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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..9b6de6f --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #65886 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65886) diff --git a/old/65886-0.txt b/old/65886-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 8e8f423..0000000 --- a/old/65886-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4473 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Special Delivery, by Kris Neville - -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 -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Special Delivery - -Author: Kris Neville - -Release Date: July 20, 2021 [eBook #65886] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPECIAL DELIVERY *** - - - - - Parr came to Earth as the advance guard for - an invasion. His mission: to see that every - person received a package that was being mailed-- - - SPECIAL DELIVERY - - By Kris Neville - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy - January 1952 - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - - - - CHAPTER I - - -A cannonade of shell fire met the silver listening post as it zipped -across the moonlit desert. It twisted erratically, trying to dodge. -Then a radar controlled gun chuckled to itself, and the listening post -faltered in flight, slipped air, plunged sandward. - -In the Advanceship, far above and to the west, one of the Knougs -pressed a button and the listening post exploded in a white flare. - -Afterwards, no fragments could be found. The newspapers said the usual -thing. The government issued the usual profession of disbelief--and -finally even the gunner became convinced of the usual explanation: he -had tried to pot Venus. - -While on the Advanceship the Knougs continued to prepare for D-Day. - - - - - CHAPTER II - - -Three days later, on D-Day minus thirty, the Advanceship began to move -eastward, seeding down advancemen toward strategic centers in North -America. - -Towns with big post offices. - -And then on over the Atlantic toward other continents. - -Parr was the first advanceman to land. The coat tails of his -conservative double breasted suit fluttered gently as he fell; air, -streaming by, fretted his hair. Except for the anti-grav pack strapped -to his back, he could easily have been mistaken in a more probable -setting for an Earthman. - -Minutes later his feet touched the ground with scarcely a jolt. -He peeled out of the anti-grav pack, pushed the button on its -disintegrator time fuse and dropped the pack. He lit a cigar and blew -smoke toward the cold bright stars. - -He walked from the weedy lot to the nearest bus stop. No one else -was waiting. Darkness had concealed his descent. He sat down, stared -stolidly at the darkened filling station on the opposite corner. - -When he was halfway through the cigar the Los Angeles Red Bus came by -and he stood up, boarded it, fumbled in his pocket for change. - -"Thirty cents, buddy," the driver said. - -Still holding the cigar, Parr counted out two dimes and two nickles. He -tried to hand the driver the coins, which were excellent imitations, as -was his suit, his cigar, and all the rest of the Earth articles. - -"Put it in the box, buddy." - -Parr obeyed. - -"Hey," the driver said as Parr turned. "Your check." The driver held -out a strip of red paper. - -Parr took it. - -"No smokin' on the bus, buddy." - -Parr dropped the cigar and mashed it out. He shuffled down the aisle, -sank into a seat and half closed his eyes. - -Furtively, then, he began to study the occupants--his first -near-at-hand contact with the natives. At the same time he tried to -form a mental liaison with some of the other advancemen. - -For a moment he thought he had one to the east, but there was a hazy -swirl of interdiction that erased all contact. - - * * * * * - -Abandoning further attempts he tried to search out the frequencies of -the minds about him. Once he managed to touch a series of thoughts -innocently concerned with household details and with an overtone of -mild and nameless anxiety. Aside from that he received nothing except -the din of electronic impressions at the extreme lower end of his -range. - -He half-turned to stare out of the window. The passing -landscape was peaceful in starshine and the buildings stood -proudly defenseless. In imagination he saw the illuminated, -"You'll-take-a-shine-to-this-fine-wine" sign hanging askew over a -backdrop of smoking rubble. And it was delicious to know that this -would be fit and proper. - -Although the preliminary intelligence report (based on nearly four -years of preparatory scouting) contained no instance of Oholo -activity on the planet, he listened, high up, on their frequencies, -(particularly here, vulnerably near their own system it would be no fun -fighting them). He let his shoulders slump with relief, let the smile -of satisfaction come. As reported, the frequencies were clear: Earth -was, indeed, their blind flank. - -He closed his eyes, relaxed completely, took quite a joy in the -knowledge that shortly Earth would be the lethal dagger pointed at the -heart of the Oholo system. - -At the Beverly Hills -transfer-for-Hollywood-the-film-capital-of-the-world Station, two -drunks boarded the bus and settled in the rear, singing mournfully. - -Parr grew increasingly irritated by the delay. When the bus finally -started, making the sharp turn from the lot and throwing his body to -the right against the steel ledge of the window, he cursed under his -breath. - -The dismal singing went on. It picked up telepathic overtones, and -Parr gritted his teeth trying to block out the bubbling confusion that -scattered from the drunken brain. He opened and closed his fists. -Anger flared at him: the anger of impotence. For a moment, he dared -to imagine the planet contaminated, the population quietly dead, the -Knougs working from sheath hangers. Only for a second; but the brief -thought was satisfying, even as he forced himself to agree with the -strategy of the War Committee: which was to leave the planet as nearly -unpoisoned as possible by even a minor land war. - -Finally the song bubbled to silence. Half an hour later the bus turned -on Olive Street and the gloomy Los Angeles buildings hovered at the -sidewalks. It pulled in at the Olive Street entrance of the Hill Street -Terminal and Parr got out. - -He walked out of the lot and started downhill toward the Biltmore Hotel. - - * * * * * - -When Parr awoke he knew that something had been added to Los Angeles -during the night. He shivered involuntarily and tightened his thoughts -down to the place where no fuzzy, side harmonics were possible. - -He was afraid--the startled afraidness of finding something deadly -underfoot. Gradually he made his body relax; gradually he quieted his -twin hearts; gradually he corralled his breathing. Then he let out a -wisp of thought as tenuous as mist. - -And he sensed the Oholo's mind again. Very near to his own. He closed -his mind quickly, waited breathlessly to see if the Oholo had detected -him. His ears hummed with danger for he was within mental assault range. - -There was no answering probe and after a moment he got up cautiously. - -Feeling the rug beneath his bare feet made him wince with a blind -associational terror which he could not immediately analyze. Then, -looking down, he thought of the tickle of Tarro fur. He half -expected to see the dark stains on the rug too. Always, on Tarro -fur--remembering--there were those stains. They had been a difficult -people to rule. As _agent provocateur_, (that had been several years -ago on Quelta) he had reason to expect blood. - -He crossed to the trousers, neatly folded over a chair. In the left -front pocket was the comset. He fumbled it out and standing naked in -the gloomy dawn, whispered: "Parr. There is an Oholo in my hotel." - -After a pause the comset issued the tinny question: "Is he aware of -you?" The voice filtering through the small diaphragm was without -personality. - -"I don't think so." - -There was silence. Then: "Is he open?" - -"I think ... he is, yes." - -"Find out for sure!" - -The comset was cold in Parr's hand. He stood shivering. He rubbed his -left hand over his naked flank. - - * * * * * - -He tried to kill his thoughts against the command from the Advanceship, -tried to let the drilled-in obedience take over. He opened the -receptive portion of his mind as far as it would go, knowing that -within seconds seepage would be as loud as thunder because he was not -adept at double concentration. But even before one second had gone he -snapped his mind closed again. - -The Oholo was open. - -"Parr," he whispered hoarsely into the comset. "He's open." - -"... He can't know we're here, then. What did you learn?" - -Parr mopped his forehead with the back of his hairy arm. "I just kept -receptive a second." - -"Keep checking, then." - -Parr let the comset fall to the chair. He walked to the window and -looked out at the haze-bound city. Early sunlight fought blue smog. -Across the street the Pershing Square pigeons waddled self-consciously -about on the grass beside the new fountain, picking at invisible -tidbits and cooing. - -Parr rubbed his throat trying to massage away the inner tenseness. He -was alone against the Oholo. An aloneness that he had not been prepared -for. And he worried at the fear that was inside him. - -He dressed with awkward fingers and left the room, his eyes darting -suspiciously along the corridor as he drew the door closed behind him. - -He walked quickly down the carpeted stairs and through the front doors -of the hotel. Several times he glanced over his shoulder as he hurried -toward Sixth Street. - -After four blocks he was sure that he had not been followed. He entered -a restaurant. He ordered, reading from the menu. - -He did not enjoy the meal. - - * * * * * - -After eating he took a cab to the office of R. O. "Bob" Lucas, Realtor. -The Advanceship had determined that Lucas was the agent for an empty -warehouse on Flower Street. - -Parr exposed a bulky wallet for Lucas' benefit and began to rustle -bills with blunt, stubby fingers. Within minutes he had signed a -six-month lease. - -After making an appointment for three o'clock Tuesday at the warehouse, -Parr left Lucas' office and caught a cab to a typewriter shop. He -purchased a Smith-Corona portable, a ream of corrasable paper, a disk -eraser, and five hundred business envelopes. At the bookstore next -door, he bought a United States Atlas. - -After that he took a cab to the post office, had the driver wait while -he rented six postal boxes under the name A. Parr and bought twenty -sheets of air mail stamps. - -In the cab once more, he concentrated on the city map that had been -impressed electronically on his brain. "Drive out Sixth Street," he -ordered, being very careful of his enunciation. - -A half dozen blocks out Sixth, Parr located a hotel on the right side -of the street. It was a reasonably safe distance from the Biltmore. He -ordered the driver to stop. - -The building sat atop a hill, the street before it twining briskly -toward the center of town. Parr studied the building for a moment, -memorizing details of architecture for reference. - -Then settled with his purchases in a front room on the 3rd floor, -Parr opened the Atlas to the Western United States and marked out the -territory assigned to him with the heavy ink lines of his pen. - -Having done that, he listed all the names of the included towns. - -Then he sat down at the portable, inserted a sheet of paper and wrote: - -"To the Chamber of Commerce, Azusa, California. Gentlemen: Please send -me the current city directory." He looked at the postal numbers. "My -mailing address is ..." He typed in the first number on the list. "... -Los Angeles, California. Inclosed is five dollars to defray the costs. -Thanking you in advance, A. Parr." - - * * * * * - -He studied the letter. It was a competent job of typing. He flexed his -fingers, found them slightly stiff from the unaccustomed work. - -He ran his eyes down the list of towns, inserted another sheet of -paper. - -"To the Chamber of Commerce...." - -He stopped typing. - -He sat before the typewriter imagining the number of directories, -imagining the staggering total of individual names. - -He thought of the Advanceship and its baffling array of machines that -would automatically scan the directories and print a mailing label for -each of the names. He thought of the vast number of parcels waiting to -be labeled, as many as fuel requirements permitted the Ship to carry. -And of the even vaster number that the synthesizer was adding out of -the native resources. The smooth efficiency of the Advanceship, the -split second timing of the whole operation.... And all of it auxiliary -timing to the main effort. Even with superior weapons, even with -complete surprise, the Knougs were taking no chances. The job of the -Advanceship, the job of Parr, was to demoralize the whole planet just -before the invasion. To insure an already certain victory. - -He turned back to the typewriter, wrote a few more words. - -There was still the awareness of the enemy Oholo in the back of his -mind. - -He split the list of cities into six equal groups for box numbering. - -Several hours later another tenant complained about the noise of the -typewriter. Parr gave the clerk fifty dollars and continued to type. - - - - - CHAPTER III - - -Parr spent the morning of Tuesday, D-Day minus 28, in his hotel room, -reliving what seemed now to be the extremely narrow escape of the -previous morning. He imagined what he _might_ have done: assaulted the -Oholo mentally, or struck him down with the focus pistol when he tried -to leave the hotel. And having imagined the situations he proceeded to -explain to himself why, instead, he had fled. - -At eleven o'clock, by prior arrangement, he reported to the Ship and -from it received the reassuring information that the now alerted -advancemen had been able to find no other Oholo. - -At noon he went out to eat and then for an hour walked the streets, -studying the people and their city. Most particularly he listened for -accent, intonation. He was afraid to drop his mind shield to try for -telepathic contact with them. - -A few minutes before three o'clock in the afternoon his cab drew up to -the warehouse. The air was hot and sour smelling and Parr was restless. -The realtor was waiting for him on the sidewalk. Parr nodded curtly. -The man bent clumsily and rattled keys at the lock. - -"Here it is," Lucas said. - -Parr walked into the warehouse. - -It was an old building. Perhaps shabbier, dustier than he had expected. -The air was stale and faintly chilly with decay. Remnants of packing -crates, wrapping paper, labels and twine had been heaped in a greasy -pile in a far corner. - -Parr sniffed suspiciously as his eyes darted around the room. - -Across from him, above the rubbish, an electric box indicated that the -building had at one time been industrialized at least to the extent of -a few heavy power tools. - -Parr walked to the stairway. - -"I'll want someone to clean this mess up," he said curtly. - -"Yes, sir," the realtor said. - -"Tomorrow," Parr said. - -"All right," the realtor said, consciously omitting the "Sir" as if to -reassert his own individuality. - -Parr glanced at him. "I'll send you sufficient money to cover the fee." -Without waiting for an answer, he started up the stairway. - -The upper two floors were in much the same condition as the first. From -the third there was a narrow flight of steps slanting to the roof. Parr -eyed it with disapproval. - -"Narrow," he said. - -"There's seldom any reason to go up there ... sir." - - * * * * * - -Parr went up. At the top of the flight, he forced back the door and -clambered into the shed which opened onto the roof. Parr dusted his -knees. He stepped outside, and the gravelly finish grated under his -shoes. The air smelled of warmed-over tar. - -He tugged restlessly at his chin. It was a good, substantial roof. As -the listening post had reported. Good enough for pick-up and delivery. -He permitted himself a glimmer of satisfaction. - -He heard movement behind him. Instinctively he whirled around, -his hand dipping toward his right coat pocket, the memory of the -Oholo--the vision of a composite Oholo face surprisingly like an Earth -face--flashed across his mind. The realtor's head bobbed into view, and -Parr relaxed his tense muscles. - -"How is it up to here?" - -Parr rumbled an annoyed and indistinct answer and turned once more to -the roof. When the realtor stood at his side, Parr said, "I want that -shed thing ripped off and a chute installed, next to the stairs. Have -it done tomorrow." - -"I'm ..." the realtor began. But he looked at Parr's face and licked -his lips nervously. "Yes, sir;" he said after a moment. "Anything I can -do. Glad to oblige." - -"That's what I thought," Parr said, and Lucas shifted uneasily. - -Parr turned to the stairs. Going down he could see dust motes flicker -in the fading light at the dirty west windows. - -Outside he watched the realtor lock the doors. - -"Keep the keys," Parr said. "Send them to me at the Saint Paul Thursday -morning. At eight o'clock." - -The realtor said, "... Yes, sir." - - * * * * * - -At six o'clock Parr was in his hotel, undressed, making preliminary -arrangements by telephone to hire a fleet of trucks. He had already -placed an advertisement for shipping clerks and common laborers in -_The Times_: interviews Thursday from ten to four at the Flower Street -warehouse. - -After finishing with the truckers, he phoned four furniture companies -before he found one open. He ordered it to deliver a desk and two dozen -folding chairs to the Flower Street warehouse Thursday morning at -nine-thirty. - -All the while the Oholo was in the back of his mind, now sharp with -sudden memory, now dull with continued awareness. - -He checked the schedule the Ship had given him. - -He took the comset, flicked it on. "Parr. I'm scheduling. I'll need a -packet of money along with the dummy bundle. Can you deliver them both -to the warehouse tomorrow night?" - -"We can." - -"Good," Parr said, swallowing, and there was perspiration on his upper -lip. - -"Have you contacted the Oholo again?" - -He felt his blood spurt. "Not yet," he said. - -He waited. - -Then: "Think you can handle him mentally?" - -Parr glanced at the mirror, saw how taut his reflection was. - -"I'm not very sure," he said. - -"Well, physically, then?" - -Parr let out his breath slowly. "I don't know." - -"Try. Either way. Get rid of him. An Oholo could cause the invasion -trouble." - -Parr plucked nervously at his leg. "If I'm not able to?" - -The comset was silent for a moment. Then the impersonal voice said, "If -you are killed in the attempt, we will replace you." It paused for a -reply. Receiving none it continued: "Get what information you can, even -at the risk of exposure. It's too late now for them to mount a defense, -and they probably have no way to alert the natives. We want to know -what he's doing there, and if there are any more on the planet." - -"All right," Parr said, and he realized, gratefully, that, to the Ship, -his voice would sound emotionless. - -He dropped the comset. His hand was shaking. - -Not so damned good. How to kill the Oholo? - - * * * * * - -He tried to steady his nerves by remembering other planets, other -times. He had faced danger before, and he was still alive. Except that -before the danger had never been an Oholo. He had been Occupation, not -Combat. He remembered the few captured Oholos he had seen. They died -slowly when they wanted to be stubborn. - -Finally he crossed to the bed and stretched out naked, relaxing -slowly, knowing that the time had come to get what information he -could. Muscle by muscle he began to go limp. - -Slowly, very slowly, he dissolved his mind shield. When it was -completely gone he began to inch out, to flutter out, concentrating -with all his power a stream of receptive thought on the Oholo -frequencies high up and uncomfortably shrill. - -He located the mind, far away, and he began to skirt in toward it, his -own mind trembling in anticipation of the blow if he were detected. - -He inched closer trying to make himself completely non-transmitive. -He could feel seepage around the beam, and he shunted it to a lower -frequency, holding it there, suppressed. The effort blunted his full -concentration and when he finally began to get Oholo thoughts they were -blurred. He picked up a scrap here, a scrap there, his body tense. - -When he relaxed at last, forming his shield solidly, he was weak. He -held the shield desperately, chinking it against a possible attack. -None came. The Oholo was still completely unsuspecting, completely -lulled by the security of its environment. - -Feeling a sense of elation and a new confidence, Parr went to the -comset. "Parr. Oholo report." - -"Go ahead." - -Parr concentrated on the wording, filling in the blank spots with his -imagination. Suddenly he was conscious of an inadequacy, something -elusive that he should be able to add. He wrinkled his face, annoyed. -But the uncertainty refused to resolve itself into words. "His name is -Lauri. He's here on a mission having to do with the natives. I got no -details, but it doesn't directly concern us, I'm sure of that. There -appear to be several more on the planet. They seem to avoid cities, -which accounts for the fact that advancemen haven't reported them." For -a moment, he almost placed his thoughts on the elusiveness, but again -it escaped him. He paused, puzzled. - -"We'll have the advancemen warned. This may be damned inconvenient, -Parr. If there are many of them." - -"I couldn't get the exact number without exploring his mind. If I'd -done that, I might not have been able to report afterwards." - -"Go on." - -"He's leaving the city in a few days. You still want ... me to try to -kill him?" - -"Yes." - -The Oholo, Parr could not help remembering, had as strong a mind as he -had ever encountered. - - * * * * * - -Wednesday morning Parr walked to the Biltmore, not hurrying, not -anxious to face a free and dangerous Oholo. - -At the side of the hotel he risked contact. A shutter movement of -thought told him the quarry was still inside the building. - -He crossed Olive at Fifth with the light and angled right into -Pershing Square. He located a seat from which he could observe the -entrance of the Biltmore. For one moment he considered mental assault; -but remembering how strong the mind was he faced he discarded that -course. - -He waited. He walked around the Square. The morning seemed endless. - -Finally he risked another shutter of thought. - -The Oholo was still there. - -Noon. - -He ate in a drugstore across the street. - -Still there. - -As the afternoon wore on, the weariness of waiting left his body and -the success of the shutter contact inflamed him with confidence. He -could cross the street, enter the hotel, seek out the room. But he -delayed--without admitting to himself that he was still afraid. - -The gloom in the air was pre-sunset, city gloom, nostalgic. He -consciously dilated his pupils to accommodate the fading light, unaware -now of the scurry of people on the sidewalks and the roar of the city -cloaking for night amusement. Neon lights came on like cheap fire, out -of the darkness, infinitely lonely. - -He shifted uncomfortably. He stood up. He could wait no longer. - -Then a man and woman emerged from the hotel. And he tensed. A wisp of -thought, unsuspicious, floated to him on mental laughter. - -The Oholo, Lauri. - -He shielded his mind even tighter, scarcely thinking. - -He began to amble in the direction the couple were taking, keeping to -the opposite side of the street. - -At Sixth they turned toward him, waited through the yellow for the -green light. They crossed. - -He paused studying a Community Chest sign, his hearts pounding -uncertainly. He felt a curious little probe of thought that was -delicate and apologetic, as if reluctant to intrude upon anyone's -privacy. It passed him by undetecting. - - * * * * * - -The man bent toward the girl, a pert blonde, and laughed in answer to -something she had said. Parr watched them go by and then at a short -distance swung in behind them. He touched the focus weapon in his right -hand pocket, a crystal-like disk with one side tapering to a central -point. It was a short-range weapon, palm aimed, fired with an equally -exerted pressure on the lateral sides. - -Even with his mind closed Parr could catch ripples of Oholo thought: -amusement, sympathy, appreciation. For a moment he was afraid that he -had been mistaken somehow, for again there was the elusiveness, an -unreality he could not account for in terms of the situation. - -Parr narrowed the gap between himself and his prey. - -And they turned a corner. Parr crossed the street, drew still closer, -in time to hear the girl say, laughing, "... slumming once before I go -back." - -The crowd thickened and Parr found himself sidestepping passers-by. He -was almost near enough, and his hand was moist on the focus gun. - -The couple turned into a cellar night club. Parr swore to himself. -Taking a nervous breath, he descended the steps. He nodded to the -bouncer-doorman who was leaning idly against the wall. - -He stepped into the night club. He saw the man help the girl to a table. - -Parr brought out his hand. His eyes were suddenly hot and beady with -excitement. - -On the far side of the room he saw the black lettered sign, "MEN." He -would, in crossing to it, pass directly by the Oholo's table. - -As he began to move forward a woman stumbled unsteadily against him, -knocking him off balance. - -"Whynacha watch where ye're goin', ya ...," she began shrilly, but, -with his left hand, he brushed her out of his way. She took a half step -backwards, undecided. - -He turned to glare at her and under his gaze she looked away and tugged -nervously at her dress. - -Parr walked swiftly toward the rest room, his every energy concentrated -on his mind shield. - -As he passed the table, the girl shuffled uneasily on the chair. - -Without breaking stride, Parr fired the focus gun into the man's back. - -He was clear of the tables when he heard, from behind, the initial -surprised, "Oh!" - -He had one hand on the door marked "MEN" when he felt the confusion -in his mind. Automatically, he pushed open the door. A puzzling -realization that something was wrong.... - -He turned left, from the narrow corridor into the rest room proper. - -And he went down to his hands and knees on the filthy tile, writhing in -agony. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - - -The hurt, mostly, was in his brain, and he choked back a scream. He -could not think. And then the outer edge of the shield began to crumble. - -He concentrated. Every muscle, bone, nerve. Veins stood out on his -neck. He fought. - -He was dented by fire inside his head. Hot, lancing tongues of flame. -He tried to shrink away. He whimpered, groveled. His hands fumbled -uselessly. - -She was nearly inside of him now. It was almost over. Her thoughts were -like fingers rending and tearing at quivering unprotected flesh. - -He struggled hopelessly, retreating under a mental assault of -unendurable ferocity. His outer memory was ripped away, a section of -his childhood vanished forever. - -And then there was desperation in the assault wave. He could feel -her trying to shake off an attempt to breach her concentration. He -stiffened, relaxed, arched his body, struggled with her. - -Her attack suddenly crumbled into a distracted muddle. Her -concentration had been shattered. - -His mind was trembling jelly, creamed with throbbing pain. But he could -resist now, and slowly he forced her out. - -"I'll be back!" she lashed at him. And the hate in the thought was -alive. "I'll kill you for this!" Then her thoughts began slowly to fade -away and her mind shield came down. - -Parr shook with every muscle. - -"Buddy. Buddy," someone was saying, shaking his shoulder. "You sick, -huh?" - -He struggled to his knee twisting his head back and forth, trying to -regroup his memories. The sear places were vacant, empty, part of -himself cut cleanly away. Immediate memories not yet stored and filed -seemed to be floating free, unassociated--too widely spread to have -been cut out, not too widely spread to have been mixed and shuffled. He -was panting as he struggled with them, capturing them, tying them down, -ordering them. - -Then he began to vomit. - -"You drink too much? Hey, buddy, you drink too much? I guess you drink -too much, maybe?" - - * * * * * - -Understanding--half understanding--came with the words. He scrabbled up -the wall until he was erect. His back pressed against the vertical tile -for support. He turned and staggered from the stinking rest room, his -hands forcing clumsily against the walls. - -In the short hallway he could hear voices. - -"And when he slumped over...." - -"She just sat there like she was _thinking_...." - -"You see the cop shake her?" - -"I thought she was gonna hit him with the ash tray." - -"Well, they sure hauled her outta here!" - -Parr staggered back into the night club. Eyes turned to stare at him. -His head spun in nausea. He began to move leadenly toward the exit. - -There was a police officer in his path. - -The officer reached out to stop him, and he tried to shake the hand -away from his shoulder. He tried to think, to reactivate his trained -responses, knowing that he would have trouble with this man. - -He muttered wordlessly. - -The officer looked grim. - -"Not drunk," Parr gasped. "Sick." The officer was incredulous. - -Parr shook his head, and an explanation appeared from the basic -psychology of the natives: a coded scrap, death-fear. - -"It ... it ... was horrible ... seeing him like that." - -The officer hesitated. - -"One minute he was alive, the next minute...." - -"Yeah. Yeah. You better get a cab, buddy." - -"Fresh air. I'll be all right, with fresh air." - -Suddenly sympathetic, the officer helped him up the stairs. - -Once outside the wave of sickness began to recede. Parr waited -unsteadily while the officer signaled for a cab. - -As he got in the cab he whispered, "Drive." - -The driver looked suspiciously at his fare, but the policeman said, -"He's sick, that's all. He's just sick." - -The driver grunted, meshed gears. - -"Where to, Mister?" - -"Just drive," Parr said tonelessly, rolling down the window until he -felt air hitting his face. He lay back against the seat cushions. - - * * * * * - -Balloon-like, memories floated, rose, fell. He struggled with them. -Drifting away, his hotel's name. Before he lost it, he bent forward, -muttered it at the driver. - -The Oholo--a female, he knew now--suddenly whispered in his mind from a -distance: "You killed the wrong one, didn't you?" He struggled with his -mind shield in terror, finally got it set against her. He shivered. - -At the hotel, he stumbled from the cab, started in. - -"Hey, Mister, what about me?" - -"Eh?" - -"Money, Mister. Come on, pay up!" - -He fumbled at his wallet, found a bill, handed it over. - -In his room at last, he peeled off his suit, his underclothes. - -He lay prone on the coverlette. - -After hours, or what seemed hours, his mind was stable enough for hate. - -He lay in the darkness hating her. Even above the instinctive fear he -hated her. - -He tossed in fever thinking of after the invasion when she would be -captured. The last of the sickness ebbed away. His thoughts adjusted, -found more and more stability. - -Slowly he drifted toward sleep which would heal up the confusions. As -he hovered in the dark of near sleep, he felt a wash of mental assault -from too far away to be effective. Her thoughts tapped at his shield -and he dissolved it partly to let a little defiance flash out. - -"I'll get you!" she answered coldly. - -And after that, he slept, healing. - - * * * * * - -He awoke, automatically assessing the damage. It was less than he had -expected. Sleep had resolved it into tiny confused compartments. - -And he knew how hard it would be to keep up his shield for four weeks. -There was fatigue on it already. - -Then, too, there was the pressure. - -A gentle insistent pressure. As if to say, "I'm here." He remembered -how strong Lauri's mind was and he knew that she would be able to hold -the pressure longer than he could hold the shield. Once, in training -he had shielded for nearly thirteen days--but now, under the sapping -of his energy by physical activity, by the multiple administrative -problems, by the pressure itself.... - -He shook his head savagely. - -He looked at his suit across the edge of the bed. He shuddered with the -memory of his sickness and reached for the phone to order new clothing. - -And the pressure. He was going to have to learn to get used to it. - -Later, he reported to the Ship, his voice fumbling and hesitant. - -The answer crackled back. "She's alerted the others, you idiot! We -picked up her message. There's four more of them down there." - -Parr tried to think of an excuse, knowing how pointless it would be -even to offer one. - -"You should have used your head," the Ship continued. "What made you -think the Oholo was necessarily male?" - -"I ... I don't know. I just did." - -"You know what happened on Zelta when an advanceman was careless? You -want that to happen here?" - -"I...." - -On Zelta? He knew it should be familiar to him. He cursed inwardly, -reaching for other memories, to see how many he had lost.... A -sentence, unbidden, flashed across his mind: "Never sell an Oholo -short." It was what someone had told him once. "They think differently -than you do." How, he pondered confusedly, could they expect him to -think like an Oholo? - -"I can't think like an Oholo," he said tonelessly. - -"You could.... Never mind." - -"I could? Listen, how can they be thinking, to leave a flank like this -unprotected? Why didn't they take this planet into protective custody -long ago? How can you _think_ like that? They aren't logical. How could -I know they'd let a woman...." - -"Parr!" the Ship ordered sharply. - -Parr gulped. "Sorry." - -"Insubordination on your record." - -Parr clicked off the comset. - -Damn! he thought angrily. - -There was still the annoying pressure on his mind. "Damn you!" he -thought without lowering his shield. "Damn you!" he thought again, -dissolving enough of the shield to let the thought escape. - -She did not answer. - -There was a knock at the door. - -A man with his suit. - - * * * * * - -It was almost ten o'clock when Parr arrived at the warehouse. The -windows were alive with sunshine, and through them he could see the -freshly cleaned interior. - -The men with the furniture were waiting, the driver angry at the delay, -his assistant indifferent. Already there was a line of job applicants -who shifted uneasily, eyes turned curiously upon Parr as he crossed and -unlocked the warehouse doors. - -Parr, one hand resting on the knob, said to the delivery man, "Bring -the stuff inside." - -The driver growled and picked up a clip board from the seat. "I gotta -bill here, doc. You wanna pay before I haul the stuff out?" He held out -the clip board, jerking it savagely for Parr's attention. - -Parr glanced at the sum. He reached for his wallet. One by one he -removed the bills and handed them over to the driver. When he had met -the amount there were only two bills remaining. - -"Now take them inside." - -"Okay, doc." - -Parr went immediately to the roof. The shed had been knocked down as he -had ordered, and the chute had been installed. - -The two packages were lying at the top of the chute. The bundle of -money and the sample, dummy parcel--both night deposited from the Ship. -He picked them up. - -Walking down the stairs, he peeled away the wrapper from one bundle, -exposing green sheaves of currency. Back on the ground floor he put the -stacks of bills on the newly arrived desk, and the dummy parcel in the -drawer. He took one of the chairs, carried it to the desk and sat down. - -He looked toward the door. - -"You, there! At the head of the line! Come here." He was careful of his -accent, realizing the necessity of impressing the waiting workers. He -was pleased to find the accent near perfect. - -The woman, frail and elderly, came forward hesitantly. "My name is -Anne, sir." - -"All right," he said, reaching for a bill from the top sheaf. "I forgot -to bring a pen and paper. Take this and go get some. You may keep the -change, and there'll be another bill when you get back." - -Her eyes widened. "Yes, sir." She held out a wrinkled hand. - -He did not need to glance toward the door again to know that an initial -and important impression had been established. - -After she had gone, Parr leaned back in the chair and said to the other -applicants, "You may come in now." - -They shuffled inside. - - * * * * * - -Parr watched them settle into chairs. As he did so, he was aware of -_her_, Lauri, holding the pressure steady on his mind, and memories of -last night came back. Concentrating away from them he tried to analyze -his feelings toward the natives. He found a mixture of contempt and -indifference. - -"I'm going to say this only once," he announced crisply. "I will expect -you to inform any late comers. When I have finished I will interview -each of you." - -He balanced his hands before him on the rim of the desk, holding them -steady. He looked around at the waiting faces. He let his mind relax, -and the speech--it had been graven on his brain in the Ship--came -bubbling to the surface. He searched forward along it, and he found it -to be complete, untouched by his contact with the Oholo. He wrinkled -his forehead and began, seeking to give the impression that each word -was being carefully considered. - -"I intend to hire some of you to help me sort and load packages of -promotional literature. Those hired will be paid five dollars an hour." - -They shuffled unbelievingly. "Yeah, but when, Mister?" - -Parr's mind dipped for information. "Whenever you wish to. At the -beginning of every day. Will that be satisfactory?" - -The listeners twisted uncomfortably, embarrassed by their doubt. "Now -you're talkin'," the original critic said. - -Parr cleared his throat heavily for effect. "The work day may be as -long as fourteen hours, depending on the circumstances." - -No questions, now. - -"The literature will come already packaged and labeled. It will be -delivered to the roof by helicopter, and your job will be to sort it -and transfer it to trucks." He looked them over. "I will need you for -approximately three weeks." - -The pressure was still on his mind, not demanding, merely present. He -writhed at it inwardly. Outwardly he was calm, his voice undisturbed. - -"Hey, Mister," another of them said. "I'd like to get somethin' -straight right now. You ain't havin' us to handle no explosives or -somethin' dangerous like that, are you?" - -It was an objection Parr had been prepared for. Scarcely thinking, he -bent to the drawer and picked up the dummy parcel. He put it on the -desk top. - -"There is no danger. You will need no special instructions save to -handle as you would normal mail. I have a sample package here." He bent -over and stripped