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OVERLORD OF EARTHby Lloyd Arthur EshbachWhen man finally achieves world peace, what will he do about Andrev?--Startlingfeature-length future-science novelet!Will men in their growing wisdom finally realize the stupidity of Internationalslaughter and forget the so-called art of war? But when and if they do, mighteven then an Andrev appear--a master killer who might have discovered the secretof physical immortality and have lain in a hidden crypt for centuries, a productof an earlier, more violent day who waited patiently for the time when he wouldfind matured mankind an easy prey for his bloodthirsty villainy?CHAPTER IKERRY KORD crouched in utter blackness, sensing rather than seeing the othereighteen men in the belly of the glider. Only Glenn Bodey, squatting at hisback, strapped with him in the two-man parachute, could he definitely identify.Minutes before, the motor of the giant tow-plane had been killed, and Kerry knewthat the fleet of twenty-five gliders must be in the vicinity of the "Overlord'sThrone."Inhaling deeply, Kerry touched the emergency 'chute release with his left handand his Ghormley automatic with his right. A matter of minutes now. Despiterigid self-control, he could feel his heartbeat quicken, and a constriction highin his chest made breathing difficult. He rose to his full six-foot height; feltBodey's broad form rising with him."Cold up here," the latter growled heavily. "I could do with a little heat.""It'll be warmer shortly," Kerry commented. "much warmer--very shortly."That was how it had been since their take-off from their hidden base in theruins of New York City--small talk--trivial complaints--leading up to indirectadmission of the tension that gripped all of them.Soon the waiting would be ended. Soon they would actually attack the strongholdof the world dictator-- the self-styled "Overlord." Soon they would know whetherthey would live or die--whether humanity would remain enslaved or would be free.In his mind's eye Kerry again saw the final assembly of The Remnant. Sawgrim-faced, gray-clad hordes stalking through dank tunnels, littered with thesilt and rubbish of decades, to meet in what had once been the terminus of avast net of subway tubes, the heart of the transportation system of Earth'sgreatest metropolis. The Remnant of earth's freemen--the comparative few of allmankind who refused to yield to Andrev, the Overlord--had chosen instead to livealmost as beasts among the ruins of once mighty cities.He saw again the close-packed, waiting thousands facing the high platform uponwhich had stood the Chief, Janothan Hardinger, stiffly erect in the trim, graysynthane of The Remnant, sharply visible in the beams of a battery offloodlights. Behind him had sat the Ten, the scientists, councilors andstrategists of The Remnant. And all about the platform, in motionless rank uponrank, arranged with military precision, had stood five hundred men in lustrelessblack--Kerry Kord among them.He heard again the final ringing words of the Chief. "We need not die--and weshall not die! Men will again be free! Our plans have been made; ourpreparations are complete."You have been summoned to learn your part in our plan for freedom. What thatplan is we may not say--but upon each of you and the successful completion ofyour individual assignment depends the liberty of humanity. Each of you will bearmed. Each of you will be fitted with a uniform of the Overlord's Guard. Eachof you will be assigned to a city and a man or woman in that city. And thatindividual must die!"Hardinger's hand had indicated the ranks of the men in black. "Upon these menfalls the greater task of the destruction of the Overlord himself. They are thepick of all The Remnant--and they shall not fail!"A week from today is the anniversary of man's enslavement, the Overlord's'Liberation Day'. There will be carousing and riotous celebration, as therealways has been, and when it is at its height, when midnight mantles theHimalayan peak they call the Overlord's Throne, we strike--for freedom!"AT LAST that hour was at hand! His hour, he hoped, when he would destroy thelife of the one being he truly hated. The slayer of his father, once one of theTen, and the greatest scientist of his day.Kerry's thoughts veered to Andrev, the Overlord, and his angular featurestightened savagely. Murderer, sadist, spoiler of a civilization. Product of anearlier, more violent day who, so the tale was told, had discovered the secretof physical immortality, and had lain in a crypt for three hundred years, toawaken and enslave a world. Men in their growing wisdom had finally realized thestupidity of international slaughter and had forgotten the so-called art of war.Andrev, steeped in the foul