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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/29205-h.zip b/29205-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..804fcdc --- /dev/null +++ b/29205-h.zip diff --git a/29205-h/29205-h.htm b/29205-h/29205-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..472a205 --- /dev/null +++ b/29205-h/29205-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,1423 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of Grove of the Unborn, by Lyn Venable + </title> + <style type="text/css"> + + p {margin-top: .75em; text-align: justify; margin-bottom: .75em;} + h1,h2 {text-align: right; font-weight: normal; line-height: 2em;} + body {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .trn {border: solid 1px; margin: 3em 15%; padding: 1em; text-align: justify;} + .dcap {text-transform: uppercase;} + .bk1 {margin: 1em auto 3em; border-top: solid 2px; border-bottom: solid 2px;} + .bk2 {float: left; width: 15em; margin: 1em 2em 1em 0;} + .pr1 {line-height: 1.5em; margin-top: 4em;} + hr {width: 45%; margin: 1em auto; visibility: hidden;} + + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Grove of the Unborn, by Lyn Venable + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Grove of the Unborn + +Author: Lyn Venable + +Release Date: June 22, 2009 [EBook #29205] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GROVE OF THE UNBORN *** + + + + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<div class="bk1"><p><small><i>Glamorous Lyn Venable of Dallas, Texas, makes a first appearance in +these pages (but by no means her first appearance in this field), with +this sensitive story of a young man who needn't have run. A contributor +to William Nolan's (OF TIME AND TEXAS, November, 1956, +Fantastic Universe) famous </i>Ray Bradbury Review<i>, Miss Venable +wants, very very much, to be a part, albeit small, of the comeback of +science fiction that is seen today, as she wrote us recently.</i></small></p></div> + +<div class="bk2"><h1><b>grove<br /> +of<br /> +the<br /> +unborn</b></h1> + +<h2><small><i>by ... LYN VENABLE</i></small></h2> + +<p class="pr1"><big><b>Bheel still stood on the patio, transfixed with horror. +He heard the terrified cry "Dheb Tyn-Dall"—and then the +vigilant Guardians got him....</b></big></p></div> + +<p><span class="dcap">Tyndall</span> heard the rockets +begin to roar, and it seemed +as though the very blood in +his veins pulsated with the +surging of those mighty jets. +Going? They couldn't be +going. Not yet. Not without +him! And he heard the roaring +rise to a mighty crescendo, +and he felt the trembling +of the ground beneath the +room in which he lay, and +then the great sound grew +less, and grew dim, and +finally dissipated in a thin +hum that dwindled finally +into silence. They were gone.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p>Tyndall threw himself face +down on his couch, the feel of +the slick, strange fabric cold +and unfriendly against his +face. He lay there for a long +time, not moving. Tyndall's +thoughts during those hours +were of very fundamental +things, that beneath him, beneath +the structure of the +building in which he was confined, +lay a world that was +not Earth, circling a sun that +was not Sol, and that the +ship had gone and would +never come back. He was +alone, abandoned. He thought +of the ship, a silver streak +now in the implacable blackness +of space, threading its +way homeward through the +stars to Sol, to Earth. The +utter desolation which swept +over him at the impact of his +aloneness was more than he +could endure, and he forced +himself to think of something +else.</p> + +<p>Why was he here then? +John Tyndall, 3rd Engineer +of the starship <i>Polaris</i>. It had +been such a routine trip, ferrying +a group of zoologists +and biologists around the galaxy +looking for unclassified +life-supporting planets. They +had found such a world circling +an obscure sun half way +across the galaxy. An ideal +world for research expedition, +teeming with life, the +scientists were delighted. In +a few short months they discovered +and cataloged over a +thousand varieties of flora +and fauna peculiar to this +planet, called Arrill, after the +native name which sounded +something like Ahhrhell. +Yes, there were natives, humanoid, +civilized and gracious. +They had seemed to +welcome the strangers, as a +matter of fact they had +seemed to expect them.</p> + +<p>The Arrillians had learned +English easily, its basic +sounds not being too alien to +their own tongue. They had +quite a city there on the edge +of the jungle, although, in circling +the planet before +landing, the expedition had +noted that this was the only +city. On a world only a little +smaller than Earth, one city, +surrounded completely by the +tropical jungle which covered +the rest of the world. A city +without power, without machinery +of any kind, and yet +a city that was self-sufficient.</p> + +<p>Well-tilled fields stretched +to the very edge of the jungle, +where high walls kept out the +voracious growth. The fields +fed the city well, and clothed +it well. And there were mines +to yield up fine metal and precious +gems. The Earthmen +had marveled, and yet, it had +seemed strange. On all this +planet, just one city with perhaps +half a million people +within its walls. But this was +not a problem for the expedition.</p> + +<p>The crew of the <i>Polaris</i> +and the members of the +expedition had spent many an +enjoyable evening in the +dining hall of the palace-like +home of the Rhal, who was +something more than a mayor +and something less than a +king. Actually, Arrill seemed +to get along with a minimum +of government. All in all, the +Earthmen had summed up the +Arrillians as being a naive, +mild, and courteous people. +They probably still thought +so, all of them, that is, except +Tyndall.</p> + +<p>Of course, now that he +looked back upon it, there +has been a few things ... that +business about the +Bugs, as the Earthmen had +dubbed the oddly ugly creatures +who seemed to occupy +something of the position of +a sacred cow in the Arrillian +scheme of things. The Bugs +came in all sizes, that is all +sizes from a foot or so in +length up to the size of a full +human.</p> + +<p>The Bugs were not permitted +to roam the streets and +market places, like the sacred +cows of the Earthly Hindus. +The Bugs were kept in huge +pens, which none but a few +high-ranking priests were +permitted to enter, and although +the Earthmen were +not prevented from standing +outside the pens and watching +the ugly beasts munching +grass or basking in the sun, +the Arrillians always seemed +nervous when the strangers +were about the pens. The +Earthmen had shrugged and +reflected that religion was a +complexity difficult enough +at home, needless to probe +too deeply into the Arrillian.