12 - Jewels of Aptor by Samuel R. Delany

In Jewels of Aptor, Samuel R. Delanys debut novel from 1962, we are transported to a world centuries after a devastating nuclear holocaust known as the Great Fire. Here, a young woman embarks on a quest for her destiny, aided by a mysterious four-armed youth. This captivating tale serves as a prologue to Delanys subsequent work, Captives of the Flame. (Summary by BellonaTimes)

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Chapter eleven of the Jewels of Apdoor by Samuel R. Delaney.
This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Reading by
Matt Parrart, chapter eleven, Under the Trees, She raised up
on tiptoe and kissed the balding forehead of a tall,

(00:21):
dark robed priest dunderhead. She said, I think you're cute.
Then she blinked very rapidly and knuckled beneath her eye. Oh,
she added, remembering I was making yogurt in the biology
laboratory yesterday. There's two gallons of it fermenting under the
tarantula cage. Remember to take it out and take care

(00:44):
of the hamsters. Please, don't forget the hamsters. Finally, they
started once more around the slope of the volcano, and
the temple and grove fell black and green away behind them.
Two days to get to the ship, said Geo, squinting
at the pail sky. Perhaps we had better put the

(01:05):
jewels together, said Urson. Keep them out of harm's way,
since we know their power. What do ye mean, Jimmy asked.
Erson took Geo's leather purse from his belt, Then he
took the jewel from Geo's neck. And dropped it in
the purse. Then he held the purse out for Jimmy

(01:27):
to do the same. I'll guess it can't head, Jemmy said,
dropping his chain into the pouch. Here's mine too, Argo said.
Erson pulled the purse string closed and tucked the pouch
in at his waist. Well, said Geo. I guess we've
had for the river, so we can get back to

(01:48):
your sister and Geordie. Geordy asked Argo. Who's he. He's
a spy for the blind Priestesses. He's also the one
who cut Snake's tongue out cut his suddenly, she stopped.
That's right, four arms his tongue. I remember now in

(02:10):
the film in the what, asked Jimmy, what do you remember?
Argo turned to Snake. I remember where I saw you before?
You know, Snake person asked No, I never met him,
but about a month ago, I saw a movie of

(02:31):
what happened. It was horrible what they did to him.
What's a movie, asked Jimmy. Huh, said Argo. Oh, it's
sort of like the vision screens, only you can see
things that happened in the past. Anyway, Dunderhead showed me
this film about a month ago. Then he took me

(02:52):
down to the beach and said, I should have seen
something there because of what I've learned, say something. Yemmy
almost yelled what was it? He took her shoulder and
shook it. What was it you were supposed to see? Why? Began?
The girl startled because a friend of mine was murdered

(03:15):
and I almost was too, because of something we saw
on that beach. Only I don't know what it was,
but began Argo, but I don't either. I couldn't see it,
so Dunderhead took me back to the temple. Snake Geo asked,

(03:36):
do you know what they were supposed to see or
why Argo was taken to see it? After she was shown,
what happened to you? The boy shrugged. Jimmy turned on Snake.
Do you know or are you just not telling? Come
on now, that's the only reason I've stuck with this
so far, and I want to know what's going on.

(04:00):
Snake shook his head. I want to know why I
was nearly killed, shouted the Negro. You know, and I
want you to tell me. Jimmy raised his hand. Snake screamed.
The sound tore over the distended vocal cords. Then he

(04:21):
whirled and ran. Erson caught him and brought the boy
crashing down among leaves. No you don't, the giant growled.
You're not going to get away from me this time.
You won't get away from me again, watch it, said Argo,
you're hurting him. Erson let go. Hey, he's up, said

(04:44):
Jimmy Snake. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell, but
I do want you to tell me very much. Erson
let the boy up, still mumbling, Well, he's not going
to get away again. When did he get away from
you the first time? Geo said, coming over to the boy,

(05:05):
let him go. Look, Snake, do you know what there
was about the beach that was so important? Snake nodded,
can you tell now? The boy shook his head and
glanced at Arson. You don't have to be afraid of him,
Geo said, puzzled, Urson won't hurt you. But Snake shook

(05:29):
his head again. Well, said Geo, we can't make you.
Let's get going. I bet I could make him. The
giant mumbled. No, said Argo, I don't think you could.
I watched the last time somebody tried, and I don't
think you could. Late Morning flumped over hotly in the

