CHAPTER 10
Ato's probing instruments still pointed the way to Aldebaran. In asurprisingly short time, the warning signals were flashing and jinglingthroughout The Nebula. There was that same sick feeling as it moved slowerthan the speed of light.
And there was a glowing sun with nine planets circling stately about it.Slower The Nebula moved, and slower, until the outermost planet sparkled inthe light of its sun below them. They swooped down.
Not a single blast was fired at them. Every man was at his post, while Atoguided them in, and Odin worked the screens.
Once more, Jack was disappointed. He had looked forward to some alien--evenexotic--civilization. Here were fields and streams. And there werecities--looking very much like the cities of his world and of Opal.
Those other worlds which he had seen had been blasted. So there was no wayof knowing how their cities had looked. But these were too recognizable.He was certain that he had seen several of the taller buildings before.
Was space no more creative than this? Had the worlds dedicated themselvesto the same monotonous pattern? He had caught a glimpse of conventional,rocket-shaped spaceships, plying their courses back and forth among theplanets. He saw boats and cars and a few long-nosed airplanes, with themerest trace of vestigial wings far back near the empennage, streakingthrough the sky in high arcs, leaving curling trails of fog and smokebehind them. But there was little here that his world had not alreadymastered--or at least had on the drawing board.
The Nebula came to rest upon a bare plain not far from the nearest city. Ashe turned to the scanner upon it, Odin saw that while it looked familiarenough there was one exotic thing about it. Toward the outskirts of thecity, in the bend of a wide river, was the Taj Mahal.
He felt nearly as bewildered as he had been when Nea explained her theoriesof the Time-Space Concept to him.
They had hardly landed before one of Ato's scientists announced that therewas good clean air outside. Oxygen and nitrogen with good old water held asmoisture within it.
The city sat there upon the plain and stared at them. The Nebula lookedback.
At length a procession of cars moved toward them.
Grim Hagen's voice came thundering over the loud-speakers.
"A truce, Ato. I offer you a week's truce in return for a few meetings.This world has seen enough destruction--"
Gunnar and his crew leveled their death-gun at the advancing party. Odinkept them on the screen. Ato and a few of his captains got ready todisembark.
As Odin watched, he kept puzzling over that voice. It certainly was GrimHagen's. But it was different. Perhaps it was a bit lower, a bit morecommanding. But there was just a bit of weariness in it. And the answercame to him suddenly--although he never knew why.
The voice was older!
* * * * *
Then Grim Hagen and his staff were below The Nebula. They were dressed inwhite and gold uniforms. That was not surprising, either. Ato and his menadvanced for a parley. Odin watched and listened.
At first he could not get a clear look at the man for Ato's broadshoulders. Then Ato turned aside, and Grim Hagen's head and shouldersfilled the screen.
Odin gasped in amazement. Grim Hagen was nearly twenty years older thanwhen he had seen him last.
The shoulders and arms were larger although there appeared to be little fatupon Grim Hagen. The dark hair was streaked with gray. The face was seamed,and though the black eyes still blazed they now burned with a fanatic hateand desperation. Where pride and ambition had once made a face coldlyhandsome, there was now nothing but seamed lines like scars and blazingeyes. It was an evil face. Grim Hagen had become a devil.
Hagen looked at the much younger Ato and laughed. "So, the cub comes tofight with the tiger? Didn't you know? Didn't you guess? While you camegalloping after me, I had already landed within this system. And time beganits old alnage. These were a peaceful people. We wrecked them. We enslavedthem and built the nine worlds in our own fashion. Nearly nineteen years,Ato! No Caesar ever dreamed of a larger kingdom. I even gave them a newgoddess--for I did not want them to do much thinking. Yonder." He pointedto the duplicate Taj Mahal in the distance. "She sleeps. My only failure.No older. And sometimes I go there and look at her, and my youth seems towalk beside me--"
"We want the people that you brought with you, Grim Hagen," Ato answeredcoldly. "And the treasures."
Grim Hagen laughed again. "Those that came with me willingly are dukes andkings beyond their wildest dreams. Those who would not take oath to serveme are still slaves. Except for Maya, who sleeps. As for the treasures, mytreasure houses are so full now that I doubt if I could separate one thingfrom the other. So youth grows old. But you must admit that this is betterthan cringing in a hole in the ground--"
"None of us cringed, unless it was you," Ato retorted angrily. "Wehave come beyond time and space--for Maya and her friends--for thetreasures--and for you--"
The mad light flamed in Grim Hagen's eyes as he laughed again. "You couldnot get a thousand feet into the air unless I permitted it. Come, now, Ihave given a week's truce. Relax and enjoy yourselves. After all, we arekinsmen in a far country." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully and repeated."A far country."