knowledge of a century--the twentieth--redolent withwars, had found the new age easy prey. And, whether or not he was immortal, hehad ruled Earth for a hundred years, yet physically had not changed at all.Above everything, Andrev must not escape! He would be sought out--and would befound where masses of his satellites were assembled. For the Overlord was neveralone....was afraid to be alone! Afraid, with a maddening, unbalancing fear bornof his centuries in the tomb. Centuries, it was whispered, when his body hadbeen as though dead, while his mind was alert, awake, and utterly--alone.Minutes now--perhaps seconds--and the men from the past would be attacked by anarmy recruited from the pages of history. "Paratroopers" had figured in wars inAndrev's age--and "paratroopers would destroy the head and heart of theOverlord's system! Invisible, black-clad paratroopers raining from a midnightsky ....Momentarily a red light winked over the heads of the waiting men. The signal. Arustle of synthane swished through the silence. Then a great door slid aside inthe wall of the glider and a blast of frigid air whipped through the opening."Jump position!" Kerry barked. "Two and two. Remember your instructions." He wastalking to fill in the gap before the actual leap into the dark. "We'll try toland on the flying field in front of the Star Tower. If we miss it, we get thereas fast as we can. We join the wedge that blasts its way into the Tower--then,unless Andrev is blasted in the first assault--and if intelligence knowsanything, he won't be, for he'll run at the first sign of trouble--we hit forthe top of the Tower, blasting everyone before us."Kerry's words came faster. Time was running out. "If I get mine, Bodey takesover. If he goes, Gill is in command. If Gill goes--you know the order.Only--get--through!"Again that flash of red! And the first pair of men leaped into the night--anight now aglow with the light that rose from the Overlord's citadel. On theheels of the first, the second pair--the third--split seconds between jumps, thecords attached to the rod overhead automatically opening the 'chutes. ... Kerryand Bodey took their place in the line, the last to jump save the pilot whowould abandon the glider and follow ....With a rush of thin, icy air, Kerry and his partner plummeted toward theHimalayan plateau far below. Automatically Kerry counted, his finger grippingthe emergency pull--one-and-a-two--he felt the wrench and jar under hisarm-pits, the thud against the back of his padded cap as the folds of blacksynthane ballooned above them. Heard Bodey's sardonic, "Nice view--but tooblamed cold for comfort." He grinned a tight, strained grin and looked downward.Brilliantly lighted, the Overlord's Throne lay like a jeweled mosaic amongsnow-capped peaks. As the plateau leaped skyward, details appeared. Parklikeexpanses of precisely trimmed green formed the setting for glittering buildingsof metal and plastic, neon-tubed and garish, where the tyrant government ofEarth held sway. One great structure of glistening steel in the center of theplateau stood out by virtue of its shape, a perfect six-pointed star, the symbolof the Overlord. Crimson lights flooded the top of the famous Star Tower whichheld the Council Hall of Andrev and his lieutenants.CURIOUSLY Kerry peered into the sky around him. As far as the eye could see, heand Bodey were alone in the blackness. So perfectly were the others concealed bytheir lustreless black that they defied detection. He heard Bodey's voice thinlyin his ears:"Nice night for a murder!"Kerry made no comment. Skillfully he maneuvered the 'chute toward the giantstructure. A great flying field surrounded the tower, a field where Andrev'sfollowers landed when they came to report to the Overlord. That was thedestination of two hundred of them--the very heart of things, where they hopedto find the tyrant. Another hundred would seek the communication center--fiftymore, supply headquarters, and so on, completely covering the plateau. The windcaught the 'chute and swept it toward the Star Tower ...closer...now to swerve...To Kerry's taut senses came a shrill, thin whine, mounting in a swift crescendo.He'd been waiting for that--a powerful robot plane diving out of the blacknesswith a four-ton cargo of destruction--plummeting toward the quarters of theOverlord's Guard. Seconds after the first faint sound, it struck with a mightyroaring blast that rolled thunderously over the mountains, and an angry, luridmass of smoke and flame plumed skyward. A direct hit, Kerry exulted, asfragments of stone and metal and plastic rained earthward. That wouldhelp--plenty!With startling suddenness a hail of bursting shells flared toward them frombatteries ... [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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OVERLORD OF EARTHby Lloyd Arthur EshbachWhen man finally achieves world peace, what will he do about Andrev?