(05:53):
sky and turned into afternoon. The jungle became damp and bright.
Insects plunged like tiny knives of blue or scarlet through leaves.
What foliage brushed against their chests, faces, and shoulders. Why
would they show you a film of something awful before
taking you to the beach, Jimmy asked. Maybe it was

(06:17):
supposed to have made me more receptive to what we saw,
said Argo. If horror makes you receptive to whatever it was,
said Jimmy, I should I have been about as receptive
as possible. What do you mean, asked Geo. I've just

(06:39):
watched ten guys get hacked to pieces all over the sand. Remember,
they walked silently for a time. We'll come out at
the head of the river. It's a huge marsh that
drains off into the main channel, said Argot. Presently, late

(06:59):
afternoon darkened quickly. I was wondering about something, Geo said.
After a little while, what, asked Argo. Hama said that
once the jewels had been used to control mines, the
person who used them was infected. Rather, the infection was

(07:20):
already there, corrected Argo. That just brought it out, Yes,
said Geo. Anyway, Hama also said that he was infected.
When did he have to use the jewels lots of times?
Argo said, too many. The last time was when I
was kidnapped. He used the jewel to control pieces of

(07:43):
that thing you all killed in the city of New
Hope to come and kidnap me and then leave the
jewel in Leptar a piece of that monster, Geo exclaimed.
No wonder it decayed so rapidly when it was killed. Huh,
asked Jimmy Argo. I mean your sister told me they

(08:05):
had managed to kill one of the kidnappers, and it
melted the moment it died. We couldn't control the whole mass,
she explained. It really doesn't have a mind, but like
everything alive, it has or had the Double impulse. But

(08:25):
what did kidnapping you accomplish anyway, Yimmy asked Argo. Grinned
it brought you here and now you're taking the jewels away?
Is that all? Asked Jimmy, Well said Argo, Isn't that enough?
She paused for an instant. You know, I wrote a

(08:47):
poem about all this once the double impulse and everything
ger acided by the Dark Chamber sits It's twin where
the bodies flow, buds begin, and the two are twinned again,
turning out and turning in. How did you know, she asked,

(09:09):
the dark chamber is Hama's temple. Geo said, am I right,
And it's twin is Argos, She went on, They should
be twins, really, And then the twins again, are the
children the force of age in each one opposed to
the young force. See I see geoas smiled, and the

(09:35):
body's floods turning in and out. That's sort of everything
man does, his going and coming, his great ideas, his achievements,
his little ideas too. It all comes from the interplay
of those four forces four, said Erson. I thought it

(09:55):
was just two, but it's thousands, are Argo explained. The
air was drenching. The leaves had been shiny before. Now
they dripped water on the loose ground. Pale light lapsed
through the branches, shimmered, reflected from leaf to the wet
underside of leaf. The ground became mud. Twice they heard

(10:20):
a sloshing a few feet away, and then the scuttling
of an unseen animal. I hope I don't step on
something that decides to take a chunk of my foot.
I'm pretty good at first, aid Argo said, it's getting chilly,
she added. Just then Geo slipped and sank knee deep
in a muddy pool. Erson raced to the edge of

(10:43):
the quicksand bog and grabbed Geo by his good arm.
He pulled till Geo emerged, coated to the thigh with
gray mud. You all right, Erson asked, you sure you're
all right. Geo nodded, rubbing the stump of his arm
with his good hand. I'm all right, he said. The

(11:04):
trees had almost completely given out. Geo suddenly saw the
whole swamp sinking in front of him. He splashed a
step backwards, but Urson caught his shoulder. The swamp wasn't sinking, though,
but ripples had begun to appear over the water, spreading, crossing,
webbing the whole surface with a net of tiny waves.

(11:25):
Then they began to rise up. Green backs broke the surface,
wet and slippery. They were standing now torrents, cascading their
green faces, green chests, three of them, now a fourth,
four more, and then more, and then many more. They
stood now, these naked, green, mottled bodies. Geo felt a

(11:51):
sudden tugging in his head at his mind. Looking around,
he saw that the others felt it too. Them Ersuon started,
they're the ones who carried us, Geo began. The tug
came again, and they stepped forward. Jemmy put his hand
on his head. They want us to go with them,

(12:16):
And suddenly they were going forward, slipping into the familiar
state of half consciousness, which had come when they had
crossed the river to the city of New Hope, or
when they had first fallen into the sea. Wet hands
fell on their bodies as they were guided through the swamp.
They were carried through deeper water. Now they were walking

