Part 18 (2/2)

He flung me a look and there was a tinge of amus.e.m.e.nt in it. ”You would save your own skin now?”

”Why not? You're a Martian, and this is a war also against Mars.”

His look darkened, but then again sardonic amus.e.m.e.nt struck him.

”We shall see what the Great Master says. There will be a few of our type humans, men and women, wanted when the worlds begin anew. The Great Master said so. He wants to study life on Earth as it was before the destruction.”

Molo's glance swept behind us. I turned to see three figures approaching. My heart pounded. They were Anita, Venza and Molo's sister, Meka. They came slowly, trying to walk, with balancing outstretched arms. With a dozen curious Wandl workers crowding them, they came and joined Molo before us. My heart was pounding, but I flung them a curious, impersonal stare.

”You are here,” said Molo. ”Good. We go now.” He bent over Snap and me. ”I advise you make no effort to leap away, though it may look easy.”

”Not me,” said Snap. ”Where would I go alone in this d.a.m.ned world? I can't very well leap back to Earth, can I?”

”True enough,” said Molo. ”You have sense, little fellow. But I just warn you: the guard who will watch you always is very sharp of eye.

And the weapons here bring very swift death.”

I could feel Anita's gaze upon me, but I did not dare look her way.

”Let's go,” I said, ”You will have no trouble with me.”

With Molo leading us, and the giant insect-like guard following close behind, we made our slow, awkward way across the esplanade portals of the huge globular building.

And within, we traversed a cylinder-like, padded corridor and came presently upon the strangest interior scene I had ever beheld.

10

The room was so large that it seemed almost the entire interior of the building. It was a globular room, a hundred and fifty feet or more in diameter. The inner surface was crowded with people. It was a huge, hollow interior of a ball; and upon its concave surface a throng of the brown-sh.e.l.led workers were gathered. They sat on low seats at the curved bottom of the room, where we entered, and up the sides and upon the slopes and the top, like flies in a globe, hanging head downward.

There was no up or down here; the slight gravity made little difference.

I gazed up amazed to where, a hundred and fifty feet above me, head downward, the crowd of figures were calmly seated. These were clinging, of course; the pound-weight of each of them would drop them down if they let loose. But it required only a slight effort.

Between the tiers, there were narrow open aisles bearing glowlights at intervals. With Molo leading us, we stared up the curving incline of one of these aisles.

”Gregg! Good Lord, it's weird!” Snap said. ”Where are we going to sit?

Don't speak to the girls yet.”

”Have you spoken to them?”

”Yes. A little, on the s.h.i.+p. They're watching for an opportunity but we have to be cautious. Gregg, I've got so much to tell you, but no chance. The brains can just about hear your thoughts.”

We went only a short distance up the incline. There were vacant seats seemingly held ready for us. Our pa.s.sage created a commotion among the figures. Some leaped up and over us to get a better look. I found that we were clinging to the mound-like convex surface of a small half-globe. It raised us some ten feet above the floor. There were low seats with arms against the side-pull of gravity. I found Anita close beside me. Her hand touched me, but she did not turn her head or speak.

Molo was on my other side. I chanced to see his feet. They were planted firmly on the floor. He wore wide-soled shoes equipped with suction pads, no doubt, which would enable him, like the Wandlites, to walk and stand upon the upper inner surfaces of buildings.

As during the moments when Snap and I stood on the landing esplanade, there was so much here that at first I could not encompa.s.s it. But now I began to grasp other details of the strange scene.

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