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  "Then they are to be pitied,” John of Villiers said sententiously. “Without that noble animal they couldn’t cross those vast distances.”

  “So our globe has three inhabited continents?” asked Conrad von Thierberg.

  “Precisely. More, there are countless isles beyond Cathay, eastward, and they’re inhabited by savages too, while another very large island extends to the south in the same ocean. But that’s of no import. Now we’re going to fly past Luna, which is nothing but bari-en, arid rock.”

  Brother Joubert moved several dials again and the sphere angled up and shot toward the star-scattered sky.

  William of Beaujeu’s two guests, dumbstruck, watched the Earth shrink until it became nothing but a ball, while on another screen the pink surface of the moon grew in their view. “Mark you,” said the Templar, “the soil of this sphere

  bears countless craters like the ones the explosions of our fireballs made. Djaffar and Joubert have taken long thought on the matter. They’ve come to the conclusion that these are not the effects of a war. Well, then, these impacts could only have been made by projectiles out of the void, centuries past Their precise origin is still a mystery. A few of the steeper-sided craters seem recent; others are more or less eroded. You will also see tall mountain ranges, dust-covered plains and a few tracks like the beds of ancient rivers.”

  “Here’s something to think on,” said the Grand Master of the Hospitalers. “The Holy Scriptures must be able to shed light on the matter. Isn’t it reported that the forces of the Devil once fought against the archangels and seraphim? Lucifer himself rebelled against his Creator and met defeat; then he was thrown into bell. Maybe we see there the traces of that fierce battle.”

  “A very attractive hypothesis,” the Templar applauded him. “But I would beware of getting into a biblical exegesis on that theory. Whatever it was, dead stars have no interest for us. Now I mean to give you a glimpse of the unbearable fires which burn at the heart of our sun, while we approach the two planets which orbit between it and our own Earth.” The pilot executed a quick turn of the ship without otherwise affecting his passengers and the machine rushed headlong toward the brilliant star, which grew in their sight and transformed itself into a furnace of unbearable power.

  Special panels then slid over the outer hull and the image on the screens darkened, letting them see a spotless white image close to the ship.

  “Vesper, our nearest neighbor,” William declared. “Thick clouds mask its surface. We plunged into the heart of them and couldn't see the surface of the world. So we have to conclude that this star has no inhabitants. The temperature must be very high on the continents and all the water must be rendered into vapor—hence these impenetrable clouds.”

  The two other soldier-monks said not a word. The majesty of the great universe filled them with wonder.

  Again the metal sphere rushed toward the solar fires, but a miraculous sweet coolness persisted inside the ship.

  Then the screens showed the burning surface of Hermes, on which flowed rivers of molten metals that made shining lakes undisturbed by waves.

  A new climb into space let the passengers admire two giant planets where gaseous spirals—purple, amaranth, rust and saffron—intertwined in an awesome ballet. One of the stars was girt with an amethyst ring like a priceless crown.

  William of Beaujeu meant to go farther still, to the very frozen limits of the solar system, but his passengers declined the offer. They professed themselves satisfied with the experience and fully convinced of the possibilities of the wondrous ship taken from the Baphomet

  For the several minutes of their return trajectory, John of Villiers, who had recovered some of his self-possession, still expressed reservations on the theories his rival set forth. “Dear friend,” he began in a categorical tone, *‘I must yield to the evidence. Our Earth is truly round and she orbits the sun in company with other planets which hardly look like her at all. That’s precisely what leads me to wonder whether these other stars that spread across the heavens as far as we can see can possibly have intelligent creatures created in the image of our God. It seems to me even more untenable that within this hypothesis, you have to suppose that these hypothetical brothers, these quasi Adams and Eves, challenged God’s goodness by picking the fruit of the Tree of Good and Evil. Then, like us, they would be tainted with the same original sin and on that logic, they must be redeemed by Christ Now if there do exist, as that theory suggests, billions of inhabited planets, there must have been billions of Christs, billions of Virgin Mothers, and even billions of popes. Redemption could not be reserved for humans alone since God is good. Alas, the Holy Scriptures only mention one Christ, one Mary, and one sole pope!”