off a section of wrapping paper to permit them to see -a stack of printed material. - - * * * * * - -He rippled the dummy sheets with his thumb. "The nature of the -advertising is secret for the moment, but," he lied, "this is what it -looks like." He returned the bundle to the desk. "It's just paper." -That was true, and he smiled faintly as he imagined the amount of -disorganization mere paper would be able to accomplish. For an instant, -the uncertain emotion returned as he thought of the invasion fleet, -rushing communicationless through hyperspace for its rendezvous with -Earth. - -"There is, of course, a reason for the high wages," he said, the words -coming automatically. "We want to hit the market before--ah--" and the -phrase and the hesitation were memorized, calculated for effect, "a -competitor." - -He pursed his lips speculatively. "Naturally we want to avoid -publicity. Anyone violating this requirement will be dismissed -immediately." - -He seemed to study the faces individually, looking for spies from the -rival company. - -"I will probably not require you for more than a few hours the first -several days. In that event, you will receive pay for a full eight hour -day." - -He stopped talking, and the applicants' faces were excited. - -"As soon as the woman returns with the paper, I will begin the -interviews. Those of you whom I hire will receive a fifty dollar bonus -before you leave the building." - -When she returned, Parr interviewed. His questions were perfunctory. -By noon, he had enough workers, and he had one of them hang out a -penciled sign reading: "Jobs Filled." After that, he closed the doors -and assembled them before him. - -"If you'll form a line, I'll give you your bonuses. Give me your names -to check against my list. You will sign a sheet of paper here in -receipt. I've hired enough people to take care of any of you who do not -choose to come back tomorrow, so there will be no further vacancies and -no chance to collect a second bonus.... Report for work at nine o'clock -tomorrow morning. At that time, I'll have someone here to fill out the -necessary government employment forms for each of you." - -Sitting at his desk, he began to count out the bills into neat little -stacks. After each applicant had signed, he pushed a stack toward him. - -After that he spent the afternoon making further arrangements with -truckers and locating a woman to handle the employment records of his -workers. He even had time to purchase some extra clothing and buy a few -personal articles. - -As night fell, while he lay comfortably naked on his hotel bed, he felt -the pressure on his mind begin to fluctuate subtly. - - - - - CHAPTER V - - -The Oholo, Lauri. Strong minded, yes. But untrained. - -And realizing this, Parr smiled, for it testified to the certainty -of his superiority, a superiority he should have recognized from the -beginning. He was dealing with an amateur, an Oholo who had never -received even the most elementary instruction in individual tactics. - -What she was doing now was glaringly obvious to a professional: -cruising the town in an attempt to locate him. But in contacting his -shield by focusing the pressure, directionally, she failed to realize -that the space variations would not only tell her of his location but -also inform him of her movements. - -Cautiously Parr began the defensive procedure. Step by step he engaged -the pressure with his mind, rather than letting it rest on his shield. -Then he began to counteract the distance pulsations--strengthening, -weakening, presenting a continual pressure against her questing -thoughts, compensating for her movements. - -But in a very short time she realized what had happened. She altered -the pressure sharply. A split second later he joined it again. The -advantage was still his. She altered once more. He followed suit. Check. - -He could almost feel her angry confusion. Then after a moment she let -the pressure fall into a rhythmic pattern. A lullaby of monotony that -was the result of concentration rather than of the distance variations. -He knew what to expect and after fifteen minutes it happened. She broke -the rhythm suddenly and tried to plunge inward, to center on him before -he could counter. He had not been lulled, however, and she accomplished -nothing. He met the assault easily. - -The rhythmic pattern returned. Every few minutes she broke the pattern -and tried to plunge in again. But his mental screen absorbed the shock. - -She was persistent. - -Finally Parr grew weary of it--then vaguely annoyed--then exasperated. - -When he was thoroughly uncomfortable she tried another swift -change of tactics. She began to increase the pressure, slowly, -inexorably--stronger and stronger against his defense. He blocked her, -held, retreated, held again, keeping the shield in readiness. Shortly, -perspiration stood on his forehead. Abandoning the defensive he fought -back against her. - -But she blocked him; they locked in a deadly mental tension of -spiraling energy that weakened Parr with each passing second. - - * * * * * - -She held the tension longer than he would have thought possible. And -when it eased, it vanished, leaving his mind uncontacted. Instead of -relaxing, he formed his shielding, expecting a sudden assault. - -None came. Instead, the gentle insistent pressure returned, -undiminished by her efforts. She was stationary now; the pressure was -steady. - -His body had been tense for a long time. It ached, and he was -physically exhausted. His hand shook a little as he brushed at his leg, -waiting for the space variations to begin again. - -They did not. - -But the initial confidence--generated by the realization of her -inexperience--was no longer so bright. - -The very pressure itself now was an emotional drain and he wanted to -lower the mind shield and relax completely. But even at a distance a -mental assault would sting like a slap, like a cut, like disinfectant -in a raw wound. - -Under the strain, sleep was lost. Instead there was uneasiness. - -He tried to ignore it. He forced himself to remember his home village. -It had been a long time since he had thought of it, and at first it was -difficult. But after a while, memories began to open up with nostalgia: -the clumsy citizens with their mute opposition to the Empire, a _jehi_ -farmer who had once addressed his class on planetism and afterwards -been shot, the smell of the air, the look in people's eyes, night ... -the stars.... - -The stars were cold and bright and far away. Imposing symbols of Empire. - -His mind turned comfortingly on that, and his planet seemed dwarfed -and unimportant. The Empire, with its glittering capital system, the -sleek trade arteries ... the purposeful masses of citizens ... the -strength and power of it, the essential rightness of it. Something you -could feel in the air about you and smell and see. It was a thing to be -believed in, to be lost in, to surrender yourself to. - -It was strong, crushing opposition, rolling magnificently down the -stream of time--splintering, shattering, destroying, absorbing, growing -hungry and eternal. He was part of it, and its strength protected him. -It was stronger than everything. There could be no doubt about Empire. - -But a single Oholo was strong, too. - -He stirred restlessly on the bed, unable to dissect out the thing that -bothered him when he thought of the Empire. His thoughts had run the -full cycle, and they were back where they had started. - -It seemed for a moment as if his mind were a shiny polished surface, -like an egg floating beneath his skull, hanging on invisible threads of -sensation that ran to the outside world. - -The room was full of moonlight. - - * * * * * - -With fascination he studied the wall paper, a flower design scrawled -repetitiously between slightly diagonal lines of blue. He concentrated -on the rough texture of the paper, let his eyes drift down to where -the paper met the cream siding, revealing twin rifts of plaster. A -thin line of chalk-like dust had fallen on the wood of the floor. The -edge of the rug, futilely stretching for contact with the wall, curled -fuzzily. - -A faint breeze fluttered the half drawn blinds, puffed the lace -curtains, rippled in to his bed and body. - -_He was guilty of something._ - -He wrinkled his face, puzzled. What was he guilty of? - -No answer, and the moon went behind a cloud, bringing depression -and acute loneliness, sharp and bitter. A depression bleak in its -namelessness, and terrifying. - -Then suddenly his mind jerked away from the thoughts. - -He realized he was not countering the Oholo's movements. The steady -pressure was a compensated pressure, varying as her distance. A -projection requiring mental ability he could never hope to equal. She -had learned fast. She had neatly sidestepped his defense. Terrified, he -probed beyond his shield, and for an instant received an impression of -her distance. He sat upright, shivering. She had worked much nearer. -In desperation, he launched an assault, closing his eyes, forgetting -everything else. - -Lightly she parried him and slapped back strongly enough to make him -wince. - -Then for two long hours they fought. He grappled with the pressure, -working on the theory that it was a burden no mind could carry -indefinitely. - -But she did not concede. Instead she continued, giving up trying to -come closer, intent on breaking down his will to resist. He checked her -with all his energy. He countered, stared at the scattered moonlight on -the rug. - -Energy drained from him until he wanted to scream, to plead with her. -And beyond the bleak reality of concentration he knew that she was -using twice as much energy as he was. - -Then she began to weaken. The pressure steadied, and he could feel her -exhaustion. She was through for the night. - -The sheets of the bed were damp. His body trembled. He wanted to -whimper pathetically in fancied defeat. - -Sleep slowly came, and the long pervasive influence of Empire, the -influence visible in concrete form on conquered planets, swept over him. - -But somehow he was guilty of something, he knew.... - - * * * * * - -He was still tired when he awoke, instantly alert, wary. She apparently -still slept, although she held the pressure against his mind. - -Dawn ushered in a cloudy day, and street noises--cars, trolleys, -movement--came into the room with the utmost clarity. - -He would have to change hotels. That alone had an urgency to it. -Wearily he fumbled with his shield. It was still solid. He ran a hand -over his forehead, pressing against the temples. - -He thought of the sleeping Oholo. He dropped the shield completely, -knowing she would realize its absence. He stretched mentally for a -long, precious second, and it was with infinite relief. - -"Hello," he leered in the direction of Lauri. "Hello," he snarled -suddenly, tingling with excitement. - -No answer. - -"Hello! Hello! Hello!" - -He shielded, and hatred of her and of all Oholos--inbred hate, overcame -him. It brought an almost pathological bravado with it. The destructive -drive for revenge was a surge within him. He dropped the shield and -thought to her, slow and gloatingly, of the things in store for her -when she was safely disarmed and helpless. And he permitted his hate -to leap and caress her, and the details of the torture were etched in -passion acid. - -After a while, he could feel her shudder at the thoughts, and he -simpered. She seemed to lie helpless, stunned under him, spurring him -to greater imaginative excesses. - -Then she struck out blindly, a shivering blow that caught him unaware -between the eyes like a swung club. - - * * * * * - -He shielded. Instantly he felt the guilt of last night. He was angry -at himself, as if he had acted without really wanting to, as a Knoug -was supposed to act. And he snarled a curse. - -The maddening, uncompromising pressure returned. Implacable. -Patient. Unanswerable. Pressure that would drive him insane if he -had no eventual hope of release. He shuddered, and the sense of -depression--the night sense--was even more dark and terrible in -daylight. - -He got out of bed, reported to the Advanceship, keeping his voice low -and even. - -"Parr. Scheduling." - -"Check." - -The voice from the Ship was a stabbing, accusing voice. A voice that -_knew_, that had made, overnight, a secret and awful discovery about -him. He wanted to grovel before it and plead for forgiveness.... - -_Nonsense!_ - -He licked his lips nervously. - -"That damned female!" he shrieked. - -"Eh?" - -"That damned female, don't you see!" - -"Parr, what's wrong? Listen, Parr, are you all right down there?" - -Suddenly he relaxed. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong." - -"Are you sure?" - -"Yes," he said. "I'm just a little nervous." - - * * * * * - -He ordered the driver to stop. The building was columned, red brick, -decayed. The sidewalk before it was grimy, littered, cracked, chipped. -Listlessly, people shuffled down the street, flecks from the vortex of -humanity farther uptown drifting in the backwater of the city. Faded -overalls, jeans, thin unpressed cheap suits, frayed shirts and crumpled -soggy collars. Faces--lean, hollow, blotched; eyes that were harried, -red, tired. The women, still trying to retain the snap of movement, -were like wind-up toys, almost run down. - -Parr grunted at the smells of the area, and straightening up to pay -the driver, noticed distastefully the slack faces, defeated eyes and -shuffling steps. - -Then he knew: here, pressing in from all sides was reassurance. He -watched a haggered face, felt pity, shook off the emotion as unworthy -but still felt it. He could understand the haggered face. But distaste -returned again, for he was superior to the face. He blocked off his -mind, refusing to consider the natives any longer.... - -He took a room inside the dingy, wasted building. He hung his extra -suit in the closet. The wall was greyish with cracking plaster and -water stains, half hidden by the dim light; the rug underfoot was -threadbare and stale. On the dresser, a Gideon Bible, nearly new. - -The sheets, he discovered upon turning back the bed, were dingy and -yellowish. The mattress sagged in the middle and the metal bedstead was -chipped and dented. - -After he was settled he reported to the Advanceship, told of his new -location and the reason for it. - -On his way out of the hotel he was conscious of the guilt again, and -in the street, he stopped an old man who wore a tobacco stained shirt -and gave him several of the bills from his wallet. Bribing helplessness -made him feel better. - -Back in the hotel that evening, renewed confidence came as he thought -how clever he had been to choose such a location; he thought of the -Oholo searching across town, her mind automatically rejecting this -location. It would take her more than one night to find him. - -But her mind did not seek contact with his; instead, the pressure -remained annoyingly general. - -She was making no attempt to locate him. - -He stared out the window at the pale reflection of neon from the -sidewalk. She was not even moving yet. - -He waited, suddenly nervous. - -When she finally began to move she still kept the pressure general. - -He checked her position and after an instant met opposition that -scattered his thoughts. But in that space, of contact he knew she had -moved closer. - -In terror he drew his shield in tight. - - * * * * * - -Suspense mounted in his mind. He counted his pulse beats, quieting -himself. He tried to relax. Then fearfully checked her position again. -That involved receiving a sharp slap of assault, for she had been ready -with an almost trigger response. - -And she was closer. She seemed to be advancing confidently. - -In nervous haste he began to dress. - -And then she struck with her full hellish power from very near at hand. - -Amazement and abject fear flamed in his mind. He fought to strengthen -the shield. She forced it back, got a single hot tentacle of thought -through into his mind proper, and it lashed about like a living thing -before he could force it out. - -Gradually he came to realize that she was not near enough for the kill. - -He staggered to the door, his mind numbed and spinning as if a giant -explosion had gone off by his ear. - -And then, somehow, he was in the street, half dressed. Somehow he -managed to find a cab. It was all a blur to him that might have taken -two minutes, five minutes, or twenty minutes. She had abandoned the -assault. She was moving closer. - -Then, before the cab began to move he saw her. Two blocks away. -Coming toward him. Her face was impassive, but even at a distance, the -eyes ... or was it his imagination? The focus gun ... in his pocket.... -The cab drew away. He leaned out the window, twisting back, tried to -aim at her. The shot, silent and lethal, sped away. The distance was -too great. - -Then a new assault, but it was too late. He held it until the cab -outdistanced it. She renewed the pressure and he could think again. And -he knew, in the back of his mind, that soon now they would meet. And he -shuddered, wondering of the outcome. - - * * * * * - -He was sick. Unbelievably, she had outguessed him. She had guessed he -would flee away from the obvious to the other extreme. - -His breathing was hoarse and painful, and he thought comfortingly -of his home planet; a small planet with a low sky; incredibly blue, -a trading station far removed from Earth, satisfyingly deep in the -Empire. As a boy he had often gone to the space port to watch the -ships. He remembered how he had stood watching their silvery beauty and -their naked violence. He had always been very excited by them. Always. -And they were a symbol of Empire. - -After the cab driver had spoken to him several times he roused himself -to say, "A hotel, any hotel." - -It was luck he knew, that he had been beyond effective range. She might -have guessed the correct slum hotel and stood below his window. - -His mind was foggy and befuddled. - -And he had been hurt. Much more than mentally hurt. More than -physically hurt. He wanted to hurt something in return. Only now he was -too tired. - -He relaxed in the seat, listened to the hiss of tires. He would be able -to sleep tonight. She could not figure out his next move, predicted on -random selection. - -In his new hotel room he found that his body stung and itched. - -And she began to search for him. - -He had to fight her for more than an hour, and after that he slept, -subconsciously keeping his shield on a delicate balance. - - - - - CHAPTER VI - - -The next day Parr went first to the post office and from there -immediately to the warehouse. He brought with him three manila -envelopes containing three city directories, the first responses to -his requests. He took them to the roof, checked the three cities off -his list, placed the directories at the base of the chute. Later the -helicopter would come swishing down from the night sky, collect them, -and return tomorrow evening with the compressed and labeled parcels, -one to a family, stamped with the requisite postage. The parcels, -spilling out of the compressor, would expand to a huge jumbled heap -for the natives to handle. And Parr knew he was only one of many -advancemen. The cargos would nightly spew to all points of the Earth -from the Advanceship slowly circling the globe behind the sun. - -Complete coverage was what the Knougs were aiming at. Here advancemen -were using the government postal system for distribution; there, making -arrangements for private delivery; elsewhere, setting up booths. -Earth had been scouted very thoroughly by four prior Intelligence -expeditions. It was an inconceivably complex network of planning, -possible only through extreme specialization in an organization made -frictionless by obedience. - - * * * * * - -That night Lauri's pressure increased--or seemed to--and he shook his -head like a hooked fish. He began to walk faster, mumbling under his -breath. - -The solution, he knew, was distance. A partial solution only, for he -was bound by assignment to commuting range, not great enough to permit -him to lose her completely. - -The jangle and clank of a city train roused him. An interurban trolley. -It was stopped at the next corner accepting passengers. - -He turned and ran the quarter block to board it. - -As he rode toward the ocean he could feel the gradual lessening of the -pressure; it was a lessening not nearly as pronounced as he would have -felt were she trying to center on him as he fled, but sufficient to -relax him. He could feel a puzzled pressure shift after a few miles -as she checked him briefly, then an over excessive spurt of questing -thought which he countered automatically. Even if he only remained -shielded it would take her at least a week to localize him except in a -very general direction. - -He began to feel all of the over-charged tenseness drain out of his -muscles. He even began to take an interest again in his surroundings, -studying the buildings with appreciation. The incongruity of the -architecture was more apparent than before, due to his greater -acquaintance with the thought patterns of the natives. - -A bizarre sight: a temple in the style of the Spanish, low-roofed, -unpretentious, comfortingly utilitarian with no nonsense except for the -gleaming gold minaret atop it, its coiled surface outlined with neon -tubing. - -It drifted away, behind. - -Here a huddled shop, antique-filled and sedate, less than a block from -a brilliant drive-in in disk form, radially extending like a somnolent -spider. - -And most paradoxical of all, the false glamor of signs encouraging the -spectator to rub shoulders with excitement that was supposed to be -inside the door, but wasn't. For people who were incapable of finding -it anywhere. Parr felt suddenly sad. - -Odd natives, he thought. But even odder thoughts for a Knoug, he knew. -Then he felt the savage stirrings inside of him again. It brushed -away sadness. The numbered days until the invasion excited him. The -emotional surge of danger and trial and obedience were the preludes to -the necessary relief. - -Parr felt fully relaxed. - - * * * * * - -He got off the trolley in Santa Monica, where the night fog was -already fingering in from the ocean. - -He crossed the wide street, angled toward the Mira Mar hotel. - -In his room he stood looking out across the street over the stretch -of park that broke suddenly as a dull cliff, dropping jaggedly to the -road beneath. Beyond were buildings unusually small and squalid in sea -perspective. The beach, curving north to Malibu; and the sea itself was -overshadowed toward the Ocean Park Pier by the brazen glitter of red -neon. - -But the fog was quieting the scene, and isolating it. After a bit there -was no world beyond the window but the grey damp world of fog. - -Still the excitement beat at him. He projected his thoughts beyond the -immediate future to the bright burning of the Oholo System, the atomic -prairie fire skipping from sun to sun at the core, leaving the planets -ashes--while isolated, the periphery worlds would one by one capitulate -to Knoug power, to Knoug _will_, and become infected with Destiny. - -Beyond that? - -The doubt came, and he cringed mentally. - -_He was guilty of something._ - -His hands whitened on the sill, and staring into the fog he tried to -bring all of the weight of Empire to his support. - -But there was the memory of revolt by Knougs themselves on a tiny, -distant moon. - -The depression came back. - -... It took the Oholo four nights to locate him. - - - - - CHAPTER VII - - -The strain on his face--the heaviness of his eyes--the taut lines of -his throat. His body was exhausted. - -Like dripping water the pressure pounded at him. - -The night before, she had found him at Long Beach. - -He cast off the depression to find euphoria; and the two alternated -steadily with increasing peaks. - -His hands were nervous. Blunt thumbs constantly scrubbed blunt -fingertips in despair or anticipation. - -... The trucking had all been arranged for. - -The deliveries from the Ship occurred nightly. He had sent follow-up -letters to cities who had not responded to his first request. The -answers had finally arrived. - -The warehouse, floor by floor, was filling. Already some trucks were -waiting. - -There was the continual bump of handled packages sliding from the -chute, being sorted, being stacked. But worries piled up inside of -him: fears of an accident, a broken package, a suspicious employee, a -fire.... The Oholo, the guilt, the depression. - -Eagerly now he listened to the general information report from the -Ship. Most advancemen were on schedule. No irreparable accidents. -Certain inaccessible areas had been written off. A few advancemen -recalled for necessary Ship duty. One killed, replaced, in Germany. -World coverage estimated at better than seventy per cent in industrial -and near industrial areas, a coverage probably exceeding the effective -minimum--short only of the impossible goal. - -He had been talking to a trucker in front of him without really hearing -his own words, his fingers and thumbs rubbing in increased tempo. - -He hated the man as he hated everyone in the building, everyone on the -planet. - -The trucker shrugged. "I'll have to deadhead back. That has to go in -the bill, too." - -"All right," Parr snapped irritably. "Now, listen. This is the most -important thing. Each of the lots has to be mailed at the proper time. -Your bonus is conditional on that." - -"Okay," the trucker said. - -"I can't overstress the importance of that," Parr said. He handed the -slip of paper across the table. It was a list of mailing information, -Ship compiled, that was designed to assure that the packages would all -be distributed by the mails as near simultaneously as possible. - -"You deliver the Seattle lot, that's number, ah, eighteen on the list, -the last." - -"I understand." - -"When your trucks are loaded, you may leave. I'll pay you for lay-over -time." - -"I've got a bill here," the trucker said. - -The two huddled over it, and after the trucker had gone Parr leaned -back staring at the ceiling, his nerves quivering. - - * * * * * - -He knew what he was guilty of, at last. Knowledge came suddenly, from -nowhere like an electric shock, and it stunned him. Logically he -demanded proof; but there was no proof. It came, it was; it was beyond -logic. Nothing in his memory ... and for a moment he thought he had -lost the memory under Lauri's first vicious assault ripping into his -mind; but, and again without reason, he knew it was not in the memory -she had destroyed. She was connected with it, but not like that.... -He was guilty of treason. He could not remember the act, but he was -guilty. What? When? Why? He did not know; he was guilty without knowing -what the treason was: only the overpowering certainty of his guilt. -Wearily he let his head droop. Treason.... - -"Mister Parr?" - -"Eh? Eh?" - -"There's somethin' heavy in this one. It don't feel like paper. I think -it's metal of some sort. Now, look, Mister Parr, I don't want to get -tied up with somethin' that's not square. You said all these packages -had paper in them. And I'd kinda like to see what else there is in -this one, Mister Parr, if you don't mind." - -Parr wanted to jump out of the seat and smash at the man's face. But he -forced himself to relax. - -"You want to open the package, is that it?" he said, gritting his teeth. - -"Yes, Mister Parr." - -"... Then go ahead and open it." - -Having expected refusal, the worker hesitated. - -"Go ahead," Parr insisted. He kept his face expressionless, although, -beneath desk top level, his hands bundled into knobby fists, white at -the knuckles. - -Then at the last possible second, as the worker's fingers were fumbling -at the wrapping, Parr leaned forward. "Wait a minute. It won't be -necessary to waste the parcel.... Unless you insist." - -The worker looked at Parr uncomfortably. - -A question of timing. Events hung in a delicate balance between -exposure and safety. Parr reached for the drawer of the desk, his -movements almost too indifferently slow. - -His hand fumbled inside the drawer. "I think I have some of the metal -samples around here," he said. His hand found the stack of gleaming -dummy disks, encircled it possessively. He tossed them carelessly on -the desk top and one rolled, wobbling, to the edge and fell to the -floor. - - * * * * * - -Puzzled, the worker bent to the one that had fallen, picked it up, -turned it over in his hand, studying it curiously. - -"I don't see ...," he said suspiciously. - -"That's our product," Parr lied. "We include some in every hundred or -so bundles. The literature explains their function." - -The worker shook his head slowly. - -"As you can see," Parr persisted gently, "they're perfectly harmless." -He tensed, waiting. - -"... Yeah, uh ... I think I get it. Something like them hollow cement -bricks they use to cure people of rheumatism with, huh?" - -Parr swallowed and relaxed. "That's the general idea. You'll see.... -Well, if you want to, go ahead and open the parcel." - -"Naaah," the man said foolishly. "... There wouldn't be no sense in -doin' that." - -Beneath the desk top again, his hands coiled and flexed in anger and -hatred. "I want your name," Parr said, a very slight note of harshness -in his voice. - -The worker let his eyes turn to the backs of his heavy hands, guiltily. -"Look, Mister Parr, I didn't mean...." - -Parr silenced him with an over-drawn gesture. "No, no," he said, his -voice normal and conciliatory. "I meant, we might be able to use a man -like you in our big plant in the East." He snarled inwardly at himself -for the unnecessary note of harshness before: it was too soon for that. - -Suddenly stammering with excitement, the worker said, "My name's -George ... George Hickle ... George Hickle, Mister Parr. I got good -letters from back home about my workin', sir." - -"Where do you live, George?" - -"Out on Bixel.... Just up from Wilshire, you know, where...." - -"I meant the number of the house, George." - -"Oh," George told him. - -Parr wrote it down. "George Hickle, uh-huh." - -"I'll be mighty obliged, Mister Parr, if you'll keep me in mind." - -"Yes. Well. Good afternoon, Hickle. You ought to be getting back to -your work now, hadn't you?" - -And when the worker had half crossed the room, Parr drew a heavy, black -line through the name. He had memorized it. - -The pencil lead broke under the pressure. - -And at that moment, the pressure in his mind vanished. - -In automatic relief, he relaxed his shielding for the first time in -what seemed years, and before he could rectify the error Lauri hit -him with everything she had, catching him just as the shield began to -reform. - - * * * * * - -Pain roared in his mind. From the force of the blow he knew that she -must be near the warehouse. - -It had been one quick thrust, leaving his mind throbbing and he sobbed -in impotent hate and anger. - -The pressure was back. - -And slowly and surely she was closing in on him, compensating. She had -struck prematurely, realized her mistake, and was narrowing the range, -holding the final assault until assured of victory. - -He stood up weakly and hurried to the door, brushing through a group of -startled workers. - -Outside, a cab was cruising, and Parr ran after it. It did not stop. -He turned and ran frantically in the opposite direction, rounded the -corner, still running, his heels thudding on the hot pavement. - -He ran for blocks, the blood pounding in his head, sweat trickling into -his eyes. Pedestrians turned to stare, looking back along his line of -flight. - -When Parr stopped, finally, he was trembling. He stared at his own -hands curiously, and then he looked around him. - -He swallowed hard. The world swam, steadied. His chest rose and fell -desperately.... - -At the airport, he phoned the warehouse. - -"Hickle? Get me Hickle.... Hello, Hickle, this is Parr. Listen, Hickle, -are you listening? Hickle, I've got to leave town for two days. You've -got to run things. You understand? Listen. I've left money in the -drawer of my desk ... for the pay roll.... You know how to run things, -don't you, Hickle?... Now, listen, Hickle, there's some trucking ... -wait a minute.... Look.... You stay down there. Right there. I'll phone -you back, long distance, later. Don't go away, Hickle. Wait right -there. I'll tell you what you've got to do." - -The last call for his plane came over the loudspeaker. - -"Listen, Hickle, I've got to run. I'll phone you later, so wait. Wait -right there, Hickle!" - - * * * * * - -Over Bakersfield, gratefully--infinitely gratefully--he felt the last -wisp of pressure vanish. - -He was free. - -There was no consequence powerful enough to keep him from dropping -his mind shield entirely. But he let it come down slowly, barrier by -barrier, enjoying the release, prolonging the ultimate freedom beyond. - -At last the roar of the motors, muffled, sang in his head like an open -song, and there was nothing between his thoughts and the world. - -His mind stretched and trembled and pained from the stress, and -quivered and fluttered and pulsed and throbbed and vibrated and -rejoiced. - -He looked out over the wing, through the whirring propellers, at the -hazy horizon, at the cloudless sky, bright and blue and infinite. - -It was the best day he had ever known. It was freedom, and he had never -known it before. - -His mind was infinitely open as the sky above the clouds, and he -stretched it out and out until he forced the limit, beyond which no -mind may go, yet wanting to plunge on. - -In the east, there was the dusk of night coming down, a cloak pulled -up from the other side of the world by the grapple hooks of dying -sunshine. - -In San Francisco he phoned Hickle in Los Angeles, a man and a place -so far removed that he wanted to shout to make himself heard over the -telephone. - -Then to a hotel--but now as a place of rest and refuge, not a symbol -of flight and fear. His hate returned, beautiful, now, flower-like, -delicate, to be enjoyed. To be tasted, bee-like, at his leisure. - -The city outside was a whirl of lights and the lights hypnotized him -with their magic. Soon he was in the streets. - -There were cabs and scenes: laughter, love, death, passion--everything -rolled into a capsule bundle for him. The city spread out below in a -fabric of light, the hazy blue of cigar smoke closely pressing sweaty -bodies, laughing mouths. A swirl of sensations. - -"Somewhere else!" he cried madly to a driver. - -China Town, The International Settlement, Fisherman's Wharf.... The -cabbies knew a tourist. - - * * * * * - -He had been moving for hours, and now he was tired and lost, and he -could not find a cab to get back to the Sir Francis Drake. - -A girl and a sailor passed. A tall lithe blonde with a pert nose and -high cheek bones and brown eyes, heavy lips and free hips ... a ... -blonde. - -The Oholo ... Lauri ... was a blonde. - -He began to cast up memories of her, sickeningly, making his fists -clench. - -He wanted a blonde to smile at him, unsuspecting. A blonde with honey -colored hair and a long, slim throat with a blue vein in it, so he -could watch the heart beat. He wanted to hurt the blonde, and hold her, -and caress her softly, and ... most of all, hurt her. - -He wanted to shake his fists at the sky and scream in frustration. - -He wanted to find a blonde.... - -Finally he found one. In a small, red-fronted bar, dimly lit. She was -sitting at the end of the bar, facing the door, toying with a tall -drink, half empty, from which the ice had melted. - -"What'll it be, Mister?" - -"Anything! Anything!" he said excitedly as he slipped behind a table, -his eyes still on the woman at the bar. - -"And the same for me?" - -"Sure. Sure." - -She brought back two drinks, picked up a bill, turned it over in her -hand speculatively. She wore an off the shoulder dress, and high rouge -on her Mexican cheeks. She made change from her apron, putting the -money beside the second glass, sitting down in front of it, across from -him. - -Still he had not noticed her. - -Two patrons entered. They moved to a table in the far corner near the -Venetian blinds of the window and began to talk in low husky voices. - -"I'll be back, dearie," the woman across from Parr said, sipping her -drink, smearing the glass rim in a veined half moon. - -She went to serve the girls. - -When she came back Parr had brushed away the drink from in front of him. - -"Listen, dearie," she said. "You got troubles?" - -He grunted. - -She snaked an ample hand half across the table and wiggled her -shoulders to show off her breasts. "I bet I know what's wrong with you. -Same as a lotta men, dearie. Want a little fun, I bet." - -"Bring me that blonde," he said hoarsely. - -"Listen, dearie, you don't want her. What you want...." - -"The blonde!" - - * * * * * - -Reluctantly she stood up, frightened by his tone. She put a hand over -his change, waited. - -He did not notice. - -She put the money into her apron pocket, heaving her chest. - -Then she got the blonde. - -"You wanna buy me a drink, honey?" the blonde said. - -"Sit down!" - -The blonde turned to the Mexican. "Make it a double." She sat down. - -"Talk!" - -"Whatdaya wan' me to say, honey?" - -"Just talk." He had seen the pulse in the vein in her neck. The neck -was skinny, and the face was pinched, lined with heavy powder. Her eyes -were weary, and her thin hands moved jerkily. - -"Just talk." - -When she saw his wallet, as he brought it out to pay, she said, "Maybe -we oughtta go somewhere to talk." Her voice was flat and nasal, and -she tossed her head. She ruffled her coarse dirty-colored hair with an -automatic gesture. - -Parr wanted to kill her, and his hands itched at the delicious thought. - -But not tonight. Not tonight. He was too tired. He ... tonight he just -wanted to think about it. And then he wanted to sleep and rest and -think. - -She tossed off the drink. "Another one, Bess," she said shrilly, -glancing at him. - -He took two bills out of his wallet, two twenties, put them on the -table, pushed one of them toward her without looking at it. - -She drank two more shots quickly, eagerly, hungrily, as if there was -need to rush through them and get them safely inside. - -She leaned across the table, her eyes heavy. "I'm gonna talk, okay? -Man wants to hear woman talk. Get yer kicks like that, okay. You're -buyin'.... Hell, I bet you think I'm a bad girl. I'm not a bed -girl--bad girl." Her hands twitched drunkenly below her flat breasts. -"There was a sonofabitch in my town.... I came from up north, Canada." -She drank again, hastily. "I could go for you, know what?... I'm -getting drunk, that's what. Fooled ja, didn't I? Listen. You wouldn't -believe this, but I can cook. Cook. Like hell. Wouldn't think that, eh? -Hell, I'm good for a lotta things. Like being walked on. Jever -wanna--walk on a girl? Listen. I knew a guy, once...." - -Parr said, "Shut up!" For one instant, there was sickness and -revulsion, and desire to comfort her, but it vanished almost before it -was recognized. - -She closed her mouth. - -He pushed the twenty dollar bill into her lap. - -"You be here tomorrow. Tomorrow night." - -"Okay." - -"You be here tomorrow night." - -"Sure, sure, honey." - -"You be here tomorrow night, and don't forget it." - -She smiled drunkenly. "I'm here ... most nights, honey...." - -"You be waiting for me." - -"I'm always ... waitin', honey. Ever since I remember, honey, waitin'. -Just waitin', honey." - -But the next morning, when Parr awoke, Lauri was trying to center on -his open mind. She was in San Francisco, looking for him. - -The depression came back, and the guilt--the knowledge of treason--that -made him want to go to a mirror and stand, watching blood trickle down -his face in cherry rivulets like tears. - -And fear. - -When he shielded, she resumed the pressure. - - * * * * * - -At noon he was back in Los Angeles. Perspiration was under his skin, -waiting icily. - -He went directly to the warehouse. - -Hickle, in surprise, crossed the room to him. "Mister Parr!" he said. - -The right corner of Parr's mouth was twitching nervously. "Get a chair. -Bring it to the desk." - -When Hickle was seated before him, Parr said, "Okay. I've got some -papers. I'm going to explain them to you." He got them out. "They're -all alike in form. Here." He took off the top sheet and Hickle stood up -to see. "This number, here, is for the truck unit." He circled it and -scribbled the word "truck." "This number." He circled it. "This number -is the lot number. You see, truck number nine has lots seventeen, -twenty-seven, fifty-three, thirty-one." - -"I get it," Hickle said. - -Parr's body was trembling and he threw out a tentative wave of thought -probing for the Oholo, afraid that she might come silently, knowing his -approximate daytime location. He began to talk rapidly, explaining. - -It was D-Day minus seven. - -After fifteen minutes, he was satisfied that Hickle understood the -instructions. - -"There was a plain bundle this morning?" - -"Yes, sir. I wondered about that." - -"Get it." - -Hickle got it. - -Parr opened it. "Pay roll money, trucker money. Give the truckers their -money when they give you their bills. I'm going to trust you, Hickle." - -Hickle gulped. "Yes, sir." - -Parr began to stuff money into his wallet. - -She was in Los Angeles. He knew by the pressure on his mind. - -"I've got to hurry. Listen. I want you to keep the workers here as -long as necessary, hear? This schedule's got to be kept. And you take -a thousand dollars. And listen, Hickle. This is just chicken-feed, -remember that, when you're working for us." - -"Yes, sir!" - -He had her located, keeping his mind open to try to center on her. - - * * * * * - -He could center on her! She was only partially shielded, and she made -no protest. She was not moving, and he could ... except that there was -something wrong with the pressure. He was overlooking something. But -she was not moving. Not yet. - -"I've got to talk fast. All these final deliveries. You'll be busy. If -you need help, hire it. And listen, I'll be here from time to time if I -can." - -"There's something wrong, Mister Parr?" - -Parr searched for an excuse. "It's personal ... my wife, yes, my -wife, it's...." He wondered why he had used that one. It had sprung -automatically to his mind. "Never mind. I'll phone in from around town. -I'll try to help you all I can by phone." - -She was not moving, but the pressure seemed different ... _alien_! - -He jerked out of his seat, kicking the chair over as he headed for the -door. - -A different Oholo! - -_There were two of them in Los Angeles!