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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3c68fa0 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #60963 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60963) diff --git a/old/60963-h.zip b/old/60963-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 5bb0c8d..0000000 --- a/old/60963-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/60963-h/60963-h.htm b/old/60963-h/60963-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 08d3fae..0000000 --- a/old/60963-h/60963-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1728 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=us-ascii" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of the Impersonator, by Robert Wicks. - </title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.caption {font-weight: bold;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -div.titlepage { - text-align: center; - page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; -} - -div.titlepage p { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; - font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; - margin-top: 3em; -} - -.ph1 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; } -.ph1 { font-size: large; margin: .83em auto; } - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Impersonator, by Robert Wicks - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: The Impersonator - -Author: Robert Wicks - -Release Date: December 19, 2019 [EBook #60963] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE IMPERSONATOR *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="360" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1><i>THE IMPERSONATOR</i></h1> - -<h2>By ROBERT WICKS</h2> - -<p class="ph1"><i>First he had to know what he was,<br /> -then who he was and why he was—but<br /> -who was relying on the answers?</i></p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Worlds of If Science Fiction, November 1960.<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>He opened his eyes. He couldn't remember having ever seen humans -before, but he recognized them instantly. Nor could he remember having -seen anything before, yet he felt a warm familiarity with all that fell -into view—the light panels set flush with the ceiling, the gleaming -laboratory paraphernalia erected around the table on which he lay, -electronic scanners probing his mind with invisible beams—but, most of -all, the two men in white lab coats bending over him.</p> - -<p>"Clench your fingers," ordered the shorter of the two humans.</p> - -<p>Muscles tightened. Fingers clenched.</p> - -<p>"Blink your eyes."</p> - -<p>A quick reflex action.</p> - -<p>The taller man leaned closer. "What is your name?"</p> - -<p>Something tripped deep inside. "Paul Chandler."</p> - -<p>The tall man smiled, but somehow the smile never reached his eyes. -"Occupation?"</p> - -<p>Again something tripped. "Geophysicist."</p> - -<p>"And your specialty?"</p> - -<p>"Glaciology."</p> - -<p>"Your present assignment?"</p> - -<p>"I have been appointed by the President of the World Council to head up -Project Ice Thaw."</p> - -<p>"Which is?"</p> - -<p>"A program of weather control to combat the extensive glaciation -threatening to plunge the Earth into another ice age. We meet next -month in New San Francisco to get final approval on a plan of action."</p> - -<p>"And if the project fails?" asked the tall man.</p> - -<p>"Catastrophe."</p> - -<p>"Clench your fingers," said the shorter man.</p> - -<p>Chandler could feel the energy pulse from his brain to his fingers.</p> - -<p>"Blink your eyes."</p> - -<p>He did so.</p> - -<p>"Sit up."</p> - -<p>Stiffly he obeyed.</p> - -<p>"What manner of creature are you?" asked the tall man.</p> - -<p>Something whirred deep in the recesses of Chandler's mind. "A man," he -said at last. But he knew he was not.</p> - -<p>The tall man depressed a series of buttons on a master control panel. -There was a rushing in Chandler's ears, a blurring before his eyes.</p> - -<p>The voice of the shorter man floated across a gray void.</p> - -<p>"Clench your fingers," it said. "Blink your eyes."</p> - -<p>The odd sensation passed and Paul Chandler found himself looking -into the eyes of Marta Neilson. She half stood at the far end of the -conference table.</p> - -<p>"Are you sure you're all right?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"Just a moment's dizziness," he said, "It's gone now."</p> - -<p>Marta, partially reassured, sat down again.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>As Chandler poured himself a glass of water, he studied her clean -features as he would a mathematical problem in topology. Add in her -blue eyes and white skin, subtract her hair pulled back in a severe bun -and her lack of makeup, and she approached the Swedish ideal of beauty.</p> - -<p>Her natural magnetism and physical attractions had always stirred an -emotion in Chandler, but, strangely enough, not now. She smiled and, -automatically, he returned the smile.</p> - -<p>"Mr. Chairman." The delegate from Canada frowned at Chandler. "We've -debated the problem of causes for nearly two hours and seem to have -reached an impasse."</p> - -<p>A lean Britisher pushed his chair back. "If you were to solicit my -opinion, I'd say we'd reached an impasse before we entered this room."</p> - -<p>A stocky Russian with weathered features shot a glance at the -Englishman. "Was that remark directed at me?"</p> - -<p>"I was under the impression," returned the Englishman, "that we -were here to determine an immediate course of action. My government -instructed me to work to that end. I do not know what your instructions -were."</p> - -<p>"My dear Dr. White—" the Russian began, but Chandler's gavel rapped -firmly on the table.</p> - -<p>"Surely," he said, "Professor Kotenko is willing to concede that a cold -climate is not enough in itself to cause glaciation."</p> - -<p>"I did not mean to imply that it was."</p> - -<p>"There must be snowfall, and snowfall demands a source," Chandler -continued.</p> - -<p>"And that source is the Arctic Ocean," the Britisher threw in.</p> - -<p>The Russian stood up. "Gentlemen," he said, "would you undo a century -and a half of Soviet weather control? Would you destroy the Bering -Strait Dam and the North Atlantic pumping stations?"</p> - -<p>Dr. White stood up to face Kotenko. "If it would stop that infernal ice -sheet, yes, by God!"</p> - -<p>"It is easy for you to talk," the Russian fired back. "It is not -British science that is being impugned."</p> - -<p>"And it's not Soviet territory that's being threatened."</p> - -<p>"A tribute to Soviet science," the Russian replied, smiling.</p> - -<p>The Englishman's neck reddened.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Chandler rapped his gavel again. All eyes turned his way.</p> - -<p>"We want Soviet and British science working hand-in-hand with the rest -of us on this project. Anything less might spell disaster."</p> - -<p>A murmur of approval greeted his words and the Englishman sat down. -Professor Kotenko remained standing.</p> - -<p>"You have the Soviet plan before you," he directed at Chandler.</p> - -<p>"I've read it," said Chandler, glancing down at the document neatly -bound in manuscript covers. "An interesting idea—increasing the -greenhouse effect by adding carbon dioxide to the upper atmosphere. -But the amount that could be added would only raise the temperature -by a few degrees. Since snowfall increases considerably at the warmer -temperatures close to the freezing point, we would only be compounding -our problem."</p> - -<p>Kotenko's features stiffened. "The plan also includes changing the -albedo of the ice by coating it with coal dust. Not only would this -raise the mean temperature, it would melt the—"</p> - -<p>"What happens when it snows over your precious coal dust?" the -Britisher cut in.</p> - -<p>"We are suggesting a continuous dusting program." The Russian took his -seat.</p> - -<p>"The plan is not without merit," Chandler said. "However, we've -received almost as many plans as there are members on this commission."</p> - -<p>"Why not try all of them?" asked the Indonesian delegate.</p> - -<p>"Or, at least, a program involving several," Marta Neilson modified. -"Atomic heat and possibly infra-red radiation."</p> - -<p>"We can't spread our efforts that thin," Chandler explained to the -young woman. "Any one of these plans demands a concentration of money -and effort such as the world has never known."</p> - -<p>"And one thing strikes me," Dr. White put in. "None of these plans hits -at the basic cause. They all treat symptoms, save for the Canadian -proposal, which is quite out of the question."</p> - -<p>"Are you getting back to freezing the Arctic Ocean again?" Kotenko -challenged.</p> - -<p>"One X-bomb on the Bering Strait Dam," the Englishman said.</p> - -<p>"My dear Dr. White," returned the Russian, "the X-factor is best left -under international ban."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The Englishman turned to the Canadian delegate. "Is it? Perhaps this -is the time to screen your stop-motion studies of the destruction of -Ottawa."</p> - -<p>"What purpose could that possibly serve?" Kotenko protested. "We've all -seen the glacier first-hand."</p> - -<p>"It might well underscore the need for more action and less talk."</p> - -<p>"Then," said the Indian delegate, "by all means, let's see them." Again -there was a murmur of approval.</p> - -<p>As the delegates rearranged their chairs to face the view-wall at the -far end of the conference room, the Canadian pushed a button on a -control console in front of him. The room lights dimmed.</p> - -<p>"This study was recorded at the rate of one frame a day by the Canadian -Glacial Control Commission. Tonight it will be released over the World -Video Network. While everyone has seen pictures of what is happening in -Ottawa, nothing quite so dramatic as this has been shown." He pushed -another button.</p> - -<p>The wall disappeared and Chandler felt he was actually looking across -the rooftops of Ottawa, once the capital of Canada. At the edge of the -business district loomed a massive wall of gray ice. It was pushing a -ridge of boulders and dirt before it as it bore down on the city.</p> - -<p>The scene dissolved to a closer view of the glacier. As Chandler -watched, fascinated, the glacier ground the city under like a huge -bulldozer. And still it came on and, for a moment, looked as if it -might flow right into the conference room.</p> - -<p>The lights came up and the wall became whole again. A few delegates -swiveled their chairs back to the table; others continued gazing at the -wall.</p> - -<p>"Now," said the Canadian, "you can see why our plan calls for a -dramatic approach."</p> - -<p>"Tilting the Earth on its axis is quite out of the question," Dr. White -said. "But freezing the Arctic and removing the source of the snow is -practical."</p> - -<p>"And time-consuming," the Canadian added.</p> - -<p>But Chandler wasn't listening. A sudden dizziness swept over him. He -felt strangely detached.</p> - -<p>"I don't think we're capable of reversing the warm currents flowing -into the Arctic," he found himself saying. "The Bering Strait Dam is -one thing, but a dam across the North Atlantic...."</p> - -<p>"Then what have you in mind?" asked the Russian.</p> - -<p>"How would you react to a little suggestion of my own?" Again all eyes -were on him. "Suppose we were to tap the heat right from the Earth's -core?"</p> - -<p>The reaction was dead silence. Finally the Englishman spoke.</p> - -<p>"Mr. Chairman, in one breath you suggest the impracticability of -damming off the waters of the Atlantic, and in the next you suggest -drilling into the depths of the Earth!"</p> - -<p>"Surely you are jesting," the Russian added. "Why not tilt the Earth, -as the Canadians suggest, if we must lean to the sensational?"</p> - -<p>"If I were not acquainted with your reputation, Dr. Chandler," the man -from India said, "I would not for a moment entertain such a thought."