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He asked her the question: Why had she and Dav separated?
The woman was startled. She sensed the dark purpose in him  who had always been so friendly to
her and with whom she had communicated so well in the past.
After a moment, realizing that delay was unwise, she gave him Dav's diagnosis  that she had gone into
the death thing that had destroyed man. She deemed it the best reply, considering all possibilities.
Her answer and its deadly implications for her shocked him out of his madness. She explained in greater
detail.
Rocquel said, 'Then what you are saying is that you acted out of some parallel to the type of emotion
used by people who actually did have the death thing. You did this consciously, knowing Dav would
believe it was in fact the death thing.'
'I think that's what I did,' Miliss replied. She added quickly, The death thing is subtle. One can fool
oneself.'
Rocquel persisted, 'But as far as you're concerned, you're not really dying?'
'As far as I know, I'm not'
Rocquel considered that in a gathering amazement.
Finally: 'But why aren't you doing something about getting out of this prison? You shouldn't be here.'
'What can I do?'
'Don't you have any protection of your own?'
'Nothing,' she said, 'but the Symbols so far activated. Except for a few hand weapons and mobile energy
units, most of which we've given to the Janae, that's all we have.'
'What about other  later  Symbols?'
'Their time is not yet,' said Miliss, 'They wouldn't work  not for Jana.'
Rocquel sighed.
But,he wanted to say,Dav used the power of millions of believers in a constitutional monarchy
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before they ever believed in it  in fact, before they even knew about it. Why not use the power of
millions of believers in some future Symbol before they ever believe in it?
He did not ask the question. The concept of any Symbol was beyond his ability to grasp. He realized
humbly that he was a Jana nobleman of a somewhat simple nature and that the year he had spent aboard
the earth battleship  the time he had described to no one  had been really like some tribal king's
being... entertained, if that was the right word, by traders or scientists from a superior civilization. Being
kindly disposed, they had been anxious not to hurt his feelings  but to them he had been a nothing. His
status had been meaningless except in so far as they had a policy of using native kings in their
interplanetary welfare work.
Nonetheless, he tried again to reach understanding
At his request Miliss explained the power of a Symbol once more. But it didn't penetrate.
We thick-skulled males....
'And the ridiculous thing,' he explained his failure to Miliss, 'is that I myself actually have control of a
Symbol  '
He stopped. It was an admission that he would have made to no other living person  only to this one
individual with whom he had always felt able to speak freely.
He finished lamely, 'Of course, that was given to me as a protection.'
He stopped again because of the look on her face  intent, avid, seeking, startled, unbelieving but
finally believing.
Miliss whispered, 'Who gave you control of that Symbol?'
'Human beings,' Rocquel said simply.
She sank back. She seemed to cringe on the cot, as if, like a mental patient, she were wracked by a
psychic disease that contracted her body, curling it, twisting her head to one side.
Finally she said, 'Then Jaer's intuitions, accusations, may be true. There are human beings out there  '
She suddenly broke off, breathless. 'Tell me exactly where you were, what you saw  '
Rocquel described his year on the battleship.
She whispered, There were both men and women?'
'Yes. It was a community of several thousand, I would say.'
'They never landed anywhere?'
'Not that I was aware of.' He sighed. 'But it was such a big ship. I saw only what appeared on the visual
screens in the sections where I was permitted to wander. They didn't teach me the language. I only heard
what the interpreting machines said to me.' He considered possibilities. 'Landing parties could have gone
down to planets without my knowing it'
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'It was one of these humans that taught you control of a Symbol?'
'Yes.'
Miliss persisted: 'But what was it supposed to do? If Jaer had actually slashed at you with his sword 
what would have happened to him?'
Rocquel didn't know,
He explained slowly, 'They warned me to be careful with it  because if I wasn't, it would hook onto
me, too.' He added:
'When I set it up against Jaer, I could feel it tugging at me, sort of like'  he paused, groping  'maybe
like a magnet.'
'But what is it a Symbol of?' Miliss asked.
Rocquel had no idea.
She went on, baffled: 'It must be drawing its energy from some meaningful idea on another planet 
since we didn't sense anything here. But what could it be?' No answer came to her, and she asked, 'You
still have control of it?' He nodded. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]