Part 14 (1/2)

She smiled proudly. ”It was my invention that saved you. You see, I have two of them now. I told you that they are as near as we can get to making living things. And I also told you that there is much more to them than you saw. They are destroyers and they are builders. We found you dead--or nearly so. Hagen had sent volt after volt through your bodies. You were electrocuted.”

”We hurried you back to the s.h.i.+p. And all this time, while Ato steered us back into s.p.a.ce, the Kalis and I--for that is what I have decided to call them--have been working over you. You might say that we are master electronicians, rebuilding circuits, repairing transistors and condensers--”

”You were plenty rough,” Gunnar grumbled.

”We had to be. Do you remember a story about the bush-men dying from a curse? Here.” She held her two precious Kalis in one arm while she tapped the base of her skull. ”In here is a bulb, the old brain, not even an idiot's brain, that brought you up from the jungle. It is a simple, worrying brain. Easily frightened. Easily convinced. It was convinced that you were dead. We had to arouse it.”

Odin fancied that he could hear the two Kalis purring contentedly like cats. Well, they had done a good job. Let them purr. He would like to have thanked them, but how can you thank two bowling b.a.l.l.s with scalps of cat's whisker wire?

Gunnar sat up and began grumbling anew: ”Well, thanks. Now, get me some clothes. Freida would not like it if I sat here half-undressed before a young lady. And tell me where we are?”

It was Ato's turn to talk. ”I threw The Nebula into the Fourth Drive some time ago. That may have helped to save your lives too. We should check on that, Nea.”

”Will you please tell me where we are?” Gunnar demanded.

”Give me time, little man,” Ato retorted. ”We are back in Trans-Einsteinian s.p.a.ce, and Aldebaran and its worlds are far behind us. Ahead of us is Grim Hagen and the Old s.h.i.+p. Maya is with him. So are at least a hundred of the white-skinned captains from the planet we just left. Also, a dozen Brons.

Maybe more, but not many. What we saw at the council that day when Rama defied Grim Hagen was just a sample of what was to follow. The people were bled white. Graft, corruption, and patronage had taken its toll. Some of the Brons were older and wanted to rest. But injustice couldn't stop until the last tear had washed away the last drop of blood. A few of the Brons and most of the slaves revolted. They won, of course. Grim Hagen should have known the result. He and his men were in flight when they found you and took Maya. They gathered at the Old s.h.i.+p and took off. Meanwhile, we fought our way out of the city. We decided to have one last try for Maya.

But we found you two and a dead Bron and the head of a native. We brought you here and took off. All this time I have had a fix on Hagen.”

”Can't we overtake him?” Odin asked.

”We are trying to. He seems to be heading for a huge dust-cloud. He also sent us a message. Some nonsense about having contacted some race at the edge of creation who would go with him to plunder the stars. He demanded the secret of Wolden's invention again. I think his mind is going fast.”

”Not as fast as he will go if I ever get my hands on him,” Gunnar promised.

”But Maya is awake now,” Ato explained. ”We had time on our side before.

Now, if he gets away from us he can live out his days on some obscure planet. The years will pa.s.s like a whirlwind--while we go das.h.i.+ng this way and that, and in a surprisingly short time our willing and unwilling fugitives will have lived out their lives. They have the vagaries of time, s.p.a.ce, and speed upon their side.”

Nea laughed. ”Even as I said before.” She gave Jack Odin a searching look, but Odin avoided her gaze--

”Then, what have you done?” Odin asked.

”All that I could do under the circ.u.mstances. I have a fix upon him. We sapped all the energy from Aldebaran that we could. We have power enough, but there are no stars nearby. As I said before, he is heading for a dust-cloud. There, both s.h.i.+ps can replenish their energy. After that we will have to stick close by him and see what happens. After all, we are behind him. By the old Airmen's rule of thumb, a s.h.i.+p with another upon its tail is a hundred percent loss.”

”Only at that moment,” Odin corrected. ”If not destroyed, it has a chance to improve its percentage when the pursuer has made its pa.s.s.”

”True enough,” Ato admitted. ”That is why I propose to stay close behind it. I can't seem to find that dust cloud on any map. It must be far, far away.”

Nea laughed again. ”What is far? What is near? You do not even have catch-words for Trans-s.p.a.ce. You are looking into the books of the advanced cla.s.ses, and you have not yet opened the primers of s.p.a.ce.”

Ato flushed in anger. ”Nea, I was my father's helper for years and years.

I know as much about s.p.a.ce as any man.”

She shrugged. ”Oh, you can cover blackboards with formulas, and I don't doubt that they will be right. But living things and living emotions demand something to cling to. A measuring stick. Grim Hagen tried to give them something substantial back there: A system of brutality and graft that worked for the last-minute Caesars. He even threw in a G.o.ddess. Did he succeed?”