“That is not a ray but a gas that is found below the ocean beds. When using it the Zoldans cover their heads with masks and breathe from oxygen tanks. The gas does not affect their engines as it does ours. Why it should react upon our motors and not theirs is a problem that Dr. Howard Cross is working upon. In fishing for the sea creatures which they use for food this gas is used, since it permeates the water as well as the air—even more readily in fact. It paralyzes the creatures but does not kill, for the Zoldans will not eat food which is not put into the kettle alive.”
“It seems to me,” observed D’Arcy, “that for a people so versed in certain fields they are sadly lacking in knowledge in others.”
Kiter Confesses
KITER nodded. “Yes, it is strange that they have not carried their development evenly along all lines. Nor would you consider them a cultured people by Earth’s standards. They have no music, no recreational amusements of any kind, and they are not at all interested in education. They have no written language, and their mode of accounting seems childish, yet they have a great amount of native shrewdness and they are quick to grasp a subject once it is laid out before them. Furthermore, their understanding of mechanics without a mathematical background is phenomenonal. You must have noticed, also, that their manner of speech is very crude. I consider, in fact, that their backwardness in various subjects is due to their lack of an organized coherent language. There are actually no distinct word sounds, but the inflections of the voice and the narrowing and opening of its volume mean innumerable things to them. It was most difficult for us of Earth to learn at all, and only a few of us have really mastered it. We often have much difficulty in giving names to objects, and the names I have given you are really of our own devising, based upon their own sounds.”
“You appear to get along well with the queen, Kiter.”
He grinned broadly in the dark. “Oh, we understand each other. That’s all. What I told you of their history took me quite a while to learn, but these women have all the patience in the world and will tire themselves out in an attempt to teach us what they want us to learn. They are as anxious to learn as we are ourselves, and I have managed to teach Waltia a few words of our language. She is quick to learn, but it means a great amount of time spent in developing the vocal cords. I really doubt that she will ever become an orator, but her voice tones are beautiful for all that. And she has given us permission to teach the offspring of our two races to speak. The two little tykes you saw can really talk a blue streak already, but they are rather shy with strangers. The young develop very quickly.”
“But tell us, Kiter, honestly, are you content in this gray, misty world? Don’t you miss a sight of the sun once in a while and don’t you long to breathe the clear fresh air of the mountain tops? Surely you don’t find this world half so pleasant as Earth?”
WHEN Kiter answered his voice was wistful. “Yes, it is true that we miss that more than we care to say, and we all have the hope that one day we may return home. Still, on the other hand, all that seems humdrum now, and Zolda does not leave us time to feel any monotony. As for color, this world is filled with it, and when we grow tired of the water we can fly for many miles over strange landscapes. As for music, we shall soon broadcast good programs, for George Morrow now has his radio completed and is busy at the present time installing his first great station, and he has a corps of men and women at work building the receiving sets. After all, life on Earth flows in well-oiled unchanging streams, while here there is still great adventure to be found, and we have not yet reached the point where we will tire. No, life is quite enjoyable here on this strange world, and its women are pleasant.”
“I see. After all, there is little in the way of home ties on Earth to hold you, and you have here a world almost in the making. I could almost envy you,” said Commander Ware.
“And . . . by the way, about that radio. Was it this George Morrow whose voice gave us warning?”
Kiter nodded. “And the women almost murdered him when they learned what he was about! To them radio is almost a magic science, and when they first discovered its possibilities they were overjoyed with it. But when they discovered that he had dared to warn his fellow-beings they were furious. However, Waltia intervened. She did not consider his act one of treason, for she admits that in his place her women would have done the same! She was astounded to learn that she could watch the battle taking place in the Visual screen which Morrow had perfected so that the scene was projected to his machine by the background of the clouds overhead. Morrow, if you recall, was the co-inventor of a number of improvements of the Tele-Visual. Waltia watched the entire battle by its means and it was she who gave directions for him to declare a truce and to invite you to Xora!”
“H’m! I wonder if our people would have been so magnanimous in a like circumstance? History rarely tells of souls so great and understanding as she!”
“It is true I have never met a woman or a man for that matter, who shows such a breadth of mind and soul.”
“You call her the Matriarch. Is that the term her people use?”
“No, she is merely their ruler. They have no word sound for queen or anything to designate their leaders, but hers is truly a queenship or Matriarchy. There are other leaders among them, women who hold their position because of heritage, but Waltia is acknowledged their ruler, for through her own superiority of leadership she outranks them all. Those who wear the girdle are of the nobility lines among them, the others are the commanders, but really there is no other distinct line drawn. All work for the common good.
“But, gentlemen, if you will pardon my interruption, I would suggest that you get some sleep now. The nights of Zolda are not over-long, due to the thick atmosphere which radiates the sun’s heat long before the sun has arisen. Tomorrow Waltia wishes that you be taken on a tour of inspection, and I don’t doubt but that you are in need of rest.”
The men agreed that they needed sleep, and began to settle themselves on the couches, which were extremely soft. Examination of the texture of the cloth that covered them and of the blankets, revealed that they were woven of a species of seaweed that still retained a sweet though elusive odor. Kiter waited only for the Earthlings to be settled before he took himself off. They could see him moving in the gloom several rooms away. Then all was quiet, as the weary men dropped off to sleep.
CHAPTER XII
Morning!
AS Kiter had said, the night was short and dawn came long before the sun rose. When Ware and his fellows awoke, the sky was being painted in beautiful colors, far more lovely than it was possible for any sunrise upon Earth to be. And through the ceiling and roof above, the Earthlings watched the shifting shades as they crept from cloud to cloud. Then, recognizing their surroundings again, after the first surprise of the unfamiliar scene, they looked about them and saw that the sleepers in the rooms about had already arisen. Looking through the floor they could see Jack Kiter seated in a chair, awaiting their arising no doubt. In fact, as they arose he looked up and saw them and waved a hand. Then he went hurrying up the ramp to their chamber.
He greeted them brightly. “Sorry we have no better accommodations here; there is no running water to be had,” he advised, but after clapping his hands four of the Zoldan women appeared bearing round bowls filled with water. There were towels of the woven sea grasses.
After their ablutions in the tepid soft water they were ready to descend below. In the square they found the spheres just as they had been left the night before, all deserted except for their guards. On looking seaward they were now greeted by a strange sight. Above the square blocks of the black houses could be seen thousands upon thousands of the winged women in the air, diving and cavorting in a queer manner.
“Come,” said Kiter, “if you wish to see our hostesses at their morning bath! You see, during the night the air cools a great deal and becomes rather dry, and it is necessary for the Zoldans to keep their flesh damp. Much of their breathing is through their pores, an
d, as in the frog, that is impossible if the skin is dry. Hence it is a morning rite with them to go down to the water for their bath. They become quite sluggish if they are kept from the water.”
Taking wing, the five flew over the house tops to the sea shore. They could now see that the ocean was dotted with amphibians. The Zoldans would soar several hundred feet in the air, then close their wings and drop like plummets into the water, throwing the spray high. For a few minutes they would play in the water, surfacing, diving and swimming several yards beneath the surface, to rise again and repeat the plunge. Along the beaches standing in the surf were a number of women with babies in their arms whom they would carefully lower into the water for the space of a minute. To one side of the gathering they could see a number of half-grown Zoldans imitating their mothers, only their play was more exciting as they chased each other in short races.
“JAO you know,” observed D’Arcy, “that we haven’t seen in a single male Zoldan? They are evidently very scarce, or do they keep apart from the women?”
In answer Kiter scanned the crowds and from time to time pointed out a single scaly man or two in a group. They were slightly smaller than the women.
Down the beach Ware noted a band of his soldiers standing by and watching their hostesses with much glee. On seeing their leader, several officers detached themselves from the group and approached Commander Ware. They reported that all was well with their battalions. The three captains of the ships which had been paralyzed by the Zoldan gas made their appearance. They reported that their ships were little the worse for their experience. Only one of their number, the Skylark, had received any damage. Two of the plates of the outside shell had sprung a leak, but only a small amount of water had seeped in. The captain had ordered that a number of his men repair the damage immediately and he was certain that all would be well with it henceforth. On learning of the accident, the two Japanese inventors were troubled and, excusing themselves from the group, hurried to examine the damage. Later, upon hearing about the matter, the Matriarch ordered that a coating of ceiluta, the black metal of the Zoldans, be used to seal the break. The stuff was brought in a liquid form and applied like a paste. In less than half an hour it hardened and nothing was found that could chip it. To ascertain that the work had been done correctly the queen examined it herself.
Shortly after the Earthlings had arrived on the beach, the winged women had returned from their bath. Kiter lead his party into the palace and in the room where they had been received the day before they were served their breakfast. This consisted of a sweetish bread made from sea-weeds and a drink that was of a white color and tasted like milk. Kiter explained that it was indeed the milk of a sea-mammal that resembled an Earthly whale. Large herds of these creatures were kept by the Zoldans.
Ready to Return
IT was after the meal that Ware recalled the women whom the Earthlings had been holding captive within the spheres. He was apologetic about having held them thus long. Directions for their release were sent to one of the officers of the fleet, and the women were set free. D’Arcy looked for the girdled woman who had intrigued his fancy, and learned that she ranked only below Queen Waltia. She appeared to hold no animosity toward her captors, and after she had returned from her morning bath in the sea, she presented herself to the queen and her guests.
It was she who elected to accompany the Earthlings with Kiter on a tour of inspection around the island. Kiter gave her name as Kal. On meeting her late captors, she had greeted them with a smile and a single word upon her lips—“Hello!” It turned out that one of the guards who had been left in the sphere with the women had painstakingly taught her this! Her voice was melodious, the l’s liquid, and she had managed to give the word a wealth of tone. She appeared to be on good terms with Kilter, and several times she laughed at something he told her in their odd humming sounds.
That day was spent in visiting many buildings that housed various kinds of factories. On the far end of the island, which was approximately fifteen miles long, were large smelting vats where the raw ore of the ceiluta was turned into liquid and then into small blocks which could be liquified again when it was needed. They saw the mills that turned out many of the necessities used by the Zoldans and the sheds where the Zoldan eggs were hatched. Here were the incubators for those of common birth, where thousands of the eggs were placed in a foot of water that was kept at a proper temperature. The eggs were soft, and measured but three inches when first put in the incubators, but they grew until they reached eighteen inches in length. Then the shell grew hard until the time when the youngster was ready to be hatched. There were many varieties of incubators for the offspring of the various ranks among the women. Only those of the queens were kept wholly apart and were known to their own mothers. In all other cases the mother, on depositing an egg in the vats, was given a card that entitled her to a child when hatching time came.
THAT afternoon the Zoldan world was treated to the first public broadcasting of the new radio station on the planet. Amplifiers had been set up in various parts of the cities, at the most strategic points. To the Earthlings much of what went on was unintelligible, as it was in the Zoldan language, but they did enjoy a short program of singing, or rather humming, in which a dozen Zoldans took part. Their harmony was strange to the Earthly ears, but, as Kiter said, it was a big step for the Zoldans, and it had taken several months for Howard Rath, who had been a musical instructor in the Florida Conservatory, to teach the women to “sing” together in tune.
One more night the Earthlings spent upon Zolda. The next morning after the “swim” the Matriarch received them in the throne room seated upon the chair that was cut from a single jewel. The assembly chamber was filled to overflowing, and outside in the square were crowded the thousands that could not find room in the chamber. The announcement of the terms of treaty that had been accepted by Commander Ware was repeated in the Zoldan language, and the names of the two dozen women who were to go to Earth were announced. A half dozen of the Earthlings that had lived for the past eight months on the planet were to, accompany their fellows to explain just what they had discovered about the Zoldans and to demonstrate to the planet ruler the uses of the varieties of strange metals that were being shipped on the spheres to Earth. Waltia was also sending a large assortment of jewels as a tribute to the Earthlings.
She made a long speech that was translated by Kiter, to the effect that she was anxiously looking forward to a brotherhood with the Earthlings and trusted that in the future both worlds would receive benefit from such a union.
Then they left the council chamber to go into the square. The crews and fighting battalions were waiting at attention for the order to embark into the spheres. A salute was given the Zoldans, and then quietly and in orderly fashion they filed into the space-flyers. The band of Zoldan women with the children that were to accompany them were taken into The Mentor. With them went the six Earthlings who were to act as interpreters. D’Arcy was first to note that the girdle-wearer Kal was among the women. He turned to Kiter. “Why don’t you come with us, too?” he inquired.
The Long Journey
KITER saw fit to blush, then he stammered. “Sorry, but there’s a great deal for me to do here. Besides, you see, her majesty has taken rather a liking to me . . . and we’re great friends. I think I can do more here than upon Earth. Soon, we’ll have our radios and Tele-Visual perfected so that communication between Earth and Venus will be a fact.
“Well, good luck and bon voyage . . . as they used to say!” Almost with regret D’Arcy saw the island of Xora fade through the mists as they took their course upward again. He was sorry they had not spent more time upon the planet, for he felt that he had really learned very little about it. However, he promised himself that he would return with the next expedition, and perhaps he could arrange to stay on the world for several years. There was something for the astronomers to learn here about lens grinding! Soon the swirling cloud-banks of Venus, or Zolda rather, faded away
. To the right of them glowed the great sun. Earth lay ahead, a beautiful shining planet that to the Earth men far surpassed the beauty of its fellow-worlds, even that strangely lovely planet of Mars, whose brilliant color out in the void was that of blood. The trip home was made more quickly than the outcoming one had been, and was wholly uneventful.
Upon The Mentor the only diversion came from their guests. The women had been given the entire run of the ship, and their interpreters were never idle as the women inquired into everything. Kal had set about to learn more about the controls of the sphere than she had discovered on her first trip therein. And she seemed determined to learn the Earthly tongue, continually demanding the names of every object in sight to which she pointed with her webbed fingers. D’Arcy, who had been so taken with the woman, resolved that just as soon as it could be possibly arranged he intended to ask for permission to adopt her, if she would be agreeable to such an arrangement. He had never married and was without a single Jie. Kal, he thought, would be a daughter who would be a nearer ending source of enjoyment. She too seemed to have taken a great liking to the astronomer, and appeared to derive some comfort when in his presence among these men of a strange world.
THE children the women had brought gave a great deal of pleasure to the crew of The Mentor, for they were lively little things. One in particular was already attempting to crawl, and his large bright eyes were always questing for something to hold his attention. Jestingly they called him Venus. However, the last few hours of the journey were anything but pleasant to him, since one of the soldiers daringly handed him a piece of chocolate, which he immediately devoured. The women had been feeding the babies entirely on the milk of the sea-cows of their world, which they carried in sealed bottles, and the chocolate was wholly indigestible to the little fellow. The woman who had charge of the baby cast angry glances at the miscreant, and more than one man had his hands slapped when in a joke they attempted to feed more chocolate to the other youngsters.
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