diff options
| author | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-01-23 07:12:41 -0800 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-01-23 07:12:41 -0800 |
| commit | 402d4801033258c82294744b6bf380d8ff651f1d (patch) | |
| tree | 2312ef8e5ce1d96d775487dd9421960a08968e0e | |
| parent | 56670dccbd9b433e94e4092c2cbec2aaca3845b5 (diff) | |
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 4 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/64774-0.txt | 2427 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/64774-0.zip | bin | 46284 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/64774-h.zip | bin | 816736 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/64774-h/64774-h.htm | 2630 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/64774-h/images/cover.jpg | bin | 256452 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/64774-h/images/illus.jpg | bin | 208639 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/64774-h/images/illusc.jpg | bin | 304300 -> 0 bytes |
10 files changed, 17 insertions, 5057 deletions
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..cffc18d --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #64774 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64774) diff --git a/old/64774-0.txt b/old/64774-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 5cb5cf1..0000000 --- a/old/64774-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2427 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Warrior Maid of Mars, by Alfred Coppel - -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: Warrior Maid of Mars - -Author: Alfred Coppel - -Release Date: March 10, 2021 [eBook #64774] - -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 WARRIOR MAID OF MARS *** - - - - - WARRIOR-MAID of MARS - - By ALFRED COPPEL - - The Terran Barbarians have landed! Already they - plunder a dying, helpless planet! And a whisper - rustles through the cold, thin air, across - the rust-red sands: "Give us a leader--and we - will fight! Give us back our ancient glory!" - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Planet Stories Summer 1950. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -The small room was dark but for the flickering light of a single -ef-lamp that burned on the bare table between the two long rows -of black-hooded figures. The thin dry air was surcharged with the -tenseness of a tautly drawn cord ... a strangler's cord. A sentence of -death had been passed in silence. Now, the executioners balloted, still -in silence, to select from their number a leader. - -The High Council of the Maldia was in session. Behind the dark, -enigmatic sable masks and robes lurked all the might and hate of a -proud, ancient and dying culture. The might of a warlike world's -aristocracy. The hate that was the unreasoning, distilled essence of a -doomed world's bitterness.... - -Beneath the black cowl that shadowed his face young Telis of Lars' eyes -showed fierce pride as member after member pointed silently toward his -end of the table. It seemed that the vote would be overwhelmingly in -his favor, and a tremor of anticipation ran through him. At the far -end of the board he could see his rival candidate's eyes glittering -furiously. The Maldia would not be led by Brand, that much was certain. -The assembled nobles were quite plainly repudiating his leadership for -that of the young Lord of Lars. - -Outside the tower room, the icy wind shrieked and gamboled through the -crenels of the ancient fortress like a harbinger of doom. The draughts -set the candle flame to dancing crazily, and long shadows leapt from -wall to wall. - -Telis stretched his long legs out under the table. To him, the voting -seemed unnecessarily prolonged and ritualistic, but he knew better than -to voice opposition to customs that had been accepted in the Maldia -since long before the Laurrs, the dictator-kings who took the name of -the very planet for themselves, had driven the society underground. - -The young warrior was forced to admit that ritual and trappings were an -important part of the superstitious hold the Maldia had on the great -masses of Laurr. And, with the populace cowed, anything was possible. -Even the Laurr himself would not care to face the unanimous disapproval -of this masked hierarchy. Too many Laurrs, down through the aeons of -the planet's history, had fallen before the blades of Maldia assassins. - -Telis watched the glittering eyes that peered out from behind the -peaked mask that hid Prince Brand's handsome face. The mart knew he was -defeated, and rage seemed to surround him like a malign auriole. Brand -would never be satisfied with the deputy command that would be his for -having been second in the balloting. The man wanted full authority, -not command of troops in the field as Telis had had. Brand was far -too concerned with his own safety for that; he wanted command of the -striking force of assassins that would murder the handful of invaders -out in the desert. The victory over a few scientists from another world -would give Brand the renown he craved and at negligible risk, for all -his dark talk about mystery weapons and his pleas for caution. - -The only need for caution that Telis could see was the possible -intervention of the Temple or the Laurr. And the Temple knew nothing. -And the Laurr could be handled ... by Telis. - -Telis looked around him, wishing the masked nobles would have done with -it. It would not be a safe thing to have the Temple learn that the -Maldia met in Telis' own palace quarters. He noted with satisfaction -that the voting had ended. - -The shrieking wind outside died suddenly, leaving a thick silence. - -A black figure arose from either side of the table. The one on the -right turned toward Telis, and its voice had a strange and disembodied -timbre in the stillness. - -"Telis of Lars," it said, "you lead." - -Telis inclined his head in acceptance. Taciturnity was part of the -ancient tradition of the Maldia. - -The figure on the left turned toward Brand. "Brand, Prince of Laurr, -you follow." - -Brand heaved himself to his feet. "I protest this insult!" he said -thickly. "Why am I to follow him? He is not even of royal birth!" - -The robed figure on the left seemed to tense. Its voice sounded -suddenly almost metallic. "You follow," it repeated deliberately. - -Brand stood irresolutely, two solid rows of shadowed faces turned -toward him. Then Telis spoke up softly, almost casually. - -"A challenge, Brand, to decide?" - -"I follow," muttered Brand, sinking into his chair sullenly. - -Telis smiled to himself. If ever a coward like Brand should pick up a -flung challenge, surely the Water Goddess would throw down the moons! - -Slowly, the hooded men filed from the room, leaving Telis alone. For a -moment Brand paused by the door, and Telis could see that he fingered -his sword hilt under the sable robes. But he stood so, glaring at -Telis, for only a minute. Then he was gone. - -From the darkness of the courtyard beneath the tower window came the -sound of a whistle, and Lord Telis relaxed. The bribed guardsman's -signal indicated that the last member of the Maldia had mounted his -sith and was safely away. - - * * * * * - -Telis felt a stirring of pride. Any victory was a pleasing thing to -him; but tonight's smashing triumph over Brand was a thing the renegade -princeling would long remember! The Maldia had chosen to forget that -he, Telis, came only from the lower nobility. - -His position as Captain-General of the Laurr's armies, as well as the -real affection the ruler had for him, had been a large factor in the -selection, Telis knew. The Maldia was certain that the old Laurr was -fond enough of his young Captain-General to overlook the breach of -faith contemplated for the morning.... - -Telis doffed his robes and dressed himself with care. Always fastidious -about his appearance, he knew that this night his dress must be -impeccable. The Laurr of Laurr was very particular about such things. - -With a last hitch at his jewelled harness, Telis stationed himself -before the polished onyx mirror. The image that gazed calmly back at -him from its dark surface was sufficiently imposing, he reflected, even -for the Laurr of Laurr. He was tall and well-knit; the war harness, -bright with gems, hung low on his hips; his long legs were bare, and -his chest covered only by the crossed straps that supported his weapons. - -The black sith-leather was studded with battle-decorations. It would be -well, Telis reasoned, to remind the Laurr of his many services to the -throne. Tacitly, perhaps, but nonetheless firmly. - -All the gems won in the Guski campaigns and in the last Water War -were there, as was the golden cross of the Laurr's own Knighthood ... -presented to Telis by the hand whose blessing he planned to seek this -very night. - -Glancing at his chronometer, Telis turned away from the mirror. Through -the high, narrow window of his palace quarters, the light of the -nearer moon streamed in golden glory, shaming the feeble light of the -ef-lamp. Telis stepped to the window, his gaze seeking the low hills -beyond the still, shallow waters of the Grand Canal. The beauty of the -night caught at his breast, for, even as he watched, the great orb of -the farther moon was rising sedately to add its light to the already -fulsome glory of her racing sister. - -Below and across the palace grounds, the flickering lights of the city -spread like a web of living beads in the moonlight. - -As always, Telis felt a rush of pride as he contemplated the beauty -of his world. A great sadness filled him then, for he knew that such -beauty could not last much longer. Soon now, the sun would rise on a -planet of death.... - -Telis shuddered and turned away. The beauty of the night faded, leaving -only reality. And reality was stark and deadly on Laurr. The water was -vanishing, and the great plains that had once been green and fertile -were now oxidized wastelands. Lars, far to the north, was deserted now, -for the canal had silted up and life had become unbearable. And now -the great deserts of iron oxide stood at the very shores of the Grand -Canal, and what did flow down from the pole was barely enough to keep -the watercourse free of red silt. - -Aeons ago, before the great Wars that had almost wrecked the planet, -the ancients had seen the drought coming. They had known that the air -and the water would steadily unite with Laurr's thirsty iron, leaving -the planet barren and desiccated beyond belief. - -They had tried to plan for that day and had built the great waterways -as part of their conservation program. Other projects had been started; -mysterious power plants far out in the deserts with walls of foot-thick -pund had been built. But somehow, nothing good had come from these -mysterious Temples. The first of the Ten Great Water Wars had begun -even then, and the warring people of the planet had demanded weapons -from these strange plants. - -For many generations the engineer-priests had refused the pleas and -demands, but, as the steadily diminishing water supplies had caused war -after war after war, they relented. - -From the pund-lined Temples had come a steady flow of ghastly weapons. -Weapons that left Laurr's cities shattered piles of rubbish to be -covered by the drifting sands. Weapons that had destroyed forever the -once flourishing culture that might have saved the world from its -inexorable doom. - -The secrets of the past were forgotten ... or covered with legendary -dross. But the wars went on and on and on. - -Telis knew, staring out across the rusty sands, that Laurr was doomed -to a quick death. It would not come in his lifetime ... but soon ... -soon.... - -And then the Tellurians had come! To gloat and exploit. To steal the -iron of the deserts and drain away the last of the planet's resources -to their wantonly wealthy world! Even the Laurr of Laurr had given them -safe-conduct ... on the basis that their expedition proved some of the -Temple's favored dogma concerning the origin of the race! - -Weakness! thought Telis savagely. It fills us as life slips away from -our planet. But it would not be so! The ancient, dreaded Maldia would -see to that! If Laurr must die, then at least she could die upright and -untrammeled by ghoulish invaders! - -In sudden fury, Telis snatched up his cloak and strode from the room. -The jewelled glyph of the Water Goddess, Mother of Laurr, gleamed -fiercely for a moment on the hilt of his short-sword in the feeble -light as Telis sought the long winding ramp that led to the lower -levels and the audience chamber of the Laurr of Laurr. - -Along endless corridors, ef-lit and lined with rigid guardsmen, Lord -Telis of Lars made his way. Underfoot, the ever-present drift of -reddish sand gritted as he walked. - -Turning into the main passageway that led to the inner courtyard, -Telis heard the sound of his name ... softly spoken, but demanding. -Stopping, he looked about him. A dark-robed figure beckoned to him from -the shadow of a huge stone buttress. It was Gorla, First Cycle Priest -of the Temple, and Telis' long standing friend at court. His eyes were -sombre in his round, good-humored face. - -"I have met you just in time. You are on your way to see the Laurr, -friend Telis?" - -Telis nodded. "Of course. I am already keeping him waiting. I'll see -you in the morning, friend Gorla." He made a move to slip by the young -Priest and be on his way. - -"A moment, Telis!" Gorla's voice was suddenly sharp. "You are about to -ask the Laurr to break his word to the outlanders, are you not?" - -Telis' eyes narrowed. "Perhaps ..." - - * * * * * - -Gorla laid a hand on his arm. "Telis, I have known you for many haads. -As children we played together on the fields of Lars. Believe me, I -wish nothing but the best for you. Why are you involved with this -bloodthirsty madness of the Maldia?" - -Telis withdrew his arm as though the Priest had stung him. Only the -strength of a life-long friendship kept him from striking Gorla, for -the Priest's words had hit a deep-seated prejudice. The Maldia was of -the nobility ... and Gorla was a Commoner. - -Gorla went on slowly, emphasizing his words carefully. "Dorliss knows -of your plan to break the Laurr's pledge and attack the Tellurian camp." - -Telis stiffened. How was it possible? He had told no one! - -The Priest divined his thoughts. "The Temple has ways, Telis, of -knowing such things. The Maldia can bribe a guard ... and the Temple -can bribe him again. You should have thought of that tonight." - -Telis drew himself back. "So?" - -"You are foolish, my friend. And it is the duty of the Temple to see -that Laurr does not suffer for your foolishness. The Maldia is a -fearful thing, Telis, a creation of senseless hate. Why do you hate -the Tellurians? You have never even seen one. They are but men like -ourselves, and they bring gifts of great promise to Laurr. It is not -fit that such as you should be joined with a renegade like Prince -Brand ... a craven and a lying usurper ... and for the purpose of -attacking those who have come across to seek knowledge and friendship!" - -Telis pondered. What Gorla said about Brand was largely true. The -man was untrustworthy and underhanded, a blind seeker of power. But -prejudices of caste and upbringing were too much to combat. And to -renege now would be to mark himself a coward in a world that lived by -the sword. It was unthinkable! - -"You, Gorla," Telis said pointedly, "should limit yourself to -scientific and theological matters and leave matters of state and -policy to those better equipped to handle them." - -Gorla shook his head sadly. "Foolish friend!" Then his voice took on -the unmistakable tone of command. "In the name of, and by the authority -of the Temple, I demand that you abandon your projected attack on the -Tellurian camp." - -Telis threw back his head and laughed. "Demand, is it? I know of no -plan to attack the foreigners, friend Priest, now or in the future! Now -kindly step aside. I cannot make the Laurr of Laurr wait on me while I -argue senseless points with you...." - -Gorla sounded defeated. "Then you refuse?" - -Telis frowned at his friend. "Of course, I refuse! And you may carry -that message back to Dorliss ... if there _is_ such a place!" - -With that he turned away, but not before Gorla laid his hand on Telis' -arm and said: "Then forgive me, old friend...." - -Telis wondered at that. Forgive? Forgive what? Then other matters -forced that question from his mind. So the Temple knew of the Maldia's -plan to massacre the aliens. To what extent, he wondered, would the -Temple go in striving for its own inscrutable purpose to save the -Tellurian scientists? And why? In spite of himself, Telis could not -suppress a shudder, for the Temple was powerful ... perhaps the most -powerful thing remaining on the desiccated planet of Laurr. - -The ancient order of the Temple Priests dated to far before the Ten -Water Wars that had so devastated the globe with their atomic fury. Its -beginnings were lost in the dim mists of antiquity, even antedating -the building of the waterways. The membership was perhaps the one body -selected for any purpose on Laurr without consideration of family or -background, and this fact accounted for the fierce loyalty of such able -young Commoners as Gorla. - -The long wars and the struggle for survival had destroyed much of the -ancient science, and what remained lay within the jurisdiction of the -Temple. As it so often happens in times of great stress, science on -the world of Laurr had taken on the vestments of religion in order to -survive. A benevolent, scientific hierarchy, the Priests of the Seven -Cycles spent their cloistered hours delving into the great knowledge -of the ancients, seeking the answers to riddles solved long ago and -forgotten in the fratricidal wars that were the direct result of the -dwindling water supply. Ostensibly, the Temple conducted the world-wide -worship of the Water Goddess, principal deity in the Laurrian Pantheon, -but actually the Priests were scientists striving frantically to -salvage what little they could from the wreckage of the ancient -civilization on a doomed and quarrelsome planet. - - * * * * * - -All this Telis of Lars knew only vaguely. He was a soldier, and little -concerned with the ins and outs of the scientific theocracy of the -Temple. His life up to now had been spent largely in wars and tourneys, -in love-making and the less exacting pastimes of the hedonist. Only -the coming of the Tellurians had stirred him to take a more direct -part in the doings of the court circles, for above all he loved Laurr, -and in the outlanders Telis saw the final, insupportable insult to his -beloved, prostrate home-world. - -The government of the Laurr of Laurr and the Temple seldom clashed. -Each remained within its proper sphere, and both were content. But -into this peculiar age-old arrangement the Tellurian spaceship had -fallen like a disrupting bolt from the sky. And men--men like the -men of Laurr--had emerged from the vessel ... seeming to prove the -Temple's much-doubted hypothesis that both Laurr and the planet the -aliens called Terra had been colonized by a great race of interstellar -travelers. How much more could be proved or done with the Tellurians' -aid remained to be seen. The Temple was already calling them the -Redeemers of Laurr, and through its good offices a safe-conduct had -been granted by the Laurr of Laurr himself. - -They had come seeking iron. They wanted to mine and later, perhaps, to -colonize, though Laurr was uncomfortable for them. But this the Maldia -found unthinkable. The Tellurians were barbarians, and the ancient -nobles of Laurr raged at their intrusion. - -Telis found himself among these objectors. For many haads, Laurr had -known of its approaching doom and it wished to die, Telis thought, -as it had lived--proud and unconquered. The Tellurians were outsiders -who had no place on the barren face of his Laurr ... and it was Telis' -intention to drive them away or destroy them. For this he had been -chosen leader of the attack that the Maldia planned to mount in the -morning. - -Already agents had been sent out to agitate among the degenerate tribes -of the desert--the cannibal Guski--and the Maldia was assured of at -least four thousand tribesmen in arms in return for food and plunder. -The power of the Maldia, five hundred sith-mounted nobles, added to -the mass of Guski seemed more than enough to handle a small scientific -expedition from space. - -Now, as he left the guest wing of the palace and strode across the dark -courtyard that separated him from the household quarters of the ruler's -family, Telis smiled to himself. The intruding Tellurians were due for -a shock. Their safe-conduct would be voided within the hour and Laurr -would be free of them before the sun set again! - -He was almost across the yard and into the gate of the household -wing when something made him pause. He had the feeling of being -watched ... followed. His sharp eyes swept the whole of the courtyard. -It was walled and heavily planted with desert shrubs so that his -inspection told him nothing. He shrugged and turned again toward the -gate. - -One step he took, and no more. From overhead came the low whirring of -an air-sled's idling motor. He stopped short, searching the sky for the -craft. A sled in the air low over the Laurr's palace at this time of -night could mean nothing good. - -The sharp clank of metal behind him made him swing around, his sword -hissing from its scabbard. Three hooded figures were almost upon -him, naked steel in their hands. Telis thought wildly of calling for -aid, and then he realized that these men would never dare to attack -him if they had not either bribed or killed the household guards. -Instinctively, he thought of Brand. Was this the renegade's doing? By -killing him and spiriting his body away, Brand could contend before -the Maldia that Telis had lost courage at the last moment and fled -rather than lead them in an overt act against the Tellurians.... - -There was no more time for thought, for the three men were upon him. He -slipped his second sword free and stood facing them, searching for some -hint as to their identity. Overhead the air-sled hovered, waiting.... - -With a cry, Telis lunged forward and caught one of the attackers on his -point. The man doubled up and fell to his knees as his two companions -closed in. The courtyard now echoed the ring of steel on steel, and the -labored breathing of men fighting. - -Telis fought fiercely. He was fighting for his life--and for what was -even more important on Laurr--his honor as a warrior. - -His blade wove a deadly, glittering web in the darkness, but his two -assailants closed in steadily. The whirring sound of the air-sled was -nearer now, and Telis glanced upward to see if he could catch a glimpse -of the aircraft. His heart sank. - -The ship was a dark blot across the stars, but he could see that a rope -ladder hung down into the court and more men were pouring down, swords -in hand. - -Desperately, Telis pressed forward, trying to rush the attackers and -gain a brief respite. One of the men feinted in the low lines and -followed with a thrust at the head that caught Telis a glancing blow on -the temple and set the stars to dancing before his eyes. - -The fellow rushed in eagerly and Telis heard his companion hiss: -"Careful, you fool!" - -Telis' attack stalled under the concerted rush of the masked man, and -he was forced to retreat until his bare back touched the roughness of -the courtyard wall. There could be no further retreat. - -The assailants separated now, so that Telis was forced to strike wildly -from side to side to avert being hit. His sword made a glittering -arc as he parried a near thrust and a lightning riposte pierced the -swordarm of his nearest attacker. - -Before the others who had dropped from the sled could close in on him, -Telis whirled and ran along the base of the wall. If he could reach the -gate of the household wing he would be safe, for no assassins would -dare follow him into the inner sanctum of the Laurr himself. - -He heard a voice shouting hoarsely in the darkness, and other voices -replying angrily, impatiently. - -"We've lost him!" - -"The devil's wounded Marl and Varo!" - -"Find him, you fools! He must be taken." - -Telis ran breathlessly along the wall, hoping against hope that the -gate would not be covered. It was a vain hope. As he broke out of the -shrubbery, the shouts began again and he was forced to retreat into the -shelter of a towering desert plant. - -He waited there, breath coming in long rasping gasps, and his head -singing from the blow he had taken. - -With pounding heart he listened to the attackers beating the bushes -for him and shouting commands and advice to one another. More men must -still be coming down from the air-sled, for there were fully ten in the -dark courtyard now. - -"He can't have gotten far!" - -"See that the gate is covered--" - -"How the young devil does fight!" - -"Pierce that bush there! I saw something move!" - -Telis tried to smother his labored breathing as the group drew nearer -to his hiding place. His hands cradled his two swords lovingly as the -searchers spread out into a semicircle and moved steadily towards him. - -Telis tensed himself to leap. Within seconds, they would be upon him -and assassins on Laurr showed no mercy, particularly to one who had -wounded two of their craft. He doubled his legs under him and waited. - -"There he is!" - -Telis burst from hiding and braced himself for the rush. His back was -once again against the wall and this time, he knew, there would be no -escape. - -A glittering circle of naked swords surrounded him and he lashed out -furiously, driving the attackers back by the main force of his charge. - -Then it was that a stray beam of light from the closely guarded gate -caught a jewelled glyph on the harness of one of the assassins and -Telis' heart froze. The insigne was the Sword and Atom--the ensign of -the Secular Guard of the Holy Temple! - -The disclosure was like a blow. It was Gorla rather than Brand, who -was trying to kill him! The bitter understanding seemed to sap his -strength. When he felt the stun-gun's tingling impact, it was almost a -relief. Blackness came ... darker than the primeval night, and he felt -himself falling.... - - - II - -There was wind on his face, and the air was