* * * * *
Three days had passed since they had landed on Grim Hagen's planet. Ato,Gunnar, Odin, and a score of others had gone into the city where they hadbeen given quarters in a palace that made Windsor look like a second-classlodging.
Odin and Gunnar shared a suite. As he dressed that morning, Odin lookedabout him at the splendor. Every bit of woodwork was hand-carved. The wallswere covered with frescoes. The chandeliers were jeweled masterpieces andthe carpets were thick crimson piles. The lace curtains must have ruinedthe eyes and hands of a dozen women.
He had heard that the planets of Aldebaran had been peopled by a blondpeaceful race who were on a par with the culture of the Middle Ageswhen Grim Hagen arrived. Lord, how he must have worked himself andthem to bring them this far along in nineteen years. There was apeaceful air of prosperity about the planet; and trade, he understood,was flourishing with the other worlds of the system. But the peoplewere no more than slaves--beaten and cowed into submission. Oh, theyworked hard. But Odin wondered what had been their punishment in yearspast for not working. There was something in their eyes--a stunned,unhappy look--that made him wonder what would happen some day whenthey learned as much as their masters and turned upon them. Moreover,he had been told that the planets were over-crowded when Grim Hagenarrived. They did not seem so now. How many graves throughout thosenine planets were dedicated to the conquerors?
Only once had he seen one of them mistreated. That was at a dinner thenight before. The banquet hall had been a combination of medieval, modern,and Brons' splendor. The dishes, the food, and the music had been superb.But a fair-skinned girl had spilled a few drops of wine when she wasserving Grim Hagen. His face had grown dark. Half arising from hishigh-backed chair at the head of the table, he had doubled up his fist andstruck her below the cheek-bone. She reeled back, her face crimsoning fromthe blow and the shame. The other servants pretended to see nothing. But inthe girl's eyes and in the eyes of the others he saw the old promise thathad been written in the eyes of slaves since time began: "Some Day! SomeDay!"
Then, with perfect calm, Grim Hagen had sat down, wiping his lips with alacy napkin. "Pardon me, gentlemen, but they have so much to learn in soshort a time." Then he looked down the long table at Odin and could notresist one gibe. "You don't know how happy I was to find that these planetswere peopled by a light-skinned race."
* * * * *
That was all. True to his promise, Grim Hagen had given them the run of thecity. But there was always one of Hagen's men or some native in uniform topolitely assure them that there was little to see down the off streets. Themain squares were a tourist's paradise. Beautiful buildings--in all colorsand styles, black marble and silver. Tracings
of gold. Clocks, bells,statues, fountains. All the architecture of the world they had left, withfine selections and matching, with daring improvisations. And everythingnew. Odin had to admit that the squares were beautiful. Some day thisconquered race might even owe a debt to Grim Hagen and his crew. But rightnow they did not seem to be bubbling over. The natives were polite--toomeek for comfort. Some of the women were beautiful; most of the men weretoo slight of build, almost effeminate.
But once Jack Odin and Gunnar managed to stroll down a narrow streetwithout anyone noticing them. It was the cry of the birds that caused themto turn aside into even a narrower one. So they came to a little run-downpark that looked old enough to have survived the conquest. Then they sawthe scaffoldings. And there were twelve shapes hanging from ropes andmeat-hooks. As they neared, a flock of fat revolting-looking birds aroseand complained as they fluttered away.
Gunnar and Odin had stood there looking up at the half-dried mummies thatswung slowly about and grimaced at the tiny wind that perplexed them. Thegibbets were spotted with blood and filth. Flies swarmed about them.
"So," Gunnar remarked. "The leopard does not change his spots. Grim Hagenstill gives lessons to these people. And knowing Grim Hagen I would say heis a rough schoolmaster."
They did not stay long. And a guard opened his mouth in surprise when hesaw them entering the square from the dark, little street.
* * * * *
Today Grim Hagen had invited them to another conference. Gunnar and Odindressed carefully. But Gunnar took a last look at harness and sword as hecomplained: "He wants something. And Grim Hagen can be mean when he doesn'tget what he wants. We should have started wrecking this world before welanded. The people would be no worse off. And maybe we could have ridourselves of a snake. Ato needs a big drink of tiger milk--"
"Oh, quit complaining, little giant. We still have some bargaining power."
