This done, she left the laboratory and quietly made her way to the control room. She entered amid a sombre silence to find the men and women gathered about their silent dead children who were now on the main table covered with one enormous sheet. There seemed to be some kind of religious service in progress, one of the men with an open Bible on his outspread palm. At Merva’s entry there was a general glance in her direction. She withstood the scrutiny of the eyes with complete calm and came forward, her raven-haired head held high.
“For the purposes of Christian burial,” the man with the Bible said, glancing in Merva’s direction, “do you desire that Rigilus shall be included in this ceremony?”
“I have already attended to that,” Merva answered. “What I would like is to be present at the actual ejection of these unfortunate offspring of yours into space.”
“We are not inclined to regard that request with any favour,” the man with the Bible answered.
Merva hesitated, feeling at last that she was unable to withstand the cold stares that were fixed upon her. She set her lips, turned and left the lounge without another word.
CHAPTER FOUR
PLAN FOR REVENGE
MERVA was deeply asleep when something suddenly awakened her. Immediately she sat up in the bed, her hand feeling quickly for the ray gun she always left on the table beside her. Just for the moment she wondered if it was Exodus who had awakened her by some movement or other, for he slept in a bed not very far away from her in the same compartment, but almost instantly she realised that this was not the case.
Around her bed, their grim faces illumined by the everlasting stars, were four women. Despite the dimness of the light Merva knew them well enough to almost instantly recognize their features. They were four of the women whose children had died.
“Well,” Merva demanded, her emotions as usual held under admirable control, “what is it that you want?”
“The truth,” one of the women answered grimly. “Get out of that bed, Merva, immediately!”
“I will do nothing of the sort!”
The four women did not waste any more time. Before she had the chance to grasp what was happening Merva found herself seized by arms and legs and dragged out onto the floor. Swift movements, obviously planned beforehand, made it that before she could put up any kind of trouble to save herself she was bound hand and foot and then dragged to her feet. Breathing hard, her black hair tumbling over her face, she struggled desperately to free herself.
“I shouldn’t waste your time if I were you,” said the woman who had first spoken. “We know how to tie knots and we know how to get at the truth when we want it, and what is more, we’re going to. Aboard this ship there is no form of accepted law or justice—therefore it becomes essential that we take the law into our own hands.
“You’re going to be asked quite a few questions, Merva, and if you don’t answer them the way we think you should you will be made to.”
“Questions,” Merva exclaimed, furiously, tossing her hair from her eyes. “What kind of questions? I have nothing to say!”
“That is a matter of opinion.”
Again before she could do anything about it Merva was seized between the four women and, struggling frantically, was carried from the room and along to the lounge. None of the men were present: evidently this was a move decided upon by the women alone so it was quite possible that the men knew exactly what was happening. Possibly, too, they felt that a better effect could be gained if they kept out of it.
“We are not satisfied,” the spokeswoman said, “that the death of our children was brought about in the way you suggested, therefore we mean to find out the truth. It is possible that, cold and hard natured though you are, you still have enough motherly instinct to protect your own. At any rate that remains to be seen. Fetch Exodus,” the woman added briefly, and immediately two of her colleagues left the lounge.
Merva, lying upon the floor and still struggling uselessly to break the cords around her wrists and ankles, glared up in fury. She knew she could expect no mercy whatever from her own sex, that the wiles that she might use upon a man and perhaps melt the most ruthless of his intentions were utterly useless here. For this reason she felt fear though she struggled desperately not to show it.
“What do you want with Exodus?” she demanded.
“You’ll see,” said the spokeswoman, dispassionately. Presently Exodus was led into the room, still in his sleeping clothes, and he looked at his mother in vague wonder as she lay upon the floor and then he glanced at the faces around him.
“The issue, Merva,” said the spokeswoman, “is perfectly simple. We believe our children died through some machination of yours. Whether they were killed deliberately from sheer hatred or whether you had some particular reason for using them before they died we have no means of knowing. But we do intend to find out if you were the instigator of the tragedy. At the moment Exodus is the only child left aboard the ship. Unless you tell us the truth, there will be no children left aboard the ship five minutes from now.”
“What!”
Merva jerked herself up on to one elbow and looked around her fearfully. “You can’t mean that you’re going to kill Exodus for absolutely no reason at all!”
“We shall kill Exodus unless you tell us the truth,” the spokeswoman replied. “We realise that it is not exactly fair to Exodus—but it is a case of the sins of the fathers, or mothers, in this case—being visited upon the children, but we mean to get at the truth even if we have to commit murder to do so. You can prevent that by telling us what we wish to know.”
“I have already told you the truth,” Merva declared desperately.
“First,” the spokeswoman said, “before the ultimate necessity of destroying Exodus, we can perhaps make you talk by a little gentle persuasion. It all depends on whether you are strong enough to resist our methods.”
“There is nothing you fools can do that will intimidate me,” Merva retorted.
