The light nimbus was drifting away toward the other side of the valley. Presently it was hidden from sight, but before that Ardath was striding down to the ship.
He returned, holding in his hands an oval container of dark, lustrous metal. It was the sheath for the atomic energy.
'We have much to talk about,' he said to Court. 'Your language—I must master it better.'
Scipio came back, cursing and swinging his saber. His deep chest rose and fell as he panted.
'Thordred got away. I could not catch him.'
Court took immediate command.
'Back to the road. There's plenty of room in the car. We'll head directly for Washington and make plans. I think you can help us against the Plague, Ardath. Your atomic energy has already given me an idea.'
'The Plague?' Ardath asked. 'I'll help, if I can. But I am sorry you did not destroy Thordred, Scipio. I fear he will trouble us again.'
The Carthaginian did not answer. He grinned unpleasantly, fingering the saber-blade, as he followed the others back toward the ridge.
CHAPTER XIX
The Earth Shield
Two weeks later found Court haggard and red-eyed with exhaustion. He and Ardath, aided by Li Yang, Scipio and Marion, had been working day and night, experimenting, testing, discarding. Court's task had been complicated by the difficulty of securing the Government's backing. The President, though in favor of Court's proposal, would not give his consent until the country's foremost scientists had approved.
'They still don't realize what we're up against,' Court told Marion.
The two were walking toward a huge white auditorium on Pennsylvania Avenue. The dome of the Capitol loomed against the blue sky. A number of cars were drawn up before the marble building.
'But they know what the Plague's doing,' Marion said worriedly. 'New cases every day!'
'I know. Perhaps I shouldn't have asked for as much money as I did, yet we'll need it all. Small weapons aren't enough. We've got to build the Shield to save Earth.'
'Well, today's the day,' she mused. 'All the scientists will be there, with lots of Army officials and Washington bigwigs.'
Court smiled. 'Yes. I hope—'
He turned into an alcove and picked up a phone. Presently he asked:
'Scipio? All set? Good. Be careful, now.' He turned back to Marion. 'This may be dangerous, but I think it'll do the trick.'
Before long, he was on the stage of the auditorium, a lithe, well built figure against a background of sable curtains. The room was nearly filled with a crowd of men—scientists, uniformed Army men, politicians. A rustle of expectancy went through them as Court appeared. Without preamble he began:
'I am going to ask you to witness—' He paused as reporters' flashlight bulbs popped and glared. 'All right, boys. Save some of your plates till later. You will need them. To resume, I am going to perform an experiment for you today. Most of you are already familiar with my proposal. I have found a cure for the Plague, but it is an expensive one. On the other hand, it is the only possible way to save the human race from extinction.'
'Bunk!' a voice yelled. 'Prove it!'
Court lifted his hand.
'One moment You have all read about Ardath. Some of you, I think, have seen my colleague. His strange history has become familiar to you. Let me introduce him now.'
Ardath walked out on the platform. His antique clothing had been replaced by a well fitting suit of light flannels, and his slim figure went over to stand beside Court. The lean, patrician face looked out over the audience without expression.
'Fake!' a cry arose. It was echoed by others. A gray-haired man stood up.
'If you've found a cure for the Plague, prove it. This Ardath may be an impostor. He probably is. He has nothing to do with—'
Ardath did not say a word, but he stepped forward a pace. Something in the look of the strange, alien eyes brought silence to the auditorium. In the stillness, Court spoke again.
'You know that the Plague is fatal. To touch a Carrier is instant death. That there is no possible insulation. I have already given my theories about the origin of the Plague. It is sheer life energy—the ultimate evolution of all life, the residuum of some immeasurably ancient universe that evolved into pure energy perhaps eons ago. This cosmic cloud of energy has drifted through the interstellar void until its edges infringe upon the Earth.
'Some catalyst in our atmosphere made it potent, infected our Me forms with this strange virus. What the Plague does is simply this—it speeds up entropy. And the evolution that takes place is abnormal, against nature.'
Court paused, drew a deep breath, and resumed.
'Normal evolution is slow. Mankind automatically adjusts itself to different environments through the course of ages. But this is a sudden jump to the ultimate life form, which in the normal course of events should not exist in this System for billions of years. That disrupts the evolutionary check-and-balance system. Humanity is not yet ready for this metamorphosis. It must come slowly and gradually, over a period of millions of years. Let me sketch for you the future.
'More and more of the Carriers will appear as Earth plunges deeper into the heart of the cloud of life energy. The Carriers will feed on those who were once their fellows. Eventually only they will exist on this planet, and even they will die in the end for lack of sustenance. In less than fifty years, the world will be a barren, dead sphere drifting through space. That is what it might have been, had we not found a cure!'
Then the Kyrian's clipped, precise voice rang through the auditorium.
'Court speaks truly. You men of this civilization are strange to me. Perhaps few of you believe the story of my origin. That does not matter. Working together, Court and I have discovered the nature of the Plague and found a solution. It is this— The Carriers are forms of Me energy. They can be destroyed, but only by creating a stronger type of energy which will drain their own. Only one thing will do that—atomic power.
'A certain Carrier came in touch with the unguarded atomic power in my space ship. Later, we searched for him, and found his body near the vessel. Exposure to the terrific energy had killed him.'
Court nodded, remembering how he and Ardath had hunted through the Wisconsin hills for Sammy, and the burned, inhuman thing they had found at last. The Kyrian went on.
'Atomic power short-circuits the Carriers, drains their energy. Already we have constructed portable weapons which are thoroughly satisfactory.'
'But the life-cloud in space!' a voice from the audience broke in. 'You can't destroy that!'
The Kyrian smiled grimly.
'True. And more and more Carriers will appear as we approach the nucleus of the cloud. But we can protect the Earth, create a wall around it, a shell of atomic energy! With the right machines, we can transform the Heaviside Layer into a shield that will perfectly insulate this planet against the cosmic cloud. Solar radiation will still come through unchecked. But not a trace of the deadly life energy will be able to penetrate the Shield.'
A low murmuring in the auditorium grew into a roar. Men rose and shouted questions, challenges at Ardath. A shield around the Earth? Ridiculous! Such fantastic pipe-dreams belonged with perpetual motion and other exploded theories. Ardath glanced wryly at Court.
'Well, I see I can't convince them. Shall we—'
Court was waving his arms, trying to quiet the crowd. His attempts were useless. Already some of the audience were rising and heading for the exits.
No one saw Court wave toward the wings. But all eyes turned to the stage when the black curtain rustled apart. Simultaneously a gasp of sheer horror ripped from hundreds of throats.
On the platform was—a Carrier!
A huge box of luminous metal stood just behind it, in which the horror had apparently been confined. It was
