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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8cb1d99 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #68726 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/68726) diff --git a/old/68726-0.txt b/old/68726-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index f163b80..0000000 --- a/old/68726-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1657 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Crystal Circe, by Henry Kuttner - -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: The Crystal Circe - -Author: Henry Kuttner - -Release Date: August 11, 2022 [eBook #68726] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CRYSTAL CIRCE *** - - - - - - THE CRYSTAL CIRCE - - By Henry Kuttner - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Astonishing Stories, June 1942. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - - - - _Prologue_ - - -The stratoship from Cairo was late, and I was wondering whether the -newsreel theatre or a couple of drinks would make time pass faster. -It was early dusk. Through the immense, curved wall-window of the -Manhattan Port Room I could see the landing field, with a silvery ship -being rolled over the tarmac, and the skyscrapers of New York beyond. - -Then I saw Arnsen. - -It was Steve Arnsen, of course. No doubt about that. No other man had -his great breadth of shoulders, his Herculean build. Ten years ago we -had been classmates at Midwestern. I remembered rakehell, laughing, -handsome Steve Arnsen very well, with his penchant for getting into -trouble and out of it again, usually dragging Douglas O'Brien, his -room-mate, along with him like the helpless tail of a kite. Poor Doug! -He was the antithesis of Arnsen, a thoughtful, studious boy with the -shadow of a dream lurking always in his dark eyes. An idealist was -Douglas O'Brien, as his Celtic ancestors had been. Strong friendship -had existed between the two men--the mental communion of laughter and a -dream. - -Arnsen was looking up into the darkening sky, a queer tensity in his -posture. He turned abruptly, came to a table near me, and sat down. -From his pocket he took a small box. It snapped open. His gaze probed -into the unknown thing that was hidden by his cupped hands. - -I picked up my drink and went to Arnsen's table. All I could see was -the back of his sleek, massive head. Then he looked up-- - -If ever I saw hell in a man's face, I saw it in Arnsen's then. There -was a dreadful longing, and an equally horrible hopelessness, the -expression one might see on the face of a damned soul looking up from -the pit at the shining gates forever beyond his reach. - -And Arnsen's face had been--ravaged. - -The searing mark of some experience lay there, branded into his -furrowed cheeks, his tightened lips, into his eyes where a sickness -dwelt. No--this was not Steve Arnsen, the boy I had known at -Midwestern. Youth had left him, and hope as well. - -"Vail!" he said, smiling crookedly. "Good Lord, of all people! Sit down -and have a drink. What are you doing here?" - -I sought for words as I dropped into a chair. Arnsen watched me for a -moment, and then shrugged. "You might as well say it. I've changed. -Yeah--I know that." - -"What happened?" There was no need to fence. - -His gaze went beyond me, to the dark sky above the landing field. "What -happened? Why don't you ask where Doug is? We always stuck together, -didn't we? Surprising to see me alone--" - - * * * * * - -He lit a cigarette and crushed it out with an impatient gesture. "You -know, Vail, I've been hoping I'd run into you. This thing that's been -boiling inside of me--I haven't been able to tell a soul. No one would -have believed me. You may. The three of us kicked around together a -lot, in the old days." - -"In trouble?" I asked. "Can I help?" - -"You can listen," he said. "I came back to Earth thinking I might be -able to forget. It hasn't worked. I'm waiting for the airliner to take -me to Kansas Spaceport. I'm going to Callisto--Mars--somewhere. Earth -isn't the right place any more. But I'm glad we ran into each other, -Vail. I want to talk. I want you to answer a question that's been -driving me almost insane." - -I signalled the waiter and got more drinks. Arnsen was silent till we -were alone once more. Then he opened his cupped hands and showed me -a small shagreen box. It clicked open. Nestling in blue velvet was a -crystal, not large, but lovelier than any gem I had ever seen before. - -Light drifted from it like the flow of slow water. The dim shining -pulsed and waned. In the heart of the jewel was-- - -I tore my eyes away, staring at Arnsen. "What is it? Where did you get -the thing? Not on Earth!" - -He was watching the jewel, sick hopelessness on his face. "No--not on -Earth. It came from a little asteroid out there--somewhere." He waved -vaguely toward the sky. "It isn't charted. I took no reckonings. So I -can never go back. Not that I want to, now. Poor Doug!" - -"He's dead, isn't he?" I asked. - -Arnsen looked at me strangely as he closed the box and slipped it back -into his pocket. "Dead? I wonder. Wait till you know the story, Vail. -About Doug's lucky charm, and the dreams, and the Crystal Circe...." - -The slow horror of remembrance crept across his face. Out there, in -space, something had happened. I thought: It must have been frightful -to leave such traces on Arnsen. - -He read my thought. "Frightful? Perhaps. It was quite lovely, too. You -remember the old days, when I thought of nothing but raising hell...." - -After a long pause, I said, "Who was--the Crystal Circe?" - -"I never knew her name. She told me, but my brain couldn't understand -it. She wasn't human, of course. I called her Circe, after the -enchantress who changed her lovers to swine." Again he looked at the -darkening sky. "Well--it began more than two years ago, in Maine. Doug -and I were on a fishing trip when we ran into the meteorite. Little -fishing we got done then! You know how Doug was--like a kid reading a -fairy tale for the first time. And that meteorite--" - - - - - CHAPTER ONE - - The Star-Gem - - -It lay in the crater it had dug for itself, a rounded arc visible about -the brown earth. Already sumac and vines were mending the broken soil. -Warm fall sunlight slanted down through the trees as Douglas O'Brien -and Steve Arnsen plodded toward the distant gurgling of the stream, -thoughts intent on catching the limit. No fingering tendril of menace -thrust out to warn them. - -"Mind your step," Arnsen said, seeing the pit. He detoured around it -and turned, realizing that O'Brien had not followed. "Come on, Doug. -It's getting late." - -O'Brien's tanned young face was intent as he peered down into the -hollow. "Wait a bit," he said absently. "This looks--say! I'll bet -there's a meteor down there!" - -"So there's a meteor. We're not fishing for meteors, professor. They're -mostly iron, anyway. Gold, now, would be a different matter." - -O'Brien dropped lightly into the hole, scraping at the dirt with his -fingers. "Wonder how long it's been here? You run along, Steve. I'll -catch up with you." - -Arnsen sighed. O'Brien, with his vast enthusiasm for everything under -the sun, was off again. There would be no stopping him now till he had -satisfied his curiosity about the meteorite. Well, Arnsen had a new fly -he was anxious to use, and it would soon be too late for good fishing. -With a grunt he turned and pushed on toward the stream. - -The fly proved excellent. In a surprisingly short time Arnsen had -bagged the limit. There was no sign of O'Brien, and hunger made itself -evident. Arnsen retraced his steps. - -The younger man was sitting cross-legged beside the crater, holding -something in his cupped hands and staring down at it. A swift glance -showed Arnsen that the meteorite had been uncovered, and, apparently, -cracked in two, each piece the size of a football. He stepped closer, -to see what O'Brien held. - -It was a gray crystal, egg-sized, filled with cloudy, frozen mists. It -had been cut into a diamond-shaped, multifaced gem. - -"Where'd you get that?" Arnsen asked. - -O'Brien jumped, turning up a startled face. "Oh--hello, Steve. It was -in the meteorite. Damnedest thing I ever saw. I saw the meteorite had -a line of fission all around it, so I smacked the thing with a rock. It -fell apart, and this was in the middle. Impossible, isn't it?" - -"Let's see." Arnsen reached for the jewel. O'Brien showed an odd -reluctance in giving it up, but finally dropped it into the other's -outstretched hand. - -The gem was cold, and yet not unpleasantly so. A tingling raced up -Arnsen's arm to his shoulder. He felt an abrupt, tiny shock. - -O'Brien snatched the jewel. Arnsen stared at him. - -"I'm not going to eat it. What--" - -The boy grinned. "It's my luck piece, Steve. My lucky charm. I'm going -to have it pierced." - -"Better take it to a jeweler first," Arnsen suggested. "It may be -valuable." - -"No--I'll keep it." He slipped the gem into his pocket. "Any luck?" - -"The limit, and I'm starving. Let's get back to camp." - - * * * * * - -Over their meal of fried trout, O'Brien fingered the find, staring into -the cloudy depths of the gem as though he expected to find something -there. Arnsen could sense a strange air of withdrawal about him. That -night O'Brien fell asleep holding the jewel in his hand. - -His sleep was troubled. O'Brien watched the boy, the vaguest hint of -worry in his blue eyes. Once Doug lifted his hand and let it fall -reluctantly. And once a flash of light seemed to lance out from the -gem, brief and vivid as lightning. Imagination, perhaps.... - -The moon sank. O'Brien stirred and sat up. Arnsen felt the other's eyes -upon him. He said softly, "Doug?" - -"Yes. I wondered if you were awake." - -"Anything wrong?" - -"There's a girl...." O'Brien said, and fell silent. After what seemed a -long time, he went on: "Remember you said once that I'd never find a -girl perfect enough to love?" - -"I remember." - -"You were wrong. She's like Deirdre of the Tuatha Dé, like Freya, like -Ran of the northern seas. She has red hair, red as dying suns are red, -and she's a goddess like Deirdre, too. The Song of Solomon was made for -her. 'Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.... I sleep, -but my heart waketh; it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh.' -Steve," he said, and his voice broke sharply. "It wasn't a dream. I -know it wasn't. She exists, somewhere." He stirred; Arnsen guessed that -he was peering at the gray jewel. - -There was nothing to say. The frosty brilliance of the stars gleamed -through the laced branches above. A curious breath of the unearthly -seemed to drop down from the vast abyss of the sky, chilling Arnsen's -heart. - -In that moment he knew that his friend was ensorcelled. - -Superstition--foolishness! He shook the thought away. But all the blood -of his Northern ancestors rose up in him, the Vikings who had believed -in Queen Ran of Ocean, in trolls and warlocks and the water-maidens who -guard sunken gold. - -"You're dreaming," he said stubbornly, more loudly than he thought. -"It's time we got back to the city. We've been here long enough." - -To his surprise, O'Brien agreed. "I think so. I've an idea I want to -work on." And the boy shut up like a clam, relaxing almost instantly -into peaceful slumber. - -But Arnsen did not sleep for a long time. The stars seemed too close -and, somehow, menacing. From the black void, eyes watched--not human -eyes, for all their loveliness. They were pools of darkest night, and -stars glimmered within them. - -He wished that O'Brien had not found the meteorite. - - - - - CHAPTER TWO - - Lure of the Crystal - - -There was a change in the boy after that. The dream in his eyes did not -fade, but he worked now with an intensity of purpose that had never -existed before. Previously, the two had held routine jobs in a huge -commercial organization. Without warning O'Brien quit. Arnsen followed -suit, feeling the necessity for staying close to the younger man. Yet -in the days to come, he amounted to little more than excess baggage. - -O'Brien had plans. He borrowed money, scraped together enough to equip -a small laboratory, and there he worked long hours. Arnsen helped when -he could, though that was not often. He seldom knew exactly what the -boy was trying to accomplish. - -Once O'Brien said a queer thing. They were in the laboratory, awaiting -the result of an experiment, and Arnsen was pacing back and forth -nervously. - -"I wish I knew what was up, Doug," he said almost with anger. "We've -been at this for months now. What do you expect, anyway? You've had no -more than an ordinary training in physics." - -"The jewel helps," O'Brien said. He took the gem from its suede bag and -stared into the cloudy depths. "I catch--thoughts from it." - -Arnsen stopped short, staring. His face changed. - -"You kidding?" he demanded. - -O'Brien flushed. "Okay, try it," he said, thrusting the stone at -Arnsen, who took it rather reluctantly. "Shut your eyes and let your -mind go blank. That does it, sometimes." - -"I--all right." Arnsen squeezed his eyes closed and thought of nothing. -Instantly a sick, horrible feeling swept through him--a terrible -yearning such as he had never known before. So might the Assassins -feel, deprived of the magic drug that took them to Paradise. An -Assassin exiled, cast into outer darkness. - -A face swam into view, lovely and strange beyond imagination. Only a -glimpse he had, blotted out by rainbow, coruscating lights that darted -and flashed like elfin fireflies. Then darkness, once