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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..ff2a675 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #68659 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/68659) diff --git a/old/68659-0.txt b/old/68659-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 19f3b41..0000000 --- a/old/68659-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1059 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The impossible invention, by Robert -Moore Williams - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The impossible invention - -Author: Robert Moore Williams - -Release Date: July 31, 2022 [eBook #68659] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE IMPOSSIBLE -INVENTION *** - - - - - - The Impossible Invention - - By Robert Moore Williams - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Astonishing Stories, June 1942. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -I had to admire this little guy's courage. Fradin, his name was--James -Arthur Fradin, with a string of letters after it that even the -alphabet agencies down at Washington could not have unscrambled. The -letters represented honorary degrees conferred on him by half a dozen -different colleges, and they should have entitled him to be heard with -respectful consideration, but they weren't. The assembled scientists of -the Institute of Radio Engineers were giving him merry hell. - -"What you are saying, Fradin," one of the scientists interrupted hotly, -"is gross nonsense." - -"It is absolutely impossible," another shouted. - -"Faker!" somebody yelled, and a dozen voices took it up until the room -echoed with the sound. - -I sat back and grinned to myself. If this meeting ended in a -free-for-all fight, which was what looked like was due to happen, I -would be able to make a swell human interest humorous yarn out of it. -My editor went for human interest stuff, which was largely why he had -sent me down to cover this meeting. He knew I wasn't likely to develop -any front page news here, scientific meetings being what they are. But -there might be a human interest angle that would be good for a laugh. -And the way these solemn scientists were calling Fradin a liar, it -looked like the laugh was coming. - -There was one man who wasn't doing any name calling, I noticed, a tall, -cadaverous-looking individual sitting two seats down from me. He had -listened very carefully, almost eagerly, I thought, to everything the -speaker had said. Glancing at him, I got the impression that I should -know him, but at the moment I couldn't place him. Tall, bony face, -thin, hawk nose--yes, it seemed I should know him. - -Fradin had stopped speaking when the storm of abuse broke over him. He -stood there on the platform, a little, white haired guy with a gentle -face. - -"If you numbskulls will only be quiet for a moment," he said, when the -noise had subsided for an instant, "I will offer incontrovertible proof -to support my statement that radio waves are transmitted through what -I must, for lack of a better term to describe the undescribable, call -the fourth dimension." - -What I mean, the roof must have been nailed down tight, or the -explosion that followed would certainly have lifted it off the -building. You never did see so many excited scientists in one group. -Normally a scientist is supposed to be cool, aloof, and impersonal. -But this group was anything else! They went right straight up in the -air. I couldn't tell whether they were angrier because he had called -them a bunch of numbskulls or because he had said that radio waves were -transmitted through the fourth dimension. - - * * * * * - -One of them leaped to his feet. Ramsen, I think his name was. He was a -big shot in the field, almost as big as De Forest and Marconi. - -"Fradin," he yelled, "that is the most preposterous statement I ever -heard from the lips of any man in his right senses. It raises the -immediate question of whether or not _you_ are in your right senses." - -There was a buzz of approval following his statement. Fradin waited for -it to die down. - -"Mr. Ramsen," he said, "you have chosen to challenge my theory. -Perhaps you can tell me what medium _does_ carry the electro-magnetic -radiations that we call radio waves?" - -"Certainly," Ramsen answered. "Any schoolboy knows that." - -"We are not here concerned with the knowledge of schoolboys," Fradin -gently replied. "Sound is carried in air and water and by many solid -substances. But we know that radio waves do not travel in air, because -they will pass through a perfect vacuum. In what medium do they travel, -Mr. Ramsen?" - -Right here was where I began to pay close attention. Something about -Fradin's manner, his calmness, his certainty, gave me the impression -that he knew pretty much what he was talking about. - -"Radio waves, Mr. Fradin," Ramsen answered, in the manner of a -scoutmaster revealing the facts of life to an errant Boy Scout, "travel -in the ether." - -He was right. I was not assigned to cover this meeting by chance but -because I happen to have a pretty good groundwork in science. Radio -waves, all scientists admit, are propagated through the ether. - -"And what," Fradin countered, "is the ether?" - -"Why--" Ramsen answered. "It's--" He started to flounder. A sudden -silence fell in the room. Ramsen's face started to get red. "The -ether," he finished, "is--why it's the ether, that's what it is." - -"What you are refusing to admit," Fradin crowed, "is that 'ether' is -a meaningless word invented by numbskulls such as are gathered here -to describe something about which they know absolutely nothing. The -ether is a word, nothing more. It does not exist. The Michelson-Morley -experiments conclusively proved that, if it existed, its nature -was such that it could not be detected by any physical experiment -whatsoever. In other words, that it exists only as a handy tool by -which scientists who ought to know better can conceal their own -ignorance. Gentlemen," he said, turning from the red-faced Ramsen to -the perturbed audience, "I can not only conclusively prove that radio -waves are transmitted through the fourth dimension--but I can also -prove that power, actual power, can also be transmitted through the -same medium!" - -He stopped suddenly, biting his lips as if he had said more than he -had intended to. But I think only one man in the audience had caught -the full implication of Fradin's words. The rest of them were too busy -defending themselves against the accusation of being numbskulls to -notice the one really important thing he had said. - -How that audience did boil! And they boiled because every man jack of -them, in his heart of hearts, knew that Fradin was right. I knew it the -minute he said it. And they knew it too. When he said that "ether" was -only a word used by fools to conceal their own ignorance, he had hit -the nail exactly on the head. - -For that is precisely what it is. Nobody has ever seen the ether, felt -it, smelled it, heard it, touched it. Scientists of the past century, -needing a mechanical device to account for the observed propagation of -electro-magnetic radiations such as light and the then little known -radio waves, had invented the ether to carry those radiations, invented -it out of whole cloth. Fradin's hearers knew he was right. Taken -individually, when they were calm, they would have admitted it. But -they were in a group and he was calling them fools right out in public. -Mass hysteria got them. They boiled over and very promptly demanded -that he prove his statements. - -He refused to do it. Absolutely refused. - - * * * * * - -"We demand that you produce your proof," Ramsen howled. "You have -called us fools and said you could prove it. We demand that you _do_ -prove it." - -"I--" Fradin began. He wet his lips. His face had whitened. It wasn't a -gentle, kindly face any more. It was the face of a badly scared