The Copper-Clad World
Page 3
CHAPTER III
_Ilen-dar_
When Blaine Carson opened his eyes it was to stare at the blue-whiteradiance of an illuminated ceiling. He lay on a downy cot and it seemedhe had just recovered from a long illness. Weak and sick, he turned hishead listlessly to gaze at the ornate embossed designs on a wall ofgleaming silvery metal. What place was this? His mind was wool-gathering;dim memories of unspeakable things struggled for mastery over a hazyconsciousness. Suddenly then he remembered, and he sat up in hisunfamiliar bed, senses acutely alert.
Across the room he saw a figure hunched in a chair; a twistedman-creature who was oddly like someone he had seen. Antazzo! But thisone had none of the other's ferocity as he returned Blaine's stare.Rather, there was a look of deep concern in his ugly face. He cameimmediately to the bedside and looked at Blaine solicitously.
"I see you have recovered," he said. "It is good."
Blaine stared and stared. This creature had spoken in the language ofthe Zara's subjects, yet he understood his every word! It must be adream, this impossible thing that had happened. And where was Tom?Abruptly he found that he was talking rapidly in this tongue of analien race.
"Yes, I've recovered," he said, "and I'm amazed at what I find. Howhave I acquired this knowledge of your language? Where am I, and whereis my friend? Can you enlighten me in these things?"
The other smiled. "I can, Earth man," he replied. "You have been taughtour language while you slept. A thought transference process we use foreducating the young. You are in the palace of the Zara and your friendis safe in the next room. I may add that you are in high favor with HerMajesty."
The wizened creature lowered his voice on the last words, and hisknowing eyes spoke volumes. In favor with that she-devil! Blaine wentcold at the thought.
"I want to see my friend," he said shortly.
"Later. My orders are to bring you to the Zara immediately you arestrong enough. And Pegrani obeys orders."
* * * * *
No use to attempt a break now. Blaine was tempted to drive a fist intothat ugly countenance and fight his way out of the place. But thatwould be suicide. He'd wait, get the lay of the land first and then tryto dope something out with Tommy.
"All right, Pegrani," he said, "I'm ready to go before this Zara ofyours."
As he prepared for the audience, alien thoughts crowded one upon theother in his strangely enlightened mind. With the knowledge of thelanguage had come knowledge of many things relative to the copper-cladworld. They'd given him a liberal education. Somehow he knew thesestunted creatures like Antazzo and Pegrani were known as Llotta andthat, while ruling the sealed-in planet, their kind had originally comefrom Ganymede, the fifth satellite of Jupiter. Centuries had passedsince the inhabitants of Europa and Ganymede had been forced to deserttheir aging worlds and had settled on Io. During other centuries thewidely different peoples had co-operated in constructing the greatcopper enclosure in order to keep the new world alive and capable ofsupporting life. Then had come a century of bitter warfare in which theLlotta were victorious. Intense hatred existed between the two races,he knew, and a hazy impression of mechanically imparted knowledge toldhim that few of the Europans remained alive.
"We are here, Carson," his guide announced, when they stood before thesquare columns of an enormous portal.
The scene in the throne room was vastly different than when he hadfirst visited it. The Zara sat curled as before, a golden bowl ofincense burning at either side of the throne. The men-at-arms wereabsent and, instead, there were dozens of handmaidens, white-skinnedand seductive as their queen, reclining on luxurious cushions that werearranged in a semicircle before the dais. It was a scene of Orientalsplendor. A stage carefully set.
* * * * *
Pegrani knelt and touched his forehead to the floor but Blaine heldhimself stiffly erect, looking straight into the eyes of the Zara. Shesmiled and extended her arm in that beckoning gesture.
"You may leave now, Pegrani," she said, without deigning him a glance."Remain in the corridor until I send for you."
There was a tense silence as the Zara's gaze, ineffably softened now,held Blaine's. Unconsciously he was drawn to the steps of the dais.Unwillingly, yet inexorably, his lagging footsteps brought him to herside. Cool white fingers touched his arm and he saw that the red flecksin the black of those wide eyes were golden now. Surely there was noharm in this woman. But he remembered Antazzo.