"Yes, our swords. This meeting reminds me of the conference that a kingonce held to decide upon another conference which would decide what thenext conference would be about. Bah!"
"Quit worrying. One of us will kill Grim Hagen, sooner or later."
But Gunnar went on with his complaining. "You had better stay close tome, you understand, or you will be hanging from one of Grim Hagen'smeat-hooks."
So they went to the conference. All of Ato's men and at least fifty of GrimHagen's were there. Contrary to Gunnar's prediction, Grim Hagen got to thepoint at once.
"Kinsmen," he began mockingly. "You may have wondered why I called a trucewhen I could just as well have destroyed you--"
"That I doubt," Ato answered him. "We have defensive weapons. Even now theguns from our ship are trained upon the city."
Grim Hagen shrugged. "Let us not quibble, Ato. Your father was a quibblerbefore you."
Ato flushed in anger.
Grim Hagen continued with an apologetic smile. "I'm only joking. But I doknow certain things. Your father, Wolden, is a brilliant man, Ato." Hebowed slightly as he admitted this. "From time to time, as you hurtledthrough the star spaces, I picked up scraps of conversation with myinstruments. Also, I knew something of what Wolden has been working on allthese years."
"Now, you're quibbling," Gunnar jeered. "Get on with your speech, GrimHagen."
Grim Hagen bowed to the broad-shouldered little man. "Some day, Gunnar, Imay have to kill you--"
"Now. Now." Gunnar urged, fairly jumping in rage. "Just the two of us, GrimHagen. Just the two of us with bare hands--"
"Not yet." Grim Hagen sneered. "Now, I will continue. From what I havelearned, it appears that Wolden's work has been a success. It is possiblefor men to master both time and space. I have mastered space, but time isturning everything to dust and ashes. What good is it to be an old emperor?No better than to be an old herdsman." Again he tossed a sneer in Gunnar'sdirection--
"That's easy," Gunnar retorted. "The old herdsman sleeps well at night."
"Bah. Who wants to sleep? Please quit interrupting, Gunnar."
"Even before we came to Aldebaran," Hagen went on, "I was in contact with adying world out there at the edge of space. Those people are desperate. Andthey are weary of life, having seen too much of it. They have agreed to gowith me. Why, this sun and these worlds are piddling trifles. With thatinvention we could go from sun to sun. Space would be ours to play with--"
"Loki, the Mischief-Maker, running through creation--" Gunnar muttered.
Grim Hagen may not have heard him for he continued in that same desperate,pleading voice. "So here is my proposition, Ato. Give me your father'ssecret. In return, I give you the treasures, the Old Ship, the prisoners,and even Maya. Is not that complete surrender?" He smiled disarmingly.
* * * * *
Ato stood tall and proud as he answered. His eyes were blazing now, as hesaw through Grim Hagen's plan. "So, you thought I would bargain awayWolden's secret, did you? Well, your surmises were wrong. When last I sawhim his work was not finished. I know so little about it that I could tellyou nothing of any value. But if I did," Ato's voice was trembling indisgust. "If I did, Hagen, would I turn you and your hells' spawn looseupon the stars to perplex them forever?"
Grim Hagen's face was almost blue with rage. "You have said enough. Andthere are other ways to make you talk. Make these swine prisoners," hescreamed.
A dozen knives flashed. A dozen death-tubes were pointed toward Ato andhis followers.
But one of Grim Hagen's lieutenants, a Bron who was now silver-haired,intervened. "No, Grim Hagen. They are under truce. The week is not yet up.I will not see you go back on your own word--"
Grim Hagen flamed. "You will die on the hook for this--"
"Maybe so. One thing is certain: I will die. And I can face it. But youcan't, can you, Grim Hagen? You would prefer to be some sort of eternaldevil, working its fury upon the stars. Now, where is the new thinking thatyou used to preach? That dream is as old as the incantations beside thecave-fires--"
"Arrest them all," Grim Hagen screamed. "Arrest Rama too," he added withrage.
But the knives and swords were back in their holsters. The guns werelowered. One by one his men filed out of the council room. Grim Hagen'sface was so dark that Odin feared a stroke. But with a curse at Ato andOdin, Hagen lifted his chin high and followed his men from the room. Onlythe one called Rama remained.
"I will do what I can, Ato," he said quietly. "I was nearly fifty when westarted this journey. And we lived hard and fast. I am old now. I marriedone of the slave-girls. We have children. Were it not for that, I would gowith you. But I am tired. God, I'm tired--"
He saluted them as he went out the door.
They never saw Rama again.
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