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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..6535d20 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #68904 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/68904) diff --git a/old/68904-0.txt b/old/68904-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index bfb84f4..0000000 --- a/old/68904-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5566 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of One of three, by Wesley Long - -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: One of three - -Author: Wesley Long - -Release Date: September 4, 2022 [eBook #68904] - -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 ONE OF THREE *** - - - - - - ONE OF THREE - - A novel by - WESLEY LONG - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Startling Stories, March 1948. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - - - - CHAPTER I - - _Contact!_ - - -The bit of whitish substance fluoresced, which of course was quite -natural. It also vibrated very faintly, which was unnatural. At -least, this property had not been known previously--which is really -saying little since the material had been compounded from artificial -radioisotopes from the big piles. All too little was known about such -items and the fact that this one was vibrating ever so faintly whenever -the electron beam struck it was interesting both from a scientific and -a lay curiosity standpoint. - -Ed Bronson blinked a bit and decided that he had made some mistake. It -had ceased to vibrate. - -Ed cracked the experimental tube and removed the irregular lump. It had -been hoped to produce a more brilliant and higher-contrast phosphor for -television screens. But if it was going to vibrate-- - -Ed inserted the lump of phosphor back in the tube, pumped it and -restarted the whole gear. - -It vibrated again, ever so faintly, against the bottom of the glass. -Bronson listened carefully, his engineer's mind trying to identify the -sound. It was not the sixteen kilocycle sweep circuit--not the one -that scanned the face of the television tube, because this was not a -complete set-up and there was no scanning energy necessary. It was -vaguely familiar. - -It came and it went, that faint vibration. Sometimes it rattled -violently, other times it purred gently. Always very faintly of -course--for the term 'violently' means only by comparison. - -Ed adjusted the field strength of the focusing magnet about the neck -of the tube and the vibration strengthened to a noticeable degree. -He juggled the controls but found he had hit the maximum or optimum -response. - -There was something about it.... It was like human whisperings too -faint to be understood but not too faint to be unheard. Like the -bloop-bleep of a leaky faucet that seems to be saying things about you -just too quietly to be really understood. Like the imagined whisperings -heard by the paranoiac.... - -Ed laughed. Hearing things! - -Like hades he was hearing things. It was really there. The lump of -phosphor moved a perceptible amount as a peak of rattle passed. And -yet.... - -Ed Bronson uncoiled his wiry six feet from the chair and cracked -the seal on the tube again. He lifted the top and squinted at the -crystalline whiteness that had been rattling so maddeningly. - -He went to a cupboard at the end of his laboratory and rummaged among -small boxes that stood on one shelf--no two boxes seeming to be of the -same size. The upshot of this rummaging was that Bronson had to spend -some time repiling the boxes after he had found the contact microphone -he was seeking. Eventually, however, Ed Bronson was repumping the tube. - -Inside was the crystal phosphor and fastened to it was a sensitive -contact microphone. - -Once more Bronson keyed the switches, adjusted focus, and intensity. -Then, from the speaker of the amplifier connected to the contact -microphone, there came a cacophony of noise, howling whistles, -deep-throated hums, and a horde of middle-register tones. Not music, -and far from it. Just random--somethings. - -Yet in the background, barely audible as such but most definitely -identifiable, was the voice of a woman. - -Any speaker would have ceased had she known her efforts were thus -wasted. It was indistinguishable and unintelligible save for a -scattered word here and there, which was unmistakably in English. Ed -Bronson thought that it was like trying to eavesdrop on a conversation -in a boiler factory. - - * * * * * - -He wondered what radio program he had tapped in on. He turned his -radio on, and scanned the bands, even listening to the weaker -stations--which, of course were far from being as ragged as this, -regardless of their weakness--but came to the conclusion that there was -nothing on the air that corresponded to the voice of the woman that -emerged from his kinescope testing tube. - -Bronson noted with questing interest that occasionally one or more of -the interfering hoots, sirens and honks would cease for a moment or -two. So also did the woman's voice. Ed prayed that when sufficient -interference would cease, the woman would not choose that moment to -cease also. He wanted to know more about this. There was more to it -than met the eye. - -If he could identify the speaker he might be able to establish a means -of communication. Location was also important. Furthermore, if this -were telephone or radio, he had a new means of receiving both. If it -were telephone and it worked on any or all, Ed Bronson had a gadget -that would make him the bane of all lovers of secrecy--including -espionage agents, who, of course, hate penetration of their own little -conclaves as deeply as they try to penetrate others'. - -He--well, if it were radio he was intercepting he had nothing as -interesting as a telephone tapping gadget. But.... - -The tones dropped in volume. A shrill whistle that made vicious -interference with his hearing suddenly keyed off like the turning off -of a light. A booming roar ceased also and others of less importance -dropped or died. The cumulative effect of this was to permit the -woman's voice to come through. - -It was not the perfect voice of a magnificent contralto reproduced -on the finest radio gear but a cool, clear contralto, transmitted by -cheap, shoddy equipment and received on something both obsolete and -inefficient. - -Yet is was a woman's voice. And, with the luck of the patient -scientist, she was saying, "... home? It's at Thirteen forty-seven -Vermont Street, Postal Zone Eleven...." - -And that was the first complete reception Ed Bronson heard. For, with -the completion of the message, the cacophony of hoots, keenings and -sirens blasted forth like a mad, insane symphony. - -"I live at Thirteen forty-eight Vermont," shouted Bronson. "Across the -street!" - -He charged out, raced across the street and pressed the doorbell. He -waited a moment and an elderly man came to the door. - -"I'm Ed Bronson," explained he. - -"I know you," snapped the other man. "Always gumming up my radio with -your fool experiments. What do you want?" - -"Is your daughter using the telephone?" he asked. - -"She ain't home." - -"Your wife?" - -"She's with Regina." - -"Well, was some woman using the--" - -"Look, Bronson, I ain't got no women here when my wife ain't, see? Now -what's your idea, huh?" - -Bronson looked apologetic. This was Mr. Lewis McManner and both he -and his family were the kind of people--one of which seems to live on -every block--who chase robins from the front yard, call the police for -ball-playing boys and manage to maintain an immaculate house because it -never has a good chance to get cluttered with people. - -"I've been working on an idea," he told McManner, "and I seem to have -picked up someone who claimed that her address was Thirteen forty-seven -Vermont Street." - -"You'd think this was the only Vermont Street in the world!" snorted -McManner, slamming the door. - -Bronson turned from the front door and retraced his steps. Despite his -disappointment, he could not help but grin at himself. After all, how -many 1347 Vermont Streets might there be between Puget Sound and Key -West? And, were he to try mailing each a letter, someone would most -certainly object loudly enough to cause Ed Bronson to explain that he -had heard a woman's voice mention the number and that he wanted to meet -her. He could visualize the psychiatric ward looming to receive him -while they tapped his knees and inspected his brain to find out whether -he was safe to let loose without a muzzle. - -Yet Bronson sobered soon enough. He was an engineer. He knew that -what had been done once could be done again. Perhaps the way to get -in touch with this woman was to try to tap back. At least he could -listen to everything she said in the hope that she would repeat other -information. - - * * * * * - -With a prayer Bronson separated a sizable hunk of the phosphor to work -upon, while the other "sang." He breathed no sigh of relief until he -had half of the original phosphor back in the tube with the works -completely covered, as before, by the mad mass of meaningless hoots -and catcalls. Then he went to work on the other piece. He did have a -parallel set-up right on the same bench. There was something about -this.... - -During the hours that followed there were three breaks in the -whistlings. The first produced only the words "nature of the -situation--" The second time the woman said, "--something _must_ be -done, of course, but you tell me what. I--" which also left Bronson -completely in the dark. The third time, she said "--so this part of the -Carlson family is going to bed!" - -After which there was no woman's voice riding along with the myriad of -sounds. They were as before, like a radio that has gone off the air, -leaving an increased racket of background noise. It was maddening and -futile. - -All he had to show for her hours of telephoning was her name. Carlson. - -All he had to do was to get the telephone directories of all the cities -in the United States of America and perhaps Canada, then run through -the listings of 'Carlson' until he hit one that lived on 1347 Vermont -Street. - -It might as well have been 'Smith' as far as running them down went. He -could try Central City. After all, he could easily have made an error -in listening. - -But that was futile. Bronson sought the entire list of Carlsons and -found none who lived on Vermont Street or any phonetic variation. -Grumbling and baffled, he returned to his labors. - -That, at least, proved more profitable. It was midnight when Bronson -discovered that tapping one of the bits of phosphor caused a response -in the other when they were energized by the electron bombardment from -the television tube works. - -From that point to vibrating the hunk of phosphor with the adapted -insides of an old earphone and getting a response, took another hour of -whittling, filing and working. He discarded that method of modulation -two hours later when he discovered that an audio modulation of the -electron stream in the kinescope tube produced the same effect. - -Then, dead tired, Ed Bronson went to bed. He'd have called the woman -right then and there had she been handy, but she had gone. - -Bronson was truly beat. Had he stopped to think about it he would -have known that something big was in the wind. For he was tapping no -telephones. He had accidentally discovered some sort of communication -receiving principle and had then devised a transmitter. - -His first thought on the following morning was to try the receiver. -She was there, all right, and so was a hooting cry of the dissonant -pipe-organings. - -Bronson shrugged and fired up his transmitting gadget. "Miss Carlson!" -he called into the microphone. "Calling Miss Carlson of Thirteen -forty-seven Vermont Street. Can you hear me?" - -Then he listened. - - * * * * * - -Her voice paused briefly, took a new tone, but was still covered by the -whinings. - -"Miss Carlson, this is Ed Bronson. I cannot hear you clearly because of -much interference. If you can hear me, make a lilting rill with your -voice. This I can distinguish among the many stable-toned notes that -are coming in at the time." - -The voice rilled up and down several times. Then there was considerable -speech which Bronson could not understand. - -The upshot of this, however, was a gradual shutting down of the -hootings and honkings until the receiver was clear. Then her voice came -through again. - -"Mr. Bronson. I have requested silence for one minute. Where are you?" - -"Thirteen forty-eight Vermont Street, Central City Eleven." - -"That is across the street," she said. - -"Perhaps," he answered. - -"Well, it is," she said. "Unless we're in different Central Cities." - -"Central City, New Mexico, eighteen miles from Albuquerque?" - -"That's it. But we have little time, really, because we didn't get -the clear as soon as we asked for it. They hung over a bit--the -commercials, I mean." - -"Commercials?" he asked. Dumfounded, he began to wonder. Commercial, -in radio parlance, meant any transmitter on the air for commercial -purpose and the presupposition that this system of communications must -be quite well known. - -How then had Ed Bronson, an electronics engineer, managed to -live through the commercialization of an entirely new field of -communications? - -"The commercial laboratories," she said. - -"Oh? Then this is a laboratory experiment?" - -"More than that--" - -Bronson heard with dismay the first thin whistle resume. - -He interrupted. - -"Miss Carlson," he pleaded quickly, "we're going to be cut off again. -Meet me on the corner of Vermont and Thirteenth, please?" - -"Yes but--" - -That was all. The keening, piping howl came with ear-shattering -loudness once more. - -Bronson turned off his gear and headed for the corner of Vermont and -13th. Let 'em hoot and howl. - -He'd speak to the girl in person! - -An hour later, Ed Bronson still stood there, leaning disconsolately -against a lamp post in the bright daylight. A ring of cigarette butts -surrounded his feet. - -Whatever it was it was important and he, Bronson, had the key. All he -had to do was to find the door! - - * * * * * - -Bronson returned home. The trouble--one of them, anyway--was that his -amplifier was a high fidelity affair, capable of flat transmission of -sounds as far as the human ear could hear. - -That made for good music and that's what the amplifier had been built -for. - -So Bronson went home determined to build a series of sharp filters. -First he would curtail the band-width of the amplifier until it peaked -around eight hundred cycles per second, near the musical note 'A' one -octave above the standard Concert Pitch 'A'. - -Then he would build a set of sharply-tuned filters that would cut -'holes' in the remaining spectrum where the tonal interferences came. -It would make her speech less natural but far more intelligible. - -Bronson needed more evidence before he did anything serious about it. - -It was nearing five o'clock in the morning before he finished his job, -and started to listen once more. - - - - - CHAPTER II - - _The Red Sky_ - - -The girl turned from the window, where the bright sky silhouetted her -slender figure. - -"How do I know where he is?" she snapped. - -"Now look, Virginia," objected one of the men in the room, "there's no -point in getting angry. We must know." - -"I know you must, Peter," she returned. "I agree. But I don't know. Do -you understand that? I don't know!" - -Peter Moray shrugged. "Anybody capable of building a space resonator -must have enough training to have known about it in the first place." - -John Cauldron spoke sharply, "You went out to the corner as suggested?" - -"I did. He did not appear. After I returned I watched at regular -intervals. No one came. Also I listened carefully as you suggested. -He hasn't been calling--hasn't called since about eleven o'clock this -morning." - -Peter Moray smiled. "Yesterday morning," he corrected. - -"Don't be funny. You're the ones that have kept me up all night asking -fool questions over and over." - -"They're not fool questions, Virginia." - -"Any question repeated too often becomes a fool question," she replied. - -Cauldron spoke heavily. "We're not cross-examining you, Virginia. -Please believe that. We ask and ask and ask because it may be that -something might have been said that sounds trivial, but may make large -sense." - -The girl shrugged. "You're entitled to try," she said. She passed -a hand across her face wearily. "You've heard and reheard our -conversation as verbatim as I recall it. And it was an experience I -will not forget easily." - -"Agreed," said Moray, walking to the west window and looking out. "I -guess we're all overkeyed." - -Cauldron grumbled a bit. "There have been a lot of strange things -happening," he said. "This isn't the first." - -Virginia smiled wanly but it was Cauldron who spoke next after a short -pause. "And at five-thirty in the morning, everything begins to get -somewhat distorted from a mental standpoint." - -Moray turned from the brightness of the sky and mumbled something about -life's lowest ebb occurring just before dawn. - -Then he added, "Why did this mess have to happen? Blast it, everybody -that knew swore up and down that the possibility was nil." - -"Not nil enough," said Cauldron. - -"No," agreed Virginia. "But that's life." - -Moray slammed his fist down on the window-sill and swore. "That's -life," he echoed in a mocking tone. "Well, I don't like it!" - -"Who does?" demanded Cauldron quietly. - -"Can't you face facts?" snapped Moray. "Do you realize that we haven't -much time left? And what are we doing about it? Where are we? Nowhere, -or no further along than we were thirty years ago--exactly thirty years -ago. It's July sixteenth right now, and that's--" - -"You're talking like a fool, Moray," said Virginia. "Have you ever -stopped to think that those of us who do not rant and rave and worry -ourselves into ulcers may have faced the fact, and find it ungood? -Well, there are those of us who will do what we can. There's little -sense in worrying about conditions--all it does is remove you from your -highest efficiency. - -"When something is awry you do something to correct it if you can. If -you cannot you pigeonhole it until such a time as you can solve it. Not -forget it, never for a moment. But there's no sense in dragging a worry -back and forth across the floor until it is draining your life's blood. -As for that out there, I didn't do it." - -"Good for you, Virginia," applauded Cauldron. - -"No," snapped Moray. "You didn't. You were not born at that time. But -you can't fold your hands and accept it--nor can you say that it is -none of your business!" - -"There's always suicide," said Virginia Carlson. - - * * * * * - -A clock in the lower part of the house chimed once, marking the hour of -five-thirty. - -Moray returned to the window and looked at the sky, west. "At -five-thirty in the morning of July sixteenth," he said, "one hundred -and twenty miles southeast of Albuquerque, in a remote section of the -Alamogordo air base, a group of scientists released the first atomic -fire. Thirty years later," he finished bitterly, "we have a perpetual -sunrise!" - -On the laboratory table, the receiver rattled loudly. They turned, as -one. - -"Look," snapped Cauldron quickly, "if that is this Ed Bronson -character, get in touch with him. We can use any technician we can get -our hands on. Any man with a brain might well hold the key to that -living cancer out there that is burning up the very earth." - -"I'll put my chances on a space rocket," replied Peter Moray. - -"I'd rather stop that fire out there." - -"Why?" demanded Moray. - -"Where would you go?" snapped Cauldron angrily. "There isn't a planet -fit for human occupation and you know it. You'll either put it out or -we'll all die. Not a chance for escape in any other way." - -"I--" - -"Shut up, while Virginia answers Bronson. He's having interference -trouble--you'll make it no easier." - -From the speaker was coming Ed Bronson's voice, calling for Miss -Carlson and requesting an answer, for he had filters installed that -eliminated the whistlings. - -Cauldron jabbed Moray with an elbow. "He's a right bright fellow," he -observed in a whisper. - -Virginia Carlson spoke into the microphone. "You're right on the big -moment," she told Bronson. - -"Big moment?" he replied. - -"Sure. Thirty years ago today--this moment." - -"Yeah?" drawled Bronson. "And what happened?" - -Peter Moray looked at John Cauldron. "Tell me," he snapped, "what kind -of man could live to maturity and not know Alamogordo?" - -"I don't know. I can't imagine," replied John Cauldron. "But -maybe--just maybe--it is the answer we've been seeking." - - * * * * * - -Ed Bronson shook his head though he knew that the girl could not see -him. He had not heard Moray or Cauldron mention Alamogordo. He repeated -his query. - -"And what happened?" - -Virginia Carlson told him, "Thirty years ago, at Alamogordo, the -scientists first released the energy from the atom." - -"Oh," he replied. "I didn't know it was marked on the calendar as a -holiday." - -"Holiday?" exploded Virginia. - -"Well?" - -"That atomic fire is still burning!" snapped Virginia. - -"Oh, no!" - -"Well, I'm within a hundred and thirty miles of it," she replied, "and -I can see it out of the window." - -"Where the dickens are you?" he asked. - -"You know my address," she replied. - -"Yes," he agreed. "And I went there and got pushed in the face for my -trouble." - -"And the people who live at your address are named Carrington, not -Bronson." - -"How old are you?" asked Bronson. - -"Twenty-five--why?" - -"Look," he said, "if that atomic fire is running out there, then how -did the World War Two end?" - -"They brought high officials over to see the awful pillar of fire. -They didn't tell them that the atomic flame would eventually eat the -earth--so surrender was a matter of expediency. Once the shooting was -over all the earth turned at once to the job of putting it out. You -know that." - -"Nope," he replied. "It worked--as did the others at Hiroshima, -Nagasaki, and two at Bikini Atoll." - -"Hiro--and what was at Bikini Atoll?" demanded the girl. - -"Tests--Operation Crossroads." - -"_Tests!_" exploded Virginia. "And none of them started atomic fires in -the earth itself?" - -"Nope." - -"Then you tell me what happened?" - -"I don't know." - -"You're not psycho?" asked Virginia. - -"Not that I know of," he replied with a chuckle. "Though--as Pontius -Pilate is credited with having said--'What is truth?'" - -"Hmmm. I cannot deny your right to state truth as you see it, Bronson, -but be it remembered that practically every human born since the atomic -fire is a mutation of some sort or another." - -"So what does that make me?" - -"You might be some sort of brain mutation--don't ask what kind--one who -does not recognize the truth." - -"All I know is what I read in the papers, what I see in the moving -pictures, and how I feel at the moment. Also, I am no mutation. I was -exactly one year old when Alamogordo took place, even supposing that it -did take off with radiations that might have mutated the germ plasm." - -"Well, it did." - -"According to you it did," replied Bronson. - -"May I repeat your own statement to yourself?" she told him. "All I -know--et cetera." - -"Okay," he said. "And granting that our separate tales are true, then -what?" - -Virginia mentioned a few items of history. Both then got their own -history books and started to compare closely. They agreed on everything -up to the moment of the atomic bomb at Alamogordo. - -And at that moment, the histories diverged. - -"Nature," said Ed Bronson, "must have been perplexed. So she took both -roadways. One in which the earth is engulfed with atomic flame and one -in which the thing worked." - -"What do we do next?" asked Virginia. - -"We get in touch with the respective authorities of our worlds," said -Bronson. "Alone we can do little. Together we can do something to aid -you." - -"Tomorrow night at seven, then?" asked Virginia. - -"Right." - -The contact was broken. - -"And there," said Peter Moray, "is our answer!" - - - - - CHAPTER III - - _Earth Three_ - - -Harry Maddox turned from his laboratory table as the tall, dark man -entered. Maddox greeted the taller man obsequiously, but the other's -reply was curt. - -"They've done it, you say?" asked Kingston. - -"They've done it," replied Maddox gloatingly. - -"That proves it then," replied Kingston with interest. "Though it has -always been a common enough theory." - -"Within the past thirty-six hours," said Maddox, "there have been two -transmissions. The latter one is now going on. Want to hear it?" - -"Not particularly," replied Kingston. "It will be recorded for my -leisure." - -"Yes," nodded Maddox. His nod was toward a rather attractive girl, who -was riding herd on a large wire recorder. From time to time she would -reach out and adjust the volume of the recording. Over long blond hair -she wore earphones to monitor the conversation directly. Kingston made -a mental note that he could trust Maddox to adorn his laboratory and -workshop with the most attractive human decor that he could find. - -Instead of commenting on this he smiled in amusement and continued to -speak. "Rather dramatic, isn't it?" - -Maddox nodded. "Thirty years to the moment. That Alamogordo affair had -three possibilities. It could either have gone off normally--it could -have started an atomic fire in the earth--or it could have fizzled. And -so, thirty years later, the three temporal possibilities are meeting." - -"No, my dear Maddox," said Kingston with the air of a savant correcting -a student who was not too careful of his facts. "Just two of them. We -sit by--remember?" - -"I know," said Maddox, rebuffed. - -"Remember--and never for a moment forget--that the possibility of the -Alamogordo bomb starting an atomic fire in the earth was a remote -possibility. That means that the tensors which maintain that line of -temporal advancement are very shaky. - -"Time, you know, consists of following the Laws of Least Reaction, -which simply means that in any reaction wherein a number of -possibilities occur, that which will happen with the least energy will -take place. This is statistically true, and need not hold for specific -instances. - -"Now," Kingston went on, enjoying his role of lecturer even though -Maddox fiddled impatiently because he knew it all beforehand--and -besides, the blonde was half-listening, though alert on her recording -job. "Be it always remembered that the chances of the Alamogordo Bomb -being a fizzle were as remote as the other case. - -"Ergo, Maddox, our own world hangs on a slender thread of reality. We -have as much need to escape from this time-slot as they whose earth -is burning with atomic fire. For only in the time-slot where the -Alamogordo Bomb behaved according to principle are the time-tensors -heavy enough to maintain it." - -"Yes, your Excellency," replied Maddox. - -Kingston nodded. "You are a lucky fellow, Maddox. I came as soon as I -could get away. I shall remain here until we can go through and take -over." - -"Sir, a question." Maddox knew that he must use deference at least -until Kingston climbed down from his tall horse. "What happens when, as -and if they start an atomic fire in Earth One?" - -"They cannot, save by sheer chance of almost impossible mathematical -odds," said Kingston. "Besides, they hope to move in--or will as soon -as they learn the truth. No man burns the home he hopes to own in the -near future." - -"But what will happen?" asked Maddox. "That expectation is far too deep -for me to follow." - -"Men--all men--are inclined to feel sorry for the trapped," said -Kingston. "In some cultures their sorrow is shown by killing the -trapped to remove them from their misery. In other cultures, the -trapped are aided even though they may eventually turn against their -liberators. Once the truth is known to both worlds, those who are in -Earth One will be moved to aid the trapped ones in Earth Two. - -"We shall aid them as we did before by transmitting to Earth One -more samples of the space-resonant radioisotope to contaminate their -scientific works. There will be a gaudy search for them once the truth -is known, you know. Anyway, those on Earth One will undoubtedly admit -the trapped ones from Earth Two." - - * * * * * - -Maddox shrugged. "No dice, yet." - -"Don't be stupid. Those on Earth Two are a race faced with death. -They'll send through their mutants, their death-dealing types first. -That will decimate Earth One and leave Earth One in the hands of Earth -Two. Follow?" - -"So far, yes. But where do we come in?" - -"We come in shortly. Ninety percent of those remaining on Earth Two are -mutants from the atomic fire or considerably older than thirty. The -ninety are almost certain to be--if not sterile--then not cross-fertile -with the rest of the mutant race. Each will have gone mutant in some -fashion different from his fellow. - -"All we need do then is to sit and wait until the race dies -out--another thirty or forty years. Or, better, depending on the -circumstances following the eventual battle, we go to war. We shall -win, for our people have not lost much. At any rate we're permitting -Earth Two to do our cleaning-up for us." - -"Unless--" began Maddox, then paused. He knew that if he advanced a -theory unasked it would be scorned. However, were he to make some -leading statement and then disavow it unuttered Kingston would demand -that he complete it whether he thought it right or wrong. - -Kingston did, which was an excellent proof of the theory that it is -a good thing to know the nature of your fellow man. "Unless what?" -demanded Kingston. - -"It was but an idle thought. Who fights more fiercely--he who has lost -his home and fights for another or he who protects himself from the one -who would dispossess him?" - -Kingston laughed nastily. "Little difference," he said. "This is rigged -so that no matter what, a fight will ensue. It is always easy to lick -the survivor of a tough battle." - -Maddox shrugged. "Just remember that you're not fighting aliens, but -you--our--own kind!" - -Kingston nodded. "That," he said succinctly, "is why I know them so -well." - - * * * * * - -Cauldron looked at his watch. "Two hours," he said. "Time enough?" - -Virginia looked concerned. "He didn't state whether he'd been asleep -lately," she said. - -"Unless he's a complete screwball, he'll work days and sleep nights," -observed Moray. "Even supposing he works at home, he'll be arising -about noon at the latest and hitting the hay about three-odd. Excepting -when something was really in the fire like this receiver of his. I -predict that he hit the sheets after we closed and is now pounding the -pillow at a fine rate of speed." - -Virginia smiled uncertainly, turning back from her communicating -equipment. "He doesn't answer," she said. - -"Can you locate his phosphor?" demanded Cauldron. - -"I have." - -"Then try," snapped Moray. "Aid! Help!" he sneered, "We're in the way -of losing our very lives, and what we need, we take!" - -Cauldron nodded. "Moray--you first. If Bronson is still in evidence -clip him. If not we'll go ahead and do whatever is necessary. We can't -take too long. After all--" - -Moray nodded. "Ready, Virginia?" - -"Ready." - -Virginia worked over another bit of equipment in her laboratory. Moray -walked over easily, smoking a last cigarette leisurely until Virginia -turned to him. - -"The focal volumes are resonant," she said. Then Moray seated himself -in the chair before the equipment and, as Virginia started the machine, -it began to transmit Pete Moray from one world to the other. - - * * * * * - -It was not especially spectacular. No flashing lights or flowing aurae -of color. Moray's body, still breathing, still living, began to be less -solid. At one time Moray lit another cigarette. - -A bit of the cigarette smoke entered Ed Bronson's laboratory. -The amount was that percentage of the transmission that had been -accomplished. - -There, before the big kinescope tube in Bronson's laboratory, the air -was beginning to show the vague outlines of a figure, seated on a -chair. This figure thickened gradually as the random atoms in Moray's -body passed over. - -A half hour passed and Virginia told Cauldron that the transmission -should be about half complete. Moray's body could be seen through -faintly--not that any of the internal organs were visible but as if he -were a wraith. - -Then the halfway point came. The floor in Bronson's laboratory was -lower than the floor in Virginia Carlson's laboratory--with respect -to their transmitters and receivers--and Moray and his chair dropped -several feet on both sides. Moray seemed to be unmindful of the fact -that the hard floor of Virginia's laboratory was about where his -stomach was. - -A half hour later, there was little of Moray left on Earth Two. Most of -him was on Earth One! - -As the final molecules came through the space resonator Moray heard a -noise. Frantic, he turned to see but could do nothing until the last of -him was complete. The noise resolved itself to footsteps, and then the -door opened and Ed Bronson strode in. - -"Smoke--" he mumbled sleepily, then, "--who the heck are you!" - -Moray was complete. He leaped to his feet and clipped Bronson viciously -with the side of his hand. Bronson dropped, stunned, dazed, but not -unconscious. Deftly, Moray found a roll of tape, bound Bronson's ankles -and wrists, slapped a bit of tape across his mouth. - -"Aid?" sneered Moray. "Promise us aid, all right. Fifty years will -pass while the idea is being thrashed out in Congress or in whatever -international organization there is here. Behave, Bronson, and you'll -live. Help us--understand? If you don't it's--" Moray drew a forefinger -across his throat. - -Another figure started to form--vague and indistinct--and Moray lifted -the taped man across his shoulders, carried him upstairs, dumped him -across his bed and left him there. - -When he returned to the laboratory, Virginia was beginning to solidify. -Moray seated himself and waited, smoking Bronson's cigarettes and -fortifying himself with a drink of Bronson's liquor. Moray smiled, but -his humor was bitter. - -How to marshal an army? It took an hour to get one person through--to -pass the six or seven million still living in Earth Three would at this -rate take six or seven million hours--a mere eight hundred years if you -didn't bother with the extra leap-year days or take Christmas off. - - * * * * * - -Time passed slowly and it was the full hour before Virginia came -through completely and arose from her chair. - -"Collect Bronson or kill him?" she asked. - -"I should have killed him," said Moray. - -"Not at all," replied Virginia. "Even though this is quite similar to -our world remember that thirty years of time separate us--and thirty -years each of divergent development. We need someone to show us our way -around." - -Moray shrugged. "He might guess about this factor?" - -Virginia shook her head. "No," she said with finality. "He's just -beginning to think about the space resonator. Look at that pile of -haywire junk! He's downright dumbfounded at the idea of communicating -over a lump of electron-bombarded radioisotopic compound. - -"To consider the transmission of matter from one volume of focus to -another is an idea beyond concept. And--no doubt--radioisotopes aren't -dished out as easily here as they are back there." - -"Here, there, whither?" grinned Moray. "Let's call this Earth One -because it is going to be here long after Earth Two has dissolved in -atomic flame." - -"Okay. So we've got this station first. We've got to get enough -radioisotopic phosphor passed around Earth One to make wholesale -passage possible. You run this station, Moray, and I'll stand by to act -as a front." - -Moray looked at Virginia closely. Slender, blonde and possessed of an -ethereal and almost violent beauty, her personality and looks could and -would forestall much idle questioning. He nodded. - -"You keep out of sight of Friend Bronson," he said. "It might be handy -to have you for a--a face card." - -Virginia grinned.... - -Ed Bronson had a splitting headache and a crying pain in every muscle. -He had been lying motionless. It was all he could do against the -adhesive-taping job done by Peter Moray. His tongue was thick and furry -and his very soul cried for water. He could make no sound for the tape -covered his mouth. - -Angrily, and resentfully, Bronson's temper flared. He set his muscles -against the tape about his wrists and strained. He tried the tape about -his ankles. Both were wound many times with the heavy tape which would -not be torn. - -A twisting strain succeeded only in abrading his skin until the flesh -was raw and bleeding. With fading hope he prayed that the blood would -soften the tape and thought about rubbing himself raw even more so that -the further flow of blood might aid. - -He gave that up when he saw that the tape was of the waterproof -variety. All the soaking in the world would do little good. - -He rolled from the bed onto the floor, easing the thud by dropping -taped feet first and then angling to knees, turning to land on his -buttocks and then unfolding as gently as he knew how. He made it with -no undue effort. Then he rolled across the floor to the door and, -turning, he caught the hinge-butt under the tape at his wrists where -tape and wrists made a small triangle. - -After many minutes, Bronson succeeded in weakening the tape and then, -hooking the tape firmly over the hinge, he tore it loose. To remove the -tape from his mouth and from his ankles was but a moment's work and -then Ed Bronson was free to act! - -Quietly, he dressed. Then, using the utmost stealth, he stole down the -stairs and out onto the street. It was midmorning. - -Nodding amicably to Lewis McManner, who scowled back across the street, -Ed Bronson headed for police headquarters. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - - "_What Fools--_" - - -Ed Bronson thought it out on his way to the police station. Man was -an impossible mixture of altruism and selfishness. Man was inclined -to give freely to those who were needy--but would fight like fury to -withhold the very smallest of his possessions from the avaricious grasp -of those who would wrest them from him by force. - -As a world requiring pity, aid and mercy, every effort would be bent -towards that end, even to the job of making room for them in an already -crowded world. But they had entered like bank robbers or claim jumpers. -Their own world lost, they intended to abandon it, pirating any other -world they could. - -The brotherhood of man collapsed at that point and became a brotherhood -of hate. Tolerance and mercy and willingness to offer succor must be -forgotten when the needy become vicious. Biting the hand that feeds is -an old platitude which still holds true. - -So Ed Bronson knew that, regardless of their wretched situation, they -must be stopped. This was invasion with capital letters. Even though -many of them must be direct descendants of people in this world, -invasion meant war! Even worse than civil war was the brother against -brother, man against man, war of survival. - -They--and Ed Bronson paused. 'They' was an indefinite term. 'They' -should have some nomenclature for purposes of identification. Were the -invasion from another planet, 'they' would have a name. - -Were it merely an earthly war, country against country or political -clan against political clan, both sides would have names. But here -was a case where it would be one earth, one world, against another -world--identical save for a trick in time that had split them apart. - -Bronson needed a name and he needed it quickly. He reasoned and came -to the conclusion that the 'other world' should be called Earth Two -because it was not long for living. Once it was destroyed by its own -fire this world would revert to being '_the_' earth. Until such a time -as differentiation became unnecessary he would call the two worlds -Earth One and Earth Two. - -Thus, independently, did the people of three almost identical earths -arrive at the same conclusion. Earth One was the original, where the -Alamogordo Experiment had been successful. Earth Two was where the -million-to-one chance of starting an all-consuming atomic fire had -actually happened. Earth Three was where the Alamogordo Experiment had -failed. - -Ed Bronson and the folk from Earth Two were still to learn of Earth -Three and it was only sheer reasoning that made all three systems of -nomenclature congruent. - -So by the time Ed Bronson located the police department he was prepared -to give a coherent story. He asked for the captain in charge. - -"Cap'n Norris is busy," grumped the desk sergeant. "What's the matter?" - -"My home is being invaded and--" - -"Well, you don't need the captain for that," snapped the sergeant. -"Joe! Eddie! Get the wagon and go with this here--what's your name, -mister?--and see that the guys that broke into his place are canned!" - -"I'm Ed Bronson," explained Ed. "But--" - -"That's all right," grunted the sergeant. "Joe and Eddie'll take care -of you!" - -"But you don't understand," said Ed patiently. "These are invaders from -another world." - -"Invaders from--what?" asked the sergeant, doing a double take. - -"They're just the beginning," said Ed. "If you manage to grab them -others will be coming." - -"Eddie--Joe! Forget it. This is a Number Seven deal." - - * * * * * - -Joe and Eddie looked at Ed Bronson with an odd glint in their eyes. -The sergeant looked down across the desk and said, "Now, Mr. Bronson, -suppose you come with me to the captain's office and we'll talk to him." - -"That's fine," said Bronson. "You see, I'm not sure of what to do about -it all." - -"Captain Norris will be able to help you," said the sergeant. "This -way." - -He came from behind his desk and led Ed Bronson to the hallway door. -He opened the door and stepped back, permitting Ed to go first. Ed -found himself in a short hallway and started down it uncertainly. The -sergeant followed him until he reached the proper door. - -"In there, Mr. Bronson," he said. - -Bronson did not make particular note of the fact that the desk sergeant -had at no time been with his back to Ed. He opened the door and found -himself facing an elderly wise-looking man who had the appearance of -having seen, heard, and experienced, either first-hand or vicariously, -every item of trouble, grief and sin in the list. - -"Captain Norris, this is Mr. Bronson. He has a bit of trouble. Thought -you'd best hear about it." - -"Sit down, Mr. Bronson, and tell me about it," replied Captain Norris -easily. - -"Well, sir, in the first place, I am an electronics specialist. It's--" - -"A scientist of some sort, is that it?" - -Ed nodded. "Most of us shy away from the name 'scientist' but that's -about it," he said. "So you're a scientist?" smiled Norris. - -"Yes. And I was experimenting on a bit of radioisotopic phosphor, -hoping to make a better, more brilliant television picture." - -"Has this all got to do with the people who are breaking into your -home?" asked Norris. - -"Yes. That's how they got in." - -"I see. Then go ahead. No, Sergeant Foster, you stay because you may -have to do something about this and it is best that you get your story -first hand. It'll save time. Now, Mr. Bronson?" - -"Well, under the combined forces of the magnetic field and the -electronic bombardment the phosphor vibrated. I half recognized the -vibration. It was like a very faint whisper in another room that you -can't quite understand--but you know that someone is whispering. - -"So I went to work on the phosphor and used a contact microphone on -it, and got in touch with some woman, who gave her address as across -the street from my home. When I went over there, I discovered that -it couldn't possibly be correct. Later I refined the thing a bit and -learned that her name was Carlson. Then I built a means of talking back -to her, and I learned that she was not on this world at all. It was--" - -"Not on this earth--but talking American?" demanded Norris. - -"Yes." - -"Do go on," said Captain Norris, putting down his pipe and leaning -forward a bit. - -"Well, you see, Captain Norris, there were some of the Manhattan -Project physicists who believed that there was a chance that the atomic -explosion might be strong enough to start a fission train in the earth -itself. In other words, they were afraid of setting the earth on fire -atomically. This was a possibility, and it seems that we now have two -worlds, each following the natural chain of events pursuant to the two -different possibilities." - -"Very interesting, Mr. Bronson. Please go on. There must be more." - -"After learning this, we decided to do what we could to alleviate the -difficulty. I went to bed. In the night--or rather while I was asleep, -they used some means or other to pass through from one world to the -other and one of them clipped me and taped me up. He told me that they -were going to move in on us--to displace us. I escaped and came here. -Something must be done!" - -"Indeed! Something must be done indeed," replied Captain Norris. - - * * * * * - -Bronson took a deep breath, and said, "I'm glad that I had this chance. -It was a heavy weight on my mind, knowing that this was happening and I -was the only one in the whole world that knew the truth." - -Captain Norris nodded. "I trust that you are feeling all right now?" - -"Of course." - -"We'd better get you to a doctor, Mr. Bronson. Those wrists look -inflamed." - -Bronson looked down at them. "Now that this affair is in the hands of -authority," he said, "I think I can take time off to see a doctor." - -"We'll take you to our doctor," said Captain Norris. - -"I have my own," said Bronson. - -"We--insist!" - -"But--" - -Norris smiled genially. "You'll like our doctor," he said. "He's such a -nice congenial fellow. Everybody likes him. Now--" - -"What is this?" demanded Bronson. - -"Take it easy," said the captain, "it's just routine. Everybody who -gets hurt in the course of committing a crime or being victimized -in such is always treated by the official medical department. Just -a matter of establishing legal medical evidence, that's all. Now -relax, Mr. Bronson, and come along. I'll have the boys take you to the -hospital." - -"Hos--?" - -"Routine. The doctor works for us, Mr. Bronson. Therefore he has no -office hours. Logical?" - -Joe and Eddie treated Ed Bronson to a wild ride through the city -streets with the siren on full. They slid to a stop in front of a -squat, dirty limestone building and they escorted him in--convoyed him -in, to be exact, for one went in front and one followed up the rear. - -"I am Doctor Mason," said a white-clad man, meeting them in the -corridor of the building. "Captain Norris told me you'd be coming." - -"Just abraded skin, doctor," said Ed, showing the doctor his wrists. - -"We'll take care of that instanter," smiled Doctor Mason. "Meanwhile, -what's this tale you were telling Norris? Something about hearing -voices? Threatening voices?" - -Bronson recoiled a bit. - -"Now, relax," said Mason. - -"Do you think I'm crazy?" asked Bronson sharply. - -"Of course not. You're not crazy, my boy. Just tell me--" - -"You--" - -"My friend, the symptoms of paranoia are simple and easy to determine. -The hushed voices, in the earlier stages, merely talk about the victim. -In a later stage the voices threaten. In still a later state the hushed -voices take physical being and all too often it is someone entirely -innocent of any malice. - -"Now this tale of people from another world, Mr. Bronson, must be faced -for what it is. You are not crazy, my boy. Merely ill--no worse than a -bad cold or influenza, for instance. But you are ill and you must be -treated." - -"Treated?" exploded Bronson angrily. "Treated--for an imagined mental -ailment when the earth itself is in danger of being invaded?" - -"The earth is not in danger," said the psychiatrist firmly. "And--" - -"I will not be--" - -"Violent, too," said Mason with a solemn shake of his head. "Normally, -we try to gain the patient's confidence. But in advanced cases of -paranoia, they will resent even altruism. Everything is suspected of -plot. Now, Mr. Bronson, whether you believe that this is for your own -good or not, you're coming with me. Will you come quietly or shall I -have some orderlies bring you?" - -Bronson shook his head and turned to go. He walked into the waiting -arms of Joe and Eddie, who subdued him easily because they were well -trained in the art of handling men. Mason waved them on, and Bronson -walked with both arms in hammerlock behind him. He could either walk or -have both arms dislocated at the shoulder. - -Mason spoke to the policemen. "The thing that makes psychiatry tough -is that the patient likes himself the way he is--just as all men do, -really--and resents bitterly any suggestion that his personality be -changed." - -"What do you intend to do?" asked Joe. - -"Electro-therapy," said the doctor in a decisive tone. - -Bronson writhed in both physical and mental anguish. He, the only -man on earth that realized the danger, being dog-walked into a -cell--accused of the crime of warning the earth of its fate! -Outnumbered, overpowered and disbelieved! - - - - - CHAPTER V - - _Head Start_ - - -Leader Kingston shook his head. "Bronson is dangerous to us," he said. - -Maddox nodded. "If his tale is believed Earth One will arm against -invasion." - -"Correct. Properly to save us trouble the invasion must take place -against small armed odds. Otherwise, instead of our finding a world -decimated and wearied by war, we'll find a world with its wits -sharpened and its anger high." - -Maddox turned the focus knob to readjust the image that had fuzzed a -bit because of a varying line voltage. He pointed to Bronson's image, -struggling against the policemen. - -"He's in a fix right now," he said. - -Kingston nodded dubiously. "But he'll not remain there," he said. -"Bronson is suspected of being paranoid right now. Any man coming to -high authority with such an unbelievable tale of alien entities or -time-divided worlds would be suspected of insanity. But before anybody -tries to cure him, they will give him their most extensive tests to -prove or disprove his sanity. - -"It is a fundamental principle that no man need be subjected to -treatments or cure that needs them not. It is a violation of human -integrity to attempt to cure a man of delusions who has no instability. -Therefore they will apply the last word in checks and tests and -discover that Bronson is not insane. - -"Once they discover his stability they will admit the shadow of a -doubt. Only the completely insane will not admit their error or -possibility of error. An honestly sane man will admit--however -grudgingly--the possibility of anything, even to alien entities and -split time-continua." - -"Then--?" - -"Then let them listen but once to his flanged-up space resonator. -His is a fine spectacle, you admit--about as neat and as efficient -as the First Radio Receiver. On such, many people are making many -transmissions of all sorts. Obviously, Maddox, the state of the art -is higher than the technical efficiency of Bronson's gadget which to -men of science will mean that there is something to Bronson's story. -Follow?" - -Maddox nodded. "The men who know will have sufficient knowledge to -evaluate the negative evidence. They know of no such technique." - -"Exactly," nodded Kingston. "Precisely. This we must stop!" - -"This we can stop," said Maddox. - -"How?" demanded Kingston sharply. - -Maddox made a wry grin. "Watch," he said. He turned to the kinescope -screen once more and watched Ed Bronson prowling the lonely cell.... - -For the thirtieth time, Ed Bronson paced his tiny cell. It was -hopeless. Everything mobile was too large and soft to use as tool or -weapon--for either egress or self-destruction. His clothing had been -removed forcibly and Ed Bronson seethed angrily, dressed in only his -skin. - -He realized that he had been a fool. Had he been less violent he might -not be so well incarcerated. He should have known that no amount of -physical struggle would get him anything. After all he had striven -against greater numbers of men who were all trained in the art of -handling men possessed of the strength of the insane. - -Bronson had only the strength of the indignant, which was far from the -unreasonable power of the insane. With the use of a small amount of -foresight, Ed Bronson knew that he might have been in a room less bare, -perhaps one in which the door had not been bolted, barred and locked. - -Bronson, it must be told, was not aware of the fact that the men who -held him were also used to prisoners possessed of the cunning of the -insane. No amount of cajolery, honest protest, supine acquiescence or -willing aid would have made them do other than lock, bolt and bar his -door. - -What Bronson needed was a friend.... - -Maddox smiled with grim humor. "We cannot silence him now." - -Kingston nodded, his face clearing of its slight frown. "Good man," he -breathed. - -"Nor," said Maddox, looking at the cell depicted on the kinescope tube, -"can we aid him to escape." - -"To kill him inside of that room would most certainly prove to them -that enough of his tale is true to make them suspicious. Even to open -that room and let him out will prove to them that there is more than -the agency of a single man at work." - -"In other, terser words," grunted Maddox, "he has placed himself in a -position where he has life insurance--only in the name of Earth Three." - -"And you see to it that he stays alive, suspect and helpless!" snapped -Kingston. - -"That I shall do," nodded Maddox. "That I shall do!" - -"Unless, of course, he is threatened by death with both killer and -motive indigenous--or apparently so--to Earth One." - - * * * * * - -Peter Moray turned to Virginia Carlson and shook his head. "Won't -work," he said. - -"Why not?" she asked. - -Moray explained. His explanation was almost identical to that of -Kingston and Maddox. To hurl a man into an asylum for hallucination is -all well and good. To protect society, for any number of reasons all -directed at the protection of society, from the maniac or to protect -the maniac from society is sound. - -Yet no man can be incarcerated very long if he is sane and wants to get -out. It is as difficult for a sane man to fake insanity as it is for an -insane man to fake insanity. - -"So what do we do now?" asked Virginia. - -"We should have eliminated him at once," snapped Moray. "Confound it, I -was sleeping. I thought he might be useful." - -"You were wrong," she said. "It seems to me that we might as well give -him the works. I'll go down and see that he is taken care of." - - * * * * * - -Peter Moray nodded. Bronson had seen Moray but had never seen Virginia. -In fact, Bronson knew only Virginia's last name. That was a help. -Also, Virginia was a very good looking young woman and the power of -a beautiful woman who speaks with certainty is great. She was also a -capable calculator and could plan her campaign as she went along. Moray -nodded, and Virginia headed for the asylum. - -In her handbag, Virginia carried a small automatic. Bronson was a -threat. The threat must be eliminated. The lover's quarrel perhaps or, -better, he was in the asylum for paranoia. Why not have him attack her? -Self-defense is a good alibi and her story would be strengthened by the -doctor's decision. She smiled cryptically. - -Supposing she were convicted of murder in the first degree and -sentenced to the gas chamber? By the time the trial came to its end, -the invasion would be ready and the first act of the men of Earth Two -would be to rescue Virginia from her cell. She had everything to gain, -nothing to lose by acting--and there was an entire world dependent upon -her. - -Confidently Virginia opened the door of Bronson's house and headed down -the street. It was her first venture outside along the ways of Earth -One. - -In the morning, from her home, there