"Here are your instructions," Kayle was saying. "Open the vault1 door. Come out—stripped—and go to the center of the parking lot. Stand there with your hands over your head. A single helicopter manned by a volunteer will approach and drop a gas canister. It won't be lethal2, I promise you that. Once you're unconscious, I'll personally see to it that you're transported to the Institute in safety. Every effort will then be made to overcome the Gool conditioning. If we're successful, you'll be awakened3. If not...."
He let the sentence hang. It didn't need to be finished. I understood what he meant.
I was listening. I was still not too worried. Here I was safe against anything until the food ran out—and that wouldn't be for months.
"You're bluffing5, Kayle," I said. "You're trying to put the best face on something that you can't control. If you'd—"
"You were careless at Delta6 Labs, Granthan. There were too many people with odd blanks in their memories and too many unusual occurrences, all on the same day. You tipped your hand. Once we knew what we were up against, it was simply a matter of following you at an adequate distance. We have certain shielding materials, as you know. We tried them all. There's a new one that's quite effective.
"But as I was saying, we've kept you under constant surveillance. When we saw which way you were heading, we just stayed out of sight and let you trap yourself."
"You're lying. Why would you want me here?"
"That's very simple," Kayle said harshly. "It's the finest trap ever built by man—and you're safely in it."
"Safely is right. I have everything I need here. And that brings me to my reason for being here—in case you're curious. I'm going to build a matter transmitter. And to prove my good faith, I'll transmit the Master Tape to you. I'll show you that I could have stolen the damned thing if I'd wanted to."
"Indeed? Tell me, Granthan, do you really think we'd be fools enough to leave the Master Tape behind when we evacuated7 the area?"
"I don't know about that—but it's here."
"Sorry," Kayle said. "You're deluding8 yourself." His voice was suddenly softer, some of the triumph gone from it. "Don't bother struggling, Granthan. The finest brains in the country have combined to place you where you are. You haven't a chance, except to do as I say. Make it easy on yourself. I have no wish to extend your ordeal9."
"You can't touch me, Kayle. This vault is proof against a hell-bomb, and it's stocked for a siege...."
"That's right," Kayle said. His voice sounded tired. "It's proof against a hell-bomb. But what if the hell-bomb's in the vault with you?"
I felt like a demolition10 man, working to defuse a block-buster, who's suddenly heard a loud click! from the detonator. I dropped the phone, stared around the room. I saw nothing that could be a bomb. I ran to the next room, the one beyond. Nothing. I went back to the phone, grabbed it up.
"You ought to know better than to bluff4 now, Kayle!" I yelled. "I wouldn't leave this spot now for half a dozen hypothetical hell-bombs!"
"In the center room," Kayle said. "Lift the cover over the floor drain. You'll find it there. You know what they look like. Don't tamper11 with its mechanism12; it's internally trapped. You'll have to take my word for it we didn't bother installing a dummy13."
I dropped the phone, hurried to the spot Kayle had described. The bomb casing was there—a dull gray ovoid, with a lifting eye set in the top. It didn't look dangerous. It just lay quietly, waiting....
Back at the telephone, I had trouble finding my voice. "How long?" I croaked14.
"It was triggered when you entered the vault," Kayle said. "There's a time mechanism. It's irreversible; you can't force anyone to cancel it. And it's no use your hiding in the outer passages.
"The whole center will be destroyed in the blast. Even it can't stand against a bomb buried in its heart. But we'll gladly sacrifice the center to eliminate you."
"How long!"
"I suggest you come out quickly, so that a crew can enter the vault to disarm15 the bomb."
"How long!"
"When you're ready to emerge, call me." The line went dead.
I put the phone back in its cradle carefully, like a rare and valuable egg.
I tried to think. I'd been charging full speed ahead ever since I had decided16 on my scheme of action while I was still riding the surf off the Florida coast, and I'd stuck to it. Now it had hatched in my face—and the thing that had crawled out wasn't the downy little chick of success. It had teeth and claws and was eyeing me like a basilisk....
But I still had unplayed aces—if there was time.
I had meant to use the matter transmitter to stage a dramatic proof that I wasn't the tool of the enemy. The demonstration17 would be more dramatic than I'd planned. The bomb would fit the machine as easily as the tape. The wheels would be surprised when their firecracker went off—right on schedule—in the middle of the Mojave Desert.
I set to work, my heart pounding. If I could bring this off—if I had time—if the transmitter worked as advertised....
The stolen knowledge flowed smoothly18, effortlessly. It was as though I had been assembling matter transmitters for years, knew every step by heart. First the moebius windings19; yard after yard of heavy copper20 around a core of carbon; then the power supply, the first and second stage amplimitters....
How long? In the sump in the next room, the bomb lay quietly ticking. How long...?
The main assembly was ready now. I laid out cables, tying my apparatus21 in to the atomic power-source buried under the vault. The demand, for one short instant, would tax even those mighty22 engines. I fixed23 hooks at the proper points in the room, wove soft aluminum24 wire in the correct pattern. I was almost finished now. How long? I made the last connections, cleared away the litter. The matter transmitter stood on the table, complete. At any instant, the bomb would reduce it—and the secret of its construction—to incandescent25 gas—unless I transmitted the bomb out of range first. I turned toward the laundry room—and the telephone rang.
I hesitated, then crossed the room and snatched it up.
"Listen to me," Kayle said grimly. "Give me straight, fast answers. You said the Master Tape was there, in the vault with you. Now tell me: What does it look like?"
"What?"
"The ... ah ... dummy tape. What is its appearance?"
"It's a roughly square plastic container, bright yellow, about a foot thick. What about it?"
