Complete Short Fiction, page 66
He was alone.
Cut off in his little corner of brain.
Lost.
Yes, lost, came a strangely pitying sibilation of thought, lost to a cheap, sordid existence, lost to a life whose end is visible from the hour of birth, lost to a civilization that has already had to be saved from itself a thousand times. Even you, I think, can see that all this is lost to you forever—Leigh thought starkly: The thing was trying by a repetition of ideas, by showing evidence of defeat, to lay the foundations of further defeat. It was the oldest trick of simple hypnotism for simple people. And he couldn’t let it work—
You have, urged the mind inexorably, accepted the fact that you were playing a role; and now you have recognized our oneness, and are giving up the role. The proof of this recognition on your part is that you have yielded control of—our—body.
—Our body, our body, OUR body—
The words re-echoed like some Gargantuan sound through his brain, then merged swiftly into that calm, other-mind pulsation:
—concentration. All intellect derives from the capacity to concentrate; and, progressively, the body itself shows life, reflects and focuses that gathering, vaulting power.
—One more step remains; You must see—Amazingly, then, he was staring into a mirror. Where it had come from, he had no memory. It was there in front of him, where, an instant before, had been a black porthole—and there was an image in the mirror, shapeless at first to his blurred vision.
Deliberately—he felt the enormous deliberateness—the vision was cleared for him. He saw—and then he didn’t.
His brain wouldn’t look. It twisted in a mad desperation, like a body buried alive, and briefly, horrendously conscious of its fate. Insanely, it fought away from the blazing thing in the mirror. So awful was the effort, so titanic the fear, that it began to gibber mentally, its consciousness to whirl dizzily, like a wheel spinning faster, faster—The wheel shattered into ten thousand aching fragments. Darkness came, blacker than Galactic night. And there was—
Oneness!
THE END.
SECRET UNATTAINABLE
The Secret Weapon! We heard about it, were threatened with it—but never saw it. Van Vogt has an answer here, the secret of Hitler’s secret weapon—a secret that Hitler himself never knew, and, even knowing, could never hope to use—
How the file, known as Secret Six, was smuggled out of the German Reich and brought to the United States is one of those dramatic true tales of World War II that will some day be told. It involves people inside Germany who would be executed if their part and the process were discovered.
All the extraordinary documents of this file, it should be emphasized, are definitely in the hands of our own authorities; and investigations are proceeding apace. Further revelations of a grand order may be expected as soon as one of the machines is built.
The documents date from 1937, and will be given chronologically, without reference to their individual importance. But first, it is of surpassing interest to draw attention to the following news item, which appeared in the New York Sun,
March 25, 1941, on page 17. At that time it appeared to have no significance whatsoever. The item:
GERMAN CREEK BECOMES RIVER
London, March 24 (delayed): A Royal Air Force reconnaissance pilot today reported that a creek in northern Prussia, marked on the map as the Gribe Creek, has become a deep, swift river overnight. It is believed that an underground waterway burst its bounds. Several villages in the path of the new river showed under water. No report of the incident has yet been received from Berlin.
There never was any report from Berlin. It should again be pointed out that the foregoing news item was published in 1941; the documents which follow date from 1937, a period of four years. Four years of world-shaking history:
April 10, 1937
From Secretary, Bureau of Physics
To Reich and Prussian Minister of Science
Subject 10731—127—S—6
1. Inclosed is the report of the distinguished scientific board of inquiry which sat on the case of Herr Professor Johann Kenrube.
2. As you will see, the majority of the board oppose emphatically the granting of State funds for what they describe as a “fantastic scheme.” They deny that an all-vacuum environment for energy would produce the results claimed, and refute utterly the number philosophy involved. Number, they say, is a function, not a reality, or else modern physics has no existence.
3. The minority report of Herr Professor Goureit, while thought-provoking, can readily be dismissed when it is remembered that Goureit, like Kenrube and Kenrube’s infamous brother, was once a member of the SPD.
4. The board of inquiry, having in mind Hitler’s desire that no field of scientific inquiry should be left unexplored, and as a generous gesture to Goureit, who has a very great reputation and a caustic pen, suggested that, if Kenrube could obtain private funds for his research, he should be permitted to do so.
5. Provided Geheime Staats Polizei do not object, I concur.
G.L.
Author’s Note: The signature G.L. has been difficult to place. There appears to have been several secretaries of the Bureau of Physics Research, following one another in swift order. The best accounts identify him as Gottfried Lesser, an obscure B. Sc. who early joined the Nazi party, and for a period was its one and only science expert. Geheime Staats Polizei is of course Gestapo.
April 17, 1937
MEMO
From Chief, Science Branch, Gestapo
If Kenrube can find the money, let him go ahead. H. concurs, provided supervision be strict.
K. Reissel.
COPY ONLY
June 2, 1937
From Co-ordinator Dept., Deutsche Bank
To Gestapo
The marginally noted personages have recently transferred sums totaling Reichsmarks four million five hundred thousand to the account of Herr Professor Johann Kenrube. For your information please.
