Temple Trouble | Page 7

of these, but we have found
everything from time-lines inhabited only by subhuman ape-men to Second Level
civilizations which are our own equal in every respect but knowledge of paratemporal
transposition. We even know of one Second Level civilization which is approaching the
discovery of an interstellar hyperspatial drive, something we've never even come close to.
And in between are every degree of savagery, barbarism and civilization. Now, it's just
not possible to frame any single code of laws applicable to conditions on all of these. The
best we can do is prohibit certain flagrantly immoral types of activity, such as
slave-trading, introduction of new types of narcotic drugs, or out-and-out piracy and
brigandage. If you're in doubt as to the legality of anything you want to do outtime, go to
the Judicial Section of the Paratime Commission and get an opinion on it. That's where
you made your whole mistake. You didn't find out just how far it was allowable for you
to go."
He turned to Stranor Sleth again. "Well, that's the background, then. Now tell me about
what happened yesterday at Zurb."
"Well, a week ago, Kurchuk came out with this decree closing our temple at Zurb and
ordering his subjects to perform worship and make money offerings to Muz-Azin. The
Zurb temple isn't a mask for a mine: Zurb's too far south for the uranium deposits. It's just
a center for propaganda and that sort of thing. But they have a House of Yat-Zar, and a
conveyer, and most of the upper-priests are paratimers. Well, our man there, Tammand
Drav, alias Khoram, defied the king's order, so Kurchuk sent a company of Chuldun
archers to close the temple and arrest the priests. Tammand Drav got all his people who
were in the temple at the time into the House of Yat-Zar and transposed them back to the
First Level. He had orders"--Stranor Sleth looked meaningly at Brannad Klav--"not to
resist with energy-weapons or even ultrasonic paralyzers. And while we're on the subject
of letting the local yokels see too much, about fifteen of the under-priests he took to the
First Level were Hulgun natives."
"Nothing wrong about that: they'll get memory-obliteration and pseudo-memory
treatment," Verkan Vall said. "But he should have been allowed to needle about a dozen
of those Chulduns. Teach the beggars to respect Yat-Zar in the future. Now, how about
the six priests who were outside the temple at the time? All but one were paratimers.

We'll have to find out about them, and get them out of Zurb."
"That'll take some doing," Stranor Sleth said. "And it'll have to be done before sunset
tomorrow. They are all in the dungeon of the palace citadel, and Kurchuk is going to give
them to the priests of Muz-Azin to be sacrificed tomorrow evening."
"How'd you learn that?" Verkan Vall asked.
"Oh, we have a man in Zurb, not connected with the temple," Stranor Sleth said. "Name's
Crannar Jurth; calls himself Kranjur, locally. He has a swordmaker's shop, employs about
a dozen native journeymen and apprentices who hammer out the common blades he sells
in the open market. Then, he imports a few high-class alloy-steel blades from the First
Level, that'll cut through this local low-carbon armor like cheese. Fits them with
locally-made hilts and sells them at unbelievable prices to the nobility. He's Swordsmith
to the King; picks up all the inside palace dope. Of course, he was among the first to
accept the New Gospel and go over to Muz-Azin. He has a secret room under his shop,
with his conveyer and a radio.
"What happened was this: These six priests were at a consecration ceremony at a
rabbit-ranch outside the city, and they didn't know about the raid on the temple. On their
way back, they were surrounded by Chuldun archers and taken prisoner. They had no
weapons but their sacrificial knives." He threw another dirty look at Brannad Klav. "So
they're due to go up on the triangles at sunset tomorrow."
"We'll have to get them out before then," Verkan Vall stated. "They're our people, and we
can't let them down; even the native is under our protection, whether he knows it or not.
And in the second place, if those priests are sacrificed to Muz-Azin," he told Brannad
Klav, "you can shut down everything on this time-line, pull out or disintegrate your
installations, and fill in your mine-tunnels. Yat-Zar will be through on this time-line, and
you'll be through along with him. And considering that your fissionables franchise for
this sector comes up for renewal next year, your company will be through in this paratime
area."
"You believe that would happen?" Brannad Klav asked anxiously.
"I know it will, because I'll put through a recommendation to that effect, if those six