the metal monster-第52节

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　dominated　by　the　colossal　integrate　hieroglyph　of　the　living　City；　we　had　seen　it　as　a　radiant　lake　over　which　brooded　weird　suns；　a　lake　of　yellow　flame　froth　upon　which　a　sparkling　hail　fell；　within　which　reared　islanded　towers　and　a　drowning　mount　running　with　cataracts　of　sun　fires；　here　we　had　watched　a　goddess　woman；　a　being　half　of　earth；　half　of　the　unknown　immured　within　a　living　tomba　dying　tombof　flaming　mysteries；　had　seen　a　cross…shaped　metal　Satan；　a　sullen　flaming　crystal　Judas　betrayitself。

Where　we　had　peered　into　the　unfathomable；　had　glimpsed　the　infinite；　had　heard　and　had　seen　the　inexplicable；　now　was

Slag！

The　amethystine　ring　from　which　had　been　streamed　the　circling　veils　was　cracked　and　blackened；　like　a　seam　of　coal　it　had　stretched　around　the　Pita　crown　of　mourning。　The　veils　were　gone。　The　floor　of　the　valley　was　fissured　and　blackened；　its　patterns；　its　writings　burned　away。　As　far　as　we　could　see　stretched　a　sea　of　slagcoal　black；　vitrified　and　dead。

Here　and　there　black　hillocks　sprawled；　huge　pillars　arose；　bent　and　twisted　as　though　they　had　been　jettings　of　lava　cooled　into　rigidity　before　they　could　sink　back　or　break。　These　shapes　clustered　most　thickly　around　an　immense　calcified　mound。　They　were　what　were　left　of　the　battling　Hordes；　and　the　mound　was　what　had　been　the　Metal　Monster。

Somewhere　there　were　the　ashes　of　Norhala；　sealed　by　fire　in　the　urn　of　the　Metal　Emperor！

From　side　to　side　of　the　Pit；　in　broken　beaches　and　waves　and　hummocks；　in　blackened；　distorted　tusks　and　warped　towerings；　reaching　with　hideous　pathos　in　thousands　of　forms　toward　the　charred　mound；　was　only　slag。

From　rifts　and　hollows　still　filled　with　water　little　wreaths　of　steam　drifted。　In　those　futile　wraiths　of　vapor　was　all　that　remained　of　the　might　of　the　Metal　Monster。

Catastrophe　I　had　expected；　tragedy　I　knew　we　would　findbut　I　had　looked　for　nothing　so　filled　with　the　abomination　of　desolation；　so　frightful　as　was　this。

〃Burned　out！〃　muttered　Drake。　〃Short…circuited　and　burned　out！　Like　a　dynamolike　an　electric　light！〃

〃Destiny！〃　said　Ventnor。　〃Destiny！　Not　yet　was　the　hour　struck　for　man　to　relinquish　his　sovereignty　over　the　world。　Destiny！〃

We　began　to　pick　our　way　down　the　heaped　debris　and　out　upon　the　plain。　For　all　that　day　and　part　of　another　we　searched　for　an　opening　out　of　the　Pit。

Everywhere　was　the　incredible　calcification。　The　surfaces　that　had　been　the　smooth　metallic　carapaces　with　the　tiny　eyes　deep　within　them；　crumbled　beneath　the　lightest　blow。　Not　long　would　it　be　until　under　wind　and　rain　they　dissolved　into　dust　and　mud。

And　it　grew　increasingly　obvious　that　Drake's　theory　of　the　destruction　was　correct。　The　Monster　had　been　one　prodigious　magnetor；　rather；　a　prodigious　dynamo。　By　magnetism；　by　electricity；　it　had　lived　and　had　been　activated。

Whatever　the　force　of　which　the　cones　were　built　and　that　I　have　likened　to　energy…made　material；　it　was　certainly　akin　to　electromagnetic　energies。

When；　in　the　cataclysm；　that　force　was　diffused　there　had　been　created　a　magnetic　field　of　incredible　intensity；　had　been　concentrated　an　electric　charge　of　inconceivable　magnitude。

Discharging；　it　had　blasted　the　Monstershort…circuited　it；　and　burned　it　out。

But　what　was　it　that　had　led　up　to　the　cataclysm？　What　was　it　that　had　turned　the　Metal　Monster　upon　itself？　What　disharmony　had　crept　into　that　supernal　order　to　set　in　motion　the　machinery　of　disintegration？


We　could　only　conjecture。　The　cruciform　Shape　I　have　named　the　Keeper　was　the　agent　of　destructionof　that　there　could　be　no　doubt。　In　the　enigmatic　organism　which　while　many　still　was　one　and　which；　retaining　its　integrity　as　a　whole　could　dissociate　manifold　parts　yet　still　as　a　whole　maintain　an　unseen　contact　and　direction　over　them　through　miles　of　space；　the　Keeper　had　its　place；　its　work；　its　duties。

