Chapter XV: The Valley of the Sabits

Vernia was greatly worried when Grandon did not return after a lapse of more than two hours, and decided to look around her. She accordingly stepped out of the airship and climbed the projecting bark of the tree trunk--rough as the rungs of a ladder or the steps of a stair--for the purpose of getting a better view of the surrounding country.

After slowly ascending for several hundred feet she was able to see through the thick curtains of leaves. As the tree in which she stood towered for some distance above those immediately around it, she had an unobstructed view in all directions. It stood in a narrow valley not more than five miles in width at the center and about fifteen miles in length. The encircling mountains were quite bare of vegetation, but the valley itself appeared completely filled with gigantic trees--a waving sea of green that totally concealed all else.

Thus baffled in her attempt to see the surrounding territory, she was about to descend when her attention was arrested by a most fearsome and grotesque apparition.

A great, white, six-legged monster was scuttling swiftly up the tree trunk, tenderly carrying a smaller creature of a bright green color in its brown forceps. It finally halted its ascent to turn out on the limb just below her and carefully deposited its burden on one of the large leaves.

The green thing had six legs, but in other respects bore no resemblance to the white one, for its plump body was oval in shape, with the head set at the narrow end and two short, sharp horns protruding just above the posterior extremity. As soon as it was put down it uncoiled a long, slender sucking tube which it inserted in the leaf.

Vernia was both mystified and frightened. She had never seen or even heard of such creatures on Zarovia, and their formidable appearance was anything but reassuring. She flattened out on the limb, and peered cautiously over the edge.

To her infinite terror she saw many more mounting the tree and depositing their burdens here and there until it literally swarmed with the white things and their green charges. Glancing across to the next tree, she saw that it was similarly infested, and shuddered at the thought that the monsters might soon climb to where she was concealed.

Then, to her surprise, she saw a number of naked, hairy men ascending the tree. Each man carried a sack slung over his shoulder and fastened in place by a strap. She noticed that there appeared to be no animosity between the men and the monsters, and concluded that the great antlike creatures must have been domesticated by these cavemen.

Her supposition was strengthened by the sight of one of the men obtaining a white, sticky substance from one of the green things, with the aid of a white one, which titillated the posterior horns of its smaller green charge, causing it to exude the material into the sack which the man carried. All the other men were engaged in the same task, going from leaf to leaf until their sacks were filled, then carrying them down the tree.

It was some time before she realized the true situation. A man who moved more slowly than his fellows was nipped sharply by one of the white creatures. He gave a cry of pain and hurried his steps. The horrible realization dawned on her that the men were the slaves and the monsters their masters!

* * * * *

She was reflecting on this ghastly paradox when one of the white things, which had mounted on the opposite side of the tree unobserved by her, took a notion to carry its green charge out on the limb she occupied. She rose hurriedly and ran toward the swaying tip, but the creature deposited its burden on a leaf and darted after her with amazing speed. She had only gone a few steps when the powerful forceps encircled her.

Her captor appeared able to travel on the rough tree trunk upside down or right side up with equal facility, and carried her down to the ground at a terrific rate of speed. When it reached the ground it made off under the giant trees, climbing over the thick surface roots with great ease, and at length brought up at the entrance of a conical dwelling about a hundred feet in height.

It paused there for a moment, touched its antennæ to those of a similar creature which appeared to be guarding the doorway, then carried her through a maze of dark runways to a dimly-lighted underground chamber. It laid her on the floor at the feet of an individual, apparently of the same species. This new monster had a white body and similar brown forceps and mandibles, and, in addition, a large pair of transparent wings. Its abdomen was distended to more than ten times the size of that of her captor.

Although the girl was nearly paralyzed with fright, she pluckily rose to her feet and faced the thing before her, momentarily expecting to be seized and devoured. It looked at her searchingly for a moment, then vibrated its antennæ noiselessly. Another white creature, similar to her captor in shape, but smaller, and lacking the huge forceps, appeared as if in answer to a summons.

Each vibrated its antennæ in turn, then the newcomer pushed Vernia toward one of the runways. She could not mistake the meaning of this movement nor had she any other recourse than to comply. Stooping to avoid the low ceiling, she entered and walked forward in the darkness. When she had traveled a short distance her conductor pushed her into a cross-runway that ended in a large, round chamber with a domelike roof.

