Rupert looked at Jan a little suspiciously, wondering if his brother-in-law was poking fun at his hobby.
“His explanation seemed adequate. As an anthropologist he was interested in every aspect of our culture. Remember, they have plenty of time. They can go into more detail than a human research worker ever could. Reading my entire library probably put only a slight strain on Rashy’s resources.”
That might be the answer, but Jan was not convinced.
Sometimes he had thought of confiding his secret to Rupert but his natural caution had held him back. When he met his Overlord friend again, Rupert would probably give something away — the temptation would be far too great.
“Incidentally,” said Rupert, changing the subject abruptly, “if you think this is a big job, you should see the commission Sullivan’s got. He’s promised to deliver the two biggest creatures of all — a sperm whale and a giant squid. They’ll be shown locked in mortal combat. What a tableau that will make!” For a moment Jan did not answer. The idea that had exploded in his mind was too outrageous, too fantastic to be taken seriously. Yet, because of its very daring, it might succeed.
“What’s the matter?” said Rupert anxiously. “The heat getting you down?” Jan shook himself back to present reality.
“I’m all tight,” he said. “I was just wondering how the Overlords would collect a little packet like that.”
“Oh,” said Rupert, “one of those cargo ships of theirs will come down, open a hatch, and hoist it in.”
“That,” said Jan, “is exactly what I thought.”
It might have been the cabin of a spaceship, but it was not. The walls were covered with meters and instruments: there were no windows — merely a large screen in front of the pilot. The vessel could carry six passengers, but at the moment Jan was the only one. He was watching the screen intently, absorbing each glimpse of this strange and unknown region as it passed before his eyes. Unknown — yes, as unknown as anything he might meet beyond the stars, if his mad plan succeeded. He was going into a realm of nightmare creatures, preying upon each other in a darkness undisturbed since the world began. It was a realm above which men had sailed for thousands of years: it lay no more than a kilometre below the keels of their ships — yet until the last hundred years they had known less about it than the visible face of the moon.