_ - -He probed out. - -Lauri was almost on top of him. - -He skidded through the door, into the street, knocking a startled man -out of his path. - -He stared wildly in both directions. Several blocks away a cab was -stalled with a red light. - -And almost before him, a private car was headed uptown. With three huge -leaps he was on the running board, yanking the door open. - -He jerked himself in beside the frightened driver. - -He twisted his head, shouting. "Emergency! Hospi...." - -She had seen him trying to escape. She struck. - -In the street, a flock of English sparrows suddenly faltered in flight, -and one plunged blindly into the stone face of a building. The others -circled hysterically, directionless, and two collided and spilled to -the ground. - -"Hurry, damn it!" Parr moaned at the driver. "Hurry!" - -He slammed forward into the windshield, babbling. - -The terrified driver stepped down on the accelerator. The car leaped -forward. - -Parr, fighting with all his strength, was twisted in agony, and blood -trickled from his mouth. - -He gasped at the driver: "Cab. Behind. Trying to kill me." - -The driver was white-faced and full of movie chases and gangster -headlines of shotgun killings, typical of Southern California. He had -a good car under him, and he spun the wheel to the right, cutting into -an alley; to the left, onto an intersecting alley; to the right, into a -crosstown street; then he raced to beat a light. - -He lost the cab finally in a maze of heavy traffic at Spring. - -Parr was nearly unconscious, and he struggled desperately for air. - -_Run, run, run_, he thought despairingly, because two Oholos are ten -times as deadly and efficient as one.... - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - - -D-Day minus four. General mailing day. - -Parr, his mind fatigued, his body tense, phoned the warehouse twice, -and twice received enthusiastic reassurances behind which he could hear -the hum and clatter of parcels being moved, trucks being loaded ... -cursing and laughing and subdued shouting. - -How many hours now? His mind was clogged and stuffy and sluggish. An -hour's sleep, ten minutes sleep--any time at all. If it could be spent -in clear, cold, _real_ sleep. - -Eat, run. Always, now, he was running, afraid to stop longer than a few -minutes. He needed time to _think_. - -And the pressure was steady. - -Get away. Leave Los Angeles! - -"Parr, Parr. This is Parr," he whispered hoarsely from the back seat of -the moving cab into the comset. - -The rhythm of the engine, the gentle sleepy swaying of the car and the -monotony of the buildings lulled him. He caught himself, shook his head -savagely. - -Dimly he could understand the logic advising him to remain in the city. -But it was not an emotional understanding and it lacked the sharpness -of reality. For now the two Oholos could follow him easily, determining -his distance and direction. If he left Los Angeles, the focus of the -invasion, it would be difficult to return after postal delivery. After -the invasion it would be nearly impossible. It would give the Oholos -added time to run him down. But to remain.... His body could not stand -the physical strain of four more days of continual flight, around, -around, up Main--to the suburbs--to the ocean--back to Main again--down -the speedway to Pasadena and through Glendale to Main. Change cabs and -do it all over again. - -"Yes?" the Advanceship said. - -"I'm ... leaving. I've got to leave. I've got to." And suddenly, -in addition to the other consideration, he was afraid to be there -when the invasion hit. Was it because he was afraid they knew of his -treason? Or ... was it because ... he liked the buildings? Strangely, -he did not want to see the buildings made rubble.... - -The answer: "You have a job to do." - -"It's done!" he cried in anguish. "Everything's scheduling. In a few -hours now it'll be all over. I can't do anymore here." - -A pause. - -"You better stay. You'll be safer there." - -"I _can't_!" Parr sobbed. "They'll catch me!" - -"Wait." - -A honk. The purr of the engine. Clang. Bounce. Red and green lights. - -"... If the mailings are secure, you have the Ship's permission. Do -whatever you like." - -Expendable. - -Parr put the comset in his coat pocket and cowered into the seat. - -"Turn right!" he said suddenly to the driver. "Now ... now.... Right -again!" - -He bounced. - -He closed his eyes, resting them. "Out Hill," he said wearily without -opening his eyes. - -He withstood an irritated mental assault. They were tiring. But not as -fast as he was. - - * * * * * - -The silent pursuit: three cars out of the multitudes, doggedly -twisting and turning through the Los Angeles streets--separated -by blocks, even by miles, but bound by an unseen thread that was -unbreakable. - -"I gotta eat, buddy." - -Parr drew himself erect. "A phone! Take me to a phone!" - -The taxi ground to a stop in a service station. - -Nervously, Parr began to phone airports. Three quarters of his mind was -on his pursuers. - -On the third try he got promise of an immediate private plane. - -"Have it ready!" he ordered. Then, dropping the receiver he ran from -the station to the cab. - -He jockeyed for nearly thirty minutes for position. - -Then he commanded the driver to abandon the intricate inter-weaving and -head directly for the airport in Santa Monica. - -Shortly, the two other cars swung in line, down Wilshire. - - * * * * * - -The job of softening up Earth for the invasion began to pass entirely -from the hands of the advancemen. From a ticklish, dangerous -proposition at first to a virtual certain mailing day. The world wide -mechanism of delivery swung into operation from time zone to time zone, -and, in the scheme of conquest the advancemen passed from integral -factors to inconsequential objects. - -All over America, from East to West, within the space of a single -day the post office became aware of the increased, the tremendously -increased volume. Previously in certain sections there had been -signals in the form of out-bound dribbles. Now there were in-bound -floods rising suddenly to the peak intensity of overtime inundations. -A million packages, some large, some small, some brown wrapped, white -wrapped, light, heavy--no two alike, no way to tell the new influx from -the normal handling. - -At the very first each office saw the rush as a unique phenomenon--for -there was no reason to report it to a higher echelon which might have -instituted an investigation. Merely to take care of the rush, that was -all. To process the all-at-once congestion of parcels to be door to -door delivered. Later to be marveled at. - -Lines formed at parcel windows; trucks spewed out their cargos. Lights -burned late; clerks cursed and sweated; parcels mounted higher and -higher. - -Nor did it break all at once in the press. The afternoon editions -carried a couple of fillers about how Christmas seemed to be coming -early for the citizens of Saco, Maine, and how a tiny Nevada town whose -post office was cob-webby from lack of use suddenly found itself doing -a land office business. - -Most of the morning editions carried a whimsical AP article that the -late radio newscasters picked up and rebroadcast. Then after most West -Coast stations were off the air for the night events began to snowball -in the East. - -The breakfast newscasts carried the first stories. The morning -papers began to tie in the various incidents and reach astonishing -conclusions.... - - * * * * * - -The propeller was not even turning over. The plane, wheeled out of the -hangar, was waiting, cold, and the pilot lounged by the office, smoking -a cigarette. - -The sky was black, and here and there before the blatant searchlights -sprouting from dance halls and super markets, clumps of lacy California -clouds fluttered like dingy sheepwool in a half-speed Mix-Master. - -Parr, tossing a handful of bills at the driver, leaped from the cab and -ran frantically toward the office. - -The wait was terrible. Should the Oholos arrive, he was boxed in -spaciously, with no escape. In gnawing at the inner side of his lower -lip, he bit through his disguise into real flesh and real blood. - -There were forms to sign, responsibility to be waived. - -And with every minute, _they_ drew nearer. - -Finally the airplane motor coughed into reluctant life, and Parr could -feel the coldness of artificial leather against his back. - -The ship shuddered, moved heavily, shifted toward the wind onto the -lighted runway. The motor roared louder and louder and the ship -trembled. Slowly it began to pick up speed, the wings fighting for -lift. - -A searchlight from the pier made a slow ring of light toward the -invisible stars. - -The ground fell away and Parr was on his way to Denver. - -Almost immediately, with the pressure still on his mind but fading -swiftly, he fell into a fitful sleep and dreamed of treason, while, -in the background ominous clouds shifted and gathered to darken the -sun of his native planet. Finally, all was a starless black except for -half-forgotten faces which paraded before him, telling his treason with -hissing tongues in words he could not quite grasp the meaning of. - - * * * * * - -The air of Denver was clear and bright--crystal clear, drawing in the -mountains, opening up the sky like a bent back box top. The new sun -seemed small. - -Parr stood on a street corner acutely aware of the thin air and the -bright clean sky. An open sky that seemed to be trying to talk to -him. He snorted at the absurdity of the thought but he strained half -consciously to listen. - -He walked on, his feet tapping sharply on the concrete, his mind foggy -from the uncomfortable sleep. - -A building to the left momentarily reminded him of a slide shown long -ago in a classroom on a distant planet, and he wondered if the picture -had been taken in this city (knowing, deeply, that it could not have -been). - -Parr took a newspaper from a stand. Tucking it under his arm he -continued to walk until he found a hotel. - -He ate breakfast hurriedly in the annex and then rented a room with a -radio. He went to it, lay relaxing on the bed, his mind open and free -but uneasy again as he thought of treason. - -"Parr," he said into the comset. "I'm in Denver." - -"Have you escaped?" - -"They will follow me," Parr said wearily. "But for the moment, I'm -free." - -"We'll send our Denver advanceman to you," the Ship said. "The two of -you should be able to handle the Oholos." - -Parr's mouth was dry. He named the hotel. - -"Wait, then." - -He lay back but felt no exultation. He tried to force it, but there was -nothing. - -And then, staring at the headlines, knowledge of success broke all -around him and he was trembling and jubilant. He sprang up, paced the -room, moving his hands restlessly. - -He rushed to the window, looked out into the street. The people below -passed in a thin nervous stream. Unusually few; many more were glued at -home, waiting for the mail. - -A postal delivery truck turned the corner, rolled down the street -before the hotel. All action ceased; all eyes turned to watch its path. - -Parr wanted to hammer the wall and cry, "Stop! Stop! I've got to ask -some questions first! Stop! There's something wrong!" - - * * * * * - -Parr was shaking. He sat on the bed and began to laugh. But his -laughter was hollow. - -His victory--a Knoug victory.... He frowned. Why had he automatically -made a differentiation where there should be none? He realized that the -mailing success had released him from nervous preoccupation in Knoug -work; for the first time he was free of responsibility, and he could -think ... clearly ... about.... He wanted to hammer the terrifying new -_doubts_ out of his mind. But they gathered like rain clouds. He went -to the mirror and fingered his face. "What's wrong? What's wrong?" -Knoug victory had a bitter taste. - -He suddenly pictured the civilization around him as a vast web -held in tension by a vulnerable thread of co-operation, now slowly -disintegrating as the thread crumbled. And he took no joy in the -thought. - -He began to let images float in his mind. Imagined scenes, taking place -beyond the walls. - -A man went in to pay off a loan, his pockets stuffed with money. - -"I'm not taking it." - -"Whatsa matter? It's legal tender. You _gotta_ take it." - -Bills on the counter. - -"You didn't earn that!" - -"It don't matter." - -"It isn't any good. Everybody's got it." - -"That don't _matter_." - -"It's worthless!" - -"Yeah? Listen: 'For all debts, public and private....'" - -Parr's mind reached out to grasp the unsettling immensity of it. He -flipped on the radio, half heard an excited announcer. - -Parr thought: All over the world, each to his own: coins, bills, -dollars, rupees, pesos, pounds--how many million parcels were there? -Each stuffed with enough to make its owner a man of wealth, as wealth -was once measured. - -Parr thought it was terrifying, somehow. - -And the headline of the paper admitted: "No Test To Reveal Good Money -From Bad." - -(There was a mob. They were storming a liquor store, while the owner -cowered inside. He was waiting for the police. But the police were too -busy elsewhere, so finally, to salvage what he could before the mob -took his stock for nothing he opened the door, crying, "Form a line! -Form a line!") - -Parr thought of the confusion that would grow. - -Prices spiraling. - -(In the United States Senate, a member took the floor to filibuster -until California had its mail delivery and its fair share of the free -money.) - -This was the day work stoppages would begin. - -FAMINE PREDICTED.... PRESIDENT IN APPEAL TO.... GUARD MOBILIZED.... - -Riots. Celebrations. (A church burned the mortgage gratefully.) Clean -shelves. Looming scarcity. - -By the time the sun dipped into the Pacific, the whole economic -structure of the world would be in shambles. - -Governments doubtless would blame each other (half-heartedly), propose -new currency, taxes, and the gold standard again. - -Industrial gears would come unmeshed as workers took vacations. -Electric power, in consequence would begin to fail. - -(Looting already occupied the attention of the better part of the -underworld, and not a few respectable citizens decided to get it now -and store it for use when it would be unavailable because others had -done likewise.) - -Stagnation tomorrow. But as yet, the fear and hysteria had not really -begun. Parr shuddered, sickened. "What have I _done_?" - -It would take months to unmuddle the chaos. - -Earth was ripe for invasion.... - - * * * * * - -Parr aroused from a heavy stupor. The pressure was back. He moaned, and -the knock on the door jolted him into startled animal movement. - -The knob turned. Parr tensed, although he could tell that the Oholo -team was still distant. "Who is it?" - -The door opened and a disguised Knoug slipped through. Immediately -behind him a simian-like Earthman towered. "Come in," the Knoug said. -When they were inside, he shut the door. - -"The Ship sent me over," the Knoug said. "You wanted help? My name's -Kal. You probably remember me on Ianto?" - -Parr swung his legs from the bed and stood up. "You feel the pressure?" - -Kal rumbled angrily. - -"Two Oholos," Parr said. "I've been dodging them." - -"Two, eh? Okay. It's a good thing I brought Bertie along. Two, you say. -Well I'll be damned." - -Kal turned to the Earthman. "There'll be two, Bertie. So watch -yourself...." - -Bertie grunted noncommittally. - -"Okay. Now like I told you, shoot when I give you the mental signal. -You'll see the ones." - -"Uh-huh," Bertie said, chewing complacently. - -"Go on downstairs then." - -Bertie hunkered forward and leered at Parr. "Sure. Sure." - -"Hurry the hell up," Kal said. - -Bertie shuffled to the door, opened it, left the room. - -Parr swallowed uneasily. - -Kal chuckled. "Good one, Bertie. Useful. Damn this pressure. Glad I -brought him. They won't be looking for an Earthman, eh? So when they -try to come in here after us, he'll drop 'em, eh?" - -Parr wet his lips. "They're getting nearer." - -"Relax," Kal said. He crossed to the bed and sat down. "The Fleet's -out. It just came out. Did you hear?" - - * * * * * - -Parr felt a shock of surprise. He imagined the hundred powerful -ships of the fleet coming, one by one, from the dead isolation of -hyperspace. In his mind's eye he could see the faint glimmer of the -static shield--the protective aura--form slowly in real space; he could -imagine the ships safe within their electric sheaths which caught the -hull-wrenching force of transition and dissipated it from the heavy -steel plating. He could imagine one ship--perhaps one--popping out, -shieldless, battered by the force vortex, and perhaps leaking air or -ruptured entirely because the protective aura had collapsed under -pressure. Then he saw the ships neatly pulling into formation, grouping -for instructions, waiting for the attack signal. - -"Day after tomorrow they attack," Kal said. - -"They're closer," Parr whispered. - -Kal concentrated. "Yeah. I feel them. Come to the window." He stood up -and crossed the room in quick cat-like strides. - -Parr followed him and the two of them stared down. Perspiration stood -on Parr's forehead. After a moment they saw Bertie come out from -beneath the hotel awning. He seemed small at a distance, and they -saw him toss a cigarette butt carelessly to the sidewalk. He moved -leisurely away from the entrance and leaned against the side of the -hotel, one hand in his overcoat pocket. - -Kal sneered, "You think they'll drive right up?" - -Parr's face twitched. "I don't know ... if they know there's two of -us...." He glanced left along the street. "I guess they will. I guess -they'll try to come right in after us." - -Kal chuckled. "That's good. That's damned good, eh?" - -Parr turned to stare at him. "They're strong." - -"They won't be looking for Bertie." - -"Listen," Parr whispered hoarsely. "They're stronger than we are." - -Kal snarled a curse. - -"No," Parr said intently. "They are." - -"Shut up!" - -"Listen," Parr said. "I know. I've...." - -Kal turned slowly. "They're not stronger. They _couldn't_ be stronger. -Even if Bertie misses, we'll get them. If they're so strong, why -haven't they already carried the fight to us? If they're so strong, -they should be ready to attack us, so why don't they?" - -He turned back to the window. - -"They're almost here," Parr said. - -A cab turned the corner. "Feel them center on us?" Parr said, drawing -down his shield as tightly as he could. - -Kal, tense-faced, nodded. - -Parr stared fascinated as the cab screeched to a halt. - -Then Parr felt a wave of sickness and uncertainty; he reached out for -Kal's elbow. "Wait!" he cried. - -But already, below, Bertie jerked into explosive action. - -He shot three times. The male Oholo pitched forward to the gutter. - -Bertie's gun exploded once more, but the muzzle was aimed into the air. -He crumpled slowly, and the gun clinked to the sidewalk from nerveless -fingers. - -"He got one," Kal said in satisfaction. "The other one must be quicker -'n hell." - -Parr let out a tired sigh. - -"That's that," Kal said. "... I'll be damned, a female Oholo! She won't -dare to try two of us alone." - -Parr's eyes were fixed below. In what seemed a dream, he watched her -get out of the cab. She glanced up and down the street. She looked up, -quickly, toward their window. And then she darted across the sidewalk -toward the hotel entrance. - -"I'll be damned!" Kal cried. "She's coming up anyway!" His eyes -sparkled gleefully. He searched his lips with his tongue. "Let's both -hit her now! She's near enough!" - -"No!" Parr cried sharply. "No! Let her get closer.... Let's ... let's -make sure we get her." - -They could feel her nearing them, not quickly, not slowly, but with -measured steps. - - - - - CHAPTER IX - - -She was just outside the door and Parr felt something like momentary -confusion before the hate came. Yet when it did it was tinged and -colored as he thought of her walking toward them, alone. He tried to -concentrate on her remembered image, tried to call up the previous hate -in all its glory. He could not; instead, even the hate he knew drained -away. In its place he felt--not fear exactly--not fear for himself but -of the inevitability of death. Not his death--hers. - -He saw Kal's lips curl, and then he winced. Fingernails dug into his -palms. - -And the door opened and she stood before them. There was a breathless -instant, absolutely still, while time hung fire. Her eyes were aflame. -Eyes, he knew, that were capable of softness as well. Eyes steady, -intent, unafraid. He was frozen in delicious surprise that tingled -his spine, and he felt his scalp crawl. He also felt deep awe at her -courage. - -She came into the room, closed the door, stood with her back leaning -lightly against it. Her eyes blazed into his. - -Her red lips moved delicately. "Hello," she said. "I've been looking -for you." She had not glanced at Kal. - -"Now!" Kal cried wildly. - -Parr wanted to scream something meaningless, but before the sound -could bubble forth the room seemed to erupt into a colored blaze. She -had struck at him with a lethal assault! - -He reeled, fighting back for his life, conscious now of Kal fighting at -his side. - -Her eyes were steady, and her face frowned in concentration. She was -icy calm in the struggle and there was cold fury in her whips of -thought. But slowly, under their resistance, her eyes began to widen in -surprise. - -For a breath-held moment, even with the two of them against her, the -issue seemed in doubt; Kal half crumpled, stunned by a blast of hot -thought that seared away his memory for one instant. - -She could not turn fast enough to Parr, nor could she, in feinting his -automatic attack, strike again at Kal. Then again, the two of them were -together, and slowly, very slowly, they hedged her mind between them -and shielded it off. - -Kal recovered. - -Parr gritted his teeth in a mental agony he could not account for and -stripped at her outer shield. Kal came in too and the shield began to -break. - -The Oholo still stood straight and contemptuous in defeat, her eyes -calm and deadly as she still struggled against them. - -She struck once; more with fading strength and Parr caught the thrust -and shunted it away. And then he was in her mind. - - * * * * * - -He held a stroke that would burn like a sun's core, and almost hurled -it. But there was a great calmness before him and he hesitated a -fraction of a second in doubt as he stared deep into her glazing eyes. -He felt his heart throb in new pain. - -Kal struck over him, and the Oholo went limp, suddenly, and sank -unconscious to the floor, a pathetic rag doll. A tiny wisp of thought -struggled out and faded. - -Kal cried in triumph and gathered for the final blow. - -Great, helpless rage tore at Parr then, and almost before he realized -it he sent a powerful blast into Kal's relaxing shield. Kal rocked to -his heels, dazed, and his left hand went to his eyes. He whirled, lax -mouthed, surprised. - -"What...?" - -"She's mine!" Parr screamed wildly, "She's mine!" - -"The hell--" - -In fury Parr slapped the other Knoug a stinging blow across the mouth. -"Get out! Get out! Get out or I'll kill you!" - -Kal's eyes glazed in surprise. - -Parr was panting. "I'll finish her," he gasped. "Now get out!" - -Kal's eyes met his for a moment but they could not face the anger in -Parr's. - -"Get out or I'll kill you!" Parr said levelly, his mind a welter of -emotions that he could not sort out and recognize. - -Kal rubbed his cheek slowly. "Okay," he said hoarsely. "Okay." - -Parr let breath out through his teeth. "Hurry!" - -Kal's lips curled. His shoulders hunched and he seemed about to -charge. But Parr relaxed, for he saw fear in the Knoug's eyes. Kal -straightened. He shrugged his shoulders indifferently, spat on the -carpet without looking at Parr and stepped over the unconscious Oholo. -He jerked the door open and without looking back slammed it behind him. - -Parr was trembling and suddenly emotionally exhausted. - - * * * * * - -Parr's knees were water. He stared fascinated at the fallen Oholo. He -sank to the bed. He let his thoughts touch her unconscious mind as it -lay exposed and helpless, and he wondered why he did not strike the -death blow. He tried to think of stripping her mind away slowly, layer -by layer, until she lay a helpless babbling infant, her body weak and -pliant to his revenge. But he thought of her clear eyes and he was -sickened and ashamed. - -He called up memories of Oholos--the captured few--and now for the -first time he knew general respect rather than hate. And thinking of -Knougs, he writhed. - -Yet he was conditioned to hate and he was conditioned to kill. He -must kill, for the conditioning was strong. He tried to fight down -the revolt of his thoughts, and, in recognizing the revolt at last, -knowledge came. The guilt of treason. Not for any act. His treason was -doubt, and doubt was weakness, and weakness was death. He could not be -weak for the weak are destroyed. But he seemed, for a heart beat, to -see through the fabric of Empire which was not strength at all. No he -thought, I've believed too long. It's in my blood. There's nothing else. - -He went to the wash basin and drew a glass of water. He carried it to -the Oholo, knelt by her head and bathed her temple with his dampened -handkerchief until she moaned and threw an arm weakly over her -forehead. Her hand met his, squeezed, relaxed, and was limp again. - -He carried her to the bed and sat beside her, staring at her clear -face, which was an Earthface. (I've been in this body too long, he -thought, I'm beginning to think all wrong.) For the face was not -without beauty for him. - -He shook his head dazedly, trying to understand himself. - -(Here is the enemy, he thought. How do I know? I have been told ever -since I can remember. But is it true? Does saying it make it true? But -what else can I believe? One must believe something!) - - * * * * * - -She opened her eyes, stared at him uncomprehending. He waited patiently -as she gathered her loose thoughts and tied them down. She smiled -uncertainly, not yet recognizing him. - -Finally he could see understanding in her eyes. - -"Your mind is too weak to fight," he said. "If you try to shield I will -kill you." - -Her lips curled. "What do you want?" - -"Don't try to shield," he warned. He studied her face and his chest was -tight. He looked away from her face. - -"I've got to ask you some questions," he said. "After that, I'm going -to kill you." - -There was no fear in Lauri's eyes. "Go ahead," she said calmly. "Kill -me." - -"I ... I ... want to ask you something first," he said. "I've got to -ask you some questions." - -Her lips glistened and he felt sympathy that he could not understand. -And seeing her frown, he shielded the thoughts from her. - -"You're not ... quite like I thought you were," she said, very calmly. - -"I am!" he snarled. "I am what you thought!" He was ashamed of the -sympathy he had let her sense, and then he was ashamed of being -ashamed, and his mind was confusion. - -"Why did you--did you leave this planet as an unprotected flank, like -this?" he said. It was a question, he knew, that had to be answered, -before ... before ... what? - -"They weren't ready to join us," she said. - -"What do you mean?" - -"They were not developed enough to join us," she said. - -"Why didn't you conquer them!" he insisted. "You were strong enough. -Why didn't you conquer them?" - -She said: "We couldn't do that. We don't have any right to do that." - -In that instant, it all became clear. Suddenly truth overwhelmed him, -wave after wave, like a sickness. "No!" he cried. "No!" He dropped his -head into his hands. "Lies," he murmured. "Lies, lies, lies!" He saw -the wrongness, the terrible wrongness, and he searched desperately over -his life for repudiation, an excuse. But he found none. - -They had come to him and said, This is the law of life. And they took -him and trained him, and showed him nothing else. He had been scarcely -a child at the first school of soldiery, and they had fashioned his -mind, a pliant mind, and ground doubts out (if there had been any.) -They told him that the law was strength, and strength was destiny, and -destiny was to rule those below, obey those above, and destroy those -who did not agree. There were no friends and enemies--only the rulers -and the ruled. And the ruler must expand or die of admitted weakness. - -"It's all lies!" he said. He felt the crumbling away of the certainty -he had lived by. And before the helpless Oholo he felt weak and -defeated and suddenly he realized that his mind shield was down. - -She reached out gently to touch him. - -Below, a police siren wailed in the streets. A car for corpses. - - * * * * * - -He tried to shake the hand away. "They lied," he said. "They lied about -everything. They lied that you were ready to conquer us. They told us -you were cowardly and would kill us if we did not kill you first, and -that we must take...." - -She said: "It was worse than we thought. We did not think you were -strong enough to attack us. Not here. We thought if we let you alone -you would collapse of your own weight." - -"I never knew," he said. "There wasn't any way to know. You have to do -what everyone else does. You get to think they must be right." He made -a small sound. "When I first came here--it started to bother me, when -I saw the planet was unprotected--when I saw how strong you were.... -But I had so many things to do. I was too busy to think. But I felt -something at the very first about your presence here...." - -She stirred restlessly on the bed. He knew that he was defenseless -before her because she had recovered, but she did not strike out. -"Trying to help them," she said. "A few of us came to help them. They -needed us. We were trying to prevent a war. And a few more years--if -we'd ... but that's gone now. You'll destroy it all." - -He stood from the bed and it creaked. - -"We were slowly changing their governments," she said. "We would have -succeeded." He felt her mind slowly gather, and there was infinite -bitterness, and he tensed. But still she did not strike at him. - -"I want you to go," Parr said. "Before the other Knoug comes back. Get -out." - -Words damned up inside him. He had been trained to hate and trained to -kill. The emotions were loose now. There was no outlet for them. He was -frustrated and enraged. Hate bubbled about in him, fermenting. He had -been trained to hate and to kill. Lauri winced as she felt the turmoil. -"Get out!" he screamed. - -The door crashed open. - -Three figures lunged through. - -"Lauri, thank God!" one of them cried. "We thought he'd killed you." - -Parr suddenly found his arms held by two Oholos. - -"We got here as soon as we could pick up your thoughts." - -Lauri said, "Jen is already dead." - -One of the Oholos slapped Parr's face savagely. "We'll kill this one -for that!" he snarled. - - * * * * * - -Lauri sprang from the bed and sent the weapon spinning from the hand of -the leader of the three Oholos. He gave a startled gasp. The weapon hit -the carpet and slammed to rest against the far wall. "Don't!" she cried. - -"You're crazy!" the leader snarled. "What's wrong with you?" - -"He saved my life," Lauri said, panting. - -"He's Knoug," the leader sneered. "You know damned well he was trying -to use you for something or other." - -Parr stared, fascinated. He was surprised to find that he was not -afraid. The shock of capture had not yet passed, and he seemed to be -watching a drama from which he was removed. - -"No!" Lauri said. "No, he wasn't!" - -"How can you say that, Lauri? Look what he's done! Look what he's -already done!" - -"Unshield, Parr, show them," Lauri commanded. - -Parr hesitated, trying to divine the plot and see what was required of -him. - -"It's a trick," the leader said. "They've got some way to fool us, even -with an open mind!" - -Lauri's eyes were wide. - -The leader jerked his hand. "Kill him," he instructed. - -The Oholo on Parr's left released Parr's arm and reached inside his -coat for a weapon. - -Lauri darted across the room and pounced on the weapon lying at the -base of the wall. She seized it and rolled over. She aimed it steadily -at the Oholo on Parr's left. "Don't do that," she said. "Let him go." -She got to one knee. - - * * * * * - -Parr felt the grip ease on his right arm. He stood free. And for the -first time--with strange hope--the feeling of unreality vanished. - -"You're insane!" the Oholo on Parr's right rasped. - -She jerked the muzzle of the weapon. "I told you. He saved my life. He -could have killed me. He didn't." - -"A trick!" - -"Get away from him!" - -Reluctantly the two stood back, and the leader shifted uneasily on his -feet. - -"Don't you try it," Lauri suggested. "For all you know, I might really -shoot. You aren't that quick." - -Parr let out his breath. - -"You!" she snapped at him. "Get to the door!" - -Dazed, he obeyed her. He shook his head to clear it. He was afraid they -would try to stop him. - -"Open it!" - -He opened the door and hesitated, looking at her. - -"I'm coming," she snapped. Still covering the three Oholos she got to -her feet and began to back toward him. "Don't follow," she warned the -three before her. - -"You know what this means?" the leader said. "You know what it means to -help the enemy?" - -"Go on out," she told Parr. "He saved my life," she said doggedly. - -He obeyed. She followed him. She fumbled for the door knob, found it. -"Run!" she cried. She slammed the door. - -They ran desperately for the stairs. Their feet pounded on the soft -carpet as they clattered down. She was almost abreast of him. - -"Help me!" she cried when they passed the first landing. - -And a moment later Parr knew what she meant. They were trying to tear -into his mind, and she was holding them off with her own shield. He -joined her as well as he could, marveling at the vast strength she had -recovered. - -"Hurry!" she cried. "I can't hold it much longer." She lurched into him -and he put an arm around her waist. - - * * * * * - -And then they were through the lobby and into the silent street. No -curious spectators were lingering to stare at the drying patch of dirty -brown in the gutter beyond the awning. - -"This way!" she cried. - -As they fled on the pressure weakened. She was running fleetly at his -side now, her brow unfurrowed, and yet he knew that she was still -holding the shield under terrific pressure. - -"In here," she gasped, suddenly turning into a narrow alleyway. "Stop!" -she said. She half dragged him down to the pavement behind a row of -packing crates. - -"They'll be right after us!" he panted. - -"No. Listen. Follow my lead. I think I can blanket us, if you help me." - -Parr felt the warmth of her thoughts around him, and then they began -to go up beyond his range and he had to strain to stay with them. -Underneath her thoughts his mind began to quiet, and, in a moment he -felt--isolation. - -"Help, here," she said. - -He saw the weakness and strengthened it. With her helping, he found the -range less high, and he could almost relax under it. And their minds -were very close together, and their thoughts were completely alone. -"We're safe here," she whispered. - -He listened to his own far away breathing, and heard hers, too, softer -but labored. - -They crouched, waiting, and the street before them was quiet in the -sunlight, for the mail trucks were out, and no taxis moved. The -city--for the moment--was deathly still and waiting uneasily. The high -air was sharp in his lungs. - -"They've missed us," she said at length. "Wait! They're.... They're -after ... it's another Knoug. They think we've separated, and they -think it's you." - -"That would be Kal," Parr said. "He must have been waiting nearby." He -brought out the comset. "He must have seen us come out together." - -He flicked open the comset, heard, "... joined with the Oholos. Parr -and the other just left the hotel together." - -"He's told the Advanceship," Parr said to the girl. - -"It doesn't make any difference," Lauri replied wearily. - -And Parr breathed a nervous sigh, for the hate had found its channel. -The Empire had made him unclean and debased him, and he had to cleanse -himself. His vast reserve of hate shrieked out against the Empire; -their own weapon turned against them. - -"I'd like to get back to the Advanceship," Parr said. "If I could get -back, I could smash in their faces!" - -"Oh," she said. - - * * * * * - -The comset sputtered excitedly. "Three Oholos after me! They're armed! -Must be new ones. The other two weren't armed!" - -The comset was silent. - -"Three?" Parr said. "That's right, there were three. I thought there -were just five on the whole planet." - -"There's about fifty now. They landed last night. Out in the Arizona -desert. They're the only ones who could get here in time." - -Parr felt elation. But it passed. "Fifty.... That's not enough to stop -the invasion." - -"It's all we could get here," Lauri repeated. - -Parr groaned. "The Knougs will shield the planet tomorrow. It will trap -those fifty on the surface. And us. They'll shoot us, if we're lucky. -But I'd like to kill some first!" - -The comset crackled, and the Ship voice said: "How many new ones -altogether?" - -"I don't know," Kal answered. "I only know of three." - -"We'll hurry the attack, then, before they're set. Can you hold out, -Kal?" - -"I don't know," Kal said. - -The attack. The meaning of it suddenly rang in Parr's ears. Until a -second ago, he had seen his hate as personal, and now he realized -that the Empire was ready to capture a planet and then to destroy a -System. And he saw the vast evil of the Empire hurtling toward Oholo -civilization. He gnashed his teeth. - -Lauri's hand jerked on Parr's elbow. "The one you call Kal is dead." - -"I'm glad," Parr was grim. He remembered the savage eyes which the -Earth disguise could not conceal. "I'm glad." - -"Kal, Kal," the Advanceship called into emptiness. "Kal! Come in, -advanceman Kal!" - -Parr flipped off the comset. - -She lowered the thought blanket completely. "Relax. Try to relax." - -"Why did you do it?" he said. "Why didn't you let them kill me?" - -"I don't know," she said slowly. "You saved my life. I couldn't let -them kill you. I saw how you felt, how you suddenly changed. How you'd -become a new person all at once. I couldn't pass judgment on you after -that. I hated you and then I didn't hate you anymore. It doesn't -matter. It's too late to matter. I ... I...." - -Her mind was warm against his. - -"They're going back to join the others in the desert now," she said. -"They're going to get ready to fight the attack." - -"Lauri," Parr said. "Lauri, I've got to do something!" - - - - - CHAPTER X - - -(New York had broken windows now, and the streets were glass littered. -An occasional white face peered out suspiciously from above a ground -floor. But the heart beat of subways was stilled. The cry had been: -"You'll _starve_ in the City!" and there had been an hysterical exodus, -slow at first and then faster and faster and faster. The moon marched -her train of shadows in the cavern streets.) - -In Denver, the moon rode the mountains, calm, misted, serene. - -"Parr," he spoke into the comset, and he felt Lauri's hand tighten on -his elbow. - -He glanced nervously at the sky. He was afraid to see the planet shield -blossom as it might any minute to signify the attack had begun. But he -feared even worse the absence of it. - -"Parr?" the Advanceship spat back. - -"The Oholos have a defense system around their own planets. _It won't -do you any good to capture this one!