E.E. 'Doc' Smith SF Gateway Omnibus: The Skylark of Space, Skylark Three, Skylark of Valeron, Skylark DuQuesne

by E. E. 'Doc' Smith

  ‘Before the ceremony?’ Seaton asked.

  ‘Yes. This cannot be waived. You take them … No, you don’t. That’s one detail I missed. You – especially the girls – would think our formal procedure at this point somewhat indec— anyway, not quite nice in public. You put your arms around them and kiss them, is all. Come on.’

  Dorothy and Margaret had been dressed in their bridal gowns by Dunark’s six wives, under the watchful eyes of his mother, the First Karfedir herself. Sitar stood the two side by side, then drew off to survey the effect.

  ‘You are the loveliest things in the whole world!’ she cried.

  ‘Except for this horrible light,’ Dorothy mourned. ‘I wish they could see what we really look like – I’d like to, myself.’

  There was a peal of delighted laughter from Sitar and she spoke to one of the maids, who drew dark curtains over the windows and pressed a switch, flooding the room with pure white light.

  ‘Dunark made these lamps,’ Sitar said, with intense satisfaction. ‘I knew exactly how you’d feel.’

  The two Earthmen and Dunark came in. For moments nothing was said. Seaton stared at Dorothy, hungrily and almost doubting his eyes. For white was white, pink was pink, and her gorgeous hair shone in all its natural splendor of burnished bronze.

  In their wondrous Kondalian bridal costumes the girls were beautiful indeed. They wore heavily-jeweled slippers, above which were tiered anklets, each a blaze of gems. Their arms and throats were so covered with sparkling, scintillating bracelets, necklaces, and pendants that little bare skin was to be seen. And the gowns!

  They were softly shimmering garments infinitely more supple than the finest silk, thick-woven of metallic threads of a fineness unknown to Earth, garments that floated about or clung to those beautifully-curved bodies in lines of exquisite grace.

  For black-haired Margaret, with her ivory skin, the Kondalian princess had chosen an almost-white metal, upon which, in complicated figures, sparkled numberless jewels of pastel shades. Dorothy’s gown was of a dark and lustrous green, its fabric half hidden by an intricate design of blazing green and flaming crimson gems – the strange, luminous jewels of this strange world.

  Each wore her long, heavy hair almost unbound, after the Kondalian bridal fashion: brushed until it fell like a shining mist, confined only from temple to temple by a structure of jewels in rare-metal filigree.

  Seaton looked from Dorothy to Margaret, then back to Dorothy. He looked into violet eyes, deep with wonder and with love, more beautiful than any jewels in all her gorgeous costume. Disregarding the notables who had been filing into the room, she placed her hands on his shoulders; he placed his on her smoothly rounded hips.

  ‘I love you, Dick. Now and always,’ she said, and her own violin had no more wonderful tones than did her voice.

  I love you, Dot. Now and always,’ he replied; and then they both forgot all about protocol; but the demonstration apparently satisfied Kondalian requirements.

  Dorothy, her eyes shining, drew herself away from Seaton and glanced at Margaret.

  ‘Isn’t she the most beautiful thing you ever laid eyes on?’

  ‘She certainly is not – but I’ll let Mart keep on thinking she is.’

  Accompanied by the emperor and his son, Seaton and Crane went into the chapel which, already brilliant, had been decorated anew with even greater splendor. Through wide arches the Earthmen saw for the first time Osnomians wearing clothing; the great room was filled with the highest nobility of Kondal, wearing their resplendent robes of state.

  As the men entered one door Dorothy and Margaret, with the empress and Sitar, entered the other. The assemblage rose to its feet and snapped into the grand salute. Martial music crashed and the two parties marched toward each other, meeting at a raised platform on which stood the Karbix Tarnan, a handsome, stately man who carried easily his eighty years of age. Tarnan raised both arms; the music ceased.

  It was a solemn and impressive spectacle. The room of burnished metal with its bizarre decorations, the constantly-changing harmony of color from invisible lamps, the group of nobles standing rigidly at attention in an utter absence of all sound as the karbix lifted his arms in invocation of the First Cause – all these things deepened the solemnity of that solemn moment.

