Part 3

Suddenly Palanth laughed. "Shanghaied, by Jupiter's Red Spot!" He searched assiduously for his eternal kerchief. "Ah, here it is ..." then remembering, "My extracts! All my fragrances that have taken years to collect, left on Terra!" He cursed venomously in five interplanetary dialects until he was out of breath.

"Magnificent!" Mark commented admiringly.

* * * * *

Palanth subsided into smoldering fury, his great eyes almost black, the chiselled nostrils quivering. To him it was an appalling loss.

"Go on, don't stop now," Mark urged him grinning. "Later, when she wakes up, you won't be able to mourn your perfumes; now's your chance, besides I'd like some of those remarks for my own collection, Planetarian!"

"You'll find them in your private quarters awaiting you in the Spacer," a wan voice said wearily. "I feel as if I'd been mangled," Doctor Fortun sighed tremulously. Both men turned toward the girl, but her slender body had not stirred, the eyes were closed, only a tiny, tired smile hovered on the curving lips.

"Didn't know you were awake!" Mark reddened at the recollection of the lurid language.

"Praise be to Antares. My extracts ... where are they, where are my quarters ... let's get out of here!" Palanth could think of nothing but his priceless collection. "Without them I'd have to condition myself to pollution!"

"You're not very complimentary, Martian!" Doctor Fortun chided, her hazel eyes flickered open and she sat up. The girl surveyed Mark Lynn with calm, clear eyes. "What, no violence, not even recriminations? What an utterly erroneous conception the Council has about you Internationals," she observed, and waited for Mark to speak.

"We don't indulge in futilities, Doctor Fortun," Mark replied. "But perhaps you can give us an inkling of what all this is about; I think we deserve at least that much, Scientist!"

The girl seemed to meditate in silence. An odd, half fearful, half ashamed expression flitted across her features. "Yes, you deserve a great deal more than I can offer you, Spacer Lynn. But I'm afraid I can only give you another unpleasant experience to chalk up against me. It's all part of a pattern agreed upon even before you and your companion arrived on Terra. It was thought that only your influence on Internationals and Philosophers could persuade them to evacuate--they'd believe you, where they would never trust the Council. It was necessary that you be seen on Terra--when you entered the Council building, it was visi-screened in detail throughout the World State; your encounter with the attacker on the street, was seen by countless millions. It had to be established that you were on Terra, and in touch with the Council, so that your audio-visi-screen broadcast should be considered _authentic_."

* * * * *

"But I didn't broadcast, my orders from the Council were to promise all Internationals, Philosophers and the Ruralians--in fact, all dissenters--a habitable planet to which they would be transported in sleep-freeze, together with all metallic substances, seeds, plasms, drugs, food, in fact everything required for their normal existence for a five-year cycle--free from interference by the Government of the World State--provided they agreed to furnish the World State with an equal amount of materials within one hundred years. I never believed for an instant that the Council would relinquish control, the absolute lack of weapons, or of machinery to fashion them, was in itself a proof of intentions beyond the letter of the offer. I meant to refuse to broadcast to the irreconcilables my personal guarantee as demanded by the Council. Besides, I know of no such planet."

"That was why I took you to Havanol," Doctor Fortun nodded sadly. "The Council anticipated your refusal--your psychological data easily told them that--and since at Havanol only those with special permit could enter, the guests were specially chosen, so that none without the scientific circle knew you were there, thus your broadcast became authentic in the minds of the dissenters. You noticed there were no visi-screens at Havanol, under the excuse that nothing that did not contribute to pleasure could be permitted."

"But I tell you, I didn't broadcast!" Mark was becoming exasperated. "You keep on harping on that!"

"No, but your double did," the girl's voice was opaque. "Turn on the visi-screen in the Spacer, and you'll learn the truth. Everything that has been visi-screened on Terra since your arrival, was recorded in the Spacer's telecast--simply select the broadcasts of the date and hour when we went to Havanol, and it will be shown on the visi-screen panel in the Commander's quarters. Your double--part resemblance, part surgico-synthesis even imitates your voice within one-tenth of a microgram of its tonal quality. Detection was beyond human power, Spacer Lynn."

