The Palace Of Love By Jack Vance Book 3 in the "Demon Prince" Series From Popular Handbook to the Planets, 348th edition. 1525: SARKOVY: Single planet of Phi Ophiuchi. Planetary constants: diameter-9,600 miles; sidereal day-37.2 hours; mass-1.40; G-.98 . . . Sarkovy is moist and cloudy; with an axis normal to the orbital plane it knows no seasons. The surface lacks physiographical contrast. The characteristic features of the landscape are the steppes: Hopman Steppe, Gorobundur Steppe, the Great Black Steppe, and others... . From the abundant flora the no- torious Sarkoy venefices leach and distill the poisons for which they are famous. The population is largely nomadic, though certain tribes, generically known as Night Hobs, live among the forests. (For detailed information regarding the rather appalling customs of the Sarkoy, consult the En- cyclopedia of Sociology and The Sexual Habits of the Sarkoy, by BA. Edgar.) The Sarkoy pantheon is ruled by Godogma, who carries a flower and a flail and walks on wheels. Every- where along the Sarkoy steppes may be found tall poles with wheels on high, in praise of Godogma, the strid- ing, wheeling God of Fate. THF DEMON PRINCPS News feature in Rigelhan Journal, Avente, Alphanor Paing, Godoland, Sarkovy July 12 As if Claris Adam were to he destroyed for beguil- ing William Wales As if the Abbatram of Pamfile were to be liquefied for smelling too strongly As if Deacon Fitzbah of Shaker City were to be immolated for an excess of zeal Today from Sarkovy comes news that Master Ve- nefice Kakarsis Asm must "cooperate with the guild" for selling poison Circumstances, of course, are not all that simple Asm's customer, no ordinary murderer, was Viole Fa- lushe, one of the Demon Princes The essence of the crime was neither "trafficking with a notorious crimi- 1 nal" nor "betrayal of guild secrets," but rather "selling fixed-price poisons at a discount " Kakarsis Asm must die How7 How else7 The longer Alusz Iphigema traveled in the company ofKirth Ger- sen, the less certain she became that she understood his personality. His moods perplexed her, his behavior was a source of misgiving His modesty and self-effacement-were they inversion, brooding cynicism3 His careful politeness-could it be no more than a sin- ister camouflage7 Such questions entered her mind with increasing frequency no matter how staunchly she rejected them On one occasion-the date was July 22, 1526-they sat on the Avente Esplanada in front of the Grand Rotunda, Gersen sought to explain the seeming contradictions of his character "There's really no mystery I've been trained to a certain function It's all I know To justify the training, to fulfill my life, I exercise the func- tion It's as simple as that." Alusz Iphigenia knew the general outlines ofGersen's past The five Demon Princes joining for the historic raid on Mount Pleasant had destroyed or enslaved five thousand men and women Among the handful of survivors were Rolf Gersen and his young grandson Alusz Iphigema realized that such an experience must alter anyone's life, still, she herself had known tragedy and terror "I am not changed," she told Gersen earnestly "I feel neither rage nor hate " illL !^L~t(EOI LOl-L "My grandfather relt the rage and hate," said Gersen in rather a flippant tone ot voice "So far as I'm concerned the hate is ab- stract " '\lus/ Iphigema became e\cn more disturbed "Are you then just a mechanism7 This is rnindtessness, to be the instrument of someone else's hate'" Crersen grinned "That's not quite accurate \\\ grandfather trained me, or rather had me trained, and I am grateful to him. Without the training I would be dead " "He must ha\e been a terrible man, so to warp a child's mind'" "He was a dedicated man," said Gersen "He loved me and assumed I shared his dedication I did and I do " "But what of the future7 Is revenge all you want from life7" " 'Revenge'7 I don't think so I have only one life to live and I know what 1 hope to achieve " "But why not try to achieve the same goals through a lawful agency7 Isn't this a better way7" 2 "There isn't any lawful agency Only the IPCC*, which isn't altogether etfective " " Fhen why not bring the issues before the people of the Con- course, and the other important worlds7 You have the energy, you have more than enough mono) Isn't this better than killing men with your own hands7" Gersen had no rational counterarguments "These aren't my talents," he told her "I work alone at what I do best" "But you could learn'" Gersen shook his head "If [ involve myself with words and harangues, I trap myself, I become futile " Alus/ Iphigema rose to her feet She walked to the balustrade, looked out across the rhaumaturge Ocean Gersen studied the clear profile, the proud stance, as if he had never seen them before The time was approaching when he must lose her, and everything that was eas) and fresh and uncomplicated would leave his life The breeze shifted her bright hair, she was looking down into the blue water, watching the shifting glints and planes ofRigel light Gersen sighed, picked up a newspaper and morosely scanned the frontpage *IPC C Inn_r\u)rld Polin- ( oonim.unm C oinpirn-m thcon .a pn\ )[L or^mi/.mon pri) mim^ the I<)L)I poliLL s\stLins ot tin OikuiiiLiiL sp(.u lli^ul (.onsultltion i cuitril inter nnnon hit Lnniinolo^iLil hhonroriLs in prictiLt l siiptrgoicrnniLnnl igeno oLLisionilh ninu-ninin^ as i bn in irscit I he complin stock is widd\ disscnimircd ind though \ itlilin^ no t^rc it hn inu ll arum is much in dun ind 340 I HP DF MON PRINCFS COSMOLOGISI KILIFD Hyrcan Major Attacks Camping Party Gersen glanced at the text Trovenei, Phrygia, July 21 Johan Scrub, advocate of the star-capture theory which assigns the original parentage of the Concourse Worlds to Blue Compan- ion, yesterday was set upon by an adult hyrcan ma)or, and almost instantly killed Dr Strub and several mem- bers of his family were exploring the Midas Mountains of upper Phrygia and unwittingly crossed the elving- platform of a king beast Before others in his party were able to destroy the eight-foot ogre, Dr Strub had suf- fered fatal blows Dr. Strub is chiefly noted for his efforts to prove that Blue Companion and the twenty-six worlds of the Concourse were originally an independent system which wandered into the gravitational domain of Rigel 3 Such a circumstance would explain the disparity in the ages of the Concourse worlds and Rigel, a compara- tively young star Gersen looked up Alusz Iphigenia had not moved He read on COSMOPOLIS MAGAZINE ABOUT TO BE SOLD Famous Old Journal Faces Extinction Directors Make Last-ditch Efforts at Salvage London, England, Earth, June 25 The ancient firm of Radian Publishing Company today sought a stopgap loan to meet the chronic annual deficit incurred in the publica- tion of Cosmopohs, the 792-year-old magazine devoted to the life and affairs of the civilized universe Sherman Zugweil, Chairman of Radian's Board of Directors, admitted a crisis to be at hand, but announced himself confident of coping with it and keeping the doughty old journal in circulation another eight hundred years THF P iLiCE OF LOIT 341 Alusz Iphtgenu had shifted her position Elbows on the balustrade, chin resting in her hands, she studied the hon/on Contemplating the soft contours, Gersen felt himself softening He now was a man of almost unlimited wealth, the\ could live a life of wonderful ease and pleasure Gersen considered a long minute, then shrugged and looked back to the newspaper S^RKO\^ POISON-VUSIER TO DIF C.UILU RULES \IOL\IFD Pamg, Godoland, Sarkovy, July 12 As if Claris Adam were to he destroyed Alus/ Iphigenia glanced over her shoulder Gersen was reading the newspaper in complete absorption She swung around in outrage. Here was sang-froid indeed While she wrestled with doubts and conflicts, Gersen read a newspaper an act of conspicuous msensi- tivity' Gersen looked up, smiled. His mood had changed. He had comeah\e Alusz Iphigenia's fury ebbed Gersen was a man beyond her understanding, whether he were vastly more subtle than she or vastly more elemental, she would never know Gersen had risen to his feet "We're going on a trip Across space, toward Ophmchus Are vou ready3" "Ready2 You mean now2" "Yes Now W^hynot^ "No reason Yes, I'm ready In two hours " 4 "I'll call the spaceport " The Distis Spaceship Corporation produced nineteen models, ranging from a version of the 9B to the splendid Distis Imperatrix, with a black and gold hull. With funds derived from his epic looting of Interchange* Gersen had purchased a Pharaon, a spacious craft equipped with such niceties as an automatic atmospheric control which during the course of a voyage gradually altered air pressure and composition to match that of the destination. Rigel and the Concourse receded. Ahead lay star-spangled dark- ness. Alusz Iphigenia studied the Star Directory with a puzzled frown. "Ophiuchus isn't a star. It's a sector. Where are we going?" "The sun is Phi Ophiuchi," said Gersen, and after a barely perceptible pause, "the planet is Sarkovy." "Sarkovy?" Alusz Iphigenia looked up quickly. "Isn't that where the poisons come from?" Gersen gave a curt nod. "The Sarkoy are poisoners, no doubt about it." Alusz Iphigenia looked dubiously out the forward port. Ger- sen's haste to leave Alphanor had puzzled her. She had credited a sudden determination to alter his way of life; now she was not so sure. She opened Handbook to the Planets, read the article on Sar- kovy. Gersen stood by the pharmaceutical cabinet, compounding a conditioner against possibly noxious serums, proteins, viruses and bacilli of Sarkovy. 'Interchange an institution of the planet Sasani in the near-Beyond, functioning as a detention depot and broker between kidnappers and those who sought to pay ransom. Gersen had swindled Interchange of ten billion SVU (Standard Value Units). THE PALACE OF LOVE 343 Alusz Iphigenia asked, "Why are you going to this planet? It seems an evil place." "I want to talk to someone," said Gersen in a measured voice. He handed her a cup. "Drink this; you'll avoid itches and scabs." Wordlessly Alusz Iphigenia drank the mixture. There were no formalities at Sarkovy; Gersen landed at Paing Space-port, as close as possible to the depot, a timber structure roofed with varnished reeds. A clerk registered them as visitors, and they were immediately set upon by a dozen men wearing dark brown gowns with bristling fur collars and cuffs. Each protested himself the foremost guide and sponsor of the region. "What do you wish, my sir, my lady? A visit to the village? I am a hetman-" 5 "If it's the sport of harbite you seek, I know of three excellent beasts in furious condition." "Poisons by the dram or pound; I guarantee freshness and pre- cision. Trust me for your poisons!" Gersen looked from face to face. Several of the men were tat- tooed on the cheek with a dark blue Maltese cross; one wore two such tattoos. "Your name?" "I am Edelrod. I know the lore of Sarkovy, marvelous tales. I can make your visit a joy, a period of edification-" Gersen said, "I see you are a venefice of the undermaster cat- egory." "True." Edelrod seemed a trifle crestfallen. "You have visited our world before?" "For a brief period." "You come to replenish your chest? Rest assured, sir, I can guide you to fascinating bargains, absolute novelties." Gersen took Edelrod aside. "You are acquainted with Master Kakarsis Asrn?" "I know him. He is condemned to cooperation." "He is not dead then?" "He dies tomorrow night." "Good," said Gersen. "I will hire you then, provided that your rates are not exorbitant." "I lend my knowledge, my friendship, my protection: all for fifty SVU per day." "Agreed. Well then, our first need is conveyance to the inn." 344 I HE DFMON PRINCES "At once" Edelrod summoned a dilapidated carryall, they bumped and jounced through Pamg to the Poison Inn, a three- stoned structure with walls of poles, a twelve-coned roof sheathed with green glass tiles There was a barbaric grandeur to the great lobby Rugs woven in bold patterns of black, white and scarlet cov- ered the floor, along the wall were pilasters carved to represent attenuated hankap with gaunt sagging faces, vines with green leaves and purple flowers hung from the roof beams Windows thirty feet high overlooked Gorobundur Steppe, with a black-green swamp to the west, a dark forest to the east Meals were to be taken in a vast dining room furnished with tables, chairs and buffets of a dense black wood To Alusz Iphigenia's relief, the kitchen appeared to be operated by outworlders, and they were offered a choice of six cui- sines Alusz Iphigema nevertheless distrusted the food. Tor all we 6 know it's seasoned with some horrid drug." Gersen made light of her qualms "They wouldn't waste good poison on us. I can't guarantee much else This is nomad-style bread, the little black things are reed-berries, and this is some sort of stew or goulash " He tasted it. "I've eaten worse." Alusz Iphigema glumly ate the reed-berries, which had a dank smoky flavor. "How long do you plan to remain here?" she asked politely "Two days or so, provided all goes well " "Your business of course is your own affair, but I feel a certain curiosity-" "There's no mystery. I want information from a man who may not live long." "I see " But it was plain that Alusz Iphigenia felt no great in- terest in Gersen's plans, and she remained in the lobby while Ger- sen sought out Edelrod "I would like to speak with Kakarsis Asm Can this be ar- ranged3" Edelrod pulled thoughtfully at his long nose "A ticklish matter He must cooperate with the guild, such men are guarded carefully, for obvious reasons Of course I can try to make arrangements Is expense a critical factor3" "Naturally I expect to pay no more than fifty SVU into the guild treasury, another fifty to the Guild-master and perhaps twenty or thirty to you " Edelrod pursed his lips He was a plump man of uncertain age THE PALACE OF LOVE 345 with a pelt of soft, heavy black hair "Your largesse is not of the regal variety The people of Sarkovy respect reckless liberality above all other virtues " "If I understand the signs correctly," said Gersen, "I have sur- prised you by the money I seem willing to spend The amounts I mentioned are the top limit If you can't arrange matters at these rates I will inquire of someone else " "I can only do my best," said Edelrod despondently "Please wait in the lobby, I will make inquiries." Gersen went to sit beside Alusz Iphigenia, who pointedly asked no questions .. Edelrod presently returned with a )ubilant expres- sion "I have set affairs in motion The cost will be very little more than the figures you suggested " And he snapped his fingers exul- tantly 7 "I have had second thoughts," said Gersen "I don't care to speak to Master Asm " Edelrod became agitated "But it is feasible I have approached the Guild-master'" "Perhaps on another occasion " Edelrod made a sour grimace "Foregoing all personal gain, I might arrange matters for some trifling sum-two hundred SVU or thereabout" "The information is of no great value I am leaving tomorrow for Kadaing, where my old friend Master Venefice Coudirou can settle everything for me " Edelrod raised his eyebrows and allowed his eyes to bulge "Why then, this alters all' You should have mentioned your con- nection with Coudirou I believe the Guild-master will accept sub- stantially less than his previous demand " "You know my top figure," said Gersen. "Very well," sighed Edelrod "The interview may be conducted later this afternoon In the meantime what are your wishes^ Would you care to explore the countryside5 The weather is fine, the woods are ablaze with flowers, sultnes, pop-barks, there is a well-drained path " Alusz Iphigenia, who had been restless, rose to her feet Edelrod led them along a path which crossed a brackish river and plunged into the forest. The vegetation was a typical Sarkovy melange trees, shrubs, cycads, bubble-shells, grasses of a hundred varieties The high fo- 546 THP DEMON PRINCES hage was for the most part black and brown, with occasional splotches of red; below were purples, greens, pale blues. Edelrod enlivened the stroll with a discussion of various plants beside the way. He indicated a small gray fungus. "Here is the source oftwi- tus, an excellent selective poison, fatal only if ingested twice within a week. It ranks in this respect with mervan, which migrates harm- lessly to the skin, and becomes a lethal principle only upon exposure to direct sunlight. I have known persons who