Chapter 16 - The God's of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs - The Gods of Mars

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(00:00):
Chapter sixteen. Under arrest, asCarthoris exidarm Tars, Tarkas and I stood
gazing at the magnificent vessel, whichmeant so much to all of us.
We saw second and then a thirdtopped the summit of the hills and glide
gracefully after their sister ny. Ascore of one man air scouts were launching
from the upper decks of the nearervessel, and in a moment more were

(00:22):
speeding in long swift dives to theground about us. In another instant,
we were surrounded by armed sailors,and an officer had stepped forward to address
us, when his eyes fell uponCarthoris. With an exclamation of surprised pleasure,
he sprang forward, and, placinghis hands upon the boy's shoulder,
called him by name, Carthoris,my prince. He cried, caoor caor

(00:44):
hor vastus greets, the son ofdejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, and
of her husband John Carter. Wherehave you been, o, my prince?
All Helium has plunged in sorrow.Terrible have been the calamities that have
befallen your great Grandsire's mighty nation sincethe fatal day that saw you leave our
midst grieve not my good hor Vastus, cried Carthoris, since I bring not

(01:06):
back myself alone to cheer my mother'sheart and the hearts of my beloved people,
but also one whom all Barsoom lovedbest, her greatest warrior, and
her savior, John Carter, Princeof Helium. Hor Vastus turn in the
direction indicated by Carthoris, and ashis eyes fell upon me, he was
like to have collapsed from sheer surprise, John Carter, he exclaimed, And

(01:27):
then a sudden, troubled look cameinto his eyes. My Prince, he
started, where hast thou? Andthen he stopped. But I knew the
question that his lips dared not frame. The loyal fellow would not be the
one to force from mine a confessionof the terrible truth that I had returned
from the bosom of the Ish,the river of Mystery, back from the
shore of the lost Sea of Chorusand the valley door. Ah, My

(01:49):
Prince, he continued, as thoughno thought had interrupted his greeting, that
you are back as sufficient, andlet hor Vastus sword have the high honor
of being first at thy feet withthese words, The noble fellow unbuckled his
scabbard and flung his sword upon theground before me. Could you know the
customs and the character of red Martians, you would appreciate the depth of meaning

(02:10):
that that simple act conveyed to meand to all about us who witnessed it.
The thing was equivalent to saying,my sword, my body, my
life, my soul, are yoursto do with as you wish until death
and after death. I looked youalone for authority for my every act.
Be you right or wrong, yourwords shall be my only truth. Whoso

(02:30):
raises his hand against you must answerto my sword. It is the oath
of fealty that men occasionally pay toa Jeddak, whose high character and chivalrous
acts have inspired the enthusiastic love ofhis followers. Never had I known this
high tribute paid to a lesser mortal. There was but one response possible.
I stooped and lifted the sword fromthe ground, raised the hilt to my

(02:53):
lips, and then, stepping tohorrors vastness, I buckled the weapon upon
him with my own hands. Horvastness, I said, placing my hand
upon his shoulder. You know bestthe promptings of your own heart, that
I shall kneed your sword. Ihave little doubt, but except from John
Carter, upon his sacred honor,the assurance that he will never call upon
you to draw the sword other thanin the cause of truth, justice and

(03:16):
righteousness. That I knew, myprince, he replied, erever, I
threw my beloved blade at thy feet. As we spoke, other fliers came
and went between the ground and thebattleship, and presently a larger boat was
launched from above, one capable ofcarrying a dozen persons perhaps, and dropped
lightly near us. As she touched, an officer sprang from her deck to

(03:38):
the ground, and, advancing tohor vastness, saluted. Kantos Kan desires
that this party whom we have rescued, be brought immediately to the deck of
the Xavarian, he said. Aswe approached the little craft, I looked
about for the members of my party, and for the first time noticed that
Thuvia was not among them. Questioningelicited the fact that none had seen her

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since Thoris had sent her thoat gallopingmadly toward the hills in the hope of
carrying her out of harm's way.Immediately, hor Vastus despatched a dozen air
scouts in as many directions to searchfor her. It could not be possible
that she had gone far since wehad last seen her. We others stepped
to the deck of the craft thathad been sent to fetch us, and

