The Harpers of Titan - Edmond Hamilton, ebook, Temp
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The HARPERS ofTITANA Captain Future NOVELET by EDMOND HAMILTONAgain Simon Wright, the "Brain", lives in a human body, and in that guise contendswith the most hideous peril he has ever faced--a menace driving a planet to madness!CHAPTER IShadowed MoonHis name was Simon Wright, andonce he had been a man like othermen. Now he was a man no longer,but a living brain, housed in a metalcase, nourished by serum instead ofblood, provided with artificial sensesand means of motion.The body of Simon Wright, that hadknown the pleasures and ills ofphysical existence, had long agomingled with the dust. But the mind ofSimon Wright lived on, brilliant andunimpaired.HE ridge lifted, gaunt and rocky,along the rim of the lichen forest,the giant growths crowding to the verycrest and down the farther slope intothe valley.Here and there was a clearingaround what might once have been atemple, now long fallen into ruin. Thevast ragged shapes of the lichensloomed above it, wrinkled and wind-torn and sad. Now and again a littlebreeze came and set them to rustlingwith a sound like muted weeping,shaking down a rotten, powdery dust.Simon Wright was weary of theridge and the dun-gray forest, wearyof waiting. Three of Titan's nights hadpassed since he and Grag and Othoand Curt Newton, whom the Systemknew better as Captain Furore, hadhidden their ship down in the lichen-forest and had waited here on theridge for a man who did not come.This was the fourth night ofwaiting, under the incredible glory ofTitan's sky.But even the pageant of Saturn,girdled with the blazing Rings andattended by the brilliant swarm ofmoons, failed to lift Simon's mentalspirits. Somehow the beauty aboveonly accentuated the dreariness below.Curt Newton said sharply, "IfKeogh doesn't come tonight, I'mgoing down there and look for him."He looked outward through a rift inTthe lichens, to the valley where Moneblay--a city indistinct with night anddistance, picked out here and therewith the light of torches.Simon spoke, his voice comingprecise and metallic through theartificial resonator."Keogh's messagewarned us on no account to go into thecity. Be patient, Curtis. He willcome."Otho nodded. Otho, the lean, litheandroid who was so exactly humanthat only a disturbing strangeness inhis pointed face and green, bright eyesbetrayed him."Apparently," Otho said, "there's adevil of a mess going on in Moneb,and we're liable to make it worse ifwe go tramping in before we knowwhat it's all about."HE manlike metal form of Gragmoved impatiently in the shadowswith a dull clanking sound. Hisbooming voice crashed loud againstthe stillness."I'm like Curt," he said. "I'm tiredof waiting.""We are all tired," said Simon. "Butwe must wait. From Keogh'smessage, I judge that he is neither acoward nor a fool. He knows thesituation. We do not. We must notendanger him by impatience."Curt sighed. "I know it." He settledback on the block of stone where hewas sitting. "I only hope he makes itsoon. These infernal lichens aregetting on my nerves."Poised, effortlessly upon the unseenmagnetic beams that were his limbs,Simon watched and brooded. Only ina detached way could he appreciatethe picture he presented to others --asmall square metal case, with astrange face of artificial lens-eyes andresonator-mouth, hovering in thedarkness.To himself, Simon seemed almost abodiless ego. He could not see hisown strange body. He was consciousonly of the steady, rhythmic throbbingof the serum-pump that served as hisheart, and of the visual and auditorysensations that his artificial sense-organs gathered for him.His lenslike eyes were capable ofbetter vision under all conditions thanthe human eye, but even so he couldnot penetrate the shifting, tumultuousshadows of the valley. It remained amystery of shaking moonlight, mistand darkness.It looked peaceful. And yet themessage of this stranger, Keogh, hadcried for help against an evil too greatfor him to fight alone.Simon was acutely conscious of theTdreary rustling of the lichens. Hismicrophonic auditory system couldhear and distinguish each separate tinynote too faint for normal ears, so thatthe rustling became a weaving,shifting pattern of sound, as of ghostlyvoices whispering ?a sort ofsymphony of despair.Pure fancy, and Simon Wright wasnot given to fancies. Yet in thesenights of waiting he had developed adefinite sense of foreboding. Hereasoned now that this sad whisperingof the forest was responsible, his brainreacting to the repeated stimulus of asound-pattern.Like Curt, he hoped that Keoghwould come soon.Time passed. The Rings filled thesky with supernal fire, and the