Chapter VI

For Ric, the next few days were an anguish that surpassed the most refined torture. He worked long hours in the spore-fields, doing the work of a hundred Phobians. One worked hard, in order to retain life and sanity; to remain long idle, out there was to die a slow death. As it was, the stuff was taking an insidious toll of him. At times he wondered why he bothered. But he drove himself on, hoping against hope.

Once he even partook of the _eishn_ stems that Yarnith offered. The stuff was bitter, gum-like, and offered a soaring elation and a surcease from the terrible fatigue; but the after-effect was so depressive that he didn't try it again.

He stayed with Yarnith's little group, moving and working and fighting with them. The others became increasingly hostile, launching sporadic attacks--those who could rouse themselves from lethargy--in an effort to get some of the _eishn_ stems. But soon even Yarnith's small supply was gone, divided among his group.

Still the fighting went on, for the sake of action and blood-lust. Each day men died. Each day Ric had to protect himself. He found himself taking a fierce joy in it, and he no longer looked upon these Phobians as men. They were mere beasts with the killer instinct.

Ric was becoming one of them.

Only one thing sustained him. After each day's work the Martian, Naric, came for him in the atomo-car and took him back to his quarters in the city. There at least he had the company of Praana and Tal Horan. He could bathe, and rest, and the meals weren't bad.

Tal Horan, in the meantime, was working hard with Kueelo and the others in the laboratories, at the atomic furnaces, at the forges. Kueelo seemed not to care how much Tal learned of their work. He was supremely confident.

And well he might be. Tal told Ric of it.

"I've seen the newly processed metal under test! It stands up indefinitely against the metal-devouring spores--and eventually it will be a complete counter-active against them. And the new rocket-tubes are frightening! I saw one of them in the testing block, subjected to internal blasts far greater than anything known. It seems almost resilient under stress!" Tal's face had gone pale as he talked. "Later they plan to equip an entire Fleet. If that time ever comes...."

Time began to lose all meaning for Ric. Days blended into a phantasmagoria of working and fighting ... blood and madness. Already he was forgetting how he had come here. He cared even less. He was here to die, and he hoped it would be soon.

It was perhaps a week later that Kueelo came to them, after the days work. "Gorak wishes to see you. All of you!"

Tal and Praana were puzzled. In Ric, a spark struck home. He struggled to rouse himself. Gorak ... what could he want with them now?

* * * * *

"Today," Gorak told them when they appeared in his quarters, "I spoke with the Earth Council. I gave them my ultimatum."

He paused, watching their amazement. Then he turned to the tele-magnum, a huge and magnificent instrument, as powerful as anything Earth had.

"I cut into the Earth beam while they were broadcasting to Venus and, by drowning out their channel, contacted them for a few minutes. Needless to say," he turned his cold orbs upon Ric, "they refused my terms. They refuse to believe I destroyed Mars. Of course I realize it would be hard for them to capitulate even if they wanted to. Earth's Fleet is divided, and all has not gone well with Wessell. Already there have been skirmishes around Luna, and part of Wessell's fleet has gone down to destruction."

Ric's heart leaped. At least this was good news! But Gorak's cold voice went on.

"I cannot wait for them to destroy themselves, because in two more days Phobos comes into juxtaposition with Earth, and that will not happen again for months. Earth must have an object lesson! Come. I wish to show you what I mean."

Once again they entered the atomo-car and were speeding away from the city, traversing Phobos' inner shell. They passed the laboratories and shops, hearing the clangor of work still going on. They came to a place where huge, powerful-looking rockets were arranged in neat rows. There were literally hundreds of them.

"Those are the bombs!" Tal whispered to Ric. "They explode upon contact, releasing the spores!"

Their car had stopped, and Gorak ordered them out. Kueelo and Naric were there, and dozens of Phobians, fully armed. The place was well guarded. They saw vast mechanisms reaching endlessly across the wall. These were topped by huge metal discs, perhaps ten feet in diameter.

"The propulsion pits," Gorak explained. "Even vaster, of course, than those we used against Mars. I wanted you especially to see these--Ric Martin. Kueelo, show him."

Kueelo stepped to the operating board. Slowly, under his control, one of the huge discs slid back. A great, gleaming metal bore was revealed. It ejected toward them silently, as though on great compression coils.

"The bores extend entirely through Phobos' shell," Gorak went on. "It has been the work of years. They rest on huge pivots and can be adjusted to any desired angle." He waved a hand. "As you can see, we have twenty of them. Let us hope we will not need them all. Luna is airless, and the action of the spores will be faster there than on Mars."

"Luna!" Praana swayed and would have collapsed, but for Tal Horan's arms about her. "You're going to land the spores on Earth's moon? My people are there ... bottled up in Tycho!"

"That is unfortunate. Your people may yet be saved, Princess Praana. It depends upon Ric Martin."

