The Dueling Machine

by Ben Bova

told thebewildered Watchman. "You have installed a short-range transceiverinto the machine, and this headset is a portable transceiver forDulaq. Now he can sit in his hospital bed and still be 'in' thedueling machine."

  Only the three most trusted members of the hospital staff were takeninto Leoh's confidence, and they were hardly enthusiastic about Leoh'splan.

  "It is a waste of time," said the chief psychophysician, shaking hiswhite-maned head vigorously. "You cannot expect a patient who hasshown no positive response to drugs and therapy to respond to yourmachine."

  Leoh argued, Geri Dulaq coaxed. Finally the doctors agreed. With onlytwo days remaining before Hector's duel with Odal, they began to probeDulaq's mind. Geri remained by her father's bedside while the threedoctors fitted the cumbersome transceiver to Dulaq's head and attachedthe electrodes for the automatic hospital equipment that monitored hisphysical condition. Hector and Leoh remained at the dueling machine,communicating with the hospital by phone.

  Leoh made a final check of the controls and circuitry, then put in thelast call to the tense little group in Dulaq's room. All was ready.

  He walked out to the machine, with Hector beside him. Their footstepsechoed hollowly in the sepulchral chamber. Leoh stopped at the nearerbooth.

  "Now remember," he said, carefully, "I will be holding the emergencycontrol unit in my hand. It will stop the duel the instant I set itoff. However, if something should go wrong, you must be prepared toact quickly. Keep a close watch on my physical condition; I've shownyou which instruments to check on the control board--"

  "Yes sir."

  Leoh nodded and took a deep breath. "Very well then."

  He stepped into the booth and sat down. The emergency control unitrested on a shelf at his side; he took it in his hands. He leaned backand waited for the semi-hypnotic effect to take hold. Dulaq's choiceof this very city and the stat-wand were known. But beyond that,everything was locked and sealed in Dulaq's subconscious mind. Couldthe machine reach into that subconscious, probe past the lock and sealof catatonia, and stimulate Dulaq's mind into repeating the duel?

  Slowly, lullingly, the dueling machine's imaginary yet very real mistsenveloped Leoh. When the mists cleared, he was standing on the upperpedestrian level of the main commercial street of the city. For a longmoment, everything was still.

  _Have I made contact? Whose eyes am I seeing with, my own or Dulaq's?_

  And then he sensed it--an amused, somewhat astonished marveling at thereality of the illusion. Dulaq's thoughts!

  _Make your mind a blank_, Leoh told himself. _Watch. Listen. Bepassive._

  He became a spectator, seeing and hearing the world through Dulaq'seyes and ears as the Acquatainian Prime Minister advanced through hisnightmarish ordeal. He felt the confusion, frustration, apprehensionand growing terror as, time and again, Odal appeared in thecrowd--only to melt into someone else and escape.

  The first part of the duel ended, and Leoh was suddenly buffeted by ajumble of thoughts and impressions. Then the thoughts slowly clearedand steadied.

  Leoh saw an immense and totally barren plain. Not a tree, not a bladeof grass; nothing but bare, rocky ground stretching in all directionsto the horizon and a disturbingly harsh yellow sky. At his feet wasthe weapon Odal had chosen. A primitive club.

  He shared Dulaq's sense of dread as he picked up the club and heftedit. Off on the horizon he could see a tall, lithe figure holding asimilar club walking toward him.

  Despite himself, Leoh could feel his own excitement. He had brokenthrough the shock-created armor that Dulaq's mind had erected! Dulaqwas reliving the part of the duel that had caused the shock.

  Reluctantly, he advanced to meet Odal. But as they drew closertogether, the one figure of his opponent seemed to split apart. Nowthere were two, four, six of them. Six Odals, six mirror images, allarmed with massive, evil clubs, advancing steadily on him.

  Six tall, lean, blond assassins, with six cold smiles on their intentfaces.

  Horrified, completely panicked, he scrambled away, trying to evade thesix opponents with the half-dozen clubs raised and poised to strike.

  Their young legs and lungs easily outdistanced him. A smash on hisback sent him sprawling. One of them kicked his weapon away.

