New Title 1

by Campbell, J R

  8

  As you can imagine, after a night like that, the rest of the day seemed as nothing. The sun was up no more than an hour before Udo Landis was giving us a ride in his buggy to the nearest train station, our driver having lit out without a look back. Awkward handshakes all around, some thanks that amounted to very little, and he was on his way back home. I cannot blame him for wanting us gone. Everything about us was a reminder of what he had seen. I had no doubt that his back field would be sold before next reaping time.

  The following day, the Professor was on his own way back home. By his own admittance, he missed Mrs. Challenger terribly, and anyway, preferred to be home these days. Standing by the gangway of his ship, he took my hand and shook it firmly.

  “ It was a pleasure having met you, Mr. Grimm,” he said.“I find myself not regretting Malone sending you my way. You are a person of... singular grit.”

  I smiled at the praise. Take it as it’s given, my mother once told me. This man gave things exactly as he saw them, and I knew a compliment when I heard one.

  Releasing his hand, I asked, “Would it be too much trouble to ask you to deliver a message to Malone for me?”

  He smirked.“Anything. What message?”

  “Please tell him it was... Interesting.”

  THE DEATH OF CHALLENGER

  by Steve Lockley It had been some since I had last seen my old friend Professor Challenger. My own growing family and the Professor’s scientific pursuits which had often taken him to far flung lands had created a distance between us. Edith had visited her mother whenever she could, particularly when he was away from home which was often, but during the last few years she had stayed with another relative whenever he was away from home. Time had passed and both Edith I were no longer sure when we last saw either of them

  He had written to me occasionally, usually to request, or rather demand that I accompany him on one expedition or another, which I had to decline, or for me to help obtain some research material for him which I was happy to oblige with whenever I was able. News of his exploits often appeared in the international newspapers and I followed them with interest, keeping the clippings in a file I had set aside for that purpose. His latest missive when I received it though, had far less of his usual arrogance and the handwriting a little more hesitant that I had ever known it. I knew that I could not turn my back on my old friend if he was in need.

  14 (Bis), Enmore Gardens, Kensington Dear Malone, my old friend. I have returned home after what I expect to be my final journey beyond these shores and fear that I must prevail on our friendship one last time. If you could visit me at Enmore Gardens tomorrow morning at ten I will tell you what needs to be done.

  GEORGE EDWARD CHALLENGER It was a simple enough note but its pleading tone was unusual. I could not remember a time when he had previously referred to me as an ‘old friend’, even though I had felt he had been that for more years than I cared to remember. He had, on a few occasions since my marriage to his daughter, called me ‘son’ but those were few and far between. I returned the letter to my pocket after reading it once more before I made my way to his front door.

  From the outside the house looked as if it was in need of a little attention. The black paint on the door was cracked and flaking, but given the amount of time he spent abroad it was easy to understand how things could be overlooked. Mrs Challenger had always been particular about the inside of the house, and I had not been prepared for the sight that greeted me when the door was opened.

  Professor Challenger seemed much smaller than when I last saw him, as if the flesh had shrunk onto his bones. Age was affecting even him. His once raven black beard was now streaked with grey, his hairline had receded to a widow’s peak and his hair was cut short. Still he greeted me like a long lost friend and I was sure that there was the faint trace of a tear in his eye.

  “Malone! It is good to see you! I was not sure that you would come after all this time. I have neglected you far too much.” Was this really the same man who had bawled and shouted at the slightest inconvenience; the man who did not suffer fools for a moment without making his feelings known? He shuffled along the hallway and led me on the familiar route to his study, past piles of newspapers stacked against the wall and uneven assortment of books stood on every tread on the staircase. It was clear that Mrs Challenger was no longer running the household. Her frailty over the last few years had meant that she was no longer able to be as fastidious as she had once been. A tea tray was already laid out on the Professor’s desk; the cups and saucers were mismatched but I made no comment. I felt sad at the way the great man had aged, reminding me of my own mortality. He had once been a man with a great presence but now he was so much smaller, as if all the vitality had been sucked out of him.

  “Please forgive the mess,” he said. “I am managing on my own here now.” He had given me the opportunity to ask the question without the need to feel embarrassed, even if I did not want to hear the answer.“Mrs Challenger?”

  “ She is unwell I am afraid,” he said. “I have neglected her almost as much as I have failed you and it has taken this to make me realise. She is the reason I need your help.”

  “I will assist in any way I can Professor and will do anything I can to assist you and your wife.”

  “I will show you soon enough what needs to be done, but first, tell me how are my grandchildren?”

  “They are both fine.” “ Ah, good,” he said and fell silent again for a moment, gazing into a space somewhere beyond his study wall. We drank our tea without another word being exchanged, until finally I placed my cup down and the spoon rattled on the saucer.

  “What can I do to help?” I asked eventually. “ It will be easier to show you than explain,” he said and got unsteadily to his feet.“My researches for the last three years have all been leading to this one day, my friend and I am now finally in a position to put things right.”

