The World Beyond Page 4

  CHAPTER IV

  _Mad Giant_

  To Lee, after a moment, his grandfather seemed not awe-inspiring, butjust a frail old man, paralyzed into almost complete immobility, lyinghere almost pathetically happy to have his grandson at last with him. Anold man, with nothing of the mystic about him--an old man who hadbeen--unknown to the savants of his Earth--perhaps the greatestscientist among them. Quietly, with pride welling in him, Lee held thewasted, numbed hand of his grandfather and listened....

  Phineas Anthony, the scientist. After many years of research,spending his own private fortune, he had evolved the secret ofsize-change--solved the intricate problems of anti-gravitationalspaceflight; and combining the two, had produced that little vehicle.

  A man of science; and perhaps more than that. As old Anna Green hadsaid, perhaps he was a man inspired--a man, following his dreams, hisconvictions, convinced that somewhere in God's great creation of thingsthat are, there must be an existence freed of those things by which Manhimself so often makes human life a tortured hell.

  "And Something led me here, Lee," the gentle old voice was saying."Perhaps not such a coincidence. On this great Inner Surface of gentlelight and gentle warmth--with Nature offering nothing against which onemust strive--there must be many groups of simple people like these. Theyhave no thought of evil--there is nothing--no one, to teach it to them.If I had not landed here, I think I would have found much the same thingalmost anywhere else on the Inner Surface."

  "The Inner Surface? I don't understand, grandfather."

  A conception--a reality here--that was numbing in its vastness. This wasthe concave, inner surface, doubtless deep within the atom of somematerial substance. A little empty Space here, surrounded by solidity.

  "And that--" Lee murmured, "then that little space is our Inter-Stellarabyss?"

  "Yes. Of course. The stars, as we call them--from here you could callthem tiny particles--like electrons whirling. All of them in this littlevoid. With good eyesight, you can sometimes see them there--"

  "I did."

  And to this viewpoint which Lee had now--so gigantic, compared toEarth--all the Inter-Stellar universe was a void here of what oldAnthony considered would be perhaps eight or ten thousand miles. A void,to Lee now, was itself of no greater volume than the Earth had been tohim before!

  Silently he pondered it. This Inner Surface--not much bigger, to himnow, than the surface of the Earth is to its humans.... Suddenlyhe felt small--infinitely tiny. Out here beyond the stars, he wasonly within the atom of something larger, a human, partly on hisway--emerging--outward--

  * * * * *

  It gave him a new vague conception. As though now, because he was partlyemerged, the all-wise Creator was giving him a new insight. Surely inthis simple form of existence humans were totally unaware of what evilcould be. Was not this a higher form of life than down there on his tinyEarth?

  The conception numbed him with awe....

  "You see, Lee, I have been looking forward to having you become aman--to having you here," old Anthony was saying. As he lay, so utterlymotionless, only his voice, his face, his eyes, seemed alive. It was anamazingly expressive old face, radiant, transfigured. "I shall not behere long. You see? And when I have--gone on--when I can only come backhere as a Visitor--like Anna Green, you have been aware of her, Lee?"

  "Yes, grandfather. Yes, I think I have."

  "The awareness is more acute, here, than it was back on Earth. A verycomforting thing, Lee. I was saying--I want you here. These people, sosimple--you might almost think them childlike--they need someone toguide them. The one who did that--just as I came, was dying.Maybe--maybe that is what led me here. So now I need you."

  It welled in Lee with an awe, and a feeling suddenly of humbleness--andof his own inadequacy, so that he murmured,

  "But grandfather--I would do my best--but surely--"

  "I think it will be given you--the ability--and I've been thinking, Lee,if only some time it might be possible to show them on Earth--"

  Lee had been aware that he and old Anthony were alone here. When Leeentered, Aura had at once withdrawn. Now, interrupting his grandfather'sfaint, gentle voice there was a commotion outside the undergroundapartment. The sound of women's startled cries, and Aura's voice.

  Then Aura burst in, breathless, pale, with her hair flying and on herface and in her eyes a terror so incongruous that Lee's heart went cold.

  He gasped, "Aura! Aura, what is it?"