</p> + +<p>But The Time had been +something else again, bringing +with it, the first sign of +real Arrillian fanaticism and +the first hint of violence. +Tyndall and four companions +were strolling in a downtown +section of the city, when all +at once a hoarse cry in Arrillian +shattered the quiet hum +of street activity.</p> + +<p>"What did he say?" asked +one of Tyndall's companions, +who had not learned much +Arrillian.</p> + +<p>"I—I think, 'A Time! A +Time!' What could ..." he +never finished the sentence, +all about them Arrillians had +prostrated themselves in the +rather dirty street, covering +their faces with their hands, +lying face down. The Earthmen +hesitated a moment, and +a priest of Arrill appeared as +though from nowhere, a +wicked scimitar-like weapon +in his hand and a face tense +with anger.</p> + +<p>"Dare you," he hissed in +Arrillian, "dare you not hide +your eyes at A Time!" He +pushed one of the Earthmen +with surprising strength, and +the latter stumbled to his +knees. All five men hastened +to ape the position of the +prostrate Arrillians; they +knew better to risk committing +sacrilege on a strange +planet. As Tyndall sank to +the ground and covered his +eyes, he heard that priest +mutter another sentence, in +which his own name was included. +He thought it was +"You, Tyn-Dall ... even you."</p> + +<p>A few moments later a bell +sounded from somewhere, and +the buzzing of conversation +began around them, along +with the shuffling, scraping +sound of many people getting +to their feet at once. A hand +touched Tyndall's shoulder +and an Arrillian voice, laughing +now, purred, "Up stranger, +up, The Time is past."</p> + +<p>The Earthmen got to their +feet. Everything about them +was the same as though nothing +had happened, people +strolling along the street, +going in and out of shops, +stopping to chat.</p> + +<p>"I guess that was the all-clear," +commented one +wryly.</p> + +<p>The others laughed nervously, +but Tyndall was +strangely troubled, he was +thinking of the strange +words of the priest, "You, +Tyn-Dall, even you." Why +should he have known, and +not the others? He tried to +forget it. Arrillian was a +complex tongue with confusing +syntax, perhaps the +priest had said something +else. But Tyndall knew one +thing for certain, the mention +of his name had been +unmistakable.</p> + +<p>The mood hung on, and +quite suddenly Tyndall had +asked, "I wonder about the +children. Why do you suppose +it is?"</p> + +<p>One of the men laughed, +"Maybe they feed them to +the Bugs." At no time, during +their stay on Arrill, had +they seen a single child, or +young person under the age +of about twenty-one. The +crew had speculated upon +this at great length, coming +to the conclusion that the +youngsters were kept secluded +for some reason +known only to the Arrillians, +probably some part of their +religion. One of them had +made so bold as to ask one of +the scientists who politely +told him that since his group +was not composed of ethnologists +or theologists, but +of biologists and zoologists, +they were interested neither +in the Arrillians, their offspring +nor their religion, +but merely in the flora and +fauna of the planet, both of +which seemed to be rather +deadly. The expedition had +had several close calls in the +jungle, and some of the +plants seemed as violently +carnivorous as the animals.</p> + +<p>It was just a few days +after the incident that the +Arrillians kidnapped Tyndall. +It had been a simple, +old-fashioned sort of job, +pulled off with efficiency +and dispatch as he wandered +a few hundred feet away from the +ship. It was late, and he had +been unable to sleep, so he +had strolled out for a smoke. +The nightwatch must have +been somewhere about on +patrol, probably only a few +hundred feet away, on the +other side of the ship. It +happened suddenly and silently, +the hand clapped over +his mouth, the forearm constricting +his windpipe, his +legs jerked out from under +him, and a rag smelling sickly-sweet +shoved under his +nose, bringing oblivion.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p>When he came to consciousness, +he found himself +in this room, and he knew +that since then, many days +and nights had passed. His +wants were meticulously attended +to, his bath prepared, +his food brought to him regularly, +delicious and steaming, +with a generous supply +of full-bodied Arrillian wine +to wash it down. Fresh +clothes were brought to him +daily, the loose-flowing, +highly ornamented robe of +the Arrillian noble. Tyndall +knew he was no ordinary +prisoner, and somehow, this +fact made him doubly uneasy.</p> + +<p>And then, tonight, the ship +had blasted off without him. +Tyndall could easily reconstruct +what had happened +when his crewmates had inquired +about him, at the palace +and in town. "Tyn-Dall?" +Then, a sorrowful expression, +a shrugging of the +shoulders, a pointing toward +the death-infested jungle, +and a mournful shaking of +the head, sign language +which in any tongue meant, +"Tyn-Dall wanders too far +from your ship. He becomes +lost. Alas, he does not know +our jungle and its perils." +Those who spoke a little +English would make some +expression of sympathy.</p> + +<p>Maybe the crew was a little +suspicious, maybe they +thought there was something +fishy about the thing, and +then they thought of the unhappy +results of what was +commonly referred to as an +"interplanetary incident." +Ever since the people of the +second planet of Alpha Centauri, +in the early days of +extraterrestrial exploration, +had massacred an entire expedition +because the captain +had mortally insulted a tribal +leader by refusing a +sacred fruit, such incidents +had been avoided at all costs.</p> + +<p>And so, they dared not offend +the Arrillians by questioning +the veracity of their +statements. And the jungle +was deadly, so they looked a +little longer, and asked a few +more questions. After a little +while, the scientists had completed +their work and were +anxious to get home, and so, +the ship blasted off, without +him.