  The Grand Master of the Teutons cast an admiring glance at his companion. The argument was a telling one. Only the subtle Hospitaler had a quick enough wit to raise such objections. Triumphantly John of Villiers folded his wrinkled hands and with a smug smile on his lips waited on his illustrious rival’s answer.

  "And very well might there have been billions of Christs!” William exclaimed. "The Divine Power which created this unfathomable universe—couldn’t it be sufficient for the Savior to manifest Himself on each world in the image of its inhabitants? So why couldn't there have been a Messiah among the Baphomets? And, my brothers, I strongly advise you meditate on these words, which you will grant me are in Holy Writ. . . . Didn’t Our Lord say, ‘I have other sheep which are not of this fold ...'? So that is plain proof that there are other creatures in the universe endowed with intelligence. And don’t go telling me that the sacred texts only speak of one Christ. Have you found in the Holy Bible any passages saying the Earth is round? That it spins round the sun? That there are other planets near us? Nol The dogma is then in no wise opposed to the plurality of inhabited worlds.”

  Conrad von Thierberg assumed a worried look. This rough, brave soldier was more at home on a horse or in battle than in verbal fencing. He left John of Villiers the honor of pursuing the argument

  And John refused to own his defeat. “Your facile sophism doesn’t convince me in the least. St. Thomas says in effect: The Earth is the center of Creation and all the stars were formed to let man know the seasons.’ And St Paul for his part declares that there is no other world but the Earth, that the stars and the heavens were made for the Earth and for man. No mention of extraterrestrials there.”

  “But Jesus clearly said, ‘In my Father's House are many mansions,’ ” the Templar fired back. “What about the existence of angels, archangels, thrones and powers, dominions, seraphim, virtues, principalities and cherubim? Do the nine choirs of angels indeed live in the sky? These are by definition . . . extraterrestrial. The Christ is universal, and He affirmed it. Listen to St. Paul. ‘When the time is accomplished, I will bring all things under one head, that is, Christ, the celestial beings and the terrestrial.’ All creatures are mortal and only a Redeemer can give them eternal life. It’s no lessening; on the contrary, it expands His love to legions of beings like or unlike us.”

  This time the Templar’s two opponents gave no answer— not that they were convinced, but that the Earth’s ocher surface was rushing toward them as if the machine were about to crash. Were they about to pay for this mad temerity with their lives?

  The ship made a dizzying nose dive and under the bewildered eyes of the witnesses perched on the ramparts neatly came to rest on its three feet in the hollow tower.

  “Well, noble brothers,” said William with a smug smile, “what say you to that?"

  "Faith,” replied Conrad in his thunderous voice, "no problem for me. Our Eart’ is round just like a ball, and the sun holds the center of our system.”

  "What has me worried,” John of Villiers said in turn, "is that I can’t deny that this quite wingless ship sails at an insane speed. If we only took aboard enough provisions, it could surely cany us to the farthest stars. But 1 still have to voice one objection...”

  “Do,” the Templar replied.
"I’m here to give you all the explanations you could want”

  “So. Well. Before we left, you were talking about the possibility of an attack of similar vessels launched against the Earth. So you think that the Baphomets have a large fleet Now evidently you have just the one ship. So it’s impossible to expect to overcome an opposing fleet if—by some misfortune—you ran into any of them en route.”

  “A perceptive objection. I’ll give you my answer, but before the Council of nobles which is so impatiently awaiting us.”

  The four passengers left the ship then and, following the route by which they had come, they reentered the vast hall, where they were assailed by a deluge of questions.

  William resumed his place on the dais and, lifting his hand to restore silence; “Messires,” he said in a loud voice, “brother Hospitalers and Teutons, I understand your curiosity. Patience. I am going to pick up the thread of my story, which we broke off for that little voyage with my noble friends. I had to convince them of a few facts of dire importance: the fact that the Earth is round; that it belongs to a system of planets orbiting endlessly about our sun; and most of all—to convince them of the extraordinary abilities of the Baphomet ship, which can sail immeasurable distances. This was, I believe, accomplished.”

