Collected Tales (Jerry eBooks)

by Leslie F Stone

  Looking above them, the men saw that the entire ceiling of the room glowed as from a thousand jewels; living jewels they were, the phosphoric light of thousands of fireflies hanging by their forelegs to long trellises, so that their illumination was visible below. At various strategic places upon the walls of the chamber others of their species clung to brackets, so that where there had been only shadow, there was now brilliant, greenish light. The walls themselves were hung with great draperies or arras, and into these had been worked wondrous designs, depicting life on Dada, done in lifelike colors. This surprised Moura, for he had thought the Dadans a color-blind race, from his observation in the colorless rooms of Atun Wei’s house, and the haphazard color arrangements he had noted elsewhere in the city and their buildings. Later he learned that this artistry had been accomplished by the Tel race, who alone of all Dada had color-sense, and delighted in having a wealth of color about them, just as the other races required perfumes to pique their senses. The Tel had the double pleasure derived from color and perfumes.

  After a single glance at the great room, the eyes of the Abruians had naturally hurried on to the Queen on her high throne, now wholly visible to them as a jewel in an exquisite setting. It was difficult for them to judge of her appearance according to human standards, but there was no denying that she was a lovely creature to look upon. In fact, she was far more human looking than any of the other creatures they had seen on Kal. Body, wings and head were all white, a lovely creamy white that looked like a drift of snow, except for the two large round dots of azure blue that surmounted the ends of her two long and slender antennas. Long, silky white hair, like a drift of snow, fell from her small round head. The head itself was arresting with its large bluish eyes, and with a proboscis much smaller than those of any of the three other races of Kal, shaped so that at a glance it could have been taken for the like of a human nose, thin and narrow and high bridged, an aquiline nose of aristocracy. Only the mouth was lacking to give her a wholly human appearance.

  Like all the butterfly creatures, she was dressed in the apron that Was worn by both men and women, with a broad collar around her narrow neck and a fillet around the brow just below the antenna, all of the same creamy white of her body except for a single jewel, a great blue stone that matched the blue of her antenna tips and which hung from the center of her collar, on which there were embossed several hieroglyphics in the same shade of blue. Her body was also a true butterfly body with its slender, fuzzy four arms and delicate fingers, and the long slender legs with the impossibly slender feet. Only, when she stood up, they saw that the abdomen was shorter, more graceful than those of the Wei, Sem or Rak females.

  Her large many-faceted eyes were full upon them, as the two men surveyed her and she understood something of the wonder of their eyes as they gazed upon her. She had busily been inspecting them at the same time and now she had some comment to make upon their appearance.

  “They tell me that for all your lack of wings you manage well, flying through the air many times faster than it is possible for my people to do. Is it magic or has the Pattern given you compensation for what has otherwise been denied you?”

  Moura could not restrain his smile at her words, but the smile scarcely mattered, since the Solarites had already discovered that the Dadans paid no heed to facial expression. “To us,” he answered, “accomplishment is neither magic nor God-given aid, but the power of the mind to surmount obstacles.”

  “Once,” said Tel Tel reflectively, “we of Tel also surmounted obstacles through the power of the mind. But today it is no longer so; we have the Pattern!”

  “And thereby degenerated into the weakling, spineless race you now are,” observed Moura daringly.

  At his words, the creature on the throne sat more erectly upright, her antenna was seen to quiver, then her voice came to them icily.

  “You dare presume to speak so to a Tel?” she demanded.

  Moura, who had followed the working of her mind, presumed now to laugh. “And is a Tel of Dada any more than a Weit of Abrui?” he demanded. And saw that he had obtained the desired effect.

  “Who are you, and why have you come to Kal, O Stranger?” The voice was still imperious, but the youthfulness of the speaker was there, too—the need for friendship and for advice.

  “As I have said, your majesty, I am a Weit of Abrui, the world from which I hail, the world that forced me to become an exile.”

  “An exile, one who has sinned against the Pattern?”

