The Three Stigmata Of Palmer Eldritch Part 8

At last a meager outline appeared. Insubstantial, it remained without color, almost transparent; he rose, walked closer to it, and tried with all his strength once more. For a moment it seemed to gain color and reality and then suddenly it became fixed; like a hard, discarded chitinous sh.e.l.l it sagged, and burst. Its sections, only two-dimensional at best, blew and fluttered, tearing into ragged pieceshe turned his back on it and walked away in disgust. What a mess, he said to himself dismally.

He continued, without purpose, to walk. Until he came, all at once, to something in the gra.s.s, something dead; he saw it lying there and warily he approached it. This, he thought. The final indication of what Ive done.

He kicked the dead gluck with the toe of his shoe; his toe pa.s.sed entirely through it and he drew back, repelled.

Going on, hands deep in his pockets, he shut his eyes and once more prayed but this time vaguely; it was only a wish, inchoate, and then it became clear. Im going to get him in the real world, he said to himself. Not just here, as Ive done, but as the papes are going to report. Not for myself; not to save P. P. Layouts and the Can-D trade. But forhe knew what he meant. Everyone in the system. Because Palmer Eldritch is an invader and this is how well all wind up, here like this, on a plain of dead things that have become nothing more than random fragments; this is the reincarnation that he promised Hepburn-Gilbert.

For a time he wandered on and then, by degrees, he made his way back to the suitcase which had been Dr. Smile.

Something bent over the suitcase. A human or quasihuman figure.

Seeing him it at once straightened; its bald head glistened as it gaped at him, taken by surprise. And then it leaped and rushed off.

A Proxer.

It seemed to him as he watched it go that this put everything in perspective. Palmer Eldritch had peopled his landscape with things such as this; he was still highly involved with them, even now that he had returned to his home system. This, which had appeared just now, gave an insight into the mans mind at the deepest level; and Palmer Eldritch himself might not have known that he had so populated his hallucinatory establishmentthe Proxer might have been just as much a surprise to him.

Unless of course this was the Prox system.

Perhaps it would be a good idea to follow the Proxer.

He set off in that direction and trudged for what seemed to be hours; he saw nothing, only the gra.s.s underfoot, the level horizon. And then at last a shape formed ahead; he made for it and found himself all at once confronting a parked ship. Halting, he regarded it in amazement. For one thing it was not a Terran ship and yet it was not a Prox ship either.

Simply, it was not from either system.

Nor were the two creatures lounging nearby it Proxers or Terrans; he had never seen such life forms before. Tall, slender, with reedlike limbs and grotesque, egg-shaped heads which, even at this distance, seemed oddly delicate, a highly evolved race, he decided, and yet related to Terrans; the resemblance was closer than to the Proxers.

He walked toward them, hand raised in greeting.

One of the two creatures turned toward him, saw him, gaped, and nudged its companion; both stared and then the first one said, My G.o.d, Alec; its one of the old forms. You know, the near-men.

Yeah, the other creature agreed.

Wait, Leo Bulero said. Youre speaking the language of Terra, twenty-first-century Englishso you must have seen a Terran before.

Terran? the one named Alec said. Were Terrans. What the h.e.l.l are you? A freak that died out centuries ago, thats what. Well, maybe not centuries but anyhow a long time ago.

An enclave of them must still exist on this moon, the first said. To Leo he said, How many dawn men are there besides you? Come on, fella; we wont treat you bad. Any women? Can you reproduce? To his companion he said, It just seems like centuries. I mean, youve got to remember we been evolving in terms of a hundred thousand years at a crack. If it wasnt for Denkmal these dawn men would still be Denkmal, Leo said. Then this was the end-result of Denkmals E Therapy; this was only a little ahead in time, perhaps merely decades. Like them he felt a gulf of a million years, and yet it was in fact an illusion; he himself, when he finished with his therapy, might resemble these. Except that the chitinous hide was gone, and that had been one of the prime aspects of the evolving types. I go to his clinic, he said to the two of them. Once a week. At Munich. Im evolving; its working on me. He came up close to them, and studied them intently. Wheres the hide? he asked. To shield you from the sun?

