1¾
Return to Lothar
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By Rod Hunsicker
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Fray had been happy to visit Helium with Gena Thal after his wounds from
his mortal combat with Quator Dot had finally healed completely. Being with
so many people was a great change from his previous life of solitude on the
mossy seabed of ancient Barsoom. At first it was difficult to reorientate
himself to such a crowded metropolis because he had made certain mental
adjustments that had aided him in existing alone for so long in the country
of the enemy, a category into which the green men of Barsoom must be
placed. Here, in Helium, there were no enemies. No reasons to be wary and
on guard, and no reasons to plot for his survival with absolute
concentration.
While he had no wealth to speak of, Fray was hosted by Gena Thal's family.
He insisted it would be a temporary arrangement until Fray could determine
some occupation by which he could earn his own way in the red man society.
"You saved my life, Fray. It is we who owe you," Gena Thal had insisted
when he brought the subject up.
"And you have returned the favor, Gena. There is no debt between us," Fray
had replied. "What exists between us is the bond of friendship and
adventure."
While the red girl had retired to her rooms to muse over these odd words,
Fray had gone out to a nearby tournament field to watch some of the young
men practicing their warrior skills.
***
Young men were organized in groups about the enormous field. Each group
practiced some particular weapon or martial sport and was separated by an
appropriate space by each other group. Fray wandered about for a while
until a small group caught his eye near the end of the field. Only a few
men were practicing their art here. What interested Fray was that their art
was archery. It was unusual to see men using the bow in a world where the
radium rifle was the dominant weapon of distance for the individual
warrior. As he drew closer Fray noted that the man who was obviously the
instructor for the group was a white man with auburn hair. Fray stopped
suddenly and studied the instructor through his mind's eye. There was
something odd here. As Fray looked at the bowman he saw the face of another
turn and stare back at him. Another red haired white man who had an
appearance very different from the bowman. Fray tried to focus on this
superimposed psychic image only to have it slip away as several young men
ran by him, nearly nudging him on their way.
Fray reached out and caught on of the young men. "Excuse me, do you know
who that man is over there?" he asked gently, "the white man with red
hair."
The young man laughed and replied, "That is Kar Komak, the bowman of Lothar
and friend to Prince Carthoris. His story is a well known one in Helium.
Now if you will excuse me, sir."
"Certainly, I thank you," said Fray. The happy youth joined his fellows and
Fray walked across the field to meet the bowman of Lothar.
Kar Komak drew back the string and released the arrow with one smooth
motion. It arched into the sky and struck the target in the center. One of
the red men standing nearby laughed and slapped him on the back in
congratulations.
"Kaor, Kar Komak, that was a fine shot," said Fray as he joined the group.
The Bowman was surprised to see a man whose complexion and hair color was
similar to his own. His handsome face bore a perplexed look as he
automatically thanked Fray for his compliment.
"Kaor, stranger," the Lotharian replied, "what magic brings a man so
similar to myself to Helium this day?"
"Barsoom is a place of wonders, Kar Komak. That I am here is an example. I
saw you from across the field and wanted to meet you. I am Fray, not a
native of Barsoom, but here just the same. You are the first white man I've
seen since coming here," explained Fray.
Kar Komak laughed. "You are the first man I've seen in half a million years
that has such bright blood red colored hair. There were a few in the old
days, but most had auburn or fair hair. Your color was rare among our
people. Since you are not a native of Barsoom, I must conclude you are not
of my race."
Fray frowned, and it was his turn to wear a perplexed look. "Scholars have
many theories about matters of racial or species origin. Suffice to say
that we are not from the same place," he said finally.
"We are practicing archery here. Can you shoot?" asked Kar Komak.
"Some. I did it a little many years ago, but haven't kept in practice,"
admitted Fray.
"Care to try a shot?"
Shrugging, Fray accepted the offer. He tried to shake off the rust of years
of abstinence but his arrow missed the target by a foot.
"You handle the bow well. I think that practice is your only problem,"
commented Kar Komak, "join us. We have just begun to enjoy the afternoon."
Fray accepted with a smile and bent the bow back again.
***
The group broke up and each went their separate ways. Fray had not wandered
far when he was kaored by a man he didn't know. The red man was young, his
harness was more ornamental than warlike, and he carried intruments for
making notes. He was a handsome, thin man with the air of a scholar.
"Kaor," replied Fray. Behind a pleasant, polite continence, Fray focused
the entirety of his attention on the scholar.
"I thought Kar Komak was the only Lotharian in Helium. And now we have
two?" said the scholar.