(12:38):
over dry land, where the vegetation was thicker and slimy.
Boulders caught shards of sunset on their wet flanks, blood
leaking on the gray, the wet gray, and the green.
Through a rip in the arras of vegetation, they saw
the moon push through the clouds, staining them silver. A

(13:00):
rock rose in silhouette against the moon. On the rock,
a naked man stood staring at the white disk. White
highlighted one side of his body. As they passed, he
howled or anyway opened his mouth and threw his head back.
But their ears were full of night and could not hear,

(13:22):
and dropped to all fours. A breeze blew momentarily in
the sudden plume of his tail in the scraggly hair
of the underbelly, and light lay white on the points
of his ears, his lengthened muscle his thin hind legs.
The animal turned its head once and then scampered down

(13:43):
the rock and into the darkness. As a curtain of
trees swung across the open sky. Eyes of flame whipped
ahead of them as water swirled their knees once more.
Then the water went down, and sand washed back under
the soles of their feet on the dark beach. The
beating of the sea, the rush of the river, and

(14:05):
the odor of the wet leaves that fingered their cheeks
prodded their shens and slapped against their bellies. As they
moved forward. All this fell away. Red eyes wavered into
flaming tongues, and the tongues showed themselves housed in the
mouths of a dozen caves. Light flickered on the wet rocks,

(14:28):
and they entered the largest one. Their eyes suddenly focused
once more. Foam washed back and forth over the sand floor,
and black chains of weeds caught in crevices on the
rock lengthened over the sand. With the inrush of water.
Webbed hands released them. Brown rocks rose around in the firelight.

(14:53):
They raised their eyes to where the old ones sat.
The long spines were strung with shrunken membrane. His eyes,
gray and indistinct, were close to the surface of his broad,
nostriled face. A film of water trickled over the rock
where he sat. Others stood about him on various levels

(15:14):
of the rock. The dugging left them, and they glanced
at one another. Now outside the cave, it was raining hard.
Geo saw that Argo's hair had wept to dark auburn
and hugged her head, now making little streaks down her neck.
Suddenly a voice boomed at them, like an echo, more

(15:37):
than the reverberation that the cave would give carriers of
the jewels. It began, and suddenly Geo realized that it
was the same hollowness that accompanied Snake's soundless messages. We
have brought you here to give a warning. We are
the oldest forms of intelligence on this planet, continued the

(16:00):
old one from the throne. We have watched from the
delta of the Nile, the rise of the Pyramids. We
have seen the murder of Caesar from the banks of
the Tiber. We watched this Spanish armada destroyed by English,
and we followed Man's great metal fish through the ocean

(16:21):
before the Great Fire. We have never aligned ourselves with
either Argo or Hama. But rise in the sexless swell
of the ocean. We can warn you as we have
warned men before. As before, some will listen, some will not.
Your minds are your own, now that I pledge you.

(16:46):
Now I warn you cast the jewels into the sea.
Nothing is ever lost in the sea. And when the
evil has been washed from them with time and brine,
they will be returned to man. For then time and
brine will have washed away is imperfections. Also, no living

(17:07):
intelligence is free from their infection, nothing with the double
impulse of life. But we are old and can hold
them for a million years before we will be so
infected as you are. Your young race is too condensed
in its living to tolerate such power at its fingers.

(17:28):
Now again I say, cast these into the sea, the
knowledge which men needs to alleviate hunger and pain from
the world of men is contained in two monasteries on
this island. Both have the science to put the jewels
to use to the good use, which is possible with them.

(17:51):
Both have been infected in Leptarch. However, where you carry
these jewels, there is no way at all to beautiful
them for anything but evil. There will only be the
temptation to destroy. What about me, Argo suddenly piped up.

(18:12):
I can teach them all sorts of things in leptar.
She took one of Snake's hands. We used one for
our motor. You will find something else to make your
motor turn, came the voice. You still have to see
something that you have not yet seen. At the beach,

(18:33):
demanded Jimmy. Yes, nodded the old one with something like
a sigh. At the beach. We have a science that
allows us to do things which to you seem impossibilities,
as when we carried you in the sea for weeks
without your body decaying. We can enter your mind as

(18:55):
Snake does, and we can do much else. We have
a wisdom which far surpasses even Argos and Hama's on Aptor,
Will you then cast the jewels into the sea and
trust them with us? Here Ersum interrupted, How can we
give you the jewels? He said, how can we be

(19:18):
sure you're not going to use them against Argo and Hama?
Once you get them, you say, nobody is impervious to them.
And we've only got your say so on how long
it would take you to fall victim. You can already
influence minds. That's how you got us here, and according
to Hama, that's what corrupts and you've already done it. Besides,

