For Texas and Zed

A moment of hurt and anger. He could send for her. He was Lex. He could order and she would come,

or be forced to come.

But no.

'Please go,' he said.

The woman heard. 'Yes, sir,' her amplified voice said.

'Leave it turning.'

Now he was truly alone with his galaxy and it flowed in red and wheeled in front of his eyes and he

remembered the awe he had felt when he first came to be aware of the extent of the old Empire. Now the Empire seemed puny when compared with the sweep of his galaxy. Now it was all one, under the protection of Texas, a unit. Billions of people with the capability of expanding, of peopling the uninhabited stars past galactic center. Cassiopeia and Empire were one, under the flag of Texas.

Why, then, did he feel as empty as space, as sterile as a sun which has long since gone into nova, crisping life from its planets?

Emily.

She had been so close, once. And there on the flagship when she'd come with the Texican delegation she'd been cold, sadness in her eyes. Why sadness? He had not changed. She compared him with the ancient conquerors of old Earth and, in effect, told him that he had changed. But he bad not changed. He was older and he'd seen enough death and destruction to drive the joys and frivolity of youth from his mind, but every man grows up. How had he changed?

He remembered the day in his home when she was preparing him for his first venture into the Empire, a trip as a prisoner. And, as if she were with him, standing by his side as the model of the galaxy rolled, he could hear her voice.

'You cried because it was beautiful,' she had said. 'I hope you never lose the ability to cry over beauty.'

'No,' he said aloud, 'I have not changed.'

And with a gesture of personal triumph, he wiped a tear from his cheek.

'I haven't changed,' he said, his voice going out to lose itself in the sheer wonder and beauty of the galaxy which wheeled majestically before him. His galaxy. And somewhere in it the memory—he did not believe in the soul—the fractured atoms of what once had been Riddent and his unborn son, old Form, dead at Wolfs Star, all of them, all the good Texicans dead and gone, their elemental particles spinning, spinning in space or reintegrating with the soil of Dallas City. And he felt a vast and overwhelming sadness as he watched the model of the galaxy spin them away from him forever. He had come so far. So far. Now it was over, the fighting. Now was only the task of restoring order, of making the galaxy the best possible place for people.

His sadness faded as he faced the task ahead. The Orion Arm swept past him in the accelerated spin of the galactic model and he thought of its emptiness, its vast distances, and relived the march inward, the great, grinding power of it, the cold satisfaction of it, the heat and smell of men at war and the flash of a disintegrating enemy ship of the line. He had led the greatest march of all time. And it was over.

That, he knew suddenly, was the greatest sadness of all. And he knew, then, what she had been talking about, Emily, when she told him he had changed, for it was over and there were no more worlds to conquer and ahead of him stretched the endless chore of keeping it going, his empire.

'When it's over,' he had told her, 'I'll come home.'

But he knew now that he could never go home, for he was at home, wherever he was in his galaxy.

