"2568-18" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jerome Bigge - Warlady 6 - In Harms Way)"IN HARM'S WAY" AN ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Robert J. Simmons Chapter Eighteen "There is another thing," I said to Tais, seeing her pause. "And what is that?" the First Priestess asked me then. "We also need a `piece' of that thing to study," I said. "That might be helpful," she said, wishing me a good night. I ran through the deserted streets of a ruined city, not a city of the 26th Century, but one perhaps of the 20th. The husks of burned out cars in the streets, rubble everywhere, windowless buildings blackened by fire on either side. I was clad in the uniform of the United States Marines, an M-16 grasped in my hand, helmetless now, wet with sweat as I fled gasping down the street. The sky was gray, cloudy, featureless overhead, nothing living in sight. Not a bird, not an insect, not "anything" of normal life! Behind me now came a "THING" a hundred feet tall, squeezing in between the buildings on its dozen clawed legs, a great spid- er-crab like HORROR like nothing this world had ever seen before! I fled down an alley, suddenly finding to my horror that it was a dead end! I spun about, seeing the EVIL ONE already there before me. I raised the M-16, fired a magazine full of thirty right into that awful "face", the bullets bouncing off like BB's! "Face cold steel!" I screamed, fixing my bayonet! I saw the great "head" of the HORROR come down, the two great stings clos- ing... I thrust up with the bayonet, jamming the rifle into its horrid maw! A greenish fluid oozing out as it caught me now in a clawed forelimb, raising me up to face its horrid compound eyes!! "Wake up! Wake up!" I heard a voice saying, my body shaken! I opened my eyes to look into the concerned eyes of a Priestess. Dawn was just breaking I noticed, seeing the glow in the east... "God! What a nightmare!" I gasped, the Priestess giving me a "funny look" at my use of the word "God", which is almost un- known here in this era in the context in which I had used it now. "A few minutes seeking Lys' grace might relieve your soul," she replied. I wondered if she herself "believed" in such stuff. I supposed that she did. This entire religion had been designed by Lorraine back in the 20th Century as a means to deal with the "problem" of "electronic hypnosis" which Lorraine had done the primary "concepts" on before accidentally coming to this century. Whether or not there was a "Lys" didn't seem to matter right now. The "EVIL ONE" was real enough, and we had to deal with him now! "We may all need Her mercy if things don't work out," I said, slipping out from beneath the now sweat soaked bed covers. I wondered for a second what she "thought" of seeing a nearly na- ked man, then concluded that she probably didn't care any anyway. She was dark haired, rather "pretty", a bit "flat chested" like a lot of Priestesses are due to having been desexed as a teenager. This was something that was not general public knowledge, I knew. On the other hand it made a lot of sense when you think about it. The Priestesses had no need for the capability of "reproduction". Free from "sexual urges", they might accomplish "more" than us. On the other hand they were "strange" in certain ways, I'd noted. "You speak of the `EVIL ONE'," she answered, regarding me as I stepped into the "bathroom" and closed the door behind me then. While I knew she was not a "woman" in the actual sense of the term, I still felt embarrassed about performing certain "actions" in front of her. "We have prayed to Lys to be delivered from him," she added through the closed door. I didn't think prayers would be of any "help" here. More "direct" and effective meas- ures would have to be used. Just "what" they would be I didn't know just then. From what Tais had told this "THING" was just about indestructible and impervious to any weapon we might use... "How much `data' do you have on this `THING'?" I asked the Priestess who had apparently been "assigned" to me while Tais was off somewhere "doing" whatever she had left to do. The breakfast was well prepared, and left little to be desired in any way here. During the night my clothing had been washed and even pressed. I wondered briefly if such a creature as the EVIL ONE was could be "communicated" with. Perhaps we could "reason" with the thing, although I doubted it judging from its vicious attack upon the Priestesses which was more like that of