bitterly cold. Telis -stirred. His harness covered him only slightly, and his bare limbs and -naked chest stung under the lash of the icy night air. From somewhere, -muffled by the roaring of the wind, Telis could hear the familiar -beat of a multiple-pulse jet engine. Under his questing hands lay the -caulked deck of an air-sled, and he realized that the aircraft was -under way and that he was lashed to rings in the afterdeck. - -With a shuddering sigh, he forced himself to relax. Since his abductors -so obviously had the better of him at the moment, there was little he -could do other than watch and wait. - -For what seemed to be several hours, he lay quiet and watched the -endless procession of the stars overhead. Finally, as the last effects -of the stun-gun's bolt wore off, he lifted his head to get a look at -his captors. - -In the greenish glow of phosphorescent light that emanated from the -instruments on the sled's panel, he could see two figures seated at the -controls. The dim light gleamed for a moment on an insigne--the Sword -and Atom. He had not been mistaken back there in the courtyard. He was -in the hands of the Temple. - -The nearer man glanced in his direction and, seeing that he had -awakened, leaned forward to speak. There was no surprise in Telis as he -recognized him. Only a hot anger. For the man was his friend Gorla. - -"Telis! Are you all right?" Gorla had to shout to make himself heard -over the rush of the wind. - -Telis felt his anger increase. Here was Gorla, who had had him -attacked, stunned, and finally kidnapped. And now, it seemed, he was -concerned over the state of his health and general condition! It did -not matter that Brand would within hours be convincing the gentlemen -of the Maldia that Telis of Lars was a faint-hearted coward who -disappeared in the eleventh hour before the attack on the aliens' camp! -What mattered to Gorla was simply: "Telis, are you all right!" - -Getting nothing but a scowl from Telis, the young Priest sat back, a -half smile on his round, pleasant face. He could well imagine what -Telis' thoughts were about now. Hurt pride and mortified anger were -apparent in every line of the Lord of Lars' tense body. - -For hour after hour the air-sled sped along through the smooth night -air. The farther moon set and the madly racing nearer moon rose again -in the west and charged insanely across the backdrop of the eternal -stars. Telis could not see his chronometer, but he estimated that they -had been travelling almost all night at the highest speed the sled -could handle. The pulsing of the jet was a smooth, continuous purr. -They were heading in a westerly direction, and after a bit of mental -mathematics, Telis estimated that they must be very near the heart of -the Great Red Desert and a long, long way from the capital. - -As he struggled to keep from freezing, the young noble estimated -his chances for survival on this strange flight. He found them -dishearteningly slim. For some reason, the seemingly benevolent Temple -had intervened harshly and forcefully in the plan to destroy the -Tellurians. But it should have been apparent to the Priests that his -abduction would not stop the attack. There were plenty of men to take -his place. Brand, surely. Then why was he being held? - -Perhaps the Temple did not wish that he should gain the sanction of the -Laurr of Laurr for the Maldia's plan. But why abduction, then? Why not -merely hold him prisoner until the attack was begun? The events of the -night showed a great deal of careful planning and organization. Such -things took time. And again, why? Telis had a strong suspicion that in -some way the great fondness that the Laurr of Laurr had for him, and -the correspondingly large influence he wielded because of it had more -than a little to do with these strange and dangerous doings.... - -The motion of the air-sled as it slanted sharply downward interrupted -his reverie. They were nearing their destination, and whatever was in -store for him would not be long in materializing. - -Gorla arose from his seat at the panel and cautiously made his way -across the precariously canted deck. Reaching Telis' side, he knelt and -brought his lips close to the young warrior's ear. - -"We near our base, Telis, my friend," he shouted. "I beg of you to be -prudent and to contain yourself when you are interviewed. The Temple -elders are wise men and you will do well to listen and learn when they -speak with you...." - -Telis made an angry retort that the wind snatched from his lips and -whirled away into the night. - -"I know you are angry with me, Telis," the young Priest continued, "but -you have made all this necessary. Remember, it is for Laurr!" He laid -an arm across the prisoner's shoulders that Telis could not find the -heart even in his anger to shrug off. "And," the Priest was smiling -now, "you shall see Dorliss, Telis. Few laymen ever do...." - -Dorliss! Then there _was_ such a place! The legends told of it--a -fabled city hidden from the sight of men by some mysterious power, -where the Priests of the mighty Seventh Cycle cloistered themselves to -study the oldest of the ancient riddles. Dorliss! Even the name had a -magical sound! It was here that the Temple's finest minds were said to -struggle in their quest to reclaim Laurr's air and water from the sea -of rust that surrounded them.... - -Gorla squeezed the young lord's shoulder in an impulsive gesture of -friendship and returned to his place at the sled's panel. Telis stared -out into the night, his eyes trying to pierce the darkness. The idea -of actually seeing Dorliss still enchanted him and, even though he was -arriving trussed up like a fowl for the slaughter, the experience -promised to be a rich one. He recalled many arguments with Gorla -about the probable existence of the Temple City. He had contended -that invisibility was impossible, and Gorla in his young scientist's -enthusiasm had covered sheets and sheets of vellum with strange -mathematical symbols to prove that a light-shielding field could be -created. - -Telis smiled thinly. If Dorliss was near, and it seemed to be, then a -light shield must surely exist ... for he could see nothing but desert -below in the moonlight. - -The aircraft trembled slightly as the pilot flared out his long glide, -and with a breathtaking suddenness, the stars and the moon vanished, -leaving only a sable blackness around them. Down again, the sled -plunged, and after several moments, the glide flattened again. For a -minute it hovered, and then it dropped sharply, and there was a hissing -sound as the runners touched the ferric sand. They were down. - -A company of Temple Guardsmen bearing torches appeared out of the -darkness, and Telis was freed from the deck-rings. Respectfully, but -firmly, he was taken into custody and marched across the gritty soil of -the landing field toward a lighted gate in the distance. - -The light shield must have been impervious to moonlight, or perhaps -it was made transparent during the hours of daylight. Telis never -knew. But as they made their way toward the gate, the sun rose with -its usual, breathtaking suddenness. The thin air of Laurr precluded -any dawn or twilight and, when the sun burst over the horizon, the -transition from blackness to day was done with shocking speed. It was a -phenomenon that Telis had seen every morning of his six haads, but this -time the effect was different. For never before had Telis seen such a -city as marvelled Dorliss! - - * * * * * - -And, as though created in a trice out of the very stuff of darkness, -Dorliss sprang into being before his astounded eyes. The flood of -golden light from the sun touched the spires and minarets of an -enchanted city, casting shards of amber light into the deep canyons -between the slender towers. Unable to help himself, Telis paused to -wonder. His gaze found the great golden dome that housed the Mirror of -the Sky ... fabled place where legend said that a man might sit and see -the glories of the heavens reflected on a monster glass of polished -obsidian, figured by the cunning hands of artificers dead over eight -thousand haads! - -Telis had long been a scoffer ... but here was proof! And farther -off, basking in the warm morning light, there was the Fist of the -Goddess ... a great spire capped by a mammoth sphere. This was the -machine that the stories claimed could shatter even the smallest -particles of matter and suck out of them the pure force that was the -essence of their being, even as had the ancients long ago. It was from -a similar machine, the Temple Priests avowed, that the hellish missiles -of the first eight Water Wars had been fashioned ... the terrible -weapons that had left the once great cities of Laurr in molten, ghastly -heaps of slag, later to be covered over and obliterated by the steadily -rising tide of rust from the deserts. - -And here it all was before him! Here was Dorliss, City of the Temple! - -Stunned by beauty and overwhelmed by nearness to the might of the -ancients, Telis stumbled along toward the gate. For the moment, his -own plight was forgotten in the singing glory of seeing fabled Dorliss -and knowing that there was truth in the tales the Priests told to the -people who cried for life in a world slated for death. - -Surely, Telis thought, if Laurr can be saved from extinction, the -workers of such miracles as these could save it! - -The thought of Laurr brought him up sharply. It brought back a cold -awareness of his purpose ... of his will to escape and rejoin the -Maldia in its attack on the invading Tellurians. The attack that should -at this moment be under way! - -Whatever happened to him in this fairy city, Telis swore by the Goddess -herself that he would not allow himself to forget his duty. Surely, -such wonders as these were not meant to be shared with the barbarians -from across the void! - -The thought remained with him as he was escorted into the city, and -along wide thoroughfares heavily travelled with sith-drawn traffic. -Above, an occasional air-sled passed, but in the main the city's -travelling was done on foot or by means of the ubiquitous sith ... a -six-legged, docile, great-hearted beast that was the sole remaining -animal of its size left on Laurr. - -Telis was taken first to the anterooms of the Central Temple, where a -kindly-faced Third-Cycle Priest assigned him quarters. From there, he -was taken to the tall spire apparently reserved for sudden guests of -the Temple. - -In respectful silence, he was freed of his bonds and left alone in -a room such as he had never dreamed of occupying in his own border -fortress ... or even in the palace of the Laurr of Laurr himself. - -One curving wall was made entirely of glass, and it faced the city to -the west and the desert to the north, so that the whole magnificent -panorama stretched out before him like a framed picture. And the -furnishings! By the Goddess! He had not dreamed that the sombre -scientist-priests of the Temple did themselves so well! Suspecting -the presence of listening devices or peep-holes, he snooped. He found -nothing. A soft canopied bed waited invitingly, reminding him that -the only rest he had had had been the stupor induced by the stun-gun; -and a table laden with refreshments and wines stood in the center of -the deep-pile carpet. What a difference from the stone floors and the -draughty keeps to which he was accustomed! - -Recalling that he had not eaten for some time, he fell to on the laden -table. And then, as weariness stole over him, he laid himself fully -dressed on the wide bed to rest and await whatever came next. Telis -was a soldier and, like all soldiers everywhere, he ate first, rested -next, and was content to await developments in all the comfort that his -surroundings could afford him. - -For a prisoner, he thought with a wry smile, I am certainly being -treated royally. By the Goddess! How would I be treated if I were a -friend? - -At last the strain of the night's events took its toll on him, and the -young Lord of Lars slept as the Temple City of Dorliss awoke to its -many and varied tasks.... - - * * * * * - -The pointer on his chronometer stood at the twenty second hour and the -sun was low on the horizon when Telis was awakened by a liveried escort -at his bedside. - -With a respectful bow, the man indicated that Telis should follow him, -and the young lord trailed him through the door, satisfied that within -a very short time he would be before someone in authority here. His -mind was full of thoughts concerning the attack on the camp that by -this time the Maldia must surely have completed, unless.... - -Unless his disappearance had disrupted the carefully laid plans that -had taken the secret organization so long to complete. In that case, -agents would have to be sent out again among the Guski desert tribesmen -to instruct the chieftains concerning a later date to be used for the -attack, and a different leader would of course have to be picked. Telis -grimaced. It would be Brand, naturally. And all the high officers -of the Maldia would be convinced that Telis had defaulted, for they -had no inkling that the Temple was involved or that it even knew of -the projected attack. One way or another Telis of Lars would be the -scapegoat.... Prince Brand would see to that! - -Telis' guide led him out of the spire and into a sith-drawn car. The -great beast stepped smartly along, its six padded paws soundless on the -verdant moss of the thoroughfare. - -As they neared the center of the city, Telis saw that he was being -taken to the Central Temple, a graceful structure of alabaster -whiteness. The guide halted the sith before the Temple and Telis -alighted. An attendant came forward to take charge of the sith, and the -escort motioned Telis into the building. - -They passed the portal and entered into a fairyland within a fairyland, -for the inner rooms of the Central Temple were by far the most wondrous -in all Dorliss. There were panelled walls of purest quartz crystal, -faceted to reflect the light in enchanting beams of polychromatic -loveliness. And the mosaic floors depicted in silver and gold the -scenes of historical significance from the long life of the Temple. A -thousand other things there were that filled the young warrior with -awe ... for mere beauty per se had long ago passed the surface of -Laurr, and only here in the inmost sanctum of the Temple could such -things survive and be cherished. - -Another thing Telis noticed also. Though guards abounded _outside_ -the city, he had seen but a handful within the walls. He remembered -something Gorla had told him long ago: that science could not really -thrive against a militaristic background, and that was why so much of -the ancient lore was lost when the planet became nothing more than a -battleground. Plainly, the city of Dorliss was not ruled by force, -and--a break for freedom might not be the impossible achievement that -he had begun to imagine it. - -Now they were within a long hallway, bare but for the crystal -panelling. From somewhere came the whispering of plaintive music. -It tinted the air with a gentle nostalgia that found a strangely -responsive chord in Telis. He was told that the sound came from another -chamber where a Priest was engaged in research on sounds and their -effect on human emotions. It had been so long since music existed on -Laurr that even this knowledge had been forgotten.... - -The guide led Telis on and on, past the long hall and through many -portals that opened at last into a small circular room devoid of any -sort of ornamentation. In the center of this room, a man sat at a table -that rose in graceful lines out of the floor itself. He was old, old. - -Telis stared at the man. He wore the sable robes and the insigne of -the Seventh Cycle, the topmost rank of priest-scientists. Recognition -came, too. This man was not merely a Seventh Cycle Priest ... he was -actually the High Superior of the Temple. The old eyes and kindly face, -the long white beard and sable robe were the same as he remembered from -a hundred solideographs in a hundred provincial Temples. - -Telis would have thrown himself to his knees before the spiritual head -of all Laurr had he not suddenly remembered that he was a prisoner -here, abducted like any thieving Commoner. - -He looked stolidly around the room then, and for the first time he saw -the girl. - -A noble of Laurr had plenty of opportunity to become something of a -connoisseur in the matter of woman flesh, but the moment that Telis' -eyes found the girl's he knew that here was something special. - -Her hair was black and her skin fair, a combination seldom found on -this side of the planet where bronze skin and brown hair were almost -universal, but Telis had heard tales of such women from brother -officers who had carried the Laurr's battles of unification to the -southern hemisphere. The clothes this woman wore were strange ... a -blouse covered her where most Laurrian women went nude, and a short -skirt descended from a harness not unlike Telis' own. Her belt was -hung with various pouches and holsters. And over all, she affected a -transparent jumper of stuff like flexible glass that covered her from -neck to ankles like a chrysalis. Her eyes were deeply shadowed, and she -seemed either ill or terribly disheartened ... or both. - - * * * * * - -She stood in silence, a liveried escort at her side, to all intents -and purposes a prisoner like himself, for she wore no swords and to -be disarmed upon Laurr was to be a prisoner ... even the peace-loving -Temple Priests packed their full complement of weapons. - -There was an air about the girl that touched Telis deeply, a -deep-seated strength and quality, even through her obvious illness or -discomfort. He wondered at her crime. Heresy, perhaps? He had never -heard of the Temple arresting heretics ... the Water Goddess was more a -wishful personification than a demanding deity. But perhaps this girl -was something special in the matter of heretics as she obviously was in -the matter of beauty. - -But the explanation was not a satisfying one. There was something -more. Then it came to him like a swordthrust. Could the girl be ... a -Tellurian? Was it possible? - -The intoned words of his escort interrupted his thought. - -"Reverend High Superior, here is Lord Telis of Lars, Captain-General of -the Laurr of Laurr's Armies." - -The Superior inspected him kindly enough. "I have heard that two of our -guardsmen were injured in taking young Telis. How are they now?" - -"They suffered wounds, one critical," reported the escort. "Both will -live, Reverend Superior." - -The old man nodded. "It is well." Then he turned to Telis and he added: -"How well you fight for your prejudices, my son!" - -Telis remained stiffly erect and silent, his eyes hard on the unknown -girl. For the moment all he could do was watch and wait for an -opportunity to escape. - -"You will be interested to know, My Lord of Lars," said the High -Superior mildly, "that the scheduled attack on the Tellurian camp was -not launched this morning...." - -Telis relaxed slightly. Then there was still a chance to redeem himself -in the eyes of his fellow nobles. Perhaps soon. - -"... but you are no longer chieftain of that abominable organization, -the Maldia, for which you should give thanks to the Goddess! At the -moment your so-called friends are meeting to replace you with one -Prince Brand," the High Superior continued. "They have declared at his -instigation that you are a coward and a traitor. Those are the actions -of your fine friends. What do you think of them?" - -Telis felt a stirring of anger. "If what you say is true, Reverend -Superior, I have the Temple and you to thank for my disgrace." - -The High Superior looked reproachful. "Like the rest of your caste," he -sighed wearily, "you are blind. I suppose it will be an impossibility -to convince you that your Maldia is doing infinitely more harm than -good with its senseless code of slaughter and more slaughter. That is -all it will ever succeed in bringing to our suffering planet!" - -Telis held his peace. There was nothing he could say to refute the High -Superior that was not based on obedience to life-long prejudices, and -he somehow felt that those arguments would be wasted on such a man as -now sat before him. - -"Yet I must try," the old priest continued, "to teach you the -difference between rightful pride and sinful, destructive arrogance. -I must try to make you see that these Tellurians you profess to hate -so...." - -Here Telis' eyes sought the girl, but her expression told him nothing. -He looked back at the High Superior. - -"... that you profess to hate so are now Laurr's only chance for -survival." - -"Words," Telis said coldly. - -The old man nodded slowly. "But true words. Words that can bring life -instead of death. Better words than you will ever hear in that barbaric -Maldia!" His old eyes seemed to bore through Telis now, stripping him -bare of intellectual barriers and misunderstanding. "We could," the -priest mused, "turn you over to our psychologists and let them drive -the devils out of your mind...." He paused thoughtfully. "But no. That -would not be the same. You, yourself, must come to understand. You must -be allowed to learn of your mistaken ways without interference." - -Telis frowned. "Abduction, then, is not interference." - -"We regret the necessity. But the lack of time made it necessary. The -attack on the camp had to be delayed and the Maldia chose to act almost -too quickly," said the High Superior. "At least we have been able to -cause a delay of that wanton act." - -"Now or later," said Telis carelessly. "It will come." - -"And with it death to those who offer us redemption and life?" - -"Redemption?" asked Telis hotly, his eyes full on the girl. "Slavery!" - -The High Superior sank back in his chair wearily. "I should have -known," he muttered disgustedly. "Well, so be it, then. You will -remain here in Dorliss until we are able to evolve some scheme for the -protection of our friends. In time even you will see that we act for -the best good of Laurr. - -"These other-worldlings have narrowly averted on their own world the -catastrophe of atomic war that wrecked ours. Hence, they are no longer -a warrior race. They have devoted themselves to science in ways that -we never knew even in the golden haads. Their technics can be our -salvation, if we are only intelligent enough to accept their offered -hand of friendship!" - -Telis was listening with only half an ear now. A plan was forming in -his mind. A plan of escape. - -"... remember that the races of both Terra and Laurr are sprung from -the loins of a single great transgalactic people," the High Superior -was saying, "and together they might one day rule the Solar System. -Think of it, Telis of Lars! Even the knowledge of interplanetary travel -will be ours if we join in brotherhood with Terra! All the might of our -Temple science could not achieve that in the short haads left to us ... -but the Tellurians offer it _now_! And the only payment they ask is -some of the deadly iron that eats away our atmosphere and drains us of -our precious water! - -"Think of these things, young sir, until next we speak." - -The old man sank back, exhausted by his speech and made a sign that -the audience was over. He knew somehow that he had failed ... and that -other measures were now in order. - - - III - -An hour before sunrise, Telis was awake and ready for action. He arose -and dressed himself, broke his fast on the remains of his late evening -meal, for he dared not guess how long it would be before he ate again. -He banged at the door of his apartment until an attendant appeared, -rubbing his eyes sleepily. - -Telis made a long face. "I--I must see Brother Gorla," he demanded, -"the Priest who brought me here. I--I feel the need of spiritual -guidance." - -The attendant, a Temple novice, showed benign pleasure at his words. - -"Could I not be of service, my son?" - -Telis shook his head. "The words of the High Superior have caused me to -reweigh the values of my long and sinful life. Brother Gorla has long -been my spiritual father and counsellor. I must see him." It was not -altogether a lie. The kindly old scientist's words had made him think -a bit, in spite of himself. The old man had seemed so sure. And Gorla -had long been his source of advice and even companionship for a good -five haads. - -The novice was disappointed, but understanding. He departed to waken -Brother Gorla. - -Three quarters of an hour of darkness remained when Gorla appeared at -the door. Telis met him, looking carefully up and down the hall to see -that they were alone. How careless these Temple people were with their -prisoners! - -"Telis, my friend! What is it? Brother Alto said that you needed -some...." Gorla began. - -Telis measured him carefully and swung. With all the power and -co-ordination of a soldier's superbly conditioned body behind it, -Telis' fist caught the Priest on the point of his jaw and knocked him -sprawling to the thick carpet. Quickly dropping to his knees, Telis -relieved the fallen man of his two swords and stun-gun. He strapped -them to his own harness and looked about for a means of reviving the -Priest. Taking the wine bottle from the table, he splashed some of the -dark fluid into Gorla's face. For a moment, Telis had the feeling that -it had all been too easy. But he drove the misgivings from his mind and -concentrated on the next steps in his break for freedom. - -The young Priest sat up fingering his jaw gingerly. There was a -reproachful look in his eyes. - -"Telis, you can't escape if that's what you intended by striking me. -Give me back my weapons." - -Telis smiled savagely. "Oh, no, my good and faithful friend. Now get -up. Up I say, or I'll spit you where you lie!" - -Gorla gave him a rueful smile. "By the Goddess, I believe you'd do it, -too." - -"There is a girl here," Telis snapped. "What do you know about her?" If -the girl actually were a Tellurian, she would be an invaluable hostage. - -"Girl?" Gorla looked puzzled. - -"Quickly!" - -"It's true that there is a girl here, but--" - -"Who is she? Why was she brought here?" demanded Telis. - -"She was found by one of our patrol sleds ... lost in the desert and -near dead. They picked her up and brought her here. Since then she has -remained ... voluntarily." - -Telis gave a short, hard laugh. "You can do better than that, Gorla!" - -The