_ You won't be able to get nearer!" - -"You are guilty of treason, Parr!" - -"You can't get at their inner system! They have a defense ring that can -blast your Fleet out of space." - -"Lies!" - -Parr glanced at Lauri beside him in the darkness. "No!" he said. "They -are stronger than you are!" - -"They would have attacked us if they were," the Knoug said calmly. - -"They don't think like that!" - -"A poor bluff, Parr." - -"Stop!" Parr said, "Listen...." He looked at Lauri again. "No use. They -cut off." - -"I didn't think they'd bluff," Lauri said. She looked across the -street. The street lights had come on on schedule, but they soon -flickered out as the power supply waned. The city was dark. - -"Will they scorch the planet?" - - * * * * * - -Parr glanced once more at the sky. "I think they're holding off trying -to gain new information on your Oholos. Or maybe they're having trouble -getting ready. We'll know very soon whether they'll scorch it or -assault it with an occupation force." - -Lauri said, "You tried." - -"If we could _convince_ them, like I was convinced ... if we could show -them you _were_ strong and peaceful...." - -"But we aren't strong, Parr. They caught us unprepared. If we had a -year or two...." - -"How long would it be before you could get reinforcements here?" - -Lauri bit her lower lip. "At least a month. We'd have to organize the -units and everything. No sooner." - -"Oh." - -"What were you thinking?" - -"I thought," Parr said. "... I thought I might hold the attack off ... -for as much as a couple of hours." - -"That wouldn't help." - -Parr swallowed and cleared his throat nervously. "I don't know. Maybe -it would give the Oholos more time to prepare. It might help a little." - -"How?" - -"I'm going to try that. I've got to do something, Lauri." - -He flipped open the comset and started to speak, but the channel was -already busy. It was filled with crackling explosive Knoug language. - -Parr began to listen intently. - -It was a conversation between the Flagship and one of the other ships -of the Fleet. "... Parr's right," the other ship said. "So they're down -there. They say they've fought Oholos, and he's probably right...." - -"How many are there?" the Flagship demanded. - -"Thirteen. All in the engine room." - -"Tell them Parr was bluffing," the Flagship ordered. - -"I already did." - -"Tell them they're guilty of mutiny!" - -"I did, and they still won't come out. They're the bunch that were in -the assault at Coly. They've been hard to handle ever since." - -"All right. Go after them with guns...." - -"What is it?" Lauri asked. - -"Shhhh!" Parr cautioned. - -A third circuit opened. "No other ship reports trouble. It's just this -one bunch." - - * * * * * - -There was a harsh curse, guttural and nasty. "These channels are open! -The whole Fleet knows about that Coly bunch now!" - -"What in hell! _God damn it, get them off!_ We've got to isolate...." -Click. - -Parr stared at the comset in his hand. - -Parr smiled thinly. "I did a little good, at least. A bunch of veterans -must have been listening in on me.... One of the Fleet ships has a -little trouble." - -"Maybe ...," she began excitedly. - -"No," Parr said. "It was only thirteen Knougs. It's scarcely a ripple. -It might make the rest of the Fleet a little uneasy--but they'll still -take orders. I'm sorry Lauri, but it's not going to help much." - -"How do you know it won't?" she insisted. - -The bitter smile was still there. "I've seen something like it before. -In five minutes it will all be over." - -"Oh." - -"Well," he said after a moment, "I better try to get the Ship. I'm -going to hold them off as long as I can." - -He clicked open the comset again. "Kal," he lied icily. "Advanceman -Kal." For the first time he was glad of the tinny, voice disguising -diaphragm. - -"Get off!" the Advanceship ordered. "This is the Commander. We're -under communication security, damn it!" - - * * * * * - -Parr nodded to himself in recognition of what had happened. Commanders -were now on the whole communications network. It would prevent ordinary -operators from spreading more news of mutiny through the Fleet; it -would blanket the manufacturing of rumors. And, if things were running -true to course the Flagship was monitoring all channels just in case. - -"I've found out the Oholo's disposition," Parr hissed into the tiny -comset. "Can you pick me up?" - -There was a momentary pause. - -"... We thought you were dead, Kal. Why didn't you answer our calls?" - -"... Broke my comset," Parr lied quickly. "I've just killed the -traitor, Parr, and I'm using his." - -There seemed to be suspended judgment in the Ship. - -"If you pick me up, I can give you details. But you'll have to hurry! -Two Oholos are closing in right now!" - -"How many are there altogether?" - -Parr hesitated. "Only twenty, Parr said. I think less than that. It -won't be necessary to scorch the planet." - -Again silence. Then the Flagship itself cut in, "All right. We'll pick -you up. Where are you?" - -"Denver." He made out the street signs in the darkness. "I'm here at a -street corner. Eighteenth and Larimer." - -"Someone who knows the territory from the Advanceship can pick you up. -Ten minutes. Hold on." - -"Hurry!" Parr pleaded. - -He cut off the comset. He realized he was frightened. The night was -growing cold and he took two deep breaths. He let the comset slip from -his fingers and shatter on the pavement. He kicked it away in savage -annoyance, and snarled a curse. - -Lauri shuddered inwardly at his violence, but he did not notice. And -she forced a smile and touched him with a warm thought. - -"I told them I was Kal," he said. "I ... asked them to pick me up." - -Lauri half gasped in surprise. - -"They'll hold off the attack until they hear from me again. I'll try to -keep them guessing as long as I can." - -He was tired. He and Lauri had been walking the streets aimlessly for -hours. At first there had been mobs after the mail delivery. Then the -governor, conscious of what had happened in some Eastern cities, had -declared martial law and only soldiers were supposed to be on the -streets after sundown curfew. Already many people had fled the city in -terror. - - * * * * * - -As he and Lauri walked side by side, Parr felt he had come to know her -better than he had ever known anyone. He realized how strong his mind -had grown under its month long test, and he knew that she had come to -respect his strength, she who was so strong herself. But it was not her -strength he respected. Strangely, it was her weakness--her compassion -and her ability to forgive. An unknown thing, forgiveness, a beautiful -thing. - -She stood silently beside him. Then she said, "What time you gain won't -matter." - -"Maybe it will!" he said harshly, hating the Empire. - -She stared into his face. She shook her head. "No," she said. She -touched his cheek. "I ought to say something." - -"What do you mean?" - -"I don't know. That it's a brave thing you want to do...." - -"After what I've done, I've got to do something to make up for my life." - -"What you did doesn't matter anymore." - -"Listen," he said. "Listen, Lauri. You better leave. Don't stand here -any longer." - -She did not move. - -He gritted his teeth. "Hurry up!" - -Her mind touched his gently, cloudlike, and drew away. "Let me go with -you." - -"You know that wouldn't work." - -After a minute she turned reluctantly. - -"Wait!" he cried after she had gone only a few steps. - -Eagerly she turned. - -"Listen!" He glanced at his watch. "Listen. The Fleet is nervous. The -Knougs are nervous. It might not take much after that Coly bunch -revolted.... They're yellow inside, and the seeds of doubt are there. -If we could just make them believe you really had a weapon. An hour -from now--give me _one hour_--you're to contact the Fleet on my comset -and tell them the Oholos are going to destroy their Advanceship right -before their eyes. Then tell them to get out, the whole Fleet, or -you'll destroy every ship. That may make them think! That may make them -believe!" - -"But unless the Ship really is destroyed before their eyes...." - -"I'll take it into hyperspace without a shield. One minute it will be -there, the next minute it won't. Maybe they won't stop to figure it -out." - -"But you'll be killed!" - - * * * * * - -"Give me just one hour. Go on, damn it. Don't argue!" She seemed ready -to cry. Then she bit her lip. - -"But--Parr! Parr! I _can't_! How can I? _You broke the comset!_" - -Parr's mind was dazed. He tried to think. "... Listen. Find the one Kal -had! See if you can find that! You've _got to_, Lauri. It all depends -on that. You've just got to find it!" - -She hesitated. - -"Don't argue," he insisted. "Hurry! They'll be after me any minute." - -She seemed to want to say something. - -"Run!" he cried. And then she was hurrying away and her mind left his -entirely, so there would be no danger of detection when the scout ship -came for him. And then she turned a corner, and was gone.... - - * * * * * - -The silver saucer shaped scout ship zipped down the street, banked -sharply and vanished, recording (Parr knew) electronic details for its -mothership, the pick-up craft. - -Parr waited, his mouth dry. - -Finally--after what seemed a long time--he saw the dark, moving -patch return. It lowered, and Parr could make out the details of the -unlighted surface. He sighed with relief. Fortunately it was the small -three passenger craft. - -It hovered, closed on the intersection and settled. Hoping that neither -of its crew knew him by sight, Parr sprinted from the shadows of the -building to the opening door. - -The distance seemed to unravel before his feet, lengthening like a -magic carpet. - -His feet hit the edge of the door almost together and grasping the -sides he pulled himself in, falling forward and gasping for the crew's -benefit, "Oholos!" - -The inside of the craft, operating under low flying procedure, was -darkened except for the dull orange of the instruments. - -"Up!" Parr cried in Knoug, and the craft shot away pressing him to the -floor even though the acceleration compensator was whirring in his -ears. - -He groaned and stiffened, anticipating the light when they were in -second procedure level. - -He heard one of the crew say: "Pick-up successful." - -"Can you berth your craft on the Flagship?" - - * * * * * - -Parr felt a dread for he had thought to go to the Advanceship, and that -was the one Lauri would name for destruction! - -Relief came when the crewman said, "Wrong hangar sort. This isn't -combat equipment, sorry." - -"All right." - -Parr breathed an easier sigh, and the communications set went off. - -The lights came on. - -Instinctively Parr lowered his head into his arms. He groaned again. -"My leg," he mumbled. - -"What?" - -"Hurt my leg," he lied. - -A crewman knelt beside him. Parr realized then that they were carrying -an extra crewman. - -The Knoug rolled him over. - -There was a startled gasp of recognition and Parr hit him in the neck. -He slumped down and Parr had to squirm from under his limp body. - -"What the--!" - -Parr was on his feet. - -"That's not Kal!" one of the others said. - -The pilot swiveled around. - -Parr dove, realizing, even as he was in the air, that each Knoug was -reaching for his focus gun. - -He hit the standing Knoug. The Knoug teetered. Parr hit him again. - -The pilot had his gun out. - -Parr slammed a mental bolt at the pilot and he was surprised to see -that the shield folded like hot butter. Even had he wished to, he could -not have stopped his assault from crisping the other's thoughts to -oblivion. He was almost annoyed at the weakness. - -He tried a mental assault at the other sagging crewman with equal -results. - -The craft started to spin out of control. - -Parr struggled forward, was slammed sideways, and far below he could -see moonlight flash on water. - -He was thrown into the controls on the second spin, and he pulled back -the emergency equalizer in desperation. The craft skittered. - -And then he was in control. - -He found the beam on the dial. He was to the left. He centered on it -and followed it in. - -He jockeyed below the gaping hatch of the Advanceship and came up -slowly. The controls were stiff. It was a ticklish job. - -Then he was inside. He shied left to set the craft down. - -It bounced and half rolled on the deck. Then he struggled to the door. - -When he opened it there was an orderly waiting. "That was a hell of a -landing," he said. "For--hey!" - -He went down easily under the assault. Parr realized his mind had grown -even stronger than he had supposed. For the first time he began to -hope that he really stood a chance of making it. - -He glanced at his watch. - -Almost forty-five minutes! It had seemed only five.... - - * * * * * - -Lauri ran toward the second building. Her mind usually smooth and calm, -was now a welter of conflicting thoughts. She had tried to reach the -other Oholos. But they shut themselves off. No help from them. - -There were no cabs out. And the telephones were dead. She was -desperately afraid Kal was in the morgue but she could not risk the -time to be sure. Vaguely she remembered the siren that had squalled -when the police came for the body of the Oholo and his Earth assailant -who had been killed outside the hotel. But she could not remember -another siren near the time Kal had been killed. She was forced to -assume the police had not come for him. - -But she could not be sure. - -If the police had not come, she reasoned, then he had not been killed -before witnesses. Therefore he had not been killed in the streets. - -She knew that he had seen them leave the hotel. That narrowed the -range. That he had been killed shortly afterward by the Oholos narrowed -the range even more. - -He had not been moving when he was killed, and he had just finished -reporting Parr's and her flight, meaning that he had been stationary -since his observation. And there would be no reason for the Oholos to -move or to hide the body. - -Therefore his body should be where it had fallen. - -There had been four business buildings in the vicinity where a man -could have been killed unseen. - -She pushed open the doors to the second. The ground floor, within -observation range, was easily checked. So was the second. Third. -Fourth. Fifth. - -She was back in the street. Two more buildings. Half her time gone. -She glanced at her watch for verification. Each of the two remaining -buildings had four floors. - -The nearest one was locked. But there was a light inside. She was -puzzled. Then she saw the cleaning maid come down the front stairs, -carrying a brace of candles in one hand and a mop and bucket in the -other. The old woman moved slowly, unconcerned, oblivious of the -outside world, intent only on her job. Lauri shuddered, but she knew -that the face would not be calm if she had seen a corpse in her duties. -Therefore, there was no corpse inside. - -One building left! - -But a few minutes later she was back in the streets. There had been -nothing on the lower floor, the second floor, and the two top floors -needed only a glance. - -She sobbed desperately. - -Something had been wrong with her reasoning, and she had only twenty -minutes left to start from the beginning and find the Knoug's body. - - * * * * * - -Parr ran quickly along the corridor. He passed two incurious Knougs. He -continued on, winding upward toward the control room which he had to -capture. There would be a delicate balance of timing and luck between -success and failure. - -He was not frightened now, even though he knew he could not personally -win the fight in capture or success. His mind was calm. Strangely, too, -it was at peace. - -He clambered up the final ladder, his hands unsteady on the rungs. The -control room door was closed. He tensed, listening, wondering how many -of the enemy were inside. - -He knocked, his knuckles brittle on steel. He thought, in that fleet -second, of Lauri. He wondered dimly, if she had found the comset. - -"Yeah?" - -"I've got Kal out here, sir!" Parr said briskly, hoping to imitate the -orderly's voice. - -"What the hell!" a voice from inside roared, "I thought we told you to -take him down to the Commander's office." - -Parr held his breath. - -He heard an indistinct mutter of voices inside and he knew that one of -them must be on the inter-phone to the Commander. - -"Something screwy here!" the voice roared indignantly. - -Parr hit the door and it crashed inward with an echoing clang. - -He catapulted into the congested control room. In a glance he saw there -were only two Knougs. One was at the control banks, half turned in -surprise. The other held the phone limply in his left hand, his eyes -staring. - -Parr kicked the door shut viciously and the sound rang in his ears. He -launched himself at the Knoug with the phone. He felt his head meet a -soft stomach and he heard explosive air pop from the man's lungs. The -Knoug went over backwards, down hard. - -The other one roared an oath. - - * * * * * - -Parr walked on the fallen one's face. He stomped the face and it -gurgled. He stomped again in fury as all his frustration and new -bitterness found an outlet. He locked the other Knoug in mental battle, -but the mind he met was strong, catching him off guard. - -The Knoug dove for the huge comset to warn the Fleet. - -Parr could hear, from the receiver of the dangling phone, the Commander -saying over and over again, "What the hell's going on? What the hell's -going on?" - -Parr brought the remaining Knoug to his knees with a mental assault. - -Parr backed toward the door. As he fought mentally, he managed to slide -the force bar across it. They'd play hell getting him out, at least. - -His enemy was down, quivering. Parr panted desperately, and then from -beyond the door, he felt the growth of mental assault force. Three -minds hurrying toward him! Two more minds came in and he staggered and -almost fell. - -Then he was down, as if from a hammer blow to the chin. He fought, -sickened. He began to crawl toward the control board. And fighting, he -struggled up, as if under a great weight. New minds came in. And still -he could fight. But he was almost down again. - -(Five minutes, he thought.) - -He found the right lever, pulled. - -There was the crackle of the heterodyne mind shield. And the control -room was isolated by a high, shrill whine. He winced, recovering, and -smiled inwardly at the careful devices Knoug officers had to protect -themselves against a mutinous crew. - -He dampened all the thrust engines with three hacking strokes at knife -switches, being careful to get the right ones. He ripped out the engine -room control. The Advanceship was dead in space for at least an hour. - - * * * * * - -He staggered to the comset. He stumbled over the dead Knoug and kicked -the body. He shattered the transmitter with a furious blow. - -With fumbling fingers he ripped away the seal the Commander had placed -on the receiver. He snapped the volume control to the right. The radio -whined. - -Someone was trying to call the Advanceship, and Parr smiled grimly. - -Another circuit broke in on the call. "Their commander is questioning -the advancemen they brought up, I imagine. Let him go. The information -we got from the Texas advanceman supersedes it anyway." - -Parr cursed monotonously. - -"Forward bank in!" another circuit reported. - -"Nine stations on planet shield. Ready?" - -There was a crackling of readiness. - -"We'll hit before it. Try to get it set in fifteen minutes." - -"In position, there. Eight, back a little." - -"Clear hulls. Unscreen." - -"Check.... Check...." - -Parr glanced at his watch. The hour had only minutes of life. What was -wrong with Lauri? - -"Ready around?" - -The Fleet was getting ready to move. Parr screamed in wild frustration. - -At the door, the force field was beginning to show strain. Outside they -had a huge force director focused on it. Parr speculated idly how they -had managed to get it up from the engine room so quickly. The force -field at the door began to peel. In a few minutes it would shatter and -the control room would be an inferno with every switch and bit of metal -melted into smoking blobs. - - * * * * * - -She was searching the shops, kicking in glass, when necessary to gain -entrance. She was listening, now, and time dribbled away. Standing -amid broken glass, she cocked her head hoping to hear the whisper of -the still active comset. - -Ten minutes. - -What had been wrong with her logic? Why hadn't Kal's body been in one -of the four buildings? Even as she searched on she reviewed it in -her mind, until suddenly, with an abrupt snap she knew that she had -overlooked one. There were not four possible buildings but five. - -Kal might have been hiding in the hotel itself! - -Nine minutes. - -_And how many front rooms were in the hotel?_ A twelve storied welter -of windows, and he might be behind any one. - -Nine minutes. - -Automatically she was running for the hotel. - -(Not the lower floors, she thought, or the Oholos would have had him -sooner. They must have come down and then gone back up or else the -whole time element was wrong.) - -One of the upper floors then? - -She would have to chance that. - -She was in the deserted lobby. As she ran across it she marveled at the -panic of a few hours ago. She saw a busy looter in the shadows, and -there were not, certainly enough soldiers to be everywhere. - -In her headlong rush she did not see the human form on the second -landing before she crashed into him. She gasped as the breath went out -of her lungs. - -The man reached out for her. "What happened?" His voice was desperate. -"I've been asleep, and all of a sudden, when I wake up--" - -"Let me go!" - -"What happened?" he said pathetically. "The city's so _still_." - -She pushed him back and continued up the stairs. - -He ran after her. "Wait!" - -At the top floor she saw no exit to the roof. - -The corridor was "U" shaped, the bottom of the "U" facing onto the -street. Six rooms on it. - -"Young lady!" the man cried, rounding the corner of the stairs below -her. She dropped her mental range into a low register and struck toward -him. But she could not quite find his range and he shook his head and -continued up the stairs. She waited, and when he arrived, she said, -"Sorry," and hit him on the chin. He rolled halfway down the short -flight of stairs. - -She searched the six rooms. All were unlocked and empty, and the doors -slammed in her wake. - -Nothing. - -She gritted her teeth and headed for the stairs and the next floor -below. - - * * * * * - -Parr shattered the glass from the emergency deep space suit. He ripped -the suit from the hangar and struggled into it with anxious fingers. - -It was a minute after the hour. - -He hesitated, holding the helmet in his hands. - -The force field at the door was nearly gone. The radio crackled with -Knoug attack orders. - -And then--with infinite relief--he heard her voice, crackling over the -other voices. She sounded short of breath and excited. - -"What's that?" someone roared in Knoug, and Parr realized they did not -understand English, the common language they had used on the planet. - -"Idiots!" Parr shrieked. "Fools! Can't _any_ of you understand!" - -"I'm going to destroy your Advanceship," Lauri said breathlessly. "I am -an Oholo. I'm...." - -Suddenly a Knoug was translating her message. - -Last minute instructions to the Fleet ceased. - -"I'm going to destroy your Advanceship," she said again. And then, -after a breath, she said, "Be careful! Be careful!" And he knew that -the last was not to them but to him. - -He could wait no longer. The force field was seconds thin. His mind -cried desperately, "Hurry!" He clamped down the helmet and all sound -vanished. - -But her words rang in his mind, "Be careful!" and he was grateful for -them. They choked in his throat. - -Then he threw the Advanceship into hyperspace. - - * * * * * - -There was a pinwheel of motion that slammed him into the control panel. -He could not hear, but everywhere, around him, metal screamed and -wrenched and tore. - -The force director beyond the door spun loose and sprayed the Knougs -around it, and they vanished. It jerked its current cable and was -still. A vast rent in the hull let the air whoosh out into hyperspace, -and the Knougs all over the Ship puffed and exploded. - -Parr came slowly to his senses. He staggered directionless around the -control room. Everything was a shambles. - -After a while--nearly an hour had elapsed--he was wandering through -silent corridors. It was hot inside his suit. - -He found the pick-up ships eventually, but they were ripped from their -moorings. One seemed upright and serviceable. He tested the motor. The -motor worked. He got out and struggled with the escape hatch. Finally -it came loose. - -He taxied the pick-up ship out of the mother ship. - -Hyperspace was grey and hideous. Here and there lights flashed. The -vast, battered derelict of the Advanceship lay below him. Hyperspace -sped away. He blasted further from the gutted hull and brought up -the space shield of his craft. It wavered around him. Behind him the -tortured Advanceship exploded. - -He hit back toward real space. The craft skittered under his hands as -he wrenched at the controls. The motor was strong, but its delicate -shielding apparatus had been damaged and there was a sickening jolt. -The shield was off and Parr was falling, down, down, down, and lights -in his head exploded. - -And he thought it was infinitely sad that he had done something decent -for the first time and now he was to be punished for all the rest. Then -he knew no more.... - - * * * * * - -The comset had erupted into a babble of incredible confusion after her -message. She waited leadenly. She warned the Fleet once more. "If you -do not leave at once, we Oholos will destroy your whole Fleet." She had -no way of knowing what was happening. - -The Knoug commanders, unnerved, cried among themselves: - -"No weapon I ever heard of could do _that_!" - -"The advanceman was right! They can destroy us!" - -"I say we don't stand a chance!" - -"Did you hear? It just _vanished_." - -"I'm going to order my ship back." - -"I've already shielded for hyperspace." - -"What's the Flagship say?" - -"What's the Flagship _say_?" - -"Commander Cei just pulled out. That makes five." - -"As for me, I say, Let's go!" - -"_The Flagship has already got its hyperspace shield turned on!_" - -Slowly the voices died away. The comset was silent in Lauri's hand, and -she knew that the Fleet had gone. The Advanceship was destroyed. - -Remembering Parr, she bowed her head. She saw the body of Kal lying at -her feet, where she had found it in the second room on the tenth floor. -And she was crying without sound. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - - -She finally got through to the other Oholos. They listened, because the -expected attack had not come. - -They came for her and she met their airship in the street. They soared -above the silent city of Denver. - -"A _Knoug_!" one said. "Who ever would have thought a _Knoug_ would do -that!" - -She tried to explain but they did not listen for they were busy with -other thoughts. She was still crying, but inwardly now. She said, -"Don't you see what he might have _become_ within a few years?" - -"Imagine hitting hyperspace without a shield," one Oholo said. - -"It must have turned the ship inside out!" - -"So the Knougs actually believed it was a weapon that did it!" another -said, pleased. - -Lauri said, woodenly, "He was very strong. He was almost as strong as I -am. He would have become even stronger." - -"There's no Knoug as strong as one of our best workers, Lauri." - -"He was more than a Knoug," she insisted gently. "A Knoug would have -just--just gone on being what he was." - -She fell silent, remembering. - -"It played hell with this planet," an Oholo said. "It'll take years to -straighten it out." - -"Not years," another said, looking down at the night. "No. I think not -years. One of the governments we were primarily concerned with has been -changed. The people finally got the chance to overthrow it, and they -did. That's a good sign. I think our work will be easier now. It's -always easier to rebuild than to change." - -_Lauri!_ - -She froze. "Listen!" - -And they listened, high up. - -_Lauri!_ - -"Yes!" she cried. - -_Come to me!_ - -She rushed to the pilot room. She took the controls and spun the ship. - -"Did you hear that?" an Oholo said, awed. - -"Yes," said another. "... He not only went in unshielded, but he -managed to get back!" - -They shook their heads. - -And within fifteen minutes she had found his ship, lying below in dying -moonlight. - - * * * * * - -She brought the aircraft down and within seconds she was running to the -wreckage and pulling his limp body from it. - -When the space helmet was off his head, he gasped, "Tore hell out -of my big ship. And ... then I even ... up and ... wrecked this one, -landing.... I'm just ... damned clumsy." - -"Get the surgeon!" Lauri cried. - -She held his head in her arms while her lips moved soundlessly. Then -she bent to kiss him on the mouth after the Earth fashion, and Parr had -never experienced such a sensation of trust and surrender and promise. -He let his hand move gently down her arm. - -"We'll stay here," she whispered. "We'll stay here and help these Earth -people, you and I. You'd like that? To help them?" - -"Yes," he said. "It would be nice to ... build instead of destroy. It -would be nice, I think. You and I could help them. I'd like that." - -The surgeon came, and they took Parr out of the suit and after a while -the surgeon said, "I don't know much about Knougs. But I'm glad this -one is going to be all right." - -Lauri laughed hysterically. The tears were open again. "_I_ couldn't -kill him," she sobbed. - -The other Oholos looked puzzled and polite. - -"It's a joke!" she said, dizzy with relief. "Of course he'll live, -because even I couldn't kill him!" - -Parr smiled up at her. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPECIAL DELIVERY *** - -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. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. 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If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Special Delivery</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Kris Neville</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: July 20, 2021 [eBook #65886]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPECIAL DELIVERY ***</div> - -<div class="figcenter x-ebookmaker-drop"> - <img src="images/illusc.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<p>Parr came to Earth as the advance guard for<br /> -an invasion. His mission: to see that every<br /> -person received a package that was being mailed—</p> - -<h1>SPECIAL DELIVERY</h1> - -<h2>By Kris Neville</h2> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy<br /> -January 1952<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 class="ph1">CHAPTER I</p> - -<p>A cannonade of shell fire met the silver listening post as it zipped -across the moonlit desert. It twisted erratically, trying to dodge. -Then a radar controlled gun chuckled to itself, and the listening post -faltered in flight, slipped air, plunged sandward.</p> - -<p>In the Advanceship, far above and to the west, one of the Knougs -pressed a button and the listening post exploded in a white flare.</p> - -<p>Afterwards, no fragments could be found. The newspapers said the usual -thing. The government issued the usual profession of disbelief—and -finally even the gunner became convinced of the usual explanation: he -had tried to pot Venus.</p> - -<p>While on the Advanceship the Knougs continued to prepare for D-Day.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER II</p> - -<p>Three days later, on D-Day minus thirty, the Advanceship began to move -eastward, seeding down advancemen toward strategic centers in North -America.</p> - -<p>Towns with big post offices.</p> - -<p>And then on over the Atlantic toward other continents.</p> - -<p>Parr was the first advanceman to land. The coat tails of his -conservative double breasted suit fluttered gently as he fell; air, -streaming by, fretted his hair. Except for the anti-grav pack strapped -to his back, he could easily have been mistaken in a more probable -setting for an Earthman.</p> - -<p>Minutes later his feet touched the ground with scarcely a jolt. -He peeled out of the anti-grav pack, pushed the button on its -disintegrator time fuse and dropped the pack. He lit a cigar and blew -smoke toward the cold bright stars.</p> - -<p>He walked from the weedy lot to the nearest bus stop. No one else -was waiting. Darkness had concealed his descent. He sat down, stared -stolidly at the darkened filling station on the opposite corner.</p> - -<p>When he was halfway through the cigar the Los Angeles Red Bus came by -and he stood up, boarded it, fumbled in his pocket for change.</p> - -<p>"Thirty cents, buddy," the driver said.</p> - -<p>Still holding the cigar, Parr counted out two dimes and two nickles. He -tried to hand the driver the coins, which were excellent imitations, as -was his suit, his cigar, and all the rest of the Earth articles.</p> - -<p>"Put it in the box, buddy."</p> - -<p>Parr obeyed.</p> - -<p>"Hey," the driver said as Parr turned. "Your check." The driver held -out a strip of red paper.</p> - -<p>Parr took it.</p> - -<p>"No smokin' on the bus, buddy."</p> - -<p>Parr dropped the cigar and mashed it out. He shuffled down the aisle, -sank into a seat and half closed his eyes.</p> - -<p>Furtively, then, he began to study the occupants—his first -near-at-hand contact with the natives. At the same time he tried to -form a mental liaison with some of the other advancemen.</p> - -<p>For a moment he thought he had one to the east, but there was a hazy -swirl of interdiction that erased all contact.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Abandoning further attempts he tried to search out the frequencies of -the minds about him. Once he managed to touch a series of thoughts -innocently concerned with household details and with an overtone of -mild and nameless anxiety. Aside from that he received nothing except -the din of electronic impressions at the extreme lower end of his -range.</p> - -<p>He half-turned to stare out of the window. The passing -landscape was peaceful in starshine and the buildings stood -proudly defenseless. In imagination he saw the illuminated, -"You'll-take-a-shine-to-this-fine-wine" sign hanging askew over a -backdrop of smoking rubble. And it was delicious to know that this -would be fit and proper.</p> - -<p>Although the preliminary intelligence report (based on nearly four -years of preparatory scouting) contained no instance of Oholo -activity on the planet, he listened, high up, on their frequencies, -(particularly here, vulnerably near their own system it would be no fun -fighting them). He let his shoulders slump with relief, let the smile -of satisfaction come. As reported, the frequencies were clear: Earth -was, indeed, their blind flank.</p> - -<p>He closed his eyes, relaxed completely, took quite a joy in the -knowledge that shortly Earth would be the lethal dagger pointed at the -heart of the Oholo system.</p> - -<p>At the Beverly Hills -transfer-for-Hollywood-the-film-capital-of-the-world Station, two -drunks boarded the bus and settled in the rear, singing mournfully.