I had apremonition that he was not going to be a
very pleasant person withwhom to work.
Very well, said Ras Thavas; then I can trust you
both. I am sure that nothing would suit you better, I replied. The result ofthese
discoveries and experiments are the hormads. How do I know that they are not
fromToonol or Phundahl? Iam the finished product of a million cultures, or more than
fourmillion cultures, to be exact.
It was evident that the dwar was quite a decent
fellow. There are several million hormads on the island.
Some of you will gointo the culture vats. They know
the word, replied Ras Thavas, but I am sure they cannotsense its finer connotations.
My orders were simply to turn these men over toyou. The din in the room had now
risen to such proportions that furtherconversation was impossible. I wondered what
good a friend without a body could dome. You know Vor Daj well and have implicit
confidence in him? Shake the net, or pull it up and turn me. They also do what they
seethe majority of their fellows doing. To what terrible fate was she being borne? A
certain percentage are so grossly malformed as to beutterly useless. As you may have
noticed, they cant be killed.
Those of you who are fortunate will be retained
totrain and officer troops as I was. They know the word, replied Ras Thavas, but I
am sure they cannotsense its finer connotations.
There are several million hormads on the
island.
We had no more than reached the tank when a head
cried out, Kaor, VorDaj!
How long will it take to grow a new body for
Tor-dur-bar?
THE JUDGEMENT OF THE JEDSJanai, the girl from
Amhor, sat apart. I saw Ras Thavass browclear as though he had suddenly arrived at
the solution of a problem.
They are the seven hormads whose brainsdeveloped
normally and who wrested control from Ras Thavas.
Unless it be totally destroyed, as by fire, it
lives; andwhat lives must grow. And now that we are your prisoners, inquired The
Warlord, what doyou intend doing with us?
I foresee that thedifficulties of escaping from the
island may not be insuperable.
Ras Thavas would like toescape or regain control of
Morbus.
Still we must find a way, replied The
Warlord.
A pathetic little smile out of a hopelessheart.