man. - -Fradin was scared. But he wasn't scared of those engineers who were -shouting at him. He was scared of something else. - -"Speak up," Ramsen roared. "Produce your proof!" - -"I can show you mathematical proof," Fradin offered. - -How they howled at that, all except the tall, thin, hawk-nosed -individual sitting two seats down from me. He took no part in the -demonstration. Instead he got up and very quietly went out of the room. - -As he walked out, I again got the impression that I ought to know him. -But I still couldn't place him. A reporter sees too many people to -remember all of them. - -"Mathematical proof, unless supported by incontrovertible experimental -evidence, is not sufficient," Ramsen thundered. "We demand that you -produce experimental proof." - -By experimental proof, he meant an actual instrument of some kind to -demonstrate Fradin's claims--some gadget that they could see and feel -and examine, something they could take apart and put back together -again, something that they could watch in operation. Ramsen was quite -right in making such a demand, for without experimental evidence to -back it up, mathematical theory is more often than not just so much hot -air. - -"Your demand is just," Fradin faltered. "I fear in the heat of argument -I made statements I do not care to support. I do not choose to produce -the experimental evidence that I have." - -He didn't say another word. Instead, he turned and walked off the -platform, going out through a door at the back. Nor did he enter the -lecture hall where the meeting was being held. He walked out of the -room. - -And he didn't come back. - -Why had he refused to produce the evidence that he had? What had scared -him? - -Questions were buzzing like gadflies in my mind. There was one -particularly persistent gadfly. Fradin had said something of which -I had almost caught the significance. Almost, but not quite. The -significant thing he had said kept buzzing in the back of my mind, but -I couldn't quite put a mental finger on it.... - -Then I remembered it. - -I went out of that room at a dead run. I went up over the speaker's -platform and through the door Fradin had taken. How I did want to talk -to that tortured man! - -What he had said, letting it slip accidentally, added up to one of -the biggest stories that ever splashed across the front page of a -newspaper. I had come down here looking for a human interest yarn. -Instead I had run straight into a story that could easily set the world -on fire, _if_ I could find Fradin and make him talk. - -I didn't doubt that I would find him. He couldn't have gotten far away. -He hadn't had time. Not five minutes had passed after he had walked off -the platform until I was following him. - -The door opened into a long hall, and in that hall I found Fradin. -He was down at the far end, getting into an elevator. A tall, thin -individual was with him. - -I sprinted down the hall to try to catch them before the elevator doors -closed. The operator saw me coming and started to wait for me, but -something changed his mind for him. The two men were already in the -cage; I couldn't be positive of it, but I thought the tall man said -something to the operator. Just as I got there, the operator slammed -the door in my face. The cage started down. - -"All right, smart guy," I yelled at the operator. "I'll give you a -smack in the snoot for this." - -Probably I could have gotten down faster by waiting for another -elevator, but there was a stairway and I used that. I was in a hurry. - - * * * * * - -I got to the first floor just in time to see Fradin and his companion -walk out of the front door. - -"Hey!" I yelled. "Wait--" - -I started to say, "Wait for me," but the words were choked off in my -throat. I recognized Fradin's companion. The hawk-faced man who had sat -two seats down from me and who had slipped unobtrusively out of the -meeting. He had gone around to the back of the hall and joined Fradin. - -But the fact that he was with Fradin wasn't the thing that had choked -off my call. It was the way the two men were walking. Fradin was a -little ahead, and he wasn't looking to the right or the left. Just -walking. There was a stiffness about him that made me think of a -mechanical toy that has been wound up and is taking a walk for itself. - -Hawk-face was following right behind him. Hawk-face had his hand in his -pocket. I didn't need to look twice to know that he had a gun in that -pocket too, pointing straight at the little inventor's back. - -It wasn't a stick-up. It was a kidnap job. Hawk-face had also heard -the really important thing that Fradin had said in his speech. I had -missed it for a few minutes, but he hadn't missed it. He had instantly -realized how damned important it was. He had walked out of the meeting, -gone around to the back, waited for the scientist. - -I should have called the police. But just then something happened that -upset me so badly I completely forgot all about police. - -I recognized Hawk-face, and cold chills began to run up and down my -spine. - -His name--or at least the name attached to the picture I had once -seen in the hands of an F.B.I. man--was Marvak. The name didn't mean -anything. He had others. A name to use in Asia, one for Russia, one for -Europe, all different. - -Marvak was one of the names he used in America, but the F.B.I. -suspected he had others. They would cheerfully have hung him by any of -his names, if they could have caught him, but he didn't catch easily. -Compared to him, an eel was a rank amateur in slipperiness, and a -rattlesnake was man's best friend. - -Right out in front of the building, on a crowded city street, he forced -Fradin into a cab. I was so close I could see the haunted, terrified -expression on the little scientist's face. But I didn't think then and -I know now that he wasn't afraid of the gun. He was afraid of something -even more horrible than Marvak. - -The cab pulled away. - -An eternity seemed to pass before I could collect my faculties and grab -the next cab in line. - -"Follow that cab," I hissed at the hacker. "There's a ten-spot in it -for you if you don't lose it." - -He didn't lose it. We followed Fradin and Marvak down to an old, -abandoned factory building on the outskirts of the city. They were -getting out of their cab when we drove up. Marvak, with his right hand -still in his coat pocket, was paying off the driver. - -"Drive on past," I told my driver. - -He went on past and around the block and I got out, but the driver had -to remind me about the ten-spot I had promised him. I paid off like a -slot machine. - - * * * * * - -That shows how excited I was. I had stopped thinking about the story I -might get. The story was secondary now. What really mattered was that -Fradin had to be rescued, and fast. The thing he had let slip was too -big to fall into Marvak's hands under any circumstances. And I had to -be the one who rescued him. There wasn't time to go for the police. -Marvak would work fast. - -Marvak did work fast. - -I tried the front door first because that was the obvious thing to do. -If I got caught coming in the front door I could say I had the wrong -address and back out. But if I got caught at the back door, no amount -of explanation would do me any good. - -The front door was unlocked. It opened into what had once been an -office. A flight of stairs led up to the second floor. - -I listened--there wasn't a sound. "They went upstairs," I thought. - -"Hold it, bud," a voice said behind me. - -The voice had a chilled steel ring that sent my heart right down into -my shoes. There was no mercy in it, no compassion, no pity. It was -double-edged with the threat of death. It jerked my head around. - -Marvak was standing there in the office. He had the gun out of his -pocket now, pointing it straight at me. - -There was a closet in the office. Marvak had simply waited in the -closet until I entered. When I started up the stairs, he had