--Startlingfeature-length future-science novelet!Will men in their growing wisdom finally realize the stupidity of Internationalslaughter and forget the so-called art of war? But when and if they do, mighteven then an Andrev appear--a master killer who might have discovered the secretof physical immortality and have lain in a hidden crypt for centuries, a productof an earlier, more violent day who waited patiently for the time when he wouldfind matured mankind an easy prey for his bloodthirsty villainy?CHAPTER IKERRY KORD crouched in utter blackness, sensing rather than seeing the othereighteen men in the belly of the glider. Only Glenn Bodey, squatting at hisback, strapped with him in the two-man parachute, could he definitely identify.Minutes before, the motor of the giant tow-plane had been killed, and Kerry knewthat the fleet of twenty-five gliders must be in the vicinity of the "Overlord'sThrone."Inhaling deeply, Kerry touched the emergency 'chute release with his left handand his Ghormley automatic with his right. A matter of minutes now. Despiterigid self-control, he could feel his heartbeat quicken, and a constriction highin his chest made breathing difficult. He rose to his full six-foot height; feltBodey's broad form rising with him."Cold up here," the latter growled heavily. "I could do with a little heat.""It'll be warmer shortly," Kerry commented. "much warmer--very shortly."That was how it had been since their take-off from their hidden base in theruins of New York City--small talk--trivial complaints--leading up to indirectadmission of the tension that gripped all of them.Soon the waiting would be ended. Soon they would actually attack the strongholdof the world dictator-- the self-styled "Overlord." Soon they would know whetherthey would live or die--whether humanity would remain enslaved or would be free.In his mind's eye Kerry again saw the final assembly of The Remnant. Sawgrim-faced, gray-clad hordes stalking through dank tunnels, littered with thesilt and rubbish of decades, to meet in what had once been the terminus of avast net of subway tubes, the heart of the transportation system of Earth'sgreatest metropolis. The Remnant of earth's freemen--the comparative few of allmankind who refused to yield to Andrev, the Overlord--had chosen instead to livealmost as beasts among the ruins of once mighty cities.He saw again the close-packed, waiting thousands facing the high platform uponwhich had stood the Chief, Janothan Hardinger, stiffly erect in the trim, graysynthane of The Remnant, sharply visible in the beams of a battery offloodlights. Behind him had sat the Ten, the scientists, councilors andstrategists of The Remnant. And all about the platform, in motionless rank uponrank, arranged with military precision, had stood five hundred men in lustrelessblack--Kerry Kord among them.He heard again the final ringing words of the Chief. "We need not die--and weshall not die! Men will again be free! Our plans have been made; ourpreparations are complete."You have been summoned to learn your part in our plan for freedom. What thatplan is we may not say--but upon each of you and the successful completion ofyour individual assignment depends the liberty of humanity. Each of you will bearmed. Each of you will be fitted with a uniform of the Overlord's Guard. Eachof you will be assigned to a city and a man or woman in that city. And thatindividual must die!"Hardinger's hand had indicated the ranks of the men in black. "Upon these menfalls the greater task of the destruction of the Overlord himself. They are thepick of all The Remnant--and they shall not fail!"A week from today is the anniversary of man's enslavement, the Overlord's'Liberation Day'. There will be carousing and riotous celebration, as therealways has been, and when it is at its height, when midnight mantles theHimalayan peak they call the Overlord's Throne, we strike--for freedom!"AT LAST that hour was at hand! His hour, he hoped, when he would destroy thelife of the one being he truly hated. The slayer of his father, once one of theTen, and the greatest scientist of his day.Kerry's thoughts veered to Andrev, the Overlord, and his angular featurestightened savagely. Murderer, sadist, spoiler of a civilization. Product of anearlier, more violent day who, so the tale was told, had discovered the secretof physical immortality, and had lain in a crypt for three hundred years, toawaken and enslave a world. Men in their growing wisdom had finally realized thestupidity of international slaughter and had forgotten the so-called art of war.Andrev, steeped in the foul knowledge