</p> - -<p>"Possibly," said the Englishman, "you mean pockets of magma near the -surface."</p> - -<p>"I mean the core itself," Chandler insisted.</p> - -<p>"Gentlemen," Marta Neilson said. "As you know, I have been working -rather closely with Dr. Chandler on the plans that have been suggested. -However, tapping the core comes as a surprise even to me. But because -I am acquainted not only with his reputation"—she acknowledged the -Hindu with a nod—"but with his ability as well, I move that we allow -Dr. Chandler to pick a committee to consider the feasibility and the -consequences of such a plan."</p> - -<p>"And what sort of magical drill is going to accomplish this?" the -Russian demanded.</p> - -<p>"The edge of the core is 1,800 miles down—" the Englishman started to -say.</p> - -<p>Chandler rapped his gavel once. "I believe there is a motion before -us," he said.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Unlike the days before the threat of avalanches, the tubeway over -the Sierra Nevada range was not heavily traveled. Twice in the past -year avalanches had dislodged the tube, once resulting in a number of -deaths—something that hadn't happened on American highways for nearly -fifty years. But it was the most direct route to the Detroit Glacier -Control Center.</p> - -<p>"I'm not sure you made a wise choice in Kotenko," Marta said. She sat -next to Chandler on the rear observation deck, occupying Professor -Kotenko's seat while he chose to mingle with the passengers in the main -lounge.</p> - -<p>"Why?" asked Chandler.</p> - -<p>"Well, I'm not much of a politician." She glanced around before -continuing. "It'll be another century before Europe forgets World War -III. Maybe you thought Kotenko's selection would appease the Eastern -Union or maybe you were simply trying to get him out of the role of -principal opponent, but—"</p> - -<p>"I picked him because I needed him."</p> - -<p>Marta frowned slightly. "Now it's my turn to ask why."</p> - -<p>"Kotenko isn't just another glaciologist or meteorologist," Chandler -said. "His forte is pure science—creative science."</p> - -<p>"But he's impractical." Marta sat back in her chair. "You were the -first to point out the weaknesses of his greenhouse plan. In fact, you -were rather vehement about it before the conference. What happened to -change your mind?"</p> - -<p>Chandler didn't answer. Instead, he stared disinterestedly at the snowy -moonlit peaks distorted by the curvature of the transparent tubeway -walls. Marta touched his arm.</p> - -<p>"I don't mean to get personal," she said. "But you seem to have changed -a great deal quite suddenly. You're colder, as if you had lost your -sense of humor somehow."</p> - -<p>Chandler met Marta's gaze. "In a way, I suppose I did."</p> - -<p>"Paul," she started to say, but Professor Kotenko strode down the aisle -and plopped into the seat on the other side of Chandler.</p> - -<p>"I'm afraid these were the best cigars they had in the lounge," he -said, holding one out for Chandler.</p> - -<p>"They'll do," Chandler said.</p> - -<p>The two men lit up. Kotenko, through a haze of blue smoke, started -picking at Chandler's brain like a surgeon undertaking an exploratory -operation.</p> - -<p>"Now then, my dear Dr. Chandler, what will this magic drill be?"</p> - -<p>"I was thinking of super-dense metals from Pluto and, maybe later, from -the depths of the Earth itself."</p> - -<p>"You are thinking in terms of conventional drilling?"</p> - -<p>"I have been, yes."</p> - -<p>Kotenko settled back in his chair, his bull neck against the padded -head rest. "I don't wish to insult your intelligence by asking if you -have any idea of the pressures at those depths."</p> - -<p>Chandler rolled his cigar in his fingers but said nothing.</p> - -<p>"The drill cores we've removed from the crust under the Pacific bear -out our mathematics on pressures," Kotenko continued. "But heat is -something else again. There will be hot pockets, semi-molten strata, -finally molten material of great density. We can only guess at the -temperatures. Your drill casing must not only stand up against -fantastic pressures but also temperatures that will make the toughest -alloys run like quicksilver."</p> - -<p>"There have been lab experiments removing heat-conductivity entirely -from metals," Marta offered.</p> - -<p>"What is to keep the pressure from blowing the casing right out of the -molten rock?" Kotenko asked.</p> - -<p>"Pressure traps built into the solid strata wherever we find it," -Chandler said.</p> - -<p>Kotenko digested this thought for a moment. "Then your drilling must be -fully automated and not physically directed from the surface."</p> - -<p>"It can be done," countered Chandler.</p> - -<p>"And I suppose you will use some sort of thermocouple or heat transfer -pump to direct the heat against the ice."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Chandler nodded. "And pump it into the air to raise the mean -temperature in the glacial areas."</p> - -<p>"That will cause some unusual weather aberrations," mused Kotenko.</p> - -<p>"Nothing that the weather control boys can't handle."</p> - -<p>"Are you sure," said Kotenko, drawing on his cigar, "that the core of -the Earth is made of molten metal?"</p> - -<p>"I've been working on that assumption."</p> - -<p>"There are those who feel it might consist of compacted hydrogen atoms."</p> - -<p>"Would it make much difference as long as we can use the heat?" Marta -asked.</p> - -<p>"If we are not careful in tapping such a core—" Kotenko paused for a -moment, considering the consequences—"we could turn the Solar System -into a binary system."</p> - -<p>"I doubt that," Chandler said. "Besides, I don't plan to set off an -X-bomb in the core."</p> - -<p>"The immediate problem," said Kotenko, "is to drill such a hole."</p> - -<p>"It will take some real engineering," Chandler admitted.</p> - -<p>"It will take more than engineering." Kotenko looked directly into -Chandler's eyes. "Will you listen to a suggestion of mine?"</p> - -<p>"That's why I singled you out for the committee."</p> - -<p>"Forget a drill of super-dense metal." He leaned forward. "Use a device -that will melt anything it comes into contact with, fuse the material -into a casing and remove the heat conductivity from it so that it -will remain solid. This device would sink toward the center of the -Earth on a gravity drive principle. Your pressure traps would be force -fields—controlled to allow surplus debris to spew out the top like an -oil gusher." Kotenko settled back against the head rest.</p> - -<p>"Where would we get the energy to drive this device?" Chandler asked.</p> - -<p>"Thermo-nuclear power developing heat and thermo-electricity."</p> - -<p>"Then I would be taking a fusion bomb into the core of the Earth."</p> - -<p>"Yes, you would. You would have to maintain careful control from the -surface."</p> - -<p>"And suppose the core is made of compacted hydrogen atoms?" Marta asked.</p> - -<p>Kotenko blew a long ribbon of smoke. "I doubt if there would be any -danger unless we add the X-factor to the device."</p> - -<p>Marta started to speak, but an insistent electronic chiming interrupted.</p> - -<p>"Emergency deceleration," Chandler said calmly.</p> - -<p>Even before the "Fasten Your Seatbelts" sign flashed on, Chandler, -Kotenko and Marta had the buckles clamped tight and were braced against -the head rests of their chairs. Light beam generators whirred. The -tubecar shuddered and lurched to a stop. The lights went out and a -woman screamed somewhere.</p> - -<p>"There is no danger," the reassuring voice of the driver said over the -speaker system. "There seems to be some trouble ahead." The lights -flickered on dimly.</p> - -<p>"We are on our own power," Kotenko said. "The tube must be out up -ahead."</p> - -<p>"Another avalanche?" asked Marta.</p> - -<p>A private car pulled up behind them and cushioned to a stop on their -force field bumper. Chandler swiveled his chair around and looked -through the front viewdome at the scene ahead. The tubeway was -illuminated with faint emergency light panels for about two hundred -feet. A Greyhound Tubecar and several private cars were stalled at -that point. Beyond was blackness.</p> - -<p>Marta unbuckled her seat belt and stood up to see better. Chandler -gazed up the slope of a towering peak alongside them. Deep snow -glistened in the soft reflected light of the tube.</p> - -<p>"We have just received word of an avalanche," the voice of the driver -reported. "There is no immediate danger. However, we may be forced to -turn back to—" A sound as of rolling thunder drowned him out.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" width="330" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>"What—" Kotenko started to say, and then a gigantic mass of snow -shuddered down the side of the mountain and broke against the tube like -a foaming tidal wave engulfing the shore. Marta screamed and fell into -Chandler's arms as the tubeway lifted, twisted, then slid with the snow -into the valley below.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was like the dissolve on the video screen. Marta's terror-filled -eyes were replaced by the penetrating eyes of the short man in the -gleaming laboratory.</p> - -<p>"Clench your fingers."</p> - -<p>Paul did.</p> - -<p>"Blink your eyes."</p> - -<p>Paul did that, too.</p> - -<p>The tall man turned from the control panel and looked down at Chandler.</p> - -<p>"That was close," he said. "Everything could have been lost in that -one moment."</p> - -<p>"Marta," Chandler murmured. "What happened to Marta?"</p> - -<p>The short man looked up at the taller one. "Let's skip-time him three -or four hours to avoid the possibility of losing him in the avalanche."</p> - -<p>"If that doesn't work," the tall man returned, "we'll have to go all -the way back to the conference and start again."</p> - -<p>"I don't know what this is all about," Chandler said.</p> - -<p>"How could you?" said the tall man. "Under your present programming, -all memories have been canceled out."</p> - -<p>"What is my purpose?"</p> - -<p>"You know that." The tall man fingered a series of switches.</p> - -<p>"Think we'll have to clear him?" Chandler heard the short man ask.</p> - -<p>"No, I think we're just under the critical level."</p> - -<p>The short man leaned over Chandler and watched closely. There was -another dissolve. The man's eyes were replaced by Professor Kotenko's, -sparkling with alertness.</p> - -<p>"You fainted," Kotenko said. "Like a woman, you closed your eyes and -fainted."</p> - -<p>"What about Marta?" Chandler asked.</p> - -<p>Kotenko smiled. "<i>She</i> didn't faint."</p> - -<p>"Then she's all right?"</p> - -<p>"Everyone in the last three cars lived—a few broken bones, that's -all. The tube separated and the front cars and some of the other -vehicles were carried down into the valley. This would not be permitted -in the Soviet Union."</p> - -<p>Chandler sat up. He was on the floor of a gymnasium. A brightly painted -poster on the wall extolled the virtues of the Reno Union High School -basketball team. Perhaps thirty others were on the floor covered with -blankets and tended by doctors and nurses.</p> - -<p>"We were brought in by verti-plane," Kotenko explained.</p> - -<p>"How long has it been?" Chandler asked.</p> - -<p>"Three or four hours. A long time to be unconscious. They want to X-ray -that skull of yours."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Chandler frowned. "No need of that."</p> - -<p>Again Kotenko smiled. "That's what I told them, but medical men -sometimes get carried away with their importance in these emergencies."</p> - -<p>Chandler tossed the blanket from his legs and stood up. "I feel fine," -he said.</p> - -<p>He led Kotenko down a makeshift aisle between the rows of injured. At -the front entrance, he was intercepted by Marta.</p> - -<p>"Where do you think you're going?" she demanded.</p> - -<p>"To the center."