  When Tarnan spoke, his voice, deep with some great feeling inexplicable even to those who knew him best, carried clearly to every part of the great chamber.

  ‘Friends, it is our privilege today to assist in a most notable event, the marriage of four personages from another world. For the first time in the history of Osnome has one karfedix the honor of entertaining the bridal party of another. It is not for this fact alone, however, that this occasion is to be memorable. A far deeper reason is that we are witnessing, possibly for the first time in the history of the universe, the meeting upon terms of mutual fellowship and understanding of the inhabitants of two worlds separated by unthinkable distances of trackless space and by equally great differences in evolution, conditions of life, and environment. Yet these strangers are actuated by the spirit of good faith and honor which is instilled into every worthy being by the great First Cause, in the working out of whose vast projects all things are humble instruments.

  ‘In honor of the friendship of the two worlds, we will proceed with the ceremony.

  ‘Richard Seaton and Martin Crane, exchange plain rings with Dorothy Vaneman and Margaret Spencer.’

  They did so, and repeated, after the karbix, simple vows of love and loyalty.

  ‘May the First Cause smile upon this temporary marriage and render it worthy of permanence. As a servant and agent of the First Cause I pronounce you two and you two husband and wife. But we must remember that the dull vision of mortal man cannot pierce the veil of the future which is as crystal to the all-beholding eyes of the First Cause. Though you love each other truly some unforeseen thing may come between you to mar the perfection of your happiness. Therefore a time is granted you during which you will discover whether or not your unions are perfect.’

  After a pause, Tarnan went on.

  ‘Martin Crane, Margaret Spencer, Richard Seaton, Dorothy Vaneman: you are before us to take the final vows which will bind your bodies together for life and your spirits together for eternity. Have you considered the gravity of this step sufficiently to enter into this marriage without reservation?’

  ‘I have,’ the four replied in unison.

  ‘Don, for a moment, the helmets before you.’

  They did so, and upon each of four oscilloscope screens there appeared hundreds of irregular lines. Dead silence held while Tarnan studied certain traces upon each of the four giant screens, which were plainly visible to everyone in the room.

  ‘I have seen – each man and woman of this congregation has seen – that each one of you four visiting personages is of the evolutionary state required for eternal marriage. Remove the helmets … exchange the jeweled rings. Do you each individually swear, in the presence of the First Cause and before the supreme justices of Kondal, that you will be true and loyal, each helping his chosen one in all things, great and small; that never, throughout eternity, in thought or in action, will your mind or your body or your spirit stray from the path of truth and honor?’

  ‘I do.’

  ‘I pronounce you married with the eternal marriage. Just as the faidon which each of you wears – the eternal jewel which no force of man is able to change or to deform and which gives off its inward light without change and without end – shall endure through endless cycles of time after the metal of the ring that holds it shall have crumbled in decay: even so shall your spirits, formerly two, now one and indissoluble, progress in ever-ascending evolution throughout eternity after the base material which is your bodies shall have commingled with the base material from which it came.’

  The karbix lowered his arms and the bridal party walked to the door through ranks of uplifted weapons. They were led to another room, where the contracting parties signed th
eir names in a register. Dunark then produced two marriage certificates – plates of a brilliant purple metal, beautifully engraved in parallel columns of English and Kondalian script and heavily bordered with precious stones. The principals and witnesses signed below each column and the signatures were engraved into the metal.

  They were then escorted to the dining hall, where a truly royal repast was served. Between courses the nobles welcomed the visitors and wished them happiness. After the last course Tarnan spoke, his voice again agitated by the emotion that had puzzled his hearers during the marriage service.

  ‘All Kondal is with us here in spirit, joining us in welcoming these our guests, of whose friendship no greater warrant could be given than their willingness to grant us the privilege of their marriage. Not only have they given us a boon that will make their names revered throughout the nation as long as Kondal shall exist, but also they have been the means of showing us plainly that the First Cause is upon our side; that our ages-old institution of honor is in truth the only foundation upon which can be built a race worthy to survive. At the same time they have been the means of showing us that our hated foe, entirely without honor, building his race upon a foundation of bloodthirsty savagery alone, is building wrongly and must perish utterly from the face of Osnome.’

