It was a solemn and impressive spectacle. The room of burnished metal with its bizarre decorations, the constantly-changing harmony of color from invisible lamps, the group of nobles standing rigidly at attention in an utter absence of all sound as the karbix lifted his arms in invocation of the First Cause—all these things deepened the solemnity of that solemn moment.
When Taman spoke, his voice, deep with some great feeling inexplicable even to those who knew him best, carried clearly to every part of the great chamber.
“Friends, it is our privilege today to assist in a most notable event, the marriage of four personages from another world. For the first time in the history of Osnome has one karfedix the honor of entertaining the bridal party of another. It is not for this fact alone, however, that this occasion is to be memorable. A far deeper reason is that we are witnessing, possibly for the first time in the history of the universe, the meeting upon terms of mutual fellowship and understanding of the inhabitants of two worlds separated by unthinkable distances of trackless space and by equally great differences in evolution, conditions of life, and environment. Yet these strangers are actuated by the spirit of good faith and honor which is instilled into every worthy being by the great First Cause, in the working out of whose vast projects all things are humble instruments.
“In honor of the friendship of the two worlds, we will proceed with the ceremony.
“Richard Seaton and Martin Crane, exchange plain rings with Dorothy Vaneman and Margaret Spencer.”
They did so, and repeated, after the karbix, simple vows of love and loyalty.
“May the First Cause smile upon this temporary marriage and render it worthy of permanence. As a servant and agent of the First Cause I pronounce you two and you two husband and wife. But we must remember that the dull vision of mortal man cannot pierce the veil of the future which is as crystal to the all beholding eyes of the First Cause. Though you love each other truly some unforeseen thing may come between you to mar the perfection of your happiness. Therefore a time is granted you during which you will discover whether or not your unions are perfect.”
After a pause Taman went on.
“Martin Crane, Margaret Spencer, Richard Seaton, Dorothy Vaneman : you are before us to take the final vows which will bind your bodies together for life and your spirits together for eternity. Have you considered the gravity of this step sufficiently to enter into this marriage without reservation?”
“I have,” the four replied in unison.
“Don, for a moment, the helmets before you”
They did so, and upon each of four oscilloscope screens there appeared hundreds of irregular lines. Dead silence held while Taman studied certain traces upon each of the four giant screens, which were plainly visible to everyone in the room.
“I have seen—each man and woman of this congregation has seen—that each one of you four visiting personages is of the evolutionary state required for eternal marriage. Remove the helmets . . . exchange the jeweled rings. Do you each individually swear, in the presence of the First Cause and before the supreme justices of Kondal, that you will be true and loyal, each helping his chosen one in all things, great and small; that never, throughout eternity, in thought or in action, will your mind or your body or your spirit stray from the path of truth and honor?”
“I do.”
“I pronounce you married with the eternal marriage. Just as the faidon which each of you wears—the eternal jewel which no force of man is able to change or to deform and which gives off its inward light without change and without end—shall endure through endless cycles of time after the metal of the ring that holds it shall have crumbled in decay: even so shall your spirits, formerly two, now one and indissoluble, progress in ever ascending evolution throughout eternity after the base material which is your bodies shall have commingled with the base material from which it came.”
The karbix lowered his arms and the bridal party walked to the door through ranks of uplifted weapons. They were led to another room, where the contracting parties signed their names in a register. Dunark then produced two marriage certificates plates of a brilliant purple metal, beautifully engraved in parallel columns of English and Kondalian script and heavily bordered with precious stones. The principals and witnesses signed below each column and the signatures were engraved into the metal.
They were then escorted to the dining-hall, where a truly royal repast was served. Between courses the nobles welcomed the visitors and wished them happiness. After the last course Taman spoke, his voice again agitated by the emotion that had puzzled his hearers during the marriage service.
“All Kondal is with us here in spirit, joining us in welcoming these our guests, of whose friendship no greater warrant could be given than their willingness to grant us the privilege of their marriage. Not only have they given us a boon that will make their names revered throughout the nation as long as Kondol shall exist, but also they have been the means of showing us plainly that the First Cause is upon our side; that our ages-old institution of honor is in truth the only foundation upon which can be built a race worthy to survive. At the same time they have been the means of showing us that our hated foe, entirely without honor, building his race upon a foundation of bloodthirsty savagery alone, is building wrongly and must perish utterly from the face of Osnome.”
His hearers listened, impressed by his earnestness, but not understanding his meaning, and he went on, with a deep light shining in his eyes.
“You do not understand? It is inevitable that two peoples as different as are our two should be possessed of widely-differing knowledges and abilities. These friends, from their remote world, have already made it possible for us to construct engines of destruction which will obliterate Mardonale completely—”
A fierce shout of joy interrupted the speaker and the nobles sprang to their feet, saluting the visitors with weapons held aloft. As soon as they had reseated themselves Taman went on.
“That is the boon. The vindication of our evolution is as easily explained. These friends landed first in Mardonale. Had Nalboon met them in honor, he would have gained the boon. But he attempted to kill his guests and steal their treasures, with what results you already know. We, however, in exchange for the few and trifling services we have been able to render them, have received even more of value than Nalboon would have obtained, even had his plans not been nullified by their vastly higher state of evolution.”
There was a clamor of cheering as Taman sat down. The nobles formed themselves into an escort of honor and conducted the two couples to their apartments.
Alone in one of their rooms, Dorothy turned to her husband with tears shining in her eyes.
“Dick, sweetheart, wasn’t that the most wonderful thing you ever heard of? Grand, in the old meaning of the word—really grand. And that old man was simply superb. I’ll never get over it”
“It was all of that, Dot. It got down to where I lived. So much so that I stopped having the jitters as soon as it started.”
But, manlike, Seaton had had enough of solemnity for one day. “But do you know that I haven’t had a good look at you yet, under light I can see by? Stand over there, beautiful, and let me feast my eyes.”
“I will not.” She responded instantly to his mood. “I haven’t seen myself, either, and that’s just as important . . .”
“More so,” he said, with a wide and happy smile. “So we’ll go over to that full-length mirror and both feast our eyes.”
“Of course I saw Peggy, for about a second, but I can’t tell much from that. She’s su—” She broke off in the middle of a one-syllable word and stared into the mirror.
“That,” she gasped, “is me? I, I mean? Dorothy Vaneman—I mean Seaton?”
“That is Dorothy Seaton,” he assured her. “Yes. Irrevocably so.”
She stuck out a foot, the better to examine the slipper. She lifted her gown well above her knees and studied anklets and legbands. She put her hands on her hips and wriggled, setting everything above the waist into motion. She turned around and repeated the performance, to watch the ornaments dance on her far-from-niggardly expanse of back. She studied the towering, fantastically-jeweled headdress. Then she turned to Seaton, sheer delight spreading over her expressive face.
“You know what, Dick?” she exclaimed, gleefully. “I’m going to wear this whole regalia, just exactly as it is, to the President’s Ball!”
“You wouldn’t. You couldn’t. Nobody could have that much nerve.”