"No. I am not from Lothar. I am Fray, of another world, come to Barsoom in
much the same manner as your Warlord, John Carter. May I ask who you are?"
"Of course, Excuse me for not formally introducing myself. I am Branh Pim,
a royal psychologist of the Court of Helium. 3rd in order from the top."
Fray found that curious. On Barsoom, psychologists were used to monitor
political meetings, judge the character and intentions of people, and were
experts on, not only human psychology, but also the peculiarities of
Barsoomian telepathy as well. Branh Pim's interest suggested that Fray
might be under some sort of investigation.
"How may I help you, Branh Pim?"
The psychologist squinted at Fray briefly and smiled. "It is not you I'm
interested in, Fray, but Kar Komak. And I wondered what your interest in
him might be?"
"Our physical similarities are obvious. If I may be frank, it wasn't his
skin or hair color that interested me. It was his mind. It has some
differences from that of the standard Barsoomian. At least as far as my
experience goes."
"Yes, I am of the same opinion. Kar Komak is an interesting case. As you
know, Barsoomian telepathy is usually the sharing of a broad band of
communication. Except for a few rare cases it seems geared for simple
communication only. It is the single most important factor in perpetuating
the existence of only one language on Barsoom. It makes my job more simple
by linking all our life forms through a common sharing of communication.
You can understand my interest in Kar Komak."
"Yes, I think I can," Fray said. "Any difference in mind, attitude, or any
relation of mind to reality would be of enormous interest in a culture that
is so homogenous. May I ask what you have discovered?"
"Kar Komak represents puzzles and questions I have had difficulty in
solving. While I can telepathically communicate with him, even scan his
thoughts with professional efficiency, I always feel that there is much
more that I am missing. He is an intelligent, but simple man, and the one
interview I had with him was not too productive." Branh Pim paused, as he
evaluated his next step in their conversation. "I believe I will have to go
to Lothar to continue my studies."
"I have heard of Lothar. A long and dangerous journey. Perhaps even greater
danger when you arrive," commented Fray.
The courage of the men of Helium was never a question. The matter was one
of preparing for the expedition with a reasonable chance of success. Branh
Pim understood what Fray had been referring to.
"I have asked Kar Komak. At first he was reluctant to return. Very
reluctant. But then I learned of a woman he was interested in Some sort of
mental construct of Tario, Jeddak of Lothar. Using that as a lever I
managed to get his assent. And my boyhood friend, Lantran Garth, has agreed
to provide his sword to the expedition. Have you any thoughts that might
help us?" asked the psychologist.
Fray smiled. "I have more than thoughts. I will go with you. This matter is
fascinating, and I am eager to pursue it. And it may help me with a problem
of mine."
***
The journey to Lothar took some time. On the way Branh Pim related what he
knew about the Lotharians and their mental abilities. He found Fray to be
an attentive listener who often prompted the psychologist with questions
that directed the flow of conversation. Occasionally Fray would offer his
thoughts on the matter which would extend their discussion on related
tangents.
In the valley of Lothar, Fray was pleasantly surprised to see a forest of
giant trees. He lingered in the forest, touching the trees, and remembering
some of the forests of his home. Lantran Garth broke that moment of reverie
with a harsh warning that the green men of Torquas might be around, and
that they must hurry to get into the city before being detected by the
Torquasians.
The walled city of Lothar offered no resistance to their small party. With
Kar Komak's assistance they crept into the city with the same stealth they
had used to avoid any of the green men of Torquas who roamed the valley
outside the walls. The Bowman was nervous, unusually agitated in their
close proximity to Tario, the mind to whom his rebirth was attributed.
Branh Pim had to constantly soothe him by using his professional skill and
by referring to the woman in Tario's secret chamber whom Kar Komak has
always wanted.
There were no guards of consequence. Perhaps the Lotharians no longer
feared the big guns of the Torquasians. The city streets flipped between
ruins and the opulence of the dreaming Lotharians. When the party came near
the influence of a Lotharian mind they shared in his fantastical
reconstruction of the Lothar of old. When they passed on by, the city
returned to its present state of marginal disrepair. The only real menace,
Kar Komak had told them, were the banths that the Lotharians kept for
purposes of war. Armed with rifles, they felt these beasts would provide no
more trouble than to alert the citizens of Lothar.
With Kar Komak in the lead, and Fray in the rear, the party appeared normal
to any of the Lotharians that might care to pay attention. Branh Pim was
forever making notes as they visited the city. Beside him was his good
friend, Lantran Garth, a huge red warrior with great experience in warfare.