"If I ever get my hands on him...!" Mark's fingers clenched spasmodically as his face went dark with passion.

"You never will," the girl said sadly, "nor on the double who took the place of Palanth ... even that detail was taken care of, perfumes and all," her smile was bitter. "By now, both have been converted to power reserve, their usefulness having ended." There was an uncomfortable pause, the silence becoming oppressive in the luxurious helio-plane of the girl.

"Who's the Commander of the Interplanetary Spacer?" Mark asked at last, his agile mind already seeking means to circumvent the snare.

"_You!_" was the laconic reply.

"I? Has the Council gone mad? Do they think that after what's happened they can place a spacer in my power, and still command my allegiance? I can lose their damned Patrol in uncharted space ... _and I will!_"

"No, Spacer Lynn, you'll have to find a better, a more definitive solution than that. You see, you promised millions a planet of freedom, where they could build a new civilization patterned after the old American Constitution, but on an even greater, a wider plane of being. You promised them freedom from the Council, and a chance to develop untrammelled not only their minds but their emotions as well; you do not know it, but your double was trained as a great actor, years of conditioning and training taught him to ring the changes of emotion on human souls not deadened by the controls. Reports showed that millions wept, that a tidal wave of joy coursed through their ranks sending them pouring like a human cataract into the awaiting spacers, and sleep-freeze, Mark!"

IV

"Have you the figures on how many agreed to evacuate?" Mark's face was white and tense. Palanth was silent, immobile, in the hieratic attitude of Martians in deep thought.

"Roughly, three hundred million. I received the secret report just before we left Havanol."

"Where are they now?" Mark forced himself to ask.

"Travelling in space under robot control. When they arrive within the orbit of Europa, they will remain in an orbit calculated to parallel the trajectory of our Universe in space, in relation to the orbit of Europa, so that they will be like satellites of that planet. You will find an instrument in your quarters, which when operated activates a vibrational beam of such potency that it will contact the robot control of those spacers, causing them to land on the planet at various places and intervals. The major task will be to administer the antidote to sleep-freeze, but as each dissenter's awakened, he or she can join in awakening the rest. Your task is to build a civilization of Europa, a civilization with all the technical science of Terra, and to thoroughly develop that planet."

"But why Europa? It's a bleak world of cold and bare rocks, lit by a hellish crimson radiation from Jupiter's red spot, deserted, inhospitable...."

"But habitable, and rich in minerals, a large world with which to replenish a ravaged earth. The moon, our Luna, will go, Mark. The Council plans to eventually move Europa from its orbit to take the place of our Moon! What happened to you when you crashed there, is known to the Council; they inspected your ship and found it had been expertly repaired with rare metals and superb skill. By spy-ray they obtained enough out of your mind to obtain a pattern. You didn't have reserve oxides with you on that trip, yet oxides had been used in repairing your ship; an assortment of special tools were needed to make the repairs--tools you didn't have with you, yet the work had been done with a skill that surpassed that of our best technicians. And, finally, it was established that your skull had been crushed from behind, yet, you arrived in perfect health, the bone fracture entirely healed and with _thrice the energy_ reserve of a normal man! as a psychologist, I worked on the report. It was startling!"

"I see. And if I refuse to be part of their plan?" Mark's voice had the flat tones of a man condemned to death.

* * * * *

"You will be sentenced to power reserve, and Europa taken by force. A scientist will be placed in charge and armed proctors brought to preserve obedience. The Council hopes such measures will not be necessary--it will mean a constant struggle with the dissenters, and Venus and Mars might take advantage of the situation to begin the ancient wars all over again. That is why they are willing to give you a free rein. Ultimately of course, they envision the planet as a satellite of the Earth, its population under complete Council control."

"I'll not live to see that tragic day!" Mark's voice held infinite conviction.

