"Probably poison," he said, digging his toe into the sand. "This thing is too mean to fool with--without a good reason. Let"s keep going."
It was before noon when Lea fell down. She really wanted to go on, but her body wouldn"t obey. The thin soles of her shoes were no protection against the burning sand and her feet were lumps of raw pain. Heat hammered down, poured up from the sand and swirled her in an oven of pain. The air she gasped in was molten metal that dried and cracked her mouth. Each pulse of her heart throbbed blood to the wound in her scalp until it seemed her skull would burst with the agony. She had stripped down to the short tunic--in spite of Brion"s insistence that she keep her body protected from the sun--and that clung to her, soaked with sweat. She tore at it in a desperate effort to breathe. There was no escape from the unending heat.
Though the baked sand burned torture into her knees and hands, she couldn"t rise. It took all her strength not to fall further. Her eyes closed and everything swirled in immense circles.
Brion, blinking through slitted eyes, saw her go down. He lifted her, and carried her again as he had the night before. The hot touch of her body shocked his bare arms. Her skin was flushed pink. The tunic was torn open and one pointed breast rose and fell unevenly with the irregularity of her breathing. Wiping his palm free of sweat and sand, he touched her skin and felt the ominous hot dryness.
Heat-shock, all the symptoms. Dry, flushed skin, the ragged breathing. Her temperature rising quickly as her body stopped fighting the heat and succ.u.mbed.
There was nothing he could do here to protect her from the heat. He measured a tiny portion of the remaining water into her mouth and she swallowed convulsively. Her thin clothing was little protection from the sun. He could only take her in his arms and keep on towards the horizon. An outcropping of rock threw a tiny patch of shade and he walked towards it.
The ground here, shielded from the direct rays of the sun, felt almost cool by contrast. Lea opened her eyes when he put her down, peering up at him through a haze of pain. She wanted to apologize to him for her weakness, but no words came from the dried membrane of her throat. His body above her seemed to swim back and forth in the heat waves, swaying like a tree in a high wind.
Shock drove her eyes open, cleared her mind for an instant. He really was swaying. Suddenly she realized how much she had come to depend on the unending solidity of his strength--and now it was failing. All over his body the corded muscles contracted in ridges, striving to keep him erect. She saw his mouth pulled open by the taut cords of his neck, and the gaping, silent scream was more terrible than any sound. Then she herself screamed as his eyes rolled back, leaving only the empty white of the eyeb.a.l.l.s staring terribly at her. He went over, back, down, like a felled tree, thudding heavily on the sand. Unconscious or dead, she couldn"t tell. She pulled limply at his leg, but couldn"t drag his immense weight into the shade.
Brion lay on his back in the sun, sweating. Lea saw this and knew that he was still alive. Yet what was happening? She groped for memory in the red haze of her mind, but could remember nothing from her medical studies that would explain this. On every square inch of his body the sweat glands seethed with sudden activity. From every pore oozed great globules of oily liquid, far thicker than normal perspiration. Brion"s arms rippled with motion and Lea gaped, horrified as the hairs there writhed and stirred as though endowed with separate life. His chest rose and fell rapidly, deep, gasping breaths racking his body. Lea could only stare through the dim redness of unreality and wonder if she was going mad before she died.
A coughing fit broke the rhythm of his rasping breath, and when it was over his breathing was easier. The perspiration still covered his body, the individual beads touching and forming tiny streams that trickled down his body and vanished in the sand. He stirred and rolled onto his side, facing her. His eyes were open and normal now as he smiled.
"Didn"t mean to frighten you. It caught me suddenly coming at the wrong season and everything. It was a bit of a jar to my system. I"ll get you some water now--there"s still a bit left."
"What happened? When you looked like that, when you fell...."
"Take two swallows, no more," he said, holding the open canteen to her mouth. "Just summer change, that"s all. It happens to us every year on Anvhar--only not that violently, of course. In the winter our bodies store a layer of fat under the skin for insulation, and sweating almost ceases completely. There are a lot of internal changes too. When the weather warms up the process is reversed. The fat is metabolized and the sweat glands enlarge and begin working overtime as the body prepares for two months of hard work, heat and little sleep. I guess the heat here triggered off the summer change early."
