The Darkess Before Tomorrow, page 10
“What you have just done is a most remarkable accomplishment," the scientist said. “I would consider it a great honor to have on my lab staff the man who developed these equations—if I had a laboratory."
‘Thanks,” Gillian said. Coming from Samuel Ronson, this was high praise.
“Under other circumstances—” Ronson glanced from the bracelet on his wrist up to the faces of the two guards. “However, the circumstances are what they are.”
“These equations do not describe the energy discharged from the jednar,m Ronson continued. “They describe the field that contains this energy, that holds it in bounds, that rives it direction. They are like the barrel of a rifle, which holds the violent explosion of the power within bounds and gives it direction. Without the barrel, the powder would explode in every direction. Without the field described by these equations, the energy of the jednar would be dissipated in all directions and would kill the user rather than the person he was aiming at."
"I know,” Gillian said.
Behind them, a guard cleared his throat. "What’s all this double-talk about?" he demanded.
"We are discussing these equations," Gillian said, pointing to the sheets of paper.
“They look like hen tracks to me," the guard said, squinting. "How do I know that’s not some kind of secret writing?"
“Mathematics is the language of science," Ronson said. “These is nothing secret about it. Complete courses in mathematics are given in every university."
The guard grunted. Inside, Gillian grinned. He readied for the pen and quickly wrote another series of equations. Ronson studied them carefully, then grunted and reached for the pen himself. "You are wrong here and here," he said. Meanwhile he wrote another series of equations. Although he was careful to keep any expression from his face, Inside Gillian grinned even broader. Samuel Ronson had understood his meaning perfectly and had answered in kind. Right under the noses of the guards, they had established a private means of communication, via the symbols of higher mathematics. The guards could see what was being written but they could not understand. The monitors listening through the bracelets could hear nothing except the scrape of the pens on paper.
In this way, Gillian got part of the true story of the Tejani. He already knew they came from Mercury but now he learned why they were on Earth. It was a story that awed him. Implicit in it was the knowledge that life was not restricted to one planet, to Earth, but existed all through the planets of the whole System. The Sun was the great central generator that gave life to all within the range of its radiation. In some strange and incredible way, the Sun and the planets were also expressions of the Life Force, though here Ronson’s mathematics began to fad.
The Tejani had not come as conquerors. They had come as secret saviors of the Earth and of themselves as well. They had stayed hidden and would continue to stay hidden until the inhabitants of Earth were prepared to receive them. To come openly might well set off extremely dangerous political, economic, and religious repercussions, which the Tejani wished to avoid at all costs.
As they interpreted the story flowing from the equations Ronson was writing, George Gillian was completely certain that every moment of hero worship he had spent on this scientist as a teen-age youth, was here being repaid, full measure, heaped up, and overflowing.
Then Gillian began to develop his own equations, with results that startled both him and Ronson.
“There is a definite correlation between the confining field of the jednar and the force field around the Tejani ships. These equations prove it This means we must examine the drive mechanism of one of the ships,” Gillian said.
“They are Mr. Abrussi’s pride and joy," Ronson said.
“We can at least ask him,” Gillian pointed out.
"Why do you need to do this?" Abrussi demanded, when they went to him.
Because there is some correlation between the field of the jednar and the field generated by the ships in flight.” Gillian explained.
“Field? What’s a field?” Abrussi asked. When this was demonstrated to him by means of iron filings dribbled over a sheet of paper held above a small magnet, he had a ready answer. "What good is that?"
"As part of the electro-mechanics of this universe, it is very important,” Ronson interposed. "Science has begun to suspect that the whole universe is made of enormously complex fields of different kinds.”
"All right, Doc, if you say so,” Abrussi grudgingly yielded to their request. "But you’ll have two guards with you all the time you’re monkeying with my ships. And if you try to escape—"
Umbro was at the ships. He had a bandage on one side of his head and a bracelet on his left wrist. His yellow goat eyes hardly admitted their existence until he saw that they, too, were wearing bracelets, then his softened.
