Planet of the Gods Page 4

  "And what would we've gained by doing that?" Marshall challenged him. "Nothing! The Springers would still keep and eye on us. We don't even know whether Honbled is the only spy they've got in town. No, it'll be much better to play along with Honbled till we can be sure that he suspects us. As soon as we find out what he's going to do about us we can act accordingly."

  They all agreed on Marshall's proposal. Vethussar was told nothing about it. He was happy that somebody had dared to ridicule the priest.

  • • •

  "It'll work," a-G-25 assured with emphasis, "I'm sure of it and it'll be very simple, too. Such a heinous crime will enrage the population. It won't make any difference that he's the richest ship owner on the island. We'll make everything look completely natural without technical aids. In order to be useful here I must live in peace and the population must be pacified. If we start demolishing houses with disintegrators and subdue the people by hypnotic methods, it would mean the end of peace and good faith. We should never forget that we've made the Goszuls retrogress by involuntary means and we don't know what memories of the time of their superb technology have been relegated to their subconscious mind and retained."

  Szoltan conceded that he was right although it was a blow to his vanity that he had lost in a discussion with a robot. "Then what do you propose we should do?" he asked gruffly.

  "We'll plant the incriminating evidence," a-G-25 said quickly. "Then we'll rouse the temple wardens and march on his house. We'll be joined by many people on the way. We'll surround the house and demand that Vethussar surrender what he stole. He'll laugh at us and then we'll break into his house and force Vethussar to let us arrest the four men from the LEV. They won't be able to escape because we'll have the house immediately surrounded. Vethussar won't resist us because he knows that we can punish him by death for his transgression."

  Szoltan turned up the palms of his hands as a sign of assent.

  • • •

  Marshall awoke from his sleep and looked around. A fire of smokeless wood burned low in an iron brazier in the middle of the room and he could see Tako Kakuta sitting at the door in its glimmering light. Since Honbled had paid them his visit they stayed together in one room and took turns at keeping watch. "Tako!"

  The Japanese turned around. "Yes?"

  "What happened?"

  "There's nothing unusual. All's quiet."

  Marshall sat up and listened. A peculiar sensation had caused him to wake up. If it could have been heard, or seen, or touched, Tako would have been sure to notice it. However it was no...

  There it was again!

  A thought impulse revealing terrible anguish. And another from a second brain.

  Very far away, Marshall thought. Could be in the right wing of the house.

  He woke the two other men up. "Something is going on there," he said apprehensively. "There are at least two people over there who feel dreadfully frightened. Let's go take a look!"

  They had looked at the layout of the house the previous day. It was arranged in a simple and symmetric pattern. They tiptoed in the darkness along the main corridor to the right wing and the impulses received by Marshall became clearer. Pointing to a barely discernible door a few feet down the corridor on the right side, he whispered. "In that room!"

  They advanced cautiously along the wall and heard some scraping noises through the door. A suppressed but angry voice said something in great haste.

  Marshall followed the content: "I wish we had finished this already! What sacrilege! The Gods will punish us for this notwithstanding Honbled's dispensation. Let's hurry up and leave!"

  Marshall was satisfied. He saw a narrow strip of light through the crack under the door coming from the illumination inside the room. Marshall sneaked up to the door and motioned Tako to follow him. Tama and Kitai remained a little behind.

  Marshall kicked in the door and all four rushed into the room which was lit by a few flickering candles. The two men inside screamed in terror. They had been busy emptying a large wooden box and placing its contents on a shelf in the back of the room.

  "Hold 'em!" Marshall called out.

  Then he examined the shelf and saw his suspicions confirmed. Vethussar used the little room as a kind of treasure chamber. Precious articles of every description were displayed on the boards of the racks and the contents of the box were just as valuable as the objects collected there. They were little figures of gold encrusted with precious stones in their main features. The box had contained about 20 such statues. If gold and precious stones had a value on Goszul's Planet comparable to that on Earth, the two men had lugged in a considerable fortune in the wooden box.