Priest shrugged. "Then why ask me if you don't intend to believe -the truth?" - -"I'll hear it from her. We are leaving, friend, and she goes with us!" - -Gorla shrugged again. "As you wish, Telis. There seems to be nothing I -can do to stop you." - -"Then lead me to her quarters, and not a sound out of you, do you -understand?" Telis prodded the Priest gently with the short-sword. - -"But command me, lord," muttered Gorla sarcastically. He picked himself -up off the floor. Telis snatched the cloak from his cassock and wrapped -it around the gleaming blade of the short-sword, still keeping the -point at the base of the Priest's spine. - -"Don't force me to use this, Gorla," he hissed in the other's ear. - -Gorla shook his head silently and led the way off down the corridor. -The early hour was well chosen, for the whole towering edifice seemed -to be deserted. Somehow, Telis felt, _too_ deserted. The whole -magnificent megalopolis that was Dorliss seemed to sleep serenely under -its mantle of invisibility. - -In a tight silence, Gorla led Telis until they stood before a closed -door near the ground level. - -"Open it," commanded Telis. - -"I have no key," Gorla protested. - -Cursing under his breath, Telis tried the doorlatch. To his surprise, -it gave easily and the door swung open. Telis lifted his sword, -half-expecting a trap, but no attack came from the darkness beyond the -portal. He shoved Gorla through and closed the door, the dark closing -in around them. - -"A light," whispered Telis. - -Gorla touched a switch on the wall and light flooded the room. On the -great bed near the far wall, the girl sat, bedclothes held to her -breast, staring at them curiously. It was strange, thought Telis, that -she showed no fear. And stranger still was the fact that her face was -encased now in a bag-like contraption made of the same unusual material -as the jumper he remembered seeing her wear. It was stretched tight by -internal pressure that apparently came from a small cylinder at her -bedside and connected to the mask by a flexible metal tube. - -Some new and strange addiction, wondered Telis? It was not unknown -upon Laurr for some to succumb to the lure of narcotics, what with the -incessant warfare jangling the nerves and the ever-present spectre of -doom hanging over the whole planet. Telis himself had tasted gas from a -similar contraption on one of his hedonistic revels.... - -Whatever the drug was, he had seen her without the bag-like helmet in -the Central Temple. Addiction might account for her seeming illness -that he so well remembered from the previous day. - -There was no sign of illness about her now! He stared at her, his -breath catching in his throat. - -Exotic woman! - - * * * * * - -Near at hand, her beauty was almost a living, tangible thing. Her hair -gleamed, and her skin was palely translucent, like purest alabaster. -The refraction of the light through the transparent mask surrounded her -face with a glowing nimbus that made Telis think of the solideographic -icons of the Goddess. Her lips were full, almost sensuous, and her -great dark eyes looked at him quizzically but unafraid. - -"There is no time to explain," he said rapidly. "We are leaving this -place. Now." - -She nodded without surprise, as though she had known exactly what he -was going to say. - -Telis motioned for her to get up. For a moment she waited, but when -Telis showed no sign of turning around, she slipped out of bed and -covered herself quickly with the blouse and harness that lay on a -chair nearby. As she did so, she slipped the transparent mask off and, -even as Telis watched her appreciatively, he could see the illusion of -health fade from her face. A pinched look appeared, and a thin line of -blue formed around her mouth. She seemed short of breath. - -The girl adjusted her harness about her, making sure that the contents -of each pouch were there. Then she slipped herself into the transparent -jumper and reached for the mask. - -Telis caught her arm. "The mask stays here." - -The girl looked perplexed. She looked to Gorla for aid. The young -Priest moved to intervene, but Telis motioned him aside. "No," Telis -spoke sharply. "You may have to fly an air-sled...." He paused. "You -can fly one, can't you?" - -The girl nodded. "I have learned to fly one," she said. "But my -mask ... I need it!" - -The girl's face looked stricken at the thought of leaving her precious -mask behind. But Telis hardened himself. He could not let this escape -be risked by her unpredictable actions. Besides, he had seen her in the -Temple without the mask, so it was not a matter of life and death for -her. - -"The mask stays," Telis said flatly. - -For a long moment there was something like sheer terror on the girl's -face. Then, as though by an effort of the will, she composed herself -and nodded her agreement. Telis was forced to admire her courage. - -Gorla seemed to realize that any comments that he might make concerning -the mask _or_ the girl Telis would not believe, since for the moment -they found themselves enemies. He decided to maintain a discreet -silence and hope for the best. - -"And now, friend Gorla," ordered Telis, "lead us to the landing field -and get us an air-sled. It is a long way back to the capital and I have -no intention of trying to make it on sith-back, not as long as your -Temple Guards are so handy with the aircraft." - -Like a bemused sleepwalker, Gorla led the way out of the building and -through the dark streets. No beam of light now penetrated the light -shield surrounding the Temple City, and Telis found the protecting -darkness much to his liking. The drowsy guards at the gate looked -curiously at the trio, but, recognizing Brother Gorla, made no effort -to stop them. - -Soon they were at the landing field and Gorla had run out the very -air-sled that had brought Telis to the Temple City. Telis stepped into -the forward cockpit and tested the jet. It came readily to life under -his practised hands, and he motioned Gorla and the girl in beside him. - -"Fly low," the girl said almost pleadingly. - -He laid the stun-gun within easy reach and turned to Gorla. "Not that I -don't trust you, my old friend," he said with a thin smile, "but I will -feel much more comfortable if you are well-behaved while I am flying." - -Gorla made no reply. He merely shrugged and wrapped himself in his -cassock as best he could. - -Telis glanced around at the sleeping field. Far across the landing area -lights were flashing on. The sound of the air-sled's jet had awakened -the attendants, and soon they would be giving the alarm. But there -was no chance for anyone to stop them now. Almost disdainfully, Telis -shoved the throttle forward on the quadrant and the jet roared. With a -hissing of runners, the sled moved swiftly across the red sand and into -the air. - -Zooming low over the buildings at the far end of the field, the sled -drove out into the blackness. Then with breathtaking suddenness, it -slashed through the light shield and the lights of Dorliss vanished -while the heavens came alive with the early morning stars. - -Telis pointed the sled's blunt nose at the hatefully beautiful morning -star that was Terra riding low on the eastern horizon. Presently, he -levelled the craft and reduced his speed to maximum cruising power. -Just skimming the reddish dunes, they sped eastward, into the sudden -glory of the desert dawn.... - - - IV - -At noon, Telis took time to search the sled's storage locker. Turning -the controls over to the girl, he crawled across the bare deck into the -rear cockpit. Most sleds that were used for over-desert flying carried -emergency rations and weapons for the use of anyone unfortunate -enough to need them. In the matter of weapons, he was doomed to -disappointment, for this particular sled carried none. But there was -a small packet of concentrates, and a flask of precious water. Telis -gathered the packet in his arms and turned to start back toward the -forward cockpit. - -He stopped short. From his vantage point behind her, Telis could see -that the girl had taken a small cube from her pouch and was holding -it to her ear. For several seconds she sat quite still, as though -listening, then she turned the cube, held it to her lips for a moment, -and returned it to the pouch at her belt. - -He scrambled back to his place beside her, demanding, "That cube. What -was it?" - -"Cube?" - -"In there." Telis touched the pouch that hung at her side. - -"You must have been mistaken. There is no cube," she said, "Perhaps you -saw me checking my compass...." She reached into the pouch and drew out -a small magnetic compass in a square metal case. "You see?" - -Telis frowned. It was possible that he had been mistaken ... but he was -inwardly almost certain that the compass he held in his hand was not -the cube he had seen the girl using. For a moment he toyed with the -idea of searching her, but reconsidered. The sled would not touch the -ground again until it landed in the capital near the Grand Canal. There -was no possible way that the girl could harm him or interfere with his -plans now. And perhaps the cube was a happy-gas inhaler.... - -He looked searchingly into the girl's face. She looked as though she -could use some stimulant. The blue about her mouth and the tight, -pinched look in her face seemed to have worsened since leaving Dorliss. -She actually looked ill. She gave him a wan smile, and he decided to -question her no more for the present. - -Opening the packet of concentrates, he offered her one and passed the -pack to Gorla. Then he passed the water flask around, cautioning them -to drink sparingly. - -As the hours passed and the sun began to slide down toward the western -hills, Telis began to worry about their navigation. Not knowing the -exact location of the Temple City, he could only guess at the proper -course for the capital; and the low altitude made navigating very -difficult. Telis decided to climb higher and see if he could not catch -a glimpse of the Grand Canal or some other familiar landmark. He nosed -the sled upward slightly and edged the throttle forward, sending the -sled upward toward the cobalt sky. - -The girl was looking down over the side at the desert rushing by. -Though there was nothing to be seen but rust-red sand, something about -the desolate waste seemed to please her. - -Telis touched her arm to attract her attention. "We've been together -almost all day and I don't even know your name," he said. "I am Telis -of Lars...." - -The girl smiled back at him. "My name is Leslie Karr," she returned. - -Leslie. Telis turned the name on his tongue. It had a foreign flavor. -As exotic and lovely as the girl herself. And two names. Leslie and -Karr. Telis found the last hard to pronounce. Now, he wondered, why two -names? She must be a person of consequence in her home land. - -Telis thought of the cube. Perhaps a signalling device. A thought -struck him. The Temple? No, it was not likely. A nagging doubt -remained. He recalled uneasily how simple the escape had been. Too -simple. Was this girl an agent of the Temple? Or had his first -suspicion--that she was a Tellurian--been right? - -"Telis," Gorla broke the silence, "can you tell me where we are?" - -Telis shook his head. - -"Why are we climbing?" Leslie asked. She looked afraid. "Please--I--I -asked you to--" - -Telis cut her off almost sharply. "I know what you asked me. But we -must get high enough to have a look around us. To be lost out here -would mean the end for all of us; an unpleasant end, too. It will only -be for a short time." - -Leslie dropped into an uneasy silence. Higher and higher the air-sled -climbed until at last Telis levelled the aircraft off and began a -systematic search of the horizon to the east. There was no sign of the -greenery that edged the great water-way. - -"Telis!" Gorla's shout cut across the roaring of the wind. "Leslie! -Look at her!" - - * * * * * - -Telis whirled to look at the girl. The strange malady from which she -suffered had chosen this moment to strike her down. For a moment Telis -was shocked. Never had he seen a happy-gas addict react in this way! -The thin line of blue that surrounded her mouth was deeper, staining -her lips and spreading to tinge her whole face with azure. Her eyes -were closed and her breath came in huge rasping gasps. Gorla was -cradling her in his arms, chafing her wrists and trying to force water -through her slack lips. He looked up at Telis, shouting frantically! - -"Down! Down, Telis! We have to get her down low!" - -For a moment Telis did not understand, then he realized what was meant -and shoved the sled over into a steep dive. The girl was suffering from -oxygen-starvation. She seemed to suffer from it chronically, and if the -sled did not reach denser air soon she would die! That was the reason -she had feared altitude and had begged that the sled be kept low. - -And Gorla knew! - -Suddenly the whole improbable picture of the escape flashed before -Telis' eyes, and a sick feeling swept over him. - -In a panic Gorla whipped out a transmitter and began to shout into it. -Fearing the girl's death, his instructions were forgotten and he began -broadcasting for help. Telis stared for a moment, not understanding. -The radio devices used by the Temple were unknown to him, but he knew -with an instinctive certainty that Gorla was making contact with the -Temple Guard back in Dorliss. The rumors he had heard of the Temple's -methods of quick communication seemed to ring in his ears and fury -took him by the throat. Why hadn't Gorla used the radio before? Was it -because the whole escape was a monstrous hoax, engineered by the Temple -for the purpose of somehow shattering the Maldia and what it stood for? -The answer was a blazing, irrevocable yes! - -And to what extent was Leslie Karr involved? In his fury, Telis could -not think clearly enough to guess. He had the helpless feeling of great -wheels containing smaller wheels and all spinning and whirring for some -darkly unknown purpose.... - -He snatched the transmitter from Gorla's hand and slammed it over the -side. Sick anger filled him. The Temple must at this very moment know -their exact location from that tell-tale signal that Gorla had sent in -his panic for Leslie! What a fool he had been with his escape and his -cleverness! How they must be laughing at him back in Dorliss! - -"May the Goddess damn you!" he gritted at Gorla. - -"You fool!" the Priest retorted, his round face livid. "You've killed -her with your stupid plottings and your...." - -"She will live," snapped Telis. He knew how to deal with anoxia. Long -campaigns in the air forces of the Laurr had taught him. But the rest -of it ... the debt to be settled with Gorla ... that was something else! - -His fury made him careless, and as the sled touched the sand, it almost -overturned, skidding and careening over the red sand until at last -it came to rest at a crazy angle on the slope of a low dune. The jet -coughed and died, its nozzle jammed with sand. - -Quickly, Telis lifted the insensate girl in his arms and laid her -on the sand at full length. For just a moment he wondered at her -weight ... she seemed almost twice as heavy as she should be for her -size.... - -Then the urgency of the moment was upon him, and he knelt at her side, -placed his lips on hers and began forcing air into her lungs with his -own. Presently she stirred and Telis knew with a feeling of great -relief that she would recover. - -He wrapped her in Gorla's cloak, for the sun was sinking low and the -night chill was already in the air. - -Then he turned to face the Priest, memory rekindling his fury. He -caught the man by his cassock and pulled him close. "Now, Gorla, you'll -tell me the whole story--all of it!" His voice was icy with suppressed -anger. - -But Gorla's eyes were not on him. Instead they seemed centered on -something above and behind him. The Priest's features contorted with a -sudden fear, and he twisted around, pulling Telis with him. - -"Look out!" - - * * * * * - -The warning came too late. The sudden twist had saved Telis' life, but -the flashing missile caught him in the shoulder. A searing pain blazed -through Telis, and he spun around, staggered by the impact of the -thrown short-sword that had pierced his shoulder. - -Through a dancing haze of agony, Telis could see a ragged line of naked -men and women on the crest of the dune. Each carried a short-sword and -a long-sword, and the bodies were filthy and covered with rank hair. - -Guski! - -A lank women lifted her arm and pitched her short-sword. It struck in -the sand near Leslie Karr's prostrate body. Telis threw himself on -the girl, protecting her body with his own. With pain lancing through -him from the blade that still impaled him, he freed one of his swords -and his stun-gun, throwing them to Gorla. Their personal quarrel was -forgotten in the heat of the attack. - -Blood was flowing out of him. Gritting his teeth to keep from crying -out, Telis twisted the imbedded sword free. With a sobbing moan he -dropped it to the sand. He fought back the blackness that threatened to -engulf him. Gorla must not fight alone! - -The Priest had sought the shelter of the air-sled and was shooting -handily at the attackers on the crest. Already he had accounted for -three men and a woman, and several of their companions, not knowing -or caring that the stun-gun did not kill, had withdrawn from the fray -to butcher the fallen ones into long strips of bloody meat which they -stuffed hungrily into their mouths. - -Telis felt Leslie stir, and he struggled to his feet and helped her to -the sled. - -With surprising quickness she adapted herself to the necessities of -battle. She took a peculiar looking pistol from her pouch and levelled -it at the attackers. - -A sharp report burst from the weapon in the girl's hand and, on the -crest of the dune, a Guski woman shrieked and pitched to the sand. -Twelve times this process was repeated, and Telis began to have hopes -that the battle would be won before he, himself, collapsed from loss of -blood. - -It was a vain hope. After the twelfth explosion, the weapon fell -silent, and the strange performance was over. - -There was a tense lull during which the Guski butchered their dead, and -Gorla tried fruitlessly to start the dead motor of the sled. Then the -Guski began to close in, and Gorla and Telis both were forced to leave -the sled and advance to meet them. Leslie stayed near the aircraft, -digging frantically at the jammed jet. - -To Telis, his sword seemed suddenly very, very heavy. He touched Gorla -on the shoulder. "At least ... we'll die ... friends ... together," he -muttered. - -Gorla's face contorted with grief. "Friends ... always, Telis. I never -felt any other way," he said simply. - -There was no time for more. The Guski were upon them--a savage, -shrieking horde of vile-smelling beasts, hungering for the taste of -human meat. - -[Illustration: _Then the cannibal-people were upon them--a savage, -shrieking horde._] - -Time seemed to stand still. Telis thrust and slashed, cut and parried -endlessly. Pain was his only reality. Faces appeared before him, and -vanished into gouts of red as his blade found marks. Steadily his -strength failed and finally he dropped to his knees, still lashing out -feebly with his weapon. - -Suddenly the cacophony of battle was overwhelmed by the jerky, uneven -barking of an ailing jet. Leslie had cleared the nozzle! Startled and -fearful of the jet flame, the Guski shrank back momentarily. In that -moment, Gorla half-dragged, half-carried Telis to the sled. Telis could -feel the movement of the sled as it coursed lamely across the sand, -trying to gain flying speed. He heard Leslie gasp: - -"It's no use, Gorla. It can't lift the three of us with the jet -half-clogged." - -Gorla's voice came sharp and clear. "Then I stay. Take him on. That's -the important thing. He must be made to see...." - -Telis realized with agonizing helplessness that since the sled could -not lift three persons Gorla was remaining behind. To face the Guski! - -He tried to cry out his protest, but he was too weak to do more than -moan. - -"Can you find the way?" Gorla asked the girl. - -"I have maps. There's the transmitter, too. I can come in on D-F fixes. -But what about you?" - -"Never mind me ... remember, the fate of my world goes with you ... and -with Telis. Explain that to him ... after he knows...." - -Telis heard the motor speed up again, and he felt the bumping of the -runners on the sand. But he was unconscious before the sled lifted into -the air.... - - - V - -For what seemed a long time, Telis floated in throbbing darkness. Pain -spun in little wind-devils of fire across the surface of his mind and -it was not physical pain alone. Two thoughts tortured him constantly. -He had failed the Maldia and he had deserted his friend, leaving him to -die at the hands of the cannibal tribesmen. - -Aeons swept by in that timeless, vitalizing darkness, and at last Telis -opened his eyes. - -For a moment he thought that he was back in the Central Temple of -Dorliss, but as his eyes focused more clearly, he saw that he was in a -small, neatly bare room. The walls were white, and one of them seemed -to curve gently overhead until it met the first plane of the ceiling. - -A cool hand was stroking his forehead, and Telis turned to meet the -eyes of Leslie Karr. She sat at his bedside watchfully, and somehow he -knew that she had been there for a long time. - -Her clothing was different than he remembered. Her harness was gone. -Now, her supple figure was clad in a straight tunic of dark metallic -cloth that hung from her shoulders to the middle of her thighs, caught -at her small waist by a linked belt. Her dark hair was swept back from -her face, exposing her small, elfin ears. There was a look of health -and vitality about her that was amazing when Telis recalled her -condition in the air-sled. - -"Wh ... what magic is this?" he asked. - -Leslie smiled. "No magic," she said. "Only some decent air." - -Telis drew a deep breath: It was true. The air was different ... and -wondrous. Vitality filled him and with it came a thousand questions. -Where was he? What was this place? What had happened after the fight on -the desert? And the question he most wanted answered--what of Gorla? - -Leslie laid a warning hand over his lips and cautioned him against -spending his new found strength too prodigally. He was healing, she -told him, and within a very few days he would be able to be up and -around. At that time, all his questions would be answered. This last -she told him with something like reluctance in her voice. - -Plainly, wherever they were, Leslie was at home here. - -The days passed almost too swiftly. Strange men came and went, giving -him odd medications and dressing his wound. All his questions were -tactfully avoided. Yet their concern for a stranger was confusing to -Telis. By the code that Telis had lived his six haads with, a stranger -was ipso facto an enemy. According to that tenet he had lived and -had become a great soldier and a high officer of the Laurr of Laurr -himself. Now here were strangers treating him with kindness ... and -their kindness was striking at the roots of everything he had ever -believed. And there was Leslie. She remained with him constantly, -tending him and comforting him with her presence. Telis felt himself -losing his heart to this exotic girl with her kindness and her -breathtaking beauty. - - * * * * * - -Four days passed and then his confinement was over. He was able to rise -from his hospital cot. His harness was brought to him, and even his -weapons. If proof were needed, Telis thought, the act of returning his -weapons proved that he was among friends. And true friends they must -be, for they had nursed him and fed him, and he could not forget that -his friend had been willing to remain behind alone to face the Guski so -that he, Telis, might be brought here. And that recalled the burning -question mark. _Why?