  John of Villiers and Conrad von Thierberg, to the vast surprise of their brother knights, nodded in agreement.

  “—These points have been established,” the Grand Master of the Templars went on, "our assembly has to resolve some other problems of vital importance to our race. The Baphomets, as I have told you, know of our existence, but they don’t know how we dealt with the emissary they sent to our world, and that must throw them into a grand confusion. Surely they’re wondering if they ought to leave us in peace or attack us with a powerful fleet. Their hesitations leave us a little breathing space in which to act The noble John of Villiers justly and forcefully reminded me a moment ago that we don’t have enough strength now to fight in space. So an alternative suggests itself: brace ourselves and wait for the Baphomet attack—asking our friend Houen-Lun to gather a number of Adepts to repulse our attackers by means of their psychic talents. Second possibility: seize the offensive and launch an attack on the planets occupied by the Baphomets with a powerful fleet, capable of beating these cruel adversaries. After careful reflection, the venerable Tibetan chief, our esteemed Djaffar, our learned Joubert and myself succeeded in setting a reasonable plan into motion. Houen-Lun has told me that the powers of the Wise Men were inoperative when they were shut within a metal vessel. At one stroke—our main weapon, out of action. But fortunately, after days and nights of research, Brother Joubert has found a means to get around that difficulty. He states that the Tibetans’ brain waves can be propagated over an apparatus which exists on the Baphomet ships—the antennae they use for speaking long distance, which receive certain impulses. . . . The Baphomets in charge of receiving messages aboard the enemy ships could thus easily be deluded by one of the lamas. Thanks to his remarkable powers, the Adept would have the Baphomet believing he was talking to peaceful merchantmen. So one of the Tibetans could corrupt the judgment of officers and crew; one of us could finally get in through an airlock to spy on our enemies.”

  “Noble brother,” muttered John of Villiers, “you’re telling us marvels, to be sure, oh yes, but not enough to win a battle if the course of events should lead us to one. Surely it would be a good plan to send spies among the Baphomets ... but our looks would have to be compatible with those of those sky-dwelling races or the men you send are going to be unmasked very quickly.”

  ‘I've foreseen that eventuality. A goat’s hide and head would be enough to disguise one of us.”

  “Let’s admit that there's one remaining problem,” the Hospitaler said in a deathly silence. “That our forces are a joke and that we can’t fend the advance of a powerful fleet away from our planet.”

  The audience was sitting as if paralyzed. All in the hall felt that they were dreaming. Even the most learned of them needed all their faculties to follow the debate, the import of which they did, however, realize.

  “Have I ever,” replied the Templar, “pretended to have ships as numerous as our armies? Our numerical disadvantage will be largely offset by our experience in the art of war.”

  “Ve’d still haf to be able to make these demoniac machines,” Conrad von Thierberg grumbled. “So far as I’m concerned, I don’t understand a bit of it."

  “Our learned Joubert and the wise Djaffar have made astonishing progress," William replied, “in mastering these esoteric sciences. They now understand the operation of most of the machines equipping these ships—that, in large part thanks to the tiny crystalline charts which carry all the instructions meant to teach ordinary folk among our enemies the arts of alchemy. Still, it took a powerful intelligence to gather the very elements of these understandings, and our ablest workmen would be helpless to reproduce the delicate mechanisms which move these ships through the ether."

  “Then it is impossible,” John of Villiers cut in dryly, “to beard the Baphomets in their lair.”

  “You omit one simple factor, noble brother,” the Templar returned with a touch of malice. “No need, you see, of master artisans when one has a duplicator which faithfully reproduces all the pieces—even the tiniest—just so long as we feed the right metal into it. So then, our alchemists are quite capable of that much. Now, already, I have a dozen ships in perfect working order and I’m continuing to produce them."

