To Die In Italbar

CHAPTER 5

Matching his orbital velocity with Summit's rotation, he hung starlike above the area in question.

"... A single individual," he repeated. "I am sorry that I cannot be more explicit. I am convinced he is the focus of the infections. You have to do more than simply quarantine the area. You have to locate this man and immobilize him. He should be moving somewhat in advance of the contagion course, as we must allow for an incubation period. From what you have told me so far, he seems to be headed southwest. I recommend you assume continuing movement in that direction, most likely on foot, and begin searching immediately. And get me more data! If possible, I would like to be in direct communication with the searchers."

"I will of course have to get authorization for all this, Dr. Pels, but I am certain it will not take long. In the meantime, there should be more reports coming in shortly. I will get them up to you as soon as we have them."

"Very good. I will be waiting."

Pels broke the connection.

Indeed, he said to himself, I am used to waiting. But this time-- The news came so quickly, and I made it in time to be right on top. I know he is down there. These people will let me direct things. I know it. Nothing like this has ever happened here before. He seems to be getting worse. But I will find him this time. Time.

... Three, four, five.

"Hold it!" he said, but she had already tossed the sixth coin.

It hung there a moment, turning, jerking, then moved to join the other five in a slow figure-of-eight procession in the middle of the air.

"Just wait until I stabilize the thing ... There! All right, add another--carefully."

Jackara ffipped another coin upward. It overshot the group by several feet, froze as if suddenly transformed to a photograph, then commenced a tadpole-like wiggling that took it in the direction of the pattern. Moments later, it had joined the flow.

"Another!"

Laughing, Jackara tossed another coin. This one did not stop or even seem to slow, but moved to take its place in the procession immediately.

"Another!"

It was caught instantly, fitted into the circuit.

"Another ..."

"I think you are going to break your record," she said, throwing it.

Catching it, he unfolded the design so that the coins now moved in a circle. The circle expanded and the coins flowed faster.

"Now. Another."

It fell into the pattern, which continued to expand, to accelerate.

"You did it! That's the most yet!" she said.

The shining round of coins drifted toward her, where she sat on the edge of the bunk. It moved to a position above her, descended, spun about her head.

_I still cannot tell what it is that occurs in your mind when you do it, said Shind, though I can recognize the process when it is operating. Actually, it is a very pleasant thing to contem_--

Malacar laughed.

The ring came apart. The coins clattered against the bulkhead, shot across the cabin, fell about Jackara.

She uttered a brief cry and drew back. Morwin shuddered and shook his head.

Chuckling, Malacar emerged from behind the partition that separated the controls from the living area.

"The Summit port authorities are most cooperative," he announced. "Really helpful."

Morwin smiled to Jackara. "It _is_ a record," he said. Then, to Malacar, "How are they being helpful?"

"I just checked with them for a picture of the landing situation, expressing concern over rumors I had heard of the outbreak of various diseases. Was it safe to land at all? I asked. Or should I take my tour elsewhere?"

"Tour?" Jackara said.

"Yes. I decided to be a tour guide, for purposes of the communication. --Might even be a good story to stick with if we get into trouble. At any rate, they responded by detailing the areas presently under quarantine. I got conversational then and managed to obtain some dates and places. I have a pretty good idea of our man's progress within the area now."

"Very good," said Morwin, stooping and beginning to retrieve coins. "What are we going to do now?"

"Drop back into subspace--I told him we were calling the trip off--and reenter at another point. Their satellite warning system looks pretty simple. I ought to be able to slip through all right."

"Then land in the quarantined area and pick him up?"

"Exactly."

"Well, I've been thinking. What if we find him and he says he doesn't want to come with us, that he doesn't want to be a weapon? What do we do then? Kidnap him?"

Malacar stared at him, eyes narrowing. Then he smiled.

"He'll come," he said.

Morwin looked away.

"Just wondering ..."

Malacar turned back toward the front of the vessel.

"I am going to change course now," he said. "I will be taking us back into subspace as soon as I am able."

Morwin nodded, jingled the coins, stood.

"I think it is about time for your next round of immunizations," Malacar called back as he rounded the partition. "See to it, will you, Shind?"

_Yes_.

Morwin threw the coins into the air. They became a glittering tornado, twisting and spinning for several moments, then descended with a clatter into his outstretched palm.

"Here's another," said Jackara, extending her hand.

The coin shot from her fingertips and joined its mates with a sharp _clink_.

She stared at him.

"Is something the matter?" she asked.

He dumped the coins into his pocket.

"I don't know," he said.

_You do, though_, said Shind. _His answer has caused you to think once more of your own position in this enterprise. And of all the things that follow_.

_Of course_.

_You see now that he has changed, that he seems willing to use people in ways he might not have before_.

_It seems that way_.

_Jackara, for instance. Why is she here?_

_I've been wondering_.

_He has rationalized his way around it, but there is only one reason: She worships him, she thinks that everything he does is right. He will not admit it, but he needs that support now_.

_He is that uncertain of himself?_

_He grows older. Time moves more quickly for him, but his objectives seem no nearer to realization_.

_And of my own presence?_

_A version of the same thing. It is not just that you can cause a gun to misfire or sabotage a starship with your mind. Your respect reassures him. While he cannot fully trust you, he requires the old feeling of command your presence provides_.

_He is taking a chance, though, if he cannot trust me_ .

_Not really, for he knows that he can control you_.

_How?_

_By his control of Jackara. He is aware of your fondness for her_.

_I did not think that it showed--and I had never thought him to be so perceptive_.

_He is not, normally. I told him of your feelings for her_.

_For God's sake! Why? My feelings are none of_--.

_It was necessary. I would not have violated your emotional privacy if it were not. I did it only to assure his bringing you along_.

_Just because you are worried about him?_

_It is no longer so simple_--

"Should I prepare the inoculations, Shind?"