  Now what? Marshall pondered. He couldn't interfere if Vethussar wanted to supplement the artifacts in his treasure chamber at night. But then there was the anxiety the men so strongly exhibited. Why were they frightened to such a degree that it excluded all other emotions and thoughts in their minds?

  "Kitai! Question them!"

  Kitai faced the two men and forced one of them to look at him. "What are these figurines?" he demanded.

  It was impossible to give false answers to Kitai's questions. Kitai Ishibashi possessed such strong suggestive powers that nobody could resist his will.

  "They're the images of the Gods from the main temple."

  "Did you steal them?"

  "No."

  "How did you get them?"

  "Honbled, the high priest, gave them to us."

  "Did he tell you to put them here?"

  "Yes."

  Marshall intervened. "It's enough, Kitai. Skip it now!"

  Kitai's questions and his suggestive influence had caused the man to overcome his fear and to think about the matters relating to the interrogation. Marshall not only found out what had happened but also learned what was going to take place very soon.

  Marshall looked around. Some of the boards of the cabinets were fastened to the corner posts with leather straps. Marshall removed all articles from one of the boards and took off the leather straps. "Tie 'em up!" he said tersely. "One of you has to call Vethussar. Hurry up!"

  Tama Yokida darted away. The two intruders had scarcely been bound and gagged when Yokida returned with Vethussar. Nearly stupefied, Vethussar blinked at the flickering candles.

  "Kitai!"

  The Japanese knew that they had no time to lose. Vethussar was still drowsy from sleeping and it could have taken an hour to explain the intricacies of the plot without some coaching by suggestion but Kitai had to say a word only once and the oldster grasped the situation and realized that a disastrous storm was brewing over his head.

  "These two men have told us," Kitai concluded, "that Honbled and his temple guardians will be here one hour past midnight to accuse and arrest you. This gives us only an hour and a half. What are you going to do about it?"

  Vethussar was at a loss to think of ways how to foil his tormentor. The devilry of the priest—who surely would have succeeded without the vigilance of his guests—exasperated him so much that he was unable to express two related thoughts.

  "Well, it's up to us," Marshall stated in English. "The oldster is quaking in fear."

  He turned to Vethussar. "Where is the main temple?"

  Vethussar described its location.

  "Tako, you'll have to move the evidence out of the house. Our strategy will be most effective," Marshall explained in Interkosmo so the old man could understand him too, "if the stolen images are returned to their rightful place. Then we can denounce Honbled, charge him with slander and kick him out."

  Vethussar clapped his hands enthusiastically.

  Marshall continued in English. "On the other hand it'll be a question whether the robot can be dissuaded from his scheme by all this. I don't believe he'll simply turn tail if he can't find the statuettes. He might try anyway to overpower us, so keep your finger on the trigger!"

  Tako performed a trial jump to the main temple. Since Marshall had defined the whereabouts of the main temple even
more precisely by extracting additional information about the surroundings from the mind of Vethussar, the jump was accurate within a couple of feet.

  Tako landed in the dark inner sanctum of the huge temple building. Behind him, close to the portal, a small sacral fire was burning and two attendants stood near the door but didn't notice Tako. Tako found the altars from which the golden idols had been taken and returned to Vethussar's house.

  With three more jumps he restored the stolen goods and finished his job shortly after midnight without having attracted anybody's attention. Vethussar was thus rendered impregnable to Honbled's calumnies and he thanked his friends exuberantly.

  In the meantime Marshall had already given some thought to the best way of extricating himself safely from the net of the Springers drawing closer around them without having to abandon his present favorable position.

  He had 40 minutes to devise a plan.

  • • •

  Vethussar sent some of his own men out to gather information and they returned with the news that Honbled harbored since yesterday a guest nobody had ever before seen in town. Marshall received the information half an hour past midnight. He was certain Honbled would have the house surrounded before he proffered his accusations in public.

