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diff --git a/59160-0.txt b/59160-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a1f7481 --- /dev/null +++ b/59160-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1190 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 59160 *** + + + + + + + + + + + + + THE 3rd PARTY + + BY LEE B. HOLUM + + _A series of "incidents" had provoked + a state of emergency between two great powers. + The reason was obvious. But why a single + chemist as bait--and who was the third party?... + The 4th award winner in IF's + College Science Fiction Contest._ + + [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from + Worlds of If Science Fiction, March 1955. + Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that + the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] + + +Snow beat against the tall windows of the terminal building. The +howling of the wind around the corners of the building and across +the broad expanse of the rocket field went unheard by the thousands +who streamed across the crowded floor. Each was intent on his or her +affairs, hurrying to board one of the tall spires out on the snow +covered field, seeing someone off, or waiting for incoming friends. + +Roger Lorin and his wife waited near the entrances to the boarding +tunnels for the announcement that would send them out under the field +to their rocket. The shouts of porters and the voices of excited +passengers mingled with the noises of the terminal. Groups of people +moved across the floor like the currents of the ocean. + +Suddenly, the announcer's voice boomed out over the p. a. "All +passengers for the Arctic City rocket report to tunnel seven." + +"Come on Linda," Roger said. "That's our ship." He hurried his wife +toward the tunnel entrance. A few minutes later they stepped off the +conveyer walk at the bottom of an elevator shaft. The gray uniformed +attendant checked their tickets, before the glass cage lifted them to +the lock entrance high on the side of the rocket. The wind sang its +mournful song around the corners of the cage and fired volleys of snow +against the glass. At the air lock entrance, a stewardess checked their +tickets a second time. + +"Couches 34 and 35? Follow me, please." She led them up one deck and +over to a pair of couches, one of which was next to a small eyeport. + +"Take the one next to the port, honey," said Roger. "The view's worth +seeing." + +A moment later, a buzzer sounded, and a red light flashed on near the +hatch to the deck above. The voice of the pilot came over the intercom +system. + +"We are blasting off in five minutes. All passengers who have not +strapped in will please do so immediately." Three minutes went by, and +the final warning buzzer sounded. After another two minutes, the rumble +of the motors came from the tail of the ship. The rocket, a towering +silver needle with orange flame spouting from its lower end, paused +on the field as its motors warmed up. Then it rose majestically on a +column of fire and disappeared in the swirling snow. + +Linda was surprised to find that the sound of the blast off was not as +loud as she had expected. Neither did she find the acceleration of two +and a half gravities excessively uncomfortable. The brightly lighted +compartment made the scene outside the eyeport seem dark; although it +was only four-thirty in the afternoon. Tiny pellets of snow streamed +by the port during the few seconds it took the rocket to scream through +the lower atmosphere. Then the ship burst through the clouds. Linda +gave an exclamation of surprise and pleasure at the sheer beauty of the +sight. The clouds rose like tumbled snowy mountain ranges under an ice +blue winter sky. The setting sun painted their tops in brilliant hues +of pink, orange, and violet. Their eastern sides lay in blue shadow +honeycombed with caves and grottos. + +"It's beautiful!" exclaimed Linda. "I never dreamed it would be like +this." + +"You have to see it to really appreciate it," Roger said. "Descriptions +never do it justice." + +As the rocket continued to rise, the clouds flattened until they +resembled pack ice on an arctic sea. More of Earth became visible, and +spots of green and brown appeared on the southwestern horizon. Finally +the blue of the Pacific crept into view, brilliantly contrasted against +the now black sky. + +"You may be able to see a few stars if you don't look toward Earth or +the sun," Roger said to Linda. Linda followed Roger's instructions; +and, sure enough, a few stars appeared, unwinking points of light +against black velvet. Now over three hundred miles above Earth, the +rocket had crossed the frontier into outer space. + +The rocket passed the top of its arc and the scenery was forgotten; the +natural fear of falling to which all humans are heir asserted itself. +Linda suddenly realized that there was no sensation of weight and that +the rocket was falling steadily through space. + +"Is ... is everything all right?" she asked in a weak voice. + +"Don't worry dear," Roger replied soothingly. "We'll be landing in +another half hour. You won't have to go through much more of it." + +"Thank goodness!" Linda breathed a sigh of relief and laid her dark +head on Roger's shoulder. Roger put his arm around her and held her +until the rocket came in with a squeal of runners against hard packed +snow. Lights flashed by the eyeport as they slid along the runway. In +the distance the lighted, slablike towers of Arctic City loomed against +the dark sky. The night was clear and bitterly cold. + +The rocket slid to a stop, and an electric tractor came to tow the ship +to the top of an elevator shaft. A few minutes later the passengers +streamed along a conveyer walk into the Arctic City terminal. The +sounds of hurried activity echoed through the tunnel. The rumble of +heavy freight conveyers, the shouts of stevedores, the whine of heavily +loaded electric motors, and the hum of conversation mingled in a medley +of sounds that spoke of commerce and industry, of people busy at an +almost endless array of tasks. + +"Are you Roger Lorin?" The question came from a short, stocky, +gray-haired individual. + +"Yes, I am," Roger replied. + +"I'm Jacob Darcy. I'm supposed to show you to your apartment and help +you get oriented." + +"Good," Roger said. "You lead. We'll follow." Darcy turned and led them +to a small electric monorail car which sped them through a maze of +underground streets past the windows of many shops and stores. + +After a ten minute ride in the monorail and a fast ascent in an +elevator, the three of them entered a small apartment high in one of +the slablike buildings. The apartment was comfortable and compact, +though not luxuriously furnished. One transparent wall of the living +room looked out over the city and the arctic landscape. + +"I thought things would be more primitive," said Linda as she looked +around her future home. "This doesn't seem like a frontier at all." + +"No," Darcy replied with a smile. "Arctic City is pretty well built up. +Conditions are a lot better here than they are in some of the mining +centers farther north." He turned to Roger. "I'll be around tomorrow +morning to show you the labs. Sometime around eight or eight thirty." + +"I'll be ready," replied Roger. "It should be interesting to see the +facilities here." + +"I suppose the high temperature work will be most interesting to you," +said Darcy. "I read your paper on molecular linkages. We'll sure be +able to use you. We're having the devil's own time with the linings for +the reaction chambers in the neutron pile." + +"I hope I can help," said