Chapter Seven
It had turned into a hot, almost suffocatingly humid night when Barrentbegan his walk. Not the faintest breath of air stirred along thedarkened streets. Although he was wearing only a black mesh shirt,shorts, gunbelt, and sandals, Barrent felt as if he were wrapped in athick blanket. Most of the people of Tetrahyde, except for those alreadyat the Covens, had retired to the coolness of their cellars. The darkstreets were nearly deserted.
Barrent walked on, more slowly. The few people he met were running totheir homes. There was a sense of panic in that silent, dogged sprintthrough heat which made walking difficult. Barrent tried to find outwhat the matter was, but no one would stop. One old man shouted over hisshoulder, "Get off the street, idiot!"
"Why?" Barrent asked him.
The old man snarled something unintelligible and hurried on.
Barrent kept on walking, nervously fingering the butt of hisneedlebeam. Something was certainly wrong, but he had no idea what itwas. His nearest shelter now was the Wee Coven, about half a mile away.It seemed best to keep on moving in that direction, staying alert,waiting to see what was wrong.
In a few minutes, Barrent was alone in a tightly shuttered city. Hemoved into the center of the street, loosened the needlebeam in itsholster, and prepared for attack from any side. Perhaps this was somespecial holiday like Landing Day. Perhaps Free Citizens were fair gametonight. Anything seemed possible on a planet like Omega.
He thought he was ready for any possibility. But when the attack came,it was from an unexpected quarter.
A faint breeze stirred the stagnant air. It faded and returned, strongerthis time, perceptibly cooling the hot streets. Wind rolled off themountains of the interior and swept through the streets of Tetrahyde,and Barrent could feel the perspiration on his chest and back begin todry.
For a few minutes, the climate of Tetrahyde was as pleasant as anythinghe could imagine.
Then the temperature continued to fall.
It dropped rapidly. Frigid air swept in from the distant mountainslopes, and the temperature fell through the seventies into the sixties.
This is ridiculous, Barrent thought to himself. I'd better get to theCoven.
He walked more rapidly, while the temperature plummeted. It passedthrough the forties into the low thirties. The first glittering signs offrost appeared on the streets.
It can't go much lower, Barrent thought.
But it could. An angry winter wind blew through the streets, and thetemperature dropped into the twenties. Moisture in the air began forminginto sleet.
Chilled to the bone, Barrent ran down the empty streets, and the wind,rising to gale force, pulled and tugged at him. The streets glitteredwith ice, making the footing dangerous. He skidded and fell, and had torun at a slower pace to keep his footing. And still the temperaturedropped, and the wind growled and snapped like an angry beast.
He saw light through a heavily shuttered window. He stopped and poundedat the shutters, but no sound came from inside. He realized that thepeople of Tetrahyde never helped anyone; the more who died, the morechance there was for the survivors. So Barrent continued running, onfeet that felt like chunks of wood.
The wind shrieked in his ear, and hailstones the size of his fist peltedthe ground. He was getting too tired to run. All he could do now waswalk, through a frozen white world, and hope he would reach the WeeCoven.
He walked for hours or for years. At one corner he passed the bodies oftwo men huddled against a wall and covered with frost. They had stoppedrunning and had frozen to death.
Barrent forced himself to run again. A stitch in his side felt like aknife wound, and the cold was creeping up his arms and down his legs.Soon the cold would reach his chest, and that would be the end.
A flurry of hailstones stunned him. Without conscious transition hefound that he was lying on the icy ground, and a monstrous wind waswhirling away the tiny warmth his body was able to generate.
At the far end of the block he could see the tiny red light of theCoven. He crept toward it on hands and knees, moving mechanically, notreally expecting to get there. He crawled forever, and the beckoning redlight always remained the same distance from him.
But he kept on crawling, and at last he reached the door of the Coven.He pulled himself to his feet and turned the doorknob.
The door was locked.
He pounded feebly on the door. After a moment, a panel slid back. He sawa man staring at him; then the panel slid shut. He waited for the doorto open. It didn't open. Minutes passed, and still it didn't open. Whatwere they waiting for inside? What was wrong? Barrent tried to pound onthe door again, lost his balance and fell to the ground. He rolled overand looked despairingly at the locked door. Then he lost consciousness.
* * * * *
When he came to, Barrent found himself lying on a couch. Two men weremassaging his arms and legs, and beneath him he could feel the warmth ofheating pads. Peering anxiously at him was the broad, swarthy face ofUncle Ingemar.
"Feeling better now?" Uncle Ingemar asked.
