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the office of Time. But what chance would Satan offer anyone? "Why should you do a good turn for any
mortal?"
"As I mentioned, sir, I do believe in order. My office can not function without order. This mortal man's
good fortune will contribute to a lifetime of order in that aspect of reality."
Norton shook his head. "You will have to do better than that, Satan! You must have a dozen other ways
to promote order on Earth, without traveling in time to help any one person. Why do a favor for a
mortal?"
"Well, Chronos, you are in a position to verify it directly. I will give you the coordinates so you can go
there alone and see that this man will suffer no ill, only good, as a result of My minion's intercession.
Only when you are completely satisfied on that score need you actually conduct My minion there. That
is fair enough, isn't it?"
Grudgingly, Norton nodded. "But I don't know how to travel precisely in time yet. I mean, to a particular
point in human events. Lachesis took me on one trip, but we had her threads for guidance."
"I will be glad to assist you in this," Satan said. "I have only the friendliest possible intent. You have
merely to select on the calendar the specific date and hour and to will your Hourglass blue, with a preset
stop at that spot. That is a fine supernatural instrument; it will obey you implicitly. Once there in time,
you must negotiate the geographical distance."
"By walking? That will limit my effectiveness."
"Chronos, you are the Incarnation of Time. That means you have a certain practical control of space,
too, for time and space are linked. You can travel anywhere on Earth you wish and to the colonized
planets, too."
Norton shook his head. "I don't see how, unless you mean by using conventional transport facilities."
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"I am here to show you how. Simply take the Hourglass-"
"No. I don't want to travel with you."
Satan took no offense. "No need, My dear associate. I will explain the technique to you so you can
practice yourself. First I must clarify the underlying theory."
"That would be appreciated," Norton said grudgingly. He wanted to be away from Satan, but he did need
this information.
"Motion, like evil, is everywhere," Satan said in a somewhat didactic manner. "The Earth spins about
her axis with a surface velocity of close to a thousand miles an hour at the equator, which translates to
about sixteen miles per minute or a quarter mile per second. That might seem to be a fairly formidable
velocity."
"Faster than I can run," Norton agreed. "I am aware that this rotation causes day and night. But what-"
"Yet it is dwarfed by other aspects of motion. The Earth also revolves around the sun at a velocity of
approximately eighteen and a half miles per second."
"Causing the seasons and the year," Norton said. "But how does this relate-?"
"But our sun, too, is moving, for our Milky Way Galaxy is rotating, and so the sun is carried around that
galactic axis at the rate of about a hundred and fifty miles per second. Just as Earth's motion about the
sun is about seventy-five times as rapid as the motion of a spot on Earth's surface about Earth's own
axis, the velocity of galactic rotation is about eight times as great as that. Yet even this is relatively
insignificant. The known universe is expanding, so all matter is in motion with respect to Galactic Rest.
In that sense, we are traveling at approximately half the speed of light, or ninety thousand miles per
second. Impressive, isn't it?"
"Yes," Norton agreed. "But I still fail to see the relevance to my situation."
"Peace, comrade; I am coming to that. The point is that, though you and I appear to be at rest at the
moment, we are in fact subject to numerous and potent vectors of motion. It is a complex scheme we
exist in! And since motion is a function of time as well as of space-"
"Hey!" Norton interrupted. "If I move in time without moving in space, I'll drift right off the face of the
Earth! If I travel into the past a single hour, the Earth, as part of the moving galaxy in the expanding
universe, will have moved ninety thousand miles every second, or-"
"Half a light-hour, or three hundred and twenty-four million miles, or the distance from Earth to
Jupiter," Satan finished heartily. "Yes, indeed, Chronos, you would be lost in a moment, literally."
"But since I live backward, I should be totally out of phase! Because I'm going back to a time when
Earth was far elsewhere from where it is now, but I'm the only one going back there, not the Earth itself!