"You mean--you"ve adapted to this terrible planet?"
"Just about. Though it does feel a little warm. I"ll need a lot more water soon, so we can"t remain here. Do you think you can stand the sun if I carry you?"
"No, but I won"t feel any better staying here." She was light-headed, scarcely aware of what she said. "Keep going, I guess. Keep going."
As soon as she was out of the shadow of the rock the sunlight burst over her again in a wave of hot pain. She fell unconscious at once. Brion picked her up and staggered forward. After a few yards, he began to feel the pull of the sand. He knew he was reaching the end of his strength. He went more slowly and each dune seemed a bit higher than the one before. Giant, sand-scoured rocks pushed through the dunes here and he had to stumble around them. At the base of the largest of these monoliths was a straggling clump of knotted vegetation. He pa.s.sed it by--then stopped as something tried to penetrate his heat-crazed mind. What was it? A difference. Something about these plants that he hadn"t noticed in any of the others he had pa.s.sed during the day.
It was almost like defeat to turn and push his clumsy feet backwards in his own footprints; to stand blinking helplessly at the plants. Yet they were important. Some of them had been cut off close to the sand. Not broken by any natural cause, but cut sharply and squarely by a knife or blade of some sort. The cut plants were long dried and dead, but a tiny hope flared up in him. This was the first sign that other people were actually alive on this heat-blasted planet. And whatever the plants had been cut for, they might be of aid to him. Food--perhaps drink. His hands trembled at the thought as he dropped Lea heavily into the shade of the rock. She didn"t stir.
His knife was sharp, but most of the strength was gone from his hands. Breath rasping in his dried throat, he sawed at the tough stem, finally cutting it through. Raising up the shrub, he saw a thick liquid dripping from the severed end. He braced his hand against his leg, so it wouldn"t shake and spill, until his cupped palm was full of sap.
It was wet, even a little cool as it evaporated. Surely it was mostly life-giving water. He had a moment"s misgiving as he raised it to his lips, and instead of drinking it merely touched it with the tip of his tongue.
At first nothing--then a searing pain. It stabbed deep into his throat and choked him. His stomach heaved and he vomited bitter bile. On his knees, fighting the waves of pain, he lost body fluid he vitally needed.
Despair was worse than the pain. The plant juice must have some use; there must be a way of purifying it or neutralizing it. But Brion, a stranger on this planet, would be dead long before he found out how to do this.
Weakened by the cramps that still tore at him, he tried not to realize how close to the end he was. Getting the girl on his back seemed an impossible task, and for an instant he was tempted to leave her there. Yet even as he considered this he shouldered her leaden weight and once more went on. Each footstep an effort, he followed his own track up the dune. Painfully he forced his way to the top, and looked at the Disan standing a few feet away.
They were both too surprised by the sudden encounter to react at once. For a breath of time they stared at each other, unmoving. When they reacted it was the same defense of fear. Brion dropped the girl, bringing the gun up from the holster in the return of the same motion. The Disan jerked a belled tube from his waistband and raised it to his mouth.
Brion didn"t fire. A dead man had taught him how to train his empathetic sense, and to trust it. In spite of the fear that wanted him to jerk the trigger, a different sense read the unvoiced emotions of the native Disan. There was fear there, and hatred. Welling up around these was a strong desire not to commit violence, this time, to communicate instead. Brion felt and recognized all this in a fraction of a second. He had to act instantly to avoid a tragic happening. A jerk of his wrist threw the gun to one side.
As soon as it was gone he regretted its loss. He was gambling their lives on an ability he still was not sure of. The Disan had the tube to his mouth when the gun hit the ground. He held the pose, unmoving, thinking. Then he accepted Brion"s action and thrust the tube back into his waistband.
"Do you have any water?" Brion asked, the guttural Disan words hurting his throat.
"I have water," the man said. He still didn"t move. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
"We"re from offplanet. We had ... an accident. We want to go to the city. The water."
