"Mars, so you name it, and think that you know it." "The Red Planet." "No air, no life." "But you do not know Mars, for its true name is Barsoom." "And it is not airless, nor is it dead, but it is dying." "The city of Zodanga saw to that." "Zodanga, the predator city, moving, devouring, draining Barsoom of energy and life." "Only the great city of Helium dared resist, stood strong, matched Zodanga airship for airship, holding fast for a thousand years." "Until one day the ruler of Zodanga became cornered in a sandstorm." "And everything changed." "I need clean lights!" "Full loft, aye!" "Full loft!" "Intensity full!" " Hard turn!" "Come about!" " Facing new plot!" "No time!" "Hard turn now!" "There!" " Shadow!" " Shadow!" "Death to Helium!" "Being a fool is a great luxury, Sab Than." "Get up." "Who..." "What are you?" "We serve the Goddess." "And she has chosen you to receive this weapon." "Do as we command and you will rule all of Barsoom." "With none to defy you." "And nothing to stand in your way." "New York City, 1881" "Ma'am." "Ten words a minimum." "That's 50 cents, unless you want special delivery." "Special delivery it is." "Name of sender?" "Carter." "John Carter." "Croton-on-Hudson!" "Mr. Burroughs?" "I'm Thompson, Captain Carter's butler." "Sir, I'm afraid I bring sad tidings." "Mr. Burroughs, Noah Dalton, your uncle's attorney." "My deepest sympathies." "His death came as a shock to all of us." "He was a model of health and vigor." "He just dropped dead in his study not five minutes after sending word for me and the doctor." "When I arrived he was already gone." "The man never stopped digging." "All over the world." "No soon he started digging one hole than he was off to Java or the Orkney Islands to dig another." "He said it was pure research, but it always seemed to me like he was looking for something." "Oh, and God grant me he's found it now." "Every inch a cavalry man, to the very end." "Mother always said that Jack never really came back from the war." "That it was only his body that went west." "He used to tell me the most wondrous stories." "I'd like to pay my respects." "You won't find a keyhole." "Thing only opens from the inside." "He insisted." "No embalming, an open coffin, no funeral." "You don't acquire the kind of wealth your uncle commanded by being like the rest of us." "Come." "Let's go inside." ""And lastly, I hereby direct" ""that my estate shall be held in trust for 25 years," ""the income to benefit my beloved nephew," ""Edgar Rice Burroughs,"" ""at the end of which term the principal will revert to him."" ""In full."" "Of course I always adored him, but it's been so long." "Why me?" "He never offered an explanation, I never asked him for one." "It was his private journal." "He was most explicit that you, and only you, would read its contents." "Now, you might possibly find some kind of explanation in here." "I'll leave you now." "Again, my condolences." "My dear Edgar," "I remember how I used to take you on my knee and tell you wild tales, which you always did me the great courtesy of believing." "Now you are grown." "Time and space have parted us, but I reach out across that distance to that same wide-eyed boy and ask him to believe me once more." "This wild tale begins 13 years ago in the Arizona Territory between the Pinaleño Mountains and the backside of hell." "Fort Grant Outpost, 1868" "Ah." "Coming to load up on spider bait." "No more, Carter." "Is there a problem, Mr. Dix?" " Yes, you're a goddamn loon!" "I done took all your money, Carter." "Your tab's $100 in arrears." "I'll pay." "This old Yavapai I met said he'd seen a cave..." "No." "Stop!" "Not one more word about your cave of gold." "Oh, now, now." "Show some respect!" "It's the evil spider cave of gold." "You're cut off, Carter." "Now get on home." "Now, I do believe he done told you to get on out of here." "I'll leave when these bags are full." "I found that two days ago up by Bonita." "That ought to cover my tab and then some." "Beans." "The first item is beans." "John Carter?" "Your presence is requested up at the fort." "I suggest you come peaceably." "Do you, now?" "You are a difficult man to find, Captain John Carter." "First Virginia Cavalry," "Army of Northern Virginia," "Confederate States of America." "I'm Colonel Powell." "Welcome to the 7th Cavalry of the United States..." "Excellent horseman." "Fine swordsman." "Decorated six times, including the Southern Cross of Honor." "At Five Forks, the company under your command nearly turned the tide." "In short, a born fighter." "And in the eyes of Uncle Sam, a necessary man for the defense of the