Authentic Science Fiction, No. 23 — page 44: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

84 THE SINGING SPHERES secrets has made it necessary to consult the Machine of Re- velation to such a great extent. He is one of those respons- ible for three hundred thousand being called upon to make the Sacrifice of Honour!” The great squealing that arose shrilled in my helmet so un- bearably as to make me switch off the inter-com and rely solely on the Mattus. I had no one to talk to, anyway. But what disorted “logic” was this? And who said the spheres weren’t intelligent. — Obviously I was being used as a scapegoat to subdue rebellious spirits and direct their wrath away from Makkub. “Therefore, let all present witness that I call once more upon this Ugly One to reveal how the ruler of Kardoon, too, may possess a grave at which men may worship. How say you now, O Thing?” I repeated what I'd told him before. “Such matters cannot be—” te commenced to vibrate with fury, bouncing on the point of that ivory rod and quivering so ominously that I expected him to emit sparks. The packed spheres shrieked in a chorus of enmity. “What have you to lose, O monster? You and your com- panions will have graves here on Kardoon. Such has been decreed by the Machine and from that there is no escape. 7 Why, then, do you deny such privilege to me, Makkub?” “Sometimes,” I said, “graves are no places of honour, but men spit upon them as they pass. Such action depends not on the grave itself, but upon the lifetime character of the occu- pant.” This made him think for a moment, but he determined not to be baulked. “We will tolerate no insults. All men know that my rule over Kardoon has been wise and beneficent. Come now—one final chance before you are handed over to the executioners—” | Play for time, I told myself, desperately. But how? Strictly speaking, in such circumstances, Hartnell and Tubby should have made their way back to the ship, so that know- ledge of life on Kardoon might be reported for the archives. That—no more and no less—comprised the purpose of our | THE SINGING SPHERES 85 expedition, and the regulations made no bones about the fact that information was worth more than a few Inter-X lives. As Tubby said before, in a tight corner, we signed on with our eyes open and never hesitated to take the money; there- for we ought not to be surprised if one day we found our- selves called upon to honour the bargain. Yet red-tape can never tie down the human element completely, and I felt sure that the others, far from leaving in the scout ship, were lying low until little Pinky could be smuggled somewhere safe. “Tell me!” roared Makkub. “Reveal your secret or—” And while I stood there, dry-mouthed and aching, a sudden scuffle sounded behind me. It was Hartnell and Tubby, being pushed through the throng at the end of guards’ force-beams and with dust-smudges on their suits that showed them to have had a trip as unpleasant as my own. Hartnell, naturally, grinned. “Hello, Pop. .Makkub still here?” “Where’s Pinky?” I said, in alarm, “They didn’t get him, did they?” “Frankly, I don’t know—we had other things to think of at the time. What’s been happening to you?” I gave them chapter and verse, right up to the final ulti- matum. “We've got to play for time,” I said. “I’ve racked my brains but I can’t think of anything—” “Why not let Fuzzy-bubble give ’em a soul-stirring address about little Pinky’s arrival?” My heart leapt, then fell with a thud. “He doesn’t know, either. Think he'll take our word for it?” “At least,” said Hartnell, dryly, “you could try.” As I expected, Fuzzy-bubble viewed the news with polite scepticism. “It would.be a great marvel,” he said, with a sigh, “yet itis impossible. Mistakes in recognising princes of Kardoon are not unknown among our own people, even the nurses—”’ ‘Fandar saw him, too.” This shook him a little, but he resumed his attitude of doubt, wagging his head sadly, as it-were. “Fandar is a most worthy friend—yet his days are spent in a world of Eomichooks.com