Legacy

Legacy, by James H Schmitz

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Legacy, by James H Schmitz This
eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: Legacy
Author: James H Schmitz
Release Date: May 17, 2007 [EBook #21510]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LEGACY
***

Produced by Greg Weeks, Joel Schlosberg and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

Transcriber's note:
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the United States
copyright on this publication was renewed.

LEGACY
BY JAMES H. SCHMITZ
AUTHOR OF THE WITCHES OF KARRES
(ORIG. TITLE: A TALE OF TWO CLOCKS)

MEET TRIGGER ARGEE....
Half a block from the shopping center, a row of spacers on planet-leave
came rollicking cheerily toward her.... Trigger shifted toward the edge
of the sidewalk to let them pass. As the line swayed up on her left,
there was a shadowy settling of an aircar at the curb to her right.
With loud outcries of glad recognition and whoops of laughter, the line
swung in about her, close. Bodies crowded against her, a hand was
clapped over her mouth. Other hands held her arms. Her feet came off
the ground and she had a momentary awareness of being rushed
expertly forward.
There was a lurching twist as the aircar shot upward.
SHE'S ABOUT TO ENTER THE MYSTERY OF HER LIFE, IN
Legacy
* * * * *
Also by James H. Schmitz
THE DEMON BREED THE UNIVERSE AGAINST HER
ACE SCIENCE FICTION
* * * * *
Legacy

JAMES H. SCHMITZ
SF
ace books
A Division of Charter Communications Inc. A GROSSET & DUNLAP
COMPANY 360 Park Avenue South New York, New York 10010

LEGACY
Originally published as A TALE OF TWO CLOCKS
An ACE Book
Cover art by Bob Adragna
First Ace printing: May 1979
Printed in U.S.A

* * * * *
This book is dedicated affectionately to my father
* * * * *

1
It was the time of sunrise in Ceyce, the White City, placidly beautiful
capital of Maccadon, the University World of the Hub.
In the Colonial School's sprawling five-mile complex of buildings and
tropical parks, the second student shift was headed for breakfast, while
a larger part of the fourth shift moved at a more leisurely rate toward

their bunks. The school's organized activities were not much affected
by the hour, but the big exercise quadrangle was almost deserted for
once. Behind the railing of the firing range a young woman stood by
herself, gun in hand, waiting for the automatic range monitor to select a
new string of targets for release.
She was around twenty-four, slim and trim in the school's comfortable
hiking outfit. Tan shirt and knee-length shorts, knee stockings,
soft-soled shoes. Her sun hat hung on the railing, and the dawn wind
whipped strands of shoulder-length, modishly white-silver hair along
her cheeks. She held a small, beautifully worked handgun loosely
beside her--the twin-barrelled sporting Denton which gunwise citizens
of the Hub rated as a weapon for the precisionist and expert only. In
institutions like the Colonial School it wasn't often seen.
At the exact instant the monitor released its new flight of targets, she
became aware of the aircar gliding down toward her from the
administration buildings on the right. Startled, she glanced sideways
long enough to identify the car's two occupants, shifted her attention
back to the cluster of targets speeding toward her, studied the flight
pattern for another unhurried half-second, finally raised the Denton.
The little gun spat its noiseless, invisible needle of destruction eight
times. Six small puffs of crimson smoke hung in the air. The two
remaining targets swerved up in a mocking curve and shot back to their
discharge huts.
The girl bit her lip in moderate annoyance, safetied and holstered the
gun and waved her hand left-right at the range attendant to indicate she
was finished. Then she turned to face the aircar as it settled slowly to
the ground twenty feet away. Her gray eyes studied its occupants
critically.
"Fine example you set the students!" she remarked. "Flying right into a
hot gun range!"
Doctor Plemponi, principal of the Colonial School, smiled soothingly.
"Eight years ago, your father bawled me out for the very same thing,
Trigger! Much more abusively, I must say. You know that was my first

meeting with old Runser Argee, and I--"
"Plemp!" Mihul, Chief of Physical Conditioning, Women's Division,
cautioned sharply from the seat behind him. "Watch what you're doing,
you ass!"
Confused, Doctor Plemponi turned to look at her. The aircar dropped