Three Classic SF Novels: Plague Ship; Operation Terror; The Lani People

by Andre Norton, Murray Leinster, J. F. Bone

  Somebody cut off the recorder. There was a moment of blank indecision, and then a man in uniform with two general's stars on his shoulders came out of somewhere and walked to face Lockley.

  “Ah, Lockley!” he said briskly. “That's the thing you smash cars and explode ammunition with, eh? Do you think it will blow the rocket?"

  “I'm going to try it!” said Lockley. “Listen.” He showed how anything that could be done to him would close the switch one way or the other. “I wanted you to know before I blow it!” he said fiercely. “Where's Jill? Jill Holmes? One of your cars picked her up and brought her here. Where is she?"

  “We sent her,” said the general, “over to the construction camp, in case you managed to get in the exact situation you're in. In other words, she's safe. She'll be coming shortly, though. She was to be notified the instant you appeared-if the rocket didn't blast as your greeting."

  Lockley ground his teeth.

  “We'll have this settled before she gets here!"

  Vale appeared. He walked forward and stood beside the general.

  “We did a job that was several times too good, Lockley,” he said ruefully. “I'd rehearsed my song-and-dance until we thought it was perfect. What made you suspicious, Lockley? Did you notice we kept the communicator aimed right so you'd hear through to the end? A fine point, that. We worried about it."

  The headlights of a car moved against a mountainside.

  “You see,” said Vale, “the thing had to be done this way! Sattell swore a blue streak when it was explained to him. He felt he'd been made a fool of. But there are some things that can't be handled forthrightly!"

  Lockley felt physically ill. Jill had been-still was-engaged to Vale. She'd been anxious about him. She'd been loyal to him. And he was helping the invaders! He opened his mouth to speak bitterly, when Sattell appeared. He lined up beside the general and Vale.

  “They fooled me too, Lockley,” he said wryly. “But it's all right. They had to. They thought you were fooled. Those three men in the box with you the other day, they said you were fooled, too. And they're sharp secret service men!"

  “You're very convincing, aren't you?” he raged. “But—"

  “You believe,” said Sattell, “I've joined up with spies and traitors. You believe...."

  He outlined, with precision, exactly what Lockley did believe; that phantom monsters were to be credited with waging war against America while another nation actually murdered Americans. It was a remarkably accurate picture of Lockley's state of mind.

  “But that's all wrong!” insisted Sattell. “This is a quick trick by our own people for our own safety. For the benefit of all the world. It's a trick to forestall just what I described!"

  The far away headlights drew nearer. But no car could have come from the construction camp as quickly as this.

  “The fact is,” said the general, “that our spies tell us that another very great nation has developed this beam we've been demonstrating to all the world. So did we. And we couldn't use it, but they would! If they didn't use it against us, they'd use it for any sort of emergency dirty trick. So we made up this invasion to persuade every country on earth to arm itself against this particular weapon. Nothing less than monsters in space would justify arming, in the eyes of some politicians! Of course, they'll arm against us as well as-anybody else."

  He spoke matter-of-factly. A glance at Lockley's face would have told him that persuasiveness would not work.

  “This trick, with the defense we intended to reveal,” the general added, “should mean that a very nasty weapon won't ever be used, either to start or end a war. Maybe the war won't occur because we've said there are monsters who fly around in space ships."

  Lockley had a confused impression that he was dreaming this. It was not the way things should happen! This was not true! When he squeezed or released the improvised switch in his hand, the rocket behind him would disappear in a monstrous flame, and he and the three men who faced him would, vanish, and there would be an explosion crater here and a shattered mass of wrecked cars—

  “It was an interesting job,” said Vale. “The Army dumped a hundred tons of high explosive into the lake. The two radars that reported a ship in space were arranged to be operated by two special men, who got their orders directly from the President. We picked a day with full cloud cover; the radar operators inserted their faked tapes and made their reports; and the Army set off the hundred-ton explosion in the lake. From there on, it was just a matter of using the terror beam.” “I mention,” said the general mildly, “that not one human being has been killed by anything we've done. Would you expect traitors to be so careful? Or spies?"

  Lockley said thickly, “You stand there arguing. You're trying to make me believe you. But there's Jill! What's happened to her? How did you make her record that tape? Where's Jill? She won't tell me it's all right!"

