Part 24 (2/2)

”He was a fool,” said the scientist softly, as he rose, ”to plan on removing his scientist. Are there any who object to my succession?”

”No one objects,” said Faslar, the ex-king's Prime Minister and councilor.

”Then I think, Phantal, Commander of planetary forces, that you had best see Ranstud, my a.s.sistant, and follow out the plan outlined by my predecessor. And you Tastal, Commander of Fleets, had best bring your fleets near the planets for protection. Go.”

”May I suggest, mighty Thalt,” said Faslar after the others had left, ”that my knowledge will be exceedingly useful to you. You have two commanders, neither of whom loves you, and neither of whom is highly capable. The family of Thadstil would be glad to learn who removed that honored gentleman, and the family of Datstir would gladly support him who brought the remover of their head to them.

”This would remove two unwelcome menaces, and open places for such as Ranstud and your son Warrtil.

”And,” he said hastily as he saw a slight s.h.i.+ft in Thalt's eyes, ”I might say further that the bereaved ones of Parthel would find great interest in certain of my papers, which are only protected by my personal constant watchfulness.”

”Ah, so? And what of Kelston Faln, Faslar?” smiled the new Sthanta.

Thalt's hand relaxed and they started a conversation and discussion on means of defense.

Chapter XXIII

VENONE

Up from Earth, out of its clear blue sky, and into the glare and dark of s.p.a.ce and near a sun the s.h.i.+p soared. They had been holding it motionless over New York, and now as it rose, hundreds of tiny craft, and a few large excursion s.h.i.+ps followed it until it was out of Earth's atmosphere. Then--it was gone. Gone across s.p.a.ce, racing toward that far Universe at a speed no other thing could equal. In minutes the great disc of the Universe had taken form behind them, as they took their route photographs to find their way back to Earth after the battle, if still they could come.

Then into the stillness of the Intergalactic s.p.a.ces.

”This will be our first opportunity to test the full speed of this s.h.i.+p.

We have never tried its velocity, and we should measure it now. Take a sight on the diameter of the Island, as seen from here, Morey. Then we will travel ten seconds, and look again.”

Half a million light years from the center of the Island now, the great disc spread out over the vast s.p.a.ce behind them, apparently the size of a dinner plate at about thirty inches distance, it was more than two hundred and fifty thousand light years across. Checking carefully, Morey read their distance as just shy of five hundred thousand light years.

”Hold on--here we go,” called Arcot. s.p.a.ce was suddenly black, and beside them ran the twin ghost s.h.i.+ps that follow always when s.p.a.ce is closed to the smallest compa.s.s, for light leaving, goes around a s.p.a.ce whose radius is measured in miles, instead of light centuries and returns. There was no sound, no slightest vibration, only Torlos' iron bones felt a slight shock as the inconceivable currents flowed into the gigantic s.p.a.ce distortion coil from the storage fields, their s.h.i.+elded magnetic flux leaking by in some slight degree.

For ten seconds that seemed minutes Arcot held the s.h.i.+p on the course under the maximum combined powers of s.p.a.ce distortion and time field distortion. Then he released both simultaneously.

The velvet black of s.p.a.ce was about them as before, but now the disc of the Nebula was tiny behind them! So tiny was it, that these men, who knew its magnitude, gasped in sudden wonder. None of them had been able to conceive of such a velocity as this s.h.i.+p had shown! In seconds, Morey announced a moment later, they had traveled _one million, one hundred thousand light years_! Their velocity was six hundred and sixty quadrillion miles per second!

”Then it will take us only a little over one thousand seconds to travel the hundred and fifty million light years, at 110,000 light years per second--that's about the radius of our galaxy, isn't it!” exclaimed Wade.

They started on now, and one thousand and ten seconds, or a little more than eighteen minutes later, they stopped again. So far behind them now as to be almost lost in the far scattered universes, lay their own Island, and carefully they photographed the Universe that now lay less than twenty million light years ahead. Still, it was further, even after crossing this enormous gulf, than are many of those nebulae we see from Earth, many of which lie within that distance. They must proceed cautiously now, for they did not know the exact distance to the Nebula.

Carefully, running forward in jumps of five million light years, forty-five second drives, they worked nearer.

Then finally they entered the Island, and drove toward the denser center.

”Good Lord, Arcot, look at those suns!” exclaimed Morey in amazement.

For the first time they were seeing the suns of this system at a range that permitted observation, and Arcot had stopped to observe. The first one they had chosen had been a blue-white giant of enormous ma.s.s, nearly one hundred and fifty times as heavy as our own sun, and all the enormous surface was radiating power into s.p.a.ce at a rate of nearly thirty thousand horsepower per square inch! No planets circled it, however, in its journey through s.p.a.ce.

”I've been noticing the number of giants here. Look around.”

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