Arizona Territory." "No." "Son, we are up to our chinstraps in Apaches." "Ain't my concern." "I believe it is your concern, Captain." "Folks are being attacked in their own homes." "Slain." "You started it." "You finish it." "You've gone native, have you?" "Apaches can go to hell, too." "We're nothing but a warring species, and I want no part of it." "You're a cavalry man." "That makes you valuable to our country and our cause." "Colonel Powell, sir, whatever it is you suppose I owe you, our country or any other beloved cause," "I have already paid." "I have paid in full, sir." "So let me tell you what I will do." "I will break me out of this cell." "I will claim my gold and get filthy rich." "Rich enough to buy your flat, righteous blue behind just so I can kick it all day long." "Captain, I'm finding it difficult to reconcile the man on this piece of paper with the one I'm looking at." "I suggest you find the horse sense to accept my offer before I give in to my better judgment." "Private, the man stays in the bull pit till further notice." "Yes, sir!" "John?" "John?" "Sleepy-head." "Supper's waiting for you." "Hey, hey, hey!" "Hey!" "I gave you a bucket." "I ain't going to tell you again." "Use the..." " Colonel Powell!" " Argh!" "Colonel Powell!" "Sir, he stole your horse." "No." "Son of a..." "Carter!" "That's Domingo's band!" "Shut your damn mouth, Corporal." "What's he saying, Carter?" "The hell's he saying now?" "What the hell's he saying, Carter?" " He's saying..." "Carter!" "Agh!" "I thought you didn't care!" "I don't!" "Get up!" "Come on." "Give me a gun." "Give me a gun!" "I've got to look." "Cover me." "The spider." "This place sure ain't Apache." "It sure ain't." "Gold." "Carter!" "Right behind you!" "Carter!" "Ock ohem ocktei wies" "Barsoom." " What?" " Barsoom." "Barsoom?" "Oh, gee!" "What the..." "No, no, no!" "Wha..." "Where the hell am I?" "What the... hell are you?" "Don't shoot him!" "Don't shoot!" "Don't shoot him!" "We should kill it, Jeddak." "Move away." "Hello." "Don't run." "Don't run away." "Hello." "Don't run." "Alright." "All right." "You've got me." "I surrender." "Jeddak." " Jeddak?" " Jeddak." "Tars Tarkas." "Tars Tarkas?" "Captain John Carter, Virginia." "Vorginia." "Vorginia!" "No." "My name is John Carter." "I'm from Virginia." "Virginia." "Jump." "Jump like you jumped before." "Sack..." "Jump, yeah?" "Jump." "Sack." "Jump." "Sack." "Jump!" "Yes, sir." "Virginia." "Virginia." "Don't!" "Don't shoot him!" "Don't shoot him!" "Don't shoot him!" "What is this place?" "Where am I?" "It's alright, Virginia." "Be still." "Where's my damn gold?" "Eighteen have yet to hatch, Jeddak." "Then they are weak and not Thark." "Leave nothing for the white apes." "Where on Earth am I?" "Barsoom, a world on the brink." "For Zodanga's new power threatens to destroy our city of Helium." "And if Helium falls, so does Barsoom." "Rubbish." "Goddess, help me, I'm hopeless." "I always come on too strong." "Your Highness." "My Jeddak." "After years of tireless research, I present to you the answer." "I hope." "My Jeddak, after years of..." "I'm sorry, Princess." "The presentation will have to wait." " Father, what's happened?" " Dejah!" "I know the terms set by Sab Than." "What I want to know is can we afford to reject them?" "Admiral Kantos Kan." "The eastern border is a wasteland." "Sab Than has burned through our defenses, and the border folk will be massacred." "Our best troops and fleetest ships are proven less than useless and now comes word that our last remaining squadron has been lost." "Helium is lost." "My people." "I have failed them all." "No, my Jeddak, you haven't!" "Forgive me, my lady, but you have not seen this weapon." "It radiates the most intense, baleful blue light." "When I read our reports on Sab Than's weapon, I knew." "Somehow that idiotic brute had discovered it first." "Discovered what?" "The Ninth Ray." "Unlimited power." "Sab Than only uses it for slaughter." "But think of what Helium might accomplish with such power." "Transform the deserts, restore the seas." "Is this what you saw, Kantos?" "It's starting to look very close." "Give it time." "It will work." "Everyone, leave us." "Dejah, ever since you were a little girl, you've always met the expectations placed on you." "It's Sab's terms." "What are they?" "He will spare Helium if you accept his hand in marriage." "No!" "He is a monster!" "You must refuse him!" "He's already on his way here." "But all of my work..." "I just need a little more time." " Dejah!" " How can you..." "You can't just bow down to Zodanga!" "A wedding will save the city." "Perhaps, but it