by Jeff Sutton
"Relax, relax." The carnival owner sat back, waiting until Jedro grew quiet, then continued, "I am your friend. You must trust me. There is someone trying to steal your stone, Jedro. Did you know that?"
"Yes." It was true, he thought hazily; someone was trying to steal the stone.
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"Who sent The Strangler after you?"
"I...don't know."
"Try to think, Jedro."
He shook his head numbly. Don't talk, he thought tiredly. Don't say anything. "Kathy, wake up!"
Why was he shouting in his mind? Oh yes, to keep himself from sleeping, to keep Faust out. He had to fill his mind, fill it,
fill it. A great feeling of weariness engulfed him. Why shouldn't he sleep?
"You don't know?" persisted Faust. His face, to Jedro, appeared like a bright dancing oval under the glow of the ceiling lamp. Watching it brought a vertiginous feeling.
"I...don't know," he whispered.
"Have you ever wondered about the stone, Jedro?"
"The stone!" His head jerked violently.
"Don't fight," Faust said persuasively. "We have to discuss it, Jedro."
"The stone," he murmured.
"What do you know about it?"
"Nothing." His voice seemed distant again. The oval face smiled.
"Nothing, Jedro?"
He felt a stir of defiance. "It's mine. Mr. Clement said it was."
"To deliver to me, Jedro. Didn't he tell you that?"
"To you?" That was wrong. He fought the confusion in his mind. He heard himself say, "I have...the power."
Faust stiffened. "What kind of power?"
"I...don't know."
"The power to draw information from the stone?"
"I...Yes."
"What kind of information?"
"I don't know," he repeated.
"But I know," Faust countered suggestively. "Perhaps, if you knew, it would help you to understand the stone."
"You...know?"
"Not the entire story, Jedro, but together we can learn its secrets.
That's why Mr. Clement gave you the stone to bring to me."
"No," he whispered.
"Yes. Jedro, we are going to explore the stone together."
He shook his head dully, aware that something was terribly wrong. While he fought to think, he felt his resolution to resist fading. Perhaps Mr.
Clement had intended that he deliver the stone to the carnival owner. How could he know?
There was so much Mr. Clement hadn't told him. Fate and Destiny
-- Granny had spoken of them often, and what but fate had brought him here?
And why here unless this were the road of destiny? And at the end of the road was...Dr. Faust.
He had been seeking Dr. Faust, only never till now had known it. That made sense. Dr. Faust would help him with the stone. "Kathy, wake up," he shouted in the silence of his mind.
"Now," said Faust, "give me the stone."
Unable to refuse, he brought it from his pocket. His hand, warm from the contact, trembled violently. The carnival owner, plucking it swiftly from his palm, gazed avidly at it. The soft yellow glow darkened; within a few seconds it appeared once again like a polished rock.
"It changed colors," exclaimed Faust. "Why?" His voice sounded hoarse and unnatural.
Jedro didn't answer, caught with the numbing guilt of having given him the stone. Why hadn't he hidden it somewhere, or entrusted it to Corky or The
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Snake Woman or Granny? Or had he simply carried out Mr. Clement's intent?
Kathy! Her name came through a welter of confused thought. He had to help Kathy, but how?
Granny was a telepath!
He caught at the memory. At least she was sometimes. Now and then, she had said. "Granny!
Granny!" The scream echoed in the depths of his mind.
"Faust and The Tattooed Man have Kathy!" He sent the cry out again and again while he wriggled slowly around in his chair. Looking at Kathy, he fancied he saw her eyelids flutter.
"Kathy! Kathy!" His screams in the terrible silence of his mind were like thunderclaps. "Don't let him know you're waking up!"
Her eyelids fluttered again.
"Don't let him know you're waking up!" He hurled the thought with frightful intensity. Her lids snapped open. He had a brief glimpse of the deep blue of her eyes before they shut again; she appeared to be in deep sleep. Her hand jerked convulsively, then lay still.
