[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
he said, and she had no choice but to follow.
Behind her, the great door shut apparently of its own volition, silent until
it hit the latches but then booming and echoing around the interior. She
regretted later that she was able to see nothing of the temple itself.
They went down dark, damp corridors dimly lit by small torches for
quite a way. The temperature grew slightly colder as they descended some
stairs and en-tered a small room. Inside was a straw cot, a tiny fireplace
that put out little heat, and just about nothing else.
"Your word that you will wait here," the man insisted.
She nodded. "I will sit here until I see the Holy Elder," she replied
defiantly and lay back on the cot. When the other had gone, she tried to make
some sort of makeshift blanket out of her ample hair and exhaled loudly.
Page 35
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Well, I'm in, she thought to herself.
Now to go the rest of the way.
Despite the chill and the atmosphere of the place, the release of
tension and the long day overcame her, and she drifted in spite of herself
into a light sleep.
She was conscious, suddenly, of someone in the room and awoke with a start. A
man stood there, dressed much as the other had been and also masked, but he
was slightly smaller and had a higher voice. She noted that the fire was out
and the small candle burned quite a bit lower than she had remembered. But she
had no idea how long she had slept.
Some of her initial confidence had worn off, but she was still game. She
wanted out of this crazy place, and soon-no matter what.
"His Holiness will see you," the man told her, then turned and walked out. The
cold stone felt like ice but she quickly followed.
They descended further into the labyrinth of stone, and the lower
they went the colder it became. She had no idea where they were going or
what was at the other end, but she knew for a certainty that she would develop
pneumonia if this kept up any longer.
Finally they reached a small door, and her guide stopped and knocked softly
three times. For the first time Jill reflected on the absence of
other people-they had passed none-and, just as interesting, the lack of
even the remote sounds of other people.
The guide knocked again, whereupon they heard a muffled response which the
red-garbed man took to be assent. He pulled open the door and
entered, Jill fol-lowing, through a back antechamber and into a large
room that was surprisingly different than anything she had seen in
Zolkar. It was a large room, with a big roaring fireplace, woven rugs on the
floor and also on the walls, and a great deal of comfortable-looking
furniture, padded chairs and raised tables included.
It looked like a staid board room from her world; it was out of place here.
The guide mistook her amazement for ignorance. "You sit on those," he told
her, pointing to red-upholstered chairs. "Choose one, sit in it, and wait."
She shrugged. It was warmer in here by far, although certainly cooler than
she'd like, and she chose a large stuffed chair near the fire. She relaxed,
feeling more normal and comfortable than she had in a long time, then turned
to ask the guide how long the wait would be-and discovered that he had
vanished. She was alone in the room.
She looked around. Or was she alone? It was a large place, and there was a lot
of furniture and stuff here. She had the odd feeling that she was being
examined.
Then from across the room, a door opened and a little man stepped through. He
wore the same gilded robe and boots as the others, but his robe was the purest
white, like white silk. He walked funny. Although his face, too, was hard to
see, she knew, just from the size of the man and his gait, that this was, in
fact, the man she wanted to see.
Study the Holy Covenant, the voice of the Holy Spirit had told her, and she
had, and now here she was. Now if her plan would only continue to hold up!
The white-robed man approached and took a chair facing hers.
"Mogart sent you, of course," said the demon.
His statement caught her a little off guard, but she recovered quickly. His
voice was the same as
Mogart's, only different-a little softer, a little kinder, which was very good
indeed.
She nodded to the demon. "Yes, he did."
"To steal my little gem," the Holy Elder said rather than asked.
"For the gem, yes," she admitted, "but not to steal it. For you to give it to
me, freely and of your own will."
Page 36
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
The demon chuckled. "Now, why on all the earths should I do that? He's been
trying to get enough of the things to get himself off that miserable little
exist-ence plane of yours for thousands of years. Got a few, too, in his time,
but never got enough and never managed to keep them. He's a rogue and a
scoundrel, my dear. Just to assuage his boredom, he has been the
source of uncounted misery on your world-demonism, possession, devil
worship-you name it and he's behind it. He has an incredibly
powerful mind, more powerful than perhaps any other I have known-but
it's crossed the border, crossed it millennia ago, that border between
greatness and madness. No, my dear, I cannot think of any circumstances under
which I would give you the gem-it is, after all, also my only way home to
the University."
"I don't think our world is so miserable," she re-torted. "Zolkar isn't a
place I would want to spend my life."
The demon chuckled. "Why not? Why do people live, anyway? A little bit of
happiness, a little bit of love, of satisfaction in accomplishment, then they
are gone. We have been trying to perfect the perfect so-ciety for over a
billion years, and I freely admit Zolkar is not it, but it is far better than
most. Everyone here knows exactly where he stands, his role in society and his
place in it. He is brought up to accept it and make the most of it. Missing
here are two things which are horrors of your world-uncertainty and fear. I
know of no other place on any plane where it is perfectly safe for one such as
you to walk a city street at midnight. Is your world with its little petty
wars and miseries and overt, violent tyranny so much better? Do not your
people desperately seek a
God, and go amok because a technological society has no fixed rules? What is
so wrong with
Zolkar?"
She didn't have to think about that one. "It's totally stagnant," she told
him. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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he said, and she had no choice but to follow.
