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He was suddenly aware of Aten in the background, smiling triumphantly and very happily at him. There was something like a roar of approval from the men of Yugna, assembled. "Just what," demanded Tommy, "does this mean?" "For many years," said a hawk-faced man ungraciously, "we have had no Commander of Defense. We have had no wars. But we see it is needful. We have chosen you, with all agreeing.
How far the Aten dogma represented real progress in religious thought can be gathered only from the contents of a few hymns remaining on the walls of some of the tombs. In these the expression of devout feeling seems to have become richer and more spontaneous, and the monotheistic tendency is evident.
During those two days he learned many other things, to be sure: that Aten for instance, was relieved from duty at the machines only because he was wounded; that the power of the main machines came from a deep bore which brought up superheated steam from the source of boiling springs long since built over; that iron was a rare metal, and consequently there was no dynamo in the city and magnetism was practically an unknown force; that electrokinetics was a laboratory puzzle or had been, when there was leisure for research while the science of electrostatics had progressed far past its state on Earth.
Thus Yitia of Ashkelon, Pu-Adda of Wurza, and a certain Addudaian correct the name of the Egyptian commissioner “Amanappa” into “Rianappa.” Abimilki of Tyre apparently even tried to give himself out as one initiated into “the doctrine,” and to represent his city as a servant of Aten.
For a one-man ship they were five feet in diameter, and for the big freight ships, they were circles fifteen feet across. They were perfect targets, and Aten seemed to grasp the necessary tactics almost instantly. Dead ahead or from straight astern, Tommy could not miss a shot. The fleet of Rahn went fluttering downward. Fifteen of the biggest were down, and six of the two-man planes.
Aten pointed, panting, to slide-rail and it took them five minutes to get the plane about that rail and engage a curious contrivance in a slot in the ship's fuselage. "Tommy," said Evelyn, "you're not going to " "Run away? Hardly!" said Tommy. "We're going up. I'm going to fight the fleet with bullets.
"Cuyal," said Aten in an explanatory tone, seeing Tommy's expression. He put his shoulder to the big ship, to wheel it back into its shed. "You son of a gun," grunted Tommy, "it's all in the day's work to you, fighting an invading fleet!" A messenger came panting through the doorway. Tommy grinned. "The Council wants us, Evelyn. Now maybe they'll listen."
Tommy's second shot burst in a freight compartment and a man screamed. His voice carried horribly in the silence of these heights. But Tommy shot again, and, again, and there was a satisfying blue flash as a fifth big ship went fluttering helplessly down. Aten began to circle for height Tommy refilled the magazine.
For his eternal link to the sun was more essential and part of himself than any of his arms or legs. And so, reluctant to part from dreaminess, he built a new capital city for Egypt that he devoted to the worship of Aten. The city, Amarna, was created to be Aten's sacrosanct home.
It was minutes before they could make their way through and plunge up the interminable steps Aten mounted, only to fling himself out to the open air. Then they were upon a flying bridge between two of the towers of the city. All about the city human figures were massing, staring upward. And above the city swirled a swarm of aircraft.
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