 Part 4 of Rebels of the Red Planet by Charles-Louis Fontenay, read by Mark Nelson. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Rebels of the Red Planet. 7. Maya had never seen Newell in such a state of sustained rage. He strode back and forth in the private dining-room of the Cirta's Major Club, near the western edge of Mar City, slapping his fist into his hand. His face usually was engaging and boyish, the wave of his dark hair setting it off handsomely, but now it was flushed like that of a petulant child and the lock of hair hung down over his forehead. Maya, the only other person in the room, sat quietly and watched him pace. They had plenty of time and all the information they needed, stormed Newell, and yet they didn't get a single one of the key men. Most of the rebels slipped out easily, right under their noses! Maya watched him detachedly. This was the man she had promised to marry, and, as she had once or twice before, she was undergoing pangs of doubt. After all, she had known Newell Eli only during the few months she had been on Mars. She had fallen in love with him for his charm, his intelligence, his good humor gentleness, but she did not like this display of temper. It was not a controlled anger, but had something of the irrational in it. Childress was captured, she reminded him. Childress! A figurehead! He says he didn't know about the rebel activities going on in the college, and he's so stupid I may not be able to make a case against him. Maya recognized that this element, the success of his prosecution, was a very important factor to Newell. Were the twelve I identified the only ones captured? asked Maya. Yes, twelve captured, seven killed, and every one of them small fry. The leaders undoubtedly got away in that copter. We blockaded the airlocks fast, so most of the others are probably still in the city, but we don't have any idea where to look for them. I may be able to help in that, when I get back from my swing around the other cities, said Maya. I don't want you to go on that jaunt, Maya, exclaimed Newell, swinging around to face her with fierce emphasis. You said when you had found the headquarters, you'd resign the service and marry me. Now you went to go all over Mars looking for rebels. Newell, I can identify almost all of those who were at the barber college, Maya remonstrated. They've picked up some men at the airlocks, and others on the roads at several cities, and even Martian law won't permit you to uproot those people and send them to Mars City just on suspicion. They can't be sent here for me to identify. I'll have to go there. We can work out some charges to get them extradited to Mars City, snapped Newell angrily. I don't want you to go, Maya. I want you to stay here and marry me, immediately. Aren't you being a little dictatorial, Newell? She suggested coolly. The warning implied in her remoteness seemed to trigger a polarised reaction in Newell. The furious dark eyes melted suddenly. The stubborn anger of the face altered on the instant to a sentimental, wistful smile of appeal. Don't be angry, Maya. He pleaded, half-rufully, half-humourlessly. It's just that I'd love you so much. It's just that I'm impatient for you to be my wife. Changeability is attributed to the feminine, but Maya was not able to shift her mood as facely as her fiancee. If I'm worth marrying, I'm worth waiting for a little longer, she said, with an edge to her voice. She was angry at Newell for acting so like a spoiled child. I'm going to see this job finished. I'm leaving for Solus Lakers on the jetliner tonight. Solus Lakers, he exclaimed in astonishment. Why, Maya, that's halfway around Mars! That's exactly why the rebels might be more likely to go there. In spite of the patrols, you know they haven't picked up all of the rebels who escaped Mars City by ground car. Any of them who headed for Solus Lakers will be arriving there within the next two or three days. Then I'll make a swing around and spend as much time as necessary at each of the dome-cities before coming back here. The angry, stubborn expression swept across Newell's face again. Maya, I won't!" he began, but at that moment their guests began arriving. As the judge of Mars City's superior court and his wife entered the room, Newell cut himself off sharp and turned to greet them. His face cleared instantly, his lips curved into a delighted smile, and he welcomed them with such natural, innocent charm that one would have thought he was incapable of frowning. The presence of the guests seemed to intoxicate him with good humor, and when he had to leave in the midst of the party to drive Maya to the airport he did not resume his argument. He merely kissed her good-bye tenderly before she boarded the plane and begged her with melting eyes to hurry back, because he would be lonely every moment she was away. So it was that Maya stretched in a reclining chair on the sun-deck of the Chateau Nectaris the next afternoon, and permitted herself to be disgusted with the entire planet, Mars. Maya's small, perfect body was kept minimally modest by one of those scanty Martian sunsuits. A huge straw hat, woven of dried canal sage, hid her beautiful face. A disappointing resort area for an earth woman, this soulless lakeous lowland. No swimming, no boating, no skiing, no water and no snow. Just a vast expanse of salty ground, blanketed with gray-green canal sage and dotted with the plastic domes of the resort chateaus. Nothing to do but hike in a Mars suit or sun oneself under a dome. She had chosen the Chateau Nectaris because it was the largest of the resort spots, and therefore the most likely one to be chosen by men who sought to hide out for a while. She had contacted the managers of all the resort chateaus and all had agreed to let her know of the arrival of any new guests. There had been three of them during the morning, two arriving by ground-car and one by copter, at three different chateaus. She had driven to each one and circumspectly inspected the new guest, but none had been any one she recognized from the Childress-Barber College. In a way, she wished she had yielded to Newell's importunities. There was much more of interest to do in Mars City, and Newell was charming and intelligent and rather dashing, and she did love him and she did want to marry him. But... She was right in wanting to help identify those rebels who had been captured before she considered her task finished, and perhaps Newell had been right in his implied disagreement with her idea of coming first to Solis Lakers so far from Mars City. Logically, would it not be harder to lose oneself in a fashionable resort area than in a good-sized city? But something within her had urged her to come here first. It was a hunch, and she intended to play it. With a sigh, Maya pushed the hat off her face and stared with exotically slanted black eyes at the shining blur of the dome hundreds of feet above her. She sat up, hugging her knees with her arms. A score of other guests were sunning themselves here also. At her movement the unmarried men turned their eyes on her frankly. The married ones did so furtively, to be promptly yanked back to attention by their wives. Maya's onyx eyes surveyed this dullness aloofly, then lifted over the nearby parapet and across the sparse terrestrial lawn which would grow only under the dome. The far cliffs of the Thamesia Felix Desert loomed darkly, distorted through the dome's sides. The dome's airlock opened to admit a ground-car. She watched it, interestingly, as it scurried like a huge glassy bug along the curving road and disappeared under the parapet in front of the chateau. Male from Mar City perhaps, or supplies, maybe even a new guest. Something struck her, now that the ground-car was no longer in sight. It had been a little too far away to discern its details clearly, but there was something strange about the appearance of that ground-car. A glassy bug, but not entirely sleek and shiny. There like a bug that had come out second best in an argument with another bug. Maya rose purposefully. She stretched lightly to the delight of the assembled viewers and padded gracefully toward the chateau's second-floor entrance, trailing the huge hat in one hand. She walked lightly along the balcony over the lobby toward her room. As she turned its corner, passing the grand stairway, she could see the chateau entrance and the registration desk. The ground-car had brought a new guest. He was signing the registration book, a tall, broad-shouldered man in a Mars suit, holding his Mars helmet under his arm. Why would he be wearing a Mars suit in a ground-car? As she looked, he laid down the pen and turned. His face was darkly tanned, strong, handsome. His hair was black as midnight, his eyes startlingly pale in the dark face. His gaze lifted to the balcony, and Maya ducked behind the big hat just in time. Dark Kensington. Triumph swept through her. She had been right in coming here. This was Dark Kensington, the man she had met once just before the raid on the college. This was one of the leaders. The hat held casually to conceal her face. Maya walked on to her room. The telephone was ringing as she entered. She dropped the hat on the bed and answered it. Miss Karen Nome, this is Quellman Grinn, the manager, said the male voice on the line. You asked me to notify you about any new guests. One has just registered. I saw him, she said. What can you tell me about him? He is registered as D. Kensington, from Hesperidum, answered Grinn. He is just staying overnight. His ground-car dome was broken in an accident, and he wants to have it replaced, and the ground-car refueled. Thank you, said Maya. Now please put a call for me to S. Newell Eli in Mars City. She had bathed and dressed for dinner by the time the call came through. Newell, she said, when he had identified himself on the other end of the line, I knew I was right in coming here, one of the rebel leaders just registered. Are you sure? He asked, excitedly. Certainly I am. He was one of those who stayed hidden in the back of the Barber College, and I saw him for the first time the day of the raid. He identified himself then as a supervisor, but he's just staying overnight. That's long enough. I'll get a jet and be up in a few hours. Get the police to take him in custody and hold him for me. Darling, there aren't any police at Solis Lekas, Maya reminded him. This is a private resort area. The nearest police are at O'Fear. There was a silence while Newell digested this. You say he's staying overnight, Newell said then. I can be there before midnight with some men to take him in custody. I'm a trained agent, said Maya. I can take him in custody for you. You'll do no such thing, squawk Newell in alarm. It's too dangerous. Now listen to me, Maya. You stay out of sight of this man and wait till I get there. All right, darling, I'll use my own judgment," replied Maya demurely and hung up. She sat and cogitated for a time. She was dressed for dinner, and she had been looking forward to appearing in the dining-room in the somewhat sensational, molded, flame-red gown she had bought recently in Marr City. She didn't relish the idea of having dinner sent to her room and sitting up here alone to eat it. With sudden decision she arose. She donned dark glasses and tossed a powder-red veil over her dark hair. Kensington had only seen her once and would not be expecting to see her here. If he saw her now, he wouldn't recognize her. Fifteen minutes later she was sipping an extremely expensive martini in the dining-room when she raised her eyes to see dark Kensington enter, wearing a dark red form-fitting evening suit. He paused just inside the door and stood there, slowly surveying the room. His eyes fell on Maya and paused. Then he walked straight