some "predatory beast"... "It entered our plane of existence on June 14th of the year 2579 at about 9:11 am in the morning and started to destroy ever- ything in sight, killing anyone that it found," the Priestess an- swered. "We know that it regenerates itself as fast as it can be hurt by any weapon, and can dematerialize itself almost instantly when confronted by any really powerful weapon," she continued on. "What is it made of, and has there ever been any attempt to communicate with the dammed thing?" I asked her then, slowly sip- ping at my orange juice. Apparently the Priestesses did not use either coffee or tea, nor alcoholic beverages of any sort either. "It appears to be of `matter', but we feel that it is not `matter' as we know of it, and for all practical purposes its ac- tions appear to be just those of an irrational beast much like any `predator'," she answered back, her eyes, a steel gray below long blonde hair, burning into mine. I recalled the video disc. On the disc the Priestesses had opened fire upon it when it had appeared, a not unreasonable action considering its own "looks"!! "Some of you are `telepathic' to a certain degree," I said. "Have any of you ever been able to pick up `thoughts' from it?" "It is just an irrational predatory `monster'," she snapped. "And you're planning to blow up the world to get rid of it," I replied, well aware of "what" the Priestesses' "planned" to do. I watched the video disc several times, the entire thing. There was no doubt that the Priestesses had fired at it first. I supposed I couldn't really "blame" them considering the "looks" of the "thing". It certainly was an ugly enough monster to meet anyone's standards for a good nightmare after seeing the "thing". On the other hand was it REALLY just some dumb stupid "monster"? Or was it "INTELLIGENT" despite its horrid terrifying appearance? I saw no evidence that the Priestesses had tried "communication"! "You should wait for Tais to return," the Priestess said. "Can you send me into the future or can't you?" I asked. "It would be unwise to go alone," she protested then. "Just answer the question," I snapped, seeing her nod. "We can send you to the time of the EVIL ONE," she said. "`One to beam up, Scotty'!" I said as I stood there. In the powered armor I looked something like a deep sea diver, although due to the "feedback" system built into it I could have taken on a tyrannosaurus and given him a punch on the jaw that would have matched that of a pile driver! I could "lift" several tons, and even could fly for short distances with the jet pack on my back. "I will `assume' that is a `joke' on your part," a feminine voice answered in my headphones as I stood there on the marble dais, now holding the blaster rifle in my arms at the "ready". I had noted before that these "women" didn't have much of a sense of humor. I wondered what it would be like to take on the EVIL ONE in "hand to hand" battle. Judging from what I'd seen of it, it wasn't too likely that I'd win such a "fight" against it now! "Power field is building up, `Gateway' is starting to open," another voice spoke, a sort of "haze" in the air around me now. "Don't forget I'd like to come `home' again," I answered. The "scene" was much like I'd seen on the video disc. The ruins of Shalimar only scattered rubble like that of parts of the "Classical World" left after the passage of two thousand years. I still had "communications" with the Priestesses back in 2568. The sound of the feminine voice in my headphones a comfort then. I had been warned that I had to be "clear" of it to be teleported back as there was the danger of bringing it "back" to our time. "Ohh, Ohh," I spoke, seeing the EVIL ONE materialize before me. "Big fella, that's for sure," I said, now aiming my blaster. Even knowing what to "expect" didn't really help too much here! "I AM ADMIRAL ROBERT SIMMONS OF THE DULARNIAN NAVY!" I said, my external speakers at full volume. The EVIL ONE now taking a step towards me. I put three quick shots into the ground just before it, the dirt flying up, the blasts spraying stones and stuff all around. I saw the EVIL ONE pause, hesitate just a bit. "I WISH TO TALK TO YOU, BUT I CAN HURT YOU IF YOU ATTACK ME!" I warned the HORROR standing there on its dozen clawed legs like a spider. I wondered what sort of a "world" had ever spawned that! "YOU SPEAK FOR SHE WHO RULES?" the creature suddenly spoke! I later learned that it was speaking directly into my mind now!!! "I AM