  His hearers listened, impressed by his earnestness, but not understanding his meaning, and he went on, with a deep light shining in his eyes.

  ‘You do not understand? It is inevitable that two peoples as different as are our two should be possessed of widely-differing knowledges and abilities. These friends, from their remote world, have already made it possible for us to construct engines of destruction which will obliterate Mardonale completely—’

  A fierce shout of joy interrupted the speaker and the nobles sprang to their feet, saluting the visitors with weapons held aloft. As soon as they had reseated themselves Tarnan went on.

  ‘That is the boon. The vindication of our evolution is as easily explained. These friends landed first in Mardonale. Had Nalboon met them in honor, he would have gained the boon. But he attempted to kill his guests and steal their treasures, with what results you already know. We, however, in exchange for the few and trifling services we have been able to render them, have received even more of value than Nalboon would have obtained, even had his plans not been nullified by their vastly higher state of evolution.’

  There was a clamor of cheering as Tarnan sat down. The nobles formed themselves into an escort of honor and conducted the two couples to their apartments.

  Alone in one of their rooms, Dorothy turned to her husband with tears shining in her eyes.

  ‘Dick, sweetheart, wasn’t that the most wonderful thing you ever heard of? Grand, in the old meaning of the word – really grand. And that old man was simply superb. I’ll never get over it.’

  ‘It was all of that, Dot. It got down to where I lived. So much so that I stopped having the jitters as soon as it started.’

  But, manlike, Seaton had had enough of solemnity for one day. ‘But do you know that I haven’t had a good look at you yet, under light I can see by? Stand over there, beautiful, and let me feast my eyes.’

  ‘I will not.’ She responded instantly to his mood. ‘I haven’t seen myself, either, and that’s just as important …’

  ‘More so,’ he said, with a wide and happy smile. ‘So we’ll go over to that full-length mirror and both feast our eyes.’

  ‘Of course I saw Peggy, for about a second, but I can’t tell much from that. She’s su—’ She broke off in the middle of a one-syllable word and stared into the mirror.

  ‘That,’ she gasped, ‘is me? I, I mean? Dorothy Vaneman – I mean Seaton?’

  ‘That is Dorothy Seaton,’ he assured her. ‘Yes, irrevocably so.’

  She stuck out a foot, the better to examine the slipper. She lifted her gown well above her knees and studied anklets and legbands. She put her hands on her hips and wriggled, setting everything above the waist into motion. She turned around and repeated the performance, to watch the ornaments dance on her far-from-niggardly expanse of back. She studied the towering, fantastically-jeweled headdress. Then she turned to Seaton, sheer delight spreading over her expressive face.

  ‘You know what, Dick?’ she exclaimed, gleefully. ‘I’m going to wear this whole regalia, just exactly as it is, to the President’s Ball!’

  ‘You wouldn’t. You couldn’t. Nobody could have that much nerve.’

  ‘That’s what you think. But you aren’t a woman – thanks be! Just wait and see. You know that red-headed copy-cat, Maribel Whitcomb?’

  ‘I’ve heard you mention her – unfavorably.’

  ‘Just wait ’til she sees this, the be-hennaed, be-padded vixen! Her eyes will stick out as though they had stalks, and she’ll die of envy and frustration right there on the floor – she can’t even try to copy this!’

  ‘Check – to even more than the proverbial nineteen decimals. But we’ve got to change, or we’ll be late.’

  ‘Uh-huh, I suppose so.’ Dorothy kept on looking backward at the mirror as they walked away. ‘One thing’s sure, though, Dickie mine. I don’t know about the “deafening report” part, but I certainly am a blinding flash!’

  XX

  These jewels puzzle me, Dick. What are they?’ Crane asked, as the four assembled, waiting for first-meal. He held up his third finger, upon which gleamed the royal jewel of Kondal in its mounting of intensely blue transparent arenak. ‘I know the name, faidon, but that is about all I seem to know.’