J. Pleup
June 11, 1937
From Gestapo
To Reich and Prussian Minister of Science
Subject Your 10731—127—S—6
Per your request for further details on the private life of J. Kenrube since the death of his brother in June, 1934, in the purge:
We quote from a witness, Peter Braun: “I was in a position to observe Herr Professor Kenrube very closely when the news was brought to him at Frankfort-on-Main that August, his brother, had been executed in the sacred blood purge.
“Professor Kenrube is a thin, good-looking man with normally a very wan face. This face turned dark with color, then drained completely of blood. He clenched his hands and said: ‘They’ve murdered him!’ Then he rushed off to his room.
“Hours later, I saw him walking, hatless, hair disarrayed, along the bank of the river. People stopped to look at him, but he did not see them. He was very much upset that first day. When I saw him again the next morning, he seemed to have recovered. He said to me:
“ ‘Peter, we must all suffer for our past mistakes. The tragic irony of my brother’s death is that he told me only a week ago in Berlin that he had been mistaken in opposing the Nationalsozialistiche Arbeitspartei. He was convinced they were doing great things. I am too much of a scientist ever to have concerned myself with politics.’ ”
You will note, Excellency, that this is very much the set speech of one who is anxious to cover up the indiscreet, emotional outburst of the previous day. However, the fact that he was able to pull himself together at all seems to indicate that affection of any kind is but shallowly rooted in his character. Professor Kenrube returned to his laboratories in July, 1934, and has apparently been hard at work ever since.
There has been some discussion here concerning Kenrube, by the psychologists attached to this office; and the opinion is expressed, without dissent, that in three years the professor will almost have forgotten that he had a brother.
K. Reissel
MEMO AT BOTTOM OF LETTER:
I am more convinced than ever that psychologists should be seen and not heard. It is our duty to watch every relative of every person whose life is, for any reason, claimed by the State. If there are scientific developments of worth-while nature in this Kenrube affair, let me know at once. His attainments are second to none. A master plan of precaution is in order.
Himmler
October 24, 1937
From Secretary, Bureau of Physics
To Reich and Prussian Minister of Science
Subject Professor Johann Kenrube
The following report has been received from our Special Agent Seventeen:
“Kenrube has hired the old steel and concrete fortress. Gribe Schloss, overlooking the Gribe Creek, which flows into the Eastern Sea. This ancient fortress was formerly located on a small hill in a valley. The hill has subsided, however, and is now virtually level with the valley floor. We have been busy for more than a month making the old place livable, and installing machinery.”
For your information, Agent Seventeen is a graduate in physics of Bonn University. He was for a time professor of physics at Muenchen. In view of the shortage of technicians, Kenrube has appointed Seventeen his chief assistant.
G.L.
May 21, 1938
From Science Branch, Gestapo
To Reich and Prussian Minister of Science
Subject 10731—127—S—5
H. wants to know the latest developments in the Kenrube affair. Why the long silence? Exactly what is Professor Kenrube trying to do, and what progress has he made? Surely, your secret agent has made reports.
K. Reissel
June 3, 1938
From Secretary, Bureau of Physics
To Chief, Science Branch, Gestapo
Subject Professor Johann Kenrube
Your letter of the 21st ultimo has been passed on to me. The inclosed precis of the reports of our Agent Seventeen will bring you up to date.
Be assured that we are keeping a careful watch on the developments in this case. So far, nothing meriting special attention has arisen.
G.L.
PRECIS OF MONTHLY REPORTS OF AGENT SEVENTEEN
Our agent reports that Professor Kenrube’s first act was to place him, Seventeen, in charge of the construction of the machine, thus insuring that he will have the most intimate knowledge of the actual physical details.
When completed, the machine is expected to occupy the entire common room of the old fortress, largely because every section is being inclosed in a vacuum. In this connection, Seventeen describes how four electric motors were removed from Kenrube’s old laboratories, their force fields skillfully and peculiarly surrounded by a vacuum, with the result that a ninety-four-percent improvement in their efficiency resulted.
Seventeen goes on to state that orders for parts have been placed with various metal firms but, because of the defense program, deliveries are extremely slow. Professor Kenrube has resigned himself to the possibility that his invention will not be completed until 1944 or 45.
Seventeen, being a scientist in his own right, has become interested in the machine. In view of the fact that, if successful, it will insure measureless supplies of raw materials for our Reich, he urges that some effort be made to obtain priorities.
He adds that he has become quite friendly with Kenrube. He does not think that the Herr Professor suspects how closely he is connected with the Bureau of Science.
June 4, 1938.
From Gestapo
To Reich and Prussian Minister of Science
Subject 10731—127—S—6
Raw materials! Why was I not informed before that Kenrube was expecting to produce raw materials? Why did you think I was taking an interest in this case, if not because Kenrube is a genius of the first rank; and therefore anything he does must be examined with the most minute care? But—raw materials! Are you all mad over there, or living in a world of pleasant dreams?
