Edmond Hamilton

“ Lee did not even dwell on these points. He only knew—from his new perception, from the new mysticism he had earned with his suffering—that the hut and the man would be there; that no chance had brought him; that all had been arranged as surely as sunrise.
He stood before the man and raised his eyes. "The mountains are high."
"The mountains are always high. No man ever reaches the summit of his mountain."
"I know that now."
"Nor even a cave halfway up the mountain's side." ”

“ Daphne said. "But no money would be required."
Stunned, Lee forgot his headache and slowly swung his feet to the floor. He studied her, the analytical mind that had made him a great scientist while still a young man now framing the questions.
"Why?"
"I do not need money."
"I mean why are you willing to—"
"Because Mr. Clifford asked that I serve you in any way I'm able."
"Why the rotten—!"
"Oh, no! Mr. Clifford is one of the Great Ones." There was reverence in her voice.
"You must be a fool! Trusting a man who would ask you to do a thing like that!" ”

“ He was there within me back in my room half a world away, not in a cave in the Himalayas."
"The man with the golden eyes, my son, is every man—the symbol of perfection every man carries in his heart. It is the seeking after this perfection that is life: The man with the golden eyes is the image of what every man has the power to be." ”

“ You said I might question this man?"
"You may ask him anything you like. Goodbye."
Mr. Clifford started the motor and drove away. The goat sent a bleat of farewell through the star-lit darkness.
Lee went to the hut and sat down in front of Abat Krishna. The Indian regarded the heavens and remained silent.
"Who," Lee asked, "are the Great Ones?"
"There are many names for the group. They have been called the Great White Brotherhood. They have been referred to as the Chosen Ones. But that name is misleading in that none are really chosen. The way is open to all. Nothing is given, all is earned." ”

“ The fanatic rode high, now. The reasonable man was a dim spector lurking uneasily in the background.
He changed his money into the coin of the realm and took a train for Delhi. He rode with strange people, scarcely aware of their presence.
He discovered that traveling from Karachi to Delhi on the railroad of India was a frustrating and confusing business. He began counting his money carefully; hoarding it; haggling. When he arrived in Delhi, he was a lean, bearded stranger with a fever behind his eyes.
But there was a glory in his heart because of a new and sharpened sensitivity. ”

“ I'm very sure you will...."
"Goodbye, Daphne."
Lee walked the streets until dawn and as he reentered his room it was to pack a bag and check his cash resources. And it was as if he had become two men walking in one skin; two minds housed in one brain. One mind was that of a fanatic; the other, reasonable and cautious.
The reasonable man said, You're a fool. They lock up people like you. Too much whiskey. Too much of a mental beating. ”

“ Daphne reached out suddenly and laid her hand on his. "All I can tell you is this, Lee. Neither I nor Mr. Clifford nor anyone else can help you anymore. All that can be done for you has been done. From here you rise or fall by what's inside you." ”

“ I have one big fat question. Why?"
"Why?"
"Don't evade—please. You know what I mean. I was lying drunk in the gutter. This man picked me up and put me here. Why?"
"Perhaps you are more important to humanity than you realize."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because Mr. Clifford concerns himself with humanity."
Lee felt a quick exasperation. Daphne seemed perfectly willing to answer any question he asked, but her answers were about as enlightening as midnight in a dark closet. He sought a different tack. "Tell me about these Great Ones." ”

“ The payoff is always in the doing. Otherwise, test pilots would not command fabulous salaries to risk their necks on the first try-out. But eleven men! Snuffed out because Lee Hayden's word had been taken. Eleven young men.
And here he was, many hours later—back in his room with the bottle on the table ready to blot out the dream—the nightmare of their final agony—that ripped and tore at him everytime he closed his eyes. ”

“ The voice brisk, cheerful. "Come now—the gutter is no place for a man of your caliber."
Lee grunted and rolled over. Someone who knew him evidently; someone echoing the myth of his "brilliance". "I said get the hell—" He opened an eye. If this was an old friend, the man had gone out of memory. Plump, cheerful, rosy-faced, well-cut clothes. A man with an air of confidence.
And something more.
It was the something more that stopped Lee from swinging at the man's plump chin after allowing himself to be lifted to his feet. The man looked critically into Lee's face as the latter swayed. ”

“ An immaculate doorman glared with frosty eyes. His look of disgust partially sobered Lee. "Now wait a minute," Lee mumbled. After all, a man never lost all his pride.
He was drawing away, instinctively seeking shadows, when the doorman's eyes shifted to the plump man. They cleared instantly. He saluted, bowed, said "Good evening, Mr. Clifford."
"Good evening, John. We need a snifter or two of your excellent scotch."
"Certainly, sir." The doorman opened the portal as though the Secretary of State were honoring the Lotus Room with his presence. ”

“ And far behind was the trading caravan and the men who took his money and left him to die many days later in the cold foothills. But he had not died.
And far behind were the more kindly natives of the colder, windier places who clothed and fed him, treating him as a mad child rather than a man. ”

“ A man walking through solid matter would seem to you to be violating a natural law. But a trick of elementary sleight-of-hand—the vanishing of a coin—could appear the same to a child. So perhaps the answer lies in comparatively greater understanding."
Lee regarded Abat Krishna. Abat Krishna calmly regarded the heavens. Lee said, "But the greatest Great One of all is the man with the golden eyes. ”

“ Clifford poured and Lee had the grace to feel ashamed. "Look—I'm done—washed up—I'm at the bottom. Why should you—?"
"On the bottom, yes. But sometimes people have to hit the bottom in order to ascend to the top." ”

“ There is a reason for everything, and there are Great Ones aware of great necessities. You tried to invade outer space and failed. Perhaps the time now demands that space be conquered, and thus your talents are precious to the cosmic scheme. ”

“ Her fingers were cool on his skin; live, soothing, merciful. Lee closed his eyes and was enveloped in a wonderful sense of well-being. Then he realized what seemed like a long time had been only a few moments. But his headache was gone.
He turned on her sharply. "How did you do that?"
"It's very simple." Daphne went quickly to the phone and ordered coffee and orange juice. She put down the receiver, faced Lee, and said, "You wanted to talk?" ”

“ Lee Hayden had sent eleven men to their
death in deep space. Now he wanted only to die
himself. It was at this crucial point that he met—
The Man With The Golden Eyes By Alexander Blade
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy
August 1956
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
He lay in the gutter. In his mouth was the taste of whiskey and defeat. There was mud and filth on his face, on his two-week shirt, on his rag-tag suit ”