to her table. May I join you, Miss Caranone? He asked in a deep, controlled voice, a rather sardonic smile on his lips. She felt trapped and irrationally angry at him for recognizing her. I'm afraid you've made a mistake," she said coldly. That isn't my name. At this juncture a helpful waiter appeared at Maya's elbow and asked, in an appallingly distinct tone, would you care for another drink, Miss Caranone, or do you wish to eat now? An understandable mistake since it's such a common name, said dark, sitting down opposite her. He turned pale blue eyes, remote and filled with light on the waiter and added, she'll have another drink, and bring me one of the same. The waiter left, and Maya removed her dark glasses to level furious black eyes at dark. I could call the manager and complain that you're annoying me, you know, she said. You could, he agreed somberly. You seem to be a very efficient tattletail, or are you going to try to pretend that you weren't the one responsible for the raid on the college? She recognized that she was well in for it. He was not going to play a game of pre-tents. Well, she had tried, partly anyway, to do as Newell wanted. Very deliberately she opened her purse, realizing that dark was watching her closely, all his muscles tense. She took out a cigarette case and a lighter, laying them side by side on the table, and he relaxed visibly. Maya extracted a cigarette and placed it between her lips casually. She picked up the lighter and balanced it in her hand. I assumed that you're not armed, Mr. Kensington, she said. He shrugged and smiled, revealing strong white teeth. Hardly in this suit, he replied, I'm glad to see you've decided to recognize me. I am, she said grimly. Armed, I mean. This is not a cigarette lighter, but a very efficient and deadly heat-gun. You're under arrest, Mr. Kensington, so I suppose you're having dinner with me, whether you like it or not. Now, do you mind being a gentleman and lighting my cigarette, since this is not very good for the purpose? He looked at her face, then dropped his eyes to the lighter, still smiling. You'd better take my word for it, she advised. I don't want to kill you, Mr. Kensington, but I won't hesitate. I'm an agent of the terrestrial government. He shrugged again. He produced a lighter and leaned forward to light her cigarette without a tremor. The waiter returned with their drinks and an announcement. There's a telephone call for you from Mar City, Miss Karen Nome, he said. Maya kept her eyes on dark. Can you bring a telephone to the table, she asked the waiter? Certainly, Miss, he replied. He left and returned a moment later with the telephone. He said it before her and plugged it in under the table. Juggling the lighter gun gently in one hand, Maya picked up the phone. As soon as she answered it, her eyes were assailed by Newell's agonized voice. Maya, I can't get up there tonight, he said. There aren't any jets here, and those idiots refused to bring one in from his spare-dom or Cinnia for me to use. I'll have to come up by ground-car. Maya sat silent, stunned. Maya had not seemed too great a feat to her to hold dark captive with her disguised heat-gun when she was anticipating Newell's arrive within hours, but suddenly she felt like a hunter who has sneered a lion in a rabbit-trap. Maya, are you there? Demanded Newell, querilously. We'll spell each other at the wheel and drive up without stopping, but it will still take two and a half days to get there. Maya took a deep breath. Come ahead, she said, in a steady voice. I'll have your man waiting for you when you get here. You'll what? But I thought you said he was only staying overnight. Maya, don't you do anything rash? I'm afraid I already have, she said, a little roofily. I have him under arrest right now." The noise at the other end of the line sounded like a dismayed shriek. You little fool! He shrilled. I told you not to do anything like that. How can you hold a man like that for two days, single-handed? Call in the police." It seems to me that I already mentioned there aren't any around here, she reminded him patiently. There was a long silence on the other end of the line. Then Newell said, with force, calm. I'm leaving immediately. In the name of space, Maya, be careful. Maya put the telephone quietly back in its cradle and looked across the table at the tartar she had caught. Dark smiled at her easily. So the reinforcements you were expecting won't get here tonight after all, he remarked softly. He didn't say that at all, she retorted, too quickly. There's hardly any point in trying to deceive me about it, is there, he pointed out. I can tell a great deal from your conversation and the expression on your face, and I'd estimate that your help is going to have to come from Mars City by ground-car, a trip I've just made, so I know exactly how long it takes. Do you plan for us to spend these two nights in your room or mine?" She looked at him silently, stricken. I see our waiter returning, said Dark equably. I trust you'll enjoy your meal as much as I'm going to enjoy mine, Miss Caranome. Eight. The waiter unplugged the telephone and lifted it from their table. We're ready to order now, Maya said to him, and please, ask Mr. Gren to come in here. A few moments after the waiter left the manager came to their table. Quelman Gren was dark and thin-faced, with sleek, oily hair. When I told you I was here in an official capacity for the government, Mr. Gren, you said you would co-operate with me in every way possible, said Maya. Yes, Miss Caranome, I have made every effort to do so," replied Gren. Is there some way I can help you now? Yes, there is, she said. This man is my prisoner, and I'm going to have to keep him in custody here for two days and a half, until help arrives from Mar City. I'd like for you to arm a couple of dependable men with heat guns, and assign them to help me guard him. Gren shook his head. I'm sorry, Miss Caranome, but none of the employees of the Chateau Nectaris was employed for that sort of work, and I'm not going to ask them to do it. What you should have is police help. As you know very well there are no police nearer than O'Fear," she said in an exasperated tone. Surely you have some semi-official officers employed in the Chateau, in case of trouble among the guests. I have a house detective, but his duties are to intervene only when some crime has been committed against a guest or against the Chateau. You told me that you were seeking political rebels, and I assume that that is your charge against Mr. Kensington. My house detective has no authority to act in such cases, and I do not intend to get the Chateau mixed up in these affairs. I've cooperated with you to the extent of giving you information you wanted, Miss Caranome, and I'll continue to cooperate insofar as I am not asked to do something I have no authority to do. It occurs to me that if you came here seeking rebels you should have come equipped to handle them if you found them. It occurs to me that you act very much as though you were in sympathy with the rebel cause," retorted Maya angrily. "'My sympathies are not the government's affair, as long as I take no illegal actions,' said Gren. "'Good evening, Miss Caranome.'" Maya gazed after him furiously as he left the dining-room. Stark, sitting completely relaxed, smiled pleasantly at her. "'Please be assured,' he said, that I'm going to try to avoid injuring you in any way when I escape your custody.' "'I'm not worried, because you aren't going to escape,' she said. "'But I appreciate the thought. You seem to be a very mild-mannered person, for...' She stopped. "'For a rebel?' he finished for her. "'I really don't know what sort of indoctrination you must have had, Maya, if I may call you, Maya, and there's no point in being formal under the circumstances. The students at the Barber College were all rebels, and the reports I received were that you got along nicely with most of them.' "'Yes, I did. I don't suppose it should surprise me to find that rebels are human beings, too?' "'Merely a matter of difference in orientation. Then a question for you to consider is which orientation actually is correct?' Maya did not like the direction the conversation was taking. She was relieved by the appearance of the waiter with her meals of thick, steaming steaks, with all the necessary trimmings. "'It will be a long time before we can be served anything like this by teleportation,' she said, laughing. "'But, Mr. Kensington, dark, if you don't mind.' "'Very well. Dark, you say that you drove here from Mars City. How did you avoid the copter patrols that were out trying to intercept the escaping rebels?' "'As a matter of fact, I didn't, and that's a very peculiar thing,' he said thoughtfully. One of them got me just outside Mars City, and blasted the dome of my ground-car.' "'I noticed you were wearing a marsuit when you registered here, and Gren said you were having the dome repaired.' "'That's what's peculiar about it. I wasn't wearing the marsuit when the copter broke my dome. I didn't have any protection at all. The ground-car went off the road and overturned. I don't know how long I was unconscious, but it was evidently long enough for the copter to look me over, decide I was dead, and move on out of sight. What I can't understand is why I didn't asphyxiate.' "'You mean that you were protected by no oxygen equipment at all?' "'None. I returned to consciousness, and I was lying there in the dome broken wide open, and my face bare to the Martian air. I got into my marsuit right away, of course, but that took a few minutes in addition to the time I was unconscious. And I didn't feel restricted by the lack of air. I wasn't even breathing. And I felt that I didn't need to.' "'That is peculiar,' she said meditatively. Tell me, do you know a man named Goat Hennessey?' "'You're the second person who's asked me that recently,' said Dark. I knew him well many years ago, but I haven't seen him in years. Why do you ask?' "'Because the only case I've heard about, of any human being able to live without oxygen in the Martian atmosphere, involved some genetic experiments of Goat Hennessey, before the government made him stop them and destroy the creatures he'd been experimenting with.' Dark laughed. "'I can assure you I'm not one of Goat's genetic experiments,' he said. Goat and I were colleagues in this rebel movement twenty-five years ago, before I was hit by a period of amnesia that I've just come out of.' She stared at him. "'A twenty-five-year period of amnesia?' "'Impossible. You're not more than twenty-five years old,' she said positively. "'If what people tell me is correct, I'm nearer sixty,' said Dark. "'Terrestrial years, of course.' "'Of course, but I don't believe it.' Dark shrugged and cut another bite of steak. He seemed to be enjoying his meal quite as much as though he were not her prisoner and she his captor, as indeed she was, too.' They chatted pleasantly throughout the meal, and Maya found, somewhat to her surprise, that she was talking about herself a great deal to this pale-eyed man. She told him of her childhood on Mars, among the Martians, and of going to earth to live with her uncle, a world senator who had had close and profitable connections with Mars Corp. She went on to tell of her decision to become an agent of the terrestrial government, despite her uncle's objections, but as a result of his often-expressed enthusiasm for the government's role in developing the planetary colonies, and of her assignment to Mars to ferret out a rebel headquarters which had eluded the best efforts of the Martian government. She even told him how she had met Newell and fallen in love with him. Some time after the meal's conclusion she suddenly stopped in mid-sentence. "'What's