"What do you mean?" Ric's voice was tight.

Gorak looked at him calculatingly. "You may have wondered why we have revealed everything to you--all of our plans, all of our power. It's because I want you, as an Earthman, to realize what's in store for your planet unless they capitulate. I don't want Earth to go the way of Mars. I don't even want to destroy Earth's moon--unless it's necessary. It's up to you, Ric Martin, to convince your stubborn Earth Council!"

"How can I do that?"

"Tomorrow evening Earth's regular news broadcast will be beamed to Venus. I can cut into the channel again, as I did today. This time _you_ will speak to them. You will tell your Council what you have seen here, and what faces them. It will be their last chance! If you don't convince them ... Luna's destruction will! Earth was aloof when Mars was dying, but this will be much nearer home!"

* * * * *

The hours passed. A deadly quiet had come over the city, not even broken now by the monotonous hum of the atomic furnaces. It was "night"; their wall lights had automatically dimmed, but outside the bluish light from Phobos' walls was all-pervading.

Ric, Praana and Tal Horan did not sleep. But the guards outside had been doubled, and they were alert, patrolling the corridors ceaselessly. Occasionally one of the guards stopped to look in upon them.

"Your people will not die, Praana," Ric told her. "I'll convince the Council to do as Gorak says. Later, perhaps, they can find the way to deal with him."

"No! His first move would be to order the surrender of their entire Fleet. Earth would be relegated to a minor power ... and Venus would be next!"

Tal said thoughtfully, "Ric ... when you get in front of that tele-magnum, tell your Council to send their entire Fleet out here! They ought to be able to blast Phobos out of space!"

"Yes, if they could get within ten thousand miles of here--which they can't! Gorak's bombs are radio-controlled, and the entire Fleet wouldn't stand long against them."

They were suddenly silent, as a Phobian guard appeared in the doorway. For a moment the man stood hesitant. Praana rose, quickly crossed the room to him. The guard handed something to her, and moved quickly away.

"The _eishn_ stems!" Praana handed Ric several tightly wrapped bundles. "For days I've been trying to persuade him to get some for us! I convinced him we needed it for ourselves."

Ric had almost forgotten about it. "My plan may not work, now. But it's a last chance. If only they send me back to the spore-fields tomorrow!" He hid the drug carefully away in his clothes.

And Ric did go back to the fields. For him it was the same routine day. Those deadly spores needed harvesting, to go into the bombs that were still being assembled. He worked as usual, but stayed near the man Yarnith, awaiting his chance.

At last it came. He managed to get Yarnith apart from the others.

"I have something for you!" Ric reached into his pocket, brought out one of the _eishn_ stems. Just one.

Yarnith seized it, placed it in his mouth. His hands trembled in eagerness, his dulling eyes came to life. "Earthman! where did you--I thought--"

"Yes, you thought there were no more of them! Yarnith, you are no longer men, you are slaves, all of you are slaves! Do you suppose Gorak cares about you? He and the others live in luxury in the city, while the rest of you work out here and die and kill--"

Yarnith wasn't listening, he had become as the others. He no longer cared. Ric looked at the man in disgust, then fury swept over him. He seized Yarnith's arm, whirled him around roughly. Yarnith cowered, whimpering.

"Listen to me! Listen! There are more _eishn_ stems, enough for all of you. All you have to do is take them! Do you understand that?"

Yarnith understood that. It was all he understood, all he cared. He nodded eagerly. "More of them?"

"Yes, in the city! Gorak has them!"

Yarnith slumped in despair. "The city. We can never go there again. None of us have ever--"

Ric shoved him away disgustedly, went to join the others. Throughout the day he moved among them, portioning out the stems, giving them the same story. Each worker received one stem, no more. Some were beyond understanding him, and these he tried to avoid. Others watched him covetously, eyeing the supply of stems he was portioning out.

Once a knife slashed his shoulder, and he went to his knees from the blow. Ric whirled and killed the man with a single blow that snapped the frail neck. Ric went berserk then, dashing among them, flailing and lashing and throwing fists left and right as the blood-lust came upon him. They fled before him.

"You're going to understand one thing, damn you!" he shouted. "There are plenty of these stems in the city, but you'll get them for yourself! I'll bring you no more!"

That seemed to work better. It roused them from their lethargy, and Ric kept them that way. How many more he killed or maimed, he never knew. It became a sort of mad game. It was a day Ric was never to forget!

Nor would they forget him. At the end of that day he saw many of them in groups, muttering to themselves, watching him balefully. As if for the first time, they realized one thing: this Earthman always returned to the city ... and he had _eishn_ stems!

When Ric returned this time, there was a weariness upon him such as he had never known. But a fierce hope burned within him, a hope that these Phobians would remember ... that they'd become men again for at least a while, and not fall again into their lethargy....

He'd done his best, and there would not be another chance.