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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c13795c --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #64755 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64755) diff --git a/old/64755-0.txt b/old/64755-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 916f030..0000000 --- a/old/64755-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4320 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Citadel of the Green Death, by Emmett -McDowell - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Citadel of the Green Death - -Author: Emmett McDowell - -Release Date: March 08, 2021 [eBook #64755] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CITADEL OF THE GREEN DEATH *** - - - - - CITADEL OF THE GREEN DEATH - - BY EMMETT McDOWELL - - At the coldly gleaming Experimental Station - they flung this choice in Outlaw Joel Hakkyt's - teeth: "Grinding, endless slavery on Asgard, - that Alpha Centauri hell--or a writhing, screaming - guinea-pig's death here?" He chose Asgard, - naturally. But what was natural--on Asgard? - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Planet Stories Fall 1948. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -Joel Hakkyt stirred impatiently in the prisoner's chair. His features, -homely, strong-boned and intelligent, were inscrutable. But he didn't -know how much longer he could bottle up his indignation. It had been -accumulating all during his trial. Now this delay! - -The machines had been whisked from the chamber. The investigating -psychologist should have returned with his verdict minutes ago. What -was wrong? - -Joel glanced at his parents, at his wife. They were the only -spectators, the three of them sitting stiffly in the front row of -benches. - -Doctor Hakkyt refused to meet his son's eyes. A plump, tall man, -the doctor looked stonily out the windows at the park-like grounds -surrounding the Hall of Justice. He was president of Clear Springs -Community, and his angry red expression said plainly as words that his -son had disgraced him. - -Mrs. Hakkyt dabbed at cold eyes with a scrap of handkerchief. Joel's -glance passed over her swiftly and on to his wife. - -She sat next to his mother with a notebook on her knee, a pencil poised -in her hand. Joel's wife was a specialist in creative writing, and -all through his trial, she had watched him with the same impersonal -curiosity she might have bestowed on some animal, jotting down his -reactions. - -In sudden disgust, Joel wondered why he had consented to marry her. -It had been her looks, he supposed. She had a sensual rather pretty -face.... - -A panel behind the bench clicked loudly in the silence. The guard stood -up, saying: "Attention, please." - -It was a useless formality, because everyone's eyes had jerked -instantly to the slowly opening door. - -The investigating psychologist bustled in, sat down behind his desk. He -arranged his black gown with a tug, rattled the papers in his hand. - -"An unusual case," he began. "Unusual in several respects!" He turned -his eyes on Joel's father. "The examination reveals that the prisoner -is possessed of a high I.Q. Very high. However, he is completely -maladjusted. A dangerous anti-social type. He is to be committed to the -Experimental Station at once!" - -Joel caught his breath. The Experimental Station! - -Criminals and the maladjusted were committed to the Experimental -Stations where they were used as guinea-pigs by the scientists. They -might live for years, surviving experiment after experiment. But -inexorably like the early Roman gladiators they met a ghastly fate. - -Doctor Hakkyt had risen furiously. "This is preposterous! Think of the -notoriety! I'm the president of...." - -"That will be sufficient!" the investigating psychologist interrupted. -"The prisoner is thirty-four years old. This is the third time he's -been up for examination. All the rehabilitative measures have failed!" - -Doctor Hakkyt sank back muttering into his seat. - -The psychologist rattled his papers again, fixed Joel's wife with a -softer glance. "Annulment orders for your marriage, Mrs. Hakkyt, have -been forwarded to the capitol. You are free." - -"Thank you," said the young woman without glancing up from her notes. - -The investigating psychologist wiped his sharp features with a -handkerchief and said: "Court dismissed." - -Joel watched his father and mother rise. They didn't glance at him. The -psychologist cleared his throat. - -"If you wish to say goodbye to the prisoner...." - -Doctor Hakkyt wheeled angrily. "That won't be necessary. As far as my -wife and I are concerned, the prisoner is already dead!" - -Pompously, he took Mrs. Hakkyt's arm, steered her to the exit. Joel's -wife closed her notebook with a snap, trotted out after them without a -backward glance. - -Only their scent, that unique volatile compound that was as expressive -to Joel Hakkyt's sensitive nostrils as a picture, lingered behind. - -It was atavistic, Joel supposed, but his sense of smell was as acute as -any hound's! - - * * * * * - -Joel shrugged, rose from the prisoner's chair. He looked big, burly -beside the fragile guard. There was something appealing about his -strong homely features--a quizzical directness, an honesty. - -"Come along," said the guard. - -Joel's nostrils flared as he caught the guard's scent for the first -time. It was man-like and yet alien--a curious unrecognizable smell -that raised the hair on the back of his neck! - -The guard seemed unaware of Joel's scrutiny. He was a thin elderly man -in the Republic's blue and yellow uniform. His eyes were hidden behind -dark glasses. - -"Come along," the guard repeated, and Joel permitted himself to be led -into the corridor that ran back to the cells. - -The door had scarcely closed on the courtroom, when the guard said in -an altered tone, "Keep walking. And don't say a word once we reach the -cells. Spy recorders have been installed in all of them!" - -Joel came to a dead stop. "Who are you?" - -"Keep walking!" The blue uniformed guard tugged in panic at Joel's -elbow. - -"One of our men'll contact you at the Experimental Station. Don't -mention this to anyone!" He gulped slightly. "This is going to hurt -some. Don't be startled; it's necessary." - -As he talked, he jabbed a needle through Joel's sleeve into his arm. - -Joel jumped. "Damn! What are you up to?" He yanked free, swung angrily -on the guard. - -"Only a tattoo mark. Isn't visible except under black light. Then it -fluoresces green." - -"But why?" - -"Identification. Shows you're a legitimate maladjustment case and not a -government spy." - -"But what...." - -"No time now. Wait until our man contacts you. Explain everything. -Remember, not a word when we reach the cell block!" - -He pushed aside the panel at the far end of the hall. The opening -revealed a second corridor lined with small iron-barred cubicles. None -of them were tenanted. - -Joel Hakkyt moved into his own familiar cell where he had been lodged -during his trial. The gate clanged shut. - -The guard removed his glasses, polished them nervously as he gave Joel -a warning look. - -For the first time Joel could see the guard's eyes. - -They had no pupils, no color, only a weird flickering light in their -depths that glimmered like candle flame! - -Joel could feel his stomach contract like a fist. The alien smell -filled his nostrils. He took an involuntary backwards step, his heart -hammering against his ribs. - -The guard wasn't human! - -Before Joel could question him the guard retreated through the door, -hastily shutting it with a click. Joel sank to the edge of his bunk. - -Where did the guard come from? - -A mutation? The Eugenics Board would never have allowed a mutation to -survive. Joel himself had escaped their vigilance only because it had -been impossible to detect his abnormally heightened vision and sense of -smell at birth. - -Then what was the creature? - -It wasn't a native to Mars or Venus. Their dominant life forms had -been exterminated centuries ago. Perhaps it hailed from the Centaurian -planetary system. He sat up abruptly at the thought. - -A Centaurian? - -The Republic had established a colony on Asgard, the second planet of -Alpha Centauri A. Joel had seen the three-dimensional reels of its -weirdly lovely jungles and grotesque species of plant life. - -But so far Asgard's dominant life form had escaped detection! - -The Republic's exploring parties had stumbled across strange empty -little villages with fires smouldering on clay hearths and the food -still hot in clay vessels. Yet not a glimpse of the inhabitants had -they ever been able to catch. - -By some uncanny means, the natives always eluded them like wraiths. - -Anthropologists had been able to reconstruct a theoretical Centaurian -though from the evidence that he left behind--artifacts, huts, -footprints. He was man-like, they said, and walked upright. He weighed -between a hundred and a hundred and twenty pounds, this theoretical -creature. He was in a primitive stage of development possessing neither -writing nor art. - -There was only one thing they couldn't explain. That was why nobody had -ever seen one! - -Joel grinned sourly. He was letting his imagination run away with him. - - * * * * * - -At nineteen hours a green panel glowed on the rear wall and letters -formed on the glass. - -SUPPER--PRESS BUTTON. - -Joel pressed the indicated button. The panel folded out like a -secretary, revealing sanitary food containers which had been delivered -via a slot. - -He ate slowly. When he had finished he dropped the empty containers -down the disposal chute and stretched out on his bunk. - -All at once, he sat up snapping his fingers. Why hadn't that occurred -to him earlier? - -From the wall above the foot of his bunk, he pulled down a screen about -a metre square, dialed a number on the prison intercommunicator. - -A pale rose glow spread through the screen. Then the prim starched -figure of a girl sprang out in three-dimensional reality. - -The girl was working at a desk in the warden's office. Joel felt as if -he were looking at her through a window in his cell. - -She said, "Yes?" - -"May I be connected with the film library?" - -The girl opened a file, glanced at a card. After a moment, she said, -"That will be all right." She dialed a number and said, "Here's your -party." - -The screen went agitated like the surface of a pond, then cleared -again, disclosing a dry thin woman. - -"Clear Springs Public Film Library." - -Joel said, "I'd like to see whatever is available on Asgard, second -planet of Alpha Centauri A. Travel films, history, exploration -records...." - -The librarian gave a short brittle laugh. "That's a large order. -Roughly there must be several thousand reels." - -Joel hesitated. "A good condensed history then." - -She said, "Flagg's _Stellar Venture_ is the latest...." - -"That'll do." - -"One moment, please." - -Once more the screen quivered violently. Music, a thin haunting -melody, streamed into Joel's cell, through which came the voice of the -narrator. The music stopped. - -A dull black space ship was forming within the depths of the screen. - - * * * * * - -Joel lay back on his bunk, staring into the glowing square. Walls, -floor and ceiling receded from consciousness. He was free of the prison -as if like Alice he had stepped through a mirror into a world beyond. - -"Sa Nels, a Martian of Terran descent, discovered the stellar drive in -4471," the narrator was saying. "The Republic organized an expedition -to the trinary system of Proxima Centauri, Alpha Centauri A and B, our -nearest neighbors; and Sa Nels was put in charge." - -The narrator's voice droned on. Joel scarcely heard him. - -These were government films of the actual take-off of the Vega, Sa -Nels' ship. It lay in its cradle in the midst of the sandy red Martian -wastes. The crew were at their posts. Sa Nels waved at the camera, -climbed into the Vega. The ports were sealed. - -There was a blinding flash from the stern of the ship. It rose slowly, -crazily in the rarified Martian atmosphere, gained momentum until it -was a thin needle-like streak and dwindled in the flick of an eye and -disappeared. - -Joel let out his breath with a sigh. He had been clenching his fist -until his fingers ached. The first ship to reach the stars! - -It had been twenty-one years, he recalled after the Vega passed beyond -radio contact before a wondering Earth had heard from them again. - -Twenty-one years compressed into as many minutes in the film unreeling -before Joel's eyes. He saw the blood red ball that was Proxima Centauri -swim into view on the scanner. He sighted the yellow-white star of -Alpha Centauri A and its orange twin, Alpha Centauri B. - -He landed with the expedition on the second planet of Alpha Centauri A -and saw the deserted stone villages of the invisible natives, the thick -flesh-like Nigel trees, mobile carnivorous plants that stalked the -members of the crew like crawling land octopi.... - -The rest of the film was taken up with the improvement in stellar -travel, the establishment of the first colony on Asgard and its slow -growth. - -Joel was fascinated. If he had lived during an earlier age, he would -have run off to sea. - -As it was he had stowed away as a lad aboard a tramp spacer outward -bound for Mars. But he had been discovered before the ship cleared. - -That was the first time he had been brought up before the examining -board. - -Joel had wanted to become an astro-geophysicist above all else, but -his aptitude tests had revealed a remarkable ability with animals. He -had been assigned to the government stock farms instead. - -He switched off the telescreen. He had discovered nothing that -connected the strange humanoid guard with Centaurus and he had put -himself into the mood of despair that engulfed him whenever he -contemplated his joyless future. - -It was almost dawn before he dropped off into a troubled sleep. - - - II - -The sound of his cell door opening awakened Joel the next morning. It -was a new guard, he saw with disappointment, a perfectly normal human, -smelling of tobacco, sweat and stale clothes--a man-like unmistakable -odor. - -They went into an elevator and so to the roof where the police -helicopter was waiting. Joel climbed into the cab, looked out the -window as the 'copter rose smoothly into the air. - -The rim of the sun was showing above a low range of wooded hills. The -town of Clear Springs was bathed in limpid morning light. With a catch -in his throat he caught sight of the sun deck of his own home. They -would still be abed there--his mother and father and his ex-wife. - -It was strange to think that he'd never see them again. It made him -realize the finality of this journey. - -A human guinea-pig! - -They had been traveling for several hours when his eyes were attracted -by the sparkle of sunlight dead ahead. Then he made out a huge plastic -dome cupping hundreds of acres. - -The Experimental Station! - -The police 'copter lit with a slight jar on the thick green sward of -the landing field. Joel climbed down stiffly. - -Seen from the ground, the structure took his breath away. It was a -tremendous dome of clear plastic like a glass beehive. Thousands of -tiny figures could be seen moving about its many levels. - -No tree grew around the hive. On all sides gently rolling meadows -studded with grazing sheep, goats and cattle fell away, for miles. - -He began to appreciate why no prisoner had escaped from the station in -over a hundred years! - -A guard challenged them at the entrance. - -Joel's escort produced his papers and the circular plastic gate rolled -ponderously aside. - -They walked down a short corridor and were challenged a second time. -Joel heard the gate roll back, roll shut. A feeling of helplessness -swept over him. - -It was the door of life, he thought, that had shut behind him. - - * * * * * - -The white-suited attendant who had signed the receipt for Joel led him -into one of the opaque offices, where a stout man in a white smock sat -behind a black plastic desk. - -"A new arrival, sir," said the attendant. "Name of Joel Hakkyt from -Clear Springs Community. Convicted on two counts. Maladjustment and -manslaughter." - -"Ahh," wheezed the stout man and eased himself back in his chair. Joel -noticed that his eyebrows slanted upward giving a sardonic cast to his -rubicund countenance. - -The attendant laid the papers softly on the ebony desk and withdrew. - -There was a strong antiseptic smell to the station. It clung to -everything, the offices and corridors, the inmates and attendants. It -was so strong that it baffled Joel's keen scent. - -"Manslaughter." The stout man, picked up the papers, glanced at them -briefly. "I see you underwent examination as a child for abnormal -vision." - -"Yes," agreed Joel, "I've a much higher percentage of light sensitive -rods in my eyes than average. I've always been able to see about as -well after dark as a cat." - -"What did the Eugenics Board say?" - -Joel's homely features broke into a grin. "They had their hands full -explaining how they let me slip past when I was born." - -"There wasn't anything done about it?" - -"Oh, I was put under observation. They decided it was a harmless -aberration, but I was forbidden to reproduce." - -"But I see you were allowed to marry?" - -"My wife was not considered good breeding stock either." - -"I see." The fat man pursed his lips, gave Joel an appraising glance. -"How did you happen to kill your superior at the State Cattle Farm?" - -Joel's face darkened. - -"It was an accident. I hit him with my fist. I hit him too hard and -broke his neck." - -"Roll up your sleeve!" - -Joel did so in surprise. He glanced down. With a start he saw that -the puncture where the humanoid guard had inserted the needle was -fluorescing a vivid green. The room must be bathed in black light! -Involuntarily he jerked down the sleeve. - -"It's all right," said the stout man. "It's what I was looking for." - -"What does it mean?" Joel asked when he had recovered from his surprise. - -"Mean? It means that you're a legitimate maladjustment case and not a -damned spy sent in here by the Senate." - -"But...." - -The fat man lifted his hand. He said, "I'm Doctor Chedwick, Emile -Chedwick. I'm in charge of induction. Sit down, my boy." - -Joel sank suspiciously into a relaxer. Doctor Chedwick drummed on the -shiny black desk top. - -"Understand," he began, "the men and women who are sentenced to the -Experimental Station expect to die. And sooner or later they all do -die. Some of them rather horribly." - -Joel began to fidget. He knew this. Everyone knew it. - -"What you don't know," said Doctor Chedwick almost as if reading Joel's -mind, "is that there is a chance for you to escape this!" - -Joel went rigid. He leaned forward, his eyes fastened on the pale gray -eyes of the man behind the desk. - -"What do you mean?" - -"Just what I said. There's an acute labor shortage on Asgard, second -planet of Alpha Centauri A. Last year the planters petitioned the -Senate to assign them a number of malcontents from the Experimental -Stations. There has been an alarming increase in maladjusted cases -recently. More than the stations could handle. The Senate jumped at the -chance to get rid of the excess." - -In spite of his eagerness Joel felt a vague shock. "But that's slavery." - -Doctor Chedwick shrugged. "Would you rather work on the plantations or -die in some experiment?" - -"Why--why--" Joel burst out, "I'd rather work!" - -"Exactly. So would the others." - -Joel said, "But why the tattoo mark? Why all the secrecy? And the -guard. What is the guard?" - -"The less you know about that the safer you'll be." Doctor Chedwick's -mouth shut like a trap. He stabbed at a button on his desk. "You'll be -contacted on Asgard. Everything will be explained then. Meanwhile say -nothing about the tattoo mark. Say nothing about our conversation to -any one. Understand?" - -Joel nodded. - -The door opened and the attendant reappeared. - -Doctor Chedwick said, "Put this man in 745B. He's had training and -practical experience in animal husbandry and he's husky as an ox. He's -to be shipped to Asgard with the next labor battalion. Take him away." - - * * * * * - -The attendant turned Joel over to a guard who escorted him from the -offices into the clear plastic division of the dome. It was like -stepping out into space. He sucked in his breath. He could see straight -down through level after level for hundreds of feet. - -Dormitories lined the passage on either hand. He could see men and -women asleep in their bunks, sitting at tables, taking showers or -dressing. The transparent walls were soundproof, and Joel experienced -the peculiar sensation of walking through an animated silence. - -They were approaching a small ante chamber that must be a guard room. -Half a dozen armed and uniformed men were sitting about a table playing -cards. - -Beyond the transparent walls of the guard room Joel could see into -another chamber. It was long and low and lined with bunks like the -fo'cs'le of a spaceship. Forty or fifty people in gray were milling -about two men on the floor who seemed to be doing their best to murder -each other. - -"Here's a new guinea-pig for the labor battalion, Captain," said Joel's -escort, pushing him into the guard room. - -With a grunt of annoyance, a tall man rose from the table and surveyed -Joel with bleak gray eyes. His blue tunic was unbuttoned at the -throat, his holster pushed around in back. - -"Papers," he snapped. - -Joel's escort handed over a folder, which the captain took to his desk. - -Joel's eyes returned to the next room. It was like being in a -soundproof broadcasting cage, watching two men batter at each other -beyond the glass. - -One of the men had the other by the throat and was throttling him. The -strangler's arms were corded; his face shone with sweat; there was an -insane fixed glare in his eyes. The other man's tongue was protruding, -as he tore at his assailant's wrists. - -"My God!" Joel burst out. "Aren't you going to break it up?" - -"Let them kill themselves," said the captain indifferently. He opened -the door. "In with you," he said and shoved Joel into the melee. - -Bedlam burst on his ears as he stumbled into the room. - -A woman was screaming in a shrill hysterical voice. The men milled -about pushing to see better. No one paid any attention to him. - -He clenched his fists. He couldn't stand by and watch a man murdered. - -Impulsively, he shouldered through the press, got his hands on the -strangler's wrists, tore them away. - -"Here!" somebody yelled. "Leave 'em be, you fool!" - -He ignored the warning, heaved the man from his victim. - -The fellow came to his feet, stared at him with that glazed intensity -as if he didn't realize what had happened. Then without a sound he -hurled himself at Joel's throat! - - - III - -Joel wasn't taken entirely by surprise. But the ferocity of the attack -drove him back a few steps. He wrapped his arms about the man's -shoulders and hung on. - -A furious animal smell filled his nostrils. The man was berserk, his -breath whistling through his teeth as he strove to tear himself free. -Then like a mad dog, he sank his teeth in Joel's shoulder. - -Joel gave a yelp of surprise, pushed him off, hit him with his clubbed -fist. - -His assailant reeled backwards, staggered to his knees. He was a giant -of a fellow with shaggy black hair and curious yellow-gray eyes. - -Joel was on him like a tiger, smashing his fist into the giant's -unprotected face. - -The man lunged over backwards, rolled to his belly and tried to push -himself to his hands and knees. - -Joel kicked him behind the ear. - -The giant's arms collapsed. His face struck the floor and he lay still. - -The other prisoners had drawn back against the bunks. There was a -minute of stunned silence. Then with whoops of delight they crowded -around slapping his back, shaking his hand. - -Joel was too surprised to utter a word. - -The man who had been throttled, was sitting up massaging his throat. He -regarded Joel with a puzzled expression. - -"Thanks," he wheezed painfully, "but what made you risk your neck?" - -"Risk my neck?" - -"You're new, aren't you?" asked the man, pulling himself to his feet -and holding out his hand. "I'm Nick Thorp." - -Joel introduced himself. Thorp, he saw, was short and husky with -prematurely gray hair and blue eyes bright as bits of china. - -"You've made yourself a wicked enemy," Thorp observed, prodding the -giant with his toe. "That's Walt Eriss." - -"Walt Eriss!" Joel's green eyes widened. Walt Eriss' trial had created -the sensation of the decade. - -Walt Eriss had been a brilliant surgeon, but with a pathological twist. -A modern Jack the Ripper who delighted in torturing his patients. -He had killed forty-three women by his own confession before he was -apprehended! - -Joel stared at the hulking form as if it were some monster. "But why -were the others letting him throttle you?" he asked Nick Thorp. "Why -didn't they stop him?" - -"They're afraid of him." - -"But they could've ganged him...." Joel stopped with his mouth open. - -A bell had begun to ring with an ear-splitting clangor! - -Muttered exclamations burst from the prisoners as they exchanged -alarmed glances. The bell continued to ring. - -"What's happening?" Joel asked. - -Nick Thorp shook his grizzled head. "I don't know. But the bell's a -signal for us to line up at our bunks." - -Joel realized that the other prisoners had formed in a row down the -walls. He glanced about uncertainly. - -"There's a vacant bunk beside mine," Nick Thorp suggested. - -Joel gratefully took his place beside Thorp. The bell fell silent. -Everyone was staring through the wall into the guardroom. - -The guards had abandoned their card game, he saw. They were -straightening their uniforms, buttoning their tunics. He could see the -passage beyond and two men making their way along it. - -One, he recognized, was Doctor Chedwick, white-frocked and moon-faced. -The other was a short man with a truculent walk. He was wearing the -green uniform of a space man. - -A low excited buzz arose from the prisoners. Joel caught words here and -there. "Asgard! So soon!" - -He felt tight with excitement and glanced surreptitiously at the girl -beside him. - -She was an exotic elfin creature, even in the shapeless gray coveralls. -Her black eyes and hair, the smooth olive of her complexion lent her -the appearance of an Arab. He wondered what crime she had committed -that had condemned her to the Experimental Station. - -Then the door to the guardroom was flung violently open. The captain -appeared in the entrance and shouted, "Attention!" - - * * * * * - -The whispering ceased as the guards in their peacock blue and yellow -filed into the dormitory. They were carrying a long plastic chain, -which they stretched down the center of the floor. About every yard, -Joel saw that a metal collar had been linked to the chain. - -Doctor Chedwick came through the door with the green-uniformed spaceman -beside him. - -"This is Sam Mullin," he said indicating the spaceman. "Third mate of -the _Zenith_. Mister Mullin will be responsible for you while you're -aboard the _Zenith_. You're to be embarked at once...." - -Joel's heart leaped against his ribs. Even the archaic title of -"mister" had a heady sound. It was a tradition among spacemen, he -knew. Only officers of Star Ships were called "mister." - -"What's this?" Doctor Chedwick interrupted himself catching sight of -the unconscious figure of Eriss on the floor. - -"There was a fight, Doctor," the captain hastened to explain. "The new -man and Walt Eriss." - -"Hakkyt knocked out Eriss?" - -The captain nodded. - -Doctor Chedwick shot Joel a startled glance. "Watch those fists of -yours, young man. You're too free with them." Then to the captain, -"Revive Eriss and shackle the prisoners." - -Joel noticed that the guards were careful to fasten one of the collars -about the ex-surgeon's neck before they broke a vial of some liquid and -held it under his nose. - -Eriss opened his eyes and sat up groggily. Then his gaze fastened on -Joel. With a bellow of rage he was on his feet, charging across the -room like a mad bull. - -Three men, hanging onto the chain, snubbed him up short! - -Eriss wheeled furiously, found himself facing half a dozen drawn -paralyzers and brought up with a curse. - -Joel could see the veins throb in the giant's temples. But the captain -turned indifferently to the other prisoners. "Line up beside the chain." - -Joel took his place between the black-haired girl and Nick Thorp. The -collar was snapped about his throat. In single file and with a good -deal of tripping, the prisoners, chained neck to neck, tramped through -the door. - -Doctor Chedwick left them at the main corridor, but the Captain and -Mister Mullin helped the guards herd them into a lift. - -They dropped soundlessly level after level until they were well below -the surface. At length the lift stopped, the doors opened. - -To his surprise Joel saw that there was a pneumatic station beneath the -dome, and a train was waiting in the tube. - -They were shepherded into a coach. They had a good deal of trouble -arranging themselves in the seats because of the chain linking them -together, but at last it was done. - -Captain Goplerud blew a whistle and swung inside the car. The door -slammed shut. With a powerful surge and a whoosh the train shot off. - -Joel found himself beside Nick Thorp. "Where do you suppose we're -going?" he asked breathlessly. - -"Nu York," Thorp replied. "All the Star Ships berth at the White Plains -spaceport. We're lucky. The _Zenith's_ a crack luxury liner. No being -battened down in the hold of some stinking freighter for us." - -"You've been to space before?" - -Thorp turned his incredibly blue eyes on Joel. "For twenty-three years. -Rocket ships and Star Ships. I never thought I'd see space again...." - -Joel eyed the battered gray-haired spaceman with increased respect. -Here was a man who'd seen the stews of Venusport, breathed the murky -air of Jovopolis, gazed out on the frigid whiteness of Pluto. - -"Then you've been to Asgard?" - -"Many's the time. Wait 'til you see it, lad. Jungles and rain and -crawling plants that can pluck a man off the ground and devour him -quick as a cat!" - -Joel was fascinated. The train slid along with a monotonous roar that -shut them in a cell of privacy. - -"Who's the girl?" he asked, nodding at the elfin sloe-eyed brunette in -the seat ahead. - -Nick Thorp's eyes twinkled. "Tamis Ravitz. She used to be a dancer. -Poisoned her dancing partner in a fit of jealous rage. So I've heard." - -Joel was shocked and looked it. - -Thorp's battered features cracked into a broad grin. "We're a rum -bunch. None of us can afford to throw stones at the others." - -Joel felt the rebuke in his words and reddened. - - * * * * * - -The spaceman had slumped in the seat and closed his eyes. The dull roar -of the train had a soothing quality. But Joel was too keyed up to relax. - -He kept thinking of the humanoid guard and the fluorescent tattoo mark -on his elbow and Doctor Chedwick saying: "The less you know about them, -the safer you'll be. Someone will contact you at Asgard. Don't mention -our conversation to anyone...." - -A buzzer began to whirr softly. The train braked. The guards rose and -shouted, - -"On your feet! On your feet! Line up in the aisle." - -The train wooshed to a soft stop as if it had run into a foam rubber -cushion. The doors slid back, letting in a thundering bedlam of sound. - -Joel found himself staring out into a vast groined hall lit by harsh -violet light. Streams of beetle-like robot trucks, piled high with -baggage, darted along elevated roadways. People were everywhere, a -crazy throng like a disturbed colony of ants. - -He drew a ragged breath, feeling his heart thud against his ribs. The -metal collar jerked against his throat and he fell into step. - -They shuffled out of the coach onto a long ramp. A huge red sign -directly ahead caught Joel's eyes. Its flashing letters were at least -ten feet high. - - CENTAURUS FLIGHT - TAKE-OFF--15:52 - STAR SHIP ZENITH - -The file of prisoners made straight for the sign, entered a narrow -corridor that sloped downward like a tunnel. From the tunnel they -emerged into the maw of a huge pit. Joel rubbed his eyes. He'd never -seen the rocket pits before. - -The _Zenith_, a dull black, bullet-shaped monster, rested on her fins -with her nose pointing straight up towards the starry black firmament. -Gangplanks like airy cobwebs spanned the gap between the Star Ship and -the blackened concrete walls. - -The file of prisoners crawled out along one of the gangplanks. They -were in the center of it, when Joel felt Nick Thorp's fingers close -like a vise on his shoulder. - -"Look! Overhead! We're having distinguished company this voyage!" - -Joel glanced up. - - * * * * * - -Above and to one side another gangplank crossed the gap. A stout man -was leaning on the rail and watching the prisoners. Beside him stood a -young woman with the warm beautiful face of a Venusian dancing girl. - -She was clad in a short green coat with exaggerated square-cut -shoulders, and for one shocked moment Joel thought that she didn't -have on anything beneath it. Then he realized that she must be wearing -shorts which the coat was just long enough to hide. - -For the rest, he received a swift impression of long shapely tanned -legs, sooty lashes, green eyes and hair. _Green hair!_ - -Then their eyes met--met and held. There was a swift outleaping -of spirit between them, an indescribable feeling of kinship, of -recognition. Joel felt shaken, bewitched. A smile was trembling on the -girl's half-parted lips. - -And then he had been carried into the ship and he couldn't see her any -longer. - -"Who were they?" he asked unsteadily. - -"Humphrey Cameron, Governor of Asgard," Thorp explained. "The girl was -his daughter, Priscilla Cameron." - -Tamis Ravitz said over her shoulder, "Did you see that hair? _Green!_ -She's been the talk of Terra." - -Joel thought the dancer sounded envious. They were shuffling single -file down a long corridor that led straight into the bowels of the -ship. A vague rumbling made the deck tremble beneath his feet. He heard -shouted orders, the sound of the gangplank being run in. - -His face whitened in the raw violet light. All thoughts of the green -haired Priscilla Cameron were driven from his mind. - -From the passage the prisoners were herded into a long low chamber -outfitted with tables. Here they were unchained. - -Mister Mullin glanced at his chronometer. "Take-off in fifteen -minutes," he warned. "Strap yourselves into your bunks." - -He disappeared at a run. The guards filed out of the prisoner's mess -locking the door behind them. - -"Come along," Thorp urged Joel as a wild clangor broke out from the -stem to stern of the _Zenith_. "We've time for a quick look around -before we get settled." - -Joel followed him wordlessly into the sleeping quarters. Beyond the -fo'cs'le were the washrooms and that was all. A second bell rang just -as they flung themselves into empty bunks. - -The rumble of the tubes mounted into a furious roar. A trip hammer -struck Joel in the chest, pinned him into the cushion. He gasped, -strained to inflate his lungs. - -The _Zenith_ was off! - - - IV - -Joel felt himself grow heavier, heavier. His arms were lead. The sweat -glistened on his homely drawn features. His green eyes lost their -sparkle. - -After what seemed hours, he heard Nick Thorp croak from his bunk -overhead, "Watch y'self. Stellar drive! Any minute!" - -Joel felt a surge of unreasoning fear. A bell rang suddenly. - -"That's it!" Thorp warned. "Lie still." - -As suddenly as it had struck, the acceleration ceased. A terrifying -sensation of weightlessness possessed him. He felt as if he were -falling--falling! He wanted to spring from the bunk, but remembered -Thorp's warning. - -Startled cries burst from the passengers. Several of them jumped up. -From the corner of his eye Joel saw them shoot to the overhead where -they hung kicking. Then the artificial gravity came on and they fell -back to the deck a great deal faster than they'd gone up. - -Thorp climbed down. "You can get up now." - -Joel scrambled to his feet. He felt light, giddy. Nick Thorp took a -look at his alarmed countenance and burst into laughter. - -"You'll get your space legs quick enough," he assured Joel. "The -gravity aboard ship is only about a third of Earth's pull. You'll enjoy -it when you get used to it." - -Joel had his doubts about that, but when he glanced at the antics of -the others he couldn't resist a grin. - -A tall red-haired girl kept bounding into the air at each step. Then -she flipped all the way over and lit on her bottom. - -Just then a whistle blew. Joel wheeled around to find Mister Mullin, -the third mate, standing in the door to the mess-room. - -"Line up at your bunks," the third ordered. "This is a Star Ship and -no stinking freighter. You'll be expected to keep your quarters clean. -Inspection every day!" - -"Day?" someone asked. - -"We're on Earth time. Lights out at twenty-two hours and on again at -six. Meals at eight, twelve and eighteen hours." - -With the same dispatch he divided the prisoners into squads of four -and assigned each their job. - -Joel was relieved to find that he and Nick Thorp were in the same group -along with Tamis Ravitz, the dancer, and another man whom Joel didn't -know. Their job, it developed, was to keep the mess-room in order. - -Mister Mullin glanced at his watch, said, "It's eighteen hours now. You -can go in to dinner," and trotted out. - -Joel realized that he hadn't eaten in hours. He was famished. He -hastened into the mess-room and sat down at a table along with Nick -Thorp and Tamis Ravitz. - -The tables, which seated four, were built against the bulkheads down -each side of the mess-room. Joel was pressing the button for his meal -when a tall handsome man with a black goatee approached them. - -"I'm Gustav Liedl," he introduced himself in a cultured voice. "I've -been assigned to your squad. I thought it an excellent opportunity to -become better acquainted." - -"Sit down," Nick Thorp invited, introducing the others. - -Joel's dinner arrived just then via a slot in the bulkhead and he -addressed himself to it silently. Gustav Liedl, though, dawdled over -his meal, talking with Tamis. - -"Yes," Joel heard Liedl say in reply to one of Tamis' questions. "I was -a professor." He made a rueful face, tugging at his black goatee. "At -the Sorbonne. Anthropology was my subject." - -"Anthropology!" Joel interrupted. "Then you must have some ideas about -the natives of Asgard. What they are? Why no one has ever seen them?" - -Liedl regarded Joel with a smile. "Ah, the elusive Centaurians! Yes. -I've a theory about the Asgardian natives. I spent several years, -you know, studying their villages with the Sorbonne's Asgardian -Institute...." - -Joel, glancing at Tamis, surprised a startled, half-frightened -expression on her smooth ivory countenance. - -"I've a theory," Liedl repeated, "that the Centaurians are masters of -camouflage. I doubt very seriously that they are human. They may even -be a quasi-intelligent species of plant life. Have you ever seen the -Asgardian jungles, young man?" - -"No," Joel admitted. - -"Horrible!" Liedl said. "Plants with snaky tendrils like jointless -arms. And they aren't rooted. They're capable of independent motion. -It's amazing the number of Asgardian species that can move around -freely as mammals." - -Tamis said gaily, "Then you think the anthropologists have been looking -for a man-like animal when all the time the natives have been plants -who crept off into the jungle and hid?" - -"Exactly!" - -"Sounds like a reasonable explanation," Thorp admitted. "I've seen -those Asgardian jungles. Crawling, thrashing masses of vegetation." He -shook his head. "It gives a body the creeps." - -"But how can anything live in that jungle?" Joel protested. - -Liedl said triumphantly: "Nothing could! _Nothing but plants!