moonswent splendidly on their eternal way,bathed in the milky glow of Saturn.The lichens would not cease fromtheir dusty weeping. Now and againCurt Newton rose and went restlesslyback and forth across the clearing.Otho watched him, sitting still, hisslim body bent like a steel bow. Gragremained where he was, a darkimmobile giant in the shadows,dwarfing even Newton's height.Then, abruptly, there was a sounddifferent from all other sounds. Simonheard, and listened, and after amoment he said:"There are two men, climbing theslope from the valley, coming thisway."Otho sprang up. Curt voiced ashort, sharp "Ah!" and said, "Bettertake cover, until we're sure."The four melted into the darkness.Simon was so close to the strangersthat he might have reached out one ofhis force-beams and touched them.They came into the clearing, breathingheavily from the long climb, lookingeagerly about. One was a tall man,very tall, with a gaunt width ofshoulder and a fine head. The otherwas shorter, broader, moving with abearlike gait. Both were Earthmen,with the unmistakable stamp of thefrontiers on them, and the hardness ofphysical labor. Both men were armed.They stopped. The hope went out ofthem, and the tall man saiddespairingly,"They failed us. They didn't come.Dan, they didn't come!"Almost, the tall man wept."I guess your message didn't getthrough," the other man said. Hisvoice, too, was leaden. "I don't know,Keogh. I don't know what we'll donow. I guess we might as well goback."Curt Newton spoke out of thedarkness. "Hold on a minute. It's allright."URT moved out into the openspace, his lean face and red hairclear in the moonlight."It's he," said the stocky man. "It'sCaptain Future." His voice was shakenwith relief.Keogh smiled, a smile withoutmuch humor in it. "You thought Imight be dead, and someone elseCmight keep the appointment. Not afar-fetched assumption. I've been soclosely watched that I dared not try toget away before. I only just managedit tonight."He broke off, staring, as Grag camestriding up, shaking the ground withhis tread. Otho moved in from beyondhim, light as a leaf. Simon joinedthem, gliding silently from among theshadows.Keogh laughed, a little shakily."I'm glad to see you. If you only knewhow glad I am to see you all!""And me!" said the stocky man. Headded, "I'm Harker.""My friend," Keogh told theFuturemen. "For many years, myfriend." Then he hesitated, lookingearnestly at Curt. "You will help me?I've held back down there in Monebso far. I've kept the people quiet. I'vetried to give them courage when theyneed it, but I'm only one man. That'sa frail peg on which to hang the fate ofa city."Curt nodded gravely. "We'll do allwe can. Otho--Grag! Keep watch,just in case."Grag and Otho disappeared again.Curt looked expectantly at Keogh andHarker. The breeze had steadied to awind, and Simon was conscious that itwas rising, bringing a deeper plaintfrom the lichens.Keogh sat down on a block of stoneand began to talk. Hovering near him,Simon listened, watching Keogh'sface. It was a good face. A wise man,Simon thought, and a strong one,exhausted now by effort and long fear."I was the first Earthman to comeinto the valley, years ago," Keoghsaid. "I liked the men of Moneb andthey liked me. When the miners beganto come in, I saw to it that there wasno trouble between them and thenatives. I married a girl of Moneb,daughter of one of the chief men.She's dead now, but I have a son here.And I'm one of their councilors, theonly man of foreign blood everallowed in the Inner City."So you see, I've swung a lot of -weight and have used it to keep peacehere between native and outlander.But now!"He shook his head. "There havealways been men in Moneb who hatedto see Earthmen and Earth civilizationcome in and lessen their owninfluence. They've hated theEarthmen who live in New Town andwork the mines. They'd have triedlong ago to force them out, and wouldhave embroiled Moneb in a hopelessstruggle, if they'd dared defy traditionand use their one possible weapon.Now, they're bolder and are planningto use that weapon."Curt Newton looked at him keenly."What is this weapon, Keogh?"Keogh's answer was a question."You Futuremen know these worldswell ? I suppose you've heard of theHarpers?"Simon Wright felt a shock ofsurprise. He saw incredulousamazement on Curt Newton's face."You don't mean that yourmalcontents plan to use the Harpersas a weapon?"Keogh nodded somberly. "Theydo."Memories of old days on Titanwere flashing through Simon's mind;the strange, strange form of life thatdwelt deep in the great forests, theunforgettable beauty wedded todreadful danger."The Harpers could be a weapon,yes," he said, a...
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