</p> - -<p>"But—"</p> - -<p>"No arguments. We've got a lot of work to do."</p> - -<p>"You make it sound as though there's no time," she said.</p> - -<p>"There's much less than most people think."</p> - -<p>"What do you mean by that?" asked Kotenko.</p> - -<p>Chandler hesitated. There was something filed away in the back of his -mind, but he knew he'd have difficulty explaining how he knew what he -knew.</p> - -<p>"You saw the video tapes of Ottawa," he said. "Montreal will be next, -then Toronto, Chicago, Buffalo, Detroit, Toledo and, at the same time, -Norway, Sweden, Ireland and eventually all of northeastern Europe."</p> - -<p>"Ah," the Russian grinned. "Excellent strategy. Set a deadline. Let -everyone know you are working against time and you'll have much less -opposition and much stronger backing."</p> - -<p>"What sort of a deadline?" Marta asked Chandler.</p> - -<p>"A month to test the feasibility, then one year to develop the drill."</p> - -<p>"I can hardly wait to see the faces of the committee when we tell them -that," said Kotenko.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>But Kotenko showed little interest in the surprised faces of the -committee when Chandler announced his deadline one month later in -Detroit. Chandler knew that it was another aspect of his report that -deeply concerned the Russian.</p> - -<p>Marta supported Chandler's contention that the job could be done—and -in a year. She produced carefully detailed studies of non-conductive -metals that she had painstakingly prepared.</p> - -<p>Finally it was Kotenko's turn.</p> - -<p>"Yes, Dr. Chandler, with his rather remarkable mental resources, has -clearly shown that the drill can be produced by modern technology. And -I believe that Dr. Neilson—" he smiled at Marta—"can lead the way to -a system of non-conductive conduits to pump the heat anywhere it is -needed. Only the one hole with its inexhaustible supply of heat will be -necessary. On only one point do I disagree with Dr. Chandler."</p> - -<p>Paul Chandler was doodling unconcernedly on the edge of his notepad.</p> - -<p>"And that," continued Kotenko, "is on the need for the X-factor."</p> - -<p>Dr. White demanded the floor and Chandler acknowledged him without -looking up from his notepad.</p> - -<p>"For years," the Englishman said, "the Russian government has -steadfastly refused to agree to the use of the X-factor. I can -appreciate their feeling, since it was the X-factor that tipped the -scales in favor of the West during World War III."</p> - -<p>"Tipped the scales?" Kotenko said. "I was a very young boy, but the -sight of the vaporized cities of Russia is burned into my memory."</p> - -<p>"I believe I have the floor." Dr. White looked from one face to another -as he addressed his remarks to each delegate seated at the conference -table. "If we had been free to use the X-factor, we could now have -reached the stars with no need to concern ourselves with the time -barrier. Instead we are virtually confined to the barren planets of the -Solar System. Right here on our own planet, the X-factor could have -rebuilt the world almost overnight following the war."</p> - -<p>"There is an ancient saying," Kotenko interrupted. "Those who play with -fire—"</p> - -<p>"The time has come," Dr. White pushed on, "to reappraise our position -with regard to the X-factor capsules lying unused in the Swiss -stockpile."</p> - -<p>"We are hardly in a position to act on that matter," said the delegate -from Greater Germany. "This is a matter for the Council itself."</p> - -<p>Chandler tossed his pencil aside and stood up. "Nor is there any need -to get a decision at this moment. The drill—with or without the -capsule—will be basically the same. I'd like to see a motion for work -to proceed on the drill. The matter of the X-factor can be decided -later."</p> - -<p>"I make such a motion," said the Canadian.</p> - -<p>The motion was passed.</p> - -<p>It was Marta who selected the site. She chose a grassy meadow in -northern Michigan that stood directly in the path of the advancing -glacier. But long before the first fingers of the glacier could search -out the site, searing billows of heat would spread like a spider web -across the mountain heights and northern reaches of North America, the -north Atlantic and northwestern Europe.</p> - -<p>Only Marta's stubborn insistence that this was the most central -location had worn down a number of European delegates who had wanted -operations to begin on their side of the Atlantic.</p> - -<p>Kotenko, with a green light from Chandler, ordered three long-abandoned -automotive plants into action in Michigan. Scientists and technicians -from many nations of the World Council were brought together in the old -General Motors Technical Center in Detroit. Plans were drawn, models -constructed and a test vehicle sent to the center of Saturn's moon, -Mimas.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Chandler carefully studied Kotenko's report of the Mimas probe, then -met with the Russian in the latter's office.</p> - -<p>"I know why you're here," said Kotenko, offering Chandler a black -Russian cigar. "You must take into consideration that this was only a -scale model."</p> - -<p>"But it had full power," Chandler argued.</p> - -<p>"The initial descent was held to fifty miles an hour." Kotenko lit -Chandler's cigar. "A fast start and we would have done it with power to -spare. And remember that we haven't licked the heat problem. The test -drill was softened by friction heat."</p> - -<p>"You still couldn't have made it to the center of Rhea, let alone to -the core of the Earth," Chandler said.</p> - -<p>"It can be done," Kotenko insisted, "and without resorting to your -X-factor."</p> - -<p>"I've requested a special meeting of the World Council together with -the committee to clear the way for using the X-factor."</p> - -<p>"I'll oppose it. Since I am in full charge of constructing the drill, -my words will bear some weight."</p> - -<p>"I doubt if you will object," Chandler said. "I've just received a -report from the State Department. They have good reason to believe that -your government will back the release of one capsule."</p> - -<p>Kotenko stared at Chandler. Finally he rotated his cigar in his fingers -and studied the burning end. "Then I'll resign."</p> - -<p>"No, you won't. Your government wouldn't permit it." He smiled at the -Russian. "And neither would I. You're too valuable a man."</p> - -<p>Kotenko was still studying his cigar as Chandler left.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The X-factor capsule arrived under an international guard with the -blessings of slightly over half of the member nations. Kotenko didn't -resign, but his friendliness vanished.</p> - -<p>That same day, Marta broke in on Chandler and, to the consternation of -his secretary, hugged him.</p> - -<p>"We've done it!" she cried.</p> - -<p>"Here, here, take it easy." He held her at arm's length. "All right, -what have we done?"</p> - -<p>"Remember the things you said to me about slowing down the molecular -activity of metals?"</p> - -<p>Chandler nodded.</p> - -<p>"Well," she continued, "we've just had a major breakthrough in the -metallurgical lab, once you showed us the way. We can practically -remove all of the heat conductivity. In less than a month we can start -manufacture of the conduits."</p> - -<p>Chandler smiled. The last obstacle was over.</p> - -<p>"And more than that," Marta said, "we can build a test drill that will -go down into one of the big moons—one with a molten core."</p> - -<p>"The next drill," said Chandler, "will be the <i>real</i> thing to tap the -core of the Earth."</p> - -<p>Marta kissed him.</p> - -<p>The drill took less than the projected year to build. On the grassy -Michigan meadow, as several hundred dignitaries, reporters and curious -spectators in wind-whipped overcoats were held in check by armed -troops, the giant device was lowered toward a concrete basin. Sizzling -arc lights mounted on the control ring, a circular concrete building -surrounding the basin, illuminated the scene against the growing -darkness of night.</p> - -<p>The Soviet press was lauding the drill as a Russian achievement. Most -Western papers gave the credit to Dr. Paul Chandler. But Chandler knew -it was Kotenko's idea, made possible by his own mental resources, -surprising even to himself.</p> - -<p>Chandler felt a deep pride as he gazed at the drill, complete with the -controversial capsule.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"Excuse me, Dr. Chandler." A reporter with dry, unkempt hair stepped -up. "I still don't see how that thing will work."</p> - -<p>"In simple words, the rock is drawn into the bottom something like air -into a jet engine," said Chandler. "The rock is vaporized and expelled -out the top where the vapor together with the device itself presses -the molten material into the walls of the shaft. Because the rock has -had its heat conductivity removed, it hardens and remains permanently -solid. A tubular force field keeps the shaft from collapsing."</p> - -<p>"I understand that much." The reporter took out a folded square of -paper and a pencil. "But what makes the thing go?"</p> - -<p>"It has a gravity drive, giving it many times its normal weight." Marta -Neilson had moved up to Chandler's elbow. "It simply sinks toward the -center of the Earth like a pebble sinking in a pond of water."</p> - -<p>"What is your reaction to Senator Caldwell's remark that the -administration is at last returning all of the nation's gold into a -hole in the ground?"</p> - -<p>Chandler laughed. "Don't get me mixed up in politics."</p> - -<p>"Are you disturbed by the Interplanetary Council of Churches' charge -that any attempt to stop the glacier is defying the will of God?"</p> - -<p>"Nor religion, either, please."</p> - -<p>"Then maybe you'll discuss your own field," the reporter said. "Are you -aware of the petition signed by thousands of African and Middle Eastern -scientists?"</p> - -<p>"I've read about it," Chandler admitted.</p> - -<p>"Do you feel that taking an X-bomb into the center of the Earth is -completely safe?"</p> - -<p>"Nothing is completely safe." Chandler pointed to the reporter's feet. -"The ground may give way under your feet right now, but I'd bet my life -that it won't."</p> - -<p>The reporter studied the ground under his feet, then scribbled a few -words on his paper. A moment later, he spotted Kotenko and excused -himself.</p> - -<p>Marta gave Paul's hand a firm squeeze and he squeezed back. Dr. White -stepped up and offered his congratulations, adding the suggestion that -perhaps now they should turn their attention to destroying the Bering -Strait Dam. Chandler parried the question and the Englishman left to -exchange pleasantries with the Indian delegate, who was engaged in an -animated conversation with several committee members.</p> - -<p>"Well," said Marta, smiling up at Chandler, "tomorrow's the big day."</p> - -<p>"Worries me," Chandler said.</p> - -<p>"You mean the composition of the core?"</p> - -<p>Chandler nodded at the drill. "Basically, that thing is an X-bomb. -If fusion were to occur in the core and that core <i>were</i> made up of -compacted hydrogen atoms, I think the Earth might crack apart along -the fault lines surrounding the Pacific Ocean basin."</p> - -<p>"What could cause fusion?" Marta asked.</p> - -<p>"Losing control from the surface."</p> - -<p>"How do you mean?"</p> - -<p>"Well, it'll tax the abilities of the controllers every minute," -Chandler explained, "to compensate for variations in density and -gravity. If that thing got away from them, even for a few moments, its -velocity could build to a point where it would hit the center of the -Earth's gravity at the speed of a meteor."</p> - -<p>Marta's eyes opened wide. "And, of course, it would stop almost -instantaneously."</p> - -<p>"Most of the energy of its forward motion would be converted to heat, -which would develop a temperature far more than enough to trigger the -thing," Chandler said.