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.Slowly, withagony, I began to believe that it had indeed been nothing but the cruelest ofdreams -and that I was now once again coming to my senses.Icould not believe this in my heart of hearts, but my mind, , forcefully andcoolly, required this conclusion.aI struggled to my feet, my heart torn with grief.But.then, on the groundnear my boot, I saw it-a small object, a tiny, round object.I fell on my knees and snatched it up,my eyes bursting with tears, my heart knowing the full sweep of the saddestjoy that can overwhelm a man.In my.hand I held the ring of red metal, thering that bore the crest of Cabot, the gift of my father.I cut my hand withthe ring, to make myself bleed, and I laughed with joy as I felt the pain andsaw the blood.The ring was real, and I was awake, and there was a CounterEarth, and the girl, Talena.When I emerged from the mountains, I found I had been gone seven months.Itwas simple enough to feign amnesia, and what other account of those sevenmonths would my world accept? I spent a few days in a public hospital, underobservation, and was then allowed to leave.I decided to take up quarters, atleast temporarily, in New York.My position at the college had, of course,been filled, and I had no desire to return; there would be too manyPage 104ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlexplanations.I sent my friend at the college a belated check for his campingequipment, which had been destroyed with the blue envelope in the mountains.Very kindly, he arranged for my books and other belongings to be sent to mynew address.When I arranged for the transfer of my bank business, I wassurprised, but not file:///F|/rah/John%20Norman/Tarnsman%20of%20Gor.txt (97 of98) [1/20/03 3:36:23 AM]file:///F|/rah/John%20Norman/Tarnsman%20of%20Gor.txt too surprised, todiscover that my savings account, in my absence, had been mysteriouslyaugmented, and quite handsomely.I have not been forced to work since myreturn from the Counter-Earth.To be sure, I have worked, but only at what I wished and for as long asI wanted.I have given much more time to traveling, to reading, and to keepingmyself fit.I have even joined a fencing club, to keep my eye alert and mywrist strong, though the puny foils we use are sorry weapons compared to theswords of Gor.Strangely, though it has now been six years since I left theCounter Earth, I can discover no signs of aging or physical alteration in myappearance.Ihave puzzled over this, trying to connect it with the mysterious letter, datedin the seventeenth century, ostensibly by my father, which I received in theblue envelope.Perhaps the serums of theCaste of Physicians, so skilled on Gor, have something to do with this, but Icannot tell.Two or three times a year I have returned to the mountains of New Hampshire,to look again on that great flat rock, to spend a night there, in case I mightsee once again that silver disk in the sky, in case once again I might besummoned by the Priest-Kings to that other world.But if I am so summoned,they will do so with the understanding that I am resolved to be no pawn intheir vast games.Who or what are the Priest-Kings that they should sodetermine the lives of others, that they should rule a planet, terrorize thecities of a world, commit men to the Flame Death, tear lovers from eachother's arms? No matter how fearful their power, they must be challenged.If Ishould once again walk the green fields of Gor, I know that I should attemptto solve the riddle of the Priest-Kings, that I should enter the SardarMountains and confront them, whoever or whatever they might be.file:///F|/rah/John%20Norman/Tarnsman%20of%20Gor.txt (98 of 98) [1/20/033:36:23 AM]Page 105 [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]