Marko said: “Excuse me, Dr. Bivar, but those are not all.”
“Not all? You mean there are more?” “Yes. There were forty or fifty boxes on Mnaenn, but I brought away only those two.”
“What? You idiot Fool! jTonto! /Loco! Saphead! Ass! Are you mad, that you did not fetch the rest? You should be”
Toskano broke into the harangue, and Marko explained why he had not brought more of the boxes. “Oh,” said Bivar. “Pardon, pardon. I did not know. I am overturned, shaken up, and I have not slept since yesterday. Exculpate me, pray! I need that you forgive, sir. But if we escape from the Prem, our greatest duty is to recover the cards remaining, by whatever means necessary.
“To continue. I could not read all these records in one night, naturally, especially as they are in a dead language and are very difficult. Old Anglonian, or English as those who spoke it called it, had a system of spelling very peculiar, in which almost any letter could mean any sound and conversely. There are many words that I do not know, though some I could guess from context.
“To go through all this material is the task of years. All I could do was to skim and skip about. Nor do the records deal with the actual Descent, as they were compiled before that event. They do tell us that Evolution is a correct hypothesisbut on Earth, not on Kforri as far as we are concerned.
“Earth is a planet material, circling a small star near the star Mira. It is a little smaller than Kforri, but more of its surface is covered by water. It is also a little warmer on the average, but the climate is much more extreme, hotter than we are at the equator and colder at the poles. ‘Kforri,’ I learn, is a corruption of the name for this planet in Old Anglonian: ‘K-40.’ Earth has a variety of animals, both tame and wild, and five of its six continents are inhabited by men of several different races, differing among themselves much as we do.
“At the time when these records were reproduced in this form, the men of Earth had attained travel from their planet through empty space to other planets of their system or even to planets of other stars.”
“How did they fly through space, where there is no air to breathe?” asked Toskano.
“They went in a vehicle tubular that squirts itself through space by blowing a great flame out its rear, and the ship of space is sealed and carries its own air.”
Toskano persisted: “How can that work when there’s nothing for the flame to push against?”
“I do not know, but let me get on. The other planets of their own system are either too hot or too cold, or do not have the right sort of air, to be comfortable places of dwelling. So they have gone to other stars to settle on their planets. I gather that one of these interstellar trips is a business formidable. It takes years and costs a lot tremendous, so they plan them with the utmost care.
“They send a small ship of space out first, which does not even land on the planet but; circles around it, determines its temperature and kind of air, and so forth. Then they send a main expedition of two or three large ships of space with Earthly plants and animals so that they can set up a settlement permanent. Then one of the two or three ships of space will take all the peat, or whatever fuel they use, and fly back to Earth. If all goes well, they may send more ships of space, as they are much crowded for room on Earth.
“Something of the sort must have been done in our case. But for some reason the records were lost, or at least they were taken to Mnaenn and everybody else forgot about them. There must have been some sort of device to read these records, which was lost or broken. Perhaps there was a quarrel among the settlers. I infer that these settlers came from all over the Earth, and in settling here they broke into several groups or tribes, speaking languages different. From these tribes are descended the major nations of today.
“There is much more in here; I have taken notes as you see. The names of our countries and cities are mostly the names of places on Earth, more or less corrupted. Lann is London, Vien is Vienna, Niok is New York, and Mnaenn is named for the Terran isle of Manhattan, which seems to have been another name for New York. The very gods proclaimed by the churches are famous men of Earth. The animals native of Kforri are named after similar animals that live, or have lived, on Earth. Thus ‘tersor’ and ‘transor’ are derived from ‘pterosaurus’ and ‘tyrannosaurus,’ two extinct Earthly beasts. The jumping lizard that we call a ‘rabbit’ is named for a hopping animal of similar size and habits on Earth, although the animal terrestrial is a mammal with warm blood like us. The ...”
A philosopher put his head in the door and said: “Dr. Toskano, the Prem is arriving.”
Toskano jumped up and rushed out, Marko after him.
Alzander Mirabo, Prem of Eropia, was just getting down from his huge, paxor-drawn, gilded coach when Marko reached the site of the inflation. The balloon was now almost” fully inflated, swaying against the sky. The courtyard was full of kneeling philosophers. Toskano and Marko knelt, too, until they heard the Prem’s vibrant voice: “Rise, gentlemen!”
Alzander Mirabo was a small man with a pale, nondescript face, unremarkable save for a certain sharpness of nose, hollowness of cheeks, and pouchiness under the eyes. He wore a plain black uniform with a blued-steel cuirass and helmet, contrasting with the gorgeousness of his aides. He came forward smartly, his heels clicking on the cobblestones, until he reached the balloon.
“Dr. Toskano?” said the tyrant. He recognized the chairman of the convention and stepped forward to give him a brisk handshake. “This is magnificent, Doctor. Where is the inventor? Dr. Halran? I congratulate you. I can already see military applications of this device. It must obviously be socialized. In fact, I consider it so important to the welfare of the masses that I shall order that, even though the philosophers lose this afternoon’s debate, you shall be spared. Be so good as to explain how the device works, if you please.”
Halran did, stumbling for words. The Prem asked a few questions which surprised Marko by their cogency.
“Are we ready for this flight?” said Mirabo. “I played truant from the work of the Empire for an hour, but already I can see the papers piling up on my desk.”
“All ready, sir,” said Halran. “You shall ascend with my assistant, Master Marko Prokopiu.”
Marko’s hand was wrung too. The little man had a steely grip.
“And one of my bodyguards, of course,” said Mirabo, indicating a stalwart in chain mail close behind him.
“Oh, but Your Serenity!” said Halran. “I am not certain the balloon will hoist so much weight.”
“Well, I’m smaller than average, so that should not much matter. We shall all climb in, at any rate, and if it won’t rise, it won’t rise.”
Halran shot an apprehensive look at Marko, who gave a tiny nod. He thought that he could take care of the bodyguard. The Prem briskly climbed into the basket. The bodyguard followed, and Marko followed the bodyguard. “Cast off!” said Marko.
The appendix was pulled free, the ropes were slacked off, and the balloon rose. Below, a crew of the burliest philosophers clung to the drag rope.
Up they went, swaying gently and rotating a little. The Prem exclaimed with delight as they ascended above the roofs, and Vien appeared spread out beneath them. Marko saw the loop of the Dunau River on three sides.
“What a view!” cried Mirabo, smiting his fist against his armored chest. “I soar like a tersor! Magnificent!” When they reached the greatest height allowed by the drag rope, the Prem exclaimed: “What a substitute for light cavalry! Now I shall need no more Arabi mercenaries for scouting. Praise be to Napoin! Master Prokopiu, turn around!”