could lose you Barsoom." "Dejah!" "With no one to stop Zodanga, it will be the beginning of the end!" " We do not have the luxury..." " You are the Jeddak of Helium!" "You must find another way!" "There is no other way!" "If there were, I would risk anything to seize it." "This is the chance we have been given." "Perhaps it is the will of the Goddess." "No." "It is your will." "So, when I was little, and we would look up at the stars and you would tell me of the heroes whose glory was written in the sky," "how there was a star up there for me," "is this what you imagined would be written on it?" "My Jeddak." "Sab Than's corsair approaches the city." "They signal for permission to land." "Granted." "And let us prepare ourselves for a wedding." "I have destroyed the device, Matai Shang." "She was on the verge of discovery." "All is in place." "They will consent to the wedding." "Keep close watch over her." "We don't want anything to interfere with our next move." "Sarkoja!" "Let Sola have a hatchling." "Sola can take the little white worm." "Be still." "Let go!" "Be still!" "What happened to you?" "Be still." "Now we kill it." "Step away, Tal Hajus." "You prize this more highly than my judgment?" "Step... away." "I claim the right of challenge!" "And who supports your challenge?" "Who will pledge their metal to mine?" "You are blind as a white ape, Tal Hajus." "You will not rule today." "Not today." "See the prize your Jeddak has found!" "Ls it... a baby white ape?" "No!" "It is a rare and valuable animal!" "It is called... it is called..." "Virginia!" "Virginia!" "Watch." "Everyone, step back." "Show them, Virginia." "Jump." "Jump!" "By lssus, you will jump tomorrow, Virginia." "Sola, chain him." "Tell Sarkoja to initiate him with the other hatchlings." "Wait, wait, wait!" "I know." "I know..." "Drink..." "Good..." "What's in that stuff?" "The voice of Barsoom." "You can hear it if you choose." "Easy." "Nice monster dog." "How the hell did you..." "Quit it!" "Stop it!" "You killed him with one blow." "I..." "Wait." "I understood you." "What have you done?" "Get off!" "Get off him!" "How did this happen?" "Who is to blame?" "Woola." "Do that again and I..." "Enough!" "There is no room for another mark, Sola." "Your next offense will be your last." "You will jump, Virginia." "Now." "Jeddak!" "Fliers!" "You are the stones, the sand!" "Sir, they continue to ignore our signals." "Enough!" "I've been patient." "I'll not be mocked." "Let them die!" "If that's how you plan to treat your future bride, it's no wonder she ran from you." "Dejah Thoris must live." "In range, sir." "You need only cripple the ship." "A pulse to the radium drive will be sufficient." "Quick, clean, and precise." "Jeddak, shall we destroy her?" "No." "We need only cripple her." "Now bring us around." "Zodanga." " Helium." " Helium." "Helium." "Zodanga." "They are the red flag, Helium the blue." "Zodanga's winning the war, but I say let red men kill red men until only Tharks remain." "That don't look like a fair fight." "Zodanga never fights fair." "Where is she?" "My Jeddak, that's all of them." "She can't have just vanished into thin air." " Check the dead." " We have, sire." "Then check them again." "To the bridge, now!" "Look out!" "She's a human!" "Sola!" "Who is that?" "I bet Virginia." "Beg your pardon, ma'am." "If you'll kindly just stand behind me." "This might get dangerous." "Or maybe I ought to get behind you." "You let me know when it gets dangerous." "No." "Take him alive." "What's the point of having this thing if I don't get to use it?" "Leave him!" "What are you?" "You aren't red man nor quite white ape!" "No matter." "You can still bleed like..." "Tharks!" "Fire!" "I surrender." "You may take me captive." "Prepare to turn about!" "Did I not tell you he could jump?" "Oh, my God." "Let go!" "Bad dog!" "You are ugly, but you are beautiful." "And you fight like a Thark." "You lost your wager." "You must pay." "Jeddak of the Tharks." "I am Dejah Thoris, regent of the Royal Helium Academy of Science." " My research vessel..." " Your share of the spoils." "Sola!" "Tend to Virginia's property." "Yes, my Jeddak!" "You know once Sab Than has conquered us, he will turn his weapon upon you!" "I know that Zodanga has found a way to defeat you and now you seek a mighty weapon of your own." "But Virginia fights for us!" " He'll fight the Torquas in the south... the Warhoon in the north and he will be called Dotar Sojat," " my right arms!" "No." "I don't fight for anyone." "Virginia, reject this honor and I cannot guarantee the safety of your red girl." "I am" "Dotar Sojat!" "To the