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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5c3bdd7 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #60871 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60871) diff --git a/old/60871-8.txt b/old/60871-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 7ebbb0e..0000000 --- a/old/60871-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1059 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Heel, by Philip Jose Farmer - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll -have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using -this ebook. - - - -Title: Heel - -Author: Philip Jose Farmer - -Release Date: December 7, 2019 [EBook #60871] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HEEL *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - HEEL - - By PHILIP JOSE FARMER - - _Great cast! Stupendous show! - If this didn't make history, - nothing ever would!_ - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Worlds of If Science Fiction, May 1960. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -"Call me Zeus," said the Director. - -"Zeus?" said his wife, a beautiful woman not over a thousand years old. -"What an egomaniac! Comparing yourself to a god, even if he is the god -of those--those savages!" - -She gestured at the huge screen on the wall. It showed, far below, the -blue sea, the black ships on the yellow beach, the purple tents of the -Greek army, the broad brown plain, and the white towers of Troy. - -The Director glared at her through hexagonal dark glasses and puffed on -his cigar until angry green clouds rolled from it. His round bald head -was covered by a cerise beret, his porpoise frame by a canary yellow -tunic, and his chubby legs by iridescent green fourpluses. - -"I may not look like a god, but as far as my power over the natives of -this planet goes, I could well be their deity," he replied. - -He spoke sharply to a tall handsome blond youth who wore a crooked -smile and bright blue and yellow tattoo spiraling around his legs and -trunk. "Apollo, hand me the Script!" - -"Surely you're not going to change the Script again?" said his wife. -She rose from her chair, and the scarlet web she was wearing translated -the shifting micro-voltages on the surface of her skin into musical -tones. - -"I never change the Script," said the Director. "I just make the slight -revisions required for dramatic effects." - -"I don't care what you do to it, just so you don't allow the Trojans to -win. I hate those despicable brutes." - -Apollo laughed loudly, and he said, "Ever since she and Athena and -Aphrodite thought of that goofy stunt of asking Paris to choose the -most beautiful of the three, and he gave the prize to Aphrodite, Hera's -hated the Trojans. Really, Hera, why blame those simple, likable people -for the actions of only one of them? I think Paris showed excellent -judgment. Aphrodite was so grateful she contrived to get that lovely -Helen for Paris and--" - -"Enough of this private feud," snapped the Director. "Apollo, I told -you once to hand me the Script." - - * * * * * - -Achilles at midnight paced back and forth before his tent. Finally, in -the agony of his spirit, he called to Thetis. The radio which had been -installed in his shield, unknown to him, transmitted his voice to a -cabin in the great spaceship hanging over the Trojan plain. - -Thetis, hearing it, said to Apollo, "Get out of my cabin, you heel, or -I'll have you thrown out." - -"Leave?" he said. "Why? So you can be with your barbarian lover?" - -"He is not my lover," she said angrily. "But I'd take even a barbarian -as a lover before I'd have anything to do with you. Now, get out. And -don't speak to me again unless it's in the line of business." - -"Any time I speak to you, I mean business," he said, grinning. - -"Get out or I'll tell my father!" - -"I hear and obey. But I'll have you, one way or another." - -Thetis shoved him out. Then she quickly put on the suit that could bend -light around her to make her invisible and transport her through the -air and do many other things. Out of a port she shot, straight toward -the tent of her protégé. She did not decelerate until she saw him -standing tall in the moonlight, his hands still raised in entreaty. She -landed and cut the power off so he could see her. - -"Mother, Mother!" cried Achilles. "How long must I put up with -Agamemnon's high-handedness?" - -Thetis took him by the hand and led him into the tent. "Is Patroclos -around?" she asked. - -"No, he is having some fun with Iphis, that buxom beauty I gave him -after I conquered the city of Scyros." - -"There's a sensible fellow," said Thetis. "Why don't you forget this -fuss with King Agamemnon and have fun with some rosy-cheeked darling?" -But a painful expression crossed her face as she said it. - -Achilles did not notice the look. "I am too sick with humiliation and -disgust to take pleasure in anything. I am full up to here with being a -lion in the fighting and yet having to give that jackal Agamemnon the -lion's share of the loot, just because he has been chosen to be our -leader. Am I not a king in Thessaly? I wish--I wish--" - -"Yes?" said Thetis eagerly. "Do you want to go home?" - -"I _should_ go home. Then the Greeks would wish they'd not allowed -Agamemnon to insult the best man among them." - -"Oh, Achilles, say the word and I'll have you across the sea and in -your palace in an hour!" she said excitedly. She was thinking, _The -Director will be furious if Achilles disappears, but he won't be able -to do anything about it. And the Script can be revised. Hector or -Odysseus or Paris can play the lead role._ - - * * * * * - -"No," Achilles said. "I can't leave my men here. They'd say I had run -out on them, that I was a coward. And the Greeks would call me a yellow -dog. No, I'll allow no man to say that." - -Thetis sighed and answered sadly, "Very well. What do you want me to -do?" - -"Go ask Zeus if he will give Agamemnon so much trouble he'll come -crawling to me, begging for forgiveness and pleading for my help." - -Thetis had to smile. The enormous egotism of the beautiful brute! -Taking it for granted that the Lord of Creation would bend the course -of events so Achilles could salvage his pride. Yet, she told herself, -she need not be surprised. He had taken it calmly enough the night -she'd appeared to him and told him that she was a goddess and his true -mother. He had always been convinced divine blood ran in his veins. Was -he not superior to all men? Was he not Achilles? - -"I will go to Zeus," she said. "But what he will do, only he knows." - -She reached up and pulled his head down to kiss him on the forehead. -She did not trust herself to touch the lips of this man who was far -more a man than those he supposed to be gods. The lips she longed -for ... the lips soon to grow cold. She could not bear to think of it. - -She flicked the switch to make her invisible and, after leaving the -tent, rose toward the ship. As always, it hung at four thousand feet -above the plain, hidden in the inflated plastic folds that simulated -a cloud. To the Greeks and Trojans the cloud was the home of Zeus, -anchored there so he could keep a close eye on the struggle below. - -It was he who would decide whether the walls of Troy would stand or -fall. It was to him that both sides prayed. - - * * * * * - -The Director was drinking a highball in his office and working out the -details of tomorrow's shooting with his cameramen. - -"We'll give that Greek Diomedes a real break, make him the big hero. -Get a lot of close-ups. He has a superb profile and a sort of flair -about him. It's all in the Script, what aristocrats he kills, how many -narrow escapes, and so on. But about noon, just before lunch, we'll -wound him. Not too badly, just enough to put him out of action. Then -we'll see if we can whip up a big tearjerker between that Trojan and -his wife--what's her name?" - -He looked around as if he