were two lights in the sky, one a -disc rising in the east, one a blinding glare that rendered the disc -ineffective. Albuquerque never really knew night nor had it during the -course of Virginia Carlson's life. Here, however, there was but the -shining sun and Virginia found the streets a bit sheltered, shadowed, -compared to the streets of her home. - -But--the thought came to her--this was her home! She walked along the -same street as the one she lived on. She looked across the street from -Bronson's front steps and saw her own number there. It was a different -house but none the less it was her number. It was sandwiched between -two other houses whose outlines and architecture she recognized. - -The street light was there, recognizable, though this one was not the -remaining remnant of the pre-Alamogordo era. The one in her Albuquerque -had not been used in the course of her life, though it had not been -removed. - -The street-car line was still on the next corner, and the cars that ran -might have been the same--could they have been? Interested, Virginia -waited until one came along and, though she could not be certain, it -seemed the same. - -It was a matter of interest to find out whether the same cars plied -the same tracks in two different time streams. This seemed at once -paradoxical and quite possible, for Virginia had seen both her own -street address with a new house on the location, and the houses on -either side which were older than Alamogordo and recognizable. - -Virginia walked on slowly, a number of things running through her mind. -Even though the city seemed the same, there was quite a difference. The -population was thick here, not thinned out by radiation-sterility. The -people were smiling and unafraid. On no face was that look of stark -wonder and fear that never left the faces of the people of Earth Two -even though they had been born and bred under the blinding light of the -Alamogordo Blow-up. - -Nor were there the mutants. - -That was what made the most difference. In her life and counted among -her friends were strange biological forms, often unhuman. There was, -for instance, a fellow called Thomas Lincoln whose eyes grew on stalks -and was quite a man at work on large machinery because he could see -deep within the machine without having to rely on mirrors or the sense -of touch. - -His eyes, when extended, could either assume the proper distance for -perspective, could narrow or widen the angle of perspective--and his -mind, trained over the years, made due allowance so that he knew and -accepted these differences. - -There was Greene, the man whose hands had a palm on either side and -whose fingers could bend to make a fist on either the inside or the -outside of the arm. This might seem good, but it presented a lack of -firmness. Greene's hands were far weaker than Harrison's, whose hands -had but three fingers with twin thumbs on either side, making the hand -symmetrical. - - * * * * * - -Her girl-friend, Edna, secreted pure metal instead of pigment and -her skin and hair had a metallic sheen that was rather beautiful. -In a strong light, Edna's skin and hair were almost luminous, -like iridescent paint. There was the fellow that lived on the -corner--Virginia never knew his name--who had a double knee and elbow. -This made for physical instability. - -There were others. Some were interesting from functional standpoints, -some were interesting from banal standpoints. Others were just horrible -and many were viciously dangerous. But many of them were her friends. -Virginia had grown up without one iota of prejudice regarding the shape -of a man's body, the color of his skin, or the nationality of his -father. For in a life where few men were as simply mutated as to have a -mere skin coloration, all of the former prejudices were so minor in the -face of the acceptance of the more violent differences that to accept -the latter meant complete disregard of the former. - -This world contrasted sharply with Virginia's world. To see people -walking freely in the streets, pursuing their normal life, was -puzzling. Virginia, born in the glare of Alamogordo, under a culture -that had devoted itself completely to one main idea or to the secondary -or tertiary support of those who pursued that idea, this freedom was -inexplicable. - -In Virginia's world, there were two classes of people--those who worked -directly on the problem of saving their world in one way or another and -those who worked to support those who worked on the problem. Farmers -produced so much, by law. Book dealers sold so many kinds of books, -produced by printers and publishers who did exactly what was needed and -no more. Entertainment and relaxation was far from spontaneous. - -People did not collect at random and throw a party on the spur of the -moment nor could one decide to go out and buy a magazine and read it -instead of cleaning out the basement. Though it was admitted as such, -it was an emergency dictatorship, with the Alamogordo Blow-up as main -dictator. Regulation was the order of the years. - -Earth One was, to Virginia, completely unregulated. Women walked along -the streets idly, looking in windows and smiling at men. The sign "Bar" -intrigued Virginia. She was no stranger to the potable qualities of -alcohol, but the concept of an establishment directed at the sole idea -of selling drinks had not occurred to her. - -This--recall--was Virginia's first experience in living in a world not -harassed by fear. - -She paused at a window showing an assortment of dresses on well-made -forms. In her world, Virginia was a good-looking woman and dressed as -well as the next. - -In contrast to a world where much time and energy was directed at -luxury instead of the sheer, vicious necessity driven of hope and -despair--in a world where the accolade of young womanhood is to be -permitted her first trip to mother's beauty salon and thereafter make -obeisance regularly--Virginia, a beauty in her own world, knew that -here she was as conspicuous as a tall telephone pole in a snowbound -prairie. - -She knew because the window before which she stood reflected her own -hand-made dress against the luxurious mannequin inside the window. - -Moray had been correct in his assumption that a beautiful woman could -get away with more than a plain one. His only mistake was in not -judging alien demands for grooming. And yet it was not a true mistake. -It was rooted in sheer ignorance. - -Virginia wondered. Money? Coinage does not change very often. But the -few coins she had in her bag would not cover the two figures to the -left of the decimal point--iffing and providing that they were still -good. - -There was, on her right hand, her mother's diamond. On her left wrist -was a wristwatch of quite ancient vintage--Virginia automatically -called it "Pre-Blast"--which might bring a few dollars. - -Virginia turned from the window and went across the street to a -pawnshop. She emerged with a handful of greenbacks, re-crossed the -street and entered the ladies' shop. With satisfaction Virginia noted -a beautician's place next door and, though rather questioning of the -nefarious arts that might go on behind the curtains, Virginia was -determined to compete with her contemporary girl-friends on an even -basis--perhaps with a fair head start! - - - - - CHAPTER VI - - _Sprung by the Foe_ - - -John Cauldron made contact with Peter Moray shortly after Virginia had -gone. Moray, busy with the details at hand, had not given much time to -thinking out the course of the future. Besides, it was Moray's business -to act upon orders from above. His was not the planner's lot. - -"What's cooking?" he asked Cauldron. - -"We're putting on a security silence on the space resonators," replied -Cauldron. - -"Why?" - -"Whether they think Bronson insane or not, whether he lives or dies, we -must see that there are as many bits of radioisotopic phosphor in Earth -One as possible." - -"Yes, but--" - -"Bronson may be judged insane. However, give him a chance and he will -demonstrate the space resonator. If he should pick up an Earth Two -broadcast or even a molecular pattern it will lend weight to his tale. -On the other hand, Bronson will be given credit--sane or otherwise--for -the invention of a new level of communication. - -"When it becomes known that gross matter can be shipped across space -with the same scientific concept people will rush madly to develop and -build delivery sets." - -"I get it." - -"Sure," replied Cauldron. "It's easy enough. Tell Virginia--" - -"She's gone already. She left to take care of Bronson." - -"Oh blast! Look, Moray, how are people dressed there?" - -"Why--I wouldn't know. Bronson was in pajamas when I intercepted him -and it's just barely morning now. I've not really been out yet." - -"You should have taken time to get Virginia fixed up as close to one of -the women of this world as possible." - -"Why?" - -"Because she'll be less conspicuous," said Bronson. "If they get to -peering into Bronson's mind they'll come to the conclusion that he -isn't as mad as his tale sounds. Give them one overly-conspicuous -character to look at and they will definitely begin to think loud -thoughts." - -"Well, why shouldn't Virginia get along?" demanded Moray. - -"You're a young squirt," snapped Cauldron shortly. "You weren't around -before the blow-up. You haven't the vaguest idea of how much time and -hard money was spent by women on the luxury of appearing beautiful. -That has been curtailed on Earth Two by necessity and emergency. But -I'll bet a tall hat that they are still shelling out plenty there. Is -there a telephone book handy?" - -"Yeah," said Moray. - -"Then crack it to the classified section and tell me how many pages -there are of beauty shops, beauty salons, beauticians, or whatever -they're called." - -Silence ensued for several minutes and then Peter Moray returned and -gave Cauldron the answer. - -"You see?" replied Cauldron. "You have no idea of how life is lived -when there is no cause for fear." - -"So--" - -"So I'd feel better if Virginia were heading for that place in -something better than a hand-made dress of reclaimed cloth, a self-done -hairdo and flat-heeled slippers. Besides," he chuckled wryly, "it would -help her morale no end." - -Harry Maddox turned from the hapless spectacle of Ed Bronson and -shrugged. "He's safe," he said. "Now what?..." - - * * * * * - -"They've gone into a security silence," said Kingston. "As we -expected." - -"Then our friend Bronson is no longer needed?" - -"Nope. They'll get along without him, now. What worries me is that the -psychiatrist may get to work on Bronson long enough to establish a -reasonable doubt in their minds." - -"Even so," said Maddox thoughtfully, "we're stuck. Supposing we were -to kill him? It's obviously impossible in that room. It is equally -impossible for him to escape nor can we arrange it." - -"What we need is a person who might be quite willing to murder Bronson -in cold blood for the sake of murder itself--or even better, for some -mundane motive." - -"What about the characters from Earth Two?" suggested Maddox. - -"Let's find 'em," snapped Kingston, apparently struck with an idea. - -Maddox had little trouble in locating Moray. He looked in on Peter -Moray for a moment, and then went in search of Virginia. Virginia, -apparently, had disappeared. - -It was quite impossible to search every possible place in Albuquerque -for a glimpse of Virginia and, after covering the pathway to and from -Bronson's cottage to the police station and thence to the police -hospital, Maddox gave up and returned to Moray, who had stopped -speaking to Cauldron. As Moray turned away from the equipment, the -telephone rang, and he went to it, wondering. - -Moray lifted the phone and said, gingerly, "Yes? This is the Brons--" - -"Moray! This is Virginia. I'm going to dig Bronson out of the clink and -bring him home. You hide or at least lie low. Follow?" - -"Where are you?" - -Virginia named an address. - -Kingston snapped, "Get that address--quick. Know where it is?" - -"Heck," drawled Maddox insolently, "This is the same Albuquerque. Sure -I know the address." - -The video screen showed a blur, and settled on the showroom of a -ladies' apparel shop. Virginia was just hanging up the telephone and -Maddox whistled. - -"Knockout," he said succinctly. - -"She got the works," grinned Kingston. "Thanks to her we can watch." - -"Well," said Maddox thoughtfully, "there goes your party with murderous -intent, and quite worldly too." - -Kingston nodded. "That automatic in her bag isn't an unaccustomed -weapon," he said thoughtfully. "And she can and will claim attack. Self -defense...." - -Clad in a printed silk that graced her svelte body caressingly, with -the sheerest of hose, the seams of which ran die-true down from the -hem of her dress to her sandal-shod, tiny feet, Virginia Carlson of -Earth Two was well on her way to being the most fetching woman in three -worlds. Her hair had been coiffed to perfection and her face had been -made up by an expert. - -Virginia looked soft and sweet and perfect. She was a sight that made -men turn to watch but not to whistle because she radiated some quality -that rendered the wolf-whistle a definite insult. - -Then, patting the automatic confidently, Virginia turned down along the -street once more and headed for the police hospital. Though she could -not know it, the plane of focus of the video resonator followed her. -Maddox and Kingston were watching her as she went. - -"Once this is finished," thought Virginia, "I shall enjoy living like -this!" - -Her feet, unaccustomed to dancing, did a pointless little step. Her -eyes sparkled, iris wide even in the morning sunshine, for Earth One -had no eternal light in the sky to keep a dazzling brightness day and -night. She pirouetted once and the sleek silk frock whirled and clung -to her legs. As she stopped, the weight of the automatic in her bag hit -her and reminded her of a job to be done before all this could be hers. - -Bronson must be stopped--somehow! - -Virginia knew how. - -With a fetching smile on her face Virginia entered the police hospital -and asked for the police physician. Doctor Mason came and was a bit set -back by the obviously high quality of his caller. - -"You're--?" - -"Virginia Wells. I'm a friend of Mr. Bronson." - -"Indeed? A peculiar case, Miss Wells," he observed gravely. - -"Not at all," she said with a smile. "Mr. Bronson, as a hobby, has -been writing fiction and we got into an argument as to whether high -authority could hear a rather bizarre tale without thinking the story -teller was insane. I won." - -"So that's it," grunted Doctor Mason. "He sounded sincere enough to me." - -Virginia shrugged shapely shoulders and hurled at him the dazzle of -her smile. "After all," she said in an entrancing contralto, "he is a -successful author even though he doesn't work at it one hundred percent -of the time. He should be able to concoct a story that would hold -water, and he should be convincing. Why, that's his business!" - -"Um." - -Mason left the office for a moment and came back with Bronson at his -heels--dressed. - - * * * * * - -Virginia gave Bronson a warning look and then laughed at him. "Like -spending the night in the clink, Ed?" she asked brightly. - -"No!" he snapped. - -"You needn't have," she said with a smile. "All you had to do was tell -them the truth. Why, they'd have thrown Orson Welles into jail for the -Martian Invasion if he hadn't been famous." - -Bronson started. The Orson Welles affair had taken place a long time -ago--before either of them were born, in fact. This rather glorious -girl was trying to tell him something. - -"Yeah," he drawled, stalling for time. - -"All right, so you lost," she told him. "And now, if you don't have to -stay here for playing pranks, we can go on home and write it up." - -Bronson looked at Mason. Mason shrugged. "What's the pitch?" he -asked. "As for me, no--we don't want you though I'd like to have you -reprimanded for wasting time." - -"Come to think of it, Doctor Mason, how should a man try to tell high -authority of some impending form of outrageous doom?" asked Virginia. - -"Why--" stammered Doctor Mason, "I--" - -"Yes," snapped Bronson angrily. "Tell us!" - -"Why?" - -"Because," said Virginia, sweetly, "some day someone is really going -to come up with invaders from outer space or some other unbelievable -little item and, while the big bright brass is psychoanalyzing the -discoverer, the invasion or the doom will take place." - -"Why--I'm--" - -"Forget it, Mason," said Bronson. Then, because he was completely -unaware of his visitor's name or anything else about her save that she -knew something that prompted her to aid him, Bronson turned to the girl -and held out an elbow. - -"May I escort you home, Madame Pompadour?" - -Virginia smiled at him with exaggerated enticement. "Only if you want -to be Benjamin Franklin, dear." - -Doctor Mason stood up and hurled the door open angrily. "Get the devil -out of here!" he snapped. He was still looking for a fine vocabulary -when they left. Once outside and on the street beyond, Ed Bronson -paused. - -"Now," he said seriously, "what in the name of eternal sin is this?" - -"I had to get you out of there," she said. "I'm glad you are sharp -enough to follow suit." - -"You can be glad that Mason did not choose to question me about you," -snapped Bronson. "I'd have denied you deeply." - -"All a part of your tale to convince," she smiled. "I'd have forced it -into the open--forced Mason to let us meet. Then we'd make out." - -"Fine, fine," he said with a bitter grin. "Just tell me what the score -is right now." - -"I happen to know that you are right," she told him. - -"But--" - -She nodded. She explained at length that she had been tinkering in her -cellar and had come in with something that had permitted her to hear -his half of the initial discussion with the girl named Carlson. - -She paused at that point and grinned at him. "Just to keep the record -clear," she said, "I'm Virginia Wells." - -"Well, Miss Wells, I'm grateful. But what does a girl like you find -interesting in tinkering in the cellar?" - -"You call me Virginia like everybody else," she told him. "As for -tinkering in the cellars, when has a woman's appeal anything to do with -the liking for science--and furthermore I might even resent the phrase -'like you' that was hurled at me. Do you think anybody that looks like -this must necessarily be completely vacant above the ears?" - -Bronson smiled. "Not every girl," he said with a sour smile. "But the -percentage assays high." - -Virginia took a deep breath. Thin though her story was, he'd accepted -it for the nonce. - -"Where do we go from here?" he asked. "I want to reason this thing out." - -Virginia smiled tolerantly. "My equipment isn't very good," she said. -"I'd like to see yours." - -Bronson smiled. For hours he had been itching to show someone the -equipment and this was his chance. He was going to take the opportunity -regardless of where the chance came. Virginia had known that too! - -The girl tucked a slender hand into the crook of his elbow. "Let's go," -she said with a bright smile. - -Bronson nodded and they started toward his home. - -He walked easily, she thought, neither too fast nor too slowly. His -stride seemed to coincide with hers so that the periods of out-of-step -walking were minimized. They were not nonexistent, for Ed Bronson was -a tall, long-legged man and, though Virginia's legs were long and -slender, she was not so tall as Ed Bronson by seven inches. - -"I might suggest," said Bronson thoughtfully, "that we can do a bit of -talking while we collect us some lunch. Me--I'm hungry." - -Virginia paused. Visiting a restaurant was another thing that -was seldom done on Earth Two, excepting by those who found it -essential. This she viewed as another luxury and she wanted to try -it. On the other hand, she had too thin a story prepared regarding -her 'experiments' with the space-resonant crystals of radioisotopic -phosphor, of her listening to Bronson and his subsequent rescue from -the asylum. - -Yet--Virginia shrugged slightly--she could probably handle this. -Besides, she could learn more of Earth One were she to visit with -Bronson. - -Virginia nodded and smiled at him. Bronson paused in mid-stride and -turned toward a small restaurant he knew. Inwardly he chuckled to -himself. It was not always that a woman rescuer, fellow scientist and -friend-indeed was so very delectable. Bronson was proud to have such a -woman in his company. - - - - - CHAPTER VII - - _Transfer Arranged_ - - -The automatic computer in the laboratory of atomic physics at the New -Mexico University on Earth Three was a vast thing that encompassed many -acres of wiring, tubes and memory-storage circuits. - -It had been working silently--save for an occasional click--for an -hour, which was a pointed commentary on the depth of the problem -presented to it, since its usual time of operation was startling in its -brevity. It was, without a doubt, the great-great-grandfather of all -automatic computers and even it was forced to mull over the problem. - -Leader Kingston and Harry Maddox lounged before the massive control -board, smoking and watching Virginia and Bronson on a small -remote-presentation kinescope. - -Finally the machine emitted a series of typewriter-like clicks and a -sheet of paper emerged from the slot. It bore a complex equation that -Maddox took and pored over. - -Kingston waited quietly, for he knew that Maddox was far more capable -than he at interpreting the equations. Any interference would interrupt -Maddox, ruin his train of thought and require more time in the long run. - -Finally Maddox looked up and smiled. - -"It seems so," he said. - -"There is no definite proof?" demanded Kingston. - -"Time and the future are both based upon the laws of probability," -replied Maddox. "That these three worlds do exist side by side by side -in time is certain--that they might have existed at any time before -they did start was a matter of probability. Anything is probable, you -know. That we live is a most certain probability, yet that we will -continue to live is less certain." - -"You're talking in circles," snapped Kingston. "Get to the point!" - -"Sorry, I must sound vague. You see, Leader, I've been thinking about -this for some time and therefore I am inclined to think over the -well-worn thought-trails swiftly and in considerable elision. However, -according to this equation, the fact is this. The spatial continuum is -strained by the unnatural presence of three congruent pathways through -the present time. - -"As we know, only the most probable of these will continue to exist. -That--unfortunately--is Earth One. The Alamogordo experiment on Earth -One was the most probable, of course. Obviously Earth Two is destined -to die soon, leaving but Earths One and Three. - -"But," continued Maddox thoughtfully, "we have posed the problem and -the machine here reasons that we are correct." - -"Then we need not undergo all the strife in order to survive!" - -"Obviously not. Once the pathways through time are no longer strained -by multiple existences the strain will cease. In other words, once -we--Earth Three--are the only true survivor the strain will cease and -there will be no fear of our demise." - -"Then all we need do is to eliminate One and Two--and then," Kingston -grinned, "Earth Three becomes the only one?" - -"Three becomes One," nodded Maddox. "Now--" - -"Now we figure out a means of destroying Earth One utterly." - -"Simple," said Maddox. "All we need do is to rotate a bit of the core -of the Alamogordo Blow-up from Earth Two to Earth One." - -"Might be less simple than we think," said Kingston. "Remember that the -fission train in the earth itself is indigenous to Earth Two. Since it -did not happen on Earth One is there any reason to suppose that the -earth of Earth One will support an atomic fire?" - - * * * * * - -Maddox shook his head. "When the bomb was tried--I nearly said 'went -off' but it didn't here--the temporal strain broke into three paths," -said Maddox. "The three important possibilities took place--obviously -because there was a huge question as to which of the three -possibilities would emerge as the successful outcome of the affair." - -"I'm no believer in the Great Destiny," said Kingston. - -"Nor am I," said Maddox. "Yet it is true that the most fit do survive. -Obviously, Earth Two and its atomic fire is far from the most fit. -Earth One has dropped into a lulled luxury-loving place where the -serious facets of life are ignored. They are unprepared to enter any -form of strife to survive. We--Earth Three--have developed ourselves -and our science greatly and in any strife we are best fitted to -survive!" - -"All right, it sounds logical," snapped Kingston. "But how do we prove -it without arousing suspicion?" - -"We can rotate a bit of the core of the Earth Two atomic fire to this -earth," said Maddox. "Once we establish the atomically-inflammable -qualities of Earth Three, we can safely assume that Earth One will -be the same. Remember," said Maddox with a grin, "on Earth Three the -Alamogordo Bomb was a dud--it didn't even fire!" - -"And then what?" sneered Kingston. "It seems to me that your suggestion -is the beginning of the end." - -"Not at all. Once we establish the possibility beyond a doubt, we can -so very easily rotate the hunk of atomic fire back into Earth Two -again." - -Kingston thought for a moment. Then he nodded. "We must move lightning -fast," he said sharply. "Because I will hazard a bet that Earth Two -considered the idea of getting rid of their atomic fire by sending it -through the space resonator. And rejected it because their own Earth -Two was badly treated by the original fire. After all, there's no use -in staying with a partly ruined, semi-radioactive Earth Two when Earth -One, complete and unharmed, lies like a ripe apple for them to pluck." - -Maddox nodded. "It will have to be quick," he said. "For either one of -them is quite capable of turning the stuff this way once they suspect." - -Kingston turned to the kinescope screen and scowled at Virginia and -Bronson. - -"There," he said, "are two of the four or five people who have within -their grasp the truth of the matter--and they are the two who have -sufficient imagination to reason it out!" - -"And once she kills him that will leave only her!" - -Maddox nodded idly and began to set up equipment, saying, "No time like -the present." - -"For what?" - -"I'm interested in knowing whether the atomic fire will burn Earth -Three as well as Earth Two." - -Kingston shrugged. "Y'know," he said quietly, "if it does ruin Earth -Three nothing says that you and I can't pass over ourselves anyway." - -Maddox smiled. "Indubitably," he agreed dryly. It was quite obvious -that Leader Kingston had given him nothing new in ideas. - - * * * * * - -Unlike the slow space resonator of Earth Two, the ones used on Earth -Three went with lightning swiftness. They were smaller, more efficient, -showed a deeper grasp of the art and the principles involved. Maddox -picked his collection of equipment up and headed for the door. - -"What are you going to use for a focal volume?" demanded Kingston. "You -have no focal point." - -"Won't need one," smiled Maddox. "That's a true atomic flame. As in the -sun there will be minute traces of all elements contained therein and -all we need is a trace. For like the sun, Earth Two's atomic flame is -both building up and tearing down all elements possible. Come on--I'll -prove my point." - -For a brief time, Harry Maddox drove like a maniac through the air in -his atom-powered speedster. Leaving behind it the whistling scream of -its supersonic passage from Albuquerque to Alamogordo, the fleet craft -made the passage in minutes. At the site of the original, Maddox landed. - -There on the desert was the steel tower that had held the Alamogordo -Bomb before its trial. On Earth One there was but a shallow depression -of broken green--glazed sand. On Earth Two there burned a pillar of -atomic fire for miles in radius from this very spot. Here Maddox set up -his space resonator. - -Then, sensibly, he urged Kingston back into the speedster and raced -away, ten, fifteen miles. Then in his speedster Maddox pressed a button. - -Behind them on the desert a burst of intolerable light, like a million -suns compressed into a minute sphere, cast its instantaneous glare -across the face of the earth. Like an expanding hemisphere of pure -sun-flame, it dinned against the very substance of space and hurled its -terrible energy outward. - -Thunder came then and the still-intolerably bright explosion flashed -in multicolored bursts as the shock wave started to rise. Up and up -and up into the stratosphere rose the towering ice-cap to roll into a -cauliflower shape. - -And then up through this bursting-white cloud there darted another -pillar of sheer flame-energy, to rise above the first and to go on up -into the very upper reaches of the atmosphere. - -Standing aghast, Kingston and Maddox watched the scene with horror. -Minutes passed before they could speak, and then it was with bitter -fear. - -Maddox pointed to the ground below the towering pillar of cooling hell. -There was a sunlike flame there, burning more brightly by the second. -The ground rumbled faintly and, upon the ground at their feet, two -shadows were cast which added to the complete unearthliness of the -scene. - -"Now?" demanded Kingston. - -"Not now," growled Maddox angrily. "Our equipment was utterly destroyed -in that blast." - -"Then we lost?" - -"No. All we need do is to return and prepare a radio-controlled -speedster to carry another space resonator into the near-scene. Then we -can send that pillar of hell back where it came from." - -"Think you'll have any trouble?" worried Kingston. - -"Nope," said Maddox. "I've been thinking about this for some time. We -can do it!" - -"Then how are we going to transfer a good bit of that flame to Earth -One?" - -"I won't mind going over," said Maddox. "I'll see to it that Earth One -gets a goodly dose. In fact, I think it might be a good idea to set -up a relay system to bring bits of it through and send to other parts -of the earth at one time. We can set atomic fires all over Earth One -within a matter of seconds." - -"Might restart several on Earth Two also," suggested Kingston. "Nothing -like speeding things up a bit." - -Maddox nodded, but there was a worried frown on his face. "There's -one thing I don't relish," he said. "So far as we know, the only bit -of radioisotopic phosphor containing the resonant element lies in the -laboratory of Ed Bronson on Earth One." - -"That's your only doorway?" - -"To Earth One, yes." - -"Then--" - -"Then we return to our vantage point and watch. Sooner or later they -will leave that set-up unguarded and we can get through to place other -focal elements at a safer place on Earth One." - -"Well," smiled Kingston, "once Virginia Carlson gets rid of Ed Bronson -they must sooner or later leave that place unguarded and we can break -in. Let's go and wait." - -"And also prepare the drone to return that pillar of hell back to Earth -Two," said Maddox with a bit of mild concern. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - - _Halfway Mark_ - - -Unmindful of his danger--both immediate and future--Ed Bronson sat and -watched Virginia with admiration. Their initial talk had been sketchy. -All Virginia knew was that she had been working on equipment similar to -his and had heard the same things he had--including him. - -Her information was less complete than his, for Virginia was not -equipped to tinker up a complete set of filters to tune out the -interferences, so she said. Only Bronson's voice came through clearly -enough to be understood. Yet she was aware of the danger and felt that -she must help. - -And that was that so far as she was concerned. As to what track to -follow, Virginia professed ignorance. She suggested that they eat and -then go to Bronson's laboratory and work on the stuff. - -"And what do we do about them?" he asked. - -Virginia blinked. "You're certain it was they?" - -"He told me so." - -"Then there's just one." - -"There may be more," objected Bronson. "Perhaps we should forget my -place and go to work on yours." - -Virginia blinked inwardly at that one. Naturally, Virginia could not -take him to her place for she had none. There had to be some way. - -"I suggest that you and I go in very quietly," she said. "If the house -is infested we'll go to my place. If it is clear, even temporarily, we -can go in and steal the phosphor." - -"Better," grinned Bronson. "We can conceal it in a steel safe. I have a -hunch they can't get through it then." - -"I wouldn't know," said Virginia. She did know, however, that Peter -Moray would not be in evidence since she was bringing Bronson back -with her. "But you have a good idea. It'll do them a lot of good to try -coming through if they end up in a steel box. - -"Besides," she said thoughtfully, "it is better to try. I'd hate to -think of them coming through unguarded. We owe it to the earth to try -and stop them." - -"That we do," nodded Bronson. Then he ceased to think about it since it -had been settled. He preferred to watch Virginia. - -She was a beautiful girl--one of the most beautiful women that Bronson -had ever seen. That alone won his admiration. But what brought his real -commendation was her attitude. Bronson had known other beautiful women -before and most of them were inclined towards a selfish narcissism -because of the round of admiration they got from every male. - -This gave them an egotistical attitude that repelled Bronson, for he -knew with some disdain that their attitude was born of the actions of -his own sex. - -Virginia had none of this false sophistication. She was readily and -honestly pleased with things as they were and with Bronson's offerings. -To add to that Virginia was clever and intelligent and could, without -straining, discuss several subjects that the average beauty wouldn't -bother to strain her vapid mind on. - -Bronson could not know it, of course, but Virginia's attitude was -mostly naiveté. Seldom before had she spent an hour in luxurious -surroundings with nothing to think about or to do but relax and enjoy -herself. Not that Virginia had forgotten her basic job--but at least -here was the offering of relaxation in an atmosphere completely devoid -of the constant gnawing fear. - -The light in the sky was not there. - -Then, too, Virginia was capable of pigeon-holing her mind. Though she -intended to eliminate this man as a factor in the safety of her world's -people she saw no reason why she should not enjoy herself first. -Looking about her in the restaurant she saw many other people enjoying -life. This itself was unlike Earth Two and it offered Virginia a point -for jealous desire. She wanted this kind of life-without-fear. And it -was within her grasp! - - * * * * * - -In her world many were mutants that repelled the mind. Here there were -none. The man opposite her, who toyed with the silverware idly was a -fine specimen of humanity. The waiter, the cashier, the hat-check girl, -the major-domo, the customers--all were whole and healthy. - -Virginia looked about her at the thickly peopled restaurant and -mentally compared it with a place in her own world. Idly she replaced -the elderly gentleman at the table opposite with a gnarled, seven -fingered monster--and the boy-girl couple beyond with a pair of -uglinesses. - -The waiter instead of being well-dressed and polite was misshapen and -clad in remnants of a once-great civilization. Starch wasted on a -shirt, as well as the time wasted in preparing it, was unthought-of in -Earth Two. Few of the men in Earth Two would look so polished and at -ease in the formal trappings. - -Bronson made motions to leave and Virginia arose to follow. From his -pocket he took money instead of a ration card and he left a generous -tip for the waiter. A smiling doorman opened the portal for them. - -Once on the street Virginia was again impressed by the people. Then -there were the theatre on the corner, the stores and the shops selling -anything and everything that men and women would buy. - -The automatic bumped Virginia's hip as her bag swung, and the contact -hurt--more than physically. - -Walking beside this tall man Virginia considered the situation. In her -bag was the means of replacing the people she saw in this street with -a high percentage of misshapen bodies of her own world. To--eliminate -this scene of physical health and mental good-will with the warped -bodies and minds of her own world. - -Virginia saw her own reflection in a shop window. She was shapely and -well-dressed. She knew that without egotism--it was obvious fact. She -was more like this world--fitted better into this scene than into the -world on which she had been born. - -An age-old urge rose in her. She had shied away from marriage because -of fear and distaste. Too many of her friends she had seen in mental -agony because of mutant offspring. Now she was presented with at least -an opportunity of a life that would be normal. What had she on Earth -Two but unpleasant memories for all of her life? - -Perhaps it seems a sudden change. Yet a mind suddenly shown a way -toward happiness will often swing as swift as a pendulum from one -attitude to the opposite. Perhaps the only reason that Virginia had -not followed many of Earth Two's people into the madness of fear was -because she had been born to the insoluble threat of the Alamogordo -Blow-up and had never been forced to change from freedom to fear. - -Many another on Earth Two had seen the eternal flame and had gone mad, -knowing its threat. Virginia, born after it started, had never known -anything else. So now Virginia viewed a world built like her own, but -one devoid of fear and populated heavily with healthy, happy people. - -Why go back? Why change this? She could blend very well with this -environment. Her woman's instinct told her that she could and by very -little trying. - -There was but one great fear. This man who walked beside her knew the -facts of Earth Two. He also stood to learn about her. It presented -her with a quandary. To make her future secure he must be placed in a -position never to learn the truth. On the other hand she needed his -aid to forestall the invasion from Earth Two if she were to enjoy the -future of Earth One as she now saw it. - -Virginia wondered whether she could work with Ed Bronson long enough to -give him the particulars of the space-resonant techniques--and still -keep him in the dark regarding her own part in it. Once the threat of -invasion was gone there was no doubt in Virginia's mind that she could -lose herself here on Earth One. - -In fact, the proper thing to do was just that--tell him the truth and -she would be forever suspect. - - * * * * * - -Then there was the other problem. She was supposed to have an -apartment, a house or something equipped with a basement in which to -work. He'd be wanting to see that sooner or later. How to forestall him -on that required thinking. - -Once he knew that it required the presence of the proper elements in -the space-resonant series to effect the transfer of material, he would -demand the opportunity of sealing up her bit of the stuff in order to -forestall the invasion of the vanguard from Earth Two. - -From a technical standpoint, Virginia knew that the operation of the -space-resonant science required the presence of the space-resonant -elements. Even though she knew nothing of Earth Three and its -highly advanced techniques which permitted the operation of a -view-and-voice-operated mechanism without the presence of the elements -in the area of transmission, Virginia was correct in her assumption -that no passage from one time-zone to the other was possible without -a critical mass of the ultra-rare transuranic elements in the -receptor-zone. - -Having used the technique for many years Virginia and the rest in Earth -Two could be certain that the only critical mass of these rare elements -on Earth One was in Ed Bronson's laboratory. - -So, the first thing was to protect herself, to isolate herself on Earth -One and to seal up forever the passageway. All Virginia had to do was -to break up Ed Bronson's mass into subcritical sizes--and then to keep -all other discrete bits of the space-resonant elements from being -collected for a period that surpassed the possible time required for -the final death of the ill-fated temporal division--the end of Earth -Two. - -Impulsively, Virginia opened her bag and handed the automatic to -Bronson. - -"Here," she whispered, "this may help--if they're still here!" - -It was hours later. Bronson's re-entry into his home was careful and -stealthy but unproductive, for Peter Moray had gone back to Earth Two -to await developments. Virginia knew this and was prepared for the lack -of population in the Bronson home. Once the place was known to be free -of invaders Bronson relaxed. - -"Me," he said with a yawn, "I'm tired." - -"I don't suppose you got much sleep last night," smiled Virginia. - -"Darned little," he agreed. "And I'll get less until we figure out -something to do with this equipment of mine. Obviously it does not -require energization to permit the effect." - -"Why not seal the thing in a metal case of some sort?" suggested -Virginia. - -"Think it might work?" - -"Maybe. At best, if you shield it well and keep it canned up, you can -be certain that anybody that comes through will emerge in a dark, -confined place." - -"Not necessarily," said Bronson. "Radio waves often disregard things -like shields and closed rooms. And, if I recall correctly, that feller -who came through and clipped me was parked out on the middle of the -floor some ten feet from the crystal." - -"If you're tired," suggested Virginia, "why not take it easy? You take -a snooze and I'll keep watch. You'll think better once you've had a bit -of rest." - -"But what will you do if--" - -Virginia smiled. She went to Bronson and touched his hip pocket with -the back of her hand. Ed nodded and took the automatic out of the hip -pocket and handed it to her. - -"I can't cover eight shots with the ace of spades," she said, hefting -the gun, "but I'd not miss an invader." - -"I'd like to clip a few of them myself," grunted Bronson. "First I'm up -all night. Then I'm clipped by one of them after only a short few hours -sleep; then the trip to the asylum, and now home. Yes, Virginia, I've -had all too little sleep. You'll be all right?" - -"Definitely," she told him. "From here on in, I'm unafraid--and in high -confidence." - -"Wake me in three hours," he told her. She nodded. - -He left, heading toward the bedroom. Virginia found a book and read it -quietly, keeping a weather eye on the space-resonant crystal in the -experimental kinescope set-up. A half hour later, Virginia put down her -book and tiptoed into Bronson's bedroom. He was sprawled on his back in -the deepest of slumber. - -Virginia went back to his laboratory and began to work on his gear. -It was late afternoon when she finished, which was quick enough -considering what Virginia had accomplished. It was her field of -science, this space-resonant technique, and Ed Bronson's laboratory was -rather complete. - -So simple, Virginia's plan. Setting a timer to reverse the equipment -after a pre-calculated time, Virginia composed herself on a chair and -waited. Again, her body faded bit by bit as she passed, molecule by -molecule, from Ed Bronson's laboratory. At a short interval beyond the -halfway point where Virginia's body sank into the floor, the machine -ceased its operation. - -Wraithlike, half of her in each world, Virginia was physically -powerless. But she knew that her equipment was working. The window of -Ed Bronson's laboratory had a strange appearance. - -It was not quite like the mixed-image impression received when viewing -different scenes simultaneously with the separate eyes. It was more -like viewing through a stereoscope, with one side taken in bright -sunlight and highly illuminated while the other photo had been taken -by moonlight. Also there had been years between the taking of the two -because things were not exactly the same. - -Of course, Virginia was not viewing one scene with each eye. The -process of transmission was not a passage similar to walking through -the door. The molecular transfer took place at random, a molecule from -here, a molecule from there. - -So Virginia viewed the scene in a truly indescribable state. Each eye -saw the same scenes--a mixed, foggy montage in poor register. - -But the illumination in the afternoon sky was unmistakable as Virginia -looked at the window that existed simultaneously in two worlds. She -smiled to herself as the equipment in Ed Bronson's laboratory reversed -automatically and started to return her to Earth One. - -Virginia had been halfway home. And her plan was halfway complete! - - - - - CHAPTER IX - - _Ill Wind_ - - -In the sky, high, high up--a stubby-winged drone circled above -Albuquerque thrice. Then it streaked away from the city and headed -toward Alamogordo. The pillar of fire was vicious and intolerably -bright and it silhouetted the fleet drone--though no one could stand to -watch the scene, regardless of the thickness of his eye-glasses. - -To all intents and purposes the drone vanished. - -But on the viewscreen in Harry Maddox's laboratory the pillar of fire -grew, expanded into the entire screen, covered it and made steering -ambiguous until Maddox dropped the nose of the fleet little craft so -that the field of view included the base of the atomic flame. - -The drone arrowed on and on and then came to a machine-made landing a -few thousand feet from the base of the flame. Maddox worked swiftly -now, for the heat of that devilish fire would ruin the equipment in all -too short a time. The equipment went to work. - -Then, like the snuffing of a candle flame, the scene went dark. The -pillar of fire disappeared and there was a thunderous roar as miles of -tortured air raced in to fill the vacuum created by the sudden absence -of intolerable heat. - -The thunderings shook the city of Albuquerque and the buildings rattled. - -In one of the homes Ed Bronson was shaken into wakefulness. He was -lying on the floor which was hard though not cold. - -He awoke dully. He felt the floor and had a quick impression of having -fallen from bed. Grinning sheepishly, Ed Bronson stood up and turned. -There was no bed! - -The thunderings diminished slowly and Bronson shook his head in wonder. -It had not been thunderstorm weather earlier this afternoon. But there -was no bed! - -"_Virginia!_" he called, running from the room. - -His house was empty of people. In fact his house was refurnished -completely. That fact he accepted dully, wondering what had happened -and why. It was too great a concept for him to grasp at once. He stared -dully at the strange rugs, chairs, appointments. He went into his -laboratory-- - -And found a complete nursery. In one corner was a crib but the infant -was missing. It had been used recently, for the bedding was warm--and a -bit damp. - -Bronson's mind whirled. Strange--strange. But not too strange, -considering. If _they_ were capable of sending some of their cohorts -through the veil that separated the two worlds, it was equally possible -for them to reach forth and grab someone from the other world. - -Bronson cursed angrily. - -He left the house quickly because he knew that, regardless of how -he had come here, he was an interloper. Bronson assumed that any of -the enemy who might be reaching for him--probably to prevent his -forestalling of their efforts--would not merely slip him through the -barrier and let him run loose. - -Whether something had gone awry in their transmission plans he did -not know, but he guessed that something had interfered because no man -attempting to grab an enemy would do other than to grab quickly and -keep him under supervision. - -So Bronson left the house quickly. - -He was an interloper--and, though helpless to do anything but run, he -was infinitely better off with his freedom than in capture, jail or, -more probably, death. - -Killing him on his own world would bring about the rather complex -problem of disposing of the corpse. While this is possible, it is -difficult to dispose of such a high degree of absolute contraband in -a civilization with which you are not over-familiar. So some lucky -accident had brought Bronson into this ill-fated Earth Two in a -residence instead of the laboratory or military establishments of the -imminent invaders. - - * * * * * - -Outside, Bronson knew that something was wrong. He wondered what it -was. It was vague, something that was missing from a mere sketchy -description but something rather important from a secondary--or was it -primary--viewpoint, something that did not jell. - -It was late afternoon. The sun was setting in the west. But there was -no pillar of atomic fire in the sky! - -The Miss Carlson of Earth Two had said that all of Albuquerque was -illuminated by the vastness of the pillar of incandescent flame that -reached from horizon to the sky. Where in the name of thunder-- - -The whirling madness spiraled in Bronson's mind with the never-ending -round of who, what, why, when and where. And driving that engine of -madness was the ever-present and ever-growing fear that the earth he -knew was threatened with death--while he could do nothing but stand by -and watch it die. - -And join it.... - -The light disappeared like the snuffing of a candle, and Maddox turned -to Kingston with a grim smile. "That's that," he said. - -Kingston nodded affably. "Now all we have to do is to complete our -plans." - -Maddox shook his head. "Remember that the stuff in Bronson's laboratory -is the only supercritical mass on Earth One. We can see through, of -course, but without that focal point we cannot cross over." He turned -and left the drone-control room, walking down the corridor towards the -other laboratory with Kingston beside him. Kingston was silent for a -moment. - -Then he nodded in self-satisfaction. "I'll send through a corps of -guards to protect it until we need it." - -"Better yet," said Maddox, "send through a couple of technicians to -separate it into subcritical masses until we need it. Then we can -prevent Earth Two from crossing." - -They turned the corner of the hallway and entered the original -laboratory. As they did so, Kingston caught the sight of the viewscreen -and stopped short, his jaw dropping. On the screen was the view of -Bronson's laboratory. Virginia was sitting idly in a chair watching the -equipment. - -Her attitude was not one of complete relaxation, nor was it one of deep -intent. Maddox and Kingston knew at once that Virginia was waiting -while the equipment ran automatically. - -Maddox leaped to the controls of his viewer and followed the cone of -energy from the crystal to Ed Bronson's bedroom. There he saw the -reason for the work. Ed Bronson's wraithlike body was in the last -stages of its disappearance from Earth One. - -"So," snapped Maddox. "That takes care of him!" - -"Rather clever, too," said Kingston, admiringly. "That's getting rid of -a body without fuss or bother or corpus delicti arising somewhere to -confront--My Lord! What's she doing?" - -Virginia, having seen the equipment come to its end of operation, had -run into the bedroom to check on whether Bronson had been transmitted. -Maddox had followed her back to Bronson's laboratory and Virginia was -opening the tube. She removed the crystalline mass and carried it to -the toolbench. Here she placed it on a two-foot slab of mild steel used -as a surface plate and was reaching for a hammer with her right hand -while her left hand groped for the cold chisel. - -Kingston's question was hypothetical. Both men knew what Virginia was -about to do. - -"Quick!" snapped Kingston. "Stop her!" - -"Check!" grunted Maddox, his hands leaping across the control panel. - -From the crystal between chisel and surface plate came the beam of -invisible energy that enfolded Virginia in its grasp. Unlike the slow -process of her own machines, the highly efficient techniques of Earth -Three effected the transfer in a matter of milliseconds. - -Virginia felt the wrench of a twisted spatial continuum, felt the -change as her body adjusted in level and knew briefly that somehow -something had gone terribly wrong. The scene before her eyes changed -like a flash-over in a moving picture and she faced Maddox and Kingston. - -"No you don't," said Kingston roughly. - -It was quite wrong. Her trained mind told her that in an instant. -Her first brief fear had been that someone from her own world had -interrupted her machinations and had grabbed her to prevent the -completion of her plans. That would have been quite logical. - -But the time interval had been too short. That proved to Virginia that -it was not of her own world, for had there been any acceleration in the -transfer process, she would have been notified. It was--to her logical -mind--quite improbable that such an advance could have been made in the -space-resonant techniques in the course of the few short hours during -which she had been absent from her own laboratory. - -Therefore, she reasoned, there was more to this than met the eye. - - * * * * * - -She recoiled before the men. Maddox smiled sourly at her and Kingston -gloated. "Going to reduce that crystal so that no one could follow -you," said Kingston. - -"Where--" - -Kingston smiled with self-gratification. He felt grandiose enough to -gloat a bit more. "This," he said expansively, "is what we term Earth -Three." - -"Three?" she echoed hollowly. - -"Some very brilliant people," chuckled Kingston, "reasoned that there -was the possibility of two outcomes to Alamogordo. But they never even -considered the possibility of the bomb failing completely. This is the -world where the bomb failed." - -"Failed!" said Virginia, completely overwhelmed with the implications. -Her tone was hollow, almost a psychopathic parroting of Kingston's -words. "Failed but...." she was incoherent. - -Kingston smiled again. "After all," he said, "the Alamogordo Test was -made to determine whether or not the bomb would actually work. Even -the finest brains of the day were not certain--and there was the -possibility of failure." - -"But--" - -"Here we are," said Kingston simply. - -"But if there was failure?" said Virginia falteringly, but with gaining -confidence, "how is it that you are so very well advanced?" - -"The failure of the bomb was temporary. A later model worked. But -in our world science is completely free and untrammeled. Unlike -your world, Virginia Carlson, where science is deeply regulated and -directed at one and only one idea, our science knows neither bonds nor -interference. - -"If you ever get outside in our world you will see atomic power in its -fullest use. You will see advances made that are and will always be -impossible in any system where a man or a group of men can direct in -any way the course of science." - -Virginia nodded glumly. "I know," she said. "I've always known of the -openings into fields of science that might lead to great things but -they were closed because of the necessity of pursuing the one idea -toward our future." - -Kingston nodded. He admitted the unhappy fact but his own position was -none too certain--or had not been until recently. - -"If your world is so excellent," asked Virginia bitterly, "why...?" - -"The time is approaching when only one future can remain," said -Kingston. "No one but an utter egomaniac would consider that the entire -universe is regulated for the benefit of mankind. We have yet to make a -real attempt to reach the other planets. Have you ever considered the -rather impossible proportions of this temporal fission? I doubt it. - -"Is, for instance, there a complete universe for each of the -time-trails? Or if Earth One and Earth Three both sent rockets to Venus -would they meet because Venus was common to both time streams? Think of -the energy required to separate a complete