THE BEAST THAT SHOUTED LOVE AT THE

HEART OF THE WORLD

After an idle discussion with the pest control man who came once a
month to spray around the outside of his home in the Ruxton section of
Baltimore, William Sterog stole a canister of Malathion, a deadly
insecticide poison, from the mans truck, and went out early one
morning, following the route of the neighborhood milkman, and
spooned mediumlarge !uantities into each bottle left on the rear
doorstep of se"enty homes# Within six hours of Bill Sterogs acti"ities,
two hundred men, women and children died in con"ulsi"e agony#
$earning that an aunt who had li"ed in Buffalo was dying of cancer of
the lymph glands, William Sterog hastily helped his mother pack three
bags, and took her to %riendship Airport, where he put her on an
&astern Airlines 'et with a simple but efficient time bomb made from a
Westclox (ra"alarm and four sticks of dynamite in her threesuiter# (he
'et exploded somewhere o"er )arrisburg, *ennsyl"ania# +inetythree
people,including Bill Sterogs mother,were killed in the explosion,
and flaming wreckage added se"en to the toll by cascading down on a
public swimming pool#
-n a Sunday in +o"ember, William Sterog made his way to Babe Ruth
*la.a on //rd Street where he became one of 01,222 fans 'amming
Memorial Stadium to see the Baltimore 3olts play the 4reen Bay
*ackers# )e was dressed warmly in grey flannel slacks, a na"y blue
turtleneck pullo"er and a hea"y handknitted 5rish wool sweater under
his parka# With three minutes and thirteen seconds of the fourth
!uarter remaining to be played, and Baltimore trailing se"enteen to
sixteen on 4reen Bays eighteenyard line, Bill Sterog fought his way
up the aisle to the exit abo"e the me..anine seats, and fumbled under
his parka for the 6# S# Army surplus M/ submachine gun he had
bought for 718#80 from a mail order armaments dealer in Alexandria,
9irginia# &"en as 0/,888 screaming fans leaped to their feet,making
his range of fire that much better,as the ball was snapped to the
!uarterback, holding for the defensi"e tackle most able to kick a
successful field goal, Bill Sterog opened fire on the massed backs of
the fans below him# Before the mob could bring him down, he had
killed fortyfour people# When the first &xpeditionary %orce to the
elliptical galaxy in Sculptor descended on the second planet of a fourth
magnitude star the %orce had designated %lammarion (heta, they
found a thirtyse"enfoothigh statue of a hitherto unknown bluewhite
substance,not !uite stone, something like metal,in the shape of a
man# (he figure was barefoot, draped in a garment that "aguely
resembled a toga, the head encased in a skulltight cap, and holding in
its left hand a peculiar ringandball de"ice of another substance
altogether# (he statues face was curiously beatific# 5t had high
cheekbones: deepset eyes: a tiny, almost alien mouth: and a broad,
largenostriled nose# (he statue loomed enormous among the pitted
and blasted cur"ilinear structures of some forgotten architect# (he
members of the &xpeditionary %orce commented on the peculiar
expression each noted on the face of the statue# +one of these men,
standing under a gorgeous brass moon that shared an e"ening sky
with a descending sun !uite dissimilar in color to the one that now
shone wanly on an &arth unthinkably distant in time and space, had
e"er heard of William Sterog# And so none of them was able to say that
the expression on the giant statue was the same as the one Bill Sterog
had shown as he told the final appeals 'udge who was about to
sentence him to death in the lethal gas chamber, ;5 lo"e e"eryone in
the world# 5 do# So help me 4od, 5 lo"e you, all of you<= )e was
shouting#

3rosswhen, through interstices of thought called time, through
reflecti"e images called space: another then, another now# (his place,
o"er there# Beyond concepts, the transmogrification of simplicity finally
labeled if# %orty and more steps sidewise but later, much later# (here,
in that ultimate center, with e"erything radiating outward, becoming
infinitely more complex, the enigma of symmetry, harmony,
apportionment singing with finetuned order in this place, where it all