expected them to feed him the answer. But -they were silent; it was not wise to know more than he. - -He snapped his fingers. "Andromache! That's it!" - -"What a memory! How do you keep all those barbaric names at your -tongue's tip? Photographic!" and so on from the suckophants. - -"O.K. So after Diomedes leaves the scene, you, Apollo, will put on a -simulacrum of Helenos, the Trojan prophet. As Helenos, you'll induce -Hector to go back to Troy and get his mother, the Queen, to pray for -victory. We can get some colorful shots of the temple and the local -religious rites. Meantime, we'll set up a touching domestic scene -between Hector and his wife. Bring in their baby boy. A baby's always -good for ohs and ahs. Later, after coffee break, we'll...." - -Apollo drifted through the crowd toward the Director's wife. She was -sitting on a chair and moodily drinking. However, seeing Apollo, she -smiled with green-painted lips and said, "Do sit down, darling. You -needn't worry about my husband being angry because you're paying -attention to me. He's too busy shining down on his little satellites -to notice you." - -Apollo seated himself in a chair facing her and moved forward so their -knees touched. - -"What do you want now?" she said. "You only get lovey-dovey when you're -trying to get something out of me." - -"You know I love only you, Hera," he said, grinning. "But I can't meet -you as often as I'd like. Old Thunder-and-Lightning is too suspicious. -And I value my job too much to risk it, despite my overwhelming passion -for you." - -"Get to the point." - -"We're way over our budget and past our deadline. The shooting should -have been finished six months ago. Yet Old Fussybritches keeps on -revising the Script and adding scene after scene. And that's not all. -We're not going home when Troy does fall. The Director is planning to -make a sequel. I know because he asked me to outline the Script for it. -He's got the male lead picked out. Foxy Grandpa Odysseus." - - * * * * * - -Hera sat upright so violently she sloshed her drink over the edge -of her glass. "Why, my brother means to kill Odysseus at the first -opportunity! My brother is mad, absolutely mad about Athena, but he -can't get to first base with her. She's got eyes only for Odysseus, -though how she could take up with one of those stupid primitives, I'll -never understand." - -"Athena claims he has an intelligence equal to any of us," said Apollo. -"However, it's not her but Thetis I meant to discuss." - -"Is my stepdaughter interfering again?" - -"I think so. Just before this conference I saw her coming out of the -Director's room, tears streaming from her big cow eyes. I imagine she -was begging him again to spare Achilles. Or at least to allow the -Trojans to win for a while so Agamemnon will give back to Achilles the -girl he took from him, that tasty little dish, Briseis." - -"You ought to know how tasty she is," said Hera bitterly. "I happen to -know you drugged Achilles several nights in a row and then put on his -simulacrum." - -"A handy little invention, that simulacrum," said Apollo. "Put one on -and you can look like anybody you want to look like. Your jealousy is -showing, Hera. However, that's not the point. If Thetis keeps playing -on her father's sympathies like an old flute, this production will last -forever. Frankly, I'd like to shake the dust of this crummy planet from -my feet, get back to civilization before it forgets what a great script -writer I am." - -"What do you propose?" - -"I propose to hurry things up. Eventually, Achilles is supposed to -quit sulking and take up arms again. So far, the Director has been -indefinite on how we'll get him to do that. Well, we'll help him -without his knowing it. We'll fix it so the Trojans will beat the -Greeks even worse than the Director intends. Hector will almost run -them back into the sea. Agamemnon will beg Achilles to get back into -the ring. He'll give him back the loot he took from him, including -Briseis. And he'll offer his own daughter in marriage to Achilles. - -"Achilles will refuse. But we'll have him all set up for the next -move. Tonight a technician will implant a post-hypnotic suggestion in -Achilles that he send his buddy Patroclos, dressed in Achilles' armor, -out to scare the kilts off the Trojans. We'll generate a panic among -the Trojans with a subsonic projector. Then we'll arrange it so Hector -kills Patroclos. That is the one thing to make Achilles so fighting mad -he'll quit sulking...." - -"Patroclos? But the Director wants to save him for the big scene when -Achilles is knocked off. Patroclos is supposed to put Achilles' armor -on, storm the Scaian gate, and lead the Greeks right into the city." - -"Accidents will happen," said Apollo. "Despite what the barbarians -think, we are not gods. Or are we? What do you say to my plan?" - -"If the Director finds out we've tampered with the Script, he'll -divorce me. And you'll be blackballed in every studio from one end of -the Galaxy to the other." - -Apollo winked and said, "I'll leave it to you to make Old Stupe think -Patroclos' death was his own idea. You have done something like that -before, and more than once." - -She laughed and said, "Oh, Apollo, you're such a heel." - -He rose. "Not a heel. Just a great script writer. Our plan will give me -a chance to kill Achilles much sooner than the Director expects. And -it'll all be for the good of the Script." - - * * * * * - -That night two technicians went into the Greek camp, one to Achilles' -tent and one to Agamemnon's. The technician assigned to the King of -Mycenae gave him a whiff of sleep gas and then taped two electrodes to -the royal forehead. It took him a minute to play a recording and two to -untape the electrodes and leave. - -Five minutes later, the King awoke, shouting that Zeus had sent him a -dream in the shape of wise old Nestor. Nestor had told him to rouse the -camp and march forth even if it were only dawn, for today Troy would -fall and his brother Menelaos would get back his wife Helen. - -Agamemnon, though, who had always been too clever for his own good, -told the council of elders that he wanted to test his army before -telling them the truth. He would announce that he was tired of this -war they could not win and that he wanted to go home. This news would -separate the slackers from the soldiers, his true friends from the -false. - -Unfortunately, when he told this to the assemblage, he found far -less men of valor than he had expected. The entire army, with a few -exceptions, gave a big hurrah and stampeded toward the ships. They had -had a bellyful of this silly war, fighting to win back the beautiful -tart Helen for the King's brother, spilling their guts all over foreign -plains while their wives were undoubtedly playing them false with the -4-Fs, the fields were growing weeds, and their children were starving. - -In vain, Agamemnon tried to stop the rush. He even shouted at them what -they had only guessed before, that more was at stake than his brother's -runaway wife. If Troy was crushed, the Greeks would own the trading -and colonizing routes to the rich Black Sea area. But no one paid any -attention to him. They were too concerned with knocking each other over -in their haste to get the ships ready to sail. - -At this time, the only people from the spaceship on the scene -were some cameramen and technicians. They were paralyzed by the -unexpectedness of the situation, and they were afraid to use their -emotion-stimulating projectors. By the flick of a few switches -the panic could be turned into aggression. But it would have been -aggression without a leader. The Greeks, instead of automatically -turning to fight the Trojans, would have killed each other, sure that -their fellows were trying to stop them from embarking for home. - -The technicians did not dare to waken the Director and acknowledge they -could not handle a simple mob scene. But one of them did put a call -through to one of the Director's