Part 12 (2/2)

Cemp stared around him, dismayed. The entire chamber was a shambles of twisted, white-hot machinery and debris. The granite walls had crumbled, exposing raw meteorite rock. Molten rock dripped in a score of flowing rivers from the shattered ceiling and walls. Great sections were still tumbling and sliding.

What had been a modern office had become in a matter of minutes a gutted desolation of blackened metal and rock.

For Cemp, the initial staggering reality was that only the high-speed Kibmadine screen had saved him.

The a.s.sault had been gauged to overwhelm and overspeed the entire Silkie defense and attack system.

The intent had been death. No bargaining, no discussion, no questions.

The hard fight had driven him down to a special logic of levels. He felt an automatic outflow of hatred.

Yet after a little, another realization penetrated.Iwon! he thought.

Calm again but savage, he went down five more levels and emerged abruptly at the upper level of a great vista, a huge open s.p.a.ce. The city of the s.p.a.ce Silkies spread below him.

It was precisely and exactly a small Earth city-apartment buildings, private residences, tree-lined streets. Cemp was bemused, for here, too, the native Silkies had clearly attempted to create a human atmosphere.

He could make out figures on a sidewalk far below. He started down. When he was a hundred feet above them, the people stopped and looked up at him. One-a woman-directed a startled thought at him. ”Who are you?”

Cemp told her.

The reaction of the four nearest people was astonish-ment. But they were not afraid or hostile.

The little group, three women and one man, waited for him. As Cemp came down, he was aware that they were signaling to others. Soon a crowd had gathered, mostly in human bodies, mostly women, but an even dozen arrived in Silkie form.

Guards? he wondered. But they were not antagonistic either. Everybody was mentally open, and what was dis-concerting about that was, no one showed any awareness of the attack that had been made on him in the office section near the surface.

Instantly, he saw their unawareness as an opportunity. By keeping silent and alert, he would be able to spot his vicious a.s.sailant. He presumed that the violence had been planned and carried out at the administrative level, I'll find those so andsos!he thought grimly.

To his audience of innocent citizens, he said, ”I'm acting as an emissary of the Earth Government. My purpose here is to discover what binding agreements are possible.”

A woman called up to him, ”We can't seem to change into attractive females, Earth-style. What do you suggest?”

A gale of laughter greeted her remark, Cemp was taken aback. He hadn't expected such easy friendliness from the crowd. But his determination did not waver. ”I presume we can discuss that at government level,” he said, ”but it won't be first on the agenda.”

Some remnants of his hate flow must have gone out to them with this thought, for a man said sharply, ”He doesn't sound very friendly.”

A woman added quickly, ”Come now, Mr. Cemp. This is your real home.”

Cemp had recovered. He replied in a steady, level thought, ”You'll get what you give. Right now, you're giving good. But the agents your government sent to Earth made blood-thirsty threats.”

His thought paused there, puzzled. For these people as they were right now did not seem to have any of that threat in them. It struck him that that should be very significant.

After a moment's hesitation, he finished, ”I'm here to discover what it's all about, so why not direct me to some-one in authority?”

”We don't have authorities.” That was a woman.

A man said, ”Mr. Cemp, we live a completely free existence here, and you and other Earth Silkies are invited to join us.”

Cemp persisted, ”Who decided to send those four hundred messengers to Earth?”

”We always do that, when the time comes,” another woman replied.

”Complete with threats?” asked Cemp. ”Threats of death?”

The woman seemed suddenly uncertain. She turned to one of the men. ”You were down there,” she said. ”Did you threaten violence?”

The man hesitated. ”It's a little vague,” he said, ”but I guess so.” He added quickly, ”It's always been this way when E-Lerd conditions us in connection with the Power. Memory tends to fade very quickly.

In fact, I hadn't recalled that threat aspect until now.” He seemed astonished. ”I'll be d.a.m.ned. I think we'd better speak to E-Lerd and find the reason for it.”

Cemp telepathed directly to the man, ”What was your afterfeeling about what you had done?”

”Just that I communicated that we s.p.a.ce Silkies were here and that it was time for the Earth Silkies to become aware of their true origin.”

He turned to the others. ”This is incredible,” he said. ”I'm astounded. We need to look into E-Lerd's administration of the Power. I uttered murderous words when I was on Earth! That's not like me at all.”

His complete amazement was more convincing than any-thing else could possibly have been.

Cemp said firmly, ”I gather, then, that contrary to your earlier statements, you do have a leader and his name is E-Lerd.”

One of the Silkies answered that. ”No, he's not a leader, but I can see how that might be understood.

We're free. No one tells us what to do. But we do delegate responsibilities. For example, E-Lerd is in charge of the Power, and we get its use through him. Would you like to talk to him, Mr. Cemp?”

”Indeed I would,” said Cemp with intense satisfaction.

He was thinking,The Power! Of course. Who else? The person who has control of the Power is the only one who could have attacked me!

”My name is O-Vedd,” said the s.p.a.ce Silkie. ”Come with me.”

His long, bulletlike body detached itself from the group of similar bodies and darted off over the heads of the crowd. Cemp followed. They came down to a small entrance and into a narrow, smooth-walled granite corridor. After a hundred feet this opened out to another huge s.p.a.ce. Here was a second city.

At least, for a moment that was what it looked like.

Then Cemp saw that the buildings were of a different character-not dwellings at all. For him, who was familiar with most of the paraphernalia of manufactured energy, there was no question. Some of the ma.s.sive structures below were the kind that housed atomic power. Others were distributing plants for electricity. Still others had the unmis-takable shape of the Ylem transformation systems.

None of these, of course, wasthe Power, but here indeed was power in abundance.

Cemp followed O-Vedd down to the courtyard of a building complex that, despite all its s.h.i.+elds, he had no difficulty in identifying as a source of magnetic beams.

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