"I have been put in charge of pilot training,” he explained.
His manner indicated that on one of his flights, preferably while he was teaching Abrussi, there would be a case of pilot error. But he showed them the working mechanism of the ship’s drive. Gillian, excited, wrote page after page of equations. Ronson examined these with great care.
“Yes,” he replied, in mathematical symbols. “There is no question but that the field of the ship will stop radio transmission from the bracelets. But what does this mean?”
“It means that if we can get into one of the ships, and can get it started, the bracelets won’t work,” Gillian answered, via written equations.
“Um,” Ronson said, aloud.
Throughout the cavern, Abrussi’s men were busy. Television cameras had been installed on top of the mountain. These were wired directly to the big room that Abrussi was using as command headquarters. Other men were being trained in the use of the jednars. A military organization was coming into existence, with the men grouped into squads and with a regular chain of command upward from the squad to Abrussi. Always he had a special squad hidden but alert at the end of the landing ramp, in anticipation of the arrival of more ships. His intention was to capture both ship and occupants. But no more ships arrived.
Gillian tried to talk to Umbro, but the Tejani was very depressed. “I’m afraid he is going the way of Troon,” Gillian reported.
Ronson shook his head in silent sympathy. “Many of us may go the way of Troon before this is over," he whispered.
Breaking the silence of the vast cavern, over the recently installed loudspeaker system, came the sudden blare of a siren.
This gave way to Abrussi’s voice yelling commands.
“Attention all units! Attention all units! Put plan A into operation at once. At oncer
There was an instant of silence during which the startled cavern seemed to try to catch its breath. Then Abrussi’s voice came again.
Chapter Ten
“Doc Ronson, I want you and your whole crew in here right away!” Abrussi's voice came over the loudspeaker. “On the double!” he added.
The siren was blaring again as they hurried to obey this order. In the vast cavern, the military organization that Abrussi had built was coming to life. Files of men armed both with jednars and with sub-machine guns were racing toward their battle stations.
As if completely unimpressed by any of this, the vast pendulum was continuing to measure infinite time. It seemed to say that animals who thought themselves to be men might fight their lives away if they wished. It was not going to be disturbed. It measured a greater time than the life of one man.
In the room which he had fitted up as a private command center, Abrussi was busy being a field marshal. Around him was a semi-circle of television screens. In front of him was a microphone. Another circle of loudspeakers gave him reports from his fighting units.
“I want you to watch this, Doc,” Abrussi shouted as they entered. "I had a hunch they’d try to use paratroopers again. This time I’m ready for them.” The ear-to-ear grin on his face revealed that the real reason he had called them in was to be witnesses to his military genius.
Behind him, his honor guard was drawn up.
The screens revealed large planes dropping low over the mesa top. As each plane came down, it spewed out a flutter of many parachutes, each with a man in battle dress swinging from the end of the lines.
Abrussi’s men, armed with jednars, had already reached the mesa top.
Before they reached the ground, many of the chutes were carrying dead bodies.
"Give ’em hell, boys!” Abrussi screamed encouragement
The pilot of one of the troop carriers was hit. His ship spun out of control and crashed. A second pilot was also struck. His ship went into a dive that ended among the boulders on top of the mesa.
The attack was a massacre. Perhaps a dozen paratroopers reached the top of the mountain alive. A vicious manhunt immediately began to kill these as they tried to hide among the rocks or to find their way down the sides of the mesa.
Apparently a hasty order to stop the attack went out from some commander in a ship in the sky overhead. The troop carriers stopped coming.
"Did you see me lick ’em, Doc?” Abrussi shouted.
His triumph was short lived. The initial onset of the paratroopers had been planned as a surprise attack. A sudden heavy explosion on top of the mesa indicated the second phase of the attack,
One of the screens revealed smoke and debris flying upward.