fearing mervan kept to their tents for days on end." They came to a little clearing. Edelrod looked sharply in all directions. "I have no overt enemies, but several people have died here recently . . . Today all seems well. Notice this tree growing to the side." He pointed to a slender white-barked sapling with round yellow leaves. "Some call it the coin-tree, others the good-for- nought. It is completely inoffensive, either as a primary or an op- erative. You might ingest the whole of it leaves, bark, pith, roots, and note nothing other than a sluggishness of digestion. Recently 8 one of our venefices became irritated at such insipidity. He made an intensive study of the coin-tree, and after several years finally derived a substance of unusual potency. To be useful it must be dissolved in methycm and wafted into the air as a fog or a mist, whence it enters the corpus through the eyes, causing first blind- ness, then numbness, then complete paralysis. Think of it' From waste, a useful and effective poison' Is this not a tribute to human persistence and ingenuity3" "An impressive accomplishment," said Gersen. Alusz Iphigema remained silent. Edelrod went on: "We are frequently asked why we persist in deriving our poisons from natural sources. Why do we not immure ourselves in laboratories and synthesize3 The answer is of course that natural poisons, being initially associated with living tissue, are the more effective." "I would suspect the presence of catalyzing impurities in the natural poisons," Gersen suggested, "rather than metaphysical as- sociation." Edelrod held up a minatory finger. "Never scoff at the role of the mind' Eor instance-let me see-there should be one some- where near . Yes. See there-the little reptile." Under a mottled white and blue leaf rested a small lizardlike creature. THE PALACE OF LOW 347 "This is the meng. From one of his organs comes a substance which can be distributed either as uigar or as furux. The same sub- stance, mind you' But when sold as uigar and used as such, the symptoms are spasms, biting off of the tongue and a frothing mad- ness. When sold and used as furux, the interskeletal cartilage is dissolved so that the frame goes limp WTiat do you say to that3 Is that not metaphysics of the most exalted sort3" "Interesting, certainly . • . Hm . . . What occurs when the sub- stance is sold and used as, say for the sake of argument, water^" Edelrod pulled at his nose. "An interesting experiment. I won- der . .. But the proposal encases a fallacy. W^ho would buy and ad- minister an expensive vial of water?" "The suggestion was poorly thought out," admitted Gersen. Edelrod made an indulgent gesture. "Not at all, not at all. From |ust such apparent folly come notable variations. The graybloom, for instance. Who would have ever suspected the virtue to be de- rived from its perfume, until Grand Master Strubal turned it upside down and left it in the dark for a month, whereupon it became tox meratis? One waft will kill; the venefice need merely walk past his subject." 9 Alusz Iphigema stooped to pick up a small rounded pebble of quartz. "WTiat horrible substance do you produce from this stone3" Edelrod looked away, half embarrassed. "None whatever. At least none to my knowledge. Though we use such pebbles in ball mills to crush photis seed to flour. Never fear; your pebble is not so useless as it seems." Alusz Iphigema tossed it away in disgust. "Unbelievable," she muttered, "that people should dedicate themselves to such activity." Edelrod shrugged. "We serve a useful purpose, everyone oc- casionally needs poison. We are capable of this excellence and we feel duty-bound to pursue it." He inspected Alusz Iphigema with curiosity. "Have you no skills of your own3" "No." "At the hotel you may buy a booklet entitled Primer to the An of Preparing and Using Poisons, and I believe it includes a small kit of some basic alkaloids. If you are interested m developing a skill-" "Thank you. I have no such inclination." Edelrod made a polite gesture, as if to acknowledge that each must steer his own course through life. They continued; in due course the forest thinned, the path IW DKMON PRINCES turned out upon the steppe. At the edge of town stood a long eight- coned structure of iron-bound timber with ten iron doors facing to the steppe Across an area of packed clay were hundreds of small booths and shops. "The caravanserai," explained Edelrod. "This is the seat of the Comenance, from which the )udgmencs come." He pointed to a platform at the top of the caravanserai, where four caged men gazed disconsolately down into the square. "To the t-ar right stands Kakarsis Asm." "Can I speak to him now3" Gersen asked. "I will go to inquire. Wait, if you please, at this booth, where my grandmother will prepare you a fine tea." Alusz Iphigenia looked dubiously at the appurtenances of the booth. On a plank a brass urn bubbled furiously, flanked by brass drinking pots. Shelves displayed a hundred glass jars containing herbs, roots and substances impossible to identify. "All clean and salubrious," Edelrod declared cheerfully. "Rest and invigorate yourselves. 1 will return with good news." Alusz Iphigenia wordlessly seated herself on a bench. After con- sultation with Edelrod's grandmother, Gersen procured pots of mildly stimulating verbena tea. They watched a caravan trundling in from the steppe, first an eight-wheeled wagon carrying the 10 shrine, the cabin of the hetman and brass tanks of water. Behind were several dozen other wagons-some large, some small-motors rumbling, clacking, whining. All carried astounding superstructures at the very peak of which were tented living quarters, with goods and bales loaded below. Some men rode motorcycles, others lounged on the wagons, which were driven by old women or slaves of the tribe. Children ran behind, rode bicycles or dangled peril- ously from the understructure. The caravan halted; women, children arranged tripods, hung up cauldrons and began to prepare a meal, while slaves unloaded goods from the wagons: furs, rare woods, bundles of herbs, chunks of agate and opal, caged birds, tubs of raw gums and poisons, and two captive hankap, the near-intelligent creature which furnished the Sarkov sport known as harbite Meanwhile the men of the tribe gathered in a quiet suspicious cluster to drink tea and glower toward the ba/aar where they expected to be cheated. Edelrod stepped briskly forth from the caravanserai. Gersen grumbled to Alusz Iphigenia, "Here he comes with six reasons wh) the business will cost more money." THE PALACE OF LOVE Edelrod procured an infusion of scorched a)ol from his grand- mother. He sat down and silently began to sip. "Well?" asked Gersen. Edelrod sighed, shook his head. "My arrangements have been for naught. The Chief Monitor declares the interview impossible." "Just as well," said Gersen. "I only wished to bring him the condolences ofViole Falushe. It will make small difference one way or another. WTiere will he cooperate?" "At the Poison Inn, as diversion for the Convenance, which currently is in residence at Pamg." "Perhaps I will have a chance to utter a few words there, or at least make a reassuring signal," said Gersen. "Well, then, let us look through the bazaar." Subdued and depressed, Edelrod took them through the bazaar. Only in the Poison Quarter did he recover his animation, and pointed here and there to bargains and especially noteworthy prep- arations. He seized a ball of gray wax. "Observe this deadly mate- rial. I handle it without fear: I am immunized^ But if you were to rub it on an article belonging to your enemy-his comb, his ear- scraper-he is as good as gone. Another application is to spread a film over your identification papers. Then, should an overofficious administrator hector you, he is contaminated and pays for his in- solence." Alusz Iphigenia took a deep breath. "How does a Sarkoy survive to become an adult?" 11 "Two words," Edelrod replied, holding two fingers didactically high. "Caution, immunity. I am immune to thirty poisons. I carry indicators and alarms to warn ofcluthe, meratis, black-tox and vole. I observe the most punctilious caution in eating, smelling, donning garments, bedding with a strange female. Ha-ha. Here is a favorite trick, and the ovenmpulsive lecher finds himself in difficulties. But to go on. I am cautious in these situations and also in passing down- wind of a covert, even though I have no fear of meratis. Caution has become second nature. If I suspect that I have or am about to have an enemy, I cultivate his friendship and poison him to diminish the risk." "You will live to become an old man," said Gersen. Edelrod reverently made a circular motion with his two hands, moving in opposite directions, to symbolize a halting ofGodogma's wheel. "Let us hope so. And here"-he pointed to a bulb contain- THE D£ MON PRINCES ing white powder-"cluthe Useful, versatile, effective If you need poison, buy here " "I have cluthe," said Gersen, "though it may be somewhat stale " "Discard it, or you will be disappointed," Edelrod told him earnestly "It will merely provoke suppurating sores and gangrene " He turned to the dealer "Your stock is fresh7" "Fresh indeed, fresh as the morning dew After a bout of heated bargaining, Gersen bought a small casket of cluthe Alusz Iphigema stood with her back turned, her head at an angle of angry disapproval "Now then," said Gersen, "back to the hotel " Edelrod said tentatively, "A thought occurs to me Were I to bring the monitors a cask of high-quality tea, at a cost of perhaps twenty or thirty SVU, they might well allow your visit " "By all means Make them such a gift " "You will naturally reimburse me7" "What7 When you already have been conceded a lavish hun- dred and twenty SVU7" Edelrod made an impatient gesture "You do not realize the difficulties'" He snapped his fingers petulantly "Very well So be it My friendship for you impels me to sacrifice Where is the money7" "Here is fifty The remainder after the interview " "What of the lady7 WTiere will she wait3" 12 "Not here in the bazaar. The nomads might consider her part of the merchandise." Edelrod chuckled "Such events have been known But have no apprehension' She is under the aegis of Submaster Iddel Edelrod. She is as safe as a two-hundred-ton statue of a dead dog " But Gersen insisted on hiring a conveyance and sending Alusz Iphigema back to the Poison Inn Edelrod then conducted Gersen into the caravanserai, through a set of halls, up to the roof Six monitors hulked on stools beside a bubbling cauldron Hitching fur collars up around their necks, they glanced incuriously at Edelrod, then turning back to their tea, muttered among themseKes evi- dently a satiric observation, for they all gave hoarse caws of amuse- ment Gersen approached the cage of Kakarsis Asm, one-time Master Venehce, now condemned to cooperation Asm was somewhat taller THE PALACE OF LOVE 351 than the average Sarkoy, though still bulky through chest and belly. His head was long, narrow in the forehead, broad at the cheek- bones, heavy at the mouth A thick black pelt grew low down his forehead, his lank black mustache drooped dispiritedly. In keeping with his criminal status, he wore no shoes, and his feet, tattooed with wheels in the traditional fashion, were mottled pink and blue with cold Edelrod addressed Asm in a peremptory voice "Villainous dog, here is a nobleman from off-world who deigns to inspect you Be on your best behavior " Asm raised his hand as if he were casting poison, Edelrod jumped back with a startled oath, and Asm laughed. Gersen turned to Edelrod "Wait to the side I wish to speak privately to Master Asm." Edelrod grudgingly withdrew. Asm, seating himself on a stool, inspected Gersen with eyes like flints. "I have paid to speak to you," said Gersen "In fact I come from Alphanor for this purpose " Asm made no response. "Has Viole Falushe made representations on your behalf" asked Gersen A gleam shone behind the near opacity of the eyes "You come from Viole Falushe3" "No " The gleam died. "It would seem," said Gersen, "that having involved you in wrongdoing, he should likewise be here, sentenced to cooperation " 13 "There's an agreeable thought," said Asm "I don't fully understand the crime You were caged and sen- tenced because you sold to a notorious cnnnnaP" Asm snorted, spat into a corner of the cage "How should I recognize him as Viole Falushe7 I knew him long ago under a dif- ferent name He has changed, he is unrecognizable " "WTly then should you be sentenced to cooperation3" "The decretal was clear enough The Guild-master had pre- pared a special price schedule for Viole Falushe All unaware I sold him two drams of patziglop and a dram of vole, little enough, but there can be no remission. The Guild-master has long been my enemy, though he has never dared to test my poisons " He spat again, glanced reflectively sidewise at Gersen. "W^hy should I talk with you7" I HI- DLMON PRINCES 352 "Because I will undertake that you die by alpha or beta, rather than cooperation." Asm gave a sad sardonic snort of regret. "With Guild-master Peti-us on the scene7 Small chance. He wishes to test his new py- rong. "Guild-master Petrus can be persuaded. By money if no other means. Asm shrugged "I expect little, but what then7 I lose nothing by talk. What do you wish to know?" "I take it Viole Falushe has departed the planet7" "Long ago." "Where and when did you know him previously5" "Long ago. How many years? Twenty7 Thirty7 A long time. He was then a slaver, but very young. No more than a boy. Indeed, he was the youngest slaver I had yet known. He arrived in a rickety old ship bulging with young girls, all fearful of his wrath. Would you believe it7 They were happy to be sold to me'" Asm shook his head in wonder. "A terrible young man' He quaked and quivered with the force of his passions Today he is different. The passion is still terrible, but Viole Falushe has grown to surround it. He is a different man." "WTiat was his name when you first knew him7" 14 Asm shook his head. "It escapes me. I do not know Perhaps I never knew. He traded two fine girls for money and poison. They cried with relief to leave the ship The others cried from their ill- fortune. Ah, what sobbing'" Asm gave his head a wry shake. "Inga and Dundine were their names. How they would chatter' They knew the lad well and never tired of reviling him." "What became of them7 Do they still live?" "There I am ignorant." Asm )umped to his feet, strode back and forth, returned as abruptly to his stool. "I was called south to Sogmere. I sold the girls. There was little depreciation, I had only used them two years." "Who bought them?" "It was Gascovne the Wholesaler, of Murchison's Star. I can tell no more, for this is all I know." "And where was the first home of the girls7" "Earth " Gersen ruminated J moment. "And Viole Falushe as he is now-what is his description7" THE PALACE OF LOVE "He is a tall man, well-favored. His hair is dark. He has no remarkable or distinguishing features. I knew him when his mad- ness was rampant, when it altered the look of his face. Now he is careful and polite. He speaks softly. He smiles. His condition might never be known, unless, like me, you had known him as a lad." Gersen asked further questions, Asm was unable to augment his remarks. Gersen prepared to depart Asm, feigning indifference, said, "You intend to speak to Guild-master Petrus on my behalf?" "Yes." Asm thought a moment. He opened his mouth and spoke, as if it were an effort. "Be careful. He is a positive man, and baleful. If you thrust at him over-strongly, he will poison you." "Thank you," said Gersen. "I hope to be able to help you." He signaled Edelrod, who had watched with poorly disguised curiosity. "Take me to Guild-master Petrus." Edelrod led Gersen down into the caravanserai, through one crooked hall after another, finally to a room hung with yellow silk. On a cushion sat a thin man with intricately tattooed cheeks ex- amining a row of small flagons "An outworld gentleman to speak to the Guild-master," said Edelrod. The thin man hopped erect, approached Gersen, carefully smelled his hands, patted his garments, inspected his tongue and 15 teeth. "One moment." He disappeared behind the silks. Presently he returned to signal Gersen. "This way, if you will " Gersen entered a high window less chamber-so high indeed the ceiling could not be seen. Four spherical lamps hanging low on long chains threw an oily yellow light On the table the ubiquitous