None of the women answered that, instead, the one who I had been doing all the talking took a sharply pointed instrument from her pocket. At first glance it looked rather like a carpenter’s awl or else an extremely sharp darning needle driven into a big handle. Holding it significantly in front of her the woman gave an icy smile.
“You have a very beautiful face, Merva—at least I will say that for you—but after a little treatment with this instrument your beauty will be there no more. This is not the simple needle-like instrument that it appears to be: it is a surgical probe, the point covered with an indelible dye.
“The dye is non-poisonous but it nevertheless enters into the pigment of the skin. It will be quite possible to mottle your face in such a way that every man in the ship will turn from you with loathing, and you yourself will finally destroy every mirror into which you happen to gaze. Which do you prefer? That I use this instrument upon you, or destroy your son?”
Merva writhed desperately upon the floor. A fine glaze of perspiration had appeared upon her face, and seeing it, the other women looked at each other and nodded significantly. At last, for the first time, Merva was afraid.
“Very well,” the spokeswoman said at last, shrugging, “since you do not see fit to talk, you compel me to act.”
With that she seized Merva’s black hair in a relentless grip and forced her head back savagely. Merva gave a little gasp of pain but the spokeswoman took no notice. She was by far the strongest of the four women and since Merva was so tightly bound she could do nothing to prevent the iron grip on her hair exposing her face to the needlepoint of the weapon of torture.
“You have one more chance,” the spokeswoman said.
To Merva the entire view was limited to the intense thinness of the instrument’s point poised directly in front of her face. She breathed hard and struggled in vain.
“Wait,” she panted breathlessly, “wait a moment. There is no need for this descent into barbarism. I will tell you what you want to know.”
The
spokeswoman hesitated as though uncertain whether to accept Merva’s word or not. Finally she relaxed and stood up looking down on the sprawling Merva, the rest of the women standing with their arms folded, waiting.
“The death of your children was the work of Rigilus, although the original idea was mine,” Merva lied. “What I was endeavouring to do, and which would also have been a surprise to you, was to give them eternal life so that they would be better able to withstand this awful journey and even survive at the end of it. Something went wrong with the apparatus and Rigilus and your children were all killed. That is the truth: I swear it is!”
The women looked at one another and finally the spokeswoman seemed to make up her mind and, stooping, she began to undo the cords fastened about Merva’s wrists and ankles. Merva made no move while this activity was in progress and when she finally struggled to her feet she looked across towards her son.
“I take it then,” she asked, glancing about her, “that you have decided to accept my word?”
“The situation is far from satisfactory,” the spokeswoman answered curtly, “but for the moment we are compelled to accept your word for there is no other evidence to the contrary. That does not mean, however, that we have decided to accept the situation as it is. Since we have little else to occupy us for the rest of our lives we shall spend a great deal of time determining what did happen with that apparatus in the laboratory. Fortunately we know which one it is and we shall also take the necessary steps to prevent you doing anything to destroy it.”
“Which is as good as saying that you do not accept my word?” Merva demanded.
“That is correct,” the spokeswoman answered coldly.
Merva gave a bitter glance, adjusted the zip fasteners on her disarranged and exceedingly ornate pyjama suit and then turned to leave the lounge, catching at Exodus’ shoulder as she went. The child gave her a bewildered glance as he found himself impelled roughly into the corridor. Without pause Merva hurried along to the laboratory instead of her bedroom, bundling the child along beside her. Only when she had reached the laboratory and dosed the door did she release him.
“Stand over there,” she ordered, “I have an important job to do.”
The child obeyed, wandering sleepily into a distant corner Merva’s eyes following him, then she turned and picked up a curiously fashioned instrument from a bench nearby.
In appearance it was not unlike an old-fashioned blowlamp except that the nozzle was over a foot long. Here was yet another of the devices which she had completed during the recent months.
Operating a control switch she directed the nozzle at the nearby tube chair that was screwed down to the floor. The moment she pressed the switch on her instrument the chair became mysteriously hazed with a lavender glow, after which it swiftly turned green and then with a sudden back draught of evil smelling vapours it entirely disappeared leaving behind nothing but a slowly dispersing haze of acrid smoke. Exodus from his comer stared blankly, realizing, albeit dimly, that he had just witnessed something of staggering power. His mother, for her part, with a twisted smile, came across to him carrying the deadly weapon in her hand.
“Your mother has a lot of enemies, Exodus,” she said slowly, laying her free hand on his shoulder, “and because it is never healthy to have enemies I intend to destroy them. I have taught you a good deal about electronics even at your young age and you may have understood something of what I have told you. See therefore if you can understand this: heat produces an accelerated vibration of the fabric of space, which is interpreted by the physical senses as heat. All that this instrument does is to electrically agitate the space around a particular object with the result that a stupendous heat is produced, resulting finally in complete collapse of the object concerned, by reason of the fact that its atomic constitution is so agitated it can no longer pull together and finally dissipates.... Now that is a very big worded explanation for a child as young as you but you may be able to grasp part of it. As you grow older I will explain it to you again and again until you finally understand every detail. Now you stay here; your mother has work to do.”