Roger. "The cooling problem should be quite a +challenge without the extreme temperatures and high vacuum that we had +at the moon labs." + +"That's right. You did work on the first neutron pile, didn't you?" +Darcy said as he prepared to leave. "That makes it much better. There +are too few men with practical experience in neutron pile work." + +It had long been known by physicists that tremendous amounts of energy +could be released if matter could be collapsed to form neutrons. This +step had been achieved in 2047 A. D., at the Lunar atomic laboratories. +The Arctic City pile was the first attempt to apply it to industrial +uses. + +Up to this time (2054), man had been barred from the planets by the +lack of a fuel cheap enough to make trips across interplanetary space +economically feasible. Long, economical orbits could be used; but these +brought on psychological problems resulting from living in cramped +quarters for long periods of time, and problems of carrying enough +supplies for such long trips. In shorter orbits, the profits would +be burned up in excessive fuel consumption. The most efficient fuel +was monatomic hydrogen, which is highly unstable unless dissolved in +a catalyst to keep it from exploding at ordinary temperatures. The +catalyst and the process for making the fuel were both expensive. +Moon colonies were maintained only because the moon was the best +known source of germanium; and its vacuum was a valuable location for +astronomical observatories and atomic research laboratories. + +The neutron pile applied to space travel would make an interplanetary +civilization possible. The pile, releasing neutrons and ions at +velocities approaching that of light, would make use of small amounts +of inexpensive materials as fuels. + +It also had frightening potentialities for mass destruction. + +The ambassador of the South American Republic thought of the +destructive possibilities as he rode the small monorail car toward +the Government Center in Chicago, which was now the capital of the +North American Union. The shore of Lake Michigan was studded with tall +skyscrapers connected by streets with transparent coverings. At ground +level, a system of conveyer walks ranging from the hundred mile per +hour strips in the center to five mile per hour strips on the edges, +whisked brightly clad people about their business. On the second level, +monorail tracks carried the high speed freight and passenger traffic of +the city. The ambassador's car pulled in at a second level siding near +the loading platform for the Government Tower. As he stepped from his +car, he was met by two secret service agents who escorted him to the +office of the Secretary of State. + +The Secretary sat behind a large desk in a comfortably furnished office +on the eightieth floor. Through the large window wall behind the +Secretary, the scattered towers of the city were somewhat obscured by +flying snow and the gloom of a December morning. + +The distinguished looking man behind the desk had served his country +well during the past thirty years. He knew the problems faced by such +nations as the South American Republic, the League of Islam, the Asian +Commonwealth, the decadent subject nations of western Europe, and the +tiny, constantly warring states that comprise what was left of the once +mighty U.S.S.R. That morning he had sent a note refusing help to the +Baltic Federation, which had accused the Arctic League of aggression. +The North American Union had no desire to enter foreign wars that did +not concern it. + +The Secretary rose and extended his hand. + +"Good morning," he greeted the ambassador as he shook hands with him. +"Have a seat." The Secretary waved toward a comfortable chair near the +desk. The ambassador seated himself with his overcoat across his knees. + +"I cannot get used to your cold weather," he said good naturedly. "I +have spent too much time in the tropics." + +"We seem to be getting an unusually cold winter," the Secretary +replied. "I'll have to admit that Chicago doesn't compare with Rio as +far as weather is concerned." + +"I wish that I were there now," the ambassador said in a more serious +tone. "I would not have to discuss with you this trouble that has come +up." + +"What trouble?" the Secretary asked. "Your note wasn't clear about what +you wished to discuss with me." + +"As you probably know, there are groups in my country that fear the +technical developments that have been going on during the past ten +years," the ambassador replied. "They do not know your country as well +as I do, and fear that you will use the neutron energy discovery as a +weapon." + +"Why should they fear our energy developments?" the Secretary asked. +"The Lunar atomic laboratories are open for inspection at all times, +and the pile being built in the Arctic is no secret either. All the +developments are private ventures. The idea of making neutron bombs +hasn't even been raised in Congress." + +"Unfortunately my people do not know this," replied the ambassador. +"These groups have used much propaganda and have thoroughly misled the +masses. That the laboratories are located on the moon does not help. +You know how rigid the requirements are for those who would travel in +space. Several men from my country have not been allowed to go for +health reasons. This naturally feeds the suspicions of my people, who +do not understand why such things must be done. To remedy this trouble +my government has instructed me to arrange for a meeting between our +presidents." + +"I think such a meeting would be possible," the Secretary said. "I'm +sure that the president will understand the situation. The memory of +the twentieth century won't fade easily. I'll see if a trip to the +Lunar laboratories can be arranged. It would be good if some members of +the dissatisfied groups were allowed to make the trip." + +"That would be very good," replied the ambassador. "It would help to +counteract their propaganda. They are seeking power, and would gain +it at the expense of good will between our nations. This will very +effectively remove the source of their grievances." + +"I'll bring it up at the cabinet meeting this afternoon," the Secretary +said. "It would be wisest to get this business moving as fast as +possible." + +The ambassador rose from his seat. "You will let me know the outcome +of the meeting as soon as you can?" + +"Yes," replied the Secretary. "As soon as it's over." + + * * * * * + +The laboratories at Arctic City were fairly new but already had the +cluttered appearance of all research labs. Electronic instruments, +coils of wire, and various articles of chemical apparatus lay on the +work benches. One room held the dial-studded face of a computer. +Another contained several induction and carbon arc furnaces used in +high temperature work. Men wearing white smocks or plastic aprons went +quietly and efficiently about their tasks. + +Roger and Darcy entered a lab in which a man sat staring at the face +of an oscilloscope, where weird figures danced in yellowish-green +tracery. The bench was covered with a bewildering array of equipment. +A row of gas discharge tubes glowed with varicolored light. From them +a spaghetti-like arrangement of many colored wires led to various +instruments scattered along the bench. + +"How's it coming, Phil?" Darcy asked. + +The man looked up from his work. "Hi, Jake," he said. "I might get +somewhere if this oscillator would stop wandering all over the place. +This thing doesn't seem to be very accurate at high frequencies." He +indicated a piece of equipment connected to the oscilloscope. + +"I'll sure