Death came.
Eeeeeeeeeeeee, said a voice.
Yes, I know, said Leonard Sale, lying there. But what else?
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, said a voice.
I know that, also, said Leonard Sale, irritably. He turned cold. His mouth hung open wildly.
‘I am Tylle of Rathalar, Killer of Men!’
‘I am Iorr of Wendillo, Destroyer of Infidels!’
What is this place? asked Leonard Sale, struggling against horror.
‘Once a mighty planet!’ said Tylle of Rathalar. ‘Once a place of battles!’ said Iorr of Wendillo.
‘Now dead,’ said Tylle.
‘Now silent,’ said Iorr.
‘Until you came,’ said Tylle.
‘To give us life again,’ said Iorr.
You’re dead, insisted Leonard Sale, flesh writhing. You’re nothing but empty wind.
‘We live, through you.’
‘And fight, through you !’
So that’s it, thought Leonard Sale. I’m to be a battleground, am I? Are you friends?
‘Enemies!’ cried Iorr.
‘Foul enemies!’ cried Tylle.
Leonard smiled a rictal smile. He felt ghastly. How long have you waited? he demanded.
‘How long is time?’ Ten thousand years? ‘Perhaps.’ Ten million years ? ‘Perhaps.’
What are you? Thoughts, spirits, ghosts? ‘All of those, and more.’ Intelligence? ‘Precisely.’ How did you survive?
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee, sang the chorus, far away.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, sang another army, waiting to fight.
‘Once upon a time, this was fertile land, a rich planet. And there were two nations, strong nations, led by two strong men. I, Iorr. And he, that one who calls himself Tylle. And the planet declined and gave way to nothingness. The peoples and the armies languished in the midst of a great war which had lasted five thousand years. We lived long lives and loved long loves, drank much, slept much, fought much. And when the planet died, our bodies withered, and, only in time, and with much science, did we survive.’
Survive, wondered Leonard Sale. But there is nothing of you!
‘Our minds, fool, our minds ! What is a body without a mind?’
What is a mind without a body, laughed Leonard Sale. I’ve got you there. Admit it, I’ve got you!
‘True,’ said the cruel voice. ‘One is useless, lacking the other. But survival is survival even when unconscious. The minds of our nations, through science, through wonder, survived.’
But without senses, lacking eyes, ears, lacking touch, smell, and the rest? ‘Lacking all those, yes. We were vapours, merely. For a long time. Until today.’