universe and ask yourself -whether you think it possible." - -"Energy has little to do with it," replied Virginia. "Who knows the -functioning of the thing we call time--possibly for the want of a -better word. Who knows why we have trepidation? Certainly the energy -required to cause a planet to falter in its orbit is not truly expended -but trepidation is caused by something that seems to require little or -no energy." - -"We're far from the original premise," said Kingston. "We may never -know whether or not the temporal paths are merely local or widespread. -It is not a matter of organic versus inorganic matter, for neither is -controlled nor directed from any of the other streams of time. - -"Were this not so, every time a workman lays a brick on Earth One the -same brick would move and be cemented in situ on the other two worlds. -And a car on the street might have an accident with a car common to all -three worlds but driven only by a driver on Earth One. - -"The point is," continued Kingston, "that the time is coming when this -triple existence must cease. Again it is the old principle of the -survival of the fittest. I am not a firm believer in a god, either -benevolent or vicious. Yet there is--or was--some agency that effected -this split because it was uncertain as to outcome." - -"What hope could there have been for Earth Two?" complained Virginia -bitterly. - -"Who knows?" replied Kingston. "There might have emerged from her -bitter necessity a solution of a lot of ills. Certainly I know -that, with the entire world working against that fatal menace, few -differences of ideology remain. In Earth Two, Virginia, the lion and -the lamb have lain together. - -"In fact," grinned Kingston, "you might be closer to allegory to state -that the eagle and the bear have a lot in common with lions, dragons -and others. It is," he admitted rather unhappily, "a factor that we, -here, have not been able to accomplish." - -"An ill wind--" said Virginia bitterly. - -"True," nodded Kingston. "But the fact remains that the three time -paths diverged because of some uncertainty. These same time paths -must ultimately come to one ending. We do not know the future--no one -does--but this we do know--That world which has the best factor of -survival will emerge as the one and only Earth. - -"We," said Kingston proudly, "have the best technical perfection, so -in any strife we must win. Therefore we are the ones to survive and we -are working toward that end. That is why we grabbed you. Your world is -doomed. We must ensure the doom of Earth One so that Earth Three is the -only one left." - - * * * * * - -Kingston turned to Maddox. "I think we might be wise to collect Ed -Bronson too," he said. "No use letting him run free. Find him and bring -him through too." - -Maddox nodded and went to work on the controls, setting the dial that -determined the depth of penetration to Earth Two. He worked rapidly, -sweeping the house that was cojacent with the house on Earth One. - -"Heck!" snapped Kingston. "He can't have gone very far. Of course she -sent him to her chums. Find them!" - -Maddox nodded and located Virginia's laboratory with ease. Moray -and Cauldron were there, working on the gear, but obviously getting -nowhere. Kingston shrugged. "Cover every place they might conceal -Bronson," he directed. - -To Virginia, he added, "It is most convenient that Earth Three lies -on the other side of Earth One from Earth Two. Were this not so, the -fumbling of your friends to penetrate the barrier between the streams -of time might cause them to stumble on us." - -"Why can't they get through to One?" asked the girl. - -Kingston smiled. "Within the hour," he said, "four keys will unlock -four safety deposit boxes in four different banks in Albuquerque. Each -box contains one subcritical mass of space-resonant elements. My men -are finishing the job you started, but this time the key to invasion -lies in my hands!" He turned to Maddox, who was fumbling with the -controls. "Find him yet?" he demanded. - -"No," grumbled Maddox. - -Kingston turned to Virginia. "You want to live," he told her in a very -matter-of-fact voice, "and therefore it is to your interest to see that -we do not permit Bronson to harm our plans. Where is he?" - -"I don't know," said the girl. "I merely sent him through." - -"You are a brazen little traitor," snapped Kingston. "I believe you! -You merely sent him through, you cared not where." - -Maddox spoke up. "That equipment she flanged up isn't the most -accurate," he said. "But I've covered the entire neighborhood. You -know, the closest mass of focal elements lies across the street, in -Earth Two, in the laboratory of Virginia Carlson. Therefore, lacking -direction and precision, she'd have sent him through to the focal zone -of her own gear." - -Virginia gasped. Partially blinded as she had been, half-aware of the -duplicity of her surroundings, close in the near-paralytic grip of the -transmission equipment, Virginia had retained sufficient cognizance -to know most definitely that when she looked through the veil, she -had been looking into a room that parallelled Bronson's laboratory in -shape, size and window-placement. - -It was not similar to her own. In her haste she had paid it little -attention. Her only thought had been to dispose of the man. Knowing -that there were no other critical masses on Earth One, she had felt -that anywhere he went was elsewhere. - -The implication was clear enough. She had sent Ed Bronson into Earth -Three, a simple mistake due to the fact that Two and Three were -situated almost equally distant and on opposite sides of Earth One. -Obviously, the crude equipment had selected the nearer critical -mass--which had been on Earth Three in a cojacent house and not through -to Earth Two and across the street to Virginia's own laboratory. - -Bronson, then, was on Earth Three, somewhere. - - - - - CHAPTER X - - _Counterfeit_ - - -Bronson found that the streets of the city were teeming with people -which was not what he had expected from his brief talk with Miss -Carlson of Earth Two. Bronson was absolutely certain that this was not -Earth Two at all, for it seemed unlike a world teetering on the brink -of death--even ignoring the main clincher of the pillar of atomic fire -mentioned by La Carlson, there was that vast and more-than-obvious -difference. - -Bronson shook his head in wonder. This was not unlike his own world, -yet there were subtle differences--subtle differences observable at -first glance, but becoming bold and glaring differences as Bronson -became more familiar with the street down which he walked. - -A bus went past--and did not leave a wake of evil-smelling pale blue -exhaust. A store on the corner advertised cigarette lighters which -bore the name _Irhinium_. Bronson knew of most of the cigarette -lighter companies by name and none of them bore such a name. He looked -more carefully and noted that certain vague references to _Irhinium_ -indicated that it was a trade name based upon the motive power of the -things. - -In this strange world to which he had been hurled, did they--by the -Great Harry--use atomic power to light their cigarettes? - -Bronson's mind, of course, was overwhelmed by the suddenness of events -and its natural inability to accept such a vast conglomeration of new -concepts at the same time. It merely watched, saw, cataloged. Anything -outrageous would be given the same consideration as something quite -normal in Bronson's nervous state of complete wonder. His mental state -bordered on shock. - -Noiselessly the traffic moved, noiselessly and without odor. Dress and -appointment were brilliant and entirely new. The overhead wires of Ed -Bronson's world were gone, as were the poles that bore them. Nor were -there street lights. Streetcars plied their routes with a minimum of -thundering racket but there was neither trolley above nor slot in the -street below. - -Bronson paused before a large toy shop and watched a man manipulating -an electric train. The miniature train had all the maneuverability of -a real train because of the multiplicity of controls under the fingers -of the man in the window. Beside the train was a large box containing -cubic bits of metal and non-metal. - -The explanation on the box said that the contents would build a -miniature fission-reacting pile that worked but which employed Kenium -metal instead of uranium since the use of the latter was dangerous, -requiring ton upon ton of fissionable material as well as a moderator. - -That was the clincher. - -Bronson's mind cleared once the facts were driven home. He was not on -Earth Two. He was most certainly not on Earth One. - -But Ed Bronson's mind leaped to the foregone conclusion with simple -reasoning. Earth One, Earth Two--and Earth Three, where the third -possibility had taken place at Alamogordo, on July sixteenth, 1945. -This was where the bomb had fizzled--and where, because of that, all -forms of atomic research went on without regulation. - -Not one world, not two worlds, _but three_! - -Well, there was a perfect way to check this. Bronson knew where the -library was, had used it often. It might still be there, for the one in -Earth One had been erected in--ah--he did not recall the date but it -was something like MDCCCLXXXVI. - -He turned the corner and walked down the proper street and, after -turning the second corner, Bronson saw it--in the same address and in -the same building. He wasted no time in finding the newspaper files. - - * * * * * - -July sixteenth, 1945, was uninformative. Bronson wondered what the same -paper printed in his own world said on that date but guessed that this -paper, a morning daily, might have been composed and on the press at -the time of the affair--if it had not been already printed. - -Of security angles for the era he studied, Bronson knew only the -mention made in history and tales spun by his father and cronies, -who had lived and worked at that time. So Bronson accepted the fact -that security might well have suppressed in both worlds--or even all -three--any traces of the Alamogordo Experiment for some time to come. - -He turned to the following day, July seventeen, 1945, and found -nothing. On the eighteenth, Bronson saw nothing truly informative but -there was an item printed as recorded from Radio Tokyo in which it was -claimed that the United States had asked for representatives of the -Japanese Government to come to America under a flag of truce. This was -construed to mean that the United States was considering surrender. - -Nothing was visible for several issues after that. Then a vast -headline--PEACE--shouted across the page and on page two of the paper, -was a brief explanation that the representatives had returned to Japan. -A columnist was demanding an answer to what and why the mystery. - -Another account from Radio Tokyo mentioned that, in a spirit of -humanity, Japan had surrendered rather than loose upon the entire world -a weapon so terrible as the representatives had been shown. - -Bronson nodded vaguely. The trail was getting intelligible. He at least -knew nothing of this latter fact. He thumbed his way through the paper -to the date of the Hiroshima Bomb and found nothing worthy of mention. -Nagasaki was not mentioned a week or so later and Bronson, none too -clear of his dates, covered days before and after his approximation -just to be certain. - -He pored through the paper and found many references to the Manhattan -Project, including one full newspaper, on the general lines of what he -recalled of the Smyth Report. - -A month later a Washington columnist printed a scoop. There had been a -test of an atom bomb at Alamogordo, he claimed, and the bomb had failed -to function. - -"Ah," said Bronson aloud. - -What came next? How the two worlds had become so socially and -technically different was something to be studied at a later date. For -the present Bronson felt that it was the time to start thinking about -action. - -He left the library and walked down the street thoughtfully. Here the -bomb had failed, here--and automatically Ed Bronson cataloged the -place as Earth Three--science was unfettered. - -So, he reasoned along two lines simultaneously, the transmission -of things from one plane to the other required the use of the -radioisotopic phosphor--Bronson did not know the conglomeration of -transuranic elements comprised an entire rare element group known as -the space-resonant series and so called them by the name he had known -them--and since this was so, he would be forced to investigate. - -Also, since Earth Three had no apparent regulation on scientific -research, it would probably be easy to obtain enough to go to work. The -unfortunate part of it was that his rather extensive bank account was -deposited in the First National Bank. Though it was situated within -three blocks of this very spot, its officers would view his very solid -checks as so much illegal paper. - -He smiled wryly. - -So here he was, isolated on an obviously alien world, with the weight -of his own earth on his shoulders, quite incapable of more than -scratching the surface. - -Lost--completely lost--in the troubled thought, Ed Bronson's trained -hands, by sheer reflex, dipped into his pocket for a cigarette. The -hands, finding none, notified the locomotor areas of his brain, which, -operating on sheer habit and reflex, sent a message to the eyes. - -The eyes looked around, though what they scanned made no impression on -the more conscious sections of Bronson's mind. They caught what was -wanted and the automatic process went on--the information went back to -the habit-section, directions went to the muscles and Bronson walked -towards the drug-store in absolutely the same state of coma as the -proverbial absent-minded professor. - -Too deeply engrossed in his thoughts to pay attention to the automatic -items, Ed Bronson's brain caused his voice to murmur a cigarette-brand -name. The cigarette came, and Bronson's right hand dipped into his -pocket and dropped a twenty-dollar bill on the counter. - -The clerk looked at it and mumbled, "Have to get change, mister." - - * * * * * - -Again unconsciously, Bronson's head nodded. - -Had anything evolved that was out of the normal routine, Bronson -would have been forced to take notice. But this was like driving an -automobile or riding a bicycle. It required no conscious effort so long -as nothing demanded decision. - -Nothing demanded decision. The decision was made for him. He felt a -heavy hand on his shoulder and felt it turn him so that he faced--His -mind came back to his surroundings like a snapped rubber band. A -policeman! - -"What's the idea?" demanded the latter. - -"What idea?" asked Bronson. - -"Counterfeit money." - -"That isn't it--" - -The policeman laughed nastily. "Looks perfect," he admitted. "But I -might point out that E. Thomas Froman is not the secretary of the -United States Treasury." - -"Huh?" grunted Bronson. - -"A perfect counterfeit excepting that the wrong fellow signed it," -snapped the policeman. "What's the idea, fellow? I take it you don't -mind counterfeiting but dislike being jailed for forgery?" - -"I don't get it." - -"You will," smiled the policeman with great self-satisfaction. "Come -along. Counterfeit money is a bad thing to have in your possession." - -Bronson cursed himself. He had even more. - -Anticipating distastefully his second visit to the police station in as -many days, Ed Bronson emerged from the squad car behind the policeman. -This was one of the basic differences. This was not by far the same -place he had been in before and the seriousness of his position made Ed -Bronson smile whimsically. - -If not the only one ever to do it, he believed himself at least the -first man ever to be jailed in two jails on two worlds--or on one world -separated by only time. It was "doing time" with a vengeance! - -With the policeman following him, Bronson went into the building, -upstairs and into a room filled with scientific equipment. His quick -mind decided that, on this world, advances had also been made in -criminology. But he was forced to wait and see, for none of the -equipment made sense to Bronson. What the police did with it, how it -separated criminal from citizen, Bronson had no idea. - -"--passed a twenty dollar bill signed by E. Thomas Froman as Secretary -of the United States Treasury," said the policeman. - -"Clever of you, officer." - -"Thank you. The shopkeeper merely assumed it to be counterfeit. I knew -better." - -"This, officer, is Ed Bronson--of Earth One," said Kingston. - -Bronson jumped visibly. They knew him! Then he realized that they must -certainly know him because they had kidnaped him through the barrier -in time. This, of course, was erroneous, for it had been Virginia's -machinations that had brought him here. On the other hand, the error -made little difference so far as its end-result went, for it was true -that they knew him and also that they were quite glad to have him under -their thumbs. - -"So you're the birds who grabbed me?" he said brashly. - - * * * * * - -Kingston grinned wolfishly. He saw little reason for letting Bronson -know that another had accomplished what he himself had wanted. - -"We're glad to see you," said Kingston. - -"No doubt," snapped Bronson. "The pleasure is all yours." - -"Don't be petty," laughed Kingston. - -Bronson turned around to see what the other man--Maddox, of course--was -doing. Maddox had stopped using the space-resonant viewer, but the -screen depicted a street on Earth Two, which was obvious since there -were twin shadows cast, one by the sun and one by the atomic flame. - -Bronson knew it by reputation if in no other way. So he nodded at it -and said, scathingly, "Convenient way to spy on your neighbors, isn't -it?" - -Kingston nodded and smiled. And Bronson knew that the real menace to -Earth One was not the fear-filled, already-dying Earth Two with its -growing cancer of atomic flame, but this free, lusty Earth Three where -science had been unrestricted in scope and field and direction. - -Superior in the knowledge that they controlled the entire situation -because of their higher degree of varied sciences, men of Earth Three -were quite capable of biding their time and aiding in any scheme -planned by Earth Two--or perhaps Earth One--that would enhance the -future of Earth Three. - -Bronson saw them as conquistadores, watching savages fight over a lush -island and waiting for the least difficult moment to release all the -terrors of modern civilization to defeat both sides. - -"So what happens to me?" he snapped. - -"Unwittingly you have served us," said Kingston. "We could not get -through to you so long as you possessed no critical mass of the -space-resonant elements--" - -"What--" - -"Among the chemical compounds you were playing with, there are several -of the transuranic elements created by the atomic pile," explained -Kingston, falling back into his superior attitude. "These form a -rare-element group known as the space-resonant series and they respond -to one another in many ways. - -"Some of them are bizarre compared to the theories held by your -so-called modern physics. We use them as matter transmitters and it is -a rare home that has none for the delivery of merchandise." - -"So?" - -"So," laughed Kingston, "when you finally collected your critical mass -you enabled us to enter your Earth One, as we call it." - -"And?" - -"Your engineer's mind can reason out the rest," replied Kingston -quietly. - -"You mean that sooner or later one of the three must cease?" - -"Yes. To prove it, I shall pose a question. Have you ever considered -whether the entire universe was following triple time-paths or whether -it is only this section of the universe?" - -"Not vitally," replied Bronson. - -"Then think about it," said Kingston. "You'll have time." - -"I--?" - -"You'll have time. We have the power and the science and the will and -the ability to effect those necessary factors that will cause Earth -Three alone to survive." - -Bronson was forced to admit that Kingston was quite correct. Though -he said nothing nor gave any sign that he agreed, Bronson was forced -to agree that Earth Three was deep in its plans while Earth One lay -complacently in ignorance of its danger. The only man who had any -inkling of their danger was himself--and he had tried to warn them only -to be greeted as a lunatic. - -He wanted desperately to know about Virginia but was afraid to ask--or -even to show that he had hope. If she were back there and safe-- - -Kingston smiled tolerantly. "You might as well relax," he said. "There -will be no return to Earth One for anybody until we are ready." He -explained about the division of the space resonant elements into four -subcritical masses. "It even prevents those from the doomed Earth Two -from entering." - -Bronson remained silent. - -"And the stuff in your laboratory is the only critical mass existent on -Earth One," added Kingston. - -Bronson's heart leaped and it was with all of his effort that he -kept that gleam of hope from showing. They did not know nor had they -detected the mass used by Virginia in her laboratory--could it be -because her set-up was inefficient as she admitted? Bronson breathed a -prayer that they would never find out. - -But it gave him hope--a hope that permitted him to relax for the moment -instead of breaking into action, however futile. Bronson's feelings -had been one of frustration, an almost overwhelming desire to beat his -fists against something even though it was futile--the insane desire to -strike a blow, however minute. - -"Until later," said Kingston, "you will occupy a room upstairs. Whether -or not you survive with us will depend upon how you behave. I assure -you that dying for a principle is futility personified and that a live -traitor surpasses a dead fanatic." - - - - - CHAPTER XI - - _Reunion on Earth Three_ - - -In a small but comfortable room in Maddox's laboratory Bronson found -time to object to Kingston's statement that anyone adhering to a -principle is automatically a fanatic. A fanatic, according to one of -Bronson's rather cynical definitions, was any man who adhered to a set -of principles at variance with your own. - -Time went on slowly and it became dark eventually. Bronson could hardly -believe that he had been a free and happy scientist but a few days ago, -that all that had happened to him had occurred in so short a time. - -He had taken a few hours of sleep not long ago but it was insufficient. -Now, with the entire program at a standstill, nervous reaction set in -and the enforced inactivity drove Bronson deep into the fatigue he had -been ignoring because of nervous energy. He sprawled on the bed and -stared at the ceiling for a short time--and then slept. - -Bronson awoke much later and saw by his watch that it was about three -o'clock in the morning. By then he was slept out and quite ready to -test his brain and his body against Kingston and Maddox. - -Lying on the bed Bronson tried to plan. - -The main problem was to effect an exit and take a look around--cooped -up here he could do nothing at all. His mind, having been geared to -fast action for days, was now craving more action. It was like a drug. -And a portion of his mind told him that if all this could happen in a -short time, there was reason to believe that more concentrated action -might solve the puzzle. - -So Bronson arose and inspected the door. The place had not been -designed as a prison. The door was a normal door and the lock was a -flimsy affair intended to serve merely as a warning to the uninvited -that the room was forbidden. It would give no trouble at all to someone -determined to enter--or to get out. - -Bronson smiled in the dim moonlight. Undoubtedly, Kingston felt that, -with no place to go, Bronson's freedom was unimportant. - -He went to the closet and found a couple of wire coat-hangers. One of -these he twisted into a small hook to probe the lock. It was a simple -single-tumbler bolt lock and Bronson lifted the tumbler easily and slid -the bolt back. The door opened on oiled hinges and he was in the clear. - -His first move was to the street door. That was heavily locked and -barred and, engineer that Ed Bronson was, picking a lock of that -calibre was beyond his ability. He checked the windows but every -window was equipped with a slender, ornamental grille-work that was as -effective a barrier as the plain bars of the average jail. - -Bronson shrugged. Whatever the score, whatever the outcome, he had -to make some move. Not the kind of idiotic physical strife against -Kingston and his minions which would get him only a broken head with -nothing gained, but some move based upon the thing that Bronson knew -best. He knew little of the space-resonant communicator but there was a -bare chance of his finding out. - -Virginia--what had happened to her in the melee? Had she escaped and, -if so, could he communicate with her from Kingston's gear upstairs. Or -was Virginia also a prisoner in this scientific mausoleum? - -Questions all--and no answers. Bronson felt complete futility once more. - -He raced upstairs. If the space resonator would cross the temporal rift -to Earth One, it would also cross to Earth Two. Perhaps, he reasoned, -with greater difficulty because Earth One was the focal point and the -more stable. And, if what little he knew about Earth Two were correct, -Earth Two might well never learn of Earth Three despite the presence on -all hands of the focal elements. - -Delving into the lesser facets of a science was not permitted on Earth -Two. Some high brass on Earth Two must have viewed the transmission -possibilities of the space-resonant elements and decided that they were -to be used for transportation and communication and nothing more. Some -brass with fear, pardonably ignorant of the fact that just beyond his -fingertips in the depths of an unknown science lay hidden the secret -that would give them hope. - -So much for regulated science! - - * * * * * - -The equipment was mostly of mass-manufacture. That helped. Nameplates -were written in plain enough English and the controls were not -difficult to understand. Bronson studied it quite some time before -making his first move, then reached forward and snapped on the master -switch. - -He turned the switch marked "video" and the screen came to life. -Maddox had made pencil-marks on the power dial to indicate the depth -of penetration necessary to reach both of the other temporal worlds. -Bronson tried Earth One gingerly and saw his own home. Maddox had left -the controls set when the news of Bronson's capture had come. - -Bronson tried the steering controls and sent the plane of view along -the silent street of his own world. It went on a skew because the -line-up of angles was imperfect and Bronson found that he had to -manipulate a side-swing control in conjunction with the line control -to keep the plane of view from angling off into the houses that lined -the street. - -Then, with the equipment's secrets available for him to study, Bronson -abandoned such study in order to think and plan more thoroughly. - -The lock upon his door was certainly not the kind that any man in his -right sense would use to imprison any but a schoolchild. That did not -ring true, even though Kingston and Maddox held him in contempt and -knew that Bronson could never return to Earth One. - -There was more to it than that. He turned back to the equipment and set -the depth-dial to zero-zero. Then, with an amused shock, Bronson was -looking at a view of himself who was looking at the viewscreen upon -which was the same picture. Lack of definition in the picture elements -prevented the scene from being repeated to the infinitely small. - -But there was no time for fooling. So Ed Bronson lifted the plane -of view and passed the plane entirely through the top floor of the -building. He brought it back once it had reached the back and repassed -it again, setting it aside by nine-tenths of its span. On the fourth -pass Bronson saw something, plucked at the switches and rotated the -plane of view. - -Here was a small room. Two cots were there with a sleeping man in each. -They were in uniform. A third man lounged in an easy chair--asleep. - -Bronson breathed more easily. For, on a small portable viewer, was the -bedroom that Bronson had recently vacated. Guards, obviously, and one -of them luckily eligible for court-martial for sleeping on his watch! - -Bronson spun the distance dial wildly, and saw a kaleidoscope of color, -land, rock, and stream. He cared not where it was that he came upon the -supercritical mass of space resonant elements--all he cared was that it -was a goodly distance away. - -He did smile when he saw the name of the store on the window--not -that he could read it for, to Ed Bronson, lettering in Russian might -as well be read from either inside or outside or upside-down or -backwards--because he had a hunch that uniformed guards trying to -explain their undesirable presence in a Russian store would be at a -loss to explain how they had got there. - - * * * * * - -His hand found the key marked TRANSMISSION and he saw all three guards -land on the hard cold floor, awake, and start to ask themselves what -had happened. - -He left them to their wonder, though he admitted that at any less -strenuous time it would be most interesting to watch their complete -discomfort and amazement. He brought back the scene of view and -continued to pass the plane back and forth through the building. On -the floor below the guards--in the apartment next to his own place of -imprisonment--the field of view passed over a bed. A tousle of hair and -an outstretched arm caused Bronson to blink. - -"Virginia!" he breathed. - -They had captured her, too. Well. That meant some saving in time. -Virginia would help him. Since the mass of crystals in his own lab -had been reduced to non-operative masses and well separated, the only -other possible mass was that in Virginia's place. What they would do, -of course, was to get back on Earth One and subdivide her crystals into -ineffectual masses and then instigate a search for the parts of his -own. Once he locked the invaders out they could so remain forever. - -Bronson nodded happily. He continued to sweep the plane of view through -the building until he came upon Maddox and Kingston. With a grin, he -delivered both of them to the same store in Siberia and then returned -to the contemplation of his problem. - -It seemed a shame to abandon all this gear. And if he took Virginia -back with him, through this machine, someone would know instantly where -they had gone. There was no known way of fouling up the controls after -no one was left in the laboratory to do it. - -And despite his amusement at the idea of several irate people trying -to explain to an irate officialdom why, how and wherefor, Bronson knew -very well that Kingston and Maddox would be able to talk their way home -in all too short a time. - -Certainly far too short a time to transport the equipment he wanted. - -Virginia? Bronson shrugged. He kept forgetting that she knew actually -less about this sort of thing than he did. She had said that her gear -was far less efficient than his. - -Bronson sent the plane of view skimming forward across the earth again, -and then thoughtfully set it for Earth Two. Far away from New Mexico, -in the lake region of Northern Michigan, Ed Bronson found a small -cottage--untenanted but with a supercritical mass of the space-resonant -elements available. - -Then Bronson expanded the volume of transmission to its utmost, turned -up the variac on the line voltage to overload proportions to add to the -general increase and then, wondering if he were rushing in where an -angel would fear to tread and also remembering that a little knowledge -is often a very dangerous thing, Ed Bronson shoved the transmitting -switch in with a gesture of finality.... - -Upstairs, in the room next to Bronson's previous place of imprisonment, -Virginia Carlson, formerly of Earth Two, was sleeping easily. Her first -big decision had been made--her decision to accept the pleasant aspect -of Earth One forever, eschewing her former life. People who insist -upon absolute loyalty will scorn her decision. Yet from a pragmatic -standpoint, Virginia was correct even though she may have been morally -and ethically wrong. - -For her own Earth Two had been a sorry place indeed, peopled with -neurotics and hopeless mutants, the population more than decimated -by the bomb and its radiation effects. Of a minor percentage of the -population of Earth Two, Virginia was inclined to view the wholesome -and happy population of Earth One as her own kind. Certainly, as a -whole and healthy woman in all senses of the word, Virginia did belong. - -The decision had not been made without a wrench. It had most definitely -been a huge decision. It is never easy to give up an existence -completely even though it is less than desirable because of loyalties -and friendships made. - -Yet the practical aspect was important. Nature--human nature--had -created Virginia's decision, not the girl herself. For her life on -Earth Two, threatened as it was with extinction within a few short -years, violated the very concepts of nature. - -First, there is the eon-old instinct for self-preservation. Few -mentalities will accept self-negation for the benefit of other people. -No stable mentality will accept self-negation when it means little to -anyone. - -And why her subconscious mind reasoned, should she aid in the -destruction of a healthy civilization for the benefit of a civilization -already doomed? - -No more selfish than anyone else, Virginia knew that nothing she could -do would render the people of her own world a healthy race--not after -radiation and death and the nerve-shattering fear had taken its toll -for thirty years. So Virginia's initial decision had been made. - -Then had come Earth Three. And once the abandonment of the first -principle had been done, Virginia no longer had loyalty upon which to -fall back. Once the idea of self-preservation had come to the fore, it -was a mere matter of selecting her future from the practical standpoint -alone. - - * * * * * - -Earth Three certainly had what it took to win. In a culture unhampered -by brass-hattism science had made vast strides. From her history she -knew that science was a vital factor in any strife and had been for a -century or more. - -No longer was it possible for a group of farmers to rebel and make it -stick. In the American Revolution any armed man was as good as any -armed soldier--better in many cases since the armed farmer was not -restrained by certain codes and restrictions. - -But for years the armed farmer, though willing and able, was not -possessed of the weapons of modern warfare. Tanks are not needed on -a farm. Flamethrowers are not a household item. Machine-guns are -inefficient against ducks and geese. Pursuit aircraft and bombers do -not find much service in a peacetime civilization. - -So science had removed the concept of Mr. Colt's Equalizer, for while -the Colt made all men equal, its superior developments rendered a -trained and equipped army far superior to the most avid of citizen -armies. - -In a similar vein Earth Three, with its unbounded science was, without -a doubt, more capable of survival in this affair. - -Especially when their objective, Earth One, was lying silently, -enjoying its luxury, and not even suspecting the widespread -preparations going on. Earth One would be swarmed under and destroyed -before it realized what was going on. - -Well, reasoned Virginia, since she had decided to accept a future, -eschewing her former life on Earth Two, it remained only for her to -accept whichever future seemed the most secure. - -So Virginia Carlson slept easily, feeling that she had, by chance or -by luck, been inserted into the one future that promised the most. Her -dreams were untroubled. - -The building groaned in the cry of tortured metal and stone. It dropped -in a plaster-cracking jar a full half yard, then tilted swiftly to one -corner and stopped, settling gradually as the slack was taken up. The -roaring groan ceased and left only the crackling sound of fissures -running through concrete, the flaking of scale from ironwork, and -unimportant splintering and cracking of timber. - -Virginia awoke with a cry of fear. - -She heard footsteps on the stairs and she wondered what had happened. -She knew that Maddox and Kingston were experimenting and wondered -whether they had touched off something dangerous. Earthquake came to -mind and she wondered about it. - -Earthquakes were nothing new to Virginia, since the atomic fire that -burned deep into the bowels of Earth Two had released surface strain -from time to time as it ate its way through compressed rock-strata. - -She sat up in bed and reached for her clothing. No matter what it was -it was still better to face trouble dressed. - -She was slipping into her frock when the door burst open and, there was -Ed Bronson--whom she believed that she had sent to Earth Two. Virginia -recoiled automatically. - -[Illustration: There was Ed Bronson--whom she believed she had sent to -Earth Two.] - -"Hi," said Bronson cheerfully. - -Virginia blinked--mentally, actually and figuratively. According to her -mental record of the proceedings, Bronson had every right to extract -any penalty he deemed fit. - -Dubiously, she replied, "Hi." - -"Cheer up," he told her, not noticing her nervousness. "I've just -swiped the entire batch--the whole shooting match. Now we can work this -out all by ourselves." - -Virginia nodded vaguely. - -Bronson noticed her uncertainty. "I've just expanded the field of focus -or whatever it's called that used to transmit stuff from one temporal -plane to the other--and I've shoved you, me, building, foot, horse and -marines into Earth Two to get away from that gang." - -Virginia recoiled mentally. After all the mad work, the planning, the -acceptance of a plan intended to place her in a more desirable future, -here she was right back in Earth Two--doomed once more to the creeping -atomic flame. - - - - - CHAPTER XII - - _Dawn in Flame_ - - -Virginia followed Bronson down to the laboratory in a daze, and she -comprehended only about one half of what he was saying. The one thing -that she did not understand was why he knew nothing of Earth Two. She -believed she had sent him there and the double transfer should have -awakened him. - -That should have left him aware of his transfer to Earth Three when -Kingston kidnaped him. - -Kingston could have told her that the bright sky light she saw in her -half-state had been but the temporarily-transferred atomic flame but -Kingston was not there. So instead of wanting to kill her summarily for -her double-cross, Ed Bronson still believed that she was originally of -Earth One, had been kidnaped as he had been. - -Virginia did find it a bit amusing--perhaps it was the hysteria that -acts as a safety valve when things are so unreasonable that the mind -will not accept them without seeking its funny side. - -Dawn was breaking as Bronson finished his explanation and, as the light -increased, he turned to the equipment and said, "We've got this all to -ourselves here. I couldn't find your crystal on Earth One--and besides, -if Kingston can flange up some means of detecting the presence of the -stuff on Earth One, there'd be but that one to detect. - -"And I couldn't set this mausoleum down on Earth One near any city -street. No room. I'm assuming that your diggings are in the city?" - -He did not wait for Virginia to answer, but turned to the equipment and -started to look it over in earnest. "This," he said, "I've got to know -more about." - -Virginia could have told him but she merely nodded vaguely and said -nothing. She thought it over. - -"Have you any hope at all of saving your world?" she asked--and then -gasped because she had not said "our world." - -She might have saved her fear, for he did not notice. "Some," he said, -straightening up from the gear and looking at her with a half smile. - -"Do I sound disloyal," she said tremulously, "if I suggest that if -Earth Three wins we have the means here to join them?" Virginia hoped -to gain some idea of his feelings on the subject so that she could -calculate his intentions. - -Bronson shook his head grimly. "Earth Three," he said, "appears to have -all the cards. No one doubts that Earth Two is doomed and is no true -menace compared to Three. Earth Three is cognizant of its possible fate -and is most certainly working furiously to avoid it." - -"They plot and plan against Earth One while Earth One sleeps in the -peace of false security. Lord knows, I've tried to tell them, and they -are so incapable of understanding this affair that they tried to slap -me in the clink for believing it." He laughed bitterly. "When I was a -kid in school they tried to tell me that any man who tells the truth -has nothing to fear." - -"But if Earth Three wins--as it seems certain to do?" she insisted. - -"That would be bad," he said. - -"Why?" - -"Virginia," he said soberly, "I don't quite know what it is but there's -something very wrong with Earth Three. Confound it, it's simple enough, -too, but for the life of me I cannot see it." - -"What can be wrong with a world where science and knowledge are not -suppressed?" - -"I don't know," he said irritably. "But there's something wrong with -Earth Three." He turned back to the gear again. "The one thing we -must be on the watch for is the day when Kingston sends word for his -trustees to assemble his space-resonant materials into a supercritical -mass. - -"Also we must watch to see that he does not use yours. I'm going to -duplicate this equipment first and then your job will be to keep an eye -on Kingston all the time while I work out this stuff." - -Bronson looked around him with a cynical smile. "Books, data, -equipment, and supplies," he said. "This is not like finding the -science of an ancient culture. This is a man finding a complete means -of study of a science of his own civilization removed but a few years -to the future. - -"I've often laughed," he went on cheerfully, "at what Volta and -Henry might think if they saw a modern circuit. But give them books, -equipment and material and they would work it out soon enough. - -"Radio, for instance, would have had its inception in the middle of the -nineteenth century if twentieth century measuring and testing equipment -and books had been handy. So," he strode over to a bookcase and took -out a heavy tome, "we work this out." - -Virginia shook her head unhappily. "Why, oh why did this thing happen?" - - * * * * * - -Bronson smiled tolerantly. "Because of the chances," he said -thoughtfully. "I'm no believer in a great and benevolent god who -interferes with his subjects. I'm more inclined to look upon God as an -intellect interested in the problems of his subjects and quite willing -to let them work out their own destiny--if for no other reason than to -discover whether He had built well. - -"You cannot know how good your toy is if you insist upon helping it -over the difficult places with your hands. It must run of itself to be -a good model. - -"Now I'm not exactly convinced that Nature or God was baffled by -this thing that His toy built and therefore held His benevolent--but -baffled--hand in the stream of time to see which was the best. - -"I'm inclined to think there was a good scientific explanation of why -time should have split three ways--why in one case the earth entered -fission, why the thing worked properly in another time-stream and why -the Alamogordo Bomb fizzled in a third." - -"Can you find out why--and what it could have been?" she asked. - -He laughed shortly. "It isn't mumbo-jumbo or magic," he said. "All of -the things attributed to mumbo-jumbo are based upon facts not known to -those who observe the effects. The very fact that there was some doubt -about the outcome of the Alamogordo Bomb proved that the best brains -knew their knowledge of nuclear physics was incomplete." - -Virginia nodded brightly. "So you think that some unknown factor caused -the trouble?" - -"Obviously. We know that fissionable materials do operate. The -Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs were of different types of material, -giving us at least two different proofs of its operation. We have too -little knowledge of Earth Three but I'm reasonably certain that, once -the original experiment failed, fissionable reactions took place and -are taking place now. We know even less of the affair of Earth Two. We -don't know but can assume that later attempts would turn out properly." - -Virginia said nothing. She nodded sagely, and her nod was based upon -the fact that she knew he was right but could not say so lest she be -forced to tell the rest of her story. - -"So," he said, "we can assume that something was either generated or -present in the mixture at Alamogordo that, in one case, stopped the -reaction, in the next case, permitted the thing to work and, in the -third case, started the atomic fire in the earth." - -"How do you go about finding it?" she asked. Virginia was interested. -This theory was new to her, but it sounded reasonably solid. - -He grinned unhappily. "The trouble with making experiments in atomic -explosions is that it leaves so little stuff to measure afterwards." He -lifted a crystal of the space-resonant elements and looked at it with -wrinkled forehead. - -"Something in this crystal holds the answer. I think we should analyze -this material right down to the most infinitesimal trace. Then we can -find out which of the included elements is responsible for the original -problem." - -"I can help," said Virginia. - -He smiled grimly. "Your job is to keep an eye on Maddox and Kingston. -See if you can locate their men on Earth One, also see what you can do -toward locating those four subcritical masses. We must keep Kingston -and the rest of his gang from entering Earth One." He looked at her -thoughtfully. "Also keep an eye on your own collection." - -Virginia smiled and nodded. She looked him squarely in the eye and -said, "My collection of those elements is very small." - -"Um," he said. "It's more than possible that the various functions of -the space-resonant elements depends upon their mass. For instance, a -small quantity might be suitable for mere communication--a larger -quantity may be required for the visual communication, while a still -larger mass is needed for a physical transfer. - -"How their division comes with respect to the transfer of objects or -messages from time plane to time plane is something that might be -baffling." - -"But what are you going to do right now?" asked Virginia. - -"First, I'm going to see what can be done about building a detector -for the supercritical masses," he said. "Then we're going to do some -micro-analysis on these crystals." - -Virginia was silent. She was not entirely convinced that there was -something wrong with the culture on Earth Three. Earth Three obviously -had all of the scientific cards, what with years of research and no -restrictions or regulations. - -However, Virginia was content to remain where she was for a short time. -There was little point in making an abrupt change just then. Any moment -that danger threatened Virginia knew that she could escape to Earth -Three and be safe. Her decision to remain was based upon her lifetime -of training on Earth Two. - -Regardless of any decision to eschew a former life, the training of a -lifetime will remain. That Virginia had no intention of remaining on -Earth Two did not remove her interest in the main problem of her life. -Bronson had some theories that were interesting. Therefore Virginia was -content to remain and learn all she could. - -Such knowledge might come in handy at a later date. - - * * * * * - -Leader Kingston leaned back against a counter and regarded his cohorts -with a cold stare. Maddox growled in his throat and the three guards -cowered because theirs had been a crime punishable by death for -hundreds of years. - -"Well," asked Maddox, "what do we do now?" - -"The first thing," said Kingston sharply, "is to locate ourselves." - -"That shouldn't be hard," said Maddox, looking around. Kingston nodded, -regarding his wrist watch. - -"It is near-morning in New Mexico," he said. "Where we are now is -midnight." - -"It's also cold--and that lettering on the window is Russian. We are -in eastern Siberia." - -Kingston made some calculations. "We're lucky at that," he said. "So -long as morning comes in Washington before morning comes here we are -in no great danger. The fact is," he added, regarding his watch once -more, "that the monitors will be taking up their regular duty in a few -minutes. Otherwise we might have no end of trouble." - -Maddox shrugged. A pajama-clad man has little dignity and very little -authority. To be trapped in a foreign country--one whose politics -differ from your own--under highly suspicious circumstances might well -result in a long period of enforced inactivity. Bronson had been in a -hurry when he had performed the shipping operation. Had he taken time -to think it over, Bronson would have sent them to some place where -their arrival would have brought them instant apprehension. - -But Bronson had been in a hurry and his only desire was to ship them -to some spot not fitted with instant means of escape. He would have -preferred some place where no space-resonant element existed but that -was impossible since the technique demanded a focal mass. - -"So," said Kingston, showing Maddox the silvery-metal band on his -wrist, "as soon as the monitors take over and locate me, we'll--" - - * * * * * - -He disappeared in mid-sentence and Maddox followed a few seconds later. -The guards vanished at regular intervals, leaving the Russian store -vacant once again. - -Minutes later Kingston and Maddox emerged from a standard transmission -building not far from the site of the laboratory. Maddox was puzzling -openly. "Bronson has probably ripped the tuning circuit from my -receiver," he said. "But what would that gain him?" - -"Only a few minutes more time," said Kingston. "Instead of our landing -back home again, we must use a standard line and walk a few squares. -I--look!" - -"Heaven!" breathed Maddox. - -The laboratory site was, naturally, vacant. - -"I didn't think it possible," said Maddox. - -"But where did he take it?" wondered Kingston. - -"Who knows?" said Maddox, spreading his hands. - -"We can find out but it will take time. My guess is Earth Two -somewhere. He'd be a fool to stay here where he can be found easily." - -"It wouldn't be too easy if Bronson has hashed up the keyed tuning -circuit," grunted Maddox angrily. "Confound it, that reduces the -problem to one of searching two worlds for the right mass of elements." - -Kingston shook his head. "We're about ready," he said. "Give us another -week or so and we can eliminate all opposition." His face hardened. "In -fact, we can start to spread the atomic fire on Earth Two at any time." - -They turned back to the standard transmission building and returned to -Washington. There was nothing they could do without the laboratory and -there were other, well-equipped laboratories in Washington. Actually, -so far as the operations in the space-resonant bands were concerned, -location meant very little. It had been merely convenient to locate in -Maddox's place. - -Once returned to Kingston's official building, the leader set his -operatives to checking the supercritical masses in the vain hope of -locating one of them that existed in the stolen laboratory. - -Bronson's statement that he wanted a detector did not mean -none existed. All forms of communication require the two main -components--generator and detector. Kingston's men, to track down the -stolen laboratory, merely tuned through the space-resonant bands, -stopping every time they hit a response so that they could check the -neighborhood visually. - -What Bronson wanted was not a mere detector. He wanted some means -of knowing definitely when the subcritical masses of his own -space-resonant elements were reassembled. This is comparable to a -device that will register whenever a radio transmitter is turned on, -regardless of frequency or location. - -Bronson knew that the tuning qualities of the space-resonant effects -depended mostly on the mass of the crystals. He knew the mass of his -own stuff but that had been formed to serve as fluorescent material -and the amount of the space-resonant elements in that mass was -uncertain--especially in view of the fact that Earth One was still to -learn of the space-resonant bands. - -So Bronson's knowledge of the mass of his own crystal did not include -the proportion of these new elements and therefore he had little -knowledge of how the divided masses would resonate. - -It was quite a project--but it had to be done. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - - _To Find the Plan_ - - -Cautiously, Virginia entered the laboratory and peered over Ed -Bronson's shoulder. "What are those?" she asked. - -"Amplifiers," he explained. "I'm hoping to locate the subcritical -masses." - -Virginia looked dubious. "Where did you get them?" she asked. - -He grinned boyishly, "Stole 'em. I searched the laboratories of Earth -Three and came up with four of their best. Earth Three does have some -advantages." - -"Most of them, I fear," said Virginia. - -"Yeah, but there's something wrong there." - -Virginia asked, "What can be wrong with that kind of technical advance?" - -"It isn't only their technical perfection that is wrong. That is fine, -and something that Earth One will achieve in the due course of time. -There's something else--something basic. Maybe," he grinned, "it is -feminine intuition, but it has to be there." - -Bronson nodded firmly and then turned to his amplifiers. The closer one -he turned upside down on the table and looked into for a time. Then, -absently, Bronson reached for a screwdriver and probed into the chassis -with the business end. - -Virginia gave a cry, "No!" - -[Illustration: "No!" cried Virginia, as Bronson probed into the -apparatus.] - -"No?" he echoed, turning slightly to face her. "It's turned off." - -Virginia paused. A moment of wait and her worry about Bronson would -have been over. After touching the charged electrode in the way he was -about to do, Virginia would have been alone and free to go to Earth -Three complete with the laboratory, or to wait and see whether One -or Three was successful in the imminent warfare and go to whichever -emerged victorious. - -She knew that Bronson was quite capable of isolating both of them -after collecting the only mass of space-resonant elements on Earth -One. He would do that as a last resort to save the rest of his world, -regardless of whether he received any acclaim or not. And death would -be his reward. For once Earth One was safe, Two and Three would perish -and both of them with it. - -Yet Virginia found admiration in her heart for this man. Bronson, -against great odds, had succeeded in coming this far. He may have made -an error in his belief that there was something fundamentally wrong -with Earth Three but, none the less, he was possessed of a certain -drive and purpose that made her admire him. - -"All right, Ed," she told him. "I know more about those amplifiers than -I could possibly know had I been truly of Earth One." - -He turned and faced her slowly. - -"I am Virginia--Carlson," she said. - -"Carlson?" - -"Carlson. I am the woman you contacted with your hybrid space -resonator." Then came the rest of the story from beginning to end. -"Curse me if you feel like it, Ed Bronson, but what normal human being -would care to spend the rest of her life on a dying world--or to open -the door of a fine world to the hapless, horrible mutants who have no -future beyond their own life-endings?" - -Bronson nodded. "I am no judge," he said solemnly. "Offhand it seems -wrong to abandon one's friends for one's own safety. But if one cannot -really save one's friends from their horrible fate it seems foolish to -remain and die through mere loyalty. It's like that old saw about a -live coward being better than a dead hero." - -"Then you don't condemn me for seeking safety?" - -"Who am I to judge?" he said. - -"But supposing Earth Three should be successful?" - -"That would prove that Earth Three was best fit to survive. Not for -one moment, however, do I believe that some higher agency performed -this separation-trick to establish the most successful way of running a -world. - -"Nature--by which I mean natural phenomena--offers survival's choice to -many forms of life and living in many ways, and this split in the time -stream is but one of them. I swear that we shall know why it happened -some day. - -"But, Virginia, I am not to arbitrate your life. I am inclined to think -that I might have done the same thing. In fact," he said humorously, -"I can find nothing really to be angry about. Even your little job of -shipping me to Earth Three resulted in our stealing this laboratory." - -"But I sent you to Earth Two." - - * * * * * - -He shook his head. "I arrived from my bedroom on Earth Three--the same -room but a nursery in Three's time trail." - -"I saw the same room from half-transfer," she said, "and there was that -pillar of atomic fire in the sky." - -Bronson blinked. - -"So," he said with an explosive exhale of breath. "So the fission-train -in the earth will work on Earth Three as well as Two." - -"What do you mean?" asked the girl. - -"Kingston undoubtedly intends to transfer bits of the earth-fire from -Two to One and thus destroy both of them. That was a test. They brought -it, noted its performance on Three and then carefully shipped the thing -back again." - -Virginia snorted angrily. "I'd like to ship the entire Alamogordo Fire -to Earth Three and let Kingston and Maddox roast!" - -Bronson nodded. "But the thing that strikes me the hardest is that only -for that very instant of blast was there the chance for time-fission. -Then all three worlds have the same phenomena and the same effects. One -might think that Three would remain a place where no fission-explosion -could take place while on Two all atomic releases of power start the -endless fission in the earth." - -"But does that help us any?" - -"I don't know yet. But you'll help--now?" - -"That I will--and willingly." - -"Then tell me," said Bronson amusedly, "just what was I about to do?" - -"You were about to touch a high-energy electrode that remains hot for -hours after the gear is turned off. One of the energizing circuits. It -charges itself with space-resonant energy that does not leak off--sort -of like a high-capacity condenser of excellent power factor. You can -charge it to lethal dose and it may remain so for hours unless it is -discharged." - -"Why don't they discharge these, then?" - -"It takes too long for them to load when they fire 'em up," explained -Virginia. "Usually they remain at high charge between 'off' periods." - -Ed Bronson looked into the amplifier with a wry glance. "A little -knowledge is a dangerous thing," he grunted. He squinted at the -electrode, lifted an eyebrow and smiled cynically, "Y' know, there -ought to be some easy way of telling when a thing is dangerous. - -"Once upon a time that which was dangerous came clearly labeled, like -fire, or sabretooth tigers. Later they had to pass laws to get folks to -put gasoline in red-coated cans. Nowadays practically anything you open -up is dangerous and unless you know what you're doing--" - -Virginia smiled. She knew that he was just talking, rambling as he -scanned the circuit, wondering what to do next. Then she touched his -arm gently. - -"Look, Ed," she said. "Let me take this job over. I know my way around -these things, even though they are of Earth Three instead of mine. -You've got other things to do, doubtless?" - -Bronson looked at Virginia quizzically. - -"Trust me?" she asked. - -He smiled. "I think so," he said. - -"You can," she said. - -Bronson's smile faded. "Look, kiddo," he said, "there's one thing about -being just a little bit selfish that most of the books never get around -to mentioning. I'd prefer to have someone working beside me who is a -bit selfish and inclined to think of himself first. - -"The guy who has--in capitals--a Mission In Life is all too inclined -to toss common sense into the ashcan so that his flanged-up ideals are -realized. At least you can predict the future course of any character -who is logical enough to think of himself. - -"So--you've made your gesture and until someone convinces me that a bit -of selfishness is absolutely wrong--g'wan!" He grinned. "Go to work so -that I can stop sounding like a philosopher." - -Virginia looked at him soberly for some moments. - -"You don't question the fact that I will grab for the winner?" - -"We all hope to play a winner, ginger-girl," he said. - -"Yes, but--" - -"Virginia, you hope to play a winner. Do you greatly care who really -wins so long as all is serene, happy, and peaceful?" - -"Only one more requisite," she said wistfully, "I'd like to have it -remain that way." - - * * * * * - -Bronson laughed. "It has been adequately pointed out often enough that -the gents who formulated the Declaration of Independence guaranteed -only the right to 'pursue' happiness. It is a hopeless quest to seek -complete peace and quiet." - -"Don't talk like that," she said. "I only meant that I'm not too -convinced that your idea about Earth Three having something definitely -wrong with it--" - -Ed Bronson reached forward and put one hand on each of her shoulders. -"Look, youngster," he said with a smile, "I'm no hero. I'm not imbued -with the spirit of altruism and self-righteous self-sacrifice." - -Virginia looked into his eyes solemnly. "You would have little -hesitation before you isolated yourself here on Earth One if--" - -"Only because I am dead certain that there is something basically wrong -with Earth Three." - -Virginia smiled. "As a not-too-innocent bystander," she said seriously, -"I'm little sold either way. Earth Two is doomed. That I know because -I saw Earth One. But having been trained to the idea of scientific -research, I'm inclined to think that Earth Three with its freedom is -the right answer. - -"Who knows," she continued bitterly, "how many times we might have been -close to something that might have led the way to life but were stopped -because of an arbitrary decision by someone who felt--by some personal -logic--that the phase of science held no answer." - -"There is one idea," he said half humorously, "that anything -taken without a bit of moderation is not too good. Oh, there are -exceptions. One can always find something that must not be taken in -moderation--honesty or faith, for instance--in order for the best to -evolve. But any pendulum swings from extreme to extreme. And you have -been living in an order of one extreme. You naturally think the other -extreme is better." - -"You wouldn't be generalizing when you claim that Earth Three is wrong -somewhere? That you think that Earth Three is too extreme?" - -"Extremity, per se, may not be bad," he said. "It is what takes place -under extremity that might be dangerous. No, Ginger, I'm baffled right -now but you can be certain that, before we get to the end of all this, -we'll know the answer." - -Virginia smiled. "We seem to have come a long way from the original -argument." - -"Oh yes." He grinned back at her. "We're both in a mell of a hess right -now. It would be a fine thing if we couldn't trust one another. All you -seem to want is a secure future and all I want is the same. That we -seem to think that this secure future lies in opposite directions is -the same factor that makes horse racing interesting. And, like horse -racing, we'll find out soon enough who is right." - -"I hope it isn't the hard way." - -"Virginia, you are willing to take a job on this stuff. You're -therefore willing to help the side you think cannot win?" - -"If anything is done to aid either side," she said, "and it comes out -properly, isn't that a sign that the winning side has every right to -succeed?" - -"Defining 'A' in terms of 'A'?" - -"No. I'm just willing to help get myself away from the certain doom of -Earth One." - -"In other words," said Ed Bronson, "you'd work as hard for Leader -Kingston as you would for me?" - -She looked at him squarely. "Ed," she said, "I wouldn't care to trust -Leader Kingston." Then she turned from him, shrugged her shoulder out -from beneath his hands and faced the upturned amplifier. Beneath the -wreath of her hair he noted the blush that tinted the back of her neck. - -Bronson took a half step forward. His hands half reached for her -shoulders again. Then he paused. - -"I'm going to check the mass spectrograph," he said and turned on his -heel and left the room. - -This, he knew, was no time to question her motives. - -As he headed for the laboratory below, this thought crystallized. -Questioning her motives would force quick judgment. He knew--and he -wondered how he arrived at that sage opinion--that Virginia herself was -not aware of the motives that made her keep him from a certain death -and now caused her to help him. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - - _Explosive!_ - - -Now it was silent in the computation laboratory, save for the -occasional clicking of the super calculator that lined one wall of the -room. Pages and pages of equations were piled high in the file box and -Bronson sat in the control console of the big machine and worked. Hour -after hour he alternated moments of quick activity over the keyboard -with periods of quiet contemplation and reasoning as the answers to his -mathematical problems came clicking back. - -Dimly he heard the door open behind him and he accepted it -vaguely--disinterestedly--because the problem at hand was far more -important. He felt her presence beside him and she was silent as she -read his notes. - -He set up another problem on the keyboard and leaned back, looking up -at her. - -"Found something?" she asked. - -"No," he replied. "Except that the space-resonant elements do not make -sense in the mass spectrograph." - -"I know," she said. "We've known that for years." - -Bronson waved a book. "And I'm a little shocked at the lack of true -basic research to be found on Earth Three." - -"What?" asked Virginia. - -"It seems as though they know a lot," he explained. "But they know -no more about this stuff than the nineteen hundreds knew about the -electricity they used." - -"That's natural," she said. "People are always willing to use something -beneficial though they know little about its basic fundamentals. One -out of a thousand automobile drivers really knows anything about the -internal combustion engine. The rest are merely drivers, controlling a -mammoth they know nothing about." - -"Well, perhaps," he said. "Also it is entirely possible that what I'm -seeking has no true answer." - -"You hope to learn why the space-resonant elements cannot be separated?" - -"Right," said Bronson. He was silent for some time while he digested -the answer that had come clicking from the calculator. Then he sent -forth another equation and the machine went to work again. "I'd like to -try analysis." - -"Won't work. As far as we can tell there is really only one element." - -"By analysis," he nodded. He had been reading what Earth Three knew -about it and they, too, said as much. "However, the mass spectrograph -separates elements according to their atomic masses and according to -their atomic charge. - -"Now why do we have a dispersion of atomic mass--making the -space-resonant series of elements seem to be merely isotopes of the -same element--and at the same time get a dispersion of atomic charge, -which would make them seem like isobars of different elements?" - -"Heaven knows what we can expect in the transuranic series," observed -Virginia. - -He grunted. "Run down the physical properties of the stable elements," -he said, "and you'll run into about every conceivable idea. Metals that -melt at room temperature, metals that resist acid and alkali. - -"Metals that conduct electricity in proportion to the light falling on -them, elements that combine with almost any other element--and elements -so valently self-satisfied that they will not even combine with -themselves. Elements as hard as all get-out and others that can be cut -into stove lengths with a soft thumbnail. - -"But," he continued reflectively, "I'm of the opinion that the answer -lies here--that this indivisible property of the space-resonant -elements is the answer to a lot of questions." - -Then Bronson put his head in his hands. "And I'm supposed to find out -all this to save my world--when the best brains of that same world in -another time-plane have known about the stuff for thirty years and -still cannot--" - -"That is not fair," she said. "After all, how many years did Enrico -Fermi seek the answer for his experiments with the fission of uranium? -They numbered a good many transuranic elements before they discovered -that these new elements were actually the fissioned products and were -well-known elements halfway down the atomic chart." - -"That's true," he nodded. "Also it is against all theory that an -element should display more than one atomic identity." - -"Right. Unless they are incomplete atoms--a house built of brickbats." - -Bronson shrugged. "I'm trying that." - -"How?" puzzled Virginia. - -"I've got the mass spectrograph running again but each slit is loaded -to the scuppers with neutron absorber." - -"What do you expect?" asked Virginia. - -"I don't really know. I sort of hope it may lead to something. Come -on--let's try it." - -Taking his last three pages of calculations, Ed Bronson led the way to -the analytic laboratory.... - - * * * * * - -Leader Kingston smiled grimly at Maddox and shoved the button home. -"That'll fix 'em!" he said savagely. - -On Earth Two the pillar of fire flickered a measurable bit--and the -downtown district of New York City vomited flame in a thunderous roar. -To the stratosphere billowed the ice cap, followed instantly by an -up-reaching column of incandescent gas. - -Into the vitals of the rock the gnawing atomic flame went and -perceptibly--perceptibly to some all-powerful deity that could -withstand a holocaust which put the sun to shame--the crater expanded -as the substance of Earth Two fed the atomic flame. - -Kingston set the steering control once more and shoved the button. -The Mall between the Washington Monument and the Capitol erupted in -another atomic cancer to feed on Earth Two. The buildings that lined -the Mall were blasted to bits--the National Archives, the Smithsonian -Institution, all of them gone in one mighty blast. - -Then, as the fury of blast subsided, the pillar of fire undulated to -the sky. It fed, then, on the inert substance of a dead city for, as in -Manhattan, no man remained alive to see. - -With cruel disregard for humanity, Leader Kingston set the dials once -more and the acres of land enclosed by Chicago's Loop roared skyward. -The edges of the crater rimmed Lake Michigan and the waters of the lake -began to pour toward the breach. They did not reach the ravening crater -for they turned into steam long before they could fall across the lip -of the crater. - -From Lake Bluff to Gary the lake-front was a scene of molten death. - -"That's but the beginning," said Kingston. "Four will become eight -and eight will become sixteen. It will not be long before they are -reaching one another." - -"You'll have a lot of the space-resonant crystals to pass along to -Earth One, though," said Maddox. - -"We will apply the same principle," said Kingston. "One brings two -and each brings two more. My men on Earth One will assemble the four -subcritical masses tomorrow for instructions," said Kingston. "This is -the one weak link. But once we start, we can move the stuff like fury." - -"What do you fear?" asked Maddox. - -"Bronson! He has your laboratory. Complete. He is well hidden somewhere -and, until we can locate him, we are treading on dangerous ground. For -I know that he is keeping an eye on everything we do. And until we -locate him we can do nothing." - -"Why doesn't he do something, then?" - -Kingston laughed bitterly. "Probably because he doesn't quite know what -to do." - -Maddox grinned. "Also because you've got the key to Earth One. And," he -said grimly, "it might be that he has been ignorant until just now when -you've shown him how to fight this war." - -Kingston whitened in fear. He shook his fist at the flaming horror on -the viewer plate and said, "I wish Bronson were in that!" - - * * * * * - -Virginia Carlson reeled back from the viewer with a cry. Bronson left -his work and came to stand beside her. - -"What?" he asked. - -Slowly Virginia shook her head. "Kingston has just transmitted a bit of -the atomic flame to New York," she said. - -Bronson made the natural error. To him, New York was New York and he -considered no other city. What stopped him was the belief that Kingston -could not transmit anything across the barrier without the presence of -a focal mass. - -"How?" he asked Virginia. - -"With the space resonator," she said. - -"But there is no focal mass." - -"In New York?" replied Virginia in surprise. "There must be several -thousand." - -"But--oh! It was the New York of Earth Two." - -"Yes." - -Bronson looked out of the window and shook his head. "I find it -difficult to believe that this terrain is not my own world," he said. -"And yet it is, in a sense." - -Then he turned from the window to face Virginia. "Ginger-girl," he said -slowly, "I know what is wrong with Earth Three!" - -Virginia swung the steering control swiftly until a distant view of New -York was visible. "That is what is wrong with Earth Three," she said -bitterly. "Avaricious, hateful and cruel." - -Bronson shook his head. "You're not fair," he said. "He's done nothing -that you or I would not do to protect our own worlds. And," smiled -Bronson, "remember that Earth Two is already doomed." - -Virginia whirled on him. "Because a man is slated to die as all men -are, is that an excuse to commit murder?" - -"No," he said. "But life is still a matter of the survival of the -fittest. I deplore Kingston's act but remember that Kingston knows that -it is either kill or be killed." - -"Then there is nothing wrong with Earth Three," snapped Virginia with -deep bitterness. - -"Oh but there is. Virginia, on your world, where every scientific -endeavour is directed along the one line of safety in the face of that -pillar of fire at Alamogordo, does your government know the location of -all equipment?" - -"Of course," she said. "Save for a very minute percentage of stuff that -has been lost, strayed or stolen." - -He turned to the screen. "Did anybody ever think of that?" he asked, -pointing to the fire that was consuming Manhattan. - -"Yes--but where would we put it?" she asked. - -"On the moon," he said simply. - -"But there is no focal mass of space resonant elements on the moon," -she objected. - -"There could have been," he said, "if Earth Two had proceeded to -develop the rocket! But no, since no planet is habitable." - -"That isn't all," said Virginia. "Earth Three has developed the -transmission resonator to the highest degree. We've never been able to -speed it up. They can transmit anything in a matter of microseconds. -Ours takes hours sometimes. - -"Remember, if we start to shove that pillar of raw energy through a -resonator of our type we must build it to withstand raw atomic energy -for a long period. But tell me what is wrong with Earth Three." - - * * * * * - -He frowned. "Remember the day I nearly killed myself because I was -poking into an amplifier without knowing all about it?" - -"Yes." - -"In similar sense, Earth Three is plunging forward into a sea of -uncharted danger. Rapid progress in the face of high competition. -No control whatsoever. In the cast of Earth Two, progress has been -hampered because it has had too much control. - -"Had you been free to tinker and investigate the transmission bands -you'd have discovered Earth Three and you might have had the idea of -rotating that Alamogordo Flame into Earth Three. - -"As of now, Virginia, tell me--could Earth Two reduce all of its -space-resonant elements to subcritical masses in a case of danger?" - -"We could, save for those that were lost, as I've said before." - -Bronson smiled cryptically. "Can Leader Kingston?" - -Virginia shook her head. She recalled the myriad uses that Earth Three -had developed for the space resonant elements. Each home with many -devices, each device containing a supercritical mass. - -To eliminate entirely all critical masses of the dangerous elements -would be the exact equal to a complete breakdown of all means of -transportation and communication. For the space resonator had replaced -in nearly all but isolated cases the common automobile, telephone, -train, radio and allied arts. - -Such a project was impossible to contemplate, and even less possible to -accomplish in any reasonable time. It would require the rebuilding of -the former modes of life--almost a return to horse-and-buggy days. - -"But every science has its danger," objected Virginia. - -Bronson nodded. "But remember that every science grows like a tree. One -does not start on a high technical plane." - -"But what has that to do with it?" - -"Just this," explained Bronson patiently, "In earlier days no man could -develop anything too dangerous to his fellows if it got out of hand. -Many embryonic chemists have left the face of the earth in a gout of -smoke and flame but, when they left, they took only a small section of -the neighborhood with them. - -"Here, then, we have Alamogordo and the Bomb. It took the combined -resources of a nation, its people and years of study and work to -develop the atomic bomb. Obviously this is no backyard project like the -nitration of glycerine. - -"But here we have Earth Three," he continued, "plunging forward without -control--a juggernaut with no one at the helm. In their homes, in their -laboratories, in their very lives, they have supercritical masses of -the space-resonant elements. Leader Kingston has just shown us how he -hopes to destroy both Earth One and Two to leave Three supreme." - -"In doing that he has given us the answer we seek. For in his attack," -said Bronson exultantly, "he has displayed not only his weakness but -the fundamental weakness of a culture based upon complete freedom. Not -that freedom is wrong. Freedom is an ideal, and complete freedom will -be attained only when every man can assume the responsibility of being -noble." - -"I'm not quite certain," said Virginia. - -Bronson laughed. "How long would it be before one of Kingston's men -discover the secret of unlocking the energy of the atom with a gadget -the size of your wrist watch? Hah! Every man his own atom-bomb!" he -snorted. "Well, remember this, Virginia, on Earth Three every chunk of -space-resonant material is more deadly than the Alamogordo Flame!" - - - - - CHAPTER XV - - _Moment of Crisis_ - - -Grinning wolfishly, Bronson spoke. - -"The next problem," he said, "is the job of getting back to Earth One." - -"How can we?" - -"Who has the key?" Bronson asked. - -"Kingston." - -"Then we proceed to grab Leader Kingston and apply bamboo splinters -under the fingernails or place a rat on his bare tummy, placing a bowl -on top of the rat, and then building a small fire on top of the bowl. -In other words, we shall--ah--urge is the word--urge him to reveal his -method of getting in touch with his bunch on Earth One." - -Virginia shuddered. - -Bronson turned to the steering controls and located Kingston. Then, -standing near the focal volume, Bronson motioned for the girl to throw -the switch. Kingston appeared instantly and, before the Leader could -get his wits together, Ed Bronson swung a heavy fist with all the power -of his big body behind it. Kingston went down like a log. - -He awakened to the drenching of cold water from a bucket. He strained -against adhesive tape and glared. - -"Take it easy, Kingston," said Bronson. "I've got the controls set to -drop you into the Alamogordo Flame if you get nasty." - -Kingston paled. - -"What I want from you is the key to Earth One!" - -"That you'll never get!" - -"Yes I will." - -"No you won't." - -Bronson snorted. "Want to make a little bet? You can save yourself a -lot of grief if you give in right now. Or would you rather be screaming -for mercy later?" - -"What can you do?" sneered Kingston. - -Bronson chuckled. "The Chinese are accused of developing a number of -fancy tortures," he said. "I've also known a fiction writer who used an -incident to show the strength of his character's will power. - -"This fellow, who used to tinker with radio on the side, decided that -any man who could grab a couple of hundred volts and not quiver a -muscle because a sudden motion would be as deadly, would be displaying -a nervous control seldom realized. Now I'd guess his idea to have been -impossible. But it gives me to think. - -"Do you suppose you could stand a mild electrocution? Say a hundred -volts at twenty cycles? Not enough to kill, for we'll insert a -current-limiting resistance to prevent electrocution, but enough to -make life most uncomfortable. The torture of the condemned will have -nothing on what you will suffer, Kingston." - -Kingston smiled wearily. "It will do you no good," he said. "The thing -is set up like the time lock on a safety vault. No one can breach it." - -"Big talk," snorted Bronson. He turned from the bound man and rummaged -in a bench drawer for wire and parts. A variable-voltage transformer, -some alternating current meters and a few lengths of wire were strewn -over the table top. Bronson began to connect them into a circuit. - -"We'll find out how your resistance is," he told Kingston over his -shoulder. - -Kingston laughed nastily, Virginia screamed. Bronson whirled--and -Kingston was gone! - -Bronson leaped to the viewer controls and spun the dial to Kingston's -official quarters. The viewer showed a technician just in the act of -spinning the steering dials in a random whirl like a man locking a -combination safe. - -Kingston fell a-sprawl, still bound, against Maddox, who had come with -him. Maddox removed the bonds and Kingston fingered the amulet on his -wrist with pride. "That was quick," he said. - -"Had to be," said Maddox. "I knew that the instant you disappeared from -Bronson's laboratory he'd leap to the viewer to see your laboratory. -So once you arrived, we both came here and Tony spun the dials so that -Bronson can't follow us by reading the calibration." - -"That isn't all," chuckled Kingston. "Now we know how to reach Bronson!" - - * * * * * - -Bronson turned from the controls unhappily. "How did he do that?" he -asked plaintively. - -Virginia shook her head. "Wrong culture or no," she said, "Earth Three -seems to take all the tricks." - -Bronson nodded wearily. He put head in hands and worried visibly--and -was taken out of it when a bell tinkled on the wall. Bronson leaped to -his feet with a shout. - -"Maybe we're not licked yet," he said. "That was the automatic mass -spectro-analyzer." - -He left the room and returned quickly with a sheaf of papers. - -"They call 'em space-resonant," he said with a wry chuckle, "but I call -'em symbiotic." - -"Meaning?" - -"Why, it seems as though we have a closed system of radioactivity -here," he said. - -"But the space-resonant elements are only faintly radioactive," -objected Virginia. - -"According to outside detectors," he said. "But this is an internally -closed system. There are two basic elements and two isotopes of each, -all operating in a closed system." - -"How?" - -He handed her a sheet of paper containing nuclear equations. - -1.) 121^{A^(279)} + 0^{n^1} ----> 121^{A^(280)} - -2.) 121^{A^(280)} - 1^{e^0} ----> 122^{B^(280)} - -3.) 122^{B^(280)} - 0^{n^1} ----> 122^{B^(279)} - -4.) 122^{B^(279)} + 1^{e^0} ----> 121^{A^(279)} - -"Call 'em 'A' and 'B', with respective atomic number of one hundred -and twenty-one and one hundred and twenty-two and respective atomic -weights of two hundred and seventy-nine and two hundred and eighty," he -explained. "Then Element A absorbs a neutron, becoming heavy Element A -since its atomic weight is increased by one. - -"The heavy Element A then emits a negative electron which raises the -nuclear charge by one and the element becomes Element B. Element B then -emits a neutron which makes it light Element B. - -"Light Element B captures an electron lowering the nuclear charge and -retransmuting the element back to normal Element A. The neutrons and -electrons are passed back and forth within the mass and seldom escape, -therefore the space-resonant elements are believed to be only mildly -radioactive." - -"Yes?" - -Miles away and across the barrier in time Kingston and Maddox listened -avidly. - -"So we can guess what happened at Alamogordo," said Bronson exultantly. - -"I don't see it," she said. - -"Well, Element A is so avid an absorber of neutrons that a microscopic -impurity will destroy the K-factor of a supercritical mass of plutonium -or uranium," he said. "That would prevent the Alamogordo Bomb from -exploding." - -"Element B, on the other hand, emits a torrent of neutrons, enough -to raise the K-factor to a terribly high degree, which caused such -violence that the bomb was hot enough to start fission in the earth. A -balance of the elements A and B cancels out and therefore we have the -normal explosion experienced in Earth One." - -"But how did it happen?" - -"When the subcritical masses of uranium came together on Alamogordo -Day, the fission started throughout the mass. Also present--we know -now--is the capture of neutrons by unfissioned atoms which raise -the element's mass, and the other fission products hitting this -element raise its charge. Space-resonant elements resulted in those -sub-microseconds of initial fission. - -"So, in one section of the mass, an abundance of Element A was -produced, which stopped the explosion. In another section, Element B -was produced, which increased its violence. Now the energies produced -within the fissioning bomb are high enough to cause a warp in the -space-time continuum. This warp permitted one section to die out while -the other increased almost without limit." - -"I'm beginning to understand," nodded Virginia. "We then had three -different levels of energy." - -"And three widely-varied levels of entropy," added Bronson. "So widely -varied that they could not exist in the same time-space plane. Thus the -fission in time that produced the three time-planes. How widespread -these areas of separation extend we may never know. - -"All I can assume is that space-time is strained and will return as -soon as the energy put into the separation is used up. Sort of like -an upthrown stone," he mused. "It goes up until the energy put into -throwing it is used up against the force of gravity. - -"Then it comes down--and the three time-planes separate until the -energy put into the separation was used up and then they begin to fall -toward one another." - -Kingston turned to Maddox. "That also explains why no one knew of this -split for so long. And why it is getting easier and easier to cross the -barrier. The three time-planes are approaching one another." - -Maddox nodded. "And that means that we must see the other time-planes -destroyed. If they come together and find interference--all will die!" - -"Right," said Kingston. His hand fingered the button while his other -hand turned the steering control. Maddox looked into the viewer. -"Hurry!" he exploded. Kingston looked. - -Ed Bronson was walking across the laboratory toward the transmission -panel, saying "... and that brings one thing to mind, Ginger. If they -grabbed Kingston they know where we are!" - -He spun the controls quickly and pressed the button. At the same -instant Kingston pressed his own button. The viewplate that showed -Bronson and Virginia in Maddox's laboratory erupted in a holocaust of -flame that blinded Kingston and Maddox. - -"Did we?" asked Kingston, rubbing his eyes. - -"We can't know," said Maddox. "But look. If we got them we can find -out." - -"How?" - -"Collect your space-resonant elements on Earth One," said Maddox. -"Then send another set across and use one of them to erupt Central -City--right where Bronson's home is." - -"What good will that do?" asked Kingston. - -"We can watch it," explained Maddox. "And if it is returned to Earth -Two, we'll know that Bronson is alive somewhere and watching." - -Kingston nodded with a smile of appreciation. - - * * * * * - -The laboratory building was askew, its windows shattered and its outer -surface scarred. It had been close. Perhaps the only thing that saved -them was the fact that they were closer to the focal volume of the -transmitter in the laboratory than Kingston was. - -At any rate the unbelievably microscopic instant of the beginning of -the atomic flame intended to destroy them utterly had been all that -building caught. For Bronson had sent it skirling into time-space and -it was on the way out as the glimmering of deadly flame started to come -in. - -But that brief touch of incandescent death had charred the woodwork of -the outside of the building. It had cracked the glass and it had jarred -its very structure. - -The inhabitants were in bad shape. Bronson was sprawled on the floor. -Virginia was crumpled over a desk. Both were unconscious. And, creeping -deeper into their skin, was the ruddy color of bad burn. - -Hours later they were dark with burn and still unconscious. They knew -nothing. - -They did not know that Kingston's men on Earth One were beginning -to assemble the masses in Ed Bronson's collection of radioisotopic -phosphor. - -Then a bell tinkled gently. Bronson stirred and groaned. The bell -tinkled once more. Bronson stirred again--painfully. Another tinkle-- - -Virginia awakened, opened her eyes vaguely and wondered what had -happened. - -The bell rang insistently. "Ed--Ed Bronson!" she shouted. "The -detector!" - -"Detector?" he asked dully. - -"They're assembling the space-resonant elements on Earth One!" - -The bell broke into an insistent clamoring. Ed picked himself from -the floor and looked at the gear. The cascaded amplifiers, incapable -of detecting the presence of subcritical masses on Earth One, had -sufficient gain to trigger the alarm when Earth One's bits of space -resonant elements were collected into critical mass. - -Bronson spun the dials of the viewer. - -There before him was the familiar laboratory of his own home and four -men standing before his bench, upon which stood the crystalline mass. - -"Now!" breathed Ed Bronson. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - - _A World at Stake_ - - -Uncertainly Virginia paused. "Ed," she said. - -"Huh?" he asked, turning. - -"You're going to--" - -"I must." - -She smiled and took a deep breath. Bronson looked at her quizzically. -It was obvious that something had happened that had pleased her--or -convinced her of something, but what it might be eluded him. - -"Look, Ginger, we haven't much time. I've got to get going--and you -know what to do." - -She nodded, her eyes bright and intent upon him. "Ed," she said in a -quiet voice, "I've been both selfish and opportunist, wanting security -at any price. But you are willing to trust me with the future of Earth -One. That, too, proves the worth of--worth of--of--" - -"Forget it," he said softly. "If we win it will prove the right of -Earth One to survive." - -Then he turned to the machine again. "I've got to go!" - -She came up behind him, turned him around and kissed him. "Go," she -said. "And as you go, Ed, remember that I've made up my mind. I'm going -with you--all the way!" - -He smiled down at her. "I know," he said cryptically. Then he turned -and snapped the button. - -He landed in his own laboratory amid the four minions of Kingston. The -suddenness of his appearance sent them flying in four directions. He -whirled and reached for the assembled blocks of the space-resonant -elements on the bench, to separate them again. - -He was hit from behind by one of the thugs and staggered against the -bench. Then the other three were upon him. - -Only Bronson's sheer size and physical power saved him from instant -annihilation. He fought them off, hitting them hard but taking a -murderous amount of punishment. He kicked one away, traded blows with -the second, turned to drive a hard fist into the face of the third--and -nearly fell forward on his face as the blow passed through nothing! - -[Illustration: Bronson tried desperately to fight off the thugs.] - -In the big laboratory on Earth Two Virginia coldly and viciously -clubbed Kingston's hired hand over the back of the head with a heavy -end-wrench as the fellow was still staggering forward from the effort -against Bronson. - -Bronson blinked and recovered from his stagger. He lashed out at -the nearest, just as Virginia grabbed another to give him the same -treatment. One of the two remaining jerked a gun from his pocket and -fired wildly. Bronson ducked under the gun hand and shouldered the thug -cruelly in the pit of the stomach. - -The gun dropped to the floor and there was a three-way dive for it. -Bronson cracked his head against the nearer man's jaw, drove a fist -into the other's face, and grabbed the wrist of the first one again. A -gun appeared in the second man's hand. - -Bronson jerked the wrist and the man staggered forward in front of -Bronson just as the other thug fired. Ed felt the man's body twitch and -he coldly lifted a foot, set it in the small of the stricken man's back -and hurled him forward against the gun wielder. Behind him went Bronson -but the gun wielder disappeared. - -Virginia's quick end-wrench came down hard and then she had three of -them lined up on the floor, taped helplessly with adhesive tape. - -She scribbled a quick note and sent it through--and an instant later -Bronson had the mass of crystals separated into their four parts. - -He breathed deeply as he read the note. It did present a problem. He -had one corpse on his hands and three other undesirables collected in -the laboratory on Earth Two. Also, here he was safe on Earth One again -with the crystals separated. He held the key to security! - -But there was Earth Three, still whole and alive. How simple it would -have been to ignore Three--Bronson admitted that Virginia might have -had to suffer the fortunes of war if the fate of an entire world rested -upon the decision. - -But Bronson knew that, unless two of the three worlds were -exterminated, all would die in a cosmic explosion when they began to -reappear on the same time-plane. - -Furthermore, he knew that Kingston was quite prepared to maintain a -viewer on each of Ed Bronson's sections of crystal until they were -reassembled again. For the very key that opened the portal was as -deadly as the Alamogordo Flame.... - -A hard knock came at the door. Ed turned, puzzled, and went through his -house to open it. - -Captain Norris of the police strode into the room with a sour -expression. - -"What are you running here?" he demanded. "Where are the four birds -that came in here a few minutes ago. Where have you been?" - -Norris strode through the house until he came to the laboratory. -He looked down at the body of Kingston's henchman and his eyebrows -beetled. "This smacks of murder," he said flatly. - -"It--" - -"Self-defense," said Norris sourly. "Tell it to the judge." He looked -around. "Where are the other three?" - -"See here, Norris," snapped Bronson. "When I came to you about the -invaders of earth you slapped me in the booby hatch. What would you say -if I gave you proof?" - -"It will have to be mighty good," snapped Norris. - -From separate pockets Ed Bronson took the four bits of crystal. He set -them side by side on the bench. - -"Virginia," he said, knowing that she was listening. "Now!" - - * * * * * - -And his hands scooped the crystals together. - -"Who are you--hey!" exploded Norris. They had come across the barrier -and were standing in the laboratory building. In the viewer stood -Virginia Carlson. She smiled through at them and showed them that she -had once more separated the bits of crystal. - -"What goes on?" Norris stormed. - -"You are now on Earth Two," said Bronson. "And if you want to get back -play it smart." - -"Don't threaten me--who are these?" - -"Three thugs from Earth Three." - -"Oh fine," jeered Norris. "This sounds like a real game. Now look--" - -"You look," snapped Bronson. He set the controls and snapped the button -and the scene outside of the laboratory disappeared. In its place was a -tall pillar of flame. - -"That," said Bronson, "is the pillar of atomic flame at Alamogordo, -caused on Earth Two by the original Manhattan Project experiment in -Nineteen forty-five." He spun the dials once more, and the city of -Washington was visible at a distance. Its pillar of flame roared high -into the sky. "That's Earth Two, Washington," he snapped at Norris. - -"But what can you do?" asked Norris, completely dumbfounded. - -"I can fight back--now," said Bronson harshly. "And you can sit in a -corner and figure out a means for a man to come to official quarters to -tell of an extra-space invasion without being clapped in the nuthouse!" - -He turned from Norris and adjusted the steering controls. - -His hand came down on the button. - -And Earth Three Washington erupted in a massive incandescent flame. - -Kingston shouted in anger as the report came. He twirled his own dials, -found a response and pressed the button. - -He cried, "_Orders!_ Everyone possessing a Type One transmitter, help -spread the atomic fire on Earth Two!" - -Out across the face of Earth Three went the orders and the mobilized -hundreds of thousands of people started their space resonators. - -It was furious work. Bronson whirled the dials until the plane of view -looked down upon Earth Two from several thousand miles above. From this -point, Bronson knew that Kingston--from whatever hideout he was in--was -directing a full-scale attack against Earth Two. The lights twinkled -like a field of fireflies. - -Bronson knew that his own attempts were pitiful against Kingston's -massed attack. - -Maybe Virginia was right. Maybe, in the final analysis Earth Three did -hold all the tricks and would win. But whether or not he won or lost -Bronson was going to fight to the bitter end. He directed his fire -against Earth Three--and saw two disappear as one flared forth. - -Bitterly, Bronson nodded. Kingston was well staffed. He could without -difficulty set a number of his stations to the job of sending back -upon Earth Two the few fires that Bronson could start. He was one man -fighting a world well-armed--a gnat batting its head against a wall of -polished chromium steel. - -Bronson stopped punching the button with a gesture of sheer futility. - -And from the vantage point above Earth Two, his viewer showed a -spreading holocaust that threatened to cover the entire globe from -pole to pole. It would be but a matter of time before a gout of flame -and horror erased him and removed all resistance to Kingston's plans. -Switching the scene to Earth Three, Bronson saw that the pitifully few -dots of flame had been removed. - -Which was right? A world playing with death in myriad or a world so -conservative that it had not advanced to the point where it could turn -the tables? - -Bronson shook his head hopelessly. - -The incandescent, flaming curtain almost obscured Earth Two now. The -sky was alight and the rumblings and roarings shook the rocks. Torrents -of wind howled back and forth and carried minute bits of the flame with -them, feeding on the very air that carried them. They landed and they -started their own fires in a million smaller craters. - -Bronson shook his head. There was not much point in making even one -last gesture. He hit the control panel with his fist and slumped in his -chair. He took one last look at Earth Two and felt futility once more -at the spreading of the atomic horror. - -And then Bronson sat bolt upright. A last gesture! Before he had rushed -in where angels fear to tread! - -He looked at the equipment and shook his head. But equipment made well -can withstand a terrific overload for a brief time. Even the most -delicate of component parts require measurable time between application -of a tremendous overload and ultimate failure. - -His left hand spun the dials and his right hand tuned the transmitter. - -He hoped for a break--and he knew also that this was IT in capital -letters. If it worked he was the dead winner. If it failed he was -doomed to remain on Earth Two to watch the arrival of atomic death. - -But he had no other choice. Facing death either way he'd best go out -making a try. - - * * * * * - -Kingston grunted sourly at the visi-plate and pointed out a faint arc -at one edge. "What's that?" he asked. "Do we need a new tube at this -crucial moment?" - -"No." - -"Then what is it?" - -Maddox turned the dials a bit and the arc came out of the frame clearly -enough to display a disc. Faint, unreadable, but none the less a -definite pattern. - -Maddox looked at it carefully and then retreated the plane of view to -many thousands of miles into deep space. Right out to the limit of his -range he went. - -And there were three discs, all of a size. One was, of course, the -flaming Earth Two. - -"We're approaching!" yelled Kingston. "Those other discs are Earth One -and Three." - -"But--" - -"When their energy levels approach one another it will be unnecessary -to employ a depth of penetration correction!" snapped Kingston. "For -they'll all be on the same level." - -"And when they do--we'll all go skyward." - -The communicator clicked and Kingston read the tape. Then with a nasty -chuckle, Kingston spun the dials and looked in upon Ed Bronson. "Darn -few live pieces of element left on Two," sneered Kingston. "Made -picking him out so much easier!" - -"Yes," said Maddox dubiously, "but what in the devil is he doing?" - -"He's--heavens!" screamed Kingston. His hand stabbed for the button -like a striking snake. - -And down upon Ed Bronson's stolen laboratory there descended a torrent -of raw energy. In through the space resonator it came and it should -have boiled out in the terrible holocaust that produced sunlike pillars -of roaring atomic destruction. - -Instead, the sheer energy came roaring in through the supercritical -mass of space-resonant elements in Ed Bronson's stolen laboratory and -entered the transmitter circuits, which were wide open to accept--nay, -draw--all available energy from whatever source was available. - -Into the circuits went the torrent of energy. It drove the focal -volume out and out and out even beyond Ed Bronson's faintest hope. It -expanded the volume and then energized the transmission circuits. - -And Earth Two--atomic holocaust and all--disappeared from the -time-plane it had occupied for so many years. There was a -shrinking--but no one was there to record this collapse of the special -plane--and at once, a joining, and though it seemed as though Earth -One had come into full visibility, this impression was due to the -time-fields joining with the original plane. - - * * * * * - -Virginia Carlson, alone and wondering on Earth One, alternately watched -her wrist watch and smoked furiously. - -She watched the second hand creep to its appointed meeting with the top -of the dial, and she scooped the space-resonant elements into the palms -of her hands. This must be done quickly, so very swiftly lest Kingston -manage to get through with more than could be handled safely. - -Zero! - -Virginia clapped her hands together, creating an instantaneous -supercritical mass. - -[Illustration: Virginia clapped her hands together and there was a -flash of flame.] - -Intolerable heat burned her hands. There was a flash of flame that -blinded her and there was the rush and clatter of debris showering the -laboratory, shattering windows, and pelting her mercilessly. A heavy -something crashed against her skull and drove her to the floor. - -Her eyes opened and the space-resonant crystals, crushed by the -impact, sifted through her inert fingers and mingled with the powdery -untouchably-hot debris that was inch-deep on the floor.... - -Leader Kingston's hand was stopped in mid-strike. He and his laboratory -flamed into instant incandescence as matter was rent to mix with the -raving splitting atoms of intolerable explosion. - -For close were the temporal paths and the catastrophic energy of Earth -Two found its outlet through the myriad of open paths furnished by the -millions of commercially-used bits of space-resonant elements. From -each of the crystals there poured a torrent of overwhelming flame that -of itself formed more of the space-resonant elements. - -The excess in entropy of Earth Two forced the transfer regardless of -true tuning--as a nearby radio station will blast through to audibility -regardless of the position of the dial--or, perhaps better, the excess -in entropy level sought the deficient level of entropy as a north -magnetic pole seeks the south magnetic pole. Water--or energy--finds -its own stable level. - -So from the machines that employed space resonant elements on Earth -Three there poured the flaming substance and the excess of energy, to -spread in one mighty explosion that rent space itself, but died when -there was no more substance left to convert. - -And with the release of the temporal strains, there came once more -that imperceptible withdrawal of strife in the cosmic planes. Now all -was at stable rest and there remained but one time-plane. That plane -contained Earth One and all that belonged to it. - -It contained a man hurled back through the space-resonant transmission -equipment from Earth Two, from the one place where the atomic -destruction had yet to reach, to the one and only place upon Earth One -where space-resonant elements existed. And they alone had been tuned to -Ed Bronson's stolen equipment, and held in supercritical mass for that -bare instant of transfer by a woman's hands. - -Burned, bruised and battered, Ed Bronson and Virginia Carlson would -soon awaken from their unconsciousness to look into one another's eyes -and wonder. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ONE OF THREE *** - -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. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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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: One of three</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Wesley Long</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: September 4, 2022 [eBook #68904]</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 ONE OF THREE ***</div> - -<div class="figcenter x-ebookmaker-drop"> - <img src="images/illusc.jpg" alt=""/> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>ONE OF THREE</h1> - -<h2>A novel by<br /> -WESLEY LONG</h2> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Startling Stories, March 1948.<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 class="ph1">CHAPTER I</p> - -<p class="ph2"><i>Contact!</i></p> - - -<p>The bit of whitish substance fluoresced, which of course was quite -natural. It also vibrated very faintly, which was unnatural. At -least, this property had not been known previously—which is really -saying little since the material had been compounded from artificial -radioisotopes from the big piles. All too little was known about such -items and the fact that this one was vibrating ever so faintly whenever -the electron beam struck it was interesting both from a scientific and -a lay curiosity standpoint.</p> - -<p>Ed Bronson blinked a bit and decided that he had made some mistake. It -had ceased to vibrate.</p> - -<p>Ed cracked the experimental tube and removed the irregular lump. It had -been hoped to produce a more brilliant and higher-contrast phosphor for -television screens. But if it was going to vibrate—</p> - -<p>Ed inserted the lump of phosphor back in the tube, pumped it and -restarted the whole gear.</p> - -<p>It vibrated again, ever so faintly, against the bottom of the glass. -Bronson listened carefully, his engineer's mind trying to identify the -sound. It was not the sixteen kilocycle sweep circuit—not the one -that scanned the face of the television tube, because this was not a -complete set-up and there was no scanning energy necessary. It was -vaguely familiar.</p> - -<p>It came and it went, that faint vibration. Sometimes it rattled -violently, other times it purred gently. Always very faintly of -course—for the term 'violently' means only by comparison.</p> - -<p>Ed adjusted the field strength of the focusing magnet about the neck -of the tube and the vibration strengthened to a noticeable degree. -He juggled the controls but found he had hit the maximum or optimum -response.</p> - -<p>There was something about it.... It was like human whisperings too -faint to be understood but not too faint to be unheard. Like the -bloop-bleep of a leaky faucet that seems to be saying things about you -just too quietly to be really understood. Like the imagined whisperings -heard by the paranoiac....</p> - -<p>Ed laughed. Hearing things!</p> - -<p>Like hades he was hearing things. It was really there. The lump of -phosphor moved a perceptible amount as a peak of rattle passed. And -yet....</p> - -<p>Ed Bronson uncoiled his wiry six feet from the chair and cracked -the seal on the tube again. He lifted the top and squinted at the -crystalline whiteness that had been rattling so maddeningly.</p> - -<p>He went to a cupboard at the end of his laboratory and rummaged among -small boxes that stood on one shelf—no two boxes seeming to be of the -same size. The upshot of this rummaging was that Bronson had to spend -some time repiling the boxes after he had found the contact microphone -he was seeking. Eventually, however, Ed Bronson was repumping the tube.</p> - -<p>Inside was the crystal phosphor and fastened to it was a sensitive -contact microphone.</p> - -<p>Once more Bronson keyed the switches, adjusted focus, and intensity. -Then, from the speaker of the amplifier connected to the contact -microphone, there came a cacophony of noise, howling whistles, -deep-throated hums, and a horde of middle-register tones. Not music, -and far from it. Just random—somethings.</p> - -<p>Yet in the background, barely audible as such but most definitely -identifiable, was the voice of a woman.</p> - -<p>Any speaker would have ceased had she known her efforts were thus -wasted. It was indistinguishable and unintelligible save for a -scattered word here and there, which was unmistakably in English. Ed -Bronson thought that it was like trying to eavesdrop on a conversation -in a boiler factory.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He wondered what radio program he had tapped in on. He turned his -radio on, and scanned the bands, even listening to the weaker -stations—which, of course were far from being as ragged as this, -regardless of their weakness—but came to the conclusion that there was -nothing on the air that corresponded to the voice of the woman that -emerged from his kinescope testing tube.</p> - -<p>Bronson noted with questing interest that occasionally one or more of -the interfering hoots, sirens and honks would cease for a moment or -two. So also did the woman's voice. Ed prayed that when sufficient -interference would cease, the woman would not choose that moment to -cease also. He wanted to know more about this. There was more to it -than met the eye.</p> - -<p>If he could identify the speaker he might be able to establish a means -of communication. Location was also important. Furthermore, if this -were telephone or radio, he had a new means of receiving both. If it -were telephone and it worked on any or all, Ed Bronson had a gadget -that would make him the bane of all lovers of secrecy—including -espionage agents, who, of course, hate penetration of their own little -conclaves as deeply as they try to penetrate others'.</p> - -<p>He—well, if it were radio he was intercepting he had nothing as -interesting as a telephone tapping gadget. But....