(04:20):
a moment later we were upon theExavarian. The first man to greet me
was kantos Can himself. My oldfriend had won to the highest place in
the navy of Helium, but hewas still to me the same brave comrade
who had shared with me the privationsof a warhoon Dudgeon, the terrible atrocities
of the Great Games, and laterthe dangers of our search for dejah Thoris

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within the hostile city of Zodanga.Then I had been an unknown wanderer upon
a strange planet, and he asimple padwar in the navy of Helium.
Today he commanded all Helium's great terrorsof the skies, and I was a
prince of the House of Tardos MorsJeddak of Helium. He did not ask
me where I had been. Likehor Vastus, he too dreaded the truth

(05:02):
and would not be the one towrest a statement from me that it must
come sometime he well knew, Butuntil it came, he seemed satisfied to
but know that I was with himonce more. He greeted Carthoris and tars
Tarkas with the keenest delight, Buthe asked neither where he had been.
He could scarcely keep his hands offthe boy. You do not know,

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John Carter, He said to me, how we of Helium love this son
of yours. It is as thoughall the great love we bore his noble
father and his poor mother had beencentered in him. When it became known
that he was lost, ten millionpeople wept, What mean you, kantos
Kan, I whispered by his poormother, for the words had seemed to
carry a sinister meaning which I couldnot fathom. He drew me to one

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side for a year, he said, ever since Carthoris disappeared, dejah Thoris
has grieved and mourned for her lostboy. The blow of years ago,
when you did not return from theatmosphere plant was lessened to some extent the
duties of motherhood, for your sonbroke his white shell that very night that
she suffered terribly. Then all Heliumknew, for did not all Helium suffer

(06:09):
with her the loss of her lord. But with the boy gone, there
was nothing left, and after expeditionupon expedition returned with the same hopeless tale
of no clue as to his whereabouts. Our beloved princess drooped lower and lower,
until all who saw her felt thatit could be but a matter of
days. Ere she went to joinher loved ones within the precincts of the

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valley door as a last resort.Moore's Kajak, her father, and Tardos
Mors, her grandfather, took commandof two mighty expeditions, and a month
ago sailed away to explore every inchof ground in the Northern Hemisphere or Barsoom.
For two weeks no word has comeback from them, but rumors were
riff that they had met with aterrible disaster and that all were dead.

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About this time, zat Arras renewedhis importunities for her hand in marriage.
He has been forever after her sinceyou disappeared. She hated him and feared
him. But with both her fatherand grandfather gone, Zadars was very powerful,
for he is still jed of Zodangato which position you will remember.
Tardos Mors appointed him after you hadrefused the honor. He had a secret

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audience with her six days ago.What took place none knows. But the
next day dejah Thoris had disappeared,and with her had gone a dozen of
her household guard and body servants,including Sola, the green woman, Tars
Tarkas's daughter. You recall no wordleft they of their intentions. But it
is always thus with those who goupon the voluntary pilgrimage, from which none

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returns. We cannot think aught then, that dejah Thoris has sought the icy
bosom of Ish, and that herdevoted servants have chosen to accompany her.
Zadars was at Helium when she disappeared. He commands this fleet which has been
searching for her. Since. Notrace of her have we found, and
I fear that it be a feudalquest. While we talked, hor Vastus's

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fliers were returning to the Xavarian.Not one, however, had discovered a
trace of Thuvia. I was muchdepressed over the news of dejah Thoris's disappearance,
and now there was added the furtherburden of apprehension concerning the fate of
this girl, whom I believed tobe the daughter of some proud Barsoomian house,
and it had been my intention tomake every effort to return her to

(08:20):
her people. I was about toask kantos Kan to prosecute a further search
for her, when a flier fromthe flagship of the fleet arrived at the
Xavarian with an officer bearing a messageto kantos Kan from Arras. My friend
read the despatch and then turned tome. Zat Arras commands me to bring
our prisoners before him. There's naughtelse to do. He is supreme in

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Helium. Yet it would be farmore in keeping with chivalry and good taste
were he to come hither and greetthe Savior Barsoom with the honors that are
his due. You know full well, my friend, I said, smiling,
that zat Arras has good cause tohate me. Nothing would please him
better than to humiliate me and thento kill me. Now that he has
so excellent an excuse, let usgo and see if he has the courage

(09:05):
to take advantage of it. SummoningCarthoris, tars Tarkas, and Exodar,
we entered the small flier with kantosKan and Zatarus's officer, and in a
moment we were stepping to the deckof Zadarus's flagship. As we approached the
Jed of Zodanga, no sign ofgreeting or recognition crossed his face. Not
even to Carthoris did he vouchsafe afriendly word. His attitude was cold,

(09:28):
haughty and uncompromising. Caors at ArrasI said in greeting, but he did
not respond. Why were these prisonersnot disarmed? He asked to kantos Kan.
They are not prisoners, Zatars,replied the officer. Two of them
are of Helium's noblest family, TarsTarkas Jeddak of thark Is Tardos Mors's best
beloved ally. The other is afriend and companion of the Prince of Helium.