</p> + +<p>All this had passed kaleidoscopically +in Tyndall's +mind as he lay on the couch +in his luxurious prison, too +numb to weep or even curse. +His reverie was broken by +the clicking of the lock and +he raised up to see the door +opening. An Arrillian servant +stood there, his silver +hair done up in the complicated +style which denoted +male house servants. He was +unarmed. The houseman +smiled, roared in imitation of +a rocket, made a swooping +gesture with one hand to indicate +the departing ship, +then pointed at Tyndall and +at the open door. The servant +bowed and departed, leaving +the door slightly ajar. Now +that the ship was gone, he +was free to leave his room.</p> + +<p>Tyndall stepped cautiously +out of the room and found +himself in a long hall, with +many doors opening from it +on either side, much like a +hotel corridor. One end of +the hall seemed to open out +onto a garden and he started +in that direction.</p> + +<p>The doorway opened out +into a patio which overlooked +a vast and perfectly +tended garden. The verdant +perfection of the scene was +marred only by one of the +Bugs, sunning itself and +gnawing on the stem of a +flower. Tyndall was impressed +again with the repulsive +ugliness of the thing. +This one was the size of a +small adult human, and even +vaguely human in outline, +although the brownish armored +body was still more +suggestive of a big bug than +anything else known to him. +There were even rudimentary +wings furled close to +the curving back, and the +underside was a dirty, +striped gray. Tyndall shuddered, +wondering why the +Arrillians, who so loved to +surround themselves with +beauty, should choose so horrendous +a creature as the object +of their worship, or protection.</p> + +<p>He heard running footsteps +behind him, and turned +to see the Arrillian houseman, +breathless, with an expression +of greatest concern +on his face. The servant +bowed respectfully before +Tyndall, then gestured at the +garden, shook his head vigorously +from side to side and +tugged at the Earthman's +sleeve.</p> + +<p>"Forbidden territory, eh? +Okay, old fellow, what +now?"</p> + +<p>The servant motioned for +Tyndall to follow him, and +ushered him down the hall +from whence he had just +come, and into another of +the rooms opening off from +it. The very old man reclining +upon the low, Roman-like +couch, Tyndall recognized +at once as his host, the +Rhal of Arrill.</p> + +<p>The Rhal touched the fingertips +of both hands to his +forehead in the Arrillian +gesture of greeting, and +Tyndall did the same. He noticed +several male Arrillians +standing near the back of the +room, although the servant +had bowed and retired.</p> + +<p>"Well, Tyn-Dall, how do +you enjoy the hospitality of +Ahhreel?" He, of course, +gave the native pronunciation +to the name which was +almost Teutonic in sound +and unpronounceable for Tyndall +because of the sound +given to the double aspirate, +for which he knew no equivalent.</p> + +<p>"Your English, Dheb Rhal, +has improved greatly since +our last meeting," commented +Tyndall guardedly, +using the Arrillian prefix of +extreme respect.</p> + +<p>The old man smiled. "Your +friends were kind enough to +lend me books and also the +little grooved disks that +make voice." He gestured toward +an old-fashioned wind-up +type phonograph which +Tyndall recognized at once +as being standard aboard interstellar +vessels, and for +just such a purpose. The +Rhal continued, "For teaching +English very fine. How +are you enjoying our hospitality, +I ask again?"</p> + +<p>Tyndall was stuck on Arrill +and he knew it. There +was no need to cook his own +goose by being deliberately +offensive. "I appreciate the +hospitality of Arrill, I express +my thanks for the consideration +of my hosts but—if +I may ask a question?"</p> + +<p>"Yes?"</p> + +<p>"What, in the wisdom of +the Dheb Rhal, is the reason +for my—er—detainment?"</p> + +<p>"To answer that, Tyn-Dall, +I must tell you something of +the past of Ahhreel, and of +her destiny." At these words, +the other Arrillians in the +room drew closer, and the +Rhal motioned them to a +couch at his feet and nodded +toward Tyndall, requesting +that he join them. Tyndall noticed +that the others were +gazing up into the old man's +face with an expression of +raptness, even of reverence. +He knew that the Rhal did +not possess an especially exalted +position politically, +even though he was head of +the city. He guessed therefore +that the Rhal must be +the religious ruler of Arrill +as well.</p> + +<p>The Rhal began, intoning +the words as though he were +reciting a ritual, "There was +a time, many thousands of +Khreelas ago, when the kingdom +of Ahhreel was not one +small city, as you see it now, +but a mighty empire, girdling +the world in her vastness. +But the people of +Ahhreel had become evil in +their ways, and her cities +were black with sin. It was +then that Xheev himself left +his kingdom in paradise and +appeared to the people of Ahhreel, +and he told them that +he was displeased, and that +bad times would fall upon +Ahhreel, and that her people +would dwindle in number, +and became exceedingly few, +and the jungle would reclaim +her emptied cities. One city, +and only one, would survive +and prosper, and the people +of that city would be given +the chance to redeem Ahhreel, +and remove the heavy +hand of Xheev's terrible +punishment.</p> + +<p>"All this came to pass, and +in the dark Khreelas that +followed, all of Ahhreel vanished +except this city. Now, +for many, many thousands of +Khreelas, the people of this +city have striven to redeem +Ahhreel by obeying the +sacred laws of Xheev.</p> + +<p>"Xheev had promised that +when the punishment was +ended, he would send a sign, +and his sign would be that a +great silver shell should fall +from the heavens, and within +would be Xheev's own emissary, +who must wed the +ranking priestess of Xheev, +establishing again the rapport +between the kingdom +of paradise and the world of +Ahhreel."</p> + +<p>When the Rhal had +finished, the other Arrillians +in the room fastened the +same look of reverence upon +Tyndall which they had formerly +reserved for the Rhal.</p> + +<p>Tyndall chose his words +carefully. "But there were +many aboard my vessel. Why +did you, Dheb Rhal, select me +as the emissary of Xheev?"</p> + +<p>"Xheev selected you, I recognized +you, as of all your +companions, you and you +alone have the sun-colored +hair, which is the sacred +color of Xheev."</p> + +<p>Tyndall was able to question +the Rhal almost coolly, +the trap was already sprung, +the ship was gone. Now, he +only wanted to know the +how, and the why. An accident +of pigmentation, only +that had brought him to +this. Sun-colored hair!