_Yes. Go ahead, Jackara_.

Morwin watched her as she rose and moved to the rear of the compartment. Then he looked away and seated himself on the bunk.

_What do you mean, Shind?_

_As we have observed, Malacar has changed. But then, of course, so have we. He was always somewhat rash-and this was once a virtue--so that I found it difficult to decide until recently whether he had become more so, or whether I had simply grown more conservative. Something happened recently, however, which settled this question for me and gave me cause for alarm. It was on Deiba, where we sought clues as to the identity of H and found him to be this Heidel von Hymack. We encountered another individual searching for the same information. He was also successful, and he tried to dissuade Malacar from using it as he intends. He even offered him a tremendous price for his cooperation--the restoration of the entire planet Earth to its pre-war condition_.

_Preposterous_.

_No. The man was Francis Sandow, and I was in his mind as he spoke. He meant what he said. And he was very concerned_.

_Sandow? The plano former?_

_The same. He has long enjoyed an intimacy with the Pei'ans, the oldest race of which we have knowledge. In his mind there was a certainty that the man we seek has obtained an abnormal and highly dangerous relationship with one of the Pei'an deities, a goddess concerned with both healing and disease_--.

_And you believe this?_

_What is important is not whether 1 believe it or whether the thing is truly a deity. I do believe there is something highly unusual involved, though. Sandow was convinced that there is a dangerous concentration of power here, and his conviction was based on considerable personal knowledge of the phenomenon. I have known several Pei'ans, and they are a very strange, gifted people. I have encountered Sandow, and I know that he is anything but a fool. I know too that he was afraid. That is sufficient. I believe there is reason for his fears. Malacar would not even discuss the matter with him, though. Instead, he tried to kill him. I told him that he had succeeded, in order to save Sandow's life. The man was actually only stunned_.

_What happened then?_

_We returned home. Malacar began his search for von Hymack_.

_Was Jackara with you when you met Sandow?_

_Yes_.

_Does she believe Malacar killed him?_

_Yes_.

_I see... And now Sandow's organization may be after us?_

_I think not. He sent no agents. He went to Deiba alone. it is therefore a thing he wishes to handle himself. I believe he will keep it that way. --No, it is not the wrath of Sandow that concerns me at the moment. I wanted you along for a different reason_.

_What, then?_

_I did not exaggerate my fear for Malacar's safety, nor the peril that I feel lies ahead. I wanted you with us for the purpose of killing Heidel von Hymack, should we succeed in locating him_.

_That is quite a request_.

_But necessary. You must do it_.

_And if I refuse?_

_Thousands of people may die besides the Commander-- needlessly, horribly. Possibly millions_.

_I do not know this for a fact_.

_But you know me--have known me for years. You know I am stable and not given to acting without considerable thought. You know my loyalty to the Commander, and you know that I would not defy him lightly. Would I have set things up as I have if I did not believe what I was doing to be correct? You know the answer. I see it in your thoughts_.

Morwin bit his lip. Jackara approached with the pressure pens. He drew up his sleeve and extended his arm.

_I will have to think about it_.

_Think all you want. I already know your answer_.

With blankets and water, the searchers made the man as comfortable as they could, there beside the trail. While they waited for the transportation they had summoned, they listened to his words, sometimes scattered by the fever, tugged back to responsiveness by chills.

"... Correct," he said, looking past them at the sky. "Mad and correct. I don't know. Yes I do. He was thin ... Thin and dirty and covered with sores. I was at the supply depot when he came around. Never saw him before ... No. Hair like a dirty halo. There's your stranger for you. Came walking, someone said. Dunno from where ... Give me another drink, will you? --Thanks. --I don't know... Where he was going ... ? He didn't say. He talked. He did that. I don't remember what he said--exactly. But it was strange ... There's your stranger for you. Never said his name. Didn't seem to need one. Got up on a packing case and started talking. Funny ... Nobody tried to stop him, tell him to go away ... He-- Don't remember what he said. Mad and correct ... But we listened. Not that much happens around here--and he was different. Preaching, sort of--but not quite. Cursing, maybe. I don't know... Anyway-- Wait... More water? --Thanks. --Funny, funny... Mad talker. Death and life ... That's right! Right! Right ... How everything is going to die. Couldn't stop listening. Don't know why. We knew he was mad. Everybody said so--when we talked about him--after he left. Nobody said a word while he was preaching, though. It was like-- He made it sound right while he was saying it. And he was--right. Look at me! He was. Wasn't he? Mad and correct ... --No. I didn't see which direction he headed afterward. --You want to hear him, though? Sam-- who runs the place--recorded part of what he said. Played it back later. Different with him not being there, saying it. We laughed a lot when we listened, then. Just mad, that's all. You can ask Sam, if he hasn't erased it. You can hear him for yourself ... That was when I started feeling shaky-- God! He was right! He was, I think ... Seems that way-- anyhow ..."

They reported this back to their section leader, and after the pickup they continued on, slowly, combing the countryside, halting to assist and record, to provide for the dead, the dying, the survivors, maintaining radio contact with the other groups, passing through open country, searching dwellings, climbing hills, the searchers.

From the far corners of the sky, the clouds began to advance, and they cursed the threat of the storm which would foul both their boots and the body-heat detection equipment. One, who knew his history, even cursed Francis Sandow, who had designed and built the world.

