The Ethical Engineer
Page 23
the local torture methods, and he wanted to keepit that way.
"Proof is easy, Hertug of all the Perssonoj, because I know everythingabout everything. I can build machines that walk, that talk, that run,fly, swim, bark like a dog and roll on their backs."
"You will build a _caroj_ for me?"
"It could be arranged, if you have the right kind of tools I coulduse. But I must first know what is the specialty of your clan, if youknow what I mean. Like the Trozelligoj make _caroj_ and the D'zertanojpump oil. What do your people do?"
"You cannot know as much as you say if you do not know of the gloriesof the Perssonoj!"
"I come from a distant land and as you know news travels slowly aroundthese parts."
"Not around the Perssonoj," the Hertug said scornfully and thumped hischest. "We can talk across the width of the country and always knowwhere our enemies are. We can send magic on wires to kill, or magic tomake light in a glass ball or magic that will pluck the sword from anenemy's hand and drive terror into his heart."
"It sounds like your gang has the monopoly on electricity, which isgood to hear. If you have some heavy forging equipment...."
"Stop!" the Hertug ordered. "Leave! Out--everyone except the_sciuloj_. Not the new slave, he stays here," he shouted when thesoldiers grabbed Jason.
* * * * *
The room emptied and the handful of men who remained were all a littlelong in the tooth and each wore a brazen, sun-burst type decoration onhis chest. They were undoubtedly adept in the secret electrical artsand they fingered their weapons and grumbled with unconcealed anger atJason's forbidden knowledge. The Hertug signaled him to continue.
"You used a sacred word. Who told it to you? Speak quickly or you willbe killed."
"Didn't I tell you I knew everything? I can build a _caroj_ and givena little time I can improve on your electrical works, if yourtechnology is on the same level as the rest of this planet."
"Do you know what lies behind the forbidden portal?" the Hertug asked,pointing to a barred, locked and guarded door at the other end of theroom. "There is no way you can have seen what is there, but if you cantell me what lies beyond it I will know you are the wizard that youclaim you are."
"I have a very strange feeling that I have been over this ground oncebefore," Jason sighed. "All right, here goes. You people here makeelectricity, maybe chemically, though I doubt if you would get enoughpower that way, so you must have a generator of some sort. That willbe a big magnet, a piece of special iron that can pick up other iron,and you spin it around fast next to some coils of wire and out comeselectricity. You pipe this through copper wire to whatever devices youhave, and they can't be very many. You say you talk across thecountry. I'll bet you don't talk at all but send little clicks, dotsand dashes.... I'm right aren't I?" The foot shuffling and rising buzzfrom the adepts was a sure sign that he was hitting close. "I have anidea for you, I think I'll invent the telephone. Instead of the oldclikkety-clack how would you like to _really_ talk across the country?Speak into a gadget here and have your voice come out at the far endof the wire?"
The Hertug's piggy little eyes blinked greedily. "It is said that inthe old days this could be done, but we have tried and have failed.Can you do this thing?"
"I can--if we can come to an agreement first. But before I make anypromises I have to see your equipment."
This brought the usual groans of complaint about secrecy, but in theend avarice won over taboo and the door to the holy of holies wasopened for Jason while two of the _sciuloj_, with bared and readydaggers, stood at his sides. At almost the same instant Jason lookedin through the door he heard the sound.
Now the reaction of the human body, while remarkably fast, needcertain finite measures of time and have been measured over and overagain with a great deal of accuracy. The commands of the brain, speedyas they may be, must be carried by sluggish nerves and put intooperation by inert lumps of muscle. Therefore to say that Jason'sreactions were instantaneous is to tell a lie, or at least exaggerate.Only to his watchers did his actions appear to take place that fast;they were older, and less alert, and had not had the advantage ofPyrran survival training. So to their point of view the sacred portalwas opened and Jason vanished in a flurry of activity. Two lightningblows sent his guardians spinning, and before they had fallen to thefloor their supposed captive was through the door and it was slammedin their faces. Before the first dumfounded Persson could jump forwardthe bolt grated home inside and the door was sealed.
