"Kuttner, Henry - Red Gem of Mercury" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kuttner Henry)

Simultaneously an icy chill shook Vane's mind. He went sick, giddy, and
momentarily blind. Beside him, he heard the guards gasp, and realized that they
felt as he did.
It passed. Vane heard a voice inside his mind.
Inaudible, yes--but clearer than any bell-tone he heard it.
"For Gawd's sake!" a guard said, amazedly. "I--I'm hearing things--"
He paused.
The inaudible voice commanded, "Silence!" And the word's meaning was somehow as
clear to Vane as it would have been if spoken aloud in modern English.
"I am Zaravin," the mental voice said. "I must give you four my message swiftly,
for I have little time left. I am from . . . the planet you call Mercury. The
innermost planet."
Vane tried to draw back, but could not. His muscles seemed frozen into
paralysis. Sweat was cold on his forehead.
Unreasoning horror of the unknown made his stomach a sick void.
The telepathic voice went on.
"Listen.... Two months out from Mercury I fell ill . . . with the sleeping
death. When I awoke, all was lost. The ship needed continual guidance. Since I
could not carry sufficient fuel, I had to manufacture it on the way . . . and I
awoke too late. There was not enough fuel for me to prevent this crash."
The jewel on Zaravin's forehead flamed with red, baleful light. It held Vane's
gaze.
The Mercutian went on:
"It is the Stone from the Stars that you see. It is the bestower of all power.
Ages ago it fell, embedded in a meteorite, brought from some alien Universe,
perhaps . . . it is alive. All knowledge, all strength, is hidden in it. You
doubt me, I see.... Jaeckel, Bester, Hanley....Stephen Vane.... How, then, do I
know the names of you four?"
There was silence. All around the green dust sparkled eerily, and drifted down
from the trees. A chill wind blew up flurries of snow. The distant sound of the
tumbling river seemed very loud in the utter silence.
"The Stone from the Stars gives all power," Zaravin told the Earthmen
soundlessly. "It is . . . what you call . . . symbiosis. For it lives, with a
strange, silicate life of its own. Perhaps, in the unknown abyss from which it
came, it drew its life-force from rays . . . alien suns.... I do not know. On
Mercury, it feeds upon the life-energy of its host. And now I am its host."
The blue, fleshy lips twisted in pain. Shining blood made a pool around the
bulbous head.
"It is a parasite and drains the lifeforce. But in return it shares its own
wonderful powers with the owner--powers of telepathy and will. These powers must
be used sparingly, for they are exhausting. The owner of the gem at times falls
into a state of suspended animation, during which the jewel rests and
revitalizes itself. When I started this first interplanetary voyage, our ruler
gave it to me, knowing that only with its aid could I conquer the tremendous
obstacles. And there was only one way for the Stone to be removed. Once it finds
a host, it remains there during the entire life-span of that host. Our ruler was
forced to kill himself in order that I might have the gem...."
The weird, soundless voice grew urgent.
"The power of the jewel must not die! Even though it is lost to Mercury, it will
aid the men of Earth. Take it, one of you--use it! And when your race has