His assistant trembled slightly. "Unequivocally affirmative. _Beush_,
your memory relates that five periods ante-present, when there
existed the Truce inter Energi, Terrans and ourselves, there was a
certain period during which gifts of the three nucleus-planets were
exchanged in friendship. The Terrans were self-contented to donate
to the Energi an immense 'aquarium'--an 'aquarium' consisting of a
partly transparent cell in which was placed a collection of Terran
life-forms that breathed their oxygen from the dense atmosphere of
Terran seas. But, as a warpspace message from the Terran Council
indirectly proclaimed, the degenerate Terrans negatively possessed
a ship of any Space type large or powerful enough to transport the
'aquarium' to Energa. Our ships being the largest of the Truce, we
were petitioned by the Terrans to transport it. These events developed
before the Terrans grew pestiferous to our cause. We obliged, but even
our vastest ship was slow, because the physical power necessary to
bring the weight of the cell through warpspace quickly was too great
for the solitary four generators. It was imperative that the trip be on
a longer trajectory arranged through norm-space. During the duration
of the trip, feelings of suspicion arose inter Three Truce Races.
As your memory also relates, the 'aquarium' was still in space when
we found it necessary to obliterate the total race of Terrans. The
message of the annihilation arrived in retard to the Energi, so Time
permitted us to devise a contra-Energi intelligence plan, a necessity
since it was realized that the Energi would be disturbed by our action
contra-Terrans and would, without doubt, take action contra-ourselves.
"Unknown to you, _beush_, or to the masses and highers, an
insignificant pleasure craft was extracted from Terran Space and
negatively consumed with a planet when the bombs were detonated. The
ship accommodated two Terrans. Proper Terrans by birth, negatively
by reference. One was male, other female. The two had been in
their culture socially and religiously united in a ceremony called
'matrimony'. Emotions of sex, protection and an emotion we have
negatively been able to analyze linked the two, and made them ideal for
our purpose."
The assistant looked at the _beush_, picked up his partially full glass
and, before he could sip it, was dashed to the floor beside the _beush_
himself. The former helped the higher to his unstable legs, and was
commented to by the same, "Assistant, proceed to the protecroom."
They entered the well-illuminated closet and immediately slipped
into the unwieldy metallic suits. Once again they took their seats,
the _beush_ reflecting and saying, "As your memory relates, that
explosion was a bomb-drop concussion from the Rebellers. We must now
wear anti-radiation protection. For that reason, and the danger of
the Energi, you _do_ see why we need the formulae of the Force Domes,
_immediately_."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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