‘You see, Ethne!’ he said excitedly, and took up the cup with unsteady fingers. He examined it carefully, even fingering the identification marks they had put on it.
‘Professor, you’re a genius!’ she retorted. ‘I didn’t think it was possible, not even after you explained the theory! I still had my doubts. But are you sure it wasn’t just made invisible? It did travel from here?’
‘I checked after it vanished, and it wasn’t on the base. It certainly went somewhere.’
‘But can you use this to do what you want? To get into Aubin’s presence you’ve got to be able to pinpoint the destination of the matter being translated.’
‘That’s not impossible. The Celertron can be aimed and ranged like any projector. It’s only a matter of coordinating distance and elevation. What is more important at this moment is can flesh and blood withstand the pressures to which it will be subjected under the process?”
‘What do you think? Will there be any molecular breakdown of living tissue under these stresses?’ Her face was taut as she spoke.
‘I’m not going to conjecture!’ He smiled as he handed the cup to her. ‘Test that in every way possible. I want to know if there are any changes brought about by translation. Meanwhile, I want a live subject for experimentation. I can’t wait until we’ve put the Celertron through all the lengthy tests. I have the feeling that General Ozen suspects me. He’s like a cat watching a mouse. My intuition tells me that time is running out for our group. No other resistance group has managed to survive as long as ours! I’m sure we’re all living on borrowed time.’
‘I’ll bring in a rabbit,’ Ethne said, ‘and I’ll test the cup while you’re continuing. Shall I postpone your meeting with the Group? We could put it back an hour.’
‘No. I think there will be time. Some of the members take extreme risks to be present, and have to make complicated arrangements to arrive at the rendezvous at the appointed time. I’ll leave the test with the animal until after the meeting! I’d better start preparing to leave now.’
‘Be careful,’ she begged, and there was fear in her pale gaze.
‘We have to take risks if we are to succeed,’ he said stiffly. ‘We’ve done all that is humanly possible to make the Group safe. I feel fatalistic towards the whole project now. If we are meant to succeed then nothing will stop us.’
‘I wish I had your nerve,’ Ethne said, and her admiration showed plainly on her face. ‘Discovery and the obvious punishment for what we are doing is too horrible to contemplate. But even so, it is not of ourselves that I think if we do fail. It will be the last chance for the whole victimized world.’
‘I agree with you,’ Condor said softly. ‘That is why we must not fail.’ He glanced at the Celertron. ‘Have everything ready for my return. At least I have some good news to impart to the Group. I feel optimistic for the first time. Ever since I worked out this theory I’ve been plagued by inner doubts. But this should work, and even if there is no chance of my survival I shall go on this mission. Aubin must be killed and his whole establishment must go down with him.’
‘You’re the only man in the world who can bring it about,’ she acknowledged pridefully.
Condor left the Lab thoughtfully, intent upon what he had to tell the Group when they met. He went up to his flat on the opposite side of the compound and changed. He had some purchases to make, and would use that excuse for leaving the Technological Complex. He drove himself into the town, showing his pass at the gate, and when he was alone on the desolate road that led in from the desert he sighed and tried to relax.
But there was a car on the road behind him, and when he spotted it in the mirror, Condor stilled inside and wondered. Were the police tailing him? He took a tighter grip upon his nerves. It wouldn’t do to let his guilty conscience get the upper hand. It would make him act suspiciously, and he could not afford to make any mistakes at this time.
Parking the car in the underground garage at the big hotel, Condor went in for a drink. He checked the time, and saw it was near the appointed hour. He felt a sense of unreality touch his mind. For years now they had plotted and planned, making all kinds of wild decisions, but nothing had ever happened because he hadn’t been able to come up with a really fool proof way of getting to grips with Aubin. But now it was different. He had something to report to the Group leaders that would make them start hoping again.