“Heavy artillery shells landing!” the speaker said.
Abrussi looked startled. "What have they done—brought up a division?”
As if in answer to his question, TV cameras at the edge of the mesa, covering the rugged approaches, showed foot soldiers moving cautiously forward. Taking advantage of every bit of cover, running forward and dropping to run forward again, men in battle uniforms were moving up the rugged, rocky approaches to the mesa. The cameras did not catch the battery of field artillery that was shelling die top. It was out of sight.
“They can shoot shells at the top or the sides of this mountain from now until doomsday!” Abrussi said. “They won’t do any damage. When they lift the barrage to let their men attack, my boys will be waiting for them.”
"He’s right,” Gillian whispered to Ron son. "Coming up the sides of this mesa against jednar fire will be suicide. And if the attack should show any signs of succeeding, all he has to do is go up in his ships. Then he can either escape or continue his slaughter from the air. There's not a fighter plane on Earth that can defeat the little Tejani ships.
Ronson’s eyes had questions in them.
“If we are ever going to escape, now is the time," Gillian continued, in the lowest possible whisper. “I think the battle noise will keep the monitors from understanding us. If we can reach the ships—"
“We don’t know how to fly them."
“Umbro is there. If we can go to him and tell him we wish to inspect the drive mechanism on the ship that is on the ramp—We did this once before, remember?” Gillian said.
“But Mr. Abrussi needs an audience-" Ronson seemed to make up his mind in a split second. “I’ll try,” he said. He moved forward and stood in a respectful manner near Abrussi.
"What the hell do you want, Doc?” The barrage on top of the mesa had stopped. The attacking soldiers were moving forward again. At any second, the jednars would begin to reach them. Abrussi was watching the scene unfold.
“Very well planned and executed, Mr. Abrussi," Ronson said.
“I’ll say it isl Am I going to jolt the military high brass in this country!" Abrussi said, gloating. “But that wasn’t what you came up here to say to me, Doc.”
“No, sir," Ronson said. “I merely felt that with your military genius in charge, there is no question of the outcome of the battle. However, in my department a very pressing matter had just come up when you called us. I am quite sure you will not want us to delay the development of the jednars unnecessarily. After all, you have bigger plans than this skirmish.”
"What do you want, Doc?" Abrussi interrupted.
"It is essential that we have further data on the drive of the ships,” Ronson continued. “I would suggest that we go now.”
“The ships!” Abrussi was startled. “What do yon want to poke around in my ships for? You already did it once."
"But that was merely preliminary, sir.” Ronson was nothing if not respectful. “And time is pressing, sir.”
“Fire!” Abrussi screamed into the loudspeaker. The screens revealed soldiers beginning to go down on the slopes of die mesa as the jednars went into action. The soldiers out there did not know what was hitting them. There was no sound of a bullet, no explosion. AO they knew was that their comrades were going down and were not rising.
"With your permission, sir, and with your authorization, I will take my staff to examine the drive of one of the ships immediately."
"Okay," Abrussi said.
Ronson turned away. Watching, Gillian took a deep breath, and suddenly realized he had stopped breathing.
“Hold it, Doc!” Abrussi shouted.
Ronson turned quickly. "But you gave your permission and your authorization—"
"Your staff can go, Doc," Abrussi answered. "You stay here!”
Only a split second did Samuel Ronson hesitate. "Of course, sir, if you wish it," he said to Abrussi
"Cany, on," he said to Gillian.
“But—"
"I said to carry onl" Ronson’s voice had a note of command in it that Gillian had never heard before. Gillian obeyed it without questions. As he moved to the exit, he spoke to Sis and Eck.
“Come on with me. And don’t look back." His voice had the same tone of command in it that had been in the voice of Samuel Ronson.
They obeyed him. But Eck’s face was bleak and Sis’ eyes were pools of despair.