brass cauldron bubbled. The air was heavy with warmth and odor. must, fabric, leather, sweat, the sharp dry exhalation of herbs. Guild-master Petrus had been sleeping. Now he was awake, and leaning forward from his couch, tossed herbs into a pot and pre- pared an infusion. He was an old man with bright black eyes, a pallid skin. He greeted Gersen with a quick nod. Gersen said, "You're an old man." "I have one hundred and ninety-four Earth years." "How much longer do you expect to live7" "Six years at least, or so I hope. Many men wish me poisoned." "On the roof four criminals await execution Are all to coop- erate7" IIIL DI MON FRINCFS "'Ml T have a dozen new poisons to test, as have other Masters ot the Guild " "I have assured Asm that he will die by alpha or beta " "You must have the gift of perceiving miracles I myself am a skeptic The arrogance ot- Asm has long been a blemish upon the region He now must cooperate with the Guild Standards Com- mittee " Gersen eventually paid 42') SVU that Asm might die by alpha Edelrod, somewhat sulky, met Gersen in the hall 1 hey set orf through Paing by streets lined with tall timber huts on stilts, the facade of each hut constructed to represent a visage doleful, sat- urnine or astounded, and so the} returned to the Poison Inn Alus/ Iphigenia was in her room, Gersen decided not to disturb her He bathed in a wooden vat, went down to the lobby to look out across the steppe Dusk blurred the landscape, the wheeled poles were black intricate silhouettes Gersen ordered a pot of tea and with nothing better to do reflected on the condition of his life By ordinary standards he was a fortunate man, wealthy beyond the grasp of the mind What of the future2 Suppose that by some freak of fortune he was able to achieve his goal, with the five Demon Princes destroyed, what then2 Could he integrate himself into the normal flow of existence3 Or had he become so distorted that always, to the end of his days, he must seek out men to destroy Gersen gave a gnm chuckle Unlikely that he would survive to confront the problem In the 16 meantime, what had he learned from Asm2 Only that twenty or thirty years ago a young madman had sold a pair of girls, Dundme and Inga, to Asm, who later sold them to Gascoyne the Wholesaler of Vlurchison's Star Next to nothing Except that Dundine and Inga knew their kidnaper well and "never ceased to revile him " Alusz Iphigenia appeared She ignored Gersen and went to look out over the dark steppe, where now one or two far lights flickered In the sk\ appeared a purple glow, a bank of white lights, and a packet of the Robarth Hercules Line descended to the field Alus/ Iphigenia watched a row moments, then turned and came to sit by Gersen, holding herself stiffly erect She shook her head at his offer of tea "How long must vou stay here2" "Only until tomorrow night " "Whv may not we leave now2 \ou have conrerred with your friend, you have bought vour poison " THL PAL4C E OF LOVE 355 As if in response to her question Edelrod appeared bowing in absurd punctilio Tonight he wore a long gown of green cloth, a tall fur cap "Health and immunity'" he greeted them "Do you attend the poisonings2 1 hey are scheduled for the hotel rotunda, for the education of gathered notables " "Tonight I thought they were tomorrow night " "The date has been set forward, by a whirl of Crodogma's wheel 'I omght the rogues must cooperate " "We will be there," said Gersen Alusz Iphigenia rose swiftly to her feet, departed the lobby Gersen found her in her room "Are you angry with me2" "Not angry I am utterly bewildered I can't understand your morbid fascination with these horrible people Death " "That isn't a fair statement The people live by a system dif- ferent from ours I am interested I live by my ability to avoid death I might learn something to help me survive " "But you don't need this knowledge' You have a vast fortune, ten billion SVU in cash-" "No longer " "No longer2 Have you lost it2" "The vast fortune is no longer cash There now exists an anon- ymous corporation of which I own the stock The money yields a daily income, a million SVU more or less Still a vast fortune, of course " 17 "W^ith all this money you need not involve yourself Hire mur- derers to do your work Hire the disgusting Edelrod For money he would poison his mother'" "Any murderer I could hire could be hired to murder me But there is another consideration I don't care for notoriety or public- ity To be effective I must be unknown, a nonentity I fear I have already been noted by the Institute, and this would be a great mis- fortune " Alusz Iphigenia spoke with great earnestness "You are ob- sessed You are a monomaniac' This concentration on lethahty, effectiveness, masters you completely'" Gersen forbore to point out that this same effectiveness and lethahtv had preserved her existence on several occasions "You have other capacities," Alusz Iphigenia went on "You have sensibilities, even frivolities You never indulge them You are THE DEMON PRINCKS 356 spiritually starved, crippled. You think only of power, death, poison, devious plots, revenge!" Gerscn was startled by her vehemence. The accusations were distorted far enough of the mark that they carried no sting; still if she believed them, what a monster he must appear in her eyes! Soothingly he replied, "What you say simply isn't true. Maybe some day you'll know this, maybe some day. . ." Gersen's voice dwindled, in the face of the angry shake Alusz Iphigenia gave her head which sent her gold-brown hair flying. Additionally, what he was about to sav, now that he considered it, seemed somewhat im- probable, even absurd: talk of relaxation, a home, a family. Alusz Iphigenia spoke in a cold voice: "What then of me?" "I have no right to rule your life or disturb you," said Gersen. "You have only one life; you must make the best of it." Alusz Tphigenia rose to her feet, calm and composed. Sadly Gersen went to his own room. Still, in a sense, the quarrel was welcome. Perhaps, motivated subconsciously, he had brought her to Sarkovy to indicate the direction his life must go, to give her the option of detaching herself. Somewhat to his surprise she appeared for dinner, though grim and pale. The dining room was crowded; everywhere were the fur collars and black-furred pates of Sarkoy notables. Tonight an unusual number of women were present, in their peculiar purple, brown and black gowns, weighed down with necklaces, bangles, hair-pieces of turquoise and jade. In one corner sat a large group of tourists from the excursion ship which had put into Paing earlier in the 18 -the occasion, Gersen decided, for the advancement of the evenms poisonings. By their costumes the tourists were from one of the Concourse planets-Alphanor, to judge by their beige and gray skin toning. At Gersen's elbow appeared Edelrod. "Aha, Lord Gersen! A pleasure to see you here. May I join you and your lovely lady? I may be able to assist for the poisonings." Taking Gersen's assent for granted he seated himself at the table. "Tonight a banquet of six courses, Sarkoy style. I recommend that you attempt it. You are here on our wonderful planet, you must enjoy it to the hilt. I am pleased to be present. All goes well tonight, I trust?" "Quite well, thank you." Edelrod spoke correctly-tonight only the Sarkoy cuisine was offered. The first course was served: a pale green broth of swamp THE PALACE OF LOVE 357 produce, rather bitter, accompanied by stalks of deep-fried reed, a salad of celery root, whortle-berry and shreds of pungent black bark. As they ate, porters carried four posts out upon the terrace, set them upright into sockets. The second course appeared: a ragout of pale meat in coral sauce, heavily seasoned, with side dishes of jellied plantain, crystal- lized jaoic, a local fruit. Alusz Iphigenia ate without great appetite; Gersen felt no hun- ger whatever. The third course was set before them: collops of perfumed paste on disks of chilled melon, accompanied by what appeared to be small mollusks in spiced oil. As the platters were being removed in preparation for the fourth course, the criminals were led out on the terrace, where they stood blinking into the lights. They were naked except for heavy padded collars, bulky mattress-like gloves, a tight girdle around the waist. Each was attached to a post by six feet of chain. Alusz Iphigenia looked them over with se-eming indifference. "These are the criminals? WTiat are their offenses?" Edelrod looked up from the battery of bowls which had just been set before him, containing a hash of crushed insects and cereal, pickles, a plum-colored conserve and pellets of fried meat. Appre- hending the question he glanced at the criminals. "There is Asm who betrayed the guild. Next is a nomad who committed a sexual offense." Alusz Iphigenia laughed incredulously. "On Sarkoy is this pos- sible?" Edelrod gave her a look of pained reproach. "The third threw sour milk on his grandmother. The fourth dishonored a fetish." 19 Alusz Iphigenia wore a puzzled expression. She glanced at Ger- sen to learn whether or not Edelrod were serious. Gersen said, "The offenses seem arbitrary, but some of our restraints seem strange to the folk of Sarkovy." "Precisely the case," stated Edelrod. "Every planet has its own rules. I am appalled at the insensitivity of certain folk who come here from other worlds. Avarice is a typical offense. On Sarkovy one man's property is the property of all. Money? It is distributed without a second thought. Unstinting generosity excites approval!" And he looked expectantly toward Gersen, who only smiled. Alusz Iphigenia had let the fourth course go untasted. The fifth 358 THE DEMON PRINCES course was served: a wafer of baked pastry on which were arranged three large steamed centipedes with a garnish of a chopped blue vegetable and a dish of glossy-black paste, which gave off an acrid aromatic odor. Alusz Iphigenia rose to her feet, departed the dining room. Edelrod looked after her solicitouslv. "She is not well?" "I fear not." "A pity." Edelrod attacked his food with gusto. "The meal is by no means at its end." To the terrace came four undermasters from the guild and a Master Venefice, to direct proceedings and make analytic com- ments. All seemed in readiness for the poisonings. The undermasters set a tabouret in front of each of the criminals, with the poisons arranged in white saucers. "The first subject," called forth the Master Venefice, "is one Kakarsis Asm. In requital for manipulations deleterious to the guild, he has agreed to test a variation of that activant known as 'alpha.' When ingested orally, alpha almost instantly shocks the main spinal ganglion. Tonight we test alpha in a new solvent, which may well result in the most rapid lethality yet discovered by man. Criminal Asm, cooperate, if you please." Kakarsis Asm rolled his eyes to right and left. The undermaster stepped forward; Kakarsis Asm opened his mouth, gulped the dose and a second or two later was dead. "Amazing!" declared Edelrod. "Something new every week." The executions proceeded, the Master Venefice supplying in- formative details. The sexual offender tried to kick poison into the undermaster's face and was reprimanded; otherwise the poisonings proceeded smoothly. The sixth course, an elaborate salad, was fol- lowed by teas, infusions and trays of sweetmeats, and the banquet was at an end. 20 Gersen slowly went up to the suite. Alusz Iphigenia had packed her belongings. Gersen stood by the door, puzzled by a sudden gleam of panic in Alusz Iphigenia's eyes, unaware that against the white woodwork he appeared a dark sinister shape. Alusz Iphigenia spoke in a breathless rush, "The excursion ship is returning to Alphanor. 1 have booked passage. We must go our own ways." Gersen was silent for a moment. Then he said: "There is money in your bank account. I'll see that more is paid into it, as is THE PALACE OF LOVE 359 much as you'll ever need ... If an emergency arises, if there are inadequate funds, notify the bank manager. He'll make the neces- sary arrangements." Alusz Iphigenia said nothing. Gersen went to the door. "Should you ever need help . . ." Alusz Iphigenia gave a short nod. "I'll remember." "Good-bye then," "Good-bye." Gersen went to his own room, where he lay on his bed, hands behind his head. So ended a pleasant passage in his life. Never again, he told himself, never would he involve a woman with the dark necessities of his life: especially one so honorable and generous and kind . . . Early in the morning the Robarth-Hercules packet departed with Alusz Iphigenia aboard. Gersen went to the space port, signed the exit register, paid a departure tax, pressed a gratuity upon Edel- rod and departed Sarkovy. 3 From Handbook to the Planets; 348th edition. 1525: ALOYSIUS: Sixth planet to Vega. Planetary constants: diameter-7340 miles; sidereal day-19.8 hours; mass- .86;... Aloysius with its sister planets, Boniface and Cuth- bert, were the first worlds to be intensively colonized 21 from Earth. Aloysius hence presents aspects of consid- erable antiquity, the more so that the first settlers, a dynamic group of Conservationists, refused to build structures not in harmony with the landscape. The Conservationists are gone, but their influence lingers. The pretentious glass towers of Alphanor and Earth, the concrete of Olliphane, the unbridled confu- sion which has overtaken the Markab system: these are nowhere to be seen. The axis ofAJovsius is inclined at an angle of 31.7 degrees to its plane of orbit; hence, there are seasonal fluctuations of notable seventy, mollified somewhat by a dense atmosphere. There are nine continents. Dorgan is the largest, with New Wexford its chief city. Owing to a calculated policy of low taxes and favorable regu- lations, New Wexford has long functioned as an im- portant financial center, with an influence far in excess of its population. The autochthonous flora and fauna are not partic- ularly noteworthy. Through intensive effort by the original settlers, terrestrial trees and shrubs are wide- THE PALACE OF LOVE spread, the conifers especially finding a hospitable en- vironment. Landing formalities at Aloysius were as rigorous as those of Sar- kovy were lax. At a distance of a million miles, the "first shell," Gersen announced his intention to land, identified himself and his ship, gave references, explained the reasons for his visit, and was allowed to approach the "second shell" at a distance of a half- million miles. Here he waited while his application was studied, his references checked. He was then ordered down into the "third shell," a hundred thousand miles above the planet, and here, after a brief delay, he was given landing clearance. The formalities were irksome, but not to be avoided. Had Gersen neglected to halt at the first shell, weapons would have been trained on his ship. Had he failed to heed the second shell a Thribolt gun would have fired a salvo of adhesive-paper disks at his ship. Had he then failed to halt, he and his ship would have been destroyed.