"Carson," she purred, "you are more than welcome to Llotta-nar, theland of my people and the ruling power of Antrid, the body you call Io.The freedom of the realm is yours for as long a time as you wish toremain."
This was too good to be true. "You--you mean," he stammered, "thatAntazzo exceeded his authority in his act of piracy--in bringing ushere?"
The golden flecks flashed red and a cold note was manifest in thethroaty voice. "Antazzo," she replied, "was destroyed for his audaciousactions. We needed this k-metal of yours, Carson, and he was sent toEarth to get a quantity of the material. By magnetic directional waveswas he sent--we have no space-ships--his body disintegrated by myscientists for transmittal, and the atoms of his beastly formreassembled in their proper relation when he arrived there. But hethreatened me when he returned successful. The possession of thek-metal and his knowledge of its powers and uses had gone to his head.He demanded my hand in return for his work; demanded that he bepermitted to mount the throne of Llotta-nar as my consort. Therefore Idestroyed him." The hard eyes softened anew. "And--and for hisabominable treatment of you I destroyed him," she concluded.
* * * * *
Blaine fought off the spell of those gold-flecked eyes; he looked awayin sudden panic. This creature was not telling the truth. She washiding something; a sinister motive lay beneath her smooth speech.
"My friend," he said abruptly: "what of him?"
"For your sake, my Carson," she purred, "he too shall have the freedomof the realm for as long a time as is desired."
The cool fingers crept along his arm, firm and compelling. "Look atme," she whispered.
He thought of the pink gas as his eyes were drawn irresistibly to hers.What he saw in those gold-flecked depths sent a shiver of apprehensionchasing down his spine. Savage, devastating desire mingled withill-concealed rage at his coldness. This beautiful animal could turnlike a flash and rend him limb from limb--and would on the slightestprovocation.
A commotion in the corridor caused her to release him and sit boltupright. Temporarily relieved, Blaine wheeled to face the portal. Tommyhad broken loose! He heard his strident voice, berating an unseenantagonist in the tongue of the Llotta.
Then they were in the room, Tommy struggling and arguing vociferouslywith one of the green-bronze guards. The handmaidens had deserted theircushions and were milling about in affrighted confusion. The Zara'ssibilant exclamation startled him into looking at her once more. Thesame cold fury that had greeted Antazzo glinted icy-hard in that grimlybeautiful face. It was all over for poor Tommy.
* * * * *
But the Zara reached upward and stroked a transparent rod that dangledabove the throne, something he had not noticed before. A screamingvibrant note smote the heavy air, a pulsation that beat at the eardrums with painful intensity. Silence fell as the awesome sound diedaway and echoed faintly from the huge columns that supported the archedceiling. Tommy cooled off when he saw that Blaine was unharmed.
"Drekan!" The Zara's voice was a whiplash as she addressed the guard."You will leave my presence and report to your overman for punishment.Never again molest the Earth men. Begone!"
Again this amazing woman curled in her cushions and again she purred.Tommy watched in open mouthed astonishment as she smiled guilelessly onhis friend.
"You may leave me now, my Carson," she cooed. "Farley is free toaccompany you. Pegrani will guide you and inform you regarding ourcustoms and our pe
ople. You will learn much. And then you shall returnto Zara Clyone."
Blaine had fully expected that Tommy would die a horrible death beforehis eyes, and in his sudden relief bent low and kissed the cold whitehand of the Zara. A foolish thing to do! She purred and snuggled intothe cushions like the feline she was--a dangerous animal; claws drawnin now but ready to strike out, razor sharp, on a moment's notice.
* * * * *
Pegrani led them along the corridor to a lift. The car shot upward withbreath-taking speed.
"Say!" Tommy was growling, in English. "What's the big idea? You've gotthe old girl ga-ga. Trying to vamp her into letting us off easy?"
"Shut up!" Blaine returned, irritated. "I don't know where we stand anymore than you do. But we're going to sit tight now and see whathappens. No more rough stuff from you, either."
"What! You're going to just stand around and take it--whatever theyhand us?"
