E.E. 'Doc' Smith SF Gateway Omnibus: The Skylark of Space, Skylark Three, Skylark of Valeron, Skylark DuQuesne (20 page)

High enough to be safe, Seaton stopped climbing and went out to confer with the others.

‘It sure feels good to get a cool breath,’ he said, inhaling deeply the thin, cold air of that altitude. Then he saw the kondalians, who, besides having taken a beating from the – to them – atrocious acceleration, were gasping for breath and were shivering, pale with cold.

‘If
this
is what you like,’ Dunark said, trying manfully to grin, ‘I see at last why you wear clothes.’

Apologizing quickly, Seaton went back to the board and laid a course, on a downward slant, toward the ocean. Then he asked DuQuesne to take over and rejoined the group.

‘There’s no accounting for tastes,’ he said to Dunark, ‘but I can’t hand your climate a thing. It’s hotter and muggier than Washington in August; “and that,” as the poet feelingly remarked,
“is going some.” But there’s no sense to sitting here in the dark. Snap the switch, will you, Dottie?’

‘Be glad to … now we’ll see what they
really
look like … Why, they
are
beautiful … in spite of being sort of greenish like, they
really are
!’

But Sitar took one look at the woman by her side, shut both eyes, and screamed, ‘What a
horrible
light! Shut it off;
please!
I’d rather be in darkness all my—’

‘Did you ever see any darkness?’ Seaton interrupted.

‘Yes, I shut myself into a dark closet once, when I was a girl … and it scared me half out of my senses. I’ll take back what I started to say; but that light’– Dorothy had already turned it off – ‘was the most
terrible
thing I ever saw!’

‘Why, Sitar,’ Dorothy said, ‘you looked perfectly stunning!’

‘They see things differently from the way we do,’ Seaton explained. ‘Their optic nerves respond differently, send a different message to the brain. The same stimulus produces two entirely different end sensations. Am I making myself clear?’

‘Sort of. Not very.’ Dorothy said, doubtfully.

‘Take a concrete example, the Kondalian color “map.” Can you describe it?’

‘It’s a kind of greenish orange … but it shouldn’t be. By what we learned from Dunark, it’s brilliant purple.’

‘That’s what I mean. Well, get set, everybody, and we’ll tear off a few knots for Kondalek.’

As they neared the ocean several Mardonalian battleships tried to intercept them; but the
Skylark
hopped over them and her speed was such that pursuit was not attempted. The ocean was crossed at the same high speed.

Dunark, who had already tuned the
Skylark
’s powerful transmitter to his father’s private frequency, reported to him everything that had happened; and emperor and crown prince worked out a modified version which was to be broadcast throughout the nation.

Crane drew Seaton aside.

‘Do you think we can really trust these Kondalians, any more than we should have trusted the Mardonalians? It might be better for us to stay in the
Skylark
instead of going to the palace at all.’

‘Yes to the first; no to the second,’ Seaton replied. ‘I went off half-cocked last time, I admit; but I’ve got his whole mind inside my skull, so I know him a lot better than I know you. They’ve got some mighty funny ideas, and they’re bloodthirsty and hard as tungsten carbide; but, basically, they’re just as decent as we are.

‘As for staying in here, what good would that do? Steel is as soft as mush to the stuff they’ve got. And we can’t go anywhere, anyway. No copper – we’re down to the plating in spots. And we couldn’t if we were full of copper. The old bus is a wreck; she’s got to be completely rebuilt. But you don’t have to worry this time, Mart. I
know
they’re friends of ours.’

‘You don’t say that very often,’ Crane conceded, ‘and when you do, I believe you. All objections are withdrawn.’

Flying over an immense city, the
Skylark
came to a halt directly above the
palace, which, with its landing dock nearby, was very similar to that of Nalboon, the Mardonalian potentate.

From the city beneath the
Skylark
hundreds of big guns roared in welcome. Banners and streamers hung from every point. The air became tinted and perfumed with a bewildering variety of colors and scents. Ether and air alike were full of messages of welcome and hymns of joy.

A fleet of giant warships came up, to escort the battered little globe with impressive ceremony down to the landing dock; while around them great numbers of smaller aircraft flitted. Tiny one-man machines darted here and there, apparently always in imminent danger of collision with each other or with their larger fellows, but always escaping as though by a miracle. Beautiful pleasure-planes soared and dipped and wheeled like great gulls; and, cleaving their stately way through the hordes of lesser craft, immense multi-plane passenger liners partially supported by helicopter screws turned aside from their scheduled courses to pay homage to the half of the Kondalian royal family so miraculously returned from the dead.

