Evil earths, p.24
EVIL EARTHS, page 24
his right hand crawl beneath the skin. Imperceptibly
the hand edged toward the hilt of the scimitar.
The robot spoke, in a flat, toneless voice. "The Master
summons you. Come at once."
It turned, retreated. The door shut silently. With a
muttered oath Erech relaxed on the furs.
"What--what was that?" Mason asked, feeling a nameless
terror stirring within him. The metal creature had
seemed alivel
"One of the Master's servants," said the Sumerian,
getting to his feet. "One of those he created. Powerful
is the MasterI' Irony tinged his tone.
"Well, I must go," he went on. "You wait here. I'll be
back as soon as I can."
"Didn't that robot see me?" Mason asked uneasily.
Erech shrugged.
"EMil knows Sometimes they see nothing--some-times
everything. I'll be back soon enough, and we'll find
a hiding-place for you. There's no time now."
He hurried out, and Mason stared at the closed door,
trying to integrate his thoughts. Unconsciously for the
last quarter-hour he had been trying to convince
him
162
self that this was a dream, a hallucination born of delirium.
But he knew this was' not so. The reality of this
strange city was clear enough, and Mason was young
enough to realize how elastic are the boundaries of
known science. Time was not fixed, unchangeable. In
theory it would be possible to 'travel in to the future or
the past. And ff in theory--why not in fact?
Strange, yes, and incredible and terrifying---but not
impossible. Furtively Mason ran his hand over the smooth
surface of the metal wall behind him, smoothed the furs
on which he sat. He felt a desperate longing for a cigarette.
There were so many things unexplained! This fantastic
city, ruled by a mysterious Master of whom the Sumerian
was seemingly terrified. That tied in with the known
legends, but it explained woefully little. And it did not
tell Mason.what he most wanted to know: whether he
Was among .enemies or friends.
A noise in the corridor brought Mason ale, rtly to his feet.
Some vague impulse made him open the door, peering out.
A robot was advancing along the passage, still almost
thirty feet away, and Mason quickly closed the door again,
flattening himself against the wall beside it. The creature
might pass by, but there was no assurance of that.
The footsteps stopped. The door opened under the pressure
of a metallic tentacle. Flattened against the wall Mason
saw, from the corner of his eye, the monstrous looming
form of the robot moving forward. It had not seen him.
The creature crossed the threshold and abruptly halted,
as though realizing Mason's proximity. But the man had
already sprung forward, thrusting at the robot with his
shoulder, attempting to squeeze past into the corridor. He
had not realized the frightful power of the thing.
Even caught off balance, the robot was immensely
strong. It wheeled, and the arm-tentacles gripped Mason,
pulled him back. He tried vainly to fight free.
The creature held him effortlessly, and one coiling
limb slid out to close the door. That done, the robot
stumped forward into the room, dragging Mason with it,
ignoring the man's struggles. The faceted eye glared
passionlessly down.
Then Mason caught sight of the empty flask he had
drained, that had been flung aside carelessly by the
Su
163
merian. It was lying within easy reach and with a quick
lunge he snatched it up, his fingers tightening about the
neck. The robot's eye was not high to reach--and Mason's
arm curved in a swift arc, sent the bottle smashing
viciously forward.
Glass showered h/s face painfully. He put all his
strength in a frantic attempt to wriggle free, managed to
tear the last tentacle from /ts anchorage about his waist.
The robot blundered forward, smashing against the wall.
Its eye was shattered, Mason saw; it was blind.
Swiffiy he gained the door, crept out quietly into the
corridor. Behind him came a thunderous crashing as the
robot pounded about the room, reducing it to pulped
wreckage. Mason glanced around. The passage was
empty. He could not wait here for Erech; if one robot
had been sent, there would be others. Choosing a direction
at random, Mason moved cautiously to the left. The
corridor was broken at intervals by doors, but he did not
try them, fearing to alarm some inhabitant of the city.