Aw, that phony hot periods over, the one named Alec said, with a gesture of derision. That was those Proxers, working with the Renegade. You know. Or maybe you dont.

Palmer Eldritch, Leo said.

Yeah, Alec said, nodding. But we got him. Right here on this moon, in fact. Now its a shrinenot to us but to the Proxers; they sneak in here to worship. Seen any? Were supposed to arrest any we find; this is Sol system territory, belongs to the UN.

What planets this a moon of? Leo asked.

The two evolved Terrans both grinned. Terra, Alec said. Its artificial. Called Sigma 14-B, built years ago. Didnt it exist in your time? It must have; its a real old one.

I think so, Leo said. Then you can get me to Earth.

Sure. Both of the evolved Terrans nodded in agreement. As a matter of fact were taking off in half an hour; well take you alongyou and the rest of your tribe. Just tell us the location.

Im the only one, Leo said testily, and we would hardly be a tribe anyhow; were not out of prehistoric times. He wondered how he had gotten here to this future epoch. Or was this an illusion, too, constructed by the master hallucinator, Palmer Eldritch? Why should he a.s.sume this was any more real than the child Monica or the glucks or the synthetic P. P. Layouts which he had visitedvisited and seen collapse? This was Palmer Eldritch imagining the future; these were meanderings of his brilliant, creative mind as he waited at his demesne on Luna for the effects of the intravenous injection of Chew-Z to wear off. Nothing more.

In fact, even as he stood here, he could see, faintly, the horizon-line through the parked ship; the ship was slightly transparent, not quite substantial enough. And the two evolved Terrans; they wavered in a mild but pervasive distortion which reminded him of the days when he had had astigmatic vision, before he had received, by surgical transplant, totally healthy eyes. The two of them had not exactly locked in place.

He reached his hand out to the first Terran. Id like to shake hands with you, he said. Alec, the Terran, extended his hand, too, with a smile.

Leos hand pa.s.sed through Alecs and emerged on the far side.

Hey, Alec said, frowning; he at once, pistonlike, withdrew his hand. Whats going on? To his companion he said, This guy isnt real; we should have suspected it. Hes awhat did they used to call them? From chewing that diabolical drug that Eldritch picked up in the Prox system. A chooser ; thats what. Hes a phantasm. He glared at Leo.

I am? Leo said feebly, and then realized that Alec was right. His actual body was on Luna; he was not really here.

But what did that make the two evolved Terrans? Perhaps they were not constructs of Eldritchs busy mind; perhaps they, alone, were genuinely here. Meanwhile, the one named Alec was now staring at him.

You know, Alec said to his companion, this chooser looks familiar to me. Ive seen a pic in the papes of him; Im sure of it. To Leo he said, Whats your name, chooser? His stare became harsher, more intense.

Im Leo Bulero, Leo said.

Both the evolved Terrans jumped with shock. Hey, Alec exclaimed, no wonder I thought I recognized him. Hes the guy who killed Palmer Eldritch! To Leo he said, Youre a hero, fella. I bet you dont know that, because youre just a mere chooser ; right? And youve come back here to haunt this place because this is historically the He didnt come back, his companion broke in. Hes from the past.

He can still come back, Alec said. This is a second coming for him, after his own time; hes returnedokay, can I say that? To Leo he said, Youve returned to this spot because of its a.s.sociation with Palmer Eldritchs death. He turned, and started on a run toward the parked ship. Im going to tell the papes, he called. Maybe they can get a pic of youthe ghost of Sigma 14-B. He gestured excitedly. Now the tourists really will want to visit here. But look out: maybe Eldritchs ghost, his chooser, will show up here, too. To pay you back. At that thought he did not look too pleased.

Leo said, Eldritch already has.

Alec halted, then came slowly back. He has? He looked around nervously. Where is he? Near here?

Hes dead, Leo said. I killed him. Strangled him. He felt no emotion about it, just weariness. How could one become elated over the killing of any living person, especially a child?