However it was no more than an hour or two before they were officially
greeted by a Lotharian.
"Kaor, strangers," said the white man. He passed by as if accepting the
legitimacy of Kar Komak and Fray as fellow citizens of Lothar.
Kar Komak turned and whispered to his fellows. "Let us go quickly to
Tario's secret chamber where we might find the woman of his dreams. If he
has successfully made her real, we might rescue her from his clutches."
Fray thought this was a rather naive approach to the situation, although
Kar Komak had insisted he had known the woman before he had become 'real'.
It was difficult to know the mind of a woman, especially, one might think,
the mind of a non-real woman. Perhaps she didn't want to be rescued.
Kar Komak found a secret passageway into the palace of Tario. The woman was
locked in a separate chamber where Tario continually maintained her reality
with perpetual concentration. The Lotharians had no slaves, no men at arms,
and nothing by the way of attendants. Their every need was served by their
minds. However, detection by Tario was a very real danger. His was the
greatest mind in Lothar.
They came to the door that sealed the woman's room. No amount of force or
locksmith ability could open it.
"Tario has sealed it with his mind. Though we see it, we cannot fathom how
to open it. He has imagined that it will open to no one but himself,"
explained Kar Komak. He leaned against the wall and rested his head on his
forearm in defeat. "Its hopeless. We'll never get in."
Branh Pim studied the door. There was no handle, barely a seam where it
joined the wall.Hieroglyphic markings identified it in the manner of the
ancient Orovars. Physical examination revealed no further clue.
"Why hasn't he posted guards if he values this woman so much?" muttered
Lantran Garth.
"No need of guards if we can't even get in," replied the psychologist.
All this time Fray had been silent. He moved his eyes from Kar Komak to the
door and back again. Once again he saw the other man superimposed on the
Bowman. That other man became clearer and clearer as Fray related the door
to the Bowman. Fray had been trained to penetrate all illusion and to see
things as they really are. The enemies of his people had attacked on more
than just a physical level. When technology reaches a certain point of
advancement, a society is more vulnerable through the weakness in its
beliefs, values and point of perceptive reality. Still, with all the
training that he had received to combat an enemy whose expertise included
weapons fashioned to attack these areas, he found it extremely difficult to
see past the illusion that Tario had placed on the door.
Slowly,as seconds becoming minutes, he reached out and grasped the handle
that opened the door. In the background of his mind he heard shouts as
rough hands seized him. He snapped out of his concentration and whirled to
face whoever had laid a hand on him. The hallway was filled with Lotharian
bowman, now armed with short swords to be used in close quarters. Behind
them stood a luxuriously dressed Lotharian who could only be Tario.
"Intruders, thieves, murderers," shouted the regal Lotharian. "Kill them,
my bowmen, cut down the filth who would steal from your jeddak."
A vicious fight broke out in the hallway. Lantran Garth sliced through the
bowman nearest him and smiled grimly as his foe fell to the floor. The
other three doubted that the bowman were real, yet were prompted to fight
against them in spite of their shaky beliefs.. Tario's warriors seemed
solid, professional and very dangerous. Kar Komak and Fray joined the
battle a moment behind Lantran Garth, followed by the psychologist, Branh
Pim. While Branh Pim was not a warrior by trade, he was a red man and a
Heliumite, and this qualified him as a fighter in the savage world of
Barsoom.
As he cut down bowman after bowman, Fray thought it odd that he could do
this against opponents he thought were products of Tario's mind. Either
Tario himself was a poor combatant, or the phantom fighters were patterned
after warriors not of the best caliber. The trouble was that they kept
coming, over the bodies of their fallen mates, short swords ready to slay
the enemies of Tario.
Against an endless supply of enemies, standing their ground was not the
answer. A better answer came to Fray. He turned after dropping a phantom
Orovar in front of him, and seized the handle of the door leading to the
woman's chambers. Ignoring Tario's screams and threats, Fray opened the
door and coaxed his comrades inside. After a brief, bloody flurry all four
men were had entered and slammed shut the door behind them.
"How long can the door last against so many men?" warned Lantran Garth as
he braced his strong shoulder against the door.
"Even worst, can the etherealist simply materialize within this chamber? If
not him, than certainly his phantom warriors," wondered the psychologist.
"I think we will have a small respite here. Its not the door that matters,
its the act of opening it and entering the room. That shattering of Tario's
delusional reality is a better defense against his soldiers than a mere
door," said Fray.
