‘Looks like the moment has come,’ he said, attempting lightness, but his voice was harsh and almost unrecognizable.
‘Please, Professor,’ she retorted. ‘There must be some other way.’
‘Switch on,’ he commanded, steeling himself. ‘There’s no time left, Ethne. Send me on my way, and keep your fingers crossed when you try to bring me back.’
The girl stood with her eyes closed for a moment, her finger poised above the start button, and Condor took a deep breath, holding it as nameless fears rushed into his mind. But he knew there was no other way out, and he closed his eyes and resigned himself to his fate.
Ethne started the input, and Condor listened to the whining build-up of power. He stood tense and frightened on the base, and time seemed to stand still for him. He opened his eyes and looked at Ethne, focusing on the girl’s lovely, frightened face. As the power increased he began to feel pins and needles sensations in his chest, and it slowly spread through his body. He had imagined there would be terrific heat but he was cold. Then his muscles froze and he was held in a terrifying vortex from which he could not break. He wanted to yell out to Ethne to cut the power, that he would try some other way, but he could not move, and slowly his eyes lost their sight, although his ears continued functioning normally. He heard the crescendo of power throbbing and vibrating, and knew the actual moment of translation was fast approaching.
Condor felt as if he were glowing. There was no sensation of travel. He was vibrant and very cold. There was no pain, but he was filled with strange impressions and sensations, as if he were being distorted, made shapeless and dematerialized. His breathing stopped suddenly, and he felt panic hit him in the throat, but he was helpless in the mighty grasp of those mysterious forces released by the Celertron. His brain continued to function, and that surprised him because he fancied that with the stopping of his breathing he had become physically dead. But his brain was painfully alive and alert. His sightless eyes seemed able to record sensations now, and he was aware of the tremendous pressures at work about him.
How long he was held in the grip of the machine he had no idea, although it seemed like a lifetime. Then all pressures suddenly dropped away, like a discarded cloak, and his body was released from electronic captivity. The roaring, swirling sounds faded abruptly and a brilliance filled his eyes. He blinked against it, and the small movement jerked his mind from inertia and convulsed him into animation.
He opened his eyes and found himself staring up at a greenish-blue sky which was almost too bright to look at. He was lying on his back on lush green grass, dressed in his space suit and carrying the rest of his equipment, just as he’d been standing on the base back in the Lab.
When he pushed himself into a sitting position he saw why the sky was so brilliant. There were two suns!
Condor opened the visor of his space helmet and turned off his oxygen. He took a tentative breath and found his nostrils filled with good, life-supporting air, and he climbed to his feet and gazed around. The two suns in the sky informed him that he was on another world and he was shocked, because he had not expected to be moved more than a mile or two at most.
He was standing on a plateau on the side of a formidable mountain that looked desolate and bleak. Where the grass ended halfway down in the valley there was a brown world of sand and rocks, a baking desert of inanimate, hostile terrain. There were other mountains around him, rising up in unwelcoming tiers, poking their tips into an alien sky, and again he looked at the twin suns in the sky and wondered where he was.
But he was alive, and apparently unharmed after his translation. He stripped himself of his space suit, his mind thrusting up impressions of his strange and unnerving flight through time and space. The time since he’d departed from the Lab until he touched down on this remote spot could only have been a few fleeting seconds, but in that time he’d felt every atom of his body engulfed and distorted by white electric flame.
He was pleasantly surprised and greatly relieved that he was suffering no apparent ill effects of the translation, and his keen brown eyes narrowed as he looked around. His breathing was normal, indicating that the oxygen content of the air of this alien world was sufficient for his needs, and he looked around intently, searching his surroundings, and his mind flickered back to the moments before the Celertron had worked its mysteries upon him. But Earth seemed very remote, and for some unaccountable reason he could not concentrate upon the dangers which he had left behind.
Condor knew he could not stray from the spot where he had touched down, and he placed his space suit upon the exact spot where he had come to. When Ethne reversed the process of the Celertron it would claim the material in that immediate area, and if he failed to be in the right spot at the right time then he would not be able to return to his own world.
There was an eerie silence about him that soon made itself felt, and Condor remained motionless, studying his surroundings and wondering if the planet was inhabited. When he spotted movement down the slope, on the very edge of the grass area, he frowned and focused his eyes upon the spot, half believing that he had been mistaken. But the movement was repeated, furtive and slow, and he realized that he was under observation.
He knew there would be a long lapse of time before he could expect to be translated back to the Lab. Ethne would have to answer endless questions, and most probably would have to make a trip to Ozen’s headquarters. It might be hours before he could expect anything to happen, and he had a keen, enquiring mind. He might as well take advantage of this situation to do some exploring.
Checking the equipment he had brought with him, Condor stuck a hand-stunner in his belt, first adjusting the power source to low emission. He was thirsty, and to the right there was a stream glinting in the sunlight. He moved towards the water, but kept an eye on the spot well down the slope where he had spotted movement.