"I think so," Barrent said. "Why did you take so long opening the door?"
"We almost didn't open it at all," the priest told him. "It's againstthe law to aid strangers in distress. Since you hadn't as yet joined theCoven, you were technically still a stranger."
"Then why did you let me in?"
"My assistant noticed that we had an even number of worshipers. Werequire an odd number, preferably ending in three. Where the sacred andthe profane laws are in conflict, the profane must yield. So we let youin despite the government ruling."
"It's a ridiculous ruling," Barrent said.
"Not really. Like most of the laws of Omega, it is designed to keep thepopulation down. Omega is an extremely barren planet, you know. Theconstant arrival of new prisoners keeps swelling the population, to theenormous disadvantage of the older inhabitants. Ways and means must besought to dispose of the excess newcomers."
"It isn't fair," Barrent said.
"You'll change your mind when you become an older inhabitant," Ingemarsaid. "And by your tenacity, I'm sure you'll become one."
"Maybe," Barrent said. "But what happened? The temperature must havedropped nearly a hundred degrees in fifteen minutes."
"A hundred and eight degrees to be exact," Uncle Ingemar said. "It'sreally very simple. Omega is a planet which revolves eccentricallyaround a double star system. Further instability, I'm told, comes fromthe planet's peculiar physical make-up--the placement of mountains andseas. The result is a uniformly and dramatically bad climatecharacterized by sudden violent temperature changes."
The assistant, a small, self-important fellow, said, "It has beencalculated that Omega is at the outer limits of the planets which cansupport human life without gross artificial aids. If the fluctuationsbetween hot and cold were any more violent, all human life here wouldbe wiped out."
"It's the perfect punitive world," Uncle Ingemar said proudly."Experienced residents sense when a temperature change is about to takeplace and get indoors."
"It's--hellish," Barrent said, at a loss for words.
"That describes it perfectly," the priest said. "It _is_ hellish, andtherefore perfect for the worship of The Black One. If you're feelingbetter now, Citizen Barrent, shall we proceed with services?"
Except for a touch of frostbite on his toes and fingers, Barrent was allright. He nodded, and followed the priest and the worshipers into themain part of the Coven.
* * * * *
After what he had been through, the Black Mass was necessarily ananticlimax. In his warmly heated pew, Barrent drowsed through UncleIngemar's sermon on the necessary performance of everyday evil.
The worship of Evil, Uncle Ingemar said, should not be reserved solelyfor Monday nights. On the contrary! The knowledge and performance ofevil should suffuse one's daily life. It was not given to everyone to bea great sinner; but no one should be discouraged by that. Little acts ofb
adness performed over a lifetime accumulated into a sinful whole mostpleasing to The Black One. No one should forget that some of thegreatest sinners, even the demoniac saints themselves, often had humblebeginnings. Did not Thrastus start as a humble shopkeeper, cheating hiscustomers of a portion of rice? Who would have expected that simple manto develop into the Red Slayer of Thorndyke Lane? And who could haveimagined that Dr. Louen, son of a dockhand, would one day become theworld's foremost authority on the practical applications of torture?Perseverance and piety had allowed those men to rise above their naturalhandicaps to a pre-eminent position at the right hand of The Black One.And it proved, Uncle Ingemar said, that Evil was the business of thepoor as well as the rich.
That ended the sermon. Barrent awoke momentarily when the sacred symbolswere brought out and displayed to the reverent congregation--ared-handled dagger, and a plaster toad. Then he dozed again through theslow inscribing of the magical pentagon.
At last the ceremony neared its end. The names of the interceding evildemons were read--Bael, Forcas, Buer, Marchocias, Astaroth, andBehemoth. A prayer was read to ward off the effects of Good. And UncleIngemar apologized for not having a virgin to sacrifice on the RedAltar.
"Our funds were not sufficient," he said, "for the purchase of agovernment-certified peon virgin. However, I am sure we will be able toperform the full ceremony next Monday. My assistant will now pass amongyou...."
The assistant carried around the black-rimmed collection plate. Like theother worshipers, Barrent contributed generously. It seemed wise to doso. Uncle Ingemar was clearly annoyed at not having a virgin tosacrifice. If he became a little angrier, he might take it into his headto sacrifice one of the congregation, virgin or not.
Barrent didn't stay for the choir singing or the community dancing. Whenthe evening worship was finished, he poked his head cautiously out thedoor. The temperature had gone up to the seventies, and the frost wasalready melted from the ground. Barrent shook hands with the priest andhurried home.
The Status Civilization Page 7