Further discussion of the matter was halted when the woman spoke. They
turned and were stopped speechless. Standing before a reclining couch where
she had just lain, was one of the most beautiful women any of them had ever
seen. Milky white skin, long soft auburn hair, and features appropriate for
a goddess were possessed by this Orovar lady. Her voice rang musical and
she clasped her hands before her as if in prayer.
"Are you real? Have you come to liberate me from my prison?" she asked.
Three of the men present were her immediate servants so desperately did
this beautiful woman appeal to their naturally chivalrous natures. Even
Fray was touched and found himself wanting to help her.Kar Komak threw his
sword at her feet immediately.
"My lady, my sword is yours. Do you remember Kar Komak?" he asked, going to
one knee before her.
Her smile was a radiant reward. "Of course. One of Tario's best soldiers.
And one of the most handsome. It has been a long time since I've seen you,
Kar Komak."
Shame colored his white skin. Kar Komak regretted that he had not come to
rescue this woman long ago. It had almost been cowardice not to do so.
"And who are your comrades, Kar Komak? Strangers to Lothar, I imagine," she
asked.
The Bowman quickly rose and introduced his friends. The red skin of the
Heliumites interested the woman. The bright red hair and white skin of Fray
interested her more.
"I am Ultana Prae, prisoner of Tario, Jeddak of Lothar. In my former life I
was the daughter of Uthan Krae, Jeddak of Lothar, nearly a half million
years ago. Tario has said that I am no more than a creation of his mind.
Can you confirm or deny that?" she asked. Though her voice was level it was
clear that she feared their answer.
Kar Komak wasn't sure and had no answer. Neither did the Heliumites. Fray
stepped forward and locked his eyes on hers. They were a rich golden brown
color, lighter than the eyes of most red folk. He took her hands in his and
held them as he examined her.
Since learning of the Lotharians and their mental magic, Fray had absorbed
everything that he could about them from the Heliumites. Also, he had his
own ways of knowing things. Ultana Prae's soft hands were warm and alive in
his grasp. Her body radiated aural life, and it apparently occupied
physical space beyond the illusionary occupation demonstrated by Tario's
henchmen. Fray's probe met something he had encountered before, and he
stepped back from her with a crooked smile on his face.
"Tario, why do you hide. We have no intentions of harming you. Quite the
contrary. We are here to help," Fray said softly. His friends looked at
Fray curiously, and Lantran Garth gripped his sword more tightly.
"Who are you that questions the Jeddak of Lothar?" said Tario. Suddenly he
was there, in their midst. He was unarmed, but he stood imperiously with
his arms akimbo.
"We have many questions for the Orovars of Lothar. And maybe we can answer
some questions that you might have," replied Fray.
"It is hardly likely that minds as feeble as yours could educate the
mightiest mind on Barsoom," Tario pointed out sarcastically.
Branh Pim stepped forward, his sword sheathed and his manner friendly.
"Unless you have experienced everything in life even a mighty mind can
learn something new."
Tario laughed. "It is true that you have an intelligent and orderly mind,
but it contains nothing I have not already known for thousands of years.
"But this stranger, who looks like an Orovar, but isn't, may know things I
do not. It is for this reason I restrain my bowmen from slaying you."
Fray advanced on the Jeddak of Lothar. His hand touched Tario's shoulder.
It felt solid and mimicked life. There was power there, but no life.
As if reading Fray's mind, Tario spoke, "I am an etherealist. All is the
mind. There is no matter."
"Yet you have labored for ages to produce it. Or rather reproduce it,"
replied Fray.
Tario stepped back in shock. "Kar Komak told you that." he said flatly.
"He provided information. I am reaching my own conclusions. I understand
that some of you have labeled yourselves etherealists and some realists.
Every Lotharian I have met in this place is a being of power, not life.
Your labels only serve to order your manufacturing of delusional reality.
An elaborate defense against all who come to Lothar, not in the least the
green men of Torquas."
"What are you saying, Fray," asked Branh Pim, "that there is no real life
in Lothar?"
"Kar Komak is alive. This woman is very nearly alive, but still a being of
power."
"Power, what is this talk of power," asked Lantran Garth impatiently.
"Power is simply the ability to act, usually in a coherent, purposeful
manner. It exists on many levels and realities. Life is a form of power,
but differs in that life serves its own purpose while simple power serves
no purpose sometimes, but usually the purpose of some other agency."
Fray smiled at Tario. "What agency do you serve, Tario, Jeddak of Lothar?"