more, and the -frightful longing--for what? - -He let go of the gem; O'Brien caught it as it fell. The boy smiled -wryly. - -"I wondered if you'd get it, too. Did you see her?" - -"I saw nothing," Arnsen snarled, whirling toward the door. "I felt -nothing!" - -"Yet you're afraid. Why? I don't fear her, or the stone." - -"The more fool you," Arnsen cast over his shoulder as he went out. He -felt sick and weak, as though unnameable vistas had opened before him. -There was no explanation for what he had felt--no sane explanation, at -least. - - * * * * * - -And yet there might be, he thought, as he paced about the yard, smoking -an endless chain of cigarettes. Telepathy, thought-transference--he had -simply caught what was in O'Brien's mind. But it was horrible to know -that Doug was feeling that soul-sick craving for the goddess-girl who -could not exist. - -O'Brien came out of the laboratory, eyes aglow. "It's done," he said, -trying to repress his triumph. "We've got the alloy at last. That last -treatment did the trick." - -Arnsen felt vague apprehension. He tried to congratulate O'Brien, but -his tone rang false to his own ears. The boy smiled understandingly. - -"It's been good of you to string along, Steve. The thing will pay off -now. Only--I'll need a lot of money." - -"You'll have a lot. Plenty of companies will be bidding for the -process." - -O'Brien said, "I want enough to buy a spaceship." - -Arnsen whistled. "That's a lot. Even for a small boat." His eyes -narrowed. "Why do you want it?" - -"I'm going to find Deirdre," the other said simply. "She's out there, -somewhere." He tilted his head back. "And I'll find her." - -"Space is pretty big." - -"I've a guide." O'Brien took out the gray gem. "It wants to go to her, -too. It wants to go back. It isn't really alive here on Earth, you -know. And I'm not just dreaming, Steve. How do you suppose I managed -to make this alloy--the perfect plastic, tougher than beryllium steel, -lighter than aluminum, a conductor or non-conductor of electricity -depending on the mix.... You know I couldn't have done it alone." - -"You did it." - -O'Brien touched the jewel. "I found out how to do it. There's life in -here, Steve. Not earthly life, but intelligent. I could understand a -little, not much. Enough to work out the alloy. I had to do that first, -so I could get money enough to buy a spaceship." - -"You don't know how to pilot in space." - -"We'll hire a pilot." - -"We?" - -He grinned. "I'm going to prove my point. You don't believe in Deirdre. -But you'll see her, Steve. The jewel will guide us. It wants to go -home--so we'll take it there." - -Arnsen scowled and turned away, his big shoulders tense with -unreasoning anger. He found himself hating the imaginary being O'Brien -had created. Deirdre! His fists clenched. - -She did not exist. The major planets and satellites had been explored; -the inhabited ones held nothing remotely human. Martians were -huge-headed, spindle-legged horrors; Venusians were scaled amphibians, -living in a state of feudalism and constant warfare. The other -planets ... the avian, hollow-boned Callistans were closest to -humanity, but by no stretch of the imagination could they be called -beautiful. And Deirdre was beautiful. Imaginary or not, she was lovely -as a goddess. - -_Damn her!_ - -But that did no good. O'Brien was not to be turned from his purpose. -With relentless, swift intensity he patented the alloy process, sold -it to the highest bidder, and purchased a light space cruiser. He -found a pilot, a leather-skinned, tough, tobacco-chewing man named Tex -Hastings, who could be depended on to do what he was told and keep his -mouth shut. - - * * * * * - -O'Brien chafed with impatience till the cruiser jetted off from the -spaceport. The closer he came to achieving his goal, the more nervous -he grew. The jewel he kept clenched in one hand most of the time. -Arnsen noticed that a dim brilliance was beginning to glow within it as -the ship plunged farther out toward the void. - -Hastings cast quizzical glances at O'Brien, but did what he was told. -He confided in Arnsen. - -"We haven't even bothered with charts. It's screwy, but I'm not -kicking. Only this isn't piloting. Your friend just points at a -star-sector and says, 'Go there.' Funny." He scratched his leathery -cheek, faded eyes intent on Arnsen's face. - -The big man nodded. "I know. But it isn't up to me, Hastings. I'm -super-cargo." - -"Yeah. Well, if you--want any help--you can count on me. I've seen -space-madness before." - -Arnsen snorted. "Space-madness!" - -Hastings' eyes were steady. "I may be wrong, sure. But anything can -happen out here. We're not on Earth, Mr. Arnsen. Earth laws don't -apply. Neither does logic. We're on the edge of the unknown." - -"I never thought you were superstitious." - -"I'm not. Only I've been around, and seen a lot. That crystal Mr. -O'Brien lugs around with him--I never saw anything like that before." -He waited, but Arnsen didn't speak. "All right, then. I've known things -to drift in from Outside. Funny things, damn funny. The Solar System's -like a Sargasso. It catches flotsam from other systems, even other -universes, for all I know. One rule I've learned--when you can't guess -the answer, it's a good idea to stay clear." - -Arnsen grunted moodily, staring out a port at the glaring brilliance of -the stars. - -"Ever heard any stories about jewels like that one?" - -Hastings shook his closely-cropped head. "No. But I saw a wreck once, -Sunside of Pluto--a ship that hadn't been designed in this System. It -was deserted; God knows how long it had been out there. Or where it -came from. Inside, it wasn't designed for human beings at all. It came -from Outside, of course, and Outside is a big place. That jewel, now--" -He bit the end off a quid of tobacco. - -"What about it?" - -"It's an Outside sort of thing. And your friend isn't acting normal. It -may add up to trouble. It may not. My point is that I'm going to keep -my eyes open, and you'd be wise to do the same thing." - -Arnsen went back to the galley and fried eggs, angry with himself for -listening to Hastings' hints. He was more than ever uncomfortable. Back -on Earth, it had been easier to disbelieve in any unknown powers that -the gray jewel might possess; here, it was different. Space was the -hinterland, the waste that bordered the cryptic Outside. The forward -step in science that threw open the gates of interplanetary travel had, -in a way, taken man back in time to a day when he cowered in a cave, -fearing the powers of the dark that lurked in the unknown jungle. -Space travel had broken barriers. It opened a door that, perhaps, -should have remained forever closed. - -On the shores of space strange flotsam was cast. Arnsen's gaze probed -out through the port, to the red globe of Mars, the blinding brilliance -of the Milky Way, the enigmatic shadow of the Coal Sack. Out there -anything might lie. Life grown from a matrix neither Earthly nor even -three-dimensional. Charles Fort had hinted at it; scientists had -hazarded wild guesses. The cosmic womb of space, from which blasphemous -abortions might be cast. - -So they went on, day after day, skirting Mars and plunging on into the -thick of the asteroid belt. It was uncharted country now, a Sargasso of -remnants from an exploded planet that had existed here eons ago. Sounds -rang loudly in the narrow confines of the space ship. Nervousness -gripped all three of the men. But O'Brien found comfort in the gray -crystal. His eyes held a glowing light of triumph. - -"We are coming closer, Steve," he said. "Deirdre isn't far away now." - -"Damn Deirdre," Arnsen said--but not aloud. - -The ship went on, following the blind course O'Brien pointed. Hastings -shook his head in grim silence, and trained his passengers in the use -of the space-suits. Few of the asteroids had atmosphere, and it became -increasingly evident that the destination was an asteroid.... - - - - - CHAPTER THREE - - The Singing Crystals - - -They found it at last, a jagged, slowly revolving ball that looked -incredibly desolate, slag from some solar furnace. The telescope showed -no life. The ball had hardened as it whirled, and the molten rock -had frozen instantly, in frigid space, into spiky, giant crags and -stalagmites. No atmosphere, no water, no sign of life in any form. - -The crystal O'Brien held had changed. A pale light streamed from it. -O'Brien's face was tensely eager. - -"This is it. Set the ship down, Hastings." - -The pilot made a grimace, but bent toward the controls. It was a -ticklish task at best, for he had to match the ship's speed to the -speed of the asteroid's revolution and circle in, describing a -narrowing spiral. Rocket ships are not built for maneuverability. They -blast their way to ground and up again through sheer roaring power. - -She settled bumpily on the iron-hard surface of the asteroid, and -Arnsen looked through the thick visiglass at desolation that struck -a chill to his heart. Life had never existed here. It was a world -damned in the making, a tiny planetoid forever condemned to unbearable -night and silence. It was one with the darkness. The sun-glare, in -the absence of atmosphere, made sharp contrasts between light and jet -shadow. The fingers of rock reached up hungrily, as though searching -for warmth. There was nothing menacing about the picture. It was -horrible in its lifelessness; that was all. - -It was not intended for life. Arnsen felt himself an intruder. - -O'Brien met his glance. The boy was smiling, rather wryly. - -"I know," he said. "It doesn't look very promising, does it? But this -is the place." - -"Maybe--a million years ago," Arnsen said skeptically. "There's nothing -here now." - -Silently O'Brien put the crystal in the giant's hand. - -From it a pulse of triumph burst out! Exultation! The psychic wave -shook Arnsen with its intensity, wiped doubt from his face. Invisibly -and intangibly, the jewel shouted its delight! - -The glow within it waxed brighter. - -Hastings said abruptly, "Time to eat. Metabolism's higher in space. We -can't afford to miss a meal." - -"I'm going out," O'Brien said. - -But Arnsen seconded the pilot. "We're here now. You can afford to wait -an hour or so. And I'm hungry." - -They opened thermocans in the galley and gulped the hot food standing. -The ship had suddenly become a prison. Even Hastings was touched with -the thirst to know what awaited them outside. - -"We circled the asteroid," he said at last, his voice argumentative. -"There's nothing here, Mr. O'Brien. We _saw_ that." - -But O'Brien was hurrying back to the control cabin. - -The suits were cumbersome, even in the slight gravity. Hastings tested -the oxygen tanks strapped on the backs, and checked the equipment with -stringent care. A leak would be fatal on this airless world. - - * * * * * - -So they went out through the airlock, and Arnsen, for one, felt his -middle tightening with the expectation of the unknown. His breathing -sounded loud and harsh within the helmet. The tri-polarized faceplates -of the helmets were proof against sun-glare, but they could not -minimize the horrible desolation of the scene. - -A world untouched--more lifeless, more terrible, than frigid Jotunheim, -where the Frost Giants dwelt. Arnsen's heavily-leaded boots thumped -solidly on the slag. There was no dust here, no sign of erosion, for -there was no air. - -In O'Brien's hand the crystal flamed with milky pallor. The boy's face -was thin and haggard with desire. Arnsen, watching, felt hot fury -against the incubus that had worked its dark spell on the other. - -He could do nothing--only follow and wait. His hand crept to the -weighted blackjack in his belt. - -He saw the hope slowly fade from O'Brien's eyes. Against his will he -said, "We're only on the surface, Doug. Underground--" - -"That's right. Maybe there's an entrance, somewhere. But I don't know. -We may be a thousand years too late, Steve." His gaze clung to the -crystal. - -It pulsed triumphantly. Pale flame lanced joyously from it. Alive it -was; Arnsen had no doubt of that now. Alive, and exulting to be home -once more. - -Years too late? There was not the slightest trace of any artifact on -this airless planetoid. The bleakness of outer space itself cast a veil -over the nameless world. The three men plodded on. - -In the end, they went back to the ship. - -The quick night of the tiny world had fallen. The flaming corona of the -sun had vanished; stars leaped into hard, jeweled brilliance against -utter blackness. The sky blazed with cold fires. - -Lifeless, alien, strange. It was the edge of the unknown. - -They slept at last; metabolism was high, and they needed to restore -their tissues. Hours later Arnsen came to half wakefulness. In his -bunk he rose on one elbow, wondering what had roused him. His mind felt -dulled. He could scarcely tell whether or not he was dreaming. - -Across the ship a man's head and shoulders were silhouetted against a -port, grotesquely large and distorted. Beyond, the stars blazed. - -They moved. They swirled in a witch-dance of goblin lanterns, dancing, -whirling, spiraling. Blue, yellow, amethyst and milky pearl, streaks of -light golden as the eye of a lioness--and nameless colors, not earthly, -made a patterned arabesque as they danced their elfin saraband there in -the airless dark. - -The dark swallowed Arnsen. Slumber took him.... - - * * * * * - -Slowly, exhaustedly, he came back to consciousness. His head ached; his -tongue was thick. For a moment he lay quietly, trying to remember. - -Dream? Arnsen cursed, threw his blankets aside, and sprang from the -bunk. - -O'Brien was gone. Tex Hastings was gone. Two space-suits had vanished -from their racks. - -Arnsen's face twisted into a savage mask. He knew, now, what had been -so wrong about his vision of the night. The man he had glimpsed at the -port had been _outside_ the ship. Doug? - -Or Hastings. It did not matter. Both men were gone. He was alone, on -the mystery world. - -Arnsen set his jaw, gulped caffeine tablets to clear his head, and -wrenched a space-suit from its hooks. He donned it, realizing that -sunlight once more was pouring down from the distant sun. - -Soon he was ready. He went out of the ship, climbed atop it, and stared -around. Nothing. The bleak, light-and-shadow pattern of the asteroid -stretched to the sharply curving horizon all around. There was nothing -else. - -Nor were there tracks in the iron-hard slag. He would have to search -at random, by pure guesswork. In the low gravity his leap to the -ground scarcely jarred him. He gripped the billy at his left and moved -forward, toward a high pinnacle in the distance. - -He found nothing. - -Worst of all, perhaps, was the horrible loneliness that oppressed -him. He was too close to Outside now. He was the only living thing -in a place never meant for human life. The ghastly bleakness of the -asteroid sank like knife-blades into his mind, searing it coldly. There -was no relief when he looked up. The distant sun, with its corona, -was infinitely far away. The rest of the sky held stars, remote, not -twinkling as on Earth, but shining with a cold intensity, a pale fury -relentless and eternal. In the light the heat seared him through his -armor; in the shadows he shivered with cold. - -He went on, sick with hate, seeking the unknown thing that had taken -Doug. - -The boy was a poet, a dreamer, a fool, easy victim for the terror that -haunted the asteroid. - -Exhausted, he turned back. His air supply was running low, and there -was no sign of either Doug or Hastings. He headed for the ship.... - -It was further than he had thought. He sighted it at last, beneath a -towering stalagmite that thrust up into the harsh sunlight, and his -steps quickened. Why hadn't he thought to bring extra cylinders of -oxygen? - -The lock stuck under his gloved, awkward fingers; he wrenched at it -savagely. At last the great valve swung open. He went through the -airlock, opened his visiplate, and took great breaths of the fresher -air. Oxygen cylinders were racked near by; he swung several into -position on his back and clamped them into place. He gulped more -caffeine tablets. - -Some instinct made him turn and look back through the port. Over the -uneven ground a space-suited figure was staggering, a quarter of a mile -distant.... - -Arnsen's heart jumped. In one swift motion he clamped shut his -visiplate and leaped for the airlock. It seemed an eternity before he -was outside, leaping, racing, straining toward the man who had fallen -helpless, a motionless shadow amid the glare. Doug? Hastings? - - * * * * * - -It was O'Brien, his young face gray with exhaustion and flushed with -oxygen-thirst. For a moment Arnsen thought the boy was dead. He -thrust one arm under O'Brien's back, lifting him; with the other hand -he fumbled at an auxiliary air-hose, thrusting it into the valve in -O'Brien's chin-plate as he ripped away the useless hose. Oxygen flowed -into the boy's suit. - -His nostrils distended as he drank in the precious air. Arnsen watched, -teeth bared in a mirthless grin. Good! Color came back to O'Brien's -cheeks--a healthy flush under the deep tan. His eyes opened, looked -into Arnsen's. - -"Couldn't find her," he whispered, his voice hollow through the -audiophone. "Deirdre--I couldn't find her, Steve." - -Arnsen said, "What happened, Doug?" - -O'Brien took a deep breath and shook his head. "I woke up--something -warned me. This." He unclasped his gloved hand and showed the milky -crystal. "It knew--she--was close. I felt it. I woke up, went to a -port, and saw the--the lights. Hastings was out there. She'd called -him, I guess. He was running after the lights.... I had sense enough to -put on my suit. Then I followed. But Hastings was too fast for me. I -followed till I lost him. Miles--hours. Then I saw my oxygen was low. I -tried to get back to the ship--" - -He tried to smile. "Why did she call Hastings, Steve? Why not me?" - -Arnsen felt cold. "We're getting off this asteroid. Right away." - -"Leaving Hastings?" - -"We--I'll look for him myself. There's life here, malignant life. -Plenty dangerous." - -"Not evil. No. Beyond evil, beyond good. I'm not going, Steve." - -"You're going if I have to hog-tie you." - -O'Brien's gloved hand tightened on the milky crystal. "Deirdre!" he -said. - -And, in the emptiness above them, a glow brightened. - -There was no other warning. Arnsen tilted back his head to see--the -incredible. - -_Deirdre_, he thought. Then, unbidden, another name leaped into his -mind. - -_Circe!_ - -Circe of Colchis, goddess of Aea--Circe, Daughter of the Day, who -changed men to swine! Circe--more than human! - -For this was no human figure that hovered above them. It seemed to be -a girl, unclad, reclining in nothingness, her floating hair tinted -like the rays of a dying sun. Her body swept in lines of pure beauty, -long-limbed and gracious. Her eyes were veiled; long lashes hid them. - -There was tenderness in her face, and aloofness, and alienage. There -was beauty there--not entirely human beauty. - -Rainbow crystals garmented her. - -Some large, some small, multi-faceted gems danced and shimmered -against the blackness of the sky and the whiteness of Circe's body. -Moon-yellow, amber-gold, blue as the sea off Capri, green as the -pine-clad hills of Earth--angry scarlet and lambent dragon-green! - -With some distantly sane corner of his mind, Arnsen realized that it -was impossible for any living being to exist without protection on the -frigid, airless surface of the asteroid. Then he knew that both air and -warmth surrounded the girl. - -The crystals protected her. He knew that, somehow. - -O'Brien twisted in his arms. He saw the girl, tried to spring free. -Arnsen gripped him. - -The boy swung a jolting blow that jarred the giant's helmet. His mailed -glove smashed against the metal plate. Dazed and giddy, Arnsen fell -back, clawing at O'Brien. His fingers slipped along the other's arm; he -felt something drop into his hand, and clutched it. - -Then O'Brien was free. He wrenched an oxygen-tank from Arnsen's -shoulders, whirled, and took a step toward the girl. She was further -away now.... - -Arnsen staggered up. His head was throbbing furiously. Too late he -realized that, in the scuffle, his air-valve had fouled. He fumbled at -it with clumsy fingers--and fell. - -His helmet thudded solidly against hard slag. Blackness took him.... - - - - -CHAPTER FOUR - -Circe the Immortal - - -It was dark when he woke. Oxygen was once more pouring into his suit; -he had managed to open the valve before falling. Far above, the -distant, corona-crowned sun flamed against the starry backdrop. The -ship lay beneath its crag. - -But of O'Brien there was no trace whatever. - -After that, something akin to madness came to Arnsen. Again the utter -loneliness of space crushed down on him, with suffocating terror. Doug -was gone, like Hastings. Where? - -He searched, then, and in the days thereafter. He grew haggard and -gaunt, drugging himself with stimulants so he could drive himself -beyond his limit. Hour after hour he searched the tiny world, squinting -against sun-glare, peering into black shadow, shouting O'Brien's name, -cursing bitter, searing oaths that sounded futile to his ears. Time -dragged on into an eternity. He had been here forever. He could not -remember a time when he had not been plodding across the asteroid, -watching for a glimpse of a space-suited figure, of dancing jewels of -fire, of a slim white body.... - -Who was she? _What_ was she? Not human--no. And the crystals, what were -they? - -He returned to the ship one day, shoulders slumping, and passed the -spot where he had seen the girl. Something on the ground caught his -eye. A pearly, shining gem. - -He remembered his scuffle with O'Brien, and the thing that had dropped -into his glove. - -The jewel, of course. It had lain here, unnoticed, for many revolutions -of the asteroid. - -He picked it up, staring into the milky depths. A pulse tingled up his -arm, fingering into his mind. A pulse of longing-- - -The girl had appeared when O'Brien summoned her. - -Perhaps it would work again. There was no other hope. - -But he could not call her Deirdre. He gripped the hard crystal. His -thought probed out, forceful and summoning. - -"_Circe!_" - -Nothing. The eternal silence, the cold blaze of the stars.... - -"_Circe!_" - -The gem in his hand leaped with eagerness. In emptiness above him a -rainbow glitter of coruscating light flamed. The crystals--and, within -them, the girl! - -She had not changed. Lovely and alien, she lay among her dancing, -shining gems, and her lashes still veiled the cryptic depth of her -eyes. Arnsen stumbled forward. - -"Where's O'Brien?" His voice cracked, harsh and inhuman. "Damn you! -Where is he?" - -She did not look at him. Her body seemed to recede. The jewels swirled -into swift motion about her. - -Arnsen lurched on. His mind felt on fire. He whipped out his elastic -billy and plunged toward the girl. - -She was not there. She had drifted back amid the rainbow crystals. - -Arnsen could not overtake her. It was like following a -will-o'-the-wisp, a torch of St. Elmo's fire. But he did not take his -eyes from the girl. More than once he fell. She was leading him away -from the ship, he knew. That did not matter. Not if she also led him to -Doug. - -What had she done with the boy? He hated her, hated her relentless -inhumanity, her incredible beauty. Teeth bared, red-rimmed eyes -glaring, Arnsen plunged on in a nightmare race across the face of the -silent asteroid. - -Hours later, it seemed, she vanished in black shadow under a thrusting -pinnacle of slag. Arnsen followed, reeling with fatigue, expecting to -cannon into a rock wall. But the darkness remained intangible. The -ground sloped down beneath his leaded boots. Suddenly light shone -through a cleft at his side. - -Pale, warm, liquid light, it drifted up from a slanting corridor in -the rock. Far down the passage Arnsen could see the cloud of dancing -flames that marked the girl's crystal attendants. He stumbled on. - -Down he went, and down, till at last the passage turned again in the -distance. He rounded the bend--and stopped, blinded and dazed. - - * * * * * - -As his vision adjusted itself, Arnsen made out a pillar of fire that -rose from floor to ceiling of the cavern before him. Yet it was not -fire. It was something beyond human knowledge. Pure energy, perhaps, -wrenched from the locked heart of the atom itself, silently thundering -and pouring up like a geyser. The pillar shook. It wavered and rocked, -coldly white, intensely brilliant, like a living thing blazing with a -power inconceivable. - -Walls and floor and roof of the cavern were crusted with jewels. The -rainbow crystals clung quivering, thousands of them, some tiny, others -huge. They watched. - -They were alive. - -The girl stood near Arnsen. A score of the jewels pressed against her -lovingly. They caressed her. The veiled eyes did not meet Arnsen's. But -she lifted her arm. - -There was a movement in Arnsen's gloved hand. The milky gem stirred; a -pulse of eagerness beat out from it. - -It leaped free--raced toward Circe. - -She caught it, flung it at the shaking tower of flame. - -Into the pillar's blazing heart the crystal darted. - -The fires sank--rose again. Spewed forth the jewel. - -No longer milky--no longer dulled. It blazed with fantastic brilliance! -Vital energy streamed from it; it whirled and danced joyously with -sheer delight. It was like a sleeper suddenly awakened. - -It spun toward Circe, pulsed madly with the intoxication of life. - -The girl rose, featherlight, without gravity, drifting across the -cavern to a passage-mouth that gaped in the wall. The jewels clustered -around it swayed toward her. Some broke free, rushing in her train. - -She vanished into the portal. - -The spell that held Arnsen broke. He flung himself after her, too late. -Already she was gone. But along the corridor jewels floated, bright, -shining, alive. - -And suddenly strong arms were around Arnsen. The face of O'Brien -was before him. O'Brien, no longer wearing his space-suit, haggard, -and yet aflame with a vital something that glowed in his dark eyes. -O'Brien--laughing. - -"Steve!" His voice shook. "So you followed me. I'm glad. Come in -here--it's all right." - -The energy went out of Arnsen, leaving him weak and exhausted. He -cast one glance up the empty corridor and followed O'Brien through a -cave-opening into a little room cut out of solid rock. He felt the -other's fingers loosening his helmet, removing the bulky space-suit. -Some remnant of caution returned. - -"The oxygen--" - -"There's air here. It's a place of wonders, Steve!" - -There was air. Cool, sweet, and refreshing, it crept into Arnsen's -lungs. He looked around. The little cavern was empty, save for dozens -of the rainbow crystals clinging to the walls. - -They watched alertly. - -O'Brien pressed him back, made a quick gesture. A jewel floated -forward, hovering over Arnsen's face. He felt water trickling between -his lips, and, too exhausted for wonder, swallowed gratefully. - -"You need sleep," O'Brien said. "But it's all right, Steve. It's all -right, I tell you. You'll hear all