Elric to Rescue Tanelorn - Michael Moorcock [21]
“I can,” I told him.
“We would never have invaded,” he continued, “had it not been for her.” It was said so simply that I believed him. Either his cunning was so great that I was completely deceived, or else he spoke the truth.
“What are the halflings?” I asked him.
Again he smiled: “Sorcerous ghouls,” he said.
“That is what King Rigenos told me—it is no explanation.”
“What if I told you they were capable of breaking up their atomic structure at will and assembling it again in another place. You would not understand me—sorcery, you would say.”
I was surprised at the scientific nature of his explanation. “I would understand you better,” I said slowly.
He raised his slanting eyebrows.
“You are different,” he said. “Well, the halflings, as you have seen, are related to the Eldren. Not all the dwellers on the Ghost Worlds are our kin—some are closer related to men, and there are other, baser, forms of life, too…
“The Ghost Worlds are solid enough, but exist in an alternate series of dimensions to our own. On these worlds, the halflings have no special powers—no more than we have—but here they have. We do not know why. On Earth different laws seem to apply to them. More than a million years ago we discovered a means of bridging the dimensions between Earth and these other worlds. We found a race akin to our own who will, at times, come to our aid if our need is especially great. This was one of those times. Sometimes, however, the bridge ceases to exist when the Ghost Worlds move into another phase of their weird orbit, so that any halflings on Earth cannot return and any of our people are in the same position if on the Ghost Worlds. Therefore, you will understand, it is dangerous to stay on either side overlong.”
“Is it possible,” I asked, “that the Eldren came originally from these Ghost Worlds?”
“I suppose it is possible,” he agreed. “There are no records.”
“Perhaps that is why the humans hate you as aliens,” I suggested.
“That is not the reason,” he told me, “for the Eldren occupied the Earth for ages before humankind ever came to the planet.”
“What!”
“It is true,” he said. “I am an immortal and my grandfather was an immortal. He was slain during the first wars between the Eldren and Humanity. When the humans came to Earth, they had incredible weapons of terrible destructive potential. In those days we also used such weapons. The wars created such destruction that the Earth seemed like a blackened ball of mud when the wars were ended and the Eldren defeated. Such was the destruction that we swore never again to use our weapons, whether we were threatened with extermination or not. We could not assume the responsibility for destroying an entire planet.”
“You mean you still have these weapons?”
“They are locked away, yes.”
“And you have the knowledge to use them?”
“Of course—we are immortal, we have many people who fought in those ancient wars, some even built new weapons before our decision was made.”
“Then why…?”
“I have told you—we swore not to.”
“What happened to the humans’ weapons—and their knowledge of them? Did they make the same decision?”
“No. The human race degenerated for a while—wars between themselves occurred, at one time they almost wiped themselves out, at another they were barbarians, and at another they seemed to have matured at last, to be at peace with themselves and one another. At one stage they lost the knowledge and the remaining weapons. In the last million years they have climbed back from absolute savagery—the peaceful years were short, a false lull—and I’d predict they’ll sink back soon enough. They seem bent on self-destruction as well as ours. We have wondered if the humans who must surely exist on other planets than this are the same. Perhaps not.”
“I hope not,” I said. “How do you think the Eldren will fare against the humans?”
“Badly,” he said. “Particularly since they are inspired by your leadership and the gateway to the Ghost Worlds is due soon to close again. Previously Humanity was split by quarrels. King Rigenos could never get his marshals