He looked fearfully at the carnival owner. Intent on the stone, the latter hadn't noticed the girl's movements. I'm waking up, thought Jedro. I've been asleep, now I'm waking up. But he was so drowsy. As if in a dream, he watched Faust study the stone.
The carnival owner held it up to the light, scanning it critically from all angles. He held it to his ear and listened, then blew on it, polished it on his sleeve, tasted it with the tip of his tongue, sniffed at it.
"Granny, I'm in the trailer! Kathy is here!" Jedro repeated the call again and again. Someone had to hear! But what could Granny do if she did hear him? She could tell Twisto or the lion tamer.
She could...He suppressed a groan of despair, at the same time realizing that Kathy's hands had moved again. He saw that she had shifted position, but so slightly Faust hadn't noticed. "Kathy, be careful, be careful."
Faust's head snapped up, his face baffled. "Hold out your hand, palm up," he instructed.
Despite his slowly waking state, Jedro found himself unable to disobey. Arm extended, he waited apprehensively. Hunched forward, Faust dropped the stone into his hand. For a moment it lay there, cold and dark and shiny. The carnival owner's eyes narrowed to small slits.
Jedro sensed that Kathy had moved again, but dared not look at her.
"Careful, careful." He felt the stone grow warm; his hand began to tingle. The dark polish gave way to a yellow glow. He found himself unable to tear his eyes from it. The surface appeared to dissolve, giving him the impression of staring into incalculable depths. The spectrum shifted toward deep reds and purples and small violet flames leaped outward.
"Ah," murmured Faust. "How does it feel?"
"Warm..." Jedro wondered again why he was compelled to answer. He fought to clear his mind, conscious that his lethargy seemed less binding. Could it be the stone? Out of the corner of his eye he sensed Kathy moving again and shouted a silent warning. Realizing she was slowly rotating in her chair to face the door, he felt a wild hope. He called again, certain he was throwing his warning into a void, yet the very fact of the attempt brought him courage.
Faust asked abruptly, "Feel anything else?"
"No."
"Sense anything?"
He shook his head.
"Don't lie to me."
"I'm...not lying."
"I'm trying to help you, Jedro." Faust's voice softened again, becoming silky and persuasive.
"But I need your cooperation. We have to work on this together."
He remained silent.
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Faust lifted his eyes. "I know that the stone will respond to you, but how?"
"I...don't know." He felt a wave of helplessness.
"The violet flames are getting bigger. Does that usually happen?"
"Yes." The admission came against his will.
"Under what conditions?"
"When I hold it long enough."
"Does it keep getting warmer?"
"It gets warm, then stays about the same."
"What happens if you keep holding it?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing at all?"
He shook his head.
Faust sat back, deep in thought. Jedro watched him covertly. What was he after? Did he know what the stone was supposed to tell? And if so, what could it be? A memory stone...Mr. Clement had known, but that was because he had been able to look into the future. Had he seen what was happening now? He became aware that Faust had leaned forward again. His face held the edgy look of anticipation.
/> "Did you ever try asking it questions?" he asked tautly.
"No." Jedro shook his head, stunned. Had the carnival owner stumbled onto the secret of the stone? His hands trembled. But who would ever think of asking questions of a stone?
"Let's try it," snapped Faust. "No tricks."
"What shall I ask it?"
"Ask it what happened to the Superminds."
"Superminds?" Jedro gazed fearfully at him.
"Just ask," instructed Faust. Jedro shifted his glance to the dancing violet flames, wishing Mr.
Clement had never given him the stone. It had brought nothing but trouble. He tried to avoid asking the question but found that he couldn't. The words dropped numbly from his lips.
Instantly he had a swirling, vertiginous sensation. The room appeared to reel around him. The walls, furniture, Kathy, Faust's face -- they receded faster and faster, leaving him afloat in a gray nothingness. He wanted to cry out but couldn't. His jaw muscles convulsed.
The planet was speeding toward him!
