The Star Kings

'No, John Gordon. There are many star-kingdoms in the galaxy, warlike rivals at times. But the Mid-Galactic Empire is the largest of them.'

Gordon felt a certain disappointment. 'I had thought the future would be one of democracy, and that war would be banished.'

'The star-kingdoms are really democracies, for the people rule,' Vel Quen explained. 'We simply give titles and royal rank to our leaders, the better to hold together the widely separated star-systems and their human and aboriginal races.'

Gordon could understand that. 'I get it. Like the British democracy in my own day, that kept up the forms of royalty and rank to hold together their realm.'

'And war was banished on Earth, long ago,' Vel Quen went on. 'We know that from traditional history. The peace and prosperity that followed were what gave the first great impetus to space- travel.

'But there have been wars between the star-kingdoms because they are so widely separated. We are now trying to bring them together in union and peace, as you unified Earth's nations long ago.'

Vel Quen went to the wall and touched a switch beside a bank of lenses. From the lenses was projected a realistic little image of the galaxy, a flat, disk-shaped swarm of shining sparks.

Each of those little sparks represented a star, and their number was dizzying to John Gordon. Nebulae, comets, dark clouds-all were faithfully represented in this galactic map. And the map was divided by zones of colored light into a number of large and small sections.

'Those colored zones represent the boundaries of the great star-kingdoms,' Vel Quen explained. 'As you see, the green zone of the Mid-Galactic Empire is much the largest and includes the whole north and middle of the galaxy. Here near its northern border is Sol, the sun of Earth, not far from the wild frontier star-systems of the Marches of Outer Space.[2]

'The little purple zone south of the Empire comprises the Baronies of Hercules, whose great Barons rule the independent star-worlds of Hercules Cluster. Northwest lies Fomalhaut Kingdom, and south of it stretch the kingdoms of Lyra, Cygnus, Polaris and others, most of these being allied to the Empire.

'This big black blot southeast of the Empire is the largest dark cloud in the galaxy, and within it lies the League of Dark Worlds, composed of suns and worlds engulfed in the perpetual dimness of that cloud. The League is the most powerful and jealous rival of the Empire.

'The Empire is dominant and has long sought to induce the star-kingdoms to unite and banish all war in the galaxy. But Shorr Kan and his League have intrigued against Arn Abbas' policy of unification, by fomenting the jealousies of the smaller star-kingdoms.'

It was all a little overwhelming for John Gordon, man of the 20th Century. He looked in wonder at that strange map.

Vel Quen added, 'I shall teach you how to use the thought-spools and then you can learn that great story.'

In the following days while he learned the language, Gordon had thus learned also the history of two thousand centuries.

It was an epic tale that the thought-spools unfolded of man's conquest of the stars. There had been great feats of heroism in exploration, disastrous wrecks in cosmic clouds and nebulae, bitter struggles against stellar aborigines too alien for peaceful contact.

Earth had been too small and remote to govern all the vast ever-growing realm of man. Star-systems established their own governments, and then banded into kingdoms of many stars. From such a beginning had grown the great Mid-Galactic Empire which Arn Abbas now governed.

Vel Quen finally told Gordon, 'I know you want to see much of our civilization before you return to your own body and time. First let me show you what Earth looks like now_. Stand upon this plate,' He referred to one of two round quartz plates set in the floor, which were part of a curious, complex apparatus.

'This is a telestereo, which projects and receives stereoscopic images that can see and hear,' Vel Quen explained. 'It operates almost instantaneously over any distance.'[3]

Gordon stood gingerly with him on the quartz plate. The old scientist touched a switch.

Abruptly, Gordon seemed to be in another place. He knew he was still in the tower laboratory, but a seeing, hearing image of himself now stood on a stereo-receiver on a terrace high in a great city.

'This is Nyar, largest city of Earth,' said Vel Quen. 'Of course, it cannot compare with the metropoli of the great star-worlds.'

Gordon gasped. He was looking out over a mammoth city of terraced white pyramids.

Far out beyond it he could glimpse a spaceport, with rows of sunken docks and long, fishlike star-ships in them. There were also a few massive, grim-looking warships with the Empire's comet emblem on them.

But it was the great city itself that held his stunned gaze. Its terraces were flowering green gardens with gay awnings and crowds of pleasure-seeking people.

Vel Quen switched them to other stereo-receivers in Nyar. He had glimpses of the interior of the city, of halls and corridors, of apartments and workshops, of giant underground atomic power plants.

The scene suddenly vanished from John Gordon's fascinated eyes as Vel Quen snapped off the telestereo and darted toward a window.

'There is a ship coming!' he exclaimed. 'I can't understand it. No ship ever lands here!'

Gordon heard a droning in the air and glimpsed a long, slim, shining craft dropping out of the sky toward the lonely tower.

Vel Quen looked alarmed, 'It's a warship, a phantom-cruiser, but has no emblem on it. There's something wrong about this!'

The shining ship landed with a rush on the plateau a quarter-mile from the tower. A door in its side instantly slid open.

From it poured a score of gray-uniformed, helmeted men who carried weapons like long, slim-barreled pistols, and who advanced in a run toward the tower.

'They wear the uniform of Empire soldiers but they should not have come here,' Vel Quen said. His wrinkled face was puzzled and worried. 'Could it be-'

He broke off, seeming to reach a sudden decision. 'I am going to notify the Nyar naval base at once!'

As the old scientist turned from John Gordon toward the telestereo, there came a sudden loud crash below.

'They have blasted in the door!' cried Vel Quen. 'Quick, John Gordon, take the-'

Gordon never learned what he meant to tell him. For at that moment, the uniformed men came rushing up the stair into the room.

They were strange-looking men. Their faces were white, a pallid, colorless and unnatural white.

'League soldiers!' cried Vel Quen, the instant he saw them thus close. He whirled to turn on the telestereo.

The leader of the invaders raised his long, slim pistol. A tiny pellet flicked from it and buried itself in Vel Quen's back. It instantly exploded in his body. The old scientist dropped in his tracks.

Until that moment, ignorance and bewilderment had held Gordon motionless. But he felt a hot rage burst along his nerves as he saw Vel Quen fall. He had come to like the old scientist, in these days.

With a fierce exclamation, Gordon plunged forward. One of the uniformed men instantly raised his pistol.

'Don't blast him-it's Zarth Arn himself!' yelled the officer who had shot down Vel Quen. 'Grab him!'

Gordon got his fists home on the face of one of them, but that was all. A dozen hands grasped him, his arms were twisted behind his back, and he was held as helpless as a raging child.

The pallid officers spoke swiftly to Gordon. 'Prince Zarth, I regret we had to blast your colleague but he was about to call for help and our presence here must not be detected.'

The officer continued rapidly. 'You yourself will not be harmed in the slightest. We have been sent to bring you to our leader.'

Gordon stared at the man. He felt as though all this was a crazy dream.

But one thing was clear. They didn't doubt he was Zarth Arn. And that was natural, seeing that he was Zarth Arn, in body.