As the
Skylark
approached the roof of the dock, all the escorting vessels dropped away. On the roof, instead of the brilliant assemblage the Earthmen had expected to see, there was only a small group of persons, all of whom were as completely unadorned as were Dunark and the other erstwhile captives.

In answer to Seaton’s look of surprise, Dunark said, with feeling, ‘My father, mother, and the rest of the family. They knew we’d be stripped; they are meeting us that way.’

Seaton landed the ship. He and his four stayed inside while the family reunion, which was very similar to an Earthly one under similar circumstances, took place. Dunark then led his father up to the
Skylark
and the Tellurians disembarked.

‘Friends, I have told you of my father; I present you to Roban, the Karfedix of Kondal. Father, it is an honor to present to you those who rescued us from Nalboon and from Mardonale. Seaton, Karfedix of Knowledge; Crane, Karfedix of Wealth; Miss Vaneman, and Miss Spencer. The Karfedelix DuQuesne’ – waving his hand at him – ‘is a lesser authority of knowledge and is captive to the others.’

‘The Kofedix Dunark exaggerates our services,’ Seaton said, ‘and does not mention the fact that he saved all our lives.’

Disregarding Seaton’s remark, Roban thanked them in the name of
Kondal and introduced them to the rest of his party. As they all walked toward the elevator the emperor turned to his son with a puzzled expression.

‘I know that our guests are from a very distant world, and I understand your accident with the educator, but I cannot understand the titles of these men. Knowledge and wealth are not – cannot be – ruled over. Are you sure that you have translated their titles correctly?’

‘No translation is possible. Crane has no title, and was not at all willing for me to apply any title to him. Seaton’s title, one of learnedness, has no equivalent in our language. What I did was to call them what each one would certainly become if he had been born one of us. Their government is not a government at all, but stark madness, the rulers being chosen by the people themselves, who change their minds and their rulers every year or two. And, everyone being equal before the law, does just about as he pleases …’

‘Incredible!’ exclaimed Roban. ‘How, then, is anything done?’

‘I do not know. I simply do not understand it at all. They do not seem to care, as a nation, whether anything worthwhile gets done or not, as long as each man has what he calls his liberty. But that isn’t the worst, or the most unreasonable. Listen to this.’

Dunark told his father all about the Seaton-Crane versus DuQuesne conflict. ‘Then, in spite of all that, Crane gave DuQuesne both his pistols and DuQuesne stood at Seaton’s side in that doorway and the two of them killed every Mardonalian on that roof before I could fire a single shot. DuQuesne fired every bullet in both his pistols and made no attempt whatever to kill either Seaton or Crane. And he is
still
their captive!’

‘Incredible! What an incomprehensibly distorted sense of honor! If it were anyone except you saying this, I would deem it the ravings of a maniac. Are you sure, son, that these are facts?’

‘I am sure. I saw them happen; so did the others. But in many other respects they are … well, they are
not
insane … Incomprehensible. The tenets of reason as we know reason simply are not applicable to many of their ideas, concepts, and actions. Clothing, for instance. Their values, their ethics, are in some respects absolutely incommensurate with ours. However, their sense of honor is, at bottom, as sound as ours, and as strong. And, since Nalboon tried to kill them, they are definitely on our side.’

‘That, at least, I can understand, and it is well.’ The older man shook his head. ‘My mind is full of cobwebs. An enemy who is a friend. Or vice versa. Or both. A master who arms a slave. An armed slave who does not kill his master. That, my son, is simple, plain, stark lunacy!’

During this conversation they had reached the palace, after traversing grounds even more sumptuous and splendid than those surrounding the palace of Nalboon. Inside the building, Dunark himself led the guests to their rooms, accompanied by the major-domo and an escort of
guards. The rooms were intercommunicating and each had a completely equipped bathroom, with a small swimming pool, built of polished metal, in lieu of a tub.

‘This’d be nice,’ Seaton said, indicating the pool, ‘if you had some cold water.’

‘There is cold water.’ Dunark turned on a ten-inch stream of lukewarm water, then shut it off and smiled sheepishly. ‘But I keep forgetting what you mean by the word “cold.” We will install refrigerating machines at once.’