began, begins, will always begin# (he center# 3rosswhen#
-r> a hundred million years in the future# And> a hundred million
parsecs beyond the farthest edge of measurable space# And> parallax
warpages beyond counting across the uni"erses of parallel existences#
%inally> an infinitude of mindtriggered leaps beyond human thought#
(here> 3rosswhen#

-n the mau"e le"el, crouched down in deeper magenta washings that
concealed his arched form, the maniac waited# )e was a dragon, s!uat
and round in the torso, tapered ropy tail tucked under his body: the
small, thick osseous shields rising perpendicularly from the arched
back, running down to the end of the tail, tips pointing upward: his
taloned shorter arms folded across his massi"e chest# )e had the
se"enheaded dog faces of an ancient 3erberus# &ach head watched,
waiting hungry, insane#
)e saw the bright yellow wedge of light as it mo"ed in random
patterns through the mau"e, always getting closer# )e knew he could
not run, the mo"ement would betray him, the specter light finding him
instantly# %ear choked the maniac# (he specter had pursued him
through innocence and humility and nine other emotional obfuscations
he had tried# )e had to do something, get them off his scent# But he
was alone on this le"el# 5t had been closed down some time before, to
purge it of residue emotions# )ad he not been so terribly confused
after the killings, had he not been drowning in disorientation, he would
ne"er ha"e trapped himself on a closed le"el#
+ow that he was here, there was nowhere to hide, nowhere to escape
the specter light that would systematically hunt him down# (hen they
would purge hint#
(he maniac took the one final chance: he closed down his mind, all
se"en brains, e"en as the mau"e le"el was closed down# )e shut off all
thought, banked the fires of emotion, broke the neural circuits that fed
power to his mind# $ike a great machine phasing down from peak
efficiency, his thoughts slackened and wilted and grew pale# (hen
there was a blank where he had been# Se"en dogheads slept#
(he dragon had ceased to exist in terms of thought, and the specter
light washed past him, finding nothing there to home in on# But those
who sought the maniac were sane, not deranged as he was> their
sanity was ordered, and in order they considered e"ery exigency# (he
specter light was followed by heatseeking beams, by masstallying
sensors, by trackers that could hunt out the spoor of foreign matter on
a closeddown le"el#
(hey found the maniac# Shut down like a sun gone cold, they located
him, and transferred him: he was unaware of the mo"ement: he was
locked away in his own silent skulls#
But when he chose to open his thoughts again, in the timeless
disorientation that follows a total shutdown, he found himself locked in
stasis in a drainage ward on the /rd Red Acti"e $e"el# (hen, from
se"en throats, he screamed#
(he sound, of course, was lost in the throat baffles they had inserted,
before he had turned himself back on# (he emptiness of the sound
terrified him e"en more#
)e was imbedded an an amber substance that fit around him
comfortably: had it been a much earlier era, on another world, in
another continuum, it would ha"e been simply a hospital bed with
restraining straps# But the dragon was locked in stasis on a red le"el,
crosswhen# )is hospital bed was antigra", weightless, totally relaxing,
feeding nutrients through his leathery hide along with depressants and
toners# )e was waiting to be drained#
$inah drifted into the ward, followed by Semph# Semph, the disco"erer
of the drain# And his most elo!uent nemesis, $inah, who sought *ublic
&le"ation to the position of Proctor# (hey drifted down the rows of
amberencased patients> the toads, the tambourlidded crystal cubes,
the exoskeletals, the pseudopodal changers, and the se"enheaded
dragon# (hey paused directly in front and slightly abo"e the maniac#
)e was able to look up at them: images se"en times seen: but he was
not able to make sound#
;5f 5 needed a conclusi"e reason, heres one of the best,= $inah said,
inclining his head toward the maniac#
Semph dipped an analysis rod into the amber substance, withdrew it