_" - - * * * * * - -Fifteen minutes before twenty-two hours, a warning bell rang and the -lights dimmed. Nick Thorp showed Joel the clothes locker where he could -secure sleepers. - -The lights went out while Joel was taking his shower. He switched on -the dryer in the dark. - -After a few seconds his eyes began to adjust. There was a dim night -lamp in the mess-room beyond the fo'cs'le. Joel could see by its -reflected light almost as well as he could by day. The only difference -was the absence of color. Everything appeared in varying shades of gray -like a photograph. - -The deadening effect of the chemicals that had been used to purify the -air of the Experimental Station was beginning to wear off. A medley of -familiar and unfamiliar smells beset his nostrils. - -All at once, he halted. - -There was something here that shouldn't be. Joel could smell it. A -strange alien odor that he'd caught only once before. - -It was the same smell that had clung to the humanoid guard! - -Joel's nostrils flared, but the odor was so faint that he couldn't tell -from whence it came. It might be emanating from any one of the gray -figures placidly asleep in the gray bunks. - -He moved to his own bunk and lay down, but he couldn't sleep. That -strange scent had acted like a dash of cold water. - -He didn't know how long he lay there. Hours, it seemed. There was no -sound beyond the muted rumble of the _Zenith's_ jets, the snores of -some of the prisoners. - -The temperature had dropped automatically when the lights were -extinguished. He adjusted the thermal unit in his sleepers and closed -his eyes. - -A faint noise from across the fo'cs'le brought them open again -instantly. - -The gray elfin figure of Tamis Ravitz, the dancer, he saw, was rising -cautiously from her bunk. She was barefooted, clad in the loose -sleepers. She put her hand to her eyes. When it came away, she swept -the fo'cs'le with a brief glance. - -Joel almost forgot to breathe. - -The dancer had done something to her eyes because they glowed faintly -with an eerie flame! - -Joel's pulse throbbed in his ears. Tamis, he saw, was moving to the -next bunk with a soundless cat-like glide. She pointed a slender metal -cylinder at the man who lay sleeping there. A bright green spot sprang -out on the man's arm! - -The tattoo mark! - -The cylinder must be a source of black light able to kick fluorescence -out of the tattoo marks. What did it mean? Who was Tamis? - -From sleeping figure to sleeping figure, the girl glided. Sometimes she -found the tattoo mark; sometimes she didn't. - -She was approaching Joel's bunk. He forced himself to relax, to breathe -evenly as if in a deep sleep. - -Then she was hovering over him.... - -Joel's hand closed with a crushing grip about her wrist, yanked her off -her feet into the bunk! - -Tamis uttered one smothered cry, struggled soundlessly. Then she seemed -to realize the futility of trying to break free and went limp. - -Joel could feel her warm lithe body pinned against him. A strange alien -scent filled his nostrils. It was delicate, flower-like, yet utterly -alien. - -The hair lifted on the back of his neck like the hackles of a dog. He -found himself staring deep into the girl's eyes. - -They had no pupil, no color, only a weird flickering light in their -depths that glimmered like candle flame. - -A shudder of revulsion swept over him. Tamis Ravitz, the dancer, -wasn't human! - -"Who are you?" Joel asked in a low hoarse voice. "What are you?" - -"Please! Softly!" She lay beside him, relaxed, breathing tremulously. - -"What are you?" he repeated. - -"I can't tell you." - -"You'll tell me or I'll turn you over to the guards. What did you do to -your eyes?" - -"This." She held up a pair of contact lenses. Realistic pupils and -iris, Joel saw, had been moulded into the thin slivers of glass. She -slipped them quickly into place. Her eyes looked normal, human. They -were a perfect disguise. - -"What are you?" Joel asked fiercely. - -"I'm a mutation." - -"No, you're not. I can tell by your scent! You're not human!" - -The girl went rigid. Then she began to kick and twist and squirm -desperately. Joel pinned down her legs, tightened his grip. - -"D'you want me to yell for the guards?" - -"No! No!" she breathed in panic. - -"Then tell me what this is all about!" - -"Have you the tattoo mark?" - - * * * * * - -Joel held up his left arm, being careful to retain a grip on her with -the other. She trained the cylinder at his elbow. The green spot began -to fluoresce. - -"Ah," she breathed, relaxing limply. "You _are_ a legitimate -maladjustment case. I thought you were a spy...." Her voice trailed off. - -Joel remained silent. - -"Believe me," she said. "I can't tell all. Not now. It's too dangerous. -Suppose someone should wake and find me here!" - -"What are you?" he repeated stonily. - -She hesitated; then, putting her lips against his ear, she breathed, -"Ganelon. I'm ganelon--not human. I--I am a native of the planet you -humans call Asgard." - -"But how have you escaped detection? Why hasn't anyone ever seen a -Centaurian?" - -"They've seen us--often." There was the suggestion of a giggle in -Tamis' low voice. "Perhaps, like Professor Liedl thinks, we're plants." - -"No. You're animal. I can tell. Maybe you could fool my eyes but not my -nose." - -"That nose of yours. It is unfair. _You_ are the mutation!" She gave a -silvery chuckle and then clapped her hand over her mouth. - -"Please," she begged. "I must go. We are courting discovery!" - -"You haven't told me...." - -"Tomorrow night," she interrupted. Suddenly she stiffened. - -Joel heard it too. The faint noise of a heavy body shifting in one of -the bunks. His eyes darted across the darkened fo'cs'le! - -Walt Eriss, the burly ex-surgeon, had raised himself to one elbow and -was staring across into their bunk. - -Joel's heart stood still. - -How long had Eriss been awake? Had he heard anything? - -Joel could distinguish his features clearly but in shadings of gray and -black. Eriss' eyes were narrowed, his mouth open in an expression of -acute concentration. - -"Does he see us?" Tamis breathed in terror. - -"No." The word carried only as far as the girl's ear. - -With a swift cat-like movement, Tamis slid to her feet and stood like a -gray statue. - -The shaggy giant was swinging his legs silently over the edge of his -bunk. With infinite caution he began to creep towards them. - -Joel stood up beside Tamis. Around him there was silence broken only by -the low breathing of the prisoners, the faint rumble of the _Zenith's_ -jets. - -He pressed himself against the foot of the bunk, waiting, waiting for -that stalking gray giant to creep within reach. - -Joel didn't dare breathe. The ex-surgeon was so close that he could see -his lips drawn back from his teeth, his blind staring eyes trying to -probe the blackness. It took an effort of will to realize that it was -too dark for Eriss to see anything. - -Another step. - -Joel set himself. - -Eriss' foot glided forward. He was within reach. - -Joel's balled fist came up like a sledge-hammer, cracked solidly -against the point of Eriss' chin. There was a distinct "pop!" as the -ex-surgeon's jawbone broke. His head snapped back, his knees buckled.... - -[Illustration: _Joel's balled fist came up like a sledge-hammer._] - -Joel stepped forward, caught him beneath the arms. Walt Eriss was out -cold. - -"Tamis!" Joel hissed. - -"Yes?" - -"Grab his feet. We'll lay him in his bunk." - -Together they lifted the giant, hauled him across the deck, stowed him -in his bed. - -"Tomorrow!" Tamis breathed. - -Joel saw her slide into her bunk. He retreated across the fo'cs'le and -lay down, but his brain was reeling. - -What did the presence of a native Centaurian among the malcontents -signify? Then he thought of Walt Eriss and a coldness flowed through -his veins. How much had the ex-surgeon overheard of this? - -At length in utter emotional exhaustion, he dropped off to sleep. - - * * * * * - -Joel was awakened by lights and the angry sound of voices. He opened -his eyes. Beams of light were darting here, there. The fo'cs'le seemed -overflowing with guards in their gaudy blue and yellow uniforms. - -He caught sight of the third mate, tousle-haired and wearing a lemon -yellow dressing gown. - -The third was saying, "By God, Captain Goplerud! What have we got this -voyage? A gang of homicidal maniacs?" - -Walt Eriss, Joel saw, was sitting up mumbling inarticulately. His jaw -was swollen and queerly crooked. The ship's doctor was fussing over -him. - -"Jaw's broken," the doctor diagnosed. - -Captain Goplerud ran his fingers distractedly through his hair. "It's -that damned Hakkyt!" he said. "Hakkyt did this." - -"Who's Hakkyt?" Mister Mullin wanted to know. - -"He's the fellow who beat up Eriss before." - -"Where is he?" - -"Here," said Joel swinging his feet to the deck. - -The beam of a flashlight struck him in the eyes. - -"D'you know anything about this?" Mister Mullin demanded. - -Joel shook his head. - -"Does anyone know anything about it?" the third mate cried swinging the -light beam in a flashing arc. - -No one answered. - -Captain Goplerud said, "It's no use. They're tight-mouthed as clams." - -Mullin cursed, then he said, "Get this man to the hospital." - -Walt Eriss was bundled onto a stretcher. The guards moved off. The -doctor, Mullin, and Captain Goplerud disappeared with the lights. - -Darkness settled once more over the fo'cs'le. - -For a moment there was silence. Then a prisoner asked, "What happened?" - -A babble of voices answered. Somebody said, "The first I heard was -Eriss beating on the door to the guardroom. When it was opened he -fainted and they carried him in here." - -Thorp leaned down from the bunk above. - -"You hurt, Joel?" - -"No. Why should I be?" - -He was answered by a chuckle. - - - V - -When Joel sat down to breakfast the next morning, Tamis shot him a -warning glance from beneath lowered lashes. The pallor of her cheeks -was accentuated by her sooty hair. She had the exotic look of some -temple harlot strayed through time from ancient Babylonia. - -Joel realized suddenly that Professor Liedl was talking to him. "What -did you say?" he asked. - -"That was a splendid service you performed last night." - -"You mean Eriss? But I didn't do it." - -"You're too modest." Liedl combed his black van dyke with long brown -fingers. "I'm a light sleeper, my boy. And my bunk, you may recall, is -next yours." - -Joel's face stiffened. He glanced quickly at Tamis. The blood had -drained from the girl's countenance. - -"What did you hear?" he asked in a frozen voice. - -"Don't be embarrassed. Your voices didn't carry, and I'm quite -broadminded." - -Joel stared at him bewildered. Then the blood began to burn in his -cheeks as it dawned on him what Liedl meant. "The old goat," he -thought. "So that's what he believes!" And he felt suddenly relieved. - -Tamis' lashes were lowered. She bit her nether lip. But whether from -amusement or confusion, he couldn't decide. - -Fortunately, at that moment the door to the guardroom opened. Mister -Mullin stuck his head inside; shouted: - -"Get a move on. Inspection in fifteen minutes." - -With relief Joel made his escape. He didn't like Liedl's insinuation. -He didn't like Liedl. There was something cold and repellant about the -black bearded professor. He wondered what crime he had committed to be -sentenced to the Experimental Station. - -In exactly fifteen minutes Captain Goplerud, accompanied by Mister -Mullin entered the prisoners' quarters and lined them up at their -bunks. Then a dozen guards filed in and took posts about the fo'cs'le -with drawn paralyzers. - -Joel wondered uneasily what was up. He wasn't left long in doubt. - -A stiff-backed man in a faultless olive-green uniform came through the -door. He was wearing the gold sunburst of a Star Ship commander on his -breast. - -Nick Thorp nudged Joel. "The old man!" he said out of the corner of his -mouth. "What the devil brings him down here?" - -The commandant ran his eyes over the prisoners. "Very good, Mullin." He -turned, said crisply, "This way, Governor." - -Governor Cameron and his daughter came through the door together. The -governor was a big man with harassed gray eyes. He faced his daughter -in obvious exasperation. "Well, here they are, Priscilla. Now why were -you so confounded anxious to see them?" - -The girl stared around with parted lips. There was a curious eagerness -in her green eyes. Then she discovered Joel and he was suddenly -conscious of that strange affinity between them. - -She wore gold sandals and her toenails and fingernails were lacquered -green to match her eyes and hair. She had on a brief pleated skirt, a -matching monkey jacket of shimmering rose silkon. Her bare midriff, the -valley between her breasts, her long legs were smooth golden tan. - -"Which one," she asked in a breathless voice, "broke Walt Eriss' jaw?" - -"Hakkyt," Mullin informed her briskly. "The big ugly one over there." -He pointed at Joel. - -Joel found himself staring into the girl's green eyes again. Her lashes -were long, black and curly. Her green hair was startling but it wasn't -garish. - -Without taking her eyes from Joel's, she asked, "Could I see his -examination reports? I think he's a...." - -The governor started nervously. "You're buying no more serfs -Priscilla!" he interrupted in haste. "That's final!" - -Joel felt his face burn. Buy him? So that's what had brought them down -here to the prisoners' quarters! - -The girl was staring at her father with a puzzled expression. Something -very like a warning flickered between them--something in Governor -Cameron's expression. Joel couldn't be sure. - -But the girl's eyes widened. - -For a moment there was a strained silence. Then she shrugged, turned -back to Joel, studied him brazenly detail by detail. He felt naked -beneath those probing green eyes. He felt like a prize Hereford bull. - -Priscilla said, "Nevertheless, I should like to glance over those -reports, Captain." Her voice didn't sound quite natural. - -She had slipped into a part, Joel sensed; she was acting. But why? He -was too furious to care. He created a shocked disturbance by saying in -a cold voice, "I wouldn't be a good buy!" - - * * * * * - -Jaws dropped among the prisoners. - -Mister Mullin shouted, "Speak when you're spoken to!" - -Priscilla Cameron suddenly smiled. "Why not?" she asked him, silencing -the apoplectic mate with a wave. - -"I'll damn well see to it that I'm not!" - -Priscilla continued to regard him with delighted green eyes. "A -challenge!" She turned to the saturnine man wearing the gold sunburst. -"How much do you want for him, Commandant?" - -The commandant had been observing the scene with cynical gray eyes. He -was the perfect Terran type; tall, brown-skinned, erect. Now he said, - -"Sorry, Priscilla, but he's not mine to sell. He's the property of the -Republic, and the laws are specific. He has to be sold at auction in -Eden." - -Priscilla said, "Stuff! The governor can authorize the private sale of -any serf...." - -"We're not on Asgard," the commandant reminded her dryly. "This is a -Star Ship." - -Governor Cameron's visage had grown a rich plum shade. "This farce -has gone far enough!" he bellowed furiously. But his anger didn't -ring quite true. "I wouldn't authorize the sale of this fellow to my -daughter if I could!" - -Priscilla said sweetly, "I'll buy him at public auction." - -"You will not!" - -"Exactly how, pater dear, do you propose to stop me?" - -The governor looked as if he were about to have a stroke. Then he swung -around, stamped from the fo'cs'le. - -It struck Joel as a shade overdrawn. As if Priscilla inadvertently had -been about to let something slip, and they'd staged this impromptu -fight to cover up. - -He heard the commandant say, "Sorry, Priscilla, but I'm due on the -bridge." - -Priscilla gave Joel a last searching look. Her green eyes sparkled. -"I'll see you at the slave block in Eden," she said as she preceded the -commandant through the door. - -As soon as the guards had withdrawn, Nick Thorp gave a low whistle. - -Joel was still furious. "What was she driving at? Why the devil did she -pick me out?" He noticed that Professor Liedl was regarding him with a -frown. Tamis, too, was watching him, a speculative expression on her -elfin piquant features. - -Thorp shrugged. "That's hard to tell. She's got a reputation from one -end of Asgard to the other. There's even been talk that she's a mutant." - -"Mutant." Joel frowned. She certainly hadn't bred true to type. The -standard Terran female had light brown skin, black hair and gray eyes. -But hers were green--like cat eyes. Like his own eyes! - -A startled expression passed over his likeable rugged features. "By -George!" he said aloud. "I wonder!" - -Later, when the lights had been extinguished again, he lay awake in the -dark--tense, listening. The fo'cs'le was quiet. At length, satisfied -that everyone was asleep, he slid from his bunk, crossed the deck to -the mess-room. - -The faint yellow night light was burning. He sat down at a table, lit a -cigarette, waited. He was chain-smoking his third cigarette before he -heard a step. He glanced up quickly. Tamis was standing in front of him. - -Joel said, "I thought you must have gone to sleep." - - * * * * * - -Tamis sat down facing him. She'd removed the contact lenses. The liquid -luminous depths of her eyes were hypnotic. "No. I couldn't sleep. We -need men like you too badly. You especially." - -"Me?" he said, startled. "You need me?" - -She smiled. "My people, Joel, are a timid race, unwarlike, -unaggressive. There are many differences between us. Not of an organic -nature. We are fundamentally alike. The differences lie in our culture." - -"How do you mean?" - -"It is difficult to explain. But your race is so far advanced in the -physical sciences that it terrifies us. With your incomprehensible -machines you could sweep us into extinction in the wink of an eye. - -"When the first Terran ship landed on Asgard, we were careful not to -show ourselves. Then we learned a queer thing. Although the Terrans -were amazingly clever in physics and chemistry, they knew nothing about -the potential of the machines that were their own bodies. Nothing! So -we continued to elude them and to study them...." - -"How?" - -"I am not at liberty to tell you that. If the Thinkers accept you, -they'll inform you how it is done." - -Joel stared at her narrow eyes. "But...." - -"No. Don't interrupt. Your civilization, we learned, was a machine -civilization. Your race even went so far as to reject any individual -who differed from the norm. The Republic's goal was an ant-like -similarity of all its members." - -Joel said, "I don't see...." - -"Don't you? What becomes of any mutation who escapes the vigilance of -the Eugenics Board? What happened to you, Joel Hakkyt?" - -Joel was silent. - -She looked at him searchingly. "Instead of concentrating on -the physical sciences, my people have studied--themselves! The -psychological sciences. We don't try to control our environment; we fit -ourselves to it." - -Joel shook his head, still not comprehending. - -She said, "You humans build elaborate shelters to protect yourselves -against the elements; we have developed our bodies to resist the -weather. We revel in rain. Sunlight is intoxicating. - -"You have added speed to your legs with machines, wings to your arms -with machines. Your machines are like crutches. They give you an -immense power, but they atrophy the natural endowments of your body. -Could you do this?" - -She pointed with a bird-like gesture behind Joel. He swung around. His -eyes widened. - -The bulkhead had disappeared! He was staring straight through the ship -as if it had ceased to exist. He could see the awesome black infinity -of deep space speckled with countless pinpoint suns. - -Then the bulkhead gathered substance. And he was looking at the blank -wall again. - -He let his breath escape. "How did you do that?" - -"You were seeing with my eyes. Your people have invented machines to -do that--the X-ray machine, the fluoroscope. They are crutches. They -cannot do half so well as the eye alone!" - -"But it's impossible!" he burst out. - -She shook her head. "No. Consider the facts. Even in the densest solid, -there is more space than matter. Every atom is like a miniature solar -system. There is an infinity of space in that bulkhead but only a drop -of matter no bigger than a grain of sand. Is it not true?" - -Joel nodded. - -Tamis giggled. "You know that, and yet you let the grain of sand -obstruct your view!" - -"But why hide yourselves?" he burst out. "With powers like that...." - -"I didn't destroy the wall," she interrupted. "I recognized its -transparent qualities. That is all. We have no weapons, no science that -can destroy. We can only hide!" - -"But why hide?" he persisted. - -She regarded him sadly. "Your people are a hard grasping -race--ruthless. What has happened to the dominant life forms of Mars -and Venus? They are extinct! - -"We don't propose to be driven into extinction. We have hidden -ourselves, waiting for a weapon to free Asgard. And now the Republic -itself has given us one!" - -"The Republic has given you a weapon!" - -"Yes. The maladjusted. The misfits. They are being organized. They are -our weapon!" - -"Very interesting!" drawled a low voice from the doorway to the -fo'cs'le. - -Tamis gave a startled gasp. Her face paled. Joel sprang to his feet. - -Professor Gustav Liedl stood just inside the doorway. He held a small -poisoned needle automatic trained unwaveringly at Joel's belly. - - - VI - -In the tense silence, Liedl moved into the mess-room. - -"What are you going to do?" Joel demanded hoarsely. - -Liedl grinned, his teeth glittering in the subdued night light. - -"Spy!" said Tamis. - -Liedl shrugged. "The word has a disagreeable sound. I prefer to call -myself a Government Investigator." - -He was edging past them toward the door to the guardroom. The muzzle of -his gun hung to Joel's belly like the needle of a compass. - -"Stop him, Joel!" Tamis begged wildly. "You are human. You can kill!" - -Liedl had to pass within three feet of Joel down the narrow aisle -between the tables in order to reach the guardroom. Joel could see the -sweat standing out on his sallow forehead. - -"Don't try anything!" the professor croaked and began to slide past. - -There was the sound of a step from the fo'cs'le. Then the voice of Nick -Thorp sang out softly, "Where are you going, Gus?" - -Liedl blanched, jerked his head. For a second his eyes were off Joel. - -Joel's hand whipped out, slapped the dart gun. It was torn from Liedl's -fingers, went slithering across the deck to fetch up with a clatter -against the bulkhead. - -Liedl opened his mouth to yell. Joel's big hands closed about his -throat. - -"Kill him!" said Nick Thorp in a brittle voice. - -Liedl clawed wildly, spasmodically, at Joel's wrists. The -ex-professor's black goatee stuck straight out like a spear. His mouth -was open. His round gray eyes bulged. - -The muscles of Joel's forearms stood out like cords. Sweat trickled -unheeded down his nose. His face was expressionless, his green eyes -narrowed morosely. - -The only sounds were Nick Thorp's hoarse breathing and the muted rumble -of the jets. Tamis pressed herself against the bulkhead, a fixed, -horrified expression on her face. - -Liedl's convulsive thrashing grew weaker. Suddenly his knees buckled. -He buckled. He slumped to the deck. - -Joel followed him down, stooping over him bear-like, never relaxing the -throttling pressure. Sweat ran into his eyes. - -He became aware of Thorp shaking his shoulder. - -"He's dead!" Thorp was saying. "Dead. Do you hear me?" - -Joel drew a gasping breath, stood up, wiped the sweat out of his eyes. -He didn't look at the crumpled figure on the deck. This was the second -man he'd killed. The first had been an accident, but not Gustav Liedl. - -Tamis said suddenly, "We can't leave him there!" - -"No," Thorp agreed. "We'd better dump him down the waste chute. The -reconverters will dispose of him." - -He picked up the body like a limp sack of potatoes. "Open the chute." - -The girl held up the lid while Thorp slid the body into it. There was a -faint swoosh. Tamis let the lid drop. - -An awkward silence fell upon them. - -"Well," Thorp broke it, "we're in this together. Liedl was a government -spy. There'll be hell to pay when he turns up missing." - -"But they can't trace it to us," Tamis asked. "Can they?" - -"No. The reconverters will take care of that." - -Joel stood up abruptly, started for the fo'cs'le. - -"Joel!" Tamis said. - -He didn't answer. - - * * * * * - -Walt Eriss, the ex-surgeon, returned eventually from the ship's -hospital--a savage-eyed Eriss who obviously had been nursing his -grievances. Almost his first act was to confront Joel. - -"Hakkyt," he said thinly, "that's twice you've struck me." He fingered -his jaw, his curious yellow-gray eyes aflame. "I'll kill you for this." - -Everyone stopped talking, stared breathlessly at the shaggy haired -giant. Thorp moved beside Joel, but he didn't say anything. - -Joel said dryly: "Well--what's stopping you?" - -Walt Eriss began to tremble. "No," he said in a harsh voice. "I don't -want witnesses." - -"Talk," said Joel. "You talk too much to do anything." - -The ex-surgeon turned abruptly on his heel and stalked away. - -Thorp said, low-voiced, "Watch him. Don't ever let him get behind you." - -"He's a bluff." - -"No. He's a killer. I've seen his kind before. He'll get you, Joel." -The spaceman's blue eyes were cold. "You're not safe while he's -alive...." - -Joel frowned. "What do you mean?" - -"I mean we'd better dump him down the reconverters tonight!" - -Joel was shocked. "I'm not a murderer!" - -"It's not murder; it's self-defense." - -"No!" said Joel and refused to hear any more about it. - -The succession of days crept past as alike as beads on a string. Joel -tried to draw Tamis out about the Ganelons, but she had been too badly -frightened by Liedl's death. - -She was afraid of him, too; he could see it in her eyes and it worried -him. One sleeping period he asked her about it with characteristic -bluntness. - -Tamis bit her lip. "I--I never saw a man killed before. I can't get it -out of my mind. It's not you, Joel." And then she began to tell him -about her early life in the Ganelon village. - -It was a life without sham--a simple joyous pagan existence close to -the primal forces of nature. Tamis' voice trembled with nostalgia. - -Joel was fascinated. He was on fire with impatience to reach Asgard. - -On the forty-third day the _Zenith_ came out of the Stellar Drive and -began to fire her braking tubes. - -Down, down she settled towards the surface of Asgard, second planet of -Alpha Centauri A. An electric excitement ran like flames through the -Unfit. - -Joel couldn't eat. "How much longer?" he asked Thorp for the hundredth -time. - -"For Saturn's sake, sit down," the ex-spaceman exploded. - -Joel dropped into a relaxer, lit a cigarette. His green eyes glittered -with anticipation. Tamis gave him an amused glance, but Joel sensed -that the Ganelon girl was as excited as himself. - -"We should be landing in an hour," she informed him. - -Joel felt the _Zenith_ shiver from the violence of her braking blasts. -Minutes ticked past like hours. Then a bell began to ring and went on -ringing. - -After an interminable wait, Joel was shaken by a heavy jar. The -_Zenith_ rocked sickeningly. There was another blast of the jets. -Another jar. - -The roar dwindled and fell silent. A strange hush pervaded the ship. - -"Asgard!" Thorp shouted, leaping to his feet and slapping Joel on the -shoulder. "We're down!" - - * * * * * - -The prisoners were led straight from the Star Ship into the spaceport -where a robot surface bus was waiting to carry them into Eden. The bus -was constructed after a design strange to Joel. It was a half-track -with heavy mesh screens at the windows. - -When he accidentally touched the screen, he received a jarring electric -shock. Tamis, who was seated beside him, giggled. - -"Where do they think we'd escape to?" he demanded bitterly. - -"They're not to keep us from escaping, Joel." - -Just then the bus started smoothly, gathered momentum, burst out into -the brilliant light of Asgard's twin suns. - -Joel forgot the electrified screens, craning his neck, trying to see -everything at once. The spaceport, he realized, must be located at some -distance from Eden. The road ran straight ahead--a glittering plastic -ribbon cutting a channel through the fantastic jungle. - -It was monstrous, that jungle. It writhed, twisted, swayed in great -swaths although there wasn't the faintest breeze. Suddenly the bus -stopped with a jerk to allow a herd of huge tree-like plants to swarm -across the road. - -Joel gaped at them in amazement. They had thick flesh-like trunks from -which writhing tentacles sprouted like the arms of an octopus. A mass -of wriggling squirming thread-like roots propelled the plants forward -with startling speed. - -"Ugh!" Joel shuddered, turned to Tamis. "What are those?" - -"Nigel trees." - -Joel wrenched back suddenly from the window. One of the nigel trees had -lashed out with a tentacle. It touched the screen. There was a green -spark. The tentacle jerked back. - -"Now do you see why the screens are electrified?" Tamis asked. "The -nigel trees are carnivorous." - -The bus started to move again. Joel was regarding the Ganelon girl with -a frown. "You actually live in the jungle with those things roaming -about?" - -"Yes. They don't bother us." - -He looked incredulous. "Why not? Don't they like your flavor?" - -Tamis giggled. "We can control them--a little. They don't think. They -react to external stimuli." - -"I see," said Joel. But he didn't. - -He heard a wailing siren overhauling them fast from the direction -of the spaceport. The bus pulled over to let an escort of guards -on armored prowl-cycles roar past. Immediately following them, came -a plastic tear-drop tri-wheeler. The governor and his daughter were -lounging back in its roomy seats. - -Priscilla glimpsed Joel and waved mockingly. Then the procession was -gone, a second detachment of guards bringing up the rear. - -Buildings, Joel noticed, had begun to replace the jungle, buildings of -thick opaque plastic without windows. The moving sidewalks, shaded by -gaudy awnings, were crowded with men and women clad in little more than -shorts and sandals. - -The air, Joel realized, was stifling. The dazzling yellow ball that was -Alpha Centauri A rode high in the steel blue sky. Alpha Centauri B was -a smaller molten-orange sun swimming just above the horizon. Joel had -never felt such heat before. It was like the engine room of a tramp -spacer. - -The bus slowed down, swung into the curb. Captain Goplerud shouted, -"Pile out!" - -Joel saw a detachment of guards drawn up at the curb. They wore white -uniforms and pith helmets and carried small automatic paralyzers. A -crowd began to collect behind the double line of guards, which ran like -a gauntlet into a massive prison-like structure. From behind him, Nick -Thorp said, "Here's an old friend of yours." - -"Who?" He glanced up in surprise, recognized Priscilla Cameron grinning -at him with an impish expression. - - * * * * * - -She was dressed in crisp white shorts and a brief jacket. Her green -hair wasn't so startling as it had been aboard ship. Joel had noticed -other women on the street of Eden with green hair, with yellow hair, -with cerise, vermillion, chartreuse hair. It obviously was the latest -mode of Asgard. - -"That's the one, Colonel!" he heard Priscilla say to the man beside -her. "Be sure to notify me when he comes up for sale." - -Joel reddened. - -The colonel touched his cap. "I'll be glad to, Miss Cameron." He turned -to Captain Goplerud. - -"Move them inside, Captain. They're not used to the suns. Have a good -crossing?" - -"Rotten," said Goplerud. "I'm glad to get 'em off my hands. Watch that -fellow Hakkyt, by the way. He's a killer." - -Then the line began to move. He had been carried beyond earshot into -the dim warmth of the prison. - - - VII - -The voice of Tamis Ravitz came softly, insistently through the steaming -prison twilight. "Joel. Joel!" - -He swung away from the window through which he'd been staring at the -streams of pedestrians outside. "Yes?" - -The Ganelon girl lowered her voice. "I've been in communication with my -people...." - -"What?" Joel couldn't believe his ears. For two days the Unfit had been -locked in the prison. All of them in a single barracks-like room. The -girl hadn't been out of his sight. "How the devil...." - -She smiled, tapped her forehead with a slim forefinger. - -"Telepathy?" - -She nodded. - -Joel's green eyes narrowed. Tamis never failed to astonish him. The -suffocating heat didn't bother her in the least. - -The other prisoners were sprawled about the floor, many of them stark -naked. Clothes of any kind were a torment. The slightest exertion -brought fountains of sweat pouring from the skin. But Tamis wasn't even -perspiring. - -She said, "I've made my report. I've been given permission to tell you -certain facts. Is there anything you particularly want to know?" - -Joel scratched the bristles on his chin, frowned. "How is it," he asked -finally, "that the Ganelons have never been discovered?" - -An impish grin crossed her smooth elfin features. "Professor Liedl was -almost right." - -"Camouflage?" - -"Yes. Mental camouflage. Is anyone watching?" - -Joel glanced about swiftly. "No." - -Tamis put her hand to her throat, unzipped the coveralls. With a -sinuous movement, she freed her shoulders. The baggy garment fell -about her ankles. She stepped out of them--and disappeared. - -Literally! - -It took Joel a full moment for the realization to penetrate. He'd -caught one arresting glimpse of Tamis, nude like a slim marble statue. -Then she'd disappeared into the hot, fertile smelling air like a grain -of sugar in a glass of water. - -Suddenly he realized that he could still scent her. He became sharply -aware of that alien, flower-like odor. - -He heard her giggle, whirled around. She was standing not six feet off, -regarding him with an amused expression. - -"How did you do it?" Joel blurted out. - -"It is difficult to explain. You have no words in your language to -signify what I just did. I--I removed myself from your range of vision." - -"Hell! I know that. But how?" - -She tapped her forehead again. "It's done with an understanding of the -nervous system." - -Joel stared at her without any sign of comprehension. - -"How can I make it clear?" she asked helplessly. "There are sounds -you can't hear because they extend beyond the range of human ears. -There are limits to your vision too. And I removed myself beyond those -limits." - -He said, "Oh," continuing to regard her fixedly. Then, "You could -escape any time." - -"Yes," she admitted. "But this is my job. I don't want to escape." - -"What exactly is your job?" he demanded. - -"Intelligence. There are many of us, both men and women disguised as -humans who circulate among the Unfit." - -"Then--?" Joel prompted. - -"Then we make our reports to the Thinkers." - -"You've mentioned these Thinkers before. Who are they?" - -"Our scientists. Our wise men." She paused, changed the subject -abruptly. "Today, Joel, we are to be sold." - -"Damn!" He was appalled, remembering Priscilla Cameron's threat to buy -him. - -"Joel," she went on earnestly, "you are one of us now. The Thinkers -have a job for you." - -"For me?" - -"Yes. Obviously Priscilla Cameron is interested in you, Joel. You must -play up to her. It's the first chance we've had to get a spy close to -Governor