  They stood over him for a malevolent, gloating second. Then six strongarms flashed down, again and again, mercilessly. Pain and blood,screaming agony, punctuated by the awful thudding of solid clubshitting fragile flesh and bone, over and over again, endlessly.

  Everything went blank.

  * * * * *

  Leoh opened his eyes and saw Hector bending over him.

  "Are you all right, sir?"

  "I ... I think so."

  "The controls all hit the danger mark at once. You were ... well, sir,you were screaming."

  "I don't doubt it," Leoh said.

  They walked, with Leoh leaning on Hector's arm, from the duelingmachine booth to the office.

  "That was ... an experience." Leoh said, easing himself onto thecouch.

  "What happened? What did Odal do? What made Dulaq go into shock? Howdoes--"

  The old man silenced Hector with a wave of his hand, "One question ata time, please."

  Leoh leaned back on the deep couch and told Hector every detail ofboth parts of the duel.

  "Six Odals," Hector muttered soberly, leaning back against thedoorframe. "Six against one."

  "That's what he did. It's easy to see how a man expecting a polite,formal duel can be completely shattered by the viciousness of such anattack. And the machine amplifies every impulse, every sensation."

  "But how does he do it?" Hector asked, his voice suddenly loud anddemanding.

  "I've been asking myself the same question. We've checked over thedueling machine time and again. There is no possible way for Odal toplug in five helpers ... unless--"

  "Unless?"

  Leoh hesitated, seemingly debating with himself. Finally he nodded hishead sharply, and answered. "Unless Odal is a telepath."

  "Telepath? But--"

  "I know it sounds farfetched. But there have been well-documentedcases of telepathy for centuries throughout the Commonwealth."

  Hector frowned. "Sure, everybody's heard about it ... naturaltelepaths ... but they're so unpredictable ... I don't see how--"

  Leoh leaned forward on the couch and clasped his hands in front of hischin. "The Terran races have never developed telepathy, or any of theextrasensory talents. They never had to, not with tri-dicommunications and superlight starships. But perhaps the Kerak peopleare different--"

  Hector shook his head. "If they had uh, telepathic abilities, theywould be using them everywhere. Don't you think?"

  "Probably so. But only Odal has shown such an ability, and only ..._of course!_"

  "What?"

  "Odal has shown telepathic ability only in the dueling machine."

  "As far as we know."

  "Certainly. But look, supposed he's a natural telepath ... the same asa Terran. He has an erratic, difficult-to-control talent. Then he getsinto a dueling machine. The machine amplifies his thoughts. And italso amplifies his talent!"

  "Ohhh."

  "You see ... outside the machine, he's no better than any wanderingfortuneteller. But the dueling machine gives his natural abilities theamplification and reproducibility that they could never have unaided."

  Hector nodded.

  "So it's fairly straightforward matter for him to have five associatesin the Kerak Embassy sit in on the duel, so to speak. Possibly theyare natural telepaths also, but they needn't be."

  "They just, uh, pool their minds with his, hm-m-m? Six men show in theduel ... pretty nasty." Hector dropped into the desk chair.

  "So what do we do now?"

  "Now?" Leoh blinked at his young friend. "Why ... I suppose the firstthing we should do is call the hospital and see how Dulaq camethrough."

  Leoh put the call through. Geri Dulaq's face appeared on the screen.

  "How's your fa
ther?" Hector blurted.

  "The duel was too much for him," she said blankly. "He is dead."

  "No," Leoh groaned.

  "I ... I'm sorry," Hector said. "I'll be right down there. Stay whereyou are."

  The young Star Watchman dashed out of the office as Geri broke thephone connection. Leoh stared at the blank screen for a few moments,then leaned far back in the couch and closed his eyes. He was suddenlyexhausted, physically and emotionally. He fell asleep, and dreamed ofmen dead and dying.

  Hector's nerve-shattering whistling woke him up. It was full nightoutside.

  "What are you so happy about?" Leoh groused as Hector popped into theoffice.

  "Happy? Me?"

  "You were whistling."

  Hector shrugged. "I always whistle, sir. Doesn't mean I'm happy."