(19:44):
Geas said, there's something else. We've nearly messed this thing
up a dozen times, trying to figure out motives and
counter motives, and it always comes back to the same thing.
We've got a job to do, and we ought to
do it. We're supposed to return Argo and the jewels
to the ship, and that's what we're doing. He's right,

(20:09):
said Jimmy. It's the general rule again, act on the
simplest theory that holds all the information. The old one
sighed again. Once, fifteen hundred years ago, a man who
was to maneuver one of the metal birds walked and
pondered by the sea. He had been given a job

(20:32):
to do. We tried to warn him, as we tried
to warn you, but he jammed his hands into the
pockets of his khaki uniform and uttered to the waves
the words you just uttered and the warning was shut
out of his mind. He scrambled up over the dunes
on the beach, never taking his hands out of his pockets.

(20:54):
The next morning, at five o'clock, when the sun slanted
red across the airfield, he climbed into his metal bird,
took off, flew for some time over the sea, looking
down on the water like crinkled foil under the heightening sun,
until he reached land again. Then he did his job.

(21:15):
He pressed a button which released two shards of fire
metal in a housing of cobalt. The land flamed, the
sea boiled in the harbors, and two weeks later he
was also dead. That which burned your arm away, poet,
burned away, his whole face, boiled, his lungs in his chest,

(21:37):
and his brain in his skull. There was a pause,
and then, yes, we can control minds. We could have
relieved the tiredness, immobilized the fear, the terror, immobilized all
his unconscious reasons for doing what he did, just as

(21:59):
a man can now do with the jewels. But had we,
we would have also immobilized the the honor which he
clung to. Yes, we can control minds, but we do
not now, the voice swelled. But never since that day
on the shore before the great Fire has the temptation

(22:22):
to do so been as great as now. Again, the
voice returned to normal, perhaps, and there was almost humor
in it. Now the temptation is too great even for us.
Perhaps we have reached the place where the jewels would
push us just across the line where we have never

(22:45):
before gone, make us do those things that we have
never done. You have heard our warning. Now the choice
I swear to you is yours. They stood silent in
the high cave, the fire on their faces weaving brightness
and shadow. Geo turned to look at the rain blurred

(23:06):
darkness outside the cave's entrance. Out there is the sea,
said the voice again, your decision quickly. The tide is
coming in. It was snatched from their minds before they
could articulate it. Two children saw a bright motor turning

(23:27):
in the shadow. Geo and Jemmy saw the temples of
Argo and Leptar. Then there was something darker, and for
a moment they all saw all the pictures at once.
A wave splashed across the floor like twisted glass, before
the rock on which the fires stood. Then it flopped
wetly across the burning driftwood, which hissed into darkness. Charred

(23:52):
sticks turned glowing in the water and were extinguished. Rain
was buffeting them. Hands held them once more, pulling them
into the warm sea, the darkness, and then nothing. Snake
was thinking again, and this time through the Captain's eyes.

(24:12):
The cabin door burst open in the rain. Wind whipped
her wet veils about her in the door, as lightning
made them transparent, blackening her body's outline. Geordy rose from
his seat. She closed the door on thunder. I have
received the signal from the sea, she said. Tomorrow you

(24:33):
pilot the ship into this estuary the Captain's voice. But
priests Argo, I cannot take the ship into Aptor. We
already have lost ten men. I cannot sacrifice in the storm,
smiled Geordie. If it is like this tomorrow, how can

(24:53):
I take her through the rocks? Her nostrils flared as
her lips compressed to a chalky line. She was regarding
Geordie the Captain's thoughts. What is between them? This confused
tension It upsets me deeply, and I am tired. You

(25:13):
will pilot the boat to shore to morrow. Argo nearly hissed.
They have returned with the jewels the captain's thoughts. They
speak to each other in a code. I don't understand.
I am so tired. Now. I have to protect my ship,
my men. That is my job, my responsibility. But Argo

(25:38):
turned to the captain. I hired you to obey me.
I ordered you to pilot this ship to after shore
to morrow morning. The captain's thoughts. Yes, yes, the fatigue
and the unknowing, but I must fulfill, must complete geordie,

(26:00):
he began, Yes, captain answered the mate, anticipating, if the
weather is permitting, Sir, I will take the ship as
close as I can get. He smiled now a thin
curve over his face, and turned toward Argo. End of
Chapter eleven.