plunder!" "War is a shameful thing." "Not when a noble cause is taken up by those who can make a difference." "You made a difference today, Virginia." "Okay." "See, my name is John Carter." "Virginia is where I'm from." "Where did you learn to jump that way?" "I don't know." "How'd you learn to fly?" "Your ships cannot sail on light in Virginia?" "No, Professor." "See, our ships sail the seas." "Endless water everywhere." "Skeletal structure normal." "What are you doing?" "Must be the density of your bones." " Jump for me." " Enough!" "There will be time for playfulness later." "I want no playfulness from him." "I want his help." "Explain to me how you do it." "If it's a skill, teach it to Helium." " Name your price." " I'm not for hire." "I've got a cave of gold of my own." "Somewhere." "Only a madman would rave about the time of oceans." "Is that your expert view?" " I'm mad?" " Or a liar." "She is a good match for you, Dotar Sojat." "Don't call me that." "There are no seas on the planet." "You said "planet."" "Sun, then Rasoom." "Mercury." "Then Cosoom." "Venus." "Then Earth... us." "That is Jasoom." "You are on Barsoom, John Carter." "Mars." "I'm on Mars?" "Good God." "I'm on Mars." "So, now home is Jasoom and you came on one of your sailing ships across millions of karads of empty space?" "No." "Not like that." "Go on, shock me." "How?" "That brought me here." "Oh." "Well, that explains everything, then." " It does?" " Yes." "You're a Thern and you simply wish to return to your rightful place." "Isn't that it?" "Yes." "Then let's sort this out right now." "Come along!" "Where are you going?" "To your temple." "No." "No, you cannot enter here." "It is forbidden!" "You are not Thark!" "Woola, stay!" "Dotar Sojat." "It is forbidden." "It is forbidden!" "Well, you speak for the Goddess." "What does she say?" "You called me a Thern." "Is that what she is?" "No, she is Issus." "Therns are holy messengers of the Goddess." "In the time of oceans, they walked among us, guiding us." "We must not offend." "Let us go." "There's some kind of writing up there." " Can you read it?" " It's old scripture." "There it is again." " What's it mean?" " Don't rush me." ""Those who seek the solace of eternity" ""may journey down the river" ""through the sacred Gates of Iss"" ""and find everlasting peace"" ""in the bosom of Issus."" "The Gates of Iss." "What if I could take you there?" "What if I didn't trust you?" "Then we'd be even." "I can take you to the Gates, to the answers that you seek." "A way back to Jasoom." " Earth." " Earth." "It's the least I could do to repay you for getting us out of here." "Assuming that you can." "Deal." "Go on." "You shake it." "As a sign of trust." "Good enough." "Now all I need to do is get this medallion off Tars Tarkas." "Dotar Sojat?" "Useless she-calot." "I told you." "It is forbidden." "What in the name of Issus is going on?" "Issus has been profaned." "We found this one and the red wench plotting in the temple." "In the temple?" "How did they get..." "Sola led them there." "Sola tried to stop us." "I meant no disrespect to your goddess, Tars." "I'm just trying to get home." "Your right arms were planning to rob you of the medallion and use it to commit greater blasphemy down the River Iss." "They must all die in the arena." "How could you do this?" "I spared your life." "I made you Dotar Sojat yet her life means nothing to you." "You knew..." "You knew she had no room for another mark." "Now Sola will die because of you." "She's your daughter, isn't she?" "Who told you that?" "Call it a father's intuition." "A Thark has no parent but the horde." "But how do you know?" "Her mother kept her egg and Sola's the last flicker of her ancient greatness." "You can't just stand here and let her be killed." "Argh!" "My right arms offend me." "I will cut them off." "No." "You must hurry." "I mean to release you." "I make one condition." "You take Sola with you down the River Iss." "My Jeddak." "I'd rather you died in the arms of the Goddess than as food for wild banths in the arena." "Where you go, she goes." "What's gonna happen to you, Tars?" "Leave a Thark his head and one hand and he may yet conquer." "Is it done, my Jeddak?" "Tars Tarkas betrays us." "Woola!" "You belong to him." "Woola would follow you anywhere on Barsoom." "It's three days' ride." "Follow me." "What happened to this place?" "Zodanga happened." "Sailing on light." "Still playing the madman?" "Or the liar." "Keep moving!" "We'll get there!" "Why pursue this wedding any longer?" "I've already won." "Not yet." "You must aim past the horizon, Sab Than." "To truly demoralize a