He went to make his purchases, and on the way back to the hotel he dropped into the gymnasium for a workout, changing in the locker room into a sweat suit. He saw some of the Group leaders, and when he challenged one of them to combat he found Zan Tuce taking him on. They rested on a seat before fighting, and Condor quickly gave Tuce the news of his breakthrough.
Tuce, a tall, muscular, dark-haired man of forty-five, was Assistant Controller of the big rocket station just along the coast, and his dark eyes glinted as he listened.
‘That’s good, Rez,’ the spaceman retorted. ‘I’ll pass on the word to the others.’
‘What about the meeting?’ Condor demanded.
‘We’re cancelling it. There’s a breeze blowing around that the police are closing in. We’ve lost some contacts on the fringe of our operations. It’s that bloodhound Ozen who’s back of it. I think we’ve got to strike soon or run out of time.’
‘That’s exactly what I feel,’ Condor said. ‘I’ve had the feeling that I’ve been followed around lately, and Ozen keeps turning up at the Lab with the flimsiest of excuses.’
‘Then we must take extra precautions. You’d better get out of here after we’ve had a bout. I’ve noticed rather a lot more security men around than usual.’
‘Do you think they’ve picked up news about this meeting?’ Condor demanded anxiously.
‘Just in case they have, you’d better change your mind about a work-out and get clear. You’re not expendable, Rez. If anything happens to you then we’re nothing. Without you this whole thing falls flat.’
Condor nodded slowly. ‘All right. It’s better not to take chances. Pass on the information I’ve given you. I’ll be in touch with you again, Zan, when I’ve had the chance of testing the Celertron further.’
The spaceman nodded. ‘I’m hoping you’ll be able to transmit two men on to Retarc when the time comes,’ he said softly.
‘You and me!’ Condor smiled slowly. ‘I wouldn’t ask for anyone else to accompany me, Zan!’
‘Now get out of here. I’ve got a nasty feeling that we’re being watched.’
Condor nodded and got to his feet, returning to the locker room to change. He hurried, feeling a strange sense of anticipation building up inside, and when he departed he had barely cleared the street door when the police swooped. He stepped into an alley and watched from a distance. Dozens of policemen moved in on the gymnasium, sealing it off instantly, and Condor tightened his lips when he saw Herri Ozen himself stepping out of a police car. The general followed his men into the building, and minutes later some of the Group were brought out under arrest.
There was something akin to panic in Condor’s mind as he watched. He knew only too well what this meant. The Group was finished! When the interrogations started no one would be able to hold out. He saw Zan Tuce emerging from the building with two security guards holding him, and Condor’s lips tightened as he realized that he had given Tuce information about his breakthrough. In a short time Ozen himself would have that information, and Condor knew what that meant. He turned and slipped away, making for his car. He didn’t have much time! He had to get back to the Lab as soon as possible, and he could only hope that his name would not crop up too soon in the interrogations to prevent him getting away.
His only thoughts were for the Celertron. It was the last frail hope of the world. Without it they would be doomed to live in bondage for the rest of the time. Only he could save it!
Chapter Two
All the way back to the Lab, Condor was on tenterhooks. He was afraid the guards at the Complex would be alerted and waiting for h
im. But there was no way of finding out short of driving into their clutches, and time was imperative. He kept a sharp watch on the road at his back, and he was nearing the gate to the Complex when he spotted two small dark specks on the road behind him. In a matter of moments they had neared sufficiently for him to make out details of police cars, and he turned cold inside as he coaxed more power out of his nucpow engine.
The guards let him into the compound without much difficulty, and Condor drove straight to the Lab, leaving the car outside with the engine running. As he entered the main door into the building he looked back towards the gate and saw the first of the police cars drawing up, siren screeching and lights flashing. He thinned his lips and went into the building, closing the outer door and locking it with his time-key. They would have to break in now, and that would delay them.
He lifted a receiver from the communicator in the lobby and called Ethne, reaching the girl instantly. When he heard her voice he spoke quickly, urgently.
‘Ethne, prepare to seal off the Lab, will you. I’ll be there inside of a minute.’