* Gersen complied with all necessary regulations, received clear- ance and landed at the Dorgan Central Spaceport. New Wexford lay twenty miles north, a city of crooked streets, steep hills and old buildings of almost medieval aspect. The banks, brokerage houses, exchanges occupied the center of the city, with hotels, shops and agencies on the surrounding hills, and some of the finest private homes in the Oikumene scattered about the sur- rounding countryside. Gersen checked into the vast Congreve Hotel, bought news- 22 *The Thnholt gun shoots a Jarnell-puwered pru)ectile toward its target \ quest-needle protrudes a hundred and sixty feet ahead of the pro)ecnle, at the so-called preliminary roil section of the intersplit, and is in tenuous contact with undisturbed space Upon encoun- tering matter, the quest-needle disengages the intersplit and triggers its charge either adhesive paper disks or high explosives In effect the Thnbolt gun is an instantaneous weapon over last distances, its effectiveness limited only by the accuracy of the aiming and launching techniques, since once in flight the pro)ectile cannot change direction On every technically competent world, methods of guiding the Thnholt pro|cctile by automatic sensors are under intensive study, and have been since the development of the original weapon The most promising system is to fi\ upon the distance of the target by conventional radar, drive the pru]ectile by mtersplit for a very brief period, in order to bring it into space near the target, upon which it then Likes a new fix I liners of great delicacy and dependability are necessary, together with the utmost discretion on the part of the launchers, for there is nothing to prevent the pro[ectile, once it leaves the intersplit, from fixing upon a new target which inconveniently happens to be cruising close at hand None of the secondary or tertiary systems are considered trustworthy and are used only under special circumstances niL DI-MON PRINCFS 362 papers, ate a placid lunch. The life of the city flowed past him: mercantilists in their consciously archaic garb, aristocrats from Boniface, anxious only to return, occasional!) a citizen ofCuthhert, conspicuous for the eccentric flair of his garments and his glossy depilated head Farth-folk at the Congreve could be identified by somber garments and an indefinable self-assurance-a quality the citi/.ens of the outer worlds found exasperating no less than the geocentric term "outer worlds" itself Gersen relaxed. The atmosphere of New Wexford was sooth- ing, everywhere were reassuring evidences of solidity, good-living, law and order, he liked the steep streets, the stone and iron build- ings, which now, after more than a thousand years, could no longer be denigrated as "self-conscious quaintene," the Cuthbertian epi- thet. 23 Gersen had paid one previous visit to New Wexford. Two weeks of discreet investigation had then pointed to one Jehan Ad- dels of Trans-Space Investment Corporation as an economist of extraordinary resource and acumen. Gersen had called Addels by public telephone, blanking his own image. Addels was a youngish man, slight of body, with a long quizzical face, a balding scalp which he had not troubled to have rehaired. "Addels here." "I am someone you don't know; my name is irrelevant. I believe you are employed by Trans-Space?" "Correct." "How^ much do they pay you2" "Sixty thousand, plus some fringe benefits," Addels replied without embarrassment, though he was talking to a stranger over a blank screen. "Why'-" "I'd like to hire you in a similar capacity at a hundred thousand, with a monthly raise of a thousand, and a bonus even' five years of, say, a inillion SVU." "The terms are appealing," Addels replied dryly. "Who are you?" "I prefer to remain anonymous," said Gersen. "If you insist, I'll meet you and explain as much as you like Essentially, what you need to know is that I am not a criminal, the money I want you to handle has not been acquired contrary to the laws of New Wex- ford " "Hm. How much is the sum in question7 What securities are represented7" THE PAL4CE OF LOVT. 363 "Ten billion SVU, m cash " "Whisht'" breathed Jehan Addels. "WTwre-" a flicker of an- noyance crossed his face and he broke off his sentence. Jehan Addels liked to think of himself as imperturbable. He continued. "This is an extraordinary amount of money. I can't believe it was accumu- lated by conventional means." "I haven't said this. The money came from Beyond, where con- ventions don't exist." Addels smiled thinly. "And no laws. Hence, no legality. And no criminals. Still, the source of your funds is no concern of mine. Exactly what do you wish done7" "I want the money invested to yield income, but I want to call no attention to the money. 1 want no rumors, no publicity. I want 24 the money invested without causing even a ripple of notice." "Difficult." Addels reflected a moment. "Not impossible, how- ever-if the program is properly planned." "This is at your discretion. You will control the entire opera- tion, sub)ect to an occasional suggestion from me. Naturally you may hire a staff, though the staff is to be told nothing." "Small problem there. I know nothing." "You are agreeable to my terms?" "Certainly, if the whole business is not a hoax. I can't avoid becoming an extremely wealthy man, both from my salary and from investments 1 can make collateral with yours. But I will believe it when I see the money. Presumably it is not counterfeit." "Your own fake-meter will assure you of this." "Ten billion SVU," mused Addels. "An enormous sum, which might well be expected to tempt even an honest man. How do you know I won't embezzle from you?" "I understand that you are not only a cautious man, but a man of discipline. Also, you should have no inducement to embezzle. Otherwise I have no safeguards." Jehan Addels gave his head a crisp nod. "W^here is the money3" "It will be delivered wherever you like. Or you can come to the Congreve Hotel and pick it up yourself." "The situation is not all that simple. Suppose I should die over- night3 How would you recover your money2 If you should die, how would I learn of the fact? What disposition would I then make of this \ast sum, presuming that it exists2" "Come to Suite Six-fifty at the Congreve Hotel. I'll give you 364 THE DEMON PRINCES the money and we'll make arrangements for any immediate contin- gencies." Jehan Addels appeared in Gersen's suite half an hour later. He inspected the money, which was contained in two large cases, checked a few of the notes with his fake-meter, and shook his head in awe. "This is a tremendous responsibility. I could give you a receipt, but it would be a meaningless formality." "Take the money," said Gersen. "Tomorrow, include in your will an instruction that in the event of your death, the money is mine. If I die, or do not communicate with you within a year, use the income for charitable purposes. But I expect to be back in New Wexford within two or three months. Hereafter, I will communi- cate with you only by telephone, using the name Henry Lucas." 25 "Very well," said Addels rather heavily. "I think this takes care of all contingencies." "Remember, absolute discretion! Not even your family must know the details of your new occupation." "As you wish." The next morning Gersen had departed Aloysius for Alphanor. Now, three months later, he was back in New Wexford, again at the Congreve Hotel. Going to a public telephone, blanking the screen as before, he tapped out Jean Addels' call-number. The screen burst into a pat- tern of green leaves and pink briar roses. A female voice spoke: "Braemar Investment Company." "Mr. Henry Lucas to speak to Mr. Addels." "Thank you." Addels' face appeared on the screen. "Addels." "This is Henry Lucas." Addels leaned back in his chair. "I am happy-and I may say, relieved-to hear from you." "The line is clear?" Addels checked his anti-eavesdrop meter and blinker light. "All clear." "How are matters progressing?" "Well enough." Addels proceeded to describe his arrange- ments. He had paid the cash into ten numbered accounts in as many banks, five in New Wexford, five on Earth, and was gradually con- verting the cash into income-producing investments, using enor- THE PALACE OF LOVE 365 mous delicacy to avoid sending tremors along the sandpapered nerves of the financial world. "I had not comprehended the magnitude of the job when I undertook it," said Addels. "It is simply staggering! Mind you, I am not complaining. I could not ask for a more interesting or more challenging Job. But investing ten billion SVU discreetly is like jumping into water without getting wet. I am putting together a staff merely to handle details of investigation and management. Eventually, for maximum efficiency, I think we will be forced to become a bank, or perhaps several banks." 26 "WTiatever is most appropriate," said Gersen. "In the mean- time, I have a special job for you." Addels instantly became wary. "And what is this Job?" "Recently I've been reading that the Radian Publishing Com- pany, which publishes Cosmopolis, is in financial difficulties. I would like you to buy control." Addels pursed his lips. "I can do this without difficulty, of course. In fact I can buy outright; Radian is oo the verge of bank- ruptcy. But you should know that as an investment, this is not an attractive buy. They have been losing money steadily for years, which of course is why they can be had so easily." "In this case we will buy as a speculation, and try to put things right. I have a particular reason for wishing to own Cosmopolis." Addels hastily disavowed any intent to act counter to Gersen's wishes. "I merely want you to be under no misapprehensions. I will start acquiring Radian stock tomorrow." Murchison's Star, Sagitta 203 in the Star Directory^ lay out in the galactic plane behind Vega, thirty light-years beyond the Pale. It was one of a cluster of five varicolored suns: two red dwarfs, a blue- white dwarf, a peculiar unclassifiable blue-green star of medium size and a yellow-orange G6, which was Murchison's Star. Murchison, the single planet, was somewhat smaller than Earth, with a single huge continent cincturing the world. A searing wind blew dunes around the equatorial zone; mountainous highlands sloped gradu- ally to the polar seas. In the mountains lived aborigines, black crea- tures of unpredictable characteristics: by turns murderously savage, torpid, hysterical, or cooperative. In the latter mood they served a useful purpose, supplying dyes and fibers for the tapestries which were one of Murchison's principal exports. The factories which 366 THE DEMON PRINCES produced the tapestries were concentrated about the city of Sabra and employed thousands of female operatives. These were supplied by a dozen slaving concerns, chief among which was Gascoyne the wholesaler. By virtue of efficient inventory control Gascoyne was able to give his customers efficient service at reasonable prices. He made no effort to compete with the specialty houses, dealt mainly in Industrial and Agricultural classifications. At Sabra his principal business was in Industrial F-2 Selecteds: women unprepossessing or past the first bloom of youth, but warranted to be of good health and agility, cooperative, diligent and amiable: such were the terms of Gascoyne's Ten-Point Guarantee. Sabra, on the shore of the north polar sea, was a drab haphazard city with a heterogeneous population whose main goal was to earn sufficient money to go elsewhere. The coastal plain to the south was studded with hundreds of peculiar volcanic stubs, each crowned with a bristle of liver-colored vegetation. Sabra's single distinction was Orban Circus, an open area at the heart of the city centered 27 on one of these volcanic stubs. The Grand Murchison Hotel oc- cupied the crest of the stub; around the Circus were the most im- portant establishments of the planet: Wilhelm's Trade Hotel, the Tapestry Mart, the depot of Gascoyne the Wholesaler; Odenour's Technical Academy; Cady's Tavern; the Blue Ape Hotel; the Her- cules Import Company; warehouse and showroom of the Tapestry Producers' Cooperative; the Sportsman Supply and Trophy House; Gambel's Spaceship Sales; the District Victualling Company. Sabra was a city large enough and wealthy enough to need pro- tection from raiders and free-hooters, even though, like Brinktown in another quarter of the Beyond, it fulfilled a service to the folk who lived beyond the Pale. Thribolt batteries were constantly manned by members of the City Militia, and ships coming in from space were regarded with intense suspicion. Gersen, approaching with circumspection, radioed down to the spaceport, and was directed into a landing orbit. At the spaceport he was subjected to interrogation by members of the local De- weaseling Brigade*, who were reassured by Gersen's Pharaon. Wea- sels uniformly traveled space in Locater 9Bs; these were the only *The single interworld organization of Beyond, existing to identity and destroy agents of the IPCC The IPCC, accepting a contract to locate and destroy a malefactor who had fled the Oikumene, could implement its commitments only by sending one or more agents Beyond, where they were known as weasels and considered fair game THE PALACE OF LOVE 367 ships the IPCC chose to risk Beyond. Gersen for once could afford to be candid. He stated that he had come to Sabra to locate a woman brought here twenty or more years before by Gascoyne the Wholesaler. The Deweaselers, watching the pips and bulbs on their truth machine, exchanged sardonic glances, amused by this excess of quixotism, and waved Gersen forth to the freedom of the city. The time was mid-morning; Gersen registered at the Grand Murchison Hotel on top of Orban Stub, which was crowded almost to capacity with tapestry buyers, commercial salesmen from the Oikumene, sportsmen intent on stalking the Bower Mountain ab- origines. Gersen bathed, changed into local costume: scarlet plush pan- taloons and a black jacket. Descending to the dining room he ate a lunch of local sea produce: seaweed salad, a dish of local mollusks. Directly below were the depot and offices of Gascoyne the Whole- saler: a rambling structure of three stories enclosing a central court- yard. An enormous pink and blue sign across the facade read: GASCOYNE'S MART Select Slaves for Any Purpose 28 A pair of handsome women and a stalwart man were depicted be- low. At the bottom of the sign a message read: Gascoyne's 10-Point Guarantee Is Justly Famous! Gersen finished his lunch, descended to the circus, crossed to Gascoyne's Mart. He was lucky enough to find Gascoyne himself available and was ushered into a private office. Gascoyne was a handsome well-built man of indeterminate age, with dark curly hair, a dashing black mustache, expressive eyebrows. His office was sim- ple and informal, with a bare floor, an old wooden desk, an infor- mation screen showing evidence of much use. On one wall hung a plaque with Gascoyne's famous ten-point guarantee limned in gold leaf and surrounded by scarlet festoons. Gersen explained the pur- pose of his visit. "About twenty-five years ago, give or take five years, you visited Sarkovy, where you bought a pair of women from a certain Kakarsis Asm. Their names were Inga and Dundine. I am anxious to locate these women; perhaps you would be good enough to search them out in your records." "Gladly," said Gascoyne. "I can't say as I recall the circum- stances, but-" He went to the information bank, worked the knobs 368 THE DEMON PRINCES and dials a moment, evoking flashes of blue light and a sudden grinning visage which nickered away. Gascoyne shook his head de- spondently. "Might as well be a stone for all the use it gives me. I must have it repaired. . . . Well, we shall see. This way, if you please." He took Gersen into a back room lined with ledgers. "Sar- kovy. I go there seldom. A pestilent world, the home of a wicked race!" He searched his ledgers, one year after another. "This must be the trip. So long ago! Thirty years. Now, let us look. My, my, how this old ledger brings back the memories. Good old days is not just a banality. - . . What were the names again?" "Inga, Dundine. I don't know their last names." "No matter. Here they are." He copied numbers upon a slip of paper, went to another ledger, turned to the numbers in ques- tion. "They were both sold here on Murchison. Inga went to Qualag's Factory. You know where that is? Third along the right bank of the river. Dundine went to Juniper Factory, across the river from Qualag's. I trust these women were not friends or relatives? Like any other, my business has its disagreeable aspects. At Qualag's and Juniper the women live wholesome productive lives, but cer- tainly they are not pampered. Still, who is in this life?" And raising his eyebrows, he made a deprecatory gesture around his austere office. Gersen gave his head a wry shake of sympathy. He thanked Gascoyne and departed. Qualag's Factory was a half-dozen four-story buildings around a compound. Gersen entered the lobby of the main office, which was hung with sample tapestries. A pallid male clerk with varnished blond hair came to inquire his business. 29 "Gascoyne tells me," said Gersen, "that thirty years ago Qualag's purchased a female named Inga, on your invoice 10V623. Can you tell me if this woman is still employed by you?" The clerk shuffled off to search his records, then went to an intercom and spoke a few words. Gersen waited. Into the office came a tall placid-faced woman with heavy arms and legs. The clerk said petulantly: "Gentleman here wants to know about Inga, B2-AG95. There's a yellow card on her with two white clips but I can't find the reference." "You're looking under Dormitory F. The B2s are all Dorm A." The woman located the correct reference. "Inga. B2-AG95. Dead. I remember her very well. An Earth-woman giving herself all style THE PALACE OF LOVE 369 of airs. Complained constantly of this and that. She came to the dye works while I was recreation counsellor. 