Z lensman, p.4
Z-Lensman, page 4
"Who am I to mention Eddore? That is the question whose answer you dare not face."
"Whom do you claim to be?" Ymkzex said.
"Don't pretend such guilelessness. I know you as well as you know me."
'I only know that you are a foolish Lensman."
To the Angzex-manifestation this had the ring of an honest belief. Perhaps a mental blockade, that zone of compulsion that Arisians had from time to time and from one occasion to another imposed on Eddorians, had erased the memory.
Angzex-the-imposter decided to permit a glimpse, of the truth.
As Brolenteen, he said, "Think! Admit that you are the Eddorian who once uncovered the forbidden truth-that the ultimate nemesis of Eddore is Arisia!"
"Eddorian? Of course, I am Eddorian!"
"Such admission betrays two facts. You are an arrogant Eddorian Master, or only such would so flagrantly disregard your age-old rules of secrecy. And, secondly, you recognize me as an Arisian!"
The Eddorian was nearly thrown off balance. Brolenteen, who was Angzex, slammed into the Eddorian's mind, if not strong enough to destroy, at least strong enough to throw him out of the system.
"My pride betrays me," the Eddorian boasted. "Does it matter, since you will be destroyed? The insanity of the human mind that I threw against you failed. You were clever to anticipate my attack from two extremes of intelligent life. You are a worthy opponent-and thus I will have greater pleasure in smashing you. Why should I believe you are an Arisian?"
He tried a trick, without expecting it to work. "Come out of your shell and show me yourself."
"I will not expose myself. But I will remind you of a painful memory. You were the Eddorian who was once driven from the Tellurian sector by someone like me."
" I remember! But I remember it with pleasure; not with pain." The Eddorian's thoughts were tempestuous. "Yes, as I recall, I shot him seven times, as fast as I could pull the trigger, through the brain and through the spine, with bullets that volatilized the flesh. Speak my name and tremble!"
GHARLANE.
"Yes, I am Gharlane! Eddorian Master Number Two, second only to the All-Highest in power and ruthlessness! Now you know it is futile to oppose me!" For the very first time, the possessed body of Ymkzex began to shiver with repressed excitement. "You!
We meet at last!" A weird mixture of fear, and pleasure was in the thoughts. "You are-the Director of all Lensmen. You are-STAR A STAR!"
The image of Angzex flickered as Brolenteen's steady concentration faltered.
Gharlane's incredible notion confounded him. Gharlane's response was so intense, so overwrought with emotion, so ridiculously wrong about the imaginary Star A Star, that Brolenteen for an infinitesimal part of a fraction of time allowed the tiniest of flaws, the merest microscopic crack to existance in his perfect shield against the Eddorian.
In a sudden, savage, maddened, frenzied assault, Gharlane struck into Brolenteen's psyche.
The real essence of the zex-line of the living Ymkzex dissolved the imitation zex-line of Angzex. The specter of Angzex vanished.
Brolenteen, the energizer of the Angzex manifestation, was stripped bare of all shielding.
He reached for some spirit or lifeform on which to steady himself. If he did not recover his equilibrium immediately, the equally startled Eddorian would recover first and strip away every secret. He reached out and grabbed--Armstrong! The human was not quite dead-unconscious and dying, but not yet dead. Brolenteen desperately tried to anchor himself to the human mind, unable, however, to draw enough power there to keep himself from possibly being swept away by Gharlane and hurled ignominiously back toward Arisia in a terrible, perhaps fatal, psychological defeat.
Gharlane snorted and whined and squealed with glee, hesitating so he could gloat before his decisive blow.
Nadreck perceived his chance and acted.
From the other crated dureum vault in which he had hidden, Nadreck extruded, uncoiled, and precipitated himself into the room.
Brolenteen promptly and adroitly' strengthened his hold on his mode of existence by switching from Armstrong to Nadreck.
Nadreck launched his optimal blow against the foe. Gharlane, overconfident and overextended, was sent reeling back, shaken off Ymkzex's body, which instantly collapsed lifelessly to the deck.
Nadreck was streaming mental pulses against the disembodied mind of Gharlane.