be glad when we get a good physical chemist to do this work. +My business is ceramics, and I'm getting sick and tired of wrestling +with his wiring." + +"Well," said Darcy, "you won't have to worry about this any more. This +is Roger Lorin, our new physical chemist. Roger, this is Philip Gordon, +our ceramics expert." + +Gordon grinned and extended his hand. "I'm glad to meet you," he said. +"Sorry I blew off like that. I just get disgusted sometimes." + +"It does get frustrating," Roger agreed as they shook hands. +"Electronics is rather tricky." + +"You're right there," replied Gordon. "Especially when you don't know +too much about it. What I learned about electronics in college has long +since departed. Take a look at this set up. It's about as poor a job of +haywiring as you'll find anywhere." + +"I see you're using high frequency excitation to get your high +temperatures," Roger commented. "Just what compounds are you working +with?" + +"I've been working with some plastics, inert stuff, to see just what +they'll react with, and how fast they'll react at high temperatures." + +"It isn't too easy," Lorin said. "It never has been easy to find +reaction rates. I'll get to work on these this afternoon. Maybe I can +get some of these finished tomorrow or the next day." + +"Thanks," Gordon said in a relieved voice. "It'll be good to get some +results I can rely on." + +Lorin and Darcy left the lab and walked through a winding succession +of corridors until they came to a large room. One wall was lined with +catwalks linked by metal ladders. Men in coveralls moved against the +slate gray background like insects on the side of a building. Through +a door to their right Lorin could see banks of instruments at which +several men were working. + +"This is the south face of the pile," Darcy said. "Most of the +instruments are located here. The Klysten converters are mounted in +that room over there." He indicated a door on their left. + +"I'd like to see those," Roger said. "I hear that these are pretty +large compared with what we had at the moon labs." + +"They're big enough all right," Darcy said. "Each one is four stories +high. We had a deuce of a time evacuating them." + +As Darcy said this, they stepped into a long high room. To their right +stood six immense transparent tubes. Each tube contained a grid of +thick steel bars which was mounted so that it completely surrounded a +coil of heavy copper bar in the center of the tube. The steel bars had +been treated so that a magnetic field would build up rapidly when they +were exposed to hard radiations. The radiation beams were passed into +the grid in pulses, thus causing the magnetic field to build up and +collapse rapidly producing current in the coils by induction. The tubes +were generators with no moving parts except electrons and protons. The +system used about seventy-five per cent of the energy produced by the +pile. The residual radiation was released as greenish yellow light. + +"Why are they transparent?" Roger asked. "I should think that metals +would be stronger and easier to manage." + +"The transparency helps us to maintain a more accurate control," +Darcy replied. "When the light shifts toward the blue, we know that +more energy is being released as radiation, and can shut down the tube +before it gets a chance to heat up too much." + +"Good idea," said Roger. "Control was our worst trouble at the moon +labs." + +"We'll use this until we find something better," said Darcy as they +left the pile area. + + * * * * * + +Unknown to Roger Lorin, events which would shape the course of the +next few weeks, and would ultimately change his whole life were taking +place far to the south. A third party had entered the political stage +of the Western Hemisphere. The League of Islam had finally decided to +do something about an incident which it had never forgiven. Over thirty +years earlier, the Union had sent marines into the Suez Canal area to +stop alleged assaults against American citizens. In a sense, the North +American Union had indicated that it thought of the League of Islam as +nothing more than a backward group, which could be pacified whenever +trouble arose within its borders. The insult had never been forgotten +by the fanatically nationalistic Moslems. Only the greater military +might of the North American power had prevented a war at that time. +Now, the League had decided that the time was ripe to gain immunity +from such insults forever by some shrewd political maneuvering. + +Working through a small dissatisfied political party in South America, +they used the North's development of neutron energy to create fear in +the minds of the people of the southern republic. By stimulating this +fear, the Arabs hoped to weaken both powers through war, and thereby +to gain power and prestige among the nations. The League hoped to gain +through political devices what it could never get in open war. + +Up to January 5, 2055, the leaders of the western hemispheric powers +did not realize what was actually taking place. But then reports began +coming into the offices of the investigators of both nations which +changed the picture. + +On January 2, an American oil well in the Gulf of Mexico had been blown +up. The saboteur was not caught, since the bomb had been cleverly +hidden sometime before the explosion. Two days later, in the state of +Venezuela, an official of the South American government was shot and +killed. Although the assassin escaped after a grueling two day chase +and was never really identified, there were plenty of rumor mongers +to remind the people that the dead official had held opinions that +were not favorable to the North American Union. Accompanied by such +incidents friction between the two nations grew. + +The events that set the pot to boiling, and nearly caused it to +boil over occurred at Arctic City. Up to this time, Roger Lorin had +considered the reports of such incidents as news that seemed rather +unreal, because of its distance from his immediate affairs. Now, +however, he found himself in the middle of the trouble between the two +nations. Although he scarcely knew it, he had become a key man on the +neutron pile project. His research into the physics of interatomic and +intermolecular forces had aided materially the work on the pile. + +It started, innocently enough, during the early afternoon of January +9, when a group of ten men ostensibly bound for a mining town farther +north, took a guided tour of the pile area. About one sixth of the +reaction cells into which the pile was divided for convenience, were in +operation; and the six converter tubes were aglow with greenish yellow +light. The entrance of the men into the central chamber was the signal. +A previously planted bomb exploded with enough violence to shatter the +tubes; filling the converter room with greenish yellow fire and hard +radiations. + +A smoke bomb provided extra screening and the group hurried down a +side tunnel under cover of the gray mantle. Roger heard the sounds of +confusion accompanied by the clangor of an alarm bell, announcing that +hard radiations were loose somewhere in the plant. He stepped to the +door of the lab, and a gas gun exploded in his face. He knew nothing +more, until he awoke aboard a fast moving jet. + +The convertiplane winged through the Arctic twilight for nearly two +hours, and finally came down on a flat stretch of snow covered tundra, +near the shore of the Arctic Ocean. A group of three dome huts stood at +the base of a low cliff. Otherwise, the scene was one of silent, dark +desolation. + +One of the men handed Roger a pair of