He was anxious to know why they had chosen him as their human
representative. "Weren't there any men who did try to get through?" he
asked.
"A few--a very few--reached this space." She added reluctantly, "Some
of them proved to lack stability of substance--"
He was angry, at her, and at himself, for not realizing that he had
not been chosen. It had merely been a question of survival. "Then you
_knew_ what could happen to Schiemann!"
"It could have happened to anyone, Mattern. You knew there were risks
to be taken. We did not conceal that from you."
And that was true. It had not occurred to him that the risks would not
be equally shared by all three members of the ship's company.
The mbretersha continued: "And others of those who come through go mad.
We feared that might happen to you, Mattern."
"Others go sane also," he said.
"This is the first time that has happened in my experience. But truly,
Mattern, a madman would not seek to reach us."
"I wonder," Mattern said. "I wonder if anybody but a madman would."
This time he had displeased her. There was chill silence, and then:
"Time is short. It is best that we return to discussing our business
together. Now we will pay you for the merchandise you have brought us
with a substance which is stable on Earth--at least it was in times
gone by--and which used to become a stuff of considerable value. On
your next trip--"
"What makes you think there's going to be a next trip? What makes you
think I'm going to come back here again?" He would really have to be a
madman to go through that all over again.
The mbretersha smiled. "You will come, Mattern," she said. "You will
come when you see how rewarding it is to deal with us. And you will
come because--"
"Because of what?" he demanded, more sharply than one should address a
queen.
"Because your kqyres will make sure that you do." The tall, splendidly
illuminated being who stood close to her throne bowed as she introduced
him: "This is Lord Njeri, who served as kqyres with the previous
captain. He will serve with you."
"Kqyres? What's that?" Apprehension quickened inside Mattern. "And what
right have you to--"
"Your partner is dead," the mbretersha told him. "Lord Njeri is your
new partner."
* * * * *
Mattern stood staring at her. No point protesting further, he knew; he
was on her world, in her power. For the time being, he would have to
obey her.
"Come, Captain Mattern," said the kqyres. "It is fitting that we
superintend the loading of the ship."
So they went back to the port and Mattern watched the xhindi fill
the _Valkyrie's_ hold with some queer, spongy-looking substance that
couldn't possibly be of value anywhere. And beside him stood the
kqyres, as he was to be beside him for the next fifteen years.
"If you are disturbed about my effect upon your people when they catch
sight of me," the kqyres assured the young man, "you may ease your
mind. I shall make myself so that I am barely visible in your universe.
Only those who look for me can see me. You need have no fear," he
added with a sigh. "I have been through all this before."
"Yeah, that's what she told me," said Mattern grimly.
"It is disloyal of me, I know," the xhind murmured, "but I had hoped
the mbretersha would not find a human representative before I died.
I am aware of my obligation to my world--but it is not a pleasant
prospect to spend one's last years in exile, however honorable."
"Don't worry, as soon as we get to normspace, I'll send you back. I'm
not going on with this."
The kqyres seemed to shrug sadly. "You cannot send me back, for I
am permanently attached to you. Wherever you go, I go--until the
mbretersha chooses to free us, one from the other."
Mattern couldn't believe that. Once he got out of this alien universe,
none of its laws could apply to him.
"Secondly," the kqyres informed him, "you will _want_ to come back
here. When you look at the cargo and see what it is, you will want to
come back." He sighed again. "I know your species so well. And I do not
fancy they have changed."