"I am the Jeddak of Lothar. It is Lothar that I serve," replied Tario.
Fray nodded. " I believe that. That is why we are not enemies."
Tario assumed a more calm, studious demeanor. "We have met nothing but
enemies since we journeyed from our home by a dried out sea bed. So many
savage enemies, not just living but also environmental. Even here, in
Lothar, we ran out of food and water. Before the crisis we were a selfish,
lazy people. But we wanted to survive. We wanted our race to go on. All our
women and children have died so long ago. What good is a city of men
without women to love and carry on our seed? It is hard to imagine any
creature not being our enemy."
"That is still the way of many on Barsoom," agreed Branh Pim sadly. "Some
believe that we can change that though."
"We learned long ago that we cannot change others. We can kill them
however. It is a common lesson learned on Barsoom," said Tario.
Shaking his head, Lantran Garth went over and guarded the door. The
thoughts and words of these men were not for a common soldier.
Fray had been examining the room in the same manner that he had looked for
the door handle. It was easier now to dispense with the defensive illusions
protecting the room. Another door was found.
"You should not go down there," warned Tario.
"Haven't you waited long enough? Your notions of substance, mind,
etherealists and realists are only part of the illusion necessary to
substantiate your defense. And a necessity to remain a part of reality on
Barsoom. I think I know what is going on here. We had similar projects back
home, with limited success. I am here to help you succeed. You must trust
me. Trust yourself," implored Fray.
Branh Pim looked from Fray to Tario and back again. He was uncertain
whether the stranger was using a weapon of words against the Lotharian, or
if Fray sincerely meant what he said.
"Sir, do your plans include freeing me?" asked the Orovar maid.
"I think everything has the same solution here," replied Fray. Not waiting
for Tario's consent, he went to the new door and opened it. A nauseous
stench lifted up from a set of stairs leading down into gloomy darkness.
Kar Komak stepped in front of Ultana Prae protectively, but there was no
menace.
"If you go down there, you will never return," Tario warned, though his
voice was faltering.
Fray took a deep breath and took a radium torch down from the wall. Guided
by its light he made his way down the stairs. Behind him came Branh Pim and
Lantarn Garth. And behind them came Kar Komak and Ultana Prae..
"Hope you know what you're doing?" Branh Pim whispered in Fray’s ear. With
a sigh, Fray turned and said, "I hope so too."
***
The journey down the stairs was long and dusty. At the bottom the torch was
not necessary because the great chamber there was already lit by some
unknown source of light.It might be illusional or the product of ancient
Orovaran science.
Set in a pattern of concentric circles were hundreds of couches. Upon those
couches were hundreds of bodies. All were male covered in the dust of the
ages. If these men were dead, then their bodies were in a state of perfect
preservation. Tario had not accompanied them down into the chamber. Fray
made his way to the center of the circles where a single couch served as a
point from which the circles radiated.
A handsome man lay on this couch. Except for his left arm which had been
mutilated in battle, this man was whole. He was so lifelike that none of
the party would have been surprised had he sat up and talked to them.
"Embalmed to a state of perfection," gasped Branh Pim. "I've heard of it.
The ancients were masters of the art. Some, like Lee Um Lo of ancient Horz,
was so good that the people he embalmed were never really dead."
"Neither are many of these people dead. Some are. Those are the ones
symbolically thrown to their banth god. Many are still alive after a
fashion," said Fray.
It was at this point that the man with the ruined arm did rise up and
confront the party.The Barsoomians went for their swords.
"Hold, there is no threat yet," he cried.
Though his body moved, there was no breath by which he could speak. In
Lothar there is always telepathy.
"I am the true Tario, Jeddak of Lothar. You are the first to come to our
resting chamber. You must come in peace, for in war you would not have
succeeded."
"Yes, it is in peace what we come," agreed Fray. "Please tell us your
story."
The ancient mummy stared at Fray until a spark came to his black eyes.
"Long had we fled across the scarred surface of the world. Once proud, once
civilized, once powerful, we became nothing. We couldn't protect our women
and children. We crept into this hidden valley like beaten ulsios and built
our city knowing that our race was dead.
"That was unacceptable. Only the strongest of us survived. More than a
thousand remained. Once we played games of metaphysical showmanship and
entertained ourselves with illusional tricks. Now we fortified ourselves by
creating a delusional world of such complexity that it was not only
entertaining but also effective against our enemies, the savage green men."
"The Tario upstairs is just a caricature of yourself," said Branh Pim.