Clouds, unrolling like carpets, spreading, trailing wisps and rag-ends, rushed toward a point near midheaven, dampening the dayblue sky to a pearl-gray from which the translucence slowly ebbed, as additional layers were heaped above, banking, mounting higher, pressing lower, darkening, dimming, hazing the outlines of trees and rocky heights, transforming the lower figures of men and animals into shifting things a quarter of shadow and going for half, while the rains were yet withheld, the mists rolled and rose, dew came afresh to the grasses, windows were filmed and beaded, moisture collected, ran upon, dripped from leaves, sounds came distorted, as though the entire world had been bedded in cotton, birds flew near to the ground in their courses toward the hills, the winds died down and ceased, small animals paused, raised their muzzles, turned them slowly, shook themselves, cocked their heads, then moved as if seeking some hidden Ark, beyond the foothills, in the mist, above the places the searchers combed, and the thunder held its breath, the lightning stayed its stroke, the rain remained unshed, the temperature slipped downward, cloud fell upon cloud and, stopper drawn from the spectrum, the colors drained out of the world, leaving behind a newsreel frame or the impression of a cave, shadows sliding on its farther walls, changing, irregular, wet.

Dr. Pels listened again to the rasping, recorded voice, hooking his thumbs beneath his jaw, bracing his knuckles against his cheeks:

"I-- Did someone say he has a right to live? I-- There is no cosmic guarantee for this. Far from it! The only promise the universe makes and keeps is death ... I-- Who says that life must triumph? All evidence indicates the contrary! Everything that has risen from the primal slime has been beset and ultimately destroyed! Every link in the great chain of being attracts the nemesis which breaks it! Life feeds upon itself, is crushed by the inanimate! Why? Why not? I--

"... You are to blame. For existing. Look within yourselves and you will see the truth ... Regard the rocks of the desert! They breed not, nor do they harbor thoughts, desires. No living thing can compare to the crystal in its still perfection. I--

"... Talk not to me of the sacredness of life, nor its adaptability. For every adaptation there is a new, dark answer, and the echo shatters the utterer. Only the stillness is sacred. The absence of hearing evokes the mystic sound. I--

"... The gods erred in dumping their wastes. But you are to blame. For existing. This corner of the universe is polluted! From the stuff of divine garbage the disease of life was bred ... There is your sacredness! Quarantined between darkness and darkness, allowed to run its course. And everything that lives is disease to something other! We feed upon ourselves, are gone! Soon now, soon ... I--

"I-- Brothers! Envy the stone! It suffers not! Rejoice in untainted water and air and rock! Envy the crystal. Soon we shall be like them, perfect, still .

"Do not ask forgiveness, but slowness in the disposition that is to come--that you may savor the return to delicious peace! I-- I-- I--

"Pray, weep, burn ... That is all. I-- Go ... Go!"

Then he set it to replay and resumed his attitude. It was a troublesome emotion that he felt, not unlike the effects of Wagner, whom he kept to a minimum. But one more time ...

"How does this help us ... ?" he began, and then he smiled.

It did not really help. But it made him feel better.

A moment's respite, then.

Heidel von Hymack moved along the trail that wound its way up and over the shoulder of a rocky prominence. Pausing near its highest point, he looked back and down, across the fog-shrouded distance he had come. He blinked his eyes and rubbed his beard. His vague feelings of uneasiness had intensified. Something was wrong. He leaned back against the glass-slick rock and rested his hands on his staff. Yes, it was difficult to identify, but something had been altered in the world about him. It was more than a pre-storm tension. It was almost as if he were being sought, by someone he was not yet ready to meet.

Is she trying to tell me something? he wondered. Maybe I should hole up and find out. But that would take time, and I feel this need to keep moving. Ought to get out of here before the storm hits. Why do I keep looking back? I--

He ran his fingers through his hair and raked his teeth across his lower lip. A bit of sunlight leaked through a rift in the clouds and caused the mist about him to sparkle with momentary, dancing prisms. Eyes darting, forehead furrowed, he watched them for perhaps ten seconds, then turned away.

"Damn you!" he said. "Whoever you are ..."

He banged his staff against a rock, crossed over the ridge, sought a downward track.

He sat upon a stone and hunted. After a time, he rose and moved on, tramping among the hills and over the trackless, rock-strewn plains, there in the region of mists. As he walked, birds dipped and darted about him, appearing out of and vanishing back into the shifting curtain of fog.

Hunting, he climbed partway up the face of a steep stone hill, seated himself on a narrow ledge, withdrew a cigar, bit off its end, lit it. As he stared across the plain, a wind washed over it, and for a while it lay bare and bleak beneath his gaze. A spined lizard whose skin reproduced the shifting color display of a soap bubble's surface descended from a rock and came to share the ledge with him, fork-tongue darting heartred, yellow eyes fixed unblinking upon his face. It brushed against his hand and he stroked it.

"What do you think?" he said, after several minutes. "I can't spot a warm-blooded body or mind in the area."

He continued to smoke, and the mists crept back to cover the plain. Finally, he sighed, thumped his heels against the rock and rose. Turning, he lowered himself and began the downward climb. The lizard moved to the edge and regarded his descent.

Pacing another half mile, he acquired the company of a pair of weasel-like predators who frolicked about his feet, tongues lolling, as though greatly amused by the progress of his boots, tiny hisses and barking noises occasionally escaping their throats. They ignored the circling birds and the big-throated wadloper who emerged from his mudhole to follow after, until his awkward, shambling gait left him far behind--at which time he croaked twice and crept back to his wallow.

When, beside a rust-streaked boulder, he paused to hunt with his mind, the animals grew still. An icy stream trickled nearby, dark, diamond-leafed plants swaying in clumps on its banks, the mists skating over its surface. He stared, unseeing, at the flow, chewing his cigar, searching.

Then, "No," he said, and, "Why don't you go home?" to the animals.

They drew back and watched him, and when he departed they made no move to follow.

Crossing the stream, he continued on his way, without map or compass. bearing toward the west, after detecting a party of unsuccessful searchers in the direction he had intended taking, eastward.

And as he walked, he cursed. Between damns, he threw away his cigar. Turning then to the east, he stared for perhaps half a minute.

A roll of thunder sounded in the distance. Moments later, it was followed by another. More occurred then, merging into a steady growling note that vibrated within the ground as well as the air. A wind arose in the west and rushed to investigate the storm.

