it *ow"fcTtV civilization in all human history had ever before seen such man-made immensity A dozen ancient cities could be hidden m its walls!" She passed oval doors with winking lights, recognizing them for ixian handiwork pneumatic transport orifices As she got nearer to the Grand Reception Hall, the passages grew larger by subtle stages-tricks of arching, graduated amplifi cation of pillared supports, displacement of the triangular windows by larger, oblong shapes Finally, m the far wall of a tall antechamber loomed the double doors of the Hall. "The doorway stood at least eighty meters hjgh, half that in width " The doors swung inward, operated by Ixian machinery, immense and silent The interior of the Hall itself could have boused the entire citadel of any ruler in human history Mohiatti was impressed by the architectural subtleties of the Hall's construction even more than by its immensity "The open sweep of the room said much about hidden structural forces balanced with nicety Trusses and supporting beams behind these walls and the faraway domed ceiling must surpass anything ever before attempted Everything spoke of engineering genius" In spite of the huge scale of the Hall, its focus-the throne of the Emperor and the Emperor Paul himself-was not dwarfed Paul's green throne had been cut from a single Hagar emerald the most precious pos session of a subject planet Paul conducted Mohiam into a private chamber beyond a passage behind the throne This was a twenty meter cube lit by yellow glowglobes, with the deep orange hangings of a desert stilltent on the walls Paul liked to think of his fortress, that awesome pile of plasteel, as his "sietch above the sand " Through the gnllwork which vented it, ARRAKEEN PALACE ARRAKEEN PALACE Paul's sleeping chamber looked over a deep abyss to the gentle arc of a footbridge constructed of crystal-stabilized gold and platinum, decorated by fire jewels from far Ccdon The bridge led to the galleries of the inner city across a pool and fountain filled with waterflowers with blood-red petals In another direction he could see the lower buildings of the government warren Within Paul s view also were coloss&I structures showing every extravagance of architecture a demented history could produce and a rapacious hand could seize terraces like mesas, squares as large as cities parks, premises, bits of cultured wilderness, a postern from most ancient Baghdad, a dome dreamed in mythical Damascus, an arch from the low gravity of Atar, all creating an eff