But he was given no choice. The distant pounding of
feet came mechanically, running toward him, and Mason
guessed that additional robots were arriving. A turn in
the passage hid them from his sight. He hesitated. Perhaps
the ruler of A1 Bekr--whoevor directed the metal
men--was not an enemy. The robot had not actually
attacked him--it had merely tried to subdue and capture.
If he submitted peacefully
But as the hurrying feet came closer a wave of cold
horror chilled Mason, and on impulse he opened the
nearest door and slipped through, closing the panel behind
him. His eyes examined the room as he heard the
robots race past. And, almost, Mason cried out in amazement,
as, for the first time, he saw the woman who was
called Nirvor--the Silver Priestess!
164
CHAPTER II
The Woman Out of Time
Mason stood on a low balcony, from which a sloping
ramp Ied down to a broad, low-ceilinged room, lazy and
perfumed with musky incense. Furs and rugs carpeted
the floor. Below him, in the center of the chamber, was
an '.alter, low and square, from which a flower of flame
blossomed. Gleaming with cold silver radiance, it cast
flickering' gleams over the two 'huge beasts that stood
beside the altar--two leopards, stretched in sinuous
ease.
One leopard of polished ebony
One white as the fabled gates of ivory through which,
legends say, evil dreams pour from the Hell-city Dis to
torment men's sleep ..
Two leopards, brilliant green eyes intent on the woman
who crouched before the flaming altar, a woman such
as Mason had never seen before!
She was like a silver statue, exquisitely moulded, her
i
slender body half revealed by a lacy silken robe of black.
Long unbound hair, moon-silver, drifted about her ivory
shoulders. Her face Mason could not see; the woman
knelt before the altar, and her voice, murmuring sorcerous
music, whispered words in a tongue completely unfamiliar
to the man.
And the pale fires seethed up coldly, whispering. The
leopards watched unmoving. The woman's voice rose to
a shrill, high keening.
"Oh, ohg!" She spoke in the Semite tongue now, and
ù
Mason understood the words. "My city and my people
and my kingdom! Ruined and fallen, and the beasts of
the forest walk in the lonely streets of Corinoor ....
165
ohdl" The woman mourned, her hair falling loose about
her face. With a sudden gesture she sprang erect, ripped
her robe in tattered shreds from her body. For a moment
her nude form was silhouetted against the milky fires, and
Mason caught his breath at sight of the woman's undraped
loveliness, the sleek perfection of limbs and torso, lithe as
the forms of the watching leopards. Then the woman
crouched down in utter self-abasement before the altar,
her hands outstretched in appeal.
"Soon, let it be soon," her voice sobbed. "Let the
Master succeed and bring power again to Corinoor . . .
dead and lovely C0rinoor. I, queen and priestess of
Corinoor, ask this of you like the meanest slave, naked
and abased .... Selene, mighty, Selene, turn your face
again toward my people!"
Silence, and the soft whisper of the moon-fires. The
leopards were statue-still. Their green eyes dwelt enigmatically
on the woman.
Mason felt a queer chill touch him. Once more the
eerie mystery of this haunted city shadowed him. He
made a swift involuntary movement; one of the leopards
coughed, sprang up on alert feet. The white leopard remained
quiet, but the black one stalked forward, eyes
intent on Mason. And there was something disturbingly
strange about those eyes, the man realized--an intelligence
that was more than a beast should possess.
The woman leaped up in one quick movement, stood
staring, red lips parted. Mason felt his throat tighten at
sight of her loveliness. Her eyes were deep pools of jet.
And, perhaps, she read something of Mason's undisguised
admiration, for the lips curved in a smile, and the
low voice called a command.
"Bokyal To me!"
The black leopard halted, one paw lifted. Growling
softly, it returned to the woman's side. She made a peremptory
gesture.
Obeying, Mason walked forward down the ramp. His
heart was thudding madly as he drew closer to the woman's
pale beauty, and a pulse of passion was beating in
his temples. She was Aphrodite, goddess of love and all
delight
Something he read in her eyes made Mason halt.