Cameron...." - -"Hell, Tamis," he interrupted with an expression of distaste. "I can't -do that!" - -"But, Joel, you must! Not even my people have been able to get into the -palace." - -His green eyes quickened with interest. "Why not? They've been able to -insinuate themselves everywhere else." - - * * * * * - -Tamis shook her head. "We don't know! Dozens of Ganelons have slipped -into Governor Cameron's palace. For a while we continue to receive -their telepathic reports. Then nothing!" - -He said: "Let me get this straight. The Ganelons have sent spies into -the palace and all of them have simply vanished?" - -She nodded. - -"But who detected them, if they were invisible?" - -"We don't know. Oh, Joel, that's why it's so important for you to -obtain Priscilla Cameron's confidence. Women are--are indiscreet with -their lovers." - -Joel looked shocked. - -"But Joel, she'll buy you anyway! You'll have the run of the palace. -Slaves hear things and see things no one else can!" - -She paused, saw him wavering, hurried on. "We're blind without someone -close to the governor. The Thinkers are worried. They're holding off, -afraid to give the word that'll start the revolt." - -"How near is it?" he asked. - -"We're ready to strike. The Unfit have stolen arms, built secret -laboratories in the jungle. But we don't dare go ahead until we find -out how much the governor knows. We may be blundering into a trap." - -Joel drew a deep breath. "All right," he agreed reluctantly, "I'll try. -How do I pass my information on--if I get any?" - -She looked relieved. "The Thinkers will contact you." - -A yell from outside their prison interrupted her. Somebody blew a -whistle. A chorus of shouts, muted by the thick walls, reached them -faintly. - -Joel swung toward the door. The prisoners were all staring in that -direction too. - -Nick Thorp scrambled to his feet, came over to Joel and Tamis. "What's -the fuss?" - -Tamis shrugged naked ivory shoulders. She slipped into her coveralls, -a frown tugging at her eyebrows. - -Suddenly a siren turned loose like a blast from the last trumpet. Joel -jumped involuntarily. - -"Someone's escaped!" Tamis gasped. - -The door burst open. Guards spilled into their prison. They wore white -shorts and tunics and carried paralyzers. The dapper colonel was no -longer jaunty. His face was red. - -"Line up against the wall!" he shouted in a furious tone. - -Joel fell into line beside Tamis and Thorp. The colonel opened the -muster, barked, "Allyn!" - -"Here." - -"Aus'l!" - -"Here." - -"Baden!" - -"Here." - -Through the open door, Joel could see a white uniformed guard sprawled -on the floor. Blood trickled from his mouth and nose and the doctor was -fussing over him. - -The colonel reached the D's. Then he said, "Eriss." - -There was no answer. - -"Eriss!" he repeated. The silence was explosive. No one breathed. - -Joel craned his neck, looked up and down the line. The shaggy -ex-surgeon was conspicuously absent! - -The colonel swore. He turned on an under-officer at his elbow. "That's -the man!" he said savagely. "Get his dossier and put his picture on the -televisor immediately!" - -The under-officer sprinted from the room, almost collided with a man -entering the prison. Joel saw that it was the guard who'd been lying -unconscious outside the door. His white uniform was blood-spattered and -he was holding a handkerchief to his nose. - -The colonel caught sight of him at the same time, asked in a cold -voice, "What happened to you?" - -The guard looked unhappy. "This fellow called me to the door. He asked -to see you." - -"See me?" - -"Yes, sir. He said some of the prisoners were planning to escape. He -wouldn't tell me about it. I was taking him to you...." - -"Why did you let him out? Why didn't you send for me?" The colonel's -voice was brittle as ice. - -"He acted frightened, sir. Said they would kill him if he wasn't taken -out." - -"I see. Then he hit you. Is that it?" - -"Yes, sir. As I was locking the door after him. I dropped the -paralyzer. He snatched it and turned it on me. I don't remember -anything else." The guard hesitated. "Did he get away, sir?" - -"Yes. From the roof. Helicopter." The colonel turned on his heel, -marched from the room. The guards withdrew. - -Joel could hear the wailing screams of sirens rising all over the city. - -"But where can he escape to?" Joel asked. - -Tamis gave him a sober glance, lowered her voice. "There are half -a dozen bands of escaped serfs in the jungle. My people have been -protecting them. He may be able to join them--if the nigel trees don't -get him first." - -Thorp said, "Good riddance." - -Joel didn't say anything. The ex-surgeon was a shrewd, brutal man. He -didn't think the nigel trees would be able to catch him. - - * * * * * - -The slave block was located in the principal square of Eden. Joel had -been escorted thither along with the other prisoners, stripped and -chained naked inside a long pavillion like the cattle sheds at a fair. - -Streams of planters flowed through the pavillion, studying the -prisoners, discussing their good and bad points before bidding on them. -A good natured holiday air pervaded the throng. Alternately Joel was -white-lipped with fury and red with embarrassment at their pointed -observations. - -All at once he stiffened, catching sight of Priscilla Cameron heading -straight for him through the crowd. - -Joel flushed darkly. He had never disliked anyone with the passion he -felt for this girl with her defiant green hair, her slim cool arrogance. - -Tamis Ravitz was chained in the stall next to Joel. The Ganelon girl -leaned over and said, "Here she comes. Remember!" - -"I see her. Who's the fellow with her?" - -"General Roos. Fredrik Roos. He's head of the Asgardian Police." - -Joel thought the police chief looked young and dashing in the white -Asgardian uniform. A tiny jeweled paralyzer was belted about his waist. - -There was a twinkle in Priscilla's green eyes when she paused in front -of Joel's stall. - -"Here he is, Freddy. Isn't he lovely?" - -Joel stiffened. - -"Lord," General Fredrik Roos drawled, "what a big brute!" - -"Isn't he, though?" - -Despite her light manner, Joel sensed a strain in Priscilla's voice. -She was wearing a diminutive yellow jacket with puffed sleeves and a -matching skirt. The shimmering microweb accentuated the firm youthful -modeling of breast, hip and thigh. - -"Did you ever see such shoulders?" he heard her ask Roos. "He's -magnificent!" She turned back to Joel. "Flex your biceps, Joel." - -Their eyes locked. Joel didn't move, but an expression of surprise -swept his features. - -For a moment, Priscilla's guard had dropped. Fear was mirrored in her -vivid green eyes. Fear and appeal. The girl was in a panic! - -"Surly brute," Roos said. - -"Oh, I'll tame him," she began gaily. Then she broke off, staring at -Tamis Ravitz with a frozen startled expression. - -Tamis was crouched against the wall in fright. Her small breasts rose -and fell rapidly. - -Priscilla wheeled suddenly, beckoned a guard. "That girl! Get her out -of those chains and take her to the governor!" - -The guard looked startled. He glanced at General Roos for confirmation. - -Roos' face hardened. "Do what Miss Cameron says!" - -The guard looked bewildered, but he hauled Tamis to her feet, unlocked -the shackles. They fell to the floor with a clank. - -Tamis straightened. Like the rest of the Unfit, she had been stripped -of her baggy coveralls. She looked like a painting of Psyche by -Boucher. She took one step.... - -"Keep hold of her wrist!" Priscilla cried. - -But Tamis had vanished! - - - VIII - -The delivery truck resembled a dog catcher's wagon as it rolled -up behind the governor's palace. It was Joel's first glimpse of -Priscilla's home--a towering plastic structure in the style of the -symbolists. - -After the girl had bought him, guards had whisked him from the slave -block. He'd been hauled through the streets like a wild beast. - -Joel was led inside an office where the major-domo, a tall, -tremendously fat man in a white slave tunic, signed the receipt for -him. Alpha Centauri A had set. An angry orange light streamed through -the windows from Alpha Centauri B. - -The major-domo grunted, heaved himself to his feet. He was staring -fixedly at Joel's arm. - -Joel glanced down. The tattoo mark was fluorescing a vivid green! - -"So!" said the major-domo. - -Joel opened his mouth. The major-domo put his finger to his lips with a -silencing gesture, covered the action with a yawn. But his eyes held a -warning. - -He slid his hand beneath his desk. Something clicked. The tattoo quit -fluorescing. - -"Put this on," he said going to a clothes locker and tossing Joel one -of the white slave tunics. "Miss Cameron left orders that you weren't -to be assigned until she sent for you." - -Joel dropped the tunic over his head with a confused feeling. - -"This way." The fat man led him into a corridor. As the door shut on -the office, he stopped so abruptly that Joel bumped into him. - -"All right," he said, "it's safe to talk here. But watch the mirrors. -They're televisors! There isn't a room in the palace that isn't -equipped with them. We're under constant surveillance." - -Joel's brain was reeling. So the palace serfs were organized too! - -"Listen close," the major-domo went on low-voiced. "Meeting tonight. -You'll be instructed in your part for _the day_." - -The words were scarcely out of his mouth when the door at the opposite -end of the corridor slid aside. The fat man jumped a foot, his face -taking on the color of wet clay. - -A girl brushed into the passage, stopped with a startled expression. -She was young, Joel saw, and pretty with straight brown hair. Her short -white tunic exposed long symmetrical legs. - -"Hullo!" she said. "I was looking for you." Her brown eyes flicked a -glance at Joel. "This the new man?" - -The major-domo said, "Yes," in a relieved voice. - -"Big devil. Does he bite?" - -"He's a legitimate maladjustment case, if that's what you're driving -at," the fat man replied stiffly. "What did you want?" - -"Miss Cameron sent me to fetch him." She jerked her head at Joel. - -The major-domo frowned. "You'll have to go," he said to Joel. "I was -hoping she'd give you time to get your bearings. But that's not her -way." - -"Listen," said the girl turning anxiously to Joel. "I'm Peg--Miss -Cameron's maid. You watch your step. That baggage has bought dozens of -men off the Star Ships. They would be around for a week, ten days. Then -pouf! Gone! Nobody would ever see 'em again!" - -Joel looked startled. "What is she? A lady Bluebeard?" - -"She's no lady," said the girl. "And it isn't funny. You watch your -step. She can see in the dark like a cat!" - -"What's that?" Joel's interest quickened. "See in the dark?" - -"Like a cat!" Peg repeated. "And that's not the half of it. She can -smell a person out like a hound! I mean actually. Just let her get one -whiff of you and she knows who you are!" - -Joel wasn't surprised. That explained how Priscilla had detected Tamis -at the slave market. It also explained why the Ganelon spies had always -been caught in the palace. Their alien scent had betrayed them to -Priscilla's keen nostrils. Trapping them was easy. - -"We've loitered here as long as we dare!" Peg said nervously. "I'll get -in trouble." - -The major-domo said, "Don't forget tonight," retreated down the passage -to his office. - -Joel followed the girl through a maze of corridors. Peg switched along, -chattering incessantly. Once she hissed out of the corner of her mouth, -"Talk! Don't gape at the mirrors. We're not supposed to know they're -televisors!" - -For the life of him, Joel couldn't think of anything to say. The -mirrors were everywhere. They gave him a bad case of stage fright. - -At the top floor, Peg paused before a door, pressed a stud. Joel saw -that a panel of opaque plastic had been let into the face of the door. - -"I'm on the terrace," said Priscilla's voice suddenly. It sounded so -close that Joel's head snapped around. "Bring him back here." - -And the door opened, silently, disclosing an empty vestibule. The walls -were mirrors glowing with a subdued rose light. Their feet made no -sound on the dull black plastic floor as they crossed the vestibule, -entered the salon. - -Like the vestibule, Joel saw, it was paneled in dimly gleaming mirrors. -It made the room stretch out forever except where crystal doors gave -onto a roof garden. He could see Priscilla Cameron stretched on a deck -chair sunning herself in the luminous orange rays of Alpha Centauri B. - -Peg pushed aside the crystal doors. "Here he is, Miss Cameron." - - * * * * * - -At their appearance, some creature set up an excited yap-yapping. -Joel stared around trying to locate the beast. Then he swallowed. The -yapping noise was issuing from a plant in a green tub! - -"Thank you, Peg," Priscilla said. "That's all." - -Peg curtsied, backed out. - -"What is that thing?" Joel demanded. - -"It's an Asgardian lung beast." Priscilla went to the excited plant, -stroked it gently. The yapping ceased. "See. It's not a plant at all. -It's one of the three known species of Asgardian rooted mammals." - -Joel put his hand on the creature. It was like a lump of flesh covered -with soft brown hair! He shuddered, snatched his hand away. - -Priscilla laughed. She was wearing a short yellow smock and sandals. -She said, "Sit down, Joel. I want to talk to you." - -He sank into the relaxer she indicated. Instantly, flexible metal -bands whipped about his throat, his biceps, his wrists and ankles. He -wrenched convulsively, squirmed. - -The more he fought the tighter the bands contracted. He couldn't -breathe. A red haze swam before his eyes. - -"Relax!" he heard Priscilla's voice coming from a great distance. - -He slumped in the seat. The bands slacked off. He could breathe again. - -"Damn you! Damn you!" he rasped. His throat was raw. - -"I'm sorry, Joel!" she said in a scared voice. "I have to know -something!" - -Sitting stiffly in the chair's metal embrace, he watched her from the -corner of his eye. She was wheeling a machine onto the terrace. Wires -sprouted from it like the ganglia of the nervous system. Each wire -terminated in a tiny saucer-shaped disk. She fastened them to his -temple, the base of his skull, his solar plexus, his spine. Sweat burst -out on Joel's face. - -Priscilla finished attaching the sucker discs. Then she sat down at the -machine, began to fiddle with a dial. - -The machine went "_Glug--glug--bubble--glug_--" - -"What the hell is that thing?" Joel demanded in a tight voice. - -Priscilla didn't answer. The only sound was the -"_glug--glug--bubble--glug_" of the machine. Then it said, "_What the -hell is she up to?_" in an alarmed metallic voice. - -Joel jerked as if he'd been slapped. - -The machine said, "_No! No!_" And then it became absolutely -unintelligible. It babbled. - -Joel stared at it in consternation. - -It said: "_My Lord, it's reading my thoughts!_" - -He turned horrified eyes to Priscilla. - -The machine rattled on inexorably: "_Why? Why? What does she want -to know? Ganelons. Don't think ... Tamis. Where's Tamis? And Thorp. -Wonder--. I'm being verbose. Go around in circles. Circles. Curves. -Good legs and--. A hell of a thing to be thinking of now! What happened -to those other men? Lady Bluebeard. She's no lady. She sure as hell -isn't...._" - -"For Pete's sake shut that thing off!" Joel and the machine roared in -unison. - -Priscilla lifted her eyes, asked, "Have the rebels contacted you?" - -"No," said Joel. - -The machine said: "_That damned machine will give me away._" - -"So they have contacted you?" - -"Yes," he replied bitterly. - -The machine said: "_What's the use of lying?_" - -Priscilla threw back her head and laughed. "Joel, are you in -communication with the Ganelons?" - -"Ganelons?" he said, "What are they?" - -The machine said: "_How did she know that? Ye gods, she'll pull -everything out of me. Make my mind a blank. Don't think about Tamis. -Don't...._ - -"Who's Tamis?" Priscilla asked. - -"_She's forgotten_," the machine said in surprise. "_No. She didn't -know the girl's name; just that she was a Ganelon. Wow, what a -horrible, uncontrollable thing a person's mind is. Multiplication -tables. Two times two is four.... Damn! I can't remember the -multiplication tables!_" - -"Joel," said Priscilla, "I'm going to make you my bodyguard." - -"Bodyguard!" echoed Joel and the machine together. "Hell fire...." -He shut his mouth. The machine went, "_Glug--glug--bubble--glug. Out -damned spot! Out, I say! One: Two: Why, then 'tis time to do't...._" - -"What's that?" Priscilla demanded suspiciously. - -"Macbeth," Joel replied with a grin. And for ten minutes she had to -listen to the machine spouting quotations from Shakespeare. After that -it started on nursery rhymes, began a dissertation on cattle breeding. - -"All right!" said Priscilla savagely. "You win. I can stand anything -but hearing about the love life of a cow!" She shut the machine off. - -Joel slumped weakly in the seat. Sweat was rolling down his face. - - * * * * * - -Priscilla was pensive as she removed the suckers, rolled the machine -away. When she returned she was carrying a small paralyzer. - -"Did you mean it," Joel asked, "when you said I'm to be your bodyguard?" - -"Yes." - -"But that's absurd!" - -"Would you stand by and watch me murdered?" - -"No," he admitted. - -"Fair enough," she said. "That's all I ask." - -She threw a switch on the back of the chair. The bands loosened. Joel -stood up, rubbing his throat. - -Priscilla shot him an oblique glance, said dryly, "Don't misunderstand -me. I need protection. Nothing else." - -Turning abruptly she entered the apartment, beckoned for him to follow. -She touched a hidden plate in the floor with her toe. Joel saw a -section of the mirror paneled wall slide aside revealing a shallow -passage beyond. - -"This is where you're to stay. So that you can watch the apartment at -all times." - -Joel entered the passage, gave a low whistle of surprise. It ran all -around the salon behind the mirrors. He could see the room through them -as if they were the clearest plate glass. - -Security glass, he realized. It had been bombarded with chromium so -that from one side it acted as a mirror. But from the other it was -transparent. - -"Who built this?" - -"The last governor. He was terrified of assassination. The palace is a -rat-run of secret passages and lifts, concealed televisors, electronic -eyes and alarms." - -Joel said, "Priscilla, why did you buy me?" - -The twinkle returned to her green eyes. "You'll learn. Meanwhile you'd -better familiarize yourself with these passages." And she shut the -panel on him. - -Joel spent the next week exploring the labyrinthine passages that ran -everywhere from the sub basement to the top floor. He emerged only to -eat or when Priscilla called him over the wrist radio. - -From the serfs he heard echoes of what was taking place in the outside -world. Walt Eriss, he learned from Peg, had joined one of the outlaw -bands. He was being talked about constantly among the serfs. - -A man of action, they called the ex-surgeon, brutal, ruthless, shrewd. -A strong man. Joel held his own counsel. But the reports worried him. - -He was exploring between the walls on the ninth level when he came -to one of the trick mirrors and peered through. A long magnificent -corridor met his eye. Directly across from the mirror was a lift. - -General Fredrik Roos had his quarters on this level, Joel knew, but the -hall was empty. He was about to turn away when the indicator light on -the elevator glowed faintly. - -Someone was coming up. - -The car stopped, the doors slid back. Joel frowned. There wasn't a soul -in the cage. - -Then the doors shut and the cage dropped from sight. - -Joel bit his lip. All at once, the indicator lit up again. The car was -ascending to the ninth floor once more. - -Again the doors slid aside. But this time General Fredrik Roos stepped -briskly from the cage, turned left down the corridor. - -The chief of the Asgardian police had taken only half a dozen steps, -though, when he halted. Joel could see his nostrils twitch. Then his -hand darted to the jeweled paralyzer at his waist. It was like a man -practicing a quick draw--shadow boxing. - -Roos pointed the paralyzer at emptiness, pressed the stud. A dazzling -yellow beam lanced down the corridor, winked off. - -Joel sucked in his breath. The misty outline of a body was -materializing on the floor just ahead of Roos! - -There had been someone there--someone who'd been invisible until the -ray knocked him out! - -"Ganelon!" Joel thought. He could see the shape of bare ivory legs and -a delicate waist. It was a girl lying huddled on the floor! - -Roos had snatched up a heavy vase from a niche in the wall. He was -striding toward the unconscious Ganelon girl. - -The ray only paralyzed; it didn't kill. Roos was going to murder the -spy, Joel realized. At that instant he recognized her. - -It was Tamis Ravitz! - - - IX - -Joel's reaction was instinctive. He pressed the mechanism that actuated -the mirror, drew his paralyzer. The yellow beam flicked down the -corridor, touched Roos' spine. - -The general went limp as a microweb stocking! - -Joel was at the girl's side with a bound. He scooped her up, plunged -back into the passage behind the mirrors. He never glanced at Roos. The -police chief, he knew, would be unconscious for an hour or more from -the effects of the ray. - -Joel hurried between the walls with the limp Ganelon girl in his arms. -When he reached his own room he stretched her on his bunk. - -Joel's room was only a niche in the wall between Priscilla Cameron's -bedroom and the salon. It was just big enough for a bunk, a stool and a -desk. One-way mirrors sealed it off from the apartment. - -A glance assured Joel that Priscilla wasn't in. He began to chaff -Tamis' limbs. - -The minutes dragged past. Joel saw the color return to her cheeks. She -looked like a slim, adolescent Aphrodite. - -The girl opened her eyes, stared up at him blankly. "Joel! I--I did -find you!" Then her features froze with horror. "But Roos! He knew I -was there! He--he saw me. The ray...." - -"You're safe," said Joel. "I knocked him out with a paralyzer." - -"But how did he discover me?" - -"That's what's troubling me. Unless...." He paused, stared thoughtfully -at the frightened Ganelon girl. "Priscilla Cameron is a mutant. Her -sense of smell is as keen as mine. That's how your spies have been -detected. Maybe Roos is a mutant also." - -Tamis sat up, glimpsed Priscilla's luxurious bedroom through the -mirrors, caught her lip between her teeth. - -"Joel! Where are we?" - -"Priscilla Cameron's apartment." He explained about the mirrors. - -Tamis sighed in relief. "Joel, what have you learned? The Unfit -are impatient. That ex-surgeon, Walt Eriss, you remember him? He's -insisting that we attack at once. He--he's insane Joel!" - -"He's a homicidal maniac," Joel agreed dryly. "I wish I'd taken Thorp's -advice and dumped him down the reconverters." He shook his head. -"I haven't learned much; but it's all bad!" And he told her about -Priscilla's knowledge of the slave organization. - -"They can't know!" Tamis' voice was tight with horror. "They can't, -Joel! After all our precautions. What are they going to do?" - -"I don't know." - -"Hasn't Priscilla Cameron confided in you? I thought...." - -He laughed shortly. "I might as well be a piece of furniture." - -"You mean she hasn't...." - -"That's exactly what I do mean. I'm her bodyguard. She gave me to -understand the first day that our association was to be strictly -business." He made a wry grimace. "And that's what it has been!" - -"But why--" Tamis looked utterly dumbfounded. "She acted like a wanton -aboard ship." - -"It was just an act. Don't ask me why. I don't know." - -"Where is she now?" - -"In conference with her father." - -Tamis rose shakily. "I don't understand it, Joel. There are wheels -within wheels. I must get back to the Thinkers." - -Joel guided her through the walls to a tiny lift barely large enough to -hold them both. They dropped swiftly to the basement, traversed a long -tunnel. - -"This comes out in an alley beyond the gates," Joel informed her. "Have -you heard anything of Nick Thorp?" - -"He escaped," Tamis said, "He's staying in my village." - -"Thorp?" - -"Yes. He joined the outlaws first. But he had trouble with Walt Eriss. -Eriss had him thrown into a herd of nigel trees." - -"Good Lord," said Joel. "How did he get away?" - -Tamis began to grow red. "I--I was watching out for him." - -"Sort of a Guardian Angel?" - -She giggled. "You could call it that." - -There was a scanner at the end of the tunnel. Joel put his eye to it. -"The alley's deserted. You can go now." He touched a button, the wall -slid aside. The brilliant light of Asgard's twin suns flooded the -entrance. He began, "When will you--" and stopped. - -Tamis was gone. - - * * * * * - -When Joel returned to his cell, Priscilla Cameron was sitting on the -edge of his bunk, tapping a sandaled toe on the floor. "You've had a -visitor!" she greeted him. - -Joel concealed his astonishment. Priscilla was wearing her green hair -in a roll about her face. Crisp white shorts and halter made a sharp -contact against the warm sepia of her skin. - -He said, "That's preposterous...." - -But Priscilla stopped him with a laugh. "She left her scent all over -the place. It was that Ganelon girl, wasn't it? Never mind lying; I -know!" - -Joel grinned crookedly. "Well?" - -"Are you in love with her, Joel?" - -"Love?" He looked puzzled. The word was archaic. The Eugenic Board's -policy of controlled scientific breeding had pretty well obliterated -that particular passion. Desire remained, but it was physical. "Oh," he -said finally, "you mean the emotion that all the old poets used to rave -about. That's atavistic, isn't it?" - -"But we're atavisms," she said. - -Joel stared at Priscilla, conscious of that strange affinity binding -them together. He could feel the pulse ticking in his throat. He took a -step towards her, stopped, furious with himself. - -"What about those other men you bought?" he demanded hoarsely; "the -ones who disappeared?" - -Priscilla's green eyes were alight. "Why, Joel, you're jealous!" - -"What happened to them?" he repeated. - -She said: "You're going to find out now. That's why I came for you," -and sprang to her feet. "Hurry. We mustn't keep them waiting any -longer." - -"What the devil are you talking about?" Joel demanded suspiciously. -"Keep who waiting?" - -"You'll see," she laughed. - -Priscilla led him straight to the governor's suite. The guard at the -entrance saluted smartly, stood aside. - -The governor's aide, a young, pink-cheeked cadet, was sitting behind a -bank of televisors. He sprang to his feet, clicked his heels. "They're -in the conference room," he said to Priscilla. - -She nodded, shoved Joel down a corridor at the left. A panel opened -automatically at their approach. Joel paused on the threshold startled. - -The conference room was long, low-ceilinged and devoid of windows. -Perhaps twenty people were sitting at a long table with Governor -Cameron at the head. Fredrik Roos, Chief of the Asgardian Police, was -on the governor's right. - -"Sit down, Hakkyt," Cameron said and indicated a vacant chair. - -Wordlessly, Joel sank into the relaxer. Priscilla pulled up a chair -beside him. She clutched his hand beneath the table, squeezed it -reassuringly. - -"You're a mutant," the governor began abruptly. "Don't be alarmed. -We're all mutations here." - -Joel's jaw didn't actually drop but he felt that it had. "Mutants!" he -managed to say. "All of you?" - -"Precisely." - -"But you're the Governor of Asgard!" - -Priscilla laughed excitedly. "Let me introduce him, father. Joel, -you've met General Roos. He's commander-in-chief of Asgard's police." - -The lean handsome General inclined his head. There was a glitter in his -gray eyes. - -Joel felt suddenly cold, thought, "He knows that it was I who rayed him -with the paralyzer." - -Priscilla was proceeding around the table, reeling off names and -titles. There were too many for Joel to remember. But one thing stood -out. They were all from the Executive Class. The Chief Administrator -of Eden, of Nelsville, of Nuvenice. The port officials, the security -officers.... - -They were all there--and all mutants! - -"Hakkyt," said the governor softly, "you're skeptical, but understand -this. The human race has progressed from the level of apes through -its mutations. Not startling ones. But millions upon millions of minor -unnoticeable variations! - -"When the Eugenics Board first began its experiments in controlled -breeding its policy was more liberal. It recognized the value of -mutations and tried to incorporate the best variations into the race. - -"Gradually though, they grew more rigid. When the present type -homo sapiens was produced about a thousand years ago, they quit -experimenting altogether." - -The governor brought his fist down with a bang on the table. - -"Hakkyt," he said in a rising voice, "evolution isn't static! If a -species doesn't progress, it degenerates! The human race is on the -point of extinction! - -"Have you ever noticed how an apple tree will bear a bumper crop just -before it dies? It's the tree's blind effort to reseed itself. What do -you think has brought on the present wave of mutations, of socially -maladjusted individuals?" - -Joel stared at him fascinated. - -"I'll tell you!" the governor answered himself. "The policy of the -Eugenics Board has dammed the course of human evolution! The race -is dying. But before it dies, nature is making one last attempt to -perpetuate the species! - -"We're the only hope of mankind. You--" he stabbed a forefinger at -Joel's chest--"and I and the rest of the mutations here on Asgard!" - - * * * * * - -Joel's brain was reeling. Governor Cameron's words had the ring of -truth. - -"But how did you get control of Asgard? Does the Republic know?" - -It was General Roos who answered in his lazy drawl. Joel turned his -head to stare at him. - -"No," said Roos. "The Republic is unaware that mutants hold all the -administrative posts in the colony." - -"But how...." - -"Briefly, Hakkyt, the mutants on Terra saw that if they didn't unite, -they were doomed. Societies were formed. The mutants were taught to -disguise their oddities, submerge themselves in the race." - -"But the psycho-detectors," Joel protested. "They couldn't fool the -machines!" - -"No. But Asgard was different. Asgard is a frontier. It's four and a -third light years from the Republic. The laws are not enforced so -strictly." - -The implications were too startling for Joel to grasp all at once. -These were mutants, and he was one of them. They were his kind whether -he liked it or not. - -Roos was saying, "The mutants migrated--secretly. Some of them rose to -minor administrative posts. And when a mutant was placed in authority, -he bent every effort to install others of his class." - -"We're trying to give the human race a new lease on life--a new -beginning!" Priscilla broke in passionately. "This--this is a sanctuary -where people won't be persecuted because they're different." - -"Slavery ..." Joel began. - -"It's not slavery," the governor interrupted. "We petitioned the -Republic to send us the Unfit in order to rescue them from the -Experimental Stations. - -"Ordinarily, Hakkyt, you would have been separated immediately from -the maladjusted and the criminally insane of the labor battalion. True -mutants are rare, and Priscilla usually buys them...." - -"Priscilla buys them?" Joel caught the flash of amusement in the girl's -green eyes. - -"Yes," said the governor. "We've encouraged the rumor that she -is--ah--headstrong in order to divert suspicion. Actually the mutants -are brought to the palace where they can be taught to disguise -themselves, given a new identity, put in posts of authority. - -"That is what should have happened to you. Except your report from the -Eugenics Board disappeared! - -"Priscilla, though, insisted that you were a true mutant. We didn't, -however, feel that we could take a chance. Not when we're in the midst -of a crisis...." - -"Crisis?" Joel's eyes swept the circle of faces. Their expressions had -changed subtly. They were intent, nervous. He felt a coldness creep up -his spine. "What has happened?" - -"Nothing--yet!" General Roos drawled. - -A woman with claret hair said, "It's what is about to happen!" - -"The Republic?" Joel hazarded. - -Governor Cameron shook his head. "We're not afraid of the Republic. -They're four and a third light years off. They haven't the Star Ships -necessary to transport and maintain an army across such a vast -distance." - -Joel's green eyes narrowed. "Then what are you afraid of?" - -"The Ganelons!" Governor Cameron gave Joel a shrewd glance. "We know -that you've been in contact with the natives. Frankly, Hakkyt, that's -why you're here!" - -"But I don't see...." - -General Roos smiled grimly. "Oh, we're not afraid of the Ganelons -themselves. But they've organized an underground movement to overthrow -the government. That's us!" - -Priscilla took Joel's hand, gripped it convulsively. "That wouldn't -be so bad, Joel, even though we stand to lose everything. But they've -organized the maladjusted, the criminally insane! The worst elements -among the unfit!" - -"But can't you put down a revolt?" - -General Roos laughed savagely. "I've a handful of police with -paralyzers. Paralyzers, mind you! Don't you understand? There hasn't -been a war in a thousand years! There are no weapons! No factories to -make them. No officers with even the most rudimentary knowledge of -tactics." - -"But the Unfit haven't weapons either...." - -"That's where you're mistaken! Our spies have reported a ray type -projector that destroys the red blood corpuscles! They've been -manufacturing them in hidden laboratories in the jungle!" - -Silence fell over the conference table--a breathless anxious silence. -Joel could feel their eyes on him and he shifted uncomfortably. - -"But what do you expect me to do?" he asked defensively. - -Governor Cameron stared at Joel with his penetrating green eyes. -"Hakkyt, we want to treat with the Ganelons. There's room for both our -races. You're in communication with their Thinkers. You're our only -contact with them." - -Joel said suspiciously, "If you were anxious to treat with the -Thinkers, why did you murder their spies?" - -"Murder their spies?" Priscilla echoed. Half a dozen voices burst out -in protest. - -Joel stared pointedly at General Fredrik Roos. The dark, handsome -general smiled, shrugged. - -"But no one's killed any Ganelons!" the governor said. "You're -mistaken, Hakkyt." - -Fredrik Roos said, "I'm afraid he's quite right." - -"What?" said the governor. - -"This is no time for sentimentality," Roos went on dryly. "Too much -is at stake. Several Ganelons have been trapped in the palace by -my officers. They have some trick of invisibility. Psychological, -I believe. But we could still scent them. We knocked them out with -paralyzers. Since they are telepathic, it wouldn't silence them to lock -them up. I ordered them destroyed." - -Governor Cameron's face blackened. "Why ..." he began. - -A shout interrupted him. There was a chorus of startled exclamations. -Joel glanced over his shoulder. - -The governor's aide had just burst into the conference room. A -terrified expression convulsed his pink face. - -"Governor!" he yelled. "They've risen! They're attacking Eden!" - -"Who?" the Governor half rose from his chair. "Get a grip on yourself! -Who, man?" - -"The Unfit!" - - - X - -Joel was stunned. The silence held a moment longer, then everyone began -to shout at once. - -Roos leaped to his feet. "The control hall, Governor! Join me there as -soon as you can!" Before the last words were out of his mouth, he was -sprinting through the door. - -Governor Cameron succeeded in catching the attention of the Nuvenice -and Nelsville officials, ordered them back to their posts to organize -the free planters. As the last of them trooped from the room, he swung -on Joel. "Well, Hakkyt, which side are you on?" - -It was a decision that Joel had known for some time he must make. The -realization of what it would mean to have men like Walt Eriss, the -ex-surgeon, in power tipped the scales. He said, "I'm with you, I -suppose, Governor." And felt like a traitor to Tamis and Nick Thorp and -the rest. - -"Then for Heaven's sake, contact the Thinkers. Tell them we'll -arbitrate!" - -"But I can't!" - -"What?" - -"You should have let me know about this sooner. I don't know how to -contact the Thinkers." - -Governor Cameron stared at him with blazing green eyes. Then he swung -abruptly on his heel, tramped from the room. - -A rumble of sound like the mutter of surf vibrated against the soles of -Joel's feet. He felt Priscilla tug at his sleeve. - -"The control room," she was saying. "Hurry!" - -Pandemonium burst on Joel's ears as they entered the control hall. The -uproar of battle was emanating from banks of televisors. They were -being operated by a score of young officers--General Roos' staff. The -general himself strode back and forth in front of the screens. - -Scenes of the bitter house-to-house fighting, the stampeding mobs of -civilians flashed across the screens with terrifying reality. Joel was -appalled. He felt his throat tighten, his heart hammer against his ribs. - -A young field officer appeared briefly in one of the screens. "_We -can't hold them, sir_," he panted. "_It's those damn rays!