1 remember her well. She worked in blues and greens, and it put her off; she finally threw herself into a vat of dusty-orange. That's long ago. . . . My, how time flies." Leaving Qualag's, Gersen crossed the river by a bridge and walked to the Juniper Factory, which was somewhat larger than Qualag's. The office was similar, though with a brisker atmosphere. Gersen again put his question, this time in connection with Dundine. But the clerk was not cooperative and refused to check the records. "We aren't allowed to give out such information," said the clerk, looking disdainfully at Gersen from the altitude afforded him by his position behind the counter. "Let me discuss the matter with the manager," said Gersen. "Mr. Plusse owns the factory. If you will be seated I will an- nounce you." Gersen went to examine a tapestry ten feet wide by six feet high, representing a flowered field on which stood hundreds of fanciful birds. "Mr. Plusse will see you, sir." Mr. Plusse was a small surly man with a white topknot and eyes of blue agate. Clearly he had no intention of obliging Gersen or anyone else. "Sorry, sir. We have our production to consider. Trou- ble enough with the women as it is. We do our best for them; we provide good food and recreational facilities, bathe them once a week. Still it's impossible to keep them satisfied." "May I ask if the woman still works for you?" "It makes no difference if she does or not; you would not be allowed to disturb her." "If she is here, if she is the woman I am looking for, I'll be glad to recompense you for any inconvenience." 30 "Hmf. Just a moment." Mr. Plusse spoke into the intercom. "Is not there a Dundine in wicker-stitching? What's her current index? . . . Hmf. . . I see." He returned to Gersen, whom he now regarded in a thoughtful new light. "A valuable employee. I can't have her badgered. If you insist on speaking to her, you'll have to buy her. The price is three thousand SVU." Without a word Gersen put down the money. Mr. Plusse licked his small pink mouth. "Hmf." He spoke into the intercom. "W^ith a minimum of commotion, bring Dundine to this office." Ten minutes passed, while Mr. Plusse ostentatiously made no- 370 THE DEMON PRINCES tations on a chart. The door opened, the clerk entered with a large- bodied woman in a white smock. Her features were big and moist; her hair was short, mouse-brown, crimped and tied with string. Wringing her hands apprehensively she stared from Mr Plusse to Gersen and back again. "You are leaving our service," said Mr. Plusse in a dry voice. "This gentleman has bought you." Dundine looked at Gersen with bright fear. "Oh, what do you plan to do with me, sir5 I'm useful and well here, I do my work; I don't want to go out on the back farms; I wouldn't want to do this, and I'm too old for barge work." "Nothing like that, Dundine I've paid Mr. Plusse off; you're a free woman now. You can go back to your home if you like." Tears sprang into her eyes. "I don't believe it." "It's true." "But-why did vou do this5" Dundme's face wavered between bewilderment, fear and doubt. "I want to ask you a few questions." Dundine turned her back, bent her head over her hands. After a moment Gersen asked, "Is there anything you want to bring with you5" "No. Nothing. If I was wealthy I'd take that little tapestry on the wall, the little girls dancing. I did the wickenng on that tapestry and I was all that fond of the thing." "What is the price5" Gersen asked Mr. Plusse. "That is our Style Nineteen, which is priced at seven hundred fifty SVU." 31 Gersen paid 750 SVU and took the tapestry "Come, Dun- dine," he said shortly. "Best that we start off." "But my good-byes! My dear friends-" "Impossible," said Mr. Plusse. "Do you wish to disturb the other women5" Dundine sniffed and rubbed her nose. "There's my bonuses I haven't taken. It's three recreation half-periods. I'd like to give them to Almenna." "That can't be done, as you know. We never allow transfer or bartering of bonus units If you wish, you may use them now, before your departure." Dundine looked uncertainly toward Gersen. "Do we have time5 THF PAIALE OF LOIT It seems a shame to let them go to waste-but 1 suppose it makes no difference now . . " They walked along the river road toward the center of town, with Dundine casting timid glances toward Gersen "I can't imagine what you want of me," she said tremulously. "I'm certain I've never known you in my life." "I'm interested in what you can tell me ofViole Falushe." "Viole Falushe5 But I know no such person. I can tell you noth- ing." Dundine stopped short, her knees shaking. "Are you going to take me back to the factory5" "No," said Gersen hollowly "I won't take you back." He looked at her in deep discouragement. "Aren't you the Dundine who was kidnaped with Inga5" "Oh yes I'm Dundine. Poor Inga. I've never heard other since she went to Qualag's. They say it's ever so dreary at Qualag's." Gersen's mind raced back and forth. "You were kidnaped and brought to Sarkovy5" "Yes, indeed, and oh, what a time we had! Riding the steppes on those bouncing old wagons'" "But the man who kidnaped you and brought you to Sarkovy- that was Viole Falushe, or so I am told." "Him'^ Dundme's mouth twisted as if she had bit into some- thing sour. "His name wasn't Viole Falushe." And Gersen belatedly recalled that Kakarsis Asm had told him the same The man who had sold Inga and Dundine had not used the name Viole Falushe at that time. 32 "No, no," said Dundine m a soft voice, looking far back in her life. "That wasn't any Viole Falushe. It was that nasty little Vogel Filschner." All the way back into the Oikumene, in fragments and e)aculations, bits from here, oddments from there, Dundine told her story, and Gersen gave over trying to elicit a connected narrative Expansive, inflated with freedom, Dundine talked with enthu- siasm. She knew Vogel Filschner, yes indeed' She knew him well. So he changed his name to Viole Falushe5 Small wonder, after the shame his mother must feel! Though Madame Filschner had never enjoyed the best of reputations, and no one had ever known Vogel F'llschner's father. He had attended school with Dundine, two classes ahead. 372 THE DEMON PRINCES "Where was this?" asked Gersen. "Why, at Ambeules!" declared Dundine, surprised that Gersen did not already know the story as well as herself. Though Gersen knew Rotterdam, Hamburg and Paris, he had never visited Am" beules, a suburb of Rolingshaven on the west coast of Europe. Vogel Filschner had always been a strange brooding boy, ac- cording to Dundine. "Extremely sensitive," she confided. "Ripe al- ways for a great rage or eyefuls of tears. One never knew what Vogel might do!" And for a space she fell silent, shaking her head in marvel at the deeds of Vogel Filschner. "Then when he was sixteen, and I but fourteen, a new girl came to school. Oh, she was a pretty thing-Jheral Tinzy was her name-and who but Vogel Filschner should fall in love!" But Vogel Filschner was grubby and unsavory; Jheral Tinzy, a girl of sensitivity, found him repulsive. "Who could blame her?" mused Dundine. "Vogel was an eerie boy. I can see him yet-tall for his age and somewhat thin, with a round belly and a round bottom, like a billiken. He walked with his head to the side, watch- ing all with his dark burning eyes. They watched, they saw all, they never forgot a thing, did Vogel Filschner's eyes. I must say that Jheral Tinzy used him heartlessly, laughing and gay the while! She drove poor Vogel to desperation, this is my belief. And that man Vogel took up with-I can't recall his name! He wrote poetry, very strange and daring! He was thought ungodly, though he had pa- trons in the upper classes. Those days are so long ago, so tragic and so sweet. Ah, if I could live them again, what changes there would be." At this point Dundine went into a nostalgic reminiscence: "Even now I can smell the air from the sea. Ambeules, our old district, is on the Gaas, and this is the loveliest part of the city, though by no means the richest. The flowers are unimaginable. To think that I have seen no flowers for thirty years, except for those I myself have worked." And now nothing must do but that Dundine 33 should examine her tapestry which she had draped upon the back bulkhead of the saloon. Presently she returned to the subject of Vogel Filschner. "The most morbidly sensitive of youths. The poet egged him on. And truth to tell, Jheral Tinzy humiliated Vogel dreadfully. Whatever the cause, Vogel performed his terrible deed. There were twenty- nine girls in the choral society. Every Friday night we sang, Vogel THE PAL-1CK OF l.OVE 373 had learned to operate a spaceship-it was a course all the boys took. So Vogel stole one of those little Locater ships, and when we came out from choral practice to the bus, it was Vogel who drove us away. He took us to the spaceship and made us all get aboard. But it was the one night Jheral Tinzy had not come to practice. Vogel had no knowledge of this until the last girl left the bus, and he was like a stone statue. Too late then, he had no choice but to flee." Dundine sighed. "Twenty-eight girls, pure and fresh as little flowers. How he dealt with us! W^e knew he was strange, but fe- rocious as a wild beast? No, never; how could we girls imagine such things? For reasons best known to himself he never used us in bed-Inga thought he was sulking because he had failed to capture Jheral. Godelia Parwitz and Rosamond-I can't think of her name-they tried to hit him with a metal implement, though it would have been the death of all had they succeeded, for none of us knew how to guide the ship. He punished them in a dreadful manner so that they cried and sobbed. Inga and I told him he was a wicked monster to act so. He only laughed, did Vogel Filschner. 'A wicked monster, am I? I'll show you a wicked monster!' And he took us to Sarkovy and sold us to Mr. Asm. "But first he stopped at another world and sold ten girls who were the least well-favored. Then Inga and I and six others who hated him the most were sold on Sarkovy. Of the others, the most beautiful, I know nothing. Thanks to Kalzibah, I have been suc- cored." Dundine wanted to return to Earth. At New W^exford, Gersen fur- nished her a wardrobe, a ticket to Earth and funds sufficient to keep her in comfort the rest of her life. At the spaceport she embarrassed him by falling on her knees and kissing his hands. "I thought to die and have my ashes scattered on a far planet! How was I so lucky? With so many other poor creatures, why did Kalzibah select me for his favor?" The same question, in different terms, had been troubling Ger- sen himself. With his wealth, he might have bought the whole of Qualag and Juniper and every other factory in Sabra, and brought each of the wretched women to their homes . . . WTiat then? he asked himself. Sabra tapestries were in demand. New factories would be established, new slaves imported. A year later all would be as before. 374 THE DEMON PRINCES Still. .. Gersen heaved a sigh. The universe abounded with 34 evils. No one man could defeat them all. Meanwhile Dundine was wiping her eyes, and apparently preparing to fall on her knees once more. Gersen said hastily, "One request I wish to make of you." "Anything, anything!" "You plan to return to Rolingshaven?" "It is my home." "You must not reveal how you were brought from Sabra. Tell no one! Invent any wild tale. But do not mention me. Do not men- tion that I asked you ofVogel Filschner." "Trust me! The fiends of hell can tear forth my tongue, even then I will not speak!" "Good-bye then." Gersen departed hastily before Dundine could again demonstrate her gratitude. At a public telephone he called Bramar Investment Company. "Henry Lucas to speak to Mr. Addels." "A moment, Mr. Lucas." Addels appeared on the screen. "Mr. Lucas?" Gersen allowed his image to go forth. "All continues to go well?" "As well as could be expected. My problems arise only from the sheer mass of our money. I should say, your money." Addels permitted himself to smile. "But gradually I am training an orga- nization. Incidentally, Radian Publishing Company is ours. We had it cheaply because of the circumstances I mentioned previously." "No one has been inquisitive? There have been no questions, no rumors?" "To the best of my knowledge, none. Zane Publishing Com- pany bought Radian; Irwin and Jeddah own Zane, a numbered ac- count at a Pontefract bank owns Irwin and Jeddah. Bramar Investment is the numbered account. Who is Bramar Investment? Ostensibly it is I." "Well done!" said Gersen. "You could not have managed bet- ter." Addels acknowledged the praise with a stiff nod. "I must say once more that Radian seems a poor investment, at least on the basis of past performance." "Why has it been losing money? Everyone seems to read Cos- mopolis. I see it everywhere." "Perhaps this is so. Nevertheless circulation has slowly been 35 THE PALACE OF LOVE 375 declining. More significantly, the typical reader no longer is a de- cision-maker. The management has been trying to please everyone, including the advertisers; as a result the magazine has lost its flair." "There would seem to be a remedy for the situation," said Gersen. "Hire a new editor, a man of imagination and intelligence. Instruct him to revitalize the magazine, without regard for adver- tisers or circulation, sparing no reasonable expense. When the mag- azine regains its prestige, circulation and advertisers will return fast enough." "I am relieved that you preface the word expense with reason- able," said Addels in his driest voice. "I still am not accustomed to dealing with millions as if they were hundreds." "No more am I," said Gersen. "The money means nothing to me-except that I find it uncommonly useful. One other matter. Instruct the Cosmopolis head office-I believe it is located in Lon- don-that a man named Henry Lucas will be sent to the editorial offices. Represent him as an employee of Zane Publishing if you like. He is to be put on the payroll as a special writer, who will work when and where he chooses without interference." "Very well, sir. I will do as you require." 