and made a hasty reading of the patients condition# ;5f you needed a
greater warning,= Semph said !uietly, ;this would be one of the best#=
;Science bends to the will of the masses,= $inah said#
?(d hate to ha"e to belie"e that,; Semph responded !uickly# (here was
a tone in his "oice that could not be named, but it undershadowed the
aggressi"eness of his words#
;5m going to see to it, Semph: believe it# 5m going to ha"e the
3oncord pass the resolution#=
;$inah, how long ha"e we known each other@=
;Since your third flux# My second#=
;(hats about right# )a"e 5 e"er told you a lie, ha"e 5 e"er asked you to
do something that would harm you@=
;+o# +ot that 5 can recall#=
;(hen why wont you listen to me this time@=
;Because 5 think youre wrong# 5m not a fanatic, Semph# 5m not
making political hay with this# 5 feel "ery strongly that its the best
chance we"e e"er had#=
;But disaster for e"eryone and e"erywhere else, all the way back, and
4od only knows how far across the parallax# We stop fouling our own
nest, at the expense of all the other nests that e"er were#;
$inah spread his hands in futility# ;Sur"i"al#=
Semph shook his head slowly, with a weariness that was mirrored in
his expression# ;5 wish 5 could drain that, too#=
;3ant you@=
Semph shrugged# ;5 can drain anything# But what wed ha"e left
wouldnt be worth ha"ing#=
(he amber substance changed hue# 5t glowed deep within itself with a
blue intensity# ;(he patient is ready,= Semph said# ;$inah, one more
time# 5ll beg if itll do any good# *lease# Stall till the next session# (he
3oncord neednt do it now# $et me run some further tests, let me see
how far back this garbage spews, how much damage it can cause# $et
me prepare some reports#=
$inah was firm# )e shook his head in finality# ;May 5 watch the draining
with you@=
Semph let out a long sigh# )e was beaten, and knew it# ;Aes, all right#=
(he amber substance carrying its silent burden began to rise# 5t
reached the le"el of the two men, and slid smoothly through the air
between them# (hey drifted after the smooth container with the dog
headed dragon imbedded in it, and Semph seemed as though he
wanted to say something else# But there was nothing to say#
(he amber chrysaloid cradle faded and "anished, and the men became
insubstantial and were no more# (hey all reappeared in the drainage
chamber# (he beaming stage was empty# (he amber cradle settled
down on it without sound, and the substance flowed away, "anishing
as it unco"ered the dragon#
(he maniac tried desperately to mo"e, to hea"e himself up# Se"en
heads twitched futilely# (he madness in him o"ercame the depressants
and he was consumed with fren.y, fury, crimson hate# But he could not
mo"e# 5t was all he could do to hold his shape#
Semph turned the band on his left wrist# 5t glowed from within, a deep
gold# (he sound of air rushing to fill a "acuum filled the chamber# (he
beaming stage was drenched in sil"er light that seemed to spring out
of the air itself, from an unknown source# (he dragon was washed by
the sil"er light, and the se"en great mouths opened once, exposing
rings of fangs# (hen his doublelidded eyes closed#
(he pain within his heads was monstrous# A fearful wrenching that
became the sucking of a million mouths# )is "ery brains were pulled
upon, pressured, compressed, and then purged#
Semph and $inah looked away from the pulsing body of the dragon to
the drainage tank across the chamber# 5t was filling from the bottom as
they watched# %illing with a nearly colorless roiling cloud of smokiness,
shot through with sparks# ;)ere it comes,= Semph said, needlessly#
$inah dragged his eyes away from the tank# (he dragon with se"en
dog heads was rippling# As though seen through shallow water, the
maniac was beginning to alter# As the tank filled, the maniac found it
more and more difficult to maintain his shape# (he denser grew the
cloud of sparkling matter in the tank, the less constant was the shape
of the creature on the beaming stage#
%inally, it was impossible, and the maniac ga"e in# (he tank filled more
rapidly, and the shape !ua"ered and altered and shrank and then
there was a superimposition of the form of a man, o"er that of the
se"enheaded dragon# (hen the tank reached three!uarters filled and
