Swordsmen in the Sky

by Donald A. Wollheim

  They were entering a huge square hall, ranks of armed guards drawn up about it. The girl gave an order and the guards dropped back. She and Merrick entered a small metal chamber in which was one man. This one touched a plate on the wall, and the door clicked shut behind them. Another touch and they seemed crushed to the floor by infinite forces for an instant; then the door opened again. As they stepped out Merrick saw that the small chamber was a super-elevator of some sort, for they were no longer in the lower hall of the pyramid.

  They were in a big room that was at the tip of the same building, he saw. Great windows let in the crimson sunlight and gave a glimpse of the far-reaching city outside. The girl came toward Merrick, and now with her were two men bearing a complicated apparatus. Its main feature was a small generator of some kind with intricate controls, from which led leads ending in tiny electrodes. The two scientists, for they obviously were, motioned for Merrick to lie down on the metal bench beside him.

  Merrick went cold. Until then the sheer strangeness of events had carried him forward, but now he halted. What was the apparatus? Was he to be used as some strange animal for vivisection?

  The girl seemed again to comprehend his doubt, laid a hand on his arm and spoke reassuringly. The words meant nothing but the tone of them was reassuring, and Merrick found himself thrilling to the touch of the girl’s soft hand. He mustered a grin, nodded amicably to the two scientists, and lay face down upon the bench. The two made quick incisions in the back of his neck, painlessly, and inserted the tiny electrodes.

  Then they turned and Merrick heard the soft humming of the apparatus. At the same moment he experienced a strange whirling of his thoughts. It seemed to him that all his knowledge and memories and speculations, everything in his mind, was being changed and turned over and crowded in chaotic fashion. The mechanism hummed on while the two fingered its controls. When at last they turned it off and undid the connections and withdrew, Merrick’s brain ceased its chaotic whirl.

  The girl came forward eagerly as he rose. “You understand our tongue now, O Chan?” she asked. The fact stunned Merrick. The girl was speaking in her own tongue still, yet he understood her perfectly!

  “But how—how is it that I can understand now?” he asked, and was aware that the strange tongue rose to his lips as easily as his own.

  “It is that apparatus, the brainchanger,” the girl told him. “It implants knowledge artificially into the brain. All knowledge, you know, is received by the brain as impulses through the sense-nerves, and that apparatus duplicates those impulses and sends them through the nerves into the brain artificially, received there as knowledge, giving you knowledge of our language as though you had studied it for years. On all Kaldar there are no teachers, only brainchangers.”

  “Convenient,” muttered Merrick. “Kaldar—that is this world?”

  The girl was wide-eyed. “Of course. Kaldar is the only one of our sun’s worlds that is habitable, as far as we know. Surely you know that, O Chan!”

  “Chan?” Merrick repeated. “They were calling me that before—what does it mean? And what is your own name?”

  “I am Narna,” she answered. “But surely you understand that you are Chan—Chan of Corla?”

  “Corla—what’s that?” Merrick asked, bewildered.

  “Is it possible that you do not know?” said Narna, astonished. “Come—”

  She led the way to one of the high windows. Merrick followed, looked forth upon a breath-taking scene.

  From the tip of this great pyramid, a thousand feet in the air, they could look out far across the mighty city of black pyramids. Far away in all directions it stretched. Men and women thronged the streets below and jammed the great plaza, the one clear spot upon it being the round little dais at its center. Over the excited throngs and the city black, projectile-like flying-craft were rushing and dipping.

  Here and there the city’s black mass was laced with crimson where were parks and gardens, all filled with blood-red vegetation. Out beyond the city’s edge Merrick glimpsed in the distance crimson fields, and forests or jungles. Beyond these, walling the horizon on all sides, there rose a titanic circular range of black mountains that was like a colossal, awful wall around the city and surrounding crimson country. Overhead flamed the huge crimson sun, casting its weird red light down on the whole strange scene.

  “The city of Corla,” said Narna. “All within the ring of the mountains we hold, against our enemies.”

