Skelder said good-type and left in a swirl of long green robes. Carmody signed the government credit slip for his breakfast and went out into the street. He was unaccompanied, since there no longer seemed any reason to guard him. Many people were in the streets. They stood silently on the corners by the large public TV screens, evidently awaiting Yess. Many had removed their masks.
Carmody tried to talk to some of those standing on the sidewalk in front of the hotel. After several attempts, he gave up. They not only did not want to talk to him, they scowled and turned away or muttered under their breaths.
After standing around the lobby for a while, he went back to his room. He tried without success to get interested in a book on Kareenan history. Noon came, and with a sense of relief he turned on the TV. The announcer made a short and familiar speech.
Apparently, despite the advances of science on both Earth and Kareen, technical difficulties could still be encountered. If the viewer would be patient, these would be remedied within a very short time. Meanwhile, here was an important...
A half-hour passed with several more assurances and a brief documentary about the landing of the first Earthman on Kareen. By then, Carmody knew that something must be wrong. He tried to call Tand, but got a busy signal. Another half-hour went by with more assurances and documentaries that had nothing to do with the appearance of Yess. He called Tand three more times, only to get more busy signals. By then, he assumed, the phone system was jammed with calls from people wanting to know what was wrong.
Suddenly, the announcer said, “People of Kareen, your god!”
Yess came into view, visible from the waist up. He smiled and said, “My beloved ones, I...”
The screen went blank. Carmody swore. He shot the bolt to the door, ran down the hall, and down the fourteen flights of stairs to the lobby. This was jammed with people talking loudly. Carmody grabbed a bellhop and said, “The station? The TV station? Is it near?”
“Three blocks, Father. East,” the bellhop replied. He seemed dazed.
Carmody pushed through the mob and ran out the door. There were many in the street now, all with shocked expressions. A large number were speaking incoherently. They also knew that something had happened to their god. And, if they had been resenting or fearing what he was going to say, they had lost that feeling. They were panicky or awestruck, numb or outraged. They did not oppose the passage of the little Earthman who flew by them, but they stared after him.
Before he was within a block of the TV building, Carmody saw the clouds of smoke boiling out of the windows on the first two floors. A milling crowd impeded the efforts of policemen and ambulance men to enter. Carmody shoved against the backs of those in his way, but he could not move them.
A hand tapped Carmody’s shoulder. He whirled and saw Tand.
“What happened?” he demanded.
“Lieftin must have planted explosives so cleverly that the police couldn’t find them,” Tand said. “Or else they did not want to find them. The broadcast was held up for an hour while a search was made through the station for bombs. Then Yess came on, and... You saw the screen go blank. I would have been with him if my car had not collided with another. I wasn’t hurt, but my chauffeur was.”
He looked at the building.”Do you suppose he could be dead?”
“I don’t know,” Carmody said. “What’s that?”
A cry had arisen. Suddenly, as if an invisible engine had moved through them, the crowd parted. Yess, blackened with smoke and bleeding in several places but otherwise unharmed, walked through.
He signaled to Tand, who came running with Carmody after him.
“Get a car and get me to Station Fuurdal,” Yess said.
Tand said, “I have a car near here. It’s not mine; mine was wrecked. Come.”
He led them down the street while the people stepped back. All were weeping with joy at seeing their god alive; some ran up, fell on their knees, and tried to kiss Yess’ hand. He waved them away, smiling, and strode on. Within a minute, the three, Tand driving, were on their way to the TV station.
“I do not understand how Lieftin, or whoever did this, managed to conceal explosives,” Yess said. “The police and the priests went through every piece of equipment, anything that could hide a bomb. Strangely enough, it was Abog who insisted that the broadcast be held up until the building could be examined.”
“He may have wanted to supply the government with an alibi,” Carmody said.
“Probably. He was not in the building when the bomb went off. Everybody around me was killed or badly hurt. The Fathers died. You and Carmody are the only ones alive now.”
Yess wept. Then, without a trace of the emotion he must still be feeling, he said, “Call your best men, Tand. We may need a bodyguard to get back to the Temple.”
Tand picked up the earphone and began to make calls. By the time they stopped in front of their destination, he had made sure that fifty armed men would shortly be available. Moreover, a number of armed priests would follow them.
Carmody followed the two into the building, but he did not go into the room from which Yess would make his announcement. He felt that Yess was not safe from further attempts. If anybody came through this room to harm Yess, he would have to deal with Carmody.
Only seconds after Yess had gone into the caster, gunshots sounded in the hall. A Kareenan burst into the room, a pistol in his hand. Carmody, standing to one side, hit him over the head with a bronze statuette.
After picking up the weapon dropped by the unconscious man and shoving it in his belt, he went out into the hall. Three dead would-be assassins and two dead and two wounded policemen sprawled on the floor. A station employee was cowering behind a chair. Carmody pulled him out and sent him to call the ambulance. Then he returned to the room to ready himself again.
Ten minutes later Yess and Tand came out of the caster, both looking grave.
“It is done,” Yess said.”Now, what Boonta lets fall must fall.”
On the way back to the Temple, the people in the street stepped back for the armed escort of Yess. Carmody, gazing out at the faces and masks, suddenly cried out, “Stop the car!”
Yess ordered the chauffeur to stop and turned to ask Carmody what the matter was, but the little Earthman was already off.
Carmody had seen a masked man whose walk made him sure it was Lieftin. Afraid that Lieftin might get away, he dashed off without telling anybody what he was after. He shouted, “Lieftin! You’re under arrest!” not realizing in his excitement that the others had not followed him.
The man turned and ran. For a second Carmody lost sight of him in the crowd; then he saw him plunge into the entrance of a clothing shop. He followed. It was a large place, one that catered to a wealthy clientele. A single saleswoman was standing with her face pressed against the window, presumably to watch Yess when he came by. Carmody shouted at her, and she jumped. He could see by her startled expression that she had not seen Lieftin enter the shop. Ignoring her questions, he went to the back of the room. There were three doors. He took the first one on the left, went through several rooms and came out in the alley. There was no one there. As he turned to reenter the shop, there was a footstep behind him and pain exploded in his head.
When he came to, he found himself sprawled on the rough cobblestones of the alley. There was a tender lump over his ear. The streets around him were quiet; the Night had begun.