daughters, Athena. - -Athena zipped down to Odysseus and found him standing to one side, -looking glum. He had not panicked, but he also was not interfering. -Poor fellow, he longed to go home to Penelope. In the beginning of this -useless war, he had pretended madness to get out of being drafted. But, -once he had sworn loyalty to the King, he would not abandon him. - -Athena flicked off her light-bender so he could see her. She shouted, -"Odysseus, don't just stand there like a lump on a bog! Do something or -all will be lost--the war, the honor of the Greeks, the riches you will -get from the loot of Troy! Get going!" - -Odysseus, never at a loss, tore the wand of authority from the King's -numbed hand and began to run through the crowd. Everybody he met he -reproached with cowardice, and backed the sting of his words with the -hard end of the wand on their backs. Athena signaled to the technicians -to project an aggression-stimulating frequency. Now that the Greeks -had a leader to channel their courage, they could be diverted back to -fighting. - -There was only one obstacle, Thersites. He was a lame hunchback with -the face of a baboon and a disposition to match. - -Thersites cried out in a hoarse, jeering voice, "Agamemnon, don't you -have enough loot? Do you still want us to die so you may gather more -gold and beautiful Trojan women in your greedy arms? You Greeks, you're -not men. You're women who will do anything this disgrace to a crown -tells you to do. Look what he did to Achilles. Robbed him of Briseis -and in so doing robbed us of the best warrior we have. If I were -Achilles, I'd knock Agamemnon's head off." - -"We've put up with your outrageous abuse long enough!" shouted -Odysseus. He began thwacking Thersites on the head and the back until -blood ran. "Shut up or I'll kill you!" - -At this the whole army, which hated Thersites, roared with laughter. -Odysseus had relieved the tension; now they were ready to march under -Agamemnon's orders. - -Athena sighed with relief and radioed back to the ship that the -Director could be awakened. Things were well in hand. - - * * * * * - -And so they were--until a few days later when Apollo and Hera, waiting -until the Director had gone to bed early with a hangover from the night -before, induced Hector to make a night attack. The fighting went on all -night, and at dawn Patroclos ran into Achilles' tent. - -"Terrible news!" he cried. "The Trojans have breached the walls around -our ships and are burning them! Diomedes, Agamemnon, and Odysseus are -wounded. If you do not lead your men against Hector, all is lost!" - -"Too bad," said Achilles. But the blood drained from his face. - -"Don't be so hardhearted!" shouted Patroclos. "If you won't fight, at -least allow me to lead the Myrmidons against the enemy. Perhaps we can -save the ships and drive Hector off!" - -Achilles shouted back, "Very well! You know I give you, my best friend, -anything you want. But I will not for all the gold in the world serve -under a king who robs me of prizes I took with my own sword. However, I -will give you my armor, and my men will march behind you!" - -Then, sobbing with rage and frustration, he helped Patroclos dress in -his armor. - -"Do you see this little lever in the back of the shield?" he said. -"When an enemy strikes at you, flick it this way. The air in front -of you will become hard, and your foe's weapon will bounce off the -air. Then, before he recovers from his confusion, flick the lever the -other way. The air will soften and allow your spear to pass. And the -spearpoint will shear through his armor as if it were cheese left in -the hot sun. It is made of some substance harder than the hardest -bronze made by the hand of man." - -"So this is the magic armor your divine mother, Thetis, gave you," said -Patroclos. "No wonder--" - -"Even without this magic--or force field, as Thetis calls it--I am -the best man among Greek or Trojan," said Achilles matter-of-factly. -"There! Now you are almost as magnificent as I am. Go forth in my -armor, Patroclos, and run the Trojans ragged. I will pray to Zeus that -you come back safely. There is one thing you must not do, though, no -matter how strong the temptation--do not chase the Trojans too close -to the city, even if you are on the heels of Hector himself. Thetis -has told me that Zeus does not want Troy to fall yet. If you were to -threaten it now, the gods would strike you down." - -"I will remember," said Patroclos. He got into Achilles' chariot and -drove off proudly to take his place in front of the Myrmidons. - - * * * * * - -The Director was so red in the face, he looked as if his head were one -huge blood vessel. - -"How in space did the Trojans get so far?" he screamed. "And what is -Patroclos doing in Achilles' armor? There's rank inefficiency here or -else skullduggery! Either one, heads will roll! And I think I know -whose! Apollo! Hera! What have you two been up to?" - -"Why, Husband," said Hera, "how can you say I had anything to do with -this? You know how I hate the Trojans. As for Apollo, he thinks too -much of his job to go against the Script." - -"All right, we'll see. We'll get to the bottom of this later. -Meanwhile, let's direct the situation so it'll end up conforming to the -Script." - -But before the cameramen and technicians could be organized, Patroclos, -leading the newly inspired Greeks, slaughtered the Trojans as a lion -kills sheep. He could not be stopped, and when he saw Hector running -away from him, he forgot his friend's warning and pursued him to the -walls of Troy. - -"Follow me!" yelled Patroclos to the Greeks. "We will break down the -gates and take the city within an hour!" - - * * * * * - -It was then Apollo projected fury into Hector so that he turned to -battle the man he thought was Achilles. And Apollo, timing to coincide -with the instant that Patroclos flicked off his force field, struck -him a stunning blow from behind. At the same time a spear thrown by a -Trojan wounded Patroclos in the back. Dazed, hurt, the Greek started -back toward his men. But Hector ran up and stabbed him through the -belly, finding no resistance to his spear because Patroclos had not -turned the force field back on. Patroclos hit the ground with a crash -of armor. - -"No, no, you fool, Apollo!" shouted the Director into the radio. "He -must not die! We need him later for the Script. You utter fool, you've -bumbled!" - -Thetis, who had been standing behind the Director, burst into tears and -ran into her cabin. - -"What's the matter with her?" asked the Director. - -"You may as well know, darling," said Hera, "that your daughter is in -love with a barbarian." - -"Thetis? In love with Patroclos? Impossible!" - -Hera laughed and said, "Ask her how she feels about the planned death -of Achilles. That is whom she is weeping for, not Patroclos. She -foresees Achilles' death in his friend's. And I imagine she will go to -comfort her lover, knowing his grief when he hears that Patroclos is -dead." - -"That's ridiculous! If she's in love with Achilles, why would she tell -Achilles she is his mother?" - -"For the very reason she loves him but doesn't want him to know. She at -least has sense enough to realize no good could come from a match with -one of those Earth primitives. So she stopped any passes from him with -that maternal bit. If there is one thing the Greeks respect, it is the -incest taboo." - -"I'll have him knocked off as soon as possible. Thetis might lose her -head and tell him the truth. Poor little girl, she's been away from -civilization too long. We'll have to wind up this picture and get back -to God's planet." - -Hera watched him go after Thetis and then switched to a private -channel. "Apollo, the Director is very angry with you. But I've thought -of a way to smooth his feathers. We'll tell him that killing Patroclos -was the only way to get Achilles back into the fight. He'll like that. -Achilles can then be slain, and the picture will still be saved. Also, -I'll