stepped -out behind me. - -"I--I must have got the wrong ad--address," I faltered. - -His eyes, gray chilled steel, they were, drilled into me. - -"No doubt," he said--but very doubtfully. "You're the reporter I -noticed at the meeting, aren't you? What are you doing here?" - -How big a lie could I tell and still be safe? How close to the truth -could I come and not get one of those slugs between my eyes? - -"I came out to interview Mr. Fradin," I blurted out. - -He seemed to let it go, but back of those cold gray eyes I could see -his mind working as he decided what to do with me. Then I saw him reach -a decision. - -First, he searched me. I didn't have a gun, which seemed to surprise -him. - -"You can come along," he said. "If Fradin can demonstrate to my -satisfaction the discovery he claimed to have made, it will make the -headlines, _if_ you get a chance to write it." - -With that, he dug the little inventor out of the closet, and with the -gun out, prodded both of us upstairs. There were only two floors to -this building and the entire second floor was Fradin's laboratory. - - * * * * * - -It was crammed to the ceiling with the weirdest collection of -electrical equipment I have ever seen. Generators, dynamos, electric -motors. There was enough radio equipment to set up a modest -broadcasting station. And in one corner was something big enough to be -a cyclotron. Fradin had just about everything in his laboratory. - -"Now," said Marvak to the little inventor, "you will please prove the -truth of your assertion that power can be transmitted by radio." - -That was the thing that Fradin had said. Power by radio! It doesn't -sound like much, but let me tell you, it's plenty big. With it, science -could come darned close to remaking the face of the globe. - -How? - -This is the power age. Practically all of our industrial -achievements--and through them we have achieved what passes for -civilization--have come about through cheap power. Coal, the steam -engine, the dynamo, water power. Maybe, not so long in the future, -we'll have atomic power, but we don't have it yet. All we have now are -coal and water. And possibly 90% of the water power in this country and -probably 95% of the water power on earth are going to waste, simply -because the waterfalls are usually in mountains and the places where -the current is to be used are in cities hundreds and even thousands -of miles away. _Transmission losses over high lines are so great that -electrical energy cannot be efficiently transmitted very far._ So the -water power goes to waste. - -But here we have radio transmitted power. No high lines, hence no high -line losses. Of course there would be other losses, but if Fradin said -power could be transmitted by radio, he would know how to cure the -losses. Radio transmitted power would make electricity so damned cheap -that every home in the country could have it. - -And this is only part of the picture that Fradin's invention brought -into being. Supposing power could be transmitted by radio. Suppose -automobiles could pick it up and use it. Then the extremely expensive -internal combustion engine that goes into every car could be replaced -by cheap motors. The price of cars could be cut in half. Everybody -could have one. And operation costs would be next to nothing. - -Ocean liners? No more bully, costly steam engines. Boats could take -their power out of the air. - -And airplanes. There was the most important item of all. No gasoline -engines in planes, no engine failures, no crashes because the motor -conked out. Air flight spanning the globe. - -That's what radio transmitted power ought to mean, that's what it would -mean--until Marvak entered the picture. When he appeared on the scene, -power by radio, instead of being a blessing, would become one of the -worst disasters that ever happened to humanity. - -Marvak was a spy. Not a common, garden variety of spy, not a fifth -columnist, not a saboteur, but a sort of super-spy who sold his -services to the highest bidder. If you wanted a war started, he could -make all the arrangements to provide for an "incident." If you wanted -to take over a minor nation, he could pave the way for you; if your -enemy had a new and secret weapon, he could get the plans. Anything, -just so he was well paid for it. - -If Fradin could really transmit power by radio, and if Marvak got -the plans, the waterfalls would not be harnessed, there wouldn't be -cheap automobiles, and handy power for ocean liners. There would be -power--unfailing power--for one thing: planes! Bombing planes, fighting -planes! - -If you think several nations on this globe would not jump at the chance -to acquire such an invention, you have another think coming. And the -price they would be willing to pay for it, would be big enough to -interest even Marvak. It would be worth--well, what is the worth of -the British Empire, China, and the United States? - -Fradin's invention had exactly the same value as those three nations -lumped together, if Marvak succeeded in peddling it in Europe. Bombers -over New York, bombers over Chicago. There would no longer be any -safety in three thousand miles of water. Bombers over London. New -bombers that would be almost invincible. - - * * * * * - -Sweat was running down over my face, down over my body, down over my -soul. If Marvak got Fradin's invention, Johnny Holmes--that's me--go -hunt for an air-raid shelter, because you're sure going to need it. - -"I was mistaken," Fradin faltered, his voice a whisper. "I -was--boasting. I cannot transmit power by radio." - -"You're a liar!" Marvak snapped. - -"I'm not a liar," Fradin whispered. - -"Either or else," Marvak said, bringing up his gun until it pointed -right at the little inventor's forehead. - -Fradin had something that a man could call courage. He looked that gun -in the eye. His face went a shade whiter, but his eyes did not drop. - -"I'm afraid it will have to be else," he said. As he spoke the words, -he seemed to stiffen himself until he stood very straight. He looked -like a soldier standing at attention. "But if you shoot me you may find -it difficult to operate my invention." - -Marvak's finger tightened around the trigger. His face was cold with -rage, his grey, killer eyes looked like icicles. - -"Don't shoot him, you fool!" I hissed. "Then you'll never find out what -you want to know." - -I was stalling for time, stalling for anything, stalling for a chance -to jump that gun. I was standing beside Fradin, but the gun covered -both of us. - -"Shut up!" Marvak snarled at me. - -The gun went off. - -He had shot Fradin. It was cold blooded murder. But as he had shot the -little scientist, he had taken his eyes off me. I started to jump. The -gun instantly swung to cover me. I saw Marvak's face, with no mercy in -it. The gun froze me motionless. - -Fradin didn't fall. There was a look of surprise on his face, but he -didn't fall. Then I saw what had happened. Marvak had shot him in the -shoulder instead of through his head. - -"That's just a sample," Marvak said, "to show you that I mean business. -You're not badly hurt, but the next one will go through your knee-cap. -I understand that a bullet through the knee is very painful. Now are -you going to tell me what I want to know or are you going to need -further persuasion?" - -Blood was running down Fradin's coat. He was clutching his shoulder -with the other hand, trying to stop the flow of blood. His face was -very white. And now there was fear on it, fear that had not been there -when he first faced Marvak's gun. I got the fleeting impression that -it was not fear of the spy nor of the weapon, but of something else. I -also got the impression that it was a terrible fear, a soul-consuming -fear, a bleaching, whitening, shuddering fear, a fear greater even than -the fear of death.... - -"All right," the little inventor whispered. "You win. I'll show you -what you want." - -"That's better," Marvak said, in