‘Right, Professor!’ The girl sounded frightened, but she asked no questions. The line went dead and Condor moved to the nearest elevator. As he opened the door he heard alarm bells ringing throughout the building, but the only entrance was time-locked, and outside communication would have broken off by now. It was one of the safeguards Condor himself had built into the establishment on the pretext that any resistance group intent upon causing damage to his vital work could not gain admission to the Lab under any circumstances once the main door was locked.
The elevator whined as it carried him up to the Lab, and Ethne was waiting for him in her office, her face pale, her eyes betraying her fear. He nodded as she came to him, and placed a steady hand on her shoulder.
‘It’s happened,’ he said, and explained in a few curt words what had taken place. ‘Now they’re here after me, and I’ve got to prevent them finding out about the Celertron.’
‘Professor, you shouldn’t have come back here,’ the girl cried. ‘Why didn’t you call me? I would have demolished everything here with one of the safety charges.’
‘I don’t want the Celertron damaged. It represents years of work, and I couldn’t let it be destroyed. Apart from that I don’t want you involved in all of this, Ethne.’
‘But I am involved, Professor,’ she said tightly. ‘If they’ve taken some of the Group then the interrogations will already have started. Names will be given and the round-up will start. What are we going to do?’
An explosion sounded dull and muffled, its echoes flitting quickly, and the building seemed to shudder for a moment.
‘They’re trying to blast the main door open,’ Condor said, a thin smile on his lips.
‘How long will it take them?’ Ethne demanded.
‘About four hours if they use an atom smasher! Without one they’ll never do it. But I’ve got to get to work. Switch on the scanners, Ethne, and keep an eye on what’s happening around the building.’
The girl fought down her fears and went to her desk, flipping a couple of switches, and the big screen on the wall flickered into life. The girl twisted a dial and closed-circuit cameras moved slowly, filming the exterior of the building. Condor saw the grouped security guards around the place, and looked closely for the weapons being used. There was nothing powerful enough to effect an entrance, he soon saw, and his forehead furrowed as he dragged his mind back to what he had to do.
‘What are you going to do, Professor?’ Ethne asked quickly, and there was fear in her lovely features. ‘We can’t just walk out of this.’
‘You can!’ He showed his teeth in a tight smile, but there was no mirth in his expression. ‘Try calling on the exterior line. If you can get through, ask what all the trouble is. When they ask you if I’m in here tell them no. Say you haven’t seen me since I took off to go into town.’
‘But they’ll find you here when they blast the door down,’ she protested fearfully.
‘No they won’t! I shan’t be here!’ He spoke grimly, his face showing his determination.
‘But how?’ She stared into his face, trying to read his intentions from his expression, and he turned on his heel and walked into the Lab. ‘No! ’ she called, running after him. ‘You can’t do that, Professor! The Celertron hasn’t been tested with living tissue.’
‘Okay,’ he said patiently. ‘If you can think up an alternative while I’m preparing to leave then let me know, and if it is basically sound and logical I’ll do it. But if you can’t then I’m getting out of here, and by the only method I know! ’
He went to the bench and began to check the Celertron, and she remained in the doorway, watching him intently, her face showing her fears. Condor tried to keep his mind free of speculation, and he knew he had no real alternative. In a matter of hours the guards would have blasted through the outer door, and then it would be all over. He glanced at the girl as he worked, checking everything of importance. She was motionless, and only when he looked at her did she break herself from the paralysis that gripped her and come towards him.
‘Professor, tell me what you plan to do,’ she said.
‘I’m going to transmit myself via the Celertron out of this trap,’ he retorted. ‘When the guards have checked and gone you can reverse the process and return me. You saw it happen to the coffee cup. There’s nothing to it. Just talk straight to the guards and they’ll believe you. I’ll leave you trussed up if you like. You can tell them I ducked in here and then left before the door was time-locked. Tell them anything except the truth. I can come back when its safe for me to do so, and then sneak out of here.’