nation requires a public spectacle on the grandest scale." "Staging this wedding will ensure your rule goes unchallenged." "If you insist." "If you cannot see the wisdom in that, then we will find another who can." "Dotar Sojat." "Carter!" "I do not think she leads us to the Iss." "All right, then, Sola." "Just play along." "What do you think I'd do once I saw your city and not some river?" " What do you mean?" " Cluros and Thuria." "They should be at our backs by now." "You lead us toward Helium!" "Once we reach there, you would see for yourself the virtue of our cause." "Everyone thinks their cause is virtuous..." "Professor." "What are you doing?" "No!" "John Carter!" "You can't!" "I like this plan better." "Just wait." "She'll come around." "You mad fool!" "You're not from Earth!" "There are no Therns!" "I only told you what you wanted to hear so you'd get us out!" "Stop!" "I can't!" "I cannot marry him!" "Can't marry who?" "The Zodangan Jeddak you fought." "Sab Than." "He offered a truce to my father in exchange for my hand." "Your father?" "Tardos Mors." "The Jeddak of Helium." "She is a princess!" "A princess of Mars." "How about that?" "A princess who didn't want to get married, so she ran away." "No." "Is that all there is to the story?" "No, I didn't run away!" " I escaped!" " From what, his breath?" "So marry the guy and save your people." "A life of oppression!" "That's not living!" "If you had the means to save others, would you not take any action possible to make it so?" "No good will come out of me fighting your war." "I would lay down my life for Helium." "Yes, I ran away." "I was afraid, weak." "Maybe I should have married." "But I so feared that it would somehow be the end of Barsoom." "I tell you truly, John Carter of Earth, there are no Gates of Iss." "They are not real." "I'm sorry, Princess." "But this, this is real." "And so is my cave of gold." "Prudence demands you take an escort." "No." "I go alone, General." "But, Jeddak..." "In one sweep, I can put an end to 1,000 years of civil war and bring Helium to its knees forever." "But my general, in his superior wisdom, objects." "Is that right?" "I'm starting to talk like you." "Hekkador, they have reached the lss." "It took them longer than I thought." "If they reach the Gates..." "They can breach the sanctuary." "Her knowledge of the Ninth Ray is already..." "As advanced as it will ever be." "Patience, brothers." "It is under my control." "I'm already there." "The Iss." "Here, pilgrims must leave behind all they have, all they know, never to return." "May the Goddess find me worthy." "Wait!" "What do you think you're doing?" "It is my way, Dotar Sojat, not yours." "I must honor my Jeddak and redeem my unworthiness!" "You want to honor your father?" "Then stay alive and help me." "My father?" "Sola..." "Why would you say that?" "That's what drives your compassion, the blood of your father, Tars Tarkas." "And of all the Tharks, you're the only one worthy of him." "Your duty to your father demands that you see me through." "Just help me find the Gates." "Then you can decide what honor requires." "Just to the Gates, then." "Woola, stay!" "Other pilgrims." "Professor." "Impossible." "I've never seen this kind of structure before." "I want to get a better look." "Carter, your feet." "This is not the work of gods." "These are machines." "Your medallion." "A spider." "Nine." "Nine rays." "Nine." "The Ninth Ray is real." "It can be harnessed." "Do you see?" "This entire structure runs on Ninth Ray isolates." "Mother Issus!" "Such power." "And somehow Zodanga has it." "The Therns." "They must be real." "And you" "are John Carter of Earth?" "Yes, ma'am." "And the ships that sail on the sea." "You've seen them." "That must be a beautiful sight." "It truly is." "It's our solar system." " What's it say?" " I'm not sure." "What do you think it says?" "It appears to be a kind of technical diagram." "Here is Barsoom." "There is Jasoom." "This glyph here, it's like our symbol for a transcription, a copy, sent along these lines here, between the worlds." "Like..." "A telegram." "You're saying I was telegraphed here." "I'm a copy of myself." "Possibly, making these words here the command for travel." "I don't like guessing." "I need more information." "I need charts, codices." "Right." "And where might we find those?" "In the Hall of Science." "And where's that?" "Helium." "Then quick, let's just head on and turn on back to Helium." "What do you take me for?" "I take you for a man who's lost." "I won't be lost if you just tell me how to work this thing!" "I will!" "But everything I need to understand