  “We call it State on my world, but allow me to tell you how I failed!”

  FOR the next half hour Moura spoke, telling the young Queen of his own adventures on Abrui, of his desires to make himself all-powerful without regard for his fellow creature, of his chastisement and of his coming to Venus, where, through the great telescopes he had had a glimpse of Kal and its demagogue, Atun Wei. “Do you not see the analogy?” he ended.

  The Queen did not answer for several moments, but she was thinking hard and Moura followed her processes. Now Tel Tel nodded.

  “It is true. Atun Wei is a being to be feared. Think you then, stranger, that it is not the Pattern that dictates to him the necessity of making him king beside me, but his own selfish desires?”

  “How else could it be, Your Majesty? Thousands of years ago upon my planet, Religion, as a unit was abolished. Man might believe and worship as he sees fit today, but he is not allowed to force his belief on his fellow men simply because his interpretation of the Godhead differs from that of his fellows.

  “And I am willing to lay down my life if I can not prove that this Atun Wei is using this Pattern of yours to meet his own wishes and desires. And I intend to go to him and demand that he admit that such is the truth. No one being has a right to do what Atun Wei is doing, for are we not all creatures of one self, given life to do what we can attain by it without inconvenience to our neighbor, without conniving against him? Wherefore should the Godhead give this power to one man, unless that man considers only all Humanity?”

  “Think you it is possible to save my nation and myself from Atun Wei, then? Can he be forced to give us back all he has taken from us?” The Queen talked breathlessly. But with the occurrence of another thought, the Queen lost her enthusiasm. “But what then? If I refuse to wed with him, the monarchy will revert to him likewise, and already he denies me the Royal Jelly of the Yadans, so that unless I give my word on the day of the Pattern, I will grow weak and old before my time. . . .”

  “Ah,” observed Moura, “now we come to it. What is this Royal Jelly that you cherish so?”

  The Queen’s voice was listless. “Know you not that the life span of our people is short, no more than a fourth of the interchange of the two great suns of Kal, but that by eating of the Royal Jelly we can lengthen our lives to four times that much? Already I have lived half my natural span and if the Life-Food is denied me, I shall die as my people die, while Tel, the greater sun is yet in the morning sky!”

  “And Atun Wei tells you that it is the will of the Pattern that this must be so?” demanded Moura. “Yes.”

  “I would like to see this Pattern!”

  “Oh no, only the initiated are allowed to do so, except upon the Day.”

  Moura was thoughtful. “Yet we must not wait!”

  “Isn’t the Day but six days off, Sa Dak?” queried Ubca, who had been silent all during this dialogue. “I think I have heard it said by both Rak Atun and Sem Gu.”

  Moura shrugged his shoulders. “It will be too late then.” He turned again to the Queen, high on her dais.

  “I came to Kal with the thought of saving the soul of one creature who has been led by his ambitions through devious paths, but I find it worse than I dared believe, and time is short. Hence I shall give myself two days in which to change the heart of Atun Wei. If I do not succeed, I shall turn to other methods, and, if you wish to keep your throne and yourself safe from your high priest, you must be ready to aid me when I need your help. Can I depend upon you
for that help? I know you to be a fearless creature, even though circumstances have sought to force you to become different. Can you give me your word now?”

  “In two days I can be prepared to give my answer to you, stranger, but a lifetime of one type of behaviour can not be erased in a moment. I must ponder all that you have told me.”

  Moura was frowning. “Then promise you will have naught to do with any of Atun Wei’s henchmen during this time, but that you will keep your mind clear and unprejudiced. That, I know, is difficult for a Queen, but you need aid and I will give it to you only if you will do what I ask.”

  Tel Tel’s voice came soft and submissive. “I will do so, stranger.”

  “Good, then if you will give us your permission to depart, we will be on our way to do all that is possible in your behalf, our Majesty.”

  “Are all as high handed on your world as you. stranger?” she wanted to know.

  A smile curved Moura’s lips.