He moved on, turning farther southward now, paralleling the storm for a time, then leaving it behind him. Half an afternoon later, there came a glimmer of something that drew him farther to the west.

"Who, I wonder?" he said to the shadow that sighed along the ground beside his feet. "Somehow familiar, but still too far ... I had better be very careful."

Probing gingerly, he advanced, and the fogs rushed to conceal him and to muffle the sounds of his passage.

Hunched within his poncho, Morwin splashed forward, the center of a fifty-foot circle of visibility. Protected from the moisture without, he was nevertheless damp with perspiration, and the palm of his hand felt clammy whenever he touched it against the butt of his pistol. He thought of Malacar and Jackara, moving along a drier course from the cave where _The Perseus_ lay hidden. He thought of the landslide they had brought down to cover the cave mouth, and he tried not to think of the difficulties they might encounter in blasting their way out again.

_Anything, Shind?_ he inquired.

_If I locate anyone, you will be the first to know_.

_What of Jackara--and Malacar?_

_They are just emerging from the storm into an area of greater visibility. They continue to monitor the radio communications among the native searchers, as well as their conversations with Dr. Pels. It appears that these searchers have found nothing but bad weather, so far. Worse than here, actually. At least, they keep complaining about it_.

_The search parties are near enough for you to read?_

_No. I am obtaining this information only from Malacar's mind. It seems that the searchers are about four miles north of us, and farther to the east_.

_This Pels you mentioned-- He is the same one--the Dr. Pels?_"

_It seems so. I gather that he is in orbit directly overhead at this moment_.

_To what end?_

_He appears to be in charge of things_.

_I assume he wants H also_.

_Most likely_.

_I don't like this, Shind--their being aware one man is causing it, and hunting for him at the same time, in the same place. And Pels being in on it. If I decide to do as you suggested, there may be more trouble than we anticipated_.

_I have been thinking about this also. It has occurred to me that it might be safest to see whether there is a way to assure his being turned over to Pels' searchers. If they take him into custody, our problem is solved_.

_How do you propose achieving this?_

_Overpower him, bind him. Bring him to their attention. Failing that, kill him and claim self-defense. They seem to think he is unbalanced, so it would sound plausible_.

_Supposing Malacar finds him first?_

_Then we will have to think of something else. An accident, I suppose_.

_I don't like it_.

_I know that. Have you a better idea?_

_No_.

They continued on for the better part of an hour, achieving higher ground and emerging from the storm into a warmer, somewhat clearer place, more level in character, though still rifted, still dotted with boulders. Dark shapes occasionally passed overhead, emitting high-pitched, trilling notes. The wind continued to blow steadily from out of the west.

Morwin removed his poncho, folded it, rolled it, hung it from his belt. He withdrew a handkerchief and began to wipe his face.

_There is someone up ahead_, Shind told him.

_Our man?_

_Quite possibly_.

He loosened his pistol in its holster.

_"Possibly"?_ he said. _You're the telepath. Read his mind_.

_It is not that simple. People do not generally walk about concentrating on their identities--and I have never met the man_.

_I was under the impression you could do better than just pick up surface thoughts_.

_You know that I can. You are also aware that many factors are involved. He is still a good distance away, and his mind is troubled_.

_What is bothering him?_

_He feels that he is being pursued_.

_If he is von Hymack, he is correct. I wonder how he knows it, though?_

_This not at all clear. He is in an abnormal state of mind. Extreme paranoia, I would say--and an obsession with death, disease_.

_Understandable, of course_.

_Not to me, not completely. He seems aware of what he is doing, and he seems to delight in it. There is a sense of divine mission about it. Finally, he seems somewhat dazed. Yes, this is our man_.

_With a string of defense mechanisms_.

_Possibly, possibly_ ...

_How far ahead is he?_

_About half a mile_.

Morwin moved forward, hurrying now, eyes straining against the gloom.

_I have just been in contact with the Commander. He thought his instruments had detected someone, but it was apparently only an animal. I lied to him about our own situation_.

_Good. What is H doing now?_

_He is singing. His mind is filled with it. A Pei'an thing_.

_Strange_.

__He_ is strange. I would have sworn that for a moment he was aware of my presence in his mind. Then this feeling vanished_.

Morwin increased his pace.

_I want to get this over with_, he said.

_Yes_.

They pressed ahead, almost running now.

Francis Sandow sighed. The _rnartlind_--out of sight, though still within reach of his mind--continued on at the sluggish pace that had carried it directly past Malacar and Jackara. As this occurred, he had retreated to a point near a powerpull, moving out of range of the other's detection gear. A quick mental probe showed him that Malacar had sighed also, accepting the beast's presence in place of himself.

Should have been more careful, he reflected. No excuse for a blunder like that. I get too cocky on my own worlds. And this calls for some small subtlety, not just force. Got to baffle that gear of his ... There!

Moving swiftly, he again regarded the thoughts of Malacar, and of Jackara ...

Bitter, so bitter he has become, he reflected. The girl hates too, but with her it is such a childlike thing. Would either of them really go through with it, I wonder, if they realized fully what the results would be? He cannot have lost his sense of process to that extent, so that he envisages only the deaths and not the dying. If he had come a greater distance on foot, had seen the results of von Hymack's passing--I wonder? Would he still feel as he does?, He has changed, though, even in that short while since I met him on Deiba--and he was not exactly soft and reasonable that day.

It was then that the prickling sensation began within Malacar's mind, and Sandow dropped his own toward inertia, realizing that he could not withdraw undetected. He did not even curse, for there must be no emotion, no telltale reverberation of feeling. It must be as if he did not exist. No reaction, no response, whatever transpired. Even then ...

Peculiar sensation. Two telepaths regarding the same subject at the same time. One hiding from the other . .