  "All right," Leoh said, rubbing his eyes. "How did the girl take herfather's death?"

  "Pretty hard. Cried a lot."

  Leoh looked at the younger man. "Does she blame ... me?"

  "You? Why, no sir. Why should she? Odal ... Kanus ... the KerakWorlds. But not you."

  The old professor sighed, relieved. "Very well. Now then, we have muchwork to do, and little more than a day in which to finish it."

  "What do you want me to do?" Hector asked.

  "Phone the Star Watch Commander--"

  "My commanding officer, all the way back at Alpha Perseus VI? That's ahundred light-years from here."

  "No, no, no." Leoh shook his head. "The Commander-in-Chief, Sir HaroldSpencer. At Star Watch Central Headquarters. That's several hundredparsecs from here. But get through to him as quickly as possible."

  With a low whistle of astonishment, Hector began punching buttons onthe phone switch.

  XIV

  The morning of the duel arrived, and precisely at the agreed-uponhour, Odal and a small retinue of Kerak representatives stepped thoughthe double doors of the dueling machine chamber.

  Hector and Leoh were already there, waiting. With them stood anotherman dressed in the black-and-silver of the Star Watch. He was ablocky, broad-faced veteran with iron-gray hair and hard, unsmilingeyes.

  The two little groups of men knotted together in the center of theroom, before the machine's control board. The white-uniformed staffmeditechs emerged from a far doorway and stood off to one side.

  Odal went through the formality of shaking hands with Hector. TheKerak major nodded toward the other Watchman. "Your replacement?" heasked mischievously.

  The chief meditech stepped between them. "Since you are the challengedparty, Major Odal, you have the first choice of weapon andenvironment. Are there any instructions or comments necessary beforethe duel begins?"

  "I think not," Odal replied. "The situation will be self-explanatory.I assume, of course, that Star Watchmen are trained to be warriors andnot merely technicians. The situation I have chosen is one in whichmany warriors have won glory."

  Hector said nothing.

  "I intend," Leoh said firmly, "to assist the staff in monitoring thisduel. Your aides may, of course, sit at the control board with me."

  Odal nodded.

  "If you are ready to begin, gentleman," the chief meditech said.

  Hector and Odal went to their booths. Leoh sat at the control console,and one of the Kerak men sat down next to him.

  * * * * *

  Hector felt every nerve and muscle tensed as he sat in the booth,despite his efforts to relax. Slowly the tension eased, and he beganto feel slightly drowsy. The booth seemed to melt away....

  He was standing on a grassy meadow. Off in the distance were woodedhills. A cool breeze was hustling puffy clouds across the calm bluesky.

  Hector heard a snuffling noise behind him, and wheeled around. Heblinked, then stared.

  It had four legs, and was evidently a beast of burden. At least, itcarried a saddle on its back. Piled atop the saddle was aconglomeration of which looked to Hector--at first glance--like a pileof junk. He went over to the animal and examined it carefully. The"junk" turned out to be a long spear, various pieces of armor, ahelmet, sword, shield, battle-ax and dagger.

  _The situation I have chosen is one in which many warriors have wonglory._ Hector puzzled over the assortment of weapons. They camestraight out of Kerak's Dark Ages. No doubt Odal had been practicingwith them for months, even years. He may not need five helpers.

  Warily, Hector put on the armor. The breastplate seemed too big, andhe was somehow unable to tighten the greaves on his shins properly.The helmet fit over his head like an ancient oil can, flattening hisears and nose and forcing him to squint to see through the narroweye-slit.

  Finally, he buckled on the sword and found attachments on the saddlefor the other weapons. The shield was almost too heavy to lift, and hebarely struggled into the saddle with all the weight he was carrying.

  And then he just sat. He began to feel a little ridiculous. _Supposeit rains?_ he wondered. But of course it wouldn't.

  After an interminable wait, Odal appeared, on a powerful trottingcharger. His armor was black as space, and so was his animal._Naturally_, Hector thought.

  Odal saluted gravely with his great spear from across the meadow.Hector returned the salute, nearly dropping his spear in the process.