"Neither will I," seconded Palanth.

"I suppose you're the direct representative of the Council?" Mark asked the girl. "You'll keep them informed of everything we do!" There was contempt in his deep, bitter voice.

"Don't spare my feelings!" Doctor Fortun smiled with a quiet sadness. "I've told everything but what the Supreme Council instructed me to say. I was to tell you another story ... to play enchantress and keep you lulled, if necessary, in a fool's paradise. But controls one, six and fifteen never quite worked with me. I've had to feign a lot and mask my mind lest I be condemned to power control. We Psychologists are very few--it's our only defense. Those we instruct in the techniques of the mind, must join our guild and swear allegiance _to us_! Why do you think I arranged to come on this trip? For love of the Council?

"I'm a woman, Mark! I want a home instead of a clinic and a husband instead of an order for fertilization. I want to experience the rapture that is love and have children. I came because I thought the very qualities in you the Council means to utilize might be the means of circumventing their purpose and ... and make us free!"

An incredulous look of surprise spread over Mark's face. For an instant he wondered if the Machiavellian tactics of the Council could extend even this far. But with a determined mental effort he probed the girl's mind and found it was unguarded. There was no trickery, no deception in her mind, even as the tears that blurred the lovely hazel eyes were genuine.

"Venus be praised!" He exclaimed fervently, and it was all he could do to refrain from taking her in his arms and kissing away the tears that were rolling down her cheeks.

"She speaks the truth," Palanth said telepathically, there was a trace of embarrassment in his thoughts. "She will be a most valuable ally in our fight."

* * * * *

Mark smiled, his face had lighted as if a profound grief had been removed. "You already know we'll fight, eh, Palanth?"

"But of course, O Terran of dubious intellect!" The Martian said grandly and waved the sadly crumpled kerchief now almost devoid of its overpowering perfume. He was himself again, eager for the intellectual struggle against overwhelming odds.

"What sort of intelligence is there on Europa?" Doctor Fortun asked, once more in control of herself.

"Exquisite beings with a mental power beyond our own, but resembling nothing human," Mark replied.

"Let's leave this helio. I'm anxious to inspect the Spacer; I've never commanded a ship of this size."

"How many are aboard and what are they?" Palanth inquired. "I hope they're Internationals!"

"I don't know the figures, Palanth, but I'm certain at least ninety percent are Internationals. I do know at least five hundred scientists of various categories are aboard. They'll be the first to be awakened from sleep-freeze, for at journey's end, they take charge."

"And who's going to give them the antidote?" Mark asked silkily.

"Robots, timed to administer it the moment we land on Europa. They have orders to direct resettlement without interfering too much--and of course, they are the eyes and ears of the Council; they are the only ones who have the necessary equipment for interplanetary communication, as you'll find out!"

"I think they need a long, long rest, don't you Palanth?" Mark was smiling.

"Indeed, O protector of the martyred!" Palanth exclaimed grandiloquently. "They must be tired, very tired ... of anything but sleep!"

"I've never seen these robots," Mark Lynn thought aloud. "Are there many, Doctor Fortun?"

"Approximately fifty--more than necessary, but they're to be used on landing by the scientists. These robots, Mark, are humanoid in their mental processes, able to perform tasks too difficult for human beings, especially in the mathematical field. They are created secretly, for the peoples of the World State must not know of their invention--there would be no need for labor if they were to be produced in sufficient numbers; production of necessities and luxuries could be increased a thousand fold, and ... it would destroy the present social philosophy of the World State. It would remove the _credo_ of achievement, it would abolish the standards of rigid thrift and conservation in a world of undreamed plenty, and finally, with robots able to solve the most intricate problems the absolute need for guidance would be neutralized.

"The Supreme Council had these robots built for their exclusive use. Only one thousand exist, we've been allotted fifty because Europa's been acknowledged as a major achievement."

"Can they be neutralized--the robots, I mean?" Mark was thinking at a furious pace.