_" - -"Fall back to L Street," Roos ordered, "We're making a stand along the -monorail." - -"Look!" Priscilla said, clutching Joel's arm and pointing at another -screen. - -It mirrored a broad empty street down which rays were probing like -searching fingers. They were pale green, scarcely visible in the -blinding light of Asgard's twin suns. - -Serfs in white ketons were carrying the deadly projectors at their -hips. There was a Ganelon with them, Joel saw. One lone naked man -walking in their midst. - -"There's a Ganelon with every squad!" Roos said at Joel's elbow. -"They're directing the attack." - -Just then Governor Cameron stood up. He'd been in communication with -Nuvenice. "They can't spare any troops." His voice was stricken. "The -serfs have risen there, too." - -Roos began to curse. - -Joel felt numb. The Unfit, he realized, were being led by a master -strategist. The slave rebellions at Nelsville and Nuvenice had been -instigated in order that troops could not be diverted to Eden against -which the main assault was being directed. - -A voice from one of the audios blared suddenly. "_Spaceport calling. -The rebels are_...." A faint hissing noise burst from the instrument. - -At that instant every screen in the televisor bank flickered and went -dead! - -Joel's ears rang with the silence. It was like the dead spot following -an explosion. - -Roos turned a blanched face toward them. "They've cut the power!" - -In the unnatural silence, Joel could hear that muttering roar again. It -was louder. He could even distinguish shouts and screams. - -A guard burst suddenly into the disorganized control hall. His -features were pale as chalk. "Slaves!" he gasped unsteadily. "Palace -slaves--fighting! Ray projectors!" - -He sank on a bench. Joel stared at him in horror. The guard was -slipping sideways. Then he rolled to the floor. He was dead. - -"The ray!" Priscilla said in a faint voice. "It destroys the red blood -corpuscles!" - -Joel clenched his fist. "If I could reach any of those Ganelons with -the Unfit, I could establish contact with the Thinkers. They're -telepathic!" - -"But can you get out of the palace?" Roos demanded. - -Joel said, "Yes." He was surprised that Roos didn't seem to know about -the secret passages. - -The chief of the Asgardian police unpinned the gold and azure shield, -the insignia of his office. "Take this. It'll get you through our -lines." He made a wry grimace. "I've been at fault about the Ganelons. -I hope it doesn't queer your mission." - -It had cost Roos an effort to make that admission, Joel realized. He -said, "I feel as if I were deserting...." - -"Nonsense, man," the governor interrupted. "You're the one who's taking -the risk. We can barricade ourselves in these rooms. We're safer here -than anywhere else on Asgard." - -Priscilla took Joel's face between her cool palms, kissed him -passionately. "I--I love you, Joel. Please take care of yourself." - -Joel was startled. Then his arms closed about her hungrily. - -The governor cleared his throat. "There's a proper time and place for -everything." - -Joel tore himself away. "I'll be back," he said. "And to hell with -what's proper!" - - * * * * * - -Terra Parkway was jammed with refugees streaming toward the palace. To -the south, Joel could see a black pall of smoke overhanging the streets. - -A worried frown creased his forehead. He had slipped from the palace -by the tunnel along which he had escorted Tamis earlier. He should be -devoting his whole attention to his immediate danger. But he couldn't -dismiss the green-haired Priscilla Cameron from his thoughts. - -He was worried about her there in the palace. Was this love? It was a -disturbing sensation. - -He began to breast the flood of refugees streaming from the battle -area. White faces taut with fear. The faces of children and women. It -was like a nightmare. - -After a while the faces began to thin out. And then there weren't any -left at all. The street lay empty before him. - -"Hey!" a voice called. "Where do you think you're going?" - -Joel caught sight of a guard crouched in a doorway. - -"Get in here!" the guard growled. "What d'you want to do? Get killed? -The rebels are up ahead." - -Joel slid into the doorway. The smoke clouds were spreading. Alpha -Centauri A was a blood red ball just above the house tops. - -"What's happening?" Joel demanded. The strange quiet felt unnatural. - -The guard said, "Our officers are having a talk with the rebels." - -"Talk? What for?" - -"We're tired of being rayed down. And nothing but paralyzers to fight -back with. We're going over to the rebels. Hey! Come back here!" - -But Joel was gone, running down the empty street. - -Other men shouted at him from doorways, from windows. Suddenly an -officer jumped in his path, raised a paralyzer. - -"Hold up there!" - -Joel skidded to a halt. If the troops were deserting to the Unfit, -General Roos' badge would be of no help to him now. - -"Where--", the officer began. - -Joel hit him in the temple with a sledge-hammer fist. He didn't wait to -see the effect of his blow, but darted into an open doorway. - -There was an entrance hall and it was crowded with men. Joel put his -head down, charged straight through them. - -He hit the steps four at a time. Yellow flame lapped at his heels. -Then he was around a curve. A whistle blew someplace below, shrill, -threatening. He leaped up two more flights of steps, came out on the -roof. - -More guards were lying on their bellies behind a coping. They stared at -him curiously. - -"Ray that damn fool down!" a voice roared from the street. - -Joel plunged straight for the recumbent soldiers. They clawed at their -paralyzers, trying to twist around. - -He leaped to the coping, hung there a second silhouetted against the -murky sky. Then he jumped spasmodically for the adjoining roof. - -He didn't look at the ground three stories below, but he was aware of -it. His feet struck the edge of the next roof and he sprawled forward, -gasping for breath. - -Two roofs in front of him, he could see a row of shaggy heads raised -above another coping. They were watching him curiously. - -Then they began to yell and beckon, lifting projectors into sight. -Pale green fingers probed all around him, but none of the deadly -blood-destroying rays touched him. - -They were covering his retreat, Joel realized. He scrambled to his -feet. He leaped the next gap easily and the next. - -The grinning serfs pulled him down behind the wall, clapping him on the -back. Joel was too winded to talk. - -One of the rebels was crawling across the roof towards him. He had a -black arm-band. Something dangled from his belt--like hair. It was -hair! Long black woman's hair--and it was bloody! - -Joel bit his lip, feeling sick at his stomach. He remembered suddenly -what Priscilla had said, "The Ganelon's have organized the worst -elements among the Unfit--the criminally insane!" - -The man reached him, said, "Who are you?" - -"I'm from the palace," said Joel. He was careful not to look at the -scalp. "I've news!" - -"Palace!" echoed the serf. "Has it fallen?" - -"No. Quick, man, where's a Ganelon. I have to make my report." - -The rebel gave Joel a sharp suspicious glance. Then he lowered his -eyes. "There's one below stairs. Come on." He began to crawl across -the roof, hitching his projector after him. Joel followed on hands and -knees. - -A stairwell gaped ahead. As soon as the walls shielded them, the serf -stood up. "Hurry it up," he growled. "I'm in charge. I'm not supposed -to leave the roof." - -Joel rose. - -"You go first," said the serf. "You may be all right, but I don't want -you breathing down the back of my neck." - -Joel started down the steps in the lead. He heard a whisper. Then the -roof caved in! - -Something seemed to burst inside his skull. He pitched forward, rolled -down the stair, brought up in a limp unconscious heap at the foot. - -Above him, the serf frowned at the shattered barrel of his projector. -"Must have a skull like a meteor shield," he muttered. He threw the -projector over the railing. - - * * * * * - -Joel opened his eyes. Pain wrenched at his skull. There was noise and -dust. - -At first he thought he was back on Terra in the cattle sheds. Then the -scene jarred into focus. He remembered the serf with the woman's scalp -at his belt. - -He was lying on the ground, he realized, in the midst of a hideous -tangle of shouting men and half-tracks. Dust sifted into his nostrils. -The furious orange rays of Alpha Centauri B cast an ominous glow over -the endless line of vehicles moving into the gutted city. - -He sat up. It was a clearing in the jungle. It must have covered -hundreds of acres. Prisoners were being held in herds like cattle. Loot -was stacked everywhere. - -Someone prodded him roughly with a toe, said, "Get up!" - -Joel scrambled to his feet, stood there weaving. His hands were -manacled. His head felt as if it must burst. - -Then he drew in his breath sharply. - -Just behind him stood a yellow tree and beneath it a deal table with -the shaggy figure of Walt Eriss bending over it! - -The ex-surgeon was talking over a portable televisor. A dozen men -surrounded the giant. They were wearing scarlet armbands. - -Joel could hear Eriss saying, "Yes, we're pushing on the palace now. -No. I'm using runners." He clicked off the set, looked up, staring -coldly at Joel. - -"Where are the Ganelons?" he demanded in a harsh voice. - -Joel's eyes widened. There wasn't a Ganelon in sight. Then he caught -their alien unhuman scent. They were all around, invisible to the -mind's eye! What did it mean? - -A thrill of alarm rippled up his spine. He shrugged, said, "How would I -know?" - -"You're one of their spies," stated Eriss flatly. "I want to know what -they're up to!" - -"But I thought they were leading the attack on Eden." - -"The Ganelons?" Eriss' voice was sarcastic. "They're a pack of old -women. I directed the attack. I'm in charge." - -"But I saw them...." - -Eriss leaned forward, said savagely, "They were my eyes and ears. -They telepathed my orders! But they tried to stop the killing. When I -refused to listen to them they deserted." He began to beat the table -with his fist. "I want to know what they're up to!" - -All the time Joel was conscious of the Ganelons' scent. He could feel -their eyes on him. He said, "Then you've broken with them?" - -"What are they trying to do?" Eriss repeated, purple faced. - -Joel's green eyes narrowed. The ex-surgeon was afraid of the Ganelons, -he realized suddenly. Eriss was concentrating his attack on Eden, his -rear unprotected. For all he knew a Ganelon army might be massing -silently in the jungle. Millions upon millions of the natives.... - -Joel had to reach the Thinkers! He could sense the invisible natives -all about him. He said in desperate ringing tones, - -"I'm Joel Hakkyt. I've a message for the Thinkers. Please relay this to -the Thinkers. I'm Joel Hakkyt. I've a message...." - -Eriss looked startled, roared, "What are you talking about?" - -Sweat burst from Joel's face. He expected to be rayed down any moment. -He said, "Tamis was my contact. I have information--vital information." -He could scent the Ganelons closing in. Eriss was staring at him with -flaming yellow-gray eyes. - -"What sort of information?" he demanded. - -Joel said, "Mutants are in control of all government posts. True -mutants. They are fighting for the same things that the Ganelons are. -Freedom! - -"You've organized the worst elements among us, the unbalanced, the -criminally insane. You've helped them to devise weapons, given them -unlimited power. They'll turn on you in the end, ferret you out...." - -A frown was gathering on Walt Eriss' forehead. He glanced a question at -his lieutenants. They shrugged. - -Joel saw that they were about to catch on. He said quickly, "Governor -Cameron and a party of mutants have barricaded themselves in the -palace. They want to arbitrate. Relay message. This is Joel Hakkyt. -Contact Tamis. She will verify...." - -"By George!" roared Eriss. "He's communicating with the Ganelons!" - -He leaped to his feet, sending the deal table over with a crash, struck -Joel in the mouth. "Take him off and ray him!" - -The blow knocked Joel sprawling. He scrambled to his feet, his head -ringing. Two men seized him by the arms. But Eriss wheeled back. - -"Wait," said the ex-surgeon. He gave Joel a shrewd look. "Any more -information?" - -Joel stared at him with hot furious eyes. He didn't say anything. - -Eriss laughed harshly. "So that was all. You've finished your spiel, -eh? You're harmless." He turned to the men who were holding Joel's -arms. "I've changed my mind. Take him into the jungle and stake him out -for the nigel trees. There's a herd of 'em in the neighborhood." - -And he burst into laughter. - - * * * * * - -The heat in that forest of fetid grotesqueries was like the atmosphere -of an orchid house. Joel was bathed in sweat as the serfs manacled him -to a tree trunk. - -He could tell by their actions that they were frightened. They kept -their voices down, glanced nervously over their shoulders. The minute -they finished, they crashed away through the thick underbrush toward -the distant sounds of Walt Eriss' headquarters. - -Joel's nerves were taut as fiddle strings. He didn't know whether his -message had gotten through to the Thinkers. He could feel small snaky -tendrils pluck at his tunic, brush against his bare legs. - -There was a rustling noise behind him. - -He lunged in panic. The manacles cut into his wrists, bloodied them. -He was like a goat staked out to bait a tiger. A sinuous vine wrapped -itself about his waist, tightened. - -It was like the coil of a boa constrictor, thick as his thigh, tough as -cable. It wrenched him against his manacles until he thought his arms -were going to be torn out at the sockets. - -He squirmed helplessly. Then he caught sight of the plant that had -snared him--the thick flesh-colored trunk, the crown of writhing -tentacles. It exuded the odor of carbolic add. The pool of digestive -acid glinted deep within its maw. - -Nigel tree! He was caught by a carnivorous nigel tree! - -Then, unexpectedly Joel felt the tentacles relax. He leaned gasping, -choking against the trunk of the tree to which he was manacled. He was -dazed from shock. - -A voice said, "You're safe now, my son." - -Joel shuddered, looked over his shoulder. A naked white-haired Ganelon -was standing scarcely a yard off. He stooped and fumbled with Joel's -manacles. They fell to the ground with a clank. - -Joel's knees began to buckle. He threw his arms about the trunk. - -"We came as quickly as we could," the Ganelon said in a kindly voice. - -Joel asked, "You--you relayed my message to the Thinkers?" - -"We are the Thinkers, my son. We were there." As he spoke, more of the -creatures materialized. It was completely unnerving as if they were -popping from another dimension. - -They were a handsome, sprightly race. There wasn't a stick of clothing -or an ornament in the crowd. Then Joel saw a familiar figure emerge -from the undergrowth. - -"Thorp!" he cried. "Nick Thorp!" - -The battered amiable ex-spaceman came forward, hand outstretched. "Not -so loud, lad. We're too close to Eriss' headquarters." - -The uproar from the rebels' camp was muted by the dense jungle, but it -was still audible. Joel asked, "Have you seen Tamis?" - -"Look around, lad!" - -Joel heard a giggle, spun about. Tamis was standing at his elbow, -laughing at him. Then she quit laughing. Her elfin features sobered. -"Joel," she said, "we didn't know about the mutants." - -"Why did the Ganelons withdraw from the attack?" he asked in a puzzled -voice. - -"It was horrible," she said. "We--we unleashed a force we couldn't -control. It's beyond description, the scenes of rapine and carnage that -are being enacted in Eden. The police have gone over to the rebels...." - -"The palace?" Joel interrupted harshly. "What has happened to the -palace?" - -"The palace has fallen." - -Joel felt the blood drain from his face. He said, "Then what is Walt -Eriss doing in the jungle?" - -"He doesn't know, yet. His men are mopping up. Many of the free -planters have barricaded themselves in their houses." - -Joel clenched his fists. He stared at the circle of kindly troubled -faces. - -"The Unfit must be wiped out!" His voice trembled with suppressed -fury. "Don't you know what it will mean to have homicidal maniacs, the -mentally unbalanced, in power?" - -The Ganelons gave him a pitying look. "My son," interposed the old man -who'd freed him, "as you say, they should be exterminated. They are -like the nigel trees--senseless brutes with an instinct to kill." - -"Then why don't you stop them?" - -"We can't." - -"You can't!" said Joel. The words were like a blow to his solar plexus. -"You can't...." - -"We are not a numerous people," the old Ganelon explained softly. -"Moreover we have a repugnance towards killing that amounts to a -psychological block...." - -"But you started the attack!" - -"No. It was someone else who ordered the attack, someone else who -planned the strategy. We went along to try to stop the bloodshed. But -it was useless. We had less control over them than we have over the -nigel trees." - -Joel's eyes widened. He stared at the old Ganelon's saddened mien. -There could be no doubt but that he was telling the truth. - -"Who?" Joel breathed. - -The naked Ganelon shook his head. "We don't know. He's like a puppeteer -hiding behind the scene. And Walt Eriss is only one of his puppets!" - - - XI - -The utter alienness of the jungle suddenly impressed itself on Joel. -The creeping crawling plants. The shouts from Eriss' headquarters, the -rumble of vehicles sounded startlingly close. - -Through the interstices in the foliage he caught a glimpse of something -moving. His eyes widened. Then he saw that it was the herd of nigel -trees and he shuddered. - -He frowned. "Nigel trees!" - -"Yes," Tamis nodded. "But they won't bother us." - -"You can control them!" Joel said thoughtfully. "Could you direct them -to attack?" - -"Attack?" The elder Ganelon looked puzzled. "I don't know. We could -arouse their appetite, lead them to the rebels." He narrowed his -pupilless eyes. "Attack...." - -Joel was like a drowning man clutching at a straw. "The ray couldn't -harm the plants. It destroys red blood corpuscles. They'd be -invincible!" - -Thorp suddenly smacked a fist into his palm, "By Neptune!" he said, -"it's worth a try. How do you control the brutes? Telepathy?" - -Tamis nodded. "They're mindless; that is, they react to external -stimuli. We create the illusion that generates the desired response. It -is as easy to influence a herd as a single tree." - -"A conditioned reflex," said another. - -The old man said, "But to attack a city with plants--even cannibal -plants...." He shook his head. - -"But there would be thousands of them." Joel's voice trembled in -excitement. "Each Ganelon could control a herd. They'd pour down the -streets, create a panic...." He paused. "If you're doubtful, why not -tackle Walt Eriss' headquarters first?" - -The old Ganelon looked startled. - -Joel said, "There's a herd of the trees here now. Try it. Drive them -into the rebels' camp!" - -"But there are only fifty or so trees in the herd. We'd have to call -others...." - -"Call them! Call them now." - -The old Ganelon bowed his head. Moments slid by. With a sense of terror -Joel was conscious of their passing. What had become of Priscilla? Who -was the mysterious man behind the uprising of the Unfit? Why didn't the -Thinkers act? - -"Do something!" Joel burst out savagely. "Don't just stand there! Do -something!" - -The elder Ganelon smiled. "Patience, my son. The trees are being -called." - -Alpha Centauri B hung just above the treetops, casting long orange rays -across the rebels' camp. Joel and Thorp and Tamis lay side by side in -the shrubbery at the edge of the clearing. - -The endless procession of cars still rolled into Eden down the muddied -highway. Another line of cars returned, bringing exhausted men, wounded -men, loot and prisoners. - -"Where are the trees?" Joel asked. - -Tamis said, "Shhh." - -Joel heard a crackling of branches behind him, stiffened. Then he -caught sight of a moving trunk. More and more of them appeared, -blending with the jungle until they were scarcely discernable. - -They smelled like carbolic acid! It was the weirdest march he'd ever -witnessed, the massed shuddering movement of herd after herd of the -carnivorous nigel trees. The balls of thread-like roots at their bases -squirmed like Medusa's heads, thrusting the ungainly plants forward. - -A wave of trees broke suddenly from the opposite wall of the jungle. -For a moment they went unnoticed. Then someone shouted. - -More trees squirmed into the clearing, green fronds asway. It looked as -if the jungle itself were creeping back over the cleared ground. - -Pandemonium broke loose. The two lines of cars ground to a halt. Pale -green rays sprang at the nigel trees, bathed them futilely. The trees -inexorably tightened the circle. - -A man was snatched up by a tentacle. He kicked, screamed. More men were -caught by the ravenous plants. The stench of carbolic acid stung Joel's -nostrils. - -The rebels broke and ran. But there was no place to run to. They saw -only a second wavering wall of greenery, of thrashing tentacles! - -Joel was white, sick at his stomach. He caught sight of Walt Eriss. The -shaggy giant was sprinting for a half-track. He almost made it. Then a -tentacle girdled his ankle. - -The ex-surgeon was lifted head downward into the air, squirming, -shrieking. Then he vanished into the gaping maw of the plant. - -All at once, one of the Ganelons stepped out from the midst of the -trees. - -"Surrender!" he yelled. "Surrender, and we'll call off the plants." - - * * * * * - -He had to repeat his offer a dozen times before he could catch the -attention of the frantic serfs. Then one of the rebels threw his -projector to the ground, raised his hands. Another and another followed -suit. It was over. - -Joel felt dazed. - -Tamis touched his shoulder. "The Thinkers are expressing their thanks." - -Thorp said, "You're on the air. You're a celebrity," and grinned. - -But Joel didn't smile. "What about Eden?" he asked. - -Tamis said, "The Thinkers are calling the neighboring tribes. There -will be a big round-up of nigel trees...." - -Joel let his breath escape with relief. "Tamis," he said, "can the -Thinkers give me a guide to the palace? I've got to get back." - -"Is it Priscilla Cameron, Joel?" - -He looked at the Ganelon girl. She had tight hold of Nick Thorp's hand. - -"Yes," Joel, replied. "Lord knows what might have happened to her." - -"We'll guide you." - -"We're both with you," Thorp added. - -Joel felt suddenly grateful to the strangely assorted pair. He'd had -to come all the way to Asgard to rediscover the meaning of friendship. -Like love, he thought. - -Alpha Centauri B had set and Alpha Centauri A had not yet risen when -they arrived at the outskirts of Eden. The sky over the city was lurid -from the reflection of burning buildings. Whole blocks must be afire. - -"There's Proxima Centauri," Tamis said, pointing to a drop of blood -gleaming in the night sky. "The little yellowish star above it is Sol." - -Joel stared at it with a lump in his throat. It looked very cold and -far away. He hunched his shoulders, started down the street towards the -twinkling lights of Palace Hill. - -The city itself was dark, lit only by ruddy flames. Gangs of looters -prowled the streets carrying torches. They paid no attention to Joel -and Thorp and the elfin Ganelon girl. - -At the entrance to the tunnel beneath the palace, Joel halted. "Tamis, -it isn't safe for you to come any farther. You either, Nick." - -But Tamis said, "I'll step out of sight," and did so. Thorp growled, -"You'll need me. Maybe Priscilla's alive." - -Joel said, "Maybe," and touched the switch. A section of the wall slid -aside revealing the black tunnel mouth. - -Thorp whistled softly. - -"The walls of the palace are hollow," Joel explained. He closed the -door behind them. - -At the first floor, he stopped the lift, crept out to one of the -mirrors. An immense hall met his eyes. It overflowed with guards armed -with ray projectors. The mutter of their voices was a low rumble in -Joel's ears. - -"But can't they see us?" Thorp hissed. - -"No." Joel explained the mirrors. - -"Priscilla's not there," Thorp said. "How are you going to find her?" - -"I'll find her," said Joel grimly and for the next hour he prowled -through the walls of the first floor like some ancestral ghost. Serfs -and police were everywhere. In some of the rooms indescribable orgies -were taking place. - -"It'll take a year to search this maze," Thorp growled. - -Joel stopped, wiped the sweat out of his eyes. Glancing through the -customary mirror, he saw a narrow passage down which a man was walking. - -"Hold it!" he said. He waited until the serf was passing the mirror, -touched the switch. The panel slid aside. The serf jerked his head -around. Joel hit him in the temple with his clubbed fist. - -The rebel smashed into the wall across the corridor. Before he could -fall, Joel grabbed him by the collar, hauled him into the passage. The -panel clicked shut. - -"Jupiter!" Thorp breathed. "Did you kill him?" - -"No. He's just stunned." Joel slapped the man's face, shook him. - -The rebel opened his eyes, stared at Joel groggily. Then he let out a -yell, tried to heave himself to his feet. - -Joel shoved him back to the floor. "Yell your head off. Nobody can hear -you." - -The man stopped yelling. "What's the idea?" he demanded. - -"Who's in charge here?" - -"The Emperor." - -"The Emperor?" Joel felt a tingle of excitement. "Who's he?" - -"He's the Emperor. That's all I know. I never saw him before today." - -Joel shook his fist under the fellow's nose. - -"So help me!" the man said in a scared voice, "that's all I know!" - -"Where is this Emperor?" - -"He's in his rooms on the top floor." - -"What have they done with the governor and his daughter, the chief of -police?" - -"Don't hit me. I don't know. It's the gospel truth." - -Joel said savagely, "Tie him up." - -Thorp tore up the serf's tunic, bound his wrists and ankles, tied them -together so that he arched backward like a bow. - -"Don't forget me," the serf pleaded. "I'll rot here in the walls." - -But Joel was gone. - - * * * * * - -Subdued indirect lighting illuminated the top floor. Joel paused behind -a mirror with Thorp at his elbow. He glanced into Governor Cameron's -suite. The rooms were gutted, empty. - -He said, "There's only one other apartment up here. That's Priscilla's. -He must be there." - -"Emperor!" Disgust was heavy in Thorp's voice. "What does he think this -is, the pre-Atomic age?" - -Joel didn't reply. He was conscious of Tamis' alien scent as he -threaded his way between the walls. He could see guards lounging before -Priscilla's door. - -"That's where he is!" he said savagely. He was trembling, he realized. -He drew his paralyzer. - -But when he reached the salon, it was empty. He ran through the passage -to Priscilla's bedroom, halted, icy fingers squeezing his heart. - -Through the one-way mirrors, he could see Priscilla sitting in a -relaxer. There was a frightened, defiant expression on her face. And -she was staring up at Fredrik Roos. - -The lean saturnine chief of the Asgardian police was bending over the -green haired girl, saying furiously, "After what I've done, do you -think I'd hesitate to kill you?" - -Priscilla shivered. - -Behind Joel, Thorp said, "The Emperor, Fredrik I of Asgard. He's going -to have the shortest reign in history!" - -"Shut up!" said Joel. "He's talking." - -Roos said, "I don't need the mutants; they need me! Look what happened -to Eden. Nelsville and Nuvenice will fall the same way. But you can -save thousands of lives if you persuade them to cooperate." - -Joel said, "I'm going to take him," and touched the switch. - -The panel made a faint squeak as it slid back. Joel leveled the -paralyzer, touched the stud. - -Roos jerked around, his eyes widening. Then he leaped aside -spasmodically. The yellow flame splashed harmlessly against the -opposite wall. - -Before Joel could catch the police chief in his sights again, the room -was plunged into darkness. Priscilla screamed. - -"Stay back, Thorp!" Joel yelled. "He can see in the dark!" - -Something snatched his paralyzer. He struck out blindly, felt his fist -crunch against flesh and bone. The paralyzer clattered on the floor. - -Joel's eyes were adjusting. He could make out a dim gray silhouette -dancing in front of him. He struck at it. The shadow bobbed. Joel's -fist whistled through air. - -He struck again and missed. Then a barrage of fists exploded in his -face. He was driven back against the wall. - -He could see the elusive Roos more clearly, a weaving, bobbing -silhouette. He swung and missed, swung and missed. - -Roos hit him in the mouth, in the solar plexus. - -Joel sagged gasping to his knees. Roos kicked him viciously in the -kidneys. It was like the searing thrust of a knife. - -He thought, I'm being licked. Once he'd seen a Histrofilm of a -prizefight. That was why he couldn't hit the police chief. Roos was a -skilled boxer. - -He pulled himself groggily to his feet, lunged for him. He could see -him quite clearly now but in varying shades of gray like a black and -white photograph. - -Roos danced aside, clipped him behind the ear. He was grinning. "Ox!" -he said. - -Joel felt like a bear attacked by a slashing pack of wolves. He shook -his head, shuffled after Roos cautiously. He took three hard punches in -the face without faltering, kept closing in. - -Roos backed up. Joel crowded him in the corner, letting the police -chief hit him with everything he had. - -At the last moment Roos guessed Joel's purpose. He tried to duck and -slide clear. - -Joel grabbed him by the collar and belt. With a grunt, he heaved him -over his head. - -The police chief kicked, squirmed frantically. The muscles in Joel's -shoulders cracked. But he held him aloft, began to walk deliberately -toward the crystal doors leading to the terrace. - -Roos cursed, wrenched, flailing wildly with arms and legs. Joel kicked -the doors aside. - -Alpha Centauri A was flooding the terrace with a clear dawn light. - -Roos began to beg for his life. - -[Illustration: _The pseudo-Emperor cursed, struggled, begged for his -life._] - -Joel's face was a grimace of triumph. He reached the parapet, heaved -the pseudo-Emperor over the edge. - -A single piercing scream came up to him. - - * * * * * - -Joel didn't look down. He gripped the railing, staring out over the -gutted city. He heard a step behind him, felt Priscilla cover his hand -with hers. - -"I knew you'd come. But Joel, we mustn't waste time!" Her voice was -tremulous. "Please hurry before the alarm is given!" - -"No," he said. "We'll wait here." - -"Joel! Roos' death won't stop the revolt. There'll be a dozen men to -take his place. Maybe the Ganelons will take us in!" - -"Look," he said simply, and pointed out over the parapet. - -In perplexity the girl glanced down on the city spread out below. Then -she gave a little scream, clapped her hand over her mouth. - -Slowly, inexorably, the encircling jungle was enveloping the city! -Already the outlying districts were submerged beneath a wave of -thrashing greenery. - -Joel saw a band of ant-like men trying to stem the advance of the nigel -trees with ray projectors. Then they broke and ran. - -Someone began to pound on the door to Priscilla's suite and shout for -the Emperor. Then he went away. - -Thorp called, "What is it, Joel?" - -"The plants! They're attacking!" - -With a shout, the ex-spaceman rushed to the parapet, dragging Tamis -with him. - -The Ganelon girl's ivory cheeks were flushed and she held tight to -Thorp's hand as she leaned over the parapet. - -Priscilla's green eyes widened. "The Ganelons! They've set the nigel -trees onto the rebels." - -Joel nodded. - -"Oh, Joel! Then you did get through to the Thinkers!" She threw her -arms around his neck. Suddenly she drew back. "But are we safe here?" - -Tamis said, "My people are directing the trees. We're safe. So are your -father and the other captives." - -Priscilla let herself go limp in Joel's arms, nestled her head on his -shoulder. - -Beneath them the sea of vegetation flooded down the streets, swarmed -over the buildings. - -"The new Eden," said Joel. He glanced down into Priscilla's upturned -face. What he saw there set his pulse racing. He had come a long way, -he realized, from the dissatisfied specialist in animal husbandry. - -He had come a long way, but it was only the beginning. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CITADEL OF THE GREEN DEATH *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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. 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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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Citadel of the Green Death</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Emmett McDowell</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: March 08, 2021 [eBook #64755]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CITADEL OF THE GREEN DEATH ***</div> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>CITADEL OF THE GREEN DEATH</h1> - -<h2>BY EMMETT McDOWELL</h2> - -<p>At the coldly gleaming Experimental Station<br /> -they flung this choice in Outlaw Joel Hakkyt's<br /> -teeth: "Grinding, endless slavery on Asgard,<br /> -that Alpha Centauri hell—or a writhing, screaming<br /> -guinea-pig's death here?" He chose Asgard,<br /> -naturally. But what was natural—on Asgard?</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Planet Stories Fall 1948.<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Joel Hakkyt stirred impatiently in the prisoner's chair. His features, -homely, strong-boned and intelligent, were inscrutable. But he didn't -know how much longer he could bottle up his indignation. It had been -accumulating all during his trial. Now this delay!</p> - -<p>The machines had been whisked from the chamber. The investigating -psychologist should have returned with his verdict minutes ago. What -was wrong?</p> - -<p>Joel glanced at his parents, at his wife. They were the only -spectators, the three of them sitting stiffly in the front row of -benches.</p> - -<p>Doctor Hakkyt refused to meet his son's eyes. A plump, tall man, -the doctor looked stonily out the windows at the park-like grounds -surrounding the Hall of Justice. He was president of Clear Springs -Community, and his angry red expression said plainly as words that his -son had disgraced him.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Hakkyt dabbed at cold eyes with a scrap of handkerchief. Joel's -glance passed over her swiftly and on to his wife.</p> - -<p>She sat next to his mother with a notebook on her knee, a pencil poised -in her hand. Joel's wife was a specialist in creative writing, and -all through his trial, she had watched him with the same impersonal -curiosity she might have bestowed on some animal, jotting down his -reactions.</p> - -<p>In sudden disgust, Joel wondered why he had consented to marry her. -It had been her looks, he supposed. She had a sensual rather pretty -face....</p> - -<p>A panel behind the bench clicked loudly in the silence. The guard stood -up, saying: "Attention, please."</p> - -<p>It was a useless formality, because everyone's eyes had jerked -instantly to the slowly opening door.</p> - -<p>The investigating psychologist bustled in, sat down behind his desk. He -arranged his black gown with a tug, rattled the papers in his hand.</p> - -<p>"An unusual case," he began. "Unusual in several respects!" He turned -his eyes on Joel's father. "The examination reveals that the prisoner -is possessed of a high I.Q. Very high. However, he is completely -maladjusted. A dangerous anti-social type. He is to be committed to the -Experimental Station at once!"</p> - -<p>Joel caught his breath. The Experimental Station!</p> - -<p>Criminals and the maladjusted were committed to the Experimental -Stations where they were used as guinea-pigs by the scientists. They -might live for years, surviving experiment after experiment. But -inexorably like the early Roman gladiators they met a ghastly fate.</p> - -<p>Doctor Hakkyt had risen furiously. "This is preposterous! Think of the -notoriety! I'm the president of...."</p> - -<p>"That will be sufficient!" the investigating psychologist interrupted. -"The prisoner is thirty-four years old. This is the third time he's -been up for examination. All the rehabilitative measures have failed!"</p> - -<p>Doctor Hakkyt sank back muttering into his seat.</p> - -<p>The psychologist rattled his papers again, fixed Joel's wife with a -softer glance. "Annulment orders for your marriage, Mrs. Hakkyt, have -been forwarded to the capitol. You are free."</p> - -<p>"Thank you," said the young woman without glancing up from her notes.</p> - -<p>The investigating psychologist wiped his sharp features with a -handkerchief and said: "Court dismissed."</p> - -<p>Joel watched his father and mother rise. They didn't glance at him. The -psychologist cleared his throat.</p> - -<p>"If you wish to say goodbye to the prisoner...."</p> - -<p>Doctor Hakkyt wheeled angrily. "That won't be necessary. As far as my -wife and I are concerned, the prisoner is already dead!"</p> - -<p>Pompously, he took Mrs. Hakkyt's arm, steered her to the exit. Joel's -wife closed her notebook with a snap, trotted out after them without a -backward glance.</p> - -<p>Only their scent, that unique volatile compound that was as expressive -to Joel Hakkyt's sensitive nostrils as a picture, lingered behind.</p> - -<p>It was atavistic, Joel supposed, but his sense of smell was as acute as -any hound's!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Joel shrugged, rose from the prisoner's chair. He looked big, burly -beside the fragile guard. There was something appealing about his -strong homely features—a quizzical directness, an honesty.</p> - -<p>"Come along," said the guard.