</p> - -<p>Parr grew increasingly irritated by the delay. When the bus finally -started, making the sharp turn from the lot and throwing his body to -the right against the steel ledge of the window, he cursed under his -breath.</p> - -<p>The dismal singing went on. It picked up telepathic overtones, and -Parr gritted his teeth trying to block out the bubbling confusion that -scattered from the drunken brain. He opened and closed his fists. -Anger flared at him: the anger of impotence. For a moment, he dared -to imagine the planet contaminated, the population quietly dead, the -Knougs working from sheath hangers. Only for a second; but the brief -thought was satisfying, even as he forced himself to agree with the -strategy of the War Committee: which was to leave the planet as nearly -unpoisoned as possible by even a minor land war.</p> - -<p>Finally the song bubbled to silence. Half an hour later the bus turned -on Olive Street and the gloomy Los Angeles buildings hovered at the -sidewalks. It pulled in at the Olive Street entrance of the Hill Street -Terminal and Parr got out.</p> - -<p>He walked out of the lot and started downhill toward the Biltmore Hotel.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>When Parr awoke he knew that something had been added to Los Angeles -during the night. He shivered involuntarily and tightened his thoughts -down to the place where no fuzzy, side harmonics were possible.</p> - -<p>He was afraid—the startled afraidness of finding something deadly -underfoot. Gradually he made his body relax; gradually he quieted his -twin hearts; gradually he corralled his breathing. Then he let out a -wisp of thought as tenuous as mist.</p> - -<p>And he sensed the Oholo's mind again. Very near to his own. He closed -his mind quickly, waited breathlessly to see if the Oholo had detected -him. His ears hummed with danger for he was within mental assault range.</p> - -<p>There was no answering probe and after a moment he got up cautiously.</p> - -<p>Feeling the rug beneath his bare feet made him wince with a blind -associational terror which he could not immediately analyze. Then, -looking down, he thought of the tickle of Tarro fur. He half -expected to see the dark stains on the rug too. Always, on Tarro -fur—remembering—there were those stains. They had been a difficult -people to rule. As <i>agent provocateur</i>, (that had been several years -ago on Quelta) he had reason to expect blood.</p> - -<p>He crossed to the trousers, neatly folded over a chair. In the left -front pocket was the comset. He fumbled it out and standing naked in -the gloomy dawn, whispered: "Parr. There is an Oholo in my hotel."</p> - -<p>After a pause the comset issued the tinny question: "Is he aware of -you?" The voice filtering through the small diaphragm was without -personality.</p> - -<p>"I don't think so."</p> - -<p>There was silence. Then: "Is he open?"</p> - -<p>"I think ... he is, yes."</p> - -<p>"Find out for sure!"</p> - -<p>The comset was cold in Parr's hand. He stood shivering. He rubbed his -left hand over his naked flank.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He tried to kill his thoughts against the command from the Advanceship, -tried to let the drilled-in obedience take over. He opened the -receptive portion of his mind as far as it would go, knowing that -within seconds seepage would be as loud as thunder because he was not -adept at double concentration. But even before one second had gone he -snapped his mind closed again.</p> - -<p>The Oholo was open.</p> - -<p>"Parr," he whispered hoarsely into the comset. "He's open."</p> - -<p>"... He can't know we're here, then. What did you learn?"</p> - -<p>Parr mopped his forehead with the back of his hairy arm. "I just kept -receptive a second."</p> - -<p>"Keep checking, then."</p> - -<p>Parr let the comset fall to the chair. He walked to the window and -looked out at the haze-bound city. Early sunlight fought blue smog. -Across the street the Pershing Square pigeons waddled self-consciously -about on the grass beside the new fountain, picking at invisible -tidbits and cooing.</p> - -<p>Parr rubbed his throat trying to massage away the inner tenseness. He -was alone against the Oholo. An aloneness that he had not been prepared -for. And he worried at the fear that was inside him.</p> - -<p>He dressed with awkward fingers and left the room, his eyes darting -suspiciously along the corridor as he drew the door closed behind him.</p> - -<p>He walked quickly down the carpeted stairs and through the front doors -of the hotel. Several times he glanced over his shoulder as he hurried -toward Sixth Street.</p> - -<p>After four blocks he was sure that he had not been followed. He entered -a restaurant. He ordered, reading from the menu.</p> - -<p>He did not enjoy the meal.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>After eating he took a cab to the office of R. O. "Bob" Lucas, Realtor. -The Advanceship had determined that Lucas was the agent for an empty -warehouse on Flower Street.</p> - -<p>Parr exposed a bulky wallet for Lucas' benefit and began to rustle -bills with blunt, stubby fingers. Within minutes he had signed a -six-month lease.</p> - -<p>After making an appointment for three o'clock Tuesday at the warehouse, -Parr left Lucas' office and caught a cab to a typewriter shop. He -purchased a Smith-Corona portable, a ream of corrasable paper, a disk -eraser, and five hundred business envelopes. At the bookstore next -door, he bought a United States Atlas.</p> - -<p>After that he took a cab to the post office, had the driver wait while -he rented six postal boxes under the name A. Parr and bought twenty -sheets of air mail stamps.</p> - -<p>In the cab once more, he concentrated on the city map that had been -impressed electronically on his brain. "Drive out Sixth Street," he -ordered, being very careful of his enunciation.</p> - -<p>A half dozen blocks out Sixth, Parr located a hotel on the right side -of the street. It was a reasonably safe distance from the Biltmore. He -ordered the driver to stop.</p> - -<p>The building sat atop a hill, the street before it twining briskly -toward the center of town. Parr studied the building for a moment, -memorizing details of architecture for reference.</p> - -<p>Then settled with his purchases in a front room on the 3rd floor, -Parr opened the Atlas to the Western United States and marked out the -territory assigned to him with the heavy ink lines of his pen.</p> - -<p>Having done that, he listed all the names of the included towns.</p> - -<p>Then he sat down at the portable, inserted a sheet of paper and wrote:</p> - -<p>"To the Chamber of Commerce, Azusa, California. Gentlemen: Please send -me the current city directory." He looked at the postal numbers. "My -mailing address is ..." He typed in the first number on the list. "... -Los Angeles, California. Inclosed is five dollars to defray the costs. -Thanking you in advance, A. Parr."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He studied the letter. It was a competent job of typing. He flexed his -fingers, found them slightly stiff from the unaccustomed work.</p> - -<p>He ran his eyes down the list of towns, inserted another sheet of -paper.</p> - -<p>"To the Chamber of Commerce...."</p> - -<p>He stopped typing.</p> - -<p>He sat before the typewriter imagining the number of directories, -imagining the staggering total of individual names.</p> - -<p>He thought of the Advanceship and its baffling array of machines that -would automatically scan the directories and print a mailing label for -each of the names. He thought of the vast number of parcels waiting to -be labeled, as many as fuel requirements permitted the Ship to carry. -And of the even vaster number that the synthesizer was adding out of -the native resources. The smooth efficiency of the Advanceship, the -split second timing of the whole operation.... And all of it auxiliary -timing to the main effort. Even with superior weapons, even with -complete surprise, the Knougs were taking no chances. The job of the -Advanceship, the job of Parr, was to demoralize the whole planet just -before the invasion. To insure an already certain victory.</p> - -<p>He turned back to the typewriter, wrote a few more words.</p> - -<p>There was still the awareness of the enemy Oholo in the back of his -mind.</p> - -<p>He split the list of cities into six equal groups for box numbering.</p> - -<p>Several hours later another tenant complained about the noise of the -typewriter. Parr gave the clerk fifty dollars and continued to type.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER III</p> - -<p>Parr spent the morning of Tuesday, D-Day minus 28, in his hotel room, -reliving what seemed now to be the extremely narrow escape of the -previous morning. He imagined what he <i>might</i> have done: assaulted the -Oholo mentally, or struck him down with the focus pistol when he tried -to leave the hotel. And having imagined the situations he proceeded to -explain to himself why, instead, he had fled.</p> - -<p>At eleven o'clock, by prior arrangement, he reported to the Ship and -from it received the reassuring information that the now alerted -advancemen had been able to find no other Oholo.</p> - -<p>At noon he went out to eat and then for an hour walked the streets, -studying the people and their city. Most particularly he listened for -accent, intonation. He was afraid to drop his mind shield to try for -telepathic contact with them.</p> - -<p>A few minutes before three o'clock in the afternoon his cab drew up to -the warehouse. The air was hot and sour smelling and Parr was restless. -The realtor was waiting for him on the sidewalk. Parr nodded curtly. -The man bent clumsily and rattled keys at the lock.</p> - -<p>"Here it is," Lucas said.</p> - -<p>Parr walked into the warehouse.</p> - -<p>It was an old building. Perhaps shabbier, dustier than he had expected. -The air was stale and faintly chilly with decay. Remnants of packing -crates, wrapping paper, labels and twine had been heaped in a greasy -pile in a far corner.</p> - -<p>Parr sniffed suspiciously as his eyes darted around the room.</p> - -<p>Across from him, above the rubbish, an electric box indicated that the -building had at one time been industrialized at least to the extent of -a few heavy power tools.</p> - -<p>Parr walked to the stairway.</p> - -<p>"I'll want someone to clean this mess up," he said curtly.</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir," the realtor said.</p> - -<p>"Tomorrow," Parr said.</p> - -<p>"All right," the realtor said, consciously omitting the "Sir" as if to -reassert his own individuality.</p> - -<p>Parr glanced at him. "I'll send you sufficient money to cover the fee." -Without waiting for an answer, he started up the stairway.</p> - -<p>The upper two floors were in much the same condition as the first. From -the third there was a narrow flight of steps slanting to the roof. Parr -eyed it with disapproval.</p> - -<p>"Narrow," he said.</p> - -<p>"There's seldom any reason to go up there ... sir."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Parr went up. At the top of the flight, he forced back the door and -clambered into the shed which opened onto the roof. Parr dusted his -knees. He stepped outside, and the gravelly finish grated under his -shoes. The air smelled of warmed-over tar.</p> - -<p>He tugged restlessly at his chin. It was a good, substantial roof. As -the listening post had reported. Good enough for pick-up and delivery. -He permitted himself a glimmer of satisfaction.</p> - -<p>He heard movement behind him. Instinctively he whirled around, -his hand dipping toward his right coat pocket, the memory of the -Oholo—the vision of a composite Oholo face surprisingly like an Earth -face—flashed across his mind. The realtor's head bobbed into view, and -Parr relaxed his tense muscles.</p> - -<p>"How is it up to here?"</p> - -<p>Parr rumbled an annoyed and indistinct answer and turned once more to -the roof. When the realtor stood at his side, Parr said, "I want that -shed thing ripped off and a chute installed, next to the stairs. Have -it done tomorrow."</p> - -<p>"I'm ..." the realtor began. But he looked at Parr's face and licked -his lips nervously. "Yes, sir;" he said after a moment. "Anything I can -do. Glad to oblige."</p> - -<p>"That's what I thought," Parr said, and Lucas shifted uneasily.</p> - -<p>Parr turned to the stairs. Going down he could see dust motes flicker -in the fading light at the dirty west windows.</p> - -<p>Outside he watched the realtor lock the doors.</p> - -<p>"Keep the keys," Parr said. "Send them to me at the Saint Paul Thursday -morning. At eight o'clock."</p> - -<p>The realtor said, "... Yes, sir."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>At six o'clock Parr was in his hotel, undressed, making preliminary -arrangements by telephone to hire a fleet of trucks. He had already -placed an advertisement for shipping clerks and common laborers in -<i>The Times</i>: interviews Thursday from ten to four at the Flower Street -warehouse.</p> - -<p>After finishing with the truckers, he phoned four furniture companies -before he found one open. He ordered it to deliver a desk and two dozen -folding chairs to the Flower Street warehouse Thursday morning at -nine-thirty.</p> - -<p>All the while the Oholo was in the back of his mind, now sharp with -sudden memory, now dull with continued awareness.</p> - -<p>He checked the schedule the Ship had given him.</p> - -<p>He took the comset, flicked it on. "Parr. I'm scheduling. I'll need a -packet of money along with the dummy bundle. Can you deliver them both -to the warehouse tomorrow night?"</p> - -<p>"We can."</p> - -<p>"Good," Parr said, swallowing, and there was perspiration on his upper -lip.</p> - -<p>"Have you contacted the Oholo again?"</p> - -<p>He felt his blood spurt. "Not yet," he said.</p> - -<p>He waited.</p> - -<p>Then: "Think you can handle him mentally?"</p> - -<p>Parr glanced at the mirror, saw how taut his reflection was.</p> - -<p>"I'm not very sure," he said.</p> - -<p>"Well, physically, then?"</p> - -<p>Parr let out his breath slowly. "I don't know."</p> - -<p>"Try. Either way. Get rid of him. An Oholo could cause the invasion -trouble."</p> - -<p>Parr plucked nervously at his leg. "If I'm not able to?"</p> - -<p>The comset was silent for a moment. Then the impersonal voice said, "If -you are killed in the attempt, we will replace you." It paused for a -reply. Receiving none it continued: "Get what information you can, even -at the risk of exposure. It's too late now for them to mount a defense, -and they probably have no way to alert the natives. We want to know -what he's doing there, and if there are any more on the planet."</p> - -<p>"All right," Parr said, and he realized, gratefully, that, to the Ship, -his voice would sound emotionless.</p> - -<p>He dropped the comset. His hand was shaking.</p> - -<p>Not so damned good. How to kill the Oholo?</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He tried to steady his nerves by remembering other planets, other -times. He had faced danger before, and he was still alive. Except that -before the danger had never been an Oholo. He had been Occupation, not -Combat. He remembered the few captured Oholos he had seen. They died -slowly when they wanted to be stubborn.</p> - -<p>Finally he crossed to the bed and stretched out naked, relaxing -slowly, knowing that the time had come to get what information he -could. Muscle by muscle he began to go limp.</p> - -<p>Slowly, very slowly, he dissolved his mind shield. When it was -completely gone he began to inch out, to flutter out, concentrating -with all his power a stream of receptive thought on the Oholo -frequencies high up and uncomfortably shrill.</p> - -<p>He located the mind, far away, and he began to skirt in toward it, his -own mind trembling in anticipation of the blow if he were detected.</p> - -<p>He inched closer trying to make himself completely non-transmitive. -He could feel seepage around the beam, and he shunted it to a lower -frequency, holding it there, suppressed. The effort blunted his full -concentration and when he finally began to get Oholo thoughts they were -blurred. He picked up a scrap here, a scrap there, his body tense.</p> - -<p>When he relaxed at last, forming his shield solidly, he was weak. He -held the shield desperately, chinking it against a possible attack. -None came. The Oholo was still completely unsuspecting, completely -lulled by the security of its environment.</p> - -<p>Feeling a sense of elation and a new confidence, Parr went to the -comset. "Parr. Oholo report."</p> - -<p>"Go ahead."</p> - -<p>Parr concentrated on the wording, filling in the blank spots with his -imagination. Suddenly he was conscious of an inadequacy, something -elusive that he should be able to add. He wrinkled his face, annoyed. -But the uncertainty refused to resolve itself into words. "His name is -Lauri. He's here on a mission having to do with the natives. I got no -details, but it doesn't directly concern us, I'm sure of that. There -appear to be several more on the planet. They seem to avoid cities, -which accounts for the fact that advancemen haven't reported them." For -a moment, he almost placed his thoughts on the elusiveness, but again -it escaped him. He paused, puzzled.</p> - -<p>"We'll have the advancemen warned. This may be damned inconvenient, -Parr. If there are many of them."</p> - -<p>"I couldn't get the exact number without exploring his mind. If I'd -done that, I might not have been able to report afterwards."</p> - -<p>"Go on."</p> - -<p>"He's leaving the city in a few days. You still want ... me to try to -kill him?"</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>The Oholo, Parr could not help remembering, had as strong a mind as he -had ever encountered.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Wednesday morning Parr walked to the Biltmore, not hurrying, not -anxious to face a free and dangerous Oholo.</p> - -<p>At the side of the hotel he risked contact. A shutter movement of -thought told him the quarry was still inside the building.</p> - -<p>He crossed Olive at Fifth with the light and angled right into -Pershing Square. He located a seat from which he could observe the -entrance of the Biltmore. For one moment he considered mental assault; -but remembering how strong the mind was he faced he discarded that -course.</p> - -<p>He waited. He walked around the Square. The morning seemed endless.</p> - -<p>Finally he risked another shutter of thought.</p> - -<p>The Oholo was still there.</p> - -<p>Noon.</p> - -<p>He ate in a drugstore across the street.</p> - -<p>Still there.</p> - -<p>As the afternoon wore on, the weariness of waiting left his body and -the success of the shutter contact inflamed him with confidence. He -could cross the street, enter the hotel, seek out the room. But he -delayed—without admitting to himself that he was still afraid.</p> - -<p>The gloom in the air was pre-sunset, city gloom, nostalgic. He -consciously dilated his pupils to accommodate the fading light, unaware -now of the scurry of people on the sidewalks and the roar of the city -cloaking for night amusement. Neon lights came on like cheap fire, out -of the darkness, infinitely lonely.</p> - -<p>He shifted uncomfortably. He stood up. He could wait no longer.</p> - -<p>Then a man and woman emerged from the hotel. And he tensed. A wisp of -thought, unsuspicious, floated to him on mental laughter.</p> - -<p>The Oholo, Lauri.</p> - -<p>He shielded his mind even tighter, scarcely thinking.</p> - -<p>He began to amble in the direction the couple were taking, keeping to -the opposite side of the street.</p> - -<p>At Sixth they turned toward him, waited through the yellow for the -green light. They crossed.</p> - -<p>He paused studying a Community Chest sign, his hearts pounding -uncertainly. He felt a curious little probe of thought that was -delicate and apologetic, as if reluctant to intrude upon anyone's -privacy. It passed him by undetecting.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The man bent toward the girl, a pert blonde, and laughed in answer to -something she had said. Parr watched them go by and then at a short -distance swung in behind them. He touched the focus weapon in his right -hand pocket, a crystal-like disk with one side tapering to a central -point. It was a short-range weapon, palm aimed, fired with an equally -exerted pressure on the lateral sides.</p> - -<p>Even with his mind closed Parr could catch ripples of Oholo thought: -amusement, sympathy, appreciation. For a moment he was afraid that he -had been mistaken somehow, for again there was the elusiveness, an -unreality he could not account for in terms of the situation.</p> - -<p>Parr narrowed the gap between himself and his prey.</p> - -<p>And they turned a corner. Parr crossed the street, drew still closer, -in time to hear the girl say, laughing, "... slumming once before I go -back."</p> - -<p>The crowd thickened and Parr found himself sidestepping passers-by. He -was almost near enough, and his hand was moist on the focus gun.</p> - -<p>The couple turned into a cellar night club. Parr swore to himself. -Taking a nervous breath, he descended the steps. He nodded to the -bouncer-doorman who was leaning idly against the wall.</p> - -<p>He stepped into the night club. He saw the man help the girl to a table.</p> - -<p>Parr brought out his hand. His eyes were suddenly hot and beady with -excitement.</p> - -<p>On the far side of the room he saw the black lettered sign, "MEN." He -would, in crossing to it, pass directly by the Oholo's table.</p> - -<p>As he began to move forward a woman stumbled unsteadily against him, -knocking him off balance.</p> - -<p>"Whynacha watch where ye're goin', ya ...," she began shrilly, but, -with his left hand, he brushed her out of his way. She took a half step -backwards, undecided.</p> - -<p>He turned to glare at her and under his gaze she looked away and tugged -nervously at her dress.</p> - -<p>Parr walked swiftly toward the rest room, his every energy concentrated -on his mind shield.</p> - -<p>As he passed the table, the girl shuffled uneasily on the chair.</p> - -<p>Without breaking stride, Parr fired the focus gun into the man's back.</p> - -<p>He was clear of the tables when he heard, from behind, the initial -surprised, "Oh!"</p> - -<p>He had one hand on the door marked "MEN" when he felt the confusion -in his mind. Automatically, he pushed open the door. A puzzling -realization that something was wrong....</p> - -<p>He turned left, from the narrow corridor into the rest room proper.</p> - -<p>And he went down to his hands and knees on the filthy tile, writhing in -agony.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER IV</p> - -<p>The hurt, mostly, was in his brain, and he choked back a scream. He -could not think. And then the outer edge of the shield began to crumble.</p> - -<p>He concentrated. Every muscle, bone, nerve. Veins stood out on his -neck. He fought.</p> - -<p>He was dented by fire inside his head. Hot, lancing tongues of flame. -He tried to shrink away. He whimpered, groveled. His hands fumbled -uselessly.</p> - -<p>She was nearly inside of him now. It was almost over. Her thoughts were -like fingers rending and tearing at quivering unprotected flesh.</p> - -<p>He struggled hopelessly, retreating under a mental assault of -unendurable ferocity. His outer memory was ripped away, a section of -his childhood vanished forever.</p> - -<p>And then there was desperation in the assault wave. He could feel -her trying to shake off an attempt to breach her concentration. He -stiffened, relaxed, arched his body, struggled with her.</p> - -<p>Her attack suddenly crumbled into a distracted muddle. Her -concentration had been shattered.</p> - -<p>His mind was trembling jelly, creamed with throbbing pain. But he could -resist now, and slowly he forced her out.</p> - -<p>"I'll be back!" she lashed at him. And the hate in the thought was -alive. "I'll kill you for this!" Then her thoughts began slowly to fade -away and her mind shield came down.</p> - -<p>Parr shook with every muscle.</p> - -<p>"Buddy. Buddy," someone was saying, shaking his shoulder. "You sick, -huh?"</p> - -<p>He struggled to his knee twisting his head back and forth, trying to -regroup his memories. The sear places were vacant, empty, part of -himself cut cleanly away. Immediate memories not yet stored and filed -seemed to be floating free, unassociated—too widely spread to have -been cut out, not too widely spread to have been mixed and shuffled. He -was panting as he struggled with them, capturing them, tying them down, -ordering them.</p> - -<p>Then he began to vomit.</p> - -<p>"You drink too much? Hey, buddy, you drink too much? I guess you drink -too much, maybe?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Understanding—half understanding—came with the words. He scrabbled up -the wall until he was erect. His back pressed against the vertical tile -for support. He turned and staggered from the stinking rest room, his -hands forcing clumsily against the walls.</p> - -<p>In the short hallway he could hear voices.</p> - -<p>"And when he slumped over...."</p> - -<p>"She just sat there like she was <i>thinking</i>...."</p> - -<p>"You see the cop shake her?"</p> - -<p>"I thought she was gonna hit him with the ash tray."</p> - -<p>"Well, they sure hauled her outta here!"</p> - -<p>Parr staggered back into the night club. Eyes turned to stare at him. -His head spun in nausea. He began to move leadenly toward the exit.</p> - -<p>There was a police officer in his path.</p> - -<p>The officer reached out to stop him, and he tried to shake the hand -away from his shoulder. He tried to think, to reactivate his trained -responses, knowing that he would have trouble with this man.</p> - -<p>He muttered wordlessly.</p> - -<p>The officer looked grim.</p> - -<p>"Not drunk," Parr gasped. "Sick." The officer was incredulous.</p> - -<p>Parr shook his head, and an explanation appeared from the basic -psychology of the natives: a coded scrap, death-fear.</p> - -<p>"It ... it ... was horrible ... seeing him like that."</p> - -<p>The officer hesitated.</p> - -<p>"One minute he was alive, the next minute...."</p> - -<p>"Yeah. Yeah. You better get a cab, buddy."</p> - -<p>"Fresh air. I'll be all right, with fresh air."</p> - -<p>Suddenly sympathetic, the officer helped him up the stairs.</p> - -<p>Once outside the wave of sickness began to recede. Parr waited -unsteadily while the officer signaled for a cab.</p> - -<p>As he got in the cab he whispered, "Drive."</p> - -<p>The driver looked suspiciously at his fare, but the policeman said, -"He's sick, that's all. He's just sick."</p> - -<p>The driver grunted, meshed gears.</p> - -<p>"Where to, Mister?"</p> - -<p>"Just drive," Parr said tonelessly, rolling down the window until he -felt air hitting his face. He lay back against the seat cushions.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Balloon-like, memories floated, rose, fell. He struggled with them. -Drifting away, his hotel's name. Before he lost it, he bent forward, -muttered it at the driver.</p> - -<p>The Oholo—a female, he knew now—suddenly whispered in his mind from a -distance: "You killed the wrong one, didn't you?" He struggled with his -mind shield in terror, finally got it set against her. He shivered.</p> - -<p>At the hotel, he stumbled from the cab, started in.</p> - -<p>"Hey, Mister, what about me?"</p> - -<p>"Eh?"</p> - -<p>"Money, Mister. Come on, pay up!"</p> - -<p>He fumbled at his wallet, found a bill, handed it over.</p> - -<p>In his room at last, he peeled off his suit, his underclothes.</p> - -<p>He lay prone on the coverlette.</p> - -<p>After hours, or what seemed hours, his mind was stable enough for hate.</p> - -<p>He lay in the darkness hating her. Even above the instinctive fear he -hated her.</p> - -<p>He tossed in fever thinking of after the invasion when she would be -captured. The last of the sickness ebbed away. His thoughts adjusted, -found more and more stability.</p> - -<p>Slowly he drifted toward sleep which would heal up the confusions. As -he hovered in the dark of near sleep, he felt a wash of mental assault -from too far away to be effective. Her thoughts tapped at his shield -and he dissolved it partly to let a little defiance flash out.</p> - -<p>"I'll get you!" she answered coldly.</p> - -<p>And after that, he slept, healing.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He awoke, automatically assessing the damage. It was less than he had -expected. Sleep had resolved it into tiny confused compartments.</p> - -<p>And he knew how hard it would be to keep up his shield for four weeks. -There was fatigue on it already.</p> - -<p>Then, too, there was the pressure.</p> - -<p>A gentle insistent pressure. As if to say, "I'm here." He remembered -how strong Lauri's mind was and he knew that she would be able to hold -the pressure longer than he could hold the shield. Once, in training -he had shielded for nearly thirteen days—but now, under the sapping -of his energy by physical activity, by the multiple administrative -problems, by the pressure itself....</p> - -<p>He shook his head savagely.</p> - -<p>He looked at his suit across the edge of the bed. He shuddered with the -memory of his sickness and reached for the phone to order new clothing.</p> - -<p>And the pressure. He was going to have to learn to get used to it.</p> - -<p>Later, he reported to the Ship, his voice fumbling and hesitant.</p> - -<p>The answer crackled back. "She's alerted the others, you idiot! We -picked up her message. There's four more of them down there."</p> - -<p>Parr tried to think of an excuse, knowing how pointless it would be -even to offer one.</p> - -<p>"You should have used your head," the Ship continued. "What made you -think the Oholo was necessarily male?"</p> - -<p>"I ... I don't know. I just did."</p> - -<p>"You know what happened on Zelta when an advanceman was careless? You -want that to happen here?"</p> - -<p>"I...."</p> - -<p>On Zelta? He knew it should be familiar to him. He cursed inwardly, -reaching for other memories, to see how many he had lost.... A -sentence, unbidden, flashed across his mind: "Never sell an Oholo -short." It was what someone had told him once. "They think differently -than you do." How, he pondered confusedly, could they expect him to -think like an Oholo?</p> - -<p>"I can't think like an Oholo," he said tonelessly.</p> - -<p>"You could.... Never mind."</p> - -<p>"I could? Listen, how can they be thinking, to leave a flank like this -unprotected? Why didn't they take this planet into protective custody -long ago? How can you <i>think</i> like that? They aren't logical. How could -I know they'd let a woman...."</p> - -<p>"Parr!" the Ship ordered sharply.</p> - -<p>Parr gulped. "Sorry."</p> - -<p>"Insubordination on your record."</p> - -<p>Parr clicked off the comset.</p> - -<p>Damn! he thought angrily.</p> - -<p>There was still the annoying pressure on his mind. "Damn you!" he -thought without lowering his shield. "Damn you!" he thought again, -dissolving enough of the shield to let the thought escape.</p> - -<p>She did not answer.</p> - -<p>There was a knock at the door.</p> - -<p>A man with his suit.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was almost ten o'clock when Parr arrived at the warehouse. The -windows were alive with sunshine, and through them he could see the -freshly cleaned interior.</p> - -<p>The men with the furniture were waiting, the driver angry at the delay, -his assistant indifferent. Already there was a line of job applicants -who shifted uneasily, eyes turned curiously upon Parr as he crossed and -unlocked the warehouse doors.</p> - -<p>Parr, one hand resting on the knob, said to the delivery man, "Bring -the stuff inside."</p> - -<p>The driver growled and picked up a clip board from the seat. "I gotta -bill here, doc. You wanna pay before I haul the stuff out?" He held out -the clip board, jerking it savagely for Parr's attention.</p> - -<p>Parr glanced at the sum. He reached for his wallet. One by one he -removed the bills and handed them over to the driver. When he had met -the amount there were only two bills remaining.</p> - -<p>"Now take them inside."</p> - -<p>"Okay, doc."</p> - -<p>Parr went immediately to the roof. The shed had been knocked down as he -had ordered, and the chute had been installed.</p> - -<p>The two packages were lying at the top of the chute. The bundle of -money and the sample, dummy parcel—both night deposited from the Ship. -He picked them up.</p> - -<p>Walking down the stairs, he peeled away the wrapper from one bundle, -exposing green sheaves of currency. Back on the ground floor he put the -stacks of bills on the newly arrived desk, and the dummy parcel in the -drawer. He took one of the chairs, carried it to the desk and sat down.</p> - -<p>He looked toward the door.</p> - -<p>"You, there! At the head of the line! Come here." He was careful of his -accent, realizing the necessity of impressing the waiting workers. He -was pleased to find the accent near perfect.</p> - -<p>The woman, frail and elderly, came forward hesitantly. "My name is -Anne, sir."</p> - -<p>"All right," he said, reaching for a bill from the top sheaf. "I forgot -to bring a pen and paper. Take this and go get some. You may keep the -change, and there'll be another bill when you get back."</p> - -<p>Her eyes widened. "Yes, sir." She held out a wrinkled hand.</p> - -<p>He did not need to glance toward the door again to know that an initial -and important impression had been established.</p> - -<p>After she had gone, Parr leaned back in the chair and said to the other -applicants, "You may come in now."</p> - -<p>They shuffled inside.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Parr watched them settle into chairs. As he did so, he was aware of -<i>her</i>, Lauri, holding the pressure steady on his mind, and memories of -last night came back. Concentrating away from them he tried to analyze -his feelings toward the natives. He found a mixture of contempt and -indifference.</p> - -<p>"I'm going to say this only once," he announced crisply. "I will expect -you to inform any late comers. When I have finished I will interview -each of you."</p> - -<p>He balanced his hands before him on the rim of the desk, holding them -steady. He looked around at the waiting faces. He let his mind relax, -and the speech—it had been graven on his brain in the Ship—came -bubbling to the surface. He searched forward along it, and he found it -to be complete, untouched by his contact with the Oholo. He wrinkled -his forehead and began, seeking to give the impression that each word -was being carefully considered.</p> - -<p>"I intend to hire some of you to help me sort and load packages of -promotional literature. Those hired will be paid five dollars an hour."</p> - -<p>They shuffled unbelievingly. "Yeah, but when, Mister?"</p> - -<p>Parr's mind dipped for information. "Whenever you wish to. At the -beginning of every day. Will that be satisfactory?"</p> - -<p>The listeners twisted uncomfortably, embarrassed by their doubt. "Now -you're talkin'," the original critic said.</p> - -<p>Parr cleared his throat heavily for effect. "The work day may be as -long as fourteen hours, depending on the circumstances."</p> - -<p>No questions, now.</p> - -<p>"The literature will come already packaged and labeled. It will be -delivered to the roof by helicopter, and your job will be to sort it -and transfer it to trucks." He looked them over. "I will need you for -approximately three weeks."</p> - -<p>The pressure was still on his mind, not demanding, merely present. He -writhed at it inwardly. Outwardly he was calm, his voice undisturbed.</p> - -<p>"Hey, Mister," another of them said. "I'd like to get somethin' -straight right now. You ain't havin' us to handle no explosives or -somethin' dangerous like that, are you?"</p> - -<p>It was an objection Parr had been prepared for. Scarcely thinking, he -bent to the drawer and picked up the dummy parcel. He put it on the -desk top.</p> - -<p>"There is no danger. You will need no special instructions save to -handle as you would normal mail. I have a sample package here." He bent -over and stripped off a section of wrapping paper to permit them to see -a stack of printed material.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He rippled the dummy sheets with his thumb. "The nature of the -advertising is secret for the moment, but," he lied, "this is what it -looks like." He returned the bundle to the desk. "It's just paper." -That was true, and he smiled faintly as he imagined the amount of -disorganization mere paper would be able to accomplish. For an instant, -the uncertain emotion returned as he thought of the invasion fleet, -rushing communicationless through hyperspace for its rendezvous with -Earth.</p> - -<p>"There is, of course, a reason for the high wages," he said, the words -coming automatically. "We want to hit the market before—ah—" and the -phrase and the hesitation were memorized, calculated for effect, "a -competitor."</p> - -<p>He pursed his lips speculatively. "Naturally we want to avoid -publicity. Anyone violating this requirement will be dismissed -immediately."</p> - -<p>He seemed to study the faces individually, looking for spies from the -rival company.</p> - -<p>"I will probably not require you for more than a few hours the first -several days. In that event, you will receive pay for a full eight hour -day."</p> - -<p>He stopped talking, and the applicants' faces were excited.</p> - -<p>"As soon as the woman returns with the paper, I will begin the -interviews. Those of you whom I hire will receive a fifty dollar bonus -before you leave the building."</p> - -<p>When she returned, Parr interviewed. His questions were perfunctory. -By noon, he had enough workers, and he had one of them hang out a -penciled sign reading: "Jobs Filled." After that, he closed the doors -and assembled them before him.</p> - -<p>"If you'll form a line, I'll give you your bonuses. Give me your names -to check against my list. You will sign a sheet of paper here in -receipt. I've hired enough people to take care of any of you who do not -choose to come back tomorrow, so there will be no further vacancies and -no chance to collect a second bonus.... Report for work at nine o'clock -tomorrow morning. At that time, I'll have someone here to fill out the -necessary government employment forms for each of you."</p> - -<p>Sitting at his desk, he began to count out the bills into neat little -stacks. After each applicant had signed, he pushed a stack toward him.</p> - -<p>After that he spent the afternoon making further arrangements with -truckers and locating a woman to handle the employment records of his -workers. He even had time to purchase some extra clothing and buy a few -personal articles.</p> - -<p>As night fell, while he lay comfortably naked on his hotel bed, he felt -the pressure on his mind begin to fluctuate subtly.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER V</p> - -<p>The Oholo, Lauri. Strong minded, yes. But untrained.