The Wizard of Linn

by Alfred Elton Van Vogt

  He was prepared to believe that that was exactly what would happen.

  She seemed in no hurry, so he moved on. He came presently to the home of Marden. He walked to the door slowly, thinking: "These people are friendly, and without guile. They have no government. There's no intrigue. Here, if anywhere, an honest approach will win us what we want."

  Oddly, even as he knocked on the door, it seemed to him there was a flaw in his reasoning.

  It made him abruptly tense again.

  15

  Marden opened the door. He looked relaxed and easygoing, and there was no doubt about his good nature, for he did not hesitate. He smiled and said in a friendly, half humorous tone:

  "Ah, the man who does not work. Come in."

  There was a suggestion of tolerant superiority in the comment, but Clane was not offended. He paused in the center of the room, and glanced around expectantly. When he had looked through the window, a woman had been present. Now, there was no sign of her.

  From behind him, Marden said: "When my wife heard your knock, she went visiting."

  Clane turned. "She knew it was me?" he asked.

  Marden nodded, and said: "Naturally." He added, "And, of course, she saw you at the window."

  The words were simply spoken, but their frankness was disarmingly devastating. Clane had a momentary picture of himself as these villagers must see him. A slim, priestly peeping Tom who prowled around their homes in the dead of night and who asked stupid questions.

  It was not a pleasant picture, and it seemed to him that his best reply was to be equally frank. He said: "Marden, we're puzzled by you people. May I sit down and talk to you?"

  Marden silently indicated a chair. Clane sank into it and sat frowning for a moment, organizing his thoughts. He looked up finally.

  "We're from Earth," he said. "We're from the planet where all human beings originally came from, including your people."

  Marden looked at him. His gaze was polite. He seemed to be saying, "If you say so, that's the way it must have been. I don't have to believe you, of course."

  Clane said quietly: "Do you believe that?"

  Marden smiled. "Nobody here remembers such a connection; but it may be as you say."

  "Do you have a written history?"

  The villager hesitated. "It begins about three hundred years ago. Before that is blankness."

  Clane said: "We're both human beings. We speak the same language. It seems logical, doesn't it?" Marden said: "Oh, language." He laughed.

  Clane studied him, puzzled. He recognized that the villager could not accept an abstract idea which did not fit in with his previous concepts.

  Clane said: "This method you have of moving yourself and your goods from Outland to Inland, and anywhere else on either planet— have you always been able to do that?"

  "Why, of course. It's the best way."

  "How do you do it?"

  "Why, we just—" Marden stopped, and a curious blankness came over his face; he finished weakly—"do it."

  That was what Clane had thought. Aloud, he said: "Marden, I can't do it, and I'd like to be able to. Can you explain it to me simply?"

  The man shook his head. "It's not something you explain. You just do it."

  "But when did you learn? How old were you the first time you did it?"

  "About nine."

  "Why couldn't you do it before then?"

  "I was too young. I hadn't had time to learn it."

  "Who taught you?"

  "Oh, my parents."

  "How did they teach you?"

  "It wasn't exactly teaching." Marden looked unhappy. "I just did what they did. It's really very simple."

  Clane had no doubt of it, since they could all do it, apparently without even thinking about it. He eyed the other anxiously, and realized that he was pressing the man harder than appeared on the surface. Marden had never had thoughts like this before, and he did-n't like them.

  Hastily, Clane changed the subject. There was a far more vital question to be asked, a question that struck to the very root of all this.

  * * *

  He asked it. "Marden," he said, "why don't the Riss take over the planets Outland and Inland?"

  He explained about the attack on Earth, the use of atomic bombs, the refusal to communicate, and the possibility of future danger. As he described what had happened, he watched the villager for reactions.

  And saw with disappointment that the man was not capable of grasping the picture as a whole.

  He had a mental picture then that shook him. Suppose these people had the answer to the Riss menace. Suppose that here on this quiet planet was all that men of Earth would need to win their deadly war.

  And couldn't get it because—

  Marden said: "The Riss don't bother us. Why should they?"

  "There must be a reason for that," said Clane. He continued urgently, "Marden, we've got to find out what that reason is. Even for you, that's important. Something is holding them back. Until you know what it is, you can never really feel secure."

  Marden shrugged. He had the bored look of a man who had jumped to a surface conclusion about something that did not fit into his own ideas. He said tolerantly: "You Earth people are not very smart, asking all these silly questions."

  And that was actually the end of the interview. Clane remained many minutes longer, but Marden no longer took him seriously. His answers were polite and meaningless.

  Yes, they traded with the Riss. It was the natural thing to do. The twin planets gave them their food surplus, and in return they took what they wanted of the articles aboard the Riss ship. The Riss didn't really have very much that the Outlanders and Inlanders wanted. But there was always something. Little things—like this.

  He got up, and brought Clane a machine-made plastic ornament, the figure of an animal. It was cheaply made, worth a few sesterces at most. Clane examined it, nonplussed. He was trying to imagine two planets giving their food surplus to nonhumans in return for useless trinkets. It didn't explain why the Riss hadn't taken over the system, but for the first time he could understand the contempt which the aliens must feel for human beings.

