GODS OF RIVERWORLD

33

Though covered with blood, the Englishman was uninjured except for a bump on the back of his head.

"I was knocked out, and some of those killed fell on top of me. The androids did not see me."

He gingerly touched his head and grimaced.

"You were very fortunate," Burton said dully. "I think you were the only one who went down who escaped beheading."

Why did Gull have the good luck? Why couldn't Nur or de Marbot or Behn have been spared?

No, that did not matter, he told himself. They can be resurrected.

And then he knew that the murderer would have insured that they would stay dead. Why bother to kill them if they could be brought back? It made no sense.

He would have to find out about that. Just now, they must recover from their exhaustion and shock. Then the dead must be converted into ashes; the horrible mess cleaned up.

"Let's go to the house," he said. "There's nothing to be gained by staying here."

First, though, he must take precautions to guard himself and the others. He picked up the two beamers and said, "Star Spoon, were there any androids in the house when you got these?"

"I didn't see any," she said. Her voice was empty of expression as her face.

"We'll have to do everything for ourselves," he said. "We can't trust the androids."

He stopped walking. The beamers seemed rather light. He opened the bottom of the beamer butts and looked into the receptacles for the powerpacks. He swore. They were empty.

He showed them to Star Spoon and said, "These would have been useless."

"I'm sorry," she said. "I was too excited to notice."

She shuddered. "It's a good thing I didn't have to use them."

"Yes. But whoever did this is very clever. Only ..."

They were trudging up the hill, every step forward seeming to be in a thick and heavy substance, as if they were walking at the bottom of a treacle well.

"What?" she said.

"Why didn't the killer have the androids take the beamers from the house and kill us with them? It would have been very easy. We wouldn't have had a chance."

Li Po had been listening in. He said, "Perhaps the killer likes the sight of blood. Or it may be that he wanted us to suffer or to think that we might survive. As it turned out ..."

"He won't stop," Burton said.

"He failed," the Chinese said. "All we have to do is raise our friends, and he will be ..."

His mouth fell open. "Ah! What if he has inhibited their resurrection?"

"Exactly," Burton said. "Well, we'll soon find out."

Frigate caught up with them. He looked behind, and Burton turned to see what he was staring at. Gull was far behind them, moving slowly up the slope.

"I could be overly suspicious," the American said, "but don't you think it's fu

"I've thought of the same thing," Burton said. "However, his story could be true."

They walked the rest of the way in silence. The sky was still blue, and the sun was about where it would be at six o'clock. He thought of what the Mad Hatter had said. "It's always six o'clock here."

The birds were singing again in the woods, and an angry squirrel was scolding something, probably one of Alice's cats. The wild animals must have been frightened into silence by the uproar, but now that that had ceased, they had resumed normal life. All the noise and the babel meant nothing to them after they had passed. Those i

He envied them their i

They paused to catch their breaths in the large and beautiful garden of flowers at the top of the hill. Burton sca

They entered the huge empty house—he hoped it was empty—and they searched every room, their weapons ready. Satisfied that no one, human or android, was hiding in ambush, they showered. After putting on new clean clothes, simple robes, they met in the large library. By then the antishock pills given by the Computer were doing their work. They were still very tired and dispirited, however. The drinks did not seem to help much. Nor was anybody hungry.

"Well, there's no use putting it off," Burton said, and he seated himself in front of the computer console. Though he dreaded to ask the question, he did so. And what he did not want to hear was what the Computer, through the computer, told him.

The dead, Nur, Turpin, Sophie, de Marbot, Aphra, all the slain, could not be raised. Someone had inhibited the raising, and the Computer would not say who that person was.

"Oh, my God!" Alice said, and she moaned. "I had Monty for six days, and now he's gone forever!"

"I wouldn't say forever," Burton said. "We'll find a way to cancel the overrides. Some day."

"We should warn the others," Alice said.

"The others?" Burton said. "Oh, you mean those in Turpin-ville. And Netley and his people and the gypsies."

"Tell the gypsies," Frigate said. "Never mind those who threw Tom and me out of our places. They don't deserve to be warned. What they do deserve ... well ..."

"I understand your feelings," Burton said, "but, in a way, they're our allies. The Snark or whoever the killer is won't be attacking just us."

"How do you know that?" Frigate said.

"1 don't know that, but we must warn them."

He tried Turpinville first. Though the screen was activated, there was no reply, and they could see only a dim diffuse dark amber light.

Burton was about to try Netley when Li Po said, "Wait! I thought I saw something!"

"What is it?" Burton said, squinting his eyes—as if that would help.

"Something dark. Moving," Li Po said.

The others crowded around the console. They, too, squinted.

"I don't see anything," Burton said.

"You don't have my eagle eyes," Li Po said. He pointed. "There! Can't you see it? It's dark, and it's moving, though very slowly. Wait."

Presently, Burton could see a dark vague bulk. It swelled almost imperceptibly, taking a near-unendurable time to float nearer. Minutes passed, and then the outlines became more distinct. Alice gasped and said, "It's a man!"

Burton asked the Computer to make the area .brighter if it could. The fluid—it had to be a fluid since the man was floating in it—was illuminated a little. More minutes passed, and then they could see the face of a black man, eyes staring and mouth open.

"I don't know what's happened," Burton said, "but something horrible has. The screen for receiving messages from outside Turpin's world is in the room next to Turpin's office. Obviously, it's filled with water or some kind of liquid."

"That can't be!" Star Spoon said.

"Oh, yes, it can. The Computer can do almost anything."

"Try Netley's," Frigate said.

Burton did so. This time, the screen showed them a clearer fluid. They could not see very far into it, but they could distinguish a shadowy bulk that looked like a sofa. Near it was a small dark object too fuzzy to be identified. But it was floating. It could be a plastic bottle of some sort, partly full, perhaps, and buoyed by the air in it.

"Definitely another flood," Burton said.

"Ask the Computer if it knows what happened," Frigate said.

Burton glared at him. "Don't be a stupid ass. Whoever did this would command the Computer not to tell us anything."