make him think it was his idea." - -"That's great," replied Apollo, his voice shaky with dread of the -Director. "But what can we do to speed up the shooting? Patroclos was -supposed to take the city after Achilles was killed." - -"Don't worry," said Athena, who had been standing behind Hera. -"Odysseus is your man. He's been working on a device to get into the -city. Barbarian or not, that fellow is the smartest I've ever met. Too -bad he's an Earthman." - - * * * * * - -During the next twenty-four hours, Thetis wept much. But she was also -very busy, working while she cried. She went to Hephaistos, the chief -technician, an old man of five thousand years. He loved Thetis because -she had intervened for Hephaistos more than once when her father had -been angry with him. Yet he shook his head when she asked him if he -could make Achilles another suit of armor, even more invulnerable than -the first. - -"Not enough time. Achilles is to be killed tomorrow." - -"No. My father has cooled off a little. He remembered that the Script -calls for Achilles to kill Hector before he himself dies. Besides, the -government anthropologist wants to take films of the funeral games for -Patroclos. And he overrules even Father, you know." - -"That'll give me a week," said Hephaistos, figuring on his fingers. "I -can do it. But tell me, child, why all the tears? Is it true what they -say, that you love a barbarian, that magnificent red-haired Achilles?" - -"I love him," she said, weeping again. - -"Ah, child, you are a mere hundred years or so. When you reach my age, -you'll know that there are few things worth tears, and love between -man and woman is not one of them. However, I'll make the armor. And -its field of force will cover everything around him except an opening -to the outside air. Otherwise, he'd suffocate. But what good will all -this do? The Director will find some means of killing him. And even if -Achilles should escape, you'd be no better off." - -"I will," she said. "We'll go to Italy--and I'll give him perpetuol." - -Thetis went to her cabin. Shortly afterward, the doorbell rang. She -opened the door and saw Apollo. - -Smiling, he said, "I have something here you might be interested in -hearing." He held in his hand a small cartridge. - -Seeing it, her eyes widened in surprise. - -"Yes, it's a recording," he said, and he pushed past her into the -room. "Let me put it in your playback." - -"You don't have to," she replied. "I presume you had a microphone -planted in Hephaistos' cabin?" - -"Correct. Won't your father be angry if somebody sends him a note -telling him you're planning to ruin the Script by running off to Italy -with a barbarian? And not only that but inject perpetuol into the -barbarian to increase his life span? Personally, if I were your father, -I'd let you do it. You'd soon grow sick of your handsome but uncouth -booby." - -Thetis did not answer. - -"I really don't care," he said. "In fact, I'll help you. I can arrange -it so the arrow that hits Achilles' heel will be a trick one. Its head -will just seem to sink into his flesh. Inside it will be a needle that -will inject a cataleptic agent. Achilles will seem to be dead but will -actually be in a state of suspended animation. We'll sneak his body at -night from the funeral pyre and substitute a corpse. A bio-tech who -owes me a favor will fix up the face of a dead Trojan or Greek to look -like Achilles'. When this epic is done and we're ready to leave Earth, -you can run away. We'll not miss you until we're light-years away." - -"And what do you want in return for arranging all this? My thanks?" - -"I want you." - -Thetis flinched. For a moment she stood with her eyes closed and her -hands clenched. Then, opening her eyes, she said, "All right. I know -that is the only way open for me. It's also the only way you could have -devised to have me. But I want to tell you that I loathe and despise -you. And I'll be hating every atom of your flesh while you're in -possession of mine." - -He chuckled and said, "I know it. But your hate will only make me -relish you the more. It'll be the sauce on the salad." - -"Oh, you heel!" she said in a trembling voice. "You dirty, sneaking, -miserable, slimy heel!" - -"Agreed." He picked up a bottle and poured two drinks. "Shall we toast -to that?" - - * * * * * - -Hector's death happened, as planned, and the tear-jerking scene in -which his father, King Priam, came to beg his son's body from Achilles. -Four days later, Achilles led the attack on the Scaian gate. It was -arranged that Paris should be standing on the wall above the gate. -Apollo, invisible behind him, would shoot the arrow that would strike -Achilles' foot if Paris' arrow bounced off the force field. - -Apollo spoke to Thetis, who was standing beside him. "You seem very -nervous. Don't worry. You'll see your lovely warrior in Italy in a few -weeks. And you can explain to him that you aren't his mother, that you -had to tell him that to protect him from the god Apollo's jealousy. But -now that Zeus has raised him from the dead, you have been given to him -as a special favor. And all will end happily. That is, until living -with him will become so unbearable you'd give a thousand years off your -life to leave this planet. Then, of course, it'll be too late. There -won't be another ship along for several millennia." - -"Shut up," she said. "I know what I'm doing." - -"So do I," he said. "Ah, here comes the great hero Achilles, chasing a -poor Trojan whom he plans to slaughter. We'll see about that." - -He lifted the airgun in whose barrel lay the long dart with the trick -head. He took careful aim, saying, "I'll wait until he goes to throw -his spear. His force field will be off.... Now!" - -Thetis gave a strangled cry. Achilles, the arrow sticking from the -tendon just above the heel, had toppled backward from the chariot onto -the plain, where dust settled on his shining armor. He lay motionless. - -"Oh, that was an awful fall," she moaned. "Perhaps he broke his neck. -I'd better go down there and see if he's all right." - -"Don't bother," said Apollo. "He's dead." - -Thetis looked at him with wide brown eyes set in a gray face. - -"I put poison on the needle," said Apollo, smiling crookedly at her. -"That was my idea, but your father approved of it. He said I'd redeemed -my blunder in killing Patroclos by telling him what you planned. Of -course, I didn't inform him of the means you took to insure that I -would carry out my bargain with you. I was afraid your father would -have been very shocked to hear of your immoral behavior." - -Thetis choked out, "You unspeakable ... vicious ... vicious ... you ... -you...." - -"Dry your pretty tears," said Apollo. "It's all for your own good. And -for Achilles', too. The story of his brief but glorious life will be a -legend among his people. And out in the Galaxy the movie based on his -career will become the most stupendous epic ever seen." - - * * * * * - -Apollo was right. Four thousand years later, it was still a tremendous -box-office attraction. There was talk that now that Earth was civilized -enough to have space travel, it might even be shown there. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Heel, by Philip Jose Farmer - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HEEL *** - -***** This file should be named 60871-8.txt or 60871-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/8/7/60871/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll -have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using -this ebook. - - - -Title: Heel - -Author: Philip Jose Farmer - -Release Date: December 7, 2019 [EBook #60871] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HEEL *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="340" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>HEEL</h1> - -<h2>By PHILIP JOSE FARMER</h2> - -<p class="ph1"><i>Great cast! Stupendous show!<br /> -If this didn't make history,<br /> -nothing ever would!