the matter?' asked Dark. "'I just realized that you're my prisoner,' she answered, smiling at him. "'Frankly, I'm not sure what to do with you. We can't just sit here in the dining-room all night.' "'Why not go out and sit on the terrace?' he suggested. They say that Solis Lakers is a beautiful sight when Phobos is up and moving. And a shadowed terrace is a very convenient place from which to attempt an escape,' she countered. "'Look,' he said. "'There's no point in making the evening more difficult than it is. I very definitely intend to get away from you and get out of here during the next two days, if I can. But I'm enjoying this conversation. If I promise that I won't attempt an escape in the next two hours, are you willing to go up on the terrace for a while?' She studied his face carefully. It was a handsome, earnest face, full of strength, full of wisdom, with a touch of weariness. "'All right,' she said at last, "'but I warn you, that if my trust is misplaced and you do attempt to escape, I'll burn you down without compunction.' They went up together, quite as casually, as might any two guests, relaxing at the resort, and found chairs in the semi-darkness overlooking the moonlit lowland. Dimos hung near the zenith, a tiny globe of light, virtually stationary. Phobos, larger and brighter, was not long risen, and it moved swiftly and smoothly across the sky, like the cold searchlight of some giant aircraft. Touched and transformed by the shifting shadows, Maya and Dark sad and shattered like old friends. Dark talked now, and he told her of his past life, of his coming to Mars, of his joining the rebel movement upon realizing how the government was holding back man's progress toward Martian self-sufficiency. He spoke soberly, with intense conviction, and Maya, listening, began to realize that there was another side to this conflict than the one she had been taught. She began to waver, and to wonder, for the gray voice of this man was like a deep music she had never heard before, but seemed to remember from some time before there was hearing, a music that touched the depths of her being. Then his arms slid around her waist, and he drew her gently toward him. For an instant she responded, turning her face upward. And on that instant she remembered. With a lightning twist she was free and on her feet before him. She stepped back, and the lighter gun was in her hand. I thought you said I could trust you, she said coldly. Evidently, I was foolish to do so. He looked up at her, and there was nothing but surprise on his face. Then slowly he smiled at her. It depends on your interpretation of the word, he said. I was merely attempting to kiss you, my dear. She had let her hand sag, feeling rather foolish. Well, don't, she said, her sharpness covering her confusion. We aren't lovers, Mr. Kensington. No, he said quite seriously. And I find that I rather regret that we aren't. She stood, looking at him, fighting off a sneaking regret of her own that he hadn't succeeded in his intention. I think this moonlight has had an unfortunate effect on us both, she said. We'd better go inside. Besides, if I'm to keep watch over you all night, I want to get into something more practical than an evening gown. Without protest, dark preceded her inside. They went to the manager's office, and Maya issued instructions to Grimm. Have a maid move my things from my third-floor room to a room on the top floor, she ordered. We'll wait here until it's done. When the maid brought Maya the key to the new room, she and Dark took the elevator to it. As soon as they were inside, she locked the door behind them. I'm going into the bathroom to change clothes, she said precisely. The window to this room is six floors above a stone courtyard, and I don't think you can jump that far without being killed, even on Mars. Since these windows don't open, I'll hear you if you break it to get out, and I can burn you long before you can climb down the face of the wall. The lighter gun in her hand she went into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She had just stripped off the evening gown when she heard the bathroom door lock from the outside. A moment later there was the crashing sound of breaking glass. Calmly, Maya burned off the lock of the bathroom door with the little heat gun. She pushed it open and went out into the room in her underwear. Dark was in the process of gingerly climbing through the broken window. It's a long fall, Dark, she said. He looked back over his shoulder. He smiled ruefully and came back into the room. Well, it was worth a try, he said philosophically. He surveyed her with frankly admiring eyes and added, and it was worth falling for the view. She turned pink, but without taking her eyes off him she reached back into the bathroom, got the tunic and trousers she had laid out, and slipped them on. I think it would be better if we go down and sit in the middle of the lobby, she said, unlocking the door to the room. That way you'll have farther to run if you try to get away. They went down and found comfortable seats. They sat there, talking, to all casual appearance, two of the Chateau's guests. Gradually the conversation moved back to its earlier informal and friendly terms. How long they sat chatting, Maya did not know, for she was wrapped up in her enjoyment of the things Dark said and his attitude toward life. But after a time she realized that no more guests were sitting in the lobby or moving through it. They were the only ones there, except for Gren, sitting morosely behind the registration desk. Just how do you propose to get any sleep and watch me at the same time, asked Dark? I don't, she answered, smiling. If you can stay awake for two nights, so can I. You forget, young lady, he retorted, I don't have to. With that he stretched out unceremoniously on the sofa on which he had been sitting, clasped his hands behind his head and enclosed his eyes. Within a very short time he was obviously and genuinely sound asleep. Maya sat there and watched him, peaked and a little non-plussed. She could hardly afford to go to sleep, too. Her only course was to stay awake, to sit there and watch him sleeping comfortably and soundly. It was not a pleasant prospect for two nights. She sat, heavy-eyed, and racked her brain for some solution, and silently cursed Gren for refusing to give her the help she needed. Dark slept on, and a faint smile touched his lips. Then Maya found herself thinking pleasantly over the things they had talked about during the long evening, and admiring this man and liking him. She woke up. With a start she woke up, realizing that she had been asleep. She was not sitting in the chair any more, but curled up comfortably on a sofa, her head pillowed like a child's against... against what? Against Dark's chest. He was awake, sitting up, smiling down at her, and she was cradled in the curve of his arm, and the little lighter gun was no longer in her hand. She did not react violently to the sudden realization. She sighed, almost happily, and murmured to him, "'So, you win after all. I think I'm glad, Dark. Now you can go if you want to.' He shook his head. "'I'm glad you feel that way about it, Maya, but I'm afraid it's too late. I really shouldn't have stayed around to serve as your pillow till you awoke.' There was something in his face that caused her to sit up suddenly. Two uniformed men stood there in the lobby before them, relaxed but watchful, regulation heat guns dangling from their hands. As she sat up, one of them touched his cap and spoke to her. Where police officers from Ophir, Miss Caranome, Mr. Eli called from Mar City and directed us to drive over here and help you guard the prisoner until his arrival. She rose angrily. "'I didn't ask for your help, so you may go,' she said, aware of Dark's surprised gaze on her. I made a mistake in identification. The policeman who had spoken shook his head. "'I'm sorry,' he said. "'We're acting on Mr. Eli's orders, not yours. We'll have to hold Mr. Kensington until Mr. Eli arrives.' She glared at them. The one who had spoken was big and burly and efficient looking. The other was sallow and silent, with a deadly cast to his thin face. Then she saw her lighter gun, lying on the lobby floor beside the chair in which she had gone to sleep. She bent down, casually, and picked it up. She straightened the little instrument ready in her hand. "'This is not a cigarette lighter, but a heat gun,' she said flatly. "'I'm in charge here, and I say Mr. Kensington is to be permitted to go free. If any effort is made to stop him, I'll burn you down.'" Both police heat guns swung up in short arcs and trained on her. The burly policeman spoke gently. "'I'm sorry, Miss Karenohm, but we're under orders from Mr. Eli, and we intend to follow them,' he said. "'I'd hate to see you injured, but if you blast either of us, the other one will burn off your hand.'" "'No, Maya,' exclaimed Dark, getting to his feet. "'Don't. There's no point in your getting hurt for my sake.'" She ignored him. "'Drop those heat guns, both of you, or I blast!' She snapped, almost hysterically. Then Dark hurled himself bodily at the two men. The thin-faced man swung his heat gun around to meet Dark's charge. Maya twisted the lighter gun toward him, and at the same moment the burly policeman threw himself against her. Her heat beam singed the thin-faced one's shoulder, then she collapsed under the impact of the other's body. As she fell, she saw the almost invisible beam of the thin-faced policeman's heat gun strike Dark directly in the stomach, burning away the cloth, burning a great, gaping hole in his abdomen. Dark slid to the floor, writhing, gasping, clutching his stomach. Her lighter gun knocked from her hand, Maya struggled half days to her feet. The burly policeman had swung his own gun on the prostrate Dark, but the other one, grimacing with the pain of his wounded shoulder, stopped him. "'Let him be,' he said. "'I'd like to watch them die.'" With a wail, Maya dropped to Dark's side. She cradled his head against her breast and sobbed as he died in her arms. Part 5 of Rebels of the Red Planet by Charles-Louis Fontanet Read by Mark Nelson. From the time she saw Dark Kensington die until Newell's arrival at the Chateau Nectaris a day later, Maya remained in her room, half in shock, half in an agony of sorrow and remorse. She was so exhausted by her ordeal that she did sleep, but it was fitfully and without genuine rest. She had her meal sent up to her room and ate automatically, not tasting the food. Rationally, she could in no way blame herself for Dark's death, but that did not prevent her feeling strongly that her insistence on tracking down the fugitives from the children's barber-college had made her directly his slayer. Her feeling of distress was much deeper and more personal than normal regret at having brought about the death of a friendly enemy while in pursuit of her duty. Maya realized that in those few hours she had been with Dark and talked to him something had taken root and flowered that had changed her whole outlook on existence. She did not want to call it love. She was a very practical young woman and did not believe in love on such short notice, but in examining her feelings she was at a loss as to what else to call it. She had felt a powerful attraction to this man, a tremendous admiration and liking for him, a feeling of belonging in his presence. She had sensed his strength. It had appalled her when she had had to oppose herself to him in keeping him captive, but in other circumstances she felt it was the sort of strength she could depend on. Willingly, she thought now she could have dispensed with everything else in her life and followed Dark Kensington wherever he chose to wander, a fugitive among the