4 From Introduction to Old Earth, by Ferencz Szantho Erdenfreude A mysterious and intimate emotion which dilates blood vessels, slides chills along the sub- cutaneous nerves, arouses qualms of apprehension and excitement like those infecting a girl at her first ball Erdenfreude typically attacks the outworld man ap- proaching Earth for the first time Only the dull, the insensitive, are immune The excitable have been known to suffer near-fatal palpitations The cause is the subject of learned dispute Neu- rologists describe the condition as anticipatory adjust- ment of the organism to absolute normality of all the sensory modes color recognition, sonic perception, conolis force and gravitational equilibrium The psy- chologists differ, Erdenfreude, they state, is the flux of a hundred thousand racial memories boiling up almost to the level of consciousness Geneticists speak of RNA, metaphysicians refer to the soul; parapsychologists make the possibly irrelevant observation that haunted houses are to be found on Earth alone History is bunk -Henry Ford Gersen, who had lived nine years on Earth, nevertheless felt some- thing of an outworlder's exhilaration as he hung above the great 36 globe awaiting his clearance from Space Security Finally it arrived, THE PAL/ICE OP IOVE with precise landing instructions, and Gersen dropped down to the West Europe spaceport at Tarn. He passed through sanitation pro- cedures and health inspection-the most stringent of the Oiku- mene-punched appropriate buttons at the Immigration Control console, and finally was allowed to proceed about his business He rode to London by tube, and registered at the Royal Oak Hotel, a block off the Strand The season was early autumn, the sun shone through a high thin overcast Old London, permeated with the vapors of antiquity, shone like a fine gray pearl Gersen's clothes were in the Alphanor style, fuller in cut and richer in color than the clothes of London. On the Strand he went into a gentleman's outfitter, where he selected a fabric, then stripped to his underwear and was measured by photonic scanners Five minutes later he was delivered his new garments black trou- sers, a jacket of dark brown and beige, a white blouse and black cravat Inconspicuous now, Gersen continued along the Strand. Dusk came to the sky Every planet had its distinctive dusk, thought Gersen The dusk of Alphanor, for instance, was an electric blue, gradually fading to the richest of ultramarines Sarkovy dusk was a dead dismal gray, with a tawny overtone Dusk at Sabra had been brown-gold, with domains of color around the other stars of the cluster The dusk of Earth was dusk as it should be-soft, heather-gra), soothing, an ending and a beginning Gersen dined at a restaurant which had maintained an unbroken tenancy for over seventeen hundred years The old oak beams, fumed and waxed, were as stout as ever, the plaster recently had been scraped of twenty layers of whitewash and refinished, a process which oc- curred every hundred years or so Gersen's thoughts reverted to his youth He had visited London twice with his grandfather, though for the most part they had lived in Amsterdam There never had been dinners such as this, never leisure or idleness Gersen shook his head sadl\ as he recalled the exercises to which his merciless grandfather had put him A wonder that he had stood up to the discipline Gersen bought a copy of Covmopohs and returned to the hotel, He went into the bar, and sitting at a table ordered a pint of Wor- thmgton's AJe, brewed at Burton-on-Trent as had been the case for something less than two thousand years He opened Cosfwpo/is It was easy to understand why the magazine had become moribund There were three long articles: "Have Earthmen Become Less Vir- 378 THK DEMON PRINCKS ile?" "Patricia Poitrine: New Toast of the Smart Set"; "A Cler- gyman's Guide to Spiritual Renewal." Gersen flicked through the pages, then laid the magazine aside. He drained the mug, and went up to his room. In the morning he visited the editorial offices of Cosniopolis, and 37 asked to speak to the personnel director. This was Mrs. Neutra, a brittle, black-haired woman wearing a great deal of preposterous jewelry. She showed no inclination to speak to Gersen. "Sorry, sorry, sorry. I can't consider anything or anyone at this moment. I'm in a flap. Everybody's in a flap. There's been a shake-up; no one's job is any good." "Perhaps I had better speak to the editor in chief," said Gersen. "There was to have been a letter from Zane Publishing, and it should have arrived." The personnel director made a gesture of irritation. "Who or what is Zane Publishing?" "The new ownership," said Gersen politely. "Oh." The woman pushed among the papers on her desk. "Maybe this is it." She read. "Oh, you're Henry Lucas." "Yes." "Hmm .. . Piff puff. . . You're to be a special writer. Some- thing we Just don't need at the moment. But I'm only personnel director. Oh hell, fill out the application, make an appointment for your psychiatric tests. If you survive, and you probably won't, show up a week from tomorrow for your orientation course." Gersen shook his head. "I don't have time for any of these formalities. I doubt if the new owners have much sympathy with them." "Sorry, Mr. Lucas. This is our inflexible program." "What does the letter say?" "It says to put Mr. Henry Lucas on the payroll as special writer." "Then please do so." "Oh, double bing-bang hell. If this is how things are going to go, why have a personnel director? WTly have psychiatric tests and orientation courses? Why not just let janitors put out the rag?" The woman seized a form, wrote with swift strokes of a flam- boyant quill pen. "Here you are. Take it into the managing editor, he'll arrange your assignment." The managing editor was a portly gentleman with lips pursed THE PALACE OF LOVE 379 in a worried pout. "Yes, Mr. Lucas. Mrs. Neutra Just called me. I understand you have been sent in by the new ownership." "I've been associated with them for a long time," said Gersen. "But all I want at this moment is whatever identification you supply 38 your special correspondents, so that if necessary I can demonstrate that I'm an employee of Cosmopolis." The managing editor spoke into an intercom. "On your way out, step into Department 2A and your card will be prepared." He leaned morosely back into his chair. "It seems that you are to be a roving reporter, responsible to no one. A very nice billet, if I may say so. WTiat do you propose to write about?" "One thing or another," said Gersen. "Whatever comes up." The managing editor's face sagged with bewilderment. "You can't go out and write a Cosmopolis article like that! Our issues are programmed months ahead! We use public opinion polls to find out what subjects people are interested in." "I low can they know what they're interested in if they haven't read it?" asked Gersen. "The new owners are throwing the public opinion polls away." The managing editor shook his head sadly. "How will we know what to write about?" "I have an idea or two. For instance, the Institute could stand an airing. What are its current aims? Who are the men of Degrees 101, 102, 103? What information have they suppressed? What of Tryon Russ and his anti-gravity machine? The Institute deserves a comprehensive study. You could easily devote an entire issue to the Institute." The editor nodded curtly. "Don't you think it's a bit-well, intense? Are people really interested in these matters?" "If not they should be." "Easily said, but it's no way to run a magazine. People don't w^nt to really understand anything; they want to think they have learned without the necessity of application. In our 'heavy' articles we try to supply keys and guides, so at least they'll have something to talk about at parties. But go on-what else do vou have in mind?" "I've been thinking of Viole Falushe and the Palace of Love. Exactly what goes on at this establishment? What face does Viole Falushe show? What name does he bear when he comes in from \W DP MON PRINCES BeyoncP Who are his guests at the Palace ofLove^ How have they farced Would they care to return^" "An interesting topic," the editor admitted "A bit close to the knuckle perhaps. We prefer to steer away from sensationalism and-shall we say-the grim facts of reality. Still I've often won- dered about the Palace of Love WTiat in the world does go on3 The usual, I suppose. But no one knows for sure. WTiat else^" 39 "That's all for now." Gersen rose to his feet. "In fact I'll be working on this last story myself." The managing editor shrugged his shoulders. "You seem to have been accorded a free hand." Gersen immediately rode the sub-Channel tube to Rolmgshaven, arriving at the vast Zone Station a few minutes before noon. He crossed the white-tiled lobby, past shdeways and escalators labeled W^ien, Pans, Tsargrad, Berlin, Budapest, Kiev, Neapolis and a dozen other ancient cities. He paused at a kiosk to buy a map, then went to a cafe, settled himself at a table with a stem of beer and a plate of sausages Gersen had lived long in Amsterdam and had passed through the Zone Station on several occasions, but of the city Rolingshaven he knew little. As he ate, he studied the map. Rolingshaven was a city of considerable extent, divided into four principal municipalities by two rivers, the Gaas and the Sluicht, and the great Evres Canal. At the north was Zummer, a rather grim district of apartment towers and careful malls laid out by some neat- minded city council ot the distant past. On the Heybau, a prom- ontory hooking out into the sea, was the famous Handelhal Conservatory, the wonderful Galactic Zoo and the Kindergarten; Zummer otherwise was devoid of interest. South across the Sluicht was the Old City-a teeming confu- sion of small shops, inns, hostels, restaurants, beer caverns, book- stalls, huddled offices, askew little houses of stone and timber- dating from the Middle Ages. A district as chaotic and picturesque as Zummer was stark and dull; and here as well was the ancient University, overlooking the fish market along the banks of the Evres Canal Ambeules lay across the canal- a district of nine hills covered with homes and a periphery given to wharves, warehouses, ship- yards, mud flats from which were dredged the famous Flamande THE PAMCE OF LOVE oysters. The great Gaas estuary separated Ambeules from Dourrai, a district of somewhat lower hills, again covered with small homes, with the great industries and fabrication plants straggling along the shore and southward. This was the city where Viole Falushe-or more accurately, Vogel Filschner-had lived, and where he had committed his first great crime. The exact locale was Ambeules, and Gersen decided to base himself in this area. Finishing the beer and sausages he rode an escalator to the third level above, where a local tube car whisked him south under the Evres Canal to Ambeules Station. He rode to the surface, and look- ing right and left through the hazy radiance which characterized the region, approached the old woman who managed a newsstand. 40 "Which is a good hotel nearby?" The old woman pointed a brown finger. "Up Hoebhngasse to the Rembrandt Hotel: as good as any in Ambeules. Of course, if it's elegance you require, then you must go to the Hotel Prince Franz Ludwig in Old Town, the finest m Furope with prices to match." Gersen chose the Rembrandt Hotel, a pleasant old-fashioned structure with public rooms paneled in dark wood, and was taken to a suite of high-ceilmged rooms overlooking the great gray Gaas. The day was still young. Gersen rode a cab to the Maine, where he paid a small fee and was given access to the City Directory He ran the record back to 1495. The screen spun to the letter F, Fi, and finally the name Filschner. At this time three Filschners were listed. Gersen made notes of the addresses. He likewise found two Tmzys, and made similar notes. Then he dialed to the current list- ings and found two Filschners and four Tinzys. One of the Fil- schners and one of the Tinzys had maintained the same address across the years. Gersen next visited the office of the Ambeules Helion, and on the strength of his Cosmopolis card was given access to the morgue. He brought the index to the screen, scanned it for the name Vogel Filschner, found a code number, coded and punched the "show" button. The tale was much as Dundine had told, though in condensed form. Vogel Filschner was described as "a boy given to spells of brooding and wandering alone by night." His mother, Hedwig Fil- schner, identified as a beautician, professed herself amazed at Vo- THF DEMON PRINCES 382 gel's outrageous deed. She described him as a "good boy, though very idealistic and moody." Vogel Filschner had had no close friends. In the biology labo- ratory he had been teamed with a lad named Roman Haenigsen, the school chess champion. They had played an occasional game of chess during the lunch hour Roman evinced no astonishment at Vogel's crime "He was a fellow who hated to lose. Whenever I beat him, he would go savage and throw aside the pieces. Still, it amused me to play with him. I don't like people who take the game frivolously " Vogel Filschner was not a frivolous boy, thought Gersen. A photograph appeared, the kidnaped girls, grouped in a picture identified as the "Philidor Bohus Choral Society " In the front row stood a plump smiling girl m whom Gersen recognized Dundme. Among the girls would be Jheral Tmzy, and Gersen checked the faces against the caption. Jheral Tmzy was the third girl in the fourth row. Not only did a girl m the third row obscure her face, 41 she also had turned her head aside at the time the photograph was taken, and what could be seen of her face was indistinct. There was no photograph of Vogel Filschner. The file ended. So much for that, thought Gersen. Vogel Fil- schner's identity as Viole Falushe was not widely apprehended m Ambeules, if at all. As verification, Gersen dialed for the file on Viole Falushe, the Demon Prince, but only a single reference ex- cited his interest "Viole Falushe at various times has implied that his original home was Earth. On several occasions a rumor has reached us to the effect that Viole Falushe has been seen here m Ambeules. Why he should wish to haunt our unexciting district is a question which cannot be answered, and the rumors appear no more than an insane hoax." Gersen departed the newspaper offices and went to stand in the street The gendarmery? Gersen decided against approaching them. Unlikely, that they could tell him more than he already knew Un- likely, that they would if they could. Additionally, Gersen had no desire to arouse official curiosity. Gersen checked the addresses he had noted, as well as the lo- cation of the Philidor Bohus Lyceum, on his map. The Lyceum was the nearest, at the far side of Lothar Parish Gersen signaled a three-wheeled autocab, and was conveyed up one of the nine hills through a district of small detached houses. Some were constructed THE P4LACE OF LOVE in the ancient fashion, of glazed dark red brick and a high pitched roof of milk-glass tiles, others were m the new "hollow trunk" style: narrow concrete cylinders two thirds below the ground. There were houses of artificial sandstone compressed as a unit from molded soil; houses of pink or white panels surmounted by crimped metal domes; houses of laminated paper, with transparent roofs electrically charged to repel dust. The bulbs of urn-cast glass or glass-metal, so common among the worlds of the Concourse, had never won acceptance among the folk of western Europe, who com- pared them to pumpkins and paper lanterns, and called the people who lived in them "nonhuman futunans." The cab discharged Ger- sen before the Philidor Bohus Lyceum, a grim cube of synthetic black stone flanked by a pair of smaller cubes The director of the lyceum was Dr. Willem Ledmger, a bland large-bodied man with taffy-colored skin and a lank lock of yellow hair which wound around his scalp in a most peculiar manner. Ger- sen wondered at the man's audacity thus to present himself before several thousand adolescents. Ledinger was affable and unsuspi- cious, readily accepting Gersen's statement that Cosmopohs wished to present a survey of contemporary young people. "I don't think there's much to write about," said Ledinger. "Our young people are, if I must say it, unexceptionable. We have many bright students and at least a fair quota of dullards . " 42 Gersen steered the conversation to students of the past and their careers, from here it was an easy connection to the sub)ect of Vogel Filschner. "Ah yes," mused Dr Ledmger, patting his yellow topknot. "Vogel Filschner. I haven't heard his name for years. Before my time, of course; I was a mere instructor across the city at Hulba Technical Academy But the scandal reached us, never fear. Fac- ulties have big ears. WTiat a tragedy' To think of a lad like that going so far wrong'" "He never returned to Ambeules, then^" "He'd be a fool to do so Or to advertise his presence, at any rate." "Do you have the likeness of Vogel Filschner among your rec- ords^ Perhaps I might do a separate piece upon this peculiar crime." Grudgingly Dr. Ledmger admitted that photographs of Vogel Filschner were on file. "But why rake up the old nastiness? It is like breaking into graves." II IF DI MON PRINCES "On the other hand, such an article might identify the rogue, and bring him to )ustice " "Justice5" Dr. Ledmger curled his lip in disbelief. "After thirty years5 He was a hysterical child No matter what his crime, by this time he has made redemption and found peace. What could be gamed by bringing him to what you call justice5" Gersen was somewhat startled by Dr. Ledinger's vehemence. "To dissuade others. Perhaps there is a potential Vogel Filschner among your students this very instant." Dr. Ledmger smiled wistfully "I don't doubt it an instant. Cer- tain of these young rascals-well, I won't tell tales out of school. And I won't supply you with the photographs. I find the idea com- pletely ob)ectionable." "Is there a yearbook for the year of the crime5 Or better, the previous year- Dr. Ledmger looked at Gersen a moment, his affability slowdy disappearing. Then he went to his wall, plucked a volume from the shelves. He watched quietly as Gersen turned the pages, and finally came upon the photograph of the Girls Choral Society he had al- ready seen. Gersen pointed "There is Jheral Tmzy, the girl who rebuffed Vogel, and drove him to his crime." Dr. Ledmger examined the picture "Think of it. Twenty-eight girls, snatched away Beyond. Their lives blasted. 