  ‘That’s about all anybody knows. It occurs naturally just as you see it there – deep blue, apparently but not actually transparent, constantly emitting that strong blue light. It cannot be worked, cut, ground, or even scratched. It will not burn or change in any arc Kondalians can generate – and believe you me, that’s saying a mouthful. It doesn’t change in liquid helium. In other words, Mart, it seems to be inert.’

  ‘How about acids?’

  ‘I’ve been wondering about that. And fusion mixtures and such. Osnomians are pretty far back in chemistry. I’m going to get hold of another one and see if I can’t break it down, some way or other. I can’t seem to convince myself that an atomic structure could be that big.’

  ‘No, it would be a trifle oversize for an atom.’ Crane turned to the two girls. ‘How do you like your solitaires?’

  ‘They’re perfectly beautiful, and this Tiffany mounting is exquisite,’ Dorothy replied, enthusiastically. ‘But they’re so awfully big. They’re as big as ten-carat diamonds, I do believe.’

  ‘Just about,’ Seaton said, ‘but at that, they’re the smallest Dunark could find. They’ve been kicking around for years, he says, so small nobody wanted them. They like big ones, you know. Wait until you get back to Washington, Dot. People will think you’re wearing a bottle-stopper until they see it shining in the dark, and then they’ll think it’s a misplaced tail-light. But when the news gets out – wow! Jewelers will be bidding up, a million bucks per jump, for rich old dames who want something nobody else can get. Check?’

  ‘You are right, Dick,’ Crane said, thoughtfully. ‘Since we intend to wear them continuously, jewelers will see them. Any jewel expert will know at a glance that they are new, unique, and fabulously valuable. In fact, they could get us into serious trouble, as fabulous jewels do.’

  ‘Yeah … I never thought of that … well, how about this? We’ll let it out, casual-like, that they’re as common as mud up here. That we’re wearing them purely for sentiment – that at least, will be true – and we’re going to bring in a ship load of ’em to sell for ever-lasting, no-battery-needed, automobile parking lamps. And if our girlfriends really do wear their gowns to the President’s Ball, as Dot says they’re going to, that’ll help, too. Nobody – but nobody – would wear thirty-eight pounds of cut stones on a dress if they cost very much per each.’

  ‘That would probably keep anyone from murdering our wives for their rings, at least.’

&nbs
p; ‘Have you read your marriage certificate, Dick?’ Margaret asked.

  ‘No. Let’s look at it, Dottie.’

  She produced the massive, heavily-jeweled document, and the auburn head and the brown one were very close to each other as they read together the English side of the certificate. Their vows were there, word for word, with their own signatures beneath them, all deeply engraved into the metal. Seaton smiled as he saw the legal form engraved below the signatures, and read aloud:

  I, the head of the church and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Kondal, upon the planet Osnome, certify that I have this day, in the city of Kondalek, of said nation and planet, joined in indissoluble bonds of matrimony, Richard Ballinger Seaton, Doctor of Philosophy, and Dorothy Lee Vaneman, Doctor of Music; both of Washington, D.C., U.S.A., upon the planet Earth, in strict compliance with the marriage laws, both of Kondal and of the District of Columbia.

  Tarnan, Karbix of Kondal

  Witnesses:

  Roban, Emperor of Kondal

  Tural, Empress of Kondal

  Dunark, Crown Prince of Kondal

  Sitar, Crown Princess of Kondal

  Marc C. DuQuesne, Washington, D.C., U.S.A., Earth

  ‘That’s some document,’ Seaton said. ‘How’d he know it complies with the marriage laws of the District? I’m wondering if it does. “Indissoluble” and “eternity” are mighty big words for American marriages. Do you think we’d better get married again when we get back?’

  Both girls protested vigorously and Crane said, ‘No. I think not. I intend to register this just as it is and get a court ruling on it. It will undoubtedly prove legal.’

  ‘I’m not too sure about that,’ Seaton argued. ‘Is there any precedent in law that says a man can make a promise that will be binding on his immortal soul for all the rest of eternity?’

  ‘I rather doubt it. I’m sure there will be, however, when our attorneys close the case. You forget, Dick, that The Seaton-Crane Company, Engineers has a very good legal staff.’