a satisfied tone. "I don't mind saying -that if I make a cleaning on this, I'm quite willing to cut you and the -reporter in on it." - -He was lying. The only way he would cut us in would be to cut our -throats. Both Fradin and I knew it. - -"I'm afraid," the inventor said, "that your shot has injured my arm so -badly that I will have to ask you to help me." - -"Okay," Marvak said. "But remember I have an excellent knowledge of -electrical apparatus, so don't try any tricks, like electrocuting me by -accident." - -"There won't be any trickery involved here," the little inventor -whispered through bloodless lips. - - * * * * * - -I watched. There were two bulky instruments, one of them a transmitter, -the other a receiver. The current flow was seemingly directional. It -was sent out from the transmitter and caught by the receiver. There -was a meter on the transmitter to show how much current was being -transmitted and another on the receiver to show how much was getting -through. - -There was a red line on the dial of the meter at the transmitter. - -The purpose of the set-up was obviously to demonstrate that current -could be transmitted by radio. - -Marvak made a complete examination of the apparatus. He knew what he -was doing, all right. You could tell from the way he went over the -instruments that he knew his stuff. - -"I'm not interested in transmitting just a little power," Marvak -said. "If this thing is to be useful, it must be able to send lots of -kilowatts through the ether." - -"I think," Fradin answered wearily, "it will handle all the power you -choose to put into it." - -That was the thing Marvak had to know, that the power transmitted would -be adequate to keep a plane in the air. If only a little power was -transmitted, the invention, from a practical viewpoint, was useless. No -dictator would give a cent for it. - -Marvak handled the transmitter, Fradin tried to operate the receiver -and to stanch the flow of blood from his shoulder at the same time. - -Marvak turned a switch, and the power transmitter began to throb under -the load. Marvak consulted the meter on the transmitter, then ran -across the room to the receiver and examined the meter there. - -"You've really got it!" he exulted. "There's enough power flowing -through the receiver to keep a plane in the air." - -I was sick, sicker than I had ever been. Fradin's invention worked. And -when it worked, it spelled our doom. We would be killed, because it -worked. How many millions of others would also die, I could not begin -to guess. - -"One plane is not enough," Marvak said. "It has to be strong enough to -supply current to a fleet of planes." - -He started triumphantly back to the transmitter. - -"I--" Fradin faltered. He started to say something but changed his mind -abruptly. - -Marvak kicked over the handle of the rheostat that fed current into the -transmitter. The transformer groaned. I could see the hand of the meter -on the transmitter. It was moving forward as more and more current -flowed into that mysterious medium that transmits radio waves. - -The needle on the dial touched the red mark. - -Then--it happened. - -If I live to be a thousand years old I'll never be able to describe -adequately what I saw happen, what I heard happen, what I felt happen. -It had never happened before. - -Something that I can only describe as a lightning flash ran through -the room. It was a sharp, tearing crash, similar to the sound you hear -when a bolt of lightning hits near you. There was a flash of brilliant -light. Thunder seemed to smash my ear drums. - -Fradin leaped--but not at Marvak. He leaped at me. The next instant he -was grabbing me, shoving me across the room. And all the tortures of -hell were breaking loose around that generator. - - * * * * * - -There was a blasting, howling roar of wind. It was the coldest wind -ever. It was, I suspect, the cold of absolute zero that struck through -that laboratory. - -Out of nowhere, around that transmitter, a hole seemed to appear. It -seemed to be torn in space. It was black, with a curiously liquid kind -of blackness. It appeared around the transmitter, and Marvak was at the -transmitter. - -The spy seemed to freeze. A look of amazed fright appeared on his face. - -[Illustration] - -Then he seemed to fall. The transmitter seemed to fall with him. Marvak -tried to leap, but the footing seemed to fall away under him. He fell -out of sight. - -For a mad instant, while Fradin kicked and hauled me away from that -transmitter, the laboratory was hideous with the blast of thunder. - -Then another murderous crash came, and.... - -Then there was silence. Utter silence. The only sound was Fradin -fighting for his breath. I looked across the room. The transmitter was -gone. It just wasn't there any more. Under it, in the floor of the room -was a neat, round hole. All the mass of wires that had led into it -were neatly severed. Wires came from the transformer to where the hole -began, then stopped. - -Marvak wasn't there. Marvak was gone. - -Suddenly I turned to Fradin. "You--" I gulped. "You were afraid this -would happen. My God, man, what was it?" - -"It was," he answered, "a hole in the fourth dimension." - -Then I got it. He had been trying to tell that convention of radio -engineers that radio waves were transmitted through the fourth -dimension, not through the "ether." He had been able to prove his point -but he had refused because he knew that this would happen. - -"But even if radio waves do pass through the fourth dimension, nothing -like this has ever happened," I stammered. - -"Ordinary broadcasting stations do not put enough power through their -transmitters to open this hole," he explained. "It takes power to do -it, lots of power. I had calculated how much power it would take. -There was a red mark on the input meter of the transmitter. That -red line marked the critical point. If more power was put through -the transmitter, it would break down the fabric of space between -this dimension and the fourth dimension. I knew it would happen. -That's why I refused to make a demonstration for the benefit of my -skeptical compatriots. If I told them what I had discovered, proved I -had discovered it, some fool would be sure to try it, with disastrous -results." - -"But that cold wind," I protested. - -"This particular region opens out into what must be interplanetary -space in the fourth dimension. That cold wind was simply the cold of -outer space rushing through what was in effect a window." - -So that was it. There was a hole in space. And space is cold. - -"Marvak!" I said weakly. - -"Don't mention him," Fradin shuddered. "He was catapulted into the -fourth dimension. He's frozen solid by now." - -I guess the human race will never have power by radio. Probably we will -be able to get along without it. Atomic power seems to be coming along, -and it's safe. - -I took Fradin to the hospital. That slug through his shoulder had cost -him a lot of blood, but he recovered all right, only to discover that -the Institute of Radio Engineers had booted him right out of their -organization, for making the preposterous claim that radio waves are -transmitted through the fourth dimension instead of through the ether. -However, he never cared two whoops in hell about that. He knew what he -knew. And he was content with that. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE IMPOSSIBLE INVENTION *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The impossible invention</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Robert Moore Williams</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: July 31, 2022 [eBook #68659]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE IMPOSSIBLE INVENTION ***</div> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>The Impossible Invention</h1> - -<h2>By Robert Moore Williams</h2> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Astonishing Stories, June 1942.