about it when you wake up. Time -enough then. You'll see Deirdre." - -Arnsen tried to struggle up. "I won't--" - -O'Brien signalled again. Another gem drifted close. From it a gray -breath of cloud floated, perfume-sweet, soporific. It crept into -Arnsen's nostrils.... - -And he slept. - - - - - CHAPTER FIVE - - The Jewel-Folk - - -The room was unchanged when he woke once more. O'Brien sat -cross-legged, looking into space. His face had altered, had acquired a -new peace and maturity. - -He heard Arnsen's slight movement and turned. - -"Awake? How do you feel?" - -"All right. Well enough to hear explanations," Arnsen said with a flash -of temper. "I've been nearly crazy--looking for you all over this -damned asteroid. I still think I'm crazy after all this." - -O'Brien chuckled. "I can imagine. I felt pretty upset for a while, till -the crystals explained." - -"The crystals _what_?" - -"They're alive, Steve. The ultimate product of evolution, perhaps. -Crystalline life. Perfect machines. They can do almost anything. You -saw how one created drinkable water, and--well, look here." He beckoned. - -A jewel floated close. From it a jet of flame shot, red and brilliant. -O'Brien waved his hand; the gem drifted back to its place. - -"They can convert energy into matter, you see. It's logical, when you -forget about hide-bound science. All matter's made up of energy. It's -simply locked in certain patterns--certain matrixes. But inside the -atom--the framework of matter--you've got nothing but energy. These -crystals build patterns out of basic energy." - -Arnsen shook his head. "I don't see it." - -O'Brien's voice grew deeper, stronger. "Long ago--very long ago, and -in another galaxy, light-years away, there was a civilization far -beyond ours. Deirdre is a child of that race. It was--mighty. It passed -through our culture-level and went far beyond. Till machines were no -longer needed. Instead, the race made the crystals--super-machines, -super-robots, with incredible powers locked in them. They supplied all -the needs of Deirdre's race." - -"Well?" - -"This asteroid doesn't belong to our family of planets. It's from -that other system, in the neighboring galaxy. It drifted here by -accident, I think. I don't quite know the facts of it. It came under -the gravitational pull of a comet, or a wandering planet, and was -yanked out into space. Eventually it settled into this orbit. Deirdre -didn't care. Her mind isn't like ours. The crystals supplied all her -needs--made air, gave her food and water. Everything she desired." - -Arnsen said, "How long has this been going on?" - -"Forever, perhaps," O'Brien said quietly. "I think Deirdre's immortal. -At least she is a goddess. Do you remember the crystal I found in that -meteorite?" - -"Yeah. I remember." - -"It came from here. It was one of Deirdre's servants. Somehow it was -lost--wandered away. Cosmic dust collected on it as it moved in an -orbit around the sun--for thousands of years, perhaps. Iron atoms. At -last it was a meteorite, with the crystal at its heart. So it fell on -Earth, and I found it, and it wanted to go home, back to Deirdre. It -told me that. I felt its thoughts. It drew me here, Steve--" - -Arnsen shivered. "It's unbelievable. And that girl isn't human." - -"Have you looked into her eyes?" - -"No--" - -"She isn't human. She is a goddess." - -A new thought came to Arnsen. "Where's Tex Hastings? Here?" - -"I haven't seen him," O'Brien said. "I don't know where he is." - -"Uh-huh. What have you been doing?" - -"She brought me here. The crystals took care of me. And Deirdre--" He -stood up. "She's summoning me. Wait, Steve--I'll be back." - -Arnsen put out a detaining hand; it was useless. O'Brien stepped -through the portal and was gone. A dozen crystals swept after him. - - * * * * * - -Arnsen followed, refusing to admit that he, too, wanted another glimpse -of the girl. Down the passage he went in O'Brien's trail, till the -boy vanished from sight. Arnsen increased his pace. He halted on the -threshold of the cavern where the pillar of flame swept up to the roof. - -He had thought it thundered. It did not--it rushed up in utter silence, -shaking and swaying with the surcharged intensity of its power. The -walls were crusted with the dancing, watching crystals. Now Arnsen saw -that some were dull gray, motionless and dead. These were sprinkled -among the others, and there were thousands of them. - -O'Brien paced forward--and suddenly Circe was standing with her back to -Arnsen, the gems clustering about her caressingly. She lifted her arms, -and O'Brien turned. - -A great hunger leaped into his face. The girl did not move, and O'Brien -came into the circle of her arms. - -So swift was her movement that Arnsen did not realize it till too late. -The slender arms slid free; Circe stepped back a pace--and thrust -O'Brien toward the tower of flame! - -He stumbled, off balance, and the crystals leaped from Circe's body. -They were no longer a garment. They pressed against O'Brien, forcing -him away, thrusting, pushing. Arnsen cried out and sprang forward-- - -O'Brien reeled, was engulfed by the flame-pillar. The pouring torrent -swallowed him. - -Simultaneously from the farther wall a gray, dead jewel detached itself -and shot toward the tower of fire. Into the blazing heart it fled and -vanished. - -The pillar sank down. It pulsed--thundered up again, silently streaming -like a torrent toward the roof. And out of its depths the jewel came -transformed. - -Sentiment, blazing, shining with a myriad hues, it swirled toward -Circe. Scintillant with delight, it hovered about her caressingly. - -It was alive! - -Arnsen cried out, flung himself forward. Circe turned to face him. -Still her eyes were hidden; her face was aloofly lovely and inhuman. - -The crystal swept toward Arnsen, cupping itself into his outthrust -hand. From it a wave of mad delight rushed into his brain. - -It was Doug--_it was Doug!_ Frozen with sick horror, Arnsen halted, -while thoughts poured from the sentient crystal into his mind. - -"The--the gray jewel--" His tongue fumbled thickly with the words. He -looked up to where the dull gems clung among the shining ones. - -"Machines, Steve." The thought lanced into him from the living -thing he held. "Robots, not energized. Only one thing can energize -them--life-force, vital energy. The flame-pillar does that, through -atomic transmutation. It's not earthly science--it was created in -another galaxy. There, Deirdre's race had slave people to energize the -crystals." - -"Doug--she's killed you--" - -"I'm not dead. I'm alive, Steve, more alive than I ever have been. -All the crystals--Martians, Venusians, beings from other systems and -galaxies that landed on this asteroid. Deirdre took them for her own. -As she took Hastings. As she has taken me. We serve her now--" - -The jewel tore free from Arnsen's grip. It fled back to Circe, brushing -her lips, caressing her hair. The other gems, scores of them, danced -about the girl like elfin lovers. - - * * * * * - -Arnsen stood there, sick and nauseated. He understood now. The -intricate crystal machines were too complicated to work unless -life-force energized them. Circe, who took the minds of living beings -and prisoned them in silicate robot-forms. - -They felt no resentment. They were content to serve. - -"Damn you!" Arnsen mouthed, and took a step forward. His fists balled. -His fingers ached to curl about the girl's slender neck and snap it -with sharp, vicious pressure. - -Her lashes swept up. Her eyes looked into his. - -They were black as space, with stars prisoned in their depths. They -were not human eyes. - -Now Arnsen knew why O'Brien had asked if he had looked into Deirdre's -eyes. They were her secret and her power. Her human form was not enough -to enchant and enslave the beings of a hundred worlds. It was the -soul-shaking alienage that looked out of Circe's eyes. - -Through those dark windows Arnsen saw the Outside. He saw the gulf -between the stars, and no longer did he fear it. For Circe was a -goddess. - -She was above and beyond humanity. A great void opened between her -and the man, the void of countless evolutionary cycles, and a million -light-years of space. But across that gulf something reached and met -and clung, and Arnsen's senses drowned in a soul-shaking longing for -Circe. - -It was her power. She could control emotion, as she could control the -crystals, and the power of her mind reached into Arnsen and wrung -sanity and self from it. Only in outer semblance was she even slightly -human. Beside her Arnsen was an animal, and like an animal he could be -controlled. - -She blazed like a flame before him. He forgot O'Brien, forgot Hastings -and Earth and his purpose. Her power clutched him and left him helpless. - -The grip upon his mind relaxed. Circe, confident of her triumph, let -her eyelids droop. - -And Arnsen's mind came back in a long, slow cycle from the gulfs -between the stars, drifted leisurely back into the crystalline cavern -and the presence of the goddess--and woke. - -Not wholly. He would never be whole again. But he felt the crowding -vibrations of the countless prisoners in crystal who had gone the way -his own feet were walking now, bewildered, drunken and drowning in -emotions without name, sacrificing identity without knowing what they -sacrificed. Flung into eternity at the whim of a careless goddess to -whom all life-forms were one.... - -She was turning half away as realization came back to Arnsen. She had -lifted one round white arm to let the crystals cascade along it. She -did not even see him lurch forward. - -What he did was without thought. The emotions she had called up in him -drowned all thought. He only knew that he must do what he did--he could -not yet think why. - -The breath hissed between his lips as he stumbled forward and thrust -Circe into the flame.... - - * * * * * - -From the roof a gray jewel dropped. The tower of fire paused in its -rhythm--beat out strongly again. From it a crystal leaped. It hung -motionless in the air, and Arnsen seized it with shaking fingers. He -felt great, racking sobs shake him. His fingers caressed the jewel, -pressed it to his lips. - -"Circe!" he whispered, eyes blind with tears. "Circe--" - - - - - _Epilogue_ - - -Arnsen had not spoken for a long time. Through the window I could see -the Cairo stratoship being wheeled into place. Beyond, the lights of -New York glowed yellow. - -"And so you came back," I said. - -He nodded. "And so I came back. I put on my space-suit and went back -to the ship. The crystals didn't try to stop me. They seemed to be -waiting. I don't know for what. I blasted off and headed Sunward. I -knew enough to do that. After a while I began to send out S.O.S. -signals, and a patrol boat picked me up. That was all." - -"Doug--" - -"Still there, I suppose. With all the others. Vail, why did I do it? -Was I right?" He didn't wait for an answer, but cupped the little -shagreen box in his hand. He didn't open it. - -"No," he went on, "you can't answer me; nobody can. Circe took the soul -out of my body, and I'm empty now. There's no peace for me on Earth, -or in the space-ways. And out there, somewhere, on that asteroid, the -crystals are waiting--waiting for Circe to come back-- - -"But she will never come back. She will stay with me till I die, and -then she'll be buried with me in space. In the meantime--Circe doesn't -like it here on Earth. So I'm going out again. Sometime, perhaps, I'll -take her back Outside, to the unknown place from which she came. I -don't know--" - -An audio announced the plane for Kansas. Arnsen stood up, gave me a -smile from his ravaged face, and without a word went out. - -I never saw him again. - -I think that beyond Pluto, beyond the farthest limits of the system, -a little cruiser may be fleeing into the void, controls set, racing, -perhaps, for the darkness of the Coal Sack. In the ship is a man and a -jewel. He will die, but I do not think that even in death his hand will -relax its grip on that jewel. - -And the ship will go on, into the blackness which has no name. - - * * * * * - -[Transcriber's Note: The orginal publication had no Chapter Four -heading and two Chapter Five headings. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Crystal Circe</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Henry Kuttner</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: August 11, 2022 [eBook #68726]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CRYSTAL CIRCE ***</div> - - -<div class="figcenter x-ebookmaker-drop"> - <img src="images/illusc.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>THE CRYSTAL CIRCE</h1> - -<h2>By Henry Kuttner</h2> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Astonishing Stories, June 1942.<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<p class="ph1"><i>Prologue</i></p> - - -<p>The stratoship from Cairo was late, and I was wondering whether the -newsreel theatre or a couple of drinks would make time pass faster. -It was early dusk. Through the immense, curved wall-window of the -Manhattan Port Room I could see the landing field, with a silvery ship -being rolled over the tarmac, and the skyscrapers of New York beyond.</p> - -<p>Then I saw Arnsen.</p> - -<p>It was Steve Arnsen, of course. No doubt about that. No other man had -his great breadth of shoulders, his Herculean build. Ten years ago we -had been classmates at Midwestern. I remembered rakehell, laughing, -handsome Steve Arnsen very well, with his penchant for getting into -trouble and out of it again, usually dragging Douglas O'Brien, his -room-mate, along with him like the helpless tail of a kite. Poor Doug! -He was the antithesis of Arnsen, a thoughtful, studious boy with the -shadow of a dream lurking always in his dark eyes. An idealist was -Douglas O'Brien, as his Celtic ancestors had been. Strong friendship -had existed between the two men—the mental communion of laughter and a -dream.