"Of course not. But the time isn't ripe yet. We'll have to wait till weknow what it's all about."
They were outside then, on the palace roof, and Pegrani motioned themto a railed-in runway that circled its edge. High overhead was theshadowy blackness of the copper shell that enclosed the satellite. Hugelatticed columns, line upon line of them, stretched off into thedistance as far as the eye could follow; enormous white metal supportsthat carried the immense weight of the covering which retained thedense and humid atmosphere. Myriads of tiny blue-white suns thereseemed to be, stretching off between the columns, carried on thickcables and radiating the artificial daylight of the interior. Hot, dampodors wafted across the roof, the odors of decayed vegetation.
Most amazing of all, were the dwellings. In orderly rows like thecolumns, they were flat topped cylindrical things that reminded Blaineof nothing so much as the tanks of an oil refinery back home. And thespace between was overgrown with dense tropical vegetation, tangled andmatted and shooting transparent tubular stems up to a height of ahundred feet or more where they sprouted great spherical growths thatlooked like enormous sponges. Of a sickly, pale green hue, thesegrowths overran everything; climbed the columns and were lost in theshadows above the multitude of lights. The big sponge-like blossomsexpanded and contracted rhythmically. Breathing, they were, like livingthings. Specially cultivated plant life to assist in maintaining theoxygen supply balance by decomposition of carbon dioxide. A marvelousartificial world!
* * * * *
"The streets and moving ways are in tunnels beneath the soil," Pegraniwas explaining. "What lies before you is the city of Ilen-dar, capitalcity of the empire, and like all other cities of Antrid, it isself-sustaining. The vegetation is inedible, all of our food issynthetic and highly concentrated. You were fed by intravenousinjection while under the influence of the language machines. Our heatand power is obtained from the internal fires of Antrid, and, alas,these are being exhausted with great rapidity. Our shortage of power isbecoming acute, and again our peoples are facing extinction."
That explained their need for the k-metal. It came to Blaine in a flashthat Antrid was in sore straits and that this expedition to Earth hadmore back of it than had been revealed. Even with the supply of k-metalAntazzo had stolen, they could not carry on forever.
A screaming object went hurtling through the blackness over theirheads. Something, a vehicle of enormous size with rows of lighted portson the under side, that roared its way under the roof of copper and wasgone in an instant.
"One of our monorail cars," Pegrani told them: "a complete systeminterconnects all cities and divisions. They are capable of circlingthe globe in a day of your time."
Their familiarity with conditions on Earth was astonishing. ProbablyAntazzo was but one of many spies who had been sent to the innerplanets. Pegrani discussed the speed in their own terms.
* * * * *
Someone had crept up behind them; a slight, olive-skinned youth whotouched Blaine softly on the shoulder. Pegrani did not see. He waspointing into the distance and expounding on the merits of the monorailsystem. The youth touched a finger to his lips to enjoin silence, andthrust a crumpled ball of metal foil into Blaine's hand before thepilot realized his intention. A message, undoubtedly!
Some instinct, or some slight sound, warned Pegrani and he turned onhis heel just as the slender lad was slinking away. Black ragecontorted his features and Blaine saw him make a quick motion towardthe inner folds of his jacket.
"Pegrani!" he shouted as he saw a glint of steel. "Don't!"
But it was too late and the Llott paid him no attention, anyway. One ofthose wicked ray pistols sent forth its crackling blue flame and theyouth stood there, bathed in the eery blue light; dazzling blasts ofexploding atoms were seen within the flare. Then there was thenothingness into which Wahoney and Kelly had gone.
Blaine shouted horrified and angry protest and Tommy rushed in to mixit with their guide. But the glowing ray pistol waved them back. Otherguards--the big green-bronze ones--were running in their direction.
"The message!" Pegrani snapped. "Give it to me."
Quick as a flash Blaine crumpled the foil more tightly. A hard littlepellet now, he tossed it over the rail far into the matted vegetationbelow. One might as well hunt for a needle in a haystack as for thattiny ball. But Pegrani would not forget; he'd report to the Zara. Theywere in for it now.