As they moved away, the loudspeakers suddenly roared with the sound of heavy explosions. Glancing back, Gillian saw that jets were bombing the top of the mesa.
In the main cavern, they saw that the great pendulum had slowed markedly in its majestic sweep.
"Probably the bombs jarred its operating mechanism," Gillian said.
“I think it’s stopping because time Is standing still for U9— and for the human race," Sis whispered. “I think the battle going on right here may decide the future of all humanity for generations, perhaps for centuries."
Her eyes had changed from pools of despair to pools of haunted horror. “I’m seeing things I don’t want to see,” she continued. "I’m seeing worlds smashed to pieces, whole planets disintegrating. ""I’m looking into—into a possible future."
She was keeping pace with Gillian and with Eck as they moved toward the ships but she seemed to be walking in a trance. Gillian caught her aim. Hex skin was cold.
“My dear—" he whispered.
“I don’t know that this future will come into existence. It’s possible but it doesn’t have to happen." She did not seem to be aware of Gillian’s hand on her arm, or even of his presence. Her voice had changed from a whisper to a monotone. “An ape came out of the jungle. He saw men and he thought it would be great to be a man. He built himself the body of a man and he went among men as a man. They thought he was a man. They didn’t know that inside he was all ape. He found a powerful weapon. With it, he went forth to conquer."
"Wake up, Sis! Wake up!” Eck whispered, sharply.
She looked at her brother as if she did not recognize him.
Gillian tightened his grip on her arm. Slowly, she recognized him. Slowly, she became aware of where she was. She clutched at Gillian’s arm.
At the ships, a guard stopped them.
“We’re making another examination of the drive cm the ships,” Gillian said. “Umbro is to help us.”
"Yeah?” the guard said.
“We have Mr. Abrussi’s permission,” Gillian added.
“All right,” the guard said. "Just wait right there.”
“But-”
“I'll have to check this with Mr. Abrussi,” the guard said. “Those are his orders.” He lifted his bracelet to his lips. “With the fight going on outside, it may be some time before I can get through to him.” He looked more closely at Sis. "What’s the matter with the dame? Is she drunk?"
“She’s a little upset by the bombing,” Eck answered.
In Abrussi’s command headquarters, Samuel Ronson also waited. The screens revealed that the attack by the ground troops had stopped. He sympathized with the confusion of the commanders outside. Their men were being killed. They didn’t know how this was being done. The screens revealed that the troops were being pulled bade.
Out of the comer of his eyes, Ronson watched the cavern. He saw that the pendulum was slowing, saw also that Gillian, Sis, and Eck had been stopped by a guard at the ships. At this distance, they looked like toy figures.
If he had a warm regard for them in his heart, Ronson kept all sign of this off his face. Sis and Eck were his godchildren, and as for Gillian—if he had ever had a son, he could not have wished for a better dhe than this.
At this thought, Ronson felt a choked feeling rise inside him. As a boy, Gillian had saved his picture. Ronson had never said how much this simple act had meant to him. All his life, he had been so immersed in science that he had almost forgotten what warm personal relationships were. The three standing talking to the guard had given this knowledge back to him.
"My boys have got ’em licked, Doc!” Abrussi screamed at him. "They’ve got ’em backed clear away from the mesa!”
“My congratulations, sir," Ronson said. "You have proved your military genius this day."
“They’ll have to come to terms with me now,” Abrussi continued. “When they learn about my ships, they’ll have to make a treaty with me, just like I was a foreign government.”
The ape was tasting triumph. He was finding it a heady drink. The command bracelet which he wore on his wrist whistled for his attention. "I’m busy," he shouted back.
“If you will excuse me now—” Ronson said.
“Naw, Doc, stick around,” Abrussi answered.
The bracelet whistled again. This time he answered it. “Huh? At my ships?" He appeared startled. “Oh. Yeah, I told them to do it. It’s okay. But you go with them and make double-sure.”