<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>I had to admire this little guy's courage. Fradin, his name was—James -Arthur Fradin, with a string of letters after it that even the -alphabet agencies down at Washington could not have unscrambled. The -letters represented honorary degrees conferred on him by half a dozen -different colleges, and they should have entitled him to be heard with -respectful consideration, but they weren't. The assembled scientists of -the Institute of Radio Engineers were giving him merry hell.</p> - -<p>"What you are saying, Fradin," one of the scientists interrupted hotly, -"is gross nonsense."</p> - -<p>"It is absolutely impossible," another shouted.</p> - -<p>"Faker!" somebody yelled, and a dozen voices took it up until the room -echoed with the sound.</p> - -<p>I sat back and grinned to myself. If this meeting ended in a -free-for-all fight, which was what looked like was due to happen, I -would be able to make a swell human interest humorous yarn out of it. -My editor went for human interest stuff, which was largely why he had -sent me down to cover this meeting. He knew I wasn't likely to develop -any front page news here, scientific meetings being what they are. But -there might be a human interest angle that would be good for a laugh. -And the way these solemn scientists were calling Fradin a liar, it -looked like the laugh was coming.</p> - -<p>There was one man who wasn't doing any name calling, I noticed, a tall, -cadaverous-looking individual sitting two seats down from me. He had -listened very carefully, almost eagerly, I thought, to everything the -speaker had said. Glancing at him, I got the impression that I should -know him, but at the moment I couldn't place him. Tall, bony face, -thin, hawk nose—yes, it seemed I should know him.</p> - -<p>Fradin had stopped speaking when the storm of abuse broke over him. He -stood there on the platform, a little, white haired guy with a gentle -face.</p> - -<p>"If you numbskulls will only be quiet for a moment," he said, when the -noise had subsided for an instant, "I will offer incontrovertible proof -to support my statement that radio waves are transmitted through what -I must, for lack of a better term to describe the undescribable, call -the fourth dimension."</p> - -<p>What I mean, the roof must have been nailed down tight, or the -explosion that followed would certainly have lifted it off the -building. You never did see so many excited scientists in one group. -Normally a scientist is supposed to be cool, aloof, and impersonal. -But this group was anything else! They went right straight up in the -air. I couldn't tell whether they were angrier because he had called -them a bunch of numbskulls or because he had said that radio waves were -transmitted through the fourth dimension.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>One of them leaped to his feet. Ramsen, I think his name was. He was a -big shot in the field, almost as big as De Forest and Marconi.</p> - -<p>"Fradin," he yelled, "that is the most preposterous statement I ever -heard from the lips of any man in his right senses. It raises the -immediate question of whether or not <i>you</i> are in your right senses."</p> - -<p>There was a buzz of approval following his statement. Fradin waited for -it to die down.</p> - -<p>"Mr. Ramsen," he said, "you have chosen to challenge my theory. -Perhaps you can tell me what medium <i>does</i> carry the electro-magnetic -radiations that we call radio waves?"</p> - -<p>"Certainly," Ramsen answered. "Any schoolboy knows that."</p> - -<p>"We are not here concerned with the knowledge of schoolboys," Fradin -gently replied. "Sound is carried in air and water and by many solid -substances. But we know that radio waves do not travel in air, because -they will pass through a perfect vacuum. In what medium do they travel, -Mr. Ramsen?"</p> - -<p>Right here was where I began to pay close attention. Something about -Fradin's manner, his calmness, his certainty, gave me the impression -that he knew pretty much what he was talking about.</p> - -<p>"Radio waves, Mr. Fradin," Ramsen answered, in the manner of a -scoutmaster revealing the facts of life to an errant Boy Scout, "travel -in the ether."</p> - -<p>He was right. I was not assigned to cover this meeting by chance but -because I happen to have a pretty good groundwork in science. Radio -waves, all scientists admit, are propagated through the ether.</p> - -<p>"And what," Fradin countered, "is the ether?"</p> - -<p>"Why—" Ramsen answered. "It's—" He started to flounder. A sudden -silence fell in the room. Ramsen's face started to get red. "The -ether," he finished, "is—why it's the ether, that's what it is."</p> - -<p>"What you are refusing to admit," Fradin crowed, "is that 'ether' is -a meaningless word invented by numbskulls such as are gathered here -to describe something about which they know absolutely nothing. The -ether is a word, nothing more. It does not exist. The Michelson-Morley -experiments conclusively proved that, if it existed, its nature -was such that it could not be detected by any physical experiment -whatsoever. In other words, that it exists only as a handy tool by -which scientists who ought to know better can conceal their own -ignorance. Gentlemen," he said, turning from the red-faced Ramsen to -the perturbed audience, "I can not only conclusively prove that radio -waves are transmitted through the fourth dimension—but I can also -prove that power, actual power, can also be transmitted through the -same medium!"</p> - -<p>He stopped suddenly, biting his lips as if he had said more than he -had intended to. But I think only one man in the audience had caught -the full implication of Fradin's words. The rest of them were too busy -defending themselves against the accusation of being numbskulls to -notice the one really important thing he had said.</p> - -<p>How that audience did boil! And they boiled because every man jack of -them, in his heart of hearts, knew that Fradin was right. I knew it the -minute he said it. And they knew it too. When he said that "ether" was -only a word used by fools to conceal their own ignorance, he had hit -the nail exactly on the head.</p> - -<p>For that is precisely what it is. Nobody has ever seen the ether, felt -it, smelled it, heard it, touched it. Scientists of the past century, -needing a mechanical device to account for the observed propagation of -electro-magnetic radiations such as light and the then little known -radio waves, had invented the ether to carry those radiations, invented -it out of whole cloth. Fradin's hearers knew he was right. Taken -individually, when they were calm, they would have admitted it. But -they were in a group and he was calling them fools right out in public. -Mass hysteria got them. They boiled over and very promptly demanded -that he prove his statements.</p> - -<p>He refused to do it. Absolutely refused.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"We demand that you produce your proof," Ramsen howled. "You have -called us fools and said you could prove it. We demand that you <i>do</i> -prove it."</p> - -<p>"I—" Fradin began. He wet his lips. His face had whitened. It wasn't a -gentle, kindly face any more. It was the face of a badly scared man.</p> - -<p>Fradin was scared. But he wasn't scared of those engineers who were -shouting at him. He was scared of something else.</p> - -<p>"Speak up," Ramsen roared. "Produce your proof!"</p> - -<p>"I can show you mathematical proof," Fradin offered.</p> - -<p>How they howled at that, all except the tall, thin, hawk-nosed -individual sitting two seats down from me. He took no part in the -demonstration. Instead he got up and very quietly went out of the room.</p> - -<p>As he walked out, I again got the impression that I ought to know him. -But I still couldn't place him. A reporter sees too many people to -remember all of them.