Sandow passively noted an exchange between Shind and Malacar, learning in an instant their aims, their progress, reacting not at all. When the exchange had terminated, his mind moved once more, withdrawing, assessing. He brushed lightly against Jackara's mind, then shied away, almost stung by Shind's presence there now.

He withdrew another cigar, lit it.

Complicated, damn it! he decided. Searchers to the left, still far off, but moving this way. Malacar to the right. Shind liable to pick me up at any time if I am not careful. And somewhere up ahead, probably, my man ...

He began to move, slowly, then, paralleling Malacar and Jackara, out of reach of the man-sniffer, brushing lightly against the fringes of their minds, alternately, at half-minute intervals, beginning with Malacar, walking westward.

Let them find him and then take him away from them? he wondered. But they might not... Then ... No--

And then his questions became unnecessary.

Moving at a rapid pace, Morwin stumbled when he attempted an abrupt halt. He had mounted a rocky ridge somewhat in advance of Shind, and through the half-lit, eddying haze he had seen the man, thin, dark, staff in hand, standing unmoving, looking back. There was no doubt in his mind as to his identity, and he felt himself taken by confusion at this sudden presence. Recovering, he found that Shind was once more in his mind.

_That is our man! I am certain! But something is wrong. He is aware! He_--

Then Morwin clutched at his head, dropped back to his knees.

He had never heard a mental scream before.

_Shind! Shind! What is happening?_

_I-- I-- She's got me! Here_--

His mind swirling like the mists, there came a sudden series of superimpositions of images and colors, rising and mixing with a clarity and vividness which destroyed his ability to distinguish between that which was externally objective and that which was not. A changing blueness came to overlay everything, and in its midst a myriad of blue women danced, wildly, kaleidoscopically; and as he realized--for no rational reason--that their plurality was but some symbolic illusion, they began to collapse, coalesce, merge, fall in upon themselves, growing more and more stately, compelling, potent. It was then that he felt himself the subject of scrutiny on the part of the swaying women. And they resolved themselves into two: one, tall and soft and lovely, a madonnalike tower of compassion; the other, like yet unlike her in appearance, possessed of an aspect he could only consider menacing. Then these two merged, the countenance and mien of the latter growing dominant. Amid blue lightnings she stared with unblinking, perhaps lidless, eyes that stripped him in an instant of his flesh, his mind, that terrified him with their primal, irrational intensity.

"Shind!" he cried, and he had the gun in his hand, firing.

A wave of something like laughter washed over him.

Then, _She is using me!_ Shind seemed to be saying. _I-- Help me!_

The empty weapon slipped from his fingers. He felt himself in the midst of a dream, a cosmic nightmare. Moving without motion, thinking without thought, his mind twisted reflexively then and, as in all his workings with the stuff of dream, he seized the image and exerted his will. Driven this time by a terror that flashed like fire through the rooms of his existence, he found himself wielding a force he had never before possessed, striking out with it against the mocking woman-thing.

Her expression altered, all traces of amusement vanishing. Her figure dwindled, grew distorted, faded and returned, faded and returned. With each dimming he glimpsed the man, lying now upon the ground.

A painful wailing filled his head. Then it was gone, she was gone, and finally so was he.

"Stop!"

Malacar turned.

"What is the matter?" he asked.

"Nothing, now," she said. "But we are finished here. It is time to return to the vessel. We are leaving."

"What are you talking about? What is wrong?"

Jackara smiled.

"Nothing," she repeated. "Nothing, now."

As he regarded her, however, he realized that something _had_ changed. It took him several moments to sort his impressions. The first thing that struck him was her relaxed appearance. It occurred to him that he had never seen J ackara's features pleasantly animated, and that her posture, her entire bearing, had been stiff, tense, semi-military up until then. Her voice, too, was altered. In addition to having grown softer, throatier, it now possessed an unmistakable resonance of command, silken, seamless, resilient.

Still searching for the proper question, he said, simply, "I do not understand."

"Of course not," she said. "But you see, there is no reason to look further. That which you seek is here. The man von Hymack is useless to you now, for I have found me a better place. I like Jackara--her body, her simple passion--and I shall remain with her. Together now, we shall accomplish all that you desire. And more. So much more. You shall have your plagues, your deaths. You shall see the ultimate disease, life, healed by that which shall come to pass. Let us return to the vessel now and be borne to a populous place. By the time that we reach it, I will be ready. You will witness a spectacle which will satisfy even a passion such as yours. And this will only be the beginning--"

"Jackara! I have no time for jokes! I--"

"I am not joking," she said softly, moving nearer to him, raising her hand to his face.

She ran her fingertips up his cheek, bringing them to rest upon his temple. He was paralyzed then by the vision of carnage that swept through his mind. The dead, the dying were everywhere. The symptoms of disease after disease flashed before him, displayed on bodies without number. He saw entire planets rolling in the grip of epidemics, saw worlds stark and barren, emptied of life, their streets, homes, buildings, dead fields filled with corpses, bodies awash in their harbors, choking gutters and streams, bloated, decomposing. All ages and sexes were so strewn, like the aftermath of a killer storm.

He grew ill.

"My God!" he finally gasped. "What are you?"

"You have seen what you have seen, and still you do not know?"

He backed away.

"There is something unnatural here," he said finally. "The blue goddess Sandow said ..."

"How fortunate you are," she told him. "And I also. Your means are vastly superior to those of my previous acolyte, and we have common goals--"

"How did you come to invade the person of Jackara?"

"Your servant Shjnd was linked with her mind when I encountered her. She was preferable to the man I knew. I came over. It is good to have this sex again."

_Shi nd! Shind!_ he called. _Where are you? What has happened?_

"Your servants are unwell," she said. "But there is no need for them any longer. In fact, they must be left behind. Especially the man Morwin. Come! We will return to the ship."

But faintly, very faintly, like a dog scratching at a door, Shind touched his mind.