</i></p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Worlds of If Science Fiction, May 1960.<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>"Call me Zeus," said the Director.</p> - -<p>"Zeus?" said his wife, a beautiful woman not over a thousand years old. -"What an egomaniac! Comparing yourself to a god, even if he is the god -of those—those savages!"</p> - -<p>She gestured at the huge screen on the wall. It showed, far below, the -blue sea, the black ships on the yellow beach, the purple tents of the -Greek army, the broad brown plain, and the white towers of Troy.</p> - -<p>The Director glared at her through hexagonal dark glasses and puffed on -his cigar until angry green clouds rolled from it. His round bald head -was covered by a cerise beret, his porpoise frame by a canary yellow -tunic, and his chubby legs by iridescent green fourpluses.</p> - -<p>"I may not look like a god, but as far as my power over the natives of -this planet goes, I could well be their deity," he replied.</p> - -<p>He spoke sharply to a tall handsome blond youth who wore a crooked -smile and bright blue and yellow tattoo spiraling around his legs and -trunk. "Apollo, hand me the Script!"</p> - -<p>"Surely you're not going to change the Script again?" said his wife. -She rose from her chair, and the scarlet web she was wearing translated -the shifting micro-voltages on the surface of her skin into musical -tones.</p> - -<p>"I never change the Script," said the Director. "I just make the slight -revisions required for dramatic effects."</p> - -<p>"I don't care what you do to it, just so you don't allow the Trojans to -win. I hate those despicable brutes."</p> - -<p>Apollo laughed loudly, and he said, "Ever since she and Athena and -Aphrodite thought of that goofy stunt of asking Paris to choose the -most beautiful of the three, and he gave the prize to Aphrodite, Hera's -hated the Trojans. Really, Hera, why blame those simple, likable people -for the actions of only one of them? I think Paris showed excellent -judgment. Aphrodite was so grateful she contrived to get that lovely -Helen for Paris and—"</p> - -<p>"Enough of this private feud," snapped the Director. "Apollo, I told -you once to hand me the Script."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Achilles at midnight paced back and forth before his tent. Finally, in -the agony of his spirit, he called to Thetis. The radio which had been -installed in his shield, unknown to him, transmitted his voice to a -cabin in the great spaceship hanging over the Trojan plain.</p> - -<p>Thetis, hearing it, said to Apollo, "Get out of my cabin, you heel, or -I'll have you thrown out."</p> - -<p>"Leave?" he said. "Why? So you can be with your barbarian lover?"</p> - -<p>"He is not my lover," she said angrily. "But I'd take even a barbarian -as a lover before I'd have anything to do with you. Now, get out. And -don't speak to me again unless it's in the line of business."</p> - -<p>"Any time I speak to you, I mean business," he said, grinning.</p> - -<p>"Get out or I'll tell my father!"</p> - -<p>"I hear and obey. But I'll have you, one way or another."</p> - -<p>Thetis shoved him out. Then she quickly put on the suit that could bend -light around her to make her invisible and transport her through the -air and do many other things. Out of a port she shot, straight toward -the tent of her protégé. She did not decelerate until she saw him -standing tall in the moonlight, his hands still raised in entreaty. She -landed and cut the power off so he could see her.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" width="650" height="324" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>"Mother, Mother!" cried Achilles. "How long must I put up with -Agamemnon's high-handedness?"</p> - -<p>Thetis took him by the hand and led him into the tent. "Is Patroclos -around?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"No, he is having some fun with Iphis, that buxom beauty I gave him -after I conquered the city of Scyros."</p> - -<p>"There's a sensible fellow," said Thetis. "Why don't you forget this -fuss with King Agamemnon and have fun with some rosy-cheeked darling?" -But a painful expression crossed her face as she said it.</p> - -<p>Achilles did not notice the look. "I am too sick with humiliation and -disgust to take pleasure in anything. I am full up to here with being a -lion in the fighting and yet having to give that jackal Agamemnon the -lion's share of the loot, just because he has been chosen to be our -leader. Am I not a king in Thessaly? I wish—I wish—"</p> - -<p>"Yes?" said Thetis eagerly. "Do you want to go home?"</p> - -<p>"I <i>should</i> go home. Then the Greeks would wish they'd not allowed -Agamemnon to insult the best man among them."</p> - -<p>"Oh, Achilles, say the word and I'll have you across the sea and in -your palace in an hour!" she said excitedly. She was thinking, <i>The -Director will be furious if Achilles disappears, but he won't be able -to do anything about it. And the Script can be revised. Hector or -Odysseus or Paris can play the lead role.</i></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"No," Achilles said. "I can't leave my men here. They'd say I had run -out on them, that I was a coward. And the Greeks would call me a yellow -dog. No, I'll allow no man to say that."</p> - -<p>Thetis sighed and answered sadly, "Very well. What do you want me to -do?"</p> - -<p>"Go ask Zeus if he will give Agamemnon so much trouble he'll come -crawling to me, begging for forgiveness and pleading for my help."</p> - -<p>Thetis had to smile. The enormous egotism of the beautiful brute! -Taking it for granted that the Lord of Creation would bend the course -of events so Achilles could salvage his pride. Yet, she told herself, -she need not be surprised. He had taken it calmly enough the night -she'd appeared to him and told him that she was a goddess and his true -mother. He had always been convinced divine blood ran in his veins. Was -he not superior to all men? Was he not Achilles?</p> - -<p>"I will go to Zeus," she said. "But what he will do, only he knows."</p> - -<p>She reached up and pulled his head down to kiss him on the forehead. -She did not trust herself to touch the lips of this man who was far -more a man than those he supposed to be gods. The lips she longed -for ... the lips soon to grow cold. She could not bear to think of it.</p> - -<p>She flicked the switch to make her invisible and, after leaving the -tent, rose toward the ship. As always, it hung at four thousand feet -above the plain, hidden in the inflated plastic folds that simulated -a cloud. To the Greeks and Trojans the cloud was the home of Zeus, -anchored there so he could keep a close eye on the struggle below.</p> - -<p>It was he who would decide whether the walls of Troy would stand or -fall. It was to him that both sides prayed.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The Director was drinking a highball in his office and working out the -details of tomorrow's shooting with his cameramen.</p> - -<p>"We'll give that Greek Diomedes a real break, make him the big hero. -Get a lot of close-ups. He has a superb profile and a sort of flair -about him. It's all in the Script, what aristocrats he kills, how many -narrow escapes, and so on. But about noon, just before lunch, we'll -wound him. Not too badly, just enough to put him out of action. Then -we'll see if we can whip up a big tearjerker between that Trojan and -his wife—what's her name?"</p> - -<p>He looked around as if he expected them to feed him the answer. But -they were silent; it was not wise to know more than he.</p> - -<p>He snapped his fingers. "Andromache! That's it!"</p> - -<p>"What a memory! How do you keep all those barbaric names at your -tongue's tip? Photographic!" and so on from the suckophants.