Tario stood on uncertain legs. "Yes, more of a dream than reality. We are
the essence and he is an ethereal representation of us. In that matter he
is correct.'
"In truth we are all nearly dead. How else could we live in a land without
food or water? We honor the embalming skills of the last Lotharian to die a
natural death. It was he who placed those remaining here in our current
state.
"In this state we still can think. Our minds are preserved. From our minds
we sought to recreate substance. Return our race to Barsoom. We have yet to
be successful."
Fray, "You will have to let go, Tario. All of you need to let go."
Tario appeared sad, then fearful. "We have held on so long that we cannot.
We do not trust the faith that has maintained us for thousands of years. We
are afraid to fail after trying so hard."
"What are you talking about?" asked Branh Pim. "Let go of what?"
"Kar Komak has said that he came into being after thousands of illusional
manifestations by Tario. The fact that Tario used these manifestations to
fight the green men is not important. What is important is that each time
Tario created the illusion of Kar Komak it became a little more detailed. A
little more real," said Fray.
"Yes," agreed Tario. "The nature of reality is such that it is continuous.
We are not speaking of matter, or energy, force or substance, or even the
absence of those things such as in the vacuum of space, but of the essence
of reality itself. For thousands and thousands of years we have
concentrated on this idea. If reality is continuous then no state of
nonexistance can be tolerated in the pattern. It is true that reality
shapes and reshapes its components to appear diverse and identifiable to
our perceptions. It appears as force or matter or whatever. But our
principles insist that the essence of reality is the underlying continuance
of order that describes the phenomena it underlines."
"Well, that sounds logical," said the psychologist.
"It is not a simple thing. Or rather it is and isn't. Everything we have
done on the surface is part of an experiment. Each bowman is an attempt to
visualize an once living Lotharian so perfectly that it occupies a place in
the continuous essence of reality. The visualization must be so like the
living man that reality recognizes it in complete detail and includes it in
its essence. Absolute perfection is necessary. Repetition is the only
answer. Try and try again. While we were slaying the Torquasians we were
conducting our Great Project. To erase our shame we must make the Lotharian
people live again.
"Even the upstairs Tario, Jav and others are attempts at perfect
visualization. The Torquasians believe they exist. They perform acts
affecting normal reality. They are beings of power that seemingly occupy
space. They affect reality by interacting with the Torquasians, but are not
so perfect as to be recognized as real just for themselves as living men
are."
"What of me?" cried Kar Komak.
Fray laid a hand on the bowman's shoulder. " You are their first success.
One time you were represented so perfectly in our reality that when you
were withdrawn by Tario, there was a hole in reality. The hole appeared so
suddenly and existed so shortly that nothing but reality could notice. It
did notice, and because it cannot tolerate a discontinuity it simply filled
in the space based on the pattern last present there. And you, Kar Komak,
were reborn."
Fray turned on Tario. "But still you did not trust your success. You
immediately bonded with Kar Komak as if to prevent him from vanishing, even
though he was not going to. He may be killed, but for all real purposes he
is alive.
"And you refuse to repeat the process on Ulthana Prae. You are a step away
from the same rebirth as happened to Kar Komak. This time it would be
intentional on your part, but you fear to release her and let it happen.
Take a lesson from these red sons of your old race. Seldom is found a red
man or woman lacking courage. Is your courage less than theirs?"
Other Lotharians had begun to sit up. Tario bent his head in shame. The
others raised their hands in a vote of assention. Watching Ultana Prae,
Fray saw an amazing thing. The mental masters of Lothar abandoned her
visualization. In the the empty space that had once been occupied by her
perfect realization, reality again filled in the gap and Ultana Prae came
to full life. Also,Fray noticed that the presence of Tario had left Kar
Komak. The legendary bowman stood alone and alive. Kar Komak stepped over
and embraced the first living Lotharian woman in an age of ages.
"We have succeeded. Yes, Fray, we were afraid. It took an outsider to shame
us past our fear. Perhaps now, the people of Lothar will live again. We,
the living dead of Lothar, thank you," said Tario solemnly.
"Protect your reborn life, Tario. Nurture the seed so it may grow in the
parched soil of Barsoom," warned Fray.
He turned to Branh Pim. "Looks like you may have a job here, if you want
it. If the Lotharian race is to be reborn they may need the help of a
psychologist to get started in this strange world. At home, psychologists
are doctors who help people. Here is your chance to do the same. You might
find it more rewarding than being a royal psychologist, third from the
top." Branh Pim grasped Fray's shoulders. "I look forward to the work."
[Image]
END
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