_ - -When he had dressed himself, Leslie came into the room. Her face was -sombre. "Telis," she began, "I have something that I must tell you -before you leave this room. Believe me, it is not easy. You see, I ... -I have not been honest with you.... Not that I have lied. Believe me, I -haven't. But...." She broke off momentarily in confusion. Her face was -flushed. "I have let you mislead yourself, and that's very like lying, -isn't it?" She did not wait for a reply, but rushed on. "Now I have -to stand by and watch you find out who and what I am. Oh, believe me, -I have no wish to hurt you or your people, Telis. I couldn't ... -now ... because I ... I...." She bit her lips. "All this is necessary. -You had to be convinced, you see, because of your great influence with -the Laurr...." She gave a short, nervous laugh. "All this isn't making -very much sense, is it?" - -"No," replied Telis, puzzled. - -"You know by now that you were tricked into coming here. It was all -planned by us and by the Temple...." - -Telis felt the blood drain from his face. He knew exactly what was -coming next. The whole incredible picture was clear. - -"Oh, Telis," cried Leslie. "Please understand! Gorla understood ... -and he gave his life so that we could make _you_ see! Can't you see -what I am trying to tell you? Can't you see that if you help us we can -bring life back to Laurr? And that if you won't it might mean ages of -senseless warfare? Telis ... _try_...." - -Telis of Lars stared. It all came flooding back to him. All the -tiny, irrelevant pieces of the puzzle. The mask back in Dorliss! A -respirator! Her need for oxygen ... the anoxia that struck her down in -the air-sled ... the rich air of this room! Her weight ... the greater -density of a heavy gravity planet's evolution! Alien, alien! - -Leslie Karr could feel the barrier rising between them and she cried -out against it. Tears streaked her face, and even that added to Telis' -sense of alienage. Laurrians did not weep. The water in their bodies -was far too precious for that. It was all too grotesque! He, the former -leader of the Maldia, beholden to the invaders for his very life! - -Then the shock began to wear off, and his mind to function more -clearly. This place with its sloping wall was a compartment in the -Tellurian spacecraft, that much was now obvious. Yet they had trusted -him within it ... armed. And they had been kind to him, they had nursed -him back to health after the Guski's wound almost killed him. Why? It -was not enough that he had great influence with the Laurr. He had had -the feeling that they _liked_ him. Could it be, he wondered, that the -whole basic philosophy of the Maldia was in error? The Temple spoke of -mighty Tellurian science. Could it actually do what the High Superior -of Dorliss claimed? Redeem the planet and give it hope again? - -And there was Leslie. In that moment of introspection, Telis knew with -a distinct shock that, Tellurian or not, he loved her. Telis of Lars, -peer of the ancient realm of Laurr, member of the dread, anti-Tellurian -Maldia, was in love with an alien woman! Creature of another -world--different and strange--and yet he loved her! Standing there, -watching her tears course down her cheeks, he felt his heart constrict, -and he knew that she had won. - -"Please, Telis--my Telis--let me show that we can be friends!" she -cried. - -Telis stared at her. "Friends?" he asked thickly. - -Leslie took a step nearer, her eyes suddenly wide, almost afraid. It -came to Telis in a blinding flash of insight that she too was feeling -the soul-wrenching conflicts of love for an alien creature. To her -Telis was the exotic, the outlander. - -Then like the snapping of a steel wire, the barrier was broken, and -she was in his arms, returning his kisses with an almost desperate -abandon.... - - * * * * * - -The Tellurian camp was a revelation to Telis. Guided by Leslie and -a group of Tellurian scientists, he beheld machines such as had not -existed on the surface of Laurr for ten thousand haads. Here, among the -squat, pressurized domes of the camp were the end-products of all the -theories the Temple had salvaged from the lost books of the ancients. - -Power was drawn from the destruction of infinitesimal particles of -matter by a mysterious process the scientist referred to as "fission," -and Telis found to his surprise that Leslie was not a noblewoman as -he had supposed, but something called a "metallurgist." These terms -meant nothing to him, but the teeming activity of the camp and the -matter of fact way in which miracles were daily performed made him -begin to understand what the High Superior had meant when he had said -that together the races of Terra and Laurr might one day rule the solar -system. The machines and the magnificent, graceful projectile that was -the spaceship fired Telis' imagination. - -If any doubt remained in his mind, it was shattered irretrievably when -Leslie showed him the mining operations. Thus far, they had begun only -on an experimental basis, the Tellurians wisely wary of extending -themselves before permission to remain was granted by the Laurr. But, -even on a small scale, what Telis saw stirred him more deeply than had -any of the other wondrous things he had been shown. - -Since the deserts of Laurr were almost pure iron oxide, it was -explained to him that they were the result of the ubiquitous iron's -propensity for uniting with oxygen. The result, after many aeons, -was that the air was actually rusting away. By the marvelous miracle -of Tellurian chemistry, the iron oxide was broken down into its -constituent elements. This resulted in a stream of iron ingots, and ... -free oxygen! - -Telis was quick to realize what this process would mean to Laurr -over a period of time if it was made universal. Great quantities of -the precious oxygen would be released into the air to revitalize it, -and later to combine with the large amounts of hydrogen in Laurr's -atmosphere to form water! - -The Tellurians had in fact already set up a pilot plant where oxygen -and hydrogen were mixed to make the water they needed for their own -purposes. Part of it was used for drinking and bathing, and part was -used for puddling the iron oxide before it was passed through the -separation process. Great pressure hoses washed the impurities from -the ferric oxide even as Telis watched, astounded. Never had a Laurrian -seen precious water treated so carelessly, but with a great effort he -was able to acclimate himself finally to an economy of plentiful water, -and the sight of great streams of it churning the desert to reddish mud -shocked him less and less as the days passed. - -Only two thoughts marred Telis' happiness during these days spent in -the camp. First the thought of Gorla's fate remained with him always, -and he resolved that his friend's sacrifice should not be for nothing. -And, second, there was the Maldia. Now, with Prince Brand at its head, -it was more than ever a threat to the safety of the people from the -third planet, to himself, to the Laurr and by extension to the world of -Laurr itself. - -Telis resolved that he must return immediately to the capital and lay -his findings before the Laurr. Only in that way could the danger of -the Maldia be removed. With the safe-conduct from the supreme ruler -confirmed publicly, the Maldia would not dare to attack the camp. - -The air-sled was repaired, and Telis made ready to leave the following -morning over the protests of Leslie and the camp medical staff who -contended that his wound was not yet sufficiently healed. - -But Telis' resolution had come too late. Even as the sled was loaded, a -shout from the watchtower brought the whole camp out into the streets. -With sinking heart Telis heard the words of the camp guard. The Maldia -had come, and the camp found itself surrounded. - - - VI - -Telis hurried with Leslie to the watchtower and his horrified eyes -looked out over the surrounding desert. Fully five thousand Guski men -and women surrounded them, led by at least five hundred well-armed and -sith-mounted warriors. Telis recognized many of them as his former -comrades of the Maldia. And Prince Brand was there. Telis felt a hot -wave of hate for the man. - -Thus far, they had made no move to attack, and that in itself showed -the characteristic mark of Brand's leadership. With a force of fifty -five hundred fighting men against an even two hundred poorly-armed men -and women, mostly elderly scientists, Brand still chose to proceed with -caution lest the unexpected defeat him.... - -Telis started. The unexpected! - -He let his mind harken back to the stories the older Temple Priest -told of the mythical coming of the Water Goddess. And he thought of -the books he had read dealing with the forgotten science of weather on -Laurr.... - -Quickly he called a meeting of all the department heads. Leadership -fell on his shoulders like a cloak, for among all these learned men and -women he was the only warrior. - -One woman suggested that all the personnel of the camp move into the -spaceship and that they lift the craft into the air, spraying the -attackers with the deadly radioactive exhaust gases. But the ship's -navigator vetoed that idea quickly. There was fuel enough only for the -return flight to Terra when next the two planets came into conjunction. -Moreover, such a move would destroy the camp and all its machinery, -negating the entire purpose of the expedition. - -It was then that Telis stepped forward with his plan. The Tellurians -seemed doubtful that it would work, but Leslie who had been among the -Laurrians more than the rest of them, convinced them that they could -lose nothing by trying. - -"Telis is of Laurr," she said to them, "and he knows the ways and -beliefs of his people. I, for one, think that his plan is our only -hope. Outnumbered as we are, and by savage fighting men and women, our -only chance is fear. It saved our lives before, and can again!" - -When the technicians had left to modify the necessary equipment, Telis -summoned the non-essential able-bodied men. Arming them with the few -Tellurian powder-guns that were available and with whatever cutting -weapons came to hand, he made ready to lead them out to meet the -attackers. Time was needed. Telis and his respirator-masked, make-shift -company determined to gain that time. - -He stationed his men near the main gate to the camp and walked slowly -out toward the masked attackers, tensely aware that at last Prince -Brand had him at a real disadvantage. - -Knowing that to convince these caste-ridden fanatics and savage -cannibals that the attack should not be launched, would be next to -impossible, Telis evolved a stratagem that might save a few precious -moments. The warlike society of Laurr had developed a very strict code -duello. As it was among most warrior civilizations, "honor" or "face" -were of the utmost importance. He, himself, by disappearing on the eve -of the Maldia's planned attack had lost face. Now, he resolved to turn -this fact into a weapon against his attackers. - -"Ho! Brand, there!" he hailed. "Come forward!" - -Prince Brand squinted across the distance to see if he could recognize -the speaker. Slowly, recognition came, and with it a fulsome -satisfaction. This was better than he could have hoped for! - -"So it is my Lord Telis returned from the realm of the Goddess to guide -our hand against the invaders!" he smirked. "Come! Join us, illustrious -phantom. We are about to complete the work you so nobly began the night -you decided not to risk yourself!" - - * * * * * - -For a moment there was a silence among the noblemen of the Maldia, -and then the laughter started. It was what Telis had expected. It was -ironic, bitter laughter for one who had failed the warrior's code. To -these men he was a coward. Even the naked savages laughed, though they -did not understand the reason for it. - -Telis' fury rose under the goading mirth, but he knew with some -satisfaction that all the palaver was taking up precious minutes, -stalling the attack that he could hold at bay only with his wits. - -"You, Brand," said Telis slowly and distinctly, "are a usurping -rogue. Your mother was a she-sith and your father a Guski slave of -questionable ancestry. You are a coward and a pandering lackey!" - -A sudden quiet settled on the serried ranks and Telis continued with -his insulting monologue. - -"I challenge you to fight me here and now--so that I can strip the -harness from your puffy carcass and throw it to the siths! Refuse, and -I will come and get you!" - -A low moan of rage rose from the ranks of the nobles. Never had a -high-born prince been so grossly and deliberately insulted. According -to their code, there was only one possible answer, and they awaited it -with eagerness. Brand must fight. - -But Prince Brand was no fool. He knew Telis for a swordsman, and he -strongly suspected some sort of trickery from the too-silent camp. -Still, he knew that Telis must be punished and before the troops or his -hold over them would fail. It could be done without placing himself in -jeopardy for the sake of a gallant gesture. - -He turned to an equerry. "Bring him to me. Dead or alive." - -Telis heard, and gave an insulting laugh. "Preferably dead, eh, Brand?" - -The equerry looked pained. He turned to Brand. "Sir, he has offered a -challenge. It would be in very bad form to...." - -"Bring him!" Brand snapped testily. "If you are afraid, take a -company...." - -The officer stiffened. "I am not afraid, sir--though others are!" He -wheeled his sith and trotted toward Telis. - -"Get back, Captain," ordered Telis. "My quarrel is not with you!" - -"Ride him down!" called Brand. - -The officer unsheathed his lance and laid it in rest. Levelling it at -Telis, he dug his booted heels into the sith's flanks and thundered -across the sand, leaning low in the saddle. - -Telis stood braced and, just as the animal came abreast of him, -he stepped aside, catching the tip of the lance under his arm and -whirling. The movement of the weapon overbalanced the officer and he -tumbled from the saddle to sprawl in the sand. With a mortified howl -of rage, the man was on his feet and upon Telis, but his fury made him -careless. Telis' sword flashed out and the point found the officer's -sword arm, piercing it neatly and ending the encounter with a flourish. - -Telis turned to face the attackers once again. "Now Brand," he taunted, -"will you come out to do your own dying? Or will you send another -lackey to take the steel meant for you?" - -Brand's heavy face darkened. For answer he raised his hands to the -buglers. - -"Attack!" - -The force swept forward like a great tawny wave, shrieking and cursing. -Telis stared aghast. An attack he had been expecting, and even the -possibility of the Maldia finally taking the camp had occurred to him. -But that fifty five hundred roaring madmen would attack one man was -more than he had prepared himself for. - -Death seemed a certainty, and a fleeting image of Leslie swept across -his mind. He lifted his futile swords and murmured a prayer to the -Goddess.... - - * * * * * - -It was answered. The rain came like a gift from heaven. From the -nozzles of the camp's pressure hoses there poured a great effluvium of -pure, cold, water. It rose in a graceful curve high into the air and -spilled down to lash the red sand into a morass and spray the attackers. - -Telis himself was caught up in the wonder of it. And the effect on the -Maldia's fighting force of Guski was nothing short of miraculous. The -charging savages pulled up, faces lifted to the sky in mute amazement. -Then came fear--shrieking, mad, insensate terror! Rain was falling -where no rain had fallen for ten thousand haads! The Goddess had opened -up the flood gates of heaven and the stuff of the sky was falling down -on a sinful Laurr! Dropping their weapons, they fled out into the -desert--away from the accursed place that the Goddess had chosen to -enchant! And, in their flight, they carried the mounted nobles of the -Maldia, cursing, shouting, trying to regroup their shattered cohorts. - -Telis stood in the downpour, his body tingling to the touch of the -precious water. He was thinking not that this trick of Tellurian -technics had saved his life; rather he was thinking of Laurr and what -this could mean to the planet. The deserts could be conquered, the -world could be redeemed! - -Presently, the water stopped and a Tellurian from his company ran -forward to shout: "Telis! Look there! Aircraft!" - -Telis looked skyward, and the door to the future seemed to slam shut in -his mind. Fully two hundred air-sleds were beating rapidly toward them. -The Maldia again ... more of them? - -Telis looked out into the desert. The mounted force had abandoned the -attempt to regroup the demoralized Guski, but it had formed into a -phalanx and was returning to the attack. - -Automatically, but without real hope, Telis motioned his men into -extended order. They were caught between two forces, helpless between -the sith-mounted Maldia and the airborne contingent. The irony of it -caught at his breast painfully. It was bitter hard to die just at the -brink of a golden age ... a golden age that would never come now. - -Now he could make out Brand's face far to the rear of the mounted -column. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that the sleds were almost -upon them, too. Telis braced himself for the attack. - -Then, with a roar of jets, the air armada passed low over his head and -began disgorging warriors onto the rapidly narrowing strip of sand -between him and the Maldia. For a moment Telis was stunned by the -strangeness of the maneuvers ... and then his astonished eyes caught -the gleam of the device blazoned on the grounded sleds. It was the -Sword and Atom of the Temple! - -With a glad cry he leaped forward to greet the Temple Guardsmen. -Snatched from the brink of disaster, the camp now revelled in a surfeit -of friendly warriors! The Maldia halted in confusion and air-sleds -moved out to cut off their escape. - -Telis searched the ranks of the Temple troops for some explanation of -this seeming miracle ... and his eyes found a familiar figure. It was -battered and bandaged but unmistakably ... Gorla! - -He caught the priest by the arm and spun him around with a shout. The -familiar round face reddened with pleasure and he threw his free arm -around Telis. - -"You've healed, Telis!" he cried. "And in more ways than one!" he added -significantly. "I see you leading the defense instead of the attack!" - -"I've been a thick headed fool, Gorla! But you ... how are you here? -I--" - -"You thought me meat for those Guski back on the desert that night?" - -Telis nodded. - -The Priest laughed. "By the Goddess! I thought you were going to get up -and give us trouble that night! I suppose I should be thankful for your -wound. You never would have left me otherwise!" - -"But, how did you ..." Telis began. - -"The Temple takes care of its own, Telis, my friend," said Gorla. -"We were being followed at a distance all the way from Dorliss by a -guardship. Of course, when you threw my transmitter over the side, -they lost us. But you were the one who had to be convinced about these -Tellurians. So I stayed. There were a few bad moments ... once or twice -I thought the Guski had me cold, but the guardship was searching and -it found me before the brutes could finish me off. Since then, we have -been standing by at Dorliss, waiting for the Maldia to move." - -"And here you are, thank the Goddess!" breathed Telis. - -They stood surrounded by Temple Guardsmen and Tellurians watching the -air-sleds break up the sith-mounted force of the Maldia. The back of -the assault was broken. Riderless animals careened about wildly through -the confusion, and people were pouring out of the camp to greet their -liberators. - -"Who led them?" asked Gorla indicating the sullen nobles. - -Telis looked around for Prince Brand, but he was nowhere to be seen. -Then his sharp eyes caught a cloud of dust moving rapidly across the -desert. It would be Brand. He alone, of all the Maldia, was cynic -enough and coward enough to throw over the battle-to-death code at the -first sign of opposition. - -With an oath, Telis caught at a sith and swung into the saddle. -"There!" he shouted to Gorla, pointing. "If he escapes the Maldia will -form again!" Telis kicked the sith savagely, and the animal plunged -off in pursuit of the fleeing renegade. - -At full speed the sith carried Telis out into the desert. For half an -hour, there was no loss or gain, Prince Brand's animal holding its lead -tenaciously. Already, the Prince had turned to see that he was being -followed. But Telis' beast was fresher, and now began to narrow the -distance. - -They were well away from the camp when Telis caught up. Riding in, he -cut across the path of Brand's animal, forcing it to break step. Brand -slashed wildly at him but Telis parried and dodged in under the other's -guard. Then, hooking his knee under that of the struggling Prince, he -heaved upward and dislodged him from the saddle so that he tumbled to -the sand. - -Telis reined in the sith and leaped to the ground. Brand was already on -his feet, sword in hand, his face contorted with fear and rage. Telis -advanced steadily, hate coursing through him. - - * * * * * - -If Brand had been a faintheart before, he was not now when his life -depended on his skill and cunning. Even as their swords crossed, -Telis knew that his work was cut out for him. There was no sound but -the clash of steel and the labored breathing of the two men as they -locked in combat. For almost a quarter of an hour they fenced without -appreciable gain on either side. But Telis was younger, and the strain -was beginning to tell on Brand. He knew that he must win quickly or die. - -Stepping back, Brand snatched the helmet from his head and threw it -full at Telis' face. Telis' sword made a glittering arc in the sunlight -as it caught the missile and knocked it aside. But for the moment he -left himself unguarded, and Brand lunged in to sink his point into -Telis' naked thigh. - -Telis staggered but did not fall; the painful wound stung him, and -Brand, thinking that he had scored a telling blow, launched a furious -attack. Telis backed steadily across the sand, leaving a trail of -blood. He measured the pace carefully and, when Brand paused to catch -his breath, Telis feinted at his head. Brand's blade came jerkily up -to meet the thrust, and Telis stooped, whirled his point under Brand's -guard and lunged with all his force. - -The blade sank deep into Brand's chest. Telis stepped back and slipped -it free. The renegade stood for a moment, staring unbelievingly at the -wound in his chest that bubbled a bloody froth. His arms stiffened and -the swords he held dropped noiselessly to the sand. Very deliberately, -he sank to his knees, still staring at the wound, then he pitched -forward into the sand face-downward. He was dead. - -Telis sought his sith wearily and mounted. He turned back toward the -camp without another look at Brand. All the fury and excitement of -battle was washed out of him, and he felt very tired. - -The gentle movement of the sith's gait helped to steady him. He rode -slowly along, looking out over the wastes of the Great Red Desert, -envisioning the land as it would be one day ... green and fertile, -alive under a sky no longer starkly clear, but laced with clouds that -would bring soft rains and stirring life from the land. - -He topped the final rise and before him was the Tellurian camp and -the tall, beautiful projectile of the spaceship. The throngs of mixed -Laurrian and Tellurians were shouting and cheering the end of the -struggle. - -Now the future seemed assured. Telis promised himself that the future -of the Tellurians on Laurr would be one with his own. And someday, he -thought, perhaps he would see Terra--or even the stars! - -It would be a great task, he reflected, this changing the face and fate -of a dying world. But together the redeemers and the redeemed could -work it out. Telis knew somehow that the thing would be done. - -A figure detached itself from the crowd and ran towards him, calling -his name. It was Leslie. With a quickened pace he made his way toward -her. The door to the future opened, and he stepped through without -looking back. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WARRIOR MAID OF MARS *** - -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. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for -copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very -easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation -of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project -Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may -do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected -by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark -license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country other than the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm website -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that: - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of -the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the Foundation as set -forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, -Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up -to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's website -and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without -widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our website which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This website includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/old/64774-0.zip b/old/64774-0.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 32480f0..0000000 --- a/old/64774-0.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/64774-h.zip b/old/64774-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 1430477..0000000 --- a/old/64774-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/64774-h/64774-h.htm b/old/64774-h/64774-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index c06fed4..0000000 --- a/old/64774-h/64774-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2630 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=us-ascii" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of Warrior-Maid of Mars, by Alfred Coppel. - </title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -.caption p -{ - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0; - margin: 0.25em 0; -} - -x-ebookmaker-drop {display: none;} - -div.titlepage { - text-align: center; - page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; -} - -div.titlepage p { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; - font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; - margin-top: 3em; -} - -.ph1 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; } -.ph1 { font-size: medium; margin: .83em auto; } - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - -<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Warrior Maid of Mars, by Alfred Coppel</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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 <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: Warrior Maid of Mars</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Alfred Coppel</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: March 10, 2021 [eBook #64774]</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 WARRIOR MAID OF MARS ***</div> - -<div class="figcenter x-ebookmaker-drop"> - <img src="images/illusc.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>WARRIOR-MAID of MARS</h1> - -<h2>By ALFRED COPPEL</h2> - -<p>The Terran Barbarians have landed! Already they<br /> -plunder a dying, helpless planet! And a whisper<br /> -rustles through the cold, thin air, across<br /> -the rust-red sands: "Give us a leader—and we<br /> -will fight! Give us back our ancient glory!"</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Planet Stories Summer 1950.<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>The small room was dark but for the flickering light of a single -ef-lamp that burned on the bare table between the two long rows -of black-hooded figures. The thin dry air was surcharged with the -tenseness of a tautly drawn cord ... a strangler's cord. A sentence of -death had been passed in silence. Now, the executioners balloted, still -in silence, to select from their number a leader.</p> - -<p>The High Council of the Maldia was in session. Behind the dark, -enigmatic sable masks and robes lurked all the might and hate of a -proud, ancient and dying culture. The might of a warlike world's -aristocracy. The hate that was the unreasoning, distilled essence of a -doomed world's bitterness....