  He took his leave, finally, conscious that he had ruined himself with Marden, and that his next move must be through someone else.

  * * *

  He radioed Czinczar, requesting him to come down. In spite of his sense of urgency, he cautiously suggested that the barbarian wait until twilight of the following evening. Clane slept somewhat easier that night, but he was awake at dawn. He spent the day in the folding chair, analyzing the possibilities of the situation. It was one of the longest days of his life.

  Czinczar came down shortly before dusk. He brought two of his secretaries, and he listened to Clane's account in silence. The mutation was intent, and it was several minutes before he noticed the barbarian leader's satirical expression. Czinczar said:

  "Your excellency, are you suggesting that we trick this Outlander?"

  Clane was still concentrated on his own purposes. He began, "It's a matter of taking into account certain things that have already happened, and the simple character of Mard—"

  He stopped. He heard Czinczar say, "Exactly. I approve of your analysis. I think the idea is excellent." Ever so slightly, Clane shook his head, rejecting the cynical overtones of the other's praise. But he was startled, too.

  For nearly twenty-four hours he had planned the pattern of this night's interview. And not once had it

  struck him that he was playing his old, astute role. There was cunning in what he had in mind, based on a sharp understanding of the difficulty of communicating with these Outlanders. Based, also, on his conviction that there was no time to waste.

  "Shall we proceed?" asked Czinczar.

  Silently, Clane led the way. He decided not to be ashamed of his failure to live up to the ideals which he considered vital to final success. After all, he was operating in a new environment.

  But it mustn't happen again.

&n
bsp; Marden received them graciously. His eyes widened a little as he heard Czinczar's wonderful golden voice, and thereafter he listened with a profound respect whenever the barbarian leader spoke. The reaction was in line with Clane's thinking. One of his personal problems on Earth had been that he was of slight build, that because of certain mutational differences in his physical structure, he wore the drab concealing clothing of a priest of the atom gods. What strength he showed was intellectual, and that did not impress other people until they realized its implications. Which always took time.

  Not once during the entire evening did Marden intimate even indirectly that his interrogator was asking silly questions.

  Czinczar began by praising the two planets and their peoples. He called Outland and Inland two examples of Paradise. He eulogized the economic system. The people were wonderful, the most highly civilized he had ever run into. Here things were done as they should be done. Here life was lived as people dreamed of living it. Here was intelligence carried to the uttermost pinnacle of wisdom.

  Clane listened gloomily. He had to admit it was well done. Czinczar was talking to the villager as if he was a primitive savage. There appeared to be no doubt of it. The villager was taking in every word of praise with evident delight.

  Czinczar said: "We are like children at your feet, Marden, eager to learn, respectful, anxious to begin the long climb to the heights where you and the people of the twin planets live in a glorious harmony. We realize that the goal is possibly unattainable in our own lifetime. But we hope that our children may share the perfection with your children.

  "Perhaps you will give us a little of your time this evening, and tell us at your own discretion a little of what you believe in, of the thoughts that go through your mind, the hopes you have. Tell me, do you have a national symbol, a flag, a plant of some kind, a coat of arms?"

  He paused, and abruptly sat down on the floor, motioning the two secretaries and Clane to do the same. It was an unrehearsed action, but Clane obliged promptly. Czinczar went on:

  "While you relax in that chair, Marden, we sit at your feet and listen respectfully."

  * * *

  Marden walked over, and sat down. He shifted uneasily and then, as if he had suddenly come to a decision, leaned back against the cushions. He was obviously embarrassed by the godlike role that had been thrust upon him, but it was apparent that he could see reasons for accepting it.

  "I had not thought of this before," he said, "but it is true; I can see that now."

  He added, "I do not quite know what you mean by 'flag' or a plant as a national symbol. I can sense part of the idea but—" He hesitated.

  Czinczar said: "Do you have seasons?"

  "Yes."

  "There are times when the trees and plants bloom, and times when the leaves fall off?"

  "That happens to some of them."

  "Do you have a rainy season?"

  "Yes."

  "What do you call it?"

  "Winter."

  "Do you celebrate the coming of the rain?"

  Marden's face lighted with understanding. "Oh, no. The ending of it, not the beginning. The appearance of the first chlorodel anywhere on the planets. We have dancing then, and feasting."

  Czinczar nodded casually. "Is that an old custom, or a new one?" He added, "All this may seem unimportant to you, but we are so anxious to catch the spirit of your idyllic existence."

  "It's a very old custom," said Marden.

  He shrugged regretfully. "But we have nothing such as you mentioned. No national symbols."

  As the evening progressed, the villager seemed equally unaware that he was actually answering questions. He took the customs for granted. They were not symbols to him. That was the way things were.

  It was all so natural and so universally practiced. The possibility that other peoples might have other customs simply did not penetrate.

  And so, it was established beyond reasonable doubt that the Outlander and Inlander symbol of life was the pink chlorine flower, chlorodel. That each year people visited the underground caverns. That they put a little square box on the table when they ate, and tapped on it when they didn't care to eat much. That they had always given their spare food to the Riss.