ONE OF HER `SUBJECTS'," I answered the THING in reply. "I AM BUT A `PART' OF MY MASTER WHO RULES HELL," it spoke. "WE DO NOT WISH YOU IN THIS PLANE OF EXISTENCE," I said. "THE `GATEWAY' BACK HOME IS CLOSED," I heard it "saying". That was a bit of "news" that really shook me right to my boots! I'd been thinking of suggesting to Tais that we try to devise a way of "closing" its Gateway, and now we needed to "open" one!!! "IF SUCH A `GATEWAY' IS OPENED, WILL YOU LEAVE?" I asked, well aware that if it didn't agree to leave there wasn't much of any "option" left to us now but to almost destroy the Earth here! "WHY DID YOU NOT ATTACK ME LIKE THE OTHERS?" it now asked. "THEY DID NOT THINK YOU WERE INTELLIGENT," I informed it. "I DID NOT THINK THEY WERE INTELLIGENT," it answered back. "YOU COULD BE `RIGHT' IN YOUR ASSESSMENT," I said to "it". "YOU ARE OF A `SUPERIOR RACE' TO THEIRS?" it now asked me. "I AM A `MAN', THEY WERE `WOMEN'," I said, wondering if it "understood" such concepts. I wondered what had "happened" to Princess Tara or whoever now had originally opened the "Gateway" to bring it here. I wondered if they had even known "what" it was? I suspected Tara had been looking for "allies" here to help her win her hate filled "revenge" against Darlanis and Lorraine. I recalled in Lorraine's books that she claimed that Tara was "possessed" by an "evil demoness" of some sort, although I tend to take "some" of what Lorraine has written with a grain of salt. "I AM A `MAN'," it said. I didn't dispute the issue either! I watched the "Gateway" open, saw the "EVIL ONE" disappear into it, the "Gateway" now closing behind it. It was all over... "`Shoot first, ask questions later'," I said to Tais. I saw her nod. It had come as a terrific "jolt" to her to learn that I had just "prevented" the greatest disaster Man had ever known... "But it was the `EVIL ONE'!" Tais hotly protested in return. "Maybe just someone with a `bad reputation'," I smiled back. All the "thing" had really wanted was to "go back home" again... "You have `altered' history," Tais breathed back. I nodded. "Glad to have been of `help'," I smiled, thinking of Carol. "Sometimes it takes a `good man'," the Priestess grinned... "I'd like to see my wife," I told Tais, seeing her "smile". "IN HARM'S WAY" AN ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Robert J. Simmons Chapter Eighteen "There is another thing," I said to Tais, seeing her pause. "And what is that?" the First Priestess asked me then. "We also need a `piece' of that thing to study," I said. "That might be helpful," she said, wishing me a good night. I ran through the deserted streets of a ruined city, not a city of the 26th Century, but one perhaps of the 20th. The husks of burned out cars in the streets, rubble everywhere, windowless buildings blackened by fire on either side. I was clad in the uniform of the United States Marines, an M-16 grasped in my hand, helmetless now, wet with sweat as I fled gasping down the street. The sky was gray, cloudy, featureless overhead, nothing living in sight. Not a bird, not an insect, not "anything" of normal life! Behind me now came a "THING" a hundred feet tall, squeezing in between the buildings on its dozen clawed legs, a great spid- er-crab like HORROR like nothing this world had ever seen before! I fled down an alley, suddenly finding to my horror that it was a dead end! I spun about, seeing the EVIL ONE already there before me. I raised the M-16, fired a magazine full of thirty right into that awful "face", the bullets bouncing off like BB's! "Face cold steel!" I screamed, fixing my bayonet! I saw the great "head" of the HORROR come down, the two great stings clos- ing... I thrust up with the bayonet, jamming the rifle into its horrid maw! A greenish fluid oozing out as it caught me now in a clawed forelimb, raising me up to face its horrid compound eyes!! "Wake up! Wake up!" I heard a voice saying, my body shaken! I opened my eyes to look into the concerned eyes of a Priestess. Dawn was just breaking I noticed, seeing the glow in the east... "God! What a nightmare!" I gasped, the Priestess giving me a "funny look" at my use of the word "God", which is almost un- known here in this era in the context in which I had used it now. "A few minutes seeking Lys' grace might relieve your soul," she replied. I wondered if she herself "believed" in such stuff. I supposed that she did. This entire religion had been designed by Lorraine back in the 20th Century as a means