</p> - -<p>Beneath the black cowl that shadowed his face young Telis of Lars' eyes -showed fierce pride as member after member pointed silently toward his -end of the table. It seemed that the vote would be overwhelmingly in -his favor, and a tremor of anticipation ran through him. At the far -end of the board he could see his rival candidate's eyes glittering -furiously. The Maldia would not be led by Brand, that much was certain. -The assembled nobles were quite plainly repudiating his leadership for -that of the young Lord of Lars.</p> - -<p>Outside the tower room, the icy wind shrieked and gamboled through the -crenels of the ancient fortress like a harbinger of doom. The draughts -set the candle flame to dancing crazily, and long shadows leapt from -wall to wall.</p> - -<p>Telis stretched his long legs out under the table. To him, the voting -seemed unnecessarily prolonged and ritualistic, but he knew better than -to voice opposition to customs that had been accepted in the Maldia -since long before the Laurrs, the dictator-kings who took the name of -the very planet for themselves, had driven the society underground.</p> - -<p>The young warrior was forced to admit that ritual and trappings were an -important part of the superstitious hold the Maldia had on the great -masses of Laurr. And, with the populace cowed, anything was possible. -Even the Laurr himself would not care to face the unanimous disapproval -of this masked hierarchy. Too many Laurrs, down through the aeons of -the planet's history, had fallen before the blades of Maldia assassins.</p> - -<p>Telis watched the glittering eyes that peered out from behind the -peaked mask that hid Prince Brand's handsome face. The mart knew he was -defeated, and rage seemed to surround him like a malign auriole. Brand -would never be satisfied with the deputy command that would be his for -having been second in the balloting. The man wanted full authority, -not command of troops in the field as Telis had had. Brand was far -too concerned with his own safety for that; he wanted command of the -striking force of assassins that would murder the handful of invaders -out in the desert. The victory over a few scientists from another world -would give Brand the renown he craved and at negligible risk, for all -his dark talk about mystery weapons and his pleas for caution.</p> - -<p>The only need for caution that Telis could see was the possible -intervention of the Temple or the Laurr. And the Temple knew nothing. -And the Laurr could be handled ... by Telis.</p> - -<p>Telis looked around him, wishing the masked nobles would have done with -it. It would not be a safe thing to have the Temple learn that the -Maldia met in Telis' own palace quarters. He noted with satisfaction -that the voting had ended.</p> - -<p>The shrieking wind outside died suddenly, leaving a thick silence.</p> - -<p>A black figure arose from either side of the table. The one on the -right turned toward Telis, and its voice had a strange and disembodied -timbre in the stillness.</p> - -<p>"Telis of Lars," it said, "you lead."</p> - -<p>Telis inclined his head in acceptance. Taciturnity was part of the -ancient tradition of the Maldia.</p> - -<p>The figure on the left turned toward Brand. "Brand, Prince of Laurr, -you follow."</p> - -<p>Brand heaved himself to his feet. "I protest this insult!" he said -thickly. "Why am I to follow him? He is not even of royal birth!"</p> - -<p>The robed figure on the left seemed to tense. Its voice sounded -suddenly almost metallic. "You follow," it repeated deliberately.</p> - -<p>Brand stood irresolutely, two solid rows of shadowed faces turned -toward him. Then Telis spoke up softly, almost casually.</p> - -<p>"A challenge, Brand, to decide?"</p> - -<p>"I follow," muttered Brand, sinking into his chair sullenly.</p> - -<p>Telis smiled to himself. If ever a coward like Brand should pick up a -flung challenge, surely the Water Goddess would throw down the moons!</p> - -<p>Slowly, the hooded men filed from the room, leaving Telis alone. For a -moment Brand paused by the door, and Telis could see that he fingered -his sword hilt under the sable robes. But he stood so, glaring at -Telis, for only a minute. Then he was gone.</p> - -<p>From the darkness of the courtyard beneath the tower window came the -sound of a whistle, and Lord Telis relaxed. The bribed guardsman's -signal indicated that the last member of the Maldia had mounted his -sith and was safely away.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Telis felt a stirring of pride. Any victory was a pleasing thing to -him; but tonight's smashing triumph over Brand was a thing the renegade -princeling would long remember! The Maldia had chosen to forget that -he, Telis, came only from the lower nobility.</p> - -<p>His position as Captain-General of the Laurr's armies, as well as the -real affection the ruler had for him, had been a large factor in the -selection, Telis knew. The Maldia was certain that the old Laurr was -fond enough of his young Captain-General to overlook the breach of -faith contemplated for the morning....</p> - -<p>Telis doffed his robes and dressed himself with care. Always fastidious -about his appearance, he knew that this night his dress must be -impeccable. The Laurr of Laurr was very particular about such things.</p> - -<p>With a last hitch at his jewelled harness, Telis stationed himself -before the polished onyx mirror. The image that gazed calmly back at -him from its dark surface was sufficiently imposing, he reflected, even -for the Laurr of Laurr. He was tall and well-knit; the war harness, -bright with gems, hung low on his hips; his long legs were bare, and -his chest covered only by the crossed straps that supported his weapons.</p> - -<p>The black sith-leather was studded with battle-decorations. It would be -well, Telis reasoned, to remind the Laurr of his many services to the -throne. Tacitly, perhaps, but nonetheless firmly.</p> - -<p>All the gems won in the Guski campaigns and in the last Water War -were there, as was the golden cross of the Laurr's own Knighthood ... -presented to Telis by the hand whose blessing he planned to seek this -very night.</p> - -<p>Glancing at his chronometer, Telis turned away from the mirror. Through -the high, narrow window of his palace quarters, the light of the -nearer moon streamed in golden glory, shaming the feeble light of the -ef-lamp. Telis stepped to the window, his gaze seeking the low hills -beyond the still, shallow waters of the Grand Canal. The beauty of the -night caught at his breast, for, even as he watched, the great orb of -the farther moon was rising sedately to add its light to the already -fulsome glory of her racing sister.</p> - -<p>Below and across the palace grounds, the flickering lights of the city -spread like a web of living beads in the moonlight.</p> - -<p>As always, Telis felt a rush of pride as he contemplated the beauty -of his world. A great sadness filled him then, for he knew that such -beauty could not last much longer. Soon now, the sun would rise on a -planet of death....</p> - -<p>Telis shuddered and turned away. The beauty of the night faded, leaving -only reality. And reality was stark and deadly on Laurr. The water was -vanishing, and the great plains that had once been green and fertile -were now oxidized wastelands. Lars, far to the north, was deserted now, -for the canal had silted up and life had become unbearable. And now -the great deserts of iron oxide stood at the very shores of the Grand -Canal, and what did flow down from the pole was barely enough to keep -the watercourse free of red silt.</p> - -<p>Aeons ago, before the great Wars that had almost wrecked the planet, -the ancients had seen the drought coming. They had known that the air -and the water would steadily unite with Laurr's thirsty iron, leaving -the planet barren and desiccated beyond belief.</p> - -<p>They had tried to plan for that day and had built the great waterways -as part of their conservation program. Other projects had been started; -mysterious power plants far out in the deserts with walls of foot-thick -pund had been built. But somehow, nothing good had come from these -mysterious Temples. The first of the Ten Great Water Wars had begun -even then, and the warring people of the planet had demanded weapons -from these strange plants.</p> - -<p>For many generations the engineer-priests had refused the pleas and -demands, but, as the steadily diminishing water supplies had caused war -after war after war, they relented.</p> - -<p>From the pund-lined Temples had come a steady flow of ghastly weapons. -Weapons that left Laurr's cities shattered piles of rubbish to be -covered by the drifting sands. Weapons that had destroyed forever the -once flourishing culture that might have saved the world from its -inexorable doom.</p> - -<p>The secrets of the past were forgotten ... or covered with legendary -dross. But the wars went on and on and on.</p> - -<p>Telis knew, staring out across the rusty sands, that Laurr was doomed -to a quick death. It would not come in his lifetime ... but soon ... -soon....</p> - -<p>And then the Tellurians had come! To gloat and exploit. To steal the -iron of the deserts and drain away the last of the planet's resources -to their wantonly wealthy world! Even the Laurr of Laurr had given them -safe-conduct ... on the basis that their expedition proved some of the -Temple's favored dogma concerning the origin of the race!</p> - -<p>Weakness! thought Telis savagely. It fills us as life slips away from -our planet. But it would not be so! The ancient, dreaded Maldia would -see to that! If Laurr must die, then at least she could die upright and -untrammeled by ghoulish invaders!</p> - -<p>In sudden fury, Telis snatched up his cloak and strode from the room. -The jewelled glyph of the Water Goddess, Mother of Laurr, gleamed -fiercely for a moment on the hilt of his short-sword in the feeble -light as Telis sought the long winding ramp that led to the lower -levels and the audience chamber of the Laurr of Laurr.</p> - -<p>Along endless corridors, ef-lit and lined with rigid guardsmen, Lord -Telis of Lars made his way. Underfoot, the ever-present drift of -reddish sand gritted as he walked.</p> - -<p>Turning into the main passageway that led to the inner courtyard, -Telis heard the sound of his name ... softly spoken, but demanding. -Stopping, he looked about him. A dark-robed figure beckoned to him from -the shadow of a huge stone buttress. It was Gorla, First Cycle Priest -of the Temple, and Telis' long standing friend at court. His eyes were -sombre in his round, good-humored face.</p> - -<p>"I have met you just in time. You are on your way to see the Laurr, -friend Telis?"</p> - -<p>Telis nodded. "Of course. I am already keeping him waiting. I'll see -you in the morning, friend Gorla." He made a move to slip by the young -Priest and be on his way.</p> - -<p>"A moment, Telis!" Gorla's voice was suddenly sharp. "You are about to -ask the Laurr to break his word to the outlanders, are you not?"</p> - -<p>Telis' eyes narrowed. "Perhaps ..."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Gorla laid a hand on his arm. "Telis, I have known you for many haads. -As children we played together on the fields of Lars. Believe me, I -wish nothing but the best for you. Why are you involved with this -bloodthirsty madness of the Maldia?"</p> - -<p>Telis withdrew his arm as though the Priest had stung him. Only the -strength of a life-long friendship kept him from striking Gorla, for -the Priest's words had hit a deep-seated prejudice. The Maldia was of -the nobility ... and Gorla was a Commoner.</p> - -<p>Gorla went on slowly, emphasizing his words carefully. "Dorliss knows -of your plan to break the Laurr's pledge and attack the Tellurian camp."</p> - -<p>Telis stiffened. How was it possible? He had told no one!</p> - -<p>The Priest divined his thoughts. "The Temple has ways, Telis, of -knowing such things. The Maldia can bribe a guard ... and the Temple -can bribe him again. You should have thought of that tonight."</p> - -<p>Telis drew himself back. "So?"</p> - -<p>"You are foolish, my friend. And it is the duty of the Temple to see -that Laurr does not suffer for your foolishness. The Maldia is a -fearful thing, Telis, a creation of senseless hate. Why do you hate -the Tellurians? You have never even seen one. They are but men like -ourselves, and they bring gifts of great promise to Laurr. It is not -fit that such as you should be joined with a renegade like Prince -Brand ... a craven and a lying usurper ... and for the purpose of -attacking those who have come across to seek knowledge and friendship!"</p> - -<p>Telis pondered. What Gorla said about Brand was largely true. The -man was untrustworthy and underhanded, a blind seeker of power. But -prejudices of caste and upbringing were too much to combat. And to -renege now would be to mark himself a coward in a world that lived by -the sword. It was unthinkable!</p> - -<p>"You, Gorla," Telis said pointedly, "should limit yourself to -scientific and theological matters and leave matters of state and -policy to those better equipped to handle them."</p> - -<p>Gorla shook his head sadly. "Foolish friend!" Then his voice took on -the unmistakable tone of command. "In the name of, and by the authority -of the Temple, I demand that you abandon your projected attack on the -Tellurian camp."</p> - -<p>Telis threw back his head and laughed. "Demand, is it? I know of no -plan to attack the foreigners, friend Priest, now or in the future! Now -kindly step aside. I cannot make the Laurr of Laurr wait on me while I -argue senseless points with you...."</p> - -<p>Gorla sounded defeated. "Then you refuse?"</p> - -<p>Telis frowned at his friend. "Of course, I refuse! And you may carry -that message back to Dorliss ... if there <i>is</i> such a place!"</p> - -<p>With that he turned away, but not before Gorla laid his hand on Telis' -arm and said: "Then forgive me, old friend...."</p> - -<p>Telis wondered at that. Forgive? Forgive what? Then other matters -forced that question from his mind. So the Temple knew of the Maldia's -plan to massacre the aliens. To what extent, he wondered, would the -Temple go in striving for its own inscrutable purpose to save the -Tellurian scientists? And why? In spite of himself, Telis could not -suppress a shudder, for the Temple was powerful ... perhaps the most -powerful thing remaining on the desiccated planet of Laurr.</p> - -<p>The ancient order of the Temple Priests dated to far before the Ten -Water Wars that had so devastated the globe with their atomic fury. Its -beginnings were lost in the dim mists of antiquity, even antedating -the building of the waterways. The membership was perhaps the one body -selected for any purpose on Laurr without consideration of family or -background, and this fact accounted for the fierce loyalty of such able -young Commoners as Gorla.</p> - -<p>The long wars and the struggle for survival had destroyed much of the -ancient science, and what remained lay within the jurisdiction of the -Temple. As it so often happens in times of great stress, science on -the world of Laurr had taken on the vestments of religion in order to -survive. A benevolent, scientific hierarchy, the Priests of the Seven -Cycles spent their cloistered hours delving into the great knowledge -of the ancients, seeking the answers to riddles solved long ago and -forgotten in the fratricidal wars that were the direct result of the -dwindling water supply. Ostensibly, the Temple conducted the world-wide -worship of the Water Goddess, principal deity in the Laurrian Pantheon, -but actually the Priests were scientists striving frantically to -salvage what little they could from the wreckage of the ancient -civilization on a doomed and quarrelsome planet.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>All this Telis of Lars knew only vaguely. He was a soldier, and little -concerned with the ins and outs of the scientific theocracy of the -Temple. His life up to now had been spent largely in wars and tourneys, -in love-making and the less exacting pastimes of the hedonist. Only -the coming of the Tellurians had stirred him to take a more direct -part in the doings of the court circles, for above all he loved Laurr, -and in the outlanders Telis saw the final, insupportable insult to his -beloved, prostrate home-world.</p> - -<p>The government of the Laurr of Laurr and the Temple seldom clashed. -Each remained within its proper sphere, and both were content. But -into this peculiar age-old arrangement the Tellurian spaceship had -fallen like a disrupting bolt from the sky. And men—men like the -men of Laurr—had emerged from the vessel ... seeming to prove the -Temple's much-doubted hypothesis that both Laurr and the planet the -aliens called Terra had been colonized by a great race of interstellar -travelers. How much more could be proved or done with the Tellurians' -aid remained to be seen. The Temple was already calling them the -Redeemers of Laurr, and through its good offices a safe-conduct had -been granted by the Laurr of Laurr himself.</p> - -<p>They had come seeking iron. They wanted to mine and later, perhaps, to -colonize, though Laurr was uncomfortable for them. But this the Maldia -found unthinkable. The Tellurians were barbarians, and the ancient -nobles of Laurr raged at their intrusion.</p> - -<p>Telis found himself among these objectors. For many haads, Laurr had -known of its approaching doom and it wished to die, Telis thought, -as it had lived—proud and unconquered. The Tellurians were outsiders -who had no place on the barren face of his Laurr ... and it was Telis' -intention to drive them away or destroy them. For this he had been -chosen leader of the attack that the Maldia planned to mount in the -morning.</p> - -<p>Already agents had been sent out to agitate among the degenerate tribes -of the desert—the cannibal Guski—and the Maldia was assured of at -least four thousand tribesmen in arms in return for food and plunder. -The power of the Maldia, five hundred sith-mounted nobles, added to -the mass of Guski seemed more than enough to handle a small scientific -expedition from space.</p> - -<p>Now, as he left the guest wing of the palace and strode across the dark -courtyard that separated him from the household quarters of the ruler's -family, Telis smiled to himself. The intruding Tellurians were due for -a shock. Their safe-conduct would be voided within the hour and Laurr -would be free of them before the sun set again!</p> - -<p>He was almost across the yard and into the gate of the household -wing when something made him pause. He had the feeling of being -watched ... followed. His sharp eyes swept the whole of the courtyard. -It was walled and heavily planted with desert shrubs so that his -inspection told him nothing. He shrugged and turned again toward the -gate.</p> - -<p>One step he took, and no more. From overhead came the low whirring of -an air-sled's idling motor. He stopped short, searching the sky for the -craft. A sled in the air low over the Laurr's palace at this time of -night could mean nothing good.</p> - -<p>The sharp clank of metal behind him made him swing around, his sword -hissing from its scabbard. Three hooded figures were almost upon -him, naked steel in their hands. Telis thought wildly of calling for -aid, and then he realized that these men would never dare to attack -him if they had not either bribed or killed the household guards. -Instinctively, he thought of Brand. Was this the renegade's doing? By -killing him and spiriting his body away, Brand could contend before -the Maldia that Telis had lost courage at the last moment and fled -rather than lead them in an overt act against the Tellurians....</p> - -<p>There was no more time for thought, for the three men were upon him. He -slipped his second sword free and stood facing them, searching for some -hint as to their identity. Overhead the air-sled hovered, waiting....</p> - -<p>With a cry, Telis lunged forward and caught one of the attackers on his -point. The man doubled up and fell to his knees as his two companions -closed in. The courtyard now echoed the ring of steel on steel, and the -labored breathing of men fighting.</p> - -<p>Telis fought fiercely. He was fighting for his life—and for what was -even more important on Laurr—his honor as a warrior.</p> - -<p>His blade wove a deadly, glittering web in the darkness, but his two -assailants closed in steadily. The whirring sound of the air-sled was -nearer now, and Telis glanced upward to see if he could catch a glimpse -of the aircraft. His heart sank.</p> - -<p>The ship was a dark blot across the stars, but he could see that a rope -ladder hung down into the court and more men were pouring down, swords -in hand.</p> - -<p>Desperately, Telis pressed forward, trying to rush the attackers and -gain a brief respite. One of the men feinted in the low lines and -followed with a thrust at the head that caught Telis a glancing blow on -the temple and set the stars to dancing before his eyes.</p> - -<p>The fellow rushed in eagerly and Telis heard his companion hiss: -"Careful, you fool!"</p> - -<p>Telis' attack stalled under the concerted rush of the masked man, and -he was forced to retreat until his bare back touched the roughness of -the courtyard wall. There could be no further retreat.</p> - -<p>The assailants separated now, so that Telis was forced to strike wildly -from side to side to avert being hit. His sword made a glittering -arc as he parried a near thrust and a lightning riposte pierced the -swordarm of his nearest attacker.</p> - -<p>Before the others who had dropped from the sled could close in on him, -Telis whirled and ran along the base of the wall. If he could reach the -gate of the household wing he would be safe, for no assassins would -dare follow him into the inner sanctum of the Laurr himself.</p> - -<p>He heard a voice shouting hoarsely in the darkness, and other voices -replying angrily, impatiently.</p> - -<p>"We've lost him!"</p> - -<p>"The devil's wounded Marl and Varo!"</p> - -<p>"Find him, you fools! He must be taken."</p> - -<p>Telis ran breathlessly along the wall, hoping against hope that the -gate would not be covered. It was a vain hope. As he broke out of the -shrubbery, the shouts began again and he was forced to retreat into the -shelter of a towering desert plant.</p> - -<p>He waited there, breath coming in long rasping gasps, and his head -singing from the blow he had taken.</p> - -<p>With pounding heart he listened to the attackers beating the bushes -for him and shouting commands and advice to one another. More men must -still be coming down from the air-sled, for there were fully ten in the -dark courtyard now.</p> - -<p>"He can't have gotten far!"</p> - -<p>"See that the gate is covered—"</p> - -<p>"How the young devil does fight!"</p> - -<p>"Pierce that bush there! I saw something move!"</p> - -<p>Telis tried to smother his labored breathing as the group drew nearer -to his hiding place. His hands cradled his two swords lovingly as the -searchers spread out into a semicircle and moved steadily towards him.</p> - -<p>Telis tensed himself to leap. Within seconds, they would be upon him -and assassins on Laurr showed no mercy, particularly to one who had -wounded two of their craft. He doubled his legs under him and waited.</p> - -<p>"There he is!"</p> - -<p>Telis burst from hiding and braced himself for the rush. His back was -once again against the wall and this time, he knew, there would be no -escape.</p> - -<p>A glittering circle of naked swords surrounded him and he lashed out -furiously, driving the attackers back by the main force of his charge.</p> - -<p>Then it was that a stray beam of light from the closely guarded gate -caught a jewelled glyph on the harness of one of the assassins and -Telis' heart froze. The insigne was the Sword and Atom—the ensign of -the Secular Guard of the Holy Temple!</p> - -<p>The disclosure was like a blow. It was Gorla rather than Brand, who -was trying to kill him! The bitter understanding seemed to sap his -strength. When he felt the stun-gun's tingling impact, it was almost a -relief. Blackness came ... darker than the primeval night, and he felt -himself falling....</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">II</p> - -<p>There was wind on his face, and the air was bitterly cold. Telis -stirred. His harness covered him only slightly, and his bare limbs and -naked chest stung under the lash of the icy night air. From somewhere, -muffled by the roaring of the wind, Telis could hear the familiar -beat of a multiple-pulse jet engine. Under his questing hands lay the -caulked deck of an air-sled, and he realized that the aircraft was -under way and that he was lashed to rings in the afterdeck.</p> - -<p>With a shuddering sigh, he forced himself to relax. Since his abductors -so obviously had the better of him at the moment, there was little he -could do other than watch and wait.</p> - -<p>For what seemed to be several hours, he lay quiet and watched the -endless procession of the stars overhead. Finally, as the last effects -of the stun-gun's bolt wore off, he lifted his head to get a look at -his captors.</p> - -<p>In the greenish glow of phosphorescent light that emanated from the -instruments on the sled's panel, he could see two figures seated at the -controls. The dim light gleamed for a moment on an insigne—the Sword -and Atom. He had not been mistaken back there in the courtyard. He was -in the hands of the Temple.</p> - -<p>The nearer man glanced in his direction and, seeing that he had -awakened, leaned forward to speak. There was no surprise in Telis as he -recognized him. Only a hot anger. For the man was his friend Gorla.</p> - -<p>"Telis! Are you all right?" Gorla had to shout to make himself heard -over the rush of the wind.</p> - -<p>Telis felt his anger increase. Here was Gorla, who had had him -attacked, stunned, and finally kidnapped. And now, it seemed, he was -concerned over the state of his health and general condition! It did -not matter that Brand would within hours be convincing the gentlemen -of the Maldia that Telis of Lars was a faint-hearted coward who -disappeared in the eleventh hour before the attack on the aliens' camp! -What mattered to Gorla was simply: "Telis, are you all right!"</p> - -<p>Getting nothing but a scowl from Telis, the young Priest sat back, a -half smile on his round, pleasant face. He could well imagine what -Telis' thoughts were about now. Hurt pride and mortified anger were -apparent in every line of the Lord of Lars' tense body.