1 wonder how they fared. Some may still be alive, poor things " 43 "Whatever became of Jheral Tmzy5 She was not among the group if you recall." Dr. Ledmger examined Gersen with suspicion "You seem to know a great deal about the case. Have you been completely candid with me5" Gersen grinned. "Not altogether I am principally interested in Vogel Filschner, but I don't want anyone to know I'm interested. If I can get the information I need discreetly, with no one the wiser, so much the better." "You are a police officer5 Or of the IPCC5" Gersen displayed his identification. "Here is my sole claim to fame." "Hmmf. Cowiopohs plans to publish an article on Vogel Fil- schner5 It seems a waste of paper and ink No wonder Cosmopohs has lost prestige." THE PALACE OF LOVE "What of Jheral Tinzy? You have her photograph in your files5" "Undoubtedly." Dr Ledmger laid his hands upon the desk, to signal that the interview had reached its end. "But we cannot open our confidential files haphazardly I am sorrv " Gersen rose to his feet. "Thank you, in any case." "I have done nothing to help you," said Dr. Ledmger stonily Vogel Filschner had lived with his mother in a narrow little house at the eastern end of Ambeules, bordering on a dingy district of warehouses and transportation depots. Gersen climbed the em- broidered iron steps, touched the button, faced the inspection eye. A woman's voice spoke. "Yes5" Gersen spoke m his most confident voice. "I am trying to locate Madame Hedwig Filschner, who lived here many years ago." "I know no one of that name. You must consult with Ewane Clodig who owns the property. We only pay rent " Ewane Clodig, whom Gersen found m the offices of Clodig Properties, consulted his records. "Madame Hedwig Filschner . . . The name is familiar ... I don't see it on mv list. . . Here it is. She moved, let me see, thirty years ago." "You have her present address5" "No sir. That is too much to ask. I have not even a forwarding address from thirty years ago . . . But it comes back' Is she not the 44 mother of Vogel Filschner, the boy slaver5" "Correct." "Well then, I can tell you this. When the deed was known, she packed her belongings and disappeared and no one has heard of her since." Jheral Tmzy's old home was a tall octagonal structure of the so- called Fourth Palladian style, situated halfway up Bailleui Hill. The address corresponded to one which Gersen had noted in the current directory; the family had not changed its residence. A handsome woman of early middle-age answered the door She wore a gay peasant smock, a flowered scarf around her head. Gersen appraised the woman before he spoke She returned a gaze so direct as to be bold. "You're Jheral Tinzy5" Gersen asked tentatively. "Jheral5" The woman's eyebrows arched high. "No-no in- THE DEMON PRINCES deed." She gave a sardonic bark of laughter. "What a strange thing to ask. Who are you?" Gersen produced his identification. The woman read, returned the card. "What makes you think I am Jheral Tinzy?" "She lived here at one time. She would be about your age." "I'm her cousin." The woman considered Gersen more care- fully than ever. "What did you want with Jheral?" "May I come in? I'll explain." The woman hesitated. As Gersen came forward she made a quick motion to restrain him. Then, after a dubious glance over her shoulder, she moved aside. Gersen entered a hall with a floor of immaculate white glass tiles. On one hand was the display wall, characteristic of middle-class European homes; here hung a panel intricately inlaid with wood, bone and shell: Lenka workmanship from Nowhere, one of the Concourse planets; a set of perfume points from Pamtile; a rectangle of polished and perforated obsid- ian, and one of the so-called "supplication slabs"* from Lupus 2311. Gersen paused to examine a small tapestry of exquisite design and workmanship. "This is a beautiful piece. Do you know where it came from?" "It's very rich," agreed the woman. "I believe it came from off- world." "It looks to me like a Sabra piece," said Gersen. From the upper floor came a harsh call: "Emma? WTw is there?" 45 "Awake already," muttered the woman. She raised her voice. "A gentleman from Cosmopolis, Aunt." "We wish no magazines!" cried the voice. "I am explicit!" "Very well, Aunt. I'll tell him so." Emma signaled Gersen into a sitting room, jerked her head toward the source of the voice. "Jheral's mother. She is not well." "A pity," said Gersen. "Where, incidentally, is Jheral?" *The nonhuman names uf Peninsula 4-\, Lupus 2 III. devote the greater part ot their lues to the working of these slabs, which apparcrirlv have a religious significance Twice each year, at the solstices, two hundred and twenty-four microscopically exact slabs are placed aboard a ceremonial harge, which is then allowed to drift out upon the ocean I'he Lupus Salvage Company maintains a ship |ust over the hon/on troin Peninsula 4A As soon as the raft has drifted h-om sight of land, it is recovered, the slabs are removed, exported and sold as vhjrT' il'ni-i THE PAL-ICE OF LOVE Emma turned her bold glance on Gersen. "WTly do you want to know?" "To be candid, I'm trying to locate a certain Vogel Filschner." Emma laughed soundlessly and without mirth. "You've come to the wrong place to find Vogel Filschner. What a joke!" "You knew him?" "Oh yes. He was in the class under mine at the Lyceum." "You haven't seen him since the kidnaping?" "Oh no. Never. Still-it's strange that you should ask." Emma hesitated, smiling tremulously as if in embarrassment. "It's like a cloud passing over the sun. Sometimes I look around, sure that I've glimpsed Vogel Filschner-but he's never there." "W^Tiat happened to Jheral?" Emma seated herself, looked far back aown the years. "You must remember that there was much publicity and outcry. It was the greatest outrage in memory. Jheral was pointed at; there were unpleasant scenes. Several of the mothers actually slapped and abused Jheral; she had snubbed Vogel, driven him to crime, hence, shared his guilt... I must admit," said Emma reflectively, "that Jheral was a heartless flirt. She was simply adorable, of course. She could bring the boys with one little sidelong glance-like this . . ." Emma demonstrated. "Such a rascal. She even flirted with Vogel. 46 Pure sadism, because she couldn't bear the sight of him. Ah, the detestable Vogel! Every day Jheral would come home from school to tell us another of Vogel's enormities. How he dissected a frog, and then, after wiping his hands on a paper towel, ate his lunch. How badly he smelled, as if he never changed his clothes. How he would boast of his poetic mind, and try to impress her with his magnificence. It's true! Jheral with her tricks incited Vogel-and twenty-eight other girls paid the price." "And then?" "Great indignation. Everyone turned against Jheral, as perhaps they had always longed to do. Jheral finally ran away with an older man. She never returned to Ambeules. Not even her mother knows where she is." Into the room rushed a blazing-eyed old woman with a mane of flying white hair. Gersen Jumped behind a chair to avoid her charge. "WTiat do you want, asking questions in this house? Be off with you-hasn't there been trouble enough? I don't trust your 3SS IHF D^MON PRINCES face, you are like all the rest. Out, never return' Scoundrel' The audacity, entering this house with your filthy questions . ." Gersen left the house as expeditiously as he was able. Emma started to accompany him to the door but her aunt, hobbling for- ward, shoved her aside. The door closed, the near-hysterical ranting became muffled. Gersen heaved a deep breath. A virago' He had been lucky to es- cape without scratches At a nearby cafe Gersen drank a flask of wine and watched the sun sink toward the sea ... An excellent possibility, of course, that the entire line oi investigation, beginning with the notice in the Avente newspaper, was a wild goose chase. To date, the only link between Viole Falushe and Vogel Filschner was the opinion ofKa- karsis Asm. Emma Tm?y apparently believed that she had seen Vogel F'llschncr m Ambeules, Viole Falushe might well enjoy the dangerous pleasure of returning to the scenes of his childhood. If so, why had he not revealed himself to his old acquaintances? Al- though it seemed that Vogel Filschner had made precious few friends or acquaintances in any event. Jheral Tmzy perhaps had made the wisest of decisions when she took herself away from Am- beules Vmie Falushe had a notoriously long memory. His one friend had been Roman Haemgsen, the chess champion. Some- where also there had been mention of a poet who had incited Vogel Filschner to excess .. . Gersen called for a directory, and searched for the name Haemgsen. There it was; the book almost fell open to the name Gersen copied the address and asked directions from a waiter It appeared that Roman Haemgsen lived scarcely five minutes' walk away. Finishing his wine, Gersen set off through the waning sunlight. The house of Roman Haemgsen was the most elegant of the 47 houses he had visited this day a three-story structure of metal and meltstone panels, with electric windows to go transparent or opaque at a spoken word. Haemgsen was only ;ust arriving home when Gersen turned into the walk. A small brisk man with a large head and prim me- ticulous features, he peered sharply at Gersen and asked his busi- ness Candor in this case seemed more useful than indirection. Gersen said: "I am making inquiries in regard to your old classmate Vogel Filschner. I understand that you were almost his only friend " THE PALACE OF LOVE 389 "Hm," said Roman Haenigsen. He thought a moment. "Come, inside, if you will, and we will talk." He took Gersen into a study decorated with all manner of chess memorabilia, portraits, busts, collections of chessmen, photographs. "Do you play chess?" he asked Gersen. "I have played on occasion, though not often." "Like anything else, one must practice to keep in fighting trim. Chess is an old game." He went to a board, disarranged the chess- men with affectionate contempt. "Every variation has been ana- lyzed; there is a recorded game to illuminate the results of any reasonable move. If one had a sufficiently good memory, he would not need to think to win his games, he could merely play someone else's winning game. Luckily, no one owns such a memory but the robots. Still, you did not come here to talk of chess. Will you take a glass of liquor?" "Thank you." Gersen accepted a crystal goblet containing an inch of spirits. "Vogel Filschner! Strange to hear that name once more. Is his whereabouts known?" "This is what I am attempting to learn." Roman Haemgsen gave his head a wry shake. "You will learn nothing from me. I have neither seen him nor heard from him since 1494." "I had hardly expected that he would return in his old identity. But it's possible-" Gersen paused as Roman Haemgsen snapped his fingers. "Peculiar'" said Haenigsen. "Each Thursday night I play at the Chess Club. Perhaps a year ago I noticed a man standing under the clock. I thought, surely that's not Vogel Filschner^ He turned, I saw his face. It was a man somewhat like Vogel, but far different. A man of fine appearance and poise, a man who had nothing of Vogel's hangdog surliness. And yet-since you mention it-there was something to this man, perhaps his manner of holding his arms and hands, which reminded me of Vogel " 48 "You haven't seen this man smce^" "Not once." "Did you speak to him?" "No. In my surprise I must have halted to stare, but then I hurried on past." ?90 '1 HE DEMON PRINCFS "Can you think of anyone Vogel might wish to see3 Did he have friend'i other than yourself^" Roman Haenigsen pursed his lips wryly. "I was hardly his friend We shared a laboratory table, I played him an occasional game of chess, which he often won. Had he applied himself he might have taken the championship But he cared only for mooning over girls and writing bad poetry in imitation of a certain Navarth." "Ah, Navarth. This is the poet whom Vogel Filschner sought to emulate " "Unfortunately In my opinion Navarth was a charlatan, a bom- bast, a man of the most dubious attitudes." "And what has become of Navarth^" "I believe he still is about, though hardly the man he was thirty years ago People have grown wise, studied decadence no longer shocks as it did when I was a lad Vogel naturally was entranced, and went through the most ludicrous antics in order to identify with his idol. Yes indeed. If anyone is to blame for the crimes of Vogel Filschner, it is the mad poet Navarth'" Drinking whisky by the peg, Singing songs of drunken glee, I thought to swallow half a keg But Tim R. Mortiss degurgled me. Not precisely comme il faut To practice frank polygamy; I might have practiced, even so, But Tim R Mortiss disturgled me. Chorus: Tim R. Mortiss, Tim R. Mortiss, He's a loving friend- He holds my hand while I'm asleep He guides me on my four-day creep, He's with me to the end. To woo a dainty Eskimo I vowed to swim the Bering Sea. 49 No sooner had I wet a toe When Tim R. Mortiss occurgled me. A threat arcane, a fearful bane Within an old phylactery. I turned the rubbish down a dram, Now Tim R. Mortiss perturgles me Chorus (with a snapping of fingers and clicking of heels in mid-air) THE DKMON PRINCES 392 Tim R. Morriss, Tim R. Mortiss, He's a loving friend. He holds my hand while I'm asleep, He guides me on my four-day creep, He's with me to the end. -Navarth On the following day Gersen paid a second visit to the offices of the Helion. The dossier on Navarth was enthusiastic and ample, reporting scandals, improprieties, defiances and outrageous pro- nouncements across a period of forty years. The initial entry dealt with an opera, presented by students of the university, with a li- bretto by Navarth. The first performance was declared an infamy, and nine students were expelled from the university. Thereafter, Navarth's career soared and collapsed, resurged, re-collapsed, at last with finality. For the past ten years he had resided aboard a house- boat on the Gaas estuary near the Fitlingasse. Gersen tubed to Station Hedrick on Boulevard Castel Vivence and surfaced in the commercial and shipping district of Ambeules beside the Gaas estuary. The district roiled with the activity of agencies, warehouses, offices, wharves, buffets, restaurants, wine- shops, fruit hawkers, news kiosks, dispensaries. Barges nosed into docks to be unloaded by robots; drays rumbled along the boulevard; from below came the vibration of freight moving by tube. At a sweetshop Gersen inquired for the Fitlingasse and was directed east along the boulevard. Automatic open-sided passenger wagons served the boulevard, with patrons riding on benches facing the street. Gersen rode a mile, two miles, with the Gaas on the right hand. The bustle di- minished; the imposing blocks and masses of the commercial dis- trict gave way to ancient three- and four-story structures: queer narrow-windowed buildings of melt-stone or terra-cotta panels 50 stained a hundred subtle colors by smoke and salt air. Occasionally the wagon passed vacant areas, where only weeds grow. Through these gaps could be seen the next street to the north, on a somewhat higher level than Boulevard Castel Vivence, with tall apartment buildings pressed tightly against each other. The Fitlingasse was a narrow gray alley striking off up the hill. Gersen alighted and almost at once observed a hulking two-storied THE PALACE OF LOVE 393 houseboat moored to a dilapidated dock. A wisp of smoke drifted up from the chimney. Someone was aboard. Gersen took stock of the surroundings. Hazy sunlight played on the estuary; on the far shore thousands of houses with brown tile roofs stood in ranks down to the water's edge. Elsewhere were unused wharves, rotting piles, a warehouse or two, a saloon with purple and green windows extending over the water. On the dock a girl of seventeen or eighteen sat tossing pebbles into the water. She gave Gersen a brief dispassionate stare, then looked away. Ger- sen turned back to consider the houseboat. If this were Navarth's residence, he enjoyed a very pleasant prospect-though the wan sunlight, the brown roofs of Dourrai, the rotting wharves, the lap- ping water, invested the scene with melancholy. Even the girl seemed somber beyond her years. She wore a short black skirt, a brown jacket. Her hair was dark and rumpled, whether from wind or neglect, it could not be known. Gersen approached and inquired, "Is Navarth aboard the houseboat?" She nodded without change of expression, and watched with the detachment of a naturalist as Gersen descended the ladder to the landing, then crossed an alarming gangplank to the foredeck of the houseboat. Gersen knocked at the door. There was no response. Gersen