</p> - -<p>Arnsen was looking up into the darkening sky, a queer tensity in his -posture. He turned abruptly, came to a table near me, and sat down. -From his pocket he took a small box. It snapped open. His gaze probed -into the unknown thing that was hidden by his cupped hands.</p> - -<p>I picked up my drink and went to Arnsen's table. All I could see was -the back of his sleek, massive head. Then he looked up—</p> - -<p>If ever I saw hell in a man's face, I saw it in Arnsen's then. There -was a dreadful longing, and an equally horrible hopelessness, the -expression one might see on the face of a damned soul looking up from -the pit at the shining gates forever beyond his reach.</p> - -<p>And Arnsen's face had been—ravaged.</p> - -<p>The searing mark of some experience lay there, branded into his -furrowed cheeks, his tightened lips, into his eyes where a sickness -dwelt. No—this was not Steve Arnsen, the boy I had known at -Midwestern. Youth had left him, and hope as well.</p> - -<p>"Vail!" he said, smiling crookedly. "Good Lord, of all people! Sit down -and have a drink. What are you doing here?"</p> - -<p>I sought for words as I dropped into a chair. Arnsen watched me for a -moment, and then shrugged. "You might as well say it. I've changed. -Yeah—I know that."</p> - -<p>"What happened?" There was no need to fence.</p> - -<p>His gaze went beyond me, to the dark sky above the landing field. "What -happened? Why don't you ask where Doug is? We always stuck together, -didn't we? Surprising to see me alone—"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He lit a cigarette and crushed it out with an impatient gesture. "You -know, Vail, I've been hoping I'd run into you. This thing that's been -boiling inside of me—I haven't been able to tell a soul. No one would -have believed me. You may. The three of us kicked around together a -lot, in the old days."</p> - -<p>"In trouble?" I asked. "Can I help?"</p> - -<p>"You can listen," he said. "I came back to Earth thinking I might be -able to forget. It hasn't worked. I'm waiting for the airliner to take -me to Kansas Spaceport. I'm going to Callisto—Mars—somewhere. Earth -isn't the right place any more. But I'm glad we ran into each other, -Vail. I want to talk. I want you to answer a question that's been -driving me almost insane."</p> - -<p>I signalled the waiter and got more drinks. Arnsen was silent till we -were alone once more. Then he opened his cupped hands and showed me -a small shagreen box. It clicked open. Nestling in blue velvet was a -crystal, not large, but lovelier than any gem I had ever seen before.</p> - -<p>Light drifted from it like the flow of slow water. The dim shining -pulsed and waned. In the heart of the jewel was—</p> - -<p>I tore my eyes away, staring at Arnsen. "What is it? Where did you get -the thing? Not on Earth!"</p> - -<p>He was watching the jewel, sick hopelessness on his face. "No—not on -Earth. It came from a little asteroid out there—somewhere." He waved -vaguely toward the sky. "It isn't charted. I took no reckonings. So I -can never go back. Not that I want to, now. Poor Doug!"</p> - -<p>"He's dead, isn't he?" I asked.</p> - -<p>Arnsen looked at me strangely as he closed the box and slipped it back -into his pocket. "Dead? I wonder. Wait till you know the story, Vail. -About Doug's lucky charm, and the dreams, and the Crystal Circe...."</p> - -<p>The slow horror of remembrance crept across his face. Out there, in -space, something had happened. I thought: It must have been frightful -to leave such traces on Arnsen.</p> - -<p>He read my thought. "Frightful? Perhaps. It was quite lovely, too. You -remember the old days, when I thought of nothing but raising hell...."</p> - -<p>After a long pause, I said, "Who was—the Crystal Circe?"</p> - -<p>"I never knew her name. She told me, but my brain couldn't understand -it. She wasn't human, of course. I called her Circe, after the -enchantress who changed her lovers to swine." Again he looked at the -darkening sky. "Well—it began more than two years ago, in Maine. Doug -and I were on a fishing trip when we ran into the meteorite. Little -fishing we got done then! You know how Doug was—like a kid reading a -fairy tale for the first time. And that meteorite—"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER ONE</p> - -<p class="ph2">The Star-Gem</p> - - -<p>It lay in the crater it had dug for itself, a rounded arc visible about -the brown earth. Already sumac and vines were mending the broken soil. -Warm fall sunlight slanted down through the trees as Douglas O'Brien -and Steve Arnsen plodded toward the distant gurgling of the stream, -thoughts intent on catching the limit. No fingering tendril of menace -thrust out to warn them.</p> - -<p>"Mind your step," Arnsen said, seeing the pit. He detoured around it -and turned, realizing that O'Brien had not followed. "Come on, Doug. -It's getting late."</p> - -<p>O'Brien's tanned young face was intent as he peered down into the -hollow. "Wait a bit," he said absently. "This looks—say! I'll bet -there's a meteor down there!"</p> - -<p>"So there's a meteor. We're not fishing for meteors, professor. They're -mostly iron, anyway. Gold, now, would be a different matter."</p> - -<p>O'Brien dropped lightly into the hole, scraping at the dirt with his -fingers. "Wonder how long it's been here? You run along, Steve. I'll -catch up with you."</p> - -<p>Arnsen sighed. O'Brien, with his vast enthusiasm for everything under -the sun, was off again. There would be no stopping him now till he had -satisfied his curiosity about the meteorite. Well, Arnsen had a new fly -he was anxious to use, and it would soon be too late for good fishing. -With a grunt he turned and pushed on toward the stream.</p> - -<p>The fly proved excellent. In a surprisingly short time Arnsen had -bagged the limit. There was no sign of O'Brien, and hunger made itself -evident. Arnsen retraced his steps.</p> - -<p>The younger man was sitting cross-legged beside the crater, holding -something in his cupped hands and staring down at it. A swift glance -showed Arnsen that the meteorite had been uncovered, and, apparently, -cracked in two, each piece the size of a football. He stepped closer, -to see what O'Brien held.</p> - -<p>It was a gray crystal, egg-sized, filled with cloudy, frozen mists. It -had been cut into a diamond-shaped, multifaced gem.</p> - -<p>"Where'd you get that?" Arnsen asked.</p> - -<p>O'Brien jumped, turning up a startled face. "Oh—hello, Steve. It was -in the meteorite. Damnedest thing I ever saw. I saw the meteorite had -a line of fission all around it, so I smacked the thing with a rock. It -fell apart, and this was in the middle. Impossible, isn't it?"</p> - -<p>"Let's see." Arnsen reached for the jewel. O'Brien showed an odd -reluctance in giving it up, but finally dropped it into the other's -outstretched hand.</p> - -<p>The gem was cold, and yet not unpleasantly so. A tingling raced up -Arnsen's arm to his shoulder. He felt an abrupt, tiny shock.</p> - -<p>O'Brien snatched the jewel. Arnsen stared at him.</p> - -<p>"I'm not going to eat it. What—"</p> - -<p>The boy grinned. "It's my luck piece, Steve. My lucky charm. I'm going -to have it pierced."</p> - -<p>"Better take it to a jeweler first," Arnsen suggested. "It may be -valuable."</p> - -<p>"No—I'll keep it." He slipped the gem into his pocket. "Any luck?"</p> - -<p>"The limit, and I'm starving. Let's get back to camp."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Over their meal of fried trout, O'Brien fingered the find, staring into -the cloudy depths of the gem as though he expected to find something -there. Arnsen could sense a strange air of withdrawal about him. That -night O'Brien fell asleep holding the jewel in his hand.</p> - -<p>His sleep was troubled. O'Brien watched the boy, the vaguest hint of -worry in his blue eyes. Once Doug lifted his hand and let it fall -reluctantly. And once a flash of light seemed to lance out from the -gem, brief and vivid as lightning. Imagination, perhaps....</p> - -<p>The moon sank. O'Brien stirred and sat up. Arnsen felt the other's eyes -upon him. He said softly, "Doug?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. I wondered if you were awake."</p> - -<p>"Anything wrong?"</p> - -<p>"There's a girl...." O'Brien said, and fell silent. After what seemed a -long time, he went on: "Remember you said once that I'd never find a -girl perfect enough to love?"</p> - -<p>"I remember."</p> - -<p>"You were wrong. She's like Deirdre of the Tuatha Dé, like Freya, like -Ran of the northern seas. She has red hair, red as dying suns are red, -and she's a goddess like Deirdre, too. The Song of Solomon was made for -her. 'Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.... I sleep, -but my heart waketh; it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh.' -Steve," he said, and his voice broke sharply. "It wasn't a dream. I -know it wasn't. She exists, somewhere." He stirred; Arnsen guessed that -he was peering at the gray jewel.</p> - -<p>There was nothing to say. The frosty brilliance of the stars gleamed -through the laced branches above. A curious breath of the unearthly -seemed to drop down from the vast abyss of the sky, chilling Arnsen's -heart.</p> - -<p>In that moment he knew that his friend was ensorcelled.</p> - -<p>Superstition—foolishness! He shook the thought away. But all the blood -of his Northern ancestors rose up in him, the Vikings who had believed -in Queen Ran of Ocean, in trolls and warlocks and the water-maidens who -guard sunken gold.</p> - -<p>"You're dreaming," he said stubbornly, more loudly than he thought. -"It's time we got back to the city. We've been here long enough."</p> - -<p>To his surprise, O'Brien agreed. "I think so. I've an idea I want to -work on." And the boy shut up like a clam, relaxing almost instantly -into peaceful slumber.</p> - -<p>But Arnsen did not sleep for a long time. The stars seemed too close -and, somehow, menacing. From the black void, eyes watched—not human -eyes, for all their loveliness. They were pools of darkest night, and -stars glimmered within them.</p> - -<p>He wished that O'Brien had not found the meteorite.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER TWO</p> - -<p class="ph2">Lure of the Crystal</p> - - -<p>There was a change in the boy after that. The dream in his eyes did not -fade, but he worked now with an intensity of purpose that had never -existed before. Previously, the two had held routine jobs in a huge -commercial organization. Without warning O'Brien quit. Arnsen followed -suit, feeling the necessity for staying close to the younger man. Yet -in the days to come, he amounted to little more than excess baggage.</p> - -<p>O'Brien had plans. He borrowed money, scraped together enough to equip -a small laboratory, and there he worked long hours. Arnsen helped when -he could, though that was not often. He seldom knew exactly what the -boy was trying to accomplish.</p> - -<p>Once O'Brien said a queer thing. They were in the laboratory, awaiting -the result of an experiment, and Arnsen was pacing back and forth -nervously.</p> - -<p>"I wish I knew what was up, Doug," he said almost with anger. "We've -been at this for months now. What do you expect, anyway? You've had no -more than an ordinary training in physics."</p> - -<p>"The jewel helps," O'Brien said. He took the gem from its suede bag and -stared into the cloudy depths. "I catch—thoughts from it."</p> - -<p>Arnsen stopped short, staring. His face changed.</p> - -<p>"You kidding?" he demanded.</p> - -<p>O'Brien flushed. "Okay, try it," he said, thrusting the stone at -Arnsen, who took it rather reluctantly. "Shut your eyes and let your -mind go blank. That does it, sometimes."</p> - -<p>"I—all right." Arnsen squeezed his eyes closed and thought of nothing. -Instantly a sick, horrible feeling swept through him—a terrible -yearning such as he had never known before. So might the Assassins -feel, deprived of the magic drug that took them to Paradise. An -Assassin exiled, cast into outer darkness.</p> - -<p>A face swam into view, lovely and strange beyond imagination. Only a -glimpse he had, blotted out by rainbow, coruscating lights that darted -and flashed like elfin fireflies. Then darkness, once more, and the -frightful longing—for what?</p> - -<p>He let go of the gem; O'Brien caught it as it fell. The boy smiled -wryly.</p> - -<p>"I wondered if you'd get it, too. Did you see her?"</p> - -<p>"I saw nothing," Arnsen snarled, whirling toward the door. "I felt -nothing!"</p> - -<p>"Yet you're afraid. Why? I don't fear her, or the stone."</p> - -<p>"The more fool you," Arnsen cast over his shoulder as he went out. He -felt sick and weak, as though unnameable vistas had opened before him. -There was no explanation for what he had felt—no sane explanation, at -least.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>And yet there might be, he thought, as he paced about the yard, smoking -an endless chain of cigarettes. Telepathy, thought-transference—he had -simply caught what was in O'Brien's mind. But it was horrible to know -that Doug was feeling that soul-sick craving for the goddess-girl who -could not exist.</p> - -<p>O'Brien came out of the laboratory, eyes aglow. "It's done," he said, -trying to repress his triumph. "We've got the alloy at last. That last -treatment did the trick."