to deal with the "problem" of "electronic hypnosis" which Lorraine had done the primary "concepts" on before accidentally coming to this century. Whether or not there was a "Lys" didn't seem to matter right now. The "EVIL ONE" was real enough, and we had to deal with him now! "We may all need Her mercy if things don't work out," I said, slipping out from beneath the now sweat soaked bed covers. I wondered for a second what she "thought" of seeing a nearly na- ked man, then concluded that she probably didn't care any anyway. She was dark haired, rather "pretty", a bit "flat chested" like a lot of Priestesses are due to having been desexed as a teenager. This was something that was not general public knowledge, I knew. On the other hand it made a lot of sense when you think about it. The Priestesses had no need for the capability of "reproduction". Free from "sexual urges", they might accomplish "more" than us. On the other hand they were "strange" in certain ways, I'd noted. "You speak of the `EVIL ONE'," she answered, regarding me as I stepped into the "bathroom" and closed the door behind me then. While I knew she was not a "woman" in the actual sense of the term, I still felt embarrassed about performing certain "actions" in front of her. "We have prayed to Lys to be delivered from him," she added through the closed door. I didn't think prayers would be of any "help" here. More "direct" and effective meas- ures would have to be used. Just "what" they would be I didn't know just then. From what Tais had told this "THING" was just about indestructible and impervious to any weapon we might use... "How much `data' do you have on this `THING'?" I asked the Priestess who had apparently been "assigned" to me while Tais was off somewhere "doing" whatever she had left to do. The breakfast was well prepared, and left little to be desired in any way here. During the night my clothing had been washed and even pressed. I wondered briefly if such a creature as the EVIL ONE was could be "communicated" with. Perhaps we could "reason" with the thing, although I doubted it judging from its vicious attack upon the Priestesses which was more like that of some "predatory beast"... "It entered our plane of existence on June 14th of the year 2579 at about 9:11 am in the morning and started to destroy ever- ything in sight, killing anyone that it found," the Priestess an- swered. "We know that it regenerates itself as fast as it can be hurt by any weapon, and can dematerialize itself almost instantly when confronted by any really powerful weapon," she continued on. "What is it made of, and has there ever been any attempt to communicate with the dammed thing?" I asked her then, slowly sip- ping at my orange juice. Apparently the Priestesses did not use either coffee or tea, nor alcoholic beverages of any sort either. "It appears to be of `matter', but we feel that it is not `matter' as we know of it, and for all practical purposes its ac- tions appear to be just those of an irrational beast much like any `predator'," she answered back, her eyes, a steel gray below long blonde hair, burning into mine. I recalled the video disc. On the disc the Priestesses had opened fire upon it when it had appeared, a not unreasonable action considering its own "looks"!! "Some of you are `telepathic' to a certain degree," I said. "Have any of you ever been able to pick up `thoughts' from it?" "It is just an irrational predatory `monster'," she snapped. "And you're planning to blow up the world to get rid of it," I replied, well aware of "what" the Priestesses' "planned" to do. I watched the video disc several times, the entire thing. There was no doubt that the Priestesses had fired at it first. I supposed I couldn't really "blame" them considering the "looks" of the "thing". It certainly was an ugly enough monster to meet anyone's standards for a good nightmare after seeing the "thing". On the other hand was it REALLY just some dumb stupid "monster"? Or was it "INTELLIGENT" despite its horrid terrifying appearance? I saw no evidence that the Priestesses had tried "communication"! "You should wait for Tais to return," the Priestess said. "Can you send me into the future or can't you?" I asked. "It would be unwise to go alone," she protested then. "Just answer the question," I snapped, seeing her nod. "We can send you to the time of the EVIL ONE," she said. "`One to beam up, Scotty'!" I said as I stood there. In the powered armor I looked something like a deep sea