insulated, electrically heated +coveralls. Roger put them on without argument. Next, the man motioned +toward the hatch with a machine pistol. "Get movin'," he snapped. "Make +it quick. And don't try to run for it. You wouldn't get far." + +Roger dropped through the hatch and waited quietly. When his captors +finally dropped through the hatch, they steered him none too gently +toward the middle hut. + +On his right as he entered, three men sat playing cards around a small +table. To his left, a man lay on a cot reading a magazine by the light +of a mining lantern. Roger was shoved across the main room, through a +passageway and into a room on the right. The metal door clanged shut +behind him, and the bolt shot home with the finality of a prison gate. + +"Well, I see I have company," a voice came out of the gloom. As Roger's +eyes grew accustomed to the dimness, he saw an old man sitting on the +edge of a narrow cot. + +"Who are you?" Roger asked in a bewildered voice. "And just what's been +going on? Why should I be kidnapped and brought to this God forsaken +spot?" + +"You must be the chemist they were talking about," the old man replied. +"I heard them say something about one of the chief chemists at the +neutron pile project. As for me, my name is Dr. Alexander Nolan. I +came up here in my plane about a month ago to write up some historical +research I've been doing during the past five years. Instead, your +kidnappers came in and took over. But here I am rambling on about +myself as usual. What's your name, young fellow?" + +"I'm Roger Lorin," Roger replied. "I'm a chemist all right. I was +working at Arctic City on the neutron project, but I still can't figure +out why I should be kidnapped. They couldn't get any ransom, and I +don't have any information that would be useful to them. I just don't +see it." + +"Roger Lorin, eh," the historian mused. "I think I see why you were +kidnapped. You're more important than you think you are, which is +unusual. Most men think that they are more important than they really +are. I suppose you've heard about the oil well that was blown up in the +Gulf of Mexico and the man who was shot and killed down in Venezuela. +Now, if some North American Citizen were to be found dead, possibly +tortured for information about the neutron pile, it might be just the +spark that sets off the powder keg that's been building up during the +past ten years." + +"But why should South America do anything like that?" Roger asked +nervously. "They have nothing to gain by such actions. We've shared the +information on pile developments since the projects were started." + +"Oh, but South America is not the power behind this business," Nolan +said gently. "I'll admit that the evidence seems to point to South +America, but I have reasons to believe that another power is behind +this." + +"But which one could it be?" asked Roger. + +"Indications point to the League of Islam," replied Nolan. "They are +clever, but a student of political history can get some insight into +their plans if he looks carefully enough. If you're interested, I can +give you some background." + +"Go ahead," Roger said. "I'd like to find out what's behind this." + +"Well," the historian began. "I guess that you could say that this +story goes back 4000 years. The hatred between the Jews and the Arabs +goes back that far, and it plays an important part in the present +situation. Actually the seeds of the present trouble were planted +more than a hundred years ago, when the United States helped the Jews +set up a republic on land that the Arabs considered theirs. When the +republic of Israel was established, many Arabs were driven from their +homes. Added to this, American economic aid to Israel didn't help our +relations with the Arab world. As a result, the fifties and sixties of +the last century were a time of unrest throughout the Middle East. + +"A short war between Israel and the Arab States lasted from 1946 to +1949. The Arabs lost out, but border incidents occurred intermittently +until 1969. After the United States and Russia were involved in the Two +Week Chaos, the Arab League moved against Israel. The Arabs had grown +in strength during the preceding twenty years and were able to push the +Jews out of Palestine or put them under their control. + +"Under agreements made in the United Nations, the United States sent an +expeditionary force to the Holy Land. The whole affair was a debacle. +America had been weakened by the atom bombing of many of her cities and +military establishments. Russia was also out of the running. After the +death of Malenkov in 1968, one of the party leaders had tried to bring +union by starting a war. After American retaliation with hydrogen and +atom bombs, the growing resentment of the Russian people against an +undesirable system exploded into open revolt. The Soviet Union became a +disorganized crazy-quilt pattern of small, constantly warring states. + +"On top of the destruction of atomic war, came the great economic +collapse of 1970. The financial structure of the United States and +her allies fell apart, and with it the United Nations went down into +oblivion. The states of the Arab League could now do much as they +pleased without outside interference. + +"The Two Week Chaos and the great collapse incapacitated the western +powers for nearly thirty years. The Arab States prospered and formed +the League of Islam in 1990. The League covered the eastern end of the +Mediterranean and the coast of North Africa. During this period, South +America had formed the South American Republic and became a world power. + +"The North American Union, which was formed in 1997, wished to take +up where the United States had left off in the development of Arabian +oil. The Arabs, who had developed the fields themselves with help from +South America, had no desire for North American intervention. The +Americans, who had a long term lease signed in the late fifties, were +not willing to give up so easily, and hard feeling developed. The Suez +incident of thirty years ago and the American control of the moon and +the satellite stations didn't help matters any. + +"When the Americans finished the first satellite station in 1984 +and landed the first rocket on the moon in 1991, the Arabs became +apprehensive and made known their wish to build a spaceport in the +Sahara Desert. The North American Union, which had a monopoly on rocket +building facilities, refused to allow it, out of fear of the growing +strength of the Arabs. I think that that was a serious mistake. The +sight of the satellites passing overhead, plus the knowledge that +they belong to an unfriendly power doesn't help to create good will. +The fact that the moon has an independent government makes it worse. +The leaders of Islam know that the Lunar government wouldn't allow +nationalism in space. I guess you know how the Lunar citizens feel +about the North American monopoly on space travel." + +"They don't like it," Roger said. "They feel that they could be more +independent if they were receiving supplies from more than one source. +Lunar government is nothing more than a form, set up by the North +American Union to keep up appearances. The moon isn't self sufficient +enough to make its independence more than a form. If the Lunar colonies +could trade with more than one nation, they could maintain their +independence by the moon's natural defensive position; and control +of the satellite stations would help to ease international tensions. +There's not much chance of a dictatorship being formed there, because +the colonists are too individualistic and are interested