This room was lighted by a great central opening, and contained more than a hundred girls and women, who were busily engaged in separating round white balls about an inch in diameter, which cohered in glutinous masses, and placing them in small holes that honey-combed the walls on all sides.

Her guide turned her over to a woman who seemed to be a sort of superintendent or overseer, and departed.

The woman looked at her curiously, and, to her surprise, addressed her in patoa, the universal tongue of Zarovia.

"Who are you, girl, and how came you here?"

"I am Vernia of Reabon, and was just now captured by one of those fierce white creatures with the huge forceps."

"You were captured by a soldier sabit, but it is evident that you are from some distant part of the world, for here people do not go about wrapped in brightly colored skins, such as you wear."

Judging from those representatives of the human race which she had seen so far in the valley, Vernia could well believe this statement, for neither the men she had seen in the tree nor the women who now surrounded her were clothed. The women, like the men, were quite hairy. They were also big-boned, low-browed and coarse-featured, and though superbly muscled were evidently quite low in the human scale from an intellectual standpoint.

"I presume my country _is_ far from here," Vernia said, "for I have never heard either of trees or creatures such as you have in this locality, although I know all that is known by our people about Zarovian geography. I have not the slightest idea where I am, or why I have just now been brought to this room."

* * * * *

"You are in the Valley of the Sabits, which is in the center of the great salt marshes where my people live. When but a young girl I was captured by a slaving party and brought hither, even as you were captured and brought just now, to spend the rest of your life serving the masters of men. Enough of this talk for the present. There are no idlers here, and you must work with the others. Here, Rotha," calling a young girl who toiled near by, "a new slave who calls herself Vernia of Reabon. Acquaint her with the nature of our work."

The girl flashed a friendly smile at Vernia, and showed her how to separate the white balls, which she explained were sabit eggs, and stow them in their cells. She was much better-looking than those around her, appearing more like the women of the civilized races.

Vernia shuddered at the feel of the sticky, plasmic mass of eggs that was handed her, but nevertheless went to work with a will, and soon became nearly as adept as those about her.

She had heard of the great salt marshes that covered a considerable expanse of territory far to the south-west of Mernerum, and of the wild, nomadic peoples who inhabited them. Also had she heard their stories of six-legged creatures called sabits who made slaves of men and women, and sometimes devoured them, but her people, in common with those of other civilized nations, always laughed at these wild tales of the marsh-men, considering them purely as myths engendered by superstition and ignorance, and not worthy of investigation.

Now, confronted with objective evidence of their verity, she wondered why it was that exploring parties had never been sent out to ascertain the truth of these rumors.

Rotha was communicative, and talked incessantly as she worked. After questioning Vernia about her country and the ways of her people, she replied in turn to many questions regarding herself, her fellow slaves and the creatures who were their masters. She had been born in captivity, so knew of the ways of her ancestors, the marsh people, only through the lips of others. She was, however, the granddaughter of a soldier of Mernerum who had married a marsh woman, which accounted for her superior intelligence and beauty.

The sabits, she said, were divided into many communities, and the inhabitants of any given community might be recognized by their markings. Those of their own community were known by their brown forceps and mandibles, there were others with black forceps and mandibles, others with green, red, _et cetera_. The largest and greatest community of all was that of the sabits who were pure white.

In each community there were four kinds of individuals. The greatest and most powerful was the single queen sabit, or female ruler, who had ordered Vernia sent hither. She was winged, and, when fertile, swelled to many times the size of the others.

Next to her in importance was the king sabit, her mate. He was the only male permitted to live in the community, and was winged like the queen, but much smaller. The other two kinds were known as the workers and soldiers. The former were comparatively diminutive in size and inefficient in battle, while the soldier sabits were large, powerful, and armed with huge forceps. Both workers and soldiers were wingless and sexless.

The queen sabit did little else than eat, sleep and lay thousands upon thousands of these white, sticky eggs. Her mate was active in administering the affairs of the community, subject always to her approval and consent.

* * * * *

"But why is it," asked Vernia, "that these men submit to the domination of creatures of a lower order? Why, my soldiers kill and drive off creatures a thousand times more terrible than these."