‘I don’t like it.’ Her voice wavered despite her control. ‘But I don’t see any alternative. I wish I had your nerve, Professor. I don’t think I could go through what you’re planning to do.’
‘It doesn’t take much courage,’ he retorted, smiling thinly. ‘I’d rather face the unknown through the Celertron than take my chances in Ozen’s interrogation chambers.’
She suppressed a shudder, and her face showed her feelings. She looked at him intently, and he could see that she was on the verge of panic. He placed his large hands upon her shoulders and shook her gently.
‘Don’t worry about it,’ he told her. ‘I’m doomed to die anyway! I guess we were fools to think we could buck Aubin’s establishment and get away with it. But I’ll go on fighting as long as I can. You’d better go over these controls with me, and bring me back the first opportunity you get. I don’t think Ozen will suspect you of being part of the Group. But in any case you’re my only hope. I’ve got to do a disappearing act for Ozen’s sake.’
‘But there are so many risks,’ she said softly. ‘You don’t know where the Celertron will deposit you. It could be in outer space! ’
‘Then I’d better wear a space suit,’ he retorted. ‘I’ll make my preparations now, and collect everything I may need for survival while I’m in translation.’
‘It will probably kill you,’ she warned huskily, and there was real terror in her lovely face.’
Condor preferred not to think about it, and went about his preparations. From time to time he went into the office to check the scanner screen, and he saw the ring of guards around the Lab. General Ozen was standing in a group of high ranking security officers in front of the main door, and when he zoomed in on the entrance itself from one of the angled cameras he saw that they had in fact brought in an atom smasher and were trying to burn through the door. He knew just how long it would take them, and he smiled grimly as he went back to his work.
He put Ethne through the sequence of operating the Celertron, and the girl proved that she had been attentive during their previous work. But she was still afraid, and her face betrayed her inner feelings when Condor was ready to depart.
‘Have you got everything you might need?’ she demanded.
‘I think so.’ Smiling thinly, he checked his equipment.
‘What
happens if the Celertron is set to put you down in the middle of an ocean, or inside a mountain?’ she queried worriedly.
‘You would mention those possibilities now, wouldn’t you?’ he countered.
‘Professor, I’m scared.’ she admitted when they went out to the office to check on the progress of the guards cutting through the main door. They could see the whole door glowing eerily under the bombardment of the atom-smasher. But the cutting work wasn’t going so well, and Condor knew he had some time in hand. He had made the plans for this building, and had allowed for every type of disaster. Only two years ago it would have been impossible for anyone to get into the building, but in the past two years newer and more up to date weapons had been devised, and the atom-smasher would eat through the door in a matter of hours.
‘Just remember that you’ve got nothing to lose,’ he told her. ‘That should help you. And the fact that I need you here and still in charge.’
‘I’ll do anything you say! But can’t we make a quick test with one of the rabbits I brought in for the purpose?’
He stared at her for a moment, then slowly shook his head.
‘No,’ he said grimly. ‘I’d rather go out this way than face Ozen and his methods. If the human body can’t take the strains of translation then I’d rather die not knowing it.’
‘And if you die in the process and I bring back what’s left of you?’ she demanded.
He thinned his lips and shook his head, keeping it moving slowly while he stared at her.
‘If that does happen then I shan’t be around to worry about it. I’ll be dead and gone, Ethne.’
The girl nodded slowly, her face showing that she was in the throes of a living nightmare. Condor could feel nervous tension building up inside him, and he dared not let his mind have full sway. He kept himself busy, and time slipped by, the hands of his watch seeming to speed now time was so precious.
When he checked the scanner screen and saw that the guards were on the point of breaking through the main door he took a deep breath and went to don the space suit. He did not meet the girl’s gaze as he prepared to face the unknown. Then he was ready, and he moved to the base where the coffee cup had been placed and took up a position upon it. He looked at Ethne and smiled, despite his feelings.
Despot in Space Page 2