deserts and lowlands. And Newell? Her feeling for him had not changed. She was still attracted to him and she still admired him, but the admiration she had felt for his sharp, sardonic handling of his opponents in a court of law seemed a little shallow and a little immature in comparison to the sudden onrush of what she sensed about Dark. Since her early teens she had been an eager enemy of those rebels whom she conceived to be disrupting the orderly settlement of Mars, and her desire to contribute to the defeat of those rebels had been a disciplining, integrating force in her personality. Yet in only a few short hours of quiet talk, Dark had cut the foundation from that force and dissipated it. If only she had not delayed. If only she had made up her mind decisively to what she felt now. Dark need not have died. She could have freed him, and together they could have left Solis Lakers. With him she would have fought as hard for the rebel cause as in the past she had fought against it. But now it was too late, and moping tearfully in her room she found that she didn't care any more one way or another about the struggle between Mars Corp. and the rebels. By the time Newell arrived from Mars City she had regained control over her feelings. When he telephoned her in her room she went down to the lobby to meet him, pale but composed. She had a strange feeling as she came out into the big lobby, arching up above its balconies, a feeling as though she had been away in a distant land for a very long time, and was just returning to the world she had known all her life. In this returning she had looked upon things with new ideas, and they did not appear the same as before. This was the same spacious lobby across which she had walked to register when she came to Solis Lakers from Mars City a few days ago. It was the same lobby in which, looking down from the balcony, she had seen dark Kensington arriving. It was the same lobby in which she had sat with dark and talked for so long. But it seemed a strange place, a different place, one that looked like the lobby she remembered but in which she had never walked before. Newell was standing across the lobby with the two police officers from O'Fyr beside a long wooden box that rested on the floor next to the registration counter. Behind the counter, Quellman Grinn, the manager of Chateau Nectaris, was sorting the day's mail. Newell saw her, detached himself from the others, and came across the lobby to meet her. As he approached she experienced the same feeling toward him that she had felt toward the lobby. He was like someone she had known but a different person. There was a worried frown on Newell's face and she managed to get something of disapproval in his greeting kiss. "'It's lucky I called O'Fyr and had those men sent over here,' were his first words. "'If they hadn't gotten here when they did, that rebel might have killed you and escaped. I told you, Maya, not to try to handle a situation like that. It was very astute of you to send them over,' answered Maya dryly. I should have thought of it myself.' "'That's exactly why you shouldn't try to handle such things alone,' said Newell, apparently somewhat mollified. Maya looked into his face, a handsome, youthful face bearing a slightly peeved expression, and she thought two things. She thought of the long and intensive training she had undergone as a terrestrial agent, and she contemplated just how effectively Newell might have handled Dark's capture had Newell been in her place. "'Come on, Maya, let's clear this up, so we can get out of here and get back to Mars City,' said Newell, and led her across the lobby to the two policemen and the wooden box. The two men from O'Fyr greeted her with a certain embarrassment and seemed relieved when she smiled wandily at them. These men have told me how the rebel had turned the tables and gained the advantage of you before their arrival,' said Newell. They said that before he was killed he confessed to them that he was Dark Kensington, one of the major rebel leaders who escaped from the Childress Barber College. I believe that coincides with your identification of him, doesn't it?' "'Yes,' answered Maya in a low voice. He was Dark Kensington. I saw him once at the college, and he identified himself to me then as a supervisor. She did not feel called on to say anything more and to tell Newell what Dark himself had told her about the rebellion and his part in it. "'Very good,' said Newell, with satisfaction. We have captured the chief, the peculiar-looking individual who escaped by driving his copter through the city dome. All the indications are that he and Kensington were the top two figures in the rebellion. I think all that's needed now is for you to identify the body positively as Kensington, Maya.' He indicated the wooden box which lay lidless on the floor. Reluctantly Maya stepped up to it and looked down into it. The pain which distorted Dark's face when he lay writhing from the heat-gun blast was gone from his features. They were calm and peaceful in death. Maya gazed down at his face wistfully, sorrowfully, then turned away. "'Well?' asked Newell impatiently. "'Yes,' she murmured. That's Dark Kensington.' "'Very good,' said Newell, and turned to the two men. "'We'll take the body to the hydroponic farm for the vats,' he said. "'There'll be others after the trials and executions of the rebels we've captured.' "'Do you have to do that?' protested Maya. "'Why can't you give the man a decent burial out here in the lowland?' "'Don't interfere in matters which are none of your affair,' replied Newell brusquely. "'Bodies of criminals are all we send to the vats. They're constantly short of bodies as it is, and we can't very well send them corpses of law-biting citizens.' He turned away. As Maya accompanied him across the corridor, the two men from Ophir began nailing the lid on the wooden box that contained Dark Kensington's remains. At the elevator, Newell said, "'Get your things packed as soon as you can. I want to go back to Mar-City right away by copter. I have some things I want to talk to you about, very seriously, but they can wait until we're airborne.' "'Why by copter?' asked Maya. "'Ground-car is faster.' For the first time, Newell's face broke into a genuine smile and his ordinary charming self shone through. "'Because,' he replied, drolly, "'I've just made that trip by ground-car and every bone in my body aches. It may be slower, but I want to go back by air, where there aren't as many bumps.' Maya was able to laugh at this. She went up to her room. It did not take her long to pack and to dress in a tunic and trousers for travel. When she came back down to the lobby, Newell was waiting, and they took a ground-car from the chateau to the dome airlock. The three government agents who had come with Newell from Mar-City had the helicopter ready for them on the flat Lowland just beyond the airlock. As the ground-car emerged onto the sage-covered plain, the men were helping the two policemen from O'Fear unload the box containing dark Kensington's remains from another ground-car and load it into the baggage-bay of the copter. Newell and Maya slipped into their Mars suits, secured the helmets, and climbed out of the ground-car. Newell gave his men some final instructions to follow before returning to Mar-City by ground-car. Then he and Maya went aboard the copter. They strapped themselves in the seats. Newell sealed the copter door and released oxygen from the tanks into the interior. When the dial showed the air to be breathable, he and Maya removed their helmets. Newell started the motor and the craft lifted slowly and smoothly into the air above the soulless Lakers Lowland. Newell headed the copter north-westward. As soon as they were well on course, he turned to Maya with a stern expression on his face. "'There's one thing I can't understand at all,' he said severely. "'What madness possessed you to resist those men I sent over from O'Fear and attempt to help Kensington escape?' She looked at him steadily, without replying. "'What should she answer? Could she say, I discovered that I had fallen in love with Dark Kensington. I found that his reasons for the rebellion made sense to me, and that you and the government and Mars-Corp are wrong. What would Newell's reaction be if she told this truth? But it could do no good to say that. It could do the rebels no good, because now they were scattered and defeated. It could do Dark no good, because he was dead. She did not think she would suffer personally from such a revelation, but it could only hurt Newell, who loved her. So at last she said, "'Newell, I'd rather not talk about that. I didn't succeed, so can we forget it?' "'I think it's best that we do,' agreed Newell. The only thing I can think is, that you were slightly hysterical over Kensington's having gained the upper hand, after the strain of guarding him for so long, and your action was an unconscious expression of resentment that they're having to take over his custody where you had failed. But we might have learned a great deal through questioning the man at length, and that action of yours made it necessary for them to kill him.'" Newell could not know how deeply those words struck her. She turned her face away from him, and the tears came to her eyes. "'At any rate,' went on Newell unaware, "'I think this demonstrates that these espionage activities have been far too much of a strain for you, and I think it's time you stopped. We have one of the two major leaders captured, and the other one dead, and I don't think they're going to give us much more trouble, even if we don't locate all the fugitives. So I want you to give up this idea of wandering around from city to city, helping identify rebels. "'I think you're right,' she agreed in a choked voice. She had no more interest now, certainly, in tracking down rebels. "'And,' continued Newell even more firmly, "'marry me when we get back to Marr's city.' "'Well, why not? Newell loved her. What else was there for her?' "'Yes, I'll do that, too,' she said. "'As soon as we get back, I'll make out my report and send my resignation with it back on the first ship to Earth. Then I'll marry you, Newell.' His face was radiant and triumphant as he turned to her. He put his arm around her shoulders, drew her to him, and kissed her. The helicopter flew north-westward, passing over the Solus Lekus Lowland, it crossed the Thamesia Desert and the Tythonius Lekus Lowland, and word above the Desert of Candor. Above it, after a time, there rose on the horizon the white stone forms of a distant group of buildings. Newell dropped the helicopter lower. He angled it down, and in a short time landed it on the desert near one of the four buildings of the Canfell hydroponic farm. As he and Maya donned their Mars helmets, a group of Mars-suited men emerged from the building's airlock and came across the sand toward them. Newell stared curiously out the copter window. She had heard of this government experimental station, but had not visited it before. "'This is another reason I wanted to take a copter,' explained Newell, releasing the air from the copter's interior. There aren't any roads to this place, and I didn't want to drive a ground-car across the desert to bring Kensington's body here.' They emerged from the copter as the group from the building approached. Newell greeted the five of them and introduced them to Maya. Four of them were strangers to her, but the fifth she remembered. Goat Hennessey, white-bearded and watery-eyed. "'How are you adjusting to your new work here, Dr. Hennessey?' Newell asked him. "'Very well,' answered Goat in his cracked voice. "'They're using a different approach from mine, but I find it extremely interesting.' During Goat's earlier