</p> - -<p>For hour after hour the air-sled sped along through the smooth night -air. The farther moon set and the madly racing nearer moon rose again -in the west and charged insanely across the backdrop of the eternal -stars. Telis could not see his chronometer, but he estimated that they -had been travelling almost all night at the highest speed the sled -could handle. The pulsing of the jet was a smooth, continuous purr. -They were heading in a westerly direction, and after a bit of mental -mathematics, Telis estimated that they must be very near the heart of -the Great Red Desert and a long, long way from the capital.</p> - -<p>As he struggled to keep from freezing, the young noble estimated -his chances for survival on this strange flight. He found them -dishearteningly slim. For some reason, the seemingly benevolent Temple -had intervened harshly and forcefully in the plan to destroy the -Tellurians. But it should have been apparent to the Priests that his -abduction would not stop the attack. There were plenty of men to take -his place. Brand, surely. Then why was he being held?</p> - -<p>Perhaps the Temple did not wish that he should gain the sanction of the -Laurr of Laurr for the Maldia's plan. But why abduction, then? Why not -merely hold him prisoner until the attack was begun? The events of the -night showed a great deal of careful planning and organization. Such -things took time. And again, why? Telis had a strong suspicion that in -some way the great fondness that the Laurr of Laurr had for him, and -the correspondingly large influence he wielded because of it had more -than a little to do with these strange and dangerous doings....</p> - -<p>The motion of the air-sled as it slanted sharply downward interrupted -his reverie. They were nearing their destination, and whatever was in -store for him would not be long in materializing.</p> - -<p>Gorla arose from his seat at the panel and cautiously made his way -across the precariously canted deck. Reaching Telis' side, he knelt and -brought his lips close to the young warrior's ear.</p> - -<p>"We near our base, Telis, my friend," he shouted. "I beg of you to be -prudent and to contain yourself when you are interviewed. The Temple -elders are wise men and you will do well to listen and learn when they -speak with you...."</p> - -<p>Telis made an angry retort that the wind snatched from his lips and -whirled away into the night.</p> - -<p>"I know you are angry with me, Telis," the young Priest continued, "but -you have made all this necessary. Remember, it is for Laurr!" He laid -an arm across the prisoner's shoulders that Telis could not find the -heart even in his anger to shrug off. "And," the Priest was smiling -now, "you shall see Dorliss, Telis. Few laymen ever do...."</p> - -<p>Dorliss! Then there <i>was</i> such a place! The legends told of it—a -fabled city hidden from the sight of men by some mysterious power, -where the Priests of the mighty Seventh Cycle cloistered themselves to -study the oldest of the ancient riddles. Dorliss! Even the name had a -magical sound! It was here that the Temple's finest minds were said to -struggle in their quest to reclaim Laurr's air and water from the sea -of rust that surrounded them....</p> - -<p>Gorla squeezed the young lord's shoulder in an impulsive gesture of -friendship and returned to his place at the sled's panel. Telis stared -out into the night, his eyes trying to pierce the darkness. The idea -of actually seeing Dorliss still enchanted him and, even though he was -arriving trussed up like a fowl for the slaughter, the experience -promised to be a rich one. He recalled many arguments with Gorla -about the probable existence of the Temple City. He had contended -that invisibility was impossible, and Gorla in his young scientist's -enthusiasm had covered sheets and sheets of vellum with strange -mathematical symbols to prove that a light-shielding field could be -created.</p> - -<p>Telis smiled thinly. If Dorliss was near, and it seemed to be, then a -light shield must surely exist ... for he could see nothing but desert -below in the moonlight.</p> - -<p>The aircraft trembled slightly as the pilot flared out his long glide, -and with a breathtaking suddenness, the stars and the moon vanished, -leaving only a sable blackness around them. Down again, the sled -plunged, and after several moments, the glide flattened again. For a -minute it hovered, and then it dropped sharply, and there was a hissing -sound as the runners touched the ferric sand. They were down.</p> - -<p>A company of Temple Guardsmen bearing torches appeared out of the -darkness, and Telis was freed from the deck-rings. Respectfully, but -firmly, he was taken into custody and marched across the gritty soil of -the landing field toward a lighted gate in the distance.</p> - -<p>The light shield must have been impervious to moonlight, or perhaps -it was made transparent during the hours of daylight. Telis never -knew. But as they made their way toward the gate, the sun rose with -its usual, breathtaking suddenness. The thin air of Laurr precluded -any dawn or twilight and, when the sun burst over the horizon, the -transition from blackness to day was done with shocking speed. It was a -phenomenon that Telis had seen every morning of his six haads, but this -time the effect was different. For never before had Telis seen such a -city as marvelled Dorliss!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>And, as though created in a trice out of the very stuff of darkness, -Dorliss sprang into being before his astounded eyes. The flood of -golden light from the sun touched the spires and minarets of an -enchanted city, casting shards of amber light into the deep canyons -between the slender towers. Unable to help himself, Telis paused to -wonder. His gaze found the great golden dome that housed the Mirror of -the Sky ... fabled place where legend said that a man might sit and see -the glories of the heavens reflected on a monster glass of polished -obsidian, figured by the cunning hands of artificers dead over eight -thousand haads!</p> - -<p>Telis had long been a scoffer ... but here was proof! And farther -off, basking in the warm morning light, there was the Fist of the -Goddess ... a great spire capped by a mammoth sphere. This was the -machine that the stories claimed could shatter even the smallest -particles of matter and suck out of them the pure force that was the -essence of their being, even as had the ancients long ago. It was from -a similar machine, the Temple Priests avowed, that the hellish missiles -of the first eight Water Wars had been fashioned ... the terrible -weapons that had left the once great cities of Laurr in molten, ghastly -heaps of slag, later to be covered over and obliterated by the steadily -rising tide of rust from the deserts.</p> - -<p>And here it all was before him! Here was Dorliss, City of the Temple!</p> - -<p>Stunned by beauty and overwhelmed by nearness to the might of the -ancients, Telis stumbled along toward the gate. For the moment, his -own plight was forgotten in the singing glory of seeing fabled Dorliss -and knowing that there was truth in the tales the Priests told to the -people who cried for life in a world slated for death.</p> - -<p>Surely, Telis thought, if Laurr can be saved from extinction, the -workers of such miracles as these could save it!</p> - -<p>The thought of Laurr brought him up sharply. It brought back a cold -awareness of his purpose ... of his will to escape and rejoin the -Maldia in its attack on the invading Tellurians. The attack that should -at this moment be under way!</p> - -<p>Whatever happened to him in this fairy city, Telis swore by the Goddess -herself that he would not allow himself to forget his duty. Surely, -such wonders as these were not meant to be shared with the barbarians -from across the void!</p> - -<p>The thought remained with him as he was escorted into the city, and -along wide thoroughfares heavily travelled with sith-drawn traffic. -Above, an occasional air-sled passed, but in the main the city's -travelling was done on foot or by means of the ubiquitous sith ... a -six-legged, docile, great-hearted beast that was the sole remaining -animal of its size left on Laurr.</p> - -<p>Telis was taken first to the anterooms of the Central Temple, where a -kindly-faced Third-Cycle Priest assigned him quarters. From there, he -was taken to the tall spire apparently reserved for sudden guests of -the Temple.</p> - -<p>In respectful silence, he was freed of his bonds and left alone in -a room such as he had never dreamed of occupying in his own border -fortress ... or even in the palace of the Laurr of Laurr himself.</p> - -<p>One curving wall was made entirely of glass, and it faced the city to -the west and the desert to the north, so that the whole magnificent -panorama stretched out before him like a framed picture. And the -furnishings! By the Goddess! He had not dreamed that the sombre -scientist-priests of the Temple did themselves so well! Suspecting -the presence of listening devices or peep-holes, he snooped. He found -nothing. A soft canopied bed waited invitingly, reminding him that -the only rest he had had had been the stupor induced by the stun-gun; -and a table laden with refreshments and wines stood in the center of -the deep-pile carpet. What a difference from the stone floors and the -draughty keeps to which he was accustomed!</p> - -<p>Recalling that he had not eaten for some time, he fell to on the laden -table. And then, as weariness stole over him, he laid himself fully -dressed on the wide bed to rest and await whatever came next. Telis -was a soldier and, like all soldiers everywhere, he ate first, rested -next, and was content to await developments in all the comfort that his -surroundings could afford him.</p> - -<p>For a prisoner, he thought with a wry smile, I am certainly being -treated royally. By the Goddess! How would I be treated if I were a -friend?</p> - -<p>At last the strain of the night's events took its toll on him, and the -young Lord of Lars slept as the Temple City of Dorliss awoke to its -many and varied tasks....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The pointer on his chronometer stood at the twenty second hour and the -sun was low on the horizon when Telis was awakened by a liveried escort -at his bedside.</p> - -<p>With a respectful bow, the man indicated that Telis should follow him, -and the young lord trailed him through the door, satisfied that within -a very short time he would be before someone in authority here. His -mind was full of thoughts concerning the attack on the camp that by -this time the Maldia must surely have completed, unless....</p> - -<p>Unless his disappearance had disrupted the carefully laid plans that -had taken the secret organization so long to complete. In that case, -agents would have to be sent out again among the Guski desert tribesmen -to instruct the chieftains concerning a later date to be used for the -attack, and a different leader would of course have to be picked. Telis -grimaced. It would be Brand, naturally. And all the high officers -of the Maldia would be convinced that Telis had defaulted, for they -had no inkling that the Temple was involved or that it even knew of -the projected attack. One way or another Telis of Lars would be the -scapegoat.... Prince Brand would see to that!</p> - -<p>Telis' guide led him out of the spire and into a sith-drawn car. The -great beast stepped smartly along, its six padded paws soundless on the -verdant moss of the thoroughfare.</p> - -<p>As they neared the center of the city, Telis saw that he was being -taken to the Central Temple, a graceful structure of alabaster -whiteness. The guide halted the sith before the Temple and Telis -alighted. An attendant came forward to take charge of the sith, and the -escort motioned Telis into the building.</p> - -<p>They passed the portal and entered into a fairyland within a fairyland, -for the inner rooms of the Central Temple were by far the most wondrous -in all Dorliss. There were panelled walls of purest quartz crystal, -faceted to reflect the light in enchanting beams of polychromatic -loveliness. And the mosaic floors depicted in silver and gold the -scenes of historical significance from the long life of the Temple. A -thousand other things there were that filled the young warrior with -awe ... for mere beauty per se had long ago passed the surface of -Laurr, and only here in the inmost sanctum of the Temple could such -things survive and be cherished.</p> - -<p>Another thing Telis noticed also. Though guards abounded <i>outside</i> -the city, he had seen but a handful within the walls. He remembered -something Gorla had told him long ago: that science could not really -thrive against a militaristic background, and that was why so much of -the ancient lore was lost when the planet became nothing more than a -battleground. Plainly, the city of Dorliss was not ruled by force, -and—a break for freedom might not be the impossible achievement that -he had begun to imagine it.</p> - -<p>Now they were within a long hallway, bare but for the crystal -panelling. From somewhere came the whispering of plaintive music. -It tinted the air with a gentle nostalgia that found a strangely -responsive chord in Telis. He was told that the sound came from another -chamber where a Priest was engaged in research on sounds and their -effect on human emotions. It had been so long since music existed on -Laurr that even this knowledge had been forgotten....</p> - -<p>The guide led Telis on and on, past the long hall and through many -portals that opened at last into a small circular room devoid of any -sort of ornamentation. In the center of this room, a man sat at a table -that rose in graceful lines out of the floor itself. He was old, old.</p> - -<p>Telis stared at the man. He wore the sable robes and the insigne of -the Seventh Cycle, the topmost rank of priest-scientists. Recognition -came, too. This man was not merely a Seventh Cycle Priest ... he was -actually the High Superior of the Temple. The old eyes and kindly face, -the long white beard and sable robe were the same as he remembered from -a hundred solideographs in a hundred provincial Temples.</p> - -<p>Telis would have thrown himself to his knees before the spiritual head -of all Laurr had he not suddenly remembered that he was a prisoner -here, abducted like any thieving Commoner.</p> - -<p>He looked stolidly around the room then, and for the first time he saw -the girl.</p> - -<p>A noble of Laurr had plenty of opportunity to become something of a -connoisseur in the matter of woman flesh, but the moment that Telis' -eyes found the girl's he knew that here was something special.</p> - -<p>Her hair was black and her skin fair, a combination seldom found on -this side of the planet where bronze skin and brown hair were almost -universal, but Telis had heard tales of such women from brother -officers who had carried the Laurr's battles of unification to the -southern hemisphere. The clothes this woman wore were strange ... a -blouse covered her where most Laurrian women went nude, and a short -skirt descended from a harness not unlike Telis' own. Her belt was -hung with various pouches and holsters. And over all, she affected a -transparent jumper of stuff like flexible glass that covered her from -neck to ankles like a chrysalis. Her eyes were deeply shadowed, and she -seemed either ill or terribly disheartened ... or both.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>She stood in silence, a liveried escort at her side, to all intents -and purposes a prisoner like himself, for she wore no swords and to -be disarmed upon Laurr was to be a prisoner ... even the peace-loving -Temple Priests packed their full complement of weapons.</p> - -<p>There was an air about the girl that touched Telis deeply, a -deep-seated strength and quality, even through her obvious illness or -discomfort. He wondered at her crime. Heresy, perhaps? He had never -heard of the Temple arresting heretics ... the Water Goddess was more a -wishful personification than a demanding deity. But perhaps this girl -was something special in the matter of heretics as she obviously was in -the matter of beauty.</p> - -<p>But the explanation was not a satisfying one. There was something -more. Then it came to him like a swordthrust. Could the girl be ... a -Tellurian? Was it possible?</p> - -<p>The intoned words of his escort interrupted his thought.</p> - -<p>"Reverend High Superior, here is Lord Telis of Lars, Captain-General of -the Laurr of Laurr's Armies."</p> - -<p>The Superior inspected him kindly enough. "I have heard that two of our -guardsmen were injured in taking young Telis. How are they now?"</p> - -<p>"They suffered wounds, one critical," reported the escort. "Both will -live, Reverend Superior."</p> - -<p>The old man nodded. "It is well." Then he turned to Telis and he added: -"How well you fight for your prejudices, my son!"</p> - -<p>Telis remained stiffly erect and silent, his eyes hard on the unknown -girl. For the moment all he could do was watch and wait for an -opportunity to escape.</p> - -<p>"You will be interested to know, My Lord of Lars," said the High -Superior mildly, "that the scheduled attack on the Tellurian camp was -not launched this morning...."</p> - -<p>Telis relaxed slightly. Then there was still a chance to redeem himself -in the eyes of his fellow nobles. Perhaps soon.</p> - -<p>"... but you are no longer chieftain of that abominable organization, -the Maldia, for which you should give thanks to the Goddess! At the -moment your so-called friends are meeting to replace you with one -Prince Brand," the High Superior continued. "They have declared at his -instigation that you are a coward and a traitor. Those are the actions -of your fine friends. What do you think of them?"</p> - -<p>Telis felt a stirring of anger. "If what you say is true, Reverend -Superior, I have the Temple and you to thank for my disgrace."</p> - -<p>The High Superior looked reproachful. "Like the rest of your caste," he -sighed wearily, "you are blind. I suppose it will be an impossibility -to convince you that your Maldia is doing infinitely more harm than -good with its senseless code of slaughter and more slaughter. That is -all it will ever succeed in bringing to our suffering planet!"</p> - -<p>Telis held his peace. There was nothing he could say to refute the High -Superior that was not based on obedience to life-long prejudices, and -he somehow felt that those arguments would be wasted on such a man as -now sat before him.</p> - -<p>"Yet I must try," the old priest continued, "to teach you the -difference between rightful pride and sinful, destructive arrogance. -I must try to make you see that these Tellurians you profess to hate -so...."</p> - -<p>Here Telis' eyes sought the girl, but her expression told him nothing. -He looked back at the High Superior.</p> - -<p>"... that you profess to hate so are now Laurr's only chance for -survival."</p> - -<p>"Words," Telis said coldly.</p> - -<p>The old man nodded slowly. "But true words. Words that can bring life -instead of death. Better words than you will ever hear in that barbaric -Maldia!" His old eyes seemed to bore through Telis now, stripping him -bare of intellectual barriers and misunderstanding. "We could," the -priest mused, "turn you over to our psychologists and let them drive -the devils out of your mind...." He paused thoughtfully. "But no. That -would not be the same. You, yourself, must come to understand. You must -be allowed to learn of your mistaken ways without interference."</p> - -<p>Telis frowned. "Abduction, then, is not interference."</p> - -<p>"We regret the necessity. But the lack of time made it necessary. The -attack on the camp had to be delayed and the Maldia chose to act almost -too quickly," said the High Superior. "At least we have been able to -cause a delay of that wanton act."</p> - -<p>"Now or later," said Telis carelessly. "It will come."</p> - -<p>"And with it death to those who offer us redemption and life?"</p> - -<p>"Redemption?" asked Telis hotly, his eyes full on the girl. "Slavery!"</p> - -<p>The High Superior sank back in his chair wearily. "I should have -known," he muttered disgustedly. "Well, so be it, then. You will -remain here in Dorliss until we are able to evolve some scheme for the -protection of our friends. In time even you will see that we act for -the best good of Laurr.</p> - -<p>"These other-worldlings have narrowly averted on their own world the -catastrophe of atomic war that wrecked ours. Hence, they are no longer -a warrior race. They have devoted themselves to science in ways that -we never knew even in the golden haads. Their technics can be our -salvation, if we are only intelligent enough to accept their offered -hand of friendship!"</p> - -<p>Telis was listening with only half an ear now. A plan was forming in -his mind. A plan of escape.</p> - -<p>"... remember that the races of both Terra and Laurr are sprung from -the loins of a single great transgalactic people," the High Superior -was saying, "and together they might one day rule the Solar System. -Think of it, Telis of Lars! Even the knowledge of interplanetary travel -will be ours if we join in brotherhood with Terra! All the might of our -Temple science could not achieve that in the short haads left to us ... -but the Tellurians offer it <i>now</i>! And the only payment they ask is -some of the deadly iron that eats away our atmosphere and drains us of -our precious water!</p> - -<p>"Think of these things, young sir, until next we speak."</p> - -<p>The old man sank back, exhausted by his speech and made a sign that -the audience was over. He knew somehow that he had failed ... and that -other measures were now in order.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">III</p> - -<p>An hour before sunrise, Telis was awake and ready for action. He arose -and dressed himself, broke his fast on the remains of his late evening -meal, for he dared not guess how long it would be before he ate again. -He banged at the door of his apartment until an attendant appeared, -rubbing his eyes sleepily.</p> - -<p>Telis made a long face. "I—I must see Brother Gorla," he demanded, -"the Priest who brought me here. I—I feel the need of spiritual -guidance."</p> - -<p>The attendant, a Temple novice, showed benign pleasure at his words.</p> - -<p>"Could I not be of service, my son?"</p> - -<p>Telis shook his head. "The words of the High Superior have caused me to -reweigh the values of my long and sinful life. Brother Gorla has long -been my spiritual father and counsellor. I must see him." It was not -altogether a lie. The kindly old scientist's words had made him think -a bit, in spite of himself. The old man had seemed so sure. And Gorla -had long been his source of advice and even companionship for a good -five haads.</p> - -<p>The novice was disappointed, but understanding. He departed to waken -Brother Gorla.</p> - -<p>Three quarters of an hour of darkness remained when Gorla appeared at -the door. Telis met him, looking carefully up and down the hall to see -that they were alone. How careless these Temple people were with their -prisoners!</p> - -<p>"Telis, my friend! What is it? Brother Alto said that you needed -some...." Gorla began.</p> - -<p>Telis measured him carefully and swung. With all the power and -co-ordination of a soldier's superbly conditioned body behind it, -Telis' fist caught the Priest on the point of his jaw and knocked him -sprawling to the thick carpet. Quickly dropping to his knees, Telis -relieved the fallen man of his two swords and stun-gun. He strapped -them to his own harness and looked about for a means of reviving the -Priest. Taking the wine bottle from the table, he splashed some of the -dark fluid into Gorla's face. For a moment, Telis had the feeling that -it had all been too easy. But he drove the misgivings from his mind and -concentrated on the next steps in his break for freedom.</p> - -<p>The young Priest sat up fingering his jaw gingerly. There was a -reproachful look in his eyes.</p> - -<p>"Telis, you can't escape if that's what you intended by striking me. -Give me back my weapons."</p> - -<p>Telis smiled savagely. "Oh, no, my good and faithful friend. Now get -up. Up I say, or I'll spit you where you lie!"</p> - -<p>Gorla gave him a rueful smile. "By the Goddess, I believe you'd do it, -too."</p> - -<p>"There is a girl here," Telis snapped. "What do you know about her?" If -the girl actually were a Tellurian, she would be an invaluable hostage.</p> - -<p>"Girl?" Gorla looked puzzled.</p> - -<p>"Quickly!"</p> - -<p>"It's true that there is a girl here, but—"</p> - -<p>"Who is she? Why was she brought here?" demanded Telis.</p> - -<p>"She was found by one of our patrol sleds ... lost in the desert and -near dead. They picked her up and brought her here. Since then she has -remained ... voluntarily."</p> - -<p>Telis gave a short, hard laugh. "You can do better than that, Gorla!"</p> - -<p>The Priest shrugged. "Then why ask me if you don't intend to believe -the truth?"</p> - -<p>"I'll hear it from her. We are leaving, friend, and she goes with us!"</p> - -<p>Gorla shrugged again. "As you wish, Telis. There seems to be nothing I -can do to stop you."</p> - -<p>"Then lead me to her quarters, and not a sound out of you, do you -understand?" Telis prodded the Priest gently with the short-sword.</p> - -<p>"But command me, lord," muttered Gorla sarcastically. He picked himself -up off the floor. Telis snatched the cloak from his cassock and wrapped -it around the gleaming blade of the short-sword, still keeping the -point at the base of the Priest's spine.</p> - -<p>"Don't force me to use this, Gorla," he hissed in the other's ear.</p> - -<p>Gorla shook his head silently and led the way off down the corridor. -The early hour was well chosen, for the whole towering edifice seemed -to be deserted. Somehow, Telis felt, <i>too</i> deserted. The whole -magnificent megalopolis that was Dorliss seemed to sleep serenely under -its mantle of invisibility.</p> - -<p>In a tight silence, Gorla led Telis until they stood before a closed -door near the ground level.</p> - -<p>"Open it," commanded Telis.</p> - -<p>"I have no key," Gorla protested.