  Headlights swept up to the floodlit space. The car stopped.

  Jill came into view. She saw Lockley, standing against the rocket's base. She ran.

  She stood beside the general and Vale and Sattell. She looked worn and desperately anxious.

  “What have they done to you?” demanded Lockley fiercely.

  She shook her head.

  “N-nothing. I couldn't stay at the camp when I was so sure you'd come to try to help me. So I came here. I don't know what they've told you yet, but it's all right. We were fooled as the world has to be. Believe it! Please believe it!"

  “What have they done to you?” he repeated terribly.

  “What have they done to the world?” demanded Jill. “They've made every nation look to us as the defender of their freedom. And we are! They've made everybody ready to fight against more monsters if they come, and to fight against men if they try to enslave them with the terror beam or anything else! Would traitors have done that?"

  Lockley knew that he had to decide. It was an unbearable responsibility. He was not convinced, even by Jill. But he was no longer certain that he'd been right.

  “Why didn't you kill me?” he demanded. “I could have been shot down from a distance. You didn't have to come close to talk to me. If the rocket blew, what would it matter?"

  “You've got a protection against the terror beam,” said the general matter-of-factly. “So have we. But ours weighs two tons. Yours can be carried without being a burden. And—” his eyes went to the unlikely cheese grater over Lockley's shoulder-"and yours detonates explosives. If we can equip the world with those, Lockley, we'll have peace!” Lockley thought of a decisive test. He grimaced.

  “You want me to risk being a traitor! All right, what's in it for me? What am I offered?"

  The general shrugged, his eyes hardening. Vale spread out his hands. Sattell snorted. Jill moistened her lips. Lockley turned upon her.

  “You want me to believe,” he said harshly. “What do you offer if I turn over the thing to these men you say are honest men and neither spies or traitors. What do you offer?"

  She stared at him. Then she said quietly, “Nothing."

  Lockley hesitated once more, for a long instant. But that was the right answer. Nobody who'd been bought or bribed or frightened into being a traitor would have thought of it.

  “That,” said Lockley, “by a strange coincidence happens to be my price."

  He ripped away a wire. He flung the queer combination of pocket radio and cheese and nutmeg graters to the general.

  “I'll explain later how it works,” he said wearily, “-if I haven't made a mistake."

  * * * *

  After a suitable time the general came to him. Lockley was convinced, now. The reaction of the men who'd been guards and truck drivers and the like was conclusive. They regarded him with a certain cordial respect which was not the reaction of either traitors or invaders.

  “We've been checking that little device, Lockley,” said the general happily. “It's perfect for our purposes! So much better than a two-ton generator to interfere with and cancel the terror be
ams! Marvelous! And do you know what it means? With all the world believing we've been attacked from space, and with our great show of taking back Boulder Lake—"

  “How will you manage that?” asked Lockley, without too much interest.

  “The rocket,” said the general, beaming. “When troops start into the Park, the rocket takes off. It heads for empty space. And we explain that the aliens went away when they found their weapon useless and we started to get rough with them!"

  “Oh,” said Lockley listlessly.

  “But the really beautiful thing,” the general told him, “is your gadget! They can be made by millions. Ridiculously cheap, they tell me. Everybody in the world will want one, and we'll pass them out. No government could stop that! Not even Russia! But-d'you see, Lockley?"

  Lockley shook his head. He always had a tendency to look on the dark side of future events. The future did not look bright to him.

  “Don't you see?” demanded the general, chuckling. “They detonate explosives, those little gadgets! There's no harm in that! Where explosives are used in industry you've only to make sure that nobody turns one on too close. In nine-tenths of the world, anyhow, civilians aren't allowed to have guns. But think of the consequences there!"

  Lockley was weary. He was dejected. The general grinned from ear to ear.

  “Why, when these are distributed, even the secret police can't go armed! What price dictators then? For that matter, what price soldiers? The cold war ends, Lockley, because there couldn't be a conquering army in the modern sense. The tanks wouldn't run. The cars would stall. And the guns-An invasion would have to be made with horse-drawn transport and the troops armed with bows and spears. That amounts to disarmament, Lockley! A consummation devoutly to be wished! I'm going to look forward to a ripe old age now. I never could before!"