  Then, Odal lowered the spear and aimed it--so it seemed toHector--directly at the Watchman's ribs. He pricked his mount into acanter. Hector did the same, and his steed jogged into a bumping,jolting gallop. The two warriors hurtled toward each other fromopposite ends of the meadow.

  And suddenly there were six black figured roaring down on Hector!

  The Watchman's stomach wrenched within him. Automatically he tried toturn his mount aside. But the beast had no intention of going anywhereexcept straight ahead. The Kerak warriors bore in, six abreast, withsix spears aimed menacingly.

  Abruptly, Hector heard the pounding of other hoof-beats right besidehim. Through a corner of his helmet-slit he glimpsed at least twoother warriors charging with him into Odal's crew.

  Leoh's gamble had worked. The transceiver that had allowed Dulaq tomake contact with the dueling machine from his hospital bed was nowallowing five Star Watch officers to join Hector, even though theywere physically sitting in a starship orbiting high above the planet.

  The odds were even now. The five additional Watchmen were theroughest, hardiest, most aggressive man-to-man fighters that the StarWatch could provide on a one-day notice.

  Twelve powerful chargers met head on, and twelve strong men smashedtogether with an ear-splitting CLANG! Shattered spears showeredsplinters everywhere. Men and animals went down.

  Hector was rocked back in his saddle, but somehow managed to avoidfalling off.

  On the other hand, he could not really regain his balance, either.Dust and weapons filled the air. A sword hissed near his head andrattled off his shield.

  With a supreme effort. Hector pulled out his own sword and thrashed atthe nearest rider. It turned out to be a fellow Watchman, but thestroke bounced harmlessly off his helmet.

  It was so confusing. The wheeling, snorting animals. Clouds of dust.Screaming, raging men. A black-armored rider charged into Hector,waving a battle-ax over his head. He chopped savagely, and theWatchmans's shield split apart. Another frightening swing--Hectortried to duck and slid completely out of the saddle, thumpingpainfully on the ground, while the ax cleaved the air where his headhad been a split-second earlier.

  Somehow his helmet had been turned around. Hector tried to decidewhether to thrash around blindly or lay down his sword and straightenout the helmet. The problem was solved for him by the _crang!_ of asword against the back of his helmet. The blow flipped him into asomersault, but also knocked the helmet completely off his head.

  * * * * *

  Hector climbed painfully to his feet, his head spinning. It took himseveral moments to realize that the battle had stopped. The dustdrifted away, and he saw that all the Kerak fighters were down--exceptone. The black-a
rmored warrior took off his helmet and tossed itaside. It was Odal. Or was it? They all looked alike. _What differencedoes it make?_ Hector wondered. _Odal's mind is the dominant one._

  Odal stood, legs braced apart, sword in hand, and looked uncertainlyat the other Star Watchman. Three of them were afoot and two stillmounted. The Kerak assassin seemed as confused as Hector felt. Theshock of facing equal numbers had sapped much of his confidence.

  Cautiously he advanced toward Hector, holding his sword out beforehim. The other Watchmen stood aside while Hector slowly backpedaled,stumbling slightly on the uneven ground.

  Odal feinted and cut at Hector's arm. The Watchman barely parried intime. Another feint, at the head, and a slash into the chest; Hectormissed the parry but his armor saved him. Grimly, Odal kept advancing.Feint, feint, crack! and Hector's sword went flying from his hand.

  For the barest instant everyone froze. Then Hector leaped desperatelystraight at Odal, caught him completely by surprise, and wrestled himto the ground. The Watchman pulled the sword from his opponent's handand tossed it away. But with his free hand, Odal clouted Hector on theside of the head and knocked him on his back. Both men scrambled upand ran for the nearest weapons.

  Odal picked up a wicked-looking double-bladed ax. One of the mountedStar Watchmen handed Hector a huge broadsword. He gripped it with bothhands, but still staggered off-balance as he swung it up over hisshoulder.

  Holding the broadsword aloft, Hector charged toward Odal, who stooddogged, short-breathed, sweat-streaked, waiting for him. Thebroadsword was quite heavy, even for a two handed grip.