by Isaac Asimov
“Is that the message?” Lig-magte asked.
“Yes,” Brion said.
* * * *
Two things saved his life then. He had guessed what would happen as soon as they had his message, though he hadn’t been sure. But even the suspicion had put him on his guard. This, combined with the reflexes of a Winner of the Twenties, was barely enough to enable him to survive.
From frozen mobility Lig-magte had catapulted into headlong attack. As he leaped forward he drew a curved, double-edged blade from under his robes. It plunged unerringly through the spot where Brion’s body had been an instant before.
There had been no time to tense his muscles and jump, just space to relax them and fall to one side. His reasoning mind joined the battle as he hit the floor. Lig-magte plunged by him, turning and bringing the knife down at the same time. Brion’s foot lashed out and caught the other man’s leg, sending him sprawling.
They were both on their feet at the same instant, facing each other. Brion now had his hands clasped before him in the unarmed man’s best defense against a knife, the two arms protecting the body, the two hands joined to beat aside the knife arm from whichever direction it came. The Disan hunched low, flipped the knife quickly from hand to hand, then thrust it again at Brion’s midriff.
Only by the merest fractional margin did Brion evade the attack for the second time. Lig-magte fought with complete violence. Every action was as intense as possible, deadly and thorough. There could be only one end to this unequal contest if Brion stayed on the defensive. The man with the knife had to win.
With the next charge Brion changed tactics. He leaped inside the thrust, clutching for the knife arm. A burning slice of pain cut across his arm, then his fingers clutched the tendoned wrist. Clamped down hard, grinding shut, compressing with the tightening intensity of a closing vise.
It was all he could do to simply hold on. There was no science in it, just his greater strength from exercise and existence on a heavier planet. All of this strength went to his clutching hand, because he held his own life in that hand, forcing away the knife that wanted to terminate it forever. Nothing else mattered. Neither the frightening force of the knees that thudded into his body nor the hooked fingers that reached for his eyes to tear them out. He protected his face as well as he could, while the nails tore furrows through his flesh and the cut on his arm bled freely. These were only minor things to be endured. His life depended on the grasp of the fingers of his right hand.
There was a sudden immobility as he succeeded in clutching Lig-magte’s other arm. It was a good grip and he could hold the arm immobilized. They had reached stasis, standing knee to knee, their faces only a few inches apart. The muffling cloth had fallen from the Disan’s face during the struggle and empty, frigid eyes stared into Brion’s. No flicker of emotion crossed the harsh planes of the other man’s face. A great puckered white scar covered one cheek and pulled up a corner of the mouth in a cheerless grimace. It was false, there was still no expression here. Even when the pain must be growing more intense.
Brion was winning—if no one broke the impasse. His greater weight and strength counted now. The Disan would have to drop the knife before his arm was dislocated at the shoulder. He didn’t do it. With sudden horror Brion realized that he wasn’t going to drop it—no matter what happened.
A dull, hideous snap jerked through the Disan’s body and the arm hung limp and dead. No expression crossed the other man’s face. The knife was still locked in the fingers of the paralyzed hand. With his other hand Lig-magte reached across and started to pry the blade loose, ready to continue the battle one-handed. Brion raised his foot and kicked the knife free, sending it spinning across the room.
Lig-magte made a fist of his good hand and crashed it into Brion’s body. He was still fighting, as if nothing had changed. Brion backed slowly away from the man. “Stop it,” he said. “You can’t win now. It’s impossible.” He called to the other men who were watching the unequal battle with expressionless immobility. No one answered him.
With a terrible sinking sensation Brion then realized what would happen and what he had to do. Lig-magte was as heedless of his own life as he was of the life of his planet. He would press the attack no matter what damage was done to him. Brion had an insane vision of him breaking the man’s other arm, fracturing both his legs, and the limbless broken creature still coming forward. Crawling, rolling, teeth bared since they were the only remaining weapon.
There was only one way to end it. Brion feinted and the Lig-magte’s arm moved clear of his body. The engulfing cloth was thin and through it Brion could see the outlines of the Disan’s abdomen and rib cage. The clear location of the great nerve ganglion.
It was the death blow of the kara-te. Brion had never used it on a man. In practice he had broken heavy boards, splintering them instantly with the short, precise stroke. The stiffened hand moving forward in a sudden surge, all the weight and energy of his body concentrated in his joined fingertips. Plunging deep into the other’s flesh.
Killing, not by accident or in sudden anger. Killing because this was the only way the battle could possibly end.
Like a ruined tower of flesh the Disan crumpled and fell.
Dripping blood, exhausted, Brion stood over the body of Lig-magte and stared at the dead man’s allies.
Death filled the room.
CHAPTER XI
Facing the silent Disans, Brion’s thoughts hurtled about in sweeping circles. There would be no more than an instant’s tick of time before the magter avenged themselves bloodily and completely. He felt a fleeting regret for not having brought his gun, then abandoned the thought. There was no time for regrets—what could he do NOW.
The silent watchers hadn’t attacked instantly, and Brion realized that they couldn’t be positive yet that Lig-magte had been killed. Only Brion knew the deadliness of that blow. Their lack of knowledge might buy him a little more time.