  * * * *

  Presently Lockley talked to Jill. She was constrained. She seemed uneasy. Lockley felt that there wasn't much to say, now that Vale was alive and well and there was no more danger for her. He offered his hand to say good-bye.

  “I think,” she said with a little difficulty, “I think I should tell you I'm not-engaged any longer. I-told him I-wouldn't want to be married to someone whose work made him keep secrets from me."

  Lockley tensed. He said incredulously, “You're not going to marry Vale?"

  She said nervously.

  “No-o-o. I've told him."

  Lockley swallowed.

  “What did he say?"

  “He-didn't like it,” said Jill. “But he understood. I explained things. He said-he said to congratulate you."

  Lockley made an appropriate movement. She wept quietly, held close in his arms.

  “I was so afraid you didn't-you wouldn't—"

  Lockley took appropriate measures to comfort her and to assure her that he did and he would, forever and ever. A very long time later he asked interestedly, “What did you say to Vale when he asked you to congratulate me?"

  “I said,” said Jill comfortably, “that I would if things worked out all right. And they have. I congratulate you, darling. Now how about congratulating me?"

  * * * *

  The rocket took off and went away into emptiness. This was near dawn, when military announcements of the reoccupation of Boulder Lake were being passed out to the news media. As much of the public as was awake was informed that the monstrous aliens had fled from earth, their intentions frustrated by the work of scientists. It wasn't necessary for a large force to march in. A special detail took over at the lake itself. Curiously enough, it seemed to be already there when the question arose. It would report a regrettable absence of alien artifacts by which the monsters might be kept in mind.

  But there would be reminders. Later bulletins would report that the United States was putting into quantity production the small, individual protective devices which defied the terror beam and would supply them to all the world. There could not be greater friendship than that! The United States also proposed a world wide alliance for defense against future attacks by space monsters, with pooled armament and completely cooperative governments.

  The world, obviously, would unite against monsters. And people in a posture of defense against enemies from the stars obviously wouldn't fight each other.

  And there were some people who were pleased. They knew about the possibilities of the small gadgets, brought down in production to the size of a pack of cigarettes. Knowing what they could do, they waited very interestedly to see what would happen in certain nations when secret police couldn't carry firearms and soldiers could only be armed with spears.

  They expected it to be very interesting indeed.

  THE END

  * * *

  SF/F/H FROM PAGETURNER EDITIONS

  FROM PAGETURNER EDITIONS

  THE CLASSIC SCIENCE FICTION OF STUART J. BYRNE

  Music of the Spheres & Other Classic SF Stories

  Star Quest

  Power Meta

  Hoaxbreaker

  The Alpha Trap (1976)

  The Land Beyond the Lens: The Michael Flannigan Trilogy (writing as John Bloodstone)

  The Metamorphs & The Naked Goddess: Two Classic Pulp Novels

  Children of the Chronotron & The Ultimate Death: Two Classic Pulp Novels

  Beyond the Darkness & Potential Zero: Two Classic Pulp Novels

  The Agartha Series #1. Prometheus II

  The Agartha Series #2. Colossus

  The Agartha Series #3: The Golden Gardsmen

  Thundar, Man of Two Worlds The Land Beyond the Lens: The Michael Flannigan Trilogy (writing as John Bloodstone)

  Last Days of Thronas (writing as John Bloodstone)

  The First Star Man Omnibus: #1 Supermen of Alpha & Star Man #2 Time Window

  The Second Star Man Omnibus: #3 Interstellar Mutineers & #4 The Cosmium Raiders

  The Third Star Man Omnibus: #5 The World Changer & #6 The Slaves of Venus

  The Fourth Star Man Omnibus: #7 Lost in the Milky Way & #8. Time Trap

  The Fifth Star Man Omnibus: #9 The Centaurians & #10 The Emperor

  The Sixth Star Man Omnibus: #11 The Return of Star Man & #12 Death Screen

  STEFAN VUCAK'S EPPIE NOMINEE SPACE SAGA “THE SHADOW GODS"

