The Gate of Time

by Philip José Farmer

  Two Hawks had decided he might as well tell everything. If he refused to cooperate, he would end up by spilling his guts anyway, and be in very bad health in the bargain. Besides, he had no definite loyalties to any country of this world. Fate had originally thrown him in with the Blodlandish and Hotinohsonih, yet the latter had tortured him and then locked him up and the former had betrayed their own allies to get their hands on him. There did not seem to be much difference between the practices of Perkunisha and Blodland. Yet he did not feel right in becoming an ally of a German. Working for the same nation with which the German flier was working was, in some undefinable way, betraying his own country, his own world.

  But—here there was no United States of America, just as there was no Germany.

  After a half-hour of interrogation by Vyautas, Two Hawks understood the reasons for the type of questions. Vyautas was checking the answers against those in a large bound volume of typewritten sheets. The book undoubtedly contained information given by the German.

  Two Hawks said, “How do you know that the fellow—what-ever his name is—has given you a true story?”

  Vyautas was startled. Then he smiled and said, “So you know about him? The Blodlandish told you? His name, by the way, is Horst Raske.”

  “And what do you think of our tales?”

  “There’s enough evidence to convince those who matter. To me, though, there are very puzzling aspects. Let’s say that there is a universe occupying the same ‘space’ as ours but not intersecting. I can understand why the same type of animals, including human beings, might develop on both planets. After all, the size and distance of the Earths from the sun are identical, and the geophysical factors are similar.

  “But I cannot understand why almost identical languages are found on both worlds. Do you realize how mathematically improbable such a coincidence is? About several billion billions to one, I would say. Yet, I am asked to believe that not one, but many languages, have their near- counterparts on your Earth.”

  Vyautas shook his head and said, “No! No! No!”

  “Raske and my men passed through a ‘gate’,” Two Hawks said. “Perhaps there have been many gates. During the hundred thousand years or so that man has existed, there may have been much traffic between the two Earths. Perhaps mankind did not originate on this planet. He may have come here from my Earth. The fossil evidence in my world indicates that man originated there. However, it’s not proven beyond all doubt. No fossils have been found that are undeniably a direct link between modern man and subman.”

  Vyautas said, “Until fifty years ago, speculation about the evolution of man was forbidden. Even now, there’s much resistance to the idea that man may not have been created in one day and that day only 5,000 years ago. However, there is strong evidence that man has existed much more than five millenia. Not only man but several types of subhumans.”

  “I would maintain that the people of this planet originated on my Earth,” Two Hawks said. “Only...”

  “Only what?”

  “If the original men came through gates to this world, then their horses and camels should have come through with them. But say that various tribes of Earthmen did come through in enough numbers to establish themselves here but came at a time before the horse and camel were domesticated. That could account for the fact that Earth 2 has any number of ethnic types and languages which are similar enough to certain Terrestrial groups to be descended from them. It might also account for the complete absence of other Earth 1-type peoples here: the Slavs, the Hebrews, the Italics, and Australian aborigine, and so forth.

  “Yet, if human beings could come through the ‘gates’, why not animals? Why not the horse, the camel?

  “Also, it seems peculiar that immigrants from Earth 1, who must have passed over only in small numbers, could have come to dominate regions, the same general regions, as on Earth 1. Why were the people who already occupied those regions, and who must have been more numerous, defeated by the newcomers? I just don’t know.”

  Vyautas said, “I don’t know either. But the hard and indissoluble facts are that we Perkunishans and Hellenes and Rasna and so forth are here. And we have to live here, and you are here and also have to live here. So, let’s get on with our discussion.”

  Two Hawks was with Vyautas almost every waking moment of the trip. However, Two Hawks managed to get in some questions of his own. Vyautas did not mind answering, and his manner was such that Two Hawks was convinced his interrogator believed his story. One of the things Two Hawks found interesting was that the concept of zero had originated only three centuries before and had come to Europe only two hundred years ago. As on Earth 1, the concept had come from India to Europe. Moreover it had been transmitted by the Arabs.

  Vyautas gave this information, but he was more interested in Two Hawks’ disclosure that the Arabia of Earth 1 was rich in oil. Apparently this Arabia was so little explored that oil had not been discovered there. Moreover, the German had not told the Perkunishans about it.

  “Arabia will have to come under our rule,” Vyautas said. “At the moment, the southern coasts are held by Blodland. But we will take their bases away from them. You know, this one item of information makes the whole interrogation worthwhile.”

  “You would have found out sooner or later from Raske, anyway,” Two Hawks said. “What I’d like to know is, what does your government plan on doing with us?”

  “Since you are cooperating so well and seem to be a mine of vital information, you’ll be treated very well. In fact, we can offer you citizenship. It’ll only be a second-class citizenship, of course, because you’re not all-white.”

  Vyautas was silent for a while, then said, “I think it can be arranged to give you a special category. It’s been done before. We could make you a first-class citizen by edict of the Kassandras.”

  11

  The train pulled into Berlin late at night, and Two Hawks did not have much opportunity to examine the city. Ilmika, Kwasind and he were taken in a car which drove swiftly. An armored car preceded it; another followed it. He did get a chance to see the houses and large buildings, all of which had a medieval appearance. The streets were narrow and winding, and the houses abutted directly on the streets. There were gas streetlights but only on the corners of crossroads. Occasionally, civilian rode by on a bicycle. The riding must have been bumpy because of the lack of rubber tires.

  Then they were in the heart of the city. Here, the old buildings had been torn down to make way for wide paved streets and huge buildings with immense pillars in front. They passed a square in the center of which was a stone monument depicting the conquests of the great-grandfather of the present Kassandras or Emperor. A half-mile beyond it was the Palace of the Kassandras himself.

  The car stopped in front of the Palace. Ilmika was conducted from the car to the Palace. Before leaving, she looked once at Two Hawks from under the shadow of her hood. She was frightened and she was signalling him for help. He could do nothing, however, except to grin at her and to hold up his two fingers in the sign of the V. She could not know what that meant, but she did manage to smile faintly at him. Then she was gone.

  Two Hawks and Kwasind were escorted to another building near the Palace. They went through some huge and magnificently decorated rooms, up two flights of stairs, down a thickly carpeted hall, and into a suite of four rooms. This was theirs until further notice. They were told, however, that the windows had bars over them and that six soldiers were stationed outside their doors. Vyautas then said, “It’s very late, but Raske wants to talk to you. I will wait here until he has left you.”

  A few minutes later, a challenge came from the noncom officer of the guard outside the main door. There was a mumble; the door swung open. A tall, very handsome youth entered. He wore the blue-and-scarlet uniform of an officer in the Imperial Guard. He removed his shako, covered with polar bear fur, to reveal a blond crewcut. He was smiling, and his eyes, a deep blue, reflected the warmth of his smile. He had
very long and dark eyelashes.

  Two Hawks could understand some of Vyautas’ remarks about the influence this man was having over the daughter of the Kassandras. He was one of the most handsome men Two Hawks had ever seen, yet he had enough masculinity to escape being called pretty.

  The officer clicked his heels, bowed slightly, and said in a rich baritone, “Lieutenant Horst Raske at your service.” He spoke in an English which had only a trace of German accent.

  “Lieutenant Roger Two Hawks.” Two Hawks then introduced Kwasind. Raske barely nodded at him; he knew that Kwasind was one of the inferior races and a man who could not help him in any way. He also knew that Kwasind was there only because Two Hawks had argued that he be kept with him. When the Perkunishans had discovered that Kwasind was not O’Brien, they had intended to take him off to a labor battalion. They did not know that he was a Kinukkinuk and a deserter, otherwise they would have shot him within the hour. But Two Hawks had told Vyautas that Kwasind was a Hotinohsonih who had escaped with him from the asylum. He demanded that Kwasind be left in his care; he needed a servant. Vyautas had consented.