</p> - -<p>"But it's made of non-conductive alloys," Marta said.</p> - -<p>"Which would only make it happen quicker by reflecting the heat back in -on itself."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The press photographers' strobe lights began to flicker as the drill -was lowered into the center of the control ring. Someone was making a -speech, thin sounds wavering across the meadow, as Chandler and Marta -started walking toward the VIP geodesic dome, where most of the top -scientists were quartered.</p> - -<p>Marta stared at Chandler for a moment. "Why didn't you say something -about this to me, Paul? Now I know why Kotenko favored hydrogen fusion -without the X-factor."</p> - -<p>"It wouldn't have done the job," Chandler said. "Just not enough -controllable power."</p> - -<p>"Kotenko thought so."</p> - -<p>"He was wrong."</p> - -<p>"Then why did you insist upon the drill? Surely some of the other -methods were workable. What about India's suggestion to set off a -number of H-bombs underground to produce pockets of magma? That would -have produced plenty of tappable heat."</p> - -<p>"I don't know," was Chandler's honest answer. "Call it a hunch or a -premonition, but I think it's the drill or nothing. Once the core is -tapped, the danger is over; we won't have to drill any more holes. -We'll have an unending source of heat, and non-conductive conduits to -pump it anywhere on Earth."</p> - -<p>"Paul," Marta said, "I've always gone along with you on just about -everything. Maybe the fact that I'm a woman has been outweighing the -fact that I'm also a scientist. But let's talk now about the moral -obligation of a scientist."</p> - -<p>"I'm interested in one thing—the best method to save civilization -from certain destruction."</p> - -<p>"But have you the right to gamble like this? Which is worse, the -destruction of civilization or the destruction of the Earth?"</p> - -<p>"Marta," he said, "man at last stands at the brink of fulfilling his -destiny. He is already establishing colonies on two planets and within -a hundred years will have a firm foothold in the Solar System. In the -millennia that follow, the Galaxy will be his."</p> - -<p>Marta stopped in horror. "That sounds like Colonial talk!"</p> - -<p>Chandler smiled reassuringly. "In this case, what's best for the -Colonies is also best for the Mother Planet."</p> - -<p>"But surely there's time to halt operations long enough to try some of -the other methods first."</p> - -<p>"If we were to falter now," said Chandler as they began walking again, -"politicians would have most of us replaced inside of twenty-four -hours. Would you like to see that drill start its plunge to the core -without someone on hand who knows how to handle it?"</p> - -<p>"No, I wouldn't," Marta said. "I'm not sure I want to see it start at -all." She touched his arm. "Paul, this is a side of you I've tried -hard not to see. You're—you're almost obsessed with the belief that -the drill is the only answer. And you're battling ruthlessly against -counter-ideas and time. After all, even the most radical estimates -give us at least two more centuries. Granted there'll be a southern -migration, but—"</p> - -<p>"Don't ask me how I know," Chandler said, "but we don't have two or -even one century. <i>We don't have ten years!</i> When the ice cap at the -South Pole was at its peak, it exerted tremendous pressures on the -continental land masses."</p> - -<p>"The old shifting crust theory?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. A theory tossed into discard when the big thaw came at the -South Pole. Now, at an almost unbelievable rate, the ice is building -in the north. This same seesawing effect has gone on throughout the -Pleistocene. The stresses go one way against the crustal blocks of -land, then the other way. It might be likened to bending a wire one -way, then the other, until fatigue causes it to snap."</p> - -<p>"And you're convinced that the crust is about to let go?"</p> - -<p>"With catastrophic consequences."</p> - -<p>"You're asking me to accept a great deal on faith."</p> - -<p>"When you stood by me back in New San Francisco," Chandler asked, "did -you honestly think we could tap the core?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know," Marta answered.</p> - -<p>"Would you have supported me if I had backed the Canadian plan for -tilting the world on its axis?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Marta seemed lost in deep reflection for a few moments. "I don't really -know," she said as they reached the VIP quarters.</p> - -<p>At Marta's door, Chandler asked, "Will you stand by me for another -twenty-four hours? By that time, the drill will be cushioning to a stop -exactly two thousand miles down."</p> - -<p>"Unless we lose control," Marta said. "Then, in less than an hour, it -could be smashing into the center of the core."</p> - -<p>"Will you wait?"</p> - -<p>For an answer she kissed him on the cheek, then said softly, "Now we -better both get some rest. We start operations in less than six hours." -She closed her door.</p> - -<p>Chandler entered his room and stretched out on his cot without taking -his clothes off. He thought about the plans he had ignored. Some of -them might have done the job. He thought of Kotenko, who distrusted -him, and Marta, who trusted him. Finally he drifted into sleep.</p> - -<p>He dreamed of great cracks snaking their way down city streets, -of violent earthquakes, foaming tidal waves, of people trapped in -crumbling buildings and, finally, the Earth blooming into another sun.</p> - -<p>And as the fireball expanded into oblivion, the shimmering face of the -short man appeared. His mouth moved, but Paul sensed rather than heard -his words.</p> - -<p>"Chandler. Kotenko and the drill."</p> - -<p>The face faded to nothing.</p> - -<p>Chandler sat bolt upright on the cot. He was dripping with -perspiration. The drill! Something was wrong at the drill.</p> - -<p>He ran down the hall to Marta's room and rapped on the door.</p> - -<p>"Who is it?" Marta's voice called out.</p> - -<p>"Paul."</p> - -<p>There was a pause. Then the door opened, revealing Marta fastening a -negligee.</p> - -<p>"Did I oversleep?" she asked, yawning.</p> - -<p>"Have you seen Kotenko?"</p> - -<p>"No, but I heard him talking to someone in the hall just after you -left. It sounded like that reporter."</p> - -<p>"Did Kotenko go into his room?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know."</p> - -<p>Chandler, followed by Marta, continued down the hall to Kotenko's room. -He knocked loudly. There was no answer. He knocked again and shouted -Kotenko's name. Other doors opened and people stared out.</p> - -<p>"The drill," Chandler said, and ran out of the building. As the door -swung closed, he heard Marta calling after him. He was conscious of -someone pushing through the door behind him as he bounded across the -meadow toward the drill.</p> - -<p>A small Army verti-plane swung down alongside him.</p> - -<p>"Halt!" an amplified voice boomed.</p> - -<p>Chandler stopped and faced the plane. "It's me, Dr. Chandler."</p> - -<p>The plane settled down beside him. "Oh, yes, sir," the voice -apologized. "We saw you running and—"</p> - -<p>"Quick, take me to the drill," Chandler said.</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir," said the voice.</p> - -<p>The verti-plane floated down beside the massive control ring and -Chandler, followed by two armed soldiers, raced through the main doors.</p> - -<p>"Halt."</p> - -<p>Guards surrounded them.</p> - -<p>"Has Kotenko been here?" asked Chandler.</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir," replied one of the guards recognizing Chandler. "He took a -team of technicians to the Gismo."</p> - -<p>"Follow me," Chandler ordered, and pushed through the inner door.</p> - -<p>Hesitantly, the guards followed.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Down in the basin, Chandler saw the yellow glow of a work light. -Figures were silhouetted against it. He took the spiral stairs two at a -time. The soldiers clambered down behind him.</p> - -<p>"Stay where you are, Chandler," said the voice of Kotenko, his stocky -figure back-lighted at the base of the drill.</p> - -<p>"What're you doing, Kotenko?" Chandler demanded,</p> - -<p>"Removing the X-factor capsule."</p> - -<p>"You're tampering with government property," Chandler said, primarily -to orientate the confused guards.</p> - -<p>"I am not going to permit the drill to go down there with the -X-factor," Kotenko said firmly.</p> - -<p>"It'll never get beyond the thousand-mile level," Chandler warned, -moving toward the shadowy figure.</p> - -<p>"I am armed," Kotenko warned.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Chandler stopped. Marta, clad in an overcoat, came down the stairs. -Several others followed.</p> - -<p>"Those techs will never do it now that they know the situation," -Chandler said, moving still closer.</p> - -<p>"My dear Dr. Chandler, they are citizens of the Soviet. They will do as -I say."</p> - -<p>"Put down your gun," the soldier at Chandler's side ordered.</p> - -<p>"I have already set up the drill for descent," Kotenko said. His shadow -hand touched a black lever on a portable field control unit. "As soon -as the X-factor capsule is withdrawn, down it goes."</p> - -<p>"But you can never maintain control without a full crew," Marta said.</p> - -<p>"I have crew enough," Kotenko told her. "Without the X-factor, complete -control is not so important."</p> - -<p>Chandler leaped for Kotenko, but the Russian's gun blasted white flame. -A searing pain ripped into Chandler's chest. He fell to his knees.</p> - -<p>The soldier's rifle cracked and Kotenko's silhouette crumbled against -the control lever. Electro-mechanisms whirred and the drill suddenly -plunged into the depths of the Earth, carrying most of Kotenko's crew -with it.</p> - -<p>"Good God!" someone cried.</p> - -<p>Marta was kneeling beside Chandler, tears streaming down her face. -"Paul!" she sobbed. "Oh, Paul!"</p> - -<p>Chandler could taste the warm saltiness of blood in his mouth. "Get the -control crew here—quick," he gasped.</p> - -<p>Someone moved for the stairs while someone else leaped for the field -control unit.</p> - -<p>Chandler's foggy mind touched reality for brief moments, condensing -time into a montage. A doctor was working on him, then shaking his head -at the sobbing Marta. Lights were thrown on and control posts manned. -Someone yelled, "Throw in force fields behind it!" And all the time -Chandler's chest pulsed with pain.</p> - -<p>"Can't stop it!" someone shouted. Then chaos broke loose; men were -running, blindly bumping into one another.</p> - -<p>Even though few of them knew quite what could happen, they wanted to -get as far away from the hole as they could.</p> - -<p>Marta was rocking Paul gently in her arms and crooning something -Swedish. The ground trembled under them, then lurched violently. -Sheets of broken plate glass rained down on them from the control ring -windows. Chandler knew the same thing was happening everywhere as the -shock waves from the drill reverberated around the globe.</p> - -<p>He looked around. They were alone on the basin floor except for the -contorted body of Kotenko. Paul looked up at Marta.</p> - -<p>"How—much—time?"</p> - -<p>Marta, her face close to his, smiled faintly. "No more time for you and -me." Her eyes were dry.</p> - -<p>A sound as of millions of giant rocks grating together welled up from -the bowels of the Earth. He was looking into Marta's eyes when suddenly -everything vaporized into blinding white heat.</p> - -<p>"Clench your fingers."</p> - -<p>"Blink your eyes."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The short man in the gleaming laboratory was leaning over Chandler. "We -did our best," he said.</p> - -<p>The pain was gone in Chandler's chest. "Marta," he called.</p> - -<p>"I'm afraid she's gone," the tall man said. "She and the entire Earth."</p> - -<p>The short man pulled off his lab coat. "Over a thousand years ago."