</p> + +<p>"But, Dheb Rhal, did my +friends and I not often tell +you of ourselves, of the +place from which we came? A +world, a world like your +own?"</p> + +<p>The old man smiled. "Do +not think me naive, Tyn-Dall. +I am quite aware that +you are but a man, a man +from another world, although +quite an incredible world it +must be. I know also that you +were, until this hour, unaware +of your destiny. I +knew that when my priest +reported that you ignored the +Ritual Of The Time, until +literally forced to obey. That +is why we had to use ... devious +means to make certain +that your companions would +not prevent the fulfillment +of the prophesy. Now, of +course, you understand.</p> + +<p>"I do not think the priestess +Lhyreesa will make you +unhappy, Tyn-Dall."</p> + +<hr /> + +<p>This was not Earth and +these people were not Earthmen. +The thought now did +not bring the bitter pain +it had at first, right after the +ship left. Earth already was +becoming hazy in Tyndall's +mind, a lovely globe of green +somewhere ... somewhere far, +and home once, a long time +ago.</p> + +<p>No, the Arrillians were not +Earthmen, but they were human, +and an attractive, gracious +race. Life would not be +bad, among the Arrillians, +especially as the espoused of +the ranking priestess of Arrill. +Tyndall fingered the rich +material of his Arrillian +robe; he thought of the food, +the wine, the servants. No, +he decided, not bad at all. +One thing, though—this +priestess Lhyreesa ...</p> + +<p>"I have, then, but one request +to make, Dheb Rhal, I +would like to see the priestess +Lhyreesa."</p> + +<p>The old man almost +chuckled, "That is understandable, +Tyn-Dall, but it +is not yet The Time."</p> + +<p>Tyndall, reveling in the +strength of his position, +grew bolder. "I would like +very much, Dheb Rhal, to see +her now."</p> + +<p>The Rhal's face darkened. +"Very well, Tyn-Dall, but I +warn you, do not enter the +Grove. There is death there, +death that even I am powerless +to prevent. The Guardians +will not harm her, but +any stranger ... will not live +many minutes in the Grove."</p> + +<p>"I will not enter, Dheb +Rhal."</p> + +<p>"Tyn-Dall, The Time is +very soon, possibly this very +hour. Will you not wait?"</p> + +<p>"I prefer not to wait, Dheb +Rhal."</p> + +<p>The Rhal gestured to a +young Arrillian. "Bheel, show +Tyn-Dall to the Grove of the +priestess Lhyreesa."</p> + +<p>The younger man protested, +"But, Dheb Rhal, so +near The Time, what if ..."</p> + +<p>"Do as I command," +snapped the Rhal.</p> + +<p>Bheel turned silently, +motioning for Tyndall to +follow. The young Arrillian +led Tyndall the length of the +corridor, back to the patio he +had stepped onto by mistake +earlier in the day. Bheel +stepped respectfully aside. +Tyndall looked out into the +garden: the sun was beginning +to set, the long shadows +stretched across the +dim recesses of tropic greenery. +The huge insect-like +thing was still there, +stretched out in a narrow +strip of sunlight, catching +the last failing waves of +warmth from the sinking +sun.</p> + +<p>Tyndall turned to the Arrillian. +"Where might I find +the priestess Lhyreesa?" he +asked.</p> + +<p>"There, Dheb Tyn-Dall."</p> + +<p>"I see no one. Where do +you say?"</p> + +<p>Bheel pointed. "There, +Dheb Tyn-Dall, where I +point, you see the priestess +Lhyreesa taking the late +afternoon sun ... unless your +eyesight is exceedingly bad, +Dheb Tyn-Dall, you cannot +fail to see...."</p> + +<p>Tyndall's eyesight was exceedingly +good. He followed +that pointing finger, past the +pillar that supported the +roof of the patio, past the +first row of alien green +plants, past the second and +third rows, to the clearing, +to the little patch of sunlight, +to the thing lying +there. That monstrous, misshapen +Bug.... The Bug.... The +Priestess Lhyreesa!</p> + +<p>Tyndall felt a pounding, +skull-shattering madness closing +in on him. This was a +joke, of course. No, no joke. +A dream then? No, not that +either. In only a few split +seconds it happened. Tyndall +had leapt the rail around the +patio, and was streaking +through the Grove, heading +for its outer boundary. The +city—if he could get out of +the Grove, there would be +places to hide in the city. +Narrow streets, empty cellars, +dim, dim alleys. They'd +never find him there! Run +now, run before he was overtaken!</p> + +<p>But he was not being pursued. +Bheel still stood on +the patio, transfixed with +horror. He heard the Arrillian's +terrified cry "Dheb +Tyn-Dall...!" And then a +rope shot out and grabbed +him by the ankles. Not a rope +really, a green something, +and there were others around +his arms, his chest, his hips, +wrapping him in their sticky +green embrace. The Guardians! +He tried to cry out but +one of the verdant fronds +enveloped his throat so tightly +he could not utter a sound. +The innocent green things of +the Grove were vigilant +guardians indeed. They +seemed to be merely holding +him immobile, but Tyndall +realized with sick horror +that their pressure was increasing, +so little at a time, +but so steadily.</p> + +<p>And something was happening +out there in the sunlight +too. The creature had +convulsively grasped the +branch of a bush and was +clinging weakly to it, great +tremors wracking its body. It +seemed to be struggling, suffering, +dying ... even as he +was. In his agony, Tyndall +laughed.</p> + +<p>"A Time! A Time!" The +voice came from the patio. +Tyndall saw Bheel throw +himself face down on the +floor, covering his eyes with +his hands. He heard the cry +echoed within the palace, +and then like a mighty roar +outside in the city. And then +there was silence, silence +broken only by the sound of +his own breathing as he +dragged his tortured lungs +across his shattered ribs.</p> + +<p>He saw the Bug give a +great heave, and then it +seemed to split open, the entire +skin splitting in a dozen +places and a hand ... A +HAND reached from within +that dying hulk and grasped the +bush to which it clung. A +white slender hand on a fragile +wrist, and then the arm +was free, a woman's arm, a +beautiful arm.</p> + +<p>Tyndall began, dimly, and +too late, to understand.</p> + +<p>A leg kicked free ... the +slender ankle ... the amply +fleshed thigh.</p> + +<p>Tyndall clung to consciousness +doggedly. The +Guardian was crushing the +last dregs of life out of him +now, and even the pain +seemed to recede. His mind +was very, very clear. So that +was it. A word once heard +in a long forgotten classroom, +and then the scientists +of the expedition. Metamorphosis ... he +had meant to +ask them what ... but he remembered +now ... what it +meant. A passing from one +form into another.... Had he +failed a biology test once +because he didn't know what +metamorphosis meant ... dimly +... dimly ... he saw ...