</p> - -<p>And realizing this, Parr smiled, for it testified to the certainty -of his superiority, a superiority he should have recognized from the -beginning. He was dealing with an amateur, an Oholo who had never -received even the most elementary instruction in individual tactics.</p> - -<p>What she was doing now was glaringly obvious to a professional: -cruising the town in an attempt to locate him. But in contacting his -shield by focusing the pressure, directionally, she failed to realize -that the space variations would not only tell her of his location but -also inform him of her movements.</p> - -<p>Cautiously Parr began the defensive procedure. Step by step he engaged -the pressure with his mind, rather than letting it rest on his shield. -Then he began to counteract the distance pulsations—strengthening, -weakening, presenting a continual pressure against her questing -thoughts, compensating for her movements.</p> - -<p>But in a very short time she realized what had happened. She altered -the pressure sharply. A split second later he joined it again. The -advantage was still his. She altered once more. He followed suit. Check.</p> - -<p>He could almost feel her angry confusion. Then after a moment she let -the pressure fall into a rhythmic pattern. A lullaby of monotony that -was the result of concentration rather than of the distance variations. -He knew what to expect and after fifteen minutes it happened. She broke -the rhythm suddenly and tried to plunge inward, to center on him before -he could counter. He had not been lulled, however, and she accomplished -nothing. He met the assault easily.</p> - -<p>The rhythmic pattern returned. Every few minutes she broke the pattern -and tried to plunge in again. But his mental screen absorbed the shock.</p> - -<p>She was persistent.</p> - -<p>Finally Parr grew weary of it—then vaguely annoyed—then exasperated.</p> - -<p>When he was thoroughly uncomfortable she tried another swift -change of tactics. She began to increase the pressure, slowly, -inexorably—stronger and stronger against his defense. He blocked her, -held, retreated, held again, keeping the shield in readiness. Shortly, -perspiration stood on his forehead. Abandoning the defensive he fought -back against her.</p> - -<p>But she blocked him; they locked in a deadly mental tension of -spiraling energy that weakened Parr with each passing second.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>She held the tension longer than he would have thought possible. And -when it eased, it vanished, leaving his mind uncontacted. Instead of -relaxing, he formed his shielding, expecting a sudden assault.</p> - -<p>None came. Instead, the gentle insistent pressure returned, -undiminished by her efforts. She was stationary now; the pressure was -steady.</p> - -<p>His body had been tense for a long time. It ached, and he was -physically exhausted. His hand shook a little as he brushed at his leg, -waiting for the space variations to begin again.</p> - -<p>They did not.</p> - -<p>But the initial confidence—generated by the realization of her -inexperience—was no longer so bright.</p> - -<p>The very pressure itself now was an emotional drain and he wanted to -lower the mind shield and relax completely. But even at a distance a -mental assault would sting like a slap, like a cut, like disinfectant -in a raw wound.</p> - -<p>Under the strain, sleep was lost. Instead there was uneasiness.</p> - -<p>He tried to ignore it. He forced himself to remember his home village. -It had been a long time since he had thought of it, and at first it was -difficult. But after a while, memories began to open up with nostalgia: -the clumsy citizens with their mute opposition to the Empire, a <i>jehi</i> -farmer who had once addressed his class on planetism and afterwards -been shot, the smell of the air, the look in people's eyes, night ... -the stars....</p> - -<p>The stars were cold and bright and far away. Imposing symbols of Empire.</p> - -<p>His mind turned comfortingly on that, and his planet seemed dwarfed -and unimportant. The Empire, with its glittering capital system, the -sleek trade arteries ... the purposeful masses of citizens ... the -strength and power of it, the essential rightness of it. Something you -could feel in the air about you and smell and see. It was a thing to be -believed in, to be lost in, to surrender yourself to.</p> - -<p>It was strong, crushing opposition, rolling magnificently down the -stream of time—splintering, shattering, destroying, absorbing, growing -hungry and eternal. He was part of it, and its strength protected him. -It was stronger than everything. There could be no doubt about Empire.</p> - -<p>But a single Oholo was strong, too.</p> - -<p>He stirred restlessly on the bed, unable to dissect out the thing that -bothered him when he thought of the Empire. His thoughts had run the -full cycle, and they were back where they had started.</p> - -<p>It seemed for a moment as if his mind were a shiny polished surface, -like an egg floating beneath his skull, hanging on invisible threads of -sensation that ran to the outside world.</p> - -<p>The room was full of moonlight.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>With fascination he studied the wall paper, a flower design scrawled -repetitiously between slightly diagonal lines of blue. He concentrated -on the rough texture of the paper, let his eyes drift down to where -the paper met the cream siding, revealing twin rifts of plaster. A -thin line of chalk-like dust had fallen on the wood of the floor. The -edge of the rug, futilely stretching for contact with the wall, curled -fuzzily.</p> - -<p>A faint breeze fluttered the half drawn blinds, puffed the lace -curtains, rippled in to his bed and body.</p> - -<p><i>He was guilty of something.</i></p> - -<p>He wrinkled his face, puzzled. What was he guilty of?</p> - -<p>No answer, and the moon went behind a cloud, bringing depression -and acute loneliness, sharp and bitter. A depression bleak in its -namelessness, and terrifying.</p> - -<p>Then suddenly his mind jerked away from the thoughts.</p> - -<p>He realized he was not countering the Oholo's movements. The steady -pressure was a compensated pressure, varying as her distance. A -projection requiring mental ability he could never hope to equal. She -had learned fast. She had neatly sidestepped his defense. Terrified, he -probed beyond his shield, and for an instant received an impression of -her distance. He sat upright, shivering. She had worked much nearer. -In desperation, he launched an assault, closing his eyes, forgetting -everything else.</p> - -<p>Lightly she parried him and slapped back strongly enough to make him -wince.</p> - -<p>Then for two long hours they fought. He grappled with the pressure, -working on the theory that it was a burden no mind could carry -indefinitely.</p> - -<p>But she did not concede. Instead she continued, giving up trying to -come closer, intent on breaking down his will to resist. He checked her -with all his energy. He countered, stared at the scattered moonlight on -the rug.</p> - -<p>Energy drained from him until he wanted to scream, to plead with her. -And beyond the bleak reality of concentration he knew that she was -using twice as much energy as he was.</p> - -<p>Then she began to weaken. The pressure steadied, and he could feel her -exhaustion. She was through for the night.</p> - -<p>The sheets of the bed were damp. His body trembled. He wanted to -whimper pathetically in fancied defeat.</p> - -<p>Sleep slowly came, and the long pervasive influence of Empire, the -influence visible in concrete form on conquered planets, swept over him.</p> - -<p>But somehow he was guilty of something, he knew....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He was still tired when he awoke, instantly alert, wary. She apparently -still slept, although she held the pressure against his mind.</p> - -<p>Dawn ushered in a cloudy day, and street noises—cars, trolleys, -movement—came into the room with the utmost clarity.</p> - -<p>He would have to change hotels. That alone had an urgency to it. -Wearily he fumbled with his shield. It was still solid. He ran a hand -over his forehead, pressing against the temples.</p> - -<p>He thought of the sleeping Oholo. He dropped the shield completely, -knowing she would realize its absence. He stretched mentally for a -long, precious second, and it was with infinite relief.</p> - -<p>"Hello," he leered in the direction of Lauri. "Hello," he snarled -suddenly, tingling with excitement.</p> - -<p>No answer.</p> - -<p>"Hello! Hello! Hello!"</p> - -<p>He shielded, and hatred of her and of all Oholos—inbred hate, overcame -him. It brought an almost pathological bravado with it. The destructive -drive for revenge was a surge within him. He dropped the shield and -thought to her, slow and gloatingly, of the things in store for her -when she was safely disarmed and helpless. And he permitted his hate -to leap and caress her, and the details of the torture were etched in -passion acid.</p> - -<p>After a while, he could feel her shudder at the thoughts, and he -simpered. She seemed to lie helpless, stunned under him, spurring him -to greater imaginative excesses.</p> - -<p>Then she struck out blindly, a shivering blow that caught him unaware -between the eyes like a swung club.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He shielded. Instantly he felt the guilt of last night. He was angry -at himself, as if he had acted without really wanting to, as a Knoug -was supposed to act. And he snarled a curse.</p> - -<p>The maddening, uncompromising pressure returned. Implacable. -Patient. Unanswerable. Pressure that would drive him insane if he -had no eventual hope of release. He shuddered, and the sense of -depression—the night sense—was even more dark and terrible in -daylight.</p> - -<p>He got out of bed, reported to the Advanceship, keeping his voice low -and even.</p> - -<p>"Parr. Scheduling."</p> - -<p>"Check."</p> - -<p>The voice from the Ship was a stabbing, accusing voice. A voice that -<i>knew</i>, that had made, overnight, a secret and awful discovery about -him. He wanted to grovel before it and plead for forgiveness....</p> - -<p><i>Nonsense!</i></p> - -<p>He licked his lips nervously.</p> - -<p>"That damned female!" he shrieked.</p> - -<p>"Eh?"</p> - -<p>"That damned female, don't you see!"</p> - -<p>"Parr, what's wrong? Listen, Parr, are you all right down there?"</p> - -<p>Suddenly he relaxed. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong."</p> - -<p>"Are you sure?"</p> - -<p>"Yes," he said. "I'm just a little nervous."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He ordered the driver to stop. The building was columned, red brick, -decayed. The sidewalk before it was grimy, littered, cracked, chipped. -Listlessly, people shuffled down the street, flecks from the vortex of -humanity farther uptown drifting in the backwater of the city. Faded -overalls, jeans, thin unpressed cheap suits, frayed shirts and crumpled -soggy collars. Faces—lean, hollow, blotched; eyes that were harried, -red, tired. The women, still trying to retain the snap of movement, -were like wind-up toys, almost run down.</p> - -<p>Parr grunted at the smells of the area, and straightening up to pay -the driver, noticed distastefully the slack faces, defeated eyes and -shuffling steps.</p> - -<p>Then he knew: here, pressing in from all sides was reassurance. He -watched a haggered face, felt pity, shook off the emotion as unworthy -but still felt it. He could understand the haggered face. But distaste -returned again, for he was superior to the face. He blocked off his -mind, refusing to consider the natives any longer....</p> - -<p>He took a room inside the dingy, wasted building. He hung his extra -suit in the closet. The wall was greyish with cracking plaster and -water stains, half hidden by the dim light; the rug underfoot was -threadbare and stale. On the dresser, a Gideon Bible, nearly new.</p> - -<p>The sheets, he discovered upon turning back the bed, were dingy and -yellowish. The mattress sagged in the middle and the metal bedstead was -chipped and dented.</p> - -<p>After he was settled he reported to the Advanceship, told of his new -location and the reason for it.</p> - -<p>On his way out of the hotel he was conscious of the guilt again, and -in the street, he stopped an old man who wore a tobacco stained shirt -and gave him several of the bills from his wallet. Bribing helplessness -made him feel better.</p> - -<p>Back in the hotel that evening, renewed confidence came as he thought -how clever he had been to choose such a location; he thought of the -Oholo searching across town, her mind automatically rejecting this -location. It would take her more than one night to find him.</p> - -<p>But her mind did not seek contact with his; instead, the pressure -remained annoyingly general.</p> - -<p>She was making no attempt to locate him.</p> - -<p>He stared out the window at the pale reflection of neon from the -sidewalk. She was not even moving yet.</p> - -<p>He waited, suddenly nervous.</p> - -<p>When she finally began to move she still kept the pressure general.</p> - -<p>He checked her position and after an instant met opposition that -scattered his thoughts. But in that space, of contact he knew she had -moved closer.</p> - -<p>In terror he drew his shield in tight.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Suspense mounted in his mind. He counted his pulse beats, quieting -himself. He tried to relax. Then fearfully checked her position again. -That involved receiving a sharp slap of assault, for she had been ready -with an almost trigger response.</p> - -<p>And she was closer. She seemed to be advancing confidently.</p> - -<p>In nervous haste he began to dress.</p> - -<p>And then she struck with her full hellish power from very near at hand.</p> - -<p>Amazement and abject fear flamed in his mind. He fought to strengthen -the shield. She forced it back, got a single hot tentacle of thought -through into his mind proper, and it lashed about like a living thing -before he could force it out.</p> - -<p>Gradually he came to realize that she was not near enough for the kill.</p> - -<p>He staggered to the door, his mind numbed and spinning as if a giant -explosion had gone off by his ear.</p> - -<p>And then, somehow, he was in the street, half dressed. Somehow he -managed to find a cab. It was all a blur to him that might have taken -two minutes, five minutes, or twenty minutes. She had abandoned the -assault. She was moving closer.</p> - -<p>Then, before the cab began to move he saw her. Two blocks away. -Coming toward him. Her face was impassive, but even at a distance, the -eyes ... or was it his imagination? The focus gun ... in his pocket.... -The cab drew away. He leaned out the window, twisting back, tried to -aim at her. The shot, silent and lethal, sped away. The distance was -too great.</p> - -<p>Then a new assault, but it was too late. He held it until the cab -outdistanced it. She renewed the pressure and he could think again. And -he knew, in the back of his mind, that soon now they would meet. And he -shuddered, wondering of the outcome.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He was sick. Unbelievably, she had outguessed him. She had guessed he -would flee away from the obvious to the other extreme.</p> - -<p>His breathing was hoarse and painful, and he thought comfortingly -of his home planet; a small planet with a low sky; incredibly blue, -a trading station far removed from Earth, satisfyingly deep in the -Empire. As a boy he had often gone to the space port to watch the -ships. He remembered how he had stood watching their silvery beauty and -their naked violence. He had always been very excited by them. Always. -And they were a symbol of Empire.</p> - -<p>After the cab driver had spoken to him several times he roused himself -to say, "A hotel, any hotel."</p> - -<p>It was luck he knew, that he had been beyond effective range. She might -have guessed the correct slum hotel and stood below his window.</p> - -<p>His mind was foggy and befuddled.</p> - -<p>And he had been hurt. Much more than mentally hurt. More than -physically hurt. He wanted to hurt something in return. Only now he was -too tired.</p> - -<p>He relaxed in the seat, listened to the hiss of tires. He would be able -to sleep tonight. She could not figure out his next move, predicted on -random selection.</p> - -<p>In his new hotel room he found that his body stung and itched.</p> - -<p>And she began to search for him.</p> - -<p>He had to fight her for more than an hour, and after that he slept, -subconsciously keeping his shield on a delicate balance.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER VI</p> - -<p>The next day Parr went first to the post office and from there -immediately to the warehouse. He brought with him three manila -envelopes containing three city directories, the first responses to -his requests. He took them to the roof, checked the three cities off -his list, placed the directories at the base of the chute. Later the -helicopter would come swishing down from the night sky, collect them, -and return tomorrow evening with the compressed and labeled parcels, -one to a family, stamped with the requisite postage. The parcels, -spilling out of the compressor, would expand to a huge jumbled heap -for the natives to handle. And Parr knew he was only one of many -advancemen. The cargos would nightly spew to all points of the Earth -from the Advanceship slowly circling the globe behind the sun.</p> - -<p>Complete coverage was what the Knougs were aiming at. Here advancemen -were using the government postal system for distribution; there, making -arrangements for private delivery; elsewhere, setting up booths. -Earth had been scouted very thoroughly by four prior Intelligence -expeditions. It was an inconceivably complex network of planning, -possible only through extreme specialization in an organization made -frictionless by obedience.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>That night Lauri's pressure increased—or seemed to—and he shook his -head like a hooked fish. He began to walk faster, mumbling under his -breath.</p> - -<p>The solution, he knew, was distance. A partial solution only, for he -was bound by assignment to commuting range, not great enough to permit -him to lose her completely.</p> - -<p>The jangle and clank of a city train roused him. An interurban trolley. -It was stopped at the next corner accepting passengers.</p> - -<p>He turned and ran the quarter block to board it.</p> - -<p>As he rode toward the ocean he could feel the gradual lessening of the -pressure; it was a lessening not nearly as pronounced as he would have -felt were she trying to center on him as he fled, but sufficient to -relax him. He could feel a puzzled pressure shift after a few miles -as she checked him briefly, then an over excessive spurt of questing -thought which he countered automatically. Even if he only remained -shielded it would take her at least a week to localize him except in a -very general direction.</p> - -<p>He began to feel all of the over-charged tenseness drain out of his -muscles. He even began to take an interest again in his surroundings, -studying the buildings with appreciation. The incongruity of the -architecture was more apparent than before, due to his greater -acquaintance with the thought patterns of the natives.</p> - -<p>A bizarre sight: a temple in the style of the Spanish, low-roofed, -unpretentious, comfortingly utilitarian with no nonsense except for the -gleaming gold minaret atop it, its coiled surface outlined with neon -tubing.</p> - -<p>It drifted away, behind.</p> - -<p>Here a huddled shop, antique-filled and sedate, less than a block from -a brilliant drive-in in disk form, radially extending like a somnolent -spider.</p> - -<p>And most paradoxical of all, the false glamor of signs encouraging the -spectator to rub shoulders with excitement that was supposed to be -inside the door, but wasn't. For people who were incapable of finding -it anywhere. Parr felt suddenly sad.</p> - -<p>Odd natives, he thought. But even odder thoughts for a Knoug, he knew. -Then he felt the savage stirrings inside of him again. It brushed -away sadness. The numbered days until the invasion excited him. The -emotional surge of danger and trial and obedience were the preludes to -the necessary relief.</p> - -<p>Parr felt fully relaxed.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He got off the trolley in Santa Monica, where the night fog was -already fingering in from the ocean.</p> - -<p>He crossed the wide street, angled toward the Mira Mar hotel.</p> - -<p>In his room he stood looking out across the street over the stretch -of park that broke suddenly as a dull cliff, dropping jaggedly to the -road beneath. Beyond were buildings unusually small and squalid in sea -perspective. The beach, curving north to Malibu; and the sea itself was -overshadowed toward the Ocean Park Pier by the brazen glitter of red -neon.</p> - -<p>But the fog was quieting the scene, and isolating it. After a bit there -was no world beyond the window but the grey damp world of fog.</p> - -<p>Still the excitement beat at him. He projected his thoughts beyond the -immediate future to the bright burning of the Oholo System, the atomic -prairie fire skipping from sun to sun at the core, leaving the planets -ashes—while isolated, the periphery worlds would one by one capitulate -to Knoug power, to Knoug <i>will</i>, and become infected with Destiny.</p> - -<p>Beyond that?</p> - -<p>The doubt came, and he cringed mentally.</p> - -<p><i>He was guilty of something.</i></p> - -<p>His hands whitened on the sill, and staring into the fog he tried to -bring all of the weight of Empire to his support.</p> - -<p>But there was the memory of revolt by Knougs themselves on a tiny, -distant moon.</p> - -<p>The depression came back.</p> - -<p>... It took the Oholo four nights to locate him.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER VII</p> - -<p>The strain on his face—the heaviness of his eyes—the taut lines of -his throat. His body was exhausted.</p> - -<p>Like dripping water the pressure pounded at him.</p> - -<p>The night before, she had found him at Long Beach.</p> - -<p>He cast off the depression to find euphoria; and the two alternated -steadily with increasing peaks.</p> - -<p>His hands were nervous. Blunt thumbs constantly scrubbed blunt -fingertips in despair or anticipation.</p> - -<p>... The trucking had all been arranged for.</p> - -<p>The deliveries from the Ship occurred nightly. He had sent follow-up -letters to cities who had not responded to his first request. The -answers had finally arrived.</p> - -<p>The warehouse, floor by floor, was filling. Already some trucks were -waiting.</p> - -<p>There was the continual bump of handled packages sliding from the -chute, being sorted, being stacked. But worries piled up inside of -him: fears of an accident, a broken package, a suspicious employee, a -fire.... The Oholo, the guilt, the depression.</p> - -<p>Eagerly now he listened to the general information report from the -Ship. Most advancemen were on schedule. No irreparable accidents. -Certain inaccessible areas had been written off. A few advancemen -recalled for necessary Ship duty. One killed, replaced, in Germany. -World coverage estimated at better than seventy per cent in industrial -and near industrial areas, a coverage probably exceeding the effective -minimum—short only of the impossible goal.</p> - -<p>He had been talking to a trucker in front of him without really hearing -his own words, his fingers and thumbs rubbing in increased tempo.</p> - -<p>He hated the man as he hated everyone in the building, everyone on the -planet.</p> - -<p>The trucker shrugged. "I'll have to deadhead back. That has to go in -the bill, too."</p> - -<p>"All right," Parr snapped irritably. "Now, listen. This is the most -important thing. Each of the lots has to be mailed at the proper time. -Your bonus is conditional on that."</p> - -<p>"Okay," the trucker said.</p> - -<p>"I can't overstress the importance of that," Parr said. He handed the -slip of paper across the table. It was a list of mailing information, -Ship compiled, that was designed to assure that the packages would all -be distributed by the mails as near simultaneously as possible.</p> - -<p>"You deliver the Seattle lot, that's number, ah, eighteen on the list, -the last."</p> - -<p>"I understand."</p> - -<p>"When your trucks are loaded, you may leave. I'll pay you for lay-over -time."</p> - -<p>"I've got a bill here," the trucker said.</p> - -<p>The two huddled over it, and after the trucker had gone Parr leaned -back staring at the ceiling, his nerves quivering.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He knew what he was guilty of, at last. Knowledge came suddenly, from -nowhere like an electric shock, and it stunned him. Logically he -demanded proof; but there was no proof. It came, it was; it was beyond -logic. Nothing in his memory ... and for a moment he thought he had -lost the memory under Lauri's first vicious assault ripping into his -mind; but, and again without reason, he knew it was not in the memory -she had destroyed. She was connected with it, but not like that.... -He was guilty of treason. He could not remember the act, but he was -guilty. What? When? Why? He did not know; he was guilty without knowing -what the treason was: only the overpowering certainty of his guilt. -Wearily he let his head droop. Treason....</p> - -<p>"Mister Parr?"</p> - -<p>"Eh? Eh?"</p> - -<p>"There's somethin' heavy in this one. It don't feel like paper. I think -it's metal of some sort. Now, look, Mister Parr, I don't want to get -tied up with somethin' that's not square. You said all these packages -had paper in them. And I'd kinda like to see what else there is in -this one, Mister Parr, if you don't mind."</p> - -<p>Parr wanted to jump out of the seat and smash at the man's face. But he -forced himself to relax.</p> - -<p>"You want to open the package, is that it?" he said, gritting his teeth.</p> - -<p>"Yes, Mister Parr."</p> - -<p>"... Then go ahead and open it."</p> - -<p>Having expected refusal, the worker hesitated.</p> - -<p>"Go ahead," Parr insisted. He kept his face expressionless, although, -beneath desk top level, his hands bundled into knobby fists, white at -the knuckles.</p> - -<p>Then at the last possible second, as the worker's fingers were fumbling -at the wrapping, Parr leaned forward. "Wait a minute. It won't be -necessary to waste the parcel.... Unless you insist."</p> - -<p>The worker looked at Parr uncomfortably.</p> - -<p>A question of timing. Events hung in a delicate balance between -exposure and safety. Parr reached for the drawer of the desk, his -movements almost too indifferently slow.</p> - -<p>His hand fumbled inside the drawer. "I think I have some of the metal -samples around here," he said. His hand found the stack of gleaming -dummy disks, encircled it possessively. He tossed them carelessly on -the desk top and one rolled, wobbling, to the edge and fell to the -floor.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Puzzled, the worker bent to the one that had fallen, picked it up, -turned it over in his hand, studying it curiously.</p> - -<p>"I don't see ...," he said suspiciously.</p> - -<p>"That's our product," Parr lied. "We include some in every hundred or -so bundles. The literature explains their function."</p> - -<p>The worker shook his head slowly.</p> - -<p>"As you can see," Parr persisted gently, "they're perfectly harmless." -He tensed, waiting.</p> - -<p>"... Yeah, uh ... I think I get it. Something like them hollow cement -bricks they use to cure people of rheumatism with, huh?"</p> - -<p>Parr swallowed and relaxed. "That's the general idea. You'll see.... -Well, if you want to, go ahead and open the parcel."</p> - -<p>"Naaah," the man said foolishly. "... There wouldn't be no sense in -doin' that."</p> - -<p>Beneath the desk top again, his hands coiled and flexed in anger and -hatred. "I want your name," Parr said, a very slight note of harshness -in his voice.</p> - -<p>The worker let his eyes turn to the backs of his heavy hands, guiltily. -"Look, Mister Parr, I didn't mean...."</p> - -<p>Parr silenced him with an over-drawn gesture. "No, no," he said, his -voice normal and conciliatory. "I meant, we might be able to use a man -like you in our big plant in the East." He snarled inwardly at himself -for the unnecessary note of harshness before: it was too soon for that.</p> - -<p>Suddenly stammering with excitement, the worker said, "My name's -George ... George Hickle ... George Hickle, Mister Parr. I got good -letters from back home about my workin', sir."</p> - -<p>"Where do you live, George?"</p> - -<p>"Out on Bixel.... Just up from Wilshire, you know, where...."</p> - -<p>"I meant the number of the house, George."</p> - -<p>"Oh," George told him.</p> - -<p>Parr wrote it down. "George Hickle, uh-huh."</p> - -<p>"I'll be mighty obliged, Mister Parr, if you'll keep me in mind."</p> - -<p>"Yes. Well. Good afternoon, Hickle. You ought to be getting back to -your work now, hadn't you?"</p> - -<p>And when the worker had half crossed the room, Parr drew a heavy, black -line through the name. He had memorized it.</p> - -<p>The pencil lead broke under the pressure.</p> - -<p>And at that moment, the pressure in his mind vanished.</p> - -<p>In automatic relief, he relaxed his shielding for the first time in -what seemed years, and before he could rectify the error Lauri hit -him with everything she had, catching him just as the shield began to -reform.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Pain roared in his mind. From the force of the blow he knew that she -must be near the warehouse.</p> - -<p>It had been one quick thrust, leaving his mind throbbing and he sobbed -in impotent hate and anger.</p> - -<p>The pressure was back.</p> - -<p>And slowly and surely she was closing in on him, compensating. She had -struck prematurely, realized her mistake, and was narrowing the range, -holding the final assault until assured of victory.</p> - -<p>He stood up weakly and hurried to the door, brushing through a group of -startled workers.</p> - -<p>Outside, a cab was cruising, and Parr ran after it. It did not stop. -He turned and ran frantically in the opposite direction, rounded the -corner, still running, his heels thudding on the hot pavement.</p> - -<p>He ran for blocks, the blood pounding in his head, sweat trickling into -his eyes. Pedestrians turned to stare, looking back along his line of -flight.</p> - -<p>When Parr stopped, finally, he was trembling. He stared at his own -hands curiously, and then he looked around him.</p> - -<p>He swallowed hard. The world swam, steadied. His chest rose and fell -desperately....</p> - -<p>At the airport, he phoned the warehouse.</p> - -<p>"Hickle? Get me Hickle.... Hello, Hickle, this is Parr. Listen, Hickle, -are you listening? Hickle, I've got to leave town for two days. You've -got to run things. You understand? Listen. I've left money in the -drawer of my desk ... for the pay roll.... You know how to run things, -don't you, Hickle?... Now, listen, Hickle, there's some trucking ... -wait a minute.... Look.... You stay down there. Right there. I'll phone -you back, long distance, later. Don't go away, Hickle. Wait right -there. I'll tell you what you've got to do."</p> - -<p>The last call for his plane came over the loudspeaker.</p> - -<p>"Listen, Hickle, I've got to run. I'll phone you later, so wait. Wait -right there, Hickle!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Over Bakersfield, gratefully—infinitely gratefully—he felt the last -wisp of pressure vanish.</p> - -<p>He was free.</p> - -<p>There was no consequence powerful enough to keep him from dropping -his mind shield entirely. But he let it come down slowly, barrier by -barrier, enjoying the release, prolonging the ultimate freedom beyond.</p> - -<p>At last the roar of the motors, muffled, sang in his head like an open -song, and there was nothing between his thoughts and the world.</p> - -<p>His mind stretched and trembled and pained from the stress, and -quivered and fluttered and pulsed and throbbed and vibrated and -rejoiced.</p> - -<p>He looked out over the wing, through the whirring propellers, at the -hazy horizon, at the cloudless sky, bright and blue and infinite.</p> - -<p>It was the best day he had ever known. It was freedom, and he had never -known it before.</p> - -<p>His mind was infinitely open as the sky above the clouds, and he -stretched it out and out until he forced the limit, beyond which no -mind may go, yet wanting to plunge on.</p> - -<p>In the east, there was the dusk of night coming down, a cloak pulled -up from the other side of the world by the grapple hooks of dying -sunshine.</p> - -<p>In San Francisco he phoned Hickle in Los Angeles, a man and a place -so far removed that he wanted to shout to make himself heard over the -telephone.</p> - -<p>Then to a hotel—but now as a place of rest and refuge, not a symbol -of flight and fear. His hate returned, beautiful, now, flower-like, -delicate, to be enjoyed. To be tasted, bee-like, at his leisure.</p> - -<p>The city outside was a whirl of lights and the lights hypnotized him -with their magic. Soon he was in the streets.</p> - -<p>There were cabs and scenes: laughter, love, death, passion—everything -rolled into a capsule bundle for him. The city spread out below in a -fabric of light, the hazy blue of cigar smoke closely pressing sweaty -bodies, laughing mouths. A swirl of sensations.</p> - -<p>"Somewhere else!" he cried madly to a driver.</p> - -<p>China Town, The International Settlement, Fisherman's Wharf.... The -cabbies knew a tourist.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He had been moving for hours, and now he was tired and lost, and he -could not find a cab to get back to the Sir Francis Drake.</p> - -<p>A girl and a sailor passed. A tall lithe blonde with a pert nose and -high cheek bones and brown eyes, heavy lips and free hips ... a ... -blonde.</p> - -<p>The Oholo ... Lauri ... was a blonde.</p> - -<p>He began to cast up memories of her, sickeningly, making his fists -clench.</p> - -<p>He wanted a blonde to smile at him, unsuspecting. A blonde with honey -colored hair and a long, slim throat with a blue vein in it, so he -could watch the heart beat. He wanted to hurt the blonde, and hold her, -and caress her softly, and ... most of all, hurt her.</p> - -<p>He wanted to shake his fists at the sky and scream in frustration.</p> - -<p>He wanted to find a blonde....</p> - -<p>Finally he found one. In a small, red-fronted bar, dimly lit. She was -sitting at the end of the bar, facing the door, toying with a tall -drink, half empty, from which the ice had melted.</p> - -<p>"What'll it be, Mister?"</p> - -<p>"Anything! Anything!" he said excitedly as he slipped behind a table, -his eyes still on the woman at the bar.</p> - -<p>"And the same for me?"</p> - -<p>"Sure. Sure."</p> - -<p>She brought back two drinks, picked up a bill, turned it over in her -hand speculatively. She wore an off the shoulder dress, and high rouge -on her Mexican cheeks. She made change from her apron, putting the -money beside the second glass, sitting down in front of it, across from -him.</p> - -<p>Still he had not noticed her.</p> - -<p>Two patrons entered. They moved to a table in the far corner near the -Venetian blinds of the window and began to talk in low husky voices.</p> - -<p>"I'll be back, dearie," the woman across from Parr said, sipping her -drink, smearing the glass rim in a veined half moon.</p> - -<p>She went to serve the girls.</p> - -<p>When she came back Parr had brushed away the drink from in front of him.</p> - -<p>"Listen, dearie," she said. "You got troubles?"</p> - -<p>He grunted.</p> - -<p>She snaked an ample hand half across the table and wiggled her -shoulders to show off her breasts. "I bet I know what's wrong with you. -Same as a lotta men, dearie. Want a little fun, I bet."</p> - -<p>"Bring me that blonde," he said hoarsely.</p> - -<p>"Listen, dearie, you don't want her. What you want...."</p> - -<p>"The blonde!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Reluctantly she stood up, frightened by his tone. She put a hand over -his change, waited.</p> - -<p>He did not notice.</p> - -<p>She put the money into her apron pocket, heaving her chest.</p> - -<p>Then she got the blonde.</p> - -<p>"You wanna buy me a drink, honey?" the blonde said.</p> - -<p>"Sit down!"</p> - -<p>The blonde turned to the Mexican. "Make it a double." She sat down.</p> - -<p>"Talk!"</p> - -<p>"Whatdaya wan' me to say, honey?"</p> - -<p>"Just talk." He had seen the pulse in the vein in her neck. The neck -was skinny, and the face was pinched, lined with heavy powder. Her eyes -were weary, and her thin hands moved jerkily.</p> - -<p>"Just talk."</p> - -<p>When she saw his wallet, as he brought it out to pay, she said, "Maybe -we oughtta go somewhere to talk." Her voice was flat and nasal, and -she tossed her head. She ruffled her coarse dirty-colored hair with an -automatic gesture.</p> - -<p>Parr wanted to kill her, and his hands itched at the delicious thought.</p> - -<p>But not tonight. Not tonight. He was too tired. He ... tonight he just -wanted to think about it. And then he wanted to sleep and rest and -think.</p> - -<p>She tossed off the drink. "Another one, Bess," she said shrilly, -glancing at him.</p> - -<p>He took two bills out of his wallet, two twenties, put them on the -table, pushed one of them toward her without looking at it.</p> - -<p>She drank two more shots quickly, eagerly, hungrily, as if there was -need to rush through them and get them safely inside.</p> - -<p>She leaned across the table, her eyes heavy. "I'm gonna talk, okay? -Man wants to hear woman talk. Get yer kicks like that, okay. You're -buyin'.... Hell, I bet you think I'm a bad girl. I'm not a bed -girl—bad girl." Her hands twitched drunkenly below her flat breasts. -"There was a sonofabitch in my town.... I came from up north, Canada." -She drank again, hastily. "I could go for you, know what?... I'm -getting drunk, that's what. Fooled ja, didn't I? Listen. You wouldn't -believe this, but I can cook. Cook. Like hell. Wouldn't think that, eh? -Hell, I'm good for a lotta things. Like being walked on. Jever -wanna—walk on a girl? Listen. I knew a guy, once...."</p> - -<p>Parr said, "Shut up!" For one instant, there was sickness and -revulsion, and desire to comfort her, but it vanished almost before it -was recognized.</p> - -<p>She closed her mouth.</p> - -<p>He pushed the twenty dollar bill into her lap.</p> - -<p>"You be here tomorrow. Tomorrow night."</p> - -<p>"Okay."</p> - -<p>"You be here tomorrow night."</p> - -<p>"Sure, sure, honey."</p> - -<p>"You be here tomorrow night, and don't forget it."</p> - -<p>She smiled drunkenly. "I'm here ... most nights, honey...."</p> - -<p>"You be waiting for me."</p> - -<p>"I'm always ... waitin', honey. Ever since I remember, honey, waitin'. -Just waitin', honey."</p> - -<p>But the next morning, when Parr awoke, Lauri was trying to center on -his open mind. She was in San Francisco, looking for him.