experiments at Ultravirus it occurred to Maya to be grateful that Dark had not fallen alive into the hands of these people at the Canfell hydroponic farm. Their entire stop lasted only a few minutes. Newell refused an invitation to remain overnight, explaining that he was anxious to get on to Marr's city. The others unloaded Dark's coffin and moved with it back towards the building. Newell and Maya climbed back into the copter, and shortly they were airborne again, and the buildings of the Canfell hydroponic farm were receding behind and below them. Newell guided the copter almost straight westward now. It passed over Cander and buzzed out over the broad Zanthi Desert. And here trouble developed. Without warning the engine coughed and stopped. Newell worked frantically at the controls to no avail. As the big blades slowed in their rotation the copters sank, slowly at first, then ever more swiftly to the surface of the desert. They donned Marr's helmets hurriedly. It struck with a terrific crash, which would have hurled them through the windows had they not been strapped down. The entire body of the copter crumpled in on itself, and it came to arrest a collapsed wreck with the two of them sitting in its midst miraculously uninjured. There was no question of trying to start the engines or fly the machine. It was a total wreck. Newell tried the radio without success. "'What in space went wrong with the thing?' he demanded angrily. I know it wasn't short of fuel. There's nothing left for us to do but walk, I'm afraid, Maya. Back to the hydroponic farm?' "'No, we've come too far. By my chart we're not that far from ultra-virus. I think we better try to make it for the night, and if Goat left his radio equipment in working order we'll call for help. If not, the only thing I know to do is to head for O'Fear.' Ultra-virus, Maya remembered it with a shudder, the grim, black bastion in the desert where Goat Hennessy had worked with grotesque, twisted caricatures of humans. They fumbled about the wreck to find the minimum emergency supplies they thought they would need, and started westward on foot. X. Happy Thurbelow finished sweeping the long barracks and leaned wearily on his broom. That is, he didn't lean on it, or it would have collapsed him to the floor, but he made the gesture. Why, he wondered, didn't the masters make the tufts sweep their own barracks? Perhaps the tufts couldn't be made, or perhaps the masters did it just from an excess of cruelty. Happy's monstrously bloated body sagged, and his skin felt dangerously dry and tight. Happy was so adipose that his hands engulfed the broom handle like a toothpick. Under the transparent skin his flesh was clear and translucent, and there could be seen the tiny red lines of the branching veins. Happy was like a jellyfish, in huge human form. "'Shadow!' he called in a high, grating voice. "'I'm going below!' Shadow appeared disconcertingly ten feet away. Dark-skinned Shadow looked at him silently with white rimmed eyes. Then Shadow turned and disappeared, as only Shadow could. Hanging up the broom, Happy waddled to the iron-barred gate that prevented entrance to a downward-plunging ramp. He pressed a button beside it and waited. He looked out the window beside the gate. The sands of the Desert of Candor stretched orange and bleak under the bronze sky. Somewhere out there to the south, across the sands, under that sky, lay the shining dome of Ophir. The window would be easily broken, and it was large enough for even Happy's bulky body to pass through. But the oxygen-scant air of Mars would sear his lungs to quick death without a helmet, and even if it would not, Happy's skin would dry and crack in a few hours of that outside air, and he would die in slower agony. "'What is the purpose of your call?' asked an impersonal voice from the loudspeaker beside the barred gate. "'I have finished my task, master,' said Happy, puffing a little. "'I seek your grace to go below.' The loudspeaker said no more, but after a moment the gate stirred and lifted into the ceiling. Happy went through it gratefully and waddled down the gently sloping ramp. The gate descended behind him. Happy did not know whether Shadow had come through the open gate with him, but it didn't matter. Shadow could slip easily through the bars when he wished. At the foot of the ramp was a vast, low cavern, stretching out of sight in all directions. It was dim, shading into the darkness of distance. Its floor was water, flat water, subdivided into large rectangular vats. In most of the vats vegetation grew in various stages, greening under the ultraviolet rays that radiated from the low roof. Between the vats ran straight, narrow walkways of packed earth. Happy waddled along one of the walkways until he found an empty vat. He lowered himself over its edge and sank happily into the still, cool water, like a hippopotamus submerging. He immersed himself completely, then lay back in the water, with only his face floating barely above the surface. Shadow appeared, apparently out of nowhere, and sat down on the edge of the vat, letting his flat legs dangle into the water. "'Nothing like it,' proclaimed Happy, splashing a little. "'Nothing on Mars like it. You ought to come in, Shadow. As flat as you are, you ought to float on the surface without any trouble at all.' Shadow nodded silently, but made no move. "'I don't see why the Tufts can't take care of their own barracks,' complained Happy, returning to the subject closest to his displeasure. "'You reckon the Tufts are actually the rebels, and the Masters can't make them do anything?' Shadow shook his head, but whether in negation or disclaimer of knowledge Happy could not interpret. Happy flinched and shifted in the vat. "'There's still part of a skeleton in here,' he announced. "'I thought this was an empty one.' Moving he flinched again. With purpose he aroused himself and plowed to the edge of the vat. "'I've got to find another vat,' he said. "'I can't nap if I'm going to get punched in the fanny with bones every five minutes.' He heaved himself over the edge onto the walkway with difficulty, and got slowly to his feet. Shadow lifted his feet out of the vat, stood up, and vanished. Happy knew how Shadow was able to disappear so suddenly, and it did not disturb him. Seen directly from front or rear, Shadow had the dimensions of a normal, black-skinned man. But Shadow was flat, no thicker than half an inch. When Shadow turned sidewise, he vanished to the site. Occasionally Happy wondered how Shadow happened to be, and why he was here in the caverns, but it was not the sort of thing to bother his mind for very long. He moved along the walkways, peering into the vats which appeared to be empty. He assumed Shadow was following him. Shadow always did. Around corners he came upon blubbery creatures like himself, tending the plants. They nodded greeting at him, and Happy nodded back. His search was discouraging. All the vats not filled with plants seemed to have corpses in them, in varying stages of decomposition. In the one corner Happy came upon a tuff, lounging in the walkway. The tuff was a compact, muscular youth, with bullet-head, sullen eyes, and hard mouth. He looked as though he'd lounged with hands in pockets, but like Happy and all the others he was naked, so that was just an impression. Happy stopped. He and his soft kind avoided the tuffs when they could. The tuff looked at him with disinterested eyes, then looked away. Happy was uncertain what to do or say. His impulse was to turn and go back, but he did not quite dare. Are you a rebel, tuff? He burbled the first thing in his mind, for lack of something else to say. The tuff looked at him contemptuously. Then suddenly the tuffs' hard eyes flared with savage excitement, and he moved swiftly on Happy. As he began to turn in panic, Happy saw from the corner of his eye another tuff racing around the corner of the walkway to come upon him from behind. The tuff in front of him reached him and began pummeling him viciously with his fists, the hard fists sinking like painful hammers deep into Happy's flesh with every blow. Happy bleated in fright and distress, trying ineffectually to ward off his attacker. Then out of nowhere shadow flashed in like a lightning bolt on the other tuff as he had almost reached Happy. There was a brief, squalling tangle, and the tuff pitched headlong into the plant choked vat. Shadow vanished and reappeared, intermittently, like a flashing light. The first tuff, seeing what happened to his cohort, ceased pummeling Happy abruptly and took to his heels. He vanished around a corner. The vanquish tuff climbed out of the vat, sputtering and cursing and fled in the other direction. "'Oh, my! Oh, my!' exclaimed Happy to the now invisible shadow. "'What wicked creatures!' Sore and shaken he moved on down the walkway, his search now intensified by the need for wetness to soothe his injured flesh. He came upon a vat without vegetation and, at first joyous glance, thought it empty. Then, disappointment, a comparatively fresh body floated in it, just under the surface. It was the body of a man. Naked it was smooth and plump with the water that had seeped into its tissues, and it was a uniform, dead white all over, like the belly of a fish. The face and lips were monochrome white, the hair was bleached, and when it opened its eyes they were so colorless that the reaction was almost unnoticeable. Realizing Happy was paralyzed with shock. The dead creature's eyes moved from side to side, then stopped, fixing on Happy. Its chest began to rise and fall slowly, with breathing, under water. "'Shadow!' squeaked Happy helplessly. Shadow appeared beside him. "'Shadow! It's alive!' Scared Happy, desperately frightened. The two stood side by side, staring breathlessly down into the water. The creature in the vat moved its hands tentatively. It opened its mouth and closed it. Then it stirred with purpose, turned, and climbed up over the side of the vat, dripping like a weird creature from the depths of the sea. It stood up before them, dripping. The man bent slightly and belched forth a great quantity of water from his lungs. He straightened and breathed in the air in great, satisfied gasps. "'I'm Dark Kensington,' he said in a rusty voice. "'Where is this?' At his words, Shadow disappeared. Dark Kensington. Had Maya seen him now she could not possibly have recognized him. The musketer body and dark, handsome face were bloated and pale. Black hair was bleached to pale seaweed, and the blue eyes were completely colorless now. "'This is the Canfell hydroponic farm,' answered Happy, gaining a little courage. "'Under the surface of the Desert of Kander.' "'The Desert of Kander,' repeated Dark, and the pale lips twisted in a smile. They hauled me quite away. I was at Sola's Lakers. "'How did you get here?' asked Happy, with sudden eagerness. "'Only dead people are thrown in the vats to make chemicals for the plants. How could you stay alive under water?' "'I imagine I can breathe water for the same reason I can still live after a heat-beam burned my guts out. But I don't know what that reason is. I imagine that the first step in finding out is to get out of this place.' "'You can't get away from here,' said Happy positively. "'Nobody ever has.' "'We'll see,' said Dark confidently. "'I gather you and your companion are some sort of prisoners.' "'Slave's,' corrected Happy, with unaccustomed bitterness. "'The jellies are slaves to work in the vats. I don't know if the Tufts are slaves, too, but the Masters let them sleep in barracks on the surface. Shadow's not either a jelly or a Tuft, and I don't know if he's a slave. Shadow's just shadow.' "'Before you go on,' interrupted Dark, I seem to be extraordinarily hungry.' Happy twittered and