</p> - -<p>Arnsen felt vague apprehension. He tried to congratulate O'Brien, but -his tone rang false to his own ears. The boy smiled understandingly.</p> - -<p>"It's been good of you to string along, Steve. The thing will pay off -now. Only—I'll need a lot of money."</p> - -<p>"You'll have a lot. Plenty of companies will be bidding for the -process."</p> - -<p>O'Brien said, "I want enough to buy a spaceship."</p> - -<p>Arnsen whistled. "That's a lot. Even for a small boat." His eyes -narrowed. "Why do you want it?"</p> - -<p>"I'm going to find Deirdre," the other said simply. "She's out there, -somewhere." He tilted his head back. "And I'll find her."</p> - -<p>"Space is pretty big."</p> - -<p>"I've a guide." O'Brien took out the gray gem. "It wants to go to her, -too. It wants to go back. It isn't really alive here on Earth, you -know. And I'm not just dreaming, Steve. How do you suppose I managed -to make this alloy—the perfect plastic, tougher than beryllium steel, -lighter than aluminum, a conductor or non-conductor of electricity -depending on the mix.... You know I couldn't have done it alone."</p> - -<p>"You did it."</p> - -<p>O'Brien touched the jewel. "I found out how to do it. There's life in -here, Steve. Not earthly life, but intelligent. I could understand a -little, not much. Enough to work out the alloy. I had to do that first, -so I could get money enough to buy a spaceship."</p> - -<p>"You don't know how to pilot in space."</p> - -<p>"We'll hire a pilot."</p> - -<p>"We?"</p> - -<p>He grinned. "I'm going to prove my point. You don't believe in Deirdre. -But you'll see her, Steve. The jewel will guide us. It wants to go -home—so we'll take it there."</p> - -<p>Arnsen scowled and turned away, his big shoulders tense with -unreasoning anger. He found himself hating the imaginary being O'Brien -had created. Deirdre! His fists clenched.</p> - -<p>She did not exist. The major planets and satellites had been explored; -the inhabited ones held nothing remotely human. Martians were -huge-headed, spindle-legged horrors; Venusians were scaled amphibians, -living in a state of feudalism and constant warfare. The other -planets ... the avian, hollow-boned Callistans were closest to -humanity, but by no stretch of the imagination could they be called -beautiful. And Deirdre was beautiful. Imaginary or not, she was lovely -as a goddess.</p> - -<p><i>Damn her!</i></p> - -<p>But that did no good. O'Brien was not to be turned from his purpose. -With relentless, swift intensity he patented the alloy process, sold -it to the highest bidder, and purchased a light space cruiser. He -found a pilot, a leather-skinned, tough, tobacco-chewing man named Tex -Hastings, who could be depended on to do what he was told and keep his -mouth shut.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>O'Brien chafed with impatience till the cruiser jetted off from the -spaceport. The closer he came to achieving his goal, the more nervous -he grew. The jewel he kept clenched in one hand most of the time. -Arnsen noticed that a dim brilliance was beginning to glow within it as -the ship plunged farther out toward the void.</p> - -<p>Hastings cast quizzical glances at O'Brien, but did what he was told. -He confided in Arnsen.</p> - -<p>"We haven't even bothered with charts. It's screwy, but I'm not -kicking. Only this isn't piloting. Your friend just points at a -star-sector and says, 'Go there.' Funny." He scratched his leathery -cheek, faded eyes intent on Arnsen's face.</p> - -<p>The big man nodded. "I know. But it isn't up to me, Hastings. I'm -super-cargo."</p> - -<p>"Yeah. Well, if you—want any help—you can count on me. I've seen -space-madness before."</p> - -<p>Arnsen snorted. "Space-madness!"</p> - -<p>Hastings' eyes were steady. "I may be wrong, sure. But anything can -happen out here. We're not on Earth, Mr. Arnsen. Earth laws don't -apply. Neither does logic. We're on the edge of the unknown."</p> - -<p>"I never thought you were superstitious."</p> - -<p>"I'm not. Only I've been around, and seen a lot. That crystal Mr. -O'Brien lugs around with him—I never saw anything like that before." -He waited, but Arnsen didn't speak. "All right, then. I've known things -to drift in from Outside. Funny things, damn funny. The Solar System's -like a Sargasso. It catches flotsam from other systems, even other -universes, for all I know. One rule I've learned—when you can't guess -the answer, it's a good idea to stay clear."</p> - -<p>Arnsen grunted moodily, staring out a port at the glaring brilliance of -the stars.</p> - -<p>"Ever heard any stories about jewels like that one?"</p> - -<p>Hastings shook his closely-cropped head. "No. But I saw a wreck once, -Sunside of Pluto—a ship that hadn't been designed in this System. It -was deserted; God knows how long it had been out there. Or where it -came from. Inside, it wasn't designed for human beings at all. It came -from Outside, of course, and Outside is a big place. That jewel, now—" -He bit the end off a quid of tobacco.</p> - -<p>"What about it?"</p> - -<p>"It's an Outside sort of thing. And your friend isn't acting normal. It -may add up to trouble. It may not. My point is that I'm going to keep -my eyes open, and you'd be wise to do the same thing."</p> - -<p>Arnsen went back to the galley and fried eggs, angry with himself for -listening to Hastings' hints. He was more than ever uncomfortable. Back -on Earth, it had been easier to disbelieve in any unknown powers that -the gray jewel might possess; here, it was different. Space was the -hinterland, the waste that bordered the cryptic Outside. The forward -step in science that threw open the gates of interplanetary travel had, -in a way, taken man back in time to a day when he cowered in a cave, -fearing the powers of the dark that lurked in the unknown jungle. -Space travel had broken barriers. It opened a door that, perhaps, -should have remained forever closed.</p> - -<p>On the shores of space strange flotsam was cast. Arnsen's gaze probed -out through the port, to the red globe of Mars, the blinding brilliance -of the Milky Way, the enigmatic shadow of the Coal Sack. Out there -anything might lie. Life grown from a matrix neither Earthly nor even -three-dimensional. Charles Fort had hinted at it; scientists had -hazarded wild guesses. The cosmic womb of space, from which blasphemous -abortions might be cast.</p> - -<p>So they went on, day after day, skirting Mars and plunging on into the -thick of the asteroid belt. It was uncharted country now, a Sargasso of -remnants from an exploded planet that had existed here eons ago. Sounds -rang loudly in the narrow confines of the space ship. Nervousness -gripped all three of the men. But O'Brien found comfort in the gray -crystal. His eyes held a glowing light of triumph.</p> - -<p>"We are coming closer, Steve," he said. "Deirdre isn't far away now."</p> - -<p>"Damn Deirdre," Arnsen said—but not aloud.</p> - -<p>The ship went on, following the blind course O'Brien pointed. Hastings -shook his head in grim silence, and trained his passengers in the use -of the space-suits. Few of the asteroids had atmosphere, and it became -increasingly evident that the destination was an asteroid....</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER THREE</p> - -<p class="ph2">The Singing Crystals</p> - - -<p>They found it at last, a jagged, slowly revolving ball that looked -incredibly desolate, slag from some solar furnace. The telescope showed -no life. The ball had hardened as it whirled, and the molten rock -had frozen instantly, in frigid space, into spiky, giant crags and -stalagmites. No atmosphere, no water, no sign of life in any form.</p> - -<p>The crystal O'Brien held had changed. A pale light streamed from it. -O'Brien's face was tensely eager.</p> - -<p>"This is it. Set the ship down, Hastings."</p> - -<p>The pilot made a grimace, but bent toward the controls. It was a -ticklish task at best, for he had to match the ship's speed to the -speed of the asteroid's revolution and circle in, describing a -narrowing spiral. Rocket ships are not built for maneuverability. They -blast their way to ground and up again through sheer roaring power.</p> - -<p>She settled bumpily on the iron-hard surface of the asteroid, and -Arnsen looked through the thick visiglass at desolation that struck -a chill to his heart. Life had never existed here. It was a world -damned in the making, a tiny planetoid forever condemned to unbearable -night and silence. It was one with the darkness. The sun-glare, in -the absence of atmosphere, made sharp contrasts between light and jet -shadow. The fingers of rock reached up hungrily, as though searching -for warmth. There was nothing menacing about the picture. It was -horrible in its lifelessness; that was all.</p> - -<p>It was not intended for life. Arnsen felt himself an intruder.</p> - -<p>O'Brien met his glance. The boy was smiling, rather wryly.</p> - -<p>"I know," he said. "It doesn't look very promising, does it? But this -is the place."</p> - -<p>"Maybe—a million years ago," Arnsen said skeptically. "There's nothing -here now."</p> - -<p>Silently O'Brien put the crystal in the giant's hand.</p> - -<p>From it a pulse of triumph burst out! Exultation! The psychic wave -shook Arnsen with its intensity, wiped doubt from his face. Invisibly -and intangibly, the jewel shouted its delight!</p> - -<p>The glow within it waxed brighter.</p> - -<p>Hastings said abruptly, "Time to eat. Metabolism's higher in space. We -can't afford to miss a meal."</p> - -<p>"I'm going out," O'Brien said.</p> - -<p>But Arnsen seconded the pilot. "We're here now. You can afford to wait -an hour or so. And I'm hungry."</p> - -<p>They opened thermocans in the galley and gulped the hot food standing. -The ship had suddenly become a prison. Even Hastings was touched with -the thirst to know what awaited them outside.</p> - -<p>"We circled the asteroid," he said at last, his voice argumentative. -"There's nothing here, Mr. O'Brien. We <i>saw</i> that."</p> - -<p>But O'Brien was hurrying back to the control cabin.</p> - -<p>The suits were cumbersome, even in the slight gravity. Hastings tested -the oxygen tanks strapped on the backs, and checked the equipment with -stringent care. A leak would be fatal on this airless world.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>So they went out through the airlock, and Arnsen, for one, felt his -middle tightening with the expectation of the unknown. His breathing -sounded loud and harsh within the helmet. The tri-polarized faceplates -of the helmets were proof against sun-glare, but they could not -minimize the horrible desolation of the scene.</p> - -<p>A world untouched—more lifeless, more terrible, than frigid Jotunheim, -where the Frost Giants dwelt. Arnsen's heavily-leaded boots thumped -solidly on the slag. There was no dust here, no sign of erosion, for -there was no air.</p> - -<p>In O'Brien's hand the crystal flamed with milky pallor. The boy's face -was thin and haggard with desire. Arnsen, watching, felt hot fury -against the incubus that had worked its dark spell on the other.</p> - -<p>He could do nothing—only follow and wait. His hand crept to the -weighted blackjack in his belt.</p> - -<p>He saw the hope slowly fade from O'Brien's eyes. Against his will he -said, "We're only on the surface, Doug. Underground—"</p> - -<p>"That's right. Maybe there's an entrance, somewhere. But I don't know. -We may be a thousand years too late, Steve." His gaze clung to the -crystal.</p> - -<p>It pulsed triumphantly. Pale flame lanced joyously from it. Alive it -was; Arnsen had no doubt of that now. Alive, and exulting to be home -once more.</p> - -<p>Years too late? There was not the slightest trace of any artifact on -this airless planetoid. The bleakness of outer space itself cast a veil -over the nameless world. The three men plodded on.</p> - -<p>In the end, they went back to the ship.</p> - -<p>The quick night of the tiny world had fallen. The flaming corona of the -sun had vanished; stars leaped into hard, jeweled brilliance against -utter blackness. The sky blazed with cold fires.</p> - -<p>Lifeless, alien, strange. It was the edge of the unknown.</p> - -<p>They slept at last; metabolism was high, and they needed to restore -their tissues. Hours later Arnsen came to half wakefulness. In his -bunk he rose on one elbow, wondering what had roused him. His mind felt -dulled. He could scarcely tell whether or not he was dreaming.</p> - -<p>Across the ship a man's head and shoulders were silhouetted against a -port, grotesquely large and distorted. Beyond, the stars blazed.</p> - -<p>They moved. They swirled in a witch-dance of goblin lanterns, dancing, -whirling, spiraling. Blue, yellow, amethyst and milky pearl, streaks of -light golden as the eye of a lioness—and nameless colors, not earthly, -made a patterned arabesque as they danced their elfin saraband there in -the airless dark.</p> - -<p>The dark swallowed Arnsen. Slumber took him....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Slowly, exhaustedly, he came back to consciousness. His head ached; his -tongue was thick. For a moment he lay quietly, trying to remember.</p> - -<p>Dream? Arnsen cursed, threw his blankets aside, and sprang from the -bunk.</p> - -<p>O'Brien was gone. Tex Hastings was gone. Two space-suits had vanished -from their racks.</p> - -<p>Arnsen's face twisted into a savage mask. He knew, now, what had been -so wrong about his vision of the night. The man he had glimpsed at the -port had been <i>outside</i> the ship. Doug?