_The Great Clock of Tarth_
The Plains of Ofrid on the planet Tarth stretched flat and monotonous
as far as the eye could reach, a gently waving ocean of soft,
knee-high grass where herds of wild stads grazed and bright-hued birds
vied in brilliance with the flaming sun.
From the dark Abarian Forests to the Ice Fields of Nadia, the plain
stretched unbroken except for the tall, gray tower in its exact center
and it was toward this tower that various groups of Tarthans were now
moving.
Every nation on the planet was represented in greater or lesser
number. The slim, erect Nadians in their flat-bottomed air cars that
could hang motionless in space or skim the surface of the planet at a
thousand jeks an hour. The grim-faced Abarians, tall and finely
muscled on their powerful stads, their jeweled uniforms flashing back
the glory of the heavens. The Utalians, those chameleon men of Tarth,
their skins now the exact color of the grasses across which they rode,
thus causing their stads to appear unmounted and unguided.
All the nations of Tarth were represented, drawn toward the tower by a
century-old legend, a legend which Retoc the Abarian clarified as he
rode at the head of his own proud group.
He waved a hand, indicating the vast plain and spoke to Hultax, his
second in command, saying, "Little would one think that this flat,
empty land was once the site of a vast and powerful nation. One of the
greatest upon all Tarth!" A smile of cruelty and satisfaction played
upon his handsome features as he surveyed the plain.
"Aye," Hultax replied. "The realm of the Ofridians. Truly they were a
great nation."
"But we Abarians were greater," Retoc snapped. "We not only defeated
them but we leveled their land until not one stone stood upon
another."
"All save the tower," Hultax said. "No weapon known could so much as
scratch its surface."
* * * * *
A new voice cut in. "Quite true. Portox's scientific skill was too
great for you." Both Abarians turned quickly to scowl at the newcomer,
Bontarc of Nadia, who had swung close in his one-man car and was
hovering by their side.
Retoc's hand moved toward the hilt of his long whip-like sword, driven
there by the look of contempt in Bontarc's eyes. But Retoc hesitated.
A formidable squadron of Bontarc's Nadian fighting men hovered nearby
and the Abarian had no taste for a battle in which the odds were close
to even.
"We defeated the Ofridians fairly," he said.
"And slaughtered them fairly? Cut down the men and women and children
alike until the entire nation was obliterated?"
The systematic annihilation had taken place a century before when
Bontarc had been but a child and Retoc a young man. Karnod, Retoc's
father, now dead, had planned the war that defeated the Ofridians, his
winning card having been spies in the court of Evalla, Queen of Ofrid.
Karnod had been fatally wounded during the last battle and had
delegated to his son the task of annihilating the Ofridians and
levelling their nation. This task, Retoc accepted with relish,
reserving for himself the pleasure of slaying Queen Evalla. Details of
the torture to which Retoc subjected the beautiful Evalla were
whispered over the planet and it was said the sadistic Retoc had taken
photographs of the Queen in her agony to enjoy in later years.
It had been the scientific ability of Portox of Ofrid that had
engendered the Abarian hatred and jealousy in the first place. Portox
used his science for the good of all on the planet Tarth, but when
Karnod, Lord of Abaria, struck, no other nation came to Ofrid's aid.
Then it was too late, because Abaria's military might greatened as a
result of the Ofridian defeat and only an alliance of all other
nations could have conquered them.
Ironically, Portox had never been captured.
Now as the tall gray tower came into view, Bontarc's mind was filled
with thoughts of Portox, the Ofridian wizard. It was said that Portox
had been able to travel through space to other planets that were known
to exist, that he had left Tarth and found safety somewhere across
space, first building his tower which would never be destroyed; that a
great clock within it was measuring off one hundred years--the time on
the planet Tarth of an infant's development into manhood--and that at
the end of that span the clock would toll and there would come forth a
man to avenge the slaughter of the Ofridians.
Bontarc turned suddenly upon the dour Retoc. "Tell me," he said, "is
there any truth to the legend that the clock in the tower will toll
the end of one hundred years?"
"None whatever," the sadistic Abarian snapped. "A rumor passed from
the lips of one old woman to another."
Bontarc smiled. "Then why are you here? The hundred years are up
today."
Retoc's hand moved toward his whip-sword. "Are you calling me a liar?"
* * * * *
Bontarc watched alertly as the blade came partly from its scabbard.
"If we fight we may miss the tolling of the clock," he said evenly.
With an oath, Retoc pushed the sword back into its scabbard and put
sharp heels to his stad's flanks. The animal screamed indignantly and
rocketed ahead. Bontarc smiled and turned his car back toward his own
group.
And now they were assembled and waiting, the curious of the planet
Tarth. Would the clock toll as it was rumored Portox had said? Would
an avenger come forth to challenge Retoc and his Abarian hordes?
There was not much time left. Swiftly the clock ticked off the
remaining moments and the end of one hundred years was at hand.
Silence settled over the assembled Tarthans.
Then a great sound boomed over the plains; a single ringing peal that
rose majestically into the air, reverberated across the empty land
that once had been the site of a thriving, prosperous nation. The
first part of the legend had been fulfilled.
Then, suddenly, chaos reigned. With a great thundering that shook the
ground upon which they stood, the gray tower exploded in crimson
glory; a great mushrooming blossom of red fire erupted skyward hurling
the assembled Tarthans to the ground where they lay in numbed stupor.
The thunderous report echoed across the plain ten thousand times
louder than the tolling of the clock. But aside from the initial
dulling shock, no Tarthan was injured because the crushing power rose
upward.
There was an expression of mute wonder on Bontarc's face. And he
thought: We have not seen the end of this. It is only the beginning.
But the beginning of what? Only Portox could have known. And Portox
was--where?
Bontarc started his car and moved across the plain sensing cosmic
events but not knowing....
Not knowing that the sound of the tolling clock had gone with more
than the speed of light across the void, had been flung arrow-straight
to a brooding mansion in the heart of a thick forest upon another
planet; to the door of a cavern deep in the rock beneath the mansion.
That even now the lock of this door had responded to the electronic
impulse and the huge panel was swinging slowly open.