Alfred van Vogt - The Players of Null-A

I am the State,' said Enro coldly.

Gosseyn said, 'I seem to remember hearing that one before.'

Neither man seemed aware of his remark. And for the first time it struck him that he was witnessing a major clash. Gosseyn sat up.

'You and I,' said Secoh in a singsong voice, 'hold the cup of life but for a moment. When we have drunk our fill, we shall go down into darkness—and there will still be a State.'

'Ruled by my blood.' Violently.

'Perhaps.' His voice sounded far away. 'Excellency, the fever that has seized on you I shall feed until victory is achieved.'

'And then?'

'You will receive the Temple call.'

Enro parted his lips to say something. Then he closed them again. There was a blank expression on his face, that slowly changed into a comprehending smile.

'Clever, aren't you?' he said. 'So I'll receive the Temple call, will I, to become an initiate. Is there anything significant, possibly, in the fact that you issue the calls?'

The priest said quietly, 'When the Sleeping God disapproves of what I say or do, I'll know.'

The sneer was back on Enro's face. 'Oh, you will, will you? He'll let you know, I suppose, and then you'll tell us?'

Secoh said simply, 'Your thrusts do not reach me, excellency. If I used my position for my own ends, the Sleeping God would not long tolerate such blasphemy.'

Enro hesitated. His face was no longer dark, and it seemed to Gosseyn that the powerful ruler of one-third of the galaxy felt himself on dangerous ground.

He was not surprised. Human beings had a persistent attachment for their own homes. Behind all Enro's achievements, inside the skin of this man whose word was law on nine hundred thousand warships, were all the impulses of the human nervous system.

In him they had become twisted until, in some cases, they were barely recognizable as human. Yet the man had once been a boy, and the boy a baby born on Gorgzid. So strong was the connection that he had brought the capital of the

Greatest Empire to his home planet. Such a man would not lightly insult the pagan religion by the tenets of which he had been reared.

Gosseyn saw that he had read correctly the processes of the other's mind. Enro bowed sardonically to Patricia.

'Sister,' he said, 'I humbly beg your pardon.'

He turned abruptly toward Gosseyn-Ashargin. These two people on the destroyer,' he said. 'Who are they?'

The moment for the test had come.

Gosseyn answered promptly, 'The woman is a Predictor, of no particular importance. The man is called Gilbert Gosseyn.'

He glanced at Patricia and Crang casually as he spoke the name so familiar to them. It was important that they show no sign of recognition.

They took it, it seemed to Gosseyn, very well indeed. They continued intently watching his face, but there was not a trace of surprise in their eyes.

Enro was concentrating on the lie detector. 'Any comments?' he asked.

The pause that followed was of many seconds duration. Finally, cautiously, the detector said, 'The information is correct as far as it goes.'

'How much farther should it go?' Enro asked sharply.

There is confusion,' was the reply.

'Of what?'

'Identity.' The detector seemed to realize the answer was inadequate. It repeated. There is confusion.' It started to say something else, but the sound must have been cut off, for not even the sense of a letter came through.

'Well, I'll be ,' said Enro explosively. He hesitated. 'Is

the confusion in connection with the two people on the destroyer?'

'No,' said the detector briskly. That is'—it sounded uncertain again—'that is, not exactly.' It spoke up with

determination, ‘Your excellency, this man is Ashargin, and yet he isn’t. He ——— ’ It was silent for a moment, then

lamely, 'Next question, please.'

Patricia Hardie giggled. It was an incongruous sound. Enro sent her a terrible glance.

He said savagely, 'What fool brought this faulty detector in here? Bring a replacement at once.'

The second lie detector, when it had been attached, said in answer to Enro's question, 'Yes, this is Ashargin.' It paused. 'That is—he seems to be.' It finished uncertainly, 'There is some confusion.'

There was some confusion now in the dictator, also. This is unheard of,' he said. He braced himself. 'Well, we'll get to the bottom of it.'

He stared at Ashargin. These people on the destroyer—I gather from your message to Captain Free that they are prisoners.'

Gosseyn nodded. That's right'

'And you want them brought here. Why?'

'I thought you might like to question them, said Gosseyn.

Enro looked baffled again. 'I can't see how you expect to use anyone against me once they're here in my power.' He turned to the machine. 'What about that, Detector? Has he been telling the truth?'

'If you mean, does he want them brought here? Yes, he does. As for using them against you—it's all mixed up.'

'In what way?'

'Well, there's a thought about the man on the ship being here already, and there's a thought about the Sleeping God—they all seem to be mixed up somehow with Ashargin.'

'Your excellency,' interposed Secoh, as the astounded Enro stood silent, 'may I ask a question of the Prince Ashargin?'

Enro nodded but said nothing.

'Prince,' said the priest, 'have you any idea as to the nature of this confusion?'

'Yes,' said Gosseyn.

'What is your explanation?'

'I am periodically possessed, dominated, controlled and directed by the Sleeping God.'

And , thought Gosseyn with deep satisfaction, let the lie detectors try to disprove that.

Enro laughed. It was the laughter of a man who has been keyed up and is suddenly confronted with something ridiculous. He sat down at the table, put his face in his palms, his elbows on the table, and laughed. When he looked up finally, there were tears in his eyes.

'So you are the Sleeping God,' he said, 'and now you have taken possession of Ashargin.'

The humor of it struck him anew, and he guffawed for a full half minute before once more controlling himself. This time he glanced at Secoh.

'Lord guardian,' he said, 'how many is this?' He seemed to realize that the question required explanation for the others at the table. He turned to Gosseyn. 'During the course of a year, about a hundred people on this planet alone come forward claiming to be possessed by the Sleeping God. Throughout the Empire about two thousand red-haired men pretend to be Enro the Red, and during the last eleven years approximately ten thousand people have come forward claiming to be Prince Ashargin. About half of these are over fifty years old.'

Gosseyn said, 'What happens when they appear before a lie detector?'

The big man scowled. 'All right,' he said, 'let's have it. How do you do it?'

Gosseyn had expected skepticism. Except for Crang, these were thalamic people. Even Patricia Hardie, friendly though she was to Venus, was not a Null-A. Such individuals would hold contradictory ideas, and even discuss the contradiction, without in any way being influenced by the reality. The important thing was that a seed had been planted. He saw that Enro was scowling.

'Enough of this farce,' said the big man. 'Let's get down to some facts. I admit you fooled me, but I don't see how you expect to gain anything by it. What do you want?'

'An understanding,' said Gosseyn. He spoke cautiously, yet he felt bold and determined. 'As I see it, you want to use me for something. Very well, I'm willing to be used—up to a point. In return, I want freedom of action.'

'Freedom of what?'

Gosseyn's next words took in the other people at the table. 'In launching this war,' he said, 'you endangered the life of every person in the galaxy, including the Greatest Empire. I think you should accept advice from those who will share your fate if anything goes wrong.'