</p> - -<p>Or Hastings. It did not matter. Both men were gone. He was alone, on -the mystery world.</p> - -<p>Arnsen set his jaw, gulped caffeine tablets to clear his head, and -wrenched a space-suit from its hooks. He donned it, realizing that -sunlight once more was pouring down from the distant sun.</p> - -<p>Soon he was ready. He went out of the ship, climbed atop it, and stared -around. Nothing. The bleak, light-and-shadow pattern of the asteroid -stretched to the sharply curving horizon all around. There was nothing -else.</p> - -<p>Nor were there tracks in the iron-hard slag. He would have to search -at random, by pure guesswork. In the low gravity his leap to the -ground scarcely jarred him. He gripped the billy at his left and moved -forward, toward a high pinnacle in the distance.</p> - -<p>He found nothing.</p> - -<p>Worst of all, perhaps, was the horrible loneliness that oppressed -him. He was too close to Outside now. He was the only living thing -in a place never meant for human life. The ghastly bleakness of the -asteroid sank like knife-blades into his mind, searing it coldly. There -was no relief when he looked up. The distant sun, with its corona, -was infinitely far away. The rest of the sky held stars, remote, not -twinkling as on Earth, but shining with a cold intensity, a pale fury -relentless and eternal. In the light the heat seared him through his -armor; in the shadows he shivered with cold.</p> - -<p>He went on, sick with hate, seeking the unknown thing that had taken -Doug.</p> - -<p>The boy was a poet, a dreamer, a fool, easy victim for the terror that -haunted the asteroid.</p> - -<p>Exhausted, he turned back. His air supply was running low, and there -was no sign of either Doug or Hastings. He headed for the ship....</p> - -<p>It was further than he had thought. He sighted it at last, beneath a -towering stalagmite that thrust up into the harsh sunlight, and his -steps quickened. Why hadn't he thought to bring extra cylinders of -oxygen?</p> - -<p>The lock stuck under his gloved, awkward fingers; he wrenched at it -savagely. At last the great valve swung open. He went through the -airlock, opened his visiplate, and took great breaths of the fresher -air. Oxygen cylinders were racked near by; he swung several into -position on his back and clamped them into place. He gulped more -caffeine tablets.</p> - -<p>Some instinct made him turn and look back through the port. Over the -uneven ground a space-suited figure was staggering, a quarter of a mile -distant....</p> - -<p>Arnsen's heart jumped. In one swift motion he clamped shut his -visiplate and leaped for the airlock. It seemed an eternity before he -was outside, leaping, racing, straining toward the man who had fallen -helpless, a motionless shadow amid the glare. Doug? Hastings?</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was O'Brien, his young face gray with exhaustion and flushed with -oxygen-thirst. For a moment Arnsen thought the boy was dead. He -thrust one arm under O'Brien's back, lifting him; with the other hand -he fumbled at an auxiliary air-hose, thrusting it into the valve in -O'Brien's chin-plate as he ripped away the useless hose. Oxygen flowed -into the boy's suit.</p> - -<p>His nostrils distended as he drank in the precious air. Arnsen watched, -teeth bared in a mirthless grin. Good! Color came back to O'Brien's -cheeks—a healthy flush under the deep tan. His eyes opened, looked -into Arnsen's.</p> - -<p>"Couldn't find her," he whispered, his voice hollow through the -audiophone. "Deirdre—I couldn't find her, Steve."</p> - -<p>Arnsen said, "What happened, Doug?"</p> - -<p>O'Brien took a deep breath and shook his head. "I woke up—something -warned me. This." He unclasped his gloved hand and showed the milky -crystal. "It knew—she—was close. I felt it. I woke up, went to a -port, and saw the—the lights. Hastings was out there. She'd called -him, I guess. He was running after the lights.... I had sense enough to -put on my suit. Then I followed. But Hastings was too fast for me. I -followed till I lost him. Miles—hours. Then I saw my oxygen was low. I -tried to get back to the ship—"</p> - -<p>He tried to smile. "Why did she call Hastings, Steve? Why not me?"</p> - -<p>Arnsen felt cold. "We're getting off this asteroid. Right away."</p> - -<p>"Leaving Hastings?"</p> - -<p>"We—I'll look for him myself. There's life here, malignant life. -Plenty dangerous."</p> - -<p>"Not evil. No. Beyond evil, beyond good. I'm not going, Steve."</p> - -<p>"You're going if I have to hog-tie you."</p> - -<p>O'Brien's gloved hand tightened on the milky crystal. "Deirdre!" he -said.</p> - -<p>And, in the emptiness above them, a glow brightened.</p> - -<p>There was no other warning. Arnsen tilted back his head to see—the -incredible.</p> - -<p><i>Deirdre</i>, he thought. Then, unbidden, another name leaped into his -mind.</p> - -<p><i>Circe!</i></p> - -<p>Circe of Colchis, goddess of Aea—Circe, Daughter of the Day, who -changed men to swine! Circe—more than human!</p> - -<p>For this was no human figure that hovered above them. It seemed to be -a girl, unclad, reclining in nothingness, her floating hair tinted -like the rays of a dying sun. Her body swept in lines of pure beauty, -long-limbed and gracious. Her eyes were veiled; long lashes hid them.</p> - -<p>There was tenderness in her face, and aloofness, and alienage. There -was beauty there—not entirely human beauty.</p> - -<p>Rainbow crystals garmented her.</p> - -<p>Some large, some small, multi-faceted gems danced and shimmered -against the blackness of the sky and the whiteness of Circe's body. -Moon-yellow, amber-gold, blue as the sea off Capri, green as the -pine-clad hills of Earth—angry scarlet and lambent dragon-green!</p> - -<p>With some distantly sane corner of his mind, Arnsen realized that it -was impossible for any living being to exist without protection on the -frigid, airless surface of the asteroid. Then he knew that both air and -warmth surrounded the girl.</p> - -<p>The crystals protected her. He knew that, somehow.</p> - -<p>O'Brien twisted in his arms. He saw the girl, tried to spring free. -Arnsen gripped him.</p> - -<p>The boy swung a jolting blow that jarred the giant's helmet. His mailed -glove smashed against the metal plate. Dazed and giddy, Arnsen fell -back, clawing at O'Brien. His fingers slipped along the other's arm; he -felt something drop into his hand, and clutched it.</p> - -<p>Then O'Brien was free. He wrenched an oxygen-tank from Arnsen's -shoulders, whirled, and took a step toward the girl. She was further -away now....</p> - -<p>Arnsen staggered up. His head was throbbing furiously. Too late he -realized that, in the scuffle, his air-valve had fouled. He fumbled at -it with clumsy fingers—and fell.</p> - -<p>His helmet thudded solidly against hard slag. Blackness took him....</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER FOUR</p> - -<p class="ph2">Circe the Immortal</p> - - -<p>It was dark when he woke. Oxygen was once more pouring into his suit; -he had managed to open the valve before falling. Far above, the -distant, corona-crowned sun flamed against the starry backdrop. The -ship lay beneath its crag.</p> - -<p>But of O'Brien there was no trace whatever.</p> - -<p>After that, something akin to madness came to Arnsen. Again the utter -loneliness of space crushed down on him, with suffocating terror. Doug -was gone, like Hastings. Where?</p> - -<p>He searched, then, and in the days thereafter. He grew haggard and -gaunt, drugging himself with stimulants so he could drive himself -beyond his limit. Hour after hour he searched the tiny world, squinting -against sun-glare, peering into black shadow, shouting O'Brien's name, -cursing bitter, searing oaths that sounded futile to his ears. Time -dragged on into an eternity. He had been here forever. He could not -remember a time when he had not been plodding across the asteroid, -watching for a glimpse of a space-suited figure, of dancing jewels of -fire, of a slim white body....</p> - -<p>Who was she? <i>What</i> was she? Not human—no. And the crystals, what were -they?</p> - -<p>He returned to the ship one day, shoulders slumping, and passed the -spot where he had seen the girl. Something on the ground caught his -eye. A pearly, shining gem.</p> - -<p>He remembered his scuffle with O'Brien, and the thing that had dropped -into his glove.</p> - -<p>The jewel, of course. It had lain here, unnoticed, for many revolutions -of the asteroid.</p> - -<p>He picked it up, staring into the milky depths. A pulse tingled up his -arm, fingering into his mind. A pulse of longing—</p> - -<p>The girl had appeared when O'Brien summoned her.</p> - -<p>Perhaps it would work again. There was no other hope.</p> - -<p>But he could not call her Deirdre. He gripped the hard crystal. His -thought probed out, forceful and summoning.</p> - -<p>"<i>Circe!</i>"</p> - -<p>Nothing. The eternal silence, the cold blaze of the stars....</p> - -<p>"<i>Circe!</i>"</p> - -<p>The gem in his hand leaped with eagerness. In emptiness above him a -rainbow glitter of coruscating light flamed. The crystals—and, within -them, the girl!</p> - -<p>She had not changed. Lovely and alien, she lay among her dancing, -shining gems, and her lashes still veiled the cryptic depth of her -eyes. Arnsen stumbled forward.</p> - -<p>"Where's O'Brien?" His voice cracked, harsh and inhuman. "Damn you! -Where is he?"</p> - -<p>She did not look at him. Her body seemed to recede. The jewels swirled -into swift motion about her.</p> - -<p>Arnsen lurched on. His mind felt on fire. He whipped out his elastic -billy and plunged toward the girl.</p> - -<p>She was not there. She had drifted back amid the rainbow crystals.</p> - -<p>Arnsen could not overtake her. It was like following a -will-o'-the-wisp, a torch of St. Elmo's fire. But he did not take his -eyes from the girl. More than once he fell. She was leading him away -from the ship, he knew. That did not matter. Not if she also led him to -Doug.</p> - -<p>What had she done with the boy? He hated her, hated her relentless -inhumanity, her incredible beauty. Teeth bared, red-rimmed eyes -glaring, Arnsen plunged on in a nightmare race across the face of the -silent asteroid.</p> - -<p>Hours later, it seemed, she vanished in black shadow under a thrusting -pinnacle of slag. Arnsen followed, reeling with fatigue, expecting to -cannon into a rock wall. But the darkness remained intangible. The -ground sloped down beneath his leaded boots. Suddenly light shone -through a cleft at his side.</p> - -<p>Pale, warm, liquid light, it drifted up from a slanting corridor in -the rock. Far down the passage Arnsen could see the cloud of dancing -flames that marked the girl's crystal attendants. He stumbled on.</p> - -<p>Down he went, and down, till at last the passage turned again in the -distance. He rounded the bend—and stopped, blinded and dazed.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>As his vision adjusted itself, Arnsen made out a pillar of fire that -rose from floor to ceiling of the cavern before him. Yet it was not -fire. It was something beyond human knowledge. Pure energy, perhaps, -wrenched from the locked heart of the atom itself, silently thundering -and pouring up like a geyser. The pillar shook. It wavered and rocked, -coldly white, intensely brilliant, like a living thing blazing with a -power inconceivable.</p> - -<p>Walls and floor and roof of the cavern were crusted with jewels. The -rainbow crystals clung quivering, thousands of them, some tiny, others -huge. They watched.</p> - -<p>They were alive.</p> - -<p>The girl stood near Arnsen. A score of the jewels pressed against her -lovingly. They caressed her. The veiled eyes did not meet Arnsen's. But -she lifted her arm.</p> - -<p>There was a movement in Arnsen's gloved hand. The milky gem stirred; a -pulse of eagerness beat out from it.</p> - -<p>It leaped free—raced toward Circe.</p> - -<p>She caught it, flung it at the shaking tower of flame.</p> - -<p>Into the pillar's blazing heart the crystal darted.</p> - -<p>The fires sank—rose again. Spewed forth the jewel.</p> - -<p>No longer milky—no longer dulled. It blazed with fantastic brilliance! -Vital energy streamed from it; it whirled and danced joyously with -sheer delight. It was like a sleeper suddenly awakened.</p> - -<p>It spun toward Circe, pulsed madly with the intoxication of life.</p> - -<p>The girl rose, featherlight, without gravity, drifting across the -cavern to a passage-mouth that gaped in the wall. The jewels clustered -around it swayed toward her. Some broke free, rushing in her train.</p> - -<p>She vanished into the portal.</p> - -<p>The spell that held Arnsen broke. He flung himself after her, too late. -Already she was gone. But along the corridor jewels floated, bright, -shining, alive.</p> - -<p>And suddenly strong arms were around Arnsen. The face of O'Brien -was before him. O'Brien, no longer wearing his space-suit, haggard, -and yet aflame with a vital something that glowed in his dark eyes. -O'Brien—laughing.</p> - -<p>"Steve!" His voice shook. "So you followed me. I'm glad. Come in -here—it's all right."</p> - -<p>The energy went out of Arnsen, leaving him weak and exhausted. He -cast one glance up the empty corridor and followed O'Brien through a -cave-opening into a little room cut out of solid rock. He felt the -other's fingers loosening his helmet, removing the bulky space-suit. -Some remnant of caution returned.</p> - -<p>"The oxygen—"</p> - -<p>"There's air here. It's a place of wonders, Steve!"</p> - -<p>There was air. Cool, sweet, and refreshing, it crept into Arnsen's -lungs. He looked around. The little cavern was empty, save for dozens -of the rainbow crystals clinging to the walls.