</p> - -<p>The tones dropped in volume. A shrill whistle that made vicious -interference with his hearing suddenly keyed off like the turning off -of a light. A booming roar ceased also and others of less importance -dropped or died. The cumulative effect of this was to permit the -woman's voice to come through.</p> - -<p>It was not the perfect voice of a magnificent contralto reproduced -on the finest radio gear but a cool, clear contralto, transmitted by -cheap, shoddy equipment and received on something both obsolete and -inefficient.</p> - -<p>Yet is was a woman's voice. And, with the luck of the patient -scientist, she was saying, "... home? It's at Thirteen forty-seven -Vermont Street, Postal Zone Eleven...."</p> - -<p>And that was the first complete reception Ed Bronson heard. For, with -the completion of the message, the cacophony of hoots, keenings and -sirens blasted forth like a mad, insane symphony.</p> - -<p>"I live at Thirteen forty-eight Vermont," shouted Bronson. "Across the -street!"</p> - -<p>He charged out, raced across the street and pressed the doorbell. He -waited a moment and an elderly man came to the door.</p> - -<p>"I'm Ed Bronson," explained he.</p> - -<p>"I know you," snapped the other man. "Always gumming up my radio with -your fool experiments. What do you want?"</p> - -<p>"Is your daughter using the telephone?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"She ain't home."</p> - -<p>"Your wife?"</p> - -<p>"She's with Regina."</p> - -<p>"Well, was some woman using the—"</p> - -<p>"Look, Bronson, I ain't got no women here when my wife ain't, see? Now -what's your idea, huh?"</p> - -<p>Bronson looked apologetic. This was Mr. Lewis McManner and both he -and his family were the kind of people—one of which seems to live on -every block—who chase robins from the front yard, call the police for -ball-playing boys and manage to maintain an immaculate house because it -never has a good chance to get cluttered with people.</p> - -<p>"I've been working on an idea," he told McManner, "and I seem to have -picked up someone who claimed that her address was Thirteen forty-seven -Vermont Street."</p> - -<p>"You'd think this was the only Vermont Street in the world!" snorted -McManner, slamming the door.</p> - -<p>Bronson turned from the front door and retraced his steps. Despite his -disappointment, he could not help but grin at himself. After all, how -many 1347 Vermont Streets might there be between Puget Sound and Key -West? And, were he to try mailing each a letter, someone would most -certainly object loudly enough to cause Ed Bronson to explain that he -had heard a woman's voice mention the number and that he wanted to meet -her. He could visualize the psychiatric ward looming to receive him -while they tapped his knees and inspected his brain to find out whether -he was safe to let loose without a muzzle.</p> - -<p>Yet Bronson sobered soon enough. He was an engineer. He knew that -what had been done once could be done again. Perhaps the way to get -in touch with this woman was to try to tap back. At least he could -listen to everything she said in the hope that she would repeat other -information.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>With a prayer Bronson separated a sizable hunk of the phosphor to work -upon, while the other "sang." He breathed no sigh of relief until he -had half of the original phosphor back in the tube with the works -completely covered, as before, by the mad mass of meaningless hoots -and catcalls. Then he went to work on the other piece. He did have a -parallel set-up right on the same bench. There was something about -this....</p> - -<p>During the hours that followed there were three breaks in the -whistlings. The first produced only the words "nature of the -situation—" The second time the woman said, "—something <i>must</i> be -done, of course, but you tell me what. I—" which also left Bronson -completely in the dark. The third time, she said "—so this part of the -Carlson family is going to bed!"</p> - -<p>After which there was no woman's voice riding along with the myriad of -sounds. They were as before, like a radio that has gone off the air, -leaving an increased racket of background noise. It was maddening and -futile.</p> - -<p>All he had to show for her hours of telephoning was her name. Carlson.</p> - -<p>All he had to do was to get the telephone directories of all the cities -in the United States of America and perhaps Canada, then run through -the listings of 'Carlson' until he hit one that lived on 1347 Vermont -Street.</p> - -<p>It might as well have been 'Smith' as far as running them down went. He -could try Central City. After all, he could easily have made an error -in listening.</p> - -<p>But that was futile. Bronson sought the entire list of Carlsons and -found none who lived on Vermont Street or any phonetic variation. -Grumbling and baffled, he returned to his labors.</p> - -<p>That, at least, proved more profitable. It was midnight when Bronson -discovered that tapping one of the bits of phosphor caused a response -in the other when they were energized by the electron bombardment from -the television tube works.</p> - -<p>From that point to vibrating the hunk of phosphor with the adapted -insides of an old earphone and getting a response, took another hour of -whittling, filing and working. He discarded that method of modulation -two hours later when he discovered that an audio modulation of the -electron stream in the kinescope tube produced the same effect.</p> - -<p>Then, dead tired, Ed Bronson went to bed. He'd have called the woman -right then and there had she been handy, but she had gone.</p> - -<p>Bronson was truly beat. Had he stopped to think about it he would -have known that something big was in the wind. For he was tapping no -telephones. He had accidentally discovered some sort of communication -receiving principle and had then devised a transmitter.</p> - -<p>His first thought on the following morning was to try the receiver. -She was there, all right, and so was a hooting cry of the dissonant -pipe-organings.</p> - -<p>Bronson shrugged and fired up his transmitting gadget. "Miss Carlson!" -he called into the microphone. "Calling Miss Carlson of Thirteen -forty-seven Vermont Street. Can you hear me?"</p> - -<p>Then he listened.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Her voice paused briefly, took a new tone, but was still covered by the -whinings.</p> - -<p>"Miss Carlson, this is Ed Bronson. I cannot hear you clearly because of -much interference. If you can hear me, make a lilting rill with your -voice. This I can distinguish among the many stable-toned notes that -are coming in at the time."</p> - -<p>The voice rilled up and down several times. Then there was considerable -speech which Bronson could not understand.</p> - -<p>The upshot of this, however, was a gradual shutting down of the -hootings and honkings until the receiver was clear. Then her voice came -through again.</p> - -<p>"Mr. Bronson. I have requested silence for one minute. Where are you?"</p> - -<p>"Thirteen forty-eight Vermont Street, Central City Eleven."</p> - -<p>"That is across the street," she said.</p> - -<p>"Perhaps," he answered.</p> - -<p>"Well, it is," she said. "Unless we're in different Central Cities."</p> - -<p>"Central City, New Mexico, eighteen miles from Albuquerque?"</p> - -<p>"That's it. But we have little time, really, because we didn't get -the clear as soon as we asked for it. They hung over a bit—the -commercials, I mean."</p> - -<p>"Commercials?" he asked. Dumfounded, he began to wonder. Commercial, -in radio parlance, meant any transmitter on the air for commercial -purpose and the presupposition that this system of communications must -be quite well known.</p> - -<p>How then had Ed Bronson, an electronics engineer, managed to -live through the commercialization of an entirely new field of -communications?</p> - -<p>"The commercial laboratories," she said.</p> - -<p>"Oh? Then this is a laboratory experiment?"</p> - -<p>"More than that—"</p> - -<p>Bronson heard with dismay the first thin whistle resume.</p> - -<p>He interrupted.</p> - -<p>"Miss Carlson," he pleaded quickly, "we're going to be cut off again. -Meet me on the corner of Vermont and Thirteenth, please?"</p> - -<p>"Yes but—"</p> - -<p>That was all. The keening, piping howl came with ear-shattering -loudness once more.</p> - -<p>Bronson turned off his gear and headed for the corner of Vermont and -13th. Let 'em hoot and howl.</p> - -<p>He'd speak to the girl in person!</p> - -<p>An hour later, Ed Bronson still stood there, leaning disconsolately -against a lamp post in the bright daylight. A ring of cigarette butts -surrounded his feet.</p> - -<p>Whatever it was it was important and he, Bronson, had the key. All he -had to do was to find the door!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Bronson returned home. The trouble—one of them, anyway—was that his -amplifier was a high fidelity affair, capable of flat transmission of -sounds as far as the human ear could hear.</p> - -<p>That made for good music and that's what the amplifier had been built -for.</p> - -<p>So Bronson went home determined to build a series of sharp filters. -First he would curtail the band-width of the amplifier until it peaked -around eight hundred cycles per second, near the musical note 'A' one -octave above the standard Concert Pitch 'A'.</p> - -<p>Then he would build a set of sharply-tuned filters that would cut -'holes' in the remaining spectrum where the tonal interferences came. -It would make her speech less natural but far more intelligible.</p> - -<p>Bronson needed more evidence before he did anything serious about it.</p> - -<p>It was nearing five o'clock in the morning before he finished his job, -and started to listen once more.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER II</p> - -<p class="ph2"><i>The Red Sky</i></p> - - -<p>The girl turned from the window, where the bright sky silhouetted her -slender figure.</p> - -<p>"How do I know where he is?" she snapped.</p> - -<p>"Now look, Virginia," objected one of the men in the room, "there's no -point in getting angry. We must know."</p> - -<p>"I know you must, Peter," she returned. "I agree. But I don't know. Do -you understand that? I don't know!"</p> - -<p>Peter Moray shrugged. "Anybody capable of building a space resonator -must have enough training to have known about it in the first place."</p> - -<p>John Cauldron spoke sharply, "You went out to the corner as suggested?"</p> - -<p>"I did. He did not appear. After I returned I watched at regular -intervals. No one came. Also I listened carefully as you suggested. -He hasn't been calling—hasn't called since about eleven o'clock this -morning."</p> - -<p>Peter Moray smiled. "Yesterday morning," he corrected.</p> - -<p>"Don't be funny. You're the ones that have kept me up all night asking -fool questions over and over."</p> - -<p>"They're not fool questions, Virginia."</p> - -<p>"Any question repeated too often becomes a fool question," she replied.</p> - -<p>Cauldron spoke heavily. "We're not cross-examining you, Virginia. -Please believe that. We ask and ask and ask because it may be that -something might have been said that sounds trivial, but may make large -sense."</p> - -<p>The girl shrugged. "You're entitled to try," she said. She passed -a hand across her face wearily. "You've heard and reheard our -conversation as verbatim as I recall it. And it was an experience I -will not forget easily."</p> - -<p>"Agreed," said Moray, walking to the west window and looking out. "I -guess we're all overkeyed."</p> - -<p>Cauldron grumbled a bit. "There have been a lot of strange things -happening," he said. "This isn't the first."</p> - -<p>Virginia smiled wanly but it was Cauldron who spoke next after a short -pause. "And at five-thirty in the morning, everything begins to get -somewhat distorted from a mental standpoint."</p> - -<p>Moray turned from the brightness of the sky and mumbled something about -life's lowest ebb occurring just before dawn.</p> - -<p>Then he added, "Why did this mess have to happen? Blast it, everybody -that knew swore up and down that the possibility was nil."</p> - -<p>"Not nil enough," said Cauldron.</p> - -<p>"No," agreed Virginia. "But that's life."</p> - -<p>Moray slammed his fist down on the window-sill and swore. "That's -life," he echoed in a mocking tone. "Well, I don't like it!"</p> - -<p>"Who does?" demanded Cauldron quietly.</p> - -<p>"Can't you face facts?" snapped Moray. "Do you realize that we haven't -much time left? And what are we doing about it? Where are we? Nowhere, -or no further along than we were thirty years ago—exactly thirty years -ago. It's July sixteenth right now, and that's—"</p> - -<p>"You're talking like a fool, Moray," said Virginia. "Have you ever -stopped to think that those of us who do not rant and rave and worry -ourselves into ulcers may have faced the fact, and find it ungood? -Well, there are those of us who will do what we can. There's little -sense in worrying about conditions—all it does is remove you from your -highest efficiency.</p> - -<p>"When something is awry you do something to correct it if you can. If -you cannot you pigeonhole it until such a time as you can solve it. Not -forget it, never for a moment. But there's no sense in dragging a worry -back and forth across the floor until it is draining your life's blood. -As for that out there, I didn't do it."</p> - -<p>"Good for you, Virginia," applauded Cauldron.</p> - -<p>"No," snapped Moray. "You didn't. You were not born at that time. But -you can't fold your hands and accept it—nor can you say that it is -none of your business!"</p> - -<p>"There's always suicide," said Virginia Carlson.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>A clock in the lower part of the house chimed once, marking the hour of -five-thirty.</p> - -<p>Moray returned to the window and looked at the sky, west. "At -five-thirty in the morning of July sixteenth," he said, "one hundred -and twenty miles southeast of Albuquerque, in a remote section of the -Alamogordo air base, a group of scientists released the first atomic -fire. Thirty years later," he finished bitterly, "we have a perpetual -sunrise!"</p> - -<p>On the laboratory table, the receiver rattled loudly. They turned, as -one.</p> - -<p>"Look," snapped Cauldron quickly, "if that is this Ed Bronson -character, get in touch with him. We can use any technician we can get -our hands on. Any man with a brain might well hold the key to that -living cancer out there that is burning up the very earth."</p> - -<p>"I'll put my chances on a space rocket," replied Peter Moray.</p> - -<p>"I'd rather stop that fire out there."</p> - -<p>"Why?" demanded Moray.</p> - -<p>"Where would you go?" snapped Cauldron angrily. "There isn't a planet -fit for human occupation and you know it. You'll either put it out or -we'll all die. Not a chance for escape in any other way."</p> - -<p>"I—"</p> - -<p>"Shut up, while Virginia answers Bronson. He's having interference -trouble—you'll make it no easier."</p> - -<p>From the speaker was coming Ed Bronson's voice, calling for Miss -Carlson and requesting an answer, for he had filters installed that -eliminated the whistlings.</p> - -<p>Cauldron jabbed Moray with an elbow. "He's a right bright fellow," he -observed in a whisper.</p> - -<p>Virginia Carlson spoke into the microphone. "You're right on the big -moment," she told Bronson.</p> - -<p>"Big moment?" he replied.</p> - -<p>"Sure. Thirty years ago today—this moment."</p> - -<p>"Yeah?" drawled Bronson. "And what happened?"</p> - -<p>Peter Moray looked at John Cauldron. "Tell me," he snapped, "what kind -of man could live to maturity and not know Alamogordo?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know. I can't imagine," replied John Cauldron. "But -maybe—just maybe—it is the answer we've been seeking."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Ed Bronson shook his head though he knew that the girl could not see -him. He had not heard Moray or Cauldron mention Alamogordo. He repeated -his query.</p> - -<p>"And what happened?"</p> - -<p>Virginia Carlson told him, "Thirty years ago, at Alamogordo, the -scientists first released the energy from the atom."</p> - -<p>"Oh," he replied. "I didn't know it was marked on the calendar as a -holiday."</p> - -<p>"Holiday?" exploded Virginia.</p> - -<p>"Well?"</p> - -<p>"That atomic fire is still burning!" snapped Virginia.</p> - -<p>"Oh, no!"</p> - -<p>"Well, I'm within a hundred and thirty miles of it," she replied, "and -I can see it out of the window."</p> - -<p>"Where the dickens are you?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"You know my address," she replied.</p> - -<p>"Yes," he agreed. "And I went there and got pushed in the face for my -trouble."</p> - -<p>"And the people who live at your address are named Carrington, not -Bronson."</p> - -<p>"How old are you?" asked Bronson.</p> - -<p>"Twenty-five—why?"</p> - -<p>"Look," he said, "if that atomic fire is running out there, then how -did the World War Two end?"</p> - -<p>"They brought high officials over to see the awful pillar of fire. -They didn't tell them that the atomic flame would eventually eat the -earth—so surrender was a matter of expediency. Once the shooting was -over all the earth turned at once to the job of putting it out. You -know that."</p> - -<p>"Nope," he replied. "It worked—as did the others at Hiroshima, -Nagasaki, and two at Bikini Atoll."</p> - -<p>"Hiro—and what was at Bikini Atoll?" demanded the girl.</p> - -<p>"Tests—Operation Crossroads."</p> - -<p>"<i>Tests!</i>" exploded Virginia. "And none of them started atomic fires in -the earth itself?"</p> - -<p>"Nope."</p> - -<p>"Then you tell me what happened?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know."</p> - -<p>"You're not psycho?" asked Virginia.</p> - -<p>"Not that I know of," he replied with a chuckle. "Though—as Pontius -Pilate is credited with having said—'What is truth?'"</p> - -<p>"Hmmm. I cannot deny your right to state truth as you see it, Bronson, -but be it remembered that practically every human born since the atomic -fire is a mutation of some sort or another."</p> - -<p>"So what does that make me?"</p> - -<p>"You might be some sort of brain mutation—don't ask what kind—one who -does not recognize the truth."</p> - -<p>"All I know is what I read in the papers, what I see in the moving -pictures, and how I feel at the moment. Also, I am no mutation. I was -exactly one year old when Alamogordo took place, even supposing that it -did take off with radiations that might have mutated the germ plasm."</p> - -<p>"Well, it did."</p> - -<p>"According to you it did," replied Bronson.</p> - -<p>"May I repeat your own statement to yourself?" she told him. "All I -know—et cetera."</p> - -<p>"Okay," he said. "And granting that our separate tales are true, then -what?"</p> - -<p>Virginia mentioned a few items of history. Both then got their own -history books and started to compare closely. They agreed on everything -up to the moment of the atomic bomb at Alamogordo.</p> - -<p>And at that moment, the histories diverged.</p> - -<p>"Nature," said Ed Bronson, "must have been perplexed. So she took both -roadways. One in which the earth is engulfed with atomic flame and one -in which the thing worked."</p> - -<p>"What do we do next?" asked Virginia.</p> - -<p>"We get in touch with the respective authorities of our worlds," said -Bronson. "Alone we can do little. Together we can do something to aid -you."</p> - -<p>"Tomorrow night at seven, then?" asked Virginia.</p> - -<p>"Right."</p> - -<p>The contact was broken.</p> - -<p>"And there," said Peter Moray, "is our answer!"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER III</p> - -<p class="ph2"><i>Earth Three</i></p> - - -<p>Harry Maddox turned from his laboratory table as the tall, dark man -entered. Maddox greeted the taller man obsequiously, but the other's -reply was curt.</p> - -<p>"They've done it, you say?" asked Kingston.</p> - -<p>"They've done it," replied Maddox gloatingly.</p> - -<p>"That proves it then," replied Kingston with interest. "Though it has -always been a common enough theory."</p> - -<p>"Within the past thirty-six hours," said Maddox, "there have been two -transmissions. The latter one is now going on. Want to hear it?"</p> - -<p>"Not particularly," replied Kingston. "It will be recorded for my -leisure."</p> - -<p>"Yes," nodded Maddox. His nod was toward a rather attractive girl, who -was riding herd on a large wire recorder. From time to time she would -reach out and adjust the volume of the recording. Over long blond hair -she wore earphones to monitor the conversation directly. Kingston made -a mental note that he could trust Maddox to adorn his laboratory and -workshop with the most attractive human decor that he could find.</p> - -<p>Instead of commenting on this he smiled in amusement and continued to -speak. "Rather dramatic, isn't it?"</p> - -<p>Maddox nodded. "Thirty years to the moment. That Alamogordo affair had -three possibilities. It could either have gone off normally—it could -have started an atomic fire in the earth—or it could have fizzled. And -so, thirty years later, the three temporal possibilities are meeting."</p> - -<p>"No, my dear Maddox," said Kingston with the air of a savant correcting -a student who was not too careful of his facts. "Just two of them. We -sit by—remember?"</p> - -<p>"I know," said Maddox, rebuffed.</p> - -<p>"Remember—and never for a moment forget—that the possibility of the -Alamogordo bomb starting an atomic fire in the earth was a remote -possibility. That means that the tensors which maintain that line of -temporal advancement are very shaky.</p> - -<p>"Time, you know, consists of following the Laws of Least Reaction, -which simply means that in any reaction wherein a number of -possibilities occur, that which will happen with the least energy will -take place. This is statistically true, and need not hold for specific -instances.</p> - -<p>"Now," Kingston went on, enjoying his role of lecturer even though -Maddox fiddled impatiently because he knew it all beforehand—and -besides, the blonde was half-listening, though alert on her recording -job. "Be it always remembered that the chances of the Alamogordo Bomb -being a fizzle were as remote as the other case.</p> - -<p>"Ergo, Maddox, our own world hangs on a slender thread of reality. We -have as much need to escape from this time-slot as they whose earth -is burning with atomic fire. For only in the time-slot where the -Alamogordo Bomb behaved according to principle are the time-tensors -heavy enough to maintain it."</p> - -<p>"Yes, your Excellency," replied Maddox.</p> - -<p>Kingston nodded. "You are a lucky fellow, Maddox. I came as soon as I -could get away. I shall remain here until we can go through and take -over."</p> - -<p>"Sir, a question." Maddox knew that he must use deference at least -until Kingston climbed down from his tall horse. "What happens when, as -and if they start an atomic fire in Earth One?"</p> - -<p>"They cannot, save by sheer chance of almost impossible mathematical -odds," said Kingston. "Besides, they hope to move in—or will as soon -as they learn the truth. No man burns the home he hopes to own in the -near future."</p> - -<p>"But what will happen?" asked Maddox. "That expectation is far too deep -for me to follow."</p> - -<p>"Men—all men—are inclined to feel sorry for the trapped," said -Kingston. "In some cultures their sorrow is shown by killing the -trapped to remove them from their misery. In other cultures, the -trapped are aided even though they may eventually turn against their -liberators. Once the truth is known to both worlds, those who are in -Earth One will be moved to aid the trapped ones in Earth Two.</p> - -<p>"We shall aid them as we did before by transmitting to Earth One -more samples of the space-resonant radioisotope to contaminate their -scientific works. There will be a gaudy search for them once the truth -is known, you know. Anyway, those on Earth One will undoubtedly admit -the trapped ones from Earth Two."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Maddox shrugged. "No dice, yet."</p> - -<p>"Don't be stupid. Those on Earth Two are a race faced with death. -They'll send through their mutants, their death-dealing types first. -That will decimate Earth One and leave Earth One in the hands of Earth -Two. Follow?"</p> - -<p>"So far, yes. But where do we come in?"</p> - -<p>"We come in shortly. Ninety percent of those remaining on Earth Two are -mutants from the atomic fire or considerably older than thirty. The -ninety are almost certain to be—if not sterile—then not cross-fertile -with the rest of the mutant race. Each will have gone mutant in some -fashion different from his fellow.</p> - -<p>"All we need do then is to sit and wait until the race dies -out—another thirty or forty years. Or, better, depending on the -circumstances following the eventual battle, we go to war. We shall -win, for our people have not lost much. At any rate we're permitting -Earth Two to do our cleaning-up for us."</p> - -<p>"Unless—" began Maddox, then paused. He knew that if he advanced a -theory unasked it would be scorned. However, were he to make some -leading statement and then disavow it unuttered Kingston would demand -that he complete it whether he thought it right or wrong.</p> - -<p>Kingston did, which was an excellent proof of the theory that it is -a good thing to know the nature of your fellow man. "Unless what?" -demanded Kingston.</p> - -<p>"It was but an idle thought. Who fights more fiercely—he who has lost -his home and fights for another or he who protects himself from the one -who would dispossess him?"</p> - -<p>Kingston laughed nastily. "Little difference," he said. "This is rigged -so that no matter what, a fight will ensue. It is always easy to lick -the survivor of a tough battle."</p> - -<p>Maddox shrugged. "Just remember that you're not fighting aliens, but -you—our—own kind!"</p> - -<p>Kingston nodded. "That," he said succinctly, "is why I know them so -well."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Cauldron looked at his watch. "Two hours," he said. "Time enough?"</p> - -<p>Virginia looked concerned. "He didn't state whether he'd been asleep -lately," she said.</p> - -<p>"Unless he's a complete screwball, he'll work days and sleep nights," -observed Moray. "Even supposing he works at home, he'll be arising -about noon at the latest and hitting the hay about three-odd. Excepting -when something was really in the fire like this receiver of his. I -predict that he hit the sheets after we closed and is now pounding the -pillow at a fine rate of speed."</p> - -<p>Virginia smiled uncertainly, turning back from her communicating -equipment. "He doesn't answer," she said.</p> - -<p>"Can you locate his phosphor?" demanded Cauldron.</p> - -<p>"I have."</p> - -<p>"Then try," snapped Moray. "Aid! Help!" he sneered, "We're in the way -of losing our very lives, and what we need, we take!"</p> - -<p>Cauldron nodded. "Moray—you first. If Bronson is still in evidence -clip him. If not we'll go ahead and do whatever is necessary. We can't -take too long. After all—"</p> - -<p>Moray nodded. "Ready, Virginia?"</p> - -<p>"Ready."</p> - -<p>Virginia worked over another bit of equipment in her laboratory. Moray -walked over easily, smoking a last cigarette leisurely until Virginia -turned to him.</p> - -<p>"The focal volumes are resonant," she said. Then Moray seated himself -in the chair before the equipment and, as Virginia started the machine, -it began to transmit Pete Moray from one world to the other.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was not especially spectacular. No flashing lights or flowing aurae -of color. Moray's body, still breathing, still living, began to be less -solid. At one time Moray lit another cigarette.</p> - -<p>A bit of the cigarette smoke entered Ed Bronson's laboratory. -The amount was that percentage of the transmission that had been -accomplished.</p> - -<p>There, before the big kinescope tube in Bronson's laboratory, the air -was beginning to show the vague outlines of a figure, seated on a -chair. This figure thickened gradually as the random atoms in Moray's -body passed over.</p> - -<p>A half hour passed and Virginia told Cauldron that the transmission -should be about half complete. Moray's body could be seen through -faintly—not that any of the internal organs were visible but as if he -were a wraith.</p> - -<p>Then the halfway point came. The floor in Bronson's laboratory was -lower than the floor in Virginia Carlson's laboratory—with respect -to their transmitters and receivers—and Moray and his chair dropped -several feet on both sides. Moray seemed to be unmindful of the fact -that the hard floor of Virginia's laboratory was about where his -stomach was.</p> - -<p>A half hour later, there was little of Moray left on Earth Two. Most of -him was on Earth One!</p> - -<p>As the final molecules came through the space resonator Moray heard a -noise. Frantic, he turned to see but could do nothing until the last of -him was complete. The noise resolved itself to footsteps, and then the -door opened and Ed Bronson strode in.</p> - -<p>"Smoke—" he mumbled sleepily, then, "—who the heck are you!"</p> - -<p>Moray was complete. He leaped to his feet and clipped Bronson viciously -with the side of his hand. Bronson dropped, stunned, dazed, but not -unconscious. Deftly, Moray found a roll of tape, bound Bronson's ankles -and wrists, slapped a bit of tape across his mouth.</p> - -<p>"Aid?" sneered Moray. "Promise us aid, all right. Fifty years will -pass while the idea is being thrashed out in Congress or in whatever -international organization there is here. Behave, Bronson, and you'll -live. Help us—understand? If you don't it's—" Moray drew a forefinger -across his throat.</p> - -<p>Another figure started to form—vague and indistinct—and Moray lifted -the taped man across his shoulders, carried him upstairs, dumped him -across his bed and left him there.</p> - -<p>When he returned to the laboratory, Virginia was beginning to solidify. -Moray seated himself and waited, smoking Bronson's cigarettes and -fortifying himself with a drink of Bronson's liquor. Moray smiled, but -his humor was bitter.</p> - -<p>How to marshal an army? It took an hour to get one person through—to -pass the six or seven million still living in Earth Three would at this -rate take six or seven million hours—a mere eight hundred years if you -didn't bother with the extra leap-year days or take Christmas off.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Time passed slowly and it was the full hour before Virginia came -through completely and arose from her chair.</p> - -<p>"Collect Bronson or kill him?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"I should have killed him," said Moray.</p> - -<p>"Not at all," replied Virginia. "Even though this is quite similar to -our world remember that thirty years of time separate us—and thirty -years each of divergent development. We need someone to show us our way -around."</p> - -<p>Moray shrugged. "He might guess about this factor?"</p> - -<p>Virginia shook her head. "No," she said with finality. "He's just -beginning to think about the space resonator. Look at that pile of -haywire junk! He's downright dumbfounded at the idea of communicating -over a lump of electron-bombarded radioisotopic compound.</p> - -<p>"To consider the transmission of matter from one volume of focus to -another is an idea beyond concept. And—no doubt—radioisotopes aren't -dished out as easily here as they are back there."</p> - -<p>"Here, there, whither?" grinned Moray. "Let's call this Earth One -because it is going to be here long after Earth Two has dissolved in -atomic flame."</p> - -<p>"Okay. So we've got this station first. We've got to get enough -radioisotopic phosphor passed around Earth One to make wholesale -passage possible. You run this station, Moray, and I'll stand by to act -as a front."</p> - -<p>Moray looked at Virginia closely. Slender, blonde and possessed of an -ethereal and almost violent beauty, her personality and looks could and -would forestall much idle questioning. He nodded.</p> - -<p>"You keep out of sight of Friend Bronson," he said. "It might be handy -to have you for a—a face card."</p> - -<p>Virginia grinned....</p> - -<p>Ed Bronson had a splitting headache and a crying pain in every muscle. -He had been lying motionless. It was all he could do against the -adhesive-taping job done by Peter Moray. His tongue was thick and furry -and his very soul cried for water. He could make no sound for the tape -covered his mouth.</p> - -<p>Angrily, and resentfully, Bronson's temper flared. He set his muscles -against the tape about his wrists and strained. He tried the tape about -his ankles. Both were wound many times with the heavy tape which would -not be torn.</p> - -<p>A twisting strain succeeded only in abrading his skin until the flesh -was raw and bleeding. With fading hope he prayed that the blood would -soften the tape and thought about rubbing himself raw even more so that -the further flow of blood might aid.</p> - -<p>He gave that up when he saw that the tape was of the waterproof -variety. All the soaking in the world would do little good.</p> - -<p>He rolled from the bed onto the floor, easing the thud by dropping -taped feet first and then angling to knees, turning to land on his -buttocks and then unfolding as gently as he knew how. He made it with -no undue effort. Then he rolled across the floor to the door and, -turning, he caught the hinge-butt under the tape at his wrists where -tape and wrists made a small triangle.</p> - -<p>After many minutes, Bronson succeeded in weakening the tape and then, -hooking the tape firmly over the hinge, he tore it loose. To remove the -tape from his mouth and from his ankles was but a moment's work and -then Ed Bronson was free to act!</p> - -<p>Quietly, he dressed. Then, using the utmost stealth, he stole down the -stairs and out onto the street. It was midmorning.</p> - -<p>Nodding amicably to Lewis McManner, who scowled back across the street, -Ed Bronson headed for police headquarters.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER IV</p> - -<p class="ph2">"<i>What Fools—</i>"</p> - - -<p>Ed Bronson thought it out on his way to the police station. Man was -an impossible mixture of altruism and selfishness. Man was inclined -to give freely to those who were needy—but would fight like fury to -withhold the very smallest of his possessions from the avaricious grasp -of those who would wrest them from him by force.</p> - -<p>As a world requiring pity, aid and mercy, every effort would be bent -towards that end, even to the job of making room for them in an already -crowded world. But they had entered like bank robbers or claim jumpers. -Their own world lost, they intended to abandon it, pirating any other -world they could.</p> - -<p>The brotherhood of man collapsed at that point and became a brotherhood -of hate. Tolerance and mercy and willingness to offer succor must be -forgotten when the needy become vicious. Biting the hand that feeds is -an old platitude which still holds true.</p> - -<p>So Ed Bronson knew that, regardless of their wretched situation, they -must be stopped. This was invasion with capital letters. Even though -many of them must be direct descendants of people in this world, -invasion meant war! Even worse than civil war was the brother against -brother, man against man, war of survival.</p> - -<p>They—and Ed Bronson paused. 'They' was an indefinite term. 'They' -should have some nomenclature for purposes of identification. Were the -invasion from another planet, 'they' would have a name.</p> - -<p>Were it merely an earthly war, country against country or political -clan against political clan, both sides would have names. But here -was a case where it would be one earth, one world, against another -world—identical save for a trick in time that had split them apart.</p> - -<p>Bronson needed a name and he needed it quickly. He reasoned and came -to the conclusion that the 'other world' should be called Earth Two -because it was not long for living. Once it was destroyed by its own -fire this world would revert to being '<i>the</i>' earth. Until such a time -as differentiation became unnecessary he would call the two worlds -Earth One and Earth Two.</p> - -<p>Thus, independently, did the people of three almost identical earths -arrive at the same conclusion. Earth One was the original, where the -Alamogordo Experiment had been successful. Earth Two was where the -million-to-one chance of starting an all-consuming atomic fire had -actually happened. Earth Three was where the Alamogordo Experiment had -failed.</p> - -<p>Ed Bronson and the folk from Earth Two were still to learn of Earth -Three and it was only sheer reasoning that made all three systems of -nomenclature congruent.</p> - -<p>So by the time Ed Bronson located the police department he was prepared -to give a coherent story. He asked for the captain in charge.</p> - -<p>"Cap'n Norris is busy," grumped the desk sergeant. "What's the matter?"</p> - -<p>"My home is being invaded and—"</p> - -<p>"Well, you don't need the captain for that," snapped the sergeant. -"Joe! Eddie! Get the wagon and go with this here—what's your name, -mister?—and see that the guys that broke into his place are canned!"</p> - -<p>"I'm Ed Bronson," explained Ed. "But—"</p> - -<p>"That's all right," grunted the sergeant. "Joe and Eddie'll take care -of you!"</p> - -<p>"But you don't understand," said Ed patiently. "These are invaders from -another world."</p> - -<p>"Invaders from—what?" asked the sergeant, doing a double take.</p> - -<p>"They're just the beginning," said Ed. "If you manage to grab them -others will be coming."</p> - -<p>"Eddie—Joe! Forget it. This is a Number Seven deal."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Joe and Eddie looked at Ed Bronson with an odd glint in their eyes. -The sergeant looked down across the desk and said, "Now, Mr. Bronson, -suppose you come with me to the captain's office and we'll talk to him."</p> - -<p>"That's fine," said Bronson. "You see, I'm not sure of what to do about -it all."</p> - -<p>"Captain Norris will be able to help you," said the sergeant. "This -way."</p> - -<p>He came from behind his desk and led Ed Bronson to the hallway door. -He opened the door and stepped back, permitting Ed to go first. Ed -found himself in a short hallway and started down it uncertainly. The -sergeant followed him until he reached the proper door.</p> - -<p>"In there, Mr. Bronson," he said.</p> - -<p>Bronson did not make particular note of the fact that the desk sergeant -had at no time been with his back to Ed. He opened the door and found -himself facing an elderly wise-looking man who had the appearance of -having seen, heard, and experienced, either first-hand or vicariously, -every item of trouble, grief and sin in the list.</p> - -<p>"Captain Norris, this is Mr. Bronson. He has a bit of trouble. Thought -you'd best hear about it."</p> - -<p>"Sit down, Mr. Bronson, and tell me about it," replied Captain Norris -easily.</p> - -<p>"Well, sir, in the first place, I am an electronics specialist. It's—"</p> - -<p>"A scientist of some sort, is that it?"</p> - -<p>Ed nodded. "Most of us shy away from the name 'scientist' but that's -about it," he said. "So you're a scientist?" smiled Norris.</p> - -<p>"Yes. And I was experimenting on a bit of radioisotopic phosphor, -hoping to make a better, more brilliant television picture."</p> - -<p>"Has this all got to do with the people who are breaking into your -home?" asked Norris.</p> - -<p>"Yes. That's how they got in."</p> - -<p>"I see. Then go ahead. No, Sergeant Foster, you stay because you may -have to do something about this and it is best that you get your story -first hand. It'll save time. Now, Mr. Bronson?"</p> - -<p>"Well, under the combined forces of the magnetic field and the -electronic bombardment the phosphor vibrated. I half recognized the -vibration. It was like a very faint whisper in another room that you -can't quite understand—but you know that someone is whispering.</p> - -<p>"So I went to work on the phosphor and used a contact microphone on -it, and got in touch with some woman, who gave her address as across -the street from my home. When I went over there, I discovered that -it couldn't possibly be correct. Later I refined the thing a bit and -learned that her name was Carlson. Then I built a means of talking back -to her, and I learned that she was not on this world at all. It was—"</p> - -<p>"Not on this earth—but talking American?" demanded Norris.</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"Do go on," said Captain Norris, putting down his pipe and leaning -forward a bit.</p> - -<p>"Well, you see, Captain Norris, there were some of the Manhattan -Project physicists who believed that there was a chance that the atomic -explosion might be strong enough to start a fission train in the earth -itself. In other words, they were afraid of setting the earth on fire -atomically. This was a possibility, and it seems that we now have two -worlds, each following the natural chain of events pursuant to the two -different possibilities."</p> - -<p>"Very interesting, Mr. Bronson. Please go on. There must be more."</p> - -<p>"After learning this, we decided to do what we could to alleviate the -difficulty. I went to bed. In the night—or rather while I was asleep, -they used some means or other to pass through from one world to the -other and one of them clipped me and taped me up. He told me that they -were going to move in on us—to displace us. I escaped and came here. -Something must be done!"</p> - -<p>"Indeed! Something must be done indeed," replied Captain Norris.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Bronson took a deep breath, and said, "I'm glad that I had this chance. -It was a heavy weight on my mind, knowing that this was happening and I -was the only one in the whole world that knew the truth."</p> - -<p>Captain Norris nodded. "I trust that you are feeling all right now?"</p> - -<p>"Of course."</p> - -<p>"We'd better get you to a doctor, Mr. Bronson. Those wrists look -inflamed."</p> - -<p>Bronson looked down at them. "Now that this affair is in the hands of -authority," he said, "I think I can take time off to see a doctor."</p> - -<p>"We'll take you to our doctor," said Captain Norris.</p> - -<p>"I have my own," said Bronson.</p> - -<p>"We—insist!"</p> - -<p>"But—"</p> - -<p>Norris smiled genially. "You'll like our doctor," he said. "He's such a -nice congenial fellow. Everybody likes him. Now—"</p> - -<p>"What is this?" demanded Bronson.</p> - -<p>"Take it easy," said the captain, "it's just routine. Everybody who -gets hurt in the course of committing a crime or being victimized -in such is always treated by the official medical department. Just -a matter of establishing legal medical evidence, that's all. Now -relax, Mr. Bronson, and come along. I'll have the boys take you to the -hospital."</p> - -<p>"Hos—?"</p> - -<p>"Routine. The doctor works for us, Mr. Bronson. Therefore he has no -office hours. Logical?"</p> - -<p>Joe and Eddie treated Ed Bronson to a wild ride through the city -streets with the siren on full. They slid to a stop in front of a -squat, dirty limestone building and they escorted him in—convoyed him -in, to be exact, for one went in front and one followed up the rear.</p> - -<p>"I am Doctor Mason," said a white-clad man, meeting them in the -corridor of the building. "Captain Norris told me you'd be coming."</p> - -<p>"Just abraded skin, doctor," said Ed, showing the doctor his wrists.</p> - -<p>"We'll take care of that instanter," smiled Doctor Mason. "Meanwhile, -what's this tale you were telling Norris? Something about hearing -voices? Threatening voices?"</p> - -<p>Bronson recoiled a bit.</p> - -<p>"Now, relax," said Mason.</p> - -<p>"Do you think I'm crazy?" asked Bronson sharply.</p> - -<p>"Of course not. You're not crazy, my boy. Just tell me—"</p> - -<p>"You—"</p> - -<p>"My friend, the symptoms of paranoia are simple and easy to determine. -The hushed voices, in the earlier stages, merely talk about the victim. -In a later stage the voices threaten. In still a later state the hushed -voices take physical being and all too often it is someone entirely -innocent of any malice.</p> - -<p>"Now this tale of people from another world, Mr. Bronson, must be faced -for what it is. You are not crazy, my boy. Merely ill—no worse than a -bad cold or influenza, for instance. But you are ill and you must be -treated."</p> - -<p>"Treated?" exploded Bronson angrily. "Treated—for an imagined mental -ailment when the earth itself is in danger of being invaded?"</p> - -<p>"The earth is not in danger," said the psychiatrist firmly. "And—"</p> - -<p>"I will not be—"</p> - -<p>"Violent, too," said Mason with a solemn shake of his head. "Normally, -we try to gain the patient's confidence. But in advanced cases of -paranoia, they will resent even altruism. Everything is suspected of -plot. Now, Mr. Bronson, whether you believe that this is for your own -good or not, you're coming with me. Will you come quietly or shall I -have some orderlies bring you?"</p> - -<p>Bronson shook his head and turned to go. He walked into the waiting -arms of Joe and Eddie, who subdued him easily because they were well -trained in the art of handling men. Mason waved them on, and Bronson -walked with both arms in hammerlock behind him. He could either walk or -have both arms dislocated at the shoulder.</p> - -<p>Mason spoke to the policemen. "The thing that makes psychiatry tough -is that the patient likes himself the way he is—just as all men do, -really—and resents bitterly any suggestion that his personality be -changed."</p> - -<p>"What do you intend to do?" asked Joe.</p> - -<p>"Electro-therapy," said the doctor in a decisive tone.</p> - -<p>Bronson writhed in both physical and mental anguish. He, the only -man on earth that realized the danger, being dog-walked into a -cell—accused of the crime of warning the earth of its fate! -Outnumbered, overpowered and disbelieved!</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER V</p> - -<p class="ph2"><i>Head Start</i></p> - - -<p>Leader Kingston shook his head. "Bronson is dangerous to us," he said.</p> - -<p>Maddox nodded. "If his tale is believed Earth One will arm against -invasion."</p> - -<p>"Correct. Properly to save us trouble the invasion must take place -against small armed odds. Otherwise, instead of our finding a world -decimated and wearied by war, we'll find a world with its wits -sharpened and its anger high."</p> - -<p>Maddox turned the focus knob to readjust the image that had fuzzed a -bit because of a varying line voltage. He pointed to Bronson's image, -struggling against the policemen.</p> - -<p>"He's in a fix right now," he said.</p> - -<p>Kingston nodded dubiously. "But he'll not remain there," he said. -"Bronson is suspected of being paranoid right now. Any man coming to -high authority with such an unbelievable tale of alien entities or -time-divided worlds would be suspected of insanity. But before anybody -tries to cure him, they will give him their most extensive tests to -prove or disprove his sanity.</p> - -<p>"It is a fundamental principle that no man need be subjected to -treatments or cure that needs them not. It is a violation of human -integrity to attempt to cure a man of delusions who has no instability. -Therefore they will apply the last word in checks and tests and -discover that Bronson is not insane.</p> - -<p>"Once they discover his stability they will admit the shadow of a -doubt. Only the completely insane will not admit their error or -possibility of error. An honestly sane man will admit—however -grudgingly—the possibility of anything, even to alien entities and -split time-continua."</p> - -<p>"Then—?"</p> - -<p>"Then let them listen but once to his flanged-up space resonator. -His is a fine spectacle, you admit—about as neat and as efficient -as the First Radio Receiver. On such, many people are making many -transmissions of all sorts. Obviously, Maddox, the state of the art -is higher than the technical efficiency of Bronson's gadget which to -men of science will mean that there is something to Bronson's story. -Follow?"</p> - -<p>Maddox nodded. "The men who know will have sufficient knowledge to -evaluate the negative evidence. They know of no such technique."</p> - -<p>"Exactly," nodded Kingston. "Precisely. This we must stop!"</p> - -<p>"This we can stop," said Maddox.</p> - -<p>"How?" demanded Kingston sharply.</p> - -<p>Maddox made a wry grin. "Watch," he said. He turned to the kinescope -screen once more and watched Ed Bronson prowling the lonely cell....</p> - -<p>For the thirtieth time, Ed Bronson paced his tiny cell. It was -hopeless. Everything mobile was too large and soft to use as tool or -weapon—for either egress or self-destruction. His clothing had been -removed forcibly and Ed Bronson seethed angrily, dressed in only his -skin.</p> - -<p>He realized that he had been a fool. Had he been less violent he might -not be so well incarcerated. He should have known that no amount of -physical struggle would get him anything. After all he had striven -against greater numbers of men who were all trained in the art of -handling men possessed of the strength of the insane.</p> - -<p>Bronson had only the strength of the indignant, which was far from the -unreasonable power of the insane. With the use of a small amount of -foresight, Ed Bronson knew that he might have been in a room less bare, -perhaps one in which the door had not been bolted, barred and locked.</p> - -<p>Bronson, it must be told, was not aware of the fact that the men who -held him were also used to prisoners possessed of the cunning of the -insane. No amount of cajolery, honest protest, supine acquiescence or -willing aid would have made them do other than lock, bolt and bar his -door.</p> - -<p>What Bronson needed was a friend....</p> - -<p>Maddox smiled with grim humor. "We cannot silence him now."</p> - -<p>Kingston nodded, his face clearing of its slight frown. "Good man," he -breathed.</p> - -<p>"Nor," said Maddox, looking at the cell depicted on the kinescope tube, -"can we aid him to escape."</p> - -<p>"To kill him inside of that room would most certainly prove to them -that enough of his tale is true to make them suspicious. Even to open -that room and let him out will prove to them that there is more than -the agency of a single man at work."</p> - -<p>"In other, terser words," grunted Maddox, "he has placed himself in a -position where he has life insurance—only in the name of Earth Three."</p> - -<p>"And you see to it that he stays alive, suspect and helpless!" snapped -Kingston.</p> - -<p>"That I shall do," nodded Maddox. "That I shall do!"</p> - -<p>"Unless, of course, he is threatened by death with both killer and -motive indigenous—or apparently so—to Earth One."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Peter Moray turned to Virginia Carlson and shook his head. "Won't -work," he said.</p> - -<p>"Why not?" she asked.</p> - -<p>Moray explained. His explanation was almost identical to that of -Kingston and Maddox. To hurl a man into an asylum for hallucination is -all well and good. To protect society, for any number of reasons all -directed at the protection of society, from the maniac or to protect -the maniac from society is sound.</p> - -<p>Yet no man can be incarcerated very long if he is sane and wants to get -out. It is as difficult for a sane man to fake insanity as it is for an -insane man to fake insanity.</p> - -<p>"So what do we do now?" asked Virginia.</p> - -<p>"We should have eliminated him at once," snapped Moray. "Confound it, I -was sleeping. I thought he might be useful."</p> - -<p>"You were wrong," she said. "It seems to me that we might as well give -him the works. I'll go down and see that he is taken care of."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Peter Moray nodded. Bronson had seen Moray but had never seen Virginia. -In fact, Bronson knew only Virginia's last name. That was a help. -Also, Virginia was a very good looking young woman and the power of -a beautiful woman who speaks with certainty is great. She was also a -capable calculator and could plan her campaign as she went along. Moray -nodded, and Virginia headed for the asylum.</p> - -<p>In her handbag, Virginia carried a small automatic. Bronson was a -threat. The threat must be eliminated. The lover's quarrel perhaps or, -better, he was in the asylum for paranoia. Why not have him attack her? -Self-defense is a good alibi and her story would be strengthened by the -doctor's decision. She smiled cryptically.</p> - -<p>Supposing she were convicted of murder in the first degree and -sentenced to the gas chamber? By the time the trial came to its end, -the invasion would be ready and the first act of the men of Earth Two -would be to rescue Virginia from her cell. She had everything to gain, -nothing to lose by acting—and there was an entire world dependent upon -her.</p> - -<p>Confidently Virginia opened the door of Bronson's house and headed down -the street. It was her first venture outside along the ways of Earth -One.</p> - -<p>In the morning, from her home, there were two lights in the sky, one a -disc rising in the east, one a blinding glare that rendered the disc -ineffective. Albuquerque never really knew night nor had it during the -course of Virginia Carlson's life. Here, however, there was but the -shining sun and Virginia found the streets a bit sheltered, shadowed, -compared to the streets of her home.</p> - -<p>But—the thought came to her—this was her home! She walked along the -same street as the one she lived on. She looked across the street from -Bronson's front steps and saw her own number there. It was a different -house but none the less it was her number. It was sandwiched between -two other houses whose outlines and architecture she recognized.</p> - -<p>The street light was there, recognizable, though this one was not the -remaining remnant of the pre-Alamogordo era. The one in her Albuquerque -had not been used in the course of her life, though it had not been -removed.</p> - -<p>The street-car line was still on the next corner, and the cars that ran -might have been the same—could they have been? Interested, Virginia -waited until one came along and, though she could not be certain, it -seemed the same.</p> - -<p>It was a matter of interest to find out whether the same cars plied -the same tracks in two different time streams. This seemed at once -paradoxical and quite possible, for Virginia had seen both her own -street address with a new house on the location, and the houses on -either side which were older than Alamogordo and recognizable.</p> - -<p>Virginia walked on slowly, a number of things running through her mind. -Even though the city seemed the same, there was quite a difference. The -population was thick here, not thinned out by radiation-sterility. The -people were smiling and unafraid. On no face was that look of stark -wonder and fear that never left the faces of the people of Earth Two -even though they had been born and bred under the blinding light of the -Alamogordo Blow-up.</p> - -<p>Nor were there the mutants.</p> - -<p>That was what made the most difference. In her life and counted among -her friends were strange biological forms, often unhuman. There was, -for instance, a fellow called Thomas Lincoln whose eyes grew on stalks -and was quite a man at work on large machinery because he could see -deep within the machine without having to rely on mirrors or the sense -of touch.</p> - -<p>His eyes, when extended, could either assume the proper distance for -perspective, could narrow or widen the angle of perspective—and his -mind, trained over the years, made due allowance so that he knew and -accepted these differences.