And when I jump to another time-"
"Relax, Chronos," Satan said. "Your very existence is safeguarded by the formidable magic of the
Hourglass. It counters all the motions of the universe and maintains you in exactly the same location
with respect to Earth's surface, regardless of how you use it. Without that protection, it is true, you
would perish the instant you traveled in time, for you would in effect be flung deep into the core of the
planet or out into the vacuum of space. That Hourglass remains with you and protects you from all
mischief, its ambience forming your cloak." He smiled engagingly. "It even protects you from My
mischief."
"Can that be true?" Norton asked, dazed.
"Naturally anything I tell you is suspect. But I seldom concern Myself with trivial or obvious lies; they
are neither artistic nor productive, and so are not worth My effort. Ask your serpent ring. That is not one
of My demons."
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Click here to buy
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So Satan knew about Sning! "Does the Hourglass really protect me from evil?" Norton asked the little
snake.
Squeeze.
He liked the Hourglass better! "And it can help move me in space as well as in time?"
Squeeze.
"Indubitably, Chronos," Satan said smoothly. "All you have to do is use it to void certain aspects of the
motion alignment-spell. Then you will move-or rather, fail to move, while the universe moves past you.
With a little practice, you will be able to travel anywhere on Earth at the rate of many miles per second.
But do try it cautiously; the Hourglass can protect you from any exterior malaise, but only to a limited
extent from your own folly."
"Folly?"
"When you void part of its magic, you reduce its power to protect you. You could indeed get lost."
Excellent warning! Norton had already experienced one careless jaunt into the distant past. Couple that
with a voiding of its protection-could he have gotten himself eaten by a dinosaur? No, for he had never
been solid, outside his allotted term of office. But inside his term, there might have been more trouble.
Yes, he would have to be very careful, and Satan's warning was extremely well taken. Still, he did need [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl fopke.keep.pl
the office of Time. But what chance would Satan offer anyone? "Why should you do a good turn for any
mortal?"
"As I mentioned, sir, I do believe in order. My office can not function without order. This mortal man's
good fortune will contribute to a lifetime of order in that aspect of reality."
Norton shook his head. "You will have to do better than that, Satan! You must have a dozen other ways
to promote order on Earth, without traveling in time to help any one person. Why do a favor for a
mortal?"
"Well, Chronos, you are in a position to verify it directly. I will give you the coordinates so you can go
there alone and see that this man will suffer no ill, only good, as a result of My minion's intercession.
Only when you are completely satisfied on that score need you actually conduct My minion there. That
is fair enough, isn't it?"
Grudgingly, Norton nodded. "But I don't know how to travel precisely in time yet. I mean, to a particular
point in human events. Lachesis took me on one trip, but we had her threads for guidance."
"I will be glad to assist you in this," Satan said. "I have only the friendliest possible intent. You have
merely to select on the calendar the specific date and hour and to will your Hourglass blue, with a preset
stop at that spot. That is a fine supernatural instrument; it will obey you implicitly. Once there in time,
you must negotiate the geographical distance."
"By walking? That will limit my effectiveness."
"Chronos, you are the Incarnation of Time. That means you have a certain practical control of space,
too, for time and space are linked. You can travel anywhere on Earth you wish and to the colonized
planets, too."
Norton shook his head. "I don't see how, unless you mean by using conventional transport facilities."
a
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B
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Click here to buy
Click here to buy
w
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"I am here to show you how. Simply take the Hourglass-"
"No. I don't want to travel with you."
Satan took no offense. "No need, My dear associate. I will explain the technique to you so you can
practice yourself. First I must clarify the underlying theory."
"That would be appreciated," Norton said grudgingly. He wanted to be away from Satan, but he did need
this information.
"Motion, like evil, is everywhere," Satan said in a somewhat didactic manner. "The Earth spins about
her axis with a surface velocity of close to a thousand miles an hour at the equator, which translates to
about sixteen miles per minute or a quarter mile per second. That might seem to be a fairly formidable
velocity."