</p> - -<p>"O.K. So after Diomedes leaves the scene, you, Apollo, will put on a -simulacrum of Helenos, the Trojan prophet. As Helenos, you'll induce -Hector to go back to Troy and get his mother, the Queen, to pray for -victory. We can get some colorful shots of the temple and the local -religious rites. Meantime, we'll set up a touching domestic scene -between Hector and his wife. Bring in their baby boy. A baby's always -good for ohs and ahs. Later, after coffee break, we'll...."</p> - -<p>Apollo drifted through the crowd toward the Director's wife. She was -sitting on a chair and moodily drinking. However, seeing Apollo, she -smiled with green-painted lips and said, "Do sit down, darling. You -needn't worry about my husband being angry because you're paying -attention to me. He's too busy shining down on his little satellites -to notice you."</p> - -<p>Apollo seated himself in a chair facing her and moved forward so their -knees touched.</p> - -<p>"What do you want now?" she said. "You only get lovey-dovey when you're -trying to get something out of me."</p> - -<p>"You know I love only you, Hera," he said, grinning. "But I can't meet -you as often as I'd like. Old Thunder-and-Lightning is too suspicious. -And I value my job too much to risk it, despite my overwhelming passion -for you."</p> - -<p>"Get to the point."</p> - -<p>"We're way over our budget and past our deadline. The shooting should -have been finished six months ago. Yet Old Fussybritches keeps on -revising the Script and adding scene after scene. And that's not all. -We're not going home when Troy does fall. The Director is planning to -make a sequel. I know because he asked me to outline the Script for it. -He's got the male lead picked out. Foxy Grandpa Odysseus."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Hera sat upright so violently she sloshed her drink over the edge -of her glass. "Why, my brother means to kill Odysseus at the first -opportunity! My brother is mad, absolutely mad about Athena, but he -can't get to first base with her. She's got eyes only for Odysseus, -though how she could take up with one of those stupid primitives, I'll -never understand."</p> - -<p>"Athena claims he has an intelligence equal to any of us," said Apollo. -"However, it's not her but Thetis I meant to discuss."</p> - -<p>"Is my stepdaughter interfering again?"</p> - -<p>"I think so. Just before this conference I saw her coming out of the -Director's room, tears streaming from her big cow eyes. I imagine she -was begging him again to spare Achilles. Or at least to allow the -Trojans to win for a while so Agamemnon will give back to Achilles the -girl he took from him, that tasty little dish, Briseis."</p> - -<p>"You ought to know how tasty she is," said Hera bitterly. "I happen to -know you drugged Achilles several nights in a row and then put on his -simulacrum."</p> - -<p>"A handy little invention, that simulacrum," said Apollo. "Put one on -and you can look like anybody you want to look like. Your jealousy is -showing, Hera. However, that's not the point. If Thetis keeps playing -on her father's sympathies like an old flute, this production will last -forever. Frankly, I'd like to shake the dust of this crummy planet from -my feet, get back to civilization before it forgets what a great script -writer I am."</p> - -<p>"What do you propose?"</p> - -<p>"I propose to hurry things up. Eventually, Achilles is supposed to -quit sulking and take up arms again. So far, the Director has been -indefinite on how we'll get him to do that. Well, we'll help him -without his knowing it. We'll fix it so the Trojans will beat the -Greeks even worse than the Director intends. Hector will almost run -them back into the sea. Agamemnon will beg Achilles to get back into -the ring. He'll give him back the loot he took from him, including -Briseis. And he'll offer his own daughter in marriage to Achilles.</p> - -<p>"Achilles will refuse. But we'll have him all set up for the next -move. Tonight a technician will implant a post-hypnotic suggestion in -Achilles that he send his buddy Patroclos, dressed in Achilles' armor, -out to scare the kilts off the Trojans. We'll generate a panic among -the Trojans with a subsonic projector. Then we'll arrange it so Hector -kills Patroclos. That is the one thing to make Achilles so fighting mad -he'll quit sulking...."</p> - -<p>"Patroclos? But the Director wants to save him for the big scene when -Achilles is knocked off. Patroclos is supposed to put Achilles' armor -on, storm the Scaian gate, and lead the Greeks right into the city."</p> - -<p>"Accidents will happen," said Apollo. "Despite what the barbarians -think, we are not gods. Or are we? What do you say to my plan?"</p> - -<p>"If the Director finds out we've tampered with the Script, he'll -divorce me. And you'll be blackballed in every studio from one end of -the Galaxy to the other."</p> - -<p>Apollo winked and said, "I'll leave it to you to make Old Stupe think -Patroclos' death was his own idea. You have done something like that -before, and more than once."</p> - -<p>She laughed and said, "Oh, Apollo, you're such a heel."</p> - -<p>He rose. "Not a heel. Just a great script writer. Our plan will give me -a chance to kill Achilles much sooner than the Director expects. And -it'll all be for the good of the Script."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>That night two technicians went into the Greek camp, one to Achilles' -tent and one to Agamemnon's. The technician assigned to the King of -Mycenae gave him a whiff of sleep gas and then taped two electrodes to -the royal forehead. It took him a minute to play a recording and two to -untape the electrodes and leave.</p> - -<p>Five minutes later, the King awoke, shouting that Zeus had sent him a -dream in the shape of wise old Nestor. Nestor had told him to rouse the -camp and march forth even if it were only dawn, for today Troy would -fall and his brother Menelaos would get back his wife Helen.</p> - -<p>Agamemnon, though, who had always been too clever for his own good, -told the council of elders that he wanted to test his army before -telling them the truth. He would announce that he was tired of this -war they could not win and that he wanted to go home. This news would -separate the slackers from the soldiers, his true friends from the -false.</p> - -<p>Unfortunately, when he told this to the assemblage, he found far -less men of valor than he had expected. The entire army, with a few -exceptions, gave a big hurrah and stampeded toward the ships. They had -had a bellyful of this silly war, fighting to win back the beautiful -tart Helen for the King's brother, spilling their guts all over foreign -plains while their wives were undoubtedly playing them false with the -4-Fs, the fields were growing weeds, and their children were starving.</p> - -<p>In vain, Agamemnon tried to stop the rush. He even shouted at them what -they had only guessed before, that more was at stake than his brother's -runaway wife. If Troy was crushed, the Greeks would own the trading -and colonizing routes to the rich Black Sea area. But no one paid any -attention to him. They were too concerned with knocking each other over -in their haste to get the ships ready to sail.</p> - -<p>At this time, the only people from the spaceship on the scene -were some cameramen and technicians. They were paralyzed by the -unexpectedness of the situation, and they were afraid to use their -emotion-stimulating projectors. By the flick of a few switches -the panic could be turned into aggression. But it would have been -aggression without a leader. The Greeks, instead of automatically -turning to fight the Trojans, would have killed each other, sure that -their fellows were trying to stop them from embarking for home.</p> - -<p>The technicians did not dare to waken the Director and acknowledge they -could not handle a simple mob scene. But one of them did put a call -through to one of the Director's daughters, Athena.