Читать книгу CVC Veri A Guide to the Epic of the Martian Empire - Lee CDN Streiff - Страница 9

Shultz’s Beer Parlor (see Figure 1.10) deserves special mention in this chapter, as it is the Valhalla of Martian heroes (and dragons) and is available only to them. This Valhalla however, is for the living, rather than the dead. The Varnish at the entrance, it is said, would dissolve any lower forms of life, even if they should stumble onto the place. It is a magnificent establishment, or so say those have been there. The main barroom is presided over by Shultz himself. And there are other rooms for “every conceivable purpose.” There are for example, special private rooms for brawls, and there are game rooms for N-Dimensional Chess. Only those Martians who have completed some particularly difficult or useful or heroic task are rated to enter Shultz’s. The dragons, which are similar to Martians in mentality — but come from a different region of the Universe, can play a mean game of N-Dimensional Chess, being intelligent and rational creatures.

Figure 1.10: a Night at Shultz’s

And speaking of Varnish, according to an official document dated April 5^th, 1942 in The Files, the “Government standard” for the production of Varnish was:

Sodium Arsenate----------------15%

Nitric acid------------------------15%

Carbon disulfide----------------- 5%

White Phosphorus---------------12%

Sodium Phosphide----------------3%

Absolute alcohol (methanol)--50%

Shultz’s was the place to be. In a letter from Bob Parks, dated September 4, 1944 he mentions an evening spent there:

[…] As for the strange creatures, I’ve noticed quite an aggregation of them on the Arcturus bound streetcar that goes by Mars at 25:30 (Martian time). You know the one — we always use to distort the space around there and send the fated Streetcar bound for Earth. That was only a few thousand years ago too. Do you remember those Earthlings, Hannibal and Caesar and also Nero who go t blamed the day the streetcar lit near Rome and you asked for a match from that Robot from X19Z ∫ce ∞Dzn an he said he’d find one for you an burnt the joint down?

Anyway the point is there seems to be entirely too many strange, unidentified creatures going toward Arcturus. I mentioned it to Moscovitch last night down at Shultz’s Beer Parlor, but he merely laughed and pulled my hat down over my eyes while I kicked three of his teeth out with a well place shot thrust of my foot. I took him aside later and asked if he was really earnest and thought there was no danger from these creatures. He replied to the negative and to top the whole thing off Kimball Kinnison joined in with such an emphatic “Hell No!,” that three of his babes fell off of his lap.

I can’t understand it myself. This is the first time since I can remember that I’ve ever had a break with The Mighty Moscovitch. That he can’t see what is about to happen or at least that something is indeed in the wind is incomprehensible to me. As for Kimball K. — The Gray Lensman — he is a jughaid and hasn’t been able to see the light about anything for months now.

It rather seems to me that since the war with the 2^nd galaxy things haven’t been going quite right in the world. Control over the interstellar Pirates, whot were an almost non-entity for such a long time, has steadily become less and less ridged. Persons on Mars are again becoming greedier and greedier and that old financial problem is again about to present itself.

I want you to keep this under your hat, but I spotted that chap who was a psychologist as that group known as the Eich. I thought that, that couldn’t possibly be, but it was him. He was disguised as a Monk, a worshipper of ZOLAM, on a pilgrimage to Arcturus. I’m pretty sure he recognized me too, so we can sure expect plenty of trouble from that quarter.

This is the situation so far as I can tell, or get. There is indeed something rotten in Denmark and it’s centering temporarily around Arcturus ─ why there of all places, I do not know. We can’t depend on many of the old gang right now because they, along with Moscovitch and K.K don’t see it since they’re having too much of a time for themselves. We’ll have to do this practically alone. I’d appreciate it if you could send me any dope you’ve heard on the matter and we’ll see what can be done.

This letter shows clearly how the spinning out of the tales of the Epic worked, and how suggestions from one person could be picked up and filled out by another.