The temple-guard fell in the shadows, and one of his own warriors stepped forward to retrieve his weapon.  The remains of the guard’s body rolled down three, four, five of the steps of the Temple, and stopped.  His eyes lingered on that body for only a moment, and then he turned and went up to the entrance.

There was a moaning of pain, or of fright, rising somewhere in his head; he was only partly aware of it.  He walked into the shadows of the doorway and paused.  But only for a moment:  there was no movement inside, and he stepped forward, down one step into the interior.

Screams echoed through the halls and corridors of the Temple—­high and piercing, growing in volume as they echoed, buffeting him almost into unconsciousness.  He knew they were from Horng, but he fought them, watching his own steps across the dark inner room.  He was Tebron Marl, king priest ruler of all Hirlaj, in the Temple of Kor, and he could feel the stone solid beneath his feet.  Sweat broke out on his back—­his own, or Tebron’s?  But he was Tebron, and he fought the blast of fear in his mind as though it were a battle for his very identity.  He was Tebron.

The screaming faded, and he stood in silence before the Altar of Kor.

So this is the source, he thought.  For how many days had he fought toward this?  It was useless to remember; the muscles of his body were remembrance enough, and the scar-tissue that hindered the movement of one shoulder.  If he remembered those battles he would again hear the fading echoes of enemy minds dying within his, and he had had enough of that.  This was the goal, and it was his; perhaps there need be no more such killing.

He opened his mouth and spoke the words which he had learned so many years before, during his apprenticeship in the Region of Mines.  The rituals of the Temple were always conducted in the ancient spoken language; Kor demanded it, and only the priest-caste knew these words, for they were so old that their form had changed almost completely even by the time his people had developed telepathy and discarded speech; they were not communicated to the rest of the people.

“I am Tebron Marl, king priest leader of all Hirlaj.  I await your orders guidance.”

He knelt, according to ritual, and gazed up at the altar.  The Eye of Kor blinked there, a small circle of light in the dark room.  The altar was simple but massive; its heavy columns, built upon the traditional lines, supported the weight of the Eye.  He watched its slow waxing and waning, and waited; within him, Rynason’s mind stirred.

And Kor spoke.

Remain motionless.  Do not go forward.

He felt a child as a wave of sensitivity spread through all of his skin and his organs sped for a moment.  Then it was true:  in the Temple of Kor, the god leader really did speak.

“I await further words.”

The Eye held his gaze almost hypnotically in the dimness.  The voice sounded in the huge arched room. The sciences quests of your race lead you to extinction.  The knowledge words offered to me by your priests make it clear that within a hundred years your race will leave its planet.  You must not go forward, for that way lies the extermination of all your race.