</p> - -<p>The depression came back, and the guilt—the knowledge of treason—that -made him want to go to a mirror and stand, watching blood trickle down -his face in cherry rivulets like tears.</p> - -<p>And fear.</p> - -<p>When he shielded, she resumed the pressure.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>At noon he was back in Los Angeles. Perspiration was under his skin, -waiting icily.</p> - -<p>He went directly to the warehouse.</p> - -<p>Hickle, in surprise, crossed the room to him. "Mister Parr!" he said.</p> - -<p>The right corner of Parr's mouth was twitching nervously. "Get a chair. -Bring it to the desk."</p> - -<p>When Hickle was seated before him, Parr said, "Okay. I've got some -papers. I'm going to explain them to you." He got them out. "They're -all alike in form. Here." He took off the top sheet and Hickle stood up -to see. "This number, here, is for the truck unit." He circled it and -scribbled the word "truck." "This number." He circled it. "This number -is the lot number. You see, truck number nine has lots seventeen, -twenty-seven, fifty-three, thirty-one."</p> - -<p>"I get it," Hickle said.</p> - -<p>Parr's body was trembling and he threw out a tentative wave of thought -probing for the Oholo, afraid that she might come silently, knowing his -approximate daytime location. He began to talk rapidly, explaining.</p> - -<p>It was D-Day minus seven.</p> - -<p>After fifteen minutes, he was satisfied that Hickle understood the -instructions.</p> - -<p>"There was a plain bundle this morning?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir. I wondered about that."</p> - -<p>"Get it."</p> - -<p>Hickle got it.</p> - -<p>Parr opened it. "Pay roll money, trucker money. Give the truckers their -money when they give you their bills. I'm going to trust you, Hickle."</p> - -<p>Hickle gulped. "Yes, sir."</p> - -<p>Parr began to stuff money into his wallet.</p> - -<p>She was in Los Angeles. He knew by the pressure on his mind.</p> - -<p>"I've got to hurry. Listen. I want you to keep the workers here as -long as necessary, hear? This schedule's got to be kept. And you take -a thousand dollars. And listen, Hickle. This is just chicken-feed, -remember that, when you're working for us."</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir!"</p> - -<p>He had her located, keeping his mind open to try to center on her.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He could center on her! She was only partially shielded, and she made -no protest. She was not moving, and he could ... except that there was -something wrong with the pressure. He was overlooking something. But -she was not moving. Not yet.</p> - -<p>"I've got to talk fast. All these final deliveries. You'll be busy. If -you need help, hire it. And listen, I'll be here from time to time if I -can."</p> - -<p>"There's something wrong, Mister Parr?"</p> - -<p>Parr searched for an excuse. "It's personal ... my wife, yes, my -wife, it's...." He wondered why he had used that one. It had sprung -automatically to his mind. "Never mind. I'll phone in from around town. -I'll try to help you all I can by phone."</p> - -<p>She was not moving, but the pressure seemed different ... <i>alien</i>!</p> - -<p>He jerked out of his seat, kicking the chair over as he headed for the -door.</p> - -<p>A different Oholo!</p> - -<p><i>There were two of them in Los Angeles!</i></p> - -<p>He probed out.</p> - -<p>Lauri was almost on top of him.</p> - -<p>He skidded through the door, into the street, knocking a startled man -out of his path.</p> - -<p>He stared wildly in both directions. Several blocks away a cab was -stalled with a red light.</p> - -<p>And almost before him, a private car was headed uptown. With three huge -leaps he was on the running board, yanking the door open.</p> - -<p>He jerked himself in beside the frightened driver.</p> - -<p>He twisted his head, shouting. "Emergency! Hospi...."</p> - -<p>She had seen him trying to escape. She struck.</p> - -<p>In the street, a flock of English sparrows suddenly faltered in flight, -and one plunged blindly into the stone face of a building. The others -circled hysterically, directionless, and two collided and spilled to -the ground.</p> - -<p>"Hurry, damn it!" Parr moaned at the driver. "Hurry!"</p> - -<p>He slammed forward into the windshield, babbling.</p> - -<p>The terrified driver stepped down on the accelerator. The car leaped -forward.</p> - -<p>Parr, fighting with all his strength, was twisted in agony, and blood -trickled from his mouth.</p> - -<p>He gasped at the driver: "Cab. Behind. Trying to kill me."</p> - -<p>The driver was white-faced and full of movie chases and gangster -headlines of shotgun killings, typical of Southern California. He had -a good car under him, and he spun the wheel to the right, cutting into -an alley; to the left, onto an intersecting alley; to the right, into a -crosstown street; then he raced to beat a light.</p> - -<p>He lost the cab finally in a maze of heavy traffic at Spring.</p> - -<p>Parr was nearly unconscious, and he struggled desperately for air.</p> - -<p><i>Run, run, run</i>, he thought despairingly, because two Oholos are ten -times as deadly and efficient as one....</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER VIII</p> - -<p>D-Day minus four. General mailing day.</p> - -<p>Parr, his mind fatigued, his body tense, phoned the warehouse twice, -and twice received enthusiastic reassurances behind which he could hear -the hum and clatter of parcels being moved, trucks being loaded ... -cursing and laughing and subdued shouting.</p> - -<p>How many hours now? His mind was clogged and stuffy and sluggish. An -hour's sleep, ten minutes sleep—any time at all. If it could be spent -in clear, cold, <i>real</i> sleep.</p> - -<p>Eat, run. Always, now, he was running, afraid to stop longer than a few -minutes. He needed time to <i>think</i>.</p> - -<p>And the pressure was steady.</p> - -<p>Get away. Leave Los Angeles!</p> - -<p>"Parr, Parr. This is Parr," he whispered hoarsely from the back seat of -the moving cab into the comset.</p> - -<p>The rhythm of the engine, the gentle sleepy swaying of the car and the -monotony of the buildings lulled him. He caught himself, shook his head -savagely.</p> - -<p>Dimly he could understand the logic advising him to remain in the city. -But it was not an emotional understanding and it lacked the sharpness -of reality. For now the two Oholos could follow him easily, determining -his distance and direction. If he left Los Angeles, the focus of the -invasion, it would be difficult to return after postal delivery. After -the invasion it would be nearly impossible. It would give the Oholos -added time to run him down. But to remain.... His body could not stand -the physical strain of four more days of continual flight, around, -around, up Main—to the suburbs—to the ocean—back to Main again—down -the speedway to Pasadena and through Glendale to Main. Change cabs and -do it all over again.</p> - -<p>"Yes?" the Advanceship said.</p> - -<p>"I'm ... leaving. I've got to leave. I've got to." And suddenly, -in addition to the other consideration, he was afraid to be there -when the invasion hit. Was it because he was afraid they knew of his -treason? Or ... was it because ... he liked the buildings? Strangely, -he did not want to see the buildings made rubble....</p> - -<p>The answer: "You have a job to do."</p> - -<p>"It's done!" he cried in anguish. "Everything's scheduling. In a few -hours now it'll be all over. I can't do anymore here."</p> - -<p>A pause.</p> - -<p>"You better stay. You'll be safer there."</p> - -<p>"I <i>can't</i>!" Parr sobbed. "They'll catch me!"</p> - -<p>"Wait."</p> - -<p>A honk. The purr of the engine. Clang. Bounce. Red and green lights.</p> - -<p>"... If the mailings are secure, you have the Ship's permission. Do -whatever you like."</p> - -<p>Expendable.</p> - -<p>Parr put the comset in his coat pocket and cowered into the seat.</p> - -<p>"Turn right!" he said suddenly to the driver. "Now ... now.... Right -again!"</p> - -<p>He bounced.</p> - -<p>He closed his eyes, resting them. "Out Hill," he said wearily without -opening his eyes.</p> - -<p>He withstood an irritated mental assault. They were tiring. But not as -fast as he was.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The silent pursuit: three cars out of the multitudes, doggedly -twisting and turning through the Los Angeles streets—separated -by blocks, even by miles, but bound by an unseen thread that was -unbreakable.</p> - -<p>"I gotta eat, buddy."</p> - -<p>Parr drew himself erect. "A phone! Take me to a phone!"</p> - -<p>The taxi ground to a stop in a service station.</p> - -<p>Nervously, Parr began to phone airports. Three quarters of his mind was -on his pursuers.</p> - -<p>On the third try he got promise of an immediate private plane.</p> - -<p>"Have it ready!" he ordered. Then, dropping the receiver he ran from -the station to the cab.</p> - -<p>He jockeyed for nearly thirty minutes for position.</p> - -<p>Then he commanded the driver to abandon the intricate inter-weaving and -head directly for the airport in Santa Monica.</p> - -<p>Shortly, the two other cars swung in line, down Wilshire.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The job of softening up Earth for the invasion began to pass entirely -from the hands of the advancemen. From a ticklish, dangerous -proposition at first to a virtual certain mailing day. The world wide -mechanism of delivery swung into operation from time zone to time zone, -and, in the scheme of conquest the advancemen passed from integral -factors to inconsequential objects.</p> - -<p>All over America, from East to West, within the space of a single -day the post office became aware of the increased, the tremendously -increased volume. Previously in certain sections there had been -signals in the form of out-bound dribbles. Now there were in-bound -floods rising suddenly to the peak intensity of overtime inundations. -A million packages, some large, some small, some brown wrapped, white -wrapped, light, heavy—no two alike, no way to tell the new influx from -the normal handling.</p> - -<p>At the very first each office saw the rush as a unique phenomenon—for -there was no reason to report it to a higher echelon which might have -instituted an investigation. Merely to take care of the rush, that was -all. To process the all-at-once congestion of parcels to be door to -door delivered. Later to be marveled at.</p> - -<p>Lines formed at parcel windows; trucks spewed out their cargos. Lights -burned late; clerks cursed and sweated; parcels mounted higher and -higher.</p> - -<p>Nor did it break all at once in the press. The afternoon editions -carried a couple of fillers about how Christmas seemed to be coming -early for the citizens of Saco, Maine, and how a tiny Nevada town whose -post office was cob-webby from lack of use suddenly found itself doing -a land office business.</p> - -<p>Most of the morning editions carried a whimsical AP article that the -late radio newscasters picked up and rebroadcast. Then after most West -Coast stations were off the air for the night events began to snowball -in the East.</p> - -<p>The breakfast newscasts carried the first stories. The morning -papers began to tie in the various incidents and reach astonishing -conclusions....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The propeller was not even turning over. The plane, wheeled out of the -hangar, was waiting, cold, and the pilot lounged by the office, smoking -a cigarette.</p> - -<p>The sky was black, and here and there before the blatant searchlights -sprouting from dance halls and super markets, clumps of lacy California -clouds fluttered like dingy sheepwool in a half-speed Mix-Master.</p> - -<p>Parr, tossing a handful of bills at the driver, leaped from the cab and -ran frantically toward the office.</p> - -<p>The wait was terrible. Should the Oholos arrive, he was boxed in -spaciously, with no escape. In gnawing at the inner side of his lower -lip, he bit through his disguise into real flesh and real blood.</p> - -<p>There were forms to sign, responsibility to be waived.</p> - -<p>And with every minute, <i>they</i> drew nearer.</p> - -<p>Finally the airplane motor coughed into reluctant life, and Parr could -feel the coldness of artificial leather against his back.</p> - -<p>The ship shuddered, moved heavily, shifted toward the wind onto the -lighted runway. The motor roared louder and louder and the ship -trembled. Slowly it began to pick up speed, the wings fighting for -lift.</p> - -<p>A searchlight from the pier made a slow ring of light toward the -invisible stars.</p> - -<p>The ground fell away and Parr was on his way to Denver.</p> - -<p>Almost immediately, with the pressure still on his mind but fading -swiftly, he fell into a fitful sleep and dreamed of treason, while, -in the background ominous clouds shifted and gathered to darken the -sun of his native planet. Finally, all was a starless black except for -half-forgotten faces which paraded before him, telling his treason with -hissing tongues in words he could not quite grasp the meaning of.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The air of Denver was clear and bright—crystal clear, drawing in the -mountains, opening up the sky like a bent back box top. The new sun -seemed small.</p> - -<p>Parr stood on a street corner acutely aware of the thin air and the -bright clean sky. An open sky that seemed to be trying to talk to -him. He snorted at the absurdity of the thought but he strained half -consciously to listen.</p> - -<p>He walked on, his feet tapping sharply on the concrete, his mind foggy -from the uncomfortable sleep.</p> - -<p>A building to the left momentarily reminded him of a slide shown long -ago in a classroom on a distant planet, and he wondered if the picture -had been taken in this city (knowing, deeply, that it could not have -been).</p> - -<p>Parr took a newspaper from a stand. Tucking it under his arm he -continued to walk until he found a hotel.</p> - -<p>He ate breakfast hurriedly in the annex and then rented a room with a -radio. He went to it, lay relaxing on the bed, his mind open and free -but uneasy again as he thought of treason.</p> - -<p>"Parr," he said into the comset. "I'm in Denver."</p> - -<p>"Have you escaped?"</p> - -<p>"They will follow me," Parr said wearily. "But for the moment, I'm -free."</p> - -<p>"We'll send our Denver advanceman to you," the Ship said. "The two of -you should be able to handle the Oholos."</p> - -<p>Parr's mouth was dry. He named the hotel.</p> - -<p>"Wait, then."</p> - -<p>He lay back but felt no exultation. He tried to force it, but there was -nothing.</p> - -<p>And then, staring at the headlines, knowledge of success broke all -around him and he was trembling and jubilant. He sprang up, paced the -room, moving his hands restlessly.</p> - -<p>He rushed to the window, looked out into the street. The people below -passed in a thin nervous stream. Unusually few; many more were glued at -home, waiting for the mail.</p> - -<p>A postal delivery truck turned the corner, rolled down the street -before the hotel. All action ceased; all eyes turned to watch its path.</p> - -<p>Parr wanted to hammer the wall and cry, "Stop! Stop! I've got to ask -some questions first! Stop! There's something wrong!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Parr was shaking. He sat on the bed and began to laugh. But his -laughter was hollow.</p> - -<p>His victory—a Knoug victory.... He frowned. Why had he automatically -made a differentiation where there should be none? He realized that the -mailing success had released him from nervous preoccupation in Knoug -work; for the first time he was free of responsibility, and he could -think ... clearly ... about.... He wanted to hammer the terrifying new -<i>doubts</i> out of his mind. But they gathered like rain clouds. He went -to the mirror and fingered his face. "What's wrong? What's wrong?" -Knoug victory had a bitter taste.</p> - -<p>He suddenly pictured the civilization around him as a vast web -held in tension by a vulnerable thread of co-operation, now slowly -disintegrating as the thread crumbled. And he took no joy in the -thought.</p> - -<p>He began to let images float in his mind. Imagined scenes, taking place -beyond the walls.</p> - -<p>A man went in to pay off a loan, his pockets stuffed with money.</p> - -<p>"I'm not taking it."</p> - -<p>"Whatsa matter? It's legal tender. You <i>gotta</i> take it."</p> - -<p>Bills on the counter.</p> - -<p>"You didn't earn that!"</p> - -<p>"It don't matter."</p> - -<p>"It isn't any good. Everybody's got it."</p> - -<p>"That don't <i>matter</i>."</p> - -<p>"It's worthless!"</p> - -<p>"Yeah? Listen: 'For all debts, public and private....'"</p> - -<p>Parr's mind reached out to grasp the unsettling immensity of it. He -flipped on the radio, half heard an excited announcer.</p> - -<p>Parr thought: All over the world, each to his own: coins, bills, -dollars, rupees, pesos, pounds—how many million parcels were there? -Each stuffed with enough to make its owner a man of wealth, as wealth -was once measured.</p> - -<p>Parr thought it was terrifying, somehow.</p> - -<p>And the headline of the paper admitted: "No Test To Reveal Good Money -From Bad."</p> - -<p>(There was a mob. They were storming a liquor store, while the owner -cowered inside. He was waiting for the police. But the police were too -busy elsewhere, so finally, to salvage what he could before the mob -took his stock for nothing he opened the door, crying, "Form a line! -Form a line!")</p> - -<p>Parr thought of the confusion that would grow.</p> - -<p>Prices spiraling.</p> - -<p>(In the United States Senate, a member took the floor to filibuster -until California had its mail delivery and its fair share of the free -money.)</p> - -<p>This was the day work stoppages would begin.</p> - -<p>FAMINE PREDICTED.... PRESIDENT IN APPEAL TO.... GUARD MOBILIZED....</p> - -<p>Riots. Celebrations. (A church burned the mortgage gratefully.) Clean -shelves. Looming scarcity.</p> - -<p>By the time the sun dipped into the Pacific, the whole economic -structure of the world would be in shambles.</p> - -<p>Governments doubtless would blame each other (half-heartedly), propose -new currency, taxes, and the gold standard again.</p> - -<p>Industrial gears would come unmeshed as workers took vacations. -Electric power, in consequence would begin to fail.</p> - -<p>(Looting already occupied the attention of the better part of the -underworld, and not a few respectable citizens decided to get it now -and store it for use when it would be unavailable because others had -done likewise.)</p> - -<p>Stagnation tomorrow. But as yet, the fear and hysteria had not really -begun. Parr shuddered, sickened. "What have I <i>done</i>?"</p> - -<p>It would take months to unmuddle the chaos.</p> - -<p>Earth was ripe for invasion....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Parr aroused from a heavy stupor. The pressure was back. He moaned, and -the knock on the door jolted him into startled animal movement.</p> - -<p>The knob turned. Parr tensed, although he could tell that the Oholo -team was still distant. "Who is it?"</p> - -<p>The door opened and a disguised Knoug slipped through. Immediately -behind him a simian-like Earthman towered. "Come in," the Knoug said. -When they were inside, he shut the door.</p> - -<p>"The Ship sent me over," the Knoug said. "You wanted help? My name's -Kal. You probably remember me on Ianto?"</p> - -<p>Parr swung his legs from the bed and stood up. "You feel the pressure?"</p> - -<p>Kal rumbled angrily.</p> - -<p>"Two Oholos," Parr said. "I've been dodging them."</p> - -<p>"Two, eh? Okay. It's a good thing I brought Bertie along. Two, you say. -Well I'll be damned."</p> - -<p>Kal turned to the Earthman. "There'll be two, Bertie. So watch -yourself...."</p> - -<p>Bertie grunted noncommittally.</p> - -<p>"Okay. Now like I told you, shoot when I give you the mental signal. -You'll see the ones."</p> - -<p>"Uh-huh," Bertie said, chewing complacently.</p> - -<p>"Go on downstairs then."</p> - -<p>Bertie hunkered forward and leered at Parr. "Sure. Sure."</p> - -<p>"Hurry the hell up," Kal said.</p> - -<p>Bertie shuffled to the door, opened it, left the room.</p> - -<p>Parr swallowed uneasily.</p> - -<p>Kal chuckled. "Good one, Bertie. Useful. Damn this pressure. Glad I -brought him. They won't be looking for an Earthman, eh? So when they -try to come in here after us, he'll drop 'em, eh?"</p> - -<p>Parr wet his lips. "They're getting nearer."</p> - -<p>"Relax," Kal said. He crossed to the bed and sat down. "The Fleet's -out. It just came out. Did you hear?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Parr felt a shock of surprise. He imagined the hundred powerful -ships of the fleet coming, one by one, from the dead isolation of -hyperspace. In his mind's eye he could see the faint glimmer of the -static shield—the protective aura—form slowly in real space; he could -imagine the ships safe within their electric sheaths which caught the -hull-wrenching force of transition and dissipated it from the heavy -steel plating. He could imagine one ship—perhaps one—popping out, -shieldless, battered by the force vortex, and perhaps leaking air or -ruptured entirely because the protective aura had collapsed under -pressure. Then he saw the ships neatly pulling into formation, grouping -for instructions, waiting for the attack signal.</p> - -<p>"Day after tomorrow they attack," Kal said.</p> - -<p>"They're closer," Parr whispered.</p> - -<p>Kal concentrated. "Yeah. I feel them. Come to the window." He stood up -and crossed the room in quick cat-like strides.</p> - -<p>Parr followed him and the two of them stared down. Perspiration stood -on Parr's forehead. After a moment they saw Bertie come out from -beneath the hotel awning. He seemed small at a distance, and they -saw him toss a cigarette butt carelessly to the sidewalk. He moved -leisurely away from the entrance and leaned against the side of the -hotel, one hand in his overcoat pocket.</p> - -<p>Kal sneered, "You think they'll drive right up?"</p> - -<p>Parr's face twitched. "I don't know ... if they know there's two of -us...." He glanced left along the street. "I guess they will. I guess -they'll try to come right in after us."</p> - -<p>Kal chuckled. "That's good. That's damned good, eh?"</p> - -<p>Parr turned to stare at him. "They're strong."</p> - -<p>"They won't be looking for Bertie."</p> - -<p>"Listen," Parr whispered hoarsely. "They're stronger than we are."</p> - -<p>Kal snarled a curse.</p> - -<p>"No," Parr said intently. "They are."</p> - -<p>"Shut up!"</p> - -<p>"Listen," Parr said. "I know. I've...."</p> - -<p>Kal turned slowly. "They're not stronger. They <i>couldn't</i> be stronger. -Even if Bertie misses, we'll get them. If they're so strong, why -haven't they already carried the fight to us? If they're so strong, -they should be ready to attack us, so why don't they?"</p> - -<p>He turned back to the window.</p> - -<p>"They're almost here," Parr said.</p> - -<p>A cab turned the corner. "Feel them center on us?" Parr said, drawing -down his shield as tightly as he could.</p> - -<p>Kal, tense-faced, nodded.</p> - -<p>Parr stared fascinated as the cab screeched to a halt.</p> - -<p>Then Parr felt a wave of sickness and uncertainty; he reached out for -Kal's elbow. "Wait!" he cried.</p> - -<p>But already, below, Bertie jerked into explosive action.</p> - -<p>He shot three times. The male Oholo pitched forward to the gutter.</p> - -<p>Bertie's gun exploded once more, but the muzzle was aimed into the air. -He crumpled slowly, and the gun clinked to the sidewalk from nerveless -fingers.</p> - -<p>"He got one," Kal said in satisfaction. "The other one must be quicker -'n hell."</p> - -<p>Parr let out a tired sigh.</p> - -<p>"That's that," Kal said. "... I'll be damned, a female Oholo! She won't -dare to try two of us alone."</p> - -<p>Parr's eyes were fixed below. In what seemed a dream, he watched her -get out of the cab. She glanced up and down the street. She looked up, -quickly, toward their window. And then she darted across the sidewalk -toward the hotel entrance.</p> - -<p>"I'll be damned!" Kal cried. "She's coming up anyway!" His eyes -sparkled gleefully. He searched his lips with his tongue. "Let's both -hit her now! She's near enough!"</p> - -<p>"No!" Parr cried sharply. "No! Let her get closer.... Let's ... let's -make sure we get her."</p> - -<p>They could feel her nearing them, not quickly, not slowly, but with -measured steps.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER IX</p> - -<p>She was just outside the door and Parr felt something like momentary -confusion before the hate came. Yet when it did it was tinged and -colored as he thought of her walking toward them, alone. He tried to -concentrate on her remembered image, tried to call up the previous hate -in all its glory. He could not; instead, even the hate he knew drained -away. In its place he felt—not fear exactly—not fear for himself but -of the inevitability of death. Not his death—hers.</p> - -<p>He saw Kal's lips curl, and then he winced. Fingernails dug into his -palms.</p> - -<p>And the door opened and she stood before them. There was a breathless -instant, absolutely still, while time hung fire. Her eyes were aflame. -Eyes, he knew, that were capable of softness as well. Eyes steady, -intent, unafraid. He was frozen in delicious surprise that tingled -his spine, and he felt his scalp crawl. He also felt deep awe at her -courage.</p> - -<p>She came into the room, closed the door, stood with her back leaning -lightly against it. Her eyes blazed into his.</p> - -<p>Her red lips moved delicately. "Hello," she said. "I've been looking -for you." She had not glanced at Kal.</p> - -<p>"Now!" Kal cried wildly.</p> - -<p>Parr wanted to scream something meaningless, but before the sound -could bubble forth the room seemed to erupt into a colored blaze. She -had struck at him with a lethal assault!</p> - -<p>He reeled, fighting back for his life, conscious now of Kal fighting at -his side.</p> - -<p>Her eyes were steady, and her face frowned in concentration. She was -icy calm in the struggle and there was cold fury in her whips of -thought. But slowly, under their resistance, her eyes began to widen in -surprise.</p> - -<p>For a breath-held moment, even with the two of them against her, the -issue seemed in doubt; Kal half crumpled, stunned by a blast of hot -thought that seared away his memory for one instant.</p> - -<p>She could not turn fast enough to Parr, nor could she, in feinting his -automatic attack, strike again at Kal. Then again, the two of them were -together, and slowly, very slowly, they hedged her mind between them -and shielded it off.</p> - -<p>Kal recovered.</p> - -<p>Parr gritted his teeth in a mental agony he could not account for and -stripped at her outer shield. Kal came in too and the shield began to -break.</p> - -<p>The Oholo still stood straight and contemptuous in defeat, her eyes -calm and deadly as she still struggled against them.</p> - -<p>She struck once; more with fading strength and Parr caught the thrust -and shunted it away. And then he was in her mind.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He held a stroke that would burn like a sun's core, and almost hurled -it. But there was a great calmness before him and he hesitated a -fraction of a second in doubt as he stared deep into her glazing eyes. -He felt his heart throb in new pain.</p> - -<p>Kal struck over him, and the Oholo went limp, suddenly, and sank -unconscious to the floor, a pathetic rag doll. A tiny wisp of thought -struggled out and faded.</p> - -<p>Kal cried in triumph and gathered for the final blow.</p> - -<p>Great, helpless rage tore at Parr then, and almost before he realized -it he sent a powerful blast into Kal's relaxing shield. Kal rocked to -his heels, dazed, and his left hand went to his eyes. He whirled, lax -mouthed, surprised.</p> - -<p>"What...?"</p> - -<p>"She's mine!" Parr screamed wildly, "She's mine!"</p> - -<p>"The hell—"</p> - -<p>In fury Parr slapped the other Knoug a stinging blow across the mouth. -"Get out! Get out! Get out or I'll kill you!"</p> - -<p>Kal's eyes glazed in surprise.</p> - -<p>Parr was panting. "I'll finish her," he gasped. "Now get out!"</p> - -<p>Kal's eyes met his for a moment but they could not face the anger in -Parr's.</p> - -<p>"Get out or I'll kill you!" Parr said levelly, his mind a welter of -emotions that he could not sort out and recognize.</p> - -<p>Kal rubbed his cheek slowly. "Okay," he said hoarsely. "Okay."</p> - -<p>Parr let breath out through his teeth. "Hurry!"</p> - -<p>Kal's lips curled. His shoulders hunched and he seemed about to -charge. But Parr relaxed, for he saw fear in the Knoug's eyes. Kal -straightened. He shrugged his shoulders indifferently, spat on the -carpet without looking at Parr and stepped over the unconscious Oholo. -He jerked the door open and without looking back slammed it behind him.</p> - -<p>Parr was trembling and suddenly emotionally exhausted.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Parr's knees were water. He stared fascinated at the fallen Oholo. He -sank to the bed. He let his thoughts touch her unconscious mind as it -lay exposed and helpless, and he wondered why he did not strike the -death blow. He tried to think of stripping her mind away slowly, layer -by layer, until she lay a helpless babbling infant, her body weak and -pliant to his revenge. But he thought of her clear eyes and he was -sickened and ashamed.</p> - -<p>He called up memories of Oholos—the captured few—and now for the -first time he knew general respect rather than hate. And thinking of -Knougs, he writhed.</p> - -<p>Yet he was conditioned to hate and he was conditioned to kill. He -must kill, for the conditioning was strong. He tried to fight down -the revolt of his thoughts, and, in recognizing the revolt at last, -knowledge came. The guilt of treason. Not for any act. His treason was -doubt, and doubt was weakness, and weakness was death. He could not be -weak for the weak are destroyed. But he seemed, for a heart beat, to -see through the fabric of Empire which was not strength at all. No he -thought, I've believed too long. It's in my blood. There's nothing else.</p> - -<p>He went to the wash basin and drew a glass of water. He carried it to -the Oholo, knelt by her head and bathed her temple with his dampened -handkerchief until she moaned and threw an arm weakly over her -forehead. Her hand met his, squeezed, relaxed, and was limp again.</p> - -<p>He carried her to the bed and sat beside her, staring at her clear -face, which was an Earthface. (I've been in this body too long, he -thought, I'm beginning to think all wrong.) For the face was not -without beauty for him.</p> - -<p>He shook his head dazedly, trying to understand himself.</p> - -<p>(Here is the enemy, he thought. How do I know? I have been told ever -since I can remember. But is it true? Does saying it make it true? But -what else can I believe? One must believe something!)</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>She opened her eyes, stared at him uncomprehending. He waited patiently -as she gathered her loose thoughts and tied them down. She smiled -uncertainly, not yet recognizing him.</p> - -<p>Finally he could see understanding in her eyes.</p> - -<p>"Your mind is too weak to fight," he said. "If you try to shield I will -kill you."</p> - -<p>Her lips curled. "What do you want?"</p> - -<p>"Don't try to shield," he warned. He studied her face and his chest was -tight. He looked away from her face.</p> - -<p>"I've got to ask you some questions," he said. "After that, I'm going -to kill you."</p> - -<p>There was no fear in Lauri's eyes. "Go ahead," she said calmly. "Kill -me."</p> - -<p>"I ... I ... want to ask you something first," he said. "I've got to -ask you some questions."</p> - -<p>Her lips glistened and he felt sympathy that he could not understand. -And seeing her frown, he shielded the thoughts from her.</p> - -<p>"You're not ... quite like I thought you were," she said, very calmly.</p> - -<p>"I am!" he snarled. "I am what you thought!" He was ashamed of the -sympathy he had let her sense, and then he was ashamed of being -ashamed, and his mind was confusion.</p> - -<p>"Why did you—did you leave this planet as an unprotected flank, like -this?" he said. It was a question, he knew, that had to be answered, -before ... before ... what?</p> - -<p>"They weren't ready to join us," she said.</p> - -<p>"What do you mean?"</p> - -<p>"They were not developed enough to join us," she said.</p> - -<p>"Why didn't you conquer them!" he insisted. "You were strong enough. -Why didn't you conquer them?"</p> - -<p>She said: "We couldn't do that. We don't have any right to do that."</p> - -<p>In that instant, it all became clear. Suddenly truth overwhelmed him, -wave after wave, like a sickness. "No!" he cried. "No!" He dropped his -head into his hands. "Lies," he murmured. "Lies, lies, lies!" He saw -the wrongness, the terrible wrongness, and he searched desperately over -his life for repudiation, an excuse. But he found none.</p> - -<p>They had come to him and said, This is the law of life. And they took -him and trained him, and showed him nothing else. He had been scarcely -a child at the first school of soldiery, and they had fashioned his -mind, a pliant mind, and ground doubts out (if there had been any.) -They told him that the law was strength, and strength was destiny, and -destiny was to rule those below, obey those above, and destroy those -who did not agree. There were no friends and enemies—only the rulers -and the ruled. And the ruler must expand or die of admitted weakness.</p> - -<p>"It's all lies!" he said. He felt the crumbling away of the certainty -he had lived by. And before the helpless Oholo he felt weak and -defeated and suddenly he realized that his mind shield was down.</p> - -<p>She reached out gently to touch him.</p> - -<p>Below, a police siren wailed in the streets. A car for corpses.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He tried to shake the hand away. "They lied," he said. "They lied about -everything. They lied that you were ready to conquer us. They told us -you were cowardly and would kill us if we did not kill you first, and -that we must take...."</p> - -<p>She said: "It was worse than we thought. We did not think you were -strong enough to attack us. Not here. We thought if we let you alone -you would collapse of your own weight."</p> - -<p>"I never knew," he said. "There wasn't any way to know. You have to do -what everyone else does. You get to think they must be right." He made -a small sound. "When I first came here—it started to bother me, when -I saw the planet was unprotected—when I saw how strong you were.... -But I had so many things to do. I was too busy to think. But I felt -something at the very first about your presence here...."</p> - -<p>She stirred restlessly on the bed. He knew that he was defenseless -before her because she had recovered, but she did not strike out. -"Trying to help them," she said. "A few of us came to help them. They -needed us. We were trying to prevent a war. And a few more years—if -we'd ... but that's gone now. You'll destroy it all."</p> - -<p>He stood from the bed and it creaked.</p> - -<p>"We were slowly changing their governments," she said. "We would have -succeeded." He felt her mind slowly gather, and there was infinite -bitterness, and he tensed. But still she did not strike at him.</p> - -<p>"I want you to go," Parr said. "Before the other Knoug comes back. Get -out."</p> - -<p>Words damned up inside him. He had been trained to hate and trained to -kill. The emotions were loose now. There was no outlet for them. He was -frustrated and enraged. Hate bubbled about in him, fermenting. He had -been trained to hate and to kill. Lauri winced as she felt the turmoil. -"Get out!" he screamed.</p> - -<p>The door crashed open.</p> - -<p>Three figures lunged through.</p> - -<p>"Lauri, thank God!" one of them cried. "We thought he'd killed you."</p> - -<p>Parr suddenly found his arms held by two Oholos.</p> - -<p>"We got here as soon as we could pick up your thoughts."</p> - -<p>Lauri said, "Jen is already dead."</p> - -<p>One of the Oholos slapped Parr's face savagely. "We'll kill this one -for that!" he snarled.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Lauri sprang from the bed and sent the weapon spinning from the hand of -the leader of the three Oholos. He gave a startled gasp. The weapon hit -the carpet and slammed to rest against the far wall. "Don't!" she cried.</p> - -<p>"You're crazy!" the leader snarled. "What's wrong with you?"</p> - -<p>"He saved my life," Lauri said, panting.</p> - -<p>"He's Knoug," the leader sneered. "You know damned well he was trying -to use you for something or other."</p> - -<p>Parr stared, fascinated. He was surprised to find that he was not -afraid. The shock of capture had not yet passed, and he seemed to be -watching a drama from which he was removed.</p> - -<p>"No!" Lauri said. "No, he wasn't!"</p> - -<p>"How can you say that, Lauri? Look what he's done! Look what he's -already done!"</p> - -<p>"Unshield, Parr, show them," Lauri commanded.</p> - -<p>Parr hesitated, trying to divine the plot and see what was required of -him.</p> - -<p>"It's a trick," the leader said. "They've got some way to fool us, even -with an open mind!"</p> - -<p>Lauri's eyes were wide.</p> - -<p>The leader jerked his hand. "Kill him," he instructed.</p> - -<p>The Oholo on Parr's left released Parr's arm and reached inside his -coat for a weapon.</p> - -<p>Lauri darted across the room and pounced on the weapon lying at the -base of the wall. She seized it and rolled over. She aimed it steadily -at the Oholo on Parr's left. "Don't do that," she said. "Let him go." -She got to one knee.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Parr felt the grip ease on his right arm. He stood free. And for the -first time—with strange hope—the feeling of unreality vanished.</p> - -<p>"You're insane!" the Oholo on Parr's right rasped.</p> - -<p>She jerked the muzzle of the weapon. "I told you. He saved my life. He -could have killed me. He didn't."</p> - -<p>"A trick!"</p> - -<p>"Get away from him!"</p> - -<p>Reluctantly the two stood back, and the leader shifted uneasily on his -feet.</p> - -<p>"Don't you try it," Lauri suggested. "For all you know, I might really -shoot. You aren't that quick."</p> - -<p>Parr let out his breath.</p> - -<p>"You!" she snapped at him. "Get to the door!"</p> - -<p>Dazed, he obeyed her. He shook his head to clear it. He was afraid they -would try to stop him.</p> - -<p>"Open it!"</p> - -<p>He opened the door and hesitated, looking at her.</p> - -<p>"I'm coming," she snapped. Still covering the three Oholos she got to -her feet and began to back toward him. "Don't follow," she warned the -three before her.</p> - -<p>"You know what this means?" the leader said. "You know what it means to -help the enemy?"</p> - -<p>"Go on out," she told Parr. "He saved my life," she said doggedly.</p> - -<p>He obeyed. She followed him. She fumbled for the door knob, found it. -"Run!" she cried. She slammed the door.