“Lig-magte is unconscious, but will revive quickly,” Brion said, pointing at the huddled body. As the eyes turned automatically to follow his finger, he began walking slowly towards the exit. “I did not want to do this, but he forced me to, because he wouldn’t listen to reason. Now I have something else to show you, something that I hoped it would not be necessary to reveal.”
He was saying the first words that came into his head, trying to keep them distracted as long as possible. He must only appear to be going across the room, that was the feeling he must generate. There was even time to stop for a second and straighten his rumpled clothing and brush the sweat from his eyes. Talking easily, walking slowly towards the hall out of the chamber. He was halfway there when the spell broke and the rush began. One of the magter knelt and touched the body, and shouted a single word.
“Dead.”
Brion hadn’t waited for the official announcement. At the first movement of feet he dived headlong for the shelter of the exit. There was a spatter of tiny missiles on the wall next to him and he had a brief glimpse of raised blowguns before the wall intervened. He went up the dimly-lit stairs five at a time.
The pack was just behind him, voiceless and deadly. He could not gain on them—if anything they closed the distance as he pushed his already tired body to the utmost. There was no subtlety or trick he could use now, just straightforward flight back the way he had come. A single slip on the irregular steps and it would be all over.
There was someone ahead of him. If the woman had waited a few seconds more, he would certainly have been killed. But instead of slashing at him as he went by the doorway she made the mistake of rushing to the center of the stairs, the knife ready to impale him as he came up. Without slowing Brion fell onto his hands and easily dodged under the blow. As he passed he twisted and seized her around the waist, picking her from the ground.
When her legs lifted from under her the woman screamed—the first human sound Brion had heard in this human anthill. His pursuers were just behind him, and he hurled the woman into them with
all his strength. They fell in a tangle and Brion used the precious seconds gained to reach the top of the building.
* * * *
There must have been other stairs and exits because one of the magter stood between Brion and the way down out of this trap. Armed and ready to kill him if he tried to pass.
As he ran towards the executioner, Brion flicked on his collar radio and shouted into it. “I’m in trouble here, can you—”
The guards in the car must have been waiting for this message. Before he had finished there was the thud of a high-velocity slug hitting flesh and the Disan spun and fell, blood soaking his shoulder. Brion leaped over him and headed for the ramp.
“The next one is me—hold your fire!” he called.
Both guards must have had their telescopic sights zeroed on the spot. They let Brion pass, then threw in a hail of semiautomatic fire that tore chunks from the stone and screamed away in noisy ricochets. Brion didn’t try to see if anyone was braving this hail of covering fire; he concentrated his energies on making as quick and erratic a descent as he could. Above the sounds of the firing he heard the car motor howl as it leaped forward. With their careful aim spoiled, the gunners switched to full automatic and unleashed a hailstorm of flying metal that bracketed the top of the tower.
“Cease…firing!” Brion gasped into the radio as he ran. The driver was good and timed his arrival with exactitude. The car reached the base of the tower at the same instant Brion did, and he burst through the door while it was still moving. No orders were necessary. He fell headlong onto a seat as the car swung in a dust-raising turn and ground into high gear back to the city.
Reaching over carefully, the tall guard gently extracted a bit of pointed wood and fluff from a fold of Brion’s pants. He cracked open the car door, and just as delicately threw it out.
“I knew that thing didn’t touch you,” he said, “since you are still among the living. They got a poison on those blowgun darts that takes all of twelve seconds to work. Lucky.”
Lucky! Brion was beginning to realize just how lucky he was to be out of the trap alive. With information. Now that he knew more about the magter he shuddered at his innocence in walking alone and unarmed into the tower. Skill had helped him survive—but better than average luck had been necessary. Curiosity had gotten him in, brashness and speed had taken him out. He was exhausted, battered and bloody—but cheerfully happy. The facts about the magter were shaping themselves into a theory that might explain their attempt at racial suicide. It just needed a little time to be put into shape.
A pain cut across his arm and he jumped, startled, pieces of his thoughts crashing into ruin around him. The gunner had cracked the first aid box and was swabbing his arm with antiseptic. The knife wound was long, but not deep. Brion shivered while the bandage was going on, then quickly slipped into his coat. The air conditioner whined industriously, bringing down the temperature.
There was no attempt to follow the car. When the black tower had dropped over the horizon the guards relaxed, ran cleaning rods through their guns and compared marksmanship. All of their antagonism towards Brion was gone—they actually smiled at him. He had given them the first chance to shoot back since they had been on this planet.
The ride was uneventful and Brion was scarcely aware of it. A theory was taking form in his mind. It was radical, unusual and startling—yet it seemed to be the only one that fitted the facts. He pushed at it from all sides, but if there were any holes he couldn’t find them. What it needed was dispassionate proving or disproving. There was only one person on Dis who was qualified to do this.