knocked again. The door was flung violently open; a sleepy un- shaven man peered forth. His age was indeterminate; he was thin, spindle-shanked, with a twisted beak of a nose, rumpled hair of no particular color, eyes which though perfectly set gave the impres- sion of looking in two directions at once. His manner was wild and truculent. "Is there no privacy left in the world? Off the boat, at once. Whenever I settle for a moment's rest, some sheep-faced functionary, some importunate peddler of tracts insists on pounding me out of my couch. Will you not depart? Have I not made myself clear? I warn you, I have a trick or two up my sleeve .. ." Gersen tried to speak to no avail. When Navarrh reached within he hastily retreated to the dock. "A moment of your time!" he called. "I am no functionary, no salesman. I am named Henry Lucas, and I wish-" Navarth shook his skinny fist. "Not now, not tomorrow^ not in the total scope of the future, nor at any time thereafter, do I wish to make your acquaintance. Be off with you! You have the face of 51 a man that brings ill news; a gnashing blacktooth grin. These mat- THE DEMON PRINCES 394 ters are clear to me: you are fey! I want nothing of you. Go away." With a leer of evil triumph he swung the gangplank away from the landing, re-entered the houseboat. Gersen returned to the dock. The girl sat as before. Gersen looked back down at the houseboat. He asked in a wondering voice: "Is he always like that?" "He is Navarth," said the girl, as if this were all that need be said. Gersen went to the saloon, drank a pint of beer. The bartender was a quiet watchful man of great height with an imposing stomach, and either knew nothing about Navarth or did not choose to reveal what he knew. Gersen gleaned no information. He sat thinking. A half hour passed. Then going to the tele- phone directory, he looked in the classified section under Salvage. An advertisement caught his eye: JOBAN SALVAGE AND TOW TUGS-CRANE BARGE-DIVING EQUIPMENT No job too large or too small. Gersen telephoned and made his needs known. He was assured that on the morrow the equipment he required would be at his service. The following morning a heavy ocean-going tug drove up the estuary, turned, eased into the mooring next to Navarth's house- boat, with a bare three feet between. The mate bawled orders to the seamen; lines were flung up to the dock and dropped over bol- lards. The tug was moored. Navarth came out on deck, dancing with fury. "Must you moor so close? Take that great hulk away; do you intend to thrust me into the dock?" Leaning on the railing of the tug, Gersen looked down into Navarth's upturned face. "I believe I spoke a few words to you yesterday?" "I recall very well; I requested your departure, and here you are again, more inconveniently than before." "I wonder if you would give me the pleasure of a few minutes' conversation? Perhaps there might be profit in it for you." "Profit? Bah. I have poured more money out of my shoe than you have spent. I require only that you take your tug elsewhere." 52 THE PALACE OF LOl^E 395 "Gertainly. We are here but for a few minutes." Navarth gave a pettish nod. At the far side of the tug the diver Gersen had hired was climbing back on board. Gersen turned to Navarth. "It's very important that I speak to you; if you would be so good as to-" "This importance exists from a single point of view. Be off with you and your mammoth tug!" "At once," said Gersen. He nodded to the diver, who touched a button. Under the houseboat sounded an explosion; the houseboat shuddered and began to list. Navarth ran back and forth in a frenzy. From the tug grapples were lowered and hooked to the houseboat's rub-rail. "Apparently there has been an explosion in your engine room," Gersen told Navarth. "How can this be? There has never been an explosion before. There is not even an engine. I am about to sink!" "Not so long as you are supported by the lines. But we are leaving in one minute and I must cast loose the grapples." "WTiat?" Navarth threw up his arms. "I will go to the bottom, together with the boat! Is this your desire?" "If you recall, you yourself ordered me to leave," said Gersen in a reasonable voice. "Hence-" he turned to the crewmen. "Throw off the grapples. We depart." "No, no!" bellowed Navarth. 'Til sink!" "If you invite me aboard your boat, if you talk to me and help me compose an article I'm writing, then that's a different matter," said Gersen. "I might be disposed to help you through this mis- fortune, even, perhaps, to the extent of repairing your hull." "WTly not?" stormed Navarth. "You are responsible for the explosion." "Careful, Navarth. That's at the very verge of slander! Remem- ber, there are witnesses." "Bah! What you have done is piracy and extortion. Writing an article, indeed. Well, then-why didn't you say so in the first place? I too am a writer! Come aboard; we will talk. I am always grateful for some small diversion; a man without friends is a tree without leaves." Gersen jumped down upon the houseboat; Navarth, now all 53 amiability, arranged chairs where they caught the full play of the pallid sunlight. He brought forth a bottle of white wine. "Sit then; I HE DEMON PRINCES 396 make yourself at ease'" He opened the bottle, poured, then leaning back in his chair drank with pleasure His face was placid and guile- less, as if all the racial wisdom had passed through leaving no per- ceptible traces. Like Earth, Navarth was old, irresponsible and melancholy, full of a dangerous mirth. "You are a writer then? I may say you do not correspond to the usual image." Gersen produced his Cosmopoliv identification. "Mr. Henry Lu- cas," read Navarth "Special writer Why do you come to me? I am no longer heeded, my vogue is a memory Discredited, penurious. Where was my offense^ I sought to express truth in all its vehe- mence. This is a danger. A meaning must be uttered idly, without emphasis. The listener is under no compulsion to react, his custom- ary defenses are not m place, the meaning enters his mind I have much to say about the world, but every year the compulsion dwin- dles. Let them live and die, it is all one to me. WTiat is the scope of your article^" "Viole Falushe." Navarth blinked. "An interesting topic, but why come to me?" "Because you knew him as Vogel Filschner." "Hm Well, yes. This is a fact not generally known." With fingers suddenly limp Navarth poured more wine "What specifi- cally do you wish^" "Knowledge." "I suggest," said Navarth suddenly brisk, "that you seek the information at its source." Gersen nodded agreement. "Well enough, if I knew where to look. But what if he is off Beyond^ At his Palace of Love." "This is not the case; he is here on Earth." As soon as Navarth spoke he seemed to regret his ingenuousness and frowned in irri- tation. Gersen leaned back, his doubts and misgivings dissolved. Vogel Filschner and Viole Falushe were one; here was a man who knew him in both identities. Navarth had become uneasy and resentful. "A thousand topics more interesting than Viole Falushe " "How do you know he's on Earth3" 54 Navarth made a sound of grand scorn. "How do I know any- thing^ 1 am Navarth'" He pointed to a wisp of smoke on the sky. "I see that, I know." He pointed to a dead fish, floating belly up- THE PAL4LF OF LOVE ward. "I see that, I know " He raised the bottle of wine, held it up against the sunlight. "I see that, I know " Gersen reflected a moment m silence. "I am in no position to criticize your epistemology," he said at last "In the first place, I don't understand it Have you no more explicit knowledge of Viole Falushe3" Navarth attempted to lay his finger slyly alongside his nose, but miscalculating, prodded his eye. "There is a time for bravado and another for caution I still do not know the point of your article." "It is to be a judicious document, without exaggeration or apol- ogy. I intend that the facts will speak for themselves." Navarth pursed his lips "A dangerous undertaking. Viole Fa- lushe is the most sensitive of men. Do you recall the princess who detected a pea under forty mattresses3 Viole Falushe can smell out a slur in a blind infant's morning invocation to Kalzibah . . On the other hand, the world revolves, the carpet of knowledge unrolls. Viole Falushe has given me no cause for gratitude." "Your appraisal of his character then is negative?" asked Gersen cautiously. Navarth could control himself no longer. He drank wine with a grandiose gesture. "Negative indeed. Were I to give all orders, what a retribution I could create'" He slumped back in his chair, pointed a skinny finger toward the horizon, spoke in a hushed mon- otone. "A pyre tall as a mountain, and Viole Falushe at the top. Platforms surrounding for ten thousand musicians. With a single glance I strike the fire The musicians play while their whisky boils and their instruments melt Viole Falushe sings soprano .. ." He poured more wine. "A wistful vision. It can never be I would be content seeing Viole Falushe drowned or dismembered by lions-" "You evidently are well acquainted." Navarth nodded, his gaze fixed on the past "Vogel Filschner read my poetry An imaginative youth, but disoriented How he changed, how he expanded. To his imagination he added control, he is now a great artist." "Artist3 What manner of artist5" Navarth dismissed the question as irrelevant. "Never could he have arrived at his present stature without art, without style and proportion. Do not be deceived' Like myself he is a simple man, 55 with the clearest of goals Now you-you are the most complicated THE. DEMON PRINCES 398 and opaque of men. I see a corner of your mind, then a black film shifts. Are you an Earthman? But tell me nothing." Navarth waved his hands as if to intercept any answer Gersen might feel called upon to make. "There is too much knowledge already in the world; we use facts as crutches, to the impoverishment of our senses. Facts are falsehoods; logic is deceit. I know a single system of commu- nication: the declaiming of poetry." "Viole Falushe is also a poet?" "He has no great art with words," grumbled Navarth, unwilling to relinquish control of the conversation. "When Viole Falushe visits Earth, where does he stay? Here with you?" Navarth stared at Gersen unbelievingly. "This is a sorry thought." "Where then does he stay?" "Here, there, everywhere. He is as elusive as air." "How do you seek him out?" "That I never do. He occasionally visits me." "And he has done so recently?" "Yes, yes, yes. Have I not implied as much? Why are you so interested in Viole Falushe?" "To answer this would be to inflict a fact upon you," said Ger- sen with a grin. "But it's no secret. I represent Cosmopolis magazine and I wish to write an article on his life and activities." "Hmmf. A popinjay for vanity is Viole Falushe. But why not put your questions to him directly?" "I would like to do so. First I must make his acquaintance." "Nothing is easier," declared Navarth, "provided you pay the fees." "W^hy not? I am on a liberal expense account." Navarth jumped to his feet, suddenly full of enthusiasm. "We will need a beautiful girl, young, unsullied. She must project a par- ticular quality of scintillance, a susceptibility, a fervor, an urgency." He looked vaguely here and there, as if in search of something he 56 had lost. Up on the dock he spied the girl whom Gersen had seen the day before. Navarth put fingers to his mouth, produced a shrill whistle, signaled the girl to approach. "She'll do very well." "Is this an unsullied young scintillant?" asked Gersen. "She seems more of a guttersnipe." "Ha ha," cawed Navarth. "You will see! I am weak and ca- THE PALACE OF LOVE 399 chectic, but I am Navarth; old as I am, women bloom under my touch. You will see." The girl came aboard the houseboat, and listened to Navarth's program without comment. "We go forth to dine. Expense means nothing, we shall exalt ourselves with the finest. Prepare yourself then with silks, with jewels, with your most precious unguents. This is a wealthy gentleman, the finest of fellows. WTiat is your name once more?" "Henry Lucas." "Henry Lucas. He is impatient to proceed. Go then, prepare yourself." The girl shrugged. "I am prepared," "You are the best judge of this," declared Navarth. "Inside then, while I consult my wardrobe." He glanced at the sky. "A yellow day, a yellow night. I will wear yellow." He led the way into his saloon, which was furnished with a wooden table, two chairs of carved oak, shelves stuffed with books and oddments, a vase containing several stalks of pampas grass. Na- varth reached into a cabinet for a second flagon of wine, which he opened and banged upon the table, along with glasses. "Drink." With this he disappeared into the next room. Gersen and the girl were left alone. He examined her covertly. She wore the black skirt of yesterday, with a black short-sleeved blouse, sandals, no jewelry or skin tone, which on Earth was not currently fashionable. The girl had good features, though her hair was a tangle. She was either extremely poised or vastly indifferent. On impulse Gersen took a comb from Navarth's washstand and going to the girl, combed her hair. After a single startled glance she stood, quiet and passive. Gersen wondered what went on in her mind. Was she as mad as Navarth? "There," he said at last. "You look somewhat less of a raga- muffin." Navarth returned, wearing a maroon jacket, several sizes too large, a pair of yellow shoes. "You have not tasted the wine." He filled three glasses brimming. "A merry evening in prospect. Here, 57 the three of us; three islands in the sea, on each island a castaway soul. We go forth together, and what shall we find?" Gersen tasted the wine: a fine heady muscatel; he drank. Na- varth poured the wine down his throat as if he were emptying a bucket into the estuary. The girl drank, without a tremor, without 400 THE DEMON PRINCES any display of emotion. A strange girl, thought Gersen. Somewhere behind the grave face was flamboyance. What stimulus could bring it forth? What would cause her to laugh? "Are we ready then?" Navarth looked inquiringly from the girl to Gersen, then threw open the door and ushered them graciously forth. "In search ofViole Falushe!" From "Viole Falushe," Chapter III of The Demon Princes, by Carl Carphen (Elucidarian Press, New Wexford, Aloy- sius, Vega). Each of the Demon Princes must cope with the prob- lem of notoriety. Each is sufficiently vain and flamboy- ant (Attel Malagate is the exception) to wish to flourish his personality, to impress his style upon as many lives as possible. Practical considerations, however, make an- onymity and facelessness important, especially as each of the Demon Princes relishes his visits to the worlds of Oikumene. Viole Falushe is no exception. Like Mal- agate, Kokor Hekkus, Lens Larque and Howard Alan Treesong, he Jealously guards his identity, and not even guests at his Palace of Love have seen his face. In some respects Viole Falushe is the most human of the Demon Princes: which is to say his vices are on a scale of human understanding. The unimaginable cru- elty, reptilian callousness, megalomania, weird mischief exemplified respectively by Kokor Hekkus, Malagate, Lens Larque and Howard Alan Treesong are totally absent. The evil in Viole Falushe can be characterized as arachnid vindictiveness, infantile sensitivity, mon- strous self-indulgence. His vices aside, there is an oddly appealing aspect to Viole Falushe, a warmth, an idealism: so much is conceded by the most uncompromising moralists. Lis- THE DKMON PRINCFS ten to Viole Falushe himself, as he addresses the stu- dents of Cervantes University (by recording, naturallv): "I am an unhappy man. I am haunted by my in- ability to express the inexpressible, to come to terms with the unknown. The pursuit of beauty is, of course, a major psychological drive. In its various guises- which is to say, the urge to perfection, the yearning to 58 merge with the eternal, the explorer's restlessness, the realization of an Absolute created by ourselves, yet larger than our totality-it is perhaps the most single important human thrust. "I am tormented by this thrust; I strive, I build; yet, paradoxically, I suffer from the conviction that should I ever achieve my peculiar goals, I might find the results dissatisfying. In this case, the contest is worth more than the victory. I will not describe my own struggle, my griefs, my dark midnights, my heartbreaks. You might find them incomprehensible, or worse, ludicrous.