</p> - -<p>"Mathematical proof, unless supported by incontrovertible experimental -evidence, is not sufficient," Ramsen thundered. "We demand that you -produce experimental proof."</p> - -<p>By experimental proof, he meant an actual instrument of some kind to -demonstrate Fradin's claims—some gadget that they could see and feel -and examine, something they could take apart and put back together -again, something that they could watch in operation. Ramsen was quite -right in making such a demand, for without experimental evidence to -back it up, mathematical theory is more often than not just so much hot -air.</p> - -<p>"Your demand is just," Fradin faltered. "I fear in the heat of argument -I made statements I do not care to support. I do not choose to produce -the experimental evidence that I have."</p> - -<p>He didn't say another word. Instead, he turned and walked off the -platform, going out through a door at the back. Nor did he enter the -lecture hall where the meeting was being held. He walked out of the -room.</p> - -<p>And he didn't come back.</p> - -<p>Why had he refused to produce the evidence that he had? What had scared -him?</p> - -<p>Questions were buzzing like gadflies in my mind. There was one -particularly persistent gadfly. Fradin had said something of which -I had almost caught the significance. Almost, but not quite. The -significant thing he had said kept buzzing in the back of my mind, but -I couldn't quite put a mental finger on it....</p> - -<p>Then I remembered it.</p> - -<p>I went out of that room at a dead run. I went up over the speaker's -platform and through the door Fradin had taken. How I did want to talk -to that tortured man!</p> - -<p>What he had said, letting it slip accidentally, added up to one of -the biggest stories that ever splashed across the front page of a -newspaper. I had come down here looking for a human interest yarn. -Instead I had run straight into a story that could easily set the world -on fire, <i>if</i> I could find Fradin and make him talk.</p> - -<p>I didn't doubt that I would find him. He couldn't have gotten far away. -He hadn't had time. Not five minutes had passed after he had walked off -the platform until I was following him.</p> - -<p>The door opened into a long hall, and in that hall I found Fradin. -He was down at the far end, getting into an elevator. A tall, thin -individual was with him.</p> - -<p>I sprinted down the hall to try to catch them before the elevator doors -closed. The operator saw me coming and started to wait for me, but -something changed his mind for him. The two men were already in the -cage; I couldn't be positive of it, but I thought the tall man said -something to the operator. Just as I got there, the operator slammed -the door in my face. The cage started down.</p> - -<p>"All right, smart guy," I yelled at the operator. "I'll give you a -smack in the snoot for this."</p> - -<p>Probably I could have gotten down faster by waiting for another -elevator, but there was a stairway and I used that. I was in a hurry.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>I got to the first floor just in time to see Fradin and his companion -walk out of the front door.</p> - -<p>"Hey!" I yelled. "Wait—"</p> - -<p>I started to say, "Wait for me," but the words were choked off in my -throat. I recognized Fradin's companion. The hawk-faced man who had sat -two seats down from me and who had slipped unobtrusively out of the -meeting. He had gone around to the back of the hall and joined Fradin.</p> - -<p>But the fact that he was with Fradin wasn't the thing that had choked -off my call. It was the way the two men were walking. Fradin was a -little ahead, and he wasn't looking to the right or the left. Just -walking. There was a stiffness about him that made me think of a -mechanical toy that has been wound up and is taking a walk for itself.</p> - -<p>Hawk-face was following right behind him. Hawk-face had his hand in his -pocket. I didn't need to look twice to know that he had a gun in that -pocket too, pointing straight at the little inventor's back.</p> - -<p>It wasn't a stick-up. It was a kidnap job. Hawk-face had also heard -the really important thing that Fradin had said in his speech. I had -missed it for a few minutes, but he hadn't missed it. He had instantly -realized how damned important it was. He had walked out of the meeting, -gone around to the back, waited for the scientist.</p> - -<p>I should have called the police. But just then something happened that -upset me so badly I completely forgot all about police.</p> - -<p>I recognized Hawk-face, and cold chills began to run up and down my -spine.</p> - -<p>His name—or at least the name attached to the picture I had once -seen in the hands of an F.B.I. man—was Marvak. The name didn't mean -anything. He had others. A name to use in Asia, one for Russia, one for -Europe, all different.</p> - -<p>Marvak was one of the names he used in America, but the F.B.I. -suspected he had others. They would cheerfully have hung him by any of -his names, if they could have caught him, but he didn't catch easily. -Compared to him, an eel was a rank amateur in slipperiness, and a -rattlesnake was man's best friend.</p> - -<p>Right out in front of the building, on a crowded city street, he forced -Fradin into a cab. I was so close I could see the haunted, terrified -expression on the little scientist's face. But I didn't think then and -I know now that he wasn't afraid of the gun. He was afraid of something -even more horrible than Marvak.</p> - -<p>The cab pulled away.</p> - -<p>An eternity seemed to pass before I could collect my faculties and grab -the next cab in line.</p> - -<p>"Follow that cab," I hissed at the hacker. "There's a ten-spot in it -for you if you don't lose it."</p> - -<p>He didn't lose it. We followed Fradin and Marvak down to an old, -abandoned factory building on the outskirts of the city. They were -getting out of their cab when we drove up. Marvak, with his right hand -still in his coat pocket, was paying off the driver.</p> - -<p>"Drive on past," I told my driver.</p> - -<p>He went on past and around the block and I got out, but the driver had -to remind me about the ten-spot I had promised him. I paid off like a -slot machine.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>That shows how excited I was. I had stopped thinking about the story I -might get. The story was secondary now. What really mattered was that -Fradin had to be rescued, and fast. The thing he had let slip was too -big to fall into Marvak's hands under any circumstances. And I had to -be the one who rescued him. There wasn't time to go for the police. -Marvak would work fast.</p> - -<p>Marvak did work fast.</p> - -<p>I tried the front door first because that was the obvious thing to do. -If I got caught coming in the front door I could say I had the wrong -address and back out. But if I got caught at the back door, no amount -of explanation would do me any good.</p> - -<p>The front door was unlocked. It opened into what had once been an -office. A flight of stairs led up to the second floor.</p> - -<p>I listened—there wasn't a sound. "They went upstairs," I thought.</p> - -<p>"Hold it, bud," a voice said behind me.</p> - -<p>The voice had a chilled steel ring that sent my heart right down into -my shoes. There was no mercy in it, no compassion, no pity. It was -double-edged with the threat of death. It jerked my head around.</p> - -<p>Marvak was standing there in the office. He had the gun out of his -pocket now, pointing it straight at me.</p> - -<p>There was a closet in the office. Marvak had simply waited in the -closet until I entered. When I started up the stairs, he had stepped -out behind me.</p> - -<p>"I—I must have got the wrong ad—address," I faltered.</p> - -<p>His eyes, gray chilled steel, they were, drilled into me.</p> - -<p>"No doubt," he said—but very doubtfully. "You're the reporter I -noticed at the meeting, aren't you? What are you doing here?"