</p> - -<p>There was Greene, the man whose hands had a palm on either side and -whose fingers could bend to make a fist on either the inside or the -outside of the arm. This might seem good, but it presented a lack of -firmness. Greene's hands were far weaker than Harrison's, whose hands -had but three fingers with twin thumbs on either side, making the hand -symmetrical.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Her girl-friend, Edna, secreted pure metal instead of pigment and -her skin and hair had a metallic sheen that was rather beautiful. -In a strong light, Edna's skin and hair were almost luminous, -like iridescent paint. There was the fellow that lived on the -corner—Virginia never knew his name—who had a double knee and elbow. -This made for physical instability.</p> - -<p>There were others. Some were interesting from functional standpoints, -some were interesting from banal standpoints. Others were just horrible -and many were viciously dangerous. But many of them were her friends. -Virginia had grown up without one iota of prejudice regarding the shape -of a man's body, the color of his skin, or the nationality of his -father. For in a life where few men were as simply mutated as to have a -mere skin coloration, all of the former prejudices were so minor in the -face of the acceptance of the more violent differences that to accept -the latter meant complete disregard of the former.</p> - -<p>This world contrasted sharply with Virginia's world. To see people -walking freely in the streets, pursuing their normal life, was -puzzling. Virginia, born in the glare of Alamogordo, under a culture -that had devoted itself completely to one main idea or to the secondary -or tertiary support of those who pursued that idea, this freedom was -inexplicable.</p> - -<p>In Virginia's world, there were two classes of people—those who worked -directly on the problem of saving their world in one way or another and -those who worked to support those who worked on the problem. Farmers -produced so much, by law. Book dealers sold so many kinds of books, -produced by printers and publishers who did exactly what was needed and -no more. Entertainment and relaxation was far from spontaneous.</p> - -<p>People did not collect at random and throw a party on the spur of the -moment nor could one decide to go out and buy a magazine and read it -instead of cleaning out the basement. Though it was admitted as such, -it was an emergency dictatorship, with the Alamogordo Blow-up as main -dictator. Regulation was the order of the years.</p> - -<p>Earth One was, to Virginia, completely unregulated. Women walked along -the streets idly, looking in windows and smiling at men. The sign "Bar" -intrigued Virginia. She was no stranger to the potable qualities of -alcohol, but the concept of an establishment directed at the sole idea -of selling drinks had not occurred to her.</p> - -<p>This—recall—was Virginia's first experience in living in a world not -harassed by fear.</p> - -<p>She paused at a window showing an assortment of dresses on well-made -forms. In her world, Virginia was a good-looking woman and dressed as -well as the next.</p> - -<p>In contrast to a world where much time and energy was directed at -luxury instead of the sheer, vicious necessity driven of hope and -despair—in a world where the accolade of young womanhood is to be -permitted her first trip to mother's beauty salon and thereafter make -obeisance regularly—Virginia, a beauty in her own world, knew that -here she was as conspicuous as a tall telephone pole in a snowbound -prairie.</p> - -<p>She knew because the window before which she stood reflected her own -hand-made dress against the luxurious mannequin inside the window.</p> - -<p>Moray had been correct in his assumption that a beautiful woman could -get away with more than a plain one. His only mistake was in not -judging alien demands for grooming. And yet it was not a true mistake. -It was rooted in sheer ignorance.</p> - -<p>Virginia wondered. Money? Coinage does not change very often. But the -few coins she had in her bag would not cover the two figures to the -left of the decimal point—iffing and providing that they were still -good.</p> - -<p>There was, on her right hand, her mother's diamond. On her left wrist -was a wristwatch of quite ancient vintage—Virginia automatically -called it "Pre-Blast"—which might bring a few dollars.</p> - -<p>Virginia turned from the window and went across the street to a -pawnshop. She emerged with a handful of greenbacks, re-crossed the -street and entered the ladies' shop. With satisfaction Virginia noted -a beautician's place next door and, though rather questioning of the -nefarious arts that might go on behind the curtains, Virginia was -determined to compete with her contemporary girl-friends on an even -basis—perhaps with a fair head start!</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER VI</p> - -<p class="ph2"><i>Sprung by the Foe</i></p> - - -<p>John Cauldron made contact with Peter Moray shortly after Virginia had -gone. Moray, busy with the details at hand, had not given much time to -thinking out the course of the future. Besides, it was Moray's business -to act upon orders from above. His was not the planner's lot.</p> - -<p>"What's cooking?" he asked Cauldron.</p> - -<p>"We're putting on a security silence on the space resonators," replied -Cauldron.</p> - -<p>"Why?"</p> - -<p>"Whether they think Bronson insane or not, whether he lives or dies, we -must see that there are as many bits of radioisotopic phosphor in Earth -One as possible."</p> - -<p>"Yes, but—"</p> - -<p>"Bronson may be judged insane. However, give him a chance and he will -demonstrate the space resonator. If he should pick up an Earth Two -broadcast or even a molecular pattern it will lend weight to his tale. -On the other hand, Bronson will be given credit—sane or otherwise—for -the invention of a new level of communication.</p> - -<p>"When it becomes known that gross matter can be shipped across space -with the same scientific concept people will rush madly to develop and -build delivery sets."</p> - -<p>"I get it."</p> - -<p>"Sure," replied Cauldron. "It's easy enough. Tell Virginia—"</p> - -<p>"She's gone already. She left to take care of Bronson."</p> - -<p>"Oh blast! Look, Moray, how are people dressed there?"</p> - -<p>"Why—I wouldn't know. Bronson was in pajamas when I intercepted him -and it's just barely morning now. I've not really been out yet."</p> - -<p>"You should have taken time to get Virginia fixed up as close to one of -the women of this world as possible."</p> - -<p>"Why?"</p> - -<p>"Because she'll be less conspicuous," said Bronson. "If they get to -peering into Bronson's mind they'll come to the conclusion that he -isn't as mad as his tale sounds. Give them one overly-conspicuous -character to look at and they will definitely begin to think loud -thoughts."</p> - -<p>"Well, why shouldn't Virginia get along?" demanded Moray.</p> - -<p>"You're a young squirt," snapped Cauldron shortly. "You weren't around -before the blow-up. You haven't the vaguest idea of how much time and -hard money was spent by women on the luxury of appearing beautiful. -That has been curtailed on Earth Two by necessity and emergency. But -I'll bet a tall hat that they are still shelling out plenty there. Is -there a telephone book handy?"</p> - -<p>"Yeah," said Moray.</p> - -<p>"Then crack it to the classified section and tell me how many pages -there are of beauty shops, beauty salons, beauticians, or whatever -they're called."</p> - -<p>Silence ensued for several minutes and then Peter Moray returned and -gave Cauldron the answer.</p> - -<p>"You see?" replied Cauldron. "You have no idea of how life is lived -when there is no cause for fear."</p> - -<p>"So—"</p> - -<p>"So I'd feel better if Virginia were heading for that place in -something better than a hand-made dress of reclaimed cloth, a self-done -hairdo and flat-heeled slippers. Besides," he chuckled wryly, "it would -help her morale no end."</p> - -<p>Harry Maddox turned from the hapless spectacle of Ed Bronson and -shrugged. "He's safe," he said. "Now what?..."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"They've gone into a security silence," said Kingston. "As we -expected."</p> - -<p>"Then our friend Bronson is no longer needed?"</p> - -<p>"Nope. They'll get along without him, now. What worries me is that the -psychiatrist may get to work on Bronson long enough to establish a -reasonable doubt in their minds."</p> - -<p>"Even so," said Maddox thoughtfully, "we're stuck. Supposing we were -to kill him? It's obviously impossible in that room. It is equally -impossible for him to escape nor can we arrange it."</p> - -<p>"What we need is a person who might be quite willing to murder Bronson -in cold blood for the sake of murder itself—or even better, for some -mundane motive."</p> - -<p>"What about the characters from Earth Two?" suggested Maddox.</p> - -<p>"Let's find 'em," snapped Kingston, apparently struck with an idea.</p> - -<p>Maddox had little trouble in locating Moray. He looked in on Peter -Moray for a moment, and then went in search of Virginia. Virginia, -apparently, had disappeared.</p> - -<p>It was quite impossible to search every possible place in Albuquerque -for a glimpse of Virginia and, after covering the pathway to and from -Bronson's cottage to the police station and thence to the police -hospital, Maddox gave up and returned to Moray, who had stopped -speaking to Cauldron. As Moray turned away from the equipment, the -telephone rang, and he went to it, wondering.</p> - -<p>Moray lifted the phone and said, gingerly, "Yes? This is the Brons—"</p> - -<p>"Moray! This is Virginia. I'm going to dig Bronson out of the clink and -bring him home. You hide or at least lie low. Follow?"</p> - -<p>"Where are you?"</p> - -<p>Virginia named an address.</p> - -<p>Kingston snapped, "Get that address—quick. Know where it is?"</p> - -<p>"Heck," drawled Maddox insolently, "This is the same Albuquerque. Sure -I know the address."</p> - -<p>The video screen showed a blur, and settled on the showroom of a -ladies' apparel shop. Virginia was just hanging up the telephone and -Maddox whistled.</p> - -<p>"Knockout," he said succinctly.</p> - -<p>"She got the works," grinned Kingston. "Thanks to her we can watch."</p> - -<p>"Well," said Maddox thoughtfully, "there goes your party with murderous -intent, and quite worldly too."</p> - -<p>Kingston nodded. "That automatic in her bag isn't an unaccustomed -weapon," he said thoughtfully. "And she can and will claim attack. Self -defense...."</p> - -<p>Clad in a printed silk that graced her svelte body caressingly, with -the sheerest of hose, the seams of which ran die-true down from the -hem of her dress to her sandal-shod, tiny feet, Virginia Carlson of -Earth Two was well on her way to being the most fetching woman in three -worlds. Her hair had been coiffed to perfection and her face had been -made up by an expert.</p> - -<p>Virginia looked soft and sweet and perfect. She was a sight that made -men turn to watch but not to whistle because she radiated some quality -that rendered the wolf-whistle a definite insult.</p> - -<p>Then, patting the automatic confidently, Virginia turned down along the -street once more and headed for the police hospital. Though she could -not know it, the plane of focus of the video resonator followed her. -Maddox and Kingston were watching her as she went.</p> - -<p>"Once this is finished," thought Virginia, "I shall enjoy living like -this!"</p> - -<p>Her feet, unaccustomed to dancing, did a pointless little step. Her -eyes sparkled, iris wide even in the morning sunshine, for Earth One -had no eternal light in the sky to keep a dazzling brightness day and -night. She pirouetted once and the sleek silk frock whirled and clung -to her legs. As she stopped, the weight of the automatic in her bag hit -her and reminded her of a job to be done before all this could be hers.</p> - -<p>Bronson must be stopped—somehow!</p> - -<p>Virginia knew how.</p> - -<p>With a fetching smile on her face Virginia entered the police hospital -and asked for the police physician. Doctor Mason came and was a bit set -back by the obviously high quality of his caller.</p> - -<p>"You're—?"</p> - -<p>"Virginia Wells. I'm a friend of Mr. Bronson."</p> - -<p>"Indeed? A peculiar case, Miss Wells," he observed gravely.</p> - -<p>"Not at all," she said with a smile. "Mr. Bronson, as a hobby, has -been writing fiction and we got into an argument as to whether high -authority could hear a rather bizarre tale without thinking the story -teller was insane. I won."</p> - -<p>"So that's it," grunted Doctor Mason. "He sounded sincere enough to me."</p> - -<p>Virginia shrugged shapely shoulders and hurled at him the dazzle of -her smile. "After all," she said in an entrancing contralto, "he is a -successful author even though he doesn't work at it one hundred percent -of the time. He should be able to concoct a story that would hold -water, and he should be convincing. Why, that's his business!"</p> - -<p>"Um."</p> - -<p>Mason left the office for a moment and came back with Bronson at his -heels—dressed.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Virginia gave Bronson a warning look and then laughed at him. "Like -spending the night in the clink, Ed?" she asked brightly.</p> - -<p>"No!" he snapped.</p> - -<p>"You needn't have," she said with a smile. "All you had to do was tell -them the truth. Why, they'd have thrown Orson Welles into jail for the -Martian Invasion if he hadn't been famous."</p> - -<p>Bronson started. The Orson Welles affair had taken place a long time -ago—before either of them were born, in fact. This rather glorious -girl was trying to tell him something.</p> - -<p>"Yeah," he drawled, stalling for time.</p> - -<p>"All right, so you lost," she told him. "And now, if you don't have to -stay here for playing pranks, we can go on home and write it up."</p> - -<p>Bronson looked at Mason. Mason shrugged. "What's the pitch?" he -asked. "As for me, no—we don't want you though I'd like to have you -reprimanded for wasting time."</p> - -<p>"Come to think of it, Doctor Mason, how should a man try to tell high -authority of some impending form of outrageous doom?" asked Virginia.</p> - -<p>"Why—" stammered Doctor Mason, "I—"</p> - -<p>"Yes," snapped Bronson angrily. "Tell us!"</p> - -<p>"Why?"</p> - -<p>"Because," said Virginia, sweetly, "some day someone is really going -to come up with invaders from outer space or some other unbelievable -little item and, while the big bright brass is psychoanalyzing the -discoverer, the invasion or the doom will take place."</p> - -<p>"Why—I'm—"</p> - -<p>"Forget it, Mason," said Bronson. Then, because he was completely -unaware of his visitor's name or anything else about her save that she -knew something that prompted her to aid him, Bronson turned to the girl -and held out an elbow.</p> - -<p>"May I escort you home, Madame Pompadour?"</p> - -<p>Virginia smiled at him with exaggerated enticement. "Only if you want -to be Benjamin Franklin, dear."</p> - -<p>Doctor Mason stood up and hurled the door open angrily. "Get the devil -out of here!" he snapped. He was still looking for a fine vocabulary -when they left. Once outside and on the street beyond, Ed Bronson -paused.</p> - -<p>"Now," he said seriously, "what in the name of eternal sin is this?"</p> - -<p>"I had to get you out of there," she said. "I'm glad you are sharp -enough to follow suit."</p> - -<p>"You can be glad that Mason did not choose to question me about you," -snapped Bronson. "I'd have denied you deeply."</p> - -<p>"All a part of your tale to convince," she smiled. "I'd have forced it -into the open—forced Mason to let us meet. Then we'd make out."</p> - -<p>"Fine, fine," he said with a bitter grin. "Just tell me what the score -is right now."</p> - -<p>"I happen to know that you are right," she told him.</p> - -<p>"But—"</p> - -<p>She nodded. She explained at length that she had been tinkering in her -cellar and had come in with something that had permitted her to hear -his half of the initial discussion with the girl named Carlson.</p> - -<p>She paused at that point and grinned at him. "Just to keep the record -clear," she said, "I'm Virginia Wells."</p> - -<p>"Well, Miss Wells, I'm grateful. But what does a girl like you find -interesting in tinkering in the cellar?"</p> - -<p>"You call me Virginia like everybody else," she told him. "As for -tinkering in the cellars, when has a woman's appeal anything to do with -the liking for science—and furthermore I might even resent the phrase -'like you' that was hurled at me. Do you think anybody that looks like -this must necessarily be completely vacant above the ears?"</p> - -<p>Bronson smiled. "Not every girl," he said with a sour smile. "But the -percentage assays high."</p> - -<p>Virginia took a deep breath. Thin though her story was, he'd accepted -it for the nonce.</p> - -<p>"Where do we go from here?" he asked. "I want to reason this thing out."</p> - -<p>Virginia smiled tolerantly. "My equipment isn't very good," she said. -"I'd like to see yours."</p> - -<p>Bronson smiled. For hours he had been itching to show someone the -equipment and this was his chance. He was going to take the opportunity -regardless of where the chance came. Virginia had known that too!</p> - -<p>The girl tucked a slender hand into the crook of his elbow. "Let's go," -she said with a bright smile.</p> - -<p>Bronson nodded and they started toward his home.</p> - -<p>He walked easily, she thought, neither too fast nor too slowly. His -stride seemed to coincide with hers so that the periods of out-of-step -walking were minimized. They were not nonexistent, for Ed Bronson was -a tall, long-legged man and, though Virginia's legs were long and -slender, she was not so tall as Ed Bronson by seven inches.</p> - -<p>"I might suggest," said Bronson thoughtfully, "that we can do a bit of -talking while we collect us some lunch. Me—I'm hungry."</p> - -<p>Virginia paused. Visiting a restaurant was another thing that -was seldom done on Earth Two, excepting by those who found it -essential. This she viewed as another luxury and she wanted to try -it. On the other hand, she had too thin a story prepared regarding -her 'experiments' with the space-resonant crystals of radioisotopic -phosphor, of her listening to Bronson and his subsequent rescue from -the asylum.</p> - -<p>Yet—Virginia shrugged slightly—she could probably handle this. -Besides, she could learn more of Earth One were she to visit with -Bronson.</p> - -<p>Virginia nodded and smiled at him. Bronson paused in mid-stride and -turned toward a small restaurant he knew. Inwardly he chuckled to -himself. It was not always that a woman rescuer, fellow scientist and -friend-indeed was so very delectable. Bronson was proud to have such a -woman in his company.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER VII</p> - -<p class="ph2"><i>Transfer Arranged</i></p> - - -<p>The automatic computer in the laboratory of atomic physics at the New -Mexico University on Earth Three was a vast thing that encompassed many -acres of wiring, tubes and memory-storage circuits.</p> - -<p>It had been working silently—save for an occasional click—for an -hour, which was a pointed commentary on the depth of the problem -presented to it, since its usual time of operation was startling in its -brevity. It was, without a doubt, the great-great-grandfather of all -automatic computers and even it was forced to mull over the problem.</p> - -<p>Leader Kingston and Harry Maddox lounged before the massive control -board, smoking and watching Virginia and Bronson on a small -remote-presentation kinescope.</p> - -<p>Finally the machine emitted a series of typewriter-like clicks and a -sheet of paper emerged from the slot. It bore a complex equation that -Maddox took and pored over.</p> - -<p>Kingston waited quietly, for he knew that Maddox was far more capable -than he at interpreting the equations. Any interference would interrupt -Maddox, ruin his train of thought and require more time in the long run.</p> - -<p>Finally Maddox looked up and smiled.</p> - -<p>"It seems so," he said.</p> - -<p>"There is no definite proof?" demanded Kingston.</p> - -<p>"Time and the future are both based upon the laws of probability," -replied Maddox. "That these three worlds do exist side by side by side -in time is certain—that they might have existed at any time before -they did start was a matter of probability. Anything is probable, you -know. That we live is a most certain probability, yet that we will -continue to live is less certain."</p> - -<p>"You're talking in circles," snapped Kingston. "Get to the point!"</p> - -<p>"Sorry, I must sound vague. You see, Leader, I've been thinking about -this for some time and therefore I am inclined to think over the -well-worn thought-trails swiftly and in considerable elision. However, -according to this equation, the fact is this. The spatial continuum is -strained by the unnatural presence of three congruent pathways through -the present time.</p> - -<p>"As we know, only the most probable of these will continue to exist. -That—unfortunately—is Earth One. The Alamogordo experiment on Earth -One was the most probable, of course. Obviously Earth Two is destined -to die soon, leaving but Earths One and Three.</p> - -<p>"But," continued Maddox thoughtfully, "we have posed the problem and -the machine here reasons that we are correct."</p> - -<p>"Then we need not undergo all the strife in order to survive!"</p> - -<p>"Obviously not. Once the pathways through time are no longer strained -by multiple existences the strain will cease. In other words, once -we—Earth Three—are the only true survivor the strain will cease and -there will be no fear of our demise."</p> - -<p>"Then all we need do is to eliminate One and Two—and then," Kingston -grinned, "Earth Three becomes the only one?"</p> - -<p>"Three becomes One," nodded Maddox. "Now—"</p> - -<p>"Now we figure out a means of destroying Earth One utterly."</p> - -<p>"Simple," said Maddox. "All we need do is to rotate a bit of the core -of the Alamogordo Blow-up from Earth Two to Earth One."</p> - -<p>"Might be less simple than we think," said Kingston. "Remember that the -fission train in the earth itself is indigenous to Earth Two. Since it -did not happen on Earth One is there any reason to suppose that the -earth of Earth One will support an atomic fire?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Maddox shook his head. "When the bomb was tried—I nearly said 'went -off' but it didn't here—the temporal strain broke into three paths," -said Maddox. "The three important possibilities took place—obviously -because there was a huge question as to which of the three -possibilities would emerge as the successful outcome of the affair."</p> - -<p>"I'm no believer in the Great Destiny," said Kingston.</p> - -<p>"Nor am I," said Maddox. "Yet it is true that the most fit do survive. -Obviously, Earth Two and its atomic fire is far from the most fit. -Earth One has dropped into a lulled luxury-loving place where the -serious facets of life are ignored. They are unprepared to enter any -form of strife to survive. We—Earth Three—have developed ourselves -and our science greatly and in any strife we are best fitted to -survive!"</p> - -<p>"All right, it sounds logical," snapped Kingston. "But how do we prove -it without arousing suspicion?"</p> - -<p>"We can rotate a bit of the core of the Earth Two atomic fire to this -earth," said Maddox. "Once we establish the atomically-inflammable -qualities of Earth Three, we can safely assume that Earth One will -be the same. Remember," said Maddox with a grin, "on Earth Three the -Alamogordo Bomb was a dud—it didn't even fire!"</p> - -<p>"And then what?" sneered Kingston. "It seems to me that your suggestion -is the beginning of the end."</p> - -<p>"Not at all. Once we establish the possibility beyond a doubt, we can -so very easily rotate the hunk of atomic fire back into Earth Two -again."</p> - -<p>Kingston thought for a moment. Then he nodded. "We must move lightning -fast," he said sharply. "Because I will hazard a bet that Earth Two -considered the idea of getting rid of their atomic fire by sending it -through the space resonator. And rejected it because their own Earth -Two was badly treated by the original fire. After all, there's no use -in staying with a partly ruined, semi-radioactive Earth Two when Earth -One, complete and unharmed, lies like a ripe apple for them to pluck."</p> - -<p>Maddox nodded. "It will have to be quick," he said. "For either one of -them is quite capable of turning the stuff this way once they suspect."</p> - -<p>Kingston turned to the kinescope screen and scowled at Virginia and -Bronson.</p> - -<p>"There," he said, "are two of the four or five people who have within -their grasp the truth of the matter—and they are the two who have -sufficient imagination to reason it out!"</p> - -<p>"And once she kills him that will leave only her!"</p> - -<p>Maddox nodded idly and began to set up equipment, saying, "No time like -the present."</p> - -<p>"For what?"</p> - -<p>"I'm interested in knowing whether the atomic fire will burn Earth -Three as well as Earth Two."</p> - -<p>Kingston shrugged. "Y'know," he said quietly, "if it does ruin Earth -Three nothing says that you and I can't pass over ourselves anyway."</p> - -<p>Maddox smiled. "Indubitably," he agreed dryly. It was quite obvious -that Leader Kingston had given him nothing new in ideas.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Unlike the slow space resonator of Earth Two, the ones used on Earth -Three went with lightning swiftness. They were smaller, more efficient, -showed a deeper grasp of the art and the principles involved. Maddox -picked his collection of equipment up and headed for the door.</p> - -<p>"What are you going to use for a focal volume?" demanded Kingston. "You -have no focal point."</p> - -<p>"Won't need one," smiled Maddox. "That's a true atomic flame. As in the -sun there will be minute traces of all elements contained therein and -all we need is a trace. For like the sun, Earth Two's atomic flame is -both building up and tearing down all elements possible. Come on—I'll -prove my point."</p> - -<p>For a brief time, Harry Maddox drove like a maniac through the air in -his atom-powered speedster. Leaving behind it the whistling scream of -its supersonic passage from Albuquerque to Alamogordo, the fleet craft -made the passage in minutes. At the site of the original, Maddox landed.</p> - -<p>There on the desert was the steel tower that had held the Alamogordo -Bomb before its trial. On Earth One there was but a shallow depression -of broken green—glazed sand. On Earth Two there burned a pillar of -atomic fire for miles in radius from this very spot. Here Maddox set up -his space resonator.</p> - -<p>Then, sensibly, he urged Kingston back into the speedster and raced -away, ten, fifteen miles. Then in his speedster Maddox pressed a button.</p> - -<p>Behind them on the desert a burst of intolerable light, like a million -suns compressed into a minute sphere, cast its instantaneous glare -across the face of the earth. Like an expanding hemisphere of pure -sun-flame, it dinned against the very substance of space and hurled its -terrible energy outward.</p> - -<p>Thunder came then and the still-intolerably bright explosion flashed -in multicolored bursts as the shock wave started to rise. Up and up -and up into the stratosphere rose the towering ice-cap to roll into a -cauliflower shape.</p> - -<p>And then up through this bursting-white cloud there darted another -pillar of sheer flame-energy, to rise above the first and to go on up -into the very upper reaches of the atmosphere.</p> - -<p>Standing aghast, Kingston and Maddox watched the scene with horror. -Minutes passed before they could speak, and then it was with bitter -fear.</p> - -<p>Maddox pointed to the ground below the towering pillar of cooling hell. -There was a sunlike flame there, burning more brightly by the second. -The ground rumbled faintly and, upon the ground at their feet, two -shadows were cast which added to the complete unearthliness of the -scene.</p> - -<p>"Now?" demanded Kingston.</p> - -<p>"Not now," growled Maddox angrily. "Our equipment was utterly destroyed -in that blast."</p> - -<p>"Then we lost?"</p> - -<p>"No. All we need do is to return and prepare a radio-controlled -speedster to carry another space resonator into the near-scene. Then we -can send that pillar of hell back where it came from."</p> - -<p>"Think you'll have any trouble?" worried Kingston.</p> - -<p>"Nope," said Maddox. "I've been thinking about this for some time. We -can do it!"</p> - -<p>"Then how are we going to transfer a good bit of that flame to Earth -One?"</p> - -<p>"I won't mind going over," said Maddox. "I'll see to it that Earth One -gets a goodly dose. In fact, I think it might be a good idea to set -up a relay system to bring bits of it through and send to other parts -of the earth at one time. We can set atomic fires all over Earth One -within a matter of seconds."</p> - -<p>"Might restart several on Earth Two also," suggested Kingston. "Nothing -like speeding things up a bit."</p> - -<p>Maddox nodded, but there was a worried frown on his face. "There's -one thing I don't relish," he said. "So far as we know, the only bit -of radioisotopic phosphor containing the resonant element lies in the -laboratory of Ed Bronson on Earth One."</p> - -<p>"That's your only doorway?"</p> - -<p>"To Earth One, yes."</p> - -<p>"Then—"</p> - -<p>"Then we return to our vantage point and watch. Sooner or later they -will leave that set-up unguarded and we can get through to place other -focal elements at a safer place on Earth One."</p> - -<p>"Well," smiled Kingston, "once Virginia Carlson gets rid of Ed Bronson -they must sooner or later leave that place unguarded and we can break -in. Let's go and wait."</p> - -<p>"And also prepare the drone to return that pillar of hell back to Earth -Two," said Maddox with a bit of mild concern.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER VIII</p> - -<p class="ph2"><i>Halfway Mark</i></p> - - -<p>Unmindful of his danger—both immediate and future—Ed Bronson sat and -watched Virginia with admiration. Their initial talk had been sketchy. -All Virginia knew was that she had been working on equipment similar to -his and had heard the same things he had—including him.</p> - -<p>Her information was less complete than his, for Virginia was not -equipped to tinker up a complete set of filters to tune out the -interferences, so she said. Only Bronson's voice came through clearly -enough to be understood. Yet she was aware of the danger and felt that -she must help.</p> - -<p>And that was that so far as she was concerned. As to what track to -follow, Virginia professed ignorance. She suggested that they eat and -then go to Bronson's laboratory and work on the stuff.</p> - -<p>"And what do we do about them?" he asked.</p> - -<p>Virginia blinked. "You're certain it was they?"</p> - -<p>"He told me so."</p> - -<p>"Then there's just one."</p> - -<p>"There may be more," objected Bronson. "Perhaps we should forget my -place and go to work on yours."</p> - -<p>Virginia blinked inwardly at that one. Naturally, Virginia could not -take him to her place for she had none. There had to be some way.</p> - -<p>"I suggest that you and I go in very quietly," she said. "If the house -is infested we'll go to my place. If it is clear, even temporarily, we -can go in and steal the phosphor."</p> - -<p>"Better," grinned Bronson. "We can conceal it in a steel safe. I have a -hunch they can't get through it then."</p> - -<p>"I wouldn't know," said Virginia. She did know, however, that Peter -Moray would not be in evidence since she was bringing Bronson back -with her. "But you have a good idea. It'll do them a lot of good to try -coming through if they end up in a steel box.</p> - -<p>"Besides," she said thoughtfully, "it is better to try. I'd hate to -think of them coming through unguarded. We owe it to the earth to try -and stop them."</p> - -<p>"That we do," nodded Bronson. Then he ceased to think about it since it -had been settled. He preferred to watch Virginia.</p> - -<p>She was a beautiful girl—one of the most beautiful women that Bronson -had ever seen. That alone won his admiration. But what brought his real -commendation was her attitude. Bronson had known other beautiful women -before and most of them were inclined towards a selfish narcissism -because of the round of admiration they got from every male.</p> - -<p>This gave them an egotistical attitude that repelled Bronson, for he -knew with some disdain that their attitude was born of the actions of -his own sex.</p> - -<p>Virginia had none of this false sophistication. She was readily and -honestly pleased with things as they were and with Bronson's offerings. -To add to that Virginia was clever and intelligent and could, without -straining, discuss several subjects that the average beauty wouldn't -bother to strain her vapid mind on.</p> - -<p>Bronson could not know it, of course, but Virginia's attitude was -mostly naiveté. Seldom before had she spent an hour in luxurious -surroundings with nothing to think about or to do but relax and enjoy -herself. Not that Virginia had forgotten her basic job—but at least -here was the offering of relaxation in an atmosphere completely devoid -of the constant gnawing fear.</p> - -<p>The light in the sky was not there.</p> - -<p>Then, too, Virginia was capable of pigeon-holing her mind. Though she -intended to eliminate this man as a factor in the safety of her world's -people she saw no reason why she should not enjoy herself first. -Looking about her in the restaurant she saw many other people enjoying -life. This itself was unlike Earth Two and it offered Virginia a point -for jealous desire. She wanted this kind of life-without-fear. And it -was within her grasp!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>In her world many were mutants that repelled the mind. Here there were -none. The man opposite her, who toyed with the silverware idly was a -fine specimen of humanity. The waiter, the cashier, the hat-check girl, -the major-domo, the customers—all were whole and healthy.</p> - -<p>Virginia looked about her at the thickly peopled restaurant and -mentally compared it with a place in her own world. Idly she replaced -the elderly gentleman at the table opposite with a gnarled, seven -fingered monster—and the boy-girl couple beyond with a pair of -uglinesses.</p> - -<p>The waiter instead of being well-dressed and polite was misshapen and -clad in remnants of a once-great civilization. Starch wasted on a -shirt, as well as the time wasted in preparing it, was unthought-of in -Earth Two. Few of the men in Earth Two would look so polished and at -ease in the formal trappings.</p> - -<p>Bronson made motions to leave and Virginia arose to follow. From his -pocket he took money instead of a ration card and he left a generous -tip for the waiter. A smiling doorman opened the portal for them.</p> - -<p>Once on the street Virginia was again impressed by the people. Then -there were the theatre on the corner, the stores and the shops selling -anything and everything that men and women would buy.</p> - -<p>The automatic bumped Virginia's hip as her bag swung, and the contact -hurt—more than physically.</p> - -<p>Walking beside this tall man Virginia considered the situation. In her -bag was the means of replacing the people she saw in this street with -a high percentage of misshapen bodies of her own world. To—eliminate -this scene of physical health and mental good-will with the warped -bodies and minds of her own world.</p> - -<p>Virginia saw her own reflection in a shop window. She was shapely and -well-dressed. She knew that without egotism—it was obvious fact. She -was more like this world—fitted better into this scene than into the -world on which she had been born.</p> - -<p>An age-old urge rose in her. She had shied away from marriage because -of fear and distaste. Too many of her friends she had seen in mental -agony because of mutant offspring. Now she was presented with at least -an opportunity of a life that would be normal. What had she on Earth -Two but unpleasant memories for all of her life?</p> - -<p>Perhaps it seems a sudden change. Yet a mind suddenly shown a way -toward happiness will often swing as swift as a pendulum from one -attitude to the opposite. Perhaps the only reason that Virginia had -not followed many of Earth Two's people into the madness of fear was -because she had been born to the insoluble threat of the Alamogordo -Blow-up and had never been forced to change from freedom to fear.</p> - -<p>Many another on Earth Two had seen the eternal flame and had gone mad, -knowing its threat. Virginia, born after it started, had never known -anything else. So now Virginia viewed a world built like her own, but -one devoid of fear and populated heavily with healthy, happy people.</p> - -<p>Why go back? Why change this? She could blend very well with this -environment. Her woman's instinct told her that she could and by very -little trying.</p> - -<p>There was but one great fear. This man who walked beside her knew the -facts of Earth Two. He also stood to learn about her. It presented -her with a quandary. To make her future secure he must be placed in a -position never to learn the truth. On the other hand she needed his -aid to forestall the invasion from Earth Two if she were to enjoy the -future of Earth One as she now saw it.</p> - -<p>Virginia wondered whether she could work with Ed Bronson long enough to -give him the particulars of the space-resonant techniques—and still -keep him in the dark regarding her own part in it. Once the threat of -invasion was gone there was no doubt in Virginia's mind that she could -lose herself here on Earth One.</p> - -<p>In fact, the proper thing to do was just that—tell him the truth and -she would be forever suspect.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Then there was the other problem. She was supposed to have an -apartment, a house or something equipped with a basement in which to -work. He'd be wanting to see that sooner or later. How to forestall him -on that required thinking.</p> - -<p>Once he knew that it required the presence of the proper elements in -the space-resonant series to effect the transfer of material, he would -demand the opportunity of sealing up her bit of the stuff in order to -forestall the invasion of the vanguard from Earth Two.</p> - -<p>From a technical standpoint, Virginia knew that the operation of the -space-resonant science required the presence of the space-resonant -elements. Even though she knew nothing of Earth Three and its -highly advanced techniques which permitted the operation of a -view-and-voice-operated mechanism without the presence of the elements -in the area of transmission, Virginia was correct in her assumption -that no passage from one time-zone to the other was possible without -a critical mass of the ultra-rare transuranic elements in the -receptor-zone.</p> - -<p>Having used the technique for many years Virginia and the rest in Earth -Two could be certain that the only critical mass of these rare elements -on Earth One was in Ed Bronson's laboratory.</p> - -<p>So, the first thing was to protect herself, to isolate herself on Earth -One and to seal up forever the passageway. All Virginia had to do was -to break up Ed Bronson's mass into subcritical sizes—and then to keep -all other discrete bits of the space-resonant elements from being -collected for a period that surpassed the possible time required for -the final death of the ill-fated temporal division—the end of Earth -Two.</p> - -<p>Impulsively, Virginia opened her bag and handed the automatic to -Bronson.</p> - -<p>"Here," she whispered, "this may help—if they're still here!"</p> - -<p>It was hours later. Bronson's re-entry into his home was careful and -stealthy but unproductive, for Peter Moray had gone back to Earth Two -to await developments. Virginia knew this and was prepared for the lack -of population in the Bronson home. Once the place was known to be free -of invaders Bronson relaxed.</p> - -<p>"Me," he said with a yawn, "I'm tired."</p> - -<p>"I don't suppose you got much sleep last night," smiled Virginia.</p> - -<p>"Darned little," he agreed. "And I'll get less until we figure out -something to do with this equipment of mine. Obviously it does not -require energization to permit the effect."</p> - -<p>"Why not seal the thing in a metal case of some sort?" suggested -Virginia.</p> - -<p>"Think it might work?"</p> - -<p>"Maybe. At best, if you shield it well and keep it canned up, you can -be certain that anybody that comes through will emerge in a dark, -confined place."</p> - -<p>"Not necessarily," said Bronson. "Radio waves often disregard things -like shields and closed rooms. And, if I recall correctly, that feller -who came through and clipped me was parked out on the middle of the -floor some ten feet from the crystal."</p> - -<p>"If you're tired," suggested Virginia, "why not take it easy? You take -a snooze and I'll keep watch. You'll think better once you've had a bit -of rest."</p> - -<p>"But what will you do if—"</p> - -<p>Virginia smiled. She went to Bronson and touched his hip pocket with -the back of her hand. Ed nodded and took the automatic out of the hip -pocket and handed it to her.</p> - -<p>"I can't cover eight shots with the ace of spades," she said, hefting -the gun, "but I'd not miss an invader."</p> - -<p>"I'd like to clip a few of them myself," grunted Bronson. "First I'm up -all night. Then I'm clipped by one of them after only a short few hours -sleep; then the trip to the asylum, and now home. Yes, Virginia, I've -had all too little sleep. You'll be all right?"</p> - -<p>"Definitely," she told him. "From here on in, I'm unafraid—and in high -confidence."</p> - -<p>"Wake me in three hours," he told her. She nodded.</p> - -<p>He left, heading toward the bedroom. Virginia found a book and read it -quietly, keeping a weather eye on the space-resonant crystal in the -experimental kinescope set-up. A half hour later, Virginia put down her -book and tiptoed into Bronson's bedroom. He was sprawled on his back in -the deepest of slumber.</p> - -<p>Virginia went back to his laboratory and began to work on his gear. -It was late afternoon when she finished, which was quick enough -considering what Virginia had accomplished. It was her field of -science, this space-resonant technique, and Ed Bronson's laboratory was -rather complete.</p> - -<p>So simple, Virginia's plan. Setting a timer to reverse the equipment -after a pre-calculated time, Virginia composed herself on a chair and -waited. Again, her body faded bit by bit as she passed, molecule by -molecule, from Ed Bronson's laboratory. At a short interval beyond the -halfway point where Virginia's body sank into the floor, the machine -ceased its operation.</p> - -<p>Wraithlike, half of her in each world, Virginia was physically -powerless. But she knew that her equipment was working. The window of -Ed Bronson's laboratory had a strange appearance.</p> - -<p>It was not quite like the mixed-image impression received when viewing -different scenes simultaneously with the separate eyes. It was more -like viewing through a stereoscope, with one side taken in bright -sunlight and highly illuminated while the other photo had been taken -by moonlight. Also there had been years between the taking of the two -because things were not exactly the same.</p> - -<p>Of course, Virginia was not viewing one scene with each eye. The -process of transmission was not a passage similar to walking through -the door. The molecular transfer took place at random, a molecule from -here, a molecule from there.</p> - -<p>So Virginia viewed the scene in a truly indescribable state. Each eye -saw the same scenes—a mixed, foggy montage in poor register.</p> - -<p>But the illumination in the afternoon sky was unmistakable as Virginia -looked at the window that existed simultaneously in two worlds. She -smiled to herself as the equipment in Ed Bronson's laboratory reversed -automatically and started to return her to Earth One.</p> - -<p>Virginia had been halfway home. And her plan was halfway complete!</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER IX</p> - -<p class="ph2"><i>Ill Wind</i></p> - - -<p>In the sky, high, high up—a stubby-winged drone circled above -Albuquerque thrice. Then it streaked away from the city and headed -toward Alamogordo. The pillar of fire was vicious and intolerably -bright and it silhouetted the fleet drone—though no one could stand to -watch the scene, regardless of the thickness of his eye-glasses.</p> - -<p>To all intents and purposes the drone vanished.</p> - -<p>But on the viewscreen in Harry Maddox's laboratory the pillar of fire -grew, expanded into the entire screen, covered it and made steering -ambiguous until Maddox dropped the nose of the fleet little craft so -that the field of view included the base of the atomic flame.</p> - -<p>The drone arrowed on and on and then came to a machine-made landing a -few thousand feet from the base of the flame. Maddox worked swiftly -now, for the heat of that devilish fire would ruin the equipment in all -too short a time. The equipment went to work.</p> - -<p>Then, like the snuffing of a candle flame, the scene went dark. The -pillar of fire disappeared and there was a thunderous roar as miles of -tortured air raced in to fill the vacuum created by the sudden absence -of intolerable heat.</p> - -<p>The thunderings shook the city of Albuquerque and the buildings rattled.</p> - -<p>In one of the homes Ed Bronson was shaken into wakefulness. He was -lying on the floor which was hard though not cold.</p> - -<p>He awoke dully. He felt the floor and had a quick impression of having -fallen from bed. Grinning sheepishly, Ed Bronson stood up and turned. -There was no bed!</p> - -<p>The thunderings diminished slowly and Bronson shook his head in wonder. -It had not been thunderstorm weather earlier this afternoon. But there -was no bed!</p> - -<p>"<i>Virginia!</i>" he called, running from the room.</p> - -<p>His house was empty of people. In fact his house was refurnished -completely. That fact he accepted dully, wondering what had happened -and why. It was too great a concept for him to grasp at once. He stared -dully at the strange rugs, chairs, appointments. He went into his -laboratory—</p> - -<p>And found a complete nursery. In one corner was a crib but the infant -was missing. It had been used recently, for the bedding was warm—and a -bit damp.</p> - -<p>Bronson's mind whirled. Strange—strange. But not too strange, -considering. If <i>they</i> were capable of sending some of their cohorts -through the veil that separated the two worlds, it was equally possible -for them to reach forth and grab someone from the other world.</p> - -<p>Bronson cursed angrily.</p> - -<p>He left the house quickly because he knew that, regardless of how -he had come here, he was an interloper. Bronson assumed that any of -the enemy who might be reaching for him—probably to prevent his -forestalling of their efforts—would not merely slip him through the -barrier and let him run loose.</p> - -<p>Whether something had gone awry in their transmission plans he did -not know, but he guessed that something had interfered because no man -attempting to grab an enemy would do other than to grab quickly and -keep him under supervision.</p> - -<p>So Bronson left the house quickly.</p> - -<p>He was an interloper—and, though helpless to do anything but run, he -was infinitely better off with his freedom than in capture, jail or, -more probably, death.</p> - -<p>Killing him on his own world would bring about the rather complex -problem of disposing of the corpse. While this is possible, it is -difficult to dispose of such a high degree of absolute contraband in -a civilization with which you are not over-familiar. So some lucky -accident had brought Bronson into this ill-fated Earth Two in a -residence instead of the laboratory or military establishments of the -imminent invaders.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Outside, Bronson knew that something was wrong. He wondered what it -was. It was vague, something that was missing from a mere sketchy -description but something rather important from a secondary—or was it -primary—viewpoint, something that did not jell.</p> - -<p>It was late afternoon. The sun was setting in the west. But there was -no pillar of atomic fire in the sky!</p> - -<p>The Miss Carlson of Earth Two had said that all of Albuquerque was -illuminated by the vastness of the pillar of incandescent flame that -reached from horizon to the sky. Where in the name of thunder—</p> - -<p>The whirling madness spiraled in Bronson's mind with the never-ending -round of who, what, why, when and where. And driving that engine of -madness was the ever-present and ever-growing fear that the earth he -knew was threatened with death—while he could do nothing but stand by -and watch it die.</p> - -<p>And join it....</p> - -<p>The light disappeared like the snuffing of a candle, and Maddox turned -to Kingston with a grim smile. "That's that," he said.</p> - -<p>Kingston nodded affably. "Now all we have to do is to complete our -plans."</p> - -<p>Maddox shook his head. "Remember that the stuff in Bronson's laboratory -is the only supercritical mass on Earth One. We can see through, of -course, but without that focal point we cannot cross over." He turned -and left the drone-control room, walking down the corridor towards the -other laboratory with Kingston beside him. Kingston was silent for a -moment.</p> - -<p>Then he nodded in self-satisfaction. "I'll send through a corps of -guards to protect it until we need it."</p> - -<p>"Better yet," said Maddox, "send through a couple of technicians to -separate it into subcritical masses until we need it. Then we can -prevent Earth Two from crossing."</p> - -<p>They turned the corner of the hallway and entered the original -laboratory. As they did so, Kingston caught the sight of the viewscreen -and stopped short, his jaw dropping. On the screen was the view of -Bronson's laboratory. Virginia was sitting idly in a chair watching the -equipment.</p> - -<p>Her attitude was not one of complete relaxation, nor was it one of deep -intent. Maddox and Kingston knew at once that Virginia was waiting -while the equipment ran automatically.</p> - -<p>Maddox leaped to the controls of his viewer and followed the cone of -energy from the crystal to Ed Bronson's bedroom. There he saw the -reason for the work. Ed Bronson's wraithlike body was in the last -stages of its disappearance from Earth One.</p> - -<p>"So," snapped Maddox. "That takes care of him!"</p> - -<p>"Rather clever, too," said Kingston, admiringly. "That's getting rid of -a body without fuss or bother or corpus delicti arising somewhere to -confront—My Lord! What's she doing?"</p> - -<p>Virginia, having seen the equipment come to its end of operation, had -run into the bedroom to check on whether Bronson had been transmitted. -Maddox had followed her back to Bronson's laboratory and Virginia was -opening the tube. She removed the crystalline mass and carried it to -the toolbench. Here she placed it on a two-foot slab of mild steel used -as a surface plate and was reaching for a hammer with her right hand -while her left hand groped for the cold chisel.</p> - -<p>Kingston's question was hypothetical. Both men knew what Virginia was -about to do.</p> - -<p>"Quick!" snapped Kingston. "Stop her!"</p> - -<p>"Check!" grunted Maddox, his hands leaping across the control panel.</p> - -<p>From the crystal between chisel and surface plate came the beam of -invisible energy that enfolded Virginia in its grasp. Unlike the slow -process of her own machines, the highly efficient techniques of Earth -Three effected the transfer in a matter of milliseconds.</p> - -<p>Virginia felt the wrench of a twisted spatial continuum, felt the -change as her body adjusted in level and knew briefly that somehow -something had gone terribly wrong. The scene before her eyes changed -like a flash-over in a moving picture and she faced Maddox and Kingston.</p> - -<p>"No you don't," said Kingston roughly.</p> - -<p>It was quite wrong. Her trained mind told her that in an instant. -Her first brief fear had been that someone from her own world had -interrupted her machinations and had grabbed her to prevent the -completion of her plans. That would have been quite logical.</p> - -<p>But the time interval had been too short. That proved to Virginia that -it was not of her own world, for had there been any acceleration in the -transfer process, she would have been notified. It was—to her logical -mind—quite improbable that such an advance could have been made in the -space-resonant techniques in the course of the few short hours during -which she had been absent from her own laboratory.</p> - -<p>Therefore, she reasoned, there was more to this than met the eye.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>She recoiled before the men. Maddox smiled sourly at her and Kingston -gloated. "Going to reduce that crystal so that no one could follow -you," said Kingston.</p> - -<p>"Where—"</p> - -<p>Kingston smiled with self-gratification. He felt grandiose enough to -gloat a bit more. "This," he said expansively, "is what we term Earth -Three."</p> - -<p>"Three?" she echoed hollowly.</p> - -<p>"Some very brilliant people," chuckled Kingston, "reasoned that there -was the possibility of two outcomes to Alamogordo. But they never even -considered the possibility of the bomb failing completely. This is the -world where the bomb failed."</p> - -<p>"Failed!" said Virginia, completely overwhelmed with the implications. -Her tone was hollow, almost a psychopathic parroting of Kingston's -words. "Failed but...." she was incoherent.</p> - -<p>Kingston smiled again. "After all," he said, "the Alamogordo Test was -made to determine whether or not the bomb would actually work. Even -the finest brains of the day were not certain—and there was the -possibility of failure."</p> - -<p>"But—"</p> - -<p>"Here we are," said Kingston simply.</p> - -<p>"But if there was failure?" said Virginia falteringly, but with gaining -confidence, "how is it that you are so very well advanced?"</p> - -<p>"The failure of the bomb was temporary. A later model worked. But -in our world science is completely free and untrammeled. Unlike -your world, Virginia Carlson, where science is deeply regulated and -directed at one and only one idea, our science knows neither bonds nor -interference.</p> - -<p>"If you ever get outside in our world you will see atomic power in its -fullest use. You will see advances made that are and will always be -impossible in any system where a man or a group of men can direct in -any way the course of science."</p> - -<p>Virginia nodded glumly. "I know," she said. "I've always known of the -openings into fields of science that might lead to great things but -they were closed because of the necessity of pursuing the one idea -toward our future."</p> - -<p>Kingston nodded. He admitted the unhappy fact but his own position was -none too certain—or had not been until recently.</p> - -<p>"If your world is so excellent," asked Virginia bitterly, "why...?"</p> - -<p>"The time is approaching when only one future can remain," said -Kingston. "No one but an utter egomaniac would consider that the entire -universe is regulated for the benefit of mankind. We have yet to make a -real attempt to reach the other planets. Have you ever considered the -rather impossible proportions of this temporal fission? I doubt it.</p> - -<p>"Is, for instance, there a complete universe for each of the -time-trails? Or if Earth One and Earth Three both sent rockets to Venus -would they meet because Venus was common to both time streams? Think of -the energy required to separate a complete universe and ask yourself -whether you think it possible."