The water was like wine, and he slaked his thirst. He splashed his sweating face and then stood up, and caught a glimpse of a human figure darting into the doubtful cover of some rocks farther down the slope. He frowned. This world was inhabited, but he had no idea what he might come face to face with. He let his hand rest on the grip of the hand-stunner, glanced around again, and started down the slope towards the spot where the mysterious figure had gone to ground.
When he reached the end of the grass he paused and stared into the rocks. Nothing moved. He kept his hand close to the handle of the stunner, but did not want to make any obvious signs of menace.
‘Who’s there?’ he called, and his voice echoed eerily. He let his gaze flit around, but spotted nothing, until a figure leaped up from the cover of a large rock some twenty yards ahead of him, and disappeared almost in the same instant, dropping behind another rock.
Condor caught only a fleeting glimpse of the moving figure, and couldn’t be sure afterwards of what he’d seen. The figure had been tall, as tall as his own six-foot-four. It had been dressed lightly in some drab brown cloth that was shapeless and short, and he moistened his lips as he remained alert. He called once more, trying to keep his tones friendly, and he was keyed up and ready for anything.
The figure appeared again, moving more slowly, and Condor let his teeth click together when he saw what was obviously a woman moving from rock to rock. Her legs were bare and so were her arms. The shapeless dress she wore was tied about her waist with a rough cord-like substance. He watched her intently, not moving towards her as she watched him and then dropped out of sight once more.
At that moment he fancied he heard the faint whisper of bare feet in the short thick grass, and he turned his head to look in the direction from which the sound came. He stiffened immediately, for five even taller figures than the woman were rushing upon him, clubs in hand, silent and fearsome, intent upon bringing him down.
Condor moved quickly, thankful for all the work-outs he’d sweated through in the gymnasium, and he pulled the hand-stunner from his belt. The five men were unkempt, dressed pretty much like the woman,
brown-skinned but lightly so, and their long hair was shaggy and uncared for. They separated as they came at him, showing the instincts of natural hunters. They meant to surround him and take him from all sides, and Condor didn’t like the look of the heavy clubs in their powerful hands.
He swung the hand-stunner into action, beaming the deadly charges in their direction, and when they started to go down they began to emit blood curdling cries. Three of them fell quickly, but the other two were moving at an astonishing speed, and they were upon Condor before he realized his danger. The next moment the hand-stunner was dashed from his hand and he was fighting for his life…
Chapter Three
Ethne Stound felt a great sense of loss as Condor’s tall figure glowed and pulsated, then vanished, and she stood beside the Celertron and stared at the empty base for some moments, while the instrument vibrated under the hammering power coursing through it. The bleeper was sounding dementedly before she reached out an unsteady hand and switched off, and then she stood frozen until the power diminished and faded completely.
Silence, when it came, was more frightening than the sounds of the Celertron in action as she stared around the Lab, her breathing irregular, her hands clenched, and she wondered what had happened to the man she loved. Was he now dead?
There was a sob in her throat as she went towards the base and studied it. She passed her hands through the air where Condor had stood, and shook her head in shocked fear when they encountered nothing. Condor was gone, and she might never see him again.
She went out to the office and studied the scanner. The guards were on the point of breaking into the building, and she began to realize that some sort of an ordeal was coming to her. Holding her breath for a moment in order to stabilize her racing pulses, she opened the exterior line on the communicator and called the security section. There was no reply.
Panic was filling her as she went around to check that there was no incriminating evidence for General Ozen to get hold of. But her gaze was drawn frequently to the scanner, and she could see that the main door was on the point of disintegrating. When she saw the explosion as the door finally gave way she tensed and sat at her desk, filled with nameless dread. The elevator whined and then there were security guards everywhere, rushing through the building to check for danger.
General Ozen, flanked by half a dozen high security officials and bodyguards, came striding into the office, and he smiled thinly when his icy blue eyes took in Ethne’s beautiful figure.
‘Where is Condor?’ the general demanded.
‘He left here about two-thirty, and I haven’t seen him since,’ the girl replied. ‘What’s going on? I’ve tried to call security but the line is dead. Has there been a raid, or is this a practice alarm?’
‘Condor came into this building,’ Ozen rapped. He paused as a Captain came in through the doorway to report.
‘The Professor is not in the building, General!’
‘He must be.’ Ozen looked around the office as if expecting to see Condor concealing himself behind the desk or in a filing cabinet. ‘His car was parked outside and this building was locked with a time-key. Only Condor carried one. He’s got to be around.’
‘I assure you that I haven’t seen the professor since he left to go into town. I wasn’t expecting him back until much later. I was ordered to prepare to test the experiment the professor is perfecting.’ Ethne spoke convincingly, but her heart was pounding and she found it difficult to keep her lovely face expressionless. ‘What is this all about, General?’
‘Professor Condor is suspected of being involved in the latest plot to overthrow the World Master,’ Ozen snapped.
‘No!’ Ethne permitted her face to show shocked surprise. ‘I’ll never believe that! The professor is one of the most dedicated men I’ve ever known. His results in the past must show where his beliefs and sympathies lie.’