</p> - -<p>How big a lie could I tell and still be safe? How close to the truth -could I come and not get one of those slugs between my eyes?</p> - -<p>"I came out to interview Mr. Fradin," I blurted out.</p> - -<p>He seemed to let it go, but back of those cold gray eyes I could see -his mind working as he decided what to do with me. Then I saw him reach -a decision.</p> - -<p>First, he searched me. I didn't have a gun, which seemed to surprise -him.</p> - -<p>"You can come along," he said. "If Fradin can demonstrate to my -satisfaction the discovery he claimed to have made, it will make the -headlines, <i>if</i> you get a chance to write it."</p> - -<p>With that, he dug the little inventor out of the closet, and with the -gun out, prodded both of us upstairs. There were only two floors to -this building and the entire second floor was Fradin's laboratory.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was crammed to the ceiling with the weirdest collection of -electrical equipment I have ever seen. Generators, dynamos, electric -motors. There was enough radio equipment to set up a modest -broadcasting station. And in one corner was something big enough to be -a cyclotron. Fradin had just about everything in his laboratory.</p> - -<p>"Now," said Marvak to the little inventor, "you will please prove the -truth of your assertion that power can be transmitted by radio."</p> - -<p>That was the thing that Fradin had said. Power by radio! It doesn't -sound like much, but let me tell you, it's plenty big. With it, science -could come darned close to remaking the face of the globe.</p> - -<p>How?</p> - -<p>This is the power age. Practically all of our industrial -achievements—and through them we have achieved what passes for -civilization—have come about through cheap power. Coal, the steam -engine, the dynamo, water power. Maybe, not so long in the future, -we'll have atomic power, but we don't have it yet. All we have now are -coal and water. And possibly 90% of the water power in this country and -probably 95% of the water power on earth are going to waste, simply -because the waterfalls are usually in mountains and the places where -the current is to be used are in cities hundreds and even thousands -of miles away. <i>Transmission losses over high lines are so great that -electrical energy cannot be efficiently transmitted very far.</i> So the -water power goes to waste.</p> - -<p>But here we have radio transmitted power. No high lines, hence no high -line losses. Of course there would be other losses, but if Fradin said -power could be transmitted by radio, he would know how to cure the -losses. Radio transmitted power would make electricity so damned cheap -that every home in the country could have it.</p> - -<p>And this is only part of the picture that Fradin's invention brought -into being. Supposing power could be transmitted by radio. Suppose -automobiles could pick it up and use it. Then the extremely expensive -internal combustion engine that goes into every car could be replaced -by cheap motors. The price of cars could be cut in half. Everybody -could have one. And operation costs would be next to nothing.</p> - -<p>Ocean liners? No more bully, costly steam engines. Boats could take -their power out of the air.</p> - -<p>And airplanes. There was the most important item of all. No gasoline -engines in planes, no engine failures, no crashes because the motor -conked out. Air flight spanning the globe.</p> - -<p>That's what radio transmitted power ought to mean, that's what it would -mean—until Marvak entered the picture. When he appeared on the scene, -power by radio, instead of being a blessing, would become one of the -worst disasters that ever happened to humanity.</p> - -<p>Marvak was a spy. Not a common, garden variety of spy, not a fifth -columnist, not a saboteur, but a sort of super-spy who sold his -services to the highest bidder. If you wanted a war started, he could -make all the arrangements to provide for an "incident." If you wanted -to take over a minor nation, he could pave the way for you; if your -enemy had a new and secret weapon, he could get the plans. Anything, -just so he was well paid for it.</p> - -<p>If Fradin could really transmit power by radio, and if Marvak got -the plans, the waterfalls would not be harnessed, there wouldn't be -cheap automobiles, and handy power for ocean liners. There would be -power—unfailing power—for one thing: planes! Bombing planes, fighting -planes!</p> - -<p>If you think several nations on this globe would not jump at the chance -to acquire such an invention, you have another think coming. And the -price they would be willing to pay for it, would be big enough to -interest even Marvak. It would be worth—well, what is the worth of -the British Empire, China, and the United States?</p> - -<p>Fradin's invention had exactly the same value as those three nations -lumped together, if Marvak succeeded in peddling it in Europe. Bombers -over New York, bombers over Chicago. There would no longer be any -safety in three thousand miles of water. Bombers over London. New -bombers that would be almost invincible.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Sweat was running down over my face, down over my body, down over my -soul. If Marvak got Fradin's invention, Johnny Holmes—that's me—go -hunt for an air-raid shelter, because you're sure going to need it.</p> - -<p>"I was mistaken," Fradin faltered, his voice a whisper. "I -was—boasting. I cannot transmit power by radio."</p> - -<p>"You're a liar!" Marvak snapped.</p> - -<p>"I'm not a liar," Fradin whispered.</p> - -<p>"Either or else," Marvak said, bringing up his gun until it pointed -right at the little inventor's forehead.</p> - -<p>Fradin had something that a man could call courage. He looked that gun -in the eye. His face went a shade whiter, but his eyes did not drop.</p> - -<p>"I'm afraid it will have to be else," he said. As he spoke the words, -he seemed to stiffen himself until he stood very straight. He looked -like a soldier standing at attention. "But if you shoot me you may find -it difficult to operate my invention."</p> - -<p>Marvak's finger tightened around the trigger. His face was cold with -rage, his grey, killer eyes looked like icicles.</p> - -<p>"Don't shoot him, you fool!" I hissed. "Then you'll never find out what -you want to know."</p> - -<p>I was stalling for time, stalling for anything, stalling for a chance -to jump that gun. I was standing beside Fradin, but the gun covered -both of us.</p> - -<p>"Shut up!" Marvak snarled at me.</p> - -<p>The gun went off.</p> - -<p>He had shot Fradin. It was cold blooded murder. But as he had shot the -little scientist, he had taken his eyes off me. I started to jump. The -gun instantly swung to cover me. I saw Marvak's face, with no mercy in -it. The gun froze me motionless.</p> - -<p>Fradin didn't fall. There was a look of surprise on his face, but he -didn't fall. Then I saw what had happened. Marvak had shot him in the -shoulder instead of through his head.</p> - -<p>"That's just a sample," Marvak said, "to show you that I mean business. -You're not badly hurt, but the next one will go through your knee-cap. -I understand that a bullet through the knee is very painful. Now are -you going to tell me what I want to know or are you going to need -further persuasion?"</p> - -<p>Blood was running down Fradin's coat. He was clutching his shoulder -with the other hand, trying to stop the flow of blood. His face was -very white. And now there was fear on it, fear that had not been there -when he first faced Marvak's gun. I got the fleeting impression that -it was not fear of the spy nor of the weapon, but of something else. I -also got the impression that it was a terrible fear, a soul-consuming -fear, a bleaching, whitening, shuddering fear, a fear greater even than -the fear of death....</p> - -<p>"All right," the little inventor whispered. "You win. I'll show you -what you want."