  In the Shadow of Death

  Against the Gods of Shadow

  A Whisper From Shadow

  Immortal in Shadow

  With Shadow and Thunder

  Through the Valley of Shadow

  JANRAE FRANK'S #1 BESTSELLING FANTASY SAGAS

  Dark Brothers of the Light Book I. Blood Rites

  Dark Brothers of the Light Book II. Blood Heresy

  Dark Brothers of the Light Book III. Blood Dawn

  Dark Brothers of the Light Book IV: Blood Wraiths

  Dark Brothers of the Light Book V: Blood Paladin

  In the Darkness, Hunting: Tales of Chimquar the Lionhawk

  Journey of the Sacred King I: My Sister's Keeper

  Journey of the Sacred King II: Sins of the Mothers

  Journey of the Sacred King III: My Father's House

  THE COSMIC KALEVALA

  The Saga of Lost Earths—Emil Petaja (Nebula nominee author)

  The Star Mill—Emil Petaja

  The Stolen Sun—Emil Petaja

  Tramontane—Emil Petaja

  JACK JARDINE'S HUMOROUS SF AND MYSTERY

  The Agent of T.E.R.R.A. #1 The Flying Saucer Gambit

  The Agent of T.E.R.R.A. #2 The Emerald Elephant Gambit

  The Agent of T.E.R.R.A. #3 The Golden Goddess Gambit

  The Agent of T.E.R.R.A. #4 The Time Trap Gambit

  The Mind Monsters

  Unaccustomed As I Am To Public Dying & Other Humorous and Ironic Mystery Stories

  The Nymph and the Satyr

  ARDATH MAYHAR'S AWARD-WINNING SF & F

  The Crystal Skull & Other Tales of the Terrifying and Twisted

  The World Ends in Hickory Hollow, or After Armageddon

  The Tupla: A Nover of Horror
/>   The Twilight Dancer & Other Tales of Magic, Mystery and the Supernatura

  The Black Tower: A Novel of Dark Fantasy

  Forbidden Geometries: A Novel Alien Worlds

  HAL ANNAS’ COSMIC RECKONING TRILOGY

  I. The Woman from Eternity

  II. Daughter of Doom

  III. Witch of the Dark Star

  THE HILARIOUS ADVENTURES OF TOFFEE

  1. The Dream Girl—Charles F. Myers

  2. Toffee Haunts a Ghost—Charles F. Myers

  3. Toffee Turns the Trick—Charles F. Myers

  OTHER AWARD WINNING & NOMINEE STORIES AND AUTHORS

  Moonworm's Dance & Other SF Classics—Stanley Mullen (includes The Day the Earth Stood Still & Other SF Classics—Harry Bates (Balrog Award winning story)

  Hugo nominee story Space to Swing a Cat)

  People of the Darkness-Ross Rocklynne (Nebulas nominee author)

  When They Come From Space-Mark Clifton (Hugo winning author)

  What Thin Partitions-Mark Clifton (Hugo winning author)

  Star Bright & Other SF Classics—Mark Clifton

  Eight Keys to Eden-Mark Clifton (Hugo winning author)

  Rat in the Skull & Other Off-Trail Science Fiction-Rog Phillips (Hugo nominee author)

  The Involuntary Immortals-Rog Phillips (Hugo nominee author)

  Inside Man & Other Science Fictions-H. L. Gold (Hugo winner, Nebula nominee)

  Women of the Wood and Other Stories-A. Merritt (Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame award)

  A Martian Odyssey & Other SF Classics—Stanley G. Weinbaum (SFWA Hall of Fame author)

  Dawn of Flame & Other Stories—Stanley G. Weinbaum (SFWA Hall of Fame author)

  The Black Flame—Stanley G. Weinbaum

  Scout-Octavio Ramos, Jr. (Best Original Fiction)

  Smoke Signals-Octavio Ramos, Jr. (Best Original Fiction winning author)

  The City at World's End-Edmond Hamilton

  The Star Kings-Edmond Hamilton (Sense of Wonder Award winning author)

  A Yank at Valhalla-Edmond Hamilton (Sense of Wonder Award winning author)

  Dawn of the Demigods, or People Minus X—Raymond Z. Gallun (Nebula Nominee Author)

  THE BESTSELLING SF/F/H OF J. D. CRAYNE

  Tetragravitron (Captain Spycer #1)

  Monster Lake