[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Thrilling Wonder Stories February 1947.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
CHAPTER I
Empires in the Making
The speaker inside the house spoke softly.
"Guests for Kim Rendell, asking permission to land."
Kim stared up at the unfamiliar stars of the Second Galaxy, and pickedout a tiny winking light with his eyes. He moved to a speaker-disk.
"Land and be welcomed." To Dona he added, "It's a flier. I've beenexpecting something like this. We need fuel for the Starshineif we're not to be stuck on this one planet forever. My guess is thatsomebody has come through the matter-transmitter from Ades to argueabout it."
He moved to the edge of the terrace to watch the landing. Dona came andstood beside him, her hand twisting into his. The night was very dark,and the two small moons of Terranova cast no more than enough lightto outline nearby objects. The house behind Kim and Dona was low andsprawling and, on its polished outer surface, unnamed Second Galaxyconstellations glinted faintly.
The flier came down, black and seemingly ungainly, with spinning rotorsthat guided and controlled its descent, rather than sustaining itagainst the planet's gravity. The extraordinarily flexible vegetationof Terranova bent away from the hovering object. It landed and therotors ceased to spin. Figures got out.
"I'm here," said Kim Rendell into the darkness.
Two men came across the matted lawn to the terrace. One was thecolony organizer for Terranova and the other was the definitelyrough-and-ready mayor of Steadheim, a small settlement on Ades back inthe First Galaxy.
"I am honored," said Kim in the stock phrase of greeting.
The two figures came heavily up on the terrace. Dona went indoorsand came back with refreshments, according to the custom of Ades andTerranova. The visitors accepted the glasses, in which ice tinkledmusically.
"You seem depressed," said Kim politely, another stock phrase. It was away of getting immediately to business.
"There's trouble," growled the Mayor of Steadheim. "Bad trouble. Itcouldn't be worse. It looks like Ades is going to be wiped out. Forlack of space-ships and fuel. Those so-and-so's on Sinab Two!"
"Lack of space-ships and fuel?" protested Kim. "But you're making them!"
"We thought we were," growled the Mayor. "We've stopped. We're stuck.We're finished—and the ships aren't. The same with the fuel. There'snot a drop for you and things look bad! But we can't make ships, and wecouldn't make fuel for them if we could! That's why we've come to you.We've got to have those ships!"
He pounded with his fist for emphasis. Kim blinked at him. After twentythousand years of civilization it was odd to hear a man say that itwas impossible to make anything that happened to be wanted. Most of thepeoples of the First Galaxy, to be sure, were hardly progressive.
Every habitable planet had been explored and colonized, and thehuman race swarmed and bred from rim to rim. But on every planet butone—Ades—men were enslaved by the Disciplinary Circuit, which, as anagent of government subjected every citizen on every planet to tortureor death at the whim of his rulers.[1]
So everywhere but on Ades in the First Galaxy progress had come to anend and only those people who, for intelligence or crime or rebellionor the lack of a sheeplike spirit, had been exiled to Ades