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The Man Who Saw the Future By: Edmond Hamilton (1904-1977) |
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The MAN who SAW
the FUTURE By EDMOND HAMILTON
Jean de Marselait, Inquisitor Extraordinary of the King of France,
raised his head from the parchments that littered the crude desk at
which he sat. His glance shifted along the long stone walled, torchlit
room to the file of mail clad soldiers who stood like steel statues by
its door. A word from him and two of them sprang forward. "You may bring in the prisoner," he said. The two disappeared through the door, and in moments there came a clang
of opening bolts and grating of heavy hinges from somewhere in the
building. Then the clang of the returning soldiers, and they entered the
room with another man between them whose hands were fettered. [Illustration: Illustrated by MOREY] He was a straight figure, and was dressed in drab tunic and hose. His
dark hair was long and straight, and his face held a dreaming strength,
altogether different from the battered visages of the soldiers or the
changeless mask of the Inquisitor. The latter regarded the prisoner for
a moment, and then lifted one of the parchments from before him and read
from it in a smooth, clear voice. "Henri Lothiere, apothecary's assistant of Paris," he read, "is charged
in this year of our lord one thousand four hundred and forty four with
offending against God and the king by committing the crime of sorcery." The prisoner spoke for the first time, his voice low but steady. "I am
no sorcerer, sire." Jean de Marselait read calmly on from the parchment. "It is stated by
many witnesses that for long that part of Paris, called Nanley by some,
has been troubled by works of the devil. Ever and anon great claps of
thunder have been heard issuing from an open field there without visible
cause. They were evidently caused by a sorcerer of power since even
exorcists could not halt them. "It is attested by many that the accused, Henri Lothiere, did in spite
of the known diabolical nature of the thing, spend much time at the
field in question. It is also attested that the said Henri Lothiere did
state that in his opinion the thunderclaps were not of diabolical
origin, and that if they were studied, their cause might be discovered. "It being suspected from this that Henri Lothiere was himself the
sorcerer causing the thunderclaps, he was watched and on the third day
of June was seen to go in the early morning to the unholy spot with
certain instruments. There he was observed going through strange and
diabolical conjurations, when there came suddenly another thunderclap
and the said Henri Lothiere did vanish entirely from view in that
moment. This fact is attested beyond all doubt. "The news spreading, many hundreds watched around the field during that
day. Upon that night before midnight, another thunderclap was heard and
the said Henri Lothiere was seen by these hundreds to appear at the
field's center as swiftly and as strangely as he had vanished. The
fear stricken hundreds around the field heard him tell them how, by
diabolical power, he had gone for hundreds of years into the future, a
thing surely possible only to the devil and his minions, and heard him
tell other blasphemies before they seized him and brought him to the
Inquisitor of the King, praying that he be burned and his work of
sorcery thus halted. "Therefore, Henri Lothiere, since you were seen to vanish and to
reappear as only the servants of the evil one might do, and were heard
by many to utter the blasphemies mentioned, I must adjudge you a
sorcerer with the penalty of death by fire. If anything there be that
you can advance in palliation of your black offense, however, you may
now do so before final sentence is passed upon you." Jean de Marselait laid down the parchment, and raised his eyes to the
prisoner. The latter looked round him quickly for a moment, a
half glimpsed panic for an instant in his eyes, then seemed to steady... Continue reading book >>
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Literature |
Science |
Short stories |
Travel |
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