Things were a little more complex than that to Jason. When the dooropened he had had a good view of the inside of the room, of a slavecranking the handle on a crude collection of junk that could only havebeen a generator. Thick wires looped across the room from the thing toa man who stood before some blades of copper pushing at them with awooden stick, while above his head fat sparks leaped the gap betweentwo brassy spheres. As if to complete this illustration for abronze-age edition of "First Steps in Electricity" another cabletwisted up from the spark gap and vanished out a small window. Theentire thing might have been labeled "How to Generate A Radio Signalin the Crudest Manner." As Jason reached this conclusion in thesmallest fraction of a second, and at almost the very same instant, heheard the sound.
What he heard could have been distant thunder, an earthquake, avolcano or some giant explosion. It rumbled and rolled, muffled bydistance, yet still clear. It resembled none of these things to Jason,but made him think only of a high altitude rocket or jet, cleavingthrough the atmosphere.
It must have been the juxtaposition of these two things, occurring asthey did at the same time, the view of a radio transmitter, no matterhow crude, and the thought that there might be a civilized craft orsome kind up there containing men who would come to his aid if hecould only contact them. The idea was an insane one, but even as herealized that fact he was through the door and bolting it behind him.Perhaps he did it because he had been pushed around entirely too muchand felt like pushing someone else for a change. In any case it wasdone, insane or not, and he might as well carry through.
The generator slave looked up, startled, but when Jason glanced at himhe lowered his eyes and kept cranking. The man who had been workingthe transmitter spun about, startled by the slam of the door and themuffled pounding and shouts that followed instantly from the otherside. He groped for his dagger when he saw the stranger, but before itwas clear of the scabbard Jason was on him and after a few quickPyrran infighting blows the man lost all interest in what washappening and slid to the floor. Jason straddled his body, picked thestick up, nodded to the slave who began cranking faster, and began totap out a message.
S-O-S ... S-O-S ... he sent first, then as fragments of code came backto him he spelled out J-A-S-O-N D-A-L-T H-R-E.... N-E-E-D A-I-D....R-I-C-H.... R-E-W-A-R-D ... F-O-R ... H-E-L-P....
He varied this a bit, repeated his name often, and tried other themesappealing for off-world aid. It was a slim chance that he had heard arocket, and even slimmer chance that they would pick his message outof the static if they happened to be listening. He had no evidencethat any off-worlders were in contact with this planet, merely hope.He tapped on and the slave ground away industriously. His arm wasgrowing tired by the time the old guard in the other room foundsomething heavy enough to swing and broke the door down. Jason stoppedtapping and turned to face the apoplectic Hertug, rubbing his tiredwrist.
"Your equipment works fine, though it could use a lot ofimprovements."
"Kill him.... Kill!" the Hertug sputtered.
"Kill me and there goes your _caroj_, as well as your telephone systemand your only chance to wrap up all the industrial secrets in one bigbundle," Jason said, looking around for something heavy to swing.
* * * * *
A gigantic explosion slammed into the room; a crack appeared in onewall and dust floated down from the ceiling. There was a sound ofsnapping small arms fire in the distance.
"It worked!" Jason shouted with unrestrained glee a
nd hurled a heavyroll of wire at the startled men in the doorway and followed instantlyafter it in a headlong dive. There was a flurry of action, most of thedamage being done by his boots, then he was through and running out ofthe throne room with the men bellowing in pursuit.
A small war seemed to be raging ahead, the sharp explosions of gunfirebeing mixed with the heavier thud of bombs and grenades. Walls weredown, doors blasted open while confused soldiers rushed in panicthrough the clouds of dust. One of them tried to stop Jason who kepton going, carrying the man's club with him. Sunlight shone ahead andhe dived through a riven wall and landed, rolling in the open groundnext to the dock. A spaceship's lifeboat stood there, still glowinghot from the speed of descent, and next to it stood Meta keeping up acontinuous fire with her