Last Enemy

by H. Beam Piper

scientificproof of reincarnation? I mean, as an established fact?"

  "Oh, yes; these people on this sector have had that for over tencenturies. They have hypnotic techniques for getting back into a partof the subconscious mind that we've never been able to reach. Andafter I found out how they did it, I was able to adapt some of ourhypno-epistemological techniques to it, and--"

  "All right; that's what I wanted to know," he cut her off. "We'regetting out of here, right away."

  "But where?"

  "Ghamma, in an airboat I have outside, and then back to the FirstLevel. Unless there's a paratime-transposition conveyor somewherenearer."

  "But why, Vall? I'm not ready to go back; I have a lot of work to do here,yet. They're getting ready to set up a series of control-experiments at theInstitute, and then, I'm in the middle of an experiment, atwo-hundred-subject memory-recall experiment. See, I distributed twohundred sets of equipment for my new technique--injection-ampoules of this_zerfa_-derivative drug, and sound records of the hypnotic suggestionformula, which can be played on an ordinary reproducer. It's just a crudevariant of our hypno-mech process, except that instead of implantinginformation in the subconscious mind, to be brought at will to the level ofconsciousness, it works the other way, and draws into conscious knowledgeinformation already in the subconscious mind. The way these people havealways done has been to put the subject in an hypnotic trance and thenrecord verbal statements made in the trance state; when the subject comesout of the trance, the record is all there is, because the memories of pastreincarnations have never been in the conscious mind. But with my process,the subject can consciously remember everything about his lastreincarnation, and as many reincarnations before that as he wishes to. Ihaven't heard from any of the people who received these auto-recall kits,and I really must--"

  "Dalla, I don't want to have to pull Paratime Police authority on you,but, so help me, if you don't come back voluntarily with me, I will.Security of the secret of paratime transposition."

  "Oh, my eye!" Dalla exclaimed. "Don't give me that, Vall!"

  "Look, Dalla. Suppose you get discarnated here," Verkan Vall said."You say reincarnation is a scientific fact. Well, you'd reincarnateon this sector, and then you'd take a memory-recall, under hypnosis.And when you did, the paratime secret wouldn't be a secret any more."

  "Oh!" Dalla's hand went to her mouth in consternation. Like everyparatimer, she was conditioned to shrink with all her being from themere thought of revealing to any out-time dweller the secret abilityof her race to pass to other time-lines, or even the existence ofalternate lines of probability. "And if I took one of theold-fashioned trance-recalls, I'd blat out everything; I wouldn't beable to keep a thing back. And I even know the principles oftransposition!" She looked at him, aghast.

  "When I get back, I'm going to put a recommendation through departmentchannels that this whole sector be declared out of bounds for allparatime-transposition, until you people at Rhogom Foundation workout the problem of discarnate return to the First Level," he told her."Now, have you any notes or anything you want to take back with you?"

  She rose. "Yes; just what's on the desk. Find me something to put thetape spools and notebooks in, while I'm getting them in order."

  He secured a large game bag from under a rack of fowling pieces, andheld it while she sorted the material rapidly, stuffing spools ofrecord tape and notebooks into it. They had barely begun when the doorslid open and Olirzon, who had gone outside, sprang into the room, hispistol drawn, swearing vilely.

  "They've double-crossed us!" he cried. "The servants of Starpha haveturned on us." He holstered his pistol and snatched up hissubmachine-gun, taking cover behind the edge of the door and lettinggo with a burst in the direction of the lifter tubes. "Got that one!"he grunted.

  "What happened, Olirzon?" Verkan Vall asked, dropping the game bag onthe table and hurrying across the room.

  "I went up to see how Marnik was making out. As I came out of thelifter tube, one of the obscenities took a shot at me with a huntingpistol. He missed me; I didn't miss him. Then a couple more of themwere coming up, with fowling pieces; I shot one of them before theycould fire, and jumped into the descent tube and came down heels overears. I don't know what's happened to Marnik." He fired another burst,and swore. "Missed him!"