Theyve got to re-enact it through eternity, Alec said, impressed and wide-eyed. He shook his great egglike head.

Leo said, I wasnt re-enacting anything. This was the first time. Then he thought, And not the real one. Thats still to come .

You mean, Alec said slowly, it Ive still got to do it, Leo grated. But one of my Pre-Fash consultants tells me it wont be long. Probably. It was not inevitable and he could never forget that fact. And Eldritch knew it, too; this would go a long way in explaining Eldritchs efforts here and now: he was staving offor so he hopedhis own death.

Come on, Alec said to Leo, and take a look at the marker commemorating the event. He and his companion led the way; Leo, reluctantly, followed. The Proxers, Alec said over his shoulder, always seek toyou know. Desiccate this.

Desecrate, his companion corrected.

Yeah, Alec said, nodding. Anyhow, here it is. He stopped.

Ahead of them jutted an imitationbut impressive granite pillar; on, it a bra.s.s plaque had been bolted securely at eye-level. Leo, against his better judgment, read the plaque.

IN MEMORIUM. 2016 A.D. NEAR THIS SPOT THE ENEMY OF THE SOL SYSTEM PALMER ELDRITCH WAS SLAIN IN FAIR COMBAT WITH THE CHAMPION OF OUR NINE PLANETS, LEO BULERO OF TERRA.

Hoopla, Leo e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed, impressed despite himself. He read it again. And again. I wonder, he said, half to himself, if Palmers seen this.

If hes a chooser , Alec said, he probably has. The original form of Chew-Z produced what the manufacturerEldritch himselfcalled time-overtones. Thats you right now; you occupy a locus years alter youre dead. I guess youre dead by now, anyhow. To his companion he said, Leo Buleros dead by now, isnt he?

Oh h.e.l.l, sure, his companion said. By several decades.

In fact I think I read Alec began, then ceased, looking past Leo; he nudged his companion. Leo turned to see what it was.

A scraggly, narrow, ungainly white dog was approaching.

Yours? Alec asked.

No, Leo said.

It looks like a chooser dog, Alec said. See, you can look through it a little. The three of them watched the dog as it marched up to them, then past them to the monument itself.

Picking up a pebble, Alec chucked it at the dog; the pebble pa.s.sed through the dog and landed in the gra.s.s beyond. It was a chooser dog.

As the three of them watched, the dog halted at the monument, seemed to gaze up at the plaque for a brief interval, and then it.

Defecation! Alec shouted, his face turning bright red with rage. He ran toward the dog, waving his arms and trying to kick it, then reaching for the laser pistol at his belt but missing its handle in his excitement.

Desecration, his companion corrected.

Leo said, Its Palmer Eldritch. Eldritch was showing his contempt for the monument, his lack of fear toward the future. There would never be such a monument. The dog leisurely strolled off, the two evolved Terrans cursing futilely at it as it departed.

Youre sure thats not your dog? Alec demanded suspiciously. As far as I can make out youre the only chooser around. He eyed Leo.

Leo started to answer, to explain to them what had happened; it was important that they understand. And then without harbinger of any kind the two evolved Terrans disappeared; the gra.s.sy plain, the monument, the departing dogthe entire panorama evaporated, as if the method by which it had been projected, stabilized, and maintained had clicked to the off position. He saw only an empty white expanse, a focused glare, as if there were now no 3-D slide in the projector at all. The light, he thought, that underlies the play of phenomena which we call reality.

And then he was sitting in the barren room in Palmer Eldritchs demesne on Luna, facing the table with its electronic gadget.

The gadget or contraption or whatever it was said, Yes, Ive seen the monument. About 45 percent of the futures have it. Slightly less than equal chances obtain so Im not terribly concerned. Have a cigar. Once again the machine extended a lighted cigar to Leo.

No, Leo said.

Im going to let you go, the gadget said, for a short time, for about twenty-four hours. You can return to your little office at your minuscule company on Terra; while youre there I want you to ponder the situation. Now youve seen Chew-Z in force; you comprehend the fact that your antediluvian product Can-D cant even remotely compare to it. And furthermore Bull, Leo said. Can-D is far superior.