in their +government. It looks to me like both sides are at fault in this mess." + +"That's usually the case," the historian commented. "The Arabs aren't +free of blame either. Some of their tactics in the Holy Land weren't +exactly calculated to win the good will of the United States, and they +have been rather violent in some of their dealings with our citizens." + +The conversation was interrupted when one of their captors opened the +door a few inches and slid two cans of food concentrate through the +crack. + +"I see dinner has arrived," Nolan said as he stepped over to the +door and picked up the containers. He handed one to Roger, and the +two men removed the tops. In a few minutes a coil in the sides of +each container heated the contents, and the prisoners ate a warm if +uninspiring meal. Plastic spoons fastened to the sides of the cans +served as utensils. + +After they had finished the food, the two prisoners sat and discussed +various topics until late in the evening, when they finally turned in. + +Outside, the temperature dropped to sixty degrees below zero. The +stars sparkled with a brilliance that was reminiscent of outer space. +Once the frosty stillness was broken by the whine of the jets of a +cargo plane, hauling a train of ore gliders from the mines on an +island farther north. In the front room of the center hut a guard +sat, watching a number of television screens which showed the area +around the camp bathed in infra red light. In front of the hut lay the +convertiplane, a shining, bluish silver dart with its needle nose and +swept back wings and tail. Near the cliffs back of the huts, Nolan's +small two seater lay with its channel wings folded into the fuselage. + +At six, Roger was awakened roughly by one of the guards. He was given +a can of concentrates which he ate quickly, his eyes straying now +and then to the big machine pistol held by one of his captors. After +Roger had eaten, he was ordered out to the plane and strapped into a +seat, an armed guard beside him. With screaming jets blowing air over +its channel wings, the convertiplane lifted from the snow and, a few +minutes later, streaked into the dark sky under the power of its main +jets. + +Three hours later they descended to the yard of a large house on the +outskirts of Denver. The scattered buildings of the city lay on a +blinding white blanket of snow that sparkled in the winter sun like +minute jewels. Roger was hurried into the house and soon stood in +the middle of a spacious living room, his hands held firmly by steel +handcuffs. He faced a man with swarthy skin and dark hair, a typical +Latin type. + +"Señor Lorin," the South American said and motioned toward an easy +chair. "Please be seated. Perhaps you are tired after your trip." + +"The trip was all right," Roger replied coldly, "though I don't like +traveling against my will. I trust that the Arabs are paying you well +for this little job." + +A momentary look of surprise crossed the man's handsome features, but +he smiled quickly and said in an affable voice tinged with surprise. +"Arabs? What do they have to do with this? I do not know any Arabs. You +do me an injustice to think that I would work for any other country +than my own." + +Hoping that the results would justify his confidence, Roger replied. +"Quit trying to bluff. South Americans have no reason to kidnap me. +They'd have absolutely nothing to gain and plenty to lose by such +actions. Even if they could fight a long drawn out war with us, they'd +lose in the end. Why most of your scientists and engineers receive +their graduate schooling up here. I met quite a few of your countrymen +during my school days." + +"You are an astute man," the South American smiled. "Yes, I am actually +working for the League of Islam." He admitted it blandly without +apparent conscience or remorse. + +"I can't say that I admire a man who'd sell his country, and not only +that but the whole western hemisphere down the river. Did they pay you +thirty pieces of silver?" Roger asked scornfully. + +"The stakes are much higher than that," the traitor replied, without +apparently being affected by Roger's scorn. "An empire awaits those +who are bold, greater power and riches than any ruler has even known +before." + +"I thought that we had left that behind with the twentieth century." + +"The desire for power is always with us," the traitor, whose name +was Manuel Juarez, said. "If I do not get it, someone else will. The +struggle never ends." + +"Maybe that's true in some parts of the world," Roger said, "but we +don't do things that way here." + +"Be that as it may," Juarez said with finality. "We won't speak of it +again." Abruptly he turned his chair toward a blank wall and pressed +a button on the arm of the chair. The whole wall lit up with stereo +color, and the room resounded with the hum of a crowd of people. + +"Skiing is an interesting sport," Juarez commented. "I enjoy watching +the skill with which the skiers perform in these tournaments." + +Roger and Juarez watched a symphony of graceful form and movement +against a backdrop of snow, blue sky, and tall pines. Both men sat in +chairs that moulded automatically to the shape of the body. Radiant +heat bathed them in warmth that was a pleasant contrast to the wintry +scene in the television wall. + +The instrument which showed them the ski tournament so clearly +represented a force that had killed an entire industry eighty years +earlier. The economic collapse and the development of good color stereo +television had resulted in the complete destruction of the movie +industry. Although there was still much poor entertainment on the air, +any person could usually find entertainment to suit his taste, whether +it was for adventure stories or Shakespeare, for popular music or the +works of the great composers. + + * * * * * + +Roger was held in the house for about a week and a half. Although he +did not know why he was held for such a long time, he knew that he was +being watched with unceasing vigilance. He had no chance to escape. +Then suddenly the enforced inactivity was over. + +Juarez and two guards entered his room. All three were dressed in +outdoor clothing and were armed. + +"You will come with us peacefully," Juarez warned. "If you try anything +foolish, we will not hesitate to kill you. We have other plans for you, +but your death here would serve our purpose." + +Roger went. They left the house and prepared to enter a small channel +winged plane. The craft had a tear shaped body flanked by two +pontoon-like cylinders. Each cylinder contained two small jet engines, +one blowing a stream of air forward and the other blowing a stream +backward across wing-like plates. The supersonic blasts gave the wings +enough lift so that the plane could hover, rise vertically, or move +forward or backward with equal ease. Such planes could attain a speed +of 450 miles per hour. + +At this time, a small patrol plane of the same type was flying slowly +through the area. Both of its occupants were thoroughly bored, and +one of them began to look around through a pair of light amplifying +binoculars. He spotted the abduction scene taking place below. Every +detail, including Roger's handcuffs, was crystal clear. The patrolman, +his curiosity aroused, switched to ultraviolet sensitivity, but saw +none of the code numbers that appeared on the bodies of all police +planes. Handcuffs and no police markings meant a check report to police +headquarters. + +"Patrol 67," the policeman reported into the radio. "There's a prisoner +being held in Zone 18. The plane has no police markings. The prisoner +is about five feet, eleven inches tall, has light hair, a rather large +nose, and is wearing a green jacket over gray coveralls. One of the +other men is dark, short, and stocky." + +"That sounds like Roger Lorin," came the reply. "He disappeared from +Arctic City about a week ago. There's a bulletin out on him. Keep a +long distance watch on that plane." + +About an hour after they had taken off, the fugitives, who were flying +low, disappeared in the mountains and were lost to the police plane's +radar. + +The sun set, and night settled its cold hand over the mountains. The +stars glittered like icy diamonds in the almost black firmament. The +moon bathed the world in cold silvery light. The mountains rose like +walls against the cold, dark sky. + +The plane climbed out of a canyon and flew southwest along the side +of a high peak. At treetop level, they flew through a high pass, and +entered a valley where a small, ice-covered lake gleamed in the cold +moonlight. The plane landed on the glittering ice. Among the pines on +the west side of the lake, stood a stately hunting lodge. The outside +was faced with logs to give it a rustic look, but the interior was +luxuriously furnished. + +Two men from the lodge pushed the plane into a hangar on the lake +shore, while Roger and his captors climbed a short flight of stairs and +entered the building. + +"Now we wait," Juarez said disgustedly. "I hope that Gomez gets here +soon, so that we can get this business over with and get out of here. I +cannot be sure, but I thought I saw someone following us after we took +off this morning." + +But he didn't get his wish. For the next three days, the men passed the +time in various ways. Some went fishing through the ice on the lake, +others watched television, still others played cards or pool in the +game room. + +During this time the police were not idle. They staked out the house +in Denver and waited. Their patience was rewarded when, on the second +night, a small plane came down out of the dark sky and hovered over the +landing area. A man dropped to the ground and headed toward the house, +and the plane rose into the night with blue flame dancing from the ends +of the wing cylinders, and headed back toward the mountains. A large +police plane high above traced the flight of the small ship with infra +red detectors and spotted the hideout of the fugitives. + +On the third night Miguel Gomez arrived. He was a big, strapping man +unusually light complected for a South American. His greetings were +loud and boisterous. + +"Well, Juarez," he said loudly, "I see that you have our prisoner in +good condition. But we can do nothing for awhile. A new plan has been +developed. In one week, a rocket carrying high officials from our +Republic will take off from the Chicago spaceport. These officials go +to inspect the Lunar atomic laboratories. That rocket will crash, and +the North Americans will be blamed. There will be evidence of general +negligence with hints of sabotage. So! the fun will begin. If that does +not work, we will use our friend, Lorin, here to top it off." + +That night they listened to a late newscast before going to bed. The +situation was tense. The presidents' meeting had been postponed until +after the inspection of the moon laboratories by the South American +officials. There was talk of a general mobilization and a tightening of +discipline at the military stations along the Mexican border and the +gulf coast. + + * * * * * + +Five hundred miles above the Earth, the polar weather station wheeled +silently through space. A sphere two hundred feet in diameter, it was +girded by a ring deck that was home to forty men and women. The big +observation room was the real reason for the space station's existence. +Here, the weathermen kept watch over the movements of Earth's +atmosphere. The fluffy white clouds that appeared on their screens told +a tale of mass air movements that meant stormy or clear weather for +the Earth below. An almost blinding white mass of cloud over Canada +told of a cold front moving southward to collide with warm air from the +Gulf of Mexico and unleash a blizzard over the plains of the Midwest. +Tumbling clouds hid a storm that whipped the North Atlantic into a +raging fury of white water. Clear areas showed where snow sparked under +the winter sun or where soft tropical breezes ruffled the fronds of +palm trees. + +The station was passing over the Pampas of Argentina on the day side +of Earth when the incident occurred. Miriam Andrews, on duty at the +time, sat watching the progress of a small rain squall. Suddenly a +look of surprise crossed her rather plain features, and she turned +the amplifier gain-knob of the light amplifying telescope to higher +magnification. On the screen appeared a sprawling airport on which lay +scores of large, box-like transport planes. Into the huge, channel +winged craft flowed lines of robot controlled armored vehicles. +Miriam, who had a keen mind and an interest in international affairs, +recognized the dangerous possibilities of these preparations. She +did not hesitate to call the station director. That individual was +summoned from a deep sleep by the imperative buzzing of the intercom. +He switched the instrument on, saw Miriam's excited face, and came +fully awake with a feeling of alarm. Excitement on the part of station +personnel was apt to mean deadly danger. He interrupted the excited +girl. "Repeat that again and slow down." Miriam repeated her story. + +"I'll send a message when we get close enough to Chicago to use a tight +beam," he said. "There's no use spreading that news all over the +western hemisphere." With that he broke the connection and called the +radio room to give instructions about the message. + +The station swept around the Earth untroubled by the gathering fury +below. A rocket, a slender, blue steel, winged cone, blasted away from +the station with a brief but brilliant display of its atomic jets. The +watches changed, and the weathermen continued to receive data, analyze +it, and send it to the coordinating centers on Earth. + +Although most of the men on the station heard the news with the +detachment of those whose main interest lies in space and on the moon, +the North American government was not so calm. It was not long before +big formations of box-like transports were headed southward with heavy +loads of flying armored equipment, technicians, and troops. Flights of +dart like interceptors patrolled the gulf area, ranging the blue skies +at supersonic speeds. On the ground, rows of slim antiaircraft missiles +stood like candles in a birthday cake. At the first flicker on a radar +screen, they would scream skyward to intercept hydrogen and atom armed +missiles at the borderline of space. Both powers made good resolutions +of nonaggression, but the rest of the world watched the preparations +with a skeptical eye. The weapons that could unleash the horrors of +nuclear warfare at the flick of a switch stood in frightening array on +both sides of the gulf. + +Meanwhile, the police prepared to close in on the mountain cabin. +Equipped with gas bombs, machine pistols and recoiless rifles, they +came struggling through a snow clogged pass and down the mountain sides +from hovering planes. Unseen in the darkness, they crept through the +woods toward the house. A rifle shot cracked as a guard sighted them +with his sniperscope. One of the policemen fell, a bullet in his leg. +The lights in the house went out, and gun flashes lanced through the +windows. Bullets, hunting their prey like angry wasps, snarled through +the darkness. + +Roger was