  “I am sorry that I presume too much in your presence, but for many years I have been associated with royalty of my world, Your Majesty, and I find them no different from other people.”

  A laugh came through the antennas. “I feel safe, at last, in your hands, my friend. But wait, please; do not hurry off. You astound me and I have not accustomed myself to your ways as yet.”

  “When I have accomplished what I wish to accomplish, then might you become accustomed to me, but now there is work to do, and before the work I must study my course.” Moura rejoined.

  “Go, then, and you will carry the well wishes of Tel Tel of Dada with you.”

  CHAPTER XVII

  Plans

  ON leaving the Queen’s presence, the two Abruians quickly mounted the steps to the roof of the palace where they found their bearers awaiting them to carry them back to Atun Wei’s quarters, but Moura directed them to carry Ubca and him to their waiting plane. Embarking, he headed the machine toward the clearing where the Yodverl rested. There he narrated all that had happened in the city of Tel to Elsie, took a restful swim in the pool and ate his supper. He retired to his laboratory, asking not to be disturbed.

  Left with Ubca, Elsie had many questions to ask, especially about the Queen. She smiled whimsically over what Ubca had to tell her of what Moura proposed to do. She knew that nothing delighted her husband more than to have some knotty problem on hand, and she did not doubt but that he would solve it satisfactorily for all. Forgotten were her early presentiments of evil, and she had to smile at herself for ever having entertained them. Now she grew even more curious about the poor little butterfly Queen who needed Moura’s aid.

  With the morning she woke to discover that Moura had not been abed, and that the flyer was gone with him. He had gone without even apprizing Ubca of the fact.

  The three of them, Elsie, Ubca and Ezra, spent the morning in walking through the small jungle, swimming in the pool, and discussing the queer life of the butterfly creatures. It was just before the setting of the first sun that they received the visit of Tel Tel, who had come flying with a large retinue streaming out behind her in flight. There were no more than seven of the white-winged Tels in the party, the rest being females of the Wei tribe who dropped on all sides of the Yodverl, while their mistress was received by the Solarites.

  Ubca was there to introduce the Queen to Elsie, but Tel Tel needed no introduction as she pounced upon the earthling woman and drew her aside to question her about woman-life on her own world. Upon seeing the arrival of the cortege, Elsie had sent Nancy in to bring her portable radio-set so that she could hold conversation with her guests.

  Tel Tel stayed several hours, and it was surprising to find how much the two, earthwoman and butterfly Queen of Dada, had in common. Tel Tel was particularly interested by the sight of half grown Ezra and had to learn all the details of his birth. It was perhaps as revolting to her to learn how human babies were born, as it was for Elsie to discover how Dadan young came into the world. Tel Tel went on to confide that although the Wei tribe was very prolific, it grew harder and harder each generation for the Tels to produce eggs that were not sterile, and although the best of care was given the incubating eggs, nothing could be done to save even many of those that showed signs of life in the beginning.

  The Royal Party had not been gone long after their departure, when Moura returned in his flyer with his brow furrowed with thought. He told Elsie and Ubca. “It is even harder than I had thought. I cannot gain the confidence of At un Wei at all. In fact, I know he hates me now, seeing in me an antagonist, a friend of the Queen. I did not judge him wrongly that day on Venus. Our minds are on a par and he already senses my purpose in coming to his world, and he fears and detests me for it. Naturally, he will do what he can to keep me from aiding Tel Tel. I think he is going to attempt to hurry the process of bringing her ‘to heel,’ as you say on Earth.

  “Hard as it is to spy about, I did manage to discover one of the reasons for the weakening of the racial strength of the Tels. He has slaves who pierce the new-laid eggs as they are placed in the incubators so that only a few out of every hundred can hatch forth. In a short time, therefore, there will be no Tels at all, and the Weis will be entirely in power with Atun Wei at their head, and the laboring castes will be driven harder and harder by their masters, instead of enjoying the freedom of the earth and of the air that is rightfully theirs, and from which the Weis have been depriving them for hundreds of generations. I must find a way out for them!”