</p> - -<p>Athena zipped down to Odysseus and found him standing to one side, -looking glum. He had not panicked, but he also was not interfering. -Poor fellow, he longed to go home to Penelope. In the beginning of this -useless war, he had pretended madness to get out of being drafted. But, -once he had sworn loyalty to the King, he would not abandon him.</p> - -<p>Athena flicked off her light-bender so he could see her. She shouted, -"Odysseus, don't just stand there like a lump on a bog! Do something or -all will be lost—the war, the honor of the Greeks, the riches you will -get from the loot of Troy! Get going!"</p> - -<p>Odysseus, never at a loss, tore the wand of authority from the King's -numbed hand and began to run through the crowd. Everybody he met he -reproached with cowardice, and backed the sting of his words with the -hard end of the wand on their backs. Athena signaled to the technicians -to project an aggression-stimulating frequency. Now that the Greeks -had a leader to channel their courage, they could be diverted back to -fighting.</p> - -<p>There was only one obstacle, Thersites. He was a lame hunchback with -the face of a baboon and a disposition to match.</p> - -<p>Thersites cried out in a hoarse, jeering voice, "Agamemnon, don't you -have enough loot? Do you still want us to die so you may gather more -gold and beautiful Trojan women in your greedy arms? You Greeks, you're -not men. You're women who will do anything this disgrace to a crown -tells you to do. Look what he did to Achilles. Robbed him of Briseis -and in so doing robbed us of the best warrior we have. If I were -Achilles, I'd knock Agamemnon's head off."</p> - -<p>"We've put up with your outrageous abuse long enough!" shouted -Odysseus. He began thwacking Thersites on the head and the back until -blood ran. "Shut up or I'll kill you!"</p> - -<p>At this the whole army, which hated Thersites, roared with laughter. -Odysseus had relieved the tension; now they were ready to march under -Agamemnon's orders.</p> - -<p>Athena sighed with relief and radioed back to the ship that the -Director could be awakened. Things were well in hand.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>And so they were—until a few days later when Apollo and Hera, waiting -until the Director had gone to bed early with a hangover from the night -before, induced Hector to make a night attack. The fighting went on all -night, and at dawn Patroclos ran into Achilles' tent.</p> - -<p>"Terrible news!" he cried. "The Trojans have breached the walls around -our ships and are burning them! Diomedes, Agamemnon, and Odysseus are -wounded. If you do not lead your men against Hector, all is lost!"</p> - -<p>"Too bad," said Achilles. But the blood drained from his face.</p> - -<p>"Don't be so hardhearted!" shouted Patroclos. "If you won't fight, at -least allow me to lead the Myrmidons against the enemy. Perhaps we can -save the ships and drive Hector off!"</p> - -<p>Achilles shouted back, "Very well! You know I give you, my best friend, -anything you want. But I will not for all the gold in the world serve -under a king who robs me of prizes I took with my own sword. However, I -will give you my armor, and my men will march behind you!"</p> - -<p>Then, sobbing with rage and frustration, he helped Patroclos dress in -his armor.</p> - -<p>"Do you see this little lever in the back of the shield?" he said. -"When an enemy strikes at you, flick it this way. The air in front -of you will become hard, and your foe's weapon will bounce off the -air. Then, before he recovers from his confusion, flick the lever the -other way. The air will soften and allow your spear to pass. And the -spearpoint will shear through his armor as if it were cheese left in -the hot sun. It is made of some substance harder than the hardest -bronze made by the hand of man."</p> - -<p>"So this is the magic armor your divine mother, Thetis, gave you," said -Patroclos. "No wonder—"</p> - -<p>"Even without this magic—or force field, as Thetis calls it—I am -the best man among Greek or Trojan," said Achilles matter-of-factly. -"There! Now you are almost as magnificent as I am. Go forth in my -armor, Patroclos, and run the Trojans ragged. I will pray to Zeus that -you come back safely. There is one thing you must not do, though, no -matter how strong the temptation—do not chase the Trojans too close -to the city, even if you are on the heels of Hector himself. Thetis -has told me that Zeus does not want Troy to fall yet. If you were to -threaten it now, the gods would strike you down."</p> - -<p>"I will remember," said Patroclos. He got into Achilles' chariot and -drove off proudly to take his place in front of the Myrmidons.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The Director was so red in the face, he looked as if his head were one -huge blood vessel.</p> - -<p>"How in space did the Trojans get so far?" he screamed. "And what is -Patroclos doing in Achilles' armor? There's rank inefficiency here or -else skullduggery! Either one, heads will roll! And I think I know -whose! Apollo! Hera! What have you two been up to?"</p> - -<p>"Why, Husband," said Hera, "how can you say I had anything to do with -this? You know how I hate the Trojans. As for Apollo, he thinks too -much of his job to go against the Script."</p> - -<p>"All right, we'll see. We'll get to the bottom of this later. -Meanwhile, let's direct the situation so it'll end up conforming to the -Script."</p> - -<p>But before the cameramen and technicians could be organized, Patroclos, -leading the newly inspired Greeks, slaughtered the Trojans as a lion -kills sheep. He could not be stopped, and when he saw Hector running -away from him, he forgot his friend's warning and pursued him to the -walls of Troy.</p> - -<p>"Follow me!" yelled Patroclos to the Greeks. "We will break down the -gates and take the city within an hour!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was then Apollo projected fury into Hector so that he turned to -battle the man he thought was Achilles. And Apollo, timing to coincide -with the instant that Patroclos flicked off his force field, struck -him a stunning blow from behind. At the same time a spear thrown by a -Trojan wounded Patroclos in the back. Dazed, hurt, the Greek started -back toward his men. But Hector ran up and stabbed him through the -belly, finding no resistance to his spear because Patroclos had not -turned the force field back on. Patroclos hit the ground with a crash -of armor.</p> - -<p>"No, no, you fool, Apollo!" shouted the Director into the radio. "He -must not die! We need him later for the Script. You utter fool, you've -bumbled!"</p> - -<p>Thetis, who had been standing behind the Director, burst into tears and -ran into her cabin.</p> - -<p>"What's the matter with her?" asked the Director.</p> - -<p>"You may as well know, darling," said Hera, "that your daughter is in -love with a barbarian."</p> - -<p>"Thetis? In love with Patroclos? Impossible!"</p> - -<p>Hera laughed and said, "Ask her how she feels about the planned death -of Achilles. That is whom she is weeping for, not Patroclos. She -foresees Achilles' death in his friend's. And I imagine she will go to -comfort her lover, knowing his grief when he hears that Patroclos is -dead."</p> - -<p>"That's ridiculous! If she's in love with Achilles, why would she tell -Achilles she is his mother?"</p> - -<p>"For the very reason she loves him but doesn't want him to know. She at -least has sense enough to realize no good could come from a match with -one of those Earth primitives. So she stopped any passes from him with -that maternal bit. If there is one thing the Greeks respect, it is the -incest taboo."</p> - -<p>"I'll have him knocked off as soon as possible. Thetis might lose her -head and tell him the truth. Poor little girl, she's been away from -civilization too long. We'll have to wind up this picture and get back -to God's planet."</p> - -<p>Hera watched him go after Thetis and then switched to a private -channel. "Apollo, the Director is very angry with you. But I've thought -of a way to smooth his feathers. We'll tell him that killing Patroclos -was the only way to get Achilles back into the fight. He'll like that. -Achilles can then be slain, and the picture will still be saved. Also, -I'll make him think it was his idea."