</p> + +<p>The last thing Tyndall +ever saw was the Priestess +Lhyreesa as she stepped out +of the empty hulk, kicking it +away with a disdainful toe. +Breathless from her ordeal, +she sank to the grass, her +breasts heaving with exhaustion.</p> + +<p>She sat there for a few +minutes in the sunlight, then +she tossed her head and +spread her long raven hair +out on her shoulders, the better +to dry it in the waning +sun.</p> + +<div class="trn"><b>Transcriber's Note:</b> +This etext was produced from <i>Fantastic Universe</i> January 1957. +Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. +copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and +typographical errors have been corrected without note.</div> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Grove of the Unborn, by Lyn Venable + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GROVE OF THE UNBORN *** + +***** This file should be named 29205-h.htm or 29205-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/2/0/29205/ + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Grove of the Unborn + +Author: Lyn Venable + +Release Date: June 22, 2009 [EBook #29205] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GROVE OF THE UNBORN *** + + + + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + + _Glamorous Lyn Venable of Dallas, Texas, makes a first appearance in + these pages (but by no means her first appearance in this field), + with this sensitive story of a young man who needn't have run. A + contributor to William Nolan's (OF TIME AND TEXAS, November, 1956, + Fantastic Universe) famous _Ray Bradbury Review_, Miss Venable + wants, very very much, to be a part, albeit small, of the comeback + of science fiction that is seen today, as she wrote us recently._ + + + grove + of + the + unborn + + _by ... LYN VENABLE_ + + + Bheel still stood on the patio, transfixed with horror. + He heard the terrified cry "Dheb Tyn-Dall"--and then the + vigilant Guardians got him.... + + +Tyndall heard the rockets begin to roar, and it seemed as though the +very blood in his veins pulsated with the surging of those mighty jets. +Going? They couldn't be going. Not yet. Not without him! And he heard +the roaring rise to a mighty crescendo, and he felt the trembling of the +ground beneath the room in which he lay, and then the great sound grew +less, and grew dim, and finally dissipated in a thin hum that dwindled +finally into silence. They were gone. + + * * * * * + +Tyndall threw himself face down on his couch, the feel of the slick, +strange fabric cold and unfriendly against his face. He lay there for a +long time, not moving. Tyndall's thoughts during those hours were of +very fundamental things, that beneath him, beneath the structure of the +building in which he was confined, lay a world that was not Earth, +circling a sun that was not Sol, and that the ship had gone and would +never come back. He was alone, abandoned. He thought of the ship, a +silver streak now in the implacable blackness of space, threading its +way homeward through the stars to Sol, to Earth. The utter desolation +which swept over him at the impact of his aloneness was more than he +could endure, and he forced himself to think of something else. + +Why was he here then? John Tyndall, 3rd Engineer of the starship +_Polaris_. It had been such a routine trip, ferrying a group of +zoologists and biologists around the galaxy looking for unclassified +life-supporting planets. They had found such a world circling an obscure +sun half way across the galaxy. An ideal world for research expedition, +teeming with life, the scientists were delighted. In a few short months +they discovered and cataloged over a thousand varieties of flora and +fauna peculiar to this planet, called Arrill, after the native name +which sounded something like Ahhrhell. Yes, there were natives, +humanoid, civilized and gracious. They had seemed to welcome the +strangers, as a matter of fact they had seemed to expect them. + +The Arrillians had learned English easily, its basic sounds not being +too alien to their own tongue. They had quite a city there on the edge +of the jungle, although, in circling the planet before landing, the +expedition had noted that this was the only city. On a world only a +little smaller than Earth, one city, surrounded completely by the +tropical jungle which covered the rest of the world. A city without +power, without machinery of any kind, and yet a city that was +self-sufficient. + +Well-tilled fields stretched to the very edge of the jungle, where high +walls kept out the voracious growth. The fields fed the city well, and +clothed it well. And there were mines to yield up fine metal and +precious gems. The Earthmen had marveled, and yet, it had seemed +strange. On all this planet, just one city with perhaps half a million +people within its walls. But this was not a problem for the expedition. + +The crew of the _Polaris_ and the members of the expedition had spent +many an enjoyable evening in the dining hall of the palace-like home of +the Rhal, who was something more than a mayor and something less than a +king. Actually, Arrill seemed to get along with a minimum of government. +All in all, the Earthmen had summed up the Arrillians as being a naive, +mild, and courteous people. They probably still thought so, all of them, +that is, except Tyndall. + +Of course, now that he looked back upon it, there has been a few +things ... that business about the Bugs, as the Earthmen had dubbed the +oddly ugly creatures who seemed to occupy something of the position of +a sacred cow in the Arrillian scheme of things. The Bugs came in all +sizes, that is all sizes from a foot or so in length up to the size of +a full human. + +The Bugs were not permitted to roam the streets and market places, like +the sacred cows of the Earthly Hindus. The Bugs were kept in huge pens, +which none but a few high-ranking priests were permitted to enter, and +although the Earthmen were not prevented from standing outside the pens +and watching the ugly beasts munching grass or basking in the sun, the +Arrillians always seemed nervous when the strangers were about the pens. +The Earthmen had shrugged and reflected that religion was a complexity +difficult enough at home, needless to probe too deeply into the +Arrillian. + +But The Time had been something else again, bringing with it, the first +sign of real Arrillian fanaticism and the first hint of violence. +Tyndall and four companions were strolling in a downtown section of the +city, when all at once a hoarse cry in Arrillian shattered the quiet hum +of street activity. + +"What did he say?" asked one of Tyndall's companions, who had not +learned much Arrillian. + +"I--I think, 'A Time! A Time!' What could ..." he never finished the +sentence, all about them Arrillians had prostrated themselves in the +rather dirty street, covering their faces with their hands, lying face +down. The Earthmen hesitated a moment, and a priest of Arrill appeared +as though from nowhere, a wicked scimitar-like weapon in his hand and a +face tense with anger. + +"Dare you," he hissed in Arrillian, "dare you not hide your eyes at A +Time!" He pushed one of the Earthmen with surprising strength, and the +latter stumbled to his knees. All five men hastened to ape the position +of the prostrate Arrillians; they knew better to risk committing +sacrilege on a strange planet. As Tyndall sank to the ground and covered +his eyes, he heard that priest mutter another sentence, in which his own +name was included. He thought it was "You, Tyn-Dall ... even you." + +A few moments later a bell sounded from somewhere, and the buzzing of +conversation began around them, along with the shuffling, scraping sound +of many people getting to their feet at once. A hand touched Tyndall's +shoulder and an Arrillian voice, laughing now, purred, "Up stranger, up, +The Time is past." + +The Earthmen got to their feet. Everything about them was the same as +though nothing had happened, people strolling along the street, going +in and out of shops, stopping to chat. + +"I guess that was the all-clear," commented one wryly. + +The others laughed nervously, but Tyndall was strangely troubled, he was +thinking of the strange words of the priest, "You, Tyn-Dall, even you." +Why should he have known, and not the others? He tried to forget it. +Arrillian was a complex tongue with confusing syntax, perhaps the priest +had said something else. But Tyndall knew one thing for certain, the +mention of his name had been unmistakable. + +The mood hung on, and quite suddenly Tyndall had asked, "I wonder about +the children. Why do you suppose it is?" + +One of the men laughed, "Maybe they feed them to the Bugs." At no time, +during their stay on Arrill, had they seen a single child, or young +person under the age of about twenty-one. The crew had speculated upon +this at great length, coming to the conclusion that the youngsters were +kept secluded for some reason known only to the Arrillians, probably +some part of their religion. One of them had made so bold as to ask one +of the scientists who politely told him that since his group was not +composed of ethnologists or theologists, but of biologists and +zoologists, they were interested neither in the Arrillians, their +offspring nor their religion, but merely in the flora and fauna of the +planet, both of which seemed to be rather deadly. The expedition had had +several close calls in the jungle, and some of the plants seemed as +violently carnivorous as the animals. + +It was just a few days after the incident that the Arrillians kidnapped +Tyndall. It had been a simple, old-fashioned sort of job, pulled off +with efficiency and dispatch as he wandered a few hundred feet away from +the ship. It was late, and he had been unable to sleep, so he had +strolled out for a smoke. The nightwatch must have been somewhere about +on patrol, probably only a few hundred feet away, on the other side of +the ship. It happened suddenly and silently, the hand clapped over his +mouth, the forearm constricting his windpipe, his legs jerked out from +under him, and a rag smelling sickly-sweet shoved under his nose, +bringing oblivion. + + * * * * * + +When he came to consciousness, he found himself in this room, and he +knew that since then, many days and nights had passed. His wants were +meticulously attended to, his bath prepared, his food brought to him +regularly, delicious and steaming, with a generous supply of full-bodied +Arrillian wine to wash it down. Fresh clothes were brought to him daily, +the loose-flowing, highly ornamented robe of the Arrillian noble. +Tyndall knew he was no ordinary prisoner, and somehow, this fact made +him doubly uneasy. + +And then, tonight, the ship had blasted off without him. Tyndall could +easily reconstruct what had happened when his crewmates had inquired +about him, at the palace and in town. "Tyn-Dall?" Then, a sorrowful +expression, a shrugging of the shoulders, a pointing toward the +death-infested jungle, and a mournful shaking of the head, sign language +which in any tongue meant, "Tyn-Dall wanders too far from your ship. He +becomes lost. Alas, he does not know our jungle and its perils." Those +who spoke a little English would make some expression of sympathy. + +Maybe the crew was a little suspicious, maybe they thought there was +something fishy about the thing, and then they thought of the unhappy +results of what was commonly referred to as an "interplanetary +incident." Ever since the people of the second planet of Alpha Centauri, +in the early days of extraterrestrial exploration, had massacred an +entire expedition because the captain had mortally insulted a tribal +leader by refusing a sacred fruit, such incidents had been avoided at +all costs. + +And so, they dared not offend the Arrillians by questioning the veracity +of their statements. And the jungle was deadly, so they looked a little +longer, and asked a few more questions. After a little while, the +scientists had completed their work and were anxious to get home, and +so, the ship blasted off, without him. + +All this had passed kaleidoscopically in Tyndall's mind as he lay on the +couch in his luxurious prison, too numb to weep or even curse. His +reverie was broken by the clicking of the lock and he raised up to see +the door opening. An Arrillian servant stood there, his silver hair done +up in the complicated style which denoted male house servants. He was +unarmed. The houseman smiled, roared in imitation of a rocket, made a +swooping gesture with one hand to indicate the departing ship, then +pointed at Tyndall and at the open door. The servant bowed and departed, +leaving the door slightly ajar. Now that the ship was gone, he was free +to leave his room. + +Tyndall stepped cautiously out of the room and found himself in a long +hall, with many doors opening from it on either side, much like a hotel +corridor. One end of the