Part 24 (2/2)

”She's lovely,” Arkalion whispered.

”I know.” Like himself, Sophia was garbed in a loose jumper and slacks.

”Stealth,” said Arkalion again. ”Haste.” Arkalion disappeared.

”Well,” Temple told himself. ”What now? At least in the other dreams I was thrust so completely into things, I knew what to do.” He rubbed his jaw grimly. ”Not that it did much good the first time.”

Temple poked the partially-ajar door with his foot, pus.h.i.+ng it open.

The two white-smocked figures had their backs to him, leaned intently over the table and Sophia. Without knowing what motivated him, Temple leaped into the room, grasped the nearer figure's arm, whirled him around. Startled confusion began to alter the man's coa.r.s.e features, but his face went slack when Temple's fist struck his jaw with terrible strength. The man collapsed.

The second man turned, mouthing a stream of what must have been Russian invective. He parried Temple's quick blow with his left hand, crossing his own right fist to Temple's face and almost ending the fight as quickly as it had started. Temple went down in a heap and was vaguely aware of the Russian's booted foot hovering over his face. He reached out, grabbed the boot with both hands, twisted. The man screamed and fell and then they were rolling over and over, striking each other with fists, knees, elbows, gouging, b.u.t.ting, cursing.

Temple found the Russian's throat, closed his hands around it, applied pressure. Fists pounded his face, nails raked him, but slowly he succeeded in throttling the Russian. When Temple got to his feet, trembling, the Russian stared blankly at the ceiling. He would go on staring that way until someone shut his eyes.

Not questioning the incomprehensible, Temple knew he had done what he must. Hardly seeking for the motive he could not find he lifted the unconscious Sophia off the table, slung her long form across his shoulder, plodded with her from the room. Arkalion had said haste. He would hurry.

He next was aware of a s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p. Remembering no time lag, he simply stood in the s.h.i.+p with Arkalion. And Sophia.

He knew it was a s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p because he had been in one before and although the sensation of weightlessness was not present, they were in deep s.p.a.ce. Stars you never see through an obscuring atmosphere hung suspended in the viewports. Cold-bright, not flickering against the plush blackness of deep s.p.a.ce, phalanxes and legions of stars without numbers, in such wild profusion that s.p.a.ce actually seemed three dimensional.

”This is a different sort of dream,” said Sophia in English. ”I remember. I remember everything. Kit--”

”h.e.l.lo.” He felt strangely shy, became mildly angry when Arkalion hardly tried to suppress a slight snicker. ”Well, that second dream wasn't our idea,” Temple protested. ”Once there, we acted ... and--”

”And....” said Sophia.

”And nothing,” Arkalion told them. ”You haven't time. This is a s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p, not like the slow, blumbling craft your people use to reach Mars or Jupiter.”

”Our people?” Temple demanded. ”Not yours?”

”Will you let me finish? Light is a laggard crawler by comparison with the drive propelling this s.h.i.+p. Temple, Sophia, we are leaving your Galaxy altogether.”

”Is that a fact?” said Sophia, her Jupiter-found knowledge telling her they were traveling an unthinkable distance. ”For some final contest between us, no doubt, to decide whether the U. S. S. R. or the U. S.

represents Earth? Kit, I l-love you, but....”

”But Russia is more important, huh?”

”No. I didn't say that. All my training has been along those lines, though, and even if I'm aware it is indoctrination, the fact still remains. If your country is truly better, but if I have seen your country only through the eyes of Pravda, how can I ... I don't know, Kit. Let me think.”

”You needn't,” said Arkalion, smiling. ”If the two of you would let me get on with it you'd see this particular train of thought is meaningless, quite meaningless.” Arkalion cleared his throat.

”Strange, but I have much the same problem as Sophia has. My indoctrination was far more subtle though. Far more convincing, based upon eons of propaganda methods. Temple, Sophia, those who initiated the Nowhere Journey for hundreds of worlds of your galaxy did so with a purpose.”

”I know. To decide who gets their vast knowledge.”

”Wrong. To find suitable hosts in a one-way relations.h.i.+p which is hardly symbiosis, really out and out parasitism.”

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