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androlledovertheland,f illing thesky,andhimselfburning burning burning.
Thenitwasgone.Smithclungfo ronemo reamazedmoment to thisplace,
thisdelicatelylimned turnoverpointbetween wakingands
leeping.Thislinewasacrackin--inso methingincomprehensible,butit was ac
rackthrou gh whichhism indcou ldpeepasbetweenboardsinafence.
Something began tobeatinhim,d aring tomove,hope. Hequelledit
quicklylestitwakehimalt ogetherandthose--thoseothers--knowofi t.
Slipping,slipping, losingh isclutch on thishalf-wakefulness,abouttodro
pendoverendintotota ls leep,hesnatchedatphrasesandconcepts,fo
rcinghimselftokeep and remember them:twe lve
generationsittooktobreedthisSmithasagateway...lifetime itt ook to train.
And:nothingcanreachhim,n othingcanharmhi mwhilehe sasleep.
Sleep.
` Sleeptherobber,s leeptheintruder,sleeptheenemy--allhis
lifehehadt riedtoavoidit,had
succumbedaslittleaspossible,hadfoughttolivewithoutit.Whohadtaughthimthat?Wh yd
idhewantto unlearnitsodesperatelyn ow?Andwhatdidthedoctorsandpoetssayabouts
leep:surcease,st rengthener,
healer,knitter-upoftheraveledsleeveofcare.Andhehadsneeredatthem.Hadhebeentaugh
ttosneer?
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Hehad .Fortheirpurposes,h ehadbeentaught.More:hehadbeenb
redforthis--twelvegenerations,was it?Andwhy?Tobegive nthepowertodec
imatehumanitysothatsometh ingunspeakab le,
somethinglong-exiledcouldreturntopossessthisworld?Wou lditbeth eEa rth
alone,orallthep lanets,thegalaxies,theuniverse?C ouldit betimeitself?
Orothersetsofd imensions?
Theonethinghemustdo issleep.Nothing canharm him whenhe sleeps.
Thenshecametohim.Thegirlfromthestairwell,aliveagain,asec ondtime,o rh owmanyt
imes
backtotheinkybeginningshecouldnotevenimagine?Shecametohimthroughthedoor,andthe
rewas nosoundofcrashingwashtub;shecamethrou ghtheroomandtherewasnostenc
handdeathfromtherune-trap.
Shecametowardhim,lyingthe re,w ithoutclothes, withoutsound,withoutp
ainoranger,and sheextendedhe rf
lawlessarmstohiminlove.Thepleasureofherlovesweptac
rosstheroom.Shewantedtogiveherself,togivehimeverything,al lshewasan dall
shecouldbe, forno otherreturnth an his love.Sh ewantedh islove,a llofhislove,a
llofhim,eve rything,allthesubstanceand strengthofhi m.
Hehalf-rosetomeether,an
dthenheknewwhatshewas,andhetrembledwiththeforceoflosing
her,ofdestroyingher,andhemurmured wordswithout vowel sand asl
imydarknessbegantoeatather
feet, her legs,he rn akedthighs, hertorso, andshelet oneghastlyshr
iekassomethingtookher,andherface dissolvedinslimeanddarkness,andshe
wasgone...and hefe llb ack,weak.
Smiththerunesmith let gohisshredof wakefulnessandplungedjoyfullyinto
thehealingdepths. Itwasnotunt ilheawakened,
restedandstrongandhealthilystarving,thatherealizedfully whatelsehehad letgo.
Guilt
Thesinwasnothis.Hehadbeenshapedtodowhathehaddone.Aterribleenemyha
dmadehimitsinstrument, itsweapon.Youdonotaccuse,condemn,impriso
nthemurderweapon.
Therunesmith,smiling(howlongs
ince?)fumbledfortheskin-bagofknucklebones.Heclosedhis eyes,h isstrong,c
learrestedeyes,an dturnedhisrested mindto thetalent
(inborn)andskills(instilled)inhi
maloneofallmenever.Nojadedblindbuckshotinthefacesofhiskind,don
einanguishtostayalive,but thecareful,knowing, precisedrawingof a
bead.Thelocation,direction,rangeknow ntoSmiththe
weaponinwaysimpossibletoSmiththeman.
Theknucklebonesspilledchatteringlyonthefloor.
Thepatternwasrandom;histalent andhisskillsunderstoodit.Hemurmu redanewmurmur.
Hunkereddownonhishaunches,heca lledupthepower.
Therewasthefaintesthissofabreezeinthetumbledwarrenofthisfocus-room,abreezethat
waspeculiarlyb ittersweet,thewa yH
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ollandchocolatesusedtobe.Achillbreezethatbrokesweatouton Smith sspine,intheho
llowsbetweenhisshoulderblades.
Thenthescreamsbegan.
Theywe rescreamsbeyondsound,andsure lyonly
animmeasurablefractionofthemreached Smith,sod
ifferentweretheyinqualityandkindfromanything remotelyhuman.Yettheirechoe
sandtheir backlashseemedtoblurth eworldforamoment of horrorbeyondimagining.
Aso undless, motionlessquake ,theterr or
ofcountlessbillionsoffrightfulbeingsfacingdeat
hand(unlikethemillionswhohadperished here)knowingit,knowingwhy.
Smith sskillsknew asSmithh imselfc ouldnot, thattheuniverseitselfw
asrelievedof a plague.W asitalongtimelater?Probably itw
as--Smithwasneverabletorememberthat--whenhestood
upandfilledhislungswiththedusty,sweetairan dlookedoutont omorrowand
foreverwithc lear and
guiltlesseyes.
Hetestedhispower.Itwasintact.
Hewalkedtothe inner andouterb arriers,ki cking themdown. Helookedoutat
thesunlit ruinsof
thecity.
IfIlive,hethought(andbarringacc identIcanliveforever),Ic anbuilditup
again.Ihavemagic;
they gaveitto me andnoonecan take
itaway.Magicandscience,humanityandthePowers.It ssupposedtoh
aveworkedthatwaylong ago.I tw illagain.Builditupagain...
AndifId on t,if I fail,then atleastI vefixeditsotheyhavenoenem
iesbutthemselves.Terribleas thatmightbe,the reareworsethings.
Hesaw a flicker ofmovementin thedistance,someth ingfeeble,hun
gry,misshapen,rag ged. Therunesmithsteppedoutoftheshadows,an
dwalkedtowardthemovementinthedistance.
Therewassunnow.Forthefirsttime.Becausehewantedsun.Andhewantedcoolb
reezes.Andthescentofg oodthingsin thea ir.
Hecouldhaveitall now.Theymi ght neverforgivehim,buttheycou ldnotharmhim,andhe
would help them,as they hadneverbeenabletohelpthemse lves.
Theywe restillalone,bu tperhaps it would bebette rnow.
Joe L. Hensley and HarlanEllisonRODNEY PARISHFOR
HIRE
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INTRODUCTION [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]