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Cosmic Tales, v. 2, issue 1, Summer 1939

Page 11

COSMIC TALES      11

YI-DAS
By
JOSEPH MITCHEL BOYER

"There is no road," said the pale green lizard, lifting withered lids to stare at me. "There is no road that leads out from the land of which you speak."
My hope died with the lizard's words; the saliva dried within my mouth, and I could not question him further. Far to the north rose a violet line of mountains which I knew hemmed in an impossible land....and I was alone.
The searing rays of four young suns blazed down from a yellow sky; the white grass lay panting beneath my feet; the stone trees were motionless, but their high wail of thirst could be heard, and I was alone.
"None like me, " I screamed brokenly, raising my arms to the sky. "None like me," echoed the crawling rocks; and the green lizard lay drinking in the suns.
"This is YI-DAS, six world of the cycle," whispered my brain, and I shuddered and, lifting my pitiful bundle upon my back, stumbled on. There was no going back, and little did I care at the moment where I was bound. The dust rose up beneath my feet to hang upon the breathless air; it lay thick over the moisture films of my eyes, but strangely there was not the slightest hint of discomfort or blindness.
It was then that I came to the valley.
As if at given signal, the four suns meteored behind the curved horizon; a saffron gloaming descended over Yi-Das. But it was the great fires in the valley that called me, and I followed a winding path to the base of the pyramid like hills. And the stone trees hushed their cries, and instead there arose a low sighing sound which seemed to come from the area about the many hued fires. Then I saw---or thought I saw---and screamed with joy.
"There are men like me, here. Men of flesh and blood, who talk and...ra..."
Chocking with horror, I halted, my tongue frozen to the roof of my mouth; what I had taken for men were loathsome, shrivelled things with the white bodies of earth grubs. Yet there was a head, a human head, attached. A head that was perfect except for a mouth.
They lay, staring at me, and the air was filled with a sighing sound; and I saw that the sighing sound was produced by the slither of body upon body. Slowly, as if thought was again reborn, I realized that deep within the sound was speech, intelligible speech. But my mind refused to detect its meaning. However, the meaning in their pale, water colored eyes was clear. It said food; food to eat, food to fill aching bowels, food to...but I looked and there were no mouths.
And as I stood there, bathed in the flickering light of the many hued fires----surrounded by men-things with hunger in their eyes, barren of mouth---rain, blue boiling rain fell from the low heavens, and before my eyes the grubs dissolved into the pools of the rain, and I was left alone once more. Yi-Das swam before me, and sinking to the ground, I slept.
Dawn walked into the sky, and led by a van-guard of six lavender suns. I had become reconciled to madness, so this phenomenon had little effect on me. The dew had crystalized upon the grass, shaking a trumped shaped flower, I found my hands filled with a fortune in diamonds.
But there was no road back, so I let them trickle to the ground.

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COSMIC TALES 11 YI-DAS By JOSEPH MITCHEL BOYER "There is no road," said the pale green lizard, lifting withered lids to stare at me. "There is no road that leads out from the land of which you speak." My hope died with the lizard's words; the saliva dried within my mouth, and I could not question him further. Far to the north rose a violet line of mountains which I knew hemmed in an impossible land....and I was alone. The searing rays of four young suns blazed down from a yellow sky; the white grass lay panting beneath my feet; the stone trees were motionless, but their high wail of thirst could be heard, and I was alone. "None like me, " I screamed brokenly, raising my arms to the sky. "None like me," echoed the crawling rocks; and the green lizard lay drinking in the suns. "This is YI-DAS, six world of the cycle," whispered my brain, and I shuddered and, lifting my pitiful bundle upon my back, stumbled on. There was no going back, and little did I care at the moment where I was bound. The dust rose up beneath my feet to hang upon the breathless air; it lay thick over the moisture films of my eyes, but strangely there was not the slightest hint of discomfort or blindness. It was then that I came to the valley. As if at given signal, the four suns meteored behind the curved horizon; a saffron gloaming descended over Yi-Das. But it was the great fires in the valley that called me, and I followed a winding path to the base of the pyramid like hills. And the stone trees hushed their cries, and instead there arose a low sighing sound which seemed to come from the area about the many hued fires. Then I saw---or thought I saw---and screamed with joy. "There are men like me, here. Men of flesh and blood, who talk and...ra..." Chocking with horror, I halted, my tongue frozen to the roof of my mouth; what I had taken for men were loathsome, shrivelled things with the white bodies of earth grubs. Yet there was a head, a human head, attached. A head that was perfect except for a mouth. They lay, staring at me, and the air was filled with a sighing sound; and I saw that the sighing sound was produced by the slither of body upon body. Slowly, as if thought was again reborn, I realized that deep within the sound was speech, intelligible speech. But my mind refused to detect its meaning. However, the meaning in their pale, water colored eyes was clear. It said food; food to eat, food to fill aching bowels, food to...but I looked and there were no mouths. And as I stood there, bathed in the flickering light of the many hued fires----surrounded by men-things with hunger in their eyes, barren of mouth---rain, blue boiling rain fell from the low heavens, and before my eyes the grubs dissolved into the pools of the rain, and I was left alone once more. Yi-Das swam before me, and sinking to the ground, I slept. Dawn walked into the sky, and led by a van-guard of six lavender suns. I had become reconciled to madness, so this phenomenon had little effect on me. The dew had crystalized upon the grass, shaking a trumped shaped flower, I found my hands filled with a fortune in diamonds. But there was no road back, so I let them trickle to the ground.