"They may be more terrible physically," said Rotha, "as are also, I am told, many of the great beasts killed by the marsh people; but mentally the sabits are superior to all other beasts. True, they all think in the same way, along the same lines, and all the sabits will react to any situation in the same way, but this only makes them the more formidable, for they thus act in perfect unison in case of emergencies. They seem to think and act in masses--not as individuals. A sabit community may be likened to a single animal, with the queen as the head, directing all operations, the king as the eyes looking here and there and everywhere to see that the directions are properly carried out, and the soldiers and workers, as the arms and legs, supplying every want of the body and protecting it from all dangers."

"But, even so, may not men, with their superior weapons, their torks, scarbos, spears and knives, slay them as easily as they do the great beasts?"

"I know nothing of the weapons you call torks, nor have I ever heard that the marsh people use them. Spears, scarbos, knives and clubs they have, but these avail them little against the armored sabits. I have heard that a very powerful man may subdue a sabit by striking him between the eyes with a heavy club, but this is a most difficult feat, as they move with exceeding swiftness, and blows on any other spot are to no effect. It is said that these creatures have three brains, one in the head, one in the thorax and one in the abdomen, so that even if one is destroyed the other two may function for days afterward. I myself once saw a warrior sabit that had fought a duel with another of a neighboring community. Its abdomen had been sheared completely off, yet it lived and moved about for two days."

"How horrible!" exclaimed Vernia. "Then, in order to kill one sabit a warrior must virtually kill three! But tell me now of yourself, and of the marsh people."

"About myself--" Rotha began, then checked her speech to stare at an approaching procession of worker sabits. "It is time for eating."

The sabits carried pouches from which they distributed a sticky mixture composed of a white, mucilaginous substance in which small edible fungi had been stirred. The girls and women instantly ceased work at their approach, and eagerly devoured their portions of the proffered food. Although Vernia was exceedingly hungry, she could not bring herself to touch the sticky mess, but divided it among those about her.

* * * * *

When they had finished, Rotha said:

"I must leave you now, Vernia of Reabon, for to-night is my mating night, and there comes the soldier sabit who will take me away. To-morrow night I will be with you, and from then on for some time, but for a full day and a night I will be absent."

"What mean you by the mating night, and why, if you are to be mated, will you be absent for but one night?"

Rotha sighed. "It is the custom here," she replied. "In this valley men and women who are mated do not live together as in the outer world, nor have they even the privilege of choosing their own mates."

"You mean that they are mated against their wishes?"

"In this valley it is useless to wish. There is no law but the will of our masters, and they dominate us in everything, even in this, the most sacred of human relations. There is method in their actions, however, for it is their purpose to produce a stronger and more beautiful race of slaves. As a herdsman in the outer world selects his strongest, largest and best-formed male frellas for sires so the king sabit selects a few from among the male slaves who are kept for this purpose only, and are not put at menial tasks as are the others. Having just come of age, I have been selected, as have countless others before me, to do my part in providing the sabits with future generations of slaves."

"But know you naught of love here? Do you willingly submit to the treatment usually accorded domestic animals?"

"Speak not of love. Vernia of Reabon, for even now my heart lies crushed and bleeding within me. There is one man for whose caresses I would relinquish even life itself. Oro the Mighty he is called, and not without reason, for he is large and strong and beautiful, oh, so beautiful, my Vernia, and excels the others in all things. But I know it will not--it cannot be Oro, as the king sabit will not choose him for the mating pens. A slight blemish, a birth mark on his left shoulder, disqualifies him. Because of his great strength, however, he has been chosen chief keeper, or guard, of the pens, to maintain peace among the others, and see that things are conducted in an orderly fashion. Oro, my beloved, will perhaps be the one to receive me at the gate, the one to take me to that awful room; but even he, with all his mighty strength, will be unable to save me, for the sabits are all-powerful, and may not be disobeyed."

Her voice broke, and the tears which she could no longer restrain, welled from her eyes and dropped down on her heaving bosom. Vernia sought to comfort her, but the relentless soldier sabit came, and Rotha was hurried away to her fate.

There were tears in the eyes of Vernia as she turned to her work.

She was startled by a cackling laugh at her elbow. A wrinkled hag who labored slowly, grinned toothlessly at her as she turned.

"Waste not your pity on Rotha," she mouthed. "Her fate is but the fate of all of us, as you will soon learn. The king sabit has not seen you yet, but he will surely come, and on the day after his visit you will depart, just as she has done, for the mating pens."

Too stunned with horror to reply, Vernia resumed her task.