quivered. He moved hurriedly around a corner to one of the storage vats, and returned in a moment with a supply of the tasteless gelatin that was their food here. Dark fell too greedily, and Happy, his tongue loosed by this new companionship, started feeding him information in a steady stream. "'I don't know how they get us here,' said Happy. "'We aren't born here, but something happens to our memories. We can't stay up in the dry air very long, or our skin cracks, and our flesh collapses. You see, our tissues are mostly water. Everybody down here is like me. Everybody but the Tufts. You'll see them. I don't know how they got here either, or what use they are. They don't work like we do. And Shadow, he's different. Shadow likes me. He stays with me all the time. And then there's Old Beard. He hides down here, and I don't think the Masters know he's here. He's very old, and very wise.' "'Who are the Masters?' asked Dark curiously, between mouthfuls. And what sort of work do you do for them?' "'They're the people who run the hydroponic farm. They're normal men, like you. I mean, like you would be, if you weren't swollen up and pale like the bodies that are thrown in the vats.' Old Beard knows. He's very wise. He calls the Masters Mars Corp. I don't know why, but it seems that before I lost my memory, I knew a language where corp meant body, like corpse, you know. Maybe it has something to do with the bodies they put in the vats.' Old Beard says that the Masters are developing Martian foods that we can eat without dying. And he must be right, because sometimes they bring down some hard foods and make some of us eat them instead of gelatin. But those who eat the hard foods always die, so I don't suppose they've succeeded yet, except some of the tufts. Some of the tufts have eaten the hard food without dying sometimes, and they get pretty sick. And then, hold on, wait a minute, exclaimed Dark, holding up a restraining hand. I know what Mars Corp is, and I'm not surprised they're behind it, but I'm trying to digest all this you're throwing at me.' Happy fell silent, reluctantly, and Dark cogitated deeply. Happy fidgeted, anxious to speak, but afraid to interrupt Dark's thoughts. And then Shadow reappeared. Shadow appeared out of nowhere, and made gestures at Happy. Happy glanced at Dark timidly. At last he gained courage to speak. Shadow tells me... He began, then cringed, when Dark looked up in surprise. Dark gestured to him to go on. Shadow tells me... He began, then cringed, when Dark looked up in surprise. Dark gestured to him to go on. Shadow tells me... Said Happy, that Old Beard wants to see you. Will you go with us to Old Beard? Certainly, agreed Dark. From what you tell me, I'm rather anxious to meet Old Beard, too. He followed Happy and the alternately visible and invisible shadow along the paths that twisted among the vats for some distance. At last they ducked into some luxuriant foliage that hung over to form a bower above the space between two vats. Old Beard sat there, in a corner of the dimness, pale eyes fixed silently on the trio. Old Beard was not so very old. He appeared to be in robust middle age, although his skin was very pale from long existence underground. His hair and heavy Beard were long and untrimmed, and were a deep iron gray. Thank you for coming, said Old Beard in a deep, resonant voice that bespoke strength and bore an undertone of bitter determination. It is safer for me not to move around too much in the open, except at certain hours. I was glad to come, because I'm sure you can help me, and I may be able to help you, too, said Dark. I'm Dark Kensington. So Shadow told me I find this extremely interesting. You've heard of me, then? Old Beard laughed deeply. More interesting than that, he said. Once, before I was marooned here and happy's people came to know me as Old Beard, I had a name of my own. He stroked his beard and favored Dark with a shrewd look from his pale eyes. Yes, said Old Beard, I've heard of Dark Kensington, and there never was but one Dark Kensington as far as I knew. That's why I find it so interesting. You see, I'm Dark Kensington. End of chapter 10. Part 6 of Rebels of the Red Planet by Charles-Louis Fontanet, read by Mark Nelson. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Rebels of the Red Planet, chapter 11. The Xanthi Desert stretched red and barren on all sides of the plodding couple, the sands unbroken by the form of plant or stone or any living thing, all the way to the tight horizon of Mars. Above them, the small glittering sun slid down the copper-hued sky slowly toward the west. It was remarkable, thought Maya, how smooth and flat the desert looked from the air and how rough and rolling it was when one had to walk across the packed sand. They had been walking for hours, and despite the gentle gravity of Mars, she was getting very tired. "'It's farther than I thought,' said Newell, his voice distorted by the Mars-Helmet speaker. Distances on the chart are deceptive. We may not reach ultra-virus by night.' Maya did not answer. Again, as she had many weeks before, she was in the grip of a sensation that this desert through which they walked was only a surface thing, a shimmering mask to the reality that lay behind it. That reality seemed very deep, very significant, and she felt that she was on the verge of comprehending it, but could not quite grasp it. She was a little irritated at Newell for speaking when he did. If his voice had not interrupted her probing emotions, she felt she might have broken through to that reality she sensed. "'Newell,' she said, giving it up, "'I'm going to have to rest a while. If we don't make it by night, we don't make it. There's always tomorrow, and I'm tired.' Reluctantly, he consented, and they sat down together on the sand. Newell pulled a chart out of his Marsuit pocket and began to study it. Maya lay back, clasped her hands behind her helmet, and closed her eyes, gratefully feeling the tired muscles relax and the perspiration that bathed her begin to dissolve in the gentle circulation of the Marsuit's temperature-control system. "'Maya!' exclaimed Newell suddenly. "'Look! We're going to be rescued!' She sat up and looked in the direction of his pointing finger. On the horizon to the northeast was a cloud of dust, to placid and stationary to be a sandstorm. They stood up, and Newell spoke hastily into his helmet radio on the conventional emergency band. "'Attention, ground-car! Attention, ground-car! We're afoot and in trouble! We're afoot! Do south-west from your position! Help please! Attention, ground-car!' There was no radio reply in the ensuing silence, but all at once it was as though a deep and alien voice spoke within the depths of Maya's mind. "'We see you!' Called she looked curiously at Newell, but he evidently had not had the same experience. He was chattering into the radio frantically again. "'They're evidently not tuned in on the emergency band, Newell,' she said to him. "'But they're coming almost directly toward us. They're bound to see us soon, if they haven't already.' "'That's true,' said Newell, and added sourly, but they ought to be tuned in. It's required by law. The dust-cloud moved closer slowly, too slowly for a ground-car. They were able to discern a dark nucleus below and in front of it. Then Newell said, "'In the name of space, it isn't a ground-car, Maya. It's a band of Martians. Let's get out of here!' He started to walk on swiftly, but Maya stood her ground. "'Don't be silly,' she said. "'Martians won't hurt us. I was raised among them.' "'They may not hurt us, but why wait for them,' he demanded, and there was a touch of hysterical fright to his tone. Let's go on, Maya.' "'We may very well have gotten off course in trying to go straight to ultra-virus,' replied Maya logically. "'That may be why we haven't cited it yet. The Martians will know where it is, and meeting them may prevent us from getting lost in the desert.' Newell subsided, but she could see from the expression on his face that he was in a blue funk. This puzzled her. She could not understand why anyone would be afraid of Martians. They were huge and ugly and alien, but they were not inimical to humans. When the Martians came near enough, Maya waved her arms at them and started off to meet them, Newell following her at a little distance. The Martians changed course slightly and came toward them. Maya called childhood memories to her aid. She turned her helmet speaker to its maximum volume and spoke to them in their own language, in the deepest tones possible to her. "'Children of the past, we seek that place in the desert which is called ultra-virus by humans,' she said. "'Can you show us the direction in which we must travel?' The Martians gathered around her, towering over her. There were four of them. Their huge chests moved slowly, mixing oxygen from their great humps with the surrounding air. Their thin arms hung limp at their sides, and their big ears were pricked forward toward her. Their huge, dark eyes seemed to look through her and beyond her. The sun moves toward this place, but there are no humans there now,' boomed one of the Martians. Nothing lives there now except small animals in the walls and corridors.' "'This we know,' answered Maya. "'We wish to go there, that we may communicate with other humans and have them come and get us.' She wanted to say that the supplies of oxygen in their Mars suit-tanks were inadequate to take them anywhere other than ultra-virus, but she did not know how to say this properly in the Martian language. But to her astonishment the Martian answered as though she had said it. "'If the breathing chemicals which you carry are at such a depleted stage, you cannot chance going astray,' said the creature. "'Rather than tell you the direction of this place, we shall accompany you there.' Throughout this conversation Newell had been standing at Maya's side, his face bearing an expression of mingled curiosity, irritation, and awe. Maya turned to him. "'The Martians say they will go with us to ultra-virus so we won't get lost,' she told him. "'No,' he exclaimed vehemently. "'Tell them we don't want them along. Tell them just to show us the way and we'll go alone.' "'Don't be ridiculous,' replied Maya coldly, and indicated to the Martian that they were ready to accompany the group. They moved off together toward the west, the four Martians and the two humans. Maya, feeling somewhat relieved that now they had expert help in reaching their goal, attempted to talk to Newell, but he refused to answer, except in monosyllables. He was angry that she had agreed for the Martians to accompany them, and obviously was still very nervous at their presence. So she talked instead with the Martian who had acted as spokesmen for the group. His name, she learned, was Quill. "'The place to which you go lies under an evil atmosphere,' said Quill. The human who abode their many years attempted to do things wrongly. "'We were there in the season before this one,' answered Maya. This was just before that human left. "'I already had read this in you,' said Quill. "'I also read in you that, as a child, you lived among us who are children of the past. Therefore, perhaps you knew before I spoke that an evil atmosphere remains at this place and has not yet been washed away by time.' "'No, I was not taught such matters as a child,' answered Maya. "'But tell me, it is true that this man tried to do evil things by human standards, but were Goat Hennessey's genetic experiments also evil by Martian standards?' "'You do not read what I have said quite correctly,' replied Quill. "'The evil atmosphere is left by the man because what he did was evil by his own standards. I said only that he attempted to do things wrongly.' "'What do you mean?' asked