The Disan looked at the unconscious girl and made his decision. Over one shoulder he wore one of the green objects that Brion remembered from the solido. He pulled it off and the thing writhed slowly in his hands. It was alive--a green length a metre long, like a noduled section of a thick vine. One end flared out into a petal-like formation. The Disan took a hook-shaped object from his waist and thrust it into the petaled orifice. When he turned the hook in a quick motion the length of green writhed and curled around his arm. He pulled something small and dark out and threw it to the ground, extending the twisting green shape towards Brion. "Put your mouth to the end and drink," he said.
Lea needed the water more, but he drank first, suspicious of the living water source. A hollow below the writhing petals was filling with straw-colored water from the fibrous, reedy interior. He raised it to his mouth and drank. The water was hot and tasted swampy. Sudden sharp pains around his mouth made him jerk the thing away. Tiny glistening white barbs projected from the petals pink-tipped now with his blood. Brion swung towards the Disan angrily--and stopped when he looked at the other man"s face. His mouth was surrounded by many small white scars.
"The vaede does not like to give up its water, but it always does," the man said.
Brion drank again, then put the vaede to Lea"s mouth. She moaned without regaining consciousness, her lips seeking reflexively for the life-saving liquid. When she was satisfied Brion gently drew the barbs from her flesh and drank again. The Disan hunkered down on his heels and watched them expressionlessly. Brion handed back the vaede, then held some of the clothes so that Lea was in their shade. He settled to the same position as the native and looked closely at him.
Squatting immobile on his heels, the Disan appeared perfectly comfortable under the flaming sun. There was no trace of perspiration on his naked, browned skin. Long hair fell to his shoulders, and startlingly blue eyes stared back at Brion from deepset sockets. The heavy kilt around his loins was the only garment he wore. Once more the vaede rested over his shoulder, still stirring unhappily. Around his waist was the same collection of leather, stone and bra.s.s objects that had been in the solido. Two of them now had meaning to Brion: the tube-and-mouthpiece, a blowgun of some kind; and the specially shaped hook for opening the vaede. He wondered if the other strangely formed things had equally practical functions. If you accepted them as artifacts with a purpose--not barbaric decorations--you had to accept their owner as something more than the crude savage he resembled.
"My name is Brion. And you--"
"You may not have my name. Why are you here? To kill my people?"
Brion forced away the memory of last night. Killing was just what he had done. Some expectancy in the man"s manner, some sensed feeling of hope prompted Brion to speak the truth.
"I"m here to stop your people from being killed. I believe in the end of the war."
"Prove it."
"Take me to the Cultural Relationships Foundations in the city and I"ll prove it. I can do nothing here in the desert. Except die."
For the first time there was emotion on the Disan"s face. He frowned and muttered something to himself. There was a fine beading of sweat above his eyebrows now as he fought an internal battle. Coming to a decision, he rose, and Brion stood too.
"Come with me. I"ll take you to Hovedstad. But first you will tell me--are you from Nyjord?"
"No."
The nameless Disan merely grunted and turned away. Brion shouldered Lea"s unconscious body and followed him. They walked for two hours, the Disan setting a cruel pace, before they reached a wasteland of jumbled rock. The native pointed to the highest tower of sand-eroded stone. "Wait near this," he said. "Someone will come for you." He watched while Brion placed the girl"s still body in the shade, and pa.s.sed over the vaede for the last time. Just before leaving he turned back, hesitating.
"My name is ... Ulv," he said. Then he was gone.
Brion did what he could to make Lea comfortable, but it was very little. If she didn"t get medical attention soon she would be dead. Dehydration and shock were uniting to destroy her.
Just before sunset he heard clanking, and the throbbing whine of a sand car"s engine coming from the west.
VIII.
With each second the noise grew louder, coming their way. The tracks squeaked as the car turned around the rock spire, obviously seeking them out. A large carrier, big as a truck, it stopped before them in a cloud of its own dust and the driver kicked the door open.