  Raske told Kwasind to bring them some beer. He sat down on a huge sofa covered with wolf- skins, started to put his hand inside his jacket, then stopped. He smiled and said, “I still reach for a cigarette. Well, that’s one of the things I’ll have to learn to get along without. A small price to pay in a world which offers me—us—so much more than our native planet. I tell you, Lieutenant, we have it made. These people will give us anything for our knowledge. Anything!”

  He was watching Two Hawks to observe the effect of his words. Two Hawks sat down on a chair facing the sofa and said, “You seem to have done well, considering the short time you’ve been here.”

  Horst Raske laughed and said, “I’m not one to let the grass grow under my feet. I am a superb linguist; I’ve already mastered this barbarous language, at least enough for my purposes. Of course, I was lucky in being half-Lithuanian; Perkunishan is remarkably close to my mother’s tongue, you know. But you don’t think that coincidence is a sign of my lucky star?”

  He took the glass of beer offered by Kwasind and raised it to Two Hawks. “A toast, my friend! To our success; Two Earthmen in a strange but not necessarily unhospitable world! Long may we live and thrive! Thrive as we never could back there!”

  “I’ll drink to that,” Two Hawks said. “And let me congratulate you on your remarkable adaptability. Most men would be in a state of shock from which they would never entirely recover.”

  “You seem to be doing all right,” Raske said.

  “I’m tough. I eat whatever is placed before me. But that doesn’t mean I won’t be looking for tastier food.”

  Raske laughed again. “I like you! You’re a man after my own heart. I was hoping you would be.”

  “Why?” Two Hawks said.

  “I’ll be frank with you. I’m not quite as self-sufficient as I seem. I am a little lonely, only a little, you must understand, but a little lonely for the companionship of somebody from my Earth.” He laughed and said, “I would have preferred a woman, of course, but I can’t always get what I want. Besides...” He raised his glass and winked at Two Hawks over it. “Besides, I have all the female company I want. The best, too. I have managed to gain the interest, more than interest, I might say, of the daughter of the Kassandras. She wields great influence.”

  “You need me for more than companionship,” Two Hawks said. “What other reason is there for this red-carpet treatment?”

  “I’m glad you’re not stupid. If you were, you wouldn’t be of much use to me. Yes, I need you. In fact, you owe your presence here to the fact that I arranged for you to get here. I have a friend who’s high in the espionage service; he told me about the two otherworlders who had been put in the insane asylum. I suggested the kidnapping and...”

  “Were you also the one who suggested we be killed if we couldn’t be captured alive?”

  Raske was taken by surprise, but he rallied swiftly. Smiling, he said, “Yes, I did. I couldn’t have you giving information to the Hotinohsonih that would put them on a technological level with the Perkunishans—my adopted people—could I? Wouldn’t you have done the same if you had been in my shoes?”

  “Probably.”

  “Of course, you would. But you weren’t killed. And you owe your escape from a terrible death in an Itskapintik labor camp to me. It was I who insisted that the Perkunishan government demand your release. Of course, the Kassandras was furious when he heard about how his niece had been violated. He was the one who insisted that the policemen be executed.”

  “And what will happen to her now?” Two Hawks said.

  “She’ll be offered citizenship. If she takes the oath, she’ll be treated well, very well, as befits the Kassandras’ niece. If she refuses, and she’s likely to do so, being a stubborn Britisher, she’ll be imprisoned. But she’ll be in a nice prison, probably have private rooms and servants in some castle.”

  Two Hawks sipped at his beer and looked at the German. German? Raske had already forgotten about the war on his native world. He was interested only in what he could get for himself here and was delighted that he had something valuable to trade. His attitude, Two Hawks had to admit, was realistic. Why continue the war here? Deutschland and America and Russia might as well be on a planet in another galaxy. The oaths of allegiance he and Raske had taken were as nullified as if both had been killed over Ploesti.