</p> - -<p>Joel's nostrils flared as he caught the guard's scent for the first -time. It was man-like and yet alien—a curious unrecognizable smell -that raised the hair on the back of his neck!</p> - -<p>The guard seemed unaware of Joel's scrutiny. He was a thin elderly man -in the Republic's blue and yellow uniform. His eyes were hidden behind -dark glasses.</p> - -<p>"Come along," the guard repeated, and Joel permitted himself to be led -into the corridor that ran back to the cells.</p> - -<p>The door had scarcely closed on the courtroom, when the guard said in -an altered tone, "Keep walking. And don't say a word once we reach the -cells. Spy recorders have been installed in all of them!"</p> - -<p>Joel came to a dead stop. "Who are you?"</p> - -<p>"Keep walking!" The blue uniformed guard tugged in panic at Joel's -elbow.</p> - -<p>"One of our men'll contact you at the Experimental Station. Don't -mention this to anyone!" He gulped slightly. "This is going to hurt -some. Don't be startled; it's necessary."</p> - -<p>As he talked, he jabbed a needle through Joel's sleeve into his arm.</p> - -<p>Joel jumped. "Damn! What are you up to?" He yanked free, swung angrily -on the guard.</p> - -<p>"Only a tattoo mark. Isn't visible except under black light. Then it -fluoresces green."</p> - -<p>"But why?"</p> - -<p>"Identification. Shows you're a legitimate maladjustment case and not a -government spy."</p> - -<p>"But what...."</p> - -<p>"No time now. Wait until our man contacts you. Explain everything. -Remember, not a word when we reach the cell block!"</p> - -<p>He pushed aside the panel at the far end of the hall. The opening -revealed a second corridor lined with small iron-barred cubicles. None -of them were tenanted.</p> - -<p>Joel Hakkyt moved into his own familiar cell where he had been lodged -during his trial. The gate clanged shut.</p> - -<p>The guard removed his glasses, polished them nervously as he gave Joel -a warning look.</p> - -<p>For the first time Joel could see the guard's eyes.</p> - -<p>They had no pupils, no color, only a weird flickering light in their -depths that glimmered like candle flame!</p> - -<p>Joel could feel his stomach contract like a fist. The alien smell -filled his nostrils. He took an involuntary backwards step, his heart -hammering against his ribs.</p> - -<p>The guard wasn't human!</p> - -<p>Before Joel could question him the guard retreated through the door, -hastily shutting it with a click. Joel sank to the edge of his bunk.</p> - -<p>Where did the guard come from?</p> - -<p>A mutation? The Eugenics Board would never have allowed a mutation to -survive. Joel himself had escaped their vigilance only because it had -been impossible to detect his abnormally heightened vision and sense of -smell at birth.</p> - -<p>Then what was the creature?</p> - -<p>It wasn't a native to Mars or Venus. Their dominant life forms had -been exterminated centuries ago. Perhaps it hailed from the Centaurian -planetary system. He sat up abruptly at the thought.</p> - -<p>A Centaurian?</p> - -<p>The Republic had established a colony on Asgard, the second planet of -Alpha Centauri A. Joel had seen the three-dimensional reels of its -weirdly lovely jungles and grotesque species of plant life.</p> - -<p>But so far Asgard's dominant life form had escaped detection!</p> - -<p>The Republic's exploring parties had stumbled across strange empty -little villages with fires smouldering on clay hearths and the food -still hot in clay vessels. Yet not a glimpse of the inhabitants had -they ever been able to catch.</p> - -<p>By some uncanny means, the natives always eluded them like wraiths.</p> - -<p>Anthropologists had been able to reconstruct a theoretical Centaurian -though from the evidence that he left behind—artifacts, huts, -footprints. He was man-like, they said, and walked upright. He weighed -between a hundred and a hundred and twenty pounds, this theoretical -creature. He was in a primitive stage of development possessing neither -writing nor art.</p> - -<p>There was only one thing they couldn't explain. That was why nobody had -ever seen one!</p> - -<p>Joel grinned sourly. He was letting his imagination run away with him.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>At nineteen hours a green panel glowed on the rear wall and letters -formed on the glass.</p> - -<p>SUPPER—PRESS BUTTON.</p> - -<p>Joel pressed the indicated button. The panel folded out like a -secretary, revealing sanitary food containers which had been delivered -via a slot.</p> - -<p>He ate slowly. When he had finished he dropped the empty containers -down the disposal chute and stretched out on his bunk.</p> - -<p>All at once, he sat up snapping his fingers. Why hadn't that occurred -to him earlier?</p> - -<p>From the wall above the foot of his bunk, he pulled down a screen about -a metre square, dialed a number on the prison intercommunicator.</p> - -<p>A pale rose glow spread through the screen. Then the prim starched -figure of a girl sprang out in three-dimensional reality.</p> - -<p>The girl was working at a desk in the warden's office. Joel felt as if -he were looking at her through a window in his cell.</p> - -<p>She said, "Yes?"</p> - -<p>"May I be connected with the film library?"</p> - -<p>The girl opened a file, glanced at a card. After a moment, she said, -"That will be all right." She dialed a number and said, "Here's your -party."</p> - -<p>The screen went agitated like the surface of a pond, then cleared -again, disclosing a dry thin woman.</p> - -<p>"Clear Springs Public Film Library."</p> - -<p>Joel said, "I'd like to see whatever is available on Asgard, second -planet of Alpha Centauri A. Travel films, history, exploration -records...."</p> - -<p>The librarian gave a short brittle laugh. "That's a large order. -Roughly there must be several thousand reels."</p> - -<p>Joel hesitated. "A good condensed history then."</p> - -<p>She said, "Flagg's <i>Stellar Venture</i> is the latest...."</p> - -<p>"That'll do."</p> - -<p>"One moment, please."</p> - -<p>Once more the screen quivered violently. Music, a thin haunting -melody, streamed into Joel's cell, through which came the voice of the -narrator. The music stopped.</p> - -<p>A dull black space ship was forming within the depths of the screen.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Joel lay back on his bunk, staring into the glowing square. Walls, -floor and ceiling receded from consciousness. He was free of the prison -as if like Alice he had stepped through a mirror into a world beyond.</p> - -<p>"Sa Nels, a Martian of Terran descent, discovered the stellar drive in -4471," the narrator was saying. "The Republic organized an expedition -to the trinary system of Proxima Centauri, Alpha Centauri A and B, our -nearest neighbors; and Sa Nels was put in charge."</p> - -<p>The narrator's voice droned on. Joel scarcely heard him.</p> - -<p>These were government films of the actual take-off of the Vega, Sa -Nels' ship. It lay in its cradle in the midst of the sandy red Martian -wastes. The crew were at their posts. Sa Nels waved at the camera, -climbed into the Vega. The ports were sealed.</p> - -<p>There was a blinding flash from the stern of the ship. It rose slowly, -crazily in the rarified Martian atmosphere, gained momentum until it -was a thin needle-like streak and dwindled in the flick of an eye and -disappeared.</p> - -<p>Joel let out his breath with a sigh. He had been clenching his fist -until his fingers ached. The first ship to reach the stars!</p> - -<p>It had been twenty-one years, he recalled after the Vega passed beyond -radio contact before a wondering Earth had heard from them again.</p> - -<p>Twenty-one years compressed into as many minutes in the film unreeling -before Joel's eyes. He saw the blood red ball that was Proxima Centauri -swim into view on the scanner. He sighted the yellow-white star of -Alpha Centauri A and its orange twin, Alpha Centauri B.</p> - -<p>He landed with the expedition on the second planet of Alpha Centauri A -and saw the deserted stone villages of the invisible natives, the thick -flesh-like Nigel trees, mobile carnivorous plants that stalked the -members of the crew like crawling land octopi....</p> - -<p>The rest of the film was taken up with the improvement in stellar -travel, the establishment of the first colony on Asgard and its slow -growth.</p> - -<p>Joel was fascinated. If he had lived during an earlier age, he would -have run off to sea.</p> - -<p>As it was he had stowed away as a lad aboard a tramp spacer outward -bound for Mars. But he had been discovered before the ship cleared.</p> - -<p>That was the first time he had been brought up before the examining -board.</p> - -<p>Joel had wanted to become an astro-geophysicist above all else, but -his aptitude tests had revealed a remarkable ability with animals. He -had been assigned to the government stock farms instead.</p> - -<p>He switched off the telescreen. He had discovered nothing that -connected the strange humanoid guard with Centaurus and he had put -himself into the mood of despair that engulfed him whenever he -contemplated his joyless future.</p> - -<p>It was almost dawn before he dropped off into a troubled sleep.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">II</p> - -<p>The sound of his cell door opening awakened Joel the next morning. It -was a new guard, he saw with disappointment, a perfectly normal human, -smelling of tobacco, sweat and stale clothes—a man-like unmistakable -odor.</p> - -<p>They went into an elevator and so to the roof where the police -helicopter was waiting. Joel climbed into the cab, looked out the -window as the 'copter rose smoothly into the air.</p> - -<p>The rim of the sun was showing above a low range of wooded hills. The -town of Clear Springs was bathed in limpid morning light. With a catch -in his throat he caught sight of the sun deck of his own home. They -would still be abed there—his mother and father and his ex-wife.</p> - -<p>It was strange to think that he'd never see them again. It made him -realize the finality of this journey.</p> - -<p>A human guinea-pig!</p> - -<p>They had been traveling for several hours when his eyes were attracted -by the sparkle of sunlight dead ahead. Then he made out a huge plastic -dome cupping hundreds of acres.</p> - -<p>The Experimental Station!</p> - -<p>The police 'copter lit with a slight jar on the thick green sward of -the landing field. Joel climbed down stiffly.</p> - -<p>Seen from the ground, the structure took his breath away. It was a -tremendous dome of clear plastic like a glass beehive. Thousands of -tiny figures could be seen moving about its many levels.</p> - -<p>No tree grew around the hive. On all sides gently rolling meadows -studded with grazing sheep, goats and cattle fell away, for miles.</p> - -<p>He began to appreciate why no prisoner had escaped from the station in -over a hundred years!</p> - -<p>A guard challenged them at the entrance.</p> - -<p>Joel's escort produced his papers and the circular plastic gate rolled -ponderously aside.</p> - -<p>They walked down a short corridor and were challenged a second time. -Joel heard the gate roll back, roll shut. A feeling of helplessness -swept over him.</p> - -<p>It was the door of life, he thought, that had shut behind him.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The white-suited attendant who had signed the receipt for Joel led him -into one of the opaque offices, where a stout man in a white smock sat -behind a black plastic desk.</p> - -<p>"A new arrival, sir," said the attendant. "Name of Joel Hakkyt from -Clear Springs Community. Convicted on two counts. Maladjustment and -manslaughter."</p> - -<p>"Ahh," wheezed the stout man and eased himself back in his chair. Joel -noticed that his eyebrows slanted upward giving a sardonic cast to his -rubicund countenance.</p> - -<p>The attendant laid the papers softly on the ebony desk and withdrew.</p> - -<p>There was a strong antiseptic smell to the station. It clung to -everything, the offices and corridors, the inmates and attendants. It -was so strong that it baffled Joel's keen scent.</p> - -<p>"Manslaughter." The stout man, picked up the papers, glanced at them -briefly. "I see you underwent examination as a child for abnormal -vision."</p> - -<p>"Yes," agreed Joel, "I've a much higher percentage of light sensitive -rods in my eyes than average. I've always been able to see about as -well after dark as a cat."</p> - -<p>"What did the Eugenics Board say?"</p> - -<p>Joel's homely features broke into a grin. "They had their hands full -explaining how they let me slip past when I was born."</p> - -<p>"There wasn't anything done about it?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, I was put under observation. They decided it was a harmless -aberration, but I was forbidden to reproduce."</p> - -<p>"But I see you were allowed to marry?"</p> - -<p>"My wife was not considered good breeding stock either."</p> - -<p>"I see." The fat man pursed his lips, gave Joel an appraising glance. -"How did you happen to kill your superior at the State Cattle Farm?"</p> - -<p>Joel's face darkened.</p> - -<p>"It was an accident. I hit him with my fist. I hit him too hard and -broke his neck."</p> - -<p>"Roll up your sleeve!"</p> - -<p>Joel did so in surprise. He glanced down. With a start he saw that -the puncture where the humanoid guard had inserted the needle was -fluorescing a vivid green. The room must be bathed in black light! -Involuntarily he jerked down the sleeve.</p> - -<p>"It's all right," said the stout man. "It's what I was looking for."</p> - -<p>"What does it mean?" Joel asked when he had recovered from his surprise.</p> - -<p>"Mean? It means that you're a legitimate maladjustment case and not a -damned spy sent in here by the Senate."</p> - -<p>"But...."</p> - -<p>The fat man lifted his hand. He said, "I'm Doctor Chedwick, Emile -Chedwick. I'm in charge of induction. Sit down, my boy."</p> - -<p>Joel sank suspiciously into a relaxer. Doctor Chedwick drummed on the -shiny black desk top.</p> - -<p>"Understand," he began, "the men and women who are sentenced to the -Experimental Station expect to die. And sooner or later they all do -die. Some of them rather horribly."</p> - -<p>Joel began to fidget. He knew this. Everyone knew it.</p> - -<p>"What you don't know," said Doctor Chedwick almost as if reading Joel's -mind, "is that there is a chance for you to escape this!"</p> - -<p>Joel went rigid. He leaned forward, his eyes fastened on the pale gray -eyes of the man behind the desk.</p> - -<p>"What do you mean?"</p> - -<p>"Just what I said. There's an acute labor shortage on Asgard, second -planet of Alpha Centauri A. Last year the planters petitioned the -Senate to assign them a number of malcontents from the Experimental -Stations. There has been an alarming increase in maladjusted cases -recently. More than the stations could handle. The Senate jumped at the -chance to get rid of the excess."</p> - -<p>In spite of his eagerness Joel felt a vague shock. "But that's slavery."</p> - -<p>Doctor Chedwick shrugged. "Would you rather work on the plantations or -die in some experiment?"</p> - -<p>"Why—why—" Joel burst out, "I'd rather work!"</p> - -<p>"Exactly. So would the others."</p> - -<p>Joel said, "But why the tattoo mark? Why all the secrecy? And the -guard. What is the guard?"</p> - -<p>"The less you know about that the safer you'll be." Doctor Chedwick's -mouth shut like a trap. He stabbed at a button on his desk. "You'll be -contacted on Asgard. Everything will be explained then. Meanwhile say -nothing about the tattoo mark. Say nothing about our conversation to -any one. Understand?"</p> - -<p>Joel nodded.</p> - -<p>The door opened and the attendant reappeared.</p> - -<p>Doctor Chedwick said, "Put this man in 745B. He's had training and -practical experience in animal husbandry and he's husky as an ox. He's -to be shipped to Asgard with the next labor battalion. Take him away."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The attendant turned Joel over to a guard who escorted him from the -offices into the clear plastic division of the dome. It was like -stepping out into space. He sucked in his breath. He could see straight -down through level after level for hundreds of feet.</p> - -<p>Dormitories lined the passage on either hand. He could see men and -women asleep in their bunks, sitting at tables, taking showers or -dressing. The transparent walls were soundproof, and Joel experienced -the peculiar sensation of walking through an animated silence.</p> - -<p>They were approaching a small ante chamber that must be a guard room. -Half a dozen armed and uniformed men were sitting about a table playing -cards.</p> - -<p>Beyond the transparent walls of the guard room Joel could see into -another chamber. It was long and low and lined with bunks like the -fo'cs'le of a spaceship. Forty or fifty people in gray were milling -about two men on the floor who seemed to be doing their best to murder -each other.</p> - -<p>"Here's a new guinea-pig for the labor battalion, Captain," said Joel's -escort, pushing him into the guard room.</p> - -<p>With a grunt of annoyance, a tall man rose from the table and surveyed -Joel with bleak gray eyes. His blue tunic was unbuttoned at the -throat, his holster pushed around in back.</p> - -<p>"Papers," he snapped.</p> - -<p>Joel's escort handed over a folder, which the captain took to his desk.</p> - -<p>Joel's eyes returned to the next room. It was like being in a -soundproof broadcasting cage, watching two men batter at each other -beyond the glass.</p> - -<p>One of the men had the other by the throat and was throttling him. The -strangler's arms were corded; his face shone with sweat; there was an -insane fixed glare in his eyes. The other man's tongue was protruding, -as he tore at his assailant's wrists.</p> - -<p>"My God!" Joel burst out. "Aren't you going to break it up?"</p> - -<p>"Let them kill themselves," said the captain indifferently. He opened -the door. "In with you," he said and shoved Joel into the melee.</p> - -<p>Bedlam burst on his ears as he stumbled into the room.</p> - -<p>A woman was screaming in a shrill hysterical voice. The men milled -about pushing to see better. No one paid any attention to him.</p> - -<p>He clenched his fists. He couldn't stand by and watch a man murdered.</p> - -<p>Impulsively, he shouldered through the press, got his hands on the -strangler's wrists, tore them away.</p> - -<p>"Here!" somebody yelled. "Leave 'em be, you fool!"</p> - -<p>He ignored the warning, heaved the man from his victim.</p> - -<p>The fellow came to his feet, stared at him with that glazed intensity -as if he didn't realize what had happened. Then without a sound he -hurled himself at Joel's throat!</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">III</p> - -<p>Joel wasn't taken entirely by surprise. But the ferocity of the attack -drove him back a few steps. He wrapped his arms about the man's -shoulders and hung on.</p> - -<p>A furious animal smell filled his nostrils. The man was berserk, his -breath whistling through his teeth as he strove to tear himself free. -Then like a mad dog, he sank his teeth in Joel's shoulder.</p> - -<p>Joel gave a yelp of surprise, pushed him off, hit him with his clubbed -fist.</p> - -<p>His assailant reeled backwards, staggered to his knees. He was a giant -of a fellow with shaggy black hair and curious yellow-gray eyes.</p> - -<p>Joel was on him like a tiger, smashing his fist into the giant's -unprotected face.</p> - -<p>The man lunged over backwards, rolled to his belly and tried to push -himself to his hands and knees.</p> - -<p>Joel kicked him behind the ear.</p> - -<p>The giant's arms collapsed. His face struck the floor and he lay still.</p> - -<p>The other prisoners had drawn back against the bunks. There was a -minute of stunned silence. Then with whoops of delight they crowded -around slapping his back, shaking his hand.</p> - -<p>Joel was too surprised to utter a word.</p> - -<p>The man who had been throttled, was sitting up massaging his throat. He -regarded Joel with a puzzled expression.</p> - -<p>"Thanks," he wheezed painfully, "but what made you risk your neck?"</p> - -<p>"Risk my neck?"</p> - -<p>"You're new, aren't you?" asked the man, pulling himself to his feet -and holding out his hand. "I'm Nick Thorp."</p> - -<p>Joel introduced himself. Thorp, he saw, was short and husky with -prematurely gray hair and blue eyes bright as bits of china.</p> - -<p>"You've made yourself a wicked enemy," Thorp observed, prodding the -giant with his toe. "That's Walt Eriss."</p> - -<p>"Walt Eriss!" Joel's green eyes widened. Walt Eriss' trial had created -the sensation of the decade.</p> - -<p>Walt Eriss had been a brilliant surgeon, but with a pathological twist. -A modern Jack the Ripper who delighted in torturing his patients. -He had killed forty-three women by his own confession before he was -apprehended!</p> - -<p>Joel stared at the hulking form as if it were some monster. "But why -were the others letting him throttle you?" he asked Nick Thorp. "Why -didn't they stop him?"</p> - -<p>"They're afraid of him."</p> - -<p>"But they could've ganged him...." Joel stopped with his mouth open.</p> - -<p>A bell had begun to ring with an ear-splitting clangor!</p> - -<p>Muttered exclamations burst from the prisoners as they exchanged -alarmed glances. The bell continued to ring.</p> - -<p>"What's happening?" Joel asked.</p> - -<p>Nick Thorp shook his grizzled head. "I don't know. But the bell's a -signal for us to line up at our bunks."</p> - -<p>Joel realized that the other prisoners had formed in a row down the -walls. He glanced about uncertainly.</p> - -<p>"There's a vacant bunk beside mine," Nick Thorp suggested.</p> - -<p>Joel gratefully took his place beside Thorp. The bell fell silent. -Everyone was staring through the wall into the guardroom.</p> - -<p>The guards had abandoned their card game, he saw. They were -straightening their uniforms, buttoning their tunics. He could see the -passage beyond and two men making their way along it.</p> - -<p>One, he recognized, was Doctor Chedwick, white-frocked and moon-faced. -The other was a short man with a truculent walk. He was wearing the -green uniform of a space man.</p> - -<p>A low excited buzz arose from the prisoners. Joel caught words here and -there. "Asgard! So soon!"</p> - -<p>He felt tight with excitement and glanced surreptitiously at the girl -beside him.</p> - -<p>She was an exotic elfin creature, even in the shapeless gray coveralls. -Her black eyes and hair, the smooth olive of her complexion lent her -the appearance of an Arab. He wondered what crime she had committed -that had condemned her to the Experimental Station.</p> - -<p>Then the door to the guardroom was flung violently open. The captain -appeared in the entrance and shouted, "Attention!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The whispering ceased as the guards in their peacock blue and yellow -filed into the dormitory. They were carrying a long plastic chain, -which they stretched down the center of the floor. About every yard, -Joel saw that a metal collar had been linked to the chain.</p> - -<p>Doctor Chedwick came through the door with the green-uniformed spaceman -beside him.</p> - -<p>"This is Sam Mullin," he said indicating the spaceman. "Third mate of -the <i>Zenith</i>. Mister Mullin will be responsible for you while you're -aboard the <i>Zenith</i>. You're to be embarked at once...."</p> - -<p>Joel's heart leaped against his ribs. Even the archaic title of -"mister" had a heady sound. It was a tradition among spacemen, he -knew. Only officers of Star Ships were called "mister."</p> - -<p>"What's this?" Doctor Chedwick interrupted himself catching sight of -the unconscious figure of Eriss on the floor.</p> - -<p>"There was a fight, Doctor," the captain hastened to explain. "The new -man and Walt Eriss."</p> - -<p>"Hakkyt knocked out Eriss?"</p> - -<p>The captain nodded.</p> - -<p>Doctor Chedwick shot Joel a startled glance. "Watch those fists of -yours, young man. You're too free with them." Then to the captain, -"Revive Eriss and shackle the prisoners."</p> - -<p>Joel noticed that the guards were careful to fasten one of the collars -about the ex-surgeon's neck before they broke a vial of some liquid and -held it under his nose.</p> - -<p>Eriss opened his eyes and sat up groggily. Then his gaze fastened on -Joel. With a bellow of rage he was on his feet, charging across the -room like a mad bull.</p> - -<p>Three men, hanging onto the chain, snubbed him up short!</p> - -<p>Eriss wheeled furiously, found himself facing half a dozen drawn -paralyzers and brought up with a curse.</p> - -<p>Joel could see the veins throb in the giant's temples. But the captain -turned indifferently to the other prisoners. "Line up beside the chain."</p> - -<p>Joel took his place between the black-haired girl and Nick Thorp. The -collar was snapped about his throat. In single file and with a good -deal of tripping, the prisoners, chained neck to neck, tramped through -the door.</p> - -<p>Doctor Chedwick left them at the main corridor, but the Captain and -Mister Mullin helped the guards herd them into a lift.</p> - -<p>They dropped soundlessly level after level until they were well below -the surface. At length the lift stopped, the doors opened.</p> - -<p>To his surprise Joel saw that there was a pneumatic station beneath the -dome, and a train was waiting in the tube.</p> - -<p>They were shepherded into a coach. They had a good deal of trouble -arranging themselves in the seats because of the chain linking them -together, but at last it was done.</p> - -<p>Captain Goplerud blew a whistle and swung inside the car. The door -slammed shut. With a powerful surge and a whoosh the train shot off.</p> - -<p>Joel found himself beside Nick Thorp. "Where do you suppose we're -going?" he asked breathlessly.</p> - -<p>"Nu York," Thorp replied. "All the Star Ships berth at the White Plains -spaceport. We're lucky. The <i>Zenith's</i> a crack luxury liner. No being -battened down in the hold of some stinking freighter for us."</p> - -<p>"You've been to space before?"</p> - -<p>Thorp turned his incredibly blue eyes on Joel. "For twenty-three years. -Rocket ships and Star Ships. I never thought I'd see space again...."</p> - -<p>Joel eyed the battered gray-haired spaceman with increased respect. -Here was a man who'd seen the stews of Venusport, breathed the murky -air of Jovopolis, gazed out on the frigid whiteness of Pluto.</p> - -<p>"Then you've been to Asgard?"</p> - -<p>"Many's the time. Wait 'til you see it, lad. Jungles and rain and -crawling plants that can pluck a man off the ground and devour him -quick as a cat!"</p> - -<p>Joel was fascinated. The train slid along with a monotonous roar that -shut them in a cell of privacy.</p> - -<p>"Who's the girl?" he asked, nodding at the elfin sloe-eyed brunette in -the seat ahead.</p> - -<p>Nick Thorp's eyes twinkled. "Tamis Ravitz. She used to be a dancer. -Poisoned her dancing partner in a fit of jealous rage. So I've heard."</p> - -<p>Joel was shocked and looked it.</p> - -<p>Thorp's battered features cracked into a broad grin. "We're a rum -bunch. None of us can afford to throw stones at the others."</p> - -<p>Joel felt the rebuke in his words and reddened.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The spaceman had slumped in the seat and closed his eyes. The dull roar -of the train had a soothing quality. But Joel was too keyed up to relax.</p> - -<p>He kept thinking of the humanoid guard and the fluorescent tattoo mark -on his elbow and Doctor Chedwick saying: "The less you know about them, -the safer you'll be. Someone will contact you at Asgard. Don't mention -our conversation to anyone...."</p> - -<p>A buzzer began to whirr softly. The train braked. The guards rose and -shouted,</p> - -<p>"On your feet! On your feet! Line up in the aisle."</p> - -<p>The train wooshed to a soft stop as if it had run into a foam rubber -cushion. The doors slid back, letting in a thundering bedlam of sound.</p> - -<p>Joel found himself staring out into a vast groined hall lit by harsh -violet light. Streams of beetle-like robot trucks, piled high with -baggage, darted along elevated roadways. People were everywhere, a -crazy throng like a disturbed colony of ants.</p> - -<p>He drew a ragged breath, feeling his heart thud against his ribs. The -metal collar jerked against his throat and he fell into step.</p> - -<p>They shuffled out of the coach onto a long ramp. A huge red sign -directly ahead caught Joel's eyes. Its flashing letters were at least -ten feet high.</p> - -<p class="ph1">CENTAURUS FLIGHT<br /> -TAKE-OFF—15:52<br /> -STAR SHIP ZENITH</p> - -<p>The file of prisoners made straight for the sign, entered a narrow -corridor that sloped downward like a tunnel. From the tunnel they -emerged into the maw of a huge pit. Joel rubbed his eyes. He'd never -seen the rocket pits before.</p> - -<p>The <i>Zenith</i>, a dull black, bullet-shaped monster, rested on her fins -with her nose pointing straight up towards the starry black firmament. -Gangplanks like airy cobwebs spanned the gap between the Star Ship and -the blackened concrete walls.</p> - -<p>The file of prisoners crawled out along one of the gangplanks. They -were in the center of it, when Joel felt Nick Thorp's fingers close -like a vise on his shoulder.</p> - -<p>"Look! Overhead! We're having distinguished company this voyage!"</p> - -<p>Joel glanced up.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Above and to one side another gangplank crossed the gap. A stout man -was leaning on the rail and watching the prisoners. Beside him stood a -young woman with the warm beautiful face of a Venusian dancing girl.</p> - -<p>She was clad in a short green coat with exaggerated square-cut -shoulders, and for one shocked moment Joel thought that she didn't -have on anything beneath it. Then he realized that she must be wearing -shorts which the coat was just long enough to hide.</p> - -<p>For the rest, he received a swift impression of long shapely tanned -legs, sooty lashes, green eyes and hair. <i>Green hair!</i></p> - -<p>Then their eyes met—met and held. There was a swift outleaping -of spirit between them, an indescribable feeling of kinship, of -recognition. Joel felt shaken, bewitched. A smile was trembling on the -girl's half-parted lips.</p> - -<p>And then he had been carried into the ship and he couldn't see her any -longer.</p> - -<p>"Who were they?" he asked unsteadily.</p> - -<p>"Humphrey Cameron, Governor of Asgard," Thorp explained. "The girl was -his daughter, Priscilla Cameron."</p> - -<p>Tamis Ravitz said over her shoulder, "Did you see that hair? <i>Green!</i> -She's been the talk of Terra."</p> - -<p>Joel thought the dancer sounded envious. They were shuffling single -file down a long corridor that led straight into the bowels of the -ship. A vague rumbling made the deck tremble beneath his feet. He heard -shouted orders, the sound of the gangplank being run in.</p> - -<p>His face whitened in the raw violet light. All thoughts of the green -haired Priscilla Cameron were driven from his mind.</p> - -<p>From the passage the prisoners were herded into a long low chamber -outfitted with tables. Here they were unchained.</p> - -<p>Mister Mullin glanced at his chronometer. "Take-off in fifteen -minutes," he warned. "Strap yourselves into your bunks."</p> - -<p>He disappeared at a run. The guards filed out of the prisoner's mess -locking the door behind them.</p> - -<p>"Come along," Thorp urged Joel as a wild clangor broke out from the -stem to stern of the <i>Zenith</i>. "We've time for a quick look around -before we get settled."</p> - -<p>Joel followed him wordlessly into the sleeping quarters. Beyond the -fo'cs'le were the washrooms and that was all. A second bell rang just -as they flung themselves into empty bunks.</p> - -<p>The rumble of the tubes mounted into a furious roar. A trip hammer -struck Joel in the chest, pinned him into the cushion. He gasped, -strained to inflate his lungs.</p> - -<p>The <i>Zenith</i> was off!</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">IV</p> - -<p>Joel felt himself grow heavier, heavier. His arms were lead. The sweat -glistened on his homely drawn features. His green eyes lost their -sparkle.</p> - -<p>After what seemed hours, he heard Nick Thorp croak from his bunk -overhead, "Watch y'self. Stellar drive! Any minute!"</p> - -<p>Joel felt a surge of unreasoning fear. A bell rang suddenly.</p> - -<p>"That's it!" Thorp warned. "Lie still."</p> - -<p>As suddenly as it had struck, the acceleration ceased. A terrifying -sensation of weightlessness possessed him. He felt as if he were -falling—falling! He wanted to spring from the bunk, but remembered -Thorp's warning.</p> - -<p>Startled cries burst from the passengers. Several of them jumped up. -From the corner of his eye Joel saw them shoot to the overhead where -they hung kicking. Then the artificial gravity came on and they fell -back to the deck a great deal faster than they'd gone up.</p> - -<p>Thorp climbed down. "You can get up now."</p> - -<p>Joel scrambled to his feet. He felt light, giddy. Nick Thorp took a -look at his alarmed countenance and burst into laughter.</p> - -<p>"You'll get your space legs quick enough," he assured Joel. "The -gravity aboard ship is only about a third of Earth's pull. You'll enjoy -it when you get used to it."</p> - -<p>Joel had his doubts about that, but when he glanced at the antics of -the others he couldn't resist a grin.</p> - -<p>A tall red-haired girl kept bounding into the air at each step. Then -she flipped all the way over and lit on her bottom.</p> - -<p>Just then a whistle blew. Joel wheeled around to find Mister Mullin, -the third mate, standing in the door to the mess-room.</p> - -<p>"Line up at your bunks," the third ordered. "This is a Star Ship and -no stinking freighter. You'll be expected to keep your quarters clean. -Inspection every day!"</p> - -<p>"Day?" someone asked.</p> - -<p>"We're on Earth time. Lights out at twenty-two hours and on again at -six. Meals at eight, twelve and eighteen hours."</p> - -<p>With the same dispatch he divided the prisoners into squads of four -and assigned each their job.</p> - -<p>Joel was relieved to find that he and Nick Thorp were in the same group -along with Tamis Ravitz, the dancer, and another man whom Joel didn't -know. Their job, it developed, was to keep the mess-room in order.</p> - -<p>Mister Mullin glanced at his watch, said, "It's eighteen hours now. You -can go in to dinner," and trotted out.</p> - -<p>Joel realized that he hadn't eaten in hours. He was famished. He -hastened into the mess-room and sat down at a table along with Nick -Thorp and Tamis Ravitz.</p> - -<p>The tables, which seated four, were built against the bulkheads down -each side of the mess-room. Joel was pressing the button for his meal -when a tall handsome man with a black goatee approached them.</p> - -<p>"I'm Gustav Liedl," he introduced himself in a cultured voice. "I've -been assigned to your squad. I thought it an excellent opportunity to -become better acquainted."</p> - -<p>"Sit down," Nick Thorp invited, introducing the others.</p> - -<p>Joel's dinner arrived just then via a slot in the bulkhead and he -addressed himself to it silently. Gustav Liedl, though, dawdled over -his meal, talking with Tamis.</p> - -<p>"Yes," Joel heard Liedl say in reply to one of Tamis' questions. "I was -a professor." He made a rueful face, tugging at his black goatee. "At -the Sorbonne. Anthropology was my subject."</p> - -<p>"Anthropology!" Joel interrupted. "Then you must have some ideas about -the natives of Asgard. What they are? Why no one has ever seen them?"</p> - -<p>Liedl regarded Joel with a smile. "Ah, the elusive Centaurians! Yes. -I've a theory about the Asgardian natives. I spent several years, -you know, studying their villages with the Sorbonne's Asgardian -Institute...."</p> - -<p>Joel, glancing at Tamis, surprised a startled, half-frightened -expression on her smooth ivory countenance.</p> - -<p>"I've a theory," Liedl repeated, "that the Centaurians are masters of -camouflage. I doubt very seriously that they are human. They may even -be a quasi-intelligent species of plant life. Have you ever seen the -Asgardian jungles, young man?"</p> - -<p>"No," Joel admitted.</p> - -<p>"Horrible!" Liedl said. "Plants with snaky tendrils like jointless -arms. And they aren't rooted. They're capable of independent motion. -It's amazing the number of Asgardian species that can move around -freely as mammals."</p> - -<p>Tamis said gaily, "Then you think the anthropologists have been looking -for a man-like animal when all the time the natives have been plants -who crept off into the jungle and hid?"</p> - -<p>"Exactly!"</p> - -<p>"Sounds like a reasonable explanation," Thorp admitted. "I've seen -those Asgardian jungles. Crawling, thrashing masses of vegetation." He -shook his head. "It gives a body the creeps."</p> - -<p>"But how can anything live in that jungle?" Joel protested.</p> - -<p>Liedl said triumphantly: "Nothing could! <i>Nothing but plants!</i>"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Fifteen minutes before twenty-two hours, a warning bell rang and the -lights dimmed. Nick Thorp showed Joel the clothes locker where he could -secure sleepers.</p> - -<p>The lights went out while Joel was taking his shower. He switched on -the dryer in the dark.</p> - -<p>After a few seconds his eyes began to adjust. There was a dim night -lamp in the mess-room beyond the fo'cs'le. Joel could see by its -reflected light almost as well as he could by day. The only difference -was the absence of color. Everything appeared in varying shades of gray -like a photograph.</p> - -<p>The deadening effect of the chemicals that had been used to purify the -air of the Experimental Station was beginning to wear off. A medley of -familiar and unfamiliar smells beset his nostrils.