  I had known my friend to express himself in many ways, but never one of regret unless it had been one of not pushing his research far enough; of failing to see the full potential of a discovery. Many times he had mentioned the things he wished he had been able to examine in the place we called the Lost World. Sometimes I thought he would have passed the rest of his life there if he had been able to, but there were ties and other research he wanted to turn his not insignificant talents to. He led the way out of the room without waiting to make sure that I was following, though his slow progress would not have meant that I could have been left behind.

  He opened a door in the hallway that I had never taken any notice of before and reached inside to turn on a light. The steps beyond led down into a cellar that I supposed I must have always known would have existed, but had never given it any thought. All of the houses like this had a void beneath the houses and although there was a tendency towards damp and earth floors, this one had been completed to a much higher standard than was usual. This space was clearly the Professor’s laboratory and in the far corner of the room was something I thought I would never see again; the Disintegration Machine complete with cables hanging from the ceiling, the great prism and the chair with the great bowl that would rest on the head of anyone who sat in it.

  “ You do not think that I could have left it in the apartment in White Friars Mansions do you? If the Russians had returned they would have taken it away themselves and perhaps they would have stumble upon the way to return Mr Nemor to his former state and encourage him to reveal the secret of the machine whether it was with money or coercion.”

  “So you brought it here to make sure that it would not fall into the wrong hands?” I remembered only too clearly the meeting in White Friar’s Mansions and the way that Professor Challenger showed his ruthless streak. My editor at the time had instructed me to take the Professor to the home of Theodore Nemor, a Latvian who claimed to have been able to dissolve any object into its individual atoms and reassemble them in the correct order when required. Sadly we had arrived too late as a Russia
n contingent were leaving as we arrived, having already agreed a price for the secrets which only existed in his head.

  The Latvian had explained that there was no limit to the size of the object that could be made to cease to exist. There was an agreement to a demonstration of the power of the machine and Challenger was quick to put himself forward to be the subject. He would have been a greater loss to the world than one more newspaper reporter and I had insisted on going first. When Nemor threw the switch I had not even noticed any change and I only had their word that I had gone through the process of being disintegrated and reassembled. I felt nothing; no pain, no discomfort; no difference. Naturally Professor Challenger insisted on experiencing this himself too, during which the Latvian had reassembled him at first without a hair on his head, his great black beard missing, revealing heavy jowls. Eventually he had returned him in his complete form and some of the ramifications of the ownership in foreign hands began to sink in. With a machine like this they could make the pride of the British fleet disappear, or even a whole town if his claims that there was no limit to its power were correct.

  Professor Challenger had tricked the Latvian into sitting in the seat for a moment and thrown the lever, causing the man to disappear and claiming that ‘the first duty of the law-abiding citizen is to prevent murder’. I had been shocked that he could do this and yet part of me knew that we could not have allowed the Russians to get their hands on the secrets of the device.

  “ Are you planning on bringing Nemor back? Have you worked how to do it?” It was the only reason I could think of for him wanting to operate the machine. I foolishly assumed that he needed my help to subdue him.

  “ That was done a long time ago,” he said, shattered all thoughts of me being called upon for that purpose. “Nemor is currently working in a secret government establishment. He is still too dangerous to be free, but he is given everything he asks for.”

  “But you know how to use it then?” “ I understand the basics of the machine but I am a long way from being able to use all of its capabilities. Nemor refuses to talk about it and he is too valuable an asset to force him to reveal anything. He is content to work on another project at the moment, but I have not heard of his progress for some time though if it was worthwhile I am sure I would have been notified.” There was a flash of his former arrogance still lurking somewhere beneath the surface. He still believed that he was the most important scientist this country ever had, or perhaps ever would produce.

  “Then what do you plan to use it for?”

  “I have already used it my friend,” his voice softened again.

  “You have? How?” “ I will tell you soon but I must ask first that you swear that you will never tell anyone about what takes place down here today. Not even my daughter.”

  “ Of course.” I did not hesitate, even when he asked me to keep something from my wife. There was a time when I would have laid down my life for this man and the last time I saw this machine I could easily have done that very thing if things had gone wrong. Now I had a family of my own though I might not be so ready to put myself forward. I hoped I would not have to let him down.

  “ Then I will tell you what I have been doing for the last few years and perhaps you will understand.” He leaned against the edge of a table to steady himself. For a moment I thought he was going to sit in the chair and was relieved when he did not.

  “ As you know, my wife has been ill for some time and while medical advances no doubt mean that in time a cure will be readily available for all who suffer from her condition, I know that she would be unable to live long enough to wait for someone to turn their attentions to the matter.”

  “And so you did it yourself?” He smiled a little. It was never an easy smile but it was there none the less.“Of course I did. How could I entrust such an important mission to anyone who was not the best.”