166
Beauty was there, yes. But there was something else,
something coldly alien and dreadful, that seemed to lurk
hidden in those cryptic depths, a quality of soullessness
that sent a shock of repulsion tingling through Mason.
But before he could speak a thudding of racing feet
sounded nearby.
In Mason's apprehensive glance at the door the woman
read something of the truth. For a long moment she stood
silent; then
"In here," she whispered in Semite. "Make no sound["
She bent, touched the altar. The pale fires died, The altar
was a bare block of dark stone. At the woman's urging
Mason mounted upon it hesitantly, stood rigid. Then,
abruptly regretting his move, he made as though to leap
down.
~
He was. too. late. The moon-flames sprang up, crackling
softly. All around Mason now was a wall o pounds silver fire,
hiding the woman and all else from hi eyes. Oddly there
was no perceptible heat. Rather, a queer chill seemed to
emanate from the weird flames. Slowly Mason relaxed,
realizing that he was in no immediate danger. Yet why
had the woman helped him?
Voices came from beyond the altar. Someone he could
not see was speaking---questioning, demanding. The woman's
voice answered. Then, for a time there was silence.
Again the moon-f/ames died. The room was empty, save
for the leopards and the woman. She had cast a robe of
white fur about her shoulders. Laughing a little, she beckoned
Mason.
"One of the Master's servants," she said. "He was
searching for you. I sent him away. You're safe---for a
while, at least."
Mason got down from the a/tar, with a wary glance at
the leopards. But, save for a growl or two, they paid him
no heed. He came close to the woman, said in Semite:
"You have my thanks, 0 goddess who rules men's
hearts."
Her face clouded at the flowery phrase. "Do not speak
of goddesses. I worship one goddess--and I have fear of
her, but no love. Well--what is your name?"
"Mason."
167
'[ason--yes. And I am Nirvor. I do not think you
have been in Al Bekr long, eh?"
"Half an hour at most. You're the first human being
I've seen, except "Some indefinable /nstinct of caution
made Mason stop before he mentioned the Sumerian.
Nirvor's iet eyes grew keen.
"Except ?"
"The robots."
The woman smiled slightly. "What year do you come
from?"
Mason caught his breath. This confirmed his wild
guesses. The power of the twin monoliths had flung him
into time--as he had thought. Fighting back his questions,
he said as calmly as he could, "1939." And added, as an
afterthought, "A.D."
'øThen--as you would reckon it I come from 2150,
long in your future. I was caught by the time trap, as you
were, and drawn back to this dawn-era before Egypt or
Rome ever sprang from the dust. And here, in long-forgotten
A1 Bekr, I found--the Master."
Nirvor watched, but Mason made no sign. She said,
"You have not seen him yet?"
"No. Who is he?"
"He is from the future--my future as well as yours.
Five thousand years later than your time-sector--nearly
ten thousand years from now, in earth's dusk. He built the
time projector, and with its aid traveled back to this almost
prehistoric city. The projector was wrecked, but the Master
determined to rebuild it. He conquered Al Bekr, and
with the robots he made, turned it into a city of scienoe.
Then he set to work to repair the projector."
"How did you get here?" Mason asked. "I don't
seo
"The twin monoliths have in them atomic power, and
when this is released, the time-warp is set in operation.
Any object within their field of force is hurled into time.
This is true now, or a million years from now. Mason, the
green time-towers that the Master builds now will stand in
this valley when Al Bekr is a lifeless wilderness. They will
stand in your day, and they will stand in mine, and
through the ages, holding within them the power of time
travel. Once in a thousand years, perhaps, a human being
168
will be within range of the towers when the force is released,
perhaps by lightning, as it was when I was captured.
My caravan had camped beneath the palms of an
oasis in the valley of A1 Bekr, and I, wandering in the
storm, sleepless, was between the green towers when lightning
struck. I was drawn back through time to the period
in which the proiector first existed--now, when the Master
rules Al Bekr."
Mason's mind was busy with this explanation. He said,
"Are we the only ones who have been captured by the
monoliths?"
"You and I, and the Master--and one other. He "