  Merrick’s dazed eyes took in the amazing scene. “Corla,” he whispered. “But what then does Chan mean?”

  The girl’s eyes held amazement. “Do not you know, you who came out of the unknown to be Chan? It means king, lord, master! You are the Chan of Corla—the supreme ruler of this land!”

  III : CHAN OF CORLA

  MERRICK, stunned, could not speak for a moment. “I—ruler?” he managed to cry at last.

  “Of course,” said Narna. “One month ago the last Chan of Corla, who was my father, died. After waiting until the established month had passed, the nobles and people of Corla assembled today in the great plaza to choose a new Chan as is the custom. The dais at the plaza’s center is the dais of the Chan, upon which none other than he may ever step under pain of death.

  “All were sure that Jhalan would be chosen as the new Chan today, for though many think him cruel and ruthless, he is a great fighter and our land is so sore pressed by its enemies that it needs such a ruler. In moments more he would have been selected, indeed, and would have ascended the dais as Chan. But there came a sudden thunder and you appeared suddenly on the dais. By your strange appearance and unfamiliar garb it was evident that you had come out of the unknown, and since it was on the dais of the Chan that you appeared it was evident that destiny had sent you to us as a new ruler. Hence you were acclaimed as Chan of Corla, and are now its ruler.”

  Merrick was stunned. He sought to grasp the reality of it. A day—an hour—before, he had been Stuart Merrick, penniless adventurer on earth. And now he had been hurled to another world at the one spot where his appearance had made him automatically Chan of Corla, supreme king of a great land!

  His mind began to work. “Then that black-bearded man who tried to rush me on the dais—”

  “That was Jhalan. He was mad with rage when you appeared, for if you had not done so he would have been chosen Chan in moments. He is furious, therefore, to lose the rulership of Corla and also to lose me.”

  “To lose you?” Merrick asked, and Narna smiled.

  “Yes, for only the new Chan may wed the daughter of the last one. Jhalan has long desired me and that was one reason why he wanted to be Chan.”

  Merrick’s eyes searched her face. “But it seemed to me you were espousing my cause down there rather than his?”

  Narna colored. “I do not like bearded men,” she said irrelevantly, then sobered. “But Jhalan will be here tonight with the rest of the Council of Twelve, the great nobles of Corla, to pledge allegiance to you as new Chan. I would try to placate him as much as possible if I were you—he is very angry and would make a very bad enemy.”

  Something in Merrick hardened. “If I am Chan I will rule as Chan,” he answered, a strange new sense of power flooding him like wine.

  Narna’s eyes were steady on his. “I think that you will, and Corla needs a strong Chan now if ever it has needed one,” she said. Then, as she turned toward the lift-chamber: “The Council of Twelve will be here an hour after night falls.”

  “And you’ll come too?” Merrick pursued.

  “As daughter of the last Chan I too must pledge allegiance,” she rejoined, laughing, and disappeared into the lift-chamber.

  The next few hours passed in a whirl of strangeness for Merrick. Servants came, respectful and low-voiced, apparently regarding their new Chan as something of a divinity, almost. He was led through the great chambers that were his as Chan, at the pyramid’s tip, to a huge bath with walls of varicolored metals. When he emerged from its steamy perfumes Corlan
clothing was awaiting him, a soft undersuit of some silken material, black metal sandals, and one of the black metal tunics.

  It was like all the others he had seen save that on its breast was a brilliant small red sun-disk. The red sun-disk was repeated on the walls around him, and was evidently the insignia of the Chan.

  With the tunic went a belt in which were a sword and tube such as he had noticed. Merrick examined these weapons of the Corlans carefully. The sword seemed at first glance a simple long rapier of metal. But he found that when his grip tightened on the hilt it pressed a catch which released a terrific force stored in the hilt into the blade, making it shine with light. When anything was touched by this shining blade, he found, the force of the blade annihilated it instantly. He learned that the weapon was called a light-sword, due to the shining of the blade when charged, and saw that it was truly a deadly weapon, its touch alone meaning annihilation to any living thing.