</p> - -<p>All at once, he halted.</p> - -<p>There was something here that shouldn't be. Joel could smell it. A -strange alien odor that he'd caught only once before.</p> - -<p>It was the same smell that had clung to the humanoid guard!</p> - -<p>Joel's nostrils flared, but the odor was so faint that he couldn't tell -from whence it came. It might be emanating from any one of the gray -figures placidly asleep in the gray bunks.</p> - -<p>He moved to his own bunk and lay down, but he couldn't sleep. That -strange scent had acted like a dash of cold water.</p> - -<p>He didn't know how long he lay there. Hours, it seemed. There was no -sound beyond the muted rumble of the <i>Zenith's</i> jets, the snores of -some of the prisoners.</p> - -<p>The temperature had dropped automatically when the lights were -extinguished. He adjusted the thermal unit in his sleepers and closed -his eyes.</p> - -<p>A faint noise from across the fo'cs'le brought them open again -instantly.</p> - -<p>The gray elfin figure of Tamis Ravitz, the dancer, he saw, was rising -cautiously from her bunk. She was barefooted, clad in the loose -sleepers. She put her hand to her eyes. When it came away, she swept -the fo'cs'le with a brief glance.</p> - -<p>Joel almost forgot to breathe.</p> - -<p>The dancer had done something to her eyes because they glowed faintly -with an eerie flame!</p> - -<p>Joel's pulse throbbed in his ears. Tamis, he saw, was moving to the -next bunk with a soundless cat-like glide. She pointed a slender metal -cylinder at the man who lay sleeping there. A bright green spot sprang -out on the man's arm!</p> - -<p>The tattoo mark!</p> - -<p>The cylinder must be a source of black light able to kick fluorescence -out of the tattoo marks. What did it mean? Who was Tamis?</p> - -<p>From sleeping figure to sleeping figure, the girl glided. Sometimes she -found the tattoo mark; sometimes she didn't.</p> - -<p>She was approaching Joel's bunk. He forced himself to relax, to breathe -evenly as if in a deep sleep.</p> - -<p>Then she was hovering over him....</p> - -<p>Joel's hand closed with a crushing grip about her wrist, yanked her off -her feet into the bunk!</p> - -<p>Tamis uttered one smothered cry, struggled soundlessly. Then she seemed -to realize the futility of trying to break free and went limp.</p> - -<p>Joel could feel her warm lithe body pinned against him. A strange alien -scent filled his nostrils. It was delicate, flower-like, yet utterly -alien.</p> - -<p>The hair lifted on the back of his neck like the hackles of a dog. He -found himself staring deep into the girl's eyes.</p> - -<p>They had no pupil, no color, only a weird flickering light in their -depths that glimmered like candle flame.</p> - -<p>A shudder of revulsion swept over him. Tamis Ravitz, the dancer, -wasn't human!</p> - -<p>"Who are you?" Joel asked in a low hoarse voice. "What are you?"</p> - -<p>"Please! Softly!" She lay beside him, relaxed, breathing tremulously.</p> - -<p>"What are you?" he repeated.</p> - -<p>"I can't tell you."</p> - -<p>"You'll tell me or I'll turn you over to the guards. What did you do to -your eyes?"</p> - -<p>"This." She held up a pair of contact lenses. Realistic pupils and -iris, Joel saw, had been moulded into the thin slivers of glass. She -slipped them quickly into place. Her eyes looked normal, human. They -were a perfect disguise.</p> - -<p>"What are you?" Joel asked fiercely.</p> - -<p>"I'm a mutation."</p> - -<p>"No, you're not. I can tell by your scent! You're not human!"</p> - -<p>The girl went rigid. Then she began to kick and twist and squirm -desperately. Joel pinned down her legs, tightened his grip.</p> - -<p>"D'you want me to yell for the guards?"</p> - -<p>"No! No!" she breathed in panic.</p> - -<p>"Then tell me what this is all about!"</p> - -<p>"Have you the tattoo mark?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Joel held up his left arm, being careful to retain a grip on her with -the other. She trained the cylinder at his elbow. The green spot began -to fluoresce.</p> - -<p>"Ah," she breathed, relaxing limply. "You <i>are</i> a legitimate -maladjustment case. I thought you were a spy...." Her voice trailed off.</p> - -<p>Joel remained silent.</p> - -<p>"Believe me," she said. "I can't tell all. Not now. It's too dangerous. -Suppose someone should wake and find me here!"</p> - -<p>"What are you?" he repeated stonily.</p> - -<p>She hesitated; then, putting her lips against his ear, she breathed, -"Ganelon. I'm ganelon—not human. I—I am a native of the planet you -humans call Asgard."</p> - -<p>"But how have you escaped detection? Why hasn't anyone ever seen a -Centaurian?"</p> - -<p>"They've seen us—often." There was the suggestion of a giggle in -Tamis' low voice. "Perhaps, like Professor Liedl thinks, we're plants."</p> - -<p>"No. You're animal. I can tell. Maybe you could fool my eyes but not my -nose."</p> - -<p>"That nose of yours. It is unfair. <i>You</i> are the mutation!" She gave a -silvery chuckle and then clapped her hand over her mouth.</p> - -<p>"Please," she begged. "I must go. We are courting discovery!"</p> - -<p>"You haven't told me...."</p> - -<p>"Tomorrow night," she interrupted. Suddenly she stiffened.</p> - -<p>Joel heard it too. The faint noise of a heavy body shifting in one of -the bunks. His eyes darted across the darkened fo'cs'le!</p> - -<p>Walt Eriss, the burly ex-surgeon, had raised himself to one elbow and -was staring across into their bunk.</p> - -<p>Joel's heart stood still.</p> - -<p>How long had Eriss been awake? Had he heard anything?</p> - -<p>Joel could distinguish his features clearly but in shadings of gray and -black. Eriss' eyes were narrowed, his mouth open in an expression of -acute concentration.</p> - -<p>"Does he see us?" Tamis breathed in terror.</p> - -<p>"No." The word carried only as far as the girl's ear.</p> - -<p>With a swift cat-like movement, Tamis slid to her feet and stood like a -gray statue.</p> - -<p>The shaggy giant was swinging his legs silently over the edge of his -bunk. With infinite caution he began to creep towards them.</p> - -<p>Joel stood up beside Tamis. Around him there was silence broken only by -the low breathing of the prisoners, the faint rumble of the <i>Zenith's</i> -jets.</p> - -<p>He pressed himself against the foot of the bunk, waiting, waiting for -that stalking gray giant to creep within reach.</p> - -<p>Joel didn't dare breathe. The ex-surgeon was so close that he could see -his lips drawn back from his teeth, his blind staring eyes trying to -probe the blackness. It took an effort of will to realize that it was -too dark for Eriss to see anything.</p> - -<p>Another step.</p> - -<p>Joel set himself.</p> - -<p>Eriss' foot glided forward. He was within reach.</p> - -<p>Joel's balled fist came up like a sledge-hammer, cracked solidly -against the point of Eriss' chin. There was a distinct "pop!" as the -ex-surgeon's jawbone broke. His head snapped back, his knees buckled....</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus2.jpg" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p><i>Joel's balled fist came up like a sledge-hammer.</i></p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Joel stepped forward, caught him beneath the arms. Walt Eriss was out -cold.</p> - -<p>"Tamis!" Joel hissed.</p> - -<p>"Yes?"</p> - -<p>"Grab his feet. We'll lay him in his bunk."</p> - -<p>Together they lifted the giant, hauled him across the deck, stowed him -in his bed.</p> - -<p>"Tomorrow!" Tamis breathed.</p> - -<p>Joel saw her slide into her bunk. He retreated across the fo'cs'le and -lay down, but his brain was reeling.</p> - -<p>What did the presence of a native Centaurian among the malcontents -signify? Then he thought of Walt Eriss and a coldness flowed through -his veins. How much had the ex-surgeon overheard of this?</p> - -<p>At length in utter emotional exhaustion, he dropped off to sleep.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Joel was awakened by lights and the angry sound of voices. He opened -his eyes. Beams of light were darting here, there. The fo'cs'le seemed -overflowing with guards in their gaudy blue and yellow uniforms.</p> - -<p>He caught sight of the third mate, tousle-haired and wearing a lemon -yellow dressing gown.</p> - -<p>The third was saying, "By God, Captain Goplerud! What have we got this -voyage? A gang of homicidal maniacs?"</p> - -<p>Walt Eriss, Joel saw, was sitting up mumbling inarticulately. His jaw -was swollen and queerly crooked. The ship's doctor was fussing over -him.</p> - -<p>"Jaw's broken," the doctor diagnosed.</p> - -<p>Captain Goplerud ran his fingers distractedly through his hair. "It's -that damned Hakkyt!" he said. "Hakkyt did this."</p> - -<p>"Who's Hakkyt?" Mister Mullin wanted to know.</p> - -<p>"He's the fellow who beat up Eriss before."</p> - -<p>"Where is he?"</p> - -<p>"Here," said Joel swinging his feet to the deck.</p> - -<p>The beam of a flashlight struck him in the eyes.</p> - -<p>"D'you know anything about this?" Mister Mullin demanded.</p> - -<p>Joel shook his head.</p> - -<p>"Does anyone know anything about it?" the third mate cried swinging the -light beam in a flashing arc.</p> - -<p>No one answered.</p> - -<p>Captain Goplerud said, "It's no use. They're tight-mouthed as clams."</p> - -<p>Mullin cursed, then he said, "Get this man to the hospital."</p> - -<p>Walt Eriss was bundled onto a stretcher. The guards moved off. The -doctor, Mullin, and Captain Goplerud disappeared with the lights.</p> - -<p>Darkness settled once more over the fo'cs'le.</p> - -<p>For a moment there was silence. Then a prisoner asked, "What happened?"</p> - -<p>A babble of voices answered. Somebody said, "The first I heard was -Eriss beating on the door to the guardroom. When it was opened he -fainted and they carried him in here."</p> - -<p>Thorp leaned down from the bunk above.</p> - -<p>"You hurt, Joel?"</p> - -<p>"No. Why should I be?"</p> - -<p>He was answered by a chuckle.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">V</p> - -<p>When Joel sat down to breakfast the next morning, Tamis shot him a -warning glance from beneath lowered lashes. The pallor of her cheeks -was accentuated by her sooty hair. She had the exotic look of some -temple harlot strayed through time from ancient Babylonia.</p> - -<p>Joel realized suddenly that Professor Liedl was talking to him. "What -did you say?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"That was a splendid service you performed last night."</p> - -<p>"You mean Eriss? But I didn't do it."</p> - -<p>"You're too modest." Liedl combed his black van dyke with long brown -fingers. "I'm a light sleeper, my boy. And my bunk, you may recall, is -next yours."</p> - -<p>Joel's face stiffened. He glanced quickly at Tamis. The blood had -drained from the girl's countenance.</p> - -<p>"What did you hear?" he asked in a frozen voice.</p> - -<p>"Don't be embarrassed. Your voices didn't carry, and I'm quite -broadminded."</p> - -<p>Joel stared at him bewildered. Then the blood began to burn in his -cheeks as it dawned on him what Liedl meant. "The old goat," he -thought. "So that's what he believes!" And he felt suddenly relieved.</p> - -<p>Tamis' lashes were lowered. She bit her nether lip. But whether from -amusement or confusion, he couldn't decide.</p> - -<p>Fortunately, at that moment the door to the guardroom opened. Mister -Mullin stuck his head inside; shouted:</p> - -<p>"Get a move on. Inspection in fifteen minutes."</p> - -<p>With relief Joel made his escape. He didn't like Liedl's insinuation. -He didn't like Liedl. There was something cold and repellant about the -black bearded professor. He wondered what crime he had committed to be -sentenced to the Experimental Station.</p> - -<p>In exactly fifteen minutes Captain Goplerud, accompanied by Mister -Mullin entered the prisoners' quarters and lined them up at their -bunks. Then a dozen guards filed in and took posts about the fo'cs'le -with drawn paralyzers.</p> - -<p>Joel wondered uneasily what was up. He wasn't left long in doubt.</p> - -<p>A stiff-backed man in a faultless olive-green uniform came through the -door. He was wearing the gold sunburst of a Star Ship commander on his -breast.</p> - -<p>Nick Thorp nudged Joel. "The old man!" he said out of the corner of his -mouth. "What the devil brings him down here?"</p> - -<p>The commandant ran his eyes over the prisoners. "Very good, Mullin." He -turned, said crisply, "This way, Governor."</p> - -<p>Governor Cameron and his daughter came through the door together. The -governor was a big man with harassed gray eyes. He faced his daughter -in obvious exasperation. "Well, here they are, Priscilla. Now why were -you so confounded anxious to see them?"</p> - -<p>The girl stared around with parted lips. There was a curious eagerness -in her green eyes. Then she discovered Joel and he was suddenly -conscious of that strange affinity between them.</p> - -<p>She wore gold sandals and her toenails and fingernails were lacquered -green to match her eyes and hair. She had on a brief pleated skirt, a -matching monkey jacket of shimmering rose silkon. Her bare midriff, the -valley between her breasts, her long legs were smooth golden tan.</p> - -<p>"Which one," she asked in a breathless voice, "broke Walt Eriss' jaw?"</p> - -<p>"Hakkyt," Mullin informed her briskly. "The big ugly one over there." -He pointed at Joel.</p> - -<p>Joel found himself staring into the girl's green eyes again. Her lashes -were long, black and curly. Her green hair was startling but it wasn't -garish.</p> - -<p>Without taking her eyes from Joel's, she asked, "Could I see his -examination reports? I think he's a...."</p> - -<p>The governor started nervously. "You're buying no more serfs -Priscilla!" he interrupted in haste. "That's final!"</p> - -<p>Joel felt his face burn. Buy him? So that's what had brought them down -here to the prisoners' quarters!</p> - -<p>The girl was staring at her father with a puzzled expression. Something -very like a warning flickered between them—something in Governor -Cameron's expression. Joel couldn't be sure.</p> - -<p>But the girl's eyes widened.</p> - -<p>For a moment there was a strained silence. Then she shrugged, turned -back to Joel, studied him brazenly detail by detail. He felt naked -beneath those probing green eyes. He felt like a prize Hereford bull.</p> - -<p>Priscilla said, "Nevertheless, I should like to glance over those -reports, Captain." Her voice didn't sound quite natural.</p> - -<p>She had slipped into a part, Joel sensed; she was acting. But why? He -was too furious to care. He created a shocked disturbance by saying in -a cold voice, "I wouldn't be a good buy!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Jaws dropped among the prisoners.</p> - -<p>Mister Mullin shouted, "Speak when you're spoken to!"</p> - -<p>Priscilla Cameron suddenly smiled. "Why not?" she asked him, silencing -the apoplectic mate with a wave.</p> - -<p>"I'll damn well see to it that I'm not!"</p> - -<p>Priscilla continued to regard him with delighted green eyes. "A -challenge!" She turned to the saturnine man wearing the gold sunburst. -"How much do you want for him, Commandant?"</p> - -<p>The commandant had been observing the scene with cynical gray eyes. He -was the perfect Terran type; tall, brown-skinned, erect. Now he said,</p> - -<p>"Sorry, Priscilla, but he's not mine to sell. He's the property of the -Republic, and the laws are specific. He has to be sold at auction in -Eden."</p> - -<p>Priscilla said, "Stuff! The governor can authorize the private sale of -any serf...."</p> - -<p>"We're not on Asgard," the commandant reminded her dryly. "This is a -Star Ship."</p> - -<p>Governor Cameron's visage had grown a rich plum shade. "This farce -has gone far enough!" he bellowed furiously. But his anger didn't -ring quite true. "I wouldn't authorize the sale of this fellow to my -daughter if I could!"</p> - -<p>Priscilla said sweetly, "I'll buy him at public auction."</p> - -<p>"You will not!"</p> - -<p>"Exactly how, pater dear, do you propose to stop me?"</p> - -<p>The governor looked as if he were about to have a stroke. Then he swung -around, stamped from the fo'cs'le.</p> - -<p>It struck Joel as a shade overdrawn. As if Priscilla inadvertently had -been about to let something slip, and they'd staged this impromptu -fight to cover up.</p> - -<p>He heard the commandant say, "Sorry, Priscilla, but I'm due on the -bridge."</p> - -<p>Priscilla gave Joel a last searching look. Her green eyes sparkled. -"I'll see you at the slave block in Eden," she said as she preceded the -commandant through the door.</p> - -<p>As soon as the guards had withdrawn, Nick Thorp gave a low whistle.</p> - -<p>Joel was still furious. "What was she driving at? Why the devil did she -pick me out?" He noticed that Professor Liedl was regarding him with a -frown. Tamis, too, was watching him, a speculative expression on her -elfin piquant features.</p> - -<p>Thorp shrugged. "That's hard to tell. She's got a reputation from one -end of Asgard to the other. There's even been talk that she's a mutant."</p> - -<p>"Mutant." Joel frowned. She certainly hadn't bred true to type. The -standard Terran female had light brown skin, black hair and gray eyes. -But hers were green—like cat eyes. Like his own eyes!</p> - -<p>A startled expression passed over his likeable rugged features. "By -George!" he said aloud. "I wonder!"</p> - -<p>Later, when the lights had been extinguished again, he lay awake in the -dark—tense, listening. The fo'cs'le was quiet. At length, satisfied -that everyone was asleep, he slid from his bunk, crossed the deck to -the mess-room.</p> - -<p>The faint yellow night light was burning. He sat down at a table, lit a -cigarette, waited. He was chain-smoking his third cigarette before he -heard a step. He glanced up quickly. Tamis was standing in front of him.</p> - -<p>Joel said, "I thought you must have gone to sleep."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Tamis sat down facing him. She'd removed the contact lenses. The liquid -luminous depths of her eyes were hypnotic. "No. I couldn't sleep. We -need men like you too badly. You especially."</p> - -<p>"Me?" he said, startled. "You need me?"</p> - -<p>She smiled. "My people, Joel, are a timid race, unwarlike, -unaggressive. There are many differences between us. Not of an organic -nature. We are fundamentally alike. The differences lie in our culture."</p> - -<p>"How do you mean?"</p> - -<p>"It is difficult to explain. But your race is so far advanced in the -physical sciences that it terrifies us. With your incomprehensible -machines you could sweep us into extinction in the wink of an eye.</p> - -<p>"When the first Terran ship landed on Asgard, we were careful not to -show ourselves. Then we learned a queer thing. Although the Terrans -were amazingly clever in physics and chemistry, they knew nothing about -the potential of the machines that were their own bodies. Nothing! So -we continued to elude them and to study them...."</p> - -<p>"How?"</p> - -<p>"I am not at liberty to tell you that. If the Thinkers accept you, -they'll inform you how it is done."</p> - -<p>Joel stared at her narrow eyes. "But...."</p> - -<p>"No. Don't interrupt. Your civilization, we learned, was a machine -civilization. Your race even went so far as to reject any individual -who differed from the norm. The Republic's goal was an ant-like -similarity of all its members."</p> - -<p>Joel said, "I don't see...."</p> - -<p>"Don't you? What becomes of any mutation who escapes the vigilance of -the Eugenics Board? What happened to you, Joel Hakkyt?"</p> - -<p>Joel was silent.</p> - -<p>She looked at him searchingly. "Instead of concentrating on -the physical sciences, my people have studied—themselves! The -psychological sciences. We don't try to control our environment; we fit -ourselves to it."</p> - -<p>Joel shook his head, still not comprehending.</p> - -<p>She said, "You humans build elaborate shelters to protect yourselves -against the elements; we have developed our bodies to resist the -weather. We revel in rain. Sunlight is intoxicating.</p> - -<p>"You have added speed to your legs with machines, wings to your arms -with machines. Your machines are like crutches. They give you an -immense power, but they atrophy the natural endowments of your body. -Could you do this?"</p> - -<p>She pointed with a bird-like gesture behind Joel. He swung around. His -eyes widened.</p> - -<p>The bulkhead had disappeared! He was staring straight through the ship -as if it had ceased to exist. He could see the awesome black infinity -of deep space speckled with countless pinpoint suns.</p> - -<p>Then the bulkhead gathered substance. And he was looking at the blank -wall again.</p> - -<p>He let his breath escape. "How did you do that?"</p> - -<p>"You were seeing with my eyes. Your people have invented machines to -do that—the X-ray machine, the fluoroscope. They are crutches. They -cannot do half so well as the eye alone!"</p> - -<p>"But it's impossible!" he burst out.</p> - -<p>She shook her head. "No. Consider the facts. Even in the densest solid, -there is more space than matter. Every atom is like a miniature solar -system. There is an infinity of space in that bulkhead but only a drop -of matter no bigger than a grain of sand. Is it not true?"</p> - -<p>Joel nodded.</p> - -<p>Tamis giggled. "You know that, and yet you let the grain of sand -obstruct your view!"</p> - -<p>"But why hide yourselves?" he burst out. "With powers like that...."</p> - -<p>"I didn't destroy the wall," she interrupted. "I recognized its -transparent qualities. That is all. We have no weapons, no science that -can destroy. We can only hide!"</p> - -<p>"But why hide?" he persisted.</p> - -<p>She regarded him sadly. "Your people are a hard grasping -race—ruthless. What has happened to the dominant life forms of Mars -and Venus? They are extinct!</p> - -<p>"We don't propose to be driven into extinction. We have hidden -ourselves, waiting for a weapon to free Asgard. And now the Republic -itself has given us one!"</p> - -<p>"The Republic has given you a weapon!"</p> - -<p>"Yes. The maladjusted. The misfits. They are being organized. They are -our weapon!"</p> - -<p>"Very interesting!" drawled a low voice from the doorway to the -fo'cs'le.</p> - -<p>Tamis gave a startled gasp. Her face paled. Joel sprang to his feet.</p> - -<p>Professor Gustav Liedl stood just inside the doorway. He held a small -poisoned needle automatic trained unwaveringly at Joel's belly.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">VI</p> - -<p>In the tense silence, Liedl moved into the mess-room.</p> - -<p>"What are you going to do?" Joel demanded hoarsely.</p> - -<p>Liedl grinned, his teeth glittering in the subdued night light.</p> - -<p>"Spy!" said Tamis.</p> - -<p>Liedl shrugged. "The word has a disagreeable sound. I prefer to call -myself a Government Investigator."</p> - -<p>He was edging past them toward the door to the guardroom. The muzzle of -his gun hung to Joel's belly like the needle of a compass.</p> - -<p>"Stop him, Joel!" Tamis begged wildly. "You are human. You can kill!"</p> - -<p>Liedl had to pass within three feet of Joel down the narrow aisle -between the tables in order to reach the guardroom. Joel could see the -sweat standing out on his sallow forehead.</p> - -<p>"Don't try anything!" the professor croaked and began to slide past.</p> - -<p>There was the sound of a step from the fo'cs'le. Then the voice of Nick -Thorp sang out softly, "Where are you going, Gus?"</p> - -<p>Liedl blanched, jerked his head. For a second his eyes were off Joel.</p> - -<p>Joel's hand whipped out, slapped the dart gun. It was torn from Liedl's -fingers, went slithering across the deck to fetch up with a clatter -against the bulkhead.</p> - -<p>Liedl opened his mouth to yell. Joel's big hands closed about his -throat.</p> - -<p>"Kill him!" said Nick Thorp in a brittle voice.</p> - -<p>Liedl clawed wildly, spasmodically, at Joel's wrists. The -ex-professor's black goatee stuck straight out like a spear. His mouth -was open. His round gray eyes bulged.</p> - -<p>The muscles of Joel's forearms stood out like cords. Sweat trickled -unheeded down his nose. His face was expressionless, his green eyes -narrowed morosely.</p> - -<p>The only sounds were Nick Thorp's hoarse breathing and the muted rumble -of the jets. Tamis pressed herself against the bulkhead, a fixed, -horrified expression on her face.</p> - -<p>Liedl's convulsive thrashing grew weaker. Suddenly his knees buckled. -He buckled. He slumped to the deck.</p> - -<p>Joel followed him down, stooping over him bear-like, never relaxing the -throttling pressure. Sweat ran into his eyes.</p> - -<p>He became aware of Thorp shaking his shoulder.</p> - -<p>"He's dead!" Thorp was saying. "Dead. Do you hear me?"</p> - -<p>Joel drew a gasping breath, stood up, wiped the sweat out of his eyes. -He didn't look at the crumpled figure on the deck. This was the second -man he'd killed. The first had been an accident, but not Gustav Liedl.</p> - -<p>Tamis said suddenly, "We can't leave him there!"</p> - -<p>"No," Thorp agreed. "We'd better dump him down the waste chute. The -reconverters will dispose of him."</p> - -<p>He picked up the body like a limp sack of potatoes. "Open the chute."</p> - -<p>The girl held up the lid while Thorp slid the body into it. There was a -faint swoosh. Tamis let the lid drop.</p> - -<p>An awkward silence fell upon them.</p> - -<p>"Well," Thorp broke it, "we're in this together. Liedl was a government -spy. There'll be hell to pay when he turns up missing."</p> - -<p>"But they can't trace it to us," Tamis asked. "Can they?"</p> - -<p>"No. The reconverters will take care of that."</p> - -<p>Joel stood up abruptly, started for the fo'cs'le.</p> - -<p>"Joel!" Tamis said.</p> - -<p>He didn't answer.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Walt Eriss, the ex-surgeon, returned eventually from the ship's -hospital—a savage-eyed Eriss who obviously had been nursing his -grievances. Almost his first act was to confront Joel.</p> - -<p>"Hakkyt," he said thinly, "that's twice you've struck me." He fingered -his jaw, his curious yellow-gray eyes aflame. "I'll kill you for this."</p> - -<p>Everyone stopped talking, stared breathlessly at the shaggy haired -giant. Thorp moved beside Joel, but he didn't say anything.</p> - -<p>Joel said dryly: "Well—what's stopping you?"</p> - -<p>Walt Eriss began to tremble. "No," he said in a harsh voice. "I don't -want witnesses."</p> - -<p>"Talk," said Joel. "You talk too much to do anything."</p> - -<p>The ex-surgeon turned abruptly on his heel and stalked away.</p> - -<p>Thorp said, low-voiced, "Watch him. Don't ever let him get behind you."</p> - -<p>"He's a bluff."</p> - -<p>"No. He's a killer. I've seen his kind before. He'll get you, Joel." -The spaceman's blue eyes were cold. "You're not safe while he's -alive...."</p> - -<p>Joel frowned. "What do you mean?"</p> - -<p>"I mean we'd better dump him down the reconverters tonight!"</p> - -<p>Joel was shocked. "I'm not a murderer!"</p> - -<p>"It's not murder; it's self-defense."</p> - -<p>"No!" said Joel and refused to hear any more about it.</p> - -<p>The succession of days crept past as alike as beads on a string. Joel -tried to draw Tamis out about the Ganelons, but she had been too badly -frightened by Liedl's death.</p> - -<p>She was afraid of him, too; he could see it in her eyes and it worried -him. One sleeping period he asked her about it with characteristic -bluntness.</p> - -<p>Tamis bit her lip. "I—I never saw a man killed before. I can't get it -out of my mind. It's not you, Joel." And then she began to tell him -about her early life in the Ganelon village.</p> - -<p>It was a life without sham—a simple joyous pagan existence close to -the primal forces of nature. Tamis' voice trembled with nostalgia.</p> - -<p>Joel was fascinated. He was on fire with impatience to reach Asgard.</p> - -<p>On the forty-third day the <i>Zenith</i> came out of the Stellar Drive and -began to fire her braking tubes.</p> - -<p>Down, down she settled towards the surface of Asgard, second planet of -Alpha Centauri A. An electric excitement ran like flames through the -Unfit.</p> - -<p>Joel couldn't eat. "How much longer?" he asked Thorp for the hundredth -time.</p> - -<p>"For Saturn's sake, sit down," the ex-spaceman exploded.</p> - -<p>Joel dropped into a relaxer, lit a cigarette. His green eyes glittered -with anticipation. Tamis gave him an amused glance, but Joel sensed -that the Ganelon girl was as excited as himself.</p> - -<p>"We should be landing in an hour," she informed him.</p> - -<p>Joel felt the <i>Zenith</i> shiver from the violence of her braking blasts. -Minutes ticked past like hours. Then a bell began to ring and went on -ringing.</p> - -<p>After an interminable wait, Joel was shaken by a heavy jar. The -<i>Zenith</i> rocked sickeningly. There was another blast of the jets. -Another jar.</p> - -<p>The roar dwindled and fell silent. A strange hush pervaded the ship.</p> - -<p>"Asgard!" Thorp shouted, leaping to his feet and slapping Joel on the -shoulder. "We're down!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The prisoners were led straight from the Star Ship into the spaceport -where a robot surface bus was waiting to carry them into Eden. The bus -was constructed after a design strange to Joel. It was a half-track -with heavy mesh screens at the windows.</p> - -<p>When he accidentally touched the screen, he received a jarring electric -shock. Tamis, who was seated beside him, giggled.</p> - -<p>"Where do they think we'd escape to?" he demanded bitterly.</p> - -<p>"They're not to keep us from escaping, Joel."</p> - -<p>Just then the bus started smoothly, gathered momentum, burst out into -the brilliant light of Asgard's twin suns.</p> - -<p>Joel forgot the electrified screens, craning his neck, trying to see -everything at once. The spaceport, he realized, must be located at some -distance from Eden. The road ran straight ahead—a glittering plastic -ribbon cutting a channel through the fantastic jungle.</p> - -<p>It was monstrous, that jungle. It writhed, twisted, swayed in great -swaths although there wasn't the faintest breeze. Suddenly the bus -stopped with a jerk to allow a herd of huge tree-like plants to swarm -across the road.</p> - -<p>Joel gaped at them in amazement. They had thick flesh-like trunks from -which writhing tentacles sprouted like the arms of an octopus. A mass -of wriggling squirming thread-like roots propelled the plants forward -with startling speed.</p> - -<p>"Ugh!" Joel shuddered, turned to Tamis. "What are those?"</p> - -<p>"Nigel trees."</p> - -<p>Joel wrenched back suddenly from the window. One of the nigel trees had -lashed out with a tentacle. It touched the screen. There was a green -spark. The tentacle jerked back.</p> - -<p>"Now do you see why the screens are electrified?" Tamis asked. "The -nigel trees are carnivorous."</p> - -<p>The bus started to move again. Joel was regarding the Ganelon girl with -a frown. "You actually live in the jungle with those things roaming -about?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. They don't bother us."</p> - -<p>He looked incredulous. "Why not? Don't they like your flavor?"</p> - -<p>Tamis giggled. "We can control them—a little. They don't think. They -react to external stimuli."</p> - -<p>"I see," said Joel. But he didn't.</p> - -<p>He heard a wailing siren overhauling them fast from the direction -of the spaceport. The bus pulled over to let an escort of guards -on armored prowl-cycles roar past. Immediately following them, came -a plastic tear-drop tri-wheeler. The governor and his daughter were -lounging back in its roomy seats.</p> - -<p>Priscilla glimpsed Joel and waved mockingly. Then the procession was -gone, a second detachment of guards bringing up the rear.</p> - -<p>Buildings, Joel noticed, had begun to replace the jungle, buildings of -thick opaque plastic without windows. The moving sidewalks, shaded by -gaudy awnings, were crowded with men and women clad in little more than -shorts and sandals.</p> - -<p>The air, Joel realized, was stifling. The dazzling yellow ball that was -Alpha Centauri A rode high in the steel blue sky. Alpha Centauri B was -a smaller molten-orange sun swimming just above the horizon. Joel had -never felt such heat before. It was like the engine room of a tramp -spacer.</p> - -<p>The bus slowed down, swung into the curb. Captain Goplerud shouted, -"Pile out!"</p> - -<p>Joel saw a detachment of guards drawn up at the curb. They wore white -uniforms and pith helmets and carried small automatic paralyzers. A -crowd began to collect behind the double line of guards, which ran like -a gauntlet into a massive prison-like structure. From behind him, Nick -Thorp said, "Here's an old friend of yours."</p> - -<p>"Who?" He glanced up in surprise, recognized Priscilla Cameron grinning -at him with an impish expression.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>She was dressed in crisp white shorts and a brief jacket. Her green -hair wasn't so startling as it had been aboard ship. Joel had noticed -other women on the street of Eden with green hair, with yellow hair, -with cerise, vermillion, chartreuse hair. It obviously was the latest -mode of Asgard.</p> - -<p>"That's the one, Colonel!" he heard Priscilla say to the man beside -her. "Be sure to notify me when he comes up for sale."</p> - -<p>Joel reddened.</p> - -<p>The colonel touched his cap. "I'll be glad to, Miss Cameron." He turned -to Captain Goplerud.</p> - -<p>"Move them inside, Captain. They're not used to the suns. Have a good -crossing?"</p> - -<p>"Rotten," said Goplerud. "I'm glad to get 'em off my hands. Watch that -fellow Hakkyt, by the way. He's a killer."</p> - -<p>Then the line began to move. He had been carried beyond earshot into -the dim warmth of the prison.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">VII</p> - -<p>The voice of Tamis Ravitz came softly, insistently through the steaming -prison twilight. "Joel. Joel!"</p> - -<p>He swung away from the window through which he'd been staring at the -streams of pedestrians outside. "Yes?"</p> - -<p>The Ganelon girl lowered her voice. "I've been in communication with my -people...."</p> - -<p>"What?" Joel couldn't believe his ears. For two days the Unfit had been -locked in the prison. All of them in a single barracks-like room. The -girl hadn't been out of his sight. "How the devil...."</p> - -<p>She smiled, tapped her forehead with a slim forefinger.</p> - -<p>"Telepathy?"</p> - -<p>She nodded.</p> - -<p>Joel's green eyes narrowed. Tamis never failed to astonish him. The -suffocating heat didn't bother her in the least.</p> - -<p>The other prisoners were sprawled about the floor, many of them stark -naked. Clothes of any kind were a torment. The slightest exertion -brought fountains of sweat pouring from the skin. But Tamis wasn't even -perspiring.</p> - -<p>She said, "I've made my report. I've been given permission to tell you -certain facts. Is there anything you particularly want to know?"</p> - -<p>Joel scratched the bristles on his chin, frowned. "How is it," he asked -finally, "that the Ganelons have never been discovered?"</p> - -<p>An impish grin crossed her smooth elfin features. "Professor Liedl was -almost right."</p> - -<p>"Camouflage?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. Mental camouflage. Is anyone watching?"</p> - -<p>Joel glanced about swiftly. "No."</p> - -<p>Tamis put her hand to her throat, unzipped the coveralls. With a -sinuous movement, she freed her shoulders. The baggy garment fell -about her ankles. She stepped out of them—and disappeared.</p> - -<p>Literally!</p> - -<p>It took Joel a full moment for the realization to penetrate. He'd -caught one arresting glimpse of Tamis, nude like a slim marble statue. -Then she'd disappeared into the hot, fertile smelling air like a grain -of sugar in a glass of water.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus3.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<p>Suddenly he realized that he could still scent her. He became sharply -aware of that alien, flower-like odor.</p> - -<p>He heard her giggle, whirled around. She was standing not six feet off, -regarding him with an amused expression.</p> - -<p>"How did you do it?" Joel blurted out.</p> - -<p>"It is difficult to explain. You have no words in your language to -signify what I just did. I—I removed myself from your range of vision."</p> - -<p>"Hell! I know that. But how?"</p> - -<p>She tapped her forehead again. "It's done with an understanding of the -nervous system."</p> - -<p>Joel stared at her without any sign of comprehension.</p> - -<p>"How can I make it clear?" she asked helplessly. "There are sounds -you can't hear because they extend beyond the range of human ears. -There are limits to your vision too. And I removed myself beyond those -limits."</p> - -<p>He said, "Oh," continuing to regard her fixedly. Then, "You could -escape any time."</p> - -<p>"Yes," she admitted. "But this is my job. I don't want to escape."</p> - -<p>"What exactly is your job?" he demanded.</p> - -<p>"Intelligence. There are many of us, both men and women disguised as -humans who circulate among the Unfit."</p> - -<p>"Then—?" Joel prompted.</p> - -<p>"Then we make our reports to the Thinkers."</p> - -<p>"You've mentioned these Thinkers before. Who are they?"</p> - -<p>"Our scientists. Our wise men." She paused, changed the subject -abruptly. "Today, Joel, we are to be sold."</p> - -<p>"Damn!" He was appalled, remembering Priscilla Cameron's threat to buy -him.</p> - -<p>"Joel," she went on earnestly, "you are one of us now. The Thinkers -have a job for you."</p> - -<p>"For me?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. Obviously Priscilla Cameron is interested in you, Joel. You must -play up to her. It's the first chance we've had to get a spy close to -Governor Cameron...."