hall seemed to open out onto a garden and he +started in that direction. + +The doorway opened out into a patio which overlooked a vast and +perfectly tended garden. The verdant perfection of the scene was marred +only by one of the Bugs, sunning itself and gnawing on the stem of a +flower. Tyndall was impressed again with the repulsive ugliness of the +thing. This one was the size of a small adult human, and even vaguely +human in outline, although the brownish armored body was still more +suggestive of a big bug than anything else known to him. There were even +rudimentary wings furled close to the curving back, and the underside +was a dirty, striped gray. Tyndall shuddered, wondering why the +Arrillians, who so loved to surround themselves with beauty, should +choose so horrendous a creature as the object of their worship, or +protection. + +He heard running footsteps behind him, and turned to see the Arrillian +houseman, breathless, with an expression of greatest concern on his +face. The servant bowed respectfully before Tyndall, then gestured at +the garden, shook his head vigorously from side to side and tugged at +the Earthman's sleeve. + +"Forbidden territory, eh? Okay, old fellow, what now?" + +The servant motioned for Tyndall to follow him, and ushered him down the +hall from whence he had just come, and into another of the rooms opening +off from it. The very old man reclining upon the low, Roman-like couch, +Tyndall recognized at once as his host, the Rhal of Arrill. + +The Rhal touched the fingertips of both hands to his forehead in the +Arrillian gesture of greeting, and Tyndall did the same. He noticed +several male Arrillians standing near the back of the room, although the +servant had bowed and retired. + +"Well, Tyn-Dall, how do you enjoy the hospitality of Ahhreel?" He, of +course, gave the native pronunciation to the name which was almost +Teutonic in sound and unpronounceable for Tyndall because of the sound +given to the double aspirate, for which he knew no equivalent. + +"Your English, Dheb Rhal, has improved greatly since our last meeting," +commented Tyndall guardedly, using the Arrillian prefix of extreme +respect. + +The old man smiled. "Your friends were kind enough to lend me books and +also the little grooved disks that make voice." He gestured toward an +old-fashioned wind-up type phonograph which Tyndall recognized at once +as being standard aboard interstellar vessels, and for just such a +purpose. The Rhal continued, "For teaching English very fine. How are +you enjoying our hospitality, I ask again?" + +Tyndall was stuck on Arrill and he knew it. There was no need to cook +his own goose by being deliberately offensive. "I appreciate the +hospitality of Arrill, I express my thanks for the consideration of my +hosts but--if I may ask a question?" + +"Yes?" + +"What, in the wisdom of the Dheb Rhal, is the reason for +my--er--detainment?" + +"To answer that, Tyn-Dall, I must tell you something of the past of +Ahhreel, and of her destiny." At these words, the other Arrillians in +the room drew closer, and the Rhal motioned them to a couch at his feet +and nodded toward Tyndall, requesting that he join them. Tyndall noticed +that the others were gazing up into the old man's face with an +expression of raptness, even of reverence. He knew that the Rhal did not +possess an especially exalted position politically, even though he was +head of the city. He guessed therefore that the Rhal must be the +religious ruler of Arrill as well. + +The Rhal began, intoning the words as though he were reciting a ritual, +"There was a time, many thousands of Khreelas ago, when the kingdom of +Ahhreel was not one small city, as you see it now, but a mighty empire, +girdling the world in her vastness. But the people of Ahhreel had become +evil in their ways, and her cities were black with sin. It was then that +Xheev himself left his kingdom in paradise and appeared to the people of +Ahhreel, and he told them that he was displeased, and that bad times +would fall upon Ahhreel, and that her people would dwindle in number, +and became exceedingly few, and the jungle would reclaim her emptied +cities. One city, and only one, would survive and prosper, and the +people of that city would be given the chance to redeem Ahhreel, and +remove the heavy hand of Xheev's terrible punishment. + +"All this came to pass, and in the dark Khreelas that followed, all of +Ahhreel vanished except this city. Now, for many, many thousands of +Khreelas, the people of this city have striven to redeem Ahhreel by +obeying the sacred laws of Xheev. + +"Xheev had promised that when the punishment was ended, he would send a +sign, and his sign would be that a great silver shell should fall from +the heavens, and within would be Xheev's own emissary, who must wed the +ranking priestess of Xheev, establishing again the rapport between the +kingdom of paradise and the world of Ahhreel." + +When the Rhal had finished, the other Arrillians in the room fastened +the same look of reverence upon Tyndall which they had formerly reserved +for the Rhal. + +Tyndall chose his words carefully. "But there were many aboard my +vessel. Why did you, Dheb Rhal, select me as the emissary of Xheev?" + +"Xheev selected you, I recognized you, as of all your companions, you +and you alone have the sun-colored hair, which is the sacred color of +Xheev." + +Tyndall was able to question the Rhal almost coolly, the trap was +already sprung, the ship was gone. Now, he only wanted to know the how, +and the why. An accident of pigmentation, only that had brought him to +this. Sun-colored hair! + +"But, Dheb Rhal, did my friends and I not often tell you of ourselves, +of the place from which we came? A world, a world like your own?" + +The old man smiled. "Do not think me naive, Tyn-Dall. I am quite aware +that you are but a man, a man from another world, although quite an +incredible world it must be. I know also that you were, until this hour, +unaware of your destiny. I knew that when my priest reported that you +ignored the Ritual Of The Time, until literally forced to obey. That is +why we had to use ... devious means to make certain that your companions +would not prevent the fulfillment of the prophesy. Now, of course, you +understand. + +"I do not think the priestess Lhyreesa will make you unhappy, Tyn-Dall." + + * * * * * + +This was not Earth and these people were not Earthmen. The thought now +did not bring the bitter pain it had at first, right after the ship +left. Earth already was becoming hazy in Tyndall's mind, a