  This, of course, did not mean that he trusted Raske. The man was an opportunist. Once he found Two Hawks no longer useful, he would get rid of him. But that attitude could work two ways. Raske could be used by Two Hawks.

  “I can be of great value to Perkunisha,” Raske said, “because I am an aeronautical engineer. I also know something of chemistry and electronics. But I do not know what your academic background is.”

  Two Hawks said, “My field isn’t going to be of much help, I’m afraid. I have a Master’s in Indo- European Linguistics. But I did take a number of courses in mathematics and electronics because I knew that linguistics was eventually going to use these as tools in language analysis. I have a first- class radio operator’s license, and I know a lot about automobiles. I worked part-time as a mechanic to put myself through school.”

  “That’s not so bad,” Raske said. “I need somebody qualified to be my assistant in developing our radio equipment and airplanes. I’ve been drawing up plans for a fighter plane; it’ll be equipped with radio and machineguns. However, it won’t be very advanced. It’ll be about the same as a late World War I plane. But it will sweep the skies, send every Blodland lyftship flaming to the ground, and it’ll be tremendously useful for observation and for strafing ground-troops.’

  Two Hawks was not surprised that Perkunisha was not building a modern aircraft. After all, they were of materials that derived from an advanced technology. To make superior steel and aluminium (not even known here), to build the factories which could manufacture such metals and machine them, could be done. But it would take a very long time, and the Perkunishan government would not want such a delay. It desired something that could be used in the near future, not after the war was over.

  So Raske would have offered them a craft which would seem obsolete and very inefficient to him, but would be daring, even futuristic, to this world.

  Raske continued to talk. He was overburdened with work; he was getting very little sleep. His schedule interfered with his other activities, namely, entrenching himself socially and politically and wooing the daughter of the Kassandras. Fortunately, he needed little sleep and had managed to operate effectively. But he could use a man who would take over the burden of overseeing all the little details and making the daily scores of decisions. Yes, Two Hawks would be a great help.

  He pointed at the two-headed wolf symbol of silver on his left breast. “I have a military title which is the equivalent of Colonel in the Luftwaffe. I can arrange to make you a Major as soon as we can get you a special c
itizenship. Normally, that would take weeks, but we’ll get it done by tomorrow. Then you become a full-fledged Perkunishan, by grace of the Kassandras. You couldn’t do any better. This country is destined to become the ruler of all Europe and probably of Africa and much of Asia, too.”

  “Just as Deutschland was?” Two Hawks said.

  Raske smiled. “I am not a stupid or unrealistic person,” he said. “I could see the handwriting on the wall the moment the United States entered the war. But here, you see, there is no America.

  Moreover, Perkunisha is relatively more powerful than Germany. Its citizens occupy a much larger area to begin with. Its technology and military tactics are superior to all other nations. And with us two, it will soon have an invincible technology. But there is much work to be done, much work. It takes time to build mills to make a better steel and to make aluminium. We might have to take Greenland before we can get our hands on bauxite. And then the bauxite has to be mined and transported here. And synthetic rubber has to be made. And factories have to be built and new tooling machines made, and these cannot be done wthout blueprints and a big administration. Thousands have to be trained.

  “It’s a Herculean task. But it can be done, and what do you think the position of the men who make it possible will be? I ask you, but you need not reply. Oh, we’re going to be very very important, Roger Two Hawks. You’ll be a great man; you could never have dreamed of such power and wealth when you were a young man on the reservation.”

  “I never lived on a reservation,” Two Hawks said.

  Raske stood up, walked over, and put his hand on Two Hawks’ shoulder. “I did not mean to hurt your feelings. Do not be so touchy. I do not know what offends you and what pleases you. I will find out some day, when we have time. Meanwhile, let’s work together as best we can. And let’s not forget what the future holds for both of us.”

  He walked toward the door but stopped before opening it. “You get some sleep, Roger. In the morning, you can take a bath and then be fitted for new clothes. Then, to work. Work, work, work! And if you get tired, think of what all the drudgery will bring you some day. Auf wiedersehen!”