The Shores of Death by Michael Moorcock Page B

into the shute.
    “What was I looking for? You’ve found something— but it isn’t what I want. There’s no necessity for secrecy now, Fastina—no-one will laugh at my ambition. If their scheme is successful then I shall be the one who will benefit most of all.”
    “But you heard what Narvo said. They need you now. Without you, the scheme could fail.”
    “Let them find someone else. I’m going out there. I’m going back into space again—and this time I shall find what I’m looking for.” He pointed upwards, grinning. He noticed that he was frightening her and grinned the more.
    He stepped towards his aircar and clambered into it. She followed, climbing in after him.
    He shook his head rapidly. “No! No, Fastina!”
    He turned and picked her up bodily, throwing her back on to the roof. She fell with a cry of pain.
    Then he put his sonarkey to his lips and gave the car its instructions.
    “Where are you going?” she shouted, lying on the roof, her naked body white against the dark surface. She began to scramble up, sobbing. “Which planet? Clovis—what about your loyalties?”
    The last thing she heard was his voice crying back to her as his car sailed over the sky.
    “I have only one loyalty now, Fastina. I nearly ignored it. Only one loyalty and it’s to my ambition!”
    And he laughed and laughed as he headed the car towards the spacefield and his ship.
    “Such ambitions have often been known to drive men mad,” said a melodious voice behind her. “And yet if the ambition is achieved a darker madness has to be fought...”
    She twisted herself round to look at the speaker.
    It was Take, of course.

SECOND of two parts
    Lie down, lie down, young yeoman;
    The sun moves always west;
    The read one treads to labour
    Will lead one home to rest,
    And that will be the best.
    A. E. Housman

    Our galaxy  is about to be destroyed. Another galaxy is colliding with ours and it is approaching the speed of light. When the speed of light is exceeded, it will convert to energy and we shall be engulfed by the same process. The human race prepares for death. But Clovis Marca, 30th century Earth’s First Citizen, is searching frantically for something else. He, in turn, is pursued by two people—Fastina Cahmin, who loves him, and a mysterious man called Take who appears to know exactly what Marca is searching for. When aliens from the other galaxy arrive with pos sible salvation, Marca leaves Fastina and rushes away, making for his spaceship. He intends to go to the Bleak Worlds of Antares where he believes he’ll find what he’s looking for. But humanity is psychologically and physiologically unable to remain away from Earth for long

seven Work in Progress

    The hugh scaffolding rose hundreds of metres high, each piece shining, each more than a kilometre in diameter. And stretched about it were the delicate webs of wire and coils, merged circles, triangles and squares of vibrating blues and golds. Beneath it, looking up, stood three human figures and a fourth figure who was not human. His name was Sahaa and he was a bird-like Shreelian.
    The shortest man pushed his mane of white hair away from his face with an old, slim hand. “Well, Andros— it’s finished. It didn’t take as long as you expected, did it? ”
    Andros Aimer’s dark face was frowning. He seemed to disapprove of Narvo Velusi’s massively fragile transmitter. He shook his head and held his peace.
    But Fastina Cahmin, the third human member of the group, was enthusiastic. “It’s wonderful, Narvo. It will send your message through the universe for ever. Even when the Solar System leaves this galaxy, even when the galaxy itself is energised, your message will sing on— ‘ We are here! ’ ”
    “Perhaps ‘ We were here ’ would be better,” Andros’s voice was dry. “You known I’ve no quarrel with the idea of the message, Narvo—it’s the content of the message that bothers me. It was good enough, I suppose, while we were ready to