Leading the way, she brought Parsons over to the ship; there she took a smooth, shiny sphere from one of the technicians. The sphere, the size of a grapefruit, lifted of its own accord from her hands; she caught hold of it at once. "It's all set to go," she said. "We're in the process of taking these into the future." She pointed; the ship had been filled with these spheres.
Helmar said, "I presume by the time you came onto it, the thing was rather shabby looking."
Parsons took the sphere from Loris. "I don't recognize it," he said, examining it.
Helmar and Loris exchanged glances. "These are the markers," Loris said. "One of these contacted you in the far future."
"These transmit for hundreds of miles," Helmar said. "To your ship's radio." They both stared at him. "Didn't you get your instructions through the loudspeaker? Didn't you hear one of these telling you how to operate the ship to bring it back here?"
"No," Parsons said. "I found a granite monument with a metal plaque. The instructions were engraved in the metal."
Silence.
At last Loris said quietly, "We know nothing about that. We constructed no such device. And it gave you instruction ?"
Helmar said, "For operating our time ship?"
"Yes," Parsons said, "And it was addressed to me. It had my name on it."
Helmar said, "We've sent out hundreds of these markers. You never encountered one ?"
"No," Parsons said.
The man and woman had lost their air of confidence. And Parsons, too, wondered the same thing. What had become of these spheres? And, if these people hadn't erected the plaque, then who had ?
EIGHT
Parsons said, "Why did you bring me to your time?"
After a pause, Loris said, "We have a medical problem. We've tried to solve it, but we've failed. More accurately, we've had only a limited success. Our medical knowledge falls short, and in our world there's no better knowledge that we can draw on."
"How many of you are there?" Parsons said.
Loris smiled. "Just ourselves and a few others. A few who are sympathetic."
"Within your tribe?"
"Yes," she said.
"What will the government think happened to me? They know something happened to the prison rocket."
"The rocket disappeared," Helmar said. "Very common. That's why the prisoner is sent unescorted. Travel between planets is as erratic as time travel. Like the early days of travel between Europe and the New World . . . tiny ships setting out into the void."
Parsons said, "But they'll suspect that--"
"Suspecting is not the same as knowing," Loris said. "What information does it give them about us? Not even that we exist, let alone who we are or what we are trying to do. At best, they know no more than they did already."
"Then they do suspect you," Parsons said. "Already."
"The government suspects that someone has been able to make use of the time-travel experiments which they abandoned. Our early efforts were unfortunate. We dumped telltale material where they could find it and study it. They've had clues for some time." Her fierce, compelling eyes blazed. "But they wouldn't dare accuse me. They can't come here; this is sacred land. Our land. Our Lodge." Under her robes her breasts rose and fell.
Parsons said, "Is this medical problem getting worse while we stand here?"
"No," Helmar said. "We've managed to bring it to a stasis." His calm came as a contrast to Loris' fervor. "Remember, Doctor, we have gained control of time . If we're careful, no one can defeat us. We have a unique advantage."
"No group in history," Loris breathed, "has ever had our weapon, our opportunity."
As the three of them entered the Wolf Lodge, ascending a flight of wide stairs, Parsons thought to himself, But one of the principal discoveries in science is the demonstration that a thing is possible. Once that's been done, then half the work is over. These people have proved to the government that a time-travelmachine can be built. The government now knows that it made an error in dropping its experiments. It doesn't know
Helmar said, "I presume by the time you came onto it, the thing was rather shabby looking."
Parsons took the sphere from Loris. "I don't recognize it," he said, examining it.
Helmar and Loris exchanged glances. "These are the markers," Loris said. "One of these contacted you in the far future."
"These transmit for hundreds of miles," Helmar said. "To your ship's radio." They both stared at him. "Didn't you get your instructions through the loudspeaker? Didn't you hear one of these telling you how to operate the ship to bring it back here?"
"No," Parsons said. "I found a granite monument with a metal plaque. The instructions were engraved in the metal."
Silence.
At last Loris said quietly, "We know nothing about that. We constructed no such device. And it gave you instruction ?"
Helmar said, "For operating our time ship?"
"Yes," Parsons said, "And it was addressed to me. It had my name on it."
Helmar said, "We've sent out hundreds of these markers. You never encountered one ?"
"No," Parsons said.
The man and woman had lost their air of confidence. And Parsons, too, wondered the same thing. What had become of these spheres? And, if these people hadn't erected the plaque, then who had ?
EIGHT
Parsons said, "Why did you bring me to your time?"
After a pause, Loris said, "We have a medical problem. We've tried to solve it, but we've failed. More accurately, we've had only a limited success. Our medical knowledge falls short, and in our world there's no better knowledge that we can draw on."
"How many of you are there?" Parsons said.
Loris smiled. "Just ourselves and a few others. A few who are sympathetic."
"Within your tribe?"
"Yes," she said.
"What will the government think happened to me? They know something happened to the prison rocket."
"The rocket disappeared," Helmar said. "Very common. That's why the prisoner is sent unescorted. Travel between planets is as erratic as time travel. Like the early days of travel between Europe and the New World . . . tiny ships setting out into the void."
Parsons said, "But they'll suspect that--"
"Suspecting is not the same as knowing," Loris said. "What information does it give them about us? Not even that we exist, let alone who we are or what we are trying to do. At best, they know no more than they did already."
"Then they do suspect you," Parsons said. "Already."
"The government suspects that someone has been able to make use of the time-travel experiments which they abandoned. Our early efforts were unfortunate. We dumped telltale material where they could find it and study it. They've had clues for some time." Her fierce, compelling eyes blazed. "But they wouldn't dare accuse me. They can't come here; this is sacred land. Our land. Our Lodge." Under her robes her breasts rose and fell.
Parsons said, "Is this medical problem getting worse while we stand here?"
"No," Helmar said. "We've managed to bring it to a stasis." His calm came as a contrast to Loris' fervor. "Remember, Doctor, we have gained control of time . If we're careful, no one can defeat us. We have a unique advantage."
"No group in history," Loris breathed, "has ever had our weapon, our opportunity."
As the three of them entered the Wolf Lodge, ascending a flight of wide stairs, Parsons thought to himself, But one of the principal discoveries in science is the demonstration that a thing is possible. Once that's been done, then half the work is over. These people have proved to the government that a time-travelmachine can be built. The government now knows that it made an error in dropping its experiments. It doesn't know
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