Turning, Merva left the laboratory swiftly and then went silently down the corridor outside. As she had expected when she came to peer into the lounge the womenfolk were still there, but now they were augmented by their particular husbands. All of them were standing in a ragged circle conversing, and from their grim faces Merva judged that they were probably discussing her. She gave again that insolently confident smile to herself and levelled her weapon steadily. Without making a sound she entered the big room and the group turned in some surprise. The moment they saw the weapon she was carrying and the expression of diabolical hatred on her marble white face they stepped back very slightly.
“You do well to retreat,” Merva remarked, bitterly, “and remember that I am confronting you single handed. When you attacked me there were four of you against which I had no chance: now the positions are reversed.
“So you think,” she continued, moving forward deliberately with her weapon still at the ready, “that you’ll spend all your time hereon investigating the mysteries of the laboratories, do you? Studying how the life energy equipment operates, and if it doesn’t do exactly as you think it should you intend to confront me once again with the charge of murdering your children. What kind of a fool do you think I am?”
“We never did think you were a fool,” one of the men answered; “indeed, quite the opposite. That’s just the trouble.”
“A little while ago,” Merva said, still advancing steadily, “you asked me to tell the truth as to what happened to your children. I did not tell the truth but I am doing so now. Each and every one of them gave his or her life energy and it was stored in that scientific equipment in the laboratory. They gave their life energy because I have decided to live a thousand years and still be as young when this colossal journey has ended as I am now—young enough to be able to fashion the great scheme of vengeance that Rigilus originally conceived. So you see, whether you like it or not, your children have given everything to the plan of revenge whilst you, their parents, have given nothing. You refused to fall in with Rigilus’s commands and he was compelled to bow to your wishes because of your superior numbers. I do not intend to bow to your wishes under any circumstances nor do I intend to allow you to pry and probe with the final intention of accusing me of murder. What I do intend to do is eliminate each and every one of you, even as your children and Rigilus himself were eliminated.
“There are only two people who matter in the Universe to me. Myself and my son. Into him I shall inject the poison of revenge for the day when he and I shall stand side by side, a thousand years hence, mistress and master of a plan which not only will overwhelm the Earth but the whole Solar System.”
“Madness,” one of the men muttered, “that’s what it is, madness!”
“Yes, perhaps it is,” Merva admitted, shrugging, “I make no apology for that. I have the one saving grace of knowing exactly what I want, and what is more I know how to get it.”
In that instant she ceased talking and pressed the button upon her weapon. Immediately the men and women forming the circle endeavoured to fling themselves to one side, but they were not quick enough to escape the devastating area of the vibration.
Merva kept her finger relentlessly pressed upon the weapon’s button and when she left the lounge five minutes later there was nothing to show for her activities but a haze of dispersing, evil smelling smoke.
And the vessel sped on….
* * * * * * *
The situation was at last as Merva wanted it. She was completely rid of all her enemies and free to plan the future exactly as she wished. There was, of course, no doubt in her mind as to what she intended to do—she would use the energy derived from the children to give herself and her son a thousand years of life. By that time she would have evolved the perfect plan and no doubt have discovered a way to drive the mighty space liner back across the course it had already ta
ken but at an infinitely greater speed than upon its outward journey.
She would not even have the loneliness of space to weigh her down for with her son there was always the assurance of company, nor was it company that could pall for she had so much to teach him; he had so much to ask her that there would be very little time for idle moments. Yes, the situation was perfect and, not in the least disturbed by her conscience after the elimination of the men and women in the lounge, Merva picked up Exodus from the laboratory and calmly returned to her apartment to catch up on a good deal of lost sleep.
She awakened again to the awareness of strange sounds |coming from a far distant quarter of the ship. They were not loud enough to have actually awakened her for she felt refreshed after many hours of deep sleep, therefore for the moment the puzzle was complete. She glanced towards Exodus’ bed, thinking that perhaps he was responsible for the noises, but to her surprise he was comfortably stretched out, sleeping deeply.
Puzzled and even slightly afraid, Merva slipped out quickly from the bed, drew her wrap about her and hurried down the corridor to the source of the noises. They appeared to be coming from the immense storage hold in which were kept the vast quantities of supplies necessary for this stupendous journey.
The noise sounded like someone hammering on the huge metal door. Just for an instant as she stood there alone in the corridor, knowing that she was in the depths of interstellar space, and with only a young and quite helpless boy for company, Merva felt her flesh creep a little. What conceivably could be alive on this spaceship when she knew that she had destroyed the last of her foes?
It took every vestige of her courage to slide away the massive bar that held the door in place and then open the door slowly and peer into the gloom beyond. Her hand felt round fumblingly for the light switch and snapped it on. At the sight that met her she caught her breath in a tremendous gasp of amazement.
There in the bright light stood the six children whom she had imagined were dead and already ejected from the space machine!
1,000-Year Voyage Page 6