  The tube proved a stubby gun that shot small charges of shining force, called for a similar reason the light-gun. Its accurate range was no more than a few thousand feet, though extremely accurate within that distance. Merrick was later to learn that light-guns of cannon-size had been developed, however, with far greater range and destructive power. As it was, he reflected, any one armed with light-sword and light-gun would make a tough foe, able to fight at a distance or at close quarters with equally deadly effects.

  Merrick ate the meal the servants brought, of simple cooked herbs and strong yellow wine, at a metal table beside one of the great windows. As he ate he could look out and see the huge crimson circle of Antares sinking westward, as on earth, behind the black rampart of the distant mountains, and could see the stars twinkling forth in the violet sky. They were brilliant but in strange groups and constellations, and though he recognized some of the greater stars at once, it was only after some search of the changed groups that he located the tiny yellow star that he knew to be the sun of his own solar system. With something of awe he looked at it as the darkness deepened.

  Soft lights were shining out by then over the clustered pyramids of Corla around and beneath. Merrick saw lit flying-craft coming and going, saw that they and the great crowds still beneath were drawn by his own building, thousands gazing up toward his window. He realized anew the strangeness of the destiny that had cast him into this position of power. Could he sustain his part as Chan, as ruler, into which he had been so strangely hurled?

  He turned to find the great rooms softly illuminated and a servant bowing. “The Council of Twelve is here, O Chan,” he announced.

  Merrick summoned his resolution and stepped back into the great central room. A group of a dozen or more black-garbed figures were coming toward him from the lift-chamber. They were led by a fine-faced, white-bearded oldster, and behind him among the others, Merrick glimpsed the ironical dark eyes of Jhalan and the figure of the girl Narna. The group halted and the oldster stepped forward.

  “We bring our allegiance, O Chan,” he said, bowing. “We know not how or from what world you have come to us but we know that only destiny could have placed you on the dais of the Chan.”

  The unfamiliar new sense of power flared again in Merrick. “Since you have so chosen me Chan I accept your allegiance as such,” he said. “It is from another world—another star—that I come, yes, one far different from this. In that world my name was Merrick.”

  “Merrick,” repeated the other with an odd twist. “It is well, Chan Merrick. I am Murnal, and these the others of our Council of Twelve—”

  They came forward, bowing and naming themselves, while Merrick inclined his head to each. Most of the twelve were over middle age, like Murnal. Exceptions were Holk, a great grizzled warrior topping the others by a head, and Jurul, a quiet, slender figure whom Merrick was to know later as one of the most deadly fighters of the Corlan race. Last of the twelve councillors was Jhalan. All watched closely as he stepped forward.

  But the great black-bearded Corlan bowed gravely enough. Merrick saw in his black eyes as he straightened, though, a sardonic amusement, as though at some secret joke. He found his hand tight on the hilt of his light-sword as Jhalan stepped back. He relaxed as Narna followed the twelve, her eyes on his own as she too gravely bowed.

  Merrick motioned the twelve to a long table beside one of the great windows. When he had taken his place at its head they too sat, the white-bearded Murnal at his right. Far away outside their window stretched the black, light-gemmed mass of Corla, illumined now by the weird light of two crimson moons that had swung up eastward.

  “Since it is from another world that you have come to us, O Chan Merrick,” Murnal began, “would you know more of this world or is it known to you?”

  “It may be that I know, but I will hear you,” said Merrick diplomatically.

  “Then hear,” said Murnal. “Kaldar, this world of ours, is of great size, how great indeed we do not really know. It revolves around our mighty sun at a medium distance, and around Kaldar in turn revolve our five moons. Of these four are crimson like our sun, but the fifth as you will see, is green, the five moving in a chain around our world at different speeds.