... _Right ... Sandow--was right... I have seen a mind -- beyond comprehension... Destroy--her_. .

Still shaken, Malacar fumbled at his holster ...

"Pity," she said. "It could have been pleasant. But I can go it alone now--and I fear that I must."

... And knew that he would be too late, for Jackara's gun was already in the hand of the stranger.

Rags of consciousness raised by a black tide, dropped, raised again. Streamers now, farther aloft. Then down. Up ...

Morwin's eyes fell upon the pistol.

Even before he realized who he was, his hand groped for the gun, seized it. The cold congruence of palm and curved metal butt was security, comfort.

Blinking, he saw his way back into existence, followed it, lifted his head.

_Shind? Where are you?_

But Shind did not reply, was not to be seen.

Turning, he regarded the prostrate form of the man, perhaps twenty paces distant. There was blood upon him.

He got to his feet and moved in that direction.

The man was breathing. His head was turned away from Morwin, his right arm flung grotesquely to the side, the hand twitching.

Morwin stood over him a moment, then circled, knelt and stared into his face. The eyes were open but unfocused.

"Can you hear me?" he asked.

The man exhaled sharply, winced. A light came into his eyes and they moved, met with Morwin's own. His face was pocked, creased, sallow, dotted with raw sores.

"I hear you," he said softly.

Morwin shifted his grip on the pistol.

"Are you Heidel von Hymack?" he asked him. "Are you the man called H?"

"I am Heidel von Hymack."

"But are you H?"

The man did not answer immediately. He sighed, then coughed. Morwin glanced at his wounds. He appeared to have been hit in the right shoulder and arm.

"I--I have been sick," he finally said. Then he chuckled, a series of dry croaks. "... Now I feel fine."

"You want some water?"

"Yes!"

Morwin rehoistered his gun, unstoppered his canteen, carefully raised the man's head and trickled water into his mouth. The man drank half the canteen before he gagged and drew away.

"Why didn't you say you were thirsty?"

The other glanced at the gun, smiled faintly, shrugged his good shoulder.

"Thought you might not want to waste it."

Morwin put away the canteen.

"Well? Are you H?" he said.

"What difference does an initial make? I was the plaguebearer."

"You have been aware of this fact all along?"

"Yes."

"Do you hate people that much? Or is it that you just don't give a damn?"

"Neither one," he said. "Go ahead and shoot me if you want."

"Why did you let it happen?"

"It does not matter now. She is gone. It is over. Go ahead."

He sat up, still smiling.

"You act as if you want me to kill you."

"What are you waiting for?"

Morwin chewed his lip.

"You know I'm the man who shot you--" he began.

Heidel von Hymack knit his brows and turned his head slowly, regarding his body.

"I--I did not realize I had been shot," he said. "Yes ... Yes, I can see now. And I feel it ..."

"What did you think happened to you?"

"I lost--something. Something in my mind. It is gone now, and I feel as I have not felt in many years. The shock of separation, the feeling of relief-- I was--distracted."

"How? What was it that occurred?"

"I am not certain. One moment this thing was with me, and then I felt the presence of another as well ... Then-- everything departed ... When I awakened you were here."

"What thing?"

"You would not understand. I don't myself, really."

"Does it involve a blue woman--like, a goddess?"

Heidel von Hymack looked away.

"Yes," he said. Then he clutched at his shoulder.

"I'd better do something about your wounds."

Heidel allowed him to bind his arm and shoulder. He accepted more water.

"Why did you shoot me?" he finally said.

"It was more reflex than anything else. The--thing you lost--scared the hell out of me."

"You actually saw her?"

"Yes. With the help of a telepath."

"Where is he?"

"I don't know. I am afraid she was hurt."

"Hadn't you better find out? You can leave me. I can't go far. Not that it matters now."

"I suppose I should," he said. _Shind! Damn it! Where are you? Do you need help?_

_Stay_, came a weak reply. _Stay there. I will be all right. I need only to rest... awhile_ ...

_Shind! What happened?_

Silence.

_Shind! Damn it! Answer me!_

_Malacar_, came the reply, _is dead. Wait now... Wait_.

Morwin stared at his hands.

"Aren't you going to?" Heidel asked him.

He did not reply.

_Jackara! Shind! Is Jackara all right?_

Nothing.

_Shind! How is Jackara?_

_She lives. Wait now_.

"What is wrong?" Heidel asked.

"I don't know."

"Your friend ... ?"

"... is alive. We have just been in contact. That is not the problem now."

"What, then?"

"I don't know. Not yet. I am waiting."

_I am trying to find out, John. I have to be careful. That goddess-thing is there_.

_Where?_

_With Jackara_.

_How? How did it happen?_

_I believe that I was responsible, that she traveled by means of my link with Jackara. I am not certain how_.

_How did the Commander die?_

_She shot him_.

_Then what of Jackara?_

_That is what I am trying to find out. Leave me alone, and I will let you know when I do_.

_What can I do?_

_Nothing. Wait_.

Silence.

After a time, "Do you know now?" Heidel asked.

"I know nothing. Except that I have lost something too."

"What is happening?"

"My friend is trying to find out. At least we know where your goddess went. --How do you feel?"

"I do not understand my feelings. She was with me a long while. Years. For a time, she healed through me those who had been stricken with peculiar ills. It was as if we carried both these things and their remedies within us. For I was always protected myself. Then in Italbar I was attacked for a slip of fortune, stoned. It was as if I had gone to die in Italbar. Everything was changed. Her nature, I learned then, was dual. In both aspects she functions to remove disease. In the form in which I first knew her, she sought to purify life in this fashion. In her other aspect, it is life itself that she deems the disease, and she seeks to purify matter by curing it of this ailment. Ironically--or perhaps not so--it was by means of that which she had earlier viewed as disease that she sought to do this. She is a remedy as well as a condition. I have served her as apostle in both extremes. --What did she seem like when you saw her?"