</p> - -<p>"That's better," Marvak said, in a satisfied tone. "I don't mind saying -that if I make a cleaning on this, I'm quite willing to cut you and the -reporter in on it."</p> - -<p>He was lying. The only way he would cut us in would be to cut our -throats. Both Fradin and I knew it.</p> - -<p>"I'm afraid," the inventor said, "that your shot has injured my arm so -badly that I will have to ask you to help me."</p> - -<p>"Okay," Marvak said. "But remember I have an excellent knowledge of -electrical apparatus, so don't try any tricks, like electrocuting me by -accident."</p> - -<p>"There won't be any trickery involved here," the little inventor -whispered through bloodless lips.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>I watched. There were two bulky instruments, one of them a transmitter, -the other a receiver. The current flow was seemingly directional. It -was sent out from the transmitter and caught by the receiver. There -was a meter on the transmitter to show how much current was being -transmitted and another on the receiver to show how much was getting -through.</p> - -<p>There was a red line on the dial of the meter at the transmitter.</p> - -<p>The purpose of the set-up was obviously to demonstrate that current -could be transmitted by radio.</p> - -<p>Marvak made a complete examination of the apparatus. He knew what he -was doing, all right. You could tell from the way he went over the -instruments that he knew his stuff.</p> - -<p>"I'm not interested in transmitting just a little power," Marvak -said. "If this thing is to be useful, it must be able to send lots of -kilowatts through the ether."</p> - -<p>"I think," Fradin answered wearily, "it will handle all the power you -choose to put into it."</p> - -<p>That was the thing Marvak had to know, that the power transmitted would -be adequate to keep a plane in the air. If only a little power was -transmitted, the invention, from a practical viewpoint, was useless. No -dictator would give a cent for it.</p> - -<p>Marvak handled the transmitter, Fradin tried to operate the receiver -and to stanch the flow of blood from his shoulder at the same time.</p> - -<p>Marvak turned a switch, and the power transmitter began to throb under -the load. Marvak consulted the meter on the transmitter, then ran -across the room to the receiver and examined the meter there.</p> - -<p>"You've really got it!" he exulted. "There's enough power flowing -through the receiver to keep a plane in the air."</p> - -<p>I was sick, sicker than I had ever been. Fradin's invention worked. And -when it worked, it spelled our doom. We would be killed, because it -worked. How many millions of others would also die, I could not begin -to guess.</p> - -<p>"One plane is not enough," Marvak said. "It has to be strong enough to -supply current to a fleet of planes."</p> - -<p>He started triumphantly back to the transmitter.</p> - -<p>"I—" Fradin faltered. He started to say something but changed his mind -abruptly.</p> - -<p>Marvak kicked over the handle of the rheostat that fed current into the -transmitter. The transformer groaned. I could see the hand of the meter -on the transmitter. It was moving forward as more and more current -flowed into that mysterious medium that transmits radio waves.</p> - -<p>The needle on the dial touched the red mark.</p> - -<p>Then—it happened.</p> - -<p>If I live to be a thousand years old I'll never be able to describe -adequately what I saw happen, what I heard happen, what I felt happen. -It had never happened before.</p> - -<p>Something that I can only describe as a lightning flash ran through -the room. It was a sharp, tearing crash, similar to the sound you hear -when a bolt of lightning hits near you. There was a flash of brilliant -light. Thunder seemed to smash my ear drums.</p> - -<p>Fradin leaped—but not at Marvak. He leaped at me. The next instant he -was grabbing me, shoving me across the room. And all the tortures of -hell were breaking loose around that generator.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>There was a blasting, howling roar of wind. It was the coldest wind -ever. It was, I suspect, the cold of absolute zero that struck through -that laboratory.</p> - -<p>Out of nowhere, around that transmitter, a hole seemed to appear. It -seemed to be torn in space. It was black, with a curiously liquid kind -of blackness. It appeared around the transmitter, and Marvak was at the -transmitter.</p> - -<p>The spy seemed to freeze. A look of amazed fright appeared on his face.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Then he seemed to fall. The transmitter seemed to fall with him. Marvak -tried to leap, but the footing seemed to fall away under him. He fell -out of sight.</p> - -<p>For a mad instant, while Fradin kicked and hauled me away from that -transmitter, the laboratory was hideous with the blast of thunder.</p> - -<p>Then another murderous crash came, and....</p> - -<p>Then there was silence. Utter silence. The only sound was Fradin -fighting for his breath. I looked across the room. The transmitter was -gone. It just wasn't there any more. Under it, in the floor of the room -was a neat, round hole. All the mass of wires that had led into it -were neatly severed. Wires came from the transformer to where the hole -began, then stopped.</p> - -<p>Marvak wasn't there. Marvak was gone.</p> - -<p>Suddenly I turned to Fradin. "You—" I gulped. "You were afraid this -would happen. My God, man, what was it?"</p> - -<p>"It was," he answered, "a hole in the fourth dimension."</p> - -<p>Then I got it. He had been trying to tell that convention of radio -engineers that radio waves were transmitted through the fourth -dimension, not through the "ether." He had been able to prove his point -but he had refused because he knew that this would happen.</p> - -<p>"But even if radio waves do pass through the fourth dimension, nothing -like this has ever happened," I stammered.</p> - -<p>"Ordinary broadcasting stations do not put enough power through their -transmitters to open this hole," he explained. "It takes power to do -it, lots of power. I had calculated how much power it would take. -There was a red mark on the input meter of the transmitter. That -red line marked the critical point. If more power was put through -the transmitter, it would break down the fabric of space between -this dimension and the fourth dimension. I knew it would happen. -That's why I refused to make a demonstration for the benefit of my -skeptical compatriots. If I told them what I had discovered, proved I -had discovered it, some fool would be sure to try it, with disastrous -results."</p> - -<p>"But that cold wind," I protested.</p> - -<p>"This particular region opens out into what must be interplanetary -space in the fourth dimension. That cold wind was simply the cold of -outer space rushing through what was in effect a window."</p> - -<p>So that was it. There was a hole in space. And space is cold.</p> - -<p>"Marvak!" I said weakly.</p> - -<p>"Don't mention him," Fradin shuddered. "He was catapulted into the -fourth dimension. He's frozen solid by now."</p> - -<p>I guess the human race will never have power by radio. Probably we will -be able to get along without it. Atomic power seems to be coming along, -and it's safe.</p> - -<p>I took Fradin to the hospital. That slug through his shoulder had cost -him a lot of blood, but he recovered all right, only to discover that -the Institute of Radio Engineers had booted him right out of their -organization, for making the preposterous claim that radio waves are -transmitted through the fourth dimension instead of through the ether. -However, he never cared two whoops in hell about that. He knew what he -knew. And he was content with that.</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE IMPOSSIBLE INVENTION ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ -concept and trademark. 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