crying at last to be heard. + +And then, with a scream of rage he was stumbling into the midst of the +light, lashing out wildly at the heart of its shimmering brilliance. His +huge hand caught the hypnotic stone and swept it into crashing, +ear-splitting cacophony against the cold steel bulkhead. He stood rigid, +his whole body shaking, eyes blazing with fear and anger and hatred as +he turned on Ravdin and Dana. His voice was a raging storm of bitterness +drowning out the dying strains of the music. + +"Spies! You thought you could steal my mind away, make me forget my duty +and listen to your rotten, poisonous noise! Well, you failed, do you +hear? I didn't hear it, I didn't listen, _I didn't_! I'll hunt you down +as my fathers hunted you down, I'll bring my people their vengeance and +glory, and your foul music will be dead!" + +He turned to the guards, wildly, his hands still trembling. "Take them +out! Whip them, burn them, do anything! But find out where their people +have gone. Find out! Music! We'll take the music out of them, once and +for all." + + * * * * * + +The inquisition had been horrible. Their minds had had no concept of +such horror, such relentless, racking pain. The blazing lights, the +questions screaming in their ears, Frankle's vicious eyes burning in +frustration, and their own screams, rising with each question they would +not answer until their throats were scorched and they could no longer +scream. Finally they reached the limit they could endure, and muttered +together the hoarse words that could deliver them. Not words that +Frankle could hear, but words to bring deliverance, to blank out their +minds like a wet sponge over slate. The hypnotic key clicked into the +lock of their minds; their screams died in their brains. Frankle stared +at them, and knew instantly what they had done, a technique of memory +obliteration known and dreaded for so many thousands of years that +history could not remember. As his captives stood mindless before him, +he let out one hoarse, agonized scream of frustration and defeat. + +But strangely enough he did not kill them. He left them on a cold stone +ledge, blinking dumbly at each other as the ships of his fleet rose one +by one and vanished like fireflies in the dark night sky. Naked, they +sat alone on the planet of the Jungle-land. They knew no words, no +music, nothing. And they did not even know that in the departing ships a +seed had been planted. For Frankle _had_ heard the music. He had grasped +the beauty of his enemies for that brief instant, and in that instant +they had become less his enemies. A tiny seed of doubt had been planted. +The seed would grow. + +The two sat dumbly, shivering. Far in the distance, a beast roared +against the heavy night, and a light rain began to fall. They sat naked, +the rain soaking their skin and hair. Then one of them grunted, and +moved into the dry darkness of the cave. Deep within him some instinct +spoke, warning him to fear the roar of the animal. + +Blinking dully, the woman crept into the cave after him. Three thoughts +alone filled their empty minds. Not thoughts of Nehmon and his people; +to them, Nehmon had never existed, forgotten as completely as if he had +never been. No thoughts of the Hunters, either, nor of their unheard-of +mercy in leaving them their lives--lives of memoryless oblivion, like +animals in this green Jungle-land, but lives nonetheless. + +Only three thoughts filled their minds: + +It was raining. + +They were hungry. + +The Saber-tooth was prowling tonight. + +They never knew that the link had been forged. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Link, by Alan Edward Nourse + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LINK *** + +***** This file should be named 22876.txt or 22876.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/2/8/7/22876/ + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +https://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +https://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |