by Various
CHAPTER XXI
_Cubes of Chaos_
Sarka raced into the Observatory, wondering as he ran how the attack ofthe Martians would manifest itself; but scarcely prepared for thebrilliant display which greeted his gaze. Compared to the oncomingflames from Mars, the preceding display of lights had been as nothing.The whole Heavens between the Earth and Mars seemed alight with anunearthly glare, as though the very heart of the sun had burst andhurled part of its flaming mass outward into space.
On it came with unbelievable speed.
But there was no telling, yet, the form of the things which were coming.
"What are they?" whispered Jaska, standing fearlessly at Sarka's side."Interplanetary cars? Rockets? Balls of fire? Or beings of Mars?"
"I think," said Sarka, after studying the display for a few minutes,"that they are either rockets or fireballs, perhaps both together! Butthe Martians cannot consolidate any position on the Earth without comingto handgrips. Since they must know this, we can expect to see the peopleof Mars themselves when, or soon after, those balls of fire strike theEarth!"
Sarka raced back to the room of the Master Beryl as a strident hummingcame through to him.
* * * * *
The Spokesmen of the Gens whose borders touched those of the devastedDalis area, were reporting again, and their voices were high pitchedwith fear that threatened to break the bounds of sanity.
"The ferment in the devasted area," was the gist of their report, "isassuming myriads of shapes! The fused mass has broken up into isolatedmasses, and each mass of itself is assuming one of the many forms!"
"What forms?" snapped Sarka. "Quickly!"
"Cubes! Thousands and millions of cubes, and the cubes themselves areforming into larger cubes, some square, some rectangular! In the midstof these formations are others, mostly columnar, each column consistingof cubes which have coalesced into the larger form from the same smallcubes! The columnar formations are topped by globes which emit anethereal radiance!"
"Listen!" Sarka's voice was vibrant with excitement. "Spokesmen of theGens, make sure that every individual member of your Gens is fullyequipped with flying clothing including belts and ovoids--prepared foran indefinite stay outside on the roof of the world! Get your people outswiftly, keeping them in formation! Keep about you those people of Daliswhom I sent you, and understand before you break contact with yourBeryls, that instructions received from these people come from me! Inturn, after you have quitted the hives, anything you wish to say to meyou can repeat to any one of the glowing people of Dalis!"
The contacts were broken. Sarka stared into the Beryl, glancing swiftlyin all directions, to see whether his orders were obeyed.
Out of the myriads of hives were flying the people of all the Gens ofEarth, their vast numbers already darkening the roof of the world. Theadvance fires from Mars seemed to have no effect on them, which Sarkahad expected, since the fires seemed to consume nothing they had touchedpreviously.
* * * * *
By millions the people came forth. People dressed in the clothing ofthis Gens or that, wearing each the insignia of the house of hisSpokesman. A brave show. Sarka could see the faces of many, now inlight, now in shadow, as the advance fires of Mars lighted them for amoment in passing, then left them in shadow as the bursting balls offire faded and died.
Strange, too, that the fireballs made no noise. Noiseless flame whichrebounded from the surface of the Earth broke in silence, deluging theheavens with shooting stars of great brilliance. Through its displayflew the people of the Gens, mustering in flight above flight, each tohis own level, under command of the Spokesmen of the Gens.
"How long, father," queried Sarka, "should it take to empty the Gensareas?"
"The people of Earth have been waiting for word to go into battle sincewe first sent the people of Dalis against the Moon-men. They still areready! The dwellings of our people, _all_ of them, can be emptied withinan hour!"
"I wonder," mused Sarka, "if that is soon enough!"
Perhaps yes, perhaps no. It would be a race, in any case. Sarka dividedhis attention between the rapidly changing formations of the Moon-cubesin that devasted area and the onrushing charge of the fire-balls fromMars. All were visible to him through the Master Beryl, and from theObservatory, though the Martian fire-balls were now so close that thevanguard of them could even be seen in the Master Beryl, adjusted toview only activities on the surface of the Earth.
Even as the last flights of the Gens of Earth were slipping into the icyair from the roof of the world, the Moon-cubes began their terrifying,appalling attack, every detail of which could be seen by Sarka from theMaster Beryl.
* * * * *
Those columns, composed of cubes, seemed to be the leaders of a vastcube-army. The top of each of them was a gleaming globe whose eery lightplayed over the country immediately surrounding each column, their weirdlight reflected in the squares, rectangles and globes that other cubeshad formed.
Sarka sought swiftly among the columns for the one which mightconceivably be in supreme command; but even as he sought the Moon-cubesmoved to the attack. The globes on the tops of the columns dimmed theirlights, and the squares, rectangles and globes got instantly intoterrible motion.
Southward from the position in which they had formed they began to move,the squares and rectangles apparently sliding along the surface of thescarred and broken soil, the globes rolling.
Southward there was the vast wall of the Gens that bordered the devastedarea in that direction, and the cube-army was instantly at full chargetoward this, in what Sarka realized was, to be a war of demolition!
Within a minute, Sarka was conscious of a trembling of all thelaboratory, and the eyes of Jaska were wide with fear. Swiftly thetrembling grew, until sound now was added to the vast, awesome tremor--avast, roaring crescendo of sound that mounted and mounted as the speedof the cube-army increased. The vanguard of the cube-army struck thedwelling of the Gens southward of that of Dalis, and a mighty,rocketing roar sounded in the Master Beryl, was audible inside thelaboratory, even without the aid of the Beryl, at whose surface Sarkastared as a man fascinated, hypnotized.
* * * * *
The cube-army struck the dwellings, disappeared into them as though theyhad been composed of tissue paper, and continued on! Over the tops ofthe cube-army toppled the roofs of the dwellings, there, in the midst ofthe cubes, to be ground to powder, with a sound as of a millionavalanches grinding together in some awesome, sun-size valley.Southward, in the wake of the chaotic charge, moved a mighty, giganticcrevasse, whose sides were the walls of the hives left standing. Andstill the cube-army moved in, grinding everything it touched to dust,trampling buildings into nothingness, destroying utterly along a fronthundreds of miles wide, and as deep as the dwellings of men!
"God!" cried Sarka, his voice so tense that both his father and Jaskaheard it above the roaring which shook and rocked the world. "Do yousee? The Moon-cubes are destroying the dwelling of our people, and theMartians are to destroy the people who have fled!"
"There must be a way," said Sarka the Second quietly, "to circumvent thecubes! But what? Your will still rules the cubes which piloted you fromthe Moon?"
"Yes," replied Sarka tersely, "but there are only a dozen of the cubes.What can they do against countless millions of them? Cubes which areMoon-cubes, brought to the Earth in the heart of that blue column, herereformed to create an army which is invincible, because it cannot beslain! It means that the Moon-people themselves, thousands of miles outof our reach, have but to sit in comfort and watch their cube-slavesdestroy us! When they have laid waste the Earth, the Martians have butto finish the fight!"
* * * * *
"If, beloved," said Jaska, "your will commands those twelve cubes, itcan also command all the others, for they must be essentially the same.Call on the rebels of Dalis to help you!"
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"Then what of the Spokesmen of the Gens, who will be out of contact withme?"
"They must stand on their own feet, must fight their own battle! Call toyou the people who have passed through the white flames, and fight withthe distant will of Luar and of Dalis for control of the cube-army!"
Again that exaltation, which convinced him he could move mountains withhis two hands, coursed through the being of Sarka.
Quietly be answered Jaska.
"I believe you are right," he said softly. "Those of us who have passedthrough the flames which bore these Moon-cubes will control the cubes,even bend them to our will. The Spokesmen must vanquish the Martians orperish!"
Then he sent his mental commands to the Spokesmen:
"Meet the Martians when they arrive and destroy or drive them back! Youlive only if you win! We speak no more until victory is ours! People ofthe Gens of Dalis, go to the areas being devasted by the cubes, takingyour cubes and aircars with you, and I will join you there! _And Jaskawith me!_"
Sarka had not himself mentally spoken the last four words. Jaska hadthought-spoken them, before he could prevent. He turned upon her, lipsshaping a command that she remain behind. But she forestalled him.
"I, too, have been through the white flames! You may have need of all ofus!"