Raymond F. Jones

“ They are attacking Earthmen and seek to drive you from this planet. If they can be subdued quickly, the rebellion may end. If not, we are doomed, and all Earth with us."
The silence was charged, then a dozen men leaped up at once. "Show us where they are. We'll kill the dirty—"
"You are fighting men, not a mob," Alayna warned. "Ready your lances and follow me."
Swiftly, like a wraith of light she ran from the dais to the doorway where Roal and Shorty waited. "Here are your men, a hundred and more. I'll show you the chamber of the Thousand Minds." ”

“ When they finally met again in front of the old warehouse full blackness had settled over Heliopolis and all the blaze of its million lights boiled skyward into the blackness of space.
"It must have been a bum steer," said Roal, "There's nothing more that we can do tonight. I'll check up on my information and let you know." ”

“ If we fail to attack now, it will give them a respite to re-establish themselves and our hopes will be lost."
"But there are only the three of us and two weapons," said Roal. "We cannot attack a thousand Martians with such powers as you say they have. We'll have to be concerned merely with escape now, and attack later."
"You'll never find the Thousand Minds again, if you fail to follow through now," said Alayna. "Would you attack if I could get you a hundred armed spacemen?" ”

“ Neither was anything else of the phantom tavern, Starhouse. Not that nor even Heliopolis itself.
He was alone in the barren desert and arid sand dunes stretched as far as he could see. Yet on the horizon was the faint suggestion of the towers that might be Heliopolis beyond the sands. But he knew it was no use trying to find his way there by walking. The mirages of Mars are treacherous beyond reason.
Roal got to his feet and felt at his waist for the tiny SBI transmitter that could place him in communication with the SBI office in Heliopolis. ”

“ Roal looked down at the dead body of her father. "I'm sorry—about him," he said.
"It is no matter," said Alayna. "That is sorrow that is long gone. But come with me quickly. We must get out of here. The Thousand Minds will know of what has happened and we simply must attack them first."
Roal was bewildered by her words, but she gave him no time for questions. Clad in her filmy costume as if prepared for appearance in the Starhouse, Alayna jumped lightly to the floor and ran between the stupefied Martians held at bay by Shorty. ”

“ Yet why should a man live except for happiness? Someone like Alayna could be happiness for him, he thought. The Queen of the Silver Stars could be happiness.
He dragged his mind abruptly out of the dream world of Alayna's song. He was Captain Roal Hartford of the Solar Bureau of Investigation. His world was the world of dope peddlers, thieves, and murderers that infested the starways. He was a little cog in a great machine and he knew that he had to keep going to keep the machine from breaking down. It wouldn't do for him to wonder why the machine should be kept running at all. ”

“ Roal raised his flame lance to turn it on the Martians. A sense of revulsion at such an attack upon the seemingly helpless creatures assailed him, but he knew they were far from helpless. And their purpose was deadly to Earthmen.
Before he could pull the trigger, a dozen Alaynas appeared beside him. Scores were in his line of sight. Those standing in the air before him were not real, he knew, but of those beside him he could not tell the difference between Alayna and the mental creations of the Thousand Minds. But one of them grasped his arm tightly.
"I'm real," she said. "Fire quickly." ”

“ She sat down beside Roal.
"You're a stranger here." Her low, husky voice made it a statement, rather than a question.
"The dream of every spaceman is to visit Starhouse and hear Alayna, Queen of the Silver Stars, at least once before he dies."
"You're far from dead, miner."
"My good fortune in coming here so soon."
"Starhouse is a place of rest and dreams for weary spacemen. They all find their way here sooner or later." ”

“ I think Earth will find a solution."
"The Martians will go the way of the Indian. Perhaps we may eventually find some worthless, barren planet and put a few hundred of them there on a reservation. But the problem is as old as man. There can be no solution. The strong overcomes the weak and man calls it progress."
"Some day there'll be a solution."
"You're a dreamer like your father. Don't ever lose sight of your dreams. That's the only thing that makes life worth while."
"Dreams sometimes come true, don't they?"
Roal drew her tight, drinking in her loveliness with his eyes. ”

“ The few remaining Martians came to life. They leaped from their seats and began running—straight into the flames of the starmen where they died.
Amid the shambles Roal slowly and tenderly lifted Alayna in his arms. She was miraculously alive and apparently unharmed. Her own knowledge of the monster and her refusal to believe in its ability to harm her had saved her life.
Within an hour a dozen SBI guards arrived at Roal's call. Then Shorty let Roal have the patrol ship to take Alayna to Heliopolis. Calvin exploded all over the place when he arrived. ”

“ No one, that is, except Roal Hartford. He knew that somewhere in the tales repeated by a thousand dying throats there must be a thread of truth, regardless of how fantastic it might be. Somewhere there must exist the phantom tavern, Starhouse, though one spaceman told of visiting it in Heliopolis and another spoke of its existence in the swamp city, Tarma, while still others swore that it was in Vegrath across the planet from Heliopolis. ”

“ He rose with the thing still about him and slashed out towards the Martians with his lance as if the slug weren't there. Gradually it vanished and he walked forward unhindered.
"We've got it!" he exclaimed. "They can't hurt us if we won't believe in them!"
"Right!" said Roal. "These are created by the Thousand Minds, but they are powered by our own! Let's get these devils!"
Shorty looked up. "The head is shrinking. We must be making headway."
Roal glanced up hopefully. Alayna was familiar with these things. She must know the secret of their vulnerability. ”

“ It's a Martian trick. These aren't real. You'll only kill each other. Now—look! The door is opening. There are our enemies. The Thousand Minds. Kill them all! Let none escape!"
The door flung back under the force of Roal's and Shorty's push. They rushed in beside Alayna and found themselves on a ten-foot balcony overlooking tiers of seats arranged in concentric circles. There were enough of them to be a thousand, Roal thought. In each seat was an immobile, withered Martian. The entrance of the Earthmen caused no stir of movement among the Martians. ”

