Page:Amazing Stories Volume 21 Number 06.djvu/59

Rh forms was here accomplished within moments. Like so many of the antique machines, the thing was multi-purposed, had many adjustments designed to broaden the scope of its use; hence, their transformation of the horse into a jelly, and the jelly into a winged tiny human.

But Nydia divined, now they had hit upon the prime purpose of the mechanism—the overcoming of the obstacle of time in the evolving of superior forms of life. Now they had one of the secrets that had made the ancients the tremendous people they were, and Nydia swore to herself that nothing would be able to cause her to lose this secret — one she had known hazily must exist, but was now a concrete actuality before her! Her shining, tear-wet, blind eyes turned to the aged man beside her.

"Thank the Gods, we have found one of their greatest secrets. Now you and I can re-make life into something that can grow toward the ancient goal again."

"Now try it upon one of the wild, mad dwarfs that my son has enslaved to Chlio. See what it does to such a creature—if it does what I think it may do, we have won our battle, as well as many an unfought battle of the far future. The men this thing may produce! If we are right, those men should change this sad, mad world into a more pleasant place for a man to live upon."

Wasting no more time, Nydia swung the great ray in a short arc, centering the screen upon the great hall of the throne in the rocky chambers over their head—the center chamber of all that time-forgotten pile called "Eg Notha."

Soon upon the cross hairs one of the unkempt, twisted-limbed dwarfs appeared. He was upon his knees before the blank-faced Chlio, who stood beside the great crystalline sculpture that was that ancient seat of power. Young Zigor sat brooding, his chin upon his hands. It was evident that the dwarf was reporting failure in the search for the old man and the blind girl.

Nydia pulled down the great lever that released the flood of strange and eerily potent power through the conductive penetrative ray upon the dwarf, where he kneeled before the throne.

Intently the old man and the blind girl watched the dwarf, and strangely behind them stirred the vast mysterious life that was somehow the still living vital force and inner soul of those forgotten ancients. Somehow, if one had been sensitive and alert, at that moment, one would have sensed the mystic living hand of some vague, but potent life, reach out from the rock where it had waited away all those empty centuries—touched the bowed, intent heads of the old cynical Mephisto, the young virginal gold hair of Nydia, and return to its sleep within the ancient rock.

The powerful ray upon that degenerate product of an age of retrogression began to work its wonder. Slowly, slowly the twisted bowed legs straightened, the humped back became more erect and the bullet head rounded. The sparse, bristly hair became more abundant—began to curl gracefully about the brightening face! "Something" sprang to life upon the lined and evil face—something came to life within those beady eyes; the eyes themselves broadened, and as the power hummed on, and gladness came to dwell again in Nydia's heart, there stood before Chlio not a twisted, evil-minded dwarf, but a straight, slim young Godling, eyes wondering about him at the sudden beauty and meaning in what had been before but dull, grey, "usual", hideous, unwanted life. And as they watched, the mouth that was no longer a sour gash across an ugly dull face, but the luxuriously curved lips of a son of the Gods—opened and the man that was not a man but had now become a man spoke—his voice a soft, wondering music in his own ears and a startling wonder to Zigor's suddenly awakened ears.

Y CHLIO, you have suddenly become a beautiful thing—but why do you stand and gaze at nothing? Why do you not show joy, the joy that has suddenly sprung up within me? Why do you not feel it too? Speak, my Chlio, that I may hear you—my ears hunger to hear in your voice the gladness that rings in my heart at sight of you."

Chlio did not answer, the spell from Zigor's use of the evil hypnotic ray remained upon her; but Zigor sprang to his feet as his eyes took in at last the unbelievable change that had come over the ugly, mindless dwarf. But even as he sprang to his feet in wonder, Nydia swung the ray upon Zigor, carefully centering his figure upon the cross hairs and the terrific power of the ancient wonder-mech droned