</p> - -<p>"Energy has little to do with it," replied Virginia. "Who knows the -functioning of the thing we call time—possibly for the want of a -better word. Who knows why we have trepidation? Certainly the energy -required to cause a planet to falter in its orbit is not truly expended -but trepidation is caused by something that seems to require little or -no energy."</p> - -<p>"We're far from the original premise," said Kingston. "We may never -know whether or not the temporal paths are merely local or widespread. -It is not a matter of organic versus inorganic matter, for neither is -controlled nor directed from any of the other streams of time.</p> - -<p>"Were this not so, every time a workman lays a brick on Earth One the -same brick would move and be cemented in situ on the other two worlds. -And a car on the street might have an accident with a car common to all -three worlds but driven only by a driver on Earth One.</p> - -<p>"The point is," continued Kingston, "that the time is coming when this -triple existence must cease. Again it is the old principle of the -survival of the fittest. I am not a firm believer in a god, either -benevolent or vicious. Yet there is—or was—some agency that effected -this split because it was uncertain as to outcome."</p> - -<p>"What hope could there have been for Earth Two?" complained Virginia -bitterly.</p> - -<p>"Who knows?" replied Kingston. "There might have emerged from her -bitter necessity a solution of a lot of ills. Certainly I know -that, with the entire world working against that fatal menace, few -differences of ideology remain. In Earth Two, Virginia, the lion and -the lamb have lain together.</p> - -<p>"In fact," grinned Kingston, "you might be closer to allegory to state -that the eagle and the bear have a lot in common with lions, dragons -and others. It is," he admitted rather unhappily, "a factor that we, -here, have not been able to accomplish."</p> - -<p>"An ill wind—" said Virginia bitterly.</p> - -<p>"True," nodded Kingston. "But the fact remains that the three time -paths diverged because of some uncertainty. These same time paths -must ultimately come to one ending. We do not know the future—no one -does—but this we do know—That world which has the best factor of -survival will emerge as the one and only Earth.</p> - -<p>"We," said Kingston proudly, "have the best technical perfection, so -in any strife we must win. Therefore we are the ones to survive and we -are working toward that end. That is why we grabbed you. Your world is -doomed. We must ensure the doom of Earth One so that Earth Three is the -only one left."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Kingston turned to Maddox. "I think we might be wise to collect Ed -Bronson too," he said. "No use letting him run free. Find him and bring -him through too."</p> - -<p>Maddox nodded and went to work on the controls, setting the dial that -determined the depth of penetration to Earth Two. He worked rapidly, -sweeping the house that was cojacent with the house on Earth One.</p> - -<p>"Heck!" snapped Kingston. "He can't have gone very far. Of course she -sent him to her chums. Find them!"</p> - -<p>Maddox nodded and located Virginia's laboratory with ease. Moray -and Cauldron were there, working on the gear, but obviously getting -nowhere. Kingston shrugged. "Cover every place they might conceal -Bronson," he directed.</p> - -<p>To Virginia, he added, "It is most convenient that Earth Three lies -on the other side of Earth One from Earth Two. Were this not so, the -fumbling of your friends to penetrate the barrier between the streams -of time might cause them to stumble on us."</p> - -<p>"Why can't they get through to One?" asked the girl.</p> - -<p>Kingston smiled. "Within the hour," he said, "four keys will unlock -four safety deposit boxes in four different banks in Albuquerque. Each -box contains one subcritical mass of space-resonant elements. My men -are finishing the job you started, but this time the key to invasion -lies in my hands!" He turned to Maddox, who was fumbling with the -controls. "Find him yet?" he demanded.</p> - -<p>"No," grumbled Maddox.</p> - -<p>Kingston turned to Virginia. "You want to live," he told her in a very -matter-of-fact voice, "and therefore it is to your interest to see that -we do not permit Bronson to harm our plans. Where is he?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know," said the girl. "I merely sent him through."</p> - -<p>"You are a brazen little traitor," snapped Kingston. "I believe you! -You merely sent him through, you cared not where."</p> - -<p>Maddox spoke up. "That equipment she flanged up isn't the most -accurate," he said. "But I've covered the entire neighborhood. You -know, the closest mass of focal elements lies across the street, in -Earth Two, in the laboratory of Virginia Carlson. Therefore, lacking -direction and precision, she'd have sent him through to the focal zone -of her own gear."</p> - -<p>Virginia gasped. Partially blinded as she had been, half-aware of the -duplicity of her surroundings, close in the near-paralytic grip of the -transmission equipment, Virginia had retained sufficient cognizance -to know most definitely that when she looked through the veil, she -had been looking into a room that parallelled Bronson's laboratory in -shape, size and window-placement.</p> - -<p>It was not similar to her own. In her haste she had paid it little -attention. Her only thought had been to dispose of the man. Knowing -that there were no other critical masses on Earth One, she had felt -that anywhere he went was elsewhere.</p> - -<p>The implication was clear enough. She had sent Ed Bronson into Earth -Three, a simple mistake due to the fact that Two and Three were -situated almost equally distant and on opposite sides of Earth One. -Obviously, the crude equipment had selected the nearer critical -mass—which had been on Earth Three in a cojacent house and not through -to Earth Two and across the street to Virginia's own laboratory.</p> - -<p>Bronson, then, was on Earth Three, somewhere.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER X</p> - -<p class="ph2"><i>Counterfeit</i></p> - - -<p>Bronson found that the streets of the city were teeming with people -which was not what he had expected from his brief talk with Miss -Carlson of Earth Two. Bronson was absolutely certain that this was not -Earth Two at all, for it seemed unlike a world teetering on the brink -of death—even ignoring the main clincher of the pillar of atomic fire -mentioned by La Carlson, there was that vast and more-than-obvious -difference.</p> - -<p>Bronson shook his head in wonder. This was not unlike his own world, -yet there were subtle differences—subtle differences observable at -first glance, but becoming bold and glaring differences as Bronson -became more familiar with the street down which he walked.</p> - -<p>A bus went past—and did not leave a wake of evil-smelling pale blue -exhaust. A store on the corner advertised cigarette lighters which -bore the name <i>Irhinium</i>. Bronson knew of most of the cigarette -lighter companies by name and none of them bore such a name. He looked -more carefully and noted that certain vague references to <i>Irhinium</i> -indicated that it was a trade name based upon the motive power of the -things.</p> - -<p>In this strange world to which he had been hurled, did they—by the -Great Harry—use atomic power to light their cigarettes?</p> - -<p>Bronson's mind, of course, was overwhelmed by the suddenness of events -and its natural inability to accept such a vast conglomeration of new -concepts at the same time. It merely watched, saw, cataloged. Anything -outrageous would be given the same consideration as something quite -normal in Bronson's nervous state of complete wonder. His mental state -bordered on shock.</p> - -<p>Noiselessly the traffic moved, noiselessly and without odor. Dress and -appointment were brilliant and entirely new. The overhead wires of Ed -Bronson's world were gone, as were the poles that bore them. Nor were -there street lights. Streetcars plied their routes with a minimum of -thundering racket but there was neither trolley above nor slot in the -street below.</p> - -<p>Bronson paused before a large toy shop and watched a man manipulating -an electric train. The miniature train had all the maneuverability of -a real train because of the multiplicity of controls under the fingers -of the man in the window. Beside the train was a large box containing -cubic bits of metal and non-metal.</p> - -<p>The explanation on the box said that the contents would build a -miniature fission-reacting pile that worked but which employed Kenium -metal instead of uranium since the use of the latter was dangerous, -requiring ton upon ton of fissionable material as well as a moderator.</p> - -<p>That was the clincher.</p> - -<p>Bronson's mind cleared once the facts were driven home. He was not on -Earth Two. He was most certainly not on Earth One.</p> - -<p>But Ed Bronson's mind leaped to the foregone conclusion with simple -reasoning. Earth One, Earth Two—and Earth Three, where the third -possibility had taken place at Alamogordo, on July sixteenth, 1945. -This was where the bomb had fizzled—and where, because of that, all -forms of atomic research went on without regulation.</p> - -<p>Not one world, not two worlds, <i>but three</i>!</p> - -<p>Well, there was a perfect way to check this. Bronson knew where the -library was, had used it often. It might still be there, for the one in -Earth One had been erected in—ah—he did not recall the date but it -was something like MDCCCLXXXVI.</p> - -<p>He turned the corner and walked down the proper street and, after -turning the second corner, Bronson saw it—in the same address and in -the same building. He wasted no time in finding the newspaper files.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>July sixteenth, 1945, was uninformative. Bronson wondered what the same -paper printed in his own world said on that date but guessed that this -paper, a morning daily, might have been composed and on the press at -the time of the affair—if it had not been already printed.</p> - -<p>Of security angles for the era he studied, Bronson knew only the -mention made in history and tales spun by his father and cronies, -who had lived and worked at that time. So Bronson accepted the fact -that security might well have suppressed in both worlds—or even all -three—any traces of the Alamogordo Experiment for some time to come.</p> - -<p>He turned to the following day, July seventeen, 1945, and found -nothing. On the eighteenth, Bronson saw nothing truly informative but -there was an item printed as recorded from Radio Tokyo in which it was -claimed that the United States had asked for representatives of the -Japanese Government to come to America under a flag of truce. This was -construed to mean that the United States was considering surrender.</p> - -<p>Nothing was visible for several issues after that. Then a vast -headline—PEACE—shouted across the page and on page two of the paper, -was a brief explanation that the representatives had returned to Japan. -A columnist was demanding an answer to what and why the mystery.</p> - -<p>Another account from Radio Tokyo mentioned that, in a spirit of -humanity, Japan had surrendered rather than loose upon the entire world -a weapon so terrible as the representatives had been shown.</p> - -<p>Bronson nodded vaguely. The trail was getting intelligible. He at least -knew nothing of this latter fact. He thumbed his way through the paper -to the date of the Hiroshima Bomb and found nothing worthy of mention. -Nagasaki was not mentioned a week or so later and Bronson, none too -clear of his dates, covered days before and after his approximation -just to be certain.</p> - -<p>He pored through the paper and found many references to the Manhattan -Project, including one full newspaper, on the general lines of what he -recalled of the Smyth Report.</p> - -<p>A month later a Washington columnist printed a scoop. There had been a -test of an atom bomb at Alamogordo, he claimed, and the bomb had failed -to function.</p> - -<p>"Ah," said Bronson aloud.</p> - -<p>What came next? How the two worlds had become so socially and -technically different was something to be studied at a later date. For -the present Bronson felt that it was the time to start thinking about -action.</p> - -<p>He left the library and walked down the street thoughtfully. Here the -bomb had failed, here—and automatically Ed Bronson cataloged the -place as Earth Three—science was unfettered.</p> - -<p>So, he reasoned along two lines simultaneously, the transmission -of things from one plane to the other required the use of the -radioisotopic phosphor—Bronson did not know the conglomeration of -transuranic elements comprised an entire rare element group known as -the space-resonant series and so called them by the name he had known -them—and since this was so, he would be forced to investigate.</p> - -<p>Also, since Earth Three had no apparent regulation on scientific -research, it would probably be easy to obtain enough to go to work. The -unfortunate part of it was that his rather extensive bank account was -deposited in the First National Bank. Though it was situated within -three blocks of this very spot, its officers would view his very solid -checks as so much illegal paper.</p> - -<p>He smiled wryly.</p> - -<p>So here he was, isolated on an obviously alien world, with the weight -of his own earth on his shoulders, quite incapable of more than -scratching the surface.</p> - -<p>Lost—completely lost—in the troubled thought, Ed Bronson's trained -hands, by sheer reflex, dipped into his pocket for a cigarette. The -hands, finding none, notified the locomotor areas of his brain, which, -operating on sheer habit and reflex, sent a message to the eyes.</p> - -<p>The eyes looked around, though what they scanned made no impression on -the more conscious sections of Bronson's mind. They caught what was -wanted and the automatic process went on—the information went back to -the habit-section, directions went to the muscles and Bronson walked -towards the drug-store in absolutely the same state of coma as the -proverbial absent-minded professor.</p> - -<p>Too deeply engrossed in his thoughts to pay attention to the automatic -items, Ed Bronson's brain caused his voice to murmur a cigarette-brand -name. The cigarette came, and Bronson's right hand dipped into his -pocket and dropped a twenty-dollar bill on the counter.</p> - -<p>The clerk looked at it and mumbled, "Have to get change, mister."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Again unconsciously, Bronson's head nodded.</p> - -<p>Had anything evolved that was out of the normal routine, Bronson -would have been forced to take notice. But this was like driving an -automobile or riding a bicycle. It required no conscious effort so long -as nothing demanded decision.</p> - -<p>Nothing demanded decision. The decision was made for him. He felt a -heavy hand on his shoulder and felt it turn him so that he faced—His -mind came back to his surroundings like a snapped rubber band. A -policeman!</p> - -<p>"What's the idea?" demanded the latter.</p> - -<p>"What idea?" asked Bronson.</p> - -<p>"Counterfeit money."</p> - -<p>"That isn't it—"</p> - -<p>The policeman laughed nastily. "Looks perfect," he admitted. "But I -might point out that E. Thomas Froman is not the secretary of the -United States Treasury."</p> - -<p>"Huh?" grunted Bronson.</p> - -<p>"A perfect counterfeit excepting that the wrong fellow signed it," -snapped the policeman. "What's the idea, fellow? I take it you don't -mind counterfeiting but dislike being jailed for forgery?"</p> - -<p>"I don't get it."</p> - -<p>"You will," smiled the policeman with great self-satisfaction. "Come -along. Counterfeit money is a bad thing to have in your possession."</p> - -<p>Bronson cursed himself. He had even more.</p> - -<p>Anticipating distastefully his second visit to the police station in as -many days, Ed Bronson emerged from the squad car behind the policeman. -This was one of the basic differences. This was not by far the same -place he had been in before and the seriousness of his position made Ed -Bronson smile whimsically.</p> - -<p>If not the only one ever to do it, he believed himself at least the -first man ever to be jailed in two jails on two worlds—or on one world -separated by only time. It was "doing time" with a vengeance!</p> - -<p>With the policeman following him, Bronson went into the building, -upstairs and into a room filled with scientific equipment. His quick -mind decided that, on this world, advances had also been made in -criminology. But he was forced to wait and see, for none of the -equipment made sense to Bronson. What the police did with it, how it -separated criminal from citizen, Bronson had no idea.</p> - -<p>"—passed a twenty dollar bill signed by E. Thomas Froman as Secretary -of the United States Treasury," said the policeman.</p> - -<p>"Clever of you, officer."</p> - -<p>"Thank you. The shopkeeper merely assumed it to be counterfeit. I knew -better."</p> - -<p>"This, officer, is Ed Bronson—of Earth One," said Kingston.</p> - -<p>Bronson jumped visibly. They knew him! Then he realized that they must -certainly know him because they had kidnaped him through the barrier -in time. This, of course, was erroneous, for it had been Virginia's -machinations that had brought him here. On the other hand, the error -made little difference so far as its end-result went, for it was true -that they knew him and also that they were quite glad to have him under -their thumbs.</p> - -<p>"So you're the birds who grabbed me?" he said brashly.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Kingston grinned wolfishly. He saw little reason for letting Bronson -know that another had accomplished what he himself had wanted.</p> - -<p>"We're glad to see you," said Kingston.</p> - -<p>"No doubt," snapped Bronson. "The pleasure is all yours."</p> - -<p>"Don't be petty," laughed Kingston.</p> - -<p>Bronson turned around to see what the other man—Maddox, of course—was -doing. Maddox had stopped using the space-resonant viewer, but the -screen depicted a street on Earth Two, which was obvious since there -were twin shadows cast, one by the sun and one by the atomic flame.</p> - -<p>Bronson knew it by reputation if in no other way. So he nodded at it -and said, scathingly, "Convenient way to spy on your neighbors, isn't -it?"</p> - -<p>Kingston nodded and smiled. And Bronson knew that the real menace to -Earth One was not the fear-filled, already-dying Earth Two with its -growing cancer of atomic flame, but this free, lusty Earth Three where -science had been unrestricted in scope and field and direction.</p> - -<p>Superior in the knowledge that they controlled the entire situation -because of their higher degree of varied sciences, men of Earth Three -were quite capable of biding their time and aiding in any scheme -planned by Earth Two—or perhaps Earth One—that would enhance the -future of Earth Three.</p> - -<p>Bronson saw them as conquistadores, watching savages fight over a lush -island and waiting for the least difficult moment to release all the -terrors of modern civilization to defeat both sides.</p> - -<p>"So what happens to me?" he snapped.</p> - -<p>"Unwittingly you have served us," said Kingston. "We could not get -through to you so long as you possessed no critical mass of the -space-resonant elements—"</p> - -<p>"What—"</p> - -<p>"Among the chemical compounds you were playing with, there are several -of the transuranic elements created by the atomic pile," explained -Kingston, falling back into his superior attitude. "These form a -rare-element group known as the space-resonant series and they respond -to one another in many ways.</p> - -<p>"Some of them are bizarre compared to the theories held by your -so-called modern physics. We use them as matter transmitters and it is -a rare home that has none for the delivery of merchandise."</p> - -<p>"So?"</p> - -<p>"So," laughed Kingston, "when you finally collected your critical mass -you enabled us to enter your Earth One, as we call it."</p> - -<p>"And?"</p> - -<p>"Your engineer's mind can reason out the rest," replied Kingston -quietly.</p> - -<p>"You mean that sooner or later one of the three must cease?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. To prove it, I shall pose a question. Have you ever considered -whether the entire universe was following triple time-paths or whether -it is only this section of the universe?"</p> - -<p>"Not vitally," replied Bronson.</p> - -<p>"Then think about it," said Kingston. "You'll have time."</p> - -<p>"I—?"</p> - -<p>"You'll have time. We have the power and the science and the will and -the ability to effect those necessary factors that will cause Earth -Three alone to survive."</p> - -<p>Bronson was forced to admit that Kingston was quite correct. Though -he said nothing nor gave any sign that he agreed, Bronson was forced -to agree that Earth Three was deep in its plans while Earth One lay -complacently in ignorance of its danger. The only man who had any -inkling of their danger was himself—and he had tried to warn them only -to be greeted as a lunatic.</p> - -<p>He wanted desperately to know about Virginia but was afraid to ask—or -even to show that he had hope. If she were back there and safe—</p> - -<p>Kingston smiled tolerantly. "You might as well relax," he said. "There -will be no return to Earth One for anybody until we are ready." He -explained about the division of the space resonant elements into four -subcritical masses. "It even prevents those from the doomed Earth Two -from entering."</p> - -<p>Bronson remained silent.</p> - -<p>"And the stuff in your laboratory is the only critical mass existent on -Earth One," added Kingston.</p> - -<p>Bronson's heart leaped and it was with all of his effort that he -kept that gleam of hope from showing. They did not know nor had they -detected the mass used by Virginia in her laboratory—could it be -because her set-up was inefficient as she admitted? Bronson breathed a -prayer that they would never find out.</p> - -<p>But it gave him hope—a hope that permitted him to relax for the moment -instead of breaking into action, however futile. Bronson's feelings -had been one of frustration, an almost overwhelming desire to beat his -fists against something even though it was futile—the insane desire to -strike a blow, however minute.</p> - -<p>"Until later," said Kingston, "you will occupy a room upstairs. Whether -or not you survive with us will depend upon how you behave. I assure -you that dying for a principle is futility personified and that a live -traitor surpasses a dead fanatic."</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER XI</p> - -<p class="ph2"><i>Reunion on Earth Three</i></p> - - -<p>In a small but comfortable room in Maddox's laboratory Bronson found -time to object to Kingston's statement that anyone adhering to a -principle is automatically a fanatic. A fanatic, according to one of -Bronson's rather cynical definitions, was any man who adhered to a set -of principles at variance with your own.</p> - -<p>Time went on slowly and it became dark eventually. Bronson could hardly -believe that he had been a free and happy scientist but a few days ago, -that all that had happened to him had occurred in so short a time.</p> - -<p>He had taken a few hours of sleep not long ago but it was insufficient. -Now, with the entire program at a standstill, nervous reaction set in -and the enforced inactivity drove Bronson deep into the fatigue he had -been ignoring because of nervous energy. He sprawled on the bed and -stared at the ceiling for a short time—and then slept.</p> - -<p>Bronson awoke much later and saw by his watch that it was about three -o'clock in the morning. By then he was slept out and quite ready to -test his brain and his body against Kingston and Maddox.</p> - -<p>Lying on the bed Bronson tried to plan.</p> - -<p>The main problem was to effect an exit and take a look around—cooped -up here he could do nothing at all. His mind, having been geared to -fast action for days, was now craving more action. It was like a drug. -And a portion of his mind told him that if all this could happen in a -short time, there was reason to believe that more concentrated action -might solve the puzzle.</p> - -<p>So Bronson arose and inspected the door. The place had not been -designed as a prison. The door was a normal door and the lock was a -flimsy affair intended to serve merely as a warning to the uninvited -that the room was forbidden. It would give no trouble at all to someone -determined to enter—or to get out.</p> - -<p>Bronson smiled in the dim moonlight. Undoubtedly, Kingston felt that, -with no place to go, Bronson's freedom was unimportant.</p> - -<p>He went to the closet and found a couple of wire coat-hangers. One of -these he twisted into a small hook to probe the lock. It was a simple -single-tumbler bolt lock and Bronson lifted the tumbler easily and slid -the bolt back. The door opened on oiled hinges and he was in the clear.</p> - -<p>His first move was to the street door. That was heavily locked and -barred and, engineer that Ed Bronson was, picking a lock of that -calibre was beyond his ability. He checked the windows but every -window was equipped with a slender, ornamental grille-work that was as -effective a barrier as the plain bars of the average jail.</p> - -<p>Bronson shrugged. Whatever the score, whatever the outcome, he had -to make some move. Not the kind of idiotic physical strife against -Kingston and his minions which would get him only a broken head with -nothing gained, but some move based upon the thing that Bronson knew -best. He knew little of the space-resonant communicator but there was a -bare chance of his finding out.</p> - -<p>Virginia—what had happened to her in the melee? Had she escaped and, -if so, could he communicate with her from Kingston's gear upstairs. Or -was Virginia also a prisoner in this scientific mausoleum?</p> - -<p>Questions all—and no answers. Bronson felt complete futility once more.</p> - -<p>He raced upstairs. If the space resonator would cross the temporal rift -to Earth One, it would also cross to Earth Two. Perhaps, he reasoned, -with greater difficulty because Earth One was the focal point and the -more stable. And, if what little he knew about Earth Two were correct, -Earth Two might well never learn of Earth Three despite the presence on -all hands of the focal elements.</p> - -<p>Delving into the lesser facets of a science was not permitted on Earth -Two. Some high brass on Earth Two must have viewed the transmission -possibilities of the space-resonant elements and decided that they were -to be used for transportation and communication and nothing more. Some -brass with fear, pardonably ignorant of the fact that just beyond his -fingertips in the depths of an unknown science lay hidden the secret -that would give them hope.</p> - -<p>So much for regulated science!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The equipment was mostly of mass-manufacture. That helped. Nameplates -were written in plain enough English and the controls were not -difficult to understand. Bronson studied it quite some time before -making his first move, then reached forward and snapped on the master -switch.</p> - -<p>He turned the switch marked "video" and the screen came to life. -Maddox had made pencil-marks on the power dial to indicate the depth -of penetration necessary to reach both of the other temporal worlds. -Bronson tried Earth One gingerly and saw his own home. Maddox had left -the controls set when the news of Bronson's capture had come.</p> - -<p>Bronson tried the steering controls and sent the plane of view along -the silent street of his own world. It went on a skew because the -line-up of angles was imperfect and Bronson found that he had to -manipulate a side-swing control in conjunction with the line control -to keep the plane of view from angling off into the houses that lined -the street.</p> - -<p>Then, with the equipment's secrets available for him to study, Bronson -abandoned such study in order to think and plan more thoroughly.</p> - -<p>The lock upon his door was certainly not the kind that any man in his -right sense would use to imprison any but a schoolchild. That did not -ring true, even though Kingston and Maddox held him in contempt and -knew that Bronson could never return to Earth One.</p> - -<p>There was more to it than that. He turned back to the equipment and set -the depth-dial to zero-zero. Then, with an amused shock, Bronson was -looking at a view of himself who was looking at the viewscreen upon -which was the same picture. Lack of definition in the picture elements -prevented the scene from being repeated to the infinitely small.</p> - -<p>But there was no time for fooling. So Ed Bronson lifted the plane -of view and passed the plane entirely through the top floor of the -building. He brought it back once it had reached the back and repassed -it again, setting it aside by nine-tenths of its span. On the fourth -pass Bronson saw something, plucked at the switches and rotated the -plane of view.</p> - -<p>Here was a small room. Two cots were there with a sleeping man in each. -They were in uniform. A third man lounged in an easy chair—asleep.</p> - -<p>Bronson breathed more easily. For, on a small portable viewer, was the -bedroom that Bronson had recently vacated. Guards, obviously, and one -of them luckily eligible for court-martial for sleeping on his watch!</p> - -<p>Bronson spun the distance dial wildly, and saw a kaleidoscope of color, -land, rock, and stream. He cared not where it was that he came upon the -supercritical mass of space resonant elements—all he cared was that it -was a goodly distance away.</p> - -<p>He did smile when he saw the name of the store on the window—not -that he could read it for, to Ed Bronson, lettering in Russian might -as well be read from either inside or outside or upside-down or -backwards—because he had a hunch that uniformed guards trying to -explain their undesirable presence in a Russian store would be at a -loss to explain how they had got there.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>His hand found the key marked TRANSMISSION and he saw all three guards -land on the hard cold floor, awake, and start to ask themselves what -had happened.</p> - -<p>He left them to their wonder, though he admitted that at any less -strenuous time it would be most interesting to watch their complete -discomfort and amazement. He brought back the scene of view and -continued to pass the plane back and forth through the building. On -the floor below the guards—in the apartment next to his own place of -imprisonment—the field of view passed over a bed. A tousle of hair and -an outstretched arm caused Bronson to blink.</p> - -<p>"Virginia!" he breathed.</p> - -<p>They had captured her, too. Well. That meant some saving in time. -Virginia would help him. Since the mass of crystals in his own lab -had been reduced to non-operative masses and well separated, the only -other possible mass was that in Virginia's place. What they would do, -of course, was to get back on Earth One and subdivide her crystals into -ineffectual masses and then instigate a search for the parts of his -own. Once he locked the invaders out they could so remain forever.</p> - -<p>Bronson nodded happily. He continued to sweep the plane of view through -the building until he came upon Maddox and Kingston. With a grin, he -delivered both of them to the same store in Siberia and then returned -to the contemplation of his problem.</p> - -<p>It seemed a shame to abandon all this gear. And if he took Virginia -back with him, through this machine, someone would know instantly where -they had gone. There was no known way of fouling up the controls after -no one was left in the laboratory to do it.</p> - -<p>And despite his amusement at the idea of several irate people trying -to explain to an irate officialdom why, how and wherefor, Bronson knew -very well that Kingston and Maddox would be able to talk their way home -in all too short a time.</p> - -<p>Certainly far too short a time to transport the equipment he wanted.</p> - -<p>Virginia? Bronson shrugged. He kept forgetting that she knew actually -less about this sort of thing than he did. She had said that her gear -was far less efficient than his.</p> - -<p>Bronson sent the plane of view skimming forward across the earth again, -and then thoughtfully set it for Earth Two. Far away from New Mexico, -in the lake region of Northern Michigan, Ed Bronson found a small -cottage—untenanted but with a supercritical mass of the space-resonant -elements available.</p> - -<p>Then Bronson expanded the volume of transmission to its utmost, turned -up the variac on the line voltage to overload proportions to add to the -general increase and then, wondering if he were rushing in where an -angel would fear to tread and also remembering that a little knowledge -is often a very dangerous thing, Ed Bronson shoved the transmitting -switch in with a gesture of finality....</p> - -<p>Upstairs, in the room next to Bronson's previous place of imprisonment, -Virginia Carlson, formerly of Earth Two, was sleeping easily. Her first -big decision had been made—her decision to accept the pleasant aspect -of Earth One forever, eschewing her former life. People who insist -upon absolute loyalty will scorn her decision. Yet from a pragmatic -standpoint, Virginia was correct even though she may have been morally -and ethically wrong.</p> - -<p>For her own Earth Two had been a sorry place indeed, peopled with -neurotics and hopeless mutants, the population more than decimated -by the bomb and its radiation effects. Of a minor percentage of the -population of Earth Two, Virginia was inclined to view the wholesome -and happy population of Earth One as her own kind. Certainly, as a -whole and healthy woman in all senses of the word, Virginia did belong.</p> - -<p>The decision had not been made without a wrench. It had most definitely -been a huge decision. It is never easy to give up an existence -completely even though it is less than desirable because of loyalties -and friendships made.</p> - -<p>Yet the practical aspect was important. Nature—human nature—had -created Virginia's decision, not the girl herself. For her life on -Earth Two, threatened as it was with extinction within a few short -years, violated the very concepts of nature.</p> - -<p>First, there is the eon-old instinct for self-preservation. Few -mentalities will accept self-negation for the benefit of other people. -No stable mentality will accept self-negation when it means little to -anyone.</p> - -<p>And why her subconscious mind reasoned, should she aid in the -destruction of a healthy civilization for the benefit of a civilization -already doomed?</p> - -<p>No more selfish than anyone else, Virginia knew that nothing she could -do would render the people of her own world a healthy race—not after -radiation and death and the nerve-shattering fear had taken its toll -for thirty years. So Virginia's initial decision had been made.</p> - -<p>Then had come Earth Three. And once the abandonment of the first -principle had been done, Virginia no longer had loyalty upon which to -fall back. Once the idea of self-preservation had come to the fore, it -was a mere matter of selecting her future from the practical standpoint -alone.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Earth Three certainly had what it took to win. In a culture unhampered -by brass-hattism science had made vast strides. From her history she -knew that science was a vital factor in any strife and had been for a -century or more.</p> - -<p>No longer was it possible for a group of farmers to rebel and make it -stick. In the American Revolution any armed man was as good as any -armed soldier—better in many cases since the armed farmer was not -restrained by certain codes and restrictions.</p> - -<p>But for years the armed farmer, though willing and able, was not -possessed of the weapons of modern warfare. Tanks are not needed on -a farm. Flamethrowers are not a household item. Machine-guns are -inefficient against ducks and geese. Pursuit aircraft and bombers do -not find much service in a peacetime civilization.</p> - -<p>So science had removed the concept of Mr. Colt's Equalizer, for while -the Colt made all men equal, its superior developments rendered a -trained and equipped army far superior to the most avid of citizen -armies.</p> - -<p>In a similar vein Earth Three, with its unbounded science was, without -a doubt, more capable of survival in this affair.</p> - -<p>Especially when their objective, Earth One, was lying silently, -enjoying its luxury, and not even suspecting the widespread -preparations going on. Earth One would be swarmed under and destroyed -before it realized what was going on.</p> - -<p>Well, reasoned Virginia, since she had decided to accept a future, -eschewing her former life on Earth Two, it remained only for her to -accept whichever future seemed the most secure.</p> - -<p>So Virginia Carlson slept easily, feeling that she had, by chance or -by luck, been inserted into the one future that promised the most. Her -dreams were untroubled.</p> - -<p>The building groaned in the cry of tortured metal and stone. It dropped -in a plaster-cracking jar a full half yard, then tilted swiftly to one -corner and stopped, settling gradually as the slack was taken up. The -roaring groan ceased and left only the crackling sound of fissures -running through concrete, the flaking of scale from ironwork, and -unimportant splintering and cracking of timber.</p> - -<p>Virginia awoke with a cry of fear.</p> - -<p>She heard footsteps on the stairs and she wondered what had happened. -She knew that Maddox and Kingston were experimenting and wondered -whether they had touched off something dangerous. Earthquake came to -mind and she wondered about it.</p> - -<p>Earthquakes were nothing new to Virginia, since the atomic fire that -burned deep into the bowels of Earth Two had released surface strain -from time to time as it ate its way through compressed rock-strata.</p> - -<p>She sat up in bed and reached for her clothing. No matter what it was -it was still better to face trouble dressed.</p> - -<p>She was slipping into her frock when the door burst open and, there was -Ed Bronson—whom she believed that she had sent to Earth Two. Virginia -recoiled automatically.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus4.jpg" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p>There was Ed Bronson—whom she believed she had sent to Earth Two.</p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>"Hi," said Bronson cheerfully.</p> - -<p>Virginia blinked—mentally, actually and figuratively. According to her -mental record of the proceedings, Bronson had every right to extract -any penalty he deemed fit.</p> - -<p>Dubiously, she replied, "Hi."</p> - -<p>"Cheer up," he told her, not noticing her nervousness. "I've just -swiped the entire batch—the whole shooting match. Now we can work this -out all by ourselves."</p> - -<p>Virginia nodded vaguely.</p> - -<p>Bronson noticed her uncertainty. "I've just expanded the field of focus -or whatever it's called that used to transmit stuff from one temporal -plane to the other—and I've shoved you, me, building, foot, horse and -marines into Earth Two to get away from that gang."</p> - -<p>Virginia recoiled mentally. After all the mad work, the planning, the -acceptance of a plan intended to place her in a more desirable future, -here she was right back in Earth Two—doomed once more to the creeping -atomic flame.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER XII</p> - -<p class="ph2"><i>Dawn in Flame</i></p> - - -<p>Virginia followed Bronson down to the laboratory in a daze, and she -comprehended only about one half of what he was saying. The one thing -that she did not understand was why he knew nothing of Earth Two. She -believed she had sent him there and the double transfer should have -awakened him.</p> - -<p>That should have left him aware of his transfer to Earth Three when -Kingston kidnaped him.</p> - -<p>Kingston could have told her that the bright sky light she saw in her -half-state had been but the temporarily-transferred atomic flame but -Kingston was not there. So instead of wanting to kill her summarily for -her double-cross, Ed Bronson still believed that she was originally of -Earth One, had been kidnaped as he had been.</p> - -<p>Virginia did find it a bit amusing—perhaps it was the hysteria that -acts as a safety valve when things are so unreasonable that the mind -will not accept them without seeking its funny side.</p> - -<p>Dawn was breaking as Bronson finished his explanation and, as the light -increased, he turned to the equipment and said, "We've got this all to -ourselves here. I couldn't find your crystal on Earth One—and besides, -if Kingston can flange up some means of detecting the presence of the -stuff on Earth One, there'd be but that one to detect.</p> - -<p>"And I couldn't set this mausoleum down on Earth One near any city -street. No room. I'm assuming that your diggings are in the city?"</p> - -<p>He did not wait for Virginia to answer, but turned to the equipment and -started to look it over in earnest. "This," he said, "I've got to know -more about."</p> - -<p>Virginia could have told him but she merely nodded vaguely and said -nothing. She thought it over.</p> - -<p>"Have you any hope at all of saving your world?" she asked—and then -gasped because she had not said "our world."</p> - -<p>She might have saved her fear, for he did not notice. "Some," he said, -straightening up from the gear and looking at her with a half smile.</p> - -<p>"Do I sound disloyal," she said tremulously, "if I suggest that if -Earth Three wins we have the means here to join them?" Virginia hoped -to gain some idea of his feelings on the subject so that she could -calculate his intentions.</p> - -<p>Bronson shook his head grimly. "Earth Three," he said, "appears to have -all the cards. No one doubts that Earth Two is doomed and is no true -menace compared to Three. Earth Three is cognizant of its possible fate -and is most certainly working furiously to avoid it."</p> - -<p>"They plot and plan against Earth One while Earth One sleeps in the -peace of false security. Lord knows, I've tried to tell them, and they -are so incapable of understanding this affair that they tried to slap -me in the clink for believing it." He laughed bitterly. "When I was a -kid in school they tried to tell me that any man who tells the truth -has nothing to fear."</p> - -<p>"But if Earth Three wins—as it seems certain to do?" she insisted.</p> - -<p>"That would be bad," he said.</p> - -<p>"Why?"</p> - -<p>"Virginia," he said soberly, "I don't quite know what it is but there's -something very wrong with Earth Three. Confound it, it's simple enough, -too, but for the life of me I cannot see it."</p> - -<p>"What can be wrong with a world where science and knowledge are not -suppressed?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know," he said irritably. "But there's something wrong with -Earth Three." He turned back to the gear again. "The one thing we -must be on the watch for is the day when Kingston sends word for his -trustees to assemble his space-resonant materials into a supercritical -mass.</p> - -<p>"Also we must watch to see that he does not use yours. I'm going to -duplicate this equipment first and then your job will be to keep an eye -on Kingston all the time while I work out this stuff."</p> - -<p>Bronson looked around him with a cynical smile. "Books, data, -equipment, and supplies," he said. "This is not like finding the -science of an ancient culture. This is a man finding a complete means -of study of a science of his own civilization removed but a few years -to the future.</p> - -<p>"I've often laughed," he went on cheerfully, "at what Volta and -Henry might think if they saw a modern circuit. But give them books, -equipment and material and they would work it out soon enough.</p> - -<p>"Radio, for instance, would have had its inception in the middle of the -nineteenth century if twentieth century measuring and testing equipment -and books had been handy. So," he strode over to a bookcase and took -out a heavy tome, "we work this out."</p> - -<p>Virginia shook her head unhappily. "Why, oh why did this thing happen?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Bronson smiled tolerantly. "Because of the chances," he said -thoughtfully. "I'm no believer in a great and benevolent god who -interferes with his subjects. I'm more inclined to look upon God as an -intellect interested in the problems of his subjects and quite willing -to let them work out their own destiny—if for no other reason than to -discover whether He had built well.</p> - -<p>"You cannot know how good your toy is if you insist upon helping it -over the difficult places with your hands. It must run of itself to be -a good model.</p> - -<p>"Now I'm not exactly convinced that Nature or God was baffled by -this thing that His toy built and therefore held His benevolent—but -baffled—hand in the stream of time to see which was the best.</p> - -<p>"I'm inclined to think there was a good scientific explanation of why -time should have split three ways—why in one case the earth entered -fission, why the thing worked properly in another time-stream and why -the Alamogordo Bomb fizzled in a third."</p> - -<p>"Can you find out why—and what it could have been?" she asked.</p> - -<p>He laughed shortly. "It isn't mumbo-jumbo or magic," he said. "All of -the things attributed to mumbo-jumbo are based upon facts not known to -those who observe the effects. The very fact that there was some doubt -about the outcome of the Alamogordo Bomb proved that the best brains -knew their knowledge of nuclear physics was incomplete."</p> - -<p>Virginia nodded brightly. "So you think that some unknown factor caused -the trouble?"</p> - -<p>"Obviously. We know that fissionable materials do operate. The -Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs were of different types of material, -giving us at least two different proofs of its operation. We have too -little knowledge of Earth Three but I'm reasonably certain that, once -the original experiment failed, fissionable reactions took place and -are taking place now. We know even less of the affair of Earth Two. We -don't know but can assume that later attempts would turn out properly."</p> - -<p>Virginia said nothing. She nodded sagely, and her nod was based upon -the fact that she knew he was right but could not say so lest she be -forced to tell the rest of her story.</p> - -<p>"So," he said, "we can assume that something was either generated or -present in the mixture at Alamogordo that, in one case, stopped the -reaction, in the next case, permitted the thing to work and, in the -third case, started the atomic fire in the earth."</p> - -<p>"How do you go about finding it?" she asked. Virginia was interested. -This theory was new to her, but it sounded reasonably solid.</p> - -<p>He grinned unhappily. "The trouble with making experiments in atomic -explosions is that it leaves so little stuff to measure afterwards." He -lifted a crystal of the space-resonant elements and looked at it with -wrinkled forehead.</p> - -<p>"Something in this crystal holds the answer. I think we should analyze -this material right down to the most infinitesimal trace. Then we can -find out which of the included elements is responsible for the original -problem."</p> - -<p>"I can help," said Virginia.</p> - -<p>He smiled grimly. "Your job is to keep an eye on Maddox and Kingston. -See if you can locate their men on Earth One, also see what you can do -toward locating those four subcritical masses. We must keep Kingston -and the rest of his gang from entering Earth One." He looked at her -thoughtfully. "Also keep an eye on your own collection."</p> - -<p>Virginia smiled and nodded. She looked him squarely in the eye and -said, "My collection of those elements is very small."</p> - -<p>"Um," he said. "It's more than possible that the various functions of -the space-resonant elements depends upon their mass. For instance, a -small quantity might be suitable for mere communication—a larger -quantity may be required for the visual communication, while a still -larger mass is needed for a physical transfer.</p> - -<p>"How their division comes with respect to the transfer of objects or -messages from time plane to time plane is something that might be -baffling."</p> - -<p>"But what are you going to do right now?" asked Virginia.</p> - -<p>"First, I'm going to see what can be done about building a detector -for the supercritical masses," he said. "Then we're going to do some -micro-analysis on these crystals."</p> - -<p>Virginia was silent. She was not entirely convinced that there was -something wrong with the culture on Earth Three. Earth Three obviously -had all of the scientific cards, what with years of research and no -restrictions or regulations.</p> - -<p>However, Virginia was content to remain where she was for a short time. -There was little point in making an abrupt change just then. Any moment -that danger threatened Virginia knew that she could escape to Earth -Three and be safe. Her decision to remain was based upon her lifetime -of training on Earth Two.</p> - -<p>Regardless of any decision to eschew a former life, the training of a -lifetime will remain. That Virginia had no intention of remaining on -Earth Two did not remove her interest in the main problem of her life. -Bronson had some theories that were interesting. Therefore Virginia was -content to remain and learn all she could.</p> - -<p>Such knowledge might come in handy at a later date.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Leader Kingston leaned back against a counter and regarded his cohorts -with a cold stare. Maddox growled in his throat and the three guards -cowered because theirs had been a crime punishable by death for -hundreds of years.</p> - -<p>"Well," asked Maddox, "what do we do now?"</p> - -<p>"The first thing," said Kingston sharply, "is to locate ourselves."</p> - -<p>"That shouldn't be hard," said Maddox, looking around. Kingston nodded, -regarding his wrist watch.</p> - -<p>"It is near-morning in New Mexico," he said. "Where we are now is -midnight."</p> - -<p>"It's also cold—and that lettering on the window is Russian. We are -in eastern Siberia."</p> - -<p>Kingston made some calculations. "We're lucky at that," he said. "So -long as morning comes in Washington before morning comes here we are -in no great danger. The fact is," he added, regarding his watch once -more, "that the monitors will be taking up their regular duty in a few -minutes. Otherwise we might have no end of trouble."</p> - -<p>Maddox shrugged. A pajama-clad man has little dignity and very little -authority. To be trapped in a foreign country—one whose politics -differ from your own—under highly suspicious circumstances might well -result in a long period of enforced inactivity. Bronson had been in a -hurry when he had performed the shipping operation. Had he taken time -to think it over, Bronson would have sent them to some place where -their arrival would have brought them instant apprehension.</p> - -<p>But Bronson had been in a hurry and his only desire was to ship them -to some spot not fitted with instant means of escape. He would have -preferred some place where no space-resonant element existed but that -was impossible since the technique demanded a focal mass.</p> - -<p>"So," said Kingston, showing Maddox the silvery-metal band on his -wrist, "as soon as the monitors take over and locate me, we'll—"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He disappeared in mid-sentence and Maddox followed a few seconds later. -The guards vanished at regular intervals, leaving the Russian store -vacant once again.</p> - -<p>Minutes later Kingston and Maddox emerged from a standard transmission -building not far from the site of the laboratory. Maddox was puzzling -openly. "Bronson has probably ripped the tuning circuit from my -receiver," he said. "But what would that gain him?"</p> - -<p>"Only a few minutes more time," said Kingston. "Instead of our landing -back home again, we must use a standard line and walk a few squares. -I—look!"</p> - -<p>"Heaven!" breathed Maddox.</p> - -<p>The laboratory site was, naturally, vacant.</p> - -<p>"I didn't think it possible," said Maddox.</p> - -<p>"But where did he take it?" wondered Kingston.</p> - -<p>"Who knows?" said Maddox, spreading his hands.</p> - -<p>"We can find out but it will take time. My guess is Earth Two -somewhere. He'd be a fool to stay here where he can be found easily."</p> - -<p>"It wouldn't be too easy if Bronson has hashed up the keyed tuning -circuit," grunted Maddox angrily. "Confound it, that reduces the -problem to one of searching two worlds for the right mass of elements."</p> - -<p>Kingston shook his head. "We're about ready," he said. "Give us another -week or so and we can eliminate all opposition." His face hardened. "In -fact, we can start to spread the atomic fire on Earth Two at any time."</p> - -<p>They turned back to the standard transmission building and returned to -Washington. There was nothing they could do without the laboratory and -there were other, well-equipped laboratories in Washington. Actually, -so far as the operations in the space-resonant bands were concerned, -location meant very little. It had been merely convenient to locate in -Maddox's place.</p> - -<p>Once returned to Kingston's official building, the leader set his -operatives to checking the supercritical masses in the vain hope of -locating one of them that existed in the stolen laboratory.</p> - -<p>Bronson's statement that he wanted a detector did not mean -none existed. All forms of communication require the two main -components—generator and detector. Kingston's men, to track down the -stolen laboratory, merely tuned through the space-resonant bands, -stopping every time they hit a response so that they could check the -neighborhood visually.</p> - -<p>What Bronson wanted was not a mere detector. He wanted some means -of knowing definitely when the subcritical masses of his own -space-resonant elements were reassembled. This is comparable to a -device that will register whenever a radio transmitter is turned on, -regardless of frequency or location.</p> - -<p>Bronson knew that the tuning qualities of the space-resonant effects -depended mostly on the mass of the crystals. He knew the mass of his -own stuff but that had been formed to serve as fluorescent material -and the amount of the space-resonant elements in that mass was -uncertain—especially in view of the fact that Earth One was still to -learn of the space-resonant bands.</p> - -<p>So Bronson's knowledge of the mass of his own crystal did not include -the proportion of these new elements and therefore he had little -knowledge of how the divided masses would resonate.</p> - -<p>It was quite a project—but it had to be done.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER XIII</p> - -<p class="ph2"><i>To Find the Plan</i></p> - - -<p>Cautiously, Virginia entered the laboratory and peered over Ed -Bronson's shoulder. "What are those?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"Amplifiers," he explained. "I'm hoping to locate the subcritical -masses."</p> - -<p>Virginia looked dubious. "Where did you get them?" she asked.</p> - -<p>He grinned boyishly, "Stole 'em. I searched the laboratories of Earth -Three and came up with four of their best. Earth Three does have some -advantages."</p> - -<p>"Most of them, I fear," said Virginia.</p> - -<p>"Yeah, but there's something wrong there."</p> - -<p>Virginia asked, "What can be wrong with that kind of technical advance?"</p> - -<p>"It isn't only their technical perfection that is wrong. That is fine, -and something that Earth One will achieve in the due course of time. -There's something else—something basic. Maybe," he grinned, "it is -feminine intuition, but it has to be there."