"Get in here--and fast!" the man shouted. "You"re letting in all the heat." He gunned the engine, ready to kick in the gears, and looked at them irritatedly.
Ignoring the driver"s nervous instructions, Brion carefully placed Lea on the rear seat before he pulled the door shut. The car surged forward instantly, a blast of icy air pouring from the air-cooling vents. It wasn"t cold in the vehicle--but the temperature was at least forty degrees lower than the outer air. Brion covered Lea with all their extra clothing to prevent any further shock to her system. The driver, hunched over the wheel and driving with an intense speed, hadn"t said a word to them since they had entered.
Brion looked up as another man stepped from the engine compartment in the rear of the car. He was thin, harried-looking. And he was pointing a gun.
"Who are you?" he said, without a trace of warmth in his voice.
It was a strange reception, but Brion was beginning to realize that Dis was a strange planet. The other man chewed at his lip nervously while Brion sat, relaxed and unmoving. He didn"t want to startle him into pulling the trigger, and he kept his voice pitched low as he answered.
"My name is Brandd. We landed from s.p.a.ce two nights ago and have been walking in the desert ever since. Now don"t get excited and shoot the gun when I tell you this--but both Vion and Ihjel are dead."
The man with the gun gasped, his eyes widened. The driver threw a single frightened look over his shoulder, then turned quickly back to the wheel. Brion"s probe had hit its mark. If these men weren"t from the Cultural Relationships Foundation they at least knew a lot about it. It seemed safe to a.s.sume they were C.R.F. men.
"When they were shot the girl and I escaped. We were trying to reach the city and contact you. You are from the Foundation, aren"t you?"
"Yes. Of course," the man said, lowering the gun. He stared gla.s.sy-eyed into s.p.a.ce for a moment, nervously working his teeth against his lip. Startled at his own inattention, he raised the gun again.
"If you"re Brandd, there"s something I want to know." Rummaging in his breast pocket with his free hand, he brought out a yellow message form. He moved his lips as he reread the message. "Now answer me--if you can--what are the last three events in the ..." He took a quick look at the paper again. "... in the Twenties?"
"Chess finals, rifle p.r.o.ne position, and fencing playoffs. Why?"
The man grunted and slid the pistol back into its holder, satisfied. "I"m Faussel," he said, and waved the message at Brion. "This is Ihjel"s last will and testament, relayed to us by the Nyjord blockade control. He thought he was going to die and he sure was right. Pa.s.sed on his job to you. You"re in charge. I was Mervv"s second-in-command, until he was poisoned. I was supposed to work for Ihjel, and now I guess I"m yours. At least until tomorrow, when we"ll have everything packed and get off this h.e.l.l planet."
"What do you mean, tomorrow?" Brion asked. "It"s three days to deadline and we still have a job to do."
Faussel had dropped heavily into one of the seats and he sprang to his feet again, clutching the seat back to keep his balance in the swaying car.
"Three days, three weeks, three minutes--what difference does it make?" His voice rose shrilly with each word, and he had to make a definite effort to master himself before he could go on. "Look. You don"t know anything about this. You just arrived and that"s your bad luck. My bad luck is being a.s.signed to this death trap and watching the depraved and filthy things the natives do. And trying to be polite to them even when they are killing my friends, and those Nyjord bombers up there with their hands on the triggers. One of those bombardiers is going to start thinking about home and about the cobalt bombs down here and he"s going to press that b.u.t.ton, deadline or no deadline."
"Sit down, Faussel. Sit down and take a rest." There was sympathy in Brion"s voice--but also the firmness of an order. Faussel swayed for a second longer, then collapsed. He sat with his cheek against the window, eyes closed. A pulse throbbed visibly in his temple and his lips worked. He had been under too much tension for too long a time.
This was the atmosphere that hung heavily in the air at the C.R.F. building when they arrived. Despair and defeat. The doctor was the only one who didn"t share this mood as he bustled Lea off to the clinic with prompt efficiency. He obviously had enough patients to keep his mind occupied. With the others the feeling of depression was unmistakable. From the instant they had driven through the automatic garage door, Brion had swum in this miasma of defeat. It was omnipresent and hard to ignore.