First appearing as a small reddish disc pasted against the blackness, it grew larger and larger, rushing toward him through an ebon night the name of which was infinity. It grew, filling his eyes, a monstrous globe of red, yellow, and gray shadings. Four silvery spheres sprang into view, appearing like tiny pearls around it. Odd cloudlike belts streaked its surface in parallel bands; a giant ellipsoidal eye stared out at him from misty depths.
The planet of the dream!
"Jupiter," he croaked.
"Jupiter?" snapped Faust.
He nodded numbly.
"You see it?"
Again he nodded.
"Impossible," barked Faust. Jedro scarcely heard him, for suddenly he was speeding straight down into the planet's misty depths. The clouds, sweeping up, gathered him in, enveloping him in a gray mist. Down! Down! Down!
He heard himself cry out, a strangled scream that was ripped from his throat.
His wild plunge ceased; he was afloat in the huge planet's all but impenetrable atmosphere.
He saw the ship! Huge, oblong, it floated in the mists!
His mind reeled. With instantaneous suddenness, the scene vanished, leaving him adrift in a Page 73
mental vacuum. Body and mind curiously empty, he slumped down in his chair.
"What was it?" Faust demanded anxiously.
"A...ship."
"On Jupiter?" The words held disbelief.
"Floating in the mists."
"Impossible!"
"I saw it," he answered tiredly. The words tumbled from his lips despite his attempt to stay them.
"They would never have ventured into such a place without a safe method of return," rasped Faust. "Ask how they intend to accomplish that."
Jedro rubbed his temples in an attempt to banish his weariness, it required all his strength to cast a covert glance at Kathy. She sat stiffly as if poised for flight. He asked the question haltingly. A name came into his mind in visual form, written as if emblazoned on a great banner that flapped against the bleakness of his thoughts.
"Holton Lee," he gasped.
"Ah, Holton Lee." Faust's eyes burned with excitement. "Where is Holton Lee?"
Jedro wanted to rebel, yet couldn't.
"Ask the stone," snapped Faust. Hunched forward against the table, his pale face held a feral look. Jedro unwillingly phrased the question in his mind; the answer came immediately.
He fought to hold it back, then heard himself say, "An asteroid."
"Alive?" Faust demanded edgily.
"He's...in a cryogenic sleep." Mumbling the words, Jedro realized that he knew the meaning of the term, although he was certain he'd never heard it before. How could he know without knowing? He felt vaguely puzzled.
"Ah, he must be awakened," said Faust.
He nodded mechanically. "Then he will call the ship back from Jupiter's methane deeps."
"How?"
"Through...the person who has the power." He felt a slight shock. The person who had the power was...himself!
"But how?" Faust jerked upright, his face clouding. By sheer dint of concentration Jedro managed to avoid asking that question. He couldn't...couldn't tell Faust everything. He succeeded in moving his head in negation.
"Holton Lee has a secret," Faust said abruptly. "What is it?"
"Immortality." The word tumbled from his lips before he realized that he'd spoken.
"Ahhh, it's true." Faust's eyes glittered.
Jedro glimpsed movement and struggled to turn. Kathy had sprung from her chair and was rushing toward the door.
"Stop," shouted Faust. He leaped up as she threw the door open and rushed outside.
"Gurdon," bellowed Faust. The inner door flew open and The Tattooed Man shot into the room. "Get the girl," snapped the carnival owner. Gurdon glided from the room.
Jedro's mind spun dizzily.
11
JEDRO STRUGGLED to clear his thoughts, caught by the feeling of just having awakened from a deep sleep. Faust, across from him, gazed contemplatively at the ceiling. His fingertips forming a small steeple at his throat, he appeared oblivious to the world around him.
Kathy had escaped! Jedro's memory swirled back. The Tattooed Man was chasing her! He started to leap up, then caught himself, aware that Faust still believed him to be in a trance. He watched the carnival owner apprehensively. He had betrayed the precious secret! The realization Page 74
brought both shame and anxiety. But he hadn't said which asteroid! He only hoped there were a million of them. The drug and hypnosis! He shuddered at how compliant they had made him, how unable to stem his words.