</p> - -<p>"A thousand years?" Chandler's mind fumbled with the thought. "What's -this all about?"</p> - -<p>The tall man snapped a series of switches off. "You ask the same -question every time."</p> - -<p>"<i>Every</i> time?"</p> - -<p>"We've sent you back three times now." The tall man traded his lab -coat for a tunic. "Once you tried to X-bomb the Bering Strait Dam, but -the crust shifted, wiping out the whole population. On the second time -pass, you tried to tilt the Earth on its axis, but it was thrown out of -orbit and plunged into the sun. This time—you still have your memories -of that."</p> - -<p>"Makes you wonder about fate," the short man said.</p> - -<p>"But what am I?" Chandler sat up with an effort.</p> - -<p>"You," explained the short man, "are a mind developed here in a Venus -laboratory and sustained in a host body. You see, we can't send solid -matter back in time, only waves moving at the speed of light. So we -send your mind matrix to meld with Chandler's."</p> - -<p>"But why?"</p> - -<p>"To help him save the Earth," the tall man said. "When it was destroyed -originally, small colonies of us were stranded on inhospitable planets. -We're still trying to crawl out of the decline that set in. But if we -can send you back and save the Earth—well, you will remain with Paul -Chandler. And we—?" He walked to a bank of controls near the door and -put his hand on one. "Who knows? None of this will have happened. We -might not even exist."</p> - -<p>"Now," said the short man, joining the taller one, "we will have to -wipe out all memories for you and tomorrow we will start programming -you for another try. Maybe this time we'll try moving the Earth's orbit -closer to the sun."</p> - -<p>"Wipe out my memories?"</p> - -<p>"Of course. We want you to function with a clear mind. Besides, it's -kinder to you."</p> - -<p>"I see." The mind named Chandler looked at the two men. "But please -leave me with my memories just for tonight."</p> - -<p>The tall man turned off the light. "You always ask that and we always -do."</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Impersonator, by Robert Wicks - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE IMPERSONATOR *** - -***** This file should be named 60963-h.htm or 60963-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/9/6/60963/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: The Impersonator - -Author: Robert Wicks - -Release Date: December 19, 2019 [EBook #60963] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE IMPERSONATOR *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - _THE IMPERSONATOR_ - - By ROBERT WICKS - - _First he had to know what he was, - then who he was and why he was--but - who was relying on the answers?_ - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Worlds of If Science Fiction, November 1960. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -He opened his eyes. He couldn't remember having ever seen humans -before, but he recognized them instantly. Nor could he remember having -seen anything before, yet he felt a warm familiarity with all that fell -into view--the light panels set flush with the ceiling, the gleaming -laboratory paraphernalia erected around the table on which he lay, -electronic scanners probing his mind with invisible beams--but, most of -all, the two men in white lab coats bending over him. - -"Clench your fingers," ordered the shorter of the two humans. - -Muscles tightened. Fingers clenched. - -"Blink your eyes." - -A quick reflex action. - -The taller man leaned closer. "What is your name?" - -Something tripped deep inside. "Paul Chandler." - -The tall man smiled, but somehow the smile never reached his eyes. -"Occupation?" - -Again something tripped. "Geophysicist." - -"And your specialty?" - -"Glaciology." - -"Your present assignment?" - -"I have been appointed by the President of the World Council to head up -Project Ice Thaw." - -"Which is?" - -"A program of weather control to combat the extensive glaciation -threatening to plunge the Earth into another ice age. We meet next -month in New San Francisco to get final approval on a plan of action." - -"And if the project fails?" asked the tall man. - -"Catastrophe." - -"Clench your fingers," said the shorter man. - -Chandler could feel the energy pulse from his brain to his fingers. - -"Blink your eyes." - -He did so. - -"Sit up." - -Stiffly he obeyed. - -"What manner of creature are you?" asked the tall man. - -Something whirred deep in the recesses of Chandler's mind. "A man," he -said at last. But he knew he was not. - -The tall man depressed a series of buttons on a master control panel. -There was a rushing in Chandler's ears, a blurring before his eyes. - -The voice of the shorter man floated across a gray void. - -"Clench your fingers," it said. "Blink your eyes." - -The odd sensation passed and Paul Chandler found himself looking -into the eyes of Marta Neilson. She half stood at the far end of the -conference table. - -"Are you sure you're all right?" she asked. - -"Just a moment's dizziness," he said, "It's gone now." - -Marta, partially reassured, sat down again. - - * * * * * - -As Chandler poured himself a glass of water, he studied her clean -features as he would a mathematical problem in topology. Add in her -blue eyes and white skin, subtract her hair pulled back in a severe bun -and her lack of makeup, and she approached the Swedish ideal of beauty. - -Her natural magnetism and physical attractions had always stirred an -emotion in Chandler, but, strangely enough, not now. She smiled and, -automatically, he returned the smile. - -"Mr. Chairman." The delegate from Canada frowned at Chandler. "We've -debated the problem of causes for nearly two hours and seem to have -reached an impasse." - -A lean Britisher pushed his chair back. "If you were to solicit my -opinion, I'd say we'd reached an impasse before we entered this room." - -A stocky Russian with weathered features shot a glance at the -Englishman. "Was that remark directed at me?" - -"I was under the impression," returned the Englishman, "that we -were here to determine an immediate course of action. My government -instructed me to work to that end. I do not know what your instructions -were." - -"My dear Dr. White--" the Russian began, but Chandler's gavel rapped -firmly on the table. - -"Surely," he said, "Professor Kotenko is willing to concede that a cold -climate is not enough in itself to cause glaciation." - -"I did not mean to imply that it was." - -"There must be snowfall, and snowfall demands a source," Chandler -continued. - -"And that source is the Arctic Ocean," the Britisher threw in. - -The Russian stood up. "Gentlemen," he said, "would you undo a century -and a half of Soviet weather control? Would you destroy the Bering -Strait Dam and the North Atlantic pumping stations?" - -Dr. White stood up to face Kotenko. "If it would stop that infernal ice -sheet, yes, by God!" - -"It is easy for you to talk," the Russian fired back. "It is not -British science that is being impugned." - -"And it's not Soviet territory that's being threatened." - -"A tribute to Soviet science," the Russian replied, smiling. - -The Englishman's neck reddened. - - * * * * * - -Chandler rapped his gavel again. All eyes turned his way. - -"We want Soviet and British science working hand-in-hand with the rest -of us on this project. Anything less might spell disaster." - -A murmur of approval greeted his words and the Englishman sat down. -Professor Kotenko remained standing. - -"You have the Soviet plan before you," he directed at Chandler. - -"I've read it," said Chandler, glancing down at the document neatly -bound in manuscript covers. "An interesting idea--increasing the -greenhouse effect by adding carbon dioxide to the upper atmosphere. -But the amount that could be added would only raise the temperature -by a few degrees. Since snowfall increases considerably at the warmer -temperatures close to the freezing point, we would only be compounding -our problem." - -Kotenko's features stiffened. "The plan also includes changing the -albedo of the ice by coating it with coal dust. Not only would this -raise the mean temperature, it would melt the--" - -"What happens when it snows over your precious coal dust?" the -Britisher cut in. - -"We are suggesting a continuous dusting program." The Russian took his -seat. - -"The plan is not without merit," Chandler said. "However, we've -received almost as many plans as there are members on this commission." - -"Why not try all of them?" asked the Indonesian delegate. - -"Or, at least, a program involving several," Marta Neilson modified. -"Atomic heat and possibly infra-red radiation." - -"We can't spread our efforts that thin," Chandler explained to the -young woman. "Any one of these plans demands a concentration of money -and effort such as the world has never known." - -"And one thing strikes me," Dr. White put in. "None of these plans hits -at the basic cause. They all treat symptoms, save for the Canadian -proposal, which is quite out of the question." - -"Are you getting back to freezing the Arctic Ocean again?" Kotenko -challenged. - -"One X-bomb on the Bering Strait Dam," the Englishman said. - -"My dear Dr. White," returned the Russian, "the X-factor is best left -under international ban." - - * * * * * - -The Englishman turned to the Canadian delegate. "Is it? Perhaps this -is the time to screen your stop-motion studies of the destruction of -Ottawa." - -"What purpose could that possibly serve?" Kotenko protested. "We've all -seen the glacier first-hand." - -"It might well underscore the need for more action and less talk." - -"Then," said the Indian delegate, "by all means, let's see them." Again -there was a murmur of approval. - -As the delegates rearranged their chairs to face the view-wall at the -far end of the conference room, the Canadian pushed a button on a -control console in front of him. The room lights dimmed. - -"This study was recorded at the rate of one frame a day by the Canadian -Glacial Control Commission. Tonight it will be released over the World -Video Network. While everyone has seen pictures of what is happening in -Ottawa, nothing quite so dramatic as this has been shown." He pushed -another button. - -The wall disappeared and Chandler felt he was actually looking across -the rooftops of Ottawa, once the capital of Canada. At the edge of the -business district loomed a massive wall of gray ice. It was pushing a -ridge of boulders and dirt before it as it bore down on the city. - -The scene dissolved to a closer view of the glacier. As Chandler -watched, fascinated, the glacier ground the city under like a huge -bulldozer. And still it came on and, for a moment, looked as if it -might flow right into the conference room. - -The lights came up and the wall became whole again. A few delegates -swiveled their chairs back to the table; others continued gazing at the -wall. - -"Now," said the Canadian, "you can see why our plan calls for a -dramatic approach." - -"Tilting the Earth on its axis is quite out of the question," Dr. White -said. "But freezing the Arctic and removing the source of the snow is -practical." - -"And time-consuming," the Canadian added. - -But Chandler wasn't listening. A sudden dizziness swept over him. He -felt strangely detached. - -"I don't think we're capable of reversing the warm currents flowing -into the Arctic," he found himself saying. "The Bering Strait Dam is -one thing, but a dam across the North Atlantic...." - -"Then what have you in mind?" asked the Russian. - -"How would you react to a little suggestion of my own?" Again all eyes -were on him. "Suppose we were to tap the heat right from the Earth's -core?" - -The reaction was dead silence. Finally the Englishman spoke. - -"Mr. Chairman, in one breath you suggest the impracticability of -damming off the waters of the Atlantic, and in the next you suggest -drilling into the depths of the Earth!" - -"Surely you are jesting," the Russian