As soon as he had eaten he went with Faussel into what was to have been Ihjel"s office. Through the transparent walls he could see the staff packing the records, crating them for shipment. Faussel seemed less nervous now that he was no longer in command. Brion rejected any idea he had of letting the man know that he himself was only a novice in the foundation. He was going to need all the authority he could muster, since they would undoubtedly hate him for what he was going to do.
"Better take notes of this, Faussel, and have it typed. I"ll sign it." The printed word always carried more weight. "All preparations for leaving are to be stopped at once. Records are to be returned to the files. We are going to stay here just as long as we have clearance from the Nyjorders. If this operation is unsuccessful we will all leave together when the time expires. We will take whatever personal baggage we can carry by hand; everything else stays here. Perhaps you don"t realize we are here to save a planet--not file cabinets full of papers."
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Faussel flush with anger. "As soon as that is typed bring it back. And all the reports as to what has been accomplished on this project. That will be all for now."
Faussel stamped out, and a minute later Brion saw the shocked, angry looks from the workers in the outer office. Turning his back to them, he opened the drawers in the desk, one after another. The top drawer was empty, except for a sealed envelope. It was addressed to Winner Ihjel.
Brion looked at it thoughtfully, then ripped it open. The letter inside was handwritten.
Ihjel: I"ve had the official word that you are on the way to relieve me and I am forced to admit I feel only an intense satisfaction. You"ve had the experience on these outlaw planets and can get along with the odd types. I have been specializing in research for the last twenty years, and the only reason I was appointed planetary supervisor on Nyjord was because of the observation and application facilities. I"m the research type, not the office type; no one has ever denied that.
You"re going to have trouble with the staff, so you had better realize that they are all compulsory volunteers. Half are clerical people from my staff. The others a mixed bag of whoever was close enough to be pulled in on this crash a.s.signment. It developed so fast we never saw it coming. And I"m afraid we"ve done little or nothing to stop it. We can"t get access to the natives here, not in the slightest. It"s frightening! They don"t fit! I"ve done Poisson Distributions on a dozen different factors and none of them can be equated. The Pareto Extrapolations don"t work. Our field men can"t even talk to the natives and two have been killed trying. The ruling cla.s.s is unapproachable and the rest just keep their mouths shut and walk away.
I"m going to take a chance and try to talk to Lig-magte, perhaps I can make him see sense. I doubt if it will work and there is a chance he will try violence with me. The n.o.bility here are very p.r.o.ne to violence. If I get back all right you won"t see this note. Otherwise--good-by, Ihjel. Try to do a better job than I did. Aston Mervv P.S. There is a problem with the staff. They are supposed to be saviors, but without exception they all loathe the Disans. I"m afraid I do too.
Brion ticked off the relevant points in the letter. He had to find some way of discovering what Pareto Extrapolations were--without uncovering his own lack of knowledge. The staff would vanish in five minutes if they knew how new he was at the job. Poisson Distribution made more sense. It was used in physics as the unchanging probability of an event that would be true at all times. Such as the numbers of particles that would be given off by a lump of radioactive matter during a short period. From the way Mervv used it in his letter it looked as if the societics people had found measurable applications in societies and groups. At least on other planets. None of the rules seemed to be working on Dis. Ihjel had admitted that, and Mervv"s death had proven it. Brion wondered who this Lig-magte was who appeared to have killed Mervv.
A forged cough broke through Brion"s concentration, and he realized that Faussel had been standing in front of his desk for some minutes. Brion looked up and mopped perspiration from his face.
"Your air conditioner seems to be out of order," Faussel said. "Should I have the mechanic look at it?"
"There"s nothing wrong with the machine; I"m just adapting to Dis"s climate. What else do you want, Faussel?"
The a.s.sistant had a doubting look that he didn"t succeed in hiding. He also had trouble believing the literal truth. He placed the small stack of file folders on the desk.