It was a direct channel between the two, which invited a counterstroke by Gharlane that could destroy Nadreck. Gharlane opened the barriers to his mind to make his fatal thrust.
"Now!" said Nadreck to the Arisian, who had stabilized his condition. "Now!"
Brolenteen needed no special clue, no urging. He knew what to do. Before Gharlane could fling his spear of energy, Brolenteen threw his. It plunged deep into the mental web of Gharlane, disappearing on some long and instantaneous journey to wherever it was that Gharlane's body really rested.
Gharlane, Eddorian Master Number Two, was gone. Nadreck was alone in the cargo room with the dying Armstrong. Bovreck's Lens was already cold and inanimate and fast decaying, but the Tellurian's was strong and vital. Proper attention would save his life, so Nadreck gave it. The human's eyes were open, but until Nadreck snapped on Armstrong's headlamp, the man had assumed he was blind. Nadreck sat Armstrong up, touching his mind to evaluate the damage. The bullets had not exploded in his head; he would live and, with a Restoration, recover. The swelling of the organ of the brain was the most serious problem and was quickly reversed.
Nadreck next pulled some cargo tarpaulins over the bodies of Bovreck, Ymkzex, and Val-d'or, as Armstrong quietly watched him. The Palainian caught the Tellurian's wonderment: "why, Bovreck looks positively human!" Nadreck, without any preliminaries, said, "She's completely three-dimensional now, and your logic presents . you with a more logical gestalt effect. I am Nadreck. I am glad you are alive. You have completed your mission, I think, and can return to Tellus as soon as you are well enough.
That will be sensible. I know you are strangely thrilled by this adventure and feel that it is over too quickly for you. Don't be as imbecilic as the rest of your race seems to be.
Go home where it is safe."
"I congratulate you, Nadreck," said the voice. of Brolenteen. "I understand why you are ashamed, but that is even more reason for me to congratulate you. I commend you for saving the Palainian system from enslavement and for saving me from humiliation."
"I was foolhardy," Nadreck said. "After Angzex's death, I hid in the cargo of this ship, perfectly hidden and secure in the vault, telling myself I would be available if needed.
Actually I believe I did it out of cowardice. That I should have appeared in time to help was more luck than anything. I don't deserve praise for being naturally selfish, deceitful, furtive, and sly. Yes, I am, in fact, simply a fool."
Brolenteen regretted the loss of Angzex, a Palainian Lensman who should have been destined to climb high in the Patrol. Now, however, he had a greater appreciation for this even more complex fellow, Nadreck, the Gray Lensman. The time had come to make him the offer, and Nadreck would say, "It might only make my life more dangerous, but on the other hand, I will have greater ability to defend myself and to develop a possible invincibility. I am much too feeble, as driving away that Eddorian showed me by bringing me much too close to the limits of my power. Yes, I think I may accept your offer. Besides, I have' a certain project that I would be reluctant to undertake as I know the possibility is good that I may suffer some personal harm andthis will help me .
"Yes, I will accept."
And so Brolenteen took Nadreck to Arisia, where he received his advanced training and became a Second Stage Lensman.
That elevation in rank and power was pleasing to the vanity of Nadreck...What he didn't like, however, was the revelation that Gharlane had not died.
Worse yet, Mentor had allowed, actually allowed, Gharlane to escape.
3 The Wedding Gifts
Nadreck of Palain VII, Unattached L2, curled an amorphous tentacle.
caressingly around the shimmering jewel and absorbed its beauty with his mind. It sparkled in many frequencies, tickling his many senses, stimulating the sensuous pleasures of his biomentalis or intrinsic mind.
As the oscillating waves blended in lights and sounds and freezing radiations, much as a warm-blooded human monster might enjoy his high fidelity and three dimensional pleasures in the comfort of his fiery home, Nadreck relaxed and pondered.
So, at last: Gharlane was dead.
There are moments that are important turning points in history. Such a time was the downfall of the Eich and the obliteration of Jarnevon. Billions of dwellers in the two galaxies remembered it as the salvation of the First Galaxy when the leadership of Boskone had collapsed. To the thousands of Patrolmen who manned the Grand Fleet of the Galactic Patrol, it was a moment in their lives when three worlds were fused together by their heroism for a cataclysmic triumph. As they sped homeward through intergalactic space they all could see the incredible pyre they were leaving behind them. Where Jarnevon had been was a new star, the gravestone of the enemy that would have conquered them.