“ Harmeena is being introduced into the lowest level of our society, but it will be carried to the highest levels if their plans are fulfilled. And then, in another century, perhaps, they will be ready to strike the final blow and take over Earth. All Earth will eventually become enslaved to the Thousand Minds when those who are robots under Martian control are finally directed to kill off all those who aren't."
"These Thousand Minds—the SBI has heard rumors using that term, but nothing concrete has ever come to our attention."
"The Thousand Minds are the secret ruling body of the Martians. ”

“ Somewhere in its depths was the phantom tavern Starhouse, and tonight there would be new spacemen lured to the drug harmeena by the golden-haired Alayna, Queen of the Silver Stars. A queen whose heart revolted at the role she was forced to play—Roal was sure. ”

“ As Roal watched it idly he saw in its polished surface a distorted reflection of the laboratory.
Suddenly, in the reflecting surface, he saw Sebours cautiously leave his place of hiding and warn the Martians to stand guard. Then he returned to the table where he had been working. The swinging door shifted the reflection out of Roal's vision, but in that instant he had seen something that turned him cold.
On the table where Sebours was working lay a still form. A human body graced with a head of golden hair like none that Roal had ever seen. Except once—
Alayna. ”

“ The initial effects are bad enough."
"It is in the second generation of addicts that the true results appear. The children of anyone who has used harmeena a single time and obtained the full effect of it will have minds distorted so that they can be made subject to the telepathic controls of the Martians.
"The Martians are an old race, and time means nothing to them. For a century they have placidly carried on business and social life with us, all the time secretly planning to destroy us when the time was right and a weapon could be found. ”

“ Roal thought he understood, but he said, "There have been plenty to admire you in Starhouse."
Alayna shuddered. "The things I see in their eyes are not admiration."
Shorty had not relaxed his guard at the doorway, though he had strained to hear the words of Alayna's story. Now he gave a warning. "Martians down the passage. They act like they're on a hunt. We'd better move!"
VI
Alayna rose and then hesitated as if in indecision. "The only way to wipe out the Martian plot is to destroy the Thousand Minds and do it now. ”

“ The premier accepted by Earth is only a puppet. By mental control, the Thousand Minds are in direct contact with every Martian on the planet and it is they who are most expert in the science of mind control."
"What is the secret of the phantom tavern, Starhouse? ”

“ This seemed to be an unusually large family and the chamber into which he came was crowded with the withered, shrunken creatures who made no comment as Toomar introduced him.
The cool of the burrow felt wonderful after the hours in the blistering sun, but after his drink Roal arose. "I've got to get to the surface. My plane might miss me if I remain. Good years to you for your services."
"Please remain," the guide said. "We have food."
Roal gagged at the thought of partaking of the repulsive soup of desert lizards which was the Martians' mainstay. ”

“ And it was Alayna's voice. Roal knew that he could never mistake it.
He called to Shorty in a hoarse whisper. "They've got Alayna out there and that big ape is doing something to her. We've got to rush them."
"We can't. They'd mow us down before we got out the door."
"We can't let him maim her, either. I'm going out. Coming?"
"Don't be a fool!" Shorty pleaded. "We've got to use our brains. You're no good to Alayna dead."
"Yeah, you're right," Roal admitted. "What I just saw out there got me, but—if that window were only facing Sebours—"
"We could burn a hole through the wall. ”

“ The phantom tavern actually exists. I will take you there in a moment. Through their mental powers, the Thousand Minds can project an image of the Starhouse to any point on the planet, and when a person enters the door of that projected image of Starhouse, he is actually transported here beneath the desert by the power of the Thousand Minds. ”

“ Quickly, he squeezed the trigger of his own lance at full power. A dozen bursts of flame plunged down the length of the air tube. The first one toppled the Martian in the mouth of the tube. Successive shots bit into the roof and walls near the mouth. A hiss of melting sand turned into a roar as the tube collapsed behind them. Waves of choking dust smothered them and threw them into coughing spasms.
Alayna gave a frantic cry of alarm and Shorty tried to squirm about to see what had happened. Roal explained to them. "And it means there's only one way to go, now—forward. ”

“ He was about to turn about and return to his office for a futile check on the progress being made by the Identification Office, when a thought formed in his mind. There was yet one clue that he had not exploited—a clue that stuck out so close to his face that he hadn't seen it. ”

“ It's possible that they don't have Markham's."
"I'm serious, Chief," said Roal. "I found the Starhouse last night. I ate the antidote and submitted to a dose of the drug. It finally knocked me out, but I know the antidote was a great help. Why I was dumped in the desert, I don't know. But come with me right now and I'll show you where Starhouse is. Why it should ever have become known as the phantom tavern, I don't know. It's right down on Transite Street."
"You've been a good operator, Roal," said Calvin. "But I can't believe a word you're saying. I know every dive on Transite. ”

“ From his jacket he extracted a brown capsule and broke it between his teeth, covering his act so that anyone spying upon him might not detect the capsule. Then, as his vision grew spotty from lack of oxygen, he allowed himself to breathe cautiously.
The secret antidote against the effects of harmeena had never been tried before.
It had been prepared by chemists of the SBI from analysis of the bodies of dead miners who were known to be addicts. Every agent of the SBI carried the antidote. None had ever had the opportunity to try it before. Roal prayed that it might work. ”

“ That and the ape she called her father."
"What was the matter with her throat?"
"Just some defect in her voice box. She had it worked on, but it didn't improve. It could be fixed now. Only an expert could detect the fault. She was a girl of exquisite beauty and talent. ”