* * * *
Lea was working in the lab when he came in, bent over a low-power binocular microscope. Something small, limbless and throbbing was on the slide. She glanced up when she heard his footsteps, smiling warmly when she recognized him. Fatigue and pain had drawn her face, her skin glistening with burn ointment, was chapped and peeling. “I must look a wreck,” she said, putting the back of her hand to her cheek. “Something like a well-oiled and lightly cooked piece of beef.” She lowered her arm suddenly and took his hand in both of hers. Her palms were warm and slightly moist.
“Thank you, Brion,” was all she could say. Her society on Earth was highly civilized and sophisticated, able to discuss any topic without emotion and without embarrassment. This was fine in most circumstances, but made it difficult to thank a person for saving your life. However you tried to phrase it, it came out sounding like a last act speech from an historical play. There was no doubt, however, as to what she meant. Her eyes were large and dark, the pupils dilated by the drugs she had been given. They could not lie, nor could the emotions he sensed. He did not answer, just held her hand an instant longer.
“How do you feel?” he asked, concerned. His conscience twinged as he remembered that he was the one who had ordered her out of bed and back to work today.
“I should be feeling terrible,” she said, with an airy wave of her hand. “But I’m walking on top of the world. I’m so loaded with pain-killers and stimulants that I’m high as the moon. All the nerves to my feet feel turned off—it’s like walking on two balls of fluff. Thanks for getting me out of that awful hospital and back to work.”
Brion was suddenly ashamed of having driven her from her sick bed. “Don’t be sorry!” Lea said, apparently reading his mind, but really seeing only his sudden drooped expression. “I’m feeling no pain. Honestly, I feel a little light-headed and foggy at times, nothing more. And this is the job I came here to do. In fact…well, it’s almost impossible to tell you just how fascinating it all is! It was almost worth getting baked and parboiled for.”
She swung back to the microscope, centering the specimen with a turn of the stage adjustment screw. “Poor Ihjel was right when he said this planet was exobiologically fascinating. This is a gastropod, a lot like Odostomia, but it has parasitical morphological changes so profound—”
“There’s something else I remember,” Brion said, interrupting her enthusiastic lecture, only half of which he could understand. “Didn’t Ihjel also hope that you would give some study to the natives as well as their environment. The problem is with the Disans—not the local wild life.”
“But I am studying them,” Lea insisted. “The Disans have attained an incredibly advanced form of commensalism. Their lives are so intimately connected and integrated with the other life forms that they must be studied in relation to their environment. I doubt if they show as many external physical changes as little eating-foot Odostomia on the slide here, but there will be surely a number of psychological changes and adjustments that will crop up. One of these might be the explanation of their urge for planetary suicide.”
“That may be true—but I don’t think so,” Brion said. “I went on a little expedition this morning and found something that has more immediate relevancy.”
For the first time Lea became aware of his slightly battered condition. Her drug-grooved mind could only follow a single idea at a time and had overlooked the significance of the bandage and dirt.
“I’ve been visiting,” Brion said, forestalling the question on her lips. “The magter are the ones who are responsible for causing the trouble, and I had to see them up close before I could make any decision. It wasn’t a very pleasant thing, but I found out what I wanted to know. They are different in every way from the normal Disans. I’ve compared them. I’ve talked to Ulv—the native who saved us in the desert—and I can understand him. He is not like us in many ways—he would certainly have to be, living in this oven—but he is still undeniably human. He gave us drinking water when we needed it, then brought help. The magter, the upper-class lords of Dis, are the direct opposite. As cold-blooded and ruthless a bunch of murderers as you can possibly imagine. They tried to kill me when they met me, without reason. Their clothes, habits, dwellings, manners—everything about them differs from that of the normal Disan. More important, the magter are as coldly efficient and inhuman as a reptile. They have no emotions,
no love, no hate, anger, fear—nothing. Each of them is a chilling bundle of thought processes and reactions, with all the emotions removed.”
“Aren’t you exaggerating?” Lea asked. “After all, you can’t be sure. It might just be part of their training not to reveal any emotional state. Everyone must experience emotional states whether they like it or not.”
“That’s my main point. Everyone does—except the magter. I can’t go into all the details now, so you’ll just have to take my word for it. Even at the point of death they have no fear or hatred. It may sound impossible, but it is true.”
* * * *
Lea tried to shake the knots from her drug-hazed mind. “I’m dull today,” she said, “you’ll have to excuse me. If these rulers had no emotional responses, that might explain their present suicidal position. But an explanation like this raises more new problems than it supplies answers to the old ones. How did they get this way? It doesn’t seem humanly possible to be without emotions.”
“Just my point. Not humanly possible. I think these ruling class Disans aren’t human at all, like the other Disans. I think they are alien creatures—robots or androids—anything except men. I think they are living in disguise among the normal human dwellers.”
First Lea started to smile, then she changed her mind when she saw his face. “You are serious?” she asked.
“Never more so. I realize it must sound as if I’ve had my brains bounced around too much this morning. Yet this is the only idea I can come up with that fits all of the facts. Look at the evidence yourself. One simple thing stands out clearly, and must be considered first if any theory is to hold up. That is the magters’ complete indifference to death—their own or anyone else’s. Is that normal to mankind?”