For Kimball Kinnison, the victorious commander of the Grand Fleet, that moment was later climaxed by his betrothal to his red-haired head nurse, the incomparable Clarrissa, destined to be the first female Lensman.
To Nadreck of Palain VII, the reluctant hero of the incident at Research Laboratory Five, this historical moment had marked the completion. of his special training as a Second Stage Lensman. The psychological effect of that upon him had been profound, reshaping him from an inwardly selfish entity to one who only outwardly appeared to be that way. No Lensman ' was more dedicated to the greater principles of the Galactic Patrol and the Galactic Council and Civilization itself than -he was now. He had the wit and intelligence to realize that he had not been changed by his education by Mentor-he had been induced to find his real self.
The fall of Jarnevon and the Eich has been recorded in the official history of the Patrol as the climax to the volume of The Time of the Gray Lensman. It did not, however, mark the beginning of the expected universal peace or the marriage of Kim Kinnison to'-the redhaired beauty. Instead; it was really the prologue to what followed, as was recorded in the Days of the Second Stage Lensmen by "Doc" Smith, chief of the historical section.
Halfway through that account of the Second Stage Lensmen is recorded Nadreck's first meeting with Kinnison and his becoming involved extensively in the activities of the higher headquarters of the gigantic Patrol. Nadreck had distinguished himself in the "debacles" at Shingvors and Antigan, closely monitoring the infrequent traces of the unrepentant Gharlane, and then had narrowed his attention to Kandron, who was on the planet Onlo, forcing that cold creature to abandon his high position and to flee. Kinnison, on the neighboring planet of Thrale working to destroy the Thrale-Onlonian Empire, uncovered a remarkable situation-the sinister adviser to the Tyrant of the Empire was actually Gharlane.
And Kinnison defeated him.
Gharlane was dead.
To Nadreck, this was a distinct, personal disappointment. He had wanted to track down Gharlane and avenge the death of the reek-paternal Bovreck, not for sentimental reasons, but in keeping with the traditional Palainian obsession with self-preservation through tribal inviolability. At the time of Gharlane's escape from the space station struggle, Nadreck had believed that the outcome had been the result of Brolenteen being too weak and Gharlane being too strong. In his training, however, he had learned the truth. In fact, for reasons of strategy, Brolenteen had allowed Gharlane to escape and had deliberately cultivated the deception that Arisians were weaker, not stronger, than Eddorians, thus encouraging an arrogant overconfidence about a vincible The pursuit and final disposal of Gharlane was a challenge that Nadreck missed, although he was mollified by the knowledge that it had taken a supreme effort by the great Kinnison to accomplish the task. Fortunately, Nadreck had another villain to chase.
This was the Onlonian, Kandron, who, although not as despicable nor as. prestigious as Gharlane, was much more devious and delectably more interesting as a similar frigid-blooded, poison-breathing entity. In a way, Nadreck rationalized, he had had his victory over Gharlane, which Brolenteen had chosen to nullify. And that was what had bothered him, and still bothered him. Nadreck did not understand Brolenteen's reasoning and judgment.
Why didn't Nadreck understand? He was an intelligent entity, a Palainian Second Stage Lensman. He was one of the smartest entities in two galaxies-maybe even the smartest, smarter even than Worsel--so why didn't he understand Arisian thinking?
Arisians were his ancestors. They were billions of years more ancient than his own race, but they were not any brainier than he was, just more experienced and psionically developed.
Nadreck couldn't help but feel slightly ashamed of himself. Worsel and Tregonsee and Kinnison seemed to understand the Arisian point of view. Yet these other three Second Stage Lensmen, to Nadreck, were seriously flawed by personal uncertainty and an incomprehensible unselfishness. Perhaps these weaknesses were some kind of strength?
Possibly, but not probably. He was encouraged to know that he did think about these things, unlike most Palainians. Maybe one day he would understand the Cosmic All more nearly as the Arisians did.
Gharlane dead. And Kinnison killed him. Nadreck would have to have Brolenteen confirm this, before Nadreck would finally be convinced it was true.