</p> - -<p>Cursing under his breath, Telis tried the doorlatch. To his surprise, -it gave easily and the door swung open. Telis lifted his sword, -half-expecting a trap, but no attack came from the darkness beyond the -portal. He shoved Gorla through and closed the door, the dark closing -in around them.</p> - -<p>"A light," whispered Telis.</p> - -<p>Gorla touched a switch on the wall and light flooded the room. On the -great bed near the far wall, the girl sat, bedclothes held to her -breast, staring at them curiously. It was strange, thought Telis, that -she showed no fear. And stranger still was the fact that her face was -encased now in a bag-like contraption made of the same unusual material -as the jumper he remembered seeing her wear. It was stretched tight by -internal pressure that apparently came from a small cylinder at her -bedside and connected to the mask by a flexible metal tube.</p> - -<p>Some new and strange addiction, wondered Telis? It was not unknown -upon Laurr for some to succumb to the lure of narcotics, what with the -incessant warfare jangling the nerves and the ever-present spectre of -doom hanging over the whole planet. Telis himself had tasted gas from a -similar contraption on one of his hedonistic revels....</p> - -<p>Whatever the drug was, he had seen her without the bag-like helmet in -the Central Temple. Addiction might account for her seeming illness -that he so well remembered from the previous day.</p> - -<p>There was no sign of illness about her now! He stared at her, his -breath catching in his throat.</p> - -<p>Exotic woman!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Near at hand, her beauty was almost a living, tangible thing. Her hair -gleamed, and her skin was palely translucent, like purest alabaster. -The refraction of the light through the transparent mask surrounded her -face with a glowing nimbus that made Telis think of the solideographic -icons of the Goddess. Her lips were full, almost sensuous, and her -great dark eyes looked at him quizzically but unafraid.</p> - -<p>"There is no time to explain," he said rapidly. "We are leaving this -place. Now."</p> - -<p>She nodded without surprise, as though she had known exactly what he -was going to say.</p> - -<p>Telis motioned for her to get up. For a moment she waited, but when -Telis showed no sign of turning around, she slipped out of bed and -covered herself quickly with the blouse and harness that lay on a -chair nearby. As she did so, she slipped the transparent mask off and, -even as Telis watched her appreciatively, he could see the illusion of -health fade from her face. A pinched look appeared, and a thin line of -blue formed around her mouth. She seemed short of breath.</p> - -<p>The girl adjusted her harness about her, making sure that the contents -of each pouch were there. Then she slipped herself into the transparent -jumper and reached for the mask.</p> - -<p>Telis caught her arm. "The mask stays here."</p> - -<p>The girl looked perplexed. She looked to Gorla for aid. The young -Priest moved to intervene, but Telis motioned him aside. "No," Telis -spoke sharply. "You may have to fly an air-sled...." He paused. "You -can fly one, can't you?"</p> - -<p>The girl nodded. "I have learned to fly one," she said. "But my -mask ... I need it!"</p> - -<p>The girl's face looked stricken at the thought of leaving her precious -mask behind. But Telis hardened himself. He could not let this escape -be risked by her unpredictable actions. Besides, he had seen her in the -Temple without the mask, so it was not a matter of life and death for -her.</p> - -<p>"The mask stays," Telis said flatly.</p> - -<p>For a long moment there was something like sheer terror on the girl's -face. Then, as though by an effort of the will, she composed herself -and nodded her agreement. Telis was forced to admire her courage.</p> - -<p>Gorla seemed to realize that any comments that he might make concerning -the mask <i>or</i> the girl Telis would not believe, since for the moment -they found themselves enemies. He decided to maintain a discreet -silence and hope for the best.</p> - -<p>"And now, friend Gorla," ordered Telis, "lead us to the landing field -and get us an air-sled. It is a long way back to the capital and I have -no intention of trying to make it on sith-back, not as long as your -Temple Guards are so handy with the aircraft."</p> - -<p>Like a bemused sleepwalker, Gorla led the way out of the building and -through the dark streets. No beam of light now penetrated the light -shield surrounding the Temple City, and Telis found the protecting -darkness much to his liking. The drowsy guards at the gate looked -curiously at the trio, but, recognizing Brother Gorla, made no effort -to stop them.</p> - -<p>Soon they were at the landing field and Gorla had run out the very -air-sled that had brought Telis to the Temple City. Telis stepped into -the forward cockpit and tested the jet. It came readily to life under -his practised hands, and he motioned Gorla and the girl in beside him.</p> - -<p>"Fly low," the girl said almost pleadingly.</p> - -<p>He laid the stun-gun within easy reach and turned to Gorla. "Not that I -don't trust you, my old friend," he said with a thin smile, "but I will -feel much more comfortable if you are well-behaved while I am flying."</p> - -<p>Gorla made no reply. He merely shrugged and wrapped himself in his -cassock as best he could.</p> - -<p>Telis glanced around at the sleeping field. Far across the landing area -lights were flashing on. The sound of the air-sled's jet had awakened -the attendants, and soon they would be giving the alarm. But there -was no chance for anyone to stop them now. Almost disdainfully, Telis -shoved the throttle forward on the quadrant and the jet roared. With a -hissing of runners, the sled moved swiftly across the red sand and into -the air.</p> - -<p>Zooming low over the buildings at the far end of the field, the sled -drove out into the blackness. Then with breathtaking suddenness, it -slashed through the light shield and the lights of Dorliss vanished -while the heavens came alive with the early morning stars.</p> - -<p>Telis pointed the sled's blunt nose at the hatefully beautiful morning -star that was Terra riding low on the eastern horizon. Presently, he -levelled the craft and reduced his speed to maximum cruising power. -Just skimming the reddish dunes, they sped eastward, into the sudden -glory of the desert dawn....</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">IV</p> - -<p>At noon, Telis took time to search the sled's storage locker. Turning -the controls over to the girl, he crawled across the bare deck into the -rear cockpit. Most sleds that were used for over-desert flying carried -emergency rations and weapons for the use of anyone unfortunate -enough to need them. In the matter of weapons, he was doomed to -disappointment, for this particular sled carried none. But there was -a small packet of concentrates, and a flask of precious water. Telis -gathered the packet in his arms and turned to start back toward the -forward cockpit.</p> - -<p>He stopped short. From his vantage point behind her, Telis could see -that the girl had taken a small cube from her pouch and was holding -it to her ear. For several seconds she sat quite still, as though -listening, then she turned the cube, held it to her lips for a moment, -and returned it to the pouch at her belt.</p> - -<p>He scrambled back to his place beside her, demanding, "That cube. What -was it?"</p> - -<p>"Cube?"</p> - -<p>"In there." Telis touched the pouch that hung at her side.</p> - -<p>"You must have been mistaken. There is no cube," she said, "Perhaps you -saw me checking my compass...." She reached into the pouch and drew out -a small magnetic compass in a square metal case. "You see?"</p> - -<p>Telis frowned. It was possible that he had been mistaken ... but he was -inwardly almost certain that the compass he held in his hand was not -the cube he had seen the girl using. For a moment he toyed with the -idea of searching her, but reconsidered. The sled would not touch the -ground again until it landed in the capital near the Grand Canal. There -was no possible way that the girl could harm him or interfere with his -plans now. And perhaps the cube was a happy-gas inhaler....</p> - -<p>He looked searchingly into the girl's face. She looked as though she -could use some stimulant. The blue about her mouth and the tight, -pinched look in her face seemed to have worsened since leaving Dorliss. -She actually looked ill. She gave him a wan smile, and he decided to -question her no more for the present.</p> - -<p>Opening the packet of concentrates, he offered her one and passed the -pack to Gorla. Then he passed the water flask around, cautioning them -to drink sparingly.</p> - -<p>As the hours passed and the sun began to slide down toward the western -hills, Telis began to worry about their navigation. Not knowing the -exact location of the Temple City, he could only guess at the proper -course for the capital; and the low altitude made navigating very -difficult. Telis decided to climb higher and see if he could not catch -a glimpse of the Grand Canal or some other familiar landmark. He nosed -the sled upward slightly and edged the throttle forward, sending the -sled upward toward the cobalt sky.</p> - -<p>The girl was looking down over the side at the desert rushing by. -Though there was nothing to be seen but rust-red sand, something about -the desolate waste seemed to please her.</p> - -<p>Telis touched her arm to attract her attention. "We've been together -almost all day and I don't even know your name," he said. "I am Telis -of Lars...."</p> - -<p>The girl smiled back at him. "My name is Leslie Karr," she returned.</p> - -<p>Leslie. Telis turned the name on his tongue. It had a foreign flavor. -As exotic and lovely as the girl herself. And two names. Leslie and -Karr. Telis found the last hard to pronounce. Now, he wondered, why two -names? She must be a person of consequence in her home land.</p> - -<p>Telis thought of the cube. Perhaps a signalling device. A thought -struck him. The Temple? No, it was not likely. A nagging doubt -remained. He recalled uneasily how simple the escape had been. Too -simple. Was this girl an agent of the Temple? Or had his first -suspicion—that she was a Tellurian—been right?</p> - -<p>"Telis," Gorla broke the silence, "can you tell me where we are?"</p> - -<p>Telis shook his head.</p> - -<p>"Why are we climbing?" Leslie asked. She looked afraid. "Please—I—I -asked you to—"</p> - -<p>Telis cut her off almost sharply. "I know what you asked me. But we -must get high enough to have a look around us. To be lost out here -would mean the end for all of us; an unpleasant end, too. It will only -be for a short time."</p> - -<p>Leslie dropped into an uneasy silence. Higher and higher the air-sled -climbed until at last Telis levelled the aircraft off and began a -systematic search of the horizon to the east. There was no sign of the -greenery that edged the great water-way.</p> - -<p>"Telis!" Gorla's shout cut across the roaring of the wind. "Leslie! -Look at her!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Telis whirled to look at the girl. The strange malady from which she -suffered had chosen this moment to strike her down. For a moment Telis -was shocked. Never had he seen a happy-gas addict react in this way! -The thin line of blue that surrounded her mouth was deeper, staining -her lips and spreading to tinge her whole face with azure. Her eyes -were closed and her breath came in huge rasping gasps. Gorla was -cradling her in his arms, chafing her wrists and trying to force water -through her slack lips. He looked up at Telis, shouting frantically!</p> - -<p>"Down! Down, Telis! We have to get her down low!"</p> - -<p>For a moment Telis did not understand, then he realized what was meant -and shoved the sled over into a steep dive. The girl was suffering from -oxygen-starvation. She seemed to suffer from it chronically, and if the -sled did not reach denser air soon she would die! That was the reason -she had feared altitude and had begged that the sled be kept low.</p> - -<p>And Gorla knew!</p> - -<p>Suddenly the whole improbable picture of the escape flashed before -Telis' eyes, and a sick feeling swept over him.</p> - -<p>In a panic Gorla whipped out a transmitter and began to shout into it. -Fearing the girl's death, his instructions were forgotten and he began -broadcasting for help. Telis stared for a moment, not understanding. -The radio devices used by the Temple were unknown to him, but he knew -with an instinctive certainty that Gorla was making contact with the -Temple Guard back in Dorliss. The rumors he had heard of the Temple's -methods of quick communication seemed to ring in his ears and fury -took him by the throat. Why hadn't Gorla used the radio before? Was it -because the whole escape was a monstrous hoax, engineered by the Temple -for the purpose of somehow shattering the Maldia and what it stood for? -The answer was a blazing, irrevocable yes!</p> - -<p>And to what extent was Leslie Karr involved? In his fury, Telis could -not think clearly enough to guess. He had the helpless feeling of great -wheels containing smaller wheels and all spinning and whirring for some -darkly unknown purpose....</p> - -<p>He snatched the transmitter from Gorla's hand and slammed it over the -side. Sick anger filled him. The Temple must at this very moment know -their exact location from that tell-tale signal that Gorla had sent in -his panic for Leslie! What a fool he had been with his escape and his -cleverness! How they must be laughing at him back in Dorliss!</p> - -<p>"May the Goddess damn you!" he gritted at Gorla.</p> - -<p>"You fool!" the Priest retorted, his round face livid. "You've killed -her with your stupid plottings and your...."</p> - -<p>"She will live," snapped Telis. He knew how to deal with anoxia. Long -campaigns in the air forces of the Laurr had taught him. But the rest -of it ... the debt to be settled with Gorla ... that was something else!</p> - -<p>His fury made him careless, and as the sled touched the sand, it almost -overturned, skidding and careening over the red sand until at last -it came to rest at a crazy angle on the slope of a low dune. The jet -coughed and died, its nozzle jammed with sand.</p> - -<p>Quickly, Telis lifted the insensate girl in his arms and laid her -on the sand at full length. For just a moment he wondered at her -weight ... she seemed almost twice as heavy as she should be for her -size....</p> - -<p>Then the urgency of the moment was upon him, and he knelt at her side, -placed his lips on hers and began forcing air into her lungs with his -own. Presently she stirred and Telis knew with a feeling of great -relief that she would recover.</p> - -<p>He wrapped her in Gorla's cloak, for the sun was sinking low and the -night chill was already in the air.</p> - -<p>Then he turned to face the Priest, memory rekindling his fury. He -caught the man by his cassock and pulled him close. "Now, Gorla, you'll -tell me the whole story—all of it!" His voice was icy with suppressed -anger.</p> - -<p>But Gorla's eyes were not on him. Instead they seemed centered on -something above and behind him. The Priest's features contorted with a -sudden fear, and he twisted around, pulling Telis with him.</p> - -<p>"Look out!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The warning came too late. The sudden twist had saved Telis' life, but -the flashing missile caught him in the shoulder. A searing pain blazed -through Telis, and he spun around, staggered by the impact of the -thrown short-sword that had pierced his shoulder.</p> - -<p>Through a dancing haze of agony, Telis could see a ragged line of naked -men and women on the crest of the dune. Each carried a short-sword and -a long-sword, and the bodies were filthy and covered with rank hair.</p> - -<p>Guski!</p> - -<p>A lank women lifted her arm and pitched her short-sword. It struck in -the sand near Leslie Karr's prostrate body. Telis threw himself on -the girl, protecting her body with his own. With pain lancing through -him from the blade that still impaled him, he freed one of his swords -and his stun-gun, throwing them to Gorla. Their personal quarrel was -forgotten in the heat of the attack.</p> - -<p>Blood was flowing out of him. Gritting his teeth to keep from crying -out, Telis twisted the imbedded sword free. With a sobbing moan he -dropped it to the sand. He fought back the blackness that threatened to -engulf him. Gorla must not fight alone!</p> - -<p>The Priest had sought the shelter of the air-sled and was shooting -handily at the attackers on the crest. Already he had accounted for -three men and a woman, and several of their companions, not knowing -or caring that the stun-gun did not kill, had withdrawn from the fray -to butcher the fallen ones into long strips of bloody meat which they -stuffed hungrily into their mouths.</p> - -<p>Telis felt Leslie stir, and he struggled to his feet and helped her to -the sled.</p> - -<p>With surprising quickness she adapted herself to the necessities of -battle. She took a peculiar looking pistol from her pouch and levelled -it at the attackers.</p> - -<p>A sharp report burst from the weapon in the girl's hand and, on the -crest of the dune, a Guski woman shrieked and pitched to the sand. -Twelve times this process was repeated, and Telis began to have hopes -that the battle would be won before he, himself, collapsed from loss of -blood.</p> - -<p>It was a vain hope. After the twelfth explosion, the weapon fell -silent, and the strange performance was over.</p> - -<p>There was a tense lull during which the Guski butchered their dead, and -Gorla tried fruitlessly to start the dead motor of the sled. Then the -Guski began to close in, and Gorla and Telis both were forced to leave -the sled and advance to meet them. Leslie stayed near the aircraft, -digging frantically at the jammed jet.</p> - -<p>To Telis, his sword seemed suddenly very, very heavy. He touched Gorla -on the shoulder. "At least ... we'll die ... friends ... together," he -muttered.</p> - -<p>Gorla's face contorted with grief. "Friends ... always, Telis. I never -felt any other way," he said simply.</p> - -<p>There was no time for more. The Guski were upon them—a savage, -shrieking horde of vile-smelling beasts, hungering for the taste of -human meat.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p><i>Then the cannibal-people were upon them—a savage, shrieking horde.</i></p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Time seemed to stand still. Telis thrust and slashed, cut and parried -endlessly. Pain was his only reality. Faces appeared before him, and -vanished into gouts of red as his blade found marks. Steadily his -strength failed and finally he dropped to his knees, still lashing out -feebly with his weapon.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the cacophony of battle was overwhelmed by the jerky, uneven -barking of an ailing jet. Leslie had cleared the nozzle! Startled and -fearful of the jet flame, the Guski shrank back momentarily. In that -moment, Gorla half-dragged, half-carried Telis to the sled. Telis could -feel the movement of the sled as it coursed lamely across the sand, -trying to gain flying speed. He heard Leslie gasp:</p> - -<p>"It's no use, Gorla. It can't lift the three of us with the jet -half-clogged."</p> - -<p>Gorla's voice came sharp and clear. "Then I stay. Take him on. That's -the important thing. He must be made to see...."</p> - -<p>Telis realized with agonizing helplessness that since the sled could -not lift three persons Gorla was remaining behind. To face the Guski!</p> - -<p>He tried to cry out his protest, but he was too weak to do more than -moan.</p> - -<p>"Can you find the way?" Gorla asked the girl.</p> - -<p>"I have maps. There's the transmitter, too. I can come in on D-F fixes. -But what about you?"</p> - -<p>"Never mind me ... remember, the fate of my world goes with you ... and -with Telis. Explain that to him ... after he knows...."</p> - -<p>Telis heard the motor speed up again, and he felt the bumping of the -runners on the sand. But he was unconscious before the sled lifted into -the air....</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">V</p> - -<p>For what seemed a long time, Telis floated in throbbing darkness. Pain -spun in little wind-devils of fire across the surface of his mind and -it was not physical pain alone. Two thoughts tortured him constantly. -He had failed the Maldia and he had deserted his friend, leaving him to -die at the hands of the cannibal tribesmen.</p> - -<p>Aeons swept by in that timeless, vitalizing darkness, and at last Telis -opened his eyes.</p> - -<p>For a moment he thought that he was back in the Central Temple of -Dorliss, but as his eyes focused more clearly, he saw that he was in a -small, neatly bare room. The walls were white, and one of them seemed -to curve gently overhead until it met the first plane of the ceiling.</p> - -<p>A cool hand was stroking his forehead, and Telis turned to meet the -eyes of Leslie Karr. She sat at his bedside watchfully, and somehow he -knew that she had been there for a long time.</p> - -<p>Her clothing was different than he remembered. Her harness was gone. -Now, her supple figure was clad in a straight tunic of dark metallic -cloth that hung from her shoulders to the middle of her thighs, caught -at her small waist by a linked belt. Her dark hair was swept back from -her face, exposing her small, elfin ears. There was a look of health -and vitality about her that was amazing when Telis recalled her -condition in the air-sled.</p> - -<p>"Wh ... what magic is this?" he asked.</p> - -<p>Leslie smiled. "No magic," she said. "Only some decent air."</p> - -<p>Telis drew a deep breath: It was true. The air was different ... and -wondrous. Vitality filled him and with it came a thousand questions. -Where was he? What was this place? What had happened after the fight on -the desert? And the question he most wanted answered—what of Gorla?</p> - -<p>Leslie laid a warning hand over his lips and cautioned him against -spending his new found strength too prodigally. He was healing, she -told him, and within a very few days he would be able to be up and -around. At that time, all his questions would be answered. This last -she told him with something like reluctance in her voice.</p> - -<p>Plainly, wherever they were, Leslie was at home here.</p> - -<p>The days passed almost too swiftly. Strange men came and went, giving -him odd medications and dressing his wound. All his questions were -tactfully avoided. Yet their concern for a stranger was confusing to -Telis. By the code that Telis had lived his six haads with, a stranger -was ipso facto an enemy. According to that tenet he had lived and -had become a great soldier and a high officer of the Laurr of Laurr -himself. Now here were strangers treating him with kindness ... and -their kindness was striking at the roots of everything he had ever -believed. And there was Leslie. She remained with him constantly, -tending him and comforting him with her presence. Telis felt himself -losing his heart to this exotic girl with her kindness and her -breathtaking beauty.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Four days passed and then his confinement was over. He was able to rise -from his hospital cot. His harness was brought to him, and even his -weapons. If proof were needed, Telis thought, the act of returning his -weapons proved that he was among friends. And true friends they must -be, for they had nursed him and fed him, and he could not forget that -his friend had been willing to remain behind alone to face the Guski so -that he, Telis, might be brought here. And that recalled the burning -question mark. <i>Why?</i></p> - -<p>When he had dressed himself, Leslie came into the room. Her face was -sombre. "Telis," she began, "I have something that I must tell you -before you leave this room. Believe me, it is not easy. You see, I ... -I have not been honest with you.... Not that I have lied. Believe me, I -haven't. But...." She broke off momentarily in confusion. Her face was -flushed. "I have let you mislead yourself, and that's very like lying, -isn't it?" She did not wait for a reply, but rushed on. "Now I have -to stand by and watch you find out who and what I am. Oh, believe me, -I have no wish to hurt you or your people, Telis. I couldn't ... -now ... because I ... I...." She bit her lips. "All this is necessary. -You had to be convinced, you see, because of your great influence with -the Laurr...." She gave a short, nervous laugh. "All this isn't making -very much sense, is it?"</p> - -<p>"No," replied Telis, puzzled.</p> - -<p>"You know by now that you were tricked into coming here. It was all -planned by us and by the Temple...."</p> - -<p>Telis felt the blood drain from his face. He knew exactly what was -coming next. The whole incredible picture was clear.</p> - -<p>"Oh, Telis," cried Leslie. "Please understand! Gorla understood ... -and he gave his life so that we could make <i>you</i> see! Can't you see -what I am trying to tell you? Can't you see that if you help us we can -bring life back to Laurr? And that if you won't it might mean ages of -senseless warfare? Telis ... <i>try</i>...."</p> - -<p>Telis of Lars stared. It all came flooding back to him. All the -tiny, irrelevant pieces of the puzzle. The mask back in Dorliss! A -respirator! Her need for oxygen ... the anoxia that struck her down in -the air-sled ... the rich air of this room! Her weight ... the greater -density of a heavy gravity planet's evolution! Alien, alien!</p> - -<p>Leslie Karr could feel the barrier rising between them and she cried -out against it. Tears streaked her face, and even that added to Telis' -sense of alienage. Laurrians did not weep. The water in their bodies -was far too precious for that. It was all too grotesque! He, the former -leader of the Maldia, beholden to the invaders for his very life!</p> - -<p>Then the shock began to wear off, and his mind to function more -clearly. This place with its sloping wall was a compartment in the -Tellurian spacecraft, that much was now obvious. Yet they had trusted -him within it ... armed. And they had been kind to him, they had nursed -him back to health after the Guski's wound almost killed him. Why? It -was not enough that he had great influence with the Laurr. He had had -the feeling that they <i>liked</i> him. Could it be, he wondered, that the -whole basic philosophy of the Maldia was in error? The Temple spoke of -mighty Tellurian science. Could it actually do what the High Superior -of Dorliss claimed? Redeem the planet and give it hope again?