that medallion is in Helium." "I'm trying to get you back to your cave of gold." "Isn't that what you want?" "Yes." "No." "I don't believe you." "We may have been born worlds apart, but I know you, John Carter." "From the moment you caught me in the sky, I knew." "I felt the heart of a man willing to lay down his life for others, a man willing to fight for a cause." "Here." "On Barsoom." "Don't you see, Carter?" "I fled to find another way." "You are the other way." "Dotar Sojat!" "Warhoon!" "Dotar Sojat!" "Pursue them to the Aoolian Plain." "Then overtake them and capture the red woman alive." "The one who jumps?" "Let's see what he's capable of." "Sarah!" " Whoa!" " Dotar Sojat!" " What are you doing?" " Sola, get her out of here." "Carter!" "I was too late once." "I won't be again." "No!" "No!" "No!" "No!" "Woola, go." "Go, damn you!" "Father!" "Thank the Goddess!" "Carter." "Oh, thank Issus." "Who is he?" "His name's John Carter." "He saved my life." "He's from Jasoom." "Jasoom!" "Zodanga's closer." "He'll have my personal physician." "He shot me out of the sky!" "Daughter, listen to me!" "Listen." "Sab has admitted to everything." "He came to me, alone, without an escort." "I could have had him imprisoned." "I could have had him killed." "Yet, it was clear he only cared about your safety." "I feared you'd be tortured by the Tharks and condemned to die in their arena." "I could not live with that on my conscience." "I do have one, Princess." "Really?" "I thought you had it removed along with..." "She does not trust me, Jeddak." "And why should she?" "There's never been trust between Zodanga and Helium." "Therefore, Princess," "I offer you this small but sincere token of my goodwill." "My life." "You hold the power, Princess." "The power of life over me and over all Barsoom." "With our two cities united, anything is possible." "All you have to do is marry me." "Is this Helium?" "No." "Ah, Zodanga, where the men are as limited as the menu and the women are as hard as the beds." "What's your business here?" "He is my business." "The Jasoomian is to be taken to more secure accommodation." "We've received no such orders!" "You're receiving them now!" "Straight from the laughing lips of Sab Than himself." "I hear that you are incredibly dangerous." "Take me hostage." " What?" " Take me hostage." "Are you all right?" "No!" "The white imbecile has taken my sword!" "Guards!" "Carter!" "Run!" "There's a crazy man running amok with a sword!" "Carter, this way!" "Right, your turn." " My turn?" " Yeah." " Who are you?" " My name is Kantos Kan." "I serve Princess Dejah." " Dejah?" " Uh-huh." "And from what she tells me, you can get us over there." "She said I could make that?" "We could always surrender." "Quickly!" "Is that what you do on Jasoom?" "Come on!" "Hello, ladies." "You are expected to bow in my presence, Captain Carter." "Bow." "I suppose that will do." "I fetched him, as you commanded." "Thank you, Kantos." "I wish to speak to Captain Carter alone." "Keep watch outside." "Now, girls." "Off you go!" "You look beautiful." "It's traditional Zodangan, worn by the groom's mother, I'm told." "A little vulgar for my taste, but my opinions are about to become irrelevant." "You can't seriously be considering this." " What other choice do I have?" " Don't marry him." "Give me a reason not to." "Will you stay and fight for Helium?" "Dejah." "We have a saying on Barsoom." "A warrior may change his metal, but not his heart." "You were right." "I could decipher the command." "It's a set of sounds." "A simple phrase." "Repeat after me." "Ock, ohem, ocktei..." "Open the door!" "Say it now." "Ock, ohem, ocktei." "Are you all right, Dejah?" "Ock, ohem," "ocktei." "Wies." " Wies." " Jasoom." "Jasoom." "Say it." " Say it." "Say it!" " Ja..." "Dejah?" "Are you alone?" "Yes." "I am alone." "Well, my Jeddak." "The moons will soon be rising." "Let us not delay the proceedings any further." "Yes." "Yes, of course." "Ssh." "We'll have plenty of time to talk." "Now." "Who are you?" " American." " Who are you, sir?" ""Sir." Definitely the South." "The Carolinas?" "Virginia?" "It's Virginia, isn't it?" " Lovely place." " Do you know it?" "Not as well as I should." "But I will." "Padwar, what's the hold-up?" "Sorry, sir." "The streets are blocked." "It's the wedding procession." "Increased strength and agility." "Simple matter of gravitation and anatomy, one we ought to have foreseen." "We?" "No apparent increase in intelligence." "Still, this will not do at all." "We can't have Earthmen projecting themselves over here, leaping about, causing all manner of disruption." "You're