</p> - -<p>"Hell, Tamis," he interrupted with an expression of distaste. "I can't -do that!"</p> - -<p>"But, Joel, you must! Not even my people have been able to get into the -palace."</p> - -<p>His green eyes quickened with interest. "Why not? They've been able to -insinuate themselves everywhere else."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Tamis shook her head. "We don't know! Dozens of Ganelons have slipped -into Governor Cameron's palace. For a while we continue to receive -their telepathic reports. Then nothing!"</p> - -<p>He said: "Let me get this straight. The Ganelons have sent spies into -the palace and all of them have simply vanished?"</p> - -<p>She nodded.</p> - -<p>"But who detected them, if they were invisible?"</p> - -<p>"We don't know. Oh, Joel, that's why it's so important for you to -obtain Priscilla Cameron's confidence. Women are—are indiscreet with -their lovers."</p> - -<p>Joel looked shocked.</p> - -<p>"But Joel, she'll buy you anyway! You'll have the run of the palace. -Slaves hear things and see things no one else can!"</p> - -<p>She paused, saw him wavering, hurried on. "We're blind without someone -close to the governor. The Thinkers are worried. They're holding off, -afraid to give the word that'll start the revolt."</p> - -<p>"How near is it?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"We're ready to strike. The Unfit have stolen arms, built secret -laboratories in the jungle. But we don't dare go ahead until we find -out how much the governor knows. We may be blundering into a trap."</p> - -<p>Joel drew a deep breath. "All right," he agreed reluctantly, "I'll try. -How do I pass my information on—if I get any?"</p> - -<p>She looked relieved. "The Thinkers will contact you."</p> - -<p>A yell from outside their prison interrupted her. Somebody blew a -whistle. A chorus of shouts, muted by the thick walls, reached them -faintly.</p> - -<p>Joel swung toward the door. The prisoners were all staring in that -direction too.</p> - -<p>Nick Thorp scrambled to his feet, came over to Joel and Tamis. "What's -the fuss?"</p> - -<p>Tamis shrugged naked ivory shoulders. She slipped into her coveralls, -a frown tugging at her eyebrows.</p> - -<p>Suddenly a siren turned loose like a blast from the last trumpet. Joel -jumped involuntarily.</p> - -<p>"Someone's escaped!" Tamis gasped.</p> - -<p>The door burst open. Guards spilled into their prison. They wore white -shorts and tunics and carried paralyzers. The dapper colonel was no -longer jaunty. His face was red.</p> - -<p>"Line up against the wall!" he shouted in a furious tone.</p> - -<p>Joel fell into line beside Tamis and Thorp. The colonel opened the -muster, barked, "Allyn!"</p> - -<p>"Here."</p> - -<p>"Aus'l!"</p> - -<p>"Here."</p> - -<p>"Baden!"</p> - -<p>"Here."</p> - -<p>Through the open door, Joel could see a white uniformed guard sprawled -on the floor. Blood trickled from his mouth and nose and the doctor was -fussing over him.</p> - -<p>The colonel reached the D's. Then he said, "Eriss."</p> - -<p>There was no answer.</p> - -<p>"Eriss!" he repeated. The silence was explosive. No one breathed.</p> - -<p>Joel craned his neck, looked up and down the line. The shaggy -ex-surgeon was conspicuously absent!</p> - -<p>The colonel swore. He turned on an under-officer at his elbow. "That's -the man!" he said savagely. "Get his dossier and put his picture on the -televisor immediately!"</p> - -<p>The under-officer sprinted from the room, almost collided with a man -entering the prison. Joel saw that it was the guard who'd been lying -unconscious outside the door. His white uniform was blood-spattered and -he was holding a handkerchief to his nose.</p> - -<p>The colonel caught sight of him at the same time, asked in a cold -voice, "What happened to you?"</p> - -<p>The guard looked unhappy. "This fellow called me to the door. He asked -to see you."</p> - -<p>"See me?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir. He said some of the prisoners were planning to escape. He -wouldn't tell me about it. I was taking him to you...."</p> - -<p>"Why did you let him out? Why didn't you send for me?" The colonel's -voice was brittle as ice.</p> - -<p>"He acted frightened, sir. Said they would kill him if he wasn't taken -out."</p> - -<p>"I see. Then he hit you. Is that it?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir. As I was locking the door after him. I dropped the -paralyzer. He snatched it and turned it on me. I don't remember -anything else." The guard hesitated. "Did he get away, sir?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. From the roof. Helicopter." The colonel turned on his heel, -marched from the room. The guards withdrew.</p> - -<p>Joel could hear the wailing screams of sirens rising all over the city.</p> - -<p>"But where can he escape to?" Joel asked.</p> - -<p>Tamis gave him a sober glance, lowered her voice. "There are half -a dozen bands of escaped serfs in the jungle. My people have been -protecting them. He may be able to join them—if the nigel trees don't -get him first."</p> - -<p>Thorp said, "Good riddance."</p> - -<p>Joel didn't say anything. The ex-surgeon was a shrewd, brutal man. He -didn't think the nigel trees would be able to catch him.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The slave block was located in the principal square of Eden. Joel had -been escorted thither along with the other prisoners, stripped and -chained naked inside a long pavillion like the cattle sheds at a fair.</p> - -<p>Streams of planters flowed through the pavillion, studying the -prisoners, discussing their good and bad points before bidding on them. -A good natured holiday air pervaded the throng. Alternately Joel was -white-lipped with fury and red with embarrassment at their pointed -observations.</p> - -<p>All at once he stiffened, catching sight of Priscilla Cameron heading -straight for him through the crowd.</p> - -<p>Joel flushed darkly. He had never disliked anyone with the passion he -felt for this girl with her defiant green hair, her slim cool arrogance.</p> - -<p>Tamis Ravitz was chained in the stall next to Joel. The Ganelon girl -leaned over and said, "Here she comes. Remember!"</p> - -<p>"I see her. Who's the fellow with her?"</p> - -<p>"General Roos. Fredrik Roos. He's head of the Asgardian Police."</p> - -<p>Joel thought the police chief looked young and dashing in the white -Asgardian uniform. A tiny jeweled paralyzer was belted about his waist.</p> - -<p>There was a twinkle in Priscilla's green eyes when she paused in front -of Joel's stall.</p> - -<p>"Here he is, Freddy. Isn't he lovely?"</p> - -<p>Joel stiffened.</p> - -<p>"Lord," General Fredrik Roos drawled, "what a big brute!"</p> - -<p>"Isn't he, though?"</p> - -<p>Despite her light manner, Joel sensed a strain in Priscilla's voice. -She was wearing a diminutive yellow jacket with puffed sleeves and a -matching skirt. The shimmering microweb accentuated the firm youthful -modeling of breast, hip and thigh.</p> - -<p>"Did you ever see such shoulders?" he heard her ask Roos. "He's -magnificent!" She turned back to Joel. "Flex your biceps, Joel."</p> - -<p>Their eyes locked. Joel didn't move, but an expression of surprise -swept his features.</p> - -<p>For a moment, Priscilla's guard had dropped. Fear was mirrored in her -vivid green eyes. Fear and appeal. The girl was in a panic!</p> - -<p>"Surly brute," Roos said.</p> - -<p>"Oh, I'll tame him," she began gaily. Then she broke off, staring at -Tamis Ravitz with a frozen startled expression.</p> - -<p>Tamis was crouched against the wall in fright. Her small breasts rose -and fell rapidly.</p> - -<p>Priscilla wheeled suddenly, beckoned a guard. "That girl! Get her out -of those chains and take her to the governor!"</p> - -<p>The guard looked startled. He glanced at General Roos for confirmation.</p> - -<p>Roos' face hardened. "Do what Miss Cameron says!"</p> - -<p>The guard looked bewildered, but he hauled Tamis to her feet, unlocked -the shackles. They fell to the floor with a clank.</p> - -<p>Tamis straightened. Like the rest of the Unfit, she had been stripped -of her baggy coveralls. She looked like a painting of Psyche by -Boucher. She took one step....</p> - -<p>"Keep hold of her wrist!" Priscilla cried.</p> - -<p>But Tamis had vanished!</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">VIII</p> - -<p>The delivery truck resembled a dog catcher's wagon as it rolled -up behind the governor's palace. It was Joel's first glimpse of -Priscilla's home—a towering plastic structure in the style of the -symbolists.</p> - -<p>After the girl had bought him, guards had whisked him from the slave -block. He'd been hauled through the streets like a wild beast.</p> - -<p>Joel was led inside an office where the major-domo, a tall, -tremendously fat man in a white slave tunic, signed the receipt for -him. Alpha Centauri A had set. An angry orange light streamed through -the windows from Alpha Centauri B.</p> - -<p>The major-domo grunted, heaved himself to his feet. He was staring -fixedly at Joel's arm.</p> - -<p>Joel glanced down. The tattoo mark was fluorescing a vivid green!</p> - -<p>"So!" said the major-domo.</p> - -<p>Joel opened his mouth. The major-domo put his finger to his lips with a -silencing gesture, covered the action with a yawn. But his eyes held a -warning.</p> - -<p>He slid his hand beneath his desk. Something clicked. The tattoo quit -fluorescing.</p> - -<p>"Put this on," he said going to a clothes locker and tossing Joel one -of the white slave tunics. "Miss Cameron left orders that you weren't -to be assigned until she sent for you."</p> - -<p>Joel dropped the tunic over his head with a confused feeling.</p> - -<p>"This way." The fat man led him into a corridor. As the door shut on -the office, he stopped so abruptly that Joel bumped into him.</p> - -<p>"All right," he said, "it's safe to talk here. But watch the mirrors. -They're televisors! There isn't a room in the palace that isn't -equipped with them. We're under constant surveillance."</p> - -<p>Joel's brain was reeling. So the palace serfs were organized too!</p> - -<p>"Listen close," the major-domo went on low-voiced. "Meeting tonight. -You'll be instructed in your part for <i>the day</i>."</p> - -<p>The words were scarcely out of his mouth when the door at the opposite -end of the corridor slid aside. The fat man jumped a foot, his face -taking on the color of wet clay.</p> - -<p>A girl brushed into the passage, stopped with a startled expression. -She was young, Joel saw, and pretty with straight brown hair. Her short -white tunic exposed long symmetrical legs.</p> - -<p>"Hullo!" she said. "I was looking for you." Her brown eyes flicked a -glance at Joel. "This the new man?"</p> - -<p>The major-domo said, "Yes," in a relieved voice.</p> - -<p>"Big devil. Does he bite?"</p> - -<p>"He's a legitimate maladjustment case, if that's what you're driving -at," the fat man replied stiffly. "What did you want?"</p> - -<p>"Miss Cameron sent me to fetch him." She jerked her head at Joel.</p> - -<p>The major-domo frowned. "You'll have to go," he said to Joel. "I was -hoping she'd give you time to get your bearings. But that's not her -way."</p> - -<p>"Listen," said the girl turning anxiously to Joel. "I'm Peg—Miss -Cameron's maid. You watch your step. That baggage has bought dozens of -men off the Star Ships. They would be around for a week, ten days. Then -pouf! Gone! Nobody would ever see 'em again!"</p> - -<p>Joel looked startled. "What is she? A lady Bluebeard?"</p> - -<p>"She's no lady," said the girl. "And it isn't funny. You watch your -step. She can see in the dark like a cat!"</p> - -<p>"What's that?" Joel's interest quickened. "See in the dark?"</p> - -<p>"Like a cat!" Peg repeated. "And that's not the half of it. She can -smell a person out like a hound! I mean actually. Just let her get one -whiff of you and she knows who you are!"</p> - -<p>Joel wasn't surprised. That explained how Priscilla had detected Tamis -at the slave market. It also explained why the Ganelon spies had always -been caught in the palace. Their alien scent had betrayed them to -Priscilla's keen nostrils. Trapping them was easy.</p> - -<p>"We've loitered here as long as we dare!" Peg said nervously. "I'll get -in trouble."</p> - -<p>The major-domo said, "Don't forget tonight," retreated down the passage -to his office.</p> - -<p>Joel followed the girl through a maze of corridors. Peg switched along, -chattering incessantly. Once she hissed out of the corner of her mouth, -"Talk! Don't gape at the mirrors. We're not supposed to know they're -televisors!"</p> - -<p>For the life of him, Joel couldn't think of anything to say. The -mirrors were everywhere. They gave him a bad case of stage fright.</p> - -<p>At the top floor, Peg paused before a door, pressed a stud. Joel saw -that a panel of opaque plastic had been let into the face of the door.</p> - -<p>"I'm on the terrace," said Priscilla's voice suddenly. It sounded so -close that Joel's head snapped around. "Bring him back here."</p> - -<p>And the door opened, silently, disclosing an empty vestibule. The walls -were mirrors glowing with a subdued rose light. Their feet made no -sound on the dull black plastic floor as they crossed the vestibule, -entered the salon.</p> - -<p>Like the vestibule, Joel saw, it was paneled in dimly gleaming mirrors. -It made the room stretch out forever except where crystal doors gave -onto a roof garden. He could see Priscilla Cameron stretched on a deck -chair sunning herself in the luminous orange rays of Alpha Centauri B.</p> - -<p>Peg pushed aside the crystal doors. "Here he is, Miss Cameron."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>At their appearance, some creature set up an excited yap-yapping. -Joel stared around trying to locate the beast. Then he swallowed. The -yapping noise was issuing from a plant in a green tub!</p> - -<p>"Thank you, Peg," Priscilla said. "That's all."</p> - -<p>Peg curtsied, backed out.</p> - -<p>"What is that thing?" Joel demanded.</p> - -<p>"It's an Asgardian lung beast." Priscilla went to the excited plant, -stroked it gently. The yapping ceased. "See. It's not a plant at all. -It's one of the three known species of Asgardian rooted mammals."</p> - -<p>Joel put his hand on the creature. It was like a lump of flesh covered -with soft brown hair! He shuddered, snatched his hand away.</p> - -<p>Priscilla laughed. She was wearing a short yellow smock and sandals. -She said, "Sit down, Joel. I want to talk to you."</p> - -<p>He sank into the relaxer she indicated. Instantly, flexible metal -bands whipped about his throat, his biceps, his wrists and ankles. He -wrenched convulsively, squirmed.</p> - -<p>The more he fought the tighter the bands contracted. He couldn't -breathe. A red haze swam before his eyes.</p> - -<p>"Relax!" he heard Priscilla's voice coming from a great distance.</p> - -<p>He slumped in the seat. The bands slacked off. He could breathe again.</p> - -<p>"Damn you! Damn you!" he rasped. His throat was raw.</p> - -<p>"I'm sorry, Joel!" she said in a scared voice. "I have to know -something!"</p> - -<p>Sitting stiffly in the chair's metal embrace, he watched her from the -corner of his eye. She was wheeling a machine onto the terrace. Wires -sprouted from it like the ganglia of the nervous system. Each wire -terminated in a tiny saucer-shaped disk. She fastened them to his -temple, the base of his skull, his solar plexus, his spine. Sweat burst -out on Joel's face.</p> - -<p>Priscilla finished attaching the sucker discs. Then she sat down at the -machine, began to fiddle with a dial.</p> - -<p>The machine went "<i>Glug—glug—bubble—glug</i>—"</p> - -<p>"What the hell is that thing?" Joel demanded in a tight voice.</p> - -<p>Priscilla didn't answer. The only sound was the -"<i>glug—glug—bubble—glug</i>" of the machine. Then it said, "<i>What the -hell is she up to?</i>" in an alarmed metallic voice.</p> - -<p>Joel jerked as if he'd been slapped.</p> - -<p>The machine said, "<i>No! No!</i>" And then it became absolutely -unintelligible. It babbled.</p> - -<p>Joel stared at it in consternation.</p> - -<p>It said: "<i>My Lord, it's reading my thoughts!</i>"</p> - -<p>He turned horrified eyes to Priscilla.</p> - -<p>The machine rattled on inexorably: "<i>Why? Why? What does she want -to know? Ganelons. Don't think ... Tamis. Where's Tamis? And Thorp. -Wonder—. I'm being verbose. Go around in circles. Circles. Curves. -Good legs and—. A hell of a thing to be thinking of now! What happened -to those other men? Lady Bluebeard. She's no lady. She sure as hell -isn't....</i>"</p> - -<p>"For Pete's sake shut that thing off!" Joel and the machine roared in -unison.</p> - -<p>Priscilla lifted her eyes, asked, "Have the rebels contacted you?"</p> - -<p>"No," said Joel.</p> - -<p>The machine said: "<i>That damned machine will give me away.</i>"</p> - -<p>"So they have contacted you?"</p> - -<p>"Yes," he replied bitterly.</p> - -<p>The machine said: "<i>What's the use of lying?</i>"</p> - -<p>Priscilla threw back her head and laughed. "Joel, are you in -communication with the Ganelons?"</p> - -<p>"Ganelons?" he said, "What are they?"</p> - -<p>The machine said: "<i>How did she know that? Ye gods, she'll pull -everything out of me. Make my mind a blank. Don't think about Tamis. -Don't....</i></p> - -<p>"Who's Tamis?" Priscilla asked.</p> - -<p>"<i>She's forgotten</i>," the machine said in surprise. "<i>No. She didn't -know the girl's name; just that she was a Ganelon. Wow, what a -horrible, uncontrollable thing a person's mind is. Multiplication -tables. Two times two is four.... Damn! I can't remember the -multiplication tables!</i>"</p> - -<p>"Joel," said Priscilla, "I'm going to make you my bodyguard."</p> - -<p>"Bodyguard!" echoed Joel and the machine together. "Hell fire...." -He shut his mouth. The machine went, "<i>Glug—glug—bubble—glug. Out -damned spot! Out, I say! One: Two: Why, then 'tis time to do't....</i>"</p> - -<p>"What's that?" Priscilla demanded suspiciously.</p> - -<p>"Macbeth," Joel replied with a grin. And for ten minutes she had to -listen to the machine spouting quotations from Shakespeare. After that -it started on nursery rhymes, began a dissertation on cattle breeding.</p> - -<p>"All right!" said Priscilla savagely. "You win. I can stand anything -but hearing about the love life of a cow!" She shut the machine off.</p> - -<p>Joel slumped weakly in the seat. Sweat was rolling down his face.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Priscilla was pensive as she removed the suckers, rolled the machine -away. When she returned she was carrying a small paralyzer.</p> - -<p>"Did you mean it," Joel asked, "when you said I'm to be your bodyguard?"</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"But that's absurd!"</p> - -<p>"Would you stand by and watch me murdered?"</p> - -<p>"No," he admitted.</p> - -<p>"Fair enough," she said. "That's all I ask."</p> - -<p>She threw a switch on the back of the chair. The bands loosened. Joel -stood up, rubbing his throat.</p> - -<p>Priscilla shot him an oblique glance, said dryly, "Don't misunderstand -me. I need protection. Nothing else."</p> - -<p>Turning abruptly she entered the apartment, beckoned for him to follow. -She touched a hidden plate in the floor with her toe. Joel saw a -section of the mirror paneled wall slide aside revealing a shallow -passage beyond.</p> - -<p>"This is where you're to stay. So that you can watch the apartment at -all times."</p> - -<p>Joel entered the passage, gave a low whistle of surprise. It ran all -around the salon behind the mirrors. He could see the room through them -as if they were the clearest plate glass.</p> - -<p>Security glass, he realized. It had been bombarded with chromium so -that from one side it acted as a mirror. But from the other it was -transparent.</p> - -<p>"Who built this?"</p> - -<p>"The last governor. He was terrified of assassination. The palace is a -rat-run of secret passages and lifts, concealed televisors, electronic -eyes and alarms."</p> - -<p>Joel said, "Priscilla, why did you buy me?"</p> - -<p>The twinkle returned to her green eyes. "You'll learn. Meanwhile you'd -better familiarize yourself with these passages." And she shut the -panel on him.</p> - -<p>Joel spent the next week exploring the labyrinthine passages that ran -everywhere from the sub basement to the top floor. He emerged only to -eat or when Priscilla called him over the wrist radio.</p> - -<p>From the serfs he heard echoes of what was taking place in the outside -world. Walt Eriss, he learned from Peg, had joined one of the outlaw -bands. He was being talked about constantly among the serfs.</p> - -<p>A man of action, they called the ex-surgeon, brutal, ruthless, shrewd. -A strong man. Joel held his own counsel. But the reports worried him.</p> - -<p>He was exploring between the walls on the ninth level when he came -to one of the trick mirrors and peered through. A long magnificent -corridor met his eye. Directly across from the mirror was a lift.</p> - -<p>General Fredrik Roos had his quarters on this level, Joel knew, but the -hall was empty. He was about to turn away when the indicator light on -the elevator glowed faintly.</p> - -<p>Someone was coming up.</p> - -<p>The car stopped, the doors slid back. Joel frowned. There wasn't a soul -in the cage.</p> - -<p>Then the doors shut and the cage dropped from sight.</p> - -<p>Joel bit his lip. All at once, the indicator lit up again. The car was -ascending to the ninth floor once more.</p> - -<p>Again the doors slid aside. But this time General Fredrik Roos stepped -briskly from the cage, turned left down the corridor.</p> - -<p>The chief of the Asgardian police had taken only half a dozen steps, -though, when he halted. Joel could see his nostrils twitch. Then his -hand darted to the jeweled paralyzer at his waist. It was like a man -practicing a quick draw—shadow boxing.</p> - -<p>Roos pointed the paralyzer at emptiness, pressed the stud. A dazzling -yellow beam lanced down the corridor, winked off.</p> - -<p>Joel sucked in his breath. The misty outline of a body was -materializing on the floor just ahead of Roos!</p> - -<p>There had been someone there—someone who'd been invisible until the -ray knocked him out!</p> - -<p>"Ganelon!" Joel thought. He could see the shape of bare ivory legs and -a delicate waist. It was a girl lying huddled on the floor!</p> - -<p>Roos had snatched up a heavy vase from a niche in the wall. He was -striding toward the unconscious Ganelon girl.</p> - -<p>The ray only paralyzed; it didn't kill. Roos was going to murder the -spy, Joel realized. At that instant he recognized her.</p> - -<p>It was Tamis Ravitz!</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">IX</p> - -<p>Joel's reaction was instinctive. He pressed the mechanism that actuated -the mirror, drew his paralyzer. The yellow beam flicked down the -corridor, touched Roos' spine.</p> - -<p>The general went limp as a microweb stocking!</p> - -<p>Joel was at the girl's side with a bound. He scooped her up, plunged -back into the passage behind the mirrors. He never glanced at Roos. The -police chief, he knew, would be unconscious for an hour or more from -the effects of the ray.</p> - -<p>Joel hurried between the walls with the limp Ganelon girl in his arms. -When he reached his own room he stretched her on his bunk.</p> - -<p>Joel's room was only a niche in the wall between Priscilla Cameron's -bedroom and the salon. It was just big enough for a bunk, a stool and a -desk. One-way mirrors sealed it off from the apartment.</p> - -<p>A glance assured Joel that Priscilla wasn't in. He began to chaff -Tamis' limbs.</p> - -<p>The minutes dragged past. Joel saw the color return to her cheeks. She -looked like a slim, adolescent Aphrodite.</p> - -<p>The girl opened her eyes, stared up at him blankly. "Joel! I—I did -find you!" Then her features froze with horror. "But Roos! He knew I -was there! He—he saw me. The ray...."</p> - -<p>"You're safe," said Joel. "I knocked him out with a paralyzer."</p> - -<p>"But how did he discover me?"</p> - -<p>"That's what's troubling me. Unless...." He paused, stared thoughtfully -at the frightened Ganelon girl. "Priscilla Cameron is a mutant. Her -sense of smell is as keen as mine. That's how your spies have been -detected. Maybe Roos is a mutant also."</p> - -<p>Tamis sat up, glimpsed Priscilla's luxurious bedroom through the -mirrors, caught her lip between her teeth.</p> - -<p>"Joel! Where are we?"</p> - -<p>"Priscilla Cameron's apartment." He explained about the mirrors.</p> - -<p>Tamis sighed in relief. "Joel, what have you learned? The Unfit -are impatient. That ex-surgeon, Walt Eriss, you remember him? He's -insisting that we attack at once. He—he's insane Joel!"</p> - -<p>"He's a homicidal maniac," Joel agreed dryly. "I wish I'd taken Thorp's -advice and dumped him down the reconverters." He shook his head. -"I haven't learned much; but it's all bad!" And he told her about -Priscilla's knowledge of the slave organization.</p> - -<p>"They can't know!" Tamis' voice was tight with horror. "They can't, -Joel! After all our precautions. What are they going to do?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know."</p> - -<p>"Hasn't Priscilla Cameron confided in you? I thought...."</p> - -<p>He laughed shortly. "I might as well be a piece of furniture."</p> - -<p>"You mean she hasn't...."</p> - -<p>"That's exactly what I do mean. I'm her bodyguard. She gave me to -understand the first day that our association was to be strictly -business." He made a wry grimace. "And that's what it has been!"</p> - -<p>"But why—" Tamis looked utterly dumbfounded. "She acted like a wanton -aboard ship."</p> - -<p>"It was just an act. Don't ask me why. I don't know."</p> - -<p>"Where is she now?"</p> - -<p>"In conference with her father."</p> - -<p>Tamis rose shakily. "I don't understand it, Joel. There are wheels -within wheels. I must get back to the Thinkers."</p> - -<p>Joel guided her through the walls to a tiny lift barely large enough to -hold them both. They dropped swiftly to the basement, traversed a long -tunnel.</p> - -<p>"This comes out in an alley beyond the gates," Joel informed her. "Have -you heard anything of Nick Thorp?"</p> - -<p>"He escaped," Tamis said, "He's staying in my village."</p> - -<p>"Thorp?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. He joined the outlaws first. But he had trouble with Walt Eriss. -Eriss had him thrown into a herd of nigel trees."</p> - -<p>"Good Lord," said Joel. "How did he get away?"</p> - -<p>Tamis began to grow red. "I—I was watching out for him."</p> - -<p>"Sort of a Guardian Angel?"</p> - -<p>She giggled. "You could call it that."</p> - -<p>There was a scanner at the end of the tunnel. Joel put his eye to it. -"The alley's deserted. You can go now." He touched a button, the wall -slid aside. The brilliant light of Asgard's twin suns flooded the -entrance. He began, "When will you—" and stopped.</p> - -<p>Tamis was gone.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>When Joel returned to his cell, Priscilla Cameron was sitting on the -edge of his bunk, tapping a sandaled toe on the floor. "You've had a -visitor!" she greeted him.</p> - -<p>Joel concealed his astonishment. Priscilla was wearing her green hair -in a roll about her face. Crisp white shorts and halter made a sharp -contact against the warm sepia of her skin.</p> - -<p>He said, "That's preposterous...."</p> - -<p>But Priscilla stopped him with a laugh. "She left her scent all over -the place. It was that Ganelon girl, wasn't it? Never mind lying; I -know!"</p> - -<p>Joel grinned crookedly. "Well?"</p> - -<p>"Are you in love with her, Joel?"</p> - -<p>"Love?" He looked puzzled. The word was archaic. The Eugenic Board's -policy of controlled scientific breeding had pretty well obliterated -that particular passion. Desire remained, but it was physical. "Oh," he -said finally, "you mean the emotion that all the old poets used to rave -about. That's atavistic, isn't it?"</p> - -<p>"But we're atavisms," she said.</p> - -<p>Joel stared at Priscilla, conscious of that strange affinity binding -them together. He could feel the pulse ticking in his throat. He took a -step towards her, stopped, furious with himself.</p> - -<p>"What about those other men you bought?" he demanded hoarsely; "the -ones who disappeared?"</p> - -<p>Priscilla's green eyes were alight. "Why, Joel, you're jealous!"</p> - -<p>"What happened to them?" he repeated.</p> - -<p>She said: "You're going to find out now. That's why I came for you," -and sprang to her feet. "Hurry. We mustn't keep them waiting any -longer."</p> - -<p>"What the devil are you talking about?" Joel demanded suspiciously. -"Keep who waiting?"</p> - -<p>"You'll see," she laughed.</p> - -<p>Priscilla led him straight to the governor's suite. The guard at the -entrance saluted smartly, stood aside.</p> - -<p>The governor's aide, a young, pink-cheeked cadet, was sitting behind a -bank of televisors. He sprang to his feet, clicked his heels. "They're -in the conference room," he said to Priscilla.</p> - -<p>She nodded, shoved Joel down a corridor at the left. A panel opened -automatically at their approach. Joel paused on the threshold startled.</p> - -<p>The conference room was long, low-ceilinged and devoid of windows. -Perhaps twenty people were sitting at a long table with Governor -Cameron at the head. Fredrik Roos, Chief of the Asgardian Police, was -on the governor's right.</p> - -<p>"Sit down, Hakkyt," Cameron said and indicated a vacant chair.</p> - -<p>Wordlessly, Joel sank into the relaxer. Priscilla pulled up a chair -beside him. She clutched his hand beneath the table, squeezed it -reassuringly.</p> - -<p>"You're a mutant," the governor began abruptly. "Don't be alarmed. -We're all mutations here."</p> - -<p>Joel's jaw didn't actually drop but he felt that it had. "Mutants!" he -managed to say. "All of you?"</p> - -<p>"Precisely."</p> - -<p>"But you're the Governor of Asgard!"</p> - -<p>Priscilla laughed excitedly. "Let me introduce him, father. Joel, -you've met General Roos. He's commander-in-chief of Asgard's police."</p> - -<p>The lean handsome General inclined his head. There was a glitter in his -gray eyes.</p> - -<p>Joel felt suddenly cold, thought, "He knows that it was I who rayed him -with the paralyzer."</p> - -<p>Priscilla was proceeding around the table, reeling off names and -titles. There were too many for Joel to remember. But one thing stood -out. They were all from the Executive Class. The Chief Administrator -of Eden, of Nelsville, of Nuvenice. The port officials, the security -officers....</p> - -<p>They were all there—and all mutants!</p> - -<p>"Hakkyt," said the governor softly, "you're skeptical, but understand -this. The human race has progressed from the level of apes through -its mutations. Not startling ones. But millions upon millions of minor -unnoticeable variations!</p> - -<p>"When the Eugenics Board first began its experiments in controlled -breeding its policy was more liberal. It recognized the value of -mutations and tried to incorporate the best variations into the race.</p> - -<p>"Gradually though, they grew more rigid. When the present type -homo sapiens was produced about a thousand years ago, they quit -experimenting altogether."</p> - -<p>The governor brought his fist down with a bang on the table.</p> - -<p>"Hakkyt," he said in a rising voice, "evolution isn't static! If a -species doesn't progress, it degenerates! The human race is on the -point of extinction!</p> - -<p>"Have you ever noticed how an apple tree will bear a bumper crop just -before it dies? It's the tree's blind effort to reseed itself. What do -you think has brought on the present wave of mutations, of socially -maladjusted individuals?"</p> - -<p>Joel stared at him fascinated.</p> - -<p>"I'll tell you!" the governor answered himself. "The policy of the -Eugenics Board has dammed the course of human evolution! The race -is dying. But before it dies, nature is making one last attempt to -perpetuate the species!</p> - -<p>"We're the only hope of mankind. You—" he stabbed a forefinger at -Joel's chest—"and I and the rest of the mutations here on Asgard!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Joel's brain was reeling. Governor Cameron's words had the ring of -truth.</p> - -<p>"But how did you get control of Asgard? Does the Republic know?"</p> - -<p>It was General Roos who answered in his lazy drawl. Joel turned his -head to stare at him.</p> - -<p>"No," said Roos. "The Republic is unaware that mutants hold all the -administrative posts in the colony."</p> - -<p>"But how...."</p> - -<p>"Briefly, Hakkyt, the mutants on Terra saw that if they didn't unite, -they were doomed. Societies were formed. The mutants were taught to -disguise their oddities, submerge themselves in the race."</p> - -<p>"But the psycho-detectors," Joel protested. "They couldn't fool the -machines!"</p> - -<p>"No. But Asgard was different. Asgard is a frontier. It's four and a -third light years from the Republic. The laws are not enforced so -strictly."</p> - -<p>The implications were too startling for Joel to grasp all at once. -These were mutants, and he was one of them. They were his kind whether -he liked it or not.</p> - -<p>Roos was saying, "The mutants migrated—secretly. Some of them rose to -minor administrative posts. And when a mutant was placed in authority, -he bent every effort to install others of his class."</p> - -<p>"We're trying to give the human race a new lease on life—a new -beginning!" Priscilla broke in passionately. "This—this is a sanctuary -where people won't be persecuted because they're different."</p> - -<p>"Slavery ..." Joel began.</p> - -<p>"It's not slavery," the governor interrupted. "We petitioned the -Republic to send us the Unfit in order to rescue them from the -Experimental Stations.</p> - -<p>"Ordinarily, Hakkyt, you would have been separated immediately from -the maladjusted and the criminally insane of the labor battalion. True -mutants are rare, and Priscilla usually buys them...."</p> - -<p>"Priscilla buys them?" Joel caught the flash of amusement in the girl's -green eyes.</p> - -<p>"Yes," said the governor. "We've encouraged the rumor that she -is—ah—headstrong in order to divert suspicion. Actually the mutants -are brought to the palace where they can be taught to disguise -themselves, given a new identity, put in posts of authority.</p> - -<p>"That is what should have happened to you. Except your report from the -Eugenics Board disappeared!</p> - -<p>"Priscilla, though, insisted that you were a true mutant. We didn't, -however, feel that we could take a chance. Not when we're in the midst -of a crisis...."</p> - -<p>"Crisis?" Joel's eyes swept the circle of faces. Their expressions had -changed subtly. They were intent, nervous. He felt a coldness creep up -his spine. "What has happened?"</p> - -<p>"Nothing—yet!" General Roos drawled.</p> - -<p>A woman with claret hair said, "It's what is about to happen!"</p> - -<p>"The Republic?" Joel hazarded.</p> - -<p>Governor Cameron shook his head. "We're not afraid of the Republic. -They're four and a third light years off. They haven't the Star Ships -necessary to transport and maintain an army across such a vast -distance."</p> - -<p>Joel's green eyes narrowed. "Then what are you afraid of?"</p> - -<p>"The Ganelons!" Governor Cameron gave Joel a shrewd glance. "We know -that you've been in contact with the natives. Frankly, Hakkyt, that's -why you're here!"</p> - -<p>"But I don't see...."</p> - -<p>General Roos smiled grimly. "Oh, we're not afraid of the Ganelons -themselves. But they've organized an underground movement to overthrow -the government. That's us!"</p> - -<p>Priscilla took Joel's hand, gripped it convulsively. "That wouldn't -be so bad, Joel, even though we stand to lose everything. But they've -organized the maladjusted, the criminally insane! The worst elements -among the unfit!"</p> - -<p>"But can't you put down a revolt?"</p> - -<p>General Roos laughed savagely. "I've a handful of police with -paralyzers. Paralyzers, mind you! Don't you understand? There hasn't -been a war in a thousand years! There are no weapons! No factories to -make them. No officers with even the most rudimentary knowledge of -tactics."</p> - -<p>"But the Unfit haven't weapons either...."</p> - -<p>"That's where you're mistaken! Our spies have reported a ray type -projector that destroys the red blood corpuscles! They've been -manufacturing them in hidden laboratories in the jungle!"</p> - -<p>Silence fell over the conference table—a breathless anxious silence. -Joel could feel their eyes on him and he shifted uncomfortably.</p> - -<p>"But what do you expect me to do?" he asked defensively.</p> - -<p>Governor Cameron stared at Joel with his penetrating green eyes. -"Hakkyt, we want to treat with the Ganelons. There's room for both our -races. You're in communication with their Thinkers. You're our only -contact with them."</p> - -<p>Joel said suspiciously, "If you were anxious to treat with the -Thinkers, why did you murder their spies?"</p> - -<p>"Murder their spies?" Priscilla echoed. Half a dozen voices burst out -in protest.</p> - -<p>Joel stared pointedly at General Fredrik Roos. The dark, handsome -general smiled, shrugged.</p> - -<p>"But no one's killed any Ganelons!" the governor said. "You're -mistaken, Hakkyt."</p> - -<p>Fredrik Roos said, "I'm afraid he's quite right."</p> - -<p>"What?" said the governor.</p> - -<p>"This is no time for sentimentality," Roos went on dryly. "Too much -is at stake. Several Ganelons have been trapped in the palace by -my officers. They have some trick of invisibility. Psychological, -I believe. But we could still scent them. We knocked them out with -paralyzers. Since they are telepathic, it wouldn't silence them to lock -them up. I ordered them destroyed."