He eyed the door covertly, debating whether or not he should make a dash for it. Finally he decided against it. Should The Tattooed Man catch Kathy, he had to be there to help her.
Conscious that he still held the memory stone, he
glanced at it. Warm in his hand, its small violet flames leaped furiously.
Tingling sensations filled his entire body.
Immortality! The word flared in his mind. Holton Lee had the secret; the stone had told him that. Or had it drawn the knowledge from some buried niche in his own mind? Not that it mattered. What did matter was that Holton Lee possessed the secret, and that Faust was out to get it. He wouldn't let him, he vowed silently. He'd find some way to stop him.
Humbled and awed, he allowed the memories to flood back. Holton Lee, in his strange cryogenic vessel, was whirling somewhere through the vast asteroid belt, awaiting the time when he would be awakened so that he could bring his fellow colonists from Jupiter's methane deeps.
Someone?
That someone was himself! The realization staggered him. That's what Clement had meant when he had said, "You have the power." He had meant more than having the power of the stone, for he'd also said, "It lies latent within you."
What power? He had no answer. All he knew was that the stone in some strange way stirred his mind and revived memories deeply buried in his subconscious. But how had those memories gotten there originally? Had they been implanted in his mind at some long-ago time before he'd awakened in Mr.
Krant's attic bedroom? Or had they been transmitted by some power of the stone?
Engram. The word seeped into his mind. With it he knew that an engram was a stimulus impression implanted in the brain and transmitted by heredity down through time. How had he known that? The stone? His hands trembled.
Familial lines had determined who the stone carrier should be. In turn, the stone was set to respond only to a certain type of psychic energy within a certain corridor of time -- the knowledge came unbidden.
He looked worriedly at Faust. If he had power separate from the power of the stone, what power had he? Telepathy? He felt a sudden stillness inside him. Perhaps he was a telepath!
"Kathy! Kathy!" He called the name in his mind, listened, heard only silence. But, of course, Kathy couldn't hear him unless she were telepathic.
But Granny might. Or perhaps he wasn'
t a telepath. If not, what power did he have? He became aware that Faust's eyes were fastened on him. They were cold and speculative, but when he spoke his voice was unexpectedly kind.
"I would like to let you go back to your job," he said. "I imagine you miss the big cats, eh?"
Jedro nodded, afraid to trust his voice.
"But I can't," Faust continued. "You know too much."
"What do I know?" he asked helplessly.
"Secrets you haven't told me."
"I've told you all I know," he protested.
"Not the name of Holton Lee's asteroid."
"But I don't know the name."
"Didn't you ask the stone?" Faust's eyes were studied.
"I...didn't get the answer."
"That's too bad. If I had the answer, there'd be no reason to hold you any longer. Or the girl," he added.
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"You'd let us go?"
"If I had the answer, yes, and the knowledge of how to awaken Holton Lee."
"But I don't know," he protested.
"Perhaps we should try again."
"Yes, sure." He licked his lips. Hoping to stall for time, he added, "I get impressions but I don't know what they mean. The words are strange. I can't even explain what I really see. I don't know enough about it. It might take a long time," he ended.
Faust said, "I'll jog your memory, tell you enough to let you understand."
"About Holton Lee?"
Faust rubbed his temples with his fingertips, his eyes fastened on the stone in Jedro's palm, and finally said, "Over six hundred years ago Holton
Lee fled from Earth to found a colony on Ganymede, the largest of Jupiter's moons. The colony was pretty much forgotten for a century or so, then was rediscovered by a survey ship. That's when Earth found out about the
Superminds."
"The colonists?" he blurted.
"You don't know?" Faust smiled skeptically. "Yes, the colonists."
"Why did they call them that?"
"They were telepaths, and more. Some were dairies and downthroughs and levitators, but Holton Lee was the greatest of all."
"What was he?" Jedro tried to contain his excitement.
"I'm not certain, but he discovered the secret of immortality."