</p> - -<p>Bronson nodded firmly and then turned to his amplifiers. The closer one -he turned upside down on the table and looked into for a time. Then, -absently, Bronson reached for a screwdriver and probed into the chassis -with the business end.</p> - -<p>Virginia gave a cry, "No!"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus1.jpg" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p>"No!" cried Virginia, as Bronson probed into the apparatus.</p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>"No?" he echoed, turning slightly to face her. "It's turned off."</p> - -<p>Virginia paused. A moment of wait and her worry about Bronson would -have been over. After touching the charged electrode in the way he was -about to do, Virginia would have been alone and free to go to Earth -Three complete with the laboratory, or to wait and see whether One -or Three was successful in the imminent warfare and go to whichever -emerged victorious.</p> - -<p>She knew that Bronson was quite capable of isolating both of them -after collecting the only mass of space-resonant elements on Earth -One. He would do that as a last resort to save the rest of his world, -regardless of whether he received any acclaim or not. And death would -be his reward. For once Earth One was safe, Two and Three would perish -and both of them with it.</p> - -<p>Yet Virginia found admiration in her heart for this man. Bronson, -against great odds, had succeeded in coming this far. He may have made -an error in his belief that there was something fundamentally wrong -with Earth Three but, none the less, he was possessed of a certain -drive and purpose that made her admire him.</p> - -<p>"All right, Ed," she told him. "I know more about those amplifiers than -I could possibly know had I been truly of Earth One."</p> - -<p>He turned and faced her slowly.</p> - -<p>"I am Virginia—Carlson," she said.</p> - -<p>"Carlson?"</p> - -<p>"Carlson. I am the woman you contacted with your hybrid space -resonator." Then came the rest of the story from beginning to end. -"Curse me if you feel like it, Ed Bronson, but what normal human being -would care to spend the rest of her life on a dying world—or to open -the door of a fine world to the hapless, horrible mutants who have no -future beyond their own life-endings?"</p> - -<p>Bronson nodded. "I am no judge," he said solemnly. "Offhand it seems -wrong to abandon one's friends for one's own safety. But if one cannot -really save one's friends from their horrible fate it seems foolish to -remain and die through mere loyalty. It's like that old saw about a -live coward being better than a dead hero."</p> - -<p>"Then you don't condemn me for seeking safety?"</p> - -<p>"Who am I to judge?" he said.</p> - -<p>"But supposing Earth Three should be successful?"</p> - -<p>"That would prove that Earth Three was best fit to survive. Not for -one moment, however, do I believe that some higher agency performed -this separation-trick to establish the most successful way of running a -world.</p> - -<p>"Nature—by which I mean natural phenomena—offers survival's choice to -many forms of life and living in many ways, and this split in the time -stream is but one of them. I swear that we shall know why it happened -some day.</p> - -<p>"But, Virginia, I am not to arbitrate your life. I am inclined to think -that I might have done the same thing. In fact," he said humorously, -"I can find nothing really to be angry about. Even your little job of -shipping me to Earth Three resulted in our stealing this laboratory."</p> - -<p>"But I sent you to Earth Two."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He shook his head. "I arrived from my bedroom on Earth Three—the same -room but a nursery in Three's time trail."</p> - -<p>"I saw the same room from half-transfer," she said, "and there was that -pillar of atomic fire in the sky."</p> - -<p>Bronson blinked.</p> - -<p>"So," he said with an explosive exhale of breath. "So the fission-train -in the earth will work on Earth Three as well as Two."</p> - -<p>"What do you mean?" asked the girl.</p> - -<p>"Kingston undoubtedly intends to transfer bits of the earth-fire from -Two to One and thus destroy both of them. That was a test. They brought -it, noted its performance on Three and then carefully shipped the thing -back again."</p> - -<p>Virginia snorted angrily. "I'd like to ship the entire Alamogordo Fire -to Earth Three and let Kingston and Maddox roast!"</p> - -<p>Bronson nodded. "But the thing that strikes me the hardest is that only -for that very instant of blast was there the chance for time-fission. -Then all three worlds have the same phenomena and the same effects. One -might think that Three would remain a place where no fission-explosion -could take place while on Two all atomic releases of power start the -endless fission in the earth."</p> - -<p>"But does that help us any?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know yet. But you'll help—now?"</p> - -<p>"That I will—and willingly."</p> - -<p>"Then tell me," said Bronson amusedly, "just what was I about to do?"</p> - -<p>"You were about to touch a high-energy electrode that remains hot for -hours after the gear is turned off. One of the energizing circuits. It -charges itself with space-resonant energy that does not leak off—sort -of like a high-capacity condenser of excellent power factor. You can -charge it to lethal dose and it may remain so for hours unless it is -discharged."</p> - -<p>"Why don't they discharge these, then?"</p> - -<p>"It takes too long for them to load when they fire 'em up," explained -Virginia. "Usually they remain at high charge between 'off' periods."</p> - -<p>Ed Bronson looked into the amplifier with a wry glance. "A little -knowledge is a dangerous thing," he grunted. He squinted at the -electrode, lifted an eyebrow and smiled cynically, "Y' know, there -ought to be some easy way of telling when a thing is dangerous.</p> - -<p>"Once upon a time that which was dangerous came clearly labeled, like -fire, or sabretooth tigers. Later they had to pass laws to get folks to -put gasoline in red-coated cans. Nowadays practically anything you open -up is dangerous and unless you know what you're doing—"</p> - -<p>Virginia smiled. She knew that he was just talking, rambling as he -scanned the circuit, wondering what to do next. Then she touched his -arm gently.</p> - -<p>"Look, Ed," she said. "Let me take this job over. I know my way around -these things, even though they are of Earth Three instead of mine. -You've got other things to do, doubtless?"</p> - -<p>Bronson looked at Virginia quizzically.</p> - -<p>"Trust me?" she asked.</p> - -<p>He smiled. "I think so," he said.</p> - -<p>"You can," she said.</p> - -<p>Bronson's smile faded. "Look, kiddo," he said, "there's one thing about -being just a little bit selfish that most of the books never get around -to mentioning. I'd prefer to have someone working beside me who is a -bit selfish and inclined to think of himself first.</p> - -<p>"The guy who has—in capitals—a Mission In Life is all too inclined -to toss common sense into the ashcan so that his flanged-up ideals are -realized. At least you can predict the future course of any character -who is logical enough to think of himself.</p> - -<p>"So—you've made your gesture and until someone convinces me that a bit -of selfishness is absolutely wrong—g'wan!" He grinned. "Go to work so -that I can stop sounding like a philosopher."</p> - -<p>Virginia looked at him soberly for some moments.</p> - -<p>"You don't question the fact that I will grab for the winner?"</p> - -<p>"We all hope to play a winner, ginger-girl," he said.</p> - -<p>"Yes, but—"</p> - -<p>"Virginia, you hope to play a winner. Do you greatly care who really -wins so long as all is serene, happy, and peaceful?"</p> - -<p>"Only one more requisite," she said wistfully, "I'd like to have it -remain that way."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Bronson laughed. "It has been adequately pointed out often enough that -the gents who formulated the Declaration of Independence guaranteed -only the right to 'pursue' happiness. It is a hopeless quest to seek -complete peace and quiet."</p> - -<p>"Don't talk like that," she said. "I only meant that I'm not too -convinced that your idea about Earth Three having something definitely -wrong with it—"</p> - -<p>Ed Bronson reached forward and put one hand on each of her shoulders. -"Look, youngster," he said with a smile, "I'm no hero. I'm not imbued -with the spirit of altruism and self-righteous self-sacrifice."</p> - -<p>Virginia looked into his eyes solemnly. "You would have little -hesitation before you isolated yourself here on Earth One if—"</p> - -<p>"Only because I am dead certain that there is something basically wrong -with Earth Three."</p> - -<p>Virginia smiled. "As a not-too-innocent bystander," she said seriously, -"I'm little sold either way. Earth Two is doomed. That I know because -I saw Earth One. But having been trained to the idea of scientific -research, I'm inclined to think that Earth Three with its freedom is -the right answer.</p> - -<p>"Who knows," she continued bitterly, "how many times we might have been -close to something that might have led the way to life but were stopped -because of an arbitrary decision by someone who felt—by some personal -logic—that the phase of science held no answer."</p> - -<p>"There is one idea," he said half humorously, "that anything -taken without a bit of moderation is not too good. Oh, there are -exceptions. One can always find something that must not be taken in -moderation—honesty or faith, for instance—in order for the best to -evolve. But any pendulum swings from extreme to extreme. And you have -been living in an order of one extreme. You naturally think the other -extreme is better."</p> - -<p>"You wouldn't be generalizing when you claim that Earth Three is wrong -somewhere? That you think that Earth Three is too extreme?"</p> - -<p>"Extremity, per se, may not be bad," he said. "It is what takes place -under extremity that might be dangerous. No, Ginger, I'm baffled right -now but you can be certain that, before we get to the end of all this, -we'll know the answer."</p> - -<p>Virginia smiled. "We seem to have come a long way from the original -argument."</p> - -<p>"Oh yes." He grinned back at her. "We're both in a mell of a hess right -now. It would be a fine thing if we couldn't trust one another. All you -seem to want is a secure future and all I want is the same. That we -seem to think that this secure future lies in opposite directions is -the same factor that makes horse racing interesting. And, like horse -racing, we'll find out soon enough who is right."</p> - -<p>"I hope it isn't the hard way."</p> - -<p>"Virginia, you are willing to take a job on this stuff. You're -therefore willing to help the side you think cannot win?"</p> - -<p>"If anything is done to aid either side," she said, "and it comes out -properly, isn't that a sign that the winning side has every right to -succeed?"</p> - -<p>"Defining 'A' in terms of 'A'?"</p> - -<p>"No. I'm just willing to help get myself away from the certain doom of -Earth One."</p> - -<p>"In other words," said Ed Bronson, "you'd work as hard for Leader -Kingston as you would for me?"</p> - -<p>She looked at him squarely. "Ed," she said, "I wouldn't care to trust -Leader Kingston." Then she turned from him, shrugged her shoulder out -from beneath his hands and faced the upturned amplifier. Beneath the -wreath of her hair he noted the blush that tinted the back of her neck.</p> - -<p>Bronson took a half step forward. His hands half reached for her -shoulders again. Then he paused.</p> - -<p>"I'm going to check the mass spectrograph," he said and turned on his -heel and left the room.</p> - -<p>This, he knew, was no time to question her motives.</p> - -<p>As he headed for the laboratory below, this thought crystallized. -Questioning her motives would force quick judgment. He knew—and he -wondered how he arrived at that sage opinion—that Virginia herself was -not aware of the motives that made her keep him from a certain death -and now caused her to help him.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER XIV</p> - -<p class="ph2"><i>Explosive!</i></p> - - -<p>Now it was silent in the computation laboratory, save for the -occasional clicking of the super calculator that lined one wall of the -room. Pages and pages of equations were piled high in the file box and -Bronson sat in the control console of the big machine and worked. Hour -after hour he alternated moments of quick activity over the keyboard -with periods of quiet contemplation and reasoning as the answers to his -mathematical problems came clicking back.</p> - -<p>Dimly he heard the door open behind him and he accepted it -vaguely—disinterestedly—because the problem at hand was far more -important. He felt her presence beside him and she was silent as she -read his notes.</p> - -<p>He set up another problem on the keyboard and leaned back, looking up -at her.</p> - -<p>"Found something?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"No," he replied. "Except that the space-resonant elements do not make -sense in the mass spectrograph."</p> - -<p>"I know," she said. "We've known that for years."</p> - -<p>Bronson waved a book. "And I'm a little shocked at the lack of true -basic research to be found on Earth Three."</p> - -<p>"What?" asked Virginia.</p> - -<p>"It seems as though they know a lot," he explained. "But they know -no more about this stuff than the nineteen hundreds knew about the -electricity they used."</p> - -<p>"That's natural," she said. "People are always willing to use something -beneficial though they know little about its basic fundamentals. One -out of a thousand automobile drivers really knows anything about the -internal combustion engine. The rest are merely drivers, controlling a -mammoth they know nothing about."</p> - -<p>"Well, perhaps," he said. "Also it is entirely possible that what I'm -seeking has no true answer."</p> - -<p>"You hope to learn why the space-resonant elements cannot be separated?"</p> - -<p>"Right," said Bronson. He was silent for some time while he digested -the answer that had come clicking from the calculator. Then he sent -forth another equation and the machine went to work again. "I'd like to -try analysis."</p> - -<p>"Won't work. As far as we can tell there is really only one element."</p> - -<p>"By analysis," he nodded. He had been reading what Earth Three knew -about it and they, too, said as much. "However, the mass spectrograph -separates elements according to their atomic masses and according to -their atomic charge.</p> - -<p>"Now why do we have a dispersion of atomic mass—making the -space-resonant series of elements seem to be merely isotopes of the -same element—and at the same time get a dispersion of atomic charge, -which would make them seem like isobars of different elements?"</p> - -<p>"Heaven knows what we can expect in the transuranic series," observed -Virginia.</p> - -<p>He grunted. "Run down the physical properties of the stable elements," -he said, "and you'll run into about every conceivable idea. Metals that -melt at room temperature, metals that resist acid and alkali.</p> - -<p>"Metals that conduct electricity in proportion to the light falling on -them, elements that combine with almost any other element—and elements -so valently self-satisfied that they will not even combine with -themselves. Elements as hard as all get-out and others that can be cut -into stove lengths with a soft thumbnail.</p> - -<p>"But," he continued reflectively, "I'm of the opinion that the answer -lies here—that this indivisible property of the space-resonant -elements is the answer to a lot of questions."</p> - -<p>Then Bronson put his head in his hands. "And I'm supposed to find out -all this to save my world—when the best brains of that same world in -another time-plane have known about the stuff for thirty years and -still cannot—"</p> - -<p>"That is not fair," she said. "After all, how many years did Enrico -Fermi seek the answer for his experiments with the fission of uranium? -They numbered a good many transuranic elements before they discovered -that these new elements were actually the fissioned products and were -well-known elements halfway down the atomic chart."</p> - -<p>"That's true," he nodded. "Also it is against all theory that an -element should display more than one atomic identity."</p> - -<p>"Right. Unless they are incomplete atoms—a house built of brickbats."</p> - -<p>Bronson shrugged. "I'm trying that."</p> - -<p>"How?" puzzled Virginia.</p> - -<p>"I've got the mass spectrograph running again but each slit is loaded -to the scuppers with neutron absorber."</p> - -<p>"What do you expect?" asked Virginia.</p> - -<p>"I don't really know. I sort of hope it may lead to something. Come -on—let's try it."</p> - -<p>Taking his last three pages of calculations, Ed Bronson led the way to -the analytic laboratory....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Leader Kingston smiled grimly at Maddox and shoved the button home. -"That'll fix 'em!" he said savagely.</p> - -<p>On Earth Two the pillar of fire flickered a measurable bit—and the -downtown district of New York City vomited flame in a thunderous roar. -To the stratosphere billowed the ice cap, followed instantly by an -up-reaching column of incandescent gas.</p> - -<p>Into the vitals of the rock the gnawing atomic flame went and -perceptibly—perceptibly to some all-powerful deity that could -withstand a holocaust which put the sun to shame—the crater expanded -as the substance of Earth Two fed the atomic flame.</p> - -<p>Kingston set the steering control once more and shoved the button. -The Mall between the Washington Monument and the Capitol erupted in -another atomic cancer to feed on Earth Two. The buildings that lined -the Mall were blasted to bits—the National Archives, the Smithsonian -Institution, all of them gone in one mighty blast.</p> - -<p>Then, as the fury of blast subsided, the pillar of fire undulated to -the sky. It fed, then, on the inert substance of a dead city for, as in -Manhattan, no man remained alive to see.</p> - -<p>With cruel disregard for humanity, Leader Kingston set the dials once -more and the acres of land enclosed by Chicago's Loop roared skyward. -The edges of the crater rimmed Lake Michigan and the waters of the lake -began to pour toward the breach. They did not reach the ravening crater -for they turned into steam long before they could fall across the lip -of the crater.</p> - -<p>From Lake Bluff to Gary the lake-front was a scene of molten death.</p> - -<p>"That's but the beginning," said Kingston. "Four will become eight -and eight will become sixteen. It will not be long before they are -reaching one another."</p> - -<p>"You'll have a lot of the space-resonant crystals to pass along to -Earth One, though," said Maddox.</p> - -<p>"We will apply the same principle," said Kingston. "One brings two -and each brings two more. My men on Earth One will assemble the four -subcritical masses tomorrow for instructions," said Kingston. "This is -the one weak link. But once we start, we can move the stuff like fury."</p> - -<p>"What do you fear?" asked Maddox.</p> - -<p>"Bronson! He has your laboratory. Complete. He is well hidden somewhere -and, until we can locate him, we are treading on dangerous ground. For -I know that he is keeping an eye on everything we do. And until we -locate him we can do nothing."</p> - -<p>"Why doesn't he do something, then?"</p> - -<p>Kingston laughed bitterly. "Probably because he doesn't quite know what -to do."</p> - -<p>Maddox grinned. "Also because you've got the key to Earth One. And," he -said grimly, "it might be that he has been ignorant until just now when -you've shown him how to fight this war."</p> - -<p>Kingston whitened in fear. He shook his fist at the flaming horror on -the viewer plate and said, "I wish Bronson were in that!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Virginia Carlson reeled back from the viewer with a cry. Bronson left -his work and came to stand beside her.</p> - -<p>"What?" he asked.</p> - -<p>Slowly Virginia shook her head. "Kingston has just transmitted a bit of -the atomic flame to New York," she said.</p> - -<p>Bronson made the natural error. To him, New York was New York and he -considered no other city. What stopped him was the belief that Kingston -could not transmit anything across the barrier without the presence of -a focal mass.</p> - -<p>"How?" he asked Virginia.</p> - -<p>"With the space resonator," she said.</p> - -<p>"But there is no focal mass."</p> - -<p>"In New York?" replied Virginia in surprise. "There must be several -thousand."</p> - -<p>"But—oh! It was the New York of Earth Two."</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>Bronson looked out of the window and shook his head. "I find it -difficult to believe that this terrain is not my own world," he said. -"And yet it is, in a sense."</p> - -<p>Then he turned from the window to face Virginia. "Ginger-girl," he said -slowly, "I know what is wrong with Earth Three!"</p> - -<p>Virginia swung the steering control swiftly until a distant view of New -York was visible. "That is what is wrong with Earth Three," she said -bitterly. "Avaricious, hateful and cruel."</p> - -<p>Bronson shook his head. "You're not fair," he said. "He's done nothing -that you or I would not do to protect our own worlds. And," smiled -Bronson, "remember that Earth Two is already doomed."</p> - -<p>Virginia whirled on him. "Because a man is slated to die as all men -are, is that an excuse to commit murder?"</p> - -<p>"No," he said. "But life is still a matter of the survival of the -fittest. I deplore Kingston's act but remember that Kingston knows that -it is either kill or be killed."</p> - -<p>"Then there is nothing wrong with Earth Three," snapped Virginia with -deep bitterness.</p> - -<p>"Oh but there is. Virginia, on your world, where every scientific -endeavour is directed along the one line of safety in the face of that -pillar of fire at Alamogordo, does your government know the location of -all equipment?"</p> - -<p>"Of course," she said. "Save for a very minute percentage of stuff that -has been lost, strayed or stolen."</p> - -<p>He turned to the screen. "Did anybody ever think of that?" he asked, -pointing to the fire that was consuming Manhattan.</p> - -<p>"Yes—but where would we put it?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"On the moon," he said simply.</p> - -<p>"But there is no focal mass of space resonant elements on the moon," -she objected.</p> - -<p>"There could have been," he said, "if Earth Two had proceeded to -develop the rocket! But no, since no planet is habitable."</p> - -<p>"That isn't all," said Virginia. "Earth Three has developed the -transmission resonator to the highest degree. We've never been able to -speed it up. They can transmit anything in a matter of microseconds. -Ours takes hours sometimes.</p> - -<p>"Remember, if we start to shove that pillar of raw energy through a -resonator of our type we must build it to withstand raw atomic energy -for a long period. But tell me what is wrong with Earth Three."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He frowned. "Remember the day I nearly killed myself because I was -poking into an amplifier without knowing all about it?"</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"In similar sense, Earth Three is plunging forward into a sea of -uncharted danger. Rapid progress in the face of high competition. -No control whatsoever. In the cast of Earth Two, progress has been -hampered because it has had too much control.</p> - -<p>"Had you been free to tinker and investigate the transmission bands -you'd have discovered Earth Three and you might have had the idea of -rotating that Alamogordo Flame into Earth Three.</p> - -<p>"As of now, Virginia, tell me—could Earth Two reduce all of its -space-resonant elements to subcritical masses in a case of danger?"</p> - -<p>"We could, save for those that were lost, as I've said before."</p> - -<p>Bronson smiled cryptically. "Can Leader Kingston?"</p> - -<p>Virginia shook her head. She recalled the myriad uses that Earth Three -had developed for the space resonant elements. Each home with many -devices, each device containing a supercritical mass.</p> - -<p>To eliminate entirely all critical masses of the dangerous elements -would be the exact equal to a complete breakdown of all means of -transportation and communication. For the space resonator had replaced -in nearly all but isolated cases the common automobile, telephone, -train, radio and allied arts.</p> - -<p>Such a project was impossible to contemplate, and even less possible to -accomplish in any reasonable time. It would require the rebuilding of -the former modes of life—almost a return to horse-and-buggy days.</p> - -<p>"But every science has its danger," objected Virginia.</p> - -<p>Bronson nodded. "But remember that every science grows like a tree. One -does not start on a high technical plane."</p> - -<p>"But what has that to do with it?"</p> - -<p>"Just this," explained Bronson patiently, "In earlier days no man could -develop anything too dangerous to his fellows if it got out of hand. -Many embryonic chemists have left the face of the earth in a gout of -smoke and flame but, when they left, they took only a small section of -the neighborhood with them.</p> - -<p>"Here, then, we have Alamogordo and the Bomb. It took the combined -resources of a nation, its people and years of study and work to -develop the atomic bomb. Obviously this is no backyard project like the -nitration of glycerine.</p> - -<p>"But here we have Earth Three," he continued, "plunging forward without -control—a juggernaut with no one at the helm. In their homes, in their -laboratories, in their very lives, they have supercritical masses of -the space-resonant elements. Leader Kingston has just shown us how he -hopes to destroy both Earth One and Two to leave Three supreme."</p> - -<p>"In doing that he has given us the answer we seek. For in his attack," -said Bronson exultantly, "he has displayed not only his weakness but -the fundamental weakness of a culture based upon complete freedom. Not -that freedom is wrong. Freedom is an ideal, and complete freedom will -be attained only when every man can assume the responsibility of being -noble."</p> - -<p>"I'm not quite certain," said Virginia.</p> - -<p>Bronson laughed. "How long would it be before one of Kingston's men -discover the secret of unlocking the energy of the atom with a gadget -the size of your wrist watch? Hah! Every man his own atom-bomb!" he -snorted. "Well, remember this, Virginia, on Earth Three every chunk of -space-resonant material is more deadly than the Alamogordo Flame!"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER XV</p> - -<p class="ph2"><i>Moment of Crisis</i></p> - - -<p>Grinning wolfishly, Bronson spoke.</p> - -<p>"The next problem," he said, "is the job of getting back to Earth One."</p> - -<p>"How can we?"</p> - -<p>"Who has the key?" Bronson asked.</p> - -<p>"Kingston."</p> - -<p>"Then we proceed to grab Leader Kingston and apply bamboo splinters -under the fingernails or place a rat on his bare tummy, placing a bowl -on top of the rat, and then building a small fire on top of the bowl. -In other words, we shall—ah—urge is the word—urge him to reveal his -method of getting in touch with his bunch on Earth One."</p> - -<p>Virginia shuddered.</p> - -<p>Bronson turned to the steering controls and located Kingston. Then, -standing near the focal volume, Bronson motioned for the girl to throw -the switch. Kingston appeared instantly and, before the Leader could -get his wits together, Ed Bronson swung a heavy fist with all the power -of his big body behind it. Kingston went down like a log.</p> - -<p>He awakened to the drenching of cold water from a bucket. He strained -against adhesive tape and glared.</p> - -<p>"Take it easy, Kingston," said Bronson. "I've got the controls set to -drop you into the Alamogordo Flame if you get nasty."</p> - -<p>Kingston paled.</p> - -<p>"What I want from you is the key to Earth One!"</p> - -<p>"That you'll never get!"</p> - -<p>"Yes I will."</p> - -<p>"No you won't."</p> - -<p>Bronson snorted. "Want to make a little bet? You can save yourself a -lot of grief if you give in right now. Or would you rather be screaming -for mercy later?"</p> - -<p>"What can you do?" sneered Kingston.</p> - -<p>Bronson chuckled. "The Chinese are accused of developing a number of -fancy tortures," he said. "I've also known a fiction writer who used an -incident to show the strength of his character's will power.</p> - -<p>"This fellow, who used to tinker with radio on the side, decided that -any man who could grab a couple of hundred volts and not quiver a -muscle because a sudden motion would be as deadly, would be displaying -a nervous control seldom realized. Now I'd guess his idea to have been -impossible. But it gives me to think.</p> - -<p>"Do you suppose you could stand a mild electrocution? Say a hundred -volts at twenty cycles? Not enough to kill, for we'll insert a -current-limiting resistance to prevent electrocution, but enough to -make life most uncomfortable. The torture of the condemned will have -nothing on what you will suffer, Kingston."</p> - -<p>Kingston smiled wearily. "It will do you no good," he said. "The thing -is set up like the time lock on a safety vault. No one can breach it."</p> - -<p>"Big talk," snorted Bronson. He turned from the bound man and rummaged -in a bench drawer for wire and parts. A variable-voltage transformer, -some alternating current meters and a few lengths of wire were strewn -over the table top. Bronson began to connect them into a circuit.</p> - -<p>"We'll find out how your resistance is," he told Kingston over his -shoulder.</p> - -<p>Kingston laughed nastily, Virginia screamed. Bronson whirled—and -Kingston was gone!</p> - -<p>Bronson leaped to the viewer controls and spun the dial to Kingston's -official quarters. The viewer showed a technician just in the act of -spinning the steering dials in a random whirl like a man locking a -combination safe.</p> - -<p>Kingston fell a-sprawl, still bound, against Maddox, who had come with -him. Maddox removed the bonds and Kingston fingered the amulet on his -wrist with pride. "That was quick," he said.</p> - -<p>"Had to be," said Maddox. "I knew that the instant you disappeared from -Bronson's laboratory he'd leap to the viewer to see your laboratory. -So once you arrived, we both came here and Tony spun the dials so that -Bronson can't follow us by reading the calibration."</p> - -<p>"That isn't all," chuckled Kingston. "Now we know how to reach Bronson!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Bronson turned from the controls unhappily. "How did he do that?" he -asked plaintively.</p> - -<p>Virginia shook her head. "Wrong culture or no," she said, "Earth Three -seems to take all the tricks."</p> - -<p>Bronson nodded wearily. He put head in hands and worried visibly—and -was taken out of it when a bell tinkled on the wall. Bronson leaped to -his feet with a shout.</p> - -<p>"Maybe we're not licked yet," he said. "That was the automatic mass -spectro-analyzer."</p> - -<p>He left the room and returned quickly with a sheaf of papers.</p> - -<p>"They call 'em space-resonant," he said with a wry chuckle, "but I call -'em symbiotic."</p> - -<p>"Meaning?"</p> - -<p>"Why, it seems as though we have a closed system of radioactivity -here," he said.</p> - -<p>"But the space-resonant elements are only faintly radioactive," -objected Virginia.</p> - -<p>"According to outside detectors," he said. "But this is an internally -closed system. There are two basic elements and two isotopes of each, -all operating in a closed system."</p> - -<p>"How?"</p> - -<p>He handed her a sheet of paper containing nuclear equations.</p> - -<p>① 121<sup>A<sup>227</sup></sup> + 0<sup>n<sup>1</sup></sup> —--> 121<sup>A<sup>280</sup></sup></p> - -<p>② 121<sup>A<sup>280</sup></sup> - 1<sup>e<sup>0</sup></sup> —--> 122<sup>B<sup>280</sup></sup></p> - -<p>③ 122<sup>B<sup>280</sup></sup> - 0<sup>n<sup>1</sup></sup> —--> 122<sup>B<sup>279</sup></sup></p> - -<p>④ 122<sup>B<sup>279</sup></sup> + 1<sup>e<sup>0</sup></sup> —--> 121<sup>A<sup>279</sup></sup></p> - -<p>"Call 'em 'A' and 'B', with respective atomic number of one hundred -and twenty-one and one hundred and twenty-two and respective atomic -weights of two hundred and seventy-nine and two hundred and eighty," he -explained. "Then Element A absorbs a neutron, becoming heavy Element A -since its atomic weight is increased by one.</p> - -<p>"The heavy Element A then emits a negative electron which raises the -nuclear charge by one and the element becomes Element B. Element B then -emits a neutron which makes it light Element B.</p> - -<p>"Light Element B captures an electron lowering the nuclear charge and -retransmuting the element back to normal Element A. The neutrons and -electrons are passed back and forth within the mass and seldom escape, -therefore the space-resonant elements are believed to be only mildly -radioactive."</p> - -<p>"Yes?"</p> - -<p>Miles away and across the barrier in time Kingston and Maddox listened -avidly.</p> - -<p>"So we can guess what happened at Alamogordo," said Bronson exultantly.</p> - -<p>"I don't see it," she said.</p> - -<p>"Well, Element A is so avid an absorber of neutrons that a microscopic -impurity will destroy the K-factor of a supercritical mass of plutonium -or uranium," he said. "That would prevent the Alamogordo Bomb from -exploding."</p> - -<p>"Element B, on the other hand, emits a torrent of neutrons, enough -to raise the K-factor to a terribly high degree, which caused such -violence that the bomb was hot enough to start fission in the earth. A -balance of the elements A and B cancels out and therefore we have the -normal explosion experienced in Earth One."</p> - -<p>"But how did it happen?"</p> - -<p>"When the subcritical masses of uranium came together on Alamogordo -Day, the fission started throughout the mass. Also present—we know -now—is the capture of neutrons by unfissioned atoms which raise -the element's mass, and the other fission products hitting this -element raise its charge. Space-resonant elements resulted in those -sub-microseconds of initial fission.</p> - -<p>"So, in one section of the mass, an abundance of Element A was -produced, which stopped the explosion. In another section, Element B -was produced, which increased its violence. Now the energies produced -within the fissioning bomb are high enough to cause a warp in the -space-time continuum. This warp permitted one section to die out while -the other increased almost without limit."</p> - -<p>"I'm beginning to understand," nodded Virginia. "We then had three -different levels of energy."</p> - -<p>"And three widely-varied levels of entropy," added Bronson. "So widely -varied that they could not exist in the same time-space plane. Thus the -fission in time that produced the three time-planes. How widespread -these areas of separation extend we may never know.</p> - -<p>"All I can assume is that space-time is strained and will return as -soon as the energy put into the separation is used up. Sort of like -an upthrown stone," he mused. "It goes up until the energy put into -throwing it is used up against the force of gravity.</p> - -<p>"Then it comes down—and the three time-planes separate until the -energy put into the separation was used up and then they begin to fall -toward one another."</p> - -<p>Kingston turned to Maddox. "That also explains why no one knew of this -split for so long. And why it is getting easier and easier to cross the -barrier. The three time-planes are approaching one another."</p> - -<p>Maddox nodded. "And that means that we must see the other time-planes -destroyed. If they come together and find interference—all will die!"</p> - -<p>"Right," said Kingston. His hand fingered the button while his other -hand turned the steering control. Maddox looked into the viewer. -"Hurry!" he exploded. Kingston looked.</p> - -<p>Ed Bronson was walking across the laboratory toward the transmission -panel, saying "... and that brings one thing to mind, Ginger. If they -grabbed Kingston they know where we are!"</p> - -<p>He spun the controls quickly and pressed the button. At the same -instant Kingston pressed his own button. The viewplate that showed -Bronson and Virginia in Maddox's laboratory erupted in a holocaust of -flame that blinded Kingston and Maddox.</p> - -<p>"Did we?" asked Kingston, rubbing his eyes.</p> - -<p>"We can't know," said Maddox. "But look. If we got them we can find -out."</p> - -<p>"How?"</p> - -<p>"Collect your space-resonant elements on Earth One," said Maddox. -"Then send another set across and use one of them to erupt Central -City—right where Bronson's home is."</p> - -<p>"What good will that do?" asked Kingston.</p> - -<p>"We can watch it," explained Maddox. "And if it is returned to Earth -Two, we'll know that Bronson is alive somewhere and watching."</p> - -<p>Kingston nodded with a smile of appreciation.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The laboratory building was askew, its windows shattered and its outer -surface scarred. It had been close. Perhaps the only thing that saved -them was the fact that they were closer to the focal volume of the -transmitter in the laboratory than Kingston was.</p> - -<p>At any rate the unbelievably microscopic instant of the beginning of -the atomic flame intended to destroy them utterly had been all that -building caught. For Bronson had sent it skirling into time-space and -it was on the way out as the glimmering of deadly flame started to come -in.</p> - -<p>But that brief touch of incandescent death had charred the woodwork of -the outside of the building. It had cracked the glass and it had jarred -its very structure.</p> - -<p>The inhabitants were in bad shape. Bronson was sprawled on the floor. -Virginia was crumpled over a desk. Both were unconscious. And, creeping -deeper into their skin, was the ruddy color of bad burn.</p> - -<p>Hours later they were dark with burn and still unconscious. They knew -nothing.</p> - -<p>They did not know that Kingston's men on Earth One were beginning -to assemble the masses in Ed Bronson's collection of radioisotopic -phosphor.</p> - -<p>Then a bell tinkled gently. Bronson stirred and groaned. The bell -tinkled once more. Bronson stirred again—painfully. Another tinkle—</p> - -<p>Virginia awakened, opened her eyes vaguely and wondered what had -happened.</p> - -<p>The bell rang insistently. "Ed—Ed Bronson!" she shouted. "The -detector!"</p> - -<p>"Detector?" he asked dully.</p> - -<p>"They're assembling the space-resonant elements on Earth One!"</p> - -<p>The bell broke into an insistent clamoring. Ed picked himself from -the floor and looked at the gear. The cascaded amplifiers, incapable -of detecting the presence of subcritical masses on Earth One, had -sufficient gain to trigger the alarm when Earth One's bits of space -resonant elements were collected into critical mass.</p> - -<p>Bronson spun the dials of the viewer.</p> - -<p>There before him was the familiar laboratory of his own home and four -men standing before his bench, upon which stood the crystalline mass.</p> - -<p>"Now!" breathed Ed Bronson.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER XVI</p> - -<p class="ph2"><i>A World at Stake</i></p> - - -<p>Uncertainly Virginia paused. "Ed," she said.</p> - -<p>"Huh?" he asked, turning.</p> - -<p>"You're going to—"</p> - -<p>"I must."</p> - -<p>She smiled and took a deep breath. Bronson looked at her quizzically. -It was obvious that something had happened that had pleased her—or -convinced her of something, but what it might be eluded him.</p> - -<p>"Look, Ginger, we haven't much time. I've got to get going—and you -know what to do."</p> - -<p>She nodded, her eyes bright and intent upon him. "Ed," she said in a -quiet voice, "I've been both selfish and opportunist, wanting security -at any price. But you are willing to trust me with the future of Earth -One. That, too, proves the worth of—worth of—of—"</p> - -<p>"Forget it," he said softly. "If we win it will prove the right of -Earth One to survive."</p> - -<p>Then he turned to the machine again. "I've got to go!"</p> - -<p>She came up behind him, turned him around and kissed him. "Go," she -said. "And as you go, Ed, remember that I've made up my mind. I'm going -with you—all the way!"</p> - -<p>He smiled down at her. "I know," he said cryptically. Then he turned -and snapped the button.</p> - -<p>He landed in his own laboratory amid the four minions of Kingston. The -suddenness of his appearance sent them flying in four directions. He -whirled and reached for the assembled blocks of the space-resonant -elements on the bench, to separate them again.</p> - -<p>He was hit from behind by one of the thugs and staggered against the -bench. Then the other three were upon him.</p> - -<p>Only Bronson's sheer size and physical power saved him from instant -annihilation. He fought them off, hitting them hard but taking a -murderous amount of punishment. He kicked one away, traded blows with -the second, turned to drive a hard fist into the face of the third—and -nearly fell forward on his face as the blow passed through nothing!</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus3.jpg" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p>Bronson tried desperately to fight off the thugs.</p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>In the big laboratory on Earth Two Virginia coldly and viciously -clubbed Kingston's hired hand over the back of the head with a heavy -end-wrench as the fellow was still staggering forward from the effort -against Bronson.</p> - -<p>Bronson blinked and recovered from his stagger. He lashed out at -the nearest, just as Virginia grabbed another to give him the same -treatment. One of the two remaining jerked a gun from his pocket and -fired wildly. Bronson ducked under the gun hand and shouldered the thug -cruelly in the pit of the stomach.</p> - -<p>The gun dropped to the floor and there was a three-way dive for it. -Bronson cracked his head against the nearer man's jaw, drove a fist -into the other's face, and grabbed the wrist of the first one again. A -gun appeared in the second man's hand.</p> - -<p>Bronson jerked the wrist and the man staggered forward in front of -Bronson just as the other thug fired. Ed felt the man's body twitch and -he coldly lifted a foot, set it in the small of the stricken man's back -and hurled him forward against the gun wielder. Behind him went Bronson -but the gun wielder disappeared.</p> - -<p>Virginia's quick end-wrench came down hard and then she had three of -them lined up on the floor, taped helplessly with adhesive tape.</p> - -<p>She scribbled a quick note and sent it through—and an instant later -Bronson had the mass of crystals separated into their four parts.</p> - -<p>He breathed deeply as he read the note. It did present a problem. He -had one corpse on his hands and three other undesirables collected in -the laboratory on Earth Two. Also, here he was safe on Earth One again -with the crystals separated. He held the key to security!</p> - -<p>But there was Earth Three, still whole and alive. How simple it would -have been to ignore Three—Bronson admitted that Virginia might have -had to suffer the fortunes of war if the fate of an entire world rested -upon the decision.</p> - -<p>But Bronson knew that, unless two of the three worlds were -exterminated, all would die in a cosmic explosion when they began to -reappear on the same time-plane.</p> - -<p>Furthermore, he knew that Kingston was quite prepared to maintain a -viewer on each of Ed Bronson's sections of crystal until they were -reassembled again. For the very key that opened the portal was as -deadly as the Alamogordo Flame....</p> - -<p>A hard knock came at the door. Ed turned, puzzled, and went through his -house to open it.</p> - -<p>Captain Norris of the police strode into the room with a sour -expression.</p> - -<p>"What are you running here?" he demanded. "Where are the four birds -that came in here a few minutes ago. Where have you been?"</p> - -<p>Norris strode through the house until he came to the laboratory. -He looked down at the body of Kingston's henchman and his eyebrows -beetled. "This smacks of murder," he said flatly.</p> - -<p>"It—"</p> - -<p>"Self-defense," said Norris sourly. "Tell it to the judge." He looked -around. "Where are the other three?"</p> - -<p>"See here, Norris," snapped Bronson. "When I came to you about the -invaders of earth you slapped me in the booby hatch. What would you say -if I gave you proof?"</p> - -<p>"It will have to be mighty good," snapped Norris.</p> - -<p>From separate pockets Ed Bronson took the four bits of crystal. He set -them side by side on the bench.</p> - -<p>"Virginia," he said, knowing that she was listening. "Now!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>And his hands scooped the crystals together.</p> - -<p>"Who are you—hey!" exploded Norris. They had come across the barrier -and were standing in the laboratory building. In the viewer stood -Virginia Carlson. She smiled through at them and showed them that she -had once more separated the bits of crystal.</p> - -<p>"What goes on?" Norris stormed.</p> - -<p>"You are now on Earth Two," said Bronson. "And if you want to get back -play it smart."</p> - -<p>"Don't threaten me—who are these?"</p> - -<p>"Three thugs from Earth Three."</p> - -<p>"Oh fine," jeered Norris. "This sounds like a real game. Now look—"</p> - -<p>"You look," snapped Bronson. He set the controls and snapped the button -and the scene outside of the laboratory disappeared. In its place was a -tall pillar of flame.</p> - -<p>"That," said Bronson, "is the pillar of atomic flame at Alamogordo, -caused on Earth Two by the original Manhattan Project experiment in -Nineteen forty-five." He spun the dials once more, and the city of -Washington was visible at a distance. Its pillar of flame roared high -into the sky. "That's Earth Two, Washington," he snapped at Norris.</p> - -<p>"But what can you do?" asked Norris, completely dumbfounded.</p> - -<p>"I can fight back—now," said Bronson harshly. "And you can sit in a -corner and figure out a means for a man to come to official quarters to -tell of an extra-space invasion without being clapped in the nuthouse!"</p> - -<p>He turned from Norris and adjusted the steering controls.</p> - -<p>His hand came down on the button.</p> - -<p>And Earth Three Washington erupted in a massive incandescent flame.</p> - -<p>Kingston shouted in anger as the report came. He twirled his own dials, -found a response and pressed the button.</p> - -<p>He cried, "<i>Orders!</i> Everyone possessing a Type One transmitter, help -spread the atomic fire on Earth Two!"</p> - -<p>Out across the face of Earth Three went the orders and the mobilized -hundreds of thousands of people started their space resonators.</p> - -<p>It was furious work. Bronson whirled the dials until the plane of view -looked down upon Earth Two from several thousand miles above. From this -point, Bronson knew that Kingston—from whatever hideout he was in—was -directing a full-scale attack against Earth Two. The lights twinkled -like a field of fireflies.</p> - -<p>Bronson knew that his own attempts were pitiful against Kingston's -massed attack.</p> - -<p>Maybe Virginia was right. Maybe, in the final analysis Earth Three did -hold all the tricks and would win. But whether or not he won or lost -Bronson was going to fight to the bitter end. He directed his fire -against Earth Three—and saw two disappear as one flared forth.</p> - -<p>Bitterly, Bronson nodded. Kingston was well staffed. He could without -difficulty set a number of his stations to the job of sending back -upon Earth Two the few fires that Bronson could start. He was one man -fighting a world well-armed—a gnat batting its head against a wall of -polished chromium steel.</p> - -<p>Bronson stopped punching the button with a gesture of sheer futility.</p> - -<p>And from the vantage point above Earth Two, his viewer showed a -spreading holocaust that threatened to cover the entire globe from -pole to pole. It would be but a matter of time before a gout of flame -and horror erased him and removed all resistance to Kingston's plans. -Switching the scene to Earth Three, Bronson saw that the pitifully few -dots of flame had been removed.</p> - -<p>Which was right? A world playing with death in myriad or a world so -conservative that it had not advanced to the point where it could turn -the tables?</p> - -<p>Bronson shook his head hopelessly.</p> - -<p>The incandescent, flaming curtain almost obscured Earth Two now. The -sky was alight and the rumblings and roarings shook the rocks. Torrents -of wind howled back and forth and carried minute bits of the flame with -them, feeding on the very air that carried them. They landed and they -started their own fires in a million smaller craters.</p> - -<p>Bronson shook his head. There was not much point in making even one -last gesture. He hit the control panel with his fist and slumped in his -chair. He took one last look at Earth Two and felt futility once more -at the spreading of the atomic horror.</p> - -<p>And then Bronson sat bolt upright. A last gesture! Before he had rushed -in where angels fear to tread!</p> - -<p>He looked at the equipment and shook his head. But equipment made well -can withstand a terrific overload for a brief time. Even the most -delicate of component parts require measurable time between application -of a tremendous overload and ultimate failure.</p> - -<p>His left hand spun the dials and his right hand tuned the transmitter.</p> - -<p>He hoped for a break—and he knew also that this was IT in capital -letters. If it worked he was the dead winner. If it failed he was -doomed to remain on Earth Two to watch the arrival of atomic death.</p> - -<p>But he had no other choice. Facing death either way he'd best go out -making a try.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Kingston grunted sourly at the visi-plate and pointed out a faint arc -at one edge. "What's that?" he asked. "Do we need a new tube at this -crucial moment?"</p> - -<p>"No."</p> - -<p>"Then what is it?"</p> - -<p>Maddox turned the dials a bit and the arc came out of the frame clearly -enough to display a disc. Faint, unreadable, but none the less a -definite pattern.</p> - -<p>Maddox looked at it carefully and then retreated the plane of view to -many thousands of miles into deep space. Right out to the limit of his -range he went.</p> - -<p>And there were three discs, all of a size. One was, of course, the -flaming Earth Two.</p> - -<p>"We're approaching!" yelled Kingston. "Those other discs are Earth One -and Three."</p> - -<p>"But—"</p> - -<p>"When their energy levels approach one another it will be unnecessary -to employ a depth of penetration correction!" snapped Kingston. "For -they'll all be on the same level."</p> - -<p>"And when they do—we'll all go skyward."</p> - -<p>The communicator clicked and Kingston read the tape. Then with a nasty -chuckle, Kingston spun the dials and looked in upon Ed Bronson. "Darn -few live pieces of element left on Two," sneered Kingston. "Made -picking him out so much easier!"</p> - -<p>"Yes," said Maddox dubiously, "but what in the devil is he doing?"</p> - -<p>"He's—heavens!" screamed Kingston. His hand stabbed for the button -like a striking snake.</p> - -<p>And down upon Ed Bronson's stolen laboratory there descended a torrent -of raw energy. In through the space resonator it came and it should -have boiled out in the terrible holocaust that produced sunlike pillars -of roaring atomic destruction.</p> - -<p>Instead, the sheer energy came roaring in through the supercritical -mass of space-resonant elements in Ed Bronson's stolen laboratory and -entered the transmitter circuits, which were wide open to accept—nay, -draw—all available energy from whatever source was available.</p> - -<p>Into the circuits went the torrent of energy. It drove the focal -volume out and out and out even beyond Ed Bronson's faintest hope. It -expanded the volume and then energized the transmission circuits.</p> - -<p>And Earth Two—atomic holocaust and all—disappeared from the -time-plane it had occupied for so many years. There was a -shrinking—but no one was there to record this collapse of the special -plane—and at once, a joining, and though it seemed as though Earth -One had come into full visibility, this impression was due to the -time-fields joining with the original plane.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Virginia Carlson, alone and wondering on Earth One, alternately watched -her wrist watch and smoked furiously.</p> - -<p>She watched the second hand creep to its appointed meeting with the top -of the dial, and she scooped the space-resonant elements into the palms -of her hands. This must be done quickly, so very swiftly lest Kingston -manage to get through with more than could be handled safely.</p> - -<p>Zero!</p> - -<p>Virginia clapped her hands together, creating an instantaneous -supercritical mass.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus2.jpg" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p>Virginia clapped her hands together and there was a flash of flame.</p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Intolerable heat burned her hands. There was a flash of flame that -blinded her and there was the rush and clatter of debris showering the -laboratory, shattering windows, and pelting her mercilessly. A heavy -something crashed against her skull and drove her to the floor.</p> - -<p>Her eyes opened and the space-resonant crystals, crushed by the -impact, sifted through her inert fingers and mingled with the powdery -untouchably-hot debris that was inch-deep on the floor....</p> - -<p>Leader Kingston's hand was stopped in mid-strike. He and his laboratory -flamed into instant incandescence as matter was rent to mix with the -raving splitting atoms of intolerable explosion.</p> - -<p>For close were the temporal paths and the catastrophic energy of Earth -Two found its outlet through the myriad of open paths furnished by the -millions of commercially-used bits of space-resonant elements. From -each of the crystals there poured a torrent of overwhelming flame that -of itself formed more of the space-resonant elements.</p> - -<p>The excess in entropy of Earth Two forced the transfer regardless of -true tuning—as a nearby radio station will blast through to audibility -regardless of the position of the dial—or, perhaps better, the excess -in entropy level sought the deficient level of entropy as a north -magnetic pole seeks the south magnetic pole. Water—or energy—finds -its own stable level.</p> - -<p>So from the machines that employed space resonant elements on Earth -Three there poured the flaming substance and the excess of energy, to -spread in one mighty explosion that rent space itself, but died when -there was no more substance left to convert.</p> - -<p>And with the release of the temporal strains, there came once more -that imperceptible withdrawal of strife in the cosmic planes. Now all -was at stable rest and there remained but one time-plane. That plane -contained Earth One and all that belonged to it.</p> - -<p>It contained a man hurled back through the space-resonant transmission -equipment from Earth Two, from the one place where the atomic -destruction had yet to reach, to the one and only place upon Earth One -where space-resonant elements existed. And they alone had been tuned to -Ed Bronson's stolen equipment, and held in supercritical mass for that -bare instant of transfer by a woman's hands.</p> - -<p>Burned, bruised and battered, Ed Bronson and Virginia Carlson would -soon awaken from their unconsciousness to look into one another's eyes -and wonder.</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ONE OF THREE ***</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. 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