Maya. "'To explain to you I must speak to you about things about which you already know partially,' answered Quill. "'Before you were born, the human you call Goat was one of a group of humans who sought ways to make humans independent of the spaceships, which bring materials from earth to Mars and create small islands of terrestrial conditions in the midst of the Martian environment. When they met the natural resistance of those humans who gained material advantage through operation of the spaceships, they came into the desert to be free to work. Being to get far from the men who resisted their work, this group of humans went to that area which you know as the Icaria Desert. Some of us who are children of the past live at that place sometimes, and these humans sought our help, knowing that we possess many remnants of the knowledge that our forefathers had. But we had difficulty helping them. They were attempting to follow two courses simultaneously, and both of them were wrong. "'I know something of those two courses,' said Maya. Some of them were trying to develop human extrasensory powers, so that materials could be teleported from earth, and the others were trying to change the human body physiologically so that humans could live under Martian conditions. But you say they were both wrong?' "'In each way that they followed, they sought to make humans partly like us, the children of the past,' said Krill. We have the power to communicate with our minds over a distance, and some of us are able to transport things with our minds over a distance. We do not need your rich terrestrial air, because we take oxygen directly from the soil and store it in our bodies for combustion purposes. But humans and the children of the past are different forms of life, and they cannot be made so much alike. It is possible for humans to develop mental powers similar to ours, but this course would leave them dependent upon importing materials from earth, even though this would be by mind transmission instead of by spaceship. The other course they followed could not succeed, because the human body cannot be altered so that it is able to take oxygen from the soil and store it for later use. But you're wrong!" exclaimed Maya. Goat Hennessy had succeeded in developing some humans who could live without oxygen in the air for a time. His experiments were imperfect, it's true, but they were able to do that. The imperfect humans that the human called Goat had developed were not what he thought, replied Krill. We tried to help the humans to find the right course, but they could not understand us well. We tried to show them, by charts and example, that the proper way to adapt a human to Martian conditions was a different way. Because earth is nearer the sun, humans have a possibility that we do not have. What we tried to show these humans was a method whereby they could change the embryonic physiology so that the adult human would be able to use the energy of solar radiations directly instead of depending on the energy of combustion of those chemicals you call oxygen and carbon. This makes the body independent of both air and food, and has the advantage, also, of giving a far superior regenerative power to the bodily tissues. The human, Goat, for reasons that are not known, stole some of our charts and two of the pregnant female humans and continued his work at this place to which we are going. Because he thought he was still attempting to change the physiology so that oxygen could be stored, and therefore his experiments went wrongly. But he had your charts, objected Maya. Even though he was not making the alterations he thought he was, how could he go wrong if he followed the charts? The charts showed the changes to be made in the embryonic cells, but they could not show the method whereby the changes are made, did Krill. The human, Goat, attempted to make these changes by mechanical surgical methods, but these are too crude to be successful. The method we utilize to make such changes, which is the only right method, is to focus the mental forces upon the embryo. I believe you would call it psychokinesis. Maya was vastly excited at this revelation. Even Goat's oldest experiments, the ones he called brute and Adam, were actually the ones on whom you children of the past had performed the embryonic changes, she exclaimed. They must have been sons of the pregnant women he kidnapped. That's why they were more successful than the others. That is true, said Krill. We had completed the change on only one of the two, therefore only that one would develop into an adult who could live in complete independence of air and food if necessary. The other one would never be able to do it for more than a short period without returning to terrestrial conditions. The party now came over a long, low ridge, and the mass of ultra-virus rose from the desert ahead of them. The sun was near setting, and the black walls of the stronghold huddled sullenly under its crimson rays. The Martians left them here, and Newell and Maya went on alone toward their goal. Newell expelled an audible sigh of relief. I'm glad we're free of those monsters, he said. I don't understand how you could carry on a conversation with such creatures, Maya. It sounded like a series of animal grunts and cries to me. I caught an occasional word, like oxygen and psychokinesis. What were you talking about? He was telling me about Goat Hennessy's experiments and how they differed from the rebels' experiments before Goat came to ultra-virus, answered Maya. That kind of talk serves no good purpose, said Newell irritably. The rebel movement has been broken now, and there's no point in thinking about the illegal things they tried to do. They came down the slope and approached the southern airlock of ultra-virus. The airlock was still sealed. Newell activated it, and they went through it into the big building. It was dark inside. Newell fumbled around a wall and found a light switch. He pressed it, but nothing happened. The electrical system isn't operating, he said. We'll have to use our Mars suit torches. He switched on his flashlight. It cast a long beam down the dusty corridor, far ahead of them a small animal scurried across the faint light and vanished into the darkness. Newell checked his atmosphere dial. The oxygen in here is all right, he said. The air has been maintained anyhow. We can take off our helmets. They took off the Mars helmets and walked down the corridor. They checked each side door, looking for the communications room, but found only empty chambers or abandoned rooms in which books, papers, and broken furniture were scattered in complete disorganization. It took them nearly an hour to find the communications room, and there they met disappointment. Our virus radio transmitter and receiver had been dismantled. There was nothing there but a jumble of broken tubes, discarded parts, and bare wire ends dangling from the walls. Nothing but an overturned table and two bent metal chairs. "'That settles that,' said Newell, more philosophically than Maya would have expected. Our only hope is to find a ground car.' That necessitated another search, but at last they found the motor-pool. And there were three ground cars, all in various stages of breakdown or dismantlement. "'It looks like we'll have to walk, Newell,' said Maya. Newell shook his head. "'I checked the chart carefully,' he said. The oxygen supply of a Marsuit won't take us either back to the Canfell Farm or to Ophir, even with extra tanks. We're just going to have to cannibalize two of these machines and repair us a ground car.' "'But Newell, how long will that take?' "'I don't know,' he admitted. "'It looks like it may be quite a job. I expect it will take two or three weeks, and that's the only way we're going to get out of here.' He looked at her speculatively. "'It's a shame we aren't already married,' he said. "'This would provide us with the honeymoon, of a sort, out here by ourselves in the desert.' "'Well, we aren't,' she said flatly, and we won't be until we get back to Mars City.' "'That's true,' he said. "'Well, the only thing we can do for tonight is to have supper and find the rooms that go to sign us when we are here before. I hope he left some beds intact in those, or some of the other rooms. If not, we may have some uncomfortable nights ahead of us.' The two dark Kensington's and happy Thurbelow walked along one of the pathways between the vats, happy trailing a bit behind. Somewhere near them they knew, shadow accompanied them. The place was dim, with the moist dimness of a swamp. The source of the light that filtered through the faint mist and seemed to permeate the air was not discernible, and the roof of this underground world was lost in the darkness above them. The placid surface of the water gleamed vaguely in the vats they passed, and the pale green tangle of vegetation rose above and around them, sometimes drooping over the paths like skinny arms that sought to detain them. "'What I don't understand,' said Dark the Younger, is that our memories coincide exactly, up to a point which you say is a time twenty-five years ago. My memories are just as genuine as you say yours are. They aren't something someone told me, but real memories of things that happened to me, things I felt and did. If they're both genuine sets of memories, how can it be explained? How are we the same person, who has somehow split into two distinct individuals?' "'I can only guess at the explanation, but I have a theory,' answered Old Beard. You are much younger than I am. I would estimate that you're twenty-five years younger than I am. My memories are consecutive and complete. I remember not only the earlier things you say you remember, but the events of these past twenty-five years, without a break. You say you suffered a period of amnesia, and your next consecutive memory is of being with Martians in the Icaria desert. That would appear to give you an advantage in claiming to be the real Dark Kensington,' agreed Dark with a smile, but if you are, who am I? How is it that I remember being Dark Kensington?' "'It's entirely possible that, for some reason, my earlier memories were grafted on to you as your own,' replied Old Beard. I don't know how this would be done, perhaps through very deep and extensive hypnosis. The Martians, as well as we can tell anything about them at all, are experts in such mental fields. A relic of the ancient science they're legended to have had when their civilizations covered Mars. I worked with Martians very closely for long periods during the early days of the rebellion, the phoenix, as you say they call it now, and they may very well have recorded my memory pattern through some means I don't know anything about, and for reasons I can't imagine.' That sounds reasonable, conceded Dark, but that still leaves unanswered the questions, who am I, and what's happened to my memories of the past twenty-five years. I'm afraid I can't answer that,' replied Old Beard. In the dimness ahead of them they discerned a group of nude tufts approaching, swaggering down the path. They turned aside and found a recess in the vegetation in which they could wait until the tufts passed and went on their way. The tufts were aggressive and insensately brutal, and a meeting with them could only mean trouble. Happys explained the situation here, as well as he could, but I'm afraid it wasn't a very adequate explanation, said Dark, as they huddled in the shadowed recess. Could you tell me more about it and explain how you happened to be here? He is very intelligent for a jelly, but none of the jellies are exceptionally bright,' answered Old Beard, with a touch of affection in his voice. I'll outline it to you as briefly as I can. As your memories, or transplanted