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That is enough for me to know. It is not enough for me,
however, retorted Zadars. More mustI hear from those who have taken
the pilgrimage, then their names?Where have you been, John Carter?
I have just come from the valleydoor and the land of the firstborns at
ars I replied, Ah, heexclaimed, in evident pleasure. You do
not deny it. Then you havereturned from the bosom of ish. I

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have come back from a land offalse hope, from a valley of torture
and death. With my companions,I have escaped from the hideous clutches of
lying fiends. I have come backto the barsoom that I saved from a
painless death, to again save her, but this time from death in its
most frightful form. Cease blasphemer,cried zat Arras. Hope not to say
thy cowardly carcass by inventing horrid liesto But he got no further. One

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does not call John Carter coward andliar thus lightly, and zat Arras should
have known it. Before a handcould be raised to stop me, I
was at his side, and onehand grasped his throat. Come I from
heaven or hell, Zatars, youwill find me still the same John Carter
that I've always been. Nor didever man call me such names and live

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without apologizing. And with that Icommenced to bend him back across my knee
and tighten my grip upon his throat. Seize him, cried Satars, and
a dozen officers sprang forward to assisthim. Kantos Kan came close and whispered
to me, desist, I begof you. It will but involve us
all, for I cannot see thesemen lay hands upon you without aiding you.

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My officers and men will join me, and we shall have a mutiny
then that may lead to the revolutionfor the sake of Tardos Mors and Helium.
Desist. At his words, Ireleased zat Arras, and, turning
my back upon him, walked towardthe ship's rail. Come kantos Kan,
I said, the Prince of Heliumwould return to the Exavarian. None interfered.

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Zatars stood white and trembling amidst hisofficers. Some there were who looked
upon him with scorn and drew towardme, while one, a man long
in the service and confidence of TardosMors, spoke to me in a low
tone. As I passed him,you may count my metal among your fighting
men, John Carter, he said. I thanked him and passed on in
silence. We embarked, and shortlyafter stepped once more upon the deck of

(12:11):
the Xavarian. Fifteen minutes later wereceived orders from the flagship to proceed toward
Helium. Our journey thither was uneventful. Carthoris and I were wrapped in the
gloomiest of thoughts. Kantos Kan wassomber in contemplation of the further calamity that
might fall upon Helium. Should Zadar'sattempt to follow the age old precedent that

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allotted a terrible death to fugitives fromthe valley door tars Tarkas grieved for the
loss of his daughter. Exeter alonewas carefree, a fugitive and outlaw.
He could be no worse off inHelium than elsewhere. Let us hope that
we may at least go out withgood red blood upon our blades. He
said. It was a simple wish, and one most likely to be gratified.

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Among the officers of Xavarian, Ithought I could discern division into fractions.
We had reached Helium. There werethose who gathered about Carthoris and myself
whenever the opportunity presented, while aboutan equal number held aloof from us.
They offered us only the most courteoustreatment, but were evidently bound by their
superstitious belief in the doctrine of dorand iss and Chorus. I could not

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blame them, for I knew howstrong a hold a creed, however ridiculous
it may be, may gain uponan otherwise intelligent people. By returning from
Dor, we had committed a sacrilege. By recounting our adventures there and stating
the facts as they existed. Wehad outraged the religion of their fathers.
We were blasphemers, lying heretics.Even those who still clung to us from

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personal love and loyalty, I think, did so in the face of the
fact that at heart they questioned ourveracity. It is very hard to accept
a new religion for an old,no matter how alluring the promises of the
new may be. But to rejectthe old as a tissue of falsehoods without
being offered anything in its steed isindeed a most difficult thing to ask of

