by Edwin Benson
“Mr. Pete Vorosh, I believe?”
Vorosh whirled.
“Briggs!” he exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”
“On my way back to America,” grinned Briggs. “I’m figuring on joining up with the Navy. I’ve had some experience along that line . . . And incidentally, I’ve got a little clarification of a situation that exists at present between the Department of Justice and a fellow named Pete Vorosh who is . . .”
“On his way to join the U.S. Army Air Force!” finished Vorosh.
Briggs got up, sat down in the seat beside Vorosh.
“You know, Pete,” he confided. “I have a hunch you had something to do with a mess of bombs that dumped on Berlin the night we got the news of Pearl harbor. The pilot, maybe? I figured you’d find some dramatic way of saying goodbye to the old burg!”
Vorosh grinned.
“You can thank the Russian Secret Service for those bombs,” he said. “And you’re right about the pilot part. In fact, I was just getting a little practice—before I come back with a load of real eggs. Good old U.S. eggs, laid from the bomb-bay doors of a B-18, or Flying Fortress to you!”
“Lay a couple for me, will you?” said Briggs. “And I’ll do the same for you at Tokyo. I’m just aching to pump a few 16-inch shells into that dirty little yellow city!”
The American Clipper roared across the water of the Lisbon harbor, then lifted into the air, headed west. Aboard her two Americans shook hands.
Take it or leave it, Berlin and Tokyo, that handshake means they’ll visit you again!
And when they do . . .!
THE END
[1] “Are you American?”—ED.
[2] An American cabby would have said: “Hey! Sixty-five cents, Buddy!” Fifty pfennigs is about sixty-five cents in American money.—ED.
[3] It has been a universal misapprehension that communication by means of thought waves would break down language barriers, because thoughts were believed to be basic, and not expressed In any particular language, so that an English-speaking person would understand the thoughts of a German, or even of a man from Mars, if he were to communicate in this manner. However, this is not true, since the great majority of people think in terms of the spoken word, and these vibrations would be reproduced, or picked up, by another mind in exactly the form in which they were first expressed. Certain thoughts, pictographically expressed, might be conveyed in understandable manner, but certainly nothing which is thought out in the mind of an abstract nature. Therefore, Vorosh is unable to understand the waves that come to him via the little telepathic radio which is attuned to the wave length peculiar to Vanja, Hess, and himself.—ED.
[4] Is this the way we get those random thoughts? Are they simply fragments of the thoughts of others which are picked up by our own brain when it is in a particularly engrossed or relaxed mood, and exactly receptive to outside influences? Perhaps many of the unexplained “inspirations” and “revealed secrets” which form the basis for rather superstitious beliefs and narrations can be attributed to mental telepathy.—ED.
[5] English translation: “You are sleepy. Very sleepy. Go to sleep. Relax.”—ED.
[6] The power of hypnotic suggestion is such that a person who is hypnotixed can be given certain instructions while under the influence of hypnosis. When he comes out of it, he will carry out these instructions without question, and without reasoning why he is doing it. Even years later, exactly on schedule, he will perform the acts he has been ordered to perform—unless they are contrary to his moral code. For instance, an honest man cannot be forced to steal by hypnotic command; nor can a man who has no killer’s instincts be caused to commit murder. In the case of Rudolf Hess, he would pass on information received via hypnotic suggestion, provided he was assured it was a legitimate piece of information. This is what Vanja Nilchenko has done.—ED.
[7] It is a well-known fact that Hitler is a mystic. He specially believes in astrology, and it is said that he never makes a political or military move without first consulting the stars. He has a staff of seven or eight astrologers, and their readings actually guide the destiny of the Third Reich. It is also a fact that astrologers have predicted Hitler’s death several times, and the readings have been agreed upon as basically correct by many leading astrologers. Yet, Hitler has not died. Astrologers explain this by saying “the stars incline but do not define.” Thus, undoubtedly Hitler has himself obtained these predictions, and by exercising great care has avoided the implications of the stars and escaped the destiny toward which they tended to force him. Whatever the truth of the matter, Hitler is a confirmed mystic, and in his belief in the influence of the stars actually has given them a potent and real power over human events.—ED.
[8] Sondermeldung—a special German High Command communique. It is always preceded by an announcement that it is coming, repeated every five minutes. Then, before it comes, it is preceded by a five-minute radio silence. These Sondermeldungen were used only for great events, such as the capture of Eben Emaul, world’s strongest fort, by parachute troops. They were a sort of Holy Writ of military officialdom. During September, October and November of 1941, when the Russian war stretched out, and there was a dearth of real conquests, and a need to reassure the German people who were becoming alarmed at the vastly increasing number of letters being returned from the front marked “fallen,” and the number of shops being closed because of “personnel called up,” these broadcasts become frequent, and wild claims of victory were made.—ED.
[9] What Vorosh is doing here is entirely possible. A hypnotist may control a subject to such an extent that he can erase all memories from the subject’s mind. Even under stress, the subject will answer questions and actually believe in an untruth with unquestioned faith in its truth. False memories may be implanted. In this case, the subject, with the aid of the tele-radio, is so completely under the influence of the hypnotist that the senses of the subject become the senses of the operator, thus enabling him to hear the things the subject hears, perhaps even see, smell, and feel the things the subject experiences. Thus, in giving Vanja this command, Vorosh is apparently taking a long shot, but it actually proves to be practicable.—ED.
[10] “Proceed, General Von Holder. And what about the American? Is he being taken into custody?”—ED.
[11] “Yes, Herr Hitler. He will be arrested within a short time.”—ED.
[12] Actually the lie detector is ineffective here. Vanja is unconscious, under the hypnotic influence of the tele-radio, and has no knowledge of the answers she is giving to Von Holder’s questions. Her physical reactions remain unchanged, unruffled by mental reactions. Thus apparently her answers are without nervousness, and perfectly truthful. This is really a silent battle between two machines, and Vorosh has an unbeatable advantage. The lie detector cannot react to his answers, given through Vanja’s lips.—ED.