  One point that came out was especially interesting. There were old, buried cities, Marden admitted. Or rather, ruins of cities. It was years since anything of importance had been found in any of them.

  Czinczar talked around that cautiously for a few moments, and then looked at Clane questioningly. That too, was part of their previous arrangement. Clane nodded.

  * * *

  The barbarian leader climbed to his feet. He bowed to the villager. "Oh, noble man of Outland, we have a great favor to ask of you. Would you transport us by your wonderful method to such a city on a hemisphere of this planet where the sun is shining?"

  "Now?" said Marden. His voice was casual. He didn't sound opposed to the idea.

  "We need not stay long. We just wish to look."

  Marden stood up. He was frowning thoughtfully. "Let me see— which city? Oh, I know—where the ship

  is."

  Clane had been tensing himself against he knew not what. He was annoyed to realize that he was just a little anxious. And then—

  Afterwards, he tried to analyze what happened. There was a flash, a roundness of light. It was gone so swiftly that he couldn't be sure ofjust what he had seen. And then, all around was the brightness of day. Almost directly overhead hung the blue sun of the twin planets.

  They were standing in the middle of a wilderness of broken stones and twisted metal. As far as the eye could see was a growth of shrubbery and trees. As Clane watched—that was his role; to pretend to be a subordinate—Czinczar walked over to a section of concrete piling and kicked at a thick piece of wood that lay on the ground.

  The hard boot made a hollow sound in that silence. But the wood did not budge. It was firmly embedded in the soil.

  Czinczar came back to Marden. "Has any digging been done in this or other cities recently?"

  Marden looked surprised. "Who would want to dig in such stuff as this?"

  "Of course," said Czinczar quickly. He hesitated. He seemed about to say something else, and then in a curious fashion, he stiffened. His head tilted sharply. Clane followed his gaze, and was surprised to see the Solar Star overhead.

  That is, for a split instant, he thought it was their own ship.

  He realized the truth. He said, "The Riss!"

  From nearby, Marden said mildly: "Oh, yes, I thought you might be interested in seeing it, which is why I brought you to this city. The Riss were very interested when we told them you were here in a ship like theirs. They decided to come to Outland to have a look. From something I sensed in your attitude—it seemed to me you might like to see their ship first."

  There was a moment, then, when even Clane was disconcerted. Czinczar spoke first. He turned calmly to the Outlander. "We accept your judgment about the uselessness of looking further at these ruins. Let's go back to your house."

  Clane caught a final glimpse of the Riss battleship. It was disappearing into the mists above the eastern horizon.

  He presumed that it was heading unerringly toward the Solar Star.

  16

  As he had done for the journey from Marden's house to the ruins of the ancient Outland city, Clane unconsciously tensed himself for the return trip. Once more, there was the flashing ball of light. This time it seemed even briefer than before.

  Then he was in Marden's living room. At the door Clane, who was the last to leave the house, paused.

  He asked: "Marden, I'm curious. Why did you tell the Riss that we were here?"

  Marden looked surprised, and then the look came into his face.

  Another foolish question, his expression intimated. He said: "Sooner or later, they ask us if anything is happening. Naturally, we tell them."

  Clane said: "Do they speak your language, or do you speak theirs?"

  The O
utlander laughed. "You keep talking about language," he said. He shrugged. "We and the Riss understand each other, that's all."

  The others were moving off into the darkness. Czinczar had paused, and was looking back. Clane stayed where he was. "Do you go aboard the Riss ship, or do they come to the ground?" he asked.

  He waited stiffly. There was a purpose in his mind that vibrated with cunning. But he was too angry to be ashamed. The Outlanders' action in telling the Riss of the presence of the Solar Star had shocked him. It set the pattern now for his deadly plan.

  Marden said: "We go aboard. They have some kind of a round thing which they point at us, and then it's safe."

  Clane said deliberately: "How many of your people have had this thing pointed at them?"

  "Oh, a few hundred." He started to close the door. "Bedtime," he said.

  Clane was beginning to cool off. It struck him that the whole problem needed thinking out. Perhaps he was being hasty in judging these people.

  It would serve no useful purpose to risk attacking the enemy ship.

  He accepted Marden's dismissal. A few minutes later, he was in a lifboat heading back to his own section of the Solar Star. Presently, the ship was moving at a sharp slant up the umbral cone of the nightside of Outland.

  * * *

  A messenger arrived from Czinczar's headquarters. "Great Czinczar requests an interview."

  Clane said slowly: "Tell his excellency that I should like him to prepare a written interpretation of what we found out from Marden."

  He was getting ready for bed some time later when a second messenger arrived with a written request.

  * * *

  Dear Lord Clane:

  It is time to discuss our next move.

  Czinczar.

  * * *

  The trouble, Clane thought grimly, was that he had no plans. There was a great secret here; but it was not to be had by any method he could think of. The human beings of the twin planets could possible save the race. And yet he was already convinced they wouldn't.