  “ And you have succeeded in finding a cure?” I realised that I still did not know what the matter was with his wife, but somehow that seemed to be of no importance. I believed in the Professor and if he said he had found a cure then I believed him.

  “ Of course.” It was a simple statement of fact as if there should never have been any doubt. “On this occasion I cannot take full credit for the discovery. The cure for the disease that has threatened to end her life has been known in the lower reaches of the Himalayas for more generations than any can remember. They were reluctant to allow me to take any of the solution away from their land as it is an extract of one of the rarest plants in the world. It will not grow elsewhere and refuses to be propagated to become more common.”

  “Did you have to steal it?” I asked crouching down to look closer but without touching the precious vial. “Not at all. I saved their king’s life when he was being attacked by a great creature that came out of the snow. I don’t know if I killed it or merely scared it away but they showed their gratitude by allowing me to take this away from them.”

  “And you are sure that this will work.”

  “Of course it will work. I would not have called you here if I had not been sure that it would, but I cannot do this on my own.”

  “What is the matter with her?” I asked eventually.

  “Tuberculosis. There is no doubt.” “ But you have been looking for this cure for so long. Are you sure that this will still be able to help her? Surely too much time has passed?”I had never known anyone to survive with the terrible illness for three years. Even those who had been able to travel to warmer climes to find a climate that would extend their life still suffered irreparable damage.

  “ If I had placed her in a sanatorium as her doctor had suggested that would certainly have been the case. She was weak enough before I had to leave her, but I took every step that I could to make sure that her condition did not deteriorate while I was away.”

  I still did not understand what he was trying to tell me, or perhaps I was looking for answers when none was there to be found. “Then we have to get to her as quickly as possible.”

  “ There is no need to rush Malone. Time is no longer of any consequence to her, but sadly it is for me. Everything we need is here. I have made some minor modifications to the machine, but if you could turn the lever on the machine to setting number two when I am ready, we can begin.”

  The machine? What was this to do with that infernal machine? Challenger removed a syringe from a drawer and filled it with the clear liquid in the vial, holding the needle up to ensure that he had ejected the air bubble.

  “I don’t understand,” I said, but it was clear that he had already answered as many questions as he was planning to do.

  “Setting number two,” he repeated. I glanced at the machine and saw the settings clearly marked. I threw the lever and heard the faint hum I remembered only too well from the last time I had seen the machine. The ceiling light dimmed for a moment as power was drawn to the device, and Mrs Challenger appeared in the chair. It had been some time since I had last seen her, and time and illness had not been kind. She struggled to breathe, coughing as she did but the Professor was at her side in an instant, taking her arm. She was clearly confused over my presence, but her husband did his best to reassure her.

  I felt hopeless. All I could do was watch as he injected her with the serum he had spent so much time looking for. She must have been held in her reduced state for three years, existing as no more than atoms trapped within this room, and yet to her no more than a heartbeat had passed. Then I realised that the confusion was not just due to my presence, but because of the change in her husband. She coughed and blood stained her chin. Challenger tenderly wiped it away and whispered to her softly.

  She tried to get to her feet, but was too frail to support herself. Challenger looked at my, appealing or my help without being able to ask for it.

  “Please,” I said. “Let me.” He stepped aside and allowed me to take her up in my arms, her weight of little measure and no burden as we made our way up the stairs to the passage way and
another flight to her bedroom. I laid her down on the bed she had been absent rom for so long and she thanked me though the pain was etched on her face.

  “ All we can do now is wait,” he said sitting on a chair beside her and taking her hand. This was a level of tenderness and intimacy I had never seen him display before. I felt like I was intruding and that I should leave them to this private moment. To Challenger this was the first time he had seen his wife for more than three years but to her it was only a moment before she reappeared in the chair. She must have known what he had planned but was struggling to come to terms with the lost years.

  When I returned again only a few days later the transformation was astonishing. I had expected that she would be resting while Challenger waited beside her side, convinced that his cure would take effect at any moment, but instead she opened the door to me, her face full of vitality. She was still frail and unsteady on her feet but that was her age, no more than that. She appeared to be cured of the terrible disease.

  “ I am afraid you have missed him,” she said. “He had to leave this morning, but he left you this letter which he said you would understand. Please, wait until you are at home before you read it.” She laid mottled hand on mine as she gave me the envelope and I saw a tear in her eye.

  I did not understand. Why would he leave his wife now that he had been able to restore her to health? I agreed to wait but I was ever conscious of its presence in my pocket. It was only later, when my own house had fallen silent and I was left alone by the fire that I retrieved it to read his farewell.

  My Dear Malone, I fear that we may have met for the final time but hope that I can prevail upon you one last time. While on my travels I discovered that I only have a limited amount of useful time left. I fear that my heart has outlived its usefulness and could cease to work at any time. There is no cure that I have been able to find, and if I have not found it then it cannot exist, and we must accept that there is a limit to the useful life of these bodies. The only hope is that one day it will be possible to replace these worn out parts with either a mechanical device or the organ of another animal.