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any people. Kantos Kan would nottalk of our experiences among the thens and
the first born. It is enough, he said, that I jeopardize my
life here and hereafter by countenancing youall. Do not ask me to add
still further to my sins. Bylistening to what I've always been taught was
the rankest heresy. I knew thatsooner or later the time must come when

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our friends and enemies would be forcedto declare themselves openly. When we reached
Helium, there must be an accounting, And if Tardos Mors had not returned,
I feared that the enmity of Zadar'smight weigh heavily against us, for
he represented the government of Helium.To take sides against him were equivalent to
treason. The majority of the troopswould doubtless follow the lead of their officers,

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and I knew that many of thehighest and most powerful men of both
land and air forces would cleave toJohn Carter in the face of God,
man or devil. On the otherhand, the majority of the populace unquestionably
would demand that we pay the penaltyof our sacrilege. The outlook seemed dark
from whatever angle I viewed it,but my mind was so torn with anguish

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at the thought of dejah Thoris thatI realized now that I gave the terrible
question of Helium's plight, but scantattention at that time. There was always
before me day and night, ahorrible nightmare of the frightful scenes through which
I knew my princess might even thenbe passing the horrid plantmen, the ferocious
white apes. At times I wouldcover my face with my hands in a

(15:26):
vain effort to shut out the fearfulthing from my mind. It was in
the forenoon that we arrived above themild high scarlet tower, which marks Greater
Helium from her twin city. Aswe descended in great circles toward the navy
docks, a mighty multitude could beseen surging in the streets beneath Helium had
been notified by radio aerogram of ourapproach from the deck of the Xavarian.

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We fore, Carthoris, Tars,Tarkas, Exodar, and Eye were transferred
to a lesser flier to be transportedto quarters within the Temple of Reward.
It is here that Martian justice ismeted to benefactor or malefactor. Here the
hero is decorated, Here the felonis condemned. We were taken into the
temple from the landing stage upon theroof, so that we did not pass

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among the people at all, asis customary. Always before I had seen
prisoners of note or returned wanderers ofeminence paraded from the gate of Jeddaks to
the Temple of Reward up the broadAvenue of Ancestors, through dense crowds of
jeering or cheering citizens. I knewthat Zat d'aris dared not trust the people
near to us, for he fearedthat their love for Carthoris and myself might

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break into a demonstration which would wipeout their superstitious horror of the crime we
were to be charged with. Whathis plans were I could only guess,
but that they were sinister was evidencedby the fact that only his most trusted
servitors accompanied us upon the flier tothe Temple of Reward. We were lodged
in a room upon the south sideof the temple, overlooking the Avenue of

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Ancestors, down which we could seethe full length to the gate of Jeddaks,
five miles away. The people inthe temple plaza and in the streets
for a distance of a full milewere standing as close packed as it was
possible for them to get. Theywere very orderly. There were neither scoffs
nor plaudits, and when they sawus at the window above them, there
were many who buried their faces intheir arms and wept. Late in the

(17:19):
afternoon, a messenger arrived from zatArras to inform us that we would be
tried by an impartial body of noblesin the Great Hall of the Temple at
the verse zode Astric on the followingday, or at about eight forty a
m Earth time astric. Wherever CaptainCarter has used Martian measurements of time,

(17:40):
distance, weight, and the like, I have translated them into as nearly
their equivalent in earthly values as ispossible. His notes contained many Martian tables
and a great volume of scientific data. But since the International Astronomic Society is
at present engaged in classifying, investigating, and verifying this vast, fun remarkable,

(18:00):
and valuable information, I have feltthat it will add nothing to the
interest of Captain Carter's story or tothe sum total of human knowledge. To
maintain a strict adherence to the originalmanuscript in these matters, while it might
readily confuse the reader and detract fromthe interest of the history. For those
who may be interested, however,I will explain that the Martian day is

(18:22):
a trifle over twenty four hours thirtyseven minutes duration Earth time. This the
Martians divide into ten equal parts,commencing to day at about six a m
earth time. The zodes are dividedinto fifty shorter periods, each of which
in turn is composed of two hundredbrief periods of time about equivalent to the
earthly second. The Barsoomian table oftime as here given is but a part

(18:45):
of the full table appearing in CaptainCarter's notes, Table two hundred towels one
x fifty x one zode, tenzodes, one revolution of Mars upon its
axis, end of Chapter sixteen.

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Chapter 16 - The God's of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Chapter 16 - The God's of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs