Earl took the Spectrum of Sol he had found on Emijar and after working for a while for the Jarmasin Pontianak Combine to
raise money for a data base search of known stars in the galaxy, he went to planet Harald where there was reputed to be an excellent
computer data base. He quickly discovered that the price for a complete search was far too high for him to bear. A kind employee of the computer service however gave him advice as to how to narrow his search very considerably and gave him the name of a person who could help. The person, Armand Ramhed, was a specialist in analyzing stellar spectra and though he had fallen into dissolution, made an effort to put Earl’s spectrum in order (to narrow the search). He gave Earl certain information on the star verbally but was killed by a Cyclan assassin before he could finish while Earl was out to lining up money for Armand, for the computer search and for a ship for departure. Earl fought a knife bout against an experienced fighter in the ring and won. When he returned and found Armand dead he also met Armand’s assassin waiting for him, killed him, fled, was accused of the murder of both Armand and the assassin and forced to ship out on a free trader, the
Sleethan, working a route in the dangerous rift, a break between the galactic dust clouds but near enough the center to be full of hot burning stars.
The captain of the
Sleethan had heard from Cyber Broge of the Cyclan however and had secretly put Cyber Broge and his acolyte aboard. Broge and the acolyte took Earl’s knife and cuffed him to his bunk. They diverted the ship’s course from Zakym to Jalong with a promise of bonus. Cyber Broge was insensitive with the severely ill and increasingly befuddled navigator, Chagney, who took umbrage and went to Earl to complain. Earl took the chance to inject Chagney and himself with the symbiote. Controlling Chagney’s body, he took quick time and boosted to a hyper fast rate of existence killed both the unsuspecting Cyber and the Acolyte and cycled their bodies out the lock into space. He freed his own body and hid it in Zakym bound cargo. Then, as Chagney, he reset course to Zakym since the Cyber and Earl were apparently no longer deliverable to Jalong. They landed on Zakym and off loaded the cargo including Earl’s comatose body. Finally, when Earl’s mind was unable to induce Chagney’s body to death by overdrinking (he felt no sympathy– Chagney and the others had been willing to sell him to the Cyclan) he ejected Chagney’s body with his mind still possessing it into space, experienced death and heard the screaming of Chagney’s suppressed mind.
Earl regained consciousness on Zakym in the house of Lavinia Belamosk, an horse raising aristocrat on the surface of the planet. Zakym circled a double star. When the stars were close together, the inhabitants saw ghosts of those they had known in life (this was called delusia). The inhabitants couldn’t mine deeply or go out at night because they shared the planet by treaty with the
Sungari, a mysterious race that would kill them if they breached the treaty. Lavinia was sought as a wife by brutal, ambitious Lord Gydapen Prabang who sought to unify Zakym under his own rule. The Council of aristocrats leaned toward acquiescence. Lavinia had all but given in unwillingly before Earl arrived.
Earl promised service. He reconnoitered Gydapen’s lands with Lavinia in a raft and discovered that Gydapen had a mercenary, Gnais, training his retainers with automatic weapons (some of which had been imported on the Sleethan and reported by Earl to Lavinia). Earl almost managed to load most of the weapons on his raft before they were discovered by Gnais and Gydapen. After an argument in which Lavinia accused Gydapen of planning to break the pact with the Sungari, they were allowed to return but Earl flew the raft low suspecting sabotage. The raft crashed and Earl and Lavinia were stranded. Earl fashioned a tent. During the night, Earl stepped out and was attacked by Sungari from the air. He killed one and found a large insect like creature. Back in the tent he and Lavinia became lovers.
In the morning Earl went out from the tent. Gnais came to check that they were dead. Earl killed him as he tried to force Lavinia from the tent. Returning to Lavinia’s castle, he and Roland, Lavinia’s cousin, unrequited paramour and ally, planned a second expedition to seize the guns before Gydapeng realized that they were alive. On that expedition, Earl seized the guns but Gydapeng again seized Lavinia and Roland. Earl pretended to betray them and gave Roland a superficial wound pretending to kill him. Then with Gydapeng fooled and distracted he killed Gydapen ending the war.
The Council voted Earl Gydapeng’s lands and title and Earl effectively became Lavinia’s husband, causing him to stop his search for Earth. Earl, during delusia saw repeatedly Kalin, Derai, Lallia, Armand and, much to his discomfiture, Chagney.