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harness that she said Fal Sivas had sent to me for my use.
"I was talking with Hamas's slave a little while ago," she remarked, presently.
"She says that Hamas is worried about you."
"And why?" I asked.
"He thinks that the master has taken a fancy to you, and he fears for his own
authority. He has been a very powerful man here for many years."
I laughed. "I don't aspire to his laurels," I told her.
"But he does not know that," said Zanda. "He would not believe it, if he were
told. He is your enemy and a very powerful enemy. I just wanted to warn you."
"Thanks, Zanda," I said. "I shall be watchful of him, but I have a great many
enemies; and I am so accustomed to having them that another, more or less,
makes
little difference to me."
"Hamas may make a great difference to you," she said. "He has the ear of Fal
Sivas. I am so worried about you, Vandor."
"You mustn't worry; but if it will make you feel any better, do not forget that
you have the ear of Hamas through his slave. You can let her know that I have no
ambition to displace Hamas."
"That is a good idea," she said, "but I am afraid that it will not accomplish
much; and if I were you, the next time I went out of the building, I should not
return. You went last night, so I suppose that you are free to come and go as
you will."
"Yes," I replied, "I am."
"Just as long as Fal Sivas does not take you to the floor above and reveal any
of his secrets to you, you will probably be allowed to go out, unless Hamas
makes it a point to prevail upon Fal Sivas to take that privilege away from
you."
"But I have already been to the level above," I said, "and I have seen many of
the wonders of Fal Sivas's inventions."
She gave little cry of alarm, then. "Oh, Vandor, you are lost!" she cried. "Now
you will never leave this terrible place."
"On the contrary, I shall leave it tonight, Zanda," I told her. "Fal Sivas has
agreed that I should do so."
She shook her head. "I cannot understand it," she said, "and I shall not believe
it until after you have gone."
Toward evening Fal Sivas sent for me. He said that he wanted to talk to me about
some further changes in the gearing of the motor, and so I did not get out that
night, and the next day he had me in the shops directing the mechanics who were
working on the new gears, and again he made it impossible for me to leave the
premises.
In one way or another, he prevented it night after night; and though he didn't
actually refuse permission, I began to feel that I was, indeed, a prisoner.
However, I was much interested in the work in the shops and did not mind much
whether I went out or not.
Ever since I had seen Fal Sivas's wonder-craft and had listened to his
explanation of the marvellous mechanical brain that controlled it, it had been
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constantly in my thoughts. I saw in it all the possibilities of power for good
or evil that Fal Sivas had visualized, and I was intrigued by the thought of
what the man who controlled it could accomplish.
If that man had the welfare of humanity at heart, his invention might prove a
priceless boon to Barsoom; but I feared that Fal Sivas was too selfish and too
mad for power to use his invention solely for the public good.
Such meditation naturally led me to wonder if another than Fal Sivas could
control the brain. The speculation intrigued me, and I determined to ascertain
at the first opportunity if the insensate thing would respond to my will.
That afternoon Fal Sivas was in his laboratory, and I was working in the shops
with the poor manacled artisans. The great ship lay in the adjoining room. Now,
I thought, presented as good a time as any to make my experiment.
The creatures in the room with me were all slaves. Furthermore, they hated Fal
Sivas; so it made no difference to them what I did.
I had been kind to them and had even encouraged them to hope, though they
could
not believe that there was any hope. They had seen too many of their number die
in their chains to permit them to entertain a thought of escape. They were
apathetic in all matters, and I doubt that any of them noticed when I left the
shop and entered the hangar where the ship rested upon its scaffolding.
Closing the door behind me, I approached the nose of the craft and focused my
thoughts upon the brain within. I imparted to it the will to rise from its
scaffolding as I had seen Fal Sivas cause it to do and then to settle down again [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]