</p> - -<p>Governor Cameron's face blackened. "Why ..." he began.</p> - -<p>A shout interrupted him. There was a chorus of startled exclamations. -Joel glanced over his shoulder.</p> - -<p>The governor's aide had just burst into the conference room. A -terrified expression convulsed his pink face.</p> - -<p>"Governor!" he yelled. "They've risen! They're attacking Eden!"</p> - -<p>"Who?" the Governor half rose from his chair. "Get a grip on yourself! -Who, man?"</p> - -<p>"The Unfit!"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">X</p> - -<p>Joel was stunned. The silence held a moment longer, then everyone began -to shout at once.</p> - -<p>Roos leaped to his feet. "The control hall, Governor! Join me there as -soon as you can!" Before the last words were out of his mouth, he was -sprinting through the door.</p> - -<p>Governor Cameron succeeded in catching the attention of the Nuvenice -and Nelsville officials, ordered them back to their posts to organize -the free planters. As the last of them trooped from the room, he swung -on Joel. "Well, Hakkyt, which side are you on?"</p> - -<p>It was a decision that Joel had known for some time he must make. The -realization of what it would mean to have men like Walt Eriss, the -ex-surgeon, in power tipped the scales. He said, "I'm with you, I -suppose, Governor." And felt like a traitor to Tamis and Nick Thorp and -the rest.</p> - -<p>"Then for Heaven's sake, contact the Thinkers. Tell them we'll -arbitrate!"</p> - -<p>"But I can't!"</p> - -<p>"What?"</p> - -<p>"You should have let me know about this sooner. I don't know how to -contact the Thinkers."</p> - -<p>Governor Cameron stared at him with blazing green eyes. Then he swung -abruptly on his heel, tramped from the room.</p> - -<p>A rumble of sound like the mutter of surf vibrated against the soles of -Joel's feet. He felt Priscilla tug at his sleeve.</p> - -<p>"The control room," she was saying. "Hurry!"</p> - -<p>Pandemonium burst on Joel's ears as they entered the control hall. The -uproar of battle was emanating from banks of televisors. They were -being operated by a score of young officers—General Roos' staff. The -general himself strode back and forth in front of the screens.</p> - -<p>Scenes of the bitter house-to-house fighting, the stampeding mobs of -civilians flashed across the screens with terrifying reality. Joel was -appalled. He felt his throat tighten, his heart hammer against his ribs.</p> - -<p>A young field officer appeared briefly in one of the screens. "<i>We -can't hold them, sir</i>," he panted. "<i>It's those damn rays!</i>"</p> - -<p>"Fall back to L Street," Roos ordered, "We're making a stand along the -monorail."</p> - -<p>"Look!" Priscilla said, clutching Joel's arm and pointing at another -screen.</p> - -<p>It mirrored a broad empty street down which rays were probing like -searching fingers. They were pale green, scarcely visible in the -blinding light of Asgard's twin suns.</p> - -<p>Serfs in white ketons were carrying the deadly projectors at their -hips. There was a Ganelon with them, Joel saw. One lone naked man -walking in their midst.</p> - -<p>"There's a Ganelon with every squad!" Roos said at Joel's elbow. -"They're directing the attack."</p> - -<p>Just then Governor Cameron stood up. He'd been in communication with -Nuvenice. "They can't spare any troops." His voice was stricken. "The -serfs have risen there, too."</p> - -<p>Roos began to curse.</p> - -<p>Joel felt numb. The Unfit, he realized, were being led by a master -strategist. The slave rebellions at Nelsville and Nuvenice had been -instigated in order that troops could not be diverted to Eden against -which the main assault was being directed.</p> - -<p>A voice from one of the audios blared suddenly. "<i>Spaceport calling. -The rebels are</i>...." A faint hissing noise burst from the instrument.</p> - -<p>At that instant every screen in the televisor bank flickered and went -dead!</p> - -<p>Joel's ears rang with the silence. It was like the dead spot following -an explosion.</p> - -<p>Roos turned a blanched face toward them. "They've cut the power!"</p> - -<p>In the unnatural silence, Joel could hear that muttering roar again. It -was louder. He could even distinguish shouts and screams.</p> - -<p>A guard burst suddenly into the disorganized control hall. His -features were pale as chalk. "Slaves!" he gasped unsteadily. "Palace -slaves—fighting! Ray projectors!"</p> - -<p>He sank on a bench. Joel stared at him in horror. The guard was -slipping sideways. Then he rolled to the floor. He was dead.</p> - -<p>"The ray!" Priscilla said in a faint voice. "It destroys the red blood -corpuscles!"</p> - -<p>Joel clenched his fist. "If I could reach any of those Ganelons with -the Unfit, I could establish contact with the Thinkers. They're -telepathic!"</p> - -<p>"But can you get out of the palace?" Roos demanded.</p> - -<p>Joel said, "Yes." He was surprised that Roos didn't seem to know about -the secret passages.</p> - -<p>The chief of the Asgardian police unpinned the gold and azure shield, -the insignia of his office. "Take this. It'll get you through our -lines." He made a wry grimace. "I've been at fault about the Ganelons. -I hope it doesn't queer your mission."</p> - -<p>It had cost Roos an effort to make that admission, Joel realized. He -said, "I feel as if I were deserting...."</p> - -<p>"Nonsense, man," the governor interrupted. "You're the one who's taking -the risk. We can barricade ourselves in these rooms. We're safer here -than anywhere else on Asgard."</p> - -<p>Priscilla took Joel's face between her cool palms, kissed him -passionately. "I—I love you, Joel. Please take care of yourself."</p> - -<p>Joel was startled. Then his arms closed about her hungrily.</p> - -<p>The governor cleared his throat. "There's a proper time and place for -everything."</p> - -<p>Joel tore himself away. "I'll be back," he said. "And to hell with -what's proper!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Terra Parkway was jammed with refugees streaming toward the palace. To -the south, Joel could see a black pall of smoke overhanging the streets.</p> - -<p>A worried frown creased his forehead. He had slipped from the palace -by the tunnel along which he had escorted Tamis earlier. He should be -devoting his whole attention to his immediate danger. But he couldn't -dismiss the green-haired Priscilla Cameron from his thoughts.</p> - -<p>He was worried about her there in the palace. Was this love? It was a -disturbing sensation.</p> - -<p>He began to breast the flood of refugees streaming from the battle -area. White faces taut with fear. The faces of children and women. It -was like a nightmare.</p> - -<p>After a while the faces began to thin out. And then there weren't any -left at all. The street lay empty before him.</p> - -<p>"Hey!" a voice called. "Where do you think you're going?"</p> - -<p>Joel caught sight of a guard crouched in a doorway.</p> - -<p>"Get in here!" the guard growled. "What d'you want to do? Get killed? -The rebels are up ahead."</p> - -<p>Joel slid into the doorway. The smoke clouds were spreading. Alpha -Centauri A was a blood red ball just above the house tops.</p> - -<p>"What's happening?" Joel demanded. The strange quiet felt unnatural.</p> - -<p>The guard said, "Our officers are having a talk with the rebels."</p> - -<p>"Talk? What for?"</p> - -<p>"We're tired of being rayed down. And nothing but paralyzers to fight -back with. We're going over to the rebels. Hey! Come back here!"</p> - -<p>But Joel was gone, running down the empty street.</p> - -<p>Other men shouted at him from doorways, from windows. Suddenly an -officer jumped in his path, raised a paralyzer.</p> - -<p>"Hold up there!"</p> - -<p>Joel skidded to a halt. If the troops were deserting to the Unfit, -General Roos' badge would be of no help to him now.</p> - -<p>"Where—", the officer began.</p> - -<p>Joel hit him in the temple with a sledge-hammer fist. He didn't wait to -see the effect of his blow, but darted into an open doorway.</p> - -<p>There was an entrance hall and it was crowded with men. Joel put his -head down, charged straight through them.</p> - -<p>He hit the steps four at a time. Yellow flame lapped at his heels. -Then he was around a curve. A whistle blew someplace below, shrill, -threatening. He leaped up two more flights of steps, came out on the -roof.</p> - -<p>More guards were lying on their bellies behind a coping. They stared at -him curiously.</p> - -<p>"Ray that damn fool down!" a voice roared from the street.</p> - -<p>Joel plunged straight for the recumbent soldiers. They clawed at their -paralyzers, trying to twist around.</p> - -<p>He leaped to the coping, hung there a second silhouetted against the -murky sky. Then he jumped spasmodically for the adjoining roof.</p> - -<p>He didn't look at the ground three stories below, but he was aware of -it. His feet struck the edge of the next roof and he sprawled forward, -gasping for breath.</p> - -<p>Two roofs in front of him, he could see a row of shaggy heads raised -above another coping. They were watching him curiously.</p> - -<p>Then they began to yell and beckon, lifting projectors into sight. -Pale green fingers probed all around him, but none of the deadly -blood-destroying rays touched him.</p> - -<p>They were covering his retreat, Joel realized. He scrambled to his -feet. He leaped the next gap easily and the next.</p> - -<p>The grinning serfs pulled him down behind the wall, clapping him on the -back. Joel was too winded to talk.</p> - -<p>One of the rebels was crawling across the roof towards him. He had a -black arm-band. Something dangled from his belt—like hair. It was -hair! Long black woman's hair—and it was bloody!</p> - -<p>Joel bit his lip, feeling sick at his stomach. He remembered suddenly -what Priscilla had said, "The Ganelon's have organized the worst -elements among the Unfit—the criminally insane!"</p> - -<p>The man reached him, said, "Who are you?"</p> - -<p>"I'm from the palace," said Joel. He was careful not to look at the -scalp. "I've news!"</p> - -<p>"Palace!" echoed the serf. "Has it fallen?"</p> - -<p>"No. Quick, man, where's a Ganelon. I have to make my report."</p> - -<p>The rebel gave Joel a sharp suspicious glance. Then he lowered his -eyes. "There's one below stairs. Come on." He began to crawl across -the roof, hitching his projector after him. Joel followed on hands and -knees.</p> - -<p>A stairwell gaped ahead. As soon as the walls shielded them, the serf -stood up. "Hurry it up," he growled. "I'm in charge. I'm not supposed -to leave the roof."</p> - -<p>Joel rose.</p> - -<p>"You go first," said the serf. "You may be all right, but I don't want -you breathing down the back of my neck."</p> - -<p>Joel started down the steps in the lead. He heard a whisper. Then the -roof caved in!</p> - -<p>Something seemed to burst inside his skull. He pitched forward, rolled -down the stair, brought up in a limp unconscious heap at the foot.</p> - -<p>Above him, the serf frowned at the shattered barrel of his projector. -"Must have a skull like a meteor shield," he muttered. He threw the -projector over the railing.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Joel opened his eyes. Pain wrenched at his skull. There was noise and -dust.</p> - -<p>At first he thought he was back on Terra in the cattle sheds. Then the -scene jarred into focus. He remembered the serf with the woman's scalp -at his belt.</p> - -<p>He was lying on the ground, he realized, in the midst of a hideous -tangle of shouting men and half-tracks. Dust sifted into his nostrils. -The furious orange rays of Alpha Centauri B cast an ominous glow over -the endless line of vehicles moving into the gutted city.</p> - -<p>He sat up. It was a clearing in the jungle. It must have covered -hundreds of acres. Prisoners were being held in herds like cattle. Loot -was stacked everywhere.</p> - -<p>Someone prodded him roughly with a toe, said, "Get up!"</p> - -<p>Joel scrambled to his feet, stood there weaving. His hands were -manacled. His head felt as if it must burst.</p> - -<p>Then he drew in his breath sharply.</p> - -<p>Just behind him stood a yellow tree and beneath it a deal table with -the shaggy figure of Walt Eriss bending over it!</p> - -<p>The ex-surgeon was talking over a portable televisor. A dozen men -surrounded the giant. They were wearing scarlet armbands.</p> - -<p>Joel could hear Eriss saying, "Yes, we're pushing on the palace now. -No. I'm using runners." He clicked off the set, looked up, staring -coldly at Joel.</p> - -<p>"Where are the Ganelons?" he demanded in a harsh voice.</p> - -<p>Joel's eyes widened. There wasn't a Ganelon in sight. Then he caught -their alien unhuman scent. They were all around, invisible to the -mind's eye! What did it mean?</p> - -<p>A thrill of alarm rippled up his spine. He shrugged, said, "How would I -know?"</p> - -<p>"You're one of their spies," stated Eriss flatly. "I want to know what -they're up to!"</p> - -<p>"But I thought they were leading the attack on Eden."</p> - -<p>"The Ganelons?" Eriss' voice was sarcastic. "They're a pack of old -women. I directed the attack. I'm in charge."</p> - -<p>"But I saw them...."</p> - -<p>Eriss leaned forward, said savagely, "They were my eyes and ears. -They telepathed my orders! But they tried to stop the killing. When I -refused to listen to them they deserted." He began to beat the table -with his fist. "I want to know what they're up to!"</p> - -<p>All the time Joel was conscious of the Ganelons' scent. He could feel -their eyes on him. He said, "Then you've broken with them?"</p> - -<p>"What are they trying to do?" Eriss repeated, purple faced.</p> - -<p>Joel's green eyes narrowed. The ex-surgeon was afraid of the Ganelons, -he realized suddenly. Eriss was concentrating his attack on Eden, his -rear unprotected. For all he knew a Ganelon army might be massing -silently in the jungle. Millions upon millions of the natives....</p> - -<p>Joel had to reach the Thinkers! He could sense the invisible natives -all about him. He said in desperate ringing tones,</p> - -<p>"I'm Joel Hakkyt. I've a message for the Thinkers. Please relay this to -the Thinkers. I'm Joel Hakkyt. I've a message...."</p> - -<p>Eriss looked startled, roared, "What are you talking about?"</p> - -<p>Sweat burst from Joel's face. He expected to be rayed down any moment. -He said, "Tamis was my contact. I have information—vital information." -He could scent the Ganelons closing in. Eriss was staring at him with -flaming yellow-gray eyes.</p> - -<p>"What sort of information?" he demanded.</p> - -<p>Joel said, "Mutants are in control of all government posts. True -mutants. They are fighting for the same things that the Ganelons are. -Freedom!</p> - -<p>"You've organized the worst elements among us, the unbalanced, the -criminally insane. You've helped them to devise weapons, given them -unlimited power. They'll turn on you in the end, ferret you out...."</p> - -<p>A frown was gathering on Walt Eriss' forehead. He glanced a question at -his lieutenants. They shrugged.</p> - -<p>Joel saw that they were about to catch on. He said quickly, "Governor -Cameron and a party of mutants have barricaded themselves in the -palace. They want to arbitrate. Relay message. This is Joel Hakkyt. -Contact Tamis. She will verify...."</p> - -<p>"By George!" roared Eriss. "He's communicating with the Ganelons!"</p> - -<p>He leaped to his feet, sending the deal table over with a crash, struck -Joel in the mouth. "Take him off and ray him!"</p> - -<p>The blow knocked Joel sprawling. He scrambled to his feet, his head -ringing. Two men seized him by the arms. But Eriss wheeled back.</p> - -<p>"Wait," said the ex-surgeon. He gave Joel a shrewd look. "Any more -information?"</p> - -<p>Joel stared at him with hot furious eyes. He didn't say anything.</p> - -<p>Eriss laughed harshly. "So that was all. You've finished your spiel, -eh? You're harmless." He turned to the men who were holding Joel's -arms. "I've changed my mind. Take him into the jungle and stake him out -for the nigel trees. There's a herd of 'em in the neighborhood."</p> - -<p>And he burst into laughter.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The heat in that forest of fetid grotesqueries was like the atmosphere -of an orchid house. Joel was bathed in sweat as the serfs manacled him -to a tree trunk.</p> - -<p>He could tell by their actions that they were frightened. They kept -their voices down, glanced nervously over their shoulders. The minute -they finished, they crashed away through the thick underbrush toward -the distant sounds of Walt Eriss' headquarters.</p> - -<p>Joel's nerves were taut as fiddle strings. He didn't know whether his -message had gotten through to the Thinkers. He could feel small snaky -tendrils pluck at his tunic, brush against his bare legs.</p> - -<p>There was a rustling noise behind him.</p> - -<p>He lunged in panic. The manacles cut into his wrists, bloodied them. -He was like a goat staked out to bait a tiger. A sinuous vine wrapped -itself about his waist, tightened.</p> - -<p>It was like the coil of a boa constrictor, thick as his thigh, tough as -cable. It wrenched him against his manacles until he thought his arms -were going to be torn out at the sockets.</p> - -<p>He squirmed helplessly. Then he caught sight of the plant that had -snared him—the thick flesh-colored trunk, the crown of writhing -tentacles. It exuded the odor of carbolic add. The pool of digestive -acid glinted deep within its maw.</p> - -<p>Nigel tree! He was caught by a carnivorous nigel tree!</p> - -<p>Then, unexpectedly Joel felt the tentacles relax. He leaned gasping, -choking against the trunk of the tree to which he was manacled. He was -dazed from shock.</p> - -<p>A voice said, "You're safe now, my son."</p> - -<p>Joel shuddered, looked over his shoulder. A naked white-haired Ganelon -was standing scarcely a yard off. He stooped and fumbled with Joel's -manacles. They fell to the ground with a clank.</p> - -<p>Joel's knees began to buckle. He threw his arms about the trunk.</p> - -<p>"We came as quickly as we could," the Ganelon said in a kindly voice.</p> - -<p>Joel asked, "You—you relayed my message to the Thinkers?"</p> - -<p>"We are the Thinkers, my son. We were there." As he spoke, more of the -creatures materialized. It was completely unnerving as if they were -popping from another dimension.</p> - -<p>They were a handsome, sprightly race. There wasn't a stick of clothing -or an ornament in the crowd. Then Joel saw a familiar figure emerge -from the undergrowth.</p> - -<p>"Thorp!" he cried. "Nick Thorp!"</p> - -<p>The battered amiable ex-spaceman came forward, hand outstretched. "Not -so loud, lad. We're too close to Eriss' headquarters."</p> - -<p>The uproar from the rebels' camp was muted by the dense jungle, but it -was still audible. Joel asked, "Have you seen Tamis?"</p> - -<p>"Look around, lad!"</p> - -<p>Joel heard a giggle, spun about. Tamis was standing at his elbow, -laughing at him. Then she quit laughing. Her elfin features sobered. -"Joel," she said, "we didn't know about the mutants."</p> - -<p>"Why did the Ganelons withdraw from the attack?" he asked in a puzzled -voice.</p> - -<p>"It was horrible," she said. "We—we unleashed a force we couldn't -control. It's beyond description, the scenes of rapine and carnage that -are being enacted in Eden. The police have gone over to the rebels...."</p> - -<p>"The palace?" Joel interrupted harshly. "What has happened to the -palace?"</p> - -<p>"The palace has fallen."</p> - -<p>Joel felt the blood drain from his face. He said, "Then what is Walt -Eriss doing in the jungle?"</p> - -<p>"He doesn't know, yet. His men are mopping up. Many of the free -planters have barricaded themselves in their houses."</p> - -<p>Joel clenched his fists. He stared at the circle of kindly troubled -faces.</p> - -<p>"The Unfit must be wiped out!" His voice trembled with suppressed -fury. "Don't you know what it will mean to have homicidal maniacs, the -mentally unbalanced, in power?"</p> - -<p>The Ganelons gave him a pitying look. "My son," interposed the old man -who'd freed him, "as you say, they should be exterminated. They are -like the nigel trees—senseless brutes with an instinct to kill."</p> - -<p>"Then why don't you stop them?"</p> - -<p>"We can't."</p> - -<p>"You can't!" said Joel. The words were like a blow to his solar plexus. -"You can't...."</p> - -<p>"We are not a numerous people," the old Ganelon explained softly. -"Moreover we have a repugnance towards killing that amounts to a -psychological block...."</p> - -<p>"But you started the attack!"</p> - -<p>"No. It was someone else who ordered the attack, someone else who -planned the strategy. We went along to try to stop the bloodshed. But -it was useless. We had less control over them than we have over the -nigel trees."</p> - -<p>Joel's eyes widened. He stared at the old Ganelon's saddened mien. -There could be no doubt but that he was telling the truth.</p> - -<p>"Who?" Joel breathed.</p> - -<p>The naked Ganelon shook his head. "We don't know. He's like a puppeteer -hiding behind the scene. And Walt Eriss is only one of his puppets!"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">XI</p> - -<p>The utter alienness of the jungle suddenly impressed itself on Joel. -The creeping crawling plants. The shouts from Eriss' headquarters, the -rumble of vehicles sounded startlingly close.</p> - -<p>Through the interstices in the foliage he caught a glimpse of something -moving. His eyes widened. Then he saw that it was the herd of nigel -trees and he shuddered.</p> - -<p>He frowned. "Nigel trees!"</p> - -<p>"Yes," Tamis nodded. "But they won't bother us."</p> - -<p>"You can control them!" Joel said thoughtfully. "Could you direct them -to attack?"</p> - -<p>"Attack?" The elder Ganelon looked puzzled. "I don't know. We could -arouse their appetite, lead them to the rebels." He narrowed his -pupilless eyes. "Attack...."</p> - -<p>Joel was like a drowning man clutching at a straw. "The ray couldn't -harm the plants. It destroys red blood corpuscles. They'd be -invincible!"</p> - -<p>Thorp suddenly smacked a fist into his palm, "By Neptune!" he said, -"it's worth a try. How do you control the brutes? Telepathy?"</p> - -<p>Tamis nodded. "They're mindless; that is, they react to external -stimuli. We create the illusion that generates the desired response. It -is as easy to influence a herd as a single tree."</p> - -<p>"A conditioned reflex," said another.</p> - -<p>The old man said, "But to attack a city with plants—even cannibal -plants...." He shook his head.</p> - -<p>"But there would be thousands of them." Joel's voice trembled in -excitement. "Each Ganelon could control a herd. They'd pour down the -streets, create a panic...." He paused. "If you're doubtful, why not -tackle Walt Eriss' headquarters first?"</p> - -<p>The old Ganelon looked startled.</p> - -<p>Joel said, "There's a herd of the trees here now. Try it. Drive them -into the rebels' camp!"</p> - -<p>"But there are only fifty or so trees in the herd. We'd have to call -others...."</p> - -<p>"Call them! Call them now."</p> - -<p>The old Ganelon bowed his head. Moments slid by. With a sense of terror -Joel was conscious of their passing. What had become of Priscilla? Who -was the mysterious man behind the uprising of the Unfit? Why didn't the -Thinkers act?</p> - -<p>"Do something!" Joel burst out savagely. "Don't just stand there! Do -something!"</p> - -<p>The elder Ganelon smiled. "Patience, my son. The trees are being -called."</p> - -<p>Alpha Centauri B hung just above the treetops, casting long orange rays -across the rebels' camp. Joel and Thorp and Tamis lay side by side in -the shrubbery at the edge of the clearing.</p> - -<p>The endless procession of cars still rolled into Eden down the muddied -highway. Another line of cars returned, bringing exhausted men, wounded -men, loot and prisoners.</p> - -<p>"Where are the trees?" Joel asked.</p> - -<p>Tamis said, "Shhh."</p> - -<p>Joel heard a crackling of branches behind him, stiffened. Then he -caught sight of a moving trunk. More and more of them appeared, -blending with the jungle until they were scarcely discernable.</p> - -<p>They smelled like carbolic acid! It was the weirdest march he'd ever -witnessed, the massed shuddering movement of herd after herd of the -carnivorous nigel trees. The balls of thread-like roots at their bases -squirmed like Medusa's heads, thrusting the ungainly plants forward.</p> - -<p>A wave of trees broke suddenly from the opposite wall of the jungle. -For a moment they went unnoticed. Then someone shouted.</p> - -<p>More trees squirmed into the clearing, green fronds asway. It looked as -if the jungle itself were creeping back over the cleared ground.</p> - -<p>Pandemonium broke loose. The two lines of cars ground to a halt. Pale -green rays sprang at the nigel trees, bathed them futilely. The trees -inexorably tightened the circle.</p> - -<p>A man was snatched up by a tentacle. He kicked, screamed. More men were -caught by the ravenous plants. The stench of carbolic acid stung Joel's -nostrils.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus1.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<p>The rebels broke and ran. But there was no place to run to. They saw -only a second wavering wall of greenery, of thrashing tentacles!</p> - -<p>Joel was white, sick at his stomach. He caught sight of Walt Eriss. The -shaggy giant was sprinting for a half-track. He almost made it. Then a -tentacle girdled his ankle.</p> - -<p>The ex-surgeon was lifted head downward into the air, squirming, -shrieking. Then he vanished into the gaping maw of the plant.</p> - -<p>All at once, one of the Ganelons stepped out from the midst of the -trees.</p> - -<p>"Surrender!" he yelled. "Surrender, and we'll call off the plants."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He had to repeat his offer a dozen times before he could catch the -attention of the frantic serfs. Then one of the rebels threw his -projector to the ground, raised his hands. Another and another followed -suit. It was over.</p> - -<p>Joel felt dazed.</p> - -<p>Tamis touched his shoulder. "The Thinkers are expressing their thanks."</p> - -<p>Thorp said, "You're on the air. You're a celebrity," and grinned.</p> - -<p>But Joel didn't smile. "What about Eden?" he asked.</p> - -<p>Tamis said, "The Thinkers are calling the neighboring tribes. There -will be a big round-up of nigel trees...."</p> - -<p>Joel let his breath escape with relief. "Tamis," he said, "can the -Thinkers give me a guide to the palace? I've got to get back."</p> - -<p>"Is it Priscilla Cameron, Joel?"</p> - -<p>He looked at the Ganelon girl. She had tight hold of Nick Thorp's hand.</p> - -<p>"Yes," Joel, replied. "Lord knows what might have happened to her."</p> - -<p>"We'll guide you."</p> - -<p>"We're both with you," Thorp added.</p> - -<p>Joel felt suddenly grateful to the strangely assorted pair. He'd had -to come all the way to Asgard to rediscover the meaning of friendship. -Like love, he thought.</p> - -<p>Alpha Centauri B had set and Alpha Centauri A had not yet risen when -they arrived at the outskirts of Eden. The sky over the city was lurid -from the reflection of burning buildings. Whole blocks must be afire.</p> - -<p>"There's Proxima Centauri," Tamis said, pointing to a drop of blood -gleaming in the night sky. "The little yellowish star above it is Sol."</p> - -<p>Joel stared at it with a lump in his throat. It looked very cold and -far away. He hunched his shoulders, started down the street towards the -twinkling lights of Palace Hill.</p> - -<p>The city itself was dark, lit only by ruddy flames. Gangs of looters -prowled the streets carrying torches. They paid no attention to Joel -and Thorp and the elfin Ganelon girl.</p> - -<p>At the entrance to the tunnel beneath the palace, Joel halted. "Tamis, -it isn't safe for you to come any farther. You either, Nick."</p> - -<p>But Tamis said, "I'll step out of sight," and did so. Thorp growled, -"You'll need me. Maybe Priscilla's alive."</p> - -<p>Joel said, "Maybe," and touched the switch. A section of the wall slid -aside revealing the black tunnel mouth.</p> - -<p>Thorp whistled softly.</p> - -<p>"The walls of the palace are hollow," Joel explained. He closed the -door behind them.</p> - -<p>At the first floor, he stopped the lift, crept out to one of the -mirrors. An immense hall met his eyes. It overflowed with guards armed -with ray projectors. The mutter of their voices was a low rumble in -Joel's ears.</p> - -<p>"But can't they see us?" Thorp hissed.</p> - -<p>"No." Joel explained the mirrors.</p> - -<p>"Priscilla's not there," Thorp said. "How are you going to find her?"</p> - -<p>"I'll find her," said Joel grimly and for the next hour he prowled -through the walls of the first floor like some ancestral ghost. Serfs -and police were everywhere. In some of the rooms indescribable orgies -were taking place.</p> - -<p>"It'll take a year to search this maze," Thorp growled.</p> - -<p>Joel stopped, wiped the sweat out of his eyes. Glancing through the -customary mirror, he saw a narrow passage down which a man was walking.</p> - -<p>"Hold it!" he said. He waited until the serf was passing the mirror, -touched the switch. The panel slid aside. The serf jerked his head -around. Joel hit him in the temple with his clubbed fist.</p> - -<p>The rebel smashed into the wall across the corridor. Before he could -fall, Joel grabbed him by the collar, hauled him into the passage. The -panel clicked shut.</p> - -<p>"Jupiter!" Thorp breathed. "Did you kill him?"</p> - -<p>"No. He's just stunned." Joel slapped the man's face, shook him.</p> - -<p>The rebel opened his eyes, stared at Joel groggily. Then he let out a -yell, tried to heave himself to his feet.</p> - -<p>Joel shoved him back to the floor. "Yell your head off. Nobody can hear -you."</p> - -<p>The man stopped yelling. "What's the idea?" he demanded.</p> - -<p>"Who's in charge here?"</p> - -<p>"The Emperor."</p> - -<p>"The Emperor?" Joel felt a tingle of excitement. "Who's he?"</p> - -<p>"He's the Emperor. That's all I know. I never saw him before today."</p> - -<p>Joel shook his fist under the fellow's nose.</p> - -<p>"So help me!" the man said in a scared voice, "that's all I know!"</p> - -<p>"Where is this Emperor?"</p> - -<p>"He's in his rooms on the top floor."</p> - -<p>"What have they done with the governor and his daughter, the chief of -police?"</p> - -<p>"Don't hit me. I don't know. It's the gospel truth."</p> - -<p>Joel said savagely, "Tie him up."</p> - -<p>Thorp tore up the serf's tunic, bound his wrists and ankles, tied them -together so that he arched backward like a bow.</p> - -<p>"Don't forget me," the serf pleaded. "I'll rot here in the walls."</p> - -<p>But Joel was gone.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Subdued indirect lighting illuminated the top floor. Joel paused behind -a mirror with Thorp at his elbow. He glanced into Governor Cameron's -suite. The rooms were gutted, empty.</p> - -<p>He said, "There's only one other apartment up here. That's Priscilla's. -He must be there."</p> - -<p>"Emperor!" Disgust was heavy in Thorp's voice. "What does he think this -is, the pre-Atomic age?"</p> - -<p>Joel didn't reply. He was conscious of Tamis' alien scent as he -threaded his way between the walls. He could see guards lounging before -Priscilla's door.</p> - -<p>"That's where he is!" he said savagely. He was trembling, he realized. -He drew his paralyzer.</p> - -<p>But when he reached the salon, it was empty. He ran through the passage -to Priscilla's bedroom, halted, icy fingers squeezing his heart.</p> - -<p>Through the one-way mirrors, he could see Priscilla sitting in a -relaxer. There was a frightened, defiant expression on her face. And -she was staring up at Fredrik Roos.</p> - -<p>The lean saturnine chief of the Asgardian police was bending over the -green haired girl, saying furiously, "After what I've done, do you -think I'd hesitate to kill you?"</p> - -<p>Priscilla shivered.</p> - -<p>Behind Joel, Thorp said, "The Emperor, Fredrik I of Asgard. He's going -to have the shortest reign in history!"</p> - -<p>"Shut up!" said Joel. "He's talking."</p> - -<p>Roos said, "I don't need the mutants; they need me! Look what happened -to Eden. Nelsville and Nuvenice will fall the same way. But you can -save thousands of lives if you persuade them to cooperate."</p> - -<p>Joel said, "I'm going to take him," and touched the switch.</p> - -<p>The panel made a faint squeak as it slid back. Joel leveled the -paralyzer, touched the stud.</p> - -<p>Roos jerked around, his eyes widening. Then he leaped aside -spasmodically. The yellow flame splashed harmlessly against the -opposite wall.</p> - -<p>Before Joel could catch the police chief in his sights again, the room -was plunged into darkness. Priscilla screamed.</p> - -<p>"Stay back, Thorp!" Joel yelled. "He can see in the dark!"</p> - -<p>Something snatched his paralyzer. He struck out blindly, felt his fist -crunch against flesh and bone. The paralyzer clattered on the floor.</p> - -<p>Joel's eyes were adjusting. He could make out a dim gray silhouette -dancing in front of him. He struck at it. The shadow bobbed. Joel's -fist whistled through air.</p> - -<p>He struck again and missed. Then a barrage of fists exploded in his -face. He was driven back against the wall.</p> - -<p>He could see the elusive Roos more clearly, a weaving, bobbing -silhouette. He swung and missed, swung and missed.</p> - -<p>Roos hit him in the mouth, in the solar plexus.</p> - -<p>Joel sagged gasping to his knees. Roos kicked him viciously in the -kidneys. It was like the searing thrust of a knife.</p> - -<p>He thought, I'm being licked. Once he'd seen a Histrofilm of a -prizefight. That was why he couldn't hit the police chief. Roos was a -skilled boxer.</p> - -<p>He pulled himself groggily to his feet, lunged for him. He could see -him quite clearly now but in varying shades of gray like a black and -white photograph.</p> - -<p>Roos danced aside, clipped him behind the ear. He was grinning. "Ox!" -he said.</p> - -<p>Joel felt like a bear attacked by a slashing pack of wolves. He shook -his head, shuffled after Roos cautiously. He took three hard punches in -the face without faltering, kept closing in.</p> - -<p>Roos backed up. Joel crowded him in the corner, letting the police -chief hit him with everything he had.</p> - -<p>At the last moment Roos guessed Joel's purpose. He tried to duck and -slide clear.</p> - -<p>Joel grabbed him by the collar and belt. With a grunt, he heaved him -over his head.</p> - -<p>The police chief kicked, squirmed frantically. The muscles in Joel's -shoulders cracked. But he held him aloft, began to walk deliberately -toward the crystal doors leading to the terrace.</p> - -<p>Roos cursed, wrenched, flailing wildly with arms and legs. Joel kicked -the doors aside.</p> - -<p>Alpha Centauri A was flooding the terrace with a clear dawn light.</p> - -<p>Roos began to beg for his life.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus4.jpg" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p><i>The pseudo-Emperor cursed, struggled, begged for his life.</i></p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Joel's face was a grimace of triumph. He reached the parapet, heaved -the pseudo-Emperor over the edge.</p> - -<p>A single piercing scream came up to him.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Joel didn't look down. He gripped the railing, staring out over the -gutted city. He heard a step behind him, felt Priscilla cover his hand -with hers.</p> - -<p>"I knew you'd come. But Joel, we mustn't waste time!" Her voice was -tremulous. "Please hurry before the alarm is given!"</p> - -<p>"No," he said. "We'll wait here."</p> - -<p>"Joel! Roos' death won't stop the revolt. There'll be a dozen men to -take his place. Maybe the Ganelons will take us in!"</p> - -<p>"Look," he said simply, and pointed out over the parapet.</p> - -<p>In perplexity the girl glanced down on the city spread out below. Then -she gave a little scream, clapped her hand over her mouth.</p> - -<p>Slowly, inexorably, the encircling jungle was enveloping the city! -Already the outlying districts were submerged beneath a wave of -thrashing greenery.</p> - -<p>Joel saw a band of ant-like men trying to stem the advance of the nigel -trees with ray projectors. Then they broke and ran.</p> - -<p>Someone began to pound on the door to Priscilla's suite and shout for -the Emperor. Then he went away.</p> - -<p>Thorp called, "What is it, Joel?"</p> - -<p>"The plants! They're attacking!"</p> - -<p>With a shout, the ex-spaceman rushed to the parapet, dragging Tamis -with him.</p> - -<p>The Ganelon girl's ivory cheeks were flushed and she held tight to -Thorp's hand as she leaned over the parapet.</p> - -<p>Priscilla's green eyes widened. "The Ganelons! They've set the nigel -trees onto the rebels."</p> - -<p>Joel nodded.</p> - -<p>"Oh, Joel! Then you did get through to the Thinkers!" She threw her -arms around his neck. Suddenly she drew back. "But are we safe here?"</p> - -<p>Tamis said, "My people are directing the trees. We're safe. So are your -father and the other captives."</p> - -<p>Priscilla let herself go limp in Joel's arms, nestled her head on his -shoulder.</p> - -<p>Beneath them the sea of vegetation flooded down the streets, swarmed -over the buildings.</p> - -<p>"The new Eden," said Joel. He glanced down into Priscilla's upturned -face. What he saw there set his pulse racing. He had come a long way, -he realized, from the dissatisfied specialist in animal husbandry.</p> - -<p>He had come a long way, but it was only the beginning.</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CITADEL OF THE GREEN DEATH ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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. 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