  “Of this world of Kaldar, we humans hold only the land within the circle of the great black mountains. This land and city of ours, Corla, lies almost across the equator of Kaldar. We are, so far as our recorded knowledge teaches, the only humans upon this world. And we know little more of Kaldar than what lies within our mountain circle, since outside it there are great and unhuman races as ancient and intelligent and powerful as our own, who have been our enemies always.

  “Of all Kaldar’s strange races and lands we have but rumors, indeed, for our airboats seldom venture across the mountains. But nearest to us of the other races are the Cosps, the great spider-men. Their great city lies far south from ours, beyond the mountains and strange forests, and from the beginning of time they have been the worst enemies of us of Corla.

  “These Cosps, who are much like huge spiders in shape but with intelligence and science, have airboats as good as our own. They do not use light-swords or light-guns for weapons, but have poison-sprays that are as deadly. They have also mechanisms that project darkness wherever they wish, and these have always given them the advantage over us. For ever and again great Cosp raiding parties attack our city, and though we defend ourselves with the great light-guns on the city’s pyramids, their darkness mechanisms give them always an unchangeable advantage.

  “By them the Cosps are enabled to carry away great numbers of captives and loot for their distant city. Lately their attacks have become more and more frequent and Corla has come to be in terror of them. It is because of that that you have been welcomed so wildly by our people as the new Chan from the unknown, since all hope that as Chan you will be able to halt these terrible Cosp attacks.”

  Merrick considered. “Your own air-boats make no attempt to meet the Cosp raiders in midair?” he asked.

  Murnal spread his hands. “It would be useless, O Chan. With the darkness-projectors our boats would be at the mercy of the Cosps and none could escape.”

  “Then some way of overcoming the darkness-projectors must be found, if Cosp and Corlan are to fight on equal terms,” Merrick stated.

  Jhalan spoke from the table’s end. “Surely it will be nothing for you to find such a way, O Chan from the unknown?” he asked cynically.

  Merrick gave him a level glance. “Whether inside it or outside, Corla’s enemies are my own,” he said evenly. He hardly knew what prompted the answer, but saw Jhalan looking at him with knitted brows when he had made it.

  “Spoken like a Chan!” exclaimed the great Holk. “If I had my way we’d load all our light-guns on the airboats and sail south to give the Cosps some of their own medicine!”

  As the talk went on, veering from the Cosps to other problems of Corla, Merrick learned much concerning the race into whose kingship he had been so strangely projected. He was beginning to realize that the Corlans, though they had attained
super-science in some few things, were essentially a feudal, medieval-like race. He caught Jhalan’s eyes sardonically on him, Narna’s with approval in them.

  Through the great window beside them he could see the moons swinging up from behind the mountains. Three of crimson hung like seals of blood across the sky and a fourth one of brilliant green was rising over Corla. Merrick, watching them, saw suddenly a long dark mass that moved across one of the crimson moons, high above the city. He was turning back to Murnal and the others when a wild, screaming signal sounded deafeningly across the city, waking it instantly to a wild babel of cries, a confused, rising uproar. And at the same moment there shot down upon Corla a great fleet of dark airboats from the upper night.

  The others sprang to their feet with him. “An attack!” cried Murnal. “It’s the Cosps—the spider-men—they’re raiding the city!”

  IV : SPIDER-MEN AND POISON-SPRAY

  “HOLK! JURUL!” Murnal shouted. “Order all our light-guns into action—they’ve caught us by surprise!”

  But already the two Corlans and the others of the Council were facing toward the lift-chamber, Murnal and the girl Narna and Jhalan alone remaining in the great room. And already across the great city the light-guns were firing up at the dark craft of the invaders. The guns were soundless but Merrick could see the shining charges of deadly force flashing up from them all across the city.

  Here and there invading airboats were hit and blasted by the shining charges, but the others dived unheedingly downward upon Corla’s pyramids. From long tubes they rained down a fine spray and as it struck men on the pyramids and streets they fell into withered, distorted heaps. The light-guns, though were vomiting shining charges upward with increased intensity, the whole terrific battle being almost soundless save for the wild babel of cries.