  No one had suggestions to offer, and Moura again retired to his laboratory with his problem. A few hours later he came out, and advised Elsie he was going to the city. He looked worn and haggard and she was against his going. However, on seeing how restless he was, she did not have the heart to keep him back, but she did insist that Ubca accompany him.

  ELSIE did not mind being left behind, for she had grown to love the strange beauty about her, and she had Ezra, with whom to fill in her hours. Earth was almost forgotten by her. She had never enjoyed the bustle of its cities or her people’s indefatigable scurry after restless amusement. There was only the African veldt that meant home to her, and its few beauties could not compare with Kalan beauty. Two long days passed before she saw her men-folk again, and when they did return, they were so tired and weary that they retired immediately to their beds.

  When the next morning Moura joined Elsie in the pool, he was fresh and full of good spirits. He spent the morning playing games with his son and refused to talk of anything more serious than the play at hand. “It will soon be all over now,” he told her later, “and then we are turning homeward to Abrui to throw ourselves upon the mercy of my people and Richard Dorr. We will have many things to give them, eh, Elsie?”

  All day his jolly mood persisted and looking backward in the after years, Elsie knew that to be one of the happiest days in her life. It was only when, with the coming of the twilight, Moura, Ubca and Urto made ready to depart for the city again, that she grew fearful, felt strange forebodings of what was to happen. Moura had insisted that she stay behind again with Nancy and Ezra while he took the golden man as well as Ubca with him. In another twenty hours the big moment was to come, when he would either have freed Dada from the tyranny of Atun Wei for all time, or have left her more in his power than ever.

  “Close the doorway,” Moura ordered her, “and do not open it until you hear our siren to tell that all is well!”

  “You will be in danger,” cried Elsie, giving her fears full rein now, “I know it. Oh, please take me with you. Please!”

  Moura shook his head. “No, we are in no danger What can these defenseless creatures do to us? I only want you to be cautious so that when we do succeed, if Atun Wei’s avenging cohorts do arrive before us you will be safe!” Taking her in his arms, he tried to soothe away her terror, but he did not quite succeed. But to insure the triumph of his plan, he had to be on his way.

  CHAPTER XVIII

  The Day of the Pattern

  IT was an hour after the set
ting of the second sun when the three arrived in Tel. The shadowy twilight lay over everything, and not a creature was stirring anywhere. Moura brought the flyer down lightly on the roof of the Palace on a spot where he knew that the under-bracing would sustain its weight without the structure buckling. Ubca and Urto then followed him down through the second doorway to the fourth floor of the Palace, where they entered a small room without stopping to demand entrance. A firefly hanging from the ceiling gave them light. The room, though small, was comfortably furnished with its heavy carpet, an overflow of pillows, and several small tables. Three large vases of earth ware were placed artistically and charged with flowers that made the room heavy with their perfume. Nor was the room lacking in color as had been the rooms in the house of Atun Wei. The walls were hung with a silkish grass-green cloth, while the rug was a warm reddish brown, the tables a rich red mahogany, and the pillows strewn about were in delicate yellows, greens and orange. The curtains at the circular doors were yellow, heavily embroidered with the same flowers as those filling the vases.

  Moura motioned for his fellows to keep to this room, while he pushed aside a curtain and went through to the adjoining chamber. He was gone the better part of two hours, and he came accompanied by Tel Tel whose white body was now accentuated by fittings of ebon black.

  She walked as if in a dream, and once in a while Moura had to put out a hand to support her as she teetered on her delicate feet. They were followed by a second creature, one whom Ubca had never seen before, and who was unlike any other Dadan with his snowy white body and head, and his gorgeously colored huge wings, their splotches of color identical with the markings on the wings of the Wei tribe, his body like those of the Tels. Moura introduced him as Wei Tel, and Ubca, looking into his eyes, saw that they were blind!