added. "Why not tilt the Earth, -as the Canadians suggest, if we must lean to the sensational?" - -"If I were not acquainted with your reputation, Dr. Chandler," the man -from India said, "I would not for a moment entertain such a thought." - -"Possibly," said the Englishman, "you mean pockets of magma near the -surface." - -"I mean the core itself," Chandler insisted. - -"Gentlemen," Marta Neilson said. "As you know, I have been working -rather closely with Dr. Chandler on the plans that have been suggested. -However, tapping the core comes as a surprise even to me. But because -I am acquainted not only with his reputation"--she acknowledged the -Hindu with a nod--"but with his ability as well, I move that we allow -Dr. Chandler to pick a committee to consider the feasibility and the -consequences of such a plan." - -"And what sort of magical drill is going to accomplish this?" the -Russian demanded. - -"The edge of the core is 1,800 miles down--" the Englishman started to -say. - -Chandler rapped his gavel once. "I believe there is a motion before -us," he said. - - * * * * * - -Unlike the days before the threat of avalanches, the tubeway over -the Sierra Nevada range was not heavily traveled. Twice in the past -year avalanches had dislodged the tube, once resulting in a number of -deaths--something that hadn't happened on American highways for nearly -fifty years. But it was the most direct route to the Detroit Glacier -Control Center. - -"I'm not sure you made a wise choice in Kotenko," Marta said. She sat -next to Chandler on the rear observation deck, occupying Professor -Kotenko's seat while he chose to mingle with the passengers in the main -lounge. - -"Why?" asked Chandler. - -"Well, I'm not much of a politician." She glanced around before -continuing. "It'll be another century before Europe forgets World War -III. Maybe you thought Kotenko's selection would appease the Eastern -Union or maybe you were simply trying to get him out of the role of -principal opponent, but--" - -"I picked him because I needed him." - -Marta frowned slightly. "Now it's my turn to ask why." - -"Kotenko isn't just another glaciologist or meteorologist," Chandler -said. "His forte is pure science--creative science." - -"But he's impractical." Marta sat back in her chair. "You were the -first to point out the weaknesses of his greenhouse plan. In fact, you -were rather vehement about it before the conference. What happened to -change your mind?" - -Chandler didn't answer. Instead, he stared disinterestedly at the snowy -moonlit peaks distorted by the curvature of the transparent tubeway -walls. Marta touched his arm. - -"I don't mean to get personal," she said. "But you seem to have changed -a great deal quite suddenly. You're colder, as if you had lost your -sense of humor somehow." - -Chandler met Marta's gaze. "In a way, I suppose I did." - -"Paul," she started to say, but Professor Kotenko strode down the aisle -and plopped into the seat on the other side of Chandler. - -"I'm afraid these were the best cigars they had in the lounge," he -said, holding one out for Chandler. - -"They'll do," Chandler said. - -The two men lit up. Kotenko, through a haze of blue smoke, started -picking at Chandler's brain like a surgeon undertaking an exploratory -operation. - -"Now then, my dear Dr. Chandler, what will this magic drill be?" - -"I was thinking of super-dense metals from Pluto and, maybe later, from -the depths of the Earth itself." - -"You are thinking in terms of conventional drilling?" - -"I have been, yes." - -Kotenko settled back in his chair, his bull neck against the padded -head rest. "I don't wish to insult your intelligence by asking if you -have any idea of the pressures at those depths." - -Chandler rolled his cigar in his fingers but said nothing. - -"The drill cores we've removed from the crust under the Pacific bear -out our mathematics on pressures," Kotenko continued. "But heat is -something else again. There will be hot pockets, semi-molten strata, -finally molten material of great density. We can only guess at the -temperatures. Your drill casing must not only stand up against -fantastic pressures but also temperatures that will make the toughest -alloys run like quicksilver." - -"There have been lab experiments removing heat-conductivity entirely -from metals," Marta offered. - -"What is to keep the pressure from blowing the casing right out of the -molten rock?" Kotenko asked. - -"Pressure traps built into the solid strata wherever we find it," -Chandler said. - -Kotenko digested this thought for a moment. "Then your drilling must be -fully automated and not physically directed from the surface." - -"It can be done," countered Chandler. - -"And I suppose you will use some sort of thermocouple or heat transfer -pump to direct the heat against the ice." - - * * * * * - -Chandler nodded. "And pump it into the air to raise the mean -temperature in the glacial areas." - -"That will cause some unusual weather aberrations," mused Kotenko. - -"Nothing that the weather control boys can't handle." - -"Are you sure," said Kotenko, drawing on his cigar, "that the core of -the Earth is made of molten metal?" - -"I've been working on that assumption." - -"There are those who feel it might consist of compacted hydrogen atoms." - -"Would it make much difference as long as we can use the heat?" Marta -asked. - -"If we are not careful in tapping such a core--" Kotenko paused for a -moment, considering the consequences--"we could turn the Solar System -into a binary system." - -"I doubt that," Chandler said. "Besides, I don't plan to set off an -X-bomb in the core." - -"The immediate problem," said Kotenko, "is to drill such a hole." - -"It will take some real engineering," Chandler admitted. - -"It will take more than engineering." Kotenko looked directly into -Chandler's eyes. "Will you listen to a suggestion of mine?" - -"That's why I singled you out for the committee." - -"Forget a drill of super-dense metal." He leaned forward. "Use a device -that will melt anything it comes into contact with, fuse the material -into a casing and remove the heat conductivity from it so that it -will remain solid. This device would sink toward the center of the -Earth on a gravity drive principle. Your pressure traps would be force -fields--controlled to allow surplus debris to spew out the top like an -oil gusher." Kotenko settled back against the head rest. - -"Where would we get the energy to drive this device?" Chandler asked. - -"Thermo-nuclear power developing heat and thermo-electricity." - -"Then I would be taking a fusion bomb into the core of the Earth." - -"Yes, you would. You would have to maintain careful control from the -surface." - -"And suppose the core is made of compacted hydrogen atoms?" Marta asked. - -Kotenko blew a long ribbon of smoke. "I doubt if there would be any -danger unless we add the X-factor to the device." - -Marta started to speak, but an insistent electronic chiming interrupted. - -"Emergency deceleration," Chandler said calmly. - -Even before the "Fasten Your Seatbelts" sign flashed on, Chandler, -Kotenko and Marta had the buckles clamped tight and were braced against -the head rests of their chairs. Light beam generators whirred. The -tubecar shuddered and lurched to a stop. The lights went out and a -woman screamed somewhere. - -"There is no danger," the reassuring voice of the driver said over the -speaker system. "There seems to be some trouble ahead." The lights -flickered on dimly. - -"We are on our own power," Kotenko said. "The tube must be out up -ahead." - -"Another avalanche?" asked Marta. - -A private car pulled up behind them and cushioned to a stop on their -force field bumper. Chandler swiveled his chair around and looked -through the front viewdome at the scene ahead. The tubeway was -illuminated with faint emergency light panels for about two hundred -feet. A Greyhound Tubecar and several private cars were stalled at -that point. Beyond was blackness. - -Marta unbuckled her seat belt and stood up to see better. Chandler -gazed up the slope of a towering peak alongside them. Deep snow -glistened in the soft reflected light of the tube. - -"We have just received word of an avalanche," the voice of the driver -reported. "There is no immediate danger. However, we may be forced to -turn back to--" A sound as of rolling thunder drowned him out. - -"What--" Kotenko started to say, and then a gigantic mass of snow -shuddered down the side of the mountain and broke against the tube like -a foaming tidal wave engulfing the shore. Marta screamed and fell into -Chandler's arms as the tubeway lifted, twisted, then slid with the snow -into the valley below. - - * * * * * - -It was like the dissolve on the video screen. Marta's terror-filled -eyes were replaced by the penetrating eyes of the short man in the -gleaming laboratory. - -"Clench your fingers." - -Paul did. - -"Blink your eyes." - -Paul did that, too. - -The tall man turned from the control panel and looked down at Chandler. - -"That was close," he said. "Everything could have been lost in that -one moment." - -"Marta," Chandler murmured. "What happened to Marta?" - -The short man looked up at the taller one. "Let's skip-time him three -or four hours to avoid the possibility of losing him in the avalanche." - -"If that doesn't work," the tall man returned, "we'll have to go all -the way back to the conference and start again." - -"I don't know what this is all about," Chandler said. - -"How could you?" said the tall man. "Under your present programming, -all memories have been canceled out." - -"What is my purpose?" - -"You know that." The tall man fingered a series of switches. - -"Think we'll have to clear him?" Chandler heard the short man ask. - -"No, I think we're just under the critical level." - -The short man leaned over Chandler and watched closely. There was -another dissolve. The man's eyes were replaced by Professor Kotenko's, -sparkling with alertness. - -"You fainted," Kotenko said. "Like a woman, you closed your eyes and -fainted." - -"What about Marta?" Chandler asked. - -Kotenko smiled. "_She_ didn't faint." - -"Then she's all right?" - -"Everyone in the last three cars lived--a few broken bones, that's -all. The tube separated and the front cars and some of the other -vehicles were carried down into the valley. This would not be permitted -in the Soviet Union." - -Chandler sat up. He was on the floor of a gymnasium. A brightly painted -poster on the wall extolled the virtues of the Reno Union High School -basketball team. Perhaps thirty others were on the floor covered with -blankets and tended by doctors and nurses. - -"We were brought in by verti-plane," Kotenko explained. - -"How long has it been?" Chandler asked. - -"Three or four hours. A long time to be unconscious. They want to X-ray -that skull of yours." - - * * * * * - -Chandler frowned. "No need of that." - -Again Kotenko smiled. "That's what I told them, but medical men -sometimes get carried away with their importance in these emergencies." - -Chandler tossed the blanket from his legs and stood up. "I feel fine," -he said. - -He led Kotenko down a makeshift aisle between the rows of injured. At -the front entrance, he was intercepted by Marta. - -"Where do you think you're going?" she demanded. - -"To the center." - -"But--" - -"No arguments. We've got a lot of work to do." - -"You make it sound as though there's no time," she said. - -"There's much less than most people think." - -"What do you mean by that?" asked Kotenko. - -Chandler hesitated. There was something filed away in the back of his -mind, but he knew he'd have difficulty explaining how he knew what he -knew. - -"You saw the video tapes of Ottawa," he said. "Montreal will be next, -then Toronto, Chicago, Buffalo, Detroit, Toledo and, at the same time, -Norway, Sweden, Ireland and eventually all of northeastern Europe." - -"Ah," the Russian grinned. "Excellent strategy. Set a deadline. Let -everyone know you are working against time and you'll have