Well, you think it over, the electronic contraption said, with confidence.

All right, Leo said. He stood stiffly. Had he actually been on the artificial Earth-satellite Sigma 14-B? It was a job for Felix Blau; experts could trace it down. No use worrying about that now. The immediate problem was serious enough; he still had not gotten out from under Palmer Eldritchs control.

He could escape only whenand ifEldritch decided to release him. That was an undisguised piece of factual reality, hard as it was to face.

Id like to point out, the gadget said, that Ive shown mercy to you, Leo. I could have put anwell, lets say a period to the sentence that const.i.tutes your rather short life. And at any time. Because of this I expectI insist that you consider very seriously doing the same.

As I said, Ill think it over, Leo answered. He felt irritable, as if he had dunk too many cups of coffee, and he wanted to leave as soon as possible; he opened the door of the room, and made his way out into the corridor.

As he started to shut the door after him the electronic gadget said, If you dont decide to join me, Leo, Im not going to wait . Im going to kill you. I must, to save my own self. Do you understand?

I understand, Leo said, and shut the door after him. And I have to, too , he thought. Must kill you or couldnt we both put it in a less direct way, something like they say about animals: put you to sleep.

And I have to do it not just to save myself but everyone in the system, and thats my staff on which Im leaning. For example, those two evolved Terran soldiers I ran into at the monument. For them so theyll have something to guard.

Slowly he walked up the corridor. At the far end stood the group of pape reporters; they had not left yet, had not even obtained their interviewalmost no time had pa.s.sed. So on that point Palmer was right.

Joining the reporters Leo relaxed, and felt considerably better. Maybe he would get away, now; maybe Palmer Eldritch was actually going to let him go. He would live to smell, see, drink in the world once more.

But underneath he knew better. Eldritch would never let him go; one of them would have to be destroyed, first.

He hoped it would not be himself. But he had a terrible intuition, despite the monument, that it could well be.

SEVEN.

The door to Barney Mayersons inner office, flung open, revealed Leo Bulero, hunched with weariness, travel-stained. You didnt try to help me.

After an interval Barney answered, Thats correct. There was no use trying to explain why, not because Leo would fail to understand or believe but because of the reason itself. It was simply not adequate.

Leo said, You are fired, Mayerson.

Okay. And he thought, Anyhow Im alive. And if Id gone after Leo I wouldnt be, now . He began with numbed fingers gathering up his personal articles from his desk, dropping them into an empty sample case.

Wheres Miss Fugate? Leo demanded. Sh.e.l.l be taking your place. He came close to Barney, and scrutinized him. Why didnt you come and get me? Name me the G.o.ddam reason, Barney.

I looked ahead. It would have cost me too much. My life.

But you didnt have to come personally. This is a big companyyou could have arranged for a party from here, and stayed behind. Right?

It was true. And he hadnt even considered it.

So, Leo said, you must have wanted something fatal to happen to me. No other interpretation is possible. Maybe it was unconscious. Yes?

I guess so, Barney admitted. Because certainly he hadnt been aware of it. Anyhow Leo was right; why else would he not have taken the responsibility, seen to it that an armed party, as Felix Blau had suggested, emerged from P. P. Layouts and headed for Luna? It was so obvious, now. So simple to see.

Ive had a terrible experience, Leo said, in Palmer Eldritchs domain. Hes a d.a.m.ned magician, Barney. He did all kinds of things with me, things you and I never dreamed of. Turned himself for instance into a little girl, showed me the future, only maybe that was unintentional, made a complete universe up anyhow including a horrible animal called a gluck along with an illusional New York City with you and Roni. What a mess. He shook his head blearily. Where you going to go?

Theres only one place I can go.

Wheres that? Leo eyed him apprehensively.

Only one other person would have use for my Pre-Fash talent.

Then youre my enemy!

I am already. As far as youre concerned. And he was willing to accept Leos judgment as fair, Leos interpretation of his failure to act.