  "Assassins' Truce! Assassins' Truce!" a voice howled out of thedescent tube. "Hold your fire, we want to parley."

  "Who is it?" Dirzed shouted, over Olirzon's shoulder. "You, Sarnax?Come on out; we won't shoot."

  The young Assassin with the mustache and chin beard emerged from thedescent tube, his weapons sheathed and his clasped hands extended infront of him in a peculiarly ecclesiastical-looking manner. Dirzed andOlirzon stepped out of the gun room, followed by Verkan Vall andHadron Dalla. Olirzon had left his submachine-gun behind. They met theother Assassin by the rim of the fountain pool.

  "Lady Dallona of Hadron," the Starpha Assassin began. "I and mycolleagues, in the employ of the family of Starpha, have receivedorders from our clients to withdraw our protection from you, and todiscarnate you, and all with you who undertake to protect or supportyou." That much sounded like a recitation of some established formula;then his voice became more conversational. "I and my colleagues,Erarno and Kirzol and Harnif, offer our apologies for the barbarity ofthe servants of the family of Starpha, in attacking withoutdeclaration of cessation of friendship. Was anybody hurt ordiscarnated?"

  "None of us," Olirzon said. "How about Marnik?"

  "He was warned before hostilities were begun against him," Sarnaxreplied. "We will allow five minutes until--"

  Olirzon, who had been looking up the well, suddenly sprang at Dalla,knocking her flat, and at the same time jerking out his pistol. Beforehe could raise it, a shot banged from above and he fell on his face.Dirzed, Verkan Vall, and Sarnax, all drew their pistols, but whoeverhad fired the shot had vanished. There was an outburst of shoutingabove.

  "Get to cover," Sarnax told the others. "We'll let you know when we'reready to attack; we'll have to deal with whoever fired that shot,first." He looked at the dead body on the floor, exclaimed angrily,and hurried to the ascent tube, springing upward.

  Verkan Vall replaced the small pistol in his shoulder holster and tookOlirzon's belt, with his knife and heavier pistol.

  "Well, there you see," Dirzed said, as they went back to the gun room."So much for political expediency."

  "I think I understand why your picture and the Lady Dallona's wereexhibited so widely," Verkan Vall said. "Now, anybody would recognizeyour bodies, and blame the Statisticalists for discarnating you."

  "That thought had occurred to me, Lord Virzal," Dirzed said. "Isuppose our bodies will be atrociously but not unidentifiablymutilated, to further enrage the public," he added placidly. "If I getout of this carnate, I'm going to pay somebody off for it."

  After a few minutes, there was more shouting of: "Assassins' Truce!"from the descent tube. The two Assassins, Erarno and Kirzol, emerged,dragging the gamekeeper, Tarnod, between them. The upper-servant'sface was bloody, and his jaw seemed to be broken. Sarnax followed,carrying a long hunting pistol in his hand.

  "Here he is!" he announced. "He fired during Assassins' Truce; he'ssubject to Assassins' Justice!"

  He nodded to the others. They threw the gamekeeper forward on thefloor, and Sarnax shot him through the head, then tossed the pistoldown beside him. "Any more of these people who violate the decencieswill be treated similarly," he promised.

  "Thank you, Sarnax," Dirzed spoke up. "But we lost an Assassin:discarnating this lackey won't equalize that. We think you shouldretire one of your number."

  "That at least, Dirzed; wait a moment."

  The three Assassins conferred at some length. Then Sarnax hookedfingers and clapped shoulders with his companions.

  "See you in the next reincarnation, brothers," he told them, walkingtoward the gun-room door, where Verkan Vall, Dalla and Dirzed stood."I'm joining you people. You had two Assassins when the parley began,you'll have t
wo when the shooting starts."

  Verkan Vall looked at Dirzed in some surprise. Hadron Dalla's Assassinnodded.

  "He's entitled to do that, Lord Virzal; the Assassins' code providesfor such changes of allegiance."

  "Welcome, Sarnax," Verkan Vall said, hooking fingers with him. "I hopewe'll all be together when this is over."

  "We will be," Sarnax assured him