"Blue and evil and powerful. Beautiful, too. She seemed to mock me, threaten me ..."

"Where is she now?"

"She has taken possession of a girl--not far from here. She just killed a man."

"Oh."

"You have been the subject of quite a search."

"Yes, I guess I did know that--some way."

There came a roll of thunder near at hand. When its echoes subsided, Morwin said, "She may have been right."

"About what?"

"Life being a disease."

"I don't know. It does not matter. Does it? I mean, that is only one way of looking at things, no matter what her power."

"Do you look at things that way?"

"I suppose so. I--worshiped--her. I believed her. I still probably do."

"How's the shoulder?"

"Hurts like hell."

"She must have done some good too."

"I suppose so."

Bright flashes occurred to the south, followed by more thunder. A few spatters of rain fell upon them, about them.

"Let's get over to those rocks," said Morwin. "They slant some. Might keep us dry."

He helped von Hymack to his feet, drew his arm across his shoulders, supported him in slow progress to the place beside the stone.

_There are two of them, came Shind, and they are moving toward one another now_.

_Two of what? What are you talking about?_

But Shind seemed not to have heard.

_They have awareness of one another, he went on. I must be very careful. Size hurt me so ... Strange that I did not recognize his peculiarity when first we met ... But then, it is nearer the surface now. Sandow, too, is accompanied by a shadowy Other_.

_Sandow? He is here? With Jackara?_

_They are talking. She still holds the gun, but he stands too far away. I cannot tell, here at the edges of things, whether she is aware that he is unalone. He called her by name, which has gained her attention. She replies. He advances. It does not seem that she will shoot, for her curiosity is aroused. They speak in another language, but I catch at the rag-tails of their thoughts. He seems to know her, from somewhere--else ... She awaits as he draws near. He salutes her in some fashion which she acknowledges. He tells her now that she has violated a rule which I do not understand. She is amused by this_.

Morwin brought von Hymack into the shelter of the rocks. He lowered him to the ground, where he assumed a sitting position, back braced against the stone. He seated himself beside him and stared into the grayness. By then, the rainfall had become steady.

_He tells her that she must go-- I do not understand where, or how... She laughs. That painful laughter ... He waits until she has finished laughing and begins to speak. It is some formal thing that he says--memorized, not spontaneous. It is intricate and rhythmical, containing many paradoxes. I do not understand it. She listens_.

"Heidel, she is now with a man who is presumably trying to stop her. I do not know what will conic of it. But it is for this that we are waiting. Whatever the outcome, I have no idea what will become of you. My commander, my best friend, is dead. He had plans for you which will never come to pass. They were not especially admirable plans. But he was a great man nevertheless, and I might have helped him with them. Then again, I might have killed you, because of a danger you represented to him. Either way ..."

"I probably deserve anything unpleasant that happens to me."

"It strikes me that you were manipulated, both by circumstances and a parasitic autonomous complex with paranormal capabilities."

"You toss that off pretty glibly."

"I've been pestered by paranorm specialists most of my life. I'm an empathesiac telekineticist, whatever the hell that means--well, I move things around with my mind, and I can cause objects to induce specific feelings in people. I've absorbed the terminology. I sympathize with you. You have been used, and I would have been party to your continued exploitation. Tell me what it is that you want now."

"What? I don't know ... To die? No. To go away, I'd say. Someplace far, isolated. That is all I ever really wanted. I haven't been myself for so long that I want to get to know me again. Yes, to go away ..."

--_has finished, and she is no longer amused. She has angry words for him... Threatening... But now the thing in his mind is much nearer to the surface--the thing so like herself, when first I felt her presence in von Hymack. He speaks of this thing, mentioning a name. Shimbo, it seems to be. She raises the gun_--

There came a dazzling flash, followed by a crack of thunder. Morwin sprang to his feet.

_Shind! What happened?_

"What--?" said von Hymack, jerking his head about.

Morwin slowly sank back. The thunder came again, between small, steady flashes of light, a low, growling note that did not cease.

_The bolt struck between them, Shind said. She dropped the weapon and he took it, cast it away. But now he is no longer himself. Both their minds are mainly opaque. They are somehow akin, and there is an exchange of energies betiveen them. I believe he bids her depart once more and she protests the unfairness of it. I feel that there is fear in her. He replies. She does something ... Now he is angry. Again, he tells her to depart. She begins to argue and he interrupts her, asking whether she would carry the dispute to a contest_.

The thunder ceased. The winds grew still. Abruptly, the rain halted. The fog-hung air was instantly possessed of an unnatural stillness.

_I detect nothing now_, Shind said. _It is as though they have become a pair of statues_.

_Shind, where are you right now, physically?_

_I am drawing quite near their position. I have been moving toward them since I recovered. I was hoping there might still be something I could do. Now, though, it is purely a matter of curiosity. We are only about a quarter of a mile from you_.

_Have you looked into von Hymack's mind recently?_

_Yes. He is still in a state of depression. Harmless_ ...

_What are we to do with him, now?_

_The searchers are drawing nearer. I suppose we might just let them find him_.

_Do you think they would hurt him?_

_Difficult to say. The group I can pick up seems pretty businesslike about the whole thing, but there are some angry, unstable types ... Wait! --They are moving again! She raises her arm and begins to speak. He gestures also and joins her in whatever she is saying. Now_--

The sky seemed to collapse in a blazing sheet, and the peal of thunder that followed was the loudest he had ever heard. When his senses finally cleared, lie realized that it had resumed raining and that the taste in his mouth was blood, from where he had bitten into his lip.

_Now what, Shind?_ he inquired.

Again, the silence.

Then, "Heidel, other searchers are fairly near here--the real thing," he said. "Of course, they want to find you in order to stop the epidemics."