locked in an upstairs bedroom with a guard before the door. +During the next two hours, the roar of machine pistols and the crack of +rifle fire split the mountain stillness and echoed from the hillsides. +At the end of that time, the police withdrew to rearrange their +strategy. + +Juarez sat on the floor near a broken window and cleaned his machine +pistol. "I think that it is time to kill Lorin and get out of here," he +said, as he placed a fresh clip in the magazine. "It will serve us to +good advantage." + +"Fool!" Gomez exclaimed. "If they found us with a dead man on our +hands, we wouldn't stand a chance. I have used this place enough to +know that they have us pinned in. We can use Lorin as a bargaining +point. We will arrange to take him with us and drop him by parachute. +But--the parachute will not open. A convertiplane, which I have called, +will meet us above the clouds and take us away before they can stop us." + +"They will not trust our word," Juarez said. "We cannot get away with +it." + +"Oh, but we can," Gomez said. "The police know that Lorin's death would +have regrettable results. Even the fact that he is a citizen of the +North American Union would be enough to start trouble, let alone his +position as a key research man on the neutron project. They will do +anything to see that he remains alive. The scheme will further enrage +the North Americans and might perhaps incite them to war." + +"I see," replied Juarez. "An excellent plan. Let's contact the police, +and see what happens." + + * * * * * + +Unseen by the guards around the house, four policemen crawled through +the snow. Wearing white uniforms, they blended so well with their +background that even the sniperscope men didn't see them. Their view +was limited by the fact that most of the large lights that had flooded +the area with infra red radiation had been shattered by gunfire. +Individual beams were insufficient to sweep the whole area. + +Carrying thirty-shot rocket launchers and rocket powered gas bombs, +they took positions around the house and aimed the slender guns. At a +radio signal, streams of red fire shot from the tubes, and the small +rockets tore through every window in the house. In a few minutes, the +place was saturated with sleep gas. Not a man moved throughout the +building. Policemen in gas masks converged on the house. + +Roger awoke on a stretcher aboard a police plane. A police officer +sitting beside the stretcher answered his dazed inquiries. "You're on +a police plane. We gassed the place where you were being held, and then +moved in and took over." He grinned. "You looked so peaceful that I +didn't have the heart to give you stimulants." + +"How long has it been?" Roger asked worriedly. "I'd like to call my +wife as soon as I can. She's probably worried sick by now." + +"It's been close to three hours," the officer replied. "We had to buck +a snowstorm when we came out of that valley. We knew it was coming, but +we thought that we could move in ahead of it and get you out before it +struck. Unfortunately, they spotted us with those big infra red lights +of theirs and threw our timing all out of kilter. We should be in +Denver in less than half an hour." + +Twenty minutes later the plane set down on the landing stage at the top +of police headquarters. Roger was helped to his feet and led from the +plane across the wind and snow lashed platform to an elevator. + +A few minutes later, he sat in the office of the Federal Police +Commissioner for the Rocky Mountain district. Roger asked permission to +use the desk viewphone and quickly put through a call to Arctic City. +In a few minutes, Linda's face appeared on the screen. When she saw +Roger her face lit up with joy. "Roger!" she exclaimed. "I've been so +worried about you. I haven't been able to sleep for days, wondering +what they might do to you." + +"I'm all right, honey," Roger reassured her. "I'll be home in less than +a day if the police don't detain me here." + +"Better have her come to Chicago," the commissioner interrupted. +"You'll have to stay there until we get this mess straightened out." + +"I guess it would be better for you to come to Chicago. The police say +that it'll take a while to clear this business up. Maybe you'd better +take a jet. It would be more comfortable for you." + +"I'll take the evening rocket," Linda replied determinedly. + +"OK," Roger said with a grin. "I'll see you this evening then." + +"Your wife seems anxious to see you," the officer remarked drily. +"Well, you may as well tell me about this business. I'll send you on +the rocket this afternoon so that you can meet your wife. We're not +sure just what was behind this kidnapping." + +Roger narrated the events of the past two weeks explaining the part the +Arabs were playing in the troubles between North and South America. + +"The Arabs, eh," the officer mused. "I'm sending the prisoners to +Chicago with you. I don't think that it will be too hard to get a +cerebral analysis writ. At least I'm going to recommend such action." + +"Cerebral analysis?" Roger asked. "That must be something new." + +"It is," replied the officer. "This particular development of the +encepholograph is so new that not many people know about it. The +machine in Chicago is the only one in existence. We use truth drug +writs to make it legal and still keep it secret. It isn't exactly +according to Hoyle, but we have to be careful these days. It takes an +expert to read the charts and, even then, only very clear thoughts can +be picked up." + +"It sounds like something out of science fiction," Roger commented. + +"So did a lot of things we now take for granted," replied the officer. + +Late that afternoon, Roger sat aboard a rocket that screamed through +the upper atmosphere on the last leg of its flight to Chicago. He +watched through an eyeport as the ship lost altitude and circled the +city, finally coming to rest with squealing tires on the concrete +runway. As soon as the locks were opened, Roger, accompanied by a +police officer, left the ship and went through the boarding tunnel into +the bustling terminal building. Roger's eyes searched the crowd until +they found Linda. He hurried toward her, and in a few minutes they were +in each other's arms. + + * * * * * + +After two days of quiet relaxation, a plainclothes man took them to the +tower of the Security Building which housed the Federal Police. The +place was an electronic wonderland, with banks of instruments lining +the walls. Gomez had been drugged and strapped into a large chair in +the center of the room. His scalp was shaved, and several electrodes +had been taped on. During the next hour and a half, the silence was +broken only by the occasional click of a switch and the scratch of pens +recording data. At the end of that time the electrodes were removed, +and Gomez was carried from the room to sleep off the anesthesia. One +after another, the prisoners went through the same process. Gradually +the data added up and revealed the plan that was meant to plunge two +nations into the horrors of atomic war. + +An officer gave quick orders. "I want all out going spaceships checked +for sabotage. These men didn't know the technical details. The least +obvious thing to do would be to tamper with the fuel in such a way that +it would explode violently when it was heated in the motors. The nitric +acid used in the booster stage would make the best reactant. The rocket +would be too close to the ground to drop the booster. Better check the +fuel before the rocket carrying those South American officials blasts +off." + +He turned to Roger. "Would you like to