‘Oh, don’t bother about that; we won’t be here long enough. One thing, though. I forgot to tell you. We’ll eat our own food, not yours.’

‘Of course. We’ll take care of it. I’ll be back in half an hour to take you to fourth-meal.’

Scarcely had the Earthlings freshened themselves than he was back; but he was no longer the Dunark they had known. He now wore a metal-and-leather harness that was one blaze of gems. A belt hung with resplendent weapons replaced the familiar hollow one of metal. His right arm, between the wrist and the elbow, was almost covered by six bracelets of a transparent, deep cobalt-blue metal; each set with in incredibly brilliant stone of the same color. On his left wrist he wore a Kondalian chronometer. This was an instrument resembling an odometer, whose numerous revolving segments showed a large and constantly-increasing number – the date and time of the Osomian day expressed in a decimal number of the years of Kondalian history.

‘Greetings, oh guests from Tellus! I feel more like myself, now that I am again in my trappings and have my weapons at my side.’ He attached a timepiece to the wrist of each of the guests, with a bracelet of the blue metal. ‘Will you accompany me to fourth-meal or aren’t you hungry?’

‘We accept with thanks,’ Dorothy replied, promptly. ‘I, for one, am starving by inches.’

As they walked toward the dining-hall Dunark noticed that Dorothy’s eyes kept straying to his bracelets.

‘They are our wedding rings. Man and wife exchange bracelets as part of the ceremony.’

‘Then you can always tell whether a man is married, and how many wives he has, just by looking at his arm. Nice. Some men on Earth wear wedding rings, but not many.’

Roban met them at the door of the hall, and Dorothy counted ten of the peculiar bracelets upon his right arm as he led them to places near his own. The room was a replica of the other Osnomian dining-hall they had seen; and the women were decorated with the same barbaric splendor of scintillating gems.

After the meal, which was a happy one, taking on the nature
of a celebration in honor of the return of the children, DuQuesne went directly to his room, while the others spent the time until zero hour in strolling about the grounds. Upon returning to the room occupied by the two girls, the couples separated, each girl accompanying her lover to the door of his room.

Margaret was ill at ease.

‘What’s the matter, sweetheart?’ Crane asked, solicitously. She twisted nervously at a button on his shirt.

‘I didn’t know that you … I wasn’t … I mean I didn’t …’ She broke off, then went on with a rush. ‘What did Dunark mean by calling you the Karfedix of Wealth?’

‘Well, you see, I happen to have some money …’ he began.

‘Then you really
are
M. Reynolds Crane!’

Crane put his other arm around her, kissed her, and held her close.

‘Is
that
all that was bothering you? What does money amount to between you and me?’

‘Nothing – to me – but I’m awfully glad I didn’t know anything about it before.’ She returned his kisses with fervor. ‘That is, it doesn’t mean a thing if you are
perfectly
sure that I’m not after—’

Crane, the imperturbable, broke a hard and fast rule and interrupted her. ‘Don’t say that, dear. Don’t even think of it, ever again. We both know that between you and me there never have been, are not now, and never shall be, any doubts or any questions.’

‘If I could have that tank full of good cold water right now,’ Seaton said, as he stood with Dorothy in the door of his room, ‘I’d throw you in, clothes and all, dive in with you, and we’d soak in it all night. Night? What do I mean, night? This constant daylight, constant heat, and supersaturated humidity are pulling my cork. You don’t look up to snuff, either.’ He lifted her gorgeous auburn head from his shoulder and studied her face. ‘You look like you’d been pulled through a knothole – you’re starting to get black circles under your eyes.’

‘I know it.’ She nestled even closer against him. ‘I’m scared blue half the time. I always thought I had good nerves, but everything here is so perfectly
horrible
that I can’t sleep – and I always used to go to sleep in the air, two or three inches before I hit the sheets. When I’m with you it isn’t too bad – I really enjoy a lot of the things – but the sleeping-periods – Ugh!’ She shivered in the circle of his arms. ‘You can say anything about them you can think of, and I’ll back you to your proverbial nineteen decimals. I just lie there, tenser and tighter, and my mind goes up like a skyrocket. Peggy and I just huddle up to each other in a ghastly purple funk. I’m ashamed of both of us, but that’s the way it is and we can’t help it.’