  Therefore Marshall and his friends left the house to watch the blockade outside. In great haste and with reinforcement by suggestion they gave Vethussar some instructions which he was to transmit by a messenger to the man in the harbor whom it concerned.

  Marshall said in conclusion: "It's possible, my dear friend, that we won't be able to enjoy your hospitality much longer. It'll all depend on the situation. In case we don't see you again, we'd like to assure you that we're deeply grateful to you. You've proved to be a real friend and we hope you'll remember us."

  Vethussar was very touched. "Don't even mention gratitude," he declined. "I'm the one who is indebted to you. You've saved me from death and the loss of my honor!"

  There were only 15 minutes left to the time Honbled had set for moving in on them. They bid a quick goodbye and sneaked out into the vast, park-like garden behind Vethussar's palace. They moved cautiously with Marshall in the middle because he concentrated his attention on extraneous thoughts.

  He touched Kitai Ishibashi, who was crawling ahead of him and held his leg when he perceived the first impulse. "Somebody is ahead of us, a little to the right," he whispered.

  A few seconds later they heard the bushes rustle. Honbled's men moved into position for the siege.

  Marshall was jolted when he got the first expression from a highly developed brain: "A few more minutes and the patriarchs will get their prisoners back and my troubles will be over!"

  • • •

  Honbled and Szoltan had each chosen their roles. Honbled as priest and accompanied by his assistants, assumed the task of public accusation. Szoltan had hurriedly hired some helpers and impressed on them that nobody could be allowed to escape from the encircled house. One hour after midnight Szoltan had positioned his men. He had selected a place for himself where he was alone. Impatiently he watched the minutes tick by on his chronometer.

  He was startled when he heard a crackling in the bush near him. He tried to see in the darkness and snarled angrily: "Didn't I tell you that you have to remain at your assigned places?"

  The bush to his right was parted and two crouching figures flitted toward him. "No, you didn't tell us a thing," a strange, deep-throated voice replied.

  Szoltan was terrified and before he could overcome his shock of surprise he was dealt a strong blow to his head which knocked him out instantly.

  "We got him!" Marshall whispered.

  Kitai and Tama came up from the rear.

  "Over there!" Marshall pointed farther away.

  The two Japanese carried the unconscious Springer through the bushes and dense groves to the rear wall of the park. Tama used his telekinetic powers to lift the body over the wall and kept it floating in midair on the other side until they had climbed over the wall. Tako Kakuta followed them and Marshall was last. "All is quiet now," he said, "but the big ruckus will start in a few moments.

  A few steps farther down in a side street leading along the wall a wagon with two draught animals, which had been provided by Vethussar at their request, was waiting for them. The unconscious Springer was loaded into the wagon. Kitai, Tako and Tama sat down so they could keep an eye on him without being seen from outside. Marshall took the driver's seat, tugged the animals and drove them down to the harbor.

  • • •

  Vethussar took his time when he heard the fat priest banging against the portal with both fists. He waited till his servant came to his bedroom and reported: "Honbled, the high priest, is at the door. He's irate."

  Vethussar pretended a yawn. "Tell him to come back tomorrow. I'm accustomed to sleeping at nights." The servant trembled like a leaf. "He won't take that for an answer, sir. He's got nearly all his temple wardens with him and they allege that you've committed an abominable crime."

  Vethussar popped up in his bed. He played his role with great verve. "I? The most faithful servant of the Gods—a crime of desecration?" He leaped out of his bed with agility and shouted to the servant: "Bring me my cloak, quickly... and a torch!"

  Outside Honbled resumed drumming against the door. With the cloak draped over his shoulders and the burning torch held high in his hand the old man finally pushed open the wide portal and planted himself with his feet spread apart in front of the rotund priest. "What kind of nonsense are you telling these people?" he yelled at him. "Who committed a despicable sin?"

  But Honbled was not to be intimidated. "You!" he screamed back, pointing at the old man. "You've robbed the temple of 14 idols to enrich yourself. You've affronted the Gods!"