So　too　had　that　wondrous　Disk　whose　visible　and　concentrate　power；　whose　manifest　leadership；　had　made　us　name　it　emperor。

And　had　not　Norhala　called　the　DiskRuler？

What　were　the　responsibilities　of　these　twain　to　the　mass　of　the　organism　of　which　they　were　such　important　units？　What　were　the　laws　they　administered；　the　laws　they　must　obey？

Something　certainly　of　that　mysterious　law　which　Maeterlinck　has　called　the　spirit　of　the　Hiveand　something　infinitely　greater；　like　that　which　governs　the　swarming　sun　bees　of　Hercules'　clustered　orbs。

Had　there　evolved　within　the　Keeper　of　the　Cones　guardian　and　engineer　as　it　seemed　to　have　beenambition？

Had　there　risen　within　it　a　determination　to　wrest　power　from　the　Disk；　to　take　its　place　as　Ruler？

How　else　explain　that　conflict　I　had　sensed　when　the　Emperor　had　plucked　Drake　and　me　from　the　Keeper's　grip　that　night　following　the　orgy　of　the　feeding？

How　else　explain　that　duel　in　the　shattered　Hall　of　the　Cones　whose　end　had　been　the　signal　for　the　final　cataclysm？

How　else　explain　the　alinement　of　the　cubes　behind　the　Keeper　against　the　globes　and　pyramids　remaining　loyal　to　the　will　of　the　Disk？

We　discussed　this；　Ventnor　and　I。

〃This　world；〃　he　mused；　〃is　a　place　of　struggle。　Air　and　sea　and　land　and　all　things　that　dwell　within　and　on　them　must　battle　for　life。　Earth　not　Mars　is　the　planet　of　war。　I　have　a　theory〃he　hesitated〃that　the　magnetic　currents　which　are　the　nerve　force　of　this　globe　of　ours　were　what　fed　the　Metal　Things。

〃Within　those　currents　is　the　spirit　of　earth。　And　always　they　have　been　supercharged　with　strife；　with　hatreds；　warfare。　Were　these　drawn　in　by　the　Things　as　they　fed？　Did　it　happen　that　the　Keeper　becameTUNED　to　them？　That　it　absorbed　and　responded　to　them；　growing　even　more　sensitive　to　these　forcesuntil　it　reflected　humanity？〃

〃Who　knows；　Goodwinwho　can　tell？〃

Enigma；　unless　the　explanations　I　have　hazarded　be　accepted；　must　remain　that　monstrous　suicide。　Enigma；　save　for　inconclusive　theories；　must　remain　the　question　of　the　Monster's　origin。

If　answers　there　were；　they　were　lost　forever　in　the　slag　we　trod。


It　was　afternoon　of　the　second　day　that　we　found　a　rift　in　the　blasted　wall　of　the　valley。　We　decided　to　try　it。　We　had　not　dared　to　take　the　road　by　which　Norhala　had　led　us　into　the　City。

The　giant　slide　was　broken　and　climbable。　But　even　if　we　could　have　passed　safely　through　the　tunnel　of　the　abyss　there　still　was　left　the　chasm　over　which　we　could　have　thrown　no　bridge。　And　if　we　could　have　bridged　it　still　at　that　road's　end　was　the　cliff　whose　shaft　Norhala　had　sealed　with　her　lightnings。

So　we　entered　the　rift。

Of　our　wanderings　thereafter　I　need　not　write。　From　the　rift　we　emerged　into　a　maze　of　the　valleys；　and　after

a　month　in　that　wilderness；　living　upon　what　game　we　could　shoot；　we　found　a　road　that　led　us　into　Gyantse。

In　another　six　weeks　we　were　home　in　America。

My　story　is　finished。

There　in　the　Trans…Himalayan　wilderness　is　the　blue　globe　that　was　the　weird　home　of　the　lightning　witchand　looking　back　I　feel　now　she　could　not　have　been　all　woman。

There　is　the　vast　pit　with　its　coronet　of　fantastic　peaks；　its　symboled；　calcined　floor　and　the　crumbling　body　of　the　inexplicable；　the　incredible　Thing　which；　alive；　was　the　shadow　of　extinction；　annihilation；　hovering　to　hurl　itself　upon　humanity。　That　shadow　is　gone；　that　pall　withdrawn。

But　to　meto　each　of　us　four　who　saw　those　phenomena　their　lesson　remains；　ineradicable；　giving　a　new　strength　and　purpose　to　us；　teaching　us　a　new　humility。

For　in　that　vast　crucible　of　life　of　which　we　are　so　small　a　part；　what　other　Shapes　may　even　now　be　rising　to　submerge　us？

In　that　vast　reservoir　of　force　that　is　the　mystery…filled　infinite　through　which　we　roll；　what　other　shadows　may　be　speeding　upon　us？

Who　knows？







End