much less -opposition and much stronger backing." - -"What sort of a deadline?" Marta asked Chandler. - -"A month to test the feasibility, then one year to develop the drill." - -"I can hardly wait to see the faces of the committee when we tell them -that," said Kotenko. - - * * * * * - -But Kotenko showed little interest in the surprised faces of the -committee when Chandler announced his deadline one month later in -Detroit. Chandler knew that it was another aspect of his report that -deeply concerned the Russian. - -Marta supported Chandler's contention that the job could be done--and -in a year. She produced carefully detailed studies of non-conductive -metals that she had painstakingly prepared. - -Finally it was Kotenko's turn. - -"Yes, Dr. Chandler, with his rather remarkable mental resources, has -clearly shown that the drill can be produced by modern technology. And -I believe that Dr. Neilson--" he smiled at Marta--"can lead the way to -a system of non-conductive conduits to pump the heat anywhere it is -needed. Only the one hole with its inexhaustible supply of heat will be -necessary. On only one point do I disagree with Dr. Chandler." - -Paul Chandler was doodling unconcernedly on the edge of his notepad. - -"And that," continued Kotenko, "is on the need for the X-factor." - -Dr. White demanded the floor and Chandler acknowledged him without -looking up from his notepad. - -"For years," the Englishman said, "the Russian government has -steadfastly refused to agree to the use of the X-factor. I can -appreciate their feeling, since it was the X-factor that tipped the -scales in favor of the West during World War III." - -"Tipped the scales?" Kotenko said. "I was a very young boy, but the -sight of the vaporized cities of Russia is burned into my memory." - -"I believe I have the floor." Dr. White looked from one face to another -as he addressed his remarks to each delegate seated at the conference -table. "If we had been free to use the X-factor, we could now have -reached the stars with no need to concern ourselves with the time -barrier. Instead we are virtually confined to the barren planets of the -Solar System. Right here on our own planet, the X-factor could have -rebuilt the world almost overnight following the war." - -"There is an ancient saying," Kotenko interrupted. "Those who play with -fire--" - -"The time has come," Dr. White pushed on, "to reappraise our position -with regard to the X-factor capsules lying unused in the Swiss -stockpile." - -"We are hardly in a position to act on that matter," said the delegate -from Greater Germany. "This is a matter for the Council itself." - -Chandler tossed his pencil aside and stood up. "Nor is there any need -to get a decision at this moment. The drill--with or without the -capsule--will be basically the same. I'd like to see a motion for work -to proceed on the drill. The matter of the X-factor can be decided -later." - -"I make such a motion," said the Canadian. - -The motion was passed. - -It was Marta who selected the site. She chose a grassy meadow in -northern Michigan that stood directly in the path of the advancing -glacier. But long before the first fingers of the glacier could search -out the site, searing billows of heat would spread like a spider web -across the mountain heights and northern reaches of North America, the -north Atlantic and northwestern Europe. - -Only Marta's stubborn insistence that this was the most central -location had worn down a number of European delegates who had wanted -operations to begin on their side of the Atlantic. - -Kotenko, with a green light from Chandler, ordered three long-abandoned -automotive plants into action in Michigan. Scientists and technicians -from many nations of the World Council were brought together in the old -General Motors Technical Center in Detroit. Plans were drawn, models -constructed and a test vehicle sent to the center of Saturn's moon, -Mimas. - - * * * * * - -Chandler carefully studied Kotenko's report of the Mimas probe, then -met with the Russian in the latter's office. - -"I know why you're here," said Kotenko, offering Chandler a black -Russian cigar. "You must take into consideration that this was only a -scale model." - -"But it had full power," Chandler argued. - -"The initial descent was held to fifty miles an hour." Kotenko lit -Chandler's cigar. "A fast start and we would have done it with power to -spare. And remember that we haven't licked the heat problem. The test -drill was softened by friction heat." - -"You still couldn't have made it to the center of Rhea, let alone to -the core of the Earth," Chandler said. - -"It can be done," Kotenko insisted, "and without resorting to your -X-factor." - -"I've requested a special meeting of the World Council together with -the committee to clear the way for using the X-factor." - -"I'll oppose it. Since I am in full charge of constructing the drill, -my words will bear some weight." - -"I doubt if you will object," Chandler said. "I've just received a -report from the State Department. They have good reason to believe that -your government will back the release of one capsule." - -Kotenko stared at Chandler. Finally he rotated his cigar in his fingers -and studied the burning end. "Then I'll resign." - -"No, you won't. Your government wouldn't permit it." He smiled at the -Russian. "And neither would I. You're too valuable a man." - -Kotenko was still studying his cigar as Chandler left. - - * * * * * - -The X-factor capsule arrived under an international guard with the -blessings of slightly over half of the member nations. Kotenko didn't -resign, but his friendliness vanished. - -That same day, Marta broke in on Chandler and, to the consternation of -his secretary, hugged him. - -"We've done it!" she cried. - -"Here, here, take it easy." He held her at arm's length. "All right, -what have we done?" - -"Remember the things you said to me about slowing down the molecular -activity of metals?" - -Chandler nodded. - -"Well," she continued, "we've just had a major breakthrough in the -metallurgical lab, once you showed us the way. We can practically -remove all of the heat conductivity. In less than a month we can start -manufacture of the conduits." - -Chandler smiled. The last obstacle was over. - -"And more than that," Marta said, "we can build a test drill that will -go down into one of the big moons--one with a molten core." - -"The next drill," said Chandler, "will be the _real_ thing to tap the -core of the Earth." - -Marta kissed him. - -The drill took less than the projected year to build. On the grassy -Michigan meadow, as several hundred dignitaries, reporters and curious -spectators in wind-whipped overcoats were held in check by armed -troops, the giant device was lowered toward a concrete basin. Sizzling -arc lights mounted on the control ring, a circular concrete building -surrounding the basin, illuminated the scene against the growing -darkness of night. - -The Soviet press was lauding the drill as a Russian achievement. Most -Western papers gave the credit to Dr. Paul Chandler. But Chandler knew -it was Kotenko's idea, made possible by his own mental resources, -surprising even to himself. - -Chandler felt a deep pride as he gazed at the drill, complete with the -controversial capsule. - - * * * * * - -"Excuse me, Dr. Chandler." A reporter with dry, unkempt hair stepped -up. "I still don't see how that thing will work." - -"In simple words, the rock is drawn into the bottom something like air -into a jet engine," said Chandler. "The rock is vaporized and expelled -out the top where the vapor together with the device itself presses -the molten material into the walls of the shaft. Because the rock has -had its heat conductivity removed, it hardens and remains permanently -solid. A tubular force field keeps the shaft from collapsing." - -"I understand that much." The reporter took out a folded square of -paper and a pencil. "But what makes the thing go?" - -"It has a gravity drive, giving it many times its normal weight." Marta -Neilson had moved up to Chandler's elbow. "It simply sinks toward the -center of the Earth like a pebble sinking in a pond of water." - -"What is your reaction to Senator Caldwell's remark that the -administration is at last returning all of the nation's gold into a -hole in the ground?" - -Chandler laughed. "Don't get me mixed up in politics." - -"Are you disturbed by the Interplanetary Council of Churches' charge -that any attempt to stop the glacier is defying the will of God?" - -"Nor religion, either, please." - -"Then maybe you'll discuss your own field," the reporter said. "Are you -aware of the petition signed by thousands of African and Middle Eastern -scientists?" - -"I've read about it," Chandler admitted. - -"Do you feel that taking an X-bomb into the center of the Earth is -completely safe?" - -"Nothing is completely safe." Chandler pointed to the reporter's feet. -"The ground may give way under your feet right now, but I'd bet my life -that it won't." - -The reporter studied the ground under his feet, then scribbled a few -words on his paper. A moment later, he spotted Kotenko and excused -himself. - -Marta gave Paul's hand a firm squeeze and he squeezed back. Dr. White -stepped up and offered his congratulations, adding the suggestion that -perhaps now they should turn their attention to destroying the Bering -Strait Dam. Chandler parried the question and the Englishman left to -exchange pleasantries with the Indian delegate, who was engaged in an -animated conversation with several committee members. - -"Well," said Marta, smiling up at Chandler, "tomorrow's the big day." - -"Worries me," Chandler said. - -"You mean the composition of the core?" - -Chandler nodded at the drill. "Basically, that thing is an X-bomb. -If fusion were to occur in the core and that core _were_ made up of -compacted hydrogen atoms, I think the Earth might crack apart along -the fault lines surrounding the Pacific Ocean basin." - -"What could cause fusion?" Marta asked. - -"Losing control from the surface." - -"How do you mean?" - -"Well, it'll tax the abilities of the controllers every minute," -Chandler explained, "to compensate for variations in density and -gravity. If that thing got away from them, even for a few moments, its -velocity could build to a point where it would hit the center of the -Earth's gravity at the speed of a meteor." - -Marta's eyes opened wide. "And, of course, it would stop almost -instantaneously." - -"Most of the energy of its forward motion would be converted to heat, -which would develop a temperature far more than enough to trigger the -thing," Chandler said. - -"But it's made of non-conductive alloys," Marta said. - -"Which would only make it happen quicker by reflecting the heat back in -on itself." - - * * * * * - -The press photographers' strobe lights began to flicker as the drill -was lowered into the center of the control ring. Someone was making a -speech, thin sounds wavering across the meadow, as Chandler and Marta -started walking toward the VIP geodesic dome, where most of the top -scientists were quartered. - -Marta stared at Chandler for a moment. "Why didn't you say something -about this to me, Paul? Now I know why Kotenko favored hydrogen fusion -without the X-factor." - -"It wouldn't have done the job," Chandler said. "Just not enough -controllable power." - -"Kotenko thought so." - -"He was wrong." - -"Then why did you insist upon the drill? Surely some of the other -methods were workable. What about India's suggestion to set off a -number of H-bombs underground to produce pockets of magma? That would -have produced plenty of tappable heat." - -"I don't know," was Chandler's honest answer. "Call it a hunch or a -premonition, but I think it's the drill or nothing. Once the core is -tapped, the danger is over; we won't have to drill any more holes. -We'll have an unending source of heat, and non-conductive conduits to -pump it anywhere on Earth." - -"Paul," Marta said, "I've always gone along with you on just about -everything. Maybe the fact that I'm a woman has been outweighing the -fact that I'm also a scientist. But let's talk now about the moral -obligation of a scientist." - -"I'm interested in one thing--the best method to save civilization -from certain destruction." - -"But have you the right to gamble like this? Which is worse, the -destruction of civilization or the destruction of the Earth?" - -"Marta," he said, "man at last stands at the brink of fulfilling his -destiny. He is already establishing colonies on two planets and within -a hundred years will have a firm foothold in the Solar System. In the -millennia that follow, the Galaxy will be his." - -Marta stopped in horror. "That sounds like Colonial talk!" - -Chandler smiled reassuringly. "In this case, what's best for the -Colonies is also best for the Mother Planet." - -"But surely there's time to halt operations long enough to try some of -the other methods first." - -"If we were to falter now," said Chandler as they began walking again, -"politicians would have most of us replaced inside of twenty-four -hours. Would you like to see that drill start its plunge to the core -without someone on hand who knows how to handle it?" - -"No, I wouldn't," Marta said. "I'm not sure I want to see it start at -all." She touched his arm. "Paul, this is a side of you I've tried -hard not to see. You're--you're almost obsessed with the belief that -the drill is the only answer. And you're battling ruthlessly against -counter-ideas and time. After all, even the most radical estimates -give us at least two more centuries. Granted there'll be a southern -migration, but--" - -"Don't ask me how I know," Chandler said, "but we don't have two or -even one century. _We don't have ten years!