Robert Moore Williams

“ What were knives against Kell guns? Why should the Martians help him, an alien among them?
Docker was a big man with a red face that perpetually showed the red coloration of hidden anger. He had full, thick lips, the avid lips of a greedy man. Whatever these lips tasted or drank, they wanted more of it, all of it. His eyes confirmed his lips. Here was a man who wanted the world with an iron fence around it. Or better still, the solar system, with a big sign saying—KEEP OUT. THIS IS ALL MINE. He looked up as Larkin entered the cabin, glanced up at the men with him. ”

“ On top of the coliseum was a group of men from the ship. Docker led them. They were firing Kell guns indiscriminately into the Martian crowd.
The brrrrrp-brrrrrp was an almost continuous blast of sound. Following the throb of the guns was the violence of the explosions of the striking missiles. The whole vast arena throbbed to the fury of the sound.
"No!" Larkin screamed.
This was a slaughter of helpless innocents. The Martians were unprotected, incapable of defending themselves. And they had done nothing wrong.
"Stop!" The voice of Malovar was like thunder rolling through the arena. ”

“ He walked up in front of the altar, stood facing Malovar.
Sitting in the big throne chair behind the altar, the face of the Martian ruler was a mask far more bleak than the faces of his elders. Now in this moment he wore the regalia of his office, the carved jeweled crown, the diadem of gems suspended from his throat. ”

“ These Martians had forgotten a great many things that humans had not yet learned. Larkin thought again of the question he wanted to ask, and again put off asking it.
"What prices do you intend to charge for your minerals?"
A grin that had relish in it showed on Docker's face. "Our prices will be fair. Of course, we expect to show a profit."
"Suppose the Martians can't pay your prices?"
"To hell with that!" Docker snorted. "We're not transporting minerals all the way to Mars just to give them away. They'll pay all right. They'll pay or they won't eat." ”

“ Roy Larkin exploded.
"To us, yes. To the Martians, no. This is the way they have of testing the loyalty of individuals to the group. At the time of the annual testing all the inhabitants of this city pass one by one before Malovar."
"And he cuts off the heads of the ones he don't like!" Horror sounded in Roy Larkin's voice.
"I do not think his liking or not liking has anything to do with it," the trader explained. "He is working for the good of his whole people, not his personal good. And he cuts off heads if he chooses. ”

“ Either the crown or the diadem would have been worth a fortune back on Earth. Behind him, Larkin heard the humans catch their breath at the sight of these jewels. He knew what they were thinking: a few quick bursts from the Kell guns and this fortune would be theirs.
"Are you prepared for the test?" Malovar's eyes centered on Larkin.
"I am prepared, Sire. But why am I being tested now?"
"Any individual may be tested at any time the welfare of the people in my opinion requires such testing." The Martian words seemed almost to be part of a ritual. ”

“ It centered here in this city of Sudal, in the person of a despot named Malovar. Larkin did not pretend to understand the system but he knew that far-ranging desert tribes followed Malovar's orders, at least to a degree. Malovar's orders and Martian law and custom.
"What about Earth Government?" Larkin questioned.
"Earth Government can go to hell!" Docker answered. "They have no control over Mars. Why do you bring up such questions? I told you we were taking over distribution of mineral fertilizers on this planet. That's enough authority for you or for anybody else." ”

“ Beyond the city lay the desert with its fretwork of canals and its pathetic patches of green growth, pathetic because where once grain had grown as far as the eye could reach now only a few patches were under cultivation. It was not the failure of the soil or of the water that made the desert bare. This soil would still grow lush vegetation. But the grains, though lush, would be worthless, incapable of supporting life. The minerals had been virtually exhausted from the top-soil of Mars. ”

“ Already the Martians were beginning to trickle into the lower seats when the humans arrived at the top of the vast bowl.
"What the hell goes on here?" Roy Larkin kept demanding. "I don't like this."
"You've got your Kell guns, what are you afraid of?" the trader asked.
"I'm not afraid," the younger man angrily answered. "Except for the metal rods the old gooks are carrying, they're not armed. Hell, we're not afraid of them. It's just that I don't know what the hell is supposed to take place." ”

“ They've got to have minerals. Without them, they starve."
"They might choose to starve," Boyd Larkin said.
"What?" the younger man gasped. "But that's silly. That's crazy. You don't know what the hell you're talking about. You're trying to pull a fast one."
"They're a strange people," Boyd Larkin said, ignoring his son's outburst. "Sometimes they seem to do crazy things though I have usually found that back of their craziness is a vein of such hard common sense that it is bewildering to us humans."
Roy Larkin was a little uncertain. "They've been dealing with you. They'll deal with us." ”

“ Boyd Larkin had lived seven years on Mars, in the wrongest of all wrong places on the red planet, the city of Sudal. No other earth trader ever even ventured here. In view of the peculiarity of the Martian customs, few traders found it wise to attempt to operate on Mars at all. ”

“ Malovar pointed with his sword—at Roy Larkin. Elders seized the man, lifted him, carried him to the altar.
The sword came up.
"NO!" A single burst of involuntary sound came from the lips of the trader. He leaped forward. "NO!"
Malovar held the sword, looked at him. The Martian looked a little sad.
"I know he is your son, my friend, but he came here to cheat and to rob. Men under his direction have killed."
"But—"
"The laws of my people are explicit," Malovar continued. "Nor will I stay my hand for the sake of friendship at the time of the testing." ”

“ We will operate on a cost-plus basis, we will deliver them here at a price...."
"The buyer can afford," Boyd Larkin said softly.
"Right," his son said.
Behind them stood Malovar and Seekin. Malovar grunted approvingly. "Through such men as you, minerals can come to Mars—and with them new life may come to an old and dying world."
Malovar looked beyond the city to the red deserts. He seemed to be seeing them as vast stretches of greenery, as interlacing canals with lush vegetation covering all the land that now was desert but someday would be something else. His face glowed. ”

“ No Martians were on the streets, none were visible. He did not doubt that they watched him from the windows of the houses along the streets, but they made no effort to inquire what was happening.
What could they do, even if they had wanted to help him? To the best of his knowledge, the only weapons they had were knives. ”

“ Docker and his cut-throat crew could really go to hell. Better defy Docker than Malovar. There was no way in which the humans could enforce their demands on him.
Or was there? So far as he knew there were no weapons in this city strong enough to resist the power of the single ship that lay outside. The Martians obeyed Malovar because of custom, and not because the ruler had any way to enforce his orders. Larkin could see no way by which Malovar could force Docker to go through the testing. A single trader could be forced. But a ship full of men armed with Kell guns—No! ”

“ They carried with them the long metal rods like the one Malovar carried and which were the sign of their office.
"They come to take us to the place of the testing," Larkin said. He straightened his shoulders. The Martian elders bowed politely and motioned him to precede them.
Neither his son nor the men with him liked the idea. They did not know what was going to happen. They would have preferred to go elsewhere. But Larkin was going and they could hardly let him out-face them. Besides, they had Kell guns. So what danger could they meet that they could not overcome? ”