"Then he is insane,” said Cabot.
"Unless, of course,” said Peisistratus, “he is correct."
"Yes,” said Cabot, “unless he is correct."
"To the audience chamber?” said Peisistratus.
"Yes,” said Cabot.
Chapter, the Eighth:
AN INTERVIEW WITH AGAMEMNON,
THE ELEVENTH FACE OF THE NAMELESS ONE
"Where is he?” asked Cabot.
The audience chamber, reached by a long passage leading from the vestibule, was quite large. It was rounded and domed, and, high in its walls were narrow windows, through which the interior was dimly lit. The floor was smooth, and red, and formed of large, fitted tiles. The encircling walls were of yellow stone. At one end of the room, opposite the portal through which Cabot and Peisistratus had entered, was a low, stone dais. On it was no chair. Behind this dais was a curtained opening.
"This might be the audience chamber of a Ubar,” said Cabot.
"I think not,” said Peisistratus. “Such a chamber would surely be more ornate, better lit, crowded with servitors and guards, furnished ostentatiously with precious vessels, statuary, display slaves, a sampling of nude chained beauties, preferably of high caste, ideally the daughters of Ubars, taken from conquered cities, and such."
"Still, it is similar,” said Cabot.
"Doubtless it is intended to resemble a Ubar's audience chamber,” said Peisistratus.
"The common housing, and domiciling, of Kurii, as I understand it,” said Cabot, “is far darker, and more cavelike."
"Yes,” said Peisistratus, “they have excellent dark vision, and often feel more secure, more comfortable, in such surroundings."
Cabot supposed that the Kurii might originally have been a species which sought out lairs, dark places, caves, and such.
"This is then to impress humans?"
"Perhaps,” said Peisistratus, “but, too, perhaps it is intended to make them feel less closed in, more at ease."
"So where is our host?” inquired Cabot.
"It seems,” said Peisistratus, “he is letting you wait."
Cabot smiled.
Shortly thereafter the curtains at the end of the room, behind the dais, were drawn open by two Kurii.
From down the hall, beyond the curtain, Cabot heard a sound as of metal, a step, and then a scraping, and another step, and a scraping. It was very slow, and very methodical, as though something were accustoming itself to an unfamiliar housing of some sort.
Peisistratus said nothing.
Cabot stepped back, for he saw in the parting of the curtain a wide face, a broad form, a long form, the end of which he did not discern.
"It is a tharlarion, a river tharlarion,” said Cabot.
It was a creature of metal, but it did muchly resemble a large river tharlarion of the sort which might terrorize the Ua, and such rivers, predominantly those of tropical Gor.
It crawled slowly onto the dais, on which it crouched. Its mouth, which it opened, as though yawning, was spiked with rows of thick, nail-like metallic teeth, some inches in length. Cabot could see no face within the opening. It is a machine, thought Cabot, but where is its operator? Is it remotely controlled? The metal beast had, like the river tharlarion, a long tail, in this machine of diminishing, overlapping plates. It also had hornlike projections aligned on its metal spinal column. Cabot conjectured the jaws could shake and cut a normal river tharlarion in two, that the tail, with a swift blow, might shatter stone or fell trees.
The two Kurii who had parted the curtains for the entrance of the metal beast now crouched near it, on the dais, one on each side.
"Behold,” came from a translator, presumably that of one of the beasts flanking the object on the dais, “Agamemnon, The Eleventh Face of the Nameless One, Theocrat of the World."
This was followed by a silence.
"Are we expected to prostrate ourselves?” asked Cabot. He had, incidentally, no intention of doing so.
"Certainly not,” said Peisistratus. “We are not women or slaves. We are free men, of caste."
"Tal,” said Cabot, to the object on the dais.
"Tal,” it said, through a translator, seemingly within the metallic body. “We welcome the noble Tarl Cabot, human, and Warrior, to our world."
With an inclination of his head, Cabot acknowledged this greeting.
"We have long been eager to make your acquaintance,” came from the device. “We have waited long to have you here, as an honored, and valued, guest."
"Sir,” said Cabot, noncommittally.
"Doubtless you have many questions,” came from the device. “Many, I trust, have already been answered by our unfortunate Grendel, whose repellant appearance we trust did not overly disgust you, and others by our dear colleague and friend, Peisistratus, of the lovely island of Cos, in Thassa. We shall shortly do our best to satisfy any residue of curiosity which might remain. First, however, allow me to thank you, on behalf of our world, for your efforts, long ago, on behalf of our beloved officer, Zarendargar, efforts which obviously brought you into disrepute with your masters, the Priest-Kings of Gor."
"They are not my masters,” said Cabot.
"Surely no longer,” came from the device.
"Never,” said Cabot.
"Excellent,” said the device. “You recognize, of course, that they are your enemies."
"It seems so,” said Cabot.
"It is surely so,” came from the device. “You were put on the Prison Moon, though a free man, and a Warrior, naked, in full view, in shameful, close confinement, and in circumstances clearly designed to strain your honor, after the loss of which you would presumably be disposed of, and doubtless in a lengthy, unpleasant fashion."
"How did you come to know of such things?” asked Cabot.
"We have the benefit of informants,” came from the device.
"Spies,” said Cabot.
"If you like,” came from the device.
"Within the Sardar?"
"Unfortunately not, but Priest-Kings deal with humans and humans may deal with us."
Cabot nodded.
"Perhaps you may tell us of the interior precincts of the Sardar one day,” came from the device, “of the nature of Priest-Kings, and such."
"They are the gods of Gor,” said Cabot. “Who knows the nature of gods?"
"True,” came from the device, after a moment.
"Two females were enclosed with me,” said Cabot, “and both were free."
"Yes, free, how unfortunate,” said Agamemnon, either from within the device, or somehow, in communication with it.
"One,” said Cabot, “was a nasty, spoiled brat from England, though nicely faced and well-curved, who would make a nice slab of collar meat, suitably to be bid from the block, and the other was a pet, of Arcesilaus, whom I gather is an officer of yours, she, too, nicely faced and nicely curved."
"And would she not look well in a collar, as well?” inquired Agamemnon.
"Certainly,” said Cabot, “and she would bring a good price on Gor."
"With training,” said Peisistratus.
Blondes were rarer on Gor than brunettes, save in the northern latitudes, and tended to bring somewhat better prices, due to this rarity. Cabot himself preferred brunettes. The most desiderated hair coloring for a female slave on Gor, incidentally, is auburn.
"As we understand it,” said Agamemnon, “both of those females were of a sort likely to be sexually stimulating to a human male."
"Extremely so,” said Cabot.
"How cruel are the Priest-Kings,” said Agamemnon.
"I used neither,” said Cabot.
"Up to the point of your release,” said Agamemnon.
"Yes,” said Cabot.
"But let us suppose you had been held longer in captivity."
"Then, doubtless,” said Cabot, “I would have put both of them to my pleasure, variously and extensively so."