</p> - -<p>They watched alertly.</p> - -<p>O'Brien pressed him back, made a quick gesture. A jewel floated -forward, hovering over Arnsen's face. He felt water trickling between -his lips, and, too exhausted for wonder, swallowed gratefully.</p> - -<p>"You need sleep," O'Brien said. "But it's all right, Steve. It's all -right, I tell you. You'll hear all about it when you wake up. Time -enough then. You'll see Deirdre."</p> - -<p>Arnsen tried to struggle up. "I won't—"</p> - -<p>O'Brien signalled again. Another gem drifted close. From it a gray -breath of cloud floated, perfume-sweet, soporific. It crept into -Arnsen's nostrils....</p> - -<p>And he slept.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER FIVE</p> - -<p class="ph2">The Jewel-Folk</p> - - -<p>The room was unchanged when he woke once more. O'Brien sat -cross-legged, looking into space. His face had altered, had acquired a -new peace and maturity.</p> - -<p>He heard Arnsen's slight movement and turned.</p> - -<p>"Awake? How do you feel?"</p> - -<p>"All right. Well enough to hear explanations," Arnsen said with a flash -of temper. "I've been nearly crazy—looking for you all over this -damned asteroid. I still think I'm crazy after all this."</p> - -<p>O'Brien chuckled. "I can imagine. I felt pretty upset for a while, till -the crystals explained."</p> - -<p>"The crystals <i>what</i>?"</p> - -<p>"They're alive, Steve. The ultimate product of evolution, perhaps. -Crystalline life. Perfect machines. They can do almost anything. You -saw how one created drinkable water, and—well, look here." He beckoned.</p> - -<p>A jewel floated close. From it a jet of flame shot, red and brilliant. -O'Brien waved his hand; the gem drifted back to its place.</p> - -<p>"They can convert energy into matter, you see. It's logical, when you -forget about hide-bound science. All matter's made up of energy. It's -simply locked in certain patterns—certain matrixes. But inside the -atom—the framework of matter—you've got nothing but energy. These -crystals build patterns out of basic energy."</p> - -<p>Arnsen shook his head. "I don't see it."</p> - -<p>O'Brien's voice grew deeper, stronger. "Long ago—very long ago, and -in another galaxy, light-years away, there was a civilization far -beyond ours. Deirdre is a child of that race. It was—mighty. It passed -through our culture-level and went far beyond. Till machines were no -longer needed. Instead, the race made the crystals—super-machines, -super-robots, with incredible powers locked in them. They supplied all -the needs of Deirdre's race."</p> - -<p>"Well?"</p> - -<p>"This asteroid doesn't belong to our family of planets. It's from -that other system, in the neighboring galaxy. It drifted here by -accident, I think. I don't quite know the facts of it. It came under -the gravitational pull of a comet, or a wandering planet, and was -yanked out into space. Eventually it settled into this orbit. Deirdre -didn't care. Her mind isn't like ours. The crystals supplied all her -needs—made air, gave her food and water. Everything she desired."</p> - -<p>Arnsen said, "How long has this been going on?"</p> - -<p>"Forever, perhaps," O'Brien said quietly. "I think Deirdre's immortal. -At least she is a goddess. Do you remember the crystal I found in that -meteorite?"</p> - -<p>"Yeah. I remember."</p> - -<p>"It came from here. It was one of Deirdre's servants. Somehow it was -lost—wandered away. Cosmic dust collected on it as it moved in an -orbit around the sun—for thousands of years, perhaps. Iron atoms. At -last it was a meteorite, with the crystal at its heart. So it fell on -Earth, and I found it, and it wanted to go home, back to Deirdre. It -told me that. I felt its thoughts. It drew me here, Steve—"</p> - -<p>Arnsen shivered. "It's unbelievable. And that girl isn't human."</p> - -<p>"Have you looked into her eyes?"</p> - -<p>"No—"</p> - -<p>"She isn't human. She is a goddess."</p> - -<p>A new thought came to Arnsen. "Where's Tex Hastings? Here?"</p> - -<p>"I haven't seen him," O'Brien said. "I don't know where he is."</p> - -<p>"Uh-huh. What have you been doing?"</p> - -<p>"She brought me here. The crystals took care of me. And Deirdre—" He -stood up. "She's summoning me. Wait, Steve—I'll be back."</p> - -<p>Arnsen put out a detaining hand; it was useless. O'Brien stepped -through the portal and was gone. A dozen crystals swept after him.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Arnsen followed, refusing to admit that he, too, wanted another glimpse -of the girl. Down the passage he went in O'Brien's trail, till the -boy vanished from sight. Arnsen increased his pace. He halted on the -threshold of the cavern where the pillar of flame swept up to the roof.</p> - -<p>He had thought it thundered. It did not—it rushed up in utter silence, -shaking and swaying with the surcharged intensity of its power. The -walls were crusted with the dancing, watching crystals. Now Arnsen saw -that some were dull gray, motionless and dead. These were sprinkled -among the others, and there were thousands of them.</p> - -<p>O'Brien paced forward—and suddenly Circe was standing with her back to -Arnsen, the gems clustering about her caressingly. She lifted her arms, -and O'Brien turned.</p> - -<p>A great hunger leaped into his face. The girl did not move, and O'Brien -came into the circle of her arms.</p> - -<p>So swift was her movement that Arnsen did not realize it till too late. -The slender arms slid free; Circe stepped back a pace—and thrust -O'Brien toward the tower of flame!</p> - -<p>He stumbled, off balance, and the crystals leaped from Circe's body. -They were no longer a garment. They pressed against O'Brien, forcing -him away, thrusting, pushing. Arnsen cried out and sprang forward—</p> - -<p>O'Brien reeled, was engulfed by the flame-pillar. The pouring torrent -swallowed him.</p> - -<p>Simultaneously from the farther wall a gray, dead jewel detached itself -and shot toward the tower of fire. Into the blazing heart it fled and -vanished.</p> - -<p>The pillar sank down. It pulsed—thundered up again, silently streaming -like a torrent toward the roof. And out of its depths the jewel came -transformed.</p> - -<p>Sentiment, blazing, shining with a myriad hues, it swirled toward -Circe. Scintillant with delight, it hovered about her caressingly.</p> - -<p>It was alive!</p> - -<p>Arnsen cried out, flung himself forward. Circe turned to face him. -Still her eyes were hidden; her face was aloofly lovely and inhuman.</p> - -<p>The crystal swept toward Arnsen, cupping itself into his outthrust -hand. From it a wave of mad delight rushed into his brain.</p> - -<p>It was Doug—<i>it was Doug!</i> Frozen with sick horror, Arnsen halted, -while thoughts poured from the sentient crystal into his mind.</p> - -<p>"The—the gray jewel—" His tongue fumbled thickly with the words. He -looked up to where the dull gems clung among the shining ones.</p> - -<p>"Machines, Steve." The thought lanced into him from the living -thing he held. "Robots, not energized. Only one thing can energize -them—life-force, vital energy. The flame-pillar does that, through -atomic transmutation. It's not earthly science—it was created in -another galaxy. There, Deirdre's race had slave people to energize the -crystals."</p> - -<p>"Doug—she's killed you—"</p> - -<p>"I'm not dead. I'm alive, Steve, more alive than I ever have been. -All the crystals—Martians, Venusians, beings from other systems and -galaxies that landed on this asteroid. Deirdre took them for her own. -As she took Hastings. As she has taken me. We serve her now—"</p> - -<p>The jewel tore free from Arnsen's grip. It fled back to Circe, brushing -her lips, caressing her hair. The other gems, scores of them, danced -about the girl like elfin lovers.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Arnsen stood there, sick and nauseated. He understood now. The -intricate crystal machines were too complicated to work unless -life-force energized them. Circe, who took the minds of living beings -and prisoned them in silicate robot-forms.</p> - -<p>They felt no resentment. They were content to serve.</p> - -<p>"Damn you!" Arnsen mouthed, and took a step forward. His fists balled. -His fingers ached to curl about the girl's slender neck and snap it -with sharp, vicious pressure.</p> - -<p>Her lashes swept up. Her eyes looked into his.</p> - -<p>They were black as space, with stars prisoned in their depths. They -were not human eyes.</p> - -<p>Now Arnsen knew why O'Brien had asked if he had looked into Deirdre's -eyes. They were her secret and her power. Her human form was not enough -to enchant and enslave the beings of a hundred worlds. It was the -soul-shaking alienage that looked out of Circe's eyes.</p> - -<p>Through those dark windows Arnsen saw the Outside. He saw the gulf -between the stars, and no longer did he fear it. For Circe was a -goddess.</p> - -<p>She was above and beyond humanity. A great void opened between her -and the man, the void of countless evolutionary cycles, and a million -light-years of space. But across that gulf something reached and met -and clung, and Arnsen's senses drowned in a soul-shaking longing for -Circe.</p> - -<p>It was her power. She could control emotion, as she could control the -crystals, and the power of her mind reached into Arnsen and wrung -sanity and self from it. Only in outer semblance was she even slightly -human. Beside her Arnsen was an animal, and like an animal he could be -controlled.</p> - -<p>She blazed like a flame before him. He forgot O'Brien, forgot Hastings -and Earth and his purpose. Her power clutched him and left him helpless.</p> - -<p>The grip upon his mind relaxed. Circe, confident of her triumph, let -her eyelids droop.</p> - -<p>And Arnsen's mind came back in a long, slow cycle from the gulfs -between the stars, drifted leisurely back into the crystalline cavern -and the presence of the goddess—and woke.</p> - -<p>Not wholly. He would never be whole again. But he felt the crowding -vibrations of the countless prisoners in crystal who had gone the way -his own feet were walking now, bewildered, drunken and drowning in -emotions without name, sacrificing identity without knowing what they -sacrificed. Flung into eternity at the whim of a careless goddess to -whom all life-forms were one....</p> - -<p>She was turning half away as realization came back to Arnsen. She had -lifted one round white arm to let the crystals cascade along it. She -did not even see him lurch forward.</p> - -<p>What he did was without thought. The emotions she had called up in him -drowned all thought. He only knew that he must do what he did—he could -not yet think why.</p> - -<p>The breath hissed between his lips as he stumbled forward and thrust -Circe into the flame....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>From the roof a gray jewel dropped. The tower of fire paused in its -rhythm—beat out strongly again. From it a crystal leaped. It hung -motionless in the air, and Arnsen seized it with shaking fingers. He -felt great, racking sobs shake him. His fingers caressed the jewel, -pressed it to his lips.</p> - -<p>"Circe!" he whispered, eyes blind with tears. "Circe—"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<p class="ph1"><i>Epilogue</i></p> - - -<p>Arnsen had not spoken for a long time. Through the window I could see -the Cairo stratoship being wheeled into place. Beyond, the lights of -New York glowed yellow.</p> - -<p>"And so you came back," I said.</p> - -<p>He nodded. "And so I came back. I put on my space-suit and went back -to the ship. The crystals didn't try to stop me. They seemed to be -waiting. I don't know for what. I blasted off and headed Sunward. I -knew enough to do that. After a while I began to send out S.O.S. -signals, and a patrol boat picked me up. That was all."</p> - -<p>"Doug—"</p> - -<p>"Still there, I suppose. With all the others. Vail, why did I do it? -Was I right?" He didn't wait for an answer, but cupped the little -shagreen box in his hand. He didn't open it.</p> - -<p>"No," he went on, "you can't answer me; nobody can. Circe took the soul -out of my body, and I'm empty now. There's no peace for me on Earth, -or in the space-ways. And out there, somewhere, on that asteroid, the -crystals are waiting—waiting for Circe to come back—</p> - -<p>"But she will never come back. She will stay with me till I die, and -then she'll be buried with me in space. In the meantime—Circe doesn't -like it here on Earth. So I'm going out again. Sometime, perhaps, I'll -take her back Outside, to the unknown place from which she came. I -don't know—"</p> - -<p>An audio announced the plane for Kansas. Arnsen stood up, gave me a -smile from his ravaged face, and without a word went out.</p> - -<p>I never saw him again.</p> - -<p>I think that beyond Pluto, beyond the farthest limits of the system, -a little cruiser may be fleeing into the void, controls set, racing, -perhaps, for the darkness of the Coal Sack. In the ship is a man and a -jewel. He will die, but I do not think that even in death his hand will -relax its grip on that jewel.</p> - -<p>And the ship will go on, into the blackness which has no name.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: The orginal publication had no Chapter Four -heading and two Chapter Five headings. The first Chapter Five heading -has been renamed Chapter Four.]</p> - - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CRYSTAL CIRCE ***</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. 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