diver, although due to the "feedback" system built into it I could have taken on a tyrannosaurus and given him a punch on the jaw that would have matched that of a pile driver! I could "lift" several tons, and even could fly for short distances with the jet pack on my back. "I will `assume' that is a `joke' on your part," a feminine voice answered in my headphones as I stood there on the marble dais, now holding the blaster rifle in my arms at the "ready". I had noted before that these "women" didn't have much of a sense of humor. I wondered what it would be like to take on the EVIL ONE in "hand to hand" battle. Judging from what I'd seen of it, it wasn't too likely that I'd win such a "fight" against it now! "Power field is building up, `Gateway' is starting to open," another voice spoke, a sort of "haze" in the air around me now. "Don't forget I'd like to come `home' again," I answered. The "scene" was much like I'd seen on the video disc. The ruins of Shalimar only scattered rubble like that of parts of the "Classical World" left after the passage of two thousand years. I still had "communications" with the Priestesses back in 2568. The sound of the feminine voice in my headphones a comfort then. I had been warned that I had to be "clear" of it to be teleported back as there was the danger of bringing it "back" to our time. "Ohh, Ohh," I spoke, seeing the EVIL ONE materialize before me. "Big fella, that's for sure," I said, now aiming my blaster. Even knowing what to "expect" didn't really help too much here! "I AM ADMIRAL ROBERT SIMMONS OF THE DULARNIAN NAVY!" I said, my external speakers at full volume. The EVIL ONE now taking a step towards me. I put three quick shots into the ground just before it, the dirt flying up, the blasts spraying stones and stuff all around. I saw the EVIL ONE pause, hesitate just a bit. "I WISH TO TALK TO YOU, BUT I CAN HURT YOU IF YOU ATTACK ME!" I warned the HORROR standing there on its dozen clawed legs like a spider. I wondered what sort of a "world" had ever spawned that! "YOU SPEAK FOR SHE WHO RULES?" the creature suddenly spoke! I later learned that it was speaking directly into my mind now!!! "I AM ONE OF HER `SUBJECTS'," I answered the THING in reply. "I AM BUT A `PART' OF MY MASTER WHO RULES HELL," it spoke. "WE DO NOT WISH YOU IN THIS PLANE OF EXISTENCE," I said. "THE `GATEWAY' BACK HOME IS CLOSED," I heard it "saying". That was a bit of "news" that really shook me right to my boots! I'd been thinking of suggesting to Tais that we try to devise a way of "closing" its Gateway, and now we needed to "open" one!!! "IF SUCH A `GATEWAY' IS OPENED, WILL YOU LEAVE?" I asked, well aware that if it didn't agree to leave there wasn't much of any "option" left to us now but to almost destroy the Earth here! "WHY DID YOU NOT ATTACK ME LIKE THE OTHERS?" it now asked. "THEY DID NOT THINK YOU WERE INTELLIGENT," I informed it. "I DID NOT THINK THEY WERE INTELLIGENT," it answered back. "YOU COULD BE `RIGHT' IN YOUR ASSESSMENT," I said to "it". "YOU ARE OF A `SUPERIOR RACE' TO THEIRS?" it now asked me. "I AM A `MAN', THEY WERE `WOMEN'," I said, wondering if it "understood" such concepts. I wondered what had "happened" to Princess Tara or whoever now had originally opened the "Gateway" to bring it here. I wondered if they had even known "what" it was? I suspected Tara had been looking for "allies" here to help her win her hate filled "revenge" against Darlanis and Lorraine. I recalled in Lorraine's books that she claimed that Tara was "possessed" by an "evil demoness" of some sort, although I tend to take "some" of what Lorraine has written with a grain of salt. "I AM A `MAN'," it said. I didn't dispute the issue either! I watched the "Gateway" open, saw the "EVIL ONE" disappear into it, the "Gateway" now closing behind it. It was all over... "`Shoot first, ask questions later'," I said to Tais. I saw her nod. It had come as a terrific "jolt" to her to learn that I had just "prevented" the greatest disaster Man had ever known... "But it was the `EVIL ONE'!" Tais hotly protested in return. "Maybe just someone with a `bad reputation'," I smiled back. All the "thing" had really wanted was to "go back home" again... "You have `altered' history," Tais breathed back. I nodded. "Glad to have been of `help'," I smiled, thinking of Carol. "Sometimes it takes a `good man'," the Priestess grinned... "I'd like to see my wife," I told Tais, seeing her "smile". |
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