You will at once obtain from Herr Professor Kenrube the full plans, the full mathematics, of his work, with photographs of the machine as far as it has progressed. Have your scientists prepare a report for me as to the exact nature of the raw materials that Kenrube expects to obtain. Is this some transmutation affair, or what is the method?
Inform Kenrube that he must supply this information, or he will obtain no further materials. If he satisfies our requirements, on the other hand, there will be a quickening of supplies. Kenrube is no fool. He will understand the situation.
As for your agent, Seventeen, I am at once sending an agent to act as his bodyguard. Friendly with Kenrube indeed!
Himmler
June 28, 1938
From Gestapo
To Secretary, Bureau of Physics
Subject Secret Six
Have you received the report from Kenrube? H. is most anxious to see this the moment it arrives. K. Reissel
July 4, 1938
From Gestapo
To Secretary, Bureau of Physics
Subject Secret Six
What about the Kenrube report? Is it possible that your office does not clearly grasp how important we regard this matter? We have recently discovered that Professor Kenrube’s grandfather once visited a very curious and involved revenge on a man whom he hated years after the event that motivated the hatred. Every conceivable precaution must be taken to see to it that the Kenrube machine can be duplicated, and the machine itself protected utterly.
Please send the scientific report the moment it is available.
K. Reissel
July 4, 1938
From Secretary, Bureau of Physics
To Chief, Science Branch, Gestapo
Subject Professor Johann Kenrube
The report, for which you have been asking, has come to hand, and a complete transcription is being sent to your office under separate cover. As you will see, it is very elaborately prepared; and I have taken the trouble to have a precis made of our scientific board’s analysis of the report for your readier comprehension.
G.L.
PRECIS OF SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS OF KENRUBE’S REPORT ON HIS INVENTION
General Statement of Kenrube’s Theory: That there are two kinds of space in the Universe, normal and hyper-space.
Only in normal space is the distance between star systems and galaxies great. It is essential to the nature of things, to the unity of material bodies, that intimate cohesion exist between every particle of matter, between, for instance, the Earth and the Universe as a whole.
Kenrube maintains that gravity does not explain the perfect and wonderful balance, the singleness of organism that is a galactic system. And that the theory of relativity merely evades the issue in stating that planets go around the Sun because it is easier for them to do that than to fly off into space.
Kenrube’s thesis, therefore, is that all the matter in the Universe conjoins according to a rigid mathematical pattern, and that this conjunction presupposes the existence of hyper-space.
Object of Invention: To bridge the gap through hyper-space between Earth and any planet, or any part of any planet. In effect, this means that it would not be necessary to drill for oil in a remote planet. The machine would merely locate the oil stratum, and tap it at any depth; the oil would flow from the orifice of the machine which, in the case of the machine now under construction, is ten feet in diameter.
A ten-foot flow of oil at a pressure of four thousand feet a minute would produce approximately six hundred thousand tons of oil every hour.
Similarly, mining could be carried on simply by locating the ore-bearing veins, and skimming from them the purest ores.
It should be pointed out that, of the distinguished scientists who have examined the report, only Herr Professor Goureit claims to be able to follow the mathematics proving the existence of hyper-space.
COPY ONLY
TRANSCRIPTION OF INTERVIEW BY HERR HIMMLER OF PROFESSOR H. KLEINBERG, CHAIRMAN OF THE SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE OF SCIENCE BRANCH, GESTAPO, INVESTIGATING REPORT OF HERR PROFESSOR JOHANN KENRUBE
Q. You have studied the drawings and examined the mathematics?
A. Yes.
Q. What is your conclusion?
A. We are unanimously agreed that some fraud is being perpetrated.
Q. Does your verdict relate to the drawings of the invention, or to the mathematics explaining the theory?
A. To both. The drawings are incomplete. A machine made from those blueprints would hum with apparent power and purpose, but it would be a fraudulent uproar; the power simply goes oftener through a vacuum environment before returning to its source.
Q. I have sent your report to Kenrube. His comment is that almost the whole of modern electrical physics is founded on some variation of electricity being forced through a vacuum. What about that?
A. It is a half truth.
Q. What about the mathematics?
A. There is the real evidence. Since Descartes—
Q. Please abstain from using these foreign names.
A. Pardon me. Since Leibniz, number has been a function, a variable idea. Kenrube treats of number as an existing thing. Mathematics, he says, has living and being. You have to be a scientist to realize how incredible, impossible, ridiculous such an idea is.
WRITTEN COMMENT ON THE ABOVE
I am not a scientist. I have no set ideas on the subject of mathematics or invention. I am, however, prepared to accept the theory that Kenrube is withholding information, and for this reason order that:
1. All further materials for the main machine be withheld.
2. Unlimited assistance be given Kenrube to build a model of his machine in the great government laboratories at Dresden. When, and not until, this model is in operation, will permission be given for the larger machine to be completed.
3. Meanwhile, Gestapo scientists will examine the machine at Gribe Schloss, and Gestapo construction experts will, if necessary, reinforce the building, which must have been damaged by the settling of the hill on which it stands.
4. Gestapo agents will hereafter guard Gribe Schloss.
Himmler
