* * * * *
He checked himself at a soft, purring noise, a shadowy fluttering in the
air. Graylock's animal flew past him, settled on its master's shoulder,
turned to stare at Dasinger and Egavine. Dasinger looked at the yellow
owl-eyes, the odd little tube of a mouth, continued to Egavine, "Ask him
where the haul was stored in the ship."
Graylock confirmed Leed Farous's statement of what he had seen in the
Antares's records. All but a few of the star hyacinths had been placed
in a vault-like compartment in the storage, and the compartment was
sealed. Explosives would be required to open it. Hovig kept out half a
dozen of the larger stones, perhaps as an antidote to boredom during the
long voyage ahead. Graylock had found one of them just before Hovig's
infernal instrument went into action.
"And where is that one now?" Dr. Egavine asked.
"I still have it."
"On your person?"
"Yes."
Dr. Egavine held out his hand, palm upward. "You no longer want it,
Graylock. Give it to me."
Graylock looked bewildered; for a moment he appeared about to weep. Then
he brought a knotted piece of leather from his pocket, unwrapped it,
took out the gem and placed it in Egavine's hand. Egavine picked it up
between thumb and forefinger of his other hand, held it out before him.
There was silence for some seconds while the star hyacinth burned in the
evening air and the three men and the small winged animal stared at it.
Then Dr. Egavine exhaled slowly.
"Ah, now!" he said, his voice a trifle unsteady. "Men might kill and
kill for that one beauty alone, that is true!... Will you keep it for
now, Dasinger? Or shall I?"
Dasinger looked at him thoughtfully.
"You keep it, doctor," he said.
* * * * *
"Dasinger," Dr. Egavine observed a few minutes later, "I have been
thinking...."
"Yes?"
"Graylock's attempted description of his experience indicates that the
machine on the Antares does not actually broadcast the emotion of
terror, as he believes. The picture presented is that of a mind in which
both the natural and the acquired barriers of compartmentalization are
temporarily nullified, resulting in an explosion of compounded insanity
to an extent which would be inconceivable without such an outside agent.
As we saw in Graylock, the condition is in fact impossible to describe
or imagine! A diabolical device...."
He frowned. "Why the drug kwil counteracts such an effect remains
unclear. But since we now know that it does, I may have a solution to
the problem confronting us."