see how we stake out a place?" + +"Sure," replied Roger. "Spaceports are always interesting." + +They left the building and rode to the rocket field. Night had fallen +and the spaceport lay stark and cold in the beams of large floodlights. +Three spaceships stood on the field, their bluish sides gleaming in the +beams of the floodlights. To the south, a transcontinental rocket rose +into the night like a spark from a chimney. The air was bitter with the +temperature at eighteen below. + +"Take a look," the police officer handed Roger a pair of binoculars. +Roger placed the instrument to his eyes, and the side of the center +rocket leaped toward him. He saw a man in the red overalls of a fuel +technician climb the gantry alongside the center rocket and push +something into a valve on the side of the booster stage, near its +juncture with the main part of the ship. + +"Do you see that mechanic on the center rocket?" Roger asked. + +"Let's see," the officer replied and looked toward that rocket. "Yes, I +see him now. A mechanic shouldn't be pushing anything into that valve. +That particular valve is used to jettison fuel in an emergency. A +blast of compressed air will usually clear anything out of it. If that +doesn't work, the valve has to be taken apart to be cleaned. I'd like +to know just what he shoved into that valve." + +The officer spoke briefly into his pocket radio. Four policemen moved +toward the entrances that led into the deep pit where the rocket stood. +The technician closed the valve and climbed down the ladder. As soon as +his feet touched the concrete floor of the pit, he was seized by the +waiting policemen. A pistol shot cracked, and the prisoner sagged to +the floor with a hole in his chest. Instant confusion reigned in the +pit, and in that confusion the assassin somehow escaped. + +When the officer and Roger arrived, they found the policemen talking +with a fuel technician. The technician left the group and climbed the +ladder to the valve. He opened it and inserted a spring operated probe. + +"The valve's clean," he shouted down. "I'll take off some of the nitric +acid." He did so, collecting the liquid in a small sample bottle which +he carried on his belt. Climbing down the ladder, he handed the bottle +to the officer in charge, who handed it to Roger. Roger unscrewed the +cap and cautiously sniffed the contents. "I can't be sure, but if +it's what I think it is, you'd better not have the tanks drained until +morning. Give it a chance to dissolve. Otherwise you'll have some left +in the tanks. It doesn't react very rapidly at low temperatures." + +"Just what do you think it is?" the officer asked. + +"Well," Roger replied, "it's probably some organic compound that would +react with the nitric acid to form an explosive nitrate. Of course, +it could be an ammonium compound that would react to form ammonium +nitrate. That would do the job just as well." + + * * * * * + +Three weeks later the agents were brought to trial for espionage and +conspiracy to start a war. The whole story of the Arab plot came out. +Following the lead of the North American Union, the South American +Republic carried out an investigation of its own, and discovered +the part the Arabs had played in various incidents on the southern +continent. + +Later that summer, the Gibraltar Conference met to settle grievances +between the western powers and the League of Islam. King Ignatius II +of the restored Spanish monarchy acted as a mediator. Reluctantly the +North American Union agreed to let the Arabs build a spaceport in the +Sahara, thus giving them a chance to trade directly with the Lunar +colonies. On their part, the Arabs agreed to internationalize the Suez +Canal area, on condition of free passage across the isthmus for Arab +traffic between Egypt and Palestine. The Arabs refused flatly to allow +a re-establishment of the Republic of Israel, but would allow Jews to +settle in the Holy Land under yearly quotas. Despite reluctance and +bitterness, a compromise was reached, and war was averted ... for the +moment. + +About a week after the trial Roger and Linda sat at a table in the +large Spaceport Restaurant. Through the large window facing the +rocket field, they could see clouds driven by an early March wind. +Intermittent flurries of rain splashed against the glass. Roger +happened to look up and see an elderly man approaching the table; +his face lit up with recognition. "Well, Professor Nolan," he said, +offering his hand, "I'm glad to see you." + +"I'm glad to see that you got out of that trouble all right," Nolan +replied as they shook hands. + +"This is my wife, Linda," Roger said. "We're just about to order lunch. +Won't you join us?" + +"It would be a pleasure," replied Nolan as he sat down. "I'd like to +hear about what happened to you." + +Roger talked as he had punched their order into the robot server, and +through most of the meal that arrived a few moments later. + +When he had finished his story Nolan asked him, "Do you intend to go +back to Arctic City, now that this is over?" + +"No," Roger answered, "The pile at Arctic City is nearly completed. My +part of the work is done anyway. I've been offered a job on the neutron +rocket project at the Lunar laboratories, and Linda and I are leaving +for the moon in about an hour. I enjoyed working there before. The +moon colonists seem to have something that most earthmen lack.... I +guess you'd call it a pioneering spirit, a desire to explore. They are +willing to accept new ideas. + +"But that's enough about myself. I've been wondering how you got away." + +"Simple enough," Nolan replied. "The men who were left behind pulled +out and left me at the camp when they heard about your rescue. They +probably didn't care to kill me if they didn't have to. They left while +I was asleep and probably went over the pole into Russia. They took my +ship, but I was able to call for help with the radio. What happens to +them doesn't matter anyway. We'll probably never hear of them again. + +"I suppose it won't be long before we have colonies on all the planets +with that neutron rocket you mentioned." + +"It'll be a while yet," Roger said. "There are a lot of problems +involved in the development of a neutron rocket, and as long as we +have to use a fuel processed by passing hydrogen through an electric +arc and into an expensive organic compound at low temperatures, space +travel will be too expensive for anything more than the exploration +expeditions that have been sent to Mars and Venus." + +The voice of the announcer interrupted them. "The spaceship _Goddard_ +is loading passengers from tunnel eleven. All passengers must be aboard +in twenty minutes." + +Roger and Linda rose from the table. "That's our ship," Roger said. +"We'd better get aboard. Goodbye, Professor Nolan. I hope we meet +again." + +"Goodbye, young fellow, and good luck." Nolan gripped Roger's hand. + + * * * * * + +Thirty minutes later the professor stood at the window and watched the +preparations for blast off. The tail gantry crane moved away from the +rocket, and a siren blared forth its warning. The booster motors were +started, splashing green flame into the pit and shaking the ground with +their roar. The tall ship rose slowly at first, and then more rapidly +as it climbed a column of green flame into the clearing sky. It grew +small and disappeared. A few minutes later the ship's atomic drive came +to life like a tiny new sun that was a beacon on the path to space. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Third Party, by Lee B. Holum + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 59160 *** |