</p> - -<p>"That's great," replied Apollo, his voice shaky with dread of the -Director. "But what can we do to speed up the shooting? Patroclos was -supposed to take the city after Achilles was killed."</p> - -<p>"Don't worry," said Athena, who had been standing behind Hera. -"Odysseus is your man. He's been working on a device to get into the -city. Barbarian or not, that fellow is the smartest I've ever met. Too -bad he's an Earthman."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>During the next twenty-four hours, Thetis wept much. But she was also -very busy, working while she cried. She went to Hephaistos, the chief -technician, an old man of five thousand years. He loved Thetis because -she had intervened for Hephaistos more than once when her father had -been angry with him. Yet he shook his head when she asked him if he -could make Achilles another suit of armor, even more invulnerable than -the first.</p> - -<p>"Not enough time. Achilles is to be killed tomorrow."</p> - -<p>"No. My father has cooled off a little. He remembered that the Script -calls for Achilles to kill Hector before he himself dies. Besides, the -government anthropologist wants to take films of the funeral games for -Patroclos. And he overrules even Father, you know."</p> - -<p>"That'll give me a week," said Hephaistos, figuring on his fingers. "I -can do it. But tell me, child, why all the tears? Is it true what they -say, that you love a barbarian, that magnificent red-haired Achilles?"</p> - -<p>"I love him," she said, weeping again.</p> - -<p>"Ah, child, you are a mere hundred years or so. When you reach my age, -you'll know that there are few things worth tears, and love between -man and woman is not one of them. However, I'll make the armor. And -its field of force will cover everything around him except an opening -to the outside air. Otherwise, he'd suffocate. But what good will all -this do? The Director will find some means of killing him. And even if -Achilles should escape, you'd be no better off."</p> - -<p>"I will," she said. "We'll go to Italy—and I'll give him perpetuol."</p> - -<p>Thetis went to her cabin. Shortly afterward, the doorbell rang. She -opened the door and saw Apollo.</p> - -<p>Smiling, he said, "I have something here you might be interested in -hearing." He held in his hand a small cartridge.</p> - -<p>Seeing it, her eyes widened in surprise.</p> - -<p>"Yes, it's a recording," he said, and he pushed past her into the -room. "Let me put it in your playback."</p> - -<p>"You don't have to," she replied. "I presume you had a microphone -planted in Hephaistos' cabin?"</p> - -<p>"Correct. Won't your father be angry if somebody sends him a note -telling him you're planning to ruin the Script by running off to Italy -with a barbarian? And not only that but inject perpetuol into the -barbarian to increase his life span? Personally, if I were your father, -I'd let you do it. You'd soon grow sick of your handsome but uncouth -booby."</p> - -<p>Thetis did not answer.</p> - -<p>"I really don't care," he said. "In fact, I'll help you. I can arrange -it so the arrow that hits Achilles' heel will be a trick one. Its head -will just seem to sink into his flesh. Inside it will be a needle that -will inject a cataleptic agent. Achilles will seem to be dead but will -actually be in a state of suspended animation. We'll sneak his body at -night from the funeral pyre and substitute a corpse. A bio-tech who -owes me a favor will fix up the face of a dead Trojan or Greek to look -like Achilles'. When this epic is done and we're ready to leave Earth, -you can run away. We'll not miss you until we're light-years away."</p> - -<p>"And what do you want in return for arranging all this? My thanks?"</p> - -<p>"I want you."</p> - -<p>Thetis flinched. For a moment she stood with her eyes closed and her -hands clenched. Then, opening her eyes, she said, "All right. I know -that is the only way open for me. It's also the only way you could have -devised to have me. But I want to tell you that I loathe and despise -you. And I'll be hating every atom of your flesh while you're in -possession of mine."</p> - -<p>He chuckled and said, "I know it. But your hate will only make me -relish you the more. It'll be the sauce on the salad."</p> - -<p>"Oh, you heel!" she said in a trembling voice. "You dirty, sneaking, -miserable, slimy heel!"</p> - -<p>"Agreed." He picked up a bottle and poured two drinks. "Shall we toast -to that?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Hector's death happened, as planned, and the tear-jerking scene in -which his father, King Priam, came to beg his son's body from Achilles. -Four days later, Achilles led the attack on the Scaian gate. It was -arranged that Paris should be standing on the wall above the gate. -Apollo, invisible behind him, would shoot the arrow that would strike -Achilles' foot if Paris' arrow bounced off the force field.</p> - -<p>Apollo spoke to Thetis, who was standing beside him. "You seem very -nervous. Don't worry. You'll see your lovely warrior in Italy in a few -weeks. And you can explain to him that you aren't his mother, that you -had to tell him that to protect him from the god Apollo's jealousy. But -now that Zeus has raised him from the dead, you have been given to him -as a special favor. And all will end happily. That is, until living -with him will become so unbearable you'd give a thousand years off your -life to leave this planet. Then, of course, it'll be too late. There -won't be another ship along for several millennia."</p> - -<p>"Shut up," she said. "I know what I'm doing."</p> - -<p>"So do I," he said. "Ah, here comes the great hero Achilles, chasing a -poor Trojan whom he plans to slaughter. We'll see about that."</p> - -<p>He lifted the airgun in whose barrel lay the long dart with the trick -head. He took careful aim, saying, "I'll wait until he goes to throw -his spear. His force field will be off.... Now!"</p> - -<p>Thetis gave a strangled cry. Achilles, the arrow sticking from the -tendon just above the heel, had toppled backward from the chariot onto -the plain, where dust settled on his shining armor. He lay motionless.</p> - -<p>"Oh, that was an awful fall," she moaned. "Perhaps he broke his neck. -I'd better go down there and see if he's all right."</p> - -<p>"Don't bother," said Apollo. "He's dead."</p> - -<p>Thetis looked at him with wide brown eyes set in a gray face.</p> - -<p>"I put poison on the needle," said Apollo, smiling crookedly at her. -"That was my idea, but your father approved of it. He said I'd redeemed -my blunder in killing Patroclos by telling him what you planned. Of -course, I didn't inform him of the means you took to insure that I -would carry out my bargain with you. I was afraid your father would -have been very shocked to hear of your immoral behavior."</p> - -<p>Thetis choked out, "You unspeakable ... vicious ... vicious ... you ... -you...."</p> - -<p>"Dry your pretty tears," said Apollo. "It's all for your own good. And -for Achilles', too. The story of his brief but glorious life will be a -legend among his people. And out in the Galaxy the movie based on his -career will become the most stupendous epic ever seen."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Apollo was right. Four thousand years later, it was still a tremendous -box-office attraction. There was talk that now that Earth was civilized -enough to have space travel, it might even be shown there.</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Heel, by Philip Jose Farmer - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HEEL *** - -***** This file should be named 60871-h.htm or 60871-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/8/7/60871/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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