Behind her, the great door shut apparently of its own volition, silent until
it hit the latches but then booming and echoing around the interior. She
regretted later that she was able to see nothing of the temple itself.
They went down dark, damp corridors dimly lit by small torches for
quite a way. The temperature grew slightly colder as they descended some
stairs and en-tered a small room. Inside was a straw cot, a tiny fireplace
that put out little heat, and just about nothing else.
"Your word that you will wait here," the man insisted.
She nodded. "I will sit here until I see the Holy Elder," she replied
defiantly and lay back on the cot. When the other had gone, she tried to make
some sort of makeshift blanket out of her ample hair and exhaled loudly.
Page 35
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Well, I'm in, she thought to herself.
Now to go the rest of the way.
Despite the chill and the atmosphere of the place, the release of
tension and the long day overcame her, and she drifted in spite of herself
into a light sleep.
She was conscious, suddenly, of someone in the room and awoke with a start. A
man stood there, dressed much as the other had been and also masked, but he
was slightly smaller and had a higher voice. She noted that the fire was out
and the small candle burned quite a bit lower than she had remembered. But she
had no idea how long she had slept.
Some of her initial confidence had worn off, but she was still game. She
wanted out of this crazy place, and soon-no matter what.
"His Holiness will see you," the man told her, then turned and walked out. The
cold stone felt like ice but she quickly followed.
They descended further into the labyrinth of stone, and the lower
they went the colder it became. She had no idea where they were going or
what was at the other end, but she knew for a certainty that she would develop
pneumonia if this kept up any longer.
Finally they reached a small door, and her guide stopped and knocked softly
three times. For the first time Jill reflected on the absence of
other people-they had passed none-and, just as interesting, the lack of
even the remote sounds of other people.
The guide knocked again, whereupon they heard a muffled response which the
red-garbed man took to be assent. He pulled open the door and
entered, Jill fol-lowing, through a back antechamber and into a large
room that was surprisingly different than anything she had seen in
Zolkar. It was a large room, with a big roaring fireplace, woven rugs on the
floor and also on the walls, and a great deal of comfortable-looking
furniture, padded chairs and raised tables included.
It looked like a staid board room from her world; it was out of place here.
The guide mistook her amazement for ignorance. "You sit on those," he told
her, pointing to red-upholstered chairs. "Choose one, sit in it, and wait."
She shrugged. It was warmer in here by far, although certainly cooler than
she'd like, and she chose a large stuffed chair near the fire. She relaxed,
feeling more normal and comfortable than she had in a long time, then turned
to ask the guide how long the wait would be-and discovered that he had
vanished. She was alone in the room.
She looked around. Or was she alone? It was a large place, and there was a lot
of furniture and stuff here. She had the odd feeling that she was being
examined.
Then from across the room, a door opened and a little man stepped through. He
wore the same gilded robe and boots as the others, but his robe was the purest
white, like white silk. He walked funny. Although his face, too, was hard to
see, she knew, just from the size of the man and his gait, that this was, in
fact, the man she wanted to see.
Study the Holy Covenant, the voice of the Holy Spirit had told her, and she
had, and now here she was. Now if her plan would only continue to hold up!
The white-robed man approached and took a chair facing hers.
"Mogart sent you, of course," said the demon.
His statement caught her a little off guard, but she recovered quickly. His
voice was the same as
Mogart's, only different-a little softer, a little kinder, which was very good
indeed.
She nodded to the demon. "Yes, he did."
"To steal my little gem," the Holy Elder said rather than asked.
"For the gem, yes," she admitted, "but not to steal it. For you to give it to
me, freely and of your own will."
Page 36
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
The demon chuckled. "Now, why on all the earths should I do that? He's been
trying to get enough of the things to get himself off that miserable little
exist-ence plane of yours for thousands of years. Got a few, too, in his time,
but never got enough and never managed to keep them. He's a rogue and a
scoundrel, my dear. Just to assuage his boredom, he has been the
source of uncounted misery on your world-demonism, possession, devil
worship-you name it and he's behind it. He has an incredibly
powerful mind, more powerful than perhaps any other I have known-but
it's crossed the border, crossed it millennia ago, that border between
greatness and madness. No, my dear, I cannot think of any circumstances under
which I would give you the gem-it is, after all, also my only way home to
the University."
"I don't think our world is so miserable," she re-torted. "Zolkar isn't a
place I would want to spend my life."
The demon chuckled. "Why not? Why do people live, anyway? A little bit of
happiness, a little bit of love, of satisfaction in accomplishment, then they
are gone. We have been trying to perfect the perfect so-ciety for over a
billion years, and I freely admit Zolkar is not it, but it is far better than
most. Everyone here knows exactly where he stands, his role in society and his
place in it. He is brought up to accept it and make the most of it. Missing
here are two things which are horrors of your world-uncertainty and fear. I
know of no other place on any plane where it is perfectly safe for one such as
you to walk a city street at midnight. Is your world with its little petty
wars and miseries and overt, violent tyranny so much better? Do not your
people desperately seek a
God, and go amok because a technological society has no fixed rules? What is
so wrong with
Zolkar?"
She didn't have to think about that one. "It's totally stagnant," she told
him. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]