memories, indicate, I was one of a group of Martian colonists who joined forces to work at what, at first, appeared to be a theoretical and fantastic project. The development of the ability to live under natural Martian conditions, without dependence on the regular importation of extremely expensive imports from Earth. As you know, this project very shortly began to lose its fantastic qualities and appeared to be definitely within the realm of possible realization. Because of the differing background and orientation of those of us who attempted this project, two approaches were adopted. One, based on advancing terrestrial research into the field of extrasensory perception, was aimed at developing telepathic and telekinetic powers so that food, oxygen, machinery, and other essentials could be teleported directly from Earth into the Martian domes, without dependence on the space lines. The other, based on more orthodox science, was aimed at genetic development of a human type that could live without these importations, on native Martian food and in the Martian atmosphere. As you know, the government banned these experiments and we retreated into the desert to carry them on despite the ban. From what you tell me of the extent of your memories, what you do not know is the reason behind the ban, which we discovered, or at least I did, only after we had been betrayed and the government had raided and broken up our experimental colony. The space lines, as one might have guessed, were responsible. They saw that the success of the experiments would destroy their lucrative business. These space lines, led by the Mars Corporation, which later absorbed the others and gained a monopoly, brought political pressure to bear and got the project banned. I had heard reports that a great many of my colleagues escaped and formed a rebel organization that carried on the work secretly and illegally, but I was never able to learn details of it until you came and told me of the activities in which you have been engaged. You see, I haven't been out of these caves in a quarter of a century. Shadow appeared at the recess to report to them that the tufts had passed on. How he did it, Dark was unable to determine, surely, for he could hear no word spoken. Either Shadow communicated by subtle gestures, or by tones beyond Dark's powers of hearing, but both Old Beard and Happy seemed to understand him readily. How do you happen to be here, Old Beard? Asked Dark, as they left the recess and resumed their progress down the walkways. I was captured when the government broke up the experimental groups, answered Old Beard. I was the leader of the section of the experiments dealing with extrasensory perception, and, instead of executing me at once, they tried to persuade me to continue this work for the government along specific lines and under supervision. I refused because I knew that anything I helped them develop would not be used for the benefit of the Martian colonists, but for greater profits for the space lines. At last I was able to escape into these underground caverns where they grow food plants hydroponically and sell them to supplement the produce of the dome farms and the gardens in the dome cities. These caverns are extensive, and, with the friendship and help of the jellies, I've evaded discovery for twenty-five years. Just who and what are the jellies, asked Dark. I haven't been able to get a very satisfactory answer to that question from Happy. Their human experimental animals, answered Old Beard, the terrestrial food plants grown hydroponically and sold in the dome cities actually are a supplemental sideline to the real purpose of this place. Mars Corp. is conducting its own experiments here with a crew of expert geneticists. What Mars Corp. is trying to do is to breed native Martian plants that will grow in the open lowlands without expensive oxygenation and irrigation that are not poisonous to humans and can be used for food. At the same time they're approaching the problem from the other side, and the jellies are men and women whose glandular structure has been altered in an effort to make their physiology more receptive to native Martian vegetation. If they succeed, of course, Mars Corp. has just as completely a monopoly over such a food supply as it does over imports from earth but at considerably less expense. And the Tufts? Their human experimental animals, too, based on a different type of glandular alteration. They're neither as docile nor as intelligent as the jellies, so they can't be used for slave labor as the jellies can. About the only way they're ever used is as occasional goon squads to terrorize the jellies and keep them in line. You've been here twenty-five years and have never been able to escape? asked Dark incredulously. This place isn't guarded, replied Old Beard with a wry smile. They don't have to guard it. All they have to guard are the supply room where the Mars suits are kept and the motor-pool of ground-cars. This place is in the middle of the desert of Kandor, and no one can live in the Martian desert without oxygen. They came now to one of the walls of the underground cavern, and Old Beard led them suddenly into a fissure that was well concealed from the walkways by a tangled screen of vegetation. They stumbled along a narrow passageway for a few feet and emerged into a rude shaft, around the walls of which a roughly chiseled and steep stairway led upward into pitch darkness. Here Old Beard halted. "'When I told you there's no way of escape here, it was not that I haven't tried many times,' he said to Dark. This shaft leads up into the walls of the structure above, above although it is still underground, and I have been up there often at night. It has long been my hope that I might be able to get a Mars suit or a ground-car and make my escape, but they are kept locked up and always guarded against the jellies and the tufts. I want to take you up and give you an idea of the place now, and later perhaps you'll have some ideas to contribute. Happy and Shadow will stay down here until we get back." Old Beard mounted the steep steps slowly and Dark followed at his heels. Although the bottom of the well was lighted with the same dim light as that which spread throughout the entire underground area, there was no light at all higher up, and they had to feel their way carefully lest they fall off the narrow steps. At the top Old Beard stopped and Dark bumped sharply into him. "'I'm going to move down the space between the walls,' Old Beard whispered. "'Hold on to my hand and follow me, but don't say anything or make any more noise than you can help, because anyone beyond the wall may be able to hear you.' They moved ahead. The way was very narrow, very dark and very difficult, and frequently was choked with ventilator pipes or tangles of wiring. They had gone some forty or fifty feet when Old Beard stopped. By Old Beard's movements Dark knew he was working at something. Then a section of ventilator pipe came away from a ventilator grill and faint light illuminated the space in which they crouched. In this dimness Old Beard gestured to Dark to look through the ventilator. Looking out, Dark saw that they were near the ceiling of a large, high-ceiling room. In it, under glaring lights, a group of half a dozen white-clad men were working with knives and other instruments on the body of a man, either anesthetized or dead, which lay on a surgical table. Old Beard put his face against the grill next to Dark's, and the two men watched the scene below for a few moments. Then one of the men around the table raised his head, revealing a thin face, with watery blue eyes and a straggly goatee. The two men inside the wall gasped as one man. Father! The single loud word was torn from Dark's throat without his volition, without his actually realizing he had spoken. The heads of the men in the room jerked up at the cry, and they looked around and at each other with puzzled expressions. Old Beard clapped a firm hand over Dark's mouth and hissed in his ear. Fool! Let's get out of here! As quietly as possible they made their way back. Through the ventilator behind them came the murmur of querulous voices. When they had climbed back down the stairs, and with happy in shadow made their way back through the fissure, Old Beard fixed penetrating eyes on Dark and said, I told you to keep quiet up there! What was that exclamation all about? It's something very strange, murmur Dark, his face thoughtful and bemused. But you evidently recognize that man, too. Who is he? Yes, I know him very well, answered Old Beard, with deep bitterness in his tone. That's Goat Hennessey. But that's the first time I've seen him in twenty-five years. He must have just come here recently. Goat Hennessey? I heard of him when I was in Marr City. Goat Hennessey was one of my most trusted friends, said Old Beard. If you bear my earlier memories I'm surprised you didn't recognize him as Goat Hennessey, too. I recognized him as someone else, said Dark in a low voice. We worked together, went on Old Beard. I was a leader in the effort to solve our problem through extra-sensory perception, and he was the major scientist in the group attempting to solve it by genetic change. We worked together and we went into the desert together with the others when the government banned our experiments. But Goat was the man who sold out. He betrayed us to the government, for what price I don't know. And when government agents raided us and broke up our organization and captured me, Goat Hennessey kidnapped my young and pregnant wife, and I never saw her again. I'm glad Goat Hennessey is here, because now I can get to him. And when I can reach him, I'm going to kill him. I'd like to kill him as slowly and painfully as he killed the heart inside of me. As Old Beard spoke these last words, his face was tense, his fists clenched, and a somber fire burned in his pale eyes. Then slowly the fire died out, and he turned his eyes once more cool and rational, a little quizzical, on dark. "'Didn't you call him Father?' he asked. "'Yes,' said Dark in a low voice, but I'd rather not talk about it right now. He looked at Old Beard and seemed to be riddling himself with an effort of a deep introversion. "'There was one thing that I remembered as a result of seeing Goat Hennessey,' said Dark in a firmer voice. "'This place isn't too far from a place in the Xanthi Desert, where Goat conducted some significant experiments. If he left any of his records there, and I'm thinking of some in particular, they might go a long way towards solving the problem we've all been working on for so long. So now I know what to do next. I'm going to ultra-virus.' Old Beard smiled sadly. "'Have you forgotten we can't get out of this place?' he reminded. "'We can't get either the Marsuits or the ground cars.' It was Dark's turn to smile. "'I believe you said there aren't any guards on the airlocks to stop one from walking out at night,' he said. "'That's true, but there's something you don't know,' continued Dark. "'You were wondering at the basis of the regenerative power that permitted me to revive here after being shot in the stomach with a heat-gun. I don't know what it is, but whatever it is, it's something that also permits me to live without oxygen.' "'Happy can testify that I was fully alive and conscious underwater. I discovered, before I was shot, that I can operate just as well outside, in the Martian atmosphere, without a helmet. That's why Goat's records may solve our problem. So tonight I'll leave this place and go to Ultra-virus. If there are any Marsuits and ground cars left there, I'll come back here with them and you and Happy and Shadow can escape with me. If not, you may have to wait a while longer. But I'll be back."