the dragon became an underling shadow, a hint, a suggestion of what
had been there when the drainage began# +ow the manform was
becoming more dominant by the second#
%inally, the tank was filled, and a normal man lay on the beaming
stage, breathing hea"ily, eyes closed, muscles 'umping in"oluntarily#
;)es drained,= Semph said#
;5s it all in the tank@= $inah asked softly#
;+o, none of it#=
;(henB=
;(his is the residue# )armless# Reagents purged from a group of
sensiti"es will neutrali.e it# (he dangerous essences, the degenerate
forcelines that make up the fieldB theyre gone# Crained off already#=
$inah looked disturbed, for the first time# ;Where did it go@=
;Co you lo"e your fellow man, tell me@=
;*lease, Semph< 5 asked where it wentB when it went@=
;And 5 asked if you cared at all about anyone else@=
;Aou know my answerB you know me< 5 want to know, tell me, at least
what you know# WhereB whenB @=
;(hen youll forgi"e me, $inah, because 5 lo"e my fellow man, too#
Whene"er he was, where"er he is: 5 ha"e to, 5 work in an inhuman field,
and 5 ha"e to cling to that# SoB youll forgi"e meB=
;What are you going toB=

In Indonesia they have a phrase for it> C'am Daret,the hour that
stretches#
5n the 9aticans Stan.a of )eliodorus, the second of the great rooms he
designed for *ope Eulius 55, Raphael painted Fand his pupils completedG
a magnificent fresco representation of the historic meeting between
*ope $eo 5 and Attila the )un, in the year 10H#
5n this painting is mirrored the belief of 3hristians e"erywhere that the
spiritual authority of Rome protected her in that desperate hour when
the )un came to sack and burn the )oly 3ity# Raphael has painted in
Saint *eter and Saint *aul, descending from )ea"en to reinforce *ope
$eos inter"ention# )is interpretation was an elaboration on the original
legend, in which only the Aposde *eter was mentioned ,standing
behind $eo with a drawn sword# And the legend was an elaboration of
what little facts ha"e come down through anti!uity relati"ely
undistorted> $eo had no cardinals with him, and certainly no wraith
Aposdes# )e was one of three in the deputation# (he other two were
secular dignitaries of the Roman state# (he meeting did not take place
,as legend would ha"e us belie"e,'ust outside the gates of Rome,
but in northern 5taly, not far from what is today *eschiera#
+othing more than this is known of the confrontation# Aet Attila, who
had ne"er been stopped, did not ra.e Rome# )e turned back#
Djam Karet# (he forceline field spewed out from a parallax center
crosswhen, a field that had pulsed through time and space and the
minds of men for twice ten thousand years# (hen cut out suddenly,
inexplicably, and Attila the )un clapped his hands to his head, his mind
twisting like rope within his skull# )is eyes gla.ed, then cleared, and he
breathed from deep in his chest# (hen he signaled his army to turn
back# $eo the 4reat thanked 4od and the li"ing memory of 3hrist die
Sa"iour# $egend added Saint *eter# Raphael added Saint *aul#
%or twice ten thousand years,Djam Karetthe field had pulsed, and
for a brief moment that could ha"e been instants or years or millennia,
it was cut off#
$egend does not tell the truth# More specifically, it does not tell all of
the truth> forty years before Attila raided 5taly, Rome had been taken
and sacked by Alaric the 4odi# Djam Karet# (hree years after die
retreat of Attila, Rome was once more taken and sacked, by 4aiseric,
king of all the 9andals#
(here was a reason the garbage of insanity had ceased to flow through
e"erywhere and e"erywhen from the drained mind of a se"enheaded
dragonB

Semph, traitor to his race, ho"ered before the 3oncord# )is friend, the
man who now sought this final flux, $inah, *roctored the hearing# )e
spoke softly, but elo!uently, of what the great scientist had done#
;(he tank was draining: he said to me, ?%orgi"e me, because 5 lo"e my
fellow man# Whene"er he was, where"er he is: 5 ha"e to, 5 work in an
inhuman field, and 5 ha"e to cling to that# So youll forgi"e me# (hen
he interposed himself#=
(he sixty members of the 3oncord, a representati"e from each race