</p> - -<p>And there was Leslie. In that moment of introspection, Telis knew with -a distinct shock that, Tellurian or not, he loved her. Telis of Lars, -peer of the ancient realm of Laurr, member of the dread, anti-Tellurian -Maldia, was in love with an alien woman! Creature of another -world—different and strange—and yet he loved her! Standing there, -watching her tears course down her cheeks, he felt his heart constrict, -and he knew that she had won.</p> - -<p>"Please, Telis—my Telis—let me show that we can be friends!" she -cried.</p> - -<p>Telis stared at her. "Friends?" he asked thickly.</p> - -<p>Leslie took a step nearer, her eyes suddenly wide, almost afraid. It -came to Telis in a blinding flash of insight that she too was feeling -the soul-wrenching conflicts of love for an alien creature. To her -Telis was the exotic, the outlander.</p> - -<p>Then like the snapping of a steel wire, the barrier was broken, and -she was in his arms, returning his kisses with an almost desperate -abandon....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The Tellurian camp was a revelation to Telis. Guided by Leslie and -a group of Tellurian scientists, he beheld machines such as had not -existed on the surface of Laurr for ten thousand haads. Here, among the -squat, pressurized domes of the camp were the end-products of all the -theories the Temple had salvaged from the lost books of the ancients.</p> - -<p>Power was drawn from the destruction of infinitesimal particles of -matter by a mysterious process the scientist referred to as "fission," -and Telis found to his surprise that Leslie was not a noblewoman as -he had supposed, but something called a "metallurgist." These terms -meant nothing to him, but the teeming activity of the camp and the -matter of fact way in which miracles were daily performed made him -begin to understand what the High Superior had meant when he had said -that together the races of Terra and Laurr might one day rule the solar -system. The machines and the magnificent, graceful projectile that was -the spaceship fired Telis' imagination.</p> - -<p>If any doubt remained in his mind, it was shattered irretrievably when -Leslie showed him the mining operations. Thus far, they had begun only -on an experimental basis, the Tellurians wisely wary of extending -themselves before permission to remain was granted by the Laurr. But, -even on a small scale, what Telis saw stirred him more deeply than had -any of the other wondrous things he had been shown.</p> - -<p>Since the deserts of Laurr were almost pure iron oxide, it was -explained to him that they were the result of the ubiquitous iron's -propensity for uniting with oxygen. The result, after many aeons, -was that the air was actually rusting away. By the marvelous miracle -of Tellurian chemistry, the iron oxide was broken down into its -constituent elements. This resulted in a stream of iron ingots, and ... -free oxygen!</p> - -<p>Telis was quick to realize what this process would mean to Laurr -over a period of time if it was made universal. Great quantities of -the precious oxygen would be released into the air to revitalize it, -and later to combine with the large amounts of hydrogen in Laurr's -atmosphere to form water!</p> - -<p>The Tellurians had in fact already set up a pilot plant where oxygen -and hydrogen were mixed to make the water they needed for their own -purposes. Part of it was used for drinking and bathing, and part was -used for puddling the iron oxide before it was passed through the -separation process. Great pressure hoses washed the impurities from -the ferric oxide even as Telis watched, astounded. Never had a Laurrian -seen precious water treated so carelessly, but with a great effort he -was able to acclimate himself finally to an economy of plentiful water, -and the sight of great streams of it churning the desert to reddish mud -shocked him less and less as the days passed.</p> - -<p>Only two thoughts marred Telis' happiness during these days spent in -the camp. First the thought of Gorla's fate remained with him always, -and he resolved that his friend's sacrifice should not be for nothing. -And, second, there was the Maldia. Now, with Prince Brand at its head, -it was more than ever a threat to the safety of the people from the -third planet, to himself, to the Laurr and by extension to the world of -Laurr itself.</p> - -<p>Telis resolved that he must return immediately to the capital and lay -his findings before the Laurr. Only in that way could the danger of -the Maldia be removed. With the safe-conduct from the supreme ruler -confirmed publicly, the Maldia would not dare to attack the camp.</p> - -<p>The air-sled was repaired, and Telis made ready to leave the following -morning over the protests of Leslie and the camp medical staff who -contended that his wound was not yet sufficiently healed.</p> - -<p>But Telis' resolution had come too late. Even as the sled was loaded, a -shout from the watchtower brought the whole camp out into the streets. -With sinking heart Telis heard the words of the camp guard. The Maldia -had come, and the camp found itself surrounded.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">VI</p> - -<p>Telis hurried with Leslie to the watchtower and his horrified eyes -looked out over the surrounding desert. Fully five thousand Guski men -and women surrounded them, led by at least five hundred well-armed and -sith-mounted warriors. Telis recognized many of them as his former -comrades of the Maldia. And Prince Brand was there. Telis felt a hot -wave of hate for the man.</p> - -<p>Thus far, they had made no move to attack, and that in itself showed -the characteristic mark of Brand's leadership. With a force of fifty -five hundred fighting men against an even two hundred poorly-armed men -and women, mostly elderly scientists, Brand still chose to proceed with -caution lest the unexpected defeat him....</p> - -<p>Telis started. The unexpected!</p> - -<p>He let his mind harken back to the stories the older Temple Priest -told of the mythical coming of the Water Goddess. And he thought of -the books he had read dealing with the forgotten science of weather on -Laurr....</p> - -<p>Quickly he called a meeting of all the department heads. Leadership -fell on his shoulders like a cloak, for among all these learned men and -women he was the only warrior.</p> - -<p>One woman suggested that all the personnel of the camp move into the -spaceship and that they lift the craft into the air, spraying the -attackers with the deadly radioactive exhaust gases. But the ship's -navigator vetoed that idea quickly. There was fuel enough only for the -return flight to Terra when next the two planets came into conjunction. -Moreover, such a move would destroy the camp and all its machinery, -negating the entire purpose of the expedition.</p> - -<p>It was then that Telis stepped forward with his plan. The Tellurians -seemed doubtful that it would work, but Leslie who had been among the -Laurrians more than the rest of them, convinced them that they could -lose nothing by trying.</p> - -<p>"Telis is of Laurr," she said to them, "and he knows the ways and -beliefs of his people. I, for one, think that his plan is our only -hope. Outnumbered as we are, and by savage fighting men and women, our -only chance is fear. It saved our lives before, and can again!"</p> - -<p>When the technicians had left to modify the necessary equipment, Telis -summoned the non-essential able-bodied men. Arming them with the few -Tellurian powder-guns that were available and with whatever cutting -weapons came to hand, he made ready to lead them out to meet the -attackers. Time was needed. Telis and his respirator-masked, make-shift -company determined to gain that time.</p> - -<p>He stationed his men near the main gate to the camp and walked slowly -out toward the masked attackers, tensely aware that at last Prince -Brand had him at a real disadvantage.</p> - -<p>Knowing that to convince these caste-ridden fanatics and savage -cannibals that the attack should not be launched, would be next to -impossible, Telis evolved a stratagem that might save a few precious -moments. The warlike society of Laurr had developed a very strict code -duello. As it was among most warrior civilizations, "honor" or "face" -were of the utmost importance. He, himself, by disappearing on the eve -of the Maldia's planned attack had lost face. Now, he resolved to turn -this fact into a weapon against his attackers.</p> - -<p>"Ho! Brand, there!" he hailed. "Come forward!"</p> - -<p>Prince Brand squinted across the distance to see if he could recognize -the speaker. Slowly, recognition came, and with it a fulsome -satisfaction. This was better than he could have hoped for!</p> - -<p>"So it is my Lord Telis returned from the realm of the Goddess to guide -our hand against the invaders!" he smirked. "Come! Join us, illustrious -phantom. We are about to complete the work you so nobly began the night -you decided not to risk yourself!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>For a moment there was a silence among the noblemen of the Maldia, -and then the laughter started. It was what Telis had expected. It was -ironic, bitter laughter for one who had failed the warrior's code. To -these men he was a coward. Even the naked savages laughed, though they -did not understand the reason for it.</p> - -<p>Telis' fury rose under the goading mirth, but he knew with some -satisfaction that all the palaver was taking up precious minutes, -stalling the attack that he could hold at bay only with his wits.</p> - -<p>"You, Brand," said Telis slowly and distinctly, "are a usurping -rogue. Your mother was a she-sith and your father a Guski slave of -questionable ancestry. You are a coward and a pandering lackey!"</p> - -<p>A sudden quiet settled on the serried ranks and Telis continued with -his insulting monologue.</p> - -<p>"I challenge you to fight me here and now—so that I can strip the -harness from your puffy carcass and throw it to the siths! Refuse, and -I will come and get you!"</p> - -<p>A low moan of rage rose from the ranks of the nobles. Never had a -high-born prince been so grossly and deliberately insulted. According -to their code, there was only one possible answer, and they awaited it -with eagerness. Brand must fight.</p> - -<p>But Prince Brand was no fool. He knew Telis for a swordsman, and he -strongly suspected some sort of trickery from the too-silent camp. -Still, he knew that Telis must be punished and before the troops or his -hold over them would fail. It could be done without placing himself in -jeopardy for the sake of a gallant gesture.</p> - -<p>He turned to an equerry. "Bring him to me. Dead or alive."</p> - -<p>Telis heard, and gave an insulting laugh. "Preferably dead, eh, Brand?"</p> - -<p>The equerry looked pained. He turned to Brand. "Sir, he has offered a -challenge. It would be in very bad form to...."</p> - -<p>"Bring him!" Brand snapped testily. "If you are afraid, take a -company...."</p> - -<p>The officer stiffened. "I am not afraid, sir—though others are!" He -wheeled his sith and trotted toward Telis.</p> - -<p>"Get back, Captain," ordered Telis. "My quarrel is not with you!"</p> - -<p>"Ride him down!" called Brand.</p> - -<p>The officer unsheathed his lance and laid it in rest. Levelling it at -Telis, he dug his booted heels into the sith's flanks and thundered -across the sand, leaning low in the saddle.</p> - -<p>Telis stood braced and, just as the animal came abreast of him, -he stepped aside, catching the tip of the lance under his arm and -whirling. The movement of the weapon overbalanced the officer and he -tumbled from the saddle to sprawl in the sand. With a mortified howl -of rage, the man was on his feet and upon Telis, but his fury made him -careless. Telis' sword flashed out and the point found the officer's -sword arm, piercing it neatly and ending the encounter with a flourish.</p> - -<p>Telis turned to face the attackers once again. "Now Brand," he taunted, -"will you come out to do your own dying? Or will you send another -lackey to take the steel meant for you?"</p> - -<p>Brand's heavy face darkened. For answer he raised his hands to the -buglers.</p> - -<p>"Attack!"</p> - -<p>The force swept forward like a great tawny wave, shrieking and cursing. -Telis stared aghast. An attack he had been expecting, and even the -possibility of the Maldia finally taking the camp had occurred to him. -But that fifty five hundred roaring madmen would attack one man was -more than he had prepared himself for.</p> - -<p>Death seemed a certainty, and a fleeting image of Leslie swept across -his mind. He lifted his futile swords and murmured a prayer to the -Goddess....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was answered. The rain came like a gift from heaven. From the -nozzles of the camp's pressure hoses there poured a great effluvium of -pure, cold, water. It rose in a graceful curve high into the air and -spilled down to lash the red sand into a morass and spray the attackers.</p> - -<p>Telis himself was caught up in the wonder of it. And the effect on the -Maldia's fighting force of Guski was nothing short of miraculous. The -charging savages pulled up, faces lifted to the sky in mute amazement. -Then came fear—shrieking, mad, insensate terror! Rain was falling -where no rain had fallen for ten thousand haads! The Goddess had opened -up the flood gates of heaven and the stuff of the sky was falling down -on a sinful Laurr! Dropping their weapons, they fled out into the -desert—away from the accursed place that the Goddess had chosen to -enchant! And, in their flight, they carried the mounted nobles of the -Maldia, cursing, shouting, trying to regroup their shattered cohorts.</p> - -<p>Telis stood in the downpour, his body tingling to the touch of the -precious water. He was thinking not that this trick of Tellurian -technics had saved his life; rather he was thinking of Laurr and what -this could mean to the planet. The deserts could be conquered, the -world could be redeemed!</p> - -<p>Presently, the water stopped and a Tellurian from his company ran -forward to shout: "Telis! Look there! Aircraft!"</p> - -<p>Telis looked skyward, and the door to the future seemed to slam shut in -his mind. Fully two hundred air-sleds were beating rapidly toward them. -The Maldia again ... more of them?</p> - -<p>Telis looked out into the desert. The mounted force had abandoned the -attempt to regroup the demoralized Guski, but it had formed into a -phalanx and was returning to the attack.</p> - -<p>Automatically, but without real hope, Telis motioned his men into -extended order. They were caught between two forces, helpless between -the sith-mounted Maldia and the airborne contingent. The irony of it -caught at his breast painfully. It was bitter hard to die just at the -brink of a golden age ... a golden age that would never come now.</p> - -<p>Now he could make out Brand's face far to the rear of the mounted -column. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that the sleds were almost -upon them, too. Telis braced himself for the attack.</p> - -<p>Then, with a roar of jets, the air armada passed low over his head and -began disgorging warriors onto the rapidly narrowing strip of sand -between him and the Maldia. For a moment Telis was stunned by the -strangeness of the maneuvers ... and then his astonished eyes caught -the gleam of the device blazoned on the grounded sleds. It was the -Sword and Atom of the Temple!</p> - -<p>With a glad cry he leaped forward to greet the Temple Guardsmen. -Snatched from the brink of disaster, the camp now revelled in a surfeit -of friendly warriors! The Maldia halted in confusion and air-sleds -moved out to cut off their escape.</p> - -<p>Telis searched the ranks of the Temple troops for some explanation of -this seeming miracle ... and his eyes found a familiar figure. It was -battered and bandaged but unmistakably ... Gorla!</p> - -<p>He caught the priest by the arm and spun him around with a shout. The -familiar round face reddened with pleasure and he threw his free arm -around Telis.</p> - -<p>"You've healed, Telis!" he cried. "And in more ways than one!" he added -significantly. "I see you leading the defense instead of the attack!"</p> - -<p>"I've been a thick headed fool, Gorla! But you ... how are you here? -I—"</p> - -<p>"You thought me meat for those Guski back on the desert that night?"</p> - -<p>Telis nodded.</p> - -<p>The Priest laughed. "By the Goddess! I thought you were going to get up -and give us trouble that night! I suppose I should be thankful for your -wound. You never would have left me otherwise!"</p> - -<p>"But, how did you ..." Telis began.</p> - -<p>"The Temple takes care of its own, Telis, my friend," said Gorla. -"We were being followed at a distance all the way from Dorliss by a -guardship. Of course, when you threw my transmitter over the side, -they lost us. But you were the one who had to be convinced about these -Tellurians. So I stayed. There were a few bad moments ... once or twice -I thought the Guski had me cold, but the guardship was searching and -it found me before the brutes could finish me off. Since then, we have -been standing by at Dorliss, waiting for the Maldia to move."</p> - -<p>"And here you are, thank the Goddess!" breathed Telis.</p> - -<p>They stood surrounded by Temple Guardsmen and Tellurians watching the -air-sleds break up the sith-mounted force of the Maldia. The back of -the assault was broken. Riderless animals careened about wildly through -the confusion, and people were pouring out of the camp to greet their -liberators.</p> - -<p>"Who led them?" asked Gorla indicating the sullen nobles.</p> - -<p>Telis looked around for Prince Brand, but he was nowhere to be seen. -Then his sharp eyes caught a cloud of dust moving rapidly across the -desert. It would be Brand. He alone, of all the Maldia, was cynic -enough and coward enough to throw over the battle-to-death code at the -first sign of opposition.</p> - -<p>With an oath, Telis caught at a sith and swung into the saddle. -"There!" he shouted to Gorla, pointing. "If he escapes the Maldia will -form again!" Telis kicked the sith savagely, and the animal plunged -off in pursuit of the fleeing renegade.</p> - -<p>At full speed the sith carried Telis out into the desert. For half an -hour, there was no loss or gain, Prince Brand's animal holding its lead -tenaciously. Already, the Prince had turned to see that he was being -followed. But Telis' beast was fresher, and now began to narrow the -distance.</p> - -<p>They were well away from the camp when Telis caught up. Riding in, he -cut across the path of Brand's animal, forcing it to break step. Brand -slashed wildly at him but Telis parried and dodged in under the other's -guard. Then, hooking his knee under that of the struggling Prince, he -heaved upward and dislodged him from the saddle so that he tumbled to -the sand.</p> - -<p>Telis reined in the sith and leaped to the ground. Brand was already on -his feet, sword in hand, his face contorted with fear and rage. Telis -advanced steadily, hate coursing through him.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>If Brand had been a faintheart before, he was not now when his life -depended on his skill and cunning. Even as their swords crossed, -Telis knew that his work was cut out for him. There was no sound but -the clash of steel and the labored breathing of the two men as they -locked in combat. For almost a quarter of an hour they fenced without -appreciable gain on either side. But Telis was younger, and the strain -was beginning to tell on Brand. He knew that he must win quickly or die.</p> - -<p>Stepping back, Brand snatched the helmet from his head and threw it -full at Telis' face. Telis' sword made a glittering arc in the sunlight -as it caught the missile and knocked it aside. But for the moment he -left himself unguarded, and Brand lunged in to sink his point into -Telis' naked thigh.</p> - -<p>Telis staggered but did not fall; the painful wound stung him, and -Brand, thinking that he had scored a telling blow, launched a furious -attack. Telis backed steadily across the sand, leaving a trail of -blood. He measured the pace carefully and, when Brand paused to catch -his breath, Telis feinted at his head. Brand's blade came jerkily up -to meet the thrust, and Telis stooped, whirled his point under Brand's -guard and lunged with all his force.</p> - -<p>The blade sank deep into Brand's chest. Telis stepped back and slipped -it free. The renegade stood for a moment, staring unbelievingly at the -wound in his chest that bubbled a bloody froth. His arms stiffened and -the swords he held dropped noiselessly to the sand. Very deliberately, -he sank to his knees, still staring at the wound, then he pitched -forward into the sand face-downward. He was dead.</p> - -<p>Telis sought his sith wearily and mounted. He turned back toward the -camp without another look at Brand. All the fury and excitement of -battle was washed out of him, and he felt very tired.</p> - -<p>The gentle movement of the sith's gait helped to steady him. He rode -slowly along, looking out over the wastes of the Great Red Desert, -envisioning the land as it would be one day ... green and fertile, -alive under a sky no longer starkly clear, but laced with clouds that -would bring soft rains and stirring life from the land.</p> - -<p>He topped the final rise and before him was the Tellurian camp and -the tall, beautiful projectile of the spaceship. The throngs of mixed -Laurrian and Tellurians were shouting and cheering the end of the -struggle.</p> - -<p>Now the future seemed assured. Telis promised himself that the future -of the Tellurians on Laurr would be one with his own. And someday, he -thought, perhaps he would see Terra—or even the stars!</p> - -<p>It would be a great task, he reflected, this changing the face and fate -of a dying world. But together the redeemers and the redeemed could -work it out. Telis knew somehow that the thing would be done.</p> - -<p>A figure detached itself from the crowd and ran towards him, calling -his name. It was Leslie. With a quickened pace he made his way toward -her. The door to the future opened, and he stepped through without -looking back.</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WARRIOR MAID OF MARS ***</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. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for -copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very -easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation -of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project -Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may -do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected -by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark -license, especially commercial redistribution. -</div> - -<div style='margin:0.83em 0; font-size:1.1em; text-align:center'>START: FULL LICENSE<br /> -<span style='font-size:smaller'>THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE<br /> -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK</span> -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project -Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™ -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person -or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the -Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™ -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when -you share it without charge with others. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country other than the United States. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work -on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the -phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: -</div> - -<blockquote> - <div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> - 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 <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> -</blockquote> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project -Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™ -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™ -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg™ License. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format -other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain -Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -provided that: -</div> - -<div style='margin-left:0.7em;'> - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation.” - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ - works. - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works. - </div> -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of -the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set -forth in Section 3 below. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right -of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™ -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, -Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up -to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website -and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread -public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state -visit <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/donate/">www.gutenberg.org/donate</a>. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Most people start at our website which has the main PG search -facility: <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. -</div> - -</div> - -</body> -</html> diff --git a/old/64774-h/images/cover.jpg b/old/64774-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 404749e..0000000 --- a/old/64774-h/images/cover.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/64774-h/images/illus.jpg b/old/64774-h/images/illus.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 9c62d7b..0000000 --- a/old/64774-h/images/illus.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/64774-h/images/illusc.jpg b/old/64774-h/images/illusc.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 4e8b7b6..0000000 --- a/old/64774-h/images/illusc.jpg +++ /dev/null |