  "This terrible thing--that man who came with you--that man, Franklin--hetalked with Groff. Some evil spell to put upon Groff--it could only havebeen that--"

  Lee seized her. "What do you mean? Talk slower. Groff? The man whoserved us that meal--"

  "Yes, Groff. And two of the men who were to guard there. What that mansaid to them--did to them--and when old Arkoh found it out he opposedthem--" Her voice was drab with stark horror--so new an emotion that itmust have confused her, so that now she just stood trembling.

  "Child, come here--come here over to me--" Old Anthony's voice summonedher. "Now--talk more slowly--try and think what you want to tell us....What happened?"

  "Oh--I saw old Arkoh--him whom I love so much--who always has been sogood to me--to us all--I saw him lying there on the floor--"

  * * * * *

  Words so unnatural here that they seemed to reverberate through thelittle cave-room with echoes that jostled and muttered like alien,menacing things which had no right here--and yet, were here.

  "You saw him--lying there?" Lee prompted.

  "Yes. His throat, with red blood running out of it where they had cuthim--and he was dying--he died while I stood there--"

  The first murder. A thing so unnatural. Old Anthony stared for aninstant mute at the girl who now had covered her face with her hands asshe trembled against Lee.

  "Killed him?" Lee murmured.

  On Anthony's face there was wonderment--disillusion, and thenbitterness. "So? This is what comes to us, from Earth?"

  Lying so helpless, old Anthony could only murmur that now Lee must dowhat he could.

  "Your own judgement, my son--do what you can to meet this." The sunken,burning eyes of the old man flashed. "If there must be violence here,let it be so. Violence for that which is right."

  "Grandfather--yes! That miserable cowardly murderer--"

  To meet force, with force. Surely, even in a world of ideals, there isno other way.

  With his fists clenched, Lee ran from the cave-room. Frightened womenscattered before him at its entrance. Where had Franklin gone? Thatfellow Groff, and two or three of the guards had gone with him. Cynicismswept Lee; he remembered the look Groff had flung at Franklin. Even herein this realm--because it was peopled by humans--evil passions couldbrood. Groff indeed must have been planning something, and he had seenin Franklin a ready helper--a man from Earth, whom Groff very well mayhave thought would be more resourceful, more experienced in the ways ofviolence than himself.

  This realm where everyone had all of happiness that he could want! Humanperfection of existence. A savage laugh of irony was within Lee as hethought of it. No one had ever held out the offer of more thanperfection to these people. But Franklin evidently had done it--playingupon the evil which must lie within every living thing, no matter howlatent it may be. Awakening in those guards the passion ofcupidity--desire for something better than they had now.

  * * * * *

  What had happened to Vivian? Out in the rose-light dimness, a little waydown the path, Lee found himself staring off toward the forest where thevillage lay nestled. Voices of the frightened people came waftingthrough the night silence.

  "Lee--Lee--"

  It was Aura behind him, running after him. "Lee--wait--I belong withyou. You know that--"

  He gripped her. "That girl from Earth--that Vivian--she was withFranklin. What happened to her?"

  "She went. He took her--"

  "She went--
voluntarily?"

  "Yes. The people saw her running out with Franklin, and Groff and theother men. Oh, Lee--what--what are you going to do?"

  "I don't know." He stood for a moment dazed, confused--panting, hisfingers twitching. If only he could get a grip on Franklin's throat. Andso Vivian went too! That was a laugh--girl of the streets, prettyworthless, on Earth. But here--she had seemed to sense what this realmcould mean.

  "Aura, where would Groff be likely to go?"

  "Go? Why--why I do remember, Groff often went up into the hills. Henever said why?"

  "Would they have any weapons?"

  "Weapons?" Her eyes widened as though for a second she did notcomprehend. "Weapons? You mean--instruments with which to kill people?No--how could there be? But a knife can kill. A knife cut old Arkoh'sthroat. We have knives--in the houses--and knives that are used for theharvests--"

  She had turned to gaze out toward the glowing hills.... "Oh,Lee--look--"

  Numbed, with their breath catching in their throats, they stared. Out bythe hills a man's figure rose up--monstrous, gigantic figure.

  Franklin! He stood beside the little hill, with a hand on its top, hishuge bulk dwarfing it! Franklin, a titan, his head and shoulders loomingmonstrously against the inky blackness of the sky!