‘Perhaps!’ Ozen was not convinced. He glanced at one of his aides. ‘I want this building taken apart if needs be, to make sure Condor is not here. He’s got to be found.’ He paused and stared at the girl. ‘If he’s not involved in this business then why has he disappeared? He drove into the compound, left his car outside the main door of this building, and vanished. Why did he use the time-key on the door?’
‘I’m afraid I can’t answer any of those questions, but I feel you’re making a mistake if you suspect the professor. And his work here is of the highest secret order. Will you see that security is maintained on this building, General? Even your guards should not be permitted to enter.’
Ozen nodded slowly, and his face was stiff, his lips thin and pinched.
‘There is something of an emergency on, and panic is rife at all levels. Thank you for reminding me of my basic duties, Miss Stound. Colonel, have the building cleared of guards. If you’ve made a search then it will suffice. There is nowhere that Condor can hide. Just maintain top vigilance, and let’s have that broken door replaced as soon as possible.’
The security men began to depart, but the general remained, watching the girl’s face, and Ethne stared into his impassive blue eyes and tried not to think of the interrogation chambers.
‘What project was the professor working on?’ Ozen demanded suddenly.
‘You know I can’t tell you that,’ Ethne said firmly. ‘It is all in the highest grade of security.’
‘What’s happened to the professor? Don’t lie to me, Miss Stound. I have ways of making you tell the truth, and none of them are pleasant. You have been very close to the professor. I have been informed that you are in love with him. You must know everything about him. Now tell me, or you’ll find yourself in a great deal of trouble.’
‘I can tell you nothing, General! I doubt that the professor is mixed up in anything to do with a resistance group. If he were he would hardly tell me about it. Or are you suggesting that I too am mixed up with some subversive faction?’ She smiled, and there was nothing in her outward appearance to suggest she was under strain.
‘I work on hard facts, Miss Stound, and I deal in them. If you are in any way connected with this trouble then I shall be aware of it before many more hours are past. Until then I shall give you the benefit of the doubt. How much do you know about the professor’s work here?’
‘A great deal. I am a fully qualified scientist in my own right, remember.’
‘I haven’t forgotten.’ A thin smile touched the general’s face. ‘You will continue here as if nothing happened. If you are able to go on with Condor’s project then do so, and ensure that all his records are up to date. There will be a replacement in here as soon as possible, and you will cooperate fully with him.’
‘Of course, General!’ Relief was starting to prickle through Ethne, but she maintained an expressionless face. ‘But I think you’ll find that Professor Condor will turn up shortly, and with a perfectly valid reason for his behaviour.’ She paused and studied the impassive face before her for a moment. ‘You did say the professor was only suspected of being involved in this business, didn’t you? There is no actual proof, is there?’
‘No proof yet,’ Ozen said tightly, and turned and departed.
Ethne sat still, holding her breath for long moments, until her lungs began to protest, and then she exhaled in a sigh and got to her feet, going to the door of the Lab and staring at the empty base at the far end of the long room.
She was thinking that the situation didn’t seem as bad as the professor had imagined. But he was under suspicion, and she guessed that one or another of the captured resistance Group would certainly divulge the truth. She was impatient to reverse the process of the Celertron and bring back Condor, and she trembled as she imagined that he might be dead. But she dared not operate the machine yet. General Ozen was nobody’s fool, and she realized that she too would be under suspicion.
The thought that she might be arrested made her think coldly and objectively, but there was nothing she could do except await developments, and she busied herself in the Lab, bringin
g the professor’s notes up to date, trying to keep her mind from the alarming possibility that Condor had perished in the translation that had been forced by circumstance upon him.
But if he wasn’t dead then there were still some insurmountable problems before them. When he returned he would have to go into hiding, with the Celertron, and she didn’t know where he would find the necessary facilities in hiding to finish his plans for the assassination of the World Master.
She felt imprisoned in the Lab, and tried to keep herself occupied until she thought she might make an attempt to retrieve Condor. She closed the Lab door and locked it, then approached the Celertron with reluctance, wanting to make the attempt yet afraid of what she would discover.
The hum of the increasing power when she switched on the instrument gave her some confidence, and she checked meters and dials, ensuring the Celertron was set to reverse the process that had removed the professor. She clenched her teeth as the power reached maximum-plus, and she stared at the base, waiting for Condor to materialize. Her nerves reached breaking point as the rising whine of the process increased to intolerable levels, and then she tensed, for a space suit was beginning to materialize on the base. She saw it shimmering indistinctly, then take on substance, and when it was solid she hurriedly switched off the power and waited for the process to cease.
Running to the base, she grasped at the suit, and then realized that Condor was not in it. She froze for a moment, stilled by her shock, and then she realized that the suit had been dismantled. The helmet had been removed and the face visor opened. But there was no sign of the professor, and nothing to indicate what had happened to him.
Had the process disintegrated him completely? She stared at the suit while she pondered. Had the strains of the transmission been too great for his molecular structure? Was he dead? She could not judge, and while she put the suit away in its cupboard her mind grappled with the powerful questions, trying to find some basis for hope.
Despot in Space Page 3