"First we must eat. The evening meal will be served soon. Come."
I followed Shizala as she led me from the little room and down into the main hall, which was now furnished with several large tables at which sat men and women of Kanala, all handsome and beautiful and chatting gaily.
They all rose politely, though not servilely, as Shizala took her place at the head of one of the tables. She indicated the chair on her left and I sat down. The food looked strange but smelled good.
Opposite me, on Shizala's right, sat a dark-haired young man, superbly muscled. He wore a simple gold bangle on his right wrist and he put his arm on the table in such a way as to show it off.
Evidently he was proud of it for he wanted me to see it. I guessed it to be a decoration of some kind and thought no more of it.
Shizala introduced the man as Bradhinak-or Prince Telem Fas Ogdai. The name did not sound like a Karnala name, and it soon transpired that Bradhinak Telem Fas Ogdai was from the city of Mishim Tep, a friendly nation some two thousand miles to the south. He was, so it seemed, a witty talker though, of course, I could not understand what he said. Only a person wearing a circlet could communicate with me.
On my left was a pleasant-faced young man with long, almost white, fair hair. He seemed to be making a special effort to make me feel at home, offering food and drink, asking polite questions through Shizala, who translated for us. This was Darnad, Shizala's younger brother. Apparently the succession to the throne of Varnal was determined by sex and not by age.
Darnad was apparently chief Pukan-Nara of Varnal. A Pukan, I learned, was a warrior, and a Pukan-Nara a warrior leader. The chief PukanNara was elected by popular vote-by civilians and warriors alike. I assumed from this that Darnad's position was therefore no honorary one, and that he had earned it through prowess and intelligence.
Though he was personable and charming, the people of Varnal did not judge a man merely on his appearance but on his merit and record.
I was already beginning to pick up a few words of the Vashu tongue by the time the meal was over, and we adjourned into an ante-room to drink a beverage called basu, a sweetish drink I found quite palatable but which, frankly, did not at that time seem as good to me as good, old-fashioned coffee. Later I was to discover that basu grew on one and then I preferred it to coffee. Like coffee, it is a mild stimulant.
In spite of the basu, I began to feel quite sleepy and, always alert to her guests' needs, Shizala sensed this.
"I have had a room prepared for you," she telepathed. "Perhaps you would like to retire now."
I admitted that the day's surprising experiences had taken a lot out of me. A servant was called and Shizala went with us up the stairs to the second floor of the palace. A dim bulb burned in the room, giving adequate light, Shizala showed me a bell-rope very like old-fashioned bell-ropes on Earth. It was close to the bed and was used to summon a servant. She left her circlet behind when she left. Before she did so she told me that anyone could use the circlet and the servant would know how.
The bed consisted of a wide, hard bench, on which was a thin mattress. A large fur rug was laid over this, and it seemed rather too heavy, since the day had been very warm. To some, perhaps, the bed would have been too austere but, as it happened, it was the kind I preferred.
I fell asleep immediately, having shed my clothes, and I awoke only once in the middle of the Martian night-which is, of course, longer than ours-feeling very cold. I had not realized how much the temperature could change. I pulled the rug about me and was soon asleep again.
Chapter Three
THE INVADERS
A FEMALE servant entered in the morning, after knocking lightly on the door. I was standing at the window looking out over the beautiful streets and houses of Varnal. At first I felt embarrassed by my nakedness. But then I realized that there was no need since it was abnormal here to wear many clothes, and then, it seemed, only for decoration.
What did continue to embarrass me, however, was the look of open admiration she gave me as she handed me my breakfast tray of fruit and basu.
After she had gone I sat down to eat the fruit-a large one very similar to grape-fruit but with a slightly less bitter taste-and drink the basu.
I was just finishing when there was another knock on the door. I called, "Come in!" in English, thinking that this would do the trick. It did. In walked Shizala, smiling.
Seeing her again, it seemed that I had dreamed of her all night, for she was as beautiful-if not more so-as I remembered her. Her blonde hair was swept back from her shoulders and back. She had on a black, gauzy cloak and at her waist was the wide belt containing holstered gun and short sword. These, I gathered, were ceremonial weapons of office, for I could not imagine such a graceful girl having much familiarity with the artifacts of war. On her feet she wore sandals, laced up the calf almost to the knee. That was all she was wearing-but it was enough.
She picked up the circlet she had worn the day before and put it on.
"I thought you might wish to ride around the city and see everything," I heard her voice say in my head. "Would you like that?"
"Very much," I replied. "If you can spare the time."
"It would please me to do so." She gave me a warm smile.
I could not make up my mind whether she felt as attracted to me as I was to her, or whether she was just being normally polite. It was a puzzle which was already beginning to fill a great deal of my thoughts.
"First," she continued, "it would be better if you spent a couple of hours with the Sheev teaching machine. After that you will be able to converse in our language without recourse to these rather clumsy things."
As she led me down corridors and staircases, I asked her why, if the tongue of Vashu were common, there should be such a thing as a languageteaching machine. She replied that it had been designed for use on other planets but, since the other planets in the solar system only appeared to be inhabited by animals, it had never been used.
She led me below ground. The cellars of the palace seemed to go down many levels, but at last we reached a place lighted by the same sort of dim bulb as the one in my room. These bulbs were also of Sheev manufacture, Shizala told me, and had once burned much brighter than they did now. The room was small and contained a single piece of equipment. It was large and made of metal I did not recognize-probably an alloy. It glowed a little, adding to the light in the room. It seemed to consist of a cabinet with an alcove moulded to accommodate the form of a seated human being.
I could see no other machinery and I would dearly have loved to strip the cabinet down to see what was inside-but curbed my impatience.
"Please sit there," said Shizala, indicating the cabinet. "According to what I have been told, the cabinet will be activated immediately you do so.
You may feel yourself black out, but do not be disturbed."
I did as she asked and, sure enough, as soon as I was seated the cabinet began to hum softly. A cap came down from above and fitted itself over my head, then I began to feel dizzy and soon became unconscious.
I did not know how much time had passed until I came to, finding myself still seated in the now no longer activated cabinet. I looked at Shizala a little dazedly. My head was aching slightly.
"How do you feel?" she asked.