  "Who dares to accuse me?"

  "Two guardians have seen you and one of your servants as you were carrying a heavy box out of the main temple."

  "It's a barefaced lie!" Vethussar retorted.

  "No!" Honbled cried out. "Let us search your house and we'll soon find out where you're hiding the divine statues."

  Vethussar laughed scornfully. "First lead me to the temple and show me which idols are missing!"

  "So that your servants can meanwhile hide the treasures somewhere else?" Honbled sneered.

  But Vethussar quickly countered. "You can leave some of your men around the house, then you'll be sure that nothing will be concealed from you."

  The crowd behind Honbled raised concurring voices. Honbled had no interest in a delay but he knew that Szoltan was lying in wait behind the house and decided to give in to Vethussar's demand. With smoking torches the crowd—growing bigger by the minute—marched down the street to the main temple.

  "Open the gate!" Honbled shouted from afar, and the two attendants who had remained behind at the holy edifice obediently opened the high portals. "You with the torches, line up along the walls so we'll have some light." The huge temple hall was lit up by the yellow light of the smoky torches.

  "And now," Honbled announced with a mighty voice, "I'll show you the altars which have been robbed and defiled by this miscreant. Look there...!"

  He was startled. Nothing was missing from the altar of the God of the Sea although he had instructed his two men to strip it first because the idol was priceless. "...or there!" he went on. But the Fish God was at his place—with his golden scales and glittering eyes of precious green stones.

  "Or there!" Vethussar mocked him, swinging his torch around, "or there or there!"

  Honbled's mechanical innards registered and classified the new situation and caused the exterior of his body to express human reactions of surprise, disgust and fear.

  "Where are the stolen images? What am I supposed to have taken from here? It's all there! Tell me what did you expect to find in my house?" Vethussar taunted.

  Honbled's powers of deduction worked rapidly. He considered all possibilities including the one that Vethussar had smelled a rat and brought the s
tatues back in time. But the logical sector of his brain declined to translate his cognition in words and remit them to his vocal chords since nobody in the crowd seemed willing to believe another word from him.

  Vethussar's righteous exhortations inflamed the people. Those without torches drew closer around the old man and the priest and the others came from the walls and lit up the scene. "The priest has lied," Vethussar exclaimed. "He has lied to plunder my treasures!"

  "The high priest!" the crowd raged.

  And so Honbled was done for. The crowd set upon him with a vengeance. Agent a-G-25 was a powerful machine and able to beat off the first attackers. However, the mob had meanwhile grown to more than a thousand raving people and there was nothing left to do for Honbled but to emit an emergency call and to let the events take their course without further resistance. A hail of blows and kicks damaged his inner mechanism and immobilized him. His last reaction was to close his eyes.

  A minute later he was believed to be unconscious or dead and the mob withdrew from its victim. Honbled's enormous bulk prevented his real inner substance of plastic metal from becoming exposed. Thus the citizens of Saluntad were spared the metaphysical shock of seeing a disemboweled robot.

  Vethussar had already departed from the crowd some time ago and returned to his home. He spread the news of Honbled's downfall and chased his knaves out of his house with the help of his servants. After finishing this job with great gusto he retired to his private quarters. He made a servant light a few torches and watched the water clock slowly measuring the hours. It had been refilled four hours before midnight and the water's surface stood at the sixth hour line.

  As it passed the line three cannon shots thundered from the port. Vethussar smiled in satisfaction and extinguished the torches. Going back to his bed he thought: that Fafer is a dependable man.

  • • •

  The only difficulty they experienced on their way to the port was caused by the two draught animals. Marshall had so little time to find out before he left how to handle the team that more than once the animals went left when he wanted them to go right and vice versa. Nevertheless they reached the harbor in half an hour. It was easy to recognize the ship they were looking for. The Storrata was the only ship which showed more than the usual night illumination at this time and where obviously some work was in progress.