_ When the ice cap at the -South Pole was at its peak, it exerted tremendous pressures on the -continental land masses." - -"The old shifting crust theory?" - -"Yes. A theory tossed into discard when the big thaw came at the -South Pole. Now, at an almost unbelievable rate, the ice is building -in the north. This same seesawing effect has gone on throughout the -Pleistocene. The stresses go one way against the crustal blocks of -land, then the other way. It might be likened to bending a wire one -way, then the other, until fatigue causes it to snap." - -"And you're convinced that the crust is about to let go?" - -"With catastrophic consequences." - -"You're asking me to accept a great deal on faith." - -"When you stood by me back in New San Francisco," Chandler asked, "did -you honestly think we could tap the core?" - -"I don't know," Marta answered. - -"Would you have supported me if I had backed the Canadian plan for -tilting the world on its axis?" - - * * * * * - -Marta seemed lost in deep reflection for a few moments. "I don't really -know," she said as they reached the VIP quarters. - -At Marta's door, Chandler asked, "Will you stand by me for another -twenty-four hours? By that time, the drill will be cushioning to a stop -exactly two thousand miles down." - -"Unless we lose control," Marta said. "Then, in less than an hour, it -could be smashing into the center of the core." - -"Will you wait?" - -For an answer she kissed him on the cheek, then said softly, "Now we -better both get some rest. We start operations in less than six hours." -She closed her door. - -Chandler entered his room and stretched out on his cot without taking -his clothes off. He thought about the plans he had ignored. Some of -them might have done the job. He thought of Kotenko, who distrusted -him, and Marta, who trusted him. Finally he drifted into sleep. - -He dreamed of great cracks snaking their way down city streets, -of violent earthquakes, foaming tidal waves, of people trapped in -crumbling buildings and, finally, the Earth blooming into another sun. - -And as the fireball expanded into oblivion, the shimmering face of the -short man appeared. His mouth moved, but Paul sensed rather than heard -his words. - -"Chandler. Kotenko and the drill." - -The face faded to nothing. - -Chandler sat bolt upright on the cot. He was dripping with -perspiration. The drill! Something was wrong at the drill. - -He ran down the hall to Marta's room and rapped on the door. - -"Who is it?" Marta's voice called out. - -"Paul." - -There was a pause. Then the door opened, revealing Marta fastening a -negligee. - -"Did I oversleep?" she asked, yawning. - -"Have you seen Kotenko?" - -"No, but I heard him talking to someone in the hall just after you -left. It sounded like that reporter." - -"Did Kotenko go into his room?" - -"I don't know." - -Chandler, followed by Marta, continued down the hall to Kotenko's room. -He knocked loudly. There was no answer. He knocked again and shouted -Kotenko's name. Other doors opened and people stared out. - -"The drill," Chandler said, and ran out of the building. As the door -swung closed, he heard Marta calling after him. He was conscious of -someone pushing through the door behind him as he bounded across the -meadow toward the drill. - -A small Army verti-plane swung down alongside him. - -"Halt!" an amplified voice boomed. - -Chandler stopped and faced the plane. "It's me, Dr. Chandler." - -The plane settled down beside him. "Oh, yes, sir," the voice -apologized. "We saw you running and--" - -"Quick, take me to the drill," Chandler said. - -"Yes, sir," said the voice. - -The verti-plane floated down beside the massive control ring and -Chandler, followed by two armed soldiers, raced through the main doors. - -"Halt." - -Guards surrounded them. - -"Has Kotenko been here?" asked Chandler. - -"Yes, sir," replied one of the guards recognizing Chandler. "He took a -team of technicians to the Gismo." - -"Follow me," Chandler ordered, and pushed through the inner door. - -Hesitantly, the guards followed. - - * * * * * - -Down in the basin, Chandler saw the yellow glow of a work light. -Figures were silhouetted against it. He took the spiral stairs two at a -time. The soldiers clambered down behind him. - -"Stay where you are, Chandler," said the voice of Kotenko, his stocky -figure back-lighted at the base of the drill. - -"What're you doing, Kotenko?" Chandler demanded, - -"Removing the X-factor capsule." - -"You're tampering with government property," Chandler said, primarily -to orientate the confused guards. - -"I am not going to permit the drill to go down there with the -X-factor," Kotenko said firmly. - -"It'll never get beyond the thousand-mile level," Chandler warned, -moving toward the shadowy figure. - -"I am armed," Kotenko warned. - - * * * * * - -Chandler stopped. Marta, clad in an overcoat, came down the stairs. -Several others followed. - -"Those techs will never do it now that they know the situation," -Chandler said, moving still closer. - -"My dear Dr. Chandler, they are citizens of the Soviet. They will do as -I say." - -"Put down your gun," the soldier at Chandler's side ordered. - -"I have already set up the drill for descent," Kotenko said. His shadow -hand touched a black lever on a portable field control unit. "As soon -as the X-factor capsule is withdrawn, down it goes." - -"But you can never maintain control without a full crew," Marta said. - -"I have crew enough," Kotenko told her. "Without the X-factor, complete -control is not so important." - -Chandler leaped for Kotenko, but the Russian's gun blasted white flame. -A searing pain ripped into Chandler's chest. He fell to his knees. - -The soldier's rifle cracked and Kotenko's silhouette crumbled against -the control lever. Electro-mechanisms whirred and the drill suddenly -plunged into the depths of the Earth, carrying most of Kotenko's crew -with it. - -"Good God!" someone cried. - -Marta was kneeling beside Chandler, tears streaming down her face. -"Paul!" she sobbed. "Oh, Paul!" - -Chandler could taste the warm saltiness of blood in his mouth. "Get the -control crew here--quick," he gasped. - -Someone moved for the stairs while someone else leaped for the field -control unit. - -Chandler's foggy mind touched reality for brief moments, condensing -time into a montage. A doctor was working on him, then shaking his head -at the sobbing Marta. Lights were thrown on and control posts manned. -Someone yelled, "Throw in force fields behind it!" And all the time -Chandler's chest pulsed with pain. - -"Can't stop it!" someone shouted. Then chaos broke loose; men were -running, blindly bumping into one another. - -Even though few of them knew quite what could happen, they wanted to -get as far away from the hole as they could. - -Marta was rocking Paul gently in her arms and crooning something -Swedish. The ground trembled under them, then lurched violently. -Sheets of broken plate glass rained down on them from the control ring -windows. Chandler knew the same thing was happening everywhere as the -shock waves from the drill reverberated around the globe. - -He looked around. They were alone on the basin floor except for the -contorted body of Kotenko. Paul looked up at Marta. - -"How--much--time?" - -Marta, her face close to his, smiled faintly. "No more time for you and -me." Her eyes were dry. - -A sound as of millions of giant rocks grating together welled up from -the bowels of the Earth. He was looking into Marta's eyes when suddenly -everything vaporized into blinding white heat. - -"Clench your fingers." - -"Blink your eyes." - - * * * * * - -The short man in the gleaming laboratory was leaning over Chandler. "We -did our best," he said. - -The pain was gone in Chandler's chest. "Marta," he called. - -"I'm afraid she's gone," the tall man said. "She and the entire Earth." - -The short man pulled off his lab coat. "Over a thousand years ago." - -"A thousand years?" Chandler's mind fumbled with the thought. "What's -this all about?" - -The tall man snapped a series of switches off. "You ask the same -question every time." - -"_Every_ time?" - -"We've sent you back three times now." The tall man traded his lab -coat for a tunic. "Once you tried to X-bomb the Bering Strait Dam, but -the crust shifted, wiping out the whole population. On the second time -pass, you tried to tilt the Earth on its axis, but it was thrown out of -orbit and plunged into the sun. This time--you still have your memories -of that." - -"Makes you wonder about fate," the short man said. - -"But what am I?" Chandler sat up with an effort. - -"You," explained the short man, "are a mind developed here in a Venus -laboratory and sustained in a host body. You see, we can't send solid -matter back in time, only waves moving at the speed of light. So we -send your mind matrix to meld with Chandler's." - -"But why?" - -"To help him save the Earth," the tall man said. "When it was destroyed -originally, small colonies of us were stranded on inhospitable planets. -We're still trying to crawl out of the decline that set in. But if we -can send you back and save the Earth--well, you will remain with Paul -Chandler. And we--?" He walked to a bank of controls near the door and -put his hand on one. "Who knows? None of this will have happened. We -might not even exist." - -"Now," said the short man, joining the taller one, "we will have to -wipe out all memories for you and tomorrow we will start programming -you for another try. Maybe this time we'll try moving the Earth's orbit -closer to the sun." - -"Wipe out my memories?" - -"Of course. We want you to function with a clear mind. Besides, it's -kinder to you." - -"I see." The mind named Chandler looked at the two men. "But please -leave me with my memories just for tonight." - -The tall man turned off the light. "You always ask that and we always -do." - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Impersonator, by Robert Wicks - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE IMPERSONATOR *** - -***** This file should be named 60963.txt or 60963.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/9/6/60963/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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