lovely globe +of green somewhere ... somewhere far, and home once, a long time ago. + +No, the Arrillians were not Earthmen, but they were human, and an +attractive, gracious race. Life would not be bad, among the Arrillians, +especially as the espoused of the ranking priestess of Arrill. Tyndall +fingered the rich material of his Arrillian robe; he thought of the +food, the wine, the servants. No, he decided, not bad at all. One +thing, though--this priestess Lhyreesa ... + +"I have, then, but one request to make, Dheb Rhal, I would like to see +the priestess Lhyreesa." + +The old man almost chuckled, "That is understandable, Tyn-Dall, but it +is not yet The Time." + +Tyndall, reveling in the strength of his position, grew bolder. "I would +like very much, Dheb Rhal, to see her now." + +The Rhal's face darkened. "Very well, Tyn-Dall, but I warn you, do not +enter the Grove. There is death there, death that even I am powerless to +prevent. The Guardians will not harm her, but any stranger ... will not +live many minutes in the Grove." + +"I will not enter, Dheb Rhal." + +"Tyn-Dall, The Time is very soon, possibly this very hour. Will you not +wait?" + +"I prefer not to wait, Dheb Rhal." + +The Rhal gestured to a young Arrillian. "Bheel, show Tyn-Dall to the +Grove of the priestess Lhyreesa." + +The younger man protested, "But, Dheb Rhal, so near The Time, what +if ..." + +"Do as I command," snapped the Rhal. + +Bheel turned silently, motioning for Tyndall to follow. The young +Arrillian led Tyndall the length of the corridor, back to the patio he +had stepped onto by mistake earlier in the day. Bheel stepped +respectfully aside. Tyndall looked out into the garden: the sun was +beginning to set, the long shadows stretched across the dim recesses of +tropic greenery. The huge insect-like thing was still there, stretched +out in a narrow strip of sunlight, catching the last failing waves of +warmth from the sinking sun. + +Tyndall turned to the Arrillian. "Where might I find the priestess +Lhyreesa?" he asked. + +"There, Dheb Tyn-Dall." + +"I see no one. Where do you say?" + +Bheel pointed. "There, Dheb Tyn-Dall, where I point, you see the +priestess Lhyreesa taking the late afternoon sun ... unless your +eyesight is exceedingly bad, Dheb Tyn-Dall, you cannot fail to see...." + +Tyndall's eyesight was exceedingly good. He followed that pointing +finger, past the pillar that supported the roof of the patio, past the +first row of alien green plants, past the second and third rows, to the +clearing, to the little patch of sunlight, to the thing lying there. +That monstrous, misshapen Bug.... The Bug.... The Priestess Lhyreesa! + +Tyndall felt a pounding, skull-shattering madness closing in on him. +This was a joke, of course. No, no joke. A dream then? No, not that +either. In only a few split seconds it happened. Tyndall had leapt the +rail around the patio, and was streaking through the Grove, heading for +its outer boundary. The city--if he could get out of the Grove, there +would be places to hide in the city. Narrow streets, empty cellars, dim, +dim alleys. They'd never find him there! Run now, run before he was +overtaken! + +But he was not being pursued. Bheel still stood on the patio, transfixed +with horror. He heard the Arrillian's terrified cry "Dheb Tyn-Dall...!" +And then a rope shot out and grabbed him by the ankles. Not a rope +really, a green something, and there were others around his arms, his +chest, his hips, wrapping him in their sticky green embrace. The +Guardians! He tried to cry out but one of the verdant fronds enveloped +his throat so tightly he could not utter a sound. The innocent green +things of the Grove were vigilant guardians indeed. They seemed to be +merely holding him immobile, but Tyndall realized with sick horror that +their pressure was increasing, so little at a time, but so steadily. + +And something was happening out there in the sunlight too. The creature +had convulsively grasped the branch of a bush and was clinging weakly to +it, great tremors wracking its body. It seemed to be struggling, +suffering, dying ... even as he was. In his agony, Tyndall laughed. + +"A Time! A Time!" The voice came from the patio. Tyndall saw Bheel throw +himself face down on the floor, covering his eyes with his hands. He +heard the cry echoed within the palace, and then like a mighty roar +outside in the city. And then there was silence, silence broken only by +the sound of his own breathing as he dragged his tortured lungs across +his shattered ribs. + +He saw the Bug give a great heave, and then it seemed to split open, the +entire skin splitting in a dozen places and a hand ... A HAND reached +from within that dying hulk and grasped the bush to which it clung. A +white slender hand on a fragile wrist, and then the arm was free, a +woman's arm, a beautiful arm. + +Tyndall began, dimly, and too late, to understand. + +A leg kicked free ... the slender ankle ... the amply fleshed thigh. + +Tyndall clung to consciousness doggedly. The Guardian was crushing the +last dregs of life out of him now, and even the pain seemed to recede. +His mind was very, very clear. So that was it. A word once heard in a +long forgotten classroom, and then the scientists of the expedition. +Metamorphosis ... he had meant to ask them what ... but he remembered +now ... what it meant. A passing from one form into another.... Had he +failed a biology test once because he didn't know what metamorphosis +meant ... dimly ... dimly ... he saw ... + +The last thing Tyndall ever saw was the Priestess Lhyreesa as she +stepped out of the empty hulk, kicking it away with a disdainful toe. +Breathless from her ordeal, she sank to the grass, her breasts heaving +with exhaustion. + +She sat there for a few minutes in the sunlight, then she tossed her +head and spread her long raven hair out on her shoulders, the better to +dry it in the waning sun. + + + + +Transcriber's Note: + + This etext was produced from _Fantastic Universe_ January 1957. + Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. + copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and + typographical errors have been corrected without note. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Grove of the Unborn, by Lyn Venable + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GROVE OF THE UNBORN *** + +***** This file should be named 29205.txt or 29205.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/2/0/29205/ + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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