Kayle's voice sounded strained. "I've made inquiries26. No one here seems to know the exact present location of the Master Tape. Each department says that they were under the impression that another handled the matter. I'm unable to learn who, precisely27, removed the Tape from the vault. Now you say there is a yellow plastic container—"
"I know what the Master Tape looks like," I said. "This is either it or a hell of a good copy."
"Granthan," Kayle said. There was a note of desperation in his voice now. "There have been some blunders made. I knew you were under the influence of the Gool. It didn't occur to me that I might be too. Why did I make it possible for you to successfully penetrate28 to the Central Vault? There were a hundred simpler ways in which I could have dealt with the problem. We're in trouble, Granthan, serious trouble. The tape you have there is genuine. We've all played into the enemy's hands."
"You're wasting valuable time, Kayle," I snapped. "When does the bomb go up?"
"Granthan, there's little time left. Bring the Master Tape and leave the vault—"
"No dice29, Kayle. I'm staying until I finish the transmitter, then—"
"Granthan! If there's anything to your mad idea of such a machine, destroy it! Quickly! Don't you see the Gool would only have given you the secret in order to enable you to steal the tape!"
I cut him off. In the sudden silence, I heard a distant sound—or had I sensed a thought? I strained outward....
"... volunteered ... damn fool ... thing on my head is heavy ... better work....
"... now ... okay ... valve, gas ... kills in a split second ... then get out...."
I stabbed out, pushed through the obscuring veil of masonry30, sensed a man in the computer room, dressed in gray coveralls, a grotesque31 shield over his head and shoulders. He reached for a red-painted valve—
I struck at his mind, felt him stagger back, fall. I fumbled32 in his brain, stimulated33 the sleep center. He sank deep into unconsciousness. I leaned against the table, weak with the reaction. Kayle had almost tricked me that time.
I reached out again, swept the area with desperate urgency. Far away, I sensed the hazy34 clutter35 of many minds, out of range. There was nothing more. The poisonous gas had been the only threat—except the bomb itself. But I had to move fast, before my time ran out, to transmit the bomb to a desert area....
I paused, stood frozen in mid-move. A desert. What desert?
The transmitter operated in accordance with as rigid36 a set of laws as did the planets swinging in their orbits; strange laws, but laws of nature none the less. No receiver was required. The destination of the mass under transmission was determined37 by the operator, holding in his mind the five-dimensional conceptualization of the target, guiding the action of the machine.
And I had no target.
I could no more direct the bomb to a desert without a five-fold grasp of its multi-ordinal spatial38, temporal, and entropic co-ordinates than I could fire a rifle at a target in the dark.
I was like a man with a grenade in his hand, pin pulled—and locked in a cell.
I swept the exocosm again, desperately39. And caught a thin, live line. I traced it; it cut through the mountain, dived deep underground, crossed the boundless40 plain....
Never branching, it bored on, turning upward now—and ending.
I rested, gathering41 strength, then probed, straining....
There was a room, men. I recognized Kayle, gray-faced, haggard. A tall man in braided blue stood near him. Others stood silently by, tension on every face. Maps covered the wall behind them.
I was looking into the War Room at the Pentagon in Washington. The line I had traced was the telephonic hot-line, the top-security link between the Record Center and the command level. It was a heavy cable, well protected and always open. It would free me from the trap. With Gool-tutored skill I scanned the room, memorized its co-ordinates. Then I withdrew.
Like a swimmer coming up from a long dive, I fought my way back to the level of immediate42 awareness43. I sagged44 into a chair, blinking at the drab walls, the complexity45 of the transmitter. I must move fast now, place the bomb in the transmitter's field, direct it at the target. With an effort I got to my feet, went to the sump, lifted the cover. I grasped the lifting eye, strained—and the bomb came up, out onto the floor. I dragged it to the transmitter....
And only then realized what I'd been about to do.
My target.
The War Room—the nerve-center of Earth's defenses. And I had been ready to dump the hell bomb there. In my frenzy46 to be rid of it I would have played into the hands of the Gool.
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1
vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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lethal
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| adj.致死的；毁灭性的 | |
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3
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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4
bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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5
bluffing
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| n. 威吓，唬人 动词bluff的现在分词形式 | |
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6
delta
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| n.（流的）角洲 | |
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evacuated
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| 撤退者的 | |
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8
deluding
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| v.欺骗，哄骗( delude的现在分词 ) | |
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9
ordeal
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| n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验 | |
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demolition
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| n.破坏,毁坏,毁坏之遗迹 | |
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tamper
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| v.干预，玩弄，贿赂，窜改，削弱，损害 | |
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mechanism
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| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
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dummy
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| n.假的东西；(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头 | |
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14
croaked
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| v.呱呱地叫( croak的过去式和过去分词 )；用粗的声音说 | |
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15
disarm
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| v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和 | |
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16
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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demonstration
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| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
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smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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windings
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| （道路、河流等）蜿蜒的，弯曲的( winding的名词复数 )； 缠绕( wind的现在分词 )； 卷绕； 转动（把手） | |
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copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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apparatus
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| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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24
aluminum
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| n.(aluminium)铝 | |
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incandescent
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| adj.遇热发光的， 白炽的，感情强烈的 | |
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26
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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dice
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| n.骰子；vt.把（食物）切成小方块，冒险 | |
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masonry
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| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
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31
grotesque
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| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
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32
fumbled
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| （笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下 | |
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stimulated
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| a.刺激的 | |
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hazy
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| adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的 | |
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clutter
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| n.零乱，杂乱；vt.弄乱，把…弄得杂乱 | |
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rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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38
spatial
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| adj.空间的，占据空间的 | |
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39
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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40
boundless
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| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
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41
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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42
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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43
awareness
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| n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智 | |
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44
sagged
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| 下垂的 | |
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45
complexity
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| n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物 | |
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46
frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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