"Isral," answered Stevens, "you don't know what has happened to men in
the great cities. They have become soft and helpless. A score of them,
all armed, came after me, and fled at the first sign of opposition. A
band of determined infants could take the city, for these city-dwellers
are incapable of violence. What do you say to that, friend?"
"I say," declared Heber slowly, "that we'll do it!"
* * * * *
The Historian faced the little group of men, sweeping the small room
with a glance. "Where's Denning?" he asked.
The General Practitioner coughed. "The Rightmen got him," he said.
"Since Alfreed linked up the entire scientific council with what he
calls the subversives, none of us have been able to appear in public
safely. Denning's apartment was raided last night and I think he's been
liquidated."
The Neuro-specialist drummed the table-top nervously. "It's incredible
the way this psychopathia has spread all over the city. In three short
months Alfreed and his followers have become so powerful that they do
not need to intimidate opposition; they're a majority."
"You're wrong there," said the Historian. "They make a lot of noise.
But the investigation has shown--well, let's hear it from first hand
sources. Would you please repeat what you told me this morning,
Gallacher?"
A tall, thin man arose. "Despite appearance to the contrary," he
began, "Alfreed has only succeeded in winning over a certain part of
the population. Those people who have succumbed, and become Rightmen,
are those whose social position has been such as to require a minimum
training in social consciousness and responsibility, those whose
functions are such to require the minimum application of intelligence.
"These people, despite the facilities that the city offers, have been
leading very narrow, cramped lives. Their emotional attainment has been
very low, frustrated in many cases. Thus, the terrific emotional appeal
of Alfreed's insane program has swept them away, made them willing
followers."
"What," asked the Practitioner, "has been the actual range of violence
and intimidation on the part of the Rightmen?"
"Enough to have a demoralizing effect upon the city as a whole. In
fact, enough to make many feel insecure to such an extent that they
would join the Rightmen sheerly for self-protection. The cases of
violence against citizens, although still small in number, have been
increasing, and have been sufficiently ferocious to paralyze, almost
completely, any attempt at public opposition."
"Quite right," agreed the Historian. "You were correct in one sense,"
he said to the Neuro-specialist. "Alfreed does not _need_ a majority to
win an election, or to seize power now. He can either intimidate the
citizens into voting for him, or to refrain from voting at all."
"What has been done to combat Alfreed, without using his own methods,
of course?" asked an engineer.
"Rightmen have been captured by the ambulance squads, interrogated,
then treated with Regulators. The interesting thing is that, once
removed from Alfreed's influence, they return to normal very quickly,
and a bit of Regulating makes them permanently immune."
"The difficulty is," he went on, "that, so far, the psychopathia has
spread more quickly than the antidote. What we must do is set machines
to capture the Rightmen, Alfreed in particular, and regulate them. We
cannot afford to use violence ourselves because of the deadly effects
it has upon those involved in its use."
The Historian nodded. "We must move quickly," he stated, "because I
greatly think that Alfreed will make an open bid for full power very
shortly. Unless there is something else to come up, gentlemen, I
suggest we adjourn and get to work."
* * * * *
A tent camp for women, children and the animals had been pitched far
outside the city, and the forty-thousand armed men of Heber were
swinging down one of the great, out-moded superhighways which led into
the city. Overhead circled spotting planes, a vivid red in hue, marked
with symbols strange to the Hebers, and even to Markett and Stevens.
"Something must have happened in the city," the girl hazarded. They
could see it not far off, and from it issued along the highway men
marching in ragged file, with none of the snap and precision of the
Hebers.
"Fools!" spat Stevens. "If they want to reduce our numbers why don't
they drop weights from those planes?" Markett was shocked. "That's a
very clever idea," she said. "I wonder that nobody's thought of it
before."
"They haven't the military mind," said Stevens. "Such things do not
occur to them." The men from the city were drawing nearer; calmly the
Hebers unshipped their weapons, front ranks armed with spring-bows,
rear ranks with throwing darts and the savage backswords that could cut
down a grizzly bear in midcharge.
An especially large plane roared overhead, and, from it, thundered a
great voice. "Halt your forces!"
"Dr. Alfreed!" cried Markett. "That little fool's trying to order us
around."
"Ignore that," advised Stevens. "Go straight ahead. Meet that mob and
you won't find any resistance worth speaking of."
"I have arranged for everything," said Isral serenely. "Quarter will
be given when asked; corpses will not be mutilated, and no vengeance
for our own casualties will be taken once resistance has stopped. We
will accept them as equals once we have the city in our hands." He
fell silent and the tension grew as the two armies marched toward one
another at a steady gait. The huge red plane of Dr. Alfreed yawped
hysterical injunctions at the advancing Hebers, who didn't even look up.
Then, suddenly, there was a brief exchange of throwing-weapons and the
armies made contact. Automatically they split up into groups, clubbing
and slashing. Stevens waded into the thick of it, swinging a broadsword
He was startled to see that all the enemy were wearing vivid red shorts
and bandoliers and were uniformly armed with heavy, short clubs.
Remembering the timorous party that had first sought to kill him, he
was dazed at the savagery with which the city men came to attack, with
a suicidal disregard for their own safety and lives.
Further speculation he could not indulge in, for he was hard-pressed
by a piquet of men who charged with strange cries of "_Right for
Alfreed!_" One he spitted on his point; another's legs were cut away
from beneath him, and a third landed a wild blow on Stevens' shoulder
before the sizzling sweep of the backsword cut him down.
Stevens' head was curiously clear in the midst of the turmoil. With a
mental start, he realized that something had happened; that this sort
of thing no longer seemed glorious. He was not afraid; he saw it as
a necessity, but now he realized that his only desire was to get it
over with as soon as possible and have done with violence and fighting
fellow men. Mechanically he fell in line with a spearhead of Hebers
and worked his way along it to the apex; there he stayed, slashing
and parrying till a concerted attack from behind dissolved it into
skirmishing knots of men.
But now, from the city, came forth things that made the warriors gasp
in amazement. Metal cylinders, upright, wheeled, each equipped with
tentacle-like projections. They bore down upon the fray, plunging into
the ranks of the red-clad fighters. For a moment, Stevens thought
them to be reinforcements, but, now, he saw that the machines were
for another purpose. The tentacles lashed out and seized the red-clad
warriors firmly, yet, it appeared, carefully, so as not to do them
harm, and, when their arms were full, turned and made back for the city.
[Illustration: _Long tentacles reached out and seized the red-clad
warriors, bearing full loads of them back into the city._]
Stevens swung wide of a head that bobbed, and a red club came down on
his head, while another crashed into his ear. The world spun around,
then the ground reached up and struck him sharply. And, suddenly, it
was night.
"Hold your head up," said a voice.