BURNS, LEXINGTON—2572-2605

President, Planet Texas; President, United Texican Galactic Protectorate, later called Emperor. Born to Murichon and Alica Burns, July 13, 2572, on the outlying planet of Texas. Participated in early trading between Texas and the First Galactic Empire; he was sentenced to a punishment tour in the Empire fleet for the kidnapping of Lady Gwyn Ingles in 2589. Served two years in the Empire fleet before enlisting the aid of confederates in taking an Empire ship to Texas. The activities of Burns were instrumental in precipitating the Great War of the Galaxy which ended in Texican conquest, uniting the galaxy, for the first time, under the flag of the Planet Texas. Burns took control of the governmental functions of both the Empire and the Allied Cassiopeian Dictatorships in 2595. An efficient administrator, Burns is credited with altering the age-old patterns of galactic life through agricultural reform and an enlightened attitude toward the freedom of the individual. Adept at delegating authority, Burns seemed to have a flair for selecting efficient governors to administer the vast Empire which he established. Married in his youth to a Texican girl, first name Riddent, surname unknown, he was widowed during the Last Battle of Texas in 2592. He never remarried, although court gossip linked him, with some justification, with various women, among them one Lady Gwyn Ingles, cousin of the former Emperor. His death at the age of thirty-three engendered a lengthy investigation, during which various charges were made and disproved. Popular folklore to the effect that Burns was poisoned by a jealous lover has not found historical confirmation. Upon the death of Burns, the United Texican Galactic Protectorate disintegrated into warring factions, although General Arden Wal, appointed as a successor to Burns, defeated, first, the revolt of the Cassiopeian sector in 2608 and then the New Republics of Texas in 2611. Of Burns, Professor Axil Zenthith has said, in his authoritativeLex the Conqueror , 'He was a man five hundred years ahead of his time. His one mistake was in thinking that galactic man, only six hundred years removed from the home planet, could accept and handle unlimited freedom. The worst that can be said of Burns is that he gave the people of the galaxy too much too soon.'

GLOSSARY:

Airors: Probably short for air horse. A one man unit of transportation on the Planet Texas.

Arc: A Texican contraction for aircar, used for atmospheric travel on the Planet Texas.

Atmoflyer: Luxurious mode of transportation in the Galactic Empire for travel within the atmosphere. A few models were known to have limited space capacity.

Batgull: A seabird of Texas, half bird, half mammal. Batlike head, two rows of teeth, a long, unfeathered neck dwindling into a chunky, short body covered with dull gray feathers.

Beagle: Flying mammal of Texas. Noted for its appetite, omnivorous, feeding on anything from carrion to vegetation. In appearance, the beagle resembled the extinct bears of Earth, with huge, leathery wings appended to the shoulders.

Biters: Parasitic insects of Texas. As large as an Earth housefly, red and blue striped, biters were, in the early years of Texican settlement, a hazard to both health and comfort.

Blink Drive: A nul-grav, anti-space engine developed on Earth in the 1970s by Zed Blink. A popular explanation of the function of the blink generator, in brief: forces created in the generator negate mass while nullifying the existence of space itself. Under proper direction a chosen vector can be applied to the nul-mass under the influence of the blink generator. In effect, an object under the influence of a blink generator ceases to exist at one point in space and emerges into reality at another chosen point.

Blinkstat: A system of blink generator stations was established under the first Empire with relays at chosen points, enabling a physical message to be 'blinked' from any given point in the galaxy, so long as straight line transmission was possible through relay stations.

Blood-flowers: A particularly showy native flower of the Planet Texas, three inches in diameter when fully opened, the bloodflower exuded a liquid of the color and consistency of human blood when disturbed.

Bojacks: An Earth term adapted by Texicans to indicate the wilderness areas of their planet. Comnum: Communications number. Identifying number for the receipt of blinkstat messages or planetary trid calls. Darlene Space Rifle: A weapon developed on the Planet Texas. Anachronistic in one respect, in that it

used a physical projectile, it was advanced in its time since a tiny blink generator allowed the projectile to be delivered instantly on target. Dozer: A potent, non-narcotic sleeping pill used mainly by spacers. Electro-book: After 2050, the form of most printed material. Words were commuted into electronic

impulses, stored in a cartridge and activated into either written or spoken language through an electronic

reader. Expand: A powerful explosive developed on Texas. Used primarily in construction and mining and, on specific occasions, as a weapon of war.

Farl; Largest of the land animals native to the Planet Texas. Smaller than an extinct Earth tiger, the farl was catlike and was said to be the most fearless animal ever encountered by man. In the early days of Texas settlement there were many casualties before the farl population was reduced and confined to wilderness areas.

Hornie: A toadlike reptile; habitat, the deserts of Texas. L.S.A.: Life support armor, a complete life support system in compact form used by spacers. Meacr: Shortened form of the Texican phrase 'meat critter.' Bovine in