a Thern." "Therns are a myth." "Padwar, we'll go on foot." "Yes, sir." "My name is Matai Shang, and I do not exist." "Indeed, I work very hard at it." "Excuse me, excuse me." "Many pardons, many pardons." "It's a shame, really." "She's a remarkable creature, and she came very close indeed." "You mean the Ninth Ray." "It's of no consequence now." "After tonight's ceremony, when the two moons meet and vows are exchanged, she and anyone else with knowledge of the Ninth Ray will be eliminated." "In effect, cutting the head off the beast." "Quick, clean and precise." "Shame there's no one to warn her." "The balance must be restored." "What gives you the right to interfere?" "What do you care?" "This is not your home." "You have no obligation to these people." "You don't have a dog in this fight." "Is that how you would say it in Virginia?" "Man without a cause." "So what is your cause?" "We have none." "We're not haunted by mortality as you are." "We are eternal." "I don't understand." "The wedding, this little stroll." "Why not just kill me, kill Dejah?" "History will follow the course we have set, Earthman." "And we've chosen Sab Than to rule next." "The Ninth Ray must remain in the hands of mindless brutes we can control." "And the infamy of Dejah Thoris's wedding death will seal his reign." "We've been playing this game since before the birth of this planet." "And we'll continue to do so, long after the death of yours." "We don't cause the destruction of a world, Captain Carter." "We simply manage it, feed off it, if you like." "But on every host planet, it always plays out exactly the same way." "Populations rise, societies divide, wars spread." "And all the while the neglected planet slowly fades." "Prep a two-man flier immediately for prisoner transport." "Yes, sir." "Argh!" "Immortal ain't bulletproof." "I shot one of you back on Earth." "Oh, come on." "I'm trying!" "I'm trying!" "Guards!" "After him!" "Ohh, Woola!" "I told you Woola would follow you anywhere." "He did a lot more than just that." "Wait!" "Wait!" "Where are you going?" "To save Dejah." "And I'll need an army to do it." "Get on." "No!" "Tharks do not fly." "Gayor." "Tars!" "They're going to kill" "Dejah." "Issus truly rewards the just." " I see the dead." " Tars?" "The Virginia I knew traveled the Iss." "What have they done to you?" "Tal challenged." "I lost." "Virginia." "When I saw you leap into the sky," "I wished to believe it was a sign that something new can come into this world, that the greatness of our Thark race might rise again." "But it is too late." " Tars." " No matter." "My daughter is with her mother in Paradise." "There is comfort in that." "Tars, it's Sola." "Actually, she's here with me." "Argh!" "This is how you repay your debt to me?" "I need my sword." "Then it would harvest your thoughtless head from your body!" "Up now!" "We go!" "It is done." "Nonsense." ""Leave a Thark his head and one hand, and he may yet conquer."" "Right?" "Your spirit annoys me." "All this your work?" "Banths." "Weakness." "Sentiment." "Allowing this white worm to contaminate the horde." "These are the crimes of Tars Tarkas." "We are united because we cull our freaks." "We are strong because we despise weakness." "Let them be crushed like unhatched eggs." "Is that a banth?" "No." "It is a white ape." "Run!" "Tars!" "Get up!" "Tars!" "Give me your hand!" "You have four damn hands!" "Give me one!" " Father!" " Father?" "Tars!" "Tars!" "Hey!" "Hey!" "Hey, over here, you blind monkey!" "Release the other one." "Watch your father die like the whimpering calot he is!" "No!" "Let us watch you!" "Sola!" "Are you mad?" "No." "The blood of my father drives me." "Sola!" "Virginia!" "Virginia!" "Virginia!" "Virginia!" "I claim the right of challenge!" "You have no right to challenge!" "You are not Thark!" "He is Thark!" "He is Dotar Sojat!" "Dotar Sojat!" "Dotar Sojat!" "Dotar Sojat!" "Dotar Sojat!" "Who will pledge their metal to mine?" "The Jeddak of Zodanga means to crush Helium this very night." "And if Helium falls, so does Barsoom." "We must throw off the yoke of old hatreds." "Tharks did not cause this." "But, by Issus, Tharks will end it!" "We ride for Zodanga!" "I know that this is not the fate you would have chosen for yourself, or for Helium, but choice is a luxury even for a Jeddak of Barsoom." "Even if, in your heart..." "A heart is a luxury." "Steady." "Remember, she is not the prize." "The prize is Barsoom." "You!" "Why is Zodanga undefended?" "Where is everyone?" "The army has been repositioned outside Helium." "Only a small contingent remains." "Sab and Dejah Thoris." "Where are