"That should all be ended. I can feel myself changing. I know the safe feeling, and it is on its way. Almost here, actually."

"But inasmuch as you are the only one aware of this feeling, they will still doubtless want to take you into custody. I understand that Dr. Larmon Pels is associated with the search. He would probably have you quarantined, studied. So you may get your wish for isolation."

"May?"

"I am wondering about the searchers themselves. Some of them may have lost relatives, friends ..."

"I suppose you are right. Any suggestions--beyond simple avoidance?"

"Not yet. If only we knew--"

_I believe that the issue has been decided_, Shind said.

_Which way?_

_I cannot tell. They are both unconscious_.

_Were they injured?_

_It seems the result of some form of psychic shock, so I cannot be certain. Perhaps you should come now. Jackara will need you_.

_Yes. How do I find you?_

_Relax your mind and let me move further in. I will guide your steps to me_.

_Don't guide too quickly. Heidel is not so fast on his feet_.

_What do we need him for?_

_Nothing. He needs us_.

_Very well. Come_.

"All right, Heidel," he said. "Now is the time."

They rose together and, under one poncho, leaning together, moved through the mist and the rain, moisture starring their faces, a fresh-risen wind at their backs.

When he finally came upon them, Morwin found Shind beside the man Sandow, who sat holding Jackara's hand and supporting her back with his arm.

"Is she all right?" he asked.

Sandow looked at Shind, then at Morwin. Then, "Physically, yes," he said.

He released von Hymack, who seated himself on a stone.

"Give this to that man," Sandow said.

"What?"

"A cigar, He'd like one."

"Yes. --How serious ... ?"

_We have both viewed her thoughts_, Shind said. _She is a child again, in a slightly happier time_.

"But how severe is it?"

_See whether she recognizes you_.

"Jackara?" he said. "How are you feeling? It's John . . Are you all right?"

She turned her head and stared at him. Then she smiled.

"How are you?" he asked.

_There was a flicker_, Shind said.

He extended his hand. She drew back, dropped her eyes.

"It's me. John. Wait!"

He fumbled in his pocket, withdrew a handful of coins, tossed them into the air. They swirled wildly, swarmed, fell into a pattern. Forming an ellipse, they danced before her, moving faster and faster. She raised her eyes and stared. She smiled again.

Perspiration broke out on his brow as they spun, sped, turned.

"Is it a record?" she said.

They showered, clattering, to the ground.

"I don't know. I wasn't counting. I think so. You do remember."

"... Yes. Do it again--John."

The coins rose from the ground, hovered, began a Brownian movement before her.

"You do re--"

_Do not force her to recall anything. She wants to be distracted. She does not want to remember. Make it easy. Just keep distracting her_.

He juggled the coins, only glancing occasionally to see whether she was still smiling. He smelled the smoke from Heidel's cigar. He felt Sandow move within his mind.

--_So that is what you hit her with, he said. Now I understand_--.

The thought terminated abruptly.

He dropped the coins again when the implication reached him.

"No!" he said. "Do not tell me that thing migrated to Jackara because I hit it with my mind! I--"

_No_, said Sandow, perhaps too quickly. _No. The girl was ideal, personality-wise, and there was a channel_--

--_provided by me_, Shind broke in.

_All unknowing_, Sandow said. _Leave it at that. There need be no external stimulus for such a transfer. I know of one other case. Life is sufficiently furnished that one need not go looking about for extra guilt. Let this one go_.

"Do it again," Jackara said.

"A little later," Sandow told her, rising and drawing her slowly to her feet. "Take his hand now," and he placed hers in Morwin's. "Shind tells me a searching party is drawing near, and I see that he is correct. I have no desire to get involved. You people are welcome to come away with me if you share these sentiments." He turned. "Since I see that you do, we had better get moving. I am parked back that way."

"Wait."

"What is it?"

"The Commander," said Morwin. "Malacar. Where is he?"

"Beyond those rocks. About fifty feet. The searchers will find him soon. There is nothing we can do."

But Morwin turned and started toward the rocks.

"I wouldn't take her there!"

He halted.

"I guess you are right. You take her again. Go ahead without me if you have to. I have to see him one more time."

"We will wait."

_The searchers are very near!_

_I know_.

The storm renewed its fury, but a slight distance to the southeast.

"Thanks for the cigar--sir."

"Frank. Call me Frank."

_It is going to appear as if there has just been a murder, you know_.

_It will not be the first unsolved one in history_.

_When they identify him_--

--_there will be a stink. Yes. Think of the possible rumors. Of a political killing. He would be gratified to know that he may have done more for the DYNAB by dying here than by anything he has done since the war_.

_How so?_

_There will be a League status vote, suddenly, near the end of this session. The sentiments aroused by his death may be of benefit. He was a popular man once. A hero_.

_And he was tired, and more than a little bitter. It would be ironic_ ...

_Yes. The rumors will require careful handling. The restoration of the horns planet, as part of the DYNAB, should also be of some benefit. I will not be able to get to the work for a couple of years, but I will time the announcement properly. Commercial agreements I have spent a long while negotiating are also about to be made public_.

_Then it is true what they say about you_.

_What?_

_Nothing. --What is to become of von Hymack?_

_That is up to him. But I will see that he talks to Pels first, whatever. If he wishes, he can come to the clinic on Homefree, and Pels can orbit there and confer with the staff. In fact, as one of the few people with any idea as to what really occurred here, it might be a very good place for him to beat least until after the voting. --And yes, I was born on Earth, a long time ago_.

"... Soft," Jackara said, stooping to pet Shind.

_And warm_, Shind added. _It comes in handy in this weather. I think John is returning. Why don't you tell him where you want to go now?_

Jackara stared at the approaching figure, then, "John," she called out, "take me back to the castle with the fiery moat. To Earth."

Morwin took her hand and nodded.

"Let's go," he said.