User:DoctorWho42/The Sixth Palace

"The Sixth Palace" is a short story by American author Robert Silverberg. It was first published in the February 1965 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction.

Publication history
"The Sixth Palace" was first published in the February 1965 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction. It reappeared in The Best of Robert Silverberg, vol. 1 (1976), The Cube Root of Uncertainty (1970), Deep Space (1973), and Needle in a Timestack (1966).

Plot summary
The Lesser Hekhaloth recounts when Ben Azai approached the sixth palace. Azai had asked for water but was killed and pelted with iron bars. White bones lie before the treasure and its robot guardian. It is on a moon-sized world in the Valzar system. A wayfarer had left a treasure but never returned. Many have sought the treasure. On another world in the Valzar system, Lipescu and Bolzano prepare. Lipescu tells Bolzano they will go tomorrow. Bolzano asks him about the computer. The computer is programmed with everything. They make a toast with black ale to treasure and long life. Lipescu would go first. If he was unsuccessful, Bolzano would make an attempt. He spends an uneasy night at his apartment. He watches the Octave Merlin tape at dawn. It recounts an attempt a hundred years ago. The robot is black, blocky, and ten feet tall. The treasure was plundered from a thousand worlds and takes up fifty square yards. They leave the ship in orbit. Lipescu wears a spacesuit with a computer on its chest. It would aid with answering. Bolzano watches from the ship. Lipescu approaches the robot. The robot guardian advises him not to steal. Lipescu demands to be tested. It might ask him riddles next. Any wrong answer meant death. Previously, Bolzano and Lipescu plundered the libraries of the world. It took months to compile it into the computer. The robot guardian begins questioning him. He replies correctly. Bolzano wonders how they'll divide the treasure. He counts seventeen correct answers. It asks Lipescu about the Pythagorean theorem. Lipescu answers correctly but the robot strikes him dead. Bolzano wonders what went wrong. He thinks maybe the robot lost patience. Bolzano guides the ship to the broad barren plain. Usually people died when they gave wrong answers. Lipescu gave no wrong answers. Bolzano approaches the gate and its guardian. He decides on cleverness. The robot asks for truth and understanding. He gives it vague random answers. The robot hums and moves six feet to its left. It beckons him to enter. Bolzano is surprised. He staggers forward towards the treasure. He realises it would take many trips to collect everything. He decides to take a dozen items before returning to the ship. As he walks past the robot, it asks why he has taken the items. He tells it because of their beauty. It strikes him dead.

Reception
In 1971, SF Commentary's Barry Gillam opined "an ordinary tale but for its calculating compulsions." In 1972, Vector's John Bowles noted Silverberg "since about 1963, however, he's been developing into quite a different writer. Early signs can be seen in "The Sixth Palace", "Neighbor" and "The Shadow of Wings": not outstanding stories but solid enough."