they?" "They're at the wedding in Helium!" "Helium?" "No!" "I have made my decision." "It's the only way to get there in time." "Tharks do not fly." "So be it." "This is madness, Dotar Sojat." "You'll die!" "Then I'll see you down the River Iss." "Follow the canal!" "Be careful!" "The moonlight will force you to fly low!" "Like our ancestors before us, we gather under the mingled light of Barsoom's first lovers," "Cluros and Thuria." "As the moons are joined in celestial union, so do we unite Sab Than and Dejah Thoris," "Zodanga and Helium." "No!" "You'll raise the alarm." "It's one of ours." "In the time of oceans, the celestial lovers rose from the sea each night to consummate their love in the sky." "Drink now of this holy water and be wed." "So may it be again." "I am yours forever." "And I am yours forever." "Carter!" "It's a trap!" "Zodanga's at your walls!" "Now!" "Do it now!" " No!" " Helium falls!" "Zodanga!" "Dejah!" "Argh!" "If you'll just get behind me, sir." "Carter!" " It was such a nice wedding." " Yeah, that." "Helium's fate is sealed, Earthman." "As is yours." "Thank the Goddess that's over with." "Virginia!" "It is good to fly!" "By Issus, they fight with us!" "Brother!" "Heliumite, huh?" "You're going to tell me everything you know about the Therns." "You spare me and I'll tell you." "A fitting solution for your setback, wouldn't you say, Captain?" "Dejah Thoris survives her assassins but will fail to prove her misguided theory of the Ninth Ray." "Yes." "I'll enjoy playing that out." "Carter!" "Dejah!" "I'm getting away!" "Tars." "The medallion." "Give it to me, my Jeddak." "No!" "I'll explain later." "You have won, my Jeddak." "All is finished." "Not quite." "A Jeddak." "I see you have changed your metal." "And my heart." "Dejah Thoris," "would a princess of Mars ever consider marriage to a wayward Virginia cavalryman" "with nothing to offer?" "Yes," "John Carter." "Yes!" "By the ancient rite of moons and water are you bound together," "husband and wife." "John?" "Homesick for the Thark nursery?" "I'm sorry." "I couldn't sleep." "I had that feeling you get, suddenly, that you left a light burning" "or a door open." "Go back to bed." "I won't be long." "Be back in one xat," "John Carter of Earth." "Come." "John Carter of Earth." "Yup." "John Carter of Mars sounds much better." "Sire, I must express the deepest of gratitude for saving Helium." "Please." "The honor is mine." "Fair enough, Earthman." "Now it's your move." "Ock ohem ocktei wies Jasoom." "No, no." "No." "Powell?" "No!" "Ock ohem ocktei wies Barsoom." "Bars..." "Barsoom." "50 million miles apart and no way to bridge the gap." "No way to return my body and my soul to their true home." "Like a fool, I had thrown away my medallion." "Then I recalled Matai Shang." "His knowledge of Earth, of my history." "It meant Therns were a presence on this world." "The cave in Arizona was proof." "There might be other such proofs, other Thern way stations hidden all around the world." "I knew now what the cave of gold must be used for." "So for ten bitter years, I searched." "On the trail of rumor and legend" "I ferreted out every possible evidence of the Therns, but I found no medallion." "And then it came to me." "I've got it!" "I've found it!" "And once it came, there were many plans" "I had to make in secret." "I could trust no one else." "I had long suspected that the Therns were following my movements." "Sir." "I feel remarkably unwell, Thompson." " Please send for the doctor." " Yes, sir." "And, Thompson..." "My attorney as well." "Of course, sir." "Now you will understand the cause of my sudden death." "The reason for my bizarre funeral instructions." "Why the door can only be opened from the inside." "For if my body dies on Earth, then my copy dies on Mars." "You are the key." "This is the task I entrust to you along with all my fortune." "Protect my body." "The Therns will attempt to destroy it." "In the time it has taken you to read these pages, they may have already done so." "I am the key." "I am the key." "I, Edgar." "Ed..." "Ed..." "E..." "D..." "Ed!" "It should work!" "Dear Ned." "You sneaky devil!" "You never called me Edgar!" "You..." "You called me Ned!" "Hello, Ned." "Toxin." "Derived from the puffer fish." "Simulates death." "You never found the medallion." "No." "That's why I'm so grateful to you for bringing me one." "I..." "I was just bait?" "No." "You're far more than that." "I really do need a protector." "That is, if you're willing." "Goodbye, Ned." "Oh, and, Ned..." "Take up a cause." "Fall in love." "Write a book." "It's time I went home." "Ock ohem ocktei wies..."