Starquake.pdf

paused for a moment as a server brought in a raw chunk of Zebu Slink.
'That is, unless you don't come out on top at the next combat trials." Attila stuffed his eating pouch with
the meat and started to suck on it noisily. He then tossed a few golden yellow crystals in on top of the
meat.
"Excellent combination," he said. "Now, tell me the bad news."
'They refused to take the new batch of Slink eggs."
"You sliced up the Clan Leader and a few Elders until you found someone in the clan whowould take
the eggs rather than die, didn't you?"
"I tried to, O Terrible One," said the Taker, her tread stuttering in fear. "But we were near the
compound of the strange clan that made the food machine. They created an invisible barrier that stopped
my riding-Swift." She paused as she saw his eye-wave pattern take on a slow, thoughtful motion. "I did
my best, Terrible One," she said.
Attila finally broke his silence. "Did your Swift have a burned tread?" he asked.
"Yes!" she replied, amazed at his question. "I could not understand it. I could see no heat radiation
coming from the barrier."
"That strange clan makes more than food machines," said Attila thoughtfully. "You ran into a magnetic
barrier. It takes more than a Swift to cross them. What else did you see?"
"They have many machines. Some cover the crust with smooth roads, some spit out long tubes and bars
of metal, and others crawl around cutting the metal into pieces to make other machines. They have even
turned their giant flying machine into a machine that catches metal spheres that fall from the sky."
"Those are Old One tales from the days before the big crustquake," said Attila. "Next you will be telling
me that there are cheela that live among the stars."
"I saw two cheela get out of the sphere and unload some small machines," the Taker told him. "Then
they got back in the sphere and it was tossed back up into the sky."
"I don't like the idea of someone being able to come and go from Egg without my permission. What if all
the slaves decided to go to live in the stars?"
"The leader of the strange clan offered to give us all the machines we wanted, including new food
machines that would make any kind of food Slink meat," she said. "He said we wouldn't need herders or
gatherers for food, and all the work could be done by machine. There wouldn't be a need for slaves
anymore. I didn't like the sound of that."
"If there weren't any slaves," said Attila, "there wouldn't be a need for an Emperor and his warriors." He
jammed another hunk of raw Slink in his eating pouch. "There is rebellion falling from the sky," he said. "I
shall crush it under my tread just as I did long ago." He wiped his manipulator on the crust and started
moving toward the ancient Maze Temple in the middle of Bright Center.
He found no guard around the maze. The slaves were so afraid of the place that they never came near.
Attila ignored the entrance and circled around the outside until he came to a wide breach in the tall walls.