of a century--the twentieth--redolent withwars, had found the new age easy prey. And, whether or not he was immortal, hehad ruled Earth for a hundred years, yet physically had not changed at all.Above everything, Andrev must not escape! He would be sought out--and would befound where masses of his satellites were assembled. For the Overlord was neveralone....was afraid to be alone! Afraid, with a maddening, unbalancing fear bornof his centuries in the tomb. Centuries, it was whispered, when his body hadbeen as though dead, while his mind was alert, awake, and utterly--alone.Minutes now--perhaps seconds--and the men from the past would be attacked by anarmy recruited from the pages of history. "Paratroopers" had figured in wars inAndrev's age--and "paratroopers would destroy the head and heart of theOverlord's system! Invisible, black-clad paratroopers raining from a midnightsky ....Momentarily a red light winked over the heads of the waiting men. The signal. Arustle of synthane swished through the silence. Then a great door slid aside inthe wall of the glider and a blast of frigid air whipped through the opening."Jump position!" Kerry barked. "Two and two. Remember your instructions." He wastalking to fill in the gap before the actual leap into the dark. "We'll try toland on the flying field in front of the Star Tower. If we miss it, we get thereas fast as we can. We join the wedge that blasts its way into the Tower--then,unless Andrev is blasted in the first assault--and if intelligence knowsanything, he won't be, for he'll run at the first sign of trouble--we hit forthe top of the Tower, blasting everyone before us."Kerry's words came faster. Time was running out. "If I get mine, Bodey takesover. If he goes, Gill is in command. If Gill goes--you know the order.Only--get--through!"Again that flash of red! And the first pair of men leaped into the night--anight now aglow with the light that rose from the Overlord's citadel. On theheels of the first, the second pair--the third--split seconds between jumps, thecords attached to the rod overhead automatically opening the 'chutes. ... Kerryand Bodey took their place in the line, the last to jump save the pilot whowould abandon the glider and follow ....With a rush of thin, icy air, Kerry and his partner plummeted toward theHimalayan plateau far below. Automatically Kerry counted, his finger grippingthe emergency pull--one-and-a-two--he felt the wrench and jar under hisarm-pits, the thud against the back of his padded cap as the folds of blacksynthane ballooned above them. Heard Bodey's sardonic, "Nice view--but tooblamed cold for comfort." He grinned a tight, strained grin and looked downward.Brilliantly lighted, the Overlord's Throne lay like a jeweled mosaic amongsnow-capped peaks. As the plateau leaped skyward, details appeared. Parklikeexpanses of precisely trimmed green formed the setting for glittering buildingsof metal and plastic, neon-tubed and garish, where the tyrant government ofEarth held sway. One great structure of glistening steel in the center of theplateau stood out by virtue of its shape, a perfect six-pointed star, the symbolof the Overlord. Crimson lights flooded the top of the famous Star Tower whichheld the Council Hall of Andrev and his lieutenants.CURIOUSLY Kerry peered into the sky around him. As far as the eye could see, heand Bodey were alone in the blackness. So perfectly were the others concealed bytheir lustreless black that they defied detection. He heard Bodey's voice thinlyin his ears:"Nice night for a murder!"Kerry made no comment. Skillfully he maneuvered the 'chute toward the giantstructure. A great flying field surrounded the tower, a field where Andrev'sfollowers landed when they came to report to the Overlord. That was thedestination of two hundred of them--the very heart of things, where they hopedto find the tyrant. Another hundred would seek the communication center--fiftymore, supply headquarters, and so on, completely covering the plateau. The windcaught the 'chute and swept it toward the Star Tower ...closer...now to swerve...To Kerry's taut senses came a shrill, thin whine, mounting in a swift crescendo.He'd been waiting for that--a powerful robot plane diving out of the blacknesswith a four-ton cargo of destruction--plummeting toward the quarters of theOverlord's Guard. Seconds after the first faint sound, it struck with a mightyroaring blast that rolled thunderously over the mountains, and an angry, luridmass of smoke and flame plumed skyward. A direct hit, Kerry exulted, asfragments of stone and metal and plastic rained earthward. That wouldhelp--plenty!With startling suddenness a hail of bursting shells flared toward them frombatteries ... [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]