Tales of the Wold Newton Universe by Philip José Farmer Page A
Authors: Philip José Farmer
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Hamburg meet just above the city of Luneburg. A burg is a castle, but the Lune doesn’t mean anything in German in this context. It is, however, similar to the English lunar , hence the moon. And the yellow brick road goes south from there.
“I must confess that I am now at a loss. So, we get in a car and travel to Luneburg and south of it while I study the map and the painting.”
“We can’t take the painting with us; it’s too big!” Strasse said.
“I have it all in here,” Ralph said, tapping his head with his paw. “But I suggest we take a color Polaroid shot of the painting for you who have weak memories,” and he grinned at Strasse.
6
FOLLOW THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD
Strasse did not like it, but he could not proceed without Ralph, and Ralph insisted that Mrs. Scarletin and I be brought along. First, he sent two men to watch Hilda Speck and to make sure she did not try to leave town—as the Americans say. He had no evidence to arrest her as yet, nor did he really think—I believe—that he was going to have any.
The dog, Lisa, and I got into the rear of a large police limousine, steam-driven, of course. Strasse sat in the front with the driver. Another car, which kept in radio contact with us, was to follow us at a distance of a kilometer.
An hour later, we were just north of Luneburg. A half-hour later, still going south, we were just north of the town of Uelzen. It was still daylight, and so I could easily see the photo of the painting which I held. The yellow road on it ran south of the moon rising behind the castle (Luneburg) and extended a little south of a group of three strange figures. These were a hornless sheep (probably a female), a section of an overhead railway, and an archer with a medieval Japanese coiffure and medieval clothes.
Below this group the road split. One road wound toward the walls in the upper and lower parts of the picture and eventually went through them. The other curved almost due south to the left and then went through or by some more puzzling figures.
The first was a representation of a man (he looked like the risen Jesus) coming from a tomb set in the middle of some trees. To its right and a little lower was a waistcoat. Next was what looked like William Penn, the Quaker. Following it was a man in a leopard loincloth with two large apes at his heels.
Next was a man dressed in clothes such as the ancient Mesopotamian people wore. He was down on all fours, his head bent close to the grass. Beside him was a banana tree.
Across the road was a large hot-air balloon with a baldheaded man in the wicker basket. On the side of the bag in large letters were: O.Z.
Across the road from it were what looked like two large Vikings wading through a sea. Behind them was the outline of a fleet of dragon-prowed longships and the silhouette of a horde of horn-helmeted bearded men. The two leaders were approaching a body of naked warriors, colored blue, standing in horse-drawn chariots.
South of these was a woman dressed in mid-Victorian clothes, hoopskirts and all, and behind her a mansion typical of the pre-Civil War American south. By it was a tavern, if the drunks lying outside it and the board hanging over the doorway meant anything. The sign was too small to contain even letters written under a magnifying glass.
A little to the left, the road terminated in a pair of hands tearing a package from another pair of hands.
Just before we got to Uelzen, Strasse said, “How do you know that we’re on the right road?”
“Consider the sheep, the raised section of railway, and the Japanese archer,” Ralph said. “In English, U is pronounced exactly like the word for the female sheep— ewe . An elevated railway is colloquially an el . The Japanese archer could be a Samurai, but I do not think so. He is a Zen archer. Thus, U, el, and zen or the German city of Uelzen.”
“All of this seems so easy, so apparent, now that you’ve pointed it out,” I said.
“Hindsight has
“I must confess that I am now at a loss. So, we get in a car and travel to Luneburg and south of it while I study the map and the painting.”
“We can’t take the painting with us; it’s too big!” Strasse said.
“I have it all in here,” Ralph said, tapping his head with his paw. “But I suggest we take a color Polaroid shot of the painting for you who have weak memories,” and he grinned at Strasse.
6
FOLLOW THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD
Strasse did not like it, but he could not proceed without Ralph, and Ralph insisted that Mrs. Scarletin and I be brought along. First, he sent two men to watch Hilda Speck and to make sure she did not try to leave town—as the Americans say. He had no evidence to arrest her as yet, nor did he really think—I believe—that he was going to have any.
The dog, Lisa, and I got into the rear of a large police limousine, steam-driven, of course. Strasse sat in the front with the driver. Another car, which kept in radio contact with us, was to follow us at a distance of a kilometer.
An hour later, we were just north of Luneburg. A half-hour later, still going south, we were just north of the town of Uelzen. It was still daylight, and so I could easily see the photo of the painting which I held. The yellow road on it ran south of the moon rising behind the castle (Luneburg) and extended a little south of a group of three strange figures. These were a hornless sheep (probably a female), a section of an overhead railway, and an archer with a medieval Japanese coiffure and medieval clothes.
Below this group the road split. One road wound toward the walls in the upper and lower parts of the picture and eventually went through them. The other curved almost due south to the left and then went through or by some more puzzling figures.
The first was a representation of a man (he looked like the risen Jesus) coming from a tomb set in the middle of some trees. To its right and a little lower was a waistcoat. Next was what looked like William Penn, the Quaker. Following it was a man in a leopard loincloth with two large apes at his heels.
Next was a man dressed in clothes such as the ancient Mesopotamian people wore. He was down on all fours, his head bent close to the grass. Beside him was a banana tree.
Across the road was a large hot-air balloon with a baldheaded man in the wicker basket. On the side of the bag in large letters were: O.Z.
Across the road from it were what looked like two large Vikings wading through a sea. Behind them was the outline of a fleet of dragon-prowed longships and the silhouette of a horde of horn-helmeted bearded men. The two leaders were approaching a body of naked warriors, colored blue, standing in horse-drawn chariots.
South of these was a woman dressed in mid-Victorian clothes, hoopskirts and all, and behind her a mansion typical of the pre-Civil War American south. By it was a tavern, if the drunks lying outside it and the board hanging over the doorway meant anything. The sign was too small to contain even letters written under a magnifying glass.
A little to the left, the road terminated in a pair of hands tearing a package from another pair of hands.
Just before we got to Uelzen, Strasse said, “How do you know that we’re on the right road?”
“Consider the sheep, the raised section of railway, and the Japanese archer,” Ralph said. “In English, U is pronounced exactly like the word for the female sheep— ewe . An elevated railway is colloquially an el . The Japanese archer could be a Samurai, but I do not think so. He is a Zen archer. Thus, U, el, and zen or the German city of Uelzen.”
“All of this seems so easy, so apparent, now that you’ve pointed it out,” I said.
“Hindsight has
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