</p> - -<p>They ran desperately for the stairs. Their feet pounded on the soft -carpet as they clattered down. She was almost abreast of him.</p> - -<p>"Help me!" she cried when they passed the first landing.</p> - -<p>And a moment later Parr knew what she meant. They were trying to tear -into his mind, and she was holding them off with her own shield. He -joined her as well as he could, marveling at the vast strength she had -recovered.</p> - -<p>"Hurry!" she cried. "I can't hold it much longer." She lurched into him -and he put an arm around her waist.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>And then they were through the lobby and into the silent street. No -curious spectators were lingering to stare at the drying patch of dirty -brown in the gutter beyond the awning.</p> - -<p>"This way!" she cried.</p> - -<p>As they fled on the pressure weakened. She was running fleetly at his -side now, her brow unfurrowed, and yet he knew that she was still -holding the shield under terrific pressure.</p> - -<p>"In here," she gasped, suddenly turning into a narrow alleyway. "Stop!" -she said. She half dragged him down to the pavement behind a row of -packing crates.</p> - -<p>"They'll be right after us!" he panted.</p> - -<p>"No. Listen. Follow my lead. I think I can blanket us, if you help me."</p> - -<p>Parr felt the warmth of her thoughts around him, and then they began -to go up beyond his range and he had to strain to stay with them. -Underneath her thoughts his mind began to quiet, and, in a moment he -felt—isolation.</p> - -<p>"Help, here," she said.</p> - -<p>He saw the weakness and strengthened it. With her helping, he found the -range less high, and he could almost relax under it. And their minds -were very close together, and their thoughts were completely alone. -"We're safe here," she whispered.</p> - -<p>He listened to his own far away breathing, and heard hers, too, softer -but labored.</p> - -<p>They crouched, waiting, and the street before them was quiet in the -sunlight, for the mail trucks were out, and no taxis moved. The -city—for the moment—was deathly still and waiting uneasily. The high -air was sharp in his lungs.</p> - -<p>"They've missed us," she said at length. "Wait! They're.... They're -after ... it's another Knoug. They think we've separated, and they -think it's you."</p> - -<p>"That would be Kal," Parr said. "He must have been waiting nearby." He -brought out the comset. "He must have seen us come out together."</p> - -<p>He flicked open the comset, heard, "... joined with the Oholos. Parr -and the other just left the hotel together."</p> - -<p>"He's told the Advanceship," Parr said to the girl.</p> - -<p>"It doesn't make any difference," Lauri replied wearily.</p> - -<p>And Parr breathed a nervous sigh, for the hate had found its channel. -The Empire had made him unclean and debased him, and he had to cleanse -himself. His vast reserve of hate shrieked out against the Empire; -their own weapon turned against them.</p> - -<p>"I'd like to get back to the Advanceship," Parr said. "If I could get -back, I could smash in their faces!"</p> - -<p>"Oh," she said.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The comset sputtered excitedly. "Three Oholos after me! They're armed! -Must be new ones. The other two weren't armed!"</p> - -<p>The comset was silent.</p> - -<p>"Three?" Parr said. "That's right, there were three. I thought there -were just five on the whole planet."</p> - -<p>"There's about fifty now. They landed last night. Out in the Arizona -desert. They're the only ones who could get here in time."</p> - -<p>Parr felt elation. But it passed. "Fifty.... That's not enough to stop -the invasion."</p> - -<p>"It's all we could get here," Lauri repeated.</p> - -<p>Parr groaned. "The Knougs will shield the planet tomorrow. It will trap -those fifty on the surface. And us. They'll shoot us, if we're lucky. -But I'd like to kill some first!"</p> - -<p>The comset crackled, and the Ship voice said: "How many new ones -altogether?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know," Kal answered. "I only know of three."</p> - -<p>"We'll hurry the attack, then, before they're set. Can you hold out, -Kal?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know," Kal said.</p> - -<p>The attack. The meaning of it suddenly rang in Parr's ears. Until a -second ago, he had seen his hate as personal, and now he realized -that the Empire was ready to capture a planet and then to destroy a -System. And he saw the vast evil of the Empire hurtling toward Oholo -civilization. He gnashed his teeth.</p> - -<p>Lauri's hand jerked on Parr's elbow. "The one you call Kal is dead."</p> - -<p>"I'm glad," Parr was grim. He remembered the savage eyes which the -Earth disguise could not conceal. "I'm glad."</p> - -<p>"Kal, Kal," the Advanceship called into emptiness. "Kal! Come in, -advanceman Kal!"</p> - -<p>Parr flipped off the comset.</p> - -<p>She lowered the thought blanket completely. "Relax. Try to relax."</p> - -<p>"Why did you do it?" he said. "Why didn't you let them kill me?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know," she said slowly. "You saved my life. I couldn't let -them kill you. I saw how you felt, how you suddenly changed. How you'd -become a new person all at once. I couldn't pass judgment on you after -that. I hated you and then I didn't hate you anymore. It doesn't -matter. It's too late to matter. I ... I...."</p> - -<p>Her mind was warm against his.</p> - -<p>"They're going back to join the others in the desert now," she said. -"They're going to get ready to fight the attack."</p> - -<p>"Lauri," Parr said. "Lauri, I've got to do something!"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER X</p> - -<p>(New York had broken windows now, and the streets were glass littered. -An occasional white face peered out suspiciously from above a ground -floor. But the heart beat of subways was stilled. The cry had been: -"You'll <i>starve</i> in the City!" and there had been an hysterical exodus, -slow at first and then faster and faster and faster. The moon marched -her train of shadows in the cavern streets.)</p> - -<p>In Denver, the moon rode the mountains, calm, misted, serene.</p> - -<p>"Parr," he spoke into the comset, and he felt Lauri's hand tighten on -his elbow.</p> - -<p>He glanced nervously at the sky. He was afraid to see the planet shield -blossom as it might any minute to signify the attack had begun. But he -feared even worse the absence of it.</p> - -<p>"Parr?" the Advanceship spat back.</p> - -<p>"The Oholos have a defense system around their own planets. <i>It won't -do you any good to capture this one!</i> You won't be able to get nearer!"</p> - -<p>"You are guilty of treason, Parr!"</p> - -<p>"You can't get at their inner system! They have a defense ring that can -blast your Fleet out of space."</p> - -<p>"Lies!"</p> - -<p>Parr glanced at Lauri beside him in the darkness. "No!" he said. "They -are stronger than you are!"</p> - -<p>"They would have attacked us if they were," the Knoug said calmly.</p> - -<p>"They don't think like that!"</p> - -<p>"A poor bluff, Parr."</p> - -<p>"Stop!" Parr said, "Listen...." He looked at Lauri again. "No use. They -cut off."</p> - -<p>"I didn't think they'd bluff," Lauri said. She looked across the -street. The street lights had come on on schedule, but they soon -flickered out as the power supply waned. The city was dark.</p> - -<p>"Will they scorch the planet?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Parr glanced once more at the sky. "I think they're holding off trying -to gain new information on your Oholos. Or maybe they're having trouble -getting ready. We'll know very soon whether they'll scorch it or -assault it with an occupation force."</p> - -<p>Lauri said, "You tried."</p> - -<p>"If we could <i>convince</i> them, like I was convinced ... if we could show -them you <i>were</i> strong and peaceful...."</p> - -<p>"But we aren't strong, Parr. They caught us unprepared. If we had a -year or two...."</p> - -<p>"How long would it be before you could get reinforcements here?"</p> - -<p>Lauri bit her lower lip. "At least a month. We'd have to organize the -units and everything. No sooner."</p> - -<p>"Oh."</p> - -<p>"What were you thinking?"</p> - -<p>"I thought," Parr said. "... I thought I might hold the attack off ... -for as much as a couple of hours."</p> - -<p>"That wouldn't help."</p> - -<p>Parr swallowed and cleared his throat nervously. "I don't know. Maybe -it would give the Oholos more time to prepare. It might help a little."</p> - -<p>"How?"</p> - -<p>"I'm going to try that. I've got to do something, Lauri."</p> - -<p>He flipped open the comset and started to speak, but the channel was -already busy. It was filled with crackling explosive Knoug language.</p> - -<p>Parr began to listen intently.</p> - -<p>It was a conversation between the Flagship and one of the other ships -of the Fleet. "... Parr's right," the other ship said. "So they're down -there. They say they've fought Oholos, and he's probably right...."</p> - -<p>"How many are there?" the Flagship demanded.</p> - -<p>"Thirteen. All in the engine room."</p> - -<p>"Tell them Parr was bluffing," the Flagship ordered.</p> - -<p>"I already did."</p> - -<p>"Tell them they're guilty of mutiny!"</p> - -<p>"I did, and they still won't come out. They're the bunch that were in -the assault at Coly. They've been hard to handle ever since."</p> - -<p>"All right. Go after them with guns...."</p> - -<p>"What is it?" Lauri asked.</p> - -<p>"Shhhh!" Parr cautioned.</p> - -<p>A third circuit opened. "No other ship reports trouble. It's just this -one bunch."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>There was a harsh curse, guttural and nasty. "These channels are open! -The whole Fleet knows about that Coly bunch now!"</p> - -<p>"What in hell! <i>God damn it, get them off!</i> We've got to isolate...." -Click.</p> - -<p>Parr stared at the comset in his hand.</p> - -<p>Parr smiled thinly. "I did a little good, at least. A bunch of veterans -must have been listening in on me.... One of the Fleet ships has a -little trouble."</p> - -<p>"Maybe ...," she began excitedly.</p> - -<p>"No," Parr said. "It was only thirteen Knougs. It's scarcely a ripple. -It might make the rest of the Fleet a little uneasy—but they'll still -take orders. I'm sorry Lauri, but it's not going to help much."</p> - -<p>"How do you know it won't?" she insisted.</p> - -<p>The bitter smile was still there. "I've seen something like it before. -In five minutes it will all be over."</p> - -<p>"Oh."</p> - -<p>"Well," he said after a moment, "I better try to get the Ship. I'm -going to hold them off as long as I can."</p> - -<p>He clicked open the comset again. "Kal," he lied icily. "Advanceman -Kal." For the first time he was glad of the tinny, voice disguising -diaphragm.</p> - -<p>"Get off!" the Advanceship ordered. "This is the Commander. We're -under communication security, damn it!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Parr nodded to himself in recognition of what had happened. Commanders -were now on the whole communications network. It would prevent ordinary -operators from spreading more news of mutiny through the Fleet; it -would blanket the manufacturing of rumors. And, if things were running -true to course the Flagship was monitoring all channels just in case.</p> - -<p>"I've found out the Oholo's disposition," Parr hissed into the tiny -comset. "Can you pick me up?"</p> - -<p>There was a momentary pause.</p> - -<p>"... We thought you were dead, Kal. Why didn't you answer our calls?"</p> - -<p>"... Broke my comset," Parr lied quickly. "I've just killed the -traitor, Parr, and I'm using his."</p> - -<p>There seemed to be suspended judgment in the Ship.</p> - -<p>"If you pick me up, I can give you details. But you'll have to hurry! -Two Oholos are closing in right now!"</p> - -<p>"How many are there altogether?"</p> - -<p>Parr hesitated. "Only twenty, Parr said. I think less than that. It -won't be necessary to scorch the planet."</p> - -<p>Again silence. Then the Flagship itself cut in, "All right. We'll pick -you up. Where are you?"</p> - -<p>"Denver." He made out the street signs in the darkness. "I'm here at a -street corner. Eighteenth and Larimer."</p> - -<p>"Someone who knows the territory from the Advanceship can pick you up. -Ten minutes. Hold on."</p> - -<p>"Hurry!" Parr pleaded.</p> - -<p>He cut off the comset. He realized he was frightened. The night was -growing cold and he took two deep breaths. He let the comset slip from -his fingers and shatter on the pavement. He kicked it away in savage -annoyance, and snarled a curse.</p> - -<p>Lauri shuddered inwardly at his violence, but he did not notice. And -she forced a smile and touched him with a warm thought.</p> - -<p>"I told them I was Kal," he said. "I ... asked them to pick me up."</p> - -<p>Lauri half gasped in surprise.</p> - -<p>"They'll hold off the attack until they hear from me again. I'll try to -keep them guessing as long as I can."</p> - -<p>He was tired. He and Lauri had been walking the streets aimlessly for -hours. At first there had been mobs after the mail delivery. Then the -governor, conscious of what had happened in some Eastern cities, had -declared martial law and only soldiers were supposed to be on the -streets after sundown curfew. Already many people had fled the city in -terror.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>As he and Lauri walked side by side, Parr felt he had come to know her -better than he had ever known anyone. He realized how strong his mind -had grown under its month long test, and he knew that she had come to -respect his strength, she who was so strong herself. But it was not her -strength he respected. Strangely, it was her weakness—her compassion -and her ability to forgive. An unknown thing, forgiveness, a beautiful -thing.</p> - -<p>She stood silently beside him. Then she said, "What time you gain won't -matter."</p> - -<p>"Maybe it will!" he said harshly, hating the Empire.</p> - -<p>She stared into his face. She shook her head. "No," she said. She -touched his cheek. "I ought to say something."</p> - -<p>"What do you mean?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know. That it's a brave thing you want to do...."</p> - -<p>"After what I've done, I've got to do something to make up for my life."</p> - -<p>"What you did doesn't matter anymore."</p> - -<p>"Listen," he said. "Listen, Lauri. You better leave. Don't stand here -any longer."</p> - -<p>She did not move.</p> - -<p>He gritted his teeth. "Hurry up!"</p> - -<p>Her mind touched his gently, cloudlike, and drew away. "Let me go with -you."</p> - -<p>"You know that wouldn't work."</p> - -<p>After a minute she turned reluctantly.</p> - -<p>"Wait!" he cried after she had gone only a few steps.</p> - -<p>Eagerly she turned.</p> - -<p>"Listen!" He glanced at his watch. "Listen. The Fleet is nervous. The -Knougs are nervous. It might not take much after that Coly bunch -revolted.... They're yellow inside, and the seeds of doubt are there. -If we could just make them believe you really had a weapon. An hour -from now—give me <i>one hour</i>—you're to contact the Fleet on my comset -and tell them the Oholos are going to destroy their Advanceship right -before their eyes. Then tell them to get out, the whole Fleet, or -you'll destroy every ship. That may make them think! That may make them -believe!"</p> - -<p>"But unless the Ship really is destroyed before their eyes...."</p> - -<p>"I'll take it into hyperspace without a shield. One minute it will be -there, the next minute it won't. Maybe they won't stop to figure it -out."</p> - -<p>"But you'll be killed!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"Give me just one hour. Go on, damn it. Don't argue!" She seemed ready -to cry. Then she bit her lip.</p> - -<p>"But—Parr! Parr! I <i>can't</i>! How can I? <i>You broke the comset!</i>"</p> - -<p>Parr's mind was dazed. He tried to think. "... Listen. Find the one Kal -had! See if you can find that! You've <i>got to</i>, Lauri. It all depends -on that. You've just got to find it!"</p> - -<p>She hesitated.</p> - -<p>"Don't argue," he insisted. "Hurry! They'll be after me any minute."</p> - -<p>She seemed to want to say something.</p> - -<p>"Run!" he cried. And then she was hurrying away and her mind left his -entirely, so there would be no danger of detection when the scout ship -came for him. And then she turned a corner, and was gone....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The silver saucer shaped scout ship zipped down the street, banked -sharply and vanished, recording (Parr knew) electronic details for its -mothership, the pick-up craft.</p> - -<p>Parr waited, his mouth dry.</p> - -<p>Finally—after what seemed a long time—he saw the dark, moving -patch return. It lowered, and Parr could make out the details of the -unlighted surface. He sighed with relief. Fortunately it was the small -three passenger craft.</p> - -<p>It hovered, closed on the intersection and settled. Hoping that neither -of its crew knew him by sight, Parr sprinted from the shadows of the -building to the opening door.</p> - -<p>The distance seemed to unravel before his feet, lengthening like a -magic carpet.</p> - -<p>His feet hit the edge of the door almost together and grasping the -sides he pulled himself in, falling forward and gasping for the crew's -benefit, "Oholos!"</p> - -<p>The inside of the craft, operating under low flying procedure, was -darkened except for the dull orange of the instruments.</p> - -<p>"Up!" Parr cried in Knoug, and the craft shot away pressing him to the -floor even though the acceleration compensator was whirring in his -ears.</p> - -<p>He groaned and stiffened, anticipating the light when they were in -second procedure level.</p> - -<p>He heard one of the crew say: "Pick-up successful."</p> - -<p>"Can you berth your craft on the Flagship?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Parr felt a dread for he had thought to go to the Advanceship, and that -was the one Lauri would name for destruction!</p> - -<p>Relief came when the crewman said, "Wrong hangar sort. This isn't -combat equipment, sorry."</p> - -<p>"All right."</p> - -<p>Parr breathed an easier sigh, and the communications set went off.</p> - -<p>The lights came on.</p> - -<p>Instinctively Parr lowered his head into his arms. He groaned again. -"My leg," he mumbled.</p> - -<p>"What?"</p> - -<p>"Hurt my leg," he lied.</p> - -<p>A crewman knelt beside him. Parr realized then that they were carrying -an extra crewman.</p> - -<p>The Knoug rolled him over.</p> - -<p>There was a startled gasp of recognition and Parr hit him in the neck. -He slumped down and Parr had to squirm from under his limp body.</p> - -<p>"What the—!"</p> - -<p>Parr was on his feet.</p> - -<p>"That's not Kal!" one of the others said.</p> - -<p>The pilot swiveled around.</p> - -<p>Parr dove, realizing, even as he was in the air, that each Knoug was -reaching for his focus gun.</p> - -<p>He hit the standing Knoug. The Knoug teetered. Parr hit him again.</p> - -<p>The pilot had his gun out.</p> - -<p>Parr slammed a mental bolt at the pilot and he was surprised to see -that the shield folded like hot butter. Even had he wished to, he could -not have stopped his assault from crisping the other's thoughts to -oblivion. He was almost annoyed at the weakness.</p> - -<p>He tried a mental assault at the other sagging crewman with equal -results.</p> - -<p>The craft started to spin out of control.</p> - -<p>Parr struggled forward, was slammed sideways, and far below he could -see moonlight flash on water.</p> - -<p>He was thrown into the controls on the second spin, and he pulled back -the emergency equalizer in desperation. The craft skittered.</p> - -<p>And then he was in control.</p> - -<p>He found the beam on the dial. He was to the left. He centered on it -and followed it in.</p> - -<p>He jockeyed below the gaping hatch of the Advanceship and came up -slowly. The controls were stiff. It was a ticklish job.</p> - -<p>Then he was inside. He shied left to set the craft down.</p> - -<p>It bounced and half rolled on the deck. Then he struggled to the door.</p> - -<p>When he opened it there was an orderly waiting. "That was a hell of a -landing," he said. "For—hey!"</p> - -<p>He went down easily under the assault. Parr realized his mind had grown -even stronger than he had supposed. For the first time he began to -hope that he really stood a chance of making it.</p> - -<p>He glanced at his watch.</p> - -<p>Almost forty-five minutes! It had seemed only five....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Lauri ran toward the second building. Her mind usually smooth and calm, -was now a welter of conflicting thoughts. She had tried to reach the -other Oholos. But they shut themselves off. No help from them.</p> - -<p>There were no cabs out. And the telephones were dead. She was -desperately afraid Kal was in the morgue but she could not risk the -time to be sure. Vaguely she remembered the siren that had squalled -when the police came for the body of the Oholo and his Earth assailant -who had been killed outside the hotel. But she could not remember -another siren near the time Kal had been killed. She was forced to -assume the police had not come for him.</p> - -<p>But she could not be sure.</p> - -<p>If the police had not come, she reasoned, then he had not been killed -before witnesses. Therefore he had not been killed in the streets.</p> - -<p>She knew that he had seen them leave the hotel. That narrowed the -range. That he had been killed shortly afterward by the Oholos narrowed -the range even more.</p> - -<p>He had not been moving when he was killed, and he had just finished -reporting Parr's and her flight, meaning that he had been stationary -since his observation. And there would be no reason for the Oholos to -move or to hide the body.</p> - -<p>Therefore his body should be where it had fallen.</p> - -<p>There had been four business buildings in the vicinity where a man -could have been killed unseen.</p> - -<p>She pushed open the doors to the second. The ground floor, within -observation range, was easily checked. So was the second. Third. -Fourth. Fifth.</p> - -<p>She was back in the street. Two more buildings. Half her time gone. -She glanced at her watch for verification. Each of the two remaining -buildings had four floors.</p> - -<p>The nearest one was locked. But there was a light inside. She was -puzzled. Then she saw the cleaning maid come down the front stairs, -carrying a brace of candles in one hand and a mop and bucket in the -other. The old woman moved slowly, unconcerned, oblivious of the -outside world, intent only on her job. Lauri shuddered, but she knew -that the face would not be calm if she had seen a corpse in her duties. -Therefore, there was no corpse inside.</p> - -<p>One building left!</p> - -<p>But a few minutes later she was back in the streets. There had been -nothing on the lower floor, the second floor, and the two top floors -needed only a glance.</p> - -<p>She sobbed desperately.</p> - -<p>Something had been wrong with her reasoning, and she had only twenty -minutes left to start from the beginning and find the Knoug's body.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Parr ran quickly along the corridor. He passed two incurious Knougs. He -continued on, winding upward toward the control room which he had to -capture. There would be a delicate balance of timing and luck between -success and failure.</p> - -<p>He was not frightened now, even though he knew he could not personally -win the fight in capture or success. His mind was calm. Strangely, too, -it was at peace.</p> - -<p>He clambered up the final ladder, his hands unsteady on the rungs. The -control room door was closed. He tensed, listening, wondering how many -of the enemy were inside.</p> - -<p>He knocked, his knuckles brittle on steel. He thought, in that fleet -second, of Lauri. He wondered dimly, if she had found the comset.</p> - -<p>"Yeah?"</p> - -<p>"I've got Kal out here, sir!" Parr said briskly, hoping to imitate the -orderly's voice.</p> - -<p>"What the hell!" a voice from inside roared, "I thought we told you to -take him down to the Commander's office."</p> - -<p>Parr held his breath.</p> - -<p>He heard an indistinct mutter of voices inside and he knew that one of -them must be on the inter-phone to the Commander.</p> - -<p>"Something screwy here!" the voice roared indignantly.</p> - -<p>Parr hit the door and it crashed inward with an echoing clang.</p> - -<p>He catapulted into the congested control room. In a glance he saw there -were only two Knougs. One was at the control banks, half turned in -surprise. The other held the phone limply in his left hand, his eyes -staring.</p> - -<p>Parr kicked the door shut viciously and the sound rang in his ears. He -launched himself at the Knoug with the phone. He felt his head meet a -soft stomach and he heard explosive air pop from the man's lungs. The -Knoug went over backwards, down hard.</p> - -<p>The other one roared an oath.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Parr walked on the fallen one's face. He stomped the face and it -gurgled. He stomped again in fury as all his frustration and new -bitterness found an outlet. He locked the other Knoug in mental battle, -but the mind he met was strong, catching him off guard.</p> - -<p>The Knoug dove for the huge comset to warn the Fleet.</p> - -<p>Parr could hear, from the receiver of the dangling phone, the Commander -saying over and over again, "What the hell's going on? What the hell's -going on?"</p> - -<p>Parr brought the remaining Knoug to his knees with a mental assault.</p> - -<p>Parr backed toward the door. As he fought mentally, he managed to slide -the force bar across it. They'd play hell getting him out, at least.</p> - -<p>His enemy was down, quivering. Parr panted desperately, and then from -beyond the door, he felt the growth of mental assault force. Three -minds hurrying toward him! Two more minds came in and he staggered and -almost fell.</p> - -<p>Then he was down, as if from a hammer blow to the chin. He fought, -sickened. He began to crawl toward the control board. And fighting, he -struggled up, as if under a great weight. New minds came in. And still -he could fight. But he was almost down again.</p> - -<p>(Five minutes, he thought.)</p> - -<p>He found the right lever, pulled.</p> - -<p>There was the crackle of the heterodyne mind shield. And the control -room was isolated by a high, shrill whine. He winced, recovering, and -smiled inwardly at the careful devices Knoug officers had to protect -themselves against a mutinous crew.</p> - -<p>He dampened all the thrust engines with three hacking strokes at knife -switches, being careful to get the right ones. He ripped out the engine -room control. The Advanceship was dead in space for at least an hour.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He staggered to the comset. He stumbled over the dead Knoug and kicked -the body. He shattered the transmitter with a furious blow.</p> - -<p>With fumbling fingers he ripped away the seal the Commander had placed -on the receiver. He snapped the volume control to the right. The radio -whined.</p> - -<p>Someone was trying to call the Advanceship, and Parr smiled grimly.</p> - -<p>Another circuit broke in on the call. "Their commander is questioning -the advancemen they brought up, I imagine. Let him go. The information -we got from the Texas advanceman supersedes it anyway."</p> - -<p>Parr cursed monotonously.</p> - -<p>"Forward bank in!" another circuit reported.</p> - -<p>"Nine stations on planet shield. Ready?"</p> - -<p>There was a crackling of readiness.</p> - -<p>"We'll hit before it. Try to get it set in fifteen minutes."</p> - -<p>"In position, there. Eight, back a little."</p> - -<p>"Clear hulls. Unscreen."</p> - -<p>"Check.... Check...."</p> - -<p>Parr glanced at his watch. The hour had only minutes of life. What was -wrong with Lauri?</p> - -<p>"Ready around?"</p> - -<p>The Fleet was getting ready to move. Parr screamed in wild frustration.</p> - -<p>At the door, the force field was beginning to show strain. Outside they -had a huge force director focused on it. Parr speculated idly how they -had managed to get it up from the engine room so quickly. The force -field at the door began to peel. In a few minutes it would shatter and -the control room would be an inferno with every switch and bit of metal -melted into smoking blobs.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>She was searching the shops, kicking in glass, when necessary to gain -entrance. She was listening, now, and time dribbled away. Standing -amid broken glass, she cocked her head hoping to hear the whisper of -the still active comset.</p> - -<p>Ten minutes.</p> - -<p>What had been wrong with her logic? Why hadn't Kal's body been in one -of the four buildings? Even as she searched on she reviewed it in -her mind, until suddenly, with an abrupt snap she knew that she had -overlooked one. There were not four possible buildings but five.</p> - -<p>Kal might have been hiding in the hotel itself!</p> - -<p>Nine minutes.</p> - -<p><i>And how many front rooms were in the hotel?</i> A twelve storied welter -of windows, and he might be behind any one.</p> - -<p>Nine minutes.</p> - -<p>Automatically she was running for the hotel.</p> - -<p>(Not the lower floors, she thought, or the Oholos would have had him -sooner. They must have come down and then gone back up or else the -whole time element was wrong.)</p> - -<p>One of the upper floors then?</p> - -<p>She would have to chance that.</p> - -<p>She was in the deserted lobby. As she ran across it she marveled at the -panic of a few hours ago. She saw a busy looter in the shadows, and -there were not, certainly enough soldiers to be everywhere.</p> - -<p>In her headlong rush she did not see the human form on the second -landing before she crashed into him. She gasped as the breath went out -of her lungs.</p> - -<p>The man reached out for her. "What happened?" His voice was desperate. -"I've been asleep, and all of a sudden, when I wake up—"</p> - -<p>"Let me go!"</p> - -<p>"What happened?" he said pathetically. "The city's so <i>still</i>."</p> - -<p>She pushed him back and continued up the stairs.</p> - -<p>He ran after her. "Wait!"</p> - -<p>At the top floor she saw no exit to the roof.</p> - -<p>The corridor was "U" shaped, the bottom of the "U" facing onto the -street. Six rooms on it.</p> - -<p>"Young lady!" the man cried, rounding the corner of the stairs below -her. She dropped her mental range into a low register and struck toward -him. But she could not quite find his range and he shook his head and -continued up the stairs. She waited, and when he arrived, she said, -"Sorry," and hit him on the chin. He rolled halfway down the short -flight of stairs.</p> - -<p>She searched the six rooms. All were unlocked and empty, and the doors -slammed in her wake.</p> - -<p>Nothing.</p> - -<p>She gritted her teeth and headed for the stairs and the next floor -below.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Parr shattered the glass from the emergency deep space suit. He ripped -the suit from the hangar and struggled into it with anxious fingers.</p> - -<p>It was a minute after the hour.</p> - -<p>He hesitated, holding the helmet in his hands.</p> - -<p>The force field at the door was nearly gone. The radio crackled with -Knoug attack orders.</p> - -<p>And then—with infinite relief—he heard her voice, crackling over the -other voices. She sounded short of breath and excited.</p> - -<p>"What's that?" someone roared in Knoug, and Parr realized they did not -understand English, the common language they had used on the planet.</p> - -<p>"Idiots!" Parr shrieked. "Fools! Can't <i>any</i> of you understand!"</p> - -<p>"I'm going to destroy your Advanceship," Lauri said breathlessly. "I am -an Oholo. I'm...."</p> - -<p>Suddenly a Knoug was translating her message.</p> - -<p>Last minute instructions to the Fleet ceased.</p> - -<p>"I'm going to destroy your Advanceship," she said again. And then, -after a breath, she said, "Be careful! Be careful!" And he knew that -the last was not to them but to him.</p> - -<p>He could wait no longer. The force field was seconds thin. His mind -cried desperately, "Hurry!" He clamped down the helmet and all sound -vanished.</p> - -<p>But her words rang in his mind, "Be careful!" and he was grateful for -them. They choked in his throat.</p> - -<p>Then he threw the Advanceship into hyperspace.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>There was a pinwheel of motion that slammed him into the control panel. -He could not hear, but everywhere, around him, metal screamed and -wrenched and tore.</p> - -<p>The force director beyond the door spun loose and sprayed the Knougs -around it, and they vanished. It jerked its current cable and was -still. A vast rent in the hull let the air whoosh out into hyperspace, -and the Knougs all over the Ship puffed and exploded.</p> - -<p>Parr came slowly to his senses. He staggered directionless around the -control room. Everything was a shambles.</p> - -<p>After a while—nearly an hour had elapsed—he was wandering through -silent corridors. It was hot inside his suit.</p> - -<p>He found the pick-up ships eventually, but they were ripped from their -moorings. One seemed upright and serviceable. He tested the motor. The -motor worked. He got out and struggled with the escape hatch. Finally -it came loose.</p> - -<p>He taxied the pick-up ship out of the mother ship.</p> - -<p>Hyperspace was grey and hideous. Here and there lights flashed. The -vast, battered derelict of the Advanceship lay below him. Hyperspace -sped away. He blasted further from the gutted hull and brought up -the space shield of his craft. It wavered around him. Behind him the -tortured Advanceship exploded.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>He hit back toward real space. The craft skittered under his hands as -he wrenched at the controls. The motor was strong, but its delicate -shielding apparatus had been damaged and there was a sickening jolt. -The shield was off and Parr was falling, down, down, down, and lights -in his head exploded.</p> - -<p>And he thought it was infinitely sad that he had done something decent -for the first time and now he was to be punished for all the rest. Then -he knew no more....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The comset had erupted into a babble of incredible confusion after her -message. She waited leadenly. She warned the Fleet once more. "If you -do not leave at once, we Oholos will destroy your whole Fleet." She had -no way of knowing what was happening.</p> - -<p>The Knoug commanders, unnerved, cried among themselves:</p> - -<p>"No weapon I ever heard of could do <i>that</i>!"</p> - -<p>"The advanceman was right! They can destroy us!"</p> - -<p>"I say we don't stand a chance!"</p> - -<p>"Did you hear? It just <i>vanished</i>."</p> - -<p>"I'm going to order my ship back."</p> - -<p>"I've already shielded for hyperspace."</p> - -<p>"What's the Flagship say?"</p> - -<p>"What's the Flagship <i>say</i>?"</p> - -<p>"Commander Cei just pulled out. That makes five."</p> - -<p>"As for me, I say, Let's go!"</p> - -<p>"<i>The Flagship has already got its hyperspace shield turned on!</i>"</p> - -<p>Slowly the voices died away. The comset was silent in Lauri's hand, and -she knew that the Fleet had gone. The Advanceship was destroyed.</p> - -<p>Remembering Parr, she bowed her head. She saw the body of Kal lying at -her feet, where she had found it in the second room on the tenth floor. -And she was crying without sound.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER XI</p> - -<p>She finally got through to the other Oholos. They listened, because the -expected attack had not come.</p> - -<p>They came for her and she met their airship in the street. They soared -above the silent city of Denver.</p> - -<p>"A <i>Knoug</i>!" one said. "Who ever would have thought a <i>Knoug</i> would do -that!"</p> - -<p>She tried to explain but they did not listen for they were busy with -other thoughts. She was still crying, but inwardly now. She said, -"Don't you see what he might have <i>become</i> within a few years?"</p> - -<p>"Imagine hitting hyperspace without a shield," one Oholo said.</p> - -<p>"It must have turned the ship inside out!"</p> - -<p>"So the Knougs actually believed it was a weapon that did it!" another -said, pleased.</p> - -<p>Lauri said, woodenly, "He was very strong. He was almost as strong as I -am. He would have become even stronger."</p> - -<p>"There's no Knoug as strong as one of our best workers, Lauri."</p> - -<p>"He was more than a Knoug," she insisted gently. "A Knoug would have -just—just gone on being what he was."</p> - -<p>She fell silent, remembering.</p> - -<p>"It played hell with this planet," an Oholo said. "It'll take years to -straighten it out."</p> - -<p>"Not years," another said, looking down at the night. "No. I think not -years. One of the governments we were primarily concerned with has been -changed. The people finally got the chance to overthrow it, and they -did. That's a good sign. I think our work will be easier now. It's -always easier to rebuild than to change."</p> - -<p><i>Lauri!</i></p> - -<p>She froze. "Listen!"</p> - -<p>And they listened, high up.</p> - -<p><i>Lauri!</i></p> - -<p>"Yes!" she cried.</p> - -<p><i>Come to me!</i></p> - -<p>She rushed to the pilot room. She took the controls and spun the ship.</p> - -<p>"Did you hear that?" an Oholo said, awed.</p> - -<p>"Yes," said another. "... He not only went in unshielded, but he -managed to get back!"</p> - -<p>They shook their heads.</p> - -<p>And within fifteen minutes she had found his ship, lying below in dying -moonlight.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>She brought the aircraft down and within seconds she was running to the -wreckage and pulling his limp body from it.</p> - -<p>When the space helmet was off his head, he gasped, "Tore hell out -of my big ship. And ... then I even ... up and ... wrecked this one, -landing.... I'm just ... damned clumsy."</p> - -<p>"Get the surgeon!" Lauri cried.</p> - -<p>She held his head in her arms while her lips moved soundlessly. Then -she bent to kiss him on the mouth after the Earth fashion, and Parr had -never experienced such a sensation of trust and surrender and promise. -He let his hand move gently down her arm.</p> - -<p>"We'll stay here," she whispered. "We'll stay here and help these Earth -people, you and I. You'd like that? To help them?"</p> - -<p>"Yes," he said. "It would be nice to ... build instead of destroy. It -would be nice, I think. You and I could help them. I'd like that."</p> - -<p>The surgeon came, and they took Parr out of the suit and after a while -the surgeon said, "I don't know much about Knougs. But I'm glad this -one is going to be all right."</p> - -<p>Lauri laughed hysterically. The tears were open again. "<i>I</i> couldn't -kill him," she sobbed.</p> - -<p>The other Oholos looked puzzled and polite.</p> - -<p>"It's a joke!" she said, dizzy with relief. 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