So, for the first time in what seemed years, Nadreck was relaxed. His special project, retribution on Gharlane-for which he had, in part, become an L2-was gone.
Nadreck's attention came hack to the jewel he was examining. His preferred appendage, at the moment still looking like a tentacle, shaped its tip into a sort of hand, picked up the red gem, and placed it back in its crystal box on a cushion of ammonia snowflakes.
The precious gem, perfectly and intricately faceted, was unsuitable as a gift to the bride.
On her hot planet, the stone would evaporate in seconds.
What was needed was the fire of a Manarkan stardrop, the brilliance of a diamond, and the psychedelic properties of an Ordovik crystal. It had to be capable of being handled and worn in the intolerable temperatures of Klovia or Tellus. Nothing_ in Nadreck's collection would be exactly right.
And then there was the problem of a gift for the groom.
The marriage of Kimball Kinnison to Clarrissa MacDougall would probably be the greatest social occasion that Civilization, in all of its billions of planets, would witness. In fact, Nadreck suspected with good cause, it would probably be the most important event in the Arisians' plans for Civilization, based on their Visualization of the Cosmic All, the causal view of all history and the future in all of time and space.
Yes, a very special gem for Mrs. Clarrissa Kinnison, the Red Lensman.
And for Kinnison? What was he interested in? Did he have any hobby besides hunting Boskonians? Nadreck had an inspiration.
Now he knew exactly how to solve his problem of the wedding gifts. His would be the equal of the best of the billions of presents that would be pouring in for the happy pair.
Nadreck didn't have to ponder long over his plan to get the gifts. He had a workable plan left over from his various traps prepared for Gharlane. The only major difference was that the reward Nadreck had planned for himself would go to Clarrissa.
The first thing that Nadreck did was to make certain that Perbat, the Palainian zwilnik, and Chak, the Onlonian dealer in thionite, and every other illegal substance, object, or crime, were still in business at the same old disreputable hangopts. They were.
The second thing that Nadreck did was to take his Lens from around a forearm and place it in a small jewel case, among the priceless items that were. his finest treasures.
Then, without his Lens, Nadreck went to Palain VI, directly -to the simple home of Perbat, which was buried a thousand feet straight down into the frozen ground. Nadreck knew Perbat's personality well enough to have no qualms about allowing himself to be cornered in the enemy's lair. Perbat felt utterly secure in his own personal fortress.
Aside from the expense of maintaining his network of criminals, he spent most of his money on security devices and bodyguards. Being a Palainian, however, he had no fear of the mysterious fourth dimensional properties of his race that humanoid zwilniks had difficulty in handling.
To Nadreck, whose body needed no disguise but whose mind was impersonating an entirely different and carefully constructed individual from his repertoire, Perbat was an oaf who was easy to deceive.
Nadreck considered the danger to himself to be absolutely nil.
"I know you have never met me," Nadreck said, ostentatiously staring around the expensively furnished room and allowing thoughts of greed and envy to seep through to Perbat. But you no doubt have heard of me. I am, as I. say, the notorious Betical."
Nadreck's "Betical" wasn't notorious, but the character was a documented felon with a well-contrived record counterfeited by both local and Patrol law enforcement agencies.
"Yes, Betical, I know of you," Perbat said, flashing rings and bracelets on his arms and legs. "I looked you up. I know everything about you. I know everything about everyone."
"Well, sir," Nadreck said. "You also know your guards have taken my samples."
"Yes, I know. They seem good samples. But they will have to be tested.
Nadreck knew what was coming. Perbat's method of doing business was considered practical if not amusing. Nevertheless, Nadreck pretended ignorance and said, "How long will that take?"
"No time at all," Perbat said. He waved his hand and one of the dozen bodyguards handed Nadreck a tiny, transparent capsule: It looked like it contained Nadreck's special bentlam derivation, but he" couldn't be sure until he tasted it.
"Take it, chew it, swallow it," Perbat said.
Nadreck let the manservant put it in his mouth, noted that it was not poisoned, and did as he was told. Many, many minutes passed before Perbat spoke. "You have passed the test." Of course, Nadreck knew that Perbat had already had one of his attendants eat some.