"These robots are impressionless, blank, so to speak. Their only motivation is to administer the sleep-freeze antidote to the scientists aboard. After that, the scientists can direct them to required tasks, and each problem as it is solved by the robot, remains in its mechanical nero-pattern for repetition if necessary. They're wholly metallic, almost indestructible. _Whoever uses them first, is their master!_"

* * * * *

It was then that Mark unable to restrain himself, bent down and kissed her. "It occurs to me," he said very gently, "that I've never known your social name."

"Lucero," the girl whispered. "It's an ancient, almost forgotten name of the romance languages now lost."

"The evening star!" Mark breathed. "No wonder you're golden...." Forgetting Palanth he was about to take her in his arms, when the latter coughed with the dry, hacking sound of the Martians.

"Are we going into the Spacer, or have we changed our minds?" he inquired of the universe in general. "Terra's being wrecked, we're shanghaied aboard a sleep-freeze coffin polluted with half a thousand scientists and fifty inimical robots; we are headed for an unexplored moon of Jupiter, in the mesh of a gigantic plot, and three hundred million victims are dependent on our wits ... yet two highly specialized humans on whom the fate of a universe depends, are oblivious of it all like two Phobos-struck kaladonis! Arrgh ... what a race, O Mind of ultimate understanding!" He bowed at the mention of the Martian all highest--the nameless God.

Both Lucero and Mark came to, faces crimson, smiling sheepishly. Together they left the helio-plane and went down an emergency ladder into the interior of the vast interplanetary Spacer.

Within the _Stellar Virgin_ the silence was intense--the silence of a dead city. In the luxurious quarters provided for the scientists, the latter lay soundless and inert in the almost ultimate oblivion of sleep-freeze. They were ten in number to each mammoth, cavernous stateroom, and in the very center, upon a throne-like dais, motionless and life-like, a gigantic robot sat immobile, awaiting the end of the trip, when for the first time since they were fashioned, they would perform the only task impressed upon their virgin brains.

Mark Lynn went silently from cabin to cabin, to all outward appearances inspecting the ship, but inwardly, his mental processes geared to the apex of their wide-awakedness, grappled endlessly with the problem of the robots. If the scientists awakened from the sleep-freeze thanks to the antidotes, they'd instantly command the robots for their initial tasks and thereafter they'd be masters of that incalculable source of power. With the robots under their command, the scientists would be masters indeed, able to dispose of the machinery within the Spacer at their will, to manufacture more machinery, build weapons and in short, control Europa.

He thought of the thousands of Internationals in the Spacer's hold, and his head ached with the sustained effort. It was a little thing that gave him the clue, the intense pain at the base of his brain was like a constant hammering, and Mark considered an infinitesimal dose of Vanadol. It would banish the pain as if by magic.

"Vanadol!" He exclaimed electrified. "By Io, Vanadol is the answer! How much Vanadol have we got aboard? Palanth, search the medical stores and find how much of the stuff we've brought along ... hurry!" Mark's eyes were sparkling, green as emeralds.

Lucero regarded him curiously. "What's so important about Vanadol, Mark?"

"The scientists must not awaken until we have the robots under our command. By giving each scientist a heavy dose of Vanadol, enough for weeks of sleep, we circumvent the antidote for sleep-freeze. It's this way: when we land, the mechanism within each robot timed for release on arrival, activates them for their one and only task, the administration of anti-sleep freeze, but since each scientist will have been thoroughly drugged with Vanadol, they'll be released from sleep-freeze, but will continue to sleep under the powerful narcotic. The robots then will be given such commands as we decide on, and will be entirely answerable to us three only. They will facilitate immensely the task of making Europa truly habitable, and since they are almost indestructible, will be the most valuable of all weapons. Let's get busy, if there's enough Vanadol, we've won the first round after all!"

Presently the Martian returned, "There's tons of the stuff," he announced. Mark had to explain all over again.