  A long silence fell on the crowd.

  Hospitalers, Teutons and Templars reflected on the vistas opened by that unexpected revelation.

  Conrad von Thierberg, always full of fire, exclaimed: “Ah, veil, in that case, no problem. Let’s go get those demons!”

  A good section of the crowd agreed with that proud sentiment. But John of Villiers was still thinking. Finally he decided to give his opinion. “Noble William, your words, I admit, are full of sense. It would be mad at this point to launch a blind attack on an enemy we scarcely know. So let’s pursue the construction of a great fleet, and meanwhile, let’s send spies to give us valuable information on our enemies.”

  “I thank you for your support, gentle brother. That solution seems wisest to me, too. Sirs, brother Hospitalers and Teutons, I appeal to you—all who approve this project, raise your hands.”

  They all knew the wisdom of the Grand Master of the Hospitalers. As for William of Beaujeu, he had the greatest empire on Earth, and he had won countless victories, so almost all the soldier-monks approved the proposal. Only a few Teutons abstained, more out of jealousy than on real conviction.

  “Noble brothers, thank you for your confidence,” William concluded, and rose to show that the audience was ended. “Let us thank the Lord that we were warned of our danger in time and let us pray Christ to bring this Crusade to victory! May this be a battle of the forces of good against those of evil. The Baussant flag will once more go in the van of the host which leads the holy war!”

  The crowd dispersed then to enjoy the merrymaking which marked this holiday. Tongues wagged freely.

  But the Grand Masters, meeting in a private chamber, went over the details of the future expedition in secret.

  By nightfall, they had reached agreement.

  Each withdrew to his own apartment, while the officers of the three orders passed their instructions to their subordinates. The crew of the ship which was to set forth into infinite space (until then the sole possession of the Baphomets) then gathered at the castle to be prepared for the mission by Joubert and Djafiar.

  Chapter II

  ☆

  While the duplicators worked ceaselessly under die supervision of Joubert, Djaffar and their assistants, William put a finishing touch on his expedition to the stars.

  The Grand Master needed a reliable man to run his empire during his absence. He chose his faithful commander, Thi-baud Gaudin, whose courage and honesty he respected. Under William’s eye, the Templar learned to mana
ge the various factions which set Khan against Khan, to supervise the harvests, the extraction of minerals needed for die manufacture of the spaceships. He gave him precise instructions, too, regarding the agreements the Templars maintained with the Eastern Kingdoms. There, as it happened, the Commanderies flourished, ships and caravans brought in gold, spices, rich brocades, incense, perfumes... which attracted rich burghers and noble lords.

  The Templars had become bankers to kings and emperors, with whom they dealt as equals. No one could make war without their approval. Ambassadors came to seek their advice. French, English, Germans and Italians must reckon with the wealthy soldier-monks, wielders of the thunderballs. Pope John XXI himself dealt carefully with them, for they were on their way to becoming masters of the world.

  Power, alas, begets hate.

  The kings were jealous of the Grand Master, though they dared not admit their hostility openly. They employed multitudes of spies in the Commanderies and even at Chang-Chu. Hospitalers and Teutons, reduced to a supporting role, were only too eager to aid their rivals’ enemies.

  So Thibaud Gaudin faced a very delicate task. Impossible to use the thunderballs against Christian kingdoms. John XXI bad let It be understood in so many words that this devil-weapon must never be used except against infidels, on pain of excommunication.

  Any attack on the Commanderies of Europe had to be met with less baneful weapons, and Templar companies scattered over the face of the world were incapable of meeting any op-posing coalition. It would be worse yet when the fleet took to space, taking with it the flower of the soldier-monks.

  Only the posts in America gave them no trouble. The Templars, dug in behind the thick-walled castles they had built along the majestic rivers of the New World, had nothing to fear from the natives, who had no warhorses and whose arrows could not penetrate die plate armor and the mail shirts. Sachems and chiefs knew that these newcomers wielded the thunder. So they traded with these demigods whom they had learned to fear mid took no chance of offending them.