"These are the reports to date, everything we have uncovered about the Disans. It"s not very much; but considering the anti-social att.i.tudes on this lousy world it is the best we could do." A sudden thought hit him, and his eyes narrowed slyly. "It can"t be helped, but some of the staff have been wondering out loud about that native that contacted us. How did you get him to help you? We"ve never gotten to first base with these people, and as soon as you land you have one working for you. You can"t stop people from thinking about it, you being a newcomer and a stranger. After all, it looks a little odd--" He broke off in midsentence as Brion looked at him in cold fury.
"I can"t stop people from thinking about it--but I can stop them from talking. Our job is to contact the Disans and stop this suicidal war. I have done more in one day than you all have done since you arrived. I have accomplished this because I am better at my work than the rest of you. That is all the information any of you are going to receive. You are dismissed."
White with anger, Faussel turned on his heel and stamped out--to spread the word about what a slave-driver the new director was. They would then all hate him pa.s.sionately, which was just the way he wanted it. He couldn"t risk exposure as the tyro he was. And perhaps a new emotion, other than disgust and defeat, might jar them into a little action. They certainly couldn"t do any worse than they had been doing.
It was a tremendous amount of responsibility. For the first time since setting foot on this barbaric planet Brion had time to stop and think. He was taking an awful lot upon himself. He knew nothing about this world, nor about the powers involved in the conflict. Here he sat pretending to be in charge of an organization he had first heard about only a few weeks earlier. It was a frightening situation. Should he slide out from under?
There was just one possible answer, and that was no. Until he found someone else who could do better, he seemed to be the one best suited for the job. And Ihjel"s opinion had to count for something. Brion had felt the surety of the man"s conviction that Brion was the only one who might possibly succeed in this difficult spot.
Let it go at that. If he had any qualms it would be best to put them behind him. Aside from everything else, there was a primary bit of loyalty involved. Ihjel had been an Anvharian and a Winner. Maybe it was a provincial att.i.tude to hold in this big universe--Anvhar was certainly far enough away from here--but honor is very important to a man who must stand alone. He had a debt to Ihjel, and he was going to pay it off.
Once the decision had been made, he felt easier. There was an intercom on the desk in front of him and he leaned with a heavy thumb on the b.u.t.ton labeled Faussel.
"Yes?" Even through the speaker the man"s voice was cold with ill-concealed hatred.
"Who is Lig-magte? And did the former director ever return from seeing him?"
"Magte is a t.i.tle that means roughly n.o.ble or lord. Lig-magte is the local overlord. He has an ugly stoneheap of a building just outside the city. He seems to be the mouthpiece for the group of magter that are pushing this idiotic war. As to your second question, I have to answer yes and no. We found Director Mervv"s head outside the door next morning with all the skin gone. We knew who it was because the doctor identified the bridgework in his mouth. Do you understand?"
All pretense of control had vanished, and Faussel almost shrieked the last words. They were all close to cracking up, if he was any example. Brion broke in quickly.
"That will be all, Faussel. Just get word to the doctor that I would like to see him as soon as I can." He broke the connection and opened the first of the folders. By the time the doctor called he had skimmed the reports and was reading the relevant ones in greater detail. Putting on his warm coat, he went through the outer office. The few workers still on duty turned their backs in frigid silence.
Doctor Stine had a pink and shiny bald head that rose above a thick black beard. Brion had liked him at once. Anyone with enough firmness of mind to keep a beard in this climate was a pleasant exception after what he had met so far.
"How"s the new patient, Doctor?"
Stine combed his beard with stubby fingers before answering. "Diagnosis: heat-syncope. Prognosis: complete recovery. Condition fair, considering the dehydration and extensive sunburn. I"ve treated the burns, and a saline drip is taking care of the other. She just missed going into heat-shock. I have her under sedation now."
"I"d like to have her up and helping me tomorrow morning. Could she do this--with stimulants or drugs?"
"She could--but I don"t like it. There might be side factors, perhaps long-standing debilitation. It"s a chance."
"A chance we will have to take. In less than seventy hours this planet is due for destruction. In attempting to avert that tragedy I"m expendable, as is everyone else here. Agreed?"