VI

"Panadur!" Mark Lynn breathed softly as he glanced at the stark grandeur of Europa from one of the glassite ports. It was night. The macabre glow of Jupiter's Red Spot enveloped the satellite in a red opaline haze that made the vari-colored cliffs gleam with twisted flames in deep crimson and orange and purple. Over all, an eternal mantle of snow lay like frozen spume. Mark opened his hand and looked at the jewel he held. It was pulsing now with a fiery radiance.

The great spacer was lying in the cup-shaped hollow of the immense valley, resting on the blanketing snow, just as once before, a tiny cruiser had rested crippled in the fantastic Europan night. But it was different then. Mark remembered his chilling awe at the Dantesque panorama, and his shock when Jim Brannigan had found life on Europa, the strange, exquisitely furred bipeds with slender arms and six-fingered hands. He had thought them animals then, despite the bright intelligence shining in the beryl-eyes of the creatures. But he'd learned differently in time, when Jim had crushed his skull from behind, and the Panadurs had saved him by absorbing Jim's life-energy and transferring it to him while he lay unconscious. That was the miracle, that the metabolism of the Panadurs could absorb energy from any source and transfer it at will. They were telepathic, and their leader had given him the jewel to facilitate communication if Mark ever returned.

It was like the remembrance of a dream, to have the past pass in review through his mind as he methodically donned his allurium suit, and turned on the heating unit.

"I'm going out ... alone," he said firmly to Palanth and Lucero. "I owe the inhabitants of this world a debt, and whether we remain or not, is for them to decide. You see this star-like jewel? That's the Star of Panadur; by concentrating my thoughts, it acts as a sort of transmitting crystal and will make it possible for me to reach the leader of the Panadurs. I will return." He smiled reassuringly into Lucero's distraught face, and Palanth's scowling one.

"Why can't I accompany you?" The Martian growled. "Since when must I be left behind in the face of danger? Am I an old woman, Mark?"

"But there's no danger, Palanth! It's a promise I gave that never, never would I bring any intelligent creature to Panadur without their approval. This world's a treasure house, and the Panadurs are a treasure in themselves, for their fur is finer than anything in the Universe, including Neptune's moons. I know of a vast cavern floored with oxide, and cliffs of pure metal. Europa, or rather, Panadur, is an inexhaustible source of power! It remains with them--the Panadurs, whether we remain or not." He smiled at them again, almost pleadingly, for them to understand, and without another word, stepped through the air-locks and was gone. They could see his tall figure in its gleaming sheath outlined in the unearthly glow until it disappeared in the distance.

* * * * *

Mark Lynn let his mind be passive. Contact with the alien intelligence had been made; the jewel in his hand was now a burst of radiance, as he traversed the valley in the direction of the cavern country, and at last he was before the gigantic mass of cliffs he sought. He entered a low, gallery-like cave that wound downwards into the bowels of the cliff, following the twisting turns as the gallery widened and the luminescent walls became even more luminous, until at the end of a turn a burst of radiance met his eyes and he was once more in the grotto of titanic proportions lighted by the glaucous radiance, like the green light beneath the waters of a shallow sea. At his feet, crystalline and powdery, the entire floor of the grotto was covered by oxide as far as his eyes could see. Mark had the odd sensation of living a part of his life over again. He waited in silence.

Mark knew that thousands of burning beryl eyes were peering at him from concealed openings in the walls; he felt the mental rapport with their leader that was rapidly absorbing from his mind all that could be obtained. The wait was interminable. At last, a silvery-grey, furred being, was before Mark, seemingly having come from nowhere. Its exquisite triangular face, with the wide-set beryl eyes and broad forehead, was startlingly human.

"Greetings, twice come!" the faint shadow of a smile seemed to cross its features as it telepathed the thought. "When your space machine landed, we feared the worst--but we are reassured. Your mind tells me that countless of your kind hover asleep over our world. What would you have us do?"

"Your permission to remain," Mark sent the telepathic reply. And then, in a welling flood of thought, poured out the story of what had happened on Terra, the resettlement of two-thirds of the population on other planets, and finally, their abhorrence of their Terran Government and its methods.