slowly around
these parts."

"Not around the Perssonoj," the Hertug said scornfully and thumped his
chest. "We can talk across the width of the country and always know
where our enemies are. We can send magic on wires to kill, or magic to
make light in a glass ball or magic that will pluck the sword from an
enemy's hand and drive terror into his heart."

"It sounds like your gang has the monopoly on electricity, which is
good to hear. If you have some heavy forging equipment...."

"Stop!" the Hertug ordered. "Leave! Out--everyone except the
_sciuloj_. Not the new slave, he stays here," he shouted when the
soldiers grabbed Jason.

* * * * *

The room emptied and the handful of men who remained were all a little
long in the tooth and each wore a brazen, sun-burst type decoration on
his chest. They were undoubtedly adept in the secret electrical arts
and they fingered their weapons and grumbled with unconcealed anger at
Jason's forbidden knowledge. The Hertug signaled him to continue.

"You used a sacred word. Who told it to you? Speak quickly or you will
be killed."

"Didn't I tell you I knew everything? I can build a _caroj_ and given
a little time I can improve on your electrical works, if your
technology is on the same level as the rest of this planet."

"Do you know what lies behind the forbidden portal?" the Hertug asked,
pointing to a barred, locked and guarded door at the other end of the
room. "There is no way you can have seen what is there, but if you can
tell me what lies beyond it I will know you are the wizard that you
claim you are."

"I have a very strange feeling that I have been over this ground once
before," Jason sighed. "All right, here goes. You people here make
electricity, maybe chemically, though I doubt if you would get enough
power that way, so you must have a generator of some sort. That will
be a big magnet, a piece of special iron that can pick up other iron,
and you spin it around fast next to some coils of wire and out comes
electricity. You pipe this through copper wire to whatever devices you
have, and they can't be very many. You say you talk across the
country. I'll bet you don't talk at all but send little clicks, dots
and dashes.... I'm right aren't I?" The foot shuffling and rising buzz
from the adepts was a sure sign that he was hitting close. "I have an
idea for you, I think I'll invent the telephone. Instead of the old
clikkety-clack how