that existed in the center, birdcreatures and blue things and large
headed men and orange scents with cilia shudderingB all of them
looked at Semph where he ho"ered# )is body and head were crumpled
like a brown paper bag# All hair was gone# )is eyes were dim and
watery# +aked, shimmering, he drifted slightly to one side, then a
"agrant bree.e in the wallless chamber sent him back# )e had drained
himself#
;5 ask for this 3oncord to affix sentence of final flux on this man#
(hough his interposition only lasted a few moments, we ha"e no way
of knowing what damage or unnaturalness it may ha"e caused cross
when# 5 submit that his intent was to o"erload the drain and thereby
render it inoperati"e# (his act, the act of a beast who would condemn
the sixty races of the center to a future in which insanity still pre"ailed,
is an act that can only be punished by termination#=
(he 3oncord blanked and meditated# A timeless time later they
relinked, and the *roctors charges were upheld: his demand of
sentence was fulfilled#

-n the hushed shores of a thought, the papyrus man was carried in the
arms of his friend, his executioner, the *roctor# (here in the dusting
!uiet of an approaching night, $inah laid Semph down in the shadow of
a sigh#
;Why did you stop me@= the wrinkle with a moudi asked#
$inah looked away across die rushing dark#
;Why@=
;Because here, in the center, there is a chance#=
;And for them, all of them out thereB no chance e"er@=
$inah sat down slowly, digging his hands into the golden mist, letting it
sift o"er his wrists and back into the waiting flesh of the world# ;5f we
can begin it here, if we can pursue our boundaries outward, then
perhaps one day, sometime, we can reach to the ends of time with that
little chance# 6ntil then, it is better to ha"e one center where there is
no madness#=
Semph hurried his words# (he end was rapidly striding for him# ;Aou
ha"e sentenced them all# 5nsanity is a li"ing "apor# A force# 5t can be
bottled (he most potent genie in the most easily uncorked bottle
And you ha"e condemned them to li"e with it always# 5n the name of
lo"e#;
$inah made a sound that was not !uite a word, but called it back#
Semph touched his wrist with a tremble that had been a hand# %ingers
melting into softness and warmth# ;5m sorry for you, $inah# Aour curse
is to be a true man# (he world is made for stragglers# Aou ne"er
learned how to do that#=
$inah did not reply# )e thought only of the drainage that was eternal
now# Set in motion and kept in motion by its necessity#
;Will you do a memorial for me@= Semph asked#
$inah nodded# ;5ts traditional#=
Semph smiled softly# ;(hen do it for them: not for me# 5m the one who
de"ised the "essel of their death, and 5 dont need it# But choose one of
them: not a "ery important one, but one that will mean e"erything to
them if they find it, and understand# &rect the memorial in my name to
that one# Will you@=
$inah nodded#
;Will you@= Semph asked# )is eyes were closed, and he could not see
the nod#
;Aes# 5 will,= $inah said# But Semph could not hear# (he flux began and
ended, and $inah was alone in the cupped silence of loneliness#
(he statue was placed on a far planet of a far star in a time that was
ancient while yet ne"er ha"ing been born# 5t existed in the minds of
men who would come later# -r ne"er#
But if they did, they would know that hell was with them, that there
was a )ea"en that men called )ea"en, and in it there was a center
from which all madness flowed: and once within that center, there was
peace#

5n the remains of a blasted building that had been a shirt factory, in
what had been Stuttgart, %riedrich Crucker found a manycolored box#
Maddened by hunger and the memory of ha"ing eaten human flesh for
weeks, the man tore at the lid of the box with the bloodied stubs of his
fingers# As the box flew open, pressed at a certain point, cyclones
rushed out past the terrified face of %riedrich Crucker# 3yclones and
dark, winged, faceless shapes that streaked away into the night,
followed by a last wisp of purple smoke smelling strongly of decayed
gardenias#
But %riedrich Crucker had little time to ponder the meaning of the
purple smoke, for the next day, World War 59 broke out#