"Faster than I can run," Norton agreed. "I am aware that this rotation causes day and night. But what-"
"Yet it is dwarfed by other aspects of motion. The Earth also revolves around the sun at a velocity of
approximately eighteen and a half miles per second."
"Causing the seasons and the year," Norton said. "But how does this relate-?"
"But our sun, too, is moving, for our Milky Way Galaxy is rotating, and so the sun is carried around that
galactic axis at the rate of about a hundred and fifty miles per second. Just as Earth's motion about the
sun is about seventy-five times as rapid as the motion of a spot on Earth's surface about Earth's own
axis, the velocity of galactic rotation is about eight times as great as that. Yet even this is relatively
insignificant. The known universe is expanding, so all matter is in motion with respect to Galactic Rest.
In that sense, we are traveling at approximately half the speed of light, or ninety thousand miles per
second. Impressive, isn't it?"
"Yes," Norton agreed. "But I still fail to see the relevance to my situation."
"Peace, comrade; I am coming to that. The point is that, though you and I appear to be at rest at the
moment, we are in fact subject to numerous and potent vectors of motion. It is a complex scheme we
exist in! And since motion is a function of time as well as of space-"
"Hey!" Norton interrupted. "If I move in time without moving in space, I'll drift right off the face of the
Earth! If I travel into the past a single hour, the Earth, as part of the moving galaxy in the expanding
universe, will have moved ninety thousand miles every second, or-"
"Half a light-hour, or three hundred and twenty-four million miles, or the distance from Earth to
Jupiter," Satan finished heartily. "Yes, indeed, Chronos, you would be lost in a moment, literally."
"But since I live backward, I should be totally out of phase! Because I'm going back to a time when
Earth was far elsewhere from where it is now, but I'm the only one going back there, not the Earth itself!
And when I jump to another time-"
"Relax, Chronos," Satan said. "Your very existence is safeguarded by the formidable magic of the
Hourglass. It counters all the motions of the universe and maintains you in exactly the same location
with respect to Earth's surface, regardless of how you use it. Without that protection, it is true, you
would perish the instant you traveled in time, for you would in effect be flung deep into the core of the
planet or out into the vacuum of space. That Hourglass remains with you and protects you from all
mischief, its ambience forming your cloak." He smiled engagingly. "It even protects you from My
mischief."
"Can that be true?" Norton asked, dazed.
"Naturally anything I tell you is suspect. But I seldom concern Myself with trivial or obvious lies; they
are neither artistic nor productive, and so are not worth My effort. Ask your serpent ring. That is not one
of My demons."
a
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T
n
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f
f
o
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P
m
m
Y
Y
e
e
Y
Y
r
r
B
B
2
2
.
.
B
B
A
A
Click here to buy
Click here to buy
w
w
m
m
w
w
o
o
w
w
c
c
.
.
.
.
A
A
Y
Y
B
B
Y
Y
B
B
r r
So Satan knew about Sning! "Does the Hourglass really protect me from evil?" Norton asked the little
snake.
Squeeze.
He liked the Hourglass better! "And it can help move me in space as well as in time?"
Squeeze.
"Indubitably, Chronos," Satan said smoothly. "All you have to do is use it to void certain aspects of the
motion alignment-spell. Then you will move-or rather, fail to move, while the universe moves past you.
With a little practice, you will be able to travel anywhere on Earth at the rate of many miles per second.
But do try it cautiously; the Hourglass can protect you from any exterior malaise, but only to a limited
extent from your own folly."
"Folly?"
"When you void part of its magic, you reduce its power to protect you. You could indeed get lost."
Excellent warning! Norton had already experienced one careless jaunt into the distant past. Couple that
with a voiding of its protection-could he have gotten himself eaten by a dinosaur? No, for he had never
been solid, outside his allotted term of office. But inside his term, there might have been more trouble.
Yes, he would have to be very careful, and Satan's warning was extremely well taken. Still, he did need [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]